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+eight millimeter written by Andrew Kevin Walker 5/06/97 first INT. MIAMI AIRPORT, TERMINAL -- DAY Amongst the weary tourist families and solitary businessmen sits TOM WELLES, middle-aged, hair neat, suit crisp and gray. He's eating crackers from a cellophane package, sipping soda from a paper cup, watching an ARRIVAL GATE. AT THE GATE PASSENGERS arrive: the paunchy, graying men of First Class leading the pack, except for a handsome YOUNG REPUBLICAN poster boy hurrying along. ACROSS THE TERMINAL Welles gets up and FOLLOWS... EXT. MIAMI AIRPORT, CURBSIDE -- DAY Welles comes outside, squinting in the sun, moving down the sidewalk, looking back over his shoulder... The Young Republican is lead to a waiting LIMO by a DRIVER. Welles moves to the nearby TAXI STAND... INT. TAXI -- DAY Welles gets in, turning in his seat to watch behind. CAB DRIVER Where to? Welles keeps watching, sees the limo pull away and pass. WELLES Follow that limousine. Don't get too close, don't let it get too far away. Just keep with it. CAB DRIVER You kidding? WELLES Nope. The cab set in motion. Welles takes out cigarettes, lighting one, takes out a small NOTEPAD and makes notations. CAB DRIVER Uh, listen... you're not supposed to be smoking in here. I'm sorry, that's company policy... WELLES How about this... every cigarette I smoke, I give you five dollars? CAB DRIVER Okay... okay, yeah, that'd be good... EXT. MIAMI BEACH, "GOLD COAST" -- DAY In front of an Art Deco hotel, the driver opens the limousine door and the Young Republican steps out. ACROSS THE STREET Welles watches from inside the double-parked taxicab. EXT. MIAMI BEACH MOTOR LODGE -- DAY Not exactly four-star. "AD LT MOVIES EVERY ROOM." INT. MIAMI BEACH MOTOR LODGE -- DAY Welles is asleep on the bed, full dressed, hands folded across his stomach, snoring lightly, sweaty. INT. MIAMI BEACH MOTOR LODGE, RESTAURANT -- DAY Welles sits alone at the bar, eating a sandwich, bored. He watches some fuzzy ESPN on the t.v., looks at his watch. EXT. MIAMI BEACH MOTOR LODGE -- DAY Welles walks across the parking lot, gets into his RENTAL CAR, starts it and drives away. EXT. MIAMI BEACH DISCOTHEQUE -- NIGHT Young Republican and a GAUDY WOMAN exit the disco, MUSIC THROBBING out from the doors behind them. They join hands, drunk, heading to the street, looking for their limo. DOWN THE STREET Welles is seated in his parked rental car, raises a CAMERA with TELEPHOTO LENS: whir, CLICK, whir, CLICK, whir, CLICK... Welles lowers the camera, letting out a yawn. INT. AIRPLANE, COACH -- NIGHT The familiar DRONE of flight. Welles is shoehorned into his aisle seat, using tiny utensils to eat his tiny meal. An OLDER WOMAN arrives in the aisle. Welles picks up his tray, closes his tray table, unbuckling his seatbelt, struggling to get up... finally successful, balancing his tray, letting the woman in to the window seat. OLDER WOMAN Thank you. Welles nods, forcing a smile, sitting back down. He returns to toiling over his miniature supper. EXT. HARRISBURG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -- NIGHT Welles' AIRPLANE ROARS down with a SCREECH, landing lights gleaming. The airport is small, relatively isolated. TITLE: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania INT. HARRISBURG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -- NIGHT Passengers arrive. Welles is with them, searching the few PEOPLE waiting in the terminal hallway. Welles smiles... Welles' wife, AMY, smiles when she sees him. She's plain and pretty, holding one hand on a BABY STROLLER beside her. Welles comes to her, embracing her, appreciating her. AMY Welcome home. WELLES Do you know how much I missed you? They kiss, but Amy pulls away, sniffs him. AMY What's this... have you been smoking... ? WELLES Smoking? I'm not smoking. AMY Your clothing reeks of it. WELLES You know, Amy, I've been sitting around in bars and everywhere following this guy... I mean, is this what I get first thing? Before you even "hello," you accuse me... ? AMY I'm not accusing you... WELLES Well, I'm not smoking, okay? AMY Okay, I believe you. WELLES We've been all through that. I've been on my best behavior. Welles bends to the stroller, picks up his infant daughter, CINDY, and hoists her in the air, overjoyed. WELLES Hello, pumpkin-head, did you miss me? I sure missed you... He kisses the happy child, holding her in one arm. WELLES Let's get my bags and get the hell out of here. Welles pulls Amy close and kisses her again, leads the way. Amy follows, pushing the stroller. AMY How's the detective business? WELLES Business was fine. I'll tell you what, you couldn't pay me enough to live down there. AMY You better not be smoking, that's all I can say. WELLES Honey, I'm not, please... Amy takes Welles hand, smiling at him. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, BEDROOM -- NIGHT Welles and Amy make love in the darkness. Standard, missionary position sex, little passion. They slow to a finish, uneventfully, holding each other. Their breathing quiets. Their daughter CINDY can be HEARD CRYING elsewhere. Welles kisses his wife again, rolls off of her and sits on the edge of the bed. Amy covers herself. AMY I love you. WELLES I love you. He looks towards her in the dark. He gets up, gets a towel from the bathroom and wraps it around him. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, BABY'S ROOM -- NIGHT Cindy's crying. Welles enters, goes to lean into the crib. WELLES What's all the trouble, Cinderella? What are you crying about, huh? He lifts and cradles Cindy, comforting her. EXT. HARRISBURG CITYSCAPE -- ESTABLISHING --DAY A small city of moderate architecture facing the Susquehanna. INT. OFFICE -- DAY An old money office with windows over the river. A well-to- do POLITICIAN looks unhappily through PHOTOS on his desk. Welles sits by the Pennsylvania state flag, watching. PHOTOS show the Young Republican and Gaudy Woman in Miami: leaving the Art Deco hotel, the Discotheque, a restaurant... WELLES Your son-in-law dealt with the dry cleaning franchise during the day, saw that woman every night. (clears his throat) The specifics are in the report, and information about the woman. It's unpleasant, I know. I apologize... POLITICIAN None too discreet, is he? WELLES No, sir, he is not. POLITICIAN He's an imbecile. I tried to warn my daughter, but what can you do? The politician shakes his head in disgust. Welles rises. WELLES The um... you'll find my invoice in the envelope. If that's all... POLITICIAN Yes, Mister Welles, thank you. WELLES Certainly, Senator. If I can ever be of further assistance. Welles leaves, glances back, shuts the door. EXT. HARRISBURG STREETS -- DAY Welles drives his plain Ford past the CAPITAL BUILDING. EXT. HARRISBURG, BRIDGE -- DAY Welles' car crosses the Susquehanna, leaving the city. EXT. WELLES' HOUSE, BACKYARD -- DAY Sunny day. Welles wears tan khakis, T-shirt and fishing cap, mowing his lawn with his ROARING lawnmower. Welles' yard is modest, surrounding his modest split level suburban one in a neighborhood of similar homes and similar yards. Welles turns the lawnmower, stopping to mop his brow. One of his neighbors is repainting a back porch. The neighbor waves. Welles waves, resumes mowing. INT. BOWLING ALLEY -- NIGHT MUSIC'S LOUD. League Night. Every lane full. Welles is with his team in BOWLING SHIRTS. Welles hoists his ball, preparing to bowl. He takes three steps, releases... Down the lane, PINS SCATTER. One pin remains standing. Welles balls up his fists and curses, walks back towards his rowdy, mocking teammates. He shouts back at them, laughing, grabbing his beer and drinking, waiting at the ball return. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, KITCHEN -- NIGHT Dinner. Welles and Amy eat at the kitchen table with Cindy in a high chair. Amy feeds Cindy between bites. Welles is still in his league shirt. AMY You think you'll have time for the water heater this weekend? WELLES Sure. I'll call the guy. AMY You're not using the same guy who tried to fix it? WELLES I'm not using him again for anything. He was worthless. (eating) You have bridge here Saturday? AMY Betty's out of town so we're playing next week. Welles nods, eating. He watches Amy feed Cindy. The PHONE starts RINGING. Welles goes to answer it. WELLES (into PHONE) Hello. Yes... could you hold on a minute...? Welles hands the phone to Amy, pats Cindy's head as he heads downstairs, through the LIVING ROOM... INT. WELLES' HOUSE, OFFICE -- NIGHT Welles enters his well kept OFFICE, turns on a light at the desk. The room is filled with FILE CABINETS and shelves of BOOKS, hundreds of PHONE BOOKS and a COPY MACHINE. Welles picks up the phone and cups the receiver. WELLES (shouts upstairs) Okay, I've got it. (into phone) Hello... sorry, I was switching phones. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Christian. (listens) Yes. Yes, I understand... tomorrow evening should be fine... Welles listens, clears space on his desk, taking notes. EXT. CHRISTIAN COMPOUND -- DUSK A huge OLD WORLD MANSION is situated at the center of acres of Pennsylvania forest and vast gardens. Welles' car heads down a long tree lined drive, to the dark mansion. INT. CHRISTIAN HOUSE, HALLWAY -- NIGHT Welles follows a BUTLER down a long hall. INT. CHRISTIAN HOUSE, LIBRARY -- NIGHT The butler shows Welles in, shuts the door. Towering SHELVES of BOOKS are serviced by ladders. Far across the room, an old, sad woman, MRS. CHRISTIAN, sits waiting with a tall, thin, sinister ghoul of a LAWYER. MRS CHRISTIAN Mister Welles. You're very prompt. WELLES I try to be. Welles crosses towards them. It takes a while. MRS CHRISTIAN I appreciate your coming on such short notice. Mrs. Christian holds out her hand and Welles takes it. MRS CHRISTIAN This is Mister Longdale, my late husband's attorney. Welles shakes Longdale's limp hand, looking him over. WELLES Uh huh, pleasure. MRS CHRISTIAN Apparently Mr. Longdale has something he feels he simply must say before you and I speak. LONGDALE Yes, I do have something to say. I insisted on being here as soon as I heard Mrs. Christian contacted you. WELLES I'm listening. LONGDALE As Mr. Christian's attorney and one of the executors of his estate, it concerns me that a meeting of this sort should take place without my being asked to attend. WELLES Of what sort? LONGDALE You are a private investigator? WELLES That's right. LONGDALE Well, whatever reasons Mrs. Christian has for engaging the services of a private investigator, I should certainly be a party to. But, since she feels differently, I can only go on the record as having expressed my adamant disapproval. MRS CHRISTIAN Yes, how theatrical. So you've gone on the record, and now perhaps you should just be gone. Longdale's irritated, but has no choice. He walks away. MRS CHRISTIAN Have a pleasant evening. (to Welles) Will you have tea, Mister Welles? WELLES Thank you. Mrs. Christian begins pouring tea from the service on a table. Welles watches Longdale exit. WELLES He's odd. MRS CHRISTIAN He's a lawyer. (offers tea) Please, sit, here... Welles accepts a dainty tea cup and saucer, taking a seat. MRS CHRISTIAN I've spoken to friends of mine and my husband's, in Harrisburg, in Lancaster and Hershey. Asking about you. I must say you have friends in influential places. WELLES I've been privileged to provide services for people I admire. MRS CHRISTIAN You are highly recommended. Praised for your discretion... your strict adherence to confidentiality. Welles nods, sipping tea. MRS CHRISTIAN As you know, my husband passed away recently. Two weeks ago now. WELLES My condolences. MRS CHRISTIAN His passing has left me with... something of a dilemma. A terrible, terrible dilemma. WELLES I'll do whatever I can to help. Mrs. Christian studies Welles. INT. CHRISTIAN HOUSE, MR CHRISTIAN'S OFFICE -- NIGHT Mrs. Christian and Welles enter. This office has been lived in for a lifetime. Giant DESK. AMERICAN FLAG. Walls covered in old b+w PHOTOGRAPHS and ACHIEVEMENTS. A large, baked enamel sign nailed up, "CHRISTIAN STEEL." MRS CHRISTIAN His inner sanctum. Welles looks up at the OIL PAINTING over the fireplace: MR. CHRISTIAN, a powerful, old man, posed with a dark, teeming, industrial landscape behind him. MRS CHRISTIAN Not many people have been inside this room. Welles examines PHOTOS of Mr. Christian visiting various STEEL PLANTS, COAL MINES and ground-breaking ceremonies, shaking hands with WORKMEN, with POLITICIANS. WELLES Pittsburgh? MRS CHRISTIAN Mostly. That's where he started his empire building. (looks up at portrait) He was a good man. Notorious as an eccentric, but that was something he cultivated. He wanted to be legendary. WELLES He succeeded. MRS CHRISTIAN We were married forty-five years. Hard even for me to imagine. We had our troubles. There were plenty of places for him to be other than here, but he was always loyal to me, and I to him. I loved him deeply. Welles waits. MRS CHRISTIAN Do you carry a gun, Mr. Welles? WELLES I wear a gun when I can tell a client expects me to. Other than that, there's never any reason. MRS CHRISTIAN Just curious. Mrs. Christian crosses to take down a PICTURE, revealing a WALL SAFE. The safe is ajar, burnt and scarred, broken into. MRS CHRISTIAN My husband was the only one with the combination to this safe. I knew about it, but as far as I was concerned it was none of my business. Not till now, that is. WELLES You hired someone to open it. I'll bet the lawyer loved that. MRS CHRISTIAN There was nothing he could do. My husband left everything to me. (looks at safe) I prevented anyone from seeing the contents. I felt these were my husband's private things. I didn't... I didn't realize... WELLES Do you want to tell me what you found? MRS CHRISTIAN Cash, stock certificates, and this... She takes something from her pocket, puts it on the desk: a plastic bag containing a short 8MM FILM on a plastic reel. MRS CHRISTIAN It's a film... of a girl being murdered. WELLES I'm afraid I don't... MRS CHRISTIAN This is a movie showing a girl being murdered. She's sitting on a bed, and a man rapes her... and he begins to cut her with a knife... (pause) I only watched what I could. Welles picks up the film, looks at it. MRS CHRISTIAN I didn't know what to think. I can't tell you how horrible it's been, to know this belonged to my husband. To know that he watched this... this atrocity. But, I can't go to the police... WELLES Mrs. Christian... please, will you sit down a moment? (leads her to a chair) I want you to listen carefully. What you're talking about is a "snuff film." But, from what I know, snuff films are a kind of... urban myth. Like, red light district folklore. There's no such thing, I can assure you. Mrs. Christian shakes her head. WELLES Please, believe me. This is probably a stag film. Simulated rape. Hard to stomach, and it might seem real, but there are ways of making it look realistic... fake blood and special effects... MRS CHRISTIAN No. WELLES If you were to study it you'd see the camera cutting away... you'd see the tricks they can play... MRS CHRISTIAN I'm telling you it's not that. WELLES I'm sure it is. (smiles) It's probably something your husband was given as a bad joke. More than likely he never even watched it. MRS CHRISTIAN Will you watch it and see for yourself? WELLES Of course. But, I'm certain it's nothing to worry about. INT. CHRISTIAN HOUSE, DINING ROOM -- NIGHT An 8MM PROJECTOR faces a wall. Welles looks back to Mrs. Christian in the doorway. Mrs. Christian leaves, shuts the door. Darkness. Welles turns on the projector and sits. The PROJECTOR CLATTERS, shooting bright images... ON THE WALL: FLASH FRAMES, over exposure, then... the grainy FILM is HAND HELD, constantly in motion, showing a skinny GIRL, 16 or 17, in a negligee, sitting on a bed in a nondescript room with little furniture. Looks like a hotel room. We only ever see three walls. The once beautiful girl looks worn, drugged, dark circles under her eyes, staring blankly. The CAMERA'S tungsten SPOTLIGHT casts long, shifting shadows as the camera moves, but the girl still stares oblivious. The bed is wrapped in PLASTIC and DUCT TAPE. The floor is covered by PLASTIC SHEETING... Welles watches, crossing his arms, already uncomfortable. ON THE WALL: a door opens behind the girl, looks like a bathroom, and a MASKED MAN enters. The Masked Man wears a garish, Mexican WRESTLING MASK with eye holes and a mouth. The mask covers his entire head. He's naked except for red shorts, his body scrawny, oiled, pale. The man goes to stand in front of the girl. He seems to be saying something to her, but the film is silent and the ONLY SOUND is the PROJECTOR'S LOUD sprocket hole CLATTER. It's all one long take. The CAMERA MOVES to favor the girl... Welles sits straight in his chair, wary. ON THE WALL: Masked Man raises his open hand and SLAPS the girl, knocking her back on the bed... Welles grimaces. ON THE WALL: Masked Man pulls the girl back to a seated position. The girl's like a rag doll, face reddened, eyes closed, but she remains upright. Masked Man uses his thumbs to open her unseeing eyes. He touches her mouth with his fingers, presses his lips to hers. Then, Masked Man backs away, leaving frame, till the CAMERA MOVES to find Masked Man standing at a table with THREE large BOWIE KNIFES laid out. Masked Man runs his fingers over the blades... Welles rises slowly, still watching. ON THE WALL: Masked Man selects a huge Bowie knife and moves back towards the girl... Welles crosses his arms tight, disbelieving, fearful. WE WILL NEVER SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IN THE FILM, but Welles does. In the flickering, reflected light, Welles backs involuntarily away from the horrible images, holding his fist to his mouth, breathing hard. Welles keeps backing away, till he's backed against a wall. The PROJECTOR'S CLATTERING. Welles is sickened, sweating, still watching, till he finally shuts his eyes. INT. CHRISTIAN HOUSE, ADJOINING ROOM -- NIGHT Silence. Mrs. Christian sits waiting, troubled. The door to the dining room opens and Welles enters from the dark, visibly shaken. Mrs. Christian watches him, her sorrow now shared. WELLES You... you need to go to the police. MRS CHRISTIAN I told you I can't, not yet. WELLES You don't have any other choice. MRS CHRISTIAN (stands, shakes her head) No. For me to live with the ruin of my husband's name, I need know that whoever did this will be punished. If you can find them, I will take their names to the police. I'll say my husband confessed on his death bed. I'll say I didn't have courage to come forward at first... WELLES It won't work like that. MRS CHRISTIAN Any evidence you collect can be given to the police later, anonymously. I've thought about it and there's no other way. If you can't find them... if the only thing that comes from this film is that this is all my husband will be remembered for, well I can't let that happen. I'm telling you I won't. If there's no chance that poor girl's memory can be served, then I'll just have to spend my last days trying to forget her. Welles sits, rests his head in his hands. WELLES I deal in divorce cases. Corporate investigations... MRS CHRISTIAN You've found missing persons before. WELLES Nothing remotely like this. MRS CHRISTIAN I know what I'm asking. Your compensation will be appropriate to the risk. You'll need cash to buy information, and I'll provide it. (pause) I feel responsible, Mr. Welles. (pause) You saw what he did to her. Welles stands, torn apart and uncertain, looks back to the dining room where the projector sits idle. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, BABY'S ROOM -- NIGHT Cindy is sound asleep in her crib. Welles is seated near, staring at his sleeping child. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, BEDROOM -- NIGHT Welles digs in piles of SHOEBOXES and BOOKS on the floor of his cluttered closet, finds what he wants: a LOCK BOX. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, KITCHEN -- NIGHT Welles twists the lock box dial's combination, opens the box to reveal his GUN, HOLSTER and CLEANING SUPPLIES. Welles takes out the gun, cleaning it. Amy watches. WELLES This is the mortgage. This is Cindy's college money. AMY I understand. WELLES Sometimes you can't know what I'm doing. It's better that way. AMY I know. WELLES It's a missing persons case... a long shot. I'll give it two months, two months at most, then I'll be back. We'll take a vacation. AMY Why the gun? WELLES I'm not gonna need it. I won't even wear it. It's a precaution. (cleaning gun) Don't worry about me. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, OFFICE -- NIGHT Welles looks through one file cabinet. He pulls out a FILE. It contains all sorts of POLICE ARTIST SKETCHES. Welles finds one of a TEENAGE GIRL with dark hair, looks at it. Welles positions the sketch on his COPY MACHINE, hits copy. EXT. WELLES' HOUSE, DRIVEWAY -- MORNING Welles loads BOXES and a SUITCASE into his car's back seat. Welles puts the lock box in the car's trunk, in a hiding place beside the spare tire. He places a brown BRIEFCASE on top, covers them both with carpet. He closes the trunk. EXT. PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE -- MORNING Little traffic. Welles' Ford races down the highway. EXT. CLEVELAND CITYSCAPE -- ESTABLISHING -- DAY City skyline, overcast. Looks like rain. TITLE: Cleveland, Ohio EXT. CLEVELAND STREETS -- DAY Welles' car moves slowly in a not-so-great neighborhood. Welles leans forward, peering through the windshield... An APARTMENT BUILDING'S crooked SIGN lists "WEEKLY RATES." INT. WELLES' ROOM, CLEVELAND -- DAY Dingy room. Welles locks the door, puts the chain on. His suitcase and boxes are on the bed. He begins unpacking, taking a PHOTO ENLARGER from one box and an 8MM PROJECTOR. INT. WELLES' ROOM, BATHROOM -- DAY The developer's on the toilet. DEVELOPING PANS are on the floor, developer bath, stop bath and fixing bath, with BOTTLES of CHEMICALS and packages of PHOTO PAPER. Welles uses tape and ALUMINUM FOIL to black-out a window. INT. WELLES' ROOM -- DAY Pizza box on the bedside table. Welles' suits hang in the closet. Welles sits facing a small REEL TO REEL on a desk. He wears white gloves, handles the 8MM FILM, careful to hold it by the edges, holding it up to the light, squinting. Welles puts in a magnifying EYEPIECE, leaning close... WELLES' P.O.V. THROUGH MAGNIFYING LENS: studying the first few inches of exposed film, coming upon TINY LETTERS printed just below the sprocket holes: "SUPRAlux 544." INT. WELLES' ROOM, BATHROOM -- DAY RED BULB in the light socket. Welles threads the 8MM FILM into his enlarger, still in white gloves. He flicks the enlarger on, projecting a sideways IMAGE down onto the enlarger's baseboard, FOCUSING... it's the girl sitting on the bed, early in the snuff film. Welles makes an adjustment to the enlarger's lens; framing tighter on the girl's face, REFOCUSING. INT. WELLES' ROOM -- NIGHT Welles comes out of the makeshift darkroom, holding a PHOTO of the girl. He props the photo up on a dresser, stands looking at it. Sad girl, staring forward. Welles goes to pick up his CELLULAR PHONE, dials. WELLES (into phone) Hello, honey, it's me. (listens) I'm fine, how are you? Welles listens. He turns to look at the girl's photo. FADE TO BLACK: EXT. OFFICE BUILDING, MISSING PERSONS ARCHIVE -- DAY Nondescript. "U.S. Resource Center for Missing Persons." INT. MISSING PERSONS ARCHIVE, OFFICES -- DAY Small. Cubicles. Employees work phones and computers. BULLETIN BOARDS are covered in FAMILY PHOTOS, Polaroids and familiar "HAVE YOU SEEN ME?" missing person/children POSTERS. IN ONE CUBICLE, Welles opens his billfold, shows his identification: a laminated "LICENSED INVESTIGATOR, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania", with WELLES' PHOTO... The DIRECTOR of the center, a tired looking official in bifocals, studies the card. Welles sits. DIRECTOR What can I do for you, Mr. Welles? WELLES Call me Tom. DIRECTOR Alright, Tom. WELLES What I'd like, very simply, is access to your archive. And, now I understand this isn't something you normally do for private citizens... DIRECTOR There are reasons for the way we do things here. WELLES Absolutely. Of course I'll abide by whatever decision you make, but I'd appreciate if you'll hear me out... The director sits back in his chair. WELLES Few days ago, I was contacted by a couple living in Philadelphia, a doctor and his wife. What happened was they picked up a young girl hitchhiking off 81, which heads into Philadelphia, started up a conversation with this girl, she looked homeless, seemed about eighteen maybe. They convinced her to let them buy her a meal in the city. Nice kid, mature, didn't have much to say, but they got a sense she's a runaway, so all through dinner the doctor's working on her, trying to convince her that at the very least she should pick up a telephone. Not surprisingly, she ate her food, excused herself... (snaps fingers) That's the last they saw her. The reason they came to me for help, the reason I'm coming to you, is we had a friend of mine in the department work up a sketch... (shows the POLICE ARTIST SKETCH he photocopied) They want to see if I can I.D. this girl, somehow pass along a message to let the parents know the kid's alive, doing alright. DIRECTOR Why not go to the N.C.I.C. or N.C.M.E.C.? WELLES I figured you share information. DIRECTOR We do. WELLES For whatever reasons I thought you might be more receptive. DIRECTOR Why don't they come to me? WELLES This doctor and wife, they're nice people, but they don't want to get too involved. They're not trying to have the parents come looking for the girl either. You and I both know sometimes, not often, but sometimes there's real reasons why a kid'll run. Molestation, whatever. Besides that, the girl's probably eighteen, so she's legal. DIRECTOR I'm not so sure about this. WELLES They're putting themselves in place of this kid's parents and thinking they'd want to hear their girl's okay, even if that's all they hear. DIRECTOR I can give you my card, if your clients want to call me... Welles accepts a CARD, disappointed. WELLES They were pretty clear they didn't want this coming back on them. DIRECTOR Well, that's all I can do. Sorry. Welles looks at the director, stands, hangs his head. WELLES Who knows... maybe she's already given her parents a call, right? Welles leaves. EXT. OFFICE BUILDING, MISSING PERSONS ARCHIVE -- DAY Welles comes out the front doors, pissed. WELLES Fuck. He tears the card in half and drops it as he heads for his car. After a moment, the director comes out after him... DIRECTOR Excuse me... Tom, hold on... Welles looks back, walks back, glances down... makes sure he stands on the torn card, hiding it underfoot. DIRECTOR Listen, maybe I can help after all. Why don't you come on back in... we'll see what we can do. INT. MISSING PERSONS ARCHIVE, FILE ROOM -- DAY Director leads Welles into this RESEARCH ROOM, a small library with long tables, old COMPUTERS, lots of FILE CABINETS and CARD CATALOGS. Secretaries tend to the files. DIRECTOR This is it. It's not much. (points at computers) We've got less than five percent on computer and we lose that funding in December. I'll have someone show it to you anyway. Other than that, I'm afraid it's the wet thumb method. Welles looks to the many, many file drawers. DIRECTOR Files are mostly by state and year of disappearance. We try to keep the children and adults separate. No eating or smoking in here, but there's a coffee machine in the hall. WELLES Any good? DIRECTOR It's horrible, but it'll be your best friend after a few days. I hope you realize what kind of long shot you're chasing after. WELLES You're gonna be seeing a lot of me. You're sure you don't mind? DIRECTOR It's good what you're doing. The director puts out his hand. Welles looks, shakes. INT. MISSING PERSONS ARCHIVE, FILE ROOM -- DAY -- MONTAGE ON A COMPUTER SCREEN: files open and close -- PICTURE after PICTURE of a MISSING CHILDREN, mostly teenagers, each with physical description, age, date of disappearance, etc. Lost souls, although these are posed portraits, high school yearbook photos and vacation photos, so the children are mostly smiling, happy and healthy. But, all "MISSING." Welles works the computer keyboard and mouse... ON THE SCREEN: the FACES of TEENAGERS, boys and girls, one after the other, MISSING... MISSING... MISSING... INT. CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY -- DAY -- MONTAGE Welles searches the SHELVES of the LIBRARY. He begins taking down various books... "Motion Picture Photography." "Film Stocks and Physical Characteristics." "Super 8 Filmmaking." INT. CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY -- LATER -- MONTAGE In Welles' notepad: "SUPRAlux 544." Welles sits paging through technical photography books. INT. WELLES' ROOM -- NIGHT -- MONTAGE Welles has the 8MM FILM threaded through the projector. He turns the CLATTERING projector on and sits, watching. ON THE WALL: FLASH FRAMES, then... the skinny GIRL in a negligee, sitting on the bed. The CAMERA'S SPOTLIGHT casts long shadows. The girl stares, oblivious... ON THE WALL: a door opens behind the girl, looks like a bathroom, and the MASKED MAN enters, wearing the ghastly WRESTLING MASK. The man goes to stand in front of the girl. He seems to be saying something. The FILM halts. Welles sits forward, hand on the projector. He's seen something. He PLAYS the FILM in REVERSE... ON THE WALL: the Masked Man walks backwards, away from the girl, backwards into the bathroom, door shutting... Welles stops the projector, not taking his eyes from the image. He ADVANCES the film FRAME BY FRAME... FRAME BY FRAME... as the bathroom door opens, and the Masked Man enters... FRAME BY FRAME... as the Masked Man moves forward... door closing behind him... STOP... FREEZE FRAME: a THIRD MAN is reflected in the bathroom mirror. Grainy and blurred, but he's in the room with the girl, standing there, captured in the mirror in this one brief instant just before the bathroom door closes. Welles walks to take a closer look, studying the almost ethereal image of the Third Man. EXT. CLEVELAND STREET CORNER -- DAY -- MONTAGE Welles is in a PHONE BOOTH, feeds many quarters into the phone, waiting, looking at his notepad. WELLES (into PHONE) Hello, Mrs. Christian? Tom Welles. Here's where we stand. I checked the film stock and it's called Supra- lux 544. The company that made that stock discontinued it in '92... (listens) Yeah, about five or six years ago. Anyway, do what you can to dig up your husband's old financial records, look for anything out of the ordinary... INT. MISSING PERSONS ARCHIVE, FILE ROOM -- DAY -- MONTAGE Welles is back at the computer, alone, drinking coffee. ON THE COMPUTER: endless PHOTOS of MISSING CHILDREN. The PHONE CALL CONTINUES in VOICE OVER: WELLES (V.O., cont) Nobody really uses eight millimeter film anymore, so we can assume there are reasons our guys did. First, they could develop it themselves if they had any sort of expertise. Obviously, this isn't the kind of movie you can just drop off at the one-hour photo... INT. WELLES' ROOM -- NIGHT -- MONTAGE Welles just stands, staring at the PHOTO of the GIRL. WELLES (V.O., cont) Second, the film that went through the camera is what we've got. There's no negative. Unlike video, it wasn't meant to be duplicated. No reason for them to risk having more than one copy of their murder floating around... INT. CLEVELAND BAR -- NIGHT -- MONTAGE Local bar. Welles sits drinking with the archive's director, talking, smiling at something the director said. WELLES (V.O., cont) There don't seen to be many fingerprints on the film itself, but I'm going to have to be careful to leave them intact... INT. MISSING PERSON ARCHIVE, FILE ROOM -- DAY -- MONTAGE Welles is tired, unshaven. He's moved on to the physical files, at one table, looking through HUNDREDS of MISSING PERSON BULLETINS. Secretaries tend to other files. WELLES (V.O., cont) It's okay for yours and your husbands fingerprints to be on the film, but you'll have to use me as a middleman if you go to the police. That way I don't have to explain why my prints are on it... INT. WELLES' ROOM -- DAY -- MONTAGE Welles sits with the PROJECTOR ON, watching the film again. WELLES (V.O., cont) There were three men. Two are obvious; the man in the mask and the man running the camera, but I caught a glimpse of a third man in a mirror. It's nothing that can be used for identification, but he was there, watching... ON THE WALL: Masked Man touches the girl's mouth, presses his lips to hers. Masked Man backs away, leaving frame, till the CAMERA MOVES to find Masked Man standing at a table with THREE large BOWIE KNIFES laid out... Welles notices something, puts the projector on FREEZE FRAME. WELLES (V.O., cont) So, there were three. They would have kept it small, wouldn't have let anyone in on it they didn't have to. That's all for now... except, I feel I should tell you... with this looking like it happened at least five or six years ago... Welles walks to the frozen IMAGE on the wall. It shows the Masked Man's hands in frame, fingering the blades. WELLES (V.O., cont) Well, it's not very likely we'll ever find out who this girl was. (listens) I will, I'll keep trying. Goodbye. V.O. PHONE CALL ends with the SOUND of the PHONE HANGING UP. ON THE WALL: there's a DARK SPOT on Masked Man's hand, on the arch between his index finger and thumb. Grainy and hard to make out, but looks like a small TATTOO. INT. WELLES ROOM, BATHROOM -- NIGHT -- END MONTAGE Welles has the 8MM FILM threaded into his photo enlarger, projecting the IMAGE we just saw down onto the baseboard. He re-frames, CLOSER ON the masked Man's hand, REFOCUSING... the black spot is a little clearer, looks like a small STAR tattoo on the back of Masked Man's hand. INT. MISSING PERSONS ARCHIVE, FILE ROOM -- DAY Welles sits hunched over the card catalog, still unshaven, drinking coffee, flipping through smaller PICTURES of MISSING CHILDREN in one drawer, one by one by one... Welles rolls his neck. He looks to see the archive's director in the doorway. The director nods, leaving. Welles gets back to it, stooped over the catalog. FADE TO BLACK: TITLE CARD: three weeks later EXT. OFFICE BUILDING, MISSING PERSON ARCHIVE -- DAY In the lot, Welles gets wearily from his car, smoking. He tosses the cigarette, gets a Thermos off the front seat. INT. MISSING PERSON ARCHIVE, FILE ROOM -- DAY Welles pulls out a card catalog drawer labeled "North Carolina 1992," flipping through picture cards. The FACES of TEENAGERS: a happy BOY with blue eyes... a red headed GIRL with freckles... a ruddy faced BOY... a pretty GIRL with a ribbon in her hair... a black GIRL in a pink dress... a blonde haired BOY with curly hair... Welles furrows his brow. He backtracks to the pretty GIRL with the ribbon in her hair. Welles sits straight. He reaches into his pocket, hands shaking a little, takes out and unfolds the PHOTO he printed of the girl from the snuff film. It's her. Welles compares the two pictures. She's prettier in the card catalog photo, but it's her. Welles can't believe it, looks around. Secretaries at other files don't even know he's there. Welles pulls out his notepad, scribbling down INFORMATION off the card... Writing the girl's name: "Mary Anne Matthews." EXT. INTERSTATE HIGHWAY -- NIGHT Welles, car races past, alone on the dark freeway. EXT. FAYETTEVILLE CITYSCAPE -- ESTABLISHING -- DAY Another small city. Blue skies above. TITLE: Fayetteville, North Carolina EXT. PUBLIC LIBRARY -- ESTABLISHING -- DAY Suburban library. Kids play hop-scotch in the parking lot. INT. FAYETTEVILLE LIBRARY, MICROFICHE ROOM -- DAY Welles works the MICROFICHE MACHINE, scrolling through old issues of the LOCAL NEWSPAPER, finds an ARTICLE headlined "Search Continues for Local Teen." There's a PICTURE of the GIRL, Mary Anne Mathews; the same picture Welles found in the Missing Person Archive. Welles reads the article, writing on a LEGAL PAD. TIME CUT: NEWSPRINT SCROLLS past on the MICROFICHE MACHINE, till... "No Leads in Girl's Disappearance." Same picture. The date at the top: "July 12, 1992." TIME CUT: NEWSPRINT BLURS past... stops on a page of OBITUARIES. Top of the page: "September 4, 1993." CLOSE ON: "Mathews, Robert Steven, 1948-1993." "Dead in an apparent suicide, Robert Mathews was discovered yesterday morning in the basement of..." EXT. MATHEWS HOUSE, FAYETTEVILLE SUBURB -- DAY A tree-lined street of poor, boxy homes. Welles' car parks in front of one HOUSE with a neglected lawn. IN THE CAR Welles, clean shaven, picks a CLIPBOARD with a file folder and his legal pad on it, thumbs pages. He drums his fingers, opens the glove compartment, pulls out the car's registration, other papers and "Jiffy-Lube" service reports, uses them to pad the file. Welles takes a BOTTLE of COLOGNE from his pocket. He considers it, opens the bottle, applies cologne to his neck. EXT. MATHEWS HOUSE, FRONT PORCH -- DAY Welles knocks, clipboard in hand. A sad, middle-aged woman answers, MRS. MATHEWS, looking through the screen door. MRS MATHEWS Yes... ? WELLES (smiles) Hello, Mrs. Mathews, my name's Thomas Jones, I'm a state licensed investigator... Welles holds up his identification only long enough for Mrs. Mathews to see it looks official. WELLES I've been hired as an independent contractor by the U.S. Resource Center for Missing Persons as part of an internal audit. If you have any time over the next few days, I'd like to make an appointment to ask some questions about the disappearance of your daughter. MRS MATHEWS I don't understand, who are... ? WELLES I'm sorry, let me explain, the R.C.M.P. is a support organization and archive, not unlike the Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington. I'm sure you've dealt with them before? MRS MATHEWS Yes, but... WELLES These volunteer organizations are sort of interconnected, functioning hand in hand with law enforcement. The R.C.M.P. brought me in to review their investigations... (holds up clipboard) ... fact-check their records, see if there's anything they missed, anything they should be doing different. I'm here for a few days, before I head back up to Virginia. These reports go to the Justice Department eventually. I spoke to your F.B.I. contact a few days ago, uh... Welles pretends to look for the name on a Jiffy Lube page... WELLES What was the name... ? I've got it here somewhere... MRS MATHEWS Neil... Neil Cole. WELLES (pretends he found it) Right, Agent Cole told me he'd call and let you know to expect me. He didn't call? MRS MATHEWS No. WELLES (looking on legal pad) Well, I'm following up on your daughter, Mary, height; five four, weight; hundred ten pounds, brown eyes, blonde hair. Born April 24, 1976. Missing June 11th, 1992. A runaway, that's how she's listed. Is this information correct... ? Mrs. Mathews stares, nods. WELLES I'm sorry, I know this isn't easy. Is there a more convenient time... ? (looks at watch) Can I buy you lunch, would that be alright? Mrs. Mathews looks him up and down. EXT. DAIRY QUEEN RESTAURANT -- DAY Welles and Mrs. Mathews eat at a PICNIC TABLE on the patio. WELLES It's very important you don't let this raise your expectations. It's not going to effect any ongoing efforts. All I'm saying is, please know, I'm not here to create any false hope. MRS MATHEWS They hired you. You're like, a private detective? WELLES That's exactly what I am. Mrs. Mathews chews, staring off into the distance. MRS MATHEWS I didn't think there were private detectives anymore, except on TV. WELLES You probably expect me to be wearing a trench coat and a hat. Drinking whiskey, chasing women and getting beaten up by guys with broken noses. Want to know what it's really like? It's sitting in a car and staring at a hotel window for three days straight, pissing in a plastic bottle, pardon me, because some guy thinks his wife's cheating on him. Glamorous, huh? And the guy who hired you, he has a hair-lip, dandruff and crooked teeth, and you could have told him the minute you laid eyes on him his wife's cheating, and you don't blame her. Mrs. Mathews smiles. WELLES It's refreshing to actually sit down and meet someone face to face, someone nice like you. Welles smiles. Mrs. Mathews takes out a cigarette. Welles lights her, joins her in smoking, refers to his clipboard. WELLES So, she didn't leave a note? She never gave any indication where she might go, before she left? MRS MATHEWS No. WELLES She just seemed... depressed... ? MRS MATHEWS She didn't seem herself. For months there never was any way to get her to talk about it. One night we went to bed... the next morning she was gone. She took some clothes. WELLES What was she running from? MRS MATHEWS I don't know. WELLES If there's anything you feel uncomfortable talking about, tell me, but I have to ask. Your husband... he committed suicide? MRS MATHEWS Yes. WELLES September 4th, 1993. About a year after Mary disappeared. MRS MATHEWS We were divorced by then. Things fell apart... he was living with a friend... WELLES Why do you think he did it? MRS MATHEWS It got to be too much for him. WELLES You have to forgive me, but in these circumstances... with your daughter... (pause) Were there any indications of... any sort of abuse? MRS MATHEWS There wasn't anything like that. The police and the FBI people asked, but there wasn't anything happened like that, never. My husband... his heart broke when Mary left... WELLES I didn't mean to... MRS MATHEWS You try going through what we did. Bob couldn't take it, that's all. Christ, there's times when it still seems like I can't either. WELLES I had to ask. I apologize. MRS MATHEWS No one knows what it's like. You can't even imagine how much it hurts. Welles is miserable. A few CUSTOMERS walk past, looking at Mrs. Mathews. She tries not to notice then noticing. MRS MATHEWS People remember me from the news. (pause) Can you drive me back now? WELLES Of course. INT. MATHEWS HOUSE, MARY'S ROOM -- DAY Mrs. Mathews enters. Welles follows. This was the girl's room, exactly as she left it -- POSTERS of ACTORS on the wall, many STUFFED ANIMALS on the pink sheets of the carefully made bed. Perfectly preserved. MRS MATHEWS This is her room. Welles looks around, uncomfortable. Shelves have PICTURES of MARY with female friends, a collection of CERAMIC FIGURINES of CLOWNS and ANIMALS. MRS MATHEWS The police made a wreck of it, but I put it back exactly how it was. Just how she likes it. Welles takes a few steps into the room, looks down at a DESK where there are SIX brightly wrapped GIFTS. MRS MATHEWS Those are for her birthday. One for every year she's missed. They'll be waiting for her when she comes back. Welles is nearly overwhelmed by sadness, struggling to hide it. He backs to the door, looks at his watch... WELLES I... I shouldn't take anymore of your time. Maybe we can finish tomorrow. I'll call tomorrow... MRS MATHEWS Okay. EXT. MATHEWS HOUSE -- DAY Welles escapes to his car, climbing in. He starts it up... IN THE CAR Welles drives, tears welling up in his eyes. He has to pull over and park, wiping his tears, fighting for composure. INT. WELLES' ROOM -- NIGHT Welles has unpacked. He's on the bed, on his CELLULAR... WELLES (into phone) You should be able to take a shower and still have hot water left, honey. (listens) Call him back and tell him I said so. The goddamn thing's still under warranty. (listens) I'm okay. It's hard here. It's hard. (listens) I've got a lead I have to follow through. To be honest, I don't think I'm going to get very far. I miss you. I love you. INT. MATHEWS HOUSE, KITCHEN -- MORNING Welles sits at the kitchen table. Mrs. Mathews makes coffee. The home's decor is cheap and flowery. MRS MATHEWS We weren't religious. We never forced religion down her throat, like I've seen some parents do to their kids. We never made her go to church. But, after Mary was gone, that's when I got religious. Mrs. Mathews brings two cups of coffee, sits. MRS MATHEWS Doesn't make much sense, does it? When everything's happy, when life's fine and you have every reason to believe there's a God, you don't bother. Then, something horrible happens... that's when you start praying all the time. That's when you start going to church. WELLES We're all like that. MRS MATHEWS Are you religious? WELLES No. MRS MATHEWS You should be. Mrs. Mathews drinks coffee, stares into the cup. WELLES I've got what I need for my report. There is... there is one thing that bothers me though. MRS MATHEWS What? WELLES It's not really my place, but it's not easy for me to set aside the private detective part of me either. See, I know a little about missing persons. When kids run, they almost always leave a note. It's guilt. They want to say goodbye. MRS MATHEWS There wasn't one. The police looked. WELLES Do you think the police did a good job? MRS MATHEWS I don't know. I think so. WELLES It is possible... and I know this isn't something you want to hear. Your daughter may have tried to hide a note where she thought you would eventually find it, but where she knew your husband would never find it. She might have wanted to tell you something... MRS MATHEWS No. You don't have any reason to think that... WELLES If the police focused their search in her room, her belongings, well that'd be only natural, but they may have been looking in the wrong place. Mrs. Mathews is getting upset. MRS MATHEWS How... how can you say that to me...? WELLES Will you let me look? MRS MATHEWS My husband never laid a hand on her. She would have told me... she would have told me... WELLES You're probably right, and I probably won't find anything. I don't have a right to ask this, and you can kick me out of your house if you want, but this is my profession and there's a part of me that can't let it go. Police are just as human as you or I. They could have missed something. They probably didn't. (pause) Wouldn't you rather know? Mrs. Mathews thinks about it, tortured, shakes her head sadly. MRS MATHEWS Go ahead and look if you want. I don't care what you do. Mrs. Mathews gets up and walks out of the room. INT. MATHEWS HOUSE -- SEARCH MONTAGE -- DAY -In MRS. MATHEWS' BEDROOM, Welles looks through DRESSER drawers, methodically, replacing everything as it was... searches hat boxes and shoe boxes in a CLOSET... takes BOOKS off SHELVES, fanning the pages, shaking them out... -In a BATHROOM, Welles examines the contents of a MEDICINE CABINET, examining old prescription bottles... opens CABINETS under the sink... -In the LIVING ROOM, Mrs. Mathews sits slumped in a chair, staring at a soap opera on TELEVISION, a BOTTLE of scotch on TV tray beside her, drink in hand. -In the KITCHEN, Welles stands on a chair, searches high CABINETS... looks through low CABINETS, on his knees, pulls out pots and pans... fans the pages of COOK BOOKS... -Welles stands in the doorway of MARY'S ROOM, just stares. He takes a few steps back into the HALLWAY, looks up at the ceiling. There's an ATTIC DOOR there. Welles reaches to the door's handle, opens it, unfolds the portable stairs... -In the small ATTIC, Welles uses a penlight FLASHLIGHT, crouched under the low ceiling, looking through dusty BOXES of PHOTOGRAPHS; old photos of a wedding, of grandparents... Welles moves to pull back dusty sheets, finds a large WICKER BASKET and broken BICYCLE underneath... Welles opens the basket, takes out BLANKETS and QUILTS in mothballs. He finds a wide VELVET BOX, takes it out, opens its hinged lid to reveal a set of good SILVERWARE. He touches the tarnished silverware, lifts out the top tray. Underneath, resting on top of more silverware, is a DIARY. Welles opens the DIARY, finds written: "Mary Anne Mathews." Welles turns pages. The DIARY'S about half-full of feminine, cursive handwriting. After the last written page, a PAGE has been TORN OUT. Welles fingers the ragged edge, flips through the blank pages till he comes to the very last page, a GOODBYE NOTE. Welles sits and reads... MARY'S VOICE (V.O.) (emotionless monotone) "Dear mom. If you're reading this, it means I called you from Hollywood, California and told you where to find my diary. I don't think I'll be able to tell you this when I talk to you, so I'm writing it down here. You know I haven't been happy for a long, long time. For a long time now dad's been doing things I couldn't tell you. He's been touching me and it's getting worse. I can't stay anymore. I know you and I haven't always gotten along sometimes, but please don't blame yourself. There isn't anything you can do. I'm going to make a whole new life in California. Maybe someday you'll see me on TV or in magazines. Don't worry about me. Love, Mary Anne." INT. MATHEWS HOUSE, HALLWAY OUTSIDE MARY'S ROOM -- DAY Welles shuts the attic door, takes the DIARY from his pocket, hides it in his waistband at the small of his back. INT. MATHEWS HOUSE, LIVING ROOM -- DAY Welles enters. Mrs. Mathews looks up from the TV. WELLES You were right. (pause) I didn't find anything. I'm going to run and get something to eat. Are you hungry? MRS MATHEWS Yes. INT. COPY SHOP -- LATE DAY Welles uses a self-serve COPY MACHINE, flattening the DIARY on the glass, photocopying the DIARY as quickly as he can. INT. MATHEWS HOUSE, LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT Welles sits picking at fast food in front of him. Mrs. Mathews' food isn't even unwrapped. She's numb from her drink, watching a GAME SHOW, smoking. WELLES Do you ever consider... do you realize that Mary may never come back? Mrs. Mathews looks to Welles, looks back at the TV. MRS MATHEWS I think about it everyday. But, every time the phone rings... every single time, I still think it's her. WELLES It's been six years. MRS MATHEWS What am I supposed to do? Forget her? Time heals all wounds, right? (misery building) She's all I think about, and I've learned to live with that. But, you want the truth... the real truth? If I had a choice... if I had to choose, between her being out there, living a good life and being happy, and me not knowing; never finding out what happened to her... (pause) ... or her being dead and me knowing... (pause) I'd choose to know. Mrs. Mathews stares into the TV, wipes tears. Welles takes a deep breath and holds it. He watches her a long moment, motionless. Finally he stands, voice unsteady. WELLES Excuse me, I have to use your bathroom. INT. MATHEWS HOUSE, HALLWAY OUTSIDE MARY'S ROOM -- NIGHT Welles comes to the attic door, quietly pulls it open. INT. MATHEWS HOUSE, ATTIC -- NIGHT Welles uses his penlight, digs out the DIARY from the hiding place in his waistband, replaces it in the box of silverware, closes the box. INT. MATHEWS HOUSE, MARY'S ROOM -- NIGHT Welles enters, takes a PICTURE FRAME off one shelf, opens the back and takes out the PHOTO of MARY from inside. INT. MATHEWS HOUSE, LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT Mrs. Mathews still gazes into the TV. Welles passes the doorway, not looking in, heading to the front door, opening the door and walking out... Mrs. Mathews doesn't even notice, doesn't look up. EXT. MATHEWS HOUSE -- NIGHT Welles crosses the front lawn, not looking back, heading to the street, getting into his car, starting his car, doing a U-turn, driving away down the street. EXT. FAYETTEVILLE AIRPORT, LONG TERM PARKING -- MORNING Welles' boxes of belongings are piled in the back seat of his car. Welles covers them with a blanket, shuts the door. Welles opens the trunk of his car, pulls back the carpeting. He opens the brown BRIEFCASE. The briefcase is full of CASH, about $10,000, twenties and fifties in bundles. Welles transfers half the money into a carry-on bag, shuts the briefcase, covers it, closes the trunk. INT. AIRPLANE, COACH -- NIGHT -- MONTAGE The cabin's half-full, dark. Passengers sleep. Under the only illuminated reading light, Welles reads the PHOTOCOPIED DIARY. MARY'S VOICE is a again a flat monotone... MARY'S VOICE (V.O.) (as Welles reads) "Dear diary. I have a big math test tomorrow. I have to get better grades. How come everybody does better than me? Kathy doesn't even study and she gets B's. Two boys got in a fight after school today. One boy knocked the other boy's tooth out, at least that's what it looked like. His nose and mouth were bleeding all over the place..." EXT. LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -- MORNING -- MONTAGE An airplane ROARS downwards, heading in for a landing. EXT. LA CITYSCAPE -- ESTABLISHING -- DAY -- MONTAGE An ugly city. "HOLLYWOOD" sign on the smoggy horizon. EXT. HOLLYWOOD HOTEL -- DAY -- MONTAGE A cheap, stucco hotel in a wounded Hollywood neighborhood. INT. HOLLYWOOD HOTEL -- DAY -- MONTAGE Welles' suitcase is open on the bed. Welles sits in a chair with his feet up, sweating in the heat, reading the DIARY. MARY'S VOICE (V.O.) (as Welles reads) "... We're reading The Great Gatsby in English class. It's the story of this guy who has lots of fancy parties and all his friends come around and party with him, but later when he dies nobody comes to his funeral. Someone said there's a movie about it, but I looked in the video store and it wasn't there." Welles flips pages, further back in the DIARY... MARY'S VOICE (V.O.) (as Welles reads) "Dear diary. I started my first job last week working part time at Price Mart department store..." INT. LOS ANGELES BANK, SAFE DEPOSIT VAULT -- DAY -- MONTAGE Welles and a BANK EMPLOYEE both put keys into a SAFE DEPOSIT BOX, unlocking it and sliding out the metal drawer. MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "... The people I work with are all old and fat. All they live for is their next coffee break so they can smoke..." INT. BANK, PRIVACY BOOTH -- DAY -- MONTAGE Welles is alone, opens the empty safe deposit drawer, takes the 8MM FILM from his pocket and puts it in the drawer. MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "... They eat lunch at the snack counter. Hot dogs and soft pretzels. Nachos with that orange cheese that comes out of a pump. I don't know what I'd do if I'm still working there when I get old..." EXT. YOUTH HOSTEL -- ESTABLISHING -- DAY -- MONTAGE A large NEON CROSS identifies this HOSTEL in mid-Hollywood. MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "... I want to be a singer or an actress. I know it's a stupid dream, but I know I can do it if I get a chance..." INT. YOUTH HOSTEL -- DAY -- MONTAGE Welles talks to the MAN behind the counter, shows the PICTURE of MARY taken from Mrs. Mathews' house. MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "... Everyone's always telling me how pretty I am. I don't think I am. When I look in the mirror I wonder who they're talking about." The MAN behind the counter shakes his head. INT. HOMELESS SHELTER -- DAY -- MONTAGE A run-down shelter. Welles shows the PICTURE of MARY to the PROPRIETOR, explaining. The proprietor shakes his head. MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "Dear diary. I went out with Bob today, the cute boy in my science class. He took me to a movie..." EXT. YWCA, LIVING QUARTERS -- DAY -- MONTAGE Welles continues his trek, standing in the dank hallway of a YWCA DORMITORY, showing the PICTURE to a COUNSELOR. MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "... It was the middle of the day, but we held hands. I think he likes me. I really like him. He has black hair and grey eyes..." EXT. LA FREEWAY -- DUSK -- MONTAGE Welles sits in his rental CAR, in a massive TRAFFIC JAM. MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "... He opened the car door for me and paid for the movie. When he took me home he said we should go out again soon. I hope he calls..." EXT. HOLLYWOOD, RED LIGHT DISTRICT -- NIGHT -- MONTAGE Welles drives, looking out the windshield... at decaying "PEEP SHOWS," an "ADULT BOOKSHOP" and "SEX SHOP." MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "Dear diary. Janet says she slept with her boyfriend. I can't believe it. She says they did it last weekend while her parents were out of town..." EXT. HOLLYWOOD, SUNSET BOULEVARD -- NIGHT -- MONTAGE Welles drives, watching overweight PROSTITUTES and tall, muscular TRANSVESTITES prowling the sidewalks in mini-skirts and stained, tight spandex pants. MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "... She said she liked it, but she didn't seem too happy. She didn't tell me many details. She said he used a condom." EXT. SANTA MONICA BOULEVARD -- NIGHT -- MONTAGE Teenaged MALE PROSTITUTES hang out in front of a PIZZA PARLOR. A few have their shirts off, crewcut and muscular. MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "Dear diary. If I save enough money to go to community college maybe I can get good enough grades for a scholarship somewhere else..." EXT. HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD -- DAY -- MONTAGE A tribe of HOMELESS TEENAGERS sits on the sidewalk in front of SOUVENIR SHOPS. They beg money off pedestrians. MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "... I've never been anywhere else. I don't think mom wants to let me go. Every time I try to talk about it she says it'll cost too much or she changes the subject." EXT. CHURCH, SOUP KITCHEN -- DAY -- MONTAGE A long line of HOMELESS PERSONS trails out the door. Welles stands out front, showing the PICTURE to a VOLUNTEER with a broom, and a PRIEST... MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "Dear diary. Something terrible happened today when dad and I were alone. I can't tell anyone. I feel sick. What did I ever do to make this happen to me?" The volunteer and priest can't help. Welles is weary, futility beginning to wear on him, walks to his car... MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "Dear diary. My stomach hurts all the time. I just want to go to sleep and never wake up. I want to get out of my head and stop hearing myself think." INT. WELLES' RENTAL CAR -- IN MOTION -- NIGHT -- MONTAGE Welles smokes, driving, blankly watching the road ahead... MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "Dear diary. Grandma fell and broke her leg last week. We drove down to visit her in the hospital. Hospitals smell like dead people." EXT. FREEWAY -- HELICOPTER SHOT -- NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS FOLLOW Welles' car speeding along... MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "Dear diary. It's happening all the time now. There s nothing I can do. I'm all alone. Everything is bad. I used to have lots of dreams and I'd remember them when I woke up, but that doesn't happen anymore." PULL BACK: still FOLLOWING WELLES' CAR, over the FREEWAY... MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "Dear diary. If I can get to California, I'll be okay. I've got money saved. I can work as a waitress till I get something better. Billy says he and his family went to California once on vacation. He says it never rains. They stayed near the beach and he went swimming in the ocean..." CONTINUE TO PULL BACK -- till Welles' car is very, very far below -- REVEALING the staggering size of the City of Los Angeles, where the lights go on forever and forever. INT. WELLES' ROOM -- NIGHT -- MONTAGE Welles is seated, elbows on his knees, reading the DIARY... MARY'S VOICE (V.O., cont) "... I hope I can be an actress. I hope I can be happy. I'll probably have to go to acting school. I wish I knew someone who lived there. I'll miss my friends, but at least I'll be far away where no one can ever find me." Welles has come to the end of the writing in the DIARY. The next PHOTOCOPIED PAGE shows an image of the TORN RAGGED EDGE of the diary's missing page. EXT. VIDEO PORN SHOP -- DAY Welles enters this "ADULT VIDEO" storefront. INT. VIDEO PORN SHOP -- DAY The CLERK is a sleazy forty-year-old man with rings in his pierced nose and lips, behind a counter by the door. He watches Welles pass. Welles looks around, uncomfortable. A few of the other CUSTOMERS, all men, sneak glances at Welles. Display shelves run floor to ceiling, full of hundreds of shrink- wrapped XXX PORNO TAPES. Welles pretends to browse. Handmade signs above each section identify content: "ANAL," "BIG TITS," "CUMSHOTS," "BONDAGE and FETISH," etc... Welles looks back at the clerk, who stares at Welles. Welles feels obligated to pick up a box and act like he's considering it. He glances at other customers. Each man keeps his eyes forward on the pornography. One guy has his arms full of about ten videos. Welles puts the tape back, walks to the front counter. The clerk watches him the whole time. WELLES Is this pretty much it? The clerk just stares at Welles. WELLES Just... just videos? PIERCED CLERK What are you looking for? Welles considers, decides to leave, exiting... WELLES Nothing. PIERCED CLERK Fuck-head. INT. ADULT BOOKSTORE -- DAY Welles comes in through the blacked-out door. This place is larger than the last. TWO CLERKS are behind the counter. One clerk's pricing porn, the other, MAX, 25, reads a porno- novel. Max has long hair, colorful tattoos covering his forearms, has a HIGHLIGHTER MARKER in his mouth. Welles browses. There's a huge video bargain bin. Walls are covered in videos, sex toys, inflatable women, etc. CUSTOMERS, again all wary males, follow proper porn-shop etiquette; look at the porn, not your fellow shopper. There are "PEEP SHOW" booths in the back. A MAN looks around, trying to be nonchalant, sweating profusely, slipping behind one curtain. Welles pretends to read the packaging on a triple-pack of dildos, looks towards the front... Behind the register, Max takes a look to make sure the other clerk is busy, takes the cap of his Highlighter pen and highlights a section in the book he's reading. Welles notes this. He goes to the substantial MAGAZINE RACK, picks up a porn tabloid, pages through it. He selects sex MAGAZINES and NEWSPAPERS, choosing about twenty-five. Welles takes this pile up to Max, gets out his wallet. Max starts ringing everything up. MAX Big date tonight? WELLES (embarrassed) Yeah... guess so. MAX Can I interest you in a battery operated-vagina? WELLES Pardon me? MAX My boss tells me I have to do more suggestive selling. WELLES Well, it's tempting, but no thanks. MAX It's your call, but you're gonna be sorry when you're in one of those everyday situations that call for a battery-operated vagina and you don't have one. WELLES I'll risk it. Max shoves everything into a bag and hands it over. MAX Thank you for shopping at Adult Bookstore. Have a nice day. Welles takes the bag. Max returns to his book. Welles is leaving, but stops at the end of the counter. WELLES What are you reading? Max holds up the book, "ANAL SECRETARY." MAX Once you pick it up you can't put it down. WELLES Catchy title. What are you really reading? (off Max's look) Hard to believe that book's got any parts worth highlighting. Max takes a glance at the other clerk, opens the pages of the book and shows it to Welles. "Music for Chameleons." WELLES Truman Capote. MAX I tear off the cover and paste this one on... (nods towards clerk) You know how it is. WELLES Wouldn't want to embarrass yourself in front of your fellow perverts. MAX (smiles, shrugs) Might get drummed out of the pornographer's union, and then where would I be? Another CUSTOMER clears his throat, waiting at the register. Max turns to help him. Welles heads out. INT. WELLES' ROOM -- NIGHT Welles is at a table, porn publications spread out before him, looking through the back of a PORNO TABLOID... Turning pages of HARDCORE ADVERTISEMENTS: "Adults Only," "She Male Films," "Amateur Sex Videos," "Women and Animals -- you've got to see it to believe it..." Welles moves on to the next MAGAZINE, turning to the back, again, page after page: "Watersports and Fisting Specialists," "100's of Anal Films," "Asian Sex..." HUNDREDS of 900 NUMBER ads with naked women urging callers to pick up the phone. EROTIC CLASSIFIEDS; hundreds of amateur photos of naked men and women with faces and genitalia blacked over... "Men Seeking Women," "Women Seeking Women", "Men Seeking Men," "Transvestites..." It is endless. More CLASSIFIEDS: "Sex Slaves Wanted," "ACTRESSES WANTED," "Underground Films," "SPECIALTY FILMS OFFERED," "S+M and BONDAGE," "Fetish Videos." Welles leaves it, overwhelmed, goes to lay down on the bed. He picks up his cellular phone, dialing. WELLES (into phone) Hi, honey, how are you? How's Cindy? (listens) The way it's going I'm about ready to pack my bags... INT. NONDESCRIPT ROOM -- NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS In a dark room, we don't know where, a DARK FIGURE of a MAN is silhouetted. He wears HEADPHONES, listening... WELLES' VOICE (V.O.) (through headphones) ... I've got a feeling the person I'm looking for came out here and got swallowed up by the place. AMY'S VOICE (V.O.) (through headphone) Come back now. Just drop it and come back... WELLES' VOICE (V.O.) (through headphone) I would if I could. I'll be home soon, believe me. It won't be long. AMY'S VOICE (V.O.) (through headphone) I miss you. INT. WELLES ROOM -- NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS Welles shuts his eyes, still on the cellular... WELLES (into phone) I miss you too. I love you very much. Give Cinderella a kiss for me and tell her I love her, alright? (listens) Goodnight. INT. ADULT BOOKSTORE -- DAY Max is at the register. A crewcut WOMAN in overalls works behind the counter with him. Welles approaches. WELLES Remember me? MAX Came back for that battery-operated vagina, right? Told you you would. Welles shows his IDENTIFICATION, lets Max get a good look. WELLES I need some information. Thought you might be able to help. MAX (of identification) Thomas Welles. Nice picture. Welles takes out an ENVELOPE, puts it on the counter. WELLES I'll be outside having a cigarette. Welles leaves. Max watches him go. Max opens the envelope, takes out two fifty dollar bills, pockets them. MAX (to other clerk) Cover me, Beth. I'm taking a break. EXT. ADULT BOOKSTORE -- DAY Welles stands down the sidewalk, smoking. Max comes out from the porn shop, walks to Welles, looking around. MAX I don't know what you're looking for, mister, but so we're clear from the start, I'm straight. WELLES Good for you. Welles and Max walk down the block, past HOMELESS MEN with shopping carts overflowing with junk. WELLES How long you been working there? MAX Three, four years. WELLES What's your name, if you don't mind me asking? MAX Max. WELLES Well, here's the deal, Max. This thing I'm on right now has something to do with underground pornography. Stuff that's sold under the counter, illegally... MAX There's not much illegal. WELLES Well, whatever there is, whoever's dealing, however it's done, I want to know. I want a good look, so if you've got that kind of connection, great. If not, speak now. MAX You're not a cop, are you? If I ask and you are, you have to tell me. WELLES I'm not a cop. MAX You're a private eye. Like Shaft. WELLES Not quite. MAX From Pennsylvania. P.I. from PA. What are you doing out here? WELLES Well, there's the thing; you're not gonna know anything about what I'm doing, but you can make some money. MAX How much? WELLES How much do you make now? MAX Four hundred a week, off the books. WELLES Okay, let's pretend I live in the same fantasy world where you make four hundred a week in that dump. I'll give you six hundred for a few days. MAX Sounds good, pops. WELLES Here's my number if you need it... (writes on scrap paper) When can you start? MAX Tomorrow night, I get off at eight. WELLES See you then. Oh, and, don't call me "pops." Welles walks away. INT. WELLES ROOM -- NIGHT Welles sleeps, despite the stead SOUND of TRAFFIC racing by his window. The PHONE RINGS, waking him. Welles looks at the clock radio, 2:23am, reaches to answer the phone... WELLES (into phone) ... Hello... ? MAX (V.O.) (from phone) Wake up, pops. Your education begins tonight. EXT. DOWNTOWN -- NIGHT Against the backdrop of downtown LA's bright skyscrapers, Welles' rental car heads into the lower bowels of the city, smaller, older, darker buildings... EXT. DOWNTOWN STREETS -- NIGHT The only people on the street are HOMELESS and SHADY CHARACTERS. Welles' car makes its way to a big deserted PARKING LOT. There are a few cars parked in one corner. Welles parks near the other cars and gets out. Max stands against a chain link fence. Welles goes to meet him. MAX Come on. Max leads the way, across the lot, towards dark alleyways. EXT. DOWNTOWN ALLEYWAY -- NIGHT Max and Welles move through this filth strewn alley between decaying brink buildings. They cone to a STAIRWELL leading down to pitch dark... INT. OLD BUILDING -- NIGHT Max enters through a crooked door, heads into a narrow, labyrinth hallway lit by bare bulbs. Welles follows. They come to another STAIRWAY leading down. At the bottom, a thick-necked GOON stands guarding double doors. GOON Are you a law enforcement agent or in any way affiliated with law enforcement? MAX Fuck you, Larry. Max heads to the double doors, waits for Welles. GOON (to Welles) Are you a law enforcement... ? WELLES No. INT. BASEMENT -- NIGHT Max and Welles enter through the double doors, into a kind of small, underground porn flea market. It's incredibly quiet. About fifteen CARD TABLES are set up in rows. The MEN behind the tables and the thirty or so "CUSTOMERS" looking through the merchandise make those in the previous porn shops look like high society. These are MIDDLE-AGED MEN, most balding, some with pot bellies, in shorts and tube socks, in sweatpants and Members Only jackets: plain men, but with a look of desperation in their eyes, glancing around nervously, greasy and afraid. ONE DEALER We're shutting down in fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes. Welles makes his way to the tables, wary. One table is covered in dirty cardboard boxes, filled with HUNDREDS of PHOTOS of young children, mostly boys, naked. Each photo is wrapped in plastic, censored by masking tape. Welles swallows back disgust. The next table is piled high with used pornographic MAGAZINES. There are baggies with COLORFUL PILLS laid out. X-rated Polaroids wrapped in rubberbands. Max follows behind, unaffected, smokes a cigarette. Another table offers VIDEO TAPES with no identifying marks other than hand written labels with numbers written out, "two," "sixteen," "five." And many bootleg VIDEOS with grainy, homemade labels showing WOMEN in extreme BONDAGE. Welles watches out the corner of his eye as the PLUMP MAN beside him pays for a thick stack of kiddie porn pictures. Welles waits till the man moves on, addresses the angry looking DEALER who's counting money. WELLES (points to numbered videos) What are these? ANGRY DEALER Mixed hard bondage. Rape films. Sick shit. Buy five, get one free. Welles looks around, wipes sweat off his top lip. WELLES Anything harder? ANGRY DEALER There's nothing harder. WELLES Snuff? ANGRY DEALER What you see is what I got, mister. WELLES You know where I can get it? I have a lot of money to spend. ANGRY DEALER There ain't no such thing as snuff. Why don't you fuck off? The dealer sits and keeps counting cash. Welles moves on Beyond the tables there's a CURTAINED DOORWAY. Welles walks to it, enters... INSIDE THE CURTAIN Folding chairs face a SCREEN. A PROJECTOR shows a silent movie; a BUXOM WOMAN in nurses uniform prepares an enema bag and tube. A hairy, overweight MAN lays face down on an examination table, naked, arms tied behind his back. In the darkness, a MAN shifts in his chair, grunting, obviously masturbating. A few chairs away, a man is bent over, moving his head in the lap of SOMEONE in a BLONDE WIG. A LARGE MAN approaches Welles from the dark. LARGE MAN You have to pay to come in here. Welles backs away, shuts the curtain. INT. ALL-NIGHT COFFEE SHOP -- NIGHT Not many people in the place. Welles drinks coffee. Max eats a huge breakfast. MAX You've got Penthouse, Playboy, Hustler, etc. Nobody even considers them pornography anymore. Then, there's mainstream hardcore. Triple X. The difference is penetration. That's hardcore. That whole industry's up in the valley. Writers, directors, porn stars. They're celebrities, or they think they are. They pump out 150 videos a week. A week. They've even got a porno Academy Awards. America loves pornography. Anybody tells you they never use pornography, they're lying. Somebody's buying those videos. Somebody's out there spending 900 million dollars a year on phone sex. Know what else? It's only gonna get worse. More and more you'll see perverse hardcore coming into the mainstream, because that's evolution. Desensitization. Oh my God, Elvis Presley's wiggling his hips, how offensive! Nowadays, Mtv's showing girls dancing around in thong bikinis with their asses hanging out. Know what I mean? For the porn-addict, big tits aren't big enough after a while. They have to be the biggest tits ever. Some porn chicks are putting in breast implants bigger than your head, literally. Soon, Playboy is gonna be Penthouse, Penthouse'll be Hustler, Hustler'll be hardcore, and hardcore films'll be medical films. People'll be jerking off to women laying around with open wounds. There's nowhere else for it to go. WELLES Interesting theory. MAX What you saw tonight, we're not talking about a video some dentist takes home over the weekend. We're talking about stuff where people get hurt. Specialty product. WELLES Child pornography. MAX There's two kinds of specialty product; legal and illegal. Foot fetish, shit films, watersports, bondage, spanking, fisting, she- males, hemaphrodites... it's beyond hardcore, but legal. This is the kind of hardcore where one guy's going to look at it and throw up, another guy looks at it and falls in love. Now, with some of the S+M and bondage films, they straddle the line. How are you supposed to tell if the person tied up with the ball gag in their mouth is a consenting or not? Step over that line, you're into kiddie porn. Rape films, but there aren't many. I've never seen one. WELLES Snuff films. MAX I heard you asking. That guy wasn't yanking you around. There's no such thing. WELLES What other ways are there to get illegal films? Who do you see? MAX First of all, basement sales like tonight aren't gonna last much longer. It's too risky, one, and two, everything's going on the internet. Anyone with a computer and enough patience can find anything he wants. It's heaven for those degenerate chicken-hawks. They're swapping pictures back and forth as fast as their modems can zap 'em. But, there's still some weird shit under the counter where I work sometimes. No one knows where it comes from. That's local underground, where information spreads by word of mouth. Those are zombies, hardcore junkies. Their hands are permanently pruned. They go out in the sun they don't burn, they blister. Other than that, all I know about is the mail. Classified ads in the paper with hidden codes. Secret couriers. Credit card orders to dummy corporations. Interstate wire transfers. Revolving P.O. boxes. But, if you're asking me who do you go to to get illegal shit... who knows? That's the whole point -- the seller stays as far away from the buyer as possible, and vice versa, and cops can't trace the deal. There's ways to do it so nobody knows who anybody is. Welles watches Max eat. WELLES How old are you? MAX Twenty-five. WELLES Where are your parents? MAX I don't know, where are yours? WELLES I don't mean any offense... but what are you doing mixed up in all this? MAX I'm not mixed up in anything, hayseed. What are you talking about? WELLES You just strike me as smart enough to be doing something else. MAX Yeah, I'm a real genius. What choices have I got? Fuck, just because I know about stuff like tonight doesn't mean I deal it. I work a job. It beats pumping gas, beats making hamburgers. WELLES You're telling me it doesn't get to you? MAX You can't sit there all day watching the parade of losers that comes into that place without going numb. So what? Am I gonna go off and be a race car driver? Go to Harvard? Run for President? What about you, pops? WELLES What about me? MAX I see a ring on your finger. You have any kids? WELLES A daughter. MAX So, you have a wife and kid waiting for you in Pennsylvania... what are you doing mixed up in all this? WELLES Good question. EXT. ALL NIGHT COFFEE SHOP -- NIGHT Max and Welles comes out to the sidewalk, talking. ACROSS THE STREET INSIDE A PARKED CAR, through the windshield, SOMEONE watches Max and Welles say goodnight. Max walks to a waiting taxi. It's the sinister lawyer watching, LONGDALE, the late Mr. Christian's attorney, watching Welles go to his rental car. INT. WELLES' ROOM -- NIGHT -- MONTAGE Welles is seated, PROJECTOR RUNNING, watching the 8MM film. The last of the film makes its way through, threading out. The take-up reel spins, the film's tail flapping... Welles stares at the blank white square of light projected onto the wall. CELLULAR PHONE is HEARD RINGING... Welles finally looks to the projector, turns it off. The PHONE'S RINGING. Welles goes to sit on the bed, looking at the cellular phone on the bedside table. RINGING... Welles lets it RING. RINGING... RINGING... till it finally stops. Welles lays back on the bed and shuts his eyes. INT. CHRISTIAN HOUSE, MR CHRISTIAN'S OFFICE -- DAY Mrs. Christian is behind the desk, surrounded by BOXES of BANK RECORDS and FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, on the PHONE. MRS CHRISTIAN (into phone) My husband had five cash accounts he used to temporarily hold stock profits. Between November of 1991 and March of 1992, he wrote one check out to cash from each account. He wrote these himself... INT. PHONE BOOTH, HOLLYWOOD -- DAY -- CONTINUOUS Welles is in the booth, listening... WELLES (into phone) Okay... MRS CHRISTIAN (V.O.) (from phone) My husband never dealt with money personally, certainly not cash. WELLES I'm not positive this means anything. MRS CHRISTIAN (V.O.) The checks were for odd amounts... INT. MR CHRISTIAN'S OFFICE -- DAY -- CONTINUOUS Mrs. Christian has the amounts written out on paper. MRS CHRISTIAN (into phone) One was for two hundred thousand, one dollar and thirteen cents. Another was for three hundred thousand, six hundred fifty four dollars and seventy six cents... WELLES (V.O.) (from phone) Okay, I follow you so far... MRS CHRISTIAN Totalled together, these five checks from five different accounts, they equal one million dollars. INT. PHONE BOOTH -- DAY -- CONTINUOUS WELLES (into phone) You're joking. MRS CHRISTIAN (V.O.) (from phone) To the penny. Exactly one million dollars in cash. Welles considers this, lost in thought. MRS CHRISTIAN (V.O.) Hello... ? WELLES I'm here. MRS CHRISTIAN (V.O.) Do you think the film could have cost that much? WELLES For a human life... murder on film, no statute of limitations. Who knows? It sure could have. I'd like you to overnight me a copy of those checks, then put them in a safe deposit box. MRS CHRISTIAN (V.O.) Okay. WELLES Send it to me through the post office like we arranged. No return address. You dug this up all by yourself? MRS CHRISTIAN (V.O.) You told me to look, so I looked. WELLES You're one hell of a detective, Mrs. Christian. EXT. MISSION YOUTH HOSTEL -- DAY TEENAGERS work cleaning this large DORMITORY, sweeping and mopping the floor, making the bunk beds, washing windows. Welles stands with an elderly, black NUN in plain clothing. WELLES Her name was Mary Anne Mathews. Welles hands the woman the PICTURE of MARY. The woman puts on her glasses, looks at the picture... looks at Welles. NUN Yes... I remember Mary WELLES You... you do? You're sure? Please, Sister, will you take another look, make sure... NUN (examines picture) Yes. I remember her. INT. MISSION YOUTH HOSTEL, STORAGE AREA -- DAY In a basement corner, Welles watches as the nun uses keys to open the door of a chain-link STORAGE CAGE. The cage is full of junk, BOXES, LAMPS, stacks of CHAIRS. NUN She lived here for only about a month, if I recall correctly. She didn't return one night. She never came back. I didn't know what to think... The nun enters the cage, pushes old BOXES out of her way, looks up a cob-web covered METAL SHELVES. NUN Do you know what happened to her? WELLES I'm trying to find out. She was a runaway. I'm looking into it for her parents. The nun sees what she wants, finds a STEP LADDER, tries to open it. Welles comes to help her. NUN (pointing on shelf) Can you get that down for me? Welles climbs the ladder, points at boxes... NUN No, the next shelf... there... Welles takes down a small SUITCASE. It's covered in dust. He climbs down the ladder with it. WELLES What is this? NUN Those are her belongings. WELLES Her belongings? NUN That's her suitcase. I had forgotten it, till you showed me her picture. Welles puts the suitcase down, examines the LUGGAGE TAG: "Mary Anne Mathews," no address. Welles looks to the nun. WELLES Whatever possessed you to keep this all this time? NUN She was the kindest, sweetest girl you'd ever want to meet. Oh, I adored her. I supposed I always hoped she'd be back. After a time, all I could do was pray she had moved on to better things. Can you get this suitcase to her parents, if you think it's appropriate? WELLES I'll do what I can. INT. WELLES' ROOM -- NIGHT Welles puts Mary's SUITCASE on the bed, opens it. He takes out some of Mary's clothing, examines it, lays it aside. He takes out a ROSARY, more CLOTHING. Resting on a SWEATER are two CERAMIC FIGURINES; a teddy bear and kitten. Welles examines them, frowning, puts them aside. He takes out yellowed NEWSPAPER; Help Wanted CLASSIFIEDS, "July 2, 1992." Several job possibilities circled, others crossed out. He finds baggie containing a few old JOINTS. All that's left are more items of CLOTHING, a TOOTHBRUSH and an ADDRESS BOOK. Welles examines the address book, finds a folded piece of paper in the blank pages, unfolds it... it's the TORN DIARY PAGE, a POEM written in Mary's hand... MARY'S VOICE (V.O.) (as Welles reads) "Star light, star bright, First star I've seen tonight, Wish I may, wish I might, Have this wish I wish tonight." Welles goes to a drawer, takes out the photocopy of Mary's DIARY. He turns to the ragged edge of the torn page, puts the DIARY PAGE against it. Perfect match. Welles stands looking at the poem. He turns the page over, finds written, in cursive: Models Wanted 213-555-6643 EXT. PHONE BOOTH -- DAY Welles dials the number off the back of the torn diary page, phone to his ear. It RINGS, RINGS, RINGS... MAN'S VOICE (V.O.) (from phone) Celebrity Films. Welles hangs up, begins searching the booth's YELLOW PAGES. EXT. WILSHIRE OFFICE BUILDING -- DAY A poverty stricken business section of Wilshire. Welles gets out of his parked car, looks up at a decaying Art Deco building that's painted blue top-to-bottom. Welles crosses through traffic. INT. WILSHIRE OFFICE BUILDING, LOBBY -- DAY Welles studies the REGISTRY, finds "Celebrity Films." INT. WILSHIRE OFFICE BUILDING, STAIRWELL -- DAY Paint's peeling. Walls are water stained. Welles climbs stairs, winded, sweating, up the stairwell... INT. WILSHIRE OFFICE BUILDING, 8TH FLOOR HALL -- DAY Welles comes out a stairwell DOOR, catching his breath. A couple of SECRETARIES wait for the elevator. Welles moves down the hall, around a corner. Each office door has a window of pebbled, translucent glass. There's a "Dental Office," "Wilson Travel Cruises," and at the end of the hall, "Celebrity Films Inc., Eddie Poole, Professional Casting and Distribution, Suite 804." Welles heads back the way he came. EXT. WILSHIRE OFFICE BUILDING -- DAY Welles crosses back to the other side of the street, goes to stand near his car. He looks up at the blue office building, counting up floors, counting windows across. Satisfied, he turns, backing up, looking up at the tall OFFICE BUILDING across from the blue building. There's a sign on this adjacent building, "OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE." INT. ADJACENT OFFICE, 9TH FLOOR -- DAY Empty office. Welles is let in by a disinterested LANDLORD. Welles gives a cursory look around, goes to the windows and opens the blinds. These windows afford an excellent view of the blue building across the street, at about 8th floor level. WELLES This is better. (turns to landlord) This will be fine. INT. ADJACENT OFFICE -- NIGHT Welles has transferred most of his belongings here, SUITCASE open on the floor, CARD TABLE set up with fast food on it, an ARMY COT against one wall. Welles sits in a chair at the window, looks through BINOCULARS on a TRIPOD. WELLES' P.O.V., THROUGH BINOCULARS: searching up the dark floors of the blue building, as Welles counts under his breath. Moving over... stopping on one window, FOCUSING... Welles locks the tripod. He goes to sit on the army cot, picks up his CELLULAR. He looks at the phone, deciding. He puts down the phone. He turns off the LAMP on the floor, lays back in the cot, going to sleep. INT. ADJACENT OFFICE -- DAY WELLES' P.O.V., THROUGH BINOCULARS: watching the window of Celebrity Films Inc. We can see most of the office from here. It's crowded with junk, BOXES, piles of VIDEO TAPES. There's a disorganized DESK by the window. Welles sits looking through the binoculars. THROUGH BINOCULARS: a pudgy man, EDDIE POOLE, in a loud, print shirt, comes to sit at the desk, looks through mail. He smells sleazy even from here, lots of jewelry, Lots of rings. He drinks coffee, answers the phone. He talks into the phone, looking for something on his desk, agitation growing, till he's shouting, then slams the phone down. Welles rises. He looks to the wall where THREE PHOTOGRAPHS culled from the snuff film are pinned up; the picture of Mary, the picture of Masked Man's tattooed hand, and... ... the grainy image of the Third Man in the mirror. Welles comes to study this third photo. FADE TO BLACK: INT. ADJACENT OFFICE -- DAY THROUGH BINOCULARS: Eddie packs VIDEO TAPES into a box, covering them with Styrofoam peanuts, sealing the box. FADE TO BLACK: INT. ADJACENT OFFICE -- DAY THROUGH BINOCULARS: Eddie finishes a call and hangs up. He sits back in his chair. He starts looking in his desk drawers, finds a MAGAZINE and opens it on the desk. It's porn. Eddie turns pages, looking at naked women. He sits back in his chair, begins unbuckling his belt. Welles pulls back from the binoculars in disgust. WELLES No thank you. FADE TO BLACK: INT. ADJACENT OFFICE -- NIGHT THROUGH BINOCULARS: Eddie's on the phone, pouring himself a drink from the liquor bottle on his desk, finishing the call, hanging up. He shakes his head in disgust, drinks the drink, walks out of view. After a moment, the lights go out. EXT. HOLLYWOOD HILLS -- NIGHT An old, dented CAR makes its way up the tight, twisting roads of the Hollywood Hills. Eddie's at the wheel. Not far behind, Welles' rental car follows... FURTHER ON Eddie's car pulls into the driveway under the porch of a ramshackle HOUSE, parks. Welles' car passes by... FURTHER, AROUND A CURVE Welles' car slows once it's out of sight, turns around, moving back down the hill, slowly... INT. WELLES' CAR -- CONTINUOUS Welles turns out his headlights, coming around the curve just far enough so the ramshackle house is in view. Welles watches Eddie walk up the stairs to the house. FADE TO BLACK: INT. ADJACENT OFFICE -- DAY THROUGH BINOCULARS: Eddie has a visitor. There's a pretty GIRL, wearing a tube top, in a chair facing his desk. Eddie's talking, gesticulating, smiling, cajoling. Welles watches through binoculars. THROUGH BINOCULARS: Eddie's still taking, stands, coming around the desk and placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. The girl says something. Eddie responds. The woman shakes her head, getting up to leave. Eddie seems to be asking her to stay, following as she moves out of view. Eddie comes back alone, sits at his desk, picks up the phone. INT. ESPIONAGE SHOP -- DAY Ultra high tech for sale. Welles examines items on the sales counter as the SALESPERSON watches: a pair of sma1l, round LISTENING DEVICES, a complicated RECEIVER/TAPE RECORDER, and a TONE DECODER with LED window. WELLES Okay, I'll take it all. SALESPERSON Excellent. we accept MasterCard and American Express. WELLES Cash. Welles takes out a thick wad, starts counting. SALESPERSON Alright. (at register) May I have your phone number, area code first? WELLES No, you may not. SALESPERSON Okay. Fine. Welles lays the money on the counter. The salesperson takes the money, recounting. SALESPERSON I'm required by state law to inform you that, while it's perfectly legal for you to purchase these items, it is illegal for you to use them for any sort of... WELLES Yeah, I know the spiel. If you could bag it, I'll be on my way, thank you. SALESPERSON Certainly, sir. The salesperson starts punching keys on the register. EXT. WILSHIRE OFFICE BUILDING -- NIGHT The blue building sits completely dark. INT. WILSHIRE OFFICE BUILDING, 8TH FLOOR HALL -- NIGHT Welles comes quietly out from the stairwell, wears gloves. He moves down the hall to the door of "Celebrity Films Inc." He kneels, begins using LOCK-PICKING TOOLS on the door. INT. CELEBRITY FILMS OFFICE -- NIGHT Welles enters, shuts the door and locks it. He takes out his penlight. There are POSTERS for cheap PORN FILMS on the wall that we couldn't see through binoculars. Titles like "Sex Doctor," "Deep Ass," and "Penal Colony." There a two FILE CABINETS. Welles pulls a few drawers, finds them locked. VIDEO CASSETTES are everywhere, on the cabinets, on shelves, piled high on the floor. Welles goes to Eddie's desk, looking in drawers. One drawer is full of X-RATED MAGAZINES. Another's stuffed with paperwork, call sheets, contracts. Welles picks up Eddie's phone, unscrews the earpiece. He takes the small, round LISTENING DEVICE from his pocket, peels off backing to expose adhesive. He attaches the listening device inside the phone, puts it back together. Welles moves towards the door, sweeps the room with the penlight. He stops at the file cabinets, takes his lock- picking tools out, begins working on one file's lock. He turns the lock, opens a file drawer. Empty. He opens another. Inside: piles of CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. Welles clenches his jaw. Faces of children. Shirtless boys. Girls in pigtails. INT. ADJACENT OFFICE -- DAY Welles' RECEIVER/TAPE RECORDER'S set up by the window, recording, with the TONE DECODER plugged into it. Welles LISTENS through HEADPHONE, looking through binoculars. EDDIE (V.O.) (through headphones) ... half a dozen. This is good stuff, Jimbo... THROUGH BINOCULARS: Eddie's at his desk, on the PHONE... EDDIE (V.O.) You know how my tapes sell. People eat this stuff up. MALE VOICE (V.O.) (from phone) I had three jerkoffs trying to return your tapes last month. Do you know how bad a skin flick has to be for some jackass to come back into my place with a fucking receipt, and try to fucking return it? EDDIE (V.O.) Maybe there's something wrong with the scumbag customers coming into your place, ever think of that? MALE VOICE (V.O.) The only thing wrong is the cheap, softcore crap you're peddling, Eddie. Where do you get this stuff? EDDIE (V.O.) Look, you cocksucker... MALE VOICE (V.O.) Get together some upscale product where the girls still have teeth in their head. Till then, fuck you. EDDIE (V.O.) Fuck you! THROUGH BINOCULARS: Eddie slams down the phone. He CANNOT BE HEARD any longer. He's cursing, shuffling paperwork. Welles takes off headphones, picks up his cellular phone. He drinks soda, opens the phone, dials, nervous, then looks back through the binoculars. He waits, clears his throat. The PHONE'S RINGING... RINGING... On the floor, the REELS of the tape recorder are TURNING... THROUGH BINOCULARS: Eddie answers the phone... EDDIE (V.O.) Celebrity Films. WELLES (V.O.) Eddie. EDDIE (V.O.) Yeah, who's this? WELLES (V.O.) I know what you did. EDDIE (V.O.) What? WELLES (V.O.) I know what you did. EDDIE (V.O.) Who is this. WELLES (V.O.) You murdered that girl, Eddie. Six years ago... EDDIE (V.O.) What the fuck are you.. ? WELLES (V.O.) You killed that girl and you put it on film. You and your pals, you're fucked. You fucked up real good. Welles hits disconnect, still looking through binoculars. THROUGH BINOCULARS: Eddie's slow to hang up the phone. He stands, looking down at the phone, frozen. Finally, he runs his hands through his hair, looks around the room, sits back down. He gets out his bottle and pours himself a drink. Welles watches through binoculars, puts headphones back on. WELLES Come on, Eddie... THROUGH BINOCULARS: Eddie sits motionless. WELLES (O.S.) ... come on... THROUGH BINOCULARS: Eddie picks up the phone, DIALS a NUMBER. We hear the PHONE RING in the HEADPHONES MAN'S VOICE (V.O.) (through headphones) ... Hello? EDDIE (V.O.) (through headphones) Dino, it's Eddie... Eddie Poole... DINO (V.O.) What do you want? EDDIE (V.O.) I just got a call... two seconds ago, some motherfucker called... says he knows about the loop. DINO (V.O.) What are you talking about? EDDIE (V.O.) The loop! The girl we did, what the fuck do you think I'm talking about?! This guy calls and says he knows about the fucking loop... DINO (V.O.) Bullshit. EDDIE (V.O.) I'm telling you... DINO (V.O.) Blow me, you paranoid fuck, that's impossible. Why are you bothering me with this... ? EDDIE (V.O.) Because somebody just fucking called me and fucking laid it out! DINO (V.O.) There's nothing there, you brain- dead cunt. Think about it. There's absolutely no way in this world to connect us to anything. I want you to hang the phone up, and if you call me about this again I'm going to send a friend of mine out there and have him crack you open with a fucking rib spreader. EDDIE (V.O.) Dino... DINO (V.O) Nobody knows anything. THROUGH BINOCULARS: as DINO is HEARD HANGING UP, Eddie reacts, picks up his phone and throws it across the office. Welles sits back, trying to accept the realization that he's found them. He looks to the PHOTO of the Third Man. WELLES That is you, isn't it, Eddie? Welles goes to the RECORDER, turns on the TONE DECODER. Its LED window LIGHTS UP. Welles hits STOP, REWIND, PLAY... WELLES VOICE (V.O.) (from recorder) ... and your pals, you're fucked... Hits FAST FORWARD... hits PLAY, watching the TONE DECODER. From the RECORDER, the SOUND of EDDIE DIALING a NUMBER on his touch tone phone... and as EACH TONE is HEARD, a corresponding NUMBER appears on the DECODER'S LED readout: ...1 212 555 9906... The recorder continues, REPLAYING the CONVERSATION between Eddie and Dino, while Welles studies the green LED digits. WELLES (quiet, to himself) Two one two. EXT. MANHATTAN CITYSCAPE -- ESTABLISHING -- NIGHT The brilliant lights of New York's peerless skyscrapers. EXT. 59TH STREET BRIDGE -- NIGHT FOLLOW Welles' Ford as it moves along with traffic, crossing the 59th Street Bridge, into the heart of Manhattan. EXT. BANK -- ESTABLISHING -- DAY "Chase Manhattan Bank," mid-town. INT. CHASE MANHATTAN BANK, SAFE DEPOSIT BOOTH -- DAY Welles puts the 8MM FILM into SAFE DEPOSIT DRAWER, shuts it. INT. NY PUBLIC LIBRARY, REFERENCE -- DAY Busy and crowded, but quiet. Welles places a massive tome down on a table: "Haines Criss-Cross Directory." Welles sits, takes out his notepad, referring to the phone number written: "(212) 555-9906." He opens the reference book, searching pages... Thousands of TELEPHONE NUMBERS are LISTED in SEQUENCE, each with an address. Welles runs his finger down the page. EXT. SOHO STREETS -- DAY PEDESTRIANS everywhere. Streets are clogged with DELIVERY TRUCKS loading and unloading. Cars horns blow. Welles walks to an old, WAREHOUSE BUILDING shoulder to shoulder with other buildings, labeled "1204" in burnished steel. Welles climbs the stairs, examines the buzzers. The top button's labeled "Greystone Imports," the bottom button reads "Lang Interior Design, by appt." The middle button is labeled only by a drawing of a BLACK WIDOW SPIDER. Welles looks up at the building. EXT. 1204 WAREHOUSE, SOHO -- LATER DAY The sun is low. Less activity on the street. Welles leans against a car down the street, smoking a cigarette. TWO WOMEN walk this way, both in spiked high heels, dressed in cheap, short, formfitting skirts, both carrying duffel bags. They start up the stairs of 1204... Welles throws his cigarette, walks to follow. The women hit the center button. A BUZZER sounds as they head inside. Welles hurries up the stairs, catching the door before it closes. INT. 1204 WAREHOUSE, ELEVATOR -- DAY Welles follows the women into a decrepit ELEVATOR. One woman hits "2." Welles hits "3," steps back in the corner. Elevator doors creak closed. The two women are heavily made up, pretty, but worn, eyes dull. Welles looks down at the leg of one woman, noticing bruises through her fishnet stockings, poorly covered by make-up. Elevator doors open on the SECOND FLOOR. The two women get out and walk down a grey hallway, towards DOUBLE DOORS painted black. Welles stops the elevator door from closing. The women push the INTERCOM at the black doors. Another dull BUZZ is HEARD as the women enter. The low rumble of HEAVY METAL MUSIC is HEARD, SILENCED as doors swing shut. Welles lets the elevator close. EXT. 1204 WAREHOUSE -- DAY The elevator opens on the FIRST FLOOR. Welles gets out, instead of leaving the way he came, heads towards the rear... FOLLOW him down a hallway, past a SERVICE ELEVATOR... EXT. 1204 WAREHOUSE -- DAY Welles comes out BACK DOORS into an sunless alleyway with fire escapes above. There's a TRASH DUMPSTER, overflowing. Rats scatter upon Welles, arrival. Welles looks to make sure he's alone. He starts tearing open GARBAGE BAGS. Flies swarm. One bag's filled with empty food containers and old newspapers. Welles tears open another bag, finds burnt out FLORESCENT LIGHTBULBS, digs out a handful of empty PHOTO PAPER PACKAGES, bottles of DEVELOPING CHEMICALS. He pulls out a few MAGAZINES; Time, Newsweek, etc... The magazines are cut up, falling apart, with pictures chopped out from many pages. Welles examines ADDRESS LABELS: "Dino Velvet/D.V. Films 1204 Keller Street New York, NY 10049" INT. PHONE BOOTH, NYC STREETS -- NIGHT Welles is on the PHONE. The city bustles past. WELLES (into phone) What do you know about a guy called Dino Velvet? Dino Velvet Films? INT. ADULT BOOKSTORE -- DAY -- INTERCUT Max is on the phone by the register, ringing purchases. MAX (into phone) Dino Velvet... yeah, he's like the John Luc Godard of S+M flicks, supposed to be a real weirdo. WELLES (V.O.) (from phone) A weirdo making S+M films? Who'd have thought it? MAX (into phone) His stuff comes out of New York. Bondage and fetish videos, Gothic Hardcore. Definitely not for the squeamish. WELLES (V.O.) Specialty product. MAX You're learning. WELLES (V.O.) Where does he sell it? MAX Out of the back of bondage magazines mostly, but you can find it on the street if you look. He'll also do commissions, for enough money... INT. PHONE BOOTH -- DAY -- CONTINUOUS MAX (V.O.) (from phone) Nothing illegal, it's always borderline. Like if some freak wants to see a transvestite in a full rubber immersion suit getting an enema from a... WELLES (into phone) Alright, I get the picture. MAX (V.O.) He cuts all kinds of other stuff into his movies; photographs, newsreel footage, subliminal images. Thinks he's making art. WELLES Well, I'm in New York now. What do you say to flying out and giving me a hand? MAX (V.O.) I'm a working stiff, pops. WELLES Take a vacation. I'll pay you four hundred a day, plus expenses. MAX (V.O.) You want me to come out there and play private eye? WELLES Consider it. Meanwhile, dig up whatever Dino Velvet films you can. Get receipts. I'll call back. MAX (V.O.) See ya. Welles hangs up, starts feeding quarters into the phone. INT. MRS. CHRISTIAN'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS Mrs. Christian's in bed, pale and sickly. The PHONE RINGS. Mrs. Christian reaches for it. MRS CHRISTIAN (into phone, weakly) Hello? WELLES (V.O.) (from phone) Mrs. Christian, Tom Welles here. MRS CHRISTIAN (coughing) How are you? Having any luck? WELLES (V.O.) I don't know if luck's the word. Are you feeling alright? MRS CHRISTIAN I've been ordered into bed. The doctor says I've gotten the flu, or some other wretched ailment. WELLES (V.O.) I hope it's nothing serious. MRS CHRISTIAN Nothing more than a bother. Have you any news for me? INT. PHONE BOOTH -- DAY -- CONTINUOUS WELLES (into phone) I've made progress. I'm in Manhattan. Once a few more pieces fall into place, I'll drive to you and give you an update. MRS CHRISTIAN (V.O.) (from phone) Fine... MRS. CHRISTIAN is HEARD COUGHING. Welles waits. WELLES I've got about five thousand left in cash, but I'll need another thirty, if you approve. MRS CHRISTIAN How will I get it to you? WELLES If you have a pencil and paper, I'll tell you how to send it. EXT. MOTEL, HELL'S KITCHEN -- NIGHT A TAXI pulls over in front of this flea-bag motel. Max gets out with a SUITCASE, looks at the dubious accommodations. INT. MOTEL, MAX'S ROOM -- NIGHT Max enters with Welles, turns on a light and throws his suitcase on the bed. The room is disgusting. MAX You didn't say it was gonna be this luxurious. WELLES It's their Presidential Suite. MAX Great. Max looks in the bathroom. MAX Oh, come on, man, what are we doing in this flea bag? WELLES It's cheap, and people know to mind their own business. What have you got for me? Max opens his suitcase, takes out THREE VIDEO TAPES. He hands them to Welles. The boxes are covered in jumbled PHOTO COLLAGES: American flag, S+M men and women, a skull, mannequins, a scorpion, cut-outs of arms, legs and eyeballs. MAX Dino Velvet. INT. WELLES' MOTEL ROOM -- NIGHT Welles is lit by the flicker from the TELEVISION SCREEN. WE SEE NOTHING. We HEAR the rhythmic MUFFLED MOANS of a WOMAN from the TV, can't tell if it's pleasure or pain. Max is asleep in the bed, PIZZA BOX near his feet. Welles drinks beer, gets up and ejects the CASSETTE from a VCR, tosses it aside, tired. He picks another Dino Velvet TAPE, puts it in, sits. ON TV: GOTHIC ROCK is HEARD over old, scratchy IMAGES: of Klansmen around a burning cross... Dracula menacing a sleeping woman... a man in a Devil costume dancing... Welles opens another beer. ON TV: a WOMAN is tied up, arms in the air, hanging from the ceiling, gagged and blindfolded, in a dungeon lit by candelabras. Then, glimpsed IMAGES: worms writhing in slime... gargoyles... a guillotine falling. Then, the bound woman, struggling. A MASKED MAN in a leather jacket enters. He wears a LEATHER MASK with zipper eyes and mouth... This focuses Welles' attention. ON TV: the Masked Man circles the captured woman... WELLES Max... wake up... Max awakens, rolling over, groggy. MAX Wha... ? WELLES (points at TV) Who is this, in the mask? Who is he? Max tries to see, eyes barely open. MAX He's one of the lunatics Dino uses. He's in a bunch of these. Welles watches. On the TV, Masked Man takes off his jacket shirtless, reveals an impossibly muscled body. Huge arms, thick chest, oiled, dotted in pimples. MAX Why? He have something to do with whatever you're into? Still watching the behemoth on TV, Welles is less sure. ON TV: the bulging Masked Man flexes, ripped. WELLES No... it's nothing... that's not him. Welles rubs his eyes, sits back. Max sits up, watching. ON TV: Masked Man pulls the bound woman's head back by her hair, licks her face with his thick tongue... CLOSE ON: Masked Man grips the woman's head, still licking. He pulls down the woman's blindfold... Welles sits forward, realizing, horrified... Welles goes to the VCR, hits PAUSE. The IMAGE on TV FREEZES. Welles goes back, FRAME by FRAME... ... to the CLOSE UP where Masked Man grips the woman's face. FREEZE FRAME. On Masked Man's hand: a TATTOO, on the arch between his forefinger and thumb, same as the scrawny Masked Man in the snuff film. A PENTAGRAM TATTOO. WELLES Who is he? MAX I told you, he's one of Dino Velvet's stock players... WELLES Who is he, his name? MAX Nobody knows his name. That's his thing. He always wears a mask. You never see his face. He calls himself "Machine," that's what they call him. Machine. Welles hits PLAY. On TV, Masked Man runs his hands up and down the woman's body. The woman's eyes are filled with fear. Welles sits, unnerved, watching. MAX They say he's half brain-dead from all the steroids he's using. Max rolls over, trying to get back to sleep. MAX He's a brutal motherfucker, man. He loves what he does for a living. INT. WELLES' MOTEL ROOM -- DAY Welles enters, carries an OVERNIGHT PACKAGE and his LOCK BOX. At the desk, he tears open the package, opens the MANILA ENVELOPE inside; finds FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS in thousand dollar bills, wrapped in plastic and masking tape. Welles takes the lock box to the bed and works the combination, opens it. He takes out the holster, stands looking down at the gun. He puts the holster on. EXT. 1204 WAREHOUSE -- DAY Welles' Ford waits with turn signal on. A car pulls out of a parking space. Welles takes the space. INT. WELLES' CAR -- DAY Max is in the passenger seat. Welles looks to 1204. WELLES You don't need to be here. MAX What kind of Junior P.I. would I be if I didn't go with you? INT. 1204 WAREHOUSE, SECOND FLOOR -- DAY Welles and Max get off the elevator, moving down the grey hall, to the black doors. Welles pushes the INTERCOM BUTTON. After a moment, the INTERCOM CRACKLES... MAN'S VOICE (V.O.) (from intercom) Who is it? Welles waits, presses the button again. INT. DINO VELVET STUDIO -- DAY The doors BUZZ and Welles and Max warily enter this large, dark, converted warehouse. Square pillars shoot from floor to ceiling. Shafts of light cut down from high windows. A large THUG in a pinstripe suit crosses from a far DESK. THUG You're in the wrong place. WELLES We're looking for Mr. Velvet. THUG He's not here. Welles looks around, at piles of PROPS; a huge faux-stone ANGEL and GARGOYLES, elaborate CANDELABRAS, a huge BIRDCAGE, massive WOODEN CROSS, NAZI FLAGS. WELLES Why don't you tell him we're here to give him a large sum of money. If he's not interested, we'll go. THUG You should leave now, before I have to remove you. Welles just stands looking at the thug. A VOICE is HEARD... DINO VELVET'S VOICE (V.O.) (from SPEAKERS) Show them in, Milo. Welles and Max look up. There are SPEAKERS mounted high up on the pillars, and SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS looking down. WELLES You heard the boss, Milo. The disgruntled thug starts back across the studio towards a distant DOOR. Welles and Max follow... They notice an elaborate set built in one corner, a TORTURE CHAMBER, complete with RACK and IRON MAIDEN. INT. DINO VELVET'S OFFICE -- DAY Thug opens the door and lets Welles and Max in. The office is huge, windowless walls covered in thousands of PICTURES from every conceivable source, torn and cut, pinned up to form an indecipherable collage. A tall LADDER leans against one wall, near three TELEVISIONS. DINO VELVET rises behind his desk, a small, bird-like man, wearing a black suit and bad hairpiece. DINO VELVET Come in. Make yourself comfortable. Welles shakes Dino's hand. Max looks up at the walls. IMAGES; porn pictures, news photos, world leaders, autopsy photos, armies and insects, the naked and the dead. WELLES It's an honor to meet you. Thank you for seeing us. DINO VELVET What can I do for you today? Welles sits. Shelves behind Dino's desk are piled high with VIDEO CASSETTES, old MOVIE CAMERAS, big REELS of 16mm FILM. VIDEOS and MAGAZINES are stacked everywhere. WELLES I'd like to commission a work. I'm a great admirer of yours. DINO VELVET Flattering. And, who's your colorful little chum? WELLES A fellow investor. DINO VELVET Hmm. MAX You're the only one still shooting film and transferring it to video. Nobody appreciates that kind of integrity anymore... the grain, the gritty look you get. DINO VELVET Well, I'm glad you appreciate it. (to Welles) What would you say is your favorite piece? Welles considers. Max glances over, looks back to the walls. MAX I know if I had to pick, it'd be "Choke," or "Devil." WELLES "Devil" frightened me as much as it excited me, but I'd be hard pressed to choose a favorite. Dino grins, showing yellowed teeth. DINO VELVET You said something about money. WELLES Yes. What we're looking for is rather specific. Welles takes out an ENVELOPE, puts it on the desk. WELLES That's five thousand dollars. DINO VELVET Is it? WELLES Five thousand now, five thousand on delivery. Two women, one white and one black, as long as they have large breasts. Hard bondage, or course. Other than that, trusting your artistic interpretation, I have only two stipulations. DINO VELVET And they are? WELLES I want to watch you work. DINO VELVET I'll consider it. WELLES And the other performer... it has to be that monster you use... the man in the mask. DINO VELVET Machine. WELLES If it's not him, there's no deal. Dino drums his painted fingernails on his lips. DINO VELVET He might be interested... but it would mean another five thousand. WELLES We can do that. DINO VELVET Well, well, I'll have to put my thinking-cap on about all this. You'll leave the money as a deposit? (off Welles' nod) Very good. Dino stands, picks up a still CAMERA off his desk and comes to look at Welles, studying him. DINO VELVET You have a beautiful face... the way the light hits it. I'd like to take your picture. You don't mind? WELLES I'd rather you didn't. DINO VELVET What's the problem? WELLES I'm camera shy. DINO VELVET You trust me to keep your money, but not to take your picture? WELLES Those are two different kinds of trust. (stands) Thank you for your time. I hope we can do business. Welles leaves. Max goes with him. Dino watches them leave. EXT. MANHATTAN STREET -- NIGHT HORNS BLARE. TWO CARS have collided head-on. A large CROWD gathers. One windshield's shattered, blood spattered. The driver is slumped over the wheel, gushing blood. On a nearby street corner, Welles in on a PAY PHONE. HEAVY METAL can be HEARD filtered through the receiver. WELLES (into phone) So, what do you say? INT. DINO VELVET'S OFFICE -- NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS Dino's stands in the middle of his office, naked, his back to us, 8MM camera in hand, on the phone. A NAKED WOMAN dances for Dino. A Heavy Metal MUSIC VIDEO plays on a TV. DINO VELVET (into phone) I'll do this for you. Fifteen thousand dollars. WELLES (V.O.) (from phone) Machine's in? DINO VELVET (into phone) He's in. It will be his pleasure. INT. PHONE BOOTH -- NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS DINO VELVET (V.O.) (from phone) Be at 366 Hoyt Avenue, three o'clock, tomorrow. Welles digs out his notepad, writing. WELLES (into phone) Where's that? DINO VELVET (V.O.) Brooklyn. Don't be late. EXT. MOTEL COURTYARD, POOL -- NIGHT HORNS and TRAFFIC are HEARD. Max and Welles sit in lawn chairs at the tiny pool. Welles smokes. Max drinks beer. They watch an ELDERLY WOMAN in a one piece bathing suit climb from the pool and walk to the diving board, diving in. MAX What's next? WELLES I'm trying to figure that out myself. I have to see Machine without his mask. MAX Still don't want to tell me what you're doing? WELLES Nope. The old woman climbs out and heads back to the diving board. Welles takes out a thick ENVELOPE, hands it to Max. WELLES This is for you. Max doesn't understand, opens the envelope, finds about fifteen thousand dollars in the envelope. MAX What's this? WELLES It's money. People use it to purchase goods and services. Max looks at it again, can't believe it. MAX Look... that's awful generous and everything... WELLES It's not my money. The woman I got it from is never going to give it a second thought. Let's not make a big deal out of this, okay? (pause) Go be a race car driver. Go run for President. Whatever. Welles puts his cigarette out, stands. WELLES I'll see you around. Welles walks away, heading to his room. Max watches him go, doesn't know what to say, looks in the envelope. The old woman climbs out and heads back to the diving board. EXT. BROOKLYN STREETS -- DAY A deserted, war zone neighborhood of abandoned, graffittied buildings. A few burnt out cars on the street. Welles drives through, watchful. Welles drives past a huge TWO-STORY WAREHOUSE, does a u-turn. He parks the car. INT. WELLES' CAR -- DAY Welles checks his gun, returns it to his holster. EXT. BROOKLYN WAREHOUSE -- DAY Welles climbs crumbling concrete stairs, looking all directions, crossing a LOADING DOCK towards a DOOR... INT. BROOKLYN WAREHOUSE -- DAY Welles enters slowly, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness. A vast, empty space looms before him. In the middle of the warehouse, Dino Velvet stands, in a powder blue suit, holding an archery BOW and ARROW. DINO VELVET There you are. Come join us. There's a wrought IRON BED not far from Dino. MACHINE is seated on the mattress, a huge man, wearing a leather S+M harness and the same WRESTLING MASK as in the snuff film. Welles gathers his courage, walks towards them. Dino pulls back on the bow, aiming away across the warehouse. He stands by a TABLE with a QUIVER of ARROWS propped up. He shoots an arrow toward a large TARGET... Strikes the target dead center, BULL'S-EYE. As Welles gets closer, he notices several things ... ... a 16MM CAMERA mounted on a TRIPOD, facing the bed, along with several movie LIGHTS ... several BOWIE KNIFES are laid out on the table, beside a pair of HANDCUFFS... ... Machine is watching him as he approaches... Welles stops, not far from Dino and Machine, but keeping his distance. Dino's still firing arrows at the target. Machine's still staring at Welles. WELLES (to Machine) Hello. Machine just stares at him with bloodshot eyes. DINO VELVET You brought the money? WELLES (takes out envelope) Right here. Dino lets fly another arrow... another bull's-eye, then turns to look at Welles with a smile. DINO VELVET Excellent. WELLES Where are the women? DINO VELVET They should be here any minute. Welles comes forward slowly, places the envelope on the table, beside Bowie knifes. He's sweating. WELLES (of the knifes) What are these for? DINO VELVET Hmm? Oh, the knifes? They're just props. Nice, aren't they? WELLES Sure. Dino walks across towards the target. DINO VELVET Machine and I were just talking about knifes. The beauty of knifes... Dino pulls arrows from the target. DINO VELVET He was saying how fascinated he is by their simple ability to be sharp. The ability of a piece of metal to be so thin that it is almost nothing... Dino walks back to the table, replaces the arrows in the quiver, cueing another arrow in is bow. DINO VELVET So close to nothingness that it cuts with minimum effort, because it's so non-intrusive. Flesh is fooled. It blooms open as the blade widens, but by then it's too late, because the knife's already doing its pure, simple damage. Dino shoots another arrow to the target. A CLATTER attracts Welles attention. Far across the warehouse, a DELIVERY DOOR rolls upwards. A CAR with tinted windows drives in... The MAN who opened the door, silhouetted in sunlight, stays behind to close the door as the car pulls forward... DINO VELVET Ah, ours guests have arrived. Machine stands. He is a giant. Welles takes a few steps back, wary, sweating hard now. The car parks across the warehouse, not far from the target. Dino puts another arrow in his bow, pulls it taunt, aims at the target... turns, aims the arrow at Welles. DINO VELVET Mister Welles... would you be so kind as to remove any firearms from your person? WELLES What are you... ? DINO VELVET Take out your gun! Welles brings his hand towards his holster... DINO VELVET Slowly. Let me see it. Welles takes out his gun, looks across the warehouse... The SILHOUETTED MAN is walking this way. Can't tell who he is yet. Machine heads the direction of the parked car. DINO VELVET Empty the gun onto the table, very carefully. WELLES Look, I don't know what this... DINO VELVET Shut up, cunt! Do exactly as I say, or I'll put this arrow through your throat. Welles obeys, helpless, dumps the bullets out on the table. The SILHOUETTED MAN'S getting closer. It's Eddie Poole. EDDIE Is that him? DINO VELVET (to Welles) Put the gun down, take the handcuffs. Handcuff yourself to the bed. Welles obeys, walks to the bed. Welles attaches one cuff to the bed's iron rail, fastens the other cuff around his wrist. Dino puts down the bow and arrow. DINO VELVET (still to Welles) Didn't know what to make of you at first, and you certainly had Eddie on pins and needles. But, lo and behold, from out of the blue came an old business acquaintance to explain everything... Welles looks across to the car... The sinister lawyer, Longdale, gets out from behind the wheel and hands the keys to Machine, walks this way... EDDIE This is the fucker? Motherfucker, doesn't look like anything... Eddie walks around the bed, studies Welles. Welles watches him. Eddie goes to stand behind Welles, rushes forward... PUNCHES Welles in the side of the head. Welles goes down, clutching his face. EDDIE Doesn't look like shit. Eddie pulls Welles to his feet, throws him against the bed, frisking him from head to toe. Longdale comes to stand beside Dino, nervous, taking out a tiny HANDGUN and pointing it at Welles. Welles looks up, holding his head, afraid, sits on the bed. DINO VELVET (to Welles) You remember Mr. Longdale, don't you? WELLES I remember him. LONGDALE Let's get this over with. DINO VELVET Fine idea. Dino comes to sit on the bed beside Welles. DINO VELVET You're going to go get the film you received from Mrs. Christian, bring it here and put it in my hand. And to save time, so we make this as efficient as possible, there's an incentive... Dino puts his fingers in his mouth, lets out a sharp WHISTLE. Across the warehouse, Machine uses the car keys to open the trunk of the car, pulls SOMEONE out... It's Max, beaten bloody, bound, face swollen, gagged, hardly conscious. Machine throws him to the floor. WELLES No... Welles tries to go towards Max, yanked back by the handcuffs, pulls the bed a few inches, but it's heavy. DINO VELVET Friend of yours? WELLES Look, he's got nothing to do with this... let him go... DINO VELVET Can you guess what I'm going to say next? WELLES He doesn't know anything... he's got nothing to do with this... DINO VELVET Bring the film, or we kill him. Sorrow and rage rises up in Welles, but there's no choice. WELLES I'll get it. It's in a safe deposit box, in the city... DINO VELVET How cooperative. Longdale will keep you company. Dino takes out HANDCUFF KEYS, throws them to Longdale. Longdale approaches Welles carefully, unlocking him. DINO VELVET Don't let Longdale's questionable choice of weapon give you any ideas. If his fey little gun puts enough little holes in you, you'll be just as dead... and so will Max. EDDIE Move it, dirtbag... ! Eddie comes to SHOVE Welles. Welles stumbles to the ground, gets to his feet. Welles walks, takes one last glance back towards Max. Longdale follows. DINO VELVET (watching them go) Do hurry. EXT. MANHATTAN STREETS -- DAY Welles' car moves in the slow flow of traffic into mid-town. INT. WELLES' CAR -- CONTINUOUS Welles is at the wheel. Longdale is in the passenger seat, gun held in his lap. WELLES You were the middleman, am I right? Old man Christian wasn't about to go shopping for a snuff film himself. LONGDALE Wouldn't exactly have been possible for a man of his stature. WELLES So, he sent you, gave you the money, his errand-boy. And if you refused, it wasn't like you could tell anyone your pervert boss just asked you to get him a snuff film. That's the beauty of lawyer/client privilege. LONGDALE That's trust. Mr. Christian trusted me implicitly. WELLES Must have paid you a lot, for you to risk everything. Would've had to have cut yourself a real nice piece of money. LONGDALE I was well compensated. WELLES That's why you got scared when Mrs. Christian hired me. You knew about the film, figured it had to be in that safe. How'd you find me? LONGDALE Never mind how I found you. WELLES Followed me... must have freaked out when you saw me closing in on your buddies... LONGDALE They're no friends of mine. WELLES Except, you're willing commit murder with them. LONGDALE None of this would be happening if you would have left it alone. If you weren't digging up a girl who died six years ago. A girl no one even remembers. WELLES Mary Anne Mathews, that was her name. Her mom remembers her. Welles looks at Longdale. WELLES You found these smut dealers and asked to buy a snuff film, right? Wanted them to find you one. Well, they didn't find you one, Longdale, they went out and made you one... LONGDALE Shut up. WELLES Mary Anne Mathews was alive till you paid money to have her murdered. LONGDALE Shut your mouth and drive! WELLES Did it get him off, huh, watching them cut her up? Tell me, because I really want to understand. Did he jerk off to it? You watch it with him, sit there giving him a handjob while you both watched... ? Longdale jams the gun against Welles' side. LONGDALE You're making me very angry. WELLES Just tell me. Tell me some more of the secrets you and Christian shared. What kind of degenerate pervert was he really? What the fuck did he want with a snuff film? LONGDALE You're asking me why? WELLES I'm asking. Longdale sits back, wipes sweat from his face. LONGDALE A man like Mr. Christian, a great man... all his money, all his power... a man who attained everything there was to attain... WELLES Why did he buy a film of some poor, lost girl getting butchered? LONGDALE Isn't it incredibly obvious? WELLES Enlighten me. LONGDALE Because he could. He did it because he could. (pause) What other reason were you looking for? Welles tightens his grip on the wheel, numbed. EXT. CHASE MANHATTAN BANK -- DAY Welles double parks, puts his hazard lights on. INT. WELLES' CAR -- CONTINUOUS Longdale sits forward, looks to the bank. LONGDALE You've got four minutes till I call Mr. Velvet and let him know there's a problem. Longdale takes a CELLULAR PHONE from his pocket, shows it. Welles climbs out, heading to the bank... INT. BANK, SAFE DEPOSIT VAULT -- DAY Welles and the SAFE DEPOSIT MANAGER enter. They go to put their KEYS in one drawer, unlocking it a pulling it out. MANAGER May I show you to a booth... WELLES No, I've got it. Welles pulls the drawer open, takes the 8MM film out and hands the empty drawer to the manager, exiting. INT. BANK -- DAY Welles comes out from the SAFE DEPOSIT VAULT, pocketing the film, crossing towards the entrance, looking around... ... at other CUSTOMERS waiting on line... ... at a GUARD with a GUN at his side... Welles detours, toward one of the LOAN DESKS. The BANK EMPLOYEE behind the desk is occupied, on the phone. As Welles moves past the desk, he grabs a PAIR of SCISSORS from a pencil holder and palms it, heading to the door... INT. WELLES' CAR -- DAY Welles gets behind the wheel. Longdale looks at his watch. LONGDALE You almost went over your limit. WELLES Fuck you. Welles puts the car in gear and drives. LONGDALE Give me the film. WELLES You'll get it when we get there. Longdale puts the gun to the side of Welles' head. LONGDALE Give me the film. WELLES Go ahead, shoot me. Then try driving to Brooklyn with my brains all over the windshield. Welles keeps driving. Longdale sits back, stewing. INT. WAREHOUSE -- DAY The door is kicked open. Welles enters, takes the 8MM FILM out and holds it in his hand. Longdale follows. As Welles moves forward, his face goes slack... Machine is seated on the bed, Eddie and Dino stand smoking cigarettes, and further on, Max is tied to the target, slumped over, three arrows in his chest. Dead. WELLES No!! Welles runs towards Max, crying out, tears in his eyes... Machine rises, goes to intercept Welles, grabbing him. Welles tries to break free, but Machine lifts Welles up and throws him brutally to the ground. Welles scrambles to get up... WELLES You fuckers! Eddie comes to KICK Welles in the face. Welles is sent sprawling, blood gushing from his nose. He lays there, stunned, weeping. Eddie pries the 8MM FILM from Welles' hand, tosses it... Dino catches the film. Machine comes to drag Welles towards the bed. Dino unspools the film, holding it up to examine it. Machine handcuffs Welles to the metal bedframe. Welles falls to his knees, holding his face. Eddie PUNCHES Welles in the head. EDDIE You're a dead man. DINO VELVET Leave him alone. EDDIE Fuck off. Eddie PUNCHES Welles in the kidney. Welles tries to protect himself. Eddie raises his fist to punch again, but Machine catches Eddie's fist, throws Eddie back... EDDIE What the fuck... ! DINO I promised him to Machine. Eddie looks up at Machine, who towers over him. EDDIE ... sorry... DINO VELVET First things first. You might want to watch this, Mr. Welles... Welles looks up through tears... Dino drops the 8MM FILM on the floor, takes a small bottle of lighter fluid from his pocket. Longdale comes to watch. Welles watches helpless, agonizing... WELLES Don't... please... Dino drops the film to the floor, sprays it with fluid, takes out matches, light one, drops it... The 8MM FILM goes up in flame... Welles watches, quaking, hysterical, trying to pull himself towards the flame, dragging the bed... The film is destroyed by flame... Welles gives up, presses his face to the floor, eyes shut. DINO VELVET And so it ends. It's as if she never existed. Welles falls back, gasping, wiping blood and tears and spittle from his face, getting slowly, to his feet. DINO VELVET Don't blame yourself. You were in way over your head. He looks to Max's corpse, to the smoldering film... Swallowing back his fear, panic and rage... WELLES Motherfuckers. Small time, motherfuckers... ! Tell me something... Welles spits blood, hangs onto the bed for support. WELLES I know why you did it, Dino, Eddie... but, why'd the lawyer do it? Must have been a helluva lot of money, right? One fuckload of money... Welles sits on the bed, eyes burning with fury. WELLES So, what are you all still doing small time, huh? What are you still doing in the sewer, Eddie?! Christian gave Longdale a million dollars to find him a snuff film. How much did you ever see... ? Eddie and Dino look to Longdale. EDDIE What's he talking about? WELLES One million dollars, Dino. How much did he tell you he had... Longdale's getting very nervous. LONGDALE He's lying. WELLES Look at him. You think he played it square? How much did he give you, how much did he keep for himself? Eddie walks towards Longdale... EDDIE What the fuck's he talking about? Longdale takes out his gun, aims it at Machine, Dino and Eddie, scared... LONGDALE Stay away from me. DINO VELVET What's going on, Longdale? Did this happen? EDDIE You sell us short, you fuck? LONGDALE Stay back! You have a gun, Eddie, show it to me. Now! Eddie slowly takes out his gun, seething. LONGDALE Put it on the ground, kick it here... Eddie puts the gun down, kicks it... Longdale picks it up, throws it far away. EDDIE You fucking lawyer... LONGDALE Move back! All of you... move! Machine, Dino and Eddie stand between Longdale and the car with tinted windows parked across the warehouse... DINO VELVET What were you thinking? Welles watches as Machine, Dino and Eddie back slowly away from Longdale. Longdale's gun hand is shaky... Welles tries to drag himself towards the table where his gun and bullets are, dragging the bed, inch by inch... Longdale back away, trying to angle around the menacing trio so he can get to the car... LONGDALE Back off! Everything's been taken care of, and I'm leaving now... DINO VELVET You're not going anywhere if you fucked us, lawyer. LONGDALE I'm leaving. EDDIE You got the guts, tough guy? Gonna kill us all, is that it? DINO VELVET You betrayed us. LONGDALE Stay where you are! Machine edges forward, holding his hands in the air. Longdale brandishes the gun... LONGDALE Keep back! Machine, Eddie and Dino are held at bay... DINO VELVET You're not gonna live through this. Welles still tries to get to the table, wrist bleeding in the cuff, bed screeching across the floor... Machine, hands up, slowly reaches behind his shoulder, touches the handle of a huge KNIFE sheathed to his back. LONGDALE Our business is done, I'm leaving, no one's going to stop me... Longdale glances towards the car, seems like he's about to make a run for it. Dino Velvet takes a step forward... DINO VELVET Fuck you! Machine unsheathes the KNIFE and THROWS... THUNK! The knife imbeds to the hilt in Longdale's chest and Longdale's gun FIRES... Dino Velvet flies backwards, shot in the face! Dino hits the ground, screaming, writhing, hands to his face, blood pouring out between his fingers. Longdale falls back onto his ass, sitting there, eyes bugged out in surprise. He looks down at the knife in his chest. Machine lets out a SCREAM, runs to Dino... Machine falls to his knees and grips Dino, tries to hold him. Dino's screaming, squirming frantically... Longdale sits looking down at the knife in his chest, looks up, and gallons of blood pour from his mouth... EDDIE Fuck. Eddie comes to look down at the Longdale. Longdale falls back, dead, blood still flowing from his maw. Welles drags the heavy bed, getting closer to the table... Eddie spins, looks across to see Welles struggling... Dino breaks free from Machine, runs blindly, still holding his gushing face, falls, tries to get back up... Eddie runs towards Welles. Dino stumbles forwards, writhing, then suddenly lays still. Machine rises, looking at Dino. Tears come out from Machine's eyes and roll down his mask. One last gasp and shudder from Dino's body; death rattle. Welles pulls the bed, practically pulling his arm from the socket, desperately clawing towards the table... The table is mere feet away... Eddie arrives, KICK Welles in the ribs... Welles recoils. Eddies KICKS again. Welles curls into a ball. Eddie KICKS again... MACHINE (O.S.) NO! Eddie stops, looks to Machine. MACHINE He's mine! Machine strides over the Longdale's corpse, puts his foot on Longdale's chest, yanks out the knife... Machine starts this way... Eddie backs from Welles. Welles looks up, trying to shake off unconsciousness, sees Machine coming... Welles bows down, on his knees, as if to accept his fate... Reaching his free hand into his suit pocket... WELLES No, no, no... please, don't kill me... please... ! Machine arrives, knife in hand, lifts Welles' head back by the hair, brings the knife hand back... EDDIE Do him good. Welles rises suddenly, arm shooting forward, STABBING SCISSORS deep in Machine stomach... Machine ROARS, falling back, pitching forward... Machine's knife clatters to the ground. Eddie's eyes go wide. Machine hits the floor, clutching his guts. Welles pushes upwards with all he's got left, turns the iron bedframe onto its side, flipping the mattress off... Eddie moves forward, furious... Welles grabs Machine's knife, wielding it, holding Eddie off. WELLES Back off, Eddie... Welles drags the now lightened bed frame towards the table. Eddie's sorely tempted, but keeps away. Eddie turns, looks across the warehouse... There's his gun, lying there, far away. Eddie runs for the gun. Welles pulls himself to the table, reaches for the gun, knocks the table over. He's got the gun, but... Bullets hit the floor as the table falls. Welles struggles to open his gun with his sole free hand, gets it open, holds it between his knees... Welles grabs a bullet... Eddie's running toward his gun, gasping for air... Machine's on his knees, pulling the scissors out with trembling hands... Welles puts the bullet in the gun, flips it shut, rises, taking aim across the warehouse... WELLES Stop Eddie! Eddie's running... WELLES (pulls back the hammer) I swear to Christ I'll shoot you in the back... ! Eddie stops, hands up, about ten feet from his gun... Machine stays on his knees, holding his bleeding stomach. Welles points his gun at Machine. WELLES Come back, or I put a hole in him. Eddie's looking at his gun, so close, so far away. WELLES You might make it to your gun, but not before I shoot Machine. And if I have to shoot him because of you, and I don't kill him, right after he kills me, he's gonna kill you. Eddie turns, starts walking back... WELLES (to Machine) Take off the mask. Machine shakes his head. WELLES Take it off! MACHINE You got one bullet. Welles looks to see Eddie heading back, keeps the gun on Machine, backs away, dragging the bed frame, looks to the DOOR behind him... MACHINE The only choice you have now, is which one of us kills you. Welles backs away, drags the bedframe. Eddie's getting close. Welles points the gun at Eddie. Eddie slows. Welles points the gun at Machine, points the gun at Eddie. Welles puts the gun to the chain of his handcuffs, FIRES... breaks the handcuff chain. Welles bolts to the door... MACHINE Get the gun! Eddie runs back towards his gun. Machine rises with a grunt of pain, moves towards the door, but agony doubles him back over to his knees. EXT. BROOKLYN WAREHOUSE -- DAY Welles shoves out into daylight, fleeing down the stairs, running towards his car... INT. WELLES' CAR -- CONTINUOUS -- DAY Welles climbs in, gets out his keys, starts the car... He pulls away, TIRES SCREECHING. Behind, Eddie gives chase, running, FIRING his gun... Welles ducks as BULLETS SLAM the car, SHATTERING WINDOWS. EXT. BROOKLYN STREETS -- CONTINUOUS -- DAY Welles' car picks up speed, takes a turn, BURNING RUBBER... Behind, Eddie curses, runs back to the warehouse. INT. WELLES' CAR -- CONTINUOUS -- DAY Welles glances back, ENGINE ROARING. He tries to keep from crying, steers with one hand, holds his bleeding face. EXT. BROOKLYN STREETS -- CONTINUOUS -- DAY Welles' car races away. INT. WELLES' HOME, KITCHEN -- DAY Amy looks tired, like she hasn't slept. She feeds Cindy. PHONE RINGS. Amy goes to answer it... AMY (into phone) Hello? WELLES (V.O.) (from phone) Amy, it's me. Listen very carefully.. AMY (into phone) Tom? Where have you been... ? INT. WELLES' CAR -- CONTINUOUS -- DAY Welles drives, face caked in dried blood, cellular phone to his ear. The HIGHWAY rushes past out the car window. WELLES (into phone) Amy, just listen. Take Cindy and get out of the house. Do it now. Go to a hotel and stay there... AMY (V.O.) (from phone) What's wrong? Are you alright? WELLES (into phone) I'm okay. Please, honey, I can't explain. Don't use the phone, just pack a bag and get out. I'm on my way. I'll be back at the house in three hours. Call me from the hotel when you get there AMY (V.O.) ... What's going on? WELLES Just do it, Amy, please, go. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, KITCHEN -- CONTINUOUS -- DAY Amy hangs up, scared. She goes to grab Cindy up into her arms, hurrying out of the kitchen and going upstairs. EXT. HIGHWAY -- CONTINUOUS -- DAY Welles' car tears down the freeway, passing other cars. EXT. WELLES' NEIGHBORHOOD -- NIGHT Suburban streets. Welles' car arrives, parks. Welles gets out, starts across a neighbor's yard, cuts between houses... EXT. WELLES' HOUSE, BACKYARD -- NIGHT Welles enters his backyard, slowing, taking out his gun. He keeps behind shrubbery, surveying his dark house. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, DOWNSTAIRS LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT Welles uses a key to unlock the SLIDING GLASS DOOR, opens it slow, enters, gun up, searching the darkness. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, OFFICE -- NIGHT Welles pushes the door open, checks this room. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, BEDROOM -- NIGHT Welles makes sure the bedroom's empty, looks in the bathroom. He puts his gun away, leaves the lights off. He goes to the PHONE on the bedside table, unscrews the earpiece. He removes a small, wire-mesh BUGGING DEVICE. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, KITCHEN -- NIGHT Dark. Welles picks up the cordless phone, struggles to pry the receiver open. He discovers another small BUG. He drops the BUGS to the floor, crushes them under foot. He puts the phone back together and is replacing it when it RINGS LOUDLY. Welles is startled, drops the phone... Welles takes a breath, trying to shake off the jitters. He picks up the RINGING PHONE, answers it... WELLES (into phone) Honey... ? MACHINE (V.O.) (from phone) Not quite. Welles stiffens. MACHINE (V.O.) Nothing like getting home after a rough day. Home sweet home. Welles moves into the HALL, towards the front door... MACHINE (V.O.) Walk away. Pack your bags, put the wife and kid in the car and find a place to hide. If you're lucky, you'll never see me again. Welles takes out his gun, opens the front door, looking out. The street in front of the house is empty. CRICKETS CHIRP. WELLES I don't know if I can do that. MACHINE (V.O.) I know who you are. I know where you live. I know everything I need to know to find you. (pause) Who am I? MACHINE is HEARD HANGING UP the phone. INT. HOTEL ROOM -- NIGHT Cindy's crying. Amy opens the door with the chain on, sees Welles, lets him in. Amy and Welles embrace, kissing. Amy touches Welles damaged face, worried... AMY What happened to you? WELLES I'm okay, honey, I'm okay. Are you alright? AMY What's going on, Tom? What happened? WELLES I can't tell you, Amy. You know I can't. You have to trust me... AMY Tom... WELLES It has to be this way for now. It won't be long. Welles goes to pick up Cindy, tries to comfort her, kisses her red face as she keeps crying. AMY Why haven't you called? Why don't you answer your phone? WELLES I don't know. I'm sorry... AMY You're sorry? What was I supposed to think? Amy comes to take Cindy from him. AMY You owe me an explanation. You can't treat me like this. WELLES I wanted to call. I couldn't. AMY You couldn't? WELLES You don't understand... AMY No, I don't, because you're not telling me anything! WELLES I was in hell. If I called you... if I heard your voice... it would have been so easy for me to quit. I couldn't do that. Tears comes to Amy's eyes. AMY You should have. WELLES Amy, I'm not going to let anything happen to us. AMY Look where we are. Look at yourself. You son of a bitch, you don't have any idea what you're putting me through... WELLES I don't know what to say AMY You're killing me... WELLES Don't... AMY What was I supposed to think happened to you?! WELLES Amy... Welles goes to Amy, but she pulls away. She sits on the bed. Cindy's still crying. Welles sits beside Amy, puts her arms around her. WELLES Forgive me. Amy cradles Cindy. Welles rests his head on Amy's shoulder, places one hand on Cindy. WELLES We have to stay here a few days. I'll get more clothing from the house if I can. I'm sorry. (pause) We're going to be okay. Welles rises. He goes to the PHONE, starts dialing. Amy looks at him, wipes tears. AMY Who are you calling? WELLES Mrs. Christian. AMY What? WELLES She's all I've got. She's the only witness. AMY Tom... she's dead. Welles looks to Amy. AMY She died in her sleep three days ago. It was in the paper... WELLES I just talked to her. Cindy's crying. Welles sits into a chair, trying to understand this, his mind racing. He hangs up the phone. AMY How could you not know? Misery pulls down the corners of Welles' mouth. He tries to find words, but none come. He sits forward and hides his face in his hands, overwhelmed. Cindy's crying. INT. HOTEL ROOM -- LATER NIGHT Cindy sleeps, encircled by pillows and blankets on the bed. Amy watches her, runs her hand gently across Cindy's head. Amy rises, turns out the light, goes to a BALCONY DOOR... EXT. HOTEL ROOM, BALCONY -- NIGHT Welles sits with his feet up on the balcony rail, looking into the parking lot. Amy joins him, sits. AMY Promise you'll stay. Welles looks at Amy. WELLES Promise you won't go back there, wherever you were. Whatever it was, forget it. Welles takes a deep breath, nods his head. AMY Promise me. Welles looks out into the night sky of stars. WELLES I promise. Amy comes to kiss Welles. Welles wraps his arms around her and holds her tight. She holds him. INT. HOTEL ROOM -- LATER NIGHT Amy is asleep on the bed beside Cindy. Welles comes out from the bathroom in a fresh shirt and suit, turns off the bathroom light. He stands looking at Cindy and Amy. EXT. HOTEL -- NIGHT Welles exits the hotel, heading to his Ford. INT. WELLES' CAR -- NIGHT Welles drives, staring ahead. Through the windshield, the headlights illuminate the endless roadway. EXT. KENNEDY AIRPORT -- NIGHT Airplanes take flight. Manhattan glitters in the distance. EXT. WILSHIRE OFFICE BUILDING -- DAY Eddie Poole's building. A typically bright, sunny LA day. In the street, Welles parks a rental car, gets out. INT. WILSHIRE OFFICE BUILDING, 8TH FLOOR HALL -- DAY ELEVATOR doors open and Welles gets off. He moves down the hall, around a corner, heading to "Celebrity Films." Welles tries the door knob, finds it locked. He looks around, takes two steps back, KICKS forward... SMASHES the translucent glass of the door... INT. CELEBRITY FILMS OFFICE -- DAY Welles pushes broken glass out of the way, reaches in to open the door. The office has been cleaned out, trash on the floor, desk drawers hanging open and empty, shelves empty, posters gone... Welles grabs one of the file cabinets, pulls it open, finds it empty, pulls it all the way out and throws it. INT. 8TH FLOOR HALLWAY -- DAY People peer out from other offices, worried. Welles exits Eddie's office, ignoring them, goes around the corner, straight to the STAIRWELL, heading downstairs... EXT. HOLLYWOOD HILLS -- DAY Welles rental car parks down the hill. Welles climbs out, walking up the hill, heading for Eddie's ramshackle HOUSE. EXT. EDDIE'S HOUSE, GARAGE -- DAY Under the stilts of the porch, Welles passes Eddie's car, looks in to see it loaded with BOXES and belongings. Welles moves on to a door at the back of the garage. He takes out LOCK-PICKING TOOLS. INT. EDDIE'S HOUSE, STAIRWAY -- DAY Welles enters slow, pockets the tools, takes out his gun. FOLLOW him up the stairs, into a hallway, past a LAUNDRY ROOM with washer and dryer, into a LIVING ROOM... Welles sweeps the room with his gun, wired. Eddie's house is predictably a trash heap, strewn with VIDEOS, MAGAZINES, dirty DISHES and fast food remnants. Welles moves on... INT. EDDIE'S BEDROOM -- DAY Eddie's throwing clothing into a suitcase, hurried. Welles comes into the doorway, taking aim, edging forward. WELLES Hello, Eddie. Eddie spins, startled. WELLES Put your hands on your head. Eddie looks out of the corner of his eye... to his GUN. WELLES Put your hands behind your head, lock your finger together, get down on your knees. Eddie does as commanded, gets to his knees. Welles moves towards him, very nervous, white-knuckling the gun. He KICKS Eddie in the stomach, doubles him over. WELLES I owe you a few. Welles KICKS again. INT. EDDIE'S KITCHEN -- DAY Welles enters the filthy kitchen, carrying Eddie's gun. At the sink, Welles pops the gun's clip. He pushes the bullets out into his palm, one by one. He dumps the bullets into the GARBAGE DISPOSAL, drops the clip in, turns it on. The DISPOSAL makes a terrible GRINDING NOISE, straining, till it finally goes dead. INT. EDDIE'S LIVING ROOM -- DAY Welles goes to the picture window and closes the curtains. He turns on a lamp, goes back towards the bedroom. After a moment, he returns, dragging Eddie on the floor... Eddie's bleeding out his nose, hands DUCT-TAPED together behind his back, legs bound at the ankle, dragged by a belt around his neck, choking... Welles drops the belt, undoes it from Eddie's neck. Eddie gasps for air. Welles pulls him up, puts him on the couch. WELLES Don't go anywhere. Welles heads for the stairs... EXT. EDDIE'S GARAGE -- DAY Welles goes to Eddie car, tries the door, it's unlocked... IN THE CAR Welles takes the thick THOMAS GUIDE map book off the dash. INT. EDDIE'S LIVING ROOM -- DAY Welles returns. Eddie's on the floor, wriggling. Welles drops the Thomas Guide on the coffee table, picks Eddie up, throws him back onto the couch. EDDIE I'm gonna kill you. WELLES Don't bore me with that bullshit. EDDIE How'd you find me here? Welles PUNCHES Eddie in the ear. WELLES Don't ask questions. EDDIE Fuck you! Welles PUNCHES Eddie in the same ear. Eddie's hurting. Welles rubs his aching knuckles. WELLES Starting to recognize a pattern? EDDIE What do you want? WELLES Who is Machine? EDDIE I don't know... WELLES I want his name. EDDIE I told you, I don't know. WELLES I will never get tired of hurting you, Eddie, so you might want to change your attitude. EDDIE What the fuck am I gonna protect that freak for? He was Dino's boy, not mine. He shows up with his mask on, leaves with his mask on. Nobody knows. Welles kicks junk off a chair, sits, takes out his gun. WELLES Okay, we'll come back to that. So, six years ago a guy contacts you, through the classifieds, over the phone, however he does it. It's Longdale, looking for a snuff film. And you, entrepreneur that you are, tell him you can hook him up. EDDIE Yeah, the fucking lawyer. WELLES Told him you could get him a snuff film. EDDIE Yeah. WELLES How much did he pay you? EDDIE Thirty thousand each, that fucking cocksucker. WELLES That's all? Thirty each. That's all it took for you to murder her? EDDIE It was a lot of fucking money. Welles stands and paces, despairing. He picks up a LAMP and throws it, SHATTERS a MIRROR, keeps pacing... WELLES So... you brought Dino in, and he brought Machine. And, one day, a girl walked into your office because you had an ad in the paper for models. And she never walked out. EDDIE Something like that. WELLES What did you do, knock her out, shoot her up... ? EDDIE What the fuck do you want from me? WELLES I want to know. I want to know exactly what you did to her! EDDIE Fuck you then, you want to know? I talked her up, told her how beautiful she was, told her she was gonna be a star. I told her I was gonna get her a screen test, and while I'm doing that, I got her a soda and dropped a mickey. When it was dark enough, I rang Dino and told him it was go time, I put her in the trunk of my car and we went and we fucking did it. That's what happened. She's dead. She's been dead a long fucking time. Nobody fucking cares! Welles puts down his gun, picks up the Thomas Guide, holding it in both hands, SWINGS -- SLAMS Eddie across the face... Eddie's stunned, lips bleeding. He faces forward. EDDIE You wanted to know, now you know. Welles SWINGS the Thomas Guide -- POUNDS Eddie's face again. Welles drops the Thomas Guide in a chair, picks up his gun, leaves the room... INT. EDDIE'S KITCHEN -- DAY Welles enters, starts looking through DRAWERS, searching. He finds SILVERWARE, selects a serrated STEAK KNIFE... INT. EDDIE'S LIVING ROOM -- DAY Welles returns, goes to grasp Eddie by the shirt collar, drags him to the floor, face down. Welles stands on Eddie's neck, uses the knife to cut the duct tape on Eddie's hands. EDDIE That's right, motherfucker, cut me loose. Be a man. Welles tosses the knife, gun trained on Eddie, picks up the Thomas Guide and throws it at Eddie... WELLES Show me! Eddie, hands now free, pushes himself to a seated position, looks at the Thomas Guide. WELLES Show me where you did it, on the map, exactly where you did it. EDDIE Why? WELLES Because we're going there. EXT. 134 FREEWAY -- DAY Welles' rental car SPEEDS down the highway, east towards Pasadena, leaving the City of Los Angeles on the horizon. EXT. MOUNTAIN HIGHWAY -- DAY Welles' car travels a winding HIGHWAY that serpentines up into the scenic, forested SAN BERNADINO MOUNTAINS. EXT. BIG BEAR -- DUSK The sun is low. Big Bear Lake is vast, surrounded by wilderness on all sides. Welles' car follows a TWO-LANE ROADWAY that runs along the lake's southern shore. Welles' car passes sporadic SUMMER HOMES and CABINS. EXT. DESERTED ROADWAY -- NIGHT Heavy forests border close to the road. Welles' car travels alone, headlights on, slowing as it comes to an overgrown gravel DRIVEWAY with a rusty CHAIN strung across it. IN THE CAR Welles leans forward to look up at an old SIGN of broken neon and peeled paint: "Big Bear Motor Lodge." Welles pulls forward, puts the car in reverse... ON THE ROADWAY Welles' car backs up, angling, till the rear bumper comes against the chain, BACKING... till the CHAIN SNAPS. Welles' car pulls forward across the empty roadway, turns around... accelerates down the overgrown driveway... EXT. BIG BEAR MOTOR LODGE -- NIGHT Welles' car comes down the driveway, into a small LOT. IN THE CAR THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD: headlights reveal what's left of the abandoned MOTOR LODGE, a REGISTRATION OFFICE at the center with attached wings of rooms on both sides. The LEFT WING of rooms is a fire ravaged, burnt-out skeleton. What remains of the OFFICE and RIGHT WING is boarded over, falling apart. No window has gone unbroken. IN THE LOT Welles turns out headlights and parks. He gets out, walks to look up the driveway. A CAR is HEARD. HEADLIGHTS can be seen a good distance away through the forest as the CAR PASSES. Welles goes to his car, unlocks the trunk and opens it. Eddie's lying in there, arms and legs bound, gagged. INT. MOTOR LODGE ROOM -- NIGHT The door is shoved inward, hanging crooked by one hinge. Eddie enters first, hands still bound behind him. Welles pushes Eddie forward, gun out. Welles turns on his penlight FLASHLIGHT, shining it into the room. There dead leaves all over the floor. The room's empty except for a CHAIR lying on its side. Welles sweeps the room with the inadequate light. This is where Mary Anne Mathews died, vaguely recognizable from the snuff film, without the furniture. EDDIE What are we doing here? Welles goes to the bathroom door, keeping the gun trained on Eddie, pushes the bathroom door open with his foot... The bathroom's cracked MIRROR reflects the penlight and Welles' palely lit face. WELLES That night... you didn't have to be in the room, but you were. (looks to Eddie) Why? Why did you watch? Eddie goes to the chair, tips it upright with his foot, sits. EDDIE I don't know. I felt like it. I never saw anyone get done before. WELLES You enjoy it? EDDIE Made me sick, but what did I care? What did I care if some hump wants to beat off to that. It was just something I was doing for money. WELLES Tell me what happened. EDDIE What do you want to know? You saw it, you saw the loop... WELLES Nobody saw you bring her in? EDDIE There wasn't nobody around. This place was a shit-hole. I backed up the car to the door and we carried her in, like groceries. Dino made her eat a bunch of pills, we laid out the plastic, put film in the camera and Machine went to work. WELLES What did you do with her body? EDDIE Took it out the bathroom window. Buried it in the woods. WELLES Show me. EXT. BIG BEAR MOTOR LODGE -- NIGHT Eddie and Welles come around the corner of the abandoned motel, Eddie leading the way, Welles following with gun and flashlight, into the dense forest... EDDIE What are you thinking you're gonna do... ? Welles shoves Eddie ahead. WELLES Keep moving. EDDIE Where do you think you're taking this, huh? Gonna be a big hero, avenge that little girl's death? Gonna make everything right with the world? How you gonna do that... ? FURTHER ON Welles and Eddie come over a hill, deeper into the forest... EDDIE You can't go to the cops. All you can do is cut me loose and walk away, because you got nothing... WELLES Stop talking. EDDIE You got absolute zero. WELLES Show me where you buried her. EDDIE I don't know... (nods to forest) ... out there somewhere. WELLES Where? Show me where. EDDIE I fucking don't know. What do you think... we weren't burying treasure. We didn't pace it out so we could come back and get it. We dug a hole and we put her in it. Your guess is as good as mine. Welles walks ahead of Eddie, distraught, shining his flashlight ahead across the indecipherable forest floor. EDDIE You'll never find her. Nobody ever will, and even if they did, it doesn't mean nothing. Bring in the cops, bring in the F.B.I., fuck 'em all. Without the film, it never happened. Don't you get it? It's over. You can't do anything. Welles turns, aims his gun at Eddie, furious. WELLES I can kill you. I can leave you out here, just like you left her. Eddie's not backing down. EDDIE Do it. WELLES Don't think I won't. EDDIE Do it! Put me out of my misery so I don't have to listen to you whining anymore. You think it's so easy? WELLES Easy enough for you. EDDIE I never killed anyone. WELLES That's right, you just stood there and watched, because you "felt like it." Almost makes you worse. EDDIE What do you want? You want me to fall to my knees and start crying like a baby... ? Eddie walks towards Welles. Welles backs away... EDDIE Where you going? You're the one with the gun. Aren't I defenseless enough? Come on... Eddie comes ahead, defiant, the gun inches from his face. EDDIE Go ahead and kill me. Kill me with that gun, your gun, right, registered in your name? Dig the hole yourself, with your bare hands, bury the body with your bullets in it. Fucking do it! Welles step forward, presses the gun against Eddie's forehead, pulls back the hammer... Eddie just stares back at Welles with hatred in his eyes. Welles is terrified, unsure... trying to muster the courage to do it... gun hand trembling... finger on the trigger... INT. MOTOR LODGE ROOM -- NIGHT Eddie's thrown face down to the floor. Welles comes to sit on Eddie's back, facing Eddie's feet, holsters his gun, takes out duct tape and grabs Eddie's feet, wrapping them... EDDIE You pussy. Welles keeps going around Eddie's ankles with the duct tape, till Eddie's securely bound. He rips the tape roll free and gets up, walking out... EDDIE Fucking pussy! EXT. MOTOR LODGE -- NIGHT Welles pulls the door closed behind him, walks to his car. IN THE CAR Welles opens the passenger door and sits, shaken, at his wit's end. He opens the glove compartment, finds cigarettes, digs one out and lights it. He looks back to the motel room. He looks down to the glove compartment, at his CELLULAR PHONE. After a moment, Welles picks up the phone, looks at it in his hand. IN THE LOT Welles gets out of the car, gets up on the hood, lays back, staring at the sky. He closes his eyes, smokes. Welles opens the phone, looks at the illuminated numbers. He digs in his suit jacket pocket, takes out his notepad, pages through, studies one page. Welles sits up. He gathers himself, throws his cigarette, dials a number, puts the cellular to his ear, afraid... MRS MATHEWS (V.O.) (from phone) Hello... ? WELLES (into phone) Mrs. Mathews? It's Thomas. Do you remember, I was there a few weeks ago... asking about your daughter... MRS MATHEWS (V.O.) (from phone) I remember. You just left... WELLES (into phone) I have to tell you something. It won't be easy for you to hear. It's about your daughter... Mary Anne... (struggling) When I... when I was there with you, her diary, in your attic, in silverware. If you read it, you'll know what I'm telling you is true... Welles climbs off the car, paces, aching with misery... MRS MATHEWS (V.O.) What are you talking about... ? WELLES She went to California, to Los Angeles... she wanted to start over. She wanted to be an actress... MRS MATHEWS (V.O.) What... ? Tears comes to Welles' eyes. It's the hardest thing he's ever had to do in his entire life. WELLES Mrs. Mathews, your daughter is dead. She's dead. MRS MATHEWS Who is this... ? WELLES Someone... some men, they took your daughter and they drugged her, and they took her to a motel room... they did terrible things to her... MRS MATHEWS (V.O.) Who are you? WELLES They brought her into the room... one man, he put a knife to her throat and he raped her... MRS MATHEWS No... WELLES He raped her and...and...and he murdered her...he cut her up with knifes... MRS MATHEWS (V.O.) No... no... no... WELLES They killed her, and they took her out in the forest somewhere and they buried her... MRS MATHEWS (V.O.) Why... why are you doing this to me... ? WELLES They murdered her, Mrs. Mathews, I'm sorry. It happened a month after she ran away. She's been dead all this time... MRS MATHEWS is HEARD SCREAMING, letting out a CHOCKING SOB. Welles falls back against the car, holds his head, weeping... WELLES I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... there wasn't anything anyone could do... Welles pushes disconnect, lowers the phone, drops it to the ground, utterly drained. He puts his forearm over his eyes, gasping, sucking air... He looks to the motel room, tamping down his sorrow, willing it to fuel his rage... He takes out his gun, hands unsteady, determined, opens the gun and pours the bullets out. He closes the gun and walks towards the motel room... INT. MOTOR LODGE ROOM -- CONTINUOUS Welles SHOVES the door aside. The door's hinge breaks and the door falls... Eddie sits propped up against one wall, turns to look... The door SLAMS to the floor. Welles moves forward, enraged, closing on Eddie, raising his arm with the gun grasped by the butt... Eddie's eyes go wide with fear... Welles SWINGS the gun down at Eddie's head... EXT. MOTOR LODGE -- NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS The only SOUNDS come from the NIGHT FOREST. CRICKETS and distant BIRDS. We can't see anything but the TOTAL DARKNESS through the open door of the room. A CAR is HEARD, getting LOUDER as it passes, FAINTER as it gets further away. Finally, Welles comes to the doorway, in shock, steadying himself against the door frame, shirt and suit spattered red. His gun hand and gun are soaked with dripping blood. Welles looks back into the room, backing away. He turns and goes to his car... IN THE CAR Welles climbs in the driver's side, shoves his bloody gun into his holster, tries to wipe blood from his hand onto his shirt, revolted. He starts the car. INT. EDDIE'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT Welles enters and crosses through... INT. EDDIE'S KITCHEN -- NIGHT Welles goes to the kitchen sink, turns on the water, starts scrubbing his bloody hands, using dishwashing liquid, scrubbing his hands desperately under running water. EXT. EDDIE'S GARAGE -- NIGHT Welles comes out of the house, goes to open the rear door of Eddie's car, looking through BOXES of Eddie's belongings... INT. EDDIE'S LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT Welles comes up the stairs with a BOX, dumps the contents onto the living room floor: it's CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, Eddie's collection from the office, HUNDREDS of PHOTOS... INT. EDDIE'S KITCHEN -- NIGHT Welles pulls open Eddie's cabinets, searching. He finds POTS and PANS, choosing a few of the largest... EXT. EDDIE'S GARAGE -- NIGHT Welles uses a cut piece of GARDEN HOSE, siphoning GAS out from Eddie's car, filling several kitchen POTS... INT. EDDIE'S LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT Welles comes up the stairs, carries POTS of gasoline, dumps the gasoline onto the pile of PHOTOGRAPHS... INT. EDDIE'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT Welles dumps gasoline over Eddie's bed... INT. LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT Welles stands at the pile of gasoline soaked photos, taking out a MATCHBOOK, lighting one, lighting the whole book... EXT. EDDIE'S HOUSE -- NIGHT Welles walks down the dark hill, heading to his car. He gets in, starts the car and drives downhill, leaving the headlights off. BEHIND, the windows of Eddie's ramshackle HOUSE grow bright as FIRE SPREADS and CURTAINS BURN. INT. LOS ANGELES AIRPORT -- NIGHT Welles stares ahead, in fresh shirt and suit, waiting at a CHECK-IN COUNTER. The female AIRLINE AGENT behind the counter types in her COMPUTER, stamps his ticket. Welles shifts his gaze, something catches his eye... Beside a stapler on the counter, a PAIR of SCISSORS. AGENT There you are, Mr. Welles, confirmed through to Kennedy. Gate 32B. Welles stares, fixated on the SCISSORS. AGENT Mr. Welles? Welles looks to the agent holding up the ticket. AGENT Gate 32B. Welles accepts the ticket. EXT. MANHATTAN MOTEL -- NIGHT The Empire State Building in the distance says NYC, and a CAMERA PAN DOWN says another seedy MOTEL... INT. MOTEL ROOM -- NIGHT Welles sits at a small desk, looking through a PHONE BOOK, white pages, finds... "HOSPITALS." Welles picks up the PHONE, chooses a number, dials it... WELLES (into phone) Hello, can you connect me with the duty nurse? (waits) Hello, this is Lieutenant Anderson down here in the Thirteenth Precinct. I've got a helluva problem I was hoping you could give me a hand with. We had a stabbing incident a couple of days ago, and it looks like the supposed victim gave us a false name and address. Can you tell me if you had an adult male with an abdominal wound in you ER in the last forty-eight hours? (listens) You'd remember this guy; a body- builder, real big guy, five foot eleven, with acne all over his chest and back... (listens) Alright, thanks for your help. Welles hangs up, uses a pen to cross out a number in the phone book, starts dialing the next number. DISSOLVE TO: INT. MOTEL ROOM -- LATER NIGHT Welles lies on the bed, on the phone, rubbing his eyes. WELLES (into phone) ... guy sticks out like a sore thumb. Five foot ten or eleven, body-builder, bad acne... (listen) Okay, thanks anyway. Welles gets up, hangs up, brings the phone back to the desk. DISSOLVE TO: INT. MOTEL ROOM -- MORNING The PHONE BOOK'S open on the desk with nearly a hundred hospital phone numbers crossed out. WELLES (O.S.) ... abdominal wound. You'd know him if you saw him... Light cuts into the room from between the curtains. Welles paces, carrying the phone with him, weary. WELLES (into phone) He's a body-builder, stands just under six feet... Welles stops in his track, listening, suddenly attentive. WELLES (into phone) That's right... covered in acne. That's him, that's the guy. Listen, we, uh... we think he filed a bogus report on this stabbing, gave us a false name and address... (listens) Yes, I'll hold. Welles goes to the desk, takes out his notepad. He starts feeling his pockets for his pen, can't find it, telephone book, searching, looks under the desk... Welles ducks under the desk to grab the pen off the floor. WELLES (into phone) Yes... yes. (sits, writing in pad) Christopher Higgins. Thirty- fifteen, Thirty Fifth Street. Where? Astoria, Queens. Welles is scribbling all this down in his notepad. EXT. QUEENS STREET -- DAY A relatively quiet residential street. HOMES are small, two story affairs, close together, each very much like its neighbor, some with tiny yards fenced in by brick walls. Welles' Ford comes slowly down the street. CHILDREN in school uniforms are heading off for the day in groups. Welles parallel parks. IN THE CAR Welles turns off the engine. He's watching a HOUSE on the other side of the street. The house is brick on the bottom, aluminum siding on top, quaint, with brick staircase from the front door down to a GARAGE underneath, plastic PINK FLAMINGOS on the small lawn. Cars pass in the street. Welles watches school children pass on the near sidewalk. He slumps down a little in his seat, adjusting the rearview mirror, adjusting his side mirror, rolling up the window. Welles takes a cautionary look around, takes out his gun, pours bullets out and pockets them. He picks up a PAPER BAG off the passenger seat and opens it. He takes out a long, thin metal FILE, pulling off the shrink wrap packaging, feels the file with his thumb. Keeping his open gun low under the steering wheel, Welles slides the file into the barrel, scraping gently all along the gun's inner barrel. DISSOLVE TO: INT. WELLES' CAR -- LATER DAY Welles sits smoking a cigarette, watching the quaint house. He looks in his side mirror... There's a large CAR coming down the block with its turn signal on. Welles slumps a little lower. The car passes, slowing. The GARAGE DOOR of the quaint house begins to open. Welles watches... Can't really see the driver of the car except for the back of his head, but he's huge. It's a good bet it's Machine. Beside him in the passenger seat is a GREY HAIRED OLD WOMAN. The car pulls into the darkness of the quaint house's garage. After a moment, the OLD WOMAN comes from the garage, walks with a cane, wears glasses. She goes to the sidewalk, checks her MAILBOX, finds it empty. Welles watches. The old woman goes back to the garage. She goes inside. The garage door closes behind her. DISSOLVE TO: INT. WELLES' CAR -- NIGHT Welles still watches the house. There's a light on in one of the second floor windows, curtains closed. Welles yawns, shaking his head, trying to stay awake. At the quaint house, a light comes on in the front picture window. Looks like a living room or dining room. The old woman comes to sit at a table. Welles takes binoculars off the front seat... THROUGH BINOCULARS The old woman says something to someone we cannot see. She's at the dinner table, with a place setting in front of her. After a moment, someone joins her... It's Machine, you can tell by his bulk, by his huge forearms. The lacy curtains of the window block part of our view, so we never see his face. IN THE CAR Welles lowers the binoculars, still watching. Through the window across the street, Machine can be seen putting a plate of food in front of the old woman. The old woman smiles up at him, says something. Machine goes to light two candles on the table with matches, then goes back to stand beside the old woman. Machine is seen from behind, bends to give the old woman a kiss on the cheek, then leaves the room. The old woman starts to eat. DISSOLVE TO: INT. WELLES' CAR -- DAY Dawn light is just breaking. Welles has fallen asleep, slumped low behind the wheel, snoring lightly. Welles awakens with a start, looking around, confused. He calms, rubbing his eyes, wiping sweat from his features. ACROSS THE STREET The quaint house's garage door begins to rise. IN THE CAR Welles sees this, keeps low, watching... The big car backs out into the street. The old woman's behind the wheel, wearing a hat, driving away, alone. Welles watches the car head away in the rear view mirror. ON THE STREET Welles gets out of his car, shuts the door quietly behind him. He starts walking towards the quaint house, looks all directions, making sure no one's around. Ahead, the garage door begins to close. Welles picks up the pace, trying not to look too conspicuous. The garage door's halfway down... Welles runs towards the garage, has to dive and roll to get there, but he makes it under the door just as it closes. ABOVE In ONE WINDOW of the quaint house, an eyeball is peering out from lacy curtains, then moves away and curtains fall shut. INT. QUAINT HOUSE, GARAGE -- DAY Welles gets up, takes out his gun, brushing off. The garage is dark, full of BOXES and JUNK. Welles moves towards the door to the house. INT. QUAINT HOUSE, BEDROOM -- DAY Machine, in T-shirt and jeans, seen only from behind, comes to a DRESSER and opens a bottom drawer. His huge hands push clothing aside, digging deep to the bottom of the drawer, taking out the WRESTLING MASK. Machine stands straight, pulling the mask down over his head. INT. BASEMENT -- DAY Welles enters from the garage, gun up. The dank basement is small. A PILE of LAUNDRY lies on the floor near a WASHING MACHINE. SHEETS hang off several CLOTHES LINES strung across two metal poles. Welles leads with his gun... He moves around the sheets, looking behind them. There's a WOODEN STAIRCASE leading upstairs. Welles starts up, treading lightly, trying not to make a sound... INT. KITCHEN -- DAY Welles slowly opens the door to the kitchen, pointing his gun. No one here. The decor is feminine, neat and tidy. It's grandma's house, and it shows, with gaudy PRINT WALLPAPER everywhere, every shelf displaying HUMMEL FIGURINES or COLLECTORS PLATES. Very Home Shopping Network. INT. DINING ROOM/LIVING ROOM -- DAY Welles slowly opens the swinging door, entering from the kitchen, sweeping the room with his gun. No sign of Machine. The whole house is dead quiet. He passes the dining room TABLE where he watched the old woman eat last night... passes fake PAINTINGS on the walls, of waterfalls and sunset mountain landscapes... moves into the living room area... Yellow shag CARPET. A pink SOFA is covered in clear plastic, facing an old TELEVISION in faux-wooden cabinet. Welles heads for a staircase leading to the second floor. Welles creeps up the stairs... INT. SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY -- DAY Welles comes up from the stairs, arrives at a closed DOOR. He opens the door. It's a linen closet, with TOWELS and SHEETS on shelves, and a shelf of MEDICINE. Welles shuts the door and moves on. There are TWO DOORS ahead, both closed. Welles takes the one to the right... INT. MACHINE'S BEDROOM -- DAY Welles pushes the door in, enters warily. There's a constant SCRATCHING HEARD. The room is like a child's, except the BED is huge. Shelves are full of BOARDGAMES and COMIC BOOKS. A DANZIG POSTER on the wall. There's a RECORD PLAYER with LP RECORDS beside it. A record turns on the turntable, the needle caught at the center, SCRATCHING... Welles eases his way over to the closet... reaching... Pulls it open, steps back, gun up. Nothing. Just clothing. INT. SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY -- DAY Welles crosses, opens the door across the hall, enters... DOWN THE HALL, very slowly, Machine's head rises on the stairs, in the garish wrestling mask, peering. INT. GRANDMA'S ROOM -- DAY Welles stays near the door, looks around. There's a fuzzy sky-blue COMFORTER on the bed, fuzzy blue SLIPPERS nearby. Lots of bottles of MEDICINE on the bedside table. Welles lowers his gun, takes a step back, into the hall... INT. SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY -- DAY Welles turns... Machine charges down the hall, screaming with rage, BOWIE KNIFE raised to kill... Welles brings his gun up, but Machine's upon him, stabbing... Welles catches Machine's hand, stops the knife. Machine grips Welles' gun hand, shoving him back... Welles is SLAMMED against the wall, grappling, gun hand pinned. Welles GUN GOES OFF, once... twice... BLOWING HOLES in the ceiling. Machine's grunts, pushing the knife forward... closer to Welles, face... closer... Welles struggles, overpowered. The tip of the horrible knife is inches away... Welles bends his knees, crouching, trying to gain distance from the blade... Machine pulls Welles gun hand lower, brings it against the swinging LAUNDRY CHUTE DOOR built into the wall, begins twisting Welles' hand back, trying to pry the gun loose... Welles looks out the corner of his eyes to his gun... Welles turns his gun hand, slowing struggling to aim the gun towards the knife, but it's awful close to his face... The knife's shaking, less than an inch from Welles' cheek... Welles shuts his eyes and turns his head, letting out a CRY, FIRES his gun... The bullet BLASTS Machine's knife, knocks it away! Machine recoils for a millisecond, but brings his now free hand to Welles' throat, choking him. Welles' face reddens, bleeding from bullet fragments... Welles tries to pry Machine's fingers from his throat. Machine works on Welles' gun hand with violent, renewed effort -- SLAMS Welles' hand against the laundry chute... SLAMS it... SLAMS it... till Welles DROPS the GUN... The gun can be HEARD CLATTERING down the chute. Machine brings his hand to join the other around Welles' throat. Welles can't break the grip... Welles PUNCHES Machine's face, till blood runs out from the mask's nose hole, but it's having no effect... Welles brings his KNEE UP HARD -- into Machine's stomach! Machine falls to his knees with a ROAR, holds his already wounded stomach, bleeding through his shirt... Welles falls, clutching his throat, gasping. He struggles to his feet, leaps past, headlong towards the stairs... Machine rises, charging after... ON THE STAIRCASE Welles is TACKLED from behind... Welles and Machine TUMBLE down the stairs, SMASHING the wooden railing, toppling a BOOKSHELF... LANDING HARD... Welles PUNCHES and KICKS, breaking free, running across the living room. Machine rises to give chase... Welles grabs a dining room CHAIR and THROWS it... Machine knocks the chair aside, keeps coming. Welles grips another chair, uses it to hold Machine off... Machine grips the chair by the legs. Welles SHOVES forward, pushes Machine back, letting go... Welles dives under the dining table, crawling on his hands and knees, scrambling... Machine throws the chair, runs, leaps... Machine lands on the table, crawls to the far edge, GRABBING down with his meaty fists as Welles moves forward... Under the table, Welles jerks back, avoiding, then rises, extending his knees, PUSHING upwards from underneath... Welles FLIPS the table, throwing Machine to the floor... Welles charges towards the kitchen door, falls, gets up... Machine gets to his feet... IN THE KITCHEN Welles SHOVES through the swinging door... Machine BURSTS through, catching Welles, TACKLING him... Welles hits the floor with Machine on top. Machine begins to rein PUNCHES down on Welles, head and back... Welles tries to cover up, taking a real beating... Machine rises, gripping Welles, LIFTING him, THROWS him... Welles SMASHES into shelves of knick-knacks over the kitchen sink, SHATTERING a WINDOW, landing on the sink and counter. Machine comes to grip Welles again, drags him across the counter, KNOCKING EVERYTHING to the floor... Machine SWINGS Welles, releases him... Welles SLAMS the refrigerator and slumps to the ground, tries to stay conscious, trying weakly to get back up... Machine comes to Welles, gets on his knees... Machine wraps his arm around Welles' neck from behind, gets him in a CHOKE HOLD, tightens his grip, cutting off Welles airway with his forearm... Welles tries to break Machine's impossible grip with one hand, begins searching the floor with his other hand... frantically feeling for anything he can use... Welles' face is blood red... Welles' hand grasps desperately... finds a FORK, grips it... Welles SWINGS the fork back, STABS it into Machine's thigh! Machine SCREAMS, releases Welles and falls back, reaching around to the fork... Welles gets to his knees, sucking air, turns to look... Machine crawls away, pulls the fork out with trembling fingers. Beyond him, there's the BASEMENT DOOR. Welles gets to his feet, looking... He grabs a FRYING PAN off the counter, gripping it in both hands and moving towards Machine... Machine's getting up... Welles BASHES Machine in the face with an upward swing of the frying pan... Machine is sent backpedaling, CRASHING into the oven! Welles drops the pan, leaps over Machine, to the door... IN THE BASEMENT Welles comes down the stairs, falls when he gets to the bottom, barely has any strength left. He looks all directions, sees the LAUNDRY CHUTE in the ceiling... Welles gets up, stumbling, falls to his knees at the PILE of dirty LAUNDRY, starts digging through it, searching desperately, throwing clothing aside... Behind, Machine comes down the stairs, a bloody mess... Welles searches the laundry pile... Machine reaches the bottom of the stairs, heading for Welles. Welles turns, has the GUN in hand, FIRES TWICE... HITTING Machine in the shoulder and stomach, knocking Machine a few steps backwards... Welles FIRES... Machine's HIT in the CHEST, falling back, into hanging laundry, pulling down the clothes line and sheets... Machine hits the ground, wrapped in sheets. Welles stands, still aiming the gun, pulls the trigger on an empty chamber. Out of bullets. Machine's trying to pull free from the sheets, trying to get back up to his feet. Welles lets out a sob, drops the gun, walking to Machine... Welles climbs onto Machine from behind, takes clothing line in hand, starts wrapping the cord around Machine's throat... Welles pulls back on the clothes line, pulling it tight... Machine tries to get his fingers around the cord. Welles stands, pulling tighter, putting a foot on Machine's back, pulling the clothes line with all his might... The cord's cutting into Welles' hand, drawing blood. Machine, face down, lets out a gurgling sound, struggling, struggling... till he finally stops moving. Welles releases the cord, takes a step back, breathing hard, trembling. He looks around the basement. Welles walks to pick up his gun, replaces the gun in his holster. He stands looking at Machine. Welles walks to Machine, bends, grasps Machine wrestling mask, pulling it off. He rolls Machine over... Welles stares down at Machine. We never see Machine's face. INT. KITCHEN -- DAY Welles comes up from the basement, slow, hurting. He looks around at the damage done, looks down to see he's still holding Machine's mask. He drops it. EXT. QUAINT HOUSE -- DAY Welles crosses the street, going to his car. He gets into his car, starts it, pulls out and drives away. EXT. WELLES' HOUSE -- DAY BIRDS SING. KIDS are kicking around a soccer ball down the street. Welles' Ford arrives, pulls into the driveway. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, FRONT HALLWAY -- DAY Welles comes in the front door, still a horrible mess. WELLES Hello?! Amy? He waits. The house is quiet. No one home. EXT. WELLES' HOUSE -- LATER DAY Dusk. A CAR comes down the street, slows... IN THE CAR Amy sits forward, seeing Welles' car in the driveway. Cindy's in a child safety seat in back. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, FRONT HALLWAY -- DAY Amy comes in the front door, carrying Amy. AMY Tom?! No answer. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, BEDROOM -- DAY Any pushes the bedroom door open and looks in. Welles is asleep on the bed, still in his clothing and shoes. Amy watches him sleep, sad. Amy backs out of the room, pulls the door shut. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, BEDROOM -- NIGHT Dark. Welles sleeps, still in bloody clothing. He's restless, shifting, MUTTERING under his breath. Bad dreams. Welles suddenly sits bolt upright in the bed, looking around the dark room, breathing hard. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, KITCHEN -- NIGHT Cindy's in her high-chair by the table. Amy's at the KITCHEN SINK, washing vegetables, peeling potatoes. Welles comes to stand in the doorway behind her. Amy turns to look at him. It breaks her heart to see him so wounded, but she forces herself to continue working in the sink. AMY How much forgiveness do you think I have in me? Welles comes into the kitchen, stands beside Cindy, puts his hand out and clasp's Cindy's tiny hand. WELLES I can't talk about it yet... not yet. Amy keeps peeling potatoes, refuses to look at him. Welles looks down at Cindy, pats Cindy's head, looks back at Amy. He stands looking at Amy for a long moment. EXT. WELLES' HOUSE, BACKYARD -- DAY Welles wears his fishing cap, pushing his lawn mower, mowing his yard. He has done some healing, though his face is still swollen and terribly bruised. INT. KITCHEN -- NIGHT Welles feeds Cindy with one hand, eating his own dinner with the other. Amy's across the table, eating, watching them. INT. BASEMENT -- DAY Welles works on the WATER HEATER, wrench in hand, reading an instruction sheet. He puts the sheet aside, uses the wrench to begin loosening one of the pipe fittings. EXT. WELLES' HOUSE -- NIGHT Welles drags two GARBAGE CANS from the garage to the street, leaving them by the mailbox, walking back to the house. INT. BEDROOM -- NIGHT Welles and Amy are in bed. Amy's asleep, on her side, facing away from Welles. Welles lays awake, on his back, staring up at the ceiling. INT. SUPERMARKET AISLE -- DAY Welles pushes a cart down one aisle. He looks at his LIST, takes a BOX of CEREAL off one shelf, puts it in the cart. INT. SUPERMARKET CHECK-OUT -- DAY Welles waits in line with his cart. It's a long line. He takes out his wallet, opens it. In the fold of the wallet, there's a PHOTO folded into quarters. Welles unfolds it and looks at it dolefully. It's the PHOTO of Mary Anne Mathews, the image Welles printed from early in the snuff film. Sad girl. Welles folds in back up, puts it in another pocket. He looks forward in the line to see if it's moving. EXT. SUPERMARKET -- DAY Welles transfers BAGS of GROCERIES from the shopping cart into the back seat of his Ford. INT. WELLES' FORD -- DAY Welles drives on the HIGHWAY, groceries in back. He watches the roadway ahead. There's little traffic. Welles glances down, turns on the RADIO. Some CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS. Welles stares forward through the windshield. After a moment, Welles turns the RADIO OFF. He drives. The ONLY SOUND is the DRONE of the ENGINE and TIRES. Welles is suddenly overwhelmed by emotion, eyes filling with tears. He tries to fight it, but can't help himself. His face contorts with sorrow and he cannot stop crying, letting out a loud WAIL of misery... EXT. HIGHWAY -- DAY -- CONTINUOUS Welles' car moves to the shoulder, brakes to a sudden HALT. INT. WELLES' FORD -- DAY -- CONTINUOUS Welles takes great deep breathes and lets them out, over and over again, wiping at his tears. He lets out a little high- pitched WHINE from far back in his throat... WELLES Why... why... ? He's wracked by SOBBING. INT. WELLES' HOUSE, CINDY'S ROOM -- DAY Amy's in a chair, reading a BOOK, not far from Cindy's crib. Cindy's asleep. The FRONT DOOR of the house is HEARD OPENING and CLOSING from far off in the house. Amy looks up momentarily, then returns to reading. FOOTSTEPS can be HEARD coming through the house, getting CLOSER. Amy looks up from her book. The bedroom door's open a crack. The door slowly pushes open. Welles stands there, eyes red from crying. AMY Tom... ? Welles comes into the room, stands before Amy. He gets to his knees, puts his head in Amy's lap, wraps his arms around her waist. Amy holds him, worried, eyes filling with tears. WELLES I have to tell you... I have to tell you what happened. I have to tell you everything, but we can't tell anyone else. No one else can ever know. Amy runs her fingers through his hair, bends down to rest her head on his back, holding him with her eyes closed. Welles holds tighter. WELLES You're all I've got. You're all I've ever had. (pause) You're the only one who can save me. the end 
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+			Alien III		Screenplay by John Fasano	    Story by Vincent Ward & John Fasano										FIRST DRAFT					March 29, 1990"But how will you die when your timecomes, Narcissus, since you have nomother?  Without a mother, one cannotlove.  Without a mother, one cannot die."			- HesseALIEN IIITHE SCREEN IS BLACKA pinpoint of light appears.Red.  An ember. Unseen BELLOWS blow.GLASS FURNACEThe embers glow.  Flame.The fire GROWS.A RIVER OF MOLTEN GLASSHeated by the furnace to over 1,300 degrees fahrenheit. White Hot.GLASS FACTORYFlickering flame casts dancing shadows on wooden walls.  Coarsely grained wood.  Moisture blasted out by years ofintense heat.  Timbers split.  Patched with new wood,it too now old and dry.SMOKEBillows up the walls.Hangs as an angry, black cloud amongst the rafters and beams ofthe vaulted ceiling.  Almost obscures --A MANOn a narrow LEDGE, twenty feet about the Glassworks' floor. His clothing is Medieval.  A rough textured cassock. He is a MONK.LOUVERS are set into the wall.  He angles them open.The smoke begins to escape.The Monk turns, raises arms and LEAPS from his lofty perch --Gently gliding down to the floor with the aid of a FLOWING FOX --a primitive hand-held pulley that runs down a rope.He lands next to the glass furnace, surrounded by --MORE MONKSBy their dress.  With Blowing Iron and Pontil.They blow and shape the molten glass.  Crack off the finishedpieces.  The old way.ONE PARTICULAR MONKBlack skinned, early fifties.Stirs his five foot long blowing iron in the molten glass, buthe is watching something else.  It moves him to song.Lilting tenor lifts high into the air.This is BROTHER KYLE.			BROTHER KYLE	Well would he guess the ascending of the star,	Wherein his patient's fortunes settled were.	He knew the course of every malady,	Were it of cold or heat or moist or dry.	Brother John, would-be Doctour of Physick.We see the object of his song:BROTHER JOHNNot yet forty.  Strong features, but fear behind the eyes.The fear that comes from a lack of inner confidence.A good face, nonetheless.He stirs a thick mixture in a mortar.Next to him another MONK sits holding his arm out in front ofhim, cassock sleeve rolled up, revealing a vicious BURN.		       BROTHER KYLE		Tend you quickly he will,		with bottles from a shelf.		But heals not, so easily,		The ills which plague himself.Brother John stops stirring.		      BROTHER JOHN		   (to Kyle)		Enough.He scoops the salve out with his fingers and applies it to theBurned Monk's arm.  The Burned Monk INHALES sharpley as the coolmixture contacts the injured area.  		     BROTHER JOHN		  (to the burned Monk)		Relax.		  (to Kyle)		Put those lungs of yours to better		use.		     BROTHER KYLE		Yes, Doc Tor.Kyle laughs, removes the blowing iron from the molten glass --a BLOB of white hot glass hanging on the end.He rolls the blob on the Marver, a flat, polished piece of iron, then begins to blow a bottle shaped container. John wraps a fray-edged cloth bandage around the burn.			     JOHN		Keep this from getting wet.  Go home at		late afternoon mealtime and don't come		back to work today --		     BURNED MONK		But John --			     JOHN		I'll tell the Abbot.  Just rest today.		You're lucky you only burned yourself on		the side of the furnace.  If some of that		glass had gotten on your arm --He points to the top of his forearm.	   	            JOHN		-- it would've burned clean through to		the other side.He mimes a drop down from the bottom of his arm.The Burned Monk shudders at the thought.  BELLS toll. 		            JOHN		That's late afternoon.  Now get on.			BURNED MONK		Thank you, John.  I --			   JOHN		You're welcome.  Go!The Burned Monk trundles off, injured arm against his chest.John gathers his mortar, pestle, and extra bandages into aburlap sack.  Kyle comes over.			  KYLE		Good work.			  JOHN		All right, but I'm no Father Anselm.  			  KYLE		You're yourself, that's better...Kyle pushes him through the door...INTO THE HALLWAYThe Hallway is alive with cassocked monks.Their LOW CHANTING reverberates throughout the building.The wooden floorboards creak beneath their combined weights.This is obviously a MEDIEVAL MONASTERY...			KYLE		The Abbot will be pleased.			JOHN		Don't.			KYLE		Don't what?			JOHN		Please don't tell him.  At least until		I know if there's an infection.			KYLE		You want to be the Abbey's Physician,		and you haven't learned the first rule:		Don't worry about the patient.John's face drops.			KYLE		I shouldn't have. Sorry.  Look, I know		how you must --			JOHN		You don't, but thanks anyway.AT THE END OF THE HALLWAYA wide stairwell.  A constant stream of monks all moving downthe stairs.  Coming from floors above.  Headed for lunch.Kyle starts down.  John starts up --			KYLE		Not coming down?			JOHN		I have someone waiting for me.Kyle disappears into the crowd.John moves up...THE STAIRWAYA river of brown cassocks running downstream.John is the only one moving against the flow.He exits the stairwell --ONE FLOOR UPA narrow corridor lined with doorways.John moves to one in particular.He doesn't even look as he grabs the door knob.This is his room.He opens the door --IN BROTHER JOHN'S ROOMAn old, worn out DOG lays in wait on an old, worn out cassockwhich is now serving as its bed.At the sight of John it stands.			JOHN		Come on, Mattias.The dog, MATTIAS, joins him in the hall.Monk and pet disappear up a flight of stairs. Past another dozen or so Monks who are on their way down.INT. LIBRARYA vast room filled with rows of wooden tables with low benchesbetween aisle after aisle of floor-to-ceiling wooden shelvesjammed to capacity with BOOKS of all shapes and sizes.  Millionsof books, from the looks of it.From each book hangs a long CHAIN, long enough to allow the book to be carried only as far as the nearest table.A CORPULENT MONK - BROTHER PHILIPIn his fifties, and the Librarian by his stern affect, hisposition behind a broad, but also old oak desk, and the largeKEY hanging from his belt.  He watches the few stragglers returntheir chain bound volumes to the shelves and head for the door,then rises and joins them...IN THE CORRIDOR JUST OUTSIDE THE LIBRARYJohn leans against the wall as Philip exits.Mattias is nowhere to be seen. 			PHILIP		Brother John.			JOHN		Brother Philip.			PHILIP		Feeding the mind instead of the body		again?			JOHN		My training has taught me to feed what's		hungry.Philip pats his broad stomach and heads down the hallway.			PHILIP		As did mine.  As long as you're alone.		Enjoy yourself -- and remember, no book		leaves the library.			JOHN		How could I forget?  Have a good meal...John watches the corpulent librarian head down the stairs.When he's gone from sight John lifts the bottom of his cassockto reveal Mattias.			JOHN		Perfect.They move into the library...THE MEDIEVAL SECTIONThe oldest books.John moves to the stacks.Mattias trots over to a particular bench and sits.This is his regular place.AT THE SHELVESJohn stands on toe tips to retrieve an ancient Tome.He runs his fingers over the familiar leather binding.A smile plays across his lips.He carries the book, places it on the edge of the table sothere is slack in the chain.Sits on the bench next to the dog.Clears his throat, opens the book, begins to read...			John	    	    (reading)		In the year of our Lord 1348 I, Brother		Gerhado of the Minorite Abbey helped bury		the Abbot and my sixty fellow monks --			VOICE O/S		Sometimes, I think you'd like that.John turns to find --THE ABBOTLeader of the monastery.  In his seventies but looks younger.His Cassock is adorned with a large, ornately carved, woodenCHAIN in place of a rope belt.  He crosses to the table.John closes the book and stands, head bowed in respect.			John		Abbot, I -- I didn't think anyone would --			ABBOT		Mind?  Just Philip, if he knew.  I passed		him on the way up.  He said you'd come 		in alone.  I knew better.He scratches the back of Mattias' neck.			ABBOT		Hello, Mattias.  How are you, boy?The dog snuffles in response.			ABBOT		You know what Philip says about Mattias'		hair and his breathing.  You'll have to 		take him out of here.			JOHN		He likes when I read to him and -- I 		can't --John looks down sheepishly.  Though nearly forty, he feelsalmost adolescent in the presence of the Abbot.  The Abbot pulls a large key from his pocket.			ABBOT		    (smiles)		Someone must have left this one unlocked.		Take the book with you.He hands the key to John, who is shocked --this is a great honor.			JOHN		Father, I --?			ABBOT		Kyle tells me you did a good job at		the glassworks today.			JOHN		I'll reserve judgement until the patient		lives.John crosses to the shelf and unlocks his book.He returns the key.			ABBOT		It will get easier.  Father Anselm was...		an unexpected loss.  You'll do fine.The Abbot walks towards the door...			ABBOT		Just have it back before the end of lunch.		Oh -- And I didn't see you in here.			JOHN		Thank you.		      (to Mattias)		Let's go upstairs, boy.John takes his book -- Moves to a spiral wooden staircase.Mattias at his heels.Goes UP --INTO THE BELL TOWERThe mechanics of the bell tower -- all ropes and wooden cogscast scary shadows.A doorway leads to --THE ROOF OF THE ABBEYThick with sandy dust.  The wood shows through thin patches.  We PULL BACK TO REVEAL what we think is the roof of the Abbeyis actually --THE SURFACE OF ARCEON - NIGHTThe door has opened onto the SURFACE OF A PLANTOID!The curving horizon broken only by the very top of theAbbey bell tower poking through from the levels below.  SMOKE curls from vents set into the surface.Sunken areas of the planet's sirface are SEAS.This is ARCEON.An manmade orbiter.A shell of lightweight foamed steel, five miles in diameter.Constructed by The Company on Special Order with habitablelevel within finished in whatever material suits its end user.This orbiter, for reasons to be discovered later, has beensheathed in wood.JOHNWalks to the shore of an inland SEA.Sits on a bare patch of wood.  Looks up.His eyes grow accustomed to --THE NIGHT SKY - JOHN POVFreckled with tiny dots of light.Stars.  Spread across the inky void.Bathe Arceon's surface with their celestial glow.John smiles at Mattias, breathes deep. The atmosphere up here is thinner, but fresher. He opens the book.Reads aloud --			JOHN		In the year of our Lord 1348 I, Brother		Gerhado of the Minorite Abbey helped bury		the Abbot and my sixty fellow monks, day		by day, one by one, until I am the only 		one left.  I stayed as long as I could bear 		it, then with my dog -- Mattias lifts his ears at this part.  His favorite part.			JOHN		- fled.  I have put this to parchment lest		this pestilence - this Black Death - 		stay my hand.			(beat)		This was finished by another hand...John closes the book.  Something catches his eye --Something among the myriad points of light in the sky.Millions of miles away:ONE OF THE STARSBrighter than the rest.  MOVING.Fast enough to leave a faint trail.Across the stars.  And down...A comet.John stands.  Watches --THE STARGrowing brighter.Drawing nearer.JOHNJoined by three other MONKS.They are older than he.The Four men watch the sky...THE STARBrighter still.  Closer.MORE MONKSTwo dozen.  A hundred.They come up through the planet's surface.Out of wooden trap doors.  Join the others.Days pass.Now three hundred.Necks bowed back.Mouths agape.A SUBTITLE identifies...			RELIGIOUS COLONY ARCEON			-----------------------			POPULATION: 350 Exiles			CRIME:  Political HeresyTHE STARFills the sky.Burns brighter still as it hits the planetoid's atmosphere.ON THE SURFACE OF ARCEONHundreds of Monks shield their eyes as the ship -- the star --ROARS over their heads.  Trailing FIRE --John holds up his hands - to touch a star --Skin BLISTERS as it passes over him,He turns and watches as it --Arcs downward --INTO THE SEAWHOMP- SSSSSSSSSS --!!PLUMES of steam rise into the air.The water boils.  Fish bob to the surface.  Bloated.  Dead.JOHNIs the first to hit the shore.Small leather and wood fishing boats tossed by the wake.His coracle is the first into the water.The others running up behind him.He cannot hear the SHOUTS of warning.ON THE SEA - DAWNThe sun cracks over the black water.John's hands move the rough wooden oars.Blistered palm opens.BLOOD flows.He tears off a piece of his cassock --Rips it with his teeth --Wraps the bloody hand.Rows.THE STARShip.  Star Ship.Sulaco escape vehicle #4 rocks on the water.White metal skin blackened by the heat.JOHNRows right into it.His coracle pitches in the choppy surf.  He scrambles onto the ship's cracked tile surface.Teeters -- balances -- moves to the unmistakeable HATCH.Looks around for a knob, a handle --NEXT TO THE HATCHA small panel door whose black and yellow stripes denoteurgency.  John hesitantly opens the door, revealing a shinymetal LEVER.  He stares at it...a beat.Then quickly pulls it down...WUORRRSH -!Hull door OPENS.The doorway is a black maw.John crosses himself.Begins to lower his foot into the hatch --			KYLE O/S		Watch it!He almost falls backwards off the ship.  Looks back --THE OTHER MONKSAre rapidly approaching.Kyle gestulates wildly --			KYLE		John!  Wait -- !  Don't go in!John turns back to the open hatch.Machine recirculated air flows out.He feels it on the skin of his face.  Cool.Cool, and artificial.  It calls to him.He steps in.  Swallowed by the blackness --WHOOSH-CLANG -!The door closes behind him.INT. SULACO ESCAPE POD #4 - DAYDark.  Dim red lights.  John stands still as his eyes adjust tothe darkness.  He sees:NEWT'S HYPER SLEEP TUBEA glass and metal COFFIN -- pneumatic piping twines around itsbase.  The glass lid is BROKEN.  A Small RED LIGHT pulses at thehead of the tube -- a soft VOICE and TONE, like your seat beltwarning -- is audible...			COMPUTER VOICE			(sotto)		Seal broken...seal broken...John finds himself moving towards the tube...Looks through the broken lid:IN THE TUBEThere is a splattered BLOOD STAIN on the sterile whiteinterior.  OLD, turned rust-brown.Whatever happened here happened a while ago.Rust colored drips trail down to --THE FLOORDrag marks.  His eyes follow the stains to a pile ofBloody clothing against a control panel.  A jumpsuit.  Torn.Child size.  The head of child's DOLL, but no body to be found.JOHNLooks back towards the door.Part of him wants to get the hell out here -- but he fightsback his fear.  He is a doctor - or trying to be - someonein here may need his help.  He presses forward -- Averts his gaze from the clothing, UP to the blinking andglowing instrument panels and their myraid -- LIGHTSPressure lights.  Data lights.  Warning lights.Thousands of lights.  Like the stars in the sky.It's been decades since he's seen technology like this -- andnever this close up.  He steps further into the ship, his fearnow replaced by fascination, follows the lights....ON A PALE GREEN SCREENLED numbers race -- 7,291.01.05...06...07A legand identifies "Elapsed since separation."He moves on...A VIDEO MONITORThrough scanning bars of snow, an image:A WOMAN with a YOUNG GIRL standing in front of her.The Woman's arms are wrapped around the girl.Protective. Maternal.The Woman speaks.  Her message repeats itself.A tape loop, although John has no idea what that is.			WOMAN		...taking pod four.  The Crew of the SS		Sulaco and all Marine commandoes are dead.		Ship's sensors have interrupted the hyper		sleep cycle.  An overlooked alien egg has		hatched.  Bishop and Hicks have been killed.		Xenomorphs have infested the cruiser.  Newt 		and I are taking pod four.  The Crew of...The WARNING TONE of the Woman's message rekindles John's fear.He moves more hesitantly around the periphery of the ship,following the trail of blinking instruments --Drawn to touch a button.  Click...SOMETHING TENTACLE-LIKE DROPS DOWN ON HIS SHOULDER!Just an oxygen mask.John feels his rapidly BEATING heart as he pushes aside theplastic, dangling object and continues around the shuttle. His hand brushes over a SENSOR which responds by lighting and --HSSSSSSSSS -!A BLAST of freon shoots out of an overhead pipe --John SHOUTS and back up into --ANOTHER HYPER SLEEP TUBE!!!Next to Newt's now empty tube.Humming gently.  Still operational.John approaches it cautiously.He can make out the occupant through the lid...A WOMANThe woman from the screen.  This is RIPLEY.In hypersleep.  Wearing a white cotton tank top and boxer-typeshorts.  Christ, she looks beautiful.  John looks from Ripley to her image on the monitor, then back.Sinks to his knees, reverent.  Fascination has replaced fearagain.  Moves his face closer to the lid.  Closer to hers...DAYLIGHT spills in --John's head WHIPS towards the source of the light --THE DOOROpen.  Kyle and the other monks.			KYLE		John - what is it?  Is this a Supply ship?			JOHN		No.  No supplies.  Kyle, there's someone		in here --The Second Monk looks at Kyle.			SECOND MONK		This is forbidden.			KYLE		John.  Just get the hell out of there --			JOHN		I don't want to stay.  I have to get her		out before this sinks.  You come in, give		me a hand --			KYLE		Her?  Look, this is not the supply ship,		so this is technology forbidden to us.		Get out of there now!John looks down at Ripely.A KEYPAD is mounted at the head of the tube.A red button:  "EMERG-OPEN"That's plain enough.			JOHN		All right --He presses it.The Tube opens with a loud BLAST of compressed air.The Monks at the door recoil at the sound.						CUT TO:EXT. SPACE SHIP - ON THE SEA - DAYRipley has been lowered into a large coracle.  John holds her infront of him.  Unconscious.  Her head lolls as the boat rocks on the waves. The monks start to row back to short.			FIRST MONK		     (reverent)		A space ship...			SECOND MONK                    (even more reverent)		A woman...			KYLE		You shouldn't have gone in --			JOHN		I'm supposed to be a doctor.He pushes Ripley's hair away from her forehead.			JOHN		She could've been lost.			FIRST MONK		Been a long time since I saw either.			SECOND MONK		It isn't sinking.  Look at it.  What are we		supposed to do with it?			KYLE		What was it like in there --?			JOHN		Lights.  So many lights --			THIRD MONK		Tow it in.  Bring it in.			SECOND MONK		It's evil.			FIRST MONK		It's just technology.			SECOND MONK		Evil technology.  Look at these fish --			THIRD MONK		The Abbot will know what we should do		with it --			KYLE		Just lights?			JOHN		Machines.  Buttons.  Metal.			SECOND MONK		See?  Just look at the fish.			THIRD MONK		The Abbot will know.			SECOND MONK		They're boiled.  These fish are boiled. 			JOHN		Thousands of lights.  Like the stars.		Like Heaven on Earth.Ripley stirs in John's arms.  Groans.Fights to come out of her fugue state...Looks around through half-lidded eyes --She is surrounded by rowing, cassocked Monks.MONKS?  She closes her eyes.Tries to clear the imagine.  Opens:They're still there.She looks down at the bloodied hands around her waist --realizes she's sitting on someone's lap.Looks back over her shoulder --JOHNHe smiles at her.Friendly, not sexual.RIPLEYShakes her head.  Tries to speak --Her lips form soundless words.She looks over her other shoulder, sees --THE SHIP - RIPLEY POVBobbing on the surface.  Growing small with each stroke of the oars.RIPLEYBrows knit.  Fights the cobwebs in her brain.Tries to focus on the ship --Remembers. Turns to John, tries to speak --			RIPLEY		Wait.  New...She loses consciousness.  						GO TO BLACK...INT. THE ABBEY - RIPLEY'S ROOM - DAYStreaks of light move across the darkness.Form patterns of light and shadow against the wooden walls.There is a sublime stillness, but coming through the walls arethe muted, far off SOUNDS of the Abbey --The SAWING of wood.  HAMMERING.WHISPERED prayers.LILTING song.We move down off the wall to a hand-made wooden bed.Ripley in restless sleep.EXT. ARCEON SEA - DUSKThe waters grown rough with the approach of night.  Wind whips acrosswhite wave tops -- SPRAYS the dozen Monks who LASH their boats to Ripley's SHIP with thick hemp ropes --Start to tow it to shore...INT. RIPLEY'S ROOM - NIGHTRipley is sleeping -- but struggling against some unseen foe --She tries to sit up -- can't.  Tries to shake off the effects ofthe suspended animation...looks up through half-lidded eyes:JOHNSits next to her.  Quite asleep.Hands swathed in white bandages.  Book resting on his lap.She squints to make the figure standing in the shadowsbehind him -- it's skin picks up and reflects tiny points offlickering cangle light - seems to ripple as it moves --THE ALIENBig, black shiny-smooth head moves into the taper light.It moves towards her, cable-like arms held out at its side --moving out of sync with its feet -- Ripley tries to move - to cry out -- She can't.She can only move her eyes.  She looks over at John, sleepingpeacefully.  He doesn't notice the Alien --The Alien moves closer.  She can feel his breath -- it evaporates the sweat  on herforehead -- a CHILL runs through her but she still can't move --The Alien stands alongside her bed.Extends a six-fingered hand...Gently rests it on her stomach.Cocks its head -- like it's listening to something.The implication is clear.Ripley finds her voice --			RIPLEY		AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!Her eyes open wide --She sits bolt upright.A hand moves to her forehead.  Gently pushes her head back tothe pillow.  John's.			JOHN		You're out of it.  Out of it...Ripley falls back, eyes glued to where the alien appeared.John sees her focal point, looks back over his shoulder:Nothing.Ripley's eyes roll back into her head.She tries to speak -- It was there.Her hand, at her side, tightens into a fist --John's hand covers hers.Eases the fingers open again.She feels the coarse bandages against her palm.He starts to read quietly from Saint Augustines' Confessions.She begins to drowse again as his soft voice flows over herlike waves lapping against the shore...EXT. SURGACE OF ARCEON - DAYA HOWLING DUST STORM has kicked up.  The monks wear small roundgoggles, have rags tied over their noses, as they work at a huge BLOCK AND TACKLE arrangement --Hundreds of ropes grow TAUT.Timbers GROAN.They LIFT Ripley's SHIP -- SWING it over to a large portal --INT. RIPLEY'S ROOM - DAYRipley lays with eyes closed.Muffled VOICES outside her door:			ABBOT		How is the woman, John?			JOHN		I don't think she's here yet.At the sound of John's voice the SLIGHTEST smile plays across Ripley's sleeping lips.			JOHN		She is close, though.As they continue talking, Ripley wakes.  Opens her eyes.Rolls over onto her side --There is a window right next to the bed.Ripley lifts herself up on one elbow, looks out:HER POVGarden of Earthly delights...Monks laboring under a beautiful, celestial blue sky --picking apples, fishing on the water on small inland lakes.Working with hammer and saw on small wooden cottages.  Lyrical.It makes her feel good.  She scans the countryside...Sheep graze around wooden ladders stretching hundreds of feetup to the -- Ripley does a take --WORKERS ON A SCAFFOLDINGWith crude brushes at the end of poles -- PAINT the sky blue.The Abbey, the cottages, the fields outside her window are allon one level - INSIDE THE PLANET.The vaulted CEILING, painted to look like the sky with hugeglass "windows" to allow the sunlight in, is actually theUNDERSIDE of the planetoid's outer shell.Ripley looks back at the Monks on the ground:Instead of repairing, they are taking the cabins apart, stackingthe wood onto push carts --			RIPLEY		What the hell --?SUDDENLY --The Sulaco Escape ship APPEARS in front of her.SWINGS past her window suspended by ropes.Then disappears up, out of sight.Ripley checks her pulse.			RIPLEY		This must be a dream.  A bad one.She rolls back onto the bed.Stares up at the ceiling.ABOVE HER - ON THE ROOF OF THE ABBEYMonks scurry around the Ship as it is lowered into place ona flat area of the roof above the libaray.It seats with a deeply resounding THUD...RIPLEYHears the SOUND and then another - her door OPENING.She turns to find the Abbot and John standing in the doorway.John waits in the doorway as the Abbot crosses to the chair bythe bed and sits.			RIPLEY		Who are you?			ABBOT		I am the Abbot.  Leader of this Colony.		And you?He smiles.  Open.  Friendly.			RIPLEY		Ripley.  How did I get here?			ABBOT		Your vehicle crash landed.		     (indicates John)		Brother John found you and brought		you here.			RIPLEY		Where is here?			ABBOT		This is the Minorite Abbey within the		manmade orbiter Arceon.			RIPLEY		Can I use a radio to --				ABBOT		We have no radio here.  We are a monastic		order that has renounced all modern		technology.  We live the old way.  The pure		way.She shakes her head.			RIPLEY		Uh, I - I still don't feel 100%.  Whoever		took me out of the stasis tube must not 		have run the full D-F program...		Where's Newt?The Abbot looks at her blankly.			RIPLEY		There was a little girl with me --			ABBOT		You were alone.			RIPLEY		No.  She was with me.  I put her in her		stasis tube -- We launched when the --			ABBOT		You were the only living thing found		aboard that vessel.The Abbot watches Ripley as the terrible truth overcomes her --			RIPLEY		     (slowly)		Oh, God.  Newt.She stops -- gets that chill up her spine --She realizes that she MUST have brought the Alien with her.			RIPLEY			It came with us.The Abbot leans in.			ABBOT		What came with you?			RIPLEY		Listen -- there is a danger here.  It		came with me.  How long have I been here?			ABBOT		Almost two days --			RIPLEY		     (calculates)		Loose for two days.  This planet could be		overrun within the week.Ripley grabs the Abbot by his cassock --			RIPLEY		Look, there's a xenomorph --		    (sees his confusion)		An Alien creature.  A killer.  A monster.		And now it's here.The Abbot looks at her the way you look at that guy on the cornerof Santa Monica and 3rd who's babbling about Judgement Day.  Theguy with his pants down around his kness.She sees this, releases her hold on him...				RIPLEY		Calm down, Ripley.  Okay, I was with a		platoon of Colonial Marines on a mission		to planetoid LV426.  We left Earth six		months ago - maybe a year --			ABBOT		     (interrupts)		Wait a moment --The Abbot becomes aware of John's presence in the doorway.Turns over his shoulder at him.			ABBOT		Leave us.John waits there a beat, then backs out and closes the door.			ABBOT		Continue.			RIPLEY		We launched in the Cruiser Sulaco from 		Gateway sub-orbital space station --			ABBOT		Not possible.			RIPLEY		What do you mean?			ABBOT		When we left Earth seventy years ago, it		was on the brink of a New Dark Age.		Technology was on the verge of destroying		the planet's environment.  A computer virus		was threatening to wipe away all recorded		knowledge.  There didn't seem to be any		way it could be averted.  In the almost		forty years since we were towed out here		in hypersleep, the news that came with 		occasional supply ships only got worse.		Finally, the ships stopped coming.  We 		had to resign ourselves to the fact that		worst had come to pass, and the Earth		no longer existed.Now she gives him that look.				RIPLEY		    (slowly)		Uh...All right... Forget the Earth - How		many people do you have here?  Let's worry		about them.  Warn them --A new look overtakes the Abbot's face.  A look of fear.  Now she's getting to him - or is she?He abruptly stands. 			ABBOT		Your mind is troubled.  You need to rest		some more.			RIPLEY		I don't need rest - I need to get to 		your people.  You've got to get to them --		tell them about the alien --He heads for the door --			ABBOT		I have had enough for now.			RIPLEY		Enough?  Didn't you hear what I said?		It could wipe out the entire population		of this planet.  It may have started 		already - Have there been any unusual 		deaths since I got here?The Abbot stops in the door -			ABBOT		No.  And there won't be.The Abbot SLAMS the door behind him.THE CORRIDOR OUTSIDE RIPLEY'S ROOM - DAYJohn stands nearby as the Abbot addresses two BURLY MONKS			ABBOT		Bolt it.The guards move to bolt the door.			JOHN		What is it -- What's wrong?			ABBOT		Your patient is in a dangerous mental		state.  Nobody gets in or out until I		say so.			JOHN		But I.  Her meals --			ABBOT		Nobody.			JOHN		Father, I don't understand --The Abbot turns and disappears down the hall.John looks from the departing Abbot to the two Guard/Monks.THE LIBRARY - NIGHTJohn has his head buried in his hands.  His back rises and fallswith the rhythmic breathing of sleep.Mattias curled up on his feet.  Asleep as well.WHAM!The Library door FLIES open --!John sits bolt upright -- A HYSTERICAL MONK bursts in.Rushes to John's table.			HYSTERICAL MONK		Brother John!  You're here!  The Abbot		said you'd -- I need -- you're the		medic --			JOHN		What?!			HYSTERICAL MONK		My Sandy -- she's ill --John tries to rub the fitfull sleep out of his eyes.			JOHN		Huh?  A woman?			HYSTERICAL MONK		Sandy.  My ewe.John returns his head to the table.			JOHN		One of your sheep?  Jesus Christ.		Call a vet.			HYSTERICAL MONK		Father Anselm was the vet.John looks under his arms at Mattias --The dog just stares at him.			JOHN		You're no help.  Okay, let me get my bag.		All creatures great and small...INT. HYSTERICAL MONK'S BARN - NIGHTA small structure housing a handful of sheep and a few chickensin wire cages.  The wooden walss are full of gaps where boardshave been ripped off.The Hysterical Monk holds a torch to illuminate the scene.  One ofhis sheep is laying on its side...			HYSTERICAL MONK		I just gave her dinner and she		keeled over.			JOHN		So would I.  It's freezing in here.			HYSTERICAL MONK		Been using the wood from the walls		for the fire in my cabin.			JOHN		Haven't we all...John kneels at the ewe.She's breathing heavy.  Rapidly.John puts his left hand down on the hay covered floor while hechecks the animal's neck pulse with his right hand.  She gives a weak "Baa-ah."			JOHN		May be pneumonia.  Pitch some of that hay		around her.  Stop this damn cold breeze.The Hysterical Monk props the torch up in an empty bucket andretreives a crude iron pitchfork from the wall.Starts to pile hay around the fallen animal.			JOHN		First, I'll --He sits up to reach for his back, then stops when he sees what'son his left hand --A SLIMY MUCOUS-LIKE SUBSTANCE			JOHN		Wait a minute...The Hysterical Monk stops on mid-pitch.John rubs the material between his fingers.Brings it close to his nose.  Sniffs.			HYSTERICAL MONK		What is it?			JOHN		I don't know.  It's all over the ground.		Some sort of --BAAA-AAAH!!!The ewe starts to SHAKE - QUIVER --John tries to hold it down --The Hysterical Monk, at this juncture, goes completely apeshit.			HYSTERICAL MONK		What?!  WHAT?!			JOHN		Jesus!  Help m --The ewe is shaking so violently that John is thrown back --He knocks over the bucket -- the torch falls into the hay --The light is cut off as the torch almost smothers.Then the hay starts to burn --Weak fire light revealing:BAAaa-Aha-SCLORTCH-H-!!THE EWE EXPLODES ---!Stomach BURSTS --SPRAYING the two Monks with entrails and blood --They start SCREAMING.The flickering FIRE LIGHT grows as...A TERRIBLE ALIEN CHEST-BURSTERBURSTS out of the jerking and twitching carcass.It shows the characteristics of the animal in which it hasgestated.  Tiny razor sharp teeth and black, glass-like eyespeer from a enlongated head covered with downy, but gore-mattedWOOL.  A quadroped, its shrunked hind legs struggling to freeitself from the cooling morass of intestines.John can only SCREAM as the most horrible nightmare he canimagine tries to slough off the animal's mortal coil.The Hysterical Monk, fear overcome with ANGER at the loss ofhis beloved Sandy,  steps in front of the near catatonic Medicand instinctively THRUSTS his pitchfork into the creature --The sharp prongs PIERCE its still forming body --The CREATUREWAILS a high pitched SHRIEK - half alien, half sheep as it isroughly TORN from it's nesting place --The Monk lifts --It TWISTS at the end of the fork, acid blood dripping onto thewood floor -- each drop bursting into a little pool of FIRE.The Hysterical Monk turns to the now raging hay fire --The entire corner of the barn is ablaze --SHOVES the abomination in --The Sheep/Alien POPS and SIZZLES as tongues of flame leap up tolap at it's struggling body -- tiny tail whipping about --The creature dies, its fading screams are soon the only soundheard within the barn.  The Hysterical Monk holds his fork inthe flame as he looks back to check on --JOHNFace contorted, eyes glued to the burning creature.  Heavinglungs push air through his diaphram, but no sound comes fromhis open mouth -- The Doctor in training has seen the devil.EXT. HYSTERICAL MONK'S BARN - NIGHTWooden walls collapse inward as the building becomes a pyre.Acrid black smoke curls up to the ceiling and spreads outacross the rafters...We pull back from the sight INTO a window. IntoINT. RIPLEY'S ROOM - NIGHTRipley, watches the burning barn.  Frustrated, she climbs out ofthe bed on unsteady legs, wearing her tank top and shorts.Pulls on a coarse wollen cassock, ties the rope belt --			RIPLEY		Idiots...I'll --WHAM!The door BURSTS OPEN --			RIPLEY		What the -?Four BURLY MONKS rush in and grab her.TEAR her out of bed --INT. HALLWAY - NIGHTRipley is dragged down the darkened hallway.			ABBOT V.O.		An evil has come to Arceon...IN THE TRIBUNAL ROOM - NIGHTAs he continues we move down a row of stern Monk faces, endingat the Abbots...			ABBOT		You heard Brother Graham tell of the		devil inside sheep's wool --He motions towards the Hysterical Monk, sitting in the crowd.			ABBOT		An evil brought by this woman in her		vessel of technology.PULL BACK TO REVEALA large circular room with wooden walls stretching thirty feethigh.  Light creeps in through stained glass windows.Hundreds of monks sits in a gallery that looms overthe floor of the Tribunal.  On the floor:The Abbot and the five eldest Monks sit at a long table facingthe witness stand.  On the stand:RIPLEYConsiders the faces that surround her.  Fear.  Hate.			RIPLEY		This can't be happening.			BALD TRIBUNAL MONK		You have no voice in this tribunal.			RIPLEY		You must listen to me!  You're all in		terrible danger!  It came with me on		the ship --			ABBOT		We know that.  At first we believed its		arrival was a good omen.  But it has only		brought pestilence.  Dead sheep.  Dead fish.			BALD TRIBUNAL MONK		Evil.Ripley turns to the Abbot.			RIPLEY		Yes, the ship brought it.  Not evil. It		brought the Alien.  I told you, it's here.			ABBOT		We know the name of the evil it brought.		It brought technology.  Technology to		destroy our planet, as surely as it		destroyed the Earth.			MONK IN AUDIENCE		Destruction!			RIPLEY		I was on the Earth less than a year ago.		It's still there.  People, cities, all 		still there!A murmur through the crowd.  Some are listening to her.The Abbot looks around.  He must be in command.			ABBOT		    (matter of fact)		All dead.			RIPLEY		    (screams)		It's still there!The Abbot smiles to himself for making her crack.He stands and begins to pace.			ABBOT		You could not have been on the Earth a		year ago, because there is no Earth to		be on -- for at least twenty years.			RIPLEY		I haven't been floating in space for		twenty years.  Let me get to my ship		and I'll prove it.			BALD TRIBUNAL MONK		No.  Who knows what new evils she'll		release if allowed back into that		infernal machine.			MONK IN AUDIENCE		No!  Don't let her!!			TRIBUNAL MEMBER		This woman is a danger.  She denies The		New Dark Age.  She denies reality.			RIPLEY		This is reality.  There is a Xenomorph		loose on this planetoid - a alien -- it must		have stowed away on my ship -- must have		killed --			(swallows hard)		Newt.  Killed the girl I brought with me.		You can't stop it.  It goes inside you like		an egg - grows -			(mimes)		Explodes out of you - keeps growing into		some sort of monster.  Kills you --		Kills all of you...She looks at the Medieval people around her.They stare at her in complete confusion.To them, she does sound like a madwoman.			RIPLEY		Who are you people?  Look at you -- all		of you -- the way you're dressed.  This		isn't the Middle Ages.  You're in space --		on a artifical planet.  What are you		doing out here?There, in the upper tier -- John.  They make eye contact. She looks to him pleadingly.			RIPLEY		Isn't there anyone here who will		listen?John looks from Ripley to the Abbot.The Abbot stares him down.John turns away.			RIPLEY		    (defeated)		I guess not.  I can't believe this...The gavel BANGS.The Abbot sits in a moment of contemplation.			ABBOT		Then there is no choice.The Four Monks grab Ripley roughly --Bind her arms.			ABBOT		   (to Ripley)		The evil is inside you.  I cast you down.		To be sealed away.  And God have mercy on		your soul.						SLAM CUT TO:THE SHAFT ROOM - DAYA Medieval elevator shaft.  The "elevator" is a wooden cagelowered on thick, rough hewn ropes.Ripley, bound, is led to it.She looks back at the monks who have gathered at the door --			RIPLEY		You won't be able to fight it...		You don't know what it is --!She's put into the cage.  The door is secured.Two monks begins to pull the ropes.  The cage is lifted out overthe abyss -- a vast cavernesque space.The other Monks move closer.  Crowd around the edge --John pushes through them - right to the edge --Watches as the cage is slowly lowered down...Ripley looks directly at John --			RIPLEY		You've sentenced yourselves to 		death!John watches as she disappears down into the darkness...Then turns and pushes his way through the crowd --Down the hall --THE TRIBUNAL ROOMEmpty now except for the Abbot and the Tribunal Members.They speak in hushed tones.John appears in the doorway, but pauses -strains to hear what they are saying:			BALD TRIBUNAL MONK		...they'll have started before she gets		down to the Hermitage level.			ABBOT		No trouble?			BALD TRIBUNAL MONK		Only finding the wood for the ship.  But		Anderson's hut was about that big, and		he's dead three months now.			ABBOT		I had that wood earmaked for the Cloister 		next winter.  Well, we might not get to		the winter if we don't take care of this.		By winter time we can start taking the 		penitent cells apart.  No one in them.			ANOTHER TRIBUNAL MONK		The wood isn't going to last forever.			ABBOT		Neither are we --He becomes aware of John's presence, and motions the otherTribunal members out of the room.  John moves to the Abbot.The Abbot knows what's coming...			ABBOT		Go ahead.			JOHN		This woman.  Ripley.  I tended her --			ABBOT		Yes, and you did a good job.  You		shouldn't feel responsible.  You		couldn't have known --			JOHN		Please, sir, let me finish.  I feel that		there may be something to what she says.			ABBOT		There isn't.The Abbot moves to his table, begins to gather up his gavel,notebook.  John follows him --			JOHN		I don't understand what you are doing.			ABBOT		This colony is my responsibility.  I am		protecting the colony.			JOHN		From what?  This woman?  You never gave		her a chance.  How can you be so sure		you're right?			ABBOT		A better question is what makes you		think I'm wrong?			JOHN		You didn't see this thing -- this demon --		Brother Graham and I -- we both saw it.			ABBOT		      (realizes)		That's right.  You both did.		      (beat)		And what was it?			JOHN		I -- I don't know what it was.  But I		don't think Ripley was a party to it.			ABBOT		She admits she brought it.			JOHN		But she tried to warn us --			ABBOT		You know that's how the devil works.		Deception.			JOHN		But I believe her.  I don't know how to		describe it -- A feeling.			ABBOT		You haven't seen a woman in thirty years.		Where does this feeling originate, John?			JOHN		     (points to his head)		Here.Pause.			ABBOT		I believe you.  But your feelings are		fooling you.  			JOHN		It's - It's her conviction.  I just think --The Abbot snaps at him --			ABBOT		Don't think.John takes a step back at the Abbot's tone.  A tone he's neverheard before.  The Abbot runs a hand through his thinning hair.Forces a smile.			ABBOT		It's been a long night.  For all of us.		You really don't understand what you're		dealing with here.			JOHN		That's what she said.The Abbot chafes.			ABBOT		These are ideas which threaten the very		system we live under.  The creature is		dead and the woman is gone.  Forget them.		Both.  Go read.  Go fishing.  Go anywhere,		but leave this alone.			JOHN		But I --			ABBOT		Alone.  I'll get Philip to let Mattias		into the Library, all right?  For your		own good, just stay out of this.John looks like he's going to protest.			ABBOT		I mean it.			JOHN		     (slowly)		Yes, Father.John turns and leaves the room.  The Abbot stares after him.INT. PRISON LEVEL - NIGHTDark. Dank. Dreary.A NAIL is hammered into a board.  Then another.The board is old, twisted.  The grain is pronounced, splintered.Another board is lifted into place, a nail held -- BAM-BAM-BAM -HAMMERED in tight.TWO ANCIENT WORKERSDrab, torn gray clothing.Hammer the boards over the opening in the wall.Methodically covering up --RIPLEYWatching them work.BAM-BAM-BAM.Defeated.ON THE ROOF OF THE ABBEY (INTERCUT)A dozen Monks frantically hammer planks up around the Sulaccoescape ship - A frame of wood --begin to wall it in...IN THE PRISON LEVELThe two ANCIENT WORKERS continue their carpentry.The planks cover more of the opening.BAM-BAM-BAM.Covers more of Ripley.BAM-BAM-BAM.She stares...ON THE ROOF OF THE ABBEYPlanks are rising around the ship.Covering it.  Locking away the good omen turned evil.IN THE LIBRARYJohn and Mattias sit before an open book.He doesn't read.  He can hear the POUNDING of the hammers.It seems to reverberate THROUGH the planet.Through his SKULL.He closes his eyes in pain.RIPLEYOnly her face is visible.Another board.BAM-BAM-BAM.Then just her eyes.Just before the last plank is put in place --			WORKER		Here you go, woman.  Something from your		ship.  Something to keep you company --He tosses it into the cell.  Ripley catches it.Watches as the last of the light is covered over.BAM-BAM...BAM.She continues to stare at the once open wall as her eyes growaccustomed to the darkness.  The little light creeping betweenthe planks grows in intensity until it is soon enough to seewhat it is she has caught --NEWT'S DOLL'S HEAD.Ripley looks around her cell -- actually a narrow space behindother cells, one wall curved out -- like a narrow slicecrossways towards the edge of the pie. Looks at the Doll's head in her hand.A beat.She FREAKS OUT --!			RIPLEY		You fucking idiots!  You're dead!		You're all dead!BEATS the walls.  KICKS.SMASHES her HEAD against the wall.Again.Her nose starts to bleed.Her hand goes to her nose.She squints in the darkenss.Sees the BLOOD.Tastes the iron taste in her mouth.Death is with her again.			RIPLEY		     (sotto)		Dead...The "widest" part of her cell, the middle, allows her to slidedown into a sitting position.  She does.			RIPLEY		Christ.  Jesus Christ.  It's here.  Here.		Shit.  Here.  I can't get rid of it...Looks at the Doll's head --			RIPLEY		Newt.  This isn't what I wanted...She throws the doll's head away --It bounces off the wall and rolls back to an upright positionso that it is staring at her.			RIPLEY		     (snaps)		Don't stare at me!Beat.			VOICE O/S		Sorry.Ripley looks down at the base of the wall facing her --Where it meets the floor, in the rotting timbers:A HOLE.  In it:A MAN'S FACEBright, wrinkled eyes beneath a snowy white crew cut.He's looking back at her.ON THE ROOF OF THE MONASTERY - NIGHTThe Sulaco escape pod #4 is now a memory as the Monks havefinished walling it up.  Now just another part of the Abbey.As the Monks move down the thin wooden ladders we follow --Pass them -- down to an open window and into...INT. LIBRARY - THE MEDIEVAL SECTION - NIGHT INTO DAWNJohn is here, Mattias asleep at his feet.The tables, the benches, the floor are COVERED with hundreds ofbooks he's pulled off the shelves, their chains all TANGLED.All open to --PICTURES OF DEVILSDifferent representations of Evil through the ages --Lucifer, Shaitan, Ahriman, Asmodeus -- Satan."The Temptation of Christ" from the Master of SchlossLichtenstein.  Satan roasting on an enormous grill from"Tres riches heures du Duc de Berry."The devil as a serpent.  As a semi-humanoid.Gruenwald's "Temptation of St. Anthony."Pacher's "Saint Wolfgang and the Devil."A miasma of Medieval Monsters.JOHNPicks his way through the mess.  Like a man possessed he fumblesthrough book after book.The first golden rays of daylight filter through the hugestained glass windows.  John rapidly flips through the Medievaltome in front of him - past an illustration of Satan depictedas having a FACE on his ASS -- further still -- then stops.This is it.We can't see what the illustration is, but we see his REACTION:His eyes open wide as saucers.  SLAMS the book closed as if theimage would strike blind.  He turns to Mattias as if to saysomething -- Decides not to wake the sleeping dog.John wraps the book's chain around his hand and puts one footup against the shelf.  Pulls -- SPANKT!The old chain gives way.Face set, he loops the shoulder strap of his burlap medical bagover his shoulder.  Clutches the book to his chest, gently petshis sleeping dog and goes...INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE ABBOT'S OFFICE - DAYJohn strides down the corridor purposefully but stops andflattens himself against the wall when the door to the Abbot's office opens suddenly --BROTHER GRAHAM, The Hysterical Monk, is forcibly led from the room by two burly Monks, taken down the corridor in the otherdirection.  He is gagged.  A third Burly Monk moves out of thedoorway with the Abbot.			JOHN		Now find John and have him brought to 		me immediately.			THIRD BURLY MONK		Yes, Father.			ABBOT		Start in the library.  And keep it quiet. The Third Burly Monk nods and moves off.The Abbot watches him leave, then goes back into the room andcloses the door.  John stares at the closed door a beat and thenmakes up his mind.  He turns and runs back down the hallway...INT. GLASS FACTORY - DAYThe first Monks straggle in for the morning shift.Kyle is among them.  He lifts his blowing iron from a wallmounted rack and moves towards the glass furnace as twoother Monks begin to stoke the fire.John enters.Looks around the room and for a frantic moment cannot find --KYLEAt the glass furnace.  About to dip his blowing iron into the MOLTEN GLASS.  John runs over to him.Almost knocks him over --			KYLE		Hey!  Watch it!He sees that John is agitated --			KYLE		What?  What is it?The other monks begin to notice the commotion, start moving infor a look...			JOHN		I -- Abbot.  Must --John tries to catch his breath.  He gestulates wildly.Kyle puts down his blowing iron.			KYLE		John - relax.  Take a deep breath -		Christ, now I sound like you --He sees the book clutched in John's white knuckled hands.			KYLE		Is that it, John?  Is it the book --?			JOHN		     (panting)		Yes.  Devil.Kyle moves closer to him.  Cautiously.John sees the other monks gathering around --Closing in on him - whispering --			WHISPERING MONKS		He's got it...			SECOND WHISPERING MONK		Like the Comet Woman...			THIRD WHISPERING MONK		He found her...					WHISPERING MONK		He's infected...John sees one of the Monks run out -- undoubtedly going to tellthe Abbot.  John looks into his friend Kyle's face -- Fear.			KYLE		Everything's gonna be fine.  Now, let's		see the --			JOHN		Don't humor me -- I'm --				KYLE		Sure.  Everything's gonna be fine...If only he could explain - he can't.John YANKS the book away -- spins --Bursts through the crowd...			KYLE		Wait -- JOHN!INT. SHAFT ROOM - DAYThe cage is still down, the ropes stretching into the abyss.John runs in.  Moves to the ropes.  Places the book on the floor.Tightens his scarred hands on the rope -- Mind racing:  The woman will know.  Know what it is.  How to combat it.He PULLS --There's no tension against the ropes.John FALLS back on his ass.The ropes WHIZ through the rusty pulley overhead.Pile on the floor in front of John. He lifts the end of the rope.  Stares:BITTEN THROUGH.							CUT TO:THROUGH THE MONASTERY - SERIES OF SHOTSJohn RUNS through the building.Through the upper half of the planet.DOWN through the many levels, past dozens of Monks oblivious tothe previous night's events and the danger they face:Monks working at Looms.Monks in the Tanning Room.Monks in Morning Prayer.Past them all, to --INT. ABBEY BASEMENT WORKROOM - DAYMops and brooms.John enters.  His hair is wild, breathing heavy.He shoves the book into his medical bag.Pushes aside a box of kindling wood to reveal aWOODEN DOOR set into the timbers of the floor.He opens the door:LADDERSExtending down through huge open areas beneath the upper level.Past vast underground viaducts that held up by wooden rafters.Beyond that - a great underground sea that marks the center ofthe planet - below that, the cells.And Ripley.JOHNCan smell the dank air from the lower tunnels.He MUST go down -- The hard way.He climbs into the darkness...INT. ABBEY LAVATORY - NIGHTAn enormous room, over a football field in length, consistingof at least a hundred open toilet STALLS facing a hundred wallmounted SINKS.  Their condition, though, bespeaks the awfultruth -The stalls furthest away from us are COBWEBBED.Some have had the side walls stripped for fire wood.Of the original hundred sinks, maybe twenty are stillfunctional - A facility created for a much larger number ofcolonists than are left.A SKINNY MONK washes his hands.IN THE STALLSMoving down the row of stalls (chest high, thank you) past afew empty stalls and several grimacing faces, the second tolast being The Abbot --			ABBOT		Cold tonight ---- continuing to the last, Bald Tribunal Member.			BALD TRIBUNAL MEMBER		Gets colder every night.			ABBOT		And every day.  Never this bad.  Taken		so much wood out of the structure the		surface wind blows right through the		colony.  Right under the floor --The Bald Tribunal Member SHIVERS as a cold breeze runs along thewaste trough under the floor and chills the air in his bowl. 			BALD TRIBUNAL MEMBER		Right up your bloody backside.  Nights		like this make me miss plumbing -- 		Ack --!He feels a TUGGING at his bowels - it's not piles. A beat.			ABBOT O/S		What?			BALD TRIBUNAL MONK		I don't -- AAH --The Bald Tribunal Monk SCREAMS as something GRABS him frombelow --(note: the left half of the following 5 pages is cut off.I have completed the text to the best of my ability.)Something SNAKES up his rectum and hooks into his lower intestine!He convulses in spasms of agony.There is a terrible RIPPING SOUND as the Bald Tribunal Monk is PULLED VIOLENTLY down -- out of frame --We PAN BACK down the row of stalls tight on each sitting Monkand see their HORRIFIED REACTION as they feel the ALIEN drag theBald Tribunal Monk's body away under them...THE ABBOT in his stallHe pounds on the wall --			ABBOT		Matthew?  Matthew?  Jesus, what's wrong?SKINNY MONK washing his hands, sees all this.  Looses controlof his bodily functions as blood sprays from the faucet --OTHER MONKSIn their stalls as the toilets reject a torrent of gore!  Blood and viscera spraying the walls -- converting the Abbeyinto an abattoir.							CUT TO:SPACEAngle on the Orbitor Arceon:An orb of wood hands peacefully against a tapestry of celestialseas.			RIPLEY V.O.		Death...INT. RIPLEY'S CELL - NIGHTDarkness.  Somewhere water drips into a puddle.Ripley lays on her side on the floor with her head restingnear the hole in the floor.  Her eyes are closed.			RIPLEY		Wherever I go.A HAND pushes a crust of bread through the hole. She opens her eyes to look at the food.  The White-Haired Man'shead appears --			WHITE-HAIRED MAN		Take it.			RIPLEY		Thanks, but no thanks, Anthony.She knows his name.			ANTHONY		You waiting for meat?  They don't bring		me meat because they know I'm an android.		Really don't need it.  Bread's better		for you anyway.  Harder to digest, so 		it makes you feel fuller than you are.			RIPLEY		Not hungry.Anthony takes a bite.			ANTHONY		Mmmm.  Just a little crunchy.Ripley twists onto her back until she's staring up at theceiling.			RIPLEY		Waste of time.			ANTHONY		You don't eat, you'll starve to death,		girl.			RIPLEY		That was the plan when they put me down		here.  And why should you care?			ANTHONY		Because I'm a synthetic person you don't		think I can care?			RIPLEY		Believe me, that's a discussion you don't		want to have with me.			ANTHONY		You told me you had a bad experience and		a good one with androids --			RIPLEY		That's one of each.  That means you could		go either way.  I'm tired of talking about		this.He pushes the bread towards her again.			ANTHONY		You've still gotta eat.  You gotta fight		the bastards --			RIPLEY		I'm tired of fighting.  Maybe I'll be		dead before he finds me.  Maybe he won't		get the satisfaction.			ANTHONY		He?  You make it sound like this Alien		has a personal score to settle with you.		The biology you describe:  Queen laying		eggs, larvae, drone -- that's very		insectoid.  Insects usually don't bear		grudges.			RIPLEY		And Androids usually aren't the prisoners		of lunatics that believe they're ancient 		Greeks.			ANTHONY		Medieval Monks.			RIPLEY		Whatever.				ANTHONY		And they've only chose to live the life		style, they don't believe they're --		     (hears something)		What's that?Ripley strains to listen.  In the distance:KNOCKING.  Someone is knocking on the walls.A VOICE calls out --INT. PRISON LEVEL CORRIDOR - NIGHT			JOHN		     (hoarse)		Ripley!He moves down the hallway.BANGS his fist against the walls every few feet --Waits a moment for a reply, then moves on.INT. ANTHONY'S CELLAnthony gets off the floor - Moves so she can see into his cell:The walls of Anthony's cell are covered with charcoal sketches -Different versions of demons and the devil.  She rolls her eyes -This guy is an Android!Anthony crosses to his cell door, peers through eye level.INT. PRISON LEVEL CORRIDOR HALLWAY - ANTHONY POVJohn coming towards him, knocking on the doors of boarded up cells.			ANTHONY		Hey -- you knocking -- cut it out --		You're going to wake everybody up.John moves to Anthony's door.  Looks at him through the slot.Anthony recognizes him.			ANTHONY		Brother John?John unbolts Anthony's door.Picks him up by his cassock --			JOHN		Anthony?  Thought you dead fifteen years.			ANTHONY		Made too good for that.  What're		you doing?			JOHN		I -- I'm looking -- the Abbot --			ANTHONY		What?  You look like you've seen the		devil.			RIPLEY O/S		He has.Anthony turns to look back at Ripley -- moves aside so John can see her face at the hole --			ANTHONY 		You mean he --Anthony turns back - John is gone.INT. THE CORRIDORAs John begins to PULL the outermosk planks off.			RIPLEY		I was right, wasn't I?  You've seen it,		you've seen the Alien?John pauses at that.  His eyes tighten at the memory.			RIPLEY		I can tell you have.  I was right.		It came with me.			(to the wall, sharp)		Go away.John stops.  Looks at the wall.Ripley's voice comes clearly through the wood...			RIPLEY		Listen, priest, or whatever you are, I		know what you want.  I can't help you.		I couldn't help any of the others.  		Just stop what you're doing.  Go away.		Do you understand?John has opened a crack that exposes Ripley's eyes.  He stares at her a beat, tries to think of what to reply --He goes back to work as she continues her confession...			RIPLEY		You going to stay, Father?  But you're 		not going to talk.  Okay.  Then you can		listen.  You should listen.  Your Abbot		was right.  I am guilty.  But not of 		heresy.  Of murder.John stops again.Just stares at her eyes.			RIPLEY		The murder of the crew of the Nostromo.		That was when I first met the Alien.That reminds him of why he's here.He doubles his efforts at the boards...			RIPLEY		No, not the same one that's here now.		Or maybe it is.  Maybe they're all the 		same one.  I couldn't save my crew then.		I should have been able to.  But I couldn't.		When I went the second time --Her eyes soften.			RIPLEY		Then I met Newt.  Newt.  I fought --		stayed alive to keep Newt alive.		Hoped maybe that would make up for...She trails off.  Slides down the wall.			RIPLEY		Now he got her too.  What's the point?		     (hard again)		Just go away.  Leave me in here.  If you		let me out you'll want me to help you		and it will start all over again.		Let it end.John breaks through, flickering torch light streams in the motefilled air around him.  Ripley looks up at him.			RIPLEY		I can't help you.John, heaving and panting from the excertion.Swallows...			JOHN		Puh. (pant) Please.			RIPLEY		It never ends.INT. CORRIDOR - PRISON LEVEL - NIGHTA long, twisted-plank-floored corridor with a torch every twenty feet.  There is MOVEMENT at the far end.  Something iscoming towards us - FLICKERING in and out of the light and shadow --			RIPLEY O/S		Sheep?RIPLEY, JOHN AND ANTHONYRunning together.  Anthony carries a long wooden staff like a spear.  John has his bag.  Ripley a torch. We move with them.			ANTHONY		It must be able to take on some of the		characteristics of the animal it grows in.		Maybe they are from some sort of aggressive		soldier race -- warring parties drop the		eggs on opposing planets --			RIPLEY		And the alien takes on the form of the		creature that finds it, assuming that		animal is the dominant life form on the		planet.  So when it gestates in a man --Ripley shudders at the memory.			ANTHONY		It's a biped.  In a sheep or cow, a quadroped.			RIPLEY		Shit.  I just didn't think it could do that		to animals.			JOHN		Wait a minute - I thought you were the		expert on this monster.			RIPLEY		Is that the only reason you came to get		me out?  Because I knew about this thing?			JOHN		Yes.  I mean no.  I mean, that was part of		it.  Look.  I never thought you were wrong.		I was wrong not to say anything.  I was		afraid to speak up.  It's hard to be a 		monk, you know?Ripley stops.  Looks at him.A long beat.			RIPLEY		Thank you.  If anything, you're honest.			JOHN		We all are.  Took vows.			RIPLEY		I don't know about the Abbot.			JOHN		I'm sure he thinks what he did was right.			RIPLEY		Is that speaking up for someone?			JOHN		No.  Charity.She smiles.  They turn a corner...INT. SLOPING CORRIDOR - NIGHTThis hallway slopes downwards a few degrees.  The three find themselves trotting, leaning backward to keep their balance.			RIPLEY		All right, let's forget about the past		and get on to our survival.  No more		prisoners behind us?			ANTHONY		Not for years.			RIPLEY		Okay -- If the Alien's had a few days		to lay his eggs our only hope is to get		off this - What is this?			JOHN		Arceon.			ANTHONY		Satellite.			RIPLEY		Get to my ship and get off this Satellite.			JOHN		We can't.			RIPLEY		We can't what?			JOHN		Leave Arceon.  Can't leave the library --			RIPLEY		A Tape Library?			JOHN		Books.			RIPLEY		So?			JOHN		The reason we are out here.  Like the		Monks who guarded Monastery Libraries 		on remote islands off England during		the First Plague --			RIPLEY		There must be books on other colonies --			JOHN		Some of these books survived the burning		of the Libraries of Alexandria.  They		contain knowledge that exists in no 		other record.  Their value is unestimable.He runs his hand along the spine of the book in his bag.			JOHN		We're supposed to protect them.			RIPLEY		    (to Anthony)		And what does an android have to do 		with all this?			JOHN		He's a spy.			ANTHONY		The Company planted me here.			RIPLEY		The Company?  What does the Company have		to do with this?			ANTHONY		They built this prison.			RIPLEY		Prison?			JOHN		Colony.			ANTHONY		Prison.  They are all political heretics.  Ripley looks at John.			RIPLEY		You left that part out.			JOHN		The order was more of a counter culture,		a reaction to the Technology that was		beginning to take over everyone's lives.		It was a simple enough idea - Read, don't 		watch disk.  Walk, don't pump more carbons		into the air.  The earliest members		renounced technology.  Started to collect		the remaining books.  Nobody would have		noticed if it hadn't been for the Virus.			RIPLEY		Your Abbot talked about that.  The		New Plague.			ANTHONY		A computer virus.  A bad program.  By		this time the Corporate structure was		transglobal, all the world's data storage		systems were linked.  It spread through		two countries before it was stopped.			JOHN		After a scare like that, thousands flocked		to our retreat.  People started clamoring		for written information.  For our books.		They abandoned the modern ways --			RIPLEY		I think I can see how this comes out.			They gave up their possessions.			ANTHONY		This was a threat --			RIPLEY		To the Company.			JOHN		They sold the technology.  A movement 		to live simply was quickly twisted by 		Federal agents into a political movement		against the Company-controlled World		Government.  Too much was at stake.			RIPLEY		Too much profit.			JOHN		We were sentenced as political dissidents.		This orbiter is our gulag.  All the men		were packed up with all our books, and		towed into space.  Ten thousand men.  The		eldest died very quickly.			RIPLEY		The Company had such a sense of irony.  		Sending you out on this wooden tub.			ANTHONY		I was placed among them as a sensor.		Keeps tabs on the movement.			RIPLEY		So how'd they find out about you?			ANTHONY		I told them.  After the supply ship's		stopped coming I saw no point in keeping		up the charade.  Since I was a sort of		walking reminder of technology, they cast		me down.			RIPLEY		Join the club.		     (to John)		I figured this wasn't planned.  You don't		have to be a genius to see it wouldn't be		prudent to try to preserve man's written		works for generations -- without women.John looks embarrassed.			RIPLEY		And I don't know about your New Plague,		but I was just on Earth and everything's 		fine.John has a doubtful look.			RIPLEY		I was right about the Alien, wasn't I?		Means I must be right about the Earth.The logic behind her argument is uncomfortable.			JOHN		     (beat)		Perhaps.			RIPLEY		That's better than nothing.  Come on.They reach the end of the corridor.It opens into --INT. TRANSOM SPACE - PRISON LEVELAn enormous open space between "cell blocks."The Wall behind them is honey-combed with corridor openingsgoing up four stories, connected by aged, warped wooden laddersreminiscent of Indian cave dwellings.  Only wooden.The room stretches several football field lengths ahead of them-- falling off into gloom.They stand silent for a moment, dwarfed by the size of the roomand the task ahead of them.  Finally --			RIPLEY		At any rate, let's forget about the		Earth completely - whether you're right		or I'm right what's important is getting		the hell out of here.  From here my ship		is...?John points up at the ceiling.			ANTHONY		In Heaven.			RIPLEY		Right.  And this is...Anthony and John nod.			ANTHONY		This orbiter was patterned after a 		medieval concept of the universe --			 (makes a circle in the air)		They call the top half "Heaven - "			JOHN		The Abbey, the fields --			ANTHONY		The bottom half is "Hell."  Where we are.			RIPLEY		Aptly named.  What's in the middle?			JOHN		The sea.			ANTHONY		Really.			RIPLEY		Work with me here.  How far is it back		to the surface of the planet?			JOHN		As a stone falls --- Five miles through		the center.			RIPLEY		And the elevator -- the thing they		lowered me down in?			JOHN			Ropes cut.			ANTHONY		It's smart.  First he cuts their escape		off, then works his way down through the 		monastery level by level until there		isn't a thing left alive.  Interesting...			RIPLEY		Well, you start appreciating him more		than me and I'll find a way to shut		you down, capisce, Andy?  How do we		get up?			JOHN		There are ladders.She stops.  John and Anthony continue on a few steps and thenstop and walk back to her.			RIPLEY		Five miles with the Alien between us		and there?  Good luck, boys.She turns and heads back towards her cell --John catches her shoulder --			JOHN		You can't --			RIPLEY		Can't what?  Not help you go to your		deaths?  I've had my fill of that.			JOHN		I need you.  I can't do it alone.			RIPLEY		I've fought these creatures twice		before.  It take a lot to kill		these things.  Heavy artillery.			ANTHONY		We don't have weapons here.			RIPLEY		How about something we can make weapons		from?  Do you have anything like that --		any modern things here?John SHAKES his head vehemently --			JOHN		We renounced technology.  It was those		things that caused the Plague.			RIPLEY		This is a man-made planet.  Something has		to be recirculating your air, your water.			JOHN		God?			RIPLEY		Please.			JOHN		I don't know.  I just took it for granted.			RIPLEY		Most people do.  Without some sort of		technology we haven't got a chance.From behind them:			ANTHONY		There is technology.John and Ripley turn to look at him.			ANTHONY		A room.  A Technology room.  Fresh air		and water come out.			RIPLEY		An atmosphere processing plant --			ANTHONY		The heart and lungs of Arceon.			RIPLEY		Where is it?			ANTHONY		One level beneath the underground sea.			JOHN		That's five levels up --			ANTHONY		     (points into the gloom)		On the other side of the orbiter.John looks at Ripley --			JOHN		A chance.Ripley looks from John's earnest face to the darkness and back.			RIPLEY		All right.  You've got me - so far.		But here's the deal:  I don't know		how many of your brethren are going		to be alive when we get up there,		but if we make it to my ship, you're		all coming with me.  We'll take as		many of your precious books as we		can carry, but we're going.  I'm not		going to fight this thing again to 		end up alone again.  Understand?John nods his head.			RIPLEY		We're all dead anyway.  We might as		well go fi --She feels a TWINGE in her midsection --Doubles over.  Anthony and John each take an arm --			RIPLEY		Ugh - I'm all right.She takes a deep breath.			RIPLEY		Still thawing out.  I hate hyper sleep...		Come on.							CUT TO:INT. ARCEON - MONASTERY LEVEL - NIGHTThe formerly idyllic landscape has been reduced to a scorchedbattlefield.  Wooden huts leveled.  Small fires dot the land.The air thick with ash and greasy smoke.DOZENS OF MONKS swarm across the countryside like ants on a mound of spilt sugar.  In one hand a taper or torch held high,in the other hand their WEAPON: scythe, pitchfork, hoe,whatever they could get ahold of, seem pitifully out of place.Some pound sharpened stakes into the ground, others push cartsinto rough barricades.A "Platoon" of Monks huddle around trap doors open on thewooden "ground."  More ladders.They climb down to --AN UNDERGROUND WHEAT FIELD - NIGHTJust beneath the Monastery level of the satellite: an Underground Wheatfield.  Tall golden grass stretches out formiles, swaying gently around huge wooden columns that supportthe Abbey fifty feet above --THE CEILINGA lattice-work of suspended troughs and wooden pipes --the "plumbing," the understructure, of the Monastery.THE MONKSDescend the ladders single file.  Fear is in all of their facesthough most have only heard the stories.  They move cautiouslyinto the wheat.  Spread out through the field in the jaggedlydrawn skirmish line.THE ABBOTThe Bald Tribunal Monk's dried blood splattered on his cassock,stands atop an empty wooden wagon.  From this vantage point hewatchesTHE MONKS IN THE FIELDTHRASH and POKE their way forward leaving trails through thehigh grass.  Their attempt at an orderly progression quicklyfalls apart as they get strung out all over the field.			ABBOT		     (sotto)		Stay together.  Together...Then another movement catches the Abbot's eye --AHEAD of the Monks - the wheat waves against the wind.Begins to ripple -- the wheat flattens.a TRAIL forms.SomeTHING is MOVING in the long grass.Moving towards the Lead Monk -- FAST.The Abbot opens his mouth as if to shout a warning - eventhough the Monk closest to the moving trail is too far away tohear him - before he can make a sound The Alien closes the gap -Feeling horribly helpless he can only watch asAARGH-Aa -!The Lead Monk gives one strangled CRY before he disappearsbeneath the surface of the long grass.  His taper fallsamong the long, dry stalks -- begins to SMOKE...The Abbot can see the trail moving towards his men before theycan.  He finds his voice:			ABBOT		Run!  RUN!The Monks in the field turn from the spot where the Monkscreamed towards the Abbot -- TURN THEIR BACKS to the nowmoving again trail --			ABBOT		No - NO.  The --The Alien hits the skirmish line at a flanking angle --RAKING through five Monks like a scythe through wheat.His tail, arms WHIP out --SNAP their spines like kindling.Lost torches ignite the wheat...The field BURSTS INTO FLAME.Smoke fills the air.In the smoky commotion the Monks break rank and start running.Weapons in front of them -- SWINGING wildly --Screaming.  Crying.  DYING.One Frightened Monk runs through another with his pitchfork.Another hears something crashing through the grass towardshim and buries his scythe in his best friend's chest.And through it all the Alien seems to be everywhere.Using the chalky smoke for cover as it SLASHES and TEARS its wayacross the field --THE ABBOTFrozen in terror to the spot.   Squints through the smoke to seewhat has happened to his flock.  Hears the WAILS of defeatrising up from the wounded.The waving grass is flattened as The Alien moves towards him --He can finally pry himself from his perch on the wagon.He climbs down.  As his feet hit the wooden floor he feels ashadow fall over him.  The little hairs on the back of his neckstand up.  He slowly turns...THE ALIENRises out of the grass in front of the Holy Man.Slowly rises up to its height of almost three meters.It's long, smooth head is no longer black and slimy.It is golden.It's cable-like arms are sheathed in a straw-like covering.It has adapted to the environment of the wheat field.  Its nowgrass-like lips draw back into a ghastly parody of a smile.The Abbot SCREAMS and RUNS.			JOHN O/S		It isn't your fault, you know.INT. TRANSOM SPACE - SERIES OF SHOTSThey move across the huge room...Anthony a few paces ahead.Their candles throwing only enough light to see several yards.Wind whistles through the huge room, timbers creaking like somegigantic old house settling.			RIPLEY		What?			JOHN		Those things you said before --Ripley remembers her "confession."			JOHN		I read about it in psychology books.		Sometimes when people outlive someone		they cared for, they transfer some of		the guilt for that person's death to		themselves.			RIPLEY		I got a belly full of that from the		Psychtechs when I was on Earth.  Yeah.		"Survivor Guilt syndrome," or something		like that.  But that's not what I was		thinking about.  I was thinking about		my "friend" up there.She looks up.			RIPLEY		He was on the pod.  He killed Newt but		not me.  Why not me?  It's almost like		he's playing with me.  Maybe they have		some sort of race memory.  Maybe he		knows what I did to his "mother."		That's why he didn't just kill me.		That would be too easy.  He has to		torment me.			JOHN		You make it sound human.			RIPLEY		Hell, I don't know what it is.John unconsiously fingers his book.			JOHN		I think I do.INT. LADDER-WELL - PRISON LEVEL - NIGHTAt the end of the space a rough hewn wooden ladder leads to another block of cell corridors four stories up.Years of damp air have warped the ladder.Ripley leads the way, torch in her left hand.They climb...INT. END OF PRISON CORRIDOR - FOURTH LEVEL - NIGHTDark.  Ripley is the first one up.She raises her torch and heads down the new corridor alone.The cells here have no doors.She holds her torch in one --An old skeleton sits in quiet contemplation.AT THE LADDERJohn is just climbing off, Anthony right behind him.  Anthony is winded.  He reaches up for a helping hand.John looks back and sees that Ripley has moved ahead withoutthem, then reaches down to help Anthony.Their hands clasp --ANTHONY HAS A "VISION"He is seemingly standing in an open field, sheep grazingpeacefully at his side.SUDDENLY he is ATTACKED by a horde of Medieval demons.Fish faced demons.  Man-headed bird demons.They fly about him, grab hold of his limbs.The Sheep nearest him opens it's mouth to reveal a horde ofrazor sharp fangs, SINKS THEM INTO HIS ANKLE --Anthony SCREAMS -!RIPLEYDown the corridor HEARS the scream, turns back -- sees Anthonyfighting with himself, struggling against John's grasp -ANTHONYBalanced precariously on the top of the ladder in the real world as he fights against the demons in his android mind --He JERKS --Pulls his left ankle out of the grasp of the DEMON SHEEP --OFF the ladder - forty foot drop waiting below him...JOHNStruggles to keep his death grip on Anthony's hand.It's all that keeps Anthony from falling back down the shaft --			JOHN		Jesus Christ.  Ripleeeee -!He PULLS with all his might...ANTHONYSEES a horrible BIRD-DEMON grasping his hand in its beak --BITING through his wrist.  He waves his staff in the air --He aims for its head:CRACK -!WHACKS John's hand with his staff --John HOWLS in pain - LETS GO --Anthony TEETERS BACK ON ONE FOOT, arms waving in the air --Ripley's hands SHOOT OUT --GRAB Anthony's cassock --STOP his fall.Anthony's eyes open wide at the sight of this new horror --A terrible, wet, black cable-armed CREATURE that's latcheditself onto his cassock -- Long, shiny head.Ripley has become the Alien.WHACK!Anthony HITS the Creature with his staff --HITS Ripley on the head.WHACK!Again.  In the face.John tries to take hold of Anthony's staff arm --WHACK!The cane WHIPS against the side of his head, knocking him back.Ripley sets her feet and pulls on Anthony's cassock --Opens her mouth - GRUNTS --ANTHONY sees the terrible Alien open it's maw to devour him.WHACK! His staff connects with the bridge of Ripley's nose.She sees flashes of light -- loses her balance --Pitches forward, starts to go over with Anthony --JOHN GRABS THEM!Wraps his arms around the struggling pair and like a sumowrestler LIFTS and FALLS backwards - carrying the three of theminto the corridor -- WHUMPH!They land on the floor in a heap.Anthony continues to FLAIL ABOUT --Ripley and John pin him to the floor between them.Finally, the vision leaves him.He loses consciousness.JOHNBreathing heavy - opens his eyes --He's staring right into Ripley's face.Less than an inch away.He's laying on top of her.She's breathing heavy too.A long, uncomfortable moment.			RIPLEY		Thanks.			JOHN		You're welcome.They roll off each other.Her hand goes up to her nose.Blood.			RIPLEY		I'm all right.John reaches into his bag, withdraws a small cotton bag.			JOHN		Hold this against your nose.  It'll		stop the flow.She looks over at him questioningly.			JOHN		I'm a doctor.She holds the small bag against her nose.  The bleeding stops.They move over to Anthony - try to help him to his feet.He shakes them off.			ANTHONY		No - please.  Just let me sit.		Awhile.He rubs his temples.  White, milk-like sweat runs down hischeek.			ANTHONY		Damn it.			RIPLEY		What was that?			ANTHONY		The reason I'm down here.John points to his own eyes.			JOHN		Visions.			ANTHONY		Dreams.			RIPLEY		Androids can't dream...			ANTHONY		That's probably what they thought when		they built me.  But my brain is cyber-		organic - patterned after the human		brain - it functions the same way a		human brain does.  It accumulates random		images and sensations during waking 		hours, but unlike the human brain that		sloughs them off during sleep --			RIPLEY		Androids don't sleep.			ANTHONY		Right.  Maybe they've fixed this on later		models, but I don't.  Do you know what 		happens to the human brain when it is		deprived of sleep?  It starts to run off		the dreams while you're awake, as 		hallucinations.  Same thing with me.		For twenty years I absorbed data on this		planetoid.  A little after we lost contact		with Earth the visions started.  They		thought I was insane.  I had to explain 		that it was because I was an android.		They liked that even less.			RIPLEY		What did you see?			ANTHONY		What I always see.  Images of Monsters.		Demons.			JOHN		They're portents.  They stand for an		evil yet to come.			ANTHONY		Just images I've absorbed from those old		books and have no way to get rid of.			RIPLEY		I saw the inside of your cell.			ANTHONY		     (shrugs)		My head is full of them.  I try to get		them out any way I can.His eyelids droop.			JOHN		You need sleep.			ANTHONY		I know that.  I'll settle for rest.He closes his eyes.  Ripley recovers the torch.			RIPLEY		Stay with him.Ripley tried to stand - John takes her arm, pulls her down.			JOHN		No.  We all need rest.  You especially.Ripley considers him.			JOHN		Doctor's orders.She smiles and sits.			JOHN		Besides, you see what happens when you		get ahead of us.  We should stay together.			RIPLEY		All right.  He's still above us, anyway.			JOHN		What do you mean?			RIPLEY		I've faced this evil twice before - I		guess I've gotten sensitive to it --		     (beat)		You're really a Doctor?John pats his canvas bag.			JOHN		See my bag?			RIPLEY		What's that book?			JOHN		Just a book.			RIPLEY		I don't buy "just a book" from a guy who		says we can't leave the planet without		the library.						JOHN		It's just... a medical book I might need.			RIPLEY		You don't have any food in there, do you?			JOHN		Only if you can eat bandages.Ripley rubs her midsection.			RIPLEY		In a few hours that's going to sound		good.  Going in and out of suspended		animation - Christ I probably haven't		eaten in a year.			ANTHONY		    (without opening eyes)		You should've eaten the bread.			RIPLEY AND JOHN		Rest!Ripley lets her head loll back against the wall.Closes her eyes.  Time passes.Her brow knits.John sees this.			JOHN		You all right?			RIPLEY		Aces.			JOHN		You weren't hurt when I landed on you?		Bruised a rib?He reaches over and puts his hands beneath her cassock.Feels her midsection.  His hands are warm.			RIPLEY		Are you sure you're a doctor?He withdraws his hands.			JOHN		Sort of.  My father passed on when we 		first came here.  The Abbey's Physician -		Father Anselm - took me in.  He really		raised me --			  (pause)		Taught me what he could before he		passed away.  He was schooled on Earth.			RIPLEY		Well, I'm just hungry.			JOHN		You haven't eaten since I took you		out of your tube.			RIPLEY		You did that...She reaches out and takes hold of his hands.  Turns them over.			RIPLEY		You burned yourself on the escape pod.Her hands on his makes him feel...uncomfortable.			RIPLEY		Thank you, I guess.They look into each other's eyes --			ANTHONY O/S		You should've eaten the bread.Ripley, embarrassed, releases his hands.Looks at Anthony.  He's trying to stand.			ANTHONY		Enough rest.  There's beasties afoot.They start into...A NARROW CORRIDORCeiling so low their torches must be held out in front of them.Ripley makes an effort not to move faster than the two monks.INT. LADDER SHAFTA great long ladder hanging in the middle of nowhere.Seems at least a mile long.The group climbs...A SERPENTINE CORRIDORLiquid drips through the ceiling planks over head.Falls into RED puddles on the slanted floor.John kneels, dips his fingertips --			JOHN		Blood.		     (sniffs)		Mixed with sea water.			ANTHONY		We're getting close to the center of		the arc -- near the sea.			RIPLEY		Blood.			JOHN		Getting close...John HEARS somthing.Raises his hand -- "stop"The group stops.  Flatten themselves against the wall.John takes Anthony's staff.Moves forward with it held out in front of him...WHIRLS around a blind corner --SHOVES something against the wall --Thump!It struggles --Ripley and Anthony run up -- raise their tapers --Revealing:			RIPLEY		The Abbot.Cassock torn, dirty.  Hair, eyes wild.Anthony's staff across his throat. John pulls back.			JOHN		Father --			RIPLEY		   (sarcastic)		What are you doing down here, father?		You look like you've seen something		that doesn't exist.The Abbot runs his fingers through his hair.  Smoothes it down.			ABBOT		I was their spiritual leader.  I was not		prepared to lead them in battle.		Not against that thing.			JOHN		No one could be.			RIPLEY		I thought you said the evil was inside		me -- that sealing me up was the answer		to all your problems?			ABBOT		Destruction.  The destruction YOU brought		to us!			RIPLEY		I only tried to warn you.			ABBOT		What are you doing with this woman --?			JOHN		We are going to the Technology Room.		Trying to find some way to fight --			ABBOT		You don't join the devil to fight the		devil.			ANTHONY		She's helping us --			ABBOT		Look who defends the deceiver -- the one		who isn't even human.  John, can't you see		what is happening?  On ancient Earth,		during the Black Death - many believed		that God had abandoned them, so they		appealed to the Devil.  Flocked to him		hoping to save their bodies - losing their		souls in the bargain.			RIPLEY		Father, we're all on the run from the 		same monster so let's not resort to the		fire and brimstone routine.  I've been		enlightened about your "movement."		Pretty funny to be tried for heresy on a		planet of heretics.			JOHN		Please. The time for pretense is past.			ABBOT		All right.  I was trying to keep you quiet. 			JOHN		Sir --?			ABBOT		I do what I have to do to keep the		Brotherhood together.  We all gave up		believing in Earth a long time ago.  How		do you think they would feel if told		their exiled was in vain?  That the		holocaust they were trying to avoid		never occured?  Those men up there have		grown to live with it.			RIPLEY		And with you as their leader.The Abbot smiles.  Ripley is sharp.			ABBOT		You threatened the status quo.			RIPLEY		So you, protector of knowledge and truth,		lied to them.			ABBOT		Only about you.  The rest I still		believe.  If Earth still orbits its sun		there is no way it could have survived		being reduced to Barbarism.			RIPLEY		You're as bad as the Company.			JOHN		Ripley --			RIPLEY		That's why you ran.  After all your talk		death stared you in the face and you		were afraid.			ABBOT		Not afraid of death.			RIPLEY		The Alien.			ANTHONY		The Organism.			ABBOT		The Devil.INT. TECHNOLOGY ROOM CORRIDORThe now four refugees work their way into the final corridor.Dark.  Turns at sharp angles.  Blind alleys.The floor is uneven, wood aged and twisted.Warped by years of water dripping from above.The group strings out as it moves into the darkness, candlesheld high...ANTHONYBringing up the rear, puts his walking stick down --SNAPP!!!Everybody stops at the sound.			ABBOT		What was that?Anthony pulls his stick from the grasp of a--			ANTHONY		Man trap.They lower their candles.  Look to:THE FLOORInterspersed throughout the timbers --Spring jawed, steel toothed, BEAR TRAPS.Rusted.  Open.  And all around them.			ANTHONY		In case anyone tried to get in and		tamper with the technology.The four of them are standing in the middle of a mine-field ofman traps.  Nobody moves.			ABBOT		What do we do?			RIPLEY		Don't move.  Don't breath.			ABBOT		We can't just stand here and wait.			RIPLEY		Floor's too unstable to try to walk		around them.John pulls a loose board from the corridor wall.Turns and kneels at the trap in front of him.Pokes the end of the board into the jaws...SNAP!!The others jump at the sound --			ABBOT		John - what are you doing?John pulls the stick out of the rusted jaws.Moves to the next trap --Snap!!			RIPLEY		He's thinking like a leader.  Everyone:		Grab wood.  Spring the traps.  Clear a path.		      (proud of him)		Good work, Father John.			JOHN		Brother.			RIPLEY		Brother.  Let's go.Ripley pulls a plank from the wall next to her.  Exposes a bit of the surface underneath --It's METAL.She touches the cool, familiar material.  Smiles.Now she knows this is not a dream.She turns and SPRINGS the trap in front of her --SNAP!!THE FOURSlowly make their way down the corridor, one hand holding acandle high, the other poking a piece of wood into the trap infront of them... SNAP-SNAP...SNAP. SNAP.walking carefully around the yet unfired traps....THE DOOR TO THE TECHNOLOGY ROOMA huge wooden door with no knob or handle.  Looks like it couldalmost be part of the wall.  John and Ripley are the first toit.  They put down their planks and begin to feel around theedges of the door for some purchase.The Abbot joins them.BACK IN THE CORRIDORAnthony lags behind.  He senses a presence in the hallway.Hears a sound behind him.We see a GLIMPSE of something --He turns towards the sound --Empty hallway.He thinks.  Starts forward again -- with his ear cocked to therear... SNAP!AT THE DOORRipley, John and The Abbot knock on the door, walls.Ripley leans her head against the wall in frustration andexhaustion.  To get this far, and be locked out.She feels sick to her stomach.How long since she had food?She looks over at John.He is staring at her.He turns red at being caught.  Cute.			JOHN		I just - are you allright?			RIPLEY		Tied.  Without sleep, food -- I just		feel my age.		       (smiles)		Figuring hyperspace time, I'm almost a		hundred.She wipes her brow and goes back to knocking...			JOHN		Hello?The wall beneath his fist sounds hollow.Fingernails find the edge of the plank and pull --The plank slides aside on tiny, rusty pneumatic pistons.BEHIND THE PLANKA primitive KEYBOARD.  Circa late twentieth century.			JOHN		I think this is it.Ripley and the Abbot move over to see.			ABBOT		Technology.			RIPLEY		Yeah - a hundred years ago.  An antique.			ABBOT		     (to Ripley)		Go ahead.			RIPLEY		Go ahead and what?			ABBOT		Open the door, woman.			RIPLEY		I'll get to it, but listen to me --		you may dress like you're living in		the middle ages but you can't treat		me like your chambermaid, or whatever		Monks had.UP THE HALL - ANTHONYHears the sound again.  Turns.Nothing again.He pauses... Turns back quickly --The wooden wall MOVES - steps forward --THE ALIENAdapted itself to look like WOOD.It's body changes -- transmutes -- Cable-like sinew snakingover grained limbs to approximate the more traditional bio-mechnoid alien appearance...!ANTHONY POVThe weary android sees the Alien as a conglommoration of hismany Medieval images of demons.  He hears the Alien's hollow,raspy breath.  It glides towards him...Anthony steps back directly INTO A TRAP as his mind goes --SNAP!!The STEEL JAWS spring shut on his left ankle.Milky blood-fluid starts to flow.He finds himself in the same predicament as his vision --Ankle pinned, the Alien's appendages circling him --He screams.  AAAAAAAAAAAARGH --!AT THE DOORRipley is trying to work.  She punches numbers into the keyboard.She is too exhausted to see straight.They HEAR the scream --John RUNS back --Traps SNAPPING around him --Ripley turns towards the sound --The Abbot pushes her back to the keyboard --			ABBOT		OPEN IT!!Ripley knits her brows.  Forces herself to focus.Her fingers punch the keys.THE ALIENSteps towards Anthony --Snap-snap-SNAP-AP-!!Traps snap closed on its tail, its legs --HALFWAY DOWN THE HALL - JOHNSNAP!!His cassock is snagged in a trap.He TEARS right out of it --AT THE END OF THE HALLAnthony is in the clutches of the Alien.He WHACKS at the Beast with his staff, but his blows fall likedrops of rain on an elephant.The Alien LIFTS him up to face him.  Anthony SCREAMS as his leftleg is stretched agsinst the tension of the trap's chain --Blood pouring as white ribbons from his almost severed ankle.FACE TO FACE WITH THE ALIENAnthony drops his staff and grabs each of the alien's arms withhis own android arms.  His extra-human strength keeps them fromsqueezing him any tighter, but he cannot avert his gaze fromthe smooth, eyeless face.The Alien considers him.  Its thin, almost translucent lips pullback to reveal rows of splinter-like teeth.  The jaws spread,making room for the distended tongue:The Alien HISSES --PUTS OUT Anthony's EYES with a thin stream of ACIDIC SALIVA --Artificial skin BUBBLES AND BLISTERS --JOHNPicks up Anthony's staff.Begins to FLAIL away at the demon.AT THE DOORRipley is getting no response from the keyboard.			ABBOT		What's wrong?!Ripley slides the keyboard out of the wall compartment.The wires are so old they've broken.			RIPLEY		Shit.She BITES the ends off the wires - spits out the insulation.TWISTS the bare wire ends together...Sweat runs into her eyes.JOHNWHACKS the Alien with Anthony's staff --Again.  Again.  The creature will not let Anthony go.The Android writhes in its grasp, his face now a blistered,pulpy mass, eyes gone.RIPLEYFinishes hot wiring.  The keyboard hums to life.Her fingers FLY across the keys --THE ALIENTail wraps around John's waist --Pulls him towards it --LIFTS him - turns him upside down --Lips PULL BACK --John's hands GROPE at the floor --Sharp metal teeth SPREAD --THE DOOR KEYBOARDLights:  CODE ACCEPTEDRipley's head whips towards the corridor --JOHNHis hand closes around the end of one of the traps --He brings it up --SNAP!!It SLAMS closed on the Alien's extended Tongue -!The Beast bellows!!Whips its head from side to side --Can't shake off the trap --ACID BLOOD sprays out --!Lands as pools of FIRE on the wooden floor.THE DOOROpens with a strained blast of dust -- SEE-WHORCSSH!The Abbot LEAPS inside --			RIPLEY		It's open!!JOHNPRIES Anthony's ankle out of his trap.Scoops up his staff, drags the moaning Android --Back up the corridor --RIPLEYStands in open Technology Room doorway --			ABBOT		Close it -- close it -- it's coming -			RIPLEY		We wait.  John!!John and Anthony appear out of the shadows --Run/hobble towards the door --THE ALIENAcid Blood DISSOLVES the traps' steel jaws.  PULLS itself free.Head whips towards the escaping Monks -- if it had eyes theywould narrow to slits in anger --RUNS up the hall --RIPLEYFollows John and Anthony into the Technology Room.On the other side of the doorway: another keyboard.She punches keys --			ABBOT		Hurry --			JOHN		HURRY!!THE ALIENYards away -- Limping.  Hissing.ANGRY.THE KEYBOARDAcceptance tone "bings."The Door starts to slide down --The Alien is feet away --INCHES...The door seats itself closed with a solid THUD.Ripley, panting, rests eyes closed against the rough woodendoor.  A beat.She turns to the room for the first time and finds --WINDMILLSReal Man of LaMancha wood and cloth windmills.  Two story higharms slowly rotating.  Moving enormous volumes of air throughthe wind tunnel-like room.  As far as the eye can see.Turning, creaking.WHOOSH...WHOOSH...But no electronics.  No radio.  No weapons.This is the Technology Room.Ripley collapses to the floor and loses consciousness.  							DISSOLVE TO:INT. SULACO ESCAPE SHIP #4 (DREAM)Yellow warning lights PULSE.  Those goddamned STROBES areflickering on and off.  Steam blasts out overhead pipes.The blue-spark pilot light muzzles of a FLAME THROWER shylypokes out from behind a console.  It's owner cautiouslyfollows...RIPLEYShe's breathing heavy.She's wearing a sweat soaked tank top.Her eyes flit from side to side.  Then up.  Then down.She pokes the weapon out ahead of her and moves into the pod.She silently crosses the distance to Newt's sleep tube:IN THE TUBENewt sleeps peacefully.Ripley allows herself one maternal smile, then remembers.Her grip TIGHTENS in the Flame Thrower in her hands.She flips a switch to HI HEAT.Moves around the sleep tubes...A noise to her left.She WHIRLS --Pulls the trigger on the flame thrower -- click.  Nothing.She tries again -- a half-hearted burp, but no flame.She begins to panic --Senses the Alien's presence.Looks left, right, up - no Alien...Looks down:The Alien's tail is COMING UP BETWEEN HER LEGS.She turns --Right into it's grasp.The useless flamethrower SKITTERS across the floor.She PUMMELS the beast with balled up fists.			RIPLEY		No.  NO!  I beat you!  I beat you mother		fucker!!The Alien spins her -- pushes her over across the sleep tube --Like it's taking her from behind!Ripley looks down into the sleep tube:Newt is gone.Her doll's head lays in a pool of blood.The Alien wraps his arms around Ripley.Thin lips pull back for a kiss.She SCREAMS.INT. TECHNOLOGY ROOM - REALITY - DAYRipley opens her eyes.WHOOSH...WHOOSH...She's still in the room with the windmills.Somehow this place seems less real than her dream.She looks around:John is sitting next to her, writing on a piece of parchment.He smiles a relieved smile.			JOHN		I thought we'd lost you.			RIPLEY		What are you writing?			JOHN		Last will and testament.		      (beat)		Just kidding.She looks to her left:Anthony is lying on his back, cotton bandage wrapped around hiseyes.  His ankle is a swollen mess.  Wires are hanging out.			RIPLEY		Is he --?			JOHN		Resting.		      (shakes his head)		He'll be fine.			ANTHONY		No I won't.  He's a terrible liar.			RIPLEY		I'm sorry.			ANTHONY		It's ironic.  I guess my visions were		prescience after all.  How will I ever		resolve that with my artifical con-		science?A creaking floorboard to Ripley's right draws her attention toThe Abbot.  He's pacing.			ABBOT		Do you see what you've delivered us		into?			RIPLEY		Yeah.  Lead me not into temptation to		kick your -- ahh --Ripley tries to stand - her head spins.WHOOSH...WHOOSH...			RIPLEY		Oh shit.The entire room THROBS with the rhythm of the wind.			RIPLEY		Where is the Big Boy -?The Abbot points to the door.			ABBOT		On the other side of that door.		Waiting for us to starve to death.Ripley moves to the door and feels it's cold surface.			RIPLEY		It's playing with us.  It could get in		here any time it wants.			ABBOT		Why should he enter?  He knows that one		of the people in this room is in league		with him.			JOHN		Sir.  We're all in the same coracle, so		to speak.			ABBOT		Maybe more than one of us.			RIPLEY		Let's talk about the facts, Mr. Abbot.She looks at the windmills.WHOOSH...WHOOSH...			RIPLEY		This is your technology?			ABBOT		Even this is forbidden to us.			RIPLEY		Well then, the facts are that we're screwed.She moves into the room.  Walks around one of the Windmills.			RIPLEY		An Eco system.  Nothing to recycle your		atmosphere except the green plants.  Winds		generated down here --		     (looks at the floor)		Windmills use the natural surface winds		to turn wheels underground, create tides		on the seas to recirculate your water...			ANTHONY		More than that.  There are pumps beneath		the floor - I can feel their vibration.			RIPLEY		Probably pumping this air through charcoal		filters.WHOOSH...WHOOSH...			RIPLEY		It gets colder all the time here, right?John looks at her questioningly.			JOHN		Yes...			RIPLEY		Your wood burning fires throw soot into		the atmosphere, building the cloud layer -		cutting off the sun's rays - cooling the		planet, forcing you to burn more wood.WHOOSH...WHOOSH...			ANTHONY		The Greenhouse Effect.  It's how the Earth		almost destroyed itself in the late 20th		century.			RIPLEY		Don't you see?  This is a planet set to		self destruct.  Not in ten minutes or two		hours but soon.  Your atmosphere here is		finite.  If the plants die the fires will		eat up all the oxygen - this planetoid		will be dead - Everyone will die.The Abbot has the look of a man who has been beaten in the last few meters of a Marathon.			ABBOT		It's here.  I was just hoping I would be		dead long before it came to this.			JOHN		What?			ABBOT		We're supposed to die here.  That's the point.			RIPLEY		Wait a minute -- you were exiled --?			ABBOT		The punishment for our crime was death.Anthony sits up.			ANTHONY		This planet is the supreme triumph of		planned obsolesence.  A certain amount of		primitive materials with an atmosphere		processing system as fragile as a real		environment but not replenishable.The Abbot has a faraway look in his eyes...			ABBOT		Poetic justice for the anti-technologists.		The Company's best work.  You know, I used		to be a corporate executive.  Middle range		V.P.  Then my wife got hit by a speed craft.		I chucked it all and joined the order.		Be a monk -- see the world.  Being here,		being chairman of the board...			RIPLEY		No, now I understand why I landed here.		To join you happy lunatics in your 		deaths.Ripley moves away...John starts after her.			JOHN		Ripley, wait --The Abbot stands, blocks his way.			ABBOT		Where can she go?  She's trapped.		       (beat)		Trapped inside her own prison.  A prison		in her mind.  Inside her mind.  Dancing.		Sparklets of light - dance with the june		bugs in the recesses of ourmindstheyare		coming to danceintheshadowof...John and Ripley turn to look at the Abbot.He begins to speak faster.  Faster.He shakes.  Vibrates is more accurate --A trickle of BLOOD runs from his left ear...			ABBOT		RidingthewildwindsofchangeNoescapeNo		escapeforthewickedEvilEvilthynameis		woman.Woman.Womanheiscoming.Heiscoming		foryouuuuuuuuu --*SPLORTCH-KT--!!The Abbot's HEAD EXPLODES --!!!Like a ripe melon dropped ten stories onto pavement.Blood, bone, hair and brain matter SPRAY John.John SCREAMS.A HORRIBLE ALIEN HEAD BURSTERIs all that sits atop the blood spurting neck of the Abbot.It keeps it's hold on the Abbot's spinal cord -- The Abbot'sbody continues to stagger around, arms jerking mechanically aslack of fresh nerve impulses from the brain works its waythrough the system.Ripley SCREAMS.The Infant Alien-headed corpse stumbles towards her --She plucks Anthony's staff from the floor and SWINGS ---- Like a child hitting a baseball from a TEE --WHACK-K -!!BLASTS the Chest/head burster across the room --It hits the floor SCRAMBLING.  Scuttles down into where theWindmills meet the floor.  Disappears.			RIPLEY		BASTARD!!  It came out of his fucking		head!			ANTHONY		I didn't have to see that to know what		that means.			RIPLEY		He sent him to us.  That bastard outside.		I can't get away from him.  He's fucking		with my mind.  He's my punishment!			ANTHONY		I'm confused.  Before you said it came out		of the torso, not the head --			RIPLEY		I don't feel like a discussion of Alien biology.John comes up next to her.			JOHN		Ripley, don't --She pushes him away and sinks to the floor.			RIPLEY		I should just wait for the air to run out...			JOHN		I believe - I know - that we can win --		there is an answer in our books.			RIPLEY		Your books?  Your books are gone, Brother.		Your world is gone.  Once that thing starts		to lay its eggs, all your brothers - if		they aren't already - are dead.			JOHN			If that's true, then all of us, the books,		are consigned to ashes.He clasps his hands and bows his head.The Abbot's blood drips off his hands.Plip - plop!Into a little puddle at Ripley's feet.She stares at the blood.  Aahk.Feels the PAIN again.Runs her hand across her chest...			ANTHONY O/S		Ripley?			RIPLEY		What?			ANTHONY		There are several inconsistancies between		this and the other Aliens you described.			RIPLEY		Give it up.			ANTHONY		I think this is important.  This may help		us fight it.  The creature that I fought		in the hall - when I first saw it, it had		camoflaged itself to look like wood.Ripley looks up.						RIPLEY		Wood?  When I saw it in my room it looked		the way it did before -- black, mechanical --		unless that was a dream.			ANTHONY		I don't think it was.  I think that this 		creature, if it is the efficient predator		that you say it is, has the ability to		adapt to its environment.			RIPLEY		Then the reason they've always looked the		same to me is that I only ever saw them in		the same environment.			ANTHONY		Or this may be an as yet unseen stage of		development -- you saw a queen -- This		could be like a King ant -- more highly		advanced than the drone, bred for 		survival -?			JOHN		How does this explain the thing that came		out of the ewe's chest?  The Abbot's head?			RIPLEY		Maybe it can deposit different types of		eggs.  The chest burster is probably		dormant until the host eats - The first		one I ever saw came out of Kane after he		started to eat --And in one horrible moment she realizes:She hasn't eaten.  The pain in her chest...			RIPLEY		No.Anthony "looks" towards her - does he realize as well?			JOHN		No what?			RIPLEY		No, we're not beat yet, Father --			JOHN		Brother --Ripley gets up.			RIPLEY		Brother.  Not yet.  If he's taunting me,		then maybe we can use that.  We can beat		this bastard.  We can get to my ship.		We can live.								CUT TO:INT. TECHNOLOGY ROOMJohn stands by a ladder that runs up to a trap door in the ceiling.  Holds a torch.Ripley is on the ground with Anthony, his injured leg splayed out in front of him.  Skin is palid.			ANTHONY		Don't have second thoughts.  Blind and		crippled I would only slow you down.		Give him time to figure out what you're		doing.  Just leave me my staff.			RIPLEY		Okay.  Good luck.She shakes his hand.  He pulls her closer.Anthony's empty eye sockets seem to see as he looks at Ripley.			ANTHONY		Ripley, I know.  Good luck.			RIPLEY		Sit tight.Ripley crosses to John.  Poised at the bottom of the ladder theylook up at the trap door on the ceiling.			RIPLEY		He could be waiting on the other side		of that door.  We might not get ten feet		before he kills the three of us.He shakes his head.			JOHN		We had better go, then.He smiles.She smiles back.They move up the ladder.It leads up a damp, short shaft, walls GREEN with algae, toAN UNDERGROUND DOCK - NIGHTThe ladder shaft opens onto a barnacled pier.  Ripley and Johnclimb out onto the wooden structure.  Before them:AN UNDERGROUND SEA stretches the width of the entire planet,over five miles across.  The floor of the lowest level of thetop half of the orbiter makes a ceiling that looms a hundredfeet overhead.The water sparkles with a golden glow.			JOHN		Must be day on the surface of the planet.			RIPLEY		Where is the light coming from?				JOHN		Mirrors.  Reflect the outside light down		great shafts -- through lenses.  That's		what they make in the glass factory. 		Lenses.  Look --She turns:A HUGE WATERFALLLit from within by daylight beaming down from above -- poursinto the sea a short distance from them.			JOHN		Opens to the surface.  Water flows in		and out.  I don't know how.  There's one		at either end.  I came down on the other		side.			RIPLEY		What do we do?John points to three small leather and wood coracles bobbing atthe end of their ropes.			JOHN		We cross.INT. TECHNOLOGY ROOM - DAYAnthony has dragged himself to a sitting position against thebottom of one of the windmills.  He winces as he prods histender ankle with the end of his staff.  It SPARKS.The large canvas arms of the windmill rotate above his head.The wind blows through his hair.WHOOSH...WHOOSH...Feels good.Anthony reaches up and waves his hand of his "eyes."			ANTHONY		Now the seer can only see what God wants		him to.  Forty years on a planet of Monks		and I've finally found religion.A floor board CREAKS.Anthony strains to hear:			ANTHONY		John?  Ripley?WHOOSH...WHOOSH...He knows it is not.			ANTHONY		Well come then.  I haven't got forever.A shadow falls across his face.  He can feel it.He doesn't have to see what is here.THE UNDERGROUND OCEAN - DAY INTO NIGHTThe leather boat makes its way across the sea.John rows while Ripley holds the torch aloft.As night falls she takes the oars.The Ocean is dead calm.  The coracle glides across the glass-like surface.  John flexes his scarred fingers.			RIPLEY		Your hands okay?			JOHN		They'll be fine.  You've been on		a boat before.Ripley squints ahead of them.The ocean seems to go on forever.			RIPLEY		I was a warrant officer on a ship --		but I did all my sailing in space.			JOHN				Father Anselm used to take me on his		coracle when I was little.Ripley leans forward - scans his face.			RIPLEY		How old were you when they towed		this satellite out here?				JOHN		Five.  The Abbot said they put us to 		sleep for the thirty years it took		to get here.  We've had almost forty		more.  Until now.			RIPLEY		What happened to your mother?			JOHN		Never had one.  I mean, never knew her.		I mean, I did, once.  She left my father		when he joined the movement.  If she		hadn't I wouldn't be here.  They kept		the other children with the women, on		Earth.  That was too long ago now.  Like		a dream.Ripley's face grows strangely dark.  She turns to the water.			RIPLEY		Did you know that I was a mother?			JOHN		The girl in the ship with -?			RIPLEY		No.  On Earth.  I never mentioned my		daughter.  My daughter.  I have - had		I guess, by now - a daughter on Earth.		Kathy.  She was nine when I signed on to		the Nostromo.  Mommy will be home before		you know it I said.  My shares would have		set us up good.  Then I lost sixty years		floating around in a rescue pod.  Thanks		to the Alien.  I came home to face a bitter,		70 year old woman.  My daughter.  A little		girl who's mother never came home.			JOHN		Jesus Christ.			RIPLEY		They said I should have been happy to be		alive.  Funny, huh?  That's why I went		back the second time.  Not so I could		fight it -- You can't fight it -- So		I could let it kill me.She rubs her chest --			JOHN		You didn't choose to get lost in space.			RIPLEY		Thanks for the try Father --			JOHN		Brother.			RIPLEY		Brother, but I'm not looking for absolution.		I couldn't be a good mother to my daughter.		I couldn't be a good mother to Newt.  But		I can be a good mother to you.  I can make		sure you survive.Suddenly they feel rain --Ripley holds out her hand.Her eyes open wide at what she sees.John takes the oars as she holds the torch over the side:The Ocean has become red with BLOOD.Blood DRIPS down from the ceiling around them.			RIPLEY		Blood.John looks up.			JOHN		From the levels above.His face goes white.			JOHN		He must have slaughtered all --			RIPLEY		Don't think about it.  Don't think about		what's up there.  Just row.As Ripley takes the torch away from the water, tiny ripples moveacross the surface.She doesn't notice.A SHAPEPasses underneath the boat.  A swimming CREATURE.  The Alien.Thanks to the reflective qualities of water, it appears HUGE.Dwarfs their coracle.INT. TECHNOLOGY ROOM - NIGHTAll the windmills are BURNING.Flaming arms lazily turning.Anthony is not in sight.Whoosh...Whoosh...THE OTHER SIDE OF THE OCEAN - NIGHTAnother dock with ladders going up and down.Ripley and John climb out of the coracle.Don't waste time tying off.  They go  --UP THE LADDERA hundred foot climb.  The wood is twisted.Rungs have been torn away in some places.They pull themselves up sections that have only the tiniestfoothold.  The temperature rises as they do.Sweat runs into their eyes.Soon they can see the floor above them:BLACKENED by intense heat.They climb.INT. UNDERGROUND WHEAT FIELDS - NIGHTRipley and John come up from the level below.			RIPLEY		Holy shit.John crosses himself.Another testament to the terrible battle with the Alien.Reduced to just a huge, blackened floor.All the crops burned to ash --Their charred stalks mingled with the corpses of roasted Monks.Their nostrils assailed by the stench of the dead --Ripley would puke if she had any food in her body.			JOHN		There's Andrew.  And Raphael.  Peter...			RIPLEY		Stop.  How far?			JOHN		We're right below the Abbey now.They cross the smoldering field.The scorched floor threatens to give way under John's feet --Ripley pull him to one side.THE MONASTERY LEVELHeaven has become HELL.The ground, the buildings, the Sky-timber - all blackened.FIRES burn everywhere.  Air choked with gray smoke and dustpouring in from the Orbiter's surface through rends in thevaulted ceiling.RIPLEY AND JOHNClimb through a hole where a trap door has been torn off it's hinges.  They look at the grim tableau:Monks impaled on their own pikes.Tangled together in their own pungy stakes.Alien cocoon material cobwebbed over their bodies.THE MONASTERYFlickering fires lit the first few floor windows.Ripley takes a step towards it --Reaches back and pulls John...INT. GLASS FACTORY - NIGHTThe Glass furnace boils almost to the point of overflow.Small fires burn out of control around the room.Finished glass pieces BURST from the heat.Ripley and John enter.			JOHN		This is the glassworks.  They have		tools here --			(spots)		Kyle --He runs across the room --BROTHER KYLESits calmly at the Marver table.He places playing cards on the table in front of him.Solitaire.  He sings to himself quietly.			KYLE		     (sotto)		Can't see my baby.		Don't see my baby.  Bay be.John grabs him by the lapels - pulls him to his feet.The playing cards fall to the floor --Kyle watches them, not John.			JOHN		Kyle.  Brother Kyle.			KYLE		Cards on the floor, fifty two pickup.		Black king on red queen, put the		ace up --John SHAKES him.			JOHN		Kyle goddammit!Ripley moves closer.			RIPLEY		John - it's too late --Kyle begins to sing faster.  Faster.			KYLE		Ace up.  Put the ace up.  Redaceupup.		Blackaceup.Up.Pup-pup-pup-chaka-		boomloommawhacka -- Booomalooma		looma --Ripley and John look at each other.They know what this means.John pulls a length of rope off a nearby table.Moves in front of Kyle.  Looks into his glassy eyes.A tear runs down his cheek.			JOHN		Keep singing, my friend.John loops the rope around Kyle's neck.Strangles him.Eases the lifeless body to the floor.Stares at it.RIPLEYPulls a blowing iron from the rack.  Feels its weight andbalance.  A reasonable weapon.  She crosses to John.			JOHN		I killed him.  I'm a doctor and I		killed him.			RIPLEY		You had to.  You're supposed to end		suffering.She hands him a pontil, a pointed iron spear used to form themolten glass shapes.			RIPLEY		Let's get the hell out of here.INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHTRipley and John move up the stairs.Flickering orange lit from below.Smoke and soot rise from the first on the lower floors.INT. LIBRARY - NIGHTThey enter carefully.  The room is exactly as John left it,books out of shelves, hanging on their chains.			RIPLEY		He's made a mess.John pushes ahead of her.			JOHN		No.  He hasn't been up here yet.  I 		did this.He moves to the nearest shelf and uses his pontil to pry openthe lock --			JOHN		Here - philosophy - we'll start here --AAAROO --!A HAIRY BLUR flies out from between the stacks --WHUMPH!  Knocks John to the floor --Licks his face.			JOHN		Mattias!The happy dog leaps all over his master.			JOHN				He waited.  Ripley, this is Mattias.  My		dog.  Good fellow.Ripley crosses to them.			RIPLEY		I'm glad.  Really.  But we've probably		only got a few minutes before this		entire place goes up in flames.  Just		grab whatever books you want and --Ripley leans in to pet Mattias.Mattias draws his lip back.  Growls.He's looking over Ripley's shoulder.She turns around slowly...THE ALIENStanding in the open doorway.It's in bad shape from the man traps.Lost a foot.  Tongue hanging out, useless.Parts of it look like wood.  Parts of it look like wheat.It carries Anthony's waterlogged, limp body --POPS off his head like a grape from the bunch.Tosses the corpse at Ripley's feet.I could swear it's trying to smile.RIPLEY AND JOHNBack against the book stacks.John grabs Mattias' collar.The Dog GROWLS at the Alien intruder...			JOHN		Easy, boy...			RIPLEY		Is there another way out?			JOHN		Not that will do us any good.THE ALIENLimps into the room dragging one foot.It's breathing is labored.  Dripping acid blood leaves a thintrail of fire behind it.			JOHN		We hurt it.The Alien draws itself up to its full height --Even wounded it is one dangerous mother fucker.			RIPLEY		You wanna give it a bandage?  Look --		Where is my ship from here?			JOHN		On the roof directly above this room.			RIPLEY		Here's the plan --					JOHN		But the books --			RIPLEY		Forget the books!RUFF!!Mattias pulls free from John's grasp --Runs to the Alien --			RIPLEY		Shit.MATTIASSnaps and barks at the Alien --Leaping about to dodge its claws.Draws its attention --RIPLEY AND JOHNRUN at the Alien.It is trying to spear the dog with its tail.John swings the iron rod -- THWAP -!HITS the Alien across the back of its bulbous head --It turns to him --SPLIIIITCH -!Ripley SHOVES the blowing iron into the Alien's torso.His acid blood SPURTS out the end of the hollow tube --SPLATTERS Ripley's cassock - she TEARS it off --John grabs Mattias -- pulls him back.The Alien SPINS in a circle --Blood SPRAYING around him -Creating a CIRCLE OF FIRE about him --IGNITING the books --			JOHN		No!  THE BOOKS!!			RIPLEY		Don't --!John steps forward -- Ripley grabs for him --The ACID EATS through the wooden floor --THE FLOOR COLLAPSESThe Alien, John and Ripley PLUMMET down -!THROUGH the next floor --INTO THE GLASSWORKSThe Alien FALLS into the molten glass vat --SCREECHES - arms flailing as it sinks beneath the surface ofthe thousand degree liquid.JOHNFinds himself HANGING over the bubbling glass vat - Caught -DANGLING on the Flying Fox rope.  Five feet away - the ledge theFlying Fox is launched from.  He looks down:He can see the huge open vat of molten glass below him.  To itsright, the Water DUMP TANK - a large wine cask-looking affairwhere finished pieces are cooled.  He looks up:Ripley holding onto the edge of the broken floor above.			JOHN		Are you all right?Ripley grunts an affirmative response.At least is she falls, it will only be a twenty-foot drop tothe floor.  John is looking at instant par-boiling.John starts to move hand over hand UP the rope.  He begins tosweat.A drop of sweat falls...HSSS!POPS AND SIZZLES as it hits the surface of the molten glass --RIPLEYTries to pull herself up to the floor above --The next level is a raging fire.She can only hang and DROP.  She DOES -!Falls the two stories.Bends her knees and ROLLS on impact.JOHNHas reached the ledge overlooking the furnace.He stands.  Sees Ripley slowly rising --			JOHN		Ripley -!Ripley shakily gets to her feet.Hops on one foot.			RIPLEY		Aargh.  I'm fine.  Let's get the fuck		out of --SUDDENLYTHE ALIEN'S head breaks the surface of the molten glass.SCREAMING.  STEAMING.  It is white-hot -translucent -- covered with -- It looks like MOLTEN GLASS!!Hook-like hands grasp the edge of the tank --It tries to climb out --Ripley turns to run.  Tender ankle gives out.She falls face down on the floor --Rolls over --THE ALIEN is going to climb out of the vat --She SCREAMS --JOHNGrabs the Flying Fox handle.SWINGS down the rope - across the room --PAST the Alien --It turns away from Ripley -She scrambles across the floor...John lands HARD.Points --			JOHN		Ripley - the lever!!Ripley looks next to her:  a burning wooden lever.The Alien has one foot out of the glass furnace --RIPLEY grabs the lever -- Hssssst!Putting out the fire with her hand --Pulls --THE HUGE DUMP TANK OF WATERDUMPS.  Empties a thousand gallons --RAINS DOWN on the Alien. It HOWLS in pain --The Molten Glass instantly COOLS --The rapid extreme temperature change causes the beast toBE-THWOOOoooOOM -!!EXPLODE into a million pieces...!!!!Ripley helps John off the floor.They are battered.  Bloody.They look into the vat.The steam clears...The room is littered with Alien Bits.Each piece is encased in glass --Trapped like a fly in amber.			JOHN		Saw that happen to a bottle once.			RIPLEY		    (panting)		Beat... Beat him - ugh --She grabs her stomach as her knees give out.John gives her an arm for support.			JOHN		We've got to get to the Library --			RIPLEY		Don't worry.  Ship.  Just --They look up:Mattias looks down through the hole in the floor.BARKS...INT. LIBRARY - NIGHTAn INFERNO.Every bookshelf ablaze.  The floor dotted with pools of flame.Ripley and John are at the door - held back by the heat --John tries to enter the room --Ripley grabs him --			RIPLEY		Don't be stupid --			JOHN		Some of them!  I've got to save some of		them!  Mattias!!Mattias yelps in response.  Threads his way through to them.Ripley spins him to face her.  Tears stream down his cheeks.			RIPLEY		They're lost.  You did your best.  If		you get out, it wasn't in vain.		We've got to live!!She YANKS him into the hallway --							CUT TO:EXT. MONASTERY - THE ROOF - NIGHTRipley's good foot KICKS down the burning planks that surroundthe escape ship.  John and Mattias stand behind as she climbsthrough to the ship.  John looks around:The ABBEY LEVEL is devastated.  The air is filled with smoke.The Abbey is burning.  The Library is in flames.John looks down at his medical bag.Torn, bloody, scorched, it still hangs from his shoulders.Inside: The only remaining book.			RIPLEY O/S		Come on in!John and Mattias step through --INT. SULACCO ESCAPE POD #4 - NIGHTRipley CLICKS on the lights.John lifts Mattias into the hatch.			JOHN		The Library --			RIPLEY		I told you -- the Earth is still there --Ripley checks an instrument:  Elapsed travel time.Her brows knit.  She TAPS the gauge.			RIPLEY		Not working.			JOHN		What does that mean?			RIPLEY		It means I don't know how long I was		in hyper sleep.			JOHN		It means the Abbot could've been right --					RIPLEY		It means my clock isn't working.  We have		to get out of here.  Even if he was right		this ship's onboard computer is filled 		with man's knowledge.			JOHN		Not everything.  Some things will be		lost forever. 			RIPLEY		Then man starts over.  He's done it		before.She pushes a few buttons.  Somewhere under the floor a propulsion source HUMS to life.  THROBBING through the solesof John's feet.  Ripley is absorbed in her work.			RIPLEY		Okay.  The seals weren't broken so		we're probably clear.  But those dead		monks out there are going to start		hatching soon.  Let's get ready to		take off.			JOHN		What can I do?			RIPLEY		Here, I need a compressor tank from		in that compartment.She motions towards an open door.John enters the compartment.Whoosh-CLANG -!The door closes behind him.			JOHN		Hey!  What?!He looks out the window in the door.  Ripley is staring at him, punching keys on a pad next to thedoor.			JOHN		Hey - I'm locked in.Mattias scratches at the door.			RIPLEY		I know.  I locked you in.			JOHN		What?			RIPLEY		I'm not going with you.  I've got one		inside me.				JOHN		What?!  You can't --She runs a hand across her midsection.			RIPLEY		I figured it out.  That's why it didn't		kill me.  He must have impregnated me		when I was in the stasis tube.		    (remembers nightmare)		It hasn't come out yet because I 		haven't eaten, It's still dormant.  So		either I eat and it kills me or I don't		eat and I starve to death.  Either way 		I die.John pulls the Medieval Tome out of his medical bag.			JOHN			My book -- I know what to do --			RIPLEY		What, an exorcism?  No good.			JOHN		You can't do this.  Ripley - listen		to me - you're confusing feeling of		guilt for actual sin - I can help you --			RIPLEY		    (ignoring)		I've set a time lock.  When the pod escapes		the Colony's gravitational pull this		compartment will open.  Then all you have 		to do is get into the Stasis tube with		Mattias and press the blue button.  With		any luck a freighter or something will		pick you up.  Good luck.He pounds his fists against the door.			JOHN		NO!  No, Goddammit - you can't do this.		You can't let it win.She turns away from the door.			RIPLEY		It always wins.  We killed it, but it's		still inside me -- You're my last chance.		If I can keep you alive it'll make up		for all those I've lost.			JOHN		Listen to me!  You have to let me try!		Ripley:  You're MY only chance!She's listening...			JOHN		I told you Father Anselm raised me.		He raised me and when he was dying I		couldn't do anything to save him.  I 		didn't know enough.  It was my fault		he died.  If you don't let me try to		save you my body will live but my soul		will be dead.Ripley turns and stares at him.			JOHN		Please.								CUT TO:THE PAGEA MEDIEVAL ETCHING.A Monk vomits up the devil.Pull back as John lowers Ripley to the pod floor.John closes his eyes.Closes the book.He pours some water into a small plastic cup.Retrieves a small pouch of herbs.  Opens it.Wrinkles his nose - they smell --pours these ancient medicines into the space age cup.			RIPLEY		What is this stuff?			JOHN		     (forceful)		Something that will make you well.		Something that will make you sick.			RIPLEY		I don't --			JOHN		Shut up and drink.He lifts the back of Ripley's head --FORCES the drink down her throat.John swings his leg over her midsection.  STRADDLES her.Presses his two hands together in prayer.Then balls them into one fist.Takes a deep, preparatory breath...Ripley starts to GAG -- Cough.Her body starts to JERK --John BRINGS HIS FIST DOWN INTO HER STOMACH --WHAMM -!!Ripley CONVULSES -- has the dry heaves --WHAM!  WHAM --!John PUMMELS Ripley's diaphragm!She sputters -- VOMITS a thick mucous-like substance --HEAVES --Ripley's back arches --She SCREAMS a gut wrenching WAIL --Her torso BULGES as the creature is forced upwards.John BEARS down --Pushes UP under her ribs --FORCING the chest-burster up her throat --Ripley fights for air as the alien STOPS halfway up her esophagus -- She's choking --John crosses himself -- takes a deep breath --Lowers his mouth to hers --Inhales.  Exhales.  CPR.THE ALIEN CHEST BURSTERSLITHERS out of Ripley's mouth --INTO JOHN'S!!Reptilian tail whips about before disappearing down his gullet.John falls back against a computer console.Gagging.  Fights to speak.Ripley raises herself up on one elbow.Alien mucous drooling down her chin.Hair matted against her forehead.			RIPLEY		Why?				JOHN		Choking.  It was the only way.He drops the open book in front of her:She sees the etching.JOHNGulps back the oozing slime.Struggles to his feet.			JOHN		They knew.			RIPLEY		But you --Ripley tries to stand - to go after him --She can't sit up -- feels like a rib might be cracked.			RIPLEY		You'll die --John stumbles to the Pod door.  Turns back.			JOHN			That's idea.  Join...my brothers.  If		we were right, Heaven.  If we were wrong --		either way, where we belong.  World of		books.  Pages.He draws the parchment out of his bag.Drops it to the floor.			JOHN		You... are from the real world.He starts to step through the door --Mattias tries to follow.			JOHN		Stay -- both of you.He exits the Pod.Ripley drags herself across the floor.			RIPLEY		No - wait!  John!To the Door.  Looks out:BROTHER JOHNDawn's rays are peeking through the battered ceiling as hewalks slowly across the smoking roof.Into the inferno that is the burning Abbey.Ripley watches as John and the alien horror inside him areINCINERATED.The heat of the flames grows.She must pull back --Reaches up for the door handle.It closes with a THUD.She rolls onto her back.She weeps.  For the first time in years.She's been absolved.CREeeek -!!The escape pod SHIFTS.Ripley's eyes SNAP open --The Roof beneath the Pod is beginning to GIVE WAY.Ripley rolls onto her stomach and drags herself to thepilot's chair.  Pulls herself into the seat.Straps herself in --SULACCO ESCAPE POD #4Blasts THROUGH the wooden outershell of the Orbiter Arceon.ROARS towards us - past us.INT. SULACCO ESCAPE POD #4 = DAYRipley places Mattias into the Hyper sleep tube.Rubs under his chin.  Is about to climb in with him when shespots something on the floor --JOHN'S PARCHMENTRipley picks it up and unrolls it.She hears John's voice:			JOHN V.O.		I, Brother John Goldman of the orbiter		Arceon, Minorite abbey and gaol, know		the Abbot was wrong.  There is a great		evil here.  I have seen it.  I put pen to		paper now lest this plague - this creature		stills my hand.  I have gone down below -		both to try to warn the others and get 		the woman - Ripley - get from her some		clue as to how to battle this evil, or		at least to make my peace for not		defending her.  She believes there is		still and Earth and I hope she is right.		I hope she will be able to find out.		I hope she can find some rest for the		devils that torment her.Ripley looks at the elapsed time counter on the commandconsole.  Pulls a pen from it's holder.  She adds:			RIPLEY V.O.		Whether the Earth exists or not, whether		we end up in Heaven, or Hell, or the cold		vacuum of space, she has.She sets her course.Gets back into her tube.Closes the lid.DEEP SPACEThe escape pod moves through the jet-black void...ARCEONDwindles into the darkness behind her, a smouldering, slowlydying ember...							THE SCREEN GOES BLACKEND CREDITS ROLL...		Teenager in the back of the movie theater shouts,				"It's in the dog!"
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+FADE IN:INT. DINING HALL - SARAH SIDDONS SOCIETY - NIGHTIt is not a large room and jammed with tables, mostly forfour but some for six and eight. A long table of honor, forabout thirty people, has been placed upon a dais. Diner is over. Demi-tasses, cigars and brandy. The overalleffect is one of worn elegance and dogged gentility. It isJune.The CAMERA, as it has been throughout the CREDIT TITLES, ison the SARAH SIDDONS AWARD. It is a gold statuette, about afoot high, of Sarah Siddons as The Tragic Muse. Exquisitelyframed in a nest of flowers, it rests on a miniature altar inthe center of the table of honor. Over this we hear the crisp, cultured, precise VOICE ofADDISON deWITT: ADDISON'S VOICE The Sarah Siddons Award for Distinguished Achievement is perhaps unknown to you. It has been spared the sensational and commercial publicity that attends such questionable "honors" as the Pulitzer Prize and those awards presented annually by the film society...The CAMERA has EASED BACK to include some of the table ofhonor and a distinguished gentleman with snow-white hair whois speaking. We do not hear what he says. ADDISON'S VOICE The distinguished looking gentleman is an extremely old actor. Being an actor - he will go on speaking for some time. It is not important what you hear what he says. The CAMERA EASES BACK some more, and CONTINUES until itdiscloses a fairly COMPREHENSIVE SHOT of the room ADDISON'S VOICE However it is important that you know where you are, and why you are here. This is the dining room of the Sarah Siddons Society. The occasion is its annual banquet and presentation of the highest honor our Theater knows - the Sarah Siddons Award for Distinguished Achievement. A GROUP OF WAITERS are clustered near the screen masking theentrances of the kitchen. The screens are papered with oldtheatrical programs. The waiters are all aged and venerable.They look respectfully toward the speaker. ADDISON'S VOICE These hollowed walls, indeed many of these faces, have looked upon Modjeska, Ada Rehan and Minnie Fiske; Mansfield's voice filled the room, Booth breathed this air. It is unlikely that the windows have been opened since his death. CLOSE - THE AWARD on its altar, it shines proudly above fiveor six smaller altars which surround it and which are nowempty. ADDISON'S VOICE The minor awards, as you can see, have already been presented. Minor awards are for such as the writer and director - since their function is merely to construct a tower so that the world can applaud a light which flashes on top of it and no brighter light has ever dazzled the eye than Eve Harrington. Eve... but more of Eve, later. All about Eve, in fact. THE CAMERA MOVES TO: CLOSE - ADDISON deWITT, not young, notunattractive, a fastidious dresser, sharp of eye andmerciless of tongue. An omnipresent cigarette holder projectsfrom his mouth like the sward of D'Artagnan. He sits back in his chair, musingly, his fingers makinglittle cannonballs out of bread crumbs. His narration coversthe MOVE of the CAMERA to him: ADDISON'S VOICE To those of you who do not read, attend the Theater, listen to uncensored radio programs or know anything of the world in which we live - it is perhaps necessary to introduce myself. My name is Addison deWitt. My native habitat is the Theater - in it I toil not, neither do I spin. I am a critic and commentator. I am essential to the Theater - as ants are to a picnic, as the ball weevil to a cotton field... He looks to his left. KAREN RICHARDS is lovely and thirtyishin an unprofessional way. She is scraping bread crumbs,spilled sugar, etc., into a pile with a spoon. Addison takesone of her bread crumbs. She smiles absently. Addison rollsthe bread crumb into a cannonball. ADDISON'S VOICE This is Karen Richards. She is the wife of a playwright, therefore of the Theater by marriage. Nothing in her background or breeding should have brought her any closer the stage than row E, center...Karen continues her doodling. ADDISON'S VOICE ... however, during her senior year in Radcliffe, Lloyd Richards lectured on drama. The following year Karen became Mrs. Lloyd Richards. Lloyd is the author of 'Footsteps on the Ceiling' - the play which has won for Eve Harrington the Sarah Siddons Award...Karen absently pats the top of her little pile of refuse. Ahand reaches in to take the spoon away. Karen looks as theCAMERA PANS with IT to MAX FABIAN. He sits at her left. He'sa sad-faced man with glasses and a look of constantapprehension. He smiles apologetically and indicated a whitepowder with he unwraps. He pantomimes that his ulcer issnapping. Karen smiles back, returns to her doodling. Addison mashes acigarette stub, pops it out of his holder. He eyes Max. ADDISON'S VOICE There are two types of theatrical producers. One has a great many wealthy friends who will risk a tax deductible loss. This type is interested in Art. Max drops the powder into some water, stirs it, drinks, burpsdelicately and close his eyes. ADDISON'S VOICE The other is one to whom each production mean potential ruin or fortune. This type is out to make a buck. Meet Max Fabian. He is the producer of the play which has won Eve Harrington the Sarah Siddons Award...Max rests fitfully. He twitches. A hand reaches into theSCENE, removes a bottle of Scotch from before him. The CAMERAfollows the bottle to MARGO CHANNING. She sits at Max's left,at deWitt's right. An attractive, strong face. She ischildish, adult, reasonable, unreasonable - usually one whenshe should be the other, but always positive. She pours astiff drink. Addison hold out the soda bottle to her. She looks at it, andat him, as if it were a tarantula and he had gone mad. Hesmiles and pours a glass of soda for himself. ADDISON'S VOICE Margo Channing is the Star of the Theater. She made her first stage appearance, at the age of four, in 'Midsummer Night's Dream'. She played a fairy and entered - quite unexpectedly - stark naked. She has been a Star ever since. Margo sloshes her drink around moodily, pulls at it. ADDISON'S VOICE Margo is a great Star. A true Star. She never was or will be anything less or anything less... (slight pause) ... the part for which Eve Harrington is receiving the Sarah Siddons Award was intended originally for Margo Channing...Addison, having sipped his soda water, puts a new cigarettein his holder, leans back, lights it, looks and exhales inthe general direction of the table of honor. As he speaks theCAMERA MOVES in the direction of his glance... ADDISON'S VOICE Having covered in tedious detail not only the history of the Sarah Siddons Society, but also the history of acting since Thespis first stepped out of the chorus line - our distinguished chairman has finally arrived at our reason for being here... At this point Addison's voice FADES OUT and the voice of theaged actor FADES IN. CAMERA is in MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT of himand the podium. AGED ACTOR I have been proud and privileged to have spent my life in the Theater - "a poor player ... that struts and frets his hour upon the stage" - and I have been honored to be, for forty years, Chief Promoter of the Sarah Siddons Society... (he lifts the Sarah Siddons Award from its altar) Thirty-nine times have I placed in deserving hands this highest honor the Theater knows... (he grows a bit arch, he uses his eyebrows) Surely no actor is older than I - I have earned my place out of the sun... (indulgent laughter) ... and never before has this Award gone to anyone younger than its recipient tonight. How fitting that it should pass from my hands to hers...EVE HANDS: Lovely, beautifully groomed. In serene repose,they rest between a demi-tasse cup and an exquisite smallevening cup. AGED ACTOR Such young hands. Such a young lady. Young in years, but whose heart is as old as the Theater...Addison's eyes narrow quizzically as he listens. Then,slowly, he turns to look at Karen... AGED ACTOR Some of us a privileged to know her. We have seen beyond the beauty and artistry- Karen never ceases her thoughtful pat-a-cake with the crumbs. AGED ACTOR -that have made her name resound through the nation. We know her humility. Her devotion, her loyalty to her art. Addison's glance moves from Karen to Margo. AGED ACTOR Her love, her deep and abiding love for us-Margo's face is a mask. She looks down at the drink which shecradles with both hands. AGED ACTOR -for what we are and what we do. The Theater. She has had one wish, one prayer, one dream. To belong to us. (he's nearing his curtain line) Tonight her dream has come true. And henceforth we shall dream the same of her. (a slight pause) Honored members, ladies and gentlemen - for distinguished achievement in the Theater - the Sarah Siddons Award to Miss Eve Harrington. The entire room is galvanized into sudden and tumultuousapplause. Some enthusiastic gentlemen rise to her feet...Flash bulbs start popping about halfway down the table of theAged Actor's left... Eve rises - beautiful, radiant, poised, exquisitely gowned.She stands in simple and dignified response to the ovation. A dozen photographers skip, squat, and dart about like waterbugs. Flash bulbs pop and pop and pop...THE WAITERS applaud enthusiastically...AGED ACTOR, Award in hand, he beams at her...EVE smiles sweetly to her left, then to her right...MAX has come to. He applauds lustily.ADDISON's applauding too, more discreetly. MARGO, not applauding. But you sense no deliberate slight,merely an impression that as she looks at Eve her mind is onsomething else...KAREN, nor is she applauding. But her gaze is similarly fixedon Eve in a strange, faraway fashion. ADDISON, still applauding, his eyes flash first at Margo andthen at Karen. Then he directs them back to Eve. He smilesever so slightly. The applause has continued unabated. EVE turns now, and movesgracefully toward the Aged Actor. She moves throughapplauding ladies and gentlemen; from below the flash bulbskeep popping... As she nears her goal, the Ages Actor turns to her. He holdsout the award. Her hand reaches out for it. At that precisemoment - with the award just beyond her fingertips - THEPICTURE HOLDS, THE ACTION STOPS. The SOUND STOPS. ADDISON'S VOICE Eve. Eve, the Golden Girl. The cover girl, the girl next door, the girl on the moon... Time has been good to Eve, Life goes where she goes - she's been profiled, covered, revealed, reported, what she eats and when and where, whom she knows and where she was and when and where she's going... ADDISON has stopped applauding, he's sitting forward, staringintently at Eve... his narration continues unbroken. ADDISON'S VOICE ... Eve. You all know all about Eve... what can there be to know that you don't know...?As he leans back, the APPLAUSE FADES IN as tumultuous asbefore. Addison's look moves slowly from Eve to Karen. KAREN, she leans forward now, her eyes intently on Eve. Herlovely face FILLS THE SCREEN as the APPLAUSE FADES ONCE MORE -as she thinks back: KAREN'S VOICE When was it? How long? It seems a lifetime ago. Lloyd always said that in the Theater a lifetime was a season, and a season a lifetime. It's June now. That was - early October... only last October. It was a drizzly night, I remember I asked the taxi to wait... DISSOLVE TO:EXT. NEW YORK THEATER STREET - NIGHTTraffic is not heavy, the shows have broken some half-hourbefore. The rain is just a drizzle. There are other theaters on the street; display lights arebeing extinguished. Going out just as Karen's taxi pulls upis: MARGO CHANNING in 'AGED IN WOOD'. The marquis displaybelow includes "Max Fabian Presents" and "By Lloyd Richards."The taxi comes to a stop at the alley. Karen can be seenthrough the closed windows telling the driver to wait. Thenshe gets out. She takes a step, hesitates, then looks aboutcuriously: KAREN'S VOICE Where was she? Strange... I had become so accustomed to seeing her there night after night - I found myself looking for a girl I'd never spoken to, wondering where she was...She smiles a little at her own romanticism, puts her headdown and makes her way into the alley. EXT. ALLEY - CURRAN THEATER - NIGHTKaren moves toward the stage door. She passes a recess in thewall - perhaps an exit - about halfway. EVE'S VOICE (softly) Mrs. Richards...Karen hesitates, looks. Eve is barely distinguishable in theshadow of the recess. Karen smiles, waits. Eve comes out. Agooseneck light above them reveals her... She wears a cheap trench coat, low-heeled shoes, a rain hatstuck on the back of her head... Her large, luminous eyesseem to glow up at Karen in the strange half-light. KAREN So there you are. It seemed odd, suddenly, your not being there... EVE Why should you think I wouldn't be? KAREN Why should you be? After all, six nights a week - for weeks - of watching even Margo Channing enter and leave a theater- EVE I hope you don't mind my speaking to you... KAREN Not at all. EVE I've seen you so often - it took every bit of courage I could raise- KAREN (smiles) To speak to just a playwright's wife? I'm the lowest form of celebrity... EVE You're Margo Channing's best friend. You and your husband are always with her - and Mr. Sampson... what's he like? KAREN (grins) Bill Sampson? He's - he's a director. EVE He's the best. KAREN He'll agree with you. Tell me, what do you between the time Margo goes in and comes out? Just huddle in that doorway and wait? EVE Oh, no. I see the play. KAREN (incredulous) You see the play? You've seen the play every performance? (Eve nods) But, don't you find it - I mean apart from everything else - don't you find it expensive? EVE Standing room doesn't cost much. I manage. Karen contemplates Eve. Then she takes her arm. KAREN I'm going to take you to Margo... EVE (hanging back) Oh, no... KAREN She's got to meet you- EVE No, I'd be imposing on her, I'd be just another tongue-tied gushing fan...Karen practically propels her toward the stage door. KAREN (insisting) There isn't another like you, there couldn't be- EVE But if I'd known... maybe some other time... I mean, looking like this. KAREN You look just fine... (they're at the stage door) ... by the way. What's your name? EVE Eve. Eve Harrington. Karen opens the door. They go in. INT. BACKSTAGE - CURRAN THEATER - NIGHTEverything, including the doorman, looks fireproof. Eve enters like a novitiate's first visit to the Vatican.Karen, with a "Good evening, Gus -" to the doorman, leads theway toward Margo's stage dressing room. Eve, drinking in thewonderment of all the surveys, lags behind. Karen waits forher to catch up... EVE You can breathe it - can't you? Like some magic perfume...Karen smiles, takes Eve's arm. They proceed to Margo'sdressing room. EXT. MARGO'S DRESSING ROOM - CURRAN THEATER - NIGHTNo star on the closed door; the paint is peeling. A typewritten chit, thumbtacked, says MISS CHANNING.As Karen and Eve approach it, an uninhibited guffaw fromMargo makes them pause. KAREN (whispers) You wait a minute... (smiles) ... now don't run away-Eve smiles shakily. At the same moment: MARGO'S VOICE (loudly; through the door) "Honey chile," I said, "if the South had won the war, you could write the same plays about the North!"Karen enters during the line. INT. MARGO'S DRESSING ROOM - CURRAN THEATER - NIGHTIt is a medium-sized box, lined with hot water pipes andcracked plaster. It is furnished in beat-up wicker. A doorleads to an old-fashioned bathroom. Margo is at the dressing table. She wears an old wrapper, herhair drawn back tightly to fit under the wig which liesbefore her like a dead poodle. Also before her is an almostfinished drink. LLOYD RICHARDS is stretched out on the wicker chaise. He's inhis late thirties, sensitive, literate. Between them, by the dressing table, is BIRDIE - Margo'smaid. Her age is unimportant. She was conceived during asplit week in Walla Walla and born in a carnival riot. She isfiercely loyal to Margo. Karen enters during the line Margo started while she wasoutside. Lloyd chuckles, Birdie cackles. KAREN Hi. (she goes to kiss Lloyd) Hello, darling- MARGO Hi. (she goes right on - in a think "Suth'n" accent) "Well, now Mis' Channin', ah don't think you can rightly say we lost the wah, we was mo' stahved out, you might say - an' that's what ah don' unnerstand about all these plays about love-stahved Suth'n women - love is one thing we was nevah stahved for the South!" LLOYD How was the concert? KAREN Loud. BIRDIE Lemme fix you a drink. KAREN No thanks, Birdie. Karen laughs with them. LLOYD Margo's interview with a lady reporter from the South- BIRDIE The minute it gets printed they're gonna fire on Gettysburg all over again... MARGO It was Fort Sumter they fired on- BIRDIE I never played Fort Sumter.She takes the wig into the bathroom. Margo starts creamingthe make-up off her face. MARGO Honey chili had a point. You know, I can remember plays about women - even from the South - where it never even occurred to them whether they wanted to marry their fathers more than their brothers... LLOYD That was way back... MARGO Within your time, buster. Lloyd, honey, be a playwright with guts. Write me one about a nice, normal woman who shoots her husband. Birdie comes out of the bathroom without the wig. BIRDIE You need new girdles. MARGO Buy some. BIRDIE The same size? MARGO Of course! BIRDIE Well. I guess a real tight girdle help when you're playin' a lunatic. She picks up Lloud empty glass, asks "more"? He shakes hishead. She pours herself a quick one. KAREN (firmly) Margo does not play a lunatic, Birdie. BIRDIE I know. She just keeps hearin' her dead father play the banjo. MARGO It's the tight girdle that does it. KAREN I find these wisecracks increasingly less funny! 'Aged in Wood' happens to be a fine and distinguished play- LLOYD - 'at's my loyal little woman. KAREN The critics thought so, the audiences certainly think so - packed houses, tickets for months in advance - I can't see that either of Lloyd's last two plays have hurt you any! LLOYD Easy, now... MARGO (grins) Relax, kid. It's only me and my big mouth... KAREN (mollified) It's just that you get me so mad sometimes... of all the women in the world with nothing to complain about- MARGO (dryly) Ain't it the truth? KAREN Yes, it is! You're talented, famous, wealthy - people waiting around night after night just to see you, even in the wind and rain... MARGO Autograph fiends! They're not people - those little beast who run in packs like coyotes- KAREN They're your fans, your audience- MARGO They're nobody's fans! They're juvenile delinquents, mental detectives, they're nobody's audience, they never see a play or a movie, even - they're never indoors long enough!There is a pause. Lloyd applauds lightly. KAREN Well... there's one indoors now. I've brought her back to see you. MARGO You've what? KAREN (in a whisper) She's just outside the door. MARGO (to Birdie; also a whisper) The heave-ho. Birdie starts. Karen stops her. It's all in whisper, now,until Eve comes in. KAREN You can't put her out, I promised... Margo, you've got to see her, she worships you, it's like something out of a book- LLOYD That book is out of print, Karen, those days are gone. Fans no longer pull the carriage through the streets - they tear off clothes and steal wrist watches... KAREN If you'd only see her, you're her whole life - you must have spotted her by now, she's always there... MARGO Kind of mousy trench coat and funny hat? (Karen nods) How could I miss her? Every night and matinee - well...She looks to Birdie. BIRDIE Once George Jessel played my hometown. For a girl, gettin' in to see him was easy. Gettin' out was the problem...They all laugh. Karen goes to the door, opens it. Eve comesin. Karen closes the door behind her. A moment. EVE (simply) I thought you'd forgotten about me. KAREN Not at all. (her arm through Eve's) Margo, this is Eve Harrington. Margo changes swiftly into a first-lady-of-the-theatermanner. MARGO (musically) How do you do, my dear. BIRDIE (mutters) Oh, brother. EVE Hello, Miss Channing. KAREN My husband... LLOYD (nicely) Hello, Miss Harrington. EVE How do you do, Mr. Richards. MARGO (graciously) And this is my good friend and companion, Miss Birdie Coonan. BIRDIE Oh, brother. MARGO Miss Coonan... LLOYD (to Birdie) Oh brother what? BIRDIE When she gets like this... all of a sudden she's playin' Hamlet's mother... MARGO (quiet menace) I'm sure you must have things to do in the bathroom, Birdie dear. BIRDIE If I haven't, I'll find something till you're normal.She goes into the bathroom. MARGO Dear Birdie. Won't you sit down, Miss Worthington? KAREN Harrington. MARGO I'm so sorry... Harrington. Won't you sit down? EVE Thank you. She sits. A short lull. MARGO Would you like a drink? It's right beside you... KAREN I was telling Margo and Lloyd about how often you'd seen the play...They start together, and stop in deference to each other.They're a little flustered. But not Eve. EVE (to Margo) No, thank you. (to Lloyd) Yes. I've seen every performance. LLOYD (delighted) Every performance? Then - am I safe in assuming you like it? EVE I'd like anything Miss Channing played... MARGO (beams) Would you, really? How sweet- LLOYD (flatly) I doubt very much that you'd like her in 'The Hairy Ape'. EVE Please, don't misunderstand me, Mr. Richards. I think that part of Miss Channing's greatness lies in her ability to choose the best plays... your new play is for Miss Channing, isn't it, Mr. Richards? MARGO Of course it is. LLOYD How'd hear about it? EVE There was an item in the Times. i like the title. 'Footsteps on the Ceiling'. LLOYD Let's get back to this one. Have you really seen every performance? (Eve nods) Why? I'm curious...Eve looks at Margo, then drops her eyes. EVE Well. If I didn't come to see the play, I wouldn't have anywhere else to go. MARGO There are other plays... EVE Not with you in them. Not by Mr. Richards... LLOYD But you must have friends, a family, a home-Eve pauses. Then shakes her head. KAREN Tell us about it - Eve...Eve looks at her - grateful because Karen called her "Eve."Then away, again... EVE If I only knew how... KAREN Try... EVE Well...Birdie comes out of the bathroom. Everybody looks at hersharply. She realizes she's in on something important. Shecloses the door quietly, leans against it. EVE Well... it started with the play before this one... LLOYD 'Remembrance'. MARGO Did you see it here in New York? EVE San Francisco. It was the last week. I went one night... the most important night in my life - until this one. Anyway... I found myself going the next night - and the next and the next. Every performance. Then, when the show went East - I went East. BIRDIE I'll never forget that blizzard the night we played Cheyenne. A cold night. First time I ever saw a brassiere break like a piece of matzos... Eve looks at her unsmilingly, then back to her hands. KAREN Eve... why don't you start at the beginning? EVE It couldn't possibly interest you. MARGO Please...Eve speaks simply and without self-pity. EVE I guess it started back home. Wisconsin, that is. There was just mum, and dad - and me. I was the only child, and I made believe a lot when I was a kid - I acted out all sorts of things... what they were isn't important. But somehow acting and make-believe began to fill up my life more and more, it got so that I couldn't tell the real from the unreal except that the unreal seemed more real to me... I'm talking a lot of gibberish, aren't I? LLOYD Not at all... EVE Farmers were poor in those days, that's what dad was - a farmer. I had to help out. So I quit school and I went to Milwaukee. I became a secretary. In a brewery. (she smiles) When you're a secretary in a brewery - it's pretty hard to make believe you're anything else. Everything is beer. It wasn't much fun, but it helped at home - and there was a Little Theater Group... like a drop of rain in the desert. That's where I met Eddie. He was a radio technician. We played 'Liliom' for three performances, I was awful - then the war came, and we got married. Eddie was in the air force - and they sent him to the South Pacific. You were with the O.W.I., weren't you Mr. Richards? (Lloyd nods) That's what 'Who's Who' says... well, with Eddie gone, my life went back to beer. Except for a letter a week. One week Eddie wrote he had a leave coming up. I'd saved my money and vacation time. I went to San Francisco to meet him. (a slight pause) Eddie wasn't there. They forwarded the telegram from Milwaukee - the one that came from Washington to say that Eddie wasn't coming at all. That Eddie was dead... (Karen puts her hand on Lloyd's) ... so I figured I'd stay in San Francisco. i was alone, but couldn't go back without Eddie. I found a job. And his insurance helped... and there were theaters in San Francisco. And one night Margo Channing came to play in 'Remembrance'... and I went to see it. And - well - here I am...She finishes dry-eyes and self-composed. Margo squeezes thebridge of her nose, dabs at her eyes. BIRDIE (finally) What a story. Everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end...That breaks the spell. Margo turns to her- MARGO There are some human experiences, Birdie, that do not take place in a vaudeville house - and that even a fifth-rate vaudevillian should understand and respect! (to Eve) I want to apologize for Birdie's- BIRDIE (snaps in) You don't have to apologize for me! (to Eve) I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. It's just my way of talkin'... EVE (nicely) You didn't hurt my feelings, Miss Coonan... BIRDIE Call me Birdie. (to Margo) As for bein' fifth-rate - i closed the first half for eleven years an' you know it!She slams into the bathroom again. At that precise instantBILL SAMPSON flings open the door to the dressing room. He'syoungish, vital, undisciplined. He lugs a beat-up suitcasewhich he drops as he crosses to Margo- BILL Forty-five minutes from now my plane takes off and how do I find you? Not ready yet, looking like a junk yard- MARGO Thank you so much. BILL Is it sabotage, does my career mean nothing to you? Have you no human consideration? MARGO Show me a human and I might have! KAREN (conscious of Eve) Bill... BILL The air lines have clocks, even if you haven't! I start shooting a week from Monday - Zanuck is impatient, he wants me, he needs me! KAREN (louder) Bill- MARGO Zanuck, Zanuck, Zanuck! What are you two - lovers? Bill grins suddenly, drops to one knee beside her. BILL (smiling) Only in some ways. You're prettier... MARGO I'm a junk yard. KAREN (yells) Bill! BILL (vaguely; to Karen) Huh? KAREN This is Eve Harrington.Bill flashes a fleeting look at Eve. BILL Hi. (to Margo) My wonderful junk yard. The mystery and dreams you find in a junk yard- MARGO (kisses him) Heaven help me, I love a psychotic. Bill grins, rises, sees Eve as if for the first time. BILL Hello, what's your name? EVE Eve. Eve Harrington. KAREN You've already met. BILL Where? KAREN Right here. A minute ago. BILL That's nice. MARGO She, too, is a great admirer of yours. BIRDIE Imagine. All this admiration in just one room. BILL Take your mistress into the bathroom and dress her. (Birdie opens her mouth) Without comment. Birdie shuts it and goes into the bathroom. In a moment wehear a shower start to run. Eve gets up. KAREN You're not going, are you? EVE I think I'd better. It's been - well, I can hardly find the words to say how it's been... MARGO (rises) No, don't go... EVE The four of you must have so much to say to each other - with Mr. Sampson leaving...Margo, impulsively crosses to Eve. MARGO Stick around. Please. Tell you what - we'll put Stanislavsky on his plane, you and I, then go somewhere and talk. EVE Well - if I'm not in the way... MARGO I won't be a minute. She darts into the bathroom. Eve sits down again. KAREN Lloyd, we've got to go-Lloyd gets up. Karen crosses to pound on the bathroom door.She yells - the shower is going... KAREN Margo, good night! I'll call you tomorrow!Margo's answer is lost in the shower noise. Karen crosses tokiss Bill. She's joined by Lloyd. KAREN Good luck, genius... BILL Geniuses don't need good luck. (he grins) I do. LLOYD I'm not worried about you. BILL Keep the thought. They shake hands warmly. Karen and Lloyd move to Eve. KAREN Good night, Eve. I hope I see you again soon- EVE I'll be at the old stand, tomorrow matinee- KAREN Not just that way. As a friend... EVE I'd like that. LLOYD It's been a real pleasure, Eve. EVE I hope so, Mr. Richards. Good night...Lloyd shakes her hand, crosses to join Karen who waits at theopen dressing room door. EVE Mrs. Richards. (Karen and Lloyd look back) ... I'll never forget this night as long as I live. And I'll never forget you for making it possible. Karen smiles warmly. She closes the door. They leave. KAREN'S VOICE - and I'll never forget you, Eve. Where were we going that night, Lloyd and I? Funny the things you remember - and the things you don't...INT. MARGO'S DRESSING ROOM - NIGHTEve sits on the same chair. Bill keeps moving around. Evenever takes her eyes off him. He offers her a cigarette. Sheshakes her head. He looks at his watch. EVE You said forty-seven minutes. You'll never make it. BILL (grins) I told you a lie. We'll make it easily. Margo's got no more conception of time than a halibut. He goes to the dressing table, picks up Margo's pocketbook,opens it. He finds a letter. He glances at it, puts it back. BILL She's been carrying that letter around for weeks. I've read it three times...There's a sudden sharp yelp from the bathroom. MARGO'S VOICE You're supposed to zip the zipper - not me. BIRDIE'S VOICE Like tryin' to zip a pretzel - stand still!Bill grins. BILL What a documentary those two would make... like the mongoose and the cobra-He sprawls on the chaise, closes his eyes. A pause. EVE (finally) So you're going to Hollywood.Bill grunts in the affirmative. Silence. BILL Why? EVE I just wondered. BILL Just wondered what? EVE Why. BILL Why what? EVE Why you have to go out there. BILL I don't have to. I want to. EVE Is it the money? BILL Eighty percent of it will go for taxes. EVE Then why? Why, if you're the best and most successful young director in the Theater- BILL The Theatuh, the Theatuh- (he sits up) - what book of rules says the Theater exists only within some ugly buildings crowded into one square mile of New York City? Or London, Paris or Vienna? (he gets up) Listen, junior. And learn. Want to know what the Theater is? A flea circus. Also opera. Also rodeos, carnivals, ballets, Indian tribal dances, Punch and Judy, a one-man band - all Theater. Wherever there's magic and make-believe and an audience - there's Theater. Donald Duck, Ibsen, and The Lone Ranger, Sarah Bernhardt, Poodles Hanneford, Lunt and Fontanne, Betty Grable, Rex and Wild, and Eleanora Duse. You don't understand them all, you don't like them all, why should you? The Theater's for everybody - you included, but not exclusively - so don't approve or disapprove. It may not be your Theater, but it's Theater of somebody, somewhere. EVE I just asked a simple question. BILL (grins) And I shot my mouth off. Nothing personal, junior, no offense... (he sits back down) ... it's just that there's so much bushwah in this Ivory Green Room they call the Theatuh - sometimes it gets up around my chin...He lies down again. EVE But Hollywood. You mustn't stay there. BILL (he closes his eyes) It's only one picture deal. EVE So few come back... BILL Yeah. They keep you under drugs out there with armed guards...A pause. EVE I read George Jean Nathan every week. BILL Also Addison deWitt. EVE Every day. BILL You didn't have to tell me. Margo, putting on an earring, buzzes out of the bathroomfollowed by Birdie. Bill sits up. MARGO (en route) I understand it's the latest thing - just one earring. If it isn't, it's going to be - I can't find the other...She grabs her pocketbook, starts rummaging. Out comes theletter... BILL Throw that dreary thing away, it bores me-Margo drops it in the wastebasket, keeps rummaging. EVE (concerned) Where do you suppose it could be? BIRDIE It'll show up. MARGO (gives up) Oh well... (to Birdie) ... look through the wigs, maybe it got caught- BILL Real diamonds in a wig. The world we live in... MARGO (she's been looking) Where's my coat? BIRDIE Right where you left it...She goes behind the chaise. She comes up with a magnificentmink. BILL (to Margo) The seams. Margo starts to straighten them. MARGO (to Eve) Can't keep his eyes off my legs. BILL Like a nylon lemon peel- MARGO (straightens up) Byron couldn't have said it more graciously... here we go-By now she's in the coat and has Eve's arm, heading for thedoor. Bill puts his arms around Birdie. BILL Got any messages? What do you want me to tell Tyrone Power? BIRDIE Just give him my phone number, I'll tell him myself. Bill kisses her cheek. She kisses Bill. BIRDIE Kill the people. (to Margo) Got your key? MARGO (nods) See you home...Margo and Eve precede Bill out of the door...EXT. LAGUARDIA FIELD - NIGHTAmerican Airlines baggage counter. The rain has stopped, butit's wet. Margo, Eve, and Bill are stymied behind two or three coupleswaiting to be checked in. Margo's arm is through Bill's. Theybecome increasingly aware of their imminent separation. Evesenses her superfluity. A lull. Bill cranes at the passenger heading the line, inearnest conversation with the dispatcher. He sighs. MARGO They have to time it so everybody gets on at the last minute. So they can close the doors and let you sit. The man up ahead moves on. BILL Ah... EVE I have a suggestion. (they look at her) There's really not much time left - I mean, you haven't had a minute alone yet, and - well, I could take care of everything here and meet you at the gate with the ticket... if you'd like. BILL I think we'd like very much. Sure you won't mind? EVE Of course not. Bill hands Eve the ticket. Margo smiles gratefully at her.Eve smiles back. EXT. PASSAGE AND GATE - LAGUARDIA - NIGHTIt's covered, with glass windows. Margo's arm is in Bill's. BILL She's quite a girl, that what's-her name... MARGO Eve. I'd forgotten they grew that way... BILL The lack of pretense, that sort of strange directness and understanding- MARGO Did she tell you about the Theater and what it meant? BILL (grins) I told her. I sounded off. MARGO All the religions in the world rolled into one, and we're Gods and Goddesses... isn't it silly, suddenly I've developed a big protective feeling for her - a lamb loose in our big stone jungle...Bill pauses and pulls her to one side. Some passengers go by.A pause. MARGO Take care of yourself out there... BILL I understand they've got the Indians pretty well in hand... MARGO Bill... BILL Huh? MARGO Don't get stuck on some glamour puss- BILL I'll try. MARGO You're not such a bargain, you know, conceited and thoughtless and messy- BILL Everybody can't be Gregory Peck. MARGO - you're a setup for some gorgeous wide-eyed young babe. BILL How childish are you going to get before you quit it? MARGO I don't want to be childish, I'd settle for just a few years- BILL (firmly) And cut that out right now. MARGO Am I going to lose you, Bill? Am I? BILL As of this moment you're six years old...He starts to kiss her, stops when he becomes aware of Evestanding near them. She has his ticket in her hand. EVE All ready.She hands Bill his ticket, they start toward the gate. INT. BOARDING GATE - LAGUARDIA - NIGHTThe D.C. 6 in the b.g. A few visitors. Bill hands his ticketto the guard, turns to Eve. BILL Thanks for your help... good luck. EVE Goodbye, Mr. Sampson.Bill puts his arms around Margo. BILL Knit me a muffler. MARGO Call me when you get in...They kiss. Margo's arms tighten desperately. Bill pulls away,kisses her again lightly, starts for the plane. Margo turnsaway. Eve puts her arms through Margo's. Bill pauses en route to the plane. BILL Hey - junior...Margo turns to look at him with Eve. BILL Keep your eyes on her. Don't let her get lonely. She's a loose lamb in a jungle...Eve looks at Margo. Margo smiles. EVE Don't worry...Bill waves, climbs aboard. The door is closed behind him, thedeparture routine starts...Margo and eve turn to go. They walk down the passage. As theywalk, Eve gently disengages her arm from Margo's and puts itcomfortingly about her... MARGO'S VOICE That same night we sent for Eve's things, her few pitiful possessions... she moved into the little guest room on the top floor...INT. DINING HALL - NIGHTMARGO slides her fingers reflectively up and down the sidesof the almost empty highball glass. MARGO'S VOICE ... she cried when she saw it - it was so like her little room back home in Wisconsin.ADDISON eyeing her quizzically. He offers her the whiskey. MARGO shakes her head, absently. She looks down at her glassagain. Then, she raises her eyes to look at Eve. MARGO'S VOICE ... the next three weeks were out of a fairy tale - and I was Cinderella in the last act. Eve became my sister, lawyer, mother, friend, psychiatrist and cop - the honeymoon was on...INT. MARGO'S LIVING ROOM - DAYIt's one floor above street level. A long narrow room,smartly furnished - including a Sarah Siddons Award. MARGO'S NARRATIVE overlaps into the scene which is a SILENTONE. Eve sits at a smart desk. She is just arranging a stack ofletters which she carries to Margo with a pen. Margo sitscomfortably by the fire with a play script. She hands thescrips up to Eve, shakes her head and holds her nose. Evesmiles, takes the script, hands Margo the letters to sign.Birdie comes in with a tea tray which she sets on a low tablebefore the fire. The phone rings.Birdie and Eve both go for it. Eve gets there first. By herpolite but negative attitude, we know she is giving someone askillful brush-off.Birdie glares first at her, then at Margo. Margo leans her head back, closes her eyes blissfully...Birdie slams the double door to the landing on her way out...INT. BACKSTAGE - CURRAN THEATER - DAYFrom the wings. The audience is never visible. Eve in thef.g. Margo and company taking a curtain call. Tumultuousapplause... the curtain falls. The cast, except for Margo andtwo male leads, walk off. The curtain rises again...EVE, watching and listening to the storm of applause. Hereyes shine, she clasps and unclasps her hands...THE STAGE, Eve again in the f.g., but closer. Again thecurtain falls. This time the two men go off. Curtain rises onMargo alone. If anything, the applause builds...EVE, that same hypnotic look... there are tears in her eyes.The curtain falls offscene, then rises again - MARGO, the curtain falls again between her and CAMERA...BACKSTAGE, the curtain just settling on the floor. Margostarts off. STAGE MANAGER One more? MARGO (shakes her head) From now on it's not applause - just something to do till the aisles get less crowded...She walks as she talks and winds up at Eve - still in thewings. Eve's eyes are wet, she dabs at her nose. MARGO What - again? EVE I could watch you play that last scene a thousand times and cry every time- MARGO (grins) Performance number one thousand of this one - if I play it that long - will take place in a well-padded booby hatch...She takes Eve's arm, they stroll toward her dressing room. EVE I must say you can certainly tell Mr. Sampson's been gone a month. MARGO You certainly can. Especially if you're me between now and tomorrow morning... EVE I mean the performance. Except for you, you'd think he'd never even directed it - it's disgraceful the way they change everything around... MARGO (smiles) Well, teacher's away and actors will be actors... EVE During your second act scene with your father, Roger Ferraday's supposed to stay way upstage at the arch. He's been coming closer down every night... MARGO When he gets too close, I'll spit in his eye.They're at her dressing room by now. Margo's been unhookingher gown, with Eve's help. They go in. INT. MARGO'S DRESSING ROOM - NIGHTIt's undergone quite a change. A new carpet, chintz coversfor the furniture, new lampshades, dainty curtains across thefilthy barred window. Birdie waits within. She's listening to a fight; she shuts itoff as they enter. MARGO (entering) You bought the new girdles a size smaller. I can feel it. BIRDIE Something maybe grew a size bigger. MARGO When we get home you're going to get into one of those girdles and act for two and half hours. BIRDIE I couldn't get into the girdle in two an' a half hours...Margo's out of her wig and dress by now. She gets into herrobe, sits at the dressing table. Eve's on the chaise, by thediscarded costume. EVE You haven't noticed my latest bit of interior decorating... MARGO (turns, looks) Well, you've done so much... what's new? EVE The curtains. I made them myself. MARGO They are lovely. Aren't they lovely, Birdie? BIRDIE Adorable. We now got everything a dressing room needs except a basketball hoop. MARGO Just because you can't even work a zipper. It was very thoughtful, Eve, and I appreciate it- A pause. Eve rises, picking up Margo's costume. EVE While you're cleaning up, I'll take this to the wardrobe mistress- MARGO Don't bother. Mrs. Brown'll be along for it in a minute. EVE No trouble at all. And she goes out with the costume. Birdie opens her mouth,shuts it, then opens it again. BIRDIE If I may so bold as to say something - did you ever hear the word "union"? MARGO Behind in your dues? How much? BIRDIE I haven't got a union. I'm slave labor. MARGO Well? BIRDIE But the wardrobe women have got one. And next to a tenor, a wardrobe woman is the touchiest thing in show business- MARGO (catching on) Oh-oh. BIRDIE She's got two things to do - carry clothes an' press 'em wrong - an' just let anybody else muscle in...As she talks, Margo hurries to the door and out after Eve. INT. BACKSTAGE - CURRAN THEATER - NIGHTMargo pops out, looks for Eve, then stares in amazement. EVE, near the wings. She stands before a couple of chevalmirrors set up for cast members. She has Margo's dress heldup against her body. She turns this way and that, bows as ifto applause - mimicking Margo exactly...MARGO watches her curiously. Then she smiles. MARGO (calling) Eve-EVE, startled, whips the gown away, turns to Margo. MARGO smiles understandingly. MARGO (quietly) I think we'd better let Mrs. Brown pick up the wardrobe...Wordlessly, Eve brings it toward her...INT. MARGO'S BEDROOM - NIGHTMargo's asleep. A bedside clock with a luminous dial reads 3A.M. exactly. The phone rings. Her head comes up out of thepillow, she shakes it. She fumbles, switches on a lamp, thenpicks up the phone. MARGO Hello.. OPERATOR'S VOICE We are ready with your call to Beverly Hills... MARGO Call, what call? OPERATOR'S VOICE It this Templeton 89970? Miss Margo Channing? MARGO That's right, but I don't understand- OPERATOR'S VOICE We are ready with the call you placed for 12 midnight, California time, to Mr. William Sampson in Beverly Hills... MARGO I placed...? OPERATOR'S VOICE Go ahead, please... BILL'S VOICE (a loud, happy squawk) Margo! What a wonderful surprise!Margo jumps at his vehemence. As she does so, the SCREENWIPES DOWN DIAGONALLY LEFT TO RIGHT, so that Margo remains inthe lower right-hand diagonal of the screen and Bill isdisclosed in the upper left. He, too, is in bed, reading. Hisclock says midnight. BILL (continuing) What a thoughtful, ever-lovin' thing to do- MARGO (dazed) Bill? Have I gone crazy, Bill? BILL You're my girl, aren't you? MARGO That I am... BILL Then you're crazy. MARGO (nods in agreement) When - when are you coming back? BILL I leave in a week - the picture's all wrapped up, we previewed last night... those previews. Like opening out of town, but terrifying. There's nothing you can do, you're trapped, you're in a tin can- MARGO - in a tin can, cellophane or wrapped in a Navajo blanket, I want you home... BILL You in a hurry? MARGO A big hurry, be quick about it - so good night, darling, and sleep tight... BILL Wait a minute! You can't hang up, you haven't even said it- MARGO Bill, you know how much I do - but over the phone, now really, that's kid stuff... BILL Kid stuff or not, it doesn't happen every day, I want to heat it - and if you won't say it, you can sing it... MARGO (convinced she's gone mad) Sing it? BILL Sure! Like the Western Union boys used to do...Margo's eyes pop. Her jaw and the phone sag. MARGO Bill... Bill, it's your birthday. BILL And who remembered it? Who was there on the dot, at twelve midnight...?Margo knows damn well it wasn't she. MARGO (miserably) Happy birthday, darling... BILL The reading could have been better, but you said it - now "many happy returns of the day..." MARGO (the same) Many happy returns of the day... BILL I get a party, don't I? MARGO Of course, birthday and welcome home... who'll I ask? BILL (laughs) It's no secret, I know all about the party - Eve wrote me... MARGO She did...? BILL She hasn't missed a week since I left - but you know all that, you probably tell her what to write... anyway, I sent her a list of people to ask - check with her. MARGO Yeah... I will. BILL How is Eve? Okay? MARGO Okay. BILL I love you... MARGO (mutters) I'll check with Eve... BILL What? MARGO I love you too. Good night, darling- BILL See you...Margo hangs up. Bill hangs up. He replaces the phone, picksup his book... SLOW WIPE until ONLY MARGO is on screen. Sheputs her phone away. She gets a cigarette. She lights it. Sherolls over on her back...INT. MARGO'S BEDROOM - DAYMargo is propped up in bed, still reflective. Birdie comes inwith her breakfast tray and a "hi" which gets a "hi" fromMargo. She starts on some petty chores. Margo takes a sip oforange juice... MARGO Birdie- BIRDIE Hmm? MARGO You don't like Eve, do you? BIRDIE Do you want an argument or an answer? MARGO An answer. BIRDIE No. MARGO Why not? BIRDIE Now you want an argument. MARGO She works hard. BIRDIE Night an' day. MARGO She's loyal and efficient- BIRDIE Like an agent with one client. MARGO She thinks only for me... (no answer from Birdie) ... doesn't she? BIRDIE (finally) Well... let's say she thinks only about you, anyway... MARGO How do you mean that?Birdie stops whatever it is she's doing. BIRDIE I'll tell you how. Like - let's see - like she was studyin' you, like you were a play or a book or a set of blueprints. How you walk, talk, think, eat, sleep- MARGO (breaks in; sharply) I'm sure that's very flattering, Birdie, and I'm sure there's nothing wrong with that!There is a sharp, brisk knock. Eve comes in. She's dressed ina smart suit. She carries a leather portfolio. EVE Good morning!Margo says "good morning," Birdie says nothing. Eve shows offthe suit, proudly. EVE Well - what do you think of my elegant new suit? MARGO Very becoming. It looks better on you than it did on me. EVE (scoffs) I can imagine... you know, all it needed was some taking in here and letting out there - are you sure you won't want it yourself? MARGO Quite sure. I find it just a bit too - too "Seventeenish" for me... EVE (laughs) Oh, come now, as though you were an old lady... I'm on my way. Is there anything more you've thought of-? MARGO There's the script to go back to the Guild- EVE I've got it. MARGO - and those checks or whatever it is for the income tax man. EVE Right here. MARGO It seems I can't think of a thing you haven't thought of... EVE (smile) That's my job. (she turns to go) See you at tea time... MARGO Eve... (Eve turns at the door) ... by any chance, did you place a call from me to Bill for midnight California time? EVE (gasps) Oh, golly. And I forgot to tell you- MARGO Yes, dear. You forgot all about it. EVE Well, I was sure you'd want to, of course, being his birthday, and you've been so busy these past few days, and last night I meant to tell you before you went out with the Richards - and I guess I was asleep when you got home... MARGO Yes, I guess you were. It - it was very thoughtful of you, Eve. EVE Mr. Sampson's birthday. I certainly wouldn't forget that. You'd never forgive me. (she smiles shyly) As a matter of fact, I sent him a telegram myself...And she's gone. Margo stares at the closed door. Then atBirdie. Birdie, without comment, goes out. Margo, alone,looks down at her orange juice. Absently, she twirls it inits bed of shaved ice...INT. DINING HALL - SARAH SIDDONS SOCIETY - NIGHTMARGO, reflectively twirling her highball glass. The applausecontinues. She lifts her glass to drink. Her glance meetsKaren's. She raises the glass in a silent toast. KAREN smiles wanly at Margo's toast. Then the smile fades asshe looks reflectively back to Eve... KAREN'S VOICE I saw Eve quite often after our first meeting, but we never really talked again - until the party Margo gave for Bill when he returned from Hollywood...INT. MARGO'S BEDROOM - NIGHTIt's January. The bed is littered with fur coats. Through theopen door, from the floor below, the murmur of a party at alate hour. No hilarity. KAREN'S VOICE It's always convenient at a party to know the hostess well enough to use her bedroom rather than go where all the others have to go...Karen is making repairs at Margo's dressing table. Eveenters, carrying a magnificent sable coat which she drops onthe bed. KAREN Now who's show up at this hour? It's time people went home - hold that coat up... (Eve holds it up; Karen whistles) ... whose is it? EVE Some Hollywood movie star, her plane got in late. KAREN Discouraging, isn't it? Women with furs like that where it never gets cold... EVE Hollywood. KAREN Tell me, Eve - how are things with you? Happy? Eve melts into warmth. She beams, sits on the bed. Karen hasspun around on the dressing table stool. EVE There should be a new word for happiness. Being here with Miss Channing has been - I just can't say, she's been so wonderful, done so much for me- KAREN (smiles) Lloyd says Margo compensates for underplaying on the stage by overplaying reality... (she gets up, gets her coat) ... next to that sable, my new mink seems like an old bedjacket... (throws it over her shoulder) ... you've done your share, Eve. You've worked wonders with Margo...She starts out. EVE (hesitantly) Mrs. Richards. KAREN (pauses, smiles) Karen. EVE Karen... (she picks at the coverlet) ... isn't it awful, I'm about to ask you for another favor - after all you've already done. KAREN (crosses to her) Nobody's done so much, Eve, you've got to stop thinking of yourself as one of the Hundred Neediest Cases... what is it? EVE Well... Miss Channing's affairs are in such good shape... there isn't enough to keep me as busy as I should be, really - not that I've ever considered anything that would take me away from her... but the other day - when I heard Mr. Fabian tell Miss Channing that her understudy was going to have a baby, and they'd have to replace her... She looks down at the coverlet once more. KAREN ... you want to be Margo's new understudy. EVE I don't let myself think about it, even- (she looks up, rises as she speaks) - but I do know the part so well, and every bit of the staging, there'd be no need to break in a new girl- (suddenly afraid, she sits) - but suppose I had to go on one night? To an audience that came to see Margo Channing. No, I couldn't possibly... KAREN (laughs) Don't worry too much about that. Margo just doesn't miss performances. If she can walk, crawl or roll - she plays. EVE (nods proudly) The show must go on. KAREN No, dear. Margo must go on. (she sits beside Eve) As a matter of fact, I see no reason why you shouldn't be Margo's understudy... EVE Do you think Miss Channing would approve? KAREN I think she would cheer. EVE But Mr. Richards and Mr. Sampson- KAREN They'll do as they're told.Eve smiles a little. A pause. EVE Then - would you talk to Mr. Fabian about it? KAREN Of course. EVE You won't forget it? KAREN I won't forget. EVE I seem to be forever thanking you for something, don't I?She hugs Karen, leaves. She nearly collides with Birdie onher way in. BIRDIE The bed looks like a dead animal act. Which one is sables? KAREN (pointing) But she just got here... BIRDIE She's on her way. With half the men in the joint. (she hold up the coat) It's only a fur coat... KAREN What did you expect - live sables? BIRDIE A diamond collar, gold sleeves - you know, picture people...They start out. KAREN Bill says actors out there eat just as infrequently as here- BIRDIE They can always grab oranges off trees. This you can't do in Times Square...Through the open door, we see them go down the stairs and outof sight. INT. SECOND FLOOR LANDING AND STAIRS - NIGHTKaren and Birdie come down the stairs to Bill, Max, Addison,a blonde young lady named MISS CASWELL (Addison's protegee-ofthe-moment) - and, at the feet of Bill and Addison... Eve.They are all seated on the steps.Birdie goes through and down the stairs to the first floor.Karen remains with the others. Addison is holding forth: ADDISON Every now and then, some elder statesman of the Theater or cinema assures the public that actors and actresses are just plain folk. Ignoring the fact that their greatest attraction to the public is their complete lack of resemblance to normal human beings. MISS CASWELL (as Birdie and the sables pass) Now there's something a girl could make sacrifices for. BILL'S VOICE And probably has. MISS CASWELL Sable. MAX (to Miss Caswell) Did you say sable - or Gable? MISS CASWELL Either one. ADDISON It is senseless to insist that theatrical folk in New York, Hollywood and London are no different from the good people of Des Moines, Chillicothe and Liverpool. By and large, we are concentrated gatherings of neurotics, egomaniacs, emotional misfits, and precocious children- MAX (to Bill) Gable. Why a feller like that don't come East to do a play... BILL (nods) He must be miserable, the life he lives out there- ADDISON These so-called abnormalities - they're our stock in trade, they make us actors, writers, directors, et cetera in the first place- MAX Answer me this. What makes a man become a producer? ADDISON What makes a man walk into a lion cage with nothing but a chair? MAX This answer satisfies me a hundred percent. ADDISON We all have abnormality in common. We are a breed apart from the rest of the humanity, we Theater folk. We are the original displaced personalities... BILL (laughs; to Eve) You don't have to read his column tomorrow - you just heard it. I don't agree, Addison... ADDISON That happens to be your particular abnormality. BILL Oh, I admit there's a screwball element in the Theater. It sticks out, it's got spotlights on it and a brass band. But it isn't basic, it isn't standard - if it were, the Theater couldn't survive... MISS CASWELL (to a passing butler) Oh, waiter...The butler goes right by. ADDISON That isn't a waiter, my dear. That's a butler. MISS CASWELL Well, I can't yell "Oh, butler," can I? Maybe somebody's name is Butler... ADDISON You have a point. An idiotic one, but a point. MISS CASWELL I don't want to make trouble. All I want is a drink. MAX (getting up) Leave me get you one... MISS CASWELL (pitching) Oh, thank you, Mr. Fabian.Max leaves with her empty glass. ADDISON Well done. I see your career rising in the East like the sun... (to Bill) ... you were saying? BILL I was saying that the Theater is nine-tenths hard work. Work done the hard way - by sweat, application and craftsmanship. I'll agree to this - that to be a good actor, actress, or anything else in the Theater, means wanting to be that more than anything else in the world... EVE (abruptly) Yes. Yes, it does. BILL (goes on) It means concentration of ambition, desire, and sacrifice such as no other profession demands... And I'll agree that the man or woman who accepts those terms can't be ordinary, can't be - just someone. To give so much for almost always so little...Eve speaks almost unaware of what she says. She looks at noone in particular, just off... EVE So little. So little, did you say? Why, if there's nothing else - there's applause. It's like - like waves of love coming over the footlights and wrapping you up. Imagine... To know, every night, that different hundreds of people love you... they smile, their eyes shine - you've pleased them, they want you, you belong. Just that alone is worth anything...She becomes aware of Addison's strange smile, of Bill's looksof warm interest. She's embarrassed, she turns away - thenscrambles to her feet as Margo approaches with Lloyd from thedirection of the pantry. Margo's had too much to drink. Her fake smile fades as Evegets up. She's unpleasant and depressed. MARGO Don't get up. And please stop acting as if I were the queen mother. EVE (hurt) I'm sorry, I didn't mean to- BILL (sharply) Outside of a beehive, Margo, your behavior would hardly be considered either queenly or motherly! MARGO You're in a beehive, pal, didn't you know? We're all busy little bees, full of stings, making honey day and night- (to Eve) - aren't we, honey? KAREN Margo, really... MARGO Please don't play governess, Karen, I haven't your unyielding good taste, I wish I'd gone to Radcliffe too but father wouldn't hear of it - he needed help at the notions counter... (to Addison) I'm being rude now, aren't I? OR should I say "ain't I"? ADDISON You're maudlin and full of self pity. You're magnificent. Max has come up with Miss Caswell's drink. LLOYD How about calling it a night? MARGO And you pose as a playwright. A situation pregnant with possibilities - and all you can think of is everybody to go to sleep... BILL It's a good thought. MARGO It won't play. KAREN As a nonprofessional, I think it's an excellent idea. Undramatic, but practical...As she speaks, she makes her way to Lloyd's side. MARGO Happy little housewife... BILL Cut it out. MARGO This is my house, not a theater! In my house you're a guest, not a director-! KAREN Then stop being a star - start treating your guests as your supporting cast! ADDISON Hear, hear... LLOYD Now let's not get into a big hassle- KAREN It's about time we did! It's about time Margo realized that what's attractive on stage need not necessarily be attractive off. MARGO (suddenly) All right! I'm going to bed. (to Bill) You be the host. It's your party. Happy Birthday, welcome home, and we-who-are-about-to-die-salute-you.She starts upstairs. BILL Need any help? MARGO (pauses, smiles) To put me to bed? Take my clothes off, hold my head, tuck me in, turn off the lights, tiptoe out...? eve would. Wouldn't you, Eve? EVE If you'd like. MARGO I wouldn't like. She goes up, exits out of sight. A pause. Miss Caswellreaches up to take the drink out of Max's hand. MAX I forgot I had it. MISS CASWELL I didn't. Bill gets up and goes after Margo... ADDISON Too bad! We'll miss the third act. They're going to play it off stage. Eve turns away abruptly, in sudden tears. LLOYD Coming? KAREN In a minute...She crosses to Eve, puts an arm around her. KAREN You mustn't mind Margo too much, even if I do... EVE But there must be some reason, something I've done without knowing... KAREN The reason is Margo and don't try to figure it out. Einstein couldn't. EVE If I thought I'd offended her, of all people- KAREN Eve. I'm fond of Margo too. But I know Margo. And every now and then there is nothing I want to do so much as to kick her right square in the pants. EVE (smiles) Well - if she's got to pick on someone, I'd just as soon it was me.Karen smiles back. She joins Lloyd and Max. LLOYD Max is going to drop us... ADDISON I've often wondered, Max, why you bother with a chauffeur and limousine in New York City. MAX In my case it's necessary. Too many taxi drivers write plays. ADDISON And too many of them are produced. MISS CASWELL Let's go sit by the piano. ADDISON You have me confused with Dan Dailey. You go sit by the piano. (to Eve) And you come sit by me. (to the others) Good night. They laugh, say "good night," and start downstairs. As Evecrosses to Addison: EVE Karen... (Karen pauses) ... you won't forget, will you? What we talked about before? KAREN (smiles) No, Eve, I won't forget...She follows the men downstairs. CLOSE UP of an old engravingof Mrs. Siddons as 'The Tragic Muse' which hangs among othertheatrical mementos on the stair wall...INT. DINING HALL - SARAH SIDDONS SOCIETY - NIGHTThe applause continues. Margo sits back in her chair now,picking at a bit of fingernail polish... MARGO'S VOICE Bill's welcoming-home-birthday party... a night to go down in history. Like the Chicago Fire - or the Massacre of the Huguenots. Even before the party started, I could smell disaster in the air...INT. MARGO'S BEDROOM - NIGHTThe same night as the previous sequence, but before the partyhas started. Margo is all dressed except for jewelry. Shestands before her dressing table putting it on. She sips atan enormous Martini... MARGO'S VOICE I knew it, I sensed it even as I finished dressing for that blasted party...Birdie comes in. BIRDIE You all put together? MARGO My back's open. (Birdie goes to work on it) Did the extra help get here? BIRDIE There's some loose characters dressed like maids and butlers. Who'd you call - the William Morris Agency? MARGO You're not being funny, I could get actors for less. What about the food? BIRDIE The caterer had to back for hors d'oeuvres- (she zips Margo) Voila. MARGO (laughs) That French ventriloquist taught you a lot, didn't he? BIRDIE There was nothing he didn't know. (she starts tidying the room) There's a message from the bartender. Does Miss Channing know we ordered domestic gin by mistake? MARGO The only thing I ordered by mistake is the guests. (Birdie cackles) They're domestic, too, and they don't care what they drink as long as it burns... where's Bill? He's late. BIRDIE Late for what? MARGO Don't be dense. The party. BIRDIE I ain't dense. And he's been here twenty minutes. MARGO Well, I certainly think it's odd he hasn't even come up...Her glance meets Birdie's. She turns and strolls out. INT. THIRD FLOOR LANDING - NIGHTMargo speeds up going down the stairs. INT. SECOND FLOOR LANDING - NIGHTMargo shows up again deliberately as she reaches the landing.Sound of Bill and Eve laughing together from the living room.Margo strolls toward it casually. We see Eve seated, looking up fascinated at Bill as he talks -out of the laughter... BILL "Don't let it worry you," said the cameraman, "Even DeMille couldn't see anything looking through the wrong end-" (Eve chuckles) So that was the first and last time-Eve sees Margo approach. She gets up. Bill turns. INT. MARGO'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHTAs Margo strolls up, very off-hand. MARGO Don't let me kill the point. Or isn't it a story for grownups? BILL You've heard it. About when I looked through the wrong end of a camera finder. MARGO (to Eve) Remind me to tell you about when I looked into the heart of an artichoke. EVE I'd like to hear it. MARGO Some snowy night in front of the fire... in the meantime, while we're on the subject, will you check about the hors d'oeuvres? The caterer forgot them, the varnish wasn't dry or something... EVE Of course.She leaves. A short lull. Margo looks into cigarette boxes.Bill eyes her curiosity, crosses to the fire. BILL Looks like I'm going to have a very fancy party... MARGO I thought you were going to be late- BILL When I'm guest of honor? MARGO I had no idea you were even here. BILL I ran into Eve on my way upstairs; she told me you were dressing. MARGO That never stopped you before. BILL Well, we started talking, she wanted to know all about Hollywood, she seemed so interested... MARGO She's a girl of so many interests. BILL It's a pretty rare quality these days. MARGO She's a girl of so many rare qualities. BILL So she seems. MARGO (the steel begins to flash) So you've pointed out, so often. So many qualities, so often. Her loyalty, efficiency, devotion, warmth, affection - and so young. So young and so fair...Bill catches the drift. Incredulously. BILL I can't believe you're making this up - it sounds like something out of an old Clyde Fitch play... MARGO Clyde Fitch, thought you may not think so, was well before my time! BILL (laughs) I've always denied the legend that you were in 'Our American Cousin' the night Lincoln was shot... MARGO I don't think that's funny! BILL Of course it's funny - this is all too laughable to be anything else. You know what I think about this - this age obsession of yours - and now this ridiculous attempt to whip yourself up into a jealous froth because I spent ten minutes with a stage-struck kid- MARGO Twenty minutes! BILL Thirty minutes, forty minutes! What of it? MARGO Stage-struck kid... she's a young lady - of qualities. And I'll have you know I'm fed up with both the young lady and her qualities! Studying me as if - as if I were a play or a set of blueprints! How I walk, talk, think, eat, sleep! BILL Now how can you take offense at a kid trying in every way to be as much like her ideal as possible! MARGO Stop calling her a kid! It so happens there are particular aspects of my life to which I would like to maintain sole and exclusive rights and privileges! BILL For instance what? MARGO For instance - you! BILL This is my cue to take you in my arms and reassure you - but I'm not going to. I'm too mad- MARGO - guilty. BILL Mad! Darling, there are certain characteristics for which you are famous - on stage and off. I love you for some of them - and in spite of others. I haven't let those become too important to me. They're part of your equipment for getting along in what is laughably called out environment - you've got to keep your teeth sharp. All right. But you will not sharpen them on me - or on Eve... MARGO What about her teeth? What about her fangs? BILL She hasn't cut them yet, and you know it! So when you start judging an idealistic dreamy-eyed kid by the barroom, Benzedrine standards of this megalomaniac society - I won't have it! Eve Harrington has never by word, look, thought or suggestion indicated anything to me but her adoration for you and her happiness at our being in love! And to intimate anything else doesn't spell jealousy to me - it spells a paranoic insecurity that you should be ashamed of! MARGO Cut! Print it! What happens in the next reel? Do I get dragged off screaming to the snake pit? EVE'S VOICE (quietly) Miss Channing?Bill and Margo look off. Eve is in the room. They have no wayof knowing how long she's been there. EVE The hors d'oeuvres are here. Is there anything else I can do? MARGO Thank you, Eve. I'd like a Martini - very dry. BILL I'll get it. (he crosses to Eve) What'll you have? Eve, involuntarily, looks to Margo. MARGO A milkshake?Eve smiles, turns to Bill. EVE A Martini. Very dry, please...Bill smiles back and starts across the landing toward thepantry. As he crosses the stairs, Karen, Lloyd and Max comeup from the street level below. General greetings. Billcontinues up to pantry. Eve and then Margo come up to addtheir welcome... EVE (to Karen) May I have your coat? KAREN Don't bother, I can take it up myself... EVE Please...Karen yields with a "thank you, Eve-." Eve goes up with thecoat. Lloyd looks after her approvingly. LLOYD I like that girl. That quality of quiet graciousness... MARGO ... Among so many quiet qualities.They start for the living room. KAREN Margo, nothing you've ever done has made me as happy as your taking Eve in... MARGO I'm so happy you're happy. MAX Look, you haven't been running a settlement house exactly - the kid's earned her way. You had a pretty mixed-up inventory when she took over - merchandise laying all over the shop... LLOYD You've got Margo mixed up with a five-and-ten-cent store... MARGO Make it Bergdorf Goodman... and now everything is on its proper shelf, eh, Max? Done up in little ribbons. I could die right now and nobody'd be confused. How about you, Max? MAX How about me what? They've come to a halt near the fireplace. MARGO Supposed you dropped dead. What about your inventory? MAX I ain't gonna die. Not with a hit. KAREN This is the most ghoulish conversation...Bill brings two Martinis. He hands one to Margo. MARGO (it drips ice) Thank you. BILL Nothing, really... MARGO The kid - junior, that is - will be right down. Unless you'd like to take her drink up to her... BILL (smiles) I can always get a fresh one. Karen - you're a Gibson girl...He hands Eve's drink to Karen. Max has wandered off. Otherguests are arriving. Margo gulps her drink, hands Bill theempty glass. He puts it on a passing tray. Margo takes afresh one at the same time. LLOYD The general atmosphere is very Macbethish. What has or is about to happen? MARGO (to Bill) What is he talking about? BILL Macbeth. KAREN (to Margo) We know you, we've seen you before like this. Is it over - or just beginning? Margo surveys them all. MARGO Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night. She downs the drink, hands the empty glass to Bill, andleaves them. She passes two women, gabbing by the piano. Asthey see her: WOMAN #1 Margo, darling! WOMAN #2 Darling! MARGO (passing) Darlings...She arrives at the landing just as Addison comes up with MissCaswell. Margo takes a drink from a passing tray. MARGO (to Addison) I distinctly remember striking your name from the guest list. What are you doing here? ADDISON Dear Margo. You were an unforgettable Peter Pan - you must play it again, soon. You remember Miss Caswell? MARGO I do not. How do you do? MISS CASWELL We never met. That's why. ADDISON Miss Caswell is an actress. A graduate of Copacabana School of Dramatic Arts. (his glance is attracted by Eve coming downstairs) Ah... Eve. EVE (deferentially) Good evening, Mr. deWitt. MARGO I had no idea you knew each other. ADDISON This must be, at long last, our formal introduction. Until now we have met only in passing... MISS CASWELL That's how you met me. In passing. MARGO (smiles) Eve, this is an old friend of Mr. deWitt's mother - Miss Caswell, Miss Harrington... (the two girls say hello) Addison, I've been wanting you to meet Eve for the longest time- ADDISON (murmurs) It could only have been your natural timidity that kept you from mentioning it... MARGO You've heard of her great interest in the Theater- ADDISON We have that in common. MARGO Then you two must have a long talk- EVE I'm afraid Mr. deWitt would find me boring before too long. MISS CASWELL You won't bore him, honey. You won't even get to talk. ADDISON (icily) Claudia dear, come closer. (she does, and he points) This is Max Fabian. He is a producer. Go do yourself some good. MISS CASWELL (sighs) Why do they always look like unhappy rabbits? ADDISON Because that is what they are. Go make him happy. Miss Caswell drapes her coat over the rail, heads for Max.Addison puts Eve's arm in his. ADDISON (to Margo) You mustn't worry about your little charge. She is in safe hands. MARGO Amen.Eve smiles uncertainly at Margo as he leads her away. Margolooks after them. She downs her drink...INT. MARGO'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHTIt's many Martinis later. Most of the guests have gone. Theparty has reached that static state - everyone's assumed moreor less permanent places. Birdie passes, carrying a cup of coffee. CAMERA FOLLOWS herto the piano where Margo sits on the bench beside thepianist. He is just finishing "Liebestraum" and she staresmoodily into a Martini. Birdie halts beside her with thecoffee. Margo looks up. Birdie holds out the coffee. Margotakes the onion out of the Martini, drops it into the coffeeand waves Birdie away. Birdie goes. "Liebestraum" comes to anend. The pianist tries to ease into a more sophisticatedrhythm. Margo stops him. MARGO (quietly) "Liebestraum." PIANIST I just played it. MARGO Play it again. PIANIST But that was the fourth straight time. MARGO Then this will be five. I suppose you think I'm too drunk to count. PIANIST No. You're just crazy about "Liebestraum." MARGO "Liebestraum." PIANIST Look, Miss Channing... it's kind of depressing. If you don't mind my saying so, everybody's kind of dying on the vine... MARGO My dear Horowitz. In the first place, I'm paying you union scale. Second, it's my piano. Third, if everybody doesn't like kind of dying on the vine, they can get off the vine and go home. "Liebestraum."Unhappily, he plays "Liebestraum." Margo sips her Martini,stares down into it again. Bill tiptoes up. BILL (whispers) Many of your guests have been wondering when they may be permitted to view the body. Where has it been laid out? MARGO (somberly) It hasn't been laid out, we haven't finished with the embalming. As a matter of fact, you're looking at it. The remains of Margo Channing. Sitting up. It is my last wish to be buried sitting up. BILL (trying to kid her out of it) Wouldn't you feel more natural taking a bow? MARGO You know nothing about feelings, natural or unnatural. BILL Then without feeling, your guests were also wondering whether the music couldn't be a shade more on the - shall we say, happier side? MARGO If my guests do not like it here, I suggest they accompany you to the nursery where I'm sure you will all feel more at home. Bill is about to get mad - when Max bustles up. MAX Margo. You by any chance got bicarbonate of soda in the house? MARGO (sympathetic) Poor Max. Heartburn? (Max nods) It's that Miss Caswell. I don't know why she doesn't give Addison heartburn. BILL No heart to burn. MARGO Everybody has a heart - except some people. (she finishes her drink, stands up) Of course I've got bicarb. There's a box in the pantry. We'll put your name on it. Max Fabian. It'll say there. Always. Just for you. MAX (touched) Let the rest of the world beat their brains out for a buck. It's friends that count. And I got friends. MARGO I love you, Max. I really mean it. I love you. Come to the pantry. She takes off. Max waits to set Bill straight. MAX She loves me like a father. Also, she's loaded. He starts off after Margo. As the CAMERA PANS with Bill wesee Margo going into the pantry with Max following her. Billjoins Addison and Miss Caswell on the stairs. INT. PANTRY - NIGHTIt's a good sized one. In the b.g., the caterers are packingdishes, glassware, etc. Margo crosses to a cupboard. Shefinds the bicarb. MARGO Here you are, Maxie dear. One good burp and you'll be rid of that Miss Caswell... MAX The situation I'm in ain't the kind you can belch your way out. I made a promise... MARGO Miss Caswell? (Max nods) What? MAX An audition for the part we're replacing. What's-her-name, your sister...He adds water to the bicarb. MARGO Well, if she can act, she might not be bad. She looks like she might burn down a plantation... MAX (mixing) I feel right now like there's one burning in me. MARGO When's the audition? MAX A couple of weeks. MARGO I tell you what. Why don't I read with her? MAX Would you? MARGO Anything to help you out, Max. MAX This is real cooperation. I appreciate it. MARGO Not at all. And you could do me a big favor, if you would- MAX All you got to do is name it. MARGO Give Eve Harrington job in you office.Max burps. MARGO You get quick action, don't you? MAX Margo, I wouldn't think of taking that girl away from you... MARGO You said yourself my inventory was in good shape - all of my merchandise put away. To keep her here with nothing to do - I'd be standing in her way... and you need her, Max. MAX But what could she do? MARGO She'd be a great help - read scripts, interview people you have to see, get rid of the ones you don't have to... you'd be a man of leisure- MAX Well... MARGO Think of your health, Max - more time to relax out in the fresh air at a race track... MAX I don't know if this would be a wise move... MARGO Promise. MAX I promise. MARGO (happily) That's my Max. Lloyd enters, looking for her. LLOYD There you are, both of you. Max, Karen has decided it's time to go. MARGO Where is she? LLOYD Up in the room. MAX If you'll excuse me- (to Margo) I'll tell Miss Caswell...He goes out. A pause. MARGO Who's left out there? LLOYD Too many. And you've got a new guest. A movie star from Hollywood. MARGO Shucks. And my autograph book is at the cleaners.Another pause. MARGO You disapprove of me when I'm like this, don't you? LLOYD Not exactly. Sometimes, though, I wish I understood you better. MARGO When you do, let me in on it. LLOYD I will. Another pause. MARGO How's the new one coming? LLOYD The play? All right, I guess... MARGO "Cora." She's - still a girl of twenty? LLOYD Twentyish. It isn't important. MARGO Don't you think it's about time it became important? LLOYD How do you mean? MARGO Don't be evasive. LLOYD Margo, you haven't got any age. MARGO Miss Channing is ageless. Spoken like a press agent. LLOYD I know what I'm talking about, after all they're my plays... MARGO Spoken like an author. (abruptly) Lloyd, I'm not twentyish. I am not thirtyish. Three months ago, I was forty years old. Forty. Four oh. (smiles) That slipped out, I hadn't quite made up my mind to admit it. Now I feel as if I'd suddenly taken all my clothes off... LLOYD Week after week, to thousands of people, you're as young as you want... MARGO ... as young as they want, you mean. And I'm not interested in whether thousands of people think I'm six or six hundred- LLOYD Just one person. Isn't that so? (Margo doesn't answer) You know what this is all about, don't you? It has very little to do with whether you should play "Cora" - it has everything to do with the fact that you've had another fight with Bill. A pause. Margo closes the box of bicarb. MARGO Bill's thirty-two. He looks thirty two. He looked it five years ago, he'll look it twenty years from now. I hate men. (she puts the box down) Don't worry, Lloyd. I'll play your play. I'll wear rompers and come in rolling a hoop if you like... let's go say good night. They exit into the dining room. As they open the swingingdoor, the CAMERA REMAINS in the doorway. Margo and Lloyd walktoward the stairs. In the b.g., Eve is talking to the group.How much she says is dependent on how long it takes Margo andLloyd to reach her. EVE (in the b.g.) Imagine... to know, every night, that different hundreds of people love you... They smile, their eyes shine - you've pleased them, they want you, you belong. Anything's worth that. Just as before, she becomes aware of Margo's approach withLloyd. She scrambles to her feet... MARGO Don't get up. And please stop acting as if I were the queen mother. And as Margo speaks - or before - we FADE OUT.FADE IN:EXT. N.Y. THEATER STREET - DAYMargo gets out of a cab in front of the theater and goes in.It's Friday afternoon - no performance. MARGO'S VOICE What was it the wise man said - "This, too, will pass away"? Two weeks later - the day of the audition - all was well with Bill and me, the world and me-INT. LOBBY AND FOYER - CURRAN THEATER - DAYMargo comes from the street through the lobby ( a few peoplebuying tickets) and into the deserted foyer. She spotsAddison sprawled on one of the sofas. MARGO Why so remote, Addison? I should think you'd be at the side of your protegee, lending her moral support... ADDISON Miss Caswell, at the moment, is where I can lend no support - moral or otherwise. MARGO The ladies' - shall we say - lounge? ADDISON Being violently ill to her tummy. MARGO It's good luck before an audition. She'll be all right once it starts.She heads for the auditorium. ADDISON Miss Caswell got lucky too late. The audition is over. MARGO (stops) Over? It can't be. I've come to read with her. I promised Max. ADDISON The audition was called for 2:30. It is now nearly four. MARGO (lightly) Is it really? I must start wearing a watch, I never do, you know... who read with Miss Caswell? Bill? (he shakes his head) Lloyd? (he shakes his head) Well, it couldn't have been Max! Who? ADDISON Naturally enough, your understudy. MARGO I consider it highly unnatural to allow a girl in an advanced state of pregnancy- ADDISON I refer to your new and unpregnant understudy. Eve Harrington. MARGO Eve! My understudy... ADDISON (keenly) Didn't you know? MARGO (quickly) Of course I knew. ADDISON It just slipped your mind. A moment of silence. MARGO How... how was Miss Caswell? ADDISON Frankly, I don't remember. MARGO Just slipped your mind. ADDISON Completely. Nor, I am sure, could anyone else present tell you how Miss Caswell read or whether Miss Caswell read or rode a pogo stick. MARGO Was she that bad?As Addison speaks, he rises with excitement. ADDISON Margo, as you know, i have lived in the Theater as a Trappist monk lives in his faith. I have no other world, no other life - and once in a great while I experience that moment of Revelation for which all true believers wait and pray. You were one. Jeanne Eagels another... Paula Wessely... Hayes - there are others, three or four. Eve Harrington will be among them... MARGO (flatly) I take it she read well. ADDISON It wasn't reading, it was a performance. Brilliant, vivid, something made of music and fire... MARGO How nice. ADDISON In time she'll be what you are. MARGO A mass of music and fire. That's me. An old kazoo and some sparkles. Tell me - was Bill swept away, too, or were you too full of Revelation to notice? ADDISON Bill didn't say - but Lloyd was beside himself. He listened to his play as if someone else had written it, he said, it sounded so fresh, so new, so full of meaning... MARGO How nice for Lloyd. And how nice for Eve. How nice for everybody.Addison, of course, knows exactly what she's doing. He sensesthe approaching typhoon, he whips it up... ADDISON Eve was incredibly modest. She insisted that no credit was due her, that Lloyd felt as he did only because she read lines exactly as he had written them. MARGO The implication being that I have not been reading them as written. ADDISON To the best of my recollection, neither your name nor your performance entered the conversation. Miss Caswell appears, uncertain, in the b.g. ADDISON Feeling better, my dear? MISS CASWELL Like I just swam the English Channel. Now what? ADDISON You next move, it seems to me, should be toward television. Margo, abruptly, starts for the auditorium. Addison smiles.He takes Miss Caswell's arm. MISS CASWELL Tell me this. Do they have auditions for television? ADDISON That's all television is, my dear. Nothing but auditions. He takes her toward the street. INT. THEATER - CURRAN THEATER - DAYThe curtain is up; the set, covered, is a bedroom in adeteriorating Southern mansion. There is no one in the theater but Max, seated on the aisleabout two-thirds down, and Eve with Lloyd and Bill on thestage. She is seated; they stand between her and auditorium.There is some ad lib talk among the three which we cannotmake out. Margo marches down the aisle with a steady pace. She passes Max smiles a sickly, hopeful smile. She ignoreshim as if he were a used paper cup. She disappears throughthe door which leads backstage. Max whistles. Lloyd turns. Max indicated the door and putshis hands to his head in despair. Margo walks out of the wings on stage. Bill and Lloyd turn toher. Eve rises. MARGO (cheerily) Terribly sorry I'm late, lunch was long and I couldn't find a cab - where's Miss Caswell, shall we start? Oh, hello, Eve... EVE Hello, Miss Channing. MARGO How are you making out in Mr. Fabian's office? (over the footlights to Max) I don't want you working the child too hard, Max - just because you promised. As you see, I kept my promise, too...Max slumps in his seat. By the time Margo turns back to them,the others have exchanged swift looks. BILL It's all over. MARGO What's all over? BILL The audition. MARGO (pleased astonishment) Eve? (she turns to her) How enchanting... (to Lloyd and Bill) Wherever did you get the idea of having Eve read with Miss Caswell? LLOYD She's your understudy. MARGO Eve? Eve, my understudy? But I had no idea... LLOYD I thought you knew... She was put on over a week ago- MARGO It seems almost inconceivable that I haven't seen her backstage, but with so many people loitering around... well, well. So Eve is not working for Max after all- (out to Max again) - Max you sly puss.Max submerges further in his seat. EVE Miss Channing, I can't tell you how glad I am that you arrived so late. MARGO Really, Eve? Why? EVE Well, if you'd been here to begin with, I wouldn't have dared to read at all... MARGO Why not? EVE ... and if you'd come in the middle, I'd have stopped, I couldn't have gone on- MARGO (murmurs) What a pity, all that fire and music being turned off... BILL What fire and music? MARGO You wouldn't understand. (to Lloyd) How was Miss Caswell? LLOYD Back to Copacabana. But Eve. Margo, let me tell you about Eve- EVE (breaking in) I was dreadful, Miss Channing, believe me - I have no right to be anyone's understudy, much less yours... MARGO I'm sure you underestimate yourself, Eve. You always do. (to Lloyd) You were about to tell me about Eve... LLOYD You'd have been proud of her. MARGO I'm sure. LLOYD She was a revelation... MARGO To you, too? LLOYD What do you mean? MARGO (the ice begins to form) I mean, among other things, that it must have been a revelation to have your twenty-four-year-old character played by twenty-four-year-old actress... LLOYD That's beside the point. MARGO It's right to the point. Also that it must have sounded so new and fresh to you - so exciting to have the lines read as you wrote them! BILL Addison-! MARGO So full of meaning, fire and music! LLOYD You've been talking to that venomous fishwife, Addison deWitt- MARGO - in this case, apparently, as trustworthy as the World Almanac! LLOYD You knew when you came in that the audition was over, that Eve was your understudy! Playing that childish game of cat and mouse... MARGO Not mouse, never mouse! If anything - rat! LLOYD You have a genius for making barroom brawl out of a perfectly innocent misunderstanding at most! MARGO Perfectly innocent! Man have been hanged for less! I'm lied to, attacked behind my back, accused of reading your silly dialogue inaccurately - as if it were Holy Gospel! LLOYD I never said it was! MARGO Then you listened as if someone else had written you play - whom did you have in mind? Sherwood? Arthur Miller? Beaumont and Fletcher? Max has edged his way to the stage. MAX (from below) May I say a word? LLOYD No! (to Margo) What makes you think that either Miller or Sherwood would stand for the nonsense I take from you - you'd better stick to Beaumont and Fletcher! They've been dead for three hundred years! He stalks into the wings. Bill's reaction to the fight istypical. He lights a cigarette, stretches out on the coveredbed. Eve stands frozen with fear. Margo yells after Lloydinto the wings. MARGO And they're getting better performances today than they ever got! All playwrights should be dead for three hundred years!Lloyd comes out of the door leading to the auditorium. Thebattle goes on without a pause. As he yells back, he crossesto Max at row A, center. LLOYD That would solve none of their problems - because actresses never die! The stars never die and never change!He starts up the aisle with Max. MARGO You can change this star any time you want! For a new, fresh, exciting one fully equipped with fire and music! Any time you want - starting with tonight's performance!Now it's Max who stops and shouts back at her. MAX This is for lawyers to talk about, this concerns a run-of-the-play contract, and this you can't rewrite or ad lib! MARGO (from the stage) Are you threatening me with legal action, Mr. Fabian? MAX Are you breaking the contract? MARGO Answer my question! MAX Who am I to threaten? I'm a dying man. MARGO I didn't hear you. MAX (yelling) I said I'm a dying man! MARGO Not until the last drugstore has sold its last pill! LLOYD (from the top of the aisle) I shall never understand the weird process by which a body with a voice suddenly fancies itself a mind! Just when exactly does an actress decide they're her words she's saying and her thoughts she's expressing? MARGO Usually at the point when she's got to rewrite and rethink them to keep the audience from leaving the theater! LLOYD It's about time the piano realized it has not written the concerto!Max has already walked out unhappily. Lloyd now slams out.Margo glares after him, then turns to Bill who smokes hiscigarette peacefully on the bed. MARGO (quiet menace) And you, I take it, are the Paderewski who plays his concerto on me, the piano? (Bill waves his cigarette; he's noncommittal) Where is Princess Fire-and-Music? BILL Who? MARGO The kid. Junior. BILL (looks lazily) Gone. MARGO I must have frightened her away. BILL I wouldn't be surprised. Sometimes you frighten me. MARGO (paces up and down) Poor little flower. Just dropped her petals and folded her tent... BILL Don't mix your metaphors. MARGO I mix what I like. BILL Okay. Mix. MARGO I'm nothing but a body with a voice. No mind. BILL What a body, what a voice. MARGO The ex-ship news' reporter. No body, no voice, all mind! BILL The gong rang. The fight's over. Calm down. MARGO I will not calm down! BILL Don't calm down. MARGO You're being terribly tolerant, aren't you? BILL I'm trying terribly hard. MARGO Well, you needn't. I will not be tolerated. And I will not be plotted against! BILL Here we go... MARGO Such nonsense, what do you all take me for - little Nell from the country? Been my understudy for over a week without my knowing, carefully hidden no doubt- BILL (sits up) Now don't get carried away- MARGO (going right on) - shows up for an audition when everyone knew I'd be here... and gives a performance! Out of nowhere - gives a performance! BILL You've been all through that with Lloyd- MARGO The playwright doesn't make the performance - and it doesn't just happen! And this one didn't - full of fire and music and whatnot, it was carefully rehearsed I have no doubt, over and over, full of those Bill Sampson touches! BILL I am sick and tired of these paranoiac outbursts! MARGO Paranoiac! BILL I didn't know Eve Harrington was your understudy until half past two this afternoon! MARGO Tell that to Dr. Freud! Along with the rest of it...She turns away. Bill grabs her, pulls her down on the bed. Heholds her down. BILL No, I'll tell it to you! For the last time, I'll tell it to you. Because you've got to stop hurting yourself, and me, and the two of us by these paranoiac tantrums! MARGO (struggling) That word again! I don't even know what it means... BILL (firmly) It's time you found out. I love you. (Margo says "Ha!") I love you. You're a beautiful and intelligent woman- (Margo says "A body with a voice") - a beautiful and intelligent woman and a great actress- (he waits; Margo says nothing) - at the peak of her career. You have every reason for happiness- (Margo says "Except happiness") - every reason, but due to some strange, uncontrollable, unconscious drive you permit the slightest action of a kid- (Margo sneers "Kid!") - kid like Eve to turn you into a hysterical, screaming harpy! Now once and for all, stop it! Margo seems quiet. He gets up. She sits up. MARGO It's obvious you're not a woman. BILL I've been aware of that for some time. MARGO Well, I am. BILL I'll say. MARGO Don't be condescending. BILL Come on, get up. I'll buy you a drink. MARGO (with dignity) I admit I may have seen better days, but I am still not to be had for the price of a cocktail - like a salted peanut. BILL (laughs) Margo, let's make peace. MARGO The terms are too high. Unconditional surrender. BILL Just being happy? Just stopping all this nonsense about Eve - and Eve and me? MARGO It's not nonsense. BILL But if I tell you it is - as I just did. Were you listening to me? (Margo nods) Isn't that enough? MARGO I wish it were. BILL Then what would be enough? (Margo doesn't answer) If we were married? MARGO I wouldn't want you to marry me just to prove something. BILL You've had so many reasons for not wanting to marry me... Margo, tell me what's behind all this. MARGO I - I don't know, Bill. Just a feeling, I don't know... BILL I think you do know but you won't or can't tell me. (Margo doesn't say) I said before it was going to be my last try, and I meant it. I can't think of anything else to do. I wish I could. (a pause) We usually wind up screaming and throwing things as the curtain comes down. Then it comes up again and everything's fine. But not this time. (he takes a breath) You know there isn't a playwright in the world who could make me believe this would happen between two adult people. Goodbye, Margo. No word from her. He starts away. MARGO Bill... (he stops) ... where are you going? To find Eve? BILL (smiles grimly) That suddenly makes the whole thing believable.He goes out. Margo, alone, sit for a moment sadly. Then shebegins to cry...INT. RICHARDS' STUDIO APARTMENT - DAYOne large room, a small foyer with a door to the corridor. Astair up one wall to a narrow balcony from which a couple ofbedroom open.Karen is painting. Earnestly but badly. A still life of anorange, an avocado, an eggplant and three bananas. KAREN'S VOICE On the day of the audition, my biggest worry was to keep a banana looking part of an eggplant... then Lloyd came home. (in the b.g., Lloyd lets himself in) It was right after his brawl with Margo...Lloyd slams the door, flings his hat away, strides in,peeling off muffler and overcoat. KAREN Lloyd, what happened...? LLOYD Up to here! That's where I've got it - up to here! Of all the star ridden, presumptuous, hysterical- KAREN Margo, again... LLOYD And again and again! Two hours late for the audition, to begin with- KAREN That's on time for Margo. LLOYD Then a childish, heavy-handed routine about not knowing Eve was her understudy- KAREN It's just possible she didn't... LLOYD Of course she knew! For one thing, Addison told her how superbly Eve had read the part-! (suddenly softening) Karen, let me tell you about Eve. She's got everything - a born actress. Sensitive, understanding, young, exciting, vibrant- KAREN - don't run out of adjectives, dear. LLOYD - everything a playwright first thinks of wanting to write about... until his play becomes a vehicle for Miss Channing... KAREN Margo hasn't done badly by it. LLOYD Margo. Margo's great. She knows it. That's the trouble. She can play Peck's Bad Boy all she wants, and who's to stop her? Who's to give her that boot in the rear she needs and deserves? He starts up the stairs to the bedroom. KAREN (murmurs) It's going to be a cozy weekend. LLOYD (pauses) What is? KAREN We're driving out to the country tomorrow night. Just the four of us. Bill, Margo, you and I... LLOYD Well. We've spent weekends before with nobody talking... (continues up stairs) ... just be sure to lock up all blunt instruments and throwable objects...As he goes into one of the bedrooms, Karen sits thoughtfullyon a couch. She muses... KAREN'S VOICE Newton - they say, thought of gravity by getting hit on the head by an apple. And the man who invented the steam engine, he was watching a tea-kettle... but not me. My Big Idea came to me just sitting on a couch...She lies down, folds her hands behind her head. KAREN'S VOICE That boot in the rear to Margo. Heaven knows she had one coming. From me, from Lloyd, from Eve, Bill, Max, and so on - we'd all felt those size fives of hers often enough... but how? The answer was buzzing around me like a fly...She sits up. She smiles. The smile fades... KAREN'S VOICE I had it. But I let it go. Screaming and calling names is one thing - but this could mean...She shakes her head, crosses to her easel, resumes work onthe bananas. She slows down, then stops. KAREN'S VOICE Why not? Why, I said to myself, not? It would all seem perfectly legitimate. And there were only two people in the world who would know. Also, the boot would land where it would do the most good for all concerned-She puts the brush away and crosses to the phone which is byLloyd's work chair. As she crosses: KAREN'S VOICE And after all, it was not more than a perfectly harmless joke which Margo, herself, would be the first to enjoy...She looks in a leather phone book, pick up the phone anddials. KAREN'S VOICE ... and no reason why she shouldn't be told about it - in time. There's an answer at the other end. KAREN (into phone) Hello... will you call Miss Eve Harrington to the phone, please? Not at all... thank you. And as she waits we... DISSOLVE TO:EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - NIGHTOpen country. Preferably no houses in sight. Plenty of snow.Lloyd's car drives along. KAREN'S VOICE It was a cold weekend - outside and in. Bill didn't come at all. Margo didn't know where he was and didn't care - she kept saying. Somehow we staggered through Sunday - and by the time we drive Margo to the station late Monday afternoon, she and Lloyd had thawed out to the extent of being civil to each other...INT. COUPE - NIGHTLloyd driving. All three in the front seat. KAREN What time is it? LLOYD When you asked a minute ago it was five-forty-two. It is now five forty-three. When you ask a minute from no, it will be- KAREN I just don't want Margo to miss her train. As it is, she'll barely make the theater... LLOYD Five-fifty-five. We'll be at the station in plenty of time... MARGO That little place just two hours form New York. It's on my list of things-I'll-never-understand. Like collecting shrunken Indian heads... KAREN Of all people you should know what it means to want some peace and quiet- MARGO Peace and quit is for libraries. The car swerves - suddenly and slightly. KAREN Lloyd, be careful... LLOYD Just a little skid, that's all. This road's like glass. MARGO Karen and I just don't want an accident- LLOYD I have no intention of having an accident! MARGO It's not important whether you do. We are wearing long underwear. They all laugh. Suddenly the car slows and stops - with thathissing sound that can mean only one thing - no gas. LLOYD Now what's this...?He tries to start it again. No luck. He turns on thedashboard lights. The gas gauge reads empty. LLOYD But it can't be! We can't be out of gas! I filled it myself yesterday! (to Karen) Wasn't it full when you drove to Brewster this morning? KAREN (very low) I guess I didn't look. You know I don't pay attention to those things... LLOYD Incredible. Futilely, he runs the started again. MARGO (crisply) How much time have we? KAREN Roughly ten minutes. MARGO How far to the station? KAREN Three or four miles... MARGO Any houses or farms around where we can borrow gas? KAREN (looking) None in sight, there aren't many along this back road... MARGO Not many car either, not much chance of a lift...A moment of silence. LLOYD Well. No sense my just sitting here. I'm going to walk up about half a mile, just in case.He starts out of the car. The cold comes in like a knife, thewomen react. KAREN You'll break your neck on that ice. LLOYD (grins) What a way to die - trying to get an actress to the theater in time. Tell Max I want to be buried with royalties... KAREN Don't joke about such things. MARGO (quietly) How fortunate that I have an understudy so ready, so willing and so able to go on. LLOYD The audience will want its money refunded, believe me. MARGO Thank you, Lloyd. Godspeed. Lloyd starts down the road. He slips once, recovers, wavesand keeps going. KAREN He always looks so pathetic whenever he does anything physical- MARGO It seems to me that walking, for most people, is not very dangerous. KAREN (smiles) I just never think of Lloyd as anywhere but indoors and anything but sitting down. MARGO Be brave. He'll come back - with or without gas. They tuck the fur car robe around them. A pause. Margo turnson the radio... it's "Liebestraum." MARGO Do you want it on? KAREN It doesn't matter. MARGO I detest cheap sentiment. She turns it off. Another pause. MARGO Karen. (Karen says "hm?") I haven't been pleasant this weekend. KAREN We've all seemed a little tense lately... MARGO Come to think of it, I haven't been very pleasant for weeks. For that, I'm truly sorry. More than any two people I know, I don't want you and Lloyd to be angry with me... KAREN We're never deeply angry, we just get sore. The way you do. We know you too well... MARGO So many people - know me. I wish I did. I wish someone would tell be about me... KAREN You're Margo. Just - Margo. MARGO And what is that? Besides something spelled out in light bulbs, I mean. Besides something called temperament, which consists mostly of swooping about on a broomstick creaming at the top of my voice... infants behave the way I do, you know. They carry on and misbehave - they'd get drunk if they knew how - when they can't have what they want. When they feel unwanted and insecure - or unloved. There's a pause. KAREN What about Bill? MARGO What about Bill? KAREN He's in love with you. MARGO More than anything in this world, I love Bill. And I want Bill. I want him to want me. But me. Not Margo Channing. And if I can't tell they apart - how can he? KAREN Why should he - and why should you? MARGO Bill's in love with Margo Channing. He's fought with her, worked with her, loved her... but ten years from now - Margo Channing will have ceased to exist. And what's left will be... what? KAREN Margo. Bill is all of eight years younger than you. MARGO Those years stretch as the years go on. I've seen it happen too often. KAREN Not to you. Not to Bill. MARGO Isn't that what they always say? She turns the radio on again. A piano nocturne... MARGO I don't suppose the heater runs when the motor doesn't? KAREN Silly, isn't it? You'd think they'd fix it so people could just sit in a car and keep warm...Margo nods, get some cigarettes out of her bag. She offersone to Karen. They light up. MARGO About Eve. I've acted pretty disgracefully toward her, too. KAREN Well... MARGO Let's not fumble for excuses, not here and now with my hair down. At best, let's say I've been oversensitive to... well, to the fact that she's so young - so feminine and helpless. To so many things I want to be for Bill... funny business, a woman's career. The things you drop on your way up the ladder, so you can move faster. You forget you'll need them again when you go back to being a woman. That's one career all females have in common - whether we like it or not - being a woman. Sooner or later we've all got to work at it, no matter what other careers we've had or wanted... and, in the last analysis, nothing is any good unless you can look up just before dinner or turns around in bed - and there he is. Without that, you're not woman. You're something with a French provincial office or a book full of clippings - but you're not a woman... (she smiles at Karen) ... slow curtain. The end. A pause. There are tears in Karen's eyes. KAREN Margo. (she hesitates) Margo, I want you to know how sorry I am about this... MARGO About what? KAREN (indicating their predicament) This. I can't tell you how sorry I am! MARGO Don't give it another thought, one of destiny's many pranks. After all, you didn't personally drain the gasoline out of the tank...She snuggles down into her furs. Karen flashes an unhappylook at her. She, too, snuggles down...EXT. THEATER ALLEY - CURRAN THEATER - NIGHTThe snow has been shoveled to either side of the alley,making a lane. The performance is just over. Addison, his back to us, stands looking toward the stagedoor. A few actors, on their way out. ADDISON'S VOICE Eve, of course, was superb. Many of the audience understandably preferred to return another time to see Margo. But those who remained cheered loudly, lustily and long for Eve... how thoughtful of her to call and invite me - that afternoon...He starts to walk toward the stage door. ADDISON'S VOICE ... and what a happy coincidence that several representatives of other newspapers happened to be present. All of us - invited that afternoon to attend an understudy's performance...He goes in the stage door. INT. BACKSTAGE - CURRAN THEATER - NIGHTMore activity than last time, the performance being justover. Addison comes through the door, picks his way towardMargo's dressing room. ADDISON'S VOICE ... about which the management knew nothing until they were forced to ring up the curtain at nine o'clock. Coincidence. Also every indication of intrigue, skulduggery and fraud... The door tot he dressing room is open just a bit. Addisonpauses beside the door to listen. BILL (from within) ... you were better than all right, kid, you gave a performance, you rang a bell-Addison uses his cane to swing the door open farther, so thatboth he and WE can see as well as hear. INT. MARGO'S DRESSING ROOM - NIGHTBill faces Eve, who wears Margo's costume. She is a ravishingsight. Her eyes shine up to his radiantly: BILL (continuing) - little things here and there, it doesn't matter. You can be proud of yourself, you've got a right to be. EVE (quietly) Are you proud of me, Bill? BILL I'll admit I was worried when Max called. I had my doubts. EVE You shouldn't have had any doubts. BILL - after all, the other day was one scene, the woods are full of one scene sensations. But you did it. With work and patience, you'll be a fine actress. If that's what you want to be. EVE Is that what you want me to be? BILL I'm talking about you. And what you want. EVE So am I. BILL What have I got to do with it? EVE Everything. BILL (lightly) The names I've been called. But never Svengali. (he pats her shoulder) Good luck. He starts out. Addison ducks. EVE Don't run away, Bill. BILL (stops) From what would I be running? EVE You're always after truth - on the stage. What about off? BILL (curiously) I'm for it. EVE Then face it. I have. Since that first night - here - in the dressing room. BILL (smiles) When I told you what every young actress should know. EVE When you told me that whatever I became, it would be because of you- BILL Your make-up's a little heavy. EVE - and for you. BILL (slowly) You're quite a girl. EVE You think? BILL I'm in love with Margo. Hadn't you heard? EVE You hear all kinds of things. BILL I'm only human, rumors to the contrary. And I'm as curious as the next man... EVE Find out. BILL (deliberately) Only thing, what I go after, I want to go after. I don't want it to come after me. Tears come to Eve's eyes. She turns away slowly. BILL Don't cry. Just score it as an incomplete forward pass. He walks out. Addison ducks to avoid being seen. Eve glaresafter Bill, tears the wig from her head, throws it on thedressing table. Her glance is caught by a pair of scissors.Swiftly, she snatches them up and in a sharp, vicious gestureshe slashes the wig. Addison knocks politely at the door. Eveturns. ADDISON May I come in? EVE Certainly, Mr. deWitt... ADDISON (entering) I expected to find this little room overcrowded, with a theater full of people at your feet... EVE I consider myself lucky they didn't throw things. She starts creaming her face, removing make-up. ADDISON Of course your performance was no surprise to me. After the other day I regarded it as no more than - a promised fulfilled. EVE You're more than kind. But it's still Miss Channing's performance. I'm just a carbon copy you read when you can't find the original... ADDISON You're more than modest. EVE It's not modesty. I just don't try to kid myself. ADDISON A revolutionary approach to the Theater. However, if I may a suggestion... EVE Please do. ADDISON I think the time has come for you to shed some of your humility. It is just as false not to blow your horn at all as it is to blow it too loudly... EVE I don't think I've done anything to sound off about. ADDISON We all come into this world with our little egos equipped with individual horns. If we don't blow them - who will? EVE Even so. One isolated pretty good performance by an understudy. It'll be forgotten tomorrow. ADDISON It needn't be. EVE Even if I wanted to - as you say - be less humble, blow my own horn... how would I do it? I'm less than nobody. ADDISON I am somebody. Eve rises. She eyes him steadily. EVE You certainly are. She goes into the bathroom. ADDISON Leave the door open a bit, so we can talk. Eve does so. ADDISON After you change, if you're not busy elsewhere, we can have supper. EVE (from the bathroom) I'd love to! Or should I pretend I'm busy? ADDISON (smiling) Let's have a minimum of pretending. I'll want to do a column about you- EVE I'm not enough for a paragraph. ADDISON - perhaps more than one. There's so much I want to know. I've heard your story in bits and pieces... your home in Wisconsin, your tragic marriage, your financial attachment to Margo - it started in San Francisco, didn't it? (no answer; Addison smiles) I say - your idolatry of Margo started in San Francisco, didn't it? EVE That's right. ADDISON San Francisco. An oasis of civilization in the California desert. Tell me, do you share my high opinion of San Francisco? EVE Yes. I do. ADDISON And that memorable night when Margo first dazzled you from the stage - which theater was it in San Francisco? Was it - the Shubert? EVE (a slight pause) Yes. The Shubert. ADDISON (grins happily) A fine old theater, the Shubert. Full of tradition, untouched by the earthquake - so sorry - fire... by the way, what was your husband's name? EVE Eddie... ADDISON Eddie what?Eve sticks her head and naked shoulder around the door. EVE I'm about to go into the shower, I won't be able to hear you... ADDISON I can wait. Where would you like to go? We'll make this a special night... EVE (trustingly) You take charge. ADDISON I believe I will.She closes the door. He leans back, lights a cigarette. EXT. 52ND STREET - NEW YORK - NIGHTA cab drives up to "21." KAREN'S VOICE Some of the morning papers carried a little squib about Eve's performance. Not much, but full praise... I couldn't imagine how they found out about it - but Lloyd said Max's publicity man probably sent out the story...Karen gets out of the cab, pays and goes in. KAREN'S VOICE ... at any rate, I feel terribly guilty and ashamed of myself - and wanted nothing so much as to forget the whole thing. Margo and I were having lunch at "21" - just like girlfriends - with hats on...INT. LOBBY - "21" - DAYKaren consults her watch and the doorman as she enters. KAREN Has Miss Channing come in? DOORMAN Not yet, Mrs. Richards...Karen sees Eve who waits as Addison hands his hat, coat, andcane to an attendant. She smiles, crosses to her. KAREN Eve. I've heard the most wonderful things about your performance- EVE Mostly relief that I managed to stagger through it at all... ADDISON She was magnificent. KAREN (pleased) Then you've heard too. ADDISON I was there. An eyewitness. KAREN (staggered) You were there? At the play - last night? ADDISON (smiles) A happy coincidence. EVE (quickly) We're having lunch with a movie talent scout. KAREN They certainly don't waste much time. EVE Nothing definite yet - it's just to have lunch. ADDISON They'll be wasting this much of their time at any rate. Eve has no intention of going to Hollywood. He turns to Karen, changing the subject. ADDISON From the smartness of your dress, I take it your luncheon companion is a lady? KAREN (smiles) Margo. ADDISON Margo? Lunching in public? KAREN It's new Margo. But she's just as late as the old one. ADDISON She may be later than you think...As he speaks, he crosses to pick up an evening paper, opensit as he comes back. ADDISON (handing it to her) Why not read my column to pass the time? The minutes will fly like hours... (he takes Eve's arm) ... and now we must join our sunburned eager beaver. He goes up the stairs with Eve. Karen glances after themcuriously, then at the column.It is headed: "Things I Promised Not To Tell" by AddisondeWitt. He expression becomes increasingly horrified. Shedrops the paper and rushes out...INT. MARGO'S LIVING ROOM - DAYAddison's column quivers in Margo's hand as she strides aboutreading it. Karen sits miserably. MARGO (declaiming) "... my hat which has, lo, these many seasons become more firmly rooted about my ears, is lifted to Miss Harrington. I am once more available for dancing in the streets and shouting from the housetops." ... I thought that one went out with Woollcott... (she skips part of the column) Down here... here, listen to this- "... Miss Harrington had much to tell - and these columns shall report her faithfully - about the lamentable practice in our Theater of permitting, shall we say - mature - actresses to continue playing roles requiring a youth and vigor of which they retain but a dim memory-" KAREN I just can't believe it. MARGO It get better! "- About the understandable reluctance on the part of our entrenched First Ladies of the Stage to encourage, shall we say - younger - actresses; about Miss Harrington's own long and unsupported struggle for opportunity-" KAREN I can't believe Eve said those things!Margo crumples the paper as if it were Eve's neck. MARGO (pacing) In this rat race, everybody's guilty till they're proved innocent! One of the differences between the Theater and civilization... (she hurls the paper away) ... what gets me is how all of those papers in town happened to catch that particular performance! KAREN (weakly) Lloyd says it's a publicity release... MARGO The little witch must have had Indians runners out snatching critics out of bars, steam rooms and museums or wherever they hole up... well, she won't get away with it! Nor will Addison deWitt and his poison pen! If Equity or my lawyer can't or won't do anything about it, I will personally stuff that pathetic little lost lamb down Mr. deWitt's ugly throat...She pauses in midair to look at... Bill. He has come up thestairs tow at a time, stands at the landing. BILL (quietly) I came as soon as I read that piece of filth. I ran all the way...Margo suddenly starts to cry. She turns from him. Bill takesher in his arms. He holds her... BILL Bill's here, baby. Everything's all right, now...Margo says nothing, just hides in his embrace. He soothesher, pets her... he looks over at Karen. KAREN I guess at this point I'm what the French call 'de trop'... BILL (smiles) Maybe just a little around the edges.Karen smiles back, waves, and goes out. INT. RICHARDS' APARTMENT - DAYKaren's having some lunch. Lloyd, still in his robe, sitsopposite her having some coffee and a cigarette. A copy ofthe interview before him. LLOYD (is saying) - it's Addison, from start to finish, it drips with his brand of venom... taking advantage of a kid like that, twisting her words, making her say what he wanted her to say- KAREN Where'd you get all that information? LLOYD (put out his cigarette) Eve. KAREN Eve? LLOYD She's been to see me, as a matter of fact she left just before you came in - you just missed her... KAREN That was a pity... LLOYD (gets up) She wanted to explain about her interview, wanted to apologize to someone - and didn't dare face Margo... KAREN I wonder why.Lloyd wanders about - he seems to be searching for words, fora position to maintain... LLOYD She started to tell me all about it - and she couldn't finish, she cried so...He's over by a window, his back to her. Karen eyes himcuriously, waiting for the payoff... LLOYD (finally) You know, I've been going over our financial condition - if you'll pardon the expression... KAREN That's quite a change of subject. LLOYD (walks again) What with taxes coming up - and since I'm a playwright and not an oil well operator - well, I've been thinking... KAREN I'm trying hard to follow you. LLOYD If - instead of waiting until next season to do 'Footsteps on the Ceiling', which is in pretty good shape - and if Margo can be talked into going on tour with 'Aged in Wood' - we could put 'Footsteps...' into production right away... KAREN I'm beginning to catch up. LLOYD If we could cast it properly, that is... KAREN (carefully) Maybe get some younger actress for the part? Someone who'd look the part as well as play it? LLOYD (smiles) You've got to admit it would be a novelty. KAREN Now you're quoting Addison. Or Eve. A pause. LLOYD Eve did mention the play, you know. But just in passing - she's never ask to play a part like "Cora," she'd never have the nerve... KAREN Eve would ask Abbott to give her Costello. LLOYD No, I got the idea myself - while she was talking to me... KAREN With gestures, of course. LLOYD (wistfully) For once, to write something and have it realized completely. For once, not to compromise-Now Karen explodes. She rises. KAREN Lloyd Richards, you are not to consider giving that contemptible little worm the part of "Cora." LLOYD Now just a minute- KAREN Margo Channing has not been exactly a compromise all these years, half the playwrights in the world would give their shirts for that particular compromise! LLOYD (angry) Now just a minute! KAREN It strikes me that Eve's disloyalty and ingratitude must be contagious!Lloyd's full of anger and guilt. He snaps back. LLOYD All this fuss and hysteria because an impulsive kid got carried away by excitement and the conniving of a professional manure slinger named deWitt! She apologized, didn't she? KAREN On her knees, I have no doubt! Very touching, very Academy-of-Dramatic Arts! LLOYD That bitter cynicism of yours is something you've acquired since you left Radcliffe! KAREN The cynicism you refer to, I acquired the day I discovered I was different from little boys!The phone has been ringing. Lloyd snarls into it. LLOYD Hello! (he quiets down) ... hi, Margo... no, not at all, Karen and I were just chatting... hmm?... why - why, yes, I'm sure we can and I'm sure we'd love to... right... 11:45ish. See you then...He hangs up. He smiles - suddenly, there's peace. LLOYD Margo - and Bill - want us to meet them at the Cub Room tonight, after theater. For a bottle of wine. KAREN (smiles) Margo in the Cub Room. I couldn't be more surprised if she'd said Grant's Tomb. LLOYD I'm glad Bill's back. KAREN They'd die without each other. A pause. LLOYD Darling, I didn't promise Eve anything. Just said I thought she'd be fine for the part, but there were some practical difficulties... KAREN Such as? LLOYD (grins) You - for one. I told her you were set on Margo playing the part - and I certainly wouldn't make a change without your approval. Karen smiles happily. KAREN That's fine. Fine and dandy. I'd enjoy nothing more. Just refer all of Miss Harrington's future requests to me...INT. CUB ROOM - STORK CLUB - NIGHTMargo, Karen, Bill and Lloyd are ensconced happily at a tablein the rear of the room. A bottle of fine wine is beingpoured. Their mood is equally bubbly. BILL The so-called art of acting is not one for which I have a particularly high regard... MARGO Hear, hear... BILL But you may quote me as follows. Quote. Tonight Miss Margo Channing gave a performance in your cockamamie play, the like of which I have never seen before and expect rarely to see again. Unquote. MARGO He does not exaggerate. I was good. BILL You were great. As they look at each other, they reflect the understandingthat has hit them both at last. LLOYD It's been quite a night. I understand that your understudy - Miss Harrington - has given her notice. MARGO (eyes still on Bill) Too bad. BILL (eyes still on Margo) I'm broken up about it...The wine has been poured by now. LLOYD For some reason you can't just pick up champagne and drink it. Somebody's got to be very witty about a toast. (he lifts his glass) For instance... BILL (abruptly) I'm going to propose the toast. Without wit. With all my heart. Lloyd lowers his glass. There's a little pause. BILL To Margo. To my bride-to-be. MARGO Glory Hallelujah. LLOYD Well of all- KAREN Margo! BILL Drink.They drink, then burst into a flurry of questions. KAREN When? When are you going to do it? BILL Tomorrow we meet at City Hall at ten- (to Margo) - and you're going to be on time. MARGO Yes, sir. LLOYD City Hall, that's for prize fighters, and reporters - I see a cathedral, a bishop, banks of flowers... BILL It's only for the license. There's a three-day wait - blood tests, things like that... MARGO I'll marry you if it turns out you have no blood at all. LLOYD Three days, that's for the bourgeois - I see a midnight elopement, waking up a village person... KAREN (to Margo) What are you going to wear? MARGO Something simple. A fur coat over a nightgown... BILL The point is - in the cathedral, a ball park or a penny arcade - we want to have you two beside us our nearest and dearest friends.Lloyd fills all the glasses. LLOYD There are very few moments in life as good as this. Let's remember it. (he lifts his glass) To each of us and all of us... never have we been more close - may we never be farther apart.They drink. A waiter approaches with a note. WAITER Mrs. Richards? KAREN Yes? WAITER For you. Karen stares at it curiously, then opens it. LLOYD Very discreet. A note right out in the open like that. Next time tell your lover to blow smoke rings - or tap a glass... MARGO Lloyd, I want you to be big about this... the world is full of love tonight, no woman is safe... KAREN (angrily) This beats all world's records for running, standing and jumping gall!She whips the note to Margo, who reads it aloud. MARGO (reading) "Please forgive me for butting into what seems such a happy occasion - but it's most important that I speak with you. Please" - it's underlined - "meet me in the Ladies' Room. Eve." BILL I understand she is now the understudy in there. MARGO (looking about) Pass me the empty bottle. I may find her... why, look. There's Rasputin. Addison sits near the entrance, at a banquette table for two.A crumpled napkin and a wine glass indicate Eve's place. Henibbles daintily at some blini. Margo hails a passing captain. MARGO Encore du champagne. CAPTAIN More champagne, Miss Channing? MARGO That's what I said, bub. LLOYD (to Karen) After all, maybe she just wants to apologize... KAREN I have no possible interest in anything she'd have to say. BILL But what could she say? That's what fascinates me... LLOYD Go on - find out... MARGO Karen, in all the years of our friendship, I have never let you go to the Ladies' Room alone. But now I must. I am busting to know what goes on in that feverish little brain waiting there... KAREN Well... all right.She gets up and goes. The CAMERA takes her past Addison'stable. He rises in polite surprise. ADDISON Karen! How nice...She walks past him without a word. He smiles, looks towardthe group. He raises his glass in a toast. Margo responds to the toast by waving an onion with a grandflourish, then eating it. BILL Very effective. But why take it out on me? He eats one in self-defense. INT. LADIES' ROOM - STORK CLUB - NIGHTNever having been, I can't say what it looks like. It is tobe hoped that there is an outer and inner room. We areconcerned with the outer. There is an attendant in charge, and a constantly changingflow of ladies who pause to make various repairs. All cafesociety - including one young drunk stretched out under amink coat and a wet towel.There are two chairs - or a banquette - in a corner. Evewaits there. She rises as Karen approaches. EVE I was wondering whether you'd come at all.. KAREN Don't get up. (she smiles grimly) And don't act as if I were the queen mother. EVE I don't expect you to be pleasant. KAREN I don't intend to be. EVE Can't we sit down? Just for a minute...She sits down. Karen remains standing. EVE I've got a lot to say. And none of it is easy. KAREN There can't be very much- EVE Oh, but there is- KAREN - and easy or not, I won't believe a word. EVE Why shouldn't you? (a pause) Please sit down. Karen sits, reluctantly and rigidly. EVE You know, I've always considered myself a very clever girl. Smart. Good head on my shoulders, that sort of thing, never the wrong word at the wrong time... but then, I'd never met Addison deWitt. (another pause) I remember once I had a tooth pulled. They gave me some anaesthetic - I don't remember the name - and it affected me in a strange way. I heard myself saying things I wasn't even thinking... as if my mind were someplace outside of my body, and couldn't control what I did or said- KAREN (leading her on) - and you felt just like that talking to Addison. EVE (nods) In a way. You find yourself trying to say what you mean, but somehow the words change - and they become his words - and suddenly you're not saying what you mean, but what he means- KAREN (sharply) Do you expect me to believe that you didn't say any of those things - that they were all Addison? EVE No! I don't expect you to believe anything. Except that the responsibility is mine. And the disgrace. KAREN Let's not get over-dramatic. EVE (smiles grimly) You've really got a low opinion of me, haven't you? We'll I'll give you some pleasant news. I've been told off in no uncertain terms all over town. Miss Channing should be happy to hear that. To know how loyal her friends are - how much more loyal they are than she had a right to expect me to be...She turns away from Karen. Karen's embarrassed. KAREN Eve... don't cry. EVE (turned away) I'm not crying. KAREN Tell me. How did your lunch turn out - with the man from Hollywood? EVE Some vague promises of a test, that's all - if a particular part should come along, one of those things- KAREN But the raves about your performance- EVE - an understudy's performance. KAREN Well. I think you're painting the picture a little darker than it is, really. If nothing else - and don't underestimate him - you have a powerful friend in Addison. EVE He's not my friend. You were my friends... KAREN He can help you. EVE I wish I'd never met him, I'd like him to be dead... I want my friends back. This time she does cry. Softly, miserably. Karen looks about.A pause. She puts an arm around Eve. KAREN Eve. I - I don't think you meant to cause unhappiness. But you did. More to yourself, perhaps - as it turned out - than to anyone else... EVE I'll never get over it. KAREN (smiles) Yes, you will. You Theater people always do. Nothing is forever in the Theater. Love or hate, success or failure - whatever it is, it's here, it flares up and burns hot - and then it's gone. EVE I wish I could believe that. KAREN Give yourself time. Don't worry too much about what people think, you're very young and very talented... (she gets up, her hand still on Eve's shoulder) ... and, believe it or not, if there's anything I can do-Eve has reached up to take Karen's hand. She holds it now, asshe turns slowly to face her. EVE There is something. Karen stares down at her. Eve's eyes burn into tears. Karenis caught, fascinated by them. KAREN I think I know... EVE Something most important you can do. KAREN You want to play "Cora." You want me to tell Lloyd I think you should play it. EVE If you told him so, he'd give me the part. He said he would. KAREN After all you've said... don't you know the part was written for Margo? EVE It could have been - fifteen years ago. It's my part now. KAREN You talk just as Addison said you did. EVE "Cora" is my part. You've got to tell Lloyd it's for me. KAREN I don't think anything in the world could make me say that. She turns away again, but Eve's grip is like a vise. EVE Addison wants me to play it. KAREN Over my dead body... EVE (cold, relentless) That won't be necessary. Addison knows how Margo happen to miss that performance - how I happened to know she'd miss it in time to call him and notify every paper in town... (Karen stops struggling) ... it's quite a story. Addison could make quite a thing of it - imagine how snide and vicious he could get and still write nothing but the truth. I had a time persuading him... (she smiles, now) ... you'd better sit down. You look a bit wobbly. (Karen sits) If I play "Cora," Addison will never tell what happened - in or out of print. A simple exchange of favors. And I'm so happy I can do something for you - at long last... (Karen covers her face with her hands) Your friendship with Margo - your deep, close friendship - what would happen to it, do you think, if she knew the chap trick you'd played on her - for my benefit? And you and Lloyd - how long, even in the Theater, before people forgot what happened - and trusted you again? (now Eve gets up) No... it would be so much easier on everyone concerned, if I were to play "Cora." And so much better theater, too...Karen looks up slowly. KAREN A part in a play. You'd do all that - just for a part in a play. EVE (smiles) I'd do much more - for a part that good.She leaves. Karen is alone. INT. CUB ROOM - NIGHTEve enters and slides in beside Addison. ADDISON Hungry? EVE Just some coffee. ADDISON (pours) I'm not surprised. After all that humble pie... EVE Nothing of the kind. Karen and I had a nice talk. ADDISON Heart to heart? Woman to woman? Including a casual reference to the part of "Cora" - and your hopes of playing it. EVE I discussed it very openly. I told her that I had spoken to Lloyd - and that he was interested. ADDISON She mentioned, of course, that Margo expects to play the part? EVE Oddly enough - she didn't say a word about Margo. Just that she'll be happy to do what she can to see that I play the part. Addison puffs at his cigarette, bemused. ADDISON Just like that, eh? EVE Just like that. ADDISON (thoughtfully) Do you know, Eve - sometimes I think you keep things from me. Eve's feelings are hurt. EVE I don't think that's funny. ADDISON It wasn't meant to be. EVE I confide in you and rely on you more than anyone I've ever known! To say a thing like that now - without any reason - when I need you more than ever... ADDISON (breaks in) I hope you mean what you say, Eve. I intend to hold you to it. Their eyes meet. ADDISON We have a great deal in common, it seems to me...They both look as Karen passes them on her way back to hertable. GROUP, as Karen joins them. Another bottle of champagne hascome and almost gone - there's a fine, cheery feeling amongthem. Margo, in particular, is cheery. A pause. Karen downs aglass of champagne. LLOYD - well? What happened? KAREN Nothing much. She apologized. MARGO With tears? KAREN With tears. MARGO But not right away? First the business of fighting them off, chin up, stout fella... KAREN Check. MARGO Very classy stuff, lots of technique- LLOYD You mean - all this time - she'd done nothing but apologize? What'd you say? KAREN Not much. MARGO Groom- (Bill says "huh?") - may I have a wedding present? BILL What would you like? Texas? MARGO I want everybody to shut up about Eve. Just shut up about Eve, that's all I want. Give Karen more wine... (blissfully) ... never have I been so happy. Isn't this a lovely room? The Cub Room. What a lovely, clever name. Where the elite meet. Never have I seen so much elite - and all with their eyes on me. Waiting for me to crack that little gnome over the noggin with a bottle. But not tonight. Even Eve. I forgive Eve... there they go. They all look. ADDISON AND EVE, they get up and go without looking back.GROUP, they watch for an instant. MARGO There goes Eve. Eve evil, Little Miss Evil. But the evil that men do - how does it go, groom? Something about the good they leave behind - I played it once in rep in Wilkes Barre... BILL You've got it backwards. Even for Wilkes-Barre. MARGO You know why I forgive Eve? Because she's left good behind - the four of us, together like this, it's Eve's fault - I forgive her...Karen's reactions are, of course, most important. Knowingwhat she's done to Margo - wondering how to do what she must. MARGO ... and Bill. Especially Bill. Eve did that, too. LLOYD You know, she probably means well, after all... MARGO She is a louse. BILL (to Lloyd) Never try to outguess Margo. MARGO Groom. BILL Yes, dear. MARGO You know what I'm going to be? BILL A cowboy. MARGO A married lady. BILL With the paper to prove it. MARGO I'm going to have a home. Not just a house I'm afraid to stay in... and a man to go with it. I'll look up at six o'clock - and there he'll be... remember, Karen? KAREN (quietly) I remember. MARGO (to Bill) You'll be there, won't you. BILL (grins) Often enough to keep the franchise. MARGO A foursquare, upright, downright, forthright married lady... that's for me. And no more make believe! Off stage or on... remember, Lloyd. (Lloyd nods) I mean it, now. Grown-up women only, I might even play a mother - only one child, of course, not over eight... (they all smile) Lloyd, will you promise not to be angry with me? LLOYD (smiles) That depends. MARGO I mean really, deeply angry... LLOYD I don't think I could be. MARGO Well. I don't want to play "Cora." KAREN (explodes) What?Margo misinterprets her vehemence. MARGO (hastily) Now wait a minute, you're always so touchy about his plays, it isn't the part - it's a great part. And a fine play. But not for me anymore - not a foursquare, upright, downright, forthright married lady. LLOYD What's your being married got to do with it? MARGO It means I've finally got a life to live! I don't have to play parts I'm too old for - just because I've got nothing to do with my nights! (then quietly) I know you've made plans. I'll make it up to you, believe me. I'll tour a year with this one, anything - only you do understand - don't you, Lloyd?Lloyd never gets to answer. Because Karen, before anyone canstop her, bursts into hysterical laughter... LLOYD What's so funny? KAREN Nothing... BILL Nothing? KAREN Everything... everything's so funny... Margo removes the champagne glass from in front of Karen...FADE OUT.FADE IN:INT. THEATER - CURRAN THEATER - DAYKaren is seated unobtrusively in a rear lower box. Lloyd sitsbeside Max up front.On stage, the play is "on its feet." Eve plays a dramaticscene with a young man. They carry "sides" but do not consultthem.As she speaks, Eve moves upstage, turns to face the young manwho is forced to turn his back to the auditorium. Bill calls a halt. He indicates to Eve that she was to haveremained downstage. Eve seems to be at a loss. She looks at Lloyd. Lloyd rises, says that he told her to make the change. Bill comes down to the footlights to tell him to stick towriting, he'll do the directing. It mounts swiftly to ascreaming fight. Bill throws the script out into theauditorium, takes his coat and stalks off.Eve runs after him. Max retrieves the script. Lloyd remainsadamant. Karen has risen in dismay. Eve drags Bill back. Without looking at Lloyd, he takes thescript from Max, tells the actors to pick up where they leftoff. Eve whispers to Lloyd from the stage. Lloyd smiles,mollified, sits down again with Max. Karen walks up the side aisle, out of the theater... KAREN'S VOICE Lloyd never got around, somehow - to asking me whether it was all right with me for Eve to play "Cora"... Bill, oddly enough, refused to direct the play at first - with Eve in it. Lloyd and Max finally won him over... Margo never came to a rehearsal, too much to do around the house, she said. I'd never known Bill and Lloyd to fight as bitterly and as often... and always over some business for Eve, or a move or the way she read a speech... but then I'd never known Lloyd to meddle as much with Bill's directing - as far as it affected Eve, that is... somehow, Eve kept them going. Bill stuck it out - and Lloyd seemed happy - and I thought it might be best if I skipped rehearsals from then on... INT. RICHARDS' BEDROOM - NIGHTIt is a lovely, large room. Two double beds, not alongsideeach other and each with an extension phone beside it. Inaddition to the door to the living room, there are two more -to separate dressing rooms and baths. Lloyd is asleep. Butnot Karen. She turns restlessly, finally sits up, lights acigarette. KAREN'S VOICE It seemed to me I had known always that it would happen - and here it was. It felt helpless, that helplessness you feel when you have no talent to offer - outside of loving your husband. How could I compete? Everything Lloyd loved about me, he had gotten used to long ago... The phone jangles suddenly, startling her. It wakes Lloyd up.Karen answers. KAREN Hello... who?... who's calling Mr. Richards?INT. ROOMING HOUSE - NIGHTA girl, in a wrapper, at a wall phone. Her hair's in curlers.She's frightened. GIRL My name wouldn't mean anything. I room across the hall from Eve Harrington, and she isn't well. She's been crying all night and hysterical, and she doesn't want a doctor...RICHARDS' BEDROOM, Lloyd is sitting on the edge of the bed,looking over... LLOYD Who is it? What's it all about? KAREN (into phone) Did Miss Harrington tell you to call Mr. Richards?Lloyd picks up his phone. ROOMING HOUSE GIRL No, Eve didn't say to call him, but I remembered I saw Mr. Richards with her a couple of times - and I thought they being such good friends...RICHARDS' BEDROOM LLOYD (into phone) Hello...hello, this is Lloyd Richards. Where is Eve? Let me talk to her-ROOMING HOUSE GIRL She's up in her room, Mr. Richards. I really hate to bother you like this, but the way Eve's been feeling - I'm just worried sick what with her leaving for New Haven tomorrow, and everything...RICHARDS' BEDROOM LLOYD Tell her not to worry - tell her I'll be right over. ROOMING HOUSE GIRL I'll tell her, Mr. Richards.She hangs up. As she moves from the phone, the ANGLE WIDENSto disclose Eve at the foot of the stairs. The girls smile ateach other. They go upstairs, arm in arm. RICHARDS' BEDROOM, Karen is still in bed, phone still in herhand. She hangs up, swings her legs out, puts out hercigarette, gets into a robe. The open door and light of thedressing room tell us where Lloyd is.Karen walks to the door, starts to say something, changes hermind. She crosses to a table, lights a fresh cigarette, comesback to the door. KAREN (finally) Aren't you... broadening the duties of a playwright just a bit? Rushing off in the middle of the night like a country doctor?No answer except the opening and closing of drawers. KAREN What would you do if, instead of Eve, the leading man had called up to say her was hysterical?Still no answer. Her tension increasing, Karen goes back tothe table, snubs out the fresh cigarette, then stridesswiftly back to the open door. KAREN Lloyd, I don't want you to go!Now Lloyd appears. He's in flannels, and a sport shirt withno tie. He's confused and guilty and tortured. LLOYD I didn't think you would! It seems to me, Karen, that for some tine, now, you've been developing a deep unconcern for the feeling of human being in general- KAREN I'm a human being, I've got some! LLOYD (goes right on) - and for my feelings in particular! For my play, my career - and now for a frightened, hysterical girl on the eve of her first night in the Theater!He goes back into his room. KAREN Have you forgotten about Eve? What she is, what she's done? LLOYD Old wives' tales, born of envy and jealousy! And a phobia against truth! KAREN Then tell me this isn't true! That your concern for your play and career is one thing - and that poor frightened hysterical girl another - and that your concern for her has nothing to do with either your play or your career!Lloyd comes out wearing a jacket. He crosses to the door,Karen after him. KAREN That first, last, and foremost - your reason for going now is that you want to be with Eve! Three in the morning or high noon - play or no play - wife or no wife! (Lloyd stops at the door) Isn't it true, Lloyd?Lloyd goes out. Karen looks after him, despairing.EXT. SHUBERT THEATER - NEW HAVEN - DAYThe theater is but a few doors from the TAFT HOTEL. Themarquee announces a new play by Lloyd Richards, presented byMax Fabian, opening tonight. Addison and Eve stand before the theater admiring her photoon a lobby display. None of the actors are starred. ADDISON'S VOICE To the Theater world - New Haven, Connecticut, is a short stretch of sidewalk between the Shubert Theater and the Taft Hotel, surrounded by what looks very much like a small city. It is here that managers have what are called out of-town openings - which are openings for New Yorkers who want to go out of town...They start for the hotel - Eve's arm through Addison's. EVE What a day - what a heavenly day... ADDISON D-day. EVE Just like it. ADDISON And tomorrow morning you will have won your beachhead on the shores of Immortality... EVE (grins) Stop rehearsing your column... Isn't it strange, Addison? I thought I'd be panic-stricken, want to run away or something. Instead, I can't wait for tonight to come. To come and go... ADDISON Are you that sure of tomorrow? EVE Aren't you? ADDISON Frankly - yes.They've arrived in front of the hotel. EVE It'll be a night to remember. It'll bring to me everything I've ever wanted. The end of an old road - and the beginning of a new one... ADDISON All paved with diamonds and gold? EVE You know me better than that. ADDISON Paved with what, then? EVE Stars.She goes in. Addison follows her. INT. CORRIDOR - TAFT HOTEL - DAYAddison accompanies Eve along the corridor to her door. EVE What time? ADDISON Almost four. EVE Plenty of time for a nice long nap - we rehearsed most of last night... ADDISON You could sleep, too, couldn't you? EVE Why not?They've arrived at her door. She opens it. ADDISON The mark of a true killer. (he holds out his hand) Sleep tight, rest easy - and come out fighting... EVE Why'd call me a killer? ADDISON Did I say killer? I meant champion. I get my boxing terms mixed. He turns to go. After a few steps- EVE (calling) Addison- (he pauses) - come on in for just a minute, won't you? There's... I've got something to tell you. Addison turns curiously, and enters behind her. INT. EVE'S SUITE - TAFT HOTEL - DAYOld-fashioned, dreary and small. The action starts in theliving room and continues to the bedroom. Addison closes the door, crosses to a comfortable chair. ADDISON Suites are for expense accounts. Aren't you being extravagant? EVE Max is paying for it. He and Lloyd had a terrific row but Lloyd insisted... well. Can I fix you a drink?She indicates a table elaborately stocked with liquor,glasses, etc. Addison's eyebrows lift. ADDISON Also with the reluctant compliments of Max Fabian. EVE Lloyd. I never have any, and he likes a couple of drinks after we finish - so he sent it up... ADDISON Some plain soda. (Eve starts to fix it) Lloyd must be expecting a record run in New Haven... EVE That's for tonight. You're invited. We're having everyone up after the performance. ADDISON We're? EVE Lloyd and I.She carries the soda to him, sits on an ottoman at his feet. ADDISON I find it odd that Karen isn't here for the opening, don't you?He sips his soda and puts away, carefully avoiding a look atEve. As he looks back- EVE Addison... ADDISON (blandly) She's always been so fantastically devoted to Lloyd. I would imagine that only death or destruction could keep her- EVE (breaks in) Addison, just a few minutes ago. When I told you this would be a night to remember - that it would bring me everything I wanted- ADDISON (nods) - something about an old road ending and a new one starting - paved with stars... EVE I didn't mean just the Theater. ADDISON What else?Eve gets up, crosses to look out over the Common. EVE (her back to him) Lloyd Richards. He's going to leave Karen. We're going to be married.For just a flash, Addison's eyes narrow coldly, viciously.Then they crinkle into a bland smile. ADDISON So that's it. Lloyd. Still just the Theater, after all... EVE (turns; shocked) It's nothing of the kind! Lloyd loves me, I love him! ADDISON I know nothing about Lloyd and his loves - I leave those to Louisa May Alcott. But I do know you. EVE I'm in love with Lloyd! ADDISON Lloyd Richards is commercially the most successful playwright in America- EVE You have no right to say such things! ADDISON - and artistically, the most promising! Eve dear, this is Addison.Eve drops her shocked manner like a cape. Her face lights up -she crosses back to the ottoman. EVE Addison, won't it be just perfect? Lloyd and I - there's no telling how far we can go... he'll write great plays for me, I'll make them be great! (as she sits) You're the only one I've told, the only one that knows except Lloyd and me... ADDISON ... and Karen. EVE She doesn't know. KAREN She knows enough not to be here. EVE But not all of it - not that Lloyd and I are going to be married. ADDISON (thoughtfully) I see. And when was this unholy alliance joined? EVE We decided the night before last, before we came up here... ADDISON (increasingly tense) Was the setting properly romantic - the lights on dimmers, gypsy violins off stage? EVE The setting wasn't romantic, but Lloyd was. He woke me up at three in the morning, banging on my door - he couldn't sleep, he told me - he's left Karen, he couldn't go on with the play or anything else until I promised to marry him... we sat and talked until it was light. He never went home... ADDISON You sat and talked until it was light... EVE (meaningly) We sat and talked, Addison. I want a run of the play contract. ADDISON (quietly) There never was, there'll never be another like you. EVE (happily) Well, say something - anything! Congratulations, skol - good work, Eve!Addison rises slowly, to his full height. As Eve watches him,as her eyes go up to his, her smile fades- ADDISON What do you take me for? EVE (cautiously) I don't know what I take you for anything... ADDISON (moving away) It is possible - even conceivable - that you've confused me with that gang of backward children you've been playing tricks on - that you have the same contempt for me that you have for them? EVE I'm sure you mean something by that, Addison, but I don't know what... ADDISON Look closely, Eve, it's time you did. I am Addison deWitt. I'm nobody's fool. Least of all - yours. EVE I never intended you to be. ADDISON Yes, you did. You still do. Eve gets up, now. EVE I still don't know what you're getting at. Right now I want to take my nap. It's important that I- ADDISON (breaks in) - it's important right now that we talk. Killer to killer. EVE (wisely) Champion to champion. ADDISON Not with me, you're no champion. You're stepping way up in class. EVE Addison, will you please say what you have to say plainly and distinctly - and then get out so I can take my nap! ADDISON Very well, plainly and distinctly. Although I consider it unnecessary - because you know as well as I, what I am about to say. (they are now facing each other) Lloyd may leave Karen, but he will not leave Karen for you. EVE What do you mean by that? ADDISON More plainly and more distinctly? I Have not come to New Haven to see the play, discuss your dreams, or to pull the ivy from the walls of Yale! I have come to tell you that you will not marry Lloyd - or anyone else - because I will not permit it. EVE What have you got to do with it? ADDISON Everything. Because after tonight, you will belong to me. EVE I can't believe my ears... ADDISON A dull cliche. EVE Belong - to you? That sound medieval - something out of an old melodrama... ADDISON So does the history of the world for the past twenty years. I don't enjoy putting it as bluntly as this, frankly I had hoped that you would, somehow, have known - have taken it for granted that you and I... EVE ... taken it for granted? That you and I...She smiles. Then she chuckles, then laughs. A mistake.Addison slaps her sharply across the face. ADDISON (quietly) Remember as long as you live, never to laugh at me. At anything or anyone else - but never at me.Eve eyes him coldly, goes to the door, throws it open. EVE Get out!Addison walks to the door, closes it. ADDISON You're too short for that gesture. Besides, it went out with Mrs. Fiske. EVE Then if you won't get out, I'll have you thrown out.She goes to the phone. ADDISON Don't pick it up! Don't even put your hand on it...She doesn't. Her back is to him. Addison smiles. ADDISON Something told you to do as I say, didn't it? That instinct is worth millions, you can't buy it, cherish it, Eve. When that alarm goes off, go to your battle stations...He comes up behind her. Eve is tense and wary. ADDISON Your name is not Eve Harrington. It is Gertrude Slescynski. EVE What of it? ADDISON It is true that your parents were poor. They still are. And they would like to know how you are - and where. They haven't heard from you for three years... EVE (curtly) What of it?She walks away. Addison eyes her keenly. ADDISON A matter of opinion. Granted. It is also true that you worked in a brewery. But life in the brewery was apparently not as dull as you pictured it. As a matter of fact, it got less and less dull - until you boss's wife had your boss followed by detectives! EVE (whirls on him) She never proved anything, not a thing! ADDISON But the $500 you got to get out of town brought you straight to New York - didn't it?Eve turns and runs into the bedroom, slamming the door.Addison opens it, follows close after her... he can be seenin the bedroom, shouting at Eve who is offscene. ADDISON That $500 brought you straight to New York - didn't it?INT. BEDROOM - DAYEve, trapped, in a corner of the room. EVE She was a liar, she was a liar! ADDISON Answer my question! Weren't you paid to get out of town?Eve throws herself on the bed, face down, bursts in tears.Addison, merciless, moves closer. ADDISON Fourth. There was no Eddie - no pilot - and you've never been married! That was not only a lie, but an insult to dead heroes and to the women who loved them... (Eve, sobbing, puts her hands over her ears; Addison, closer, pulls them away) ... Fifth. San Francisco has no Shubert Theater and North Shore, you've never been to San Francisco! That was a stupid lie, easy to expose, not worthy of you...Eve twists to look up at him, her eyes streaming. EVE I had to get in, to meet Margo! I had to say something, be somebody, make her like me! ADDISON She did like you, she helped and trusted you! You paid her back by trying to take Bill away! EVE That's not true! ADDISON I was there, I saw you and heard you through the dressing room door!Eve turns face down again, sobbing miserably. ADDISON You used my name and my column to blackmail Karen into getting you the part of "Cora" - and you lied to me about it! EVE (into the bed) No-no-no... ADDISON I had lunch with Karen not three hours ago. As always with women who want to find out things, she told more than she learned... (he lets go of her hands) ... do you want to change your story about Lloyd beating at your door the other night?Eve covers her face with her hands. EVE Please... please...Addison get off the bed, looks down at her. ADDISON That I should want you at all suddenly strikes me as the height of improbability. But that, in itself, is probably the reason. You're an improbable person, Eve, and so am I. We have that in common. Also a contempt for humanity, an inability to love or be loved, insatiable ambition - and talent. We deserve each other. Are you listening to me?Eve lies listlessly now, her tear-stained cheek against thecoverlet. She nods. ADDISON Then say so. EVE Yes, Addison. ADDISON And you realize - you agree how completely you belong to me? EVE Yes, Addison. ADDISON Take your nap, now. And good luck for tonight.He starts out. EVE (tonelessly) I won't play tonight. (Addison pauses) I couldn't. Not possibly. I couldn't go on... ADDISON (smiles) Couldn't go on? You'll give the performance of your life.He goes out. The CAMERA REMAINS on Eve's forlorn, tearstained face. Her eyes close... she goes to sleep.INT. DINING HALL - SARAH SIDDONS SOCIETY - NIGHTTHE STOPPED ACTION of Eve reaching out for the award. Theapplause and bulb-popping still going on. ADDISON'S VOICE And she gave the performance of her life. And it was a night to remember, that night...THE ACTION picks up where it left off. Eve accepts the awardfrom the Aged Actor, kisses him tenderly, folds the award toher bosom and waits for quiet.She speaks with assurance, yet modestly and humbly. EVE Honored members of Sarah Siddons Society, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: What is there for me to say? Everything wise and witty has long since been said - by minds more mature and talents far greater than mine. For me to thank you as equals would be presumptuous - I am an apprentice in the Theater and have much to learn from you all. I can say only that I am proud and happy and that I regard this great honor not so much as an award for what I have achieved, but as a standard to hold against what I have yet to accomplish. (applause) And further, I regard it as bestowed upon me only in part. The larger share belongs to my friends in the Theater - and to the Theater itself, which has given me all I have. In good conscience, I must give credit where credit is due. To Max Fabian-MAX sits erect, beaming proudly. EVE'S VOICE - dear Max. Dear, sentimental, generous, courageous Max Fabian - who took a chance on an unknown, untried, amateur...EVE, after applause greets Max. EVE And to my first friend in the Theater - whose kindness and graciousness I shall never forget... Karen - Mrs. Lloyd Richards...KAREN resumes her doodling as applause breaks out for her... EVE'S VOICE ... and it was Karen who first brought me to one whom I had always idolized - and who was to become my benefactor and champion. A great actress and a great woman - Margo Channing.MARGO, part of Eve's tribute has been over her CLOSE-UP. Shesmiles grimly in reaction to the applause.EVE looks to her right, waits for the applause to die. EVE My director - who demanded always a little more than my talent could provide-BILL, seated at the speakers' table. He has his award beforehim - a smaller one. He puts out a cigarette expressionlesslyas the applause breaks out. EVE - but who taught me patiently and well... Bill Sampson.LLOYD sits beside Bill. He, too, has a smaller award. As Evespeaks, he throws her a brief glance. EVE'S VOICE And one, without whose great play and faith in me, this night would never have been. How can I repay Lloyd Richards?EVE waits for the applause to die. EVE Hoe can I repay the many others? So many, that I couldn't possibly name them all...ADDISON smiles approvingly. EVE'S VOICE ... whose help, guidance and advice have made this, the happiest night of my life, possible. EVE stares at the award for an instant, as if fighting forself-control. EVE Although I am going to Hollywood next week to make a film - do not think for a moment that I am leaving you. How could I? For my heart is here in the Theater - and three thousand miles are too far to be away from one's heart. I'll be back to claim it - and soon. That is, if you want me back.Another storm of applause. Much ad lib shouting as Bill andLloyd are summoned to pose beside her for more pictures.People are thronging out. The Aged Actor shouts above thehubbub... AGED ACTOR A good night to all - and to all a good night!Eve disengages herself from the photographers, makes her waytoward Addison's table... Bill and Lloyd follow. CAMERAFOLLOWS Lloyd to Karen. They kiss. He gives her the award. LLOYD For services rendered - beyond the whatever-it-is-of-duty, darling.Max bustles into the SHOT. MAX Come on! I'm the host, I gotta get home before the guests start stealing the liquor...She and Lloyd follow Max. Addison and Eve are on their way.Lloyd goes right by. Karen pauses at Eve. KAREN Congratulations, Eve. EVE Thank you, Karen.Karen goes. Eve is being constantly congratulated. Some adlib about seeing her at Max's party... MAX (to Addison) I'm giving her a very high-class party. It ain't like a rehearsal, she don't have to be late. ADDISON As soon as the peasants stop pawing her. Max hurries out. Margo and Bill step into the SHOT. Eve turnsfrom a well-wisher to face her. MARGO ... nice speech, Eve. But I wouldn't worry too much about your heart. You can always put that award where your heart ought to be. Eve looks at her wordlessly. Margo and Bill leave. Addisonand Eve are alone. The tables about them are empty. Suddenly,her face becomes expressionless, her eyes dull... she glancesat the table. EVE I don't suppose there's a drink left... ADDISON You can have one at Max's. EVE (sits) I don't think I'm going. ADDISON (sighs) Why not? EVE Because I don't want to. ADDISON (patiently) Max has gone to a great deal of trouble, it's going to be an elaborate party, and it's for you. EVE No, it's not. (she holds up the award) It's for this. ADDISON It's the same thing, isn't it? EVE Exactly. (she gives him the award) Here. Take it to the party instead of me. ADDISON You're being childish.A well-wisher rushes up to Eve with an "Eve, darling, I'm sohappy!" Eve rises, thanks her graciously. Then she pulls herwrap over her shoulder. EVE I'm tired. I want to go home. ADDISON (curtly) Very well. I shall drop you and go on to the party. I have no intention of missing it...They exit from the room, now empty of everything but tables,waiters, and the usual banquet debris. EXT. PARK AVENUE - NIGHTEve gets out of taxi in front of a fashionable apartmenthotel. She doesn't say good night to Addison, she enters thehotel as the cab drives off. She hasn't the award with her. INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE EVE'S APARTMENT - NIGHTSmart, but not gaudy. Eve crosses from the elevator to herapartment. She lets herself in. INT. EVE'S HOTEL APARTMENT - NIGHTA small foyer, from which one door leads to the leaving room,another to the bedroom. The bedroom and living room do notconnect except through the foyer. All the lights are out. Eve turns them on in the foyer, thesame as she enters the bedroom. There are some new trunks, invarious stages of being packed. Eve tosses her wrap on thebed, goes through the foyer to the living room.She turns on the light in the living room. CAMERA FOLLOWS herto a smart small bar where she fixes a stiff drink. As sheturns from the bar, she stares - starts in fright - and dropsthe drink. A young girl, asleep in a chair, wakes with a jump. Shestares at Eve, horror-stricken. EVE Who are you? GIRL Miss Harrington... EVE What are you doing here? GIRL I - I guess I fell asleep.Eve starts for the phone. The girl rises in panic. GIRL Please don't have me arrested, please! I didn't steal anything - you can search me! EVE (pauses) How did you get in here? GIRL I hid outside in the hall till the maid came to turn down your bed. She must've forgot something and when she went to get it, she left the door open. I sneaked in and hid till she finished. Then I just looked around - and pretty soon I was afraid somebody'd notice the lights were on so I turned them off - and then I guess, I fell asleep. EVE You were just looking around... GIRL That's all. EVE What for? GIRL You probably won't believe me. EVE Probably not. GIRL It was for my report. EVE What report? To whom? GIRL About how you live, what kind of clothes you wear - what kind of perfume and books - things like that. You know the Eve Harrington clubs - that they've got in most of the girls' high schools? EVE I've heard of them. GIRL Ours was one of the first. Erasmus Hall. I'm the president. EVE Erasmus Hall. That's in Brooklyn, isn't it? GIRL Lots of actresses come from Brooklyn. Barbara Stanwyck, Susan Hayward - of course, they're just movie stars. Eve makes no comment. She lies wearily on the couch. GIRL You're going to Hollywood - aren't you? (Eve murmurs "uh-huh") From the trunks you're packing, you must be going to stay a long time. EVE I might. GIRL That spilled drink is going to ruin your carper. She crosses to it. EVE The maid'll fix it in the morning. GIRL I'll just pick up the broken glass. EVE Don't bother. The girl puts the broken glass on the bar. She starts to mixEve a fresh drink. EVE How'd you get all the way up here from Brooklyn? GIRL Subway. EVE How long does it take? GIRL With changing and everything, a little over an hour.She carries the drink over to Eve. EVE It's after one now. You won't get home till all hours. GIRL (smiles) I don't care if I never get home. The door buzzer sounds. EVE That's the door. GIRL You rest. I'll get it...She goes to the door, opens it. Addison stands there, theSarah Siddons Award in his hands. ADDISON Hello, there. Who are you? GIRL (shyly) Miss Harrington's resting, Mr. deWitt. She asked me to see who it is... ADDISON We won't disturb her rest. It seems she left her award in the taxicab. Will you give it to her?She holds it as if it were the Promised Land. Addison smilesfaintly. He knows the look. ADDISON How do you know my name? GIRL It's a very famous name, Mr. deWitt. ADDISON And what is your name? GIRL Phoebe. ADDISON Phoebe? GIRL (stubbornly) I call myself Phoebe. ADDISON Why not? Tell me, Phoebe, do you want some day to have an award like that of your own? Phoebe lifts her eyes to him. PHOEBE More than anything else in the world. Addison pats her shoulder lightly. ADDISON Then you must Miss Harrington how to get one. Miss Harrington knows all about it...Phoebe smiles shyly. Addison closes the door. Phoebe staresdown at the award for an instant. EVE'S VOICE (sleepy; from the living room) Who was it? PHOEBE Just a taxi driver, Miss Harrington. You left the award in his cab and he brought it back... EVE'S VOICE Oh. Put it on one of the trunks, will you? I want to pack it... PHOEBE Sure, Miss Harrington...She takes the award into the bedroom, sets it on a trunk. Asshe starts out, she sees Eve's fabulous wrap on the bed. Shelistens. Then, quietly, she puts on the wrap and picks up theaward. Slowly, she walks to a large three-mirrored cheval. Withgrace and infinite dignity she holds the award to her, andbows again and again... as if to the applause of a multitude. FADE OUT. THE END
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+                                                              THE BACHELOR PARTY                                by Paddy Chayefsky	FADE IN. 	EXTERIOR. STUYVESANT TOWN HOUSING PROJECT -- DAY.	Under the credits, the CAMERA PANS slowly across the project, 	capturing the sober monotony, the endless straight apartment 	houses. Seven o'clock in the morning. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. CHARLIE'S BEDROOM	The bedroom of a two-and-a-half-room apartment in the housing 	project. It is early morning, but the shades are drawn and 	the room is dark. CAMERA moves slowly across the room, over 	the large double bed on which Charlie and Helen Samson, a 	young couple in their late twenties, are sleeping. They are 	sleeping more or less on their sides, facing away from each 	other. One of Helen's pajama-clad legs projects from under 	the light covers. We close in on Charlie's sleeping face. 	The alarm clock at a distant end of the room suddenly bursts 	into a soft relentless buzz. Charlie's eyes open. There is a 	muffled movement at his side, and Helen gets up on one elbow. 	Then she sits up, rises, and pads barefooted -- a rather 	pretty girl in rumpled pajamas -- to the alarm clock and 	turns it off. Charlie's head turns on the pillow so that he 	can watch her. She pads back to the bed now and stands at the 	foot, looking down at her husband. She produces a smile, then 	turns and shuffles into the bathroom where she turns on the 	wall switch. A shaft of light now pours into the bedroom. 	Charlie sits up in bed. His shoes and socks are on the floor 	by his feet. He reaches down and starts to put them on. 	Suddenly, from the recesses of the bathroom, Helen's rather 	vague soprano lifts into the first lines of a popular song. 	Then it stops as abruptly as it began. Charlie's head slowly 	turns to look at the bathroom, back again to the business of 	putting on his socks. His face is expressionless, but there 	is no mistaking the sodden distaste he has for the world 	today. 	He just sits on the bed, a young man of twenty-nine, clad 	only in his pajama trousers, one sock dangling from his hand, 	his head hanging, his shoulders slumped. Behind him, the 	sudden noise of rushing tap water, then off. Then his wife 	comes back into the bedroom. She is carrying a bath towel 	with which she is drying her face. Finished, she drops the 	towel on the bed and begins to dress. A moment later, she 	pads around the corner of the bed to Charlie's front. She 	is still barefooted and wears her pajama top, but she has 	exchanged the trousers for a half-slip. Charlie hasn't moved 	a muscle since the effort required to lift one sock from the 	floor. 				HELEN		You think it's too early to call 		my mother? 				CHARLIE		I don't know. 	Charlie shrugs without looking up. Helen goes out of the 	bedroom, into the little square of foyer where there is a 	telephone table with a telephone on it. She dials, waits. In 	the bedroom, Charlie rubs his eyes with two fingers. 				HELEN			(on phone) 		Hello, Ma, did I wake you up? This 		is Helen.... Well, I'll be going to 		work, and I wanted to get ahold of 		you before I left. I called you last 		night. Where were you and Pop anyway? 		I kept calling you every half hour 		up till one o'clock.... Oh, yeah? Did 		you have a nice time? ... 	CAMERA SLOWLY MOVES IN FOR CLOSEUP	of Charlie in bedroom. 				HELEN'S VOICE		Well, listen, Ma, I got something to 		tell you. I'm pregnant.... Yeah, 		pregnant.... Of course I'm sure. 		I've got the report back from the 		laboratory.... No, you wouldn't know 		him, Doctor Axelrod.... Second month. 		He says I can expect the baby in 		February.... Well, Grandma, act a 		little excited, will you? ... You 		bet I'm excited.... 	CLOSEUP OF CHARLIE 	He is not excited. If anything he is miserable. His bowed 	head rises slowly. The eyes open. He stares abstractedly 	ahead for a moment. Then he sighs a profound sigh of 	resignation. Then his eyes close again, and his head slowly 	sinks back to its previous abjection.  						DISSOLVE TO: 	INTERIOR. THE KITCHEN -- HALF HOUR LATER 	Helen, dressed in skirt and blouse now, is preparing two 	cups of instant coffee, pouring hot water from the saucepan 	into the two cups. The toaster is ticking. A packaged loaf 	of white bread is open on the cupboard shelf. Finished with 	pouring the water, Helen sets the saucepan back on the stove 	and comes out into the dining area. The dinette table is 	covered from end to end by open textbooks, several very large 	accounting worksheets on which are scrawled meticulous 	numbers, a ruler, several pencils and a pen, an ash tray 	glutted with cigarettes, a cup and saucer.  				HELEN			(calling to the bedroom)		Do you need any of this or can I 		take them off the table? 	Charlie appears in the bedroom doorway, dressed and washed 	now, a neat, clean young man in a white shirt and neatly 	knotted tie. 				CHARLIE		I'll clean that up in a minute. 	He disappears back into the bedroom. Helen picks up the ash 	tray and the cup and saucer. 				HELEN		How late were you up last night? 				CHARLIE'S VOICE		About two. 	INTERIOR. THE BEDROOM 	Charlie standing by the window, is picking up his keys, a 	few dollar bills, a comb, etc., from a chair and putting 	them into his trouser pockets. The blinds of the bedroom 	window have been opened, and the high August sun streams in, 	whitening Charlie's face. After he has pocketed his odds and 	ends, he moves to the chest of drawers on which, among all 	sorts of other things, there are several textbooks and an 	opened notebook. He stands a moment looking down into the 	open notebook, his lips moving ever so little, as he commits 	some of his notes to memory. He turns a page of the notebook 	back to check something and then goes back to the previous 	page. Now he opens one of the smaller drawers in the chest 	of drawers. The drawer contains wisps of his wife's stockings 	and other feminine things. He finds a small roll of bills and 	takes one of them, putting the bill in his pocket and closing 	the dresser drawer. 				CHARLIE		I'm taking five bucks from your 		drawer. 	He pauses now to affix a less frowning expression onto his 	face and goes out into the little foyer and into the dining 	area.	INTERIOR. THE DINING AREA	Helen is seated at the dinette table, sipping coffee and 	reading yesterday's newspaper. There are two cups of coffee 	on the table. 				CHARLIE		A guy in my office is getting 		married, and I got clipped four 		bucks for his wedding present. 	He begins assembling the mass of papers and textbooks on the 	table. 				HELEN		Who's getting married? 				CHARLIE		Arnold. I told you about him. The 		guy with the sick mother. 				HELEN		Oh, yeah. 				CHARLIE			(trying to decide 			whether he needs a 			certain worksheet) 		The rest of the guys are giving him 		a bachelor party tonight. 				HELEN		Do you want to go, Charlie? 				CHARLIE		I got class tonight. 				HELEN		What have you got -- cost accounting? 				CHARLIE		Yes.				HELEN		I think you ought to take off a 		night. You ought to go, have a little 		fun for yourself. I think you need 		that. You go to work all day, you go 		to school all night. You can miss one 		night, Charlie. 				CHARLIE		No, these bachelor parties get kind 		of wild sometimes. The whole 		philosophy is: it's the groom's last 		night of freedom. So it gets kind of 		wild sometimes. 				HELEN		That's a good philosophy to start a 		marriage with. 				CHARLIE		Well, a bunch of guys get together, 		they like to tear up the town a 		little. 	He has assembled his notes and notebooks and texts in a pile 	on the table, ready to take with him. He sits down and 	begins sipping his coffee. Helen looks back to her newspaper, 	frowning a little, then looks up at Charlie again. 				HELEN		I think you oughta go, Charlie. I 		know you're upset about the baby. 				CHARLIE		I'm not upset about the baby. 				HELEN		Come on, Charlie. I know how you 		feel. Listen, you don't have to 		pretend you're excited about the 		baby. We weren't exactly planning 		on a baby right now ... 				CHARLIE		I'm not upset about the baby. 				HELEN		It's a shock. I had some bad days 		before I told you. I said: "Oh, boy, 		that's all we need. A baby." Then I 		said to myself: "If I'm having a 		baby, I'm having a baby. That's all 		there is to it." And I like the idea. 		We're going to have a family, 		Charlie. I like the idea. 				CHARLIE		Well, give me a couple of days to 		get used to the idea. I'll be all 		right. 				HELEN		I know you will, Charlie. That's why 		I think you ought to go to this 		bachelor party tonight. 				CHARLIE			(bursting out) 		I don't want to go to this bachelor 		party. 	He looks down at his coffee, embarrassed at the outburst. 				CHARLIE		I'm sorry I yelled. 				HELEN		Don't be silly. 				CHARLIE		I better get going. Kenny's probably 		waiting for me now. I'm sorry I 		yelled like that. 				HELEN		What are you sorry about? Don't I 		yell at you all the time? 	WE STAY ON HELEN, as she reads her newspaper, but there is 	a faint frown on her face.						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. LOCAL PLATFORM EASTSIDE IRT SUBWAY	An express train hurtles southward. We see it flashing by 	through the concrete pillars of the subway.  						DISSOLVE TO:  	IRT EXPRESS HURTLING SOUTHWARD	Charlie and another young man, named Kenneth, are seated in 	a crowded subway car. People are standing tightly in the 	aisles. Kenneth is an amiable young man of thirty-odd. He 	has his jacket off and his tie loosened as a concession to 	the August heat. Charlie is neatly and coolly dressed. He 	has two notebooks and a battered text in his lap. He is 	reading the text. Two young white-collar workers on their 	way to work. They ride along silently for a moment. Kenneth 	is rather stealthily concerned with a full-busted young 	woman who is standing directly in front of him, holding on 	to a strap. It is summertime, and the girls all wear light 	summer frocks. There is a feeling of wistful sensuality to 	the scene. 				KENNETH		You going to Arnold's bachelor party? 				CHARLIE		I don't think so, Kennie. 				KENNETH		What?				CHARLIE		I got two classes tonight.				KENNETH		Yeah, I was going to go, but I think 		I better not, because my kid, the 		young one, the girl, she's been 		acting up again lately. She's got 		some kind of allergy, the doctors 		don't know what. 				CHARLIE		These bachelor parties get kind of 		wild sometimes. Eddie Watkins is 		making all the arrangements. He's 		probably got us lined up with a 		bunch of chorus girls.				KENNETH		Yeah, do you think so? 				CHARLIE		You know Eddie. 				KENNETH		Yeah, boy, he really lives it up, 		don't he? Did you see that blonde 		who picked him up for lunch last 		week? Boy, sometimes I wish I was a 		bachelor. Well, you know what I mean. 		I never seem to get out of the house 		any more, you know what I mean? 		About once a week, I go to the 		movies. We never even see the whole 		picture. My wife starts worrying 		about the kids. My youngest kid, the 		girl, she's got some kind of rash. 		We don't know what it is. I never 		seem to see anybody any more. Do you 		know how long it is since I've seen 		Willie Duff? I haven't seen Willie 		in about six months. My wife can't 		stand his wife. You ever seen her, 		Willie's wife? 				CHARLIE		No, I didn't know Willie too well. 				KENNETH		Boy, wait'll you have kids, boy. 		You'll never get out of the house. 				CHARLIE		Helen's pregnant now. 				KENNETH		No kidding. 				CHARLIE		Yeah. 				KENNETH		Oh, that's wonderful, Charlie, 		that's wonderful! 	The two young husbands look down again at their hands and 	ride along silently. Kenneth sneaks a quick look up at the 	girl standing in front of him, and then lets his attention 	drift down the length of the car. 				KENNETH		Hey, there's a guy down there, 		trying to pick up a girl down there. 	He is referring to a Young Fellow who elbowed his way down 	through the crowded aisle but who stopped abruptly when he 	noticed an attractive girl, seated about three seats down 	from Kenneth. The Girl is reading a newspaper. The Young 	Fellow stares at her. The Girl, aware of this sudden 	attention, looks briefly up from her newspaper. The Young 	Fellow smiles pleasantly. The Girl, with a show of 	annoyance, looks back to her newspaper. 				KENNETH		Were you with us about eight years 		ago when I picked up that chick in 		front of the bus stop in Paterson, 		New Jersey? 				CHARLIE		When was this? 				KENNETH		Yeah, you were there. You were with 		that girl from Brooklyn. We just 		came from Palisades Amusement Park, 		and we were driving Frankie Klein's 		girl home, and the car broke down 		right in the middle of Route One. 				CHARLIE			(beginning to laugh) 		Oh, yeah. 				KENNETH			(laughing) 		And Frankie opened up the hood and 		the water cap blew right up in the 		air. 				CHARLIE		And the cop came over ...  				KENNETH		That's right, the cop. He thought 		Frankie shot off a gun.... 	They are both laughing audibly now at the memory. 				KENNETH		He was going to pull us all in. Oh, 		man! 				CHARLIE		Frankie, he was funny. 				KENNETH		Oh, that was a lot of fun, those 		days. 				CHARLIE		Yeah, they were. 	The little spasm of laughter is over. A sort of ruefulness 	settles down on the two young husbands. Kenneth looks lazily 	down the aisle to see how the Young Fellow is making out 	with The Girl. He seems to be making out all right. They are 	looking steadily at each other now. Kenneth turns back to 	Charlie. 				KENNETH		Hey, this guy's making out all right. 		She's giving him the eye now.	Charlie leans forward to see this progress. 				KENNETH			(looking out the 			window at the passing 			local station) 		Where are we now, Prince Street? I 		bet you he picks her up before we 		hit Chambers Street. 	Somehow this has a sobering effect on the two young husbands. 	Again they sit silently as the train buckets along. 				CHARLIE		Boy, I'm bushed today. I was up till 		two o'clock last night on this thing 		here. I'm getting to be a nervous 		wreck. I snarled at Helen this 		morning. I think this whole night 		school business is getting me down. 				KENNETH		I don't see how you do it. 				CHARLIE		Neither do I. I thought I was 		through with it. The plan was for me 		to quit work and go to college full 		time and cram through in a year or 		so. But now we got this kid coming, 		and Helen's going to have to quit 		her job, and that sets me back where 		I started from. Another five years 		of this, summers included. 				KENNETH		I couldn't do it, man, I'll tell you 		that. I wish I could, but I couldn't. 				CHARLIE		Oh, what am I griping about? This is 		the life I picked out for myself. 		But it's a grind, boy, I tell you. 	They sit silently again. The train hurtles along and then 	suddenly slows as it approaches a stop. There is a rustle of 	movement among the passengers in the subway car. A few 	people start edging toward the doors. The Girl reading the 	newspaper now folds her newspaper and stands almost directly 	in the Young Fellow's face. They regard each other. 				YOUNG FELLOW			(to the girl)		Excuse me, can you tell me how to 		get to the Nassau Street exit? 				GIRL		Well ... well, at the top of the 		stairs, you'll see all the signs. 				YOUNG FELLOW		Are you getting off here? 				GIRL		Yes. 				YOUNG FELLOW		Well, I'll follow you then. That'll 		be easier, if you don't mind. 				GIRL		No, not at all. 	They start to crowd down the aisle. The train is chugging 	into the Chambers Street station, and we can see the 	yellowed lights of the platform and the quick blur of faces. 	The two young husbands, who had been following the byplay 	between The Girl and the Young Fellow, now watch them slowly 	exit. There is an expression of poignant wistfulness on both 	their faces. 						DISSOLVE TO: 	EXTERIOR. THE OFFICE	We look down on the bookkeeping department of a life 	insurance company in downtown Manhattan area around Pine 	Street. It is a fairly large room, large enough to hold 	eleven desks. But you get the feeling that this is one of 	the smaller offices on the floor. You get the feeling that 	this company occupies three or four floors of this building. 	Despite the size of the office, it has a cluttered look. 	Each desk has piles of paper on it, and all the impedimenta 	of the bookkeeper -- the pens and pencils, the adding 	machine, the telephone. Some of the desks have typewriters. 	Along the walls there are rows of filing cabinets and wall 	bins stocked with large worksheets and thick ledgers. At 	the far end of the room, there is a row of windows, but it 	is still necessary to keep the overhead fluorescent lights 	on all day. They are on now. There are two middle-aged 	women standing, murmuring to each other, and a rather 	heavy-set balding man in his late forties, sitting at a 	desk in his shirt sleeves, already hard at work, although 	it is still ten minutes shy of eight-thirty. 	Kenneth and Charlie enter. Ad lib hellos between them and 	the two middle-aged women. Charlie moves to the coat rack to 	hang up his jacket, drops off his books on his desk, starts 	for the coat rack. Behind Charlie, we see Kenneth, carrying 	his jacket, moving to his desk, up where the middle-aged man 	is working. 				KENNETH		Hiya, Walter. 				CHARLIE		Hiya, Walter. 	Walter, the middle-aged man, nods his good mornings. 				KENNETH			(poking in his desk 			drawer; amiably) 		Walter, what time do you come in in 		the mornings? You're making us all 		look lousy, you know that? I get 		the feeling sometimes, you stay here 		overnight. 	Walter merely nods, doesn't bother to look up from the work. 	Kenneth finds a stick of gum in his drawer, unwraps it. Two 	more women, gray-haired and bespectacled, come into the 	office. There is an ad lib mumble of hellos in background. 	Charlie hangs up his jacket on the coat rack. 				CHARLIE		Arnold in yet? 				WALTER		He starts his vacation today. He's 		getting married Sunday, you know. 	CLOSEUP of Charlie looking out the window into the bright 	August morning. His face is just a little ruffled by a 	frown, and there is a kind of pain in his eyes. Behind him, 	Walter and Kenneth. 				WALTER			(a nervous, anxious man) 		Well, the doctor was over last night. 		Brought over the X rays; brought 		over the allergy tests. Brought over 		a bill for sixty-eight dollars.  I 		said to him: "Doctor, you're a young 		man, professional, highly educated, 		four years of college, two years of 		premedical training, several years 		of interning, of residency. If 		you're so smart, how can you charge 		me sixty-eight dollars? One thing 		they apparently didn't teach you in 		medical school. You can't get blood 		from a stone." 				KENNETH		So what's wrong with you, Walter? 				WALTER		What's wrong? I have to go to 		Arizona, that's what's wrong. I have 		asthma. When I was a kid, they 		called it hay fever, and you carried		a bag around your neck. Asafetida. 		Now, they call it asthma, and you 		have to go to Arizona. I said to him: 		"Doctor, you're a professional man, 		four years of college, premedical 		school, Bellevue, several diplomas. 		Answer me a question. Who's going to 		pay for Arizona?" I said to him: 		"Doctor," I said, "perhaps you have 		the illusion I am the Aga Khan. I 		have a bearing about me, perhaps, 		that misleads you to believe I have 		blood ties with the Whitneys and the 		Rockefellers. This isn't true." 		Arizona. Did you ever hear of such 		nonsense? 				KENNETH		How serious is it, Walter? 				WALTER		Serious. Nothing serious. I have hay 		fever, I sneeze a couple of times. 		The idiot told my wife I have to go 		to Arizona, and she wouldn't leave 		me alone all night. She's already 		packing the bags. I said: "For 		heaven's sakes, you listen to 		doctors, we'll all be dead." My son, 		Harold, believe me, he's going to be 		a doctor. That's some racket, boy. 		Sixty-eight dollars. 	CLOSEUP of Charlie, still at the window, when a bell 	suddenly clangs, indicating the start of the workday. The 	sudden jangle makes him start, and he closes his eyes 	briefly against the noise.  Walter, in background, who had 	risen and was bent over Kenneth's desk, darts nervously back 	to his own desk. 				WALTER		You better get to work. Hey, Charlie, 		that was the bell. I think Flaherty 		is here this morning. We'll all be 		fired today. I have a feeling. 	He hunches over his ledgers again, his anxious, harried face 	drawn into intense wrinkles of concentration. Several other 	women have come into the office by now, and there is a 	general movement to the desks. There is the click of a 	typewriter, and Walter runs his fingers glibly over the 	adding machine on his desk. The day has started. 	After a moment, Charlie turns from the window and comes back 	to his desk, sinks down onto his chair. 						DISSOLVE TO: 	INTERIOR. THE OFFICE -- TWENTY MINUTES LATER	We look down on the bookkeeping department. All the desks 	are occupied but two. There are six women and our three men. 	The office is silent with industry, everybody's head bent 	over his desk. There is the occasional punctuation of an 	adding machine or a typewriter or a phone ringing. 	Our three men are bent over their tally sheets, worksheets, 	and ledgers, occasionally reaching up to quickly tabulate 	something on the adding machine. After a moment, Walter says: 				WALTER			(without looking 			up from his work) 		You fellows going to Arnold's party 		tonight?  				KENNETH			(without looking up) 		No, I'm not going, are you? 				WALTER		No. Eddie already hooked me for four 		bucks for Arnold's present. This 		dinner is going to cost another 		couple of good dollars. 				CHARLIE		It looks like nobody's going to 		Arnold's bachelor party. 				WALTER		You ain't going? 				CHARLIE		No, I'm not going. 				WALTER		Eddie's going to be mad. 				CHARLIE		I told Eddie last week I couldn't 		make it. I've got school. Eddie's a 		bachelor. It's all right for him to 		go rooting around town, picking up 		girls. 				WALTER		Yeah, you get married you give that 		kind of thing up. 				KENNETH		Yeah, Charlie says Eddie has a whole 		bunch of chorus girls lined up for 		us tonight. 	Walter's head comes up for the first time. 				WALTER		No kidding. 				CHARLIE		I didn't say that. I just said that 		if I knew Eddie, we'd probably wind 		up with some of his crazy girl 		friends. 	Walter looks back down to his work again.  				KENNETH		I don't know where he gets all these 		girls. He's a screwy looking jerk. 				WALTER		Did you see that blonde who was up 		here looking for him last week?				KENNETH		Yeah. He told me she was a 		television actress. I think I saw 		her once on "Studio One." She was in 		a coal mine with some stir-crazy 		coalminer who was trying to strangle 		her with a necktie. 				WALTER		I'd like to strangle her with a 		necktie. 				KENNETH		Now, Walter, an old married man like 		you, with asthma and everything. 	Walter looks up suddenly from his work, a strange sting of 	pain crossing his face. 				WALTER		I get real jealous of Eddie 		sometimes. He's as free as a bird. 		Did you see that convertible he's 		got? 				KENNETH		Yeah, he really banged it up I hear. 				WALTER		You ought to see the old heap I've 		got. He walks out of here on payday, 		he can spend the whole works on 		having himself a good time. I walk 		out of here, and I got three kids 		and a wife, all of them with their 		palms out. I lost two bucks playing 		poker at my house last week. It was 		an economic catastrophe. My wife 		didn't sleep all night.				CHARLIE		He's late again. 				WALTER		He'll be twenty minutes late again. 		If Flaherty walked in now, he'd fire 		him. If that ever happened to me, I 		think I'd kill myself. What does 		Eddie care? So he scrambles around 		for another job. Flaherty told me 		last week I had too many days off. 		I told him I was sick in bed. What 		do you want me to do? 	He turns back again to his work, his face creased with 	anxiety. The three men work silently for a moment. Then the 	office door opens, and a man of about thirty-five, a little 	stout, but rather casual in his dress, wearing steel-rimmed 	glasses, enters. This is Eddie Watkins, the office bachelor. 	He seems to have had very little sleep the night before. His 	eyes, behind the wire-rimmed glasses, are heavy-lidded. A 	cigarette dangles listlessly, from his mouth. There is 	something of the bacchanalian libertine about Eddie. There 	is a perfunctory exchange of hellos and good mornings, 	establishing that this is Eddie. He shuffles with ineffable 	weariness to his desk. 				WALTER		Hi, Eddie, you're early today, only 		twenty minutes late, what happened? 				EDDIE			(muttering through 			reluctant lips) 		Flaherty come in yet? 				KENNETH		No. 	Eddie sits down at his desk, pulls his cigarette 	automatically for a moment. Then he reaches over to a pile 	of telephone directories on the floor beside his desk, pulls 	up the Manhattan one, flips through the pages, finding the 	number he wants. He picks up the phone.  				EDDIE		Mary, give me an outside line....			(he pauses, checks 			the number in the 			phone book again, 			dials, waits) 		Hello, is this Leathercraft on 		Madison Avenue? ... This is Mr. 		Watkins. I was in about a week ago. 		I ordered a military set and a 		wallet. They were supposed to be 		ready yesterday.... Yes, please, 		would you? ... 			(he is searching 			his pockets while 			he waits, finds a 			piece of paper, 			pulls it out) 		Yeah, a military set and a wallet.... 				WALTER		Is that what we bought poor Arnold? 				EDDIE			(on phone) 		That's right. The following 		inscriptions should be on them:			(reads from the paper) 		On the military set: "To Arnold: 		Best wishes on your marriage from 		Alice, Charlie, Eddie, Evelyn, 		Jeanette with two t's, Kenneth, 		Lucy, Mary, Olga, Walter, and 		Flaherty." Now on the wallet ... 		Yeah, what? .... Yeah, that's right 		-- Flaherty. Now, on the wallet, 		the following inscription: "To my 		Best Friend Arnold from his Best Man 		Eddie." ... No, to my best friend 		Arnold. ... That's right. "From his 		best man Eddie" ... Now, can I come 		in at lunch and pick them up? ... 	A young woman comes into the office, goes to Walter's desk 	and drops some papers before him. 				WALTER		What's this, Jeanette? 				GIRL		It's from finance, don't ask me. 	This is the girl in the office who goes to the water cooler 	three times a morning and all the men covertly watch her. 	She is cute, but attractive more by comparison to the other 	women in the office. Nevertheless, all the men, including 	Eddie and Charlie, let their eyes cautiously watch her as 	she leaves, her sheath dress tight on her hips. 	Eddie, who has hung up, now rubs his eyes with two fingers to 	clear his head and picks up the phone again. 				EDDIE			(on phone) 		Mary, give me the Hotel Westmore. 		Circle 7-0598. 				CHARLIE			(hands Kennie paper) 		This isn't for me -- it's for you. 				EDDIE			(to the others) 		Now who owes me on the presents? 		Charlie, you owe me? 				CHARLIE		I gave you four bucks yesterday.... 				KENNETH		I owe you, Eddie. I'll pay you 		tomorrow, payday. 				EDDIE			(on phone) 		Miss Frances Kelley, please. I 		think it's room 417.... 	The three heads around him look slowly up from their 	respective work, naked interest manifest on their faces. 				EDDIE			(calling to one 			of the women in 			the office) 		Hey, Evelyn, you owe me four bucks. 				EVELYN			(calling back) 		All right. I know. 				EDDIE			(on phone) 		Hello, Frances, this is Eddie.... 		All right, wait a minute. Give me a 		chance to explain.... I know I woke 		you up.... All right, let me tell 		you. You know I'm supposed to be the 		best man at this fellow Arnold's 		wedding. So I called him up last 		night because I didn't know whether 		I was supposed to wear tuxedo or 		tails. Well, he didn't know either, 		so he said: "Come on over to my 		girl's house with me tonight. 		They're making all the arrangements 		for the wedding now." So I called 		you and left a message at the desk 		saying I couldn't get over till 		about ten o'clock.... All right! 		That's what I'm going to explain! 		... Thank you.			(holds receiver 			against his chest 			and looks at his 			colleagues with 			air of a man being 			tried just a little 			too much. Returns 			receiver to his ear, 			listens for a moment) 		All right, so I had to go over to 		Arnold's girl's house with Arnold 		last night. Well, there was about 		thirty people there, and, man, you 		never saw such a crazy mess. There 		was this little bald-headed guy 		there. He's the bride's uncle. He's 		come all the way down from Boston 		with his whole family to go to the 		wedding. The only trouble was, he 		wasn't invited. Well, this crazy 		uncle, he grabs ahold of me, he 		starts shaking me by the lapels. So 		I said: "What do you want from me? 		I ain't the groom! I'm just trying 		to find out whether I'm supposed to 		wear tuxedo or tails." 			(apparently this got 			a laugh. Eddie breaks 			into a smile) 		Funny, huh? ... Look, Frances. I 		have to go to work now. I'm calling 		you from the office. How about 		letting me make this up to you? I'll 		take you out to dinner Saturday 		night.... I can't make it tonight. 		The bachelor party's tonight.... 		All right, Saturday night.... It's a 		date.... S'help me.... I swear, right 		on time. Eight-thirty, okay? ... 		Okay, we'll have a ball. Goodbye, go 		back to sleep. 	He hangs up. The three married men look down again to their 	ledgers and tap away again on their adding machines. Eddie 	sits slumped in his seat for a moment. 				EDDIE		What did I just tell that girl, 		Saturday night? 				KENNETH		Yeah. 				EDDIE			(picks up phone)		Mary, give me Columbus 5-1098.... 		What do you mean personal calls! 		These are business calls! Well, stop 		listening to other people's 		conversations.... What have you got, 		stock in the company? Columbus 		5-1098. 			(waits) 				KENNETH		Listen, Eddie, I don't think I can 		go tonight. My father-in-law's in 		from Akron, Ohio, and---- 				EDDIE			(all sweetness) 		Hello, who is this, Mrs. Stebbins? 		... This is Eddie, Mrs. Stebbins. I 		wonder if I can talk to Muriel.... 		Could I speak to her? ... Thank 		you.... 	The three married men each look up slowly again, naked envy 	on each face. 				EDDIE			(on phone) 		Muriel, baby, listen, sweetie, I 		can't make it Saturday night.... I'm 		all loused up with this wedding I'm 		supposed to be the best man at.... 		We have to rehearse the ceremony. 		You'd think they were getting 		married on television.... Yes, 		sweetie, why don't I call you Monday. 		Maybe, we'll work out something 		before you go back to California.... 		All right, sweetie, good-bye.	He hangs up, sits a moment, then finally removes the 	cigarette from his mouth, crushes it in his ash tray, and 	turns to the others. 				EDDIE		Well, what do you say? I'm going to 		call Louie and make a reservation 		for a table for tonight. Who's 		coming and who isn't? Walter, you're 		coming, right? It won't cost you 		more than three-fifty for the whole 		meal. What do you say, Walter? You 		only live once. 				WALTER			(strangely sad) 		That's right. You only live once. 				EDDIE		Well, yes or no? 				WALTER		All right, I'll come. 				EDDIE		Kennie? 				KENNETH		Yeah, I'll get out of the house for 		a change. 				EDDIE		How about you, Charlie? 	Charlie is frowning down at a sheaf of adding machine totals 	in front of him. 				CHARLIE		I don't think so, Eddie. 				KENNETH		Ah, come on, Charlie, you got to 		bust loose every now and then. We'll 		have a couple of drinks. 				EDDIE			(picks up phone) 		Mary, give me an outside line and 		don't give me no trouble.... 		Chickering 4-5099.  				WALTER		Come on, Charlie, it's a short life, 		believe me. 	Move in for CLOSEUP of Charlie, frowning. Over this, Eddie's 	voice. 				EDDIE'S VOICE		Hello, hello, Louie? Is this Louie? 		... Louie, this is Eddie Watkins. 		I'd like to reserve a table for 		four for tonight.... For four ...				CHARLIE		Hey, Eddie ... 				EDDIE'S VOICE		What? 				CHARLIE		Count me in. 	He immediately bends back to his work, takes his pencil up 	again. CAMERA PULLS QUICKLY UP AND AWAY until we have an 	ANGLE SHOT looking down at their desks in various positions 	of work. 				EDDIE			(on phone) 		Louie, make that five.... Five guys 		... Yeah, a bachelor party ... 						FADE OUT 	FADE IN 	EXTERIOR. DOWNTOWN NEW YORK CITY -- NIGHT 	FADE IN with a big loud blare on Eighth Street in Greenwich 	Village on a warm August night. Packed sidewalks, jammed 	traffic, taxis, trucks, buses, honking of horns, etc. 	Man-we're-going-to-have-a-ball type feeling.						DISSOLVE TO:  	EXTERIOR. STREET -- NIGHT	Thirteenth Street off Sixth Avenue not so blary and lit up 	as the main drags, but traffic is heavy, and there are lots 	of people on the sidewalks. There are a number of restaurants 	dotting the street with their little striped awnings and 	modest neons. If we are on our toes, we notice one neon that 	reads: "LOUIE'S." 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. LOUIE'S RESTAURANT	The entire interior isn't too much to show, really. It's a 	small restaurant, but it is packed. Waiters scurry here and 	there. People jammer and jab. Hustle and bustle. In 	background, we can pick out our bachelor party, five men now, 	clustered around a table, yakking it up. 	WIDE SHOT of our bachelor party, showing all five. They all 	seem to be in the best of spirits. The new member of the cast 	is Arnold, the groom, a towheaded, pleasant-looking young man 	of thirty, shy to the point of being noticeable. Of all the 	men at the party, he is the quietest. He sits, a smile nailed 	onto his face, turning his head from one friend to another as 	they talk, enjoying the rare privilege of being liked. The 	dinner is over. During the ensuing scene, a bus boy continues 	to remove the used dishes. Several large bottles of beer and 	two fifths of Scotch are on the table. There is a welter of 	variously assorted glasses. Eddie, Walter, and Kenneth are 	smoking cigars, Charlie a cigarette. The Groom is not 	smoking.  We have cut into the scene during a jumble of 	conversation. Walter is talking to Charlie, whose head is 	bent toward the older man. Kenneth is trying to tell the 	Groom a joke, but the Groom's attention is being distracted	by Eddie, who is leaning across the table trying to get 	Charlie's attention. Ad libs. 				KENNETH			(finishing story) 		Three hundred pounds! Isn't she kind 		of fat? No, man, tall! Hey, waiter! 		Waiter! 				EDDIE		Hey, Charlie ... 				WALTER			(to Charlie) 		... so we were stationed right 		outside Paris, about eight miles, a 		town called Chatou ... 				EDDIE		... hey, Charlie ... 				WALTER			(to Charlie) 		... so the first night, a whole 		bunch of us swiped a jeep out of the 		motor court. We had a feller there 		who was a tech sergeant in the motor 		court. Oh, what a character he was! 		He used to get loaded every night on 		that vanilla extract. 				EDDIE		Hey, Charlie ... 				CHARLIE		What do you want, Eddie? 				EDDIE		Hey, Charlie, did I ever tell you 		about the time I was stationed at 		Buckley Field in Denver, and I 		picked up this girl in Lakeside 		Amusement Park? 				WALTER		Hey, Eddie, listen to this story 		I'm telling Charlie. Hey, Arnold, 		I'm telling Charlie about the time 		me and that crazy tech sergeant 		from the motor court got loaded on 		vanilla extract and went to Paris 		... Hey, Kenneth ... 				KENNETH		When do the Giants come back from 		their road trip, does anybody know? 				EDDIE		Hey, let's give out the presents now. 				WALTER		Hey, Kenneth, listen to this story. 		I was stationed outside of Paris, 		about eight miles ... 				CHARLIE		What? 				KENNETH		Oh, that Paris! I was there for two 		days! Clubs! You had to beat the 		women off with clubs! ... 				CHARLIE			(to people at 			another table) 		What ...? Oh, it's a bachelor party 		-- this guy's getting married. 				EDDIE		Listen, I want to give the 		presents ... 				WALTER		Well, let me tell you what 		happened ... 				EDDIE		Hey, you know what was a great town 		for women, Hamburg! 				KENNETH		Hamburg! Clubs! Clubs! You had to 		beat them off with clubs! Hey, 		waiter -- who's our waiter?   				CHARLIE		Hey, Arnold, enjoying yourself? 				EDDIE		The first night I was in Hamburg, 		two Frauleins come walking right in 		the barracks. So I said to the 		lieutenant ... 	Walter, who is pretty lit, suddenly stands and bangs the 	table mightily with his fist. 				WALTER			(bellowing out) 		The best fighting outfit in the 		whole fighting army was the fighting 		Hundred and Fourth Infantry Division, 		General Terry Allen commanding! 	This brings the jumbled conversation to a halt. Walter 	surveys the other four, looking for possible challenges, 	then sits heavily down. 				EDDIE			(standing) 		Well, now that we got that settled.... 				CHARLIE		I'm with you, Walter. 				ARNOLD		We believe you, Walter. 				EDDIE		I'd like to make a little speech to 		our guest of honor and mutual friend, 		Arnold Craig. Arnold, a bunch of us 		down the office, the girls too, all 		chipped in, and we got you a couple 		of small gifts.... 	Eddie crosses to extra chair, picks up wrapped gifts, crosses 	back to his place. 				WALTER			(whispering to Kenneth) 		These are the gag gifts.  				EDDIE		Let's see, what's this one? Oh, yeah. 		Arnold, we figured Louise might be 		very sleepy on your wedding night, 		so we thought you might want 		something to keep you warm. 	Walter leans forward to see what the tissue-wrapped parcel 	Arnold is now unwrapping is. 				WALTER		What is it? What is it? 	Arnold holds a hot-water bottle aloft. Walter is seized with 	a paroxysm of laughter at this immensely Rabelaisian gift. 				WALTER		It's a hot-water bottle! 				KENNETH		Okay, Walter, okay. 				WALTER		Hey, did you see that? Hey, he bought 		him a hot-water bottle for his 		wedding night. Hey, that's funny ... 				CHARLIE		Hey, Eddie, you should have bought 		him an ice pack for after tonight. 				EDDIE			(holding a 			second parcel)		Walter, take it easy.... Now, this 		one, Arnold, this one is something 		to keep you busy on cold winter 		nights. 				WALTER			(crosses to Arnold; 			to the others) 		This ought to be good. 				EDDIE		Look at Walter. 	Walter has come around behind Arnold's chair and can hardly 	wait to see what the next joke is.				WALTER		Hey, these are funny. Who bought 		these? You buy these, Eddie? These 		are funny. You got a good sense of 		humor. 	Arnold unwraps the parcel, holds out a miniature baby bottle. 	This is too much for Walter; how funny can you get? He 	clutches his sides. 				WALTER		Hey, did you guys see that? Hey, did 		you guys see that? 				CHARLIE		Come on, Walter, sit down. 	Charlie and Kenneth are smiling appreciatively. Walter 	crosses with bottle, sits, starts pouring whisky into baby 	bottle. 				WALTER		Eddie got a good sense of humor, you 		know? 				KENNETH			(to Charlie) 		Boy, old Walter is crocked. 				ARNOLD			(smiling, rising 			halfway in his chair) 		Listen, I want to thank you. Really. 		I really want to thank you fellows. 				EDDIE		We haven't got to the serious 		presents yet, Arnold. 	A hush falls over the assembled guests. Arnold composes his 	face into a solemn expression and looks down at the 	cluttered table. 				EDDIE			(solemnly) 		Well, in all seriousness, Arnold, 		seriously, I don't know why you 		picked me to be your best man, but I 		am deeply honored. I guess it's 		because we're both Dodger fans, and 		I'm going to miss you at next 		Tuesday's night game when the 		Pittsburgh Pirates invade Ebbets 		Field. We always had a lot of fun 		together, and, seriously, Arnold, 		in all seriousness, good luck on 		your wedding, but see if you can't 		get out of the house occasionally, 		see a night game or even a Sunday 		doubleheader with your old buddy, 		Eddie. 	This touching address has brought a note of sadness to the 	gathering. Indeed, there are tears in Walter's and Arnold's 	eyes. 				EDDIE			(handing Arnold 			two neatly wrapped 			packages) 		Well, anyway, in all seriousness, 		here are a couple of presents from 		all of us in the office and good 		luck. 	Arnold takes the presents, stands, head bowed. Eddie sits 	and all faces turn to Arnold. 				ARNOLD		Well, I just want to thank you 		fellows. I don't know what to say. 		I just want to thank you. 				KENNETH		Open the presents, Arnold. 				ARNOLD		I will. I just want to say, Eddie, 		that when the Pirates invade Ebbets 		Field next Tuesday night, I'm going 		to be sitting right there in Section 		37 there right with you. 				EDDIE		You'll be on your honeymoon next 		Tuesday, Arnold. 	This interesting information gives Arnold pause. 				ARNOLD		Gee, that's right. 				CHARLIE			(smiling) 		Arnold, you're getting married 		Sunday, did you forget? 				WALTER		Look at him blush. 				ARNOLD			(frowning fuzzily) 		No, I didn't forget. It's just that 		... Gee, that's right. Sunday. 		What's today, Thursday? 				KENNETH and EDDIE 		All day! 				ARNOLD		Boy, it's here, isn't it? I guess 		I've been running around so much the 		last couple of weeks, I guess the 		wedding snuck up on me. 				KENNETH		I think Arnold's having a little 		buck fever. Does anyone know what 		our waiter looks like? 				EDDIE			(to Kenneth) 		You know who didn't want to chip in 		for Arnold's presents? ... 				CHARLIE		Arnold'll be all right. Have a drink, 		Arnold. 				WALTER		I had my basic training in Camp Croft, 		South Carolina, near Spartanburg. 				EDDIE		I was at Maxwell Field, what a 		desert. 				CHARLIE		Walter, what ever happened when you 		and that tech sergeant from the		motor pool got loaded on vanilla 		extract? 				WALTER		What tech sergeant? 				CHARLIE		Walter, you're crocked. 			(to Arnold) 		Open up the presents -- see what you 		got. 				KENNETH		Hey, are you our waiter? Bring us 		some ice. I got him -- I got our 		waiter! 				ARNOLD		It was sure nice of you fellows. 	The voices have risen again into the jumbled high spirits 	that opened the scene. 				EDDIE		Hey, man, we're having a ball! 						DISSOLVE TO:  	EXTERIOR. EIGHTH STREET -- NIGHT	We look down on Eighth Street in Greenwich Village. It is 	eight thirty at night. It is a fairly active and well-lit 	street, bright with neons and movie marquees and lit-up 	shops. Our five carousers are marching down the sidewalk, 	that is four of them are on the sidewalk. Walter can't quite 	decide whether he wants to walk on the sidewalk or in the 	street. He keeps hopping in and out between the parked cars, 	running to catch up when he falls behind. They are all 	feeling pretty good. Arnold is singing in a wavering 	baritone: 				ARNOLD		De-Witt C-l-i-n-t-o-n		Boom! 		Clinton!		Oh, Cli-inton! 		Ever to theeeee! 	CLOSER SHOT of the five carousers.				ARNOLD			(singing) 		Fairest of high schools ... 				EDDIE		How did he ever get on this alma 		mater kick? 				ARNOLD			(singing) 		... Give her three times three 		Oh, fellows ...		Rah! Rah! Rah! 	ANOTHER SHOT of the five carousers, Walter whistling at two 	passing girls. 				ARNOLD		Long may we cherish thee 		Faithful we'll be. 		Clinton, oh, Clinton 		For you and me ... 		Da-da-da-da-da ...		Crash through that line of blue 		And send the backs around the end. 				EDDIE		There he goes with those fullbacks 		again. 				ARNOLD		Rah! Rah! Rah! 						DISSOLVE TO:  	EXTERIOR. GREENWICH AVENUE AND TENTH STREET -- NIGHT 	GROUP SHOT of our five carousers paused on the curb, waiting 	for the lights to change in their favor. Greenwich Avenue 	traffic is pretty heavy, going in both directions. The five 	men are kind of strung out along the curb with Charlie being 	the last in line. Standing beside him, also waiting for the 	light to change, is a good-looking, well-dressed, chic young 	woman of twenty-four or five. 				KENNETH		Where we going? Eddie's place to 		see movies? 				ARNOLD		What movies? 				EDDIE		Boy, just wait till you see these 		movies! Hey, Charlie, hey Charlie ... 				CHARLIE		What? 				EDDIE			(indicating the 			young woman) 		Who's your beautiful friend, Charlie? 	Charlie turns and regards the pretty young woman. 				CHARLIE			(to the girl) 		Excuse me. My friend down there 		wants to know who you are. 	The young woman, who for our own mysterious purposes we shall 	refer to as The Existentialist, regards the five reasonably 	tight young men all staring at her. Kenneth has already begun 	to giggle. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST			(with a Mona Lisa smile) 		Where are you all from, out-of-town? 				CHARLIE		Indiana.			(turning to 			the others) 		Isn't that right, fellers? We're 		from Indiana, right? 				EDDIE		Indiana! Indiana, man!	Kenneth and Arnold, to whom this incident is already 	unbearably funny, have turned away and are clutching their 	sides, trying to suppress a fit of giggles. 				CHARLIE			(to The Existentialist) 		We're from the Hoosier State, ma'am... 				WALTER		Terre Haute! We're from Terre Haute! 				CHARLIE			(to The Existentialist) 		We're from Terre Haute, and we've 		come to the big city looking for a 		good time, and we just don't know 		what to do with ourselves, ma'am. 				EDDIE			(to Walter) 		Look at that Charlie operate. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		Must be a convention in town. 				CHARLIE		We've just come off the ranch there, 		honey, and we're just raring. Is 		that right, men? Are we raring? 				EDDIE		We're raring, boy, we're raring! 				KENNETH			(beside himself 			with laughter) 		Hey, Charlie, cut it out, will you? 	The lights change and The Existentialist starts off across 	Greenwich Avenue to the west side of the street. The five 	carousers follow right along after her.  That is, Charlie 	dogs along behind The Existentialist as they cross the 	street. Walter and Eddie are close behind him, listening to 	Charlie's pitch. Kenneth and Arnold, embarrassed and 	giggling, stagger along behind.  				CHARLIE			(chugging along behind 			The Existentialist) 		We're down here in Greenwich Village 		looking for some wild bohemians. Do 		you happen to know any wild 		bohemians? 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		All right, fellows, enough's enough, 		huh? 	She steps up to the sidewalk on the west side of Greenwich 	Avenue and hurries along down Tenth Street to a little house 	about four doors down, the five carousers on her heels like 	a pack of puppies. 				CHARLIE			(hurrying along after 			The Existentialist) 		I'm something of a poet myself, 		ma'am. Many's the long night in the		bunkhouse where I sat by myself and 		wrote by the flickering light of a 		kerosene lamp. Could I read you some 		of my poems, ma'am? I know they 		ain't much, but they're from the 		heart, ma'am. 	The Existentialist pauses in her hurried walk down Tenth 	Street to examine Charlie with some interest. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		You have a sense of humor, don't you? 				EDDIE			(to Charlie) 		You're going great, man, don't stop 		now. 	The Existentialist goes up the two little steps to the front 	door of the house and rings the bell. 				EDDIE			(to The Existentialist) 		Where are you going, honey? 	The Existentialist waits composed and patient for someone to 	answer her ring. Charlie has wandered back to Arnold and 	Kenneth, and the three of them are now suffused with 	laughter. Kenneth has been laughing so much, tears are 	coming out of his eyes. He walks around in little circles 	clutching his sides. Several passersby hurry by, noting the 	strange little group on the sidewalk. 				EDDIE			(to The Existentialist) 		What's going on in there, honey? 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		 	(patiently bored) 		There's a party going on. I'm not sure 		I'm invited myself, so I can't really 		invite you. 				EDDIE		Sure you can. 	The door opens and a woman in a tea gown stands there 	looking at The Existentialist and then at the five men on 	the sidewalk. Behind her, there is evidence of a party going 	on. 				THE HOSTESS		How nice to see you, darling. Who 		are your friends? 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		I haven't the vaguest idea. I was 		ambushed crossing Greenwich Avenue 		by a tribe of the Terre Haute 		Kiwanis. 				THE HOSTESS			(she waves a vague 			hand in a sort of 			shooing motion at 			the five men on 			the sidewalk) 		Go away, you men. Go back to the 		Biltmore Hotel and put on your red 		caps. 				EDDIE		I always thought you city people 		were more hospitable to us poor 		farm boys. 	The other four carousers are laughing too much to even talk. 	Charlie has ambled up to The Existentialist, who is peering 	over her hostess into the room behind her.  				CHARLIE			(to The Existentialist,			smiling amiably) 		I'm sorry, miss. A friend of ours is 		getting married here, and we're just 		horsing around. 	The Existentialist looks into the young man's smiling, 	rather winning face. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		Why don't you come back after you 		get rid of your friends. 				EDDIE		He'll be back! 	She turns abruptly and disappears past the hostess into the 	room. 				EDDIE			(to Charlie) 		Man, she likes you, man! 				THE HOSTESS		Now, you boys go away. 	She backs into her house and closes the door. Eddie starts 	up the steps to the door. The other four just roar with 	laughter, clutch their sides, and giggle and snort. 				EDDIE		Well, what do you say, men, are we 		going to this party, or aren't we? 				CHARLIE			(laughing) 		Come on, Eddie. I thought you had 		some movies you want to show us. 				EDDIE		What do you want to see movies for? 		You got the real thing right here.				CHARLIE			(laughing) 		Eddie, we're married men here. 				EDDIE		Come on, let's crash this party. 		I've been to these Greenwich Village 		parties. Man, they're wild. 				KENNETH		Come on, Eddie, let's go up to your 		place, see these movies.				EDDIE			(coming reluctantly 			back to the others, 			says to Charlie) 		Man, you were going strong with that 		girl. You could have scored. She's 		just waiting for you. Go in after 		her. 				KENNETH		Come on, Eddie. Let's go see the 		movies. 				EDDIE			(to the others) 		All right, I live about three blocks 		down. You guys want to see movies, 		all right, let's go see movies. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. THE BACHELOR'S APARTMENT	Eddie is scowling over a home-style movie projector, 	muttering over the intricacies of fitting a reel into the 	ratchets. Arnold has suddenly become voluble and is gabbing 	away at him. CAMERA DOLLIES AROUND THEM during the scene so 	that we can see into the living room of the apartment, 	appointed in simple but neat masculine taste, where the 	other three men move in and out of view. Right now, we are 	concerned only with Arnold and Eddie. 				ARNOLD		... we're moving in with her mother 		and father. I don't know if that's 		such a good idea. What do you think? 		We haven't got an apartment yet, and 		we figure we'll live a year with her 		folks, save on the rent, see? 	Kenneth comes back from the kitchen with three open bottles 	of beer. 				KENNETH		Anybody want a bottle of beer? 				ARNOLD			(to Eddie) 		She's a widow, and that bothers me a 		little. I don't know why. She's two 		years older than me. I don't know if 		you know that. Her husband got killed 		in Korea. She's a cousin of mine, you 		know. 				KENNETH			(moving into 			the living room) 		Who wants a bottle of beer? 				CHARLIE		I'll take a bottle. 				WALTER		Yeah, give me one. 				ARNOLD		A third cousin, something like that. 		It's not good for cousins to marry, 		is it? What do you think of her? I 		know she's not terribly pretty, but 		I mean ... 				EDDIE			(muttering imprecations 			at the projector) 		Arnold, leave me alone a minute, 		will you? 				ARNOLD		Sure.			(turns to the others in 			living room, plants a 			huge smile on his face) 		Well, I'm getting married Sunday.  				KENNETH		Having fun, Walter? 				WALTER		Fun. A bunch of grown men sitting 		around waiting to look at college 		boy pictures. 				ARNOLD		I swear, I never thought two months 		ago I was ever going to get married. 		I still don't know how it happened.... 				EDDIE		Hey, somebody turn off the lights. 	Walter is promptly up to turn off the lights. 				CHARLIE		Hey, you know, you've got a nice 		place here. 	The room is abruptly flooded in darkness. A beam of light 	shoots out from the projector. It seems pointed at the 	window. Arnold stands up directly in the shaft of light. 				ARNOLD		I was just taking her out. I didn't 		know it was so serious.				EDDIE		Arnold, get out of the way, will 		you? 				ARNOLD		Oh, sure. 	Arnold moves a step, still in the shaft of light, his shadow 	huge on the wall. Eddie, muttering, jockeys the projector 	around trying to focus it on the screen. The square of light 	and some flickering images wander up and down a wall. 				ARNOLD		... We're sitting in the car, so she 		says: "Well, Arnold, we've been 		going together six months now. I 		think it's time we decided whether 		we were being serious." 				WALTER		Hey, Eddie, you got it on the window. 				ARNOLD		I didn't know it was so serious. I 		didn't even know we were going 		together. I just took her out every 		now and then. 				CHARLIE		Arnold, you're funny. 				EDDIE		Turn on the lights again, will you, 		Walter. 				WALTER		What's the matter? 				EDDIE		I forgot to loop it over this loop 		thing. 	Walter crosses to light switch. The room is flooded in light 	again.				CHARLIE		Oh, for crying out loud. 				ARNOLD			(small panic) 		I can't even remember what she looks 		like! I just saw her this afternoon! 				KENNETH		Arnold, have a bottle of beer. It's 		not so terrible. 				ARNOLD		Boy, I tell you. It's for the rest 		of your life when you get married. 		This is a big decision to make. 				WALTER		Does anybody seriously want to see 		these movies? 	Eddie is furiously winding and unwinding spools. CAMERA HAS 	DOLLIED AROUND so that we are looking back up the living 	room toward the projector and the men. 				ARNOLD		I could be making a serious mistake. 				EDDIE		Arnold, you're in the way again. 		Come on now. All right, put off the 		lights. 	The room is flooded in darkness again. Walter hurries to a 	chair. The square of light is reasonably focused, just an 	edge trailing off onto the drapes of the window. Numbers 	flicker quickly on on the screen. The rest of the scene we 	see looking into the whitened faces of the five men at their 	various posts. Arnold crosses, stands back of Walter. 				KENNETH		Here we go. 				EDDIE		Hey, Arnold, if this is the one I 		think it is, there's one part here I 		want you to see. 				WALTER			(a picture of determined 			boredom, but putting on 			his glasses) 		This is for kids. 				CHARLIE		Says he -- putting on his glasses. 				KENNETH		"The Baseball Game." That's a nice 		title, don't you think? 				EDDIE		This is the one, Arnold. There's a 		guy in here who looks just like 		Arnold. 				KENNETH		Hey, she's not bad. Usually, the 		girls in these things look like 		dinosaurs. 				WALTER			(his eyes glued 			to the screen) 		A bunch of grown men ... 	He breaks off as apparently some interesting action has 	started on screen. An involuntary grunt of acknowledgment 	escapes him. 				EDDIE		I got these pictures off my dentist. 		I don't know where be got them. 		There you are, Arnold, that's you. 				CHARLIE  		Yeah, it does look like Arnold.				EDDIE		Doesn't that look like Arnold? 				KENNETH		Who's looking at the guy? 				CHARLIE		Arnold, you've got a great career 		ahead of you. 				KENNETH		That girl looks like the girl 		Charlie picked up just before. 				EDDIE		Probably is. 				WALTER		That fellow there is not a bad actor. 				CHARLIE		Actor. You could play that part 		pretty easy yourself. 				KENNETH		I think the Daily News gave this one 		four stars.				EDDIE		I'd like to see this in Three-D. 	The side comments drift off for a moment, and a sort of 	frozen attention settles on the white faces. Each face is 	sort of set in a mold of determined disinterest, but the 	eyes are all watching. 				WALTER		Well, I'll just watch one of them. 		Then, I think I'll just go home. 	He wets his lips, lifts the bottle of beer to his mouth and 	takes a swallow. His eyes never leave the screen. 						DISSOLVE TO:	INTERIOR. KITCHEN  CHARLIE AND HELEN'S APARTMENT	Helen standing in front of the laundry part of the sink, 	doing her private laundry. She has on a house smock and her 	sleeves are rolled up. The doorbell rings. Helen takes a 	towel off the doorknob behind her and, wiping her hands, 	comes down across the dining area to the front door. She 	opens the door to admit a young woman, about eight years 	older than Helen. 				HELEN		Hiya, Julie. I was beginning to 		think you weren't coming. 				JULIE			(coming in) 		I was at my mother's house. Did they 		call you? They said they were going 		to call you. 				HELEN		Yeah, your mother was very sweet. 				JULIE		You should have seen my father. I 		said, "Pa, you have another 		grandchild coming." So he said, 		"Who?" So I said, "Charlie." So he 		said, "That little Helen?" So I said, 		"If it isn't that little Helen, 		Charlie better leave town." So out 		came the beer. Well, they've been 		after Charlie to have a baby for a 		long time now. I said, "Pa, leave 		him alone. Let him get established 		before he saddles himself with a 		baby." Anyway, I want you to know 		joy reigns supreme in your in-laws' 		house. 			(she moves into 			the kitchen) 		How's Charlie taking it? 				HELEN			(following her 			into the kitchen) 		Listen, let me make you a cup of 		tea or something. 				JULIE		No, no, I've been drinking beer for 		the last two hours, celebrating your 		baby. 				HELEN		Soda, anything like that? 				JULIE		No, honey, you go on with your wash. 		Is that what you're doing? 			(she sits) 		When I had my first baby, Mike was 		ashamed to be seen on the streets 		with me. Well, listen, he was 		interning at the time. We needed a 		baby like a hole in the head. That's 		why he's a general practitioner now, 		because of that baby. He was 		studying to be a surgeon. He 		absolutely refused to admit I was 		pregnant. Even in my ninth month, 		and I was as big as a house. He 		used to walk ten paces in front of 		me in the street like he didn't 		know who that woman with the belly 		was. Where is Charlie anyway? 				HELEN		I told you he-- 				JULIE		Oh, yeah. I wouldn't let my Mike go 		on a bachelor party. 				HELEN			(turning back 			to her wash) 		What are they going to do, get a 		little drunk? 				JULIE		Are you kidding? What do you think 		these bachelor parties are for, 		bachelors? This is for the married 		men. It's a good excuse to get 		drunk and find some girls. 				HELEN		Can you picture Charlie getting 		drunk and picking up a girl? 		Charlie's old sobersides. You 		should have seen what I went through 		to get him to make a pass at me. 		He's so sweet. Nobody knows how 		really sweet he is, he's so quiet 		all the time. My brother died in 		September, he used to stay up with 		me till three, four o'clock every 		night. I used to cry all night, and 		he used to sit on the bed and talk 		with me. I used to look at him 		talking there, and I used to think: 		"What would I do without this sweet 		man here? I'd go crazy." You know, 		you like to be a little cynical 		sometimes, Julie. 				JULIE		Wait'll you've been married eleven 		years. 				HELEN		You like to talk about all the 		affairs everybody's husband is 		having. Do you know actually one 		woman whose husband is actually 		playing around? 	An abrupt, sad expression, tinged with pain, has come over 	Julie's face. She looks down at the table. 				JULIE		Wait'll you've been married eleven 		years. 	Helen, aware that she has perhaps touched on a sensitive 	subject, frowns and turns back to her washing. A quick, 	thick silence dips into the room.  				JULIE			(looking down) 		Wait'll Charlie gets to be forty-two. 		My Mike's having an affair right now 		with one of his patients right now. 		We don't talk about it -- don't you, 		either, not even to Charlie. But 		Mike knows I know about it. I even 		know the patient. A married woman 		with a hyperthyroid problem. My 		Mike's a good doctor with a pretty 		good practice. The kids are crazy 		about him. But every now and then 		he has to go out and get involved 		with a woman. 	She looks down at her hands in her lap. 				JULIE		Listen, I will take a cup of tea if 		you've got one. 	She stands, opens the pantry, looks around among the cans 	and packages for a box of tea bags. 				HELEN			(quite shocked) 		You're kidding, aren't you? 				JULIE			(finds the box 			of tea bags) 		Would I kid about something like 		that? 	She puts the box of tea bags an the workshelf, unhooks a 	saucepan hanging over the stove, turns to the sink and fills 	it with water. Helen regards her, not quite knowing what to 	say. Julie sets the saucepan going on the stove, stares at 	it. 				JULIE		I don't know why I told you. Don't 		tell anybody, not even Charlie. I 		don't want the family to know. But 		this woman isn't the first one. I 		know that much. About three years 		ago, the doorbell rings. I open the 		door. There's a man there. He says: 		"Tell your husband to stay away from 		my sister." How would you like to 		open the door and have somebody say 		that to you? I cried for two weeks. 		I don't know what to do about it, 		Helen. Should I bring it out in the 		open with Mike or should I just keep 		my mouth shut like the other time? 		Because he's not going to leave me. 		Even if he doesn't care about me, 		he has his kids to think about. We 		married too young. That was our big 		mistake. We married too young. 	Her face, her whole body suddenly tightens to forestall any 	possibility of breaking into tears, and she sits down 	abruptly on the kitchen stool, her eyes clenched tight and 	her face rigidly impassive. Helen remains nervously silent. 				JULIE			(her voice rising just 			a little from the 			suppressed emotion 			within her) 		We should have waited till he 		finished his internship. What kind 		of married life is that? Twenty-two 		dollars a month he was earning. 		Every other day, he had to sleep in 		the hospital. The first two years of 		our marriage, we didn't even see 		each other. And then I'm pregnant. 		He had to quit, what do you think? 		He wanted to be a surgeon, he wound 		up being a G.P. From that day he 		hated me. I had two other children 		by him, but he hated me. He told me 		in just so many words. Why do you 		think I kept telling you, Helen, why 		do you think I kept telling you: 		"Don't have a baby till Charlie finds 		himself." 			(suddenly cries out) 		It hurts! Even after eleven years, 		it hurts! 	She stands abruptly and moves quickly past Helen out the 	kitchen doorway into the dark living room, leaving Helen 	standing troubled, concerned, in the kitchen. After a moment, 	Helen moves to the kitchen doorway and a step out into the 	dining area. She looks through the dark living room to the 	gray silhouette of Julie standing by the living room window, 	her form lightly outlined by a tracing of moonlight. 				HELEN		Are you all right, Julie? 				JULIE			(muttering) 		I'm all right. I'm all right. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. BACHELOR'S APARTMENT (45 MINUTES LATER)	We are looking back up the living room as we were at the 	close of the last scene in this apartment. The room is 	absolutely dark now, but a light pours in from the foyer. In 	this shaft of light, we can see Eddie moving from behind the 	projector to the wall switch and turning on the lights. The 	room is abruptly bright with light, and our five men squint 	against the sudden glare. They have all changed their 	positions and taken off their jackets and loosened their 	ties. They are lolling about. CAMERA LOOKS DOWN TO THE FLOOR 	to take particular note of eight empty beer bottles, an 	opened fifth of bourbon, ash trays, crumpled packs of 	cigarettes, a cup and saucer, somebody's shoes, somebody's 	jacket that has fallen off the back of a chair. Over this 	we hear Walter's voice:				WALTER		Is that the last one? 				EDDIE		Yeah. 	A thick silence fills the room. There is a kind of sodden 	feeling to this scene. After a long moment, Walter's voice 	again: 				WALTER		Ah, you've seen one, you've seen 		them all.  				KENNETH		Yeah, they're all alike. 				CHARLIE		I don't know -- I think the first 		one was all right. 				WALTER		Yeah, I was so bored by the rest of 		them. I nearly fell asleep during 		the last one. 				KENNETH		You in the habit of sleeping with 		your eyes open? 	We look down on the room now, at all five of the men, Eddie 	rewinding the last reel, the little motor of the projector 	humming. The others loll about, their legs dangling over the 	armrests of the soft chairs and sofas. There is a heavy, 	dense mood that no one seems willing to break. 				CHARLIE		What time's it about, anybody know? 				ARNOLD			(glancing at his watch) 		I got a quarter to nine. 				EDDIE		No, it's later than that, about a 		quarter after. 	Again the silence falls upon the five men. Only the humming 	little motor interrupts the thick silence. Nobody moves. 				WALTER			(after a moment) 		Ah, you see one, you've seen them 		all. 	Again the silence. Charlie stretches over for his bottle of 	beer on the floor beside his chair. He pours what's left of 	the bottle into the glass standing beside it. Otherwise 	nobody moves.				WALTER			(after a moment) 		So that's the last one you've got to 		show us, Eddie? 				EDDIE		Yeah. You want to run them backwards? 				KENNETH		I wonder where they get the girls to 		make these movies? 				WALTER		Might as well go home, I guess. 				KENNETH		Yeah. 	The idea doesn't seem to propel anybody to any decisive 	movement. Walter shifts his position on the sofa, stretches 	out his legs, regards his shoes with a sudden sadness. 				WALTER			(after a moment) 		Life is short. 	This gives everybody something to think about for a moment. 				EDDIE			(hunched over 			the projector, 			dismantling it) 		You guys feel like going down to 		have a drink for Arnold? 	This brings a reaction. Walter stands. 				WALTER		Yeah! What do you say? One last 		drink for Arnold! 				CHARLIE		Okay with me. 	Suddenly life is back in the room, the men ad-lib: "Where's 	my coat?" "Let's get out of here," etc.  				KENNETH			(unwinding himself 			from his slouched 			position on a chair) 		You can say what you want to about 		these pictures -- they're really 		pretty bad -- but they get you. 				ARNOLD		Don't you think we ought to clean up 		the place? 				EDDIE		No, I got a woman comes in. 				WALTER			(grabbing up 			his jacket) 		I almost fell asleep during the 		last one. 			(he looks at 			the others) 		Well, what do you say, huh? Let's 		go! One last drink! 	Ad libs on exit. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. LIVING ROOM CHARLIE AND HELEN'S APARTMENT	Helen and Julie. A corner lamp in the living room is lit, 	lending a soft but not too effective light to the room. The 	two young women are on the couch. Helen sits curled at one 	end, head down listening to Julie, who has been talking and 	probably crying a little since we last saw them forty-five 	minutes ago. Julie is seated with her legs stretched out in 	front of her, her head resting back on the back of the couch. 	She is talking more freely and easily now, the first hard 	outburst over with. 				JULIE		... He's a boy, my Mike. Till the 		day he dies, he'll never be more 		than fifteen. Perpetual adolescence, 		that's the curse of the professional 		man. He spends his whole youth trying 		to be a doctor, a lawyer, an 		accountant. Then he spends the rest 		of his life looking for the fun he 		should have had when he was a boy. 				HELEN		Oh, I know. Charlie and I hardly 		even see each other. 				JULIE		It's very hard on the wife, Helen. 		These are the years when you should 		be building your marriage. Instead, 		you grow away from each other. I've 		seen it happen with my friends. In 		the end, they have nice homes in New 		Rochelle, and a maid, and their 		maids are happier than they are. But 		sometimes it does work. It can be 		done, Helen. Encourage Charlie to 		stay with his school because... 				HELEN		Oh, I will, Julie ... 				JULIE		... he's an ambitious boy ... 				HELEN		... oh, it's not just he's 		ambitious ... 				JULIE		... and if he doesn't fulfill 		himself, he'll resent you and your 		baby the rest of his life. 				HELEN		Oh, I don't want him to quit. He 		loves accounting, Julie. I see him 		sometimes, sitting over his homework. 		He's got his ledgers out, and he's 		adding up columns of figures as long 		as his arm. And he's chuckling. 		You'd think he was reading the 		comics. He has a book there, 		Business Law. How he can read it I 		don't know. But I'll be watching 		television or something, and he'll 		come over, and he'll start telling 		me about some fine legal point. I 		don't know what he's talking about, 		but it's enough for me to see how 		excited it makes him. He loves it,		Julie. You can't take something like 		that away from him. It's just -- 		it's just I feel we're not really 		close any more. I mean, he comes 		home from school, lots of times I'm 		asleep already. And, when I do see 		him, he seems all involved with 		himself. He looks at me sometimes as 		if I were a stranger to him, and I 		feel sometimes I am. I'm afraid of 		that, Julie. 				JULIE		Then get rid of the baby. 	It is said simply, inevitably, even innocently. It brings 	only a frown to Helen's face and a short silence. 				JULIE		If I had it to do again, believe me, 		that's what I would do. 				HELEN			(slowly becoming aware 			of the depth of what 			they are talking about) 		You don't mean that, Julie. 				JULIE		Yes, I do. My children are the only 		things in my life now, but I would 		rather have a husband. 				HELEN		I wouldn't even think about it. 				JULIE		That's what I said, too. 				HELEN		Let's not even think about it. If I 		even mentioned it, he'd -- he'd hit 		me, I think. 				JULIE		All right. 	Now, the thick, tense silence falls between them. They both 	occupy themselves with their own troubled thoughts.  				HELEN		I want this baby, Julie. I've wanted 		this baby for a long time. It's the 		only thing I've ever asked of 		Charlie. If I mentioned that to him 		-- I don't know what he'd do. 	Again, they sink into silence. Then in the thick silence, 	the telephone rings. The two young women are so deep within 	their thoughts that neither of them moves. It rings again, 	and Helen slides off the couch and goes to the phone. It 	rings again. She picks it up. 				HELEN			(on phone) 		Hello.... Hello, Charlie, where are 		you calling from? ... You sound like 		you're having a nice time.... Oh, 		you're having a ball, huh? ... Well, 		what time do you think you'll be 		coming home? 	INTERIOR. PHONE BOOTH IN EIGHTH STREET BAR	Charlie in the phone booth, smiling broadly. He seems in 	wonderful spirits. Through the glass of the phone booth we 	can see part of the bar and some of the barflies. 				CHARLIE			(on phone) 		Well, that's what I wanted to call 		you about, honey. I think a couple 		of the guys are cutting out now. I 		think Kennie's going home. But I was 		wondering if you wanted me home for 		any special reason. 	INTERIOR. THE FOYER 				HELEN			(on phone) 		Just a minute, Charlie.... 	She rises, goes to kitchen door, still holding the phone.  				HELEN			(to Julie) 		Excuse me a minute, Julie. It's 		Charlie.... 	She goes into the kitchen. A little embarrassed, she closes 	the kitchen door. 	INTERIOR. THE KITCHEN 				HELEN			(on phone) 		Charlie? ... 			(sits) 		Charlie, come on home now.... No, I 		feel all right. I just miss you. 		Julie's here, and we were talking 		about you, and I just miss you.... 		Ah, come on.... 			(frowns a little) 		Well, no, if you're having such a 		good time, stay out and enjoy 		yourself.... No, Charlie, I don't 		want you to come home if you're 		having a good time.... I'm not 		lonely. Julie's here. We're talking. 		I was washing some things.... I 		know, that's what I told you this 		morning. You've finally got a night 		off for yourself. I don't want you 		to feel guilty about it.... 		Charlie, do you love me? ... You 		sound angry.... No, come home any 		time you want....			(she wets her 			lips nervously) 		Charlie ...			(she lets her head 			sink down onto the 			palm of her free hand) 		Charlie, there's no girls at this 		party, are there? ... I'm not 		checking up on you, Charlie. I just 		miss you, that's all.... All right, 		Charlie, please, I don't want to 		argue with you. Julie's in the 		living room. ... All right, have a 		good time, stay out as long as you 		want.... All right, Charlie, good-		bye. 	She slowly hangs up the receiver, sits slumped and abject. 	INTERIOR. PHONE BOOTH IN EIGHTH STREET BAR	Charlie in booth. The broad grin has disappeared from his 	face. As seen through the closed glass doors of the booth, 	he is a very sullen and despondent young man. He stands now, 	pushes the doors open, and comes out. CAMERA PULLS BACK so 	that we can see the whole area of the bar near the phone 	booths. Next to the phone booth are two doors marked GUYS 	and DOLLS. Kenneth is coming in from the deeper recesses of 	the bar where the other members of the bachelor party are 	grouped in a booth. He is headed for the door marked GUYS. 	Charlie regards Kenneth bleakly as he approaches. 				CHARLIE		The party breaking up? 				KENNETH			(pushing into 			the men's room) 		I don't know. I'm going home. You 		going home? 				CHARLIE		Yeah, I think so.   	He pushes into the men's room after Kenneth. 	INTERIOR. THE MEN'S ROOM 	A small, white-tiled, yet somehow not too clean, men's room, 	two-urinal size. There is one washbowl with a small mirror 	over it, and two water closets with doors, separated from 	each other by a steel partition. Charlie perches on the edge 	of the washbowl; he apparently came in just to talk. Kenneth 	moves off camera for more practical use of the room. CAMERA 	stays on Charlie who seems depressed, pensive, sad. Stay on 	him for a long moment. Then ... 				CHARLIE			(frowning) 		You love your wife, Kennie? 				KENNETH'S VOICE 			(off)		Well, I've been married six years. 		I've got two kids that keep me awake 		all night long. Every Sunday, we go 		out driving in Long Island looking 		for a house that's going to take 		one, probably two mortgages. I better 		love my wife. 	Kenneth appears now, edges Charlie away from the wash basin, 	so he can wash his hands. 				CHARLIE		I don't feel like going home. Are 		you going? Hang around, Kennie. It's 		only about nine thirty, ten. 				KENNETH		It's after ten. It's about ten after 		ten. 	Kenneth rips off a paper towel. The only noise for a moment 	is the soft crumpling of paper as Kenneth dries his hands. 				KENNETH		The party's getting a little wild in 		there anyway. Eddie and Walter got 		poor Arnold nailed in there, they're 		trying to talk him into getting a 		girl. This party's going to wind up 		in a joint, let me tell you. This is 		a good time to blow. 				CHARLIE			(frowning)		Yeah.... I should have gone to class 		tonight. I'm paying twenty bucks a 		credit. The least I can do is go to 		class. 	He breaks off abruptly, turning away with a sudden frown. 				CHARLIE		I take one night off, I can't even 		enjoy myself. Did you know Eddie 		went back to Europe?  				KENNETH		No, I didn't know that. 				CHARLIE		He was telling me he lived in Paris 		for three months. I'd like to do 		that! 	He ambles around the men's room, studying himself with 	unseeing eyes in the little mirror, poking the trash can 	into which Kenneth is now dropping his wadded paper towel. 	He suddenly turns to Kenneth, stares at him. Kenneth looks 	at him in mirror. 				KENNETH		What's the matter? 				CHARLIE		I'm going to quit. What am I 		killing myself for? 				KENNETH		Quit what? 				CHARLIE		Quit night school. Tonight was the 		first laughs I've had in years. I 		can't remember the last time I had 		so much fun. Look what I'm missing. 		I'm making a pretty good living. I 		can support a wife and baby on what 		I make. I'm going to quit! I mean 		it. I'm going to quit. Boy, what a 		time to have a baby. 				KENNETH		You don't have to quit school 		because you're having a baby, 		Charlie. There are lots of guys go 		to night school with two, three 		kids. 				CHARLIE		You ought to meet some of these guys. 		They're just grinding their lives 		away. It's an obsession with some of 		these guys. I mean, what's the point? 		So I'll go five more years to night 		school. So I'll get my degree. So 		I'll get a job as a junior accountant 		for three years at seventy-five bucks 		a week. I'm making better than that 		now. And then it just starts. The 		CPA exams. By the time I'm fifty, I 		can start living. At this point, I 		get a heart attack and an ulcer, and 		they bury me in the ground, and they 		say: "That was Charlie Samson, the 		man who didn't see a movie in fifty 		years." Why go through all that? 		I'll quit. I feel so mad right now, 		you better keep an eye on me, Kennie, 		because I'm going to wind up punching 		somebody.	The door opens. Man enters to clean a spot off his tie. 				KENNETH		Come on, let's go home. 				CHARLIE		What do I want to go home for? 				KENNETH		You're in a lousy mood.   	The man, finished with his tie, exits. 				KENNETH			(after a moment) 		Charlie, go home. I can see you're 		going to get fried tonight and wind 		up picking up a tramp and you're 		going to wake up in the morning 		feeling like two-bits. 				CHARLIE		It'd be a profit. 				KENNETH		Charlie, about five years ago, I 		went without a job for seven months. 		Alice was carrying our first baby. 		We were living on money I borrowed 		from my brother. I don't know if you 		remember me in those days, but it 		was rough. I used to go out every 		night, put a load on, and make a 		pass at any girl who looked at me. 		And I mean any. Big, tall, short, 		fat, anything. Well, one night I 		picked up some tomato somewheres, 		and we were sitting in a bar or 		somewheres, and I kept calling her 		Alice all night. So she says to me: 		"My name ain't Alice. Who's Alice?" 		So I said: "Alice is my wife," and 		I got up and I went home. 	Charlie waits a moment for Kenneth to continue, but 	apparently this is all Kenneth has to offer at the moment. 				CHARLIE		What does that mean? 				KENNETH		I don't know. I had a point when I 		started telling that story. 				CHARLIE		I'm not looking for another woman. 				KENNETH		Yes, you are, Charlie. You may not 		know it, but you are. So go on home, 		Charlie, before you get any drunker 		than you are. Charlie, you start 		messing with other women, something 		goes. It'll kill your marriage. 		It'll kill your wife. It'll just 		kill her. What my wife went through 		-- well, I don't even want to 		remember it. It's never the same 		with your wife again, Charlie. 				CHARLIE		I'm not looking for any woman. 				KENNETH		I think what I was trying to say 		was you stick with your night school. 		Some guys have to make peace with 		themselves that they're never going 		to amount to too much. A guy like me. 		Once I made that peace with myself, 		I found out it doesn't really matter 		what you amount to. I got a nice 		wife and two children I complain 		about all the time, but if anything 		ever happened to either one of them, 		I think I'd die. But you don't have 		to make that kind of peace, and 		you'd be crazy to settle for less 		than what you want. You want 		something, Charlie. I think that's 		wonderful.			(Charlie's eyes go 			toward Kenneth) 		You're a little drunk now, and 		you're fed up to the teeth. 		Everybody gets fed up, Charlie. You 		stick with it. You're going to be all 		right. 				CHARLIE			(touched) 		You're a nice guy, Kennie. 				KENNETH		Sure. You're a nice guy too. 	The door to the men's room opens, and a Young Man comes in, 	looks around quickly at Kenneth and Charlie -- bumps into 	Kennie. 				YOUNG MAN		Watch it -- will you, Mac? 	Charlie regards this statement a moment. Then advances to 	the Young Man. 				CHARLIE		Wait a minute.... What are you, a 		wise guy? 	He is all set to bust the Young Man one in the nose, but 	Kenneth takes him by the arm. 				KENNETH		Come on, Charlie, let's go home. 	Charlie allows himself to be led to the door. 				CHARLIE		I'm just about drunk enough right 		now to bust somebody right in the 		nose. 	Kenneth reaches for the knob of the door, opens it, and the 	two men go out. They find themselves in the crowded, noisy 	bar. A jagged kind of intensity to the atmosphere as if some 	of the men at the bar might be gangsters. Booths filled with 	men and women and some mixed-up types. Kenneth and Charlie 	make their way through the bodies down to one of the booths 	where Eddie and Arnold are sitting and Walter is standing, 	heavily drunk. Eddie is expostulating to Walter: 				EDDIE			(to Walter) 		... Come on, will you? Look Walter, 		it's just the shank of the evening! 		What's so special in your home? You 		got a floor show every night? Who 		are you married to, Jayne Mansfield? 		Come on, it's not even half past 		ten! 	Walter sits heavily down. 				KENNETH			(smiling amiably) 		We got to get up tomorrow, go to 		work, Eddie. 				EDDIE		We're just starting! We got to get 		Arnold a girl yet! 				ARNOLD		Eddie, please ... 				EDDIE		That's the whole point to a bachelor 		party! You got to get the guy a girl! 				ARNOLD		Look, fellows, it's been a nice 		clean party ... 				KENNETH		Well, Arnold, since I'm not going to 		see you again before the wedding, 		congratulations and best wishes in 		the coming future to both you and 		the bride. 				ARNOLD		Thanks a lot, Kennie.... 	Eddie turns to Charlie, who is still glowering. 				EDDIE		You're not going, are you, Charlie? 		We're just starting! We got to get 		Arnold a girl yet! 				ARNOLD			(to Kenneth) 		I want to thank you for the 		presents, Kennie.... 				CHARLIE		...No, I'll stick around another 		hour or so.... 				EDDIE		... That's my boy.... 				ARNOLD			(to Kenneth, who is 			looking at Charlie) 		... Honestly, I never expected any 		presents.... 				KENNETH			(to Charlie) 		... Aren't you coming home? ... 				CHARLIE		... What for? Sit around talking to 		my sister Julie? ... 				ARNOLD			(standing) 		... I want to thank all you 		fellows ... 				EDDIE		All right, stop thanking them, 		Arnold. They just gave you a party, 		they didn't elect you President. 				ARNOLD		... This has been one of the nicest 		nights of my life.... 				CHARLIE		Let's go someplace ... let's go to 		a nightclub. 				EDDIE		That's great with me. 				CHARLIE		Come on, Ken. 				ARNOLD		Thanks a lot. 				KENNETH		... Well, listen, fellows, I'm 		cutting out.... Good night, Walter, 		Eddie. 			(to Charlie) 		... You coming, Charlie? ... 				CHARLIE		... No, I'll kill another hour.... 		Come on, Kennie.... 				KENNETH		No, you go ahead. I'll see you in 		the morning, Charlie. 				CHARLIE		Okay, I'll see you. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	EXTERIOR. THIRD STREET 	The little stretch of strip-joints on Third Street. Bright 	little cluster of honky-tonks. 	EXTERIOR. THIRD STREET	Our bachelor party, now down to four carousers, ambles along 	the rather filled sidewalk, looking at the cardboard cutouts 	of the strippers in the windows of the night clubs. 	The four men pause before one of the strip-joints, examining 	the cardboard cutout and billboard which promises first-rate 	entertainment inside. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. THIRD STREET NIGHT CLUB 	We look down on the whole night club, showing the dark, 	dingy, crowded, smallness of it. There is a strip going on. 	It doesn't look very interesting. 	Our four men are huddled over a very small table in one of 	those Third Street clip-joints. It is a dark little hovel, 	but a blue stage light drifts across the table, vaguely 	illuminating our four celebrators. Behind them, a strip 	tease is in progress. Every now and then, an almost stout 	woman in her forties, garish in the blue spotlight, dressed 	in a white satin ill-fitting gown, moves in and out of our 	view. Half the tables and wall booths are occupied. There is 	a horseshoe bar off in the recesses of the club. A three-	piece band is playing spiritlessly. 	Walter is gone, deep in some painful, drunken world of his 	own. Charlie rubs his eyes as if to keep his senses awake. 	Arnold, who is soggy, is leaning toward Eddie, who alone of 	the four men is giving any attention to the show. 				ARNOLD		So what do you think of my girl, 		Eddie? You met her. Be honest with 		me. Tell me the truth. I had the 		feeling you didn't like her. 				EDDIE		Come on, come on, Arnold. What do 		you want from me. 	Arnold turns to Charlie. 				ARNOLD		Listen, Charlie, I'd like to ask you 		a little advice. I mean, you're a 		married man. This girl, I'm supposed 		to marry, she's all right, but I'm 		not really attracted to her, you 		know what I mean? That's important,		isn't it? I kissed her a couple of 		times, but I ... I don't know why 		I'm getting married, Charlie. 				CHARLIE		What did you say, Arnold? 				ARNOLD		I said, I don't know why I'm getting 		married. I did pretty good for 		thirty-two years without getting 		married. I get along fine at home. 		My mother's a good cook. I have a 		nice life. What do I want to break 		it all up for? 				CHARLIE		Well, Arnold, everybody feels that 		way before they get married. 				ARNOLD		Yeah? Did I ever show you a picture 		of my girl? 				CHARLIE		No, you didn't, Arnold. 				ARNOLD		Do you want to see a picture? 				CHARLIE		Sure. 	Arnold clumsily hauls out his wallet and extracts a picture. 	He gives it to Charlie who twists at an angle in order to 	get some light on it. 				ARNOLD		I want you to give me your honest 		impression, Charlie. She isn't much, 		is she? 				CHARLIE		I can't see much in this light, but 		she looks like a nice pretty girl. 				ARNOLD		Well, I wouldn't say that. We were 		matched up, you know. The families 		kind of agreed on it. I was brought 		over to her by my mother and father. 		That's how I met her. She's some 		kind of tenth cousin. She's all 		right. She's quiet. I kissed her a 		couple of times. She just sat there 		and I kissed her. I think she 		expected more. She even asked me 		that. She said to me: "Are you 		afraid of me?" I really don't go out 		with women much. You know. Don't 		tell nobody this, Charlie, but you 		aren't going to believe this, but I 		never ... I mean, you wouldn't 		believe that a guy of my age, I 		never ... Don't tell anybody I ever 		told you this, but I never-- I mean, 		Charlie, she's a widow. She's been 		married already -- she's going to 		expect a lot -- and I never ---- 		What do you think I ought to do? 				CHARLIE		What do you mean, Arnold? 				ARNOLD		I mean, you think I ought to marry 		her? 				CHARLIE		Well, Arnold, even if I knew the 		girl, I wouldn't answer that 		question. I may not like her, but 		she may be fine for you. 				ARNOLD		Because I'm thinking of calling the 		whole thing off. 				CHARLIE		It's kind of late for that, isn't 		it? 				ARNOLD		I'm scared stiff, Charlie. 				CHARLIE		What are you scared about? 				ARNOLD		I'm not much of a talker, and she's 		one of those quiet ones. What are 		you supposed to do with your wife? 		I mean, most of the time. 				CHARLIE			(has to think) 		Most of the time, Arnold, you don't 		even see her. You're away working. 		You come home, she fixes you supper. 		Then one of you washes the dishes. 		Then if you're not tired, you can go 		to the movies or visit somebody. Or 		you watch teevee. 				ARNOLD		I do that now with my mother. 	This gives Charlie pause. 				CHARLIE			(scowling) 		I don't know what there is to 		marriage. I suppose it's to have 		kids. 				ARNOLD		So what do you think I ought to do? 		You think I ought to go through with 		this marriage? 				CHARLIE			(angry) 		Arnold, I can't answer that! 	He stands abruptly.						DISSOLVE TO:  	EXTERIOR. STREET -- NIGHT	Our four amble along Washington Square North, headed west. 	In the background, the high apartment houses. It is about 	midnight now, and there are a number of people around, and 	there are lots of lights in the windows. There is still the 	feeling of life. However, some of the wind has gone out of 	our bachelor party since we last saw them carousing on 	Lexington Avenue. Now, of course, there are only four of 	them, and there is somewhat a feeling of straggling about 	them. 	EXTERIOR. STREET -- NIGHT	The four men straggle along Tenth Street east of Seventh 	Avenue. This is a dark little street. Off at the 	intersection, you can see Seventh Avenue and an occasional 	car moving downtown, but West Tenth Street right now seems 	an empty, sleeping street of dark and old little apartment 	houses. The houses sometimes have little stoops. On one of 	the stoops, there is a woman sitting. She is in her thirties, 	not attractive nor unattractive. She wears a light summer 	frock, and she has one shoe off, and she is toying with the 	idea of pushing the other one off too. As the four men 	approach her, she looks up, half quizzically, half 	questioningly. The four men note her in passing and seem to 	continue on, but then come to a dragging halt about ten 	paces down. 	CLOSE GROUP SHOT OF THE FOUR MEN. 				EDDIE		I think we've got one for you, 		Arnold. 				ARNOLD		One what? 	Eddie looks back to the woman on the stoop. They all turn to 	look. Actually, Charlie has ambled a few paces even further 	down and doesn't know quite why they've stopped. They look 	at the woman; the woman looks at them a little warily. Rest 	of the scene from her point of view. 				ARNOLD		Ah, come on, Eddie. 				EDDIE		She ain't bad. 				CHARLIE			(calling from a 			few paces down) 		What's the matter? 				EDDIE		We've got a live one. 				ARNOLD			(starting to walk) 		Come on, let's go.				EDDIE		Arnold, for Pete's sake. 				CHARLIE		Ah, leave him alone! He doesn't want 		to. 				EDDIE		Come on. We've been walking around 		all night here -- are you a man, or 		ain't you? 	Arnold frowns. 				ARNOLD		All right, all right. 	With a scowl, he assumes the responsibility of being a man. 	The four men, Charlie bringing up the rear, move down toward 	The Woman, who now looks down at her feet and begins wiggling 	her bare foot back into the unused shoe. 				THE WOMAN			(not looking up) 		I don't know who you fellows think 		I am, but you fellows have the 		wrong idea about me. 				EDDIE		Yeah, I know. Arnold, see that bar 		down the corner. That's where we'll 		be. 				THE WOMAN 		I'm afraid you fellows have the 		wrong idea about me.				ARNOLD		She says we have the wrong idea. 				CHARLIE		Ah, leave him alone.				THE WOMAN 		You fellows are working under a 		misconception. 	Eddie and Walter have already started down the street to 	the bar. 				EDDIE		We'll be in the bar, Arnold. 				CHARLIE		You all right, Arnold? 				ARNOLD		Yeah, I'm all right, it's just ... 				THE WOMAN 		Look, I'm just sitting here, fellows. 		Did I say anything? I was just 		sitting here. 				ARNOLD		You want to come with me, Charlie? 				CHARLIE		No, Arnold. 	Charlie scowls at the suggestion, but there is something 	pleading in Arnold's face. 				CHARLIE		You want me to? All right. I'll go 		up with you. 				EDDIE			(from halfway down 			the street) 		Where you going, Charlie? 				CHARLIE		I'll go up with him. Moral support. 				EDDIE		What the---- we'll all go with you. 	Charlie waves him away.				EDDIE			(walks back to fellows) 		We'll be down at the bar. 	Charlie nods. Arnold looks briefly at The Woman and then 	away again. 	She turns and goes up the steps into the building, her 	leather heels clicking on the stone steps. Arnold, head 	down, and Charlie, a little sheepishly, follow her. 	INTERIOR. THE HOUSE	A dark, ill-lit hallway. A flight of stairs going up, wooden 	railings, worn carpeting. The Woman starts up the stairs, 	the two men following her. 				THE WOMAN 			(as she goes) 		Ssshhh.... 	Arnold, wetting his lips, nods. The Woman reaches the first 	landing. 	INTERIOR. LANDING	The Woman has come around to one of the three doors on the 	landing and is inserting a key into a lock. Arnold and 	Charlie appear now at the head of the stairway. The Woman 	goes into her room, leaving the door open. A moment later, 	a shaft of light streams out into the landing. For a moment, 	nothing happens. Then Arnold and Charlie amble slowly down 	the landing to the open doorway and shaft of light. 				CHARLIE		Hey, Arnold, you don't have to go 		through with this. 				ARNOLD		I think I should. 				CHARLIE		I'll wait out here for you, okay? 	Arnold nods and goes into the room. He closes the door. 	Charlie takes out a cigarette and lights it and inhales 	deeply. He feels a little sordid. There is the sound of 	steps, muffled by the carpeting, coming down the stairs. A 	man appears coming down from the floor above. He gives 	Charlie a quick look and continues on down the landing to 	the stairs and down again. Charlie scowls at the floor. He 	smokes his cigarette. 	INTERIOR. THE WOMAN'S ROOM	It is a furnished room for which the woman pays eleven 	dollars a week. It is not particularly unkempt or tarty. 	There is a print slipcover on the soft chair and flowers on 	an end table. There is a studio couch with a neat spread and 	throw pillows on it. The Woman stands expressionlessly in 	front of the old chest of drawers. She has kicked off one 	shoe and she is now kicking off the other. She starts to say 	something: 				THE WOMAN		Listen, I don't want you to think I 		don't have a job. I got a job. I 		work. 	She stops abruptly as Arnold, who is sitting, eyes averted, 	on a straight-back wooden chair, suddenly stands up and 	moves toward the door. 				THE WOMAN		What's the matter? 	Arnold's lips open to form words, but nothing comes out, and 	he clamps his mouth tight and just stands, miserable and 	wretched. His hand makes a nervous, spasmodic, involuntary 	gesture, and he quickly clenches his fist. Beads of sweat 	are on his forehead.  				THE WOMAN		Are you afraid of me? 	Arnold's head has started to shake nervously, and he opens 	the door and steps out into the landing. The Woman, 	beginning to get angry, follows him. 	INTERIOR. LANDING	Charlie looks up at the opening of the door and Arnold's 	entrance. The Woman stands in the doorway. Arnold moves 	quickly past Charlie about halfway down the landing, white-	faced and trembling. 				THE WOMAN			(getting a 			little shrill) 		What's the matter? Hey. Hey, you. 		Hey, you, what's the matter? 				CHARLIE		Let's go.			(to The Woman) 		What's the trouble? 				THE WOMAN		I don't know. Ask him. What's the 		matter? Hey, you. You, what's the 		matter? 				CHARLIE		Go back inside.... All right, all 		right. 				THE WOMAN		How about that, huh? 	She turns angrily, goes back into her room (ad libbing as 	she crosses) and slams the door. Charlie moves down the 	landing to Arnold, who looks at him wide-eyed, almost in 	terror. 				CHARLIE		What happened, Arnold? 				ARNOLD		I don't know. I'm just scared. 				CHARLIE		Yeah, I don't blame you, I'd be 		scared too like this. I don't know 		why we dragged you up here in the 		first place. It's a barbaric custom. 		Come on. 	He has taken Arnold's arm and would lead him down the 	stairs, but Arnold pauses again at the first step. 				ARNOLD		Don't tell Eddie. 				CHARLIE		No I won't, Arnold. 				ARNOLD		Why don't we just sit here for ten		minutes or so? 	Charlie frowns, then shrugs. 				CHARLIE		All right, Arnold. 	They both sit slowly on the steps. Arnold is still trembling 	from the whole terrifying experience. 				ARNOLD		Don't ever tell anybody. 				CHARLIE		It's nothing to be ashamed of. 				ARNOLD		Please, Charlie. 				CHARLIE		I won't tell anybody. 	A man's voice suddenly calls down from an upper floor. 				MAN'S VOICE		Anything wrong down there?  				CHARLIE			(calling back) 		No. No. Nothing wrong. 	Charlie sits. CAMERA MOVES UP CLOSER to both men. The whole 	experience has depressed Charlie, and it shows on his face. 	CAMERA PULLS SLOWLY BACK so that we get the small, sordid 	feeling of the two men, somewhat tight, sitting on a dirty 	ill-lit staircase outside a whore's bedroom. 	INTERIOR. CORNER BAR	Neighborhood bar with about ten people in it. Eddie and 	Walter are two of them. Eddie is playing on one of those 	bowling machines. He seems surly, ill-tempered, restless. 				EDDIE		Hey Walter -- you know what we 		ought to do, don't you? We ought to 		go to that party. Remember that girl 		Charlie picked up on Tenth Street? 	Walter, who is so drunk he is sober, looks up at Eddie with 	blurred eyes. 				WALTER		I'm going to die, do you know that? 				EDDIE		Not tonight, Walter. Tonight you're 		going to live. Ah, these things are 		fixed. 			(crosses to bar) 		I'm down to my last buck. Got any 		money on you? 	He turns as the door to the bar opens and Charlie and Arnold 	come in. 				EDDIE			(to Charlie) 		Hey! 			(to Arnold) 		How'd it go, lover?			(Arnold smiles a 			mysterious smile, 			pregnant with 			sensual meaning) 		Hey, Charlie, let's go to this party. 		It's only twelve o'clock. Oh, these 		parties are mad, man. All the women 		wear pajamas, and all the men wear 		beards. Everybody sits on the floor. 		Arnold, you got any money? I spent 		my last buck on those drinks. How 		about you, Charlie? 				ARNOLD			(assessing his assets) 		I got a little over a buck. 				EDDIE		What are we, all out? So let's go to 		this party then. 			(punches Charlie's arm) 		Hey, Charlie, come on. 				CHARLIE			(himself sullen and angry)		Cut it out. 				EDDIE		You can have that girl you picked up 		on Tenth Street. Come on.... All 		right, you married men want to be so 		married that's all right with me. 		But I'd like to see some women 		tonight.			(punching Charlie's 			arm with more hostility 			than he knows) 		Come on. 				CHARLIE		Lay off. 				EDDIE		I'd like to see some women tonight, 		you know. Do you mind? 				CHARLIE		Cut it out, Eddie. You keep punching 		me, I swear I'm going to belt you 		one. 				EDDIE		What's the matter with you? 	Charlie is off his seat and ready to belt Eddie one right on 	the spot. There is abruptly the imminent reality of a fist 	fight. The two men are just sullen enough. Arnold hurriedly 	intercedes. 				ARNOLD		All right, all right, fellows. 				EDDIE		Look, don't get so tough with me, 		Charlie. 				ARNOLD		All right, all right, come on. 				CHARLIE			(angry)		I don't want to see any other women! 				EDDIE			(just as angry) 		All right! Go on home! Who's holding 		you?! You want to call it a night? 		Because I'm tired of grousing from 		one bar to another. You guys go home, 		and I'll go about my merry way. All 		right? And don't get so tough with 		me. 				CHARLIE		Well, don't poke me. 				ARNOLD			(turning Charlie 			back to his seat) 		Come on, let's go ... gee ... 	For a moment, the sudden, thick hostility fills the silence 	in the room. Nobody says anything. Walter is soddenly 	preoccupied with his own thoughts. Arnold is shaken from his 	recent experience with The Woman and from the flaring of 	tempers. Charlie just sits bleakly examining a book of 	matches he is toying with, trying to bring his temper down. 	After a moment, he mutters: 				CHARLIE			(mutters)		You mess around with other women, it 		kills your wife and it kills your 		marriage. 	Eddie suddenly, sulkily strides for the door of the bar. 				EDDIE		All right, you guys go home, and 		I'll go on my merry way. 			(gets to the door, 			pauses, then turns, 			his sudden hot temper 			gone as quickly as 			it had come) 		Hey, you guys, you guys want to go 		to a nutty night club, look at the 		nuts? There's a nutty night club 		over on Second Avenue. You know 		what we can do? Charlie, you live in 		Stuyvesant Town, don't you? 				CHARLIE		Yeah. 				EDDIE		You know what we can do? We'll take 		the crosstown. We'll go over to 		Charlie's house, he'll get some 		money, and we'll go to this nutty 		night club. It's right down on 		Second Avenue. You got any money 		home, Charlie? 				CHARLIE		What do you say, Arnold? You want to 		go? 	Arnold shrugs. Eddie has started for the door already. 	Charlie wearily gets off his stool, starts to follow Eddie 	out. Walter takes his arm. 				EDDIE		Charlie, get Walter. 				CHARLIE		Come on, Walter.... 	CLOSEUP of Walter 				WALTER		I'm going to die, you know what I 		mean? 	The sad little party files wearily out of the bar, Arnold 	pausing at the bar to pay for the drinks. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. FOURTEENTH STREET CROSSTOWN SUBWAY 	LONG SHOT looking down through the length of one almost 	empty car, through the open door at the end of the car, 	down into the next almost empty car. Just a few people 	riding the subway at this hour, half past eleven on a 	week-day. But down in the second car, we can see our four 	cavaliers. Eddie, Arnold, and Charlie are sitting. Our 	attention is most caught by Walter, who is heavily drunk and 	weaves and lurches up and down the central aisle of the car. 	We cannot hear if he is saying anything. 	CLOSE SHOT Walter weaving up and down the aisle of the car. 	He stumbles on the toes of a man in a windbreaker, sitting 	in the car. 				WALTER			(mumbling) 		Excuse me ... excuse me ...			(turns his blurred 			attention to Charlie, 			who, alone of the 			three, seems painfully 			interested in what 			Walter is talking 			about) 		So what'll I do? I mean, he says, 		I'm going to die. I mean, the man's 		a specialist. He says: "Go to 		Arizona, go to Colorado," he says. 		"You got to get out of New York or 		you're going to die." He tells my 		wife, the stupid idiot. My wife 		cried all night. I'm going to die, 		you know that? You understand that? 		I'm going to die? You know what an 		asthma attack is like? Your heart 		starts beating like a drum! I passed 		out the last time! 				CHARLIE			(deeply compassionate) 		Walter, why don't you just quit the 		job and pack your bags and get out 		of here? 	Walter stands in front of Charlie, his lips moving, but no 	words coming out for a moment. There are tears in his eyes, 	and all the pain and anguish of the man's forty-eight years 	are clear on his face. 				WALTER			(getting the words out) 		I can't quit. Don't you understand? 		You don't understand. I can't quit! 		I got a fourteen-year-old girl, I 		don't know what time she comes in at 		night any more. She's so wild, these 		kids. I got a nineteen-year-old boy 		in college; he's going to be a 		doctor if I have to die. He's not 		going to quit school. You hear me! 		I worked hard to put that kid in 		school! I don't care if I die! I 		don't care! What am I going to do 		in Arizona? Who wants me? Who's 		going to give me a job? What kind 		of a job am I going to get? I'm 		forty-eight years old. They don't 		want no forty-eight-year-old 		bookkeeper. They got machines from 		IBM. You ever been up on the ninth 		floor? You ever see all those IBM 		machines? What am I going to do out 		in Arizona? You look in the Help 		Wanted lately? You see any jobs 		listed for Bookkeeper, Male? What 		are you talking about? Do you know 		what you're talking about? 	Charlie reaches up to steady Walter, who has worked himself 	up into a lurching fury. 				CHARLIE		Easy, Walter. 				WALTER			(flinging Charlie's 			hand aside) 		Take your hand off me. You don't 		know nothing! You're just a kid! 		You don't know! I've seen death, 		kid. I've seen it, boy. I know what 		it looks like.			(he staggers away a 			few paces down the 			aisle, stumbles over 			the man's toe again) 		Excuse me.... Forty-eight years old 		and so what? What does it mean? What		happened? What have I got? What did 		I make? Who needs me? So this is it. 		A man's life, nothing. Worry about 		being sick, worry about making money, 		worry about your wife, worry about 		your kids, and you're on your way to 		the grave from the day you're born. 		The days drag on, and the years fly 		by, and so what?			(cries out to 			the whole world) 		What is it all about? Will you tell 		me? 	The train is slowing up for a station now. 				WALTER		Life is nothing! It's a gag! It's a 		joke! It's a mortgage! It's a 		bankrupt! It's a lot of noise over 		nothing! Sound and fury! Isn't that 		what the man said? What do you 		think, I never read a book? I read a 		book! Don't worry! I was a bright 		kid! Everybody thought I was going 		to be the first Catholic to be 		President! Where did it all go?! 	He turns to look at the station they are edging into, the 	yellow lights, the dark shadows, the few blurred faces. His 	face is wet with the tiny rivulets left by tears.  				WALTER			(mumbling)		Where did it all go? 	The train stops, the green doors slide open. 				EDDIE			(looking out, 			in a low voice) 		Where are we, Third Avenue? 				ARNOLD			(low voice) 		Where are we getting off? Next stop? 				CHARLIE			(low voice)		Yeah. 	A few people come into the car. Walter stands, shoulders 	hunched and sagging, in front of the open doors. 				WALTER			(muttering) 		I'm going home. 				CHARLIE			(looking up) 		What did you say, Walter? 				WALTER		I'm going home. 	Walter steps out onto the platform. Just in time, because 	the doors are beginning to slide closed again. 				CHARLIE			(standing) 		Walter, where are you going? Come 		here ... 	On the platform, Walter has started to weave slowly up the 	platform toward the stairway. 				EDDIE			(standing) 		What, did Walter get out?				CHARLIE			(calling through 			the open window) 		Walter, stay there, we'll come back 		on the next train. Stay there. 	But Walter has already reached the stairway and, clinging to 	the handrail, has started slowly climbing the steps. The 	train starts slowly up. Arnold has stood now too. He is 	pretty soggy himself. 				ARNOLD		Poor Walter, huh? 				CHARLIE			(bellowing through 			the window) 		Walter! ... 				EDDIE			(standing) 		He'll be all right, Charlie. God 		protects drunks and fools. 	The train is sweeping by the stairway now. Charlie bellows 	out: 				CHARLIE		Walter! Grab a cab if you're going 		home! 	The train has swept by, and in a moment they have been 	plunged into the tunnel of the subway, the bleak dirty white 	walls, and the small yellow lights flashing by. Charlie sits 	down, somehow greatly shaken and disturbed. 				EDDIE			(sits)		Poor Walter, I didn't know he was so 		sick. I thought there was something 		wrong with him, though. He's been 		out so much. 				ARNOLD			(sitting drunkenly down) 		I didn't know he was so sick. 	CLOSE IN on Charlie.				CHARLIE		That's me in fifteen years. 	CLOSEUP of Charlie. Hold for a moment. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	EXTERIOR. FOURTEENTH STREET AND FIRST AVENUE	We look down at the subway kiosk as our sad little party of 	three comes up the stairs to the sidewalk. It is midnight, 	and the street is occasionally patrolled by a taxicab. The 	sidewalks are pretty empty, just a few people walking. 	Perhaps a drugstore is still open, and its lonely lit store 	front catches the eye. 	Our three men stand at the head of the stairs at the subway 	kiosk, drained, tired, a little despondent. Charlie looks up 	at the dim silhouettes of the endless apartment houses of 	Stuyvesant Town. 				CHARLIE		That's where I live. 				EDDIE		Which one? 				CHARLIE		In the back there. You can't see it 		from here. 	LONG SHOT of Stuyvesant Town as seen from their point of 	view. PAN SLOWLY ACROSS, capturing the silent monotony of 	the dark buildings. Only a few of the windows are still lit. 				EDDIE		It looks like a state hospital. 				CHARLIE		It looks like a prison. 				EDDIE		Yeah, it does look a little like a 		prison. 	The three men just stand, worn out, tired. 				CHARLIE			(suddenly) 		I'm going home. 	He starts to walk to the buildings, across the little street 	that separates the corner of Fourteenth Street and First 	Avenue from the parallel corner of the housing project. 				EDDIE			(calling after him) 		Hey, Charlie ... 	Charlie turns. 				EDDIE		Hey, Charlie! What about the money? 		Have you got ten bucks? 				CHARLIE			(after a moment) 		All right, if you want to walk me to 		the house, I'll get you ten bucks. 	Eddie has to take a moment to consider this. Then he 	shuffles across the little street toward Charlie. Charlie 	doesn't quite wait for him to catch up when he turns and 	leads the way between two cars and up the sidewalk toward 	the promenade that leads to the heart of the project. 	Arnold, after a moment, follows Eddie. The three men 	disappear single-file into the darkness of Stuyvesant Town. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. LANDING OUTSIDE CHARLIE'S APARTMENT	We are looking at the twin elevator doors. The light of an 	elevator climbs into the little square window of one of the 	elevator doors. The door opens, and Charlie, Eddie, and 	Arnold shuffle out into the landing. They are all a little 	soggy. 				CHARLIE			(mutters) 		I'll be right out. 	He moves around the turn of the wall, fishes in his pocket 	for the key to his apartment. He finds it, brings it out, 	opens the door carefully, goes into his apartment. 	INTERIOR. CHARLIE AND HELEN'S APARTMENT	Charlie comes in. The dining area is lit, and there is the 	lamp lit in the living room. As Charlie moves to the living 	room, we can see that Helen is seated on the couch, 	watching television. The gray-white light of the television 	set drifts out into the room. Helen is in her pajamas and 	she has washed for bed; her face is devoid of make-up. She 	is half-watching television; the rest of her attention is 	devoted to cutting her fingernails and other aspects of 	manicure. She looks up as Charlie comes into the living 	room, smiles. 				HELEN		Hiya, have a nice time? 	Charlie shrugs. He is depressed and can't conceal it. 				CHARLIE		I'm taking ten bucks. A couple of 		the guys are waiting outside. I 		promised them I'd loan them ten 		bucks. 				HELEN		Sure. 	He stands by the couch now, without interest, automatically 	watching the television set. 				CHARLIE			(looking at the set)		Tomorrow's payday. I'll get it back 		tomorrow.  				HELEN		It's in the drawer. 	A kind of ennui has engulfed him. He stands, watching the 	television set out of which is now pouring the end of an 	animated cartoon commercial. Then the familiar tinkling 	music sets in, the inscription, "The Late Show" appears on 	the screen, and the announcer's voice informs us that we are 	now going back to the late show, starring Rex Harrison in 	"Strictly Dishonorable." The whole thing brings a wince of 	pain to Charlie's face, and he turns and moves wearily 	through the little foyer into the darkened bedroom. Enough 	light flows in from the other rooms to show Charlie going to 	the drawer in the chest of drawers and taking out a 	ten-dollar bill. He returns the other bills, closes the 	drawer and just stands there, suddenly so weak and exhausted 	that he has to steady himself with one hand on the chest of 	drawers. 	Back in the living room, Helen still sits, a slight frown 	now indicating she is sensitive to the deeply depressed mood 	her husband is in. She continues with her nails for a moment. 	Then, wondering what is keeping her husband, she stands and 	goes to the bedroom doorway and looks in. 	INTERIOR. THE BEDROOM	Charlie is seated on the bed, hunched, in deep depression. 	He is holding the ten-dollar bill. His eyes are open, but 	there is a feeling of hurt and pain on his face. Helen moves 	quietly into the bedroom and sits down on the bed beside him. 				HELEN		What's the matter, Charlie? 	He shrugs, even smiles briefly.  				CHARLIE		I don't know. 	She puts out her hand as if to take his head and press it 	against her, but he takes her in his arms almost desperately, 	and they lie back on the bed, clutching each other, their 	faces pressed against each other, seeking some kind of	strength just from the sheer physical closeness of each 	other. 				HELEN		It's not so bad, Charlie. 				CHARLIE		I know. I know. 	They lie quietly, even stiffly, holding each other. 				CHARLIE			(eyes wide open 			but unseeing) 		I don't know what's the matter with 		me, I keep getting so depressed. I'm 		going to quit night school, Helen. 		My nerves are shot. 	He releases himself from his wife's embrace and sits up. 				CHARLIE		Those guys are waiting outside. I 		better give them their money. 	He stands and starts out the bedroom. 				HELEN		Charlie ... Maybe I shouldn't have 		the baby? 				CHARLIE		What do you mean? ... 	She doesn't answer. She doesn't have to. They both know what 	she means. 				CHARLIE		Isn't that dangerous? ... Well, I 		don't know ... maybe ... Well, you 		brought it up. 				HELEN			(shocked -- after 			a moment) 		You really don't want this baby.... 	She turns away on the bed to hide the sudden flush of tears. 				HELEN		You're my husband, Charlie. This is 		your baby too. That doesn't mean 		anything to you. For the first time 		in our marriage I feel I can't 		depend on you, Charlie -- I'm not 		important to you.			(she has to stop 			because she can no 			longer trust her 			voice. After a 			moment she continues) 		I could make my life sound hard, too, 		Charlie. I work all day, I rush home, 		I make you dinner. I sit home alone 		four nights a week, I'm even alone 		when you're here because when do I 		see you? But it was easy for me 		because I loved you. Do you think I 		care whether you're an accountant or 		a ditch digger, or even out of work? 		All I ever wanted was you. And this 		baby because it's you, too. 	She closes her eyes again to hide the warm flow of tears in 	her eyes and stops talking rather than cry. Charlie sits, 	unmoved and wretched, his shoulders hunched, his head 	slumped forward. After a moment, he turns and reaches 	forward, quite frightened, to touch her arm. 				HELEN			(dully) 		Leave me alone, Charlie. 	He stands and goes to the bedroom window and looks out. 	Helen turns on her side so that her back is to him. At the 	sound of her moving, Charlie turns his head, but sensing the 	rejection in her back, he turns back and looks out the 	window again. The silence is thick between them. 				CHARLIE			(looking out 			the window) 		I decided I'd quit school and ... 				HELEN		I don't care ... 				CHARLIE		I decided I'd quit school and come 		home in the evenings like everybody 		else and live a normal life. 				HELEN			(staring at the 			wall ahead of her) 		I don't care what you do, Charlie. 	He stands another moment. 				CHARLIE		I don't care what I do either. 	Helen neither moves nor makes a response. Charlie goes on 	into the living room and shuffles to the front door, his 	long body heavy with pain and guilt and dense, unknown 	terrors. He opens the door and goes out onto the landing. 	INTERIOR. LANDING	Eddie and Arnold, looking up as the door opens and Charlie 	comes out. 				EDDIE		What took you so long? What did you 		do, blow open the safe? 				CHARLIE			(giving Eddie the 			ten-dollar bill) 		Here. 				EDDIE			(taking it)		I'll give it to you tomorrow. I'll 		see you in the morning, Charlie.				CHARLIE		I'll see you. 	Eddie takes Arnold's arm and guides him back around the turn 	of the wall to the elevators. Charlie follows a few paces 	behind. Eddie pushes both elevator buttons. Charlie nods, 	looks down at the tiling at his feet, fairly sick within 	himself, oppressed and guilty. The light in the elevator 	window shows, and Eddie opens the door. 				CHARLIE		Wait a minute. I'll go with you. 				EDDIE		Let's go to that party -- we'll 		have a ball! 	Charlie shuffles the few paces forward and follows Eddie and 	Arnold into the elevator. The door closes, and, a moment 	later, the light of the elevator cage disappears downward. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. GREENWICH VILLAGE DUPLEX APARTMENT	This is one of those duplex apartments on West Tenth Street 	which consists of one huge living room that is two stories 	high and you need a little rolling stepladder to reach the 	books on the upper shelves of the built-in bookcases. There 	is a little wrought-iron stairway that leads to the second 	floor, which consists of two tiny little bedrooms. 	Apartments like these, as is the case in this one, are 	usually lived in by two girls, one of whom is a secretary in 	an advertising agency and the other a model for a garment 	manufacturing firm. Both girls are in their early thirties 	and are milling about somewhere in the mass of people in the 	living room, carrying drinks, laughing up a storm, pausing 	at the little knots of discussion groups with an apt phrase. 	They rather think of themselves as Madame de StaÎls with 	their own salon of bright young people, for most of the men 	and women at the party are in some way connected with the 	arts, probably in an avant garde way. It is a little 	difficult to tell this by looking at them because avant 	garde artists have become obsessed with dressing like 	businessmen, but if you can hear the talk as we can, you get 	the point fast enough. We pick up phrases like: "I really 	find it difficult to think of Tennessee Williams as a 	serious artist," or "My teacher thinks all tenors are frogs 	except Gigli," or "I don't see how you can say that; his 	designs fairly throb with sex." There are, as Eddie 	predicted, a number of people sitting on the floor, mostly 	girls, circled in the swirl of their Ann Fogarty dresses, 	and there is one obvious ballerina, with her black hair 	pulled tightly back into a severe pony tail, using the 	wrought-iron railing that separates the dropped living room 	from the small entrance foyer to demonstrate something about 	positions at the dancing bar. There is someone at the piano 	banging away, shouting his songs, but he is completely 	inaudible five feet away. A few people lean over the piano, 	apparently exhilarated by the songs. Thin blankets of smoke 	wreathe their way up to the two-story-high ceiling. We catch 	some more phrases: "I thought Truman Capote was supposed to 	be here." -- "Truman's in Russia, I think." -- "Good 	heavens, what can the Russians want with Truman Capote?" -- 	"Oh, I never read anything published in this country." "Oh, 	I mean, the paper-bound Paris edition." In short, this is a 	real chi-chi wingding where all the furniture is too low, 	and the hostess is very proud of the fact that her end table 	is made out of an orange crate.	Somewhere, through the jumble of the party, we can hear the 	doorbell chime. A young woman, at one of the little knots of 	people, perks her ears and says: 				HOSTESS		I'm sure that's the police again. 	She's very proud of this. She turns and weaves her way 	through the crowded room, carrying her drink. She goes up 	the step to the entrance foyer, turns to her left, picks her 	way over two middle-aged men who are both throwing a pitch 	at a fairly tight girl of eighteen, past the kitchen, which 	is a bedlam of ice cubes and kitchen towels and which is 	occupied at the moment by two intense women in their late 	thirties wrapped in deep discussion, up past two young men 	who have no immediate use for girls, to the front door of 	the apartment. She opens the door. 	GROUP SHOT of Eddie, Arnold, and Charlie from the Hostess's 	point of view. Not exactly a heartening sight to most 	hostesses, three fairly loaded young men with their collars 	unbuttoned and their ties limp and dangling. 				HOSTESS			(beaming) 		Are you coming to complain about the 		noise? 				EDDIE		Do we look like complainers? 				HOSTESS 		I don't know who you are, but come 		in, come in. I don't know half the 		people who are here tonight. 	They enter a little warily and ill-at-ease, peering into the 	jammed room. 				HOSTESS		The police have been here twice. The 		first fellow was just adorable. We 		gave him a drink, and he's upstairs 		in a bedroom now, for all I know. 				EDDIE		Is that right?				HOSTESS		If you want something to drink, 		you'll just have to go into the 		kitchen and get it yourself. The 		place is just mad. Do you write, 		paint or sing? 	Eddie spreads his arms in all-inclusive expansiveness. 				EDDIE		Everything. 	But the hostess has already bent to chat with two women, one 	old, one young, sitting on the floor. Our three cavaliers 	look at each other and then look out over the wild, jumbled 	room. 				CHARLIE		Boy, do you get invited to a party 		like this or do you get committed? 	A passing young man who overhears this, pokes his head into 	the group and says to Charlie with a flashing smile: 				YOUNG CHAP		I heard that. It's awfully funny. 	Charlie regards the smiling young chap. 				EDDIE		Beat it. 	The chap's smile flashes off and he scurries away. Eddie 	rubs his palms and surveys the women in the crowded room 	with a measuring eye. 				EDDIE		This is going to be like shooting 		ducks. Pick out your duck, men. 	Wetting his lips, he starts out for some girl he has decided 	on across the room. 	INTERIOR. GREENWICH VILLAGE APARTMENT -- HALF HOUR LATER 	HIGH SHOT showing progress of party, still crowded, still 	high. If we look sharp we can see Charlie seated on the 	floor in the rear of the shot, his back against the wall. 	CLOSER SHOT of Charlie sitting morosely, back against the 	wall, regarding his drink with sodden eyes. The chatter of 	the party, an occasional shrill laugh.	FULL SHOT of Eddie coming out of the kitchen, carrying two 	drinks. He picks his way through the people to the living 	room with the general intention of getting to the 	arrangement of divans around the coffee table, when he spots 	Charlie and moves across to him. 				EDDIE		Hey, what's the matter, Charlie? 			(squats down 			beside Charlie) 				CHARLIE			(without looking up) 		Let's get out of here, Eddie. 				EDDIE		The last time I saw you, you was 		with that girl you picked up. What 		happened? 				CHARLIE		She's over there talking to that 		old guy with the glasses. 	Their point of view, The Existentialist on steps with 	landlord. 				CHARLIE		I didn't like her. She's one of 		these real Greenwich Village phonies. 		If I added up all the guys she told 		me about, she must have had her 		first boy friend when she was two 		years old. Where are you going, 		Eddie. Stick around a minute. 				EDDIE			(who has stood) 		I'm with that one over there -- not 		bad, huh? I think she's a Communist. 		I think she's trying to talk me into 		joining the Party. 				CHARLIE		How are you making out? 				EDDIE		Not so hot. I may have to join. 				CHARLIE		Hang around. Let's talk a bit. 				EDDIE		I better get back. She's liable to 		recruit somebody else. 				CHARLIE		Where's Arnold? 				EDDIE		He's in the kitchen. I think he's 		out cold. I'll see you. 	Charlie nods as Eddie moves off. He returns his morose 	attention back to his glass of liquor. Then his eyes close, 	and his face, though impassive, shows pain. After a moment, 	he opens his eyes and slowly clambers to his feet and makes 	his way, a little unsteadily, through the living room in the 	direction of the kitchen. In the background we can hear the 	piano and somebody singing indistinguishable lyrics. Charlie 	gets to the kitchen door and looks in. Arnold is at the tiny 	kitchen table, head on the table, out cold. The kitchen is 	in a state of havoc. 				CHARLIE		Hey Arnold-- You okay, Arnold? 	Arnold makes no answer. Charlie regards his prostrated 	friend expressionlessly for a moment. Then turns and 	shuffles aimlessly back to the group around the piano in the 	living room. He looks over to the stairway again. The 	Existentialist is alone now, The Landlord having gone for 	the moment. She is looking at Charlie, and he drops his eyes. 	He turns away from the piano and moves out a few steps into 	the middle of the living room. He moves to the stairway. 	The Existentialist looks up at him as he approaches, Charlie 	kind of nods to her, and, for a moment, she just sits and he 	just stands. Then ... 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		That old man I was talking to before? 		That's my landlord. About ten thirty 		last night, someone began pounding on 		my door. So I got up and opened the 		door, and there was this white-haired 		man with  a pince-nez standing there. 		I said: "What do you want?" So he 		said: "I'm the landlord, and I want 		the rent." Well, I just looked at him 		because the landlord I knew was a 		Hungarian man named Frank, who was 		crazy about me, and the issue of rent 		never came up, you see. Well, it 		turned out that this man with the 		pince-nez had just bought the 		building the day before and he kept 		grabbing my arm and saying he wanted 		the rent. Well, then I got the point, 		of course. Well, meanwhile, a boy 		named Bob I knew had come over. He's 		engaged to a Javanese girl with 		wonderful planes in her face who 		lives at the International House. 		But he's crazy about me and he drops 		in about twice a week. Well, 		meanwhile, my new landlord was 		grabbing my arm and kept quoting 		poetry to me which he was trying to 		pass off as his own. He was an 		absolute fraud. He scotched the 		whole thing from Baudelaire. "Tu 		mettrais." You know that one. Well, 		he kept screaming about the rent -- 		I didn't like him, you know -- and I 		called this boy named George who 		used to live in Poughkeepsie when I 		was going to Vassar, and he's crazy 		about me. He lives in St. Luke's 		place now, but he goes to 		Poughkeepsie every Wednesday to see 		his mother, he's got an Oedipus, so 		that was out. Well, my new landlord 		kept telling me how much he was in 		love with me. I said: "How 		existentialist can you get? You just 		met me five minutes ago." He was 		absolutely crazy about me. 	Charlie has been sort of half-listening to all this. His 	attention, if any at all, has been vaguely given to the 	girl's bare arms, the lines of her body. 				CHARLIE			(resigned) 		You have an apartment around here 		somewheres? 			(looks up to 			second floor) 		What's up there? What kind of rooms 		are up there? 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		So, I finally got to sleep around 		six thirty.... 	Charlie bends down to her, takes her arm. 				CHARLIE		Come on, let's go. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST			(wrenching her 			arm away) 		No! Oh, stop trying to be so 		primitive. 	Charlie straightens with an irritated sigh. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		I find you very unpleasant. 	He stands, she sits in sullen silence. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		There's nothing upstairs. 			(suddenly rises, 			mumbles) 		Oh, I don't care. 	She starts up the stairs, Charlie following close behind her. 	They pick their way past the other people sitting on the 	stairs to the second-floor landing. They walk in hostile 	silence down the landing to the bedroom door, which she 	opens. 	INTERIOR. THE BEDROOM	It is a tiny bedroom. The bed is covered with purses and 	summer stoles and other guest things. An uncovered, 	improvised closet, really a rack of hanging dresses and 	things, gives the room an overburdened look. Charlie comes 	into the room after her, closes the door, looks for the 	latch. She pushes some of the things on the bed aside and 	sits down and waits while Charlie latches the door, a matter 	of turning a bent nail into locking position. She begins to 	prattle again. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		So I finally got to sleep around six 		thirty this morning. At nine thirty, 		someone began pounding on my door 		again. I got out of bed and opened 		the door, and there was my landlord 		with the pince-nez wearing a blue 		silk kimono. "Oh, for heaven's 		sakes," I said, "what do you want 		now?" He said: "I'm the landlord, 		and I want the rent." I said: 		"You're an old man, go to sleep." 		Then the phone rang. It was a boy 		named Andrew I know who teaches 		physics at Columbia University, and 		he's insanely jealous. He's married 		and has four children, but he keeps 		badgering me to run away with him to 		Nicaragua, throw up his professorship 		and all that. Well, my landlord began 		shouting some garbled Baudelaire at 		the top of his lungs, and a little 		Verlaine, and a little Huysmans. He 		apparently has some kind of fetish 		about French decadents. And 		naturally, Andrew heard him, and he 		got furious, and he said: "Who's that 		I hear?" I said, "That's the 		landlord." He said: "What does he 		want?" I said: "He wants the rent." 		Well, at this point, I felt like 		chucking the whole business and 		going back to Bessemer City and 		going to work in my father's 		hardware store. 	Charlie has stood a moment, listening to this bizarre story. 	Then he has busied himself cleaning a place beside The 	Existentialist on the bed. He brings an end to the rococo 	narration by putting his arms around The Existentialist and 	in a moment, she responds hungrily. 	CLOSEUP of Charlie and The Existentialist in a desperate 	embrace. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST			(muttering) 		Just say you love me. 				CHARLIE		What? 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		Just say you love me. You don't have 		to mean it. 	He tries to kiss her again, himself charged high at the 	moment, but she turns her face away from him. The dialogue 	is intense, whispered, hungry. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		No, don't. ... 				CHARLIE		What's the matter? 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		Say you love me.... 				CHARLIE		Come on. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		Say you love me.... 				CHARLIE		Come on.... 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		No ... 				CHARLIE		I love you! I love you! 				THE EXISTENTIALIST			(content)		Look, maybe we ought to go someplace		else? I'm having a very tricky thing 		going with my landlord and I don't 		want him to see us leaving together. 		So you know what you do? There's a 		bar down the street. You go out the 		door and turn to your right. You 		know the one I mean?   				CHARLIE		Yes, I know. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		Well, you go there and I'll be there 		as fast as I can. Now, wait for me 		now, because I can't stand being 		alone at night. You'll like me. I'm 		supposed to be very amusing. All 		right? 	She turns abruptly and goes out the door. He stands for a 	moment and then follows. He stands on the upper landing, 	watching her pick her way down the stairs into the living 	room. 	She looks quickly around the room, apparently finds whom she 	is looking for, and moves quickly to a little group of men, 	one of whom is about sixty years old with a thin elegance 	and a cruel face, the landlord. He has several young men 	around him, all rather frail, Ivy-Leagueish. She joins the 	group, to the distaste of the young men, and is immediately 	voluble and gesticulatory. After a moment, Charlie lets his 	eyes wander over the room, apparently sees Eddie. 				CHARLIE			(calling down) 		Hey, Eddie ... 	Apparently, Eddie doesn't hear him. Charlie frowns and 	begins making his own way down the stairs to the living room. 	INTERIOR. LIVING ROOM -- GREENWICH VILLAGE APARTMENT	Charlie moves down the stairs into the living room proper. 	He makes his way to Eddie, who is still sitting in the back 	of the room, throwing an intense pitch at his girl, talking 	quickly, smiling, gesturing.  				CHARLIE			(muttering) 		Eddie, I'm cutting out. 				EDDIE			(standing, low voice) 		Wait a minute, I'll go with you. 				CHARLIE		I don't want to take you away from 		your girl, Eddie. 				EDDIE		Aah, this one lives out in Long 		Island with her mother. What kind of 		Communist is that? It'll take me a 		half hour on the subway there and a 		half hour back. 				CHARLIE			(shrugs) 		Where's Arnold? Still in the kitchen? 				EDDIE		I guess so. 			(to the girl) 		I'll see you, next time I get to 		Long Island. 	He starts off after Charlie who is already wandering through 	the living room in the general direction of the kitchen, 	looking about for Arnold. They pass The Existentialist en 	route. She is saying: "... this boy named Charlie, I never 	saw him before in my life, has been clutching at me all 	evening. He's absolutely insane about me." Charlie leans 	into the kitchen where Arnold is awake now, seated at the 	small kitchen table, staring gauntly, unseeingly at his 	fingers on the white porcelain-topped table. There are two 	men, one middle-aged, one young, having a whispered chat 	over the sink. 				EDDIE			(over Charlie's 			shoulder) 		Hey, Arnold, come on. 	Arnold stands obediently, almost dumbly. He squeezes around 	the table, his face soddenly expressionless, to join Eddie 	and Charlie in the kitchen doorway. Eddie is saying to 	Charlie: 				EDDIE		Well, it wasn't a bad party. We 		killed a couple of hours anyway. 	The three men push their way past three women in their 	thirties, who are standing in the little hallway before the 	front door, in earnest brow-furrowed conversation with each 	other. Charlie opens the door, and the three morose 	carousers go out into the dark street. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	EXTERIOR. GREENWICH VILLAGE APARTMENT -- NIGHT 	The three carousers come out into the street. The door 	closes behind them. The night air is hot and muggy. They 	walk down the street toward the corner where only the light 	of the corner bar gives any indication of life. There is a 	newspaper on the sidewalk which Eddie bends down to pick up, 	and the three men straggle to a halt. Eddie opens the paper 	to the sports pages and starts to read by the light of the 	street lamp. Arnold moves a step to the lamp and leans 	against it. Charlie stands in the middle of the sidewalk, a 	melancholy, pondering young man. The evening seems to have 	come to a dead halt. After a moment, Eddie starts walking 	again, reading the paper as he does. The others slowly 	gather themselves and follow him. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. THE CORNER BAR 	A wall clock reading twenty-five minutes to three. CAMERA 	PANS DOWN the wall. We are in the bar on the corner of Tenth 	and Sixth, almost entirely empty except for Charlie, Eddie, 	Arnold, and the bartender. The three carousers are leaning 	wearily on the bar over their beers; the only other person 	in the bar is a worn, battered old veteran of the streets, a 	woman in her forties, bespectacled, who is perched on a bar 	stool at the far end of the bar, gloomily reading a 	newspaper. CAMERA MOVES DOWN and IN on Charlie, Eddie, and 	Arnold. 				EDDIE		... I mean, you can't compare the 		two. This kid the Yankees have in 		centerfield. Are you trying to tell		me he's a natural .368 hitter? What's 		he normally hit, .310, .315? Musial 		led the National League in hitting 		six times. He's only having a fair 		year, this year -- and he's still 		hitting .320. Musial is an all-time 		great! 				CHARLIE		Yeah. I guess so. 				ARNOLD			(stiff with liquor) 		Eddie -- Eddie. So what do you think, 		Eddie? You think I ought to go 		through with this marriage? 				EDDIE		I don't know about you, Arnold, but 		if it was me, boy, I'd be in China 		by now. 			(back to Charlie) 		Who have the Yankees got on first? 		Skowron. Boy, how they touted 		Skowron. All right, he's having a 		lucky year. 				CHARLIE		Yeah.... 				EDDIE			(continuing) 		... Well, I mean, is there any 		argument? Hodges is the best first 		baseman in both leagues....  				ARNOLD		So, Eddie, what do you think? You 		think I ought to marry her, go to 		China, or what? 				EDDIE		Arnold, if it bothers you so much, 		call her up and tell her to forget 		the whole deal. 			(back to Charlie) 		All right Hodges is having a bad 		year -- but how about last year? He 		hit over .300. He only hit thirty-		five homers and he drove in over a 		hundred runs---- 				ARNOLD		So, Eddie... 				EDDIE		Arnold! Get rid of her! You're 		driving me crazy! 	Arnold lowers his head, and he rises, loses his precarious 	balance and moves backward a few lurching steps. 				EDDIE			(continuing) 		All right, who's on second? We got 		Charlie Neal or Gilliam, for that 		matter, and this isn't even counting 		Jackie Robinson, head and shoulders, 		even with a trick knee, the best 		second baseman in both leagues if 		they'd let him play there. We got 		three guys, for Pete's sake, who can 		outplay anybody the Yankees put on 		second. 	Arnold weaves slowly up the bar to the two phone booths at 	the far end of the counter. Then walks out of shot. 				EDDIE			(continuing) 		Ever see Charlie Neal go to his 		right? That Yankee guy, what's his 		name -- he can't go to his right. 		And don't forget Neal gets a lot of 		bases on balls, and once he's on the 		bases, man, it unnerves the pitcher ... 	The bartender decides to take issue. 				BARTENDER		What's Brooklyn going to do for 		pitching?   				EDDIE		Never heard of Newcombe? Never heard 		of Erskine? 				BARTENDER		What have you got to compare with 		Ford, Kucks, McDermott, Turley--- 				EDDIE		McDermott -- McDermott hasn't 		pitched a full game since last year. 				BARTENDER		The best relief pitcher in both 		leagues. 				EDDIE		What's the matter with Eddie Roebuck? 				BARTENDER		How do you compare Eddie Roebuck 		with McDermott? 				EDDIE		What are you, a Yankee fan? 				BARTENDER		Yeah. 				EDDIE		Well, drop dead.			(turns angrily 			back to Charlie) 		A Yankee fan. 	There is a sudden bellow off. 				ARNOLD'S VOICE		Hey! 	Eddie and Charlie slowly turn to look in Arnold's direction. 	CAMERA PANS to see Arnold from their point of view, a 	wavering, drunken young man standing in front of the phone 	booths. 				ARNOLD		I did it. 				EDDIE		You did what? 	Arnold staggers a few paces into the center of the empty bar. 				ARNOLD		I just woke her up! I called her! I 		said: "I'm not going to marry you. 		What do I want to marry you for? I'm 		having a ball. What am I going to 		marry you for?" 				EDDIE		What is he talking about? 	Then, suddenly, effortlessly, Arnold sinks down onto the 	floor -- out cold. For a moment, Eddie and Charlie regard 	the prostrate form. 				BARTENDER		Boy, he's gone. 	Eddie and Charlie move to Arnold, lying curled stiffly on 	the floor. 				CHARLIE		I think he's just called his girl, 		broke his engagement. 				EDDIE		Is that what he was yelling about? 				CHARLIE			(trying to raise 			Arnold's head) 		Wake up, kid. Help me get him up, 		Eddie. 				EDDIE		You think he did it because I was 		needling him there before? I was 		just needling him. 	The two men contrive to lift Arnold and get him onto a stool. 				BARTENDER		You better get him out of here 		because I'm closing up now.				CHARLIE		We better get him home. 				EDDIE		Ah, let's not break it up yet. I 		thought you were waiting for this 		girl. 				CHARLIE		It's three o'clock in the morning, 		for Pete's sake. 				BARTENDER		Take him out in the air. He'll be 		all right. 				CHARLIE		What a bachelor party. We start out 		celebrating the guy's wedding; we 		wind up breaking his engagement. 			(moves to bar) 		What do we owe you here?			(he puts some change 			on the counter) 		Eddie, pay it, will you? I gave you 		the ten bucks. 				EDDIE			(following him 			to the bar) 		What do you want to go home for? 				CHARLIE		It's going to take us an hour to get 		him home. He lives in Queens 		somewheres. By the time I get back 		to Fourteenth Street, it'll be 		daybreak. What are you going to do, 		stay up all night? Don't you want to 		go home sometimes? 				EDDIE		What am I going to do home? I read 		all the papers. 				CHARLIE			(crosses to Arnold)		Well, go to sleep then. 				EDDIE		Ah, don't go home, Charlie. I feel 		like doing something. 	Charlie turns to him, a cold fury in him. 				CHARLIE		What? Stand around this bar and 		argue about the Yankees and the 		Dodgers? Wind up with some miserable, 		lonely girl who begs you to say, "I 		love you"? Go home, Eddie. Go to bed. 		You got to go home sometimes. I'll 		take Arnold home. Come on, Arnold, 		kid. I'm going to take you home. 	Arnold manages, with Charlie's arm, to get out of the booth 	and stand. Charlie's firm arm holds him, and they start for 	the exit. Eddie watches the two figures making their way 	down the length of the bar to the door. They exit. The door 	shuts behind them. For a moment, Eddie regards the closed 	door. Then he shuffles to the bar, back to his schooner of 	beer and looks at it without taking it up. He is profoundly 	weary. His shoulders slump, his face sags. He runs his hand 	down his face and shakes his head as if to clear it. He 	turns and looks down to the other end of the bar where the 	Bar Hag sits engrossed in her newspaper. He watches her for 	a moment. 				EDDIE			(spiritlessly) 		Hey, honey, what are you, a Yankee 		fan or a Dodger fan? 	The Bar Hag slowly turns to regard him over the rim of her 	glasses. 				BAR HAG		Hiya. 	Bleakly, Eddie shuffles slowly down the long length of the 	bar to where the battered old woman sits. 						DISSOLVE TO: 	EXTERIOR. THE BAR -- NIGHT 	HIGH ANGLE SHOT looking down on the sidewalk immediately 	outside the bar Arnold and Charlie have just come out of. 	There is a house with a small stoop, and Arnold is standing 	slumped by the stoop, holding himself up by the iron railing. 	He is being sick, quietly retching. Charlie is standing a few 	paces away from him in the middle of the sidewalk, a deeply 	unhappy figure in his own right. From our angle, we may or 	may not be able to tell that Charlie is crying. 	CLOSE SHOT of Charlie standing in the middle of the sidewalk 	of Sixth Avenue and Tenth Street, the whole dark world around 	him, silent and empty. He is crying quietly, unashamedly, his 	shoulders shaking ever so little.  Behind him, Arnold is bent 	over the railing of the stoop, weak and spent. 	ANOTHER SHOT of the two men. Charlie stops crying, sighs, and 	starts toward Arnold. 				CHARLIE			(gently) 		Are you all right, Arnold? 	Arnold nods weakly. Charlie gets out a handkerchief and 	gives it to Arnold who begins to weakly clean his chin and 	spots on his suit. 				CHARLIE		Would you like to go back in and 		sit down? 	Arnold shakes his head weakly "no." 				CHARLIE		What subway do you take, Arnold, 		the BMT? Can you make it? 	Arnold nods weakly. Charlie puts his arm supportively around 	his friend's back, but Arnold makes no move yet, being 	thoroughly drained. 				CHARLIE		Come on, Arnold, I'll take you home. 	There is a clicking of high heels on concrete pavement, and 	Charlie looks up. The Existentialist has just come out of 	the party several houses down and has come up a few steps 	and is standing watching them. She has her bag and her light 	summer stole. She nods to Charlie, sort of smiles, moves a 	few steps closer to them. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST		Is he all right? 				CHARLIE			(nods) 		Yeah, he's all right. Look, I've got 		to take my friend home... 	The two men start slowly down the street to the corner. 	Arnold leaning heavily on his friend. The Existentialist 	stands, watching them a moment. 				THE EXISTENTIALIST			(calling lightly) 		Are you coming back? Where does he 		live? How long will you be? 	REVERSE SHOT Charlie and Arnold just about getting to the 	corner. Charlie hasn't heard her. 	FULL SHOT of The Existentialist watching them disappear 	around the corner. Then she turns, and, wetting her lips, 	she hurries back to the house where the party is. 	INTERIOR. BMT SUBWAY -- HURTLING NORTHWARD	Half past three, and the car is absolutely empty except for 	Charlie and Arnold. Arnold is sprawled across the straw seat, 	one leg buckled beneath him, the other on the floor. He is 	sleeping heavily. Charlie sits expressionlessly, obviously 	involved in deep introspection. The car buckets along into 	the night. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. QUEENS APARTMENT HOUSE	Arnold and Charlie coming up to a landing. It is the third 	floor; we can see enough of the corridor to see two 	apartment doors, lettered "3D" and "3C." A small overhead 	bulb provides a thin sketchy light. Charlie and Arnold 	shuffle down the landing to apartment 3D. They pause outside 	the door. The scene is played in low mutters and whispers. 				ARNOLD		Well, thanks a lot, Charlie. 				CHARLIE		You all right? 				ARNOLD		Yeah, I'm all right. I'm a little 		groggy, but I'm awake anyway. You 		don't want to come in, do you? 				CHARLIE		No, I don't think so. 				ARNOLD		I think my father and mother are up. 		I hear voices. My girl must have 		called them because they wouldn't 		be up at this hour. 				CHARLIE		Well, you just go in and explain to 		them that you were drunk, and you're 		sorry, and you'll call your girl the 		first thing in the morning because 		she must really be upset about this. 				ARNOLD			(who has been 			listening at 			his door) 		I think she's here.				CHARLIE		Who? 				ARNOLD		My girl. I think I hear her voice in 		there. 				CHARLIE		Well, be nice to her, Arnold. 		Remember, you woke her up in the 		middle of the night and probably 		scared her to death. 				ARNOLD		What'll I say to her, Charlie? 				CHARLIE		I don't know, Arnold. What do you 		feel like saying to her? Do you 		really love this girl? Do you want 		to marry her? Are you marrying this 		girl because your family wants you 		to marry her, or why? 				ARNOLD		I think I like her, Charlie. It's 		just that I'm afraid I won't make a 		good husband. 				CHARLIE		Well, tell her what you told me, 		Arnold. Tell her you're scared, and 		that you don't think you'll make a 		good husband. If she's a halfway 		decent girl, she'll try to understand 		how you feel, and, if she loves you, 		she's going to make it her job to 		make you happy. That's what love is, 		Arnold, when you have somebody else 		in the world you want to be happy. 		My wife, Arnold, I don't know what 		I'd do without her. Arnold, I've got 		a tough grind ahead of me. Work all 		day, I'll go to night school at night. 		But my wife knows that I need this to 		be happy, and she does everything she 		knows to help me. And we've got a 		baby coming. But if you love that 		baby and you love your wife, then 		it's easy. Everything seems so easy 		to me now -- I don't know why I even 		thought of quitting.			(tears have welled 			in his eyes, and he 			hurriedly puts his 			hand to his face 			shading his reddening 			eyes) 		Arnold, I want my wife so much right 		now. I want her to be happy. I want		to just go home and hold her and tell 		her how much she means to me. I mean, 		even Walter, he's going to die, but 		don't you think he'll be in tomorrow 		morning, same old Walter, jokes and 		laughs? He's got somebody to live 		for. He's even got somebody to die 		for. I mean, how rich can a man be? 		And poor Eddie -- I used to be so 		jealous of him. I used to think he 		was so free. Free from what? From 		loving a woman, from really wanting		a woman. Arnold, what I'm trying to 		tell you is life is nothing if you 		don't love somebody but life is 		wonderful if you do love somebody. 		Arnold, I want my wife so much right 		now ... 	Arnold is a little embarrassed by his friend's display of 	emotion and, frankly, hasn't understood a word Charlie was 	talking about. 				ARNOLD		I'm going to tell her about that 		woman tonight and everything. I'll 		tell her about that woman. 				CHARLIE		Arnold, I want to get home so much 		to my wife right now I'm going to 		bust. 				ARNOLD		I'll see you, Charlie. 				CHARLIE		Good-bye, Arnold, have a nice 		honeymoon. I'll see you when you get 		back. 				ARNOLD		I'll see you, Charlie. 	But he is talking to an empty staircase. Charlie has plunged 	down into the darkness of the floor below. Arnold turns and 	sighs and shuffles back to the door of his apartment. He 	rings the bell lightly, takes a deep breath. A moment, and 	the door opens. A girl of about thirty-five, bespectacled, 	rather plain, with a sensitive face, stands in the doorway. 	Arnold stands, his head down in shame. 				ARNOLD		Hello, Louise. I'm very sorry, 		honest. 				LOUISE 		Sure, Arnold, I know. 	She looks anxiously over Arnold's shoulder to see if anyone 	else is there. Arnold lumbers past her into the apartment. 	Voices, both male and female, pop out at him. "What's the 	matter with you, are you crazy?" "What's the matter with 	you?" "For heaven's sakes, where have you been?" ... The 	door closes. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	EXTERIOR. STUYVESANT TOWN HOUSING PROJECT 	LONG SHOT looking down the wide courtyard of Stuyvesant Town, 	its endless little pathways winding from the various 	apartment house doors to the central pathway which leads to 	a stairway to the street. It is half past five in the morning. 	The sky is gray and desolate. The courtyard and any other 	street we see is absolutely empty. THE CAMERA PANS OVER this 	empty expanse to the stairway where Charlie appears now, 	coming quickly up the steps. He moves down the central 	sidewalk, a little faster than he would usually walk; you have 	the feeling he is exerting an effort to keep from running. 	CAMERA PANS with him as he hurries to one of the winding side 	lanes leading to a particular apartment house. 						DISSOLVE TO:  	INTERIOR. CHARLIE AND HELEN'S APARTMENT 	MEDIUM SHOT looking from the foyer of the apartment across 	the dining area to the front door. The apartment is dark. 	The door opens and Charlie comes in. He closes the door 	quietly after himself and moves a few steps into the 	apartment. He stops when he sees Helen seated on the couch, 	wearing a kimono over her pajamas. She stands; she has been	crying. 				CHARLIE		I love you, Helen. 	She moves slowly to him and puts her head on his chest and 	cries quietly. He holds her tightly. 				HELEN			(crying softly) 		I love you so much, Charlie. I love 		you so much.... 				CHARLIE		I love you.... 				HELEN		I love you, Charlie, I love you, 		Charlie. I love you, Charlie ... 	CAMERA MOVES SLOWLY UP AND AWAY from the young couple, 	holding each other closely and tightly, murmuring to each 	other in the dark living room of a two-and-a-half-room 	apartment in a housing project. 						FADE OUT 
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+                                       "BACKDRAFT"                                      Screenplay by                                      Gregory Widen                                      SHOOTING DRAFT                               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - STORAGE ROOM - 20 YRS. EARLIER               Darkness. Then the GLINT of a flashlight. Its beam rocks                crazily to and fro across the inside of a small storage room                as we hear two children arguing.                                     OLDER KID                         You're doing it wrong.                                     YOUNGER KID                         Shut up.                                     OLDER KID                         You're doing it wrong.               It's hard, but we get a sense of the room in the whipping                beam of light. Huge, dark coats lined up like sides of beef                on steel batons. Bent, stained helmets hung like African                masks.               Beneath them BRIAN, 7, and STEPHEN, 12, are trying to struggle                into a pair of the ludicrously massive coats over their                pajamas.                                     STEPHEN                         It doesn't go like that.                                     BRIAN                         Who asked you?                                     STEPHEN                         If you do it like that it'll open in                          the fire. Then you'll get burned and                          DIE.               The door suddenly opens, morning sunlight roaring in. It's a                fire station storage room full of fire gear. A fireman stands                in the doorway, tall, athletic, their father; DENNIS                McCAFFREY.                                     DENNIS                         Who's going to die?                                     STEPHEN                         Brian. He's not doing it right, dad.                          He never does it right.                                     DENNIS                              (gestures for them to                               come out)                         Well, let's have a look.               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - DAY               The two boys tromp out of the closet. The rubber turn-out                boots are as high as their thighs. The ends of the coats                drag on the floor. They salute, Brian's arm just an empty                sleeve. Dennis kneels down and re-fastens Brian's coat.                                     DENNIS                         Your brother's right. If you don't                          fasten these correctly they could                          open and you'd get burned.                                     STEPHEN                         And DIE!                                     BRIAN                         You wouldn't let me die, would you,                          Dad?                                     DENNIS                         McCaffreys are smarter than fire,                          Brian.                              (playfully slaps their                               shoulders)                         How 'bout lunch, huh?                                     STEPHEN                         Fireman shit?                                     DENNIS                         Hey, what's with the mouth? Where'd                          you grow up, a barn?                                     STEPHEN                         Firehouse.                                     DENNIS                         Cute.               -- The station suddenly fills with the BELLOW of an ALARM                KLAXON.                                     DENNIS                              (sighs)                         Never fails...               A young fireman, ADCOX, appears with the dispatch card.                                     DENNIS                         Big deal?                                     AXE                         Medium deal.                                     DENNIS                         Want to come along, Brian? Watch the                          old man earn his keep?                                     STEPHEN                              (pissed)                         Dad!                                     DENNIS                         You've come along a dozen times,                          Stephen, give your brother a chance.                          We'll be back in a few minutes.                              (to Brian)                         How 'bout it, sport?                                     BRIAN                         Sure!               Dennis scoops Brian up and loads him into the fire engine                cab. The other three firemen climb aboard and take their                places.               EXT. FIRE STATION 17 - DAY               There's a cough of diesel, a crunch of gears, and the engine                is pulling out of the station.                                     DENNIS                         Hit the button, Brian.               Brian stamps his foot on the siren button. The red light                snaps on, the siren growls and blares, and they're off down                the street. Brian turns around in his seat and, at the last                instant before the corner, makes eye contact with his older                brother.               They stick their tongues out.               EXT. CHICAGO STREET - DAY - 20 YRS. EARLIER               The engine howls its way through the city. Brian, sandwiched                between his father and Adcox, looks out in wonderment at                intersections zipping past like picket fences, at people on                sidewalks holding hands over their ears, at the red emergency                lights bouncing crazily off shop windows.               EXT. BUILDING - DAY - 20 YRS. EARLIER               Lazy smoke curls out the second story of a commercial block.                Medium deal. The engine pulls up and the firemen are jumping                off like ship rats. Dennis opens his door, hops down, and                pauses just long enough to point a serious finger at his                son.                                     DENNIS                         Stay near the truck.                              (winks)                         And keep an eye out for us, huh?                          We're short handed today.               Brian nods vigorously, taking the command seriously. Dennis                smiles and is off, dragging a hoseline with his crew toward                a doorway they disappear into. Brian climbs down from the                cab.                                     ENGINEER                         Don't stray too far, little man.               Brian smiles to the pumper operator. He just wants a better                look. And he gets it: Smoke turned evil and dark now, taking                on purpose.               EXT. BUILDING - DAY - 20 YRS. EARLIER               There's a level of apartments above the storefronts. As Brian                watches, a window opens and out steps his father and Adcox                onto a small fire escape. Their attention's on the next window                over, out of reach, wrapped in leaky smoke.               Suddenly Dennis climbs up onto the fire escape railing, armed                with only an axe, and JUMPS across to the next metal balcony.                A ballsy, dangerous move. He kicks in the window, breaks out                the frame with his axe, and dives in.               A beat later he reemerges on the balcony with a terrified,                smudged little girl. He hands the little girl over the railing                to a fireman now coming up the more traditional way -- a                ladder.               Dennis's face lifts and grins at Brian; dirty, bigger than                life, invincible. He winks a wink only possible between                fathers and sons and he's gone again, back into the swirling                darkness. As Brian stands there, full of love, full of pride,                he sees a piece of awning along the roofline crack; releasing                a sickly yellow tongue of flame that slinks over the roof.                The flame seems to pause, to stare at Brian a beat. Shhh,                don't tell anyone. Brian is transfixed, his little head                staring up in astonishment.               Nobody else has noticed it.               Brian can see his father and Adcox through the window;                probing, looking for the flame lurking just above. Brian                starts to call out in a small, hesitant voice,                                     BRIAN                         Dad...               He tries to call louder... But suddenly everything is                happening very fast in slow motion:               -- Brian can see Adcox testing the ceiling with a pike pole                as Brian steps forward, under the power of a flame that                beckons him as --                Dennis suddenly THROWS his body against Adcox, knocking him                clear just as a flame EXPLODES DOWNWARD from the ceiling                fully against him as -- All the building's windows BLOW OUT                and it's like the sky's erupted for Brian, a burning hailstorm                that falls and pelts the ground around him. Plaster, wood,                and something metal that cracks against the pavement and                spins slowly.               A fire helmet.               And Adcox is coming out the door now, blackened and torn,                hopeless tears streaming down his face.                                     AXE                         Get us some backup! We need some                          goddamn backup!               And, spotting Brian, he runs towards him. And the helmet                spins and spins and Adcox keeps running, and the sky is                raining fire, and the flame on the roof has risen up now to                its full, horrifying size and it's laughing now, laughing at                the little boy as the helmet finally stops spinning, and we                read the printing on the neck guard.               MCCAFFREY               And Adcox is sobbing and has his arms around the boy,                protecting him from the fire, the world, but it's like Brian                doesn't see him. He pulls away from Adcox, walks up to his                father's helmet, And puts it on.               The scene EXPLODES with a flash as a photographer captures                the instant.               INT. SEEDY APARTMENT - DAY               Sequence omitted from original script.               INT. BRIAN'S CAR - DAY               Hold on the freeze-frame. Let it become an aged cover of                LIFE. The magazine jiggles and rocks and we see now it's                sitting atop a box of knick-knacks jostling in the back seat                of an aging BMW. There's plenty of other boxes here, a live                on the move, and in the driver's seat, BRIAN McCAFFREY, now                27. There's piles of empty burger wrappers, Coke cans, and                Florida knick-knacks on the dash board; a little blow-up                palm tree, a cheesy hula girl emblazoned with "McCaffrey                High-End Stereo Sales".               EXT. HIGHWAY - MONTAGE - DAY               Brian and his battered BMW shoot past prairie, cow country,                nervous suburbs and finally a sign: WELCOME TO CHICAGO.               EXT. CEMETERY - DAY               Wind tugging at his bangs, Brian stares down at the graves                of Dennis and Mary Elizabeth McCaffrey.               INT. CHICAGO GAS STATION RESTROOM - DAY               In a crusty sink he combs his hair, knots a tie around his                neck.               EXT. CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT TRAINING ACADEMY - DAY               Brian walks through its sculpted columns, straightening his                tie. He comes to a door, FIRE ACADEMY CHIEF. He takes a deep                breath, steadies his gaze, and enters.               INT. FIRE ACADEMY CHIEF'S OFFICE - DAY               The ACADEMY CHIEF sits at his desk going over a file. Out                the window can be heard a FIRE TRAINING CLASS in action.                                     CHIEF FITZGERALD                         Is this a joke?               Brian's sitting in the seat opposite.                                     BRIAN                         If it was a joke, sir, you'd be                          laughing.                                     CHIEF FITZGERALD                         You walked out on this academy six                          years ago. One week to graduation.                          You think we forgot that? You think                          I did?                                     BRIAN                         I want another shot, Sir.                                     CHIEF FITZGERALD                              (beat)                         Look, everybody remembers your old                          man. Being his son, all you had to                          do was breathe to graduate here.                          Dead Hero Father Rule. But you blew                          us off. Why should I take you back?                                     BRIAN                         If you remember, sir, my test scores                          were in the top --                                     CHIEF FITZGERALD                         -- I don't give a damn what your                          test scores were, maybe you could                          have been a good firemen, but you                          had your shot.                                     BRIAN                         I need another one, sir.                                     CHIEF FITZGERALD                         Sorry, but it's out of my hands. Try                          again next year.                                     BRIAN                         No, it isn't out of your hands or                          you wouldn't even have met me. If I                          push you have to let me back in.                          Dead Hero Father Rule. Sir.                                     CHIEF FITZGERALD                              (simmers)                         Even if you graduate this academy,                          you've still got nine months of                          probation. That's hard duty, son. If                          you don't really love this job, it'll                          kill you.                                     BRIAN                              (rises)                         See you Monday. Sir.               As we hear the BLOW OF A WHISTLE                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. CHICAGO FIRE DEPT. TRAINING ACADEMY - GRADUATION DAY               And everybody lined up at attention in dress blues.                                     CHIEF FITZGERALD                              (at podium)                         Though the world changes every day,                          some things are truly forever:                          Courage, devotion, and honor in what                          we do. This class is a special one,                          for we dedicate it to the three                          firefighters that have fallen this                          year: Donald Knowlton, Richard Walter                          and Michael Petzold...                              (silent beat)                         Ladies and gentlemen, it is with                          pleasure that I certify that Candidate                          Class number 322, having successfully                          completed all academy requirements,                          are hereby graduated to the Chicago                          Fire Department.               Candidates and their relatives CHEER and leap to their feet.                Something struggles inside of Brian. He doesn't stand at                first. Another Candidate, TIM, 20, looks at him strangely.                So does the Academy Chief, his eyes finding Brian's. And                Brian's standing slowly now, joining them...               EXT. BROWNSTONE - NIGHT               An expensive one. We hear a window BREAK.               INT. BROWNSTONE - NIGHT               Through the dimness a file cabinet. An AXE SUDDENLY SLAMS                into it, RIPPING it apart. Files crash to the floor. And a                picture. 1970. Four young guys marlin fishing. Time of their                lives.               INT. BROWNSTONE BEDROOM - NIGHT               And a GREY PUTTY being SLAPPED along the edges of a door.               INT. PUB - NIGHT               A split-level firemen's dive; complete with mounted axes and                personalized T-shirts from various engine companies proudly                declaring "LADDER CO. 6 -- AXE FIRST, HOSE LATER" and "CHICAGO                FD, 150 YEARS OF TRADITION UNIMPEDED BY PROGRESS".               Tonight the place is firmly in the hands of an army of                recently graduated candidates. A few on the back patio have                hooked up a charged hoseline and are taking potshots at                balloon targets, each other, the neighbor's cat. Brian and                Tim, still in their uniforms, enter from the street. Survey                the scene.                                     BRIAN                         Completely out of control.                                     TIM                         What the hell are we waiting for?               As they shoulder their way inside, another CANDIDATE appears                holding proudly a fistful of sealed envelopes.                                     CANDIDATE                         Hot off the presses, guys. Station                          assignments.               Tim and everyone else but Brian eagerly tear into them. Brian                nonchalantly shoulders up to the bar.                                     BRIAN                         A beer, Willy!               The barkeep turns and smiles.                                     WILLY                         Well, if it isn't the littlest                          McCaffrey.                              (to candidates with                               hose)                         Hey! You break anything with that                          you buy it!                              (to Brian)                         Sorry, there must be something wrong                          with my eyes. I keep thinking that's                          a fire department uniform.                                     BRIAN                         It's in my blood, Willy.               The candidates are ripping open their assignments, exclaiming                to each other: "All right! Engine 117! That's a slum! They                get cookers every day!". "Oh no, Engine 10, that's a nice                neighborhood"...               Willy turns to the bulletin board behind him and unpins a                stack of business cards.                                     WILLY                         Really. Well, let's have a look at                          what else was "in your blood". I                          always look forward to getting these,                          they make such a nice collage for                          the bar... "Assistant Director, Sales,                          Aspen Snowmobile Tours..."                                     BRIAN                         Didn't offer the kinda growth and                          challenge I need.                                     WILLY                         Uh huh. And "Pioneer's Pride, Mobile                          Log Cabins". That was in your blood                          about six months wasn't it?                                     BRIAN                         Management were pin heads.                                     WILLY                         "Laguna Jamming, Custom Surfboards"?                                     BRIAN                         Coffee sucked.                                     WILLY                         And just this year, "Brian's Sound                          Spectrum". Your own company even.                          Big step.                                     BRIAN                         I was ahead of my time.                                     WILLY                         You know, I've got a perfect little                          spot here for "Brian McCaffrey,                          Fireman"...               Tim holds an envelope marked McCAFFREY out to Brian.                                     TIM                         Aren't you even curious?                                     BRIAN                         Engine 115, right?                                     TIM                              (opens it, surprised)                         How'd you know? These are supposed                          to be sealed.                                     BRIAN                         Lucky guess.                              (winks)                         And a case of scotch to a captain in                          station assignments.                                     TIM                         You crooked son of a bitch. Why 115?                                     BRIAN                         Lots of fires. They promote faster                          there. Take a look at the last Lt.'s                          list, half the guys on it came from                          that battalion. Gotta think about                          your future, Timmy. 115's the station.                                     TIM                         Ah man, if you're gonna bribe your                          way into a station, why not 17 with                          me and your brother?               On Brian's reaction                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREET - NIGHT               A Porsche knifes through darkened streets. The DRIVER, 50,                is dressed for success. Pulling up to the brownstone we saw                earlier, he gets out and rubs his eyes. Another day in the                salt mines.               Climbing the short stairs, he sticks his key into the lock                and opens the door. It is the last thing he will ever do.               A THUNDERING EXPLOSION ENGULFS the stoop.               INT. PUB - NIGHT               The place is packed now with girls flirting with the                candidates, putting their helmets on, etc. The horseplay                around the bar suddenly stops at the sweet sound of a SIREN.               EXT. PUB - NIGHT               Everyone steps outside, cocks an ear. And here it comes, the                real thing, SCREECHING past in a full-tilt rush. Shouts and                raised toasts.                                     TIM                         Hey, that's my cousin's company!                          C'mon! Let's go!               As Brian turns, he suddenly confronted by an elderly                LITHUANIAN WOMAN.                                     BRIAN                              (surprised)                         Mrs. Viatkus...               She grabs his cheeks and rattles off in Lithuanian. Brian                can only smile. Then two attractive jean-clad legs step up.                JENNIFER.                                     JENNIFER                         Brian.                                     BRIAN                              (surprised)                         Jennifer.                                     JENNIFER                         You're back.                                     BRIAN                         You look great.                                     JENNIFER                         Thanks for calling.                                     BRIAN                         Uh... I've been sorta keeping a low                          profile... the academy... I graduated                          today.                                     JENNIFER                         Huh.                                     BRIAN                         So... I see you're still in the                          neighborhood.                                     JENNIFER                         Not quite. Just visiting. I live in                          Lincoln Park now.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah? What have you been up to?                                     JENNIFER                         I work for city hall.                                     BRIAN                         Really? No kidding.                                     JENNIFER                         What, you think I just dried up and                          blew away when you left? The world                          does turn once in awhile Brian, even                          without your permission.               Just then, Tim OPENS UP the hoseline, DRENCHING Brian.                                     TIM                         Don't want you overheating, Brian!               Brian ducks the stream and PULLS a length of hose near his                feet, FLIPPING Tim. Brian JUMPS him, shuts off the hose and                pins him to the pavement.                                     TIM                         Okay okay! Uncle!               Brian walks back toward Jennifer                                     JENNIFER                         You've certainly matured.               She turns to leave.                                     BRIAN                         Well, if nothing else, it's nice to                          know we can still be friends.                                     JENNIFER                         I don't want to be your friend, Brian.               Another in a series of fire engines HOWL past. Tim grabs                Brian by the shoulder.                                     TIM                         Let's go, man!               EXT. STREETS - NIGHT               Brian and Tim jump into Brian's car. They shoot blindly down                the street looking for the fire engine, running down red                lights or anything else that gets in their way. Brian suddenly                hits the brakes, SCREECHING to a stop. They roll down their                windows. Far off can be heard the wind-up of a siren.                                     TIM                              (points)                         That way.               EXT. STREETS - FIRE ENGINE - NIGHT               SCREECH. They fly around a corner, down a block, and there                it is, lights flashing up ahead. Brian GUNS it, roars up                alongside the fire engine. Tim leans out the window, shakes                a bottle of beer, and lets loose a foamy eruption in the                truck driver's face.                                     DRIVER                         Tim! You crazy motherfucker!               But he's laughing.                                     TIM                         What'cha got?                                     DRIVER                         Box alarm. Walton Ave.                                     TIM                         We'll meet ya.               EXT. BROWNSTONE - WALTON AVENUE - NIGHT               As Brian and Tim pull up two engine companies are already                dragging lines toward the rolling brownstone we saw explode                earlier. Tim cheers the firemen on like a drive-in movie.               Brian watches the fire with uneasy fascination. Embers                whipping into the night, drifting to the ground around him.               One of the engine companies is entering the doorway now. He                watches as they willingly crawl into a place any sane person                would run for their life from. Jesus Christ. FLASH -- Brian                turns at the blinding snap of a camera. Several locals are                gathered around a parked car, some taking pictures. Brian                notices that right away. It takes a beat longer to notice                the CHARRED CORPSE stuffed head-first through the windshield.                It's the Porsche driver, his legs sticking out at crazy                angles. A dog barks furiously at it.                                     TIM                              (also looking at body)                         Man. Something sure put a crimp in                          his evening.                                     BRIAN                         Backdraft.               The brownstone fire quickly transforms itself into noisy                clouds of dirty white steam. And one of the firemen is coming                back out now, walking toward Brian.               When he's just a few yards away he pulls off his air mask                and helmet and we shudder with Brian, because the man is a                dead ringer for HIS FATHER.                                     STEPHEN                         Well, look what we have here. Nice                          costume. Rent it?                                     BRIAN                         I want to thank you for coming to my                          graduation, Stephen. It was a great                          inspiration to me.                                     STEPHEN                         So you're going to fight fires now,                          huh?               He pats Brian's cheeks, leaving behind large charcoal smears.                                     STEPHEN                              (re smears)                         Doesn't work on you.                              (turns to leave)                         See ya around, little brother.                                     BRIAN                         Not likely.                                     STEPHEN                              (turns)                         Well, see you're wrong already. Had                          a talk with Chief Fitzgerald, and we                          decided in the interest of brotherly                          love, that maybe you shouldn't be                          way over on the other side of town.                          So starting tomorrow, your assigned                          to company 17. My company.                              (Brian's color drops                               a hue)                         One case of scotch, you're getting                          cheap in your old age, Brian...               And Stephen turns for his own men, Tim staring at Brian as                clouds of smoke drift past like ghosts.               EXT. BROWNSTONE - ACROSS THE STREET - NIGHT               A flame LEAPS up into the foreground. Touches a cigarette.                The cigarette glows, lingers, then lowers slowly from the                mouth of RIMGALE, fifty-five years old and six and a half                feet of solid granite. Wearing a windbreaker and grey slacks                tucked into fire department rubber boots, he takes another                slow drag. Looks at the body stuffed into the windshield.                It's twenty yards away from the brownstone. Stephen looks up                as Rimgale drops the cigarette, crushes it with his boot,                and crosses the street to the building.               INT. BROWNSTONE - NIGHT               Charred walls hiss and snap in the steamy darkness. Rimgale                is there, gloomy in the beam of his flashlight. He crouches                down, plays his flashlight along the ruined baseboard.                                     SHADOW                         If you stare any longer Stevie, I'll                          start charging you admission.               Stephen is leaning in the doorway, watching him.                                     STEPHEN                         Got a cause?                                     SHADOW                         Are the glory boys actually showing                          interest in Investigation's work? I                          may have a stroke.                                     STEPHEN                         The glory boys just want to finish                          their report so they can go home.               Rimgale's flashlight finds a wall socket that he pries loose                and holds up to the light. He lowers it, takes in the walls,                the room.                                     SHADOW                         They're gonna have to wait a few                          days on this one.               EXT. BROWNSTONE - NIGHT               Tim's talking to his cousin. Brian hangs back, watches the                body-bag people load the Porsche driver into a meat wagon.                There's a still an audience for this, still stray dogs                circling and barking. Brian walks up, looks inside the car,                and sees on a seat the ragged remains of a FINGER.                                     BRIAN                              (to coroner crew)                         Hey, you forgot... this.               They're already climbing into the wagon. The driver smiles                creepily.                                     CORONER DRIVER                         We always leave something for the                          dogs.               Brian looks across the fireground, sees his brother walking                back to the fire engine. They share a brief, edgy glance.               EXT. HOUSE - DAY               A modest one. South-side Irish old fashioned. Brian walks                up. There's a little kid, about five, playing with a toy                fire truck on the drive.                                     BRIAN                         Hey, Sean. What's goin' on, man?               The kid stares at him without a glimmer of recognition.                                     BRIAN                         It's Uncle Brian. Y'know.               He makes his hand into a talking puppet.                                     BRIAN                              (bandito accent)                         "Spinach? We don't need no stinking                          spinach". Remember?               The kid drops his toy truck and flees inside.                                     KID                         Mom! Mom!               INT. HELEN'S HOUSE               Brian follows, sticks his head in the door.                                     BRIAN                         Hellooo...               A warm looking woman, 30's, HELEN, comes around the corner.                                     HELEN                         Brian?                                     BRIAN                         Hi, Helen. Man, you look great.                                     HELEN                         You look like... Brian.               She gives him a tentative hug.                                     HELEN                         'Bout written you off. How long have                          you been in town?                                     BRIAN                         Four months.                                     HELEN                         Four months?                                     BRIAN                         I know, I know, Should'a called.                          I've been really busy. I joined the                          fire department.               Helen's expression suddenly saddens.                                     HELEN                         Oh Brian...                              (beat)                         You guys... you really know how to                          put each other through it, don't                          you?               The little kid is peeking fearfully from the kitchen doorway.                                     BRIAN                         That's Sean? Jeez, he's a giant.                                     HELEN                         Yeah, you'd be surprised what three                          years can do to a kid.                                     BRIAN                         Sean, come on out, man. What, you                          forget your favorite uncle?                                     HELEN                         Stephen told him you were killed in                          a hot tub accident.                                     SEAN                              (intense)                         Dad was kidding, Mom.               And the kid runs unexpectedly away, angry.                                     BRIAN                         Well that's two things to strangle                          Stephen for. Where is he, anyway?                                     HELEN                              (beat)                         Stephen's not staying here now, Brian.                          He moved out last April.               An embarrassed sting.                                     BRIAN                         Oh, man, I'm sorry.                                     HELEN                         You guys ought to try picking up a                          phone once in awhile.               EXT. STEPHEN'S BOAT - MARINA - DAY               A small one on the river. Several boats bob peacefully. Except                one. Raised high in dry-dock, it's an ancient fishing trawler.                Bachman-Turner-Overdrive drifts up from the galley on badly                fuzzed speakers as Brian climbs the ladder.                                     BRIAN                         Hey.               Stripped to the waist, Stephen's bent-over cleaning out the                guts of the inboard motor. He looks confused to see Brian.                                     BRIAN                         I talked to Helen...               Wrong thing to say. Stephen turns back to his work.                                     BRIAN                         ...Man, I thought dad's boat was                          finally retired to the family                          graveyard. Don't you worry about                          falling out of this thing?               Stephen straightens up, his forearms smudged with grease.                Brian admires the unwashed cereal bowls and peeling deck                paint.                                     BRIAN                         I like what you've done with the                          place.                                     STEPHEN                         It's comin' along... want a beer?               Stephen tosses him a beer from the fridge. As Brian pops it,                he sees the small pile of city-issue gallon size cans in the                corner. Armorall, solvent, extinguisher foam.                                     BRIAN                         Been ripping off fire stations?                                     STEPHEN                         It's old stuff Adcox gave me that                          the department was going to throw                          out anyway. Still good enough though                          for this tub.               Brian winces at the music coming out of shot speakers.                                     BRIAN                         Bachman Turner Overdrive?                              (looks through music                               rack)                         ...Buffalo Springfield?... Stephen                          Bishop? Oh man...               Brian lifts one of the tapes -- an 8-track -- and holds it                carefully in his palm as if it were a rare and fragile relic.                                     BRIAN                         My God, an actual operating 8-track.                                     STEPHEN                         What, you've never seen one before?                                     BRIAN                         In the Field Museum once.                                     STEPHEN                         It works.                                     BRIAN                         It worked when you were in sixth                          grade.               INT. STEPHEN'S BOAT - DAY               Sequence omitted from original script.               EXT. STEPHEN'S BOAT - DAY               Brian opens the trunk of his old BMW. It's full of stereo                boxes marked BRIAN'S "SOUND SPECTRUM".               INT. STEPHEN'S BOAT - CABIN - DAY               Brian's gutted the speakers and is re-wiring them.                                     STEPHEN                         People actually used to pay you for                          this?                                     BRIAN                         Millions, Stephen -- And sexual                          favors.                                     STEPHEN                         Sheep don't count.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah? What about Laura --                                     STEPHEN                         That was never proved.               Brian moves over to another speaker.                                     STEPHEN                         Why'd you come here, Brian?                                     BRIAN                         I wanted to know why you messed with                          my station assignment. I mean, is                          this really gonna have to one of                          those big brother -- little brother                          "you broke my GI Joe and I'm still                          pissed" games?                                     STEPHEN                              (sighs)                         What is it with you, man, huh? How                          do you manage to keep coming up with                          new and amazing ways to screw up?                          That scotch bullshit? Am I really                          supposed to believe you came crawling                          back home because you suddenly felt                          heart strings moan for the family                          biz? You were bankrupt, man.                                     BRIAN                         Hey! You don't know me --                                     STEPHEN                         I know you cold, Brian. The scary                          thing is, you probably could have                          faked it for awhile. But you see, in                          this job there's no place to hide.                          Isn't like selling log cabins. You                          have a bad day here -- someone dies.                          And that's not fucking good enough.                          Want another beer?                                     BRIAN                         So that's it? Big bad brother's gonna                          ride my ass till I cough blood?                                     STEPHEN                         Big bad brother is going to treat                          you like any other probie -- that I                          don't think is going to make it.               Brian staples the last of the audio cord in place and switches                on the tape player. The cabin fills with sharp, crystal clear --               Stephen Bishop.                                     BRIAN                         There's only so much technology can                          do.                              (picks up his tool                               box)                         Thanks for the beer.                                     STEPHEN                         Thanks for the speakers.               EXT. STEPHEN'S BOAT - DAY               Brian climbs down off the boat. Looks up at Stephen.                                     BRIAN                         Y'know, I told myself a million times                          I didn't want to be a fireman. I                          said bullshit to that line about                          tradition and family legacy. I know                          I split, and I know how you felt...                                     STEPHEN                         Yeah, you know. You know what it                          felt like.                                     BRIAN                         I gotta do this, Stephen. I gotta                          know.                                     STEPHEN                         I think you're gonna find out, Brian.                          Don't be late tomorrow.               INT. BRIAN'S APARTMENT - MORNING               A simple one-room walk-up. A stereo blares Chicago blues as                Brian buttons up his uniform in the mirror. He steps back,                looks at himself, -- and oh man what the hell am I doing...               EXT. BRIAN'S APARTMENT - STREET - MORNING               Brian climbs into his car, turns the key -- nothing. He gets                out, looks under the hood, then SLAMS it down in frustration.               INT. ELEVATED TRAIN - MORNING               A pissed-off Chicago, hauling itself off to work in the                morning snap, passes by Brian's window. Tough Midwestern                brick. Tough Midwesterners. Heads-down in their 150 year war                with a wind committed to pushing the whole damn thing into                Lake Michigan.               EXT. EL STATION - MORNING               The train clacking away above him, Brian walks down the                sidewalk carrying his fire equipment. He turns a corner and                comes on.               EXT. FIRE STATION 17 - MORNING               Brian stands there. It's his dad's station. Turn of the                century abused. Sooty with stone gargoyles and a pair of                faded red doors that suddenly CRANK OPEN as Brian comes up                the drive. Fire engine 17 and ladder truck 46, lights                flashing, pull out onto the apron.               The fireman sticking his head out of the passenger window is                Stephen. One look at the silver trumpet on his collar and we                know this isn't Fireman McCaffrey but Fire LT. McCaffrey.                                     STEPHEN                         You're too late, probie.               Tim, in ladder truck 46, waves a small bye-bye as both rigs                begin heading down the street.                                     BRIAN                              (chasing)                         Goddamn it, Stephen...               Brian bolts full-out for the engine. At the last instant                before he falls on his face a fireman reaches out and drags                him aboard.               INT./EXT. FIRE ENGINE 17 - DAY               It's Adcox, the fireman from the first scene, now a veteran.                                     AXE                         Why baby McCaffrey, how ya doin'?               The Pumper driver, SCHMIDT, pops in a howling ROCK TUNE as                they zoom off.                                     SCHMIDT                              (re Brian to Adcox)                         You know this rug rat?                                     AXE                         Know him? I practically raised him.                              (Jewish mom)                         And he never calls, he never writes...               Brian shouts over the noise to GRINDLE, 35, one more seat                down.                                     BRIAN                         I'm Brian.                                     GRINDLE                         I'm sorry.               Grindle sticks his nose out the window, sniffs, then begins                buckling up his coat.                                     GRINDLE                         Boys, I do believe we have a                          barbecue...               As Brian and Adcox fasten up their own equipment --               EXT. FACTORY - DAY               Smoke pours with confused indecision from every window of a                five story factory as the pumper and ladder company pull up.                                     GRINDLE                              (staring at confusing                               smoke)                         I hate it when we gotta fucking go                          look for it.                                     STEPHEN                              (to Schmidt)                         Call in another alarm. We're gonna                          need some back-up.               Everyone begins strapping on air tanks and masks. Adcox drags                the rig's suction line to the hydrant. A beautiful illegally                parked Mercedes is blocking the way.                                     AXE                              (to Stephen)                         Oh these moments do try me...                                     STEPHEN                              (admiring car)                         Be gentle.               Whistling to himself, Adcox SMASHES the brass coupling through                the passenger window, runs the line through and SMASHES it                out the other window before connecting up to the hydrant.               Stephen and Grindle pull hose off the bed and move out.                Brian's so jacked up he can't get his air tank on right.                Schmidt calmly helps him into his gear.                                     SCHMIDT                         It's only rock 'n roll, kid.               Stephen, Adcox and Grindle are crouched at the door, ready                to go. Brian takes a hose roll and runs to catch up when                he's cut-off by dazed Latin workers shouting incoherently at                him in SPANISH.                                     STEPHEN                         Hey, probie! How 'bout it, huh?               Brian pushes past the workers and takes his position on the                hose line. Stephen reaches over and re-adjusts Brian's air                tank strap.                                     STEPHEN                         You're doing it wrong.               Stephen eases the door open. Thick smoke rolls sickly out                over their heads.                                     STEPHEN                              (to Brian)                         Stay beside me.               And in they go...               INT. BURNING FACTORY - DAY               Inside the smoke is like liquid lead. Going by feel, they                hump the hose up one staircase after another, crawling on                their hands and knees toward a dull red glow. Turning a                corner, they enter               INT. BURNING FACTORY - A VAST ROOM - DAY               Totally ablaze. Brian looks up in wonder at the buffeting                waves of flame in the ceiling, at the SCREECHING timbers                crumbling to the white-hot floor. At the walls HOWLING in                bestial agony. It is the most horrifying, and wonderful thing                he has ever seen.                                     AXE                         Wash it to the windows?                                     STEPHEN                         No, we'll hit the son of a bitch                          head on.                                     AXE                         It's gonna flash, Stevie. We gotta                          get behind it.                                     STEPHEN                         Nah, listen to it. It's a pussy.                          It'll just steam on us. It won't                          flash. Go high in the ceiling.               Adcox and Grindle shrug and pull their helmets down tight,                expecting the worst. Adcox opens up the nozzle, turning loose                a high pressure BLAST OF WATER into the ceiling. The fire                SCREAMS in manic anger and HEAVES a cloud of HOWLING steam                that WHIRLS back and BAKES them like lobsters. Brian gasps                for air as swirling ash batters his facemask. A window                somewhere EXPLODES. Somebody shouts. Christ, you can't see                anything. Stephen HOOPS in victory.                                     STEPHEN                              (to fire)                         I knew you were a pussy! C'mon! Steam                          us!                              (to firemen)                         Let's go!               The chase is on! Going for the throat while the fire's                confused and defensive, the firemen SCRAMBLE through the                boiling cloud. They hit it in the ceiling, in the walls,                forcing it back and back. It HOWLS and CLAWS in anger,                furiously throwing cinders and broken timbers in their faces.                The walls ECHO with its SCREAMS as it retreats to a corner.                                     STEPHEN                         Ya love it, probie?                                     BRIAN                         I'm in heaven, Lt.                                     STEPHEN                         Hook us up to a stand-pipe.               Brian runs back to the wall to hook up his hose roll to the                building water system. He goes to unscrew the cap with his                hydrant wrench but it keeps slipping off the nut.                                     STEPHEN                         Jesus, how 'bout man, huh? We're                          gonna loose this!               Brian finally gets it hooked up and runs back.               EXT. FACTORY - OTHER SIDE - DAY               Tim and three guys from his ladder company, come up an                extended aerial ladder, CRASH through a window and               INT. FACTORY - DAY               begin HACKING their way toward Brian's company as -- BOOM!                It's a sudden, shattering vibration that shakes the building                to its foundations. Then, a sucking sound: RUSH-RUSH-RUSH...                Stephen speaks calmly into his radio handset.                                     STEPHEN                         Hey Otis, is it...?                                     SCHMIDT                              (into radio)                         Yeah.                                     STEPHEN                         Goddamn it, where's our backup?                          Where's the second-in companies?                                     SCHMIDT'S VOICE                         Sorry, man. John Wayne time.                                     STEPHEN                              (to firemen)                         Dig in!               The firemen hesitate. PENGELLY, the Truck Company Lt., looks                at Stephen with concern.                                     STEPHEN                         Dig in, goddamn it!               The crews immediately gather in the center of the floor.                They turn over tables, chairs, anything to form a barrier. A                circling of the wagons. -- BOOM! rush-rush-rush -- BOOM!                Each louder than the last. Stephen and Brian are ducked behind                an overturned desk. Adcox and Krizminski clutch hoselines                like frontiersmen's Winchesters.                                     STEPHEN                         You're gonna love this.               -- rush-rush-rush -- CRAAAASH!! On an instant the world comes                apart as all four walls of factory windows EXPLODE in a hail                of glass. A wave of HOWLING FLAME POURS IN after it, SHRIEKING                and HISSING.               At the same moment, part of the floor beside a heavy sewing                machine GIVES WAY and a ladderman, SANTOS, FALLS THROUGH,                grabbing the edges at the last minute as flames BELLOW UP                from underneath. He SCREAMS as his grip loosens.               Grindle leaps to the ladderman's side, grabbing his arms and                coat. Brian hesitates just an instant and Stephen SHOVES him                out of the way to back up Grindle.                                     SANTOS                         Help... Oh God...               Adcox's taken the hoseline and is opening fire. Water and                flame crash and snarl across the floor in a blood curdling                ROAR. It's a thrashing, murderous standoff.               Stephen and Grindle have got Santos but the angle's bad.                Blow it now and all three could take a header. Santos is                panicking, losing his grip. Grindle bores his eyes into the                man's with the calm and conviction of Moses.                                     GRINDLE                         You go, we go.               They may all die, but they won't leave him. He calms a little,                hangs on till they PULL him out of harm's way. Adcox continues                with the hose as suddenly, everyone HITS the deck as the                fire EXPLODES over them, BURSTING their coats into flame.                Tim's company opens up their line, WASHING everybody down                before CHARGING after the fire. A ladderman, NIGHTENGALE,                steps on Brian's back.                                     BRIAN                         Hey!                                     NIGHTENGALE                         Sorry man, I thought you were dead.               Brian, stunned, sits up, his coat and helmet smoking. Stephen                seems totally unaffected and is already on his feet and over                the top of the barricade, the others backing him as he                mercilessly drives the fire back, trapping it finally into a                corner. The fire hisses, spits, shakes the walls with its                furious anger. But it's all bluster now, the fire's dying.                                     PENGELLY                              (ladder co. captain)                         Stephen! BC's on the radio. Says                          they think a civilian got left behind                          downstairs.                                     STEPHEN                         Adcox! Take Tim and do a search.               Adcox leads Tim downstairs. Brian looks shaken up. Stephen                helps him roughly to his feet.                                     STEPHEN                         Don't you fold on me now, man.               Brian burns at that and shakes his brother's arm off.                                     STEPHEN                         Clear the hose for me.               Brian's walking over to clear the hoseline when he hears it.                small voice. Faint. "Help me..."                                     BRIAN                         Hey, I think it's coming from a                          different staircase.               Nobody hears. -- Brian takes off down the other steps on his                own.               INT. BURNING FACTORY - DOWNSTAIRS               It's only the fire's ghost here, lazy and slow.               Off the corridor are rooms full of commercial sewing machines.                Brian enters one and drops to his knees.               Looks under a table, flashes his light behind a work stand.                Nothing. He turns to backtrack his way out when A TONGUE OF                FLAME suddenly LEAPS up through the floor in front of him,                cutting off the door. Brian lands on his ass as it hisses                and giggles and dances unreally in front of him.               I never forget a face, kid. -- That fire from childhood. He                could maybe force his way through but Jesus, the way it looks                at him --               -- Brian ROLLS away from it. Looks for another doorway --                And ends up in thick smoke. He drops to a crawl, stays on                his belly where the air's clear. When he sees it. Behind                some furniture. Something flesh-colored. Shit. It's a body.                He crawls up closer. It's a woman. Adrenalin pounding the                top of his skull off, he grabs her and stumbles back down                the hall, makes a turn --                                     BRIAN                         I got one!               EXT. FACTORY - DAY               -- And now he's bursting from the building onto a short fire                escape, shouting at the top of his lungs.                                     BRIAN                         I got somebody! I got somebody!               A sea of media flashbulbs ERUPTS in his face. The press have                arrived in force, crowding the street. Brian pushes through                them to a clear spot on the far side of the engine. Two fire                paramedics rush over as he lowers the figure.                                     BRIAN                         Is she... Is she alive?               The paramedics suddenly stop their efforts. Turn to Brian.                                     PARAMEDIC                         I'm afraid you're a little too late                          with this one.               They step aside. Brian looks down. The woman looks strange.                Mostly because she's a heavy store DRESSING DUMMY. The                paramedics burst into laughter. Brian, looking pale and                shaken, turns and walks away. He passes Grindle and Tim,                sitting on the pumper's tailboard helping the REAL woman                that was found inside.                                     GRINDLE                         Sorry to hear about the mannequin. I                          heard you two were close.               Photographers have appeared and are flashing the woman. Dizzy,                Brian wanders off, tries to help out with the choking clog                of singed factory employees before finally turning quickly                into               EXT. FACTORY ALLEY - ACROSS THE STREET - DAY               Where he barfs his guts out in private. Doubled-over, one                arm on the brick wall for support, we see the raw terror.                The demons rushing out of him.                                     BRIAN                         Shit...               Someone else does too. Jennifer. Dressed now in a long                expensive coat, she's standing at the end of the alley with                a clipboard. Brian, ashes smeared across an ashen face,                spittle on his chin, doesn't notice her.                                     STEPHEN                              (appearing beside him)                         You all right?               Stephen isn't pale. He's flushed and buoyant. All this hasn't                taken anything from him. It's made his day.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah. Fine. I'm a little busy right                          now.               Stephen leans against the wall. Folds his arms.                                     STEPHEN                         Y'know, you got an awful short memory                          for direct orders. I told you to                          stay beside me.                                     BRIAN                         -- C'mon, Stephen.                                     STEPHEN                         -- You split the team, man. And what                          was that crap with the standpipe?                          You'd think you and a hose were never                          introduced before.               Stephen turns to leave. Brian yells after him.                                     BRIAN                         Goddamn it Stephen!                                     STEPHEN                         -- I told you to stay next to me!                                     BRIAN                         -- I was doin' it! I was up there                          fucking doin' it. You don't know,                          man, you don't know what I did!                                     STEPHEN                         What you did was drop the ball,                          Probie. Get that right.                                     PENGELLY                              (from end of alley)                         Hey! Stevie! They're callin' for ya.               Stephen turns to walk away. Pauses.                                     STEPHEN                         Bet 30,000 dollars a year and twenty                          two days a month off sounded pretty                          good twelve weeks ago, huh?               As Stephen leaves, we see that Jennifer's been standing at                the end of the alley, listening to them. She's turns and                walks as Brian looks up. We register his surprise. He watches                her head toward a dynamic-looking guy in his 40s, ALDERMAN                SWAYZAK, surrounded by reporters.               EXT. BURNED BUILDING - FRONT - DAY                                     SWAYZAK                              (to reporters)                         Roger, Paul... How's it going, guys?                                     REPORTER                         Another fire in this district. Getting                          to be Cinder Alley up here.                                     JENNIFER                              (walking up)                         You used that last week.               She hands Swayzak a clipboard.                                     AXE                              (yelling down from                               window)                              (to Brian)                         Hey! Probie! We're still workin'                          here, man.               INT. BURNED BUILDING               Brian and the rest of the company rip open the walls and                beat the last weak flames in a final flurry of dingy sparks.               The moment the smoke clears just a fraction, cigarettes appear                in everyone's mouth. Was it good for you? The talk is easy                and obscene, the intense camaraderie of shared danger. Ash                clods are thrown playfully back and forth in the afterglow                of having taken on the worst there is and walking away one                more time.                                     GRINDLE                              (to Adcox)                         Stephen man, what's going through                          that guy's head? Takin' it on in the                          first room... this shit's happening                          too often. It could've flashed.                          Should've flashed.                                     AXE                         But it didn't. Guy knows.                                     GRINDLE                         Guy's lucky.               Adcox sees Brian. Smiles.                                     AXE                         Hey, baby McCaffrey. First one's the                          clincher. You did okay.                                     BRIAN                         My Lt. might have something to say                          about that.                                     AXE                         Ah, everybody screws up some, Brian.                          You're working for the toughest Lt.                          on the job. Saw him once pick up a                          probie he thought was moving too                          slow and throw him into a burning                          building. It's just bad luck you're                          family.                                     BRIAN                              (beat)                         John, when you're in there... in the                          fire... do you ever see...                                     STEPHEN                              (from across room,                               interrupting)                         C'mon ladies, let's roll some hose...                                     BRIAN                              (to Adcox)                         -- Never mind.               Brian turns and sees out the window Jennifer and Swayzak                standing near Rimgale's red fire dept. sedan.               EXT. FACTORY - DAY               Rimgale walks up to his sedan.                                     SHADOW                         Alderman Swayzak.                                     SWAYZAK                         Investigator Rimgale.                                     SHADOW                         I need to get in the trunk.               Swayzak's leaning on it. We sense the dislike between them.                Swayzak steps aside. Rimgale pops the trunk.                                     SHADOW                         Awful expensive shoes to be wearing                          at a fireground, Alderman. But then                          I guess you haven't been to too many                          fires.                                     JENNIFER                         I wanted to talk to you about Alan                          Seagrave's death. We still haven't                          gotten a fire report from your office.                                     SHADOW                         You'll have an answer as soon as I                          do.                                     SWAYZAK                         People are asking how a prominent                          taxpayer got stuffed through the                          windshield of his own car. They're                          asking me.                                     JENNIFER                         --The point is, Investigator, you                          haven't even told us yet if the fire                          was accidental. We're starting to                          get the feeling your office is                          dragging out this case to embarrass                          the Alderman because of his fire                          dept. reorganization program --                                     SHADOW                         -- You mean his firehouse closing                          program, -- Don't you?                                     JENNIFER                         We'd just be very disappointed if it                          turned out your office was playing                          politics.                                     SWAYZAK                         -- Because I'm not. I care about                          this city, and I care about this                          department --               Rimgale cuts him off with the shutting of his trunk lid.                                     SHADOW                              (calm of a monk)                         Alderman, I have a remarkably                          uncomplicated job. To decide if a                          fire's arson, and if so catch the                          pain in the ass doing it. But to be                          honest, if my methodical investigative                          methods just happen to muck up the                          campaign of certain mayor wanna-bees,                          well, I guess I can't say I sleep                          any less peacefully.               And he walks back to the burned building.                                     SWAYZAK                         I wish I could just fire the son of                          a bitch.                                     STEPHEN                         Hey! Swayzak!               Stephen's leaning out of an upstairs window. As the TV cameras                turn, he drops down onto a fire engine hose bed and pops                right into Swayzak's face with a murderous grin.                                     STEPHEN                         We almost lost a whole company up                          there, Swayzee buddy. Isn't any back-                         up since you closed '33. And we really                          appreciate it, the guys and me.                          Honest. I know you've got my vote                          for mayor.               Grindle and Santos start walking for Stephen. Brian's there,                following after them.                                     SWAYZAK                         Look Lt., I'm on your side. If there's                          a problem, please, work with our                          task force to fix it.                                     STEPHEN                         Oh yeah, your famous task force...                          three guys have already died this                          year because of the cuts made by                          your "task force"...                                     GRINDLE                         Stevie, c'mon man...               Stephen silences Grindle with an outstretched hand. Swayzak                leans close, out of earshot of the cameras.                                     SWAYZAK                         You see that funny glow that's                          starting to blink in the corner of                          your eye, Lt? That's your career                          dissipation light -- and it just                          went into overtime.                                     STEPHEN                         If anybody's light's gonna blink,                          it's yours.               Swayzak holds his ground. It's a tense, out of control moment                between them. Rimgale turns from his work, watches Stephen                with concern. Adcox suddenly inserts himself face-to-face                with Swayzak and we see the raw hatred.                                     AXE                         You're in firemanland now, Swayzak.                          Do yourself a favor and just walk                          away.               Swayzak holds Adcox's gaze, then turns for his car. Brian                watches Jennifer climb in beside her boss.                                     BRIAN                         This is your city job?               Jennifer shrugs as they pull away.               INT./EXT. FIRE STATION 17 - LATE DAY               Brian jumps down from the rig as it backs up the driveway.                Across the street a middle-aged woman flashes them from the                balcony of her apartment.                                     AXE                         That's Franny. She likes firemen.                                     STEPHEN                         Tim, fill out the alarm card.                              (to Brian)                         Clean the pipe poles, wipe down the                          ladders and hang some hose.               Adcox watches Brian and Tim exchange looks. Tim shrugs. Brian                sighs and pulls out the pike poles, starts across the floor                before freezing suddenly at a murderous GROWL. Brian turns                and sees a DOG. Sort of. It has the rib cage of a wild beast,                fangs, long greasy hair. It blocks his way, SNARLING with                hate.                                     GRINDLE                         That's The Thing. You can't stay                          unless he likes you.               Slobber drools out of its mouth as it GROWLS.                                     BRIAN                         Have you guys got something against                          dalmatians?               Brian wipes some of the crusted grime from his face, looks                back and forth between Franny and The Thing, and sighs.               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - BUNKROOM               Sequence omitted from original script.               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - LOCKER ROOM               Brian enters, strips down his battered uniform, and opens                his locker. The mannequin from the fire SPRINGS OUT, legs                spread. A sign taped to its mouth says: "TAKE ME BRIAN, YOU'RE                MY SUPERMAN!"               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - WASHROOM               Brian and the others scrub the morning's fire off their bodies                in the station shower. Tim keeps filling his mouth full of                water and launching it upward in a stream.                                     BRIAN                         Do you have to do that?                                     TIM                              (pumped)                         Could you believe that fire? Man!                          First day! There I was, Adcox and                          me, pullin' that lady right out of                          the fire's fuckin' throat! I love it                          here -- No surround and drown for                          this company. Fighting 17th! Goddamn                          Stephen's amazing. You see how he                          took that fire by the balls? I'm                          gonna be that good some day, you                          watch.               Brian compares himself to the praise heaped on Stephen.                                     TIM                         Y'know what Stephen said to me, right                          when all the shit was coming hard?                          "You never know till the moment the                          fire stares you down if you're just                          gonna do this job or be great at                          it".                                     BRIAN                         Ah man, is he usin' that line now on                          you? What, you think he made that                          little gem up? Jesus Christ, I used                          to have to listen to my old man use                          that every morning.               Brian shuts off his shower and walks out.               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - BUNKROOM               Stephen sits alone at his bunk, slowly stretching a strained                and ruined back. He blows out a long, tired breath, and begins                working ointment into an anciently scarred and battered knee.               On the wall is a small glass case full of station memorabilia                through the years. There's a two battered fire helmets there,                set reverently on velvet. Beside it is a photograph of his                father. Grinning. Top of the world. He's wearing a T-shirt                proudly stenciled FIGHTING 17th.               Father and son exchange a long, awkward greeting.               In the doorway, Brian stands watching his brother, who not                even 40, suddenly seems an old and broken man.               The ALARM KLAXON suddenly sounds. Brian, just in a towel and                Tim, in boxers covered with little dinosaurs, dash for the                fire pole.               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - APPARATUS FLOOR               Tim and Brian slide down and bounce off the floor.                                     GRINDLE                         -- C'mon! C'mon! Go! Go!               Brian and Tim rush for their equipment. Grindle grabs their                arms.                                     GRINDLE                         No! C'mon! This way!               He hustles them across the apparatus floor, through a doorway,                and into the kitchen.               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - KITCHEN/DINING AREA               The makings of a meal are laid out on the counter. Brian and                Tim come to a screeching halt. The rest of the station is                sitting calmly at the kitchen table, watching.                                     BRIAN                         What's going on?                                     PENGELLY                         Dinner, Probies. Get started.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - KITCHEN               Tim and Brian, still in their boxers, set down plates of                food.                                     STEPHEN                         Better be good.                                     SANTOS                         Or we feed you to The Thing.               Everybody digs in. The table is a craze of half a dozen                different conversations. On the TV mounted above on the wall                are news shots of Seagrave's body sticking out of the                windshield.               Adcox stands and tinks his glass with a spoon for silence.                                     AXE                         Gentlemen, please... As 17's official                          toastmaster --                                     SANTOS                         And bullshitter.                                     AXE                         Thank you, Santos. Did I happen to                          mention that you were cut out of my                          will?                              (company laughs)                         I think it appropriate that we                          recognize the two asswipes -- I mean                          probationary firemen -- among us who                          today were baptized officially into                          the world of Old Man Fire. First to                          Tim, who despite being handicapped                          at birth with a rather dull expression                          and a really hideous pair of ears,                          not only took on the beast but pulled                          from its clutches -- assisted by a                          more famous and brilliant firefighter --                          me -- a kicking and screaming civilian                          that will probably end up suing us                          for breaking her fingernail.                              (laughs)                         And to Brian, who's own contribution                          was both more beautiful and less                          likely to sue.               Adcox puts his arm affectionately around the mannequin, seated                with honor at the head of the table. Right beside The Thing.                                     AXE                         Y'know, when I heard that both                          McCaffrey brothers were going to be                          assigned together here, well, my                          heart was filled with... a sudden                          desire to transfer.                              (laughs)                         So raise a glass, lads. To funny-                         looking Tim, and the McCaffrey                          brothers, who despite years of getting                          on each other's nerves have managed                          with great effort... to still be                          pissed off at each other. Gentlemen!                                     COMPANY                              (together, a toast)                         Fuck you!               The klaxon suddenly rings. Two bells. The ladder guys groan                and get up.                                     STEPHEN                         Bye, boys.                                     SCHMIDT                              (winks)                         We'll keep it warm for you.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - BUNKROOM               Dawn lightens the room as Brian slowly opens his eyes and                sees in extreme, fish-eyes close-up: THE THING GROWLING at                him. Brian turns the other direction and sees Stephen, fully                dressed, standing over his bunk.                                     STEPHEN                         Clean the toilets.               INT. APPARATUS FLOOR               Bleary-eyed, the nine firemen line up raggedly in front of                their rigs, dressed like shit but for peaked uniform caps                they wear only at this moment. Stephen stands before them,                does a quick glance up and down the line.                                     STEPHEN                         Okay, company dismissed. -- See ya                          guys tonight at Fitzgerald's                          retirement party.               They shuffle for the door. As Brian passes,                                     STEPHEN                         You want a ride?               EXT. BRIAN'S APARTMENT BUILDING - MORNING               Stephen pulls up. Brian opens the door.                                     BRIAN                         Thanks.                                     STEPHEN                         Brian --                              (a beat that hangs                               there)                         -- See ya tonight.               INT. RESTAURANT - RETIREMENT PARTY - NIGHT               That's been cleared out for a huge PARTY in full swing. An                Irish folk band cuts loose a merciless bagpipe beat. City                brass--including Alderman Swayzak -- a few reporters, firemen                and their families all mix together for this is a RETIREMENT                PARTY for the Captain Fitzgerald. Brian enters, seeks out a                beer at the bar. Stephen's there, swaying with what is clearly                not his first drink of the evening.                                     STEPHEN                         Hey.                                     BRIAN                         Hey.               CHEERS as a one joke gift after another is laid on the Chief.                Stephen sees his ex-wife, Helen, dancing with another man.                He turns away.                                     STEPHEN                         I gotta change the view...               Santos and Grindle walk up.                                     GRINDLE                         Heard you didn't make the list for                          captain, man. I'm sorry...               Stephen just shrugs.               Brian sees Jennifer across the room. She looks great. Refined                as she expertly works the room, schmoozing and hugging and                calling various politicos by their first name.               As she speaks to one, a waiter offers a drink. As she accepts,                a bottle appears over her shoulder and splashes it with red                syrup.                                     BRIAN                              (holding bottle,                               interrupting)                         With grenadine, right?                                     JENNIFER                         When I was twenty.                                     BRIAN                         Oooh, very sophisticated. Having                          fun?               Her attention broken, the politico has slipped away. Annoyed,                Jennifer leads Brian aside and speaks low, but angrily at                him.                                     JENNIFER                         Look, I'm not the same girl who had                          nothing better to do than wrap her                          legs around you on a Saturday night.                          This isn't about fun. I'm working                          here.                                     BRIAN                         Carrying Swayzak's notebook?                                     JENNIFER                         Let me tell you something. Martin                          Swayzak is going to be this town's                          next mayor.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah. Swayzak. Humanity's last hope.                          How can you work for that guy?                                     JENNIFER                         Why do you think Marty came here                          tonight? Because he cares about your                          department. You don't know how hard                          he works. You don't know about his                          programs helping West Side --                                     BRIAN                         -- All I know is that his programs                          are getting firemen hurt.                                     JENNIFER                         Bullshit. Marty's plan is only about                          efficiency. I've got two cousins on                          the job, you think I'd work for him                          if I didn't believe in it?               Jennifer instantly cuts off as a well-dressed COUPLE passes                and switches stunningly into schmmoze-mode.                                     JENNIFER                              (to man)                         -- Tom, how nice to see you. I know                          Marty'll be very happy you came.                          Thanks so much for the donation.                              (to woman)                         Marie... how's little Kevin? Really?                          Seen the polls? This is the year...               They move away. Jennifer turns to Brian and switches just as                fast back to their argument.                                     JENNIFER                         -- The thing that really makes me                          angry is the way your union has --               Brian can't help it. He cracks up.                                     BRIAN                         What was that? Oh man, you have picked                          up a few moves since John Paul II                          Boulevard.                                     JENNIFER                         Yeah, well I like to think I'm just                          a little past hanging out on JP II                          watching the Irish pick fights and                          Litwalks barf in the planters.                                     BRIAN                         I seem to remember some pretty good                          nights on JP II.               Brian turns and walks away.               ACROSS THE ROOM               Adcox is talking with another knot of firemen. He's brought                a date, SALLY, a hot little number that has a habit of                standing on her tip-toes when she talks.                                     SALLY                              (looking at Swayzak                               across room)                         Yuck, what a scumbag.                                     AXE                              (to Santos)                         Fuckin' city transferred Sally three                          months ago out of parking violations                          into Swayzak's office. Now I gotta                          pay my own goddamn tickets and she's                          stuck with an asshole.                                     SANTOS                         Pay more?                                     SALLY                              (shrugs)                         No, but there's more exercise --                          being chased around a desk.               There's a commotion at the other end of the bar. A group of                firemen have gathered around a weekly magazine.                                     GRINDLE                         Aw, I don't believe this shit.                                     SCHMIDT                         Somebody get a shovel! You seen this,                          Stephen?               As they hold it up to Stephen we see a photo spread titled                DARING FIRE RESCUE.               The first photo shows Brian rushing out of the burning                building with seemingly a woman in his arms. The second photo                shows the backs of Adcox and Tim's helmets as they                administered aid to the real woman they saved. The implication                is it's the same woman.                                     BRIAN                         What?                                     TIM                              (reads)                         "Probationary Fireman Brian McCaffrey,                          on his very first fire, showed the                          kind of bravery and courage of a                          veteran firefighter when he risked                          life and limb to double-check a                          burning floor alone, emerging                          victoriously with Anna Rodriguez, a                          seamstress for the North Shore                          Clothing Company... McCaffrey first                          gained prominence as the subject of                          a 1972 Pulitzer Prize winning                          photograph taken at the scene of his                          father's death..."               The old photo is there too. Brian and his dad's helmet.                                     GRINDLE                         Whadda we gonna do about this?               Stephen glances over the headlines.                                     STEPHEN                         Y'know, I think it's a union bylaw                          that if a guy gets in the paper --                          especially if it's bullshit -- he                          owes the company a drink. In fact...                              (motions to waiter)                         ...I'll have a double. On the hero.               The other firemen jump in with drink orders. Dozens of them.                                     BRIAN                              (confused)                         What's going on?               Tim shows him the magazine. Brian reads with horror as                Alderman Swayzak appears beside him.                                     SWAYZAK                         Brian McCaffrey, right?                                     JENNIFER                         Brian, this is my boss, Alderman                          Swayzak.                              (to Swayzak)                         Brian's a big fan of yours.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah. Big fan.                                     SWAYZAK                         And I'm a huge fan of what you did                          to save that woman, Brian.                                     BRIAN                         Uh, I think there's been a mistake.                          I didn't save that woman.                                     SWAYZAK                         No need to be modest, Brian.                                     BRIAN                         No, you don't understand, I saved a                          mannequin.                                     SWAYZAK                         -- That really was incredibly work                          you did. You and your brother,                          fighting fires together, helluva                          image, isn't it? You must feel lucky                          to be assigned under his command.                                     BRIAN                         Every little boy's fantasy.                                     SWAYZAK                         Brian, let me come to the point. I'd                          like to offer you a job.                                     BRIAN                         I have a job.                                     SWAYZAK                         This one's still with the fire                          department. One of our best                          investigators, Don Rimgale, is working                          on a very difficult, visible case                          right now. We think he could use                          another pair of hands and you're                          exactly the kind of guy I want                          representing us: An authentic hero                          from a traditional firefighting clan.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah, we got all kinds of traditions --                         like dying young.                                     SWAYZAK                         Not every job in the fire department                          comes with a tombstone, Brian. This                          could be a great opportunity to                          move... beyond a fire engine.               Brian looks at Jennifer, then smiles at Swayzak.                                     BRIAN                         Thanks anyway, Mr. Swayzak, but fire                          engines sorta run in my family.                          Politics don't.               -- A man suddenly steps between them to pump Swayzak's hand.                Brian shakes his head and walks away. Swayzak shoots a                concerned glance at Jennifer. She catches up with him at the                buffet table.                                     JENNIFER                         Boy, took you all of thirty seconds                          to blow that.                                     BRIAN                         C'mon Jennifer, he's just another                          North-Side jag-off with a mouth.                                     JENNIFER                         Brian, do you always have to be so                          stupid? Think about your future for                          once.                                     BRIAN                         So now you suddenly care about my                          future?                                     JENNIFER                         Look, I didn't mean to take a piece                          out of you back there, I just thought                          you'd call when you came back. You                          didn't and...                              (beat)                         Don't blow it just because of this                          garbage between us.                                     BRIAN                         Hey, sorry if I made you look bad in                          front of your boss. But I'm not gonna                          be a poster boy for him, I'm trying                          to do something here. There's five                          hundred smoke eaters in this room                          that do that stuff for real every                          day. Tell Swayzak to talk to one of                          them.               Across the room, Stephen's at the buffet, watching Helen                dance with her fireman date, the drinks hammering him hard.                                     PENGELLY                         Aw man, how can she dance with that                          guy?                                     SCHMIDT                         I hate that guy. He's a dispatcher.                          I hate his voice.                                     STEPHEN                         Whatever...                                     PENGELLY                         I mean, I know women have gotta bang                          somebody, but why that son of a bitch?               Stephen gives Pengelly an icy, sideways look.                                     SCHMIDT                         Hey Stevie, he's an asshole...               Stephen smiles and pushes off the bar -- right for Helen as                she dances.                                     STEPHEN                         Uh, Helen, I wanted to talk to you a                          second about Sean...                                     HELEN                         Stephen, I'm kinda busy here, can we                          talk about this later?                                     DATE                         How ya doin', Stephen?                                     STEPHEN                         Jackson.               Jackson steers her away but Stephen isn't done yet. He dogs                them.                                     STEPHEN                              (to Helen)                         What's wrong with right now? He's                          your son for christ's sake. He's --                                     JACKSON                         Hey, Stephen, what about that dumb                          ass brother of yours, huh?                                     STEPHEN                         ...Yeah?                                     JACKSON                         Savin' a mannequin... How fuckin'                          stupid can a guy get?               Stephen suddenly PUNCHES Jackson.                                     STEPHEN                         You can't talk about my brother like                          that...                                     HELEN                              (sighs)                         Here we go...               And Stephen PLOWS into Jackson. Another fireman JUMPS to                Jackson's aid. And Brian's there, defending his brother,                PUNCHING OUT a fireman. The crowd finally pulls the two apart.                                     JACKSON                         You're crazy, man!                                     STEPHEN                         Leave me alone!                                     AXE                         Goddamn it, Stephen, lay off!                              (Stephen calms a little)                         You stupid dumbshit, you never know                          when to fucking quit, do you? You                          ever wonder why your career's in the                          fucking toilet? Why you're gonna be                          stuck a Lt. for life?                                     STEPHEN                         No.                              (beat)                         I need a drink.               Stephen takes a step for the bar -- then suddenly turns and                JUMPS Jackson again. Brian pulls him off and drags him for                the door.                                     BRIAN                         You don't need a drink, man. You                          need to get outta here...               As Jennifer watches Brian lead Stephen out the door.                                     JENNIFER                              (to Swayzak)                         Ah those McCaffreys... just hate                          leaving a party with anyone left                          standing...               EXT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT               Brian leads Stephen toward his car.                                     STEPHEN                         I'm okay... leave me alone...               Stephen pushes Brian away and promptly stumbles to the                sidewalk.                                     BRIAN                         So you got a 'roid going with Jackson                          or what?                                     STEPHEN                         Nah, he's nothin'. It's just                          sometimes... sometimes you just gotta                          punch somebody out, y'know?               Brian stands there and folds his arms.                                     STEPHEN                         I don't think I can get up.               Brian lends an arm.                                     STEPHEN                         Look, Brian, a photographer. Maybe I                          can get on the cover of LIFE magazine,                          too.                                     BRIAN                         C'mon, let's crawl home.               EXT. STEPHEN'S BOAT - NIGHT               Stephen throws an arm over Brian's shoulder as he leads him                up onto the boat.                                     STEPHEN                         ...Adcox, those guys...they don't                          get it... it isn't the goddamn                          promotion... or dad... I'm not my                          old man, y'know? No fire's gonna get                          me... I don't give a shit about being                          a captain... it's just... it's just                          they don't trust me anymore...                              (blows out painful                               breath)                         ...they don't trust me anymore...               INT. STEPHEN'S BOAT               Brian's flops his brother on the bed. Unties his shoes.                                     STEPHEN                         If you'd get out of my fuckin' way.                          I could take my own goddamn shoes                          off...               He clearly can't. Brian slips them off.                                     STEPHEN                         You're such a pain in the ass...                          You've always been a pain in the                          ass...               There's just a grim wall lamp above Stephen's face.                                     STEPHEN                         Jesus, it's too damn bright in here...                          Like a goddamn spotlight... I'm goin'                          blind...                                     BRIAN                              (touching light)                         This?                                     STEPHEN                         Yeah... too bright...               Brian turns off the dim light. Stephen's breathing deepens.                                     STEPHEN                         They don't know... they don't know                          what I hear in there...               Brian tucks the blanket around him.                                     STEPHEN                         ...This boat could be okay, huh?...                          Take it out weekends... Sean 'n me...               Stephen's voice drifts off into sleep. Brian watches a moment,                the rare look of peace on his brother's face, then leaves.               EXT. FIRE ACADEMY - NIGHT               Dark and still. Brian, carrying a roll of hose, scales the                chain link.               EXT. FIRE ACADEMY - EXERCISE GROUND - NIGHT               Is a practice stand-pipe. Brian counts down to himself, then                rushes the stand-pipe, spinning off the cap with a hydrant                wrench and attaching the hose coupling. He does it again,                over and over.               EXT. FIRE ACADEMY - DAWN               The sky's gone pink and blue as Brian climbs back over the                fence. Adcox, coming out of a donut shop across the street,                sees him.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. STREET - CHICKEN ACCIDENT - DAY               A truck has JACKKNIFED across the avenue and SPILLED its                contents -- several THOUSAND baby chicks. They're scurrying                everywhere as Brian's company tries to round them up. It's                hopeless as the exhausted firemen stuff handfuls of the                cheeping cargo into their turn-out coats. There's ghetto                kids all around, grabbing at the chicks, grabbing at the                fire engine.                                     STEPHEN                              (at kids)                         Hey! Knock it off!               Brian stops a beat. Rubs his eyes.                                     AXE                              (smiles)                         Maybe you should have gotten more                          sleep last night.               Brian looks at him. Does he mean what he thinks he means?                Tim is coming out of a small store across the street. He                hands a small bag of groceries to Adcox.                                     TIM                         This everything you wanted?               Everyone grows suddenly silent.               EXT. WIDOW'S HOUSE - DAY               A fireman's without even saying so, "Petzold" on the mailbox,                Engine 17 parked out front. Brian's alone outside, cleaning                the diesel fuel off his arms. Watching a small kid playing                with a toy fire truck in the drive.               INT. WIDOW'S HOUSE               Tim and Brian are loading the groceries into the fridge.                Stephen and Grindle are fixing a loose cabinet door as Adcox                sits caulking a faucet fitting at the kitchen table with a                young WOMAN.                                     WOMAN                              (to Stephen)                         Can I help you guys at all?                                     STEPHEN                         Nah, we just about got it.                                     WOMAN                              (noticing Adcox's                               shirt)                         Sally must be finally ironing your                          shirts.                                     AXE                         It's just new. Couple'a shifts and                          it'll be as thrashed as the rest.               The sight of uniform is too much for her. Her eyes cloud.                                     WOMAN                         I'm sorry...               Adcox reaches out and lets her weep on his shoulder.                                     AXE                         It's okay...                                     WOMAN                         I miss him... I just miss him,                          y'know?...               EXT. WIDOW'S HOUSE - DAY               Adcox stands out at the fire engine smoking a cigarette,                lost in himself, watching the little boy play with his toy                fire truck. Stephen's followed him out.                                     AXE                         This job... This fuckin' job                          sometimes... To buy it trying to go                          the extra yard, man, that's one thing,                          but to buy it just because there                          wasn't any back-up... it's bullshit...               Stephen leans down close.                                     STEPHEN                         Yeah, it's bullshit. So what? Fuck                          Swayzak. Fuck 'em all. We don't go                          into fires for them. You know that.                          Christ, you taught me that.               A beat of understanding between them. Stephen looks back at                the house.                                     STEPHEN                         You know Knowlton pretty well?                                     AXE                         Yeah...                                     STEPHEN                              (beat)                         Kind of an asshole, wasn't he?               Adcox can't help but smile.                                     AXE                         Biggest in two battalions.                                     STEPHEN                              (beat, smiles)                         We're gonna be okay, man...               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - DAY               As Brian and Tim scrub down the fire engine, the rest of the                company lies sprawled in               THE STATION REC ROOM               Watching a weepy soap. Schmidt walks through and is snared                by the TV's glow. He hesitates. Shares the moment.                                     SCHMIDT                         Is she going to get the divorce?                                     SANTOS                              (sighs with honest                               concern)                         Hell if I know, man.               A ladderman, WASHINGTON, walks in with a memo.                                     WASHINGTON                         Hey, Pengelly, you made the captain's                          list!               Everybody clasps Pengelly on the shoulder. "Way to go". "All                right, man". Brian turns and sees Stephen out on the apparatus                floor, watching. Watches. Pengelly's younger than him.               EXT. FIRE STATION 17 - TRAINING BUILDING/HOSE TOWER - DAY               An expanse of concrete lying out back of the station. Built                in one corner is the concrete shell of a five story training                building, just wide enough for a stairway and room on each                level. Twenty yards away, Brian, Tim and Adcox stand ready                beside a pile of coiled hose rolls.                                     STEPHEN                              (looking at watch)                         Alright... Go!               Tim picks up a roll of hose, 50 pounds, throws it over his                shoulder and runs with Adcox to the foot of the building.                There's a fixed standpipe that Adcox ties into as Tim drags                the other end inside and up a flight of stairs.                                     STEPHEN                         Go!               Brian lifts another hose roll under his arm and runs for the                building.                                     STEPHEN                         That isn't a football, probie. Get                          it on your shoulder.               Brian runs up two flights to meet Tim and connect his end.                Tim heads down for another roll as Brian drags his up another                two flights. It's a bitch.               Sweating, he barrels back down the stairs, passing Tim coming                up with another roll.                                     BRIAN                         Having fun, fireman?               Tim flips him off. Brian laughs and sprints for another roll.                                     STEPHEN                         You're not breaking any records,                          Brian.               Brian holds it under his arm and takes off. Stephen grabs a                roll himself, hoists it to his shoulder and runs alongside.                                     STEPHEN                         Your shoulder. Like this!               Brian lifts it to his shoulder.                                     STEPHEN                         Come on! Pick it up!               They come to the doorway. Instead of stopping, Stephen follows                Brian in and runs alongside up the stairs. Without a word                spoken it's become a race between them.               Brian's face explodes in sweat. His heart pounds as they go                up flight after flight. The hose rolls weigh a 100 pounds. A                thousand. Neck 'n neck all the way; grunting, their throats                burning, only one flight from the roof Stephen STUMBLES and                SCRAPES his leg. Brian pauses. Stephen's already back on his                feet.                                     STEPHEN                         Run, damn you!               Brian does, Stephen already gaining on him -- getting ready                to pass him -- when they burst gasping out onto the roof,                Brian the "winner" by a nose. Stephen drops his hose roll,                sticks his face into Brian's, -- And laughs. Unsure, Brian                starts to join in. Stephen stops suddenly.                                     STEPHEN                         Roll the hose.                                     BRIAN                         What, are you kidding? By myself?               Adcox and Tim, down below, have already disappeared back                into the station.                                     STEPHEN                         You heard me.               We see now what Stephen apparently doesn't. He was scraped                badly, his pant leg torn and leaking dark circles of blood.                                     BRIAN                         What, is it the stairs? Christ, I'll                          let you win next time.                                     STEPHEN                              (in Brian's face)                         You got a problem with drilling,                          probie?                                     BRIAN                         No, Lt., I don't have a problem with                          drilling. But let's just have one                          drill. Not one for the company and                          one for me.                                     STEPHEN                         Roll the hose.               Stephen turns and walks away. Brian stands there watching                him in blind fury, finally exploding.                                     BRIAN                         Goddamn you Stephen, I'm not gonna                          quit. You hear me!               An awkward beat between them that's interrupted suddenly by                the station alarm klaxon. Stephen smiles.                                     STEPHEN                         Well, thank God for fires...               EXT. FIRE STATION 17 - HOSE TOWER - BELOW - DAY               Sequence omitted from original script.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. LAKE SHORE MANSION - NIGHT               Sequence omitted from original script.               EXT. LAKE SHORE MANSION - NIGHT               Sequence omitted from original script.               INT. LAKE SHORE MANSION - FRONT DOOR               Sequence omitted from original script.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. TENEMENT BUILDING - DAY               Smoke and confusion. A MOTHER is screaming hysterically at                Stephen as he jumps down from the engine.                                     MOTHER                              (grabbing his coat)                         My baby! My baby's still up there!                                     BATTALION CHIEF                         Hang on a sec, Stevie, we got a                          hoseline coming.               Stephen doesn't even pause and enters the building. Brian                hesitates a beat, then follows.               INT. TENEMENT BUILDING - DAY               Where they bomb up a staircase just as a WALL OF FIRE LASHES                DOWN, KNOCKING them on their ass. Stephen jumps to his feet                with an axe as Brian struggles to get up.                                     STEPHEN                         Don't take that kind of shit from                          it! Don't let it know you're scared!                          Come on!               Stephen, with just his axe, CHASES up the stairs at the fire,                HAMMERING at the flaming boards. The fire retreats into                another room, SLAMMING the door shut behind it.               Brian struggles up the stairs. The two of them slide up on                either side of the closed door, Stephen cradling his axe                like a SWAT team shotgun. The door breathes in and out and                something animal scratches and snarls on the other side.               Brian can feel the panic rising in his throat. That thing                behind the door, that slobbering, evil thing. It wants out.                It wants... him.                                     STEPHEN                         Ready?                                     BRIAN                         Christ, Stephen, let's wait for the                          hose team...                                     STEPHEN                         Listen to it, Brian... Jump when I                          say... It won't get us.               Stephen HAMMERS the lock with his axe and KICKS the door                open. A WALL OF FLAME ROARS out past their cheeks, then                BACKWASHES in.                                     STEPHEN                         Now!               Stephen picks up the door, and using it as a shield CHARGES                into the flames. Brian tries to follow but the fire WELLS                UP, cutting him off. He hesitates. It's that goddamn flame                again, leering at him. Daring him. It BUCKS suddenly, DROPPING                Brian to his knee. He GROANS in pain.               -- And now Adcox and Grindle are coming up the stairs with a                hoseline WASHING DOWN the room. Clouds of furious steam bellow                out and across the ceiling. Nobody could be alive in there.               Except Stephen. His entire outfit smoldering, he emerges                from the clouds like a fucking god, carrying in one arm a                gasping child.               EXT. TENEMENT BUILDING - AFTERMATH - DAY               Most of the firemen have gathered together for post-fire                coffee and stories. Brian sits off alone on the fire engine                bumper, apart from them. Santos walks up.                                     SANTOS                         They think she's gonna live...               Stephen walks up. Sits down beside him.                                     STEPHEN                         You okay?                                     BRIAN                         I waited... I would have fucking                          waited...                                     STEPHEN                         That's not what it's about, Brian.                          The point is there was a kid in there.                          And what if there'd been two? I went                          in because that's what I do. It's my                          way. It's dad's way. It isn't                          everybody's way.                                     BRIAN                         Dad's way? Where did he tell you                          that? In a fucking seance?                                     STEPHEN                         You said you wanted to know something,                          Brian. What did you learn today?                              (Brian doesn't answer)                         What do you say, Brian, huh? Time to                          move on?               Brian lingers only a moment before standing.                                     BRIAN                         You're right, Stephen... You win...                          You're the best, man...               Brian hands Stephen his helmet and walks away.               INT. SWAYZAK'S OFFICE - DAY               There's only six like it in city hall, and this one has a                view.                                     SECRETARY'S VOICE                              (on intercom)                         Brian McCaffrey on line two for                          Jennifer.                                     JENNIFER                         I'll take it in my office.                                     SWAYZAK                              (turns to her and                               smiles)                         Go get him.               INT. CORRIDOR/CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY               Jennifer comes out of Swayzak's office and walks down to her                own.               INT. JENNIFER'S OFFICE/INT. BRIAN'S APARTMENT - DAY               -- It's a tiny, bleak little rat hole. She picks up the                receiver...                                     JENNIFER                         Brian?               We see Brian in his apartment.                                     BRIAN                         I've been thinking about what you                          said the other night... If the offer's                          still on the table, I'd like to talk                          about it.                                     JENNIFER                              (beat)                         ...Okay. I'll arrange things with                          your assignment captain.                              (beat)                         Marty's a good man, Brian.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah...               Brian hangs up. He stares at it a moment, then SLAMS it                against the wall.               Jennifer stares at the phone with something almost like                sadness.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. BROWNSTONE - DAY               Stephen drives past the burned-out brownstone that fried                Alan Seagrave. He parks in the alley behind, walks up the                building, and PULLS OFF a plywood sheet covering a blown-out                window.               INT. BROWNSTONE - DAY               Stephen walks through the creepy, brutalized silence. Back                to where Rimgale had focused his investigation that night.                He searches the floor, the wall, looking for something...               EXT. ARSON HQ/FIREHOUSE - DAY               A crumbling one in Chinatown. Brian checks the address on                his slip of paper. He stands there a beat, hating himself.               INT. FIRE STATION/ARSON HQ               It's a regular station but for the rear that has been                converted into arson squad offices. As Brian approaches the                office door he can see Rimgale sitting at his desk. Standing                nervously beside it is a fresh-faced, uniformed PROBIE.                                     SHADOW                              (to probie)                         ...So stop me if I get this wrong...                          The fire's almost out... You're                          upstairs on the unburned floor                          checking for heat. You've been told                          by your Battalion Chief, your Captain,                          by me, not to do anything up there                          until ordered. But now the itch                          starts, and all of a sudden comes                          the Glory Boy Flash: Hey, I'm a hero.                          Heroes don't just stand around. So                          on your own you decided to punch out                          a window for ventilation. Was that                          before or after you noticed you were                          standing in a lake of gasoline?               The kid is dying a thousand deaths of humiliation.                                     SHADOW                         You could've crispered half your                          company with that little stunt, but                          more importantly you wrecked the                          physical evidence I use to prove                          it's arson. You've made my day longer,                          Probie. Go home and think about that.               The kid shuffles off hang-dog. Rimgale's angry gaze falls on                Brian.                                     BRIAN                         Uh, I'm Brian McCaffrey. Your new                          assistant.                                     SHADOW                         Your Dennis' kid.                              (beat)                         I work alone.               And Rimgale walks into his office, leaving Brian marooned in                the doorway. Stepping behind a small partition, Rimgale                changes his shirt. Brian can just glimpse from where he stands                a horrible burn that has consumed most of Rimgale's stomach.                Rimgale catches the look.                                     SHADOW                         Are you still here?                                     BRIAN                         Get used to me, Inspector. I'm not                          going anywhere.                                     SHADOW                         Then go find a corner. I don't want                          you in my way.                                     BRIAN                         I think we should get something                          straight here. I was assigned to                          this office by the city.                                     SHADOW                         Look, I knew your father, he had a                          helluva reputation on this job. But                          that don't mean you get any slack.                          Swayzak sends you down here, okay, I                          gotta eat you, that's the rules and                          I got nothing to say about that. But                          Swayzak or no, you live with me.                          Step out of line, and I don't care                          who knows you, I'll swing the hammer.                              (beat)                         You think you're the first?               Rimgale glances at his watch, puts on his coat, and picks up                a small paper bag.                                     BRIAN                         Where are you going?                                     SHADOW                         Pest control.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. MAX SECURITY PRISON - DAY               And the face of RONALD, an unremarkable man in his 40s.                Unremarkable but for laser eyes and two heavily bandaged                hands. Go wide and find him sitting in an institutional chair --                handcuffed, actually -- in an institutional hall. A uniformed                guard stands nearby as Brian and Rimgale come down the                corridor. Ronald smiles upon seeing Rimgale.                                     RONALD                         Shadow.                                     SHADOW                         How ya doin', Ronald. Staying                          comfortable?                                     RONALD                         Didn't think you'd make it.                                     SHADOW                         Wouldn't miss this for the world,                          pal.                                     RONALD                              (looking at Brian)                         Who's this?                                     SHADOW                         He works for me.                                     RONALD                         Is he a fireman?                              (smiles)                         I like firemen.                                     SHADOW                         You like everybody, Ronald.               Ronald's eyes pick up Brian's name on his prison ID badge.                                     RONALD                         Brian McCaffrey...                              (eyes light up happily)                         Oh this is really a treat. Brian                          McCaffrey. Lost a dad to the animal,                          huh?                                     BRIAN                              (heating up)                         Hey, do I know you?                                     SHADOW                         You don't know him.                                     RONALD                         I know you.                                     BRIAN                              (to Ronald)                         What the hell are you talking about                          my --               Rimgale silences Brian with a threatening hand.                                     SHADOW                         Knock it off. Now.                                     RONALD                         Tell him about me, Shadow?                                     SHADOW                         Ronald here likes telephones. Used                          to tape wooden matches to the bell                          striker and wrap it in cotton. Came                          up with a whole little thing there,                          didn't you Ronald? When you got bored,                          what did you do? You just started                          making calls... mostly day care                          centers and retirement homes, wasn't                          it?                                     RONALD                         Did he tell you how we finally met?                                     SHADOW                         Nobody cares, Ronald.                                     RONALD                         Oh, but it's a good story, Shadow.                          You're depriving our famous young                          friend here...                                     VOICE IN CORRIDOR                         Okay... Ronald Bowland...               The cop helps Ronald to his feet and all four are marching                down the hall.                                     RONALD                         It was on State Street, right?...                          Just your basic warehouse torch for                          the owner. Cakewalk. But the animal...                          turned on me... 'Ol Shadow here, he                          shows up -- whole place is going                          like hell -- my hair, my hands...                          could've just let the animal take me --                          but Shadow, he's a good camper, so                          he tries to pull 'ol Ronald out.                          Guess he didn't notice the tub of                          phosphorous next to me...                              (smiles)                         Notice you're still a little shy                          about rolling your sleeves up, Shadow.                          Show him your stomach yet?               INT. PRISON - INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY               Ronald in the hot seat before a parole board, Rimgale and                Brian on the sidelines.                                     MAN                         ...All right, the parole board has                          received Mr. Bowland's fitness report,                          his ID-44, endorsement from his                          section warden... Dr. Norris?                                     WOMAN PSYCHIATRIST                         As supervising psychiatrist I would                          describe Mr. Bowland's progress as                          remarkable. Taking into account his                          disability and the six years already                          served, I recommend parole.                                     MAN                         Mr. Bowland, do you regret your                          crimes?                                     RONALD                         Yes. I understand now the pain I                          caused.                                     MAN                         If released, will you commit these                          crimes again?                                     RONALD                         I won't.                                     MAN                         Do you consider yourself ready for                          society?                                     RONALD                         Yes.               The parole board shuffles their papers. It's a done deal.                Rimgale suddenly stands and approaches Ronald.                                     SHADOW                         Sure Ronald? You're ready alright.                                     RONALD                         Absolutely.                                     MAN                              (surprised)                         Excuse me, Mr. Rimgale.                                     SHADOW                         Excuse me.                              (to Ronald)                         What do you do with little girls?               A tortured look comes over Ronald's face. He's holding back.                From the paper bag, Rimgale suddenly tosses a burned baby                doll in his lap.                                     SHADOW                         What do you do with them, Ronald?                          Huh?               Rimgale then lights a cigarette lighter in Ronald's face.                                     RONALD                              (smiles)                         -- Burn them.                                     SHADOW                         And old ladies?                                     RONALD                         -- Burn them.                                     SHADOW                         And the world -- the whole world.                                     RONALD                              (smiles)                         -- Burn it all.               The parole board stares, stunned. Rimgale stands.                                     SHADOW                         See ya next year, Ronald. Gotta go.               EXT. THEATRE BUILDING - DAY               A pre-war theatre closed with a sign: UNDER RENOVATION --                OPENING XMAS 1991. DAVID BENTON, mid-forties, climbs out of                his car and walks to the entrance with some rolled-up                blueprints.               INT. THEATRE BUILDING - DAY               Benton walks through the vast theatre and up to a beautiful                Art Noveau office door: DAVID BENTON, PRIVATE. He goes to                insert his key. Drops it. As he reaches down, we see a tiny                wisp of smoke SUCK back under the door. Benton sniffs, as if                he smells something, then shrugs and inserts his key. It'd                have been a good story if he'd lived longer.               The moment he pushes the door open It EXPLODES OUTWARD in a                ROARING FIREBALL.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. THEATRE BUILDING - SUNDOWN               Later and engine companies have already knocked down the                building fire as Brian climbs out of Rimgale's red sedan.                                     SHADOW                              (opens trunk)                         Hey kid, c'mere -- At least make                          yourself useful.               He starts handing Brian handfuls of equipment cases. Loaded                down, Brian follows Rimgale into the building.               INT. THEATRE BUILDING               Fire crews are at work in here, including Engine 17 at the                other end of the theatre. Brian's surprised to see them, his                eyes locking briefly with Stephen's. An ENGINE COMPANY LT.                walks up to Rimgale.                                     ENGINE LT                         We were lucky with this one. Could've                          taken out the whole complex, but the                          explosion blew out most of the flame.                          Good for us.                              (looks to body)                         -- Not so good for him.               "Him" is our previous owner, David Benton, just his hands                and a leg showing from under the collapsed door. Rimgale                crouches beside it.                                     SHADOW                         Turn this over.               Brian does. The corpse's keys are still in the lock. So's                Benton. Blown with such force he seems fused with the door.                On the door's edge Rimgale notices a small patch of melted,                sticky goo. With his penknife he scrapes a sample and seals                it in a glass vial, stands, and walks into the office.               INT. THEATRE OFFICE                                     BRIAN                         What do you want me to do with --               Rimgale, now inside, silences him with an outstretched arm.                                     SHADOW                         -- Shhh.                                     BRIAN                              (after a beat)                         What are you listening to?               Rimgale doesn't answer. His eyes drift over the scorched                walls as he speaks softly to them.                                     SHADOW                         You sneaky little son of a bitch...                          Hide and seek... Come on, tell me                          what I want to know...               He scratches at some soot. Smiles and lifts a small hand                recorder.                                     SHADOW                              (business-like into                               recorder)                         Heavy smoke stains observed in entry                          room. Demarkation line high. Fire                          never got hot enough here to cook                          soot off. It started somewhere else...                              (walks down hall)                         Less soot here. More heat.                              (they enter back room)                         And very little soot here.                              (to Brian)                         Get that couch out of the way.               Brian pulls it aside. The lower third of the wall is                completely untouched by soot.                                     SHADOW                              (to himself)                         So you were happy here. Warm and                          cozy and in no hurry...                              (into recorder)                         Soot high, clean unburned wall low,                          indicates slow burn in thermal                          balance.                              (to Brian)                         Find me some glass.                                     BRIAN                         Glass?                                     SHADOW                         Do we have a language barrier here?                          Glass.               There's some on the sill of a blown window. Brian hands a                shard to Rimgale, who turns it over in his palm.                                     SHADOW                              (into recorder)                         Glass found in ignition room is in                          small, thin pieces, indicating                          explosion. Lack of discoloration                          indicates a long, slow burn. Explosion                          must of come after a slow burn.                              (shuts recorder off)                         You little tease... What were you up                          to you little bastard, huh? What                          made you that mad?                              (then, an idea)                         Or scared.                              (switches on recorder)                         It started in this room. Took its                          time, hung out... but the air ran                          out. It couldn't breathe. So it was                          snuffed. But it wasn't dead... still                          all that trapped heat, lying low,                          waiting for some sucker to open the                          door and give it that one gulp of                          air...                                     BRIAN                         -- Another backdraft.               Rimgale turns to the wall, a section where the plaster is                severely damaged. He probes with a penknife.                                     SHADOW                         Finish coat burned away... Severe                          spawling of rough coat...               Rimgale follows the damaged wall down -- down -- to a melted                wall socket.                                     SHADOW                         That's our ignition point. Dig it                          out. Carefully.               Brian chops it out from the wall. Rimgale crouches down,                peels back the melted faceplate and examines the wires. The                copper tip is severely melted. Rimgale sniffs the plug.                                     SHADOW                              (into recorder)                         Temperature in this room was about                          2000 degrees, but copper wire in                          outlet is melted, which requires                          5000 degrees. An accidental short in                          the plug could of created a spark of                          7000 degrees, hot enough to melt the                          wire and start a fire.                                     BRIAN                         No it couldn't.               Rimgale shuts off the recorder. Stares down Brian.                                     BRIAN                         I mean you'd be right -- with normal                          wire. But that's gauge ten in that                          plug -- industrial stuff. Who knows                          why they put it in here -- but it                          won't melt at less than 12,000                          degrees. And no natural spark short                          of lightning gets that hot.                              (Rimgale just stares)                         In another life I was in high-end                          electronics.               Rimgale opens a plastic bag and puts the plug inside.                                     SHADOW                              (into recorder)                         Have outlet analyzed for any traces                          of flammable accelerants.               Rimgale stands and walks out.                                     BRIAN                         Don't mention it.               INT. THEATRE BUILDING - NIGHT               Brian follows Rimgale down from the office into the vast                theatre. Walls hiss and spit. Brian's surprised to see his                former engine mates there, tromping and crunching their way                through broken glass, their flashlights like dancing                fireflies. Tim passes by.                                     BRIAN                         Hey, Tim.               Everybody turns at the voice and the air suddenly chills.                                     TIM                              (distant)                         Brian.                                     SHADOW                              (to Brian)                         Check the wall for burn patterns.               And Rimgale's off to another room. Brian turns and looks at                the wall. It's endless.                                     BRIAN                              (to Tim)                         So, you surviving without me?                                     TIM                         There's no replacement 'cause of                          your boss' cuts, if that's what you                          mean. If someone else goes out on an                          injury we're really screwed.                                     BRIAN                         Swayzak's not my boss.               Silence. Brian looks over the wall. A dirty puddle separates                him from it.                                     GRINDLE                              (to Brian)                         Ooooh, like the tie. Love the tie.                                     BRIAN                         Grindle, scrape down that wall for                          me, huh? I would myself, but the tie                          'n all, y'know...               Grindle stares at him a beat, then wordlessly steps into the                muck and pulls free a section of wall, dropping it on the                ground in front of Brian. Santos and Grindle look at each                other.                                     SANTOS                         Uh, Brian, if you're lookin' for                          smoke patterns, there's some good                          ones over here.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah? Where?                                     GRINDLE                              (as Brian walks over)                         Little to the right... further...                          further... Right behind there. Hey,                          could you hand me that pike pole?               There's a pike pole leaning against the wall. Brian pulls it                aside. SPLASH -- The pole had been supporting a small, sagging                piece of ceiling that instantly collapses, dumping twenty                gallons of murky, putrid black water all over Brian's civvys.                Nobody laughs.                                     GRINDLE                         Sorry, maybe that wasn't it after                          all.               Stephen appears around the corner. Sees what's happened.                                     STEPHEN                         That's just about enough, guys, okay?                                     SCHMIDT                         See ya around, Brian.               They leave. Brian stands there, humiliated.                                     AXE                              (to Brian)                         What the hell's the matter with you,                          huh? You're steppin' in the shit                          again. You could've done it. You                          don't want this.                              (the suit 'n tie)                         Wake up, kid.               Brian burns with shame and anger as Adcox walks away. Stephen                hands Brian a towel.                                     STEPHEN                         Here. Dry yourself off.               Brian snatches it from him. Glares at his brother.                                     STEPHEN                         Look, you are sorta making yourself                          fair game.                                     BRIAN                         Thanks for the insight.                                     STEPHEN                         Brian, look --                                     BRIAN                         Just leave me alone, okay?               Brian walks away. Stephen calls after him.                                     STEPHEN                         Hey, Bri... Rimgale's okay. I don't                          get half the shit he's talking about,                          but then everybody says the same                          thing about me. Who the hell knows?               INT. HELEN'S HOUSE - DAY               Helen, Stephen's ex-wife, is sitting at her kitchen when she                looks up suddenly at a strange sound coming from the roof.               EXT. HELEN'S HOUSE - ROOF - DAY               On the short, sloping roof, Stephen stands hammering a shingle                back into place. Helen sticks her head out the dormer window.                                     HELEN                         Stephen, what are you doing here?                                     STEPHEN                         Fixing my roof.                                     HELEN                         It's not your roof anymore.               He stops and tosses the hammer aside. Looks at his watch.                                     STEPHEN                         Where's Sean?                                     HELEN                         He's got piano lessons.                                     STEPHEN                         Oh yeah? How's he doing?                                     HELEN                         He's going to be a fireman.                                     STEPHEN                         Give up, babe. You can't fight it.                          Believe me, my mom tried...                                     HELEN                              (beat)                         Stephen, you gotta stop just showing                          up on the roof like this.                                     STEPHEN                         I just wanted to, I don't know, not                          exactly apologize for the other night --                          especially since I don't remember                          much of it --                                     HELEN                         -- You remember.                                     STEPHEN                         Yeah... I just thought I should say,                          I don't know, something.                                     HELEN                         The great communicator.                                     STEPHEN                         Sorry I hit Jackson.                                     HELEN                         He deserved it. He was born deserving                          it.                                     STEPHEN                         He treats you okay?                                     HELEN                         Okay.                                     STEPHEN                         I treated you better.                                     HELEN                         You treated me like shit.               But she smiles.                                     HELEN                         You want some coffee?                                     STEPHEN                         Coffee? Nah, I gotta go.                                     HELEN                         What's wrong, Stephen?                              (looks at her)                         C'mon, you only beat up the roof                          when something's on your mind.                              (beat)                         How's Brian doing?                                     STEPHEN                         He's out.                                     HELEN                         I know he's out, but how's he doing?                                     STEPHEN                         Y'know, I treated him better than                          any other probie I ever had. He                          probably hates my guts, but I did                          the best thing for him. I made him                          finally look in the mirror.                                     HELEN                         Ah Stephen, that's what this is really                          about, isn't it? You always have to                          be right.                                     STEPHEN                         Hey, I'm the first one to admit when                          I'm wrong.                                     HELEN                         Yeah? When was the last time?                                     STEPHEN                         In a fire? Never.                              (beat)                         Look, I'm his brother. I care about                          him, y'know? He was going to get                          himself killed. Maybe not today,                          maybe not in a year, but it would've                          happened. And I couldn't -- I just                          couldn't...                                     HELEN                         You can't keep being his father...               Stephen sighs deeply.                                     STEPHEN                         You know what I realized today? I                          can't remember my dad's face anymore.                          There's pictures of him staring at                          me everywhere I go, but the guy behind                          them... he's gone...               He sighs and hops down from the roof to the driveway.                                     STEPHEN                         I'll see ya around, Helen.               She watches him as he walks lonely up the street.               INT. CITY MORGUE - DAY               A Lab Tech, RICCO, leads Brian and Rimgale through the autopsy                area till they come on two corpses lying side by side covered                in plastic.                                     RICCO                         Okay, Alan Seagrave and Donald                          Cosgrove...               If you say so. Brian's stomach does a half-gainer as he's                confronted by two hideously charred bodies.                                     RICCO                         ...Both deaths due to close encounters                          with stationary objects; office door                          for Mr. Cosgrove, '89 Porsche for                          Mr. Seagrave. No non-relevant traumas.                          No significant blood toxicology.                          Attitude of both trajectories                          consistent with explosions.               Brian is discreetly avoiding his gaze, whistling quietly to                himself as he looks over specimen jars on a shelf.                                     RICCO                         They ran the residue you scraped                          from both crispers' front doors.                          It's a combination of plumber's putty                          and rayophene gum. Burns almost                          completely away when you light it.                                     SHADOW                         Putty? On both doors?                                     RICCO                         There's something else kinda                          interesting...               Ricco lifts Benton's charred shoulder. Underneath we see                some of his clothes that have melted and co-mingled with his                flesh.                                     RICCO                         See this?               A credit card has been fried right into Cosgrove's skin about                where his back pocket should have been.                                     RICCO                         Guess he didn't leave home without                          it.               Ricco erupts in a honking laugh, then switches instantly                back to a business tone.                                     RICCO                         Anyway, down here, take a look...                                     SHADOW                         McCaffrey, hold this for us.                                     BRIAN                         Uh, I don't think that's in my                          contract...                                     SHADOW                         I just re-wrote your contract.                          C'mere...               With supreme reluctance Brian pulls the crisper's head and                shoulder away from the table.                                     RICCO                         Jesus Christ, he isn't gonna try to                          sell you insurance, lift him.               Brian gathers the torso up and hoists him higher.                                     RICCO                              (to Rimgale)                         See that patch of shirt? We wondered                          about the discoloration so he ran a                          spectro. On a lucky shot we picked                          up some traces of Trychticholorate.                          Nobody around here had ever heard of                          it.                                     SHADOW                         Trychticholorate? Alright, it's an                          absorption catalyst in toxic waste                          accidents. It's pretty rare, they                          stopped making it a couple'a years                          ago.                                     RICCO                         Probably got in Cosgrove's clothes                          in a gas state from the fire.                                     SHADOW                         What the hell was it doing in the                          fire?                                     RICCO                         That's your job.               At that instant, Cosgrove's eyes OPEN and his body SIGHS.                Brian DROPS the body in shock and backs away, stunned.                                     SHADOW                         I asked you to hold him, not feel                          him up...               INT. RIMGALE'S CAR - DAY               Rimgale's FD sedan. Brian is still wringing imaginary guts                off his hands. Rimgale tosses an open fire chem book in his                lap.                                     SHADOW                         Read.                                     BRIAN                         "Trychtichlorate is a binary                          structured --"                                     SHADOW                         -- Go to the bottom. Under heat                          properties.                                     BRIAN                         "During heat episodes of 2000 Kelvin                          or higher, Trych breaks down and                          dissipates. Will consume magnesium".                                     SHADOW                         Ever burned magnesium? It's so hot                          it takes water molecules and BAMM!               Rimgale CLAPS his hands next to Brian's head, STARTLING him.                                     SHADOW                         Son of a bitch tears 'em apart just                          to eat the oxygen. Wouldn't take                          much at all to melt ten gauge wire.                          Problem's burnt magnesium leaves a                          powder trace -- unless you could                          find something that would eat its                          residue.                                     BRIAN                         Trychticholorate. Then Swayzak can                          announce Seagrave was a murder.               Rimgale looks at Brian. He's getting tired of this.                                     SHADOW                         Look, it isn't proof, okay? Someone                          may have put the chemical in the                          outlet, but we found it as a vapor                          in Cosgrove's clothes.                                     BRIAN                         And the putty around the door?                                     SHADOW                         Even if it was used to seal the air                          off, that doesn't explain why someone                          would go to the trouble of a                          backdraft. A gun's a helluva lot                          easier                                     BRIAN                         But the right guess on this is arson.                                     SHADOW                         I don't guess.                                     BRIAN                         Some people say you don't do much of                          anything when it comes to this case.                                     SHADOW                         I don't work for them, either.               INT. ARSON HQ - DAY               Brian's sitting at a desk. He's finishing up a huge paper                clip Tyrannosaurus. The phone RINGS.                                     BRIAN                         Arson.                                     JENNIFER                         Straightest answer your department's                          given me all week.               We see Jennifer's calling from her office, she's busy signing                papers brought to her and okaying campaign posters as she                talks.                                     BRIAN                         Hey.                                     JENNIFER                         How's it going?                                     BRIAN                         Boss and I are up to about three                          words an hour.                                     JENNIFER                              (to secretary)                         Green committed to a thousand.                              (to Brian)                         There's another fund-raising party                          tonight. Marty'd really like you to                          come.                                     BRIAN                         I don't know, I'm kinda swamped here.               He tosses a paper airplane.                                     JENNIFER                         I could use a date.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah? Well, maybe I can fit it in...                                     RIMGALE'S VOICE                         McCaffrey! Come here!                                     BRIAN                              (into phone)                         Call ya back.               Brian hangs up quickly and walks back into               INT. ARSON HQ - ANOTHER ROOM - DAY               Rimgale's there, crouched excitedly beside a trash can that's                lid's been sealed closed. He tamps a piece of putty on the                rim and backs away.                                     SHADOW                         Take the top off. Go ahead. Take it                          off.               Brian walks over and RIPS OFF the lid. -- Instantly a tongue                of flame SHOOTS straight up past his head and BLOWS out.                                     BRIAN                         Jesus!               Rimgale's grinning like a little kid.                                     SHADOW                         That's it! Oh, that son of a bitch,                          he's different, goddamn it! You see                          what this tells us, huh? Our killer                          doesn't love fire!                                     BRIAN                         What?                                     SHADOW                              (pulls out file)                         I got it after we talked to Ronald.                          Torches. Want to fry the whole goddamn                          world. But the fires that killed                          those guys never really burned up                          much. -- The burns were all lit in                          outlets surrounded by double                          firebreaks in the walls. And he made                          his burns backdrafts.                              ([p. 78])                                     BRIAN                         But he killed these guys.                                     SHADOW                         But he could have killed everybody                          there. The firebreaks kept it from                          spreading in the wall. The backdraft                          blew out the flame. That's it. That's                          the reason.                                     BRIAN                         What reason?                                     SHADOW                         Why backdrafts. Whoever fried Seagrave                          and Cosgrove went to a helluva lot                          of trouble to make sure they died by                          fire, but also made sure the fire                          blew itself out.                                     BRIAN                         That's why the sealant on the doors...                          So what have we got, a torch with a                          conscience?                                     SHADOW                         No, we have a stone killer trying to                          make a point.                                     BRIAN                         Are you going public with this?                                     SHADOW                         No. Do that and I guarantee you'll                          scare him off. I don't want him                          running away.               EXT. PARTY BOAT - NIGHT               A Latin band cuts loose as beautiful people mill about against                a beautiful Chicago skyline. An AIR HORN blows, and suddenly                the skyline is MOVING. We're on a huge, private party boat.               EXT. PARTY BOAT - NIGHT               Brian's leaning on the boat railing watching the passing                parade of rich and beautiful. Across the sea of champagne                and brie, he spots Jennifer talking with her boss, Swayzak.                He has his hand on her back.               Jennifer spots Brian. She smile, detaches herself and walks                over.                                     JENNIFER                         Hi.                                     BRIAN                              (eyes on Swayzak)                         Hey...                              (beat)                         So are you dating your boss or what?                                     JENNIFER                         If you weren't at least the 300th                          person to ask me that, I'd probably                          be pissed.                              (beat, sighs)                         Boy, you sure know it's a man's world                          sometimes...                                     BRIAN                         Sorry.                              (beat)                         Are you dating anyone?                                     JENNIFER                         You think that's really any of your                          business?                                     BRIAN                         Well, you did invite me here.                                     JENNIFER                         Marty did.                              (beat, smiles)                         But I wanted you to come to.               Swayzak suddenly appears with his entourage.                                     SWAYZAK                         Mr. McCaffrey...                                     BRIAN                         Nice boat.                                     SWAYZAK                         It isn't mine.                              (to photographer)                         Let's get a picture.               Swayzak swings around and puts his arm cheesily around Brian's                shoulder. Another staffer slaps a SWAYZAK FOR MAYOR sticker                to Brian's lapel. Jennifer rolls her eyes to Brian. I'm                sorry... Snap.                                     SWAYZAK                              (seeing someone else)                         Larry!                              (sotto to Jennifer)                         What does he do again?               Swayzak leads her off in pursuit. Left alone, Brian turns to                the railing, stares off at the passing city. You can hear                the wind-up of a siren.               And there it is now, an engine company zooming along Wacker                Drive. Something digs and kicks inside of Brian as he watches                it disappear.                                     JENNIFER                         How's the job going?               She's appeared again beside him.                                     BRIAN                         Okay.                                     JENNIFER                         Boy, Rimgale's as slow as a snail,                          isn't he?                                     BRIAN                         No, he's more of a dinosaur. Guy's                          not a dummy, though. He's juggling                          alot of balls on this one.                                     JENNIFER                         Yeah, but it doesn't take Albert                          Einstein just to figure out if these                          guys were killed by accidents or                          not.                                     BRIAN                         Jesus, give him a break. There isn't                          enough proof yet to go public. Sure,                          we found some chemical shit we think                          somebody dumped in the plugs to torch                          'em, and we've maybe figured out why                          backdrafts, but you can't rush this                          stuff. Not 'till it's locked.                                     JENNIFER                         But Rimgale's probably going to come                          around to arson.                                     BRIAN                         In a dinosaur kinda way, yeah.               BAMM!               Both of them look up sharply. A woman drunk out of her mind                has tipped over in her chair. She laughs, her fellow                tablemates laugh, everybody laughs. Jennifer takes Brian by                the arm in the opposite direction and smiles.                                     JENNIFER                         Save me.               EXT. PARTY BOAT - NIGHT               The band's completely cut loose now. A wild percussion rhythm                that has everyone on their feet dancing like madmen. Brian                and Jennifer stomp and sweat and shake and giggle through                hair crazily askew. The lakeshore is twinkling and wonderful                as it slips past. The drums beat faster and harder and the                only thing that isn't moving now is their eyes -- eyes locked                on each other.               EXT. ARSON HQ - NIGHT               Sweaty, flushed with the evening and a few drinks, Brian and                Jennifer pull up in her car.                                     BRIAN                         Thanks for the invite.                                     JENNIFER                         Got anything to drink in there?                                     BRIAN                         Oh, there might be something stashed                          away for emergencies.               INT. ARSON HQ/FIRE STATION               The regular engine company's gone to bed and the arson squad's                packed in for the night, leaving the apparatus floor quiet                and dim as Brian and Jennifer enter.               Brian leads her back past the engine and arson sedan to the                rear where Rimgale has his offices. As they walk Jennifer's                eyes drift up to the old sculpted parapets, the press-tin                ceiling.                                     BRIAN                         This is one of the oldest fire                          stations in the city. Lotta tradition                          locked up in here. What do you think?                                     JENNIFER                         Homey.                                     BRIAN                         See that trap door up there? That                          used to lead to the hay loft when                          they had horse-drawn engines. It was                          pretty different then... but kinda                          the same, y'know?                                     JENNIFER                         Do you miss it?                              (he doesn't answer)                         You seem like you do.                                     BRIAN                         When I came back, I knew more than                          anything else that I wanted to be a                          fireman.                                     JENNIFER                         Then why did you quit?                                     BRIAN                         I wanted to be a good one.               INT. ARSON HQ - BACK OFFICES               They walk into the back arson offices. Brian pokes through a                few drawers, one or two shelves. Finally he lifts a squat,                specialized fire extinguisher. The bottom has been hollowed                out, leaving room for a fifth of bourbon.                                     BRIAN                         Old firehouse trick.               He pours her a glass. Jennifer takes a generous sip of her's,                turns, brushes past him and breathes,                                     JENNIFER                         So show me your fire truck.               INT. ARSON HQ - APPARATUS FLOOR               Brian escorts Jennifer along the side of the behemoth.                                     BRIAN                         Well, our specimen here is your basic                          standard issue piece of primary                          suppression equipment. This area is                          the pumping panel, which controls                          the rate of liquid insertion into                          the hose.                                     JENNIFER                         Uh huh.               Brian lifts a narrow, tapered straight-bore nozzle.                                     BRIAN                         This is a six inch playpipe, cast                          bronze to keep it firm during hard                          flows.                              (picks up another                               item)                         This is our pipe extender, used in                          forward lays...                              (moves on)                         This is our hard suction line... Our                          adjustable insertion nozzle...                              (comes around back of                               trunk)                         ...And this is the hose bed.               Beat. The air cracks between them. And is brushed aside. In                an instant they're all over each other. Tangled lips and                gulping breaths. Jennifer abruptly breaks it off               -- And looks mischievously up at the hose bed, with its long                curling rolls of soft cotton.               Brian doesn't remember this precise scenario being discussed                at the academy, but he improvises admirably, popping up onto                the hose bed and offering a gentlemanly hand to Jennifer. As                they tumble into the soft folds                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. HIGH-RISE - NIGHT               Engine 17 roars up, lights flashing, to a high-rise. As the                crew jumps down Tim trips and falls flat on his face.                                     GRINDLE                         Jesus Tim, if you're going to kill                          yourself at least wait till the fire,                          it's better P.R.               INT. ARSON HQ - HOSE BED - NIGHT               Jennifer unbuttons Brian's shirt.                                     JENNIFER                         Tell me about the playpipe again...               She pulls the shirt off his shoulder as we                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HIGH-RISE - LOBBY - NIGHT               Engine 17 walking up to a frazzled security guard in the                lobby.                                     STEPHEN                         Where is it?                                     SECURITY GUARD                         Don't know. There's alarms going off                          on three different floors.                                     STEPHEN                         Wonderful.               They climb into the elevator.               INT. HIGH RISE - ELEVATOR - NIGHT               It's cramped on the way up with the bulky coats, helmets,                hose rolls, and the tangible nervousness that always goes                with this kind of fire. The elevator Musak plays 101 Strings                version of "Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Old Oak Tree".                                     TIM                         How do we know if the floor's going                          to be on fire?                                     STEPHEN                         If the doors open and it's hot, don't                          get out.               INT. ARSON HQ - HOSE BED               Brian pulls off Jennifer's stockings. As she kicks it away...               INT. HIGH-RISE - UPPER FLOOR - NIGHT               The elevator stops. DING. The door opens. No howling blaze,                not even any noise, but enough hanging smoke that you can't                see your hand in front of your face.               They fan out gingerly onto the floor, looking for the fire.                Hide and seek in a white fog bank. Everybody stops and                listens. Slowly, carefully, they feel their way through the                haze.                                     STEPHEN                         It's here.               On cue something snakes past behind the walls, whispers and                whines and shivers up and over them and then is silent.                Grindle attaches a hoseline to the building standpipe.                                     GRINDLE                         These high-rise gigs give me the                          creeps.                                     AXE                         Let's wait for a back-up, Stephen.                          We're early on this one, it hasn't                          even broke out yet. We're one short                          as it is with Brian gone.               But Stephen's on the hunt now. Obsessed.                                     STEPHEN                         Want to learn something?                                     TIM                         Yes sir!               Stephen and Tim take the lead, their axes gripped like                shotguns. Grindle backs them up with a charged hoseline.                                     STEPHEN                         Adcox, go with Pengelly and check                          the other side.                                     AXE                         It isn't safe, man. Don't go splittin'                          us up. Not with this one.                                     STEPHEN                         -- What the hell's the matter with                          you? You always check the other side.                          I haven't got time for bullshit right                          now, okay? We got a job here.                                     AXE                         Let me take the lead, Stephen...                                     STEPHEN                         Goddamn it Adcox! Just do your fucking                          job!               Adcox folds. With a stricken look on his face he takes his                crew down the other way. Stephen and Tim slowly feel their                way.               CRACK               Everybody SPINS around in terror. Nothing. Something inhuman                giggles down ahead of them. Stephen smiles.                                     STEPHEN                              (like a mantra)                         Oh, you're so very sly, but so am                          I...                              (to Tim)                         ...Listen to it... you can tell when                          a wall cracks which way it's gonna                          jump... you can hear the doors breathe                          if they're hot...               Tim looks confused. He doesn't get it.               They come to a side door. Stephen runs his hand down the                jam, feels for heat. Then he steps back, takes a deep breath,                and CRASHES the door down with one AXE BLOW. Quiet inside.               INT. ARSON HQ - HOSE BED - NIGHT               Brian and Jennifer are into the rhythm now, breathing deeply.                On the wall above them are framed photos of dead firemen.                Watching.               INT. HIGH-RISE - SECOND DOORWAY - NIGHT               Stephen concentrates on the sound of the fire above him, --               then abruptly turns and CRASHES down another door.               INT. ARSON HQ - ALARM KLAXON GOES OFF - NIGHT               Brian and Jennifer lie in a tight embrace, enjoying the                moment, the lull, as suddenly the lights SNAP ON and an alarm                klaxon BELLOWS. Firemen are coming down the pole now.                                     JENNIFER                         What's going on?               They frantically climb into their clothes. The firemen haven't                noticed them as they climb aboard. They've STARTED THE ENGINE.                                     JENNIFER                         What are they doing?               EXT. ARSON HQ - STREETS - NIGHT               And before either of them realizes it, they're suddenly                pulling out into the street and WAILING off down the block.                The wind's wild in their hair, the siren deafening, the                flashing red lights blinding staccato, And Jennifer loves                it. She kisses Brian fiercely, he lets out a war whoop lost                in the blast of air, and together they hold each other as                the night screams past and...               EXT. HIGH-RISE - NIGHT               Engine 17 pulls up into the parking lot of the high-rise                fire. Firemen leap out of the cab and rush around behind to                pull off lengths of hose from the bed. As the folds curl                away the fireman is stunned to see a woman's stocking come                out with it.               With equal shock he looks up and watches as a disheveled and                grinning Brian and Jennifer climb calmly down out of the                bed.                                     BRIAN                         Excuse us.               INT. HIGH-RISE - TIM'S DOOR - NIGHT               Stephen and Tim creep along the hall.                                     STEPHEN                              (to Tim)                         Lotta smoke, but it isn't rolling...                          that means it's hiding... staying                          sleepy... one of these doors...               Tim's come to one.                                     STEPHEN                              (to himself)                         Easy... no hurry... you're not going                          anywhere...               Stephen BANGS down another door. Sticks his head in to check.                A little woodpecker toy dips up and down in a glass of water.               Tim readies his axe before his door, gathers his courage as                Stephen comes out of the room he was checking. Sees Tim                lifting his axe.                                     STEPHEN                         Did you check the door for heat,                          Tim?               Tim doesn't hear. The axe is already up.                                     STEPHEN                         Tim?               Tim's committed now, coming hard at the door. And Stephen                sees it for just an instant -- Small tendrils of smoke edging                lazily around the door -- then being sucked back in.                                     STEPHEN                         Tim!               He rushes for Tim as Tim's axe SMACKS the door and a whine                behind it builds and roars and howls and Tim's all follow-               through now, hitting the door with his shoulder as                The door EXPLODES OUTWARD, HURLING TIM against the opposite                wall and for an instant he's okay but he freezes in terror                as A SHRIEKING TONGUE OF FLAME SHOOTS OUT THE DOORWAY and                Grindle shouts in horror and opens his hose line as the flames                wrap Tim like a jealous lover as Adcox hears it and screams,                                     AXE                         Oh God! Oh God no!               And Tim's screaming now too, because his helmet, his mask,                his face, it's all melting and Grindle dives suicidally at                the monster, BLASTING it with his hose as Stephen ignores                the flames and puts his arms around Tim as Grindle DOUSES                them both, killing the flames.               The monster rolls wounded back into the room, into the air                shafts as Tim whimpers incoherently, sliding down the wall                as Stephen tries to help but oh God you can't tell what's                face and what's mask and helmet anymore.               Grindle looks back where the fire came from. There's a corpse                in there, burned and lying between two doors.               Adcox rushes to Tim's side sobbing and it's the end, the end                of the goddamn world...               EXT. HIGH-RISE - NIGHT               Brian and Jennifer are having the time of their lives, when                suddenly a group of firemen pass by rushing someone on a                stretcher to an ambulance and Brian sees -- sweet Jesus --                it's Tim. Jennifer turns away in horror. They load Tim into                the van as Adcox and Grindle jump in to ride along. To hold                his hand.               Stephen watches the ambulance disappear out into the street.                Frustration and fury tear at him as he takes off his coat                and slams it to the ground. He kicks it, kicks it till his                strength's gone. He turns, his wounded eyes finding Brian.               INT. HIGH-RISE - NIGHT               Rimgale walks down the smokey corridor. The charred civilian                is there, sitting in the short stretch of hall between two                blown doors. Through the haze Rimgale sees Stephen crouched                in the interior room, picking at the debris. Lost in himself.                                     STEPHEN                         Hey, Stevie.               Stephen stands and looks around the room, seemingly unaware                of Rimgale. He walks wordlessly straight out past him, his                eyes streaming with tears.               INT. HOSPITAL - EMERGENCY ROOM - NIGHT               Brian shoulders his way through the emergency room. He passes                a small alcove full of vending machines. Adcox is there,                sipping a paper cup, leaning against the machine in deep                anguish.                                     BRIAN                         Is he...                                     AXE                         He's alive.               INT. HOSPITAL ICU - NIGHT               Further down the hall is ICU. Grindle and Santos are there,                sitting outside the room, raw and weary. Grindle nods to                Brian. Everyone's still stained and smudged from the fire.               Everyone but Brian.               Brian looks through a door window into the room. There,                surrounded by doctors and physicians, lies Tim. He's been                cut out of his uniform. Gauze bandages everywhere. As a pair                of forceps peel some away Brian glimpses what used to be a                face, now only reds and browns and leaky whites. He turns                away.                                     BRIAN                         Do they think he'll pull through?                                     GRINDLE                         They're not saying.                                     BRIAN                         I should have been there.                                     NIGHTENGALE                         None of us should have been there,                          Brian.               Voices rise down the hall. Turn to shouts. It's Adcox and                Stephen, tearing heartbreakingly into one another. Brian                can't make out the words but it's ugly, emotional. Abruptly                it ends and Stephen emerges from the alcove, walking toward                them upset.                                     BRIAN                         You had to do it, didn't you?               Stephen's got other things on his mind.                                     STEPHEN                         ...Not now, Brian.                                     BRIAN                         Had to take on another fire bare-                         handed, huh? Had to be fucking myth                          man in there instead of looking out                          for your probie. Is that what                          happened? Is it, Stephen?                                     STEPHEN                         I had that fire. He didn't listen!                                     BRIAN                         He didn't listen? He was a fucking                          candidate! He was your responsibility.                          He shouldn't have been there in the                          first place, Stephen.                              (beat)                         You burned him.                                     STEPHEN                         Fuck you.               Brian grabs his arm.               Stephen SNAPS and roughly PUSHES Brian, knocking him against                the wall. Brian comes off it in a flash and is all over                Stephen. They go down and it's all thrashing and shouting                now. A horrible, endless draw. Grindle and Santos are in it,                pulling them apart, holding them up against opposite walls.               Both brothers glare at one another, tears filling their eyes.                Brian shakes Grindle off and walks away.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               INT. ARSON HQ - BRIAN'S DESK - MORNING               Brian sits staring blankly. A newspaper drops in front of                him. FIRE DEPT. SAYS IT'S MURDER. Rimgale stands above him.                                     SHADOW                         Goes on about how the break was made                          through the discovery of "chemical                          traces" and a "behavioral link". Oh,                          and Swayzak's quoted saying the chief                          investigator is closing in on the                          torch and expects an arrest "any                          time".               Brian's eyes wince closed.                                     SHADOW                         Get your stuff and get out.               INT. JENNIFER'S OFFICE - DAY               She's pouring some coffee as Brian bursts in.                                     JENNIFER                              (surprised)                         Brian. What's wrong?                                     BRIAN                         You told Swayzak about our arson                          lead. It's all over the fucking news.                                     JENNIFER                         I didn't know it was a secret. There                          aren't supposed to be secrets between                          the city and its investigators --                                     BRIAN                         -- Bullshit! You knew what I told                          you wasn't ready for the papers --                                     JENNIFER                         Will you please keep your voice down,                          there's people --                                     BRIAN                         -- You could have scared the son of                          a bitch off. We may never bust him                          now. All for a couple's political                          points.                                     JENNIFER                         I was doing my job.                                     BRIAN                              (grabs her arm)                         Yeah? And just how much of all this                          has been "doing your job"?                                     JENNIFER                              (shakes it off)                         Let me ask you something, do you                          really think Marty had you assigned                          to arson because of your firefighting                          skills? Who the hell are you kidding?                          I was there, remember? I saw you and                          your brother --                                     BRIAN                         Leave Stephen out of this --                                     JENNIFER                         Oh yeah, he's the real fireman.                              (beat)                         Who are you? Just another probie                          working for Swayzak --                                     BRIAN                         -- I work for the city.                                     JENNIFER                         You knew what we were asking you to                          do. Don't suddenly pull out a                          conscience now. The fit isn't right.               Swayzak appears in the doorway. He looks haggard, as if he                hasn't slept. There's something haunted in his eyes.                                     SWAYZAK                         Mr. McCaffrey... Keeping busy?                                     BRIAN                         Yeah. In fact, I just dropped off a                          letter to the Times explaining how                          yesterday's arson announcement was a                          fabrication by your office. They                          loved it. And you know what? You                          were right, my family background in                          firefighting gave it weight.                                     JENNIFER                         Oh Brian...               Brian shoulders his way past Swayzak and walks out.               INT. HOSPITAL - TIM'S ROOM - NIGHT               Brian walks up to Tim's room. Stephen's sitting there, ragged                looking. Inside the young probie lies wrapped in tubes and                gauze and years of wasted promise. An EKG beeps, a respirator                hisses, and Brian gulps down something heavy in his throat.                                     STEPHEN                         He's gonna live. Maybe not much else,                          but he's gonna live...               Stephen walks away.               EXT. ARSON HQ - MORNING               As Rimgale gets out of his car a limousine pulls up. Swayzak                opens the rear door from inside.                                     SWAYZAK                         Inspector.                                     SHADOW                         Alderman.               INT. SWAYZAK SEDAN - DAY               Cruising through traffic. Swayzak is disheveled, unshaven,                fidgety. A man who hasn't slept and had a few drinks before                the one he's pouring now. He offers one to Rimgale.                                     SHADOW                         I usually have breakfast first.               Swayzak apparently doesn't.                                     SWAYZAK                         When are you going to catch the prick                          that's doing this, Don?                                     SHADOW                         "Don?"                                     SWAYZAK                         Don't you have any leads at all?                                     SHADOW                         No Marty, I don't.               For the first time, Rimgale sees real fear on Swayzak's face.                                     SHADOW                         We still haven't found a connection                          between the victims.                                     SWAYZAK                         Jesus, open your eyes! Seagrave,                          Cosgrove, and now Holcomb -- fried                          in a goddamn high-rise!                                     SHADOW                         Holcomb? I didn't know the name of                          that victim had even been released                          yet.               The sedan stops back at arson HQ. They'd gone around the                block.               EXT. ARSON HQ - SWAYZAK SEDAN - DAY               Rimgale opens the door, climbs out, lingers.                                     SHADOW                         Is there a connection between them,                          Alderman?                                     SWAYZAK                         Just catch the son of a bitch.               The door shuts and Swayzak roars away.               INT. ARSON HQ - BACK OFFICES - DAY               Rimgale walks back into his offices. He's surprised to see                Brian there working at his desk.                                     SHADOW                         What the hell are you doing here?                                     BRIAN                         I'm finished with Swayzak. I'll do                          whatever you want me to do. I just                          want to help catch the guy that burned                          Tim. You gotta give me another shot.               Rimgale stares at Brian, appraises him.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HIGH-RISE               A CLOSE UP of Rimgale POPPING the molding around the door                frame of Holcomb's burned office. Underneath can be seen                traces of the same white residue from the other fires.                                     SHADOW                         I thought 'ol Marty was acting a                          little strange... And he's right.               Rimgale rubs the white powder between his fingers.                                     BRIAN                         Backdraft?               Rimgale stands at the spot in the short hall where the body                lied between two doors.                                     SHADOW                         The backdraft was set somewhere in                          there. It fried Holcomb when he opened                          the inner door. But the outer door                          held... and waited for Tim...               Brian steps into the inner office.                                     SHADOW                         So find me the fire.               Brian begins searching, probing. He finally stands. Defeated.                                     SHADOW                         You're thinking too much of the                          building and not enough of the ghost.               Brian's eyes don't understand. From Rimgale's coat comes a                plastic flask. He pours out of it a liquid onto the floor                and lights a match.                                     SHADOW                         In a word, Brian, what is this job                          all about?                                     BRIAN                         Fire.               Rimgale drops the match.               WUMP. A small flame explodes to life.                                     SHADOW                         It's a living thing, Brian. It                          breathes, it eats, and it hates.               The fire's climbing a wall, chewing a corner.                                     SHADOW                         The only way to beat it is to think                          like it. To know that this flame                          will spread this way across the floor                          not because of the physics of                          flammable liquids or heat convection,                          but because it wants to.               FWUMP. It darts west. Licks the ceiling. The fire purrs and                hisses. Stretches luxuriously and attacks savagely.                                     SHADOW                         Some guys on this job, fire owns                          them. It makes them fight on its                          level. But the only way to truly                          kill it is to love it a little, just                          like Ronald.               Brian stares at the flame. A goblin reaching out for him... --               Woosh! Rimgale hits it with a fire extinguisher. In an instant                the goblin is gone, the genie in the bottle.                                     VOICE                         What the hell are you guys doin'?               A young woman's entered.                                     SHADOW                         We're the fire department, lady.                                     WOMAN                         Well color me stupid, I always thought                          the fire dept. put out fires.                                     SHADOW                              (to woman)                         You work here?                                     WOMAN                         Till yesterday. What do you think                          the odds are that a non-refundable                          ticket to Paris survived this?                                     BRIAN                         Somewhere between zero and no way.                                     WOMAN                         Shit. What a mess.                                     SHADOW                         You seem real broken up about Mr.                          Holcomb.                                     WOMAN                         Jeff Holcomb? The Darth Vader of tax                          accountants? He was a sleezeball.                          Hopefully a sleezeball that carried                          some insurance.                                     BRIAN                         Go talk to the building owner.                                     WOMAN                         He was the building owner.                                     BRIAN                         Our book lists the owner as Dekom                          Trust.               She looks at him like he's the dumbest human she's met all                week.                                     WOMAN                         Don't investigators come in adult                          size?               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - OUTSIDE STEPHEN'S OFFICE - DAY               Sequence omitted from original script.               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - STEPHEN'S STATION OFFICE - DAY               Stephen's lying sprawled on his bunk, his hands pressed over                his eyes. There's a voice outside the door.                                     GRINDLE                         Stevie? Rimgale's here to see you.                                     STEPHEN                         I'm busy.                                     GRINDLE                         He just wants to --                                     STEPHEN                         -- I'm busy goddamn it, okay?               A beat, then Rimgale himself enters.                                     STEPHEN                         What, they don't knock on your planet?               Rimgale takes in Stephen's room, the half empty bourbon                bottle. Without a word, Rimgale walks over and pours it out.                He sits down beside Stephen.                                     SHADOW                         I still haven't gotten your fire                          report, Stevie. On Tim.               A wave of pain rolls through Stephen.                                     STEPHEN                         I'm working on it.                                     SHADOW                         I deal with this stuff every day.                          But a fireman... you never get used                          to it.                              (beat)                         What happened up there? He was a                          candidate. Did he pay attention? Was                          he listening?                                     STEPHEN                         ...He wasn't listening to the right                          thing...                                     SHADOW                         What do you listen to, Stephen?                                     STEPHEN                         You don't know... nobody knows...                                     SHADOW                         I might.               Stephen's eyes meet Rimgale's and hold.                                     STEPHEN                         It knows us. This one knows us.                                     SHADOW                              (beat)                         I need that report, Lt.               Stephen takes Rimgale's notebook out of his lap, rips out a                page, and writes angrily in huge block letters.                                     STEPHEN                         Tim-went-to-the-fire-and-now-he-                         doesn't-have-a-face.               Stephen throws the sheet at Rimgale, stands, and walks out.               INT. HALL OF RECORDS               An Escher drawing of a place, endlessly vast racks spun around                an open central core. High up, lost among its rows, Brian is                going through rack after rack of dog-eared record books as                Rimgale enters down below.                                     BRIAN                              (trying to hold it                               together in his mind)                         Hey boss, Dekom Trust is owned by                          Pan Illinois... which is majority                          controlled by Lakeside Dynamics...                          which is a division of Windy City                          Ventures... who's partners are...                              (beat)                         Alan Seagrave, Donald Cosgrove, and                          Jeffrey Holcomb.                                     SHADOW                         Son of a bitch. They knew each other.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HALL OF RECORDS               More books. Files. Acres of paper.                                     BRIAN                         So Seagrave and Holcomb were                          accountants...                                     SHADOW                         And Cosgrove. Coppers figured he                          laundered money for the mob before                          getting into real estate. They weren't                          very high on Seagrave, either.                                     BRIAN                         Nice bunch of guys.                                     SHADOW                         Who all ended up wearing candles for                          faces...                              (beat)                         Swayzak's up to his ass in this                          somehow. Guy can barely hold a drink                          in his hand, he's so scared.               A beat, then he looks directly at Brian.                                     SHADOW                         We need to get a look at his files.               EXT. ROOFTOP RESTAURANT - NIGHT               Sequence omitted from original script.               EXT. LAKESHORE - DUSK               With glowing skyscrapers leaping up in the background, it's                an unexpectedly quiet, serene place along the lake. Jennifer                sits alone at a bench, watching an ancient fisherman look                for dinner, as Brian walks up.                                     JENNIFER                         Hi.                                     BRIAN                         Hi.                                     JENNIFER                         We still talking?                              (beat)                         Look, I'm sorry about the other day --                                     BRIAN                         Swayzak knows something about the                          guys that were murdered. I want to                          know why he keeps that hidden.                                     JENNIFER                         I don't know anything about it.                                     BRIAN                         You could check. It'd be in his files.                                     JENNIFER                              (beat)                         Do you know what you're asking me to                          do?                                     BRIAN                         Yes.                                     JENNIFER                         Y'know, four years ago I was working                          in a bakery. Two years ago I was                          bringing Marty coffee and he didn't                          even know my name. I run that office                          now. Marty believed in me and I                          believe in him. You want me to just                          throw that away?                                     BRIAN                         Your boss is lying, Jennifer.               And it hangs between them, two people lonely on the edge of                the lake.               INT. BRIAN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               Sequence omitted from original script.               INT. HELEN'S GARAGE - NIGHT               At a workbench, under a single lamp, Stephen stands amongst                a confusion of tools, wire, And a wall socket.               With a pair of pliers, he tugs at something within the socket,                puts the face-plate back on and screws it down. He stares at                it, and we feel the sudden wave of hopelessness cascading                through him.               He sets the socket back down -- and SCATTERS everything aside                in a single, furious move.               INT. HELEN'S HOUSE - NIGHT               Sequence omitted from original script.               EXT. HELEN'S HOUSE - NIGHT               Stephen's sits quietly against Helen's back door, lost in                himself. A light comes on. Helen opens the back door.                                     HELEN                         Stephen?               She sits down beside him.                                     STEPHEN                         I'm sorry... I... couldn't sleep...                                     HELEN                         What's wrong?                                     STEPHEN                         I...                              (beat)                         It used to be, when I was a kid,                          what meant most to me about this job                          was there were no ifs. Life and death,                          right and wrong. When someone called                          the fire department, we came... Those                          guys don't know how much I love                          them... You don't leave people                          hanging... cause that's what it's                          all about. It's loyalty. It's 'till                          death do us part. Isn't that what                          you heard?... It's you go, we go...                          Cause without that, it's the end of                          families, it's the end of the fire                          department... and when the fire                          department stops coming... that's                          the end of the fucking world...                              (beat)                         I'm sorry I came, Helen, it's just...                          it's just there's nobody I can talk                          to...                              (beat)                         I miss you.               The moment lingers, grows heavy and grey.               INT. HELEN'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT               Stephen and Helen in bed, holding each other...               INT. HELEN'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING               Morning, and Stephen dressed, making eggs for three. Sean's                there, lending a hand, beaming as Stephen tries to show him                how to flip an egg. Helen enters in her robe. He kisses her.                                     STEPHEN                         Cook and I are almost finished here.                          Have a seat.                                     HELEN                         Stephen... I... can I talk to you a                          second...               Stephen musses his son's hair and follows her out into the                hall.                                     STEPHEN                         Look, I'm sorry I --                                     HELEN                         -- No, that's okay. It's just Sean...                                     STEPHEN                         -- He's gettin' good on those eggs.                          And y'know, he told me he actually                          likes the piano.                                     HELEN                         I don't want to confuse him, Stephen.               The blow's so long and hard and deep you don't even see it.                                     HELEN                         It's... It's just things have                          changed... you're the same, Stephen,                          but things are different now... you've                          got a son... you're the best at what                          you do Stephen, you always were, but                          you scare me now...               Just then, Sean sticks his head into it.                                     STEPHEN                              (to Sean)                         Hey... Sean-man, your dad blew it. I                          forgot I had to work this morning...                                     SEAN                         Aw dad, c'mon...                                     STEPHEN                         Next time, huh? We'll do it up big.                          Promise.               Helen's turned away.                                     SEAN                         Okay.                              (then sotto)                         Mom's crying, dad.               INT. SWAYZAK'S OFFICE - CITY HALL - MORNING               Jennifer enters Swayzak's inner office. His chair's turned                away toward the window.                                     JENNIFER                              (holding print-out)                         Latest polls came in, Marty.                              (he doesn't answer)                         Marty?               Finally the chair turns, revealing a haunted man. Polls are                far from his mind.                                     JENNIFER                         Jesus Christ, Marty, what's going                          on?                                     SWAYZAK                         Leave me alone.               She sees a fire department file on the murders open on his                desk.                                     JENNIFER                         We've come a long way together, Marty.                          I've staked my whole career on you.                          And now you're sneaking around this                          office, leaking things to the papers                          behind my back...                              (beat)                         Is there something you're not telling                          me about these deaths?               Swayzak's eyes are dead metal.                                     SWAYZAK                         No.               And he turns his chair around again. Jennifer stands there a                beat. -- Then turns to the filing cabinets.               EXT. BRIAN'S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT               Brian drives up and parks. He's half way to the staircase                when he sees someone sitting in the dark in a car.                                     BRIAN                         Jennifer?               She hands him a manila envelope.                                     BRIAN                         What is --                                     JENNIFER                         Just take it.               Silence.                                     BRIAN                         I'm sorry.                                     JENNIFER                         That's a dumb thing to say.                                     BRIAN                         You're right.               She starts her car.                                     JENNIFER                         Goodbye, Brian.               INT. FIRE DEPARTMENT REPAIR DEPOT               A cavernous hall full of dozens of fire trucks loaded on                jacks. Rimgale's sedan's there, the repairman shaking his                head in amazement at the undercarriage.                                     REPAIRMAN                         What the hell do you do with this                          thing?               Rimgale's looking through the report Brian's handed him.                                     SHADOW                         This is the copy of Swayzak's manning                          report that was released. Everybody                          on this job knows it's bullshit but                          we could never argue with the numbers.                          They're all airtight.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah? Airtight?               He dumps three more reports on Rimgale.                                     BRIAN                         I've got three different drafts of                          the same report -- with different                          numbers that're all over the place.                          Looks like they were just making it                          up as they went along.                                     SHADOW                         Did a little check on the consulting                          firm that wrote the report. They did                          exactly one job -- Swayzak's manpower                          study. It's not even really a company.                          No employees, no directors, just a                          PO Box.                                     BRIAN                         Then who wrote the report?                                     SHADOW                         It had to be someone who knows                          numbers. Some kind of fancy                          accountant. But what's the connection?               Brian hands him something else. A photograph. Swayzak and                the other three, posing on a fishing boat, 1970. Time of                their lives.                                     SHADOW                         I think it's time Mr. Swayzak and us                          had a little heart to heart talk.               EXT. SWAYZAK'S HOUSE - NIGHT               The red arson sedan pulls up to wealthy home. Rimgale and                Brian walk up and knock on the door -- it creaks open ajar.                They push the door open slowly.               INT. SWAYZAK'S HOUSE - NIGHT               It's dark as they enter.                                     SHADOW                         Hello? Swayzak?               Brian and Rimgale split up down different halls. It's the                HISS Brian hears first. Then the FLASH of an electrical socket                FLARING ice-cold cobalt blue. Suddenly the room's dimensions                are there in frantic, strobing shadows. Chairs, a couch --               -- And a figure that JUMPS Brian. the light from the burning                plug is a fierce strobe as the figure, a confused shadow,                crashes Brian to the floor. They STRUGGLE.               The figure GRABS Brian's throat. Brian PUSHES him back               -- Against the burning wall plug. The figure SHRIEKS in pain,                gets his hand on a crowbar and SLAMS Brian -- who crumples,                dazed. The figure stands -- just as Rimgale TACKLES him. The                figure CRASHES across a gas space heater, SNAPPING the                connection off. The figure SLAMS Rimgale HARD with the                crowbar, squirms free, and stumbles out the door.               Hissss... Rimgale climbs to his feet as fire eats at the                wall. A baby backdraft wagging its tail. He goes to a dazed                Brian's side, lifting him by his armpits and               EXT. SWAYZAK HOUSE - NIGHT               helping him outside. Hissss... The ruptured space heater                pumps gas furiously. Rimgale sees that. He also sees a bedroom                door ajar on the far side of the house. And through the door                a couch. And on the couch, A body. Hissss...               INT. SWAYZAK HOUSE - NIGHT               Rimgale rushes back inside. It's Swayzak, unconscious.               EXT. SWAYZAK HOUSE - NIGHT               Rimgale drags him out on the stoop beside Brian just as the                gas WHUMPS and the doors and windows EXPLODE in a HOWLING                FIREBALL, the shrapnel BLOWING Rimgale off his feet. Brian                slowly shakes his head clear. He looks around, tries to orient                himself.                                     SHADOW                         Uh... I sorta got a problem here...               Brian climbs up to his feet and walks over to where Rimgale                lies at a weird angle, a piece of wrought iron fence punched                through his shoulder.               INT. HOSPITAL - EMERGENCY ROOM - NIGHT               Rimgale lies in an emergency room bed.                                     SHADOW                         Well Brian, I guess you can say it's                          arson now...                                     BRIAN                         How ya feeling?               Rimgale grunts.                                     BRIAN                         Did you pull me out?                                     SHADOW                         Yeah.                                     BRIAN                         Did I say thanks?                                     SHADOW                         No.                                     BRIAN                         Just wondering.                                     SHADOW                         I hate hospitals. You're so... so                          goddamn useless...               Rimgale suddenly kicks the bed frame in anger. He kicks it                over and over with frustration till something finally SNAPS                off. Brian waits, let's him vent his frustration.                                     BRIAN                         So what do you want me to do?                                     SHADOW                         I've been lying here hours... just                          thinking... We're close...                              (beat)                         We're not looking in the right place,                          Brian. This one knows us and we're                          not looking in the right place...               INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY               Brian's sitting alone in a chair. Finally the opposite door                opens and in enters Ronald.                                     RONALD                         Well, Mr. Life magazine. Come all                          this way just to say hi?               Brian hands him a stack of murder files.                                     BRIAN                         I'm close... but I can't get who it                          is...                                     RONALD                         So you came to me...                              (smiles)                         Well, this is going to be an                          interesting afternoon after all...               As Ronald starts to read the files                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - LATER - DAY               Brian still sitting there. Watching Ronald devour the                statistics. The photos of charred bodies. Ronald finishes,                leans back.                                     RONALD                         Okay, here's the deal. I'll tell you                          a story, you tell me one. Fair?                                     BRIAN                         Who's doing this?                                     RONALD                         Your first question should be who                          isn't. It isn't a spark, Brian. Not                          enough damage. And an insurance pro?                          Where's the profit margin?                                     BRIAN                         Then who --                                     RONALD                         -- No no, your turn. Tell me a story.                                     BRIAN                         I don't have a story.                                     RONALD                         Sure you do.               Ronald drops on the table a dog-eared copy of that 1972 LIFE                magazine with Brian on the cover.                                     RONALD                         Famous story even. Straight burn.                          Just an engine and truck first on                          scene. What did you feel, Brian,                          when you first got there?                                     BRIAN                         What?                                     RONALD                         You gotta tell a story too, Brian.                          It's fair. C'mon, don't think too                          hard --                                     BRIAN                         I... I thought it was great. I loved                          it. It was nothing to these guys...                          medium deal.                                     RONALD                         Right. Light smoke, low roll. Couple'a                          civilians hollering -- medium deal.                          So young fireman Adcox and Captain                          McCaffrey, they head up stairs, get                          out on the fire escape -- McCaffrey                          does the ballsy jump across... what                          were you feeling, Brian?                              (Brian doesn't answer)                         C'mon, you promised. Be honest.                              (Brian just stares)                         Okay... Guard!                                     BRIAN                         -- I wanted to be him. Right then I                          wanted to be him more than anything...                                     RONALD                              (smiles)                         Very good, Brian. -- About your report                          here. The way to a torch's heart is                          through his tools. That's how you                          know him. It's the way he talks to                          the fire. And to you if you listen.                                     BRIAN                         The outlets.                                     RONALD                         That's a probie answer. You're smarter                          than that, Brian.                                     BRIAN                         Trychticholorate.                                     RONALD                         Good. -- So our two heroes, Adcox                          and McCaffrey, they go back inside.                          Only there's another fire in there                          nobody sees. And it took your dad,                          didn't it Brian? Did you see him                          burn?               In a flash, Brian suddenly reaches across and grabs Ronald                by the collar.                                     BRIAN                         Who the fuck is doing this?                                     RONALD                         After it took your dad... the fire...                          did it look at you Brian? Did it                          talk to you?...               And Ronald sees something in Brian's eyes. He smiles.                                     RONALD                         You see, our world's aren't so                          different...               Brian releases Ronald.                                     BRIAN                              (quiet)                         Who's doing this?               The arsonist smiles a creepy, horrible grin.                                     RONALD                         Think, Brian. Who doesn't love fire,                          but knows it better than anyone else?                          Who's around trychticholorate 24                          hours a day?               A cold shock rolls through Brian as he slumps back in his                chair.                                     BRIAN                         Oh Jesus Christ...                                     RONALD                         Not such a far walk after all, is                          it, Brian?               EXT. STEPHEN'S BOAT - MARINA - NIGHT               Brian climbs up onto Stephen's boat. Nobody home. He opens                the cabin door, goes inside and hits the lights.               INT. STEPHEN'S BOAT - NIGHT               There's cereal bowls in the sink, beer bottles on the table,                And a stack of fire department supplies in the corner.               His whole body aching with reluctance, Brian begins looking                through them. Solvents, Armorall, a small specialty can of                fire dept. chemicals. There's a label of ingredients on it.                Way down at the bottom, Is trychticholorate. Nausea wracks                its way through Brian.                                     BRIAN                         Oh goddamn it Stephen...               Footsteps. Brian spins around in stone shock as Stephen comes                into the cabin.                                     STEPHEN                         Hey, what are you doing here?                                     BRIAN                         Just... Just wanted to say hello...                                     STEPHEN                         So hello.               Brian backs away from the chemicals.                                     STEPHEN                         Well, long as you're here you can                          help clean up a little. I've got a                          guy coming to look at this in a few                          minutes.                                     BRIAN                         You're selling dad's boat?                                     STEPHEN                         Yeah, it's just another memory in my                          life right now. And I got way too                          many of them...                                     BRIAN                         I really should get back. There's...                          there's something I'm supposed to                          do.                                     STEPHEN                         Yeah? What have you got to do?                              (beat)                         Look at you. Look at your face. All                          the things you must be thinking.                          Man, you must really hate my guts.                          Well, you know what? It's okay.                                     BRIAN                         Look, Stephen, maybe we can talk                          about this some other --                                     STEPHEN                         -- Okay, so you don't like me. You                          don't like everything I've done.                          What, because I wasn't such a genius                          the way I raised you? Jesus Christ,                          dad was gone, what was I supposed to                          do? You tell me, what the fuck was I                          supposed to do?!               He KICKS the bulkhead wall.                                     BRIAN                         It's okay, Stephen, I --                                     STEPHEN                         -- I tried, y'know? Helen's right. I                          don't have all the answers, but                          goddamn it, I've got some.                              (beat)                         Look, you're gonna do what you have                          to, and maybe I shouldn't have gotten                          in the way. I'm your brother, not                          your father. Go on. You gotta go                          somewhere? Go...               Brian turns to leave. Pauses.                                     BRIAN                         I saw it.                                     STEPHEN                         Saw what?                                     BRIAN                         When dad died, I saw another fire...                                     STEPHEN                         Everybody did.                                     BRIAN                         I saw it before it got them. I tried                          to yell, but... He asked me to look                          out for him. And I didn't do it. I                          let him die.                                     STEPHEN                              (stunned)                         ...Jesus, you been carrying that                          around for twenty years? For christ's                          sake, you were seven years old! You                          think he could have heard you in                          there?                                     BRIAN                         I hate him so much sometimes, Stephen.                          You don't know how hard it was for                          me to put that uniform on...                                     STEPHEN                         Maybe I do.                              (sighs)                         ...What a fuckin' mess, huh?                              (beat)                         People can change Brian.                                     BRIAN                         Sometimes right when you're looking                          at them.               Brian sees the chemicals in the corner again and something                freezes up inside. Stephen catches the look and there's                horrible silence between them.                                     BRIAN                         Oh God, Stephen, what's going on                          with you?                                     STEPHEN                         I don't know, Brian... I don't know...               EXT. FIRE STATION 17 - NIGHT               Brian stands before the fire station. His brother's and his.               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - UPSTAIRS LOCKER ROOM               Brian PRIES the lock off Stephen's locker. Starts looking                through it. Adcox comes out of the shower with a towel on,                starts shaving in a mirror. He doesn't notice Brian. Adcox                turns to head for his own locker and the towel slips a little.                And Brian's universe caves in.               An icy claw tears out his stomach. Gulping breaths, he forces                himself to look at Adcox's back.               On it is a small, rectangular burn. It's fresh and it's the                size of a wall socket. At that moment Adcox turns. The two                of them stare at one another just a beat, then Adcox walks                past him. Just then the alarm bells RING. Brian hesitates a                beat, confused, then turns and runs down to               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - APPARATUS FLOOR               Where firemen are scurrying around, suiting up. Brian looks                frantically for Stephen, sees him out back.               EXT. FIRE STATION 17 - BACK OF STATION - SUNDOWN                                     BRIAN                              (breathless)                         -- Stephen, wait a minute. I gotta                          talk to you. It's Adcox, he's --                                     STEPHEN                         -- What are you doing here?                                     BRIAN                         I saw Adcox's back! I saw the burn!                          I put it there! Jesus Christ, Stephen,                          he's been killing people!                                     STEPHEN                         I know.                                     BRIAN                         How do you know?                                     STEPHEN                         I knew when you came looking for the                          chemicals. Looking for me.                                     BRIAN                         -- What were they doing there?                                     STEPHEN                         They were for the fucking boat, Brian.               Grindles sticks his head out the back door.                                     GRINDLE                         We gotta roll, Stevie...                                     STEPHEN                         I'll be there.                                     GRINDLE                         They're waitin' man.                                     STEPHEN                         I'll be there, goddamn it!               Grindle goes back in.                                     STEPHEN                              (to Brian)                         Anything else?                                     BRIAN                         What are we going to do about this?                                     STEPHEN                         I'll handle it.                                     BRIAN                         We gotta go to Rimgale, Stephen.                                     STEPHEN                         I'm his Lt. He's my responsibility.                          I'll handle it. Me.               Stephen turns and walks toward the station.               Brian's eyes go to a window just above it. There, watching                him, watching the whole exchange between brothers, is Adcox.               Adcox stares at Brian a beat, then finally disappears as                Brian hears the cough of diesel engines.                                     BRIAN                         Oh, Christ. Stephen...               He starts running for the station.               INT./EXT. FIRE STATION 17 - NIGHT               -- It's too late. Adcox climbs aboard just as the engine                company pulls out and whistles down the street.               The ladder company is just easing onto the drive. Brian                hesitates only an instant, then runs to the equipment racks,                PULLS off the hooks his helmet, coat, boots -- and jumps                onto the truck as it takes off in pursuit.               INT./EXT. ENGINE COMPANY 17 - NIGHT               As it howls down the avenue, Stephen turns around and stares                at Adcox sitting behind. The glimmer of an understanding...               INT./EXT. TRUCK COMPANY 46 - NIGHT               The laddermen look confused seeing Brian sitting among them.               A CAR Suddenly CUTS the truck company off. The driver SLAMS                the brakes, PUSHING the truck company into a HORRIBLE SKID.                The back fishtails, the wheels JUMP the curb, BASH a mailbox,                and then the whole rig ROLLS onto its side and DRAGS to a                stop.               It's tangled confusion in the rear cab. Firemen, unhurt,                piled atop one another. Brian slides his way out from under                them and looks down the street where plumes of smoke rise                six blocks away.               He starts running.               EXT. WAREHOUSE FIRE - NIGHT               Flames and smoke curl from a huge industrial warehouse along                the river as Brian, panting, runs up. He searches frantically                through the maze of arriving engine companies, looking for                number 17. There it is but nobody's home. Brian stops a                passing captain.                                     BRIAN                         Where are they? Where's 17?                                     CAPTAIN                         On the roof.               Brian looks up at the smoke and whirling firestorm four                stories above him, feels the bile of fear in his throat, the                desperation, -- And begins strapping on an air tank.               EXT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT               Brian, now fully suited up, climbs the endless rungs of an                extended aerial ladder.               EXT. WAREHOUSE ROOF - NIGHT               Tongues of flame ROCKET skyward through ragged holes. Black                clouds drift murderously, roofing tars bubble and hiss as                the roof itself GROANS like a comatose dinosaur, reminding                you the whole thing could go any minute -- and you with it.               Trudging alone across this alien, spongy surface, Brian looks                for his company. It's almost impossible to tell anyone apart,                faces hidden behind helmets and masks.               Suddenly a cloud of smoke clears and there's two firemen                near the edge, "17" on their helmets.                                     BRIAN                         Stephen --               The helmets look up. Stephen and Adcox. Facing each other.                Adcox cradles an axe.                                     STEPHEN                         Brian?               Brian starts to move beside Stephen but Adcox turns, tightens                his grip on the axe, and now all the cards are on the table.                A hissing black cloud drifts through. They're the only three                people on earth.               Adcox's eyes are clouded with tears.                                     AXE                         Aw man, Stephen, listen to me...                                     STEPHEN                         -- What the fuck were you thinking,                          huh? Burning people? You're a fireman.                                     AXE                         They were killing firemen, man. When                          Sally showed me what was in Swayzak's                          files... They were my friends, I had                          to do it. I had to do it for the                          department.                                     BRIAN                         Did you do it for Tim?                                     AXE                              (pain, to Stephen)                         That was an accident! Jesus Christ,                          why did you have to go in there so                          fucking early? Why didn't you listen                          to me!               Brian and Stephen are backed up against the roof edge --                sixty feet up. Far below a fireboat has begun pumping a                massive stream at the side of the building.                                     AXE                         You gotta let me finish --                                     BRIAN                         Just come down, John. Just --                                     AXE                         -- Shut up! Your dad would fucking                          puke if he saw how you've shit on                          his department!                                     STEPHEN                         -- Knock it off!                                     AXE                              (to Stephen)                         -- You can't let him turn you against                          your friends, man --                                     BRIAN                         -- He killed people --                                     AXE                         -- You know what Swayzak would do to                          the department if this got out? --                                     BRIAN                         -- Stephen, this is bullshit --                                     AXE                         -- What he would do to your dad's                          department? You gotta let me finish                          it --               And there's a horrible glimmer of confusion on Stephen's                face.                                     BRIAN                         You're his Lt., Stephen...                              (beat)                         Are you gonna handle it? Are you                          Stephen?                                     STEPHEN                         Shut up!                                     AXE                         ...What do you want me to do, Stephen?                          Talk to me. What am I supposed to                          do?                                     STEPHEN                              (beat)                         There's a fire. We've got a job here.                          Let's get on with it.               EXT. WAREHOUSE - ACROSS THE ROOF - NIGHT               The rest of the crews are totally oblivious to what's                happening through the smoke on the other side. Grindle and                Santos feel the roof go suddenly spongy beneath them.                                     GRINDLE                         Shit... It's going! Clear the roof!                          Now!               Everybody drops their equipment and runs for the edges as               EXT. WAREHOUSE ROOF - BRIAN ET. AL - NIGHT               Brian, Stephen and Adcox react as the roof HOWLS and GROANS                and huge SPLITS begin racing along it. And then it goes.               The center section DROPS, and in rolling waves of SCREECHING                steel, the hole spreads outward; DEVOURING.               Adcox shoves them aside and runs for his life as the hole                races for them, SWALLOWING roof.                                     STEPHEN                         Jesus Christ Brian, run! Run goddamn                          it!               And Brian balls-out dashes for the edge. Stephen's made one                corner, Brian desperately heads for another. At the last                instant -- as the HOWLING FLAME BELLOWS UP to his ankles --                Brian LEAPS OFF the roof --               EXT. WAREHOUSE - FIRE ESCAPE - NIGHT               -- And falls half a story before CRASHING onto an exterior                fire escape. Flames have cut off the fire escape two floors                below, so Brian climbs down as far as possible, crawls onto                a ledge, KICKS out a window, steps through,               And falls.               INT. WAREHOUSE - ELEVATOR SHAFT - NIGHT               Blackness and emptiness, two stories of it, before he CRASHES                into a pool of water at the bottom. He's in a freight elevator                shaft, thrashing madly, drowning. Great SHEETS of WATER are                POURING through an upper doorway and CASCADING down like                monsoon rain.               EXT. WAREHOUSE - FIREBOAT               We see it's coming from the fireboat's rushing stream.               INT. WAREHOUSE - ELEVATOR SHAFT               The weight of his equipment is pulling Brian underwater.                Struggling against the insane swirls and the sheets of water                still POURING DOWN, Brian unhooks his air tank. He leans                back, tries to float on the rising column of water. -- His                coat catches on something -- YANKS him underwater. He                struggles feverishly -- finally tears the coat off.               The building GROANS in earnest. Flaming chunks of plaster                CRASH down around Brian, forcing him to duck underwater. The                place is coming apart.               Ten feet above, one of the falling chunks SMACKS a gas main,                SPLITTING then IGNITING it. A white-hot JET OF FLAME SHOOTS                from one side of the shaft to the other.               Brian's floating okay, he's floating right up into the flames.               Brian tries to flatten himself out, to keep everything but                his nose below water, but he's still moving up -- the heat                becoming so intense his face flares and he's ducking under                water now, trying to stay alive, trying to decide whether to                drown or burn --               -- When there's a CRASH. And suddenly another door on the                shaft is tearing open. There's a glint of an axe. A                flashlight.               It's Stephen.               Brian has about two seconds left. In that time Stephen sees                the shut-off for the gas line mounted on the wall opposite.                It's unreachable, a good twelve feet across a horizontal                curtain of flame. Before we can even assimilate that,                Stephen's already jumped. A crazy leap over the fire. He                SMACKS the opposite wall, HITS the shut-off, and FALLS                CRASHING into the pool beside Brian.                                     STEPHEN                         You crazy son of a bitch, why couldn't                          you stay behind a desk where you                          belong?                                     BRIAN                         "You never know till the fire stares                          you down if you're gonna be --"                                     STEPHEN                         Oh shut up, huh?                              (grimaces)                         I think I broke my goddamn arm...               Brian helps him stay above water. The level continues to                rise, bringing them finally even with an open doorway they                scramble through.               INT. WAREHOUSE - STAIRWAY - NIGHT               It leads to a stairwell that's become a RAGING TORRENT of                water spilling down it. No way. They push through to the                next doorway and out onto               INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT               The place is full of hundreds of chemical drums. The fire                has cracked its way into the room as WUMP -- drums begin                EXPLODING, SHOOTING UPWARD Roman candle fountains of                glittering FLAME. Brian helps Stephen as they snake their                way past sweating drums -- pressure valves hissing madly                with desperation. They duck low, round a corner,               INT. WAREHOUSE - CATWALK - NIGHT               -- And walk right into an axe handle that SMACKS Brian's                throat KNOCKING him gasping flat on his back. It's Adcox.               Stephen JUMPS Adcox and TACKLES him on the edge of a metal                platform that extends out from the raised flooring.                                     STEPHEN                         You stupid son of a bitch! What the                          fuck are you doing!                                     AXE                         Stevie... I...               Adcox struggles against him, heaving and sobbing.                                     STEPHEN                         Let it go! Goddamn it let it go!               And Adcox releases the axe.                                     AXE                         I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...               Brian's on his feet now, coming toward them, when a chemical                drum below EXPLODES, the shock wave BUCKLING the platform                and DROPPING it several feet before it HOLDS. Brian, cut-               off, is HIT with a wall of debris.               Adcox and Stephen are FLUNG across the platform and THROUGH                the shattered railing. Stephen grabs a piece of broken,                dangling strut and hangs on with one hand.               In his other hand is Adcox. Hanging below him, his grip                loosening.                                     BRIAN                         Stephen!               Brian's struggling to get out from under the debris. The                railing Stephen's hanging onto is slick, his hand SLIPPING                along it. But he won't let go of Adcox. His eyes bore into                his best friend's with absolute conviction.                                     STEPHEN                         You go, we go.               The towering shots of FLAME from below have begun to IGNITE                Adcox's pant leg. He's starting to burn. But Stephen won't                let go. Won't let go even as the flames crawl up Adcox's                back. And Stephen's hand is slipping and slipping and then                it isn't slipping anymore because it's come off.                                     BRIAN                         NO!               Adcox and Stephen FALL. There's a narrow catwalk half-way                down. Stephen HITS with a sickening CRUNCH.               Adcox falls past it, down into the flames.               There's an exposed I-beam running from the ruined platform                out over the catwalk. Brian climbs up onto it, balances across                over the fire below and jumps down to the catwalk where his                brother lies, battered but still alive.                                     BRIAN                         You're gonna be all right, man.               INT. WAREHOUSE - FLOOR - NIGHT               Brian looks down and across the factory floor. There, coming                through the doorway, is Pengelly and Nightengale with a                hoseline.               INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT                                     BRIAN                         Hey! Over here!               They start for him when another drum EXPLODES, FLATTENING                them and launching their hoseline into a crazy, thrashing                arc. The flame has cut them off from the hose. Stephen sees                what Brian's thinking.                                     STEPHEN                         Wait for another hose team...               But Brian's already moving for the catwalk ladder.                                     STEPHEN                         Wait for the goddamn hose team!               Brian puts his feet on the outside rungs of the ladder and                SLIDES down to the factory floor. He's heading for the                hoseline when WHAM! -- The fire cuts him off. Not just any                fire. That same one from so many years ago.               Don't fuck with me, kid. I'm not in the mood.               Nightengale's lost his helmet and it's lying near the flames                spinning slowly upside down -- just like his father's. Brian                stands there, paralyzed, as the fire laughs at him. Same old                little kid with his finger up his ass. Then something                different comes into Brian's eyes.                                     BRIAN                         No... No more.               There's a pathetic little wall extinguisher mounted on the                pole. Brian lifts it, approaches the fire. You can practically                hear the flames laugh at him. Brian suddenly turns and SLAMS                the neck of the extinguisher against the pole, BREAKING it                off before HEAVING the cannister HISSING into the flames                where it EXPLODES -- a cloud of extinguisher powder that                STUNS the flames just long enough for Brian to dash through                and TACKLE the hose.               The fire shakes off the powder, rises up to kill -- Just as                Brian spins and HITS it with the STREAM.               -- And it's like a howling train wreck as the two grapple                with each other -- Pengelly and Nightengale have an opening,                and they're dashing for the catwalk ladder up to Stephen                because the fire doesn't care -- it only has eyes for Brian                now --               -- And Stephen sees Brian tackle the monster, and his eyes                fill with tears --               -- And the fire's pushing Brian -- pushing him with the fury                of a frightened street bully -- but Brian won't give -- and                now the fire's back's broken -- it's whimpering, dying.               And Pengelly and Nightengale have climbed up to Stephen now,                pulling him away.                                     STEPHEN                         That's my brother! That's my brother                          goddamn it!               And the fire's just a little gremlin now, sighing sadly as                Brian steps up with the hoseline.                                     BRIAN                         Another time, friend.               And whoosh, it's gone.               EXT. BURNED BUILDING - NIGHT               Brian rushes up as paramedics load his brother into an                ambulance.                                     STEPHEN                              (smiles, weak)                         You are such a pain in the ass...               As Brian jumps in with him                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. AMBULANCE - NIGHT               Paramedics swarm over Stephen as the ambulance screams through                the night. Brian's right there, holding his hand.                                     STEPHEN                         Don't tell them about Adcox... Don't                          let 'em...                                     BRIAN                         I'm sorry... I'm sorry I thought...                          I won't.               His brother squeezes Brian's hand, his eyes never leaving                him.                                     PARAMEDIC                              (reading EKG)                         Oh shit, give him some lidocaine,                          now. Now.                                     STEPHEN                              (beat)                         Who's your brother?               Stephen's EKG's begun to falter. The other paramedic fires                off an injection into his IV.                                     PARAMEDIC                         His pressure's fading -- push some                          adrenalin.               The EKG's become erratic. Stephen's eyes never leave Brian's.                                     BRIAN                         Oh man, don't you die... Don't you                          die...                                     PARAMEDIC #2                         He's going south... He's gonna box                          damn it...               They put an ambo bag over Stephen's face. The eyes never                leave Brian's.                                     BRIAN                         Goddamn it don't you die now... Not                          now!               They're breathing for him now. The EKG begins shrieking.                                     PARAMEDIC                         V-fib!               The paramedics begin scrambling to load the defibrillator                pads on Stephen's chest. But the fireman's eyes never waver                from Brian. They look into his with complete conviction,                complete acceptance, And then they don't.               FADE TO BLACK:               Then, FADE UP TO:               EXT. MICHIGAN AVE - DAWN               A silent, quiet street absolutely empty of traffic. Then                over the crest of Chicago's mightiest thoroughfare, creeps                slowly a fire engine. It's emergency lights are on but not                the siren. This engine isn't in a hurry today.               Behind comes another fire engine. And another. Ten, twenty,                all of them creeping slowly along. And behind the engines                now walk firemen in their dress blues. Hundreds of them.                Walking silently in step behind               TWO COFFINS               Loaded in the rear of Engine 17. Santos drives as Grindle,                Brian, and the men of ladder company 46, walk behind. The                silent procession passes under extended aerial ladders crossed                like dress swords. Average people stop, take their hats off.               EXT. LAKE SHORE DRIVE - THE SILENT PROCESSION               Sequence omitted from original script.               EXT. CEMETERY - DAY               Two coffins, lying side by side, draped in the blue and white                of the Chicago flag. A single fire helmet rests atop each                casket.               Brian stands at attention beside Helen. He holds the hand of                Stephen's son Sean, his eyes clouded with tears as a fire                dept. honor guard plays Taps. Jennifer's there, too far away                to touch.               Rimgale, still wearing a head bandage, stands stiffly beside                a brass bell and speaks with a voice raw and weary.                                     SHADOW                         In the Chicago Fire Department the                          alarm code 3-3-5 signifies that the                          company has returned home to quarters.                          We will now ring out that code to                          welcome home John Adcox and Stephen                          McCaffrey...               With a small hammer Rimgale rings out 3-3-5 on the bell.               The honor guard folds the flag covering Stephen's casket and                hands it to Helen, who holds it to her breast as we                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. CEMETERY - DAY               A sea of blue uniforms drifting across green as the funeral                breaks up. Brian hugs Helen and Sean. Lets them go.               EXT. CEMETERY EDGE - DAY               Rimgale's there, resting against his dept. sedan as Brian                walks by, pauses, and leans on it beside him. A beat.                                     SHADOW                         Your brother was a good man.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah.                                     SHADOW                         Another couple of good men get burned                          up for their city? Is that how it's                          going to read?                              (Brian doesn't answer)                         You're the only one that knows.                                     BRIAN                         Like it never happened...               Rimgale turns to walk back to his sedan. He pauses. Looks                back to Brian.                                     SHADOW                         Want to help me with something?               INT. OFFICE - DAY               An elevator opens as Brian and Rimgale walk quickly out,                down a hall, and BURST into Swayzak's office.               INT. SWAYZAK'S OFFICE - DAY               The Alderman's there, giving a press conference from his                desk.                                     SHADOW                         Mr. Swayzak! How ya doin'?                                     SWAYZAK                              (confused)                         Investigator...               Rimgale sits on Swayzak's desk.                                     SWAYZAK                         I'm a little busy right now --                                     SHADOW                         This'll only take a minute. There's                          two cops outside that want to ask                          you about this --               Rimgale drops the manning report on Swayzak's desk.                                     SHADOW                         This is just a guess of course, but                          I think they're gonna want to know                          why you secretly paid Donald Cosgrove,                          Jeffrey Holcomb and Alan Seagrave to                          create a phony manpower study.                              (to cameras)                         You guys'll wait, right?               The room explodes with questions. Through the din Brian leans                over the desk very close to Swayzak.                                     BRIAN                         See that glow flashing in the corner                          of your eye? That's your career                          dissipation light. And it just went                          into high gear.               Brian turns and pushes his way out. At the door he pauses                and looks back at Rimgale. The investigator nods and smiles                just a little...               INT. SWAYZAK'S OFFICE CORRIDOR               As Brian walks down it, Rimgale appears and calls to him.                                     SHADOW                         -- Brian.               Brian hesitates.                                     SHADOW                         Don't keep looking over your shoulder                          for the ghost. It's gone now.               And there's just a beat between the investigator and his                probie before Brian nods and walks away.               EXT. SWAYZAK OFFICE CORRIDOR               Brian walks down the hall. He passes Jennifer's small office.                She's in there, surrounded by packing boxes.                                     BRIAN                         I think your boss is going to need                          some spin control.                                     JENNIFER                         I quit two days ago, Brian.                                     BRIAN                              (beat)                         What'll you do?                                     JENNIFER                         I don't have the slightest idea...                                     BRIAN                         I'll see ya around, huh?                                     JENNIFER                         It's a small town.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. FIRE STATION 17 - CITY               And morning breaking across the avenues and up against the                tired brick of firehouse 17.               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - LOCKER ROOM               Brian sits staring into his locker, lost in thought, his                equipment stacked up on the bench beside him. THE ALARM KLAXON                SOUNDS               INT. FIRE STATION 17 - APPARATUS FLOOR               And firemen scurrying to their equipment on the apparatus                floor. They're climbing aboard their rigs now and the pumper's                diesel is coughing to life.               At the last moment, as it begins to pull out, Brian comes                sliding down the pole in his turn-out gear, bounces off the                floor, and climbs aboard as the engine WHISTLES away.               INT. ENGINE 17 - CAB               There's a new fireman beside him on the bench. He can't get                his coat buckled right. Brian leans over does it for him.                                     BRIAN                         You're doing it wrong.               EXT. FIRE ENGINE 17 - STREET - DAY               And the fire engine slips away from us, down the avenue,                into the city as we                                                              FADE TO BLACK                                         THE END
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+The Battle of Algiers1	VILLA HEADQUARTERS. INSIDE. NIGHT. 	Inside a three-story villa, just built, with whitewashed walls. 	An elevator shaft is empty, the large cables dangle. 	On every landing two apartments. The front doors are wide open.	Whitewash on the floor of the halls, swirls of whitewash on the 	windowpanes, naked light bulbs hung from electric wires. The rooms 	contain hardly any furnishings. 	The kitchens are still without sinks and stoves.  	An agitated bustle, a rhythm of efficiency. Paratroopers go up and 	down the stairs, pass along the halls, enter and leave the rooms.	The sounds in the background are indecipherable.	SHOUTED ORDERS, CRIES, HOWLS. 	SHOUTS, HALF-SPOKEN REMARKS, LAUGHS.	SOMEWHERE A GRAMOPHONE IS PLAYING AT FULL BLAST. 	The scene is tense. No pauses. 	When the paras are tired, they move to another room. 	They sit down, stretch out on the floor, drink coffee or beer, and 	smoke cigarettes while awaiting the next shift. Suddenly, the rhythm 	of this routine, the timing of these images is upset. A para rushes 	down the stairs, and asks cheerfully while running:				MARC		The colonel. Where's the colonel? 				PARAS		Why? What's happening?				MARC 		We know where Ali la Pointe is. One of 		them "spoke" ...	His voice echoes through the corridors, on the landings, from one 	floor to another. The excitement is contagious. Many crowd around 	the door of the kitchen. 	The Algerian who has "spoken" is there. He is young with a thin face 	and feverish eyes. The paras are all around him: they help him stand 	up, dry him, clean his face with a rag, give him some coffee in a 	thermos cover. They are full of attention, sincerely concerned. One 	of them tries to push away the others.				PARA 		C'mon, let him breathe!	Meanwhile others who are arriving ask if it is true. 				OTHER PARAS		So he spoke? Does he really know where 		Ali is? 				MARC 		It seems so. We'll go see. Give him a 		little coffee. 	Marc is tall and husky, his eyes young and cheerful. One of the others 	asks him with a shade of admiration:  				PARA 		Hey Marc, you made him talk?  				MARC 			(smiling)		Sure. 	He then begins to smoke again, and moves aside to rest a bit. The 	Algerian is trying to drink, but his hands are trembling. Someone 	helps him and holds still the cover of the thermos, drawing it to his 	mouth: 				LAGLOY 		C'mon Sadek ... Drink, you'll feel better. 	The Algerian drinks, but his stomach can't take it, causing him to 	double over and vomit again. 	Colonel Mathieu enters, elegant and graceful. 				MATHIEU 			(smiling)		At ease. Is it true? 				MARC 		I think so. Rue des Abderames three ... 	The colonel turns to the para, who had gone to call him, and who is 	holding a pair of camouflage fatigues in his hands. 				MATHIEU 		Dress him.	Then he goes near the Algerian, lifts his chin, inspects him for a 	moment with curiosity. 				MATHIEU 		Chin up, it's all over. Nothing can happen 		to you now, you'll see. Can you stand up? 	The Algerian nods yes. The colonel turns to the paras who are holding 	him up. 				MATHIEU 		Let him go.	He takes the camouflage fatigues and hands them to the Algerian.				MATHIEU 		Here, put them on. 	The Algerian mechanically takes the fatigues, but he doesn't 	understand. The colonel explains to him:				MATHIEU 		We're trying to help you. We're going to 		the Casbah. Dressed like this, they won't 		be able to recognize you. Understand? 		We're going to see the place, then you'll 		be free ... and under our protection ...	The Algerian shivers from the cold. He is completely naked. He 	laboriously puts on the fatigues which are too big for him. 				MATHIEU 		Go on, give him the cap.	They give him a wide belt and buckle it. The other paras, one on either 	side of him, pull up his sleeves to the elbows. A third places the cap 	on his head and cocks it. 				LAGLOY 		Nationalized!      	The colonel turn to him angrily: 				MATHIEU 		Don't be an idiot, Lagloy!     	The Algerian is ready. The paras look at him repressing their laughter. 	The Algerian continues to tremble. His breath is short, his eyes 	glossy. He is crying.  				CAPTAIN 		Let's go. 	The Algerian looks around. He breathes deeply. Then, suddenly, 	unexpectedly, he lets out a hoarse cry:  				SADEK 		No!  	and tries to jerk forward toward the window.	Marc seizes him immediately, and with his right hand grabs him by the 	chest, almost lifting him. With his left hand he gives him two quick 	slaps, not very hard.  				MARC 			(persuadingly)		What do you think you're doing, you fool? 		Do you want us to start all over again? 		C'mon, be good. Don't make me look like 		an idiot in front of the others. 	He makes a reassuring sign to the colonel. Then, he takes the Algerian 	by the arms, and they move off. 2	STREETS OF ALGIERS. OUTSIDE. DAWN. OCTOBER 7, 1957. 	The city is gray and white, by the sea which looks like milk. The dawn	outlines her features sharply. 	The streets and wide avenues of the European quarters are empty.	Silence, until gradually is heard ... 	A HUMMING OF MOTORS. 	One truck after another. Their headlights on, with an opaque glow, by 	now useless. 	A line of trucks follow one another along the sea-front, all at the 	same speed. 	They turn right and go up toward Place du Gouvernement. 	Here, without stopping, the columns divide in two. The two lines enter 	each of the two roads that lead up to surround the Casbah.	In the brighter light, the Casbah appears completely white, limestone. 	Enclosed by the European city, it stands at a greater height and 	overlooks it. 	Mosaic of terraces. White pavement, pavement interspersed by the black 	outlays of narrow alleys. Only a jump from one terrace to another ...	Agile and silent, the paras jump one by one from the trucks in a hurry. 	SOUND OF TRUCKS. 	They arrange themselves geometrically, their movements synchronized. 	They disperse and disappear in the alleys. 	They reappear together, then once again scatter. 	They meet without looking at one another; each one takes his own 	course. 	In like manner without a sound, they are above, even on the terraces, 	in perfect geometry. Even up here, the paras tighten their grip ... 3	RUE DES ABDERAMES. COURTYARD OF HOUSE. INSIDE/OUTSIDE. DAWN. 	Every three yards, there is a para, even at all four corners of an 	intersection.	They are also in the side streets as well as the main streets. 	And also above, against the sky, many other paras appear. 	Number three. The doorway is the height of a man. A squadron stands 	ready in a semicircle with machine guns in firing position.	Marc continues to hold up the Algerian by his arm. 	The captain glances at his watch, then looks up at the terrace and 	gives a signal. 	In a lowered voice, without turning around, he speaks to the para who 	is at his back:  				CAPTAIN 		Fire ... 	The para nears the front door, his legs wide open, his machine gun, 	clenched at his side, and aims at the lock.  	MACHINE GUN FIRE. 	He moves the gun barrel in a circular direction. 	Immediately the others hurl themselves against the door. 	At the same time, the door of the terrace is broken down, and the paras 	burst into the house below.	The inner courtyard is square. In the center there is a well; above, a 	patch of sky; on four sides, the arcades, columns, and majolica arches. 	Beneath the porches, there is a door for every dwelling. And above, a 	balcony with railings and other doors. The doors are wide open. The 	paras quickly carry out their orders.	ORDERS, CURT AND BRIEF.	The people are used to all this and know how to obey. The scene takes 	place exactly as if it were an arranged maneuver, a practice drill. 	The rooms are emptied in a few seconds. The people are crowded together 	in the courtyard. 	Eyes wide with fright. 	Men, women, and children with blankets and sheets thrown around their 	shoulders. By now, it is almost day. A soft light is diffused from 	above. 	The Algerian walks with his head lowered, Marc on one side, the captain 	on, the other. 	They climb to the first floor and go along the balcony. 	The Algerian stops in front of a door. 	The captain murmurs softly:  				CAPTAIN 		Here?  	The Algerian nods yes. They enter. 4	ALI'S ROOM. INSIDE. DAWN. 	The room is badly lit. There is a mattress on the floor, and another on 	the table, a cupboard against the wall, some chairs. Nothing else. At 	the back of the room to the left, there is a dividing curtain hung by a 	cord at medium height. The curtain is drawn and a large bed with brass 	headboards is visible. The Algerian points in that direction; the 	captain signals for him to go there.	They go forward silently, and push aside the curtain. There is a small 	light bulb hung on the wall beneath a small shelf covered with 	postcards and photos. 	The baseboard all around is more than three feet tall and is covered by 	majolica tiles.	The Algerian points to a spot in the brick structure, on the back 	wall, between the headboard of the bed and a corner of the room.	Marc and the captain have their machine guns ready. The captain goes 	near the wall, his breath drawn, and begins to examine it. 	He runs the fingernail of his thumb along the wall horizontally, 	between one row of tiles and another.	He taps the tiles at different places until he hears the plaster in the 	interstices crumble. He looks at the bit of plaster that is left in his 	nail. 	He squeezes it in his fingertips; it is soft, newly laid.	Then he bends over, places his ear to the wall, and listens. 	Suddenly he smiles. 5	ALI'S HIDING PLACE. INSIDE.  	There isn't enough air in the hiding place. The four are forced to 	breathe deeply. And in that small space their laborious breaths 	resound like splashes. 	Ali la Pointe has his eyes fixed upon the square patch of wall that 	seals the hiding place. His eyes are large, black, slanted, his eyelids 	heavy, somewhat lowered, so that the black of the irises appears even 	blacker in the shadows, deeper and more sullen.	Petit Omar is with him, a boy of twelve, and Mahmoud who is eighteen. 	There is also Hassiba, a Kabyle girl, blond, blue-eyed, and fair 	skinned.	The hiding place is only five feet high, and hardly holds them. They 	are sitting or stretched out on the ground, close to one another.	The entrance to the hiding place is blocked by the small patch of wall 	which matches exactly the rest. It is held firm by a bar through an 	iron ring attached at the center. On the other side of the cell, above 	them, there is a hole for air. 	They are tense and do not move. Their lips are dry, half-open, and 	their breasts rise and fall in a difficult attempt to breathe. 				CAPTAIN 			(off)		Ali la Pointe ... the house is surrounded. 		You haven't got a chance. Surrender. Let 		the child and the girl come out, then you 		and the other one. Leave your weapons 		inside. It's useless to try anything. Our 		machine guns are ready to fire -- you 		wouldn't have time. Do you understand? 	Ali's face is motionless and hasn't changed its expression. 				CAPTAIN 			(off)		Ali, do you hear me? Listen! You are the 		last one. The organization is finished. 		All your friends are dead or in prison. 		Come out. You'll have a fair trial. Come 		out, surrender. 	SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS, OTHER VOICES, CHEERFUL, INCOHERENT: 				VOICES PARAS		Why are they breathing so heavily? 		Fear ...		Air ... 		They haven't got enough air inside ...	And again the voice of the captain, clear and somewhat distant:				CAPTAIN 			(off)		Make up your mind, Ali? Do you want us to 		wall you in, or do you prefer that we 		blow you to pieces? ... Alright. So much 		the worse for you.	Ali's expression is still firm; his stare is dark and sullen. 6	VIEWS OF THE CASBAH. OUTSIDE. DAY. NOVEMBER 1, 1954. 	The Casbah: compressed humanity, swarming in the alleyways, on the 	steps, in the cafes, in the Arab baths, in the mosques, and in the 	markets; a tangle of voices, gestures, faces, veiled women, eyes. 	Someone is putting up a handbill, another distributes them. 				SPEAKER		"National Liberation Front! Algerian 		brothers! The time has come to break 		loose at long last from the bonds of 		misery in which one hundred and thirty 		years of colonial oppression has kept us 		chained. The moment of struggle is near; 		our goal -- national independence ..." 7	VIEWS OF THE EUROPEAN CITY. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	The European city: reinforced concrete, asphalt, steel, lights, shop 	windows, buildings, automobiles. A steady rhythm of efficiency, music, 	cordiality, an apéritif. 				SPEAKER		"In order to avoid a fatal and bloody 		conflict, we propose an honorable program 		of discussion to the French authorities, 		on condition that they recognize the right 		of our people to self-government ..."	And the Algerians who work in the European city, the dockers, waiters, 	laborers, street-cleaners, farm-hands, and gardeners.				SPEAKER		"Algerians unite! Be ready for action! 		The National Liberation Front calls you to 		struggle." 	Unemployed, peddlers, beggars, shoeshine boys ... 8	STREET CARD GAME. OUTSIDE. DAY.  	Two hands are moving; one over the other, they criss-cross with 	incredible speed; at the same time, they are shifting three small 	pieces of wood which appear to be identical. The hand movements are 	marked by a kind of Algerian CHANT.	From time to time, the pieces of wood are overturned for a split second 	so that the other sides are visible. Robust hands, thick, unusually 	agile for their size. The hands of Ali la Pointe, younger then, twenty-	four years old. 	A European quarter of Algiers. Coming and going of people, automobile 	traffic. On the sidewalk a small group of European and two Algerian 	boys. 	Other passersby stop to watch. The group crowds around the stand where 	Ali la Pointe is playing his game.	The entranced eyes of all present are staring at the pieces of wood.	Ali's hands seem to move by themselves. 	His glance, always a bit sullen, apparently distracted, indifferent, 	passes from one face to another, and then to the street, from one side 	to another. 	At fifty yards, a policeman. Two Europeans, a man and a woman, are 	speaking to him in an excited manner, and nudging him along pointing to 	Ali. 				WOMAN		Look! Yes, that's him!   	Ali is no longer singing. His hands have stopped moving. 	A POLICE SIREN IS HEARD.	Ali pushes his way through the crowd. 	He breaks into a run. 	The policeman also begins to run. 9	STREET. ALI'S FLIGHT. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	The street is sloping. Ali flees, pursued by the policeman. He dodges 	passersby with agility. He gains ground. But nearby are heard ... 	SIRENS 	and also in front of him.	Another two policemen; they too are running. 	There is an intersection. At the corner, a cafe. 	GAY MUSIC.	Young Europeans leaning against a shop window stop chattering and look.	Ali reaches the corner, crosses the street, passes by the bar. 	There is a blond youth, about eighteen, who seems to be a student who 	stretches out his foot, and pushes a chair in front of him.	Ali stumbles and falls. 	The youth attempts a laugh, and at the same time moves backward.	Ali is lying face downward, but suddenly turns his head toward the 	youth and stares at him. Then lifting himself by his arms, he turns to 	look back. 	The police are now twenty yards away.	Ali gets to his feet. For a split second, he hesitates. He hurls 	himself against the youth, headfirst.	Using his head, Ali rams into the youth's face, striking him in the 	nose and splurting blood everywhere. 	The youth is unable to shout. He opens his mouth in the attempt, but 	the only result is a gurgling sound and blood. His friends intervene. 	Ali is surrounded. The police arrive. A mass of people jump on Ali, 	kicking him and striking him with their fists as long as they please. 	Finally the police aid Ali and disperse the crowd.	Ali is now in handcuffs and being led away.	More people have arrived. They are yelling, shouting insults, and 	spitting on Ali. 	Ali passes in their midst protected by the police. He pays no heed to 	the fist blows, the shouts, the spits, but seems neither to see nor 	hear, as if he were already resigned to having lost the battle this 	time, and were preparing to wait patiently for a better chance.	He is walking with an unfaltering step. His face is emotionless, oval, 	swarthy. His hair black and wavy, his forehead low and wide; his eyes 	large and slanted with eyelids somewhat lowered, his mouth firm and 	proud.				SPEAKER		Omar Ali, known as "Ali la Pointe" born 		in Miliana, March 1, 1930. Education: 		Illiterate. Occupation: Manual laborer, 		farm hand, boxer, presently unemployed.		Former convictions: 1942 -- Oran Juvenile 		Court, one year of reformatory school for 		acts of vandalism. 1944 -- Two years of 		reformatory school for theft. 1949 -- 		Court of Algiers, eight months for 		compulsory prostitution and resisting 		arrest. Habitual offender. 10	PARIS 1955. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	The air is clear and springlike. A 4CV Citroen delivery van is parked 	in front of the Minister of the Interior warehouses. The rear door is 	open, the motor is running, a policeman is at the wheel. Two workers in 	overalls exit from the warehouses.	Each one is carrying a box, and places it inside the van. The boxes are 	made of seasoned wood, both of them rectangular. They are each about 	eight inches long; one and two yards high respectively. The two workers 	sit down inside the van, toward the rear. They are facing toward the 	exterior. Their feet are dangling and almost touch the ground.	The jolting movement of the van in motion causes them to laugh.	STREETS OF PARIS. Spring. Girls with lightweight clinging dresses. The 	two workers call them, whistle, gesture, and then move off in the 	distance. 	ORLY AIRPORT. The van stops in front of a warehouse. The two workers 	jump to the ground, place the boxes on their shoulders, and enter the 	warehouse. 	The boxes are moving on a mobile ramp. There is a large label on each 	one which says: REPUBLIC OF FRANCE. MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR. 	DESTINATION: BARBEROUSSE PRISON. ALGIERS. 11	ALGIERS. BARBEROUSSE PRISON. OUTSIDE. MORNING. 	Barberousse prison is situated on the outskirts of the Upper Casbah. It 	is an ancient fortress with thick, high surrounding walls, which appear 	to vanish in contrast with the central building which dominates them. 	The whole structure is covered with limestone like the other houses of 	the Casbah. Only the bars on the windows and the big gate are black. 	The gate opens. A covered jeep enters the prison courtyard. In the 	stronghold of the jeep are the two boxes sent from Paris. 	Early morning. The sky is pale blue. In the prison courtyard, the 	workers open the two chests and assemble the guillotine. It is possible 	to see it from the cell windows that face the courtyard. Faces of 	prisoners appear between the bars of some windows. 	The workers have disappeared. Only the delicate, makeshift structure of 	the guillotine is visible, its slender outline lengthened. 12	PRISON CELL. INSIDE. MORNING. 	In one of the cells there are about twenty prisoners. The cell is huge; 	there are two very high windows that almost reach the ceiling. 	A prisoner is standing on the urine bucket, and looks outside through 	the barred window. On the ground there are some mats which serve as 	beds. Nothing else. 	About ten prisoners are in a group, seated on the ground, and they are 	speaking in whispers. 	AD LIB DIALOGUE IN LOWERED VOICES. 	Two of them are playing with some stones on a chessboard drawn in the 	dirt; others are speaking among themselves. One is reading a Mickey 	Mouse comic book and laughing to himself. But all of them, in 	appearance and behavior, are distinguished from those who make up the 	more numerous group. These solitary men are different in some way, they 	are not ordinary delinquents.	Ali la Pointe is alone, withdrawn from the others, seated on the 	ground, his shoulders propped against the wall, his knees raised. He is 	barefoot. On his left ankle, directly above his foot, are tattooed two 	words in print: TAIS-TOI. His shirt is unbuttoned and on his chest are 	other tattoos in a strange design.	Ali looks at the group and seems to listen to their murmured words 	absent-mindedly. His expression is taciturn, reserved, and indifferent.	Ali turns to the prisoner at the window. 				PRISONER AT WINDOW		Look at them!	Ali jumps to his feet. Everyone moves toward the two windows.  	Ali moves away two yards at a quick pace, then runs toward the window, 	and grabbing hold of the bars, heaves himself up to it.	The condemned man turns and looks up toward the windows. He seems to 	smile although his face is motionless. In a soft voice, he speaks to 	those faces which appear behind the bars: 				CONDEMNED MAN		Tahia el Djez-air! [Long live Algeria!]	The political prisoners take up the phrase and recite it gutturally, 	keeping time to the steps of the condemned man. 				POLITICAL PRISONERS		Tahia el Djez-air! 13 	PRISON COURTYARD. OUTSIDE. MORNING.  	The condemned man walks toward the guillotine accompanied by guards and 	a priest reading the Koran. There is also the executioner wearing a 	black hood. The executioner tries to appear indifferent. The priest 	recites his prayers. The entire ceremony seems improvised and hasty. 	The epilogue is reached quickly. 	PRAYERS.	The condemned man bends. The executioner places his neck in the right 	position, adjusts it, turns his head a bit, then pushes his body 	forward. He releases the mechanism. 	The blade falls, the head rolls. There is no longer a chorus. No one is 	chanting. 	Ali's eyes have remained motionless. 	Then from above, as the dismembered body is being carried away in a 	basket, as the priest, the guards, and the officer are leaving, as the 	workers dismantle the guillotine, from above, from the balconies of the 	Casbah, suddenly the "ju-jus" of the women are heard, dense like the 	cries of birds, shrill, metallic, angry. 				WOMEN		Ju-ju ...   14	SMALL SQUARE. CASBAH. OUTSIDE. DAY. JANUARY 1956. 	It is raining. The water runs along the gulleys of the narrow alleys. 	The white houses have turned spongy gray. The children of the Casbah 	are playing and spattering mud. Skinny and half-naked children with 	bloated bellies and hair cropped because of sores.	Their mothers call them in vain. They continue to run, play, and wallow 	in the mud with a despairing gaiety. 	CALLS. VOICES. SHOUTS. 	Petit Omar was then ten years old. He is slender, dressed in long pants 	and a jacket which is too large for him and torn so that he seems 	almost clownish. Calm and absorbed, he passes in the midst of the other 	children, but doesn't notice them or their games. 	A small square on a sloping ascent.	In the center, a fountain. On the elevated side of the square, on a 	corner, there is a mosque. 	SOUNDS OF CHURCH MUSIC.	Standing still at the foot of the steps is an Algerian in white cloak, 	and hood down to his eyes. Other people pass by. The Algerian is turned 	to one side so as not to be seen. Petit Omar walks toward him and nears 	his back. The Algerian turns; it is Ali la Pointe. He tells the boy 	with a tone of boredom and curtness: 				ALI 		Go away!  				PETIT OMAR 		Men have two faces: one that laughs and 		one that cries ... 	Ali looks at him incredulously and asks: 				ALI 		And they sent you! 	The child slips a hand under his sweater to his chest. 				PETIT OMAR 		Sure, something wrong with that? 	Omar takes out a piece of paper folded in four, and hands it to Ali. 				PETIT OMAR 		Take it. Everything's written here. 	He turns away and begins to run. 				ALI 		Wait!	Omar stops running and turns to Ali.				ALI 		Come here ... Come. 	Omar retraces his footsteps. Ali goes to meet him. 				ALI 			(in a brusque manner)		Can you read? 				PETIT OMAR 		Sure ...	Ali hands back the paper.  				ALI 		Read it.  				PETIT OMAR 		Here? 	Ali turns and looks around him. He squats on his heels in order to 	reach Omar's height.  				ALI 		Here.  	It is still drizzling. Omar unfolds the paper and begins to read it. 15 	RUE RANDOM. CAFE MEDJEBRI. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. DAY. 	The following day at 5 p.m., rue Random. The street is fairly wide for 	a street in the Arab quarter and at this hour it is crowded with 	people. There are Algerians in traditional costumes and others in 	European clothes. Noisy and tumultuous background ... 	VOICES, SOUNDS, WORDS -- ALL MIXED TOGETHER. 	Veiled women with intent glances. Silent women who seem to float 	through the crowds, untouchable.	An Arab cafe filled with customers at the tables and bar. Through the 	large shop window, a smoky, steamy interior is visible. The cafe is 	located in rue Random, number 40. 				OMAR 			(off)		There is an Arab cafe at rue Random 40. 		The owner's name is Medjebri. He is a 		police informer ...  	Medjebri is standing behind the cash register, smiling, very busy. He 	is wearing a traditional costume. He is very clearly visible through 	the shop window above the heads of the customers. 	In a doorway near the cafe there is a clock hanging from a signboard in 	front of a store. It is five o'clock. A French policeman enters the 	cafe.  				OMAR 			(off) 		Every day at 5 p.m., a French policeman 		goes to see him. He stops for a few 		minutes to get information with the 		excuse of drinking a cup of tea. You have 		to kill the policeman ... 				ALI 			(off) 		Not Medjebri?  	Medjebri moves away from the register, still standing behind the bar, 	to where the policeman is seated. He greets him, and hands him a cup of 	tea.  				OMAR 			(off)		No. It says the policeman.  	The policeman is leaning on the bar. He is tall and husky, and is 	wearing a scruffy uniform with a kepi pushed back somewhat. Now his 	thick lips are sipping the scalding mint tea.				ALI			(off)		Okay ... 	The large clock and store signboard. Standing in front, there is a 	slender girl, veiled, her eyes darting in contrast with the rigid form 	of her motionless body. Her arms are raised to form an arch, her hands 	supporting the edges of a large basket balanced on her head. 				OMAR 			(off) 		At the corner, right in front of the 		large clock, there will be a girl 		carrying a basket. When the policeman 		comes out, you will follow him together. 		At the right moment she will give you a 		pistol. You have only to shoot ... 		quickly and in the back. 	Now the policeman has finished drinking his tea. He makes a sign to 	pay. Smiling, Medjebri refuses the money, and says good-bye.	Ali approaches the girl. They exchange glances. The girl puts down her 	basket which is filled with corn, and rests it by her side.	She moves slowly toward the cafe. Ali walks beside her. 	The policeman is coming out of the cafe. He rudely bumps into those who 	are entering. 	He makes his way along the sidewalk, and moves further away, balancing 	his heavy body at every step. 	Ali and the girl are about a yard away from him. They follow him, 	pushed along with the many others who are crowded on the sidewalk.	Then the girl plunges her hand into the corn. In a second, she places 	the revolver in Ali's right hand.	He holds it under his cloak. The policeman's back is a hand's-bredth 	away. But Ali does not shoot. 	He moves forward to pass by the policeman. 	Alarmed, the girl looks at him, and tries to hold him back. She shakes 	her head as if to speak. 	Ali smiles at her. His eyes have a hard glint.	He moves a few steps past the policeman. Suddenly Ali turns, lifts his 	arm as if to push his way through, and then stretches out his hand with 	the revolver aimed. 	The policeman stops; his eyes are wide with fear. Instinctively he 	lifts his arms and opens his palms. 	Terror paralyzes him. 	Ali glances about him. Many people are moving away hastily, but others 	stand still in a circle and watch fascinated. Ali speaks to all of 	them, in a loud voice. His eyes are alight.  				ALI 		Don't move! Look at him. You're not 		giving any orders now! Your hands are up, 		eh! Do you see him, brothers? Our masters 		aren't very special, are they? 	A sharp, metallic click. Ali tries a second time, presses the trigger 	again. 	SEVERAL CLICKS. REVOLVER EMPTY. 	Ali rolls the gun barrel; it is empty.	The policeman slowly lowers his hands. His right hand rushes to his 	holster. 	Ali is ready to jump, throws away the gun, and starts to move forward.	He knocks down the policeman, who is overwhelmed, and falls backward. 	The crowd moves away quickly. Ali starts to throw himself on the 	Frenchman lying on the ground, but stops halfway. 	A thought restrains him. He turns and sees the girl who has picked up 	the revolver and hidden it again in her basket. 	Then she moves away hurriedly. 	Ali curses angrily, then, kicks the policeman's head twice, and runs 	after the girl.	He reaches her, grabs her shoulder so roughly that she shouts. 				ALI 			(in a whisper) 		Bastard! ... Bitch! 	The girl struggles free from his grip. At the same time, they hear 	behind them ...  	POLICE WHISTLES. 	The girl quickens her step. 16 	SIDE ALLEY WITH FRONT DOOR. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. SUNSET. 	The girl arrives at a side street, enters it, and breaks into a run.	Ali is again beside her, but unexpectedly the girl enters a front door.	She bends, places the basket on the ground, removes the revolver, and 	hides it in her breast beneath her shawl. She gets up again, and leaves 	the basket. Ali blocks her way. 				ALI 		Tell me what this joke is all about.      	The girl attempts to push past him toward the door. 				DJAMILA 		Let's move now or they'll catch us. 	Ali grabs her by the arm, shakes her, and shouts uncontrollably:				ALI 		I want to know who sent me that letter. 		What's his name? 				DJAMILA 		He's waiting for you! 				ALI 		Where? 				DJAMILA 		We're going there ... if you don't get us 		arrested first.	The girl nods toward the street where two policemen are passing by 	hastily. 	Ali moves backward into the shadow of the doorway. He regains control 	of his nerves, loosens his cloak, and lets it fall on the basket. He is 	dressed in European clothes, trousers and pullover. 				ALI 			(pushing her ahead)		Move ... go ahead. I'll follow you. 	The girl takes a look outside, then goes out. Ali follows her a few 	steps behind. By now it is dusk. 17	TERRACE. KADER'S HOUSE. OUTSIDE. NIGHT. 	It is a starry night and there are few lights visible in the windows of 	the Casbah. In the background, there is the triumphant neon of the 	European city, the sea, the ships at anchor, the shining beams of a 	lighthouse. Kader turns around gracefully, and goes to sit on the wall 	of the terrace. 				KADER 		You could have been a spy. We had to put 		you to the test. 	Ali looks at him sullenly. 				ALI 		With an unloaded pistol?  				KADER 		I'll explain. 	Kader is a few years older than Ali, but not so tall. He is slender 	with a slight yet sturdy bone structure. The shape of his face is 	triangular, aristocratic, his lips thin, his eyes burning with hatred, 	but at the same time, cunning. He continues to speak in a calm tone 	which has an ironic touch to it. 				KADER 		Let's suppose you were a spy. In prison, 		when the NLF contacts you, you pretend to 		support the revolution, and then the 		French help you to escape ...				ALI 		Sure. By shooting at me.				KADER 		Even that could be a trick. You escape, 		then show up at the address which the 		brothers in prison gave to you, and so 		you are able to contact me ... 				ALI		I don't even know your name yet ... 				KADER 		My name is Kader, Ali ... Saari Kader ... 		In other words, in order to join the 		organization, you had to undergo a test. 		I could have told you to murder the 		barman, but he's an Algerian ... and the 		police would let you kill him, even 		though he is one of theirs. By obeying 		such an order, you still could have 		been a double agent. And that's why I 		told you to kill the French policeman: 		because the French wouldn't have let 		you do it. If you were with the police 		you wouldn't have done it. 	Ali has followed Kader's logic a bit laboriously, and he is fascinated 	by it. But not everything is clear yet. 				ALI 		But I haven't shot him.  				KADER 			(smiling)		You weren't able to. But what's important 		is that you tried. 				ALI 		What's important for me is that you let me 		risk my life for nothing.  				KADER 		C'mon ... you're exaggerating. The orders 		were to shoot him in the back. 				ALI 		I don't do that kind of thing. 				KADER 		Then don't complain. 				ALI 		You still haven't told me why you didn't 		let me kill him. 				KADER 		Because we aren't ready yet for the 		French. Before attacking, we must have 		safe places from which to depart and find 		refuge. Of course, there is the Casbah. 		But even the Casbah isn't safe yet. There 		are too many drunks, pushers, whores, 		addicts, spies ... people who talk too 		much ... people who are ready to sell 		themselves, undecided people. We must 		either convince them or eliminate them. 		We must think of ourselves first. We must 		clean out the Casbah first. Only then 		will we be able to deal with the French. 		Do you understand, Ali? 	Ali doesn't answer. 	Kader has come down from the wall and looks toward the Casbah. Ali too 	looks toward the Casbah, immersed in the night. 				ALI 		And how many are we? 				KADER 		Not enough. 18 	AREAS OF CASBAH UNDERWORLD. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. DAY. MARCH 1956. 	A warm spring wind, large white clouds. At the western edge of the 	Casbah, from the Upper to Lower Casbah, the street of the Algerian 	underworld descends to the brothel quarter. 				SPEAKER		"National Liberation Front, bulletin 		number 24. Brothers of the Casbah! The 		colonial administration is responsible not 		only for our people's great misery, but 		also for the degrading vices of many of 		our brothers who have forgotten their own 		dignity ..." 	Shady bars for gamblers and opium smokers, shops filled with tourist 	trinkets, merchants, fences, pimps, children with adult faces, ghastly 	old women, and young girls, whores standing in the doorways of their 	houses.  The girls having their faces uncovered have put scarves on 	their heads, knotted at the nape.  				SPEAKER		"Corruption and brutality have always 		been the most dangerous weapons of 		colonialism. The National Liberation 		Front calls all the people to struggle 		for their own physical and moral 		redemption -- indispensable conditions 		for the reconquest of independence. 		Therefore beginning today, the 		clandestine authority of the NLF 		prohibits the following activities: 		gambling, the sale and usage of all types 		of drugs, the sale and usage of alcoholic 		beverages, prostitution and its 		solicitation. Transgressors will be 		punished. Habitual transgressors will be 		punished by death." 19	BAR. EUROPEAN CITY FACING CASBAH. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. SUNSET. 	It is dusk. In the European city, the first lights are visible. People 	begin to crowd the bars for an apéritif.	An Algerian shoeshine man leaves his workbox at the entrance of the 	bar. He goes to the counter. He is tall and thin as a reed. He takes 	from his pocket a handful of change; his hands tremble slightly as he 	counts it. 	The barman recognizes him, fills a glass of wine, and places it in 	front of him. The Algerian pays and takes the glass. It's probably not 	his first; the trembling of his hands increases. The Algerian drinks 	the wine in one gulp, then goes to the door. He waits patiently while 	some Europeans enter. He goes out, picks up his workbox, and moves 	away. 20 	RUE MARENGO AND STEPS. OUTSIDE. SUNSET. 	The Algerian is standing at the top of some steep, almost vertical 	steps that lead from the European quarters to the Casbah.	Now he is in rue Marengo. There is still some daylight. The street is 	crowded. The Algerian is unsteady on his legs. He stops and mutters 	something to himself. It is obvious that he is trying to hide his 	drunkenness. 	He begins to walk, his hand against the wall for support. He stumbles. 	The workbox falls, scattering brushes and cans of shoe polish on the 	ground. The Algerian bends down, and begins to pick up his tools. He is 	swearing. 	Others have seen him. A peddler points him out to a child of about ten. 	It is Petit Omar, who nods yes, then whistles. 	Another whistle answers him, then another and another. 	There are other children, at every corner of the street. 	They arrive in a run and gather together.	Omar points to the drunk who is now moving away, and gives the order to 	attack. It is evident that this is not a game for them, but a duty.	There is a chorus of brief shouting, of insults, and whistles. 	The drunk sees them approaching. He is terrified. 	He tries to quicken his step. 	They reach him quickly and surround him. They attack him and then flee, 	small yet elusive. They do not laugh even once; their faces are hard 	and cruel. 	The drunk swings around holding his workbox by its strap. 	Some children are hit; some fall. 	The drunk avails himself of this chance to escape, and retraces his 	steps to the staircase. 	He begins to descend toward the European quarters. But the children are 	again upon him. 	They are shouting more loudly now, and pushing him. He quickens his 	step, and staggering jumps the steps two by two. 	The children trip him and he falls. 	He is crying. He shields himself with his hands. 	The workbox has fallen and is rolling down the steps. The children are 	now on top of him, like small beasts on a carrion. They smother him, 	push him and pull him. They are no longer shouting.	All of them are intent upon their efforts. Only the drunk is shouting 	despairingly. 	They succeed in moving him, and hurl him down the steps. He rolls 	downward, trying in vain to grab something with his hands. 21	BAR CASBAH. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. DAY. 	Outside the sun's light is blinding. Inside the small bar there is 	fresh air and shade. 	A young Algerian, with lifeless eyes and an idle expression, is rolling 	an opium cigarette. He lights it. Two slaps cause the cigarette to fall 	from his lips.	Ali la Pointe is wearing a djellabah, a type of cloak without buttoning 	which slips on over the head. There is an opening of about eight inches 	at the waist. 	Ali has stretched his arm through the opening to slap the opium addict, 	who recognizes Ali, smiles, and makes a dazed grimace.  				OPIUM-ADDICT		Ali la Pointe ...				ALI 		Wake up! Have you seen Hacene le Bonois? 				OPIUM-ADDICT 			(shaking his head) 		Not today ... 	Then he gets up laboriously, bends down, and looks for the cigarette 	that had fallen from his hand.	He doesn't reach it. Ali quickly crushes the cigarette with his foot. 	He is wearing a pair of sneakers. He moves away and leaves the bar. 22 	STREET BAR. CASBAH. OUTSIDE. DAY.  	Ali continues to scour the streets. From time to time, without 	lingering, he asks someone:  				ALI 		Seen Hacene le Bonois?  	Then adds:  				ALI 		Tell him I'm looking for him ... 23 	BROTHEL QUARTERS. OUTSIDE. DAY.  	OFF LIMITS 	Entrance to the brothel quarters. The street widens, the alleys branch 	off and seem to broaden. There are one or two Europeans, not only 	tourists in search of adventure, but also elements of the international 	criminal underworld who mingle here with the Algerians.	Almost all the buildings house a brothel or other place of ill-repute. 	On some doorways signs are hanging which read: 			THIS IS AN HONEST HOUSE. 24	BROTHEL. INSIDE. DAY. 	Ali has entered a brothel. It is morning and there are few clients. The 	whores are Algerian and European. Some of them are pretty.	The madam is an Algerian, dressed in European clothes. She is about 	forty, heavily made up. When she spots Ali, she interrupts her usual 	professional chant. She seems curious, yet glad. 				MADAM 			(shouting) 		Ali la Pointe!  	She stops herself, already sorry for having spoken so quickly and 	imprudently. Ali doesn't answer her, but approaches with a steady and 	serious glance.  				MADAM 			(changing tone)		Haven't seen you around for some time. I 		thought you were still in prison. 	Ali leans against the counter, never once taking his eyes off her.				ALI 		Is Hacene le Bonois here? 				MADAM		No. He left early this morning. You know 		how it is with the boss ...				ALI 		I want to see him. If he shows up, tell 		him that I'm around. 	Ali moves away from the counter and turns. He leaves without a word. 	The woman tries to understand what has happened, and follows him with a 	worried glance. 25	SMALL STREET. HACENE. OUTSIDE. DAY.  				HACENE 		Ali, my son ... Where have you been 		hiding? 	Ali turns suddenly, then pulls back so that his back is against the 	wall of the alley. 				ALI 			(in sharp voice)		Don't move! 	Then he glances at the others. 				ALI 		Hands still. 	The others are three young Algerians, Hacene's bodyguards. Hacene le 	Bonois is tall with short legs out of proportion with his enormous 	chest. He is somewhat corpulent. He has a wide face, a cheerful and 	self-confident expression. His clothing is a strange combination of 	Algerian and European which does not, however, appear ridiculous, but 	imposing. At Ali's remark, his expression changes, becomes amazed and 	baffled. But at the same time, his eyes give away the brain's attempt 	to find an explanation and a solution.  				HACENE 			(astonished)		You know I never carry weapons ...	Ali keeps his arms and hands hidden under his djellabah. 				ALI 		I know. 	Hacene laughs warmly, and stretches out his hands which are enormous, 	thick and rough.  				HACENE 		You afraid of these ...?  				ALI 		Don't move, Hacene.				HACENE 		Why are you afraid? We've always been 		friends. One might even say that I brought 		you up ... Isn't it true, Ali? 				ALI 		It's true.  				HACENE 		What's happened to you? 				ALI 		The NLF has condemned you to death.	Hacene is stunned. He speaks aloud his thoughts in a soft voice. 				HACENE 		Ah, so its come to this ... 	Then he bursts into loud laughter, and seems to turn to the three 	guards at his back. 				HACENE 		I'm dying of laughter! Ha ... ha ... 		ha ...  	Ali doesn't speak. He continues to stare at Hacene. Hacene suddenly 	stops laughing. His tone of voice changes, becomes brusque and hurried. 				HACENE 		How much are they paying you?				ALI 		They're not paying me anything. They've 		already warned you twice; this is the 		last warning. Decide. 				HACENE 		What ... What must I decide?  				ALI 		You've got to change occupations, Hacene. 		Right away! 	Hacene makes a gesture as if to emphasize what he is going to say. 				HACENE 			(with irony) 		Okay, you convince me.  	Then suddenly, unexpectedly, he lets out a SHRILL SCREAM, like fencers 	who before plunging their swords, try to frighten their adversaries. 	Simultaneously, he hurls himself forward, head lowered and arms 	outstretched.	Ali steps aside, and releases a BLAST OF MACHINE-GUN FIRE.	Hacene falls flat on his face. There is movement. Some passersby 	approach. The three boys try to escape. 				ALI 			(shouting)		Stop! 	The barrel of the machine gun is visible through the opening in his 	djellabah. Ali's voice is quivering angrily:  				ALI 		Look at him well! Now nobody can do 		whatever he wants in the Casbah. Not even 		Hacene ... least of all you three pieces 		of shit! Go away now ... go away and 		spread the word ... Go on!26	WEDDING. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	Summer. There is a garland of flowers strung across an alley. A front 	door is open, and the guests continue to arrive. 27	WEDDING HOUSE. OUTSIDE. DAY.  	In the inner courtyard, there are benches and chairs arranged in rows. 	In front of all of them, there are two chairs separated from the rest, 	one next to the other. In front of them, there is a small table with a 	pen and inkstand on top. The people remain standing, about twenty 	Algerians, of all ages. They are speaking among themselves in thick 	whispers. There is an expectant and ceremonious atmosphere. 	BUZZING.	Mahmoud was seventeen then. He has soft down on his cheeks, his first 	beard. He is thin, his neck long and tense, his glance nervous. He 	appears to be the protagonist of what is about to take place. His hair 	is combed with care and covered with much hair cream. He is wearing a 	clean and newly bought white costume.	Many of the others come to speak with him; the younger ones are joking 	and trying to provoke him. 	AD LIB REMARKS. 	Mahmoud reacts comically with a grim frown with which he tries in vain 	to hide his shyness. At the same time, he glances secretly, anxiously, 	up to the empty balcony on the first floor. Much gay and lively 	chattering can be heard from an open door above. 28	WEDDING ROOM. INSIDE. DAY.  	In the room, a group of girls are busy preparing trays with cups of 	coffee. They are little more than children, twelve or thirteen years 	old, with soft complexions, white teeth, and shining eyes. They seem	children who are playing, but beneath that veneer of gaiety, some 	anxiety is noticeable, emotions in suspense. The faltering voice of an 	old woman calls from the adjoining room.	A girl leaves the group, lifts the dividing curtain, and nearing the 	bed where the old woman is lying, she kneels beside her. The old woman 	lifts her hand and places it on the girl's hair, caressing her 	tenderly. She speaks in a wavering voice, and her small yet kind eyes 	fill with tears. 	OLD WOMAN'S SPEECH IN ARABIC.	The girl nods yes, then she gets up and goes to rejoin her companions. 	Passing before a mirror, she stops a minute to tidy her hair. 29	WEDDING HOUSE. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	They appear on the balcony, then descend to the courtyard. The nervous 	glance of Mahmoud scans their faces, then rests upon that girl who, 	with lowered eyelids, also glances quickly at him. Meanwhile the trays 	are being passed among the guests.	Now the people turn to face the front door. A young man has entered 	carrying a briefcase under his arm. Behind him are two boys who seem to 	be his bodyguards, and are the only ones dressed in European clothes. 	Both of them have their right hands under their jackets, which are old 	and torn. They seem to be armed. They close the door, and remain 	standing on either side of it.	The man with the briefcase walks toward the table. All present look at 	him respectfully. He smiles, responds to their greetings, shakes hands 	with all. But he refuses coffee and seems to be in a hurry.	He sits down, places his briefcase on the table, opens it, and takes 	out a large notebook. From the open briefcase, the metallic butt of a 	sub-machine gun appears.	On the cover of the notebook is written: NLF -- ALGERIAN  AUTONOMOUS 	ZONE. CIVIL RECORDS. 	He turns the pages of the notebook until he reaches the last written 	page. Then he glances up toward the people who, in the meantime, have 	taken their seats. He smiles, says a few words, then calls two names. 	Mahmoud walks forward stiffly, erect, his eyes staring straight ahead 	of him. 	The girl also walks forward, with a perplexed expression. They sit down 	next to each other, but without looking at each other. The ceremony 	consists of a few words. Finally the two youths look at each other. 	Mahmoud tries to smile, but he cannot. 	The girl's expression softens somewhat. Her glance is tender; she 	lowers her face quickly. Meanwhile the others recite the verses of the 	Koran in low voices. 	CHORUS. 30	RUE D'ISLY. OUTSIDE. DAY. JUNE 20, 1956. 8:05 A.M. 	There is a French guard, no more than thirty years old. He has a blond 	mustache, his beard recently shaved. There are few people in the 	street. The guard walks slowly, glancing in the shop windows from time 	to time to admire his reflection. He stops, adjusts his cap, and 	smiles. 	An Algerian appears beside him; he is also young. The guard pretends to 	be interested in the photographic equipment which is on display, then	moves on. 	The Algerian's arm springs forward and returns quickly to its place. He 	plunges the knife into the guard's neck. 	The guard opens his mouth wide to shout, but he cannot. The blood 	gurgles in his gashed throat. None of the few passersby has seen what 	happened. The guard falls flat on his face. Someone sees him and 	screams. 	The Algerian hurls himself on top of the soldier, opens his holster, 	takes his pistol, then gets up pulling the gun with him. The gun is 	fastened by a leather cord. The cord gets tangled in the gashed neck of 	the guard.	The Algerian pulls in vain. He panics. He looks about him with 	terrified eyes. 	People approach hurriedly. They are shouting. The Algerian pulls the 	cord a second time, desperately.	He regains his control, picks up the knife which is lying on the 	ground, and cuts the leather cord, thus freeing the pistol. The others 	have almost reached him and he is surrounded, but he manages to dodge 	them, and escapes. 31	BOULEVARD BRU. OUTSIDE. DAY. 8:40 A.M. 	A group of zouaves on patrol, three soldiers and an officer. The street 	is sloping; on the right there is a high fence covered with advertising 	signs and cinematographic posters, all of them torn and full of holes; 	the emptiness on the other side is visible through the holes.	The soldiers are chatting among themselves and looking at the posters.	A soldier stops because he sees something moving on the other side of 	the fence. 	He points to it and shouts, but not in time. 	MACHINE-GUN FIRE INTERRUPTED BY SINGLE SHOTS. 	The soldier falls, the others remain motionless, unbelieving. They 	begin to run and scatter and look for cover. 	An Algerian appears on top of the fence. He moves like a cat, and jumps 	from the other side. 	His invisible companions continue to shoot. He is unarmed, and runs to 	the dead soldier. He grabs the machine gun and retraces his steps. The 	action takes place in a second. 	By now the soldiers too are shooting, but it is too late. 32	POLICE STATION. CHEMIN AIN-ZEBOUDJA. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. DAY. 9:10 A.M. 	A police station in the Casbah, a small prefabricated one-story	building. 	At the main door there is a police guard. A group of five Algerians is 	approaching. They are talking among themselves, and gesticulating.	BUZZING. 	The policeman enjoys watching them, then asks what it's about. All five 	of them answer him at once, trying to outdo one another.	The policeman has to shout to make them keep quiet. Then, assuming a 	very humble behavior, they enter silently. The oldest among them speaks 	in a mournful voice. He seems to be crying and asks the sergeant 	something. 	The policeman calls a colleague, and tells him to accompany the 	Algerians. Four of them go with the policeman, while another remains in 	the waiting room, saying that it is better because he is afraid of 	losing his control. 	Then he begins to explain the reasons for the quarrel: it concerns a 	will. The old man is his grandfather, but he has recently remarried. 	Then from inside is heard ... 	MACHINE-GUN FIRE. 	The policeman reacts quickly and tries to draw his gun. But the 	Algerian is faster and fires point-blank.	The four reappear. One of them is wounded. All of them are armed with 	revolvers, and carry at their sides a machine gun and two sub-machine 	guns that they have taken from the armory. Other cries and shots are 	heard behind them. 	All five of them run out in haste. 33	RUE MARENGO. OUTSIDE. DAY. 9:45 A.M. 	Another police station. Two policemen are chatting in front of the 	entrance. 	A black Renault is passing by at a walking speed, then slows down 	almost to the point of halting completely. 	The right door opens and there is a burst of machine-gun fire. One of 	the policemen has been, hit, and grabs the other so as not to fall.	Another burst of ... 	MACHINE-GUN FIRE. 	The two policemen fall down together. The car motor is accelerated, the 	tires screech and the Renault shoots forward. 	A military jeep arrives from the opposite direction, crashes into the 	car and blocks its escape. 	An Algerian flees and is pursued. Another descends from the auto with 	his hands raised. 	The soldiers shoot and kill him.34	AVENUE DU 8 NOVEMBRE. OUTSIDE. DAY. 1:10 P.M. 	A large garage with workshop and filling station. In front are some 	automobiles and a military truck.	A scooter with two Algerian boys passes by, rumbling noisily along the 	road. Then at full speed, it makes a sharp turn, retraces its steps and 	turns again. The boys seem to be showing off for fun.	Meanwhile, the employees of the garage are leaving their work since it 	is lunchtime. The attendant at the gasoline pumps is left alone.	The scooter stops in front of the high-test gasoline pump. The attendant 	is a European, an elderly man, who approaches them holding in one hand 	some bread he has just unwrapped. He detaches the pump handle of high-	test, and asks how many gallons.	One of the Algerians points a revolver at the attendant, and tells him 	to pour out the gasoline on the ground all around. The other, 	meanwhile, goes to the other two gasoline pumps, detaches the handles, 	and fastens them in an open position in order to empty them of	gasoline. He uses two pieces of iron that he has brought with him to 	clamp the handles open. He stretches the pump hoses as far as they can 	go toward the garage and the parked cars. 	The gasoline flows all over the large square. The two youths are again 	on the scooter; they tell the European to move away. They have soaked a 	rag in gasoline and they light it. 	The gasoline continues to flow from the two open pumps. The European is 	by now far away, the scooter is already moving away, and at the same 	time, the boys hurl the lit rag into the square. It immediately bursts 	into flames. 35	COMMISSIONER's OFFICE. INSIDE. NIGHT. 	The night of the same day, in an office of the police commissioner's 	headquarters. On the desk, photos of the day's terroristic attempts are 	piled in a heap. An employee is in front of his typewriter.	The Assistant Commissioner is about forty years old, very robust. His 	face is somewhat wide, ordinary, and with heavy features. He leafs 	through the photos while speaking on the telephone. It is a very warm 	night, and the window of the office is open. From outside is heard 	the SOUND OF TRAFFIC.  				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 			(on telephone) 		Yes, sir, but they haven't received a 		search-warrant yet. Rue d'Isly? We 		followed them for a while, but then we 		lost track ... Yes, sir, but it is in 		another precinct. No, it wasn't in 		theirs ... There are some suspects for 		rue Marengo ... No ... the judge hasn't 		given permission yet. He is requesting a 		formal investigation first. Yes, sir, 		yes ... Yes, sir, yes -- But we haven't 		enough men. Of course, I understand ...		If it were possible, sir, you should ... 		but the Commissioner can't ... in ... But 		couldn't you ... Alright, sir ...  We'll 		let them cut our throats then!  	He slams the receiver angrily and begins to dictate his report. His 	voice is harsh, filled with rancor. 				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER		Time: 3 P.M. Attempt at homicide against a 		Patrol of the 3rd B.P.C. Place: Luciani 		street at El Biar. Weapon: Revolver 7.75.		Victim: A soldier wounded in the right leg 		and groin. Hospitalized. Assailants: 		Unknown. ... Time: 3:35 P.M. Homicide. 		Place: Chopin Street, opposite number 20. 		Weapon: P.M. 38. Victim: Private 		second-class Dare Jackie, born March 12, 		1931. Deceased. Assailant: A moslem.		Height: five feet and seven/eights 		inches. Light colored clothing. Probably 		escaped in Simca. License plates unknown. 		Time: Four minutes past 4 P.M. Homicide 		and attempt at homicide against patrol of 		border guards. Place: Intersection between 		Consular Street and General Laquiere ...		Wait a minute ... 	The officer stops speaking, takes a glass from his desk, and goes near 	the window. On the ledge, there is a bottle of beer, left there 	evidently to keep it a bit cool. He takes it, fills his glass and 	drinks.	Then he speaks in a lowered voice, while looking outside, without even 	giving any directions to the employee who waits with his hands poised 	about the keyboard of his typewriter. 				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER		I want to see the newspapers tomorrow. If 		they're still talking about pacification 		of our Moslem brothers! 	He returns to his desk. 				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER		Where were we?				EMPLOYEE		Intersection, between Consular Street and 		General Laquiere Avenue ... 36	VARIED FLASHES. POLICE STATIONS. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	In front of police stations: Ain-Zeboudja ... rue Marengo ... and all 	the others ... in the Casbah ... in the European quarters ... sandbag 	entrenchments are being prepared, barbed wire is being stretched, 	metallic lookout turrets are being set up. It is very hot. Workers and 	policemen work in silence. There is an oppressive atmosphere. 				SPEAKER		"Ordinance of the Prefecture of Algiers: 		All police stations in Algiers, without 		exception and until further notice, are 		required to prepare and maintain external 		protection devices. The shifting of guards 		outside must continue uninterrupted 		twenty-four hours a day. Sentinels must 		be equipped with automatic weapons ..." 37	EUROPEAN AND CASBAH PHARMACIES. MUSTAPHA HOSPITAL. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. DAY.	View of pharmacies in the European quarters and in the Casbah. 	The shelves, medicines; people who are buying. The Mustapha hospital, 	reserved for Algerians. The wards: hospitalized Algerians.				SPEAKER		"The Governor-General of Algiers decrees: 		Article No. 1 -- The sale of medicinal 		and pharmaceutical products, effective 		for the cures of gunshot wounds, can be 		made only to those who present written 		authorization from the Commissioner of 		Police.		Article No. 2 -- Directors of all 		hospitals and clinics must produce to the 		police authorities an immediate listing 		of all patients admitted to their 		institutions for the care and treatment 		of gunshot wounds." 38	CASBAH ROAD BLOCKS. OUTSIDE. DAY.  	The Casbah is being closed off. Every point of entrance, every alley, 	every street that joins the Casbah and the European quarters has been 	blocked off with wooden horses and with barbed wire nine feet high.	There are also workers, policemen, and soldiers who are working at the 	barricades. 	Beyond them, on the other side of the barbed wire, the Algerians seem 	to be encaged.  				SPEAKER		"The Prefecture of Algiers states: In 		the course of these last few days, dozens 		of assaults have been committed in this 		city. We have reason to believe that the 		assailants originate in the Casbah, and 		that they have always found a speedy and 		easy refuge in the alleys of the Arab 		quarters. As a result, and in order to		alleviate without delay the insecurity 		that now reigns in the city, the 		Prefecture of Algiers has decided that 		entrance to the Casbah can only he 		permitted at those points in the blockade		under military control, where citizens in 		transit must exhibit their documents at 		request, and submit to eventual searches." 	The Casbah is imprisoned, like a huge concentration camp. Only five 	streets have been left open, the widest streets. There are five exits 	where the wooden horses serve to restrict passage, and where some 	wooden posts for the guards are being built.	Every exit is marked by a sign with large lettering. 39 	BLOCKADE MARENGO. OUTSIDE. DAY. AUGUST 10, 1956. 	At each blockade, there are two ramps, an entrance and an exit to the 	Casbah. The Algerians and some Europeans crowd around in both 	directions. The soldiers are wearing fatigues with helmets and machine 	guns. The Europeans are not requested to show identity papers.	The Algerians are often frisked, and accept this fact silently, 	patiently, without any sign of intolerance. But if the soldiers attempt 	to search a woman, then, it is different. 	A woman begins to shout, while waving her arms wildly, and pushes away 	the soldier who had tried to search her. A stream of incoherent words. 	Other Algerians intervene; they push forward threateningly. The soldier 	is young; he is timid and frightened. He looks over his back for help. 	A police officer approaches. He has a different tone, and a very self-	assured manner. He shouts at the Algerians to calm down. 				OFFICER		Are you mad, touching one of their women? 		Go on, go on, alright ... Go ahead, keep 		moving!  	The woman passes the blockade, but still continues her protest with a 	shrill and unbearable voice. 40	RUE PHILIPPE. OUTSIDE. DAY. 8:35 A.M.  	An Algerian woman walks along the sidewalk. She is elderly, fat, and is 	wearing a traditional costume with her face veiled. She walks slowly 	toward a bar, which has its tables outside, and already some customers.	Near the bar, leaning against a wall, there is an Algerian who now 	begins to move and goes to meet the old woman. They greet one another 	with much warmth, like a mother and son who haven't seen each other for 	a long time. 	They embrace, and the man searches at her breast among the folds of her 	veil. He finds a revolver which is hung by a cord, and grabs it. They 	are at ten or twelve feet distance from the bar. At a table, there is a 	French soldier having coffee with cream, croissant, and an open 	newspaper. 	The Algerian continues to embrace the old woman, and aims from above 	her shoulders. Only one shot; the newspaper rips, the soldier tries to 	get up again, his face full of blood. Then he collapses on the table. 	The Algerian has hidden the revolver in the woman's veil. The two 	separate from their embrace. They seem terrified and surprised, and 	move away from each other in different directions while the people are 	rushing about and SHOUTING. 41	DE LA LYRE MARKET. OUTSIDE. DAY. 9:10 A.M.  	The cries of the peddlers are loud and incoherent. An Algerian is 	squatting on his heels in front of his wares scattered on the ground:	clusters of aromatic herbs, jars of spices. A youth is in front of him, 	and from time to time, he looks around him. He seems to be waiting.	Now he bends down and begins to rummage through the herbs. He selects a 	bunch of mint, weighs it in his hand, and argues the price with the 	peddler. 	A policeman in the market passes nearby and watches. The youth waits a 	second, then turns toward the back of the policeman, and stretches out 	his arm. 	He has in his hand the bunch of mint; a revolver is hidden among the 	greens. He shoots twice. 	The French policeman falls down. The youth drops the mint with the 	revolver among the other herbs, and moves away in the midst of the	crowd. 42 	RUE DE BAR-EL-QUED. OUTSIDE. DAY. 10:15 A.M. 	In front of the police station there are sandbags and a police guard at 	duty with helmet and machine gun. The policeman jumps to attention and 	salutes. An officer has come out of the station and returns his salute. 	He moves away and walks along the sidewalk. 	There are few people. An Algerian seems to appear from nowhere, and 	walks behind him. He is very young, is wearing a short-sleeved shirt 	and blue jeans. 	The officer turns at the first corner. Further on, there is a row of 	cars and a metallic sign which warns that the parking space is reserved 	for police vehicles only. 	The officer hears the steps of the boy behind him, and summons him in a 	brusque manner.  				OFFICER		What are you doing here? Where are you 		going? 	The boy shrugs his thin, shoulders and lowers his head. 				BOY 			(in servile tone)		I'm going for a swim; my friends are 		waiting for me. 	The officer curses under his breath and proceeds. He stops in front of 	a Dyna-Panhard, parked not too far away. 	The boy moves on a few yards past the automobile until he reaches a 	metallic wastebasket which is fastened to the pole of a street lamp. He 	stops there, then glances around. 	The officer is not far behind him; he has taken his car keys from his 	pocket, and is about to open the car door. The boy plunges his hand 	into the basket, rummages among the torn papers, then suddenly turns, 	points a revolver at the officer's back, and shoots. 	The man tries to clutch something, but slips and falls down. The boy 	shoots again at the man on the ground, then plunges his hand again into 	the wastebasket, drops the revolver, and glances around him. He breaks 	into a run. 	The policemen come out of the police station hurriedly. 	WHISTLES, ORDERS, EXCITED CRIES. 	They turn the corner. Some rush to the man lying on the ground. Others 	jump into a jeep. Four of them jump on motorcycles that are lined up in 	the rack. They move off in two directions.	At the same time, wails of police sirens moving nearer are heard in the 	distance. The street is deserted. There is no trace of the boy. 	People are seen at their windows. The officer is lifted by his arms. 	An ambulance arrives and stops, its siren at full blast, its doors wide 	open. The officer is placed inside. 	The motorcycles are racing through the sidestreets. The jeep converges 	on them, then reverses its direction, moving while balanced on two 	wheels. 	Passersby stop to watch, all of them Europeans. The siren's wail is at 	a high pitch. 43	ADJACENT STREETS. OUTSIDE. DAY.  	A deserted street, recently covered with wet asphalt. 	A Moslem road worker is sitting on the ground next to a steamroller. 	He is eating his lunch. The combined sounds of the siren's wail and the 	rumbling of the motorcycles are heard approaching. 	Two motorcyclists appear in the street, passing by the road worker.	One of them stops and turns around. 	The road worker moves backward to the street corner. He breaks into a 	run. His eyes are burning with fear, his face is anxious, undecided.	From the windows, the people point to him, and shout after him.	A jeep appears in the street in front of him. 	The motorcyclist approaches from the opposite direction. 	The Algerian stops running; he doesn't know what to do. 	From the windows, continuous SHOUTING. 	The Algerian leans against the wall, watches the scene, and begins to 	cry. The policemen jump down from the jeep and leap at him. The 	Algerian isn't able to speak, but only shakes his head. 44	POLICE STATION. INSIDE. DAY. 	A room inside the police station. The Algerian's face is beaten from 	right and left by a series of slaps.	The room is filled with policemen. All of them are practically on top 	of the Algerian; all of them are shouting. In the confusion can be 	heard SHOUTS. 				VARIED VOICES		Do you know he's dead, you bastard? Do you 		know you killed him?	They try to reach him, pushing against one another in order to get 	closer and hit him. The Algerian is crying and speaks in broken-off 	phrases, half Arabic and half French. His continual efforts to repeat 	certain words are heard: 				ALGERIAN		No, no, no, no, ... me no ... Viva 		France ...	An officer arrives making his way.				OFFICER		Get out, go on, outside ... Get out of 		the way! Go away ...	They make way for him; he reaches the Algerian who tries to smile at 	him, continually shaking his head: 				ALGERIAN		Sir ... sir ... sir ...  				OFFICER 		What's your name? 	The Algerian's mouth is dry; he tries to swallow. 				ALGERIAN 		Sir ... sir ... sir ... 				OFFICER 		What's your name?				ALGERIAN 			(straining, still 			trying to swallow)		Lardjane Boualem, sir ... 45	COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE. INSIDE. NIGHT.  	In the Commissioner's office, the Assistant Commissioner dictates: 				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 		Guilty: Lardjane Boualem, manual worker, 		married with three children. Resident in 		rue de Thèbes, number eight ... So? How 		many today?	The employee removes the copies from the typewriter and begins to put 	them in order. 				EMPLOYEE		Seven assaults, three dead. 	Then he moves to the desk, and hands over the various copies for 	signature. 				EMPLOYEE		Here, one for the Commissioner ... the 		press offices ... the archives ... and 		one for you, sir. 	The Assistant Commissioner signs.				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 		Good, thank you, Corbiere... . See you 		tomorrow. 				EMPLOYEE		Good evening, sir.	The employee salutes, then moves toward the door. He is about to go out 	when the Assistant Commissioner stops him. 				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 		Tell me ... Where is this rue de Thèbes? 				EMPLOYEE		Rue de Thèbes? In the Upper Casbah, I 		think ... 				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 		All right. See you tomorrow, Corbiere. 				EMPLOYEE		Good evening, sir.	The employee leaves and closes the door. The Assistant Commissioner 	crosses the room to the large map of Algiers which covers the entire 	wall. He moves his finger along the Casbah zone; as he moves it, he 	follows it with his glance in that tangle of streets.				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 			(to himself)		Rue de Thèbes ... de Thèbes ... 	He has found it. He observes it for a minute, then moves his finger 	along the road leading to the European quarters. He finds the right 	route, then concentrates in order to memorize it.	He returns to the desk, lifts the receiver, and dials a number.				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER     			(on the phone) 		Hello, Engineer Henry Amaud, please ... 		He's already left? Alright, yes, yes, 		alright ... I have the number. 	He clicks the receiver, then dials another number. At the other end of 	the line, a feminine voice is heard. The Assistant Commissioner 	abandons his usual peremptory tone.  				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER		Hello, Bernadette...Yes, right away. I'm 		going to change my clothes first, and I'll 		be right there. My wife is already there, 		right? No, it's not important. But call 		Henry for me. Just for a minute ... 		Alright ... thanks ... 	He places the receiver on the desk, then puts on his jacket which is on 	the back of his chair. He straightens his tie. Now from the receiver a 	muffled voice is heard; the Assistant Commissioner picks up the 	receiver.  				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER		Hello, Henry? ... Everything's okay. 		Good. What are we going to tell our 		wives? The club? Good idea, yes. I'll be 		there right away. Just give me time to 		change my clothes ... Ah, I've found the 		address. No, it's better to talk in 		person. Yes, it's the right place ... 		Okay. Bye. 	He puts down the receiver, then goes to the coat-hanger and takes his 	beret. He goes out after glancing again at the photos of the day's 	assaults. 46	HENRY ARNAUD'S HOME. INSIDE. NIGHT. 	Two small children are kneeling in front of their beds. 				CHILDREN		Notre Père, dans le ciel ...	Two children, five or six years old, blond, charming, but not affected. 	They seem to be twins, and are wearing identical pajamas.	At the same time, a servant is preparing their beds for the night. She 	is about fifty years old, her apron clean and ironed; she has gray 	hair, her face that of a good woman. She is Algerian.  When the 	children falter in their prayers, she helps them. When they have 	finished she says with an Algerian accent:				SERVANT		Now, let's go to say good night.  	In the dining room, there is a large open window. The beach, the sea, 	and the sound of the surf are outside, not too distant. It is a starry 	night. At a table, there are four men and four women, all of them well 	dressed and tanned. It is the home of Henry and Bernadette Arnaud. The 	Assistant Commissioner is in plain clothes. He and his wife seem ill at 	ease, somewhat out of place. 	The maid and children have entered the room. 				BERNADETTE		Come here, children. Say hello ...				CHILDREN 		Good evening ...	The others smile. The servant accompanies the children to their 	parents.				CHILDREN		Good night, daddy. Good night, mommy. 				BERNADETTE 		Good night, dear. 	They kiss. At the same time the women make the usual delighted 	exclamations. One of the men attracts the Assistant Commissioner's 	attention, points to his watch, and makes a sign.	The Assistant Commissioner nods his head affirmatively. 47	ALGERIAN STREETS. OUTSIDE. NIGHT.  	A DS Citroen is crossing the city at high speed.	The four men are inside. Arnaud is at the wheel. The Assistant 	Commissioner is sitting in the back seat. 48 	CASBAH ENTRANCE. OUTSIDE. NIGHT.  	The automobile arrives at Place du Gouvernement, takes a turn around 	the square, then turns toward the blockade, and slows down.	One of the soldiers moves to the center of the ramp, and raises the 	phosphorescent flag. The car lowers its headlights and stops.	The soldier goes to the driver's window. In his right hand, he is 	holding a machine gun which hangs from his shoulders. He greets them. 	He bends to window level:				SOLDIER 		Good evening ...	Arnaud responds in an innocent, cheerful tone: 				ARNAUD		Good evening ... Can we pass?				SOLDIER 		It's too late. No one is allowed to enter 		the Casbah at this hour. It's impossible.				ARNAUD		But it's not even midnight yet!				SOLDIER 		It's ten minutes past midnight. Curfew 		begins at midnight.				ARNAUD		Please, we just want to take a short ride. 		A friend of mine has never seen the 		Casbah. 				SOLDIER 		I'm sorry. Tomorrow. Tonight is out of 		the question. 	The Assistant Commissioner intervenes with the self-assured and 	somewhat arrogant tone common to all policemen. He stretches his arm 	toward the window and hands the soldier a card. 				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 		It's alright, they're with me. 	The soldier examines the card by the glare of the headlights, hands it 	back, and bringing his hand to his visor, he salutes. 				SOLDIER 		Okay, sir. Go ahead.      	The Assistant Commissioner salutes with his hand. 				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 		Let's go, Henry. 				ARNAUD 			(he changes gears)		Thank you. Good evening. 	The soldier steps aside, and salutes again.	The automobile begins to move, steadily increasing its speed.49	CASBAH STREET. OUTSIDE. NIGHT. 	The streets of the Casbah are deserted, almost completely blackened. 	Some cats are frightened by the headlights and run close to the walls. 	Inside the car the four men are silent. They keep their eyes fixed 	straight ahead of them, their faces concentrating, taut. 				ARNAUD 		This way?				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 		Yes, it's the first intersection ... or 		the second.  50	RUE DE THÈBES. OUTSIDE. NIGHT. 	The automobile slows down at the first intersection. Arnaud leans out 	the window and looks. There is an enamel nameplate -- RUE DE THÈBES. 				ARNAUD 		Right or left? 				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 		Try going to the right. 	The car turns right, moving slowly. 	On one side of the street, the even numbers are getting higher: 26 ... 	28 ... 30 ... 				ARNAUD 		What number is it? 				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 		Eight.      	The man next to the Assistant Commissioner says: 				FRIEND		Let's park here. It doesn't matter.  				ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 			(in sharp tone) 		It does matter. Go back, Henry. Let's go 		to number eight. 	Arnaud puts the gears in reverse; the car moves back quickly and passes 	the intersection: 16 ... 14 ... 12 ... 10 ... 8... it stops.	Arnaud puts it in neutral. With the motor still running, he presses the 	cigarette lighter on the dashboard.	The Assistant Commissioner takes a large package that he is holding 	under his legs on the car floor. It is wrapped in pieces of newspaper. 	He lifts it forward. The man who is next to Arnaud takes it, leans it 	against the back of his seat, touches it until he finds the right spot, 	unwraps it from that part, and straightens a small plastic tube which 	appears at the opening. It is a fuse. 				ARNAUD 		How long do you want the timing device? 				FRIEND		Five minutes. Give me a match ... 	Arnaud takes the cigarette lighter from the dashboard. 	The other man has opened the car door. He takes the lighter and touches 	it to the fuse which ignites immediately. The door of number eight is 	very near, almost directly opposite the car door.  	The man places the package in a shady area and returns to the car in a 	run. Arnaud has already changed gears, releases the clutch, and the 	automobile shoots forward. 51	RUE DE THÈBES. EXPLOSION. OUTSIDE. NIGHT. AUGUST 11, 1956. 12:20 A.M.	The explosion is very violent. The fronts of buildings number eight, 	ten, and twelve explode and collapse. 	EXPLOSION. 	The echo of the explosion has ended. There is a long pause, only some 	isolated noises resound. They are stressed, recognizable: a burning 	beam, the thud of falling debris, broken glass ...	Then suddenly and almost simultaneously with the other sounds, after 	the shock, the human voices, the shouts and weeping are heard.	VOICES, SHOUTS, WEEPING. 52	RUE DE THÈBES. OUTSIDE. DAWN. 	The dawn's light is clear and white. It dispels every shadow and 	designs precisely every outline. Here and there, in the middle of the 	sky, there are numerous clouds of dust, strangely motionless. In the 	light, the human figures seem black. Seen from a distance, they seem to 	be ants upon heaps of debris. There are women, motionless, weeping 	softly, their voices similar to prayer. From time to time, there is a 	sudden scream, a despairing sob, someone running.	Another corpse is pulled out from the rubble, bodies mutilated or still 	intact -- they are all dead.	The people continue to rummage through the debris and to wait around 	pitifully. 53	CASBAH STREETS. OUTSIDE. DAY.	But there is no pity in the other streets and alleys of the Casbah, or 	at the top of the steps. There is anger and hatred. The people are 	running and shouting.	They are shouting from their windows and balconies: 	JU-JU. 	They smother every other sound. The excitement increases. They run 	where there is more shouting, more people. They don't know what to do 	yet, but want to be together. Until there is a voice stronger and 	clearer than the others which gives them a goal and direction.	Ali la Pointe points below beyond the slopes of the alleys and 	stairways. There below are the European quarters which widen near the 	sea. 	The crowd is shouting, pushing, rushing forward with him, like a raging 	stream, tumultuous and unrestrainable. Ali is together with his men, 	five boys, one of them older than twenty. All of them are armed. The 	crowd forces them to quicken their step to a run.	Petit Omar is furthest in the rear. He is wearing a pair of short 	pants, his chest bare; he is barefoot. He calls Ali with all his might, 	but in vain.	He tries to join Ali, to make his way through the legs of the others; 	he runs, clinging to the others, pushes, passes near the walls; then, 	turning into a side-street, he rushes into an alleyway, and finally 	arrives in front. He runs to Ali, almost out of breath. 				PETIT OMAR 			(shouting)		Kader says to stop them! He says we've 		got to stop them! 	Ali slows down as much as he can with the crowd pushing him from 	behind. 				ALI 		Where's Kader? 				PETIT OMAR 		With the others. They are trying to stop 		the people. 				ALI 		Go away.	Their voices can hardly be heard or understood amid the loud noises. 				PETIT OMAR 		But he says that if we go on like this, 		we're playing their game, and they'll 		murder everyone ... Stop, Ali! 	Ali continues to run. His face is sullen, frowning, as always when he 	must choose between instinct and reason. Omar calls him again. His 	voice is hysterical, repeating again to stop. He is hanging on one of 	Ali's arms. Ali jerks himself free violently; he strikes the child. 	Omar sways and falls against the wall.	With this movement, Ali seems to release his anger at not being able to 	carry out his actions.	He slows down, speaks to his men, a few words in Arabic, his voice cold 	and bitter. 	Ali extends his arm and the others imitate him. Each man grabs another 	by the arm, forming a chain. They check the flow behind them and hold 	back the crowd that is pressing forward. 54 	KADER'S HOUSE. INSIDE. DAY. SEPTEMBER 30, 1956. 	Djamila, the girl who in January, in rue Random, gave the revolver to 	Ali la Pointe, is now standing in front of a large mirror. She removes 	the veil from her face. Her glance is hard and intense; her face is 	expressionless. The mirror reflects a large part of the room: it is a 	bedroom. There are three other girls. 	There is Zohra, who is about the same age as Djamila. She undresses, 	removing her traditional costume, and is wearing a slip ...	There is Hassiba who is pouring a bottle of peroxide into a basin. She 	dips her long black hair into the water to dye it blond.	Every action is performed precisely and carefully. They are like three 	actresses preparing for the stage. But there is no gaiety; no one is 	speaking. Only silence emphasizes the detailed rhythm of their 	transformation ...	Djamila's lightweight European dress of printed silk ...	Zohra's blouse and short skirt to her knees ... make-up, lipstick, 	high-heeled shoes, silk stockings ...	Hassiba has wrapped her hair in a towel to dry it ... a pair of blue 	jeans, a striped clinging tee-shirt ...	Her blond hair is now dry. She ties it behind in a ponytail. Hassiba 	has a young, slim figure. She seems to be a young European girl who is 	preparing to go to the beach. 	Continual silence. Djamila and Zohra have finished their preparations 	and sit down to wait. Hassiba is still barefoot. She is putting on her 	sandals, when someone knocks at the door. 	Djamila gets up and goes to open it. 	It is Kader.	A quick attentive glance; Djamila ... Zohra ... Hassiba ...	Hassiba responds to his look with a gay and somewhat coquettish 	expression; she says, stressing her French: 				HASSIBA		Ça va, monsieur?  	Kader smiles for a second, without any gaiety, but to please her. Then	he speaks briefly and harshly in Arabic. And turning one at a time to 	each of the three, he gives them three addresses. 				KADER 			(to Djamila)		Number three rue de Chêne.			(to Zohra)		Number fourteen rue Monseigneur Leynaud. 			(to Hassiba)		Number twenty-one rue de l'Hydre. 	Each one of the girls repeats, in turn, the address which he has given 	her. Each one of the three responds emotionally. The atmosphere is 	tense. Kader bids them farewell according to the Algerian custom, first 	bringing his right hand over his heart. Then he embraces them.	They look at him for a moment; they are embarrassed. Kader tries to 	ease their discomfort, smiles, and answers Hassiba's previous remark. 				KADER 		Ça va ... Et bonnes chances! 55	RUE DE L'HYDRE. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. DAY. 5:45 P.M. 	At number twenty-one rue de l'Hydre, there is a bread store. Hassiba 	has again covered her face with a veil, and is also wearing a white 	cloak which covers her whole body. 	She enters the store. There are other women who are buying bread. 	Hassiba waits for them to leave, then says in Arabic to the shopkeeper: 				HASSIBA		I've come to take the package ... 	The shopkeeper empties half a basket of bread; at the bottom, there is 	a beach bag with a shoulder-strap, and he gives it to Hassiba.	Hassiba hides it under her cloak, bends her head in a sign of farewell, 	and leaves. 56	RUE MONS. LEYNAUD. INSIDE. DAY. 5:45 P.M. 	At number fourteen rue Monseigneur Leynaud, there is a tailor shop and 	clothing store. Zohra is also wearing the veil and white cloak. She 	enters. 				ZOHRA		I've come to take the package ... 	The tailor accompanies her to the back of the shop, where there is a 	workroom and young girls who are sewing. He rummages in a closet, takes 	out an Air France utility bag and gives it to Zohra who hides it under 	her cloak, greets him, and leaves. 57	RUE DU CHÊNE. INSIDE. DAY. 	Inside number three rue du Chêne, an Algerian craftsman is working in 	filigree. Djamila takes a small leather cosmetic case.	Djamila hides it, greets the man, and leaves. 58	ALLEY AND BLOCKADE. RUE MARENGO. INSIDE/OUTSIDE. DAY. 6:05 P.M. 	At an intersection of rue Marengo, an alley, Hassiba enters a large 	door, and shuts it. In a second, she has removed her veil and cloak. 	Her face is made up; she is wearing pants and a jersey top. She places 	the strap of her bag on her shoulder. 	Inside the bag, a towel and bathing suit are visible. 	Hassiba goes out the door, proceeds down the alley until she reaches 	rue Marengo. She approaches the blockade. 	It is Saturday evening; there is a hurried bustle of Algerians and 	Europeans. Soldiers and policemen, are very busy with their usual 	requests for documents.	Hassiba's arrival is quickly noticed for she is very pretty and 	attracts much attention. Some soldiers whistle.	An elderly Algerian woman looks at her with dislike. Hassiba is 	indifferent and waits her turn. A French soldier approaches her. 				SOLDIER		I'd like to search you, Miss ...	For an instant, Hassiba is dismayed; then, she glances down at her 	clinging shirt and pants. 				HASSIBA 			(innocently)		Where?      	The boy is young, handsome, and cheeky. 				SOLDIER		Not here. There's too many people.				HASSIBA 		But you don't understand. I was saying 		that there's nothing to search.				SOLDIER		That's what you think! 	Some Europeans laugh, the Algerians seem not to see or hear, but it is 	evident that they are scornful.				SECOND SOLDIER		Are you going for a swim, Miss ... all by 		yourself?				HASSIBA 		No, with some friends.     	At the same time, she passes the blockade. 				SECOND SOLDIER		Lucky them. Next Sunday I'm free .... Shall		we go together?     	Hassiba shrugs her shoulders, smiles again, and moves away.  59	BLOCKADE RUE DU DIVAN. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	At the rue du Divan blockade, Zohra too is dressed like a European, and 	seems to be calm. 	There are not too many people. A soldier makes a sign for her to pass 	in a hurried manner, and the girl passes. 60	BLOCKADE RUE DE LA LYRE. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	Djamila is tense, pale, her features are strained. Her eyes seem even 	larger with make-up. Now, at the blockade at rue de la Lyre, the Casbah 	exit is blocked. An Algerian has been discovered without documents. He 	argues, shouts, and says that he wants to go back. 	INCOHERENT VOICES.	The soldiers try to catch him, he struggles to get free. 	Meanwhile the people push forward in protest. Two soldiers catch the 	Algerian, and drag him bodily into the guard posts. The flow of people 	continues.	Djamila steps forward, holding the cosmetic-case with both of her 	hands. She doesn't know how to carry it, and from time to time she 	changes her position. She realizes that she looks awkward.	It's now her turn. The soldiers' tone is arrogant. The previous scene 	has made them nervous. An officer signals her to pass, then points to 	the cosmetic-case.  				OFFICER 		What's inside?  	Instinctively, Djamila lifts the case and looks at it; she feels 	herself failing, but makes an effort to answer. 				DJAMILA 		Here? 				OFFICER 		There ... 	Djamila uses all her strength to smile and she succeeds. Her eyes light 	up defiantly.  				DJAMILA 			(provocatively)		Nothing. 	The officer signals her to pass. 61	FISH-MARKET. INSIDE. DAY. 6:15 P.M. 	A large warehouse in the fish-market. There are enormous iceboxes with 	cartons of frozen fish and tubs with running water and live fish. The 	three girls are next to one another. 	The three bags are on top of the counter, a few steps away. With them 	is a thin Algerian about twenty-five years old. He has thick black 	hair, straight and combed neatly. He is wearing glasses. With his rough 	and nervous hands, he pulls out the towel and bathing suit from 	Hassiba's bag, then delicately and carefully, a square wooden box. He	opens it, and turning to the girl, signals her to move away a bit. The 	girl steps back. In the box, there is a huge iron tube, sealed at both 	ends by two clock dials. Inside the tube, two batteries with wires are 	attached to the dials. The youth glances at his wristwatch, then 	adjusts the hands of the dials to six forty-five. He puts the bomb back 	into the box, closes it, and places it in the bag. He replaces the 	towel and bathing suit, then hands the bag to Hassiba. He is smiling 	slightly. 	Hassiba takes the bag and goes away.	The box fits perfectly into Djamila's cosmetic-case. The youth opens it 	without removing it from the case, adjusts the two dials to six fifty, 	puts everything back in its place, and hands the case to Djamila. He 	smiles at her and she moves away. In the Air France bag, there are 	newspapers and magazines on top, and the same box. The youth adjusts 	the bomb to six fifty-five, arranges it again inside the bag, closes 	the zipper, and hands the bag to Zohra. He smiles at her. His smile is 	more genuine, less mechanical. There is less tension than before.	The youth smiles at the girl and says in Arabic:  				ALGERIAN		May Allah protect you. 	Zohra thanks him in a whisper, bends her head, and moves away. The 	youth takes a cigarette from his shirt pocket, places it between his 	lips, and lights it. His hand is trembling a little. 62	CAFETERIA RUE MICHELET. INSIDE. DAY. 6:30 P.M. 	Cafeteria, rue Michelet 1. The club is very crowded. There are two 	rooms; one at the entrance with an American-style bar, and one at the 	back with tables. It is Saturday, and at this hour many European	families go out to have an ice cream. There is not too much confusion 	or uproar. The people are calm, they take their places at the bar and 	small tables, and eat their ice cream while chatting quietly.	Hassiba enters, glances at the large clock above the cash register. It 	is half past six. She goes to the register and waits her turn. The 	different orders mingle; she orders a Coca-Cola. They give her the 	check. She pays.	She goes to the bar; all the seats are taken. She gives her order and 	the ticket to the waiter. 	A man moves aside, looks at her, then steps down from his stool and 	offers it to her. 	Hassiba tells him that it doesn't matter, but the man insists. Hassiba 	thanks him and sits down. The man is about fifty, well groomed. He 	smiles again, and turns to chat with some friends.	Hassiba settles herself more comfortably on the seat, then removes the 	bag from her shoulder. Holding it by the strap, she places it on the 	floor below the counter behind the brass railing used to lean one's 	feet. 	The waiter has brought her the drink. Hassiba drinks slowly, from time 	to time glancing at the clock. She finishes drinking. The bag is in a 	vertical position. 	Moving her feet slowly and carefully, Hassiba lets the bag slip on its 	side. 	She gets down from the seat, and points it out to the man who is 	standing next to her. 				HASSIBA		I'm giving your seat back. 				MAN		Are you already leaving, Miss? 	Hassiba smiles, nods yes. 				HASSIBA		Good evening ...	The man sits down.  				MAN		Good evening ... 63	MILK BAR. RUE D'ISLY. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. DAY. 	Milk Bar, rue d'Isly, at the corner of Place Bugeand. The jukebox is 	playing full blast. It is a bar for young people. There is much bustle 	and confusion, much laughter. The girls are making plans for Sunday.	Djamila enters and moves to the jukebox which is in the corner near the 	door. There are playbills for various theater performances hanging on 	the wall. Djamila stops to look at them and reads the bottom lines. She 	places the cosmetic-case on the floor. Rising again she looks around 	her, and pushes the case behind the jukebox with her foot ... 64 	AIR FRANCE. IMMEUBLE MAURETANIA. INSIDE. DAY. 	Maison Blanche, Immeuble Mauretania. The entire ground floor is filled 	with ticket counters and a waiting room for the airlines. There are 	some employees, stewardesses and some travelers. 	Zohra passes through the large glass door at the entrance, goes to the 	Air France counter, takes a time schedule, then goes to sit down on a 	sofa which runs along the opposite wall. She sits down and places the 	airline bag on the ground in front of her, and begins to leaf through 	the timetable, from time to time glancing around. Using her heels, she 	pushes the bag under the sofa.	She looks at the large electric clock which is hanging in the center of 	the room; it is forty minutes past six.  65	CAFETERIA RUE MICHELET. INSIDE. DAY. 	It is six forty-four by the cafeteria clock. The second hand is moving. 	There are more or less the same people. The old man is still seated on 	the barstool, and continues to chat.	Hassiba's bag is still at his feet; the second hand is racing. A five-	year-old child hands a coin to the waiter: 				CHILD		Ice cream ...	The father and mother are watching him, delighted. The waiter smiles at 	the child and points to the cash register. He speaks to the child in 	the usual tone of a grownup when speaking to children:  				WAITER		You have to go there first ... and then 		come back to me.	The second hand reaches twenty-five, then thirty. The child goes to the 	cashier and pays. The cashier smiles at him and gives him the check. 				CASHIER		What a good boy ...	The child returns to the counter. The waiter has already prepared the 	ice cream for him, and hands it to him. The child is standing on	tiptoes. 66	CAFETERIA MICHELET. EXPLOSION. INSIDE. DAY. 	The second hand, the explosion: bodies flung into the air, arms, legs, 	white smoke, screams. 	Bodies thrown outside, the doors unhinged, the windows broken, empty.	The people watch from their windows, the passersby move closer, they 	bend down to look at those who are writhing on the ground.	Astonished and incredulous faces. No one speaks. Only screams and 	weeping. Sirens which are drawing nearer. Firemen and police 	arriving ... 67	MILK BAR. RUE D'ISLY. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	The ambulance sirens on rue d'Isly, one car after another. 	At the Milk Bar, the people go to the doors to look at the ambulances 	which are racing toward Place Bugeand. The sirens fade in the distance 	and move away. The jukebox is again loud: "Brigitte Bardot, Bardot ..." 	The people re-enter the bar, chattering, to have their apéritifs. It is 	six fifty: the explosion. 68 	MILK BAR. EXPLOSION. OUTSIDE. DAY.  	The jukebox is flung into the middle of the street. There is blood, 	strips of flesh, material, the same scene as at the Cafeteria; the 	white smoke and shouts, weeping, hysterical girls' screams. One of them 	no longer has an arm and runs around, howling despairingly; it is 	impossible to control her. The sound of sirens is heard again. The 	crowd of people, the firemen, police, ambulances all rush to the scene 	from Place Bugeand.	The ambulances arrive at rue Michelet.	They are already loaded with dead and wounded. The relatives of the 	wounded are forced to get out. The father of the child who was buying 	ice cream seems to be in a daze: he doesn't understand.	They pull him down by force. The child remains there, his blond head a 	clot of blood. 	The policemen try to bring order to the chaos, are forced to shout, 	push, threaten. The wounded swarm around the ambulances. A Commissioner 	sends off the first one.  				COMMISSIONER		What time is it?  				POLICEMAN		A quarter to seven.  	The Commissioner goes to the second ambulance, pulls down a man who is 	trying to enter by force, slams the door, and shouts to the driver. His 	face is pale and drawn; the veins of his neck are swollen. 				COMMISSIONER 		Go away, for God's sake! 	The auto leaves and now, the third explosion resounds in the distance. 	It is heard clearly and violently from the Mauretania section.	The Commissioner stops midway in his last gesture, and likewise, all 	the others, who are paralyzed with fright, incapable of taking action	again, of accepting such reality for a third time.	In Place Bugeand, there also, the people are motionless. All of them 	are looking in the same direction. Their faces are alike in their 	terror, alike in their sense of impotence, alike in their deep sadness.69	STREET. EUROPEAN CITY. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	The sun appears, then hides behind black clouds. There is a cool wind. 	It is ten in the morning, and the European city has its usual rapid and 	efficient rhythm of every day at this hour, only there is terror 	written on the face of every person. That same terror has remained, and 	suspicion, and despairing impotence.	Patrols of soldiers and policemen move around the city, search 	Algerians and some Europeans, stop automobiles, trucks, buses, and 	trams that they block at both doors. 	At the entrance to every shop, the owner searches every customer before 	letting him enter. 	He does so politely with a drawn smile, and methodically rummages 	through every handbag, every package. 	So too in the bars, in the offices, in workshops ... And now that it is 	already late afternoon, also outside the brothels, the cinemas, the 	theaters. 70	LEMONS STREET. OUTSIDE. SUNSET. 	A young Algerian boy thirteen or fourteen years old, wearing sandals	without socks, trousers that reach to his ankles, walks quickly 	carrying a cardboard box tied with a cord. It is dusk. 	A European woman sees him pass in front of her, looks at him, and 	follows him with her glance. 	On the sidewalk there are some youths. The woman points to the Algerian 	boy, says something. The traffic is heavy. Her words are unclear. One 	youth calls to the boy who is by now thirty feet away:				YOUTH		Hey, little rat ... 	The boy turns around for a second, his face frightened, and quickens 	his step. The youths follow behind him and the boy begins to run. The 	youths too begin to run and others join them, people who are passing. 	They form a small mob and are shouting. The boy shoots into a	sidestreet, drops his box, and races ahead.	While some chase the boy, others stop around the box, make way, look 	for a policeman, a soldier, an officer. A circle continues to form 	around the box. A patrol arrives. One of the soldiers has a Geiger 	counter. He moves near the box, carefully placing the counter above it, 	then ceasing to be prudent, he takes his bayonette, cuts the cord, and 	tears open the box: lemons. 71	STREET CORNER. OUTSIDE. SUNSET. 	The boy has been cornered, surrounded, pinned down, kicked, hit with 	umbrellas, until he is exhausted and can no longer defend himself. He 	is no longer moving. He is lying on the ground, dead. The air is gray 	now, and slowly all the colors unite to form gray. Lights are lit in	the city and contrast with the whiteness of the Casbah high above. The 	sky is still clear, the black profiles of the mountains, the straight 	coasts on the sea, the sea itself that seems to be land until it 	reaches the horizon where the moon rises between the clouds. 				SPEAKER		"Following a lengthy discussion, the 		General Assembly of the United Nations has 		decided its agenda for the forthcoming 		debates: 		(1) re-unification of Korea 		(2) disarmament 		(3) the Algerian question.		Colombia has proposed that only the first 		two points be discussed for the day. 		However, the Afro-Asian nations opposed, 		underlining the importance they attribute 		to the Algerian question ..." 72	SEA-FRONT. OUTSIDE. DAY. JANUARY 10, 1957. 	The European crowd applauds, their eyes aglow, their mouths wide open, 	shouting and yelling, their teeth flashing in the sun. Clapping of 	applause on the sea-front of Algiers. Children, are held up to see, 	waving small flags. The paratroopers of the Tenth Division march past. 				SPEAKER		"Mr. Raymond Lefevre, Inspector General 		of the Administration, has presided over 		a meeting in which important decisions 		have been taken with the aim of securing 		public order and the protection of 		persons and their property. In particular, 		it has been decided to recall the 'Tenth' 		Division of paratroopers to Algiers that, 		until now, has been employed in the 		antiguerrilla operations on the Cabiro 		plateau. The Commander General of the 		Tenth Division will assume responsibility 		for the maintenance of order in Algiers, 		and will have at his disposal in order to 		achieve this goal, all civil and military 		means provided for the defense of the 		zone." 	Massu and the authorities are standing on the balconies of the 	Prefecture building. 	The paras are marching, their sleeves rolled up, their faces sunburned. 	Machine guns, bazookas, crew-cuts, the eyes of singing boys, silent 	steps, one battalion after another. 	The dragon "black berets" pass by ...	The "red berets" of the 2nd Regiment of colonial paratroopers ...	"Les casquettes" of the 3rd Regiment parade by; "les hommes-peints,"	Mathieu's paras. 	Colonel Mathieu is at the head of the regiment. He is tall, slender, 	over fifty. He has thinning gray hair, a lean face, blue eyes, and a 	wide forehead. His face is lined with many wrinkles. Were it not for 	the uniform, the weapons, his tanned skin, his manner of walking, and 	his energetic voice when giving orders, he wouldn't seem a soldier, but 	an intellectual.  	The 3rd Regiment colonial paratroopers are now before the Commissioner. 	Mathieu turns his head slightly and: 				MATHIEU 		3rd Regiment! Attention à droite ... 		Droite! 				SPEAKER		Family name: Mathieu; Name: Philippe; 		Born in Rennes May 3, 1906; Rank: 		Lieutenant Colonel; Schooling: 		Politechnique-degree in Engineering; 		Campaigns: Second World War, Anti-Nazi 		Resistance Movement, Italian Campaign, 		Indochinese War, Algerian War ... 73	VILLA HEADQUARTERS. INSIDE. DAY. 	In a villa in the military headquarters, a reception room is visible 	through a large window on the first floor. There are about twenty 	officers seated in rows of chairs as if for a lecture. Mathieu is in 	front of them and he is speaking while standing next to a desk. At his 	back there is a blackboard, and near it, a large map with pyramid 	graphs, cells, arrows, crossmarks, and, above them, the title: 	STRUCTURE NLF AUTONOMOUS ZONE OF ALGIERS.	Mathieu's voice has nothing of the military and traditional. His tone 	is neither harsh nor cold, but rather kind and pleasing; from it 	emanates a superior authority imposed by reason and not by position. 				MATHIEU 		The result is that in the last two 		months, they have reached an average of 		4.2 assaults per day, including 		aggression against individuals, and the 		explosions. Of course, the conditions of 		the problem are as usual: first, the 		adversary; second, the method to destroy 		him ... There are 80,000 Arabs in the 		Casbah. Are they all against us? We know 		they are not. In reality, it is only a 		small minority that dominates with 		terror and violence. This minority is 		our adversary and we must isolate and 		destroy it ... 	While speaking, he goes to the window, and pulls down the shade. He 	interrupts his speech, points to the rest of the window: 				MATHIEU 		Draw it down there too ... 	Two or three officers stand up to perform the task. At the back of the 	room there is a movie projector. 	Next to it there is a para who is preparing to operate it. 	The other shades are drawn, and gradually the room is darkened.	Mathieu, meanwhile, has resumed speaking: 				MATHIEU 		He is an adversary who shifts his 		position above and below the surface with 		highly commendable revolutionary methods 		and original tactics. ... He is an 		anonymous and unrecognizable enemy who 		mingles with thousands of others who 		resemble him. We find him everywhere: in 		the alleys of the Casbah; in the streets 		of the European city, and in working 		places.	Mathieu interrupts himself again and makes a signal to the back of the 	room which is completely darkened. 				MATHIEU		Go ahead, Martin.	Martin turns on the projector. On the white wall next to the map and 	graph appear pictures of the Casbah. There are the blockades, the 	barbed wire, the metal screens, the Algerians who exit and enter, the 	policemen and soldiers who examine documents and frisk someone. From 	time to time, close-ups of the pictures are shown, enlarged to the 	minutest details, close-ups of faces, motionless images that last only 	for a few seconds. 				MATHIEU 		Here is some film taken by the police. 		The cameras were hidden at the Casbah 		exits. They thought these films might be 		useful, and in fact they are useful in 		demonstrating the usefulness of certain 		methods. Or, at least, their inadequacy.	Hassiba is now seen and the soldiers who are wooing her, while she 	laughs, jokes, flirts in a provocative manner, and passes the blockade. 				MATHIEU 		I chose these films because they were 		shot in the hours preceding some recent 		terroristic assaults. And so, among all 		these Arabs, men and women, there are the 		ones responsible. But which ones are they? 		How can we recognize them? Controlling 		documents is ridiculous: one who has 		everything in order is most likely to be 		the terrorist.	An Algerian is being dragged away while protesting, kicking, and trying 	to free himself. And then the scene changes. There is another Casbah 	exit, and an Algerian who is being searched.  				MATHIEU 			(smiling)		Note the intuition of the cameraman. He 		realized that in that box, there had to 		be something of interest, and he paused 		to focus it. 	The picture is enlarged. The small box which the Algerian is carrying 	on his shoulder is seen in detail. It is opened. The box is swarming 	with snakes; the soldier who had wanted to examine it jumps backward.	The officers in the room burst into laughter.				MATHIEU 			(laughing)		Maybe the bomb was hidden right there, in 		a double bottom. Who knows? We'll never 		know. 	Using the barrel of his machine gun, a soldier has closed the box. A 	snake has managed to jump out, and fallen to the ground. The people are 	terrified and move away. Others laugh, among them, Petit Omar, who 	seems to be an ordinary child enjoying himself. 				MATHIEU 		That's enough, Martin ...	The lights are again switched on in the room. Mathieu is again next to 	the desk, and waits a second until the buzz of comments subsides.				MATHIEU		We must start again from scratch. The only 		information that we have concerns the 		structure of the organization. And we 		shall begin from that ...	He takes a wooden pointer from the desk in order to illustrate the 	graph, while he speaks with the tone and precision of a university 	professor. 				MATHIEU 		It is a pyramid-like organization divided 		into a series of sectors. At the top of 		the pyramid is their General Staff. 	He has moved near the blackboard, and taken some chalk, and slowly as 	he speaks, he illustrates his speech. 				MATHIEU 		The military commander responsible for 		the executive body finds the right man 		and nominates him to responsibility for 		a sector: number one. Number one in his 		turn, chooses another two: number two and 		number three ... And so they form the 		first triangle.	He has written high on the board a number one and below it, with some 	space between them, the numbers two and three. He unites the three 	numbers with lines and forms a triangle. 				MATHIEU 		Now number two and number three choose, 		in their turn, two men each ... number 		four and five, and so on ... 	Mathieu writes the new numbers, spacing them on the next line. Then he 	unites two to four and five, and three to six and seven, forming two 	new triangles. 	Mathieu has written other numbers and unites them to those of the 	preceding line and thus forms other triangles. Now the blackboard is 	covered by a series of triangles that form a large pyramid. 				MATHIEU 		The reason for this geometry is so that 		every militant will know only three 		members in the entire organization: his 		commander who has chosen him, and the two 		members that he himself has chosen ... 		Contacts take place only by written 		instructions ... That is why we do not 		know our adversaries: because, in 		practice, they do not even know each 		other.	Mathieu leaves the blackboard and moves near the officers. The tone of 	his voice changes. The explanation is now finished. He gives 	directions ...  				MATHIEU 		To know them means to eliminate them. 		Consequently, the military aspect is 		secondary to the police method. I know we 		are not fond of this word, but it is the 		only word that indicates exactly the type 		of work that we must perform. We must 		make the necessary investigations in 		order to proceed from one vertex to 		another in the entire pyramid. The 		reason for this work is information. The 		method is interrogation. And 		interrogation becomes a method when 		conducted in a manner so as to always 		obtain a result, or rather, an answer. 		In practice, demonstrating a false 		humanitarianism only leads to the 		ridiculous and to impotence. I am 		certain that all the units will 		understand and react accordingly. 		However, success does not depend solely 		on us. We need to have the Casbah at our 		disposal. We must sift through it ... and 		interrogate everyone. And here is where 		we find ourselves hindered by a 		conspiracy of laws and regulations that 		continue to be operative, as if Algiers 		were a holiday resort and not a 		battleground. We have requested a carte 		blanche. But it is very difficult to 		obtain. Therefore, it is necessary to 		find an excuse to legitimize our 		intervention, and make it possible. It 		is necessary to create it ourselves --		this excuse. Unless our adversaries will 		think of it themselves, which seems to be 		what they are doing. 74	ALLEY UPPER CASBAH. OUTSIDE. DAY.  	It is not a song, but a type of spoken chorus, an assembly of young 	voices, words whispered from the throat, both high and low, and sudden 	silent pauses. It is monotonous; but it is just such a repetition, 	always with the same pattern of tones -- high, low, then, silent -- 	that manages to transform itself into a motif, reach an excited pitch, 	and acquire breadth and solemnity. The sound fills the alleys, rises 	toward the long rectangle of sky, and moves farther away as if it were 	meant to be heard by all.	The alley is narrow and sloping, with crumbling walls, tufts of grass, 	and refuse. It is located at the outer periphery of the Casbah -- the 	countryside is in the background. An Algerian is walking with large 	steps; a five-year-old child is behind him, moving quickly, stumbling 	from time to time on the pavement; although he does not cry, 	occasionally he calls to his father, who proceeds forward, and does not 	turn around. The chorus arises from behind them. It is incoherent. They 	stop in front of a door; they have arrived. The door gives way and they 	enter. 75	KORAN SCHOOL. INSIDE. DAY. 	A large room, like a shop or stable. Here too, on the ground and 	pavement, there are tufts of grass. It is cold. The walls are 	unplastered, the windows boarded. The roof is in sight, but not the 	beams. The roof is made of tiles and covered with a coat of whitewash. 	There are about twenty children, five to eight years old, seated on the 	floor. The teacher is in front of them; he too is seated. He is 	prompting the verses in a low voice, almost in a whisper, and the 	chorus repeats it. 	The Koran School: a bare, wobbling place.	The Algerian who has entered takes the child by his hand, and 	accompanies him to the teacher who is now standing; the chorus 	continues; the other children, do not look at the two who have just 	entered. 	The Algerian and the teacher greet each other, bringing their hands to 	their hearts, and then to their mouths. At the same time, the teacher 	takes an envelope from under his tunic, and hands it over to the other. 				SPEAKER 		"To all militants! After two years of 		hard struggle in the mountains and city, 		the Algerian people have obtained a great 		victory. The UN Assembly has placed the 		Algerian question in its forthcoming 		agenda. The discussion will begin on 		Monday, January 28. Starting Monday, for 		a duration of eight days, the NLF is 		calling a general strike.  For the 		duration of this period, all forms of 		armed action or attempts at such are 		suspended. We are requesting that all 		militants mobilize for the strike's 		organization and success." 	The Algerian has hidden the envelope inside his tunic, then presents 	the child to the teacher, who makes him sit down with the other 	children The teacher also returns to his place and sits down, and 	suggests a new phrase; the chorus continues. The Algerian leaves the 	school. 76	ALLEY UPPER CASBAH. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	Having passed through the door, he again moves along the alley, this 	time descending, with hurried steps. The chorus continues, again heard 	from without, but its echo is now different. 77	VARIOUS VIEWS CASBAH. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. DAY.  	Bars, stores, market stalls, "Arab baths." Typewritten pieces of paper 	are used to wrap purchases, or slipped inside bags, or used on the 	blank side to add up bills and then handed to the customers. 78	VARIOUS VIEWS EUROPEAN CITY. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. DAY. 	In the European city the Algerian workers: at the docks, the central 	gas company; on the trams; the waiters in the restaurants, in the bars; 	the shoeshine men 				SPEAKER		"Algerian brothers! A great hope has 		arisen for us. The world is watching us. 		The next few days may be decisive for our 		future and our freedom. The colonial 		powers will attempt to demonstrate to the 		UN that the NFL does not represent the 		will of our people. Our response will be 		unanimous support of the general strike." 79	SEA-FRONT. OUTSIDE. DAY.  	At the sea-front, there is a newspaper boy, about twelve years old, 	barefoot. His voice is shrill yet cheerful. He is smiling. 				NEWSBOY 		Le Monde! Le Monde! General strike! ... 		Strike! 	Some Europeans buy the newspaper, half-heartedly, grumbling	disagreeably. The boy remains cheerful, places the change inside the 	bag strapped to his shoulder, thanks them. 	Now he passes in front of a beggar, an elderly Algerian who is leaning 	against a railing.	The boy winks at him, while he continues to shout: 				NEWSBOY 		Strike!				SPEAKER		"During the eight days of the strike, do 		not frequent the European city, or leave 		the Casbah. Provide lodgings in your 		homes for the poor, the beggars, the 		brothers who do not have homes. Store 		provisions of food and water for eight 		days!" 80	CASBAH STREETS AND SHOPS. INSIDE/OUTSIDE. DAY. 	There is a strange atmosphere in the Casbah. People are greeting each 	other in the streets; a thick buzz of voices, a festive mood, a sense 	of brotherhood, and the children, who are taking advantage of the 	situation and play and run everywhere.	The shops are unusually crowded. The people enter and exit, loaded with 	supplies. In the shops too, there is the same festive mood, almost as 	if the supplies were for a trip to the country. The shopkeepers are 	also cheerful. 	And the poor customers, instead of paying, hand over a ticket stamped 	NLF.  81	CASBAH BLOCKADE. OUTSIDE. DAY. SUNSET. SUNDAY. JANUARY 27, 1957. 	Late afternoon, at the blockades of rue de la Lyre, rue du Divan, and 	rue Marengo. The Casbah exit ramps are deserted, while the entrance 	ramps are overflowing with people. Here too, there is an intangible air 	of gaiety, witty remarks, laughter, ironic glances toward the soldiers 	and policemen with cold faces, immobile -- helmets and machine guns --	who stand at the entrances without intervening. 	The image is shortened and focused through the lenses of binoculars. 82	GOVERNMENT PALACE. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. SUNSET. 	A paratrooper officer looks at the blockades of rue du Divan from a 	Government Palace balcony. Mathieu is beside him. 				MATHIEU 		No one is leaving, eh?	The officer hands him the binoculars. 				OFFICER		No. They continue to enter, the rats. 	Mathieu looks through the binoculars, and comments in a low voice, 	smiling: 				MATHIEU 		Rats in a trap, we hope ...				OFFICER		But do you believe that the strike will 		be widespread? 				MATHIEU 		Without a doubt.  	Behind the two officers, through a large open window, a room is 	visible. There is a large table, and around it, other high officers of 	the various armed forces, and some important officials in plainclothes.	A general, who has his back to the balcony, turns and calls Mathieu: 				GENERAL		Mathieu! Mathieu, a name ...				MATHIEU 		A name? 				GENERAL		Yes, a name for the operation. 	Mathieu moves the binoculars from the blockades and turns slowly around 	the Government square, until he reaches an advertising sign for a brand 	of champagne which now, in the dusk, lights up with a sporadic rhythm: 	CORDON ... ROUGE. 	Mathieu pauses then turns toward the room, and enters smiling:				MATHIEU 		Champagne ... All right? 	The general repeats absent-mindedly: 				GENERAL		Champagne ... Champagne. 			(then, in a convinced voice) 		Operation Champagne, yes, alright.  83 	RUE DU DIVAN BLOCKADE. OUTSIDE. EVENING. 	At the rue du Divan blockade, there is an incoherent, monotonous, and 	irritating chant. There is a blind beggar. He is light-complexioned, 	tall and thin, his beard long, his arms stretched out, a cane in his 	hand. He arrives at last at the entrance ramp, tries to find the way, 	but cannot. He tries again and again with his cane, continually 	repeating his sorrowful chant, until a policeman takes him by his free 	hand, placing the hand roughly on the metal screen.  				POLICEMAN		Go on! Go on! 	The beggar protests and waves his cane in a way that the policeman has 	to duck to prevent himself from being hit. The policeman curses, 	spitefully, coarsely.	A soldier starts to laugh. The old man takes up his chant again, and 	moves forward leaning on the metal screen. On the other side of the 	blockade, behind the square, there is a group of veiled girls who have 	seen the old man, and seem to be waiting for him.	Two of them go to meet him, and each one takes one of his arms. At the 	touch of their hands, the old man is again infuriated. Even the girls 	laugh. Then, one of them speaks to him slowly in a loud voice.	It seems that the old man has understood. He is convinced. He mumbles 	something kindly and lets them accompany him. 84	CASBAH ALLEY. FRONT DOOR. OUTSIDE. NIGHT. 	A poorly lit alley. A group of unemployed men and beggars are standing 	in front of a door. 	One of the three companions consults a list, then points to two in the 	group. He signals them to enter. 85	KADER'S HOUSE. INSIDE. NIGHT.  	Inner courtyard. 	In the inner courtyard, there is an elderly man who awaits them and 	receives them kindly. 	They greet each other in the customary Algerian manner. 	Courtyard and balcony.	On the terrace also, someone is looking toward the courtyard. Kader is 	on the terrace together with a man about forty years old, dressed in 	European clothes, he has narrow shoulders and a sunken chest. His face 	is sensitive, his forehead high, and his hair and eyes black. His eyes 	are kind and thoughtful and twinkle with irony.	He is Ben M'Hidi, one of the four members of the CCE, the Central 	Executive Committee. 				KADER 			(to him)		They are beggars and unemployed, homeless. 		We have organized things in such a way 		that during the strike they will be 		guests of other families who have homes 		and will provide shelter in the event of 		possible reprisals ... But I didn't know 		that they would be brought to this house 		too. It is a mistake.  				BEN M'HIDI 		Why? 				KADER 		Because you are here too. It would be 		better for you to move to another house. 	Ben M'Hidi moves away from the parapet. 				BEN M'HIDI		All right ... You're the one who must 		decide. 	Kader follows him along the terrace. 				KADER 		No, if I were the one to decide, you 		wouldn't be in Algiers now. 	Ben M'Hidi looks at him, smiling. 				BEN M'HIDI 		Why? Isn't it wise? 	Kader smiles too, and repeats:  				KADER 		It isn't wise. 	At the end of the terrace, there is a construction raised to a level 	with the stairs that lead to the floor below. There is a large room; 	through the open door, the lighted interior is visible. The walls have 	high brick baseboards, and at the bottom of one of the four walls there 	is a square opening that leads into a hiding place. The closure of the 	hiding place, a square of very thick wall, is placed to one side. Ali 	la Pointe is covering it with bricks. 	On the other side of the room next to the door, there are some cement 	wash-basins, and a shed for rain water. Kader appears at the door. 				KADER 		Ali, you must accompany Ben M'Hidi to the 		Maison des Arbres. 	Ali doesn't answer immediately. He finishes placing the last brick then 	turns to Kader.  				ALI 		Why? Isn't he sleeping here?  				KADER 		No, it's better if he doesn't. The house 		is filled with new people. 	Ali gets up, wipes his hands on his trousers, at the same time 	inspecting the work that he has just completed. 				ALI 		Here's another one ready. What a hideout! 		It really looks like a wall. I'll dirty 		it a bit, and it's perfect. Want to give 		a look inside? 	Kader has taken a machine gun from one of the basins, and he tosses it 	to Ali, who catches it. 				KADER 		No, go now. It's already late.	They go out on the terrace. Ali releases the catch of his machine gun 	so that the bullet slips into the barrel. 				KADER 			(to Ben M'Hidi)		They are a family of militants from way 		back. Everything will work out well, 		you'll see ... C'mon, Ali, hurry up.				BEN M'HIDI 		Alright. See you tomorrow.	They say good-bye, embracing one another. Ali has already climbed over 	the terrace wall, and has jumped to the next one.	Ben M'Hidi follows him; he is less agile and moves with a bit of 	trouble.	From the parapet, Kader says to him:				KADER 		Passing along the terraces only takes 		five minutes ... and with Ali la Pointe, 		you'll be safe ...	While jumping, Ben M'Hidi loses his balance, and has to grab on to Ali 	to prevent himself from falling. 				BEN M'HIDI		But it's he who won't be safe with me ...	The two figures move away from terrace to terrace, and disappear in the 	dark. 86	CASBAH VIEWS AND TERRACES. OUTSIDE. NIGHT. 	In the dark in front of them, a metallic reflection is visible and the 	sharp and aggressive sound of an Algerian voice is heard.	Ali responds to the password. 	A youth steps out from the shadows. He too is carrying a machine gun, 	recognizes Ali, and greets him. Ali and Ben M'Hidi continue ... 87	MAISON DES ARBRES, TERRACE. OUTSIDE. NIGHT. 	Until they arrive at a terrace which is separated from the next one by 	an alley about ten feet wide. 				ALI 		Here it is ... we've arrived ... 	Ben M'Hidi glances at the emptiness beneath them, looks at Ali, and 	takes a deep breath. 				BEN M'HIDI 		Not yet ...	Ali has climbed onto the parapet, looks around him concentrating 	attentively for a moment, and then jumps into the void, reaching the 	opposite side. He bends, searches for something in the dark, and lifts 	a type of gangplank. 	He hands it over to Ben M'Hidi, and together they place it between the 	two terraces. 				ALI 		Be careful now. Unless you know how it 		works, it's better if you sit on the plank 		and move forward like this ...				BEN M'HIDI 		Let's try ...	He tries to stand up on the gangplank, but he lacks the necessary 	steadiness. He can't hold his balance. He does as Ali has advised him; 	he sits astride on the plank, and using the force of his arms, he 	pushes himself forward. He stops halfway to rest for a minute. 				BEN M'HIDI 		It's good nobody is following us ...				ALI 		It's a question of habit ...	And when Ben M'Hidi is closer, Ali helps him to get down to the terrace.				ALI 		It's better if I go first, to make sure 		everything's okay ...	Without waiting for an answer, he moves toward the stairway that leads 	to the floor below; his movements are silent and graceful.	Ben M'Hidi leans out from the terrace, and looks toward the European 	city and the sea. At the port, two searchlights are lit, and their long 	bright rays move slowly toward the Casbah ... 	When Ali la Pointe returns, Ben M'Hidi is still leaning on the railing. 	He seems not to hear the sound of Ali's footsteps, or his voice. 				ALI 		Everything's okay ... They're waiting for 		you ...	Ali moves near him, and Ben M'Hidi turns and looks at him. 				BEN M'HIDI 		What do you think of the strike, Ali? 				ALI 		I think it'll be a success ...				BEN M'HIDI		Yes, I think so too ... It's been 		organized well ... But what will the 		French do?      	Both the question, and the answer seem obvious to Ali. 				ALI 			(shrugging)		It's clear. They'll do everything 		possible to make it fail.  				BEN M'HIDI		No, they'll do even more. We've given 		them the opportunity to do a lot more ... 		Do you understand what I mean? Starting 		tomorrow, they won't be groping in the 		dark any more; every shop and every 		worker who strikes will be a known enemy, 		a self-confessed criminal ... And they 		will be able to pass to the offensive. 		Have you thought of this? 	Ali has listened attentively. The effort with which he is trying to ask 	himself the meaning of these words is visible on his face. 				ALI 			(shaking his head)		No ...  				BEN M'HIDI		But Kader told me that you weren't in 		favor of the strike.  				ALI 		No, and neither were my men.  				BEN M'HIDI		Why? 				ALI 		Because they told us that we mustn't use 		weapons, now, when the time is right. 				BEN M'HIDI		That's true ... Wars aren't won with 		terrorism, neither wars nor revolutions. 		Terrorism is a beginning but afterward, 		all the people must act ... This is the 		reason for the strike, and its necessity: 		to mobilize all Algerians, count them and 		measure their strength ...				ALI 		To show them to the UN, right?  				BEN M'HIDI 			(smiling slightly)		Yes ... yes. The problem also involves the 		UN. I don't know what it's worth, but this 		way, we'll give the UN the possibility of 		evaluating our strength. 	Ali breathes deeply, instinctively, unrestrainedly, Ben M'Hidi watches 	him, smiles, and says:  				BEN M'HIDI		Do you know something Ali? Starting a 		revolution is hard, and it's even harder 		to continue it. Winning is hardest of all. 		But only afterward, when we have won, 		will the real hardships begin. 	He pats Ali's back fondly with his hand and continues, smiling:				BEN M'HIDI		Anyway, there's still a lot to be done 		... you aren't already tired, Ali, are 		you? 	Ali looks at him, and without reacting to his irony: 				ALI 			(with conviction)		No! 88 	VARIOUS HOUSES. CASBAH. OUTSIDE. DAWN. JANUARY 28, 1957. 	It is gray and smoky dawn, a slow reabsorption of the night, an opaque 	light which is diffused, sprayed, frozen, to transparency, and 	rediscovers its outlines and perspectives; and finally, the sun, golden 	light, awakens all Algiers. To the north, the sea. To the south, the 	mountains and the Casbah, situated halfway along the coast. The Casbah, 	still, inert, expectant, on this first day of the strike ...	The paratroopers are already at their places, one after another, at 	equal distances like links of a very long chain, strung through every 	alley, spreading to every sidestreet, twisting through the squares, 	climbing up the stairways, dividing, joining, and lengthening again. 	The silence is perfect; the camouflaged immobile forms seem to be part 	of the landscape.	Then a brief and sharp hiss, a hundred whistles together. 	A signal releases the still forms: the attack begins. 	Doors are beaten down, shots, screams, rifle fire, machine gun fire; 	the doors opened or broken down; the courtyards, the houses, the rooms, 	invaded; the men who are trying to escape and who protest and try to 	save themselves.  				VOICES		Of course ... I was just going to work ... 89	BEN M'HIDI'S HIDING PLACE. INSIDE. DAWN.	Ben M'Hidi is inside the hiding place. From outside, an old man helps 	him to place the square piece of wall over the entrance, and then, in 	the spaces between the bricks, he adds a paste of plaster mixed with 	coal dust. When the paras arrive, everything is in order.	Still men are being seized, beaten, dragged; a cache of weapons; men 	pushed down the stairs: 				SOLDIERS 		Go on, go on, you little rats! Get to 		work!90	CASBAH. STREETS. OUTSIDE. MORNING. 	Women are clinging together after the beatings. 	Someone is fleeing toward the terraces. We hear the deafening whirl of 	the helicopters flying against the wind, their cabin doors open, paras 	sitting on both sides with their legs dangling out, their machine guns 	on their knees, a loudspeaker for every helicopter, microphones turned 	on in such a way that the din of the motors is multiplied a hundred 	times. 	The helicopters fly low again, they skirt the terraces. 	The Algerians are fleeing in terror, the uproar begins to fade away, is 	less intense; microphones are turned on, and off. The terraces are 	emptied, men seized, beaten, dragged; all the men are forced outside in 	the alleys, the streets, the squares, every man is forced to face the 	wall, his hands up. 91	SHOPS. DOORS UNHINGED. OUTSIDE. MORNING.  	A truck in reverse, a rope fastened to the hub of the wheels, its other 	end to a door-latch. The motor is accelerated, clouds of exhaust 	fumes ...	Door latches pried open like lids of sardine cans, shop windows smashed 	with machine-gun butts, the counters, the shelves, flung into the air, 	the merchandise thrown into the streets; a game, a frenzied 	excitement ...	The Algerians watch, but can not intervene. Some shopkeepers rush to 	the scene, crying despairingly, while others are dragged away forcibly, 	tossed about, slapped, pushed, forced to open their shops. 92	CANDY SHOP. INSIDE. MORNING.  	A shopkeeper is pushed behind the counter; he gets up, trembling with 	fear. 	A para asks him for a bag of candy, pays politely, smiles, pats his 	bald head, and asks him sweetly: 				PARA 		And the strike, my friend? 	Then he distributes the candy among the children who are outside. 93	CANDY SHOP. OUTSIDE. MORNING.  	The children take the candy silently, without thanking him, then eat 	the candies slowly, their faces unfriendly and cold ... 94	PLACE DU GOUVERNEMENT. OUTSIDE. MORNING. 	The black sky, the trees, the advertising signs ... Cordon Rouge ...	... an equestrian statue, a car radio, a loudspeaker. 				LOUDSPEAKER		"Attention, people of the Casbah! The NLF 		wants to stop you from working. The NLF 		forces you to close your shops. 		Inhabitants of the Casbah, rebel against 		their orders. France is your country. 		France has given you civilization and 		prosperity: schools, streets, hospitals. 		People of the Casbah, show your love for 		your mother country, by disobeying the 		terrorists' orders. Algerians, return to 		work!"	And then Algerian music, a cheerful and rhythmical melody; the 	Algerians are forced out of the Casbah in columns, and are pushed 	toward the military trucks which clutter the southern side of the 	square, and continue to arrive and depart. 95	CASBAH. EXIT. OUTSIDE. MORNING.	Meanwhile the paras of the psychological divisions make their first 	selection, randomly, or else deliberately, basing them on the slightest 	suspicions. They evaluate each man by his appearance or behavior. They 	block the Algerians from the exit ramp, and assault them with a battery 	of questions: 				PARA'S VOICES		Who are you? What's your name? Occupation? 		Where do you work? Why did you strike? 		They forced you, eh? ... No ... Tell the 		truth! You promised them, right? Then 		you're the one who wants to strike. Do 		you belong to the NLF? C'mon, answer me! 		Are you afraid to say it? Never mind, it 		doesn't matter. 	The Algerian does not answer, but stares into the para's eyes. The para 	turns to his companions and shouts: 				PARA 		Jacques! ... Jacques! ... Another one to 		headquarters! 	The Algerian is seized, and pushed toward the truck.				LOUDSPEAKER		"Attention, Algerians! The NLF wants to 		stop you from working. The NLF forces you 		to close your shops. The NLF wants to 		starve you and condemn you to misery. 		Algerians, return to work ... !" 96	THE PORT. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	The port is deserted, the cranes still. A loaded ship sways lazily at 	her moorings, the fork-lifts are filled with supplies ...	The limestone is dried out, the bridges empty, dangling cables swing 	slowly from the pulleys. There is silence in the docks ... 	Then, the sound of motors approaching, clouds of dust, Arabs pushed out 	of the trucks, into the shipyard. 97	STREETS OF ALGIERS. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	In the streets of the European city, there is an atmosphere of fear and 	doubt. The shop windows have their shutters lowered halfway, the 	shopkeepers are standing in the doorways, ready to close.	The front doors of houses are shut. There are a few hurried passersby 	but no automobiles; the trams are not running; on the sidewalks the 	garbage is piled high, nearby the long brooms of the Algerian street 	cleaners. 				PARAS			(yelling)		Sweep, mes enfants, sweep.	An Algerian with a very refined expression, a gentle appearance, says, 	while excusing himself: 				ALGERIAN 		I don't know how, sir, I'm sorry ...	They shove the broom into his hands, and shout to him: 				PARA 		Learn!				LOUDSPEAKER		"French citizens! Europeans of Algiers! 		The strike called by the NLF is a failure. 		Do not be afraid. Return to your jobs. 		General Massu guarantees your safety. 		The Army will protect you!" 98	STREETS OF ALGIERS. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	A jeep with loudspeaker precedes a row of military trucks loaded with 	Algerians.	In every truck there are two paras carrying machine guns by their 	sides. The Algerians are standing crowded together one against the 	other. Some of them are holding banners and signs: 		I AM GOING TO WORK BECAUSE I AM FREE. 		WE ARE FREE.		ARMY-POPULATION-PEACE. 		THE ARMY PROTECTS OUR RIGHTS. 	The trucks turn a corner, a youth jumps from the last truck, falls, 	gets up again, and breaks into a run.	The paras shout to him to stop, their voices mix with that of the 	loudspeaker. 	The Algerian continues to run.	A burst of machine-gun fire, then another.	The Algerian jerks forward, his back curved, his arms raised. 	He falls down. 99	COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE. PRESS ROOM AND STAIRWAY. INSIDE. DAY. 	Noise, confusion in the Commissioner's office press room, ticking of 	the teletype machines, throngs of journalists in the telephone room. 	They are trying to transmit the first news. 	VARIED VOICES.      	Shouting in every language is heard.  				A JOURNALIST		We are now in the fourth day and the 		strike continues, with total support by 		the Arab population. The city is very 		calm. However -- Calm ... Are you deaf? 		The city is peaceful. In the Moslem 		quarters, in the outskirts of the city, 		in the Casbah ... Bye, will call again, 		I'm busy. 	Through the open door, Mathieu can be seen passing, accompanied by 	another officer. Some journalists see him, and rush behind him. Some 	others follow, four or five in all, trying to stop him.				JOURNALISTS 		Colonel, colonel ... Excuse me, colonel, 		a statement ... We don't know anything ... 		You promised us a press conference ...		Now there is a meeting with the 		Commissioner. 				FIRST JOURNALIST		Will you tell us what is happening? 				MATHIEU 		Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We are still 		weighing the situation.	They move to the landing and begin to ascend the stairway that leads to 	the second floor. The journalists have difficulty keeping up with 	Mathieu. 				MATHIEU 		Look around. I've put everything at your 		disposal. Go take a look with your own 		eyes.				2ND JOURNALIST		The strike is a success; but ...				MATHIEU 		No. It has failed in its objective. 				1ST JOURNALIST		Insurrection? 				MATHIEU 		Insurrection. 				2ND JOURNALIST 		But the NLF has always spoken of a strike 		as a demonstration ...				MATHIEU 		And you believe the NLF? 				2ND JOURNALIST 		They seemed to be plausible this time. A 		general strike is a good argument for the 		UN.				MATHIEU 		The UN is far away, dear sir. It is easier 		to make oneself heard with bombs. If I 		were in their place, I would use bombs. 				1ST JOURNALIST		Armed insurrection ... but what is it 		exactly?  				OFFICER		It is an armed insurrection ...	They have arrived at the second-floor landing, hurry along, and stop in 	front of a large door, where there is a written sign: PREFECT. Mathieu, 	at the same time, has continued speaking.  				MATHIEU 		It is an inevitable stage in revolutionary 		war; from terrorism, one passes to 		insurrection ... as from open guerrilla 		warfare one passes to real war, the latter 		being the determining factor ... 				3RD JOURNALIST		Dien Bien Phu? 				MATHIEU 		Exactly.  	Mathieu glances at the journalist, as if to see if there were any irony 	in his remark, but the journalist's face is expressionless. 				MATHIEU 		In Indochina, they won. 				3RD JOURNALIST 		And here? 				MATHIEU 		It depends on you. 				4TH JOURNALIST 		On us? You aren't thinking of drafting us 		by any chance, are you, colonel?	Mathieu leans his hand on the door handle and smiles at the 	journalists. 				MATHIEU 		No! We have enough fighters. You have 		only to write, and well, if possible.				1ST JOURNALIST 		What's the problem then?				MATHIEU 		Political support. Sometimes it's there, 		sometimes not ... sometimes, it's not		enough. What were they saying in Paris 		yesterday?				5TH JOURNALIST		Nothing ... Sartre has written another 		article ...	Mathieu gestures and makes an expression as if to say: "see what I 	mean?" At the same time, he opens the door. But before entering, he 	turns again to the journalists. 				MATHIEU 		Will you kindly explain to me why all the 		Sartres are always born on the other side?				5TH JOURNALIST		Then you like Sartre, colonel ... 				MATHIEU 		Not really, but he's even less appealing 		as an enemy. 100	PLACE DU GOUVERNEMENT AND RUE DU DIVAN BLOCKADE. OUTSIDE. SUNSET. 	Place du Gouvernement, dusk, the other side of the blockade is silent, 	only the uncovered eyes of the Algerian women who await their men. 	The trucks continue to arrive: the men are forced to descend and 	allowed to enter the Casbah. There is an atmosphere of sadness, for not 	all the men have returned. The women look at them, scrutinize their 	faces, from the first to the last in one glance, then slowly ... one 	face at a time. Some women recognize their husbands, or their brothers 	or their sons, and run to meet them ... 	But others continue to ask for news in lowered, sorrowful voices. 				AD-LIB VOICES 		Have you seen Mohamed? Where? When? Why		hasn't he returned? 	A steady hum of voices in Arabic; then the monotonous voice of a 	policeman who speaks in the microphone of the loudspeaker. 				LOUDSPEAKER 		"The NLF wants to stop you from working. 		The NLF forces you to close your shops, 		inhabitants of the Casbah, disobey their 		orders. France has given you civilization 		and prosperity: schools, streets, 		hospitals. People of the Casbah! Show your 		love for your mother country by disobeying 		the terrorists' orders." 	The loudspeaker is attached to one of the blockade posts, and from it a 	long wire for the microphone is hanging. The policeman has a raspy and 	bored voice; he stops speaking and leans the microphone on the table in 	front of him. He gets up, lights a cigarette, and moves away a few 	steps. 	Two children are among the women and behind the wooden horses 	barricades. They were waiting for this moment. 	They bend, seem to be playing, but one of them lifts the barbed wire 	as high as he can, from the ground. Petit Omar passes a wire 	underneath, its farthest end bent in the form of a hook. He moves it 	toward the microphone cord which is lying coiled on the ground. He 	succeeds in clasping it and pulls it toward him slowly. The cord  	unwinds, lengthens, stretches, until the microphone on the table begins 	to move, until it reaches the edge of the table, and falls ...	The noise re-echoes in the loudspeaker, but no one pays any attention 	to it. 	Petit Omar waits a second, then begins to pull again. 	The microphone is dragged along the ground -- a humming sound -- it 	moves nearer, inch by inch, forward, under the barbed wire, until the 	children are able to take it, and disappear with it behind the women. 				LOUDSPEAKER 		"Algerians! Brothers! Do not be afraid! 		Algeria will be free. Be courageous, 		brothers! Resist! Do not listen to what 		they are telling you ... Algeria will be 		free ..." 	The voice is not violent, but gentle, somewhat breathless and hurried. 	It extends to the whole square, so that all can hear it well: the 	people stop what they are doing to listen. They are emotional, proud, 	or angry, and look toward the sky where the voice seems to be diffused, 	as if those words should be written up above.	The officer is slow to realize what has happened, looks at the 	loudspeaker, the cord, and now grabs it, cursing. He pulls and tugs it; 	the wire yields, and he wrenches it from the microphone. 				LOUDSPEAKER 		"Brothers--" 	The voice is no longer heard, nothing more, silence. 	Silence, only that something is changed in the women's eyes. The veils 	that cover the lower half of their faces suddenly begin to tremble, 	sway as if shaken by a breath, a light wind. There is no longer an 	atmosphere of sadness, or silence. 	JU-JU.	The ju-jus attack the air, invade it, shake it, make it vibrate as if 	they were electric charges, or the sound produced by the wind on a 	field of dry reeds, or the sound produced by a hundred, a thousand 	fingernails that are scratching a window pane ... 101	HEADQUARTERS. PARA. OUTSIDE. DAY.				PARA 		One, two, three, four ... Inside! C'mon! 	The five Algerians indicated are forced to get up, taken, pushed, and 	brought inside a large deserted house which is the paras' headquarters. 	The other Algerians, about a hundred of them, are sitting on the 	ground, in the clearing in front of the house, and the paras of the 	first regiment continue to guard them with pointed machine guns ...	Suddenly from the villa, the music of a French song comes forth at full 	blast. 	The Algerians look at each other nervously. Even a young para seems to 	be upset. 				1ST PARA 			(turning to other para)		What are they doing?  				2ND PARA 			(smiling)		Dancing inside ... 102	HEADQUARTERS. VILLA. INSIDE. DAY. 	A para rushes through a corridor carrying a tape recorder, enters a 	room where there are some sergeants and an Algerian.	The adjoining room with white tiled walls and a sink is visible through 	an open door. Two paras are sitting on the floor, smoking and chatting 	between themselves in whispers. 	The para places the tape recorder on the table. The Algerian is naked 	to the waist. Signs of torture are visible. His face is swollen and 	wet. The sergeant places the chair near him, and helps him to sit down, 	then starts the tape recorder. He says to the Algerian who is 	trembling: 				SERGEANT		Go ahead! C'mon ... Repeat everything 		from the beginning, and then we'll let 		you go. Name ... 				ALGERIAN 		Sid Ahmed. 				SERGEANT		Second name. 				ALGERIAN 		Sail. 				SERGEANT		Which "district" do you belong to? 				ALGERIAN 		Second district ...				SERGEANT		Second district ... Explain better ...				ALGERIAN 		Second district, Casbah, West Algiers. 				SERGEANT		What "group"? 				ALGERIAN 		Third group.				SERGEANT		Third group. What's your assignment? 				ALGERIAN 		Uh ... responsible for the sixth section. 103	VILLA. HEADQUARTERS. INSIDE. DAY.  	In a room on the ground floor, a captain is bent over a large map with 	graphs, and is writing the name Sid Ahmed Sail in one of the blocks at 	the bottom of the pyramid ... 	At the same time, paras are seen through the large window, bringing 	other Algerians to the villa, and immediately afterward, the music and 	song are heard again very loudly. 104	CASBAH ALLEY. OUTSIDE. NIGHT. 	Night, darkness, locked doors. The Casbah is silent. The paras tread 	noiselessly on their rubber soles. Patrols. 	A flashlight searches for the number of a door, then stops. A para 	knocks discreetly. 	NOISES INSIDE. VOICES.				ALGERIAN VOICE		Who is it?  				PARA		Sid Ahmed ... Sid Ahmed Sail. 	The door is opened, the paras break in. 105	ANOTHER ALLEY. CASBAH. OUTSIDE. NIGHT. 	Another alley in the Casbah, other paras. 	Another door forced open, broken into. 	Algerians are crowded together in a courtyard which is illuminated with 	electric flares. 	They are being interrogated. 106	CASBAH STREET. OUTSIDE. DAY. RAIN. 	A cloudy day, a light drizzle, a sloping street, Algerian music. A 	company of zouaves walk two by two in the Casbah, through the alleys, 	stop, play their music, and move on again, alternating Algerian music 	and a French song.	Behind them, a line of donkeys with baskets full of packages and bags, 	and cheerful paras who are joking, as they distribute the supplies to 	the starving women and children, who stand ashamed in front of their	houses, their eyes lowered, their gestures too brusque, and hesitant. 				SPEAKER		"At the General Assembly of the United 		Nations, none of the motions presented in 		the course of the debate has obtained the 		necessary majority. At last an agreement 		has been reached on a resolution that 		excludes any form of direct intervention 		by the UN in the Algerian question. The 		Assembly of the United Nations has limited 		itself to expressing the hope that in a 		spirit of cooperation, a peaceful, 		democratic, and just solution will be 		found, that conforms to the principles of 		the United Nations Charter ..." 	The monotony of the last words is drowned out and lost. It is raining 	more heavily now. The water has begun to run along the sloping alleys. 	The walls are gray, wet; the doors of the cafes and shops are barred 	with signs nailed upon them. 		THIS SHOP HAS SUPPORTED THE NLF STRIKE. 		THE PREFECT HAS ORDERED ITS CLOSING UNTIL 		FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS. 	The band of zouaves has stopped again, and now they are playing "La vie 	en rose." 107	VILLA HEADQUARTERS. INSIDE. DAWN.  	In some parts of the villa a gramophone is playing "La vie en rose." 	In the room on the first floor, through the large window, the whiteness 	of the dawn is visible. The desk is cluttered with beer cans and 	thermos. Mathieu and other officers have their eyes fixed on the graph, 	where the captain is marking other small crosses at the bottom of the 	pyramid. The scene is motionless; their expressions are dull. Everyone 	seems to be incapable of movement, overcome by the dull apathy that	always follows a sleepless night.	Until Mathieu breaks the stillness of the scene. 				MATHIEU		Good ... Good work ... Now we can all go 		to sleep. 	And moving together with the others, he continues. 				MATHIEU 		The end of the strike doesn't change 		anything. The directives remain the same. 		Give your men the usual shifts. We must 		remain in the Casbah: twenty-four hours a 		day! 	He turns and points to the graph. 				MATHIEU 		We must cling to it, and work fast!	Then he turns to the officers and smiling, says in another tone of 	voice: 				MATHIEU 		Have any of you ever had a tapeworm? 	The officers say "no" and laugh.				MATHIEU 		The tapeworm is a worm that can grow to 		infinity. There are thousands of segments. 		You can destroy all of them; but as long 		as the head remains, it reproduces itself 		immediately. It is the same thing with the 		NLF. The head is the General Staff, four 		persons. Until we are able to eliminate 		them, we must always start again from the 		beginning.	While he is speaking, Mathieu takes his wallet from his back pocket, 	opens it, takes out four photos.				MATHIEU 		I found these in the police archives. 		They are old shots, but I made some 		close-ups. Ramel ... Si Mourad ... 		Kader ... Ali la Pointe. We must print a 		thousand copies and distribute them to 		the men. 	Meanwhile, the photos are passed around.	There are photos taken from identification cards, or blown up from some 	group shots, figures somewhat blurred, faded, smiling, peaceful ... 108	NLF LEADERS' HIDING PLACE. INSIDE. DAY. 	In the dim light, the four faces are barely illuminated. The shadows 	tone down their expressions: Kader, Ali la Pointe, Ramel, Si Mourad. 	They are crowded into the hiding place, sitting on the floor, 	motionless, their eyes staring straight ahead, their breathing heavy. 	From outside, noises, voices that are fading in the distance. Silence. 	Then, a discreet knock, a remark in Arabic. 	The four breathe deeply, look at each other, then smile a little.	Ali unslips the beam which, placed through an iron ring, is holding 	shut the door of the hiding place. Using the soles of his feet, he 	pushes against the square of wall: the light enters violently. It is 	not electric light, but daylight. 	Kader blinks his eyes to accustom them to the light, then goes out on 	all fours; after him, Ramel, and then the others. They leave the hiding 	place that Ali built in the wash-house on the terrace. 109	COMPLEX OF KADER'S HOUSE. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	All of them have machine guns. Ramel is very tall and robust, about 	thirty years old. 	Si Mourad is slightly older than Ramel. His movements are slow and 	precise; his glance expresses patience and authority. Djamila is 	waiting for them. 				DJAMILA 		You can come out. Thank God. There were so 		many this time, about ten.	Ali recloses the hiding place.  				KADER 		Paratroopers? 				DJAMILA 		Yes.  				KADER 		What do you think? Did they come here on 		purpose or by accident? 				DJAMILA 		No. By accident. They asked some questions, 		but they didn't touch anyone. 	Ali has come out of the wash-house. The sun is high, and helicopters 	are seen passing one another in the sky. On some faraway terraces, 	bivouacs of paras are visible. They are guarding the Casbah from above.		The rumble of motors and the voice of the loudspeaker are heard more 	clearly as they near the house. 				LOUDSPEAKER		"Attention! Attention! Inhabitants of the 		Casbah! The terrorist Ben Amin has been 		executed this morning. Qrara Normendine 		has been arrested. Boussalem Ali has been 		arrested. Bel Kasel Maussa has been 		arrested. Inhabitants of the Casbah! The 		NFL has been defeated. Rebel against the 		remaining terrorists who want to force 		you to continue a bloody and futile 		struggle. People of the Casbah, the 		terrorist Ben Amin has been executed. 		Help us to build a free and peaceful 		Algeria. Inhabitants of the Casbah, the 		NLF has been defeated. Rebel against the 		remaining terrorists who want to force 		you to continue a bloody and futile 		struggle. Attention! Attention! 		Inhabitants of the Casbah! The terrorist 		Ben Amin has been executed this morning. 		Qrara Normendine has been arrested. 		Boussalem Ali has been arrested. Bel 		Kasem Moussa has been arrested. 		Inhabitants of the Casbah -- the NLF has		been defeated ..."  	The voice fades away and is no longer heard. At the same time, a woman 	has come up from the floor below, carrying a tray of cups and a teapot.	Ali looks at her quickly, but then watching her more closely, he sees 	that she is crying. When she passes near him, he stops her, places his 	hand kindly on her shoulder, and asks her in Arabic why she is crying. 	DIALOGUE IN ARABIC BETWEEN ALI AND WOMAN. 	The woman shakes her head, tries to smile, but says nothing. Then she 	enters the wash-house silently and begins to serve the tea. 				KADER 		It's better to split up, to increase our 		chances. We must change hiding places, and 		change them continually ... In the 		meantime, we must make new contacts, 		replace our arrested brothers, reorganize 		our sections-- 				ALI 			(interrupting him)		Yes, but we must also show them that we 		still exist.  				KADER 		Of course. As soon as possible. 				ALI 		No, immediately. The people are 		demoralized. Leave this to me ...  				KADER 		No. Not you, or any one of us. As long as 		we are free, the NLF continues to exist 		in the Casbah. If they manage to take us 		too, there won't be anything left ... And 		from nothing comes nothing ...				RAMEL 			(intervening)		But it's also necessary to do something ... 				KADER 		And we will do something, don't worry. As 		soon as we have reestablished contacts ...  				MOURAD		And our movements? 				KADER 		For this too we've got to change methods. 110	MUNICIPAL STADIUM. OUTSIDE. DAY. FEBRUARY 10, 1957.	The municipal stadium is crowded with people. There is a football game 	between two European teams. It is almost the end of the first half. 	From above to the right of the guest box, there is a very loud 	explosion. 	Strips of flesh are hurled into the air. Thick, white smoke ... There 	are screams of terror. The people try to move away in haste. They are 	shoving, pushing, bumping into one another ... Then, calm returns. The 	sirens of the ambulances are heard.	The stretcher, the dead carried away, scores of wounded. 111	PREFECT'S OFFICE. PRESS HALL. INSIDE. DAY. FEBRUARY 25.  	Ben M'Hidi is standing in front of the journalists with handcuffs on 	his wrists and ankles. He is without a tie. He is smiling a little, his 	glance ironical. There are two paras behind him with machine guns 	ready. The picture is still for an instant; Ben M'Hidi's smile is 	steady, so too his eyes, his entire face. Flashes, clicking of cameras. 				1ST JOURNALIST		Mr. Ben M'Hidi ... Don't you think it is 		a bit cowardly to use your women's baskets 		and handbags to carry explosive devices 		that kill so many innocent people? 	Ben M'Hidi shrugs his shoulders in his usual manner and smiles a 	little. 				BEN M'HIDI 		And doesn't it seem to you even more 		cowardly to drop napalm bombs on unarmed 		villages, so that there are a thousand 		times more innocent victims? Of course, 		if we had your airplanes it would be a lot 		easier for us. Give us your bombers, and 		you can have our baskets.				2ND JOURNALIST		Mr. Ben M'Hidi ... in your opinion, has 		the NLF any chance to beat the French 		army?				BEN M'HIDI		In my opinion, the NLF has more chances 		of beating the French army than the 		French have to stop history. 	The press hall in the prefect's office is crowded with journalists of 	every nationality. At the side and central aisles there are 	photographers and cameramen. 	Ben M'Hidi is opposite them, standing on a low wooden platform. Mathieu 	is next to him, seated behind a small desk. Mathieu now gets up, and 	signals to two paratroopers. Another journalist simultaneously has 	asked another question:  				3RD JOURNALIST		Mr. Ben M'Hidi, Colonel Mathieu has said 		that you have been arrested by accident, 		practically by mistake. In fact, it seems 		that the paratroopers were looking for 		someone much less important than yourself. 		Can you tell us why you were in that 		apartment at rue Debussy last night? 	The two paras have moved forward and they take Ben M'Hidi by the arms. 	At the same time, he answers. 				BEN M'HIDI		I can only tell you that it would have 		been better if I had never been there ...  				MATHIEU 			(intervening)		That's enough, gentlemen. It's late, and 		we all have a lot of work ... 	Ben M'Hidi glances at him ironically. 				BEN M'HIDI		Is the show already over? 				MATHIEU 			(smiling)		Yes, it's over ... before it becomes 		self-defeating.	The paras lead Ben M'Hidi away. He moves away with short steps, as much 	as he can with the irons that are tightened around his ankles. Mathieu 	has turned to the journalists and smiles again. 112	PREFECT'S OFFICE. PRESS HALL. INSIDE. DAY. MARCH 4. 	Colonel Mathieu is standing. On his face is a brief smile, motionless, 	his eyes attentive, but half-closed somewhat, due to the camera 	flashes.  				1ST JOURNALIST		Colonel Mathieu ... the spokesman for the 		residing minister, Mr. Gorlin, has stated 		that "Larbi Ben M'Hidi committed suicide 		in his own cell, hanging himself with 		pieces of his shirt, that he had used to 		make a rope, and then attached to the 		bars of his cell window." In a preceding 		statement, the same spokesman had 		specified that: "... due to the intention 		already expressed by the prisoner Ben 		M'Hidi to escape at the first opportunity, 		it has been necessary to keep his hands 		and feet bound continually." In your 		opinion, colonel, in such conditions, is 		a man capable of tearing his shirt, 		making a rope from it, and attaching it 		to a bar of the window to hang himself? 				MATHIEU 		You should address that question to the 		minister's spokesman. I'm not the one who 		made those statements ... On my part, I 		will say that I had the opportunity to 		admire the moral strength, intelligence, 		and unwavering idealism demonstrated by 		Ben M'Hidi. For these reasons, although 		remembering the danger he represented, I 		do not hesitate to pay homage to his 		memory. 		 		2ND JOURNALIST		Colonel Mathieu ... Much has been said 		lately not only of the successes 		obtained by the paratroopers, but also of 		the methods that they have employed ... 		Can you tell us something about this? 				MATHIEU 		The successes obtained are the results 		of those methods. One presupposes the 		other and vice versa. 				3RD JOURNALIST 		Excuse me, colonel. I have the impression 		that perhaps due to excessive prudence ... 		my colleagues continue to ask the same 		allusive questions, to which you can only 		respond in an allusive manner. I think it 		would be better to call things by their 		right names; if one means torture, then 		one should call it torture.				MATHIEU 		I understand. What's your question?				3RD JOURNALIST		The questions have already been asked. I 		would only like some precise answers, 		that's all ...  				MATHIEU 		Let's try to be precise then. The word 		"torture" does not appear in our orders. 		We have always spoken of interrogation as 		the only valid method in a police 		operation directed against unknown 		enemies. As for the NLF, they request 		that their members, in the event of 		capture, should maintain silence for 		twenty-four hours, and then, they may 		talk. Thus, the organization has already 		had the time necessary to render useless 		any information furnished ... What type 		of interrogation should we choose? ... 		the one the courts use for a crime of 		homicide which drags on for months?  				3RD JOURNALIST		The law is often inconvenient, colonel ... 				MATHIEU 		And those who explode bombs in public 		places, do they perhaps respect the law? 		When you asked that question to Ben 		M'Hidi, remember what he said? No, 		gentlemen, believe me, it is a vicious 		circle. And we could discuss the problem 		for hours without reaching any 		conclusions. Because the problem does 		not lie here. The problem is: the NLF 		wants us to leave Algeria and we want to 		remain. Now, it seems to me that, despite 		varying shades of opinion, you all agree 		that we must remain. When the rebellion 		first began, there were not even shades 		of opinion. All the newspapers, even the 		left-wing ones wanted the rebellion 		suppressed. And we were sent here for 		this very reason. And we are neither 		madmen nor sadists, gentlemen. Those who 		call us fascists today, forget the 		contribution that many of us made to the 		Resistance. Those who call us Nazis, do 		not know that among us there are 		survivors of Dachau and Buchenwald. We 		are soldiers and our only duty is to 		win. Therefore, to be precise, I would 		now like to ask you a question: Should 		France remain in Algeria? If you answer 		"yes," then you must accept all the 		necessary consequences. 113	CASBAH HOUSES. TORTURE SEQUENCE. INSIDE. DAY.	Casbah, bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms. 	Sharp, white light; motionless faces, figures paused midway in 	gestures. 	Women, children ... glassy eyes ...	Background motionless like in a landscape.	Algerians ... wild eyes ... animals being led to slaughter.	Paras, their every gesture measured exactly, perfection achieved. 	An Algerian is lying down on the table, his arms and ankles bound with 	belts.	An Algerian, in the form of a wheel, an iron bar in the curvature of 	his knees, his ankles tied to his wrists. 	Electrical wires wrenched from their outlets, a generator with crank, 	extended pliers with their prongs open wide, the tops of the wires held 	between two prongs, the pliers applied to a naked body, the most 	sensitive parts: lips, tongue, ears, nipples, heart, sexual organs ...	Faucets, tubing, buckets, funnels, a mouth forced open, held open, with 	a wooden wedge, tubing in the mouth, rags scattered around, water, a 	belly that is swelling . .. The torture is precise in every detail, and 	every detail points to a technique that is taken apart and reassembled. 114	UPPER CASBAH ALLEY. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	The chorus of the Koran school like ceaseless wailing, like a stubborn 	will to survive that seems to be spreading through the Casbah.	Petit Omar looks up instinctively, his small face hardened and 	taciturn, like that of an adult, then enters the school. 115	KORAN SCHOOL. INSIDE. DAY. 	The children are sitting on the mats, motionless; only their lips are 	moving. There is an oblique light, the teacher is in the shadow.	RELIGIOUS CHORUS.	Petit Omar approaches the teacher who shakes his head in denial. Omar 	goes out. 116	CASBAH STREETS. PATROLS. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	The Casbah is patrolled by paratroopers; helmets, machine guns, 	portable radios, police dogs ...	Paratroopers are erecting loudspeakers at every street corner. 	Paratroopers with brushes and buckets of paint are marking the doors of 	the Casbah with large numbers. From time to time, machine-gun fire is 	heard in the distance.	Algerians are standing against the wall, their hands up. There is a 	dead man a few feet away, an Algerian youth. The paratroopers turn him 	over and search him. A child with terrified eyes turns around a little. 	A para transmits the dead man's name into the portable radio. 117	CASBAH. OTHER STREETS. OUTSIDE. DAY.	A car radio receives and transmits the same name; and then the name is 	repeated by the loudspeakers scattered throughout the Casbah.				LOUDSPEAKER		"Inhabitants of the Casbah! The rebellion 		gets weaker every day. The terrorist Ben 		Amin has been executed. Kasem Moussa has 		been arrested. He was commander of the 2nd 		Sector NLF. Inhabitants of the Casbah! The 		terrorists are not your true brothers. 		Leave them to their fate. Rely on the 		protection of the French army. Denounce 		the terrorists and agitators. Cooperate 		with us to reestablish peace and 		prosperity in Algeria ..." 118	FOUR WOMEN. STREET. OUTSIDE. DAY.  	Four women, their faces veiled, meet a patrol of paras in a small 	street. 	Two of the paras stop the last woman, and lift her dress, uncovering 	her feet and ankles -- those of a man. The tear away her veil.	The man is Ali. At the same time, there is ... 	MACHINE-GUN FIRE. 	The two paras fall to the ground. Ali grasps his weapon, visible 	through the opening of his cloak. The other paras fling themselves to 	the ground. 	The other three women flee, while Ali continues to shoot, then runs 	away. 	The four flee through the narrow streets and alleys, climb a stairway, 	and leap from one terrace to another. Behind them, shouts, whistles, 	and machine-gun fire are heard. And moving nearer ...	BARKING OF DOGS.119 	COURTYARD WITH WELL. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	The four enter a courtyard. Ali's three companions have also lifted 	their veils. They are Kader, Mourad, and Ramel. 	A woman rushes to shut the door while a man leads the four toward an 	opening hidden by some boxes. 	The others who are in the courtyard, women and children, are also busy 	helping, silently, hurriedly, in a tense atmosphere of solidarity with 	the four fugitives. 	Very near are heard ... 	BARKING OF DOGS AND PARAS' HURRIED FOOTSTEPS. 	A woman runs toward the door and throws some large handfuls of pepper 	under the cracks. 120 	STREET COURTYARD WITH WELL. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	The group of pursuers -- paras who are holding police dogs by leashes 	-- slow down in front of the door. 	BARKING DOGS. 	The animals sniff the ground, then move on together with the paras. 121	ARAB BATH. INSIDE. DAY.	Petit Omar enters the large steamy room. He moves near the manager and 	hands him an envelope. The manager slips it quickly under the counter. 				SPEAKER		"To all NLF militants! Reorganize! Replace 		your fallen and arrested brothers. Make 		new contacts! This is a grave moment. 		Resist brothers! The General Staff leaves 		you free to take any and all necessary 		offensives ... 122 	CASBAH HOUSE. INSIDE. DAY. 	All the inhabitants of a house. The men are in a row on the balcony of 	the first floor, their hands crossed behind their heads, their backs to 	the wall, while paras guard them with pointed machine guns.	Two paratroopers lead an Algerian girl forward: she seems to be 	exhausted, and can barely walk, her eyes half-closed. 	They stop in front of the first man and ask her:  				PARAS 		Is this one?				SPEAKER		"Our hearts are breaking before such 		outrages, our houses invaded, our 		families massacred. Brothers, rebel! 		Bring terror to the European city!" 123	ALGERIAN STREETS. OUTSIDE. EVENING.  	The European city, evening, houses are being lit. People have finished 	working. They are going to the bars, cinemas, or for walks, or crowding 	the bus stops ... 	The wail of a siren at full blast, an ambulance, driven at frightening 	speed. 	The people move aside, jump to the sidewalks. The cars squeeze to the 	right, stop. 	The ambulance door is opened, a corpse is thrown out, falls, rolls into 	the street. 	The people rush to it. It is a hospital attendant's in white uniform 	with a knife stuck in his throat. 	The sound of the siren decreases in intensity; the ambulance is by now 	far away. 124 	AMBULANCE. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. EVENING. 	In the driver's cab, there are two Algerian boys. Their hair is curly, 	their shirts old and torn. They are sweating; their eyes wide open, 	staring. 	The one who is driving barely reaches the height of the steering wheel. 	He clutches it desperately. The other has a machine gun. He makes a 	remark in Arabic shouting to be heard above the siren.	The driver takes a hand off the steering wheel, places it on the 	dashboard, and tries all the switches until he finds the one for the 	headlights. The high beams. 	The other, meanwhile, is now on his knees on the seat. He is leaning 	out the open window to his waist, and he begins to shoot.125	ROUTE OF AMBULANCE. OUTSIDE. EVENING.  	The pictures succeed one another in a dizzy rhythm; surprise, terror, 	someone falls. 	SHOTS. SIREN. 126	AMBULANCE. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. EVENING. 	There is no more ammunition. The machine gun is thrown in the back of 	the ambulance. The siren is still at full blast. The auto races ahead 	at terrifying speed. The two boys don't know any more what to do, where 	to go, and the one who is driving has his eyes almost closed, as if he 	were dizzy. 	They reach a square. 	SIREN. 	The other points ahead to the left. 127	BUS SHELTER. OUTSIDE. EVENING.  	The people are crowded in a bus shelter. The one who is driving doesn't 	understand or doesn't want to.	The other shouts to him again and again, the same phrase, then flings 	himself on the steering wheel, and turns it in that direction. 	The bus shelter is nearer and nearer. 	The people are paralyzed. They have no time to move. They are run down, 	rammed into. The ambulance crashes into a pillar.	On the ground, all about, the bodies of dead and wounded. The boys' 	bodies remain motionless, their foreheads resting on the smashed 	windshield. 	But the sound of the siren does not stop, and is heard, mournful and 	full of anguish. 128	RAMEL'S HOUSE. IMPASSE ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. 	OUTSIDE/INSIDE. DAY. AUGUST 26. 	Impasse St. Vincent-de-Paul, noon. There are helicopters in the sky, 	and paras fill the alley. 	Their faces are pale and tense, their eyes wide open, their hands 	clutch their machine guns. There is a strange silence. Then a movement 	at the back of the alley, a voice, a brief greeting. Mathieu has 	arrived and he is saying to an officer:  				MATHIEU 		Now is not the time for heroes. Give me 		the megaphone. 	Mathieu takes the megaphone in his hands and approaches an open door. 	Through the doorway the inner courtyard of the house is visible where 	the corpses of four paras are strewn about. 	Ramel and Si Mourad are on the first-floor balcony, lying in wait 	behind the railings, so they are able to watch the door, courtyard, and 	the stairway that leads from the balcony to the terrace.	On the terrace there are other paras who are facing the balcony. From 	time to time they release a burst of machine gun fire.	The voice of Mathieu is heard over the loudspeaker. 				MATHIEU 		Ramel ... Si Mourad ... use your heads. 		If you go on like this, I wouldn't want to 		be in your place when you are captured ... 		Because you will be captured in the end, 		and you know it too. Surrender! If you do 		it immediately, I promise that you will 		not be harmed and you will have a fair 		trial. Can you hear me? 	Ramel and Si Mourad look at each other.  				MOURAD		Who is speaking?				MATHIEU 		Mathieu. Colonel Mathieu.  				MOURAD		We don't trust you, colonel. Come 		forward, show yourself. 	A moment of silence.				MATHIEU 		I don't trust you either. First stand up 		so I can see you, and keep your hands 		still and well in sight.	Mourad hesitates an instant, glances at Ramel, then:  				MOURAD		Okay. But we want your promise for a fair 		trial in writing. Give us a written 		statement, Mathieu, and then we'll 		surrender. 				MATHIEU 		How can I give you this statement? 				MOURAD		We'll lower a basket from the window ...				MATHIEU 		Okay, I'll make the statement in 		writing ...	Mourad shows his companion the two large time-bombs that are on the 	floor in front of him. He takes one, begins to prepare it, and 	regulates the mechanism.	At the same time, he tells Ramel in Arabic to go find the basket. 	Ramel crawls past the doors which are all closed, and asks for a basket.	A door opens and an old woman appears. She hands him a basket with its 	cord rolled up. 				MOURAD			(without turning around)		A newspaper too, or a piece of paper ... 	Ramel brings him the basket and newspaper. Mourad has loaded the time-	bomb mechanism, and the tic-toc sound is sharp and clear.	Now he has to move the second hand. Mourad's hands do not tremble, his 	glance is attentive, concentrating. Ramel watches him without saying a 	word; his fear is obvious. 	Without moving, his eyes glued to the bomb dial: 				MOURAD			(loudly)		Are you ready, colonel? 				MATHIEU 		Yes ... But let me first see you.	Mourad moves one of the clock hands to precede the other one by a 	minute. Immediately afterward he places the flat and rectangular bomb 	in the bottom of the basket. 	The basket seems to be empty. The piece of newspaper protects its 	bottom. Mourad tells Ramel to get up, and he too gets up. Their machine 	guns are lying on the ground. Meanwhile, Mourad has begun to count to 	himself silently, his lips moving: one, two, three, four ... 	From the terrace, the paras can see Ramel and Mourad standing up not 	very far away, their empty hands resting near the basket on the 	railing. 	A para shouts:  				PARA 		We see them. You can come. 	Mourad begins to lower the basket very slowly. 				MOURAD 			(counting)		60, 59, 58, 57, 56, 55, 54, 53 ...	Mathieu enters the courtyard together with an officer and other paras. 	He looks up toward the balcony, smiles, and shows them a folded piece 	of paper. 				MATHIEU 		Here it is ... you know that when I give 		my word, I keep it ... 	Mourad does not answer, but looks at Mathieu as if to calculate the 	distance and time, and slows down even more the basket's descent.	Mathieu moves forward a few steps, as if to go for the basket that is 	hanging on the other side of the courtyard, but suddenly he seems 	perplexed for a second, and then changes his mind. He turns to the 	nearest para, and gives him the note. 				MATHIEU		You go ...	Mourad's face has remained motionless. In his expression there is a 	shade of disappointment. He sees Mathieu retrace his steps toward the 	door, and is now surrounded by a group of paratroopers ...				MOURAD 			(counting) 		25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19 ...	The basket has stopped moving two yards from the ground. In order to 	reach it, the para has to step over the corpses of his dead companions, 	his face hardens, he reaches the basket, and extending his arm, he 	throws in the note. The basket does not move; the para looks up.				PARA 			(muttering)		Hurry up, black bastard! 	Mourad smiles at him, and mumbles something in Arabic, a phrase that he 	doesn't manage to finish, for now is heard -- the explosion. 129	RUE CATON 4. FATHIA'S HOUSE. INSIDE. NIGHT. SEPTEMBER 2.	Rue Caton number four. It is 11 p.m. A large, badly lit room is filled 	with paratroopers and one of them is now being carried away on a 	stretcher. Another three or four wounded are seated on the opposite 	side of the room and are waiting their turn to be carried away.	Two paras are by the door. They look out from time to time, and are 	attentive, ready, with machine guns clutched by their sides. 	On the other side of the room opposite the door, the Algerians who live 	in the house are standing against the wall. Mathieu is in front of 	them, and he is asking a group of women:				MATHIEU		Which one of you is Fathia?	A woman about forty years old raises her eyes toward him. 				MATHIEU		Is it you?	The woman nods yes. 				MATHIEU 		Go up the stairs, and tell Kader that if 		they don't surrender, we'll blow up 		everything ... Do you understand? 	The woman again nods yes, and without waiting for more words, she moves 	toward the door, taciturn, silent. Mathieu follows her, he pushes past 	her.				MATHIEU 		Try to convince him, if you care about 		your house ... Wait a minute ... Do you 		want to get killed? 	He leans out the door and says loudly: 				MATHIEU 		Kader, look. Fathia is coming ... I 		wouldn't shoot ... 	Then he steps aside and lets the woman pass. 				MATHIEU 		Go on ... 	Outside the door, there is a small landing, then a steep stairway, and 	at the top, a corridor. Fathia climbs the stairs that are cluttered 	with empty magazines, with cartridge boxes. The walls are chipped from 	the shooting. The ceiling is parallel to the stairway at the same 	inclination, for part of its distance. But for the last few yards, it 	straightens out and lowers to become horizontal.	The floor of the hiding place is open. Inside are Zohra and Kader.	Fathia repeats to them in Arabic what Mathieu has said to her.	Kader listens to her then answers, he too in Arabic. Then he smiles. 				KADER 		Okay ... You can tell the colonel to blow 		up whatever he likes. Go on, now. 	Fathia goes down the stairs, and reenters the room. 				FATHIA 			(to Mathieu)		He said that you can blow up whatever 		you like ...	She, then, rejoins the other women.	Mathieu seems to be tired, he has lost weight, he is nervous. He turns 	to his men, and slowly as he gives the orders, the paras begin to move. 				MATHIEU 		Return to where the others are. Prepare 		the plastic. It should be placed on the 		ceiling of the stairway under the hiding 		place ... a long fuse rolled up ... Take 		cover ... keep shooting while you are 		working. Quickly! Clear the house ... 		Bring them outside, then check the rooms 		again ... Hurry up! 	Kader gives Zohra a box of matches. She goes to the back of the hiding 	place where there is a bundle of papers. She lights them, then returns 	near to Kader who is inspecting the magazine of his machine gun.	There are only two shots left. The other empty magazines are scattered 	around. Kader turns to Zohra, and starts to speak, but suddenly his 	words are blurred by the sound of shots. 	Kader and Zohra have to step back a little, because the shells are 	flashing at the edge of the opening. 	The shooting stops. From the stairway, one end of a long fuse is 	thrown into the corridor. The other end is inserted into a plastic 	charge fastened to the ceiling of the stairway, under the hiding place. 	Kader and Zohra can see two or three yards in front of them, below, 	into the corridor, where the end of the fuse is glowing and burning.	Kader too has lost weight, his beard is long. He looks at the fuse, 	then at Zohra. A second passes in silence. Now Zohra too looks at him, 	and Kader says calmly in his usual voice:				KADER 		It doesn't do any good to die like this ... 		it doesn't help anybody ...	He leans out from the hiding place. 				KADER 			(shouting)		Mathieu! If you give your word that you 		won't touch any of the other people in 		the house, we'll come out. 130	MILITARY CAR. INSIDE. NIGHT. 	Inside a military automobile.	In the back seat, Mathieu is sitting next to Kader who is handcuffed. 	Zohra is in the front seat, between the driver and a para who has in 	his hand a large regulation pistol. The interior is lighted by the 	headlights of a jeep which is following directly behind the auto a few 	yards. Silence. Mathieu looks hastily at Kader, who is staring straight 	in front of him, and appears to be sullen and downcast.	Then Mathieu speaks in a pleasant tone, as if in friendly conversation.				MATHIEU		If you had let me blow you up, you would 		have disappointed me ...	Kader turns to him, and replies, trying to maintain his own voice at 	the same level of indifference:	 				KADER		Why? 				MATHIEU 		For many months, I've had your photo on 		my desk together with a dozen or so 		reports on you ... And naturally, I am 		under the illusion that I know you 		somewhat. You never seemed the type, 		Kader, inclined to performing useless 		actions. 	Kader doesn't answer right away, then speaks slowly as if expressing 	the results of his doubts, a new point of view ...  				KADER 		You seem to be very satisfied to have 		taken me alive ...  				MATHIEU 		Of course I am. 				KADER 		That proves that I was wrong. Evidently I 		credited you with an advantage greater 		than I should have.				MATHIEU 		No. Let's just say that you've given me 		the satisfaction to have guessed 		correctly. But from the technical point 		of view, it isn't possible to speak of 		advantages. By now the game is over. The 		NLF has been defeated.	Zohra has turned around suddenly. She is crying and speaks hastily in 	Arabic, violently, harshly.	Mathieu doesn't understand, and turns to Kader to ask him politely, 	although with a bit of irony:				MATHIEU 		What is she saying?				KADER 		She says that Ali is still in the Casbah. 131	CROWDED BEACH. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	Ali la Pointe's glance is sullen, heavy, motionless. He moves his head 	slowly in such a way so that his glance also moves in a semicircle.	White beach, fine sand, transparent sea, bodies stretched out in the 	sun, golden skin of girls; girls in bikinis, sensual, smiling, young 	men with narrow hips, with muscles well cared for, cheerful youth, 	naturally happy, enviable. The children are building sand castles near 	the water's edge; the beach is shaped like a half-moon with rocky reefs 	at both ends ... 	A September Sunday, warm and calm. Ali is leaning on the wall. He is 	wearing a white wool cloak. Only his eyes are visible ... the eyes of a 	hungry tiger perched above a path, on the lookout for innocent prey. 	Eyes that now gleam, cruel eyes, tension dilating the pupils ... Then	again the calm, a gloomy calm, a gratifying tension. The place is 	right, and the victims couldn't be better ones.	Ali moves, leaves the wall, crosses the street to a large city 	sanitation truck, one of those metallic trucks with no visible 	openings.	A young Algerian is at the steering wheel, a street cleaner. He is 	leaning his thin face on the wheel. His hands are dirty, by now 	unwashable from years of work.	Ali has climbed into the cab. The truck is in motion and leaves. 132	SANITATION TRUCK. INSIDE. DAY. 	The name of the street cleaner is Sadek. He seems frightened. He looks 	around, hesitates before speaking.  				SADEK		Then the beach is okay, Ali.	Silence. Sadek looks at him again, waiting, but Ali does not respond. 	Ali looks straight ahead at the street bathed in sunlight, the tar that 	seems to be liquid, the villas that surround Algiers, the lemon trees, 	the oleanders ... Then he speaks, but without turning to Sadek. He 	speaks in a whisper, his eyes continually staring straight ahead. 				ALI 		We need two more, the biggest ones.  				SADEK		And the others?				ALI 		The others ... let's wait and see. 	Sadek remains silent for a while. 				SADEK		I've looked, Ali, even where I work. 		Nothing. The ones who have not been 		arrested have left Algiers and gone into 		the mountains ... And the others don't 		want to hear any more about it ... 		they're afraid ...    	Ali doesn't answer him. Silence. 				ALI 		Can't you go any faster?  				SADEK		Yes, sure ... here.	Sadek puts the truck in third gear, accelerates the motor, then shifts 	back again into fourth gear. The truck increases its speed. The road is 	straight, the outskirts of Algiers are visible. 				SADEK		If we don't find any others ... should we 		call it off? 	Ali turns suddenly to look at him but says nothing. Sadek can feel 	those eyes on him, and tries to justify himself.  				SADEK		We can't plant all of them by 		ourselves ... 	Ali speaks to him in a dry and indifferent voice. 				ALI 		You don't have to plant anything. You 		only have to carry them, that's all. 133	RUE DES ABDERAMES. ALI'S HOUSE. OUTSIDE/INSIDE. NIGHT. 	Night. At number three rue des Abderames, on the first-floor balcony, 	the stove fires are glowing. The women are cooking outside on their 	stoves built from tin containers. They are cooking in front of the 	doors of their homes. The doorways are lit up.	Ali passes along the balcony, passes by Mahmoud and his wife who are 	speaking in whispers by themselves and leaning on the railing. It is a 	warm and starry night. Mahmoud says some more words to his wife, still 	speaking in whispers, tenderly. Then he follows Ali who has stopped in 	front of the door. 134	ALI'S ROOM. INSIDE. NIGHT. 	In the room, there is Petit Omar who is cutting out some pictures from 	a comic book. 	As soon as he sees Ali at the door, he stops, closes his book, puts the 	scissors in his pocket. He seems to be embarrassed at being caught in 	his childish game. 	In the center of the room, there is a dividing curtain, pulled halfway 	to the side. On the other side, Hassiba is typing. Behind Hassiba, next 	to the bed, the hiding place is open. Ali enters. He seems tired, 	sweating. He removes his cloak, tosses it on the chair, and puts his 	machine gun on the table. 				ALI 			(turning to Petit Omar)		C'mon, hurry. Go to sleep. Tomorrow we 		four have a lot of work to do: Mahmoud, 		Hassiba, you and I. 	Mahmoud has remained motionless at the door. Hassiba has stopped typing 	and approaches them. Omar says nothing, but there is a satisfied look 	in his eyes. He can't help stretching out his hand to touch the machine 	gun. 	Ali sits down, at the table, moves the machine gun away from Omar, and 	continues to speak, still talking to Omar.  				ALI 		Because we can't find anyone else, Sadek 		will bring us there in the truck. You get 		out first and plant the bomb where I tell 		you ... then return here quickly. But be 		careful that no one is following you. Then 		Hassiba will get out, and after her, 		Mahmoud. Then I will plant the ones that 		are left. They'll know that we're still		strong ... you can be sure of that.  135	ALI'S ROOM. INSIDE. DAWN. OCTOBER 7, 1957.  	The room is badly lit by a small lamp which is on the other side of the 	curtain. There is a mattress on the table and Petit Omar is lying on 	top, asleep. 	Ali is lying on a mattress on the ground, fully dressed, with his 	machine gun by his side. His eyes are open, and he is listening to the 	far-away sound of a motor. He looks at his watch, gets up, and goes to 	open the door. Outside there is the first gray light of dawn. The sound 	is heard more clearly and seems to be moving nearer. 	Ali returns to Petit Omar, stays a minute looking at him, then shakes 	him roughly. The child gets up immediately. He is trembling, as if he 	had slept with taut nerves, and jumps down quickly from the table. His 	eyes are open, but he is still sleepy.	Ali smiles for a moment, and runs his fingers through Omar's hair. 				ALI 		Omar, Omar. C'mon, wake up. Hurry, little 		one. Today you're going to see fireworks.	The child also smiles and his face relaxes, then brightens up. At the 	same time, he extends his hand and pats Ali's side. Mahmoud enters the 	room from the balcony. He is carrying a tray with four cups of coffee. 				MAHMOUD		It's almost time, isn't it? 				ALI 		Yes.  	Then Ali turns to the curtain and calls:  				ALI 		Hassiba ... 				HASSIBA		I'm ready. 	Ali sits down and puts on a pair of sneakers. Petit Omar has finished 	dressing.      	The curtain is drawn, Hassiba appears, already dressed. 				MAHMOUD		I heard the sound of a truck before ...  				ALI 		Me too. But I don't think it was Sadek. 		Otherwise he'd be here by now.	Hassiba is dressed in European clothes, a skirt and blouse. She nears 	the table and takes a cup of coffee. 				HASSIBA 			(smiling)		How is your wife now?      	Mahmoud's face is expressionless. He shakes his head. 				MAHMOUD		So-so ... 	Ali has finished putting on his shoes. He takes a cup of coffee. In the 	same moment, outside the door is heard: 	MACHINE-GUN FIRE. 	The four are startled. 				ALI 			(shouting)		Inside! Inside! 	Simultaneously, all of them move toward the hiding place. 	Mahmoud's wife appears at the door. Her face is despairing, but she 	moves carefully, quickly, precisely. She closes the door. She puts the 	coffee cups back on the tray, and hides everything in the sink. 	She goes to the other side of the curtain. Ali is entering the hiding 	place. The other three are already inside. Ali pushes the movable piece 	of wall toward him, and the woman helps him.	Then, she takes a can from the night table; it is full of plaster mixed 	with coal dust. The woman spreads the paste in the joints between the 	bricks of the wall and the closure of the hiding place. At the same 	time, shouting, shots, and the footsteps of paras are heard.	As soon as she has finished, the woman slips into bed under the sheets.	The paratroopers break into the room shouting, and make the woman get 	up. They drag her outside on the balcony. 136 	ABDERAMES COURTYARD. OUTSIDE. DAWN. 	They drag Mahmoud's wife down from the balcony to the center of the 	courtyard, where now all the inhabitants of the building are standing 	-- men, women, children -- all of them with their hands to the wall, in 	full sight of the paras who are guarding them.	Sadek's head is lowered. He passes along the balcony between Marc and 	the captain. He stops in front of the door. 				CAPTAIN 			(mumbling softly)		Here? 	The Algerian nods yes. They enter. 137	ALI'S ROOM. INSIDE. DAWN.  	Sadek points toward the curtain. The captain signals him to go there. 	The Algerian points to a spot in the brick baseboard.	The captain examines it and with his thumb, he tests the fresh plaster. 	He bends down and leans his ear to the wall. He smiles as he listens to 	the ...	HEAVY BREATHING. 	It is the same breathing that soon after Mathieu hears, bent in the 	same position as the captain. The colonel gets up and looks around him. 	Four paras are ready with their machine guns aimed at the hiding place. 	Others are arranging plastic charges along the wall, all of them 	connected to a single fuse. 	In a corner, Sadek, wearing his cap and army camouflage fatigues, is 	sitting on a chair.	He is watching the scene with his eyes wide open. He is trembling. His 	body is slouched forward. He seems to be lifeless, without nerves. If 	it weren't for his face, he would seem to be a heap of rags. 				MATHIEU 			(to the captain)		Everything ready?  				CAPTAIN 		Yes, sir.  				MATHIEU 		He hasn't answered?  				CAPTAIN 		No, sir. Total silence. 				MATHIEU 		I thought so. It was obvious. 	Mathieu bends down again and leans his ear against the bricks. He gets 	up again. He remains a minute in this position, lost in thought.				MATHIEU 			(loudly and markedly)		Ali ... Ali la Pointe ... You're going to 		be blown up. Let the others come out, at 		least the child. We'll let him off with 		reformatory school ... Why do you want to 		make him die?	Mathieu stops, and shakes his head. He turns to the captain: 				MATHIEU 		Let's go ...	A paratrooper is unrolling a large bundle of fuse. 				CAPTAIN 		Bring it down there, till it reaches 		outside ... 				PARA 		Yes, sir ...	Mathieu has stopped in front of Sadek. He looks at him. 				MATHIEU 		Is this one still here? ... Take him away. 	Two paratroopers grab the street cleaner by the armpits and almost 	lifting him completely, they lead him away. Mathieu is about to go out, 	then turns and takes the megaphone from the captain's hands, and places 	it to his mouth. 				MATHIEU 		Ali! Ali la Pointe! I am giving you 		another thirty seconds. What do you hope 		to gain? You've lost anyway. Thirty 		seconds, Ali, starting now. 138	ALI'S HIDING PLACE. INSIDE. DAWN.  	Ali la Pointe's eyes are staring at the square piece of wall that seals 	the hiding place. His glance is taciturn, gloomy. The others are 	watching Ali. Their lips are half-open, their breasts rise and fall in 	laborious breathing.  				ALI 			(in deep, resigned voice) 		Who wants to leave? 	Petit Omar presses against Ali's arm; he looks like a son with his 	father. 	Mahmoud takes his head in his hands and squeezes it.  				HASSIBA		What are you going to do? 				ALI 		I don't deal with them. 139	ALI'S ROOM. INSIDE. DAWN.  	Mathieu checks his watch; thirty seconds have passed. He moves to go 	out. The four paras with machine guns are still in the room.  				CAPTAIN 			(to another paratrooper)		You stay here by the door to signal the 		others. When I call you, all of you come 		down ... 140	RUE DES ABDERAMES. OUTSIDE. MORNING.  	The sun has risen to the height of the terraces. 	The terraces are swarming with people. 	The alley is empty and only the fuse is visible; it reaches to a small	clearing full of paratroopers. Two more colonels and a general have 	arrived. 	There is a paratrooper with an "Arriflex" ready to film the explosion. 	The atmosphere is that of a show. Two paratroopers are connecting the 	ends of the fuse to the electric contact. 	On the terraces, there are Algerian women, children, and old people.	Their eyes are motionless; someone is praying. There is an atmosphere 	of suspense. 	There is also the wife of Mahmoud; her eyes seem blank. 	Five paras come out of the house quickly, and pass along the alley 	toward the clearing.	The captain signals, and the para begins to lower the contact switch 	slowly. 	The eyes of all are motionless. The camera is ready. But the explosion 	does not occur.      	The paratrooper swears; he examines the wires.  				CAPTAIN 		Stand back! Ready, Pierre?  	Pierre responds by mumbling something, and at the same time his hands 	are moving frenziedly around the wires. 141	ALI'S HIDING PLACE. INSIDE. MORNING.  	Ali la Pointe bends over Petit Omar as if to cover him. Hassiba has 	stopped breathing, her eyes wide open; Mahmoud is crying ...	A single image, a second and now: 	THE EXPLOSION. 142 	RUE DES ABDERAMES. OUTSIDE. MORNING. 	The house collapses in a white cloud, as if its foundations had 	suddenly been removed. 	Mathieu and the other officers move away. Behind them the echo of the 	explosion continues to resound, then shouts, orders, and isolated 	ju-ju. 	Mathieu's face is weary but his expression is relieved. He is smiling. 				GENERAL		And so the tapeworm no longer has a head. 		Are you satisfied, Mathieu? In Algiers 		everything should be over. 				MATHIEU 		Yes, I believe there won't be any more 		talk of the NLF for some time. 				GENERAL		Let's hope forever. 	Another colonel intervenes:  				1ST COLONEL		At heart they are good people. We've had 		good relations with them for a hundred and 		thirty years ... I don't see why we 		shouldn't continue that way.				2ND COLONEL		Yes, but Algiers is not the only city in 		Algeria. 				MATHIEU 			(smiling)		Bah, for that matter, Algeria isn't the 		only country in the world ... 				GENERAL 			(smiling)		Why, yes, of course ... But for the 		moment, let's be satisfied with Algiers! 		In the mountains our work is always 		easier. 	Gradually the officers move away down the slanting street toward their 	jeeps, and their remarks fade away and are lost. 143	CASBAH STREETS. DEMONSTRATIONS. OUTSIDE. DAY. DECEMBER 1960. 	Like the cries of birds, of thousands of wild birds, the ju-jus invade 	and shake the black sky. 	JU-JU-JU ...	And below, in the Casbah the white cloaks of the Algerians are like 	streams, floods; through the alleys, down the stairways, through the 	streets and the squares, they flow toward the European city. 144	PRESS HALL. PREFECT'S OFFICE. INSIDE. DAY.  	In the press hall, the journalists are taking the telephones by force, 	shouting at the top of their voices. An English journalist: 				JOURNALIST		No one knows what could have been the 		pretext. The fact is that they seem to be 		unleashed without warning ... I telephoned 		Lausanne ... yes, Lausanne. I spoke with 		an NLF leader in exile. They don't know 		anything there. 145	ALGIERS STREETS. DEMONSTRATION. OUTSIDE. DAY/NIGHT. 	In front, the adolescents, very young boys and girls, their mouths wide 	open, their eyes burning, laughing, their arms stretched above them, 	raised and lowered to mark the rhythm. 				VOICES		Algerie! 		Mu-sul-mane! 		Algerie Musulmane!  	The paratroopers jump down from the trucks, and rush forward.	The policemen rush forward, soldiers, zouaves, the CRS ...	Deployed in cordons, in a wedge, in turtle-like formations, in order to 	divide, to scatter, to hold back ...	But the demonstrators will not move back, or divide. They continue to 	press forward, pushing against the troops, face to face. 				VOICES		Free Ben-Bel-la! 		Free Ben-Bel-la! 	The Europeans are closing their doors, lowering shutters. They too, the 	younger ones, the more decisive, are grouping together, trying to 	confront the Algerians. They are less numerous, but armed ...	The first revolver shots resound in the streets, from the windows. Some 	Algerians fall, but the others continue to advance. They are running 	now, scattering.  				VOICES		Ta-hia Et-thou-ar! 		[Long live the partisans!] 	The jeeps, the trucks, the sirens, the tear-gas bombs, machine gun 	fire. 	And then the tanks. The turrets move slowly in a semi-circle. The 	machine gunner fires the first burst at point-blank.  				VOICES 		Ta-hia el-Djez-air! 		Ta-hia el-Djez-air!  	Meanwhile the sun has set, and shadows of night are visible. 				VOICE OF 				ENGLISH 				JOURNALIST 			(off)		Today the situation is tenser. In spite 		of pressure from the more intolerant 		colonialist group it seems that the 		Government has given strict orders not 		to use arms except in emergency 		situations. But this afternoon there were 		attempts to enter the European city by 		force: as a result, the first casualties 		... Now calm has returned, although from 		the Casbah continue to be heard those 		cries ... incoherent, rhythmic, 		nightmarish cries ...	And then, from time to time, in the by now dark night, the shrill and 	angry ju-jus. 	JU-JU-JU ... 146	ALGERIAN STREETS. FLAGS. OUTSIDE. DAY. 	Those cries continued until the following day.	The following day is sunny; the scene begins again like the day 	before. Only that ... 				VOICE OF 				ENGLISH 				JOURNALIST 			(off) 		This morning for the first time, the 		people appeared with their flags -- green 		and white with half moon and star. 		Thousands of flags. They must have sewn 		them overnight. Flags so to speak. Many 		are strips of sheets, shirts, ribbons, 		rags ... but anyway they are flags. 	Thousands of flags. All are carrying flags, tied to poles or sticks, or 	waving in their hands like handkerchiefs. Waving in the sullen faces of 	the paratroopers, on the black helmets of the soldiers. 				SPEAKER 		"Another two years had to pass and 		infinite losses on both sides; and then 		July 2, 1962 independence was obtained --		the Algerian Nation was born."  				VOICES 		Ta-hia el-Djez-air! 		Ta-hia el-Djez-air! 		Ta-hia el-Djez-air!  				THE END   Screenplay by Franco Solinas 
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+FADE IN: EXT. TOWNHOUSE GARDEN - WASHINGTON, D.C. - AFTERNOON An afternoon in late November, the leaves have left the trees, and the early darkness of a winter dusk approaches. The garden is long and narrow, guarded on either side by a high brick wall. At one end stands the rear of a three-story brick townhouse; at the other, a one story brick building. CLASSICAL MUSIC is heard in the distance. A MAN, handsomely dressed in a well-tailored suit of the 1920's, works in the garden. A gardener's apron protects his suit from the earth as he turns the loam along one of the walkways. He works slowly,-precisely, obviously engrossed in his surroundings. This man is called CHANCE. Chance stops working for a moment, takes a pocket watch from inside his coat, checks the time. He looks to the darkening skies, returns the watch to his pocket. As Chance starts toward the one story brick building, he takes a spotless rag from his apron pocket and wipes the dirt from the tines of his pitchfork. INT. GARAGE - AFTERNOON The sound of the music increases as Chance enters the garage from the garden. A gleaming 1921 TOURING CAR is revealed as he walks through the garage and leans the pitchfork against a wall. Chance takes a neatly folded cover from a shelf, carefully puts it over the car. When he finishes covering the car for the night, Chance picks up the pitchfork, leaves the garage through a side entry. INT. POTTING ROOM - AFTERNOON The Potting Room is filled with the tools of the gardener, everything arranged in an orderly fashion. Rows of small pots are on tables, young plants sprouting from some of them. A small, 1940's table model black-and-white TV rests on a shelf. It is playing, tuned to the BOSTON POPS ORCHESTRA. Attached to the front of the screen is a wheel containing colored gels. The wheels spins, creates an early form of color TV. As Chance enters, his attention is on the television set. He watches it as he oils the tines of the pitchfork and puts it away. Chance turns off the TV and leaves the room, but the sound of the Boston Pops continues. INT. CHANCE'S ROOM - AFTERNOON A room adjacent to the Potting Room. A large screen remote control color television set dominates the room. It is on, tuned to the Boston Pops. In contrast to the new TV, the rest of the room is sparsely but tastefully decorated with expensive furniture of the twenties. There are no books, magazines, newspapers or reading matter of any kind to be seen. Chance comes in, watches the TV with a detached gaze as he removes his apron. He changes the channel with the remote control as he puts his apron and the pitchfork rag into a laundry bag. He takes off his suit jacket, hangs it in the closet where it is accompanied by several others, all of like quality. Chance changes the channel once again. EXT. GARDEN - NIGHT Chance, wearing a different suit and carrying the laundry bag, crosses from the rear building to the main house. INT. MAIN HOUSE - REAR ENTRANCE/HALLWAY - NIGHT The interior of the main house has the mustiness of age, the warmth of oak. White dropcloths and sheets cover all of the furniture. Chance enters, walks through the hallway. INT. MAIN HOUSE - DINING ROOM - NIGHT A large dropcloth is over the dining room table and chairs. It is neatly folded back at one end, leaving one chair and place setting uncovered. A small portable color TV is next to the place setting. Chance enters, puts his laundry bag on a covered table near the doorway. He sits at the dining room table, turns on the TV, and carefully unfolds his napkin, puts it on his lap as he watches the screen. LOUISE, an elderly black maid, enters with a tray of food and Chance's clean laundry. LOUISE (sets dinner before Chance) ... Evening, Chance. CHANCE (slowly, perfect diction, no accent of any kind) ... Good evening, Louise. Louise sets Chance's clean clothes on the small table, picks up his laundry bag. LOUISE ... The Old Man is getting weaker, Chance. CHANCE (begins to eat) I see. LOUISE I'm afraid he's slippin' a bit with every hour that goes by... Chance, his manners impeccable, concentrates on the TV as he eats. A buzzer SOUNDS, Louise looks upstairs. LOUISE (CONT'D) ... Back up those stairs - damn... That Man's needin' me more and more just before he never needs me again... CHANCE (still watches TV) Is his back feeling better? Louise gives Chance a look. LOUISE ... Gobbledegook... You and your gobbledegook. You're gonna be the death of me yet, Chance... (she turns to leave) ... Unless those stairs are... The Good Lord's liable to snatch up two unwillin' souls at the same time if I keep on trampin' up those stairs... I don't want none of that... Louise disappears through the doorway. Chance continues to eat and watch TV. INT. CHANCE'S ROOM - DAWN Chance is asleep, lying on his back. His eyes slowly open, and, with no change of expression, he sits up and turns on the TV with the remote control. Chance gets out of bed, goes to the dresser and takes his pocket watch out of a drawer, checks the time. He crosses to the closet, his eyes never straying from an early morning show on television. He puts on a bathrobe and leaves the room. INT. POTTING ROOM - DAWN Chance enters, turns on the TV with the spinning color wheel, then waters a few of the pots with a sprinkling can. He turns off the TV and exits. INT. GARAGE - DAWN Chance comes into the garage, takes the cover off of the touring car, folds it and puts it on a shelf. He leaves the garage. INT. CHANCE'S ROOM - DAWN Chance returns to his room, changes channels on the television, takes off his robe and hangs it back up in the closet, then goes into the bathroom. EXT. GARDEN - MORNING A light snow is falling. The door to the small building opens, Chance peeks out, then goes back inside. A few seconds pass and Chance reappears, this time with an umbrella. Smartly dressed in suit and tie, he crosses to the main house. INT. MAIN HOUSE - REAR ENTRANCE/HALLWAY - MORNING Chance opens the door, shakes off and closes the umbrella before entering. He hangs the umbrella on a doorknob, then heads for the dining room. INT. DINING ROOM - MORNING Repeating his ritual, Chance enters the dining room, sits, turns on the TV, carefully spreads his napkin on his lap. He watches the screen for a moment, then turns, expecting Louise. She doesn't appear, so he turns back, watches TV. After a few beats, Chance hears Louise's footsteps hurrying down the stairs. She comes into the dining room, visibly distraught. Chance looks up, smiles. CHANCE Good morning, Louise. LOUISE (out of breath) He's dead, Chance! The Old Man's dead! CHANCE (flatly, turns back to TV) ... I see. LOUISE Must of happened durin' the night, I don't know... Lord, he wasn't breathin' and as cold as a fish. I touched him, just to see, and you believe me, Chance - that's doin' more than I get paid to do... Then I just covered him up, pulled the sheet over his head... CHANCE (nodding) Yes. I've seen that done. LOUISE Then I got the hell out of that room and called the doctor and I think I woke him probably, he wasn't any too alert. He just said, 'Yeah, he's been expectin' it and said he'd send somebody over...' Lord, what a mornin'! CHANCE (watches news, flashes of season's first snowfall) ... Yes, Louise, it's snowing in the garden today. Have you looked outside and seen the snow? It's very white. A beat of silence from Louise, then anger. LOUISE Dammit, Boy! Is that all you got to say? More gobbledegook? (Chance smiles, is silent) That Old Man's layin' up there dead as hell and it just don't make any difference to you! CHANCE (with a smile, accepting death) Yes, Louise. I have seen it often. It happens to old people. LOUISE Well, ain't that the truth... CHANCE Yes. It is. Louise throws back the cover from a chair next to Chance and sits, softening a bit toward him. LOUISE Oh, Lord, Chance - I don't know what I was expectin' from you... I'm sorry for yellin' like I did... No sir, I just don't know what I was expectin' ... (Chance doesn't react, watches TV) ... I 'spose I'd better gather up some breakfast for you... CHANCE (a turn to her) Yes, I'm very hungry. LOUISE (rises, looks upstairs) Well, no more stewin' those prunes every mornin', that's somethin', I guess... (she starts out, stops by the door) ... what are you goin' to do now, Chance? CHANCE (gazing at TV) I'm going to work in the garden. Louise gives Chance a long look, then turns to leave. LOUISE (as she goes) ... I'll get you some eggs. Chance nods in approval, then changes the channel on the TV. INT. MAIN HOUSE - SERVANT'S STAIRWAY - MORNING An enclosed stairway. Chance enters, proceeds up the stairs. INT. MAIN HOUSE - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - MORNING Chance comes out of a doorway adjoining the main staircase. He moves off down the hall. INT. MAIN HOUSE - OLD MAN'S ROOM - MORNING The furniture in this room is not covered with sheets but the Old Man is. There is a polite knock at the door, then Chance enters the room. As Chance moves slowly to the Old Man's bed, we sense a feeling of respect from Chance, as well as a bit of curiosity. Chance stands by the side of the bed for a moment, then he reaches down and gently pulls the sheet back from the Old Man's face. He touches the man's forehead, lightly, briefly, then replaces the sheet. Chance moves to the TV (like the one in his own room) and turns it on. He sits in an easy chair next to the Old man's bed and watches a movie from the early forties. Chance puts an arm out, rests it on the Old Man's covered body. With the other, he changes the channels with the remote control. He returns to the channel with the forties movie and seems to become absorbed in a scene in which a gentleman tips his hat to a lady. The scene seems to have 'sunk into' his mind. EXT. GARDEN - MORNING It has stopped snowing. Chance, wearing a hat, the gardening apron over his suit and boots, putters in the garden. Louise comes out of the main house. She is dressed warmly, a scarf over her head, a heavy coat. Chance sees her, tips his hat to Louise exactly like the man he saw on television. LOUISE ... Well, ain't you the gentleman this mornin'... (a pause) ... gotta go now, Chance... CHANCE (resumes working) Yes. LOUISE You're gonna need somebody, someone's gotta be around for you, boy... (he keeps working) ... You oughta find yourself a lady, Chance... (she smiles slightly, with caring) But I guess it oughta be an old lady, 'cause you ain't gonna do a young one any good, not with that little thing of yours... (she reaches out, puts a hand on his shoulder) ... You're always gonna be a little boy, ain't you? (he smiles, keeps working) ... Goodbye, Chance... Louise gives his shoulder a squeeze, turns and moves toward the house. CHANCE (as she goes) Goodbye, Louise. Louise waves as she enters the townhouse. Chance tips his hat once again as she disappears. INT. MAIN HOUSE - FRONT HALLWAY - MORNING Louise enters the hallway, picks up a couple of suit cases waiting by the door. She stops as she sees TWO MEN in white carrying a stretcher down the main staircase. She notices the ease with which they bring the Old Man's body down the stairs. LOUISE ... He used to be a big man... 'Spose he wasted away to about nothin'... (a beat - then she talks to the body of the old Man) ... I guess I'll be goin' off to find me some folks, Old Man... I'm not batty enough to stay around this neighborhood any longer... The stretcher bearers move to the front door. Louise steps in front of them. LOUISE (CONT'D) (to stretcher bearers) Wait up! I'm goin' out that door first. Louise takes one more look at the covered body, then opens the front door, leaves. INT. CHANCE'S ROOM - DAY The TV plays offstage as Chance washes up in the bathroom. He finishes, comes into the bedroom, takes a pair of house slippers from his closet, turns off the television and leaves the room. EXT. GARDEN - DAY Chance, carrying his slippers, crosses through the layer of fresh snow to the townhouse. INT. DINING ROOM - DAY Chance, wearing the slippers, enters and sits at his place. He turns on the TV, puts the napkin on his lap. He watches TV for a moment, then turns, looks for Louise. She does not appear so he resumes watching TV. He changes channels, views a wildly exciting FOOTBALL game. At a peak in the excitement, he again switches channels. Chance watches TV News coverage of the PRESIDENT of the United States greeting foreign dignitaries at the White House. CLOSE SHOTS on television reveal that the President uses a two-handed handshake when meeting his guests. Unconsciously, Chance grips one hand with the other, the scene on TV seeming to have 'sunk into' his mind. INT. TOWNHOUSE - FRONT HALLWAY - DAY A key is heard in the lock. The door opens and THOMAS FRANKLIN and SALLY HAYES enter. Franklin, an attorney, is in his late thirties, carries a large briefcase. Hayes is younger, attractive, also an attorney. She totes a briefcase, has the look of a modern, liberated woman. Hayes appears to be surprised at the interior of the house. HAYES (looks around) ... This is another world, Tom - I never would have believed it... FRANKLIN Yeah... He and my father used to ride together back in the thirties... Fox hunting... Before I was born... HAYES ... Would you take me on a tour? FRANKLIN Gladly... (he smiles) ... The safe is in Mr. Jennings' bedroom, that'll be stop number one. Franklin puts a hand on Hayes' shoulder as they,go off down the hall. INT. DINING ROOM - DAY Chance still watches TV, waits for Louise to serve him. Franklin and Hayes appear in the doorway of the dining room. They are both surprised to see Chance. FRANKLIN ... Why... Hello, we thought we heard something... (moves to Chance, hand outstretched) I'm Thomas Franklin. Chance remains seated, takes Franklin's hand warmly in both of his like the President did on TV. CHANCE Hello, Thomas... I'm Chance, the gardener. FRANKLIN (a beat) ... The gardener? (thinks it's a joke, laughs) ... Yes, of course... Mr. Chance, this is Ms. Hayes. Hayes moves to shake Chance's hand. HAYES Mr. Chance, I'm very pleased to meet you. CHANCE (doesn't rise, again shakes with both hands) Yes. Chance turns back to the TV and Hayes and Franklin exchange looks. FRANKLIN (after an uneasy pause) ... We're with Franklin, Jennings and Roberts, the law firm handling the estate. CHANCE (a smile, totally at ease) Yes, Thomas - I understand. Another period of silence. Franklin and Hayes seem perplexed. FRANKLIN ... Are you waiting for someone? An appointment? CHANCE Yes. I'm waiting for my lunch. FRANKLIN Your lunch? You have a luncheon appointment here? CHANCE Yes. Louise will bring me lunch. FRANKLIN Louise?... The maid?... (a look to Hayes) But she should have left earlier today... CHANCE (smiles at Hayes) I see... FRANKLIN (a beat) ... You've quite a sense of humor, Mr. Chance - but all kidding aside, may I ask just what you are doing here? CHANCE I live here. FRANKLIN You live here? (a look to Hayes) ... We don't have any record of that. CHANCE Yes. It's very cold outside today, isn't it, Thomas? FRANKLIN (a beat) ... How long have you been living here? CHANCE Ever since I can remember, since I was a child. FRANKLIN (doubting) Since you were a child? CHANCE Yes, Thomas. I have always been here. I have always worked in the garden. HAYES ... Then you really are a gardener? CHANCE Yes. HAYES Your appearance doesn't suggest that at all, Mr. Chance. CHANCE Oh. Thank you. FRANKLIN Do you have any proof of your employment, Mr. Chance - any checks from the deceased, any contracts or documents? CHANCE No. FRANKLIN How were you compensated for these duties you say you performed? CHANCE Compensated...? FRANKLIN How were you paid? CHANCE I was given meals, and a home... HAYES What about money? CHANCE I never needed money. Franklin steps to the TV, turns it off. FRANKLIN Mr. Chance, perhaps you could show us some identification with your address -- a Driver's License, a credit card, checkbook? CHANCE No, I do not have any of those. FRANKLIN Then how about medical records? Could you give us the name of your doctor, or your dentist? CHANCE I have no need for a doctor or dentist. I have never been ill. I have never been allowed outside of this house, and, except for Joe, I have never had any visitors. FRANKLIN ... Joe? Who's Joe? CHANCE (turns TV back on) Joe Saracini. He was a mason that did some repairs on the brickwork at the rear of the house. That was in 1952. FRANKLIN 1952...? CHANCE (changes channels) Yes. I remember when he came. He was very fat and had short hair and showed me some pictures from a funny little book. HAYES Some pictures...? CHANCE Yes. Of men and women. HAYES ... Oh. FRANKLIN Mr. Chance, that was twenty-seven years ago. CHANCE Yes and the Old Man used to come to my garden. He would read and rest there. FRANKLIN Come now, Mr. Jennings had been bedridden for thirty-five years, since he fractured his spine. CHANCE Yes, Thomas, that is correct. Then he stopped visiting my garden. FRANKLIN (a beat) ... We shall need some proof of your having resided here, Mr. Chance. CHANCE You have me, I am here. What more proof do you need? Franklin and Hayes exchange looks. INT. TOWNHOUSE - REAR ENTRANCE/HALLWAY - AFTERNOON Chance puts on his snow-boots as Franklin and Hayes continue their questioning. FRANKLIN Have you served in the Army? CHANCE No, Thomas. But I have seen the Army on television. HAYES How about taxes, Mr. Chance, surely you must have paid taxes? CHANCE No. Chance picks up his slippers and leads the attorneys outside. EXT. GARDEN - AFTERNOON Chance describes his garden with pride as they walk toward the rear building. CHANCE (points) Those trees were very young when I first arrived. FRANKLIN Are you related to the deceased, Mr. Chance? CHANCE No, I don't think so. And I have planted and shaped all the hedges, and in the springtime you will be able to see my flowers. HAYES Might you have a birth certificate, Mr. Chance? CHANCE No. (points to wall) That's where Joe fixed the bricks. They arrive at the rear building and Chance opens the door to the garage. Franklin and Hayes follow him inside. INT. GARAGE - AFTERNOON Franklin and Hayes are taken aback by the touring car. FRANKLIN (admires car) ... Do you drive this, Mr. Chance? CHANCE No, Thomas. I have never been in an automobile. HAYES (amazed) You never been in a car? Chance is silent for a moment, he blushes slightly. CHANCE ... Well... From time to time I did sit in it... Just in here... It hasn't been outside since the Old Man hurt himself. (he turns) I live in here. Chance moves toward his room, Franklin and Hayes follow. INT. CHANCE'S ROOM - AFTERNOON Chance sits on the bed to remove his boots as Hayes and Franklin inspect the room. CHANCE The Old Man gave me nice television sets, this one has remote control. (he turns it on with the remote) He has one just like it. FRANKLIN Mr. Chance, the fact remains that we have no information of your having any connection with the deceased. CHANCE Yes, I understand. Chance puts on his slippers, crosses to the closet, opens the door. It is filled with men's wear. CHANCE I am allowed to go to the attic and select any of the Old Man's suits. They all fit me very well. I can also take his shirts, shoes and coats. HAYES It is quite amazing how those clothes have come back into style. CHANCE Yes. I have seen styles on television. FRANKLIN (getting back to business) What are your plans now, Mr. Chance? CHANCE I would like to stay and work in my garden. Chance turns to watch TV. Franklin takes Hayes to a side of the room. FRANKLIN (quietly) ... What do you make of all this? HAYES I really don't know, Tom - he seems so honest and simple... In a way, he's quite charming... FRANKLIN (looks at Chance) ... Yeah... HAYES ... It's very bizarre - I don't know what to think... FRANKLIN Well... He's either very, very bright or very, very dense - he's hard to figure... (he unzips briefcase) ... Let's just keep everything legal. Franklin takes out some papers, approaches Chance. FRANKLIN Mr. Chance, assuming what you say is the truth, I would like to know what sort of claim you are planning to make against the deceased's estate. CHANCE (does not understand) I'm fine, Thomas. The garden is a healthy one. There is no need for a claim. FRANKLIN Good. That's good. Then if you would please sign a paper to that effect. Franklin hands the release to Chance but Chance does not take it. CHANCE No, Thomas. I don't know how to sign. FRANKLIN Come now, Mr. Chance. CHANCE (smiles) I have no claim, Thomas. FRANKLIN But you won't sign, correct? CHANCE Correct. FRANKLIN Very well, Mr. Chance - if you insist on dragging this matter on... But I must inform you this house will be closed tomorrow at noon. If indeed, you do reside here, you will have to move out. CHANCE Move out? I don't understand, Thomas. FRANKLIN I think you do, Mr. Chance. However, I will reiterate, this house is closed and you must leave... (he gives Chance his business card) Call me if you change your mind about signing. (turns to Hayes) C'mon, Sally - let's grab a bite... HAYES (a smile to Chance) Good day, Mr. Chance. CHANCE (returns smile) Good day, Sally. Chance watches as they leave, then puts Franklin's card on a desk without ever looking at it and turns to stare at television. INT. TOWNHOUSE - ATTIC - AFTERNOON A large attic filled with the Old Man's possessions of the past. Chance enters, turns on an old black-and-white TV with a magnifying lens attached to the front. As it plays, he selects a fine leather suitcase from several, takes a hand made suit from a long rack. INT. CHANCE'S ROOM - AFTERNOON The TV is on as Chance packs his belongings. EXT. GARDEN - AFTERNOON Chance, very nicely dressed, comes out of the rear building carrying his suitcase. He stops on occasion to inspect his garden as he walks toward the townhouse. INT. TOWNHOUSE - FRONT HALLWAY - AFTERNOON Chance is reluctant to open the front door. After some hesitation, he gathers up his courage, opens it and steps outside, closing the door behind him. EXT. FRONT OF TOWNHOUSE - AFTERNOON Chance stops short on the front steps; the townhouse is situated in a decaying ghetto. The snow is a dirty grey, houses adjoining have their windows shattered, are smeared with grafitti. Chance tries to return to the safety of the townhouse, but the door is locked. He stands on the steps for a moment, then moves to the trash laden sidewalk. He stops, ponders which way to go, finally makes up his mind and moves off to his left. EXT. GHETTO STREET - AFTERNOON The buildings are crumbling, rusted out cars line the street. A group of Black people huddle together in threadbare stuffed furniture on the sidewalk, a fire burning between them for warmth. Chance rounds the corner, walks up to them. He stands by them, smiles. They stare back, no sign of friendship in their faces. Chance nods politely to them, then walks away down the sidewalk. EXT. GHETTO STREET - WASHINGTON, D.C. - AFTERNOON A group of eight to ten hard-core ghetto youths hang out on a corner. Other passersby give them a wide berth, they are unapproachable. Chance nears the group, approaches. CHANCE (friendly) ... Excuse me, would you please tell me where I could find a garden to work in? They turn to him as one, silent, amazed that this White trespasser would intrude on their jiving. CHANCE (CONT'D) (after a beat) ... There is much to be done during the winter, I must start the seeds for the spring, I must work the soil... One of the Black youths, LOLO, interrupts Chance. LOLO What you growin', man? The leader of the gang, ABBAZ, shuts up Lolo with an elbow and moves menacingly forward. ABBAZ (nose to nose with Chance) ... What you doin' here, boy? CHANCE I had to leave my garden. I want to find another. ABBAZ Bullshit. Who sent you here, boy? Did that chickenshit asshole Raphael send you here, boy? CHANCE No. Thomas Franklin told me that I had to leave the Old Man's house, he's dead now, you know... ABBAZ Dead, my ass! Now get this, honkie - you go tell Raphael that I ain't takin' no jive from no Western Union messenger! You tell that asshole, if he got somethin' to tell me to get his ass here himself! (edges closer to Chance) You got that, boy? Chance smiles at Abbaz and reaches into his pocket. CHANCE Yes. I understand. (he takes out his remote control TV changer) If I see Raphael I will tell him. Chance points the changer at Abbaz and clicks it three times, tries to change the picture. Abbaz immediately pulls out a switchblade, whips the blade open. ABBAZ (holds knife at Chance) Now, move, honkie! Before I cut your white ass! Chance, disappointed that the changer did not work, returns it to his pocket. CHANCE Yes. Of course. (as he leaves) Good day. Abbaz, Lolo and the gang watch him go, then begin to buzz with excitement: "Who the fuck died?" "Why'd he pull that changer on us, man?" "The Old Man died, must be Papa Joe!" "He's some weird honkie, man." EXT. CHINATOWN - WASHINGTON, D.C. - AFTERNOON A Bulletin board affixed to a storefront in Chinatown. Chance gazes at the notes pinned to it, written in Chinese. Smiling, he turns from it, walks on through the area. EXT. PORNO AREA - WASHINGTON, D.C. - AFTERNOON A street lined with adult book stores, X-rated movies and strip joints. An elderly Black woman approaches carrying a bag of groceries. Chance steps in front of the woman, stops her. CHANCE I'm very hungry now. Would you please bring me my lunch? The woman looks up to Chance, becomes very frightened. She turns and half-runs into a sleazy bar for safety. Chance watches after her for a moment, then continues along. EXT. PARK - WASHINGTON, D.C. - AFTERNOON Chance stands looking through a chain-link fence watching some teenage boys playing basketball. He bangs on the fence, calls to them. CHANCE I have seen your game! I have watched Elvin Hayes play it many times! They call him "Big E!" The boys ignore him, Chance walks away. EXT. WASHINGTON, D.C. STREET - LATE AFTERNOON Chance walks down the center meridian of a divided street. He seems oblivious to the automobiles passing on either side. In the background can be seen the Washington Monument. EXT. WASHINGTON, D.C. STREET - LATE AFTERNOON Chance seems stumped on which way to go. He looks up one street, then the other, has no idea where they lead. He turns, looks behind him and sees a large statue of Benito Juarez pointing. Chance smiles and goes off in the direction that Benito points. EXT. REAR OF THE WHITE HOUSE - DUSK Tourists are gathered around gaping through the fence at the White House. Chance is turned the other way, inspecting the branches of a dying tree. Chance moves to a POLICEMAN standing nearby. CHANCE Excuse me... (points to tree) ... That tree is very sick. It should be cared for. The Policeman looks at the tree, then at Chance, figures a man dressed that well must be important. POLICEMAN Yes sir. I'll report it right away. CHANCE Yes. That would be a good thing to do. Good day. POLICEMAN Good day. The Policeman takes out his walkie-talkie as Chance walks away. EXT. BUSINESS DISTRICT - EVENING A fashionable area. Expensive shops, well-kept streets and sidewalks. A television store has caught Chance's eye. He stands by the display window, looks in at a dozen or so color TVs, all turned on, playing various channels. A video camera points outward from a corner of the window and is focused on the sidewalk to allow potential customers to see themselves live on an Advent TV. Chance is intrigued by his own image. He poses, lifts one arm, then the other to make sure that it is really him on television. He moves forward, smiles, then moves slowly backward, notices himself become smaller on the screen. He steps back off the curb, frowns as his likeness disappears from frame on the Advent. Standing between two parked cars, Chance takes out his remote control, clicks it at the Advent. Four or five other sets in the window change channels, but he does not reappear on the giant screen. As he does this, the car to his,left, a large, American-made limousine, backs up. The car bumps Chance, pins him against the car to his right. Chance cries out in pain, drops his suitcase, his changer, and bangs his hand on the trunk of the limo. The chauffeur, DAVID, and the liveryman, JEFFREY, immediately jump from the car, run back to Chance. DAVID I'm very sorry, sir... I... David and Jeffrey reach out to help, but Chance is wedged solidly between the two cars. CHANCE (in pain) ... I can't move... My leg... DAVID (rushes back to limo) ... My Lord... JEFFREY This is terrible, sir - I hope you're not badly injured... CHANCE No. I'm not badly injured. But my leg is very sore. David pulls the car forward, freeing Chance. A few bystanders begin to gather as Jeffrey helps Chance to the sidewalk. JEFFREY Can you walk? It's not broken, is it? CHANCE (leans against limo, holds leg) It's very sore. David gets out of the car, comes back. DAVID Perhaps I should call an ambulance. A BYSTANDER interrupts. BYSTANDER Somebody ought to call the police! CHANCE (looks over, smiles) There's no need for police, it's just my leg. During this, the rear door of the limo opens and EVE RAND steps out. Eve is in her late thirties, has the look of a traditional New England lady. She watches as Jeffrey tends to Chance. JEFFREY I don't think we should call anyone just yet, it may not even be all that serious. CHANCE (obviously hurting) I agree. JEFFREY Let's have a look, do you mind? CHANCE Of course. I would like to look. Chance bends, raises his trouser leg. A red-bluish swollen bruise, three inches in diameter, is forming on his calf. JEFFREY It's starting to swell, is it painful? CHANCE Yes. Eve moves closer to Chance, looks at the bruise. EVE (to Chance) ... Won't you let us do something for you? Your leg should be examined, we could take you to a hospital. CHANCE (smiles at Eve) There's no need for a hospital. EVE Why, there certainly is. You must see a doctor, I insist on it. Please, let us take you. Eve turns to get back into the limo. David goes with her to hold the door. DAVID I'm terribly sorry, Mrs. Rand, I never saw the man. EVE Oh, I don't think it was anyone's fault, David. DAVID Thank you, ma'am. Chance is hesitant about getting in the car. Jeffrey offers a helping hand. JEFFREY Please, sir. CHANCE I've never ridden in an automobile. JEFFREY (a beat) I assure you, sir, David is a very careful driver. Please, won't you let us take you? CHANCE (looks at the car, then decides) ... Yes. You can take me. JEFFREY Very good. Jeffrey assists Chance into the rear seat of the limo. CHANCE (as he gets in) ... My suitcase. JEFFREY Yes sir. I'll take care of that. Jeffrey closes the door, goes back to pick up Chance's suitcase, does not notice the remote control. As Jeffrey puts Chance's bag into the trunk, we see the personalized license plate "RAND l." INT. LIMOUSINE - EVENING Chance and Eve settle in the back seat. As they talk, David starts up the limo, Jeffrey joins him in front and the limo pulls out into traffic. EVE I hope you're comfortable. CHANCE Yes. I am. EVE These can be such trying situations everyone seems to make such a to-do over a simple little accident. Of course, they can be very frightening, and I must apologize for David, he's never had an accident before. CHANCE Yes. He's a very careful driver. EVE ... Why, yes, he is... Is your leg feeling any better? CHANCE It's feeling better, but it's still very sore. EVE I see. (a thought) ... Say, would you mind seeing our family doctor? CHANCE (doesn't understand) Your family doctor? EVE Yes. My husband has been very ill. His doctor and nurses are staying with us. Those hospitals can be so impersonal - why, it might be hours before you are treated... CHANCE I agree. EVE Fine, it will save a lot of unnecessary fuss and it will be so much more pleasant for you... (leans forward) David, we'll just go on home. Jeffrey, would you call and let them know? JEFFREY Yes ma'am. Eve presses a button, the glass partition closes. As the window rolls up behind him, Jeffrey dials the limo telephone. There is a moment of silence. Eve, still a bit on edge from the accident and feeling a bit uncomfortable with a stranger in the car, presses another button. The limo's bar moves out, revealing a row of decanters and glasses. EVE Would you care for a drink? CHANCE Yes. Thank you. As Eve pours cognac into a monogrammed crystal glass, Chance notices the limo's TV set. CHANCE (CONT'D) I would like to watch television. EVE (a bit surprised) Oh? Certainly... She hands Chance the cognac, turns on the TV. EVE (CONT'D) Oh, by the way - I'm Eve Rand. CHANCE Hello, Eve. Chance takes a sip of the cognac, is not accustomed to alcohol, coughs. There is another moment of silence. EVE May I ask your name? CHANCE (with a slight cough) My name is Chance. EVE Pardon me, was that Mr. Chance? CHANCE (still indistinct) No. I'm a gardener. EVE Oh... Mr. Gardiner... Mr. Chauncey Gardiner... You're not related to Basil and Perdita Gardiner are you? CHANCE No, Eve. I'm not related to Basil and Perdita. EVE Oh. Well, they're just a wonderful couple, we've been friends for years. We visit their island quite often. Chance reaches out to change the channel on the TV, suddenly realizes he doesn't have his remote control. He starts going through his pockets, searches for it. EVE (CONT'D) Did you lose something? CHANCE Yes. I lost my remote control. EVE Oh... Well, I'm very sorry... Another pause, Chance reaches out, changes channels on TV. EVE (CONT'D) ... I'll feel so relieved after Dr. Allenby examines your leg. After that, David can run you on home, or to your office or wherever you'd prefer... (Chance still watches TV) ... Is there anything special you would like to watch? CHANCE I like to watch. This is fine. Chance watches the news. Eve sips on her cognac as David eases the limo out of the city of Washington. EXT. HIGHWAY - WOODED AREA - NIGHT The limo approaches, then turns into the entrance-way of the Rand Estate. Two guards stand on either side of the open gate, salute as the car passes through. EXT. RAND DRIVE - NIGHT The drive runs alongside a stream, then turns and crosses a large meadow. The limousine passes, still no sign of the house. It is a very, very long driveway. INT. LIMOUSINE - NIGHT Chance is glued to the TV, switches channels, again watches the news. Eve takes his fascination with television as a sign of intelligence. EVE I can see that it must be very important for you to stay informed of all the latest events. CHANCE Yes. EVE I admire that in a person. As for myself, I find there is so much to assimilate that it can become quite muddling at times... Chance nods, changes the channel, watches a Mighty Mouse cartoon. Eve looks at him perplexed, then takes it for a joke and smiles. EXT. RAND MANSION - NIGHT Two uniformed valets, WILSON and PERKINS, await the limousines by the front door of the Rand mansion. Wilson stands behind a wheelchair. As the limo parks, Perkins and Jeffrey assist Chance into the chair. Wilson turns to Eve as she gets out of the limo. WILSON Good evening, Mrs. Rand. EVE Good evening, Wilson. WILSON I shall take the gentleman to the third floor guest suite, ma'am. Dr. Allenby is standing by. EVE Thank you, Wilson. That will be fine. Perkins and Jeffrey carry Chance in the chair up the steps and into the house. Eve and Wilson follow. INT. RAND MANSION - FRONT HALLWAY - NIGHT Once inside the house, Wilson takes over wheeling Chance. A lady, GRETA, is waiting to take Eve's coat. EVE Thank you, Greta. (to Wilson) I'll be with Mr. Rand if I'm needed. WILSON Yes, ma'am. EVE (to Chance) I'll see you after the doctor has a look at your leg, Mr. Gardiner. CHANCE (looking around mansion) Yes, I think he should examine my leg. Eve watches as Wilson wheels Chance around a corner. INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT The doors open, Wilson pushes Chance into the elevator. As Wilson pushes a button and the doors close on them, a strange look comes over Chance's face. CHANCE (looks to Wilson) ... I've never been in one of these. Wilson thinks that Chance is talking about the wheelchair. WILSON It's one of Mr. Rand's. Since he's been ill... Chance looks around the elevator. CHANCE Does it have a television? WILSON (laughs) No - but Mr. Rand does have one with an electric motor, that way he can get around by himself. CHANCE I see. Chance again checks out the elevator. CHANCE (CONT'D) How long do we stay in here? WILSON How long? I don't know, see what the doctor says ... The elevator stops on the third floor. INT. RAND MANSION - HALLWAY - NIGHT A hallway adjoining a large, glass-enclosed room. Eve passes through the hall, enters the room. INT. BENJAMIN RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT Eve enters into a hermetically sealed area, set up with all the latest hospital emergency gear; oxygen, EKG machine, X ray machine, transfusion equipment, sterilizers, etc. BENJAMIN RAND, wearing a silk bathrobe, lies in a king-sized bed in the center of the room. A nurse, CONSTANCE, is attending to her duties in the room, looks up as Eve comes in. CONSTANCE Good evening, Mrs. Rand. EVE Good evening, Constance. Ben Rand perks up as he sees Eve crossing to him. He is in his sixties, maintains an inner strength and dignity despite the sapping effects of his illness. RAND (with weakness) ... Eve... Eve kisses him, holds his hand. EVE Oh, Ben - I miss you so when I'm out... How are you feeling? RAND Tired... And I'm getting tired of being so tired. Other than that, I'm doing very well. EVE No headaches? RAND No, it's been a good day - better than yours, from what I've been told. EVE (holds his hand against her cheek) You heard? RAND I may be a shut-in, but I do not lack for news. I'm sorry you had to go through all that. EVE Oh, it wasn't all that bad, darling. We were fortunate that Mr. Gardiner turned out to be so reasonable. RAND Reasonable? Good, I'd like to meet a reasonable man. Why don't you ask this Gardiner to join us for dinner? EVE (sits on the side of the bed) Do you feel well enough for that? RAND (smiles) Hah!... Tell me the truth, Eve - if I wait until I feel better, will I ever meet the man? There is silence from Eve. Rand squeezes her hand, turns to Constance. RAND (CONT'D) Constance! I want new blood tonight, I'm getting up for dinner. CONSTANCE But, Mr. Rand... RAND Don't argue, tell Robert I want new blood! (turns to Eve) ... Ask him to dinner. Rand pulls Eve's hand close, kisses it. INT. EAST WING GUEST SUITE - NIGHT An enormous bedroom, filled with 18th Century antique furniture. DR. ROBERT ALLENBY dabs Chance's ass with a piece of cotton soaked in alcohol, prior to an injection. Chance stands with his pants to the floor, looks to the television which is not turned on. ALLENBY The injection will ease the pain and swelling, Mr. Gardiner. CHANCE I understand. I've seen it done before. ALLENBY Now, you'll barely feel this. It won't hurt at all. Allenby administers the injection, Chance reacts from the pain. CHANCE You were wrong, it did hurt. ALLENBY (a chuckle) But not for long... As Allenby puts a band-aid on Chance's ass, Chance spots a remote control for the TV on the bedside table. He reaches out, picks it up. ALLENBY (CONT'D) It's good that there was no apparent damage to the bone. CHANCE Yes. I think so, too. ALLENBY However, with injuries such as this, I have run into minor hemorrhaging, which really isn't too serious at the time, but can cause secondary problems if not looked after. CHANCE I see. Chance turns on the TV. ALLENBY (a look to the TV, then to Chance) You can pull your trousers up, now. CHANCE Oh, fine. ALLENBY (as Chance pulls up pants) Just to take the proper precautions, Mr. Gardiner, I'd recommend we take you downstairs and X-ray your leg. (no reaction from Chance, Allenby takes a long look at him) ... By the way, Mr. Gardiner, I would like to ask you something straight out. CHANCE (doesn't understand) ... Straight out? ALLENBY Yes. Are you planning on making any sort of claim against the Rand's? CHANCE (after a beat) Claim...? ... Oh, claim, that's what Thomas asked me. ALLENBY Thomas? Who's Thomas? CHANCE Thomas Franklin, an attorney. ALLENBY An attorney? CHANCE (turns back to TV) Yes. ALLENBY (suddenly very cold) Then you wish to handle this matter through your attorneys? CHANCE There's no need for a claim, the garden is a healthy one. ALLENBY (gives Chance a look) Oh, I see... (warms up) ... Well, then... You're a very funny man, Mr. Gardiner. You caught me off guard, I must admit... CHANCE (changes channels, sits on bed) Thank you. ALLENBY Good, keep your weight off that leg, Mr. Gardiner. In fact, it would be best if you could stay here for a day or two, if that would be would be possible. Since Benjamin became ill we have our own hospital downstairs. I can promise you the finest in care, unless, of course, you would prefer to go elsewhere. CHANCE Yes, I could stay here. Thank you. ALLENBY Fine. Would you like me to speak to your personal physician? CHANCE No. Allenby waits for Chance to say more, he does not. Finally, Allenby picks up his bag, heads for the door. ALLENBY (stops by door) I'll send Wilson up to take you for X-rays, Mr. Gardiner. Feel free to use the telephone, and please let me know if you have any discomfort. CHANCE (clicking changer) Yes, I will. Allenby gives him a look, then leaves. Chance watches an old movie of a man lighting a cigar. The man enjoys the cigar, blows out smoke. The scene seems to 'sink into' Chance's mind. EXT. MANSION - PATIO - NIGHT Eve sits next to a roaring patio fireplace with a steaming cup of tea. Allenby comes outside, joins her. ALLENBY Good God, Eve - you'll freeze out here. EVE I wanted some fresh air, Robert. How is Mr. Gardiner? ALLENBY A rather large contusion, but I don't feel there is any serious damage. I'd like to keep an eye on him, though - I suggested that he stay here for a couple of days. EVE Stay here? Is that necessary? ALLENBY Not necessary, but preferable. I don't think he'll be a bother, he seems like a most refreshing sort of man. EVE Yes, he is different... Not the kind of person one usually meets in Washington. ALLENBY How true. Mr. Gardiner may be a welcome change of pace. EVE He's very intense, and internal, don't you think? ALLENBY At times, yes. But that's not an uncommon reaction to such an accident. Actually, I found him to have quite a sense of humor. EVE Good. It might be pleasant for a couple of days. (Eve puts down her tea) ... Robert... Is there any improvement...? ALLENBY No, Eve... I'm sorry. Eve is silent for a moment, looks out to the darkness. EVE ... Sometimes when I see Ben I could swear that he's getting stronger... Something that he might say, the way he moves, or a look in his eyes - makes me feel that this is all a nightmare and that he'll be better soon... It's just so hard to believe what's really happening... Allenby reaches out, holds Eve's hand. INT. RAND MANSION - FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT The elevator door opens, Wilson guides Chance in the wheelchair into the hallway. CHANCE (looks back to elevator) ... That is a very small room. WILSON (laughs) Yes sir, I guess that's true smallest room in the house. CHANCE (glancing around) Yes. It seems to be. Wilson takes this as another joke, chuckles as he wheels Chance toward Rand's hospital room. INT. RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT CONSTANCE and another nurse, TERESA, stand by as Rand is being given a transfusion. Rand lifts his head as Wilson wheels Chance into the room. RAND Welcome to Rand Memorial Hospital, Mr. Gardiner. CHANCE (looks around room) ... I see. Wilson pushes Chance to the X-Ray machine, where the technician, BILLINGS, a Black man, waits. As Wilson and Billings help Chance onto the X-Ray table, Chance's face brightens up. CHANCE (CONT'D) I feel very good in here. RAND Sure you do. This ward is air tight, I have a little extra oxygen pumped in, keeps my spirits up. CHANCE Yes. I like that very much. BILLINGS (lining up Chance's leg) This won't take long, Mr. Gardiner. Please hold still when I ask. Chance stares at Billings, reacts to him being Black. CHANCE (to Billings) Do you know Raphael? BILLINGS No sir, I don't believe I do. CHANCE Oh. I have a message for him. BILLINGS Yes, sir. CHANCE A Black man gave me the message. BILLINGS Well, I still don't believe I know the man, Mr. Gardiner. Now, hold still. Rand looks over as Billings takes the X-Ray. RAND Aplastic anemia, Mr. Gardiner - aplastic anemia. Chance smiles to Rand. RAND (CONT'D) Failure of the bone marrow to produce red blood cells... Not a damn thing they can do about it. Oh, they can make me comfortable, prolong my life with steroid therapy and transfusions... And what makes my blood boil, what little I have left, that is, Mr. Gardiner - is that it's generally a young person's disease... Here I am, getting on in years and about to die of a young person's disease... CHANCE (still smiles at Rand) Yes. You look very sick. BILLINGS Hold still, please, Mr. Gardiner. RAND (a laugh) I am very sick, and, as you can see by all this paraphernalia, I am very wealthy. I think I would rather be wealthy and sick than poor and sick. CHANCE (looks around the room) I understand. I've never seen anything like this on television. BILLINGS Please, hold still, Mr. Gardiner. CONSTANCE You too, Mr. Rand, you must stay quiet. Rand lays his head back. RAND ... We're prisoners, Mr. Gardiner - we're prisoners of tubes and technology. CHANCE I agree. RAND (flat on his back) ... You will join us for dinner, won't you, Mr. Gardiner? CHANCE (also flat on his back) Yes. I am very hungry. RAND ... So am I, my boy - so am I. INT. RAND DINING ROOM - NIGHT THURMAND, a waiter, and MARIANNE, a waitress, enter into the Rand dining room carrying trays of food. The dining room is immense, a 70-foot ceiling, huge fireplace. Allenby, Eve, Rand, and Chance (both in wheelchairs) sit around the table. Rand speaks slowly, with obvious weakness. RAND I know exactly what you mean. Today the businessman is at the mercy of kid-lawyers from the SEC. All they want to do is regulate our natural growth! It's happening across the country! ALLENBY To everyone, I'm afraid. The Government controls are so restricting that the Medical Profession, as we know it, is being legislated out of existence. RAND Of course! By kid-lawyers! Eve turns to Chance. EVE Won't your injury prevent you from attending to business, Mr. Gardiner? CHANCE No. It won't do that. EVE ... Would you like us to notify anyone for you? CHANCE No. The Old Man died and Louise left. There is a moment of silence. EVE Oh. I'm very sorry. Well, if you have any need for any of our facilities, please do not hesitate to ask. RAND Do you need a secretary? CHANCE No, thank you. My house has been closed. RAND Oh. When you say 'Your house has been closed', you mean to say that your business was shut down? CHANCE Yes. Shut down and locked by the attorneys. RAND What'd I tell you? Kid-lawyers! The S.E.C.! Damn them! EVE I hope that staying here won't be an inconvenience for you. CHANCE No. I like it here. RAND That's good, Mr. Gardiner. Or may I call you Chauncey? CHANCE (agreeable to being called Chauncey) Yes. Chauncey is fine. RAND And I'm Ben. ALLENBY (smiles to Chance) ... And please call me Robert. CHANCE Yes, Robert. I will. RAND So tell me, Chauncey, what are your plans now? Chance looks around the room. CHANCE Does this house have a garden? Allenby gives Chance a look. RAND Do we have a garden? Hah! Tomorrow, Chauncey, you will see our gardens. CHANCE I see. I would like to work in your garden. EVE (laughs) Oh, I know exactly what you mean. I sometimes enjoy puttering around myself, such a pleasant way to forget one's troubles. CHANCE I am a very good gardener. RAND A gardener! Well put, Chauncey excellent! Isn't that what a businessman is? A gardener? A person that makes flinty soil productive with the labor of his own hands, who waters it with the sweat from his own brow, and who creates a place of value for his family and community? Yes, Chauncey, what a brilliant metaphor -- yes, indeed, a productive businessman is a laborer in his own vineyard. CHANCE Thank you, Ben. The garden that I left was such a place. Everything which grew there was with the labor of my own hands. I planted seeds and watered them and watched everything grow. RAND (weakly) Bravo! CHANCE But I don't have that any more... (points to ceiling) ... All that's left for me now is the room upstairs. RAND Now, wait a minute, Chauncey you are young, you are healthy, for God's sake don't give up on yourself! You have to fight! You can't let those bastards keep you down! I don't want to hear any more from you about the 'Room Upstairs'. That's where I'm going soon. There is a long pause. Chance looks up, then smiles at Rand. CHANCE It's a very pleasant room, Ben. RAND (laughs) Yes, I'm sure it is. That's what they say, anyway. Another period of silence. The servants bustle around the room as Allenby studies Chance. INT. RAND'S POOL ROOM - NIGHT Allenby opens the door. Rand enters in his electric wheelchair followed by Chance being pushed by Wilson. RAND ... I don't know what you've heard about me, Chauncey, but I'm sure you know everything there is to know. Cigar? Rand holds out humidor to Chance. CHANCE Yes, thank you. (takes cigar) No Ben. I don't know everything about you. Rand smiles as he takes a cigar for himself. RAND ... No, of course you don't. Excuse me for being so presumptuous. No man knows everything about another man - however, very few are honest enough to admit it. ALLENBY That is so true. You're different, Chauncey... Quite different than most men. CHANCE Thank you, Robert. Rand lights his own cigar, then hands an ornate lighter to Chance. RAND (picks up pool cue, weakly strokes the balls) ... You know, Chauncey, there are thousands of American businessmen, large and small, that share your plight. I've been concerned with the situation for some time now. Chance, not knowing to bite off the tip, tries to light the cigar like the man on TV. It will not light. RAND (CONT'D) So I've been thinking about beginning a financial assistance program, Chauncey, to help out American businessmen that have been harassed by inflation, excessive taxation, unions and other indecencies... Allenby watches Chance trying to light the cigar as Rand speaks on, shooting pool as he talks. RAND ... I'd like to offer the decent 'Gardeners' of the business community a helping hand. After all, they are our strongest defense against the pollutants who so threaten our basic freedoms and the well-being of our middle class. Tell me, would you have any thoughts on such a program? Chance puts the unlit cigar in the ashtray, smiles at Allenby, then answers Rand. CHANCE No, Ben. RAND (a smile) Reluctant to speak, eh, Chauncey? Well, I can understand that. When a man loses everything, anger has a tendency to block out reason for a time. Just give it some thought, work with the idea, I'm sure you'll have plenty to say in a few days. CHANCE I could give it some thought, Ben, but my leg is very sore. RAND ... Oh? (looks to Allenby) Robert, take a look, would you? ALLENBY Some pain is to be expected... (bends to Chance, looks at leg) ... And I think what would be best for the two of you is a good night's rest. (checks watch) ... It's late, I'm afraid it's time for my patients to prepare for bed. RAND (puts down pool cue) We have common foes, Chauncey - kid lawyers and our physician! CHANCE I agree. Allenby laughs as he takes Rand's cigar from him, snuffs it in the ashtray. INT. MANSION - ELEVATOR - NIGHT Wilson stands behind Chance in the wheelchair. Chance glances slowly and inquisitively around the elevator. When his eyes meet Wilson's, the valet breaks out in laughter. WILSON (laughing, trying to apologize) ... Sorry, sir - I just couldn't contain myself... I knew you were going to come out with another one of your jests about the elevator... Excuse me, sir... The elevator stops, the door opens. INT. MANSION - THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT Wilson wheels Chance out of the elevator. CHANCE (looks back as the door closes) ... Hmmm... Elevator. WILSON (laughs again) ... Yes sir - elevator! Wilson stops laughing, becomes the stone-faced servant once again as he notices Eve coming out of her bedroom. Wilson stops wheeling Chance, stands stiffly at attention as Eve and Chance talk. EVE Chauncey, I wanted to tell you how dreadful I feel about the accident today, but that I'm delighted that you are staying with us. CHANCE Thank you, Eve - I like this house very much. EVE ... And Ben is just mad about you - you've lifted his spirits so - it's just... Well, it's just a real pleasure having you with us. CHANCE Ben is very ill, Eve - I've seen that before. EVE Yes... I know, Chauncey. CHANCE I like Ben very much... He reminds me of the Old Man... EVE He does...? CHANCE Yes. Are you going to leave and close the house when he dies? Eve is not prepared for such a question. EVE ... Why... No, I don't think so... CHANCE That's good. Chance smiles at Eve and there is a moment of silence before Eve steps back into her bedroom. EVE ... Good night, Chauncey. CHANCE Good night, Eve. Eve closes the door. Wilson wheels Chance down the hallway toward the guest room. EXT. FRONT OF RAND MANSION - MORNING Eve comes out of the house, Jeffrey holds the door for her as she gets into "RAND l." Jeffrey gets in and the limo pulls away. Chance comes out of the front door, walking with a limp. His first view of the Rand grounds in the daylight, he is taken by the extent of the greenery. An attendant, LEWIS, hurries to Chance. LEWIS Did you want a car, sir? CHANCE Yes. I would like a car. LEWIS Yes, sir. Lewis goes to his post, picks up a phone. As Chance looks at the surroundings, Allenby and Wilson, with Chance's wheelchair, come out of the house. ALLENBY (frowns as he sees Chance walking) Chauncey, there you are. What are you doing on that leg? CHANCE It's fine today, Robert. ALLENBY Shame on you, Chauncey - you should let me be the judge of that. (motions to Wilson) Please, sit in the chair. Wilson pushes the wheelchair to Chance, he sits. ALLENBY (CONT'D) (checks leg) I swear, Chauncey, between you and Benjamin, I've got my hands full... (looks at calf) ... Say, that is coming along, the swelling has gone down considerably... (pokes a spot) ... Any pain here? CHANCE Yes, Robert. But it's not bad. A limousine pulls up to the front of the mansion, waits for Chance. ALLENBY (continues examining) ... Benjamin has been hounding me to allow him to address the annual meeting of his Financial Institute today, but obviously, the strain would be impossible... How about here, Chauncey, any soreness? CHANCE Hardly any, Robert. Lewis, the attendant, interrupts. LEWIS Your limousine, sir. CHANCE Oh, thank you. ALLENBY (reacting to limo) ... Were you going somewhere? CHANCE No, Robert. ALLENBY (a beat) ... Oh. (checks leg) ... My God, I only wish that Benjamin had your recuperative powers... Anyway, the President offered to sit in for Ben at the meeting, quite a nice gesture, I felt. He's due here soon, I believe. CHANCE Yes, Robert. I know about the President. ALLENBY (mildly surprised) ... Oh? You've heard? CHANCE Yes. Ben called me. He wants me to meet the President. ALLENBY (stands) He does, does he? CHANCE Yes, Ben told me to be in his room at ten o'clock. ALLENBY Why, that's terrific, Chauncey. CHANCE How do I know when it's ten o'clock? A long look from Allenby, then he looks at his watch. ALLENBY ... It's five of, you'd best get on in there. CHANCE Thank you, Robert. Wilson begins to push Chance. CHANCE (CONT'D) I would like to walk today. ALLENBY Hell yes - walk. You're meeting the President, aren't you? CHANCE (gets out of chair) Oh, really? Allenby, a bit puzzled, watches as Chance goes into the house. INT. RAND MANSION - HALLWAY - MORNING Chance limps aimlessly through a hallway. He stops, admires a large tapestry on the wall. A servant, SMYTHE, notices Chance appears confused, approaches him. SMYTHE May I help you, Mr. Gardiner? CHANCE (with a smile) Yes. I would like to go to Rand Memorial Hospital. SMYTHE (a pause) ... Sir? CHANCE Yes. There is another long pause. SMYTHE ... Did you wish to see someone, sir? CHANCE Yes, I would like to see Ben. SMYTHE Oh, Mr. Rand, of course. Right this way, sir. Chance follows Smythe down the hall. INT. RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - MORNING Rand is in an easy chair, dressed for his meeting with the President. The two nurses are working at the disinfecting table. Rand smiles as Chance is shown into the room by Smythe. RAND Chauncey, up and around this morning, are you? CHANCE Yes, Ben. My leg is not very sore. RAND Well, that's good news, my boy. CHANCE You're looking much better today, Ben. RAND Hah! It's all make-up, Chauncey... I asked nurse Teresa to fix me up, I didn't want the President to think I was going to die during our talk. CHANCE I understand. RAND No one likes a dying man, my boy - because few know what death is. All we know is the terror of it. But you're an exception, Chauncey - that's what I admire in you, your marvelous balance. You don't stagger back and forth between fear and hope - you're a truly peaceful man. CHANCE Thank you, Ben. (looks at Rand closely) ... The nurse did a very good job, Ben. The nurses turn, look at Chance. EXT. FRONT RAND MANSION - MORNING Wilson is at the head of eight servants lined up on the front steps. Two black PLYMOUTH SEDANS pull up and park. EIGHT MEN in grey business suits get out. One of them, WOLTZ, goes directly to Wilson. WOLTZ Good morning, Mr. Wilson. WILSON Good morning, Mr. Woltz, nice to see you again. WOLTZ Thank you. How have you been? WILSON Fine, thank you. (hands Woltz paper) We have an additional guest with us today, Mr. Chauncey Gardiner. WOLTZ (reads list) I see... (turns to other men) Okay, let's go to work. The eight servants pair up with the eight men in suits and go into the house. INT. RAND MANSION - THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY - MORNING Allenby gets off the elevator, stands and thinks for a moment, then heads off down the hallway in the direction of Chance's room. INT. RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - MORNING Chance watches television as Rand speaks. RAND Yes, when I was younger I had thoughts about public office... But I found, Chauncey - that I was able to contribute more as a private citizen... of course, my wealth provided me with considerable influence, but I've tried, believe me, not to misuse that power... It's extremely important, Chauncey, when one is in a position of eminence, that he does not allow himself to become blinded to the needs of the country... The temptations are strong, and I've been labeled a 'kingmaker' by many, but I have tried to stay open to voices of the people... I have tried to remain honest to myself... CHANCE (changing channels) I see, Ben. RAND ... Maybe one day you shall find yourself in a similar position, Chauncey... Maybe one day... EXT. FRONT RAND MANSION - MORNING Two black limousines followed by a station wagon with small holes in the side pull up in front of the mansion. As men from the first limousine and the station wagon jump out and take positions around the driveway, Lewis hurries to his post, picks up his phone. INT. RAND MANSION - MRS. AUBREY'S OFFICE - MORNING The nerve center of the Rand Enterprises since he has become ill. Four or five desks, all the latest electronic office equipment, three TV's with video taping facilities, countless telephones. MRS. AUBREY, Rand's senior secretary, is at her desk, answers her phone. MRS. AUBREY (into phone) Yes... Oh, very good, Lewis, thank you. Mrs. Aubrey hangs up, picks up another phone, pushes a button. INT. RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - MORNING Rand smiles at Chance as the phone rings. RAND He's here. (into phone) Yes, Mrs. Aubrey? (listens) Fine. Show the President to the library, we'll be along in a few minutes. Rand hangs up the phone, turns to Chance with a twinkle in his eyes. RAND (CONT'D) It's an old habit that goes along with power -- keep them waiting... Teresa brings Rand's wheelchair to him. RAND (CONT'D) (stands, very weak) Not now, Teresa. I'm seeing the President on my own two feet. TERESA But, Mr. Rand... RAND (puts an arm around Chance for support) Shall we go, Chauncey? CHANCE Yes, Ben. That's a good idea. Rand walks slowly, clings to the limping Chance tightly as they leave the room. EXT. HALLWAY - MORNING Secret Service Men are seen in the background as Rand stops outside Mrs. Aubrey's office, leans in. RAND Mrs. Aubrey, have you received the papers on the Caracas agreement? MRS. AUBREY Yes, sir. They're ready for you to sign. RAND Excellent. (turns to Chance) A good woman, Mrs. Aubrey. CHANCE (seeing her for first time) I agree, Ben. They shuffle off down the hallway. Chance smiles at the Secret Service men that they pass. INT. RAND MANSION - HALLWAY BY LIBRARY - MORNING Woltz and Wilson wait by the library door. Woltz takes a small metal detector from his pocket as Rand and Chance approach. WOLTZ Good morning, Mr. Rand. RAND Woltz, how have you been? WOLTZ (passes detector over Rand's body) Just fine, thank you, sir. (turns to Chance) And you must be Mr. Gardiner. CHANCE Yes. WOLTZ (passes detector over Chance) Just a formality, Mr. Gardiner. CHANCE (as he finishes) Thank you very much. Wilson knocks lightly, then opens the library door, Rand and Chance enter. INT. RAND LIBRARY - MORNING Rand and Chance come into the Library and the President goes to Rand with both hands outstretched. PRESIDENT Ben! RAND (very weak) ... Mr. President, how good to see you. PRESIDENT It's so good to see you too, Ben, you look terrific! RAND (barely able to stand) I'm not convinced of that, Mr. President, but your visit has raised my spirits... PRESIDENT Well, I'm delighted to be here, my friend. I've missed you. (guides Rand to chair) Here, sit down, get off your feet. As Rand sinks into the chair, Chance approaches the President with both hands outstretched. CHANCE Good morning, Mr. President. PRESIDENT (smiling) ... Hello. Chance and the President exchange a two-handed handshake. Rand, still weak from standing, catches his breath and introduces Chance. RAND Mr. President, I'd like you to meet my dear friend, Mr. Chauncey Gardiner. PRESIDENT Mr. Gardiner, my pleasure. CHANCE You look much taller on television, Mr. President. PRESIDENT (a beat) ... Oh, really... RAND (smiling) You will find that my house guest does not bandy words, Mr. President. The President gives Chance a look, then laughs. PRESIDENT Well, Mr. Gardiner, that's just fine with me - I'm a man that appreciates a frank discussion... Be seated, please, Mr. Gardiner... CHANCE (sitting) Yes, I will. PRESIDENT (also sits) Now, Ben, did you happen to get a chance to... Chance perks up at the mention of his name, interrupts. CHANCE Yes? There is a beat as the President looks at Chance quizzically, then he continues. PRESIDENT I just wondered if you had gone over my speech, Ben. RAND Yes, I did. PRESIDENT ... Well? RAND Overall - pretty good. But, Mr. President, I think it's very dangerous to resort to temporary measures at this stage of the game. PRESIDENT Well, Ben... I... RAND I sympathize with your position, Mr. President, I know how difficult it is to be straightforward, the reaction to such a speech could be chaos. PRESIDENT That's too big a risk, I can't take the chance. CHANCE (again perks up) Yes? Once again, the President gives Chance a puzzled look. INT. RAND MANSION - THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY - MORNING Perkins accompanies Secret Service Agent RIFF as he checks out the third floor. Riff knocks on each door, looks inside, then moves in. INT. CHANCE'S ROOM - MORNING Allenby is searching through Chancels clothes looking for some sort of identification. There is a knock at the door, Allenby pulls back from the closet as Riff opens the door, looks inside. ALLENBY Oh... Hello. RIFF (entering) Good morning. I'm Riff, Secret Service. ALLENBY ... Yes. Of course. Perkins watches curiously as Riff passes the metal detector over Allenby's clothing. INT. LIBRARY - MORNING The President is worried about what Rand is telling him. He paces, smokes a cigarette. Chance smiles through it all. RAND ... There is no longer any margin for inflation, it has gone as far as it can, you've reached your limits on taxation, dependence on foreign energy has reached a crisis, and, from where I see it, Mr. President, the Free Enterprise System has reached the breaking point. We are on the brink of another crash from which recovery might not be possible. PRESIDENT It's that serious, huh? RAND I'm afraid so. The President now looks nearly as bad as Rand. He sits, turns to Chance. PRESIDENT Do you agree with Ben, Mr. Gardiner? Are we finished? Or do you think we can stimulate growth through temporary incentives? CHANCE (a beat) As long as the roots are not severed, all is well and all will be well in the garden. PRESIDENT (a pause) ... In the garden? CHANCE That is correct. In a garden, growth has its season. There is spring and summer, but there is also fall and winter. And then spring and summer again... PRESIDENT (staring at Chance) ... Spring and summer... (confused) Yes, I see... Fall and winter. (smiles at Chance) Yes, indeed... (a beat) Could you go through that one more time, please, Mr. Gardiner? RAND I think what my most insightful friend is saying, Mr. President, is that we welcome the inevitable seasons of nature, yet we are upset by the seasons of our economy. CHANCE Yes. That is correct. PRESIDENT (pleased) ...Well, Mr. Gardiner, I must admit, that is one of the most refreshing and optimistic statements I've heard in a very, very long time. The President puts out his cigarette, rises. PRESIDENT (CONT'D) ... Many of us forget that nature and society are one! Yes, though we have tried to cut ourselves off from nature, we are still a part of it! Like nature, our economic system remains, in the long run, stable and rational. And that is why we must not fear to be at its mercy! (he smiles at Chance, who is absorbed in looking around the room at the books) ... I envy your good, solid sense, Mr. Gardiner - that is precisely what we lack on Capitol Hill. (glances at watch) I must be going. (holds out hand to Chance) Mr. Gardiner, this visit has been enlightening... Chance rises and shakes the President's hand. CHANCE Yes. It has. PRESIDENT ... You will honor me and my family with a visit, won't you? CHANCE Yes. I will. PRESIDENT Wonderful, we'll all look forward to seeing you. (turns to Rand) Is Eve around? I'd like to say hello. RAND No, she flew up to Boston for another charity event. She'll be sorry to have missed you. PRESIDENT I'm sorry, too. Well, Nancy wanted me to send along her best to the two of you - and, Ben, I want to thank you for your time and thoughts. RAND Nonsense, Mr. President - I thank you for coming to spend time with a dying man. PRESIDENT Now, Ben, I won't have any of that. Why don't you listen to your good friend Chauncey this is a time to think of life! The President clasps Rand's hand. RAND You're right, Mr. President I don't like feeling sorry for myself. PRESIDENT Take care of yourself, Ben. RAND You take care too, Bobby. PRESIDENT (as he turns to go, a smile to Chance) Mr. Gardiner... The President leaves the library and Chance sits back down. RAND (as the door closes) He's a decent fellow, the President, isn't he? CHANCE Yes, Ben - he is. RAND He was quite impressed with your comments, Chauncey - he hears my sort of analysis from everyone, but yours, unfortunately - seldom if ever at all. CHANCE I'm glad he came, Ben. It was nice talking to the President. EXT. RAND MANSION - MORNING An aide, KAUFMAN, waits by the front door of the Rand mansion. As the President comes out, he speaks quietly to Kaufman. PRESIDENT Kaufman, I'm going to need information on Mr. Chauncey Gardiner's background. KAUFMAN (makes note of name) Gardiner, yes, sir. PRESIDENT And put it through on a Code Red - I want it as soon as possible. KAUFMAN No problem, Chief. They head toward the waiting limousines. INT. RAND MANSION - HALLWAY - MORNING Rand has an arm around Chance, hangs on for dear life as the two of them walk through the hall. Behind them, Wilson and Perkins push empty wheelchairs. RAND (very weak) ... You know, Chauncey, there's something about you... You're direct, you grasp things quickly and you state them plainly. You don't play games with words to protect yourself. I feel I can speak to you frankly... You know what I was talking to you about last night? CHANCE (blankly) No, Ben. RAND Oh, sure you do, the financial assistance program. I think you might be just the man to take charge of such an undertaking. I'd like you to meet with the members of the Board, we'll be able to discuss the matter at greater length at that time. CHANCE I understand. RAND (stops outside his door) And, please, Chauncey - don't rush your decision. I know you're not a man to act on the spur of the moment. CHANCE Thank you, Ben. RAND And now, Chauncey, I'm afraid you must excuse me - I'm very tired all of a sudden. Wilson and Perkins leave the wheelchairs, assist Rand into his hospital room. CHANCE (as they go in) I'm sorry that you are so sick, Ben. The door closes, Chance limps off down the hall. EXT. RAND MANSION - GARDEN - DAY Chance, with a limp, walks down a pathway in the garden, admires the greenery. In the background, coming from the house, we see Eve. EVE (approaches Chance, calls) Chauncey! CHANCE (stops, turns) Hello, Eve. EVE Your leg must be getting better. CHANCE Yes. It's feeling much better now. EVE Good. I'm glad to hear that. (they walk together) ... How did you like meeting the President? CHANCE Fine. He's very nice. EVE Yes, he is. I'm sorry I didn't get to see him. They walk along in silence for a moment. Chance sees a huge greenhouse not far from them, heads toward it. Eve turns to him, hesitates, then questions. EVE (CONT'D) ... Chauncey... Last night you mentioned an old man, that died. CHANCE Yes. EVE Was he a relative? Or an intimate friend? CHANCE (looking at greenhouse) He was a very wealthy man, he looked after me since I was young. EVE Oh, I see... Your mentor, perhaps? CHANCE (quizzically) ... Mentor...? Eve takes his uncertainty as a reluctance to discuss the Old Man. EVE Forgive me, Chauncey - I didn't mean to pry. You must have been very close to him. CHANCE Yes. I was. EVE I'm sorry... (getting more to the point) ... And what about Louise? YOU mentioned that she had gone, were you close to her also? CHANCE Yes. I liked Louise very much. She was his maid. EVE (relieved) Oh, his maid!... Stupid me, I thought perhaps she was someone that you may have been romantically involved with. CHANCE Oh, no. She brought me my meals. EVE (pleased) Of course. Eve edges slightly closer to Chance. Chance edges slightly closer to the greenhouse, is fascinated by it. CHANCE What is that? EVE Our greenhouse. CHANCE (pleased) Oh, I like that very much. EVE Yes, so do we. Chance peeks through one of the windows. INT. RAND'S BEDROOM - DAY Rand is in bed. Eve, Chance and Allenby are seated around him, the two nurses standing to one side. They all watch the President's address to the Financial Institute on TV. Chance inhales deeply, enjoys the oxygen in the room. Rand is looking weaker. Every so often, Allenby casts a concerned glance his way. PRESIDENT'S VOICE ... And there are so many of you that have proclaimed that we are on the brink of the worst financial crisis in this nation's history. And there are so many of you demanding that we put into effect drastic measures to alter its course. Well, let me tell you, gentlemen, I have been conducting multiple-level consultations with members of the Cabinet, House and Senate. I have conducted meetings with prominent business leaders throughout the country. And this very morning I had an in-depth discussion with your founder and Chairman-Of-The-Board, Mr. Benjamin Turnbull Rand and his close friend and advisor Mr. Chauncey Gardiner... Rand perks up a bit at this mention. Allenby manages a smile, once again looks at Rand, checking his condition. Eve looks proudly at Chance, who continues to enjoy the oxygen. PRESIDENT'S VOICE (CONT'D) ... Well, gentlemen, I found this to be a most rewarding conference... To quote Mr. Gardiner, a most intuitive man, 'As long as the roots of industry remain firmly planted in the national soil, the economic prospects are undoubtedly sunny.' Rand starts coughing, breathing heavily. Allenby and the nurses rush to his bedside. Allenby shoots a quick look to Eve and Chance. ALLENBY (motioning toward door) Excuse us, please. Eve and Chance leave the room as Allenby administers aid to Rand. PRESIDENT'S VOICE Gentlemen, let us not fear the inevitable chill and storms of autumn and winter, instead, let us anticipate the rapid growth of springtime, let us await the rewards of summer. As in a garden of the earth, let us learn to accept and appreciate the times when the trees are bare as well as the times when we pick the fruit. EXT. RAND MANSION - PATIO - DAY Eve and Chance sit in silence on the patio. Eve's eyes are swollen, red, she has been crying. She turns to Chance, reaches out, touches his hand. EVE (hesitates) ... I'm... (pause) ... I'm very grateful that you're here, Chauncey... (pause) ... With us ... CHANCE So am I, Eve. Allenby comes out the door, his mood is serious, professional. Eve turns quickly, awaits his news. ALLENBY (sits alongside Eve) ... Eve - this has been an exhausting day for Ben... EVE (anxious) ... But he's...? ALLENBY He's resting comfortably now. There's no cause for alarm, yet... Mrs. Aubrey comes out of the house. MRS. AUBREY Mr. Gardiner, I have a telephone call for you. Sidney Courtney, the financial editor of the Washington Post. CHANCE (not moving) Thank you. MRS. AUBREY Would you care to take it, sir? CHANCE Yes. Chance still does not move. Eve mistakes Chance's not moving for concern for herself. She puts a hand on his shoulder. EVE I'll be all right, Chauncey you go ahead with Mrs. Aubrey... CHANCE (rising) Yes, Eve. You'll be all right. Chance follows Mrs. Aubrey into the house. Eve watches him go, then turns to Allenby. EVE ... He's such a sensitive man, so considerate... INT. RAND MANSION - MRS. AUBREY'S OFFICE - DAY Mrs. Aubrey leads Chance to a phone at one of the desks. The three television sets are on, attract Chance's attention. CHANCE (picks up phone, looks at TVs) Hello. INT. WASHINGTON POST - COURTNEY'S OFFICE - DAY SID COURTNEY, a Black man in his fifties, wears a rumpled wool jacket, smokes a pipe. COURTNEY Hello, Mr. Gardiner. This is Sid Courtney, Washington Post. INTERCUT - MRS. AUBREY'S OFFICE / COURTNEY'S OFFICE CHANCE Hello, Sid. COURTNEY I'm sorry to disturb you, Mr. Gardiner, I know you must be very busy. CHANCE (looking from one TV to the other) No. I'm not busy. COURTNEY Then, I'll be brief. I covered the President's speech at the Financial Institute today, and since the Post would like to be as exact as possible, we would appreciate your comments on the meeting that took place between Mr. Rand, the President and yourself. CHANCE The President is a nice person. I enjoyed it very much. COURTNEY Good, sir. And so, it seems, did the President - but we would like to have some facts; such as, uh... What exactly is the relationship between yourself and that of the First American Financial Corporation? CHANCE I think you should ask Mr. Rand that. COURTNEY Of course. But since he is ill I'm taking the liberty of asking you. CHANCE Yes, that is correct. I think you should ask Mr. Rand that. Courtney doesn't understand but continues his questioning. COURTNEY I see. Then one more quick question, Mr. Gardiner; since we at the Post would like to, uh - update our profile on you - what exactly is your business? CHANCE I have nothing more to say. Chance hangs up the phone, watches the TVs. Courtney listens to the dial tone, then puts the receiver down. COURTNEY (to himself) Typical - no wonder he's so close to Rand... INT. RAND MANSION - HALLWAY - DAY Chance comes out of Mrs. Aubrey's office, notices the service elevator. CHANCE Hmmm. Elevator. He gets in the elevator. INT. ELEVATOR - DAY Chance looks at the row of buttons, presses one. He smiles as he feels the elevator move. INT. RAND MANSION - BASEMENT - DAY One of Mrs. Aubrey's secretaries, JENNIFER, waits with an arm load of paperwork for the elevator. The door opens, Chance smiles at her as he steps out. JENNIFER (surprised to see him) Why, hello, Mr. Gardiner - are you looking for someone? CHANCE No. Jennifer gets in the elevator, the doors Close. Chance looks around the basement, puzzled. He had expected to be on the third floor. INT. MRS. AUBREY'S OFFICE - DAY Mrs. Aubrey is at her desk, buzzing her inter-house phone. As Jennifer enters, Mrs. Aubrey hangs up in frustration. MRS. AUBREY I can't find Mr. Gardiner anywhere. JENNIFER He's in the basement. MRS. AUBREY What's he doing in the basement? JENNIFER I don't know, Mrs. Aubrey. Mrs. Aubrey grabs a notepad, leaves the office. INT. RAND MANSION - BASEMENT - DAY Mrs. Aubrey comes out of the service elevator, hurries through the basement. She checks: The boiler room. The electrical room. The photographer's studio (Eve is sitting for a portrait) The gym (Allenby is working out) INT. RAND MANSION - BASEMENT BOWLING ALLEY - DAY Chance stands in the middle of the two-lane bowling alley, totally confused. Mrs. Aubrey enters, he smiles at her. MRS. AUBREY Oh, Mr. Gardiner, I've been looking all over. CHANCE Oh, yes. MRS. AUBREY Morton Hull, the producer of 'This Evening' just called. CHANCE Yes, I have seen that show on television. MRS. AUBREY Of course. They would like you to appear on the show tonight. The Vice President was scheduled, but he had to cancel, and they asked if you would be interested. CHANCE Yes. I would like to be on that show. MRS. AUBREY Fine. They felt that since you had such close ties with the President, you would be a splendid choice. (Chance nods, there is a pause) ... Can I help you? Are you looking for something? CHANCE No. I like this attic very much. Mrs. Aubrey gives him a look, leaves. EXT. SKY - DUSK AIR FORCE 1 passes through the clouds. INT. AIR FORCE 1 - DUSK The President sits on a couch in one of the compartments on the jet. Before him, stand six of his STAFF, Kaufman included. PRESIDENT ... Gentlemen, I quoted this man on national television today he is obviously a financial sophisticate of some reknown. KAUFMAN Yes, sir - we are aware of all that, but still, we haven't been able to... PRESIDENT (interrupts) He's an advisor and close personal friend of Rand's! For Christ sakes, they have volumes of data on Benjamin! KAUFMAN Yes, Mr. President, we attempted to contact Mr. Rand, but he was too ill to... PRESIDENT (again interrupts) I do not want Benjamin Rand disturbed! You have other ways of gathering information than to trouble a dying man. Use whatever agencies are necessary to put together a detailed history of Chauncey Gardiner, if you run into problems, alert Honeycutt. (he stands) I'll be in the office at seven in the morning and I would like to have it at that time. (he starts for door) I've got to take a leak. KAUFMAN Right, Chief. As the President goes to the Men's Room, two of the aides reach for telephones. INT. CHANCE'S ROOM - EVENING Chance wears a velvet bathrobe, watches TV. Perkins lays out a suit, shirt, tie, etc. on the bed. PERKINS I believe these garments will be quite appropriate, Mr. Gardiner. CHANCE (eyes on TV) Yes. They are fine. There is a knock at the door. PERKINS Excuse me, sir. Perkins answers the door, it is Eve. EVE (entering) Chauncey... CHANCE (rises) Hello, Eve. EVE Chauncey, I just wanted to wish you well. I know you'll be smashing. CHANCE Thank you, Eve. EVE And Benjamin sends along his best wishes. CHANCE How is Ben feeling? EVE He's tired, Chauncey - but he's going to watch you tonight. We'll both be watching. CHANCE That's good. I like to watch, too. EVE I know you do - you and your television... (a pause) ... Good luck, Chauncey. Eve impulsively steps forward, kisses Chance on the cheek. Chance smiles at her, and Eve, slightly embarrassed, turns and leaves the room. Chance sits back down, watches TV as Perkins attends to his clothes with a whisk broom. INT. WASHINGTON POST - STAFF ROOM - NIGHT Courtney heads a meeting of his four staffers. One man, KINNEY, a research assistant, sits behind a stack of paperwork, has a downcast expression as he listens to Courtney. COURTNEY ... Gardiner is laconic, matter-of fact. The scuttlebutt is that he's a strong candidate for one of the vacant seats on the board of First American. But before we can do any sort of a piece on the man, we're going to need facts on his background... (turns to Kinney) ... Kinney, what did you come up with? KINNEY (after a pause) ... Nothing. COURTNEY (sighs, taps pencil on table) ... Skip the levity, Kinney - what have you got? KINNEY (another pause) ... I realize this sounds banal but there is no information of any sort on Gardiner. We have no material on him - zilch... The room is quiet except for the tapping of Courtney's pencil. EXT. TELEVISION STATION - NIGHT The RAND 1 limousine parks in front of the station. As Jeffrey opens the door for Chance, MORTON HULL steps to the limo. HULL Mr. Gardiner, I'm Morton Hull, the producer of 'This Evening.' CHANCE (as they shake hands) Hello, Morton. Hull takes Chance into the station. INT. RAND MANSION - CHANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Constance, Rand's nurse, enters Chance's room, goes to the closet. INT. TV STATION - CORRIDOR - NIGHT Chance is intrigued by the surroundings as Hull guides him through the corridor. HULL Of course, Mr. Gardiner, the fact that you occupy such a position in the world of finance makes you ideally suited to provide our millions of viewers with an explanation of this nation's economic crisis. CHANCE I see. HULL Do you realize, Mr. Gardiner, that more people will be watching you tonight than all those who have seen theater plays in the last forty years? CHANCE Yes. It's a very good show. HULL I'm glad you like it, Mr. Gardiner. Hull takes Chance into the MAKE-UP room. INT. RAND MANSION - CHANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT Constance is in the closet, searching through Chance's pockets, finding nothing. She takes out a small knife, cuts a label from one of the jackets. Quickly, she examines one of Chance's shoes, copies the name of the shoemaker in a notebook. Constance hurries to the dresser, continues her search. INT. TV STATION - CORRIDOR/MAKEUP ROOM NIGHT COLSON, the makeup man, comes through the corridor carrying a glass of water. He turns into the makeup room, goes to Chance who sits in front of the lights. Hull sits next to Chance, briefs him on the show. Chance has his eyes on a TV monitor, watches the guest preceding him on "This Evening." COLSON (gives Chance water) Here you go, Mr. Gardiner. CHANCE Thank you. I'm very thirsty. COLSON Yes, sir - it's hot under those lights. Colson applies finishing touches to Chance. HULL Now, if the host wants to ask you a question, he'll raise his left forefinger to his left eyebrow. (Chance watches TV) Then you'll stop, and he'll say something, and then you'll answer. On the TV, WILLIAM DUPONT, the host, wraps up his talk with his guest. COLSON (a last-minute dab) Okay, Mr. Gardiner, you're all set. Hull leads Chance out of the makeup room. Colson closes the door, then carefully picks up Chance's water glass, wraps it in Kleenex, puts it in his overcoat pocket. INT. TV STATION - "THIS EVENING" STUDIO - NIGHT William Dupont introduces Chance. DUPONT Ladies and gentlemen, our very distinguished quest, Mr. Chauncey Gardiner! The BAND plays as Chance comes onto the stage. An audience of about three hundred applauds Chance as he appears. Two TV cameras move with him as he walks, with a smile and a limp, to center stage. Dupont shakes Chance's hand, Chance holds Dupont's hand with both of his own. DUPONT (CONT'D) Mr. Gardiner, how very nice to have you with us this evening. CHANCE Yes. DUPONT (showing Chance to chair) I'd like to thank you for filling in on such short notice for the Vice President. CHANCE (sits) You're welcome. DUPONT (also sitting) I always find it surprising, Mr. Gardiner, to find men like yourself, who are working so intimately with the President, yet manage to remain relatively unknown. CHANCE Yes. That is surprising. DUPONT (a beat) ... Well, your anonymity will be a thing of the past from now on. CHANCE (doesn't understand) I hope so. DUPONT Yes... Of course, you know, Mr. Gardiner, that I always prefer an open and frank conversation with my guests, I hope you don't object to that. CHANCE No. I don't object. DUPONT Fine, then let's get started. The current state of our country is of vital interest to us all, and I would like to know if you agree with the President's view of the economy? CHANCE Which view? Applause and laughter from the audience. Dupont accustomed to parrying with his guests, asks again. DUPONT Come now, Mr. Gardiner, before his speech at the Financial Institute the President consulted with you and Benjamin Rand, did he not? CHANCE Yes. I was there with Ben. DUPONT I know that, Mr. Gardiner. CHANCE Yes. DUPONT (a beat) Well, let me rephrase the question; the President compared the economy of this country to a garden, and stated that after a period of decline a time of growth would naturally follow. Do you go along with this belief? CHANCE Yes, I know the garden very well. I have worked in it all my life. It is a good garden and a healthy one; its trees are healthy and so are its shrubs and flowers, as long as they are trimmed and watered in the right seasons. The garden needs a lot of care. I do agree with the President; everything in it will grow strong, and there is plenty of room in it for new trees and new flowers of all kinds. The audience applauds Chance's apparent metaphor. Dupont waits for it all to subside, then asks another question. INT. RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT Rand is in bed. Eve sits in a chair next to the bed, squeezes Rand's hand in excitement as they both watch Chance on television. Teresa, the nurse, watches in the background. DUPONT (over TV) ...Well, Mr. Gardiner, that was very well put indeed, and I feel it was a booster for all of us who do not like to wallow in complaints or take delight in gloomy predictions. INT. WHITE HOUSE - PRESIDENT'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The President and First Lady are in bed together watching the show. PRESIDENT Gloomy predictions? That insolent son of a bitch! DUPONT (over TV) Let's make it clear, Mr. Gardiner, it's your view that the collapse of the Stock Market, the dramatic increase in unemployment, you feel that this is just another season, so to speak, in the garden? The First Lady cuddles close the President, ruffles his hair, tries to cheer him up. INT. TV STUDIO - "THIS EVENING SHOW" - NIGHT Chance answers. CHANCE In a garden, things grow - but first some things must wither; some trees lose their leaves before they grow new leaves... INT. CIA ROOM - NIGHT A small, dark room. A videotape machine is running. Also, a machine is turning that records the harmonics of Chance's voice. TWO CIA MEN run the equipment, watch as a needle charts Chance's voice onto paper. CHANCE (over TV) ... Then they grow thicker and stronger and taller. Some trees die, but fresh saplings replace them. Gardens need a lot of care and a lot of love. INT. THOMAS FRANKLIN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Franklin, the attorney that evicted Chance, comes out of the bathroom brushing his teeth. His wife, JOHANNA, is in bed absorbed in "This Evening." Franklin sits on the end of the bed, watches the show. CHANCE (over TV) ... And if you give your garden a lot of love, and if you work very hard and have a lot of patience, in the proper season you will see it grow to be very beautiful... More applause from the TV. Franklin leans closer to the set. FRANKLIN (puzzled) It's that gardener! JOHANNA Yes, Chauncey Gardiner. FRANKLIN No! He's a real gardener! JOHANNA (laughs) He does talk like one, but I think he's brilliant. DUPONT (over TV) I think your metaphors are quite interesting, Mr. Gardiner, but, haven't we seen seasons that have been devastating to certain countries? INT. PRESIDENT'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The President and First Lady continue to watch. DUPONT (over TV) Such as disasterous winters, prolonged droughts that have wiped out crops, hurricanes that have all but swept away island communities? Doesn't a country need to have someone in charge that can see it through such crises? PRESIDENT ... That bastard... The First Lady moves closer to him. INT. CHANCE'S ROOM - NIGHT The TV, its volume low, plays in the background as Constance, with a pair of tweezers, plucks a hair from Chance's pillow, puts it into a small vial. DUPONT (over TV) Don't we need a leader capable of guiding us through the seasons? The bad as well as the good? CHANCE (over TV) Yes. We need a very good gardener. INT. TV STUDIO - NIGHT Dupont continues his questions. DUPONT Do you feel that we have a 'Very good gardener' in office at this time, Mr. Gardiner? At the end of the question, Dupont glances over Chance's shoulder to look at the monitor. CHANCE (a beat) I understand. Chance turns to see what Dupont is looking at, sees the back of his own head on the TV screen. DUPONT I realize that might be a difficult question for you, Mr. Gardiner - but there are a lot of us around the country that would like to hear your thoughts on the matter. Chance is still turned to the monitor. CHANCE Oh, yes. It is possible for one side of the garden to be flooded, and the other side to be dry... INT. RAND MANSION - ALLENBY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Allenby watches Chance on television. The camera that covered Dupont in close-up has now pulled back, includes Dupont and Chance, both looking into camera. Allenby is concerned, he is unsure of Chance. CHANCE (over TV) ... Some plants do well in the sun, and others grow better in the cool of the shade. INT. HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT A group of ELDERLY BLACK PEOPLE sit in the lobby, watch "This Evening" on an old black-and-white TV. CHANCE (over TV) ... It is the gardener's responsibility to take water from the flooded area and run it to the area that is dry. It is the gardener's responsibility not to plant a sun-loving flower in the shade of a high wall... During the preceding speech, Louise, the maid from the Old Man's house, chatters. LOUISE Gobbledegook! All the time he talked gobbledegook! An' it's for sure a White man's world in America, hell, I raised that boy since he was the size of a pissant an' I'll say right now he never learned to read an' write - no sir! Had no brains at all, was stuffed with rice puddin' between the ears! Shortchanged by the Lord and dumb as a jackass an' look at him now! Yes, sir - all you gotta be is white in America an' you get whatever you want! Just listen to that boy - gobbledegook! There is a chorus of "Amens" as she finishes. INT. TV STUDIO - NIGHT Chance continues. CHANCE ... It is the responsibility of the gardener to adjust to the bad seasons as well as enjoy the good ones. If the gardener does his job, everything will be fine. INT. RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT Audience applause is heard over TV. Rand claps weakly along with the TV sound. Eve and Teresa also clap. RAND (smiling) Splendid. Just splendid... Rand looks up as Constance comes into the room. RAND (CONT'D) Damn, Constance, get in here! You shouldn't miss any of this! Constance hurries to Teresa's side. Rand turns to Eve. RAND (CONT'D) I'm becoming quite attached to Chauncey - quite attached... (Eve smiles) ... And so are you, aren't you, Eve. EVE (a beat) ... Yes, I am, Ben. RAND (reaches out, takes her hand) That's good... That's good. DUPONT (over TV) Well, Mr. Gardiner, from the sound of our audience, I'd say that your words are a most welcome respite from what we've been hearing from others... CHANCE (over TV) Thank you. INT. TV STUDIO - NIGHT Dupont asks another question. DUPONT I'm sorry to say that our time is running short, but before we close, I'd like to ask one final question. What sort of gardener, sir, would you be? CHANCE (with confidence) I am a very serious gardener. INT. PRESIDENT'S BEDROOM - NIGHT More applause over the TV. The President pales. PRESIDENT Oh, Jesus... He rolls over in bed. The First Lady reaches out, puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. INT. FRANKLIN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Franklin holds a phone to his ear with one hand, shuts off the TV with the other. FRANKLIN Okay, I'll see you in twenty minutes. Franklin hangs up the phone, scurries around getting dressed. His wife, Johanna, sits grimly in bed. JOHANNA (coldly) ... Business, bullshit! Going out in the middle of the night to meet that bitch in a bar... FRANKLIN Sally Hayes is not a bitch - she's a damn fine attorney! I've got to talk to her about this Gardiner... JOHANNA (turns over in bed) Good night. FRANKLIN Look, Johanna... JOHANNA (cuts him off) I said good night! Franklin gives up, hurries from the room. INT. TV STATION - CORRIDOR - NIGHT Colson, carefully carrying his overcoat, walks with Chance through the corridor. A delighted Hull walks behind them. COLSON Marvelous! Just marvelous, Mr. Gardiner! What spirit you have, what confidence! Exactly what this country needs! Chance smiles at well-wishers as they continue on through the corridor. INT. PRESIDENT'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The First Lady is snuggled up close to the President, caresses his body. After a moment, it becomes clear to her that he is not up to the occasion. FIRST LADY ... Darling... What's wrong? PRESIDENT, ... I can't... I just can't right now... I'm sorry, dearest... I just can't... The First Lady looks at him for a beat, then turns, lies on her back and stares at the ceiling. INT. COCKTAIL LOUNGE - NIGHT An 'in' meeting place for the upper-middle Washington, D.C. crowd. Thomas Franklin and Sally Hayes sit at a table, drinks in front of them. FRANKLIN ... It didn't make any sense to me at all. I didn't know what the hell he was talking about... SALLY He wasn't making a speech to us, Tom - he was talking to the masses. He was very clever, keeping it at a third grade level - that's what they understand... FRANKLIN Yeah? Well, I don't understand what was up his sleeve when he pulled that stunt with us? What was he doing? And why? SALLY Who knows...? Maybe the government had something to do with it. FRANKLIN You know, Sally - I really feel like I've been had, and you know what that means, don't you?... It means that any political future I had is right down the toilet! The CAMERA begins to slowly move away from the table, the sound of Franklin's voice continues. FRANKLIN (CONT'D) ... Jesus, the thought of spending the rest of my life as an attorney, that is really a downer... And, Christ, Sally, I almost forgot Johanna is starting to think something's going on between... Franklin's voice fades into the background hubbub. The voice of Kinney, the research assistant from the Washington Post is heard as the camera settles on a table occupied by Sidney Courtney and his staff. KINNEY ... Sid, be reasonable - I've been everywhere, there's no place left to check! COURTNEY Try again. KINNEY Sure, try again - where? There's nothing, it's like he never existed! COURTNEY Try again. KINNEY Sid, it's useless! COURTNEY I said - try again. Kinney stands, shoves his paperwork across the table. KINNEY Up yours, Sid. You try again, I quit! Kinney takes his drink with him as he leaves the lounge. EXT. RAND MANSION - NIGHT The household staff is lined up on the front steps, applauding Chance as he steps from the limousine. Chance accepts the plaudit, though does not understand the reason. As he nears the steps, Perkins and Wilson step forward. WILSON An outstanding speech, sir. PERKINS May I take your coat, Mr. Gardiner? CHANCE Yes. Thank you, Perkins. Perkins nods, takes Chance's overcoat, allows everyone to enter the house ahead of him. Alone on the steps, Perkins quickly searches through the pockets of the coat, finds nothing. INT. RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT Rand is in bed. Eve sits on the edge, looks warmly to Chance who stands nearby. Allenby prepares an injection for Rand, and occasionally glances curiously at Chance. Chance breathes deeply, enjoys the oxygen. RAND (with some effort) ... You possess a great gift, Chauncey, of being natural. And that, my boy, is a rare talent, the true mark of a leader. You were strong and brave, yet did not moralize. I hope the entire country was watching you tonight, the entire country... Allenby crosses to Rand, needle in hand. ALLENBY And you, Benjamin, must be strong and brave for me. Turn over, please. RAND (holds up hand) In a minute, Robert - in a minute... Chauncey, I would like to ask a favor of you... CHANCE Certainly, Ben. RAND Senator Rowley's widow, Sophie, is hosting an evening reception tomorrow evening honoring Ambassador Skrapinov of the Soviet Union... I think it's rather obvious that Robert won't allow me to attend, so - would you go in my place, and escort Eve? CHANCE Yes. I would like to escort Eve. RAND Good. Together, the two of you should create quite a stir - I can already hear the gossip. EVE (with a blush) ... Ben, really... RAND (reaches out a tired hand to Chance - Chance holds it) ... Thank you, Chauncey... Thank you very much. (takes back hand) ... All right, Robert, I'm all yours. Eve and Chance quietly leave the room. Allenby watches Chance go, then readies Rand for the injection. INT. RAND MANSION - THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT The elevator door opens, Eve and Chance come into the hallway. Chance looks back at the elevator for a beat, then the two walk quietly down the hall. EVE (stopping by bedroom door) ... You don't happen to have a tuxedo in your suitcase, do you? CHANCE No, thank you. EVE Oh. Well, we can fix up one of Ben's for you tomorrow night. Sophie insists an Black Tie. CHANCE I see. EVE (a pause, softly) ... I have very few friends, Chauncey... And Benjamin's friends are all quite a bit older... Eve gives Chance a long look, then kisses him on the lips. She steps back, smiles. EVE (CONT'D) ... Good night, Chauncey. CHANCE Good night, Eve. Eve goes into her bedroom, closes the door. Chance heads for his room as though nothing had happened. INT. WHITE HOUSE - OVAL OFFICE ANTE ROOM - MORNING Kaufman and the five other Aides nervously await the President's arrival. The door opens, the President briskly enters the room. PRESIDENT Good morning, gentlemen. AIDES (as one) Good morning, sir. The President leads the way into the Oval Office. INT. OVAL OFFICE - MORNING As the President goes to his desk, Kaufman hands him a folder. The President sits, reads it quickly, it is very brief. PRESIDENT (to Kaufman) This is not what I requested. KAUFMAN No, sir. PRESIDENT This information goes back three days. I want the standard file, you know that. KAUFMAN Right, Chief. PRESIDENT So...? Where the hell is it? KAUFMAN We... uh, have been unable to come up with any information before the man appeared at Mr. Rand's home ... and, uh... PRESIDENT What the hell are you talking about, Kaufman? KAUFMAN Well, we do have data from Honeycutt's sources, Chief - but it isn't pertinent. PRESIDENT I'd like to hear that data, Kaufman. KAUFMAN Yes, sir. Kaufman takes a clipboard from the man at his right. KAUFMAN (CONT'D) (reading) Suits hand-made by a tailor in Chicago in 1918. The tailor went out of business in 1929, then took his own life. ... His shoes were hand-made in 1928. The cobbler has long since been dead. Underwear, all of the finest cloth, factory destroyed by fire in 1938. The man carries no identification; no wallet, no driver's license, no credit cards. ... He carries one item along with him, a fine Swiss pocket-watch crafted at the turn of the century; so far they have been unable to ascertain where or when purchase was made. ... He has never dyed his hair. ... Computers have analyzed Gardiner's vocal characteristics; it is impossible to determine his ethnic background, they feel his accent may be northeastern, but they will not commit to that. ... Fingerprint check proved negative, no identification possible. (a pause) ... That's it, Mr. President. The President stares at Kaufman for a beat, then speaks into his intercom. PRESIDENT (into intercom) Miss Davis - I'd like my eggs poached this morning, please. A quick "Yes sir" from Miss Davis over the intercom. The President leans back in his swivel chair, looks at Kaufman. PRESIDENT (CONT'D) ... So what does all that add up to? KAUFMAN Well, sir - it occurred to us that he might be an agent of a foreign power. But, we ruled that out, as they invariably are provided with too much documentation, too much American identity... We, uh...don't quite know what to make of it yet, sir... But we'll keep on top of it, Mr. President - we'll come up with the answer. PRESIDENT (with sarcasm) I would appreciate that. The Aides quickly leave the office. INT. CHANCE'S ROOM - MORNING Chance is in bed, a bed tray on his lap, eating breakfast. A pile of the morning's newspapers lies at the foot of the bed, untouched. The TV is playing, Chance watches as he eats. There is a knock at the door. CHANCE (without turning from TV) Come in! Eve enters, wearing a robe over her nightgown. EVE Chauncey! Have you seen the papers? CHANCE No, Eve. I don't read the papers. EVE (moving to bed) Well, it seems you've been described as one of the architects of the President's speech. And your own comments from the 'This Evening' show are quoted side by side with the President's. CHANCE I like the President. He is a very nice man. EVE (sits on bed) I know... (a moment) ... So are you, Chauncey ... (another moment, Chance watches TV) ... Do you mind my being here, like this? CHANCE (a bite of toast) No, Eve. I like you to be here. Eve smiles, moves a little closer to Chance. EVE ... You know, Chauncey... I want us to be... (with difficulty) I want us... You and I to become... close... I want us to become very close, you know...? CHANCE Yes, Eve. I know that. Eve suddenly begins to cry, sobbing quietly at first, then losing control, the tears flowing freely. To comfort her, Chance puts his arm around her shoulder, nearly tipping his breakfast tray. Eve responds to his touch, draws closer, holds Chance tightly. Chance does his best to avoid spilling his breakfast, keep an eye on the TV, and to comfort Eve. She gives in to her desires, begins to caress Chance, running her hand over his body. She kisses him, his eyes, his neck, his lips, his ears. Chance does not return the lovemaking, and Eve eventually catches hold of herself, stops. She lies quietly beside Chance for a time, regains her demeanor, then speaks. EVE ... I'm grateful to you, Chauncey... I would have opened to you with a touch, and you know that... (Chance,confused, turns to her) ... But you're so strong - I can trust myself with you. I'm glad, Chauncey - I'm glad that you showed so much restraint... CHANCE Yes, Eve. I'm very glad that you didn't open. EVE I know you are, Chauncey... (a pause) ... You conquer a woman from within herself, you infuse in her the need and desire and the longing for your love. CHANCE (another bite of toast) Yes. That could be true. EVE (sits up) ... I guess I may as well be honest about my feelings, Chauncey, as I know you are I am in love with you... I love you and I want you... And I know that you know it and I'm grateful that you've decided to wait until... Until... Eve cannot bring herself to finish the sentence. She rises, straightens her robe and moves toward the door. EVE (CONT'D) (stopping by door) ... I do love you, Chauncey. A knock at the door startles Eve. She turns, opens it to MAGGIE, the seam tress. Maggie carries one of Rand's tuxedos. EVE (CONT'D) Oh, come in, Maggie. MAGGIE (entering) Yes, ma'am. EVE Chauncey, Maggie will alter Ben's tuxedo for you now. CHANCE Fine. Eve leaves. Maggie stands by patiently as Chance eats his once-warm scrambled eggs and watches"Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" on TV. INT. RAND MANSION - ALLENBY'S ROOM - DAY Allenby is at his desk, searching through the Washington, D.C. telephone book. He finds a number, dials. ALLENBY (into phone) Mr. Thomas Franklin, please. (a wait) Is Thomas Franklin in? (a beat) Yes, this is Dr. Robert Allenby, would you please tell Mr. Franklin that I would like to talk to him? It concerns Chauncey Gardiner. INT. RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - DUSK Teresa and Constance work in a corner of the room. Rand is in bed, very still, deep in thought. EXT. SOPHIE'S - EVENING The RAND 1 limousine pulls up to Sophie's house. Jeffrey opens the door for Eve and Chance. He wears Ben's tuxedo, Eve is in a formal gown. The press is waiting, a couple of reporters, 5 photographers and a mini-cam crew from local TV station gather around Eve and Chance. REPORTER #1 Mr. Gardiner, what did you think of the Post's editorial on the President's speech? CHANCE (smiling for photogs) I didn't read it. REPORTER #2 (surprised) But air - you must have at least glanced at it. CHANCE No. I did not glance at it. REPORTER #3 Mr. Gardiner, the New York Times spoke of your 'Peculiar brand of optimism,' what was your reaction to that? CHANCE (continues to pose for pictures) I did not read that either. REPORTER #3 Well, how do you feel about that phrase, 'Peculiar brand of optimism?' CHANCE I do not know what it means. REPORTER #2 Sorry to persist, air, but it would be of great interest to me to know what newspapers you do read. CHANCE I do not read any newspapers. I watch TV. There is a moment of silence as the reporters digest this. The TV Reporter smiles, questions Chance. TV REPORTER ... Do you mean, Mr. Gardiner, that you find television's coverage of the news superior to that of the newspapers? CHANCE (flatly) I like to watch TV. TV REPORTER (pleased) ) Thank you, Mr. Gardiner, for what is probably the most honest admission to come from a public figure in years. Few men in public life have the courage not to read newspapers none have the guts to admit it. CHANCE You're welcome. Eve and Chance walk toward the front door, leaving the newsmen to talk among themselves. EVE I've never seen anyone handle the media as well as you, Chauncey. You're so cool and detached - almost as if you were born to it. CHANCE Thank you, Eve. The front door is opened for them by an attendant. INT. SOPHIE'S - EVENING The Black Tie reception is in progress. The house is crowded, possibly a hundred guests, mostly foreign ambassadors and other such dignitaries. Eve and Chance enter, are greeted by DENNIS WATSON, a State Department official. WATSON Mrs. Rand, how good to see you. EVE Mr. Watson. WATSON (looks to Chance) And you must be Mr. Gardiner, correct? CHANCE Yes. EVE Chauncey, this is Mr. Dennis Watson of the State Department. CHANCE (they shake) Hello, Dennis. WATSON A pleasure to meet you, sir. CHANCE Yes. It is. SOPHIE, an older woman bedecked with jewelry, approaches, embraces Eve. SOPHIE Eve, child! How nice of you to come. EVE Hello, Sophie. Sophie steps back, looks at Chance. SOPHIE And look who you brought with! EVE Sophie, this is Chauncey Gardiner... SOPHIE (hugs Chance) Oh, I've been just dying to meet you, Mr. Gardiner! EVE Chauncey, this is Mrs. Sophia Rowley. CHANCE (being hugged) Hello, Sophia. SOPHIE (steps back, admires Chance) Sophie, please - call me Sophie! Sophie pulls them both into the party, leaving Dennis looking after Chance as he walks away. SOPHIE (CONT'D) (as they go, to Chance) You just have to let me introduce you to some of the exciting people here... Why, Pat Boone and his daughter may drop by later! They disappear into the crowd. INT. WHITE HOUSE - OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT The President is hunched over his desk, absorbed in constructing a model airplane, a World War II flying fortress bomber. The First Lady sits nearby, plays solitaire on a small table. The President glances to her, then back to his work. PRESIDENT (gluing the wing) ... How are the kids getting along? FIRST LADY Oh. Well, I just talked to Cindy this morning. She loves California, but to quote her, she says, 'The Secret Service is getting to be a drag.' I guess she wants her privacy... PRESIDENT Huh... I'm glad they're along with her, if you know what I mean... How about Jack? FIRST LADY Well, I think Jack needs some time alone with you, darling... He's getting to that age, you know... He really misses you... PRESIDENT Yeah... I'll have a talk with him as soon as... A KNOCK at the door interrupts the President. PRESIDENT (CONT'D) (calls out) ... Yes, come in! Kaufman enters. KAUFMAN Sorry to disturb you, chief but we have new developments. PRESIDENT Oh? What? KAUFMAN We have word that the Soviets have put out a top priority alert for information on Gardiner's background. So far, they haven't come up with a thing - what's more, as a result of their eagerness, one of their ablest agents blew his cover, we have him in custody at this time. PRESIDENT Good. Anything else? KAUFMAN Yes, chief - eight other foreign powers have put Gardiner under surveillance. We're around-the clock now, sir - I'll keep you posted. The President nods, Kaufman leaves. The President puts some more glue on the wing. INT. SOPHIE'S - NIGHT Sophie pulls Eve and Chance to AMBASSADOR SKRAPINOV and his WIFE. Skrapinov smiles as he sees Eve. SKRAPINOV Mrs. Rand. How delightful. Skrapinov kisses Eve's hand. EVE It seems like ages, Mr. Ambassador. (a nod to his wife) Mrs. Skrapinov. Mrs. Skrapinov returns the nod as Sophie introduces Chance. SOPHIE Mr. Gardiner, let me introduce you to our guest of honor, His Excellency Vladimar Skrapinov, Ambassador of the Soviet Union. Chance warmly shakes Skrapinov's hand with both of his own. CHANCE (stumbles over name) Hello... His... His... SOPHIE Ambassador Skrapinov, this is Mr. Chauncey Gardiner. SKRAPINOV Delighted. Delighted. SOPHIE And this is Mrs. Skrapinov. Chance smiles at Mrs. Skrapinov as The Ambassador puts an arm around him. SKRAPINOV You must sit with us, my friend, we have much to discuss. CHANCE I agree. SKRAPINOV (to Eve) How is my dear friend Benjamin feeling? EVE He's doing as well as could be expected, Mr. Ambassador. He still speaks of the stimulating discussions he's had with you. SKRAPINOV Ah, Yes. Please give him my regards. EVE Of course. SOPHIE (tugs at Eve) Come on, Eve. Let's let the men talk, there are so many people that have been asking about you. EVE (to Chance and Skrapinov) Would you two excuse me for a moment? SKRAPINOV Regretfully, Mrs. Rand - I shall yield the pleasure of your company to others. CHANCE Yes, Eve. I shall yield too. EVE (smiling) I'll be back soon... Eve and Sophie leave. Skrapinov leads his wife and Chance to their table. SKRAPINOV (as they walk) I'm sorry we haven't met sooner, Mr. Gardiner. I had the pleasure of seeing you on television last night and I listened with great interest to your down-to-earth philosophy. I'm not surprised that it was so quickly endorsed by the President. (quietly) ... Tell me, Mr. Gardiner, just how serious is Benjamin's illness? I did not want to upset Mrs. Rand by discussing it in detail. CHANCE Ben is very ill. SKRAPINOV Yes, so I've heard, a shame... As you know, we in the Soviet Union have the keenest interest in developments of the First American Financial Corporation... We are pleased to hear that you may fill Benjamin's place should he fail to recover. (arrive at table) Be seated, please, Mr. Gardiner. Chance sits between Skrapinov and Mrs. Skrapinov. SKRAPINOV (CONT'D) (moves chair close to Chance) ... Mr. Gardiner, I wish to be quite candid - considering the gravity of your economic situation, shouldn't we, the diplomats, and you, the businessman - get together more often? CHANCE Yes, I agree, I think so too. SKRAPINOV To exchange our thoughts - what does a Russian know about business? On the other hand, what does an American know about diplomacy? CHANCE Yes, I understand. SKRAPINOV And I have noticed in you a certain reticence regarding political issues - so why not a coming together? An interchange of opinion? We may find, my friend, that we are not so far from each other, not so far! CHANCE (an engaging smile) We are not far... (motions at nearness of their chairs) ... our chairs almost touch. SKRAPINOV (laughs) Bravo! Bravo! Our chairs are indeed almost touching! And we want to remain seated on them, correct? We don't want them snatched from under us, am I right? Because if one goes, the other goes, and then - boom! Boom! And we are both down before our time, you see? And neither of us wants that, do you agree? CHANCE I certainly do. SKRAPINOV Yes. Tell me, Mr. Gardiner - do you by any chance enjoy Krylov's fables? I ask this because there is something... there is something Krylovian about you. CHANCE Do you think so? Do you think so? SKRAPINOV So you know Krylov! Skrapinov pauses, then leans close to Chance, speaks softly in Russian. Chance, having never heard this language, raises his eyebrows and laughs. Mrs. Skrapinov remains impassive. SKRAPINOV (CONT'D) (amazed) So you know your Krylov in Russian, do you? Mr. Gardiner, I must confess I had suspected as much all along - I know an educated man when I meet one! CHANCE Oh, good. SKRAPINOV Yes, it is very good! CHANCE Yes, it is. (beat) Would you tell me your name again, please? SKRAPINOV (slaps Chance on the back) Ho! Ho! A dash of American humor! Vladimar Skrapinov! CHANCE Yes. I like that name very much. SKRAPINOV And yours, sir - Chauncey Gardiner! (in Russian) How poetic! Chauncey, a name of uncertain meaning! And Gardiner, a bit of the French, a suggestion of a stroll through the flowers! A beautiful name, my friend! As he speaks in Russian, Eve comes to the table, taps Skrapinov on the shoulder. SKRAPINOV (CONT'D) (immediately rises) Mrs. Rand! You have returned to us! EVE Only to steal Mr. Gardiner away, if I might. (to Chance) Everyone wants to meet you. CHANCE Yes, Eve. That would be good. SKRAPINOV (shakes Chance's hand) We must speak again, Mr. Gardiner, many times! CHANCE Thank you. As Eve and Chance leave, Skrapinov turns and nods to a MAN standing a short distance away. The man, KARPATOV, hurries to the table. SKRAPINOV Yes? What have you found? KARPATOV (in Russian) We have nothing on him, Ambassador Skrapinov. SKRAPINOV (holds up hand, looks around) Quietly, please. Mr. Gardiner, for one, understands our language. KARPATOV (in English, softly) Sorry, Comrade Ambassador. SKRAPINOV What do you mean there is nothing? That's impossible. KARPATOV There is no information available on the man before he moved into Benjamin Rand's. It has proven to be such a difficult task that it has resulted in the loss of one of our agents to the United States Government. Mrs. Skrapinov strains to overhear the conversation. SKRAPINOV But... Where was this man Gardiner before last week? KARPATOV Apparently the White House shares our curiosity - they have also launched an investigation, and, according to our sources, neither the F.B.I. nor the C.I.A. has met with success. SKRAPINOV I see. Clearly, such interest on their part is of great political significance. KARPATOV Clearly, yes comrade. SKRAPINOV Hmmm... Take this down. (Karpatov takes out notepad) I want this quote included in the Tass coverage; 'Chauncey Gardiner, in an intimate discussion with Ambassador Skrapinov, noted that "Unless the leaders of the opposing political systems move the chairs on which they sit closer to each other, all of their seats will be pulled from under them by rapid social and political changes."' KARPATOV Very good, Your Excellency. Karpatov leaves the table. INT. WASHINGTON, D.C. COCKTAIL LOUNGE - NIGHT The same lounge as before. Sidney Courtney sits at the same table as earlier, only this time with the editor of the Washington Post, LYMAN STUART. Courtney puffs on his pipe as he speaks. COURTNEY ... It's strictly rumor at this stage, Lyman - just something in the wind... STUART Something rather big in the wind, I'd say. So whose files were destroyed? The CIA's or the FBI's? COURTNEY I don't know. Like I said, it's just rumor so far, but we should start nosing around, see if we can talk to some people... The CAMERA begins to slowly MOVE AWAY from their table. STUART ... But why? The question is why? Why would they destroy Gardiner's files? What is it about his past they are trying to cover up? (his voice fades) ... A criminal record? A membership in a subversive organization? Homosexual, perhaps? The SOUND of Stuart's voice dissolves into Thomas Franklin's as the CAMERA SETTLES on Dr. Allenby and Franklin sitting at a table nearby. FRANKLIN ... And he told us that he had been living there since he was a child, working as a gardener. He showed us a room in the garage, where he said he stayed, and I... Well, I didn't really believe him, of course - but why the act? ALLENBY I have no idea... FRANKLIN Another thing that baffles me, Doctor - what was his connection with the deceased? Major financial dealings, obviously - but our firm has no record of any such transactions. ALLENBY Hmmm. You say he showed you his garden? FRANKLIN Well, he said it was his, he walked us through it. ALLENBY I see. (leans close to Franklin) Mr. Franklin, I must ask you and Miss Hayes to keep this incident with Mr. Gardiner to yourselves. There's no telling what he was involved in, and the matter may be extremely confidential. So please, not a word. FRANKLIN Of course, Doctor, I understand. ALLENBY Fine. Thank you, Mr. Franklin. FRANKLIN Certainly, glad to be of help. Allenby rises, leaves the bar. INT. SOPHIE'S HOUSE - DINNER PARTY - NIGHT Eve and Sophie are talking to a small group. Chance moves away to get an hors d'oeuvre and is approached by RONALD STIEGLER, a publisher. STIEGLER Mr. Gardiner, I'm Ronald Stiegler, of Harvard Books. CHANCE (a two-handed handshake) Hello, Ronald. STIEGLER Mr. Gardiner, my editors and I have been wondering if you'd consider writing a book for us? Something on your political philosophy. What do you say? CHANCE I can't write. STIEGLER (smiles) Of course, who can nowadays? I have trouble writing a post card to my children! Look, we could give you a six figure advance, provide you with the very best ghostwriter, research assistants, proof readers... CHANCE I can't read. STIEGLER Of course not! No one has the time to read! One glances at things, watches television... CHANCE Yes. I like to watch. STIEGLER Sure you do! No one reads!... Listen, book publishing isn't exactly a bed of roses these days... CHANCE (mild interest) What sort of bed is it? INT. RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT Rand is in bed. Sitting nearby are two attorneys, MONROE and TOWNSEND. Mrs. Aubrey stands to one side and Constance and Teresa prepare an IV for Rand. RAND (speaks slowly, with effort) Everything. I said everything and that's exactly what I mean. MONROE But, Mr. Rand, the holdings are so extensive, I would like to be more precise in... RAND (interrupts) What could be more precise than everything...? Allenby enters the room, stands by the door, unnoticed. MONROE (turns to Townsend) Everything to Mrs. Rand. TOWNSEND (drafting a will) Right - everything. RAND You two don't have to lecture me on the complexities of the situation, no one knows that better than myself... But you must understand that I have an endless faith in Mrs. Rand's abilities - I know that she will select the right person for guidance when she has the need... She has shared my life, gentlemen, she has given me far more pleasure than any of my so called assets... Life has suddenly become very simple for me now - I may be older than my years, and you might think me to be somewhat feeble... But I am still in love, gentlemen, thank God for that... Allenby silently leaves the room. INT. SOPHIE'S HOUSE - DINNER PARTY - NIGHT Dennis Watson, of the State Department, talks with Chance in a corner of the living room. Dennis whispers something into Chance's ear and Chance gives him an innocent smile. Dennis is encouraged by the smile. DENNIS We could do it now, we can go upstairs. (no reaction from Chance) ... Please, it's time for us. Come upstairs. CHANCE (blankly) I like to watch. DENNIS Watch? You mean just watch me? Doing it alone? CHANCE Yes. I like to watch very much. DENNIS Well, if that's what you want, then I want it too. (takes Chance's arm) We can go this way. CHANCE I want to tell Eve. DENNIS Tell Eve? You mean Mrs. Rand? CHANCE Yes. DENNIS (pulling Chance) Oh, you can tell her later. She'll never miss you in this crowd. Dennis leads Chance out of the crowded room. INT. WHITE HOUSE - PRESIDENT'S BEDROOM - NIGHT A light from the adjoining bathroom filters into the darkened bedroom. The President and the First Lady are in bed. They each lie on their backs, a distance apart and are silent. FIRST LADY (after some time) ... Maybe you should talk to somebody, darling. PRESIDENT No, that won't do any good. FIRST LADY (another pause) ... Is it me? Is there something I've done? PRESIDENT Oh, no, sweetheart - it's not you... FIRST LADY (another pause) It's your damn job. It never happened when you were a senator... PRESIDENT It's not that, I just... The inter-White House phone rings, the President reaches for it. PRESIDENT (CONT'D) (into phone) Yeah, Kaufman - what is it? KAUFMAN'S VOICE (over phone) Chief, we have a break in the case. Our man at the Washington Post says they are working on a story that either the CIA or the FBI destroyed Gardiner's files before anyone could get to them. PRESIDENT What? Why? KAUFMAN'S VOICE (over phone) I can't say at this time - neither agency will admit to a thing. PRESIDENT (getting out of bed) Okay, get both Directors over here, I'll be right down. The President hangs up the phone as the First Lady stares at the ceiling. INT. SOPHIE'S HOUSE - UPSTAIRS ROOM - NIGHT A small room exquisitely decorated in pale lilac tapestry. The lights are very dim, and Dennis, who we cannot see, is lying on the floor. Dennis' clothes are draped over a chair. Chance sees a very small pocket television on a desk. He turns the TV on. DENNIS' VOICE (softly) Can you see well? CHANCE (squints at small screen) Yes, very well, thank you. DENNIS' VOICE Do you like it? CHANCE Yes. It's very tiny, but it's good. DENNIS' VOICE (disappointed at it being 'tiny') ... Are you sure you like it? CHANCE Yes, I do, it's very good. DENNIS' VOICE (excited) Really? Really!!! Chance reacts to the change in tone of Dennis' voice, turns to look at him on the floor. Hearing the groans and heavy breathing, Chance thinks Dennis is ill. CHANCE Do you need a doctor? I could call Robert... DENNIS' VOICE I don't want Robert. CHANCE I see. DENNIS' VOICE (through the groans) Your foot! Give me your foot!! Dennis reaches out with his free hand, grabs Chance's foot, pulls it to himself. CHANCE (some pain) Thank you. But my leg is still a little sore. Chance watches as Dennis goes through some spasms, then his body relaxes. Chance is concerned for Dennis' health. CHANCE (CONT'D) Are you sure you're not ill? We hear a contented sigh from the man on the floor. EXT. SOPHIE'S - NIGHT A long, black limousine with a Red Star on the door pulls away from Sophie's house. INT. RED STAR LIMOUSINE - NIGHT ALEXIS NOVOGROD, a high-ranking KGB officer, and two of his underlings are in the limousine, along with Skrapinov, his wife and Karpatov. Novogrod and his men wear heavy clothing, fresh from Moscow. They all drink vodka. (Dialogue in Russian, English subtitles) NOVOGROD The rank-and-file in the FBI feel he is FBI, but others feel he is a CIA man who knows how to destroy FBI files. SKRAPINOV That could be possible... NOVOGROD But we are quite certain, comrade, that this man Gardiner is a leading member of an American elitist faction planning a coup d'etat. SKRAPINOV A coup d'etat! Of course, that was foreseen by Lenin himself! NOVOGROD That is correct, Comrade Skrapinov. We have ascertained that Gardiner heads a big-business power group that will soon be taking over the American government. SKRAPINOV Big business. I could work with that faction quite nicely, Colonel Novogrod. NOVOGROD You have proven that already, Comrade Skrapinov, you are to be congratulated for recognizing the importance of this man and establishing an early friendship. SKRAPINOV Thank you, Colonel. NOVOGROD (raising his glass) Let us toast to the success of the coup. They all raise their glasses. GROUP TOAST Na zdorov'e! The men and Mrs. Skrapinov drink their vodkas. INT. SOPHIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT The reception is breaking up. Eve, wearing her coat, searches for Chance in the crowd. She sees him, taps him on the shoulder from behind. EVE Chauncey, where have you been? I was afraid you got bored and left, or that you were with some mysterious woman. CHANCE No. I was with a man. We went upstairs. EVE Upstairs? Chauncey, you're always involved in some sort of discussion... CHANCE He was very ill, I stayed with him for a while. EVE It must be the punch, and it is stuffy in here -- I feel it a little myself. You're an angel, my dear - thank God there are still men like you around to give aid and comfort. Eve and Chance leave the reception. INT. WHITE HOUSE - OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT The President sits behind his desk in a bathrobe, his hair mussed. Standing before him are GROVER HONEYCUTT, the Director of the F.B.I., and CLIFFORD BALDWIN, C.I.A. Chief. Kaufman stands to one side. All are red-eyed, tired, and frustrated. HONEYCUTT I never gave such a directive, Mr. President. BALDWIN Nor I, sir - it would be out of the question. PRESIDENT Gentlemen, I didn't call you here at such an hour to make accusations, I just want to explore the possibilities. Now, I have three questions; Is the man a foreign agent? Or, have we suddenly found that our methods of gathering data are grossly inefficient? Or, thirdly, have the man's files been destroyed? Now, I'd like some answers. BALDWIN Gardiner is not a foreign agent, there are now sixteen countries investigating the man. We can rule that out. PRESIDENT Very well... Can we rule out inefficiency...? There is silence in the room. A couple of looks, but silence. PRESIDENT (CONT'D) I see. What about question three? Is it possible to erase all traces of a man? HONEYCUTT Highly unlikely, sir... In fact, the boys around the Bureau feel that the only person capable of pulling it off would be an ex F.B.I. man. BALDWIN (a look to Honeycutt) I don't think that's entirely true, Grover. PRESIDENT (to Baldwin) And what do the boys around Intelligence think? BALDWIN Well, Mr. President... They don't quite know what to think. PRESIDENT (rising) Gentlemen, needless to say, there is going to be a full Congressional investigation of your respective operations. (goes to door) Good night. The President leaves the Oval Office. INT. RAND MANSION - THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT Eve and Chance walk down the hallway. EVE (holding his hand) I feel so close to you, so safe with you, Chauncey... (stops at her bedroom door) ... And Benjamin understands that, dearest... He understands and accepts my feelings for you... CHANCE Yes, Eve. Ben is very wise. EVE (opens her door) ... Come in, Chauncey - please come in... CHANCE Thank you. Chance enters, Eve closes the door behind them. INT. EVE'S ROOM - NIGHT Eve turns on a soft lamp, Chance goes directly to her TV, turns it on. EVE I can sense that you've been through a lot, Chauncey. But one day, when you feel like it, you'll tell me all about your life... (Chance watches an old movie) ... But, even if you tell me nothing, even if it's too painful for you to reveal your past... As she talks, Chance watches a love scene on TV. The hero gives his lady a passionate kiss and embrace. The scene seems to 'sink into' Chance's mind. He abruptly turns, takes Eve into his arms and kisses her full on the mouth. Just as abruptly, he turns away and changes channels on TV. EVE (breathless) Oh, Chauncey... I do love you so much! She takes Chance in her arms, kisses him wildly. They fall to her bed in an embrace. As she holds him, kisses him, runs her hands over his body, Chance watches television, neither resists nor responds to Eve's caresses. Suddenly she stops, lets her head fall on Chance's chest. EVE (CONT'D) ... You don't want me, Chauncey... You don't feel anything for me... Nothing at all... Chance sits up on the bed, then, feeling her sadness, gently strokes her hair as he looks at TV. EVE (CONT'D) I just don't excite you at all... I don't know what you want... I don't know what you like... CHANCE I like to watch. EVE (not understanding) To watch...? To watch me...? CHANCE Yes. I like to watch. EVE (uncertain) ... Is that all you want...? (a hesitation) ... To watch me...? CHANCE Yes. It's very good, Eve. EVE ... But I've never done... (another hesitation) ... You mean...? When... When... When I do it? ... When I touch myself...? Eve slowly gets up from the bed, nervously paces the bedroom as Chance watches TV. She makes a decision, moves to Chance, kisses him. EVE (CONT'D) (getting aroused) Oh, Chauncey... She steps back, slips off her dress. She does not undress any further, instead, leans close to Chance. EVE (CONT'D) One of those little things you don't know about me yet, darling - I'm a little shy. She smiles, gets in bed and pulls the covers over herself. Chance divides his attention between Eve and the TV, watching both with an equal detachment. Eve begins to respond to her own touch, finds a heretofore undiscovered pleasure with her own body. Chance changes the channel as she reaches orgasm. As Eve's body trembles, Chance yawns, gets up from the bed. CHANCE (going to door) Good night, Eve. A low purr is heard from Eve as Chance leaves. INT. RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - MORNING Allenby, Constance and Teresa are readying a transfusion for Rand. There is a feeling of urgency as they work. Rand, very weak, strains to speak to Allenby. RAND No more, Robert... No more needles... ALLENBY (sits on the side of the bed) It's not good, Ben - I'm sure you can feel it. RAND I know, Robert... But, strangely enough, I don't feel too bad about now... I feel all right... I guess it's easier... knowing Chauncey is here... to take care of things... Teresa is about to swab Rand's arm with alcohol but he pulls away. RAND (CONT'D) No, I don't want any of that... Please... please, just get me Mr. Gardiner, Teresa - please... he'll head it up... Teresa looks to Allenby, he nods to her. Teresa puts the cotton down, leaves the room. EXT. RAND MANSION - PATIO - MORNING A light snow is failing. Eve is in a fur coat, holds a steaming cup of coffee. Chance stands next to her, an umbrella in one hand. He holds his other arm out, catching the snowflakes as they fall. EVE ... And I feel so free now, Chauncey. Until I met you, I never felt acknowledged by a man... (Chance gazes out at the falling snow) ... I always had the feeling that I was just a vessel for a man, someone that he could take hold of, pierce, and pollute. I was merely an aspect of somebody's lovemaking. Do you know what I mean? Chance turns to her, says nothing, presses the cold snowflakes to his face. EVE (CONT'D) (presses close to him) Dearest, you uncoil my wants; desire flows within me, and when you watch me my passion dissolves it. You set me free. I reveal myself to myself and I am drenched and purged. CHANCE That's very interesting, Eve. Teresa appears in the doorway. TERESA Mr. Gardiner. Mr. Rand would like to see you. CHANCE Yes. I would like to see Ben. Chance gives Eve a warm smile, then follows Teresa into the house. INT. RAND'S HOSPITAL ROOM - MORNING Allenby, with nothing more he can do to prolong Rand's life, sits on the bed close to him, grips his hand tightly. Teresa shows Chance into the room and Allenby motions to the nurses to leave. As they do, Chance, once again breathing the oxygen with a smile, goes to Rand's bedside. RAND (slowly) ... Chauncey... Chauncey... CHANCE Yes, Ben - are you going to die now? Allenby winces. RAND (a weak smile) ... I'm about to surrender the Horn of Plenty for the Horn of Gabriel, my boy... CHANCE Oh, I see. RAND (reaches out to him) Let me feel the strength in your hand, Chauncey... Let me feel your strength... (holds Chance's hand) Yes, that's good... I hope, Chauncey - I hope that you'll stay with Eve... Take care of her, watch over her, she's a delicate flower, Chauncey... CHANCE (smiling) A flower... RAND She cares for you and she needs your help, Chauncey... there's much to be looked after... CHANCE Yes. I would like to do that. RAND ... I've worked very hard and enjoyed my life... I've known success... and I've felt love... My associates, Chauncey - I've talked with them about you... They're eager to meet you... very eager to meet you... I'm very fond of you, Chauncey... And I understand Eve... Tell her that... tell her I'm madly in love with her... Rand slumps down, dead. Allenby checks his pulse, turns to Chance. ALLENBY ... He's gone, Chauncey. CHANCE Yes, Robert. I have seen it before. It happens to old people. ALLENBY (covers Rand's face) Yes, I suppose that's true. Chance reaches out, uncovers Rand's face, gently touches the man's forehead, feels the coldness. Allenby eyes him as Chance stays with Rand for a moment, then replaces the sheet. CHANCE (turns to Allenby) Will you be leaving now, Robert? ALLENBY In a day or two, yes. CHANCE Eve is going to stay. The house will not be closed. ALLENBY (a moment, a look) ... You've become quite a close friend of Eve's - haven't you Mr... (a beat) ... Chance...? CHANCE Yes. I love Eve very much. ALLENBY I see... (another beat) ... And you are really a gardener, aren't you? CHANCE (brightens) Yes, Robert - I am. (a smile at Allenby) I'll go tell Eve about Ben now, Robert. Chance leaves the bedroom. Allenby watches him go, then sits back in a chair, his head spinning. EXT. RAND MANSION - DAY A cloudy, cold day patches of snow are on the ground. The Rand servants are lined up in front of the mansion, listen to funeral services for Rand on a pair of loudspeakers. PAN AROUND, reveal the services being held on a hill overlooking the mansion. Fifty mourners are gathered around the Rand family mausoleum. Chance stands with Eve and Allenby. The President of the United States stands before a microphone. PRESIDENT ... Millions of people across the world have heard of the passing of Benjamin Rand; but, unfortunately, only relatively few will feel the pain and sadness at such a loss. To most, Benjamin Rand was a legend; to those of us gathered here today, Benjamin was a beloved friend. My personal association with Benjamin dates back many years, and my memories of our friendship will stay with me forever. As the President speaks, Chance turns and walks away. Eve and Allenby watch as he goes into the trees surrounding the area. PRESIDENT (CONT'D) I initially came in contact with the Rand name in 1943. 1 was a young lieutenant in the Air Corps, a navigator flying missions over Europe. That plane that I learned to know so well was manufactured by the Rand Aeronautics Corporation. (a beat) Benjamin Rand was an industrial giant, known to be powerful and uncompromising, and yet, on a personal level, we have all felt his warmth and humor... (a beat) ... I would like to share with you a few quotes, and a few feelings from our dear friend. (holds up paper, reads) ... 'I do not regret having political differences with men that I respect; I do regret, however, that our philosophies kept us apart.' ... 'I have no use for those on welfare, no patience whatsoever... But, if I am to be honest with myself, I must admit that they have no use for me, either.' ... 'I was born into a position of extreme wealth, I have spent many sleepless nights thinking about extreme poverty - I do not know the feelings of being poor, and that is not to know the feelings of the majority of people in this world. For a man in my position, that is inexcusable.' 'Life is a state of mind.' ... 'When I was a boy, I was told that the Lord fashioned us from his own image. That's when I decided to manufacture mirrors.' INT. LARGE AUDITORIUM - DAY Ah auditorium with row upon row of empty seats. Huddled together at one end of the hall are six important businessmen, speaking in hushed tones. JAMES DUDLEY, a powerful industrialist, speaks. DUDLEY But what do we know of the man? Nothing! We have no inkling of his past! SEWELL NELSON, a corporation chairman, joins in. NELSON Correct, and that is an asset. A man's past can cripple him, his background turns into a swamp and invites scrutiny. Another executive, PETER CALDWELL, agrees. CALDWELL To this time, he hasn't said anything that could be used against him. CHARLIE BOB BENNET, a Texas oil millionaire; BENNET Well, I'm certainly open to the thought - it would be sheer lunacy to support the President for another term. NELSON No one will go along with that... Look at the facts, gentlemen, the response from his appearance on 'This Evening' was overwhelming; he has excited and awakened the people of this country at a time of despair. LYMAN MURRAY, a banker; MURRAY He's personable, elusive, yet seemingly honest. He's riding a crest of popularity that builds with every statement. As far as his thinking goes, he appears to be one of us. I firmly believe, gentlemen, that he is our only chance - Mr. Chauncey Gardiner! EXT. WOODS - DAY Chance, his umbrella under his arm, walks through the woods. EXT. RAND'S FUNERAL - DAY The services are over. Eve, Allenby talk with the President and the First Lady. EVE It was very moving, Bobby - thank you so much... PRESIDENT We're all going to miss him, Eve... (glances around) ... Where's Mr. Gardiner? ALLENBY ... He walked off... EVE Chauncey is so sensitive... He was overcome with grief... PRESIDENT I can certainly understand that... FIRST LADY Of course... I'm so sorry for you, Eve... EVE Thank you, Nancy. FIRST LADY I'll call you soon. The President and First Lady head toward their limousine. EXT. WOODS - DAY Chance walks deeper into the woods, absorbed in the greenery. He stops by a tree, brushes some snow from a branch, moves on. EXT. RAND'S FUNERAL - DAY The majority of mourners have left. Eve and Allenby walk slowly to the RAND 1 limousine, look around for Chance. EVE ... Do you think we should look for him? ALLENBY I don't think so, he should be along soon... EVE I wish he were here... Eve keeps looking as they walk to the limousine. EXT. WOODS - DAY Chance happens on a tree with a cracked limb, hanging to the ground. He stops, inspects the break, runs his fingers along the split in the bark. He looks to the ground, notices that an end of the limb has fallen on a seedling, bending it double. Chance pulls the limb away, then kneels beside the seedling. He removes an expensive paid of suede gloves, and, with gentle fingers, brushes the dirt and snow away from the seedling. Chance glances up to the remaining limbs of the larger tree which could fall and threaten the emerging tree. He unfolds his umbrella, places it over the seedling in a way to give it protection, yet to still allow it to receive light from the winter sun. Chance stands, puts his gloves back on and continues his walk, disappearing into a remote section of the woods. EXT. RAND'S FUNERAL - DAY Jeffrey stands holding the door for Eve and Allenby, all the other cars have gone. Eve is worried, gets into the car. EXT. WOODS - DAY Chance walks through the woods, his pace faster than before. EXT. RAND'S FUNERAL - DAY The limousine still waits for Chance. INT. LIMOUSINE - DAY Eve is deeply concerned for Chance. EVE We have to find him, Robert - he could be lost, something may have happened, we can't leave him! ALLENBY You really care for him, don't you, Eve? EVE I do - we do - both of us, Ben and I feel so much for Chauncey... ALLENBY I think we'd better go look for him. (he taps on the glass partition) David! David starts up the limousine. EXT. WOODS - DAY Chance walks with determination through the woods. INT. LIMOUSINE - DAY Allenby and Eve search for Chance as David drives along a narrow road through the woods. Jeffrey, sitting in front, suddenly calls out. JEFFREY Look! About 100 yards ahead of them, Chance crosses the road, continues on down a hill. EVE There he is! Chauncey! David stops the limousine at the point where Chance crossed. Eve hurries out of the car. EXT. SIDE OF ROAD - DAY Chance is about twenty yards down the side of a hill. Eve calls to him. EVE Chauncey! Chauncey! CHANCE (stops, looks up) Hello, Eve. Eve runs, half falls as she goes down the hill. EVE Oh, Chauncey...! She gets to him, holds him tightly. EVE (CONT'D) Oh, Chauncey, darling... Where have you been? We thought we'd lost you - we've been looking all over! CHANCE Yes. I've been looking for you, too, Eve. She hugs him one more time, then she leads him back up the hill to the waiting limousine. Allenby gets out of the car, greets Chance with a handshake and an arm around the shoulder. Then the three get into the limousine. FADE OUT. THE END
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/unformated_scripts/Script_Benny & Joon.txt b/unformated_scripts/Script_Benny & Joon.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..97566807debb276b8f3e76ca6f37aeb373044dab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unformated_scripts/Script_Benny & Joon.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,1412 @@
+Benny and Joon 
+
+
+In Benny’s garage. 
+
+Randy: So were planning our next vacation right. I want Australia, she wants Italy. I like snorkelling. She likes garlic. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, she says to me do I need her? Jesus Benny, what kind of question is that? I mean need, what does it mean to really need somebody? 
+
+Eric: Benny, fuel line. 
+
+Benny: Hey Waldo, could you answer that phone? 
+
+Waldo: Yeah, Hello? 
+
+Postman: I need a check Benny, C.O.D. 
+
+Benny: In a minute, meet me in the office. 
+
+Postman: (quietly) all right 
+
+Benny: Whoa, put that out, I got a fuel line broke. 
+
+Waldo: Hey Benny, it’s Joon on the phone again 
+
+Benny: Well tell her I’ll call her back, ask her what she wants 
+
+Waldo: Its an emergency, she says your running low on peanut butter super chunks 
+
+Benny: (quietly) Emergency 
+
+In the garage office 
+
+Benny: (On phone) all right, the issue is jelly, you only like two kinds. You either like grape or poison berry, which? All right. Yeah, yeah peanut butter, I know, super kind, all right, see you at 6. Ok, bye.(Hangs up phone) Hi, thanks for waiting m’am. Erm, im afraid that the best deal we can do for you is going to be, erm, $7750. But I think if you check around you’ll see that that is a really good deal. 
+
+Girl: Yeah? 
+
+Eric: That really is a very good deal m’am. A little too good… 
+
+Girl: Let’s do it.Outside Benny and Joon’s house, then inside. 
+
+(Benny is walking home from work, he hears shouting inside) 
+
+Joon: Get out of my sight! 
+
+Smeal: you wouldn’t dare Joon. 
+
+(Joon screams and throws plate across room.) 
+
+Benny: what is going on here? (He rushes in) Joon! Mrs Smeal! Mrs Smeal, please. 
+
+Smeal: Beware the winds of reason shall blow stern. 
+
+Benny: What? 
+
+Smeal: I am done Mr Pearl, I am done. The mules turned to glue, she left the house unescorted, she has sudden outbursts. She is simply unmanageable 
+
+Benny: Mrs Smeal! Please, wait, please. Let me talk to her. I can talk to her, you cant quit on such short notice. 
+
+Smeal: oh, well I’m sorry sir. In Ireland we have a saying when a boat runs ashore, the sea has spoken. 
+
+(Mrs Smeal leaves)In the kitchen, Benny is cooking and on the phone to Eric.Benny: Listen, if she is going to be alone every day until I find another housekeeper, I’m not leaving her alone at night too. 
+
+Eric: Listen bring her, what’s she going to do? She paints and she reads. 
+
+Benny: Yeah, she paints, she reads, she lights things on fire. 
+
+Eric: that happened once. Look I got a fire extinguisher, just bring her. Now get your ass over here, and don’t forget the Louie Prang record. Remember, always play for keeps. 
+
+Benny: all right, all right, all right, I’ll be there. 
+
+Benny: Joon Dinner! Spaghetti and salad. 
+
+Joon: in that order? 
+
+Benny: what happened between you and Mrs Smeal? 
+
+Joon: she was given the fits of semi-precious metaphors. 
+
+Benny: the woman’s a house keeper Joon, not an English professor. 
+
+Joon: she moved things. 
+
+Benny: she said you wandered off. Did you leave the house alone? 
+
+Joon: define alone 
+
+Benny: you know full well what I’m talking about. Listen, while im at work I cant be worried about whether or not your knocking another house keeper into early retirement. First it was Mrs Larkburg. 
+
+Joon: a woman deeply and hygienically disturbed. Her hair smelled. 
+
+Benny: but then it was Mrs Piltz. 
+
+Joon: Piltz, the answers in the question. Let’s face it Benjamin, hiring house keepers is not your forte. 
+
+Benny: Oh yeah, well until I do find another house keeper, you are going to stick close to the house, you understand? Now have some salad. Oh by the way, I want you to come with me to my poker game 
+
+Joon: Benny… 
+
+Benny: come on, you’ll have a good timeThey travel to the poker game and Joon sees Sam in the tree. They arrive at the poker game 
+
+Man: erm, wet belt buckle 
+
+Mike: classical Greek martini shaker 
+
+Benny: 6 turkey feather darts 
+
+Thomas: I’ll see you with the Diana Durban album 
+
+Benny: come on 
+
+Thomas: and I’ll raise you with the stethoscope 
+
+Mike: does it have little plastic ear pieces on the end? 
+
+Thomas: what do you care? You never win mike! 
+
+Mike: well if I do, I don’t want the, stabbing my ear drums. Steering wheel knob 
+
+Eric: Salad shooter 
+
+Benny: 56 debenture iron 
+
+Thomas: foldo 
+
+Mike: well you must have a good hand, huh 
+
+Benny: no, I’m bluffing 
+
+Mike: really 
+
+Benny: come on, you got to play to find out, come on 
+
+Mike: ok, 150ft of coaxial cable. Show them 
+
+Benny: full house, Jacks over four’s 
+
+Eric: (laughing) oh shit 
+
+Mike: I thought he was bluffing 
+
+Thomas: well some one get some air to his brain. He was bluffing about bluffing 
+
+Mike: you’re a real pal Benny, I tell you what, I got a solution to your house keeper problems, you can have my room mates. 
+
+Joon: oh that’s a terrific offer Benjamin. To save you from the retched chore of Smeal shopping. Those places are such drudgery aren’t they? Montgomery and Smeal, Smeals and Roebuck, Smeals ‘r’ us… 
+
+Benny: Joon. You got a roommate? When did you get a roommate? 
+
+Mike: since last week. My cousin landed in town and my life has gone from heaven to hell in 7 days. 
+
+Thomas: Just like the good lord intended 
+
+Mike: yeah, 20 years old and he can’t even read. He spends all day polishing my plastic forks. 
+
+Eric: what do you mean when you say he can’t read? You mean words? 
+
+Mike: yeah, and he keeps me up all night watching stupid old movies. My works starting to suffer. 
+
+Joon: you installed cable TV. 
+
+Benny: Joon, would you please glue your sequins 
+
+Joon: have we an internal sequin issue to deal with Benjamin? 
+
+Benny: can we make this the last hand? Come on, come on, play cards. 
+
+Eric: 2 tickets to tomorrow nights baseball game 
+
+Benny: 1 pocket fisherman 
+
+Thomas: fold 
+
+Benny: do you ever stay in? 
+
+Mike: a snorkel maskNext morning in Benny and Joon’s house. Joon is wearing a snorkel mask and makes a smoothie. She goes outside and holds up the traffic.
+
+In the social workers officeSW: she really knows how to rattle the day help 
+
+Benny: you know, I think we need to find someone more understanding than Mrs Smeal 
+
+SW: now let me tell you something. How are you two getting along? 
+
+Benny: us? Fine, normal, you know fine. Why? 
+
+SW: I’ll level with you. I think its time you gave serious consideration into a group home 
+
+Benny: she already has a home 
+
+SW: Benny, she needs to be with her peers 
+
+Benny: yeah, she hates her peers. She has already quit the two day centres to prove it. Look all we need right now is a new housekeeper 
+
+SW: well I know of no one else. You’ve been up and down the list. Now you might want to entertain the possibilities that there are some people more capable of handling these episodes than you. I am beginning to that that you living together may not be the best thing any more 
+
+Benny: I’m her brother and her only family. And we’ve done just fine the two of us for 12 years. 
+
+SW: yes but her stress level is always a factor in her display of symptoms. Her agitation should be kept to a minimum 
+
+Benny: everybody gets agitated sometimes it’s the only option 
+
+SW: Benny, don’t get me wrong I’m impressed that you’ve managed this long. But a group home would give her a chance to develop other relationships. Also we don’t know this but what if she was capable of a part time job? They would encourage her in that direction. These are very nice place’s, nurturing, supportive
+
+Benny: I’m not farming her outJoon has held up the traffic and the drivers are getting angry and shouting at her. A police man arrives 
+
+Joon: I have every right to be outside officer. I have ever right. 
+
+Police: yes m’am. May I see some ID please? In Benny’s garage 
+
+Benny: hey Waldo, did you start that brake job yet? 
+
+Waldo: Joon called. She says that you’ve run out of tapioca. 
+
+Benny: she what? 
+
+Waldo: oh, and the police will cooperate 
+
+Benny: holy shit. Listen Jack, you want to go to the baseball game tonight, 
+
+Jack: hey thanks Benny. 
+
+Benny: box seats. Hello, Joon?Back at the house. Joon is painting. 
+
+Benny: time for your medicine JoonBenny in his bedroom 
+
+Benny: night SteveAt the garage 
+
+Benny: oh hello, how’s it going? 
+
+Girl: I appreciate the deal on the engine 
+
+Benny: oh yeah, no problem. Is it running alright? 
+
+Girl: yeah, it’s running great 
+
+Benny: oh, good 
+
+Girl: so can I erm, make it up to you with some dinner. 
+
+Benny: some dinner? Erm you serious? 
+
+Girl: yeah, dinner with you 
+
+Benny: Erm, you know what I can’t. I mean I’d like to but I can’t 
+
+Girl: ok 
+
+Benny: ok 
+
+Eric: stupid, stupidAt the house playing table tennis 
+
+Benny: 18:15 
+
+Joon: 17:16 
+
+Benny: 18:15 
+
+Joon: it caught the corner. 
+
+Benny: it was a foot off the table 
+
+Joon: it was not 
+
+Benny: Juniper 
+
+Joon: Benjamin. Don’t underestimate the mentally ill. We know how to count 
+
+Benny: ok, fine 17:16 
+
+Joon: you can’t give me what was already mine. You’re trying to cheat 
+
+Benny: I’m not cheating 
+
+Joon: cheating 
+
+Benny: Joon, I don’t cheat. You’re the one who’s cheating 
+
+Joon: You’re all trying to cheat me, you’re trying to cheat. Joon throws the racket and smashes a lamp. She then runs upstairs 
+
+At the hospitalThomas: (On the phone at the hospital) yeah, alright I spoke to some of the guys from the staff Benny. Nobody wants to be your house keeper. I will keep trying but I got to tell you I don’t think so 
+
+Benny: (on the phone at home) yeah, ok thanks. ByeJoon is playing with a fan and some paper. She lets go of the paper and it flies into a candle setting alight. Benny puts it out and goes upstairs. He sits on the bed 
+
+Benny: ok StevieHe goes to feed his fish, but it is dead. He takes it to the bathroom and flushes it down the toilet. 
+
+Outside Eric’s houseBenny: I mean I cant even keep a goldfish alive. What chance do I have with Joon? If something bad happened to her I’d, I’d never ever be able to forgive myself 
+
+Eric: a group home is the right thing for her Benny. 
+
+Benny: yeah, this is defiantly for her own good 
+
+Eric: hey, it’s for both your own good. How much longer can you do this to your self? You’re life is literally passing you by 
+
+Benny: you’re right. You’re right. What am I doing with myself? I spend my life working on cars and taking care of my sister. I cant even have a relationship without having to worry how Joon is going to fit in. 
+
+Eric: you know, once you get settled in you can actually take a vacation. Travel a little. I can hold down the fort no problem. 
+
+Benny: travel? Travel? 
+
+Eric: Benny, there is a whole world out there man, I mean picture yourself on the open road, wind in the hair in the Alcamino. Highway stretching out b- what’s that? Up ahead? A lovely motorist. Stranded. Carburettor trouble. Better investigate. 
+
+Benny: yeah right, I’m going to be stopping at a pay phone every 15 minutes to call Joon to see how she’s doing.At another poker game 
+
+Mike: Ok lets see, Black Sabbath over there 
+
+Thomas: you got that flash light? 
+
+Mike: its not a flashlight. it turns out its a brush kind of thing. Hat 
+
+Thomas: Where’s the batteries? 
+
+Mike: you didn’t win any batteries. what are you talking about? 
+
+Thomas: who gets the ice shaker? it goes on mine 
+
+Mike: ok guys come one, hurry it up huh or we'll start without you 
+
+Joon: I’ve been known to play a little cardsThey start to play cards 
+
+Mike: box of 30 odd 6 cartridges 
+
+Joon: medium sized green haired troll 
+
+Thomas: soap on a rope, slightly used. Cards? 
+
+Mike: three 
+
+Thomas: cards? 
+
+Joon: two 
+
+Thomas: the dealer takes three 
+
+Mike: pass 
+
+Joon: re-grout my shower, blue grout 
+
+Thomas: I fold 
+
+Mike: shampoo my dog, lava lamp 
+
+Joon: scrape and paint the exterior of my house 
+
+Thomas: hey hey come on slow it down you guys. these are supposed to be reasonable stakes 
+
+Joon: that’s a see and a raise, you follow me? 
+
+Mike: you take my cousin off my hands 
+
+Thomas: hey wait, wait, just stop, all right? Benny’s going to strangle you guys 
+
+Joon: chill out Thomas 
+
+Benny: Joon, we've gotta go 
+
+Joon shows her cards 
+
+Mike: a flush. (Mike shows his cards) Full house. yes, yes, oh Benny, tonight’s your lucky night 
+
+Thomas: Mike warned it was for keeps Benny 
+
+Benny: what, what’s for keeps? 
+
+Joon: I lost 
+
+Benny: what in the pot? 
+
+Joon: a cousin 
+
+Benny and Joon are walking out of the house followed by Mike 
+
+Mike: hey guys, rules are rules, without them there’s no order in the universe 
+
+Benny: oh don’t give me that crap. you took advantage 
+
+Joon: of your sick sister. a heart flush is a perfectly respectable hand 
+
+Mike: Not respectable enough 
+
+Benny: hey shut up Mike. I am not taking this guy home 
+
+Mike: you have to man. remember the bet I lost last year. I had to re-plant your socket set. I didn’t back out did I? 
+
+Benny: you cant bet a human being! 
+
+Mike: oh, well if your going to be a baby about it 
+
+Benny: all right Mike. You want to play like that? I’ll take him home. i may not be responsible for what I’m going to do to him but I’ll take him. 
+
+Mike: oh man, what are you doing you stupid jerk? 
+
+Sam: Oh there’s something wrong with your car 
+
+Mike: what did you do with my hob caps? 
+
+Sam: I don’t know. I’m Sam 
+
+Benny: so I here. I’m Benny 
+
+Sam: with an N? 
+
+Benny: yeah two of ‘em. This is Joon 
+
+Sam: with an N? 
+
+Joon: one. You’re out of you’re tree 
+
+Sam: its not my tree 
+
+Benny: I think I need a beer 
+
+Mike: hey Benny, wait a minute. Where are you going? Come here man, give me a job. Hey! You’re going with them 
+
+At Diner 
+
+Sam dances with some rolls of bread 
+
+Benny: oh god bless you. 
+
+Sam knocks the tray out of the waitress’s hands and catches it. He hands it to the customers but switches them over. 
+
+Ruthie: hey pal, we’re trying to work here if you don’t mind 
+
+Sam: oh my god. I’ve just been looking for my boyfriend. Have you seen him? He’s a cute guy with a little mole on his right cheek. 
+
+Man: Ruthie one of your ghosts come back to haunt you? 
+
+Sam: (screaming) oh Brad, Brad, Brad please don’t be dead. I never got a chance to tell you what you mean to me. Oh Brad please. Its you you’re you, Ruthie Melanie. Co-star of the prom queen mutilator with Dick Beebe. 
+
+Ruthie: you saw that? 
+
+Sam: he was mine, he was mine. No Sindy you’re sick. Sindy you need help, no Sindy, no, no, no! (pretends to stab himself) 
+
+Benny and Joon’s house 
+
+Sam looks around the room and sees Joon’s paintings. He puts his finger in the wet paint and lick’s him finger. 
+
+Joon: don’t touch it 
+
+Sam: its paint 
+
+Joon: yes 
+
+Sam: Kirk Douglas, Van Gough ear (makes a scissor action with his hand) 
+
+Benny: these are yours. You’ll sleep here all right? Come on its late. Lets brush you’re teeth and hair. 
+
+Joon: I can brush my own teeth Benjamin 
+
+Benny: fine 
+
+Joon: hair too 
+
+Benny: perfect. Come on 
+
+Sam: oh, oh Benny. Hey Benny. Thanks for the couch. Erm Mike made me sleep under the sink. 
+
+Benny: oh you’re welcome. Good night 
+
+Sam: good night 
+
+Next Morning 
+
+Sam is sleeping and Joon is drawing him. He moves so Joon quickly pits them away. 
+
+In the bathroom 
+
+Sam: mentally ill. Really? 
+
+Benny: yeah. Benny: but I mean don’t worry about it. Just let her go about her routine, you know. Her routine is everyday therapy. Oh and don’t hang around her room while she’s painting. She hates that. 
+
+Sam: no 
+
+Benny: she runs hot and cold on you, just ignore it. That’s just the way it works. Oh listen erm, she starts talking to herself, don’t worry about it but don’t answer. 
+
+Sam: ok 
+
+Benny: she sometimes hears voices in her head. That comes with the territory too. And erm just make sure that nothing and I mean nothing happens to her 
+
+Sam: ok 
+
+Benny: ok 
+
+Benny goes out to work and leaves Joon and Sam. Joon is making a breakfast smoothie and Sam is watching as he walks in. 
+
+Joon: having a Boo Radley moment are we? 
+
+She hands Sam a glass of smoothie. 
+
+At garage 
+
+Benny: good morning 
+
+Eric: hey 
+
+Benny: this today? 
+
+Eric. Yeah. So erm what did you do with the cousin? The bus station? The river? What? You throw him in the river? 
+
+Benny: (laughs) no, I took him home 
+
+Eric: you took him home? 
+
+Benny: yeah 
+
+Eric: to your house? 
+
+Benny: yeah to my house 
+
+Eric: what are you crazy? 
+
+Benny: hey believe me its only temporary 
+
+Eric: great, maybe he can tell Joon about the group home 
+
+Benny: listen, if I’m going to do this group home thing I’ve got to figure out the best way to tell her, you know what I mean. Where’s Waldo? Is he not here yet?
+
+Eric: no 
+
+Benny: all right that’s it I’m going to have a talk with him 
+
+Eric: no your not 
+
+Benny: yes I am. I’m calling him right now. What’s his phone number? 
+
+Eric: 5550944 
+
+Benny and Joon’s house 
+
+Sam is cleaning and Joon is in the garden. She hears the loud music that Sam is playing and runs inside. 
+
+Joon: aah, too loud. 
+
+Sam: aah, what? (Joon points to the radio) oh. 
+
+He switches the radio off and Joon takes it away. 
+
+Benny walks home as he walks in he sees Joon alone at the table 
+
+Benny: hey where’s Sam? 
+
+Joon: I didn’t mean to kick him out. I mean I didn’t kick him out he just left. 
+
+Benny: whoa, whoa, whoa what, what happened? Did something happen? 
+
+Joon: he just he just left. He was, he was in the air and, and, and with a thing and it was really loud. It was really loud. And all, I just kept seeing. He didn’t mean to do it. 
+
+Benny: do it? What? What, did he, what did he do? 
+
+Joon: he cleaned the house 
+
+Benny: and you kicked him out for that? 
+
+Joon: (laughs) 
+
+Benny: (laughs) 
+
+There is a knock on the door and a jack-in-the-box is left on the floor. Joon picks it up. They both look up and see Sam sat on the mail box. 
+
+Joon: maybe I should invite him back in 
+
+Benny: yeah before someone sticks a stamp on his head and mails him to Guam. 
+
+Back in the house 
+
+Sam is making grilled cheese sandwiches with an iron 
+
+Joon: some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese 
+
+Benny: is that a fact? 
+
+Joon is in bed and Benny walks in 
+
+Joon: he can really cook cant he? 
+
+Benny: uh-uh yeah. All for the grilled cheese I might of used the wool setting. 
+
+Joon: that’s what I told him 
+
+Benny: really? What did he use? 
+
+Joon: rayon. Silk would have been too soggy. Cotton would 
+
+Benny: would of burned it 
+
+Joon: right. Fortunately he consulted me before giving it steam. I was four square against it. I wish he could be my new smeal. 
+
+Joon hums a tune and they both start singing the words. It flashbacks to when they were kids and their parents died in a car crash. 
+
+Benny: good night 
+
+Joon: good night 
+
+The next morning and Sam is writing a letter to him mum 
+
+Joon: you need some help? Dear mum, I have departed Mikes with love and gratitude and am not living with Benny and Joon pearl, two magnificently devoted new friends. Benny’s pre-disposition to hyper tense Irish monologue is sub standing and he has given me a job as a domestic engineer and is pleased with my performance so far. Love Sam 
+
+Sam: wow, I didn’t know how to talk like that 
+
+They go outside and post the letter 
+
+Sam: tapioca? 
+
+Joon: oh, yes 
+
+In the diner 
+
+Ruthie: ok 
+
+Sam: thank you Ruthie 
+
+Ruthie: you’re welcome Sam. Let me know if you need anything ok? 
+
+Sam: you don’t like raisins? 
+
+Joon: not really 
+
+Sam: why? 
+
+Joon: they used to be fat and juicy and now they’re twisted like they had their life stolen. They taste sweet but really they are just humiliated grapes. I cant say I’m a big supporter of the raisin council. 
+
+Sam: did you see those raisins on TV? The ones that sing and dance and stuff 
+
+Joon: they scare me 
+
+Sam: yeah me too 
+
+Joon; its sick, commercial people make them sing and dance so people will eat them 
+
+Sam: it’s a shame about raisins 
+
+Joon: cannibals 
+
+Sam; yeah. Do you like avocadoes? 
+
+Joon: they’re a fruit you know. 
+
+Sam: Ruthie, do you got any avocadoes? 
+
+At Benny and Joon’s house 
+
+Benny: Joon 
+
+He looks outside and sees a car pull up. Ruthie, Sam and Joon get out of the car. 
+
+Joon: you’re very pretty when you’re off work Ruthie 
+
+Ruthie: thank you. Maybe I should quit my job huh? 
+
+Benny: where the hell have you two been? 
+
+Ruthie: oh don’t worry, they were with me. We were just running some errands. 
+
+Benny: oh how you doing? 
+
+Ruthie: Hi 
+
+Benny; running errands? You ran an errand? 
+
+Joon: yes I did, I ran an errand. 
+
+Joon hands Benny two new fish 
+
+Benny: oh look 
+
+Joon; they are both named Steven. One with a V and one with a PH. 
+
+Sam: look, look, look Ruthie’s movie 
+
+Joon: yes and she’s staying for dinner too 
+
+Benny: come on in, come on in 
+
+By the river 
+
+Benny: so why did you leave? 
+
+Ruthie: LA? I wasn’t that good of an actress 
+
+Benny: well that’s not how Sam tells it. He’s raving about you 
+
+Ruthie: yeah well, he’s sweeter than he is judgemental. How long have you known him? 
+
+Benny: Sam? Erm 72 hours 
+
+Ruthie: be serious 
+
+Benny: I am, serious 
+
+Ruthie: really 
+
+Benny: I’m always serious, I’m too serious. Did you ever get to the point in your life when nothing makes any sense? 
+
+Inside watching the movie 
+
+Sam is talking along with the movie 
+
+Outside trying to start Ruthie’s car 
+
+Benny: try it again. Now there’s only two reasons a car wont start. Either you’re not getting fuel or you’re not getting fuel. You’ve got fire. I think you’d better let me drive you home. Sorry 
+
+Ruthie: thanks 
+
+Pulling up outside Ruthie’s house 
+
+Ruthie: here it is, right here 
+
+Benny; 2nd job huh/ 
+
+Ruthie: yeah got to make those ends meet you know 
+
+Benny: this is just how I imagined your place. Well… 
+
+Ruthie: you want to come in? Or you want to… 
+
+Benny: oh no I’ll come in, for a minute. Whoa! What is this? Nice porch. 
+
+Ruthie: pretty nice fish Joon gave you 
+
+Benny: oh yeah, those fish. Yeah I was shocked I was… Nice fish, I mean yeah 
+
+Ruthie: I never had a fish 
+
+Benny: what? Not even as a kid? 
+
+Ruthie: no, under privileged childhood I guess 
+
+Benny: down right un-American if you ask me 
+
+Ruthie: yeah 
+
+Benny: you can have one of mine if you want 
+
+Ruthie: no I couldn’t possibly. They were a gift 
+
+Benny: but you know you could borrow it. But you know we could share it. Like joint custody. You could take it on the weekends you know. What is this? 
+
+Ruthie: sit down son, you’re making me nervous 
+
+Benny: oh 
+
+Ruthie: want a beer? 
+
+Benny: yeah, you know what I’d better not. I gotta’ get goin’. I better get goin’ ok? 
+
+Ruthie: yeah ok 
+
+Benny: I’ll take a rain check on the beer 
+
+Ruthie: ok I got the doors 
+
+Benny: want to go to dinner? 
+
+Ruthie; ever been married? 
+
+Benny: no 
+
+Ruthie: yeah 
+
+Benny: yeah? Great. See you 
+
+Ruthie: see you 
+
+Benny: see you 
+
+Benny and Joon’s house 
+
+Sam and Joon kiss. Sam blows up a balloon and lets the air out of it slowly so it makes a tune. It pops and they laugh 
+
+At the social workers office 
+
+SW: see you next week 
+
+Joon: right thank you 
+
+SW: Benny, would you come inside a minute? 
+
+Benny: sure 
+
+SW: who’s the new house keeper? 
+
+Benny: the new… oh! This… friend just came to stay with us for a while but… 
+
+SW: Joon tells me he’s a man 
+
+Benny: well you know Joon, how flowery she gets with words 
+
+SW: she she’s lying? I mean is it a man or isn’t it? 
+
+Benny: well yes technically. He’s really just a guy, a friend. 
+
+SW: so where does this leave the group home decision? I take it you havent talked to her about it yet 
+
+Benny: no I erm 
+
+SW: the admission date is less than a week away 
+
+Benny: but you see the thing is she’s really doing fine. She seems content and everything. Lets just leave it at that for now 
+
+SW: let me know when you want to talk to her about it 
+
+Benny: I’ll let you know. Ok bye 
+
+Sam walks into the video store and takes the help wanted sign off the window 
+
+Owner: hello 
+
+Sam: I wanna help 
+
+Owner: ah wonderful ok. If you’d like to fill out this application I’ll be right with you. 
+
+Sam picks up the pen and writes his name. He folds up the application and walks out of the shop. 
+
+Benny and Joon are back at the house. Joon is scrubbing Benny’s finger nails. 
+
+Benny: not so hard 
+
+Joon: wow, you actually have cuticles 
+
+Benny: I know its amazing. What the hell is he doing? 
+
+Joon: Mashed potatoes. So are you and Ruthie considering item hood? Are you? Benjamin and Ruthie sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then come marriage 
+
+Benny: get out of here 
+
+Joon: then comes little Ruthamins and Benjamins and babys … 
+
+Benny: I’m just taking her out to dinner 
+
+Sam is downstairs making mashed potatoes with a tennis racket 
+
+Benny and Ruthie are coming home from their date 
+
+Ruthie: (laughing) That’s a good joke 
+
+Benny: you like that? 
+
+Ruthie: uh-uh. What time you got? 
+
+Benny: its eleven. 
+
+Ruthie: on the nose? 
+
+Benny: right exactly 
+
+Ruthie: don’t think I’ve ever asked anybody the time before and it be right on the nose 
+
+Benny: (laughs) that’s weird isn’t it? Its right on the nose 
+
+Ruthie leans over and kissed Benny 
+
+Ruthie: do you, do you want to come in for a while? I erm, I got that beer waiting for you 
+
+Benny: erm you know what? I should probably go 
+
+Ruthie: ok 
+
+Benny: listen erm can I tell you something? 
+
+Ruthie: what? 
+
+Benny: erm you see my life is just real complicated and 
+
+Ruthie: give me a break Benny I just offered you a bear ok 
+
+She gets out of the car and runs inside 
+
+Benny: no 
+
+In the park the next day. Sam, Benny and Joon are sat on a rug. 
+
+Joon: why don’t we pick up Ruthie and get some ice cream? 
+
+Sam: yeah lets get her 
+
+Benny: no 
+
+Sam: why? 
+
+Benny: cos, she doesn’t want to talk to me 
+
+Sam: oh 
+
+He tries to put his hat on his head but it just pops off again. He does it to Joon and tries to do it to Benny. 
+
+Benny: come on we should go. Knock it off. 
+
+He knocks the hat out of Sam’s hand and it goes flying. Sam does an acrobatic show for the people in the park 
+
+Benny: he is, he’s incredible. He’s amazing 
+
+Joon: did you have to go to school for that? 
+
+Sam: no no I got thrown out of school for that 
+
+Joon: really? 
+
+Sam: oh yeah 
+
+He stands on a bench and walks over it 
+
+Benny: hey listen why don’t you guys go on ahead? I’m going to hang around here for a while. Ok? 
+
+Joon: really? 
+
+Benny: yeah go ahead. I’ll see you at home later. all right? 
+
+Sam: ok 
+
+Joon: ok 
+
+Benny; that was, that was great. 
+
+Sam: no no 
+
+Benny: thank you 
+
+Sam: no thank you. bye bye 
+
+Benny tries to do the trick with the bench that Sam did. 
+
+Back at the house 
+
+Sam and Joon are sat on the sofa and kiss. 
+
+Sam: Joon 
+
+Joon: what? 
+
+Sam: I, I love you 
+
+Joon: me too. don’t tell Benny 
+
+Sam: Ok 
+
+Joon hears Benny coming in so gets up and goes to her bedroom 
+
+Next morning, Benny is in the shower 
+
+Benny: did you see the way you had everybody in the palm of you’re hand? Huh? You’ve got this gift and you shouldn’t ignore it you should be out there doing something with it. 
+
+Sam: like what? 
+
+Benny: I don’t know all I know is that they were saying this guy is something else. You’re special. You’re not some regular schmoe like the rest of us who do it because we have to do it. You’re blessed 
+
+Sam: Benny, 
+
+Benny: what? 
+
+Sam: how sick is she? 
+
+Benny: plenty sick. Now listen to me, I’ve been doing some thinking 
+
+Sam: because it seems to me that, well except from being a little mentally ill, she’s pretty normal you know? 
+
+Benny: do you realise you could be the next Buster Keeton? 
+
+Sam is sat outside the video store contemplating whether to go in 
+
+Sam goes in and talks to the owner. He has the job. 
+
+In the garage 
+
+Benny: I’m telling you, Randy listen to me, you’ve got to see this guy. Tell him Eric 
+
+Eric: he’s funny 
+
+Benny: he’s truly amazing. Will you see him? 
+
+Randy: yeah I’ll see him 
+
+Benny: you’ll see him? 
+
+Randy: yeah you never know, you know most of these guys work locally but some of them, the better ones, you can book in the out of town clubs 
+
+Benny: you book them out of town? 
+
+Randy: I book them all over. Detroit, Boston, sometimes LA 
+
+Benny: Whoa! Randy can you see him tonight? 
+
+Randy: I’d love to see him tonight 
+
+Benny: hi 
+
+Ruthie: is my car ready? 
+
+Benny: how you doing? Oh come on in, come on in. Erm listen erm I want to apologise for the other night. It came out all wrong 
+
+Ruthie: no no its ok 
+
+Benny: no I do 
+
+Ruthie: how’s my car? 
+
+Benny: oh its running great. Your fuel pump was shot so I threw in a new one. Its running great 
+
+Ruthie: how much do I owe you? 
+
+Benny: I’ll tell you what. Just gibe me $30 for the part and I’m not going to charge you for the labour. All right? Ok? 
+
+Ruthie: yes 
+
+Benny: listen if you’re not doin’ anything later I just lined up this thing for Sam 
+
+Ruthie: what thing? 
+
+Benny: well its like an audition. Maybe his chance to make a living at all this crazy stuff that he does. Who knows? Maybe he could travel, play clubs. I don’t know, you know? So if you’re not doing anything later and you feel like… 
+
+Ruthie: I don’t know Benny. I got food to deliver, apartments to rent. My life’s pretty complicated right now, you know? Thanks. Bye 
+
+At Benny and Joon’s house 
+
+Benny: we’ll lay out the whole routine right after dinner. You know what you could start with? Remember the role thing you were doing at the diner? 
+
+Joon: who died and made you Ed McMahon? 
+
+Benny: what’s your problem? This is his chance to do something, be somebody 
+
+Joon: he is somebody 
+
+Benny: yeah I know, but he wants to be more 
+
+Joon: you don’t know what he wants 
+
+Benny: I know he doesn’t want to be a house keeper for the rest of his life. If you’re worried about getting a new Smeal we’ll get you a new Smeal 
+
+Joon: he’s not my Smeal 
+
+Benny: house keeper, whatever 
+
+Joon: we have to tell him 
+
+Benny: what? Tell me what? 
+
+Sam: err Benny…Joon… and… and I… are… you know. 
+
+Benny: bullshit! You… 
+
+He gets up and drags Sam from the table 
+
+Sam: no, no 
+
+Joon: don’t 
+
+Benny: get the fuck out! 
+
+Joon: you cant throw him out. I won him 
+
+Benny: just settle down, just settle down 
+
+Joon: I love him! 
+
+Benny: yeah? Well you’re crazy! 
+
+Joon: I am not crazy 
+
+Benny; you see what we’ve come to? You see? 
+
+He gets out the group home leaflet 
+
+Joon: I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you 
+
+In Joon’s bedroom 
+
+Benny: can I get you anything? 
+
+Joon: tapioca 
+
+Benny: tapioca? Ok. Anything on it? 
+
+Joon: raisins 
+
+Benny: ok 
+
+He goes downstairs and checks the fridge. There is none left so he goes out to get some. Sam is sat in the tree outside and Joon burns a picture of her and benny when they were children. Sam goes to the door and Joon goes out to him 
+
+Joon: Hi 
+
+Benny arrives at Ruthie’s house 
+
+Benny: hi. How you doin’? 
+
+Ruthie: you’re out late 
+
+Benny: yeah. Listen… do you have any tapioca? 
+
+Ruthie: jeez Benny, I’ve heard a lot of lines in my time but… 
+
+Benny: no, no, no its not for me. Its for Joon 
+
+Ruthie: come on in 
+
+Benny: yeah? 
+
+Ruthie: yeah 
+
+Sam and Joon get on the bus with two bags. They sit down and Joon starts to talk to herself 
+
+Joon: I cant hear you 
+
+Sam: Joon. Ok? 
+
+Joon: yeah 
+
+Sam: good good good 
+
+He tries to calm her down 
+
+Joon; I’m not no, no I’m not 
+
+Sam: ok? All right? Hold tight ok? Shh. Its ok. Its ok 
+
+Joon: I am not, I am not, I am not 
+
+Joon starts to cry and Sam is still trying to calm her down 
+
+Joon: shut up! 
+
+Sam: no, no, no, no. Shh. Shh. Joon. Please. Come on 
+
+Joon: no its not all in my head 
+
+Sam: sir? Sir! Stop the bus! Please stop the bus! 
+
+Benny is driving back fromRuthie’s and he sees the bus stopped. An ambulance arrives and the crew climb aboard the bus 
+
+Joon: I don’t want to talk to you 
+
+Sam: Joon 
+
+AM1: all righty. You want to step out? 
+
+Sam: yeah ok, ok 
+
+AM1: how you doin’ hon.? 
+
+Joon: you think I don’t know who you are. I know just who you are. So just leave, leave. Leave! don’t touch me! don’t touch me! 
+
+They grab her and put her in the ambulance. Benny runs to the front of the crowd of people 
+
+Benny: Joon, Joon! 
+
+He sees Sam sat in the ambulance 
+
+At the mental hospital 
+
+Benny: look I a going to see my sister. Would you please tell me her room number? 
+
+Woman: please sir, just come back in the morning 
+
+Benny: let me talk to her god damn doctor 
+
+In the social workers room 
+
+SW: I’m sorry. She doesn’t want any visitors. Not you or anyone else 
+
+Benny: she doesn’t want to see me? 
+
+SW: no and she doesn’t want to leave. Benny why don’t you go home? Get some sleep. I promise I’ll keep in touch 
+
+He goes out of the room and sees Sam in the waiting room 
+
+Benny: I hope your happy. I hope you’re happy with what you have done to her. 
+
+He grabs Sam 
+
+Benny: you just stay the hell away from my sister 
+
+Sam: no, no 
+
+Benny: want to know why everybody laughs at you Sam? Because you’re an idiot. You’re a first class moron 
+
+Sam: you’re scared 
+
+Benny: I’m what? 
+
+Sam you’re scared. I can see it. And you know why? I used to look up to you but know I cant look at you at all. 
+
+It flashes to Joon in bed and Benny walking by the trains. It shows Joon again but awake by the window and Sam at Ruthie’s. Benny is playing with a jack-in-the-box back at the house and Sam is outside the hospital. 
+
+At the video store 
+
+Sam: I think that Fred Astatine is the way to go 
+
+Lady: yeah? 
+
+Sam: that’s a good choice 
+
+Lady: who’s that woman who starred in the roman… 
+
+Sam looks up and sees Benny 
+
+Sam: Audrey hepburn 
+
+Lady: yeah Sam. Thanks a lot 
+
+Sam: have a nice day. Can I help you? 
+
+Benny: yeah I hope so. 
+
+At the mental hospital 
+
+Sam and Benny are in a room. Thomas walks in 
+
+Benny: Thomas, how is she? Tell me the truth 
+
+Thomas: she’s been better Benny 
+
+Benny: well you’ve got to tell me what room number she’s in 
+
+Thomas: 335. But don’t even think about it Benny. it’s a closed ward. No visitors 
+
+Sam: no we’ve got to find Joon. Please 
+
+Benny: Thomas you’ve got to get us in there, to see her 
+
+Thomas: its impossible Benny 
+
+Benny: what do you mean its impossible? Listen I just need 2 minutes with her 
+
+Thomas: I’ll be fired 
+
+Benny: Thomas, I’m begging you as a friend 
+
+Thomas: I’d love to help out but Garvey’s going to be in there to check on her soon. My hands are tied. My hands are tied! 
+
+Thomas leaves 
+
+Benny: what room did he say? 
+
+Sam: 335 
+
+At the waiting room they sit down. The door opens to the closed ward and Sam throws his hat in the way of the door do it doesn’t close. They go through and as they are walking through the corridors they hear some men coming the other way. 
+
+Benny: shit. What are you doing? 
+
+Sam slides down the hall towards the men 
+
+Sam: Mommy? 
+
+Man1: what are you doing here? 
+
+Man2: I don’t think you are supposed to be here 
+
+Man3: what room did you come out of? 
+
+The pick him up and carry him back through the door. 
+
+Man1: get the door 
+
+Man3: how did he get past security? 
+
+Man1: hey, watch the door 
+
+The coast is clear so Benny continues until he find Joon’s room. 
+
+Benny: Joon, look, I know you want to be left alone but you do not belong in here. Not how would you like to try living in you’re own apartment? 
+
+Joon: an apartment? 
+
+Benny: yeah! There’s an apartment available in Ruthie’s building 
+
+Joon: you’d let me live in an apartment? 
+
+Benny: that’s up to you. I’m through making those decisions for you. Listen I… I’m sorry I was such a jerk. And about Sam. I was wrong, dead wrong. 
+
+Joon: I scared him away 
+
+Benny: no you didn’t. he’s here 
+
+Joon: he is not 
+
+Benny: he is. He got me in here. He’s somewhere in the building. 
+
+Joon: he is not. You’d never let me have him. God. Why do you hate me so much? 
+
+Benny: I don’t hate you 
+
+Joon: you just need me to be sick 
+
+The social worker enters the waiting room and goes over to the desk. 
+
+SW: Juniper Pearl’s chart please. Thank you 
+
+Thomas sees the men carrying Sam away 
+
+Thomas: hey wait! Wally! Wait! Wait! Wally put him down. He’s mine. I’ve been looking for him 
+
+Man1: you sure? 
+
+Thomas: yeah I’ll take care of him. Sam you cant be in here 
+
+Sam: where’s Joon’s room? 
+
+Thomas: come on 
+
+Sam: I’ve got to see her 
+
+Thomas: come on, come on 
+
+The social worker is walking down the hall to Joon’s room and sees Benny 
+
+SW: can you give me any reason why I shouldn’t have you arrested? 
+
+Sam and Thomas are outside 
+
+Thomas points to Joon’s room 
+
+Thomas; that’s the one 
+
+Sam: yeah 
+
+Thomas: see? 
+
+Sam: ok 
+
+Thomas: Sam, where are you going? 
+
+In Joon’s room 
+
+SW: Benny, this is exactly what we were trying to avoid. By now Joon would be in a caring and controlled environment. Isn’t it obvious that you two need some distance? 
+
+Benny: what don’t we ask Joon what she wants? 
+
+Outside 
+
+Sam is climbing up the building 
+
+Thomas: Sam what are you doing? Hey Sam come on! Get down right now! 
+
+In Joon’s room 
+
+Joon: I don’t know exactly what I want. I do know… that I am tired of everyone telling me what to do 
+
+
+
+Outside 
+
+Thomas: Sam come down. don’t touch that 
+
+Sam winds up the window cleaners hoist 
+
+Thomas: Sam leave that. I’m begging you. 
+
+In Joon’s room 
+
+SW: Joon, we want what’s best for you 
+
+Joon: I know that 
+
+She sees Sam swinging across the window 
+
+Joon: I… 
+
+Outside 
+
+Thomas: Sam come down now. Sam you’re going to get in trouble 
+
+Inside 
+
+Joon: I think I want to try living in my own apartment 
+
+Benny looks outside and sees Sam. The social worker looks outside but doesn’t see anything 
+
+SW: hmm, I don’t know 
+
+Outside 
+
+Thomas: Sam stop swinging 
+
+The line of the hoist starts to come loose 
+
+Inside 
+
+SW: but I’m willing to let you try. I’ll prepare the papers for her release 
+
+Benny: thanks doctor Garvey 
+
+Outside 
+
+Thomas: come down Sam! 
+
+The hoist breaks and Sam falls down 
+
+Thomas: whoa! Whoa! Are you ok? 
+
+Sam: ouch, ouch 
+
+In the hospital 
+
+Joon tries to say something but cant get the word out 
+
+Benny: I know, me too. I’m going to go and check you out. Ok? 
+
+Joon: ok 
+
+Joon goes out and Sam is waiting for her in a wheel chair. He gets up and they hug 
+
+At Joon’s apartment 
+
+Benny pulls up outside and Ruthie is sat on her porch. He hands her some white roses 
+
+Ruthie: haven’t we tried this before 
+
+Benny: yeah but my life’s a lot less complicated now. Is Joon inside? 
+
+Ruthie: yeah 
+
+Benny: ok 
+
+He looks in her room and sees Sam and Joon making grilled cheese with an iron. He leaves her some roses at her door. 
+
+THE END 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/unformated_scripts/Script_Black Dahlia, The.txt b/unformated_scripts/Script_Black Dahlia, The.txt
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@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+                            The Black Dahlia                               Written by                             Josh Friedman                         Based on the novel by                             James Ellroy     CREDITS ROLL OVER     Black and white newsreel footage from the 1930s. Clips from     prize fights featuring two different boxers against various     opponents. One a light heavyweight--pure finesse, a     counterpunches; the other, stouter and stronger, a     headhunting puncher.     The intercutting of the two fighters suggests a possible     showdown at the end of the newsreel. No such luck.     END CREDITS     CLOSE UP ON:     A TRIPLE CARBON LAPD "INCIDENT REPORT" FORM trapped in an old     Corona typewriter. The keys pound letters into the blank     spaces.     INCIDENT: THE ZOOT SUIT RIOTS...JUNE 10, 1943...     REPORTING OFFICER...DWIGHT "BUCKY" BLEICHERT     EXT. BOYLE HEIGHTS - EVERGREEN AND WABASH - DUSK     A WORLD WAR II ERA PERSONNEL CARRIER transports twenty silent     LAPD officers into the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The     sounds of glass breaking and men screaming serves as backdrop     for their arrival.     We focus in on BUCKY BLEICHERT, 26, (The counterpuncher from     the newsreels) as he jumps from the carrier.     Bucky's minus his gun but plus a WWI tin helmet and a three     pound truncheon.     BUCKY'S POV:     Hundreds of in-uniform GI's use baseball bats and two-by-     fours to beat the shit out of Zoot Suit-wearing Mexicans.     Most of the cops wander to the edge of the race riot and     hobnob with the pockets of MPs and Shore Patrol who've chosen     to "restore order" by cheering on their countrymen against     the outnumbered but equally fierce zooters.     Sailors shatter streetlights and shop windows. Darkness falls     quickly on what Bucky rightly realizes is chaos.     Suddenly Bucky's RUNNING--     away from the action...     down a side street and onto a     QUIET RESIDENTIAL BLOCK.     He slows to a jog, trying to gather his thoughts. And then a     voice:                          VOICE               Bleichert! Bleichert!     EXT. A BUNGALOW COURTYARD - SAME     A POLICE OFFICER has THREE MARINES IN DRESS BLUES and ONE     ZOOT SUITER cornered in a center walkway.     The marines swipe clumsily at the officer with their two-by-     fours as he bobs back and forth on the balls of his feet,     dodging the blows like the ex-fighter he is.                          VOICE OVER               I already knew him by reputation, had our               respective records down pat: Lee               Blanchard, 43-4-2 as a heavyweight,               formerly a regular attraction at the               Hollywood Legion Stadium.     The terrified Mexican stands frozen on one side of Blanchard,     trying to avoid the entire mess as the policeman parries the     marines' blows with his own truncheon.                          LEE BLANCHARD               Code three, Bleichert!     Bucky runs into the courtyard and immediately wades in,     fending off the marines' blows to jab at them with his stick.                          VOICE OVER               And he knew me, Bucky Bleichert, light-               heavy, 36-0-0, ranked tenth by Ring               magazine in 1937 fighting no-name               opponents in no-man's-land division.     On instinct, Bucky drops his baton and begins wailing on the     marines with his fists, connecting hard punches with soft     midsections.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               In our first year at Central we'd never               spoke--but people spoke of us. Opinions               about a fantasy Bleichert-Blanchard               fight, and who would win.     And now Blanchard moves in, lashing vicious truncheon blows     to the shoulders of the marines, sending them one by one into     a heap.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               I'd heard almost all of 'em: Blanchard by               early KO; Bleichert by decision;               Blanchard stopped on cuts--everything but               Bleichert by knockout.     The marines reduced to rubble, Lee Blanchard turns his     attention to the Zooter: he slaps handcuffs on him and leads     him away. He motions for Bucky to follow.     Lee turns back to the marines:                          LEE               To the halls of Tripoli, shitbirds.     One of them flips Lee off. The Zooter kicks him in the chest     as Lee pulls him away from them, laughing.     The three men start back toward the riots. Gunshots can be     heard. Palm trees blaze up into the night.                          LEE (cont'd)                   (re the Zooter)               Bucky Bleichert, meet Senor Tomas Dos               Santos, subject of an all-points fugitive               warrant for manslaughter committed during               the commission of a Class B Felony.               Snatched a purse off a hairbag and she               keeled of a heart attack.                          BUCKY               You come all the way down here to roust--                          LEE                   (smiling)               I came all the way down here same as you               did.                   (jerks a finger to the riots)               Keep from gettin' killed. Happened to see               those jarheads beatin' on a good collar--                   (nudging Dos Santos)               Habla Ingles, Tomas?     The man shakes his head "no".                          LEE (cont'd)               He's dead meat. Manslaughter Two's a gas               chamber jolt for spics. Hepcat here's               about six weeks away from the Big Adios.               Been better off getting a couple cracked               ribs from our Privates First Class back               there.     Blanchard spies a home with newspapers stacked on the front     porch.                          LEE (cont'd)               We'll never get him booked tonight.                                                            CUT TO:     LEE JIMMYING THE FRONT DOOR...     INT. THE KITCHEN - LATER     Tomas Dos Santos cuffed by his ankles to a radiator. The     three men are on their second fifth of Cutty Sark swiped from     the kitchen cupboard.     Dos Santos sings a drunken Spanish version of "The     Chattanooga Choo Choo" before slumping to his side and     passing out.     Bucky covers him with a blanket.                          LEE               Tom here's my ninth hard felon of the               month. Six weeks he'll be sucking gas. In               three years I'll be working Central               Warrants. Jewboy Deputy D.A. over there               wets his pants for fighters. Promised me               the next spot he can wangle.                          BUCKY                   (not impressed)               Impressive.                          LEE                   (not impressed either)               Wanna hear something more impressive? My               first twenty fights were stumblebums               handpicked by my manager. My girlfriend               saw you fight a couple times over at the               Olympic. Says maybe you could take me.     Lee gets up and wanders into the living room. From the     kitchen Bucky watches Lee stare out at the flames.                          BUCKY               Whatta we do about the Mex?                          LEE               We'll take 'em in the morning.                          BUCKY               You'll take him.                          LEE               He's half yours, partner.                          BUCKY               He's all yours. And I'm not your partner.                          LEE                   (without turning)               Someday.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     A CLOSE UP OF TOMAS DOS SANTOS' FACE     screaming in silence.     AS WE PULL BACK TO REVEAL     Tomas Dos Santos dying in a large Plexiglas GAS CHAMBER.     Bucky stands in the back of the room, forcing himself to     watch. He can't stand it and leaves.     IN THE FRONT ROW     Lee also watches, elbows on knees and chin in hands. He can't     stand it, either. He stays.     IN THE HALLWAY AFTERWARDS     Bucky watches from afar as men in suits shake Lee's hand and     brush imaginary lint off of his BRAND NEW SERGEANT'S STRIPES.     Their eyes meet briefly as Bucky retreats to daylight.     Another TRIPLE CARBON FORM FILLED OUT ON THE CORONA...     Transfer and Promotion...Sergeant Lee Blanchard...     Highland Park Vice to Central Warrants...Effective     10/14/46     EXT. 2ND AND BEAUDRY - DAY     An extremely bored Bucky Bleichert gives a man a speeding     ticket and sends him on his way.     EXT./INT. RADIO PATROL CAR - MOVING     Bucky drives as a ROOKIE COP chatters in the seat next to     him.                          ROOKIE               Yep, three years in the Canal Zone.               Nothin' but skeeter bites and drunk               fights over three-dollar skank tail...     INT. THE CENTRAL MUSTER ROOM - DAY     Bucky sits at his desk filling out a form as the rookie cop     prattles on in the background.                          ROOKIE               ...fights over three-dollar skank tail...     AN OLDER OFFICER     walks by the rookie and rolls his eyes. Catching Bucky's     look, the cop throws him a shadow punching one-two. Bucky     smiles thinly. Returns to his paperwork. Then another cop     passes by and breaks into a bob-and-weave. Bucky looks     puzzled and annoyed.     He grabs a third cop walking by (TOM JOSLIN).                          BUCKY               Somethin' up, Tommy?                          TOM               You, that's what.                   (off Bucky's look)               You know Lee Blanchard over at Central               Warrants?     Bucky nods.                          TOM               His partner's toppin' his twenty and               goin' for early retirement. Word is the               felony D.A.'s lookin' for a bright boy to               fill the spot. Christ knows why but it's               down to you and Johnny Vogel for the               spot.     Bucky takes a surreptitious peek across the room at JOHNNY     VOGEL, fat, slick-hair and bad skin.                          BUCKY               His old man Fritzie's a Central Dick.                          TOM                   (chucking Bucky on the chin)               But who'd look better when they bring back               the boxing team, eh Buckaroo?     Bucky shakes his head, dismissing the whole thing.     INT. THE RADIO PATROL CAR - ANOTHER DAY     Bucky drives on as the rookie talks and talks...                          VOICE OVER               Warrants was local celebrity as a cop.               Warrants was plainclothes without a coat               and tie, romance and a mileage per diem               on your civilian car. Warrants was going               after the real bad guys and not rousting               winos and wienie waggers in front of the               Midnight Mission.     INT. BUCKY'S GARAGE - NIGHT     Bucky hits a speed-bag, building up a sweat.                          VOICE OVER               I told myself I didn't care.     He hits the bag faster and faster.     INT. THE CENTRAL MUSTER ROOM - DAY     A desk officer hands Bucky a note.                                                            CUT TO:     INT. CITY HALL - CHIEF OF DETECTIVES OFFICE - LATER     A secretary leads Bucky into an office with CHIEF OF     DETECTIVES THAD GREEN etched on the pebble glass door.     Inside the office: Lee Blanchard, ASST. D.A. ELLIS LOEW, and     CHIEF THAD GREEN. They all sit in matched leather chairs.                          SECRETARY               Officer Bleichert.     She exits. An awkward silence.                          LEE                   (getting to his feet)               Gentlemen, Bucky Bleichert. Bucky, Chief               Thad Green, Deputy DA Ellis Loew.     Bucky shakes their hands, nodding to each.  Chief Green     gestures for him to sit.                          CHIEF GREEN               Read this aloud, Officer. It's running in               Sunday's Times.                          BUCKY               "Before the war, the City of the Angels               was graced with two local fighters, born               and raised a scant five miles apart,               pugilists with styles as different as               fire and ice. Lee Blanchard was a               bowlegged windmill of a leather slinger--                          CHIEF GREEN               Skip down to the fire and ice part.                          BUCKY                   (searching, finding)               "Mr. Fire and Mr. Ice never fought each               other, but a sense of duty brought them               together in spirit, and both joined the               Los Angeles Police Department." Blanchard               cracked the baffling Boulevard-Citizens               bank robbery case in 1939 and captured               thrill-killer Tomas Dos Santos; Bleichert               served with distinction during the '43               Zoot Suit Wars--"     A glance to Lee...                          CHIEF GREEN               Skip to the end.                          BUCKY               "Both men made great sacrifices to serve               their city, and on Election Day, voters               are going to be asked to do the same               thing--vote on a five million dollar bond               proposal to upgrade the LAPD's equipment               and provide for an eight percent pay               raise for all personnel. Keep in mind the               examples of Mr. Fire and Mr. Ice. Vote               "Yes" on Proposition B."                          CHIEF GREEN               Whattya think?                          BUCKY               Subtle.     Blanchard and Green smile; Loew frowns.                          ELLIS LOEW               Prop. B's looking like a loser right now.               But if we can drum up some publicity we               may he able to get it passed in the '47               Special. We need to build up morale in               the department.               Impress voters with the quality of our               men. Wholesome white boxers are a big               draw, Bleichert. You know that.     Bucky looks to Lee.                          LEE               Fire and Ice.                          LOEW               Ten rounds. The Academy Gym. Three weeks               from now. Right before the election. All               the gate to charity. After that, we bring               back the interdivisional boxing team.               Wholesome fighters.                          LEE               Wholesome.                          CHIEF GREEN               Are you in, Bucky?                          LEE               It's not like you'll last the ten rounds               anyway.     Bucky eyes Lee quickly, assessing his larger but slightly     softer physique.     All the remaining eyes are on him.                          BUCKY               I'm in.     Back slaps and congratulations all around.                          LOEW               I'm betting on great things from you,               Bleichert. And if I don't miss my bet we               may be colleagues soon.                          BUCKY               Uh, yes sir.     EXT. THE CITY HALL PARKING LOT - MINUTES LATEER     Bucky exits and sees Lee leaning against an unmarked car     talking with a striking woman in an auburn pageboy cut.     Lee waves Bucky over.                          LEE               Bucky I'd like you to meet Kay Lake.                          BUCKY               Hello.                          FAY               I saw you fight a couple times. You won.                          BUCKY               I always won. You a fight fan?                          KAY               Lee used to drag me. I was taking somme               art classes so I'd sketch the boxers.     Lee puts his arm around her.                          LEE               Made me quit fighting the smokers. Didn't               want me doin' the "vegetable shuffle."     He staggers around like a punch-drunk fighter.                          BUCKY               I'll try not to hurt you.     A flicker of anger in her eyes.                          LEE               Sure make Loew happy.                          BUCKY               He's got money on me, I gather?                          LEE               Seems that way.                          BUCKY               And if I win I get Warrants?                          LEE               Seems that way.     Bucky shakes his head. Turns to Kay.                          BUCKY               What do you think of all this, Miss Lake?                          KAY               For moral reasons I hope the LAPD gets               ridiculed for perpetrating this farce.               For financial reasons I hope Lee wins.               And for aesthetic reasons I hope you both               look good with your shirts off.     Bucky and Lee break into laughter. Bucky sticks out his hand.     Lee takes it.                          BUCKY               Luck short of winning.                          LEE               You, too.     Bucky tips his hat to Kay and turns to go.                          KAY               Luck, Dwight.     He stops at hearing his real name. But he knows she's waiting     to see his reaction so he keeps walking...     BUCKY'S BOXING MONTAGE     --Bucky hits the heavy bag in the police gym while Lee spars     in the background                          VOICE OVER               The 77th Street lieutenant tapped as               official LAPD bookmaker had Lee as an               early 3 to 1 favorite...     --Bucky runs through Elysian Park with two pound weights on     his ankles.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               ...while the real bookie line had Mr.               Fire favored by knockout at 2 1/2 to 1,               and decision by 5 to 3.     --Bucky spars with a fighter, peppering him with jab after     jab.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               Even the dicks in Ad Vice had suspended               bookie shakedowns because Mickey Cohen               was raking ten grand a day and kickin'               back five percent to the advertising               agency promoting the bond issue.     --Cops exchange betting markers during roll call...                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               I was a local celebrity again.     EXT./INT. BUCKY'S CAR - LINCOLN HEIGHTS - DAY     Bucky pulls up in front of a small ugly house in a tired     neighborhood. He exits the car carrying a cardboard box full     of canned goods and old girlie magazines.     ON THE PORCH OF THE HOUSE     a bony old man sits in a broken chair, aiming a BB pistol at     some balsa wood airplanes scattered in the yard.     ON BUCKY'S FACE     disgust and sadness.     This is DOLPH BLEICHERT, Bucky's father. Bucky approaches,     pulling a chair up next to his father. Up close it's even     worse: white skin stretched tight over blue veins, yellow     rimming his rheumy eyes. Flecks of dirt and vomit on a filthy     shirt.                          BUCKY               Papa?                          DOLPH               Guten tag, Dwight.                          BUCKY               Speak English, papa.                          DOLPH               Englisch Schiesser! Amerikan Schiesser!     He aims the BB gun and fires at an airplane: the gun's empty.     Bucky enters the house. Half-eaten cans of beans on the     dining room table, an entire legion of broken balsa wood     airplane kits. Alley cats wander in and out of the kitchen,     nosing their faces into open tuna fish cans...     BACK ON THE PORCH     Dolph leans on the porch rail. Bucky returns.                          BUCKY               Say something, Papa. Get me mad. Tell me               how you can fuck this place up so bad in               one month.                          DOLPH               Du, Dwight? Du?                          BUCKY               Speak...English. Papa, please.     He searches his father's eyes for a response and gets none.     He surveys the house again. Somewhere in the corner of his     eye we see the glint of an idea...     INSIDE THE HOUSE     Bucky on the phone.                          BUCKY               ...He's had another stroke. If you could               just come by and clean the place up and               keep an eye on him for week or so...a               hundred dollars is fine. No more than ten               days. I promise. I do. Thank you.     INT. THE POLICE BOXING GYM     Bucky leans against a wall watching Lee spar. Studying him.     Mentally fighting the sparring partner's fight.                          VOICE OVER               He was better than I thought. It made               what came next easier.     INT. A BANK - DAY     Bucky sits at a desk with an assistant manager and fills out     forms. The manager counts out approximately $4,500 in cash.     Bucky slides him the forms. The manager slides him the cash.     INT. THE GOOD LUCK BAR - NIGHT     Bucky slides into a booth across from PETE LUKINS.                          PETE               So...I'm surprised but I'm not so               surprised. I hear you been lookin' good.               Better'n people think.     Bucky pushes an envelope across to Pete. He looks in it.                          PETE (cont'd)               I guess what I hear is correct. Then               you'll be wantin' to place this with               Mickey Cohen's indie. He's got Blanchard               2 to 1--                          BUCKY               I'm not bettin' on me, Pete.                          PETE                   (a beat)               Oh.                   (another beat)               Then as a friend I feel it's my duty to               tell you this: you better make it look               good.                          BUCKY               Knockout between rounds eight and ten.     Pete nods his head, thinking.                          PETE               Dragna's got a guy really sold on you.               Even money. Best you're gonna get.                          BUCKY               Thanks, Pete.     Pete sticks out his hand.                          PETE               Luck.                          BUCKY               Short of winning?                          PETE               Luck.     Bucky takes his hand.     INT. THE BOXING GYM - DAY     Bucky takes apart his sparring partner with a series of     lightning quick counterpunches.                          VOICE OVER               I'd almost finished the Police Academy               when the background check turned up my               father's German-American Bund membership.               Pressured by the FBI goons to confirm my               patriotism, I gave the Alien Squad Sam               Murakawa, a guy I'd grown up with, in               order to secure my LAPD appointment.     EXT. DOLPH BLEICHERT'S HOUSE - NIGHT     Bucky watches from across the street as AN OFF-DUTY NURSE     tries to get Papa Bleichert to eat a sandwich.                          VOICE OVER               The old fuck never knew any better. Never               knew what he cost me. Or Sammy, who'd               died at Manzanar. I was a good fit in the               snitch's jacket and with a little               alteration I slipped easily into the               whole suit.     INT. THE BOXING GYM - DAY     Bucky watches Lee spar. His quick eyes spying:     --scar tissue over Lee's right eye     --Lee dropping his left when throwing the right hook     --Lee tucking his elbows too tight and opening up his ribcage                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               I had traded Warrants for a close-out on               bad old debts, the eight grand I was               gonna clear enough to maintain the old               man in a good clean rest home for three               years; the late round tank job enough to               convince myself I wasn't a complete               coward.     INT. THE BOXING GYM - DAY     Kay approaches Bucky as he studies Lee.                          KAY               At least he looks good with his shirt               off.     She waves to Lee between rounds. He blows a kiss back.                          BUCKY               Where's your sketch pad?                          KAY               I was never very good. Ended up with a               degree in History. Masters. Lee's fight               money paid for it.                          BUCKY               Education's an expensive habit to kick.                   (beat)               He shouldn't have quit fighting.                          KAY               I asked him to. Besides, catching               animals gave him a sense of order. You               have a girlfriend, Dwight?                          BUCKY               Saving myself for Rita Hayworth.     A roar from the gym onlookers. Lee's sparring partner hits     the deck, blood spraying from his mouth.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Quits fighting for you. Puts you through               school. Quite a guy. Quite a pair.                          KAY                   (flirting)               We're not getting married if that's what               you're wondering.                          BUCKY               Why not? Shacking's against the regs.               Probably cost him a stripe.                          KAY               I have to go, Dwight. Good luck tomorrow               night.                          BUCKY               You didn't answer my question--                          KAY                   (a throwaway)               Lee and I don't sleep together, Dwight.     She keeps walking. He just stares...     INT. BUCKY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT     A half-eaten steak and two beers gone. It's six hours later     and Bucky's still thinking about Kay's exit line. Restless.     He grabs his jacket.     INT. HEARST BUILDING - HERALD-EXAMINER MORGUE - NIGHT     Bucky flashes his badge to a late-night clerk who escorts him     into the newspaper's morgue. Pulls a bound stack of newspaper      clippings and gives them to Bucky. He begins poring through     them...     A newspaper photo of a BANK shifts into live action:     A GRAINY NEWSREEL-TYPE FLASHBACK (SLO-MO)     An armored truck idles in front of the Boulevard-Citizens     Bank. Three men dressed in guard uniforms run out of the     front of the bank, an alarm keening in the background.     Three police cars converge on the scene and a gun battle     ensues... Two of the bank robbers are shot as the third man     (the one carrying the money) jumps into the truck. The truck     takes off, able to escape when someone from inside the truck     throws open the doors and pushes the naked and bound     legitimate guards out the back and into the line of     pursuit...                          VOICE OVER               With no lead on the two escaped men, the               heist quickly went from page one to page               five. Two weeks later...     A newspaper clipping headline: "Tip from Ex-boxer cop     breaks B-C Bank Job"     A still photo of Lee which becomes live action as...     INT. A SMALL VENICE BEACH APARTMENT - DAY (FLASHBACK)     A younger Lee and four other cops tear apart a small flat. In     a closet they find BANK GUARD UNIFORMS, BANK BAGS, and a     small stash of MARIJUANA.                          VOICE OVER               One of Lee's snitches fingered Bobby               DeWitt, a greasy little pimp with a yard               long rap, as the brains behind the bank               job.                                                            CUT TO:     FLASHBACK: A HATCHET FACED MAN (DEWITT) LED BY HANDCUFFS     THROUGH A GIANT CROWD...                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               DeWitt howled frame-up the entire trial,               never ID'ing the driver or coughing up               the dough, even after damning character               testimony from some of his employees,               including one Katherine Lake, formerly of               Sioux Falls, South Dakota and looking to               go straight.     FLASHBACK: LEE LEADING KAY FROM THE COURTROOM, HAND ON HER     ELBOW...                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               DeWitt got ten to life at San Quentin;               Lee got Kay, or maybe the other way               around.     BACK TO PRESENT: Bucky walks through downtown L.A., hands     stuffed in his pockets like James Dean...                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               They both got a few weeks in the gossip               pages before Kay dove into her college               education and Lee down the hero's road               ending in Warrants and a shack job with a               woman he loved but wouldn't touch...     Bucky passes A WHORE on the corner, their eyes meet for a     moment and he walks on.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               You come off a winning fight. Sweat-               drenched, tasting blood, still wanting to               go. The handbooks who made money on you               bring you a girl. A pro, a semi-pro. You               do it in the dressing room, or a hallway.               The eleventh round of a ten round fight.               And when you go back to an ordinary life,               it's just weakness, a loss.     Bucky turns back to give the whore a second look but she's gone.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               To a fighter, sex tastes like blood and               resin and suture scrub. I wondered if               some day that would ever be different.                                                            CUT TO:     A HAMMER HITTING A BELL     and the fight is on.     INSIDE THE PACKED ACADEMY GYM     Cops and mobsters sit shoulder to shoulder, cigar smoke like     L.A. haze as     LEE CHARGES BUCKY, the big man trying to cut of the ring.     Bucky engages, dodging Lee's thundering blows and peppering     back with counterpunches...     **The general fight storyline is this: a very even and brutal     match see-sawing back and forth, Bucky doing all he can to     make it into the middle rounds. Somewhere around the fourth     or fifth round his competitive juices take over and he begins     trying to win at all costs. The two men hurt each other     badly, and in the eighth round it's anybody's fight.     Bucky punches toe-to-toe with Lee, abandoning his strategy.     Lee knocks Bucky out.     INT. BUCKY'S BEDROOM - DAY     Bucky lies in bed, radio playing jazz. He looks horrible--     face swollen, lip split, stitches across his nose. He sips     whiskey from a bottle through a straw.     The phone rings and rings. He refuses to answer it...     INT. A REST HOME - ANOTHER DAY     Bucky, bruised but somewhat better, stands in the hallway of     a very nice rest home. He surreptitiously watches his father     as the old man tries to grab at a nurse.     EXT. THE REST HOME - MINUTES LATER     Pete Lukins waits outside on the porch for Bucky.                          PETE               Well?                          BUCKY               He'll catch on soon enough.     The scene widens behind the two men and we see the sign on     the facility:     KING DAVID VILLA     Jewish stars adorn the sign.     INT. BUCKY'S APARTMENT - DAY     Bucky stands in front of his mirror clipping at his stitches     with scissors. He hears a voice outside his window.                          VOICE OVER               Hey. Canvasback!     Bucky recognizes the voice and goes to the window.     EXT. THE COURTYARD - SAME     Lee Blanchard, his own bruises fading, stands in the yard.                          LEE               You gonna hide in there another week?               Ain't you bored yet?                          BUCKY               Gettin' there.                          LEE               Wanna work Warrants with me?                          BUCKY               What?                          LEE               Harrell's been callin' to tell you. You               been hibernating--                          BUCKY               But I lost. Loew's deal--                          LEE               Don't you read the papers? The bond issue               passed yesterday. Want the job, partner?     Off Lee's devilish grin:                          VOICE OVER               Mister Fire. Mister Ice. The hero and the               snitch.                                                            CUT TO:     INT. CENTRAL WARRANTS - MORNING     A door marked "DETECTIVE'S MUSTER ROOM". Bucky, wearing his     best SPORTS COAT AND SLACKS, pushes through the door.     INSIDE THE MUSTER ROOM     Full of the LAPD's plainclothes hotshots. All stand and give     Bucky a standing ovation. Lee's there, too, playing to the     crowd.     On the blackboard at the front of the room: 8%!!!     CAPTAIN JACK TIERNEY is at the podium.                          TIERNEY                   (as introduction)               Officer Bleichert, the men of Central               Dicks, Homicide, Ad Vice, Bunco, et               cetera. I'm Captain Jack Tierney. You and               Lee are the white men of the hour, so I               hope you enjoyed your ovation. You won't               get another one until you retire.     Everyone laughs. Tierney raps the podium and speaks again.                          TIERNEY (cont'd)               Enough horseshit. This is the felony               summary for the week ending November 14,               1946. First, three liquor store               stickups...     Tierney begins the summary as Bucky's eyes wander around the     room, taking in his new surroundings... Older men, coats and     ties... He tunes back in...                          TIERNEY (cont'd)               And here's a collar'd please Cap'n Jack               to no end. Sergeants Vogel, Koenig, have               you read the SID memos on the Bunker Hill               burglaries?     FRITZ VOGEL AND BILL KOENIG, both hulking and unpleasant-     looking (Fritzie being the elder version of his son Johnny).     The two men shake their heads "no". Tierney disapproves.                          TIERNEY (cont'd)               Set of latents at the last break-in ID's               one Maynard Coleman, two sodomy priors. A               surefire baby raper. Highland Park's got               four child sodomy unsolveds. Maybe he's               our boy, maybe not. But between that and               the B&E's I'd put Maynard as a high               priority lamster right now. There's a               list of his known associates on the               bulletin board. Let's all take a look...     INT. THE MUSTER ROOM - LATER     The meeting's breaking up. A tall, elegant man (RUSS MILLARD)     and a squat disheveled man (HARRY SEARS) approach Bucky.                          RUSS MILLARD                   (introducing himself)               Russ Millard, homicides. Wife and kids               thank you for the raise, Officer.     Bucky smiles a dumb smile, not knowing what to say.                          RUSS MILLARD (cont'd)                   (re the other man)               My partner, Harry Sears.                          HARRY                   (stuttering)               Y-y-y-yes.  Th-th-thanks Officer B-B-               Bleichert.     Before Bucky can answer ELLIS LOEW grabs him by the elbow and     leads him away.                          ELLIS LOEW               Officer Bleichert. Welcome to Central               Warrants--     When he gets him out of ear shot:                          ELLIS LOEW (cont'd)               You shouldn't have slugged with him. You               were ahead on all three cards.                          BUCKY               The proposition passed, sir.                          ELLIS LOEW               Yes but some of your patron's lost money.               Play things smarter here. Don't blow this               like you blew the fight.     Bucky's about to respond when Lee saves him--                          LEE               Ready to roll, canvasback?     He grabs Bucky and they head out the door.     INT. LEE'S CAR - LATER     Lee cruises them through downtown, rambling about the job     description.                          BUCKY               Why'd you really quit fighting?     He pulls the car into a parking lot of a Mexican restaurant.                          LEE                   (matter of fact)               Benny Siegel bought out my contract,               scared off my manager. Said he'd get me a               shot at Joe Louis if I'd take two dives               for him. I said no, joined the Department               'cuz Jew syndicate boys won't kill cops.               Anything else?                          BUCKY                   (as they exit the car)               One more. What are we doin' here?                          LEE               While you were dancing with Ellis at               muster I checked Maynard Coleman's KA's               on the bulletin and recognized the name               of a fence. Think he tends bar here...     INSIDE THE RESTAURANT     Lee and Bucky slide into a booth on either side of BRUNO     ALBANESE, halfway through plate of huevos rancheros.                          LEE               Bruno Albanese?                          BRUNO               Who wants to know?                          LEE               Police officers, Bruno. Let's make this               fast so I don't have to watch you eat.     Lee slides the Maynard Coleman mug shot to Albanese.                          LEE (cont'd)               We know he sells to you and we don't               care. Where is he?     Albanese burps.                          BRUNO               Never seen 'em before.     Lee sighs. And then grabs Bruno by the back of the neck and     jams his face into the hot cheese and goo of his food.     Bruno's arms flap back and forth as Lee drowns him in his     food.     Finally Lee shrugs and pulls Bruno's face out of his food,     blood from his nose mixing with the grease of the enchiladas.                          BRUNO               Versailles apartments. Sixth and St.               Andrews.     EXT. THE VERSAILLES APARTMENTS - MINUTES LATER     Lee and Bucky pull up and look for a parking spot just as     MAYNARD COLEMAN trots down the front stairs and gets into a     car.                          BUCKY               Right there!     They ease the car back into traffic and follow Coleman's car     from a safe distance. Bucky picks up the two-way radio. Lee     gestures for him to put it back:     Coleman's pulling into the parking lot of THE POLAR PALACE,     an ICE SKATING RINK. They follow.     Coleman exits his car, eyeing a group of kids carrying ice     skates and heading into the Polar Palace. He follows them     inside...     The two men follow...     INSIDE THE POLAR PALACE     Children skate around on the ice with a giant polar bear     suit. Lee and Bucky scan the area--not an adult in sight. Lee     spots some stairs leading to the restrooms and gestures to     Bucky, who hustles down them.     ON THE STAIRCASE     Maynard Coleman, carrying a stuffed bunny rabbit, walks up     the stairs toward Bucky. Just as the two men pass Bucky PULLS     HIS GUN and puts it to Coleman's head.                          BUCKY               Police officer. You're under arrest.     Coleman throws his hands in the air; the bunny drops to the     ground. Bucky cuffs Coleman and leads him up the stairs as     Lee comes down from above.     A small voice from below Bucky:                          VOICE OVER               Let go of him! Let go of him!     Bucky looks down to see A SMALL BOY pounding on his leg. The     kid's hysterical.                          BOY               Let go a my daddy! Daddy!     The resemblance is unmistakable. Two generations of Okie     white trash. Bucky continues marching Coleman the elder up     the stairs as Lee snags the kid, both the father and the son     crying like babies.     INT. THE HALL OF JUSTICE JAIL - LATER     Lee and Bucky fill out a release form for the desk officer.     Bucky looks up to see BILL KOENIG and FRITZ VOGEL march by     with barely a nod.                          LEE               They got here fast.                   (off Bucky's look)               The confession.     INT. CENTRAL WARRANTS - LATER     Lee finishes typing up a report on a manual typewriter while     Bucky talks on the phone. He hangs up as Fritz Vogel and Bill     Koenig return.                          LEE (cont'd)                   (re the two meatheads)               Play nice. They've got juice with Loew.                          KOENIG                   (stupid and proud)               He confessed. Kiddie porks and the               burglaries. Fritzie says we're all               getting commendations.     Bucky's POV: both Koenig and Vogel have small bits of     blood spattered on their white dress shirts.                          VOGEL               Ellis loves the kid angle.                          LEE               You talk to Ellis?                          VOGEL               He's only "Ellis" to lieutenants on up,               Blanchard.                          LEE               Least I don't call him "kike".                          VOGEL                   (flushing)               C'mon, Billy.     The two men push by with barely a nod in Bucky's direction.                          BUCKY               Play nice. Hm.                          LEE               Shitbirds.     HARRY SEARS approaches their cubicle. He looks a little     drunk. (And when you get to know him you'll realize that when     he's drunk he doesn't stutter.)                          HARRY               Russ says good collar today.     The men nod thanks. Bucky notes the lack of stutter and the     presence of a liquor smell.                          HARRY (cont'd)               And Lee--I heard something you oughta               know--I was over at County Parole--Bobby               DeWitt got an "A" number. He'll be               released to LA around mid-January.     Lee bobs his head slightly as Harry moves off. He's disturbed     but covers quickly--                          LEE               You like pot roast?     EXT. A BEAUTIFUL DECO HOME - NIGHT     Lee leads Bucky up the walk. Bucky's impressed with the house.                          LEE               Don't say anything to Kay about DeWitt.               It'll upset her.     INT. LEE AND KAY'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS     A doll's house of Danish Modern furniture, fresh flowers and     polished mahogany wainscoting.                          BUCKY               You takin' bribes, partner?                          LEE               Fight stash.     Kay arrives from the kitchen, smiling broadly at Bucky. She     takes his hand.                          KAY               Hello, Dwight. Glad you could make it.     And holds his hand about two beats than usual...     INT. THE DINING ROOM - LATER     Kay brings in the food. Bucky walks around the room, checking     things out.                          FAY               Fairy tale come true, isn't it?                          BUCKY               Hm?                          FAY               The house. You and Lee partners. Fairy               tale.                          BUCKY               Can't say I believe in fairy tales.                          KAY               Then you've never really had to. Lucky               man. (beat) Lee! Dinner!     INT. THE DINING ROOM - LATER     The food is finished. So is a bottle of champagne. Kay pops     another one, hitting Lee in the chest with the cork. Everyone     laughs hysterically. They fill the glasses again.                          LEE               A toast...To Proposition B!                          BUCKY               To the Bleichert/Blanchard rematch!               Bigger than Louis/Schmeling!                          KAY               To fairy tales!                          BUCKY                   (abruptly, drunk)               To...us!     He's referring to all three of them--something which doesn't     escape or displease anyone. They clink glasses and drink.     ANOTHER LAPD TRIPLE CARBON INCIDENT REPORT:     JANUARY 10, 1947...Raymond "Junior" Nash...     INT. ELLIS LOEW'S OFFICE - MORNING     Lee and Bucky enter the Loew's inner sanctum where they are     joined by Russ Millard and Harry Sears. A stack of L.A.     Heralds sit on the desk, the top one folded to the headline:     "Criminal Division's DA to try for Boss's Job in '48     Primary?"     Bucky's look of disgust says it all just as Loew walks into     the room--                          LEE               Goin' into politics, Ellis? Give us a               quote. (as FDR) "The only thing to fear               is fear itself."     Loew smiles thinly and hands over a photo and a rap sheet.                          ELLIS LOEW               Here's the man to fear.     ANGLE ON THE MUG SHOT AND RAP SHEET:     RAYMOND "JUNIOR" NASH:  Statutory raps, armed robbery,     felony mayhem...Texas State Prison...Alcatraz...     The cops are impressed.                          BUCKY               Give us the good news. He's in LA and               actin' uppity?                          ELLIS LOEW               Witnesses made him at a stickup near               Leimert Park over the weekend. Pistol-               whipped an old lady. She died about an               hour ago.                          RUSS MILLARD               Anything common in the sex beefs?                          ELLIS LOEW               Negro girls. Young ones. All the               complainants have been colored.                          LEE               Seeya in Leimert Park.     As they walk out...                          ELLIS LOEW               Sergeant Blanchard? Try not to kill the               man. I'd like to do it in court.     Lee flashes a demon smile.     EXT. CRENSHAW BOULEVARD - DAY - LATER     A montage of shots as Lee and Bucky cruise south on Crenshaw      Boulevard. The beginning of the post-war boom.                          VOICE OVER               From November through the New Year, Lee               and I captured a total of eleven hard               felons, eighteen traffic warrantees and               three parole and probation absconders...     On Crenshaw's northern end, once grand and now dilapidated     houses in the process of demolition, their faces replaced by     giant billboards advertising department stores, jumbo     shopping centers and movie theaters.                          VOICE OVER               After tours of duty, Lee and I would go               to the house and find Kay. Sometimes she               made dinner for us, other times the three               of us would go dancing, or see a flick.     Southbound, older wooden structures looking more and more     unkempt. Empty lots...                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               Always she'd be there, never in between               us, but always in the middle. It was the               best time of my life.     EXT./INT. THE CAR - A FILLING STATION - CONTINUOUS     Lee pulls the car into the parking lot. Jumping out of the     car--                          LEE               This grand tour stuff's for shit. I'm               callin' in some favors.     He heads to a payphone and beings pumping coins into it.     BACK IN THE CAR - MINUTES LATER     Lee gets back in the car. He's pale, sweating.                          LEE               Got a tip. Snitch a mine says he's               shacking with some poon in a crib near               Slauson and Hoover.                          BUCKY               It's all colored down there--                          LEE               We fuckin' roll.     He pulls out.                                                            CUT TO:     EXT./INT. THE CAR - HOOVER AVE - MINUTES LATER     Lee and Bucky roll up on four men loitering on a corner.     Three are black and one is white.                          LEE               Hopheads. Let's shake 'em for an address               or a name.     As Lee and Bucky exit the car, the four men immediately start     the slow walk to the wall, arms over their heads. The white     guy glances at Lee:                          WHITE HOPHEAD               What the---Blanchard?                          LEE               Shut up, shitbird.     Lee pushes him closer to the wall and starts frisking him.     Bucky starts with one of the other men, pulling out some     marijuana cigarettes.     Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky sees the black man     closest to Lee reaches for something shiny in his belt--                          BUCKY               Partner!     Bucky pulls his .38...     THE WHITE GUY swings around and LEE SHOOTS HIM twice in the     face--     THE FIRST BLACK MAN pulls a SHIV free and BUCKY SHOOTS HIM in     the neck--     ANOTHER OF THE MEN goes for his trousers, fumbling for     something as BUCKY SHOOTS HIM THREE TIMES.                          LEE               Bucky duck!     Bucky hits the cement and gets an upside down view of Lee and     the last man drawing guns on each other--Lee's three shots     cutting down the man before he can fire his tiny derringer.     Bucky pulls himself to his feet, stumbling past the blood-     covered sidewalk and vomits in the gutter.     FROM THE DISTANCE: THE SOUND OF SIRENS.     Bucky pulls out his badge and pins it to his jacket pocket.     Behind him, Lee is busy turning the dead men's pockets inside     out--scattering shivs and reefers onto the sidewalk away from     the blood.     All the while Lee cries like a baby.     INT. THE 77TH ST. DETECTIVES' STATION - LATER     Bucky and a Detective exit a de-briefing room. Bucky looks     worn but composed.                          DETECTIVE               Thank you for your time, Officer. And               your police work, as well.     They pass another de-briefing area where Lee sits with     another Detective. Lee looks terrible, muttering and     shivering.                          DETECTIVE (cont'd)               Your partner's taking this hard.                          BUCKY               He knew one of the guys. Baxter Fitch.               Busted him once for loitering. Sort of               liked the guy.     The detective nods sympathetically.     EXT. LEE AND KAY'S HOUSE - NIGHT     Lee and Bucky walk up the front steps where they're met by     Kay. She runs to Lee and embraces him.                          KAY               Oh baby. Oh babe.     She escorts him into the house. Bucky sees a newspaper on the     front porch railing. The evening edition of The Mirror.     "Boxer Cops in Gun Battle. Four Crooks Dead."     Publicity boxing photos accompany a full-page article. Bucky     begins to read it when he hears from inside:                          LEE               Leave me alone! You'll never fucking               understand--     A door slam. Soon after the sound of Lee's motorcycle roaring     off... After a beat Kay comes outside and sits down next to     Bucky.                          BUCKY               He knew one of the guys.     She nods.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               It was them or us.     She nods again.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Tomorrow's off-duty so treat him nice--                          KAY               Bobby DeWitt gets out in a week, Dwight.               We're on edge. He swore at the trial he               was going to kill Lee.                          BUCKY               We can take care of Bobby DeWitt.                          KAY               Lee's scared. You don't know Bobby.                          BUCKY               I know as much as I need to know.     Kay gives him a look: that's what you think. She gets up and     goes inside. Not knowing what to do, Bucky continues reading     the paper.     INT. LEE AND KAY'S HOUSE - LATER     Bucky wanders inside, obviously fidgety and not wanting to go     home. He putters around their living room. From the back of     the house Bucky hears the sound of A SHOWER RUNNING.     Bucky walks back to the bathroom, drawn there by the sound of     the drumming water. The bathroom door is open, an invitation.     He stops at the threshold of the bathroom. His POV:     Kay stands in the shower, curtain open for Bucky's benefit.     She faces him and he takes in the view of her nakedness.     Her attitude is not one of seduction, however, her expression     passive and fixed even when their eyes meet. She pirouettes     for him, showing:     A SERIES OF OLD KNIFE SCARS CRISS-CROSSING HER BACK FROM     THIGH TO SPINE.     The history of Bobby DeWitt.     Bucky backs away, retreating as he chokes back tears.     INT. BUCKY'S APARTMENT - MORNING     Bucky's awakened by the phone ringing. He pulls the receiver     off the cradle but leaves it on the nightstand. From the     receiver he barely hears:                          LEE               Rise and shine partner!     Bucky grabs the phone.                          BUCKY               Lee? You okay?                          LEE               Sure. Ran Mulholland at a hundred and               ten. Played house with Kay all day               yesterday. Feel like doing some police               work?                          BUCKY               Keep going.                          LEE               Junior Nash's got a fuck pad on Norton               and Coliseum.     EXT. THE CORNER OF COLISEUM AND NORTON - SOON AFTER     Bucky and Lee pull up to a mangy apartment building.     INT. RAYMOND NASH'S ROOM - SOON AFTER     They push the door open to reveal a filthy little flop     littered with muscatel short dogs and used rubbers.                          LEE               Okie trash.     They poke around for a minute, finding nothing. The smell is     awful. Bucky goes to a window and pulls it open.     HIS POV OUT THE WINDOW:     IN A VACANT LOT ACROSS THE WAY     A cluster of uniformed cops and men in civilian clothes stare     at something in the weeds. A CORONER'S VAN parks next to     three black and whites and two detectives' sedans.                          BUCKY               Lee.     Lee goes to the window.                          LEE               Is that Millard and Sears?     An LAPD PHOTO VAN pulls up next.     Lee and Bucky sprint out of the room.     EXT. THE VACANT LOT - 39TH AND NORTON - SECONDS LATER     Photo men have already begun fanning out and taking photos.     Bucky sees Harry Sears take a shot from a hip flask in full     view of other officers. Lee and Bucky elbow their way to the     front and see:     The nude, mutilated body of a young woman, cut in half at the     waist. Another wide cut down her center reveal an empty     cavity--her organs have been removed.     Her face has been bashed in and her mouth cut ear to ear in a     leering smile.     Even the experienced cops are rattled by the scene. They     point and whisper and generally begin to fall into disbelief     and disorder when     RUSS MILLARD     whistles harshly with his fingers in his mouth.                          RUSS MILLARD               Before this gets out of hand let's put               the kibosh on something. If this gets a               lot of publicity we're going to get a lot               of confessions. So we keep some things               quiet. This girl was disemboweled. You               keep this information to yourselves. Not               your wives, not your girlfriends, no               other officers.     The men all nod, coming together as Millard takes control.                          RUSS MILLARD (cont'd)               No reporters view the body. You photo               men, take your pictures now. Coroner's               men, you put a sheet on the body as soon               as they're done. Set up a perimeter six               feet back. Any reporter crosses it,               arrest him.                   (noticing Bucky)               Bleichert. What are you doing here?               Where's Blanchard?     Bucky indicates Lee, crouched down by the body taking notes.                          BUCKY               Nash is renting a room in that building               over there.                          RUSS MILLARD               Blood on the premises?                          BUCKY               No. This isn't him.                          RUSS MILLARD               The lab'll be the judge of that.     Millard and Bucky look dawn the street to see cars swinging     onto Norton, beelining for the commotion. Reporters and     photographers begin pouring out of their cars, quickly coming     up against a line of cops keeping them from the body.     Bucky makes his way over to Lee, unable to stop staring at     the body.                          BUCKY               Hey. Junior Nash, remember?                          LEE               He didn't do this.                          BUCKY               No. He beat an old woman to death. That's               why he's our priority warrantee.                          LEE               Not anymore.                          BUCKY               This ain't ours, partner--                          LEE                   (on edge)               It is now, partner.     EXT. THE CRIME SCENE - LATER     Too sheet-covered stretchers are shoved into the coroner's     wagon. The doors slam shut and the car pulls away.                                                            CUT TO:     RUSS MILLARD DIVIDING A STREET ATLAS INTO FOOTBEATS     as fifteen officers (including Lee and Bucky) wait for their      assignment.     A MONTAGE OF QUESTIONING     Cops ring doorbells throughout Leimert Park:                          OFFICER                   (to an old woman)               Have you heard female screams...                          BUCKY                   (to an off-duty serviceman)               ...anyone discarding women's clothing?                          LEE                   (to a little kid)               ...seen anyone in the lot on 39th...                          BUCKY                   (to a housewife)               ...and what about this man?                   (holds out a photo of Junior                    Nash)     To all of these questions a big fat "no".     INT. THE OLYMPIC BOXING ARENA - NIGHHT     Bucky watches two Mexican bantamweights beat each other     bloody. An EMPTY SEAT next to him. Irritated, he gets up and     leaves.     ENT. 39TH AND NORTON - NIGHT - LATER     Bucky gets out of his car and finds Lee standing inside the     crime scene rope watching lab techs poke around in the weeds.     The entire area is lit up by arclights, illuminating the two     quicklime outlines of the body parts.                          BUCKY               You were supposed to meet me at the               fights tonight, remember?                          LEE               Priority. Remember.                          BUCKY               Priority for the Bureau. Not for us.                          LEE               Nice white girl gets snuffed. Gotta show               the voters they did the right thing               passing the bond issue. It's a showcase.               It's A-plus, Buck. We don't miss this.                          BUCKY               We've had enough headlines for the week.     Lee points to the body outline. His hand shakes a bit and     maybe for the first time we sense he's wired on something.                          LEE               With or without you, partner.     Bucky shakes his head and begins walking away.                          LEE (cont'd)               With or without you.                          BUCKY               I heard you.     INT. THE SQUAD ROOM - NEXT DAY     Bucky enters a mob scene. One cop holds up a front page     headline: "Hunt Werewolf's Den in Torture Slaying"     Along a bench, five derelict-looking men are manacled to a     bench. A cop walks by, notes Bucky's confusion:                          OFFICER               Confessors.     Just then the interrogation room door opens and Bill Koenig     leads a doubled-over fat man out of the door.                          KOENIG               He didn't do it.     A couple officers clap satirically at their desks.                          BUCKY                   (to another cop)               Blanchard?                          OFFICER               In with Loew.(beat) And reporters.     Off Bucky's concerned look we                                                            CUT TO:     INT. ELLIS LOEW'S OFFICE - MORNING     Bucky walks in to see Loew holding a press conference, Lee     dressed in a suit and sitting at his side.                          ELLIS LOEW               ...and the heinous nature of this killing               makes it imperative to catch this fiend               as soon as possible. A number of               specially trained officers, including Mr.               Fire and his partner Mr. Ice...     ON BUCKY'S FACE     Disbelief. Disgust.     BACK IN THE WARRANTS CUBICLE - LATER     Lee catches up with a pissed off Bucky.                          BUCKY               You got us detached?                          LEE               Slow and easy, Bucky. First I gave Loew a               memo saying Nash blew our jurisdiction--                          BUCKY               You did what?                          LEE               It's all right. The APB still stands.               We've got the pad staked. He's covered.     Bucky's face says he's not sold on Lee's reasoning.                          LEE (cont'd)               One week. Just one week. After that, it's               back to Junior. I promise.     Bucky studies Lee's resolve; he relents.                          LEE (cont'd)               Copacetic.                                                            CUT TO:     INT. PATHOLOGY ROOM - LATER     Antiseptic white with metallic slab tables. Two objects     covered in sheets lay on the table.     Bucky, Lee, Russ Millard and Harry Sears sit on benches     facing the table. THE CORONER and a STENOGRAPHER NUN stand     over the body. The coroner pulls the sheets off.                          LEE               Jesus, Bucky.                          CORONER               On gross pathology, we have a female               Caucasian between sixteen and thirty.               Cadaver is presented in two halves with               bisection level with the umbilicus.     The nun scribbles furiously to keep up. The officers are torn     between staring at their shoes and at the body.                          CORONER (cont'd)               ...Through-and through laceration from               both mouth corners...no visible signs of               neck bruises...massive depressed skull               fractures...Inspection of upper half               abdominal cavity reveals no free-flowing               blood. Intestines, stomach, liver and               spleen removed.     The doctor stops to allow the nun time to catch up. Russ     Millard clears his throat.                          RUSS MILLARD               Is it...all right to smoke, doctor?                          CORONER               She's not going to mind.     Both Russ and Harry light up.                          CORONER (cont'd)               Lower half of the cadaver reveals removal               of reproductive organs...Both legs broken               at the knee, and healing, light lash               marks on the upper back and shoulders...     The door opens and a police officer enters, handing a sheet     of paper to Millard and speaking to him briefly. Millard     reads the sheet and hands it to Harry, who then hands it to     Lee.                          LEE                   (reading)               Bingo.     He hands it to Bucky.     The note: "Girl ID'd as Elizabeth Ann Short, DOB     7/29/24, Medford, Mass."     The coroner steps back from the table.                          CORONER               Questions?                          RUSS MILLARD               What's your best guess?                          CORONER               Here's what she wasn't. She wasn't raped,               she wasn't pregnant, dried semen               indicates voluntary intercourse within               the last week...She took what I'd call a               gentle whipping in the last ten days...In               terms of the nitty-gritty...She was               probably tortured with a knife for thirty-               six to forty-eight hours before death.               The cause of which is either the mouth               wound or more likely she was beaten to               death with something like a baseball bat.                          LEE               What about her insides?                          CORONER               They came out after death. Then I'd say               he drained the blood from the body and               washed it clean, probably in a bathtub.                          LEE               Did the guy know anything about medicine               or anatomy?                          CORONER               Maybe. Probably not a surgeon type--but               that doesn't rule out veterinary               training, biological training, or my               Pathology for Beginners class at UCLA.               Has she got a name yet?     The cops look to each other, hesitant to speak her name.                          RUSS MILLARD               Elizabeth Short.                          CORONER                   (saluting heaven)               God love you, Elizabeth.                   (to Millard)               Russell, when you get the son of a bitch               who did this to her, give him a kick in               the balls and tell him it's from               Frederick D. Newbarr, M.D. Now all of you               get out of here, I've got a date with a               jumper suicide in ten minutes.     INT. CENTRAL DIVISION BULLPEN - LATER     Jack Tierney posts mug shots of Elizabeth Short as Russ,     Harry, Lee and Bucky look over his shoulder. (In the     background we can hear the by-now constant droning of Ellis     Loew to reporters, both in person and over the phone)                          CAPTAIN JACK               Cops popped her in '43. Santa Barbara.               Underage drinking. Other than that she's               clean. Four sisters. Parents divorced.               Father's here in LA. Hear he sold some               old portrait photos of her to the Herald.     Russ makes a noise of disgust.                          RUSS MILLARD               How many confessions so far?                          CAPTAIN JACK               Eighteen.                          RUSS MILLARD               Double that by morning. More if Loew got               the press excited with his purple prose.                          LOEW                   (he's been eavesdropping)               I'd say my prose fits the crime,               Lieutenant.     Reveal Loew with Koenig and Fritz Vogel behind him.                          RUSS MILLARD               Too much publicity is a hindrance, Ellis.               If you were a policeman you'd know that.     Loew flushes and gives Millard a dark look.                          ELLIS LOEW                   (to Tierney)               Captain have you sent men to talk to the               victim's father?                          CAPTAIN JACK               Not yet, Ellis.                          ELLIS LOEW               How about Vogel and Koenig?     Tierney looks to Millard. The second in command shakes his     head ever so slightly. We understand that even though he's     second in command to Jack he's in charge.                          CAPTAIN JACK               Aaah, Russ, who do you think we should               send?                                                            CUT TO:     EXT. WILSHIRE DISTRICT - DUSK     A garage apartment at the rear of a big Victorian house. Lee     and Bucky amble up and ring the buzzer.     A skinny man (CLEO SHORT) in his fifties opens the door,     eyeing them narrowly.                          CLEO SHORT               Cops, huh?     He leads them inside. The apartment resembles its resident,     soiled, worn and ugly.                          CLEO SHORT (cont'd)               I've got an alibi, just in case you think               I did it. Tighter than a crab's ass, and               that is air tight.     The two cops sit down, sizing up his hostility.                          BUCKY               I'm Detective Bleichert, Mr. Short. This               is Sergeant Blanchard. We'd like to               express our condolences for the loss of               your daughter.                          CLEO SHORT               I know who you are. Neither of you'da               lasted a round with Gentleman Jim               Jeffries.               (beat) As for Betty, c'est la vie. She               called the tune, she paid the piper.               (beat) You wanna hear my alibi?                          LEE               Since you're so anxious to tell it.                          CLEO SHORT               Johnny on the spot at my job. Twenty-               seven straight hours. Refrigerator               repairman. Twenty-seven straight and the               last seventeen overtime. Call my boss.               He'll alibi me up tighter than a popcorn               fart, and that's air tight.                          BUCKY               When was the last time you saw your               daughter?                          CLEO SHORT               Betty came west in '43 with stars in her               eyes. I promised her three squares and a               five-spot if she kept the house tidy.     The cops look around at the squalor.                          CLEO SHORT (cont'd)               Gave her the boot in July. She moved to               Santa Barbara. Sent me a postcard couple               weeks later. Some soldier beat her up               bad. Last I heard from her.                          BUCKY               Was that soldier her boyfriend?     The old man lets out a hoot.                          CLEO SHORT               They were all her boyfriends! Not so ugly               and wearing a uniform, can't go wrong               there. Betty believed in quantity before               quality.                          LEE               You calling your own daughter a tramp?                          CLEO SHORT               Got five daughters. One bad apple ain't               so bad.     Lee's about to burst. Bucky motions for him to take a walk.     Lee goes through the den into the bathroom. From his view     Bucky can see Lee chase a couple pills with a glass of     water...                          BUCKY               Any names, Mr. Short?                          CLEO SHORT               Tom, Dick, Harry. Don't matter.                   (he drifts for a moment)               Said she was looking for movie work               but...just paraded the Boulevard in those               black get-ups of hers.     Lee returns to the room.                          CLEO SHORT (cont'd)               Who wouldn't get herself killed doin'               that? Who? Who wouldn't?     EXT. CLEO SHORT'S APARTMENT - MINUTES LATER     The two men walk out, disgusted.                          LEE               Jesus fuck. We just got handed the entire               U.S. Armed forces as suspects.                          BUCKY               Flip to see who writes it up?                          LEE               I'm staking Nash's pad for the night. See               if we get any strange drive-bys at the               murder sight. Do me a favor and drop in               on Kay. She's worried about me.                          BUCKY               She's a smart woman.     INT. LEE AND KAY'S HOUSE - NIGHT     Bucky opens the front door to find Kay reading a book on the     couch. She doesn't even look up.                          KAY               Hi, Dwight.                          BUCKY               How'd you know it was me?                          KAY               Lee stomps, you tread lightly.     Bucky appreciates her subtext.                          BUCKY               Lee's--                          KAY               Let me guess...Lee's up all night--               probably on Benzedrine again--working               that poor girl's murder--     She says this as fact, not judgement. She knows him.                          KAY               You're worried about him. And he's               worried about me.                   (beat)               But who's worried about you? Is that left               for me?                          BUCKY               No need for that.                          KAY               For such a cautious man you're quite a               hardcase.                          BUCKY               It's just...He's done a lot for me.     Kay smiles, sweeps her arms around the perfect living room as     if to reinforce to Bucky all Lee's done for her.     The point is not lost on him.     She crosses to him and kisses him softly on the cheek.                          KAY (cont'd)               Good night.     INT. LEE AND KAY'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS     Bucky sits at their kitchen table, eating a ham sandwich with     a glass of milk and filling out the police reports.     INT. THE HOMICIDE BULLPEN - MORNING     Bucky walks in reading the Herald front page: A picture of     Elizabeth Short in a striking black dress. Underneath:"The     Black Dahlia".     He stops at a room where two detectives are sorting through     a steamer trunk full of letters and assorted personal effects.                          RUSS MILLARD (O.S.)                   (re trunk)               Found it in storage down at the railway.               Carbons of mash notes to sailors.               Hundreds of 'em.     Bucky shows him the newspaper.                          RUSS MILLARD               Thank our friend Bevo Means at the               Herald. Bevo's painting Betty and her               black dress like some actress in that               Alan Ladd movie, The Blue Dahlia. Should               triple our confessions.                          BUCKY               Great.                          RUSS MILLARD (cont'd)               Hollywood will fuck you when no else               will. What do you think?                          BUCKY               I think I want to go back to Warrants.                          RUSS MILLARD               No dice. You're a bright penny and I want               you here.                   (hands him a piece of paper)               Betty's last known residences and KA's.               Go to University Station and pick up Bill               Koenig. Fritzie's sick. Keep Bill on a               tight leash, and you write the report               because Billy's practically illiterate.                          BUCKY               Lieutenant--                          RUSS MILLARD               Call me Russ and get out of here.     Millard gestures for him to leave.     EXT. AN APARTMENT HOUSE - LATER     Bucky and Koenig walk up to the steps of an apartment house.                          BUCKY               How do you want to play this, Sarge?                          KOENIG               Fritzie usually does the talking and I               stand back up.                   (re a leather sap in his belt)               Muscle job?                          BUCKY               Let's try talk job.     Bucky checks names on the doorbells against a couple names on     his piece of paper. He stops at "S. Saddon".     INT. THE HALLWAY UPSTAIRS - LATER     Bucky knocks on the door.                          BUCKY               Miss Saddon?     A young woman dressed in a metallic Egyptian costume opens     the door.                          SHERYL               You the driver from RKO?                          BUCKY               Police.     The woman shuts the door. Seconds later the TOILET FLUSHES.     She returns and opens it again.                          SHERYL               If this is about those jaywalking--                          BUCKY               It's about Elizabeth Short.                          SHERYL               I did all this on the phone this morning.               Nine thousand questions about Betty's               nine thousand boyfriends and I don't               remember any of the names. Can I go now?               The extras truck is due any minute.                          BUCKY               How about you sit dawn and answer my               questions or I bust you for the reefer               you flushed.     She lets him in and sits defiantly.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               First question. Does a...                   (re to his paper)               Linda Martin or a Marjorie Graham live               here?                          SHERYL               That's Betty's other place. DeLongpre and               Orange.                          BUCKY               She moved around quite a bit. You know               why? Was somebody threatening her?                          SHERYL               Betty's problem wasn't enemies. It was               too many friends.                          BUCKY               I've gathered that. Let's change the               subject.                          SHERYL               How 'bout "the world of high finance"?                          BUCKY (cont'd)               How about movies? You girls are all               tryin' to break in, right?                          SHERYL                   (re her extras costume)               I'm in mister.                          BUCKY               Congratulations. What about Betty?                          SHERYL               Maybe once. Maybe not. 'Round               Thanksgiving she showed up bragging about               gettin' her big break...Had one of those               viewfinders around her neck? But who               knows where she really got it. Betty had               a tendency to--                          BUCKY               ...stretch the truth?                          SHERYL               Lie.     A CAR HORN HONKS. Bucky walks to the window and looks     outside: A FLATBED TRUCK FULL OF CLEOPATRAS waits.                          BUCKY               Your ride's here--     But she's already gone.     INT. THE CAR - MOVING - HOLLYWOOD - CONTINUOUS     They cruise to the next address.                          KOENIG               What'd the cooze say 'bout me?     Bucky just stares at him; the guy's an idiot.     EXT./INT. DELONGPRE APARTMENT BUILDING - LATER     Two men lounge on the stoop. Koenig gives them the eye as he     passes.     Bucky checks his piece of paper against the doorbells again.     Finds "M. Graham" but no Linda Martin.                          KOENIG               I'm bored.                          BUCKY               This'll just take a minute.                          KOENIG               I'm gonna take those two guys outside.               Maybe they knew the cooze--                          BUCKY               I'll handle 'em Sarge--                          KOENIG               No! I'm gonna do it! (beat) Now what do I               roust 'em about?                          BUCKY               I dunno. Ask 'em anything. Alibis. See if               Betty ever engaged in prostitution...     Koenig goes running outside. Bucky shakes his head.     INT. A COMMUNAL SITTING ROOM - LATER     Marjorie Graham sits on a couch with a dog-eared back issue     of Photoplay in her hands. She's mild but well-traveled.                          MARJORIE               ...Betty had this gift, you see. She was               so sweet and eager to please...a bit               dumb, maybe. But she'd do anything to be               liked, become whatever you wanted her to               be. She'd walk like you, or talk like               you...but she wasn't...she was still her.                          BUCKY               Did she ever tell you she was in a movie?               Sometime around November?                          MARJORIE               Sure. She had this viewfinder and showed               it around to all the guys. Said it was               from the director. A co-starring role.                          BUCKY               Did she say what it was?                          MARJORIE               Once she said it was for Fox. Another               time Paramount. I think she was just               fibbing. You know, for the boys.                          BUCKY               Do you remember the names of any of the               guys?                          MARJORIE               Don and Harold--sitting outside. She               dated both of 'em once or twice. Other               than that...I just...didn't really pay               attention to who she was with.     Marjorie looks down, fidgeting.                          BUCKY               What is it? You can tell me.                          MARJORIE               Well...Right before she moved out...l saw               her and Linda...                          BUCKY               Linda Martin?                          MARJORIE               Yeah. Her and Linda Martin--talking to               this older woman up on the Boulevard. She               had a man's suit and short hair like a               man...Only that one time...                          BUCKY               Are you saying the woman was a lesbian?     Marjorie nods yes.     Bucky's about to press her for more when Bill Koenig barges     in, all sweaty.                          KOENIG               Them guys talked. Said the stiff peddled               her twat when she got strapped bad. I               called it in. Mr. Loew said to keep it               zipped cuz it don't look as good.     Bucky looks at Marjorie. Back to Koenig.                          BUCKY               Take their statements, Bill. I've got a               little more here.     Bill disappears back to the porch.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Linda Martin's room?     INT. LINDA MARTIN'S ROOM - LATER     Bucky pushes open the room and finds it empty. He checks the     closet. Empty.     Bucky runs his hand under the bed. Finds something and pulls     it out. A small red vinyl purse. He opens the purse. Inside     is an ID. He shows it to Marjorie.                          MARJORIE               That's her. God...She's only fifteen.                          BUCKY                   (re card)               Lorna Martikova. Omaha, Nebraska.               Runaway. When'd you see her last?                          MARJORIE               This morning. I told her I'd called the               police to come talk to us about Betty.               Was that the wrong thing to do?                          BUCKY               You couldn't have known.     EXT. THE APARTMENT COMPLEX - LATER     Bucky emerges. Koenig stands on the stoop with the two men,     both of whom look like they might have seen the wrong end of     Koenig's less-than-subtle interrogation style.                          KOENIG                   (re the men)               They didn't do it.                          BUCKY               No shit Sherlock.     INT. AN ANONYMOUS CASTING OFFICE - DAY     Clapsticks come down in front of the camera: "Elizabeth     Short...Screen Test #1."     Elizabeth Short sits on a tiny chair in a cheap office. She's     dressed for an audition, overly made up and nervous.                          MAN (O.S.)               Your name please?                          ELIZABETH SHORT               Elizabeth Short. Betty. Beth...Elizabeth.                          MAN (O.S)               Relax, Elizabeth.     She nods, can't relax.                          ELIZABETH SHORT               Sorry. Can we try it again?                          MAN (O.S.)               We haven't even started yet.                          ELIZABETH SHORT               Oh.     FADE OUT.     INT. HOLLYWOOD STATION - LATER     Bucky fills out forms.                          VOICE OVER               I used a Warrant cops special prerogative               and issued an APB on Lorna Martikova aka               Linda Martin. I wrote up my day's report,               omitting Marjorie Graham's lead on the               old dyke. I didn't need Ellis Loew               quashing it along with the skinny on               Betty as the part-time prostie.     EXT. LEE AND KAY'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS     Bucky pulls up in front of the house. Heads inside...                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               To be honest, I'd pretty much overdosed               on Betty Short's low-rent last months on               earth and decided to kiss off the rest of               the day and head to Lee and Kay's for a               sandwich.                                                            CUT TO:     CLOSE-UPS OF BLACK DAHLIA CRIME SCENE PHOTOS     spread out on Lee and Kay's dining room table.     Bucky stands just inside the door watching Lee study the     photos, Kay a pace or two back, smoking nervously. Neither of     them seem to notice him. Finally Kay sees him:                          KAY               Hi, Dwight.                          LEE                   (wired)               It ain't a random job. Horseshit. Guy who               did this...hated her. Bad. Wanted the               whole goddamn world to know. Babe, you               took pre-Med, whattya think? Mad doctor?                          KAY               Lee, Dwight's here.                          LEE               Oh, hey partner. Bucky listen to Kay.               Babe's got ideas. Good stuff--                          KAY               This kind of theorizing's nonsense, but               I'll give you a theory if you'll eat               something to calm yourself down.                          LEE               Theory on, teach.                          KAY               Well. Just a guess. But maybe there were               two killers. Because the torture cuts are               crude, while the bisection and the cut on               the abdomen are neat and clean...     CLOSE ON: Lee's face, somehow both intense and unfocused...                          VOICE OVER               Three days 'til Bobby De Witt hit LA.               Three days since we killed four men.     BACK ON: BUCKY, who turns on his heels and exits, catching     Kay's eye as he goes.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               Maybe nobody cared. Maybe they cared too               much.     EXT. 39TH AND NORTON - DUSK - LATER     Bucky cruises by the crime scene. Rubberneckers gawk around     the vacant lot while vendors peddle greasy food and cheap     portrait glossies of the Dahlia in a black dress.     INT. CENTRAL DIVISION BULLPEN - BUCKY'S DESK - NIGHT     Bucky sits at his desk staring at RAYMOND NASH'S MUGSHOT.     HIS EYES DRIFT TO:     A WAGER POOL SIGN-UP LIST POSTED ON THE WALL: a crude felt     craps table with various betting spaces: "Solved--2 to 1",     "Random Sex Job--4 to 1", "Uhsolved--Even Money",     "Boyfriend(s)--l to 4"...     Next to it are TWO HALVES OF A BLACK DRESS on separate     hangers...a crude joke.     Bucky opens up his desk drawer and drops the Nash mugshot     inside. He dials the phone:                          BUCKY               Administrative Vice Squad?                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     EXT. THE SWANK SPOT LOUNGE - THE VALLEY - NIGHT     Bucky pulls his car up to a low-slung building with a log-     cabin facade and swinging Western doors. He enters.     INT. THE SWANK SPOT LOUNGE - CONTINUOUS     A dimly lit LESBIAN BAR. Butch women in GI khakis mix with     soft girls in cashmere skirt suits.     Bucky approaches a bartender. The woman sizes him up and     slides him a whiskey.                          BARTENDER               Beverage Control?                          BUCKY                   (downing the whiskey)               LAPD Homicide.                          BARTENDER               Who got snuffed?     Bucky slides her a photo of the Dahlia and Linda Martin's ID.                          BUCKY               Seen either of 'em?                          BARTENDER               Huh. The Dahlia's a sister?                          BUCKY               You tell me.                          BARTENDER               Never seen her 'cept in the papers. And               the little schoolgirl twist I've never               seen. We don't truck with underaged               stuff. Capice?                          BUCKY               Capice when your girls tell me that.                                                            CUT TO:     INT. THE BAR - SOON AFTER     as the photos are passed from patron to patron. Aside from a     few raised eyebrows over the Dahlia, nothing to indicate     anyone knows anything.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     INT. A DIFFERENT LESBIAN BAR - LATER     This time an Olde English motif. Bucky sips another free     whiskey as a dozen more women pass the photos around. Bucky     watches their reactions closely but doesn't see anything out     of the ordinary.     He takes another shot of whiskey and heads out the door.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     INT. LAVERNE'S HIDEWAY - LATER     A tropical motif. Faux bamboo wrap-around booths shield women     snuggled deep into the dark corners.     A bit buzzed and embarrassed to have to go booth to booth and     break up couples, Bucky slowly makes his way around the bar     with the two photos. More of the same...     He approaches a woman polishing glasses at the bar. Slides     over the photos.                          BUCKY               Black Dahlia.                          BARTENDER               No shit.     He taps a finger onto Linda Martin's ID.                          BUCKY               What about this girl?     The bartender picks up the card and squints at it. Bucky sees     a flicker of recognition in her eyes. She hesitates--                          BARTENDER               Never seen her.     He leans over the counter.                          BUCKY               Don't you fuckin' lie to me. She's               fifteen fucking years old. So you come               clean or I slap a contributing beef on               you, and you spend the next five years               servin' raisinjack to bulldykes in               Tehachapi.     The bartender looks again at the ID card.                          BARTENDER               A couple times. Two, three months ago.               Just to cadge drinks off the sisters,               though. She liked boys, I'm sure. And not               the Dahlia. Never.     Out of his peripheral vision Bucky sees another woman just     starting to sit down on a bar stool but at the last minute,     change her mind and make for the door.     A baby spotlight catches her face; a fleeting resemblance to      Elizabeth Short.     Bucky takes a deep breath, counts to ten and then goes out     after the woman.     EXT. THE PARKING LOT - CONTINUOUS     The woman gets into a beautiful snow-white Packard.                                                            CUT TO:     SHOTS OF VARIOUS STREETS - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS     as Bucky tails the white Packard from three car-lengths back.     He follows her all the way from the Valley to Hancock Park.                                                            CUT TO:     EXT. MUIRFIELD ROAD - HANCOCK PARK - NIGHT     As the woman parks her car in front of A HUGE TUDOR MANSION,     Bucky cruises by, catching her license plate and writing it     on a pack of matches from LaVerne's.     In his rear view mirror he sees her exit the car, a striking     figure in a sharkskin suit. He watches her walk up the     enormous lawn and into the home.     EXT. A PAY PHONE - MINUTES LATER     Bucky reads the license plate into the phone. He receives     information back and writes it onto the matchbook, as well.     INT. BUCKY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT     Bucky lies in his bed, staring at the ceiling. His bedside     light reveals a still life: Elizabeth Short's mug shot photo     tucked underneath the matchbook. The cover is flipped open     and we can see written: "Madeleine Cathcart Sprague".     INT. BUCKY'S CAR - MORNING     Bucky's listening to The Dexter Gordon quartet on the radio     when the tune is interrupted by a feverish voice:                          ANNOUNCER               We interrupt our regular broadcast to               bring you a bulletin. A major suspect in               the investigation of Elizabeth Short, the               raven-haired beauty known as the Black               Dahlia, has been captured! Red Manley, a               Huntington Park hardware salesman and one               of the last men to be seen with the               Dahlia, was captured early this morning.               Currently being held at Hollenback               Station--     Bucky takes a quick left down another street.                                                            CUT TO:     INT. HOLLENBACK STATION JAIL - LATER     Bucky runs into Lee as he enters the station.                          LEE               Dahlia left San Diego six days before we               found her. Dago cops got a witness puts               her in a tan Dodge with a partial plate               ident. Finally got a cross-check that               matched on Red here.     INT. OUTSIDE THE INTERROGATION ROOM - CONT.     Seems like every cop in town has jammed themselves into a     small corridor, watching Russ Millard interrogate RED MANLEY     through a one way mirror. Manley is carrot-topped, 25, and     scared shitless.     Millard's soothing voice can be heard through speakers.                          MILLARD               Like I said, Robert. We're doing this               because you didn't come forward.                          RED MANLEY               I've told it three times now. I didn't               want my wife to know I was chipping her.                          MILLARD               But you said you didn't chip on her.               Betty wouldn't put out. That's no reason               to hide from the police.                          RED MANLEY               I dated her down in Dago. I slow-danced               with her. It's the same thing as               chipping.                          MILLARD               And you wanted to fuck her, didn't you?                          RED MANLEY               I wanted...to test my loyalty to my wife.                          MILLARD               Come on, son!                          RED MANLEY               I wanted to fuck her. Yes.                          MILLARD               But she cock-teased you.                          RED MANLEY               She said she had her period--     All of the cops outside laugh.                          RED MANLEY               Said the father of her child would be a               combat veteran--                          MILLARD               And you were in the Army band. You get               angry?                          RED MANLEY               I told you. I didn't kill her.                          MILLARD               You drove her back to LA with you               on...December tenth? And dropped her at               the Biltmore Hotel?                          RED MANLEY               I've told it how many ways? How many more               ways do you went to hear it?     Millard straightens up and turns to the one-way mirror. He     tugs at the knot of his tie. Soon after he slips out of the     room and Harry Sears slips in.     Bucky turns to Lee.                          BUCKY               Welcome back to earth, partner.                          LEE               Your fault, really. After you left Kay               slipped me a Mickey. Slept for seventeen               hours.                          BUCKY               Your fault for buying her all those               chemistry classes.                          LEE               Learn anything interesting?                          BUCKY               No.                          LEE                   (re the interrogation)               Now you'll see why Russ keeps Harry               around.     INT. THE INTERROGATION ROOM - SAME     Harry circles Red Manley, lightly tapping a metal-studded sap     in his hand.                          LEE                   (re the sap)               Russ's only rule. No actual hitting.     BACK INSIDE THE INTERROGATION ROOM - SAME     Harry leans close to Red, tapping the sap on the table. His     stutter completely gone.                          HARRY SEARS               You wanted some fresh gash, and you               thought Betty was easy. You came on               strong and that didn't work. You offered               her money. She told you she was on the               rag, and that was the final straw. You               wanted to make her bleed for real--                          RED MANLEY               No no no. Not Betty--     Harry SMASHES the sap onto a glass ashtray, shattering it.     Red bites down on his lip, cutting it.                          HARRY SEARS               You plied Betty with drinks, got her to               talk about her old boyfriends and came on               like a pal, like the nice little corporal               willing to leave Betty to the real men,               the men who saw combat--                          RED MANLEY               No--     Harry SMASHES the table again.                          HARRY SEARS               You took her to a toolshed, maybe one of               those abandoned warehouses out by the old               Ford plant in Pico-Rivera. There was some               twine and lots of cutting tools lying               around, and you got a hard-on...                          RED MANLEY               No no no--     Again Harry smashes the table. Red almost topples his chair     backwards out of fear, only Harry's hand an the back slats     keeping it from going over...                          HARRY SEARS               Yes, Reddy, yes. You thought of every               girl who said "I don't suck", every time               your mommy spanked you, every evil eye               you got from real soldiers when you               played your trombone in the army band.                          RED MANLEY               No--                          HARRY SEARS (cont'd)               Goldbrick, needle-nick, pussy-whipped--                          RED MANLEY               No--                          HARRY SEARS               That's what Betty had to pay for wasn't               it?                          RED MANLEY               No, please! God as my witness!                          HARRY SEARS               God hates liars!     Smash!                          HARRY SEARS (cont'd)               Tell me, Red! Tell Betty! Tell God!                          RED MANLEY               I didn't hurt her--                          HARRY SEARS               Tell God!     Harry smashes the sap down the table once more and then hurls     the whole thing over onto its side.     Red fumbles out of the chair onto his knees. He clasps his     hands together--                          RED MANLEY               The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not               want...     He begins to weep. Completely broken.     Harry turns to the one way mirror, looking straight out at     his audience: self-loathing etched into his flabby,     juicehound face.     He gives the thumbs-down sign and walks out of the room.     OUTSIDE IN THE HALLWAY     Russ Millard meets him at the door and leads him away from     the general crowd of officers.     BACK IN THE INTERROGATION ROOM     Bucky watches as Lee and another officer handcuff Red and     take him outside. Lee has his hand on Red's shoulder like a     kindly uncle.     OUTSIDE THE STATION     Bucky stands on the steps, taking fresh air. Russ steps out.                          RUSS MILLARD               Good report yesterday, Bleichert.                          BUCKY               Thanks.                          RUSS MILLARD               What next?                          BUCKY               You send me back to Warrants?                          RUSS MILLARD               Wrong again. But keep going.                          BUCKY               Canvass around the Biltmore. If Red               dropped her off there on the tenth maybe               we can start reconstructing the last days               before she got snatched.                          RUSS MILLARD               Bright penny. You're doing well, Bucky.               Run with the ball.                          BUCKY               All I know is you should keep an eye on               Loew and his boys.               I didn't put it in my report, but Betty               sold it outright when she needed money               bad enough, and Loew's been trying to               keep it kiboshed so it'll look better if               he ever takes it to trial.                          RUSS MILLARD                   (smiles)               You calling your boss an evidence               suppressor?                          BUCKY               And a grandstanding son of a bitch.                          RUSS MILLARD               You're a brighter penny than I thought.                   (hands him a sheet of paper)               Betty sightings. Wilshire Division. I               need smart pennies to eliminate the               phonies from the tip sheet.                          BUCKY               What are you gonna do?                          MILLARD               Keep an eye on the evidence suppressor               son of a bitch and his minions to make               sure they don't try to coerce a               confession out of that innocent man in               the holding tank.     He pats Bucky on the shoulder and walks inside.                                                            CUT TO:     BUCKY CANVASSING THE WILSHIRE DISTRICT     Restaurants, bars, juke joints. Bucky interviews every drunk     on Western and Normandie...                          VOICE OVER               Barflies. Daytime juicers...The longer I               listened the more they talked about               themselves, interweaving their sad tales               with the Black Dahlia, who they actually               believed to be a glamorous siren headed               for Hollywood stardom...     Bucky cruises in his car into Lee and Kay's neighborhood.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               It was as if they would have traded their               own lives for a juicy front-page death.               I decided my report would consist of two               words: "All bullshit".     IN FRONT OF LEE AND KAY'S HOUSE - NIGHT     Bucky pulls up just as Kay storms out the door and down the     steps, hurling an armful of paper onto the lawn. Lee storms     beside her, shouting and waving his arms as they go back     inside.     Bucky walks over and kneels down besides the papers: carbons     of LAPD report forms, tip sheets, evidence tickets, the     autopsy...all with "E. Short" typed at the top.                          BUCKY               Oh Jesus.     Kay and Lee come back out again, Kay tossing out more files.                          KAY               It's sick and it's insane! After               everything...And all that might happen--                          LEE               I need this, babe. You know it. I'll rent               a room for the stuff but--                   (noticing Bucky)               You tell her Bucky. Reason with her.                          BUCKY               She's right, Lee. You've pulled at least               three misdemeanors here. It's out of               control--     Bucky stops himself short, studying Lee's strained face.                          BUCKY (cont'd)                   (to Kay)               I promised him a week on it. Four more               days and it's over.                          KAY               Dwight, you can be so gutless sometimes.     She turns on them both and goes back inside. Before Lee can     make a wisecrack Bucky kicks his way through the LAPD papers     back to his car...     INT. LAVERNE'S HIDEAWAY - NIGHT     Bucky sits low in his car, watching THE WHITE PACKARD parked     near the front of LaVerne's. He's been there awhile...     Finally the woman from the night before exits and heads for     her car. He jumps out and walks quickly to intercept her     while she's fumbling for her keys.                          BUCKY               Slumming, Miss Sprague?     She sighs, exasperated.                          MADELEINE               I am now. Daddy spying on me again?     She pulls a wad of cash out of her purse. Switching to a very     deft imitation of a Scotchman's burr:                          MADELEINE (cont'd)               Maddy, girl, ye shouldn't be congregatin'               in such unsuitable places--                          BUCKY               I'm a policeman.                          MADELEINE               Well that's a new one--     She peels off another bill. Hands it to Bucky. He counts it     out. Over a hundred dollars.                          BUCKY               Homicide.     He hands the money back.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Let's try Elizabeth Short. Linda Martin.     All of her bravado drops. Bucky sees it immediately. He grabs     her purse and keys and tosses them on the hood of her car.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Here or downtown? I know you knew her so               don't jerk me off on that or it's               downtown and a whole lot of publicity.     She opens the door to her car and slides in. Bucky gets in     next to her. By the roof light he can see that her similarity     to the Dahlia is more in her clothes and hair, but the     resemblance is still there nonetheless.                          MADELEINE                   (gathering herself)               This is all a fluke. I met them at               LaVerne's last fall.               Betty maybe one time. Linda a couple.               She'd come in to cadge a drink or a meal               off a sister.                          BUCKY               You sleep with either of them?                          MADELEINE               No. Just cocktail lounge chitchat.                          BUCKY               Are you lez?                          MADELEINE                   (Scotchman's burr)               Ye might say I take it where I can find               it, laddie.     Bucky's charmed by her, but stays focused.                          BUCKY               Why'd you rabbit last night?                          MADELEINE                   (exasperated)               Mister, my father is Emmett Sprague. The               Emmett Sprague. He built half of               Hollywood and Long Beach, and what he               didn't build he bought. Imagine the               headlines. "Tycoon's Daughter Questioned               in Black Dahlia Case--Played Footsie with               Dead Girl at Lesbian Nightclub". Get the               picture?                          BUCKY               In Technicolor. (beat) What did you talk               about?                          MADELEINE               Linda talked about her boring boy back in               Hicktown, Nebraska, or wherever. Betty               talked about the latest issue of Screen               World. Hollywood dreams, the sad nine               yards.                          BUCKY               Betty ever tell you about a movie she               did? Show you a viewfinder? Anything               specific?                          MADELEINE               On a conversational level they were right               down there with you, only they were               better looking.                          BUCKY               You're cute.                          MADELEINE               You're not. Look, I'm tired. You want to               hear my alibi so I can end this farce and               go home?                          BUCKY               That's all anyone ever wants to               volunteer: the alibi. Go ahead.                          MADELEINE               My family and I were at our house in               Laguna from Sunday through Thursday along               with our live-in servants. If you want               verification, call Daddy. But be discreet               about where we met.     She turns in the seat to face him directly.                          MADELEINE (cont'd)               Don't suppose I can convince you to keep               my name out of the papers?                          BUCKY               I don't need your cash if that's what               you're saying.     She touches his leg.                          MADELEINE               Ah, Laddie...'S not what I'm saying...     He knows exactly what she's saying.                          BUCKY               Convince me.                          MADELEINE               Tomorrow night. Eight o'clock. My address               is 482 So. Muirfield.                          BUCKY               I know the address.                          MADELEINE               Not surprised. Pick me up. Like a               gentleman.     He starts to get out of the car.                          MADELEINE (cont'd)               One more thing--What's your name?                          BUCKY               Bucky Bleichert.                          MADELEINE               I'll try to remember.     He pulls the purse off the hood and tosses her the keys. As     he walks away he lets out a deep breath, as if he'd been     holding it the whole time...     INT. THE SQUAD ROOM - NEXT DAY     Bucky enters and finds Lee at a desk, manning the tip phones.                          LEE               Yes, ma'am. I understand. A werewolf and               Red Manley. Oh no. The werewolf is Red               Manley. Yes that would be more               efficient...     Lee dutifully writes down the crank on a routing slip. Bucky     slides into a chair across from him, brushing imaginary dust     off of the phone in front of him.     Lee rings off. Smiles at Bucky.                          LEE (cont'd)               I love tip duty.                          BUCKY               So...You smooth things with Kay?                          LEE               Yeah. I rented a room for the stuff at               the El Nido Motel. Nine scoots a week.               Chump change if it makes her feel good.                          BUCKY               De Witt gets out tomorrow, Lee. I was               thinking maybe I should lean on him. Get               Fritz Vogel and Koenig to do it--     Lee swings away in his rotating chair, knocking over a     wastepaper basket.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Lee--     The phone in front of Lee rings. He snatches it--                          LEE               Blanchard. Homicide.     Lee listens to the call, not saying anything. It goes on for     some time. Finally Bucky catches Lee's eye. Lee makes the     "looney" sign with his finger.     Bucky's phone rings. He picks it up.                          BUCKY               Bleichert. Homicide.     The person on the other line starts rambling on. Bucky takes     notes diligently as we                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     INT. THE SQUAD ROOM - LATER     Bucky's on another call. His pile of tip sheets and routing     slips have grown. Behind him Lee pulls on his jacket and     gives Bucky a two-fingered salute as he saunters out.                          VOICE OVER               I logged forty-six phone tips, about half               of which were reasonably coherent. Lee               left early, dodging any talk about De               Witt. Ellis Loew stuck me with writing up               the summary report, most of which               concerned the numerous dead end leads,               bogus confessions and three hundred new               Dahlia sightings per day. It left me gut               certain of one thing:                                                            CUT TO:     A CLOSE UP OF THE BETTING POOL TABLE     as Bucky drops twenty dollars on "Unsolved - pay 2 to 1".     INT. ANOTHER CASTING OFFICE - DAY     Elizabeth Short in another dress, her hair fixed differently.     Clapsticks come in again: "Elizabeth Short...Screen Test     #2"                          MAN #2 (O.S.)               Where are you from?                          ELIZABETH SHORT               Boston. Massachusetts.                          MAN #2               How long have you lived here?                          ELIZABETH SHORT               Two years.                          MAN #2               You've lost your accent.                          ELIZABETH SHORT               Well, you know, when in Rome...                   (looks nervously into camera)               Why? Do you want a girl with an accent?     FADE OUT     EXT. THE SPRAGUE MANSION - NIGHT     Bucky rings the bell dressed in his Sunday best blazer.     Madeleine answers, a knockout in a skirt and cashmere sweater.                          MADELEINE               Look. I hate to pull this, but Daddy has               heard about you. He insisted you stay for               dinner. I told him we met at that art               exhibit at Stanley Rose's Bookshop, so if               you have to pump everybody for my alibi,               be subtle. All right?                          BUCKY               Sure.     She leads him inside.     INT. THE SPRAGUE MANSION - CONTINUOUS     Thick Persian carpets, tapestries, giant rooms with a men's     club atmosphere.     Next to the fireplace Bucky notices A STUFFED SPANIEL with a     yellowed newspaper rolled into its mouth.                          MADELEINE                   (re the dog)               That's Balto. The paper is the LA Times               for August 1, 1926. Balto was bringing in               the paper when Daddy's accountant told               him he'd made his first million. Daddy               wanted to consecrate the moment so he               shot him. Here we go--     INT. A SMALL SITTING ROOM - CONTINUOUS     The Sprague family sits in matching easy chairs. No one     stands up.                          MADELEINE               Bucky Bleichert. May I present my family.               My mother, Ramona Cathcart Sprague. My               father, Emmett Sprague. My sister, Martha               McConville Sprague.     Emmett Sprague jumps to his feet, pumping Bucky's hand.                          BUCKY               A pleasure, Mr. Sprague.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               Saw you fight Mondo Sanchez. Boxed the               pants off him. Another Billy Conn you               were.                          BUCKY               Thanks.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               Mondo gave a good show. What ever               happened to him?                          BUCKY               Died of a heroin overdose.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               Too bad. Shamed his family. (beat)               Speaking of families--     Both Martha and Ramona stand up. Martha is 19, plain and     serious, with a tenacious resemblance to Emmett. (Neither of     whom look much like Madeleine.)     Ramona, on the other hand, possesses a pushing-fifty     resemblance to Madeleine combined with the flaccid face and     unfocused features of a booze or drug addict.                          RAMONA                   (trace of a slur)               Madeleine says nice things about you.                          MADELEINE               Daddy can we eat? Bucky and I want to               catch a nine-thirty show.     INT. THE DINING ROOOM - LATER     A black maid serves large portions of corned beef and cabbage.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               Dig in, lad. Hearty fare breeds hearty               people. Haute cuisine breeds degenerates.     Bucky smiles politely and begins eating.                          MARTHA               I want to draw Mr. Bleichert, Daddy.     On Emmett's nod Martha pulls out a small sketch pad.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               You're in for a cruel caricaturing,               Bucky. Maddy's my pretty one, but               Martha's my certified genius.     A wince from Martha.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE (cont'd)               What kind of name is Bleichert? Dutch?                          BUCKY               German.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               A great people, the Germans. Hitler was a               bit excessive, but mark my words that               someday we'll regret not joining forces               with him to fight the Reds. I killed a               lot of your countrymen during the war.                          MARTHA               Did you meet Balto out in the hallway?                          BUCKY               Very realistic.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               An old friend stuffed him. We were in the               Scots regiment together. Georgie Tilden.               He wanted to work in the flickers.                          BUCKY               So when did you come here?                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               1920. Hollywood was a cow pasture, but               the silent flickers was booming. Georgie               got work as a lighting man, and me               building houses.               Georgie got me introduced to Mack Sennett               and I helped him build that housing               project he was putting up--Hollywoodland--               underneath that godawful sign.                          BUCKY               I always loved the Keystone Kops.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               Old Mack knew how to squeeze a dollar               dry, he did. He had extras moonlighting               as laborers and vice versa. I used to               drive 'em over to Hollywoodland after               twelve hours on a Keystone Cops flicker               and put in another six hours by               torchlight. Even gave me as assistant               director credit a couple times, so               grateful he was for the way I squeezed               his slaves--     A SCREECH interrupts Emmett's monologue. Bucky looks across     the table to see Ramona trying to corral a potato with her     fork (the source of the sound).                          EMMETT SPRAGUE (cont'd)               Mother? Are you feeling well? Would you               like to contribute to the conversation?     Ramona forks a small bit of food and chews it daintily.                          RAMONA               Did you know, Mr. Bleichert, that Ramona               Boulevard was named after me?                          BUCKY               No Mrs. Sprague, I didn't.                          RAMONA               When Emmett married me for my father's               money he promised my family that he would               use his influence with the City Zoning               Board to have a street named after me.               But all he could manage was a dead-end               block in a red light district in Lincoln               Heights. Are you familiar with the               neighborhood, Mr. Bleichert?                          BUCKY               I grew up there.                          RAMONA               Then you know that the Mexican               prostitutes expose themselves out of               windows to attract customers. I hear many               of them know Mr. Sprague by name--     Emmett Sprague SLAMS the table. Plates rattle. Silence. Bucky     stares into his lap as Madeleine grabs his knee tightly.                          RAMONA (cont'd)               I'll sing for my supper when Mayor Bowron               comes to dinner, but not for Madeleine's               male whores. A common policeman. My God,               Emmett. How little you think of me.     She struggles to her feet and leaves the room. Her husband     follows.                          MADELEINE               I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.                          MARTHA                   (cheery)               Mr. Bleichert?     Martha tears a piece of paper out of her sketch pad. Bucky     takes it as she walks away.     ANGLE ON THE SKETCH:     A caricature of a naked Bucky having sex with Madeleine.                                                            CUT TO:     EXT. THE RED ARROW INN - LATER     A cinderblock auto court filled with pre-war jalopies. The     camera closes on a dingy door. Room 11.     INT. THE RED ARROW INN - ROOM 11 - SAME     A single yellow light illuminates the dreary flop as Bucky     and Madeleine fuck on the bed.                          MADELEINE               I'm so...sorry. Don't hate my family--               don't--they're not so bad--     Bucky grabs her hair--                          BUCKY               Not them, me. Do me. Be with me.     Focusing, Madeleine pins Bucky with her knees and pulls him     deep into her until they're no longer common policeman and     rich girl slut. They're one.     INT. THE RED ARROW INN - ROOM 11 - SAME     They hold each other, sweaty and spent.                          BUCKY               Well. I think you kept your name out of               the papers.                          MADELEINE               Until we announce the wedding?                          BUCKY               Your mother would love that.                          MADELEINE               She's a hypocrite. She takes pills the               doctor gives her, so she's not a hophead.               You know how Daddy really made his money?                          BUCKY               How?                          MADELEINE               He bought rotten lumber and abandoned               movie facades from Mack Sennett and built               houses out of them. He's got firetraps               all over LA registered to phony               corporations...His "good friend" George?               Disfigured in a car crash while running               Daddy some errands. Daddy throws him               scraps now--odd jobs tending some rental               property--                          BUCKY               You don't have to tell me this--                          MADELEINE               I want to. I like you Bucky.                          BUCKY               I like you, too.     She looks at him earnestly.                          MADELEINE               Bucky, I didn't tell you all about Betty               Short.                          BUCKY               Jesus--                          MADELEINE               Don't be mad at me. It's nothing. I just               don't want to lie to you.                          BUCKY               What is it?                          MADELEINE               Last summer I was bar-hopping a lot.               Straight bars. I heard about a girl who               looked like me. I got curious and left               notes at a couple places: "Your lookalike               wants to meet you", things like that. I               left my number. She called. That's how I               met her at LaVerne's with Linda.                          BUCKY               And that's all of it?                          MADELEINE               Yes. That's all of it.                          BUCKY               Then be prepared, babe. There's fifty               cops out there combing every bar in town               looking for Dahlia info. You could be               headed for the papers no matter what.                          MADELEINE               Serve my family right.                          BUCKY               You don't mean that.                          MADELEINE               No. I don't.     He strokes her dark hair.                          BUCKY               Tell me something. Why'd you want to meet               Betty Short?                          MADELEINE               I've worked pretty hard to be loose and               free. But the way people described Betty.               It sounded like she was a natural.                          BUCKY               How do you mean?                          MADELEINE               Hmmm...She was this poor girl...Came from               nothing...But then she carried nothing               with her, either. I don't know...when               you're rich sometimes you romanticize the               poor...                          BUCKY               I wouldn't know.     An awkward silence as she considers her foot in her mouth. He     studies her for a moment. Pulls her close, kisses her     mouth...the arch of her neck...They begin to move together     again...     Another LAPD FORM: "Witness Report: Lorna     Martikova...aka Linda Martin..."     EXT./INT. BUCKY'S CAR - MOVING     Bucky weaves fast through traffic. He whips a right turn...     EXT. THE CALEDONIA LOUNGE - CONTINUOUS     Bucky's car screeches into the parking lot just as LINDA     MARTIN bursts through the doors and takes off running.     Bucky jumps from the car and sprints after her, the girl     clutching an oversized purse to her chest as she dashes in     and out of busy traffic.     The girl runs like a fucking antelope as Bucky barely misses     being hit by a large BEER TRUCK and gets to the other side of     the street just as Linda stumbles over a curb--sending her     sprawling on the sidewalk.     Bucky jumps on her, grabbing her tiny fists as she kicks and     screams like a hell cat.     He cuffs her and pulls her up, dragging her to where she     spilled her purse.                          LINDA MARTIN               I'm an emancipated minor and if you touch               me without a matron present I'll sue you!     He picks it up her purse. Surprised by the heft, he opens it     and pulls out A METAL FILM CAN.     Her demeanor changes instantly to fear:                          LINDA MARTIN                   (near tears)               Please, mister...My...my parents.     INT. JUVENILE DETENTION HALL - INTERROGATION ROOM - LATER     Russ, Harry and Bucky sit opposite Linda Martin. She's pretty     and small, and about to get smaller...                          RUSS MILLARD               ...and you don't recall any of the names               Betty went out with last fall?                          LINDA MARTIN               They were just pickups.                          RUSS MILLARD               No one who would do her harm?     The girl thinks hard, shakes her head "no".                          BUCKY               You made the casting rounds together.               Ever get any movie work?                          LINDA MARTIN               No.                          BUCKY               So what about the film can?     Her eyes go to the floor, tears begin to drop.                          LINDA MARTIN               It's...a movie.                          BUCKY               A dirty movie?     She nods her head silently.                          RUSS MILLARD               You have to tell us the whole thing,               sweetheart. So think it through.     Harry pours her a paper cup of water. She takes a sip.                          LINDA MARTIN               I was...cadging at a bar in Gardena. This               Mexican man - Raoul or Jorge or something               - starting talking to me.               I thought I was pregnant, and I was               desperate wicked bad for money. He said               he'd give me two hundred dollars to act               in a nudie film.     She takes a large gulp of water.                          LINDA MARTIN (cont'd)               He said he needed another girl so I asked               Betty. The three of us drove down to               Tijuana and we made the movie at this big               house outside of town. (beat) Then he               drove us back to LA.     Her head bowed. Russ and Harry stare at her impassively.                          BUCKY               Was this around Thanksgiving?     She nods yes.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Did the Mex give Betty a viewfinder?     She raises her head in recognition and nods yes.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Did he seem particularly interested in               Betty? Did she see him again?     She shakes her head "no".                          BUCKY (cont'd)               But you saw him again, didn't you? How               else could you have gotten a copy?     Linda looks sadly at Bucky.                          LINDA MARTIN               After Betty...After I read about               Betty...I went looking for him in               Gardena. He was about to go back to               Mexico and I conned him out of a print.                          RUSS MILLARD               Where was that?                          LINDA MARTIN               I don't remember. On Aviation somewhere.                          RUSS MILLARD               Why would you do that?                          LINDA MARTIN               A Black Dahlia stag film? I thought...I               could sell it if I had to. (ashamed) It               was...a collector's item.                          RUSS MILLARD               And he willingly gave you a copy of the               film? For nothing?                          LINDA MARTIN               No. Not for nothing.     She looks down again. The cops look at each other. Linda's     harder and more desperate than they imagined.                          LINDA MARTIN (cont'd)               You'll let me have it back, won't you?               You won't let people look at it?     Now its the cops turn to look away.     EXT. THE HALLWAY - AFTER     Russ and Bucky.                          RUSS MILLARD               Whattya think?                          BUCKY               I think she's covering on the Mex angle.               Maybe she knows him and doesn't want him               taking a smut rap. Maybe he's white. The               TJ stuff is sound, though. I'd detach Meg               Caulfield from Wilshire Clerical to play               cellmate for a day.                          RUSS MILLARD               Bleichert you are a very bright penny               today. (beat) Well. Looks like it's blue               movie night at City Hall.     INT. THE MUSTER ROOM - LATER     A projector and screen has been set up. All the big-wigs are     present: Ellis Loew, Jack Tierney, Thad Green and Chief of     Police C.B. Horrall. Millard, Harry and Lee.     A clerical assistant threads the projector as Bucky settles     into a seat next to Lee. On Lee's lap is a newspaper with the      headline: "Boulevard-Citizen's Mastermind to be Released     --LA Bound after 8 years of Custody"                          LEE                   (raggedy)               Gettin' any?     Bucky's about to respond when the lights dim and a blurred     image hits the screen. It begins to focus.     A title: "Slave Girls From Hell"     The movie: A big high-ceiling room with Egyptian     hieroglyphics on the walls. Pillars shaped like coiled     serpents are stationed throughout the room; the camera zooms     in for a close-up of two inset plaster snakes swallowing each     other's tails. The snakes dissolve into Betty Short, wearing     only stockings and doing an inept hoochie koochie dance...     An audible breath in the muster room.     A hand reaches into frame, passing Betty a large cylindrical     object: a dildo, scales covering the shaft, fangs extending     from the circumcised head. Betty puts it in her mouth, sucks     it, eyes wide open and glassy.     An abrupt cut: Linda Martin, naked, lying on a divan. Betty     enters the frame with the dildo; she puts it between Linda's     legs, pushing it inside her. Linda rotates her hips, trying     her best to fake ecstasy instead of pain and sadness.     Another cut: Betty mouthing the words "No, please" to the     camera. A hand pushing her head down towards Linda's crotch.     Betty tonguing next to the dildo...     BACK ON THE MUSTER ROOM     The atmosphere is somber, but calm. The film continues...                          CHIEF HORRALL               Whattya think, Russ? This got anything to               do with the girl's murder--                          RUSS MILLARD               Long shot, Chief. Harry and I are headed               down to TJ tonight. The Mex doesn't play               as the killer. But maybe he showed it to               someone--     Suddenly Lee jumps up, standing in front of the screen.                          LEE               Who gives a fuck if he didn't kill her!               I've sent Boy Scouts to the green room               for less than this!     He yanks down the screen with a crash and storms out of the     room. The movie continues on the chalked up blackboard.     INT. THE LOCKER ROOM - LATER     Lee sits on the ground, head in his hands. Bucky enters and     sits on a bench next to him.                          LEE               Did you see her face, Bucky? Did you see?                          BUCKY               Yeah. I did, partner. I did.     Bucky notices Lee's still clutching the De Witt article in     his fist. He pries it loose.     Ellis Loew and Russ Millard enter.                          ELLIS LOEW               Goddammit, Blanchard! I got you Warrants.               You're my man, and you made me look like               a fool in front of the two most powerful               men in the Department. If you weren't               Mr. Fire you'd be suspended from duty               already. You've gotten personally               involved in the Short case--                          BUCKY                   (holding up the newspaper)               Mr. Loew, it's not just Betty Short--                          ELLIS LOEW               Shut up, Bleichert.                   (back to Lee)               You're back on Warrants as of tomorrow.               Report to me at 0800 with letters of               apology for Green and Horrall. For the               sake of your pension I'd suggest you               grovel.                          LEE               I want to go to TJ--                          ELLIS LOEW               Blanchard!     Poison hangs in the air. Ellis turns on his heels.     INT. THE SQUADRON - DAY     Bucky sits in his cubicle searching the Dahlia files. The     clock behind him reads "12:30". Loew approaches.                          ELLIS LOEW               You've been skating around all morning,               Bleichert. Vogel and Koenig went to               Tijuana an hour ago so I need you to               check out a radio car and get out there.                          BUCKY               Yes, sir.                          ELLIS LOEW               And if you see that phantom partner of               yours, tell him this no-show's gonna cost               him three days pay.     Loew walks off. Bucky dials the phone.                          MADELEINE (VO)               Hello.                          BUCKY               It's me. You want to get together?                          MADELEINE (VO)               When?                          BUCKY               I'll pick you up in forty-five minutes.                          MADELEINE (VO)               Not at the house. Daddy's having a               business soiree. The Red Arrow.                          BUCKY               I have an apartment, you know.                          MADELEINE (VO)               Room 11. Forty-five minutes.     She hangs up.     INT. RED ARROW MOTEL - ROOM 11 - LATER     They lie naked in the bed. Bucky's lost in thought.                          MADELEINE               Smile at me. Look soft and sweet.     He looks anything but.                          BUCK               They picked up Linda Martin yesterday.               She had a stag film of her and Betty               Short playing lez. Spooky stuff.     Madeleine sits up.                          MADELEINE               Did she mention me?                          BUCKY               No. And I checked through the case file.               There's no mention of that note-leaving               number you pulled. (beat) Babe, I'm               withholding evidence for you. It's a fair               trade for what I'm getting, but it still               shakes me. Is there anything you haven't               told me about Betty and Linda?     She runs her fingers down his ribcage, teasing his boxing     scars.                          MADELEINE               Sugar, Betty and I made love once, that               one time we met last summer. I just did               it to see what it would be like to do it               with someone who looked like me and--                          BUCKY               Jesus Christ.     He jumps from the bed and pulls on his pants.                          MADELEINE               Bucky that's it, I swear. Please stay--     He pulls on his shirt, his handcuffs and his .38. Grabs his     jacket--                          MADELEINE (cont'd)               Stay sugar stay--     --and slams the door on the way out.     INT. THE POLICE CRUISER - LATER     Bucky steamed in the car. He flips on the police radio,     looking for distraction. Instead he gets:                          RADIO DISPATCHER               Code four all units at Crenshaw and               Stocker. Two dead, suspect dead, Raymond               Douglas Nash, warrant number--     EXT. A KOREAN GROCERY - MINUTES LATER     RAYMOND NASH lies dead on the sidewalk. Off to one side, a     short and wiry cop is describing for detectives how it all     went down, pantomiming how he shot an escaping Raymond Nash.     Bucky stands over Nash, staring at his dead features. He     walks inside.     INT. A KOREAN GROCERY - CONTINUOUS     Bucky's POV:     A robbery gone bad. A sixty-year old Korean shopowner lies     dead behind the counter and his teenaged son lies dead in an     aisle. Blood and green linoleum.     INT. THE SQUAD ROOM - SOON AFTER     Bucky bursts into the squad room, seeing red.                          BUCKY               Blanchard!     A cop walking through the bullpen points to the bathroom.     INT. THE BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS     Bucky kicks in the door, finding Lee washing his hands in the     sink. He holds his hands up to Bucky, blood oozes from Lee's     knuckles.                          LEE               I beat up a wall. Penance for Nash.                          BUCKY               Not good enough.     Bucky steps into Lee with fists flying, a mad demon. He     smashes him again and again, beating his only friend until     Lee slides senseless to the floor...     INT. BUCKY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT     Bucky drinks bourbon straight, his wrist heavily bandaged.                          VOICE OVER               Losing the first Bleichert-Blanchard               fight got me local celebrity, Warrants,               and close to nine grand in cash;               winning the rematch got me a sprained               wrist, two dislocated knuckles and the               rest of the day off. Whoever said winning               isn't everything got that part right.     EXT. LEE AND KAY'S HOUSE - NEXT DAY     Bucky walks into the house and finds Kay there. She holds up     a newspaper: The front page includes The Black Dahlia, Junior     Nash, and Bobby De Witt.                          KAY                   (eyes red from crying)               We're famous, Dwight.                          BUCKY               Notorious, maybe. Where's Lee?                          KAY               I haven't seen him since you beat him up.     Bucky looks ashamed.                          KAY (cont'd)               I don't blame you.     He walks to her and she holds him.                          BUCKY               He's in trouble, you know.     She nods. He strokes her hair.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               De Witt's probably in LA by now. If Lee               doesn't show up by tonight I'll come over               to stay with you.                          KAY               I don't want you coming over here just to               sleep an the couch again.                          BUCKY               Kay. Lee--     She holds up a hand, waving him off. She knows all this.                          KAY               You know Dwight? Fighting, cops, guns. To               most people--that's the scary stuff. Not               everything else.     She knows him to the core. She steps back, holding his hands.                          KAY (cont'd)               Luck.                          BUCKY               Short of winning?                          KAY               Luck.     INT. POLICE STATION - BUCKY'S CUBICLE - LATER     Bucky's on the phone.                          BUCKY               Thank you very much.     He rings off looking very disturbed as Russ and Harry arrive.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               What happened in TJ?                          HARRY SEARS               Checked for the smut pad. Goose egg.               Peddlers--double goose egg--                          RUSS MILLARD               Bucky. Blanchard's in Tijuana. A border               cop spotted him hobnobbing with a bunch               of rough-looking Rurales last night.     Bucky exhales hard.                          RUSS MILLARD (cont'd)               What is it?                          BUCKY                   (re his phone call)               That was County Parole. Bobby DeWitt               bought a bus ticket at the Santa Rosa               depot this morning. San Diego. Transfer               Tijuana.     EXT. TIJUANA - VARIOUS SHOTS - DAWN     Bucky cruises the Tijuana streets: child beggars dig for      breakfast in trash cans, taco venders stir pots of dog-meat     stew, sailors and marines stumble out of whorehouses. Rurales     drive prewar Chevys wearing black uniforms...                          VOICE OVER               Back in LA, Linda Short let slip that her               "Mex" was actually a local named Walter               Wellington, who copped to making the film               but quickly provided the cops his alibi               for the Dahlia's missing days.     Bucky parks at a big pink Art Deco hotel (The Divisidero).     INT. THE DIVISIDERO - CONTINUOUS     Bucky badges the desk clerk and gets a room number. He heads     upstairs.                          VOICE OVER               Not that this stopped Loew and his boys               from rousting spics all over town for a               possible Dahlia frame-up. The circus was               becoming a farce.     INT. A DIVISIDERO HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS     Ellis Loew, Fritz Vogel, and Bill Koenig arguing.                          ELLIS LOEW               We can't do that! Wellington told Tierney               he made the pic--     Bucky opens the door and the room falls quiet.                          ELLIS LOEW (cont'd)               Bleichert.                          BUCKY               Lee's down here and so is Bobby De Witt.                          ELLIS LOEW               Fuck Blanchard. He's suspended.     Bucky charges the DA but Vogel and Koenig intercept him,     pushing him roughly back out in the hall. Loew retreats to     the other side of the room.                          VOGEL               You know what, kid? I got a soft spot in               my heart for light heavyweights.                   (chucks his chin)               You promise not to hit Billy and I'll               help you look for your partner.                   (re Bucky's ragged appearance)               I'll drive. You look like shit.     EXT. THE TIJUANA STREETS - VARIOUS SHOTS     Bucky and Fritz Vogel drive past beggars swarming tourists,     hookers dispensing front seat blow jobs, zoot suit youths     prowling for drunks to roll...     EXT. THE TIJUANA STREETS - VARIOUS SHOTS     The two men park the car in the middle of a car-choked street     and decide to try walking. They're immediately swallowed up     by kid beggars shoving crucifixes in their faces.     Bucky tosses handfuls of coins into the gutters and the     children scatter, squabbling over the coins.     IN THE BACKGROUND     Fritz Vogel approaches a Rurale and talks to him. The Rurale     nods yes, gesturing down an alley to a squat cinderblock     building.                                                            CUT TO:     INT. A FILTHY MEXICAN JAIL - SOON AFTER     Vogel and Bucky walk quickly down a corridor lined with empty     cells. A Mexican jailer unlocks the last cell and the two     cops walk in to face     BOBBY DEWITT     the hatchet-faced tough of 1939 now a grizzled and bloated     well-used piece of work. He stands up, full of con bravado.                          DEWITT               Cops, huh? Well at least you're American.               Never thought I'l be glad to see you               guys.                          VOGEL               Why start now?     Vogel kicks in the balls, dropping him to his knees. Vogel     smashes him with a thick backhand across the face.                                                            CUT TO:     BUCKY HANDCUFFING BOBBY DEWITT TO A CHAIR     Vogel stands over him.                          VOGEL               Lee Blanchard's here in TJ, and you came               here flush out of Big Q. That's a               goddamned strange coincidence and I don't               like it. I don't like you and I don't               like being down in this rat-infested               country when I could be home with my               family.     DeWitt pisses his pants.                          VOGEL (cont'd)               Did you know Blanchard was in TJ?                          DEWITT               Ain't seen Blanchard since my fuckin'               trial.     Vogel smashes him across the face.                          VOGEL               Do not use profanity with me, and address               me as sir.     DeWitt's head bobs up and down.                          VOGEL (cont'd)               Now Blanchard's scared of you. Why?                          DEWITT               Man o Manieschewitz, what a laugh. Lee               beauty gotta be scared of me 'cause of               how I flapped my trap at trial, but all I               know is what I read in the papers. Maybe               I was thinkin' revenge, maybe talkin'               trash to my cellies, but when Lee beauty               killed them niggers--     Vogel topples DeWitt with a right hook and then picks him     back up by the neck, squeezing the life out of him.                          VOGEL               Bobby boy I do not like Sergeant               Blanchard but he is a fellow officer and               I will not have syphilitic scum like you               defaming him. Now you risked a parole               violation for a trip down here.     He lets go of his neck, the color returning to DeWitt's face.                          VOGEL (cont'd)               Why are you here, Bobby. You tell me.                          DEWITT                   (a beaten dog)               I came down to cop some heroin and move               it back to LA. I'm meeting a guy, Felix               Casco, at the Gardena Motel. Please.               Don't hurt me no more. Please.     Vogel claps his hands together, gleeful with this bonus bust.                          VOGEL                   (heading out of the cell)               I'm gonna call Ellis.     Bucky turns back to De Witt, who's much more relaxed now that     Vogel's left the cell.                          BUCKY               Finish up with you and Blanchard.                          DEWITT               Sir, all that's between me and Blanchard               is that I fucked this cunt Kay Lake--     IN SLOW MOTION--     Bucky leaps on De Witt, grabbing him around the neck and     choking him. De Witt turns blue, his eyes bulging out--     BEHIND BUCKY, VOICES IN SPANISH     and then hands on his shoulders as Ducky is hurled backwards     into the cell bars. And then     BLACKNESS     which slowly becomes grey, and then back to normal as Bucky     finds himself awakening on the floor of the cell.     Refocusing on the scene:     Two Rurales in jodhpur boots pick their teeth with     matchsticks as Fritz Vogel pulls Bucky to his feet.                          BUCKY               How long--                          VOGEL               I let Bobby boy go so we could tail him               to his pal. But he blew his tail while               you were catching up on your beauty               sleep, which is too bad for him.                                                            CUT TO:     A STUDEBAKER PATROL CAR WITH LIGHTS FLASHING     INSIDE THE STUDEBAKER     Vogel, Koenig, a Rurale, and Bucky (holding a piece of ice to     the back of his head).     The car arrives at a horseshoe-shaped auto court. Two Mexican      policeman stand guard outside one of its rooms.     INT. THE MOTEL ROOM - SECONDS LATER     As the American cops walk in on a cordite-reeking     slaughterhouse. Bobby De Witt and a Mexican man lay dead on     the floor, bullet holes oozing blood all over them.     Bucky notes the bruises on De Witt's neck from where he     choked him. Bucky squints at the men, still a little     disoriented...                          VOGEL               The spic's Felix Casco, a known dope               trafficker. Maybe it was other dope scum,               maybe Lee, maybe it was God. I say let               our Mexican colleagues handle their own               dirty laundry and we go back to LA and               find the son of a bitch who sliced the               Dahlia.     INT. KAY AND LEE'S HOUSE - DAY     Kay sits curled into a corner of the couch, defensively.     Bucky sits on a small chair next to Lee's large easy chair.                          KAY               I spent the morning with Internal               Affairs. I told them...everything I knew.               I gave them so much...and in the end it               didn't seem like anything at all.                          BUCKY               He'll came back, Kay. I'm sure of it.                          KAY               You don't know anything, Dwight. But               that's what I like about you.                          BUCKY               Kay--                          KAY               I've been offered a job. Teaching sixth               grade at Fairfax Primary. With Lee gone               now--                          BUCKY               He's coming back.     She nods, mollifying him.                                                            CUT TO:     A NEON SIGN: THE EL NIDO MOTEL     CLOSE ON: ROOM 204     as Bucky jimmies the lock and pushes open the door.     INSIDE ROOM 204     Boxes of police falls scattered on the bed and desk. Photos     of Elizabeth Short pinned up all over the walls: glamour     glossies, newspaper photos, enlarged crime scene     grotesquerie.     The amount of manpower represented here is staggering; so     much work over one girl.     Bucky sits down at the desk and buries his head in his hands.                          BUCKY               Lee.     CLOSE ON: A PORTRAIT PHOTO OF ELIZABETH SHORT                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     FRITZ VOGEL AND BUCKY     interviewing a fortysomething TALENT AGENT in a slick suit.     He sits at a desk with yellowed starlets' headshots behind     him. Vogel leans on the desk, intimidating the man.                          AGENT               ...okay, yeah. So I got her name from a               producer friend of mine. Met her in a               bar...     ROOM 204 -- THE EL NIDO     Russ Millard and Harry Sears stand goggle-eyed as Bucky shows     them Lee's back-up files...                          VOICE OVER               I wanted to believe it was all about Lee.               Tracking Lee through her...through the               files he had collected.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     RUSS MILLARD     meticulously sifting through the material along with Bucky.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     A PHOTO OF ELIZABETH SHORT DRESSED IN BLACK                          VOICE OVER               Strangers' recollections of a girl's last               days leading me to a partner...                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     FRITZ VOGEL AND BUCKY interviewing a HOOKER in a hotel     lobby...                          HOOKER               ...the other girls and me, we helped her               out once in a while. Throw her a trick if               she needed dough...But she was no pro.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     KAY AND LEE'S LIVING ROOM     where Bucky watches Kay grade papers, a gulf between them.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     AN AUTOPSY PHOTO OF ELIZABETH SHORT                          VOICE OVER               But the deeper into her I got, the more I               understood the detective's old saw: any               dick worth his suit always takes a side:               the perp or the vic.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     39TH ANMD NORTON - THE MURDER SCENE     where Bucky stands in the empty lot, alone.                          VOICE OVER               Most cops'll tell ya...one day you wake               up and you're in the head of the               killer...Angry. Powerful. In control.               You're the perp.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     FOOTAGE FROM BETTY AND LINDA'S PORN FILM     as the camera dances across Betty Short's naked body. WE     CLOSE IN on her, the 16mm film becoming finer and finer as     the sex scene transforms into     A LIVE SHOT OF BETTY SHORT, writhing in ecstasy underneath a     man. She and the man fuck harder and harder, faster and     faster.                          BETTY SHORT               No...Please...                                                            CUT TO:     BUCKY'S FACE     groaning with the ecstasy of ejaculation--     BACK ON BETTY SHORT BENEATH HIM-     but it's not Betty Short. It's Madeleine Sprague, staring up     at Bucky as the two of them come simultaneously.     As soon as it's over, she looks for his eyes. He won't look     at her. She grabs his chin and turns him face to face.                          VOICE OVER               Few cops'll admit to walking the harder               path...fear...pain...loss...Few will               admit to waking up in the head of the               vic.     He lower his face to the pillow...     INT. ANOTHER CASTING SESSION - DAY     Another clapstick: "Elizabeth Short...Screen test #3"     Elizabeth Short, looking a bit more worn down, holds a script     up to her face.                          ELIZABETH SHORT                   (reading stiffly)               Don't just walk out on me, Richard. Say               something. Say you care say you--                          MAN #3 (O.S.)               I'm sorry. There's a pause there.     She stops, frustrated.                          MAN #3 (cont'd)               Maybe with a little more sadness. Can you               give me a little more sadness?     FADE OUT     CLOSE ON:     the "UNSOLVED" sheet at the LAPD betting pool. Handwritten     on the sheet are the constantly dropping odds: "2 to 1"     replaced by "3 to 2" which has been replaced by "Even     Money".     THE CAMERA PANS UP FROM THE BETTING SHEETS:     "TRANSFER NOTICE...As of 2/6/47 these officers     currently assigned to the Elizabeth Short     investigation will return to their regular duties...     WIDE ON THE SCENE     as Bucky reads the list. Unfortunately his name is not on it.     He beelines straight to     RUSS MILLARD'S OFFICE     the quiet man looks up from his desk.                          BUCKY               I wasn't on the transfer list.                          RUSS MILLARD               I asked Jack to keep you on.                          BUCKY               Why?                          RUSS MILLARD               Because you're getting to be a damn good               Detective, Bleichert. And Harry's               retiring in two years. Need I spell it               out?                          BUCKY               No.                          RUSS MILLARD               You been working this case pretty hard.               Or is it the other way around?     Bucky smiles weakly; Russ knows him.                          RUSS MILLARD               It's not as much fun once it moves to the               back pages, is it? (changing subjects) I               hear they arrested two Mexicans in Juarez               for the Bobby De Witt murder.                          BUCKY               I heard that, too.                          RUSS MILLARD               You must be relieved.                          BUCKY               They've rescinded the APB on Lee. If he               doesn't show up in thirty days he's out.                          RUSS MILLARD               He'll be found if he wants to be found.                          BUCKY               Like the guy who killed the Dahlia?     Russ smiles grimly.     EXT. FRITZ VOGEL'S HOUSE - EVENING     Bucky rings the doorbell. Fritz Vogel answers.                          VOGEL               Boyo! Glad you could make it.     He claps Bucky on the shoulder and leads him into the house.     INT. FRITZ VOGEL'S LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS     The interior decorating equivalent of highballs and pretzels,     which is exactly what Vogel, Bucky and Ellis Loew are     consuming. Bucky drinks with the trepidation of the King's     food taster.                          ELLIS LOEW               I called this little meeting for a couple               reasons, Bucky.               We'd both like to see the Short case               closed out and get back to normal               business.     Bucky looks impatient and Ellis senses this.                          ELLIS LOEW (cont'd)               We're both comers, Bucky. Fritzie wants               you for his partner when he gets his               lieutenancy, and--                          BUCKY               Russ Millard wants me when Harry retires.                          VOGEL               You're too raw for him, boyo. Old Russ is               a sob sister, and I'm much more your type.     Bucky considers the truth in this. To Loew:                          BUCKY               What do you want, Ellis?                          ELLIS LOEW               Very well, Dwight. I'll tell you. There               are four confessors still being held at               City Jail. They've got no alibis, weren't               coherent when they were first questioned,               and they're all violent, frothing-at-the-               mouth lunatics. I want them reintegrated.               It's a muscle job.                          VOGEL               I wanted Bill Koenig--                          ELLIS LOEW               But Bill's a bit too enamored with               violence. So it's you, Dwight. Yes or no?               Because if it's yes, I'll make sure               you're back on Warrants tomorrow with an               inside track to some stripes. If not,               it's Homicide shitwork until Russ Millard               gets tired of you. We both know that Russ               is a patient, forbearing man, Dwight.               That could be a long time. Yes or no?                                                            CUT TO:     EXT. THE CITY JAIL PARKING LOT - NIGHT     as four manacled men are being loaded into a drunk wagon     while Bucky flips through their rap sheets and mug shots.     INSIDE THE DRUNK WAGON     the four men sit in the back as Bucky drives the truck. The     camera pans their faces. The first, LOREN BIDWELL, pale, old     and palsied.                          VOICE OVER               On my way over I played out their rap               sheets in my head, trying to work up a               head of hate...Loren Bidwell, three time               Atascadero loser, falls for aggravated               sexual assault on minors. Between prison               jolts he confessed to all the big sex               crimes.     EXT. AN OLD WAREHOUSE BUILDING     Bucky pulls the drunk wagon up to a building, its street     facade illuminated: "KOUNTY KING LUNCH MEAT--SERVING L.A.     COUNTY WITH INSTITUTIONAL FOOD SINCE 1923"...     THE CAMERA finds the second man, CECIL DURKIN.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               Cecil Durkin--hophead, knife fighter and               a jailhouse rape-o who played jazz drums               with some good combos. He took two               Quentin jolts for Arson and was caught               masturbating at the scene of his last               torch.     AT THE FRONT OF THE WAREHOUSE BUILDING     Fritz Vogel opens the door and leads the men inside.     INT. THE WAREHOUSE BUILDING - CONTINUOUS     A huge sawdust-covered roam, meathooks dangling from the     ceiling. Beef dangles over half the hooks. The four men look      terrified.     The camera finds the third man, CHARLIE ISSLER:                          VOICE OVER               Charlie Issler was a pimp and a career               confessor specializing in copping to               hooker homicides. His three procuring               beefs had netted him a year county jail               time, his phony confessions two ninety               day observation stints at the Camarillo               nut farm.     And the fourth man, PAUL ORCHARD:                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               And finally Paul Orchard. Jack roller,               male prostitute, and a former San               Bernardino County deputy sheriff.     The group reaches a back wall of the warehouse where FOUR     UNUSED MEATHOOKS DANGLE OVER FOUR CHAIRS.     Bucky studies the men's apprehensive faces as Vogel stands     each one on a chair with their manacled hands hooked over     their respective meathooks.     Bucky's gaze drifts back behind a large box where he sees A     SHEET-COVERED TABLE sticking out. Before his curiosity draws     him over Vogel addresses the prisoners.                          VOGEL               You all confessed to killing the Dahlia.               We can't prove you did, so you're gonna               have to convince us... Query on, Bucko.     Bucky takes a deep breath and heads first to old man Bidwell.     The man's palsy has him shaking and Bucky grabs the meathook     above him to steady him.                          BUCKY               Tell me about Betty Short, pops. Why'd               you kill her?     Bidwell looks at him with beseeching eyes.                          VOGEL               Don't be timid, boyo. That bird made               little boys suck his hog.     Bucky's hand twitches on the meathook.                          BUCKY               Come clean, pop.                          BIDWELL               I didn't kill her mister. I just wanted a               ticket to the honor farm. Three hots and               a cot, that's all. Please, mister.     The man's weakened state makes his argument for him. Bucky     moves on to Cecil Durkin.                          BUCKY               Tell me about it, Cecil.                          DURKIN                   (laughing)               You get that line from Dick Tracy or               Gangbusters?     Bucky catches Vogel out of the corner of his eye. Measuring...                          BUCKY               One more time, shitbird. Tell me about               you and Betty Short.                          DURKIN               I fucked Betty Short and I fucked your               mama! I'm your fucking daddy!     Bucky one-two's him in the solar plexus. His legs buckle, but     he keeps his feet on the chair.                          DURKIN (cont'd)               You think you clever, don't you. You the               bad guy, your buddy the nice guy. Older               than vaudeville.                          BUCKY               I'm the nice guy, Cecil. Keep that in               mind.     This shuts Durkin up. Bucky moves to Charlie Issler.                          ISSLER                   (sincere)               Please. I didn't kill Liz. I don't know               why I do these things, and I apologize.               So please don't let that man hurt me.                          BUCKY               Convince me.                          ISSLER               I...can't. I just can't.                          BUCKY               You're a pimp. You know Betty Short?                          ISSLER               No.                          BUCKY               Why'd you confess to her murder?                          ISSLER               She looked so...sweet and pretty and I               felt so bad. I always confess to the               pretty ones.                          BUCKY               You feel guilty Charlie? You hit your               girls, get 'em high on hop?                          ISSLER               I do such nasty things I don't know why--     Vogel struts over, putting on brass knuckles.                          VOGEL               This kid glove routine's gettin' old--     He kicks Issler's chair out from under him, the pimp     screaming as his wrists snap. Vogel kicks the remaining three     chairs out, punctuating each with a declaration:                          VOGEL (cont'd)               Jack roller! Nigger! Baby fucker!     The men scream like dying animals as Fritzie zeroes in on     Charlie Issler. He begins punching him in the gut with the     brass knuckles.                          VOGEL (cont'd)               Tell me about the Dahlia's missing days               you whoremonger! Tell me!                          ISSLER               I...don't...know...anything!                          VOGEL               Tell me what you know!     He punches him in the crotch.                          ISSLER               I knew you at Ad Vice!     Vogel ignores him, rabbit punching him, cracking one rib and     then another--     ON BUCKY'S FACE     knowing this is getting out of control. He's mesmerized by A     FIRE ALARM on the wall behind the men...                          VOGEL               Tell me what your girls tell you!     Issler retches, coughing up blood. Bucky stares at the fire     alarm as Fritz runs through his field of vision, cackling.     Bucky refocuses on the scene as Fritzie returns, wheeling the     sheet-covered table Bucky'd seen before. He whips off the     sheet revealing:     A NAKED FEMALE CORPSE, CUT IN TWO AND MADE UP TO LOOK LIKE     THE DAHLIA.     Vogel grabs Issler by the scruff of the neck and jerks him     down off of the meathook.                          VOGEL (cont'd)               For your cutting pleasure, Jane Doe               number forty-three. You're all going to               slice her, and the best slicer buys the               ticket!     Issler bites through his lip as Fritzie pulls out a     switchblade and pops it open.     Bucky takes in the nightmare scene all in slow-motion, the     men with their broken wrists, the pudgy naked corpse, Fritzie     with the knife...     He runs for the fire alarm and pulls the lever, a piercing     bell ringing out as Bucky runs out of the warehouse and jumps     into the drunk wagon, tearing off into the night.     INT. KAY AND LEE'S HOUSE - NIGHT     Kay answers the door and finds Bucky sitting on the front     porch, sobbing.     She moves to him, touching him on the back of the neck, the     stroke of her finger enough to make him stand and face her.     INT. THE BEDROOM - LATER     Bucky tries to talk but she puts fingers to his mouth. Mouth     to his fingers. She undresses him. Slowly she touches him,     easing him, bringing him back to earth, back to humanity. To     her.     And finally they are joined.                                                            CUT TO:     ANOTHER TYPEWRITTEN SHEET: "LAPD Transfer orders: Officer     Dwight Bleichert...From: Central Warrants...To: Foot     Patrol, Swingwatch. Central Station..."     EXT. SKID ROW - EVENING     Bucky picks his way through passed-out drunks and bums. He's     back in uniform.                          VOICE OVER               East 5th Street from Main to Stanford.               Blood banks, liquor stores selling half               pints and short dogs exclusively, fifty-               cent-a-night flophouses and derelict               missions...     DOWN THE STREET     two officers brutally herd winos into a drunk wagon. Bucky     turns and walks the other direction, refusing to help. They     see him and sneer.                          VOICE OVER               Banished by Ellis Loew, who dared me to               try my word against a twenty-two year man               and the city's future District Attorney.               I confined the truth to Russ and Kay, and               determined to spend my shifts trying to               be the worst foot hack in history.     He hands a quarter to a drunk as he passes, urging him with     his nightstick to crawl back into a bar.     INT. EL NIDO - ROOM 204 - NIGHT     Russ Millard pores over a file in their private collection.     Bucky sits with his feet up on the bed, flipping through a     folder...                          VOICE OVER               A month passed. The Dahlia leads dwindled               to zero and every officer except Russ and               Harry were returned to their regular               assignments. As for me, I'd been able to               contain my Dahlia interests within the               walls of the El Nido.     Bucky eyes a Dahlia photo pinned to the wall.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               Still, I remembered what Madeleine said               when I told her we were through...     INT. THE RED ARROW MOTEL - NIGHT     Madeleine sits on the bed fully dressed. Bucky stands in the     doorway.                          MADELEINE               You'll be back. (beat) I look like her.     Bucky turns and leaves as we                                                            CUT TO:     INT. KAY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT     where Kay and Bucky sleep in bed, locked as spoons. Safe.                          VOICE OVER               But sometimes Betty came to me...     INT. THE MEAT WAREHOUSE - NIGHT - A DREAM     Bucky watches Fritz Vogel beats the hell out of Charles     Issler as he hangs off the meathook. In the background, Betty     Short stands and screams:                          BETTY SHORT               Bucky! No! Stop him!                   (crying)               I'll do whatever you want...                          ISSLER               I'll be okay....Liz...     Bucky turns and stares at her.     CLOSE ON BUCKY'S BLAZING EYES                          MILLARD (VO)               Bucky. What is it?     INT. THE EL NIDO - SAME     as Bucky stares across the room at a picture of the Dahlia.     Millard sits at the small desk, waiting for him to come back.                          RUSS MILLARD               Bucky.     Bucky finally sees Russ again.                          BUCKY               You ever hear anyone refer to Betty as               Liz? Anyone at all?                          RUSS MILLARD               Nope.                          BUCKY               Issler did.                          RUSS MILLARD               The pimp? I thought he said he'd never               heard of her.                          BUCKY               You know what else he said?     A FLASHBACK - THE WAREHOUSE     As Vogel cracks Issler's ribs.                          VOGEL               What did you know about the Dahlia's               missing days?                          ISSLER               I knew you at Ad Vice--     INT. THE POLICE STATION - NIGHT     Harry Sears cradles the phone in his ear as he flips through     a large metal file cabinet. Behind him the glass door reads     in reverse: "ADMINISTRATIVE VICE'.                          HARRY SEARS (INTO PHONE)               N-n-no, Russ. No file on Issler. Gone.     BACK AT THE EL NIDO - SAME     Bucky and Russ sit in silence, thinking. They know they're     onto something...                          BUCKY               Fritzie didn't give a damn about those               other three. It was all about Issler.               Never occurred to me before.     Bucky gets to his feet.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Meet me back here. Late.                          RUSS MILLARD               Bright penny--     But Bucky's already out the door.     EXT. FRITZ VOGEL'S HOUSE - NIGHT     Bucky stakes out the dark house.     EXT. VOGEL'S SERVICE PORCH - LATER     Bucky slips an oil dipstick into the narrow crack of the back     door and flips the simple hook and eyehole lock. He slides     into the house...     INT. FRITZ VOGEL'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS     as Bucky creeps through the house until he gets to a closed     door. He opens it, entering     FRITZIE'S STUDY     He stumbles along the wall until he finds a standing     gooseneck lamp and turns it on. The walls are covered with     pictures of Fritzie in uniform, dating back twenty-five     years.     Bucky bends down in front of the small mahogany desk and     begins rifling through its file drawers. What he finds     surprises him:     --carbons of official LAPD intelligence reports, lists of     account balances, financial dealings, payments made--all      cross-referenced to each individual being investigated.     A veritable how-to primer on how to extort from criminals..     Bucky digs deeper into the files and pulls out:     ISSLER'S AD VICE FILE complete with mug shots.                          BUCKY               Hello, Charlie. Get lost?     Bucky scans the file, running his finger down the list of     names, looking for something familiar. He stops at one:     "SALLY STINSON". Beside her name a handwritten note:     "Biltmore Hotel".     He writes it down and moves to another list of names: "Known      Associates, no Prostitution Record".     And there it is: "Betty Short".     INT. BUCKY'S CAR - LATER     Bucky bops to jazz on his radio, pumped with adrenaline.     INT. THE EL NIDO - NIGHT     Bucky tears through a file as Russ watches.                          RUSS MILLARD               So good ol' Fritzie's shaking down               crooks, maybe sellin' 'em tip-offs before               a roust.                          BUCKY               I want him nailed.                          RUSS MILLARD               Easy, penny. They'd have to testify               against him first. And that's not likely               after he burns those carbons. But this               Issler business--why hide the Issler-               Betty connection?                          BUCKY                   (finding a file)               Maybe Charlie pimped her out...to               somebody Fritzie doesn't want us to know               about...     A FLASHBACK - THE WAREHOUSE     as Fritz beats on Charlie--                          FRITZIE               Tell me what you know about the Dahlia's               missing days--     BACK TO THE EL NIDO     Bucky reads through a letter.                          BUCKY               I knew it. Here. Betty writes to one of               her phantom servicemen boyfriends:                   (reading aloud)               "...had drinks with a great girl, Sally               Stinson, who thinks she way be able to               help me get a job cocktailing..."                          RUSS MILLARD               Cocktailing.                          BUCKY               Yeah, I know. That's what made it stick               with me...What next, padre?                          RUSS MILLARD               You sit tight. Go hack to swingwatch. Me               and Harry'll poke around.                          BUCKY                   (displeased)               I want him.                          RUSS MILLARD               You'll get him, too. But you've got to               cool your temper. It's all patience with               the big fish or they wriggle off.     INT. KAY'S BEDROOM - LATE NIGHT     Bucky lies awake while Kay sleeps.                          VOICE OVER               What kept me up that night wasn't the               idea of Fritz Vogel extorting criminals,               or Fritz Vogel bracing Charlie the pimp               to see if Betty had told him something               about one of her johns...maybe even               Vogel, himself...No...     A FLASHBACK - FRITZ VOGEL'S HOUSE     Ellis Loew, Fritz Vogel and Bucky drink cocktails and eat     pretzels...                          VOICE OVER               ...what kept me up was this thought: if               Issler blabbed about Liz and her tricks I               would have overheard. Fritz was confident               he could keep me quiet.     Ellis and Fritz clink glasses...Smile at Bucky.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               And that was an underestimation I would               bleed him for.     BACK IN KAY'S BED     Her hand brushes against his cheek. He reaches for it.     OVER THIS SCENE WE HEAR A PHONE RING AND THE FOLLOWING     EXCHANGE.                          BUCKY (VO)               Hello?                          RUSS MILLARD               We've found her. Meet me at 1546 North               Havenhurst in half an hour.     INT. THE POLICE STATION - SAME     As Bucky hangs up the phone. Trying to look casual he sidles     over to a desk with FRITZ VOGEL on the name plate and snags a     photo of Fritz and Johnny off the desk...     INT. SALLY STINSON'S APARTMENT - DAY     A worn woman in her early thirties (SALLY STINSON) sits on a     stack of luggage, Russ and Bucky in chairs. She wears a cheap     kimono and too much makeup for the middle of the day.     She holds the photo of the Vogels. Shakes out her hair and     closes her kimono a little.                          SALLY               I do a lot a cops, you know. Comes with               the territory. Charlie used to say it was               my union dues. Keep my operator's license.     She laughs a little, trying to loosen herself up.                          BUCK               Ma'am. Please get to it.                          SALLY               Anyway. It was a full-day job. C-Note and               a half. Kept talkin' about givin' me "The               Big Schnitzel"...more like a cocktail               frank once we got down to it...Well, we               screw the whole afternoon...Go down to               the lobby for some dinner and there's               Liz, sittin' by herself.                          BUCKY               You'd hooked with her before?                          SALLY               Three or four times. Conventioneers. And               lemme tell you something, I'm pretty good               at faking it. But Liz, she was good. A               virtuoso, Academy Award kind of stuff--                          BUCKY               --She do dyke?                          RUSS MILLARD               Bucky--                          SALLY               No. Nothing like that.                          BUCKY               Any porn?                          SALLY               No. But I bet she'd be gooood...                          RUSS MILLARD               Ma'am.                          SALLY (cont'd)               Anyway, we all get to talking...Schnitzel               takes a liking to her and Liz tells me               she needs the dough. So I set up a trick               within a trick...I take a breather and               they go at it in the bedroom. A couple               hours later Liz left.                          BUCKY               Did anything unusual happen?     Sally thinks...                          SALLY               I think it got a little kinky. He'd               brought a couple toys...He may               have...whipped her a bit.     Russ and Bucky glance at each other, remembering lashmarks at     the autopsy.                          BUCKY               Did Vogel say anything about Liz? Was he               gonna see her again? Anything?                          SALLY               He said...she liked the Big Schnitzel.                          RUSS MILLARD               Anything else, Miss Stinson?     Her face clouds over.                          SALLY               Two days...after...Liz got in all the               papers...     She has a hard time going on.                          BUCKY                   (helping her out)               Is this when your pimp Charlie confesses?                          SALLY                   (composing herself)               Yeah. Bad habit. Anyways, Fritzie V.               shows up and shakes me hard about               Charlie, whether he'd say anything about               Liz to the caps. Beat me bad. Real bad.     She lifts her head. Taps her nails on the suitcases     underneath her.                          BUCKY               One last time to be sure.                   (pointing to Fritzie's picture)               You are sure this is the man that you               tricked with? And tricked with Liz Short?     A puzzled look covers her face.                          SALLY               No mister you got it all wrong.                          BUCKY               But you said--                          SALLY               Fritz just beat me. It was Sonny me and               Liz did. Sonny.     She taps her finger on John Vogel's face.                          SALLY (cont'd)               I'd recognize that lousy fuck anywhere.     Off Bucky and Russ' shock we                                                            CUT TO:     EXT./INT. RUSS MILLARD'S CAR - LATER     as they cruise the streets of skid row. While Russ talks     Bucky fills a HYPODERMIC NEEDLE with an amber liquid...                          RUSS MILLARD               I'll be a chimp's priest, Buck. A chimp's               priest--watch the air bubbles--I shoulda               known that Johnny I d need a pro to lose               his cherry...Never had 'em for a kink and               a cherry, though...     Bucky points out the window.                          BUCKY               There.     OUTSIDE ON THE SIDEWALK     Johnny Vogel wrestles with two drunks, kicking at them as     they scamper into some trash.                          BUCKY                   (exiting the car)               Johnny--     Johnny ambles over to Bucky.                          JOHNNY VOGEL               Whatcha doin' in civvies, Bleichert?     Bucky drills him in the solar plexus, doubling him over. He     grabs Vogel by the hair and slams his head into the roof of     the car as Johnny's lights dIm...                                                            CUT TO:     THE BACKSEAT OF THE CAR - SECONDS LATER     as Russ Millard injects the needle into Johnny's arm.                                                            CUT TO:     INT. THE EL NIDO - DAY     Johnny Vogel handcuffed to a radiator, his head bobbing back     and forth. His eyes trying to focus on Russ and Bucky.                          RUSS MILLARD               Pentothal's good for another couple               hours. No way he can lie.     Johnny's eyes drift to the pictures on the walls.                          BUCKY               Elizabeth Short, shitbird. Elizabeth               fucking Short!     Russ touches Bucky's arm, urging him to sit back.                          RUSS MILLARD               There's a method to this, Bucky.                   (focusing on Johnny)               What's your name, son?                          JOHNNY                   (slurring)               You know me, loot.                          RUSS MILLARD               Answer me anyway.                          JOHNNY               Vogel, John G.                          RUSS MILLARD               What's sixteen and fifty-two?                          JOHNNY               Uhmmm. Sixty-eight. Why'd you hit me               Bleichert? I didn't do you no dirt.                          RUSS MILLARD               Focus on January, Johnny. Your father--                          JOHNNY               Friedrich Vogel. Fritzie.                          RUSS MILLARD               Yes. Fritzie. He wanted you to lose your               cherry. He bought you a woman for two               days. Is that right?                          JOHNNY               Not a woman. Not a real one. A hoooer.     Johnny turns the syllable into a long laugh.                          RUSS MILLARD               This was at the Biltmore?                          JOHNNY               Daddy got a good rate on the room. He               knew the house dick...This ain't right...                          RUSS MILLARD               We'll be done soon, Johnny. You met Liz               Short at the Biltmore, too?                          JOHNNY               What's her name introduced me...the               hooer.                          RUSS MILLARD               And what did you and Liz do?                          JOHNNY               We...played horse and rider. Gave her the               Big Schnitz.                          RUSS MILLARD               Did you whip her?     Johnny thinks back, his head lolling to and fro...                          JOHNNY               Softly. So so softly. Horse and Rider.                          RUSS MILLARD               Johnny. Did you kill Liz Short?     Johnny jerks back spasmodically.                          JOHNNY               No no no no! I didn't kill her!                          RUSS MILLARD               Easy son--                          JOHNNY               I didn't slice her!                          RUSS MILLARD               It's all right...Do you know who did?                          JOHNNY               No! No!     Johnny's starting to sweat. Russ and Bucky lean in...                          RUSS MILLARD               When your Daddy found out you'd been with               her, he tried to fix things didn't he?     Johnny nods yes.                          RUSS MILLARD (cont'd)               He found out Charlie Issler had been               picked up and he knew Charlie had this               confessing problem, right?                          JOHNNY               Daddy...went to Ellis...to the Jewboy.               Wanted to get Charlie released...but the               Jewboy said no...Daddy had a morgue               friend owed him a favor and got this DOA               cooze...Daddy wanted Uncle Bill but Ellis               Jewboy said take Bleichert.                   (looking right at Bucky)               Daddy said you'd do it cuz without               Blanchard you were jelly. Said you were a               sob sister, weak sister...     Johnny starts laughing hysterically, shaking his chained hands     like a zoo animal trying to get loose. Russ steps in front of     a red-hot Bucky--                          RUSS MILLARD                   (to Bucky)               I think you should go outside.     EXT. THE FIRE ESCAPE - LATER     Bucky sits out on the fire escape watching cars drive by.     Russ leans out the window and hands Bucky the statement.                          RUSS MILLARD               His statement. Signed.     Bucky reads it and slips it into his pocket.                          RUSS MILLARD               We should sit on this for a little bit.               Until I can talk to a legal officer.     Bucky shakes his head no, climbs back inside the window.     INT. THE HOTEL ROOM - DAY     Bucky handcuffs Johnny's hands behind his back as the big man     cries...                          JOHNNY               Daddy...                          RUSS MILLARD                   (to Bucky)               It's the shithouse until you retire, you               know that.                          BUCKY               I owe her this one.     He squeezes Johnny's handcuffs tighter.     INT. HOLLYWOOD STATION - BOOKING - NIGHT     Reporters follow Bucky and Johnny inside, piqued by the sight     of a plainclothes officer escorting a cuffed uniform inside.                          BUCKY               No comment...No comment...                   (whispering in Johnny's ear)               Tell your Daddy I know everything.               Including his extortion deal. Tell him               I'm goin' to the papers tomorrow.     He approaches the desk sergeant.                          DESK SERGEANT               What the hell is this?     A flashbulb goes off in their faces. Johnny sobs.                          BUCKY               I'm Officer Dwight Bleichert and this is               Officer John Vogel.     He hands over Johnny's signed statement.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Book him.     Another flashbulb.     EXT. CENTRAL STATION - LATER     Bucky jogs up the steps inside.     INT. THE LOCKER ROOM - LATER     He dresses in his blue uniform, preparing to go back to work.                          INTERCOM               Officer Bleichert, go to the watch               commander's office immediately.     Bucky brushes imaginary dust off his shirt and grabs his hat.     INT. LIEUTENANT JASTROW'S OFFICE - SOON AFTER     Bucky walks in, saluting like an idealistic rookie. Jastrow     stands, ignoring the salute.                          JASTROW               You're on two weeks vacation leave as of               now. When you return to duty, report to               Chief Green. He'll reassign you to               another division.                          BUCKY               Why?                          JASTROW               Fritz Vogel just blew his brains out.               That's why.     All Bucky can think to do is salute again, rock firm. He     walks outside and crosses into     INT. THE MUSTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS     Crammed with blues awaiting roll call. They all stare at     Bucky; he meets the eyes that seek his, making them look     down. Defiant.     As he passes he can hear the hisses: "Traitor". "Bolshevik".     He continues towards the door, almost out when suddenly he     hears applause.     Bucky turns to see,Russ Millard, Harry Sears and Thad Green     clapping good-bye...     INT. THE CASTING OFFICE - DAY     Clapstick: "Elizabeth Short Screen Test #4"     She sits on an ugly brown sofa, sides in her hands. Silence.                          MAN #4 (O.S.)               Are you all right, Miss Short?     She looks up, seeing the camera as if for the first time.                          MAN #4 (cont'd)               Why don't you just...talk.                          ELIZABETH SHORT               What do you mean?                          MAN #4               Put the sides down. Just...talk to me.                          ELIZABETH SHORT               What would you like to talk about?                          MAN #4               I don't know...Anything...Do you have a               boyfriend?     FADE OUT     EXT. THE SANTA MONICA PIER - NIGHT     Kay and Bucky sit on a bench, looking out at the water.                          KAY               I could take sick days. Maybe a trip to               Santa Barbara, or even a drive to San               Francisco...                          BUCKY               Kay.                          FAY               You don't owe him a thing, Bucky. I know               you won't believe me. But you've more               than repaid him already.     He looks at her and she knows it's useless.                          KAY (cont'd)               When?                          BUCKY               First thing.     She takes his hand.                          KAY               You're a fool, Dwight.     EXT. THE SAN DIEGO FREEWAY - LATE MORNING     as Bucky crosses the border into Mexico.                          VOICE OVER               I closed out my glory days the only way I               knew how--I chased the gone man.     EXT. TIJUANA STREETS - VARIOUS SHOTS - DAY     Bucky hands out pennies and nickels to locals, flashing both     his badge and snapshots of Lee.                                                            CUT TO:     BUCKY AND AN ENTOURAGE OF TRAILING LOCALS     as Bucky tries to shake them, pulling out his pockets to show     them he has no more coins.                                                            CUT TO:     BUCKY QUESTIONING TIJUANA COPS     graduating from small change to one dollar bills. Same of     them seem to have stories to tell.                          VOICE OVER               I got headshakes, bullshit broadsides and               a strange series of tales that rang true.               One had "el blanco explosivo" beating the               shit out of three jack rollers, then               buying off the cops with double-saws               peeled from a large roll.               Another had Lee donating 200 scoots to a               leper ministry priest and then driving to               Ensenada.     EXT - THE COASTAL ROAD - LATE AFTERNOON     as Bucky drives South, passing a sign which says "ENSENADA     60 MI."     He passes a cluster of families walking on the side of the     road. They carry suitcases and head North.     EXT. THE COAST ROAD - NEAR ENSENADA     Bucky approaches Ensenada. The trickle of families headed     north has now becoming a roadside migration march. Every     fifth of sixth marcher carries a torch or lantern.     EXT. THE CITY LIMITS OF ENSENADA - NIGHT     Bucky cruises slowly into town and the most blatant shakedown     he's ever seen:     Rurales in brownshirts walk from peasant to peasant in the     northbound migration line, taking money and attaching tags to     their shoulders with staple guns; plainclothes cops sell bags     of beef jerky and dried fruit, putting coins into dispensers     attached to their belts.     Two Rurales pull a man out of line and beat him senseless     with the butts of their sawed-off shotguns.                          VOICE OVER               I decided it would be wise to check in               with the law before going out to question               the Ensenada citizenry.     EXT. THE ENSENADA POLICE STATION - NIGHT     Bucky stands outside a converted church with the word POLICIA     painted in black over religious scenes.     INT. THE POLICE STATION - NIGHT     Velvet wall hangings depicting Jesus decorate the entrance     hall. Blackshirts lounge on converted pews, a huge carved     cross on the front desk betrays its altar origins.     Bucky slides the Rurale at the desk his badge and a dollar.     The man saunters off down the hall.     INT. THE POLICE CHIEF'S OFFICE - MINUTES LATER     as Bucky is escorted in. The man sitting behind the desk     looks up. In flawless English:                          CAPTAIN VASQUEZ               Officer Bleichert. Come in, please. I'm               Captain Vasquez. How can I help you?     Bucky exchanges his badge for a photo of Lee.                          BUCKY               This man's LAPD. He's been missing in               Mexico since January. He was last seen               headed here.     Vasquez studies the photo. Bucky senses a twitch...                          CAPTAIN VASQUEZ               No. I'm afraid not. I'll ask my men,               however. Staying the night?                          BUCKY               At least.                          VASQUEZ               Are you here alone?                          BUCKY               I have two partners waiting for me in               Tijuana.     Vasquez nods, hard to know if he believes Bucky any more than     Bucky believes him.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               If you don't mind I'll check back in the               morning.                          CAPTAIN VASQUEZ               Please.                                                            CUT TO:     INT. A FLEABAG MOTEL ROOM - LATER     Bucky squeezes a bit of brown water onto a handkerchief and     wipes his brow off. He kicks his travel bag underneath the     bed and heads out.     EXT. THE HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS     as Bucky pulls two hairs from his head and spit-glues them to     the door jamb.     EXT. THE ENSENADA STREETS - NIGHT     Garish neon, military personnel. Brownshirts packing serious     weapons keeping the mostly white street crowd in order.     HIS POV: An adobe streetfront with a neon sign: "CLUB BOXEO".     Bucky goes inside.     INT. THE CLUB BOXEO - CONTINUOUS     Bucky finds a brightly lit room filled with sailors and half-     dressed Mexican strippers. He stands on his tip-toes trying     to see over the crowd to find somebody with the air of     proprietor.     Cn a far wall: boxing publicity stills. He wanders over.     CLOSE ON THE WALL OF STILLS:     A row of light-heavies: Gus Lesnevich, Billy Conn, and Bucky.      Three stills over, next to Joe Louis, is Lee's photo. They     all look so young...So good...     An old voice in English breaks his reverie:                          OLD MAN               Bleichert? Jesus. First Blanchard, then               you. Who's next? Willie Pep?     Bucky wheels and finds himself face to face with an old man.                          BUCKY               Blanchard? You've seen him? When?                          OLD MAN               Couple months ago. Heavy rains in               February. Musta talked fights for ten               hours straight. You know Blanchard thinks               the feathers are the best division? me,               it's the middies for sure. La Motta,               Graziano--                          BUCKY               Is he still in town?                          OLD MAN               Don't think so. I own this place. He               ain't been back. You lookin' for a               rematch?                          BUCKY               I'm looking to get him out of a shitload               of trouble.     The old pug looks him up and down.                          OLD MAN               Well. I'll tell ya the little I know.               Heard he caused a ruckus over at the Club               Satan, had to bribe his way out big with               Captain Vasquez. Talk to Ernie the cook.               Tell him I said to be kosher with you.                          BUCKY               Thank you.                          OLD MAN               You ain't been in there.     INT. CLUB SATAN - LATER     Bucky walks into the biggest sewer you have ever seen. The     bar is a urinal trough where marines and sailors masturbate     while going down on nude women squatting on the bartop. Blow     jobs are being dispensed underneath tables facing the     bandstand.     Up on the stage a man in a Satan costume is fucking a woman     on a mattress. Next to him, a donkey with red velvet horns     pinned to his head eats hay out of a bowl while drunken     servicemen shout "Donkey! Donkey!"     Bucky is accosted by a disgusting old woman.                          OLD WOMAN               You wan' the bar, handsome? Breakfast of               champions, one dollar. Round the world,               two dollars.                          BUCKY               Ernie. I need to see Ernie.                          OLD WOMAN               Vamanos!     And grabs him by the arm...     INT. THE KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS     ERNIE, a half-Mexican half-Chinese man, stands next to a huge     vat of stew. Bucky flashes Lee's photo.                          BUCKY               I heard this man gave you some trouble a               while back.                          ERNIE               Who wants to know?     Bucky flashes his badge, giving him a glimpse of his gun.                          ERNIE               You his friend?                          BUCKY               He's my best friend.     The chef tucks his hands into his aprons, fidgeting.                          ERNIE               Your friend drink fourteen shots of my               best Mescal, a house record. That I like.               He make toasts to dead women. That I don't               mind. But he try to fuck with my donkey               show, and that I don't take.                          BUCKY               What happened?                          ERNIE               Four of my guys he take, the fifth he               don't. Rurales take him home to sleep it               off.                          BUCKY               That's it?     Ernie casually pulls a switchblade out of his apron and     scratches the back of his neck with it.                          ERNIE               Finito.     EXT. THE CLUB SATAN - LATER     Bucky walks outside and begins weaving his way back through     the crowds. Out of the corner of his eye he catches a couple     Rurales who seem to have taken an interest in him.     He dodges down an alley and cuts down another street,     breaking into a slow jog.     EXT. ANOTHER STREET - SECONDS LATER     Bucky walks backwards, checking the crowd. He's lost them.     INT. THE FLEABAG MOTEL - LATER     Bucky stands in front of his door. He runs his finger up and     down the door jamb. The hairs are gone.     With one swift kick he breaks down the door.     INT. THE MOTEL ROOM - SECONDS LATER     A white man stands with his hands raised.                          MAN               Whoa, Bleichert. I'm a friend--     Bucky gestures with his gun for the man to hit the wall. He     frisks him, pulling out a wallet and tossing on the bed.                          MAN (cont'd)               Milton Dolphine, citizen of San Diego and               a licensed private dick. I got seventy               bucks in there but that money's jackshit               compared to what Blanchard was holding.               You go partners with me and it's easy               street--     Bucky kicks the man's legs out and pushes his to the floor.                          BUCKY               You tell me all of it and you watch what               you say about my partner, or it's a B&E               roust and the Ensenada jail.     Dolphine pulls himself up.                          DOLPHINE               You mean Vasquez? How do you think I knew               to follow you? He's got a vested interest               in you not finding out about Blanchard.     Bucky eyes the door.                          BUCKY               Does he know I'm staying here?                          DOLPHINE               No.     Bucky steps back from Dolphine.                          BUCKY               So. Let's hear it.                          DOLPHINE               About a month ago this Mexican woman               shows up at my office in Dago. Chubby,               ten tons a makeup, but dressed to the               nines. Offers me five hundred to find               Blanchard. Just like you I track him here               where he's playing the rich gringo--     A FLASHBACK - LEE TEARING UP AN ENSENADA BAR                          DOLPHINE               I even see him beat up two spics who               insult this Senorita--Rurales stand by               and do nothing. So I know he's paying               protection dough. A lot of it. Then  I               hear he paid off two plainclothes Rurale               to snuff a coupla guys in TJ--     A FLASHBACK - BOBBY DE WITT AND FELIX CASCO BLOWN AWAY...                          DOLPHINE               I leave a message in Dago for the woman               tellin' her what I know...                          BUCKY               What's her name?                          DOLPHINE               Delores Garcia. But it was obviously a               phony. Casco ran with some rich bimbos               and I'm betting she's one of his. Revenge               on Blanchard for offin' Felix.     Bucky tightens his grip on the slats of a wooden chair. This     is hitting him hard.                          BUCKY               Go on.                          DOLPHINE               I come back to Ensenada on my own,               thinking about all that cash he was               flashing.     Bucky's jaw clenches.                          DOLPHINE (cont'd)               You wanna hear this?                          BUCKY               Go on.                          DOLPHINE               Blanchard's dead. Bullet in the cabeza.               (beat) Rumor is they never found any               money.     Bucky's head begins to reel...                          DOLPHINE (cont'd)               Maybe the Rurales. Maybe that woman or               friends of hers. Who knows? I figured               Blanchard was rogue, figured someone like               you'd come lookin' for him. Maybe have a               line on where the cash was. You knew               Blanchard, maybe we can--     Bucky backhands Dolphine hard, knocking him off the chair.                          DOLPHINE (cont'd)               Look I didn't know it was personal! Don't               hit me again--     Bucky has his gun out, leveled at Dolphine.                          BUCKY               Prove it to me. Prove it!     EXT. THE BACKROADS OF ENSENADA - NIGHT     Dolphine drives his car while Bucky trains his gun on him.     They come over a ridge and find themselves on a big bluff     overlooking the ocean. A HUGE WOODEN BURNING CROSS marks the     spot.                          DOLPHINE               The locals keep the damn thing lit up.               They got a lotta missing relatives.                          BUCKY               You got a shovel?                          DOLPHINE               Gardening tools--                          BUCKY               Good enough.     EXT. THE BLUFF - LATER     Bucky scavenges a spare piece of picket fence, wraps it in a     rag and lights a torch off of the cross. Dolphine kicks at a     filthy American flag in the sand.                          DOLPHINE               Here. Supposed to be near el bannero.                                                            CUT TO:     A SMALL SHOVEL PUSHING INTO THE GROUND     as Dolphine digs at gun point. After a few strokes the crunch     of the shovel hitting bone.     Bucky terrified to look but has to know--     --a white jumper--                          DOLPHINE               Sailor's uniform. It's a sailor...     Bucky breathes out hard. Unbearable. Dolphine digs on,     pushing the corpse out of the way and digging further into he     sand.     Bucky can't stand the suspense. He tucks his gun into his     waistband and grabs the shovel. After a few more strokes the     thump of something solid.     And suddenly it's there--sunburned pink skin, blond hair and     stitch scars on the eyebrows.     Lee Blanchard. Lee Blanchard. Lee Blanchard.     And Bucky's in Dolphine's truck while Dolphine's screaming     for him to wait and Bucky slams the truck in reverse,     knocking the burning cross to the ground and grinding out out     of the sand onto the road, heading north and leaving Dolphine     and Lee alone at the grave...Heading north like a refugee...     EXT. KAY'S HOUSE - DAWN     Bucky's car rolls up slowly as he kills the engine, trying     not to make any noise.     The sun comes up, illuminating Bucky's filthy face as he     watches the picture-perfect house, wishing time would stand     still. Or better yet, wishing it would go back...     Finally he gets out of the car and begins a long walk into     the house.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     A LAPD CHAPLAIN READING SOLEMNLY FROM A BIBLE     But as the camera PULLS BACK we see Bucky in his dress blues     standing next to Kay in a wedding dress.     EXT. THE BACKYARD OF KAY'S HOUSE     Russ Millard and Harry Sears stand by as the only two guests.                          VOICE OVER               Lee and Kay had lived in sin; not because               their shack job was against department               regs, but because the ghosts of their               past had forced them to choose between               love and passion, the veneer of a "fairy               tale" only a band-aid for a fractured               life.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:     LEE AND KAY DANCING TOGETHER     as Harry and Russ drink from a punch bowl...                          VOICE OVER               Our true vows were made in private; bury               the past, bury our ghosts, and as Kay               said, "bury that fucking girl"...     ANOTHER LAPD TRANSFER FORM: "Officer Dwight     Bleichert...Reassigned to: Scientific investigation     Detail"     INT. THE LAPD SCIENCE LAB - DAY     Bucky with plastic gloves on typing blood with an eye dropper     and a test tube. Meticulous and boring.     News radio plays in the background...     A Detective pokes his head in:                          DETECTIVE               Bleichert? You got those prints for me?     Bucky pulls a file out of a stack and gives it to him. The     nonchalance of a man whose job has become routine.                          DETECTIVE (cont'd)               Thanks. We gotta hot one I think.     Bucky smiles politely and returns to his desk. The radio:                          ANNOUNCER               ...results in the 1948 Republican primary               are final...John Dougdale trouncing D.A.               Ellis Loew 64% to 36%...In county               primaries...     This gets a smile from Bucky as he returns to his test tubes     and beakers.     INT. AN APARTMENT - CRIME SCENE - DAY     Detectives comb through a murder scene as Bucky collects     latent fingerprints off doorknobs. No one pays him any     attention. He's been relegated to the worst kind of     purgatory.     INT. THE KITCHEN - MORNING     Bucky and Kay drink coffee and read the morning paper. She     absently strokes his free hand.     Bucky intently reads the front page.     The headline reads: "CITY COUNCIL INVESTIGATES '20s BOOM     BARONS FOR SHODDY HOME CONSTRUCTION".     Underneath, a picture of Sprague and Mack Sennett posing in     front of the HOLLYWOODLAND sign.     He's startled by Kay tapping her finger on the photo.                          KAY               That reminds me of something, Dwight.     Bucky tries to hide his panic.                          BUCKY               What?                          KAY               Floorboard's loose near the closet. Think               you could fix it?                          BUCKY                   (relieved)               Sure, babe.     The phone rings. Bucky answers it.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Hello...Hey Vic...     Bucky writes something on a piece of paper. Hangs up.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Gotta go. Work-up on a probable gunshot               suicide.                          KAY               Sounds lovely. Where is it?                          BUCKY               Hancock Park.     EXT. A COLONIAL MANSION - JUNE STREET - MORNING     Bucky rings the bell. He's dressed plainclothes and carries a      technician's canvas bag.     An attractive woman in her early fifties opens the door.                          WOMAN               Yes?                          BUCKY               I'm Officer Bleichert. LAPD. My I express               my condolences, Mrs.--                          WOMAN               Jane Chambers. Condolences accepted.               You're the lab man?     He nods yes. She lets him in and he follows.                          JANE CHAMBERS               It's the study in back of the dining               room. You'll see the police rope. If               you'll excuse me, I'll be in my garden.     He notices for the first time she's dressed for gardening.     INT. THE STUDY - MORNING     Bucky steps over the police rope and into the study. A large     desk chair lies overturned an the ground next to A TAPE     OUTLINE OF A BODY. Three feet away lies A SHOTGUN.     Behind the chair the brown spattering of blood and brains     decorates the white wall and crown mouldings.                                                            CUT TO:     A SERIES OF SHOTS     as Bucky measures the splatter marks on the walls, scrapes     tissue from the muzzle of the gun, dusts it for latent     prints, etc. At the end he wraps the gun in a plastic bag.     INT. THE HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS     as Bucky steps over the police rope and walks back towards     the main foyer. He stops short.     ON THE OPPOSING WALL     hangs a disturbing PAINTING: the portrait of a clown, a young     boy done up in court jester's garb. His body is gnarled and      hunched. He wears a stuporous ear-to-ear smile that looks     like one continuous deep scar.     It is eerily reminiscent of Elizabeth Short's death wound.     Spooked, Bucky pulls his eyes away and settles them on nearby     family photos--two young women linked arm in arm.                          JANE CHAMBERS               The other survivors. Pretty aren't they?     She arrives next to him, dusty with soil.                          BUCKY               Like their mother. How old are they?                          JANE CHAMBERS               Twenty-one and twenty-three. Are you               finished in the study?                          BUCKY               Yes. Tell whoever cleans it up to use               pure ammonia...                   (looking at the two girls)               Mrs. Chambers--                          JANE CHAMBERS               Jane.                          BUCKY               Jane, do you know Madeleine and Martha               Sprague? The next block over?                          JANE CHAMBERS                   (snorts)               Those girls and that family. How do you               know them?                          BUCKY               I did a little work for them once.                          JANE CHAMBERS               Consider it lucky if it was a brief               encounter.                          BUCKY               How do you mean?     The hallway phone rings. Jane moves to answer it.                          JANE CHAMBERS               Back to condolences. Thank you for being               so nice, Mr.--                          BUCKY               Bucky. Good-bye, Jane.                          JANE CHAMBERS               Good-bye.     INT. THE CRIME LAB - LATER     Bucky writes up a report. VIC pokes his head in.                          VIC               You finish working up the suicide, Bucky?                          BUCKY               Yeah. Pretty routine. Whattya know about               the husband?                          VIC               Eldridge Chambers? Widow said he was               depressed, failing health. The terrible               burden of all that money'll get you every               time.                          BUCKY               Wonder how he made it?                          VIC               No mystery there. Real estate.                          BUCKY               Oh really?     INT. THE GARAGE - EVENING     The garage door is open to the evening air. Bucky's heavy bag     and speed bag hang on hooks. Bucky leans against a stool, a     large box open on the work bench.     INSIDE THE BOX     Bucky brushes aside a clutter of junk and pulls out A PHOTO     ALBUM. He opens it and begins flipping through: articles and     photos concerning Elizabeth Short. MOSTLY PHOTOS.     It's like a man in a mid-life crisis fantasizing about his     high school sweetheart.     OFF ONE OF THE PHOTOS WE DISSOLVE TO:     ANOTHER ELIZABETH SHORT CASTING SESSION     "Elizabeth Short...Screen Test #5"     She rambles on, almost oblivious of the camera.                          ELIZABETH SHORT               ...I had a fiance, Captain Matt Durand.               He was in a tank battalion. A Commander.               He had...the fiercest blue eyes. Like the               deep water you see from a fishing boat...     She's lost in thought...we're not sure whether this is a     scene, her real life, or just a sad lie...     THE NOISE OF A CAR APPROACHING     BACK TO SCENE     Bucky drops the album back in the box as Kay's car pulls into     the driveway. He covers it back up.                          KAY                   (getting out)               What're you doing?                          BUCKY               I'm...looking for the hammer.     She points over his shoulder to the hammer hanging in plain     view.     INT. THE BEDROOM - LATER     Bucky kneels on the ground near the closet, toolbox next to     him. He pulls on the floorboard, it flexes and squeaks.     He uses the hammer to pull the board completely off. He     squeezes wood glue around the edges and is about to replace     the board when something under the floor catches his eye.     He reaches into the hole, pulling out STACKS OF HUNDRED     DOLLAR BILLS BOUND WITH RUBBER BANDS.     He spies another scrap of paper in the hole...     INT. THE KITCHEN - SAME     Kay pours two scotches.                          KAY               Dwight?     She carries the scotches into the bedroom and finds Dwight     sitting on the floor, staring at thousands of dollars in     cash.     He holds a paper money band inscribed: "$100...Boulevard-     Citizens Bank..."                          KAY (cont'd)               Oh. I...always wondered where he kept it.     THE BOULEVARD-CITIZENS BANK HEIST - A FLASHBACK     A SHOTGUN BLAST shatters the back window of the armored     truck. In the front seat, LEE BLANCHARD ducks down as the     driver hits the gas...     BACK ON THE SCENE     as Bucky leans back against the bed.                          BUCKY               Were you ever going to tell me?                          KAY               He'd given all his money to Ben Siegel.               (beat) He wanted to give me a home.     A FLASHBACK - LEE'S CAR     Lee and Bucky, their first day as partners...                          LEE               ...said I'd get a shot at Joe Louis if               I'd take two dives for him. I said no...     BACK ON THE SCENE     as Bucky looks straight up into the ceiling light...                          BUCKY               Were you ever going to tell me?                          KAY               He knew what Bobby was doing to me...How               he'd used a razor on me...pimped me to               his friends...     INT. DEWITT'S APARTMENT - A FLASHBACK     as Lee plants the incriminating bank bags in DeWitt's closet...     BACK ON THE SCENE     Bucky staring back into the hole in the floor...                          KAY               ...Bobby know nothing about the bank job.               He and Lee, they never even met. After               Lee and his driver got away, Lee figured               framing Bobby'd give me a way out...     EXT. DEWITT'S TRIAL - FLASHBACK     Lee leads Kay out of the courtroom.     BACK ON THE SCENE     as Kay leans down next to Bucky, gently putting her hand on     his shoulder...                          KAY               Then last year...the fourth man--the               driver--he heard Bobby was getting               paroled. He threatened to tell DeWitt               that Lee framed him. He wanted money we               didn't have. Ten thousand dollars.                          BUCKY               Ever. Were you ever...?                          KAY               Promise me this: Forgive him for DeWitt.               Forgive him for the bank. It doesn't               matter anymore. Not to us.                          BUCKY               Who was the driver, Kay? Tell me. Tell               me!     He's in her face now. Okay, pal, you asked for it.                          KAY               Baxter Fitch.     EXT. THE STREET - A FLASHBACK     Three black man and a white man get rousted by Lee and Bucky.                          BAXTER FITCH               Blanchard?     Chaos erupts as Lee executes Baxter Fitch and Bucky kills two     others...     BACK TO THE SCENE     on Bucky's anguished face:                          KAY (cont'd)               He used you, Dwight. He did. Forgive him               everything else. But don't forgive him               for that. Ever.     She reaches for his face and he pulls away.     SLO-MO CLOSE-UP...     as the crumpled money drops down into the hole in the floor,     into the blackness...     WE FADE UP TO:     INT. THE GARAGE - NIGHT     Bucky, stripped to bare chest, attacks the heavy beg.                          VOICE OVER               Fire and Ice. The hero and the snitch.               Bank robber and his best friend the               bumfuck detective. Triggerman. Stooge.               Weak point in a fairy tale triangle.     He lashes into the heavy bag with a series of brutal left     hooks. Kay stands in the door, watching him. Her eyes red     from crying.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               I would forgive Lee the bank job. And I               thought I'd forgive Kay her role in               keeping it from me. But the basic rule of               Homicide applied: Nothing stays buried               forever. Corpses. Ghosts. Nothing stays               buried forever. Nothing.     Kay turns around and shuts the door behind her.     EXT. JANE CHAMBER'S GARDEN - DAY     Bucky and Jane drink iced tea. A glorious garden behind them.                          JANE CHAMBERS               So. What brings you around again?               Considering a courtin' the old rich               widow?                          BUCKY               You're not that old. And you're not very               widowed.                          JANE CHAMBERS               You either are or you aren't.                          BUCKY               You seem to be doing all right.                          JANE CHAMBERS               Eldridge had cancer. I half expected it.               We weren't that close anymore...You married?                          BUCKY               Little over a year.                          JANE CHAMBERS               God. Newlyweds. Nothing better, is there?     Bucky's face betrays his difficulties.                          JANE CHAMBERS (cont'd)               Sorry.                          BUCKY               So how well do you know the Spragues?                          JANE CHAMBERS               Eldridge and Emmett went way back. They               served on the California real estate               board together. But Emmett was a bit of a               crook. My husband got him kicked off the               board for building dangerous buildings               under phony corporations.                          BUCKY               Your husband sounds like a good man.                          JANE CHAMBERS               He had his moments. Most of it was out of               guilt. He owned slum blocks in San Pedro.               When he learned he had cancer, he really               started feeling guilty. He voted               Democratic last year. Even went in and               had meetings with the City Council. I'm               sure he gave them dirt on Emmett.                          BUCKY               I read an article in the paper.                          JANE CHAMBERS               Same day Eldridge killed himself.               Apropos, I guess.                          BUCKY               Maybe your husband--                          JANE CHAMBERS               My husband was rich and did a mean               Charleston. I loved him until I found out               he was cheating on me. Now I'm starting               to love him again. How strange.                          BUCKY               It's not so strange.     They watch each other, enjoying each other's company. A     strange emotional peace.                          JANE CHAMBERS               You're very accepting of other people's               frailties. You're young. You should have               illusions.                          BUCKY               I'm a cop. Illusions aren't standard               issue.                          JANE CHAMBERS               So how'd a cop get mixed up with               Madeleine Sprague? It was Madeleine, I               assume?     Bucky's gut clenches.                          BUCKY               I stopped her at a red light. One thing               led to another. Why do you assume it was               Madeleine?                          JANE CHAMBERS               Don't play dumb, Bucky. The girl's a               roundheels. Always has been.                          BUCKY               Jane. Don't be catty.                          JANE CHAMBERS               I'm sorry. She can't help it I'm sure.               She probably inherited it from her               mother.     Before Bucky can press Jane stands up with the tray of iced     tea. The visit is over.                          JANE CHAMBERS               You figure out the rest, officer.     He follows her back inside.     INT. THE HALLWAY - SAME     As they stop momentarily in front of the scary clown painting.                          BUCKY               God that is spooky.                          JANE CHAMBERS               Valuable, too. Eldridge bought it for my               birthday a couple years ago. I hate it.               Want to take it with you?                          BUCKY               No thanks.                          JANE CHAMBERS               Thank you, then. You were my best               condoler.                          BUCKY               And you mine.     Jane gives Bucky a warm handshake.     EXT. THE STREET - HANCOCK PARK - SOON AFTER     Bucky pulls out of June Street, and passes Muirfield. He     slows for a moment, squinting down the street, trying to     discern the Sprague mansion. He drives on.     We hang on the sign for Muirfield Avenue as the day turns to     night...     And down Muirfield Road, we see Bucky's car parked in the     shadows. Watching the Sprague house. A voyeur.     INT. KAY AND BUCKY'S BEDROOM - MORNING     Bucky sleeps soundly as Kay readies herself for work. She     watches him for a moment, considering whether to wake him.     She decides not to and leaves.     The minute she goes, Bucky opens his eyes...     EXT. MUIRFIELD ROAD - HANCOCK PARK - EVENING     Bucky spies on the Spragues. He digs back into his seat as     Madeleine comes down the walk and puts mail in the mail box.     Just for a second it looks like she sees him...maybe not...     INT. CRIME LAB - DAY     Bucky dozes, his tie almost catching on fire in a Bunsen     burner.     EXT. THE MUIRFIELD ROAD STAKEOUT - EVENING     Bucky leans against the window, propping himself up.     ACROSS THE STREET     Madeleine's Packard pulls out and roars up the street. Bucky     guns his car to follow...     EXT. THE ZIMBA ROOM - NIGHT     Bucky follows the Packard into a crowded GI bar parking lot.     He parks a distance away. But as he watches Madeleine get out     of her car he is staggered:     It's ELIZABETH SHORT.     Or, more accurately, it's Madeleine dressed up exactly like     the Dahlia in one of her famous portrait photos. Slinky black     dress, upswept hair, down to the yellow barrette. She strides     into the bar...     INT. THE ZIMBA ROOM - NIGHT     Bucky ducks into a smoke-filled GI bar where a commotion is     already taking place.     Madeleine is surrounded by soldiers fawning all over her.     Other men simply point and whisper--her Dahlia act isn't lost     on anybody.     Bucky slides into a booth in the corner to watch. He signals     for a drink.     INT. THE ZIMBA ROOM - NIGHT - LATER     Four bourbons later. Bucky watches as Madeleine settles into     a more intimate conversation with one soldier. Bucky downs     his drink as Madeleine grabs the GI's elbow and escorts him     out of the bar.     EXT. THE RED ARROW INN - LATER     Bucky sits in his car in the parking lot watching the soldier     loiter outside of A motel room. Madeleine returns from the     office with the key and lets the two of them in.     He watches as the light goes on; and then off.     INT. KAY AND BUCKY'S BEDROOM - LATER     Bucky comes into the bedroom to find Kay waiting up for him.                          KAY               Dwight--     He moves to her, pulling off his clothes as quickly as he     can.                          KAY (cont'd)               Dwight--     He's on top of her, his bourbon stained kisses go and down     her neck and her breasts.     She responds, but not quickly enough for him. He rushes into     her before she's ready. Still, she tries to be there for him,     hoping to catch up with his lust.     She doesn't. And they both know it. They embrace, trying to     cover up the hollow awkwardness with familiar affection.     It doesn't work...     INT. THAD GREEN'S OFFICE - DAY     Bucky sits at Thad Green's desk, penitent.                          THAD GREEN               SID's not a bad beat, Bucky. At the time               it was better than you deserved.     Bucky nods.                          THAD GREEN (cont'd)               The blues hate you, Bucky. Vogel was               their pal. I do this for you, you better               be fucking supercop.     Bucky just sits silent.     ANOTHER LAPD TRANSFER ORDER: "Transfer order...Officer     Bleichert...From SID...to Newton Street Division,     Nightwatch.     EXT. NEWTON STREET - MIDNIGHT     Bucky back in uniform again. This time, the black slums.     Heroin hookers, hard-core dealers, gangs.                          VOICE OVER               Newton Street Division. Footbeat hacks               carried metal-studded saps; squadroom               dicks packed .45 automatics loaded with               unregulation dum-dums.     INT. A LIQUOR STORE DOORWAY - NIGHT     Bucky and a large black man come tumbling out of the liquor     store throwing vicious punches at each other.     Bucky takes three to land six, eventually knocking the guy     out. He looks across the street to see to cops watching him,     measuring him.     INT. AN ALLEY - NIGHT     As Bucky chases two men towards a chain link fence at the end     of the alley. One of them gets to the fence and scrambles up     it. Bucky yanks the other one off the fence, slamming him to     the ground.                          VOICE OVER               Kay. Lee. Madeleine. Betty Short. For one               month I escaped them all.     INT. KAY AND BUCKY'S HOUSE - NIGHT     As Kay sleeps alone in the bed.                          VOICE OVER               A fucking supercop.     INT. A JAZZ BAR - EARLY MORNING     Bucky sits in his uniform listening to a jazz quartet.     INT. KAY AND BUCKY'S LIVING ROOM - MORNING     Bucky sleeps on the couch as Kay leaves for work.                          VOICE OVER               I escaped them all. Almost.     EXT. A STREET CORNER - NIGHT     Bucky in his patrol car. The night a hot sweat. He listens to     music on his radio and watches two hookers dance on the     corner, waving at cars.     A SCRAGGLY OLD WINO staggers up to the women, stumbling     around them, dancing with them. They sneer at him, tell him     to beat it.     INSIDE THE PATROL CAR     Bucky flashes his headlights at the bum. The bum ignores him.     Bucky flashes them again, annoyed.     The bum looks into the glare and flips Bucky off.     And suddenly Bucky snaps, jumping from his car. In three big     strides he's on the bum, clobbering him with roundhouse lefts     and rights.     The women are screaming. The drunk is screaming.                          OLD DRUNK               Pleease!     Bucky drops him, staggering into a phone booth. He drops a     nickel in the phone. Dials a number. Ring. Ring. Ring...     He hangs up. Dials another. A woman's voice answers.                          BUCKY               It's me.     EXT. THE SPRAGUE MANSION - NIGHT     Bucky's just onto the porch steps when Madeleine answers the     door. She's dressed like the Dahlia.     He pushes her inside.                          VOICE OVER               It was a reunion of avowed tramps, old               rutters who knew they'd never have it as               good with anyone else...               Afterwards we'd talk through the night.               The Spragues...Crazy Papa Bleichert...     INT. AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM - DAY     Sixth graders write in silence. Kay sits at her desk, sadness     in her eyes as she watches the children.                          VOICE OVER               Mostly, though we'd talk about Betty. Her               utter malleability, a chameleon eager to               please anybody...and the disrupter of               every life close to me...It would last a               month.     INT. THE SPRAGUE MANSION - MORNING     Bucky stands in the living room, examining family photos. A     photo of two young, proud WWI vets: George Tilden and Emmett      Sprague...A photo of the dark-haired Ramona and the ruddy and     fair-haired Emmett...Photos of Madeleine and Martha, the     brunette and the ruddy blond...Back to the first photo:     George Tilden's dark hair.     Madeleine wanders in, Bucky smiles at her.                          MADELEINE               What?                          BUCKY               Nothing.     She runs her hands over his shoulders.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               I thought the family came back from               Laguna this week.                          MADELEINE                   (her Scottish brogue)               You miss 'em, laddie? Mother's insults?               Martha's pornography...                          BUCKY               Your father's Georgie Tilden war stories?     He scans her for a reaction. If she has one it ripples     through her almost undetectable. Almost.     EXT. JANE CHAMBER'S HOUSE - LATER     As Bucky cruises by, grinning. He salutes the house.                          VOICE OVER               In the scheme of things it wasn't much.               Rich old lady gossip, as Jane put it.                                                            CUT TO:     EXT. BUCKY'S NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY     as he drives onto his own modest street.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               But combine it with banging Madeleine in               all twenty-two rooms of their mansion, it               was good enough for me.     EXT. KAY AND BUCKY'S HOUSE - DAY     A moving van in the driveway and Kay's Plymouth stuffed with     boxes. Bucky double-parks and bolts up the steps.     The van pulls away behind him.                          BUCKY                   (to the van driver)               Hey! Goddammit! Get back here!     The van driver ignores him; Bucky turns as Kay walks out onto     the porch.                          KAY               I didn't touch your things. You can have               the furniture.                          BUCKY               Babe--                          KAY               Did you think I'd let my husband               disappear for three weeks and do nothing               about it? I've had detectives following               you, Dwight. Detectives. She looks like               that fucking dead girl, so you can have               her--not me.                          BUCKY               Babe. Goddammit.     He reaches for her and she backs out of grabbing range.                          KAY               Whoremonger. Coward. Necrophile.     She spins out of his grasp and makes for her car. She guns     the engine and disappears.     INT. THE HOUSE - SECONDS LATER     Bucky stands in the middle of the living room, cataloguing     the little things. No periodicals on the coffee table, half     the record collection gone, no candlesticks.     He picks up the largest chair (Lee's favorite) and throws it     at the wall. Next, Kay's rocking chair shatters the glass     cabinets. The coffee table goes through the front window.     IN THE BEDROOM     Bucky yanks out all the drawers, turns over the bed.     IN THE BATHROOM     he takes a pipe wrench to the sink, crushes the mirror with     one blow...     In a terrible ten rounder with the ghosts of his past Bucky     demolishes the dream house, pulls his uniforms out of the     closet and bolts out of the house, leaving the door open so     scavengers can pick the place clean...     INT. THE EL NIDO - NIGHT     Bucky sits on the bed, his back pushed up against the wall.     Eyeball to eyeball with Elizabeth Short, Betty, Liz, the     Black Dahlia.     A collage of photos and file folders...                          VOICE OVER               It came on then, big and ugly: bye-bye               Bleichert at the bus stop, adios               shitbird, has-been, never-was, stool               pigeon harness bull.     EXT. THE SLUMS - LATE NIGHT     Bucky stands in the worst of slums, his blue uniform a beacon     to anyone who would do him harm.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               You traded a good woman for skunk pussy,               you've turned everything that's been               handed you to pure, undiluted shit, your               "I will's" amount to the eighth round at               the Academy gym when you stepped into a               Blanchard right hand--pratfalling into               clover that you turned into horse dung.     ANOTHER ELIZABETH SHORT CASTING SESSION     No clapsticks this time. Just Betty Short sitting an the     couch. She reaches down and pulls off her pumps. Now she     reaches under her dress and begins unrolling her stockings.     Not sexy. Empty and resigned.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               Bye-bye Betty, Beth, Betsy, Liz, we were               a couple of tramps, too bad we didn't               meet before 39th and Norton, it just               might have worked. Maybe us would've been               the one thing we wouldn't have fucked up               past redemption...     EXT. 39TH AND NORTON - NIGHT - LATER     An apartment complex has been erected at the murder site.     EXT. AN AERIAL VIEW OF LOS ANGELES - DAY     ANGLE ON: THE HOLLYWOODLAND SIGN. As we watch the sign     changes, the "D" dropping off the end. It now reads     "HOLLYWOODLAN".     EXT. WILSHIRE DISTRICT - DAY     Bucky, unshaven and out of uniform, leans against his car on     a working class residential street. He stares across at a     modest Victorian house and the garage behind it. We recognize     it hopefully; we've been here before.     EXT. A GARAGE APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS     It's Cleo Short's apartment. Or at least it used to be. Bucky     peers in a window and sees it's filled with junk.     He walks back towards the street, intent on heading back to     his car. on a hunch, he walks up onto the porch of the     Victorian house and rings the bell.     EXT. THE PORCH - SAME     Footsteps at the door. It opens to reveal another identical     twin to Elizabeth Short.     Bucky is stunned and can't find his tongue.                          GIRL                   (Boston accent)               Can I help you? (no response). Great.               Take a hike you big sicko--                          BUCKY               Wait--     She begins to shut the door but someone behind her pulls it     back open.     Cleo Short, Elizabeth's father.                          CLEO SHORT               It's all right, dear. I know this pug.     INT. THE SITTING ROOM - LATER     The two men arrange themselves in chairs while the Betty look-     a-alike makes herself busy in the kitchen behind Cleo.     Bucky tries not to stare. He forces himself to focus on Cleo,     who, while five years older, looks much better than last time     Bucky saw him.                          CLEO SHORT               Came into a little change a while back,               managed to trade in that shit shack out               back for these digs. (beat) And I don't               give a fuck what you think, you and your               partner ain't much to look at now. I read               the papers.     Bucky can't deny that.     The young woman brings in two beers for Bucky and Cleo. Bucky     checks her out again. Cleo knows why.                          CLEO SHORT (cont'd)               My youngest, Christine.     He squeezes her hand affectionately.                          CLEO SHORT (cont'd)               Best housekeeper of the bunch. Can't cook               a damn, though.               Got her sister's star-eyes for the               pictures, damn straight. Thinks she's               gonna be another goddamn Jayne Mansfield.               Get out of here, Chrissie...     She rolls her eyes, picks up a newspaper and heads out on the     porch.                          CLEO SHORT (cont'd)               Used to be dozens'd stop by, you know.               Drive up from Dago or San Berdoo just to               snap a shot of the goddamn garage back               there. Thought maybe they'd find one of               Betty's dresses in the garbage. Jackals.                          BUCKY               You didn't move far.                          CLEO SHORT               Wouldn't a mattered if I did. (beat)               Whatcha here for, mug? I know you ain't               smart enough to solve the case, and you               ain't dumb enough to still think I did               it...I had an alibi.                          BUCKY               Tighter'n a popcorn fart.                          CLEO SHORT               And that's air tight, mug. Air tight.     Bucky takes a swig of his beer. Cleo's eyes scour Bucky.                          CLEO SHORT (cont'd)               You're hooked on her still, ain't ya? Ha.               That's a plug nickel you can't spend,               ain't it, mug? Ha. Yea. Betty'll do that               to a fella. Especially someone like you.                   (off Bucky's look)               Like I said, I know you mug.                          BUCKY               I just thought...Maybe after all this               time...There's something you might have               forgot...Anything she might have said...     Cleo studies him, knows Bucky's a lost soul. He softens for     the first time. Leans forward, elbows on knees. Almost     looking like a father who'd lost a daughter.                          CLEO SHORT               She was a terrible actress. I'm sure               folks've told you that. She'd practice in               front of the john mirror.               Once or twice she got me in on               it...Reading parts with her for some               audition. She stunk. Even a parent could               tell. What Beth was good at was writing.               All her teachers used to say that. Not               that a grease like me'd know the               difference. Maybe she coulda written for               the pictures. But she wanted to be an               actress like every other silly girl.     His gaze drifts outside to his youngest daughter.                          CLEO SHORT (cont'd)               Your folks still alive?                          BUCKY               My father.                          CLEO SHORT                   (poking)               He proud of his son, the ace copper? Or               maybe he thought you'd end up champ?     Bucky shrugs off any talk of his father. Cleo gets it.                          CLEO SHORT               Your momma?                          BUCKY               She killed herself a long time ago.     Cleo takes a swig of his beer.                          CLEO SHORT               Probably better off then.     INT./EXT. THE LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS     Cleo follows Bucky out onto the porch. Christine reads a copy     of Photoplay. The cover touts the current Mack Sennett     Revival in honor of the revised Hollywoodland sign...                          BUCKY               Thank you for your time, Mr. Short. if--                          CLEO SHORT               Get a life, Bleichert. Don't dream it all               away. Dreamin'll kill ya.                   (to Christine)               You, too. Get me a sandwich.     He snatches away the Photoplay and slaps it into Bucky's     hands.                          CLEO SHORT (cont'd)               Clean up some dog shit with this for me,               willya?     The man winks. Bucky takes the magazine and salutes him with     it. He heads back down the walk. Behind him Cleo Short     watches him go.     EXT./INT. BUCKY'S CAR - HOLLYWOOD - DUSK     Bucky sits at a light, staring north. Scaffolding drapes the      Hollywoodland sign. Movie lights have been set up, capturing     the event on film.     His attention turns to Christine's Photoplay on the seat next      to him; the weekly rag is open to an ad for the Mack Sennett     revival:     A reproduction of the Hollywoodland sign across the top of     the page, and below it the words "Keystone Kops at the     Admiral Theater--Air conditioned!"     Below that a still from a Keystone Kops movie, registering     huge and loud and wrong: Three Keystone Kops standing between      pillars shaped like snakes swallowing their own tails; a wall     inset with Egyptian hieroglyphics was behind them.     Unmistakably the background that appeared in the Linda     Martin/Betty Short porn film.     Cars honking behind him. Bucky's transfixed by the image. The     light is green.     He jerks upright and squeals out of the intersection.                                                            CUT TO:     EXT. THE ADMIRAL THEATER - SOON AFTER     Bucky buys a ticket underneath a marquee which reads MACK     SENNETT REVIVAL".     INT. THE THEATER - CONTINUOUS     A Keystone Kop short in progress. Bucky can barely sit down     to watch...                          VOICE OVER               I tried to keep calm. I told myself that               just because Emmett Sprague helped Mack               Sennett build sets in the twenties didn't               mean he had anything to do with a smut               film twenty-five years later.     And there's a shot of the porn set--the Keystone Kops running     around in it like they're solving at crime back in ancient     Egypt.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               Duke Wellington had admitted making it.               Linda Martin had said it was shot in               Mexico.     The short ends with a large pie throwing scene on the porn     set. The credits begin to roll: "Director--Mack Sennett.     Scenarist--Mack Sennett. Assistant Director--Emmett     Sprague"     On Bucky's face as one last piece of information hits him:     "Filmed in Hollywood, USA."     EXT. THE MOVIE THEATER     as Bucky bursts out into the evening, the lights on the     Hollywood hill catching his attention.     INT. A FLASHBACK - THE SPRAGUE HOUSE     Bucky at dinner with the Spragues.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               Mack Sennett? Helped him build that               housing project he was putting up--               Hollywoodland--     BACK TO THE SCENE     as Bucky stares up at the sign.     INT. EL NIDO - ROOM 204 - NIGHT     Bucky tears through it, pulling out files. The door opens -     it's Russ Millard.                          RUSS MILLARD               I got your message, Bucky.                          BUCKY               Look, Russ...I think...I may have it. I--                          RUSS MILLARD               It?     Bucky whirls around, gesturing to the room--                          BUCKY               Her! Her! I've got a hot one, padre. It's               just...     Bucky flops onto the bed, almost frantic.                          RUSS MILLARD               Calm down, son. Tell me.     Bucky meets his eyes: forgive me my sins.     INT. BUCKY'S CAR - NIGHT     Bucky drives with Russ in the car next to him.                          VOICE OVER               I told him everything. Me and Madeleine,               the Spragues. Withholding evidence for               her. Everything. Even Lee. After all of               it he only had one thing to say:     INT. THE EL NIDO - NIGHT - FLASHBACK     On Russ:                          RUSS MILLARD               All right, then. It's your ball. What do               you wanna do?                          BUCKY               I want to search every fucking inch of               every goddamn acre of Emmett Sprague               property if it takes the rest of my               shitty career. And I know exactly where               we start.     INT. BUCKY'S CAR - BEACHWOOD CANYON - NIGHT     as they inch their way up into a huge traffic snarl in     Beachwood Canyon. The sign looms high above them as the "A"     is taken dawn.                          VOICE OVER               Between my time with Madeleine and the               local boom baron expose in the papers, I               was practically an expert on Emmett               Sprague's land deals...     EXT. A PARK AREA AT THE NORTH END OF BEACHWOOD DRIVE     A huge area is cordoned off as people watch the sign being     torn down.     Bucky and Russ leave the car there, badge the local blue     doing crowd control, and split off down a dirt side road into     the woods.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               For the first time since the beginning of               the whole fiasco, I stopped trying to               figure out who killed Elizabeth Short.               Instead, I focused on where.     EXT. A WOODED AREA - NIGHT     Bucky and Russ play a flashlight over a piece of paper, like     two men consulting a treasure map in the woods.     In the background is a tiny bungalow with the windows blown     out and the door hanging off its hinges.                          VOICE OVER               And if my hunch was right, we wouldn't               have to look any further than one of               Emmett Sprague's condemned bungalows. One               that was isolated...abandoned...     They walk on, leaving this particular bungalow behind.     EXT. A STREAM - WOODS - LATER     Bucky shines the light in a running stream as they follow it     deeper into the night...                          VOICE OVER               ...and most importantly, close to a water               source...where one could drain a body of               its blood.     Bucky and Russ round a bend in the stream and see     THE SKELETON OF A BUNGALOW     teetering on the edge of the stream. Empty window and doors     hover over a rotting porch like skull sockets over a death     leer.     Bucky and Russ feel it, tensing up as they approach. They     pick their footsteps carefully through the broken porch and     step into the abandoned house.     INT. THE BUNGALOW - SAME     A scattering of trash in the front room, animal shit, a     bicycle tire, rags.     They move through the house, each roam, each closet and     corner creeps with potential violence. Still, nothing.     From the kitchen:                          RUSS MILLARD               Bucky.     Bucky joins Russ at the back door, the screen rotted off.     Through the empty window they see:     AN ALUMINUM GARDENING SHED, the door wide open.     You know it before they even get there. But as soon as they     step inside...     INT. THE GARDENING SHED - CONTINUOUS     They know something bad happened here...     Half the room is taken up by a mattress, its blue ticking     stained dark brown with blood. A gas lantern sits in the     corner, leaning against a stack of blood-spattered books,     including a copy of Gray's Anatomy and Victor Hugo's The Man      Who Laughs along with a clutch of pornographic pictures.                          RUSS MILLARD               God help her.     Bucky's already pulling on a pair of rubber gloves from his     SID days. For the first time we notice he's carrying his     forensic kit.     He opens it, revealing the test tubes, fingerprint powder,     tweezers, etc.                          BUCKY                   (throwing Russ gloves)               Box up the books and papers. Maybe light               that lantern.     Russ grants Bucky his take-charge attitude. He snaps on a     pair of gloves.     A GRUESOME MONTAGE     1. Bucky scrapes blood off a wall and into a test tube.     2. Russ flips through the pornographic material--some of it     very intense.     3. Bucky fills up another test tube with dark hair tweezed     from the caked blood on the mattress.     4. Underneath the mattress, Bucky finds small pieces of     rope...     5. Bucky measures a bloody sole print and traces it onto a     piece of paper.     6. Bucky finger prints the whole fucking place, pulling good     prints from the door jamb, the door, and the wall near the     head of the mattress.     OUTSIDE THE GARDENING SHED     Russ fiddles with the books, making himself busy. Finally he     walks back inside.     INT. THE GARDENING SHED - CONTINUOUS     Bucky sits on the floor, his hands shaking as he holds a     fingerprint plate in one hand and a piece of paper in the     other.                          RUSS MILLARD               You all right?     Bucky hands him the fresh plate. Russ studies it. Bucky hands     him the piece of paper with a blown-up set of prints on it.     The two sets of prints are identical. Russ sees the name at     the top of the paper: ELIZABETH SHORT.     He exhales deeply.                          BUCKY               Thing is, Russ. Thing is...There's               another set of latents up there on the               doorjamb...And my hands're shaking so bad               I can't transfer 'em.                                                            CUT TO:     RUSS MILLARD HACKING A FOUR INCH SECTION OF THE DOOR JAMB OFF     WITH HIS KNIFE AND SLIPPING IT INTO A PLASTIC BAG.     Bucky sits on the ground outside.     EXT. UNDERNEATH THE HOLLYWOODLAND SIGN - LATER     The last of the "LAND" letters has come down and a party has     ensued. A marching band plays "There's No Business Like Show      Business".     Bucky and Russ stumble out of the woods, carrying the     evidence of Betty Short's death in their hands.     INT. THE EL NIDO - NIGHT     Bucky sits on the bed, the evidence spread out around him.     Russ stands in the doorway.                          BUCKY               We finally have it, Russ. All of it. All               of her.                   (gesturing around the room)               All right here.                          RUSS MILLARD               Are you sure you don't want to came home?               Mrs. Millard'll fix up the couch.                          BUCKY               No. Thanks. I'll stay here.                   (re the doorjamb piece)               I want to get up early and confirm these               prints.     Russ nods.                          RUSS MILLARD               You're a very very bright penny, Officer.     He closes the door, leaving Bucky alone with Elizabeth.     INT. EL NIDO - ROOM 204 - NIGHT     Bucky lies on the bed, staring at the ceiling.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               That night I pictured myself the way I               wanted Elizabeth to picture me--her               knight in shining armor, a reborn two-bit               harness bull who cracked the biggest               unsolved homicide in California history.               A war hero, a heavyweight champion.     INT. EL NIDO - ROOM 204 - DAWN     Bucky flips through Gray's Anatomy, killing time.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               I stayed with her that night and dreamed               of all the bullshit that would never               happen. Not if I wanted to keep my job at               all. Because there was no way for me to               make the arrest without admitting that               I'd suppressed evidence years ago. The               case would always be open.               And so while it killed me to wait 'til               morning, in some ways...this was our last               night together.     INT. THE CRIME LAB - MORNING     Bucky transfers the killer's prints from the doorjamb to a     plate.     INT. A LARGE ROOM WITH FILE CABINETS     Bucky pulls a fingerprint card from a cabinet. He shuts the     cabinet. The tab on the outside reads: "City Employees".     EXT. THE SPRAGUE MANSION - MORNING     Bucky edges his way along the side of the house. A side     window is open and he pulls himself inside.     INT. THE MANSION - CONTINUOUS     Moving boxes fill the front hallway. Bucky hears voices     coming from the main hall. Madeleine and Emmett.     Bucky unholsters his gun; from his pocket he pulls out a     SILENCER and screws it on the muzzle.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE (O.S.)               ...besides, one of my foremen said the               goddamn pipes are spewing gas...There'll               be hell to pay. It's about time I showed               the three of you good ol' Scotland.                          MADELEINE               I don't wanna go to Europe, Daddy. You're               always talking about how dreadful and               provincial it is.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               ...they've got what you need, lassie.     Bucky steps into the main room, gun prominent at his side.                          BUCKY               And what is that, Emmett? Saps like me?               Direct line to the straight dope? Or is               that what you needed?                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               Aaah, laddie.     He eyes the gun.                          BUCKY               George Tilden killed Elizabeth Short and               the two of you covered it up.     On the Spragues, trying to maintain their upper-class cool.                          BUCKY (cont'd)                   (to Madeleine)               You helped Linda Martin and Betty make               that stag film. Where was the set? In one               of Daddy's old buildings?     He levels the gun at Madeleine. Rock steady. Madeleine sits     on a divan.                          MADELEINE               Georgie was always...sneaking around               Daddy's properties. He saw them make               it...He...got crazy about Betty.                          BUCKY               Of course. She looked like his daughter.     Off Emmett's shocked look:                          BUCKY (cont'd)               He fucked your wife. But I don't think               you cared about that. But he's her daddy.               And that must have made you crazy. He was               a handsome bastard, too. Somehow I don't               think he was disfigured in a car wreck.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               In the Argonne, Georgie used to bayonet               the dead Gerries. I saw it. Thrilled him,               it did. He was...hmm...disturbed. I think               Ramona found him...a good way to strike               back at me.     Bucky points the gun at Madeleine again.                          BUCKY               How'd it all go down?     She hesitates. He shoots a MING VASE next to her. She jumps.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               So many pretty things here...                          MADELEINE               It was Sunday I remember...Betty               called...short of cash as usual.               I put Daddy on, and he offered Betty               money to date a nice man he knew.               Georgie'd been driving Daddy crazy,               wanting to get with Betty ever since the               movie. Threatening to tell people he was               my father. But we thought Georgie just               wanted her for sex.     Bucky blows away another objet d'art. The two Spragues huddle     on the couch.                          BUCKY               He was a sick fuck and you knew it!     Emmett gestures vainly towards the stuffed dog Balto.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               He was passive. He liked to touch dead               things. His father was a surgeon, did you               know that? Famous in Scotland.                          BUCKY               What did you tell Betty? What did you               tell her?                          MADELEINE               We said he was a war hero. Because we               didn't want her to feel like a whore.                          BUCKY               Then?                          MADELEINE               You know the rest.                          BUCKY               Pretend I'm stupid. For old time's sake.     Madeleine exhales hate.                          MADELEINE               I went looking for Linda Martin, and I               found her at a motel in the Valley. I               gave her money and told her to say the               stag was filmed in Tijuana with a Mexican               crew.                          BUCKY               And then what? I come along? Daddy tell               you to fuck me or was that your idea?                          MADELEINE               Bucky--     Two more shots from the gun destroy another fifty grand worth     of art. Bucky reloads.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               The whole family have a good laugh at               dinner that night? Pumping me for info               about the case? Throwing me Georgie               stories to see if I'd bite? A little               hospitality and some cunt so I wouldn't               check out your alibi--                          MADELEINE               Bucky--                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               Ramona didn't know a thing. Martha--                          BUCKY               What about sweet little Martha?                          MADELEINE               Martha knew I'd been with Betty. But that               was all. But she's a demon, you know. She               even called the cops with a tip on La               Verne's--just hoping I'd get smeared in               the papers. I scratched her good for               that.                          BUCKY               Martha tell you this?     She nods yes.                          BUCKY               Then she lied to get your goat, 'cuz no               one ever called in a tip on LaVerne's.                          MADELEINE               Figures.     Emmett clears his throat.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               What are you gonna do?                          BUCKY               Passports. All four.     Emmett walks to a small desk. He reaches into the drawer--     Bucky puts his gun to Emmett's head--                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               Don't insult me, lad.     He pulls out the four passports (not a gun). Bucky takes     them.                          MADELEINE               We'll ruin you in court, you know. If you               go after us, we'll ruin you. Over what?               Some little slut--     Bucky blows a hole in a vase some six inches from her. He     cocks his head at her, as if to say: the next one will be     closer.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               You know, laddie. The rich don't               necessarily own art just for themselves;               we safekeep it for future generations.     The dig crosses through Bucky's mind for a moment before he     shooes it away. To Emmett:                          BUCKY               I need to see it.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               It?                          BUCKY               Just to be sure. I need to see it.                          EMMETT SPRAGUE               I'm not sure I know...     Bucky puts the silenced muzzled half an inch from Sprague's     brain.                          BUCKY               I need to see his grave, you tightass               kiltwearing motherfucker. Where'd you               bury George Tilden?     EXT. A PAUPER'S CEMETERY - DAY     Bucky stands in front of a plain grave marker: "George     Tilden. 1906 - 1948.  War Hero and Loyal Friend"                          VOICE OVER               When I'd pulled George's print card that               morning, I'd already laid fifty down with               Russ that he was our guy. Amateur               taxidermist, transient. If he was a cop               39th and Norton woulda been right in the               middle of his beat...     INT. THE ROOM WITH THE FILE CABINETS - FLASHBACK     Bucky pulls Tilden's card and we see the close-up: "George     Tilden". Added by hand: "Deceased"                          VOICE OVER               But I'd be lying if I said I hadn't               wanted to nail the sicko myself, giving               him ten rounds of Bleichert rage.     EXT./INT. THE ALUMINUM GARDEN SHED - DAY     Bucky watches as Russ tips the gas lantern over on its side,     the gas leaking out into the tin shed.                          VOICE OVER               Maybe he'd have gone for a gun or               probably a knife, and the Bleichert fists               would've given way to a full load of .45               in the chest.     Bucky and Russ step outside. Russ lights a match and tosses     it inside. Flames begin to eat away the bloody mattress...                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               Sprague said they found him croaked in a               parking lot downtown, just twelve blocks               from where he'd dumped Betty Short. Just               croaked. Natural causes, if anything               about crazy Georgie was natural. I hoped               the evil ate him from the inside out,               filling him with blackness like the               sawdust in Sprague's goddamn dog. (beat)     Bucky kicks the tin door shut, sealing the fire inside     Elizabeth Short's private hell.     INT. JANE CHAMBERS HOUSE - ANOTHER DAY     Bucky and Jane Chambers drink some iced tea.                          JANE CHAMBERS               ...and then Eldridge said: I'm sure               that's the case Mr. Mayor, but that's not               my dog and those sure as hell aren't my               shoes!     They laugh, Jane a bit more than Bucky. She narrows in on him.                          JANE CHAMBERS (cont'd)               It's so nice of you to stop by again. Of               course you've been staking out the               Sprague house. Four nights in a row.                   (off his surprise)               I walk my dog every night. And I'm almost               as nosy as you.                          BUCKY                   (covering)               Yeah, well. Old habits die hard.     He gets up from the table.     INT. JANE CHAMBER'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS     Bucky wanders over and stares at the slash-mouthed clown     painting, always transfixed by it.                          JANE CHAMBERS                   (re the painting)               I'd been thinking about giving it to               charity, but it's too valuable. I found               Eldridge's receipt...     She wanders into the study and fishes out some papers from     her late husbands desk while Bucky continues to stare at the     clown. She returns, reading from the sale slip.                          JANE CHAMBERS (cont'd)               It's a Frederick Yannantuono original,               inspired by an old classic novel--The               Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo.     A FLASHBACK - THE GARDENING SHED     A blood-spattered copy of The Man Who Laughs on the pile of      pornography--     BACK TO SCENE     As the slash-mouthed clown towers over Bucky, his head     buzzing...                          JANE CHAMBERS (cont'd)               The clown in the painting is the book's               main character, Gwynplain. When he was a               child he had his mouth slashed ear to ear               and then sold to the 16th century Spanish               aristocracy to be used as a court jester.     Bucky steps back.                          JANE CHAMBERS (cont'd)               Are you all right, Bucky?                          BUCKY               Yes, I'm fine.     He focuses on her.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Where'd Eldridge get the painting?                          JANE CHAMBERS               You'll appreciate the coincidence--     She hands him the receipt.     ANGLE ON THE RECEIPT:     "Received from Eldridge Chambers, $3500 for the sale     of the F. Yannantuono painting. Ramona Cathcart     Sprague, January 15, 1947."     Speechless.                          JANE CHAMBERS               What is it--     He's out the door.     EXT. JANE CHAMBER'S HOUSE - SAME     Bucky runs to his car, pulls out his gun. He sprints off down     the street...     EXT. THE SPRAGUE MANSION - SAME     Bucky waits outside, watching from behind a tree. He watches     as the last of the cars, Madeleine's, pulls out of the     driveway.     He crosses the street. He tries the front door, surprised to     find it unlocked. He goes inside.     INT. THE SPRAGUE MANSION - CONTINUOUS     Gun drawn, Bucky cases the downstairs. He hears a noise.                          RAMONA               I'm in here, officer.     A red wave of sweat washes over him. He walks carefully into     RAMONA'S SITTING ROOM     where the matriarch sits on a tiny sofa, her arms lost in a     silk dressing gown. Her face puffy and her eyes dark, her     gray hair frizzy.     Bucky trains a gun on her.                          BUCKY               I know what you did, Ramona. You and               Georgia. I've seen the painting. You sold               it the day of the murder. You know I've               got the book. And now I've got you.     She smiles. Very slowly she withdraws one of her hands from     the folds of her dressing gown. She holds a tiny ladylike     revolver in her fingers and drops it at her feet. When she     speaks, it's with complete control.                          RAMONA               We see you out there, you know. Every               night. We see you. You don't fool us. You               didn't hurt Georgie. You didn't hurt               Madeleine. And as much as I wish you               would, you didn't hurt Emmett. You're a               voyeur. That's all the lesser classes               have. Pressing their nose up against the               glass.                          BUCKY               So tell me. Let me see.     She smiles at him again, loving his need.                          RAMONA               Emmett slashed his face, I'm sure you               know. Madeleine was eleven and she looked               just like Georgie. When he got out of the               hospital I gave him the Hugo book as a               present. My Gwynplain. But he was afraid               of Emmett's rage...After that...we rarely               spoke.     Bucky eases himself into a chair opposite her.                          BUCKY               Tell me about Betty Short.     Her face hardens.                          RAMONA (cont'd)                   (with venom)               It was the cruelest of jokes. He'd become               obsessed with her...That filthy film.                          BUCKY               Your husband bought her for George.                          RAMONA               Emmett never stopped hating me.                          BUCKY               For George--                          RAMONA               For being richer than he was.     She looks over her nose at him.                          RAMONA (cont'd)               I followed them to the bungalow. There               was a baseball bat under...under a               tree...She tried to run from me...but she               was drunk. The first swing knocked her               out. I made Georgie tie her to the               mattress....The second swing woke her up.                          BUCKY               You tortured her.     She seems to drift.                          RAMONA (cont'd)               She looked so much like my Maddy. It               was...the cruelest of jokes.     Her thousand yard stare gradually returns to Bucky.                          RAMONA (cont'd)               Martha mustn't know. She's all that's               left of this family that isn't dying. You               consider her when you decide whether               we're worth it.     Bucky's not sure what to say next. She fills the space quite     well.                          RAMONA (cont'd)               Honestly, though. Sometimes I thought               Martha was going to bring the whole               family down around her by chance. Her               little stunt about tipping the police to               LaVerne's--                          BUCKY               She lied about that. To get Madeleine's               goat.     Ramona's eyes brighten up.                          RAMONA               Oh is that so? You poor boy. Your life is               worse than mine. Maybe the cruel joke is               on you.     She speaks with such an insanity and calm it frightens him.     And on Bucky's hungry eyes we                                                            CUT TO:     BUCKY'S CAR peeling out of Hancock Park.                                                            CUT TO:     INT. THE FAIRFAX PRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM - DAY     Kay sits at her desk, grading papers. Bucky bursts in.                          KAY               Dwight?                          BUCKY               How much of the hundred grand did Lee let               you keep?     INT. THE TIP DESK - POLICE DEPARTMENT - FLASHBACK     Bucky and Lee sit at the tip desk while Lee listens to a very     long call, saying nothing...     BACK TO SCENE     Kay and Bucky stare each other down.                          BUCKY               He knew about Madeleine Sprague. He knew               about Laverne's Hideaway.     INT. THE SPRAGUE MANSION - NIGHT - A FLASHBACK     Lee Blanchard beats the hell out of Emmett Sprague while     Madeleine's looks on.                          BUCKY (VO)               He blackmailed Sprague--                          MADELEINE (VO)               --Don't come over. Daddy's having a               business soiree--     INT. THE BATHROOM OF THE POLICE STATION - A FLASHBACK     Bucky bursts in on Lee washing his bloody fists.                          LEE               --Penance for Junior Nash--     BACK TO SCENE     Bucky's leaning on the desk...                          BUCKY               And you knew it, Kay! You knew it all! He               took that hundred thousand and split to               Mexico and you let him go!     Kay fingers the edges of an exam. She looks him in the eye.                          KAY               You are so, so good at some things.     He absorbs the blow and waits for her to continue.                          KAY               He was going to leave no matter what. I               didn't know if I was ever going to see               him again, and I wanted him to be               comfortable if such a thing was possible.               Dwight, he knew I was in love with you,               and he wanted us to be together.                          BUCKY               He didn't leave, he ran. He ran from the               bank job, ran from the frame on DeWitt.               He knew who killed Elizabeth Short and               fucking ran away! This whole time. You               both knew everything--     Kay slams down a book.                          KAY               Goddammit, Dwight! That girl--that girl!               I don't give a damn about that girl. She               ruined our lives!     The room grinds to a halt.                          KAY (cont'd)               He loved us. Don't take that away from               him. And I love you. And if you hadn't               seen so much of yourself in her you'd               realize how much you loved me. (beat) So               if you're aware of something more               important than that...I'd like to hear               what it is.     Bucky looks like he's about to burst. He wants to go to her,     lock her in his arms and forgive. instead, he just backs up     three steps, slowly turns on his heels, and walks out.     INT. A BAR - NIGHT     Bucky sits in the back of the bar, shrouded in smoke and loud     music. He drinks bourbon and watches Madeleine over at the     bar. She's got her hand on a soldier's knee.     EXT. THE RED ARROW INN - NIGHT     Madeleine Sprague and the soldier boy walk from the office     over to the now familiar Room 11. They enter, shutting the     door and flicking on the light to reveal     BUCKY     sitting on the back of a chair with his feet on the seat. He     trains his silenced pistol on them. Flashing his badge, he     points the soldier to the door:                          BUCKY                   (quoting Lee)               Adios yourself back to the Halls of               Tripoli, shitbird. I've got business               with the lady.     You don't have to tell the soldier twice. He backs out and     shuts the door.                          BUCKY               I've been pointing my gun at a lot of               people this week. But I haven't had much               of a chance to shoot anybody. Whattya               think?                          MADELEINE               I think you'd rather fuck me than kill               me. But you don't have the guts to do               either. You're a boxer. Not a puncher.     Bucky smiles.                          BUCKY                   (Scotchman's burr)               Aaaah, lassie. You wanna sell me short               to the very end, eh?     Now she's curious.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               It's not as good as yours, I'll admit.               But then again you've got an ear for               accents. Accents, dressing up in               costumes...     Maybe a trace of fear in her eyes...                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Do another one for me. Play someone else.               Rich little slut...Lez...Daddy's               girl...Dahlia...Play someone else. Do               another.                          MADELEINE               I don't know what you're talking about--     He cocks the gun.                          BUCKY               How 'bout the Mexican accent you used               when you hired the private dick to track               down Lee. Let's see the make-up job.               Let's see the fucking dress, mamacita,               that you wore when you chased after poor               daddy's money. Tell me something--you               shoot Lee yourself?     She steps back against the door as he advances.                          BUCKY (cont'd)               Did you at least have the guts to shoot               him yourself?     He puts the gun to her forehead.                          MADELEINE               You'll never do it. Never. Remember...I               look like her.     She grins wickedly.     He pulls the gun from her head and shoots her in the kneecap.     EXT. THE RED ARROW INN - LATER     Cap cars, flashing lights, an ambulance.                          VOICE OVER               We took the fall together.     INT. A HOSPITAL ROOM - LATER     Madeleine is interrogated by Homicide dicks.                          VOICE OVER               Ever the consummate actor, Madeleine               Sprague confessed to killing Lee by               concocting a love triangle from the three               of us...The Bleichert/Blanchard rematch               fought over her hand, with Lee beating               Emmett and demanding he "hand over" his               daughter when she preferred me.     EXT. THE ENSENADA STREETS - NIGHT - FLASHBACK     As Madeleine, dressed as a Mexican woman in heavy makeup and     a large hat, tails Lee back to his motel...                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               Madeleine stalking Lee...Revenge-killing               him in Ensenada to avenge the Sprague               honor...No mention of the Black Dahlia               murder case at all.     EXT. THE COURTHOUSE - DAY     Madeleine led away amongst a flock of photographers. Her     family linked arm-and-arm in the background, crying, only     Martha looking like she might survive...                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               Her story's enough to get her a psych tag               as a delusional schizophrenic and ten               years at Atascadero State Hospital.     INT. THE POLICE INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY     Bucky sits at a table, staring into the one-way mirror.                          VOICE OVER               So the brass girl took the fall for the               whole family. And I took the fall for me.               IAD cleared me on the motel shooting--a               cop's code make-good for Blanchard's               snuff.     WE PULL OUT and see Bucky's cuffs, badge and gun sitting on     the table in front of him.                          VOICE OVER (cont'd)               Afterwards I was fired from the Los               Angeles Police Department on grounds of               moral turpitude and conduct unbecoming an               officer. I thought of turning over Ramona               in hopes of pulling a grandstander's               turnabout...     THE CAMERA DRIFTS THROUGH THE ONE-WAY MIRROR revealing RUSS     MILLARD standing on the other side.                          VOICE OVER               ...but I had people to protect...People               who already knew that, for the briefest               of times, and in the darkest of places, I               had been so, so, good at some things.     INT. THE EL NIDO - NIGHT     Bucky standing amongst the Dahlia files. He begins pulling     photos off the walls...     INT. BUCKY AND KAY'S HOUSE - NIGHT     The destroyed fairy tale house is in mid-repair. Kay is in     work clothes, painting a new trim in the living room.     The front door opens. Bucky stands in the doorway, carrying a     box of Dahlia files. Kay watches as he crosses the room     without a word and dumps the box of files into the fireplace.     He tosses on a match and the box goes up in flames.     She moves to him.     INT. A CASTING OFFICE - DAY     We arrive just as she exits, the outline of her body quickly      disappearing into the blackness beyond the office door...                          VOICE OVER               Thank you Elizabeth.     FADE TO BLACK
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+                                                              BLADE : TRINITY        Over darkness a WOMAN'S VOICE speaks to us.                                ABIGAIL (V.0.)                     Italo Calvino once said that myth is the                     hidden part of every story, the buried                     part, the region that is still unexplored                     because there are as yet no words to                     enable us to get there.                          (beat)                     But I was there for the end.  I took part                     in it.  And I think my words can help shed                     light on what happened.  My name is                     Abigail.  This is our story.            FADE IN:            EXT. IRAQI DESERT - DAWN            Harsh sunlight beats down over a bleak, unforgiving stretch of            rocky desert.  Amidst this desolation rise the ruins of an            ancient Sumerian ziggurat, a massive stepped pyramid of mud            brick that was once the center of the city known as Ur.            SUPER TITLE:	SOUTHEASTERN IRAQ, DHI QAR PROVINCE                                    SIX MONTHS AGO            AN EMACIATED SHEEP HERDER            kneels by the ziggurat, tending to a ragged band of sheep.  He            is conducting the first of his daily prayers, listening to a            religious broadcast from Baghdad on a tinny RADIO.            Presently, we hear HELICOPTERS.  The sheepherder looks up --            TWO ANERICAN RAH-66 COMANCHE HELICOPTERS            approach from the East.  They touch down near the base of the            ziggurat, rotors stirring up clouds of dust.            FOUR FIGURES            disembark, their bodies covered in desert camo-gear.  They            wear helmets with polarized face-plates and are armed to the            teeth.  To the sheepherder they might as well be aliens.            One of the figures turns to the East.  We can see the rising            sun reflected in the face-plate of his helmet -- and a hint of            a skull-like under-mask/respirator beneath the face-plate. He            raises a gloved hand, gives the "finger" to the new day.            Another figure (a woman) waves a hand, urging them onward.            They mount the central steps of the ziggurat.            INT. ZIGGURAT - SHRINE - DAY            The shrine is empty.  The woman activates a wearable computing            device, calling up a schematic of the ziggurat.            She kneels, studying the floor.  In the corner of the room she            identifies a particular brick and presses it.  We hear hidden            COUNTER-WEIGHTS shifting and the floor opens up --            -- revealing a stone stairway leading down.            INT. ZIGGURAT - STAIRWAY - DAY            Dark.  Sepulchral.  Spooky.  The figures descend into --            INT. ZIGGURAT - BURIAL VAULT - DAY            -- an empty room with an earthen floor.  The sunlight from            above barely penetrates down here.  One of the figures takes            out a battery--powered lantern, turning it on, illuminating --            -- walls covered with CUNEIFORM WRITING.  The male figure who            flipped off the sun speaks via radio headset.                                MALE FIGURE                     That's great. We've got dick.                          (turning to the others)                     Is there any reason we had to embark on                     this cluster-fuck during the day?            The woman removes her helmet.  This is DANICA TALOS.  A            vampire.  Intense, appearing to be in her 30s.  Possessing a            regal air.  She wears a silver crucifix around her neck.                                DANICA                     Night-time's too tricky, Grimwood. You                     know that.            One by one, the others remove their helmets.  All vampires:            GRIMWOOD (30s), a hulking vampire with an imposing physique            and an even more imposing set of surgical steel teeth/fangs.            ASHER (4Os), a natural-born leader with easygoing charisma.            WOLFE (30s), quiet and deliberative.  Right now he's readying            a portable ground-penetrating radar unit.            Grimwood studies the writing on the walls.                                GRIMWOOD                     What is this chicken-scratch?                                DANICA                     Cuneiform. Dates back about four                     thousand years.                                GRIMWOOD                     So why here?                                DANICA                     Because this was the cradle of                     civilization.  He would've been                     comfortable here.                                ASHER                     I don't know, Dan.  Seems like another                     dead-end.                                WOLFE                     I'm not so sure --            Wolfe looks at his unit, excited.  The others gather round.                                WOLFE                     There's something beneath us.            ON WOLFE'S RADAR UNIT            We see a cross-section image of the soil and subsurface            features beneath them.  SOMETHING has been buried down there.                                ASHER                     Is that a body --?            Wolfe makes a few adjustments on the unit.  The image resolves            further.  It's definitely a BODY.  Then, we hear the low            RUMBLING of more hidden counter-weights and --            A SLAB OF STONE            slides down from above the stairs, sealing off the vault.                                GRIMWOOD                     What the fuck --?!            Grimwood pounds his fist against the stone.  It's solid.  He            tries to find a hand-hold, tries to shoulder it open in some            way, but the barrier is unmovable.  They're trapped.                                ASHER                     Radio back-up.  See if they can open it                     from the other --                                WOLFE (0.S.)                     Guys?            Wolfe points at the ground.  A tiny depression has formed,            with sand funneling into it.            Wolfe sets his radar unit down and kneels before the hole.             The grains of sand are falling faster now, the depression            gradually widening.  Curious, Wolfe leans closer --            A CLAWED, ARMORED HAND            suddenly EXPLODES upward from the ground.  It latches onto            Wolfe's neck.  dragging him down head-first!            Wolfe THRASHES, his head still buried beneath the sand.  He            knocks over the lantern, which FLICKERS, shorting out.            Asher rushes to Wolfe's side.  Then Grimwood.  They grab Wolfe            by the shoulders, SCREAMING, trying to pull him back.            Asher is KICKED by Wolfe's thrashing legs.  He flies upward,            hits the ceiling, falls back onto the ground, stunned --            Danica joins Grimwood.  Abruptly, they wrest Wolfe free --            headless.  BLOOD erupts from the sand.  Then --            A HELLISH CREATURE            unearths itself, ROARING.  It's difficult to make out in the            flickering light.  But what we do see is terrifying.  Spiked,            demonic armor, clutching a sword.  An elongated, helmeted face            with a blood-splattered set of hinged fangs -- hinting at an            inhuman physiognomy within.  The hinged jaws open, coming at            us.  And just as the lantern goes out for good we --            SUPER TITLE:	BLADE III                                                                  CUT TO:            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - CORRIDOR - NIGHT            Danica moves down a modern architectural corridor lined in            glass and steel.  VAMPIRE SOLDIERS stand ready nearby,            outfitted in body armor, clutching automatic rifles.            AT THE END OF THE CORRIDOR            Asher, Grirnwood, and another vampire, HENDRIX are gathered by            a titanium door outfitted with a biometric security system.            Danica joins them, studying a VIDEO MONITOR which offers a            darkened view of the interior of the vault.  We can just make            out a FIGURE sitting there in the shadows.                                DANICA                     What's he been doing?                                ASHER                     Nothing.  Just sitting there since we                     brought him here.                                HENDRIX                          (nervously)                     Do you think we've got enough security?                                DANICA                     Hendrix, if he wanted to out of there -                     there isn't an army in the world that                     could keep us safe.  We didn't capture                     him.  He allowed us to take him in.  You                     understand?                          (nodding to the door)                     Now open up.            The others look at her like she's insane.  Nevertheless,            Danica places her hand on the biometric scanner.  Hendrix keys            in a series of commands on a nearby computer console.  The            vault doors open with a HUM, allowing Danica into --            AN AIRLOCK-STYLE VESTIBULE            She steps inside.  The vault closes behind her.  We hear            BLOWERS as the air is cycled.  A SECOND SET OF DOORS open --            INT. VAMPIRE SAFE HOUSE - CELL - NIGHT            Danica steps into a nearly pitch-black "clean room".  We hear            BREATHING.  Despite her calm demeanor, she's frightened.            From the darkness, SOMEONE SPEAKS -- a voice low and rumbling,            laced with an ominous gravity.                                VOICE (O.S.)                     Why have you woken me?                                DANICA                     Your people need you, Sire.            She kneels, bowing her head.                                VOICE (0.S.)                          (mocking)                     "My people".  You think I'm your messiah?                     Your Savior?            We hear MOVEMENT.  A pair of RED EYES pierce the gloom -- and            God help us, even though he remains partially shadowed, this            guy has to be the scariest mother-fucker we've ever seen.                                VOICE                     What makes you think I wanted to be                     brought back?            A hand emerges from the darkness, armored.  Danica wants to            bolt.  Instead, she fights to keep herself from flinching as a            taloned finger brushes her throat.                                DANICA                     Times have changed.  Science has made                     great strides.  Your blood, the sacrament                     you provide -- it can set us free now.                                VOICE                     I see.  And the one I killed earlier?  He                     was vampire?                          (off her nod)                     You must forgive me.  It had been                     centuries since I last fed.                                DANICA                     I understand.                                VOICE                     Then offer yourself to me, child --                          (lifting her chin)                     -- and let me quench my thirst again.            INT. VAMPIRE SAFE HOUSE - CORRIDOR - NIGHT            WHOOSH!  The vault doors open and Danica stumbles out, all but            falling into Asher's arms.  She's bone-white and there are            fresh BITE MARKS on her throat, BLOOD staining her shirt.                                ASKER                     Danica!  Are you alright --?!            She nods, shaking, struggling to recompose herself.                                DANICA                     Let him out -- he wants to see what's                     become of his world.                                                                  CUT TO:            A VIDEO MONITOR            LARRY KING launching into the intro of his show.                                LARRY                     Tonight, Dr. Edgar Vance, forensic                     psychiatrist and author of the New York                     Times best seller "Human Health: The Whole                     Being Breakthrough".  Also with us is                     Martin Vreede, Chief of Police.  They're                     here for an hour and they'll take your                     calls.  Next on Larry King Live.            INT. LARRY KING LIVE - STUDIO - NIGHT            Taping is underway.  Larry King sits at his desk opposite            EDGAR VANCE (40s), a smooth-talking pundit with a magnetic            demeanor and movie star good looks.  CHIEF MARTIN VREEDE (50s,            square-jawed), joins via remote feed.                                LARRY                     Dr. Vance -- you're a psychiatrist and a                     biochemist, isn't that right?                                VANCE                     Yes.  I've long believed that in order to                     achieve true health, we have to reconcile                     the body and the mind.  Of course that                     also requires letting go of a lot of our                     old notions and superstitions, which is                     what my work is all about.                                LARRY                     Let's talk about that.  How do you account                     for the fascination with things that go                     bump in the night?  Movies, books,                     videogames -- seems like we can't get                     enough of our boogeymen?            Vance leans forward, skillfully playing to the cameras.                                VANCE                     Monsters provide a means for us to                     transfer our more primal and darker urges                     into something external.  In the case of                     vampires, you're dealing with taboo issues                     like predatory rage and sexual sadism.                      These are scary subjects for people to own                     up to.                                LARRY                     So we pass the buck to someone else?                                VANCE                     Exactly.  Historically, people suffering                     from medical conditions have always been                     our psychological scapegoats.  In the                     Middle Ages schizophrenia was often                     attributed to demonic possession.                                LARRY                     And vampires?                                VANCE                     Well, there's a hereditary blood disease                     known as porphyria that has symptoms                     remarkably similar to the classic vampiric                     traits.  People suffering from this                     disease are anemic, they become sensitive                     to sunlight, they can't tolerate garlic --                                LARRY                     Which is too bad, since my doctor tells me                     that's good for the heart.                          (turning to Chief Vreede)                     Chief Vreede?  What's your take on all the                     recent rumors we've been hearing about                     vampires?                                VREEDE                     The only vampires I'm worried about are                     the ones passing the bar exam.                          (laughing)                     Seriously, if vampires existed, don't you                     think we'd be on to them by now?  The                     truth is, our streets have never been                     safer.  Homicides, assaults -- violent                     crime is down across the board.  If people                     want to be concerned, they should focus on                     criminals like Blade.                                LARRY                     Now who's this?  Tell me about him.                                VREEDE                     He's a sociopath we've been pursuing.                                VANCE                     Blade is a very disturbed individual.                      Even the name he's chosen for himself is                     troubling.  According to witnesses, he                     operates under the belief that a vast                     conspiracy of vampires live amongst us.                      You have to look at the psychiatric                     underpinnings here.  What does a person                     like Blade really want?                      Odds are, he's really trying to work out                     some kind of inner trauma.  He thinks he's                     slaying monsters, but he's really trying                     to murder aspects of himself.            The sound of GUNFIRE pre-laps over from the next scene as we --                                                                  CUT TO:            EXT. MACHINE SHOP/PARKING LOT - NIGHT            -- a MASSIVE EXPLOSION ripping through an industrial building.             Banks of windows BLOW OUTWARDS, FIRE ROlLS, brick walls            CRUMBLE, raining debris everywhere.            A SCREAMING, BURNING MAN            goes tumbling into the night air.  Buoyed by the explosion,            his body flies upward, trailing fire like a human comet.            MORE MEN (VAMPIRES) race out, some of them on fire.            CLOSER            as a FORMIDABLE FIGURE resolves out of the swirling flames.             It's Blade, striding towards us in slow-motion, body bristling            with weapons, the exaggerated sounds of his FOOTFALLS ringing            out like drums of doom.            He looks like the God of War.  WHOOSH!  We ramp back up to            real-time.  Then faster as --            -- a TRIO OF VAMPIRE LOW-LIFES (STONE, GEDGE, and CAMPBELL)            run for their lives towards their vehicles.  TWO MODIFIED            STREET RACING CARS are pulling out; a Mustang and an Eagle            Talon.  Gedge is climbing into the Talon even as it starts to            move, pulling the door shut.  At the same time --            -- Stone and Campbell climb atop two stretched and lowered            hardtail chopper cycles.  Blade starts forward, drawing two of            his custom MACH pistols, but --            --	the Mustang comes SCREAMING IN REVERSE TOWARDS him!            Blade makes a SUPER-HUMAN LEAP over the speeding car.             Momentarily upside down, he FIRES through the windshield and            engine block as he flips.  Within the car, the vampires ASH.            The Mustang EXPLODES.  flipping over and --            --	Blade, now facing frontward again, continues to FIRE as he            lands, aiming at --            THE TALON AND THE CHOPPERS,            which haul ass out of the parking lot, swerving into the            traffic on the street beyond.            Blade KEEPS FIRING until he's out of bullets.  Then --                                ELLINGSON (O.S.)                     No more bullets, Blade?  Guess it's time                     for you to fall down and go boom.            FOUR STRANDED VAMPIRES,            from the conflagration, their clothes still smoking, surround            Blade.  Call them EMOND, DOH, DENLINGER, and ELLINGSON.            Blade holsters his MACH pistols.  Then reaches for a wicked            looking CHAIN-KNIFE strapped to his thigh.  The knife has a            button on either side of the hilt.  As Ellingson RUSHES him --            -- Blade triggers the first button.  ZZZING!  The knife-blade            ejects from the hilt, trailing outward six feet on a razored            chain.  The blade penetrates Ellingson's chest.  He GASPS as            he starts to ASH.  But before his disintegration is complete --            -- Blade hits the second button.  The knife-blade retracts,            the razored chain WHIRRING back into the knife-hilt.  Blade            SPINS, triggers the first button again --            The knife-blade FLIES OUT, the razored chain whipping around            Denlinger's throat.  Blade tugs.  The razor chain cuts through            Denlinoer's neck, decapitates him. As he ASHES --            -- Blade triggers the knife again.  As it ejects, he whirls it            over his head, making a sound like a BULL-ROARER.            Blade drops low, swinging the razored chain.  The chain slices            through Emond's legs.  Emond's amputated legs ASH, the rest of            him tumbling onto the asphalt.  He SCREAMS.            Blade retracts the knife-blade, whirls, THRUSTS it through            Doh's abdomen. who was coming up from behind.  As Doh ASHES,            Blade returns to Emond, finishing him off --            -- and Blade is on the move again, RUSHING after the vampires            who escaped.            EXT. STREET - OVERPASS - NIGHT            The bike-riding vamps cut across traffic, then SCREAM down an            on-ramp to a busy street below.            BACK TO BLADE,            sprinting from the parking lot to the sidewalk.  He touches a            hand to his ear.  We SEE a tiny receiver tucked within.                                BLADE                     Whistler!  I'm on the Stonebridge                     overpass at Clemons --                                WHISTLER'S VOICE                     Got it!  Heading eastbound, I'm just                     beneath you --            Blade dodges past a HONKING car, stepping onto and over the            trunk, then leaps atop the safety rail of the overpass as --            A BIG-RIG CAB            hauling a semi-trailer THUNDERS beneath the overpass, sounding            its AIR HORN.  It has safety cables running along the            perimeter of the trailer roof, like an aircraft carrier.                                WHISTLER'S VOICE                     -- GO!!!            EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT            Blade LAUNCHES HIMSELF into the air.  He lands atop the semi,            then tumbles, nearly slipping off the edge as he --            -- snags one of the safety cables atop the trailer!  He            dangles above the asphalt then SWINGS himself into the open            back of the trailer.  We HOLD for a beat, then hear the            THUNDERCLAP of a high-performance ENGINE turning over as --            BLADE'S MATTE-BLACK DODGE CHARGER            ROCKETS out of the back of the trailer, sailing right over a            car that was tail-gating the semi, heading into three lanes of            on-coming traffic at fifty miles an hour!            Blade hits the brakes, sending the battle-scarred muscle car            into a spin, clipping other vehicles in the process.            INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT            As cars continue to brake and COLLIDE around him, Blade puts            the pedal to the metal once again.  The Charger accelerates,            tachometer red-lining as Blade pulls alongside the cab of the            big-rig, catching a glimpse of --            WHISTLER BEHIND THE WHEEL            Whistler grins, gives Blade a little salute and --            --	Blade reaches between the seats, ACTIVATING the newly            installed nitrous oxide fuel-injection system.            EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT            Hyper-speed.  The Charger jets forward as the NOS nitrous            system boosts the car's speed by another 300 HP, leaving any            and everything in its dust.  In seconds, it has caught up to --            STONE AND CAMPBELL            They draw TEC-9s, FIRING back at Blade.  The bullet-proof            windshield holds as do the kevlar body panels protecting the            engine -- but the rounds chew the shit out of the bodywork.            INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT            Blade gives his car another jolt of nitrous.  The Charger            SURGES FORWARD as Stone and Campbell fall back, veering to            either side.  Now Blade is ahead of them.  He checks their            position in his rear-view mirror, then stands on the brakes --            EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT            The Charger drops from a hundred to fifty in a heart beat,            causing Stone and Campbell to rear-end Blade.            The vamps are ejected over the handle bars of their bikes like            crash-test dummies.  Stone SMASHES through Blade's back            windshield, continuing into the front seat--            -- while Campbell tumbles over Blade's roof and across his            hood, somehow managing to cling to one of the windshield            wipers at the last minute.            INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT            Blade clutches the wheel.  He's got a HOWLING vampire in the            front seat, upside down, covered in windshield fragments and            another perched on his hood, obscuring his vision.            Stone tries to right himself, clawing at Blade.  Blade            struggles, keeping one hand on the wheel while he --            --	reaches for a shotgun secured between the seats.  He            FIRES.  As the vampire ASHES, Blade hits a button on the dash.             The passenger door opens, spills Stone onto the road --            EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT            -- right into the path of an oncoming bus!  WHAM!  Stone is            ground to paste and --            INT. TOUR BUS - NIGHT            TOURISTS, mostly elderly.  The passengers are jolted in their            seats as the wheels of the bus KA-THUMP over Stone's remains --                                OLD WOMAN                     I hope that wasn't a dog.            INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT            -- and we're back in Blade's Charger as Campbell continues to            HAMMER away at the windshield.  The windshield spiderwebs.             Campbell manages to get a clawed hand through --            Blade swings his shotgun over, shoving it in Campbell's            snarling mouth.  He pulls the trigger --            BOOM!  Campbell's CINDER-REMAINS blow over the cracked            windshield.  Blade hits the wipers, spritzes window cleaner -            but the mess turns to ashen sludge.  making the view worse!            EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT            The Talor is up ahead, weaving in and out of traffic.             Fighting to see, Blade accelerates, gaining ground --            The VAMPIRE DRIVER leans out of his own wihdow, looking back            at Blade, FIRING an AUTOMATIC PISTOL --            INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT            Blade's windshield, already weakened by Campbell, SHATTERS,            blowing glass fragments all over him.  Undaunted, Blade calmly            reaches for his dash, hitting a button labeled "UV".            EXT. BUSY STREET/BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT            Roof-mounted UV DAYLIGHTS come on, bathing the car ahead and            (more importantly) the vampire driver with UV LIGHT!            The vampire at the wheel SHRIEKS, ASHES, leaving the car            driverless.  Gedge tries to lean over and take the wheel --            INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT            BURNING REMAINS blow back at us.  Then the view clears and --            EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT            --	Blade SLAMS his charger into the Talon.  The cars briefly            lock, grinding SPARKS.  Then they disengage.  Blade jerks his            steering wheel, gives the Talon ANOTHER SLAM.            The Talon hits the curb, riding halfway up onto a sidewalk,            PLOWING DOWN newspaper vending machines and table-top displays            piled with cheap wares, then a phone booth, a food cart.             PEDESTRIANS duck for cover and --            -- the Talon gets some serious air, ROLLING onto its side as            it comes back to earth.            EXT. INTERSECTION - NIGHT            --WK-KRUNCH-- the wreck skids to a stop against a streetlight.            The streetlight CREAKS, CRASHES DOWN on the wreck.  BYSTANDERS            gather, murmuring amongst themselves --            Gedge drags his bleeding body from the wrecked Talon.  He            staggers to his feet, clutching a pistol, limps away --            BLADE'S CHARGER            pulls up.  Blade climbs out, shotgun in hand.  The shotgun has            an under-mounted stake launcher.  Blade FIRES at --            -- Gedge.  The stake hits him in the back.  KNOCKING him onto            the street.  Bystanders SCREAM, falling back, taking cover --            Blade approaches, puzzled.  Gedge is still alive, LAUGHING.             He looks at Blade, eyes crazed, flashing his fangs.                                BLADE                     Staked you with silver.  Why aren't you                     ash?            Gedge coughs blood, struggles to speak:                                GEDGE                     Why aren't you smarter?  Not a vampire,                     dumbshit -- set your sorry ass up --            Gedge tugs at his fangs.  They're fake, PROSTHETIC.  Gedge is            looking past Blade.  Blade turns, looking up --            A ROOFTOP ABOVE            Danica is perched there.  She backs into the shadows.  But            Blade doesn't have time to investigate because --            --	POLICE SIRENS are drawing near.  Blade retreats to his            charger.  He GUNS it, speeding away as we --            CUT TO:            EXT. BLADE AND WHISTLER'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT            Blade's Charger pulls up to a boat house at the water's edge.             Blade climbs out, disappears inside.                                WHISTLER (O.S.)                     What the fuck happened tonight?            INT. BLADE AND WHISTLER'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT            New digs.  Built into the decaying boat house, retrofitted for            Blade's combat needs.  Blade is taking off his body armor,            tossing weapons onto a work table.  He's frustrated.                                BLADE                     How should I know?  He was human.            Whistler reaches for a bottle of whiskey, takes a sip.                                WHISTLER                     You've been getting careless, Blade.  You                     kill a vampire, they ash, don't leave any                     proof of their existence.  But something                     like this, a human corpse, it's messy --                          (shaking his head)                     -- you better hope nobody IDed you.            CUT TO:            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - DANICA'S QUARTERS - NIGHT            CLOSE ON a digital video tape being slipped into a player.             PULL BACK to reveal Danica sitting before a monitor.            ON THE MONITOR WE SEE            Footage of Blade confronting Gedge, filmed from a high-angle.             Danica smiles and we --            CUT TO:            EXT. FBI REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS - DAY            Establishing.            SUPER TITLE: FBI REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS                                WOMAN'S VOICE                     It was horrible.  The one car crashed, and                     then the guy in the coat was shooting the                     other guy --            INT. FBI REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS - OFFICE - DAY            CLOSE ON a TV screen.  We are watching a news feed.  A            REPORTER interviews a WOMAN at the intersection where Blade            executed Gedge.  Now the reporter turns to the camera.                                REPORTER                          (on-screen)                     That was just a taste of the mayhem that                     occurred during tonight's brazen shoot-out                     that left at least four people dead.  Now                     apparently an anonymous citizen captured                     the whole event on video --            The IMAGE FREEZES.  We hear the clatter of KEYBOARD KEYS as we            pan over to an adjacent computer monitor where a series of            VIDEO CAPTURES of the event flash by us in slide-show mode.            AGENT RAY CUMBLERLAND studies the screen.  Ray is a career            agent.  Dedicated and dogged to the point of annoyance,            utterly humorless.  His office is cramped and institutional,            devoid of any personal touches.  It's also overflowing with            files, photographs, and charts concerning Blade and Whistler.            A BULLETIN BOARD            features numerous surveillance photos of Blade and Whistler in            action, along with various news clippings and two WANTED            POSTERS ("UNLAWFUL FLIGHT TO AVOID PROSECUTION - MURDER,            AGGRAVATED KIDNAPPING, ARMED VIOLENCE").  Most of the photos            are blurry and indistinct -- akin to snaps taken of Bigfoot.                                HALE (O.S.)                     Ray!  Heard we've got a lead!            WILSON HALE (20s), Ray's subordinate, rushes in, excited.  Ray            stands, ripping down a photo of Blade and Whistler.                                CUMBERLAND                     Book us a flight, Hale.  Time to take                     these cowboys down.            CUT TO:                                         WHISTLER (0.S.)                     Pack of Reds and some matches.            CUT TO:            INT. CONVENIENCE STORE - DAY            Whistler is buying a pack of cigarettes when he notices	--            A BLACK AND WHITE TABLOID            on display nearby.  The cover story features a BLURRY PHOTO of            Blade's recent melee with the vampires.            Whistler picks up the tabloid, studying it.  Next to the photo            is an ARTIST'S SKETCH OF BLADE.  The headline reads: "GUN            TOTING PSYCHOPATH CAPTURED ON FILM!"            Whistler nods to the CASHIER, hands over some more cash.                                WHISTLER                     I'll take this too.            EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE - DAY            Whistler exits the store, perusing the tabloid as he walks.             We hear the WHIR of a camera's HIGH-SPEED MOTOR DRIVE and --            A SERIES OF DIGITAL SHOTS            capture Whistler as he moves down the sidewalk.            ANGLE ON AN FBI AGENT            perched on a nearby roof, taking surveillance photos.                                FBI AGENT                     Subject is heading West.            WHIP-PAN to a parked CAR, Cumberland and Hale seated within.                                CUMBERLAND                     Got him.            Cumberland starts the car, starts following Whistler.                                WHISTLER (0.S.)                     Congratulations.  You're famous.  Just                     what we needed.            INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - DAY            CLOSE ON the tabloid as Whistler slaps it down on a workbench.             WIDEN to include Whistler and Blade.                                WHISTLER                     Somebody screwed us.  Your face is all                     over the papers, the television.  Media's                     eating it up.                                BLADE                     Like I care?                                WHISTLER                     You should.  Something like this --                          (gesturing to the tabloid)                     -- taking out a human, even one working                     for the vampires -- far as the rest of the                     world's concerned, you're public enemy                     number one.                                BLADE                     Didn't realize this was a popularity                     contest.            Whistler shakes his head, frustrated.                                WHISTLER                     Damnit, Blade, don't you see what's                     happening?!  The fuckers are finally                     getting smart.  They're waging a goddamn                     PR campaign.  Now it's not just vampires                     we have to worry about, we're gonna have                     to take on the rest of the world too.                          (beat, adamant)                     They've got us on the run.  These last few                     months we've barely been staying ahead of                     the curve.                                BLADE                     You worry too much, old man.                                WHISTLER                     I've been doing this since before you were                     born, Blade.  The moment you stop                     worrying, you're dead.            Then Whistler's face softens for a moment.                                WHISTLER                     Since the day I found you, you've been                     like a son to me.  I taught you everything                     I know.                          (beat)                     But I'm tired.  You understand?             EXT. INNER CITY STREET - NIGHT            It's rush hour and the streets are choked with traffic.             PEOPLE mill past on the crowded sidewalk.            We move from face to face, capturing brief portraits of            working-class desperation -- an OVERWEIGHT GUY, a PAIR OF            HOMELESS TEENAGERS, an ASIAN VENDOR, a STREETWALKER.                                VOICE (O.S)                     How about that one?                                SECOND VOICE (O.S.)                     No fatties.  They taste like Cheetos.                                THIRD VOICE (O.S.)                     What about that shrunken apple-head                     beeyatch-a-saurus over there?                                VOICE (O.S.)                     Fucking blow me, man!            We hear LAUGHTER and we WHIP-PAN over to a grimy office            building, ZIPPING UP the face of it to --            A ROOFTOP PARKING STRUCTURE            A SKATE-PUNK (SQUID) gets some air, flipping his board up into            a nice Ollie backside grab, then scoots over to --            -- THREE MORE PUNKS perched on a concrete ledge, watching the            people below them.  They are: PROOF, FLICK and DINGO.  All in            their teens, sporting copious piercings and tattoos.  Flick            wears a ratty T-shirt from "The Lost Boys" movie.                                DINGO                     C'mon, just pick one.                                PROOF                     Once you buy a prize, it's yours and                     yours to keep.            They keep looking.  Then, Flick suddenly points, excited --                                FLICK                     Got it, got it!  Baby on board!            ANGLE ON A MOUSY WOMAN (ABIGAIL)            moving below, her figure camouflaged beneath layers of            clothing.  She's in her 20s, lugging a NEWBORN in a BabyBjorn            carrier that's strapped to her chest, clutching a bag of            groceries in either hand.  She looks a little haggard.            As we watch, she reaches an elevated rail station entrance.            BACK TO THE SKATE-PUNKS            Dingo nods and smiles approvingly.                                DINGO                     Looks like we got ourselves a combo meal.            EXT. ELEVATED RAIL STATION - VARIOUS - NIGHT            A series of shots as Abigail makes her way into the station,            passing a few other PEOPLE here and there.            INT. ELEVATED RAIL PLATFORM - NIGHT            A depressing, dimly lit, partially open-air station.  Abigail            moves out onto the platform, which is now deserted.  She            glances around, a bit nervous, and finally sits on a bench.            Beat.  Just the wind MOANING in the tunnels, across the            platform.  Then we hear a RUSTLING SOUND --            Abigail looks right, sees nothing.  We hear ANOTHER SOUND,            this time from the left --            Abigail looks up, briefly glimpsing a FIGURE ducking behind a            concrete pillar.            Unnerved, she stands, moving a protective hand over her baby.             She backs up a few steps, trying to look around the pillar --            -- but no one is there.  Then a SHADOW MOVES behind her.  She            SENSES it, spinning --            -- but again, she seems to be alone.  Thoroughly frightened            now, Abigail scoops up her grocery bags, turns to exit and --            -- slams right into Dingo and Proof!  She GASPS.                                DINGO                     Hey, pretty lady.                                PROOF                     Sophisticated mama.            Dingo and Proof reveal their fangs.  Abigail SCREAMS, runs --            -- right into the arms of Flick and Squid!  They grab her,            RIPPING the BabyBjorn carrier from her chest, SHOVING her back            at Dingo and Proof.            In seconds, Dingo and Proof have Abigail on the floor.             They're tearing away at her clothing, LAUGHING.                                DINGO                     Scream if this hurts, chica!            ON FLICK,            removing the BABY from its carrier.  He holds the baby up -            only it's not a baby.  It's a DOLL with the words "FUCK YOU!"            written on its chest.  Flick is briefly confused --            -- and then the baby doll EXPLODES, covering Flick's face with            a cloud of GARLIC GAS!            Flick recoils, retching, wiping at his burning face --                                FLICK                     --aghhk -- it's fucking garlic!            ON DINGO AND PROOF,            looking back, alarmed.  Then Abigail pulls her knee to her            chest.  A SILVER SPIKE springs out from the toe of her boot.            She KICKS UP, imbedding the spike up through the underside of            Proof's chin.  Proof ASHES.            Before Dingo has a chance to act, Abigail gets him in a            leglock, FLIPPING him back onto his ass.            ABIGAIL            jumps to her feet, shedding her coat and hat.  Long tresses of            hair spill around her shoulders.  She's not mousy at all.  In            fact, she's beautiful.  And cut like an Olympic athlete.  And            equipped with a walking arsenal of weapons.            Dingo SNARLS -- CRUNCH!  Abigail plants her heel in his face,            SMASHING IN his nose.  She does a cartwheel, KICKS him again.            Follows that with flurry of PUNCHES.  He goes down as --            -- Flick and Squid come charging!  Squid gets her in a CHOKE            HOLD.  She FLIPS him over her shoulder, KICKING him in the            nuts as he lands.  He curls up, GROANING --            Abigail turns back to Flick, ELBOWING him in the throat --            -- then returns to Squid, ejecting a SILVER THROWING KNIFE            from a spring-loaded, automated dispenser strapped to her            wrist.  She POPs the knife through Squid's chest.  He ASHES --            FOLLOWING ABIGAIL            as she reaches behind her, removing a CRESCENT-SHAPED DEVICE            secured to her back.  She holds the crescent in the center,            the curve pointing away from her, gives it a twist and --            CHINKT!  The device extends from either end, telescoping            outward into a three-foot long metal arc.  Connecting the two            ends of the arc is a powerful, BUZZING UV LASER.            Abigail LASHES OUT, lopping off Flick's arm.  His arm falls,            ASHING.  Abigail swings the arc around, pushing it forward            through Flick's mid-section like a cheese cutter --            Flick literally falls apart, his upper torso sliding from his            trunk, ASHING in the foreground, his burning particles falling            away to reveal Abigail in the background --            Dingo scrambles to his feet, running for his life.            Abigail gives her UV arc a twist.  It retracts.  She secures            it behind her back once again, unholsters a strange-looking            "bloop" GUN with a large barrel.  She FIRES --            A rapidly-expanding spherule of ANTI-PERSONNEL FOAM splatters            against Dingo's legs, hardening instantly, tripping him up --            Dingo goes down again.  He panics, trying to scrape the gunk            off his legs, manages to get one of his hands stuck to the            hardening mess in the process -- like a mouse in a glue-trap.            Abigail calmly approaches.  She stands over Dingo, staring            down at him with a look of cruel indifference.  She holsters            her bloop gun, withdraws another SILVER STAKE --                                ABIGAIL                     Scream if this hurts, chica.            -- and SLAMS the stake into his chest.            WIDEN OUT            Abigail turns, surveying her work.  The ashen remains of the            vampires are popping and crackling like campfire embers.  In            thirty-seven seconds she's managed to eliminate them all.            A train approaches, pulls into the station.  PASSENGERS            disembark, flood the platform.  They tramp all over the ashes            of the vampires, completely unaware of the recent slaughter.            Abigail walks against the stream of traffic, boards the train.             She is the sole passenger as the train pulls away.            INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - WHISTLER'S ROOM - NIGHT	            Whistler sits on a cot, contemplating the tarnished wedding            ring on his hand.  He slowly spins it around his finger.            INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BLADE'S ROOM - NIGHT            Blade sits before a small Buddhist shrine, meditating.             Incense burns.  His sword rests in a ceremonial holder.  Near            silence punctuated by the intermittent ocean swell outside.            CLOSE ON BLADE'S FACE            We hear the SOUNDS OF VIOLENCE -- ECHOING SCREAMS, GUNSHOTS.             These are Blade's thoughts.  The inner demons he is constantly            trying to tame.  The sounds CRESCENDO and --            --	Blade opens his eyes.  He listens.  Something is wrong.            INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT            Blade creeps into the outer room, sword drawn.            NOISE behind him, turns to see --            WHISTLER            standing in the shadows, clutching a handgun.                                WHISTLER                     What is it?                                BLADE                     What you've been worrying about.            They listen.  Just the sound of the ocean swell.  Then --            A WINDOW SHATTERS            TWO ARMORED SWAT AGENTS lower in on rappelling lines.             TWO MORE AGENTS            CRASH through a bank of windows on either side, swinging in.             They FIRE cannisters of TEAR GAS.  As Blade moves to engage            them, Whistler RUSHES into the heart of the armory --            A reinforced door EXPLODES inward.  MORE AGENTS storm inside.             FROM THE WATER,            a military Zodiac (inflatable boat) roars up one of the wooden            boat ramps, laden with gun-toting AGENTS.  They jump out,            fanning all over the boat house.            He hears a                                AGENT                     On the floor!  ON THE FLOOR!            Whistler FIRES at them, then makes a run for it.  The agents            RETURN FIRE, but Whistler ducks behind a concrete pillar --            EXT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT            Cop cruisers, unmarked cars, and SWAT trucks sweep in, SIRENS            blaring, disgorging a small army of POLICE and FBI AGENTS.            POLICE BOATS are pulling up to the dock.            AGENTS CUMBERLAND AND HALE            emerge from an unmarked, wearing bullet-proof vests,            brandishing firearms.  Cumberland barks orders into a radio.                                CUMBERLAND                     Lock it down!  Keep them contained!            On the rooftops above, various SWAT SNIPERS take position.            INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT            Blade BRAWLS with a half-dozen agents, sending them flying in            all directions.  He grabs one agent, HEAD-BUTTS him, THROWS            him into the path of two others --            Then he reaches for another, THROWING him THROUGH a window at            the rear, out into the river which runs below --            ON WHISTLER            as he moves with increased urgency.  The armory is filling up            with tear gas.  Coughing and half-blind, he hurries to a bank            of computers, types in a series of commands --            THE VARIOUS COMPUTER MONITORS            around him synch up, showing the same protocol message:                            Data protection routine enabled                          --	Server 1 protection enabled...                          --	Server 2 protection enabled...            In response, a rack of network storage equipment and removable            hard drives EXPLODES.  Then a second rack of equipment            EXPLODES as well.            EXT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT            From their vantage point below, Cumberland and the others can            hear the explosions. Cumberland is on his radio, SHOUTING:                                CUMBERLAN D                     What's going on in there?                                AGENT'S VOICE                          (over radio)                     Some kind of self-destruct program!                     They're fragging their hard drives!            INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT            Whistler keeps moving.  An agent gets a clear shot at him,            FIRES -- Whistler is hit in the chest.            Blade SEES Whistler take the hit, but he's cut off from the            old man, being swarmed by agents --                                BLADE                     WHISTLER!            Whistler staggers, keeps moving.  He makes it to another bank            of computers, launches the same protocol.            ON MORE MONITORS            Erasing information, purging themselves.  We see commands:                         --	Workstation 1 protection enabled                         --	Workstation 2 protection enabled            With each successive command, the workstations themselves            begin self-destructing, EXPLODING one after another.            Another agent gets a bead on Whistler, FIRING a round into            Whistler's thigh.  Whistler SCREAMS --            ON BLADE,            in anguish as he sees his mentor being slaughtered.  Then two            agents are RUSHING HIM, tackling Blade.  As one they fall            backwards, into another bank of windows --            EXT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT            CRASH!  The three of them come FLYING DOWN in a spray of            glass, landing atop one of the police cruisers below.  The            roof buckles under their weight, windows SHATTERING --                                CUMBERLAND                     Take him down!            An FBI AGENT raises a CODA net gun atop his shoulder, taking            aim.  BA-BANG!  Four projectiles expand out from the barrel,            carrying a STEEL NET which has been strung between them.            The netting hits Blade, wrapping around him, restricting his            movements.  Immediately, a small army of agents DIVE on top of            him, PUMMELING AWAY, trying to beat him into submission --            INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT            On the verge of losing consciousness, Whistler props himself            against a piece of machinery.  He's bleeding, been shot to            hell.  One of his hands is closed, clutching something.            Agents warily close in around him, guns raised.                                AGENT                     Move a finger and you're dead.                                WHISTLER                          (flipping them off)                     How 'bout this one?            Whistler lets his other hand uncurl. He's got a REMOTE in his            palm, with a tiny digital timer counting-down.                                AGENT #2                     He's got something in his--            00:03.  00:02.  00:01.  The timer reaches zero.            A SERIES OF EXPLOSIONS            rock the workshop, knocking the agents back.            EXT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT            CLOUDS OF FIRE and FLAMING DEBRIS MUSHROOM OUTWARD, catching            all unawares, sweeping them up off their feet with a hurricane            force.  In the midst of the conflagration --            -- Blade briefly manages to tear free of his captors --                                BLADE                     WHISTLER!!!            -- but the wall of FIRE and LIGHT is rushing onward, sweeping            up everything in its path, turning the world to white.            INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT            FADE IN.  We are CLOSE ON Blade's perspiration-beaded face.            His eyelids flutter as he slowly regains consciousness.                                CUMBERLAND (O.S.)                     Rise and shine, sleepyhead.            PULL BACK.  We are in a room with a one-way mirrored window.             Blade sits, hands cuffed behind him, BRIGHT LIGHTS shining            down on him.  He looks disoriented, battered.  Very weak.            Cumberland and Hale are sitting across from Blade.                                BLADE                     Who --?                                CUMBERLAND                     Special Agents Ray Cumberland and Wilson                     Hale, FBI.  We've been tracking you for a                     long time.                                BLADE                     Whistler --                                HALE                     Dead.  Just like all of your victims.            Blade shuts his eyes -- as if he could just wish them away.                                CUMBERLAND                     How many people have you killed?  Thirty?                     Forty?  A hundred?                                BLADE                     Those were familiars -- people who worked                     for them --                                CUMBERLAND                     And by "them" you mean vampires, right?                     I suppose next you'll be telling us that                     Bigfoot's in on the conspiracy too? So                     what kills these bloodsu~kers, tough guy?                      Maybe you can give us some pointers.                          (counting on his ringers)                     You can stake 'em, right?  Then there's                     sunlight -- what about crosses, Wilson?                      Do those still work?                                HALE                     I don't know, Ray.  What if a vampire's                     Jewish?                                CUMBERLAND                     That's a good point.  And does garlic work                     on a Hindu vampire?  Or do you need                     saffron or something?            Hale laughs.  Cumberland shakes his head, his smile fading.                                CUMBERLAND                     You can keep doing your song and dance as                     long as you want, Blade, but it's not                     going to play.  You're a stone-cold                     killer.  And you're sick as fuck.                                VANCE (O.S.)                     Let's leave the diagnosis to the                     professionals.            ANGLE ON DR. EDGAR VANCE,            standing in the doorway.  He's the man we saw on Larry King.            He takes a seat by Blade, sets a leather case on a table.                                VANCE                     Hello, Blade.  My name is Doctor Vance.                     I'm with the Department of Mental Health.                     I've been charged with conducting a                     psychiatric evaluation of you.                          (to Cumberland and Hale)                     Gentleman, would you mind giving us a few                     moments alone?            Cumberland nods.  They rise, exiting the room.  Vance smiles,            trying to project a sympathetic air.                                VANCE                     I imagine this must be very frightening                     for you.  But I want you to know that I'm                     here to help.  In order to do that,                     however, I need to ask you some questions.                          (beat)                     Now.  Can you tell me what day it is?            Blade just stares daggers at Vance.                                VANCE                     What about the President?  Do you know                     who's in the White House at the moment?                                BLADE                     An ass-hole.                                VANCE                          (sighing)                     Alright then, let's talk about vampires --                     what can you tell me about that?            INT. POLICE STATION - OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT            On the other side of the mirror, Cumberland and Hale have            joined Chief Vreede.  We hear Blade and Vance via speakers:                                BLADE                     There's nothing to tell.  They exist.                                VANCE                     And are you one of them?            INT.	POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT            Vance sits forward, drawing closer.                                VANCE                     What about blood?   When you drink it, do                     you find yourself sexually aroused?            Blade just glares at Vance.                                VANCE                     You see, it strikes me that this business                     of vampirism has strong connotations of                     sexual confusion.  Bodily fluids being                     exchanged, that sort of thing.  You have                     to ask where that comes from.  I'm                     wondering, for instance, what your                     relationship was like with your mother.                     Were the two of you close?            Blade glares.  If he escapes, he's going to kill this guy.            INT. POLICE STATION - OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT            Dr. Vance steps into the observation room, joining Chief            Vreede, Cumberland, and Hale.                                VREEDE                     What's your assessment, Doctor?                                VANCE                     He's psychotic, with paranoid features,                     possessing dangerous levels of sociopathy.                      He's exhibiting disorganized behavior.  He                     obviously doesn't have a properly formed                     conscience --                          (spreading his hands)                     For his safety and the public's, I'm                     recommending that he be transferred to                     County Psychiatric for further treatment.                                CUMBERLAND                     That's unacceptable.  This man's wanted in                     connection with a laundry list of federal                     crimes.  I need him on a plane to the                     Detention Center in Washington tonight.                                VANCE                     Agent Cumberland, that man is in no                     condition to undergo prosecution.            Cumberland and Hale look to Vreede with disbelief.                                HALE                     Chief, we've got a federal arrest warrant                     here that clearly supersedes --                                VREEDE                     I don't care about your warrant.  We're in                     my jurisdiction now.  You've got an issue                     with that, you take it up with the local                     magistrate.            Dr. Vance shrugs as if to say he's sorry.                                VANCE                     I'm sorry, gentlemen, but the call has                     already been made.  A team from the                     hospital should be here momentarily to                     oversee the transfer.            INT. POLICE STATION - ENTRY WAY - NIGHT            Asher, Danica, and Grimwood enter, followed by FOUR VAMPIRES            dressed as orderlies.  The orderlies carry a straightjacket,            various restraints, and a collapsible transport gurney.            Danica approaches the DESK SERGEANT, flashing a hospital ID.                                DANICA                     Hi.  We're here to transfer a patient to                     County General?            INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT            Vance enters once more.  He opens the leather case on the            table, removing a syringe and an ampule of fluid.                                VANCE                          (speaking softly now)                     Just a little something to keep you                     compliant.  The normal dose is two, maybe                     three hundred milligrams.  But for a                     strapping young hybrid like yourself --            Vance pokes the needle of the syringe into the ampule.                                VANCE                     -- I think we'll kick it up to a couple                     thousand.            Vance reaches for Blade's arm.  Blade struggles, tries to pull            back, but Vance manages to inject him nonetheless.                                VANCE                     There.  That wasn't so bad, was it?                          (smiling)                     You're weak, aren't you?  In need of your                     serum.  Who would've guessed a mere human                     like myself could overpower you?                                BLADE                          (realizing)                     You're with them -- a familiar --                                VANCE                     Going on five years now.            Vance extends his arm, pulling back his shirt cuff a little to            reveal a VAMPIRE GLYPH tattooed on the underside of his wrist.             Then he pulls his cuff back down, smiles at Blade.                                VANCE                     It's the end-game, Blade.  All their plans                     are finally coming to fruition.  So just                     sit back and enjoy the show.            Blade looks to the one-way mirror, SCREAMS.                                BLADE                     He's one of them!  Damnit, he's working                     for them!            Vance looks to the one-way mirror as well and shrugs as if to            say -- "The man's deranged.  What can I do?"            INT. POLICE STATION - OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT            On the other side of the glass, Blade looks like a raging            lunatic.  Vance enters.  He extends his hand to Vreede.            They shake.  As they do so, we SEE a vampire GLYPH on the            inside of Vreede's wrist as well.  Another familiar.            INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT            Blade stares at his own reflection in the mirror.  He blinks,            trying to focus -- but the drug is starting to kick in.            INT. POLICE STATION - HALLWAY - NIGHT            An elevator door opens.  Asher, Danica, and Grimwood exit,            followed by the orderlies who are now wheeling the gurney.  As            they move down the corridor, they pass --            -- Cumberland and Hale, who are chasing down Chief Vreede.                                CUMBERLAND                     Just hold it right there --            Danica shoves Cumberland aside, hard, keeps moving past him.            Cumberland looks to Hale.  Something isn't right about this.            INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT            Blade struggles, in the full throes of the drug now.            BLADE'S POV            His vision is blurring, various objects in the room leaving            trails as he shifts his head from side to side and --            ASHER, DANICA, AND GRIMWOOD            enter, followed by two of the orderlies.  Despite his            incapacitation, Blade attempts to rise.  Danica plants her            heel in his chest, shoving him back down.                                DANICA                     Easy, lover. You're not going anywhere.            She draws closer, enjoying herself.                                DANICA                     We moved the humans around like, pawns,                     Blade.  Used them to flush you out.            Blade tries to LUNGE from his chair at her and -- WHACK!            Grimwood punches Blade across the jaw.  A brutal blow.                                GRIMWOOD                     Don't worry, Captain Sunshine.  Soon as we                     get you out of here, you'll get a chance                     to play.            Danica motions to the two vampire orderlies.  They step            forward with the straight-jacket, start to put it on Blade.             Blade THRASHES madly.  Asher LAUGHS, enjoying this.                                DANICA                     Don't make this any harder than it has to                     be.  You're all alone, Blade.  No one can                     help you now.            BA-BOOM!  The one-way mirror SHATTERS, exploding outward in a            shower of SLOW-MOTION GLASS FRAGMENTS, carrying with it --            -- a BODY, one of the vampire mental health flunkies --            ASHING in mid-air as he sails into the room!  Seconds later --            A MAN            VAULTS through the blown-out window, simultaneously drawing            two high-tech electronic pistols.            Meet HANNIBAL KING (30s), an audacious vampire hunter with an            irrepressible grin.  Slapped to his chest is a "Hello, my name            is" sticker with the words "FUCK YOU" written where the name            should be.                                KING                     Why'd the Polish vampire starve to death?            Danica spins, enraged, recognizing King instantly --                                KING                     He kept biting his own lip.                                DANICA                     King!            The lights go out.  Immediately, backup lights come on,            followed by FIRE ALARMS.  In the ensuing confusion ~ both            pistols at Asher, who drops, allowing one of the vampire            orderlies behind him to take the hit.            THE VAMPIRE ORDERLY ASHES            But unlike Blade's victims, he disintegrates from the inside            out.  (The reason is King's signature bullets -- SUN DOGS,            explosive rounds that give off concentrated UV light.)            King whips around, FIRING at --            -- Danica, who LEAPS behind the table.  She quickly upends it,            using it as a shield, FLINGING it at King.            ON BLADE            He shifts his weight, throwing himself and the chair he's            sitting on to the floor.  Then he KICKS OUT AND UP --            -- connecting with Grimwood's mid-section, sending him FLYING            BACKWARDS -- straight through the wall into the next room!            King holsters one of his pistols and hauls Blade up.  At the            same time, he FIRES on Asher again, missing him --                                KING                     Let's FLY, kemosabe!            King drags Blade to the door --            INT. POLICE STATION - HALLWAY - NIGHT            -- into the neighboring corridor.  Cumberland and Hale SEE            them.  They reach for their weapons --                                CUMBERLAND                     He's getting away!            King FIRES into the room behind him, then pulls a GRENADE            secured to a bandolier and tosses it through the doorway --            An EXPLOSION rocks the interrogation room, filling the            corridor with smoke, knocking Cumberland and Hale back.            King turns his attention to Blade's handcuffs, FIRING between            them, freeing Blade's hands.  Blade collapses against the            wall.  He's shaking, close to passing out.                                KING                     Don't die on me, you undead motherfucker!            King drags Blade up.  They continue down the corridor to --            ABIGAIL, THE FEMALE VAMPIRE HUNTER            we met earlier.  She's engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a            half-dozen UNIFORMED OFFICERS.  Three of them are already            down.  In seconds, she finishes off the other three.                                KING                     Whistler!  We need that serum NOW!            Whistler?  Abigail spins, dispatching the last officer with a            kick to the mid-section while tossing a PNEUMATIC INJECTOR at            King.  He snatches it, places it in Blade's hands.            Blade injects himself in the neck.  Moments later, he's            reenergized.  He looks to King, clear-eyed.                                KING                     Hey Blacula, you ready to shake and bake?            Blade responds by PUNCHING King across the jaw.                                BLADE                     Call me that again and I'll give you                     fucking brain damage.            King massages his jaw, tossing Blade a pistol even as --            --	Grimwood rounds the corner, hungry for blood, TWO MORE            VAMPIRE ORDERLIES behind him.            Blade FIRES round after round of EXPLOSIVE BULLETS, causing            Grimwood and the others to fall back.  Blade and King move,            joining Abigail.  MORE SMOKE, darkness, only the emergency            lights to illuminate the station.            UP AHEAD,            a group of POLICEMEN spill from a stairwell, armed with bullet            proof vests.  They OPEN FIRE --            Blade, King, and Abigail retreat into an alcove.  They're            pinned down between the vampires and a group of policemen.                                KING                     We're pinned down!                          (to Blade)                     Can't you do something?!                                BLADE                     I can't shoot around corners!                                ABIGAIL                     I can.            As King and Blade lay down COVER FIRE, Abigail reaches behind            her, withdrawing a device that's been secured there.  She            gives it a SNAP and it springs open, taking the shape of a --            FUTURISTIC COMPOUND BOW            Crafted from aluminum, its limbs imbedded in key positions            with vibration-dampening modules, this bow is capable of            firing an arrow upwards of 300 feet-per-second.            Abigail withdraws a SILVER ARROW with a time-delay explosive            tip from her quiver, nocks it in her bow and takes aim at --            A FIRE EXTINGUISHER            mounted at the end of the corridor.  She lets her arrow fly --            MOVING WITH THE ARROW            as it banks off the side of the fire extinguisher, continuing            down the side corridor where it embeds itself in --            -- the shoulder of one of the vampires!  The vampire SCREAMS,            grabbing the shaft, ripping it out.  Then we --            MACRO-ZOOM ON THE ARROW HEAD            A tiny "egg-timer" dial on the arrowhead spins.  It CLICKS in            place, a RED LED comes on, and --            --	the arrowhead EXPLODES, catching all three vampires with            the full force of a UV BLAST.  Grimwood ducks away from the            blast as the other two vampires ASH --            BLADE, KING, AND ABIGAIL            come racing out of the alcove.  They reach a stairwell.  Blade            RIPS a steel door clear off its hinges, tossing it down the            stairwell at a phalanx of COP REINFORCEMENTS who are charging            up the stairs.  The cops go down like ten-pins.            Blade and company have an opening.  But as they charge            downward --                                BLADE                          (as King and Abigail                          freeze)                     My sword.  They still have it.                                KING                          (apoplectic)                     Are you insane?!  We're practically home                     free!  We can't go hunting for your                     fucking butter-knife now!            But Blade is already heading back the way they came and --                                KING                     Hey!  HEY!!!  COME BACK HERE!!!  This is                     supposed to be a rescue!            -- Abigail grabs King's shoulder, pulling him to the stairs.                                ABIGAIL                     Forget it, King.  Let's move.            POLICE STATION - NIGHT            King and Abigail rush outside.  The station is gated. FLASHING            POLICE CARS are surging through the mouth of the gate.             They're trapped.  Then --            CRASH!            A window on the third floor of the station EXPLODES OUTWARD.             Blade drops three stories, landing before King and Abigail in            a cat-like crouch.  With his sword in his hand.  He looks at            King, grins, flips him off.                                BLADE                     Now we can go.                                KING                          (nudging Abigail)                     Is he epic or what?            The police close in around them, pinning the trio down with            FIREPOWER.  Yet King and Abigail seem unconcerned because --            HEADLIGHTS            are washing over them.  A beefed-up, 70s Land Cruiser is            SCREAMING up the street.  The Cruiser jumps onto the sidewalk,            SMASHES right through the gated wall.  SCREECHES to a stop            between our trio and the police cars.            A DRIVER (DEX)            leans out his window, gives a little wave as the rear doors            pop open.  Gruff and compact, he looks like a prize-fighter.                                DEX                     My name is Dex.  And I'll be saving your                     ass this evening.            Blade, King, and Abigail scramble into the back of the Land            Cruiser.  Dex reverses, backing out the way he came.            The police from the squad cars are FIRING, but the Land            Cruiser is armored and the bullets harmlessly SPARK off.            INT. LAND CRUISER - NIGHT            In the backseat, Abigail looks through the rear windshield --            ABIGAIL'S POV            Grimwood is running after them, actually gaining on the Land            Cruiser.  Chewing up the asphalt like a cheetah.            EXT. LAND CRUISER - NIGHT            Abigail leans out the rear window, nocking a non-UV arrow in            her bow.  She takes aim at Grimwood, lets the arrow fly --            SHUNKT!  The arrow sinks into Grimwood's eye.  He goes down,            his somersaulting figure quickly receding into the background            as the Land Cruiser speeds away.            INT. LAND CRUISER - NIGHT            Safe for the moment, King basks in the adrenaline rush of a            battle well fought.  Meanwhile, Dex is on a cell phone.                                DEX                     We have him.  We'll be there soon.                                KING                          (to Blade)                     So my entrance back there -- what do you                     think?  Too flashy?  Right on the money?            King unhuckles his combat harness, revealing a bullet-proof            vest bereath it that's been riddled with imbedded slugs.                                BLADE                     Who are you people?                                KING                     My name's Hannibal King.  I'm a hunter,                     like you.                          (re: Abigail)                     And this little hellion is Abigail                     Whistler.            Abigail just stares back at Blade, silently appraising him.                                KING                     That's right, Blade.  You're not hearing                     things.  She's Whistler's daughter.  You                     see, Abby, Dex, myself -- we're all part                     of Whistler's "contingency plan".            King reaches into an inner pocket, pulls out a pack of gum.             He selects a stick, offers one to Blade.                                KING                     Juicyfruit?            EXT. CITY STREETS - NIGHT            The Land Cruiser rockets away, disappearing into the night.            EXT. LUNA PARK - NIGHT            The Land Cruiser moves across an abandoned lot towards the            weed-choked ruins of an old amusement park.  We pass by the            skeletal remains of a roller-coaster, a tilt-a-whirl, the            vandalized and wood-rotted remnants of a carousel.            Finally, the Land Cruiser turns towards a motorized loading            door in the side of a large warehouse and disappears inside.            INT. WAREHOUSE/GARAGE - NIGHT            As the door grinds closed, the Land Cruiser stops.  King and            Abigail lead Blade through the darkness.  In the gloom we see            a half-dozen vehicles in various stages of being retrofitted            with armored panels and weaponry, etc.  SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS            mounted above track their progress.                                BLADE                     I thought the vampires murdered                     Whistler's family.                                ABIGAIL                     They did.  I'm the product of an earlier                     fling of my Dad's, born out of wedlock.                      After the murders happened, he kept me                     hidden.  He wanted me safe.  Away from all                     of this --                          (gesturing around them)                     -- but I guess hunting just runs in our                     blood.            As King and Abigail lead Blade towards a stairway, Blade            catches sight of --            A LITTLE GIRL (5)            peering down at him from atop one of the rafters.  As soon as            he spots her, she ducks into the shadows.            They reach the stairway.  AUTOMATED GUNS mounted on swivel            arms lock on them with infra-red targeting beams.                                ABIGAIL                     When I came of age, I tracked my Dad                     down, told him I wanted in.                          (beat, shrugging)                     Been doing it ever since.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT            We enter a sprawling industrial facility that is equal parts            mechanics shop, firing range, and laboratory.  We glimpse a            virtual arsenal of new weaponry and medical equipment,            including DNA sequencers, microfuges, and electroporaters.            The new equipment fights for space alongside the old -            mountains of mothballed parts from the park's broken thrill            rides.  Here and there we see the oversized fiberglass head of            a grinning fun-house creature or the mildewed torso of a            fortune-telling mannequin, frozen in its upended booth.                                KING                     Welcome to the honeycomb hideout.                                BLADE                          (looking around)                     How do you bankroll this place?                                KING                     Internet porn.  See, we're using cock                     suckers to pay for the blood-suckers.                            (off Blade's look)                     Joke.  Come on, man.  This isn't some                     piddly little hoopty-ass operation, Blade.                      We take our jobs very seriously.            UP AHEAD,            TWO OTHERS pause in their work as King approaches.  Dex falls            in behind them.            HEDGES (20s) is an engineer, always lost in his own world.            SOMMERFIELD (30s) is a frail-looking geneticist.  She's also            blind, operating her computers via a voice-synthesis program            and Braille keyboard.                                KING                     You met Dex.  This is Hedges, Sommerfield--            King gestures to them in turn.  They're all refugees in one            way or another, sharing a common guardedness, their lives            having been shattered by the vampires.                                KING                          (nodding back)                     The runt you saw earlier is Sommerfield's                     daughter, Zoe.  We call ourselves the                     Nightstalkers.                                BLADE                     You sound like rejects from a Saturday                     morning cartoon.                                KING                     We were gonna call ourselves the Super                     Friends, but that was taken.            Abigail rids herself of her weapons -- bow, arrows, silver            stakes and knives.  She hands her compound bow to Hedges.                                ABIGAIL                     Tiller needs adjustment.                                HEDGES                     I'll run it through the bow press.            Blade examines some of the equipment being developed.                                BLADE                     How many of you are there total?                                KING                     Enough.  We operate in sleeper cells.                      When one goes down, a new cell activates                     to pick up the slack.  Consider us your                     reinforcements.                                BLADE                     Sorry.  Never been much of a team player.                                SOMMERFIELD                     I don't think you understand, Blade.                     Whistler meant for us to help you.  When                     he died, he activated an emergency                     protocol.  All his knowledge --            She gestures to the computer equipment around her.                                SOMMERFIELD                     --was transferred to our servers here.                                BLADE                     And what makes you think you know so much                     about killing vampires?            King reaches for his collar, pulling it down to reveal a            telltale mass of scar tissue in the shape of a BITE MARK.                                KING                     Well for starters, I used to be one.                            (in a sinister tone)                     Do I pass the audition?                                                                  CUT TO:            EXT. PHOENIX TOWERS - NIGHT            We soar through the night sky, diving down towards a cluster            of gleaming, high-tech spires.  As we isolate a penthouse            apartment atop one of them we hear an ANGRY SCREAM.                                DANICA (O.S.)                     Fucking Hannibal King!            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - PENTHOUSE - NIGHT            An impressively decorated loft bespeaking of money, power, and            a certain perverse esthetic.  Danica slams her fist straight            through the wall, then spins around, enraged.            Asher and Grimwood are there too, their wounds being treated            by Hendrix and a VAMPIRE TECHNICIAN.  At tie moment, they're            trying to remove the arrow protruding from Grimwood's eye.            An enormous ROTTWEILER sits nearby, attentively watching. A            TRIO OF GUARDS flinch with every act of violence. Danica is            strong.  Clearly, no one wants to get in her way.                                DANICA                     I should've ripped his ripped his                     bleeding heart out when I had the chance!                          (pointing at Asher)                     And don't you dare tell me "I told you                     so"!            Asher raises his hands as if to say "no harm, no foul".             Danica continues her tantrum, SMASHING a statue apart,            SHATTERING a heavy glass tabletop.  Finally, she gives it a            rest, collapsing into a chair, shoulders sagging.                                ASHER                     You through remodeling?                                DANICA                     Blow me.                                ASHER                     Face it, Dan.  We got caught with our                     pants down.  We underestimated the                     Nightstalkers.                                GRIMWOOD                     Pants down?!  They practically fucking                     ass-raped us!            Grimwood GRUNTS in pain as the arrow is removed.  Asher            broaches a more serious subject.                                ASHER                     Has he been told yet?                                VOICE (O.S.)                     About your failure?            A MAN (30s) enters the room.  The same being we glimpsed in            the vault.  He has a haunting gaze and a commanding presence.            We will learn who he is momentarily.  But for now, it's enough            to know that everyone in the room pays him deference.                                MAN                     Yes, I've been told.            He places a hand on Danica's shoulder.  She tenses.                                MAN                     Perhaps it's time I entered the fray.                                                                  CUT TO:            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT            CLOSE ON King buttoning his collar back up.  Blade, Abigail,            and Sommerfield are gathered around him.                                KING                     You know the kind of woman that just                     screams trouble? You see her and every                     warning bell in your brain starts going                     off but you still ask for her number?                      Well that's all I ever hook up with.  But                     this betty blew 'em all away in the                     shitstorm sweepstakes.            King reaches out to a keyboard, calling up a piece of            surveillance footage on a nearby monitor.  The footage            features Asher and Danica and Grimwood.  It's been slowed to a            near standstill and now advances frame by frame.                                KING                     Her name's Danica Talos.  You met her                     earlier.  The man on her left is Asher,                     her brother.            King types a command.  The image ZOOMS IN, tracking Grimwood.                                KING                     The neanderthal behind them is Jarko                     Grimwood.            King freezes the footage on Danica's grainy, pixelated face.                                KING                     I picked Danica up in a bar, had a one                     night stand with her -- then spent the                     next five years playing step-and-fetch-it                     as her little vampire cabana boy.                          (beat)                     Eventually Abigail found me.  Sommerfield                     here managed to treat me with a cure.  Now                     I kill them.                          (beat)                     That's called turning a frown upside                     down.                                ABIGAIL                     We need to pool our resources, Blade.                                BLADE                     Why?                                ABIGAIL                     Because He's come back.            King tosses a TOMB OF DRACULA comic book over to Blade.  Blade            glances at the cover, then looks at them, incredulous.                                BLADE                     You gotta be kidding me.                                KING                     He's real, Blade.  Dig beneath all the                     movies and myths.  All the layers of                     bullshit that've cluttered our culture for                     the last five hundred years and eventually                     you'll strike the truth.                                BLADE                          (incredulous)                     So the movies are true?                                KING                          (shaking his head)                     The movies are just a comforting                     fairytale compared to the real deal.                      There's no happy ending with this guy.                      Peter Cushing isn't going to run in at the                     last second and save the day with a cross                     and some holy water.                          (re: the comicbook)                     See, good old Brain Stoker, he wrote a                     nice yarn.  But the events he described in                     1897 were only a tiny piece of the mosaic.                      The rea1 Dracula's origin goes back much                     earlier than that.                                BLADE                     How early?                                ABIGAIL                     Try six or seven thousand years.            Off Blade's astonished look we --                                                                  CUT TO:            EXT. MESOPOTAMIA - NIGHT            FLASH!  We see the man we met earlier (DRACULA/DRAKE) on the            banks of the river Euphrates, striding towards us, engaged in            fierce battle with UBAIDIAN SOLDIERS.  He's clutching the same            sword we saw in the ziggurat, clad in the same armor.                                KING (V.0.)                     Dracula's only one of the names he's gone                     by.  Now they call him Drake.  If you                     believe the legends, he was born in                     ancient Sumeria.            As Drake SLASHES his sword downward we CUT BACK TO --            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT            -- King continuing his story. As the hunter's monologue            progresses we will INTERCUT with Drake's own progression            through history.  Brief, violent FLASHBACKS.            (NOTE:  The backgrounds surrounding Drake will be            expressionistic, digital composites, constantly shifting.  The            focus of the flashes is Drake himself, fighting a shadowy            horde, his attire continually evolving through time.)                                KING                     Nobody really knows the specifics of his                     origin.  But we do know this:  he was the                     first of his kind.  The patriarch of the                     hominus nocturna.            EXT. EGYPTIAN DESERT - NIGHT            FLASH!  We are in Egypt now, circa 1650 BC.  Drake wages war            against the HYKSOS.  He is closer to the camera.  And will            continue to move closer with each successive flashback.                                KING (V.0.)                     Every single vampire -- every single                     monster that's walked the earth since then                     -- owes their existence to Him.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT            Back to King, holding court before Blade and Abigail.                                KING                     He's like the Patient Zero of evil.  The                     original Serpent in the Garden of Eden.                     And just like the Great White shark, he's                     never had to evolve.  This guy was born                     perfect.  Scour the history books --            EXT. THRACE - NIGHT            FLASH!  The Peloponnesian War, Southern Thrace, circa 405 BC.            We see Dracula battling ATHENIANS.  Even closer now, his face            spattered with blood.  At the same time, the SOUNDTRACK is            gradually swelling, expanding in complexity and volume.                                KING (V.0.)                     -- read between the lines --            EXT. HUNGARIA - NIGHT            FLASH!  5th century AD, battling the GOTHS.  With every swipe            of his sword, we WIPE FORWARD into the future.                                KING (V.0.)                     -- you'll find countless references to                     Him.  Always mentioned, never named.            EXT. EUROPE - NIGHT            FLASH!  8th century AD, the reign of Charlemagne.  Battling            the VIKINGS.  The FLASHBACKS come faster now, assaulting us            with ever-increasing rapidity.            Drake continues striding forward while the rest of the world            evolves around him, centuries whizzing by via computer            generated time-lapse photography.                                KING (V.0.)                     He's been there --            EXT. VARIOUS - NIGHT            FLASH!  12th century AD, the time of the Crusades.  The            violence intensifies.                                KING (V.0.)                     -- moving behind the scenes --            FLASH!  17th century France, the time of Louis the XIV.  The            pace becomes breathless.                                KING (V.0.)                     -- cutting a bloody path through the Ages                     until suddenly --            FLASH!  18th century Russia, the time of Peter the Great.  The            soundtrack is THUNDEROUS.  Drake has become a bloody blur of            bestial rage and unfettered horror and --                                KING (V.0.)                     -- just like that --            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT            -- King SNAPS his fingers.  We are back in the present.                                KING                     -- he up and disappeared.  About a century                     ago the trail went cold.  Then we heard a                     rumor.  The vampires were searching for                     him -- trying to find the place where he'd                     retreated.  According to our information,                     they found him in Iraq about six months                     ago.                          (beat)                     And he was pissed.            EXT. DOWNTOWN COMMERCIAL DISTRICT - NIGHT            Grime.  Neon.  Near-silence as the cacophonous soundtrack            recedes into the background, replaced by the steady drone of            inner-city TRAFFIC.            ON DRAKE,            viewed through a long-lens, clad in modern, casual attire,            striding in SLOW-MOTION down a PEDESTRIAN-CHOKED sidewalk.            Slower.  A HEARTBEAT.  The pulse of the people.  And over            this, intruding, the Doppler effect WAILING of an approaching            car as it rushes past us in a SCREEN WIPE until we are --            OUTSIDE A GOTH STORE            Drake studies a window display.  Halloween merchandise.             Costumes and monster masks and -- VAMPIRE NOVELTIES.  We see            vampire lunchboxes, Dracula plush dolls, plastic fangs, key            chains.  Even Dracula bobbleheads.            Drake stands in stark contrast to the mass-marketed caricature            on display before him.            INT. GOTH STORE - NIGHT            Drake enters. The store is crowded with low-end junky goods            that might appeal to tourists visiting Hollywood Boulevard.            A pallid, Goth-guy CASHIER sits behind a counter, eating from            a takeout container.  He's wafer thin, with a detached            attitude.  A snot.  Further back is a sultry GOTH VIXEN.            Behind them, on a TV, a cartoon is playing. An animated            vampire cavorts -- "LITTLE BIT" (like the Hot Stuff devil from            Ritchie Rich comicbooks)                                DRAKE                     In the window -- you sell vampire                     merchandise?            Goth Guy looks up, wiping his mouth with a napkin.  Doesn't            want to engage with Drake at all.                                GOTH GUY                     Uh, yeah -- look around, we might have a                     few things.            He and the Goth Vixen have a snicker at Drake's expense.  Then            she tries to be a little more helpful.                                GOTH VIXEN                     We've got Dracula lunchboxes.  Did you                     see those?  And there're bobbleheads, Pez                     dispensers.  We've got just about                     anything --                          (selecting a vampire-                          shaped vibrator, playful)                     -- even vampire vibrators.            As Drake looks around, what he sees matches his ascending            rage.  Costumes, candles, vampire Christmas ornaments.             Posters from different films -- Nosferatu, Lugosi, Lee -- then            Love at First Bite and The Little Vampire.                                GOTH VIXEN                     Here, check this out --            She reaches into a case, pulling out a soft-drink.  The label            reads: "DRA-COLA" and has a stylized vampire on it.                                GOTH VIXEN                     "Dracola".  Makes you want to cry,                     doesn't it?            Drake just stares at the can.  His mind seems to have            retreated elsewhere.  Back through the ages.                                GOTH VIXEN                     Was there something special you needed?            Drake doesn't respond.  A kind of melancholy has settled over            him.  He's an outsider now.  The world has moved on.                                GOTH-GUY                     Hey, guy, she's talking to you.            Drake looks up as Goth Guy pours a bowl of Count Chocula.            EXT. GOTH STORE - NIGHT            CRASH!  Goth Guy comes flying through the display window, his            trajectory taking his body clear across the street and into            the display window of the store opposite us.            INT. GOTH STORE - NIGHT            Goth Vixen SCREAMS.  Drake LASHES out.  hauling her over the            counter.  He sinks his teeth into her throat, drinking her            blood with wild abandon.  He consumes it so quickly that his            skin flushes BRIGHT RED.            Then Drake tears his head away, lifting his face upward as he            flings the girl aside, unleashing an ear-splitting ROAR.  And            for a brief moment, the bones of his face seem to shift, once            again hinting at another shape Drake might take.            EXT. THE CITY - VARIOUS            DRAKE's ROAR echoes through the canyons of downtown.                                                                  CUT TO:            EXT. LUNA PARK - NIGHT/DAY            Time-lapse.  The sun rises over the decrepit amusement park.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - ARMORY - DAWN            Sunlight slices down through skylights, bathing Blade, King,            Abigail, and Sommerfield in its warmth.  Zoe has joined them.             She's still cautious and shy, but she's also curious.                                BLADE                     Why wake up Drake now?                                ABIGAIL                     That's what we've been trying to figure                     out.                                KING                     When I was under the fang there used to be                     talk about some kind of vampire 'Final                     Solution'.  But I could never figure out                     why they'd want to destroy their food                     source.  I mean, seems stupid, right?                      They've always had plans for the human                     race.  Seems likely that whatever they're                     cooking up, Drake's return is a part of                     it.            Blade nods, pensive.                                KING (CONT'D)                     Let's face it, Blade -- we're fighting a                     losing battle.                      So we kill a few hundred of them a year.                      Big deal.  There are thousands of them out                     there.  Maybe tens of th'usands.  We need                     a new tactic.                                BLADE                     Like what?                                SOMMERFIELD                     A biological weapon.            Sommerfield moves to her Braille keyboard, types.            ON A NEARBY MONITOR            we SEE a real-time magnified view of a virus replicating.                                SOMMERFIELD (CONT' D)                     For the last year I've been~working with                     synthesized DNA in order to create an                     artificial virus targeted specifically at                     vampires.  We're calling it DayStar.                                KING                     Think about it, Blade.  We could wipe                     them all out in a single move.                                BLADE                     So what's been holding you back?                                SOMMERFIELD                          (sighing)                     We've tried it on a number of captive                     subjects.  We've got the disease vector                     worked out fine -- it's easily                     transmittable.  But the lethality in                     vampires is still spotty.                                ABIGAIL                     Bottom line is, we need a better DNA                     sample to work with.                          (beat)                     We need Dracula's blood.                                SOMMERFIELD                     Vampire DNA is a hodge-podge of different                     genes, mixed in with all sorts of useless                     junk DNA.  Because Dracula's the                     progenitor of the vampire race, his DNA is                     still pure.  It hasn't been diluted by a                     hundred generations of selective mutation.                      It still has all the necessary cellular                     compounds for the virus to code to.  We                     get his blood, we can boost Daystar's                     viral efficacy to a hundred percent.                                KING                     So.  You want to join our club?  Can we                     sign you up for a Nightstalkers secret                     decoder ring?                                                                  CUT TO:            EXT. PHOENIX TOWERS - DAY            Establishing.  The Sun at it's zenith            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - DRAKE'S QUARTERS - DAY            A darkened room, relatively austere.  The only source of light            are a series of small, slitted skylights in the ceiling above.             From these skylights, narrow, blinding white shafts of            sunlight knife downward to penetrate the gloom.            DRAKE            sits in a chair, his body partially illuminated by one of the            sunlight shafts, his face turned upward into its brilliance.            FOOTSTEPS.  Drake opens his eyes, SEES Danica hovering in the            darkness, just on the edge of a shaft of light.                                DRAKE                     This world sickens me.  The humans have                     soiled it with their filth.                                DANICA                     We can raze their cities to the ground.                     We can bring the old world back.            Drake just stares at her, not convinced.                                DRAKE                     Come closer.                                DANICA                          (re: light)                     I can't.                                DRAKE                     And do you know why?                          (off Danica's silence)                     Once, all of my kind could brave the day.                      We were true predators.  The world was                     ours.  And then, somewhere along the way,                     the purity of our bloodline became                     diluted.  Polluted with human DNA.                                DANICA                     That's impossible --                                DRAKE                     Is it?            Drake stands, drawing close to Danica.  He grips her wrist --                                DRAKE                     You are bastard children.  No longer as                     pure as you pride yourselves on being.            -- and pulls her hand towards one of the sunlight shafts.  To            her credit, Danica keeps staring at Drake.  She'll be damned            if she will give him the satisfaction of seeing her break.            Drake pulls her hand closer to the light -- to the very edge.             And the tips of Danica's fingers begin to burn.  She winces,            clearly in agony --            -- and Drake releases her hand.  She cradles it against her            chest, blinking away tears that have welled up in her eyes.                                DRAKE                     My people.  How far you have fallen.            Drake reaches out, brushes a tear from Danica's cheek, then            turns and walks away -- through the alternating shafts of            sunlight and darkness.                                                                  CUT TO:            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - ARMORY - DAY            Blade, King, and Abigail stand before a table where an            assortment of weaponry and ammunition has been laid out on            display.  Hedges is there too, assisting them.  Zoe watches.                                HEDGES                     We've got a wide assortment of ass-                     kickery for your viewing pleasure --                          (hefting a pistol)                     Electronic pistol.  Comes with a built-in                     fingerprint security system.  Fires a                     three-shot burst in 1/500th of a second.                     Bullets can also be triggered remotely.            King tosses Blade a bullet.  He studies it -- it's more            complex than a standard round.                                BLADE                     Explosive rounds?                                KING                     But with a concentrated burst of UV light                     instead of your standard hollow-points.  I                     call 'em sun dogs.                          (to Hedges)                     Hedges -- super-size me, baby!            Hedges tosses King one of the four-barreled firearms.  On the            stock is an irreverent decal of the mud-flap girl silhouette.                                KING                     This little mamacita -- a modified                     version of the Army's Objective                     Individual Combat Weapon.  Pick your                     poison -- stakes, sun dogs, heat-seeking                     mini-rockets.  Whatever gets you hard,                     this puppy will pump out.                          (gesturing to Blade's                          sword, sarcastic)                     Of course it doesn't have the range of a                     sword but --            Next, Hedges shows Blade the CRESCENT-SHAPED DEVICE that            Abigail used.  He gives the device a twist and --                                HEDGES                     We call this the UV arc --            CHINKT!  The device extends from either end, telescoping            outward.  Connecting the tips is a concentrated UV LASER.                                HEDGES                     You hold the arc in the center, curved                     away from you.  Connecting the tips is a                     powerful UV laser beam.  Because of its                     high focus, the laser cuts through vampire                     flesh like a knife through butter.                                KING                     We're still trying to sort out fact from                     fiction when it comes to Dracula.  Turning                     into mist?  Kinda doubt it.  But general                     shape-shifting?  Maybe.                                HEDGES                          (off Blade's look)                     Not into a bat or a wolf or anything like                     that.  But another human, someone with the                     same approximate body mass -- given enough                     practice it might be possible.                                BLADE                     How?                                HEDGES                     He wouldn't have a traditional skeletal                     structure.  Probably something more like a                     snake, with thousands of tiny bones in the                     place of a normal array.  Commensurate                     with this would be an exquisite control of                     electrical potential across his tissues,                     resulting in an ability to effectively                     change shape at will --                                KING                          (raising his hand)                     Question.  Have you ever been laid,                     Hedges?            CUT TO:            INT. WAREHOUSE/GARAGE - DAY            Blade, King, and Abigail, newly suited up for war, moving            towards the Land Cruiser.                                BLADE                     Time to apply some pressure.  The weak                     link in the vampire chain of command has                     always been their familiars.  Vampires                     can't go out in the day, so they get                     humans to do their dirty work for them                     Blood-running, safe house maintenance,                     whatever --                          (climbing in the Cruiser)                     We bleed the wanna-be vampires, they'll                     lead us to the real thing.            Blade starts the ENGINE.            INT. LAND CRUISER - DAY            Blade looks to Abigail, who sits in the back.  She has a            laptop on her knees and is assembling an MP3 playlist.                                KING                     She's making playlists.  Likes to listen                     to MP3s when she hunts.  Her own internal                     soundtrack, you know?  Dark-core, trip                     hop, whatever kids these days are                     listening to.  Me?   I'm more of a Kenny G                     fan.            Finished, Abigail slips her earbuds into her ears, turns on            her portable MP3 player.  MUSIC CUE.  The smoking bassline of            Jurassic 5's 'A Day At The Races' kicks in as --            EXT. CITY STREETS - VARIOUS - DAY            -- Blade, King, and Abigail cruise the streets in a jagged            fast-forward montage.            EXT. SEEDY BAR - DAY            The Land Cruiser jumps the curb, SCREECHING to a stop in front            of a scuzzy bar.  Amidst a wall covered with graffiti and            flyers we see a vampire glyph.            INT. SEEDY BAR - DAY            BANG!  Blade KICKS open the door.  A couple of LOW-LIFES take            notice.  Blade moves around the bar, opening a refrigerator -            we see packs of REFRIGERATED BLOOD inside.            One of the low-lifes takes off running, back past the            bathroom, shouldering a door at the rear --            EXT. SEEDY BAR - REAR ENTRANCE - DAY            --	STUMBLING right into Abigail's arms.  She trips him up,            swinging him around, pinning an arm behind him.  She pulls the            back of his collar down, sees a VAMPIRE GLYPH --            We can't hear what the familiar is saying, but he's squealing,            raising his hands in a "please don't hit me anymore" manner.            EXT. CITY STREETS - VARIOUS - DAY            The Land Cruiser rockets down the streets.            EXT. VAMPIRE SAFE HOUSES - VARIOUS - DAY            In quick succession we see a half-dozen underworld dives --            -- a pool hall --            -- an internet cafe --            -- an electronics repair shop --            All are fronts for vampire operations, featuring back rooms            with refrigerated blood and high-tech coffin-like beds where            the vampires can safely sleep through the day unmolested.            In each new location, Blade, King, and Abigail resort to            oldfashioned strong-arm tactics:            -- Blade HEAD-BUTTS a familiar.            -- King PUNCHES a familiar across the jaw.            -- Abigail KICKS a familiar in the stomach.            Cut to a flurry of EXTREME CLOSE-UPS of VAMPIRE GLYPHS being            exposed on the backs of familiar's necks, one after another --            THEN A MONTAGE OF FACES            as familiars have their heads cainfully SMASHED against --            -- walls --            -- car hoods --            -- pool tables --            -- into windows and doors and garbage cans.            The bullying moves come faster, the shots becoming more and            more abstract until --            EXT. CITY ROOFTOP - DAY            -- WHAM!  Blade tosses HOOP, a skinny familiar, off a roof.             It's a four story drop.  Hoop falls, SCREAMING -- but then            jerks to a stop about twenty feet down, dangling upside down.            We see now that Hoop has rope tied around one of Hoop's            ankles.  And Blade is clutching the other end of the rope.            Blade hauls Hoop back up -- but still keeps him dangling            upside down.  King and Abigail look on.                                BLADE                     Want another spin, ass-hole?  Eventually,                     your head's gonna pop off.                                HOOP                     Shit!  Oh Jesus, please, please --                                BLADE                     Who's your handler?                                HOOP                     I don't know his name, I swear I --            Blade prepares to drop Hoop again --            -- but a CELL PHONE in Hoop's jacket RINGS.  Blade fishes it            out.  The screen reads:  EDGAR VANCE, 555-5631.            EXT. CITY STREET - DAY            Dr. Vance, the psychiatrist who gave Blade the mental            evaluation, is cruising in his Pacific Blue XKB convertible            Jaguar.  He's wearing sunglasses, talking on his cell phone.                                VANCE                     This is Dr. Vance.  Did someone page me?            EXT.  CITY ROOFTOP - DAY            Blade ends the call, then looks to Hoop, smiling cruelly.            Blade lets Hoop drop.  The familiar PLUNGES four stories,            SCREAMING.  Lands dead-center in a Goodwill box below.                                                                  CUT TO:            EXT. VANCE INSTITUTE FOR WHOLE BEING - DAY            A high-tech office complex surrounded by meticulously-groomed            grounds.  A sign with a swanky "VANCE INSTITUTE" logo zooms.            Blade, King, and Abigail approach, taking note of Vance's            Jaguar (complete with vanity plate), parked in front.                                KING                     Hey, Blade -- why didn't the vampire bite                     Mick Jagger?                          (off Blade's look)                     Cause you can't get blood from a Stone.            As Blade walks off --                                KING (CONT'D)                     Hey, they can't all be gems!            INT. VANCE INSTITUTE FOR WHOLE BEING - LOBBY - DAY            The trio enter, drawing stares from a number of PATIENTS            gathered in a reception area.  Nearby is a large display with            Vance's grinning face.  Beneath it, text reads:                                  EDGAR VANCE, M.D.                      PRESIDENT, VANCE INSTITUTE FOR WHOLE BEING            Nearby is a bank of monitors showing a snazzy video featuring            a BEAUTIFUL YOUNG COUPLE marvelling at a sunrise.                                NARRATOR                          (on monitors)                     Regain control of your life.   Wake to a                     new dawn.  At the Vance Institute for                     Whole Being we believe in an integrated                     approach to human health.            The image cuts to Vance himself, poised on the edge of his            desk, smiling.  As Blade and company move through the            institute, the video plays counterpoint to their progress.                                VANCE                     I'm Dr. Vance.  Welcome to our facility.                     As a member of the medical profession I                     want to assure you that I will do                     everything in my power ro provide you with                     the care and compassion that you deserve.            Past the RECEPTION DESK are the elevators with more monitors            showing the video greeting.  As Blade, King, and Abigail            approach, TWO SECURITY GUARDS move to intercept them.                                SECURITY GUARD                     Excuse me, can I help y--            CRACK!  Blade effortlessly tosses the guards aside, sending            them CRASHING into the nearest monitors.            INT. VANCE INSTITUTE - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS            The trio continue.  A DOCTOR steps out of a doorway.  King            PUNCHES him in the face.  We see another video monitor.                                VANCE                     What does it mean to be human?  Since the                     dawn of creation our ancestors have asked                     ourselves that question.            They round the corner --            INT. VANCE INSTITUTE - SECOND HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS            -- nearly colliding with TWO MORE SECURITY GUARDS.  Blade            takes them both out.  There's another video monitor.                                VANCE                     The modern world today is filled with                     countless challenges.  In every direction                     we look, toxic stressors are impacting                     upon our happiness.  We think we're                     healthy, but the truth is, our immune                     systems are engaged in a life or death                     struggle to maintain our well being.            INT. VANCE INSTITUTE - OUTER OFFICE - CONTINUOUS            Blade, King, and Abigail storm in.  An EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT is            moving to stop them.                                EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT                     I'm sorry but you can't --            Abigail KICKS out the man's knee, then slices her hand into            his windpipe, silencing him.                                VANCE                     Now, I'd like to take a moment to exolain                     how a series of remarkable new                     breakthroughs can immeasurably improve the                     quality of your life            Blade aims his shotgun at the door leading to Vance's office.            He FIRES at the keycard lock, KICKS down the door --            INT. VANCE INSTITUTE - VANCE'S OFFICE - DAY            --	startling Dr. Vance himself, who is rising up from behind            his desk.  Vance is wiping his mouth, not dressed like a            doctor would normally be.  But we hardly notice this as --                                VANCE                     What --?                                BLADE                     Payback, Vance.            --	Blade aims his shotgun at Vance's head.  Vance just            smiles, seemingly unconcerned as --            --	Abigail circles around the other side, getting a view            behind Vance's desk where --            VANCE'S BODY            lies on the floor.  His throat has been ripped out.  And this            body is dressed like a doctor.            King puts it together first, reaching for a silver stake even            as we hear the sound of POPPING CARTILAGE coming from beneath            the Vance double's flesh --                                KING                     Jesus, it's him!  It's Drake!            The Vance double jumps atop the desk and swats the muzzle of            Blade's shotgun aside, re-directing the BLAST, which SHATTERS            a glass window.  Then he KICKS Blade in the chest, KNOCKING            him clear across the office as --            --	King advances.  The Vance double's face WARPS, the bones            in his head shifting around.  He reaches for King, SLAMS him            onto the desk, TWISTS the stake from King's hand and brutally            SHOVING it into King's rib cage, pinning him to the desk top.            Then the Vance double whirls around to engage Abigail -- only            we see that it's Drake now, having taken Vance's shape.            DRAKE            BACK-HANDS Abigail across the face, a teeth-jarring blow.            She spins, falling --            -- and Drake is moving like a hurricane, LEAPING through the            window that was shattered by Blade's shotgun blast.            BLADE            gives chase.  He looks out the window, SEES Drake landing on            the ground, some three stories below.            EXT. VANCE INSTITUTE - REAR ENTRANCE - ALLEY - DAY            Drake runs with inhuman speed.  He effortlessly scales a chain            link fence, then BARRELS straight through a wooden barricade,            sailing over a trash dumpster.  Seconds later, Blade follows,            catching sight of Drake rushing out into --            EXT. STREET MARKET - VARIOUS - DAY            -- a crowded urban market.  What unfolds is a foot-chase at            super-human velocity.  Vampire and hunter are moving at least            twenty miles an hour, BATTERING ASIDE various pedestrians,            SMASHING through and over stalls of merchandise.            EXT. BUSY STREET - DAY            Drake emerges onto the sidewalk of a busy street, four lanes            of rush-hour traffic WHIZZING PAST.            Abruptly, Drake cuts into the traffic, LEAPING atop the hood            of an oncoming car.  The car's HORN sounds, brakes SQUEAL.                                BLADE FOLLOWS,                     jumping onto the hood of another car. More                     HORNS sound.            In this manner. Drake and Blade race across the flowing            traffic itself. using the hoods and roofs of the cars like            moving stepping stones.            ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET            Drake mounts the steps of an older apartment building,            THUNDERS his way through the main entrance --            INT. OLDER BUILDING - STAIRWELL/CORRIDOR - DAY            Blade is on Drake like a shadow.  We're internal now, the            sound of Blade's LABORED BREATH moving to the foreground of            the soundscape.            Chaos.  A BARKING DOG darting from a doorway.  Up ahead, an            OLD MAN has been knocked over.  An insane dash up two flights            of stairs, then down a corridor, passing MORE TENANTS.             Somewhere, a WOMAN SCREAMS.  We hear GLASS BREAKING and --                                WOMAN                     My baby            -- there's another open door --            INT. OLDER BUILDING - APARTMENT - DAY            -- Blade tears into an apartment, passing a HYSTERICAL WOMAN,            an upended crib.  He SEES a broken window by a fire escape --            EXT. OLDER BUILDING - FIRE ESCAPE - DAY            Cut onto the fire escape.  A glimpse of Drake overhead.            Blade clambers up the fire escape, moving in a near-blur.  One            story of steps up the rickety metal ladder --            SMASH!  A LARGE PLANTER comes down from above, nearly striking            Blade.  He lets go with one hand, swings outward --            -- then he's climbing again.  A CLOUD OF PIGEONS take wing,            flapping frenetically about him, momentarily blinding him.            Another story, a third, a fourth.  As he reaches the top,            Blade jumps, catching the edge of the roof above him --            EXT. OLDER BUILDING - ROOFTOP - DAY            -- FLIPPING himself over and onto the roof.  He lands in a cat            stance, drawing his sword, quickly scanning the area.                                DRAKE (O.S.)                     So you're the hunter they all fear.            Blade spins --            DRAKE            stands on the ledge of the roof, cradling an INFANT in his            arms.  In the full glare of the afternoon sun.                                DRAKE                          (re: infant)                     Just so we understand each other,                     Daywalker.            With his free hand, he massages his jaw.  We hear a few more            Pieces of POPPING CARTKAGE as the very last of Drake's            cermanent features seem to settee into clace.                                BLADE                     Why did you kill Vance?                                DRAKE                     He'd outlived his purpose.  He'd become a                     liabi1ity.            Drake nods at Blade's sword --                                DRAKE                     Your sword -- I've seen that hilt before.                      Eight or nine centuries ago.  The hunter                     who carried it was an accomplished                     fighter.            EXT. SEASIDE CLIFF - DAY (THE PAST)            Drake in his armor, head to head with a 14th century VAMPIRE            HUNTER.  The hunter has BLADE'S SWORD.  Drake tears the sword            from the hunter's grasp, turns it around, thrusts it back            through the man's chest.  And as the man GASPS we are --            EXT. OLDER BUILDING - ROOFTOP - DAY (THE PRESENT)            -- back to here and now.                                DRAKE                     He was honorable, in his own way.  He                     died a good death.                                BLADE                     I wouldn't know about that.                                DRAKE                     You lie.  You're part of a grand                     tradition, Blade.  You hunters have                     plagued my people since the day we first                     walked the earth.  And I have vanquished                     them.  One by one.            Blade pauses, looking for some kind of opening.                                BLADE                     How can you exist in the daylight?                                DRAKE                     I've always been able to.  Haven't you                     read Mr. Stoker's fable?  I was the first                     of the vampires.  I am unique.                                BLADE                          (realizing)                     That's why they brought you back.                                DRAKE                     Yes.  My children seek to isolate the                     properties in my blood that make me immune                     to sunlight.  Through me, they believe                     they can all become Daywalkers.            Drake glances down at the street people.  Throngs of PEOPLE            are massing there, pointing up at him.                                DRAKE                     The world's changed much since I went to                     sleep.  How crowded it's become.  Look at                     them down there.  Lives brief as                     fireflies.  Do you think they can ever                     grasp what it means to be immortal like                     us?                                BLADE                     You're not immortal.  I must've heard a                     hundred of you people make the same claim.                      And every one of them's seen the end of my                     sword.            Drake smiles, intrigued by an obviously worthy opponent.                                DRAKE                     Perhaps I will as well, then.  But I think                     it's more likely that you will fall before                     mine.                          (beat)                     Catch.            Drake tosses the infant at Blade.  Blade twists around to            catch it, scooping it safely up.  But when he looks back --            -- Drake is gone.                                KING (O.S.)                     Shit!            INT. VANCE INSTITUTE - VANCE'S OFFICE - DAY            CLOSE ON King being propped up against the wall by Abigail.            Blade has joined them.  King is in terrible pain.                                KING                     Jesus, it hurts.  I wanna be a vampire                     again -- fuck!  Did you see that guy?!                     We're gonna lose, man.  We're gonna                     fucking lose.            Abigail ignores King, cuts open his shirt.  She removes a            small aerosol cannister from her belt.                                BLADE                     What's that?                                ABIGAIL                     Fibrin sealant foam, it's an elastic                     protein.  Help me spread the wound open.                     The foam should seal the hemorrhaging in                     his body cavity from within --            Together they spread the wound apart.  King is really hurting,            breathing hard as he tries to fight back the pain.                                KING                     Hey, hey -- what'd the one lesbian                     vampire say to the other?                                ABIGAIL                     Shut up, King.                                KING                     -- see you in twenty-eight days --            King's voice trails off as he passes out.  Abigail triggers            the dispenser, spraying a jet of compressed foam into it.  The            foam condenses, sealing the wound up.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - DAY            Blade and Abigail enter the HQ, hauling King between them.             Dex and Hedges rush to meet them, relieving them of King.            Exhausted and covered in blood, Abigail retires to her            quarters, stripping off her clothes.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS' HEADQUARTERS - SHOWERS - DAY            Abigail stands beneath (he showerhead, turning her face up            into the scalding spray, rinsing the blood from her body.            CLOSE ON the drain by her feet, BLOOD swirling down it.              INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - INFIRMARY - DAY            King drowses on a cot.  His shirt is off and his chest has            been bandaged.  He opens his eyes, SEES Blade above him.                                KING                     Hey, Blade -- say we're successful.  Say                     we wipe the vampires out.  What happens                     then?  You ever ask yourself that?                          (weakly)                     Somehow I don't picture you parked on a                     porch with a jigsaw puzzle.            King drifts back into unconsciousness again, leaving Blade            left to ponder his words.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - LABORATORY AREA - DAY            Later, Sommerfield and Hedges consult with Blade and Abigail.                                HEDGES                     So basically we're in an arms race.                     They're using Drake's DNA to build                     themselves a better vampire --                                BLADE                          (noddin)                     -- and we need his blood to kill them.                          (to Sommerfield)                     How's this weapon of yours coming along?                                SODDERFIELD                     We're almost there --            She gestures to a series of ampule-like prototypes.  (We'll            see the completed version of this device later on.)                                SOMMERFIELD                     The virus is harmless to humans.  So we                     decided to go after the vampires' food                     source.  The one thing we know for sure                     about vampires is that they have to drink                     blood.                      If we manage to pull this off, we'll be                     able to contaminate every blood source on                     the planet.  They won't have anyone left                     to feed on.                                ABIGAIL                     Doesn't do us any good if we don't have                     time to finish it.  We can't just sit                     here.  We need to take the battle to them.            Sommerfield lowers her head, thinking.                                SOMMERFIELD                     If the vampires are trying to isolate the                     hereditary factor in Drake that makes him                     immune to sunlight, they'll require                     certain kinds of laboratory equipment and                     provisions.  For instance, there's an                     enzyme called Taq Polymerase.  And there                     are only a limited number of suppliers.                          (beat)                     Give me a few hours.  I'll see if I can't                     hunt us up some leads.                                                                  CUT TO:            EXT. PHOENIX TOWERS - PENTHOUSE - NIGHT            Moving towards the mirrored windows we hear LABORED BREATHING.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - DRAKE'S QUARTERS - NIGHT            CLOSE ON hands clasped together -- a man and a woman's.            CLOSE ON Danica' s face, covered in sweat, in the throes of            passion.  She looks up, eyes glazed --            PULL BACK to reveal Drake, propped above her, thrusting away.            Danica has her limbs wrapped around Drake, holding on for dear            life.  Both are awash in moonlight.            The two of them climax.  Drake withdraws, studying Danica.             She's naked but for the tiny silver crucifix she wears around            her neck.  Drake nudges the crucifix with his finger.                                DRAKE                     Why do you wear that -- symbol?                                DANICA                          (defensive)                     Old habits --            She sits up, draping a sheet over her.                                DANICA                     I was a good Catholic school girl	Once.            Drake nods, his thoughts distant.                                DRAKE                     I was there when they crucified him.  He                     died -- for their sins, not mine.                                DANICA                          (playful1y)                     And what are your sins?  Would you care                     to confess them?                                DRAKE                          (shaking his head)                     Too numerous to remember.                          (nodding at the crucifix)                     Take it off.                                DANICA                     Why?                                DRAKE                     I'll make you a better one.            Drake draws her in, biting her gently on the neck, sinking his            fangs into her flesh.  He pulls his head back.  Two rivulets            of BLOOD trickle from the fresh wounds.                                DRAKE                     There's an old saying --            Drake reaches for the sheet, pulling it away from Danica's            chest.  Then he dips his fingertips into her flowing blood -            PAINTING a long streak of it down between her breasts.                                DRAKE                     Kill one man, you're a murderer. Kill a                     million, a king.                          (smiling)                     Kill them all, a God.                                                                  CUT TO:            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - STORAGE AREA - NIGHT            CLOSE ON a pneumatic injector.  PULL BACK to reveal Blade            injecting himself with his serum.  No pain.  No violent spasms            like before.  Blade's body now accepts the serum.            ANGLE ON ZOE,            crouched on an old piece of carny equipment, watching him.                                ZOE                     Why do you do that?                                BLADE                     There's something bad inside of me.  This                     keeps it from getting out.            Zee considers this.                                ZOE                     Why can't you just be nice?                                BLADE                     Good question.                                SOMMERFIELD (0.S.)                     I think I've got a lead.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - LABORATORY AREA - NGHT            Sommerfield stands at her computers, reading a tactile Braille            display.  Blade and Abigail are nearby.                                SOMMERFIELD                     Biomedica Enterprises.  They've been                     buying up all sorts of supplies -- Taq                     polymerase, bone marrow growth supplement,                     genetic sequencing enzymes.                                BLADE                     We'll check it out.                                                                  CUT TO:            EXT. BIOMEDICA ENTERPRISES - NIGHT            A high-tech research park.            INT. BIOMEDICA ENTERPRISES - LAB - NIGHT            Hendrix, the vampire doctor we saw earlier, sits at a computer            workstation.  Chief Vreede confers with him.  We hear a KNOCK            at the door.  Hendrix looks to Vreede.  They obviously weren't            expecting anyone.            Hendrix moves to the door, checking a surveillance monitor.             He can't see anyone outside.  He shrugs, turns to leave and --            CRUNCH!  The door is SMASHED inward, taking much of the door            frame with it, flattening Hendrix.            Blade and Abigail step inside.  As Blade hauls Hendrix up from            the ground, Abigail points her already drawn gun at --            CHIEF VREEDE            He was reaching into his jacket for his own piece, now thinks            better of it.                                BLADE                     Doing a little moonlighting, Chief?            Blade nods to Abigail.  She reaches onto Vreede's jacket to            disarm him.  Blade grips Hendrix by the shirt collar.                                BLADE                     C'mere.  We need to talk.            Blade PUNCHES Hendrix in the face.  Hendrix sags for a moment,            stunned.                                BLADE                     Now spill it, bite-boy.                                HENDRIX                          (wiping a bloody nose)                     You know what we're doing.  Drake has come                     back to us.  Soon we'll all be Daywalkers.                     And when that day comes, the world will                     truly be ours.            Blade nods towards the back of the lab where another door -- a            very secure one -- is located.                                BLADE                     What's back there?            Hendrix shoots a quick look to Vreede.  Then he turns on            Blade, all fangs and claws, trying to tear Blade's eyes out --            Abigail FIRES her UV gun with blinding speed and --            -- Hendrix is dead before he knows it.  ASHING all over Blade.            Blade brushes Hendrix' s remains from coat collar, shoots            Abigail a look:  "Did you really have to do that?"                                BLADE                          (dryly)                     Thanks.            Abigail cringes.  Mea culpa.            Blade looks to the floor.  Aside from some cinders, all that            remains of Hendrix are his glasses and a singed keycard.             Blade picks up the keycard, looks to Vreede.                                BLADE                     What's behind Door Number One?                                VREEDE                     They'll kill me --                                BLADE                          (an evil grin)                     So will I.  But I'll enjoy it more.            Vreede nods.  They move towards the door.  Blade slides the            security card.  An inset light changes from RED to GREEN.             Vreede punches in a numeric code.  The doors slide open --            INT. BLOOD FARMING FACILITY - MAIN ROOM - NIGHT            Blade, Abigail, and Vreede emerge into a cavernous room.                                ABIGAIL                     God in Heaven --            HUNDREDS OF HUMAN CADAVERS            hang from gantries, preserved in fluid-filled pods, suspended            by wires like nightmarish marionettes.  The bodies are hooked            up to an elaborate system of biosensor feeds and IVs which are            designed to replenish vital nutrients.                                BLADE                     What was this place?            Vreede pauses before answering, looking uncomfortable.                                VREEDE                     It's a blood farming facility.                          (elaborating)                     They decided that hunting humans on a                     piece-meal basis was too inefficient.                      Why kill your prey when you can keep them                     alive?  Productive.  Under optimal                     conditions a donor can generate anywhere                     from fifty to a hundred pints of blood a                     year.                                ABIGAIL                          (sickened)                     But where did you get all these people?                                VREEDE                     The streets.  In any given year you've got                     two to three million homeless people                     wandering around America --                          (shrugging)                     No one cares about them.  We're doing the                     country a service, really.            Blade shakes his head, admiring the horrible efficiency.                                BLADE                     The vampire Final Solution.            Abigail moves towards one of the pods, touching her hand to            the glass, studyihg the comatose person within.                                ABIGAIL                     Are they aware?  Do they feel anything?                                VREEDE                          (shaking his head)                     They're in a chemical-induced coma.                     They're brain-dead, vegetables.            Blade angrily SLAMS Vreede's face against one of the pods.                                BLADE                     Look at this!  Is this the future you                     want?  You think there's a place for you                     in their world?            Vreede starts crying, blubbering.                                VREEDE                     We don't have a choice!  They're going to                     win, don't you see that?!  He's come back!                     There's nothing stopping them now!            Blade pulls Vreede back so they're nose to nose --                                BLADE                     There's me.            -- and Blade releases Vreede.                                BLADE                     Go.  You've got thirty seconds.            Vreede turns and runs, stumbling towards the door.  Despite            his promise, Blade lifts his MACH.  Without even looking in            Vreede's direction, Blade FIRES.  We hear Vreede drop.            Blade turns to Abigail.  She can hardly contain herself.            Nearby is a control console.  Blade UNLOADS his MACH pistol            into it, damaging the interlinked life support systems.            One by one, the vital signs and EKGs on the pods flat-line,            their warning tones rising into a collective, PIERCING WAIL.                                BLADE (CONT'D)                          (feeling a heavy weight)                     Let's go.            Blade and Abigail leave, turning the lights out as they go.                                                                  CUT TO:            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - STORAGE AREA - NIGHT            A basketball hoop has been set up in the back area and Dex and            Hedges are engaged in a wicked game of one-on-one.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - LABORATORY AREA - NIGHT            Scm~erfield works, refining the virus.  Because she is blind,            she doesn't need light.            H er computer's voice synthesis program has been activated and            it's currently reading the various statistics that appear on            her main monitor.                                COMPUTER                     CYTOGENETICS AUDIT DATA FROM -- AUGUST                     FIFTEENTH, TWO-THOUSAND AND FOUR.                          (beat)                     AMNIOTIC FLUIDS -- INPUT DELAY/ZERO.                     ABNORMAL SAMPLES/TWO. BANDING                     QUALITY/SEVEN-POINT-TWO --            At the same time, Sommerfield is reading aloud to Zoe, who            sits nearby.  The book is The Emerald City of Oz and it's in            Braille.  Sommerfield scans with her fingers.                                SOMMERFIELD                     'The reason most people are bad is because                     they do not try to be good.  Now, the Nome                     King had never tried to be good, so he was                     very bad indeed.  Having decided to                     conquer the Land of Oz and to destroy the                     Emerald City and enslave all its people,                     King Roquat the Red kept planning ways to                     do this dreadful thing, and the more he                     planned the more he believed he would be                     able to accomplish it --'                                COMPUTER                     CYTOGENETICS AUDIT DATA FROM -- AUGUST                     FIFTEENTH, TWO-THOUSAND AND FOUR.            ANGLE ON A BANK OF SURVEILLANCE MONITORS            We see Whistler approaching through the garage.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT            The steel door slides open and Whistler enters.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - INFIRMARY AREA - NIGHT            King drowses on a cot.  He hears a NOISE, opens his eyes.            Whistler stands in the doorway.                                KING                     You get me those Fruit Roll-ups like I                     asked --                          (surprised)                     Dude.  Aren't you dead?            Whistler doesn't respond.  King tries to sit up -- but            Whistler places his hand on King's mouth, shoving him down,            starting to smother him.  King struggles, confused.            INT. NGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - STORAGE AREA - NIGHT            Dex manages to steal the ball from Hedges, makes a shot.             Behind them, Whistler enters the makeshift court.    130     INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - LABORATORY AREA - NIGHT130            Abruptly, the sounds of the one-on-one game stop.  We hear a            THUD from the back of the warehouse -- like someone falling.                                COMPUTER                     BLOODS -- INPUT DELAY/ZERO. ABNORMAL                     SAMPLES/SEVEN. BANDING QUALITY/EIGHT-                     POINT-ONE --            Sommerfield looks to the storage area.  The silence is            unnerving.  She turns off her voice-synthesis program.  Then            closes the book.                                SOMMERFIELD                     Guys?  You okay --?            ON THE DOORWAY            The basketball comes bouncing out.  It rolls, coming to rest            against a workbench.  There are BLOOD SPATTERS on the ball.            Sommefrield reaches for her cane.  She TAP-TAPS her way to the            baLl, feels the blood.  Knows what it is.                                SOMMERFIELD                     Zoe, go find some place to hide, sweety.            Zoe hesitates.  Sommerfield senses it and lashes out with her            cane, BANGING a rack of equipment, startling the girl.                                SOMMERFIELD                     Damnit, go!  Get out of here, Zoe!            The girl scurries away.  Sommerfield TAP-TAPS with her cane,            moving towards the storage area.  She finds a gun cabinet,            feels around with her hands, locates an electronic pistol.            INT. NGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - STORAGE AREA - NIGHT            Sommerfield enters.  Dex and Hedges are sprawled on the floor            before her, having been slaughtered.  Blood is everywnere.             She doesn't see them, of course.  But we do.            THE CAMERA SHIFTS AROUND,            revealing Whistler crouched right behind her!            She's unaware of his presence.  And as we watch, his facial            features shift.  We hear the sickening sounds of CARTILAGE            POPPING and we realize that it's Drake, not Whistler.            With mounting dread, Sommerfield turns towards the sound.  And            then Drake is upon her, rushing forward with a GROWL.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - BATHROOM - NIGHT            As Sommerfield's AGONIZED SCREAMS echo through the warehouse,            Zoe rushes into the bathroom, looking for a place to hide. She            considers the lockers, discounts them.  Then settles on --            A HEATING GRATE            near the floor.  It's about fourteen inches wide -- just            barely big enough for her to squeeze into.            Zoe kneels, prying the grate off.  Inside, a heating duct            extends four feet before making a ninety-degree turn upward.            Zoe climbs into the duct feet first, scooting her body            backwards.  Then she reaches for the grate, securing it back            on, sealing herself inside.            INT. HEATING DUCT - NIGHT            Zoe waits.  It's cramped and claustrophobic inside the duct.             She's managed to force herself all the way back to the ninety            degree turn by curling up into a near fetal position.            ZOE'S POV (THROUGH GRATE)            Mostly tile floor and a small portion of the open doorway            leading to the hallway outside.            She listens, trying to hear past the sound of her own            BREATHING which has been magnified because of the ducting.            The screams from the outer rooms have stopped.  Then --            ZOE'S POV (THROUGH GRATE)            A pair of boots appear in the doorway -- Drake.            Zoe holds her breath.  We HEAR Drake searching the bathroom,            opening the lockers and bathroom stalls.                                ZOE'S POV (THROUGH GRATE)                     Drake's boot-clad feet pass by the grate                     again, closer, tn~s time. They pause for                     an interminable moment --            Zoe shuts her eyes.  She can't stand it.  Finally, we hear            Drake's FOOTSTEPS receding away.  Relieved, Zoe takes in a            breath and opens her eyes --            ZOE'S POV (THROUGH GRATE)            Drake's face is right there.  pressed up against the other            side of the grate, staring at her!            Zoe SCREAMS.  With a ROAR, Drake rips the grate off.  He tries            to climb inside, but the width of the duct is too narrow to            accommodate the size of his upper body.            Instead, he reaches his right arm in, extending his clawed            hand as far as he possibly can.  Zoe WHIMPERS, trying to            compress her mass into an even tighter ball --            ON DRAKE'S HAND,            having reached the limits of its extension -- his fingertips            only a few scant inches from Zoe's face.            Zoe's been allowed a moment's reprieve.  He can't reach her!            But then we hear the sound of POPPING CARTILAGE.  Of TINY            BONES shifting beneath Drake's flesh.  Drake's fingers are            elongating, snake-like Reaching for Zoe's face, rapidly            closing the space whici1 separates them --            CUT TO:            EXT. LUNA PARK/GARAGE - NIGHT            The real Blade and Abigail are returning.  The sliding garage            door opens and the Land Cruiser glides inside.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT            Blade and Abigail enter.  The place is dark.  They know            instinctively that somethong is wrong.            Blade tries a nearby light.  The power is out.  They both draw            their weapons.  Blade turns on a FLASHLIGHT.  They move onto            the darkness --            SHADOWS loom everywhere.  It's like a tornado touched down            inside.  Equipment lies smashed, tables and chairs have been            overturned.  Sommerfield's lab area has been destroyed.                                ABIGAIL                     King --            Blade and Abigail rush to the infirmary area, but King is gone            and the place has been trashed.  They move into --            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - STORAGE AREA - NIGHT            -- the back area.  They find Dex and Hedges on the floor,            their bodies bled, desecrated.                                ABIGAIL                          (realizing)                     Zoe -- where's Zoe?            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - VARIOUS - NIGHT            With increased urgency, Blade and Abigail search the            headquarters -- the bathroom, the garage, every nook and            cranny.  With each moment, Abigail becomes more panicked.                                ABIGAIL                     Where is she?!            They can't find her anywhere.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - SHOWER AREA - NIGHT            Blade and Abigail enter.  A thin stream of BLOOD snakes its            way across the shower tiles.  Taey follow it, discovering --            SOMMERFIELD,            her body propped up mock-crucifixion style in the showers.  On            the wall nearby, someone has written a message in blood:                   "IMMORTALITY WILL COME TO SUCH AS ARE FIT FOR IT"            ON BLADE            He knows damn well who left him the message.            As tears streak down Abigail's cheeks, she rushes to            Sommmerfield's body.  Together, she and Blade get her down.            Abigail clutches Sommerfield, slowly rocking the body in her            arms.  Blade puts a hand on her shoulder.                                BLADE                     Use it.            Abigail doesn't respond.  Her whole body is shaking.                                BLADE (CONT'D)                          (more firmly)                     Use it.            Abigail raises her head, her eyes filled with hatred.  Blade            doesn't let up.  He's like a drill instructor, galvanizing her            with his words.                                BLADE (CONT'D)                     USE IT!!!            Abigail lifts her head toward the heavens, letting loose a            TORTURED SCREAM that erupts from the very pit of her soul.            CUT TO:            EXT. PHOENIX TOWERS - NIGHT            Abigail's SCREAM ECHOES over the moonlit cityscape.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - PENTHOUSE - NIGHT            CLOSE ON King's bloody face.  A dog is licking it.  King            stirs, his eyes fluttering open --            KING'S POV            The rottweiler we saw earlier is slobbering all over him.            PULL BACK to reveal King on his knees, shirtless, both wrists            secured behind him in a high-tech pillory.  King tries to            twist his head away from the dog.  The rottweiler GROWLS.                                KING                     Back off, pooch --            The rottweiler's jaws open, revealing more teeth than any dog            should probably have.            Its muzzle splits in two as both sides of the rottweiler            mandible fold back on either side of its head, disgorging a            hellish and barbed tongue stalk!  The mutant dog ROARS, ready            to bite King's face off and --                                KING                     Jesus Christ!            -- Grimwood appears from off-screen, LAUGHING, pulling the            animal back.  We see Danica and Asher now as well.                                KING                     What the fuck?!  WHAT THE FUCK?!?                                ASHER                     His name's Beau.  We've been experimenting                     with porting the vampire gene over into                     other species.            As Asher pets the rottweiler, its muzzle closes back up again.             It looks up at him, panting happily, tongue lolling.                                KING                     You made a goddamn vampire dog?!                                GRIMWOOD                     Yeah.  Cool, huh?                                DANICA                     Poor little King.  You look so                     distraught.            Danica wipes a little blood from the corner of King's mouth.             She touches her fingertips to her tongue, tasting his blood.                                DANICA                     You're tasting a little bland, lover.  Not                     getting enough fatty acids in your diet?                      Have you tried mackerel?  Lake trout?                                KING                     How about you take a sugar-frosted fuck                     off the end of my dick?                                DANICA                     Oh, there'll be time to play doctor later,                     believe me.  But for now, we need to have                     a little talk.                          (beat)                     Tell us about this bio-weapon you've been                     building.                                KING                     I can tell you two things.  Diddly.  And                     shit.  And diddly just left the building.            Grimwood steps forward, throttling King for a moment.                                GRINWOOD                     Spit it out, you fucking fruitcake!                                KING                     Okay, here's the deal with the weapon -                     (coughing)                     It's a new flavor crystal formula.  Twice                     the chocolaty-goodness, half the calories.                     Plus, it helps prevent tooth decay --            Grimwood moves in to choke him again, but Danica intervenes.                                DANICA                     You're brave, King, I'll give you that.                     But underneath all your swagger --            She leans closer, caressing his face.                                DANICA                     -- I know what you really fear.   What                     would hurt you more than anything else.            King's smile falters for a moment.  Maybe she does know.  She            rubs her cheek against his.                                DANICA                     You don't want to go back to being one of                     us --                          (her lips grazing his)                     -- do you?            King tries to turn his head away, but Danica grips his chin,            turning his head back.  He's sweating now.  Worried.                                DANICA                     I'm going to bite you again, King.  And                     then I'm going to leave you here while you                     turn.  I'm going to watch you, day after                     day, while the Thirst keeps building and                     building.  And then, when you can't stand                     it anymore --            She nods.  Drake appears, holding Zoe.  She's alive.             Terrified.  Held firm in Drake's arms.                                DANICA                     -- I'm going to bring the little girl                     for you to feed on.  Would you like that,                     King?  Would you enjoy taking her life?            King shuts his eyes, sickened at the thought.  Danica smiles.                                DANICA                     Now we're getting somewhere, my pet.                                                                  CUT TO:            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS' HEADQUARTERS - SHOOTING RANGE - NIGHT            Abigail sits in her workshop area, restringing one of her            bows.  Nearby is a table with an assortment of equipment -- a            bow press, vise stand, string jig, bow scales and wrench sets.            Across the way is a shooting range with a variety of targets            set up, a wall of netting behind them to catch stray arrows.             There's also a chronograph outfitted with a ballistic computer            to measure arrow speed.            CLOSE ON Abigail's hands as she works with a quiet precsion,            re-setting the arrow rest, making minor adjustments to the            center-shot position and wheel timing, etc.            BLADE            appears in the doorway, watching her.                                BLADE                     You alright?                                ABIGAIL                          (brusque)                     I'll be fine.            Blade nods.  He's going to leave her alone -- but then he            hesitates, wrestling to say something.                                BLADE                     Don't let it turn inward.            Abigail takes a deep breath, pausing in her work.                                ABIGAIL                     It already has.  Since I can remember                     I've had this knife of sadness in my                     heart.  As long as it stays there, I'm                     strong.  I'm untouchable.  But the moment                     I pull it out --                          (turning back to him)                     -- I'll die.            Blade nods.  He understands all too well.  He leaves.            ON ABIGAIL            She stands, moving to the shooting range.  She straps on a            quiver, takes aim at            A 3-D HUMAN-SHAPED TARGET            about a hundred feet away.  Just in front of the target is the            chronograph, which looks like a miniature set of goal posts.            WHOOSH!  Abigail FIRES an arrow.  It flies through the arms of            the chronograph, sinking into the targets s chest.  On the            screen of the ballistic computer, the arrow's speed is clocked            at 240 feet per second.  We move CLOSER to her now as--            WHOOSH!  Abicail FIRES again. The speed is 242 fps. CLOSER --            WHOOSH!  Now the speed is 269 fps. EVEN CLOSER --            WHOOSH!WHOOSH!WHOOSH!  285 fps.  302 fps.  315 fps!  The arrow            speed creeps up and up as we move CLOSER AND CLOSER to Abigail            until we --            -- PULL BACK.  Abigail has fired every arrow in her quiver.             ON THE TARGET            The arrows have formed a cross in the target's chest.  One            vertical grouping running up, another horizontal grouping            bisecting it.            INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - GARAGE - NIGHT            Blade stands at the open entrance.  Abigail steps out.  Looks            like she's made peace with herself for the moment.                                ARIGAIL                     I'm ready to go.            HEADLIGHTS appear in the distance.  Another Land Cruiser            approaches, weaving through the amusement park.  It pulls to a            stop in front of them.  The driver's side window rolls down.            A MAN (CAULDER)            sits behind the wheel.  He raises a hand in greeting.                                CAULDER                     My name is Caulder.  And I'll be your                     driver this evening.            INT. CAULDER'S LAND CRUISER - NIGHT            Caulder's Land Cruiser glides through the streets.                                BLADE                     Where are you taking us?                                CAULDER                     Another safehouse.                                ABIGAIL                     We told you, Blade.  We operate in sleeper                     cells.  When one goes down, a new cell                     activates to pick up the slack.            EXT. DEEP-SIX AQUARIUM STOCK - NIGHT            Caulder pulls up in front of a fish supply store.            INT. DEEP-SIX AQUARIUM STOCK - NIGHT            Caulder unlocks an accordion security gate, opens the door.             He leads Blade and Abigail through the darkened aisles.  There            are fish tanks on either side, aerators BUBBLING, aquatic            animals of every kind swimming about.            IN THE BACK            is another arsenal/lab area.  This one is smaller than the            Nightstalkers' main headquarters.  Caulder moves to a            computer, calls up a file.  A dialogue box for a media player            opens.  Caulder activates a video file.                                CAULDER                     Sommerfield left a video message for you.            ON THE MONITOR            The video plays.  We see Sommerfield's face on the screen.             She looks grave, as if she might have been crying.                                SOMMERFIELD                          (on video)                     If you're watching this, I'm already dead.                     If Zoe's still alive, I want you to                     promise you'll take care of her.  I've                     been reading her The Oz books every night.                      We just started The Emerald City of Oz,                     the one with the Nome King --            Her voice cracks and she pauses, wiping away a tear.                                SOMMERFIELD                     I think I've managed to cultivate a                     workable strain of the Daystar virus.  As                     a precaution, I transmitted the genetic                     sequence to Caulder, in case our main                     stock was destroyed.  In order for it to                     achieve maximum lethality, you'll need to                     interfuse it with Drake's blood.  If it                     works, any vampires in the immediate                     vicinity should die almost instantly.                      After that, it should take only a few                     weeks for the virus to spread throughout                     the rest of the world.            Zoe hesitates, deciding how to broach the next subject.                                SOMMERFIELD                     There's one other thing, Blade.  You need                     to know that there's a chance the virus                     could destroy you too.  Because you're a                     hybrid, I'm not sure whether your immune                     system will be able tolerate it.                          (beat)                     I'm sorry.  We didn't have enough time to                     properly test it.            The video cuts to STATIC.  Abigail turns off the monitor,            looking to Blade.  God only knows what he's thinking.                                CAULDER                     Take a look at the plague arrow.            Caulder reaches for a refrigerated aluminum case, snapping it            open.  Inside, resting on a bed of form-fitting foam, is a            glass ampule that's been fitted into a stake-like contraption.             It looks like the head of a high-tech harpoon.                                CAULDER                     I only had time to fabricate a small batch                     of Daystar.  I outfitted it with a                     compressed gas projectile, so you should                     be able to fire it from one of the                     fourbarrel rifles or a bow.                          (beat)                     Just make sure the shot counts, cause we                     don't have enough for a second try.            A SERIES OF DISSOLVES            Abigail sits before a laptop, creating another custom MP3            playlist.  We watch as she hi-lights songs with her mouse,            moves them over to her portable device with a few CLICKS.            Abigail unhooks her MP3 device, slips her earbud headphones            into her ears.  The SOUNDS of Fluke's track Atom Bomb fade up,            gradually shifting from tinny source music to SOUNDTRACK.            MORE DISSOLVES            Blade and Abigail suit up, arming themselves.  We SEE:            Blade loading rounds into his pistols.            Abigail selecting arrows, checking the range-dials.            Blade sliding silver stakes into his bandoliers.            Abigail working with Caulder, affixing the plague capsule to            one of her arrowheads.            Blade polishes his sword.  Finished, he sights down the length            of it, takes a practice swing, then secures it in his back            scabbard with a flourish.            EXT. DEEP-SIX AQUARIUM STOCK - BACK ALLEY - NIGHT            We hear the RUMBLE of two motorcycles.  Blade emerges from the            alley astride his signature Ducati ST2 crotch-rocket.  Abigail            appears a moment later on her own customized bike.            Blade revs his engine.  Then the two bikes take off.                                                                  CUT TO:            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - DRAKE'S QUARTERS - NIGHT            Drake sits before Zoe, who has been shackled to the wall, his            right arm encased in one of the armored gauntlets from his            burial armor.  The rest of the armor has been propped up on a            stand nearby.                                DRAKE                     Do you know who I am?                                ZOE                     You're the Nome King.            Drake smiles at this.                                DRAKE                     The Nome King.  I like that.                          (leaning closer)                     Tell me, child.  Do you want to die?            Zoe is terrified but tries to remain defiant.                                ZOE                     I'm not afraid -- I'll go to Heaven.                                DRAKE                     There is no Heaven.  No God.  No angels.                     No happy ending for good little girls.                     The only thing you have to look forward to                     is nothingness.            As Drake talks his pupils seem to widen -- until the darkness            nearly occludes the whites of his eyes.  Zoe stares at him.             Can't tear her gaze away.  His eyes are hypnotic.                                DRAKE                     But what if you could change that?  What                     if you could remain a child forever?            He reaches out, running a sharp fingernail over her cheek.                                DRAKE                     What if you could keep this little doll-                     like face of yours until the sun itself                     cooled to a cold, hard rock?                          (beat)                     Wouldn't you like that?  Wouldn't you                     accept that gift?            Zoe reaches out, calmly touches Drake's cheek.                                ZOE                     My friends are coming to kill you.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - PENTHOUSE - NIGHT            WHACK!  Grimwood PUNCHES King, whose body sags, weakened from            the beatings he has undergone.  Asher and Danica look on.                                KING                     -- gonna be sorry you did that --                                ASHER                     Nobody's coming for you, King.                                KING                     Sure they are.  Left a trail of digital                     bread crumbs --                                DANICA                     Excuse me?                                KING                     One thing you need to know about us                     Nightstalkers.  When you join our club,                     you get this nifty little tracking node                     surgically implanted in your body --                                GRIMWOOD                     Bullshit.                                KING                     Scout's honor.  One of us gets lost, the                     others just dial up the satellite and                     presto, instant cavalry.            Grimwood looks to Asher and Danica, unsure.                                AS HER                     He's bluffing.                                DANICA                          (smiling, playing along)                     Okay, King, where did they put this                     tracking node of yours?            He motions for her to draw closer, whispering.                                KING                     It's in my left ass-cheek --            WHACK!  Danica slaps King's face, making him see stars.                                KING                     Alright.  alright, it's in my right ass-                     cheek --            WHACK!  Danica slaps King again, this time knocking his head            the other way.  He spits out blood --                                KING                     No, seriously --                          (gasping)                     -- it's in the meat of my butt, right                     below my Bart Simpson tattoo --            Danica PUNCHES King's mid-section.  He sucks air.  Despite his            attempts at humor, he's hurting now.  His body sags --                                KING                     -- pull down my tighty-whities -- see for                     yourself.                                DANICA                     ENOUGH!  It's not funny anymore!            Behind Danica, Grimwood and Asher both COUGH.            King lifts his bruised face, staring up at Danica through            blood-shrouded eyes.  For the first time, we get a sense of            his true hatred for her.                                KING                     No, it's not, you horse-humping bitch --                          (wincing as he breathes)                     -- but it will be a few seconds from now.                                DANICA                          (coughing)                     And what happens then, lover?                                KING                     Hammer time.                          (beat)                     See, that tickle in your throat you're                     feeling right now?            Danica COUGHS again, blinks repeatedly, as if her eyes were            irritated.  She rubs them, looks to the others.  They're            feeling the effects too.  And Grimwood's face is smoking!                                KING                     That's atomized colloidal silver.            Danica keys into the RUMBLE of the air-conditioning system and            a HISSING SOUND beneath that.  She looks up --                                KING                     It's being pumped into the building's air                     conditioning system.            ANGLE ON THE HEATING REGISTER ABOVE            We GO MACRO, shrinking down until we see a CLOUD OF TINY            SILVER PARTICLES blowing into the room.  The particles are            dusting the vampires, being unwittingly inhaled by them and --            WE'RE BACK TO NORMAL            as the vampires react en mass, suddenly gagging, their throats            and faces on fire.                                KING                     Which means that the fat lady should be                     singing right about --            GRIMWOOD            has caught the worst of it.  A whole lung-full.  He SHRIEKS as            He coughs up blue-tinged FLAMES, the flesh on his face            simultaneously burning away and --                                KING                     -- NOW            THE SKYLIGHT ABOVE THEM            SHATTERS as Blade crashes down.  He lands in a cat-like            stance, then flips over into a cartwheel, KICKING Grimwood in            the face.  As Grimwood goes down, Asher and Danica scatter --            Blade tackles Grimwood, sending both of them over the railing            into the lower level of the penthouse.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - HALLWAY - NIGHT            ALARMS are ringing.  Asher and Danica rush down the hall,            trying not to breathe the silver-contaminated air.  We SEE            other vampires staggering from doorways, COUGHING, GAGGING.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - DRAKE'S QUARTERS - NIGHT            Drake hears the ALARMS.  He reaches for his sword, which rests            in a nearby stand.  As he heads out, he strides past Zoe,            still chained to the wall.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - PENTHOUSE - NIGHT            On the lower level, Blade and Grimwood are going at it.            REINFORCENENTS            flood in from multiple entry ways.  It's an all-out melee.             Blade is seriously overwhelmed, but the sheer number of            vampires and humans is actually slowing them down.            Blade takes on a half-dozen of them at once, stunning one of            the familiars, using him as a human shield, TOSSING him aside            to trip up another on-rushing pair.            Then he pauses, instantly calculating the geography of the            room, the relative positions of the other combatants,            assessing decorations and furniture as possible weapons.  His            battle plan ready, Blade engages his enemies once again.            MEANWHILE, ON THE UPPER LEVEL            Abigail appears at the lip of the smashed-in skylight.  She            lowers herself down on a rope, rushes to King's side --                                ABIGAIL                     You alright?                                KING                     Nothing a hot tub full of Bactine won't                     fix.            Abigail hits the release switch on the high-tech pillory and            the cuffs around his wrists open.  As Abigail helps King out:                                ABIGAIL                     Zoe --                                KING                     Drake's got her.            Abigail nods, handing King her pistol.  Then she's out the            door.  Seconds later, King follows --            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - HALLWAYS - VARIOUS - NIGHT            Abigail pauses, slipping her earbuds in, turning on her MP3            player.  The bumping-strains of Fluke's Absurd track kick in.             Abigail uncilps her UV arc, telescopes it outward and --            -- suddenly it's like we're in a first-person shooter video            game.  She moves through the corridors with mathematical            precision, feeling the MUSIC in her bones, slicing through            every vampire she encounters with deadly efficiency.            VAMPIRES AND HUMAN FAMILIARS            are coming out from every doorway.            Abigail PUNCHES one in the solar plexus, DECAPITATES another,            finishes off the first.  Then she's moving on, taking down a            third, fourth, and fifth vampire with her rapid-fire stake            dispenser.  Throwing stakes with blinding speed.            After a half-dozen stakes, her dispenser is empty.  Without            missing a beat, she presses a tab on the dispenser, ejects the            clip, then reaches to her belt where a back-up is secured and            slaps it in place.  The mayhem continues.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - PENTHOUSE - LOWER LEVEL - NIGHT            Blade unsheathes his sword.  He parries two combatants with            clubs, then whirls around, DEFLECTING a GUNSHOT from a third            with the flat of his sword.            Grimwood is furious.  His men are tripping all over            themselves.  He grabs an antique battle axe that's secured to            the wall.  He sees an opening, SWINGS at Blade's head --            -- Blade drops and the axe slices through one of Grimwood's            own men.            In an eye-blink, Blade is up again, advancing.  He cuts down            another familiar, pushes forward, cuts oown a second --            Now Blade and Grimwood are face to face.  Grimwood swings his            axe again.  Blade hooks his sword beneath it, FLIPPING it from            Grimwood's hands.            Blade sweeps his sword around in a wide arc, CUTTING straight            through Grimwood's mid-section.  The upper half of Grimwood's            body topples away --            -- then he rights himself.  A half-vampire.  He's still alive,            running forward on his hands, trailing viscera.  He SPRINGS UP            at Blade, all claws and gnashing teeth.            Blade catches Grimwood by the throat, whirls him around --            --  and manages to IMPALE what's left of Grimwood with his            sword-point.  Grimwood ASHES in Blade's arms.  The only thing            left are his steel teeth, which CLATTER to the floor at            Blade's feet.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - DRAKE'S QUARTERS - NIGHT            Abigail enters, SEES Zoe.  TWO VAMPIRES GUARDS stand nearby.             In a flash, Abigail flings TWO SILVER STAKES at them.  Both            stakes hit their mark and the vamps crumple to ASH.            Abigail hurries over, SHOOTS apart the lock on Zoe's shackle.            Zoe wraps her arms around Abigail, hugging her tight.  Abigail            takes Zoe by the hand, pulling her towards the door.                                ABIGAIL                     Come on, hon.  Let's get you out of here.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - HALLWAY - NIGHT            King stumbles out into the hallway, pulling his shirt back on.             As he limps down the corridor, a GROWL makes him pause --            KING'S POV            Beau, the vampire rottweiler, lopes around the corner.  Then --            TWO MORE ROTTWEILERS            emerge behind Beau.  They're all GROWLING now.                                KING                          (under his breath)                     Fuck.  Me.  Sideways.            The three of them break, BARKING like crazy, snouts splitting            open as their jaws flower apart.            CUT T0:            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - ATRIUM - UPPER GALLERY - NIGHT            Blade moves into the upper gallery of a vast atrium.            DRAKE            stands before him, waiting, sword in hand.  He extends it,            touching the tip to the floor.  A challenge.                                DRAKE                     Are you ready to die, Blade?                                BLADE                     Been ready since the day I was born,                     mother-fucker.                                DRAKE                          (with a smile)                     Then allow me to accommodate you.            Drake does a back-flip over the balcony.  Forty feet down.            Blade follows, drawing his sword as he LEAPS --            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - ATRIUM - GROUND FLOOR - NIGHT            -- and lands.  Now the two warriors face each other, swords            raised, eyes locked, their stances frozen.  Like classic            samurai.  Whoever moves first, loses.            Beat.  MOVING IN on both men, CIRCLING around them.  Slow the            heart.  Slow the breath.  Find the opening.            DRAKE            breaks first, bringing his sword over in less time than it            takes to blink an eye.  No one could possibly deflect the            blow.  And yet --            BLADE            manages a COUNTER-STROKE with super-human grace.  He advances,            parries, his sword CLANGING and SINGING like a blacksmith's            hammer on sheet metal.            Cut, thrust, block, diagonal downward slashes.  The moves come            faster.  Drake DUCKS, barely avoiding being decapitated.             Blade's sword cuts right through a column instead.            Drake retaliates.  Blade locks swords with him.  For a moment,            the two warriors are nose to nose.  Then Blade twists his            sword free, cutting open Drake's cheek --            Drake GROWLS, back-flipping up onto a ledge.  He touches his            fingertips to the cut, tastes his own blood.  Then we hear the            telltale sounds of CARTILAGE POPPING.  For a brief moment, his            facial features shift, giving us yet another glimpse of his            true form.  As his anger increases, Drake begins to devolve.            He DIVES at Blade, HOWLING, raking his CLAWS at Blade's face.             He strikes out, KNOCKING Blade across the atrium.  He SPRINGS            forward, dragging Blade up by his throat, sinking his fangs            into Blade's shoulder.  Blide SCREAMS and we --                                                                  CUT TO:            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - HALLWAY - NIGHT            -- as King runs.  He hazards a look back.  The vampire dogs            are quickly gaining on him.            UP AHEAD            It's a dead-end.  Just plate glass windows and a whole lot of            nothing beyond.            The dogs are almost on King when suddenly, King JUMPS,            snagging an overhead pipe.  As he swings his body upward --            THE DOGS            skid on the floor, unable to stop their momentum, and CRASH            straight through the plate glass window.            EXT. PHOENIX TOWERS - PENTHOUSE - NIGHT            An EXPLOSION OF GLASS as two of the vampire rottweilers tumble            into the night.  They fall like stones -- twenty stories down            into the traffic-clogged intersection below.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - HALLWAY - NIGHT            King drops back to the floor, cackling, pleased with himself.             It takes him a second to realize that --            ONE OF THE ROTTWEILERS (BEAU)            -- didn't take a swan dive out the window.  He's right behind            King.  And now he's SPRINGING FORWARD --            WHAM!  King is hit in the chest by the SNARLING beast.  He            drops the pistol as he's knocked back onto the floor.  The dog            LUNGES again --            With one arm, King struggles to keep his face from being bit            off, while searching blindly for the discarded pistol.  King            locates it, FIRING into the beast's chest --            THE ROTTWEILER            ASHES, disintegrating all over King's face.  King gets a            mouthful of the charcoal remains, tries to SPIT them out.                                KING                          (making a face)                     Bad dog.                                                                  CUT TO:            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - ATRIUM - UPPER GALLERY - NIGHT            Abigail emerges onto the gallery with Zoe.  She spots an            alcove, indicates that Zoe should hide.  Then she slips a            silver stake into Zoe's hand.  Just in case.            Abigail rushes to the handrail, looking down at Blade and            Drake.  Her view is obscured.  She can't get a good shot.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - ATRIUM - GROUND FLOOR - NIGHT            Drake digs his fangs into Blade's shoulder.  Blade struggles,            manages to slip a stake from his bandolier --            WHAM!  Blade SLAMS the stake into Drake's ear canal.  The            beast SHRIEKS in pain, dropping Blade.  But all the gambit has            done is drive Drake into a berserker rage.            Drake swings his fist.  Blade ducks.  Drake's fist goes            through the wall, PUNCTURING a steam pipe.  Steam vents --            Drake reaches in, RIPS an eight-foot section of the pipe from            the wall, bringing a SPARKING nest of electrical cables along            with it.  He swings the pipe section around, WHACKING Blade.            KRUNCH!  Drake swings the makeshift club again.  He's a one            man demolition crew, decimating everything in his path.  He's            SMASHING holes in the floor, the walls, plowing through            partitions of glass and steel.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - ATRIUM - UPPER GALLERY - NIGHT            Abigail moves down the gallery, looks up --            A SERIES OF LIGHTING GANTRIES            span the length of the atrium ceiling.            Abigail balances on the handrail, then jumps out into space --            -- catching hold of one of the crosspieces.  Like an acrobat,            she monkey-swings her way beneath the gantry.  If she loses            her grip, she'll fall more than fifty feet.            BA-BANG!  A bullet strikes just in front of Abigail, showering            her with SPARKS.  MORE BULLETS follow.            ANGLE ON PAIR OF VAMPIRES            FIRING from below, trying to pick her off.  Suddenly, UV            BULLETS strike each of the vampires.  As they ASH we --            WHIP-PAN BACK TO KING,            having dragged his battered body out onto the upper gallery.             He's playing guardian angel to Abigail, laying down cover fire            so she can continue.  But then --                                DANICA                     KING!!!            DANICA            appears behind King.  She TACKLES him, wrestling him to the            floor, pummeling his face with her fist.            King tries to ward of f the blows, but he's sorely outmatched.            He swings his electronic pistol up --            Danica twists it from his grip, ejecting the clip from the            stock.  King's sun dog bullets spill out all over the floor.             She tosses the gun aside, reaches for King again --            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - LIGHTING GANTRY - NIGHT            Back to Abigail.  She's breathing heavily, trying to call up            new reserves of strength.  She glances down --            Big mistake.            She forces herself to look back up.  She swings herself            pendulum-style, manages to snag yet another crosspiece.  A            SHOT RINGS OUT --            ANGLE ON ASHER,            down below, armed with a rifle.  He FIRES again --            -- grazing Abigail's shoulder with the bullet.  Abigail CRIES            OUT, nearly losing her grip.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - ATRIUM - UPPER GALLERY - NIGHT            King rolls on his side, spits out a bloody tooth.                                KING                     No offense, Danica --                          (gasping in pain)                     -- but I've wanted to kill you since the                     moment we slept together.                                DANICA                     I was that bad, huh?            King reaches a palsied hand for his discarded pistol, points            it vaguely in Danica's direction.  She LAUGHS.                                DANICA                     No bullets in your gun, King.                                KING                     Yeah, but here's the beauty --                          (wiping his bloody mouth)                     -- these babies can be triggered remotely.            King pulls the trigger.  The scattered sun dog bullets ERUPT            with UV LIGHT.  Danica SHRIEKS, trying to shield her already            burning face from the glare.  She runs, horribly wounded.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - ATRIUM - GROUND FLOOR - NIGHT            Drake pummels Blade, flinging his body about like a ragdoll.             He grabs Blade by his ankle, swings him upwards some thirty            feet --            SMASH!  Blade collides with the underside of a massive hanging            glass chandelier/lighting fixture.            Blade FALLS back to the ground, stunned, dropping his sword.             Drake pounces on him.  Blade can barely fend off Drake's blows            anymore.  In desperation he digs his fingers into Drake's            eyes.            Drake swings both fists downward, Hulk-style, SHATTERING an            entire section of the limestone flooring.            A SHOCK-WAVE ripples out from the point of impact, sending            waves of two-foot stone tiles flipping up into the air,            knocking Blade off his feet.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - ATRIUM - UPPER GALLERY - NIGHT            King loads a sun dog into his pistol, steadies his aim on the            railing, and FIRES at Asher --            THE SUN DOG            screams across the atrium, striking dead-center in Asher's            open mouth.  The bullet EXPLODES.  UV LIGHT causes Asher's            skull to burn up from the inside out.  His headless corpse            falls forward over the gallery railing.  Then it too            carbonizes and BURNS UP.            Relieved, King sinks to his knees.            BEHIND KING,            we SEE Zoe slip from the alcove.  She makes for the stairs.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - LIGHTING GANTRY - NIGHT            King has bought Abigail more time.  She swings her body            forward, hooking her legs over the next crosspiece.  Then she            lets go with her hands.  Now she is hanging upside down,            secured only by the tension in her calves.            Abigail reaches behind her, removes her bow.  BLOOD from her            wounded shoulder drips down over her collar bone, reaching her            cheek, briefly obscuring her vision.  She wipes it away.  Then            she reaches back once more and --            -- because her quiver is pointed downward, a number of arrows            slide out. Abigail panics, twisting her body --            -- managing to lust barely snag the ~la~ue arrow as it tumbles            Past her!            Beat.  Abigail shuts her eyes, trying to find her center.             With her eyes closed, she nocks the arrow and draws the bow            back.  Then she opens her eyes.            She's only going to get one shot -- and she's going to have to            take it while hanging upside down.168 a       ABIGAIL'S POV                                      168 a              On Drake and Blade below, locked in combat.  She tracks their            progress, waits for Drake to move into a better position --            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - ATRIUM - GROUND FLOOR - NIGHT            Drake shoulders a support column, SNAPPING it in two.  An            entire section of the gallery walkway above comes CRASHING            DOWN, burying Blade in debris --            -- but it's not enough for Drake.  He LEAPS forward, fishing            Blade out, hauling him up --            Drake head-butts Blade -- once, twice.  Blade's eyes roll to            whites.  Drake looks down, SEES Blade's discarded sword.             Drake scoops it up, STRIKES at Blade --            Blade manages to roll to the side, avoiding the blow.            Drake STRIKES again, dealing Blade a glancing blow --            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - LIGHTING GANTRY - NIGHT            ON ABIGAIL.  Waiting.  More blood has trickled down her neck,            into her eyes.  But she can't wipe them anymore.  She's            already got her bow drawn.  She's committed to the shot.            We can hear ABIGAIL'S HEARTBEAT as she settles.  She takes a            final breath, holds it -- and lets the plague arrow fly.            ON THE PLAGUE ARROW            as it streaks downward, hurtling towards Drake at more than            300 feet per second.  Then, at the last possible instant	--            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - ATRIUM - GROUND FLOOR - NIGHT            CHINGG!  Drake deflects the arrow with his sword.  It            harmlessly falls to the floor, rolling a few yards away.            ON ABIGAIL,            stunned, her expression melting into despair.            BACK TO DRAKE            swinging Blade's sword around.  PLUNGING it into Blade's side.            As he pulls it back out again --            BLADE            GASPS, sinking downward.  He's on his knees now, in shock.            Drake ROARS again shifting, conjuring up seventy centuries of            violence and predation.  And the nightmare shape that was only            hinted at before, finally takes center-stage.            BLOOD suffuses Drake's flesh, turning his skin crimson.  His            canines elongate, his lower jaw distends.             Jagged bone spurs erupt all over his body -- like he's growing            a suit of razor-sharp thorns.  He doesn't need a sword            anymore.  He's become a living weapon.  Drake is gone.  Now he            is --            THE BEAST            Drake swings the sword overhead.  He's going to decapitate            Blade.  And just as the sword reaches the top of its arc --            ZOE            emerges from the shadows behind Drake, clutching a silver            stake.  She SHOVES it into Drake's back,  pushing with all the            strength her little body can muster.            Drake staggers.  The blow wasn't lethal, but it hurt all the            same.  He turns on Zoe, enraged, his attention distracted for            one crucial second --            ON BLADE,            summoning the last of his reserves.  He pitches his body            forward, managing to snag the end of the plague arrow.  And            before Drake even realizes what is happening --            WHAM!  Blade sinks the plague arrow deep into Drake's chest.             Drake drops the sword, turning back to face Blade --            Exhausted beyond measure, Blade sags.            INSIDE DRAKE'S CHEST - MACRO SHOT            as the arrowhead dispense the bio-weapon.  We SEE the virus            flooding Drake's internal organs, causing them to blacken as            his circulatory system carries it throughout his body.            ON DRAKE'S FACE,            letting loose an INHUMAN SCREAM, vomiting up a spray of blood            mist.  His monstrous features begin to melt, reshaping into            his more familiar face.  At the same time we --            GO MACR0 ONCE MORE            Shrinking until we are amidst the spray of blood Drake            expelled.  We continue shrinking until we are moving with the            individual molecules of Drake's breath as the plague virions            latch onto them, causing them to blacken and become necrotic.             Moving with the twirling molecules until they are inhaled by --            DANICA,            having retreated from her defeat by King.  She clutches her            throat.  We can see the virus infiltrating her system as tiny            BLACK THREADS expand across her face.  She sways, falling onto            the floor.  She reaches a beseeching hand towards King --            -- then dies, a final still-born curse on her lips.            MORE VAMPIRES            are feeling the effects now too.  One by one they drop,            choking, going into convulsions.  As they writhe on the floor,            we watch the Daystar virus ravaging their bodies.            BACK TO BLADE AND DRAKE            Drake slumps against the wall.  Hero and villain are now            separated by only a few feet.  Both at death's door.                                DRAKE                     Well done, hunter.  Well done.            Blade stares back.  At this point, he's just trying to remain            conscious.  He's lost a ton of blood.                                DRAKE                      You fought with honor --            Drake shudders, his breathing becoming increasingly shallow.                                DRAKE                     -- as I knew you would.  The humans are                     coming for you, you know.  In their eyes,                     you and I are the same.                     Allow me one last indulgence, then --                          (gasping)                     -- a parting gift --            Drake grows still, his eyes locked on Blade's.            ABIGAIL AND KING            rush to Blade's side.  Zoe joins them.  Blade is dying, fading            fast.  Abigail shakes Blade --                                ABIGAIL                     Blade!            Her voice sounds distant and muted, overridden by Blade's own            HEARTBEAT which is fading up, dominating the soundtrack.                                ABIGAIL                     BLADE!!!            Blade's eyes can't focus anymore.  They're clouding over.                                BLADE'S POV                     We drop away from Abigail and King -- like                     we're falling down            a dark tunnel.	 Then the world FADES TO WHITE.            EXT. CITYSCAPE	- DAWN            FADE IN FROM WHITE.  We see the sky, the burning orb of the            rising sun.  A trio of FBI helicopters ride out from the dawn,            swooping down over the stirring city.                                ABIGAIL (V.0.)                     It didn't take long for the authorities                     to arrive.            INT. LEAD HELICOPTER - DAWN            Cumberland sits in the front passenger seat, Hale behind him.            EXT. PHOENIX TOWERS - PLAZA - DAWN            As the helicopters touch down in the plaza we see a small            convoy of POLICE and FBI VEHICLES converging around them.            Cumberland and Hale are among the first out.  They rush            towards the Phoenix Towers entrance, guns drawn, DOZENS OF            AGENTS and OFFICERS behind them.            INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - ATRIUM - DAWN            The first rays of sun penetrate through the atrium windows            setting the scattered vampire corpses ablaze.  Danica, Asher,            and the others all ignite.                                ABIGAIL (V.0.)                     When they got there, all of Drake's                     people were dead.            By the time Cumberland and his men have entered, fanning out            through the atrium, all they find are a series of corpse            shaped piles of ash and singe marks.                                ABIGAIL (V.0.)                     In the weeks that followed, the rest of                     the world's vampires also perished.                          (beat)                     We'd finally won.            ON CUMBERLAND,            surveying the scene, frustrated by what he's found.  Then we            hear SHOUTS coming from the back of the atrium.            AT THE BACK OF THE ATRIUM            they find Blade.  He's dead, slumped against a wall.  There's            no sign of Drake.  The vampire king is gone.            INT. FBI MORGUE - DAY            CLOSE ON Blade's face, his body being wheeled on an autopsy            gurney.  PULL BACK to reveal that we are in an FBI morgue.            Cumberland and Hale stand nearby, overseeing everything as --            A TRIO OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS            lift Blade's body onto an autopsy table.  They turn on a bank            of overhead UV lights.  The lead examiner reaches for a            scalpel.  But as he touches the scalpel to Blade's chest --                                ABIGAIL (V.0.)                     And Blade?  Cumberland and Hale finally                     got their body --            BLADE'S FACE            changes.  We hear a series of POPS and CRACKS as subdermal            cartilage begins to loosen and shift.  At the same time, the            skin begins to lighten as melanin is gradually leached away.                                ABIGAIL (V.0.) (CONT'D)                     -- but it wasn't the one they were banking                     on.            ON CUMBERLAND AND THE OTHERS            as they react with varying degrees of shock.            BACK TO THE BODY            We realize that it's not Blade lying before them.  It's Drake.            Somehow, even in death, the vampire king managed to take            Blade's shape and temporarily retain it.                                ABIGAIL (V.O.)                     The virus didn't kill Blade.  But the                     authorities very well could have.  So in                     the end, realizing that own his people                     were doomed, Drake decided to give Blade a                     gift.            (beat)                                ABIGAIL (CONT ÔD)                     By taking Blade's shape, he bought Blade                     enough time to escape.  Offering Blade a                     second chance at life - -                                                              DISSOLVE TO:            EXT. SEASIDE CLIFF - DAY            A bright summer day.  Blade stands at the edge of a cliff,            looking out over a sun-struck ocean.  For the first time since            we've seen him, he's not wearing armor or sunglasses or            handguns or rifles.  And were it not for the sword he holds,            we might even mistake him for an ordinary man.                                ABIGAIL (V.0.)                     And so Blade took it.            Blade flings his sword over the cliff, into the ocean below.                                 ABIGAIL (V.0.)                     We never saw him again.            UNDERWATER            We see the sword sinking, reflecting the refracted sunlight            from above as it twirls end over end.            BACK TO BLADE            At peace with himself at last.  After a moment's reflection,            he turns and walks away.                                ABIGAIL (V.0.)                     He disappeared completely.                          (beat)                     But that's what heroes do.  They simply                     fade out.  And in this way --            A SERIES OF DISSOLVES            as Blade moves further and further away from us, dwindling            into the horizon until he disappears entirely.                                ABIGAIL (V.0.)                     -- they become legends.                                                            FADE TO BLACK.            Over darkness we hear the sound of TRAFFIC.            EXT. THE SLAUGHTERED LAMB - NIGHT            FADE IN.  We are moving towards a local punk dive wedged into            a crowded block in the meat packing district.            A DOORMAN (LUCIUS) stands outside, checking CUSTOMERS' IDs.We            hear HILLBILLY THRASH MUSIC coming from within.            ANGLE ON KING AND ABIGAIL            approaching.  King holds his four-barreled rifle.  Abigail            peels away, disappearing into an alley as King nears the front            door.  The doorman recognizes King, knows he's trouble.                                KING                     Evening Lucius.                                LUCIUS                     King, what the hell are you doing here?                                KING                     Just a little sport hunting.            INT. CLUB CROWBAR - NIGHT            A BAND belts out a cover of Sam and the Shams' Little Red            Riding Hood.  The band members look a little lupine.  As King            weaves his way through the crowd, Lucius hurries alongside.                                LUCIUS                     Ain't no vampires left, King.  So who do                     you have to hunt?                                KING                     That's an interesting question, my friend.                      And I've got a question for you in return.            INT. CLUB CROWBAR - BACK AREA - NIGHT            As King pushes his way through to the bathrooms, we hear an            UNEARTHLY ROAR coming from the men's room.                                KING                     What do you get when you cross a vampire                     with a werewolf?            The door to the men's room EXPLODES OPEN.  Abigail comes            flying out.  She hits the far wall of the hallway, slides to            th floor.  But she's up in an instant, pulling a knife on --                                KING                          (raising his four-barrel)                     A fur coat that sticks to your neck.            A HILL-BILLY HIPSTER WERE-CREATURE,            wearing a blood-soaked Stray Cats-style suit.  The ephedrine            nightmare creature looks at King, opening his elongated snout            to flash a set of razor-sharp canid teeth.                                KING                     Don't you know fur is murder?            As King FIRES point-blank into the were-creature we --                                                             CUT TO BLACK.            CUE MUSIC.            END CREDITS ROLL
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+                                THE BLIND SIDE                                 Written by                              John Lee Hancock                              Based on the book                     The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game                                     By                                Michael Lewis                                                            04/28/09                                                            1 OVER BLACK... 1          A distinctly SOUTHERN VOICE...          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE          There's a moment of orderly silence          before a football play begins.          Players are in position, linemen          are frozen, and anything's          possible. Then, like a traffic          accident, stuff begins to randomly          collide. From the snap of the ball          to the snap of the first bone is          closer to four seconds than five.          2 EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD/GAME FOOTAGE - NIGHT 2           We're watching footage of the 1985 Redskins/Giants Monday           Night Football game. Lots of angles, faces, knuckles as the           two teams line up, Redskins on offense, for the snap of the           ball. As the play begins --          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE          One Mississippi. Joe Theismann, the          Redskins quarterback, takes the          snap and hands off to his running          back.          JOE THEISMANN hands off to JOHN RIGGINS, who takes two steps          forward, then turns and tosses the ball back'to Theismann.          The footage PAUSES AND PLAYS like a coach breaking down film.          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE (CONT'D)          Two Mississippi. It's a trick play,          a flea flicker, and the running          back tosses the ball back to the          quarterback.          HARRY CARSON, the Giants linebacker sees that Theismann has          the ball back and races toward him. Theismann steps up and          to the side and Carson flies past.          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE (CONT'D)          Three Mississippi. Up to now the          play's been defined by what the          quarterback sees. It's about to be          defined by what he doesn't.          LAWRENCE TAYLOR carves a wide circle around the Redskins          lineman trying to block him.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                                        2 CONTINUED: 2          The blocker dives frantically. at Taylor's ankles, and misses.          Taylor leaps, arms raised, filling the sky behind Theismann.          The image FREEZES.          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE (CONT'D)          Four Mississippi. Lawrence Taylor          is the best defensive player in the          NFL and has been from the time he          stepped onto the field as a rookie.          The frozen image of Taylor comes to life as he jackknifes          Theismann's body.          PLAYERS' FACES react to what they're seeing. Devastating.          TAYLOR pops up from the pile and jumps around like a madman.          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE (CONT'D)          He will also change the game of          football as we know it.          WE ARE WATCHING the MNF feed and hear the ANNOUNCER'S VOICES.          FRANK GIFFORD (V.0.)          Again, we'll look at it with the          reverse angle one more time. And I          suggest if your stomach is weak you          just don't watch.          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE          Joe Theissman never played another          down of football.          3 TEAM PHOTO OF THE 2005 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 3          LEIGH ANNE'S. VOICE          Now, y'all would guess that more          often than not the highest paid          player on an NFL team is the          quarterback.          The camera finds MATT HASSELBECK, Seattle's quarterback.          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE (CONT'D)          And you'd be right. What you          probably don't know is that more          often than not the second highest          paid player is, thanks to Lawrence          Taylor, a left tackle.          The camera goes to WALTER JONES, Seattle's left tackle.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                3                         3 CONTINUED: 3           LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE (CONT'D)          Because, as every housewife knows,          the first check you write is for          the mortgage and the second is for          the insurance. The left tackle's          job is to protect the quarterback          from what he can't see coming. To          protect his blind side.          4 SERIES OF SHOTS 4           "Famous" left tackles - Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace, Andre          Gurode. Then we SEE SHOTS of their hands, feet, waists,          etc., corresponding with ---          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE          The ideal left tackle is big, but a          lot of people are big. He is wide          in the butt and massive in the          thighs. He has long arms, giant          hands and feet as quick as a          hiccup.          EXT. WEST MEMPHIS -- DAY 5          A street anchored by project housing and littered with broken          down cars and ne'er-do-wells. Lots of folks out, milling          about, but our focus is on A TEENAGER in the distance, moving          TOWARD US in SLO-MO while everyone else is at normal speed.          He's extremely large, six and a half feet, but he carefully          steps instead of strutting. His name is MICHAEL OHER.          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE          This is a rare and expensive          combination the need for which can          be traced to that Monday night game          and Lawrence. Taylor. For on that          day he not only altered Joe          Theismann's life, but mine as well.          As Michael continues toward us he begins to go OUT OF FOCUS --          INVESTIGATOR'S VOICE (V.O.)          Mr. Oher, do you know why I'm here?                         (NO RESPONSE)          Mr. Oher?...          MICHAEL (V.0.)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                4                         5 CONTINUED: 5           INVESTIGATOR'S.VOICE (V.O.)          Do you know, do you understand why          I'm here?          MICHAEL (V.0.)          To... investigate.          INVESTIGATOR'S VOICE (V.0.)          Yes. To investigate. I'm here to          investigate your odd...          predicament.          6 INT. NONDESCRIPT ROOM - DAY 6          Looks like a government office. Not much more than a desk on          either side of which sit INVESTIGATOR GRANGER, an African-          American woman in a business suit, and Michael Oher. Michael          slumps a bit, eyes the ground and rubs his hands on his knees          - a nervous trait of his.                         GRANGER          Do you find it odd? Your          predicament?                         (NO RESPONSE)          Michael?...                         MICHAEL          Iono [I don't know]...          Investigator Granger sifts through her briefcase, pulls out          files, documents - a good bit of evidence for whatever          trouble Michael is in.          She sits back, stares at Michael, as if trying to figure him          out. Michael can't meet her gaze. He looks out the window,          rubs his knees some more.                         MICHAEL (CONT'D)          Can I... can I leave now?                         GRANGER                         (WITH FINALITY)          No. You can't.          7 INT. ANCIENT FORD TAURUS _ DAY 7          SUPERSCRIPT: TWO YEARS BEFORE          Michael sits in the back seat, behind STEVEN HAMILTON, 14,          and his father, BIG TONY, who drives.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                5                         7 CONTINUED: 7          Not a word is spoken as they drive through the streets of          WEST MEMPHIS - poverty ridden.                         8          EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY          The Taurus exits into --          9 EXT. SOMEWHAT NICER AREA OF TOWN.- DAY 9          The Taurus passes an endless supply of churches and strip          joints, all of which Michael's eyes take in.          10 EXT. EAST MEMPHIS - INT/EXT TAURUS - DAY (LATER) 10          We've gone from slums to nice neighborhoods - fathers and          sons play baseball, kids tend lemonade stands, sprinklers          keep the grass emerald green.          Michael's face tells us he's never seen anything like this.          11 EXT. WINGATE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL -- DAY 11            The Taurus enters the parking lot filled with nice cars.                          A12          A12 INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY -- DAY          Big Tony strides down the almost empty hallway, spots a door.          12 INT. WINGATE - COTTON'S OFFICE - DAY 12                                     BERT COTTON, football coach, cleans off his desk, ready to          leave for the day. Big Tony knocks at the door.                         BIG TONY          They say you the coach.          Cotton eyes Tony, offers a hand.                         COTTON                                    Bert Cotton.                         BIG TONY          Tony Hamilton, but everybody call          me Big Tony.                         COTTON          What can I do for you, Tony?          13 EXT. WINGATE - SCHOOL GROUNDS - DAY 13           Steven and Michael eye the freshly painted buildings, the          flowers, the new playground jungle gyms and outdoor hoops.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                6                         13 CONTINUED: 13                         STEVEN          Sure is pretty, huh, Big Mike?          Mike doesn't answer, just takes it all in. Steven sees and          opens a container filled to the brim with balls - footballs,          basketballs, four square balls.                         STEVEN (CONT'D)          Not even locked!                         MICHAEL          White people are crazy.          14 INT. WINGATE - COTTON'S OFFICE - DAY 14           Big Tony and Cotton are mid-discussion ---                         BIG TONY          You see I promised my mama Boo, on          her deathbed, that I would get          Steven outta public and into a          church school.                         COTTON          I appreciate that but I'm not          involved with admissions.                         BIG TONY          I figured I'd come to you; seeing          as you might need some players.                         COTTON          What sport does he play?                         BIG TONY          Anything with a ball. Good, too.          He has Cotton's attention for a moment, then it passes...                         COTTON          Classes start in a week. It'd have          to be for next semester.                         BIG TONY          I know what you're thinking, Coach,          but I got money. I'm a mechanic at          Wilson's Auto t'other side of town.                         (ANOTHER TRY)          What if someone drops out or moves?          Could they get in then?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                7                         14 CONTINUED: 14                         COTTON          "They?" You only mentioned one son.                         BIG TONY          Steven, yessir, but I brought          another boy along.                         COTTON          Another boy?                         BIG TONY          Yeah, Big Mike. He stays on our          couch sometimes. It's a bad deal.          His mama's on the crack pipe and he          ain't got nobody. He just wanted          to come along with us today.                         COTTON          Would... Big Mike be an applicant          as well?                         BIG TONY          Yeah, sure, why not.          Cotton sighs, considers what to do.                         COTTON          They'd have to fill out          applications and make an          appointment for interviews.                         BIG TONY          I was hopin' you might just          interview 'em now.                         COTTON          They're here?          Big Tony points out the.window to the playground where Steven          and Michael are playing one on one basketball.                         BIG TONY          The little ones Steven and the big                         ONE'S --                         COTTON          Big Mike.                         BIG TONY          Yeah. That's right.                         INTERCUT WITH:                                                                                                                8          15 EXT. WINGATE - PLAYGROUND - DAY 15           For a boy his size Michael can really move. He dribbles,          fakes left, then falls away, making a long three pointer.          Cotton's eyes get a little wider as he watches --          Michael dribbles the ball between his legs, behind his back          and jumps high, slamming the ball through the hoop. Big men          aren't supposed to move like this.          Cotton's lips are almost quivering --                         COTTON          Mother of God...          16 INT. ADMINISTRATION OFFICE BOARD ROOM - DAY 16           The Board of Admissions, eight or so men and women, are           seated around a large conference table. By himself, at one          end, sits Bert Cotton.                           COTTON           Are there spots available or not?           PAUL SANDSTROM, Principal, taps his fingers before...                           SANDSTROM           Technically, yes, in both grades.          But we have a greater          responsibility than just filling          classrooms. Steven Hamilton's           paperwork looks acceptable and I          believe he would be capable of          succeeding here but the other kid --          Sandstrom looks through papers for the name.                          COTTON          Big Mike.                         SANDSTROM           Michael Oher gives us no reason to          believe, based on his record, that          he would be successful here.                         COTTON          How bad could it be?          Another board member, MRS. SMITH, pores over Michael's file,          which is a mess. She finds facts and lays them out ---                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                9                         16 CONTINUED: 16          MRS. SMITH          We're not sure exactly how old he          is due to lack of records. He has          a measured IQ of 80. That's 6th          percentile. He's been enrolled in          seven different institutions,          including a gap of eighteen months          around the age of ten when he          apparently didn't attend school at          all. He repeated first grade as          well as second, there's no record          of attendance in third, and in          fourth grade --                         COTTON          So they moved him ahead without          going to third grade. That says          something.          MRS. SMITH                         (IGNORING COTTON)          His attendance records are abysmal          and his grade point average begins          with a zero. Zero-point-six-          Silence around the room. MRS. BOSWELL, a board member and          science teacher, looks to the others.          MRS. BOSWELL          Everyone passed him along - gave          him D's so they could hand their          problem off to the next school.                         COTTON          Brave kid.          (off their confusion)          For wanting to come here. For          wanting a quality education. An          education denied him by the poor          quality of the schools he's          attended. Most kids with his          background wouldn't come within two          hundred miles of this place.          MRS. SMITH          Coach Cotton, we understand your          interest in the young man's          athletic abilities.                         SANDSTROM          He wouldn't be able to play until          he got his grades up anyway.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 10                         16 CONTINUED: 16                         COTTON          Forget sports! Look at the wall.          He points to the crest on the wall. Beneath it: "NEIGHBORLY,          ACADEMIC, CHRISTIAN".                         COTTON (CONT'D)          Christian. We either take that          seriously or we paint over it. You          don't admit Michael Oher for          sports, you admit him because it's          the right thing to do.          Their faces announce that he's made a point.          17 EXT. WINGATE - DAY 17          First day of class. Students, mostly blonde-haired and blue-          eyed, wearing crisply laundered Abercrombie and Fitch, carry          their backpacks through the school's arch and converse with          friends they haven't seen over the summer.          Michael ENTERS FRAME. Fills it up in fact. He stares at the          arch. Beneath the school name we read "WITH MEN THIS IS.          POSSIBLE, WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE". Michael takes a          deep breath and enters. He carries his "school bag" - a          plastic grocery sack.          18 EXT. WINGATE - CAMPUS - DAY 18          Just as before, Michael moves at A DIFFERENT SPEED than those          around him. Makes sense because he is different. Not only          the color of his skin but his size, his clothes (short pants          and T-shirt), his eyes taking in the pavement - all point to          the fact that he doesn't belong here.          Small children from kindergarten and first grade give him a          wide, cautious berth. He's noticed and ogled by everyone.          19 INT. WINGATE - MRS. BOSWELL'S CLASS - DAY 19          It's Mrs. Boswell's biology class and she's writing on the          board in front of a full classroom when Michael enters. He          pauses and all eyes go to him. Mrs. Boswell does her best to          stifle a gasp as she first lays eyes on him. Then...          MRS. BOSWELL          Class, this is Mike Oher and he's          new here so I expect you all to          make him feel welcome.          (with a warm smile)          Mike, take any empty seat.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                11                         19 CONTINUED: 19          She urges him with a nod. Michael walks back and sits in the          corner, looking terrified. He barely fits in the seat.          Mrs. Boswell hands out a stack of papers to each row. As          students pass them back to others...          MRS. BOSWELL (CONT'D)          This is a quiz based on the          information you learned last year          in your science curriculum.                         (OVER GROANS)          Don't worry. It won't be graded. I          just want to see how much of the          information we need to hit again.                                     Just answer whatever you know.          The student in front of Michael hands a sheet back to him and          eyes the size of his feet.          The students start to work while Michael stares at the sheet          like it's written in Greek. Mrs. Boswell watches him for a                                     few seconds before turning back to her work.          20 INT. WINGATE - HALLWAY - DAY (LATER) 20           A bell RINGS and kids leave classrooms.          21 INT. WINGATE - MRS. BOSWELL'S CLASS - DAY 21           Michael sits alone while Mrs. Boswell collects the last of          the papers. She walks over to Michael, looks down at his          sheet. Nothing filled in, just his name scrawled at the top.          She tries to decide how to deal with this then opts for --          MRS. BOSWELL          It's okay.                         MICHAEL          Can I leave now?          She nods and watches him stand and walk away. She glances          down at the sheet, turns it over and sees...          A DRAWING on the back - a boat on an ocean. On the boat is a          single, stick figure person. It's sweet but looks like a          third grader drew it.                                                                                                                12          22 INT. BIG TONY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT 22          Michael lies on a tattered sofa. The lights are out but          Michael's eyes are open, staring at the light emanating from          beneath a closed bedroom door. We hear voices...          WOMAN'S VOICE (O.S)          Why he gotta always stay here?          BIG TONY'S VOICE (0.S)          Ain't got nowhere else.           WOMAN'S VOICE (O.S)           And how's that your problem? You           the Red Cross all of a sudden?           Michael tries to shut his eyes.                          23           23 EXT. WINGATE - PARKING LOT - DAY          School is out. Steven walks up to Michael...                         STEVEN          Hey, Big Mike, um... my Pops'          girlfriend... she don't really want          you to stay with us no more.          Big Tony's Taurus pulls into the lot.                         STEVEN (CONT'D)          We can still give you rides if you          want?                         MICHAEL          Naw, it's aright.           Steven gets in the Taurus. Michael watches it drive away.                          24           24 INT. WINGATE - GYMNASIUM FOYER - NIGHT          A girl's volleyball game is in progress in the bg. As          latecomers move en masse for entry into the gym, a small          pretty lady on a cell phone moves.against the crowd; a salmon          on a mission. This is LEIGH ANNE Tuohy. And she's pissed.                         LEIGH ANNE          (on cell phone)          I don't care if Patrick Ramsey did          approve the chair. He's an NFL          quarterback not Martha frickin'          Stewart.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 13                         24 CONTINUED: 24          She arrives at the concession stand and waits impatiently.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          There's a difference between Bunny          Williams and Lazee-boy.                         (TO VENDOR)          Three large popcorns and two large          diets.                         (INTO CELL)          When MTV Cribs comes to his house          he'll be showing off his home          theatre but all I'm gonna see is a          brown Barca-lounger. I'm his          designer, my name's on it. Deliver          what I ordered!!!          She hangs up angry, spots a friend nearby and her frown turns          into a smile that could light up a cave.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT`D)          Hi, sweetie! We're on the Kidspace          committee together, aren't we?!          It'll be a hoot!          25 INT. WINGATE - GYMNASIUM -- NIGHT 25          Leigh Anne's husband SEAN TUOHY, handsome, confidant, and          their 10-year-old son, SJ, sit, watching the game.          During a time out, Sean eyes the crowd, sees something odd.          In the upper corner of the gym sits Michael, by himself,          rubbing his knees. Others around him, all white, have moved          away. He's a very large island in the lily white gym.                         SEAN          S.J., you know that kid?                         SJ          What kid?                         SEAN          Black kid. Up in the corner.                         SI          Be goes to high school here. His          name is Big something... Big Mike.          Sean eyes Michael suspiciously.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                14                         25 CONTINUED: 25                         SEAN          He look like a volleyball fan to          you?          Leigh Anne, loaded up with refreshments, makes her way up the          stands to her family. She has a nod, a smile, a bon mot, for          everyone she passes. As she sits...                         LEIGH ANNE          What'd I miss?                         SEAN          Collins got a dig.                         SI          It's girl's volleyball, Mom. You          didn't miss anything.          Leigh Anne gives him a look then stands and shouts --                         LEIGH ANNE          Collins! Move your feet!          ON THE COURT - COLLINS TUOHY, a beautiful 16-year-old, sighs          and gives her mother a look - "Don't embarrass me!"          26 INT. WINGATE - GYMNASIUM - NIGHT (LATER) 26           The scoreboard tells us that the game is over. Fans file          out. The Tuohy family waits in a group as the volleyball          team exits the court.                         LEIGH ANNE          Collins, we'll wait outside. And          don't double condition in the          shower - you still have homework!                         COLLINS          I'm going over to Cannon's house to          study.                         SI          Can I go.to the Johnson's for          dinner? They invited me.                         LEIGH ANNE          What's so awful about our house?          Sean smiles, shakes his head as SJ and Collins leave.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                15                         26 CONTINUED: 26          Sean's eyes go to the upper stands where he sees Michael,          alone, walking slowly, then bending down, picking something          up, taking a few more steps and repeating the process.          Picking up left-over bags of popcorn.          Sean considers this for a second before leaving.          27 INT. WINGATE - TEACHER'S LOUNGE - DAY 27           Teachers drink stale coffee and chew on donuts.          FIRST TEACHER (BOB)          Well, the big guy's been here a          month and he ain't cutting it in my          class.          SECOND TEACHER (APRIL)          Why would Admissions do this? It's          not fair to us or the boy.          THIRD TEACHER (GLENDA)          Just setting him up to fail.                         BOB          I don't think he has any idea what          I'm teaching.                         GLENDA          And how would you know if he did?          He won't even talk.          Mrs. Boswell can't contain herself.          MRS. BOSWELL          He writes.                         APRIL          His name. Barely.          Mrs. Boswell goes to'her purse, pulls out a crumpled page.          MRS. BOSWELL          He threw this in the trash can.          (reads from the page)          "I look and I see white everywhere:          white walls, white floors, and a          lot of white people. The teachers          do not know I have no idea of          anything they are talking about. I          do not want to listen to anyone,          especially the teachers.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               16                         27 CONTINUED: 27           MRS. BOSWELL (CONT'D)          They are giving homework and          expecting me to do the problems on          my own. I have never done homework          in my life. I go to the bathroom,          look in the mirror and say, "This          is not Michael Oher."          (a pause for effect)          He entitled it "White Walls."          The room is dead quiet.                         BOB          How's the spelling?          Mrs. Boswell stuffs the page back in her purse and leaves.          28 INT. WINGATE - CAFETERIA -- DAY 28           Sean and Coach Cotton sip coffee while all around them          students eat their lunches. They are looking at Michael, who          sits by himself without a tray in front of him.                         COTTON          If he makes his grades he'll be          eligible in the spring.                         SEAN          If he makes his grades.                         COTTON          But boy-hidey, just look at him.          Cotton is admiring Michael's size but Sean sees something          else. He stands, walks over to Michael, who barely looks up.                         SEAN          What did you eat for lunch today?                         MICHAEL          Here in the cafeteria.                         SEAN          I didn't ask where you ate, I asked          what you ate.                         MICHAEL          A few things.                         SEAN          Do you need some money? For lunch?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                17                         28 CONTINUED: 28                         MICHAEL          I don't need any.          Sean walks back over to Coach Cotton.                         SEAN          Buy him a semester lunch pass and          put it on my bill.          (off Cotton's look)          He's hungry.                         COTTON          You could tell that by looking at          him?                         SEAN -           I didn't grow up all that different           from him. At public school they                                    give you free lunch, Bert. And          when food is finite, you'd be          surprised how much time you can          spend thinking about it..          29 INT. WINGATE - MRS. BOSWELL'S CLASS - DAY 29           Mrs. Boswell distributes a test to the class.          MRS. BOSWELL          You'll have one hour. If you          finish early put it on my desk and          sit quietly.          She looks at the class as they begin to work, then sees          Michael just staring at his test. She sighs, makes a          decision, rises and walks over.          MRS. BOSWELL (CONT`D)          Mike, come with me.          30 INT. WINGATE - SMALL ADJACENT ROOM - DAY 30           Filled with supplies and a small desk. Mrs. Boswell points          and he sits.          MRS. BOSWELL          You can take the test back here          away from everybody else. I'll sit                                    in there so if there's anything you          don't understand you can ask.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                18                         30 CONTINUED: 30          Michael's eyes go to the page in front of him. He rubs his          hands on his knees and stares. Mrs. Boswell waits a beat          then scoots her chair over next to him.          MRS. BOSWELL (CONT'D)          Mike, how about I ask the questions          and you tell me the answers or as          much as you know.          She looks at his hands - huge next to hers - then reads:          MRS. BOSWELL (CONT'D)          Protozoans are classified based on:          a) how they get their food, b) how          they reproduce, c) how they move,          or d) both a and c.          Michael just stares. After a long moment                         MICHAEL          Iono...          MRS. BOSWELL          Just try. Ask questions if you          don't understand.          But still Michael stares at the page. The look on her face          says she's about to give up when          He lifts his eyes to her and points to --          -- the question on the test - specifically to the word          "classified".          MRS. BOSWELL (CONT'D)          "Classified". It means how things          are grouped together.                         MICHAEL          Like our "class"?          MRS. BOSWELL          Exactly. This science course is          classified based on what grade          y'all are in. Eleventh.          Michael nods understanding.          MRS. BOSWELL (CONT'D)          Okay, Mike, you ready to answer the          question?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                19                         30 CONTINUED: 30          He looks at her.          31 INT. WINGATE - TEACHER'S LOUNGE - DAY 31          Same group of teachers. Mrs. Boswell bursts through the          door, holding the test.          MRS. BOSWELL          He knows it!                         BOB          Who knows it and what does he know?          MRS. BOSWELL          The material. Michael Oher. I          gave him this test verbally.          She holds up the test -- marked with a large red "C".                         APRIL          On how big a curve?          MRS. BOSWELL          He's been listening the whole time.          It's amazing what he's absorbed.          And, trust me, he's listening to          you, too. Okay, so his reading          level is low and he has no idea how          to learn in a classroom, but...          (makes her point)          I'm not saying he's going to pass          but Big Mike is not stupid.          32 EXT. WINGATE - CAMPUS - DAY 32           School is out and Michael walks among the kids of all shapes          and sizes. Two little Kindergarten girls'try and swing          themselves. Michael stops nearby, watching them.                         MICHAEL          They're stuck, not sure if they should talk to this          "stranger". They jump off the swings and run away.                         SI (OS)          Smile at 'em.          Michael turns to see Si nearby, watching him.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 20                         32 CONTINUED: 32                          SJ (CONT'D)          It lets them know you're their          friend. Did you know that even          little kids born blind smile?          They've never seen anyone do it          before but they smile anyway. So          it's universal. That's why it          works. Not that you should fake it          or anything... You're Big Mike,          right?          Sean holds. out a fist for Mike to "knock" and the two walk          toward the school entrance.                         SJ (CONT'D)          I'm Sean, but everyone calls me Si --          that's for Sean Junior because my          father's name is Sean. Sean Tuohy.          He was a basketball star at Ole          Miss, point guard, and now he owns          like a million Taco Bells.          Leigh Anne's car pulls up to the pick up/drop off and Si          starts toward it.                         SJ (CONT'D)          Manana'.          Michael smiles at the kid, who smiles back.          33 INT. LEIGH ANNE'S CAR - DAY 33          Leigh Anne notices Michael as she drives past him.                         LEIGH ANNE          Who's that SJ?                         SI          Big Mike.                         LEIGH ANNE          Get your feet off my dash.          34 EXT. WINGATE - PICK UP/DROP OFF - DAY 34          Michael watches Leigh Anne's car disappear.          SANDSTROM (O.S.)          Big Mike?...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                21                         34 CONTINUED: 34          Michael turns to see Paul Sandstrom, the principal.          35 EXT. WINGATE - DAY (A FEW MINUTES LATER) 35           Michael and Sandstrom sit on a bench.                         SANDSTROM           Mike, I just got a call from          someone at the police department.          (off Michael's look)          Do you remember the story in the          papers awhile back about the man          who fell off an overpass?          (Michael shakes his head)          No one knew who he was and they're          not sure if he jumped, or if... at          any rate he passed away.          Sandstrom struggles with how to say the words.                          SANDSTROM (CONT'D)           Mike, the man... was your father.          Michael takes this in. without showing emotion.                         SANDSTROM (CONT'D)           They've been looking for someone to          notify and came across your name on          our registry. I'm really sorry,          son.                         (NO RESPONSE)          Were you close?          (Michael shakes his head)          When did you last see him?                         MICHAEL          Iono.                         SANDSTROM          I'll try and find out where he's          buried. Maybe we could go visit?          Michael nods, then rises and walks away.          36 EXT. ANOTHER STREET - DAY (LATER) 36           Michael sits at a bus stop with his bag, rises as a bus stops           in front of him.                         37 OMITTED 37                                                                                                               The Blind Side -- Yellow Draft - 04/15/09 22          38 INT. LAUNDROMAT - NIGHT 38            Pretty seedy. Michael walks to a sink in the back, opens his           plastic sack, pulls out an extra T-shirt and starts to wash          it.          A WOMAN, the only other patron, reads a magazine. When he          turns to look at her, she becomes quite nervous. She sets          down the magazine and walks outside.          It seems Michael was expecting this because as soon as she          leaves he takes his wet T-shirt, wrings it-out, walks to her          dryer and tosses the shirt inside to dry with her things.          39 EXT. LAUNDROMAT - NIGHT (LATER) 39           Michael sits in the corner, his head resting against the          window, trying to sleep.                          DISSOLVE TO:          40 EXT. WINGATE - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT 40           A banner over the arch reads: THANKSGIVING PAGEANT TONIGHT!          Kids in costume - Pilgrims, Indians, turkeys - race out the          door to greet their proud parents. Si, in an ornate          headdress looks for and spots Sean and Leigh Anne waving.          They walk away together toward the parking lot.          41-42 OMITTED 41-42          43 INT. SEAN'S BMW - PARKING LOT - NIGHT 43          As they exit the parking lot--                         LEIGH ANNE          Turn on the heat!                         SEAN          I don't know where it is.                         LEIGH ANNE          It's fifteen degrees, you've had          this car a month and you don't know          how to turn on the heat?!          (as she turns it on)          What would you do without.me?                         SEAN          Lots of things you'll never know          about.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                23                         43 CONTINUED: 43          They trade a look and a smile. Sean puts a.hand on her lap.                         SI          Get a room.                         LEIGH ANNE          Si, don't let this go to your head          but I thought you were very          convincing in the role of... uh...                         SI          Indian Number Three. I tried out          for the Chief but they gave it to          Andy Sung. I can't be sure but I          think there was some multi-cultural          bias thing working.                         SEAN          Or maybe they just thought he'd          make a better Chief.                         SI          Dad, he's like Chinese.                         LEIGH ANNE          And you're Irish. If you weren't          the Chief how come you got the          headdress?          Si hesitates a bit before --                         SI          Dad, I'm gonna need a few more of          those free Quesadilla tickets.                         LEIGH ANNE                         (LAUGHS)          And where does the acorn fall?                         SEAN          Don't laugh too hard. The          Quesadilla saved our ass.          A44 EXT. STREET - NIGHT A44          Sean's car stops at a red light and Michael crosses in front          of them, wearing just his shorts and short sleeved shirt.          B44 INT. SEAN'S CAR - NIGHT B44          Leigh Anne notices Michael --                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                24          B44 CONTINUED: B44                         LEIGH ANNE          What is he wearing? It's below          freezing. What's his name again?          SEAN AND SJ          Big Mike.                         LEIGH ANNE          Where's he going?          She gives Sean a look. Sean rolls down his window.                         SEAN          Hey, Big Mike!          Michael stops in the crosswalk, looks to the car.                         SEAN (CONT'D)          Where you headin'?                         MICHAEL          Gym.._.          Sean nods, rolls his window back up and drives as the light          turns green.                         LEIGH ANNE          The gym? It's nine o'clock.          No answer to this. They drive another half block,before --          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Turn around.          Sean sighs, knowing better than to argue.          44 EXT. STREET - NIGHT 44          The BMW pulls to a stop alongside Michael. Leigh Anne gets          out, walks up to Michael.                         LEIGH ANNE          Big Mike, my name is Leigh Anne          Tuohy. My kids go to Wingate. You          said you're going to the gym?          Michael slowly nods.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          The school gym's closed.          Michael takes this in but doesn't respond.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                25                         44 CONTINUED: 44           LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Why were you going to the gym?          (again no answer)          Big Mike?! Why were you going to          the gym?                         MICHAEL          Because... it's warm.          This hits her all at once. She bites her lip.                         LEIGH ANNE          Do you have anywhere to stay          tonight?          Michael eyes the ground, then nods.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Don't you dare lie to me.          45 INT. SEAN'S BMW - NIGHT 45          Sean and SJ watch the discussion without hearing any of it.          Leigh Anne looks to Sean, then back to Michael.                         SEAN          I've seen that look many times.          She's about to get her way.          Leigh Anne makes her way back to the car, with Michael in          tow. She opens the back door and he gets in next to SJ in          his headdress. Leigh Anne climbs into the front seat, closes          the door. Sean is looking at her.                         SEAN (CONT'D)          Where we going?                         LEIGH ANNE          Home.          46 EXT. RITZY NEIGHBORHOOD - NIGHT 46           The car enters the driveway of a beautiful home and stops.          47 INT. SEAN'S BMW - NIGHT 47           Michael's eyes are frozen at the sight. To him it looks like          a mansion. Hell, it IS a mansion.                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 26          48 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT 48          Collins, in her pjs, talks on the phone while watching TV and          listening to the stereo. She wears a tangerine cleansing          masque on her face. When the family enters behind her --                         COLLINS          How'd the dork do in the play?          She turns to see... Sean, Leigh Anne, SJ in headdress and          Big Mike.                         COLLINS (CONT'D)          Um... okay...          49 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT (LATER) 49          Leigh Anne lays out pillows, sheets, blankets on the couch.                         LEIGH ANNE          I'd give you the guest bedroom but          it's full of sample boxes. And the          sectional in the family room slides          apart when you sleep on it. At          least that's what Sean says.                         MICHAEL           Mr. Tuohy sleeps on the couch?                          LEIGH ANNE           Only when he's bad. There's a          powder room right there and we're          upstairs if you need us.          The two share a look, then...          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Sleep tight, honey.          She leaves. Michael is dumbfounded, stares at everything in          the room, then sits on the couch.                         SJ          Psst...          SJ is in the doorway to the kitchen.                         SJ (CONT'D)          If you can't sleep, my room is the          first one at the top of the back          stairs. I got X-Box, Madden,          everything.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 26A                         49 CONTINUED: 49          Michael nods then smiles. SJ smiles back, gives a thumbs up          and disappears. Michael's eyes go to a coffee table book                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                27                         49 CONTINUED: 49          NORMAN ROCKWELL. On the cover is "FREEDOM FROM WANT" -          picturing a family sitting around a dinner table.          50 INT. TUOHY HOUSE -- SEAN AND LEIGH ANNE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT 50          They lie in bed, awake.                         LEIGH ANNE          Was this a bad idea?                         SEAN          What?                         LEIGH ANNE          Don't lie there and pretend you're          not thinking the same thing as me.                         SEAN          Fine, tell me what you're thinking          so I can know what's supposed to be          on my mind.                         LEIGH ANNE          How well do you know Big Mike?                         SEAN          In case you haven't noticed he          doesn't have much to say. What's          the big deal? It's just one night.          (after a beat)          It is just one night, right?..          Leigh Anne?...                         LEIGH ANNE          Do you think he'll steal anything?                         SEAN          I guess we'll know in. the morning.          He rolls over to go to sleep. Leigh Anne just sits, stares.          51 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - SEAN AND LEIGH ANNE'S BEDROOM - DAY 51          Leigh Anne finishes teasing her hair. Sean rides an exercise          bike. Before she leaves the room...                         LEIGH ANNE          If you hear a scream call the          insurance adjustor.                                                                                                                28          52 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - COLLINS' BEDROOM - DAY 52          Leigh Anne enters Collins' bedroom. Very "teenage girl" but          a mess - clothes everywhere. Leigh Anne opens the curtains          throwing light into the room.                         LEIGH ANNE          Up and at 'em.          Collins groans. Leigh Anne picks up a few pieces of clothes.          on her way out and groans at the mess. We stay with her as          she re-enters the hallway, walks and opens the door to --          53 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - SJ'S BEDROOM - DAY 53          Just as messy but not all clothes. Leigh Anne almost trips          on a series of wires connecting games to a large screen TV.                         LEIGH ANNE          Sean Junior!          She opens the shades.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Clean this place up before you come          downstairs. You hear me?          Si crawls out of bed and Leigh Anne exits the room and starts          down the stairs, almost afraid of what she'll find.          54 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY 54           Leigh Anne stops, stares --          The couch is totally back to normal and the sheets, blankets          and pillows are neatly stacked in almost military precision.          No sign of Michael.                         LEIGH ANNE          Mike? Big Mike?!          Nothing. She hears a DOG BARKING in the neighborhood and          moves to the window to look out.          55 EXT. TUOHY HOUSE - DAY 55          Michael, plastic sack in hand, walks away. Leigh Anne exits          the front door, spots Michael and tries to catch up.                         LEIGH ANNE          Big Mike!                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Yellow Draft -- 04/15/09 29                         55 CONTINUED: 55          He stops, turns. Leigh Anne walks over.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Where are you going?                         MICHAEL          Iono.                         LEIGH ANNE          Are you spending Thanksgiving with          your family?          Michael shakes his head.          56 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - KITCHEN -- DAY (LATER) 56          Leigh. Anne carves turkey onto a tray and takes it into...          57 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - FAMILY ROOM -- DAY 57          Leigh Anne sets the turkey on a serving table alongside the          rest of the Tuohy Thanksgiving feast.                         LEIGH ANNE          Come and get it!          Sean sits at the TV,"watching an Ole Miss football game,          while SJ plays.video games on another. Collins chats on her          cell. Michael sits off to the side, taking it all in.                         SEAN          SJ, Ole Miss is about to score!                         SI          Which means they're about to          fumble.          They all shuffle over, grab plates, start piling on food.          Sean loads his plate and heads back to the couch.                         SEAN          Looks great, hon.          Collins plate is pretty delicately apportioned.                         COLLINS          I see a lot of starch.          SJ jams turkey into a roll and lathers on cranberry sauce -          creating an easy to eat sandwich. He walks away.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                30                         57 CONTINUED: 57          Michael stares - he's never seen so much food. Leigh Anne          hands him a plate. He gingerly puts a slice of.turkey on it.                         LEIGH ANNE          As much as you want.                         (WALKS AWAY)          Oh, the potato salad!          With no one watching him, Michael shoves two rolls into his          pants pocket and finishes filling his plate.          Leigh Anne reenters to see Michael sitting at the dining room          table, alone, not touching his plate.          Her eyes go to the rest of her family, shoving down food and          playing games. She makes a decision, grabs the remote and          turns off the TVs.          58 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - DINING ROOM - DAY 58          The entire family sits at the table. Rockwell would be proud.                         SI          Why are we eating in here?          Leigh Anne holds out her hands.                         LEIGH ANNE          Shall we say grace?          The Tuohy family plus Michael hold hands.          Collins stares at her tiny hand intertwined with Michael's.          As Leigh Anne prays Michael tries to emulate behavior without          closing his eyes, taking it all in...          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Heavenly Father. We thank you for          all your many blessings on this          family. We thank you for bringing          us a new friend. And we ask that          you look after. us in this holiday          season and never let us forget just          how very fortunate we are. Amen.          A chorus of Amens and they all dig in. Michael is unsure at          first how to correctly use the silverware. He picks up the          fork and Leigh Anne nods, "that's right". She eyes Michael's          stained shirt.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                31                         58 CONTINUED: 58           LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Big Mike, do you like to shop?          (off his look)          Because tomorrow I think I'm gonna          have to show you how it's done.          59 INT. LEIGH ANNE'S CAR -- DAY 59          Leigh Anne drives and Michael sits shotgun.                         MICHAEL          I qot clothes.                         LEIGH ANNE          You "have" clothes.. And an extra T-          shirt in a plastic bag does not a          wardrobe make.          He looks out the window.           LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)           Okay, fine, let's go get 'em. Just           tell me where I'm going.           No answer. Frustrated, she pulls the car over to the curb          and puts it in park.           LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Tell me everything I need to know          about you.          He still stares out the window.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Who takes care of you?                         (NO ANSWER)          A mother? Do you have a mother?                         (NO RESPONSE)          A grandmother maybe?          Nothing. Leigh Anne turns off the car.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Look, Big Mike, we can do this the          easy way - or we can do it the hard          way. Take your pick.          He eyes the floor.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Fine. Tell me one thing I should          know about you. One thing!                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                32                         59 CONTINUED: 59          After a beat...                         MICHAEL          I don't like to be called Big Mike.          She wasn't expecting this, nods her head.                         LEIGH ANNE          Okay. Mike or Michael?          (off his shrug)          Tell you what, from now on, to me,          'you're Michael. So,... Michael,          where we headed?          60 EXT. HURT VILLAGE HOUSING PROJECT - DAY 60          An expansive beehive of rotting housing. It's the place we          saw when we first laid eyes on Michael and nothing's changed.          Leigh Anne's car stops at one of the complexes.                         LEIGH ANNE          This is where your mother lives?          He nods and she opens her door.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Okay, let's go.          He forcefully reaches across her and closes the door,          catching her off guard.                         MICHAEL          Don't get out!                         LEIGH ANNE          Who's going to help you with your          clothes?                         MICHAEL                         (POINTED)          Don't get out of the car.          Michael gets out on his side and takes care to push the lock          before he closes the door.          She watches as he walks toward the structure, then notices          several of the local ne'er-do-wells eyeing her. she locks          the doors again, just for luck.                                                                                                                33          61 EXT. HURT VILLAGE - DAY 61          Michael walks slowly past a few gang-bangers on the steps.          The obvious leader, ALTON, eyes him.                         ALTON          Big Mike! Where you been?!          Michael ignores, keeps walking.                         ALTON (CONT'D)          And who's that fine piece o' thing          driving you around?          One of Alton's minions, DAVID, sits nearby. Michael sees          him, nods.                         MICHAEL          Hey, David.          David, a little embarrassed to be with Alton, nods back.          62 EXT. HURT VILLAGE - DIFFERENT APARTMENT - DAY 62          Michael arrives at an apartment and stops, taken aback. On          the door is an EVICTION NOTICE and padlock.          He reads from the eviction for several seconds.          An Addict down the way fires up and slumps into bliss.          A63 EXT. HURT VILLAGE - MINUTES LATER A63          With Leigh Anne's car in the bg., Michael, hidden from view          slumps against a wall, looking lost - the first real emotions          we've seen from-him.          63 INT. LEIGH ANNE'S CAR - DAY (LATER) 63          She watches as Michael approaches the building with nothing          in his hands, and makes his way back to the car. She unlocks          it and he crawls inside. After a pregnant moment...                         MICHAEL          She wadn't home.                         LEIGH ANNE          We can come back.          Michael takes this in, looks out the window.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                34                         63 CONTINUED: 63                         MICHAEL          She prolly moved to a nicer place.          64 EXT. BIG AND TALL SHOP - DAY 64          Wrong side of the tracks. Michael and Leigh Anne cross the          street toward the shop.                         LEIGH ANNE          I've lived in Memphis my whole life          and never been anywhere near here.          You're going to take care of me,          right?                         MICHAEL          I got your back.                         LEIGH ANNE          That's good to know. Thank you.          As they start to walk, Leigh Anne reaches up and takes          Michael's arm. He holds it out for her.          65 INT. BIG AND TALL SHOP - DAY (MOMENTS LATER) 65          An AFRICAN AMERICAN SALESMAN directs Leigh Anne and Michael.                         SALESMAN          Everything I got to fit him will be          -right here.                         LEIGH ANNE          This is it? If this is all you got          why's it say "Big and Tall" on the          sign?                         SALESMAN          Big and Tall. You need "Bigger and          Taller".          He walks away. She starts to pore through the small rack.                         LEIGH ANNE          Anything you like?                         (HE SHRUGS)          The one thing I know about shopping          is that if you don't absolutely          love it in the store, you won't          wear it. The store is where you          like it best.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               35                         65 CONTINUED: 65           LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          And before you choose something          think about yourself wearing it and          ask yourself: Is this me?                                    She finds one shirt, holds it out.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)                                     What about this?                                    He shakes his head, "no".          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)                         (ANOTHER SHIRT)          This isn't atrocious.                         SHE           He shakes his head again. After a beat he points.          almost laughs.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          This one? This is the one you          like?          He nods, completely sure.          66 EXT. WINGATE - DAY 66           Drop off area. Leigh Anne's car pulls up and SJ, Collins and          Michael get out.                         LEIGH ANNE          Have a great day. Learn something!          They say a few good-byes, get out and walk toward the arch.          Only then do we see what Michael is wearing: a GARGANTUAN          ORANGE AND MAROON STRIPED RUGBY SHIRT.          Leigh Anne shakes her head, watching him walk away. A car          behind her HONKS. She checks the rear view mirror --          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Don't get your panties in a wad.          67 INT. TONY RESTAURANT - DAY 67          Ladies who lunch. The right sort doing their thing. Leigh          Anne sits at a table with three friends, BETH, ELAINE and          SHERRY. They sip on lemon water and nibble at salads.                         BETH          The best part about Paris was the          food.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Yellow Draft -- 04/15/09 36                         67 CONTINUED: 67                          BETH (CONT'D)          They use sauce like we use gravy. I          had to join a gym the day'we got          back.                         LEIGH ANNE          Any of y'all spent much time on the          other side of town?                         ELAINE          On the freeway.                         SHERRY          Where exactly are you talking          about?                         LEIGH ANNE          Alabama Street... Hurt Village.                         BETH          Hurt Village -- that sounds like a          threat.                         LEIGH ANNE          You're not far off.                         SHERRY          It would "hurt" me to go there.                         ELAINE          It would certainly hurt your          reputation to go there.                         BETH          (tongue in cheek)          I'm actually from there but didn't          mind hard work and look where I am          now.                         LEIGH ANNE          Eating an eighteen dollar salad.                         BETH          And it's a little soggy to be          honest.                         SHERRY          Such a shame.                         BETH          (re: her salad)          Yes it is.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                37                         67 CONTINUED: 67                         SHERRY          Civil rights was responsible for          some good things but those programs          - building ugly, low cost housing.          I mean how could you be creative if          you lived there? It's stifling.                         ELAINE          Did you know that black men were          employed at a higher rate before          those programs? It's a fact.                         BETH          They're not "black", Elaine. The          term du jour is African-American.                         ELAINE          And what if they're from Jamaica,          or like Bermuda.                         SHERRY          Then they're BerMUDian-Americans.          They all cringe and laugh.                         ELAINE          So, why are you asking about the          projects, Leigh.Anne? Another one          of your charities?                         BETH          A project for the projects. That's          catchy. Money would raise itself.          (off their laughs)          Don't laugh. Count me in, Leigh          Anne.           And they laugh harder. Leigh Anne smiles, biting her lip.          68 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT 68          SJ and Michael sit at the island doing their homework.                         SI          It can't be that hard.                         MICHAEL          Oh, yeah?...          Si looks at the Michael's notebook.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                38                         68 CONTINUED: 68                         SI          There are different parts of a          sentence and you just have to draw          lines showing what they do.          Sean stops by the refrigerator for a cold drink while he          talks on his cell...                         SEAN                         (INTO CELL)          They're gonna get rid of those          stores in Florida... I'll look it          over now but I need the sales          figures by tomorrow morning.                         SJ          Dad, you remember how to diagram          sentences?                         SEAN          Nah.          Sean starts to leave, then stops at the door, turns around,          sighs and walks over. He leans in over Michael.                         SEAN (CONT'D)          Let's see...                         MICHAEL          You don't have to help.          (off Sean's. look)          I mean if you're busy or somethin'.                         SEAN          I know.          (points to page)          Think of a sentence like a football          team. This is a noun here, see?          That's like the team name or what          they're known for - whether they're          a running team or a passing team.          And this is the verb. That's what          makes 'em go - like a star player --          maybe a quarterback, maybe a          running back. And this is an          adjective - everybody oohs and ahs          over adjectives but they're not as          important as verbs.                         SI          They're like wide receivers.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                39                         68 CONTINUED: 68                         SEAN          Or kickers.          Michael just stares at them.                         SEAN (CONT'D)          You have no idea what we're talking          about, do you?                         MICHAEL          Not exactly.          They all laugh.                         NEARBY          Leigh Anne watches, fixated on the image of the three. Sean          has an arm on Michael's shoulder. She smiles, almost sadly.          69 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT (LATER) 69          Leigh Anne hands over clean sheets and pillows to Michael,          who starts to make the bed.                         LEIGH ANNE          Do you want to stay here, Michael?          He keeps working.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Because if you want to... stay...          for awhile... longer... I'll try          and find some time to figure out a          bedroom for you.          He stops, turns to her. She walks over, examines the          structure of the couch. It sags a bit.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          I mean, look at this, you've          practically ruined a.ten thousand          dollar couch.          She moves closer to him. Her face softens.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Do you want to stay here, Michael?                         MICHAEL          I don't want to go anyplace else.          She's a bit befuddled by the response.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                40                         69 CONTINUED: 69                         LEIGH ANNE          Well,... alright then.          70 INT. WINGATE - BOARDROOM - DAY 70           Leigh Anne sits in a chair reading through Michael's file.                         LEIGH ANNE          I see here on the admission that          we're Michael's contact for medical          emergencies?          Mrs. Smith (from the admissions meeting) sits with her.          MRS. SMITH          Sean wrote that in last week. We          needed a contact number and the          ones listed weren't in service.                         LEIGH ANNE          Love that man.          Leigh Anne pulls out another sheet, hands it over...          LEIGH ANNE (CONT`D)          What's this?          MRS. SMITH          The state makes schools measure for          career aptitude in eighth grade. It          came with his'file.                         LEIGH ANNE          They try to figure out what a kid's          going to be in the eighth grade?          What does. it say about Michael?          Mrs. Smith nods and reads over Michael's results.          MRS. SMITH          Doesn't look promising. Spatial          relations - third percentile..          Ability to learn - fifth          percentile.          (sees another number)          It's funny though. He tested in          the 98th percentile in one          category.                         LEIGH ANNE          Which one?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                41                         70 CONTINUED: 70          MRS. SMITH          "Protective instincts."          Leigh Anne smiles and hands the file back.          MRS. SMITH (CONT'D)          It's just so sad.          Leigh Anne considers this, then...                         LEIGH ANNE          Yes, it is sad. So sad. But he          either doesn't know it or doesn't          think so and it's my job, and your          job, to make sure he doesn't find          out.          (off Mrs. Smith's look)          Michael Oher doesn't feel sorry for          himself and I'll be damned if he          starts to because of the way we          treat him.          (again off her look)          "Darned."          71 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - MICHAEL'S BEDROOM - DAY 71          Now turned into Michael's room, with an armoire, a chest of          drawers, night stands, the whole nine yards. The bed is a          massive futon in an ornate stand.          Leigh Anne and Michael stand in the doorway.                         LEIGH ANNE          I had to put half my samples in          storage but well, anyway, back          there's a desk.          (points as she talks)          Chest o'drawers. Night stand.          Lamps. Alarm clock. Bed. Sean          says a lot of pro athletes use          futons if they can't find a big          enough bed.          Michael doesn't dare touch anything, just stares in awe.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Well, try it out. See if it feels          okay.          He gingerly moves to the bed; touches it.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                42                         71 CONTINUED: 71                          MICHAEL           It's mine?                          LEIGH ANNE           Yeah.          (off his look)          What?                         MICHAEL          Never had one before.                         LEIGH ANNE                         (CONFUSED)          A room to yourself?                         MICHAEL          A bed.          We can see this unsettles her. She turns away a bit, trying          to contain herself.                         LEIGH ANNE          Well, you got one now.          72 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY 72           She leaves the room, walks down the hall and enters --          73 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - SEAN AND LEIGH ANNE'S BEDROOM - DAY 73          She.closes the door behind her, sits on the bed and starts to          tear up. She fights it unsuccessfully.          74 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY 74          OUTSIDE THE DOOR          Michael stands, unsure what to do.          75 INT. WINGATE - ADJACENT ROOM - DAY 75           Mrs. Boswell gives Michael - in a RED AND BLUE RUGBY SHIRT -          an oral test...          MRS. BOSWELL          Define Osmosis, Michael.                         MICHAEL          I think I know that. It's when          water...                                                                                                                43          76 INT. WINGATE - MRS. BOSWELL'S CLASS - DAY (LATER) 76            Mrs. Boswell grades the paper and puts C+ at the top.          77 INT. WINGATE - HISTORY TEACHER'S CLASSROOM - DAY 77            Michael, this time wearing a GREEN AND GOLD RUGBY SHIRT, is           orally tested by GLENDA...                           GLENDA           Name the combatants in the battle          of Waterloo.                         MICHAEL          I know that. The little guy,          Napoleon was on one side and...          78 INT. WINGATE - GLENDA'S CLASSROOM - DAY (LATER) 78            Glenda marks down a C-           79 INT. WINGATE - SCHOOL CAFETERIA - DAY 79           Michael, in another rugby shirt, this one BLACK AND YELLOW,          carries a tray and sits with SJ, who starts laughing.                         MICHAEL          What?                         SJ          Enough with the rugby shirts. You          look like a giant bumble bee.          Collins walks by with friends and glances but ignores them.                         GIRL STUDENT          Who's the big guy hanging around          with your little brother?                         COLLINS          Just another one of Mom's projects.                         GIRL STUDENT          That must get incredibly old.          Collins' look says, "yes it does."                         80 OMITTED 80           81 INT. WINGATE - BOB'S LITERATURE CLASS -- DAY (LATER) 81           Bob grades Michael's paper. He writes "D".                                                                                                                44          82 INT. SEAN'S BMW - NIGHT 82          The whole family, including Michael, rides in the car. SJ          points out fast food restaurants along the way --                         SI          That Taco Bell. The KFC catty          corner. The Long John Silvers on          the next block.                         MICHAEL          You own all of 'ern?                         SJ          Yeah. We've got hundreds.                         COLLINS'                         (CORRECTING)          A hundred and fifteen.                         MICHAEL          Is that why Mr. Tuohy don't have to          go to work?                         SEAN          Hey, hey now. I'm working even          when I'm not working.                         MICHAEL          And y'all eat at those places for          free?                         SI          All you want. It's awesome.                         MICHAEL          What do y'all do with the leftover          food? At the restaurant?,                         SEAN          Well, we have to throw some of it          away. What's already been cooked.                         MICHAEL          That's too bad.                         SEAN          Yeah, I'd rather sell it.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                45                         82 CONTINUED: 82                         SI          Seems like you could give it away          or something? You should check          into that, Daddy.          Leigh Anne and Sean share a look and a smile.                         SEAN          All right, I will.                         MICHAEL          Why ain't we eatin' at one of yours          tonight?                         SEAN          .Because tonight is a special          occasion.                         SJ          What?                         SEAN          I talked to Coach Cotton today.          Michael's grades improved enough          that he can do spring'training for          football in March.                         LEIGH ANNE          Isn't that great?                         SI          Oh, man, you are gonna crush some          people!          Michael almost smiles, a little unsure.          83 EXT. FANCY RESTAURANT - NIGHT 83          Sean's car pulls up to the valet. As the family gets out          Leigh Anne notices a bookstore next door and starts for it.                         LEIGH ANNE          I've got a design book I need to          get. Sean, go check on our          reservation.                         SEAN          They'll seat us when we walk in the          door. You can get the book after          dinner.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                46                         83 CONTINUED: 83                         LEIGH ANNE          (already walking away)          They might be closed by then.                         COLLINS          I need some new magazines.          SJ shrugs and joins the girls, as does Michael. Sean watches          as his family deserts him.          84 INT. BOOKSTORE - NIGHT 84          Leigh Anne finds the book she's looking for and walks through          the stacks looking for her kids, plus Michael. She finds          them all together in the children's section, laughing.                         LEIGH ANNE          Come on, your dad's already PO'ed.          Collins holds up a book. Sendak's WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.                         COLLINS          Remember this one, Mom? You read          it to us like a thousand times.          She softens, walks over, takes the book.                         LEIGH ANNE          "And he gnashed his terrible teeth          and roared his terrible roar.-                         SI          I always liked this one.          He holds up THE STORY OF FERDINAND.                         LEIGH ANNE          Yeah, me too.          Leigh Anne sees Michael left out, but interested.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Michael, your Mama ever read either          one of those to you?          He just stares at her, the answer obvious.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          No one ever...                                                                                                                47          85 EXT. FANCY RESTAURANT - NIGHT 85          The Tuohy family exits and waits for the valet.                         SEAN          Now that was a good steak.                         COLLINS          Thanks, Daddy.                         MICHAEL          Thanks.                         SEAN          You're welcome.          As the car pulls up everyone walks toward it except Michael          who notices something else --          AT THE SIDE DOOR: A BUSBOY steps outside for a smoke.          Michael absently walks over.          SEAN (CONT`D)          Michael?...          Leigh Anne touches Sean's arm, silencing him. They watch as --          Michael greets the busboy. They stand a few feet apart          talking. They nod at each other and after a few seconds --          They hug.          Leigh Ann is amazed. She's never seen affection in Michael.          86 INT. SEAN'S BMW - NIGHT (MINUTES LATER) 86          As they drive home.                         LEIGH ANNE          Who was that boy you were talking          to, Michael? At the restaurant.                         MICHAEL          Marcus.                         LEIGH ANNE          He works there?                         MICHAEL          Yeah.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               48                         86                         86 CONTINUED:                         LEIGH ANNE          And how do you know Marcus?                         MICHAEL          He's my brother.          Complete silence in the car. Leigh Anne finally breaks it --                         LEIGH ANNE          Well, I'd like to meet him someday.          Would that be okay with you?                         MICHAEL          I don't know where he stays.                         LEIGH ANNE          When's the last time you saw him,          Michael?                         MICHAEL          When I was little mebbe.                         87          87 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - HALLWAY - NIGHT          Collins sits on the floor in the hallway near a door, smiling          sadly and secretly listening to ---          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE          "Once upon a time in Spain, there          was a little bull --"                         A88          A88 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - MICHAEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT - SAME          A strange sight. Leigh Anne, SJ and Michael all sit on          Michael's huge futon as Leigh Anne reads THE STORY OF          FERDINAND. No one enjoys this more than Leigh Anne...                         LEIGH ANNE          "...and his name was Ferdinand.          All the other little bulls he lived          with would run and jump and butt          their heads together, but not          Ferdinand. He liked to sit just          quietly and smell the flowers"...                         88          88 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - SEAN AND LEIGH ANNE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT          Leigh Anne and Sean sit in bed. Sean puts his book on the          night stand and leans over to give Leigh Anne a kiss. He          notices her smile...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind side - Yellow Draft -- 04/15/09 49                         88 CONTINUED: 88                          SEAN           What?                         LEIGH ANNE          Huh?                         SEAN          Why are you smiling?                         LEIGH ANNE          I don't know. I'm just happy.          Really happy.                         SEAN          Does. this happiness have anything          to do with Michael?                         LEIGH ANNE          No. It has everything to do with          Michael.          Sean smiles, kisses her, turns off the light. She snuggles          next to him and kisses the back of his neck.                         SEAN          Oh...          He gets the message, rolls over and kisses her on the lips.                         SEAN (CONT'D)          Happy's good.          As their amorous activities continue...                         LEIGH ANNE          I think we should start a charity.          For kids like him.                         SEAN          (his mind elsewhere)          Sure, okay.                         LEIGH ANNE          Maybe fund a program at Wingate.                         SEAN          Absolutely...                         LEIGH ANNE          Are you even listening to me?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                50                         88 CONTINUED: 88                         SEAN          I try to concentrate on one thing          at a time.                         LEIGH ANNE          You knew I was a multi-tasker when          you married me.          She kisses him and they roll over, laughing.          89 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY 89          The Tuohy family, dressed nice, poses in front of a blue'and          red artificial Christmas tree adorned ENTIRELY WITH OLE MISS          ORNAMENTS. They are posing for a photograph.                         PHOTOGRAPHER          Okay, big smiles everyone!          FLASH! Leigh Anne smiles but notices ---          Michael sitting on the couch by himself.                         LEIGH ANNE          Michael! Come over here and get in          the next one.          Sean gives her a look like she's crazy.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          We don't have a single picture with          him.          (off Sean's sigh)          Oh, come on. It's not like I'm          gonna put it on the Christmas card.          Michael moves in behind the family, dwarfing them.                         PHOTOGRAPHER          Okay, really big smiles. One, two,          three... say Rebels!                         FLASH TO:          THE TUOHY FAMILY CHRISTMAS CARD - INCLUDING MICHAEL          90 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - FAMILY ROOM - DAY 90          New Year's Day. Sean, Si and Michael watch football.          Collins sits on the couch reading. Leigh Anne comes in the          front door with groceries.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                51                         90 CONTINUED: 90                         LEIGH ANNE          Who's winning?                         SI          Tennessee.                         LEIGH ANNE          Too bad. Who are they playing?                         SEAN          So you root against Tennessee no          matter who they're playing?                         LEIGH ANNE          Yep. With gusto.                         SI                         (TO MICHAEL)          She can't stand Tennessee.                         LEIGH ANNE          Collie-bell, I thought you were          going to your boyfriend's?                         COLLINS          I'm just gonna hang around here          today.                         LEIGH ANNE          I like that.                         SEAN          Coupla messages on the machine.          She pushes PLAY on the message machine.                         MESSAGE MACHINE          Hey, Leigh Anne, it's Patrick          Ramsey.                         INTERCUT WITH:          A91 INT. WASHINGTON REDSKINS LOCKER ROOM - DAY A91           PATRICK RAMSEY, on his cell phone, near his locker...                         PATRICK RAMSEY          You sent me these measurements for          clothes and I posted 'em in the          locker room for donations but          there's a problem.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              The Blind Side - Yellow Draft -- 04/15/09 52          A91 CONTINUED: A91           PATRICK RAMSEY (CONT'D)          I mean, are you sure the sizes are          right, because there's nobody on          our team who's that big? Gimme a          call.          BACK TO SCENE:.          B91 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - FAMILY ROOM - DAY B91          Leigh Anne chuckles as the next message begins --                         MESSAGE MACHINE          Hey, Sean, hey Leigh Anne, it's          cousin Bobby. Happy New Years!                         INTERCUT WITH:          C91 INT. COUSIN BOBBY'S HOUSE - DAY C91          Bobby sits in his recliner, talks on phone...                         COUSIN BOBBY          Listen, I've had about five cold          ones so'I'm just gonna go ahead and          ask... Who's the colored boy in          y'all's,Christmas Card?          BACK TO SCENE:          D91 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - FAMILY ROOM - DAY D91          Leigh Anne and Sean look at each other and laugh.          ELAINE (V.0.)          Leigh Anne, you looked teeny-tiny          next to him.          91 INT. TONY RESTAURANT - DAY 91          Leigh Anne sits at a table with her lunch buddies. They're          finishing up and are all laughing hard except Leigh Anne.                         ELAINE          It was like you were Jessica Lange          and he was King Kong.                         SHERRY          I taped your card to, the fridge.          The next morning Frank almost          gagged on his orange juice.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                53                         91 CONTINUED: 91                         BETH          Does Michael get the family          discount at Taco Bell? Because if          he does Sean's gonna lose a few          stores.          More laughter.                         LEIGH ANNE          Look, he's a great kid.                         ELAINE          I say just make it official and          adopt him.          Big laughs at the "crazy" idea.                         LEIGH ANNE          He'll be eighteen in a few months.          (off their confusion)          So, I mean it wouldn't make much          sense to legally adopt him, right?          They realize she's thought about it and stop laughing. After          an awkward beat of silence...                         SHERRY          Is this some kind of white guilt          thing, Leigh Anne? I mean          charity's the Lord's work but...                         ELAINE          What will your daddy say?                         LEIGH ANNE          Before or after he turns over in          his grave? Daddy's gone five years          now, Elaine, and to make matters          worse you were at the funeral. You          wore Chanel with that awful black          hat.          Before Elaine can attack --          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Look, here's the deal. I don't need          any of y'all to approve of my          choices. But I do ask you to          respect them. You have no idea          what this boy's been through.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               54          91, CONTINUED: 91           LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          And if this is going to be a          running diatribe I can find an          overpriced salad a lot closer to          home.                         SHERRY          I'm so sorry, Leigh Anne. We          didn't intend to --                         ELAINE          No, we didn't, really --                         BETH          I mean, what you're doing is so          great. To open your home to him.          You're changing his life.          Leigh Anne smiles to herself, realizing...                         LEIGH ANNE          No. He's changing mine.                         ELAINE          That's awesome for you, but... what          about Collins?                         LEIGH ANNE          What about Collins?                         ELAINE          Aren't you worried, even just a          little?          (off Leigh Anne)          I mean he is a boy, a large, black          boy, sleeping under the same roof.          Leigh Anne stares at them, shakes her head then grabs the                         CHECK ---                         LEIGH ANNE          I've got this.          (rises; to the group)          Shame on you.          And strides away.          92 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - COLLINS' ROOM - NIGHT 92          Collins is reading in bed. Leigh Anne knocks, enters and          sits on the edge of the bed.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                55                          92                         92 CONTINUED:                          LEIGH ANNE           Be honest with me now, okay?           Collins nods, having no idea what her mother is about to say.           LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Is Michael being here weird for          you?                         COLLINS          They're stupid kids, who cares what          they say.                         LEIGH ANNE          What kids?                         COLLINS          At school. They're juvenile.                         LEIGH ANNE          And what do the juvenile kids say?                         COLLINS          It's really not worth repeating.          And don't worry about SJ - he loves          the attention. He introduces          Michael as his big brother.                         LEIGH ANNE          What about you?                         COLLINS          It's fine.          (off Leigh Anne's look)          I mean, you can't just throw him          out on the street.                         LEIGH ANNE          I can make other arrangements.          (off Collins' hesitance)          Just let me know. Okay?...          Leigh Anne kisses Collins goodnight.                          93           93 EXT. WINGATE - PLAYGROUND - DAY           Michael walks up to the two little Kindergarten girls from          before, sitting in the swings. He smiles. They smile back.          FIRST LITTLE GIRL          Hi Mike.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                56                         93 CONTINUED: 93                         MICHAEL          Hi. Need a push?          They giggle and Michael pushes them, one arm each until          they're flying high and squealing.                         NEARBY          Collins watches.          94 INT. WINGATE - LIBRARY - DAY 94           Collins is sitting with her friends, laughing and whispering.          She notices Michael enter and walk to a table with a book.          He sits alone while every other table is full.          Collins sighs, makes up her mind and stands with her books.                         FRIEND          Where are you going?          Collins walks away toward Michael.                         FRIEND (CONT'D)          Collins?          They are aghast when they see Collins set down her books          across from Michael and sit.          AT MICHAEL'S TABLE          Michael is confused. She looks at him and shakes her head.                         COLLINS          Quit looking at me like that. I          mean, we study together at home.          Eyes in the library are on the pair as they start to read.          95 EXT. WINGATE -- PRACTICE FIELD - DAY 95           Several players, in full gear, drag equipment out onto the          field under the watchful eye of Bert Cotton. Sean Tuohy sits          in the nearby stands.          Michael carries four blocking dummies to the center of the          field and tosses them like they're pillows. Cotton smiles.                         COTTON          You know how much those things          weigh? This kid's gonna make us          all famous.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               57                         95                         95 CONTINUED:                         SEAN          Easy, Bert. It's only the spring          and he hasn't even been through his          first practice.                          (LATER) 96           96 EXT. WINGATE - PRACTICE FIELD - DAY          Michael is lined up at defensive tackle. The offense breaks          the huddle and Michael just stands there. He notices the          other defensive linemen get in a stance and kind of squats a          bit. When the ball is snapped he just holds his hands out,          keeping the blocker from getting close to his body.          The running back races right past him and into the secondary.          THE WHISTLE BLOWS and Cotton races up to Michael.                         COTTON          Okay, Mike, you fought off the          block but you've got to shuck him          and make the tackle. You got it?                         NEXT PLAY          Michael gets down in a his stance and when the ball is          snapped he gets under the blocker and lifts him up like WWF.          The quarterback goes back to pass and sees Michael lumbering          toward him with the lineman on his shoulders.          The Quarterback's eyes go wide and he races out of the pocket          and throws and incomplete pass. ANOTHER WHISTLE.                         COTTON (CONT'D)          Shuck the blocker, Mike!          Michael gingerly sets the lineman on the ground.          IN THE STANDS          Leigh Anne shows up, sits next to Sean.                         LEIGH ANNE          How's he doing?                         SEAN          Doesn't quite have the hang of it          yet.          SERIES OF SHOTS:           Michael tries to crawl under the blocker.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             58                                     96                         96 CONTINUED:                          COTTON           No!           Michael drops back and tries to intercept a pass.                         COTTON (CONT'D)          No!           Michael holds a blocker off him with one arm and looks          skyward as a flock of birds flies overhead.                         COTTON (CONT'D)          No! No! No!          97 EXT. WINGATE - PRACTICE FIELD - DAY (AFTER PRACTICE) 97                                     As players leave the field, Bert Cotton walks and talks with          Leigh Anne and Sean...                         COTTON          Most kids from bad situations can't          wait to be violent and that comes          out on the field. But this kid, he          doesn't seem to wanna hit anyone.                         LEIGH ANNE          (almost to herself)          He's Ferdinand the Bull.                         COTTON          What?                          LEIGH ANNE          Nothing.                         COTTON          I thought for sure he was gonna be          a player. I can't believe I used          up my chits to get him in school.                         LEIGH ANNE          I thought you said it was your          Christian duty?          He gives her a smirk.                         SEAN                                    Look, Bert, he's never even played          before.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                59                         97 CONTINUED: 97                         COTTON          And he won't in the fall if he          doesn't improve a lot before then.          98 EXT. WINGATE - PRACTICE FIELD - DIFFERENT DAY 98           Si, holding a sheet and wearing a whistle, stands before          Michael. No one else'is around.                         SI          This is your summer workout sheet.          First it says to warm up and get          loose.          (off Michael's look)          Well, go ahead, get loose.          Michael moves his arms around a bit then stops.                         SJ (CONT'D)          You loose?                         (MICHAEL NODS)          Okay, next is five one hundred yard          runs to stretch out your legs.          Michael grimaces.                         MICHAEL          Let's go home, play some video          games.                         SI                                    Look, everybody at. Wingate is          expecting you to be a star football          player. You don't want to let them          down, do you?                         MICHAEL          Iono..                         SI          What about Dad and Mom?          (off Michael's look)          'Cause you see, in our family,          everyone's an athlete. Dad was a          basketball star, Collins plays          volleyball and runs track. Me, as          you know, I do it all and Mom,...          well, Mom was a cheerleader, which          doesn't exactly count but don't          tell her I said that.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                60                         98 CONTINUED: 98                          MICHAEL           Okay...           Michael moves to the line. Si raises his whistle and blows.                          99           99 EXT. WINGATE PRACTICE FIELD -- DAY          SERIES OF SHOTS - DIFFERENT DAYS:           SJ holds a blocking dummy and Michael fires out, hitting          the dummy and sending Si flying.           Michael does ten yard "back and forths" as Si times him.           Michael does push ups as SJ lowers himself to count.           Michael does crab crawls.           WIDE - SJ runs Michael through his workout. He blows his          whistle and Michael collapses on the ground - dead tired.          100 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - LEIGH ANNE'S WORKSPACE - NIGHT 100          Leigh Anne goes through sample boxes and matches swatches.                         MICHAEL          Mrs. Tuohy?          Michael stands nearby.                         LEIGH ANNE          I hear "Mrs. Tuohy" I look over my          shoulder for my mother--in-law. Call          me Leigh Anne or Mama or almost          anything else.                         MICHAEL          Will you help get me something?                         LEIGH ANNE          What?                         MICHAEL          Driver's license.                         LEIGH ANNE          Why do you need a driver's license          when you don't have a car?                         MICHAEL          You have a car.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             61                                     100                         100 CONTINUED:                         LEIGH ANNE          That I use to haul y'all all over          creation with.          He doesn't say anything but doesn't leave either. Leigh Anne          puts down the swatches, turns to him..          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Why do you want a license, Michael?                         MICHAEL          Something to carry. With my name          on it.          She locks eyes with him. This time he holds her gaze.          DMV EMPLOYEE (V.0.)          Address?...          101 INT. DMV OFFICE - DAY 101          Leigh Anne and Michael sit across from a DMV EMPLOYEE typing          on her computer. Leigh Anne holds out her driver's license.                         DMV EMPLOYEE          Is this his address as well?                         LEIGH ANNE          Yes. He lives with us.                         DMV EMPLOYEE          Are y'all his foster parents?                         LEIGH ANNE          No.                         DMV EMPLOYEE          His legal guardians?                         LEIGH ANNE          oh... no.          The Employee does a search on the computer. As she types...                         DMV EMPLOYEE          Does he have a Social Security          card?          Leigh Anne looks to Michael, who shakes his head.          DMV EMPLOYEE (CONT'D)          Birth certificate?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                62                         101 CONTINUED: 101                         LEIGH ANNE          We tried to find one for school,          but...          DMV.EMPLOYEE          You don't know which city, which          county, which hospital?...                         LEIGH ANNE          How big a problem is this?          DMV Employee looks to Leigh Anne.                         DMV EMPLOYEE          There's nobody named Michael Oher          in the system. Another last name          perhaps?          Leigh Anne again turns to Michael, who shrugs.                         LEIGH ANNE          Look, I'll sign something saying he          lives with us and we'll pay for the          insurance; whatever it takes.          (off her look)          What's it gonna take?          Off the Employee's look --          102 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - SEAN AND LEIGH ANNE'S MASTER BATH - NIGHT 102          As they get ready for bed. Sean rinses his mouth --                         SEAN          You wanna do what?!                         LEIGH ANNE          Don't pretend you didn't hear me.                         SEAN          Shouldn't we at least talk about          it?                         LEIGH ANNE          What do you think we're doing? And          don't act like I'm going behind          your back. I know you put us down          as his medical contact at school.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                63.                         102 CONTINUED: 102                         SEAN          There's a big difference between          paying for a broken arm and being          legally responsible for someone.          Someone we barely know.                         LEIGH ANNE          And that's another thing. We have          to find out more about his past.                         SEAN          He won't talk about it. He's like          an onion; you have to peel it a          layer at a time.                         LEIGH ANNE          Not if you use a knife. What if we          sent him to a child psychologist?                         SEAN          Do you really expect Big Mike --                         LEIGH ANNE                         MICHAEL ---                         SEAN          -- expect Michael to lie down and          talk about his childhood like he's          Woody Allen or something? Michael's          gift is his ability to forget.          He's mad at no one and doesn't          really care what happened in the          past.          This puts her on her heels.                         LEIGH'ANNE          You're right.                         SEAN          (like he's never heard                         THESE WORDS)          Excuse me? "You're right?"          (off her grimace)          How'd those words taste coming out          of your mouth?                         LEIGH ANNE          Like vinegar.          She moves to him, holds him.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                64                         102 CONTINUED: 102           LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          At least promise me you'll think          about it.                         SEAN          Alright.                         LEIGH ANNE          "Alright" you'll think about it or          "alright" we should do it?                         SEAN          Is there a difference?          103 INT. CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES OFFICE DAY 103          Leigh Anne sits in a crowded waiting area, talking on her                                    cell phone. She's been here awhile.                         LEIGH ANNE                         (INTO CELL)          Just tell Rodney to hold the          chiffonier for me and I'll get by          after while.                         TO          She hangs up and, exasperated by the wait, rises and walks          a counter, pushing past someone --          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          I'm not cutting, just asking.                         (TO EMPLOYEE)          I've been waiting for over an hour          and I look around and all I see is          people shooting the bull and          drinking coffee. Who runs this          place anyway?          The "heard it all" EMPLOYEE points to the wall with a          government seal and a large portrait of President Bush.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Well I'd have it in shape in two          days, I can tell you that.                         EMPLOYEE          I'm sure you would. How can I help          you?          She turns to the man waiting behind her.                         LEIGH ANNE          He was first.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             65                                     103                         103 CONTINUED:          MAN IN LINE          No, you go ahead. I think I. want          to hear this.                         EMPLOYEE          Me, too.                         LEIGH ANNE                         (TO EMPLOYEE)          I do not appreciate the attitude.                         EMPLOYEE          Ma'am, you can tell me what you          want or I'll make sure you wait all          day. How. Can. I. Help. You?                         LEIGH ANNE          I'd like to become a legal          guardian.                         EMPLOYEE          Lord look over that child.                          (LATER) 104          104 INT. CRAMPED OFFICE - DAY          A haggard MANAGER, let's call him RONALD, sits across from          Leigh Ann. He looks at a flimsy file.                         RONALD          There's very little on Michael.          Most of his files have been lost.                         LEIGH ANNE          What is in there?                         RONALD          A few case notes.          (holds one sheet up)          This one describes an incident          where officers forcibly removed          Michael and six half-siblings from          Denise Oher's care when Michael was          seven. Quite a scene evidently.          They had to split up the kids. And          it's far from the worst.                         LEIGH ANNE          Where is she? His mother?                         RONALD          Dunno, but if you find her we have          a bunch more files we could add to.          (CONTINUED.)                                                                                                                66                         104 CONTINUED: 104                         LEIGH ANNE          How many children does she have?                         RONALD          At least a dozen, probably more.          With her drug arrest record my          guess would be she can't even          remember.          Leigh Anne absorbs this.                         LEIGH ANNE          We'd need her permission though,          .right?                         RONALD          No. Michael is a ward of the          state. Just apply and get a Judge          to sign off on it.                         LEIGH ANNE          So you would give him away without          even telling his mother?          Ronald shrugs.          105 EXT. HURT VILLAGE - DAY 105          Looks the same as before except for the'blonde woman walking          between the buildings.          Leigh Anne spots and checks a list of tenants posted. She          can barely see through the cover as someone has scrawled "C          Block" on it.          106 EXT. HURT VILLAGE - DAY 106          The one Michael visited before. Leigh Anne summons her          courage and knocks on the door. And again. No answer.          A VOICE comes from the apartment behind her --          MAN'S VOICE (O.S.)          Who you lookin' for?!          Startled, Leigh Anne turns and sees Alton approaching...                         LEIGH ANNE          I'm looking for Denise Oher.                         ALTON          Dee Dee don't stay there no more.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                67                         106 CONTINUED: 106                         LEIGH ANNE          Do you know where she might be?                         ALTON          Chances are she ain't gone far.                         (SMILES)          I seen you before. You with Big          Mike now. You wanna come in for a          wine cooler or sumthin'?                         LEIGH ANNE          No, I can't, but thank you.          107 EXT. HURT VILLAGE - PLAYGROUND - DAY 107          Leigh Anne speaks with a mother trying to keep her son from          hurting himself on a rusty slide. The mother points to          another building.          108 EXT. HURT VILLAGE - BUILDING E -- DAY 108          A door opens revealing DENISE OHER in a ratty robe.                         LEIGH ANNE          Hi. Mrs. Oher?                         DENISE OHER          You from the state?                         LEIGH ANNE          No. My. name is Leigh Anne Tuohy and          your son Michael lives with me.          And my family.          Denise takes this in.          109 INT. HURT VILLAGE - DENISE'S APARTMENT - DAY (MINUTES LATER) 109          Leigh Anne sits on the edge of a filthy couch and eyes.the          room. There are sleeping pallets on the floor and empty wine          and beer bottles strewn around.          DENISE OHER (O.S.)          How is my boy, how's Big Mike?                         LEIGH ANNE                         (CALLS OUT)          He's fine. He's doing well.          (after a beat)          When did you move from the other          building?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                68                         109 CONTINUED: 109           Denise emerges from the back of the apartment, adjusting a          wig on her head, making herself "presentable."                         DENISE OHER          Awhile back. This is temporary.          Friends let me stay here.                         LEIGH ANNE          When did you last see Michael?                         DENISE OHER          Iono. We might have some wine in          the kitchen, if...                         LEIGH ANNE          No, no that's very kind but...                         DENISE OHER          How many foster kids you got living          with you?                         LEIGH ANNE          Oh, I'm not a foster parent to          Michael. We were just helping him          out.                         DENISE OHER          State don't pay you nothing?                         LEIGH ANNE          No.                         DENISE OHER          And he lives with you?          (Leigh Anne nods)          And you feed him?.                         (ANOTHER NOD)          Buy him clothes, too?                         LEIGH ANNE          When I can find them in his size.                         DENISE OHER          You a fine Christian lady.                         LEIGH ANNE          I try to be.                         DENISE OHER          This is all real nice what you're          doing, but don't be surprised if          one day you wake up and he gone.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              . 69                         109                         109 CONTINUED:                         LEIGH ANNE          What do you mean?                         DENISE OHER          He's a "runner". That's what the          state called him after they took          him from me.          (off her look)          Every foster home they sent him to,          he'd slip out the window at night          and come looking for me. No matter          where I was that boy would come          find me, take care of me.                         (AN EXPLANATION)          I've had some . health problems.                         LEIGH ANNE          Mrs. Oher, was Michael born under a          different name?          Denise tries to remember. After a few seconds...                         DENISE OHER          Proctor. That was his Daddy's last          name.                         LEIGH ANNE          Where is he, the father, if you          don't mind me asking?                         DENISE OHER          Ain't. seen him since he left.                         LEIGH ANNE          And when was that?                         DENISE OHER          Week after Mike was born.                         LEIGH ANNE          Do you have Michael's birth          certificate?          Denise sighs, looks around at the mess, shakes her head. And          then, unexpectedly, starts to cry softly.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          It's okay, Mrs. Oher.. I'll figure          it out.          Leigh Anne walks over, kneels and takes Denise's hands.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                70                         109 CONTINUED: 109           LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          You'll always be Michael's Mama.          Would you like to see him?                         DENISE OHER          No... Not this way.                         LEIGH ANNE          People lose birth certificates.          It's nothing to be ashamed of.                         DENISE OHER          It's Williams.          (off Leigh Anne's look)          His last name's Williams. Couldn't          even remember who the boy's father          is.          Leigh Anne bites her lip'and puts her arms around Denise, who          hugs back.                         DISSOLVE TO:          110 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - DINING ROOM - DAY 110          The entire Tuohy family sits with Michael at the table.                         SEAN          Michael, we have something to ask          you.                         MICHAEL          What?                         SEAN          Leigh. Anne and I would like to          become your legal guardians.                         MICHAEL          What's that mean?                         LEIGH ANNE          Well, what it means is, we want to          know if you'd like to be a part of          this family?          Michael looks to a grinning SJ, to Collins who nods and          smiles, then to Leigh Anne...                         MICHAEL          I kinda thought I already was.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             71                                   110                         110 CONTINUED:          Leigh Anne feels a wave of emotion, nods to him, then races          away to go and gather herself.                         - "I          Michael looks to Sean for an explanation. Sean shrugs          can't explain her to you."          111 A CAMERA FLASH (IN DMV OFFICE) 111          When it clears we see MICHAEL'S FACE - on a DRIVER'S LICENSE.                         112          112 EXT. TUOHY HOUSE - DAY          Michael, blindfolded, is led outside by the entire family.          When Leigh Anne pulls if off, Michael gasps at the sight of -          A NEW TRUCK in the driveway.                         SEAN          Is that the one you wanted?          He just stands there, staring. Sean hands him the keys.                         SEAN (CONT'D)          Well, hell, take it for a spin.          (off Michael's look)          Go on.                         SI          Can I go, too?                         LEIGH ANNE          okay, but Michael?...          (off his look)          Be careful.          Michael smiles and he and SJ get inside the truck.                         COLLINS          He wanted a truck?!                         SEAN          Michael thinks he's a redneck.                         113           113 EXT. WINGATE - PARKING LOT - DAY          Michael drives up in his new truck, parks it carefully.          At the drop off Big Tony's car sputters away, leaving Steven          at the curb. Steven notices Michael and walks over, eyeing          the truck.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                72                         113 CONTINUED: 113                         MICHAEL          Tenth grade tough?                         STEVEN          Naw.          (points to truck)          This really yours?                         MICHAEL          Yeah.                         STEVEN          They just give it to ya'?                         MICHAEL          Yeah.          After a beat...                         STEVEN          You're right. white people are          crazy.          And they walk off together to class.          114 INT. WINGATE - BOB'S LITERATURE CLASS - DAY 114            Students seated, including Michael, listen to Bob, who stands            at the front of the classroom.                          BOB          You are now seniors.          Congratulations. But with that           distinction comes responsibility.          This will be one of your tougher          courses because my job is to          prepare you, at least most of you,          for the rigors of college Freshman          English. You are each holding a           class study guide which details          assignments. I won't remind you          what is due and when. Read the          materials and come prepared. At          the end of the year you will each          choose one of our literature          assignments and present a written          dissection of the piece.          The faces in the classroom tell us this is a tough course.                                                                                                                73          115 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - DINING ROOM - DAY 115          Dozens of.condiment jars and bottles are lined up on the          table. SJ has the football playbook open and is explaining          formations to Michael.                         SI          See, you're the ketchup, here at          Left Tackle. On the weakside.                         MICHAEL          I'm not that weak, SJ.                         SI          it just means there are more          blockers on the other side. It's a          compliment, really.                         MICHAEL          A compliment for a condiment.                         SJ                         (CHUCKLES)          Good one.          (back to work)          So the first play is simple.          "Gap." It just means you block          whoever is in front of you, or the          person on your inside shoulder if          you're not covered by a defender.          (points to condiments)          I'll be the running back and you          show me what you're supposed to do.          Ready... . Hike!          SJ, using both hands, moves Cayenne pepper back a bit, then          "hands off" to Cinnamon who "runs" toward Michael (Ketchup).          Michael moves the bottle forward, pushing back Mustard, then          Relish, as well as toppling a bottle of Vanilla Extract.                         SJ (CONT'D)          Open lane to the end zone. All          there is to it.          Si slides Cinnamon forward. The bottle flies off the end of          the table and crashes on the ground just as --          Leigh Anne walks down the stairs, purse in hand --                         LEIGH ANNE          What is going on here?!                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                74                         115 CONTINUED: 115                         MICHAEL          Cinnamon just scored.                         SI          We're going through the playbook.          Michael got moved to offense..                         LEIGH ANNE          Well, when you're finished, put the          players back in the spice cabinet.                         SJ          No problem. Actually, Mom, we were          waiting for you. The new Madden          came out and me and Michael want to          go get it.                         LEIGH ANNE          Honey, I've got a meeting in ten          minutes.                         MICHAEL          I'll drive.          off her look --          116 INT. MICHAEL'S TRUCK - DAY 116          Michael drives while SJ searches for music on the radio.                         SI          Look for Walker Street. That's          where we take a left.          Si finds a hip-hop station and they both groove to the beat,          dancing in the seats.           SJ (CONT`D)           That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!           As the beat reaches a crescendo --           Michael instinctively throws a big arm in front of SJ as --          117 EXT. INTERSECTION - SAME 117          THE-truck CRASHES into the side of a VAN.          118 INT. RUG SHOP - DAY 118          Leigh Anne, with a client, is looking at rugs with the owner.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               75                         118                         118 CONTINUED:                         LEIGH ANNE          This is not a twenty thousand          dollar Oushak, Jerry. The borders          are different widths, it's been          altered.          Leigh Anne's phone rings. As she answers          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          We'll give you nine tops.                         (INTO PHONE)          Hello ...          The look on her face changes --          119 EXT. INTERSECTION - DAY 119          A massive traffic jam. Leigh Anne pulls her car right onto          the median, gets out and starts running. She passes stopped          cars and weaves past bystanders on her way to:          THE COLLISION INTERSECTION          As she approaches she sees -- Michael's truck -- the front end          is smashed -- The Van - its side caved in -- And --          Michael sitting on the curb, crying. She races over --                         LEIGH ANNE          Michael!          He looks up, sobbing.                         MICHAEL          I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!                         LEIGH ANNE          Where's SJ?!                         MICHAEL                         (POINTS)          Go help him! Please go help him!          Leigh Anne turns to see a group of PARAMEDICS kneeling around          a body. She gasps, races over and looks down at --          Si, whose face is bloody. He spots Leigh Anne and sits up.                         SI          Mom, do you think the blood will          come out of my shirt?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               76                         119                         119 CONTINUED:           LEIGH ANNE AND PARAMEDIC - MINUTES LATER                                     While the paramedics attend to an obviously fine SJ, Leigh            Anne and a FIREMAN eye the deflated airbag.                                                   FIREMAN          An airbag deploys at 200 miles per          hour. Your son's too small to sit          in the front seat.                         LEIGH ANNE          He's okay, though, right?                                                   FIREMAN          Busted lip, some facial bruising.                                    When an airbag strikes a child his          size it usually means a fractured          face, a broken neck or worse. It's          almost like the airbag started at          him then changed direction.          Defective or something. Very, very          lucky.          Leigh Anne nods thanks and looks to Michael, still on the          curb, eyes on the ground. She walks over, kneels down.                         LEIGH ANNE          Michael, it wasn't your fault. It          could have happened to anybody..          He doesn't look up. She almost gasps when she notices --          HIS ARM - red, bleeding, a large burn from the wrist all the          way up to the sleeve, which is also singed.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Michael, your arm... what happened?          He looks up and into her eyes...                         MICHAEL          I stopped it.                         120           120 EXT. WINGATE - STANDS/PRACTICE FIELD - DAY           SJ sits in the stands videotaping -- [NOTE: We integrate SJ's          video with live action].          ON THE FIELD: Michael skips to the line and gets down in his           stance. On the snap Michael pushes the tackle, JAY COLLIS,          who rolls, gets by Michael and makes the tackle.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                77                         120 CONTINUED: 120                         COTTON          0her! You've got a hundred pounds          on Collis and you can't keep him          out of our backfield?!          IN THE STANDS          Leigh Anne sits down next to SJ.                         LEIGH ANNE          What's. with the camera?                         SI          Michael does better when he can see          what he's supposed to be doing.          ON THE FIELD          The quarterback drops back to pass. Michael backpedals. When          the Defender tries. to go around him, Michael grabs him.with          one big paw and throws him to the ground. A WHISTLE BLOWS.                         COTTON          Holding - left tackle!          He gets right in Michael's face, grabs his jersey.                         COTTON (CONT'D)          You can only grab in here -- at the          tits, you got it?! You grab out          here or here, we're gonna get          flagged and I'm gonna get pissed.          Leigh Anne grimaces, shakes her head.                         NEXT PLAY          At the snap of the ball Michael tries to pass protect, pushes          the Defender who tries left, right, then slides past Michael          and sacks the quarterback.                         COTTON (CONT'D)          Move your feet, son! Keep 'em          moving! Back to the huddle!          Cotton addresses an ASSISTANT COACH...                         COTTON (CONT'D)          Well at least he'll look good          coming off the bus. The other team          will be terrified 'til they realize          he's a marshmallow.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               78                         120                         120 CONTINUED:          As they chuckle, Leigh Anne strides past, onto the field.                         LEIGH ANNE          Gimme a minute, Bert.                         COTTON          We're in the middle of practice,          Leigh Anne!                         LEIGH ANNE          You can thank me later.          Bert just watches as Leigh Anne walks straight to the huddle          and pulls Michael aside. The other players turn to watch.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Do you remember just after we met,          and we went to that horrible part          of town to buy you those dreadful          clothes?                         (HE NODS)          And I was a little scared and you          told me not to worry, that you had          my back?. Do you remember that?                         MICHAEL          Yes ma'am.                         LEIGH ANNE          If anyone tried to get to me you          would have stopped them, right?                         (HE NODS)          And when you and Si were in that          car wreck, what did you do to that          airbag?                         MICHAEL          I stopped it.          Leigh Anne points to the offense.                         LEIGH ANNE          This team is your family. And you          have to protect them --          (points to defense)          --from those guys.          She walks over and grabs the QB, pulls him out.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Tony is your quarterback. You          protect his blindside.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                79                          120                         120 CONTINUED:           LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          When you look at him, think of me.          How you have my back. How you have          his.          She grabs BOBBY, a short stump of a running back.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          oomaloompah here is your tailback.          When you look at him think of SJ          and how you'd never let anything or          anyone hurt him. Do you understand          me?                         MICHAEL          What about Mr. Tuohy and Collins?                         LEIGH ANNE          I suppose they can be on the team,          too. Are you going to protect the          family, Michael?                                    He nods. She nods back and walks away, past Bert Cotton.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Yelling at him won't help. He          doesn't trust men. In his          experience they pretend to care          about you 'til they disappear.          Cotton chuckles.. She walks over and sits next to SJ, who has          the video camera in his lap.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          You're gonna wanna get this.          INTERCUT VIDEO AND LIVE ACTION:           At the snap Michael drives the defender into the dirt.           Michael drops back, knocks down one defender, then takes          on another while Tony completes a pass.           On a sweep to his side, Michael pushes three defenders          away, clearing an alley for Bobby to blast through.                                    Bert shakes his head, turns to Leigh Anne --                         COTTON          What'd you say to him?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               80                         120                         120 CONTINUED:                          LEIGH ANNE           You should get to know your                                     players, Bert. He tested 98           percent in protective instincts.                                    (off Bert's look)          I told you you.could thank me          later.          (a beat for effect)                                    It's later, Bert!                         COTTON                         (BY ROTE)          Thank you, Leigh Anne.                         121           121 EXT. WINGATE - STADIUM -- NIGHT           Packed'house - bands, banners, cheerleaders.          IN THE STANDS: Sean, Leigh Anne and SJ take their seats and          check out the raucous crowd.                         SEAN          So much for home field advantage.                         LEIGH ANNE          You ever seen so many rednecks in          one place?                         SJ          Nascar, not even close.                         122           122 INT. WINGATE - LOCKER ROOM -- NIGHT          Coach Cotton is addressing his team before the game.                         COTTON          On the schedule it says this is a          home game but don't be deceived,          gentlemen. Three fourths of the          people in the stands are here from          Milford. They'll be loud and rowdy          and a lot of 'em drunk. Keep your          helmets on 'til you're on the          sidelines. I don't want anyone          getting beaned with a whiskey          bottle.                         (BEAT)          Grab a knee.          And the team huddles for their prayer...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                81                          122                         122 CONTINUED:                          COTTON (CONT'D)          For we can...          (team repeats each phrase)          Do all things...          Through Jesus Christ...          Who strengthens us...          Each and every day...                                    And may God... Bless the Crusaders!          As they rise to leave--                         COTTON (CONT'D)          Oh, one more thing. The reason          Milford traveled all that way to          come here is they expect to whup          your ass. Whup your ass and have a          party in your house. Whup your          ass, have a party in your house and          piss on your mama's new couch. Is          that gonna happen?          The team erupts with a chorus of NO'.s and HELL NO!s.          123 EXT. WINGATE - EDGE OF STANDS - NIGHT 123                                     As the Wingate Crusaders exit the dressing room they find          themselves next to the Milford Lions ready to take the field.          The cocky Milford players eye the Crusaders.                         MILFORD PLAYER                                    Hey, Crusaders, y'all gonna turn          the other cheek or just bend over?!          Another Milford player, #66, spots Michael.                         MILFORD #66          Would y'all look at the size of          that buck!                                    Milford takes the field. Jay Collis, to Michael...                                                   JAY COLLIS          Pay 'em back on the field.          Coach Cotton raises a hand and the team moves forward to          squeeze through an entrance onto the field. Above them          Milford fans look down and jeer, toss sodas at them.                                                                                                              The Blind Side -- Yellow Draft - 04/15/09 82          124 EXT. WINGATE - STADIUM - NIGHT 124                                                    MILFORD DAD          Damn, that ain't fair! They got a          big ole' black bear playing for          'em! What is this, a circus?!          IN THE STANDS                                    Leigh Anne, Sean and SJ cheer as Wingate runs onto the field.          A chorus of BOOS comes from the stands behind them.          MILFORD DAD (CONT'D)           There's the Lions and here come the          Christians!          SJ turns and gives a dirty look --                         LEIGH ANNE          SJ, eyes forward! Sticks and          stones...          ON THE FIELD                                    The ball is kicked off and Bobby, the Crusaders tailback          takes it in at the five yard line. He makes one player miss          then is dragged down by a swarm of defenders at the twenty.                         COTTON          Let's go 0!           The offense runs onto the field and huddles. The Milford           defense waits, slapping each other and building to a frenzy.          Number 66 from before is the defensive end on Michael's side.          Wingate breaks huddle and #66 sees him.                           MILFORD #66           Look whose fat black ass I get to           kick all night long.          At the snap #66 sidesteps Michael and sacks the QB.                          MILFORD #66 (CONT'D)          (as he walks by Michael)          All night long, fat ass. All night          long.          IN THE STANDS          Leigh Anne and Sean share a look and cheer on the team.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              The Blind Side - Yellow Draft -04/15/09 83                         124                         124 CONTINUED:                         LEIGH ANNE          Come on, Michael!          ON THE FIELD                                    Wingate breaks huddle and as they get into their stances #66          calls a switch. He moves inside and the linebacker moves          outside. Michael looks at the move, confused.                                    Hut! Tony, the Wingate QB starts to drop back but hands off          the ball on a draw to BOBBY, the Oompaloompah.          Michael, unsure which player to block, just stands there          while they both crush Bobby.          The Milford players high five and both give Michael a          shoulder as they pass him.          NEXT PLAY - BALL SNAPS          Michael hits #66 square in the numbers, putting him on his          heels. But he's quick as a cat and jumps to bat down a pass.                                                   REFEREE          Fourth down !          The crusaders offense leaves the field. #66 follows behind          Michael, taunting him.                         MILFORD #66          And don't come back unless you want          me to embarrass your black ass!                         COTTON           Get back to your own bench, 66!          66 laughs and struts away. Cotton goes straight to the ref.                          COTTON (CONT'D)          Did you hear what he said? Are you          gonna just let that kinda talk go?!                         REFEREE          Ever heard of the First amendment,          Coach? Get back to the sideline.          Cotton takes a deep breath, then turns to Michael, who has          been beside him the whole time.                         COTTON          Look, son, 66 is quick, so just          focus on his belt buckle.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               84                         124 CONTINUED: 124                          COTTON (CONT'D)          Where it goes he goes. And block          'til the whistle blows. All right?          Michael nods and takes a seat on the bench. Cotton hears          something and realizes it is his cell phone. He looks at the          number calling. and answers...                         COTTON (CONT'D)          Hello?...          IN THE STANDS          Leigh Anne is on the phone.                         LEIGH ANNE          Enough with the trick plays, Bert.          Just run the dang ball.                         AND           Bert, on the field, turns to the stands, shakes his head          hangs up angrily.          Behind the Tuohys, the Milford fans are in a frenzy.                         MILFORD DAD          That's my boy Jimmy, number 66. He          is kicking that blue gum's ass!          Leigh Anne can't restrain herself. She rises, turns                         LEIGH ANNE          Hey crotch mouth! Yeah, you! Zip          it or I'll come zip it for ya!          Sean pulls her back down to her seat.                         SI          Sticks and stones?          ON THE FIELD          The Milford offense is moving the ball           a draw play for ten yards.           a screen pass for twenty.           an option play - the QB pitches out and the tailback turns          the corner and runs all the way to the end zone. The          scoreboard reads: "HOME 0 VISITORS 7".          ON THE SIDELINE                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                85                         124 CONTINUED: 124          Bert Cotton gathers his forces.                         COTTON          It's all right. Settle down.          ON THE FIELD          The Crusaders have the ball at the twenty. They break from          the huddle, get over the ball and the play starts. It's a          sweep left and Michael pulls to lead for Bobby. 66 fends off          Michael and keeps moving, forcing a pileup near the sideline.          Michael and Bobby are at the bottom of the pile.          66 extricates himself from the pile and gives Michael a          little kick as a cherry on top.                         MILFORD #66          Big black pile of nigger crap!          Cotton is nearby, hears this, races straight over to the Ref.                         COTTON          Ref, you gonna do something about          this?! He kicked my boy in the          head and cussed him!          The Ref throws a flag.                         COTTON (CONT'D)          Thank you!                         REFEREE          Unsportsmanlike conduct on Wingate!          Fifteen yards. Shut up or you'll          get another fifteen.                         COTTON          What happened to the first          Amendment?!          Cotton throws his hat and another ref throws a flag.                         COTTON (CONT'D)          This young man plays for my team          and I will defend him like he's my          own son! Against you or any other          redneck sonofabitch!          Michael watches, dumbfounded. He walks over to the livid          Cotton and pulls him backwards, looks him in the eye.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                86                         124 CONTINUED: 124                         MICHAEL          Don't worry, Coach. I got your          back.          Cotton cools down. Michael trots out onto the field.          Halfway there he stops, looks back at Cotton and smiles.                         REFEREE          Second and 38.                                    IN THE CRUSADERS HUDDLE          Michael looks to Tony.                         MICHAEL          Try Gap.                         TONY          Coach called a pass.                         MICHAEL          Gap.          AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE          As Wingate lines up, 66 is at it again.                          MILFORD #66           Your coach always do your fightin'           for you? He your Massa?-           Michael gets in his stance and on the snap of the ball powers           forward. We've never seen him so quick, neither has 66 who           dips a hip to keep from being plowed over. The ploy rights          66 but the damage isn't over as Michael now has him "in the           fit" grabbing his jersey, "between the tits." --          Bobby races through the hole and into the secondary --          Michael keeps pushing 66 back, picking up speed until 66 is          airborne save every third step of Michael's when he touches a          toe to the ground like a ballerina --          Bobby cuts to the sideline --          Michael is running full speed with 66 now and he keeps going          past the sideline--          Past Collins and the rest of the cheerleaders while --          Bobby makes the opposite corner and heads for the end zone ---                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Yellow Draft 04/15/09 87                         124 CONTINUED: 124          Si is on his feet, filming Michael --          Michael keeps going, past the track and toward the fence          separating the field from the parking lot --          Just as Bobby races into the end zone --          Michael chucks 66 into the air. 66 hits the fence hard and           lands in a heap. Michael turns and walks back to the field.          As he passes Collins she gives him a high five.                         COLLINS          Way to go big bro!          A referee signals touchdown then notices Michael walking back          and 66 lying slumped at the fence.          The Ref throws a flag.                         COTTON          Now what?! Was he holding?                         REFEREE          Uh, no.                         COTTON          Did he hit after the whistle?                         REFEREE          I don't believe so.                         COTTON          Then what's the flag for?                         REFEREE          I dunno... . Excessive blocking.                         COTTON          You're kidding me.          The Referee ignores and returns to the field to assess the          penalty. 66, now on his feet, limps back onto the field.          Michael looks at him and 66's eyes go straight to the dirt.          Cotton walks up to Michael.                         MICHAEL          Sorry, Coach. I stopped when I          heard the whistle.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               88                         124                         124 CONTINUED:                         COTTON          Where were you taking him, Mike?                         MICHAEL          To the bus. It was time for him to          go home.          Cotton smiles proudly and slaps Michael on the ass.                         COTTON          Attaboy, Michael Oher. Attaboy!          IN THE STANDS                         --          Leigh Anne stands and turns to face the Milford fans                         LEIGH ANNE          See number seventy-four? Well,          that's MY son.!          The Milford fans don't know what to make of this. Leigh Anne          sits down with a self-satisfied smile.          ON THE FIELD - A SEQUENCE:           Tony throws a touchdown pass --           66 submarines and Michael pushes him down with one hand --           Bobby is off to the races with a screen pass. Touchdown! ---           And another touchdown --           Scoreboard reads: VISITORS 7 HOME 35           66 limps off the field, shamed and another player takes          his place. The SCRUB, terrified, looks to Michael.          AT THE SNAP the Scrub flinches and hits the dirt. The play          goes to the other side and Michael reaches a hand down to          help the Scrub up and to his feet.                          12 5          12 5 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - SJ'S ROOM - DAY          Si has the video of Michael up on his computer. A "burned          DVD" pops out and SJ puts it in a distinctive case.                         126          126 INT. TOM LEMMING'S RECRUITING OFFICE - DAY          A hub of activity. Move past a SECRETARY answering phones --                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                89                         126 CONTINUED: 126                         SECRETARY          Tom Lemming Recruiting, please          hold... Tom Lemming Recruiting,          please hold...          And land on TOM LEMMING, the foremost college talent          forecaster in the country.          TOM LEMMING .          Did the monthly recruiting updates          get mailed?                         SECRETARY          Coach Saban wants his Fed Exed.                         TOM LEMMING          Does he really think getting it one          day early is gonna give LSU a leg          up?          An ASSISTANT hurries up.                         ASSISTANT          Have you filled all the slots for          the Army All Star Game?                         TOM LEMMING          Yeah, why?          The assistant hands over the distinctive DVD marked MICHAEL          OHER - THE TERMINATOR!                         ASSISTANT          You might want to open one up.          127 EXT. SEAN'S OFFICE - DAY 127           Lemming walks along with Sean and Coach Cotton toward Sean's                                    office.                         TOM LEMMING          Every year there are a dozen          running backs in the high school          ranks who will make it to the NFL.          Quarterbacks maybe three or four.          But left tackles, true left          tackles, they're freaks, gifts from          the gods. A great one only comes          around every four or five years.          Mike's the best I've seen in ten.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                90                         127 CONTINUED: 127                         COTTON          You're kidding?                         TOM LEMMING          I don't kid about guys who'll get          fifty million or more to play          football.                         COTTON          And you think that could be          Michael?                         TOM LEMMING          Oh, yeah. The embarrassing thing          is it's my business to know every          prospect in the nation but if you          hadn't sent me that DVD I would          have never heard of him.                         SEAN          What DVD? I didn't send a DVD.                         TOM LEMMING          You're Sean Tuohy, right?          Sean "gets it", trades a look with Cotton.                         SEAN          Si.          128 INT. WINGATE - SEAN'S OFFICE - DAY 128           They arrive at an empty office where Michael sits. He stands          and Lemming eyes him like a piece of meat...                         TOM LEMMING          Wow. Just wow.          Lemming breaks out a measuring tape and smiles.          129 INT. WINGATE - SEAN'S OFFICE/HALLWAY/OUTSIDE THE DOOR - DAY 129            Sean and Bert stand outside and talk...                          COTTON          Tom Lemming runs the biggest          recruiting service in the nation.          He practically created an industry.          Every college coach subscribes to          his newsletter. One word from him          and... This is big, Sean.                                                                                                                91          130 INT. WINGATE - SEAN'S OFFICE - DAY 130           Lemming sits across from Michael...                         TOM LEMMING          Mike, I came all the way from          Chicago just to see for myself.          And now that I have, I'd like to          extend to you an invitation to play          in the Army High School All          American game at the end of the          season.          He places an application on the desk. Michael stares at it.          131 INT. WINGATE - SEAN'S OFFICE - DAY (A FEW MINUTES LATER) 131           The door opens and Lemming comes out shaking his head.                         TOM LEMMING          I don't want to offend but... does          Mike have special needs?                         SEAN          Well, he eats a lot.                         TOM LEMMING          No, I meant, is he mentally... off?                         SEAN          No, no, he's just...                         COTTON          Shy. Really shy.                         TOM LEMMING          Because the only thing he said to          me was "No." Said it three times;          every time I asked him if he'd like          to play in the Army All Star game.          I get lobbied by every player,          every father, every coach to get          into this game.          (hands over application)          Let me know if he changes his mind.          Lemming walks away. After he's gone, Michael emerges.                         SEAN          Why didn't you fill out the          application, Michael?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 92                         131 CONTINUED: 131                          MICHAEL           I don't wanna join the Army.           Sean and Coach Cotton crack up.          132 INT. SABAN'S OFFICE - DAY 132           SERIES OF SHOTS INTERCUT WITH SJ'S VIDEO OF "THE PLAY" ON                          LEMMING'S WEBSITE:           NICK SABAN watches on a computer --          133 INT. TUBERVILLE'S OFFICE - DAY 133            TOMMY TUBERVILLE and other AUBURN coaches watch --           134 INT. NUTT'S OFFICE - DAY 134           HOUSTON NUTT and ARKANSAS coaches watch ---          135 INT. HOLTZ'S OFFICE - DAY 135          LOU HOLTZ and SOUTH CAROLINA COACHES watch --          136 INT. FULMER'S OFFICE - DAY 136           PHIL FULMER and other TENNESSEE coaches watch.                          PHIL FULMER           I want him! I want him bad.          137 EXT. WINGATE - PARKING LOT - DAY 137           A CADILLAC races into the parking lot and hurriedly parks in          a spot. Phil Ful          mer, in a bright orange Tennessee shirt,          jumps out and starts to trot toward          138 EXT. WINGATE -- FIELD -- DAY 138          Leigh Anne helps coach the cheerleaders, including Collins.                         LEIGH ANNE          Kick higher, Collins. Point your          toes!          Leigh Anne notices Fulmer.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          What in the world?...          (to the squad)          Y'all keep practicing.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 93                         138 CONTINUED: 138          She strides toward the football practice field.          139 EXT. WINGATE - PRACTICE FIELD - DAY 139          Leigh Anne arrives to see a group of coaches, all wearing          shirts and hats emblazoned with school logos. They chat and          watch as the Wingate football team finishes calisthenics.          One ASSISTANT COACH, from. Southern Miss, sees Fulmer racing          up.          SOUTHERN MISS COACH          Shoot, man, Fulmer's here. I might          as well go home.          Fulmer smiles at the assembled coaches, shakes a few-hands.                         FULMER          Drove all the way from Knoxville to          come see for myself.          Leigh Anne slides in near the group so she can eavesdro          CLEMSON ASSISTANT COACH          Heck, I drove from Clemson, that's          nine hours!          Bert cotton walks over, shakes Fulmer's hand, leaving the          other coaches shaking their heads.                         COTTON          Coach Fulmer, it's a real honor.                         FULMER          Coach Cotton I been keeping an eye          on your program. Y'all doing a          fine job down here. Wouldn't be a          bit surprised to see you coaching          at the next level real soon.          Cotton's smile tells us he'd like that a lot.          FULMER (CONT`D)          Is that him? Is that O'Hair?                         LEIGH ANNE          It's Oher. Like a paddle in a          boat.          Fulmer notices Leigh Anne, grunts then turns back to Cotton.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                94                         139 CONTINUED: 139                         FULMER          If you could run him through a few          drills, we'd sure appreciate it..          .Cotton gives Leigh Anne a look that says, "get out of here."          She shakes her head -- "I'm not going anywhere."          Cotton blows his whistle and the team approaches.                         COTTON                                    Board drill. Big Mike and Jay                                    Collis. Best on best.          An Equipment manager lays out a plank and Jay Collis sighs          and lines up, one foot on either side of the board. Michael          slowly moves into position opposite him.          The coaches all inch closer and crane their necks to see.          Leigh Anne is now right in the middle of them. Fulmer gives          her a look that says,,"Who the hell are you?"          Cotton blows his whistle, Michael fires out and it's over in                                    an instant. Collis is pancaked under Michael, who gets up          and offers a hand.          The coaches are frozen - as if they've witnessed a miracle.                         FULMER          (almost to himself)          Force equals mass times          acceleration.          Then, all at once, the coaches pull out their cell phones and          start poking digits and jabbering: "You won't believe it!"          "You gotta see this!" "He's a freak of nature!"          The Clemson coach strides away.                         COTTON          Where are you going, Coach?                         CLEMSON COACH          Back to South Carolina. I've seen          more than enough. If he can qualify          with his grades you tell Michael          Oher that Clemson wants him.                         FULMER          Good luck with that, Brad!          Fulmer smiles wide then turns to look once more at Michael.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                95                         139 CONTINUED: 139           Leigh Anne watches him watch Michael.          140 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY 140           Leigh Anne, distressed, has books and pamphlets spread out in          front of her. Sean walks in, takes in the sight.                         LEIGH ANNE          Did you know that to be eligible          for a Division One scholarship          Michael's gonna need a 2.5 GPA?                         SEAN          Really?                         LEIGH ANNE          His ACT is low and I don't see him          doing any better if he retakes it.                         SEAN          What's his GPA now?                         LEIGH ANNE          1.76.                         SEAN          Not bad really, when you consider          where he started.                         LEIGH ANNE          He needs to make A's this year.          (off Sean's laugh)          I'm serious. And that might not          even be enough.                         SEAN          So he goes to Junior College.                         LEIGH ANNE          Most inner city kids that go to JC          drop out in a year. His shot at          the pros would go out the window.                         SEAN          Pros? Are we even sure he's gonna          get college offers?          She walks over to the answering machine, presses "Play."                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 96                         140 CONTINUED: 140          ON THE MACHINE          Hello, my name is Nick Saban and          I'm the head football coach at          Louisiana State University...          (Leigh Anne fast forwards)          Tommy Tuberville, Auburn          University...          (fast forwards again)          We're very interested in having          Michael over to Knoxville for a          visit.                         SEAN          Phil Fulmer, from Tennessee?                         LEIGH ANNE          There are twenty more.          She holds up a stack of mail - envelopes and Fed Exes.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          And these. Fifty of 'em.                         SEAN          Any from Ole Miss?                         LEIGH ANNE          They won't recruit until they hire          a new coach. But none of it          matters unless he makes his grades.                         SEAN          So, what do we do?          141 INT. WINGATE - TEACHER'S LOUNGE - DAY 141          Leigh Anne speaks to the assembled teachers.                         LEIGH ANNE          So here's the plan. E-mail me all          assignments and let me know what          Michael has to do to make an "A".          There is laughter in the room.          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          Okay, fine, a B plus. And if          anyone knows of a good tutor I'd          love to hear about 'em.          MRS. BOSWELL          I think I know someone.                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision -- 04/28/09 97          142 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY 142          Leigh Anne sits with MISS SUE, a no nonsense prospective          tutor wearing an Ole Miss sweatshirt.                         LEIGH ANNE          I understand that you applied for a          teaching position at Wingate?                         MISS SUE          I wasn't religious enough for 'em.          I'm a spiritual person, Mrs. Tuohy,          but I have certain,. shall we say...          doubts.                         LEIGH ANNE          I appreciate your honesty, Miss          Sue.                         MISS SUE          What's the situation with Michael?                         LEIGH ANNE          He needs to do better in school.                         MISS SUE          Obviously. But why the big push?                         LEIGH ANNE          He's in line for a football          scholarship if he gets his grades          up.                         MISS SUE          Is he considering Ole Miss?                         LEIGH ANNE          He'd better be.                         MISS SUE          I'd love to work with him.                         LEIGH ANNE          When do you want to start?                         MISS SUE          Mrs. Tuohy there's something you          should know about me. I don't tell          many people, but it's something I          feel you should be aware of before          you hire me.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 98                         142 CONTINUED: 142                         LEIGH ANNE          What's that?                         MISS SUE          I'm a Democrat.          143 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - KITCHEN -- NIGHT (LATER) 143           Leigh Ann and Sean sneak looks at Miss Sue and Michael at the           dining room table.          AT THE TABLE          Michael stares at a problem in Geometry book, then...                         MICHAEL          I don't understand it.                         MISS SUE          Yet. You don't understand it yet.          How big is your head, Michael?                         MICHAEL          Big.                         MISS SUE          And what's in there?                         MICHAEL          A brain.                         MISS SUE          A brain. Full of knowledge - like          a file cabinet with maps; shortcuts          for figuring things out. You will          learn this, Michael Oher because          I'm here to help you use those maps          and reach your destination. Like           Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark.                          MICHAEL           Sacagawea?                         MISS SUE          We'll get to that. And the history          books have it wrong, but all you          need to you know is that I'll get          you there. Do you believe me? Do          you trust me, Michael?                         MICHAEL          Yes, Miss Sue.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 98A                         143 CONTINUED: 143                         MISS SUE          Try it again.          He goes back to the book.          SEAN AND LEIGH ANNE          Sean shakes his head.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 99                         143 CONTINUED: 143                          SEAN           Who'd a thought we'd have a black           son before we knew a Democrat.          144-145 OMITTED 144-145          146 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - FOYER - DAY 146          The doorbell RINGS and Leigh Anne fixes her hair before she          opens it to --          NICK SABAN, a handsome man wearing a sport jacket and LSU rep          tie. Leigh Anne is immediately taken with him.                         NICK SABAN          And you must be Leigh Anne.                         LEIGH ANNE          Yes, Coach Saban, that's me. Leigh          Anne. Touhy.                         NICK SABAN          Please, call me Nick. What an          incredible home. Love the Windsor           valances.                         LEIGH ANNE                         (VERY IMPRESSED)          Thank you. You obviously have good          taste.                         NICK SABAN          Let's just say I appreciate          quality.          Michael and SJ walk in.          NICK SABAN (CONT'D)                         (EYEING MICHAEL)          And I know it when I see it.          (offers a hand)          Michael, I'm Nick Saban. And you          must be SJ. I hear you have quite          a jump shot, young man.                         LEIGH ANNE          Nick, why don't you and Michael go          into the living room to talk.                         MICHAEL          Can SJ come?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                100                         146 CONTINUED: 146                         SABAN          Absolutely. I'll recruit the both          of you.          As they walk away, Collins approaches...                         LEIGH ANNE          I find him extremely handsome.          147 INT. TUOHY HOUSE- LIVING ROOM - DAY (LATER) 147          Michael and SJ sit across from Saban.                         SABAN          So, as soon as possible we'd like          to get you down to Baton Rouge.          We've got a great thing going,          Michael and we plan on winning a          bunch more National Championships.          Whattaya' say, will you commit to a          visit?          Michael turns to SJ, who raises his hand.                         SI          Can I ask a question?                         SABAN          Sure.                         SJ          My brother and me are very close.          I'm worried that if he goes off to          school I won't see him so...                         SABAN          Go on.                         SI          I guess I was just wondering how          much access I'd have to him.          Saban smiles at the kid's moxie.                         SABAN          Tell you what, SJ. Michael comes          to LSU I'll get you an all-access          pass. How's that sound?                         SJ          Sounds good.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 101                         147 CONTINUED: 147          SERIES OF SHOTS:          148 EXT. WINGATE - STADIUM - NIGHT 148          Michael pancakes an opponent --          149 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY 149          Michael and Miss Sue study --                         MISS SUE          You know this stuff. Just be          logical.          150 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - FOYER - DAY 150          HOUSTON NUTT walks in the Tuohy front door --                         NUTT          Hi, I'm Houston Nutt from Arkansas.          151 EXT. WINGATE - STADIUM - NIGHT 151          Michael pancakes another defender --          152 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM -- DAY 152          Miss Sue high fives Michael after a quiz --          153 INT. TUGHY HOUSE - FOYER - DAY 153          Phil Fulmer walks in, recognizes Leigh Anne                         FULMER          This is a beautiful home, Ma'am.          He is startled to see --          Michael, in briefs, racing down the stairs, carrying Collins,          who is holding his pants away from him.          154 INT. WINGATE -- CLASSROOM - DAY 154           Mrs. Boswell grades Michael's paper, writes "B" at the top.          155 EXT. WINGATE - STADIUM - NIGHT 155           A SCOREBOARD: CRUSADERS 44 VISITORS 0          156 NEWSPAPER HEADLINE - DAY 156          A HEADLINE: CRUSADERS TO PLAY FOR PRIVATE SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Green Revision - 04/28/09 102          157 INT. WINGATE - LOCKER ROOM - NIGHT 157          Michael and Coach Cotton hold up a championship trophy          158 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - FOYER -- DAY 158          Coaches, one after another, enter the Tuohy home --                         COACHES                                     Hi, I'm Tommy Tuberville...Hi,                                     I'm Lou Holtz...          159 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY 159           SJ asks them each his question ---                         SI          What level of access can I expect?          160 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY 160          Coaches, one after another, up the ante ----                         TOMMY TUBERVILLE          Your own locker right next to          Michael's.                         HOUSTON NUTT                                     Access to the Letterman's Lounge.                         LOU HOLTZ          (with a wink)          A Gamecock headdress. Real          feathers.                         PHIL FULMER          We'll run arm in arm onto the field          and you can do the coin toss          thingie at the first game.                         SI          Sounds real good.          161 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY 161          Michael studies with Miss Sue, in her Ole Miss sweatshirt.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Yellow. Draft -- 04/15/09 103                         161 CONTINUED: 161                         MISS SUE          Have you decided yet, Michael?                         MICHAEL          No, Miss Sue.                         MISS SUE          But you like Tennessee?          (off his nod)          It's a good school. Not at the          academic level of Ole Miss but they          do have an outstanding science          department. You know one of the          things they're famous for?          (he shakes his head)          They work with the FBI to study the          effects of the soil on decomposing          body parts.          Michael is a bit lost.          MISS SUE (CONT'D)          When they find a body the police          want to know how long they've been          dead. The fine department at          Tennessee helps them. They have          lots of body parts - arms, legs,          hands - from hospitals and medical          schools. Do you know where they          store them?          (Michael shakes his head)          Right underneath the football          field.          Michael's eyes widen a bit.          MISS SUE (CONT'D)          So, while it's fine and dandy to          have 100,000 fans cheering for you,          the bodies you should be worried          about are right underneath the          turf. Set to poke up through the          ground and grab you.          She raises a clawed hand (think "CARRIE") to make her point.          Michael is completely freaked out by this.          MISS SUE (CONT'D)          But it's your decision where you          play football. Don't let me          influence you.                                                                                                               The Blind Side Green Revision - 04/28/09 104          162 INT. TUGHY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY 162          Ole Miss Coach, ED ORGERON, talks with Leigh Anne.                         LEIGH ANNE          Congrats on gettin' hired, Coach.                         ED ORGERON          Thank yew, Ma'am. Ole Miss is my          dream job.                         LEIGH ANNE          Coach 0, you're coming a little          late to the party but we're diehard          Rebels so I'm gonna give you a          frickin' road map, okay?                         ED ORGERON          Yes 'm.                         LEIGH ANNE          LSU is out. Everybody knows          Saban's going to the NFL. So when          he comes for his visit to Ole Miss,          don't take him to some titty bar          and give him tequila shots. He'll          have nightmares for weeks. Feed          him Italian - he likes Fettucine          Alfredo - take him to a movie - but          not Chainsaw massacre because he'll          just cover his eyes - and put him          to bed by ten. You got it?                         ED ORGERON          Yes'm. What about Tennessee?                         LEIGH ANNE          It breaks my heart but they're          still in the hunt. Fulmer offered          SJ a sweet deal.                         ED ORGERON          I hear the kid can really pepper          the gumbo.                         LEIGH ANNE          He's his daddy's boy.                                                                                                                105          163 INT.. TUOHY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY (LATER) 163          Orgeron sits with Michael and SJ.                         ED ORGERON          You a Ole Miss tackle, son. I'm          buildin' my line, buildin' my team          aroun' you. Make your parents          proud, come to Oxford, get that          sheepskin and help us win the SEC.          Michael nods, turns to SJ. Before SJ can raise his hand --          ED ORGERON (CONT'D)          And for you, Si, here's what I can          do. At Ole Miss we have The Grove          by the stadium. And the team walks          it before the game, surrounded by          thousands of fans. It's a sacred          ritual. And I'm in front.                         SI          ("that's it?")          Seen it a thousand times.                         ED ORGERON          Ever seen it from the front of the          line? Next year, you and me --          leading the team.                         SI          Tennessee offered to let me run on          the field and flip the coin.                         ED ORGERON          I'll throw in a sideline pass.          Si considers this, smiles and nods.          164 INT. WINGATE - LIBRARY -- DAY 164           A press conference is under way. Photographers push to get a          shot of --          Michael, at a table, stares at three caps -- Tennessee, LSU          and Ole Miss. He smiles and selects an Ole Miss hat.          165 INT. PHIL FULMER'S OFFICE - DAY 165          Fulmer watches the press conference on TV. He tosses a piece          of chalk against the wall.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                106                         165 CONTINUED: 165                         FULMER          This stinks to high heaven.          166 INT. WINGATE - BOB'S LITERATURE CLASS - DAY 166           Leigh Anne and Bob have a chat in the empty classroom.                         BOB          I will not give a student a grade          he, or she, doesn't deserve.                         LEIGH ANNE          He needs a B. What's he gonna have          to do to "deserve" that?                         BOB          Right now Michael's doing C minus,          D plus work. His best chance at          improving is with the written essay          at the end of the year. It counts          for a third of his grade.                         LEIGH ANNE          That's it. We're sunk.          167 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT 167          Miss Sue works with Michael at the table.                         MISS SUE          Why not write about "Great          Expectations"? You're a lot like          Pip. He was poor, an orphan and          someone sort of found him. You          should be able to relate to that.          Michael shrugs. Sean is nearby, watching NBA basketball.          MISS SUE (CONT'D)          Fine, let's go through the reading          list. But you have to pick one,          Michael.          (reading from list)          "Pygmalion"... "A Tale of Two          Cities"... "The Charge of the          Light Brigade"...                         SEAN          (almost to himself)          "Half a league, half a league, half          a league onward." I love that one.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Yellow Draft --04/15/09 107                         167 CONTINUED: 167                         MISS SUE          Fine, you do this and I'll watch          basketball.          Miss Sue walks over, takes the remote from Sean, who rises.                         SEAN          "All in the valley of Death rode          the six hundred". They call LSU's          stadium Death Valley because of          this story. Alfred, Lord Tennyson          is writing about Ole Miss-LSU.                         MICHAEL          You're kidding?                         SEAN          No. It's a great story.                         MISS SUE          It's a poem.                         SEAN          "Forward the Light Brigade!"          That's like the offense. "Charge          for the guns'he said." That's the          end zone. "Into the Valley of          Death rode the six hundred."          He knows it by heart and even miss Sue is impressed.                         SEAN (CONT'D)          "Forward the Light Brigade! Was          there a man d±smay'd? Not tho' the          soldier knew someone had          blundered."                         MICHAEL          Someone made a mistake?                         SEAN'          Yeah, their leader, their coach.                         MICHAEL          Why would they go ahead if they          knew he messed up?                         SEAN          "Theirs not to make reply, theirs          not to reason why, theirs but to do          and die: Into the Valley of Death          rode the six hundred."                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                108                         167 CONTINUED: 167          It hits Michael. He takes a moment, looks right at Sean.                         MICHAEL          They all gonna die, aren't they?                         SEAN          Yeah.                         MICHAEL          That's really, really sad.                         SEAN          I think you just found something to          write about.          Michael opens his notebook, picks up a pen.          MICHAEL (V.0.)          Courage is a hard thing to figure.          You can have courage based on a          dumb idea or a mistake, but you're          not supposed to question adults, or          your coach, or your teacher because          they make the rules. Maybe they          know best but maybe they don't.          SERIES OF REPEATED SHOTS:          168 EXT. HURT VILLAGE - REPEATED SHOT - DAY 168          Michael moves through the tough crowd.          MICHAEL (V.0.)          It all depends on who you are,          where you come from. Didn't at          least one of the six hundred guys          think about giving up and joining          with the other side? I mean,          Valley of Death, that's pretty          salty stuff.          169 EXT. WINGATE - REPEATED SHOT - DAY 169           Michael walks under the arch for the first time.          MICHAEL (V.0.)          That's why courage is tricky.          Should you always do what others          tell you to do? Sometimes you          might not even know why you're          doing something. I mean, any fool          can have courage.                                                                                                                109          170 INT. LAUNDROMAT - REPEATED SHOT - NIGHT 170          Michael leans against the wall and tries to sleep.          MICHAEL (V.0.)          But honor, that's the real reason          you either do something or you          don't. It's who you are and maybe          who you want to be. If you die          trying for something important then          you have both honor and courage and          that's pretty good.          171 INT. WINGATE - BOB'S LITERATURE CLASS - DAY 171           Bob sits at his desk, reading Michael's. essay. As he turns          to the last page...          MICHAEL (V.0.)          I think that's what the writer was          saying. That you should try for          courage and hope for honor. And          maybe even pray that the people          telling you what. to do have some,          too.          Bob, visibly moved, sets down the essay and smiles.          172 INT. WINGATE --- AUDITORIUM - FOYER - DAY 172                                     Graduation day and Sean sits beside an empty seat in the                                    quick filling auditorium. He sees Leigh Anne marching up the                                    aisle, a big smile on her face. she pushes down the row and                                    plops down in the seat next to him.                         SEAN                                     What?                         LEIGH ANNE          2.52.          (off Sean's' look)          Michael's final GPA. Got it off          Paul's computer. He did it, Sean.          He did it!                                    Sean grins, then...                         SEAN          Wait a minute. You broke into the          principal's computer?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                110                         172 CONTINUED: 172           She ignores him and opens her program, letting Sean know that            is precisely what she did.           173 INT. WINGATE - AUDITORIUM - DAY (LATER) 173                                     Graduation ceremonies. Paul Sandstrom reads the names and                                    the graduates move across the stage to get their diplomas.                                    As each student walks across the stage a BABY PICTURE of their          is PROJECTED.                          SANDSTROM           Michael Jerome Oher.          Even though no one is supposed to clap, a spontaneous round          of APPLAUSE gives Michael pause as he accepts his diploma.                                    Projected behind him is a picture of the cutest African-                                    American infant the world has ever seen.                                    ON SEAN AND LEIGH ANNE                         SEAN           Where'd you find a baby picture of           Michael?                          LEIGH ANNE          Scanned it off an Internet ad for a          toddler boutique.          (off his look)          Tell a soul and I'll rip your          tongue out.          IN THE CROWD: The Tuohys, Big Tony, Miss Sue, Bob and the          other teachers all clap.          174 EXT. WINGATE - OUTSIDE THE AUDITORIUM -.DAY 174           Michael, diploma in hand, shakes Sean's hand. Sean moves          close, looks him in the eye.                          SEAN          I want you to know something.          You'n me, okay?                         (BEAT)          I never believed you could do this.          But you did. And I'm as proud of          you as I am ashamed of myself. I          should know better. I'll never          doubt you again, Michael.          Michael smiles, nods, gives Leigh Anne a little hug then raps           knuckles with Si and high fives Collins.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                111                         174 CONTINUED: 174                         LEIGH ANNE          Excuse me young man, but I think I          need a proper hug.          He smiles and moves to her. Off their embrace          175-176 OMITTED 175-176          177-182 OMITTED 177-182          183 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY 183          Leigh Anne and Sean go over Ole Miss pamphlets with Michael.                         LEIGH ANNE          You'll be living in Deaton Hall --          here. You'll have a meal plan and          you'll go to Johnson commons to          eat.                         SEAN                                    Johnson Commons has all you can eat          self-serve ice cream.                         MICHAEL          As much as you want?                         SEAN          Yep, that's how Mama put on her          freshman ten.          Leigh Anne rolls up a pamphlet and whacks him hard on her way          to answer a RINGING PHONE.                         LEIGH ANNE           Hello... This is Mrs. Tuohy...           As she listens she gives Sean a look - "This isn't good".          184 INT. BUttDING HALLWAY - DAY 184           Leigh Anne walks with Michael.                                                   LEIGH ANNE          They just want to ask you a few          questions. You've got nothing to          hide, Michael.          They arrive at a door, open it.                                                                                                                112          185 INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY 185          Sits Investigator Granger in the room we've seen before. She          rises, professional, but not smiling.                         GRANGER          Mrs. Tuohy? Mr. Oher? My name is          Jocelyn Granger and I'm the          Assistant Director of Enforcement          for the NCAA.                         LEIGH ANNE          Please call me Leigh Anne.          Leigh Anne shakes her hand and she and Michael move to the          chairs.                         GRANGER          Mrs. Tuohy, I'd prefer to speak          with Michael alone.                         LEIGH ANNE          How long will this take?                         GRANGER          Awhile.          Michael starts rubbing his knees, nervous as hell.                         LEIGH ANNE          Michael, I'll be outside.          Leigh Anne pecks his cheek and exits, giving Michael one last          look before she leaves.          186 EXT. BUILDING - DAY 186          Leigh Anne sits on a bench, talking on the phone.                         LEIGH ANNE          I've got a bad feeling about this,          Sean. This broad is tough. Oh,.          Susie's on the other line.                         (CLICKS OVER)          Hey... . what does the client          want?... But that's tacky... You          know what, fine, if she wants her          living room to look like a bordello          make it happen.          She hangs up, checks her watch and looks toward the building.                                                                                                                113          187 INT. NONDESCRIPT GOVERNMENT-LOOKING ROOM - DAY 187          The interrogation is ongoing...                         GRANGER          Your parents are friends with Coach          Bert Cotton, correct?                         MICHAEL          Coach is a good guy.                         GRANGER          Were you aware that Coach Cotton is          accepting a job at Ole Miss?          (Michael shakes his head)          And that this job offer came after          you signed with them?          (no response from Michael)          Sean Tuohy, your legal guardian          went to Ole Miss.                         MICHAEL          He played basketball.                         GRANGER          And Mrs. Tuohy attended Ole Miss as          well.                         MICHAEL          She was a cheerleader.                         GRANGER          Is it safe to say that Ole Miss is          their favorite school?                         (MICHAEL NODS)          Do they like any other          Universities?                         (MICHAEL SHRUGS)          What about, say Tennessee?                         MICHAEL          They can't stand Tennessee.                         GRANGER          So they wouldn't be happy if you          chose to play football there?                         MICHAEL          No.                         GRANGER          And your tutor...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                114                         187 CONTINUED: 187                          MICHAEL           Miss Sue.                         GRANGER          Miss Sue is an Ole Miss grad, too.                         (MICHAEL NODS)          Did Miss Sue try to persuade you to          attend Ole Miss?                         (MICHAEL NODS)          Did you know that the Tuohys make          generous donations to Ole Miss?          That even Miss Sue makes donations?          That the:Tuohy's have a condo in          Oxford so they can attend as many          athletic events as possible? That,          in fact, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy          are by our definition "boosters."                         MICHAEL          What's that mean?                         GRANGER          A booster is someone with an          abnormal interest in a school's          sports. Someone who-contributes          financially to the University's          athletic program.          Michael doesn't answer, just keeps rubbing his knees. Then          comes the part we've heard before...'                         GRANGER (CONT'D)          Mr. Oher, do you know why I'm here?                         (NO RESPONSE)          Mr. Oher?...          MICHAEL (V.0.)                         GRANGER          Do you know, do you understand why          I'm here?          MICHAEL (V.0.)          To... investigate.                         GRANGER          Yes. To investigate. I'm here to          investigate your odd...          predicament. Do you find it odd?          Your predicament?                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                115                         187 CONTINUED: 187                         GRANGER (CONT'D)                         (NO RESPONSE)          Michael?...                         MICHAEL          Iono...          she sifts through her briefcase, pulls out files, documents -          a good bit of evidence for whatever trouble Michael is in.          She sits back, stares at Michael, as if trying to figure him          out. Michael can't meet her gaze. He looks out the window,          rubs his knees some more.                         MICHAEL (CONT'D)          Can I... can I leave now?                         GRANGER                         (WITH FINALITY)          No. You can't.          Michael's building up anxiety by the second.                         MICHAEL          What do you want, ma'am?                         GRANGER          What I want, what my job is, is to          discern whether something untoward          occurred in your recruitment to Ole          Miss.                         MICHAEL          Unto...                         GRANGER          I want the facts. I need the          truth.                         MICHAEL          I didn't lie...                         GRANGER          And I want to know what you think          about all this.                         MICHAEL          THINK ABOUT WHAT?!          It's the first time we've ever heard Michael raise his voice.          It echoes in the room. Granger lets it die before she leans          forward and continues...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                116                         187 CONTINUED: 187                         GRANGER          The NCAA fears that with your          recruitment a door might be opened          that boosters from lots of schools          in the south will become legal          guardians for young athletes          without means and funnel them to          their Alma Maters.          Michael still doesn't get it, shakes his head.                         GRANGER (CONT'D)          I'm not saying I believe it and I'm          not saying I don't, but there are          many people involved with this case          who would argue that the Tuohys          took you in, fed you, clothed you,          paid for your private education --                         MICHAEL          (almost to himself)          No...no...no...                         GRANGER          -- bought you a car and paid for a          tutor all as part of a plan to          insure that you played football for          the University of Mississippi.          Now Michael understands. He stares at the floor for a long          time then quickly stands and makes for the door.                         GRANGER (CONT'D)          Michael, we're not finished.          But he's gone.          188 EXT. GOVERNMENT BUILDING - DAY 188          Leigh Anne sees Michael exit the building. Once he's outside          he moves in circles, gesticulating and talking to himself.          Leigh Anne races over --                         LEIGH ANNE          Michael, what's wrong?          He looks at her, glares really; upset.                         MICHAEL          Why'd you do it?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                117                         188 CONTINUED: 188                          LEIGH ANNE           What?                         MICHAEL          All along you wanted me to go to          Ole Miss.                         LEIGH ANNE          Well, of course, but...                         MICHAEL          Why did you do this for me?!                         LEIGH ANNE          What?                         MICHAEL          Everything! Was it for you or was          it for me? Was it so I would go to          school where you wanted?! Was it          so I would do what you wanted?!                         LEIGH ANNE          No, Michael...                         MICHAEL          (points to building)          That's what she thinks! Is she          right?!          (her own words)          Don't you dare lie to me!          Leigh Anne digests this, takes a breath...                         LEIGH ANNE          Michael, look... I can see where,          where some people might...          Her inability, for the first time, to articulate, hits          Michael in the face.                         MICHAEL          I'm not stupid!          He turns and walks away.                         LEIGH ANNE          Michael?!          But she doesn't move, just watches him go.                         189 OMITTED 189                                                                                                                 118          190 INT. TUGHY HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT 190          Sean and Leigh Anne sit at the kitchen table while Collins          and SJ pace in the living room.                         LEIGH ANNE          (on her cell)          Well if he comes by there let me          know. Thanks.                         COLLINS                         (ON PHONE)          Michael, please call me and let me          know you're okay.                         LEIGH ANNE          Text him SJ.                         SEAN          Keep it light. Tell him you're          gonna take his truck for a spin if          he doesn't get in touch.          SJ starts texting. Leigh Anne and Sean stare at each other.          A191 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - SEAN AND'LEIGH ANNE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT A191                         (LATER)          Sean sits in bed and Leigh Anne paces.                         LEIGH ANNE          I should have followed him.                         SEAN          You had no way of knowing he'd          disappear.                         LEIGH ANNE          Was he right?          (off Sean's look)          What he said about us?                         SEAN          Leigh Anne, be sensible. We gave          clothes to a boy who had one pair          of shorts. We gave him a bed. To          hell with the NCAA, I'd do it again          tomorrow.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                119          A191 CONTINUED: A191                         LEIGH ANNE          What about the rest of it - all the          stuff we did to make sure he got a          scholarship? A scholarship to Ole          Miss.                         SEAN          He could go wherever he wanted, he          knew that.                         LEIGH ANNE          Did he? Did you ask him? 'Cause I          know for sure I never did.          Sean considers this, then beckons.                         SEAN          Come here, honey.          She moves to him. He puts his arm around her, kisses her          forehead.                         LEIGH ANNE          Am I a good person?          (off his look)          Not a joke. Not rhetorical.                         SEAN          You're the best person I know.          Everything you do, you do for          others.                         LEIGH ANNE          Why is that?                         SEAN          (with a smile)          I have not a clue. You obviously          get some sick satisfaction from it.          She looks at him. There's truth in his words.                         LEIGH ANNE          Sean... what if he never comes          back?          191 EXT. HURT VILLAGE - NIGHT 191          Michael makes his way toward Building "C", passing some of          the same faces we've seen before.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                120                         191 CONTINUED: 191          Alton opens his door to make a transaction with an addict'and          spots Michael.                         ALTON          That you Big Mike? Get your ass in          here.                         MICHAEL          I'm looking for Moms.                         ALTON          Your Mama? Oh, I seen Dee Dee          around. She usually stop by for a          taste around this time. Tell you          what, I'll get you a forty and          we'll chop it up 'til she get here.          Michael hesitates. Alton smiles, beckons.                         192 OMITTED 192          193 INT. HURT VILLAGE - ALTON'S APARTMENT - NIGHT 193          Shitty but with good electronics. There are maybe eight          people in the apartment - partying, drinking, getting high.          Michael steps inside. Alton points to a chair. A stoned out          couple smokes on the adjacent couch.          Next to them an INFANT cries in a broken down crib. In the          other corner of the room sits David, the young man we met          before. Michael nods and David nods back. Alton hands          Michael a beer.                         ALTON          It's good to see you, Big Mike.          You lookin' fit. I heard you          playin' some ball.                         MICHAEL          Yeah.                         ALTON          But you know that rich kid football          ain't like the public school          league. People packing knives in          their socks. Back in the day I was          a quarterback. You knew that,          right? At MLK.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                121                         193 CONTINUED: 193                         MICHAEL          Yeah, I heard.                         (TO DAVID)          You still playing ball over at the          JC?                         DAVID          Naw.                         ALTON          He with me now! I'll open a spot          for you, too.                         DAVID          Got tired of going to class. Always          somebody tellin' me what to do.                         ALTON          Turn it up, bitch!          David jumps up and cranks the volume on a RAP SONG until the          beat is bouncing off the walls. Michael sips the beer; rubs          his knees.                         ALTON (CONT'D)          You stayin' to the other side of          town, that's what Dee Dee said.          Said you got a new Mama. She fine,          too. I seen her when she come to          see Dee Dee.                         MICHAEL          She came here?                         ALTON          She got any other kids? She got a          daughter?                         (MICHAEL NODS)          You tap that?          Michael sets down the beer, rises to leave.                         ALTON (CONT'D)          Where you going? Sit down. I          wanna hear about your fine white          sister. 'Cause I like me some          mommy/daughter.                         MICHAEL          Shut up.          Alton steps in front of Michael, raises his hands ---                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                122                         193 CONTINUED: 193                         ALTON          Shutup?You tellin' me to shut          up?I'llcap your fat ass. Cap          yourass,drive east and pay a          visittoyour Cracker Mama and her                         SWEETLITTLE --          Michael shoves him hard. Alton unprepared for the force,          flies back against the wall. On the ground he reaches in his          belt for his gun, but just as he gets it out --          Michael slaps it away. He picks up Alton and throws him          across the room. The party comes unhinged as Michael grabs          Alton, holds him against the wall with one hand while          pounding him with the other. Blood flies from Alton's face -          eighteen years of subdued rage coming out in seconds.          TWO OTHER GUYS grab Michael from behind and one --          STICKS A GUN IN MICHAEL'S TEMPLE          Michael screams like a banshee, spins, grabs them and tackles          them over the couch. An errant round FIRES into the ceiling.          A table flies and the crib smashes.          Michael looks to David, frozen in the corner, then over to          the SCREAMING child on the floor.          He grabs his head and heaves, trying to make it all stop -          the music, the screams, the crying. The shots PULSE to the          music and. are INTERCUT WITH:          194 EXT. HURT VILLAGE - DAY 194          PULSING FLASHBACK IMAGES          MICHAEL, AGE SEVEN, and several half brothers and sisters in          front of Hurt Village as Child Protective Services herds them          away from Denise Oher. She's screaming, the kids are crying.          Michael breaks away and runs to Denise.          SEVEN YEAR OLD MICHAEL          MAMA!! 1 1          He grabs her waist and is pulled away by an officer.          FLASHBACK ENDS. BACK TO SCENE AT...                                                                                                               The Blind Side - Yellow Draft -- 04/15/09 123          195 INT. ALTON'S APARTMENT - NIGHT 195           Michael looks at the blood on his hands and shirt and           stumbles out of the room, terrified.          196 INT. TUOHY HOUSE - HALLWAY/MICHAEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT 196           Leigh Anne stands at the doorway to Michael's empty, very           neat room. She stares, missing everything about him.          197 INT. LEIGH ANNE'S CAR - DAY 197           Leigh Anne drives around, looking for Michael at Wingate.           198 EXT. WEST SIDE OF MEMPHIS STREET - DAY 198            The streets of west side of Memphis. And finally --           199 EXT. HURT VILLAGE - DAY 199          Leigh Anne approaches the complex. Alton, his face bandaged,          sits on the stoop with his crowd. A mother holds the          unharmed baby.                         ALTON          He gone.          Leigh Anne stops, looks to Alton.                         ALTON (CONT'D)          But you tell him I'll be seeing him          around. You tell him he'll get his.                         LEIGH ANNE          Michael was here?                         ALTON          Last night. Sneaked me then took          off like a little bitch. So you          tell him, sleep with one eye open.          Yod'hear me, bitch?'          Leigh Anne steps closer to Alton, stares him down.                         LEIGH ANNE          No, you hear me, bitch. You          threaten my son you threaten me.          You so much as cross downtown          you'll be sorry. I'm in a prayer          group with the D.A., I'm a member          of the NRA and I am always packing.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                124                         199 CONTINUED: 199          She taps her tiny purse. Alton laughs.                         ALTON          What you got in there, a .22? You          got yourself a Saturday Night          Special?                         LEIGH ANNE          And it shoots just fine all the          other days, too.          She turns on her heels and strides to her car.          200 INT. LEIGH ANNE'S CAR - DAY 200          When she gets in she's so nervous she hyperventilates. Her          phone RINGS and she opens the tiny purse revealing nothing          more than a wallet and the phone. She recognizes the number          and answers...                         LEIGH ANNE          Michael?!!!                          MICHAEL'S VOICE           Mama?...          201 EXT. LAUNDROMAT - DAY 201           The one where Michael spent the night. He sits inside.           Leigh Anne pulls up, stops and they lock eyes.          MICHAEL (V.0.)          You think the police gonna come and          get me?          202 EXT. CURB - DAY 202          Leigh Anne sits on the curb with Michael.                         LEIGH ANNE          I'd imagine the last thing anybody          at Hurt Village wants is cops          snooping around.          (after a beat)          I swore I'd never ask but... how'd           you make it out of there, Michael?                          MICHAEL          When I was little and something          awful was happening, my Mama would          tell me to close my eyes.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                125'                         202 CONTINUED: 202                          MICHAEL (CONT'D)          She was tryin' to keep me from          seeing her do drugs or other bad          things. And she'd say, "keep 'em          closed till I say so." And then          when she was finished or the bad          things were over she'd say, "now          when I count to three, you open          your eyes and the past is gone, the          world is a good place, and it's all          gonna be okay."                         LEIGH ANNE           You closed your eyes.           He nods. She shakes her head, amazed at the kid. They stare           out at the street, then...          LEIGH ANNE (CONT'D)          You know, when I was driving all          over Kingdom Come looking for you I          just kept thinking about one thing.                         (BEAT)          Ferdinand the bull. Everyone          assumed because he was big that he          wanted to fight in the ring. But          he just wanted to sit under a tree          and smell the flowers.          (right at him)          I know I should have asked this a          long time ago but do you even wanna          play football? I mean, do you even          like it?'          Michael considers this.                          MICHAEL          I'm pretty good at it.                         LEIGH ANNE          Yeah, you are.                         (A BEAT)          Sean and I have been talking and          Michael, if you're gonna accept a          football scholarship we think it          should be from Tennessee.          (off his look)          And I promise you I will be at          every game cheering for you.                         MICHAEL          Every game?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                126                         202 CONTINUED: 202                         LEIGH ANNE          But I will not wear that gaudy          orange of theirs because it's not          in my color wheel.                         MICHAEL          You want me to go to Tennessee?                         LEIGH ANNE          I want you to go wherever you want.          It's your decision, Michael. It's          your life.                         MICHAEL           What if I wanted to flip burgers?           She takes this in, swallows hard and                          LEIGH ANNE           Your decision; your life.          Michael smiles.                          MICHAEL          Okay.                         LEIGH ANNE          Okay, what?          203 INT. NONDESCRIPT GOVERNMENT-LOOKING ROOM - DAY 203           Michael is at another session with Jocelyn Granger.                          MICHAEL          I'm sorry I left the other day.                         GRANGER          You were pretty upset.                         MICHAEL          You ask a lot of questions.                         GRANGER          I'm trying to get to the bottom of          this.                         MICHAEL          But all the questions you asked          were about why everybody else          wanted me to go to Ole Miss.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                127                         203 CONTINUED: 203                         GRANGER          Okay...                         MICHAEL          You asked about everybody but me.          You never asked why I wanted to go          there.                         GRANGER          Alright, fine, Michael... why do          you want to go to Ole Miss?                         MICHAEL          It's where my family goes to          school. It's where they've always          gone to school.          Granger considers this, stares at Michael, then almost, just          almost, smiles.                         DISSOLVE TO:          204 EXT. OLE MISS DORM - DAY 204          Cars are unloaded as parents and siblings move their kids          into the dorm. Tearful good-byes and lots of picture taking.          Leigh Anne and.Sean walk from the dorm toward the car, giving          last words of advice. SJ and.Collins are there, too.                          LEIGH ANNE          College is going to be a different          experience for you. There are lots          of distractions.                         SEAN          Just have fun.                         LEIGH ANNE          There'll always be some nimrod in          the dorm who wants to play video          games all night, or goof off on the          internet.                         SEAN          You're gonna have a great time. I          know I did.          Leigh Anne gives Sean a look - "You're not helping."                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                128                         204 CONTINUED: 204                         LEIGH ANNE          You'll spend lots of time at          practice which means you have to be          very dedicated to your studies.          MISS SUE (O.S.)          Relax, Mama.          Miss Sue walks up carrying papers.          MISS SUE (CONT'D)          Just got back from the library          where I reserved a private cubicle          for the semester.          (hands sheets to Michael)          Here's your class schedule and our          study hall hours.          She reaches in her purse for her keys.          MISS SUE (CONT'D)          Now, if y'all don't mind I'm gonna          go move into my new apartment.           She walks away.                         LEIGH ANNE          Thank you, Miss Sue.                         MISS SUE          Yeah, yeah, yeah...           Sean and Michael and SJ eye a GROUP OF ATTRACTIVE COEDS           sashaying past. SJ does a little dance move and laughs.                         SEAN          Have a lot of fun.          Leigh Anne notices their looks.                         LEIGH ANNE          Michael Oher, you listen to me. I          want you to enjoy yourself but you          need to know that if you get a girl          pregnant out of wedlock I will          climb in the car, drive here to          Oxford and cut off your penis.                         SI          (sotto: to Michael)          She means it.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                129                         204 CONTINUED:                         204                         MICHAEL          Yes ma'am.          Leigh Anne gives Sean a look that says, "let's get on the          road." Sean offers a hand; Michael shakes it. Collins high          fives him. SJ offers a fist; Michael knocks it.          Leigh Anne, tearing up, nods and gives Michael a quick hug.                         MICHAEL (CONT'D)          Thank you, Mama.          Overwhelmed, she turns for the car with a little wave.                         LEIGH ANNE          The 78'll be a parking lot. We          should go.          She gets inside and closes the door for privacy.          Sean, SJ, Collins and Michael stand there, watching her cry.                         MICHAEL          Why does she always do that?                         SEAN          She's an onion, Michael. You have          to peel her one layer at a time.          Michael walks over to the car, knocks on the window. She          rolls it down, dabbing tears from her eyes.                         LEIGH ANNE          What?                         MICHAEL          I need a proper hug.          She gets out of the car and holds him for a long time.                         DISSOLVE TO:          SERIES OF STILL PHOTOS:                         205 NEWSPAPER HEADLINE                         205          "LOCAL YOUTH SHOT AND KILLED"          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE          I read a story the other day about          a boy from the projects. No          daddy, in and out of foster care.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                130                         205 CONTINUED:                         205          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE (CONT'D)          He'd been killed in a gang fight at          Hurt Village.                         206 NEWSPAPER PHOTO                         206          A newspaper photo of a dead boy from the.projects. Then          another headline, another young, black face. Another and          another, until the last headline shows a photo of David,          Alton's minion - his face full of shining promise.          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE          In the last paragraph they talked          about his superb athletic skills          and how different his life might          have been if he hadn't fallen          behind and dropped out of school.          He was twenty-one years old the day          he died. It was his birthday.          207 STILL PHOTO OF HURT VILLAGE                         207          Lonely, falling apart.          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE          That could have been anyone. It          could have been my son, Michael.          208 STILL PHOTO OF OLE MISS CAMPUS                         208          Beautiful on a fall day. And then THE STILL COMES TO LIFE          and Michael, books in hand, ENTERS FRAME walking. It's like          the other Michael/crowd shots with one difference - this time          he moves at the same speed as everyone else.          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE          But it wasn't. And I suppose I          have God to thank for that. God          and Lawrence Taylor.          A209 INT. SEAN'S CAR - DAY                         A209          As the family drives home from Ole Miss, we notice that Leigh          Anne is very still. And very content. She closes her eyes.          FADE TO BLACK.          LEIGH ANNE'S VOICE          One Mississippi...                                                                                                                131                         209 SUPERSCRIPT:                         209           Michael Oher was a freshman All-American in his first season          and, with help from Miss Sue, made the Dean's List.          Collins followed in her Mom's footsteps and became a          cheerleader at Ole Miss.          Sean and Leigh Anne still live in Memphis.          FADE UP ON:          210 EXT. THE GROVE -- DAY                         210          Game day and Coach 0 and SJ walk together, leading the team          to the stadium.                         211          SUPERSCRIPT: SJ RECEIVED EVERYTHING HE WAS PROMISED. 211          FADE TO BLACK.
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+"BLOOD SIMPLE" By Joel Coen and Ethan Coen LANDSCAPES An opening voice-over plays against dissolving Texas landscapes--broad, bare, and lifeless. VOICE-OVER The world is full of complainers. But the fact is, nothing comes with a guarantee. I don't care if you're the Pope of Rome, President of the United States, or even Man of the Year--something can always go wrong. And go ahead, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help--watch him fly. Now in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else-- that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas... CUT TO ROAD NIGHT We are rushing down a rain-swept country road, listening to the rhythmic swish of tires on wet asphalt. VOICE-OVER And down here... you're on your own. INT. CAR NIGHT We are looking at the backs of two people in the front seat-- a man, driving, and a woman next to him. Their conversation will be punctuated by the occasional glare of oncoming headlights and the roar of the car rushing by. The windshield wipers wave a soporific beat. The conversation is halting, awkward. WOMAN ...He gave me a little pearl-handled .38 for out first anniversary. MAN Uh-huh. WOMAN ...Figured I'd better leave before I used it on him. I don't know how you can stand him. MAN Well, I'm only an employee, I ain't married to him. WOMAN Yeah... Pause, as an oncoming car passes. Finally: WOMAN ...I don't know. Sometimes I think there's something wrong with him. Like maybe he's sick? Mentally?... Or is it maybe me, do you think? MAN Listen, I ain't a marriage counselor. I don't know what goes on, I don't wanna know... But I like you. I always liked you... Another car passes. MAN ...What're you gonna do in Houston? WOMAN I'll figure something out... How come you offered to drive me in this mess? MAN I told you. I like you. WOMAN See, I never knew that. MAN Well now you do. WOMAN ...Hell. Another pause. Another car. Suddenly: WOMAN Stop the car, Ray! CLOSE SHOT BRAKE Stamped on. EXT. CAR Low three-quarters on the car as it squeals to a halt. A car that has been following screeches to a halt just behind it. Both cars sit. Rain patters. INT. FIRST CAR Close on the man, from behind. He looks at the woman. MAN ...Abby? She doesn't answer. He turns to look back and we see his face, for the first time, in the headlights of the car behind. HIS POV The car behind them waiting, patiently. Rain drifts down past its headlights. Finally it pulls out and passes them slowly, their headlights showing it to be a battered green Volkswagon. First the car itself, then its red taillights, disappear into the rain. BACK TO THE MAN Cutting between him and the woman, each from behind. MAN ...You know that car? WOMAN No. MAN What's the matter? WOMAN I don't know... I just think maybe I'm making a mistake... She looks at the man. WOMAN ...What was that back there? MAN Back where? WOMAN Sign. MAN I don't know. Motel... Abby-- WOMAN Ray. Did you mean that, what you said before, or were you just being a gentleman? MAN Abby, I like you, but it's no point starting anything now. WOMAN Yeah. MAN I mean, I ain't a marriage counselor-- WOMAN Yeah. The man is uncomfortable. MAN ...What do you want to do? The woman is uncomfortable. After a long pause: WOMAN ...What do you want to do? MOTEL ROOM Pulling back from RAY and ABBY in bed, making love. The only light is from cars passing along the highway outside. Each sweeping light-by ends in black. The pullback ends in a wide shot of the motel room. The black following the last car lingers. A telephone rings. SAME WIDE SHOT MORNING Ray and Abby are asleep. On a nightstand next to the bed, the telephone is ringing. Ray stirs, reaches for the phone. RAY ...Hello. VOICE Having a good time? RAY ...What? Who is this? VOICE I don't know, who's this? A silence at both ends. VOICE ...You still there? RAY Yeah, I'm still here. Ray listens to another silence. It ends with a disconnect. Abby is stirring as Ray gets out of bed. ABBY ...Ray? RAY Yeah. ABBY What was that? RAY Your husband. BAR BACK OFFICE NIGHT We are tracking past a man seated behind a wooden desk, towards an 8 x 10 black-and-white photograph that has just been slapped down on the desktop. The picture is of Abby and Ray in bed together in the motel room. VOICE I know a place you can get that framed. The voice is familiar as that of the narrator whose musings on life in Texas and the Soviet Union opened the movie. We cut to him. He is settling himself into a chair facing the desk. He is LOREN VISSER, a large unshaven man in a misshapen yellow leisure suit. He smiles at the man behind the desk. JULIAN MARTY Sits staring down at the photograph. Behind him a window opens on the bar proper. Country-western music filters in from the bar. Marty is not pleased. MARTY What did you take these for? VISSER What do you mean... He removes a pouch of tobacco from his breast pocket and nonchalantly starts rolling a cigarette. VISSER ...Just doin' my job. MARTY You called me, I knew they were there, so what do I need these for? VISSER Well, I don't know... Call it a fringe benefit. MARTY How long did you watch her? VISSER Most of the night... He lights his cigarette, then slaps his lighter onto the desktop. It is silver, engraved on the top with a lariat spelling out "Loren" in script, and on the side with a declaration that he is "Elks Man of the Year." VISSER ...They'd just rest a few minutes and then get started again. Quite something. Marty stares down at the photograph. MARTY You know in Greece they cut off the head of the messenger who brought bad news. A smoke ring floats into frame from offscreen. VISSER Now that don't make much sense. MARTY No. It just made them feel better. Marty rises and goes to a safe behind his desk. Visser laughs as he watches Marty. VISSER Well first off, Julian, I don't know what the story is in Greece but in this state we got very definite laws about that... Marty, hunched over the standing safe behind his desk, tosses in the photograph and takes out a pay envelope. VISSER ...Second place I ain't a messenger, I'm a private investigator. And third place--and most important--it ain't such bad news. I mean you thought he was a colored. (he laughs) ...You're always assumin' the worst... Visser blows another smoke ring, pushes a fat finger through the middle of it, and beams at Marty. VISSER ...Anything else? MARTY Yeah, don't come by here any more. If I need you again I know which rock to turn over. Marty scales the pay envelope across the desk. It hits Visser in the chest and bounces to the floor. Visser looks stonily down at the envelope; no expression for a beat. Then he roars with laughter. VISSER That's good... "which rock to turn over"... that's very good... Sighing, he leans forward to pick up the envelope. He rises, straightens his cowboy hat, and walks over to a screen door letting out on the bar's back parking lot. VISSER Well, gimme a call whenever you wanna cut off my head... He pauses at the door, cocks his head, then turns back to the desk and picks up his cigarette lighter. Returning to the door: VISSER ...I can crawl around without it. The door slams shut behind him. Marty scowls at the back door. After a moment he rises and crosses the office to the window looking out on the bar. Over Marty's shoulder we see the long bar leading up to the window in perpendicular. The camera is tracking forward, past Marty, to frame on the window. A black man is just now vaulting the near end of the bar, over onto the customer side. MATCH CUT TO: MARTY'S BAR REVERSE ANGLE VAULTING MAN Tracking back with him as he lands on the customer side and heads across the bar. This shot, from the other side of the back-office window, reveals the window to be one-way glass mirrored on this side MEURICE, the black bartender, is muscular, about 200 pounds, dressed in white pants and a sleeveless T-shirt. He is making his way through the crowd towards the jukebox. Another man stands in front of it examining the selections. He deposits a quarter. MEURICE Hold it, hold it. What's tonight? MAN What? MEURICE What night is it? MAN (studying Meurice) ...Friday? MEURICE Right. Friday night is Yankee night. Where're you from? MAN Lubbock? Meurice shakes his head and punches the selector buttons on the jukebox. MEURICE Right. I'm from Detroit (turning to leave) It's a big city up north with tall buildings. A Motown song drops. We track behind Meurice as he makes his way back toward the bar. When he reaches it, he claps a couple of people on the shoulder, who make way for him. He vaults back over the top, walks down the bar, and stops in from of an attractive white woman sitting on a bar stool and sipping a brandy. MEURICE Where was I? WOMAN You we telling me about the Ring of Fire. MEURICE Yeah, well, I may be getting in over my head here, I mean you're the geologist, but my theory for what it's worth, you got all these volcanoes and each time one pops it's the equivalent of what, twenty, thirty megatons of TNT? Enough to light Las Vegas for how long? How many years? Course, I'm no mathematician but-- MARTY Meurice. Marty is approaching from the direction of the office. MEURICE Yeah, I know. Pour 'em short. MARTY Has Ray come in yet? MEURICE No, he's off tonight. Where was he last night? MARTY (glaring) How would I know? MEURICE I don't know, didn't he call? Marty loses his glare and his gaze drifts over to the woman. After an awkward pause, Meurice clears his throat. MEURICE ...Marty, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine, Debra. Debra, this is Julian Marty, the dude I'm always talking about. She is unselfconsciously returning Marty's stare. MARTY If he does come in I'm not here... What were you drinking, Debra? DEBRA Remy. MARTY You've got a very sophisticated palate. DEBRA Thanks. MARTY Give Debra here another drink, and give me the usual. Meurice walks down the bar. DEBRA ...What's a palate? Marty studies her for a beat, she studies him, he smiles. MARTY Listen, I got tickets for the Oilers and the Rams next week in the Astrodome. Ever sat on the fifty yard line? DEBRA I don't follow baseball. Marty laughs. MARTY You won't have to. I'll explain what a palate is. DEBRA You won't have to. I just wanted to see if you knew. Marty smiles bleakly. Debra drains her glass as Meurice returns. He sets another Cognac in front of Debra, and a glass of milk in front of Marty. MARTY What's this? MEURICE You said the usual-- MARTY Red Label. MEURICE (picking up the milk) Right. Sorry. MARTY Pour that back. MEURICE What. MARTY Don't throw that out. MEURICE Right. He wanders on down the bar; Marty's attention returns to the woman. MARTY So how long have you know Meurice? DEBRA About ten years. Marty's attention is caught by something down the bar. He half-rises from his stool. MARTY What--Waitaminute--What... HIS POV Meurice is pouring the milk down the sink. He looks innocently up. MEURICE What. BACK TO MARTY Angry but not knowing what to say. He glances around the bar, sinks slowly back onto his stool. MARTY Deuce in the corner needs help. MEURICE Right. Marty sits staring across the bar for a moment, nods a couple of times at nothing in particular, then looks back at the woman. MARTY ...So what're you doing tonight? DEBRA Going out with Meurice. Marty tosses a beer nut into his mouth. MARTY Tell him you have a headache. Debra gives him a level stare. DEBRA It'll pass. MARTY We don't seem to be communicating-- DEBRA You want to hustle me. I don't want to be hustled. It's as simple as that. Now that I've communicated, why don't you leave? MARTY I own the place. DEBRA Christ, I'm getting bored. MARTY I'm not surprised, the company you've been keeping the last ten years. They both fall silent as Meurice enters frame. He takes a bottle from the bar and pours himself a drink. MARTY What's this? MEURICE What. MARTY (pointing at Meurice's drink) This. MEURICE Jack Daniels. Don't worry, I'm paying for it. MARTY That's not the point. MEURICE What's the point? MARTY The point is we don't serve niggers here. MEURICE Where? (he looks over his shoulder; up and down the bar) ...I'm very careful about that. Marty tosses back Meurice's drink, then turns to Debra, smiling. MARTY He thinks I'm kidding. Everybody thinks I'm kidding; (as he turns to leave) if Ray comes in I'm not home. Debra watches him go, then turns back to Meurice. DEBRA Nice guy. MEURICE Not really. What'd you say your last name was? MARTY'S HOUSE TRACKING DOWN HALLWAY We are following a large German shepherd as it pads down the hall toward a warmly lit room at its end. We hear only the sound of the dog's paws on the hardwood floor, and the faint clicking of billiard balls. BILLIARD ROOM It is a paneled, carpeted room with black leather furniture and a nine-foot billiard table. Various stuffed animal trophies are scattered around the room, including a moose head mounted on one wall. Ray stands alone in the foreground, shooting pool, an unlit cigarette in his mouth. The room is very quiet. In the background the German shepherd enters from the hallway, sits down in a corner, and benignly watches Ray. UPSTAIRS BEDROOM It is expensively appointed; a brightly lit woman's bedroom. Abby is opening a hinged drawer in a white antique bureau. She pulls out a leather handbag, gropes nervously through its contents, then puts it aside. She crosses the room to a vanity table, takes a purse from underneath, and spills its contents out on top of the table. BILLIARD ROOM Ray pockets a couple of balls, looks over at the dog, then up at the wall at the far end of the room. RAY'S POV Hanging on the wall are a couple of framed photographs of Marty and Abby, taken a long time ago. BACK TO RAY Staring at the pictures. He looks back down at the pool table. UPSTAIRS BEDROOM Abby is sitting on a large double bed. She puts aside another purse, rises and crosses the room hurriedly, and pushes back the sliding doors of a long wardrobe closet. The upper shelf is lined with handbags--fifteen or twenty of them. She grabs the first one, looks in, tosses it aside; grabs the second, looks--and stops. HER POV Inside the purse, a small pearl-handled gun. BILLIARD ROOM Ray is now standing in front of the pictures on the wall, looking from one to the next. RAY'S POV A picture of Abby and Marty standing together on a Gulf beach. Marty is wearing a long velour beach robe, Abby is in a swimming suit. Ray's hand enters frame. He traces a finger down her leg. CLOSE SHOT RAY His head cocked to the side. After a moment his eyes shift. EXTREME CLOSE SHOT PHOTO DETAIL Of Marty's face. He is staring into the camera, at whoever took the picture. His head is thrown back slightly; he is laughing. From offscreen in the quiet room we hear a static hum and then Abby's voice over an intercom. ABBY'S VOICE Ray...? BACK TO RAY He turns from the photograph and walks to an intercom speaker next to the mounted moose's head. He presses the speaker button. RAY Yeah... He idly takes his unlit cigarette and sticks it in the moose's mouth. RAY ...You get what you wanted? ABBY'S VOICE Yeah. Let's get out of here. MARTY'S FRONT FOYER We are looking across a dark, high-ceilinged foyer toward the front door. Ray leans against the doorjamb, in silhouette in the open doorway. He is facing a curved staircase that descends into the foyer. Abby appears at the second-floor landing and starts down the stairs. RAY Why d'you wanna leave all this? ABBY You kidding? I don't wanna leave all this, I just wanna leave Marty... As she reaches the bottom of the stairs: ABBY ...Drive me to a motel? RAY You can stay at my place, I'll drop you there. ABBY Where... where you going? RAY See a guy. ABBY (nervously) Don't go to the bar, Ray. I know him, that ain't a good idea. RAY I just gotta see a guy. MARTY'S BAR The crowd has thinned out. Meurice and Debra are in the foreground. Ray enters from the street and makes his way over to them. MEURICE Howdy stranger. RAY Meurice. Sorry I didn't show last night. MEURICE Wasn't too busy. You missed a good one, though. This white guy walks in about one o'clock, asks if we have a discount for alcoholics... I tell him to get lost, but Marty's sitting here listening and I can tell he's thinking that maybe it ain't such a bad idea... He pours Debra another drink and starts to set one up for Ray. MEURICE ...Ray, this is Debra. She's a geologist. That's the theory of rocks. Ray nods at Debra. RAY Is Marty here? MEURICE Not here tonight. Wasn't here last night. He's especially not back in his office. RAY (leaving) Thanks Meurice. MEURICE For what? EXT. BACK OF MARTY'S BAR Marty is sitting on the stoop that descends from his back office to a graveled back parking lot; he is framed in the open doorway of his brightly lit office. He stares fixedly at something offscreen. MARTY'S POV In the middle distance a huge incinerator operates full blast. Orange flames lick out the sides; white smoke billows out the top. Two figures in silhouette are chucking garbage in through a large gate. BACK TO MARTY Behind him, in the office, we see the door from the bar open, and Ray entering. RAY Marty? Marty looks over his shoulder, then back toward the furnace. Ray descends the stoop and stands in front of him. RAY ...Well...? What? Marty stares past Ray across the parking lot. MARTY What "what"? RAY Am I fired? You wanna hit me? What? MARTY I don't particularly want to talk to you. RAY Well... if you're not gonna fire me I might as well quit. MARTY Fine. Suit yourself. (still staring fixedly at the furnace) ...Having a good time? Ray tenses. There is a pause. RAY ...I don't like this kind of talk. Marty still stares at the furnace. MARTY Then what'd you come here for? RAY (no more conciliation) You owe me for two weeks. Marty shakes his head. MARTY Nope. She's an expensive piece of ass... He finally looks up at Ray. MARTY ...You get a refund though, if you tell me who else she's been sluicing. RAY I want that money. If you wanna tell me something, fine-- MARTY What're you, a fucking marriage counselor? Ray breaks into a strained half-smile. Marty grins humorlessly back, mimicking Ray's smile. MARTY What're you smiling at--I'm a funny guy, right, I'm an asshole? No, no, that's not what's funny. What's funny is her. What's funny is that I had you two followed because, if it isn't you, she's been sleeping with someone else... He grabs a knee in each hand and leans forward, still looking at Ray. He is becoming only slightly more animated. MARTY ...What's really going to be funny is when she gives you that innocent look and says, What're you talking about, Ray, I haven't done anything funny... He leans back again. MARTY ...But the funniest thing to me right now is that you think she came back here for you--*that's* what's funny. Ray moves forward and Marty's eyes follow him as he approaches. Marty's smile abruptly turns to a look of apprehension. Ray enters frame and brushes past Marty as he walks up the stoop, and crosses the back office toward the bar. Marty relaxes, and his gaze returns to the furnace. MARTY ...Come on this property again and I'll be forced to shoot you... Ray opens the door to the bar and shuts it softly behind him. MARTY ...Fair notice. MARTY'S OFFICE LATER CLOSE SHOT CEILING FAN At the cut the music and all other bar noise drops out. We hear only the rhythmic whir of the fan. We tilt down from the ceiling fan to frame Marty, tilted back in his desk chair, staring up at the fan. MEURICE (O.S.) Marty... WIDE SHOT THE OFFICE Meurice is standing in the door to the bar. Far behind him we can see Debra waiting in the dimly lit, deserted bar. MEURICE ...I thought you were dead. Going home? MARTY No. I think I'll stay right here in hell. MEURICE (turning to leave) Kind of a bleak point of view there, isn't it Marty? MARTY Meurice... Meurice pauses in the doorway. MARTY ...I don't want that asshole near my money. I don't even want him in the bar. MEURICE We get a lot of assholes in here, Marty. Meurice and Debra can be heard leaving the bar. Marty looks down at the telephone in front of him on the desk, then picks up the receiver and dials. He tilts back in the chair and stares back up at the ceiling. MARTY'S POV The ceiling fan, turning slowly. EXT. RAY'S BUNGALOW FROM INSIDE RAY'S CAR In the foreground Ray sits behind the wheel of his parked car, slumped back against the seat. He is staring at his one- story bungalow, in which a couple of lights are burning. Inside we can faintly hear his telephone ringing. It rings for a long time. RAY'S LIVING ROOM CLOSE SHOT THE RINGING TELEPHONE Abby's hand enters frame, hesitates, then after another ring picks up. ABBY Hello? The is no answer. From the other end we hear only the rhythmic whir of a ceiling fan. MARTY'S OFFICE Marty listens. He says nothing, still tilted back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. RAY'S LIVING ROOM Abby listens. She shifts the phone to her other ear, listening hard to the sound of the fan. There is another long pause. ABBY ...Marty? The phone goes dead just as we hear the front door opening. Abby looks up as she cradles the phone. Ray is standing in the doorway. RAY Who was it? ABBY What? RAY On the phone. Was it for you? ABBY I don't know, he didn't say anything. RAY Uh-huh. So how do you know it was a he? ABBY (smiling) You got a girl--am I screwing something up by being here? Ray leans against the door and folds his arms, watching Abby. RAY No, am I? Abby looks at him, puzzled. After an uncomfortable pause: ABBY ...I can find a place tomorrow, then I'll be outta your hair. RAY If that's what you want to do, then you oughta do it. You, uh... you want the bed or the couch? Abby shifts uneasily, looking at Ray. ABBY Well... the couch would be all right... RAY You can sleep on the bed if you want. ABBY Well... I'm not gonna put you out of your bed... RAY You wouldn't be putting me out. ABBY ...Well, I'd be okay in here-- Ray walks toward the bedroom. RAY Okay. MARTY'S OFFICE LATER Still tilted back in his chair, Marty stares glumly at the ceiling. The bar itself is completely still except the rhythmic whir of the fan. CLOSE SHOT A CEILING FAN Turning slowly. We tilt down from the fan to frame Abby, lying under a sheet on Ray's couch, staring up at the fan in the darkened living room. The room is still. We hear only the whir of the fan and the distant sound of crickets. Abby turns her head, looking offscreen. HER POV A ray of light slants up the hallway from the direction of the bedroom. The light is snapped off, leaving the hallway in darkness. We hear a faint cough and the creaking of bedsprings. RAY'S BEDROOM Ray lies in bed, staring at the ceiling. RAY'S LIVING ROOM / HALLWAY LONG SHOT THE LIVING ROOM FROM THE HALLWAY Abby sits up. She stands and walks across the moonlit room toward the hallway. We pull her back down the hall toward the bedroom. She pauses in the bedroom doorway and looks down toward the bed. ABBY'S POV Ray in bed, his eyes closed. BACK TO ABBY We pull her as she enters the room, then tilt down with her as she hesitantly sits on the edge of the bed. ABBY'S POV Close shot, Ray asleep. BACK TO ABBY Framed against a moonlit window from the shoulders up. There is a long pause. Ray's hand enters frame and pulls Abby down out of frame onto the bed. We hold on the moonlit window. DISSOLVE THROUGH TO: SAME WINDOW SAME ANGLE PRE-DAWN Through the window the slow dissolve gradually defines the front lawn and the street beyond in the flat pre-dawn light. Abby rises into frame and quietly gets out of bed. The camera tracks behind her as she walks up the hallway into the living room. We follow her across the living room and move into a close shot on her hand as she reaches into her purse and withdraws a small plastic compact. LOW-ANGLE CLOSE SHOT ABBY She flips open the compact, then, hearing something, looks up, squinting across the room. ABBY'S POV In the shadows at the far end of the room we can just see two pointed ears and a glittering pair of eyes. The German shepherd is panting softly. OVER ABBY'S SHOULDER As she peers into the shadows, her face reflected in the mirror of the open compact. ABBY Opal-- In the mirror something moves just behind her. Abby starts to turn. Marty's hand clamps over her mouth from behind. His other hand circles her waist. Abby struggles. MARTY (quietly) Lover-boy oughta lock his door... Marty's hand drops from her waist to her thighs and slides under the robe. MARTY ...Lotta nuts out there. Still holding her from behind, Marty forces her down on her knees. Abby's cries are muffled by the hand clamped over her mouth. Marty shoots a glance down the dark hallway. There is no movement. Abby's hand is groping forward out of frame. CLOSE SHOT ABBY'S PURSE She upsets it. The contents spill out, among them a small pearl-handled revolver. Her hand gropes for the gun. BACK TO ABBY AND MARTY Marty yanks her to her feet, looking down the hallway. MARTY Let's do it outside... He is dragging her to the front door. MARTY ...in nature. He pushes her through the screen door. EXT. RAY'S BUNGALOW The neighborhood is deserted and still. The streetlamps are still on. Marty and Abby stumble down the front stoop onto the lawn. His hand is still clamped over her mouth. She reaches up, grabs a finger, and bends it back. We hear the bone snap. Marty screams. His hand drops. His other hand cuffs her on the side of the head, spinning her around. Marty is now clutching his broken finger with his good hand. Abby kicks him in the groin. He sinks to his knees, drops forward on one hand, and vomits. FRONT STOOP Ray is coming out the door, hitching up his pants. In his right hand he hold Abby's pearl-handled revolver. MARTY Slowly gets to his feet, looking at Ray. ABBY She has backed away from Marty and now stands on the lawn, breathing heavily. She looks from Ray to Marty. BACK TO MARTY Backing toward his car, a Cadillac parked at curbside, still looking at Ray. He turns to get into the car. The German shepherd lopes across the lawn and takes a clean leap into the car through the open window on the passenger side. Marty turns the ignition. The engine coughs and dies. He tries again; it starts. The car roars up the street. RAY Watching the car. He looks at Abby. ABBY Still panting. Up the street we can hear Marty's car alternately racing and stopping, shifting in and out of gear. His engine rumble starts to grow louder again. RAY Like to have seen his face when he found the dead end. In the background we see Marty's car roar by in the opposite direction. MOUNT BONNEL EVENING LATERAL TRACK Moving past a row of cars parked on an overlook near the top of the mountain. Below we can see the lights of the city of Austin. The lot is littered with beer cans. We hear the sound of rock music coming from various car radios. Several teenagers lean against cars drinking beer; inside the cars we can see the vague forms of others. TEENAGER Hey mister, how'd you break your pussyfinger? His friends laugh. TRACK PULLING MARTY Ignoring the laughter as he walks past the cars, apparently looking for someone. His right index finger is taped up in an aluminum splint. MARTY'S POV At the end of a row of cars we see a green Volkswagon bug. Leaning against the hood is Visser, still dressed in his rumpled yellow suit. He is smoking a cigarette, talking to a sixteen-year-old girl in shorts and a tube top. When he notices Marty: VISSER (to the girl) Sorry sweetheart, my date is here... The girl drifts off. Marty enters frame and Visser turns to him. VISSER ...She saw me rolling a cigarette and thought it was marijuana. (he laughs) I guess she thought I was a swinger. Visser open the back door of the car. Marty ignores the invitation, walks around to the front on the passenger side and gets in. INT. VISSER'S CAR As Visser gets into the driver's seat. A small topless doll is suspended from the rearview mirror. Visser gives it a tap. As it swings back and forth two small lights, one behind each breast, blink on and off. VISSER Idnat wild? Both men sit watching the doll intently. Finally Marty reaches up and stops its swinging with the rounded end of his splint. Visser eyes the splint. VISSER (genially) Stick your finger up the wrong person's ass? Marty is silent, but Visser is in a good mood. VISSER You know a friend of mine broke his hand a while back. Put in a cast. Very next day he takes a fall, protects his bad hand, falls on his good one, breaks that too. So now he's got two busted flippers and I say to him "Creighton, I hope your wife loves you. 'Cause for the next five weeks you cannot wipe your own goddamn ass..." Overcome by laughter. Finally: VISSER ...That's the test, ain't it? Test of true love-- MARTY Got a job for you. VISSER (settling down) ...Well, if the pay's right and it's legal I'll do it. MARTY It's not strictly legal. Visser shrugs, lights up another cigarette with his fraternally inscribed lighter and drops the lighter onto the dashboard. VISSER If the pay's right I'll do it. MARTY It's, uh... it's in reference to that gentleman and my wife. The more I think about it the more irritated I get. VISSER Yeah? Well how irritated are you? Marty doesn't answer. Finally Visser laughs. VISSER ...Gee, I'm sorry to hear that. Can you tell me what you want me to do or is it a secret? MARTY Listen, I'm not--this isn't a joke here. Visser eyes him, still smiling. Finally he shrugs. VISSER You want me to kill 'em. MARTY I didn't say that. (a pause) Well? VISSER Well what? MARTY What do you think? VISSER You're an idiot. Marty's shoulders slump. He seems less tense, almost relieved. MARTY So, uh... this wouldn't interest you. VISSER I didn't say that. All I said was you're an idiot. Hell, you been thinking about it so much it's driving you simple. They are staring at each other. MARTY Ten thousand dollars I'll give you. Visser laughs again. VISSER I'm supposed to do a murder--two murders--and just trust you not to go simple on me and do something stupid. I mean real stupid. Now why should I trust you? MARTY For the money. VISSER (sobering) The money. Yeah. That's a right smart of money... He turns and gazes out the window. VISSER ...In Russia they make only fifty cents a day. He falls silent again, still staring out the window In the closeness of the car Marty is starting to sweat. MARTY (hoarsely) ...There's a big-- VISSER (abruptly) I want you to go fishing. MARTY ...What? VISSER Go down to Corpus for a few days. Get yourself noticed. I'll give you a call when it's done... You just find a way to cover that money. Marty is slumped in his seat, not responding to the fact that Visser has just ended the conversation. Finally he rouses himself and gets out of the car, leaving Visser staring at the door he has left open behind him. After a moment we hear Marty's footsteps approaching again, and he leans back into the open door with an afterthought. MARTY I'll take care of the money, you just make sure those bodies aren't found... There's a... These words are difficult to say. MARTY ...If you want, there's a big incinerator behind my place... The two men look at each other. Marty leaves. After a moment, Visser leans over to grab the handle of the still open door. VISSER (under his breath) Sweet Jesus, you are disgusting. The door slams. INT. EMPTY APARTMENT NIGHT The apartment is dark. We are looking across a shadowy floor towards a large window, through which cold blue street light shines. Through the window we can see the facade of the building across the street; we are three or four floors up. We can hear the animated, accented voice of an Hispanic woman approaching the apartment from the hallway behind us. LANDLADY (O.S.) --big windows, paneleen and everytheen. So you want, like your own place? Like a Town House? A crack of light shoots across the floor as we hear the apartment door open behind us. A figure enters frame. As it crosses into the shaft of light we see that it is Abby. She moves across the dark apartment, in silhouette against the window. LANDLADY (O.S.) No one will bother you here, sweetie-- An overhead light is switched on and the room is bathed in light. Several feet from Abby, an old man in a dirty undershirt is asleep on a cot. Abby starts. The old man grumbles, slowly sits up, squints. With the light, the window behind Abby has become a mirror of the entire room, in which we now see the matronly Landlady standing by the wall switch. The Landlady roars at the old man in Spanish. The man glowers at her. The Landlady looks back at Abby. LANDLADY (cheerful again) I show you around. We follow Abby as she accompanies the landlady back into the short hallway-entrance foyer. Abby glances back at the old man. ABBY Are you sure this is... Are you sure this apartment is vacant?... Mrs. Esteves? The Landlady laughs cheerfully. LANDLADY Oh yes... She gestures to a kitchen alcove on the left. LANDLADY ...That's the kitchen... She turns and throws a few more barbs in Spanish back toward the old man, then opens a door on the right side of the foyer and enters the bathroom. LANDLADY ...This is the bathroom... She flushes the toilet. LANDLADY ...The toilet works and everytheen... She bustles out of the bathroom and takes the two short steps back into the main room. She gestures expansively. LANDLADY ...And here we are back in the liveen room. She gives one vigorous stomp. LANDLADY ...Good floors. Gas heat. She points. LANDLADY ...That's Mr. Garcia. The old man is now sitting on the edge of the bed, smoking a cigarette, looking for a place to put the ash. The Landlady snaps at him again in Spanish, and is again cheerful as she turns back to address Abby. LANDLADY ...I was just esplaineen to him that he moved out of here yesterday... She walks to the apartment door. LANDLADY ...You look around. Don't mind Mr. Garcia; he use do be my brother-in- law. She walks out and shuts the door. The room is quiet. CLOSE SHOT ABBY Staring at the door. She looks at Mr. Garcia, looks nervously around the apartment. She looks back at Mr. Garcia. CLOSE SHOT MR. GARCIA Staring vacantly at Abby. He blows a stream of smoke across the room. The ash falls off his cigarette. STRIP BAR NIGHT EXHORTER'S CUBICLE Hunched over the public address microphone in his small cubicle of exhortation, is the middle-aged strip-bar barker. Years of service in the bar have left his exhortations depressingly bereft of conviction. EXHORTER How 'bout it, gentlemen, let's show out appreciation for Lorraine up there, a registered nurse from Bolton, Texas, how 'bout it gentlemen, yeah... THE BAR PROPER Meurice is one of a line of men sitting at the bar, all looking intently at the same point off left. All of the men except Meurice are conservatively dressed and apparently well-to-do. An audio loop is blaring a bump-and-grind version of "Yellow Rose of Texas," punctuated by the crash of cymbals and the thumping of toms. Abby enters and sits into an empty chair next to Meurice. ABBY Looks like the state legislature is out of session. Meurice continues to stare intently off. MEURICE I thought this is where they met. All of the heads at the bar start to swivel, including Meurice's. A couple of patrons hurriedly snatch their drinks off the bar. In the extreme foreground a stripper dances on the top of the bar into frame. We crop her just above her white high- heeled cowboy boots and her bare calves. The conversation continues with Abby looking at Meurice, but Meurice and everyone else at the bar looking up at a point somewhere above the stripper's calves. ABBY Listen Meurice, you're gonna help me with a problem. MEURICE I am? The stripper drops a white leatherette vest onto the bar in the foreground. The audience cheers. ABBY You're gonna keep an eye on Marty and Ray, make sure nothing happens. MEURICE It won't? Two sheriff-star pasties drop onto the bar. The audience cheers. MEURICE ...Ever occur to you, Abby, that maybe I'm the wrong person to ask? THE EXHORTER Into his microphone. EXHORTER Let's not sit on our wallets, gentlemen. Lorraine is up there dancing her heart out, and if you let that cash money set on your hip, you might just as well be broke... ABBY AND MEURICE She is rising to leave; he is still staring off. ABBY Thanks, Meurice. MEURICE Any time. But you don't have to worry about a thing for a while. Marty went down to Corpus yesterday. An old-west gunbelt hits the bar. The audience roars. THE EXHORTER Into his microphone. EXHORTER And remember, gentlemen, we're always here, two to two, A.M. to P.M., three hundred and sixty-four days and Christmas, God willing and the creek don't rise... RAY'S BEDROOM The room is dark. We are looking across the room toward a moonlit window. Beyond, across the lawn, the lamplit street is empty. Suddenly Abby sits bolt upright into frame from the bed below. ABBY He's in the house. Offscreen we hear Ray stirring in bed. RAY What's the matter? Abby twists around to look down at him. ABBY I could've sworn I heard something. RAY Door's locked. Nothing there. He pulls her down out of frame and we hold on the window and the empty lamplit street. Then Abby rises back into frame, in silhouette against the window, looking down at Ray. ABBY I knew it. 'Cause we wouldn't have heard anything if it was him. He's real careful. Fact is, he's anal. RAY ...Huh? ABBY Yeah, he told me once himself. He said to me... She taps herself on the forehead. ABBY ..."In here, Abby. In here... I'm anal." HIGH ANGLE RAY Looking up at Abby. RAY (yawning) ...Well I'll be damned. ABBY I couldn't believe it either... SIDE ANGLE ABBY Framed against the window, looking down at Ray. ABBY ...Me on the other hand, I got lots of personality... She drops down onto the bed out of frame. The camera holds on the window through which we see the empty lamplit street. ABBY Marty always said I had too much. 'Course he was never big on personality... She rises back up into frame, in silhouette against the window. ABBY ...He sent me to a psychiatrist to see if he could calm me down some. RAY Yeah? What happened? ABBY Psychiatrist said I was the healthiest person he'd ever met, so Marty fired him. RAY (sleepily) ...I don't know if you can fire a psychiatrist, exactly. ABBY Well, I didn't see him anymore, I'll tell you that much. HIGH ANGLE RAY His eyes half-closed. RAY Uh-huh. ABBY I said, Marty, how come you're anal and I gotta go to the psychiatrist? RAY What'd he say? SIDE ANGLE ABBY Framed against the window. ABBY Nothing. He's like you, he doesn't say much. RAY (murmuring) Thanks. ABBY Except when he doesn't say things they're usually nasty. RAY ...Mm-hmm. ABBY When you don't they're usually nice. RAY ...You ever get tired? ABBY Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess. Mm-hmm. Ray's hand rises into frame and coaxes Abby back down onto the bed, revealing, through the window, a green Volkswagon now parked at curbside on the lamplit street. We hear the rustle of sheets. As we hold on the window, we begin to hear the faint, distant sound of metal scraping against metal. HALLWAY / LIVING ROOM We track down the dark hallway into the living room. As the camera advances the sound of the scraping becomes louder. We are moving across the living room up to the front door of the bungalow. The scraping is louder still as we finally frame on a close shot of the doorknob, which is jiggling ever so slightly. We hear a click as the lock finally releases. The door swings slowly open, revealing a man's hand on the outside doorknob. We follow the hand as the man advances slowly and quietly across the living room. Abby's purse comes into frame, sitting on a bureau; next to it is a large tote bag. The hand rummages through the tote bag briefly, then the purse. The man withdraws Abby's pearl- handled revolver. He breaks it open. LOW-ANGLE CLOSE SHOT THE MAN'S FACE It is Visser. As we hear a click offscreen, his face glows a dim orange. BACK TO HIS HANDS His right holds the revolver, cylinder open, inside the purse. His left holds his cigarette lighter as he inspects the chamber. Three of the holes glint silver, the other three are black--empty. We hear the faint creaking of bedsprings. WIDE SHOT LIVING ROOM Visser cocks his head, listening, and looks down the hallway. He takes a couple of quiet steps across the living room and, as the camera tracks up to him, opens the back door of the bungalow. We follow him outside onto the lawn. EXT. RAY'S BUNGALOW We track behind him as he rounds the corner of the house and approaches the open window to Ray's bedroom. He slows, moves more cautiously, then sinks to his knees under the window. As he reaches into his breast pocket the camera continues tracking up to and over him, finally framing his POV through the window. On the bed inside we can dimly see Abby and Ray, asleep. We have been hearing a faint rumble, becoming louder and louder as if approaching from a distance. Just as the rumble becomes deafening a sudden bright flash of light illuminates the room, seeming to polarize the image of Abby and Ray in bed, and we: CUT TO EXT. PHONE BOOTH DAY A huge truck roars by on the street behind Visser, and with it the deafening rumble recedes. It is a painfully bright day. Visser stands sweating in the phone booth with the receiver pressed to his ear. We hear the phone ringing at the other end. Finally, it is picked up. VOICE Hello. VISSER Marty? MARTY Yeah. Is it... VISSER Ya catch any fish? MARTY ...What? VISSER Ya catch any fish? MARTY Yeah... VISSER ...What kind of fish? MARTY Listen, what is it? Is it done? Visser forces a chuckle. VISSER ...Yessir, you owe me some money. MARTY'S OFFICE NIGHT CLOSE SHOT TWO STRINGS OF FISH Being plopped down onto Marty's desk. WIDER THE OFFICE Visser sits facing the desk. He lights himself a cigarette and sets the lighter down on the desk in front of him. Marty settles, fidgeting, into the chair behind it. The bar is quiet, shut down. We hear only the whir of a fan somewhere offscreen. Marty and Visser are lit by a lamp on the desk between them. Light streams into the room from a bathroom in the background. Visser is looking at the dead fish. VISSER (dully) They look good. Marty half-rises from his seat and picks up one of the strings. MARTY Want a couple? He drops them on Visser's side of the desk. Visser's head draws back: he was only being polite. VISSER Just the ten thousand'll be fine. MARTY Got something to show me first? Visser hands a 9 x 12 envelope across the desk. Marty stares at it for a moment, then quickly bends back the flap and takes out an 8 x 10 photograph. THE PHOTOGRAPH It is a black-and-white shot of Abby and Ray in Ray's bed. The sheet that partially covers them is pocked with three dark bullet holes and is stained with blood. MARTY Staring dully down at the picture. MARTY Dead, huh? VISSER So it would seem. CLOSE SHOT THE TOP OF THE DESK Visser is pushing the fish away from his side of the desk with the eraser end of a pencil. MARTY What did you... BACK TO MARTY Still looking at the picture. He traces the outline of Abby's body with his finger. MARTY ...What did you do with the bodies? VISSER It's taken care of. The less you know about it the better. MARTY Jesus, I don't believe it... Marty slips the picture back into its 9 x 12 envelope. His face is pale. MARTY ...I think I'm gonna be sick. He rises and heads for the bathroom, still clutching the envelope. CLOSE SHOT VISSER As his eyes follow Marty's exit. The bathroom door doesn't close all the way; a narrow shaft of light slices the office from the bare bulb in the bathroom. VISSER I'll want that picture back... He turns to look across the desk. VISSER'S POV The standing safe behind the desk. BACK TO VISSER Still looking at the safe. Beads of sweat have popped out on his forehead. He fans himself with his cowboy hat. VISSER ...and you did say somethin' about some money. We hear a toilet flush offscreen. LONG SHOT MARTY'S OFFICE As he reenters the office. MARTY Your money, yeah. Visser stares dully down at the desktop. VISSER Something I got to ask you, Marty. I've been very very careful. Have you been very very careful? MARTY Of course. VISSER Nobody knows you hired me? HIGH ANGLE CORNER OF THE OFFICE Marty is hunched over the open safe, still holding the envelope. Blocking Visser's view of the safe with his body, he slides the picture of Abby's and Ray's corpses from under the envelope into the safe, then withdraws two packets of money. MARTY Don't be absurd, I wasn't about to tell anyone... He shuts the safe and spins the dial. MARTY ...This is an illicit romance--we've got to trust each other to be discreet... He walks across the room and throws the money and the envelope down on the desk. MARTY ...For richer, for poorer. Visser looks from the money down at his hands. They are sweating. VISSER Don't say that. Your marriages don't work out so hot... He wipes his hands on his pants. VISSER ...How did you cover the money? Marty sits and props his booted feet up on the desk. MARTY It's taken care of. The less you know about it the better. He smiles. MARTY ...I just made a call about that. It'll look fine. VISSER (shaking his head) I must've gone money simple. This kind of murder... He nods toward the envelope on the desk. VISSER ...it's too damn risky. MARTY Then you shouldn't have done it. Can't have it both ways. He pushes the money across the desk with his boot. MARTY ...Count it if you want. VISSER (reaching into his coat) Nah, I trust ya. His hand comes out with a gun pointing at Marty and--BAM--he fires, an orange lick of flame spurting from the gun. Both men sit frozen. Visser's hand is the only thing that moved. CLOSE SHOT MARTY Staring at Visser. After the gun blast we hear only the whir of the fan. CLOSE SHOT VISSER Staring at Marty. MED SHOT MARTY OVER VISSER'S SHOULDER His eyes are now shut. Otherwise he hasn't moved. A blood stain is growing on the front of his shirt. WIDE SHOT THE OFFICE The two face each other across the desk. Visser's gun is still trained on Marty. After a moment Visser starts fanning himself again with his cowboy hat. The only movement in the frame is the slow back- and-forth of the yellow hat, rhythmically in and out of shadow as it catches and loses the light from the desk lamp. There is a long pause. Finally one of Marty's feet slips from the desk and hits the floor with a THUD. Visser lays the gun on the desk. CLOSE SHOT VISSER As he reaches into his breast pocket and withdraws a handkerchief. He wipes his forehead, then picks up the gun and wipes it off. He leans down with the gun. CLOSE SHOT THE GUN As Visser places it deliberately on the floor near the desk. It is Abby's pearl-handled revolver. THE DESKTOP FROM DESK LEVEL As Visser straightens up in the foreground. From our head-on angle shooting across the desk we can see the bright metallic glint of Visser's cigarette lighter underneath the dead fish. Visser's hands move over the near part of the desk, picking up the money and the 9 x 12 picture envelope. EXTREME HIGH SHOT THE OFFICE As Visser turns from the desk and walks across the room out of frame. We hear the back door opening. VISSER Who looks stupid now. The door slams shut. The only sound is the whir of the fan. A pause. The camera tracks slowly forward, tilting down to keep Marty and the desktop centered in frame. As the camera moves the noise of the fan grows louder. When Marty's body and the desk are directly beneath us, the blades of the ceiling fan cut across the immediate foreground and effect a: WIPE TO: MARTY'S BAR LATER It is completely still. We are looking from the bar, across the dark empty floor, toward the pebbled windows at the front of the building that catch a hard blue light from the streetlamps outside. The jukebox in the middle distance glows in the darkness. A pair of headlights catches the pebbled glass and grows brighter as we hear a car pull up to the bar and stop. We hear a car door open and shut, then the sound of feet on gravel. A huge shadow appears on the pebbled glass as the figure crosses in front of the headlights. The man tries the door, finds it locked, and walks back in front of the headlights to cup his hands at a window. He walks back to the door, and a moment later it swings open--framing him in the doorway in silhouette. We follow him as he moves across the floor, behind the bar and up to the cash register. He switches on a small fluorescent light clamped to the top of the cash register. It is Ray. He punches a key and the register rings open. He lifts up the empty cash drawer and takes some papers from underneath it. RAY'S POV As he flips through the papers; bills, receipts, no money. BACK TO RAY As he finishes flipping through the papers. RAY (muttering) Damn... He slips them back under the cash drawer and slams the register shut. Turning from the register he glances around the bar, the pauses, noticing something. RAY'S POV Light is spilling out from under the door to Marty's office. BACK TO RAY As he starts across the floor to Marty's office. RAY Marty... He reaches the door and knocks sharply. No answer. He turns the knob. RAY Marty... The door is locked. We hear the muffled whir of the ceiling fan inside. A pause. Ray withdraws a ring of keys from his pocket and uses one on the door. The door swings open. Over his shoulder we see Marty, still at his desk, his back to us. On foot is still propped on the desk. RAY What's the matter, you deaf? No answer. Ray stumbles toward Marty. He stumbles slightly and we hear the sharp blast of a gun and the sound of something metallic skating across the floor. Ray, startled, steadies himself against the desk, then studies Marty. RAY'S POV There is a dark pool of blood under Marty's chair. BACK TO RAY He looks back up at Marty, then walks behind his chair and throws a wall switch. The room is bathed in light. His eyes still on Marty, Ray crosses behind the desk. RAY'S POV TRACKING SHOT The camera moves in a slow arc around the back of Marty's motionless head. BACK TO RAY Still moving. He looks away from Marty, scans the floor. He gets down on his hands and knees and peers under the safe. RAY'S POV There is a glinting silver circle in the darkness under the safe. It is the business end of the revolver that Ray half- stumbled over, half-kicked. BACK TO RAY Still on his hands and knees. He reaches in and we hear a rattle as he gropes under the safe. He withdraws the gun, looks at it. THE GUN It is Abby's revolver. BACK TO RAY For a long moment he doesn't move. Then, slowly, he starts to get up. WIDER The desk, Marty behind it, Ray straightening behind him. Ray looks from the gun to Marty, slowly sets the gun down on the desk. A pause. He begins to hoist Marty from the chair. There is noise from the bar, as of someone entering. Ray reacts. THE DOOR Separating the bar and back office. Ray hurries to it. MEURICE (O.S.) Marty? Footsteps approach the door. EXTREME CLOSE SHOT RAY'S HAND ON THE DOOR BOLT He turns it gently. The bolt clicks shut. BACK TO RAY Meurice's footsteps draw nearer. MEURICE (O.S.) Marty, ya home? There is a rap at the door; Ray stands frozen. The doorknob rattles. Ray reaches out compulsively to grab it, but stops himself before actually touching it. Now Meurice's footsteps can be heard going casually back into the bar. We hold on Ray's rigidly set face. MEURICE (O.S.) What day is it today, Angie? WOMAN (O.S.) Tuesday. MEURICE (O.S.) Tuesday is ladies' night. WOMAN (O.S.) What? MEURICE (O.S.) Tuesday night is ladies' night. All your drinks are free. We hear a record drop on the jukebox and a Motown song blares. Ray crosses to Marty's chair and takes off his nylon windbreaker. He stoops down and tries to mop up the pool of blood with his windbreaker. This isn't going to work. He rises and walks over to the bathroom, the windbreaker dripping blood. MARTY'S OFFICE BATHROOM CLOSE SHOT FAUCET The song continues faintly in the background. The faucet is turned on and Ray's hand enters frame, holding a dirty white towel under the stream of water. BLOOD-SPATTERED FLOOR The song continues in the background. Ray's hand enters frame holding the balled-up towel. His windbreaker is wrapped inside. The camera follows as he pushes it across the trail of dripped blood to the pool of blood under Marty's chair. CLOSE SHOT MARTY He still has not moved. Ray rises into frame and takes him under the armpits. He notices something on the desk in front of him. CLOSE SHOT THE GUN ON THE DESK Ray's hand enters frame and picks it up. CLOSE SHOT MARTY'S COAT POCKET Ray's hand enters frame and slips the gun into Marty's pocket. Marty is hoisted up. EXT. BACK OF THE BAR / PARKING LOT Ray appears in the doorway. The music from the bar, though fainter, can still be heard. There are three or four wooden steps going down from the back door to the small gravel parking lot in back. Ray backs down the stairs; Marty's feet THUMP-THUMP-THUMP down the stairs after him. The rear door of Ray's car is open. Ray heaves in Marty's torso. Marty's legs rest on the ground outside the car. Ray takes an ankle in each hand and pushes. CLOSE SHOT RAY As he shuts the door. He looks up across the parking lot. RAY'S POV The incinerator belching fire and smoke. We hear its distant roar over the bar song. We hear the car door slam. HIGH-ANGLE TRACKING SHOT TOWARD INCINERATOR We are looking down on Ray's car as the camera tracks behind it towards the incinerator. At the cut the roar of the incinerator is suddenly louder. It grows louder still as we approach it. Ray's car draws even with the incinerator without slowing or stopping. The wadded-up towel is chucked out of his window into the fire. We hold on the fire as Ray's car rolls on out of frame. INT. RAY'S CAR As he drives down a deserted country highway. We hear the rhythmic sound of the wheels clomping over asphalt. The radio is broadcasting a fundamentalist's sermon, periodically interrupted by static. Ray is sweating. EVANGELIST --so there were three signs, the second of which is Famine, this famine which I have already pointed out is devastatin' Africa and the Indian subcontinent. And the third of these signs is earthquakes. Now I don't know why he threw that in but if you talk to a geologist, and I've talked to many, he'll tell you that earthquake activity-- Ray twists around and looks in the back seat. RAY'S POV Marty is lying inert. EVANGELIST --has increased almost eighty percent in the past two years, and what's more, in two years' time we'll be experiencin' what's knows as the Jupiter Effect-- BACK TO RAY He looks back at the road. A car roars by. EVANGELIST --wherein all the planets of the known universe will be aligned up causin' an incredible buildup of destructive gravitational force. Now in Matthew Chapter Six, Verse Eighteen the Lord out and tells us that these are the signs by which we shall know that He is at our door. There are many good people disagree with me, but it's my belief that this Antichrist is alive today and livin' somewhere in Europe, in that ten- nation alliance I spoke of, bein' groomed for his task-- Ray switches off the radio. We hear the sound of faint, labored breathing. EXTREME CLOSE SHOT RAY His jaw tightens. He whips his head toward the back seat. His head snaps forward again and he slams on the brakes. The car screeches to a halt. EXT. HIGHWAY LONG SHOT THE CAR As Ray's door flies open. He is bolting from the car. The camera, at waist level, tracks toward him as he races out into the field that abuts the highway. Fifty yards in he finally stops, panting, framed from a low angle. His breath vaporizes in the crisp night air. We hear only his breath and the chirring of crickets. He is looking back toward the road. RAY'S POV LONG SHOT THE CAR Standing abandoned on the shoulder of the deserted highway. Its headlights cast a lonely beam up the road. No movement. BACK TO RAY His panting slows. He is in a cold sweat. After a long moment, he starts walking slowly, reluctantly, back toward the car. RAY'S POV TRACKING Toward the car. Still no sign of movement. BACK TO RAY He slows as he draws up to the back of the car. He looks in the back window. RAY'S POV BACK SEAT OF THE CAR It is empty. The door on the highway side is ajar. BACK TO RAY No reaction. He walks around the back of the car onto the highway. He looks up the road. RAY'S POV Marty is crawling up the road on his hands and knees, leaving a trail of blood. The headlights of Ray's car give a fantastically long shadow. BACK TO RAY Still no reaction. He gets into the driver's seat and stares through the windshield as he gropes for the ignition key. RAY'S POV Marty, crawling. BACK TO RAY He throws the car into drive, looks at his target, thinks-- decides. He pulls the key out of the ignition and goes around to the trunk of the car. He opens it and pulls out a shovel. MARTY LOW ANGLE From in front. The headlights glare behind him. His breath vaporizes. In the background Ray is walking toward him, dragging the shovel, which scrapes along the asphalt. As Ray moves into the foreground and turns to face Marty only his lower legs and the shovel are in frame. The shovel rises out of frame. CLOSE SHOT RAY Both hands hold the shovel tensed over his shoulder. He stares down at Marty. A long pause. We hear a distant rumble. CLOSE SHOT RAY'S FEET Inches away from Marty. Marty's hand slides forward and wraps around one of Ray's ankles. BACK TO RAY He shudders. He adjusts his grip on the shovel. The rumble grows louder. RAY'S FEET He jerks his foot away, breaking Marty's grasp. BACK TO RAY Looks up from Marty. The rumble grows louder. RAY'S POV Headlight beams, although not yet the headlights themselves, are visible a long way down the road. BACK TO RAY Staring down the road. Finally he lowers the shovel, walks back to the car and throws it viciously into the trunk, walks back up into the foreground and stoops down. CLOSE SHOT MARTY As Ray grabs him under the armpits and starts dragging him back to the car. Just before Ray heaves him into the back seat, Marty coughs weakly. A fine spray of blood comes out with the cough. The engine rumble is quite loud now. MED SHOT RAY FROM ACROSS THE ROOF OF THE CAR As he slams the back door shut. He presses himself against the side of the car. Headlights glare over him; the truck roars by just behind him. EXT. OPEN FIELD FULL SHOT RAY'S CAR Sudden quiet at the cut. We are looking at Ray's car in profile, parked in the middle of a deserted field. From offscreen we hear the sound of a shovel biting into earth. We track laterally down the car, along the beam of its headlights, to finally frame Ray as he climbs out of the shallow grave he has just finished digging. He plants the shovel and walks back to the car. VERY WIDE SHOT The grave in the middle background; the car's headlights beyond it. Ray is dragging Marty toward the grave. He dumps him in. HIGH SHOT THE GRAVE As Marty thumps to the bottom, face up. CLOSE SHOT RAY As he bends over to pick up the shovel, dripping sweat. We hear the shovel biting into earth. HIGH SHOT THE GRAVE Ray, in the foreground, pitches the first shovelful of earth onto Marty. Marty moves slightly. LOW SHOT RAY As he pauses, looking down into the grave. He stoops down and resumes shoveling, bobbing in and out of frame as he hurls dirt into the grave. BACK TO HIGH SHOT As Ray shovels, Marty is moving under the loose dirt. A faint, inarticulate noise comes from the grave. Almost imperceptibly, Marty's right arm starts to rise. LOW SHOT FROM INSIDE THE GRAVE Ray stands on the lip of the grave, hunched over his shovel, crisply illuminated by the headlights. In the shadowy foreground Marty's arm rises, extended toward Ray. He is clutching Abby's gun in his splint-fingered hand. CLOSE SHOT RAY As he straightens up and stands motionless, expressionless, watching Marty, making no attempt to get out of the way. HIGH SHOT MARTY The gun extended into the foreground. His index finger splinted, he slides his middle finger over the trigger of the gun. LOW SHOT RAY Watching. HIGH SHOT MARTY The gun trembling in the foreground. His knuckle whitens over the trigger. The trigger releases and we hear the dull click of an empty chamber. LOW SHOT RAY Staring blankly down at Marty. SIDE SHOT Of Marty's gun hand as Ray slowly sinks down on the lip of the grave, bracing himself with the shovel. His hand reaches for Marty's. Marty squeezes off two more empty chambers. Ray's hand slowly closes over the barrel of the gun. As he pulls, the gun slides from Marty's fingers. CLOSE SHOT THE BLADE OF THE SHOVEL Biting into the earth. MED SHOT RAY Furiously shoveling dirt into the grave. HIGH SHOT THE GRAVE Marty barely visible under the dirt. MED SHOT RAY Shoveling, panting. HIGH SHOT THE GRAVE Half full. MED SHOT RAY Working furiously. His breath comes in short gasps. HIGH SHOT THE GRAVE It is filled. Ray is packing down the earth, slamming the shovel furiously against the bare patch of earth. CLOSE SHOT THE BLADE OF THE SHOVEL Being slammed down against the earth. Again and again. EXT. OPEN FIELD SUNRISE The staccato beat of the shovel slamming against earth drops out at the cut. There is perfect quiet. The sun is just peeping over the horizon. In the foreground Ray is sitting in the open door of his car, smoking a cigarette. His gaze is fixed on a spot offscreen. HIS POV A house. Quite near by. The house and its perfect green rectangle of lawn are set incongruously in the middle of the open field. BACK TO RAY Staring, without emotion. He takes one last, fierce drag on the cigarette, then flicks it away. He takes the shovel, walks over to the grave and stares at it for several seconds, shovel clasped firmly in both hands. He walks back to the car. HIGH SHOT House, car and grave. Ray throws the shovel into the car, gets in, and turns the ignition. The engine coughs weakly and dies. He tries again. Same result. One more time. The engine coughs, sputters, and fires to life. The car runs over the grave and rattles on across the rutted field towards the highway in the distance. INT. RAY'S CAR DAWN As Ray drives down the straight empty highway in the flat early-morning light. CLOSE SHOT RAY Pale and unblinking. RAY'S POV THE HIGHWAY In the distance we see a beat-up white station wagon approaching. It's headlights wink on, then off again. BACK TO RAY He squints at the approaching car. RAY'S POV The car is closer. It's headlights wink again. BACK TO RAY His jaw tightens. He stares intently at the car. Then, abruptly, he looks down at his dashboard. CLOSE SHOT HEADLIGHT KNOB ON THE DASHBOARD His headlights are on. Ray's hand enters frame and pushes in the knob. SIDE ANGLE RAY Watching the approaching station wagon. As it passes we catch a glimpse of its occupant. He grins and cocks a you-got-it finger at Ray before roaring out of frame. EXT. DESERTED GAS STATION HIGH ANGLE The station hasn't opened yet. Ray's car, empty, stands alone in the lot. Flat prairie stretches to the horizon. No movement in the frame. At the cut we hear the faint sound of a phone ringing through a receiver. After four or five rings the phone is picked up and we begin a slow crane down. ABBY (through phone; sleepily) Hello? RAY (present; very hoarsely) Abby... you all right? ABBY Ray?... What time is it? RAY I don't know. It's early... I love you. A beat. ABBY ...You all right? RAY I don't know. I better get off now. The continuing crane down reveals Ray in a phone booth in the foreground. ABBY Okay, see ya... Thanks, Ray. RAY Abby-- The phone disconnects. INT. ABBY'S APARTMENT CLOSE SHOT ABBY Her sleeping head on a pillow. Offscreen we hear a door open and shut. A moment later Ray's dirt-caked hand comes into frame and gently brushes a wisp of hair back for Abby's face. We hear Ray walk across the apartment and a moment later the sound of water running. Abby stirs. She looks offscreen. LONG SHOT RAY Standing in the doorway to the bathroom. He is wiping his hands on a towel. ABBY (sleepily) ...Ray? RAY You're bad. Still half asleep, Abby smiles. ABBY ...What? RAY I said you're bad. There is a long pause. Finally: ABBY (smiling) ...You're bad too. Ray swings a chair out and sits down behind a table at the far end of the room. He leans back and props his legs up on the table. He is staring across the room at Abby. RAY We're both bad. FADE OUT BLACK As we hear the click of a pull-string the camera is dropping: down past an orange safe light, down the length of the string, down to a metal darkroom tray where two short strips of negative are burning. Visser's hand and yellow sleeve cuff (now orange) enter frame, with an 8 x 10 black-and-white photograph. The photograph is dropped into the tray. As it burns we see that it is the same picture of Abby's and Ray's "corpses" as Visser showed Marty, except that in this print the bullet holes and blood are less convincingly brushed in. Another print is dropped into the tray and ignites. In this one we see bullet holes but no blood. A third print is dropped in and ignites. It is the original undoctored shot of Abby and Ray asleep in bed. Visser's hands enter frame holding the picture-envelope that he took away from Marty's office. Visser rips it in half and is about to drop it into the tray, but stops abruptly. There is posterboard, not a photograph, peeking out of the torn envelope. Visser's hands pull the two halves of the placard from the envelope and fit them together. The stenciled 8 x 10 placard says: "All Employees Must Wash Hands Before Resuming Work." LOW-ANGLE CLOSE SHOT VISSER Staring at the placard in disbelief. After a moment his hand rises into frame to deposit a cigarette in his mouth. His hand drops back down, groping in a pocket. His hand jumps back into frame, empty; he thumps at his breast pockets; he can't find his lighter. He wheels and exits frame. The light snaps off. A door slams shut. ABBY'S APARTMENT DAY CLOSE SHOT RAY He has dozed off in his chair. Offscreen we hear a door slam, and his eyes open. ABBY Emerging from the bathroom. Her voice has a flat echo in the bare apartment. ABBY Why didn't you get into bed? RAY (groggy) I didn't think I could sleep. I'm surprised you could. Are you all right? ABBY Yeah... She walks over and sits down on the bed. ABBY ...You called me this morning. RAY Yeah. Abby looks at him, expecting more. Finally: RAY ...I just wanted to let you know that everything was all right. I took care of everything. Now all we have to do is keep our heads. ABBY ...What do you mean? Ray finally looks directly at her. RAY I know about it, Abby. I went to the bar last night. Abby is looking at him in alarm. ABBY What happened?--Was Meurice there? RAY Yeah. He laughs shortly. RAY ...He didn't see me, though. Nobody saw me. The chair grates back as he stands up and looks vaguely around the room. RAY ...Is it cold in here? Abby is looking at him nervously. ABBY Well... what happened? RAY I cleaned it all up, but that ain't important... He starts nervously pacing around the room, looking for something. RAY ...What's important is what we do now; I mean we can't go around half- cocked. What we need is some time to think about this, figure it out... He moves a packing crate aside, still hunting around the apartment. RAY ...Anyway, we got some time now. But we gotta be smart. ABBY Ray-- RAY Abby, never point a gun at anyone unless you're gonna shoot him. And when you shoot him you better make sure he's dead... Ray's pacing is more agitated as he looks distractedly around the apartment. RAY ...because if he's not dead he's gonna get up and try and kill you. He pauses, seemingly at a total loss. RAY ...That's the only thing they told us in the service that was worth a goddamn--Where the hell's my windbreaker? ABBY What the hell happened, Ray? Ray is walking to the window. Sunlight streams in around him. RAY That ain't important. What's important is that we did it. That's the only thing that matters. We both did it for each other... He stoops down to look through a pile of clothes by the window. RAY ...That's what's important. ABBY I don't know what you're talking about. Ray's head snaps around. Staring at her he slowly rises to his feet and then remains still. ABBY I... I mean what're you talking about, Ray? I haven't done anything funny. RAY ...What was that? Abby, startled, can't contain her agitation anymore. ABBY (rapidly) Ray, I mean you ain't even acting like yourself. First you call me at five in the A.M. saying all kinds of nice things over the telephone and then you come charging in here scaring me half to death without even telling me what it is I'm supposed to be scared of. I gotta tell you it's extremely rattling. RAY We track toward him, isolating him against the window. He is perfectly still. For a long time he can't speak. RAY (quietly) ...Don't lie to me, Abby-- BACK TO ABBY Still worked up. ABBY How can I be lying if I don't even know-- The ring of the telephone cuts her off. She looks at the phone, pauses for a moment, then continues, struggling. ABBY ...I mean if you and him had a fight or something, I don't care, as long as you... Her voice trails off. The telephone won't stop ringing. Abby and Ray are staring at each other, seemingly oblivious to it. Finally: RAY ...Pick it up. CLOSE SHOT TELEPHONE Still ringing. Abby's hand enters frame and picks it up. ABBY What. Through the phone we hear only the rhythmic whir of a ceiling fan. Abby shifts the phone to her other ear, listening hard. It is the same sound we heard earlier when she picked up the phone at Ray's house. As before, the line clicks dead. ABBY (looking at Ray) ...Welp, that was him. There is a long moment of silence. Then Ray's voice comes from across the room: RAY ...Who? ABBY Marty. There is silence again. LONG SHOT THE APARTMENT Ray shifts in front of the window. He laughs humorlessly. The laugh stops abruptly. ABBY ...What's going on with you two? RAY (quietly) All right... He starts across the room. RAY ...You can call him back, whoever it was... He is heading for the door. RAY ...I'll get out of your way. He pauses at the foyer and pulls Abby's gun out of his pocket. He sets it on a shelf by the door. ABBY Watching. We hear the door open. RAY (O.S.) You left your weapon behind. We hear the door slam shut. CLOSE SHOT CEILING FAN We hear the rhythmic whir of the fan. We tilt down from the ceiling to reveal that we are in the living room of Ray's bungalow. In the foreground Visser sits in a chair with the cradled telephone in his lap, facing the front door, which stands open in the background. The contents of Abby's tote bag lie strewn on the bureau next to Visser. Her purse is not there. After a moment Visser rouses himself and starts to sweep the articles back into the tote bag. INT. MEURICE'S APARTMENT DAY LOW WIDE SHOT LIVING ROOM It is dark, lit only by the morning light leaking in around the drawn blinds. It is a small modern apartment such as one sees in large apartment complexes--shag carpeting, built-in bar. In the extreme foreground the small red "Power" light of a telephone answering machine glows in the darkness. The front door opens in the background, spilling bright sunlight. Meurice stoops down, picks up two newspapers, enters, and shuts the door. He walks toward the camera and his hand enters frame in extreme foreground to punch the rewind button on the machine. His hand leaves frame. A few pieces of mail are flipped down onto the machine table, piece by piece, as the machine rewinds. He reaches down again and hits playback. After a beep: WOMAN'S VOICE Hi Meurice, this is Helene, Helene Trend, and I'm calling 'cause I wanna know just what the hell that remark you made about Sylvia's supposed to mean... Mail continues to flip down onto the table, piece by piece. WOMAN'S VOICE ...She says you're full of shit and frankly I believe her. And hey, I love you too. Sure. Anyway, you better call me soon because I'm going to South America tonight--you know, Uruguay? Dial tone. Beep. MARTY'S VOICE (barking) Listen asshole, you know who this is. I just got back from Corpus and there's a lot of money missing from the safe... The mail stops dropping; Marty has Meurice's attention. MARTY'S VOICE ...I'm not saying you took it but the place was your responsibility and I told you to keep an eye on your asshole friend. Don't--uh, don't come to the bar tonight, I've got a meeting. But tomorrow I want to have a word with you, and with Ray--if you can find him. Dial tone. Beep. Meurice's hand drops into frame. WOMAN'S VOICE Meurice, where the hell have you been? I-- His finger presses the stop button. MATCH CUT TO: RAY'S FINGER Pressing into a dark stain in the upholstery of the back seat of his car. When he raises it the fingertip is red--the seat still wet with blood. CLOSE SHOT RAY Looking down at the seat. He backs out of the car and walks up the driveway to his house. INT. RAY'S LIVING ROOM As he comes through the screen door. It bangs shut behind him. As he crosses the living room we see, and he hears, Meurice's Trans Am pulling up and stopping at the foot of the lawn. Ray turns and looks out the window. CLOSE SHOT CLOSET DOOR Ray throws it open and hurriedly pulls out the first thing at hand--a sheet. We hear the door of the Trans Am open and slam shut. EXT. RAY'S BUNGALOW TRACKING SHOT ON RAY Exiting the house as the screen door bangs and shudders behind him. He hurries down the walk. TRACKING SHOT RAY'S POV Meurice is rounding the bottom of the lawn and starting up the drive toward the incriminating car. Its back door is standing ajar. MEURICE I hope you're planning on leaving town. BACK TO RAY Reacting to the line as he reaches the car. He bends over to throw the sheet over the seat just as Meurice walks up behind him. RAY (his back to Meurice; arranging the sheet) Got a problem, Meurice? MEURICE No, you do, cowboy. You been to the bar? Ray is still hunched in the open doorway. He freezes momentarily in arranging the sheet. RAY ...Why? MEURICE You shouldn't have taken the money... Ray doesn't reply or turn around. Meurice is getting more strident. MEURICE ...Look at me man, I'm serious. You broke in the bar and ripped off the safe... Ray backs out of the car and turns around. MEURICE ...Abby warned me you were gonna make trouble. Trouble with you is, you're too fucking obvious; the only ones with the combination are me and you... Ray looks evenly at Meurice. Behind him the sheet has been arranged over the seat. He puts an unlit cigarette in his mouth. MEURICE ...and Abby. Maybe. But as far as I'm concerned that only leaves one fucking possibility. RAY (tonelessly) What's that? Meurice reaches out and swipes the unlit cigarette out of Ray's mouth. MEURICE Those things are nothing but coffin nails. He turns and stares down the street, exasperated. MEURICE ...Look. Personally I don't give a shit. I know Marty's a hard-on but you gotta do something. I don't know; give the money back, say you're sorry, or get the fuck out of here, or something... Mow that his temper is gone, he realizes he has nothing much to say. He shakes his head and turns back down the drive, muttering as he lights himself Ray's cigarette. MEURICE ...It's very humiliating, preaching about this shit. CLOSE SHOT RAY Standing in front of the back door of his car, watching Meurice walk away. His right hand rises into frame to deposit another unlit cigarette in his mouth. Offscreen, Meurice calls from the end of the drive: MEURICE I'm not laughing at this, Ray Bob, so you know it's no fucking joke. We hear his car door slam. After a moment Ray exits frame, heading for the house. The camera tracks slowly in to the back window of the car. Traces of blood are starting to seep up from the upholstery into the sheet. INT. MARTY'S HOUSE DAY LOW WIDE SHOT FRONT FOYER We are looking across the tiled floor toward the front doorway. The room has the dim gray cast of daytime inside a shuttered house. We hold on the empty foyer as we hear an intermittent high whining sound. We hear the padding of feet on carpet, and then the clatter of nails on tile as Opal, Marty's German shepherd, trots into frame and circles the foyer, still whining. She jumps up and scratches desperately at the front door. A slow, rhythmic pounding is very faint on the track. EXT. MARTY'S BAR DUSK Abby has just gotten out of her car and is walking up to the front of the darkened bar. The faint, rhythmic thumping continues over the cut, its source somewhere offscreen. As Abby takes a key out of her purse and lets herself into the bar, the thumping stops. INT. MARTY'S BAR Abby switches on the lights, looks around, goes to the back- office door. Locked. As she fits her key into the lock: ABBY (quietly) Marty? The door swings open, fanning a shaft of light onto the darkened room. MARTY'S OFFICE BATHROOM We are looking from the inside at the bathroom door that won't close all the way. As the light fans into the office beyond and seeps in through the crack of the bathroom door, we see Visser's sleeve cuff and his hand pressing against the door, to hold it near-shut. BACK TO ABBY Standing in the office doorway. We pull her into the room. She stops abruptly, looking past the camera, and wrinkles her nose. ABBY'S POV Marty's fish, now half-decayed, still lie on the desk. Some of the desk drawers stand open, with some of their contents strewn across the surface of the desk. BACK TO ABBY She takes a step forward. We hear the crunch of glass underfoot. She looks down at the floor. ABBY'S POV Shards of broken glass lie on the floor. BACK TO ABBY She looks up from the floor toward the back door. ABBY'S POV The pane of the back-door window closest to the knob has been shattered from the outside, scattering broken glass into the office. BACK TO ABBY She crosses slowly to the desk, staring at the rotted fish. She looks up from the desk. ABBY'S POV On the standing safe behind the desk lies a white towel. Abby's hand enters frame ans picks up the towel. In slow motion a hammer that's been wrapped inside slips out of the towel, falls end-over-end, hits the floor with a dull thud. BACK TO ABBY Stooping down to pick up the hammer. At eye level as she stoops down is the combination dial to the safe. The dial has been battered by the hammer. Abby looks from the hammer to the floor under the desk chair. ABBY'S POV Blood stains. ABBY Staring down at the floor. She rises and looks at the desk. As she rises we hear glass under her feet. ABBY'S POV The dead fish. Beyond them, on the floor around the desk, broken glass. BACK TO ABBY Staring. ABBY'S POV The dead fish. BACK TO ABBY She seems to be falling slowly backwards. The camera falls with her, keeping her in close shot. Her head hits a pillow. We pull back slowly to reveal that she is lying on the bed in her apartment, staring across the room. She lies motionless on the bad, her eyes wide. ABBY'S POV Across the darkened apartment we see the curtainless windows, and beyond them, across the lamplit street, the facade of the opposite building. LONG SHOT ABBY Lying still. After a moment she gets out of bed, crosses to the front door of the apartment, locks it, then walks unsteadily back to the bed. FADE OUT FADE IN: SAME LONG SHOT ABBY IN BED She opens her eyes, lies still for a moment, coughs. She gets out of bed and walks across the still dark apartment to the bathroom. She shuts the bathroom door. BATHROOM Abby looks at herself in the mirror above the sink, then turns on the tap water. From a neighboring apartment we hear a dull rhythmic thumping on the wall. She pauses, listens for a moment, then starts to splash water on her face. From somewhere offscreen we hear the sharp sound of glass shattering. It reverberates for a moment, then dies. Abby looks up at the bathroom door. We hear a scraping at the lock of her apartment door. Abby listens. Suddenly we hear the lock springing open, and the front door swinging on its hinges. CLOSE SHOT ABBY Startled. She shuts off the water and stands motionless. Droplets of water are streaming down her face. We hear the sound of footsteps in the next room, crunching across broken glass. ABBY Ray...? There is no answer. After a moment we hear bedsprings creak in the next room. Abby opens the bathroom door and walks out. MAIN ROOM A shaft of light slices across the floor from the open bathroom door. Broken glass glints on the floor. In the semi- darkness we can see that someone is sitting on the bed. The person looks up. It is Marty. Abby recoils. MARTY Lover-boy oughta lock his door. Abby looks nervously at Marty. Droplets of water are still running down her face. She brushes one from her eye. MARTY I love you... He smiles thinly. MARTY ...That's a stupid thing to say, right? Abby takes a step back. ABBY I... I love you too. Still smiling, Marty shakes his head. MARTY No. You're just saying that because you're scared... He stands. We hear glass under his feet. He unbuttons the middle button of his coat and reaches inside. MARTY ...You left your weapon behind. He withdraws something from an inside pocket and tosses it to her. CLOSE SHOT ABBY'S HANDS As she catches the object. It is her compact. CLOSE SHOT ABBY She looks from her hands up to Marty. MARTY He'll kill you too. Marty gags, leans forward, doubles over to vomit--blood. The blood washes over the floor at his feet. ABBY Bolts upright in bead with a muffled groan. Sweat pours down her face. She brushes a drop of sweat from her eye and looks around. ABBY'S POV Moonlight glints through the windows across the hardwood floor. Through the windows we can see the facade of the opposite building. The apartment is dark and still, just as we left it before she fell asleep. BACK TO ABBY She slumps back onto the bed. One hand gropes down out of frame and comes up holding an illuminated alarm clock. She looks at it, drops it back to the floor. She turns on her side and stares across the room toward the window. ABBY'S POV The window. DISSOLVE THROUGH TO: SAME WINDOW SAME ANGLE PRE-DAWN It is still not quite light. The few lights that shined in the windows of the opposite building before are now off; the facade of the building is a flat, undetailed gray. CLOSE SHOT ABBY Still lying on her side on the bed, her eyes open, staring at the window. BACK TO LONG SHOT WINDOW After a moment Abby enters frame. She picks her coat off a chair and puts it on. We hear a car door slam. EXT. RAY'S BUNGALOW PRE-DAWN Abby has just gotten out of her car in the foreground and is crossing the lawn to the house. Down the road the street lights are still on. One light burns in the house, in the window of Ray's bedroom. Abby approaches it. THROUGH THE WINDOW Over Abby's shoulder, as she leans against the sill of the open window and looks inside. Ray sits on the bed in the empty room, smoking a cigarette, his profile to the window, gazing fixedly at the wall. ABBY Ray. Ray starts and looks toward the window, squinting. INT. RAY'S BUNGALOW WIDE SHOT LIVING ROOM Abby is coming through the screen door. The room is strikingly bare of everything except furniture. All personal effects have been removed. Abby looks around, bewildered, as Ray enters from the hallway. ABBY ...Where is everything? RAY In the trunk. Abby, still standing in front of the door, looks at him uncomprehendingly. Ray walks over to a couple of cardboard boxes stacked in the corner. RAY ...In the car. He ties a knot around the top carton with a piece of cord, then cuts the cord with a collapsible fishing knife. ABBY ...You leaving? RAY Isn't that what you want? She slowly shakes her head. RAY Wanna come with me? He leans back against the boxes, watching her. ABBY ...But first I gotta know what happened. RAY What do you want to know? ABBY You broke into the bar. You wanted to get your money. You and Marty had a fight. Something happened... Ray shakes his head, smiling. Abby squints at him, looking for help. ABBY ...I don't know, wasn't it you? Maybe a burglar broke in, and you found-- RAY With your gun?... He puts the knife in his pocket and walks over to the door. As he approaches her: RAY ...Nobody broke in, Abby. I'll tell you the truth... Ray faces Abby in front of the door. RAY ...Truth is, I've felt sick the last couple of days. Can't eat... Can't sleep... When I try to I... Abby... It's difficult to bring out. Ray's hand gropes for the cross- slat on the screen door. Finally: RAY ...The truth is... he was alive when I buried him. Abby stares. An object materializes in the sky beyond them. It is flipping end-over-end in slow motion, moving toward Abby and Ray and the screen door. Abby and Ray, each staring at the other, fail to notice until-- THWACK--it bounces off the screen. Abby starts; Ray doesn't. The spell is broken, Abby pushes hesitantly at the screen door. Ray's hand slides off the cross-slat; he makes no move to stop her. CLOSE SHOT THE FRONT STOOP As Abby steps over the rolled-up newspaper that hit the screen door. TRACKING SHOT ON ABBY Hurrying down the driveway to get to her car. A low rumble is building on the soundtrack. Abby glances at Ray's car as she passes it. ABBY'S POV TRACKING FORWARD THE CAR More blood has seeped into and dried on the dropsheet covering the back seat. The bass rumble grows louder, punctuated by a rhythmic thumping. EXT. MEURICE'S APARTMENT DAY OVER ABBY'S SHOULDER As she pounds frantically on the door--the sound continuing over the cut. After a moment the door edges open. Meurice is standing in the doorway in a long bathrobe. A sleeper's blindfold is pushed up over his forehead. MEURICE Abby. What's the matter? ABBY I... I'm sorry, Meurice. I gotta talk to you... Can I come in? He looks at her hard. MEURICE Yeah... yeah, come in... He steps aside to let her pass. MEURICE ...but I gotta tell ya... INT. MEURICE'S APARTMENT As Abby enters. MEURICE ...I'm retired. Meurice switches on a table lamp; the curtains are drawn against the sun. Abby follows Meurice over to the bar. MEURICE Jesus, I got a hangover. Want a drink? ABBY No, I-- MEURICE Well I do... He pours himself a drink. MEURICE ...For you I answer the door. If you wanna stay here, that's fine. But I'm retired. ABBY Something happened with Marty and Ray-- MEURICE (sharply) Abby... He glares at her. MEURICE ...Let me ask you one question... He slams back the drink. MEURICE ...Why do you think I'm retired. He grimaces. MEURICE ...Ray stole a shitload of money from Marty. Until both of 'em calm down I'm not getting involved. ABBY No Meurice, it's worse than that. Something really happened, I think Marty's dead-- MEURICE What?! Did Ray tell you that? ABBY Sort of... Meurice sits her down on the sofa. MEURICE That's total bullshit. Marty called me after he was jacked up... He tries to coax her into lying down. MEURICE ...I mean, I don't know where he is, but he ain't dead. ABBY Meurice-- MEURICE You don't look too good. You sleep last night? Her head meets an end cushion. ABBY Meurice, you gotta help me... Meurice rises from the sofa, sighs. MEURICE All right. Just sit tight. Try to get some sleep... He leans down to the table next to the sofa. MEURICE ...I'll find Marty, find out what's going on. CLOSE SHOT ABBY Her head on the cushion. We hear engine rumble. Abby twists her head back, following Meurice. As we hear the table lamp being switched off we: CUT TO: EXT. HIGHWAY NIGHT POV FROM A CAR The engine rumble continues over the cut. There is no other traffic on the highway. A light fog covers the road. A green highway sign says: "San Antonio 73 mi." We hear a car radio playing softly. CLOSE SHOT RAY Driving. He is gently lit by the light from the dashboard. He reaches forward to turn off the radio. The only sound now is the hum of the engine and the rhythmic clomping of tires on pavement. The look and sound of the scene are close to those of the first scene of the movie. Ray takes a cigarette out of his pocket and puts it in his mouth, but leaves it unlit. RAY'S POV The headlights of an approaching car materialize in the fog. The car passes with a roar. Up ahead a traffic light is turning amber. BACK TO RAY The engine hum drops as he slows. We hear the low engine rumble and the squeaking brakes of another car. Ray is now stopped in front of the deserted intersection. He looks up in his rearview mirror. RAY'S POV Another car is stopped just behind him, the fog floating up past its headlights. The headlights halate in the fog; none of the rest of the car is visible. BACK TO RAY The unlit cigarette still in his mouth. He looks down from the rearview mirror to the intersection ahead of him. There is a long pause, during which we hear only the steady purr of Ray's car and the knocking rumble of the car behind him. Ray looks up at the traffic light. RAY'S POV The light is just turning from red to green. CLOSE SHOT RAY'S FOOT ON BRAKE He takes his foot off the brake, hesitates for a moment, the replaces it on the brake. CLOSE SHOT RAY He looks up in his rearview mirror. RAY'S POV The headlights of the other car remain motionless behind him. The car makes no move to pass. BACK TO RAY He slowly takes the cigarette from his mouth and drops it onto the seat next to him. His eyes shift from the rearview mirror to the traffic light. RAY'S POV Green fog floats past the green light. BACK TO RAY His face frozen. He turns slowly to look behind. RAY'S POV The other car is still motionless. We hear the muted rumble of its engine. BACK TO RAY His eyes shift back to the mirror. He gropes for his window handle and slowly rolls it down. He sticks out his left arm, eyes still on the rearview mirror, and waves for the other car to go around him. RAY'S POV The other car remains still for a moment. White fog floats up beyond the red fog created by Ray's brake lights. Finally the car pulls out slowly to the left to pass. BACK TO RAY Watching the car pass. RAY'S POV As the car pulls out into the light from the intersection and Ray's headlights, we see that it is a battered green Volkswagon. First the car itself, and then its red tail lights, disappear into the fog. BACK TO RAY Watching, for a long moment. Finally he takes his foot off the brake, turns the steering wheel hard left and hangs a U-turn. MARTY'S LIVING ROOM WIDE A light is switched on in the expensively appointed room. Meurice enters, walking silently on the carpet, looking around the room. He throws the light off at the far end and leaves. MARTY'S BEDROOM WIDE The door swings open. Meurice throws the switch near the door and the room is bathed in light. We are once again in the bedroom where we earlier saw Abby looking through her purses. We start to hear the faint buzzing of a fly. Meurice glances around, throws off the light, and shuts the door. Black. MARTY'S OFFICE Somewhere offscreen a light is switched on and we are looking in close shot at the dead fish. The sound of the fly is louder with the cut. CLOSE SHOT RAY Standing in the doorway from the bar, staring down at the fish. WIDE SHOT THE OFFICE Ray glances around at the broken glass lying on the floor. His gaze shifts to the safe and the hammer in front of it. He walks over to the safe and stoops down. CLOSE SHOT RAY AT SAFE He works its battered dial and it swings open. He shuffles through the contents and brings out a small pile of photographs. RAY'S POV As he flips through the photographs. The first four are Ray and Abby in the motel room bed. The last is a mounted 8 x 10: Abby and Marty on a Gulf beach. BACK TO RAY Looking. HIS POV PICTURE DETAIL Marty is still laughing. BACK TO RAY He scowls at the shots Visser took, then puts them back in the safe. When his hand comes out he is holding another photograph--this one folded twice. He unfolds it. RAY'S POV His and Abby's corpses. BACK TO RAY FROM ACROSS THE DESK As he straightens slowly from the safe in the background. At desk level, we again see the glint of Visser's lighter under the dead fish. Ray crosses slowly around the desk into the foreground and lays the picture flat on the desktop. For a moment he stares down at it, then wheels abruptly and leaves frame. INT. RAY'S CAR CLOSE SHOT RAY Driving. He glances up in the rearview mirror. MARTY'S KITCHEN As Meurice enters and throws an overhead light. The white room is bathed in bright, shadowless light. As Meurice steps into the kitchen his foot strikes something on the floor below frame, which clatters hollowly away. CLOSE SHOT PLASTIC DOG-FOOD BOWL The empty bowl skids into a wall, bounces back, and wobbles, spinning on its bottom rim. MARTY'S BILLIARD ROOM DUTCH-TILT TRACKING SHOT TOWARD MOUNTED MOOSE HEAD On a low skewed axis the camera is tracking in toward the impassive trophy head on Marty's billiard-room wall. The moose still has Ray's cigarette protruding from its mouth. REVERSE TRACKING SHOT MEURICE As he walks toward the moose, head cocked to one side, frowning quizzically up. He hears something, and looks through the door to his left. MEURICE'S POV The long shadowy hall. We hear panting. CLOSE SHOT MEURICE Squinting. MEURICE ...Opal? THE HALLWAY A form starts to materialize in the shadows. MEURICE Taking a step back. HIS POV The dog bounding down the hallway. Its panting has become a low growl. FROM BEHIND MEURICE He wrenches a cue stick from the rack and squares. HIS POV Opal snarling, leaping. INT. MEURICE'S APARTMENT CLOSE SHOT TOP OF A COFFEE TABLE The splintered top half of the pool cue is slammed down to rest on top of the coffee table. MEURICE (O.S.) Even the fucking dog's gone crazy... MED SHOT ABBY Sitting on the sofa, looking down out of frame. Behind her Meurice agitatedly paces back and forth, waving the splintered bottom half of the cue stick. His voice is unnaturally loud. MEURICE ...Something pretty fucking weird is going on. Put your coat on and I'll drop you at home. But don't talk to either of 'em until I do. And don't worry. Believe me. These things always have a logical explanation. Usually. ABBY'S POV The splintered top half of the cue stick on the coffee table. INT. ABBY'S HALLWAY Abby approaches her door in the foreground and lets herself in. INT. ABBY'S APARTMENT Looking toward the window. The room is dark. Through the window we see the facade of the building across the street. Abby enters frame in the foreground, in silhouette against the window, and throws an overhead light switch. The bright light reveals Ray standing by the window, looking out. RAY (abruptly) Turn it off. Abby jumps, startled. ABBY Ray... EXT. ROOF OF FACING APARTMENT BUILDING From the roof of the building across the street we are looking down on the facade of Abby's building. Most of its windows are dark, but in a brightly lit fourth-floor window we can clearly see Abby and Ray. A man is on the roof in the foreground, hitching a rifle to his shoulder. INT. ABBY'S APARTMENT Ray turns from the window which, with the switching on of the overhead light, has become a mirror of the interior of the apartment. RAY Just turn it off. EXT. FACING ROOF The light goes out in the apartment across the street; its window goes opaque. INT. ABBY'S APARTMENT Dark now. Ray still stands by the window, looking out. Abby still stands by the light switch. RAY (answering a question) No curtains on the windows. Abby is clearly apprehensive--about Ray, not about anything outside. ABBY ...So? RAY I think someone's watching. Abby doesn't understand, and has had enough. As she throws the light back on: ABBY So what'll they see? Ray turns angrily from the window. RAY Just leave it off. He can see in. EXT. FACING ROOF Ray and Abby are once again clearly visible. Ray is starting across the room. INT. ABBY'S APARTMENT Abby takes a fearful step back as Ray strides toward the light switch, next to her. ABBY (abruptly) --If you do anything the neighbors'll hear. This brings Ray up short. He stares at Abby. It registers that it is him she's afraid of. RAY You think... He shakes his head. RAY ...Abby. I meant it... when I called... Abby takes another step back. Her voice comes out, after a pause, half-strangled: ABBY ...I love you too. Ray winces. He slowly shakes his head with a pained half- smile. RAY Because you're scared. We hear the dull report of a rifle and the deafening sound of shattering glass. The gun shot hits Ray in the back, knocking him to the floor. He lies still. CLOSE SHOT ABBY She stares dumbly down at Ray. She looks slowly up to the window. THE WINDOW It has a gaping black hole. The sound of shattering glass still reverberates in the apartment. Small shards of glass chink down from the window and shatter on the floor. BACK TO ABBY Staring at the window, paralyzed--almost in a trance. Quiet except for the chinking of glass. EXT. FACING ROOF We are looking through the telescopic sight of a high-powered rifle. The rifle sweeps up from Ray's body across the brightly lit room, and centers Abby, still staring at the window, in the cross hairs. INT. ABBY'S APARTMENT We are looking past Abby toward the shattered window at the far end of the room. A brass lamp stands in the foreground, between Abby and the camera. Abby still stands paralyzed. Glass has stopped chinking from the window to the floor; there is a painful silence. Suddenly Abby dives to the floor just as CRASH the rest of the window falls away and PING the brass lamp somersaults toward us from the impact of the bullet. The window is now completely gone--just a black hole in the brightly lit wall. ABBY Scrambles into a corner at the window end of the room. The only sound is her heavy breathing. She looks over at Ray, then up at the bulb on the ceiling. ABBY'S POV CEILING BULB BACK TO ABBY Breathing heavily, almost hysterical. She looks down at the floor. ABBY'S POV Ray is sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood and broken glass. BACK TO ABBY She reaches down and pulls off one of her shoes. She throws it at the ceiling bulb. We hear the bulb shatter and the room goes black. Abby rises and makes her way cautiously across the glass- littered floor toward Ray. She stoops over him. LOW SHOT THE DARK APARTMENT Its front door in background. Abby rises into frame and backs toward the doorway, staring down at the floor. One of her hands is covered with blood. ABBY Ray-- She winces and almost loses her balance as we hear a piece of glass crunching under her bare floor. She turns and moves to the front door, favoring one foot, and throws the door open. HALLWAY Abby lurches from her apartment and pounds on the neighboring door. No answer. She pounds on the door across the hall. OLD WOMAN'S VOICE (frightened, in Spanish) Get away! I'll call my son-in-law! ABBY (groping for the words, in Spanish) No no--you don't understand-- OLD WOMAN'S VOICE (in Spanish) He has a gun! Abby heads for the stairway at the far end of the hall. The heel of her shod foot is throwing her weight onto her bad foot; she kicks off the shoe. CLOSE SHOT ABBY As she reaches the top of the stairs. She takes one step down, then brings herself up short. She looks over the railing down the stairwell. It is quiet. An innocent-sounding cough echoes somewhere in the building. We hear the sound of footsteps from somewhere below. Abby turns and hobbles back to her apartment. The bareness of the hallway sets off her abandoned shoe. ABBY'S APARTMENT As she enters and slams the door behind her. She scrabbles at the lock, finally manages to get it shut, then turns and looks frantically around. ABBY'S POV Ray is lying still in the darkness. We can hear footsteps approaching up the hallway. Abby enters frame and kneels down next to Ray. She fumbles around him briefly in the darkness. The doorknob rattles. Abby freezes, listening, trying to control her breath. After a moment we hear a scraping at the lock. Abby moves to the bathroom adjoining the main room and shuts the door behind her. BATHROOM It is very small. Abby presses her palms against the door and slowly eases her ear against the door to listen. The scraping in the apartment door lock continues. Sweat streams down Abby's face. She brushes a drop from her eye. We hear the snap of the lock springing open, and the front door swinging on its hinges. CLOSER ON ABBY Her ear pressed to the door. From the next room we hear the sound of footsteps crunching across broken glass. Abby backs away from the door, stares at it, then turns and moves to the bathroom window. She looks out. ABBY'S POV A sheer drop to the narrow backyard of the building four stories below. Next to Abby's window is another window, separated from hers only by the breadth of the wall, that separates the two apartments. ABBY'S APARTMENT Visser hunches, hands on knees, over Ray, who lies on the floor out of frame. VISSER (grimly) All right... He hunkers down closer to Ray. VISSER ...You got some of my personal property. He is rummaging through Ray's pockets but comes up empty- handed. VISSER ...One of you does. Visser looks down at Ray, glances around the room, looks back down at Ray. VISSER ...I don't know what the hell you two thought you were gonna pull. His hand, gripping something, flashes down out of frame. We hear a dull crunch. BATHROOM Abby has drawn her head back from the bathroom window. She moves back to the door and braces herself against it. ABBY'S APARTMENT Visser straightens up from Ray's body. He drops something to the floor, out of frame, that lands with a thud. He goes over to the light switch on the wall and flips it back and forth. No light. He goes over to the brass lamp, sets it upright, tries its switch. Again nothing. He disappears into the kitchenette as we hold on its open doorway. After a moment we hear a refrigerator hum as a cold blue light plays in the doorway. There is the rattle of a can being pulled off the refrigerator rack, and the snap of its pull-tab being opened. After a couple of audible slurps we hear the can go back on the rack and, as the blue light disappears, we hear the refrigerator door close. Visser reappears in the doorway. He surveys the room, fixes on the bathroom door, goes over, turns the knob. The door swings open. He walks in. BATHROOM Visser looks around the cramped space. The shower curtain is drawn. He casually draws it back. The shower is empty. He goes to the window and leans out. VISSER'S POV The sheer drop below; the other window to one side. BACK TO VISSER He draws his head back in, presses his palms against the adjacent wall, and eases his ear to the wall to listen. Perfect quiet. After a moment he goes back to the window, braces himself against the sash, and sticks his arm out--groping for the window of the adjacent apartment. EXT. ABBY'S BUILDING / BATHROOM WINDOW CLOSE SHOT VISSER'S FACE Pressing against the glass as he leans against the upper half of the bathroom window. CLOSE SHOT VISSER'S HAND It finds the adjacent window and starts to raise it. BACK TO VISSER'S FACE Again we see him through the window. His jaw is set as he gropes offscreen. Suddenly his body jerks violently forward, his head smacking against the glass and cracking it. QUICK CUT TO: INT. ADJACENT APARTMENT CLOSE SHOT VISSER'S HAND Abby (out of frame) has grabbed it and now THUMP she slams the window down on his wrist, catching it between the window sash and sill. Her other hand flashes across frame to THUNK pin Visser's hand to the sill with Ray's knife. QUICK CUT: BACK TO VISSER We hear the shatter of glass as the shock causes his head to break through the window. His hand is nailed into the apartment next door. He is in pain. ADJACENT APARTMENT Abby back slowly from the window, staring at the hand. From the ground below we hear the faint and echoing sounds of the shards of glass shattering against pavement. ABBY'S POV THE WINDOW Visser's pinned hand is writhing. As we hear a muffled CRACK, a circle of light opens with a puff of plaster dust in the wall that separates the two apartments. A line of light shoots across the dark apartment from the bright bathroom next door. BACK TO ABBY Staring at the wall. We hear a second CRACK. ABBY'S POV A second hole has opened in the wall, letting through a second shaft of light. Four more sharp reports in rapid succession: With each gun blast a bright circle opens and a new shaft of light penetrates the dark apartment. Finally we hear the CLICK of an empty chamber, and the clatter of the empty gun being dropped to the floor of the bathroom next door. CLOSE SHOT ABBY Staring at the lines of light that crisscross the apartment. There is a long moment of silence, then a sudden THUMP. ABBY'S POV THE WALL Six circles of light. The circles go black momentarily as there is another THUMP. And another. Each time Visser pounds his fist against the wall, there is a muffled THUMP and his swinging arm strobes the bullet holes. BACK TO ABBY She turns and hobbles toward the door of apartment. The muffled thumping continues, as in her dream. HALLWAY As Abby emerges from the adjacent apartment. She stops and looks down the hall. ABBY'S POV The stairway is at the far end of the hall. The door of her own darkened apartment stands slightly ajar. ADJACENT APARTMENT CLOSE SHOT THE WALL The bullet holes strobing. The pounding, more purposeful now, grows louder and more intense. Finally, with a crash, Visser's fist penetrates the wall in an explosion of light and dust. HALLWAY We pull Abby as she limps hesitantly down the hall. ADJACENT APARTMENT CLOSE SHOT VISSER'S HAND Waving aimlessly through the ambient dust. He is blindly groping for the sill--and the knife that pins his other hand. His outstretched middle finger just grazes the handle of the knife. ABBY'S HALLWAY / APARTMENT Pulling Abby as she draws even with the door of her apartment. ABBY'S POV Her pearl-handled revolver sits on the shelf just inside the door, where Ray left it. It catches the light from the hall. ADJACENT APARTMENT EXTREME CLOSE SHOT VISSER'S FINGERTIPS The side of his middle finger rubs against the knife handle; the tip of his index finger barely touches it. Visser's fingers are trembling, indicating that his arm is stretched to its uttermost. A surge against the wall gives his fingers another inch or so and they curl around the handle of the knife. ABBY'S APARTMENT CLOSE SHOT ABBY As she steps in from the hallway to pick up the gun. She looks around the apartment. ABBY'S POV The window of the apartment, its glass now completely gone, lets in streetlight. Ray's corpse is a dark form in the middle of the floor. A bright shaft of light slices across the room from offscreen. It glints on the shards of glass that litter the floor, just as in Abby's dream. BATHROOM CLOSE SHOT VISSER As he slowly, quietly draws his hand in from the hole in the wall. He is holding the knife. He turns slowly to face the door, listening. ABBY'S APARTMENT CLOSE SHOT ABBY She steadies herself against the wall and turns to look toward the bathroom. ABBY'S POV The bathroom door stands slightly ajar. The interior of the bathroom is a bright band in the shadowy recesses of the back of the apartment. BATHROOM CLOSE SHOT VISSER Moving quietly toward the door. ABBY'S APARTMENT CLOSE SHOT ABBY Staring, almost transfixed, at the bathroom door. She raises the gun, trembling, and trains it on the band of light. ABBY'S POV Visser's shadow falls across the crack in the doorway. BACK TO ABBY She shifts the gun slightly and fires. ABBY'S POV With the roar of the gun, a small circle of light opens in the door. As the door waffles under the impact, we hear Visser collapsing behind it. BACK TO ABBY Leaning against the facing wall. She lowers the gun. She slides down the wall to finally rest seated on the floor. She brushes a drop of sweat from her eye. HER POV The cracked bathroom door spilling light. BACK TO ABBY A pause. After a moment, her voice comes out half-choked: ABBY ...I ain't afraid of you, Marty. HER POV The bathroom door. Quiet for a long moment. Then, from inside the bathroom, we hear laughter. BACK TO ABBY Staring at the door. We hear the laughter subside, to leave the sound of labored breathing. Finally: VISSER (O.S.) ...Well ma'am... BATHROOM Visser lies on his back, his head underneath the bathroom sink. His good hand is pressed against his belly, which rises and falls with his heavy breathing. Blood seeps out between his fingers. He is smiling. VISSER ...If I see him, I'll sure give him the message. HIS POV The underside of the sink, its convoluted chrome works beading moisture. VISSER Looking, with mild interest. HIS POV A condensed droplet trickles down the chrome. Directly overhead, it hangs for a moment from the lowest joint of the pipe. It fattens, wavers, wavers--and falls, spelling... FINIS. [DELETED SCENE FROM 1st. DRAFT] "...In an early draft of the script, Ray, the befuddled bartender who for want of a more compelling character served as our story's hero, fled the scene of the tale's protracted central murder and checked into a motel outside of San Antonio:" MOTEL LOBBY DAY DUSTY RHODES, a lean man with a weathered face and large Adam's apple, stands behind the Formica check-in counter. KYLE, a heavyset man of thirty wearing a feed cap, sits in the lobby's one piece of furniture, a beat-up leatherette sofa. He sips from a can of soda. Ray, begrimed and haggard, enters out of the glare of the noonday sun. RHODES Hey there, stranger! What can I do you for? RAY I need a room. Calling out from the divan: KYLE He needs a room, Dusty. RHODES I reckon I can hear him... (to Ray) ...Room rate's eight sixty-six a day plus sales tax, plus extra for the TV option. RAY How much extra? KYLE (calling out) He wants the TV option, Dusty. RHODES I reckon I can hear him. TV option, that's a dollar twenty, makes nine eighty-six plus tax. KYLE (calling out) Tell him the channels, Dusty. RHODES Channels, we got two and six. Two don't come in so hot. RAY Just a room then. KYLE (calling out) He don't want the option, Dusty. RHODES I reckon I heard the man. RAY (after shooting Kyle an irritated glance) Does he work here? KYLE (calling out) Sure don't. RHODES See, Wednesday's the special on RC Cola. I don't know if I explained about the TV option. If there's a TV in the room, you got to pay the option. KYLE (calling out) And how many room got TV, Dusty? RHODES Ever durned one. RAY (gamely) Okay, I'll take the TV option. RHODES Well see the thing about that is, we're booked. "Looking at this scene now, years later, it strikes us that revising it out of existence, as we did, constituted too much rewriting. Indeed, the more prosaic scene we replaced it with, involving Ray stopped at a traffic light, can be found in the finished script but not in the finished movie. It was shot but then deleted in order to more quickly get to the carnage, which was the picture's raison d'^etre..." JOEL & ETHAN COEN
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+                           BLUE VALENTINE                             Written by            Derek Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne & Joey Curtis                                                                                           5/14/09          EXT. RURAL SUBURBAN STREET - DAWN - PRESENT DAY                                    A 5-year old girl wearing pajamas wanders alone down the            street.                                                   FRANKIE                          (BARELY AUDIBLE)           Me-gan!                                    INT. PERIERA HOME - PRESENT DAY                         2 2                                    FRANKIE crawls through a dog door. She walks into the living           room where the TV is on loud.                                    DEAN PERIERA, 30 years old, hefty, sleeps in a lazyboy.                                                   FRANKIE                          (HUSHED)           Daddydaddydaddy.                                    Frankie uses the footrest to crawl up onto her dad's belly.                                                   FRANKIE (CONT'D)           Wake up Daddy.                                                   DEAN (WAKING)           What time is it baby?                                    She sniffles. He notices.                                    EXT. PERIERA HOME - BACK/FRONT YARDS - PRESENT DAY                                    The back door opens and Dean carries Frankie to the yard. The           first yellow rays of sunlight hit their faces.                                    He looks over the lawn, an empty bowl, water tin and a           doghouse posting the name MEGAN. He peeks inside the           doghouse. There's no one home. Dean moves to the fence. The           gate is open.                                    Dean carries Frankie to the front yard. They look around.                                                   FRANKIE           When's she going to get back?                                                   DEAN           She probably just went out for a run.           She'll be back soon because she's going           to get thirsty.                                                   FRANKIE           She's going to be thirsty?                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 2.                         3 CONTINUED: 3                                                                            DEAN           You know what we should do? We should           leave her bowl full of water and her dish           full of food. Because she's gotta get           hungry and thirsty sometime. You know?                                    Dean's optimism is infectious. Frankie nods slowly.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Like me. I'm hungry. I'm so hungry I           could eat your toes.                                    Dean pretends to gnaw at Frankie's toes. Breaks her sadness.                                    INT. PERIERA HOME - BEDROOM - 6:12AM - PRESENT DAY                         4 4                                    CINDY PERIERA, 28, sleeps in bed. Sunlight spills through           translucent yellow curtains into a small master bedroom.                                    Dean sets Frankie down on the bed, motions to her to be           silent. He sniffs the air. She follows. They eye each other           and pounce. Cindy wakes up with a gasp.                                                   CINDY           I'm sleeping!                                                   DEAN           We're hungry! We're going to eat you.                                    They pin her arms above her head and 'furber' her armpit.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Don't laugh. Come on, don't laugh!                                    Cindy doesn't laugh, she screams.                                    INT. PERIERA HOME - VARIOUS - MORNING - LATER - PRESENT DAY                         5 5                                    Cindy, nursing a weight-loss drink, scans through digital            photos on the computer. We see - family on vacation,           Frankie's first day of school, Frankie and a black and white           Border Collie mutt - Megan. Cindy exports the picture when...           A tea kettle whistle blows.                                    Dean and Frankie sit at the table. He plays a song for           Frankie on a ukulele. Cindy gets up, turns off the kettle.                                                   DEAN           What happened to the flute?                                    Cindy pours the hot water into a bowl with instant oatmeal &           raisins. She blows on the food and places it at the table.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 3.                         5 CONTINUED: 5                                                                            CINDY           C'mon, eat, you can't be late today.                                    Frankie takes a tiny bite and makes a sour face.                                                   FRANKIE           I don't like it...                                    Cindy turns on the faucet over a pile of dishes, returns to           the computer to e-mail herself the missing dog flyer.                                                   DEAN           Here... we can make it taste better.                                    Dean spoons the raisins out of her bowl onto the table.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           This is how a leopard eats.                                    He laps up his coffee like a cat. She mimics. Dean laughs.                                                   CINDY           Come on Frankie, use a spoon. You know           how to use a spoon.                                                   FRANKIE           Lepers don't use spoons.                                                   DEAN (WHISPERS)           Are you gonna listen to your mother? I           think you better.                                    Frankie reluctantly takes a tiny bite. Her face sours and she           lets the food fall out of her mouth and back in the bowl.           Cindy returns to the dishes.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           How old are you?                                                   FRANKIE           Five.                                                   DEAN           Okay, eat five bites.                                    Dean gets up, goes to Cindy at the sink.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           We gotta get a dishwasher...                                    Tries to take the dish sponge away from her. She resists.                                                                                                     (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 4.                         5 CONTINUED: (2) 5                                                                            DEAN (CONT'D)           I'll do it. Come on let me do it.                                    She drops the sponge, dries her hands.                                                   CINDY           Frankie! We're leaving in 15. Eat!                                    Frankie ignores her.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Alright...                                    She pulls Frankie out of her seat and carries her under one           arm to the back room. Frankie protests.                                    Dean watches, shakes his head. He sees the computer on,           Cindy's e-mail is still open. He shuts off the running water.                                    He scans through messages from a bunch of names of people           Dean doesn't know. He sweats, clicks open a return message           from a real estate company - apartment now available.                                    INT. PERIERA HOME - BATHROOM - MORNING                         6 6                                                   CINDY           Look up for mommy... come on Frankie!           We're gonna be late... look up.                                    Frankie is propped up on the sink. Cindy draws cat whiskers           on her cheeks. Frankie tips her head back.                                    CINDY (softens) (cont'd)           Don't blink... leopards don't blink...                                    EXT. PERIERA HOME - MORNING - PRESENT DAY                         7 7                                    Cindy backs their minivan out of the garage. Frankie is           strapped in her carseat. Dean comes up to the window, knocks.           Cindy brakes. Dean hands Frankie her backpack.                                    DEAN (to Frankie)           You be good today for Miss Alex, okay?                                    Frankie, dressed like a little leopard, nods.                                    DEAN (to Frankie) (cont'd)           Love you.                                                   FRANKIE           I love you.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 5.                         7 CONTINUED: 7                                                             DEAN (to Cindy)           Love you.                                    He kisses her on the corner of her mouth. A hesitation.                                                   CINDY           ...Love you.                                    Dean pulls his head out of the window.                                                   DEAN           Put your seat belt on.                                    She starts to back up.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           C'mon. What's the big deal?                                    Cindy does as she's told, looks over her shoulder, scrapes           the curb.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Watch...                                    Cindy cranks the wheel straight, puts on the gas and burns           down the road.                                    Dean stands there in his driveway, muttering to himself. He           watches the car disappear down the street.                                    Another car, headed the opposite direction, barrels down the            road, past the Periera home.                                                    DEAN (CONT'D)            Slow that piece of shit down!                                     INT. CLINIC - DAY - PRESENT DAY                         8 8                                    Cindy clicks the "print" button on a computer, moves to the           printer. It spits out a "Missing Dog" flyer.                                    DR. SAM FEINBERG - handsome, well-groomed, unshakable           confidence - appears at the door, with coffee.                                                   FEINBERG           There you are.                                    Cindy places the flyers in her folder in a rush.                                                   CINDY           Sorry...I'm almost done.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 5A.                         8 CONTINUED: 8                                                                            FEINBERG           You got a second? Did you get a chance to           talk it over with your family yet?                                                   CINDY           Yeah... I'm going to.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 6.                         8 CONTINUED: (2) 8                                                                            FEINBERG           I don't have to tell you, it's a huge           opportunity...                                                   CINDY           I know I know. I should know for sure by           Monday.                                                   FEINBERG           All right, Monday's our day. I want the A           team up there with me. Talk it over.                                    Feinberg walks away down the hallway.                                                   CINDY           I will.                                    INT. VAN - DAY - PRESENT DAY                         9 9                                    Dean drives with a beer in a koozie and a cigarette. He has a           coughing fit, rolls down his window and spits.                                    CHARLEY - late 30s, hefty, African American - sits in the           passenger seat. He pops the top to a Styrofoam coffee cup.                                    They talk about sex, women and broken fantasies. But Dean's            attention is on the side of the road, scanning the           neighborhood for Megan. He whistles sharp and loud.                                                   CHARLEY            Cheer up man. God wants you to be happy.                                                   DEAN           God's a woman and she's pissed off at me.                                    INT. CLINIC - DAY - PRESENT DAY                         10 10                                    An ultrasound monitor, the abstracted image of a 20-week           fetus. Cindy watches Feinberg perform an ultrasound.                                    DR. FEINBERG (to Cindy)           Do you want to take over from here?                                    Cindy places her hand on the sensor. Feinberg places his hand           over hers. They gently glide it over the abdomen.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 7.                         10 CONTINUED: 10                                                             DR. FEINBERG (cont'd)           Easy.                                    Feinberg releases Cindy's hand and removes his latex gloves.                                    DR. FEINBERG (cont'd)           Very good, Cindy. You're in good hands.           Cindy is one of our favorites.                                    Cindy blushes. She is transfixed on the monitor.                                                   CINDY           Do you want to know the sex?                                    INT. SUBURBAN HOME - UNFINISHED HOUSING TRACK - PRESENT DAY                         11 11                                    Dean smokes, works in the soon to be living room. He paints a           picture on the wall before covering it up with the roller.                                    INT. CINDY'S CAR - LATE AFTERNOON                          A11 A11                                    She drives through a drive through and orders fast food.                                     INT/EXT. CINDY'S CAR- AFTERNOON                         A12 A12                                    Cindy drives, fast food wrapper in hand, sees something out            the window. She slows down, waits for opposing traffic to           pass, then pulls a wide u-turn. She rises up out of her seat           to look at something.                                                   CINDY           Oh no...                                    She pulls the car to a stop, puts on the hazzards, takes a           moment to compose herself, unbuckles her seatbelt. Gets out.                                    ELLIPSE: A blanket covers a dead Border Collie mutt in the           gutter. Cindy puts Megan's body into the back of her van.                                    INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GYMNASIUM/DAY CAMP PROGRAM - AFTERNOON12                          12           - PRESENT DAY                                    FOURTH OF JULY music recital. The Pre-K classes are lined up            on small bleachers. Led by their teacher, the kids sing "I'm            A Yankee Doodle Boy."                                     Frankie, steps out of her line of pre-kindergarteners to see            if her parents are in the bleachers. She spots her father,            jumps a little, and wonders if he can see her.                                                                             (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 7A.                         12 CONTINUED: 12                                                             Dean sits alone, picks paint off his hands. He does not fully            watch the children - he watches the door for Cindy to enter.            He wonders where she is - every possible scenario passes           through his mind. looks at the clock - 3:35.                                    Cindy arrives with haste, purse open, holding a big set of            keys in her right hand and a water bottle in her left. She           props her sunglasses on her head, looks around for Frankie.           She waves to her, but Frankie doesn't see her.                                    Dean spots Cindy by the base of the bleachers - relaxes. He           picks up his jacket, puts it on his lap, making room for her.                                    She looks around for Dean, spots him near the top of the           bleachers. Little waves. She climbs the crowded bleachers,           stopping to talk with parents along the way. She comes up           next to Dean, takes her purse off. They say "hi" but neither           one makes eye contact. Dean takes the water bottle from her.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 8.                         12 CONTINUED: (2) 12                                                                            DEAN           Didn't think you were gonna make it.                                                   CINDY           Did I miss her?                                                   DEAN           Almost. Her class is coming up.                                    Dean kisses her cheek. Cindy settles, arranges her things.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           You have a good day?                                                   CINDY           It was alright... Busy.                                                   DEAN           Anything good happen?                                    Cindy shakes her head "no." She drops her keys into her           purse, but they miss the target and she fumbles after them.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Is something wrong?                                    Cindy shakes her head. Takes the water from Dean. He stares           at her. She concentrates on closing the clasp on her purse.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Why don't you tell me?                                    She doesn't want to start crying. Dean gets visibly           frustrated. He's sick of prying everything out of her.                                                                            DEAN (CONT'D)           Why do you gotta make me beg? I know           there's something wrong. It's gonna come           out eventually. Just tell me.                                    The song ends. A patter of applause. The teacher introduces            the next song "THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC".                                                    CINDY           I found Megan.                                                   DEAN           That's great, where?                                    Cindy doesn't answer. She can't. She tries to keep from           crying. He quickly realizes what she's trying to tell him.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 8A.                         12 CONTINUED: (3) 12                                                                            DEAN (CONT'D)           Where?                                                   CINDY           Over on Urbandale... near Spur.                                                   DEAN           I told you you gotta close that fucking           gate.                                    Cindy wipes tears. She has to look up and blink to keep them           from rolling down her cheek. Dean puts his arm around her,           holds her close. She tries to pull away. He won't let her.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           I'm sorry. It's not your fault.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 9.                         12 CONTINUED: (4) 12                                                             Frankie sees her Mother and Father huddled together. She            sings louder.                                     EXT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL/DAY CAMP PROGRAM. AFTERNOON.                          A13 A13                                    Cindy sits in her car, checking her eyes in the rear view           mirror. They are puffy. Frankie runs full speed into Dean's           arms. He picks her up and walks her to Cindy's car.                                                   DEAN           You were great.                                                   FRANKIE           Did you find Megan?                                                   DEAN           No. But... I was thinking... Maybe she           got a job or something... You know? So           she could make some money and buy some           food. Or maybe she moved out to Hollywood           to become a movie dog!                                    Frankie nods. Dean gets her to the car. Straps her in.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           I was thinking...you should have some fun           tonight1 Don't you think?                                                   FRANKIE           Yeah!                                    Cindy listens in the front seat. She doesn't approve.                                    EXT. HELLER HOME - AFTERNOON - PRESENT DAY                         13 13                                    The door opens to a grandpa in shorts and a bathrobe wearing           navy scuba gear, JERRY HELLER - early 70's. He has a tube           under his nose attached to an oxygen tank. His porch and           front yard are overloaded with Fourth of July decorations.                                                    FRANKIE           Pa!                                    Jerry growls at Frankie. She screams, scared but delighted. A           yapping dog named SAMMY jumps on her. Jerry nods at Dean who           keeps his distance by the van.                                                   CINDY           Aren't you coming up?                                    Dean gives a sour look and lights a cigarette.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 9A.                         13 CONTINUED: 13                                                                            CINDY (CONT'D)           He's an old man.                                                   DEAN           What? I can't smoke around his oxygen.                                    Cindy gives Dean a slow look of contempt, grabs the backpack           and walks toward the house. Jerry stands over the hose spigot           with Frankie at his side.                                                   JERRY           ...Want me to show you a magic trick?           Here's how you turn the grass green. You           can teach it to your dad.                                    The sprinkler jets on. Cindy comes up and kisses her dad on           the cheek. She straightens Frankie's ears.                                                   CINDY           Go say goodbye to Daddy. You're not going           to see him until tomorrow.                                    Jerry holds Frankie back.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 10.                         13 CONTINUED: (2) 13                                                                            JERRY           Wait...! OK...one, two, three GO!                                    Frankie runs to Dean, dodging the water stream. She hugs his           leg. He picks her up.                                                   DEAN           Hey leopard. You be good now. You           remember what to do when Pa snores?                                                   FRANKIE           Cover his mouth and hold his nose.                                                   DEAN           That's my girl. Gimme a squeezer.                                    Dean hugs her and she squeezes back as hard as her arms           allow. Dean plays as if his neck was being pinched off. He           sets her on the ground running back to the porch. She gets           caught in the diameter of the sprinkler spray. She screams as           the water chases her.                                                   JERRY           It got you! Go right! OTHER RIGHT!                                    Dean and Cindy both laugh. Their eyes meet for the first time           in days, maybe weeks. They exchange a brief smile, filled           with mutual love, pride and respect - connected by their           little girl. Frankie stands in front of Cindy, water drips           from her bangs.                                                   CINDY           Come on silly. Let's go in and get dry.                                                   FRANKIE           I don't wanna take off my costume!                                                   CINDY           You don't have to. Let's just go in.                                    Cindy leads Frankie with one hand and pulls Jerry's oxygen           tank with the other. Jerry takes Frankie's free hand.                                    Dean smokes and watches... Cindy hold the screen open with           her foot and maneuver father, tank and child inside. The           screen door closes. Sammy barks at Dean through the screen           door. He tugs his smoke, memories flood. He drifts...                                    EXT. CITY STREETS. DOG WALKING. DAY. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         14 14                                    The sound of barking. A YOUNGER DEAN, 24, walks 10 dogs.           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 11.                                                                                                               INT. DEAN'S FRIEND'S APARTMENT - LATE DAY. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         15 15                                    Dean comes inside from the cold. He tries to walk in quietly -           not disturbing Jake who's watching TV in the back bedroom. He           goes to say "hi" but decides he'd rather not disturb him.                                    Dean sits on the couch which he uses as a bed. He pulls his           travelling bag from underneath the coffee table, digs around           for a long sock where he keeps his money. He stuffs his day's           pay ($45), in the sock with the rest of his $ (about $100).                                    In the kitchen, he opens the fridge. There is a pie tin with           one last slice of pumpkin pie. Walks to Jake's room. Stands           in the doorway. Jake doesn't acknowledge him.                                                   DEAN           Hey man... Can I have a slice of that           pie?                                    EXT. CITY STREET - DOG WALKING - MORNING. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         16 16                                    A dog poops on the sidewalk. Dean gets his little bag ready.           Sees - a light post with flyers taped to it. Dean reads - MEN           WANTED-$22/hr. He tears it down.                                    EXT. BUS STOP. MORNING.                         17 17                                    Dean waits for the bus to come.                                    INT. STORAGE FACILITY/MOVING COMPANY - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER 18                         18                                    Dean enters, hair combed, still wet, with fresh teeth marks.           JO - 36, receptionist sits beyond a scratched window. Dean           pulls out the folded flyer and asks if they have any work.                                                   JO           You're gonna have to speak with Mr.           Saned, honey. Wait just a minute, okay.                                    Dean sits on a chair, smooths his hair, smells his clothes.                                    INT. GARAGE - LATER - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         19 19                                    Saned - huge hands, the boss - leads Dean through a large,           open garage, lined with many sizes of moving trucks.                                                   SANED           Normally we are busiest at the beginning           of the month. You break your back for two           weeks, you get 2 weeks to rest. That's           normal. Days start early.                          (MORE)                          (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 12.                         19 CONTINUED: 19                                    You'll work on a crew of 4. The rate for           4 men is $122/hour.$40 goes to the truck.           You split the rest. Plus tips. Policy on           tardiness; you work for the day you don't           get paid. You're late two times; don't           bother coming back. Any questions, talk           to Curtis. He's your supervisor.                                    WORKERS eye Dean. He introduces himself. Shake hands.                                    INT. TRUCK - EARLY MORNING - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         20 20                                    Dean rides in the back of a 20 foot truck. The wind is cold.           He warms his hands with his breath.                                    INT. HOME #1 - MORNING - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         21 21                                    Dean lifts two large boxes and moves toward the stairs.                                                   CURTIS           Whoa whoa. You gonna break your neck           homey. Look down.                                    Dean does. All he sees is brown box.                                                   CURTIS (CONT'D)           Can't see your feet. If you can't see           your feet, how you gonna know where the           step is? You goin' bust your ass.                                    Curtis takes the boxes from Dean and demonstrates.                                                   CURTIS (CONT'D)           Turn around.                                    Curtis hefts the boxes on Dean's back. He pulls his arms           around the back to hold onto them in an awkward position.                                                   CURTIS (CONT'D)           You gotta be a mule. Always carry on your           back. Give `er a try.                                    Dean is unsure. He proceeds, imbalanced down the stairs.                                    He makes it to the truck where Saned waits to help him get           the boxes in. Dean can't quite manage a 30-pound, behind the           back hand-off. He ends up spilling up the boxes and their           contents all over the sidewalk. Saned gets pissed. Dean gets           down on his hands and knees and packs up the boxes - quickly.                                    MOVING MONTAGE: HOME #2                         22 22           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 13.                                                                                                               - DEAN POURS HIMSELF A GLASS OF MILK FROM A CLIENT'S           REFRIGERATOR. HE CHUGS IT.                                    - DEAN STACKS BOXES LIKE BLOCKS AND TAP DANCES TO KEEP WARM. 23                         23           HE SINGS A SONG TO HIMSELF.                                    - DEAN HOISTS A 6' TALL DRESSER WITH DRAWERS ON HIS BACK.                         24 24           CURTIS TIES A BLUE BLANKET AROUND HIM TO SECURE HIS LOAD.           DEAN WALKS OUT OF THE TRUCK AND INTO A NEW APARTMENT.                                    - CURTIS HANDS OUT THE DAY'S MONEY, PLUS TIP. DEAN COUNTS HIS25                         25           CUT - $327. NOT BAD. BUT HIS BACK FEELS BROKEN.                                    INT. DEAN'S FRIEND'S APARTMENT. DAY. 6 YEARS EARLIER                         26 26                                    - Dean puts $300 in an envelope, seals it, and writes "THANKS           PAL." He slides the envelope under Jake's door.                                    - He lays on the couch, wrapped up in a white sheet, smoking           a cigarette. Tries to stretch his back.                                    INT/EXT. HOME #1. TRUCK. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         27 27                                    LUNCH-TIME. Dean, Curtis sit in the bed of the truck, legs           dangling. They eat hamburgers and talk about girls.                                    INT. DEAN'S FRIEND'S APARTMENT - BATHROOM. MORNING.                         28 28                                    Dean showers, tries to stretch his aching back.                                    EXT/INT. BROWNSTONE. (HOME #3) MORNING. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         29 29                                    A fifty something MAN helps an ELDERLY MAN navigate his           walker down the stairs of his neglected Brownstone. Dean           holds a ream of unfolded cardboard boxes and can't help but           stare. Curtis slaps him on the back.                                                   CURTIS           Gonna happen to you someday too.                                    INT. BROWNSTONE. MORNING.                         30 30                                    INSIDE. Dank, dark home. 0 upkeep. The smell makes Dean hold           back a gag. Curtis climbs the stairs to the 2nd floor.                                                                                                     (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 14.                         30 CONTINUED: 30                                                                            CURTIS           I don't think that old man's been up here           in 10 years.                                    Saned elbows in with rolls of tape and contractor bags.                                    SANED (TO DEAN)           Box up everything on the first floor.           Toss everything else.                                    - Dean finds jars of yellow liquid everywhere. "What's this?"           He opens a jars and is overwhelmed by the stench of urine.                                                   DEAN           It's fucking pee!                                    - He runs to the toilet and pukes in to a shit stained           porcelain bowl. Saned berates him for wasting time.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           How could you live like this?                                    - He ties a bandana around his nose. Gets back to packing. -           boxes full of the old man's life (religious items, framed           pictures, old cameras and reams of polaroids). - Boxes are           packed, taped and stacked.                                    EXT. BROWNSTONE. MORNING.                         31 31                                    Bags of garbage dump into a 20' rented dumpster out in the           street. - Dean and Curtis heft an old couch into the           dumpster. - Barren home reveals a sagging floor. Ghostly           impressions on walls where pictures used to hang. - The truck           takes off, leaving a full dumpster behind.                                    EXT/INT. TRUCK/ROAD. AFTERNOON. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         32 32                                    - Dean and crew cut out of the city. It's the first time Dean           has seen nature in the longest. Breathes deep.                                    INT. RETIREMENT HOME. LATE AFTERNOON. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         33 33                                    - The crew carries boxes down a hallway to a single room. A           sign on the door reads, "Welcome home Walter!!!"                                                   CURTIS           How we s'posed to fit all this in here?                                    - Dean and Curtis move a dresser against the wall. - He           hammers a nail in the wall. Places a framed picture up. -           Unpacks the old man's clothes, folds them, puts them in           drawers. - Replaces the light bulb on a burned out lamp.                          (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 15.                         33 CONTINUED: 33                                    - Wipes clean old pictures and knickknacks using toilet           paper,. - Saned carries in a box of food - cans of soup, etc.                                                   SANED           Last one. Lets get a move on. Gotta make           it home for the game.                                    Dean holds up the man's wedding picture.                                                   DEAN           Look how handsome he was.                                                   SANED           What are you fucking queer?                                    Saned hands Dean a wad of bills.                                                   SANED (CONT'D)           Finish up, we gotta 2 hour drive back.                                    Saned walks down the hall, calling out to hurry up. Dean sets           the bills down on the dresser. Continues to arrange the           things. He stares at a picture of old man and his wife.                                    ELLIPSE - A nurse wheels Walter down the hallway and           introduces him to his new room.                                                   DEAN           Wait up. We gotta do this right...                                    He takes the wheelchair from the nurse, wheels Walter out of           the room, picks him out out of his wheelchair, and carries           him back into the room across the threshold of his new home.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           You are gonna be the new stud in this            place.                                    Dean sets him down in a recliner, then gives him a tour of           his room - tells him which drawer his socks are in, where put           the aftershave, etc. Curtis pokes his head around the corner.                                                   CURTIS           Boss says we gotta go. We gotta go.                                    Dean cuts the tour short, wishes the old man luck and tells           him he'll come visit him someday. He backs out of the           doorway, grabs his money off the dresser, and says goodbye.           Dean turns and is frozen in his tracks. Something or someone           makes his expression change to that of wonder, eyes fill with           love... he puts the money in his pocket.           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 15A.                                                                                                               INT. MINI VAN. DRIVING. AFTERNOON. PRESENT DAY                         34 34                                    Cindy pulls into the driveway behind Dean's van. He walks           around her mini van and directs her to open the back hatch.           She presses the button from inside. Hatch opens. She gathers           the stack of missing dog flyers in the seat next to her.                                                             EXT. PERIERA HOME- BACKYARD- PRESENT DAY                         A35 A35                                    Dean buries Megan by the fence. He places a stone on the           mound as a marker. He stands over it, smoking a cigarette.           Cindy looks on from the porch, arms hugging her body. Dean           walks to her and wraps his arms around her. Her arms fall and           move up to touch his side.                                                   CINDY           What are we going to tell her?                                                   DEAN           We'll tell her Monday. After the weekend.           Let's not ruin her Holiday.                                     Dean turns Cindy around, closes his eyes, and hugs her.                                                   CINDY           She would have wanted to say goodbye.           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 16.                                                                                                               INT/EXT. PERIERA HOME - CONTINUOUS                         35 35                                    - Cindy washes dishes, straightens up the house.                                    OUTSIDE - Dean sits in Frankie's little rocking chair,           smoking a cigarette. He looks out over his lawn. - Picks up           frozen dog poop with a little shovel, rinses out Megan's           bowls with the hose. - He watches Cindy inside, cleaning. He           looks at his house. Remembers something.                                    INT/EXT. PERIERA HOME - CONTINUOUS                         36 36                                    He comes in through the sliding glass door and steps over           Cindy who is on the floor picking up Frankie's Hotwheels. He           yanks open a junk drawer and pulls out items.                                                   DEAN           You remember where we put...                                    Cindy stops and watches him. He holds up a gift certificate           in an old anniversary card.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Here! Let's get the fuck out of here.                                    Dean grabs the phone and dials.                                    DEAN (on phone) (cont'd)           Hello, I want to see if I can reserve a           room for the night... tonight. I have a           gift certificate but I don't know if it's           still good. Can I give you a number?           7G263?...                                                   CINDY           What are you doing?                                                   DEAN           Taking us away. We gotta get outta this           house.           (Back to phone)           It's still good? Good... Well, what rooms           do you got?...Hold on a minute...                                    Dean lowers the receiver to his neck.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           What room do you want? The North Pole,           the Moon Room or Cupid's cave. Which one?                                    Cindy shakes her head.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 17.                         36 CONTINUED: 36                                                                            DEAN (CONT'D)           I don't want to hear any excuses. We're           going. We deserve it. One night. Because           we belong to each other. Pick a room.                                                   CINDY           You're crazy.                                                   DEAN           You're not going to decide? I'll decide.           That's how decisions get made.                                    Dean gets a shit-eating grin.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Come on let's go get drunk.                                    He returns to the phone.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Give us the moon room. Periera. P-E-R-I-           E-R-A... 2... Great...                                    Dean hangs up.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Pack our bags. We're going to the moon!                                    EXT. LIQUOR MART PARKING LOT. AFTERNOON. PRESENT DAY.                         37 37                                    They argue about who's gonna go in.                                    INT. LIQUOR MART - AFTERNOON - PRESENT DAY                         38 38                                    - Cindy jerks out a grocery cart, pushes it, scans the aisles           of the massive liquor store. - Tucks two large bottles of           champagne under her arm. - she tries on different pairs of           sunglasses at the display. She assumes the character that           each pair suggests. She is a tough guy cop when...                                    BOBBY (O.S.)           Is that Cindy Heller?                                    Cindy turns and sees BOBBY ONTARIO, her college sweetheart.           She lifts the glasses on her head, blood rushes to her face.                                                   CINDY           Bobby Ontario?                                    EXT. GAS STATION - AFTERNOON - PRESENT DAY                         39 39                                    Dean fills his tank.           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 18.                                                                                                               INT. LIQUOR MART - AFTERNOON - PRESENT DAY                         40 40                                    Cindy pushes her cart down the aisle along side Bobby, 30           years old, fit. TAYLOR, a small toddler sits in his cart           wearing overalls and a backward baseball cap like his daddy.                                                   BOBBY           ...So, you been faithful to him?                                                   CINDY           That's a strange question to ask someone           you haven't seen in forever.                                                   BOBBY           I'm a strange person.                                    Cindy laughs.                                                   BOBBY (CONT'D)           No seriously.                                                   CINDY           Yes.                                                   BOBBY           Yes you have or yes you haven't?                                                   CINDY           Yes...I haven't. I mean I have...I have           been...Why are you looking at me like           that?                                                   BOBBY           I'm not looking at you like anything.                                                   CINDY           Oh OK.                                                   BOBBY           It's hard to be faithful. I don't know if           monogamy is possible, especially if           you're a man...                                                   CINDY           Who's this?                                                   BOBBY           This is Taylor. He's two. Got a little           girl at home. Irene.                                                   CINDY           Wow...                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 19.                         40 CONTINUED: 40                                                                            BOBBY           Kids are great. They pick up on things so           fast. Like watch... Hey Spence, give me           five... Give me five, buddy.                                    Drooling, and with a toothless smile, Taylor gives his daddy           five. Bobby beams.                                                   BOBBY (CONT'D)           Give Cindy five.                                    Taylor holds up his hand limply so that Cindy has to give him           an awkward five. Bobby laughs. They reach the register.                                                   BOBBY (CONT'D)           To see yourself in your kid's face... I           never experienced anything like that.                                                   CINDY           I know...                                    There is an uncomfortable silence between them. Cindy starts           to unload her purchases.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           I'm really happy for you.                                                   BOBBY           How's your kid?                                                   CINDY           She's good.                                    Pause. They speak at the same time.                                                   BOBBY                          WHAT'S HER-                                                   CINDY                          SHE'S GOT-                                    They stop. Cindy concedes.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           You go...                                                   BOBBY           No, you go...                                                   CINDY           Oh... I was going to say, you ask her           what kind of hair she's got and she says,           a bob. It's pretty funny.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 20.                         40 CONTINUED: (2) 40                                                             Cindy smiles at the ground. Bobby eyes her purchases - a           bottle of vodka, cheap champagne, mixers, snacks.                                                   BOBBY           What's her name?                                                   CINDY           Frankie.                                    Fumbling, she starts bagging her groceries.                                                   CHECKER           That's $58.42.                                    Cindy hands the CHECKER a fifty. The Checker holds it out.                                                   CHECKER (CONT'D)           $58.42.                                                   CINDY           Oh...I'm sorry.                                    Cindy searches her wallet, goes into her change purse.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           How much was the vodka?                                    The Checker looks at the receipt.                                                   CHECKER           $11.99.                                                   CINDY           Can I put that back? I'm sorry...                                    Bobby holds out a twenty dollar bill.                                                   BOBBY           I got it.                                                   CINDY           Nothankyou.                          (TO CHECKER)           Just take it off please.                                    Bobby drops the bill on the scanner.                                                   BOBBY           You can get me back.                                    EXT. LIQUOR MART - PARKING LOT - AFTERNOON - PRESENT DAY                         41 41                                    Cindy pushes the cart hurriedly, stolen shades on her head.                          (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 21.                         41 CONTINUED: 41                                                             Dean blows on a hot cup of coffee. Cindy moves fast, loads in           the bags next to their luggage, slams the hatch closed and           snatches the keys from Dean's hands.                                                   CINDY           Let's go.                                                   DEAN           You're drivin'?                                    Cindy hops in the driver's seat. Dean rides on the end of the           buggy and crashes it into the buggy corral. She fires up the           engine and honks. He throws his hands up.                                    INT. MINI VAN - LATE AFTERNOON - PRESENT DAY                         42 42                                    Cindy drives the car along a windy, mountain road. Dean keeps           a lidless cup of coffee from spilling.                                                   DEAN           Alright, lead foot. It's not a race.                                    Cindy is zoned into the road. She turns off the radio.                                                   CINDY           Isn't it funny how you can be driving for           20 minutes and it feels like you've only           been driving for 20 seconds. The time           just gets swallowed up somewhere...                                    Dean places his hand on Cindy's hand that rests on the car           seat. A small squeeze. She squeezes back. Dean looks at her           with tenderness. Her eyes are on the road. She lifts her hand           to the wheel. Dean reaches for the radio.                                                   DEAN           Do you mind if I turn this back on?                                                   CINDY           I was kind of enjoying the silence.                                                   DEAN           Let's just see if there's something on...                                    He scans through the low stations.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Anything? Fuck it.                                    He turns it off.                                                                                                     (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 22.                         42 CONTINUED: 42                                                                            DEAN (CONT'D)           That's better. You're right. It never           gets to be just quiet. You know?                                    Cindy nods. Dean rolls down his window, spits his gum as far           as he can. He rolls it back up.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           What are you thinking about?                                    Dean looks at Cindy, waiting for her to respond.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Did you get everything?                                                   CINDY           Think so.                                                   DEAN           Where d'you get these?                                    Dean reaches for the glasses on top of Cindy's head. She           feels the dangling tag - "woops." She tears off the tag and           tosses the glasses on the dashboard.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Try em' on.                                    Cindy shakes her head "no." Dean puts them on his face. He           poses for Cindy. She grabs the glasses and puts them on. She           looks at Dean. He holds in a chuckle.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           You look like your mom.                                    Cindy takes them off. Back on the dash.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           You get any snacks?                                                   CINDY           There should be some fig newtons back           there.                                    Dean unbuckles his seatbelt, crawls to the back of the van           digs through the bags. Cindy can't see out of the rear-view.                                                   DEAN           Which bag?                                                   CINDY           You have to look.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 23.                         42 CONTINUED: (2) 42                                                             Cindy enjoys a moment alone, straightens her back, crosses           the dotted yellow lines and passes a car, then relaxes. Dean           crawls back up to the front seat. They both eat a cookie.                                                   DEAN           Mmm. These are good.                                    He offers her another one. She shakes her head.                                                   CINDY           I have to pee.                                    The car stops on the shoulder of the two lane highway. Cindy           gets out of the car.                                                   DEAN           You can't wait? We're almost there.                                    EXT. ROADSIDE - DUSK - PRESENT DAY                         43 43                                                   CINDY           I gotta go.                                    Cindy jogs across the road. Dean sees traffic coming.                                                   DEAN           Goddamnit Cindy!! Pay attention!!!                                    On the side of the road, she stares into the woods. Cars pass           behind her, headlights flood the night. She descends into the           thicket until the sound of the highway is faint. Wind through           the leaves. She drops her pants and pees. Something rustles           and she looks into the woods.                                                   CINDY           ...Hello?                                    She stands up and zips up her pants. Eyes search the shadows.           ...Cindy is ALONE. A leaf falls to earth. She stares at it and           her mind drifts back to...                                    EXT. SUBURBAN STREET/COLLEGE - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         44 44                                    A YOUNGER CINDY - 22, smart - wheels herself down suburban           sidewalks. Faces of passing people look at her with pity -           what a shame that such a pretty girl be in a wheelchair.           Cindy wheels herself across the campus quad. Students hurry           by clutching schoolbooks.           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 24.                                                                                                               INT. GYMNASIUM - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         45 45                                    Wrestling practice. Bobby - 22, svelte - gets into the           defensive position. TROY LEANER, his buddy, gets on top of           him in the offensive position. Bobby looks up, sees Cindy by           the door attempting to pop wheelies in her wheelchair.                                    Whistle blows! Bobby escapes the position and wraps Troy up           in a double grapevine. Quickly pins him, stands up, takes off           his ear guards, bumps fists. He walks over to Cindy.                                                   BOBBY           What are you doing?                                                   CINDY           Research.                                                   BOBBY           You're supposed to be a quadriplegic?                                                   CINDY           Quads can't use their arms. I'm a           paraplegic.                                                   BOBBY           Don't I give you enough attention?                                    He presses himself into her and mauls her with a wet kiss.                                                   BOBBY (CONT'D)           Wonder what people would think if they           saw me making out with a paraplegic?                                    He lifts her expensive necklace out from under her dress -           looks at it admiringly. Then, Cindy.                                    BOBBY (close (cont'd)           Can you come over?                                                   CINDY           I can't. I have to go get gramma.                                    Cindy rolls the wheelchair back.                                                   BOBBY           Gimme a sec.                                    Bobby tries to hide the erection trapped in his wrestling           singlet.           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 25.                                                                                                               INT. HELLER HOME - FOYER - EVENING - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         46 46                                    The front door opens and Cindy pushes GRAMMA FRANCIS - 80's,           Alzheimer's - into the middle class home. NAPOLEON - an ill-           trained dog - greets them with jumps and licks                                                   CINDY           Get down Napoleon! Get down!                                    GLENDA HELLER - 50's, desperate - peeks her head out of the           kitchen. She holds a coffee mug filled with gin on the rocks.                                                   GLENDA           Ope - I thought you were your Dad.                                                   CINDY           Just us.                                    Cindy kisses her mom on the cheek, can smell the alcohol.                                                   GLENDA           How was the beauty shop?                                    INT. HELLER HOME - FOYER - LATER - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         47 47                                    The front door opens and COLONEL JERRY - 65, wound tighter           than a navy knot - enters. Glenda, rushes to greet him.                                                   JERRY           Get that fucking dog out of the kitchen!                                    INT. HELLER HOME - DINING ROOM - EVENING - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         48 48                                    GLENDA, JERRY AND GRAMMA           Come lord Jesus, be our guest, and let           Thy gifts to us be blessed. Amen.                                    Glenda, Jerry, Gramma Francis and Cindy sit around a dining           room table. Glenda slices a knife through a greenish           meatloaf. She serves a watery slice to Gramma.                                                   GRAMMA           Thank you.                                    Glenda averts her eyes. She cuts another slice. Cindy offers           Glenda her plate. The meat breaks apart and half of it lands           on the table cloth. A brownish-green oil.                                                   CINDY           It's OK mom.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 26.                         48 CONTINUED: 48                                                             Cindy picks up the fallen particles with her fork. Jerry's           eyes burn into Glenda. She won't look at him.                                                   GLENDA           Can I have your plate Dad?                                    He pushes it across the table an inch. Glenda lowers a slice           onto Jerry's plate with a SPLAT. Jerry looks at his dinner.           Glenda serves herself. Cindy cuts Gramma's meat with her fork           and looks over at her dad. His face is turning beat-red...                                    Suddenly, Jerry pounds his fist into the mound of meatloaf,           obliterating it. Particles of ground meat fly everywhere.           Glenda won't look up, her shoulders tremble. Jerry raises his           steaming fist. Bits of ground beef stick to his knuckles.                                                   JERRY           What'd you do to meatloaf? Huh?!                                                   GLENDA           They had it ready-made in the deli. I...           thought it looked good.                                                   JERRY           Are you kidding me? How long does it take           to make a meatloaf? Five minutes? You           mean to tell me that you didn't have five           minutes to make a meatloaf? I been up           since six this morning busting my fucking           ass and you don't have five minutes to           make a meatloaf?                                                   GLENDA           I thought it would be nice.                                                   JERRY           Nice?                                                   GLENDA           ...for a change...                                                   JERRY           Well, what gave you the idea that any of           us needed a change? Did you ask for a           change? Cindy? She doesn't ask for           anything... She doesn't talk. You didn't           ask for a change, did you mom?...She           can't hear! And I don't remember asking           for a change. So, it was you, wasn't it?           You wanted a change. I work all day so           you can sit on your fat ass, thinkin'           about yourself. How you'd like a change.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 27.                         48 CONTINUED: (2) 48                                                                            GLENDA           Sorry.                                                   JERRY           Sorry? What good is sorry now?                                                   GLENDA           Do you want me to make you some eggs?                                                   JERRY           I want you to enjoy your fucking dinner.                                    He storms out of the dining room. Glenda, Cindy and Gramma           sit in silence. Cindy takes a bite.                                                   CINDY           It's not bad.                                                   GLENDA           Oh bullshit.                                    Glenda retreats into the kitchen. Gramma and Cindy eat.                                    PROFESSOR (O.S.)           ...When I was a young physician, I used           to leave the hospital everyday in tears.                                    INT. HELLER HOME - BATHROOM - NIGHT - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         49 49                                    Gramma sits in a chair in the bathtub. Cindy squeezes a sudsy           washcloth over her body. Uses a plastic cup to rinse.                                    PROFESSOR (O.S.)           Just broken down from seeing the           suffering of my patients.                                                   GRAMMA FRANCIS           Don't get my hair.                                    INT. HELLER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         50 50                                    Fully clothed, Glenda is passed out on the bed. Framed family           portraits sit on the mantle.                                    PROFESSOR (O.S.)           ...As a result, I began to suffer. Not just           in my work but emotionally and           physically...spiritually...           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 28.                                                                                                               INT. HELLER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         51 51                                    Shirt off, hand stuffed into his underwear - Jerry holds a           remote and flicks through channels. Nothing holds.                                    PROFESSOR (O.S.)           ...There's a choice we all have to make           in the medical profession - whether to be           sympathetic or empathetic with our           patients...                                    INT. HELLER HOME - CINDY'S ROOM - DAWN - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         52 52                                    SOUND of TYPING. An open medical schoolbook on the PSYCHOLOGY           OF PATIENTS sits on a well-organized desk. Cindy stares at           the screen, hits "enter."                                    PROFESSOR (O.S.)           ...Imagine your patients as being in a           hole. To be sympathetic means you throw           them a rope to help pull them out...                                    Pages print on an old printer. Outside the window, the sun           has begun to rise.                                    PROFESSOR (O.S.) (cont'd)           ...To be empathetic means you jump in the           hole with them...                                    EXT. CITY BUS - MORNING - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         53 53                                    Cindy sits near the back of the bus. She hugs her backpack.                                    PROFESSOR (O.S.)           ...Now you're both stuck.                                    INT. AUDITORIUM CLASSROOM - AFTERNOON - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         54 54                                    The PROFESSOR stands in front of the class. There are grids           and diagrams illustrating DOCTOR-patient relationships. It is           a big class - students, sitting in steep rows.                                                   PROFESSOR (CONCLUDING)           I want you to think about that when           we go into the next section. Please           pass in your reports.                                    Cindy passes her paper down. Bobby, the TA, collects the           reports. Cindy can feel him staring at her as she packs her           backpack.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 29.                         54 CONTINUED: 54                                    She tries not to give him the satisfaction, but she can't           help it - his cockiness is magnetic. She looks, notices           something new - his belt buckle has his name on it.                                    INT. BOBBY'S BEDROOM - AFTERNOON - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         55 55                                    A gold necklace dangles from Cindy's neck. Her arms secure           her weight on the bed. Bobby stands behind her. His hands           caress her back as he looks down at himself inside of her. He           closes his eyes tight, trying to control himself. But the           ecstasy is too much - he comes inside of her, moaning, and           lets his body weight smother her onto the bed.                                                   BOBBY (BREATHLESS)           Shit.                                    She stops moving, feels him shrinking inside of her.                                                   CINDY (REALIZING)           Shit!                                                   BOBBY           I couldn't help it.                                    She gets out from underneath him.                                                   BOBBY (CONT'D)           I couldn't help it... You felt too good.                                    Cindy is white, tries to contain her terror. She disappears           into the BATHROOM. Bobby sits up.                                    BOBBY (calls out) (cont'd)           Don't trip. It'll be OK...OK?                                    Bobby lies back, frustrated, and buttons his pants.                                    IN THE BATHROOM - BOBBY'S                         56 56                                    Cindy sits on the toilet, pees; hoping gravity will pull           Bobby out of her. She runs her hand under the faucet and           scrubs her crotch, hoping that this will wash him out of her.                                    Cindy comes out, shirt stretched over her waist. Bobby sits           up, asks her what's wrong? She can't look.                                                   BOBBY           It's your fault. You felt too good.                                    She sees her underwear lying by the base of the bed. She goes           to grab them, but Bobby snatches them away.                                                                                                     (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 30.                         56 CONTINUED: 56                                                                            CINDY           Give em!                                    Cindy presses her lips together. She leaps at Bobby and           squeezes his crotch and gets her underwear back. Bobby's face           turns vicious. He snatches them back aggressively.                                                   BOBBY           Say you're sorry!                                    Cindy picks her pants up off the floor - pulls them on.                                                   CINDY           Take a deep whiff, you fucking douchebag!                                    She tears off his necklace, throws it at him, slams the door.                                                   BOBBY           I was just joking! God!                                    EXT. SUBURBAN STREET. DAY. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         57 57                                    Cindy walks briskly, hoodie pulled low, pushing her Gramma in           a wheelchair. Gramma protects her hair from the breeze.                                                   OMITTED                         58 58                                    EXT/INT. RETIREMENT HOME - LATE AFTERNOON. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         59 59                                    Cindy pushes her Gramma in. Piles of moving boxes line the           hallway.                                    INT. RETIREMENT HOME. LATE AFTERNOON. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         A60 A60                                    ELLIPSE - Cindy sits down for dinner with Gramma and the           other elderly residents. Cindy notices a group of men moving           boxes into the home.                                    INT. GRAMMA'S BEDROOM. LATE AFTERNOON. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                          B61 B61                                    - Cindy helps gramma with bedtime rituals.                                    - Cindy reads to Gramma... but she keeps getting distracted           by the commotion across the hall - movers carry boxes and           furniture down the hallway. One in particular, tall,                                    handsome, catches her eye. It is Dean. She cranes her head to           see - him decorating the inside of the old man's room.                                                   GRAMMA           What is it?                          (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 30A.          B61 CONTINUED: B61                                                                            CINDY           It looks like you have a new neighbor.                                    Cindy returns to the book, but there is something about the           mover that has captured her attention. She can't stop           watching him every time he passes her door.                                                   GRAMMA           Glenda... I mean Cindy... can I have a           cigarette?                                                   CINDY           No, Gramma, you're in bed now. It's           bedtime. Do you want me to keep reading?                                    Gramma nods. Cindy turns the page, looks up, sees Dean lift           the old man over the threshold and into the room.                                                   GRAMMA           Cindy. Have you got a cigarette!                                                   CINDY           Okay, shhh. But you gotta be quiet.                                    Cindy gets up and opens the window. She turns on the fan,           digs in Gramma's purse, gets a cigarette and a lighter. Cindy           walks to her gramma's door, sees Curtis walking away from the           old man's room.                                    CURTIS (O.S.)           Boss says we gotta go. We gotta go.                                    She starts closing the door, then sees Dean backing out of           the old man's room. He puts a roll of money in his pocket,           turns to leave and sees Cindy watching him.                                    DEAN (LOOKS DOWN AT HIS MONEY)           I didn't just steal that.                                    Cindy doesn't know what this guy is talking about.                                    DEAN (CONT'D) (cont'd)           You think I just stole that money?                                                   CINDY           No.                                                   DEAN           You do. No, you do. I know that you do.           And the reason that I know that you do is           - I have stolen money before... a lot of           it. And I know what it feels like to have           someone look at you like that...                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 30B.          B61 CONTINUED: (2) B61                                                                            CINDY           Like what?                                                   DEAN           The way your lookin'. Just so you know, I           have a job where I make money. Money that           I can take girls out on dates with.                                                   CINDY           Are you trying to pick up on me?                                                   DEAN           Maybe...                                    SANED (O.S.)           Pack it up Periera. Bus is leaving.                                    Dean looks toward the door, then back at Cindy. He sees that           he has kind of went to far with his rant.                                                   DEAN           Can I give you my number or something.                                    He feels inside his shirt pocket, pulls out a business card.           Finds a pen. Dean writes his name across the card. Hands it           to Cindy.                                    DEAN (CONT'D) (cont'd)           I'm Dean. Just call and you can ask for           me. I'll get it.                                    Cindy looks down at the card, at his name. Then back up to           him. Dean run out, chasing after his ride. He looking behind           before he leaves. Cindy watches him go out the door.           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 31.                                                                                                               INT. ROMANTASUITES - MOON ROOM - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         60 60                                    Door opens revealing Dean and Cindy holding groceries and           suitcases. Dean flicks on the light, illuminating the Moon           Room - a hotel room decorated like the lunar surface.                                                   DEAN           Wow. Where are we?                                    He sets down the suitcases, transfixed by the room, a kid in           a candy shop. Cindy moves to the small kitchen that looks           like a control room. She makes herself a drink.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - BATHROOM - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         61 61                                    Dean walks into the bright BATHROOM, turns on the shower, a           sparse tinkle of water.                                    DEAN (yells out)           I could piss harder than this!                                    The dual mirrors multiply his reflection. He looks at himself           and removes his coffee-stained shirt. A neglected body. But           something else distresses Dean. A fallen hair on the T-shirt           he holds. He runs his hands through his hair, looks in horror           at twelve fallen hairs in his palm. He washes them down the           drain and leans to the mirror, inspecting his hairline.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Cynthia!                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - MOON ROOM - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         62 62                                    Cindy dials the telephone, drink in hand. Shirtless, Dean           walks out of the BATHROOM with his empty palms open.                                                   DEAN           Now watch.                                    He runs his hands through his hair then shows her his palms -           three fallen hairs. His magic trick.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           See. I tol' ya. It's falling out!                                    Cindy ignores Dean who is mesmerized.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Oooooooooh shiiiiiiit!                                    Cindy waves him away. Jerry picks up the line.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 32.                         62 CONTINUED: 62                                                             CINDY (into phone)           Hi Dad. We're here... It's kind of crazy.           I don't know, should I feel bad?                                    Dean trots back into the BATHROOM. He is screaming like a           hyena.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           ...it's just Dean... he's losing his           hair. What are you guys doing?                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         63 63                                    Dean tosses his suitcase onto the circular spaceship bed,           watches the graceful way it rebounds. He shoves the suitcase           aside, falls backwards onto the bed. He sighs with pleasure.           There is a box with a button next to the bed. He presses it.           The bed rotates. He looks up at his spinning reflection in           the mirror above the bed.                                    CINDY (O.S.)           Lemme talk to the little one.                                                   DEAN (SHOUTS)           Is that Francis? Hey!? Don't hang up           until I talk to her!                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - MOON ROOM - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         64 64                                                   CINDY           Did Pa make you something to eat yet?           ...Frankie? ...What'd you and Pa eat?           ...Was it cooked all the way through? No           pink in there? ...                                    Dean walks up from behind, putting on a clean, white T-shirt.           He snaps his fingers at Cindy. Cindy swipes his hand away           with more force than necessary.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Okay sweetheart, your daddy wants to talk            to you. I love you... love you... Don't           forget to brush your teeth tonight okay.           Okay? Here's your dad.                                    Cindy sets down the receiver and walks away. Dean snacks on           tortilla chips and picks up the phone.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 33.                         64 CONTINUED: 64                                                             DEAN (disguised voice)           Who's this? ...How do you know I'm your           father?                                    A faint scream of joy is heard through the phone.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - BATHROOM - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         65 65                                    Steam accumulates on mirrors. Cindy takes her clothes off,           tests the temperature of the water and steps in the shower.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - MOON ROOM - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         66 66                                    Dean paces, improvising a bedtime story. It comes from the           well of creativity in him. Frankie loves to hear him talk.           And he loves to make her happy. He finishes. She is happy.                                                   DEAN           Are you ready to go to sleep now? I'll           call you first thing in the morning, OK?                                    He walks into the living room, stretching the phone cord,           grabs the remote and turns on the television - animal doc.           Dean turns the channel. Tennis.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           How much?                                    CLICK. The news.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           ...Well, I love you more. Sleep tight.                                    Dean hangs up and returns to the living room. He changes the           station. A porno. He turns the volume down and watches. He           hears water running in the BATHROOM. CLICK. A show on space.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - BATHROOM - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         67 67                                    Dean cracks open the door to the steam-filled room. Cindy           lathers her hair with her eyes closed.                                                   DEAN           What are you doing?                                                   CINDY           What does it look like I'm doing?                                                   DEAN           Do you like the place?                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 34.                         67 CONTINUED: 67                                                                            CINDY           It's fine.                                                   DEAN           I'm gonna go order dinner now.                                                   CINDY           Fine!                                                   DEAN           Any special requests?                                                   CINDY           Close the door!                                    Dean closes the door, remains in the BATHROOM, watches his           naked wife, removes his clothes. Cindy does a double take.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           What are you doing?                                    Dean pulls back the shower curtain and steps in.                                                   DEAN           What does it look like I'm doing?                                                   CINDY           Dean.                                    The small shower presses them close. Dean's smile infects           her. He leans over, they kiss. Brushing lips at first. Dean           presses closer. Cindy pulls back and pivots him around until           the stream of water catches his body. He leans his head back,           the water pours over his hair and face. He places his hands           on Cindy's hips and pulls her close to him. Cindy hands him a           bar of soap. He builds a gentle lather. Cindy inches back,           turns around. Dean lathers her back, slow and languid.                                                   DEAN           I remember the first time I saw your           back.                                                   CINDY           What do you remember?                                                   DEAN           Everything.                                    He lowers his hands from her back to her behind. Cindy turns.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           I wasn't done.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 35.                         67 CONTINUED: (2) 67                                                             He washes her shoulders and neck. His hands sculpt her body           and move to her breasts. No longer washing her, but molding           her. Cindy looks up. His hands move to her belly. He kneels           down. Cindy reaches down and lifts him up by the arms. But           Dean remains where he is. He begins, on his knees, to wash           the entire surface of her left thigh, knee, calf, foot. Then           he moves to her right foot and up her calf, knee and thigh.           Cindy releases her breath. Then, Dean's hands move up between           her legs.                                                   CINDY           Okay.                                    Cindy grabs under his armpits. He refuses, but she wins. She           pivots them around again. Standing in the stream of water,           Cindy washes the soap off her body, eyes closed, head back.           Dean reaches for her and follows with his fingertips the flow           of water down the front of her body.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Give me the soap.                                    She forms a quick lather in her hands. She rubs it into his           chest, her strong hands making circles of suds. Dean is a           tranquil participant. She lifts up his left arm, scrubs his           armpit, then his right. Her hands build a lather and wash his           penis. Dean catches his breath.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Turn around.                                    Dean obeys. She continues wash his back, buttocks and legs           and stops. Dean turns around to Cindy who holds a squirt of           shampoo in her hands. She reaches up and scours his head.                                                   DEAN           Getting thinner, isn't it?                                                   CINDY           Your hair is not falling out.                                    Cindy pivots him around into the water and rinses him.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           You're crazy you know...                                                   DEAN           I know. I love you.                                    She pecks him on the lips.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 36.                         67 CONTINUED: (3) 67                                                                            CINDY           Okay, get out. I have to finish washing           myself.                                                   DEAN           I'll do it.                                                   CINDY           No. Go order dinner. I'm hungry.                                                   DEAN           Wait, I didn't wash your hair...                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES HALLWAY - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         68 68                                    Ice dumps into an ice bucket. Music and laughter emanate from           other rooms. Dean wears a hotel robe and carries a full           bucket of ice. He swipes his key. A TEENAGE boy in a tuxedo           shirt and swim trunks chases a girl in a bikini down the           hallway behind him.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - MOON ROOM - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         69 69                                                   DEAN           We have neighbors.                                    Cindy stands in a towel at the bar, waiting for the ice.                                                   CINDY           Grump. Grump.                                     She makes 2 drinks - vodka on the rocks. She hands Dean his           drink.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Why don't you put some music on Dean?                                    She pecks him on the cheek, walks to the bedroom to change.                                                   DEAN           Thanks.                                    He takes a big drink, sifts through cassettes in his bag. In            the bedroom, Cindy buttons up one of Dean's big flannel           shirts.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 37.                         69 CONTINUED: 69                                    She hears the music begin from the other room, knows the song           - (Penny & the Quarters or Dynamite Four) It sounds really           good right now. Drink in hand, she begins to sway to the           rhythm. Dean peeks his head around the corner with a shit-           eating grin. He starts to awkwardly dance to the music and           make his way down the hallway to the bedroom.                                    It's been years since they danced in front of each other, and           it makes them a little embarrassed to be doing it now. The           closer they get to each other, the less they can be seen, the           less they are exposed. Soon, they are slow dancing, still           holding drinks. They don't feel as vulnerable now. The cotton           on Dean's robe feels good to Cindy's fingertips, she traces           invisible pictures on his back. Dean burrows his nose into           Cindy's neck, inhales deeply.                                    There is a knock at the door. They both wish it would go           away. It doesn't.                                     DEAN (YELLS) (cont'd)            Coming!                                    Something about this makes Cindy laugh, Dean too. He backs           away from her, slowly, as if pulled by some unseen force. The           song continues as Dean opens the door and pays the ROOM            SERVICE MAN. Cindy sets the table.                                     INT/EXT. TRUCK - CITY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         70 70                                    A torn and tattered teddy bear, tied to the grill of the           truck, cuts through the early spring morning.                                    CURTIS (V.O.)           Yeah. I can tell what's happening           already. You see this person... you think           it's love at first sight, and the course           of your life will be forever changed.                                    EXT. HOME #2. STREET - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         71 71                                    Dean straps a weight-lifting belt around his waist. He lifts           a TV on his back.                                    DEAN (V.O.)           Maybe...                                    INT. HELLER HOME - BATHROOM - NIGHT - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         72 72                                    Cindy gives Gramma a bath, runs her hair under the faucet.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 38.                         72 CONTINUED: 72                                                             CURTIS (V.O.)           It's like when two streams are flowin'           down opposite sides of the mountain,           mindin' their business.                                    INT. HELLER HOME - GUEST BEDROOM - NIGHT - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         73 73                                    A hand tucks sheets under Gramma's chin, kisses her forehead.                                    CURTIS (V.O.)           They're doin' fine until they hit the           bottom and run into one another...                                    EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS - GYMNASIUM - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         74 74                                    Bobby trains, 200 sit ups, his abdomen taught.                                    CURTIS (V.O.)           At that point they got no choice but to           become one river.                                    EXT. STREET - LATE AFTERNOON - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         75 75                                    Dean counts his pay, opens his wallet - packs it with bills.                                    CURTIS (V.O.)           Sure, it's a great feeling at first, all           this new water flowing together. But then           you travel down a little ways and the           land levels out. The current starts           moving a little slower.                                    INT. AUDITORIUM CLASSROOM - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         76 76                                    Papers are passed back. Cindy's reads "98% Great Insight!"           She doesn't look happy though. She looks a little green.                                    CURTIS (V.O. CONT'D)           People start drinking the water. Pissin'           in it. Putting up dams to stop the flow.                                    In the corner of the room, Bobby stares at Cindy from behind.                                    EXT. HELLER HOME - LATE AFTERNOON - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         77 77                                    Cindy pushes Gramma Francis up the driveway. Bobby stands on           the porch holding a bunch of red roses. Cindy ignores it.                                    CURTIS (V.O. CONT)           In other words, life interferes, you           know.                          (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 38A.                         77 CONTINUED: 77                                                             Cindy struggles to get Gramma up the ramp of the porch.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 39.                         77 CONTINUED: (2) 77                                                                            BOBBY           Hasn't anyone ever been nice to you?                                    She takes the flowers, pushes Gramma into the house. The           screen door closes between them.                                                   BOBBY (CONT'D)           Don't make me give up on you...                                    CURTIS(V.O.)           And there's not too many of these rivers           that'll make it all the way to the ocean           without splitting off eventually.                                    INT/EXT. TRUCK - AFTERNOON - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         78 78                                    CURTIS (V.O.)           It's just nature, that's all.                                    Curtis - with harmonica - and Dean - with ukulele - eat           hamburgers on their lunchbreak.                                                   CURTIS (CONT'D)           And instead of thinking about it you           gotta just do something about it. Action,           not thought.                                    INT. STORAGE FACILITY - MORNING. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                          A79 A79                                                   DEAN           Anyone call for me?                                    Dean peeks into Jo's office. She shakes her head "no."                                    INT. DEAN'S FRIEND'S APARTMENT. NIGHT. 6 YEARS EARLIER                         79 79                                    Dean leans near the window, smoking, looking out at the moon.                                    DEAN (V.O.)           I just keep replaying it in my head.           Thinking about other things I coulda           done. Other things I coulda said.                                    INT. HELLER HOME - CINDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT - 6 YEARS EARLIER 80                         80                                    Cindy pours over textbooks but she is distracted. She opens           her window and breathes in the night air.                                    DEAN (V.O.)           You wait your whole life for something to           happen...           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 39A.                                                                                                               INT. COLLEGE - BATHROOM - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         81 81                                    Cindy pukes in the toilet.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 40.                         81 CONTINUED: 81                                                             DEAN (V.O.)           ...And you have all these ideas in your           head about how you'll act and what you'll           say and what you'll do, who you'll be...                                    She washes the taste out of her mouth and looks at herself in           the mirror. She flicks water at her reflection.                                    INT. MOVING TRUCK - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                          82 82                                    Dean sweeps the bed of the truck. The broom catches something           in the corner. Dean reaches - a locket.                                    DEAN (V.O.) cont'd           ...And then the opportunity comes, it           presents itself to you, living and           breathing in the flesh, and you puss out.                                    INT. MOVING TRUCK - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         83 83                                    Dean holds up the locket and stares at it, twirling. He opens           the latch - sees a picture of the old man and his wife - 60           years ago. Dean puts it in his pocket, finishes sweeping up.                                    INT/EXT. TRAIN/TRAIN STATION. AFTERNOON. 6 YEARS EARLIER                         84 84                                    Still wearing his work clothes, Dean rides the train out of           the city, pulls out the locket. Reads the inscription on the           back - "you are my sunshine."                                    Dean gets off the train. Asks some people for directions.                                    INT. BUS - DAY. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         85 85                                    A feeling of anticipation. Dean pulls the lever - his stop.                                    INT. RETIREMENT HOME. LATE AFTERNOON. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         86 86                                    Dean walks to the old man's room. The door is open, lights           are off, room is empty. All the furniture, pictures, gone -           just an empty bed. Dean is at a loss for what to do. He hears           the TV coming from across the hall. He knocks, waits, then           opens Cindy's Gramma's door. She is lying in bed. Tries to           recognize Dean. He pulls up a chair next to her.                                                   DEAN           Hi. I was looking for your neighbor...           the man who moved in last month. Across           the hall. Do you know what happened to           him?                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 41.                         86 CONTINUED: 86                                                                            GRAMMA           He went out for groceries.                                                   DEAN           What about the girl that was with you?                                                   GRAMMA           Who?                                    The conversation moves in circles. Not much information is           gained. Dean ends up just holding her hand.                                    INT/EXT. BUS - LATE AFTERNOON                          87 87                                    The bus drives away. Inside, Dean stands. He is a little           down. He feels around in his pocket. Finds the locket. He           puts it on. The bus comes to a stop. A few passengers get on.           One of them is Cindy. Dean watches her pay her fare and move           to the back of the bus without noticing him.                                    She finds a seat, pulls her hoodie low, anonymous. She           underlines passages from a textbook using a highlighter. Dean           is frozen. He gathers the courage to walk toward her. The           moving bus throws his balance. He stands over her for a           moment. Cindy senses somebody in her space. She looks up.           Recognizes him, but can't place it.                                                   DEAN           Hi.                                                   CINDY           Hi.                                                   DEAN           I just had a long talk with your           gramma... is that, is that your gramma?                                    Cindy remembers him now - he's just dressed nicer - he           doesn't look like a mover                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           I was looking for that old guy who moved           across the hall, you know? Do you know           what happened to him?                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 42.                         87 CONTINUED: 87                                                                            CINDY           I think he passed away.                                    Dean feels for the locket around his neck. He shakes his           head.                                                   DEAN           That's exactly what happened to my dog.           My parents moved out of our house and           three days later she was a goner.                                    He pulls the locket out from behind his shirt. He unclasps           it. Shows her the pictures.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           He was so handsome, wasn't he? I was           trying to give it back to him.                                    Cindy looks at it.                                                   CINDY           She was pretty too..                                    Dean thinks about the old man. The bus drives.                                                   DEAN           She must have been crazy.                                                   CINDY           Why do you say that?                                                   DEAN           Cause there's one thing I know... the           prettier a girl is the more nuts she is.           I mean, look at you... you must be           insane.                                                   CINDY           Excuse me?                                                   DEAN           It's okay, I mean, I get it. It's not           your fault.                                    Cindy pulls the chain to stop the bus.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Where you going?                                                   CINDY           Home.                                    The bus slows. She gets up to leave. Doors open.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 42A.                         87 CONTINUED: (2) 87                                                                            DEAN           Can I walk with you?                                    Cindy thinks about it.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Just for a little bit... And when you           don't want to walk with me no more, then           just speed up.                                    Doors to the bus open. Cindy thinks about it.                                    EXT. TOWN STREETS - DUSK TO DAWN                         88 88                                    Dean and Cindy wander side by side down the sidewalks and           streets of the town. They walk and talk about - small towns           and big cities, school and work, dreams and nightmares, being           old and being young, etc.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 43.                         88 CONTINUED: 88                                                                            DEAN           Where's you house?                                                   CINDY           We passed it.                                                   DEAN           Where?                                                   CINDY           Back there...                                    Dean looks back. He sees a bunch of houses that all look the           same. They keep walking.                                    ELLIPSE: Cindy smokes one of Dean's cigarettes, calls her dad                         A89 A89           on a pay phone and tells him she won't be home for dinner           because she is studying.                                    ELLIPSE. DEAN tells Cindy about his childhood, the                         B89 B89           sexualizing of his mother, and his fascination with women's           purses. It makes Cindy a little uncomfortable.                                                   DEAN           Do you think it would be okay if I looked           in your purse?                                                   CINDY           No.                                                   DEAN           Why?                                    Cindy thinks about it for a moment. Against her better           judgement, she hands over her bag. It weighs a lot.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Jeez... What you got in here?                                                   CINDY           Books. Mostly.                                                   DEAN           Lot of books. You doing good?                                                   CINDY           We'll see.                                                   DEAN           What are you gonna be when you grow up?                                                   CINDY           I'm trying to get into med school.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 44.                         88 CONTINUED: (2) 88                                                                            DEAN           You going to be a doctor?                                                   CINDY           Someday.                                                   DEAN           Oh yeah? What should I do about this?                                    He pretends to bump into a pole. Cindy laughs.                                                   CINDY           Don't do it.                                    DEAN (rubbing his head)           You're gonna be a good doctor. I can           tell.                                    He digs through text books, pens, a wallet, asthma inhaler.           Then he comes to a bottle of lotion. Opens the cap, sniffs.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Mmm. This is what you smell like?                                    Cindy nods, "I guess so."                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           I wanna smell like you. Can I?                                                   CINDY           You wanna put on my lotion?                                    Dean nods, applies a little lotion to his fingertips, rubs it           in circles on his hands, applies it to his forearms, neck,           face. He enjoys the feeling of it, offers her some. She say's           no. He digs through her purse and finds lip balm, smells it.                                                   DEAN           This is what your lips smell like? They           must smell good.                                    He puts some on his lips.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Mmm. Your lips must taste good.                                                   CINDY           Are you fucking with me?                                                   DEAN           No.           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 45.                                                                                                               DEAN FINDS A LITTLE BAG INSIDE THE PURSE. SHE SNATCHES IT.                         89 89                                                   DEAN           What's in there?                                    She takes her purse back.                                                   CINDY           Okay enough...                                                   DEAN           Why?                                                   CINDY           Because.                                    Throughout the rest of the night Dean tries to continually           steal Cindy's purse from her. It is a game. Innocent.                                    ELLIPSE. DEAN TRIES TO GIVE CINDY THE LOCKET. SHE REFUSES.                         90 90                                                   CINDY           Aren't you gonna miss your train?                                                   DEAN           Probably. I think I... I think I already           did. It's okay. There's an early one.                                                   CINDY           You are just gonna stay up all night?                                                   DEAN           Until you get tired...                                    ELLIPSE: MORE WALK AND TALK.                         91 91                                                   DEAN           Where'd you grow up?                                                   CINDY           Here.                                                   DEAN           Here?                                    Cindy gives him a grimace.                                                   CINDY           Same streets. Same people. Everything           here is the same. You walk down the           street, you can't get lost... you know.           .                          (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 46.                         91 CONTINUED: 91                                                                            DEAN           Where do you want to go? I mean, if you           could go anywhere..                                    They walk to an old playground. Cindy gets an idea.                                                   CINDY           There!                                    Cindy runs to an old, creaky merry-go round, jumps on.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           I used to love these things.                                                   DEAN           Oh God... I hate these things.                                                   CINDY           Push me.                                    Dean is tentative, but goes along with her. He starts slow,           but she eggs him to go faster. He runs in circles picking up           speed until he is in a breathless, circular sprint. He can't           keep up with the centrifugal force.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Get on!                                    Dean does as he's told. They both hold on for dear life. The           world spins in a frenzy. The dread on Dean's face builds to           insane laughter. It is super fun. Cindy screams. Her hair           snaps in her face. Then, a look of sickness steals her smile           away. She wants it to stop, which, slowly, it does. She gets           off first, tries to walk, but is too dizzy. She just keeps           falling to the ground. Dean crawls off the merry-go round on           all fours, laughing.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 47.                         91 CONTINUED: (2) 91                                                                            DEAN           What happened, tough guy?                                                   CINDY           Make it stop.                                                   DEAN           You gotta puke... it's the only way.                                    She refuses.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           It's the only way. It will make you feel           better. Don't be embarrassed. I'll do it.                                    He sticks his finger down his throat and forces himself to           vomit. The sound of it is too much for her. She gags. Side by           side, they puke into the gravel. They finish their business           and end up on their backs and out of breath, side by side,           looking up at the stars. They are both covered in sweat. We           see their breath.                                                   CINDY           I'm still spinning.                                                   DEAN           Me too.                                                   CINDY           Maybe it's just the Earth that's           spinning.                                                   DEAN           Yeah. We're flying.                                    They laugh. Birds begin to awaken and fly.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           You should come visit me in the city           sometime.                                    The morning air chills their bodies. Dean takes off his           jacket and uses it as a blanket. They get close together to           get warm and watch the stars spin above them.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - MOON ROOM - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         92 92                                    The dining room table is set for two. A single champagne            glass is raised.                                                   DEAN           To honesty...                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 48.                         92 CONTINUED: 92                                                             They sit across from each other. Cindy drinks premature.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Hey! Wait up.                                                   CINDY           We're toasting tonight?                                    Dean makes his toast. CLINK. Dean quaffs his glass.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Sometimes you don't make any sense. You           might as well be speaking Chinese.                                    Dean imitates a Chinese man - it goes on too long.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Happy belated anniversary.                                    Cindy starts to eat a spread of Indian food and booze.                                                   DEAN           How is it?                                                   CINDY           Good. How did Frankie sound?                                                    DEAN           Great. She's the best.                                                   CINDY           She didn't sound sad?                                                   DEAN           Naw. She's the champ. She's the best           parts of you and the best parts of me put           together. Everyday she gets more and more           amazing.                                    Dean chews a bite of meat and washes it down with a shot of           vodka. He refills both their glasses.                                                   CINDY           Daddy's little girl.                                                   DEAN           She's not mine. I'm hers.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 49.                         92 CONTINUED: (2) 92                                                             Cindy slows down.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           I'm her father. She isn't there for me...           I'm there for her. That's the way I look           at it.                                                   CINDY           That's beautiful.                                                   DEAN           It's the choice I made when she was born.                                    Silence. They chew. Cindy stares through Dean.                                                   CINDY           Why don't you do something...                                                   DEAN           Like what?                                                   CINDY           I don't know... isn't there anything you           want to do?                                    Dean thinks about it. Shakes his head.                                                   DEAN           What am I supposed to want to do?                                                   CINDY           I don't know... You have so many things           you could do. You're good at everything.           You could do anything you wanted.                                                   DEAN           I just wanna be with you.                                    Silence. Cindy tries not to look disappointed.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           You look like an animal right now. Your           eyes look like an animal. Like a bear's           eyes.                                                   CINDY           Like right before the bear eats the man?                                                   DEAN           Yeah... You do. It's true. That's what           you look like.                                    Dean is amused but fearful. Cindy's confidence surges.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 50.                         92 CONTINUED: (3) 92                                                                            DEAN (CONT'D)           Whatchu thinking about?                                                   CINDY           How different we are. You and me.                                                   DEAN           Different?                                                   CINDY           It's a good thing.                                                   DEAN           You think that's good that we're           different?                                                   CINDY           Absolutely. We don't have to get in each           other's way.                                                   DEAN           And that's the way you like it, don't           you? You don't like me to bother you.                                                   CINDY           I didn't say that. What I meant is that           it's important for us to have our space.           That's all. We're grown people.                                                   DEAN           Well there's not much space here. So I           guess you won't be able to get away from           me will ya?                                                   CINDY           You know, we rarely sit down and have a           conversation. An adult conversation.           Because every time we do, you turn           something that I say around and make it           mean something that I didn't mean to say.           You just blab. Blab.                                                   DEAN           If you're not interested in hearing what           I think I just won't say anything.                                                   CINDY           Good luck. I just want you to think about           what you say sometimes instead of saying           what you think all the time.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 51.                         92 CONTINUED: (4) 92                                                                            DEAN           OK. I'm going to say something. And what           I'm about to say I've thought long and           hard about. I'm the luckiest person alive           because I'm living my dream - you, her,           this, us, all of it.                                    Cindy lifts up her empty wine glass to the light.                                                   CINDY           I think my glass has a hole in it.                                    Cindy cuts around her food and pushes a piece aside.                                                   DEAN           What's wrong with that?                                                   CINDY           It's fat.                                                   DEAN           That's the flavor. Eat it.                                                   CINDY           I don't want to. You eat it.                                     Dean stabs a piece of fat and pops it into his mouth.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)            That's going straight to your tits.                                                   DEAN           My tits? I got tits?                                    Dean opens his shirt and peers down at his chest.                                                    DEAN (CONT'D)            I could still kick yer ass.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 52.                         92 CONTINUED: (5) 92                                                                            CINDY           Shiiit. I bet you a nickel you can't even           beat me at arm wrestling.                                                   DEAN           A dime and you're on.                                    Cindy gulps more champagne. They scoot dishes out of the way           and clasp hands in the middle of the table.                                                   CINDY           Ready?                                                   DEAN           I'm always ready, baby.                                                   CINDY           On the count of three... One... Two...                                    Cindy flexes and starts.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           THREE!                                    Dean, acting as if he isn't trying at all, holds Cindy's hand           at a stand still.                                                   DEAN           Come on. Go! Start.                                    Cindy ignores his taunts and pushes as hard as she can.           Slowly, she begins to push Dean's hand down. Dean groans,            letting her win a little. Cindy presses down with all her           weight. His hand is centimeters from hitting the table. Then,           he turns the tide. Cindy battles back with all the strength            she can muster. Dean laughs, realizing her passion for           victory. Dean pounds her hand into the table. He stands           kisses his flexed bicep. Cindy lifts her hand. A fork is            stuck in the back of it. She looks at it with curiosity.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)            Oh fuck.                                                   CINDY            I'm alright.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 53.                         92 CONTINUED: (6) 92                                                                            DEAN           Hold still.                                    He plucks the fork from her hand, leaving four vampire bites.                                                   CINDY           Ow ow ow.                                    Dean leads her to the kitchen, holds her hand under the           faucet.                                                    DEAN           You think we should rush you to the           hospital before you bleed to death?                                    Cindy shoots him a look. Dean wraps her hand with a dishrag.                                                    DEAN (CONT'D)           Does it hurt?                                                   CINDY           It stings a little.                                    Dean tries to pick up Cindy. She struggles against it.           Finally he cradles her like a squirming baby.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           No, no... Put me down. It's okay...                                    Dean huffs a little. Cindy adjusts her weight, self-           conscious. He hefts her down the hallway to the bedroom.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - MOON ROOM - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY                         93 93                                    Dean awkwardly sets Cindy down on the circular spaceship bed.                                                   DEAN           Wait wait wait.                                    He flicks the switch and the bed starts spinning. He runs out           of the room. Cindy watches the room around her spin. Dean           returns with the vodka bottle and two shot glasses. He kneels           above her and pours them two shots.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 54.                         93 CONTINUED: 93                                                                            DEAN (CONT'D)           To numb the pain. Doctors orders. I'm an           anesthesiologist.                                                    CINDY           I'm spinning.                                    She sits up. They toast. Dean gulps his. Cindy takes a sip.                                                   DEAN           Drink up. We haven't gotten loaded           together in years.                                    He tops off her glass, refills his own, and quaffs it.                                                    DEAN (CONT'D)           I gotta take a piss. Don't fall asleep.                                    He kisses her on the forehead, stumbles. Cindy hears Dean            urinating. She is sickened by it. She tries to set her full            glass on the floor that spins beneath her. The toilet           flushes. The drink tips over. A loud crash comes from the           BATHROOM. Cindy sits up.                                                   CINDY           What are you doing in there? ...Dean?!                                    An agonizing moan comes from down the hall. Cindy staggers            off the spinning bed and stumbles to the bathroom door.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Are you all right? Dean...                                    She pushes the door but it is blocked. Dean moans louder.            Cindy pushes again and inches it open. She sticks her head            in, sees him laying on his back looking up at the ceiling.                                                    DEAN (SLURS)           I fell over.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 55.                         93 CONTINUED: (2) 93                                                                            CINDY           Ew. Come on, get up.                                                   DEAN           Nope, I want you to come here first. I           want you to laugh.                                    Cindy opens the door and Dean scoots, making room for her. He           lets out an "ow" before extending his hand.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Come close. I want to hear you... I want           to tell you... Shh, come here...                                    Cindy reluctantly joins him on the bathroom floor. Their           faces are close, eyes locked.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           You want to hear a joke? OK. What's           better than winning a gold medal at the           Special Olympics?                                                   CINDY           What?                                                   DEAN           Not being retarded.                                    Cindy looks down.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Hey...that's not funny? How come you           don't think I'm funny any more? I tell           you something funny. You laugh. I see you           laugh. But you don't really laugh so           much. You don't laugh anymore Cindy.                                                   CINDY           Dean... Come on, it's time for bed.                                                   DEAN           No I want to make you laugh.                                    Tears well up in her eyes. Dean rolls on top of her. He cups           her face in his hands and stares long into her watery eyes.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Hello...                                                   CINDY           You're drunk.                                                                                                     (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 56.                         93 CONTINUED: (3) 93                                                                            DEAN           No, I'm just still in love with you.                                    After a moment, their lips meet in an awkward rejuvenation.           She moves her head away and pats Dean on the shoulder in a           gesture of friendship. Dean kisses her neck.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Do you... you want to have another baby?           ... I want another child.                                    Cindy bites her lip. He slides his hand between her legs.                                                   CINDY           No... Dean... Wait a second.                                    She removes his hand and places it on her hip. Dean continues           to kiss her neck. He slides his hand up to her breasts. Cindy           turns her head in the other direction. She pushes his hand           away. He brings it back aggressive. Again. Cindy squirms            underneath him. He grabs her wrists and holds her arms over           her head. His tongue licks Cindy from her breasts to her           face. She worms her arms away and grabs onto his hair. She           arches her back, looks at him through slit eyes. His pelvis           pulses and he moans. He looks up at her over his brow into           her desperate eyes. He springs up. Sweat beads on his           forehead.                                                   DEAN           What!? I can't have sex with my wife!?                                    Cindy covers her face with her hand.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Do I repulse you that much? I'm good to           you. I'm good to Frankie. I deserve a           little affection. Do you want me to stop           loving you? Do you want me to fuck other           women? Do you want me to beat you?                                                   CINDY           Stop... stop... stop...                                                   DEAN           Is that what you think you deserve? Would           that make it easier on you so you can           treat me like this?                                    Cindy raises her hips and slips off her panties. She lifts           the shirt up over her head, positions her feet on the door           jam. Her arm falls over her eyes. Breathless, Dean awkwardly           moves one hand up and down her bodice.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 57.                         93 CONTINUED: (4) 93                                    He unbuckles his belt, pushes his pants and underwear down to           his knees, holds himself in his hand. He lowers onto her.           Cindy adjusts her legs higher. He rotates his hips, looks           away in concentration. Cindy's arms move around him, grabbing           the small of his arching back. His pelvis humps in a feeble           performance. A small moan. Cindy's eyes press closed harder.           The erratic motion slows... stops. Dean's raspy breathing.           His weight covers Cindy. She opens her eyes to the ceiling.                                                    DEAN (CONT'D)           I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry...                                    She looks at him. His head faces away. She rolls out from           underneath and stands. She wraps her dress around her and           slips into the bedroom.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS                         94 94                                    Back against the closed door, Cindy turns the lock. Her eyes           shift from despair to relief. Her gaze grows more wild. The           doorknob jiggles. A secret, crazy laugh builds in Cindy that           she suppresses. Dean presses his face into the bedroom door.            He talks to her.                                     On the other side of the door, Cindy listens. Dean's voice           cracks. A wave of confusion backs Cindy away from the door.           She searches the room for an escape. There are no windows,           the only way out is through the locked door. Trembling, she           wraps her arms around herself. She tries to make herself as           small as possible. The spaceship bed is the only place where           she can disappear. She crawls underneath the covers, curls           into a tight ball. Sadness lets loose. Cindy's body pulses           with faint, painful tears. The black walls of the room           twinkle with stars suspended in space. The cries get lost.                                    EXT. CITY. NIGHT. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         95 95                                    Drunk, Dean and Cindy make out on the street corner. It is           cold enough to see their breath. Their hands caress each           other, feel what is underneath the layers of clothes. Cindy           makes a move. She unbuttons Dean's Pea-Coat, feels the shape           of his chest, his abdomen, his back.                                                   CINDY           Are my hands cold?                                                   DEAN           Yes.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 58.                         95 CONTINUED: 95                                                             Dean follows suit, reaching up under her jacket to touch the           skin on her lower back. She recoils from the icy touch.                                                   CINDY           You wanna go somewhere.                                                   DEAN           Sure.                                                   CINDY           Where can we go?                                    INT. TAXI. NIGHT.                         96 96                                    They make out in the back of a cab. But the cab driver won't           allow it. But they can't keep their hands off each other.           They try not to get caught.                                    INT. DEAN'S FRIEND'S APARTMENT. 5AM. EARLY LIGHT                         97 97                                    The door to Jake's room is cracked open and the TV is on.           Dean and Cindy tiptoe in the apartment as quietly as they           can. They can't keep their hands off each other. Dean makes a           bed for them on the couch where he sleeps - straightening out           a couple white sheets. They crawl under with clothes on.                                                   CINDY (WHISPERS)           Is your roommate awake?                                                   DEAN (WHISPERS)           I don't know. Let me go check.                                    Dean tiptoes over to Jake's room. Peeks in his door. Returns           to the couch where Cindy is taking off her jacket. He crawls           back under the sheet.                                    DEAN (WHISPERS) (cont'd)           He's just watching TV.                                    They start to make out while listening for Jake.                                                   CINDY (WHISPERS)           Do you think he's gonna come out?                                                   DEAN (WHISPERS)           I don't know... Should I go see if he           brushed his teeth?                                    She nods. He throws off the sheet and goes into the bathroom,           touches the bristles of Jake's tooth brush. Cindy takes off           her socks and waits for Dean to return.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 59.                         97 CONTINUED: 97                                                             DEAN (WHISPERS)(cont'd)           It's still dry.                                    He gets back on the couch. They kiss. Slowly. Silently. Their           hands search each other under the blanket. Clothing is           removed and there is alot of movement, but the details of           what occurs under that single sheet remain largely a mystery.                                    Jake's bedroom door opens and Jake walks out into the living           room and into the kitchen. Dean and Cindy pantomime sleeping.           They listen and hear Jake opening the refrigerator, pouring           himself a bowl of cereal, crunching. They feel like he's           watching them. Cindy tries her hardest not to laugh. Jake           stares at the trembling sheet with contempt before returning           to his room. Cindy releases her laugh. Dean tries to shush           her, but he can't help laughing himself.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Be quiet! Seriously. He's gonna kill me.           He already hates me.                                                   CINDY           You think he's gonna go to sleep now?                                    They hear Jake changing channels in the other room. As           quietly as possible, they have sex under the sheet.                                    INT. COLLEGE CAMPUS - BATHROOM - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         98 98                                    A red plus sign bleeds onto the result area of a home           pregnancy test. Cindy sits on a toilet in a stall holding the           positive test stick. A knock on the BATHROOM door.                                                   CINDY           Just a second...                                    She wraps the test in toilet paper and buries it in the trash           receptacle. A moment while the door swings closed. Silence.           Cindy opens the stall and confronts herself in the mirror.                                    INT. AUDITORIUM CLASSROOM - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         99 99                                    Cindy writes a note to Dean, his business card sits next to           an envelope.                                    The note reads: I don't know if I can trust you. Can I trust           you? I'm in trouble.                                    Bobby places a test paper in front of Cindy. Her grade, "D."           She covers up her note. He leans in and swipes the business           card.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 59A.                         99 CONTINUED: 99                                                                            CINDY           Give it back!                                    Bobby crushes the card in his fist. She tries to pry it open.           She can't. She's not gonna get it back.                                    EXT. STORAGE FACILITY - PARKING LOT - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER 100                                                   100                                    Dean and his buddies, file out of the garage, he notices           Cindy across the street, he looks both ways, crosses the           street toward her. The closer he gets to her, the more           nervous she gets.                                                   DEAN           Are you okay?                                    Cindy nods.                                    CURTIS (O.S.)           See you later, Elvis!                                    Dean turns around and sees his work buddies busting him for           being a Romeo. He waves goodbye to them, turns back to Cindy,           embarrassed but happy. She smiles, concealing something.           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 60.                                                                                                               EXT. BRIDGE - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         101 101                                    Dean and Cindy stand a distance away. Cars beneath them roar.                                                   DEAN           Is it mine?                                    Cindy looks Dean in the eyes.                                                   CINDY           I... I don't know... It might be...                                                   DEAN           You let that asshole knock you up?                                                   CINDY           ...I'm sorry...I'm sorry...                                                   DEAN           When'd this happen?                                                   CINDY           Before us.                                                   DEAN           What do you want to do?                                                   CINDY           I don't know.                                                   DEAN           (after a pause)           We'll keep it. We'll take care of it.                                    Cindy nods. Silence.                                                   CINDY           It's not the right time.                                    Dean looks down, pauses and looks back to Cindy.                                                   DEAN           Do you want to take care of it?                                    INT. ABORTION CLINIC - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         102 102                                    A female DOCTOR sits on a wheeled chair in the corner of the           room and looks through Cindy's file.                                                   DOCTOR           You can put your clothes on the chair.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 61.                         102 CONTINUED: 102                                                             Cindy does.                                                   DOCTOR (CONT'D)           How are you doing?                                                   CINDY           Okay...                                    The DOCTOR wheels over to the table in the center of the           room. She pulls out a clean sheet of examination table paper.                                                   DOCTOR           I'm going to have you lie up here, and           put your feet in the stirrups.                                    Cindy gets on the table, looks over at a tray of instruments.           The Doctor pulls a mask up over her face - the vacuum           aspirator on a wheeled base. Cindy focuses her gaze at the           corrugated ceiling, dim light.                                                   DOCTOR (CONT'D)           Are you okay?                                                   CINDY           Yeah.                                    The Doctor touches Cindy's knee to spread her legs, picks up           an instrument off the table.                                                   DOCTOR           I want you to try and relax. This is           going to be a little cold.                                    The Doctor inserts a speculum into Cindy's vagina.                                                   DOCTOR (CONT'D)           There, take a deep breath... What do you           do?                                                   CINDY           I'm a student...                                                   DOCTOR           What are you studying?                                    The Doctor dips a long swab into a solution, inserts it into           her vagina.                                                   CINDY           I'm studying to be a DOCTOR...                                                   DOCTOR           That's what I studied.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 62.                         102 CONTINUED: (2) 102                                                             She laughs. Cindy doesn't know what to do with her eyes. The           Doctor picks up a syringe.                                                   CINDY           What's that?                                                   DOCTOR           This is a mild anesthetic for your           cervix. You're going to feel a pinch and           then it's going to feel like electricity.                                    Cindy looks back up at the ceiling. She steady's her breath.                                                   DOCTOR (CONT'D)           Can you cough for me.                                    Cindy coughs.                                                   DOCTOR (CONT'D)           Good... Why do you want to be a Doctor?                                    Wheels move across the linoleum floor. The Doctor positions           the vacuum aspirator.                                                   CINDY           Because... I always thought... it would           be wonderful to take a sick child and...                                    Cindy cuts herself off. The Doctor holds a hose.                                                   DOCTOR           And what?                                                   CINDY           ...heal them...                                                   DOCTOR           Cindy, I'm going to begin the procedure.           It won't take long. You may feel a little           cramping.                                    The Doctor turns on the vacuum. Panic flushes Cindy's face.           Her eyes widen.                                                   CINDY           Wait... wait.                                    INT. ABORTION CLINIC - WAITING ROOM - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER 103                         103                                    A plastic model of a womb and fetus on the magazine-laden           coffee table. Ashtrays overflow. Dean, wearing his work           clothes, sits among several would-be fathers.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 63.                         103 CONTINUED: 103                                    He snuffs his cigarette and studies the fetus in the plastic           uterus. TROY, Bobby's wrestler friend, sits nearby.                                    The waiting room door opens, Cindy comes out. Dean puts the           model back and stands up. They stare at each other. Dean nods           slightly. Cindy shakes her head "no." A flush of realization           across Dean's face, then a smile. He goes to her and wraps           his arms around her.                                    TROY (O.S.)           Cindy?                                    Cindy looks over Dean's shoulder to Troy, who gazes at her           over a magazine. Dean looks back and forth between them.           Cindy looks ahead and walks out with Dean.                                    INT. BUS - NIGHT - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         104 104                                    Darkness passes. Cindy lies against Dean in the back of the           bright bus. Her head rests on his chest, arms holding his           encircling arms. She is wearing the locket around her neck.           Dean caresses Cindy's earlobe. Her eyes are closed.                                                   DEAN           You're not in this alone. This baby is           ours. It's us. Let's start a family.                                                   CINDY           Your eyes ever wide open, and you're           dreaming?                                    Cindy breathes deep & settles into him. Dean hums a lullaby.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           You smell like you.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - BEDROOM - EARLY MORNING - PRESENT DAY                         105 105                                    Darkness disturbed by beeping. Cindy awakens, dishevelled           from the night before. She lifts her cell phone off the           bedside table and squints to make out the text.                                                   CINDY           Shit.                                    She drops it and rolls over. The digital clock reads 4:52...           Moments later... she is on the phone.                                    CINDY (on phone) (cont'd)           Hi it's Cindy... I have this weekend off.                                    Cindy unwraps the bandage on her hand. She presses the four           vampire bites to her lips.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 64.                         105 CONTINUED: 105                                                             CINDY (cont'd on phone)                          (CONT'D)           ...Who didn't show?...Meredith again? How           long can she keep doing this?... Did you           try Janet?...She's your first call....I'm           out of town too...Yes I know, I know all           of it. Yes...It's going to take me a few           hours.                                    She hangs up, eases the door open. Dean is passed out in the           middle of the hallway. She tries to wake him, but he's           hibernating. She steps over his fallen body.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - VARIOUS - PRESENT DAY                         106 106                                    - Cindy washes her face in the shower. She looks at the           vampire holes on the back of her hand.                                    - her hair in a towel, Cindy flicks on the coffee maker. She           eats a banana. - she throws on jeans and a sweater. - inhales           from an inhaler for her asthma. - holds her eye open and           drops eye-drops. - vigorously brushes her teeth. - drinks           coffee and writes a note on Fantasuite stationery. - washes           the mug in the kitchen sink. - tapes the note to the           television screen. - She stands over DEAN.                                                   CINDY           Goodbye.                                    No response. She closes the door behind her.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES - LATER - PRESENT DAY                         107 107                                    The phone rings. Dean's eyes struggle open, drunk. He listens           annoyed to the ring. After the eighth ring, he hollers.                                                   DEAN           Cynthia!                                    No response. He struggles up and stumbles to the phone.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Hello?                                    A prerecorded message.                                                   MESSAGE           Good morning. This is your...11:30           a.m...wake up call.                                                   DEAN           OK.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 65.                         107 CONTINUED: 107                                                             He hangs up the phone and looks around the room.                                    DEAN (confused) (cont'd)           Cynthia?                                    He wanders to the bedroom, the door is open. Cindy's bags sit           next to a made bed. He calls out for her again. - He walks           into the bathroom and urinates, finds only a damp towel           hanging over the shower door. He touches the bristles of           Cindy's toothbrush, flicking up a spray of water. - He walks           to the kitchen and lights a cigarette. He coughs a little as           he pours himself a cup of coffee. Zaps it in the microwave.                                    EXT. ROMANTASUITES - PARKING LOT - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY 108                         108                                    A plane cuts through the sky. Dean stands in front of an           empty parking space. He stares at where her car should be. A           Chrysler Aspen is parked with its back opened. KARINA and           BILLY, two high school kids, toss in luggage.                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES LOBBY - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY                         109 109                                    Dean leans on the concierge desk.                                                   DEAN           Was she with a guy?                                                   CONCIERGE           Like I said, I couldn't say. I just got           here, so maybe she left before I came in.                                    He types on the computer.                                                   CONCIERGE (CONT'D)           And, she didn't check out. You're still           booked until...Monday morning. 11 am. Is           there anything else I can help you with           sir?                                    INT. ROMANTASUITES -HALLWAY/MOON ROOM- CONTINUOUS - PRESENT 110                         110                                    Dean puts his key in the door to his room. Across the           hallway, Billy calls into a room.                                    BILLY (O.S.)           Hurry up Randy!                                    Dean walks in to his room, sits down, heavy. His stare is out           of focus. He turns on the TV. Volume comes up loud. The TV           illuminates the note left by Cindy. Dean stares at it for a           moment. He plucks the note from the screen and reads it.           "Dean - I got called in.                          (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 66.                         110 CONTINUED: 110                                    I was going to wake you but I knew you wouldn't understand.           I'll be back this afternoon to get you. We have to talk. I'm           sorry...-C"                                    Dean eyes search for something. He sees the vodka bottle and           takes a drink. Pacing, he lets out a few angry weeps and           reaches in his front shirt pocket for a cigarette. He's out.           In the ashtray, he grabs a snuffed out butt. He searches for           a lighter. He lights his cigarette on the stove. He hears the           kids in the hallway.                                    He opens the door and Randy, a hungover high school kid, and           AMANDA, large-chested, short, walk down the hallway, arm and           arm. They slow when see a frighteningly dishevelled Dean,           vodka in hand, cigarette in mouth, framed in the door jam.                                    INT. BILLY'S CAR - DAY - PRESENT DAY                         111 111                                    Dean rides in the back seat of a Jeep Cherokee wedged in           between Amanda and Randy. Billy and Karina sit in the front           seat. Amanda offers Dean a glass pipe.                                                   AMANDA           You want some of this?                                    Dean accepts the pipe and takes a monster toke, holding it in           until his face turns purple.                                    EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - EARLY MORNING - 6 YEARS EARLIER                          112 112                                    Spring sky.. Trees blossom. Cindy walks alone down the street           from the train station.                                    INT. HELLER HOME - EARLY MORNING - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         113 113                                    The front door squeaks open, Cindy slips in. Glenda is passed           out on the couch. She tiptoes up the creaking staircase. A           shower runs. She heads down the hallway to her room.                                    INT. - CINDY'S ROOM - EARLY MORNING - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         114 114                                    Cindy opens the door to her bedroom, falls on her bed and is           about to close her eyes but is distracted by the blinking           lights of the answering machine. Cindy presses play.                                    ANSWERING MACHINE VOICE           You have twenty five new messages. BEEP                                    Cindy sits up. Bobby voice is heard - drunk.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 67.                         114 CONTINUED: 114                                                             BOBBY (on answering machine)           I just want to say to you thanks for           making all bets off and freeing me of my           human decency. All your shit's going in           the trash, your books are gonna be ripped           up. We'll go to war see who'll win. I           know who the fucker is and I'm gonna           destroy him. BEEP You probably don't know           what you did. I want it all to come out.           It'll be beautiful, It'll be sweet, it'll           be awesome. BEEP                                    Glenda's bloodshot eyeball appears in the doorway.                                    Bobby (V.O.) (cont'd)           BEEP Well, what I was really trying to           say before your machine cut me off is you           created me, I'm your child... You created           the person that I am now, and now you           have to deal with this person.                                    A SOUND - Cindy turns around sees her mom in the doorway.                                    INT. TROY'S CAR - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         115 115                                    The car drives down a highway toward the city. TONY powers           down beers in the back. Underwear hangs from the rearview.                                    BOBBY (V.O.)           ...And I got nothing better to do than           destroy you both. BEEP If you think I'm           being evil, you have no idea, no idea at           all... I'm growing very impatient and I           really don't give a fuck anymore...                                    Bobby shotguns a beer in the passenger's seat. Speed metal           music and adrenaline. The car blasts down the street to the           storage facility. The three bound out of the car, fists           clenched, geared up for ultraviolence.                                    INT. STORAGE FACILITY - CONTINUOUS - 6 YEARS EARLIER                          116 116                                    They storm the reception. The office is empty - Jo is on her           lunch break. Troy tries the door leading to the garage, it is           locked. So he squeezes through the receptionist window, feels           underneath the desk for the door release button. Tony yanks           on the door. The door buzzes open and the gang, Bobby in the           lead, rush into the cacophonous garage.                                    INT. HELLER HOME - MORNING. 6 YEARS EARLIER                         117 117                                    Cindy presses the telephone to her ear - waiting...           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 68.                                                                                                               INT. GARAGE - CONTINUOUS                         118 118                                    Dean is all alone in the garage, loading up a truck with           reams of cardboard boxes for a big job tomorrow. Bobby and           gang search through a maze of yellow trucks.                                                   BOBBY           Hey faggot!                                    Dean continues his work.                                                   BOBBY (CONT'D)           Is your name Dean?                                                   DEAN           Who's askin'?                                    Bobby rushes him, throws a shoulder into his stomach. They           both flail to the floor. The two lock. Everything is quick.           Bobby sends a flurry of punches to Dean's ribs and guts. Dean           pummels the back of Bobby's head with blind overhead rights.           It becomes clear that Bobby has the upper hand. He holds           Dean's bloodied head in some kind of jiujitsu headlock.                                                   BOBBY           Think I'm dumb? Think I'm that dumb?                                    Dean struggles to breathe but manages to say...                                                   DEAN           I think you're a fucking idiot.                                    Bobby hits him again, harder. Harder.                                                   BOBBY           Fucking faggot!                                    - Troy and Tony watch the door and egg Bobby on. - THE PHONE           RINGS OFF THE HOOK in the EMPTY OFFICE.                                    INT. HELLER HOME - MORNING. 6 YEARS EARLIER                         119 119                                    Cindy's mind is taking her to bad places. She hangs up. Tells           herself that everything is all right. Paces her room... Picks           up the phone and dials again.                                    INT. GARAGE - CONTINUOUS - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         120 120                                    Troy whistles sharp, warning Bobby that Jo has just arrived.           Bobby kicks Dean while he's down. Dean is beat and Bobby is           running out of breath and strength.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 69.                         120 CONTINUED: 120                                                                            BOBBY           Stay away from her!                                                   DEAN           Never.                                    Bobby looks at his bloodied hands. He lacks the strength to           lift he arms. Gives one last weak kick into Dean's bloodied           face. Troy and Tony pull Bobby out. The gang leaves,           victorious yet somehow defeated. The office phone, which has           been ringing incessantly, stops.                                    Dean is on the floor in the fetal position. It takes him a           while, but he manages to sit up. He feels the inside of his           split lip with his tongue. He doesn't feel pain as much as he           feels tingling and ringing - all over. Jo comes in. She           freezes when she sees him.                                                   JO           Dean... Telephone.                                    It takes Dean a while to get up, but he does. And it takes           him a while to get to the office where his phone call awaits.           Once there, he holds the receiver in his hand for a beat...                                                   DEAN           Hello?                                    INT. CLINIC - WAITING ROOM - DAY - PRESENT DAY                         121 121                                    Cindy wearing scrubs, picks up the ringing phone.                                                   CINDY           Mediplex... You are going to need to come           in... We're going to need to see him... I           can't diagnose over the phone... About 20-           30 minutes... Okay? ...okay, bye...                                    Cindy hangs up. She holds a clipboard.                                    CINDY (reading) (cont'd)           Maria?                                    A Hispanic women, MARIA GUEVARA - robust, 50's - clutches her           purse and rises off a waiting area chair. Cindy smiles.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Right this way.                                    INT. CLINIC - EXAMINATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY                         122 122                                    Cindy opens the door and gestures to the examination table.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 70.                         122 CONTINUED: 122                                                                            CINDY           Have a seat on the table, Mrs. Guevara.                                    Maria has a blank look.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Do you speak English? Hablas Ingles?                                    Maria holds her fingers up, indicating an inch.                                                   MARIA           Small.                                                   CINDY           Poquito?                                                   MARIA           Si.                                                   CINDY           Yo tabien. De donde eres tu?                                                   MARIA           El Salvador.                                                   CINDY           So...Tu famalia esta aqui? Here?                                                   MARIA           No no.                                                   CINDY           They're in El Salvador?                                                   MARIA           Si....Yo...sola. How you say en Ingles?           Sola?                                                   CINDY           Uh...Sola...Alone.                                                   MARIA           Si. Alone.                                                   CINDY           But hopefully not lonely.                                    Maria hides her face with her hand and lets out a self-           pitying giggle. Cindy looks at her clipboard.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           So you're feeling some pain in your left           breast. Uh...Tu dueles en tu chiche?                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 71.                         122 CONTINUED: (2) 122                                                                            MARIA           Si Si.                                                   CINDY           Well let's take a look.                                    Cindy hands her a paper robe.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Can you take off tu ropas and pongas...           put this on? Okay? Comprende?                                    Maria nods and takes the robe. Cindy turns to leave.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Lo siento mi Espanol es muy mal.                                    INT. CLINIC - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY                         123 123                                    Cindy leaves the room and gets a drink of water from the           fountain. Dr. Feinberg approaches her from behind.                                    DR. FEINBERG           Busy. Haven't sat down yet. Walk with me.                                    Cindy's holds her clipboard to her chest. He tilts it down           with his finger.                                    DR. FEINBERG (cont'd)           What do you have?                                                   CINDY           A woman in 215. Hispanic. 53. Lives           alone. Complaining of pain in her left           breast.                                    DR. FEINBERG           Uh huh. I'll be in in a minute. By the           way, I was thinking about you.                                                   CINDY           Oh yeah?                                    DR. FEINBERG           Yeah, well I can understand how you might           not be able to relocate your whole family           up to Riverdale, with your daughter being           in school and everything. But, I was           thinking, maybe, you could get an           apartment. Work during the week, drive           down on weekends.                                    They arrive at a door, Room 220.                          (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 72.                         123 CONTINUED: 123                                                             DR. FEINBERG (cont'd)           You wouldn't have to worry about being           alone... We could hang out together. Grab           some dinners sometime.                                    Cindy blushes and then her brow furrows.                                                   CINDY           I'm married.                                    DR. FEINBERG           It's not a proposition, I'm just trying           to help.                                                   CINDY           I don't remember asking you for help.                                    He holds up his hands and leaves Cindy alone in the hallway.           She looks at the ground, turns around and walks to Room 215.                                    INT. CLINIC - EXAMINATION ROOM - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY                         124 124                                    Maria sits, still clothed, on the table clutching the robe.           Cindy walks into the room and looks at her.                                                   CINDY           What's the problem, Maria? Tu sabes?                                    Cindy pantomimes undoing her shirt.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           No comprende? Necessita take off tu           comisitas. Your shirt. Understand?                                    Maria nods and undoes her blouse. Cindy turns her back. Maria           sits slumped with her blouse opened. Cindy pantomimes           removing her shirt fully. Maria does so and sits with her           hand covering her face. Cindy gestures to her bra.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Por favor, Maria. Come on.                                    Maria unhooks her bra. A purplish cantaloupe-size abscess           grows on her left breast. Cindy's covers her mouth.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Oh my God. Jesus Christ. Maria...                                    Maria puts back on her blouse.                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 73.                         124 CONTINUED: 124                                                                            CINDY (CONT'D)           Maria! Que eso? Why didn't you come in           sooner? Why did you wait this long?! Eso           es muy mal. Very bad.                                    Maria starts to cry.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           How could you look at yourself in the           mirror and pretend it's not there? How           long have you been pretending?                                    Dr. Feinberg walks into the room.                                    DR. FEINBERG           Cindy. What's going on here?                                    Cindy points to Maria.                                                   CINDY           Her breast. Her breast!                                    Dr. Feinberg takes Cindy's clipboard from her hands.                                    DR. FEINBERG           I can take over from here.                                    He talks to Maria calm and clear.                                    DR. FEINBERG (cont'd)           Hello Mrs. Guevara. I'm Dr. Feinberg. I'm           your DOCTOR. Let me see. It's OK.                                    He reaches for the trembling Maria's blouse. Maria flinches.                                                   CINDY           It's probably been growing for years!                                    Dr. Feinberg turns to Cindy.                                    DR. FEINBERG           Out!                                    He turns back to Maria and places his hand on her shoulder.                                    DR. FEINBERG (cont'd)           It's going to be alright, Mrs. Guevara.                                    Cindy backs out of the room.           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 74.                                                                                                               EXT. CLINIC - DAY - PRESENT DAY                         125 125                                    Dean gets out of the Aspen. The kids honk as they drive off.           Drunk and stoned, he walks to the entrance of the clinic           carrying their suitcases.                                    INT. CLINIC - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY                         126 126                                    Dean walks through the lobby and approaches Mimi at the           reception desk. He drops his baggage.                                                   MIMI                          (ON PHONE)           Ma'am you're going to have to bring him           in...you have to bring him in...                                                   DEAN           Where's my wife?                                    She hands him an in-patient form. Dean looks at it.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           I'm not sick.                                    Mimi cups her hand over the phone.                                                   MIMI           You need to fill that out, sir. You can           go over there.                                    Mimi returns to the phone.                                                   DEAN           There's nothing wrong with me.                                    Dean hands her back the clipboard.                                                   MIMI           No, you need to fill it out, sir. Bring           it back up to me when you're done.                                                   DEAN           Where's my wife?                                    Mimi lowers the phone.                                                   MIMI           Who's your wife?                                                   DEAN           Cynthia. Where is she?                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 75.                         126 CONTINUED: 126                                                                            MIMI           Are you Dean?                                                   DEAN           Yeah, are you deaf or are you just dumb?                                    She puts the phone on hold and disappears into the clinic.           Dean turns around and looks at the people in the waiting           room. He has a slight confrontation with a gang banger.                                    Cindy approaches from the hallway.                                                   CINDY           Dean?                                                   DEAN (TURNS)           Saved you a trip.                                                   CINDY           I can see that. How'd you get here?                                                   DEAN           I got a ride.                                    Mimi appears behind Cindy.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           - I was going out of my mind. I didn't           know if there's an emergency. I didn't           know if Francis was hurt. Did you think           about that?                                                   CINDY           Frankie's fine...                                    Dean nods. He looks over Cindy's shoulder at Mimi.                                                   DEAN           Taking pictures?                                    Mimi sits down at her desk and picks up a ringing phone.                                                   CINDY           We're not going to do this here.                                    Cindy crosses the counter, grabs the bags by Dean's feet.                                    CINDY (to Mimi) (cont'd)           Give me a few minutes.                                                   MIMI           I'll be right here. Don't let him           brainwash you again.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 76.                         126 CONTINUED: (2) 126                                                                            CINDY           Live your life.                                    Cindy walks out of the clinic hefting her bags.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Help me.                                    Dean grabs the remaining luggage and follows, throwing back a           look to both Mimi and the Gang-banger.                                    EXT. CLINIC - PARKING LOT - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY                         127 127                                    Dean follows behind Cindy.                                                   DEAN           Last night got fucked up, OK? I know it.           I know I'm lazy, I eat too much, I drink           too much, I drive you crazy with all my           jealous bullshit. I fuck up. I know I'm           clumsy. But you're not trying anymore.                                    Cindy hurls the bags into the back of the car. Dean helps.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Please don't make me be alone.                                                   CINDY           Are you drunk?                                                   DEAN           I'm OK.                                                   CINDY           Can you drive?                                                   DEAN           Yeah. Let's go.                                                   CINDY           No, you go. Take the car home.                                    She hands him the keys.                                                   DEAN           You don't think about anyone but           yourself. Do you?                                    Cindy walks back to the clinic. Dean follows close behind.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           You got no time for me anymore. It all           goes to this fucking job.                          (MORE)                          (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 77.                         127 CONTINUED: 127                                    You give it all to them. All these people           who don't give a shit about you. They get           the beautiful version of you. What does           your family get? Nothing. You come home           and you're empty. You think I don't           notice? You think Frankie doesn't notice?           Her mom walking around like a ghost?                                                   CINDY           You know how many sacrifices I make every           day.                                                   DEAN           You! What about me? I gave up everything           for you.                                                   CINDY           I never asked you to! I can't take this           shit anymore.                                    Cindy enters through the electric doors.                                    INT. CLINIC - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY                         128 128                                    Dean follows Cindy down the hallway to the employee's lounge.                                                   DEAN           Take what? What can't you take... The           truth? I know you can't... You never           could.                                                   CINDY           You're right Dean, I can't take the           truth...I've had it with the truth or           whatever it is you make up along the way           and label as truth... You win. I give           up... I've been lying to you for a long           time.                                                   DEAN           Who is it?                                                   CINDY           It's me, Dean. I didn't want to hurt you.           But I'm not the person you fell in love           with. And you won't let me be anything           but that person. That's why I can't look           at you. Because every time I do I can't           stop thinking about how much I want you           to hate me. But you're too stupid to see           it, and too chicken shit to do anything           about it.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 78.                         128 CONTINUED: 128                                                                            DEAN           Wait a second...                                    He grabs her in a hug. Her arms are pressed into her side.                                                   CINDY           I don't love you anymore... Why can't you           stop loving me?                                    He pulls back his fist and swings, hitting the metal locker           behind Cindy's head. He repeats the blows with thunderous           rage. Feinberg enters the room.                                                   FEINBERG           What the hell is going on!?                                    Dean turns and takes a blind swing at Feinberg. One blow and           Feinberg reels against the metal lockers. He hits the ground           with a thud. His nose gushes blood. Dean paces around           Feinberg like a caged animal. He pulls down a locker with his           hand. It crashes to the floor. Cindy kneels over Feinberg.                                                   CINDY           I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Let me see.                                                   FEINBERG           You're done. Leave.                                    Dean jerks Cindy up off the floor.                                                   DEAN           Get up.                                    She hits Dean with a flurry of flailing fists.                                                   CINDY           You son of a bitch!                                    Punches catch him in the nose. Cindy bullies Dean backwards           with repeated shoves to the chest. He backs up down the           hallway. Mimi stands in the hallway.                                                   MIMI           Oh my god. Call 911. I'm going to call           911.                                    The doors slide open and Dean backs outside.                                    EXT. CLINIC - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY                         129 129                                                   CINDY           Give me the keys.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 79.                         129 CONTINUED: 129                                                             She digs into his pocket and fishes them out. She marches to           the car, gets in the driver's seat, starts the car - the           radio blasts at high decibels. Dean bangs on the passenger           side window. Cindy flips the lock. Dean gets in the car.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           I want a divorce!                                    She has emptied herself. Her whole body is numb and it feels           as if she is floating in space. Anger overcomes Dean. He hits           the dashboard with concrete fists.                                                   DEAN           I know!                                    He grabs the suitcase next to him and opens the door. He           throws it through the air into a FIELD - trying rid himself           of pain, longing, and desperation. He clutches his wedding           ring, but can't yank it off of his fat finger. Finally, he           gets it off and tosses it into the field. The moment he           releases it, he wishes he hadn't.                                    MOMENTS LATER - Dean and Cindy search for the ring. It is           lost. Music begins to play in reverse.                                    INT/EXT. HOME VIDEO MONTAGE:                         130 130                                    Various Scenes of the Periera family together...                                    EXT. FLOWERSHOP. AFTERNOON. 6 YEARS EARLIER.                         131 131                                    All kinds of flowers. Colors, smells. Freshly arranged. Dean           studies them. Finds the one's he likes. And steals them.                                    EXT. STREET - DUSK - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         132 132                                    We follow Dean from behind - walking down the middle of the           street. He holds the flowers. Meanwhile, we hear Cindy asking           her gramma questions about love and life. "What's it like to           be old?" - "when did men stop looking at you?" She confides           her feelings for Dean. (The responses will be real responses -           a real conversation).                                    INT. HELLER HOME - KITCHEN - NIGHT - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         133 133                                    Cindy and Gramma sit at the dinner table. The sound of           boiling. Steam rises out of the pots and pans. They continue           their conversation.           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 80.                                                                                                               EXT./INT. HELLER HOME - NIGHT - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         134 134                                    Dean finds the house. He straightens himself, walks to the           front door, rings the BELL, checks the smell of his hands.                                    Jerry, bourbon in hand, opens the door. Dean's face is purple           and swollen from the fight.                                                   DEAN           I didn't know if it was pot luck so I           brought an eggplant.                                    He points at his face. Behind Jerry, Cindy peeks out from the           kitchen at the end of the hallway. It is the first time she           has seen Dean since the fight. She is shocked.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Face looks like an eggplant, don't it?           How you doing sir, I'm Dean.                                    Dean holds out his hand. Jerry looks Dean up and down.                                                   CINDY           Oh God.                                    Cindy squeezes by her father to Dean. The expression on her           face says it all. Dean hands her the flowers, leans in and           kisses her. While he's there he whispers.                                                   DEAN           I stole these for you.                                                   CINDY           Are you okay?                                    Dean nods. She leads him down the hall. Jerry stops, turns.                                    JERRY (to Cindy)           Tell him to take off his shoes.                                    Dean removes his boots. A toe wiggles out of a holey sock. He           gathers the hole and tucks it between his big toe and his           second toe. Cindy leads him by the hand to the kitchen.                                    INT. HELLER HOME - DINING ROOM - CONTINUOUS - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         135 135                                    The Heller family and Dean sit around the table. Jerry,           Glenda and Gramma bow their heads, saying grace.                                    ALL EXCEPT DEAN           Come lord Jesus, be our guest, and let           thy gifts to us be blessed. Amen.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 81.                         135 CONTINUED: 135                                                             Glenda continues with a little speech about choices, and           needing to be able to make mistakes with our choices. Her           speech continues over the next images...                                    - They eat. Dean compliments the meal. Glenda is self           depreciating. Jerry is judgemental. Gramma wants to go home.           Cindy can't take her eyes off of Dean - she has fallen.                                    LATER - Cindy leads Dean upstairs to her room.                                    INT. CINDY'S ROOM - NIGHT - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         136 136                                    Dean follows, obediently. Cindy closes her door behind him.                                    She begins gently kissing Dean's wounds. Whispers.                                                   CINDY           Does that hurt.                                                   DEAN           No. It feels good. Keep doing it.                                    She does and is interrupted by... The FAINT SOUND of her           parents fighting downstairs.                                    JERRY (O.S.)           ...She's going to struggle the rest of           her Goddamn life with that fucking loser.           And that's okay with you. Sit there...sit           there on your fat ass don't do a goddamn           thing.                                                   DEAN           Maybe I should go.                                                   CINDY           Why? They'll stop soon.                                                   DEAN           I'm going to miss my train.                                                   CINDY           Good.                                    Cindy goes over to her stereo and turns on some music, low -           it is the same song that Dean and Cindy listened to in the           moon room. It drowns out some of the fighting. She approaches           him, starts unbuttoning his shirt.                                                   CINDY (CONT'D)           Promise me one thing... you'll never let           me become an adult.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 82.                         136 CONTINUED: 136                                                                            DEAN           Okay.                                    She kisses him. Opens up his shirt. Reveals a severely           bruised torso. He winces a bit from the movement. She           redresses his wounds, nursing him back to health.                                                   CINDY           That motherfucker.                                    She kisses his chest. Dean starts getting underneath Cindy's           clothes. He places his palm on her belly.                                                   DEAN           I love you.                                                   CINDY           I love you too.                                                   DEAN           Really?                                                   CINDY           Yeah.                                    From here on out, their actions increase with urgency. Each           moment that goes by makes them more and more desperate to           feel the other's skin. They are down to their underwear when           they hear a door slam downstairs.                                                   DEAN           Are your parent's gonna walk in on us?                                                   CINDY           They never come in here.                                    They make sweet love.                                                             EXT. HELLER HOME - DAY - PRESENT DAY                         137 137                                    The front door bursts open and Frankie, still in her leopard           costume, charges down the walkway.                                                   FRANKIE           Daddy! Daddy! Mommy!                                    Cindy's car sits in the driveway. Cindy gets out, grabs her           suitcase. Jerry emerges from the house. Cindy kneels down and           hugs Frankie. She is electricity in her arms.                                                   CINDY           Who had candy for breakfast?                          (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 83.                         137 CONTINUED: 137                                                             Frankie doesn't answer and squirms out of Cindy's arms. She           runs to Dean who gets out of the car like a wounded soldier.                                                   DEAN           Hey sweetheart.                                    Frankie leaps into Dean's arms. Cindy walks up to the house.                                                   CINDY           How was Frankie?                                                   JERRY           She was good. Are you OK?                                                   CINDY           I'm OK.                                    Cindy kisses her father on the cheek, closes the screen door.                                    DEAN (holding Frankie)           I can't play right now, okay?                                    He releases his wired daughter who runs circles around him.           Dean walks up to the porch. He and Jerry stand face to face.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Do you want to get out of my way.                                    Jerry backs away. Dean walks past him into the house.                                                   JERRY           I don't know what happened up there. But           please Dean, come on. Don't push it. Let           it be...                                    Dean closes the screen door behind him and locks it. Jerry           pulls on the door.                                                   JERRY (CONT'D)           Hey! You can't lock me out of my own           house!                                    Dean calls back.                                                   DEAN           Keep an eye on Francis.                                                   JERRY           I don't have my oxygen! Hey!           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 84.                                                                                                               INT. HELLER HOME - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         138 138                                    Cindy puts on a simple yellow dress. She checks herself in           the mirror. Her hand traces the bump on her belly.                                    INT. HELLER HOME - KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY                         139 139                                    Cindy pours a glass of water. She gulps down aspirin. Dean           keeps his distance at the edge of the room.                                    In the backyard, Frankie makes herself dizzy by twirling.           Jerry cranes his neck to look into the window of his house.                                                   CINDY           I'm not coming home.                                    Fear strikes Dean. He presses the base of his palms into his           eyes, rubbing until he sees stars.                                                   DEAN           We're not alone here Cynthia. We have a           little girl. We need to think about her.                                                   CINDY           I am thinking about her.                                                   DEAN           All you're thinking about is yourself.           You. Francis is gonna grow up in a broken           home and that's OK with you.                                                   CINDY           I can't let her grow up in a home where           her parents don't love each other.                                                   DEAN           Don't love each other? I've only ever           loved you.                                    Dean approaches her from behind. Reaches out...                                    INT. DEAN'S FRIEND'S APARTMENT - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         140 140                                    Dean wears his baby blue tux. He looks himself up and down in           the mirror. Takes a deep breath.                                    INT. HELLER HOME - KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY                         141 141                                    Cindy flinches from Dean's touch. A look of terror in her           eyes. Dean hushes her. He leads her to a chair and sits her           down. He kneels by her side and repeats her name.                                                   (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 85.                         141 CONTINUED: 141                                                                            DEAN           ...Cynthia...Cynthia...                                    He holds her hands and gropes her arms, legs, shoulders           whatever she will let him touch. Cindy has tears in her eyes           but she is focused. There is nothing to say.                                    INT. MUNICIPAL COURTHOUSE - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         142 142                                    Dean takes a quarter, places it in a gumball machine, turns           the crank. A plastic box rolls out. He takes it, shakes it -           inside is a plastic ring. She takes a quarter and follows           suit, buying another plastic ring.                                    INT. HELLER HOME - VARIOUS - CONTINUOUS - PRESENT DAY                         143 143                                    In THE KITCHEN, Frankie climbs in through the old dog door.           She sees her father kneeling on the floor at her mother's           feet. Perplexed, she pulls at her bottom lip with her finger.           Cindy releases herself from Dean's grip and goes to her           suitcase. She carries it up the stairs.                                   A144 INT. MUNICIPAL BUILDING - DAY. 6 YEARS EARLIER. A144                                    Dean and Cindy wait together in a room filled with other           people about to get married. They observe these other people           and create fictional narratives about them and their lives           for each other.                                    INT. CINDY'S ROOM- CONTINUOUS,                          144 144                                    Cindy opens the door and sets her suitcase on the dusty bed.           The room is just like it used to be.                                    BACK INT THE KITCHEN- CONTINUOUS                         145 145                                    Dean is defeated. He sits back against the cupboards and           hangs his head down low between his knees. Frankie touches           his shoulders. She gives him a massage.                                                   FRANKIE           I want to stay at Grampa's house next           time for fifty nights.                                    Dean looks up. He has tears in his eyes. Frankie touches one           as it streams down his face.                                                   FRANKIE (CONT'D)           Why you crying?                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 85A.                         145 CONTINUED: 145                                                             Dean can't answer. Frankie slides a chair over to the sink.           She steps up and fills the glass with water. Balancing it           still, she brings it to Dean. She takes a sip and hands the           glass to him. He drinks.                                                   DEAN           Thank you...                                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 86.                         145 CONTINUED: (2) 145                                                             Cindy comes down the stairs.                                                   DEAN (CONT'D)           Daddy's gonna go now, OK.                                    Dean stands and picks up Frankie. He walks to Cindy and hands           her over.                                    INT. MUNICIPAL COURTHOUSE - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         146 146                                    Cindy and Dean stare into each other's eyes. The JUSTICE OF           THE PEACE reads them their vows.                                    EXT. HELLER HOME - LATE AFTERNOON - PRESENT DAY                         147 147                                    Frankie tries to squirm out of her mother's arms.                                                   FRANKIE           Daddy!                                    Dean walks out the front door where he passes Jerry who           stands on the porch. He moves across the lawn to the           sidewalk. Vermillion light falls in the sky.                                    Cindy sets Frankie down and she runs out the door. Jerry           catches the little girl by the arm and holds her tight.                                    Dean walks toward the horizon.                                    FRANKIE (SCREAMS) (cont'd)           Daddy!                                    Dean stops and turns. Cindy walks to the porch.                                                   CINDY           Let her go, Dad.                                    Jerry releases her and Frankie runs fast to Dean. She jumps           at him to go into his arms. He doesn't pick her up. From the           porch Cindy and Jerry watch Dean as he points to them.           Frankie doesn't move. Dean yells for her to go back. Frankie           heads back to her mother, confused. Cindy kneels down and           takes her in her arms.                                    Families light fireworks off in the middle of the streets.                                     EXT. HELLER HOME STREET- CONTINUOUS                                    DEAN continues down the street that connects with other           streets, all lined with pretty houses.                                                                            (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 86A.                                    The houses form neighborhoods that join with other           neighborhoods forming towns. Beyond the towns, hills stretch           far into to the horizon. Fireworks explode against dark blue            on blue.                                                                                                                               (CONTINUED)           Blue Valentine Official Green Script as of 6/9/09 87.                         148 CONTINUED: (2) 148                                                                                                               INT. MUNICIPAL COURTHOUSE - DAY - 6 YEARS EARLIER                         149 149                                    Dean and Cindy consecrate their vows. The ceremony lasts all           of 45 seconds.                                                   JUSTICE           ... you may now kiss the bride.                                    Dean and Cindy kiss. We hold on the kiss for as long as it           takes. They stop kissing and look at each other in the eyes.           Then, they start to hug. And hug... and hug...                                    The title BLUE VALENTINE superimposes on top of the image.           Credits start to scroll over...                                    A SERIES OF PORTRAITS/DOCUMENTS OF MARRIAGES. REAL PEOPLE                         150 150           REALLY GETTING MARRIED. WE PLAY WITNESS TO THEM ALL.
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+B O D Y O F E V I D E N C E by Brad Mirman (second draft) -------------------------------------------------------------- Over the BLACK we hear the SOUNDS of two people making love. A MAN'S VOICE MOANS passionately. FADE IN: INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT ANDREW MARSH lies on his back in bed. He is a frail-looking man in his early sixties, with thinning gray hair. On top of him is a much younger WOMAN. Although her back is to us, we catch flashes of her face for a moment as she turns from side to side. We see enough to know that this is a beautiful woman. She moves wildly, grinding her hips into him, her head arched back, her hands rubbing lightly over her breasts. She reaches down, grabbing his hips and jerks them upwards, forcing him deeper inside her. They move together -- faster -- and faster. The CAMERA slowly begins to PULL BACK. As it does we see what we are watching is on a TELEVISION. Further back still. We see TWO UNIFORMED POLICE OFFICERS standing before the television watching the act. The CAMERA begins to pan around the room. Rain streaks down the windows of the room -- LIGHTNING flashes outside. A VIDEO CAMERA is set up on a tripod. More PLAIN CLOTHES POLICE, looking, dusting, talking. We continue to PAN. We can now see it is the same room on the tape. ON the bed lies the naked body of ANDREW MARSH, a sheet covering his lower torso. His face is ashen, mouth open, his dull eyes looking out in a fixed stare. The last instant of his life is etched upon a face frozen in pain. EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - NIGHT LIGHTNING fills the night sky. THUNDER BOOMS overhead. The wind whips the RAIN furiously against anything in its path. The CAMERA moves slowly along rows of beautiful HOMES. At the end is a cul-de-sac. Several POLICE CARS are in the driveway, their RED LIGHTS FLASHING. A four-door SEDAN pulls into the driveway. JOHN CARDENAS steps out into the rain. He is a handsome Latin in his thirties, with hard, chiseled features and black, slicked-backed hair. He does not run through the rain -- he walks. DETECTIVE REESE, a man who looks more like an accountant than a homicide detective runs out to meet him. 2 CARDENAS Is it Marsh? REESE Yeah. Just a hint of sadness shows on Cardenas' face. It lasts an instant, then it's gone. REESE Sir, do you mind if we get out of the rain? Cardenas doesn't move. He ignores the question. CARDENAS Who found him? REESE His Secretary. Joanne Braslow. CARDENAS She was here? REESE No. She stopped by to pick up some papers. CARDENAS Show me. Reese starts for the house. Cardenas looks up into the night sky. A FLASH of LIGHTNING fills the SCREEN. INT. HOUSE, BEDROOM - CLOSE ON CAMERA - NIGHT Pull back to reveal a POLICE PHOTOGRAPHER snapping pictures of Marsh in bed. Cardenas enters followed by Reese. He moves through the FORENSIC and MEDICAL TEAMS. Anything Cardenas feels about the gruesome sight before him is hidden behind a mask of indifference. Standing by the bed is ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY, ROGER TROXELL, a short, baby-faced man. Cardenas looks down at the body, then over at the MEDICAL EXAMINER, DR. HENRY McCURDY, a portly man with windblown cheeks and bloodshot eyes. CARDENAS How long? 3 MCCURDY About three hours. CARDENAS Cause? MCCURDY Not sure. I'll have everything you need tomorrow. REESE Take a look at this. Reese points to the nightstand drawer and Troxell opens it. On top of the nightstand is a box of tissues and a bottle of nasal spray. Inside are ROPES, HANDCUFFS and an assortment of SEXUAL AIDES. TROXELL This guy was into some kinky shit. Cardenas looks at the various sexual devices, then walks out of the room. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT JOANNE BRASLOW sits on chair. Her eyes are tired -- red from crying. She is mid thirties -- attractive, but her looks come more from effort than nature -- expensive hair cut -- the right cosmetics. She has a corporate look to her. Cardenas steps into the hall and walks over to her. CARDENAS Miss Braslow -- I'm District Attorney John Cardenas. You arrived at what time tonight? JOANNE A little after eleven. CARDENAS Why did you come by? JOANNE I had some papers to pick up. CARDENAS Do you know who Mr. Marsh was with? JOANNE I assume his girlfriend. 4 CARDENAS Her name? JOANNE Rebecca Lawson. CARDENAS You wouldn't know her address, would you? JOANNE No -- but I can get it for you. CARDENAS Thank you. INT. HALLWAY, CITY HALL BUILDING - DAY Cardenas walks down the corridor with McCurdy. MCCURDY Marsh wasn't alone. We found traces of sperm on the sheets. The toxicology report says there were high levels of cocaine in his blood. CARDENAS What'd he die of? MCCURDY The official cause of death was a cardiac arrest. CARDENAS The official cause? MCCURDY That's what my report will read. CARDENAS But there's more? They reach a door and stop. MCCURDY It's speculative at this point. Marsh had advanced Arterial disease. His heart attack was induced by excessive aerobic activity -- in conjunction with the drug. McCurdy enters the room. Cardenas thinks for a moment, then follows. 5 INT. CARDENAS' OFFICE - DAY Spacious and sparsely furnished. The walls are empty. No commendations, plaques or photographs to add prestige to the office. Cardenas steps into the room and looks at McCurdy who is already seated next to Reese and Troxell. CARDENAS (to McCurdy) What are you saying, Henry? That his girlfriend fucked him to death? MCCURDY Yes. A trace of a grin shows on Cardenas' face. He walks over to the window and stares outside. Reese, Troxell and McCurdy wait as he thinks. A beat. Cardenas turns back to the room. CARDENAS What can we prove? MCCURDY We know Marsh had a head cold. We found cocaine mixed with water in a nasal spray container on the nightstand. The coke would contract the nasal membrane the same as any decongestant, but for a much shorter time. He'd keep using more and more -- never knowing what he was taking. CARDENAS Any prints on the nasal spray? REESE Marsh's and Rebecca Lawson's. TROXELL What if he did know what was in it? A lot of users put it in nasal spray bottles so they can use it in public. MCCURDY Cocaine is the last thing a man in his condition would want. CARDENAS Can we put Rebecca Lawson at the scene? 6 REESE A man across the street from Marsh saw her drive up about four thirty Sunday afternoon. And her prints are all over the place. Cardenas stands and walks to a DART BOARD on the wall. He gathers the DARTS, moves back and tosses one. TROXELL Marsh's Cardiologist told me that after Marsh was diagnosed with heart disease he quit smoking, quit drinking and started exercising every day. Does that sound like a guy who'd start shoveling cocaine up his nose? CARDENAS What did he say about Miss Lawson? TROXELL He can remember at least one occasion -- and the receptionist can recall two times when she accompanied Marsh to the office. Cardenas throws another dart at the board. CARDENAS So she knew about his heart? TROXELL Had to. I also interviewed three women who were in past relationships with Marsh. There's no evidence that he had anything but straight sex prior to meeting Miss Lawson. CARDENAS What about the will? TROXELL That's the best part. She gets it all -- everything. EXT. CEMETERY - MORNING Gray clouds hang over head. A light drizzle falls. A GROUP of MOURNERS hold umbrellas as they stand around the grave. In the b.g. the PRESS is visible, held back my private SECURITY GUARDS. 7 A WOMAN dressed in BLACK stands in the front of the MOUNERS, her face hidden behind a hat and veil. RAYMOND SATTLER, a tall, distinguished-looking man in his sixties stands beside her. He supports his weight with the aid of a CANE. The service concludes. Sattler along with several other PEOPLE offer her their condolences. Joanne Braslow is there. She does not go over to Rebecca. CARDENAS AND REESE stand off to the side by a large oak tree. Cardenas watches and waits. He steps forward as Sattler leads the woman by. CARDENAS Miss Lawson? The Woman stops. Her back is to Cardenas. CARDENAS I'm District Attorney, John Cardenas. REBECCA LAWSON removes her hat and veil and slowly turns around. She is in her late twenties. A deep pain fills her face -- controlled, but evident. Her eyes are tired -- heavy from crying -- but no tears show now. This is a woman whose grief is private and not displayed for others. Although emotionally drained she is still stunningly beautiful. So beautiful that even Cardenas' usually cool demeanor cannot hide how impressed he is. SATTLER I don't think that this is the time, or the place. CARDENAS I just wanted to introduce myself and inform Miss Lawson that there will be an inquiry. SATTLER An inquiry into what? CARDENAS For starters I'd like to know why she left the house and didn't report the death? SATTLER Because he wasn't dead when she left, and even if he was, not reporting a natural death in a timely fashion isn't a crime. CARDENAS Did I say it was a natural death? 8 Cardenas and Rebecca lock eyes. Rebecca stares at him genuinely shocked by his accusation. Cardenas nods and walks away. In the b.g. we see Joanne staring at Rebecca with hostility. INT. HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Large and homey. A fire roars in the fireplace. FRANK DULANEY sits on his couch as he goes over some PAPERWORK. He is mid- thirties, powerful, self-assured. SHARON DULANEY enters. She is an attractive woman in her early thirties. She kisses him on the cheek then pushes his PAPERWORK aside and sits down on his lap. SHARON You're on vacation, remember? You're supposed to be relaxing. DULANEY I am relaxing. SHARON (pushing the papers aside) This is not relaxing. DULANEY (playfully) Really? SHARON Really. DULANEY (playing along) And I suppose you're going to show me how to relax? SHARON If you want me to. DULANEY I'm always open to learning new things. She kisses him -- soft, gentle kisses. Dulaney puts his arms around her and kisses her harder. DULANEY I'm beginning to see what you mean. Why don't we go upstairs and work on the advanced course? 9 SHARON I can't. I've got to finish a counter offer on the Bergman property. The moment is passing by. A trace of frustration shows on Dulaney's face -- this is obviously not a new occurrence. DULANEY Can't it wait? SHARON No -- it has to be done by tomorrow. The moment is gone. Dulaney forces an understanding smile. He looks towards the door and sees his EIGHT YEAR OLD SON, MICHAEL. DULANEY Hey, Slugger. Ready for bed? Michael walks over to this parents. MICHAEL Uh huh. The PHONE RINGS. Dulaney answers it. DULANEY (into phone) Hello?... Hi Raymond.... What?... Well, I was sort of planning on... Alright... Okay, goodbye. (hangs up; to Sharon) That was Sattler. He thinks the D.A.'s going to file on Rebecca Lawson. He wants me in the office tomorrow morning. SHARON We're supposed to go to the lake. DULANEY I know. What can I do? He is the boss. SHARON He could let you have your vacation. MICHAEL Dad -- is it true what they're saying about that Miss Lawson Lady? 10 DULANEY What are they saying? MICHAEL The kids at school say she humped Mr. Marsh to death. DULANEY Hey, you know better than that. What did I teach you to say when someone is accused of doing something? MICHAEL She allegedly humped him to death? Dulaney grins. Sharon is fighting the temptation to laugh. SHARON I swear -- the both of you. (to Dulaney) Some example you set. DULANEY (imitating her) Some example you set. He makes a funny face at Michael who LAUGHS and makes one back. Dulaney grabs him and starts TICKLING him. Michael SCREAMS with LAUGHTER as he tries to tickle him back. Dulaney then starts TICKLING SHARON -- Michael helps him. Sharon ROARS with LAUGHTER and falls to the floor. The three of them roll around LAUGHING hysterically. INT. SATTLER'S OFFICE - MORNING Sattler sits on a couch sipping a cup of coffee. Dulaney sits across from him. DULANEY Andrew Marsh was a very wealthy man. A trial like this is going to put Cardenas in the spot-light. SATTLER We've already got press arriving from over the country and she hasn't even been charged yet. Cardenas wants to see her in his office tomorrow at ten. I'd like you to go with her. DULANEY I'm supposed to be on vacation. 11 SATTLER I know -- but she wants you to represent her if Cardenas files. DULANEY Why? SATTLER Because I told her you were the best criminal attorney we have. DULANEY Raymond, I'm the only criminal attorney you have. SATTLER (jokingly) Well, I guess that makes you the best. (candidly) Look, Frank -- she stands to inherit three million dollars. As executors of the estate and her attorneys that could generate a lot of legal fees for us. All I'm asking you to do is talk to her. Dulaney thinks about it for a moment. DULANEY Alright, I'll talk to her SATTLER She's waiting in the conference room. Dulaney stands and walks towards the door. SATTLER (continuing) You know, I knew Andrew Marsh for almost twenty years -- or thought I did. What do you think would make a man in his condition do the things he did? Dulaney stops at the door and looks back. DULANEY I think the question is: What is it about her that made him want to do it? 12 INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY Rebecca is seated at the end of the conference table smoking a CIGARETTE. Sunlight flows through a window and highlights her hair. She is dressed in a fashionable business suit that clings to every curve of her body. Dulaney enters the room. When he sees her he can't help but stare. Rebecca notes his gaze. DULANEY Miss Lawson, I'm Frank Dulaney. She raises the cigarette to her lips. Dulaney notices despite her outward composure her hand is shaking. REBECCA (nervously) Are you going to represent me? DULANEY There are no charges against you. I'm here to decide if I'm going to represent you should that occur. (beat) Did you kill him? Rebecca appears hurt by the question. REBECCA You don't waste any time, do you? Dulaney doesn't answer. He studies her -- his eyes probing hers. REBECCA (continuing) Do you think I did it? DULANEY I don't know. That's why I'm asking you. REBECCA You must have some feeling. Some immediate impression. A young, attractive woman, involved with an older man who leaves her everything in his will. And the things that went on in that house. Such wild sex. What kind of picture does that paint? DULANEY Not a very good one I'm afraid. 13 REBECCA And that's exactly what the jury will see when they look at me. That's why I need a very good lawyer, Mr. Dulaney. DULANEY You're assuming the District Attorney is going to file charges. Rebecca's anxiety begins to surface. She feigns a weak smile. REBECCA He'll file. He's an ambitious man. Ambitious men build their careers on the bodies of others. DULANEY You still haven't answered my question. She takes a long drag of her cigarette before answering. She looks at Dulaney. Displaying emotions is not something that comes easily. Tears well up in her eyes. REBECCA (emotionally) I loved him. A big part of my life has been torn away from me, Mr. Dulaney. A part I can never get back -- and on top of that people are saying that I am somehow responsible for it. They've taken everything that is good and caring about two people in love and made it dirty. A single tear streams down her check. She knows what he wants to hear her say -- and she resents having to say it. REBECCA No -- I didn't kill him. INT. HALLWAY, D.A.'S OFFICE - DAY Cardenas walks down the hall, sipping a cup of coffee. Troxell walks towards him excitedly. They walk together. TROXELL I think I'm going to make your day. CARDENAS How? 14 Troxell points to an Office. Through the glass partition we can see a MAN sitting at a table. ALAN PALEY is a well-groomed man in his thirties who makes every effort to look good. TROXELL I've got this guy in my office. Doctor Alan Paley. Wait until you hear what he has to say. Cardenas and Troxell enters the room. Cardenas shakes hands with Paley and listens with great interest as he starts to talk. INT. DULANEY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Dulaney and Sharon are in bed. Dulaney reads some PAPERS. Sharon finishes reading her MAGAZINE. She puts it on the nightstand and looks at Dulaney. SHARON How can Cardenas possibly think he can build a case against two consenting adults? DULANEY He must have something or he wouldn't be pressing so hard. SHARON If he files are you going to take the case? DULANEY I don't know yet. I want to hear what she says at her statement tomorrow. SHARON What's she like? DULANEY Attractive. Bright. Distant. Charming when she wants to be. Dulaney's description seems to bother her. SHARON She sounds like quite a woman. DULANEY (joking) Yeah -- but can she cook? Sharon hits him on the arm playfully. 15 SHARON The whole thing gives me the creeps. I mean -- what if she really humped him to death? Dulaney grins at her choice of words. DULANEY Humped SHARON (grinning) Yes. DULANEY I can think of worse ways to go-- Dulaney rolls over, gathering her up in his arms. DULANEY (continuing) --and speaking of humping. He reaches over to the nightstand and turns off the LIGHTS. EXT. CITY HALL BUILDING MORNING As Dulaney and Rebecca walks up the steps they are engulfed by a CROWD of REPORTERS. Dulaney puts his arm around Rebecca and ushers her through the crowd. INT. CARDENAS' OFFICE - MORNING Dulaney and Rebecca sit on one side of a table. Reese stands. Cardenas sits at his desk. REBECCA I didn't know that Andrew was dead until Mr. Sattler called me at home that night. REESE We have a witness who saw you go into the house at four thirty. DULANEY She's not denying she was there. REESE Did you have sex? 16 REBECCA Yes. REESE What time did you leave? REBECCA Six thirty -- and he was very much alive. CARDENAS Miss Lawson, do you use cocaine? REBECCA I have. CARDENAS Did you use it the night Marsh died? REBECCA No. I haven't done it in years. REESE Did Marsh use it? REBECCA No -- never. REESE It had to get there somehow. REBECCA It didn't get there from me. CARDENAS Were you aware of Mr. Marsh's heart condition? REBECCA No. CARDENAS Mr. Marsh's Cardiologist and his nurse have told us that you accompanied Mr. Marsh to their office on at least two occasions. REBECCA That's correct -- but Andrew never told me he had a heart condition. He said he had a heart arrhythmia and it was nothing serious. REESE He never mentioned his heart disease? 17 DULANEY She just said that. REESE Why do you think he lied to you? DULANEY That's something only Marsh would know. REESE I think Miss Lawson knew it too. I think she slipped him the coke and he popped his cork giving her the high- hard-one. Dulaney's anger shows. He stands. DULANEY That's it. My client doesn't have to take this crap from you. CARDENAS Sit down, Frank. DULANEY No. Miss Lawson came in here voluntarily to answer your questions. She doesn't have to sit here and be insulted. So, either you charge her now or we're leaving. A beat. Dulaney and Cardenas lock eyes. Cardenas shrugs his shoulders. CARDENAS Fine. Dulaney motions for Rebecca to get up. She stands and they walk to the door. Reese looks at Cardenas. Cardenas nods. REESE Rebecca Lawson, you're under arrest for the murder of Andrew Marsh. Rebecca is stunned -- frightened. She looks at Dulaney in disbelief. Dulaney looks at Cardenas angrily. Reese removes his handcuffs as he moves towards Rebecca. REESE You have the right to remain silent. If you give up-- 18 CARDENAS (to Reese) I don't think the handcuffs will be necessary. You can finish giving Miss Lawson her rights outside. Reese grabs Rebecca by the arm and leads her to the door. She looks back at Frank, her face filled with fear -- her eyes welling with tears. REBECCA (frightened) Frank! DULANEY I'll have you out in a few hours. Reese ushers her through the door. A beat. Dulaney and Cardenas are left alone. Cardenas starts fishing through a can of NUTS, carefully extracting the cashews. Dulaney continues to stand. DULANEY Lookin' to make the papers, John? CARDENAS Marsh left her close to three million dollars in his will. That's motive. She admits to being there the night of his death. That's opportunity -- and her fingerprints are on the nasal spray bottle. DULANEY (continuing) You can't show intent. Cardenas looks at Dulaney wryly. He knows that Dulaney is trying to discover his game plan. Cardenas looks into his can of nuts and fishes for another cashew. DULANEY (continuing) Can you? CARDENAS Take your pole out of the water, Frank. The fish ain't biting today. DULANEY You're bluffing. John, it's me, remember? I've known you since your name was Juan Carlos. Cardenas doesn't appreciate Dulaney mentioning his real name. 19 DULANEY (continuing) C'mon -- think about it. If she was going to kill Marsh why leave the nasal spray bottle there for the police to find? CARDENAS She planned this. She wanted us to find the nasal spray. DULANEY Why would she want that? CARDENAS Because she's clever. Because she knows that even if we didn't find it we'd have suspicions as to why a man in Marsh's condition would use cocaine. DULANEY Suspicions maybe -- but suspicions aren't enough for a conviction. CARDENAS The M.E.'s report stated that Marsh's nasal membranes showed no sign of prior cocaine use. Without the nasal spray we would have still treated it as a poisoning. We would have looked for motive and the trail would have still led back to her. DULANEY I don't buy it and neither will a jury. CARDENAS We're going all the way on this one, Frank. Tell your client she has until the prelim to cop a plea for murder two -- fifteen to twenty five. DULANEY I'll tell her but she won't take it. CARDENAS Then she's not as smart as I thought she was. You've seen her in the depositions. Tell me you don't have any doubts? 20 DULANEY She's innocent. CARDENAS Aren't they all? DULANEY Yeah. Well -- we'll let the blindfolded lady with the scales decide that. Dulaney gets up slowly and leaves. INT. CITY JAIL, BOOKING COUNTER - AFTERNOON Dulaney waits at the counter. A barred door slides open and Rebecca is led out by a WOMAN JAILER. Even in these surroundings she maintains her composure. She walks to the counter and waits silently. EXT. CITY HALL BUILDING - AFTERNOON As Dulaney and Rebecca leave they are once again encircled by REPORTERS, screaming questions, asking them to verify Rebecca's arrest. Dulaney plows through the crowd with Rebecca in tow. EXT. RIVER - AFTERNOON Gray clouds hang overhead, threatening rain. Tall birch trees line the river, the color of their leaves hinting that autumn is approaching. Dulaney and Rebecca walk along a jogging path cut along the bank. DULANEY I want you to know right now that the trial's going to be nasty. Your sex life is going to be dragged through the mud. They're going to say that you enticed Marsh -- led him down a dark path. REBECCA Andrew hardly needed leading. He was a very passionate man. He was eager to explore. I gave him what he wanted. We fulfilled each others needs. DULANEY This is a very small town -- people here have very straight views on sex. 21 REBECCA I'm used to being on the outside looking in. The same men who will publicly profess their moral outrage for my sexual tastes are the same ones who privately rest their sweaty little hands on my legs and talk about weekend trips together. DULANEY Those same men will be sitting on the jury. REBECCA I am who I am. I can't deny it, anymore than you can deny who you are. I like sex different -- I like it wild. That's not a crime. (emotional) I loved Andrew. We made love together. We made it differently, but we still made love. It was our way. It was private -- and now the whole world wants to look in through the pretense of justice. If I was some middle-aged divorcee who screwed him once a week do you think this would be happening to me? She stops walking and stares out over the River. REBECCA Have you ever seen animals make love, Mr. Dulaney? They have such passion -- such savage emotion. They struggle, and snarl, and claw, but neither hurts the other. Not really. DULANEY No pain, no gain? REBECCA Something like that. DULANEY We're not animals. As Rebecca speaks, Dulaney seems captivated. 22 REBECCA Of course we are. Our primal urges are still there -- but we've taken sex and intellectualized it, refined it down to its most essential components. It's bland, easy, mechanical. There's great passion in the struggle -- such craving in denial. Do you know what it's like to yearn for something? I'm not talking about wanting, or needing. I'm talking about an urge so deep that your skin burns and every cell in your body pulses with desire? Dulaney appears moved by the passion of her words -- but he's uncomfortable by it and quickly pushes it aside. DULANEY (awkwardly) I think we're getting a little off the subject here. REBECCA I thought the subject was sex? DULANEY As it pertains to you -- not me. (beat) Did you always know you had different... tastes? REBECCA Yes. DULANEY How? REBECCA I don't know if it's something I can explain to you. DULANEY Why not? REBECCA Because -- it's beyond intellect. It's emotion. It's passion. It has to be experienced -- it can't be imagined. DULANEY Try. Rebecca thinks for a moment. 23 REBECCA When I was growing up we had a strawberry patch in our backyard. So did this family down the road. I used to sneak in their yard and steal their strawberries. It wasn't easy. The stone walls were high and I'd scrape my knees as I climbed over. On the other side were wild rose bushes. The thorns would dig into my legs and cut my thighs as I lowered myself down. DULANEY If you had what you wanted at home why did you sneak into their yard? REBECCA Because -- somehow the fruit always tasted that much sweeter because of the pain it took to get to it. Dulaney appears lost in her words. This isn't lost on Rebecca. She walks off. Dulaney stares after her intrigued. INT. DULANEY'S HOUSE, DINING ROOM - EVENING A light rain falls outside. Dulaney picks at his food. He stares out the window. He seems oblivious to the conversation between Sharon and Michael. MICHAEL Albert's got the stomach flu. SHARON That's too bad. MICHAEL No, it's not. Now I get to pitch. SHARON Michael, you shouldn't be happy when someone else isn't feeling well. MICHAEL Not even if they're a dork? SHARON Not even if they're a dork. You should go by and see how he's feeling. 24 MICHAEL No way. Jerry Milner stopped by and Albert puked right in front of him. Sharon tries to suppress a grin. SHARON Don't use language like that at the dinner table. MICHAEL Sorry. Sharon looks at Dulaney. He is still staring out the window, deep in thought. INT. DEN - EVENING Dulaney is at his desk, looking at PHOTOGRAPHS of Marsh and the bedroom. Sharon enters. SHARON Frank -- I know you're busy, but Michael asked me after dinner if you were angry with him. He wanted to know why you weren't talking to him. DULANEY I'll talk to him later. SHARON Why don't you talk to him now? DULANEY Because I go to trial in seven weeks. I've got a lot of preparing to do. SHARON (angry) No one's asking you not to work. I just think you could make some time for your son. INT. MICHAEL'S BEDROOM - EVENING Michael lies on his bed, doing his homework. The door opens and Dulaney enters and sits beside him. DULANEY I'm sorry if it looks like I'm not paying attention to you lately. 25 Michael looks at Dulaney somewhat confused. Dulaney tries to explain it another way. DULANEY (continuing) You know how it is sometimes when you're out playing ball with your friends? How you're really concentrating on what you're doing -- and you lose track of time and you come home late and Mom yells at you? MICHAEL Yeah. DULANEY Well, that's kind of how I am right now. MICHAEL Is Mom yelling at you too? Dulaney grins. DULANEY Yeah -- a little. Dulaney leans over and hugs Michael. DULANEY I love you. MICHAEL I love you too, Dad. INT. DULANEY'S OFFICE - MORNING CHARLIE BIGGS is a tall, wiry black man. Street-wise, but basically good humored. He is tossing a NERF BALL through a basketball hoop mounted on the wall as Dulaney enters. BIGGS How you doin' Mister D? DULANEY Fine, Charlie. You familiar with the Marsh case? 26 BIGGS Yeah -- I hear they had 'em a real dog and pony show going on up there - - I'll tell you, sometimes white people are a real puzzle to me. I mean, did this old guy really think he was gonna be able to keep up with a sweet little number like that? DULANEY It could've happened to anyone. BIGGS (ghetto accent) I'm sorry, man -- but I ain't ever heard of no brother dying from gettin' too much pussy. Dulaney grins in spite of himself. DULANEY We have to find out who else would profit from Marsh's death -- and who knew enough about his personal life to know that putting cocaine in the nasal spray would be fatal. BIGGS So -- where do we start? DULANEY I want you to hit all the dealers in town. Give them a list of people close to Marsh and see if any of them use. Then I want you to check out a Doctor Alan Paley. He lives up in Roseburg. Dulaney's SECRETARY'S VOICE crackles over the intercom. SECRETARY (VO) Mister Dulaney, I have Rebecca Lawson on one. Dulaney picks up the phone. DULANEY (on the phone) Hi... No, I don't... One o'clock is fine... Alright La Brasa... Bye. Dulaney hangs up. Biggs is staring at him with a grin. BIGGS La Brasa? 27 DULANEY (defensive) I'm taking a client to lunch. Where should I go, Taco Bell? Biggs tosses the ball to Dulaney, then raises his hands indicating he is backing off. He leaves. Dulaney shoots from his desk. SWOOSH! INT. RESTAURANT - DAY Dimly lit. Dark wood and leather. Dulaney sits at a table with Rebecca. She removes a CIGARETTE and holds it, waiting for Dulaney to light it. Dulaney fumbles through his pockets and removes a book of MATCHES. He lights one. Rebecca doesn't lean forward to meet him. He must go to her. She looks into his eyes as she cups her hand over his. A beat. She lights the cigarette and takes a drag, then arches her neck back and blows a stream of smoke towards the ceiling. SHE DOES NOT BLOW OUT THE MATCH OR REMOVE HER HAND FROM DULANEY'S. She watches him as it burns down towards his fingers. After a long moment she leans in and sensually blows out the match and releases his hand. DULANEY How'd you meet Marsh? REBECCA I was at a cocktail party. Very trendy. Andrew was in Chicago on business. He had broken his wrist the week before and was wearing it in a sling. He looked so helpless. A FOURSOME a few tables away are staring at her. Rebecca sees them. DULANEY -- And then? REBECCA We started talking. In fact, we talked until four in the morning. We discovered we shared a lot of the same interests. After that we were together all the time until he left. He used to call me every night after he came back. Then after a few weeks he invited me to come visit him. I've never left. DULANEY Why didn't you live together? 28 REBECCA Andrew was worried about how it would look. A COUPLE in a booth are looking at Rebecca and whispering. Rebecca and Dulaney notice them. REBECCA Can we get out of here? DULANEY Sure. Where to? Rebecca stands up. She doesn't answer. She just walks off. EXT. REBECCA'S HOUSE - AFTERNOON Dulaney pulls up in his car behind Rebecca's. They get out. Dulaney follows her as she walks to the door. DULANEY This is your house. REBECCA (walking towards the door) I know. Dulaney stops. DULANEY I don't think this is a good idea. Rebecca stops and turns towards him. REBECCA Why not? DULANEY Because, I'm your attorney. I shouldn't be going to your house. REBECCA Is it against the law? DULANEY No -- it just doesn't look right. Rebecca stares at him for a moment, then looks down the street to her left and back to her right, then back at Dulaney. REBECCA No one's looking. 29 She walks to her front door and opens it. She enters, leaving the door open. Dulaney waits for a moment, then follows. INT. REBECCA'S, LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON Dulaney enters. Rebecca is standing in the middle of the room. Her back is to Dulaney, but she knows he is there. Dulaney looks around the room. He stares at a group of PHOTOGRAPHS on the wall. On the other WALL is a GIANT TELEVISION SCREEN. DULANEY'S POV - OF THE WALL filled with EROTIC PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS -- sensual but not vulgar. Rebecca walks over and stands very close to him as he studies the artwork. REBECCA What do you think? DULANEY I think the photographer's probably a voyeur. REBECCA I'm the photographer. DULANEY Oh -- Well, they're different. REBECCA That's not an answer. DULANEY It's not my taste. REBECCA (seductively) Tastes can change. Rebecca looks up to the top of a high cabinet. Sitting on top of the cabinet is a WHITE PERSIAN CAT. REBECCA There you are. She stands on her tip toes as she reaches up. Dulaney watches her -- the arch of her back -- the hem of her skirt rising up her legs. She lowers the cat down and walks to a chair and sits down. The slit of her dress opens revealing her thighs. Dulaney's eyes trace along them. Rebecca notes his gaze. 30 REBECCA What are you thinking? Dulaney looks up quickly. DULANEY Nothing. REBECCA Not true. Shall I tell you what you were thinking? You were wondering if I was wearing anything under my skirt. The fact that he doesn't protest confirms that she is right. She runs her finger lightly along her thighs. REBECCA I am. Dulaney walks to the window and stares out. Rebecca seems amused. She puts the cat down and walks over to him. REBECCA Sorry. I wasn't trying to embarrass you. He slowly turns towards her. DULANEY Yes you were. Dulaney stares at her for a moment, then places his briefcase on the table and opens it. INT. RESTAURANT - CLOSE ON STRAWBERRIES - NIGHT A fork digs into a large strawberry. PULL BACK as we follow the strawberry into Sharon's mouth. Dulaney sits across from Sharon. His eyes are on the strawberries. His mind is someplace else -- and it isn't hard to guess where. SHARON --he said it might be too expensive to add another room. He suggested we might convert the garage into a guest room. He's going to check with the contractor and let me know. I'll let you know how much and we can decide. Alright? 31 Dulaney looks up slowly. It is not so much that he has heard the question -- it is more that he is aware that Sharon has stopped talking. A beat. Sharon isn't sure he has heard her. SHARON Is that alright, Frank? DULANEY Yeah -- fine. Excuse me. I'll be right back. He stands and leaves the table. INT. RESTAURANT, HALLWAY - NIGHT Dulaney walks to a PAY PHONE near the bathrooms. He thinks for a moment, then dials a number. Rebecca answers. REBECCA (VO) Hello? DULANEY Hi. It's Frank. REBECCA (VO) Hi, Frank. DULANEY (awkwardly) I just wanted to see if my secretary called to confirm your appointment tomorrow. REBECCA (VO) Yes -- she did. DULANEY Great. I'll see you at the office at nine. REBECCA (VO) No -- not at the office. I've got a better idea. EXT. CABIN, KLAMATH LAKE - AFTERNOON An old wood cabin set on the shore of the lake. Dulaney and Rebecca get out of the car and walk towards it. REBECCA I figured if we have to talk all day we might as well do it someplace nice. 32 (looks at the cabin) Isn't it beautiful? DULANEY Yeah. REBECCA (sadly) Andrew loved this old cabin. (fondly remembering) He always dreamed about moving to Tahiti -- living in a hut and becoming a beach-bum. (a sad smile) I could never imagine myself doing that -- but somehow when he talked about it, he made it sound so alive - - so wonderful. Soft ocean breezes and beautiful sunsets -- leaving the world and it's problems behind. I wish he'd had a chance to do it. Her mind drifts away for a moment, locked on some distant memory. REBECCA (snapping out of it) Sorry. DULANEY It's okay. EXT. LAKE, FURTHER - DUSK Dulaney and Rebecca walk along the shore. A soft wind blows through her hair. DULANEY Tell me about Doctor Paley? REBECCA I hardly know him. He wanted me and he couldn't have me. DULANEY It's going to be hard to convince a jury that he's testifying against you in a murder trial because you blew him off. REBECCA (confidently) It won't be that hard. 33 She walks off. EXT. CABIN - DUSK Dulaney and Rebecca sit on an old porch swing. REBECCA Did you always want to be a lawyer? DULANEY No -- I wanted to be a professional hockey player. REBECCA Really? DULANEY Yeah. REBECCA That seems so far away from who you are now. What happened? DULANEY I broke my ankle skating. That ended that dream. REBECCA It's hard to let go of a dream, isn't it? To let go of what you want? Dulaney stares at her -- she looks beautiful in the warm light of the setting sun. Their eyes meet. He starts to lean in towards her -- then stops. He gets up and walks away. EXT. REBECCA'S HOUSE - EVENING Rebecca's car pulls up in front. Dulaney gets out. REBECCA I'm going to put the car away. You can let yourself in. There's a key under the flower pot. Rebecca drives to the rear of the building. Dulaney walks to the door. He lifts the FLOWER POT -- removes a KEY -- opens the door and goes inside. ANGLE - DOWN THE STREET Detective Reese is parked in his car, watching the house. He glances at his watch, then makes a note in his note pad. 34 INT. REBECCA'S LIVING ROOM - EVENING Rebecca walks over to the STEREO and turns on the CASSETTE PLAYER. The room fills with soft, sexy MUSIC. Dulaney stands in the middle of the room -- his eyes following her every move. REBECCA Yes -- it would be nice. DULANEY What would? REBECCA You and me -- making love. DULANEY Is that what you think I was thinking? REBECCA No -- that's what I know you were thinking. Before Dulaney can start to protest she continues. She slowly walks behind him. Dulaney stares straight ahead. REBECCA How often do you make love to your wife, Frank? Once a week? Sometimes twice? There once was passion, wasn't there? But now it's bland, predictable. Tell me, when you do it -- do you always think of her? Or do you wonder what it would be like to be with someone else? Someone wild. Someone who would force you to lose control. Her words strip his thoughts bare. He is vulnerable. REBECCA (continuing) There's nothing wrong in admitting that you want me, Frank. DULANEY You take a lot for granted. Dulaney starts for the door. Rebecca's cool exterior fades, giving way to her vulnerable side. 35 REBECCA Please stay, Frank. I don't want to be alone. I don't expect anything from you -- no demands -- no complications. I just need to feel close to someone. Dulaney turns back towards her. A beat. He thinks for a moment, then walks back into the room. Rebecca smiles warmly, invitingly. REBECCA I'll be back in a minute. Help yourself to a drink. She disappears down the hall. Dulaney stands were he is, wondering what he is doing there. He walks over to the BAR and pours a SCOTCH. He looks down the hall. HIS POV - REBECCA'S BEDROOM The bedroom door is open. The room is DARK -- Lit only by the moon. Rebecca slowly pulls her sweater off over her head. MOONLIGHT washes over her body, SILHOUETTING her. She runs her hands lightly over her stomach -- working her way up to her round, full breasts. She stops for a moment -- and we sense she knows Dulaney is watching her. Dulaney stares at her -- mesmerized. He knows he should turn away, but he cannot control the urge that moves him to look. One by one Rebecca unsnaps the buttons of her jeans, revealing her sheer, white panties. She bends forward slightly and slowly peels the jeans down to her ankles -- then steps out of them. We can see the desire on Dulaney's face. He looks away. The conflict inside him grows. He looks back. Rebecca walks into the hall. She is barefoot -- wearing a long, slinky dress -- her eyes catch Dulaney's. If she wasn't aware he was watching her before -- she is now. It doesn't seem to bother her. She moves towards him slowly -- her eyes inviting his. Dulaney moves towards her. They meet in the middle of the room. She waits -- he moves closer -- so close that he can smell her. She cranes her neck back, subtly tempting him to bring his lips to hers. The longing overcomes him. He kisses her lightly -- the kiss lingers for a moment, then she grabs him forcefully by the hair, arching his head back. She bites his lip. 36 REBECCA (whispering) My way. Dulaney ignores her. He tries to kiss her again. She turns her head away. She walks down the hall into the bedroom and closes the door. Dulaney follows. He tries the door -- it's locked. He starts to knock -- stops -- turns and walks back into the living room. He starts to leave -- stops. He looks at the bedroom door. His passion builds -- his hunger for her devours him. He moves quickly down the hall -- eyes filled with determination. He breaks the door open with his shoulder. Rebecca is standing in the center of the room -- as if waiting for him. He moves to her. She can see the fire in his eyes. He takes her in his arms -- kisses her neck feverishly -- feeding his craving for her. REBECCA My way. He is lost within her now and doesn't hear her. She pulls his hair, jerking his head back. Her eyes command him to follow her demand. Something in him snaps -- a new door opens. He pushes her back onto the DRESSING CABINET. He kisses her, running his hand up her thighs, hiking up her dress. She wraps her legs around his waist. They move along the cabinet -- knocking jars and bottles to the floor. He lifts her -- carries her to the bed - - lays her down and rips her dress from her body. Their passion is unleased. They grope and claw for one another hungrily. She pulls his shirt off and bites him on the shoulder. His face tenses from the pain, but he MOANS with pleasure. INT. DULANEY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Dark. Sharon is asleep. The door opens and Dulaney enters quietly. He walks towards the bathroom. INT. DULANEY'S BATHROOM - NIGHT Dulaney splashes a handful of water across his face. He unbuttons his shirt and takes it off -- wincing as he does. He turns his back to the mirror. Several deep FINGERNAIL SCRAPES are dug into his back. He looks at himself in the mirror. 37 INT. HALLWAY, LAW OFFICES - MORNING Dulaney and Biggs walk down the hall to a water cooler. Biggs pours himself a glass. BIGGS Before you ask there's nothing new on the coke. DULANEY You've got to get me something I can use, Charlie. BIGGS I'm trying. Sattler walks over with another MAN. He ignores Biggs. SATTLER Frank -- this is Harvey Willows from the L.A. Times. He'd like to ask you a few questions. MAN It's an incredible story going on here. (as if quoting a headline) Woman accused of using sex to kill lover. BIGGS I'll say -- it's gonna give a whole new meaning to the state nickname. Biggs LAUGHS and walks off. Sattler glares at him. Dulaney smirks. MAN (confused) What's the state nickname? DULANEY (dryly) The Beaver State. EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - DAY Rows of new Town Houses line the street. Dulaney drives up and walks towards the front door of one of them. He KNOCKS. JOANNE BRASLOW answers. She stares at Dulaney innocently. 38 INT. JOANNE'S TOWN HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY Sparsely decorated. Very trendy. High tech furniture and designer lights. Joanne sits on the couch -- Dulaney on one of the chairs. There is COFFEE on the table. JOANNE I worked for Mr. Marsh for six years. He was a good man -- until she came along. DULANEY What changed? JOANNE He did. Look, I know you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink -- but you hold a pail of water in front of an old horse for long enough -- and well... Joanne stops as emotion fills her. Her eyes well with tears. DULANEY You don't really believe what the district attorney is saying about Miss Lawson, do you? JOANNE I don't know. It's incredible to think that anyone could be capable of doing that -- but if anyone could it would be Rebecca. DULANEY I take it you don't like Miss Lawson very much? JOANNE I really don't know her that well. We would say hello to each other when I would come to the house, but that was about it. DULANEY If you don't know her that well what makes you think she's capable of murder? JOANNE Andrew was a kind and gentle man, but he was thirty years older than her. Where's the attraction to sleep with someone like that -- to have the kind of sex they had. 39 DULANEY How do you know what kind of sex they had? JOANNE I wasn't lookin' through the keyhole if that's what you're thinking. I'd come to house sometimes to pick up papers or speak to Andrew. I'd find their little toys all over the place. DULANEY Did Mr. Marsh use drugs? JOANNE No. DULANEY What about Miss Lawson? JOANNE Yes -- cocaine. Dulaney is shocked by this. DULANEY How do you know that? JOANNE I was at the house one morning -- I thought Miss Lawson was upstairs with Mr. Marsh. When I went into the guest bathroom she was standing in front of the mirror pouring this white powder out of a vial. Dulaney looks like he's been kicked in the stomach. JOANNE Is something wrong. A beat. Dulaney looks at her slowly. DULANEY What? No -- nothing. Thank you for your time. He gets up and walks to the door. Joanne stands and stares after him with a trace of a grin. INT. REBECCA'S HOUSE - DAY Rebecca opens the front door and Dulaney barges into the room. 40 DULANEY You lied to me! REBECCA What? DULANEY I just left Joanne Braslow. She told me she saw you doing cocaine at Marsh's house! REBECCA She's mistaken. DULANEY (Yelling) That's not good enough, Goddamit! REBECCA It isn't true. You have to believe me. DULANEY No, I don't have to believe you. The jury has to believe you and answers like he's lying or she's mistaken aren't going to convince them. REBECCA I don't use cocaine anymore. If she says she saw me doing it she's lying. DULANEY Why would she lie? REBECCA I don't know, Frank -- but don't you think that's something we should find out? Dulaney is confused, struggling to decide if he believes her. INT. LAUNDRY ROOM, DULANEY HOUSE - DAY Sharon is getting a load of washing ready. She picks up one of Dulaney's tee shirts and notices several thin stripes of BLOOD near the shoulder. INT. DULANEY'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - DAY RAIN falls. Dulaney enters the room to find Michael on the PHONE. Dulaney appears nervous -- anxious. 41 DULANEY Michael -- get off the phone. MICHAEL Why? DULANEY (impatiently) Because I'm expecting a call. MICHAEL -- But it's Sunday. DULANEY (snapping) I know what day it is! Get off the phone. MICHAEL (hurt; into phone) I gotta go. I'll call you later. Michael hangs up and leaves the room. Dulaney stares at the phone -- struggling against himself. He picks it up and dials. REBECCA'S VOICE This is Rebecca Lawson. I'm not in right now. So if you please leave a message-- Dulaney slams down the phone. He checks his watch. INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT Dulaney wears another tee shirt as he sleeps. Sharon is awake, staring up at the ceiling. A beat. She rolls over and carefully lifts up Dulaney's tee shirt. She sees the scratches on his back. She does not wake him. She just lays there, deep in thought. INT. HALLWAY, COURTHOUSE - MORNING Rebecca walks down the hall. In the b.g. we see Dulaney walking quickly to join her. DULANEY I called you all weekend. Where were you? REBECCA I went out on the boat. 42 DULANEY (concerned) Alone? REBECCA Of course. INT. COURTROOM - MORNING The gallery is crowded with REPORTERS and SPECTATORS. Dulaney sits beside Rebecca at the defense table. Cardenas stands before the jury. Dulaney and Cardenas are seated at their respective tables. Rebecca sits beside Dulaney. She is wearing a beautiful, well tailored dress. She looks beautiful and has surprisingly made no attempt to down-play her looks. JUDGE BURNHAM, a confident BLACK MAN in his fifties sits behind the bench. He is strong-willed -- tough but fair. There is a rough edge to him from his childhood on the streets. JUDGE BURNHAM This trial by its very nature is explosive. The press is going to have a field day and I will not tolerate any activity in my courtroom that will fuel it. (to Dulaney and Cardenas) Both of you are going to be delving into very personal aspects of peoples lives. I warn you now. When you do so -- if you cannot establish a clear line of relevancy early on in your examinations I will stop you. Is that clear? Dulaney and Cardenas both nod. JUDGE BURNHAM Mr. Cardenas. Cardenas stands and walks towards the JURY. CARDENAS (points to Rebecca) You all can see the defendant, Rebecca Lawson. But as this trial proceeds you will see that she is not only the defendant -- she is the murder weapon itself. 43 (stops and thinks for a moment) Is that possible? Can a person actually be a weapon? The answer is yes. If I hit you and you die -- I am the cause of your death. But can sex be called a weapon? Yes. And what a deadly weapon Rebecca Lawson made of it. The State will prove that Miss Lawson seduced Andrew Marsh -- that she put increasing sexual demands on him while she secretly administered cocaine. All the while knowing that he had a severe heart condition. (beat) She is a beautiful woman -- but when this trial is over you will see her no differently than a gun, or a knife or any other instrument used as a weapon. She is a killer. And the worst kind -- one who disguised herself as a loving partner. Cardenas walks back to the prosecution table and sits down. JUDGE BURNHAM Mr. Dulaney? Dulaney stands up and approaches the jury. DULANEY I know what you're thinking -- and it's a mistake. You look at Miss Lawson and you see a beautiful woman who was involved with an older man -- and you think she looks like the type. She could've done it. And that's exactly what the District Attorney wants you to think. Yes, she is beautiful. So what? Does that make her a killer? Of course not. This case is not about appearances. It's about facts. (beat) As Mr. Cardenas presents his case you will see that there are very few facts -- that the bulk of the States evidence is circumstantial. I'm confident that by the conclusion of this trial you will not just have a reasonable doubt. You will have no doubt at all -- that Rebecca Lawson is innocent of the charges against her. 44 INT. COURTROOM - LATER - DAY McCurdy is on the witness stand. Cardenas stands before him. CARDENAS Doctor McCurdy, what was the cause of death? MCCURDY A massive cardiac arrest. CARDENAS What was Mr. Marsh's physical condition prior to his death? MCCURDY Very poor. He was suffering from severe arterial disease. CARDENAS Was the heart attack the result of natural causes? MCCURDY No. CARDENAS What induced it? MCCURDY We found a high concentration of cocaine in his blood. CARDENAS So, Mr. Marsh used cocaine? MCCURDY I don't think so. The membrane in his nasal passage didn't show any sign of long time usage. CARDENAS Then how did it get into his body? MCCURDY We found a bottle of Dristan nasal spray on the nightstand. It was filled with water and cocaine. Mr. Marsh had a head cold at the time of his death. I believe he wasn't aware that he was ingesting cocaine. 45 Cardenas holds up a bottle of NASAL SPRAY in a PLASTIC BAG. He brings it over to McCurdy. CARDENAS Is this the bottle that was found on the nightstand? MCCURDY (examines it) Yes. CARDENAS Your Honor, the State enters this evidence as exhibit A. (to McCurdy) Were any fingerprints found on the bottle? MCCURDY Yes -- those of Mr. Marsh and a thumb print of Miss Lawson's. CARDENAS Dr. McCurdy, what would cocaine do to someone in Mr. Marsh's condition? MCCURDY Increase his heart rate. CARDENAS -- And if he were in the midst of making love while under the influence of cocaine? MCCURDY It would be an added stress to his heart. CARDENAS What would be the effect if someone secretly administered cocaine to Mr. Marsh and then induced him to make love? MCCURDY It would be the same as shooting a gun at him. CARDENAS Thank you, Doctor McCurdy. (to Dulaney) Your witness. 46 Rebecca looks at Dulaney for his opinion of McCurdy's testimony. Dulaney gives her a reassuring glance before he stands up and approaches McCurdy. DULANEY Can you say with any certainty that Mr. Marsh didn't ingest the cocaine himself? MCCURDY No -- but it seems highly unlikely that a man in his condition would use cocaine. DULANEY That's your opinion, Doctor -- but I'm asking you if there is any scientific test that can tell who actually put the cocaine into the Dristan bottle? MCCURDY No. DULANEY Thank you. INT. COURTROOM - LATER - DAY Cardenas stands before DOCTOR TRAMMEL, a thin, pasty-faced man in his fifties. CARDENAS Doctor Trammel, when did you first diagnose that Mr. Marsh had heart disease? DR. TRAMMEL About a year and half ago. CARDENAS Did Mr. Marsh change his lifestyle after that? DR. TRAMMEL Yes -- he stopped smoking and drinking and exercised regularly. CARDENAS He did everything he could to take care of his heart? DR. TRAMMEL Yes. 47 CARDENAS Did Miss Lawson ever accompany Mr. Marsh to your office? DR. TRAMMEL Yes. CARDENAS Just one last question. What does the sign on your office door say? DR. TRAMMEL Doctor Steven Trammel. Cardiologist. Cardenas walks back to his seat, signaling his examination of the witness is over. Dulaney stands. DULANEY Dr. Trammel, did you ever speak to Miss Lawson about Mr. Marsh's condition? DR. TRAMMEL No. DULANEY Did Mr. Marsh ever tell you that he had spoken to Miss Lawson about his illness? DR. TRAMMEL No. DULANEY Did Miss Lawson ever accompany Mr. Marsh inside during his examinations? DR. TRAMMEL No. DULANEY Then you have no way of knowing what Mr. Marsh told Miss Lawson were the reasons for his visits? DR. TRAMMEL No. No, I don't. INT. COURTROOM - LATER - DAY Joanne Braslow is on the stand. She is wearing a smart business suit and large-framed glasses. Her hair is pulled back tight. Cardenas stands before her. 48 CARDENAS How long were you Mr Marsh's personal secretary? JOANNE Six years. CARDENAS Did you ever see Mr. Marsh use Cocaine? JOANNE No -- never. CARDENAS What about Miss Lawson? JOANNE Yes. CARDENAS Tell the court about that, please. JOANNE I opened the bathroom door one day and saw Miss Lawson pouring Cocaine out of a vial. CARDENAS Did you see Mr. Marsh the day before his death? JOANNE Yes. CARDENAS How did he look? JOANNE Horrible. He was tired and pale. CARDENAS Did you talk about Miss Lawson? JOANNE Yes. CARDENAS What did Mr. Marsh say? 49 JOANNE He was worried. He said that she was acting stranger and stranger. He said that if this kept up she was going to kill him. That his heart couldn't take it. There is an audible BUZZ from the crowd. For the first time Rebecca's confident exterior seems to fade and is replaced with genuine concern. CARDENAS Thank you. (to Dulaney) Your witness. Cardenas sits down. Dulaney gets up slowly and walks towards Joanne. DULANEY How do you know it was cocaine that Miss Lawson had in the bathroom? JOANNE What other kind of white powder do people keep in a vial? DULANEY Do you remember the date when you saw Miss Lawson in the bathroom? JOANNE Yes-- (thinks a moment) It was on a Friday. I remember because I was going to visit my sister for her birthday. It would be October twenty-eighth. DULANEY Could you repeat the last part of what Mr. Marsh said to you the day before his death? JOANNE He said that if it kept up she was going to kill him. That his heart couldn't take it. DULANEY Didn't Mr. Marsh also tell you that Miss Lawson felt bored here and was thinking about going back to Chicago for awhile? 50 JOANNE Yes -- he mentioned it. DULANEY So, the woman he loved passionately was thinking about leaving. That must cause tremendous anxiety. Sleepless nights. Incredible stress. JOANNE I suppose. DULANEY So, isn't it possible that he was confiding in you about the pain he was feeling about losing what might be his last chance for love? That what he really was saying was that the uncertainty of her leaving was driving him crazy and if it didn't stop it was going to kill him. That if she did leave his heart couldn't take it. THE JURY waits anxiously for her answer. Joanne fidgets in his chair as she thinks. She appears confused. JOANNE I don't know. I'm not sure. DULANEY Well, think about it. Isn't it possible? JOANNE (begrudgingly) Yes. I suppose it's possible. Cardenas leans back in his seat frustrated. Rebecca breathes a sigh of relief. INT. UNDERGROUND PARKING LOT - LATE AFTERNOON Quiet and desolate -- most of the city employees have left for the day. Dulaney walks towards the back of the lot with Rebecca. REBECCA You were brilliant today. DULANEY It's only the beginning. 51 REBECCA Strong endings start with strong beginnings. (growing excitement) I love the way you twist what people say around -- manipulating their own words against them. They reach Rebecca's car. DULANEY Can I see you later? REBECCA You can see me now. Rebecca presses against him, raising her knee gently into his groin -- as she kisses him passionately. Dulaney is lost in her kiss for a moment, then breaks it off and looks around. Rebecca smiles -- takes off her shoes and stands on the hood of her car. She takes one of the shoes and hits the PARKING LOT OVERHEAD LIGHT FIXTURE. The BULB breaks sending the area in darkness. DULANEY What are you doing? She steps down and kisses him again. For a moment he tries to resist. REBECCA I want you inside me. His desire fills him. He pushes her back onto the hood of her car, hiking up her dress with his hands, as she reaches down and unbuttons his pants. INT. REBECCA'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The room is dimly lit. Dulaney is in bed. He appears to be deep in thought. Rebecca enters wearing a sheer, silk bathrobe and carrying a tea service on a tray. He places it on the bed and sits beside him. REBECCA Something wrong? DULANEY Paley could be a problem tomorrow. 52 REBECCA I'm sure you'll be able to handle him. DULANEY I'm glad you have such confidence in me. REBECCA Don't worry about Paley. He can't touch me. No one can. I've thought it all out. DULANEY (sits up; very concerned) What does that mean? You've been thinking about the case? Or you thought everything out before you killed Marsh? The question hurts Rebecca -- it shows on her face. She looks away from him. A beat. Dulaney thinks. He feels bad for asking such a question. DULANEY I'm sorry. (she doesn't look at him) Rebecca -- I'm sorry. Really. He takes her hand. She slowly looks at him and smiles. She points to the tea service. REBECCA Sugar or honey? DULANEY Honey. She lifts a PLASTIC BOTTLE of HONEY and starts to pour it into a cup. She stops and smiles seductively at Dulaney, then parts her bathrobe and slowly draws a liquid line with it along her thigh. She reaches out -- grabs him by the hair and gently pulls him forward. He kisses her knee and slowly runs his tongue along her thigh, following the trail upwards. She arches her back -- closes her eyes -- breathes deeply from the pleasure of his touch. INT. DULANEY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Dark. The door opens -- light from the hall streaks into the room. Sharon is asleep. Dulaney enters quietly. He watches her. He looks over at the nightstand. 53 HIS POV A PHOTOGRAPH of Dulaney and Sharon on vacation. Dulaney is carrying her on a beach. He is wearing a LARGE SOMBRERO. They are both laughing. Dulaney looks back at Sharon. He is a man lost within himself. He walks to the bathroom. Sharon opens her eyes and stares at him. INT. COURTROOM - MORNING Court is in session. Cardenas stands. CARDENAS The State calls Doctor Alan Paley. Doctor Paley stands and walks towards the witness stand. CARDENAS AND PALEY - MOMENTS LATER Paley has been sworn in. Cardenas examines him. CARDENAS Where did you meet Miss Lawson? DR. PALEY At a dinner party -- about eight months ago. CARDENAS Did you ever see her again after that? DR. PALEY Yes -- several times. CARDENAS What eventually happened to your relationship with Miss Lawson? DR. PALEY We stopped seeing each other. CARDENAS Why? DR. PALEY Well -- I realized that she wasn't interested in me. She was just trying to get information out of me. 54 CARDENAS What kind of information? DR. PALEY She said that she was working on a novel and she wanted to know what kinds of drugs would be harmful to someone with a bad heart. WHISPERS from the crowd fill the room. CARDENAS Did you suggest any? DR. PALEY Yes -- Insulin and others. CARDENAS What did she say? DR. PALEY She said that those weren't any good -- because their use would be detected and the police would know the victim had been poisoned. She wanted to know if there was a drug that would induce a heart attack but could also be used to enhance a sexual high. CARDENAS -- And what did you suggest? DR. PALEY Cocaine. More GASPS from the crowd. Rebecca's remains calm, but her eyes glare at Paley hatefully. CARDENAS (to Dulaney) Your witness. Cardenas sits down. Dulaney approaches Paley with a smile. DULANEY Dr. Paley, where were you the last time you saw Miss Lawson? DR. PALEY We had dinner at a restaurant. 55 DULANEY Isn't it true that later that night you tried to force yourself on Miss Lawson in the parking lot? DR. PALEY No. DULANEY You didn't grab her and try to kiss her? DR. PALEY No. DULANEY If necessary I can bring in the valet parking attendant and two customers who witnessed the occurrence. Paley thinks for a moment. He is nervous. DR. PALEY Well -- as I remember it, we had an argument. DULANEY And the argument was about the fact that you wanted to be romantically involved and she did not. DR. PALEY (hesitantly) Yes. DULANEY And after that didn't you continuously harass Miss Lawson? DR. PALEY No. Dulaney walks back to his desk and removes a TAPE PLAYER from a cardboard box. DULANEY Your Honor, this is a tape from Miss Lawson's answering machine. I would like to play it now. CARDENAS Objection. Your Honor, we don't know where this tape is from. Who made it -- or under what circumstances it was made. 56 Dulaney takes out two pieces of PAPER and approaches the bench. DULANEY These are reports from two independent audio labs. They each state that the voices were recorded over the phone and that no alterations have been made. Judge Burnham studies the paper. JUDGE BURNHAM I'll allow it. Dulaney walks back to his desk and presses the PLAY BUTTON. We HEAR a BEEP, then... DR. PALEY'S VOICE Rebecca -- I know you're there, Godammit. Answer the phone, you bitch! You can't treat me like this! We HEAR a PHONE slam down. Another BEEP. DR. PALEY'S VOICE You want to play games with me? Who the fuck do you think you are? Okay - - we'll play. You'll be sorry. Dulaney stops the machine. He takes a dramatic pause, letting the words on the tape sink in. Cardenas is dismayed and tries to hide his frustration. Dulaney approaches Paley who is now very nervous. DULANEY (quoting) You'll be sorry? DR. PALEY I was angry. DULANEY You're still angry, aren't you? Isn't it true that your whole story is nothing more than a vindictive attempt on your behalf to get back at Miss Lawson? DR. PALEY No -- she asked me about cocaine. DULANEY I suggest it never happened. 57 DR. PALEY (angrily) You can suggest anything you want. It happened. DULANEY No further questions. Dr. Paley's temper explodes. He is a loose cannon. DR. PALEY I may have been infatuated with her - - but I wouldn't perjure myself. DULANEY That's all Dr. Paley. INT. REBECCA'S BEDROOM - EVENING RAIN FALLS, streaking along the bedroom windows. CANDLES light the room. Dulaney and Rebecca are on the bed. She sits on top of him, writhing back and forth -- lost in the rhythm of their love making. CLOSE ON DULANEY - LATER He is asleep, laying on his back -- the sheets pulled up to his waist. LIGHTNING FLASHES outside -- a CLAP of THUNDER follows. He stirs and wakes up. HIS POV Another FLASH OF LIGHTNING illuminates Rebecca, who is standing over him in a sexy silk ROBE. Dulaney starts to sit up but something restrains him. He is HANDCUFFED to the BRASS HEAD BOARD. DULANEY What the... What are you doing? She sits next to him -- looks at him fondly -- gently strokes his face with her hand. DULANEY (nervously) Rebecca -- take these off. REBECCA Tonight we open new doors. 58 She slowly drags the tip of her finger up his stomach -- to his chest. Dulaney follows it with his eyes. Rebecca picks up a LARGE CANDLE on the nightstand and moves it slowly -- back and forth over his chest. DULANEY What are you going you doing? REBECCA Are you scared? He doesn't answer. He doesn't have to. She can see the fear in his eyes. She tilts the candle -- a stream of WAX pours out on his chest. Dulaney winces with pain, his body arching on the bed, his hands straining against his restraints. She smiles -- a wicked smile, then pours more wax, making a thin trail of LITTLE BEADS that moves down his chest towards his stomach. Dulaney's face cringes. He stares at her through eyes filled with fear. REBECCA (whispering) I love you, Frank. I love your strength -- be strong for me now. She continues to pour the wax in little BEADS, filling his navel and working her way towards his groin. DULANEY (pleading) Rebecca -- please. No more. Rebecca stares at him warmly -- fondly. REBECCA I told you in the beginning that it was my way. My way can be many things -- pleasure or pain. She lifts a bottle of white vinegar and holds it over his burn. He tenses as she pours it on his chest. -- then relaxes when he realizes it's water. He breathes a SIGH of relief. REBECCA You see how life is, Frank? We judge things. We look at things from the outside and assume we know what's on the inside. She takes a sip from the bottle. 59 REBECCA Water. But you assumed it was vinegar -- because you were only looking at the outside. Her meaning isn't lost on Dulaney. She watches him -- as if studying him -- then slowly -- very slowly, she pulls on the belt of her ROBE. The robe parts revealing the beauty of her body. She gently lowers herself on top of him -- pressing her breasts against him. Dulaney's breathing quickens in excitement. Rebecca moves her head to his chest -- kissing his burns softly while her fingers caress lightly over his stomach. She gradually moves her head down -- lower -- and lower. CLOSE ON DULANEY he stares at the ceiling -- his mind a maze of confusion. Soon the power of her touch fills him -- overpowering him. His eyes close. The pain that only moments ago filled his body is replaced with pleasure. INT. DULANEY'S HOUSE - NIGHT It's late. Dulaney enters quietly and heads for the stairs. A LIGHT comes on. Sharon is sitting on the couch waiting. SHARON Late night? Her voice startles Dulaney. DULANEY Yeah -- what are you doing up? SHARON We have to talk. DULANEY What's wrong? SHARON That's what I was hoping you'd tell me. Dulaney enters the living room. DULANEY Sharon, it's late. Can we get to the point? SHARON Where have you been? 60 DULANEY Working. Charlie and I were going over some statements. SHARON Charlie called at eleven thirty looking for you. (beat) You were with her, weren't you? DULANEY Yes. SHARON Why did you lie to me? DULANEY Because I knew you'd think exactly what you're thinking. Sharon springs off the couch. SHARON This isn't a courtroom. Don't try to turn this around on me. DULANEY I'm not. SHARON You're sleeping with her, aren't you? DULANEY No. SHARON It's bad enough that you are. It's even worse that you can stand here and lie to me. She starts to walks out of the room. Dulaney grabs her by the arm. DULANEY Sharon... She swings around and slaps him across the face, then stares at him angrily, her eyes filled with tears. SHARON You bastard! Do you think I'm some kind of idiot? That I don't have fuckin' eyes. I see. I feel. I hurt. 61 She walks out of the room, leaving Dulaney alone with his thoughts. INT. COURTROOM - DAY ESTER CRAWFORD is on the stand. She is a BLACK WOMAN in her thirties -- thin and tired-looking, although we get the impression she once was pretty. She is dressed in what is obviously her Sunday dress. Cardenas questions her. CARDENAS Mrs. Crawford, you were Mr. Marsh's maid for nine years? ESTER Yes. CARDENAS Did Miss Lawson and Mr. Marsh ever argue? ESTER Like cats and dogs. CARDENAS What did they argue about? ESTER You name it -- they argued about it. Mr. Marsh tried his best to keep her happy -- but it seemed that no matter what he did it was never enough for her. CARDENAS Did they argue the day before he died? ESTER Well -- he died on a Sunday and I have the weekends off -- but they were ripping at each other with both barrels Friday afternoon. CARDENAS What was the nature of the argument? ESTER Sex. CARDENAS Could you be more specific? 62 ESTER She was calling Mr. Marsh an old man -- making discourteous insinuations about his sexual abilities. She said that she had needs and that if he couldn't fulfill them she'd find someone who could. Dulaney jots down a note. Cardenas continues. CARDENAS Did you ever see Mr. Marsh use cocaine? ESTER No -- never. CARDENAS (to Dulaney) Your witness. Cardenas sits down. Dulaney approaches Ester with a smile. DULANEY Did you go to college, Mrs. Crawford? ESTER No. DULANEY High school? ESTER No. CARDENAS Your Honor, I fail to see what Mrs Crawford's educational background has to do with this case. DULANEY I was just about to make my point, Your Honor. JUDGE BURNHAM Do it quickly, Mr. Dulaney. DULANEY (reading from note pad) "Discourteous insinuations about his sexual abilities." Who told you to say that? 63 Ester doesn't answer, but her eyes drift past Dulaney and focus on Troxell. Dulaney follows her stare. DULANEY Did Mr. Troxell help you with that phrase? Troxell and Cardenas squirm a little. ESTER I heard him say it. DULANEY Then -- those are not your own words? ESTER No. DULANEY What else did the District Attorney's Office tell you to say? CARDENAS Objection, Your Honor. The fact that Mrs. Crawford heard Mr. Troxell reconstruct her sentence and decided to rephrase her words in a more intelligent manner for the court doesn't mean the incident never happened. DULANEY (to Cardenas) I'm just curious to see if Mr. Troxell reconstructed anything else. CARDENAS Your Honor -- please! JUDGE BURNHAM I'll see both of you in my chambers. Right now. INT. JUDGE BURNHAM'S CHAMBERS - MOMENTS LATER Judge Burnham lights a cigarette and sits on the edge of his desk. Dulaney and Cardenas stand before him. 64 JUDGE BURNHAM Mr. Dulaney, before you cast aspersions on the District Attorney's Office by suggesting they've coaxed this witness to say things that aren't true -- you better have more than a hunch. Do you? DULANEY No, Your Honor. JUDGE BURNHAM Maybe you don't know what it's like where Mrs. Crawford comes from -- but I do. I came from a neighborhood just like hers. This is a whole other world for her. She's a poor working woman who has been thrust into a room full of highly educated and mostly unsympathetic people. So, she puts on her best dress, fixes her hair and tries to present herself as intelligently as possible. (beat) Being poor and having pride is not a crime, Mr. Dulaney -- and before you attempt to impeach another witness' testimony in my courtroom -- your foundations better be based on something other than semantics. EXT. COURTHOUSE - AFTERNOON Dulaney walks down the steps. Cardenas joins him. CARDENAS I'm surprised you can walk after the way Burnham chewed your ass out this afternoon. Cardenas grins. His comment was meant as a friendly jab between old friends. Dulaney doesn't see it that way. DULANEY (coldly) I've got work to do. CARDENAS Hey -- the bell's sounded. It's between rounds. DULANEY I didn't hear it. 65 CARDENAS What's happening to you, Frank? You're acting like you're on trial here. This has become personal to you. DULANEY Back off, John. Cardenas studies him for a moment. CARDENAS You're sleeping with her, aren't you? Dulaney forces a laugh. It's not a very convincing one. DULANEY That's ridiculous. CARDENAS I'm talking to you as a friend now. Don't ruin your life, your career for her. She'll spit you out when this is over. DULANEY You don't know what you're talking about. CARDENAS Really? What does an attorney speak to his client about at her house until three o'clock in the morning? DULANEY You've been following me? CARDENAS Her. It's an obvious move. I'm building a case against her, remember? Something in Dulaney snaps. He grabs Cardenas and pushes him up against the wall. Cardenas pushes back. CARDENAS If your head wasn't up your ass you would have thought of it too. You're losing perspective. Get out while you can -- before she takes you down with her. 66 INT. HALLWAY - AFTERNOON Dulaney walks towards his office. Biggs walks quickly down the hall and joins him. BIGGS I've been waiting for you to get back. DULANEY You got something on the coke? BIGGS No -- but I got something. Biggs steps into Dulaney's office. Dulaney follows. INT. DULANEY'S OFFICE - MORNING Biggs picks up a remote control off the desk and sits on the couch. Dulaney sits at his desk. BIGGS During lunch I was watching some of Marsh's home videos. Biggs clicks the control. On the TV we see Rebecca on top of Marsh in the bedroom. BIGGS He was really into recording this stuff. The D.A.'s office found a box full of tapes. Watching Rebecca with Marsh bothers Dulaney. BIGGS This girl has really got some moves, huh? Dulaney stands up and turns off the television. DULANEY If you want to get your kicks go to a video store and rent a porno movie. Biggs studies Dulaney for a moment. Dulaney's reaction bothers him. He turns the TV back on and fast forwards the tape. The screen turns to SNOW where the tape has been recorded over. BIGGS This tape was recorded over an existing recording. 67 DULANEY Over what? Biggs raises a hand signaling patience. SNOW still fills the TV screen. BIGGS I would have missed it -- but the phone rang and I let it play while I talked. It looks like blank tape -- but it isn't. It's been erased without any input signal coming in. DULANEY So, what good is it to us if it's been erased? BIGGS It's very good -- because when the D.A's office saw it they assumed it was the end of the tape, otherwise they would have buried it. DULANEY Why? BIGGS Because it hasn't all been erased. Biggs looks at the screen. A beat. The SNOW dissolves and a picture fades in. The PICTURE LASTS only about five seconds. We see Rebecca from the back as she straddles Marsh, grinding up and down on the bed -- her hair flowing down her back. Marsh raises his hand. His WRIST IS IN A CAST. She turns her head to the side and as she does we see that it is not Rebecca -- but Joanne Braslow. The Tape clicks off. Dulaney stares at the blank screen. DULANEY (quoting Joanne) Where's the attraction to sleep with someone like that. EXT. PARKING LOT - DUSK Joanne Braslow walks to her BMW 325i. She is about to open the door when Dulaney approaches her. DULANEY I need to speak with you. 68 JOANNE I don't think we have anything more to talk about, Mr. Dulaney. She starts to get in the car. DULANEY You were sleeping with Marsh. She stops -- appears shocked that he knows this. There is now a different quality to her -- an edge. JOANNE Who told you that? DULANEY He video taped you. JOANNE That bastard! DULANEY I thought he was a kind, gentle man? Joanne doesn't appreciate Dulaney throwing her words back in her face. JOANNE Yes, I slept with him but that was a long time ago. DULANEY You're lying. Marsh was wearing a cast on the tape. It was right before he went to Chicago and met Miss Lawson. He dumped you for her, didn't he? Joanne can't hold back the emotion that is building. JOANNE Yes. DULANEY It must have been horrible. Having to go there -- seeing them together - - knowing he was sleeping with her in the same bed he did with you. JOANNE I was jealous. Of course I was hurt. He switched me off like a little toy he was finished playing with. But I didn't kill him. 69 Dulaney studies her. JOANNE (continuing) I'm a practical woman Mr. Dulaney. Killing Andrew wasn't in my best interest. As it is I'm out of a job and I'm not in his will. DULANEY Money isn't the only reason people commit murder, Miss Braslow. Dulaney walks off. Joanne stares after him. Her face is cold, showing no sign of emotion. INT. COURTROOM - DAY Dulaney sits beside Rebecca, but he seems distant. Cardenas stands up. CARDENAS The State calls Jeffery Roston. As soon as she hears the name Rebecca's face becomes tense, nervous. Dulaney notices it. He checks a list. DULANEY Your Honor, I don't see a Mr. Roston listed as a prosecution witness. CARDENAS The State's investigation just uncovered Mr. Roston yesterday afternoon in Chicago. Judge Burnham motions for Dulaney and Cardenas to approach the bench. CARDENAS Your Honor, Mr. Roston is an ex-lover of Miss Lawson's. JUDGE BURNHAM Why didn't the State's investigation uncover Mr. Roston earlier? CARDENAS He was away on an extended vacation and just returned two days ago. JUDGE BURNHAM Alright -- I'm going to allow his testimony. 70 DULANEY But Your Honor-- JUDGE BURNHAM That's it, Mr. Dulaney. Take a seat. Dulaney walks back to his chair. Rebecca appears genuinely nervous. INT. COURTROOM - LATER Cardenas stands before ROSTON a handsome man with salt and pepper hair in his late fifties. CARDENAS Mr. Roston, what was your relationship with Miss Lawson? ROSTON We were lovers. CARDENAS How long were you together? ROSTON For about one year. CARDENAS How would you describe your sex life with Miss Lawson? ROSTON Intense. CARDENAS I know this is a very personal subject, but could you be a little more specific? ROSTON It was wild. She was constantly trying to get me more and more worked up -- kinky things. I tried to satisfy her the best I could, but it was difficult in my condition. CARDENAS What kind of condition are you referring to? ROSTON I had a bad heart. 71 There is an AUDIBLE GASP from the crowd. Cardenas waits, giving the jury plenty of time to digest the implications of Roston's last statement. Dulaney looks at Rebecca dumbfounded. He tries to control his surprise from the eyes of the jury, but he can't. He stares ahead with a blank expression as he listens to the rest of the testimony. CARDENAS What happened next? ROSTON I had bypass surgery. CARDENAS And how are you now? ROSTON Fine. The doctors say if I keep taking care of myself I can live to be a very old man. CARDENAS How did your relationship with Miss Lawson progress after the surgery? ROSTON It didn't. CARDENAS Why not? ROSTON She left me. Dulaney slowly turns and looks at Rebecca. The anger and his sense of betrayal show on his face. CARDENAS Why did she say she was leaving? ROSTON She didn't. She just left. CARDENAS Why do you think she left you? ROSTON Well -- I think that after the operation she realized that... It takes Dulaney a few seconds to object to the question. He is clearly preoccupied with the implications of Roston's testimony. 72 DULANEY Objection. The question calls for a conclusion on the part of the witness. CARDENAS Your Honor, Mr. Roston lived with the defendant for many months. I feel that his opinion is valid in substantiating the character of the Miss Lawson. DULANEY The opinion of a scorned lover is hardly an objective view. JUDGE BURNHAM Objection sustained. CARDENAS Did Miss Lawson ever give you any indication why she was leaving? DULANEY Objection. The witness has already stated that Miss Lawson left without an explanation. JUDGE BURNHAM Mr. Cardenas, I suggest you move on to another line of questioning. CARDENAS When you say your sexual relations with Miss Lawson were intense what exactly do you mean? ROSTON It was like she was trying to push me as far as she could. She called it opening new doors. CARDENAS Can you give the court an example? ROSTON It was like sex was a game to her. She got off on the control. She always used to tell me it had to be her way. This strikes a chord with Dulaney. 73 ROSTON (continuing) It's hard to resist a woman as beautiful as she is. CARDENAS What would she do that made it hard to resist? ROSTON She's a woman who is very much aware of her own sexuality. Sometimes I felt she could read my mind. It was uncanny how she knew exactly what I wanted. A few nights before my heart surgery Rebecca woke me. She had handcuffed me to the bed. There are a few SNICKERS from the crowd. Dulaney is thinking about the familiarity of Roston's testimony. Judge Burnham BANGS his GAVEL. The crowd becomes silent. ROSTON She told me that tonight we were going to open new doors. I asked her to stop -- to take off the handcuffs, but she wouldn't listen. CARDENAS What did she say? Roston is clearly uncomfortable having to relate this part of his life. CARDENAS Mr. Roston I know this is difficult for you, but it's important you tell the court what she did. ROSTON She said she was going to fuck me like I've never been fucked before. More noise from the Crowd. Judge Burnham is annoyed. He BANGS his gavel again. JUDGE BURNHAM Due to the sensitive nature of this witness' testimony and the inability of the spectators to allow him to complete it, I am clearing the courtroom. Sounds of protest fill the room as the BAILIFFS start to usher out the crowd. 74 INT. COURTROOM LATER The gallery is empty. Only Dulaney, Rebecca, Cardenas, Troxell, Roston, Judge Burnham, The Jury and Court Officials remain. CARDENAS What did she do next, Mr. Roston? ROSTON She started touching herself and telling me how much she wanted me. She reached down and put me inside her. My doctor had warned me about exerting myself -- but you really don't think of those things at a moment like that. You just think about how beautiful this woman is -- how much you want her. How deeply you want to please her. (beat) At first it started off slowly -- but the rhythm built and built. Every time I got close to an orgasm she would stop. Eventually I started to have trouble breathing. Rebecca just kept going -- faster and faster. No matter what I said she wouldn't stop. I really thought for a moment I was going to die. CARDENAS If you knew it was bad for you why did you do it? ROSTON I couldn't help myself. You get lost inside a women like her. It was like a drug. It was the best sex I ever had. CARDENAS What happened after that? ROSTON I woke up the next morning and she was gone. CARDENAS Did you change your will while you were with Miss Lawson? 75 ROSTON Yes. CARDENAS Who was your primary beneficiary? ROSTON She was. CARDENAS Thank you. The State rests. JUDGE BURNHAM Mister Dulaney? Dulaney is stunned -- deep in thought. He doesn't appear to hear the question. JUDGE BURNHAM Mister Dulaney? Dulaney looks at the jury. What he sees isn't good. He thinks for a moment. He leans over and quickly speaks with Rebecca. We cannot hear them -- but their conversation is heated. Rebecca says something. Dulaney looks at Roston. A beat. Dulaney stands. DULANEY Mr. Roston, you said it was the best sex you ever had. Is that the best sex with a woman, or a man? Cardenas bolts from his seat. CARDENAS Objection! DULANEY I'll rephrase the question. Mr. Roston isn't it true you are bisexual? CARDENAS Objection! Mr. Roston's sexual preferences are not at issue in this trial. DULANEY Your Honor, I'm trying to establish the sense of betrayal Miss Lawson felt when she discovered the man she lived with was a different person than she thought he was. Judge Burnham thinks for a moment. 76 JUDGE BURNHAM The witness will answer the question. DULANEY Mr. Roston? ROSTON Yes. DULANEY And your sexual tastes were something that you hid from Miss Lawson? ROSTON Yes. DULANEY And didn't Miss Lawson come home one day and find you in bed with your male lover? ROSTON Yes. DULANEY And she left shortly after that? A pause. Roston thinks, struggling to make a decision. ROSTON No. We worked things out. It was three weeks later when I told her about the heart surgery that she left. Roston looks around the court room. He is embarrassed, filled with emotion. DULANEY Would it be fair to say that when she did find out it was a shock to her? ROSTON (very upset) Yes. DULANEY No further questions. Roston looks at the jury -- their disapproving stares. He is on the verge of tears. 77 INT. REBECCA'S HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON Rebecca opens the door. A tired-looking Dulaney enters. They walk to the couch together in silence. Dulaney sits. Rebecca lifts a BOTTLE of CHAMPAGNE out of an ice bucket. DULANEY What's that for? REBECCA To celebrate how masterfully you destroyed Roston today. DULANEY Rebecca -- we shattered a man's life in open court. REBECCA (suddenly ice cold) Fuck him! He tried to shatter mine. DULANEY He was only doing what he thought was right. REBECCA You're too weak, Frank. When you want something you have to do what- ever it takes to get it. If something gets in your way you remove it. Dulaney stares at her. The person he sees has no feelings -- no empathy for anyone. DULANEY You killed him -- didn't you? REBECCA I knew you were thinking that. I could see it in your eyes today in the courtroom. You're wrong, Frank. I need you to believe that. DULANEY You don't need anybody. REBECCA I do need you. No matter what you think of me -- I didn't do it. 78 (beat) I could see the looks on the juror's faces. To the men I represent what they can never have. I'm a cold, heartless bitch -- and this is their chance for pay-back for every woman that's ever blown them off in a bar. To the old women I'm a vulgar whore and to the young ones I remind them of what they'll never be. It doesn't matter to them that I'm innocent. They've already convicted me. DULANEY I'm dropping the case. REBECCA (matter of factly) No -- you're not. Rebecca picks up a REMOTE CONTROL from the coffee table and pushes a button. CLOSE ON TELEVISION A TAPE of Dulaney making love to Rebecca fills the screen. It is wild, passionate. CLOSE ON DULANEY he is dumbfounded as he watches. The implications of what this tape could do to him run through his mind. Something in Dulaney snaps. He grabs Rebecca. They struggle, falling down onto the coffee table. The CHAMPAGNE bottle crashes to the floor. Rebecca rolls off the table to the floor. She sits up and moves away from Dulaney by pushing herself backwards. Dulaney lunges at her. His hand grabbing her ankle. Rebecca kicks -- breaks free -- stands up. Dulaney gets to his feet -- runs after her. He grabs her by the throat and smashes her into the wall. He slaps her across the face. A thin stream of blood flows from the corner of her mouth. She smiles. REBECCA It gets easier, doesn't it? Once you open the door it never closes. Dulaney realizes what he is doing. He stares at her in horror, then walks towards the door. He stops. Goes back to the VHS machine. He pushes the EJECT BUTTON on the VCR, removes the tape and destroys it. 79 REBECCA I've got another copy. How do you think your wife would feel if she saw this -- not to mention your colleagues? Dulaney's temper is near the breaking point again, he strains to control himself. REBECCA You can think whatever you want, Frank -- but I didn't kill Andrew, and I'm not going to prison for something I didn't do. DULANEY You're a monster. REBECCA No -- I'm a survivor. INT. DULANEY'S HOUSE, DINNING ROOM - NIGHT Dulaney, Sharon and Michael sit at the table eating dinner. There is a tense silence. Although Michael does not know what is going on he can sense the tension. The DOORBELL RINGS. DULANEY I'll get it. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Dulaney answers the front door and Biggs rushes in excited. BIGGS I'm sorry to barge in -- but I figured after that bombshell that got laid on you today you could use some good news? DULANEY You got something on the Coke? Biggs grins. BIGGS Do I? I talked to one of the dealers I put the word out to. He's been following the trial pretty closely. He said at one time he wanted to be a lawyer before he became a dealer. 80 DULANEY Charlie -- are you going to make a point soon? BIGGS Right now. Guess who's been buying Coke from him for the last five and half years? Dulaney shrugs his shoulders indicating he doesn't have a clue. BIGGS Marsh's secretary -- Joanne Braslow. Confusion fills Dulaney's face. INT. COURTROOM - MORNING Court is in session. Rebecca looks around the courtroom, trying to get a feel of the CROWD'S opinion. Dulaney is not there. She looks at the door anxiously. The rooms waits. A beat. Dulaney enters -- sits beside Rebecca -- but acts as if she isn't there. INT. COURTROOM - LATER Dulaney stands at the witness stand in front of an ORIENTAL MAN in his thirties. DULANEY Dr. Wong -- what type of medicine do you practice? DR. WONG Oriental medicine. DULANEY --And is Miss Lawson a patient of yours? DR. WONG Yes. I've been seeing her for over a year. DULANEY Why does she come to you? DR. WONG She suffers from severe menstrual cramps. 81 DULANEY Did you ever prescribe any medication for her cramps? DR. WONG Yes. DULANEY What did you prescribe for her? DR. WONG Chinese peony root. DULANEY Would you describe for the court what Chinese peony root looks like? DR. WONG It's a white powder that comes in a vial. There is a MOAN from the CROWD. Cardenas looks at Troxell. DULANEY How do you instruct your patients to take it? DR. WONG I tell them to pour an amount the size of a quarter into the their hand and mix it with water. DULANEY A previous witness stated that she saw Miss Lawson pouring a white powder into her hand on October twenty-eighth. According to your records when did you prescribe the drug? Dr. Wong checks his records. DR. WONG October twenty-seventh. DULANEY One last question, Doctor. If someone didn't know better, would it be easy to mistake the peony root for cocaine? DR. WONG Yes -- quite easy. 82 DULANEY (to Cardenas) Your witness. Cardenas realizes there is nothing to gain by examining this witness. CARDENAS No questions. JUDGE BURNHAM You may call your next witness. DULANEY The defense calls Miss Margaret Sellers. Cardenas looks worried as he watches an attractive woman in her mid twenties approach the stand. DULANEY AND MISS SELLERS Miss Sellers appears a little nervous. Dulaney smiles warmly. DULANEY Miss Sellers, do you know Dr. Alan Paley? MISS SELLERS Yes. DULANEY Where did you meet him? MISS SELLERS I'm a nurse. I used to work at Roseburg Memorial Hospital. Dr. Paley's on staff there. DULANEY What was the nature of your relationship with Dr. Paley. MISS SELLERS We dated for about a month last year. DULANEY Then what happened? MISS SELLERS I realized he wasn't serious. He was seeing other women -- asking other nurses at the hospital out, so I ended it. 83 DULANEY -- And what did Dr. Paley do after you stopped seeing him? MISS SELLERS He used to call me -- tell me that I couldn't just walk out on him. He said that if I didn't come back he'd make my life miserable. DULANEY Did he make your life miserable? MISS SELLERS Yes -- he did. DULANEY How? Cardenas stands again. CARDENAS Objection! May I remind Mr. Dulaney that the person on trial here is Miss Lawson -- not Dr. Paley. DULANEY Your Honor, I'm trying to establish a pattern in Dr. Paley's behavior with women. JUDGE BURNHAM Objection overruled. The witness will answer the question. MISS SELLERS He'd call me in the middle of the night. Show up at my house and bang on the door. Finally after two weeks I went to his office one day to tell him to stop. DULANEY What did he say? MISS SELLERS He laughed -- and basically said he would decide when it was over. DULANEY Do you remember his exact words? 84 MISS SELLERS Yes. He said, "If you want to play games, we'll play -- and you'll be sorry." Another BUZZ from the CROWD. Cardenas inwardly cringes. DULANEY What happened next? MISS SELLERS While I was seeing Dr. Paley I mentioned to him one night that someone was stealing drugs from the third floor dispensary. Three days after I spoke to him in his office he went to the Head Nurse and told her he had witnessed me stealing drugs. DULANEY What happened? MISS SELLERS There was an inquiry. It was his word against mine. They believed him. I was fired. INT. DULANEY'S OFFICE - DUSK Dulaney is at his desk. Biggs enters excited. BIGGS Joanne Braslow is getting more and more interesting. I followed her today to an attorney's office. Joseph Koehler. DULANEY Joe Koehler. I know him. He's an estate attorney -- and he's very expensive. BIGGS What would Joanne Braslow need with an estate attorney? She wasn't even mentioned in Marsh's will. Dulaney thinks for a moment. He grins as an idea enters his mind. DULANEY Not this will. 85 INT. FILE ROOM - EVENING Dulaney and Biggs sit at a table going through a stack of papers. Dulaney traces his finger along a piece of paper. DULANEY Here it is! According to the old will Joanne Braslow was to inherit two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. BIGGS What good does that do -- it's the old will? DULANEY Under the law a person cannot profit from their own wrong doing. Since Rebecca Lawson is the sole beneficiary of the new will, if she is found guilty the will is void and Joanne Braslow could make a very good case to have the old will reinstated. BIGGS She kills the old man and makes it look like Miss Lawson did it. Pretty slick. INT. DULANEY'S HOUSE, BATHROOM - EVENING Dulaney is washing up for dinner. He speaks to Sharon who is in the bedroom. DULANEY I was thinking that when the trial is over we'd all go skiing for a weekend. SHARON Maybe it would be a good idea if you just took Michael. Sharon leaves the room. Dulaney reaches for his TOOTHBRUSH -- picks up a TUBE of TOOTH PASTE. It is empty. He stares at the EMPTY TUBE. DULANEY (to himself) Drug store. INT. COURTROOM - MORNING 86 Dulaney looks worn, tired -- the tension between him and Rebecca shows. JUDGE BURNHAM Mr. Dulaney, are you ready to call your next witness? Dulaney doesn't seem to hear him. JUDGE BURNHAM Mr. Dulaney, are you with us? Dulaney snaps out of it. DULANEY Yes, Your Honor. The defense recalls Joanne Braslow. As Joanne walks towards the stand Dulaney looks over at Rebecca. It's as if he is trying to make up his mind about her. Joanne takes her seat. JUDGE BURNHAM Miss Braslow, I'd like to remind you that you are still under oath. DULANEY How often do you use cocaine? Cardenas shoots out of his seat. CARDENAS Objection, Your Honor. JUDGE BURNHAM (impatiently) Counsel approach the bench. Dulaney and Cardenas walk over to the bench. JUDGE BURNHAM Mr. Dulaney, I'm getting tired of seeing you this close to me. Judge Burnham looks at Cardenas indicating he will hear his argument now. CARDENAS Whether or not Miss Braslow uses drugs is not an issue here. 87 DULANEY Your Honor -- the prosecution has introduced cocaine as one of the contributing reasons Mr. Marsh died. How it may have been introduced into the household is of vital importance. JUDGE BURNHAM Are you able to back up this allegation -- or are you fishing? DULANEY I can back it up. JUDGE BURNHAM You better. (to Joanne) Please answer the question. JOANNE I've tried it. DULANEY You've tried it? Isn't it true that you've been in and out of Rehab centers for the last four years? This is clearly embarrassing for her. JOANNE I've been to a few -- yes. DULANEY You don't like Miss Lawson much do you? JOANNE (hesitantly) No. DULANEY You don't like her because you were involved with Mr. Marsh before she came along. Isn't that true? JOANNE Yes. DULANEY You resented the fact that she told you what to do in Mr. Marsh's house? JOANNE Yes. 88 Dulaney moves the questions along, quickening their pace, building a rhythm. DULANEY And you resented that he cared for her in a way he once cared for you? JOANNE (breaking down) Yes. DULANEY --And that Mr. Marsh paid less attention to you? JOANNE Yes. DULANEY --and that he changed his will? JOANNE Yes. She has blurted out the answer before the full implications of the question has dawned on her. Her face reveals her mistake. Cardenas can only watch uncomfortably from his seat. DULANEY In his previous will Mr. Marsh left you two hundred and fifty thousand dollars -- then he cut you out. Why do you think he did that? JOANNE She talked him into it. She wanted everything. DULANEY Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money. That must have made you pretty angry? JOANNE Yes. Dulaney picks up a small PIECE OF PAPER and walks towards Joanne. DULANEY You testified that you returned to Mr. Marsh's house at eleven o'clock the night of his murder. Is that correct? 89 JOANNE Yes. DULANEY Well - I'm a little confused. (holds up the paper) This is a charge receipt from Rosen's Drug Store where Mr. Marsh had an account. It's dated the day of the murder. (hands it to her) Is this your signature? JOANNE (nervously studies it) Yes. DULANEY There's an item you picked up that's marked. Will you read it? JOANNE Dristan nasal spray. DULANEY Would you read for us the time of the purchase? JOANNE Three fifteen. DULANEY A.M -- or P.M.? JOANNE P.M. DULANEY You see that's what bothers me. No other bottle of nasal spray was found in the house. The police looked. There was only the one bottle. But you say you didn't arrive until after Mr. Marsh was dead -- yet we know he was using the nasal spray prior to his death. How do you think it got there? JOANNE I don't know. 90 DULANEY Isn't it true that you stopped by the house after you left the drug store and dropped off the items you bought? JOANNE (nervously) No. DULANEY Isn't it true that you put the cocaine in the bottle? JOANNE No! Why would I want to kill him? DULANEY Because you were jealous. Because he cut you out of the will. Because you have a cocaine habit to feed -- because you know that if Rebecca Lawson is found guilty the new will is void -- and there's a very good chance the old one would be honored. SILENCE fills the room. Members of the JURY look at Rebecca, they are confused -- doubt fills their minds. DULANEY The defense rests. INT. DULANEY'S DEN - EVENING Dark. Dulaney is standing by the window, watching the RAIN FALL outside. Sharon enters. SHARON We can't go on like this, Frank. Dulaney continues to stare out the window. DULANEY I know. SHARON Talk to me. He shakes his NO. SHARON Please -- this is ripping us apart. 91 DULANEY (emotionally) I can't talk about it now. She senses his pain and moves to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. SHARON Don't shut me out. Let me in. He turns and faces her. She can see the pain on his face. DULANEY You wouldn't like what you'd see. You don't know me anymore. I don't know me anymore. SHARON We can't pretend this isn't happening. DULANEY Please -- not now. SHARON Why didn't you come to me? DULANEY I don't know. SHARON You used to like to touch me -- to make love to me. DULANEY It's more involved than that. SHARON It was a place to start. DULANEY You think that's the answer? Sex? Is that what you want? You want me to make love to you? SHARON I don't want our lives ruined because of this. I love you, Frank. I want this to work -- but you have to help me. You have to come back from where ever it is you are. 92 Dulaney's confusion and emotion begins to surface. She kisses him, softly, gently. Dulaney closes his eyes. He kisses her harder - and harder. His passion builds -- his anger grows. He runs his arm over his desk, brushing everything to the floor. He grabs her and firmly pushes her down on the desk. He kisses her forcefully, his lips pressed hard against hers. She struggles against him. His hands tear at her blouse. It is rough, angry sex and it frightens Sharon. SHARON (screaming) Frank -- stop it! Stop it! DULANEY Is this what you want -- huh? Is it? She is crying now -- struggling futilely against him. SHARON Let me go! Godammit, Frank let go! MICHAEL (OS) (racked with fear) Daddy -- stop it! Dulaney stops and looks. Michael is standing in the doorway, his face filled with fear and incomprehension. Tears streak down his face. Dulaney freezes as the full power of his actions overwhelm him. His face floods with anguish as he tries to grasp the total effect of his behavior. DULANEY (softly) Oh -- Jesus. Filled with pain and embarrassment Dulaney runs from the room. EXT. BAND SHELL, PARK - NIGHT RAIN falls in sheets. Dulaney sits inside the small structure, huddled against one of the pillars. He is a tragic figure, desperately trying to claw his way back to the world he once knew. 93 EXT. DULANEY'S HOUSE - LATER - NIGHT RAIN continues to fall. Dulaney is standing across the street, staring at the house. He crosses over and is half way to the door when he stops. He starts to leave. The front door opens and Sharon steps out onto the porch. SHARON Frank? He turns around slowly. He can't bring himself to look at her. She walks out into the rain. He lifts his head. Tears flow down his face and he cries. When she begins to cry with him he breaks down. DULANEY (ashamed) I'm sorry. God -- I'm so sorry. He slowly drops to his knees -- holding on to her as if she were a strong tree in a wind-storm. DULANEY Help me. Please -- help me. INT. COURTROOM - DAY Dulaney sits beside Rebecca. There is tension between them. He does not look at her. JUDGE BURNHAM Mr. Dulaney. Dulaney stands and walks over to the jury. DULANEY The Prosecution's case is built on theory -- speculation. Could Rebecca Lawson have done this? Is it possible that she did that? Where are the facts? The evidence. The State has presented two spurned lovers and a jealous secretary. Hardly what I would call impartial witnesses. Where is one shred of conclusive, irrefutable evidence? I don't see it -- and I don't think you do either. Do you know why? Because there isn't any. 94 (beat) What's the issue here? That Rebecca Lawson likes wild sex? No. But the District Attorney is trying to make you think if Rebecca Lawson could stray from the path of normal, accepted sexual behavior, then she could be capable of murder. Did she force Andrew Marsh to make love to her? Did she hold a gun to his head? No. Andrew Marsh wanted her -- and why wouldn't he? She's beautiful, alluring -- the type of woman men dream about. As Dulaney continues we sense he is applying his closing arguments to himself. DULANEY It's human nature. We want what we want -- when we want it. We don't think about the consequences of our actions. When desire fills us we all do things that we know are bad for us. We live for the moment. (beat) Here was an exciting young woman who unlocked doors. Doors that led into a new world. A world he entered willingly -- eagerly. He wanted to please her -- and so, he did not tell her of his illness. I know it might be difficult for you to understand wanting something so badly that you are willing to risk everything -- but that's what passion does to you. It's a fire -- uncontrollable. It consumes you -- and the only thing you can do is let it burn. Andrew Marsh let it burn. It was his life - - his choice -- and maybe his mistake -- but making love is not a crime. (beat) We all have fires inside us -- secret desires. We guard them --hold them in the cages that we've built. When someone comes along and opens the gate, they rush out and feed blindly on their pleasure. Rebecca Lawson loved Andrew Marsh. She didn't kill him -- if anything did, it was his own passion. 95 Dulaney walks back to his table and sits down. Rebecca looks at him warmly. Dulaney does not look at her. Cardenas stands to address the jury. CARDENAS It's true -- we all have fires burning inside us. Rebecca Lawson was very aware of the fire burning inside Andrew Marsh -- and she stoked those flames -- fanning them until they burned so hot that reason and judgement left him. Is making love a crime? Of course not -- but the question isn't as simple as that. Rebecca Lawson used her seductive qualities to entice Andrew Marsh. She used sex as a catalyst and cocaine as the terminus. The combination of the two provided the conclusion of a premeditated act. (beat) She asked Dr. Paley about cocaine. Her fingerprints were found on the nasal spray bottle that contained the cocaine -- and she was the sole beneficiary of Andrew Marsh's will. She planned it from beginning to end. She knew about his heart. She secretly administered cocaine, then used wild and physically demanding sex to induce a heart attack. (beat) Making love is an act of passion between two people to affirm their vows of love. This was not an act of love -- this was an act of greed. This was betrayal. Rebecca Lawson killed Andrew Marsh -- and I'm counting on you to punish her for that crime. INT. WAITING ROOM, COURTHOUSE - DAY Dulaney sits on one side of the room -- Rebecca on the other. The room is quiet -- tense. A MAN enters and nods to him. DULANEY (to man) They're back already? It's only been three hours. 96 INT. COURTROOM - DAY Dulaney sits beside Rebecca. In the row behind them is Sattler and Biggs. The JURY enters. Their faces betray nothing. One by one they file into their seats. Cardenas sits with Troxell -- both of them watching anxiously. JUDGE BURNHAM Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict? The JURY FOREMAN stands. JURY FOREMAN We have, Your Honor. The BAILIFF walks over and takes the VERDICT SLIP from the FOREMAN, then walks over to Judge Burnham and hands it to him. Judge Burnham reads the decision. He hands it back to the Bailiff who takes it to the COURT CLERK. ON REBECCA She waits nervously for the Court Clerk to read the verdict. ON CARDENAS he taps his pen against the desk anxiously. ON THE COURT CLERK He opens the verdict slip and looks at it. He stands slowly. COURT CLERK The jury finds the defendant -- not guilty. Relief floods Rebecca's face. Dulaney shows no emotion. Sattler and Biggs shakes hands, then lean forward to congratulate Dulaney. Rebecca turns to Dulaney to hug him -- before she can, Dulaney has picked up his briefcase and is leaving the courtroom. INT. UNDERGROUND PARKING LOT - AFTERNOON Dulaney walks towards his car with Biggs. There is no sense of victory or elation. BIGGS What are you gonna do now? 97 DULANEY Take some time off. BIGGS You think the D.A.'s gonna file on Joanne? DULANEY I don't know. Dulaney reaches his car. DULANEY You did a good job, Charlie. BIGGS Thanks, Mister D. Biggs walks away. Dulaney takes out his keys, opens the door to his car. He is about to get in when he senses someone behind him. He turns around. Joanne steps out from behind a pillar. She stares at Dulaney hatefully. Her hand is inside her purse. JOANNE That bastard should have left me something. I worked for him for six years -- and he goes and gives it all to her. Dulaney looks around the parking lot. He is alone. Joanne is obviously very high on something. Her mind seems to wander, her eyes drift. JOANNE You take what people say and make it ugly. You make others believe what you want them to. She should have been found guilty. She shouldn't have gotten off. DULANEY Then you would have gotten your money? JOANNE Yes. DULANEY You killed him -- didn't you, Joanne? 98 JOANNE Do you think if I did I'd be stupid enough to tell you? Dulaney looks her hand fidgeting in her purse. DULANEY What do you have in your purse? JOANNE What do you think I've got? A gun? Maybe I'm gonna kill you too. Maybe I'll blow your head off right now. Her hand starts to come out of the purse. Suddenly, Biggs appears, rushing her from behind a pillar. He grabs her hand and pushes her against a car. He pulls her hand from the purse. She is holding a piece of paper. JOANNE (crying) I'm gonna go to jail. I know they're gonna make it look like I did it. They gotta put it on someone. DULANEY Why'd you come here? JOANNE (holds up the letter) To show you this. It's a letter from that lawyer, Koehler. He wrote it to me the day after I saw him. He's the one who told me I could get the money if Miss Lawson went to jail. DULANEY You didn't know about it before that? JOANNE No. Dulaney is suddenly very confused. DULANEY Then why did you go see Mr. Koehler in the first place? JOANNE Because he called me. Dulaney is stunned. He looks at Biggs with a knowing stare. 99 EXT. HOUSE - EVENING It is RAINING lightly. Dulaney waits at the door of a nice two story home. It is answered by a heavy-set man in his fifties, JOSEPH KOEHLER. DULANEY Hi, Joe. KOEHLER Frank -- what are you doing here? DULANEY I need to ask you a question. What made you get in touch with Joanne Braslow? KOEHLER You know I can't talk about that. DULANEY I'm not asking for names or specifics. I just want to know what prompted you to make the call? KOEHLER Sorry. Koehler starts to close the door, Dulaney sticks his foot inside, blocking it. His face is filled with determination. Koehler sees it. DULANEY Please -- I need your help. Koehler thinks for a moment. He can sense Dulaney's need. KOEHLER All I can tell you is I was contacted by an interested party on Miss Braslow's behalf. INT. DULANEY'S CAR - NIGHT Dulaney stares through the windshield, straining to see the road through the heavy rain. His CAR PHONE RINGS. DULANEY Hello? REBECCA (VO) Frank -- It's Rebecca. I need to see you right away. I've got the tape. 100 A calmness spreads over his face. DULANEY I'll be right there. EXT. REBECCA'S HOUSE - NIGHT RAIN FALLS. LIGHTNING fills the sky. Dulaney drives up -- finds a PARKING SPOT down the street -- gets out of his car and runs to the door. As he KNOCKS as loud CLAP on THUNDER BOOMS overhead. Dulaney waits impatiently. He lifts the FLOWER POT, removes the key and opens the door. INT. DEN - NIGHT The dim glow of a DESK LAMP is the only source of light. Dulaney moves through the room slowly. DULANEY Rebecca? Two CHAMPAGNE BOTTLES are on the floor by the couch. Dulaney looks on the coffee table. HIS POV - COFFEE TABLE A VIAL is open and on its side. A RAZOR BLADE and STRAW lay next to it. A pile of WHITE POWDER has been dumped out. Several lines of cocaine have been drawn. Dulaney starts to move towards the living room. He is almost at the door when the BIG SCREEN TELEVISION TURNS ON. We see the tape of Dulaney and Rebecca making love. REBECCA (OS) Is this what you're looking for, Frank? Dulaney turns around to find Rebecca standing behind him, a remote control in her hand. DULANEY (distant) You killed him. You killed him -- and I got you off. REBECCA That's crazy. 101 DULANEY Is it? Joanne Braslow was perfect, wasn't she? You knew we'd see her on the tape and find out about her coke problem. After that, the digging should have been easy -- but we missed the will. You knew we were following her, so you called Koehler and had him contact her. That put us right back on track. All we needed then was to prove that she had an opportunity. The drug store took care of that. She dropped off the stuff and you came back and killed him. Didn't you? She shrugs her shoulders. His frustration clearly amuses her. She grins slightly, almost taunting him. DULANEY I want the tape. Dulaney starts into the living room. REBECCA I've been thinking about that. I've decided to give it to you after I've collected the inheritance. You can take that one if you want -- but there's another copy. DULANEY That wasn't the deal. REBECCA (provoking him) So, sue me. (as cold as ice) Things have changed. I think you should go home -- and after you leave I see no reason for us to ever have contact again. DULANEY (growing angrier) I'm not leaving without that tape. REBECCA Don't push me, Frank. I might lose my temper and send it out just for spite. Dulaney loses control. 102 DULANEY You fuckin' bitch! He grabs her by the shoulders and pushes her into the wall. Rebecca struggles, but it is little use -- he is a man consumed with rage. Dulaney continues to smash her into the wall. Rebecca reaches onto the desk -- lifts up a FOUNTAIN PEN and stabs it into Dulaney's shoulder at the base of his neck. Dulaney SCREAMS and lets go. Rebecca starts to runs into the living room. Dulaney follows. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Dulaney catches Rebecca -- grabs her -- spins her around -- then backhands her across the face, knocking her to the ground. In the b.g. the VIDEO of them in bed plays on the screen. Dulaney sits on top of her and grabs her by the hair. He repeatedly smashes her head onto the floor. MAN'S VOICE Let her go! Dulaney stops. He looks behind him. HIS POV Standing in the bedroom doorway is Dr. Paley. He is holding a GUN at Dulaney. Dulaney stares at him with disbelief as he staggers to his feet, his hand holding the wound on his shoulder. A short, breathless LAUGH drifts out of Dulaney as he starts to put it all together. Rebecca stands up, holding her head as she tries to catch her breath. DR. PALEY (to Rebecca) Are you alright? Rebecca NODS. Her face hardens. REBECCA You've got to kill him, Alan. DR. PALEY What? 103 DULANEY She's right, Paley. You've got to kill me. She doesn't have to -- she's free -- she can't be tried again -- but you, you planned it with her. You supplied the Coke. You're an accessory to murder. REBECCA Shoot him. Paley struggles to make a decision. The gun shakes in his hand. Suddenly, the whole scheme becomes clear to Dulaney. DULANEY Don't you see what she's doing? She needs you to kill me. She's planned it that way from the start. That's why she phoned me tonight. DR. PALEY You called him? REBECCA No -- he's lying. DULANEY How's it supposed to work Rebecca? You and Paley celebrate your victory. You get me over here and provoke a fight so he has to rush in and save you -- but then he's given himself away as your accomplice -- now he has to kill me. (to Paley) After that I figure she'll tell the Police that you broke in. That you were crazed because we humiliated you in court? REBECCA Don't listen to him. Can't you see he's trying to turn you against me. 104 DULANEY (continuing; to Paley) Here's the good part. The truth dies with me and she turns State's evidence against you. It won't matter what you say. No one will believe your version -- you've already discredited yourself in court. You'll go away forever and she'll have the money all for herself. She's played us both perfectly. Paley is becoming more and more confused. Dulaney moves towards him. Paley lowers the gun slightly. REBECCA Alan, listen to me. If you don't kill him it's over. Everything we did will be for nothing. DR. PALEY Shut up, Rebecca. DULANEY She's good isn't she? But maybe with you it's the real thing. (points to the screen) I'm sure all those nights she was fuckin' me she was thinking of you. Confusion crowds Paley's mind. DULANEY I'm sure that every orgasm she had with me was faked. DR. PALEY That's enough. DULANEY I mean she only screwed me two or three times a night because she had to -- I'm sure she didn't enjoy it. REBECCA (softly) I love you, Alan. You have to believe I love you. Kill him! Kill him and we can be together forever! 105 DULANEY That's right, she loves you. Just like she loved Roston and Marsh and me. Don't be a fool. You're nothing to her. The second you pull that trigger she'll turn on you. Betrayal fills Paley's face. His eyes fill with tears. DR. PALEY (to Rebecca) I loved you. REBECCA (tense) Alan, don't let him do this. You're everything to me. (she moves closer) Give me the gun. Give me the gun and I'll do it for you. Paley stares at her -- his mind races. Pain fills his face as he fights to make a decision. Suddenly, his face tenses. He starts to raise the gun at Dulaney -- then just as suddenly he turns it on Rebecca and FIRES. The bullet hits Rebecca in the chest. The force blows her off her feet. Paley stares at her blankly. He slowly lowers the gun and drops it to the floor, then staggers over to Rebecca. ON REBECCA she stares up through glazed, dead eyes. Paley takes her pulse. He breaks down, weeping over her body, his tears signaling to Dulaney that she is dead. EXT. REBECCA'S HOUSE - LATER - NIGHT Police cars are lined up outside, their RED LIGHTS FLASHING. INT. REBECCA'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Members of the POLICE FORCE, along with FORENSIC PEOPLE go over the area. Dulaney sits on the couch. He looks indifferent -- as if all emotion has been sucked out of him. Troxell is beside him, taking notes. Dulaney looks up. A BODYBAG on a stretcher is being wheeled out of the room. 106 Dulaney follows it with his eyes. Cardenas enters from the bedroom. They lock eyes. CARDENAS Paley's confessed to the whole thing. It's like he's got no will to live now that she's gone. (thinks for a moment) She almost got away with it. Ironic, huh? Do you believe in karma, Frank? Dulaney doesn't answer. CARDENAS Well -- call it what you want. Fate. Destiny. We usually get what we deserve in the end. A beat. Dulaney looks at him wearily. DULANEY Can I go? CARDENAS (to Troxell) You get his statement? TROXELL Yeah. CARDENAS Then you can go. Dulaney gets up and starts for the door. Cardenas watches him. CARDENAS Frank? Dulaney turns around slowly. Cardenas reaches into his RAINCOAT pocket and take out a VHS TAPE. CARDENAS I found this video in her room. It has your name on it. The two men lock eyes. There is a long silence between them. Dulaney waits for Cardenas' next move. CARDENAS (holding it out) I assume it's yours. Dulaney knows that Cardenas has seen it. A hint of a grateful smile shows on his face. He takes the tape. 107 DULANEY Thanks. EXT. REBECCA'S HOUSE - NIGHT A light RAIN falls. Dulaney walks out and heads towards the street. He stops -- looks back at the condo -- then walks down the street towards his car. FADE TO BLACK --------------------------------------------------------------
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+)Y(                                               Rev.   04/18/90   (Cherry)                                               Rev.   04/25/90   (Tan)                                               Rev.   04/26/90   (White)                                               Rev.   05/08/90   (Pink)                                               Rev.   05/10/90   (Blue)                                               Rev.   05/18/90   (Yellow)                                               Rev.   05/25/90   (Green)                                               Rev.   06/11/90   (Gold)                                               Rev.   06/12/90   (Buff)                                               Rev.   07/09/90   (Salmon)                                               Rev.   07/12/90   (Cherry)                                               Rev.   07/19/90   (Tan)                        BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES                               Screenplay by                             Michael Cristofer                            Based on the book by                                 Tom Wolfe                                         THIRD DRAFT                                         April 2, 1990WARNER BROS. INC.                        � 19904000 Warner Boulevard                    WARNER BROS. INC.Burbank, California 91522                All Rights Reserved)T(    Rev. 5/25/90                                                      *                          BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES       FADE IN:1      EXT. MANHATTAN SKYLINE - NIGHT                             1       MOVING IN FAST MOTION -- a kaleidoscopic jewel box --       glittering, shining and speeding PAST our eyes.2      ANGLE                                                      2       MOVING south TO north FROM the Battery and the World       Trade Center, streets and buildings FLIPPING PAST like       black diamonds spilling INTO our peripheral vision and       DISAPPEARING as we SPEED uptown TOWARD...3      FIFTH AVENUE - NIGHT                                       3       Cars and people caught in the same frantic ballet of       shining lights as we RACE UP the avenue, and the voice       of Peter Fallow speaks to us...                                 PETER (V.O.)                   Yes. We're getting closer. Can                   you feel it. Can you see it?                   The heat. The brilliance. Moving                   fast into the heart of it. Buzz.                   Buzz. Can you feel the buzz? The                   city is pulling you in. The city                   of light. The city of diabolical                   promise. The city of answered                   prayers.4      OMITTED                                                    4thru                                                              thru11                                                                11A11A   EXT. STREET - LIMOUSINE - NIGHT                            A11A       pulls up to the World Financial Center and drives into       the lower garage.A11B   INT. LOADING AREA - LIMOUSINE - NIGHT                      A11B       pulls up. A male and female aide -- both carrying       walkie-talkies -- rush to open the door. They pry PETER       FALLOW from the back seat. He is wearing a tuxedo and       dark glasses. He is very drunk, disheveled and cheerful       beyond his means. CONTINUE IN ONE SHOT as...       TWO AIDES       try to lead Fallow into the building. Fallow is clutch-       ing a whiskey decanter and a seltzer bottle. He leans       heavily on the aides, stumbles and can barely stay on his       feet.                                                    (CONTINUED))T(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/25/90                 2.          *A11B   CONTINUED:                                                  A11B       MINI CART       approaches. The aides flag it down and throw Fallow onto       the cart. The cart carries him past the garbage con-       tainer into a long tunnel-like corridor.       FALLOW       sways on the cart, trying to mix a drink for himself --       he pulls a glass out of one pocket and some ice cubes out       of another pocket. But he is physically incompetent.       FEMALE AIDE       jumps onto the cart and tries to hold him up.   The male       aide runs alongside the cart.       VARIOUS WAITERS       in black tie carry covered silver trays as they trot       through the tunnel.       VARIOUS BUSBOYS       come running in the other way, pushing carts filled with       dirty dishes and glasses.       CART       comes to the end of the tunnel and jerks to a halt.       Fallow loses his balance and sprays the female aide with       soda water.       MALE AIDE       pulls Fallow off the cart and continues to lead him       through a dark, red-lit area. Several security guards       run to meet them. The guards and the aide now escort       Fallow through the area.       A FEW PHOTOGRAPHERS       pop out of nowhere, trying to get a picture. The guards       push them away and lead Fallow into a lighted corridor.       FOREIGN DIPLOMAT       and his wife and daughter join the entourage as they head       for an elevator. The diplomat offers Fallow a pen and a       book to autograph.       Fallow misses the pen and falls face down into the       breasts of the diplomat's daughter. The guards pull him       into the elevator.                                                  (CONTINUED))T(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/25/90                3.           *A11B   CONTINUED:    (2)                                           A11B       CART OF FOOD       is in the elevator -- a tray of salmon mousse in the       shape of a three-foot salmon. The elevator starts to       move.  Fallow falls into the mousse. The aide pulls him       up and tries to clean him off.       ELEVATOR DOORS       open. Fallow is led out of the elevator. Several other       aides approach him and pull off his soiled jacket and       shirt and change them for fresh ones as they move.       SOME BROADWAY AUTOGRAPH HOUNDS       rush Fallow, snapping pictures with little Instamatics       and trying to get an autograph.       FALLOW       is led through the corridor and into...       WINTERGARDEN       A ten story glass atrium. A black tie party. A sixty-       foot banner with Fallow's name on it. Wild applause.       But before Fallow can get his bearings...       WALL OF FLASHING CAMERAS       obliterate the view.    Fallow staggers, clutching his head       and we...                                                    DISSOLVE TO:11A    EXT. PARK AVE. APARTMENT - SKYLIGHT - EVENING               11A       THROUGH the skylight we can see Sherman McCoy on his       hands and knees on the green marble foyer of this lavish       apartment chasing the family dachshund, trying to attach       a leash.                                  PETER (V.O.)                    ... And it begins on a rainy                    night, only a few months ago.                                  SHERMAN                    Come on, Marshall. Come here.                    Stay. Come on. Stay.12     INT. McCOY APARTMENT - SHERMAN - EVENING                    12       The dog escapes. Sherman smacks his perfect WASP knee       on the perfect marble floor.                                                    (CONTINUED))T(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/25/90                3A.12    CONTINUED:                                                  12                                 PETER (V.O.)                   Our hero, Sherman McCoy, was about                   to make a simple phone call. And                   despite the existence of eleven                   telephones and seven different                   lines in the fourteen rooms of his                   six million dollar plus apartment,                   this was a phone call he could not                   make at home.                                 JUDY (O.S.)                   What on earth are you doing?13    ANGLE - JUDY McCOY                                          13      standing over Sherman, who continues to struggle with      the dog.                                                   (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                  4.13    CONTINUED:                                                   13                                 SHERMAN                   I am taking the dog for a walk.                                 JUDY                   You are not taking the dog for a                   walk. You are taking 'Marshall'                   for a walk. Marshall has a name.                   He is one of our family. And,                   anyway, it's raining.                                  SHERMAN                   I know that.      The DOG GROWLS and snaps at Sherman.                                 JUDY                   So does Marshall. I don't think                   he wants to go. Do you, Marshall?                     *                                  SHERMAN                   Judy...                                  JUDY                   Alright.   Alright.      Sherman gets the leash fastened. He stands up, pulls      on a rubberized British riding mac. Judy flicks a tiny      plastic bag out of a cleverly-concealed container and      hands it to Sherman.                                 JUDY                   Have a nice time.14    OMITTED                                                      14&                                                                  &15                                                                 1515A   INT. McCOY APARTMENT BUILDING - LOBBY - SHERMAN - NIGHT      15A      pulls Marshall out of the elevator. MARSHALL SQUEALS and      drags his nails across the lobby, trying desperately to      avoid this walk.                                 DOORMAN                   He don't look too happy about it,                   Mr. McCoy.                                 SHERMAN                   Neither am I, Bill.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                               5.         *15A   CONTINUED:                                                    15A                                  DOORMAN                   Tony, sir.   My name is Tony.                                 SHERMAN                   Yes, of course. Come on, Marshall.15B   EXT. APT. BUILDING - SHERMAN - NIGHT                          15B      is dragging Marshall out of the building as a limo pulls      up and the immaculately-dressed POLLARD BROWNING gets      out. He looks at Sherman, Sherman's clothes and Sherman's      dog. He doesn't approve. As they pass each other under      the awning...                                 POLLARD                   Hello, Sherman.                                 SHERMAN                   Good evening, Pollard.                                 POLLARD                   You know it's raining, don't you?                                SHERMAN                   Yes. As a matter of fact, I did                   notice.                                 POLLARD                   Ah, Sherman. A true friend to                   man's best friend.                                 SHERMAN                   Pollard, you old phrase-maker.                                 POLLARD                   I beg your pardon.                                 SHERMAN                   I mean, is that the best you can                   do? Is that as witty as we get?      As Pollard enters the building and Sherman drags Marshall      away...                                 POLLARD                   I don't know what you're talking                   about. And furthermore, if you                   plan on being wet when you return,                   I suggest you take the service                   elevator.16    ANGLE - PHONE BOOTH                                           16      Sherman drags Marshall to the phone.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                 6.16   CONTINUED:                                                         16     They are both     already soaking wet.         Sherman dials a number.   A woman     answers.                                  WOMAN (V.O.)                           (on phone)                  Hello?                                  SHERMAN                  Maria!    Hello. It's me.                                    WOMAN (V.O.)                  Who?                                    SHERMAN                  Oh.    Sorry.    May I speak to Maria?                                    WOMAN (V.O.)                  Who is this?                                    SHERMAN                  Maria?     Brief pause, then...                                    WOMAN (V.O.)                  Sherman?     Sherman is about to say "yes" when he catches himself.                                                       CUT TO:17   INT. McCOY APARTMENT - JUDY - NIGHT                                17     is on the phone.                                JUDY                  Sherman, is that you?18   EXT. PHONE BOOTH - SHERMAN - NIGHT                                 18     realizes what he's done.         He freezes.   Then he hangs up.                                    SHERMAN                  Jesus!19   INT. McCOY APARTMENT - JUDY - NIGHT                                19     looks at the phone, then puts it down.                                                       CUT TO:20   EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - SHERMAN - NIGHT                          20     is dragging Marshal back into the building.                                                           7.21   INT. McCOY BEDROOM - JUDY - NIGHT                          21     is on her exercise bike, pedaling furiously.    She can     hear Sherman coming into the apartment.                             SHERMAN (O.S.)               Well, we're back!22   ANGLE - DOG                                                22     comes scampering into the bedroom followed by Sherman.                             SHERMAN               Well, you were right. I got               soaking wet and Marshall didn't do               anything.     He heads for the bathroom, grabs a towel.                             JUDY               Sherman, if you want to talk to               somebody named Maria, why do you               call me instead?     Sherman pokes his head into the room.                              SHERMAN               If I what?   Whatever do you mean?                             JUDY               Please don't lie. It makes your                       *               forehead crinkle.                                     *                             SHERMAN               About what? Wait a minute.     What               are we talking about?                             JUDY               You should see your face. It's a                      *               veritable roadmap of tension and                      *               deceit.                                               *                             SHERMAN               I'm sorry, but I don't get it.               Have I missed something?                             JUDY               Darling, the only thing you're                        *               missing is common sense. You're                       *               going to stand there and tell me               you didn't call here and ask to               speak to some Maria?                             SHERMAN               Who?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                              8.22   CONTINUED:                                                     22                                JUDY                  You think I don't know your voice?                                SHERMAN                  Judy, I was out walking the dog.                  I was not on the telephone.                                JUDY                  Crinkle, crinkle, crinkle.                             *                                  SHERMAN                  I'm not   lying. I took Marshal for                  a walk,   and I come back in here                  and wham   -- I mean I hardly know                  what to   say. You're asking me to                  prove a   negative proposition.                                JUDY                  'Negative proposition'?! Oh, God,                  Sherman. Listen to the way I                  sound. Listen to the stress. Can                       *                  you hear it? I don't want to be                        *                  this person. I don't. I am thin.                  I am beautiful. I don't deserve                  this.     She gets off the bike, grabs a robe and heads for the     door.                                 SHERMAN                  Judy...                                JUDY                  There's the phone. Why don't you                  just call her from here? I don't                  care. I really don't care. You                  are cheap and rotten and a liar,                       *                  and you are dripping on the                            *                  Aubusson carpet.                                       *     She goes. Sherman collapses in a chair.       He looks at     the phone.                                PETER (V.O.)                  She was right, of course. And                  Sherman knew it. Christ. How                  could he have been so stupid? A                  simple phone call...                                                     DISSOLVE TO:23   INT. McCOY APARTMENT - CAMPBELL McCOY - DAY                    23     is running through the apartment toward the front door.     She is seven years old.                                                             9.24   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                              24     descending the five-foot wide walnut staircase that leads     from the second floor to the marble foyer. In this view,     we can see that Sherman McCoy -- like his surroundings --     is impeccably designed and dressed.                             PETER (V.O.)               The next morning, Judy's words               were still ringing in his ears.               Cheap. Rotten. And a liar.               Alright. But was it really his               fault. In a way she had brought               it on herself, hadn't she?     He intercepts Campbell at the foot of the stairs.                             SHERMAN               Campbell, honey. Are we ready?                             CAMPBELL               I'm out of here.                               SHERMAN               Slow down.    Where's your mother?                              JUDY (O.S.)               Campbell!                             CAMPBELL               She's crying on the lifecycle.                             PETER (V.O.)               On the lifecycle again. You see?               Like all those other women she               spends so much time with. So               drawn, so pale. You could see               lamplight through their bones...     As Sherman picks up his briefcase and a copy of the     newspaper, Campbell opens the door and rings for the     elevator.25   ANGLE - JUDY                                                 25     approaches them looking pale and thin and drawn, dressed     in exercise clothes, sweating and still crying. She     looks like she's spent a sleepless night.                             JUDY               She won't kiss me because I'm all               wet.                             SHERMAN               Campbell, kiss your mother.     Campbell kisses Judy.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             10.25   CONTINUED:                                                    25                                SHERMAN                  Judy...?     But Judy walks away without speaking to him.      Sherman     watches her.26   HIS POV - JUDY'S REAR END                                     26     looking pretty unappetizing in her soggy sweatpants.                                PETER (V.O.)                  He was still a young man, in the                  season of the rising sap. He                  deserved more than these... these                  ... social X-rays. And she was                  turning into one of them!27   EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - SHERMAN AND CAMPBELL - DAY          27     come out of the building.                                PETER (V.O.)                  Dragging themselves to their                  sports training classes, they keep                  themselves so thin, they look like                  X-ray pictures. Sports-trained to                  death.                                DOORMAN                  'Morning, Mr. McCoy.                                SHERMAN                  'Morning, Tony.                                 DOORMAN                  Bill, sir.   My name is Bill.                                SHERMAN                  Yes, of course. Campbell, say                  hello to Tony.                                CAMPBELL                  Hi, Bill.                                DOORMAN                  'Morning, Campbell.     Sherman is distracted by...28   HIS POV - ANOTHER REAR END                                    28     Fuller, firmer and excruciatingly wrapped in a pair of     yellow shorts that are screaming for attention.                                                                 11.          *28A    ANGLE - SHERMAN                                                 28A       puts Campbell on a school bus.    The bus pulls away...                               PETER (V.O.)                 Sherman was a master of the                 universe. He deserved better.                                                       CUT TO:29     OMITTED                                                         29thru                                                                   thru31                                                                     3132     INT. BOND TRADING ROOM - SHERMAN - DAY                          32       walks into the chaos and moves through the din, a smile       of pleasure and anticipation on his lips. We catch       bits of conversation.                               YOUNG    MAN                 I said pick up the    fucking phone,                 please. I'm asking     nice. I'm                 asking you to pick    up the fucking                 phone.                               ANOTHER MAN                 If you can't see the goddamn                 screen, then I can't help you. If                 you can't see what the hell we're                 talking about, then what are we                 talking about?!                               THIRD MAN                 Well, then why do you think                 everybody's stripping the twenty                 years?!33     ANGLE - BLACK SHOESHINE MAN                                     33       finishes one man's shoes, collects three dollars and       moves on to the next. (Except for giving him the money,       nobody registers his presence.)                               FOURTH MAN                 Bid eight and a half. And then I                 want you to work hard on this,                 see what's happening with the                 escrow, do they forfeit or no?                               FIFTH    MAN                 This Goldman order    really fucked                 things up. And the     banks are                 calling it 73. Why     are they                 pissing on us like    that?                                                       (CONTINUED))O(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                     12.33    CONTINUED:                                                       33                                 SIXTH MAN                   Look, look, look. Let me say this                   again so we're clear. I want the                   turkey rice soup. I don't want the                   chicken rice, I want the turkey                   rice!                                 SEVENTH MAN                   I'm telling you somebody's painting                   you a fucking picture! Can't you                   see that?! I'm telling you to                   swap them. You got all this                   downside protection if the Jap                   market rallies. Just do it, do                   it, do it!34    ANGLE - SHERMAN                                                  34      approaches his own desk, his own telephone, his own      computer terminals. He dials a number.                                 TAPED VOICE (V.O.)                          (on phone)                   Hi. This is 555-8771. Leave a                            *                   message and I will get back to                   you as soon as is humanly possible.                                 SHERMAN                   Maria, where are you? I've been                   trying to reach you for days.                   Please call me at the office. I                   have to speak to you.      RAWLIE THORPE comes running up to Sherman.                                 RAWLIE                   Gene's on from London.    Let's go!                   Let's go!                                 SHERMAN                   Calm down, Rawlie. Let's not get                   over-excited.                                   RAWLIE                   Yes, Sherman.    Sorry.                                 SHERMAN                   Calm. Cool. Colated. Let's not                   lose our composure over a few                   hundred million dollars.                                 RAWLIE                   Jesus Christ, Sherman.    You must                   be made of ice.                                                        (CONTINUED)     BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                  13.        *34   CONTINUED:                                                    34                                SHERMAN                  Just remember, Rawlie. A frantic                  salesman is a dead one. A dead                  one, Rawlie.35   INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY                                    35     Sherman and several men are seated at attention facing an     Adam bowfront cabinet. The cabinet is richly painted     with scenes of bucolic splendor and ornate borders. On     top of this museum piece, a black plastic SPEAKER over     which the voice of Gene Lopwitz is addressing his     inferiors.                                GENE (V.O.)                  But what the hell is this crazy                  Giscard deal going to cost us,                  Sherman?                                SHERMAN                  I need six hundred million to buy                  up the bonds...                                GENE (V.O.)                         (on speaker)                  Jesus. You want us to sit on six                  hundred million dollars worth of                  French government bonds?!                                SHERMAN                  I'm confident on this, Gene.   It's                  a real sleeping beauty.     A THROTTLED ROAR comes out of the SPEAKER.                                RAWLIE                  Where are you, Gene?                                GENE (V.O.)                  Tottenham Park. At a cricket                  match. Somebody's just hit the                  hell out of the ball. The ball's                  kind of dead, though.                                RAWLIE                  Who's playing?                                GENE (V.O.)                  Don't get technical on me, Rawlie.                  Bunch of nice young men in white                  flannel pants.                                SHERMAN                  What do you say, Gene.   Are we in                  or out?                                                    (CONTINUED))P(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/10/90                   14.35    CONTINUED:                                                     35                                 GENE (V.O.)                          (on speaker)                   Gold has to hold steady. And if                   the franc starts to drop...                                 SHERMAN                   Bernard Sachs is already in for                        *                   three hundred million. Does that                   make you feel better?                                 GENE (V.O.)                          (on speaker)                   Sherman, you're going to make me                   an old man.                                 SHERMAN                   A rich old man, Gene.   A rich old                   man.      Another ROAR of the CROWD comes over the SPEAKERS.                                 GENE (V.O.)                          (on speaker)                   What was that? Oh. It's over.                   Is it over? The game's over.                   Well. That's that, I guess.                                 SHERMAN                   I guess you had to be there.                   Eh, Gene?                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                            15.35    CONTINUED:    (2)                                           35                                  GENE (V.O.)                           (on speaker)                   What?   What was that?      Sherman flips OFF the speaker.                                 SHERMAN                   At ease, gentlemen.      The meeting breaks up.36    ANGLE - SHERMAN                                             36      moving through the bond trading room to his desk.                 *                                 PETER (V.O.)                   The roar enveloped him. Music to                   his ears. The sound of educated                   young white men baying for money                   on the bond market. Six hundred                   million in his hands. Six million                   off the top for Pierce & Pierce.                   One point seven million for                   Sherman. All in a day's work.                   He was there. At the top --                   impervious, untouchable, insulated                   by wealth and power. A great                   height from which to view the rest                   of the poor world. A great height                   from which to fall.36A   ANGLE - FAX MACHINE                                         36A   *      SPITTING OUT the message: "Sherman, Arriving New York             *      on the Concorde tonight. Best, Maria."                            *37    EXT. KENNEDY AIRPORT - NIGHT                                37      The sky is a labyrinth of planes taking off and landing.38    INT. INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS - MARIA - NIGHT                 38      comes out of the customs area into the lobby. She is      a vision -- young, beautiful, ultra-chic in her big-      shouldered electric blue Norma Kamali type jacket, her      miniskirt, her lizard shoes. The sweaty hordes of      panting tourists all seem to part like the Red Sea as      Maria passes through them, followed by a porter and a      trolley full of luggage.39    ANGLE - SHERMAN                                             39      moving toward Maria.     They embrace clumsily.                                                   (CONTINUED))W(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 7/9/90                    16.39    CONTINUED:                                                     39                                 MARIA                   Sherman, you are an absolute angel                   coming all the way out here.                                 SHERMAN                   I had to talk to you. I did the                   most stupid thing last night.                                 MARIA                   Oh, dear. Are we going to talk                   about it right now?                                  SHERMAN                   Yes.   We have to.                                 MARIA                   Don't you want a little poon tang                   first?                                  SHERMAN                   Maria.   Please. This is important.                                  MARIA                   Alright.   Tell mama all about it.40    EXT. MERCEDES - NIGHT                                          40      moving off the Van Wyck and onto the Grand Central      Parkway.41    INT. MERCEDES - SHERMAN AND MARIA - NIGHT                      41      Maria is laughing. She is fiddling with the back of      Sherman's neck and chewing on his ear while her other      hand is in his crotch. Maria is laughing.                           *                                 SHERMAN                   I know it has its funny side but                   it isn't funny.                                 MARIA                   Well, it's your own fault for                          *                   getting caught like a red herring.                     *                                 SHERMAN                   You mean red-handed.                                   *                                 MARIA                   That's what I said... Couldn't we                      *                   just forget about your wife and                        *                   go on over to our little hideaway                      *                   on 59th Street and hide away a                         *                   little?                                                *                                                      (CONTINUED))W(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 7/9/90                  17.41    CONTINUED:                                                   41                                 SHERMAN                   I think she knows.                                   *                                 MARIA                   Well, of course she knows.   That's                   not the point.                                SHERMAN                   It isn't?                                 MARIA                   Oh, Sherman, honey. You are so                   sweet. I could eat you alive, if                   I could get this zipper down.                   Sherman, aren't we supposed to                   turn there?                                SHERMAN                   Where?42    HIS POV - SIGN                                               42      reading "Manhattan" way off to the right, several full      lanes away.                                 MARIA (O.S.)                   I'm sure that's the turnoff to                   Manhattan.                                 SHERMAN (O.S.)                   Well, I can't get over there now.                   We'll have to exit and get back                   on.43    OMITTED                                                      43   *44    THEIR POV - MORE SIGNS                                       44      "EAST BRONX NEW ENGLAND" and "EAST 138TH BRUCKNER BLVD."                                                                        *45    EXT. MERCEDES - NIGHT                                        45      veers onto ramp and heads toward the 138th St. exit.              *46    OMITTED                                                      46   *47    EXT. MERCEDES - NIGHT                                        47      is suddenly off the expressway and driving at ground      level -- a dark street, piled at one side with car                *      tires -- totally bleak.                                           *)W(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 7/9/90                   18.                                                                         *48    INT. MERCEDES - SHERMAN AND MARIA - NIGHT                     48                              MARIA                Sherman, where are we?                              SHERMAN                We're in the Bronx.                              MARIA                What does that mean?                              SHERMAN                It means we're going north. All I                need to do is make a left and go                         *                west and find a street back to                Manhattan.49    EXT. MERCEDES - NIGHT                                         49      makes a right out of the traffic and suddenly...50    ANGLE - STREET LIFE                                           50      surrounds the car -- people, MUSIC, cars, colors.   A      boulevard of dizzy sounds and sights.                                                                19.51   INT. MERCEDES - SHERMAN AND MARIA - NIGHT                        51     As it stops for a red light.                                 MARIA                  Sherman?                                 SHERMAN                  Yes, Maria.                                MARIA                  Where are all the white people?     A LOUD SCREAM.52   THEIR POV - PIMP                                                 52     is being pursued by a prostitute. She is stoned, moving     in slow motion, screaming. She grabs him from behind;     he elbows her in the stomach. She falls to her knees     right in front of the Mercedes.53   ANOTHER ANGLE                                                    53                                  SHERMAN                  Christ.    She's not touching the car,                  is she?                                MARIA                  Sherman, I'm from the South and                  I'm beginning not to like this                  very much.54   PROSTITUTE                                                       54     leans on the hood of the car, stands up and continues her     pursuit of the pimp.55   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                                  55     leans out the window.                                SHERMAN                  Excuse me, please don't touch the                  car.56   ANGLE - MARIA AND SHERMAN                                        56                                MARIA                  Sherman, get us out of here.                             *                                SHERMAN                  I have a red light.     A face appears at the window next to Maria.      A YOUNG     LATIN MAN. He laughs.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              20.56   CONTINUED:                                                     56                                 YOUNG MAN                  Hey, baby.   We having a party?     Maria leans toward Sherman and presses her foot down on     the accelerator. The car jerks into motion.                                SHERMAN                  Maria!                                MARIA                  Drive, Sherman. Just drive.57   EXT. MERCEDES - NIGHT                                          57     leaps across the intersection and continues down the     boulevard.58   INT. MERCEDES - SHERMAN AND MARIA - NIGHT                      58                                SHERMAN                  Look, there's no need to panic.                                MARIA                  That's what you think. I have                  all my luggage with me.                                SHERMAN                  I just don't want to do anything                  stupid. If we keep our heads,                  we'll be perfectly fine.                                MARIA                  Christ. We're in the middle of                  a goddamn war zone and you're                  worried about doing the right                  thing. Look! There!59   EXT. STREET - SIGN                                             59     reads "895 EAST GEO. WASH. BRIDGE." And just beyond the     sign, a ramp leading up to the expressway.                               MARIA (O.S.)                  There! George Washington Bridge,                  you see it?!60   INT. MERCEDES - ANGLE THROUGH WINDSHIELD - SHERMAN AND         60     MARIA - NIGHT     As Sherman pulls toward the ramp. Another pothole jolts     the car. Maria's luggage flies forward, hitting Sherman     in the back of his neck. At the same time, Maria sees     something in the road ahead of them.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                              21.60   CONTINUED:                                                     60                                 MARIA                  Sherman!   What's that?!     Sherman hits the brake.      The CAR stalls and comes to a     SCREECHING halt.                                 MARIA                  It's a body.                                SHERMAN                  It looks like...                                MARIA                  It's an animal.                                SHERMAN                  I think it's a...                                 MARIA                  Is it dead?                                SHERMAN                  It's a wheel, that's all.   It's                  a tire.                                MARIA                  It's a dead tire!                                SHERMAN                  Calm down, Maria. Please. It's                  a tire and some ash cans or                  something.     Sherman starts to get out of the car.                                MARIA                  What are you doing?!                                SHERMAN                  Well, I can't drive around it, can I?                                MARIA                  You're going to move it?                               SHERMAN                  Yes. That's exactly what I'm going                  to do.                                MARIA                  For God's sake, be careful of your                  shoes.61   EXT. MERCEDES - SHERMAN - NIGHT                                61     gets out of the car.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                                22.61   CONTINUED:                                                       61     He leaves the door open. Above him, the tremendous     CLANGING noise of CARS POUNDING along the expressway.     But he can't see them. He can only hear them and feel     their vibration. He stands there a moment, taking in the     strangeness of the place and of his own situation -- the     tire, Maria, his wife, his life. A little chill of lone-     liness hits him. He shakes it off and walks to the tire     -- a simple, inevitable move toward a destiny he could     never have imagined.62   ANGLE - TIRE                                                     62     as Sherman approaches. He tries to pick it up without     getting his suit messed up. Suddenly...                                MARIA (O.S.)                  Sherman!     He turns, tire in his hands and sees...63   HIS POV - TWO FIGURES                                            63     walking toward him. One big, young, powerfully built     (ROLAND AUBURN). He looks dangerous. The other slight,     hesitant, a few steps behind the first one (HENRY LAMB).     They are both black.                                 ROLAND                  Yo!   Need some help?64   QUICK CUTS - SCENE                                               64     Sherman is standing there holding the tire.      The two     young men are moving steadily toward him.                                ROLAND                  What happened, man? You need some                  help?                               SHERMAN                  No thanks. Hi. No, I don't think                  so. No. Thank you very much.     Sherman is confused. He doesn't move. Maria gets behind     the wheel of the car. Roland reaches slowly into his     jacket pocket. He smiles and keeps moving toward Sherman.     Sherman sees the hand moving out of the jacket pocket.     He is still frozen. Maria BLOWS the HORN. Sherman wakes     up finally.                                 SHERMAN                  Excuse me.   I have to go.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                            23.64   CONTINUED:                                                   64     He starts to move toward the car, still carrying the tire.     Roland steps in front of him. They both keep moving.                                ROLAND                  Where you going with that tire?                               SHERMAN                  Oh. Is this yours? Here.    You                  take it.     Sherman pushes the tire toward Roland. Roland pushes it     back at him. Sherman throws up his arms. The tire     bounces off his arms and knocks Roland down.                                SHERMAN                  Oh. Sorry.   I'm sorry, I didn't                  mean to...65   ANGLE - MARIA                                                65     HONKS the HORN again and drives the car toward Sherman.66   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                              66     turns toward the car, and bumps into Henry.     They both     fall down.67   ANGLE - ROLAND                                               67     gets to his feet and moves toward the car.68   ANGLE - MARIA                                                68     opens the car door for Sherman.                                MARIA                  Sherman, get in this car.69   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                              69     jumps into the car, pulls the door shut and hits the lock     mechanism just as...70   ANGLE - ROLAND                                               70     grabs the door handle on Maria's side.    Maria SQUEALS     ahead.71   ANGLE - CAR                                                  71     jerks into motion. But it is now sideways on the ramp     and almost hits the guardrail.                                                            24.72   ANGLE - MARIA                                                72     hits the brakes and puts the car into reverse.                             SHERMAN               Look out!73   ANGLE - ROLAND                                               73     is charging toward the car with the tire.    He throws it     at the windshield.74   ANGLE - MARIA                                                74     SQUEALS into first gear as the tire bounces off the     windshield.75   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                              75     looks back at the flying tire and sees...76   HIS POV - HENRY                                              76     moving around the rear end of the car.77   ANGLE - MARIA AND SHERMAN                                    77     Maria pulls the wheel hard to the right.     The car     fishtails.                              SHERMAN               Be careful.   There's...     But before he can say it, a loud, dead sound -- THOK!     Sherman looks back...78   HIS POV - REAR OF CAR                                        78     as before -- except that Henry is gone.     Roland is run-     ning after the car.79   ANGLE - SHERMAN AND MARIA                                    79     moving too fast up the ramp toward the traffic on the     expressway. Maria hits the brakes and then GUNS the gas.80   EXT. MERCEDES - NIGHT                                        80     The car careens recklessly into the traffic. Other cars     swerve and BLOW their HORNS as the Mercedes forces its     way into the flow of traffic heading toward Manhattan.81   ANGLE                                                        81     A sign above the traffic reading "Manhattan."                                                         25.82   EXT. MERCEDES - NIGHT                                     82     pulls off the Drive onto 59th Street. The car pulls into       *     a parking space. Sherman and Maria get out. They move     toward a brownstone apartment building.                             SHERMAN               I wonder if we should report this               to the police.                             MARIA               The police?                             SHERMAN               I mean we were almost robbed and I               think maybe it's possible you... we               hit one of them. There was this kind               of... There was this sound. Did you               hear it? Like we hit one of them.                             MARIA               Did you see him get hit?                             SHERMAN               No.                             MARIA               Neither did I. So if the question               ever comes up, all that happened               was, two boys blocked the road               and tried to rob us and we got               away. That's all we know.     They go into...83   INT. BROWNSTONE - SHERMAN AND MARIA - NIGHT               83     climbing the stairs.                             SHERMAN               But if we called the police now...                             MARIA               Yes, let's call them and invite               them over here to our little love               nest. They would love to get               their hands on us. The police               and the press and all the rest of               the 'mediarites.'                             SHERMAN               Meteorites?                                               (CONTINUED)                                                               26.83   CONTINUED:                                                      83                                MARIA                  Yes. Newspapers, radios,                  televisions. I can see it   now.                  Mr. Sherman McCoy of Park  Avenue                  and Mrs. Arthur Ruskin of  Fifth                  Avenue, recuperating after  their                  adventures in the Bronx --                  explain that to your wife.                                 SHERMAN                  Yes.   You have a point.     Maria unlocks the door and they go into...84   INT. MARIA'S APARTMENT - SHERMAN AND MARIA - NIGHT              84                                SHERMAN                  I'd just feel better if...     Maria drops everything and turns on him...                                MARIA                  You don't have to feel better,                  Sherman. I was the one who                  was driving. And I'm saying                  I didn't hit anybody, and I'm                  not reporting anything to the                  police! And if you are a                  gentleman, you will support                  me in that decision.     Silence. They are both out of breath. They look at     each other. Then Maria starts to unbutton her blouse.                                MARIA                         (very sexy now)                  We were in the jungle... we were                  attacked... we fought our way                  out.                                 SHERMAN                  It's true.   We could have been                  killed.                                 MARIA                  We fought.   I feel like an animal.                                SHERMAN                  You drove the hell out of that                  car.                                MARIA                  The hard part was getting into the                  seat, getting over that gear shift.                                                      (CONTINUED))J(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90                    27.84    CONTINUED:                                                      84      She opens his shirt.    She is suddenly all over him.                                 SHERMAN                   It was instinct.                                   MARIA                   That tire...                                 SHERMAN                   He was big... wasn't he?                                 MARIA                   You were bigger, Sherman.    You                   were great...                                 SHERMAN                   We were both great.                                 MARIA                   This could be the best sex we've                   had in a long time.                                   SHERMAN                   I don't know.    I still think...                                 MARIA                   Don't think, Sherman.    Don't think.                   Just fuck.      They do.85    INT. COURTROOM - STATUE - DAY                                   85      A thirty foot rendition of "blind justice" -- a gigantic      woman with the scales of justice in one hand and a bronze      sword in the other.                                 JUDGE WHITE (O.S.)                        *                   Mr. Sonenberg!?!86    ANGLE - JUDGE LEONARD WHITE - DAY                               86   *      is up on the bench leaning forward, chin down, eyes      blazing, his bony skull and beaked nose sticking out      of his robes -- he looks like a buzzard perched for      take-off.                                 JUDGE WHITE                               *                   Where is Mister Son-nenberg?87    ANGLE - COURTROOM                                               87      in chaos --                                                       (CONTINUED))J(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90              28.87    CONTINUED:                                                87      -- children running about as if they were in a day care      center, clumps of people in the spectator section waiting      their turn, people talking, going in and out paying      little attention to the Judge until...                                 JUDGE WHITE                         *                   Where the hell is Mister                   Son-nen-berg!!!      Everyone freezes -- including the kids.88    ANGLE - JUDGE WHIT                                        88   *      addresses the DEFENDANT.                                 JUDGE WHITE                         *                   Alright, Mr. Lockwood, you sit                   down. And if and when your lawyer                   deigns to favor us with his                   presence...                                 LOCKWOOD (DEFENDANT)                   Two to six, Judge.      He points at Ray Andriutti, the assistant D.A.                                 LOCKWOOD                   Two weeks ago he told me two to                   six...                                 JUDGE WHITE                         *                   Mr. Lockwood...                                 LOCKWOOD                   Two to six or we go to trial...                                 JUDGE WHITE                         *                   Nobody wants to go to trial, Mr.                   Lockwood.                                 LOCKWOOD                   I'll go to trial.                                 JUDGE WHITE                         *                   Listen, you son of a bitch.                   You're a nice boy, you're young,                   you got a lot going for you. Try                   to understand me. We got 7,000                   felony indictments in the Bronx                   every year. And we got room for                   650 trials. And you are not going                   to be one of them.                                 LOCKWOOD                   I go to trial.)R(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/8/90                 29.89    ANGLE - JED KRAMER                                          89   *      coming into the courtroom and moving toward Ray      Andriutti.90    ANGLE - WHITE                                               90                              JUDGE WHITE                You go sit down, that's what you                go do! And when your asshole                lawyer shows up, you're gonna take                whatever plea bargain we give you                and you're gonna kiss my ass and                thank me that I didn't put you                away for twenty-five years.                Which, if this case ever did come                to trial is exactly what you would                get. Now get out of my face.91    ANGLE - KRAMER                                              91      sits at the table next to Ray Andriutti. As they talk,      Kramer takes a pair of black shoes out of a plastic bag.      He takes off the Reeboks that he's wearing and puts the      shoes on.                              KRAMER                       (referring to Lockwood)                What did he do?                              RAY                He pulled a knife on a seventy-                year-old lady, robbed her, raped                her and then shoved her in a                garbage can.                             KRAMER                Jesus.                              RAY                       (laughs)                Welcome to the South Bronx.92    ANGLE - THE SCENE                                           92      as the Clerk announces the next case.                              CLERK                People versus Harold Williams.                Indictment number 294721.                              *                              JUDGE WHITE                This case was dismissed three                weeks ago.                                                   (CONTINUED))J(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90                30.92    CONTINUED:                                                  92                                 RAY                          (to Kramer)                   Go get him, tiger.                                KRAMER                   Shit.                                 JUDGE WHITE                           *                   What is this case doing here?                                 KRAMER                   May I approach the bench, Your Honor?                                 JUDGE WHITE                           *                   Who the hell are you?                                 KRAMER                   Uh, Kramer, sir. Assistant                   District...                                 JUDGE WHITE                           *                   You're new here, Mr. Kramer. Let                   me explain something to you.                   This case is what we call a piece                   of shit. Which means, loosely                   translated, that you have no                   evidence.                                 KRAMER                   Your Honor, the District Attorney,                   Mr. Weiss...                                 JUDGE WHITE                           *                   I know who the district attorney                   is. I know Mr. Weiss. And the                   only reason Mr. Weiss is interested                   in the case is because Mr. Williams                   over there is a white man who lives                   in a nice big house in Riverdale.                                 KRAMER                   I don't follow, sir...                                 JUDGE WHITE                           *                   Because this is an election year.                   Because ninety-nine percent of the                   people you shovel through here are                   black and the other ninety-nine                   percent don't even speak English.                   But they do vote.                                 (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED))P(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/10/90                   31.92    CONTINUED:    (2)                                              92                                 JUDGE WHITE (CONT'D)                   So Mr. Weiss, your boss, the                   District Attorney -- who dreams                   every night that someday he is                   going to be mayor of New York City                   -- what he needs is a white man.                   He needs to find him, book him,                   and throw him in jail. Then he                   looks good to everybody. The                   press likes it, the voters like                   it, even your mother will like it.                   You follow me now, Mr. Kramer?                                 KRAMER                   Yes, Your Honor.                                 JUDGE WHITE                   So you go tell your boss, the                   district attorney, Captain Ahab                   Weiss that I know he's out there                   looking for the great white                   defendent... but Mr. Williams over                   there is not it.93    INT. CORRIDOR - KRAMER AND ANDRIUTTI - DAY                     93   *      come out of the courtroom.                                          *                                 RAY                          (sarcastic)                   Don't take it personally.                                   KRAMER                   Thanks.                                 RAY                   Maybe he didn't like your shoes.                                 VOICE (O.S.)                   Are you Andriutti?94    ANGLE TO INCLUDE DETECTIVES A.J. MARTIN AND STEWART            94      GOLDBERG                                   RAY                   Yeah.   What?                                 MARTIN                   I'm Martin. This is Detective                   Goldberg. We just come from                   Lincoln Hospital. You got a                   minute?                                                      (CONTINUED))P(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/10/90                    32.94    CONTINUED:                                                      94                                 RAY                                       *                   Yeah, what do you got?                                  *      They move down the corridor.                                         *                                 MARTIN                   We got a kid named Henry Lamb,                          *                   showed up at the hospital last                          *                   night with a broken wrist.                              *                                  RAY                   So?                                                     *                                 MARTIN                   So they fixed him up in the                             *                   emergency room and they sent him                        *                   home.                                  RAY                                      *                   So?                                 MARTIN                   So this morning his     mother brings                   him back, he's got a     concussion.                   He goes into a coma     and now they                   classify him likely     to die.                                 KRAMER                   You talked to him?                                  MARTIN                   No.   He was already out.                                 GOLDBERG                   He's in a coma.                                  KRAMER                   Oh, yeah.                                               *                                 MARTIN                   No. There's a nurse there      busting                   my balls. She says the kid      told                   his mother he was hit by a     car. A                   Mercedes. And the car left      the                   scene.                                  GOLDBERG                   Hit and run.                                 KRAMER                   The mother tell you this, too?                                                       (CONTINUED))P(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/10/90                     33.94    CONTINUED:    (2)                                                94                                 MARTIN                   The mother won't talk to us.                   She's got a shitload of parking                   tickets and she doesn't want to                   talk to the police.                                 RAY                   So why are you coming to us? You                   got a victim who's unconscious,                   you got no witness, no driver --                   you got what we call here a piece                   of shit. Ain't that right, Mr.                   Kramer?      Martin and Goldberg look at each other.                                 MARTIN                   What we got here is a problem.                                 GOLDBERG                   You ever hear of Reverend Bacon?                                RAY                   Oh, no. Not me. Kramer, this is                   all yours. I'll see you gentlemen                   later.      Andruitti turns and goes.                                                      CUT TO:95    OMITTED                                                          95   *&                                                                      &96                                                                     96   *97    INT. REV. BACON'S CHURCH (HARLEM) - CLOSE ON CHOIR OF            97      BLACK WOMEN - DAY      in the middle of a hymn.      PULL BACK to include:      Rev. Bacon in the middle of a      tirade.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              34.97   CONTINUED:                                                     97                                BACON                  This is a tragedy. A fine young                  man has been struck down. God-                  fearing, church-going, never in                  trouble, graduating from high                  school, ready for college -- and                  somebody comes along -- some rich                  white people in a rich white man's                  car and wham! They run him down                  and never even stop. Now what are                  we going to do about these parking                  tickets?     PULL BACK to include Kramer, Martin and Goldberg.       Kramer     is thrown.                                KRAMER                  Well, uh... first of all, Reverend                  ... Is it Reverend?                                BACON                  Is, was, and always will be.                                KRAMER                  First of all, Reverend, we have                  no evidence of...                                BACON                  This is your evidence...98   ANGLE TO INCLUDE MRS. ANNIE LAMB                               98     coming up the aisle behind them.                                    *                                KRAMER                  Oh, sorry, ma'am. I didn't see...                                BACON                  Mrs. Lamb is not speaking to the                  police. Until we have proper                  counsel, I will speak for her.                                KRAMER                  Alright, then. Let me see if I                  have this straight. The boy was                  hit by a car...                                BACON                  On Bruckner Boulevard. Innocently                  walking along, minding his own                  business... A clear case of                  hit-and-run.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                            35.98   CONTINUED:                                                   98                                KRAMER                  No, Reverend. I'm sorry. But you                  see, you have no witness. Without                  a witness, there's no case of                  anything at all.                                BACON                  You got what he told his mother.                                KRAMER                  That's hearsay. You may believe                  it and I may believe it, but it's                  not admissable in a court of law.                                BACON                  If this boy was born on Park Avenue                  and he was run down by two niggers                  in a Pontiac Firebird, then you'd                  have a case! Wouldn't you?!                                MARTIN                  I work Park Avenue and I work                  Bruckner Boulevard, Reverend.                  There's good and bad in both                  places. Now we'll do everything                  we can for this lady. But we don't                  have a hell of a lot to go on.                                BACON                  Gentlemen, I want you to make an                  investment here. An investment in                  steam control.                                KRAMER                  Steam control?                                BACON                  That's right. Steam control.                  Because a righteous steam is building                  up in the souls of my people and                  that steam is ready to blow.                                 KRAMER                  I see.   Well...                                BACON                  Now, on judgment day, I am your                  safety valve. Because when it                  blows -- and it will, my friend --                  how grateful you will be that I                  am on your side -- the one nigger                  who can control the steam and save                  your lily white ass from being                  burned off the face of the earth                  so to speak.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                               36.98    CONTINUED:    (2)                                              98                                 KRAMER                   You think this car was driven by                   a white man, huh?                                 BACON                   I seldom think. I just plain                            *                   know.                                                   *                                 KRAMER                   Well, Reverend. I'll see what I                   can do.      Kramer, Martin and Goldberg start to go.    Bacon puts his      arm around Mrs. Lamb.                                 BACON                   The next time you gentlemen hear                   from us, it will be through our                   lawyer.      Mrs. Lamb goes to Kramer.                                 MRS. LAMB                   He said it started with an 'R.'                   That was the first letter. The                   second letter was an 'E' or a 'B'                   or maybe a 'P.' Those were the                   first two letters of the license                   plate. If that's any help to you.99    EXT. ROAD - LICENSE PLATE - DAY                                99      of Sherman's Mercedes -- RPH 633.100   ANGLE - CAR                                                    100      approaching Southampton.101   INT. CAR - SHERMAN                                             101      is driving. Judy and Campbell are with him.        No one is      talking. Then...                                 SHERMAN                   We should move out here.      No response.                                 SHERMAN                   Have you ever thought, I mean,                   what if we moved out of New York?                   What do you think?                                 JUDY                   About what?                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              37.         *101   CONTINUED:                                                    101                                 SHERMAN                   Do you think we could leave New                   York?                                JUDY                   No.                                 SHERMAN                   My father did it.                                 JDUY                   You are not your father.                                 PETER FALLOW (V.O.)                   She knew how to hurt a guy. No.                   He was nothing like his father.                   His father, the lion of Dunning,                   Sponget and Leach. His father, who                   took the subway to work every day                   of his life. His father, who still                   believed in principals and ethics,                   whose repeated lessons concerning                   duty, debt and responsibility had                   whistled through his son's head.                   No. Sherman McCoy was nothing like                   his father.102   EXT. BEACH HOUSE - PORCH - DAY                                102      Sherman and Judy are having drinks with Sherman's FATHER      and MOTHER. Over the following, Campbell is tugging at      Judy's sleeve, asking repeatedly, "But what does he do?      What does Daddy do?!" To which, Judy replies, "He sells      bonds." Sherman is, at the same time, searching through      a newspaper for any news of the accident.                                 MRS. McCOY (MOTHER)                   ... And she said to me, 'I like my                   older customers best of all.                   They're the only ones who drink                   anymore.'      Everyone laughs.                                 MRS. McCOY                   'My older customers!'                                 MR. McCOY (FATHER)                   She thought you were twenty-five.                          (to Judy)                   All of a sudden I'm married to a                   white ribbon.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                             38.102   CONTINUED:                                                   102                                 JUDY                   Sherman, what are you looking for                   in that newspaper?                                  SHERMAN                   Nothing.   I... uh... no, nothing                   special.                                 CAMPBELL                   But what's a bond?                                 MRS. McCOY                          (delighted)                   Oh, yes, Sherman, do explain it.                                 MR. McCOY                   Yes. Your mother and I really                   want to hear this, Sherman.                                 SHERMAN                   A bond is a way of lending   people                   money.  Let's say you want   to                   build a road or a hospital   and you                   need a lot of money. Well,    you                   issue a bond...                                 CAMPBELL                   Do you build roads?                                 SHERMAN                   No, I don't actually build them...                                 MR. McCOY                   I think you're in over your head.      More laughter.                                 JUDY                   Here. Let me try. Darling, Daddy                   doesn't build roads or hospitals                   or anything, really. Daddy just                   handles the bonds for the people                   who raise the money.                                 CAMPBELL                   That's what he said. Bonds.                                 JUDY                   Yes. See, just imagine that a                   bond is a slice of cake. Now you                   didn't bake that cake, but every                   time you hand somebody a slice of                   that cake, a little bit comes off,                   little crumbs fall off. And you're                   allowed to keep those crumbs.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                          39.102   CONTINUED:    (2)                                         102                                  SHERMAN                   Crumbs?   Really...                                 MR. McCOY                          (pointedly)                   And many a man has sold his soul                   for those little crumbs.                                 JUDY                          (enjoying this)                   Yes. And that's what Daddy does.                   He passes somebody else's cake                   around and picks up the crumbs.                   But you have to imagine a lot of                   crumbs. And a great golden cake.                   And a lot of golden crumbs. And                   you have to imagine Daddy running                   around picking up every little                   golden crumb he can get his hands                   on. That's what Daddy does.                                 SHERMAN                   Well, you can call them crumbs                   if you want to...                                 JUDY                   That's the best I can do.   Excuse                   me.      She gets up abruptly and leaves. Mrs. McCoy goes after      Judy. Sherman and his father sit there without talking.      Then...                                 MR. McCOY                   Of course, in my day, there was                   some integrity to it...                                    SHERMAN                   Yes.   Well...                                 MR. McCOY                   Now it's not about anything, is                   it? Except the money.                                 SHERMAN                   I don't make the rules.                                 MR. McCOY                   All the more reason not to play                   the game.                                 SHERMAN                   We're having a little... It's                   nothing serious. Really.103   OMITTED                                                   103   *)O(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                40.104    INT. LEICESTER'S RESTAURANT - CLOSE ON PETER FALLOW -       104       NIGHT       Peter's face is flat on the bar. He looks bad -- drunk,       out of shape, disheveled and probably unclean.                               PETER (V.O.)                 Of course, up to this point in our                 story, I was blissfully ignorant.                 I had no idea of the storm that                 was gathering. Never even heard                 of Sherman McCoy. Hadn't the                 faintest notion that soon his name                 would be inexorably tied to mine.                 That his fate would be inextricably                 bound to my own destiny.104A   ANGLE - BARTENDER                                           104A       nudges Peter awake and puts three drinks into Peter's       hands. Peter staggers away from the bar, carrying the       drinks.                               PETER (V.O.)                 I had my own problems. And I                 simply had no idea that Sherman                 McCoy was the solution I was                 looking for.105    ANGLE - CAROLINE HEFTSHANK AND FILIPPO CHIRAZZI             105    *       enter the restaurant. He is handsome and young. She is       older and not as pretty as he is. Peter intercepts them.                               PETER                 Caroline. You devil.    Come and                 have a drink with us.                                 CAROLINE                 Peter.    You pig. I'm with someone.       Peter steers them to a table filled with people.                              PETER                 Yes. And a very pretty someone he                 is, too.                               CAROLINE                        (introducing them)                 This is Filippo Chirazzi, the artist.                 This is Peter Fallow, the has-been.                                PETER                 Enchante.   We're a little crowded.                                (MORE)                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                41.105   CONTINUED:                                                      105                                 PETER (CONT'D)                   Why don't you squeeze in next to                   Billy Cortez. Billy, you keep your                   hands to yourself. Now, Filippo,                   you sit down on top of Billy and                   I'll see if I can get Caroline to                   sit down on my face.      Peter sits in a chair and tries to pull Caroline into his      lap. Caroline grabs Filippo.                                 CAROLINE                   No thanks, Peter. The last time I                   sat on your face, I ended up with                   a yeast infection.      They leave.    Peter laughs and almost falls off his chair.106   ANGLE - GERALD MOORE                                            106      standing over Peter.                                 MOORE                   Good evening, Peter.                                 PETER                          (shocked)                   Gerald. Well. Hello.      He tries to get up.                                 MOORE                   No, don't get up. You know my                   daughter, don't you?                                    PETER                   Yes.   Evelyn.    How are you?                                    EVELYN                   Lovely.                                 MOORE                          (to Eveyln)                   This is one of my invisible                   employees. One of the many                   journalists who are supposed to                   be writing for my newspaper.                   You're very fortunate to see him                   because I hardly ever do.      Peter struggles to his feet.                                 PETER                   Gerald, have a drink.     Please,                   I can explain.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                         42.106   CONTINUED:                                               106                                 MOORE                   Thanks, no. We're having a                   private little dinner in the back.                                   PETER                   Ah.   Yes.   Well...      As they move across the room...                                 MOORE                   You know, I was at a dinner party                 *                   last night. And in the middle of                   the pudding, this four-year-old                   *                   child came in pulling a toy wagon                   around the table and on the wagon                   was a fresh turd. Her own, I                   suppose. And the parents just                   shook their heads and smiled.                                  PETER                   Incroyable!                                 MOORE                   I've made a big investment in you,                   Peter. Time and money. And it's                   not working. Now I could just                   shake my head and smile. But in                   my house, when a turd appears, we                   deal with it. We dispose of it.                   We flush it away. We don't put it                   on the table and call it caviar.                                 PETER                   I see. Yes. Yes, of course.                   Well, I am on to something right                   now... and I think I've got...                   it's just a matter of... this is                   something that is really going to                   break open!      Moore just looks at him.       Then...                                 MOORE                   I sincerely hope so, Fallow. I                   sincerely hope so. Come, Evelyn.      They march into the back room of the restaurant.                                 PETER (V.O.)                   It was the end of the road for me.                   I could see it coming. See it                   coming? Christ, it was here!)U(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 6/11/90                43.107   EXT. STREET - PETER FALLOW - DAWN                           107      is sitting on a park bench. He's been up all night. He      staggers across the street into the City Light newspaper      office...                              PETER (V.O.)                I'd had my chance and I'd blown it                away in a bottle. It was over.                And I had to face up to that fact.108   INT. FALLOW'S BEDROOM - PETER - MORNING                     108   *      In bed.                                                           *                              PETER (V.O.)                I could always go back home.                Small town, small newspaper. Or                I could take the time off, write                a novel or two. Or I could slit                my wrists. This last suggestion                actually seemed the most appealing                because, in fact, it required the                least amount of effort.      The TELEPHONE RINGS.                              PETER (V.O.)                And then the telephone rang.      He answers.                               PETER                Hello?   Peter Fallow speaking.                                                  CUT TO:109   INT. LIMOUSINE - ALBERT FOX - MORNING                       109      is on the phone. His ASSISTANT sits next to him typing      into a word processor. The car is a mini-office.                              FOX                Peter? Albert Fox. Yeah. You                sound terrific. Any pulse? Ha.                Ha! I called the office, but                            *                nobody seemed to know where you                         *                were or even who you were.                              *                Anything I should know?                                 *                              PETER                                     *                Nothing to know, I'm working at                         *                home today, that's all.                                 *                                                  (CONTINUED))U(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 6/11/90                44.109    CONTINUED:                                                  109                                  FOX                    Good, good, good. I got something                     *                    I want to talk to you about, Peter.                    I think there's a hell of a story                    in it...110    OMITTED                                                     110thru                                                               thru114A                                                               114A114B   INT. TV SET - HOSPITAL ROOM - ALBERT FOX - DAY              114B       is standing by a bed.       In the bed is a midget -- a man. He has a bandage around       his head. Standing with Albert is another midget -- a       woman. She is crying.                                  ALBERT                    ... and the cause of these little                    people will always be dear to my                    heart, whether it be discrimination                    or job security or simply the right                    to have urinals at the proper                    height so that accidents like this                    do not happen.       PULL BACK to include: Two DOCTORS (McDonald Carey and       Dr. Hunter), a newspaper reporter (Jennifer Horton) and       Jack Devereaux.                                  JENNIFER                                *                    Have you ever thought of giving                       *                    up the law and becoming an actor?                     *                                  ALBERT                                  *                    I am an actor.                                        *                                  JACK                                    *                    And a damn good one too.                              *                                  ALBERT                                  *                    Well, thank you.                                      *       Albert shakes hands.                                               *                                  ALBERT                    When the rights of any people are                    threatened -- no matter how big or                    how small -- Albert Fox will always                    be on the case.                                                    (CONTINUED))U(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 6/11/90                    A44A.114B   CONTINUED:                                                    114B                                  DOCTOR                    Your help is greatly appreciated,                    Albert. Not only by us but by                    all Americans.       They shake hands. Albert then picks up the midget woman       and kisses her on the cheek.                                  VOICE FROM BOOTH (O.S.)                    And cut. Thank you, ladies and                    gentlemen. And thank you, Albert                    Fox, for being our guest.114C   ANGLE - STUDIO                                                114C       As everyone applauds.     Albert shakes hands and moves       toward...114D   ANGLE - PETER FALLOW                                          114D       on the sidelines, looking through a folder of papers.                                  FOX                           (approaching)                    Cute, aren't they?                                  PETER                    Uh... yes.                                                    (CONTINUED))U(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 6/11/90                    44A.114D   CONTINUED:                                                       114D                                  FOX                    And they weigh a ton. You want a                    drink? You look like you could                    use one.                                      PETER                    No.   No.   No.    No. No.   Thanks.                    No.       Fox's Assistant approaches.        They all move toward the exit.       *                                  ASSISTANT                                    *                    Do you want to cancel City                                 *                    College?                                                   *                                  FOX                                          *                    No. I got to do it. It's                                   *                    important.                                                 *                           (to Peter)                                          *                    For one thing, it's the only place                         *                    I can still get laid. These girls                          *                    all want to sleep with their fathers.                      *                    And if you're old and famous, and                          *                    you know how to use a condom they'll                       *                    fuck your brains out.                                      *)U(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 6/11/90              45.114E   EXT. STUDIO - NIGHT                                       114E       Fox, Peter and the Assistant come outside and descend            *       the escalator..                                                  *                               FOX                                      *                 You look at the Henry Lamb                 material?                               PETER                 Well, yeah, but... Look, it's an                 unfortunate situation. But I'm                 not altogether sure there's a story                 in it.                               FOX                 A poor, innocent black kid, walking                 down the street, minding his own                 business. And boom! Hit and run.                 There's a story in it for somebody,                 Peter. The black community is up                 in arms. And I'm telling you, when                 Reverend Bacon gets a feather in                 his ass, the shit flies high.                               PETER                 I see. Yes, but what's your                 interest exactly?                               FOX                 I'm a lawyer, Peter. I want to see                 justice done. That's all. And, of                 course, Reverend Bacon is a friend                 of mine. This would be good for                 him. And knowing a little about                        *                 your situation, I thought if you                 were the one to break the story...                                 PETER                 My situation?                                                 (CONTINUED))O(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                      46.114E   CONTINUED:                                                         114E                                  FOX                    Your boss was at my house for                    dinner the other night. He said a                    few things...       Fox and the assistant get into the limo.          Peter follows.                                     PETER                    I see.114F   INT. LIMOUSINE - NIGHT                                             114F       The Assistant fixes Fox a drink from a portable bar.       Fox throws it down and gives the glass back to the       Assistant.                                  PETER                    Do you have a daughter?                                      FOX                    Yes.    I do.    A little girl.                                  PETER                    Does she have a little toy wagon?                                    FOX                    Yes.    I think she does.    Yes.   Why?                                  PETER                    I'll have a Scotch and water.                                *                                     FOX                    Good.    Good.   Get in.       They get into the limo.115    INT. MOTOR VEHICLE OFFICE - COMPUTER SCREEN - NIGHT                115       The letters RE are being punched up and then a series of       license plate numbers beginning with those letters       appear.                                     ASSISTANT (O.S.)                    Too many.                                  YOUNG MAN (O.S.)                    I could lose my job for this.                    What are you going to do with                    this information?116    ANGLE - FOX'S ASSISTANT AND YOUNG MAN                              116                                  ASSISTANT                    You'll read all about it in the                    newspapers. Come on. Let's do                    R.E., R.P. and R.B. and see what                    we get.                                                           47.117   EXT. LONG ISLAND SUBURB - ED RIFKIN - DAY                  117      is in his driveway sipping a beer and painting a "For      Sale" sign. An '81 Corvette is parked in the driveway.                              RIFKIN               Henry Lamb?   Who's that?118   ANGLE TO INCLUDE PETER FALLOW AND RIFKIN                   118                             PETER               He was a student of yours at               Ruppert High. In your English               class.                              RIFKIN               He was?   What's he done?                             PETER               He was seriously injured. I'm               a journalist. I write for a               newspaper.                              RIFKIN               Oh.   I don't remember him.                             PETER               What I would like to find out is               what kind of student he was.                             RIFKIN               Well, if I don't remember him,               I guess he was okay.                             PETER               Would you say he was a 'good'               student?                             RIFKIN               'Good' doesn't really apply to               Ruppert High. They're either               cooperative or life-threatening.               There's no in-between.                             PETER               His mother says he was considering               going to college.                             RIFKIN               Well, she means City College.               They have an open admissions               policy. So, if you live in the               city and you graduate from high               school and you're still breathing,               they have to take you.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                          48.118   CONTINUED:                                                118                                 PETER                   Well, is there anything at all you                   can tell me about his performance                   or aptitude -- anything at all?                                  RIFKIN                   Look, Mr...?                                  PETER                   Fallow.                                 RIFKIN                   I got sixty-five students in                   every class...                                 PETER                   Do you have any of his written                   work?                                 RIFKIN                   Oh, Jesus, there hasn't been any                   written work at Ruppert High                   since... oh, fifteen years.                   Maybe twenty.                                 PETER                   Well, there must be some record                   of how he measures up to the                   others...                                 RIFKIN                   No. See, you're thinking about                   grades and honor students and high                   achievers. We don't make those                   kinds of comparisons. We're just                   trying to keep them off the                   street. At Ruppert High, an honor                   student is somebody who comes to                   class and doesn't piss on the                   teacher.                                 PETER                          (pauses; then)                   Well, by that standard, is Henry                   Lamb an honors student?                                 RIFKIN                   Well, he never pissed on me. So                   by that standard, yes. I guess he                   must be.119   INT. SHERMAN'S OFFICE - CLOSE ON NEWSPAPER HEADLINE -     119      DAY                         HONOR STUDENT IN COMA                         COPS SIT ON HIT AND RUN                                                           49.          *119A   ANGLE - FELIX                                             119A       is shining Sherman's shoes and reading the newspaper.                               SHERMAN (O.S.)                 I think you're exaggerating the                 situation, Bernard...120    ANGLE - SHERMAN                                           120       who is cool and confident.                               SHERMAN                        (on phone)                 ... The franc is no problem. We                 can hedge that to next January or                 to term or both.       And then he sees...121    HIS POV - THE NEWSPAPER HEADLINE                          121       upside-down, reading, "Honor Student in Coma."122    ANGLE - SCENE                                             122       as Sherman tries to read the article upside-down and talk       to Bernard.                               SHERMAN                        (on phone)                 No. I don't think that's                 necessary...       And then shock as Sherman recognizes...123    ANGLE - NEWSPAPER PHOTO                                   123       of Henry Lamb dressed in a cap and gown.124    OMITTED                                                   124thru                                                             thru126                                                              126127    ANGLE - SHERMAN                                           127       is losing control.                               SHERMAN                        (on phone)                 Look, Bernard... uh, we've had a                 few minor -- hell, they're not                 even problems. So let's not get                 ourselves whipped up into a-a-a                 coma. Jesus Christ! No, not you,                 Bernard. Felix, let me see that                 paper.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                              50.127   CONTINUED:                                                    127      Felix hands him the paper. Sherman tries to read the                *      article and talk to Bernard at the same time.                       *                                 SHERMAN                          (on phone)                   'Wait'? What do you mean, 'wait'?!                   What the hell are you talking                   about? Now you listen to me,                   Bernard. We can't wait! We've                   got to move now! You're raising                   phantom issues here. It doesn't                   matter what happens to gold and                   francs on a day-to-day basis!                   We've got to pull ourselves                   together and just fucking do it!!                   Look, Bernard. I'm sorry. No.                   Wait a minute. Wait, Bernard.                   Bernard! Don't leave me! Don't                   leave me!                                 PETER (V.O.)                   But it was too late. It was gone.                   Six hundred million dollars. On                   Wall Street, a frantic salesman                   was a dead salesman. And Sherman                   knew it.      He puts down the phone and stares at the newspaper. He      sits there in his two thousand dollar Saville Row suit      and his New and Lingwood cap-toed shoes and he sweats.      Around him, voices come out of the chaotic room.                                 VOICE #1 (O.S.)                   Feds buying all coupons! Market                   subject!                                 VOICE #2 (O.S.)                   Holy fucking shit. I want out!    I                   want out!!128   OMITTED                                                       128   *&                                                                   &129                                                                 129   *130   EXT. STREET - SHERMAN - DAY                                   130      is standing outside Maria's apartment building. A cab      pulls up. Maria gets out. She is carrying a large                   *      portfolio-type case, suitable for transporting a                    *      painting. Sherman intercepts her.                                   *                                 MARIA                   Sherman, darling. I was just                   thinking about you. Where have                   you been?                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                               51.130   CONTINUED:                                                     130                                 SHERMAN                          (showing her the                           newspaper)                   Have you seen this? Have you seen                   this perversion of the truth?                                 MARIA                   Don't I get a kiss first?                                 SHERMAN                   Have you read it?                                 MARIA                   Oh, Sherman, you know I only read                   the newspapers spasmodically.                                 SHERMAN                   Sporatically, Maria. Sporatically.                                MARIA                   Yes. Me, too. Now come on in and                   have a drink. I know just what                   you need.                                 SHERMAN                   Absolutely wrong! All of it. And                   who is this Peter Fallow? He has                   everything wrong. They don't even                   mention the other boy. And what                   about the ramp and the tire?!                   They're talking about a little                   saint here who was on his way to                   get milk and cookies for his                   widowed mother.      As they go into the building...                                                     CUT TO:131   INT. MARIA'S APARTMENT - WORKMAN - DAY                         131      has just finished installing a new intercom system near      the open door of the apartment. Sherman and Maria appear      in the doorway.                                 MARIA                   Excuse me, but what is going on                   here?                                 WORKMAN                   We're putting in a new intercom                   system. All the apartments. The                   super let me in. Are you...                                 (MORE)                                                     (CONTINUED))O(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                     52.131   CONTINUED:                                                       131                                 WORKMAN (CONT'D)                          (checking a piece                           of paper)                   Miss Caroline Heftshank? I need                   you to sign a receipt.                                 MARIA                   Well, uh... I don't live here.                   I'm just a guest of Miss Heftshank.                   So...                                  WORKMAN                   Okay.   No problem. I'm all done.      He packs up and leaves.      Maria closes the door after him.      She laughs.                                  MARIA                   Christ.   That was close.                                 SHERMAN                   What's going on?                                 MARIA                   Nothing. Caroline pays $351 for                   this place. It's rent controlled.                   I sublet it for eleven hundred a                   month. But it's not legal. They                   would love to get Caroline out of                   here. But they have to prove she                   doesn't live here.                                 SHERMAN                   You don't think it's weird this                   fellow showed up today. After                   that unconscionable piece in the                   paper.                                 MARIA                   Oh, Sherman. You are    completely                   paranoidical. Look, I    have to                   leave for the airport   in twenty                   minutes. So we don't    have much                   time.                                                                             *                              SHERMAN                You don't think they could possibly                trace the car to me?                                                        (CONTINUED))O(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                  53.131   CONTINUED:    (2)                                             131                                 MARIA                   How? They don't have the full                   number, they don't have a witness,                   and the only one who could                   recognize you is in terminal                   comatosis.                                SHERMAN                   Right. There is the other boy,                   however. Suppose he came forward.                                 MARIA                   If he was gonna materialize, he                   would have done it by now. And                   the reason he hasn't, is because                   he's a criminal. Would you get my                   blue jacket out of that closet?      Sherman gets the jacket.     Maria starts putting a painting        *      into her portfolio.                                                 *                                 SHERMAN                   What a wretched painting.                                 MARIA                   Filippo Chirazzi. He's a friend                   of Caroline. Do you know him?                                  SHERMAN                   I hope not.   God, Maria, it looks                   like you.                                 MARIA                   No. No. How could it be? Come                   on, give me a hand. I'm taking it                   with me.                                 SHERMAN                   Where are you going?                                 MARIA                   The airport. I told you. I have                   a car coming in -- oh, God, ten                   minutes. We have time for a                   quickie. What do you say?                                 SHERMAN                   I'm upset, Maria. I just lost 600                   million dollars. And possibly my                   job. I don't feel terrifically                   sexy at the moment.                                                     (CONTINUED)       BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                    54.131    CONTINUED:    (3)                                               131                                  MARIA                    You know I'm a sucker for a soft                    dick.                                  SHERMAN                    Maria, you are incorrigible.                                  MARIA                    Am I?       She kisses him.                                  SHERMAN                    I suppose we could still go to the                    police. We could get a very                    talented lawyer...                                  MARIA                    And put our heads right into the                    horse's mouth? I'm the one who                    was driving the car. Don't you                    think I'm the one who should make                    the decision? And I say, no. No,                    Sherman. Trust me. Nothing is                    going to come of this little                    newspaper article. Absolutely                    nothing.                                                                             *       They are making love as we...                                                       CUT TO:132    EXT. BRONX STREET - LARGE WHITE VAN - DAY                       132       pulls up in front of the Edgar Allen Poe housing       project. Signs on the van read, "Channel 1 News - The       Live 1." The streets are empty.133    OMITTED                                                         133thru                                                                   thru135                                                                    135 *136    ANGLE - PETER FALLOW                                            136       getting out of a taxi.     He approaches Buck.                                  PETER                    Peter Fallow, from City Light.                                   BUCK (HECKLER)                    Oh yeah.   Right.                                  PETER                    Where are all the people?                                                       (CONTINUED))J(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90                     55.136    CONTINUED:                                                       136                                  BUCK                    They'll be here. Soon as they see                    the tower. Reva! Give this man                    the release.137    ANGLE - TO INCLUDE REVA                                          137       a demented-looking white woman who is passing out Xeroxed       literature under the heading...                            "The People Demand Action                             In The Henry Lamb Case"                                   REVA                    Ohhh.   There's Robert Corsaro!                            *138    ANGLE - ROBERT CORSARO                                           138    *       coming from the TV van.                                  PETER                    Peter Fallow, City Light.                                  CORSARO                                      *                    Oh, you're the reason we're up in                    this godforsaken place. You and                    your little newspaper article.                                  PETER                    Sorry about that.139    OMITTED                                                          139&                                                                       &140                                                                     140140A   ANGLE - HOUSING PROJECT                                          140A       Reverend Bacon comes out of the building with Annie and       the gospel singers who take their places in the rubble.       Bacon goes to Fallow and Corsaro.                                  BACON                    Mr. Fallow. Our hero. I feel as                    if we already know each other.                    And Mr. Corsaro. You have an                               *                    exclusive here. You understand                    me? I could have had every                    newspaper and T.V. station                    spreading this news thinly, too                    thinly across the airways. But I                    have chosen only you two. And I                    expect big coverage, in-depth                    coverage.                                                        (CONTINUED))J(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90              56.140A   CONTINUED:                                                140A                                  CORSARO                               *                           (going back to                            the van)                    Well, then let's get to work.                                  PETER                    Look, Reverend, aren't you afraid                    we may be trying to make a mountain                    out of a mole hill here? I mean,                    honestly...                                  BACON                    Honesty has nothing to do with                    this, Mr. Fallow. This is show                    business. And I've never known                    the two to go hand in hand.                                  PETER                    Well, I am a journalist...                                  BACON                    You're a drunk, Mr. Fallow. That's                    what I've been told. And you're                    almost out of a job. Aren't you?                    Or am I misinformed?                                  PETER                    I think maybe you've got the wrong                    man, here.                                  BACON                    Oh, I don't think so. I don't                    think so at all. Get with the                    program, Mr. Fallow, you may have                    been a knight in shining armour                    back in Kansas. But this is New                    York City. And I'm telling you,                    when you come to work in a whore                    house, there's only one thing you                    want to be -- and that's the best                    whore in the house.       Corsaro returns.                                                 *                                  CORSARO                               *                    We're about ready here.       Bacon leaves Peter.141    ANGLE - REMOTE TOWER                                      141       A silvery shaft with bright orange cable wrapped around       it rising two and a half stories above the street now.       People start coming out of the buildings to see what's       going on.)O(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                 57.142    OMITTED                                                      142thru                                                                thru146                                                                 146147    ANGLE - REVEREND BACON                                       147       speaks to the crowd.                               BACON                 Brothers and sisters. I stand                 before you with a heart that is                 broken. And I stand before you                 with a heart that is angry. Heart                 broken because our brother, our                 neighbor, our son, Henry Lamb has                 been stuck down in the prime of                 his young life. And now he lies                 in a hospital, broken like my                 heart. But my heart is also                 angry. Angry because the driver                 of that car did nothing for him!                 And neither did the police. And                 neither did this man -- Mr.                 Abraham Weiss.       Bacon holds up a Weiss campaign poster -- a photo of       Weiss reading --                              "WEISS FOR MAYOR                               JUSTICE FOR ALL"                            *                               BACON                 This man has turned his back on                 Henry Lamb. And I, for one, am                 not going to stand for it. No                 sir!       During the above, a group of kids are pushing and shoving       and laughing behind Bacon, trying to get on camera. Also       during Bacon's speech...148    OMITTED                                                      148148A   ANGLE - BUCK                                                 148A       passing out placards to Rev. Bacon's audience. "Weiss       justice is white justice." "Lamb slaughtered by       indifference." "Hit 'n' run 'n' lie to the people."148B   ANGLE - CORSARO                                              148B *       approaches Fallow while Bacon is speaking.                               CORSARO                                     *                 He's something, isn't he?                                                    (CONTINUED))J(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90             58.148B   CONTINUED:                                               148B                                   PETER                    Yes.   He certainly is.                                  CORSARO                              *                    But, listen, he's on the level                    with this one, isn't he? I mean                    this is a legitimate story.       Peter hesitates.      Then...                                     PETER                    Oh.    Yes.   Sure. Yes.                                  CORSARO                              *                    I mean this Henry Lamb is... was                    ... is a nice kid. No record,                    neighbors seem to like him, an                    honor student.                                  PETER                    No question about it.                                  CORSARO                              *                    Because, well, I don't give a                    shit, but he's gonna be a saint                    by the time we get through with                    him. So it would be good if it                    were true. You know?148C   ANGLE - ANNIE LAMB                                       148C       is being led by Rev. Bacon to the forefront. The crowd       goes quiet. The choir sings. Bacon puts Annie in front       of the crowd as if he were introducing a queen or a       saint.)V(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 6/12/90                 59.         *149   ANGLE - ANNIE                                                149      dressed in black, looking small and frail. Slowly, she      raises her right arm, as if to wave. And then her hand      changes to a clenched fist and she screams...                                ANNIE                Justice!    Justice! Justice!      The crowd goes berserk, screaming with her. A man in the      crowd hurls a JAR of mayonnaise at the poster of Abe      Weiss. As it SPLATTERS...                                                   CUT TO:150   INT. DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE - DAY                        150      Kramer, Weiss, Ray Andriutti and several aides are watch-      ing the TV coverage of the demonstration.                              WEISS                Look at this shit! Look at it!                They're throwing shit right in                my face!      Weiss flips a channel. Corsaro reports. Behind him,      a graphic portrays the Weiss poster with graffiti      scribbled on it:                      "WEISS JUSTICE IS WHITE JUSTICE"                              CORSARO (V.O.)                       (on T.V.)                And while authorities are dragging                their feet, the protesters were                sending a message to Bronx district                attorney and mayoral candidate                Abe Weiss -- 'If you don't launch                an investigation, we'll do it                ourselves!'                              WEISS                That's my name. That's my own                fucking name.                              KRAMER                This is a fuck-up.                              WEISS                Who the hell are you?                                KRAMER                Kramer, sir.    I'm...      On TV we see Corsaro interviewing Albert Fox, who's at      his limo, with his aide.                                                   (CONTINUED))V(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 6/12/90                 60.         *150   CONTINUED:                                                   150                                 CORSARO (V.O.)                   So, Albert, why are you here?                                 FOX (V.O.)                   I am here to join with the black                   community in expressing not only                   its grief but also its outrage.                   And, of course, whatever I can                   do to help Mrs. Lamb, I will do.                                 WEISS                          (reacts)                   Now they've got Albert Fox with                   them.      Weiss switches channel to an Anchorwoman. Behind her,      a graphic portrays a Mercedes and licence plate number      with five question marks.                                 ANCHORWOMAN (V.O.)                          (on T.V.)                   ... while at the same time, sources                   at Motor Vehicle say there are less                   than 200 Mercedes with plates                   beginning with the key letters...                   RE, RB or RP. There was no comment                   from the District Attorney's office                   about Reverend Bacon's demand for                   justice. Meanwhile, protestors                   are threatening if Bronx district                   attorney and mayoral candidate                   Abe Weiss doesn't launch an                   investigation -- Quote 'We'll do                   it ourselves!'                                 WEISS                   And how did they get this                   information out of Motor Vehicle?                   Whose side are they on?!                                 RAY                   Calm down, Abe. We had this                   information a week ago.                                 WEISS                   Then why aren't we doing anything?                   Why aren't we tracing the car?                   What am I, the Wizard of Oz, I                   don't know anything!?                                 RAY                   Trace the car, what for? We don't                   have a witness. We don't even                   know where it happened. We don't                   even know if it happened.                                                   (CONTINUED))V(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 6/12/90                60A.150   CONTINUED:    (2)                                        150                                 WEISS                   Trace the car, Ray.                                 RAY                   We don't have a case, even if we                   find the car. Even if we find the                   owner and the owner says, oh, yeah,                   gee, yeah, I hit this kid, yeah,                   the other night, and yeah I didn't                   stop and I didn't report it. I did                   it. I did it. Then we have a case.                                 WEISS                   Just trace the fucking car.      Ray leaves.    Weiss sits down looking sadly at the      television.                                 WEISS                   Yesterday I was a respected Jewish                   liberal. Ten minutes of news like                   this and all of a sudden I'm a                   hymie racist pig.151   OMITTED                                                  151&                                                              &152                                                            152                                                               61.153   ANGLE - TV                                                     153      The crowd screaming "Justice!    Justice!   Justice!"154   ANGLE - BACK TO SCENE                                          154                                 WEISS                   The Italians will love this, the                   Irish, too. And the Wasps. They                   love this shit more than anybody.                   They love laughing at me. And                   they won't even know what they're                   laughing at.      He goes to the window.    The sun is setting over the New      York skyline.                                 WEISS                   All the rich sons of bitches.                   They still think they own this                   city. They sit in their co-ops,                   Park Avenue, Fifth, Beekman Place,                   snug like a bug, twelve-foot                   ceilings, one wing for them, one                   for the help. They think money is                   going to protect them? Stupid                   sons of bitches. I'd like to                   light a bonfire under all their                   lily-white asses. Let them see                   what this feels like. Let the                   whole Third World see the smoke                   and come after them. Let them                   feel what it's like when every                   Puerto Rican, West Indian, Cuban,                   Korean, Chinese, Albanian,                   Filippino, black man from every                   corner of every borough -- you                   don't think the future knows how                   to cross a bridge? You laugh.                   You laugh.                          (turns and faces his                           aides)                   Alright. Now this is what we're                   going to do. We're going to turn                   this thing around. If it kills                   us. We're going to prove to these                   black motherfuckers -- excuse my                   language, Howard...155   ANGLE TO INCLUDE BLACK AIDE                                    155      smiles acknowledgement of the apology.                                 WEISS                   We're going to prove to these                   niggers that this administration                   loves them.                                 (MORE)                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                62.155    CONTINUED:                                                     155                                  WEISS (CONT'D)                    No matter what it takes. I am no                    racist Hymie. By November, they're                       *                    going to be thinking of me as the                    first black District Attorney of                    Bronx County. They're going to beg                       *                    me to be mayor. We're going to                           *                    walk away with that election.                            *                    That's what we're going to do. If                    we have to screw every white asshole                    from Albany to Park Avenue -- that's                    what we're going to do.                                                      CUT TO:156    OMITTED                                                        156thru                                                                  thru174                                                                   174174A   EXT. STREET SIGN - DUSK                                        174A *       Reading:   "PARK AVE."174B   EXT. SHERMAN'S APARTMENT BUILDING - SHERMAN - DUSK             174B *       gets out of a taxi and walks into...174C   INT. FOYER - MARTIN AND GOLDBERG - DUSK                        174C *       are talking to the Doorman as Sherman approaches.                                   DOORMAN                    Ah.   Mr. McCoy.                                   SHERMAN                    Hello, Tony.                                   DOORMAN                    Eddie, sir.                                   SHERMAN                    Right.   What's...                                  DOORMAN                    These gentlemen...                                  MARTIN                    Sorry to bother you. I'm                    Detective Martin. This is                    Detective Goldberg. We're                    investigating an automobile                    accident. Maybe you heard about                    it...                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                   63.174C   CONTINUED:                                                        174C       Martin holds up a copy of the City Light article.                                  SHERMAN                    Oh, yes, yeah. On television.                    Last night. We said -- my wife                    said, 'Good Lord, we have a                    Mercedes and the license starts                    with an R.'                                  MARTIN                    You and a lotta people.                                   SHERMAN                    Oh, really?       The elevator arrives.                                  DOORMAN                    Are you going up, sir?                                 SHERMAN                    Ah. Well. Yes. Sure.        Would                    you...? Do you...?                                  MARTIN                    Is this a bad time?                                  SHERMAN                    No. No.   Not at all.      Come up.                    Yes.174D   INT. ELEVATOR - SHERMAN, MARTIN AND GOLDBERG - DUSK               174D *                                  MARTIN                    We just need to ask a few                    questions...                                    SHERMAN                    Sure.   Yes.   Go ahead.                                  MARTIN                    So. Let's see. Can you tell us                    if your car was in use the night                    this happened?                                  SHERMAN                    When exactly was it?                                  MARTIN                    Tuesday a week ago.                                  SHERMAN                    I don't know. Let me think.         I'd                    have to figure...                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                               64.174D   CONTINUED:                                                    174D                                  MARTIN                    Anybody else use your car?                                  SHERMAN                    My wife. Sometimes. And the                    people at the garage.                                  MARTIN                    Parking garage.                                   SHERMAN                    Yes.                                  MARTIN                    You leave the car with the keys                    and they park it.                                   SHERMAN                    Well... yes.                                  MARTIN                    Could we go there and take a look                    at it?       The elevator stops.     The doors open.174E   INT. FOYER - SHERMAN - DUSK                                   174E *       unlocks the apartment door.                                   SHERMAN                    The car?                                   MARTIN                    Yes.                                   SHERMAN                    Now?                                  MARTIN                    Soon as we leave here. We could                    take a look. There's things                    that's consistent with an incident                    like this. We don't find those                    things, we move on down the list.                    And we're out of your hair.174F   INT. APARTMENT - SHERMAN - DUSK                               174F *       leads Martin and Goldberg inside.                                  SHERMAN                    So you want to take a look at the                    car then.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                65.174F   CONTINUED:                                                     174F                                  MARTIN                    Yeah.                                  SHERMAN                    I see.                                  MARTIN                    We don't have a description of a                    driver. So we gotta look for the                    car. And that means bothering a                    lot of innocent people. We're                    sorry about the inconvenience.                    But it's a routine sort of thing.                                  SHERMAN                    I understand. But if it is a                    routine, well, I should, I guess                    I ought to... well, follow the                    routine that's appropriate to me,                    to someone with a car in this                    situation. You see?       Martin and Goldberg look at each other.     Then they follow       Sherman into...174G   INT. LIBRARY - SHERMAN, MARTIN, GOLDBERG - DUSK                174G *                                   MARTIN                    No.   I don't follow.                                  SHERMAN                    Well, I mean, if you have a                    routine in an investigation like                    this -- I don't know how these                    things work, but there must also                    be a routine for a person like me,                    an owner of a car with a license                    number -- I think that's what I                    need to consider. The routine.                                  MARTIN                    We just want to look at the car.                                  SHERMAN                    That's what I mean. You see?                                  MARTIN                    No.                                  GOLDBERG                    Excuse me, Mr. McCoy. But is there                    something you want to tell us?                                                       (CONTINUED))O(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                   66.          *174G   CONTINUED:                                                     174G                                  SHERMAN                    Well, I... how do you mean?                                  GOLDBERG                    Because, if there is, now is the                    time to tell us. Before things                    get complicated.                                  SHERMAN                    No. I just think... I think that,                    just to be sure, certain, safe...                    I think...                                  GOLDBERG                    Let me put it this way, if you                    want to cooperate, that's great.                    If you have reasons for not                    cooperating, then I should tell                    you that you don't have to say                    anything. That's your right. If                    you want, you can say nothing at                    all. You also have the right to                    an attorney. I mean, for that                    matter, if you lacked the 'funds'                    for an attorney, the state would                    provide you with one -- free of                    charge.   If that's what you                    wanted.       Goldberg sits down on the edge of Sherman's desk.                                  SHERMAN                    Well, look. I guess what I should                    do is, I should... I should talk                    this over with an attorney.175    INT. CRIMINAL JUSTICE BUILDING - HALLWAY - KRAMER -            175       EVENING       is moving fast as he talks with Martin and Goldberg.                                  GOLDBERG                    ... But mainly, it's the look on                    his face. Ain't that the truth,                    Marty?                                  MARTIN                    Yeah. All of sudden, the bitch                    starts coming out of him.                                  GOLDBERG                    So I read him his rights -- as                    casual as I can do it.                                                       (CONTINUED))O(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                    67          *175    CONTINUED:                                                     175                               MARTIN                 And then he sits down on the guy's                 desk.                                 KRAMER                 What'd he do?                               GOLDBERG                 Nothin' at first. But he's                 confused. And his eyes are getting                 bigger and he's double-talking like                 a son of a bitch. I'm thinking                 there's something there.                                                    CUT TO:176    OMITTED                                                    176176A   INT. CRIMINAL JUSTICE BLDG. - STAIRCASE - EVENING          176A       As they reach Weiss.                               KRAMER                 I think we got him.                                WEISS                 Got who?   What do you got?                                 GOLDBERG                 Well...                                 KRAMER                 McCoy.    Sherman McCoy.   We got him.                               WEISS                 You think it's him?                               MARTIN                 Well, we think so, yeah, but...                               KRAMER                 It's him. We got him. This guy                 is Park Avenue. His old man ran                 Dunning, Sponget and Leach. He's                 got his name in the columns. His                 wife is a fucking socialite.                               WEISS                 Does this put an end to this white                 justice shit?       Ray Andruitti interrupts him.                                                    (CONTINUED))O(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                  68.176A   CONTINUED:                                                    176A                                 RAY                    Abe. We got zip on this guy.                    Fucking zip.                                  KRAMER                    I think he's the type we could                    smoke out. Bring him in for                    questioning. Go public.                                  RAY                    Go public?! You got nothing here.                    Your only witness is in a hospital                    likely to die. Don't listen to                    this shit, Abe. You got to get                    to Manhattan. You got a speech                          *                    to make.                                  KRAMER                    I'll tell you what you got to do,                    sir. You've got to send a signal                    out to the poor people of this city.                    You got to let them know that                    justice is blind. You got to let                    them know that if you're white and                    rich, you get the same treatment                    you get when you're black and poor.                    You got to give people hope!                                  WEISS                    You mean, we nail the wasp.                                   KRAMER                    To the wall.                                  WEISS                    I like this man. I like him.                    Look. What's the kid's condition?                    Any chance he'll regain                    consciousness?                                  RAY                    What if he does? He can't talk.                    He's breathing from a tube down                    his throat.                                   WEISS                    No.   But maybe he can point.                                   RAY                    Point?                                                      (CONTINUED))O(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                 69.          *176A   CONTINUED:    (2)                                            176A                                  WEISS                    Yeah. I got an idea. We take a                    picture of Sherman McCoy over to                    the hospital, to this kid. And                    three or four other guys, white                    guys, and we put them by the bed,                    the pictures. And the kid comes                    to... and he points to McCoy's                    picture. And he keeps pointing...       Nobody believes what they're hearing -- except Kramer.                                  KRAMER                    Might work. That might work. It's                    a long shot, but it might work.       An AIDE rushes up to Kramer and pulls him aside.                                  AIDE                    Mr. Kramer?                                   KRAMER                    Yeah?   What do you want?                                  RAY                           (to Weiss)                    You'll kill him. He wakes up out                    of a coma and sees four white men                    in suits and ties staring at him                    from the end of the bed, he'll                    shit and die.                                  WEISS                    It's worth a try.                                  RAY                    I don't believe what I'm hearing!                    Some poor gook with a tube down                    his throat pointing at a picture.                    That's your case?! It's never                    gonna stand up.                                  WEISS                           (screams)                    I know that, Ray. I know that.                    I just want to bring the guy in!                    Just bring him in. That's all.                    We get the press. We get the                    attention. Then we can relax and                    do the right thing.                                  RAY                    Look at me, Abe. Watch my mouth.                    Read my lips. No. We cannot do                    that. No way.                                                    (CONTINUED))O(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                69A.          *176A   CONTINUED:    (3)                                            176A       Weiss growls in frustration.    Kramer leaves the Aide and       goes to Weiss.                                  KRAMER                    I think we got a witness.                                  WEISS                           (shouting over                            the noise)                    What?! What?!!                                  KRAMER                    I think we got a mother-fucking                    witness!!!177    INT. CRIMINAL COURTS BUILDING - ROLAND - DAY                 177       is having his mug shots taken. He is immediately       recognizable as the other young man who was with Henry       Lamb.      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                 70.178   ANGLE - KRAMER                                               178      talking to CECIL HAYDEN as they watch Roland.   (Hayden      is black.)                              HAYDEN                ... So I walk up to him and I                say, hello, I'm from Legal Aid,                I'm your lawyer. And he says,                'Fuck you, mother. I don't want                no nigger lawyer. I want a Jew.'                             KRAMER                Nice guy.                              HAYDEN                This is his third drug arrest.                He wants a deal.                              KRAMER                And he'll say he was there, at                the scene?                              HAYDEN                He'll say whatever you want him                to say.179   CLOSE ON ROLAND                                              179                                                  CUT TO:180   INT. TOM KILLIAN'S OFFICE - SHERMAN - DAY                    180      is standing in front of KILLIAN who is seated at his      desk.                              KILLIAN                I'm telling you, they got nothing                on you, Mr. McCoy.                       (picks up a phone)                Get me Andruitti over in the Bronx.                Tell him it's urgent about this                Henry Lamb shit.                              SHERMAN                But suppose the other fellow comes                       *                forward. I swear there was                another one. He was big...                               *                              KILLIAN                I believe you. It was a set-up.                They were going to take you off.                Sounds to me like he's got good                reasons not to come forward. You                just sit tight. That's what you                do.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             71.180   CONTINUED:                                                   180                                 SHERMAN                   Look, you were recommended as the                   best criminal lawyer around. I'm                   not disagreeing with you. But I                   didn't come here to... I mean, I                   want to pre-empt this whole                   situation. I don't want it to go                   any further.                                 KILLIAN                   What does that mean?                                 SHERMAN                   It means I want to take the                   initiative. I want to go to the                   police with Maria -- Mrs. Ruskin                   -- and just tell them exactly what                   happened. I mean, I don't know                   about the law, but I feel morally                   certain that we did what was right                   -- in the situation we were in.                   And I don't see...                                 KILLIAN                   Ayyyy! You Wall Street honchos                   are real gamblers. Ayyy!                   Whaddaya whaddaya! They would                   devour you. They would eat you                   up.                                SHERMAN                   But why?                                 KILLIAN                   Forget it's already a political                   football. Forget the T.V. and                   Reverend Bacon and Weiss has an                   election coming up. Forget that                   and remember that when you work in                   the D.A.'s office and every day                   you prosecute people with names                   like Tiffany Latour and Sancho                   Rodriguez and Chong Wong and                   Shabazz Kazan Tamali, you are                   dying to get your hands on a nice                   white couple like you and Mrs.                   Ruskin. Biscuit city, ehhh! You                   open your mouth and they will                   arrest you. And they will make a                   big show out of arresting you.                   And it will be very unpleasant.                                                    (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                 72.180   CONTINUED:    (2)                                            180      Sherman sits down.    He is depressed.   The PHONE RINGS.                                 KILLIAN                   That is guaranteed. Believe me,                   you do not want to be arrested in                   the South Bronx.                          (picks up the phone)                   Yeah. Oh. Put him on. Yeah?                   I'll hold.                          (to Sherman)                   I need to talk to your friend,                   Mrs. Ruskin, too.                              SHERMAN                I understand you went to Yale.                                 KILLIAN                Yeah.     You, too. Huh?                              SHERMAN                What did you think of it?                               KILLIAN                It was okay. As law schools go.                They give you the scholarly view.                You know. It's terrific for                anything you want to do -- as long                as it doesn't involve real                people.                        (into phone)                Hey, Andruitti, you guinea, how                are you? Yeah. Well, I'm sitting                here with Sherman McCoy. Yeah.                That's right. Well, I don't know                if he needs a lawyer. What do you                think?                        (winks at Sherman                         and smiles)                Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.                        (smile fades)                So what does that mean? Okay.                Yeah. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.      He puts down the phone and looks at Sherman.                              KILLIAN                We got a problem.                                 SHERMAN                What?     What is it?                              KILLIAN                They're going to arrest you.                             *      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                  73.         *181   EXT. McCOY BUILDING - CHAUFFEUR - NIGHT                       181      gets out of a limo and speaks to the Doorman.    The      Doorman picks up the house phone.182   INT. McCOY APARTMENT - JUDY - NIGHT                           182      is on the house phone. She is wearing a formal dress      with gigantic shoulders.                              JUDY                Tell him to wait. We'll be                right down.      FOLLOW her TO...183   INT. BEDROOM - SHERMAN - NIGHT                                183      is sitting half-dressed in black tie.    He is on the      phone.      Judy comes into the room.                              SHERMAN                       (on phone)                I know it was six hundred million,                Rawlie. Just stop saying it.                I'll straighten it out with Gene                first thing in the morning.                Well, not first thing. I have a                previous appointment.                              JUDY                       (overlapping)                Sherman. Please. What is the                matter with you? You're not even                dressed and the car is already                here.                              SHERMAN                What?  What car?                       (on phone)                No, Rawlie, I can't change it.                              JUDY                Leon and Inez Bavardage. They are                taking us to the opera. Eight                o'clock. Tonight. And the car is                here.                              SHERMAN                Rawlie, I'll call you later. Just                stay calm.                       (hangs up)                But why do we need a car? They                only live six blocks from here.                                                  (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                   74.183   CONTINUED:                                                     183                                 JUDY                   Because after the opera we're                   going to the museum for the Benefit.                                 SHERMAN                   We could walk.                                 JUDY                   I can't walk down the street in                   this dress. A small wind would                   turn me into a kite.                                 SHERMAN                   Then let's take a taxi.                                                                           *                                 JUDY                   Why are we having this conversation?                                 SHERMAN                   Because a car is going to take us six                   blocks and wait there for five and a                   half hours and then drive us another                   six blocks home and it is going to                   cost us three hundred and forty-six                   dollars?! We are hemorrhaging money,                   Judy. It is pouring out of us with                   every beat of our heart. Isn't that                   worth talking about?!?      Judy sits down and thinks.                                 JUDY                   You're right. It might be cheaper                   in the long run to hire a                   permanent chauffeur.                                 SHERMAN                   Judy, please...                                 JUDY                   We'll talk about it later.                                 SHERMAN                   We have to talk now.                                 JUDY                   We can't hire a chauffeur in                   the next fifteen minutes.                                 SHERMAN                   We haven't talked about anything                   for the last three weeks.                                 JUDY                   Well there's no reason to start                   now.                                                      (CONTINUED))O(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                   75.183   CONTINUED:    (2)                                               183                                 SHERMAN                   Yes, there is. Something is                   happening here. You have to                   know about this. Tomorrow                   morning...                                 JUDY                   Sherman, this is a very important                   evening. It will determine                   whether or not I will be chairman                   of the museum benefit this year.                   I cannot be upset now. We can                   talk about it later.                                 SHERMAN                   I'm going to be arrested in the                   morning.                                 JUDY                   Really, Sherman, you'd do anything                   to ruin this for me. Wouldn't you?                   Now please. Get dressed.184   INT. OPERA HOUSE - ONSTAGE - NIGHT                              184      The last scene of Don Giovanni is being played out.       The      Commandatori has the Don in his grip, urging him to      "repent." The Don refuses. The MUSIC THUNDERS      threateningly.185   OMITTED                                                         185   *186   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                                 186      in a box with Judy and Leonard and Inez Bavardage.      Sherman is transfixed by what he is seeing on the stage.      He flips through his libretto.187   HIS POV - TEXT                                                  187      and the word "repent" in English and Italian.188   ANGLE - STAGE                                                   188      as the floor opens up around Don Giovanni.       Flames and      demons reach for him.189   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                                 189      breaking into a sweat.    He reaches for Judy.                                JUDY                   Shhh!                                                            76.190   ANGLE - STAGE                                                190      as Don Giovanni screams and falls into the jaws of hell.                                                  CUT TO:191   INT. MUSEUM - DIARAMA - NIGHT                                191      depicts a jungles scene -- a lion is eating a just-killed      zebra. A pack of hyenas are hovering.192   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                              192      looking at the scene.    The museum party is in full gear.                              AUBREY BUFFING (O.S.)                There he is, Don Juan, in the vise-                      *                like grip of fate, facing his                            *                crime, facing his entire life of                         *                selfish consumption and profligate                       *                wasting of himself and others...                         *      Sherman turns and bumps into Aubrey, spilling his drink.           *193   ANGLE - SALLY RAWTHROATE                                     193      grabs him by the arm and pulls him into her conversation           *      with Aubrey.                                                       *                              SALLY                You're Judy McCoy's husband.                                SHERMAN                Uh.     Yes.                              SALLY                I'm in real estate. And, darling,                I've seen your apartment. Any time                you even think about selling...                              SHERMAN                Well, it's unlikely.      Sherman looks across the room and sees...194   HIS POV - MARIA                                              194      is walking across the room with her husband, ARTHUR      RUSKIN.195   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                              195      is shocked.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                          77.195   CONTINUED:                                                195                                 SALLY                   Have you met Aubrey Buffing the                   poet? He's on the short list for                   the Nobel Prize.                                  SHERMAN                           (shakes hands                            with Aubrey)                   Ah.   Hello.                                  SALLY                   He has AIDS.                                  SHERMAN                   Oh.                                 SALLY                   We were talking about the opera...                                 AUBREY                          (holding on to                           Sherman's hand)                   'The wrath of heaven must be at                    *                   hand, its justice will not tarry.                   I see the deadly thunderbolt                   poised above his head! I see the                   fatal abyss open before him.'      During the above, Sherman sees...196   HIS POV - JUDY                                            196      is being introduced to Maria on the other side of the      room.197   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                           197      extricates himself from Aubrey.                                  SHERMAN                   Excuse me.198   ANGLE - ARTHUR RUSKIN                                     198      speaking to Judy.                                 ARTHUR                   ... My wife lives on airplanes.                    *                   She goes back and forth to Italy                   *                   like a Ping-Pong ball. She took a                  *                   house on Lake Como. She's crazy                    *                   now all of a sudden for anything                   Italian.      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90               78.         *199   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                            199      comes up next to Judy.                                SHERMAN                Uh... Judy...                              JUDY                Sherman! Have you met Bobby                Shalfet, from the opera? And                Nunnally Voyd -- oh, and Arthur                Ruskin and his wife Maria.                                SHERMAN                Well, hi.                              BOBBY                And what do you do, Mr. McCoy?                                SHERMAN                Bonds.                                BOBBY                Bonds.                                SHERMAN                Bonds.                              BOBBY                Well, the only bonds I know about                are bail bonds.      The group laughs and turns away from Sherman.                              BOBBY                I was arrested last year in Montreal                for pissing on a tree...      As Judy tries to rejoin the group...                              JUDY                Sherman, couldn't you try just once,                to be a little bit interesting.      Sherman pulls her away.                              SHERMAN                I want you to meet Aubrey Buffing.                                JUDY                Who?                              SHERMAN                The poet. He's on the short list                for the Nobel Prize. He has AIDS.                You'll love him.                                                  (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                78A.199   CONTINUED:                                                   199                                 JUDY                   Sherman, we are alone in the middle                   of the room. A married couple,                   talking to each other. You simply                   don't do this. Now go and mingle.                   Please.      She leaves him.200   ANGLE - AUBREY BUFFING                                       200      walking and speaking to a woman.    As they pass an      enormous table of food...                                 AUBREY                   And even when repentence is offered,                   he refuses. He refuses to deny his                   life. The food, the drink, the                   flesh -- fatal as they may be --                   he cannot resist them...      Aubrey continues talking as he passes...)O(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                 79.201   ANGLE - MARIA                                                201      talking in French to BORIS KARLEVSKOV, a ballet dancer.      Sherman approaches.                              MARIA                Sherman! We have to stop meeting                like this. Do you know Boris,                the ballet dancer?                                SHERMAN                Uh, no.                              MARIA                Boris, je te presente Monsieur                McCoy. Sherman, voila Boris                Karlevskov. He's defective.                              SHERMAN                You mean he defected.                                    *                              MARIA                I mean he doesn't speak any English.                                SHERMAN                Are you sure?                              MARIA                Yes. Watch. Boris, darling,                would you like me to eat your ass?                              BORIS                Encore du champagne, s'il vous                plait.                               MARIA                You see?   It went right over his                head.                              SHERMAN                Maria, I need to talk to you.                Something very... unexpected is                happening.                              MARIA                Of course, darling, but keep                smiling. My husband is watching me.                Look at him. He's so pleased with                himself. He's just closed a new                deal. A charter business. He's                going to take Arabs to Mecca on                airplanes.      Sherman tries to smile throughout the following. Boris      smiles and nods -- although he doesn't understand a word      they're saying.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             80.201   CONTINUED:                                                   201                                 SHERMAN                          (with a social grin)                   I'm going to be arrested in the                   morning.                                 MARIA                   Of course, the airplanes are all                   from Israel...                                 SHERMAN                   By the police, I imagine.                                 MARIA                   He'll make a fortune.                                 SHERMAN                   I don't think it will be too bad.                   My lawyer -- if you can call him                   that -- has received assurances                   that it will all be handled in an                   orderly fashion.                                 MARIA                   He called me a whore today. Right                   in front of the servants. I mean,                   really. How does he expect me to                   run the house if he humiliates me                   in front of the help?                                   SHERMAN                   Yes.   Well.   You have a point.                                 MARIA                   I'm sorry, Sherman.    What are we                   talking about?                                 SHERMAN                   The other guy has come forward.                   He says I was driving the car.                   I'm going to be arrested tomorrow                   morning. I need to know from you                   ... I mean, what do you want me                   to say?                                 MARIA                   Oh, Sherman, what...?!      But MRS. BAVARDAGE swirls up to them and whisks the now      terrified Maria away.                                 MRS. BAVARDAGE                   Maria, darling, I need your advice                   about something. My designer has                   gone bonkers about jabots and chintz.                                 (MORE)                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              81.201    CONTINUED:    (2)                                            201                                  MRS. BAVARDAGE (CONT'D)                    Jabots and chintz, jabots and chintz                    everywhere, everywhere!       As she leaves with Maria, she grabs Aubrey Buffing and       steers him toward Sherman.                                  MRS. BAVARDAGE                    Sherman, have you met Aubrey                    Buffing? He has AIDS.                                 SHERMAN                    Uh...                                  AUBREY                           (shakes Sherman's                            hand again)                    Like so many of us now, with death                    and retribution waiting for us. Yet                    we go on whirling about each other...       Sherman is looking past Aubrey.     He sees...202    HIS POV - MARIA                                              202       goes to Arthur, whispers something in his ear. They       leave quickly. For a brief moment, she looks back at...203    ANGLE - SHERMAN                                              203       walking with Aubrey, trying to see where Maria went.                                  AUBREY                    We are unable to stop, until death                    itself takes us into his arms and                    burns us with the fever of living,                    dragging us like Don Juan into the                    bonfires of hell. The words of the                    ghost ringing in our ears... 'Repent!                    Repent!'                                                    CUT TO:204    OMITTED                                                      204 *thru                                                                thru206                                                                 206 *207    EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - SHERMAN - DAWN                     207       comes out of the building and stands waiting as the rain       pours down on this bleak day. A police car pulls up.       Sherman gets inside.208    OMITTED                                                      208&                                                                   &209                                                                 209                                                           82.210   INT. POLICE CAR - KILLIAN, MARTIN, GOLDBERG - DAWN         210                             MARTIN               'Morning, Mr. McCoy.      As Sherman climbs into the back seat...                             MARTIN               Be careful of your clothes. My               kid got all this Styrofoam shit               back there. They stick to your               clothes.                             KILLIAN               How do you feel?                             SHERMAN               Top notch. Look. You said this               was just a formality.                              KILLIAN               No problem.   They promised me.                            SHERMAN               I told Maria. I saw her last               night. In case we need her.                             KILLIAN               That explains it. She left the               country this morning. You know               some Italian painter named Filippo               Sharutti, something like that?                               SHERMAN               I don't know.    Why?                             KILLIAN               I think your girl friend found               a new boyfriend.                               SHERMAN               But...                             KILLIAN               It's not going to be so bad. This               is routine. I talked to Andruitti               again last night. He promised me.               We'll be in and out of there. No               problem. Nobody is ever going to               know it happened.                             MARTIN               We got to cuff him.                               KILLIAN               What for?                                                 (CONTINUED))R(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/8/90                   83.210   CONTINUED:                                                    210                                 MARTIN                   The zone captain is gonna be there.                   And the press.                                 KILLIAN                   Wait a minute. What the fuck?!                   What press?! I talked to Ray last                   night. He promised no bullshit.                                 MARTIN                   This is Weiss. Weiss gave the                   order this morning.                                 KILLIAN                   Somebody is going to pay for this.                                                    CUT TO:211   EXT. CRIMINAL COURT BUILDING - SIDE ENTRANCE - MORNING        211      A line of men near a little metal door and a crowd of 50      people standing in the rain. Very still. Jed Kramer                 *      is there, too.212   ANGLE - PETER FALLOW                                          212      off by himself, close to the curb where...213   POLICE CAR                                                    213      pulls up containing Sherman.     Peter peers into the car.                                 PETER                   Excuse me, Mister McCoy?                                  KILLIAN                   Don't talk.   What's going on here?!214   ANGLE - CROWD                                                 214      near the door to the building comes alive. Slowly, at      first. They turn their heads toward the car and then      they start moving, walking, running, racing toward the      car.215   ANGLE - SCENE                                                 215      as this mob of reporters and cameramen attack the car in      the pouring rain.                                 PETER                   You don't know me but I'm...      But Peter is buried in the onslaught before he can say      another word.                                                                84.         *216   INT. CAR - MORNING                                              216                              GOLDBERG                Jesus Christ! Get out and get                that door open or we'll never get                him out of the fucking car.                              MARTIN                Bullshit reigns. Put the cuffs                on him.      Martin goes. Killian climbs over Sherman.      Goldberg      puts cuffs on Sherman.                              SHERMAN                I'm going to jail. Aren't I?                              KILLIAN                Let me get out first. Now listen.                You don't say anything. Don't                cover your face. Don't hang your                head. You don't even know they're                there. Okay?                              SHERMAN                I'm going to jail.217   EXT. CAR - MARTIN AND KILLIAN                                   217      help Sherman out of the car and all hell breaks loose.      SOMEONE sticks a camera into Sherman's face.                               SOMEONE                Sherman!   Hey, shitface.    Over                here!      Goldberg, Martin and Killian try to push through the mob.      Goldberg swings at a camera and knocks it down.                              VOICE                Hey, Sherman, how you going to                plead?      Peter Fallow falls to the ground.     Sherman and Goldberg      step on him as they push ahead.                              VOICES                You ever been arrested before?                Who's the brunette? What were you                doing in the Bronx? Why didn't you                stop, Sherman? Sherman! This way!                This way! How's your wife taking                this, Sherman?      A microphone is shoved into Sherman's face.                                                 (CONTINUED))X(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 7/12/90                    85.217   CONTINUED:                                                      217                                 VOICES                   How much did you make last year?                   Hey, fuckhead! How do you like                   this cocktail party? Why'd you                   hit him? Give us a statement.                   Come on, Sherman, give us a break.                   Give us a little something, you                   fucking racist.      Kramer is enjoying all this.218   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                                 218      assaulted by cameras, microphones and people as he is      pushed through the metal door. Killian is being left      outside.                                 KILLIAN                          (screaming over the                           noise of the mob)                   Don't make any statements! Don't                   talk to anybody, especially in the                   pens!  I'll be upstairs when they                   bring you up for arraignment...                                 KRAMER                   You may have a long wait, Mr.                   Killian. If I have anything to                   say about it.                                  KILLIAN                   Yeah?   Fuck you, too, Kramer.219   ANGLE - PETER FALLOW                                            219      pulls himself up off the ground.     He is more dazed than      hurt.220   OMITTED                                                         220221   QUICK CUTS                                                      221      A)   Sherman's cuffs are removed.      B)   The contents of Sherman's pockets are laid on           the table.      C)   Sherman removes his belt.    His pants drop to his           hips.      D)   Sherman removes his shoelaces and drops them on a           table.                                                                            *)X(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 7/12/90                 85A.          *A222   ANGLE - SHERMAN'S FEET                                        A222       coming out of his shoes as he tries to walk.B222   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                               B222       walking through a metal detection gate.      The       ALARM SOUNDS.                                GOLDBERG                 Whoa.   Whoa. Give me your coat.                 Okay.   Try it again.       Sherman walks back through the gate.    The ALARM SOUNDS       again.                               GOLDBERG                 What the fuck? Wait a minute.                 Come here. Bend over.       Sherman looks terrified.                               GOLDBERG                 I ain't going to touch you. Just                 bend over at the waist and back                 through the gate. Real slow.       Sherman bends over at a ninety-degree angle and, holding       up his trousers, shuffles backwards through the gate.                               GOLDBERG                 Slow. Slow. Slow. A little                 farther, little farther. Little                 farther. Little farther...       As Sherman's head goes through the gate, the ALARM       SOUNDS. Goldberg jumps up and down and claps his hands       with delight.                                GOLDBERG                 Hey, Martin.   Come here.   Look                 at this.       Martin approaches.                               GOLDBERG                 Okay, Sherman. Do that again.                 Real slow.                                                     (CONTINUED))X(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 7/12/90                   85B.          *B222   CONTINUED:                                                      B222       Sherman repeats the humiliating action. When finally       his head reaches the gate, the ALARM SOUNDS again.                                  GOLDBERG                    It's his head! Swear to Christ.                    It's his head. Open your mouth.       Sherman opens his mouth. Goldberg grabs his jaw and       angles it toward the light.                                  GOLDBERG                    Look in there. You want to see                    some metal?                                  MARTIN                    Jesus Christ. Set of teeth look                    like a change-maker.                                  GOLDBERG                    They ever let you on an airplane?       Laughter.                                                      CUT TO:C222   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                                 C222       being photographed.D222   ANGLE - SHERMAN'S HANDS                                         D222       being fingerprinted.)X(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 7/12/90                 86.                                                                         *222   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                              222      is led quickly toward the cells. His shoes flop, his      pants sag, he trips and almost falls. A cell door opens.      Sherman is pushed inside. He turns to look back. The      door bangs shut.                                                   CUT TO:223   INT. COURTROOM - CLERK - DAY (LATER)                         223      is calling out...                              CLERK                Sherman McCoy.224   ANGLE - OFFICER                                              224      opens a side door.   We wait. Nothing. Then the sound      of FEET SHUFFLING.   Finally, Sherman appears. He looks      like a man who has  been dragged through hell -- his      body, his clothing,  the look in his eyes. He staggers      toward the bench.225   ANGLE - REV. BACON AND ANNIE LAMB                            225      seated in the front row of the spectators.226   ANGLE - SHERMAN - DAY                                        226      is facing Judge White. Killian is next to him.     Kramer      is representing the District Attorney's office.                              JUDGE WHITE                Mr. McCoy, you know the charges                that are being brought against                you.                                SHERMAN                Hmn?    What?                              JUDGE WHITE                We want to know how you plead to                the charges.                                SHERMAN                I am sorry.                                JUDGE WHITE                You're what?                                                   (CONTINUED))J(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90                    87.226   CONTINUED:                                                      226                                 SHERMAN                   I am very sorry. Please forgive                   me.                                 KILLIAN                   Just say, not guilty.                                 SHERMAN                   For my life. For everything.                   I am truly sorry.                                 KILLIAN                   Your Honor, the defendant is under                   extreme stress. He pleads not                   guilty.                                 SHERMAN                   I repent all the sins of my past                   life. I repent...                                 KILLIAN                   Just shut up, Sherman.   Defendant                   pleads not guilty!      Sudden commotion in the courtroom.     Sherman turns to      look at...227   ANOTHER ANGLE                                                   227      Press and spectators are already buzzing out of control.                                 JUDGE WHITE                                *                   Bail has been set at $10,000...                                   KRAMER                   Your Honor...                                 SPECTATORS                   No bail! No bail! Lock him up!                   Bang it shut!                                 KRAMER                   We do not believe it will serve the                   interests of justice to allow this                   defendant to go free on a token bail...                                 KILLIAN                   Your Honor, Mr. Kramer knows                   very well...                                 KRAMER                   Given the emotions of the community...                                                      (CONTINUED))J(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90                  88.227   CONTINUED:                                                    227                                 KILLIAN                   This is patent nonsense. Bail                   has already been agreed to.      The Spectators are booing and yelling at Killian to      shut up.                                 JUDGE WHITE                              *                          (bangs the gavel)                   Quiet! Where the hell do you                   think you are?!                                 KRAMER                   I have a petition from the                   community with an appeal to the                   District Attorney that justice                   be done. And Mr. Weiss himself                   has instructed me to request bail                   in the amount of $250,000. Cash.                                 SPECTATORS                          (cheering and                           applauding)                   Yeah! Yeah! Tell him! Tell him!                   Tell him!                                 JUDGE WHITE                              *                   If your office has information                   bearing upon the bail status of                   this case, I instruct you to make                   a formal application. Until then,                   I am releasing Mr. McCoy under a                   bond in the amount of $10,000. Now                   get this side show out of my court.                                 KRAMER                   Your Honor, your action will do                   irreparable damage not only to                   the People's case...                                 JUDGE WHITE                              *                   Mr. Kramer, I have spoken.                                 KRAMER                   ... But to the cause of the people                   as well.                                   JUDGE WHITE                            *                   Mr. Kramer...                                 KRAMER                   It ill-behooves the criminal                   justice system...                                                     (CONTINUED))J(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90                 89.227    CONTINUED:    (2)                                            227                                  JUDGE WHITE                              *                    Kindly behoove me no ill-behooves!!!                                    KRAMER                    Your Honor...                                  JUDGE WHITE                              *                    Mr. Kramer, the court directs you                    to shut up!!!       The crowd goes crazy, screaming and booing and chanting...                                   CROWD                    No bail!   Put him in jail!       Killian grabs Sherman and pulls him toward the exit.       The court officers form a wedge to help them through       the screaming mob...                                  CROWD                    Murderer! Motherfucker! -- Say                    your prayers, Park Avenue -- Tear                    you a new one -- You mine,                    needlenose! -- Count every breath,                    baby!228    CLOSE ON SHERMAN                                             228       who is humiliated.228A   EXT. COURTHOUSE - PETER FALLOW - LATE AFTERNOON              228A *       is sitting on the steps of the courthouse. He is still       covered with mud from having been trampled earlier. He       takes a long swig from a bottle wrapped in a paper bag.       He is drunk.                                  PETER (V.O.)                    It was too much for me. All of it.                    Sherman McCoy had been swept away                    from me. Before I could even speak                    to him. And as the day progressed,                    I began to appreciate the power, the                    magnitude of the force that had been                    unleashed by my little story.228B   ANGLE - MOVING CROWD                                         228B       of reporters, television people, photographers, etc.       They run up the steps past Peter as they head toward the       entrance to the courthouse. As they pass...                                 VOICES                    It's over! He's coming out!   Let's                    go! Let's go!                                                             90.228C   ANGLE - PETER                                               228C       dodges the onslaught, pulls himself up, and starts       moving in the opposite direction.                               PETER (V.O.)                 Jackels. Dogs. Yapping at the                 heels of their prey. And I was                 one of them. Well, let them have                 it. Enough is enough. I was                 finished. I summoned what little                 dignity I had left and decided to                 go home...                               SHERMAN (O.S.)                 Excuse me, do you know where I can                 find a taxi?228D   ANGLE TO INCLUDE SHERMAN MCCOY                              228D       who has just come out the side entrance of the building.       Peter is flabbergasted.                                 PETER                 Jesus Christ.                               SHERMAN                 Sherman McCoy.                                 PETER                 Yes. I know.     I know that.   What                 are you...?                               SHERMAN                 I need a taxi.                               PETER                 You need to get out of here.228E   ANGLE - CROWD OF REPORTERS                                  228E       change direction and start moving away from the front       entrance and toward the side entrance. As they go...                               VOICES                 The other way! Other way! He's                 coming out the back! Move! Move!                 Move!228F   ANGLE - FALLOW AND SHERMAN                                  228F       see the mob moving toward them.   Fallow grabs Sherman       and pulls him toward a subway.                                PETER                 This way.   Come on.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                               91.228F   CONTINUED:                                                    228F                                 SHERMAN                    Uh. I don't normally ride the                    subway.                                 PETER                    Me either. Especially on a first                    date. But we don't really have a                    choice.       They enter the subway.228G   INT. SUBWAY CAR - SHERMAN AND PETER - DAY                     228G       Sherman is dazed, still in shock.       He looks very       fragile.                                  PETER                    Are you alright?                                   SHERMAN                    Oh, fine.   Yes, thanks.                                  PETER                    Look, I owe you an apology...                                  SHERMAN                    No, you were very helpful.                                  PETER                    You don't know who I am.                                  SHERMAN                    That's alright. Thanks.     I should                    go.                                  PETER                    Go where?                                  SHERMAN                    Well...                                 PETER                    Look. Sit down. Just sit down a                    minute. I'll get you home.                              *       They do.   Peter offers Sherman his bottle.                                  PETER                    Would you like a drink? I happen                    to have a little something...       Sherman looks with some caution at the bottle in the       paper bag.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                  92.228G   CONTINUED:                                                       228G                                    SHERMAN                    Uh.   No.   Thanks.                                 PETER                    Go on. Fuck it. What are they                    going to do? Arrest you?       Sherman smiles and takes a drink.         He looks around the       car. It's a rough crowd.                                  SHERMAN                    Does this train go anywhere near                    Park Avenue?                                  PETER                    Not in a million years.                                  SHERMAN                    My father took the subway every                            *                    day of his life.                                           *                                 PETER                    Yeah. But he didn't live in the                            *                    South Bronx. Did he?                                       *                                    SHERMAN                    No.       They both laugh.                                  SHERMAN                    I look terrible.                                  PETER                    You look like shit.       And you smell,                    too.                                  SHERMAN                    I think, when I was in the jail,                    I pissed in my pants.       They laugh again. Sherman gets caught somewhere between       laughing and crying. He starts to lose control.                                    PETER                    Take it easy.                                    SHERMAN                    I'm alright.                                    PETER                    Yeah.                                  SHERMAN                    I can't think.                                                         (CONTINUED))O(     BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                   93.228G    CONTINUED:    (2)                                              228G                                    PETER                     It's okay.   Have another drink.        Sherman takes a long drink.228H    INT. TUNNEL - TRAIN - LATE AFTERNOON                           228H *        CLATTERS through the darkness.228-I   INT. SUBWAY CAR - PETER AND SHERMAN - LATE AFTERNOON           228-I*        as the car slows down.     Sherman is slightly drunk.                                   SHERMAN                     ... and then this newspaper thing                     started, this Peter Fallow person,                     and all the facts were wrong, total                     disregard for the truth. Why do                     they do this?                                   PETER                     This is you. You'll be right on                     Lexington Avenue.                                   SHERMAN                     They call me by my first name.                     Like they know me. Like they own                     me. Newspapers, lawyers, police,                     people I don't even know. How did                     I get to be so important?                                   PETER                     You're not important. You're just                     dinner. You know what I mean? And                     a week from now, a month -- nobody                     is even going to remember what they                     ate.        The car stops. Sherman steps onto the platform.        Peter        remains in the car. Sherman looks back at him.                                   SHERMAN                     I should have called the police                     right away, when it happened. But                     I couldn't you see? It wasn't                     really my decision.                                   PETER                     How do you mean?                                   SHERMAN                     I mean, I wasn't driving the car.                                   PETER                     What?!                                                        (CONTINUED)        BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                   94.228-I   CONTINUED:                                                     228-I        The doors to the train start to close.     Peter tries to        stop them.                                   PETER                     Wait a minute! Wait a minute!228J    ANGLE - CLOSE ON PETER                                         228J        as the doors close and the train pulls away.229     EXT. PARK AVENUE - DEMONSTRATORS - NIGHT                       229        are marching up and down in front of Sherman's apartment        building. Among them are five very tall black men play-        ing with a basketball.230     ANGLE - SHERMAN                                                230        stops near the building. The basketball flies toward        him. He catches it. Before anyone sees him, he enters        through the service entrance.231     OMITTED                                                        231232     INT. ELEVATOR - SHERMAN - NIGHT                                232        looks like he feels -- unclean, unshaven, slightly drunk,        his clothes soiled, torn and disheveled. He seems to        stoop slightly under the weight of his humiliation.233     ANGLE - ELEVATOR DOORS                                         233        open and suddenly we are in the midst of...234     ANGLE - PARTY                                                  234        in high gear. Most of the guests are recognizable from        the previous party at the museum. Sherman is shocked.        But before he can get his bearings...                                  BOBBY SHALFET                               *                     Sherman! You sly fox. Great                     to see you. Everybody! It's                              *                     Sherman! Bravo! Bravo!                                   *                                                                              *        They all turn and applaud.    As Sherman moves through                *        them...                                                               *                                                                              *                                   NUNNALLY VOYD                              *                     Sherman, my boy. Whatever you do,                     don't let the newspapers get you                     down.                                                     (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                 95.         *234   CONTINUED:                                                   234                                 MAN                   Fruit flies. That's all they are.                   They swarm. They hover over the                   faces. You take a swipe at them,                   they run away.                                NUNNALLY VOYD                   Yes. But they always come back to                   the shit. Don't they?                                 WOMAN                   And I always thought of you as                   such a dull person.                                 MAN WITH PONYTAIL                   Sherman, has anybody talked to you                   about television?                                   SHERMAN                   Uh... no.    What?                                    *                                 MAN WITH PONYTAIL                   We'd have to play down the racial                   thing and try to make you a little                   more sympathetic. You know,                   sympathetic.                                                                         *                                  SHERMAN                   Excuse me...235   ANGLE - RAWLIE THORPE                                        235      approaches Sherman.                                   RAWLIE                   Sherman.    Gee. Hi.                                  SHERMAN                   Rawlie.                                RAWLIE                   Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt                   anything.                                  SHERMAN                   No.   No.                                 RAWLIE                   Gene asked me to come by...                                 SHERMAN                   Yeah. I haven't really been able                   to talk to anybody.                                                    (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                     96.235   CONTINUED:                                                       235                                 RAWLIE                   He just wanted you to know,                   anything we can do...                                 SHERMAN                   Oh, well. I should be down there                   in a day or so...                                 RAWLIE                   Oh, that won't be necessary.                   That's what I came to... I was                   sent to tell you. I mean, you                   don't have to... I mean, you                   shouldn't come down. I mean,                   they don't want you to come down.                                     SHERMAN                   Oh.    I see.    Well.                                  RAWLIE                   Jesus,  Sherman. I'm sorry. But                   between  all this and the way you                   handled  Bernard on the Giscard deal.                     *                   I mean,  six hundred million...                           *                                 SHERMAN                   That's final, huh?                                 RAWLIE                   Well, the firm feels...                                     SHERMAN                   Yes.    Yes.    Of course.   Excuse me.      FOLLOW him INTO...236   INT. KITCHEN - SHERMAN                                           236      finds Judy and Bonita putting dinner together.                                  SHERMAN                   Judy.   What is going on?                                 JUDY                   This is a dinner party. It was                   planned weeks ago. If you ever                   bothered to look at your calendar...                                 SHERMAN                   But Judy, I mean, under the                   circumstances...                                                        (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                     97/98.236   CONTINUED:                                                      236                                 JUDY                   Yes. I know the whole story.     I                   heard it -- saw it all on                   television. On television?!                                  SHERMAN                   I'm sorry.   I am. Believe me.                                 JUDY                   You betrayed us, Sherman. Me.                   Campbell. Even yourself. On the                          *                   other hand, I am going to chair                          *                   the museum benefit thanks to you                         *                   and your escapades on the public                         *                   airways. What can I say? Life                            *                   goes on. I can only make the best                        *                   of an absolutely appalling situation                   and carry on.                                 SHERMAN                   But can you forgive me?                                 JUDY                   I suppose I can forgive   anything,                   but not television. I'm    leaving                       *                   you, Sherman. After the    party.                        *                   Now if you'll excuse me,   we have                       *                   guests.      She leaves.237   ANGLE - TO INCLUDE SALLY RAWTHROTE                              237      as she sails into the kitchen, she sees Judy leave.                                 SALLY                   Oh, my darling, is this a bad                   time?                                 SHERMAN                   I beg your pardon...                                 SALLY                   What am I saying? Of course it's                   a bad time. But I just wanted to                   see if I can be of any help.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                              99.237   CONTINUED:                                                    237                                 SHERMAN                   Well, that's very kind of you.                                 SALLY                   You know I haven't been in this                   apartment since the McCleods had                   it. That was before the                   Kittridges. I hope I'm not being                   out of place.                                 SHERMAN                   Not at all... uh...                                 SALLY                   Sally.                                 SHERMAN                   Anyway, thank you.                                 SALLY                   No, really, anything I can do.                   With the apartment, is what I                   mean.                                 SHERMAN                   The apartment?                                 SALLY                   I find people often need to be as                   liquid as they can in these                   situations and I know I can get                   you seven-and-a-half right at                   this moment. Fabled aristocratic                   tycoon -- it's the celebrity                   appeal. Maybe eight. If we act                   quickly this kind of opportunity                   doesn't come along every day. You                   have to ride the wave.                                  SHERMAN                   Excuse me.   I have to... uh...                   Excuse me.238   INT. LIVING ROOM - SHERMAN                                    238      comes out of the kitchen. As he tries to make his way      through the living room, trying to avoid the guests...239   ANGLE - POLLARD BROWNING                                      239      intercepting Sherman.     Sherman keeps walking.   Pollard      follows.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                             100.239   CONTINUED:                                                    239                                  SHERMAN                   Pollard.   How are you?                                 POLLARD                   Sorry to interrupt your dinner.                                  SHERMAN                   Not at all.   The more the merrier.                                 POLLARD                   I've been in touch with the co-op                   board, well, most of them, and we                   want you to know you have our                   support.                                 SHERMAN                   You know, at first I wanted to die.                   Standing there in court, people                   calling my name...                                  POLLARD                   Yes.   Of course. Hard to believe.                                 SHERMAN                   And then I thought, I have a gun.                   Twelve gauge. Double barrel...      FOLLOW them INTO...240   INT. STUDY - SHERMAN                                       240      goes to the closet and pulls out the shotgun.                                 SHERMAN                   Here it is.                                 POLLARD                   Sherman, we've known each other                   a long time. We went to Buckley                   together. My father knew your                   father. I speak as a friend. But                   also as president of the board.                   Is that a gun?                                 SHERMAN                   I wonder if I can get both barrels                   into my mouth. That's what I was                   thinking. And how do you pull the                   trigger. I read somewhere about a                   man who took off his shoe and                   pulled the trigger with his toe.                                 POLLARD                   Yes. This can't be a comfortable                   situation for you.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                               101.240   CONTINUED:                                                      240                                 SHERMAN                   And where would I do it?   Who                   would find me?                                 POLLARD                   Exactly. Yes. Have you                   considered... changing residence                   until things quiet down?                                 SHERMAN                   You want me to leave?                                POLLARD                   Well...                                 SHERMAN                   This is my home...                                 POLLARD                   I understand that...                                 SHERMAN                   This is the only safe place I                   have. People are threatening my                   life. I have to protect myself.      He loads the gun and fills his pockets with shells.                                 POLLARD                   There are people demonstrating in                   front of our building. Black                   people with basketballs! You're                   putting everyone at risk. It's                   not your fault. But that doesn't                   alter the facts.      FOLLOW Sherman and Pollard OUT of the study TO...241   INT. LIVING ROOM - SHERMAN AND POLLARD                        241                                 SHERMAN                   Alter the facts?! The facts are                   that I have no place else to go!                   And you want me to move out?! Is                   that what you're saying, Pollard.                   You want me to move out of my                   home?!      The guests begin to listen to this exchange.                                 POLLARD                   You are a shareholder in a                   cooperative. Look, we're not                   asking you to do anything of                   a permanent nature...                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                               102.241   CONTINUED:                                                      241                                 SHERMAN                   Why don't you move out, Pollard?                   If you're so fucking terrified!                                 POLLARD                   Sherman, please...                                 SHERMAN                   And you can start by moving out                   of this apartment right now.                   Out! Now!      Sherman points the gun at Pollard.                                 POLLARD                   I came here in good faith.                                 SHERMAN                   Oh, Pollard, you were a ridiculous                   fat blowhard at Buckley and you're                   a ridiculous fat blowhard now.      Everyone watches as Sherman holds Pollard at gunpoint and      steers him out of the room.                                 POLLARD                   I will have to enforce the                   provision concerning unacceptable                   situations.                                 SHERMAN                   Another word out of you, Pollard,                   and there's going to be an                   unacceptable situation right up                          *                   your ass! Now march!                                     *      The guests applaud.    Sherman turns to face them.                                 SHERMAN                   And that goes for the rest of you,                   too. Out. All of you.      The guests look confused, they don't really believe      him. Sherman aims the GUN at the ceiling. He FIRES.      EXPLOSION. People scream.242   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                               242      waves the smoking shotgun at them.                                SHERMAN                   Out! Stinking lot of anorexic                   parasites. Get out of my house!                                                      (CONTINUED)       BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                      103.242    CONTINUED:                                                         242       He FIRES another SHOT. The room clears.        Judy comes       running from the kitchen.                                  SHERMAN                    Out of my house, out of my life!       The DOG comes BARKING into the room.     Campbell follows.,       Judy grabs her.                                  JUDY                                           *                    Say goodbye to Daddy.                                        *                                   CAMPBELL                                      *                    'Bye, Daddy.   See you later.                                *                                  JUDY                                           *                           (as they go)                                          *                    You can see him on television.                               *       Sherman reloads and keeps FIRING until everyone is       gone. LAMPS EXPLODE, furniture splinters, plaster       falls.                                                                    *                                  SHERMAN                    Sherman McCoy is dead. Sherman                    McCoy of Park Avenue and Wall                    Street and Southampton -- gone.                    Dead. I will never be Sherman                    McCoy again. Never!242A   OMITTED                                                            242Athru                                                                      thru247                                                                       247248    INT. LEICESTER'S - CLOSE ON PETER - NIGHT                          248       who looks very depressed.                                  PETER (V.O.)                    That same evening, just a few                    blocks away, I was being praised                    and congratulated. It should                    have been a very triumphant yours                    truly at Leicester's. But it                    wasn't.       PULL BACK to include Peter surrounded by fawning packs of       well-wishers, including Gerald Moore.                                  PETER (V.O.)                    ... my little encounter with Sherman                    McCoy was spoiling everything. The                    truth has a way of doing that.                                                       (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                 104.248   CONTINUED:                                                    248                                 WOMAN                   Beautiful stuff, Peter.   First rate.                                 MAN                   He looks like a real killer, this                      *                   McCoy fellow. Doesn't he?                              *                                 ANOTHER WOMAN                   You can see it in the photographs.                   You can see it in his chin.                                 ANOTHER MAN                   Arrogant son a bitch, isn't he? I                   hope they throw the book at him.      Evelyn Moore approaches Gerald.                                   EVELYN                   Daddy.    Dinner.                                 MOORE                   Yes, darling. Shall we have Peter                   here come along with us?                                  EVELYN                   Lovely.      Gerald and Evelyn lead Peter toward the back dining room.                                 MOORE                   I want to give this story our full                   attention, Peter. It makes us look                   better and better, the more we do                   for this Lamb family. Poor little                   Lambs, poor little fuzzy-wuzzy wogs.      Caroline Heftshank intercepts them.     She is very drunk.                                 CAROLINE                   Excuse me, Peter. There's a phone                   call for you upstairs in the office.      Peter makes excuses to Gerald and Evelyn and follows      Caroline away.249   OMITTED                                                       249250   INT. UPSTAIRS OFFICE - PETER AND CAROLINE - NIGHT             250      come into the office.                                 PETER                   Where's the phone?                                                    (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                   105.250   CONTINUED:                                                      250                                 CAROLINE                   I lied. I wanted to see you alone.                   I'm going to do you a favor.                             *                                 PETER                   Don't tell me I'm finally going                   to get into your panties.                                 CAROLINE                   You don't deserve this, Peter. But                   I'm going to tell you something.                         *                                                                            *      She reaches under her skirt and pulls off her panties.      She drops them on the floor.                                 PETER                   Listen, Caroline. I'm sort of                   with some people tonight.                                 CAROLINE                   Relax, darling. Do you remember                   my pretty little Italian friend?                   The painter.                                PETER                   Yes. Yes, I do. Franco or                   Federico...                                  CAROLINE                   Filippo.   The little shit.      Caroline climbs up on the desk, lifts her skirt and sits      down on the Xerox machine.                                 PETER                   Caroline, you're absolutely soused.                                 CAROLINE                   Well, Filippo has run off with                   a little slut you should know about.                     *      She switches ON the MACHINE, which starts PHOTOCOPYING      her twat.                                 PETER                   Caroline, isn't that dangerous?                   Or at least unsanitary?                                 CAROLINE                   Shut up, Peter. You're not listening.                   Her name is Maria Ruskin.                                 (MORE)                                                      (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                   106.         *250   CONTINUED:    (2)                                               250                                 CAROLINE (CONT'D)                   She was subletting my apartment.                   She was also subletting Filippo.                   And, as it turns out, she was also                   in the car with Sherman McCoy when                   the accident happened.                                 PETER                   You're joking.                                   CAROLINE                   I never joke.    She was in the car.                                 PETER                   But how do you know all this?                                 CAROLINE                   The apartment was bugged. They                   had a wire in the intercom. They                   were trying to prove that I                   wasn't living there. Which I                   wasn't. Now I've lost the                   apartment and the boyfriend.                                 PETER                   You don't know where they are?                                 CAROLINE                   No. But I'm trusting you to find                   them. And when you do. Give                   them this. Tell them this is the                   little lady who turned them in.      She takes one of the Xerox copies and hands it to Peter.      Peter leaves. Caroline looks at the Xerox copy.                                 CAROLINE                   Maybe I should advertise...251   OMITTED                                                         251252   INT. RESTAURANT - MAITRE D' - DAY                               252      points Fallow toward Arthur Ruskin's table.                                 MAITRE D'                   Monsieur Ruskin is already here.253   ANGLE - ARTHUR RUSKIN                                           253      seated at a table as Peter approaches. The Maitre d'      seats them side by side on a banquette.                                                      (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                  107.         *253   CONTINUED:                                                     253                                 PETER                   Arthur. Thanks for meeting me on                   such short notice.                                   ARTHUR                   Peter Fallow?                                 PETER                   Yes. We've never met but I'm a                   good friend of... your wife.                                 ARTHUR                          (a lament)                   My wife! My wife! I'm glad she's                   not here. Otherwise I couldn't                   have a drink.                          (to waiter)                   Give me a Couvoisier V.S.O.P.                   No. Put it in a sidecar.                                  PETER                   Yes.   Uh... where is Maria, by the                   way?                                 ARTHUR                   Italy. Every time I turn around,                   she's in Italy. I'm not supposed                   to drink. But I love a sidecar.                   It was Willi Nordhoff introduced                   me to them. So. You're on the                   City Light?                                 PETER                   Uh, yes. And we're doing a little                   profile piece. We're calling it                   the 'New Tycoons.' And, naturally,                   we thought of you.                                ARTHUR                   Good. Good. I like that. New                   tycoons. So what do you want to                   know?                                 PETER                   Oh, there's no hurry. So Maria                   is in Italy. Where abouts?                                 ARTHUR                   She's in Lake Como someplace.                                 PETER                   Well, there are some great hotels                   in Lake Como. Is she at the                   Excelsior?                                                     (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                 107A.253   CONTINUED:    (1A)                                          253                                 ARTHUR                   What do I know? I just pay the                       *                   bills. Well, she's young. She                   needs young people. I'm not                   stupid. I know what goes on.                   We should order. I don't have                   too much time.                                 PETER                   I'd like to talk to her, too.                   If I could. If I could get in                        *                   touch with her...                                    *                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             108.253   CONTINUED:    (2)                                           253                                 ARTHUR                   Call the office. I'll give you                   her number. She's something. I                   always said it as a compliment,                   but she's a lot of pussy to handle.                   Excuse my language. What do you                   want to eat?254   ANGLE - WAITERS - LATER                                     254      are bringing the main course to the table. Arthur is      guzzling wine as he talks. Peter is bored silly.                                 ARTHUR                   ... But the best is just a few                   weeks ago, one of these jackass                   pilots, he lands long and the                   plane goes off the runway. I was                   there. I was on the plane. We're                   going into Mecca, see. And the                   plane is full of Arabs and all these                   animals -- sheep, goats, chickens.                   They won't travel without their                   animals. We had to put plastic                   in the cabins. You know, they                   urinate, they defecate...                                PETER                   Yes.                                 ARTHUR                   Anyway, the plane goes off the                   runway and we hit the sand with                   a hell of a jolt and the right                   wing tip digs into the sand and                   the plane skids around in a circle!                   360 degrees before we stop! We're                   scared shitless. Panic. And we                   look into the cabin and there's                   everybody calm, quiet, they're                   picking up their luggage and their                   animals and they're looking out                   the window at the little fire that                   started on the wing and they're                   waiting for the doors to open like                   nothing happened. And then it                   dawns on me. They think this is                   normal!      He starts to laugh as he talks.                                 ARTHUR                   They think this is the way you                   stop an airplane.                                 (MORE)                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                               109.254   CONTINUED:                                                      254                                 ARTHUR (CONT'D)                   You stick one wing in the sand and                   you spin around until you stop.                          (coughing as he laughs                           harder and harder)                   What do they know? They never                   rode in an airplane. They think                   this is how you do it!      Peter tries to laugh with Arthur. But Arthur's coughing      turns into a spasm. He pushes his head back against      the banquette. He seems to be humming. And then his      head drops forward and he slumps against Peter.                                  PETER                   Arthur?   Arthur?      He tries to signal a waiter.                                  PETER                   Excuse me.   Hello? Excuse me.                   Waiter!!!      The Maitre d' approaches the table.                                 PETER                   Mr. Ruskin seems to have suffered                   some kind of -- well, I don't                   know.                                 MAITRE D'                          (very disappointed)                   Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Oh, dear.                                 PETER                   I think you'd better call someone.      Arthur drops forward suddenly, his face hitting his      plate. A woman at the next table squeals.                                 MAITRE D'                          (annoyed)                   Freddy? Attention, s'il vous                   plait!      Two waiters   help the Maitre d' pull the table out.      Arthur slips   off his plate and falls onto the floor.      Some people   notice. But, in general, the activity      in the room   continues.      The Maitre d' gives orders to the waiters.      A MAN approaches Peter.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            110.254   CONTINUED:    (2)                                           254                                 MAN                   Is he choking? Let me give him                   the Heimlich maneuver.                                 MAITRE D'                   Excuse me, Monsieur Roberts. You                   are not a doctor. And there are                   legal complications.                                 MR. ROBERTS                   Yes, I see, but...                                 MAITRE D'                   For your own protection and mine                   and my restaurant, we leave                   Monsieur Ruskin in the hands of God                   and we go back to our escargots.                                 PETER                   Well, somebody has to do something.      Peter tries to perform the Heimlich maneuver on Ruskin.                                 MAITRE D'                   We have called the police. An                   ambulance is coming. There is                   nothing more we can do. Would                   you like some coffee or dessert?                                 MR. ROBERTS                          (to Peter)                   Gee, buddy. I think he's dead.      Peter lets go of Ruskin.    Ruskin slides to the floor --      dead.                                MAITRE D'                   Eh, voila.                                PETER                   Jesus.                                 MAITRE D'                          (drops a card                           in front of Peter)                   L'addition, s'il vous plait.                                PETER                   What?                                 MAITRE D'                   The bill, monsieur. Thank you.                   And we do not accept credit cards.      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                 111.255   EXT. AIRPORT - 747 - DUSK                                     255   *      is landing.256   INT. AIRPORT - MARIA - DUSK                                   256   *      comes out of Customs.    She is wearing black and has a      veil over her face.257   ANGLE - FALLOW                                                257      approaches her.   They walk as they talk...                                PETER                Mrs. Ruskin?                                MARIA                Yes?                              PETER                My name is Peter Fallow. I just                wanted to offer my sympathy.                               MARIA                        (through tears)                How very kind. Did you know                Arthur?                              PETER                Ah, well, yes. I was actually                quite close to him when he died.                              MARIA                I've reprobated myself over and                over again for being away...                              PETER                You shouldn't.258   EXT. TERMINAL - MARIA AND PETER - DUSK                        258   *      move toward Maria's waiting limousine.                              MARIA                Well, thank you for the kind                words. I must go now.                              PETER                Yes. Just one other thing. I                understand you're a friend of                Sherman McCoy.                                MARIA                I'm sorry...?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                               112.         *258    CONTINUED:                                                     258                                  PETER                    Yes. I gather you were not only                    in the car with him when he had his                    unfortunate accident in the Bronx.                    But I understand you were driving.       Maria turns and looks at him -- hard and cold.                                  MARIA                    Sherman would never tell you that.                                  PETER                    I was hoping you might tell me                    exactly what happened that night.                                  MARIA                    Look, Mr.... Mr....                                  PETER                    Fallow.                                  MARIA                    ... Peckerhead. I am here for my                    husband's funeral. Understand?                    Now go away. Disappear.                    Disintegrate.       She gets into the car.     Fallow watches the car pull away.       He smiles.259    OMITTED                                                        259259A   EXT. HOSPITAL - NEWSSTAND - DAY                              259A       The headline on the City Lights reads:                              "FINANCIER'S WIDOW IS                              MCCOY MYSTERY WOMAN"259B   INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - HENRY LAMB - DAY                        259B       is lying in a coma -- a beatific smile on his face.259C   ANGLE TO INCLUDE FOX, BACON, ANNIE LAMB AND PETER FALLOW 259C       around the bed.                                  FOX                    What kind of muckracking yellow                    journalist are you!? You print                    a story like this without so much                    as a by-your-leave to me or to                    Reverend Bacon here! Who the                    hell do you think you are.                                                      (CONTINUED)       BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                  113.          *259C   CONTINUED:                                                     259C                                  ANNIE                           (tearfully)                    Please, you have to keep your                    voices down.                                  PETER                    Look, don't you understand? It                    is very possible that Sherman                    McCoy was not driving that car.                    And I can almost prove it.                                  FOX                    So what?! So what?!   So what?!                    This is our case.       He gestures toward Henry Lamb.                                  FOX                    Right here. You see? It's the                    hospital that's the guilty party.                                  PETER                    The hospital?! What are you                    talking about?                                  FOX                    A young man comes in here with a                    cerebral concussion and they treat                    him for a broken wrist. That is                    our case! That is the lawsuit                    that we are going to bring                    against this hospital. That is                    what we have been working toward                    all this time. And you are                    confusing the issue! Do you                    understand me?!                                  PETER                    Alright, alright. But Christ,                    Albert, this is a great story.                    This is my exclusive. And it's                    also the truth!                                  BACON                    It's a little late for you to                    start telling the truth, isn't                    it, Pete?                                  PETER                    I can't just drop this now.   I                    can't just let it go.                                                      (CONTINUED)       BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90             114.          *259C   CONTINUED:    (2)                                         259C                                  FOX                    Sure you can. There's gonna be                    other stories, other exclusives.                    Don't worry. We'll take care of                    you.                                  BACON                    That's right. You're our boy,                    Peter. You take care of us and                    we'll take care of you. I promise                    you, that's going to be a very                    profitable relationship for all                    of us.       Suddenly, Annie starts to weep.                                  BACON                    Annie, I know that nothing can                    heal the wound that you have                    suffered. But ten million dollars                    in damages will certainly make                    your grief more comfortable.                                  ANNIE                    Well, yes, I could use a few                    things, Reverend, thank you. I                    been worried about my clothes for                    instance. I feel that the                    presentation of my person should                    be carefully designed. As a model                    to black mothers everywhere, I                    think I should have the right                    wardrobe. So if you could have                    Mr. Fox's limousine pick me up in                    the morning, I could do some                    shopping.                                  FOX                    Why certainly.                                  ANNIE                    I'll need some furniture, too.                    And a new refrigerator.                    And although I should probably                    continue to live in that shithole                    of an apartment at least until                    after the lawsuit is settled, I                    would like to start looking now                    for a co-op in Manhattan -- for me                    and my son -- something with a view                    of the river and preferably in a                    neighborhood that is at least                    upwardly mobile.       Pause as they all look at her.)O(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                115.260    CLOSE ON PETER                                               260                               PETER (V.O.)                 How could I turn my back on the                 plight of this grief stricken                 woman? How could I turn my back                 on a 'profitable relationship'? I                 was touched to the depths of what                 was left of my soul... and my bank                 account.260A   OMITTED                                                      260Athru                                                                thru262A                                                                262A *262B   INT. WEISS'S OFFICE - CLOSE ON NEWSPAPER - DAY               262B       The headline reads:                          "CITY LIGHT EXCLUSIVE                 DID NEGLIGENT HOSPITAL SLAUGHTER LAMB?"                                                                           *                               PETER (V.O.)                 So I printed their little story.                 Well, why not? Why not be the                 best whore in the house? And                 anyway, I was beginning to see                 even greater possibilities in my                 situation.                                                                           *       The shades are drawn; the room is dark. Weiss sits at       his desk. Andriutti and Kramer are with him.                               WEISS                        (quietly)                 Now they're going to sue the                 hospital. You see? All they want                 is money. Imagine using a terrible                 tragedy like this for your own                 selfish motives.                                KRAMER                 Yes, sir.   It is terrible.                               WEISS                 Shut up, you asshole.                               KRAMER                 Yes, sir.                                                    (CONTINUED))O(     BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                  116.262B    CONTINUED:                                                     262B                                   WEISS                     What's happening to my case? The                     People versus Sherman McCoy?                     Where is my issue? Where is my                     cause? Where is my hope?                                   ANDRIUTTI                     I think we better talk to this                     Mrs. Ruskin.                                   WEISS                     You go to the press. You tell                     them we're going to question the                     woman, and if she is the woman who                     was in the car, she faces possible                     charges, etcetera, etcetera.                                   ANDRIUTTI                     Alright.                                   WEISS                     And you, Mr. Wise-Guy-Know-It-All-                     Shitface, you're the one got us                     into this, you're going to get us                     out. You go to this broad, you                     tell her she's in a whole lot of                     trouble, lay it on. But, but, but                     -- if she is willing to cooperate,                     if she will say what we want her                     to say, then we will grant her                     immunity.                                   KRAMER                     Yes, sir.                                    WEISS                     Go on, go.   What are you waiting for?                                   KRAMER                     Well today is her husband's funeral.                     *                                   WEISS                            (exploding)                     I don't care if today is her                             *                     mother's bar mitzvah, you go talk                        *                     to her!!!                                                *        As Kramer exits...                                                      CUT TO:A262B   EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE (59TH ST.) - FALLOW - DAY            A262B        Approaching the building.        BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90              117.          *B262B   INT. HALLWAY - FALLOW                                   B262B        Is knocking on a door that has a sign reading "Super-        intendant." The door opens. We recognize the workman        who was fixing the intercom in Maria's apartment.                                PETER                  Mr. Leach?                                LEACH                  Yeah?                                PETER                  I understand you been doing some                  creative wiring in this building.        Peter and Leach continue talking.                                PETER (V.O.)                  In less than three minutes, I had                  what I was looking for. It was                  more than a story. I had the                  makings of a book here. A great                  book. A prize winning effort.                  All I needed was a big finish.        Leach opens the door wide and Fallow steps into the apart-        ment. As the door closes...                                PETER (V.O.)                  So I shipped off a little present                  to Sherman McCoy's lawyer and I                  waited for the fireworks...262C                                                               262thru                                                               thru262E                                                               262E262F    INT. McCOY APARTMENT - CLOSE ON CASSETTE PLAYER            262F        Killian's hand flips the switch, the TAPE PLAYS.                                SHERMAN (V.O.)                  Where are you going?                                MARIA (V.O.)                         (on tape)                  The airport. I told you. I have                  a car coming in -- oh, God, ten                  minutes. We have time for a                  quickie. What do you say?262G    ANGLE TO INCLUDE SHERMAN AND KILLIAN                       262G                               SHERMAN                  That's us! That's me! That's                  Maria! How did you get this?                                                  (CONTINUED)       BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                    118.262G   CONTINUED:                                                       262G                                   KILLIAN                    Shhh!   Listen.       Killian lets the tape fast forward.        Then...                                  SHERMAN (V.O.)                           (on tape)                    I suppose we could still go to the                    police. We could get a very                    talented lawyer...                                  MARIA (V.O.)                           (on tape)                    And put our heads right into the                    horse's mouth? I'm the one who                    was driving the car. Don't you                    think I'm the one who should make                    the decision? And I say, no. No,                    Sherman. Trust me.       Killian switches off the machine.                                  SHERMAN                    You mean the apartment was wired                           *                    -- bugged -- all that time?                                *                                   KILLIAN                    Yeah.   I checked it all out.                              *                    Whoever  sent me this tape is                              *                    either  a big fan of yours or a not                        *                    so big  fan of Maria Ruskin.                               *                                  SHERMAN                    Then we have this as evidence.                                  KILLIAN                    No. It's an illegal      tape. Totally                    illegal. The guy who      did this                    could go to jail for     this. Now if                    this were your tape,     it would be                    legal. But it's not.                                  SHERMAN                    What do you mean, 'my tape'?                                  KILLIAN                    Well, if you were wired and you                    recorded your own conversation                    that would be okay. But there is                    no way that this tape can be used                    as evidence in a court of law.                                  SHERMAN                    Then what good is it?                                                        (CONTINUED))R(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/8/90                     119.262G   CONTINUED:    (2)                                                262G                                  KILLIAN                    It gave me an idea.                                  SHERMAN                    An idea about what?                                  KILLIAN                    An idea about what to wear when                    you go to this funeral.                                    SHERMAN                    What funeral?263    OMITTED                                                          263264    EXT. FUNERAL PARLOR (MADISON AVENUE) - DAY                       264       A procession of limousines pushing through a crowd of       press and bystanders to deposit the mourners at the front       door. Among those arriving, we see Jed Kramer.                          *265    OMITTED                                                          265thru                                                                    thru269A                                                                    269A269B   INT. FUNERAL PARLOR - MARIA - DAY                                269B       dressed in black enters and walks down the aisle.        People       stop her and offer condolences.269C   ANGLE - KRAMER                                                   269C       comes into the chapel.269D   ANGLE - SHERMAN                                                  269D       wearing dark glasses and a raincoat, hiding near a door-       way that leads into an adjacent "family room." As Maria       passes, he signals her. FOLLOW Maria INTO:269E   INT. CRYPTS - SHERMAN                                     269E       closes the door as Maria enters.                                   MARIA                    Sherman!   Whatever are you doing                    here?                                  SHERMAN                    I'm sorry, Maria. I have to talk                    to you.                                                        (CONTINUED)       BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                   120.269E   CONTINUED:    (A1)                                              269E                                  MARIA                    You seem to be doing all your                    talking to the newspapers these                    days.                                  SHERMAN                    Believe me, I had nothing to do                    with that. We didn't want your                    name in the papers any more than                    you did.                                  MARIA                    I see. Well, here we are,                    Sherman. The couple that all New                    York is talking about. And we're                    not even a couple anymore.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                           121.          *269E   CONTINUED:                                                 269E                                  SHERMAN                    I thought you'd run out  on me. I                    didn't even know where  you went.                    And I was left sort of  holding the                    bag, trying to protect  you.                                 MARIA                    Oh, Sherman. Would I do that to                    you? Sherman, Sherman, Sherman.       She embraces him, her hands moving toward the hidden       recorder. Sherman takes both her hands and pulls them       to his chest.                                  MARIA                    What are we going to do with you?                                  SHERMAN                    You have to help me, Maria.                                  MARIA                    But how can I help you?                                  SHERMAN                    Well, I know this may sound like                    a strange request, but you could                    start by telling the police what                    really happened.                                  MARIA                    Oh, Sherman, you are the sweetest                    thing. But I'm not sure anybody                    knows what really happened. Not                    anymore. And if anybody does                    know, it certainly isn't me.                                  SHERMAN                    But you were driving the car that                    night.                                  MARIA                    Was I? I don't remember. Isn't                    it funny how a little thing like                    that can slip your mind?                           (she kisses him)                    God, there's something about                    funerals that is so stimulating.                    My panties have been wet all                    morning.                                  SHERMAN                    Maria, please...       She kisses him again.)O(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/26/90                 122.270   INT. VIEWING ROOM - DIRECTOR                                  270      is still at the microphone.                              DIRECTOR                And now, in accordance with the                wishes of Mr. Ruskin...271   ANGLE - KRAMER                                                271      is moving around, trying to find Maria.                              DIRECTOR (O.S.)                ... Manny Leerman will play a                medley of Arthur's favorite songs.272   ANGLE - MANNY LEERMAN                                         272      A lounge singer in a pale blue suit hops onto the stage,      sits at the piano and launches into a totally      inappropriate rendition of "September in the Rain."273   ANGLE - KRAMER                                                273      leaving the viewing room.274   INT. HALLWAY - KRAMER - DAY                                   274      looking from room to room.275   INT. CRYPTS - MARIA - DAY                                     275   *      is trying to embrace Sherman. He remains "hunched" over,      trying to stay away from her and keep her hands off his      back.                               MARIA                Sherman.   What's wrong with you?                              SHERMAN                Nothing.                              MARIA                Then why are you all hunched over?      Her hands slide down his back.                              SHERMAN                Maria, we have to talk.                              MARIA                Sherman, what's this on your back?                              SHERMAN                My what?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                               123.275   CONTINUED:                                                      275                                 MARIA                   This lump, this piece of metal,                   this thing on your back?!                                 SHERMAN                   I don't know -- my belt, belt                   buckle.                                 MARIA                   You don't have a belt buckle in                   the back. There's some sort of                   subterfuge afoot here. Isn't                   there?                                 SHERMAN                   Don't be silly.                                 MARIA                   You are secreting something on                   your body!                                  SHERMAN                   Maria...                                 MARIA                   I want to see what it is.      She rips open his shirt.                                 SHERMAN                   Maria, are you crazy!                                   MARIA                   And a wire!    A wire!      She pulls the wire. Sherman yelps in pain. As he spins      around, Maria grabs the tapedeck and pulls it off his      back. More pain.                                  SHERMAN                   Eeeooowww!!!                                 MARIA                   You rotten, dishonest bastard!                                 SHERMAN                   Maria, I didn't want to do this,                   but you gave me no choice.      A KNOCK at the door.       They freeze.                                  KRAMER (O.S.)                   Mrs. Ruskin.                                                      (CONTINUED))R(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/8/90                   124.275   CONTINUED:    (2)                                              275                                 MARIA                   Go away whoever you are!                                 KRAMER (O.S.)                   This is Jed Kramer. From the                            *                   district attorney's office.                                 MARIA                   My, my, my, Mr. McCoy. I'd say                   your goose was just about home-                   fried.                                 SHERMAN                          (whispering)                   I have protected you, Maria. I                   have been a gentleman. I have                   done my best to keep your name out                   of this. But you have got to help                   me. You have got to do the right                   thing.                                 MARIA                   Never. Never. Never. I hope you                   die and hang in the electric chair!      Sherman heads out the back door.276   INT. HALLWAY - KRAMER - DAY                                    276                                 KRAMER                   ... I'm with the District                   Attorney's office. I wonder if                   I might have a few words...      The door flies open...                                MARIA                   He's gone!                                KRAMER                   What?                                 MARIA                   He just ran out that back door.277   INT. LIVING ROOM - KRAMER - DAY                                277      runs in, not sure what he's doing...                                KRAMER                   Who?!                                 MARIA                   Sherman McCoy!                                                     (CONTINUED))R(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/8/90                      125.277   CONTINUED:                                                        277                                   KRAMER                   Jesus.                                 MARIA                   I'm sorry if I alarmed you.    But                   he was acting very strange.    My                   name is Maria Ruskin.                                 KRAMER                   Kramer, Jed Kramer, Jed. I'm                               *                   the Assistant District Attorney                   for Bronx County.                                 MARIA                   Oh. I see. And what a handsome                   District Attorney you are, too.      Kramer is smitten.                                 KRAMER                   I'm not the... uh... I'm the                   Assistant D.A.                                 MARIA                   Well, you and I have a lot to                   talk about. Don't we?                                   KRAMER                   Yes, we do.                                 MARIA                   Yes. Because if I'm going to                   testify I'm going to want to know                   exactly what I should... and                   should not say.                                   KRAMER                   Yes, ma'am.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:278   INT. SHERMAN'S APARTMENT - SHERMAN - NIGHT                        278      is sitting alone in the empty apartment. Almost every-      thing is gone -- furniture, rugs, paintings. Sherman has      a tape recorder in front of him. In his hand he holds      two tapes.      There is a KNOCK at the door.279   ANGLE - FRONT DOOR                                                279      as Sherman opens it.       Sherman's father is standing there.                                                        (CONTINUED))Y(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 7/19/90                 126.279   CONTINUED:                                                    279                                 MR. McCOY                   Ah. They weren't sure downstairs                   whether or not you were here.                                 SHERMAN                   I usually come in the back way now.                                  MR. McCOY                   I see.   May I...?                                   SHERMAN                   Yes.   Sure.   Sorry. Come in.      FOLLOW them INTO...280   INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY                                        280                                 MR. McCOY                          (looking around)                   It's all gone. Everything.                                  SHERMAN                   Yes.   Judy... uh...                                 MR. McCOY                   She's gone, too?                                  SHERMAN                   Yes.                                 MR. McCOY                   She moves quickly.                                 SHERMAN                   She has a good lawyer.                                                                          *                              MR. McCOY                I'm not sure I ever really liked                her. Your wife.                                   SHERMAN                No.       Of course not. Jesus.                              MR. McCOY                Or this apartment for that matter.                For what it cost, for what you                paid for it. Or the furniture...                                                    (CONTINUED))Y(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 7/19/90                   127.280   CONTINUED:                                                      280                                 SHERMAN                   Or my car, or my work, or my                   clothes, my life, my money... For                   Christ's sake, you didn't come                   here now, you didn't come all the                   way here on a fucking subway                   probably to tell me now...                                  MR. McCOY                   No.   I didn't.                                 SHERMAN                   I mean, I'm not going to get, at                   this late date, I'm not going to                   get the ethics and morality                   speech, not now, when I have to                          *                   do what I'm going to do in that                          *                   courtroom tomorrow, if that's what                       *                   you've come to give me, Jesus...                         *                                 MR. McCOY                   No. No. I'm sorry. I came here                   to... I don't know how to do this.                   You didn't call. We wanted to                   help. I came here to tell you that                   we are here for you. That you are                   our son and that we love you. 'We.'                   I don't mean we. I mean I. That I                   love you. That's all.      Mr. McCoy offers his hand in a handshake.                                 MR. McCOY                   Please.      Sherman takes his hand. Mr. McCoy puts his arm around      him and hugs him awkwardly but effectively. They      separate.                                  MR. McCOY                   Well.   What you want to do?                             *                                 SHERMAN                   There's only one thing I can do.                         *                   I want to see the truth come out                         *                   and burn every one of them. And                          *                   there's only one way to do that.                         *                                                      (CONTINUED))Y(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 7/19/90                   128.         *280   CONTINUED:     (2)                                              280                                 MR. McCOY                   What is it?                                 SHERMAN                   Lie.                                 MR. McCOY                   Well, you know I have always been                   a great believer in the truth.                   I've lived my life as honestly as                   I know how. I believe in the                   truth as an essential companion                   to a man of conscience, a beacon                   in the vast and dark wasteland of                   our modern world. And yet...                                 SHERMAN                   Yes?                                 MR. McCOY                   And yet, if the truth won't set                   you free, yes. Why not? Lie.                                                      DISSOLVE TO:281   INT. COURTROOM - JUDGE WHITE - DAY                              281      is banging his gavel, trying to silence the overflowing      courtroom.282   ANGLE - STATUE OF BLIND JUSTICE                                 282      Some demonstrators are climbing on the statue to get a      better view.283   ANGLE - MARIA                                                   283      On the stand as Kramer questions her.                                 KRAMER                   ... And this incident occurred                   on the ramp to the expressway or                   on the avenue itself.                                                      (CONTINUED)      BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/18/90                  129.283   CONTINUED:                                                     283                                 MARIA                   Why, on the avenue.    Right on the                   street.                                 KRAMER                   And was there any obstruction or                   barricade of any kind that caused                   the car to stop?                                   MARIA                   Oh, no.    Nothing like that at all.                                 KRAMER                   Finally, one last question. Can                   you tell us, Mrs. Ruskin, who                   was driving the car when Henry                   Lamb was hit?                                 MARIA                   Why, Sherman never let anyone                   drive his car.                                 KRAMER                   Sherman McCoy was driving the car.                                  MARIA                   Oh, yes.      A roar goes up from the crowd.284   VARIOUS ANGLES - EVERYONE                                      284      Sherman and Killian at the defense table. In the      audience, Bacon, Fox, Gerald Moore, Weiss and finally      Peter Fallow taking notes.                                 PETER (V.O.)                   And there it was. The end of                   Sherman McCoy. And it wasn't the                        *                   ending I was hoping for. He was                         *                   finished. She might as well have                   put a gun to his head and pulled                   the trigger. There was no hope                   now. The darkness closed in around                   him. And then I noticed the most                   peculiar thing. Sherman was smiling.285   ANGLE TO INCLUDE SHERMAN                                       285      smiling.                                                     (CONTINUED))J(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90                        130.285   CONTINUED:                                                           285                                 MARIA                   ... and I wanted to report the                   incident but he wouldn't let me.                   He said he was driving and it                   was his decision to make.                                 KRAMER                   You were surprised?                                 MARIA                   I was shocked. There are certain                   qualities of virtue that I admire                   in a human being, virtues that I                   hope I possess myself...      Suddenly, Maria's RECORDED VOICE BLASTS into the courtroom.                                 MARIA (V.O.)                          (on tape)                   We have time for a quickie.    What                   do you say, Sherman?                                 SHERMAN (V.O.)                          (on tape)                   I don't feel terrifically sexy at                   the moment.      White bangs his gavel. Everyone is looking around for                      *      the source of the sound.                                 JUDGE WHITE                                     *                   What in hell...?!                                 MARIA (V.O.)                          (on tape)                   You know I'm a sucker for a soft                   dick.                                 SHERMAN (V.O.)                          (on tape)                   Maria, you are incorrigible.                                MARIA (V.O.)                   Am I?      The court goes crazy. White regains order.           Sudden                *      silence in time for everyone to hear...                                 SHERMAN (V.O.)                          (on tape)                   I supppose, we could still go to                   the police. We could get a very                   talented lawyer...                                                         (CONTINUED))J(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90                   131.285   CONTINUED:    (2)                                               285                                 MARIA (V.O.)                          (on tape)                   And put our heads right into the                   tiger's mouth? I'm the one who was                   driving the car. Don't you think                   I'm the one who should make that                   decision.      Absolute pandemonium. Fallow starts to laugh. Kramer      pulls Sherman's briefcase off a chair revealing a hidden      tape recorder. He bangs and kicks the recorder, trying      to make it stop. Maria faints on the stand. Killian is      amazed and amused. He looks at Sherman. Sherman smiles.      Killian takes the tape from the recorder.286   ANGLE - KILLIAN, KRAMER AND SHERMAN                             286      approach the bench.    The courtroom grows more quiet.                                 JUDGE WHITE                                *                   Whose tape is this, Mr. McCoy?                                 SHERMAN                   That tape is mine, sir.      Killian is shocked.    They continue speaking in whispers.                                 KRAMER                   If Your Honor please...                                 JUDGE WHITE                                *                   Shut up, Mr. Kramer. Mr. McCoy,                   I remind you that you are still                   under oath. Now, did you record                   this conversation?                                 SHERMAN                   Oh, yes, sir, I did. I recorded                   this conversation on this tape.                   My tape. This is my tape of my                   conversation. I recorded it.                   Yes, sir. Yes, sir, three bags                   full.                                 JUDGE WHITE                                *                   Get out of my face. All of you.      Sherman, Killian and Kramer return to their seats.      The court starts screaming again.                                 JUDGE WHITE                                *                   I want some fucking order in here!                                                     (CONTINUED))J(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90                132.286   CONTINUED:                                                   286      He bangs the gavel until the noise subsides.                                 JUDGE WHITE                             *                          (screaming)                   So you insist on testing the will                   of this court!!!! Now you shut up                   and sit down!! All of you! Very                   well. In the case of the People                   versus Sherman McCoy, the Grand                   Jury has returned an indictment.                   Based on the evidence contained in                   this recording...                          (holds up the tape)                   ... and pursuant to my authority                   to supervise the Grand Jury's                   proceedings...                                 DEMONSTRATORS                          (scream)                   Whitewash!! Whitewash!!                                                   (CONTINUED))J(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90                   133.286   CONTINUED:    (2)                                               286                                 JUDGE WHITE                                *                   ... I am ordering the indictment                   dismissed in the interests of                   justice, without prejudice and                   with leave to re-present by the                   District Attorney.      The courtroom explodes.    Screams fill the air -- "Racist!      Peckerwood! Pussyface!     Motherfucker!" etc. The sound      is deafening.      Sherman and Killian shake hands. The demonstrators are      chanting, "Justice! Justice! Justice!"287   ANGLE - DOORS OF COURTROOM                                      287      burst open.    Reporters and photographers rush into the      room.288   ANGLE - WHITE                                                   288   *      rises on the bench like an eagle.    He pounds the gavel      repeatedly.                                 DEMONSTRATORS                   Justice. We want justice!!!   We                   want justice!!!                                 JUDGE WHITE                                *                   Justice! You want justice?!   I'll                   give you justice!      Finally, the courtroom goes quiet. White looks around.                *      Everyone is quiet. And then a single VOICE rings out...                                 VOICE                   You racist pig!                                 JUDGE WHITE                                *                   You dare call me a racist! Well,                   I say to you, you -- a mob who                   dares to come into these walls --                   I say to you, what does it matter                   ... the color of a man's skin?                   If witnesses perjure themselves...                   and a prosecutor, a sworn officer                   of the court, enlists the perjurers                   ... and a district attorney throws                   a man to the mob and lawyers carve                   up that man for his money... and                   men of the cloth, men of God take                   the prime cuts! Now you tell me --                   IS THAT JUSTICE?!      Silence.                                                      (CONTINUED))S(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/18/90                134.288   CONTINUED:                                                   288                                 JUDGE                   I don't hear you!      More silence.    He comes down off the bench, facing the      mob.                                 JUDGE                   I'll tell you what justice is not.                   Justice is not the will of the few                   and it's not the will of the many.                   Justice is not politics. Justice                   is the law. And the law is man's                   feeble attempt to set down the                   principles of decency. Decency!                   And decency is not a deal. Or an                   angle, or a contract, or a hustle                   or a campaign or a trick or a bid                   for sympathy. Decency is not the                   beast that bays for money, power,                   dominion, position, votes and                   blood! Decency is what your                   mother taught you! Decency is                   in your bones! Do I make myself                   clear! Now go home. Go home now.                   Be decent people. Be decent.      A moment of quiet as White comes down and faces Sherman.                                 JUDGE                   You're free to go, Mr. McCoy.289   ANGLE - COURTROOM                                            289      as another blood-curdling roar goes up from the crazed      mob. They close in on the Judge and Sherman.290   ANGLE - REVEREND BACON                                       290      with a bullhorn, egging on the crowd.                                 BACON                   You bald-headed Uncle Tom pussy!!                     *                          (to the crowd)                                 *                   Are you going to take this Park                       *                   Avenue justice!? Are you?                             *291   OMITTED                                                      291   *292   ANGLE - CROWD                                                292      closing in on Sherman and the Judge. The Judge grabs               *      Sherman and pulls him through the door.                            *)S(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/18/90               135.          *292A   INT. CORRIDOR - SHERMAN AND JUDGE                           292A       come out of the courtroom, pursued by the spectators.       They are pressed against a huge statue of "blind justice"       at the end of the corridor.292B   SEVERAL ANGLES - MOBS OF PEOPLE                             292B       rushing at Sherman and the Judge from different sides.292C   ANGLE - STATUE                                              292C       teeters.292D   ANGLE - KRAMER                                              292D       in the mob, pressing toward Sherman and the Judge.                                KRAMER                  We're not finished with you,                  McCoy. You'll be back in this                  courtroom. This decision will                  be appealed until I see you                  behind bars! You hear me, Judge.                                JUDGE                  Get your fucking face out of my                  way.                                KRAMER                  This fucking face is going to see                  you shining shoes in Grand                  Central Station.       More pushing until...293    OMITTED                                                     293&                                                                  &294                                                                294295    ANGLE - STATUE                                              295       falls. People scream and scatter. The statue shatters       as it hits the floor. The bronze sword slides across the       floor and comes to rest at Sherman's feet.296    ANGLE - SCENE                                               296       The Judge is hit on the head by some debris. He       stumbles, blinded by the plaster dust. Sherman grabs       the sword.                                KRAMER                         (taunting the Judge)                  This fucking face is going to see                  you selling pencils, you black                  son of a bitch.                                                   (CONTINUED))S(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/18/90                 135A.      *296    CONTINUED:                                                 296       Sherman whacks Kramer with the sword. Kramer falls away.       Sherman helps the Judge down the corridor.296A   ANGLE - BACON AND FOX                                      296A       coming out of the courtroom, intercepting Sherman.                                  BACON                    Sherman McCoy! You shall not                    escape. You shall live in fear on                    this island, in the mighty sea of                    people, for the people -- and                    justice -- are waiting for you!       Sherman whacks Bacon. The choir women start to wail.       Fox approaches Sherman offering his card.                                  FOX                    You've been woefully misrepresented                    here, Mr. McCoy. I think you                    should give me a call...       Sherman whacks Fox with the sword and continues down       the corridor with the Judge.296B   ANGLE - WEISS                                              296B       giving an interview for a TV news team.                                  WEISS                    ... and I promise you and the                    people of this city that Henry                    Lamb will not be forgotten.                    Henry Lamb will live, like the                    Alamo, as a symbol of slaughtered                    innocence.       Weiss sees Sherman and attacks him.                                  WEISS                    And this man's name will live in                    infamy. Like Adolf Hitler! Like                    Son of Sam! Like Idi Amin! John                    Wilkes Booth! Ted Bundy! Jesse                    Helms!       Sherman smacks Weiss with the sword and moves toward the       stairs with the Judge.297    OMITTED                                                    297297A   ANGLE - FALLOW                                             297A       approaches Sherman.                                                    (CONTINUED))S(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/18/90                 136.          *297A   CONTINUED:                                                    297A                                  FALLOW                    Sherman! Sherman! Congratulations.                    This is going to make one hell of                    a story!!                                   SHERMAN                    You again!   Who are you?!                                 PETER                    Oh, sorry. I'm Peter Fallow.      I'm                    Peter Fallow. Ha. Ha. Ha.       Sherman looks at him for a moment. Then he lets out a       screaming war cry and smacks Fallow with the sword.297B   ANGLE - FALLOW                                                297B       falls to the ground.      He looks up.    He smiles.                                   PETER                    Thanks.   I needed that.298    ANGLE - SHERMAN AND JUDGE                                     298       move down the stairs and out the iron gates of the court-       house.298A   EXT. COURTHOUSE - SHERMAN - DAY                               298A       pulls the gates shut and slides the sword through the       door handles, locking the crowd inside the courthouse.       They pound on the gates as the courtroom guards try to       hold them back.                                  SHERMAN                    Are you alright?                                   JUDGE                    I'm alright.   Damn hooligans.       He walks up to the iron gates. The faces of the demon-       strators are pressed against it. The Judge shakes a       tired fist at them. Then he turns to Sherman.                                 JUDGE                    And you. You, too. You go home                    now. And be decent. You hear me?                                  SHERMAN                    I hear you, Your Honor.       The Judge shakes his fist at Sherman, too. Then he opens       the fist and offers his hand to Sherman. Sherman takes       it. They shake.)S(    BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 5/18/90                137.          *299    ANGLE - PETER FALLOW                                         299       through the iron gates.                               PETER (V.O.)                 It was the last I saw of Sherman                 McCoy...300    ANGLE - SCENE                                                300       Sherman turns and walks away down the corridors of       justice. The Judge watches him go. Sherman disappears       into a great whiteness as we hear:                               PETER (V.O.)                 And so we come to the end of our                 story. Sherman, you see, who                 started with so much, lost                 everything. But he gained his                 soul. Whereas I, you see, who                 started with so little, gained                 everything...                                                    DISSOLVE TO:301    OMITTED                                                      301thru                                                                thru303                                                                 303303A   INT. WINTER GARDEN - FALLOW - NIGHT                          303A       coming out of the wall of flashbulbs we saw at the       beginning. A vast crowd of black ties and evening       gowns surge toward him, cheering, applauding. A voice       rings out on a microphone...                               VOICE (V.O.)                 ... the winner of the Pulitzer                 Prize, the National Book Award and                 just about every other prize you                 can win, ladies and gentlemen, Mr.                 Peter Fallow!!)J(   BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES - Rev. 4/25/90                 138.304   ANGLE - PETER                                                 304      As he rises unsteadily to his feet the room goes wild      with applause. Peter waves and makes his way toward the      podium.                              PETER (V.O.)                But what does it profit a man if                he gains the whole world and loses                ... Ah, well. There are                compensations.      Peter reaches the podium and faces a standing ovation.      Cameras begin to flash. END CREDITS BEGIN.305   SERIES OF STILL SHOTS                                         305      BEGINNING WITH Peter at the podium and CONTINUING to      include SHOTS of everyone congratulating Peter -- Albert            *      Fox, Reverend Bacon, Abe Weiss, Gerald Moore, Fillippo      Chiarazzi, Kramer, etc. Finally the flashing cameras      fade and we...                                                 DISSOLVE TO:306   INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - HENRY LAMB - NIGHT                       306      lying in his bed.  Perfectly still. And then his nose      twitches. His hand  comes up and scratches his nose. His      eyes open. He sits  up, looks around, figures where he      is. He gets out of  bed, disconnects the I.V.307   EXT. HOSPITAL - HENRY LAMB                                    307      comes out of hospital, he smiles and walks away down      the street.                                                 FADE OUT.                                THE END
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+The Breakfast Club written and directed by John HughesBLANK SCREEN: Against Black, TITLE CARD: "...and these children that you spit on, as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of what they're going through... - David Bowie" The Blank Screen and Title Card SHATTER to reveal...1. EXT. SHERMER HIGH SCHOOL - DAY During Brian's monologue, we see various views of things inside the school including Bender's locker. BRIAN (VO) Saturday...March 24, 1984. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois. 60062. Dear Mr. Vernon...we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was that we did wrong, what we did was wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are, what do you care? You see us as you want to see us...in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athelete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at seven o'clock this morning. We were brainwashed... CUT TO:2. INT. CLAIRE'S CAR - DAY We see CLAIRE and her FATHER sitting in their car in the parking lot. Claire is the prom queen and is clearly a snob. CLAIRE I can't believe you can't get me out of this...I mean it's so absurd I have to be here on a Saturday! It's not like I'm a defective or anything... CLAIRE'S FATHER I'll make it up to you...Honey, ditching class to go shopping doesn't make you a defective. Have a good day. Claire rolls her eyes and gets out of the car and walks up the school front steps CUT TO:3. INT. BRIAN'S CAR - DAY We are in BRIAN's car. His MOTHER is there and so is his little SISTER. He is sort of a nerd. BRIAN'S MOTHER Is this the first time or the last time we do this? BRIAN (upset) Last... BRIAN'S MOTHER Well get in there and use the time to your advantage... BRIAN Mom, we're not supposed to study; we just have to sit there and do nothing. BRIAN'S MOTHER Well mister you figure out a way to study. BRIAN'S LITTLE SISTER (annoyingly) Yeah! BRIAN'S MOTHER Well go! Brian gets out of the car and walks towards the school. CUT TO:4. INT. ANDREW'S CAR - DAY We see ANDREW and his FATHER. Andrew is clearly a jock; he’s wearing a letterman’s jacket with lots of patches on it. ANDREW'S FATHER Hey, I screwed around...guys screw around, there's nothing wrong with that. Except you got caught, Sport. ANDREW Yeah, Mom already reemed me, alright? ANDREW'S FATHER (angry) You wanna miss a match? You wanna blow your ride? Now no school's gonna give a scholarship to a discipline case. Andrew gets out of the car and walks into the school. CUT TO:5. EXT. SHERMER PARKING LOT - DAY We see JOHN BENDER walking towards us. He is wearing sunglasses. A car is coming towards him but he doesn't stop walking. The car slams on its breaks directly in front of him. Bender gets out of the frame. Out of the car steps ALLISON. She is dressed all in black. She steps forward to look in the car's front window and the car drives away. CUT TO:6. INT. LIBRARY - DAY There are six tables in two rows of three. Claire is sitting at the front table. Brian comes in and sits at the table behind her. Andrew comes in and points at the chair next to Claire at the front table. She shrugs and he sits there. In walks Bender, he touches everything on the checkout desk and takes a few things in the process. He walks over to where Brian is sitting and points to the table on the opposite side of the Library. Brian reluctantly gets up and moves. Bender sits at the table where Brian was and puts his feet up. Allison walks in. She walks all the way around the library and sits in the back corner table, just behind Brian. Andrew and Claire look at each other and snicker. Brian looks at her in confusion and then turns away. Enter RICHARD VERNON, a teacher. He holds a stack of papers in his left hand. He addresses the group with such disrespect it makes you wonder how he ever got the job. VERNON Well...well. Here we are! I want to congradulate you for being on time... Claire raises her hand. CLAIRE Excuse me, sir? I think there's been a mistake. I know it's detention, but...um...I don't think I belong in here... Vernon doesn't care. He just continues to talk. VERNON It is now seven-oh-six. You have exactly eight hours and fifty-four minutes to think about why you're here. To ponder the error of your ways... Bender spits into the air and catches the spit in his mouth again. Claire looks like she is going to gag. VERNON ...and you may not talk. You will not move from these seats. He glances up at Bender and points at him. VERNON ...and you... Vernon pulls the chair out from under Bender's feet. VERNON ...will not sleep. Alright people, we're gonna try something a little different today. We are going to write an essay--of no less than a thousand words--describing to me who you think you are. BENDER Is this a test? Vernon passes out paper and pencils and takes no notice of Bender. VERNON And when I say essay...I mean essay. I do not mean a single word repeated a thousand times. Is that clear Mr. Bender? Bender looks up. BENDER Crystal... VERNON Good. Maybe you'll learn a little something about yourself. Maybe you'll even--decide whether or not you care to return. Brian raises his hand and then stands. BRIAN You know, I can answer that right now sir...That'd be "No", no for me. 'cause... VERNON Sit down Johnson... BRIAN Thank you sir... He sits. VERNON My office... Vernon points. VERNON ...is right across that hall. Any monkey business is ill-advised... He looks around at them. VERNON ...any questions? BENDER Yeah...I got a question. Vernon looks at him suspiciously. BENDER Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe? VERNON I'll give you the answer to that question, Mr. Bender, next Saturday. Don't mess with the bull young man, you'll get the horns. Vernon leaves. BENDER That man...is a brownie hound... Everyone tries to get comfortable and we hear a loud snapping sound. Brian turns and looks and it is Allison, biting her nails. Bender's eyes widen as he turns to look. Everyone is looking now. Allison notices them looking at her. BENDER You keep eating your hand and you're not gonna be hungry for lunch... Allison spits part of her nail at Bender. BENDER I've seen you before, you know... We see Vernon look out from his office. We see Brian playing with his pen. BRIAN (quietly to himself) Who do I think I am? Who are you? Who are you? He attaches the pen to his bottom lip and puts the top under his upper lip. BRIAN I am a walrus... Bender looks at him in utter confusion. Brian notices this, laughs and takes the pen out of his mouth-- embarrassed. Bender and Brian begin to take their jackets off at the same time. They both notice this. Brian stops removing his jacket. Bender takes his all the way off. Brian rubs his hands together and pretends to be cold. He pulls his jacket back on. He turns and looks at Bender who is still staring at him. BRIAN It's the shits, huh? Bender glares at him and Brian utters an uncomfortable laugh. Bender turns away and crumples up his essay paper. He throws it at Claire. It misses and goes over Claire's head. Andrew and Claire acknowlege it but continue to ignore Bender. Bender starts loudly "singing" the musical part of a song. “Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah...nah, nah, nah...” CLAIRE (to herself) I can't believe this is really happening to me... Bender stops "singing" abruptly. BENDER Oh, shit! What're we s'posed to do if we hafta take a piss? CLAIRE (disgusted) Please... BENDER If you gotta go... We hear Bender unzip his fly. BENDER You gotta go! Everyone is now looking at Bender. CLAIRE (disgusted) Oh my God! ANDREW Hey, yer not urinating in here man! BENDER Don't talk! Don't talk! It makes it crawl back up! ANDREW You whip it out and you're dead before the first drop hits the floor! Bender gasps mockingly. BENDER You're pretty sexy when you get angry...grrr! He turns to Brian. BENDER Hey, homeboy... Brian points at himself with his pen. BENDER ...why don't you go close that door. We'll get the prom queen-- impregnated! Claire turns and glares at him. ANDREW Hey! Bender ignores him. ANDREW Hey! BENDER What? ANDREW If I lose my temper, you're totalled man! BENDER Totally? ANDREW Totally! CLAIRE (to Bender) Why don't you just shut up! Nobody here is interested! ANDREW Really! (to Claire about Bender) Buttface! BENDER Well hey Sporto! What'd you do to get in here? Forget to wash your jock? BRIAN (nervous) Uh, excuse me, fellas? I think we should just write our papers... ANDREW (to Bender) Look, just because you live in here doesn't give you the right to be a pain in the ass...so knock it off! Bender mockingly registers pain in his face. BENDER It's a free country... CLAIRE (to Andrew) He's just doing it to get a rise out of you! Just ignore him... BENDER (to Claire) Sweets...you couldn't ignore me if you tried! Claire rolls her eyes. BENDER So...so! (to Andrew and Claire) Are you guys like boyfriend/girl- friend? (a beat) Steady dates? (another beat) Lo--vers? (another beat) Come on Sporto, level with me. Do you slip her the hot...beef... injection? Claire and Andrew turn to face Bender, both furious. CLAIRE (screams) Go to hell! ANDREW (screams) Enough! CUT TO:7. INT. VERNON'S OFFICE - DAY We see Vernon in his office. VERNON (yells) Hey! What's going on in there? (to himself) Smug little pricks! CUT TO:8. INT. LIBRARY - DAY They all look at each other. Andrew turns away from Bender. ANDREW (to himself) Scumbag! Bender stands up and walks over to the railing. He sits on it. BENDER What do you say we close that door. We can't have any kind of party with Vernon checking us out every few seconds. BRIAN Well, you know the door's s'posed to stay open... BENDER So what? ANDREW So why don't you just shut up! There's four other people in here you know... BENDER God, you can count. See! I knew you had to be smart to be a...a wrestler. ANDREW Who the hell are you to judge anybody anyway? CLAIRE Really... ANDREW You know, Bender...you don't even count. I mean if you disappeared forever it wouldn't make any difference. You may as well not even exist at this school. Bender probably is upset at this and he pauses a moment before speaking. He doesn't let his emotions out, however. BENDER Well...I'll just run right out and join the wrestling team. Andrew and Claire look at each other and laugh at Bender. BENDER (to Claire) Maybe the prep club too! Student council... ANDREW No, they wouldn't take you. BENDER I'm hurt. CLAIRE You know why guys like you knock everything... BENDER (to himself) Oh, this should be stunning... CLAIRE It's 'cause you're afraid. BENDER (with mock enthusiasm) Oh, God! You ritchies are so smart, that's exactly why I'm not heavy in activities! CLAIRE You're a big coward! Brian feels left out. BRIAN (to no one imparticular) I'm in the math club... CLAIRE See you're afraid that they won't take you. You don't belong so you just have to dump all over it... BENDER Well...it wouldn't have anything to do with you activities people being assholes...now would it? CLAIRE Well you wouldn't know...You don't even know any of us. BENDER Well, I don't know any lepers either, but I'm not gonna run out and join one of their fucking clubs. ANDREW Hey let's watch the mouth, huh? Brian again feels he needs to contribute. BRIAN I'm in the physics club too... BENDER (to Claire) S'cuse me a sec... (to Brian) What are you babbling about? BRIAN Well, what I said was...I'm in the math club, the Latin club and the physics club...physics club. Bender nods and turns to Claire. BENDER Hey...Cherry...do you belong to the physics club? CLAIRE That's an academic club... BENDER So? CLAIRE So...academic clubs aren't the same as other kinds of clubs. BENDER Oh, but to dorks like him... Bender points at Brian. BENDER ...they are. (to Brian) What do you guys do in your club? BRIAN In physics, um, we ah, we talk about physics...about properties of physics. BENDER So it's sorta social...demented and sad, but social. Right? BRIAN Yeah, well, I guess you could consider it a social situation. I mean there are other children in my club and uh, at the end of the year we have, um, you know, a big banquet, at the, uh, at the Hilton. BENDER You load up, you party... BRIAN Well, no, we get dressed up...I mean, but, we don't...we don't get high. CLAIRE (to Bender) Only burners like you get high... BRIAN And, uh, I didn't have any shoes. So I had to borrow my dad's. It was kinda weird 'cause my mom doesn't like me to wear other people's shoes. And, uh, my cousin Kent...my cousin Kendall from, uh, Indiana... He got high once and you know, he started eating like really weird foods. And uh, and then he just felt like he didn't belong anywhere. You know, kinda like, you know "Twilight Zone" kinda. CLAIRE (laughs) (to Bender) Sounds like you... ANDREW Look, you guys keep up your talking and Vernon's gonna come right in here...I got a meet this Saturday and I'm not gonna miss it on account of you boneheads... BENDER (to Andrew) Oh and wouldn't that be a bite... Bender lets out a moan of fake agony. BENDER Missing a whole wrestling meet! ANDREW Well you wouldn't know anything about it, faggot! You never competed in your whole life! BENDER (with mock hurt) Oh, I know...I feel all empty inside because of it. I have such a deep admiration for guys that roll around on the floor with other guys! ANDREW Ahhh...you'd never miss it. You don't have any goals. BENDER Oh, but I do! ANDREW Yeah? BENDER I wanna be just--like--you! I figure all I need's a labotamy and some tights! Brian becomes interested. BRIAN You wear tights? ANDREW (to Brian) No I don't wear tights, I wear the required uniform... BRIAN Tights... ANDREW (defensive) Shut up! They hear Vernon moving around out in the hall so Bender quickly comes and sits in the chair between Claire and Andrew. He folds his hands on the table. Vernon goes back into his office. Bender laughs and gets up. He starts walking towards the double doors that separate the library from the hallway. BRIAN You know there's not s'posed to be any monkey business! Bender turns and points at Brian. BENDER (in a stern voice) Young man...have you finished your paper? Bender turns back away and goes to the door. He looks around cautiously and removes a screw from the door. CLAIRE What are you gonna do? ANDREW Drop dead, I hope! CUT TO:9. INT. HALLWAY - DAY We see Vernon getting a drink at the fountain. He stands up and checks the way he looks in a mirror. He does a muscular pose and utters some manly jibberish “Cobadonga!” CUT TO:10. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Brian looks up. Bender is messing with the door to the library. BRIAN Bender, that's, that's school property there...you know, it doesn't belong to us. It's something not to be toyed with. The door slams shut. Bender runs back to his seat. ANDREW That's very funny, come on, fix it! BRIAN You should really fix that! BENDER Am I a genius? ANDREW No, you're an asshole! BENDER What a funny guy! ANDREW Fix the door Bender! BENDER Everyone just shhh! CUT TO:11. INT. HALLWAY - DAY We see Vernon walking back to his office. He stops and listens to them through the closed door. BENDER (OS) I've been here before, I know what I'm doing! ANDREW (OS) No! Fix the door, get up there and fix it! BENDER (OS) (screams) Shut up! CUT TO:12. INT. LIBRARY - DAY We see Brian as we hear Vernon in the hall. VERNON (OS) God damnit! He opens the door and storms in. VERNON Why is that door closed? For a few seconds no one says anything, they just stare at Vernon. VERNON Why is that door closed? BENDER How're we s'posed to know? We're not s'posed to move, right? Vernon turns to Claire. VERNON Why? CLAIRE We were just sitting here, like we were s'posed to... Vernon looks around and looks at Bender. VERNON Who closed that door? BENDER I think a screw fell out of it... ANDREW It just closed, sir... Vernon looks at Allison in the back. VERNON Who? Allison lets out a squeak and slams her face onto the table, hiding in her jacket hood. BENDER She doesn't talk, sir... VERNON (to Bender) Give me that screw... BENDER I don't have it... VERNON You want me to yank you outta that seat and shake it out of you? BENDER I don't have it...screws fall out all of the time, the world's an imperfect place... VERNON Give it to me, Bender... CLAIRE Excuse me, sir, why would anybody want to steal a screw? VERNON (to Claire) Watch it, young lady... Vernon goes over to the door. He tries to hold it open by putting a folding chair in front of it. BENDER The door's way too heavy, sir. The door slams shut despite the chair. VERNON (OS) God damnit! They laugh. Vernon opens the door again. He comes back in. VERNON (pointing) Andrew Clark...get up here. Come on, front and center, let's go. Andrew gets up and walks over to Vernon. BENDER Hey, how come Andrew gets to get up? If he gets up, we'll all get up, it'll be anarchy! Vernon and Andrew are now attempting to move the steel magazine rack in front of the door. VERNON Okay, now, watch the magazines! BENDER It's out of my hands... They get it into the doorway and it blocks the entire door. BENDER That's very clever sir, but what if there's a fire? I think violating fire codes and endangering the lives of children would be unwise at this juncture in your career, sir. Vernon thinks about it. He turns to Andrew. VERNON Alright, what are you doing with this? Get this outta here for God's sake! What's the matter with you? Come on! BRIAN You know the school comes equipped with fire exits at either end of the library. Brian points at them and Bender glares at him. BENDER (to Brian) Show Dick some respect! Andrew and Vernon come back into the main section of the library. VERNON (to Andrew) Let's go...go! Get back into your seat. Andrew sits. VERNON (to Andrew) I expected a little more from a varsity letterman! (to Bender) You're not fooling anybody, Bender! The next screw that falls out is gonna be you! Vernon turns to leave. BENDER (under his breath) Eat my shorts... Vernon spins in his tracks and faces Bender again. VERNON What was that? BENDER (loudly) Eat my shorts! VERNON You just bought yourself another Saturday, mister! BENDER Oh, Christ... VERNON You just bought one more right there! BENDER Well, I'm free the Saturday after that...beyond that, I'm gonna have to check my calendar! VERNON Good! 'Cause it's gonna be filled, we'll keep goin'! You want another one? Say the word, just say the word! Instead of going to prison, you'll come here! Are you through. BENDER No! VERNON I'm doing society a favor! BENDER So? VERNON That's another one, right now! I've got you for the rest of your natural born life if you don't watch your step! You want another one? BENDER Yes! VERNON You got it! You got another one, right there! That's another one pal! CLAIRE (worried) Cut it out! Claire mouths the word "Stop" to Bender. VERNON You through? BENDER Not even close, bud! VERNON Good! You got one more, right there! BENDER Do you really think I give a shit? VERNON Another... Bender glares at him. VERNON You through? BENDER How many is that? BRIAN That's seven including the one when we first came in and you asked Mr. Vernon here whether Barry Manilow knew that he raided his closet. VERNON (to Bender) Now it's eight... (to Brian) You stay out of it! BRIAN Excuse me, sir, it's seven! VERNON Shut up, Peewee! (to Bender) You're mine Bender...for two months I gotcha! I gotcha! BENDER What can I say? I'm thrilled! VERNON Oh, I'm sure that's exactly what you want these people to believe. You know something, Bender? You ought to spend a little more time trying to do something with yourself and a little less time trying to impress people. You might be better off. (to everyone) Alright, that's it! I'm going to be right outside those doors. The next time I hafta come in here...I'm cracking skulls! (Bender mouths “I’m cracking skulls”) Vernon leaves and closes the door. A musical riff builds to a climax as Bender screams. BENDER (screams) Fuck you! We see the clock, it reads a quarter to eight. We see Bender, lighting his shoe on fire and lighting a cigarette with his shoe. We see Claire thinking. We see Brian playing with his balls. We see Andrew playing with his sweatshirt. We see Allison pulling a string around her finger and making it turn purple. We see Bender put the flames on his shoe out. He then plays air guitar. We see Allison drawing. We see Andrew playing paper football. He cheers silently. Allison shakes dandruff from her hair onto her picture. We see everyone fall asleep. CUT TO:13. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Later. Vernon is standing there staring at the sleeping kids. VERNON Wake up! Who has to go to the lavatory? Everyone raises their hands. CUT TO:14. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Later. We see the clock, it now says 10:22. We see Andrew stretching. We see Bender tearing pages out of a book. He is tossing them around. ANDREW That's real intelligent. BENDER You're right...it's wrong to destroy literature... He continues to tear pages out. BENDER It's such fun to read...and, Molet really pumps my nads! CLAIRE (pronouncing it correctly) Mol-yare. BRIAN I love his work. Bender tosses the rest of the pages at Brian. He picks up the card catalogue drawer and begins to take cards out. BENDER Big deal...nothing to do when you're locked in a vacancy.. ANDREW Speak for yourself... BENDER Do you think I'd speak for you? I don't even know your language! Andrew turns to Claire. ANDREW Hey, you grounded tonight? Claire shrugs. CLAIRE I don't know, my mom said I was but by dad told me to just blow her off. ANDREW Big party at Stubbies, parents are in Europe. Should be pretty wild... CLAIRE Yeah? ANDREW Yeah, can you go? CLAIRE I doubt it... ANDREW How come? CLAIRE Well 'cause if I do what my mother tells me not to do, it's because because my father says it's okay. There's like this whole big monster deal, it's endless and it's a total drag. It's like any minute... divorce... BENDER Who do you like better? CLAIRE What? BENDER You like your old man better than your mom? CLAIRE They're both strict. BENDER No, I mean, if you had to choose between them. CLAIRE I dunno, I'd probably go live with my brother. I mean, I don't think either one of them gives a shit about me...it's like they use me just to get back at each other. Suddenly, from the back of the room. Allison speaks. ALLISON (loudly) Ha!!! Everyone looks at her shocked. Allison blows her hair out of her eyes and grins. CLAIRE Shut up! ANDREW You're just feeling sorry for yourself... CLAIRE Yeah, well if I didn't nobody else would. ANDREW Aw...you're breaking my heart... BENDER Sporto... ANDREW What? Bender jumps down and goes next to Andrew. BENDER You get along with your parents? ANDREW Well if I say yes, I'm an idiot, right? BENDER You're an idiot anyway...But if you say you get along with your parents well you're a liar too! Bender turns and walks away from him. Andrew follows and pushes Bender. ANDREW You know something, man...If we weren't in school right now, I'd waste you! Bender points his middle finger at the floor. BENDER Can you hear this? Want me to turn it up? Bender flips his hand around so he is now giving Andrew the bird. Brian comes over and puts a hand on each of the guy's shoulders. BRIAN Hey fellas, I mean... Andrew pushes away from Brian. BRIAN ...I don't like my parents either, I don't...I don't get along with them...their idea of parental compassion is just, you know, wacko! Bender turns to Brian. BENDER Dork... BRIAN Yeah? BENDER You are a parent's wet dream, okay? Bender starts to walk away. BRIAN Well that's a problem! BENDER Look, I can see you getting all bunged up for them making you wear these kinda clothes. But face it, you're a Neo-Maxi-Zoom-Dweebie! What would you be doing if you weren't out making yourself a better citizen? ANDREW Why do you have to insult everybody? BENDER I'm being honest, asshole! I would expect you...to know the difference! ANDREW Yeah well, he's gotta name! BENDER Yeah? ANDREW Yeah, (to Brian) What's your name? BRIAN Brian... ANDREW See... BENDER (to Brian) My condolences... Bender walks away. CLAIRE (to Bender) What's your name? BENDER What's yours? CLAIRE Claire... BENDER Ka-Laire? CLAIRE Claire...it's a family name! BENDER Nooo...It's a fat girl's name! CLAIRE Well thank you... BENDER You're welcome... CLAIRE I'm not fat! BENDER Well not at present but I could see you really pushing maximum density! You see, I'm not sure if you know this...but there are two kinds of fat people. There's fat people that were born to be fat, and then there's fat people that were once thin but they became fat...so when you look at them you can sorta see that thin person inside! You see, you're gonna get married, you're gonna squeeze out a few puppies and then, uh... He mimes becoming fat, making noises. Claire gives him the finger. BENDER Oh...obscene finger gestures from such a pristine girl! CLAIRE (resentfully) I'm not that pristine! Bender bends down closer to Claire. BENDER Are you a virgin? (a beat) I'll bet you a million dollars that you are! Let's end the suspense! Is it gonna be... (another beat) ...a white weddin? CLAIRE Why don't you just shut up? BENDER Have you ever kissed a boy on the mouth? (a beat) Have you ever been felt up? Over the bra, under the blouse, shoes off...hoping to God your parents don't walk in? Claire is getting upset. CLAIRE Do you want me to puke? BENDER Over the panties, no bra, blouse unbuttoned, Calvin's in a ball on the front seat past eleven on a school night? ANDREW Leave her alone! Bender slowly stands and faces Andrew. ANDREW I said leave her alone! BENDER You gonna make me? ANDREW Yeah... Bender walks over to where Andrew is standing. BENDER You and how many of your friends? ANDREW Just me, just you and me. Two hits. Me hitting you, you hitting the floor! Anytime you're ready, pal! Bender goes to hit him but Andrew gets Bender down on the ground with a wrestling move. BENDER I don't wanna get into to this with you man... Andrew gets up. ANDREW Why not? Bender gets up. BENDER 'Cause I'd kill you...It's real simple. I'd kill you and your fucking parents would sue me and it would be a big mess and I don't care enough about you to bother. ANDREW Chicken shit... Andrew turns and walks away. Bender takes out a switchblade and opens it. He stabs the switchblade into a chair. ANDREW Let's end this right now. You don't talk to her...you don't look at her and you don't even think about her! You understand me? BENDER I'm trying to help her!. We see the janitor, CARL come into the room. CARL Brian, how you doing? BENDER Your dad works here? Brian is embarrassed. BENDER Uh, Carl? CARL What? BENDER Can I ask you a question? CARL Sure... BENDER How does one become a janitor? CARL You wanna be a janitor? BENDER No I just wanna know how one becomes a janitor because Andrew here, is very interested in persuing a career in the custodial arts... CARL Oh, really? You guys think I'm just some untouchable peasant? Peon? Huh? Maybe so, but following a broom around after shitheads like you for the past eight years I've learned a couple of things...I look through your letters, I look through your lockers...I listen to your conversations, you don't know that but I do...I am the eyes and ears of this institution my friends. By the way, that clock's twenty minutes fast! Everyone groans. Bender smiles. ANDREW Shit! CUT TO:15. INT. VERNON'S OFFICE - DAY The clock says 11:30. Vernon gets up and leaves. CUT TO:16. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Bender starts to whistle a marching tune and everybody joins in. Vernon enters. Bender begins to whistle Beethoven's 5th. VERNON Allright girls, that's thirty minutes for lunch... ANDREW Here? VERNON Here... ANDREW Well I think the cafeteria would be a more suitable place for us to eat lunch in, sir! VERNON Well, I don't care what you think, Andrew! BENDER Uh, Dick? Excuse me, Rich...will milk be made available to us? ANDREW We're extremely thirsty sir... CLAIRE I have a very low tolerance for dehydration. ANDREW I've seen her dehydrate sir, it's pretty gross. Bender stands. BENDER Relax, I'll get it! VERNON Ah, ah, ah grab some wood there, bub! Bender grins. VERNON What do you think, I was born yesterday? You think I'm gonna have you roaming these halls? He points at Andrew. VERNON You! He points at Allison. VERNON And you! Hey! What's her name? Wake her! Wake her up! (to Allison) Come on, on your feet missy! Let's go! This is no rest home! Allison gets up. VERNON There's a soft drink machine in the teacher's lounge. Lets go! CUT TO:16. INT. HALLWAY - DAY Andrew and Allison are walking in the hall. ANDREW So, what's your poison? Allison doesn't answer. ANDREW What do you drink? Allison still doesn't answer. ANDREW Okay...forget I asked... Allison waits for two beats and then speaks. ALLISON Vodka... ANDREW Vodka? When do you drink vodka? ALLISON Whenever... ANDREW A lot? Allison smiles. ALLISON Tons... ANDREW Is that why you're here today? Allison doesn't answer. ANDREW Why are you here? Allison snaps back. ALLISON Why are you here? They stop walking and Andrew leans against the wall. ANDREW Um, I'm here today...because uh, because my coach and my father don't want me to blow my ride. See I get treated differently because uh, Coach thinks I'm a winner. So does my old man. I'm not a winner because I wanna be one... I'm a winner because I got strength and speed. Kinda like a race horse. That's about how involved I am in what's happening to me. ALLISON Yeah? That's very interesting. Now why don't you tell me why you're really in here. ANDREW Forget it! CUT TO:17. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Claire and Bender and Brian are all sitting around waiting for the Cokes. BENDER Claire...you wanna see a picture of a guy with elephantitus of the nuts? It's pretty tasty... CLAIRE No thank you... BENDER How do you think he rides a bike? Claire rolls her eyes and turns away in disgust. BENDER Oh, Claire...would you ever consider dating a guy like this? CLAIRE Can't you just leave me alone? BENDER I mean if he had a great personality and was a good dancer and had a cool car...Although you'd probably have to ride in the back seat 'cause his nuts would ride shotgun. CLAIRE You know what I wish I was doing? BENDER Op, watch what you say, Brian here is a cherry. BRIAN A cherry? CLAIRE I wish I was on a plane to France. BRIAN I'm not a cherry. BENDER (to Brian) When have you ever gotten laid? BRIAN I've laid, lotsa times! BENDER Name one! BRIAN She lives in Canada, met her at Niagra Falls. You wouldn't know her. BENDER Ever laid anyone around here. Brian shushes Bender and points at Claire whos back is still turned. BRIAN Oh, you and Claire, did it! Claire spins around. CLAIRE What are you talking about? BRIAN (to Claire) Nothin', nothin! (to Bender) Let's just drop it, we'll talk about it later! CLAIRE No! Drop what, what're you talking about? BENDER Well, Brian's trying to tell me that in addition to the number of girls in the Niagra Falls area, that presently you and he are, riding the hobby horse! CLAIRE (to Brian) Little pig! BRIAN No I'm not! I'm not! John said I was a cherry and I said I wasn't, that's it, that's all that was said! BENDER Well then what were you motioning to Claire for? CLAIRE You know I don't appreciate this very much, Brian. BRIAN He is lying! BENDER Oh you weren't motioning to Claire? BRIAN You know he's lying, right? BENDER Were you or were you not motioning to Claire? BRIAN Yeah, but it was only...was only because I didn't want her to know that I was a virgin, okay? Bender just stares at him. BRIAN Excuse me for being a virgin, I'm sorry... Claire laughs. CLAIRE Why didn't you want me to know you were a virgin? BRIAN Because it's personal business, it's my personal, private business. BENDER Well Brian, it doesn't sound like you're doing any business... CLAIRE I think it's okay for a guy to be a virgin... Bender looks suprised. BRIAN You do? Claire smiles and nods. CUT TO:18. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Later. Everybody has lunches now. Claire begins to take hers out of a small shopping bag. BENDER What's in there? CLAIRE Guess, where's your lunch? BENDER You're wearing it... CLAIRE You're nauseating... Bender grabs a Coke and tosses it over to Allison who catches it without even looking up. Bender then watches Claire set up a sushi platter. BENDER What's that? CLAIRE Sushi... BENDER Sushi? CLAIRE Rice, uh, raw fish and seaweed. BENDER You won't accept a guys tongue in your mouth and you're gonna eat that? CLAIRE Can I eat? BENDER I don't know...give it a try... We now watch Andrew take a couple sandwiches out of his bag, a bag of potato chips, an apple, a banana, a bag of cookies and a carton of milk. Allison opens her Coke and it fizzes over. She loudly slurps it up off the table and her fingers. Andrew sees Bender looking at him. ANDREW What's your problem? Allison opens her sandwich and and tosses the meat up. It lands on the sculpture above. She opens some pixie stix and pours the sugar on the sandwich and then puts Cap'n Crunch on top of that. She crushes the sandwich together and loudly eats it. Bender goes over and sits by Brian, Bender takes Brian's bag lunch. BENDER What're we having? BRIAN Uh, it's your standard, regular lunch I guess... Bender reaches in the bag and pulls out a thermos. He sets it on the table and points at it. BENDER Milk? BRIAN Soup. Bender goes in again and pulls out a juice box. Brian reaches toward the bag and Bender slaps his hand. BRIAN That's apple juice... BENDER I can read! PB & J with the crusts cut off...Well Brian, this is a very nutritous lunch, all the food groups are represented. Did your mom marry Mr. Rogers? BRIAN Uh, no, Mr. Johnson... BENDER Ahhh.... Andrew and Claire smile at each other. Bender stands. BENDER Here's my impression of life at big Bri's house... (in a loud and friendly voice) Son! (in a kiddie voice) Yeah Dad? (loud) How's your day, pal? (kiddie) Great Dad, how's yours? (loud) Super, say son, how'd you like to go fishing this weekend? (kiddie) Great Dad, but I've got homework to do! (loud) That's alright son, you can do it, on the boat! (kiddie) Geee!!! (loud) Dear, isn't our son swell? (quiet and motherly) Yes Dear, isn't life swell? Bender mimes mother kissing father and then father kissing mother and then father punching mother in the face. Suddenly it's not so funny anymore. ANDREW Alright, what about your family? BENDER Oh, mine? ANDREW That's real easy! Bender stands again and points forward. BENDER (as his father) Stupid, worthless, no good, God damned, freeloading, son of a bitch, retarded, bigmouth, know it all, asshole, jerk! (as his mother) You forgot ugly, lazy and disrespectful. Bender slams his hand back to slap his invisable mother. BENDER (as his father) Shut up bitch! Go fix me a turkey pot pie! (as himself) What about you Dad? (as his father) Fuck you! (as himself) No, Dad, what about you? (as his father) Fuck you! (as himself--yelling) No, Dad, what about you? (as his father--yelling) Fuck you! He reaches out and pretend he's his father hitting him. BRIAN Is that for real? BENDER (to Brian) You wanna come over sometime? ANDREW That's bullshit. It's all part of your image, I don't believe a word of it. Bender actually looks hurt. BENDER You don't believe me? ANDREW No... BENDER No? ANDREW Did I stutter? Bender comes over to Andrew and rolls up his right sleeve to reveal a circular shaped burn. BENDER Do you believe this? Huh? It's about the size of a cigar...Do I stutter? You see, this is what you get in my house when you spill paint in the garage. Bender begins to walk away. BENDER See I don't think that I need to sit here with you fuckin' dildos anymore! Bender walks over to a map table and throws all the maps on the floor. He climbs up on top of the table and then up to the second floor balcony. CLAIRE (to Andrew) You shouldn't have said that! ANDREW How would I know, I mean he lies about everything anyway! CUT TO:19. INT. VERNON'S OFFICE - DAY Vernon puts an orange in his mouth and then attempts to pour coffee out of his thermos. The top comes off and the coffee goes all over his desk. VERNON Oh, shit! CUT TO:20. INT. HALLWAY - DAY Vernon walks into the hallway, talking to himself. VERNON Coffee...looks like they scrape it off the bottom of the Mississippi river. Everything's polluted, everything's polluted...the coffee. Bender comes out of the library doors followed bye veryone else. Bender and Claire are walking next to each other. Brian and Andrew are walking next to each other and at the end of the line, Allison is following. CLAIRE (to Bender) How do you know where Vernon went? BENDER I don't... CLAIRE Well then, how do you know when he'll be back? BENDER I don't...being bad feels pretty good, huh? BRIAN (to Andrew) What's the point in going to Bender's locker? ANDREW Beats me... BRIAN This is so stupid...Why do you think, why are we risking getting caught? ANDREW I dunno... BRIAN So then what are we doing? ANDREW You ask me one more question and I'm beating the shit out of you! BRIAN Sorry... Bender opens his locker. ANDREW Slob! BENDER My maid's on vacation. Bender pulls out a bag of marijuana. BRIAN Drugs... ANDREW Screw that Bender...put it back! Bender walks away. BRIAN Drugs...the boy had marijuana. Claire walks after Bender. BRIAN That was marijuana! ANDREW Shut up! Andrew follows the other two. Brian looks at Allison who is standing there with her mouth open. BRIAN Do you approve of this? Brian turns and leaves. Allison steals the lock off of Bender's locker. We see the crowd walking down the hall. BENDER We'll cross through the lab, and then we'll double back. ANDREW You better be right, if Vernon cuts us off it's your fault, asshole! BRIAN (to Claire) What'd he say? Where're we going? They see Vernon down one of the halls. We have various sequences of them running around and seeing Vernon until they stop. BENDER Wait! Wait, hold it! Hold it! We have to go through the cafeteria! ANDREW No, the activities hall. BENDER Hey man, you don't know what you're talking about! ANDREW No you don't know what you're talking about! Allison squeaks. ANDREW Now we're through listening to you, we're going this way. They all go Andrew's way and run into a hall closed by an iron gate. ANDREW Shit! BENDER Great idea Jagoff! ANDREW Fuck you! CLAIRE (to Andrew) Fuck you! Why didn't you listen to John? BRIAN We're dead! BENDER No, just me! BRIAN What do you mean? BENDER Get back to the library, keep your unit on this! Bender puts his bag of marijuana into Brian's underwear. Bender runs away singing loudly. “I wanna be an airborne ranger...” We see Vernon hear Bender. The rest of them run. VERNON That son of a bitch! We see Vernon looking for Bender until he finds him in the gym. Bender is going up for a basket. BENDER Three...two...one! He dunks the ball. Vernon enters. VERNON Bender! Bender! Bender! What is this? What are you doing here, what is this? BENDER Oh, hi! VERNON Out! That's it Bender! Out, it's over! BENDER Don't you wanna hear my excuse? VERNON Out! BENDER I'm thinking of trying out for a scholarship. VERNON Gimmie the ball, Bender. Bender fakes the ball at Vernon. He then sets the ball down and rolls it at Vernon who kicks it back at him. They leave. CUT TO:21. INT. LIBRARY - DAY The rest of the kids are all sitting back in their seats when Bender and Vernon enter. Vernon pushes Bender. VERNON Get your stuff, let's go! (to everyone) Mr. Wiseguy here has taken it upon himself to go to the gymnasium. I'm sorry to inform you, you're going to be without his services for the rest of the day. BENDER (to Vernon) B-O-O H-O-O! VERNON Everything's a big joke, huh Bender? The false alarm you pulled, Friday, false alarms are really funny, aren't they...What if your home, what if your family... (a beat) ...what if your dope was on fire? BENDER Impossible, sir...It's in Johnson's underwear... Andrew laughs. VERNON (to Andrew) You think he's funny? You think this is cute? You think he's bitchin', is that it? Lemme tell you something. Look at him, he's a bum. (to everybody) You wanna see something funny? You go visit John Bender in five years! You'll see how God damned funny he is! (to Bender) What's the matter, John? You gonna cry? Let's go... Vernon grabs Bender's shoulder. BENDER Hey keep your fuckin' hands off me! I expect better manners from you, Dick! Bender takes his sunglasses out of his pocket and lays them in front of Andrew. BENDER For better hallway vision! Bender leaves but not before pushing stuff over on the way. CUT TO:21. INT. CLOSET - DAY Vernon has put Bender in a closet and is in there talking to him. VERNON That's the last time, Bender. That's the last time you ever make me look bad in front of those kids, do you hear me? I make $31,000 dollars a year and I have a home and I'm not about to throw it away on some punk like you...But someday, man, someday. When you're outta here and you've forgotten all about this place... And they've forgotten all about you and you're wrapped up in your own pathetic life...I'm gonna be there. That's right. And I'm gonna kick the living shit out of you, man, I'm gonna knock your dick in the dirt! BENDER Are you threatening me? VERNON What're you gonna do about it? You think anybody's gonna believe you? You think anybody's gonna take your word over mine? I'm a man of respect around here. They love me around here, I'm a swell guy...you're a lying sack of shit! And everybody knows it. Oh, you're a real tough guy...come on, come on...get on your feet, pal! Let's find out how tough you are! I wanna know right now, how tough you are! Come on! I'll give you the first punch, let's go! Come on, right here, just take the first shot! Please, I'm begging you, take a shot! Come on, just take one shot, that's all I need, just one swing... Bender just sits there staring at Vernon. Vernon fakes a punch and Bender flinches. VERNON That's what I though...you're a gutless turd! Vernon leaves and locks the closet door after him. Bender climbs into a hatch in the ceiling and disappears. CUT TO:22. INT. HEATING DUCT - DAY Bender is slowly crawling through a heating duct. BENDER (to himself) A naked blond walks into a bar, with a poodle under one arm and a two foot salami under the other. She lays the poodle on the table. Bar- tender says: "I suppose you won't be needing a drink." The naked lady says... The ceiling under Bender gives and he falls through. BENDER (screaming) Oh shit!!!! CUT TO:23. INT. FACILTY BATHROOM - DAY We see the door to the bathroom. We hear Vernon inside. VERNON (OS) Jesus Christ, allmighty! CUT TO24. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Bender walks down the stairs. BENDER I forgot my pencil... We hear Vernon in the hall. VERNON (OS) God damnit! What in God's name is going on in here? Vernon enters. VERNON What was that ruckus? ANDREW Uh, what ruckus? VERNON I was just in my office and I heard a ruckus! BRIAN Could you describe the ruckus, sir? VERNON Watch your tongue young man, watch it! We see Bender under the table by Claire's legs. He sits up and bangs his head on the table. He groans. Above the table, Andrew and Claire try to take credit for the noise by making more noise. VERNON What is that? What, what is that, what is that noise? Under the table, Bender looks between Claire's legs and can see her panties. He puts his head between Claire's legs. ANDREW What noise? CLAIRE Really, sir, there wasn't any noise... Claire squeels. She squeezes Bender's head between her knees. Everyone starts faking a coughing fit. CLAIRE (flustered) That noise? Was that the noise you were talking about? VERNON No, it wasn't. That was not the noise I was talking about. Now, I may not have caught you in the act this time, but you can bet I will. Allison laughs at Vernon. VERNON You make book on that missy! (to Claire) And you! I will not be made a fool of! He turns and walks away. We see that he still has the toilet seat cover stuck to his pants. Vernon leaves. Everyone laughs except Claire who lets Bender out to a barage of slaps. BENDER It was an accident! CLAIRE You're an asshole! BENDER So sue me... Bender gets up and walks over to Brian. BENDER So, Ahab...Kybo Mein Doobage... Brian gives Bender his bag of marajuana. Bender turns and walks away. ANDREW Yo waistoid...you're not gonna blaze up in here! Claire gets up and goes after him. Then Brian. ANDREW Shit... Andrew goes. CUT TO:25. INT. STAIRS - DAY We see Vernon go down the stairs. CUT TO:26. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Brian, Bender and Claire are sitting in a circle and laughing hysterically. Bender lights Claire up and she coughs the smoke out. Brian laughs at her. He exhales and tries to eat the smoke. He talks in a really weird voice. BRIAN Chicks, cannot hold der smoke! That's what it is! CLAIRE Do you know how popular I am? I'm so popular, everybody loves me so much, at this school... BENDER Poor baby. Brian waves Claire over to him and he falls over. We see Andrew emerge from a really smokey room. He inhales another puff and then starts dancing to everybody's applause. He goes back in the room he was in. He screams and it shatters the glass in the door. CUT TO:27. INT. BASEMENT - DAY Vernon is glancing through the confidential files inthe school basement. VERNON (to himself) Mister, oh mister Tearney...a history of slight mental illness? Wooh, no wonder he's so fucked up! Carl enters. CARL Afternoon, Dick... VERNON Hey Carl, how you doin'? CARL Good... VERNON Good, what's up? CARL Not much, what's happening, what are you doing in the basement files? VERNON Oh, nothin' nothin' here. I'm just doin' a little homework here... CARL Homework, huh? VERNON Yeah... Carl, laughing, comes over and looks at the files that Vernon was looking at. CARL Confidential files...hmmm? VERNON Look, Carl...this is a highly sensitive area and I, I tell you something...certain people would be very very embarrassed. I would really appreciate it if if if if this would be something that, that you and I could keep between us... CARL What're you gonna do for me, man? VERNON Well, well what would you like? CARL Got fifty bucks? VERNON What? CARL Fifty bucks... CUT TO:28. INT. LIBRARY - DAY We see Andrew and Brian laughing. Allison is hanging out over by the statue in the back of the library. ANDREW No no man, no; you got a middle name? BRIAN Yeah, guess... Allison suddenly takes interest in the conversation and as she speaks, she moves over and sits next to the two. ALLISON Your middle name is Ralph, as in puke... Brian and Andrew look at her in confusion. ALLISON ...your birthday is March 12th, you're five-nine and a half you weigh a hundred and thirty pounds and your social security number is 0-4-9-3-8-0-9-1 (a beat) 3. Andrew is impressed. ANDREW Wow! Are you psychic? ALLISON No... BRIAN Well would you mind telling me how you know all this about me? Allison reaches in her bag. ALLISON I stole your wallet... She produces it in her hands and grins. BRIAN Give it to me... ALLISON No... BRIAN Give it! Allison reluctantly hands over the wallet and Brian glances through it to make sure nothing is missing. BRIAN This is great...you're a thief too! Huh? ALLISON I'm not a thief! BRIAN Multi-talented! ALLISON What's there to steal? Two bucks and a beaver shot! ANDREW A what? ALLISON He's got a nudie picture in there! I saw it, it's perverted! ANDREW Alright, let's see it! We see Bender, he is brushing his teeth with one of Claire's cosmetic brushes. We see Claire looking through Bender's wallet pictures. CLAIRE Are all these your girlfriends? BENDER Some of them... CLAIRE What about the others? BENDER Well, some I consider my girlfriends and some...I just consider... CLAIRE Consider what? BENDER Whether or not, I wanna hang out with them... CLAIRE You don't believe in just one guy, one girl? BENDER Do you? CLAIRE Yeah...that's the way it should be. BENDER Well, not for me... CLAIRE Why not? Bender clearly doesn't want to answer that. He acts defensive. BENDER How come you got so much shit in your purse? CLAIRE How come you got so many girlfriends? BENDER I asked you first... CLAIRE (shrugs) I dunno...I guess I never throw anything away. BENDER Neither do I... CLAIRE Oh... We cut back to where Andrew, Brian and Allison are sitting, Andrew is looking through Brian's wallet. ANDREW This is the worst fake ID I've ever seen... Brian laughs. ANDREW Do you realize you made yourself sixty eight? BRIAN Oh, I know...I know, I goofed it... ANDREW What do you need a fake ID for? BRIAN (like it's obvious) So I can vote! Allison looks up suddenly. ALLISON You wanna see what's in my bag? BRIAN & ANDREW No! Allison looks hurt and then resentful. Just to spite them, she dumps the contents of her bag onto the couch. Lots of stuff comes out. ANDREW Holy shit! What is all that stuff? BRIAN Do you always carry this much shit in your bag? ALLISON Yeah...I always carry this much shit ...in my bag...You never know when you may have to jam... BRIAN Are you gonna be like a shopping bag lady? You know like, sit in alleyways and like talk to buildings and wear men's shoes and that kinda thing? ALLISON I'll do what I have to do... BRIAN Why do you have to do anything? ALLISON (with feeling) My home life is un...satisfying... BRIAN So you're saying you'd subject yourself to the violent dangers of the Chicago streets because your homelife is unsatisfying? ALLISON I don't have to run away and live in the street...I can run away and, go to the ocean, I can go to the country, I can go to the mountains. I can go to Israel, Africa, Afghanistan... Brian looks at her and then moves over to Andrew. BRIAN Andy...you wanna get in on this? Allison here says, she wants to run away, because her home life is unsatisfying... ANDREW Well everyone's home lives are un- satisfying...If it wasn't, people would live with there parents forever... BRIAN Yeah, yeah I understand. But I think that her's goes beyond, you know, what guys like you and me... consider normal unsatisfying... ALLISON Nevermind...forget it, everything's cool! Allison starts putting everything back in her purse. ANDREW What's the deal? ALLISON No! There's no deal, Sporto. Forget it, leave me alone. ANDREW Wait a minute, now you're carrying all that crap around in your purse. Either you really wanna run away or you want people to think you wanna run away. ALLISON Eat shit! Allison gets up and walks away. BRIAN The girl is an island, with herself. Okay? Andrew gets up and goes after her. ANDREW Hi, you wanna talk? ALLISON No! ANDREW Why not? ALLISON Go away... ANDREW Where do you want me to go? ALLISON GO away! Andrew turns away and Allison starts to cry. ALLISON You have problems... ANDREW Oh, I have problems? ALLISON You do everything everybody ever tells you to do, that is a problem! ANDREW Okay, fine...but I didn't dump my purse out on the couch and invite people into my problems...Did I? So what's wrong? What is it? Is is bad? Real bad? Parents? Allison is silently crying. ALLISON Yeah... Andrew nods. ANDREW What do they do to you? ALLISON They ignore me... ANDREW Yeah...yeah... They both are crying silently. CUT TO:29. INT. BASEMENT - DAY Vernon and Carl are sitting talking. VERNON What did you want to be when you were young? CARL When I was a kid, I wanted to be John Lennon... VERNON Carl don't be a goof! I'm trying to make a serious point here...I've been teaching, for twenty two years, and each year...these kids get more and more arrogant. CARL Aw bull shit, man. Come on Vern, the kids haven't changed, you have! You took a teaching position, 'cause you thought it'd be fun, right? Thought you could have summer vacations off...and then you found out it was actually work...and that really bummed you out. VERNON These kids turned on me...they think I'm a big fuckin' joke... CARL Come on...listen Vern, if you were sixteen, what would you think of you, huh? VERNON Hey...Carl, you think I give one rat's ass what these kids think of me? CARL Yes I do... VERNON You think about this...when you get old, these kids; when I get old, they're gonna be runnin' the country. CARL Yeah? VERNON Now this is the thought that wakes me up in the middle of the night... That when I get older, these kids are gonna take care of me... CARL I wouldn't count on it! Vernon ponders that statement for a moment. CUT TO:30. INT. LIBRARY - DAY They are sitting on the floor in a circle. ANDREW What would I do for a million bucks? Well, I guess I'd do as little as I had to... CLAIRE That's boring... ANDREW Well, how'm I s'posed to answer? CLAIRE The idea is to like search your mind for the absolute limit. Like, uh, would you drive to school naked? Andrew laughs. ANDREW Um, uh...would I have to get out of the car? CLAIRE Of course... ANDREW In the spring, or winter? CLAIRE It doesn't matter...spring... ANDREW In front of the school or in back of the school? CLAIRE Either one... ANDREW Yes... ALLISON I'd do that! They all look at her. ALLISON I'll do anything sexual, I don't need a million dollars to do it either... CLAIRE You're lying... ALLISON I already have...I've done just about everything there is except a few things that are illegal...I'm a nymphomaniac! Claire rolls her eyes. CLAIRE Lie... BRIAN Are your parents aware of this? ALLISON The only person I told was my shrink... ANDREW And what'd he do when you told him? ALLISON He nailed me... CLAIRE Very nice... ALLISON I don't think that from a legal standpoint what he did can be construed as rape since I paid him. CLAIRE He's an adult! Allison is relishing this attention. ALLISON Yeah...he's married too! Claire notes her disgust. CLAIRE Do you have any idea how completely gross that is? ALLISON Well, the first few times... CLAIRE First few times? You mean he did it more than once? ALLISON Sure... CLAIRE Are you crazy? BRIAN Obviously she's crazy if she's screwing her shrink... ALLISON (to Claire) Have you ever done it? CLAIRE I don't even have a psychiatrist... ALLISON Have you ever done it with a normal person? CLAIRE Now, didn't we already cover this? BENDER You never answered the question... CLAIRE Look, I'm not gonna discuss my private life with total strangers. ALLISON It's kind of a double-edged sword, isn't it? CLAIRE A what? ALLISON Well, if you say you haven't... you're a prude. If you say you have...you're a slut! It's a trap. You want to but you can't but when you do you wish you didn't, right? CLAIRE Wrong... ALLISON Or, are you a tease? ANDREW She's a tease... CLAIRE Oh why don't you just forget it... ANDREW You're a tease and you know it, all girls are teases! BENDER (to Andrew) She's only a tease if what she does gets you hot... CLAIRE I don't do anything! ALLISON That's why you're a tease... CLAIRE Okay, lemme ask you a few questions. Allison is suddenly defensive. ALLISON I've already told you everything! CLAIRE No! Doesn't it bother you to sleep around without being in love. I mean don't you want any respect? ALLISON I don't screw to get respect...That's the difference between you and me... CLAIRE Not the only difference, I hope. BENDER Face it, you're a tease. CLAIRE I'm not a tease! BENDER Sure you are! You said it yourself sex is a weapon, you use it to get respect! CLAIRE No, I never said that, she twisted my words around. BENDER Oh then what do you use it for? CLAIRE I don't use it period! Claire is on the verge of tears. BENDER Oh, are you medically frigid or is it psychological? CLAIRE I didn't mean it that way! You guys are putting words into my mouth! BENDER Well if you'd just answer the question... BRIAN Why don't you just answer the question? ANDREW Be honest... BENDER No big deal... BRIAN Yeah, answer it! ANDREW Answer the question, Claire! BENDER Talk to us! ANDREW & BRIAN Come on, answer the question! BENDER It's easy, it's only one question! Claire silences all of them by screaming. CLAIRE (screaming) No! I never did it! Silence for two beats. ALLISON I never did it either, I'm not a nymphomaniac...I'm a compulsive liar... CLAIRE You are such a bitch! You did that on purpose just to fuck me over! ALLISON I would do it though...If you love someone it's okay... CLAIRE I can't believe you, you're so weird. You don't say anything all day and then when you open your mouth...you unload all these tremendous lies all over me! ANDREW You're just pissed off because she got you to admit something you didn't want to admit to... CLAIRE Okay, fine, but that doesn't make it any less bizarre... ANDREW What's bizarre? I mean we're all pretty bizarre! Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all. CLAIRE (to Andrew) How are you bizarre? Allison decides to field that question. ALLISON He can't think for himself... ANDREW She's right...do you guys know what, uh, what I did to get in here? I taped Larry Lester's buns together. Claire laughs. BRIAN (to Andrew) That was you? ANDREW (to Brian) Yeah, you know him? BRIAN Yeah, I know him... ANDREW Well then you know how hairy he is, right? Well, when they pulled the tape off, most of his hair came off and some, some skin too... CLAIRE Oh my God... ANDREW And the bizarre thing is, is that I did it for my old man...I tortured this poor kid, because I wanted him to think that I was cool. He's always going off about, you know, when he was in school...all the wild things he used to do. And I got the feeling that he was disappointed that I never cut loose on anyone, right...So, I'm...I'm sitting in the locker room, and I'm taping up my knee. And Larry's undressing a couple lockers down from me. Yeah...he's kinda... he's kinda skinny, weak. And I started thinking about my father, and his attitude about weakness. And the next thing I knew, I uh, I jumped on top of him and started wailing on him...And my friends, they just laughed and cheered me on. And afterwards, when I was sittin' in Vernon's office, all I could think about was Larry's father. And Larry havin' to go home and...and explain what happened to him. And the humiliation...fucking humiliation he mustuv felt. It mustuv been unreal...I mean, (he's crying) I mean, how do you apologize for something like that? There's no way...it's all because of me and my old man. Oh God, I fucking hate him! He's like this...he's like this mindless machine that I can't even relate to anymore..."Andrew, you've got to be number one! I won't tolerate any losers in this family...Your intensity is for shit! Win. Win! WIN!!!" You son of a bitch! You know, sometimes, I wish my knee would give...and I wouldn't be able to wrestle anymore. And he could forget all about me... BENDER I think your old man and my old man should get together and go bowling. Andrew laughs briefly. BRIAN It's like me, you know, with my grades...like, when I, when I step outside myself kinda, and when I, when I look in at myself you know? And I see me and I don't like what I see, I really don't. CLAIRE What's wrong with you? Why don't you like yourself? BRIAN 'Cause I'm stupid...'cause I'm failing shop. See we had this assignment, to make this ceramic elephant, and um...and we had eight weeks to do it and we're s'posed ta, and it was like a lamp, and when you pull the trunk the light was s'posed to go on...my light didn't go on, I got a F on it. Never got a F in my life... When I signed up, you know, for the course I mean. I thought I was playing it real smart, you know. 'Cause I thought, I'll take shop, it'll be such an easy way to maintain my grade point average... BENDER Why'd you think it'd be easy? BRIAN Have you seen some of the dopes that take shop? BENDER I take shop...you must be a fuckin' idiot! BRIAN I'm a fuckin' idiot because I can't make a lamp? BENDER No, you're a genius because you can't make a lamp... BRIAN What do you know about Trigonometry? BENDER I could care less about Trigonometry... BRIAN Bender, did you know without Trigonometry there'd be no engineering? BENDER Without lamps, there'd be no light! CLAIRE Okay so neither one of you is any better than the other one... Allison feels left out. ALLISON I can write with my toes! I can also eat, brush my teeth... CLAIRE With your feet? ALLISON ...play Heart & Soul on the piano. BRIAN I can make spaghetti! CLAIRE (to Andrew) What can you do? ANDREW I can...uh...tape all your buns together... BENDER I wanna see what Claire can do! CLAIRE I can't do anything. BENDER Now, everybody can do something... CLAIRE There's one thing I can do, no forget it, it's way too embarrassing. BENDER You ever seen Wild Kingdom? I mean that guy's been doing that show for thirty years. CLAIRE Okay, but you have to swear to God you won't laugh...I can't believe I'm actually doing this... Claire takes lipstick out and opens it. She places it between her breasts and applies it from her cleavage. When she lifts her head, her lipstick is perfect. Everyone claps. Bender's clap is sarcastic and slow. ANDREW All right, great! Where'd you learn to do that? CLAIRE Camp, seventh grade... BENDER That was great, Claire...my image of you is totally blown... ALLISON You're a shit! Don't do that to her you swore to God you wouldn't laugh! BENDER Am I laughing? ANDREW You fucking prick! Bender turns to Andrew. As he speaks, we can see his words hitting home. BENDER What do you care what I think, anyway? I don't even count, right? I could disappear forever and it wouldn't make any difference...I may as well not even exist at this school, remember? (he turns to Claire) And you...don't like me anyway! CLAIRE You know, I have just as many feelings as you do and it hurts just as much when somebody steps all over them! BENDER God, you're so pathetic! (furious) Don't you ever...ever! Compare yourself to me! Okay? You got everything, and I got shit! Fuckin' Rapunzel, right? School would probably fucking shut down if you didn't show up! "Queenie isn't here!" I like those earrings Claire. CLAIRE (quietly) Shut up... BENDER Are those real diamonds, Claire? CLAIRE (angry) Shut up! BENDER CLAIRE I bet they are...did you work, for the money Shut... for those earrings? Your mouth! BENDER Or did your daddy buy those? CLAIRE (furious) Shut up! Claire starts crying. BENDER I bet he bought those for you! I bet those are a Christmas gift! Right? You know what I got for Christmas this year? It was a banner fuckin' year at the old Bender family! I got a carton of cigarettes. The old man grabbed me and said "Hey! Smoke up Johnny!" Okay, so go home'n cry to your daddy, don't cry here, okay? There are a few beats. ANDREW My God, are we gonna be like our parents? CLAIRE Not me...ever... ALLISON It's unavoidable, it just happens. CLAIRE What happens? ALLISON When you grow up, your heart dies. BENDER Who cares? Allison is on the verge of tears herself. ALLISON I care... BRIAN Um, I was just thinking, I mean. I know it's kind of a weird time, but I was just wondering, um, what is gonna happen to us on Monday? When we're all together again? I mean I consider you guys my friends, I'm not wrong, am I? ANDREW No... BRIAN So, so on Monday...what happens? CLAIRE Are we still friends, you mean? If we're friends now, that is? BRIAN Yeah... CLAIRE Do you want the truth? BRIAN Yeah, I want the truth... CLAIRE I don't think so... ALLISON Well, do you mean all of us or just John? CLAIRE With all of you... ANDREW That's a real nice attitude, Claire! CLAIRE Oh, be honest, Andy...if Brian came walking up to you in the hall on Monday, what would you do? I mean picture this, you're there with all the sports. I know exactly what you'd do, you'd say hi to him and when he left you'd cut him all up so your friends wouldn't think you really liked him! ANDREW No way! ALLISON 'Kay, what if I came up to you? CLAIRE Same exact thing! BENDER (furious and screaming at Claire) You are a bitch! CLAIRE Why? 'Cause I'm telling the truth, that makes me a bitch? BENDER No! 'Cause you know how shitty that is to do to someone! And you don't got the balls to stand up to your friends and tell 'em that you're gonna like who you wanna like! CLAIRE Okay, what about you, you hypocrite! Why don't you take Allison to one of your heavy metal vomit parties? Or take Brian out to the parking lot at lunch to get high? What about Andy for that matter, what about me? What would your friends say if we were walking down the hall together. They'd laugh their asses off and you'd probably tell them you were doing it with me so they'd forgive you for being seen with me. BENDER (furious once again) Don't you ever talk about my friends! You don't know any of my friends, you don't look at any of my friends and you certainly wouldn't condescend to speak to any of my friends so you just stick to the things you know, shopping, nail polish, your father's BMW and your poor--rich--drunk mother in the Carribean! CLAIRE (furious and sobbing) Shut up! BENDER And as far as being concerned about what's gonna happen when you and I walk down the hallways at school, you can forget it! 'Cause it's never gonna happen! Just bury your head in the sand...and wait for your fuckin' prom! CLAIRE I hate you! BENDER Yeah? Good! There is silence until Brian speaks. BRIAN Then I assume Allison and I are better people than you guys, huh? Us weirdos... (to Allison) Do you, would you do that to me? ALLISON I don't have any friends... BRIAN Well if you did? ALLISON No...I don't think the kind of friends I'd have would mind... BRIAN I just wanna tell, each of you, that I wouldn't do that...I wouldn't and I will not! 'Cause I think that's real shitty... CLAIRE Your friends wouldn't mind because they look up to us... Brian laughs at her. BRIAN You're so conceited, Claire. You're so conceited. You're so, like, full of yourself, why are you like that? CLAIRE (crying again) I'm not saying that to be conceited! I hate it! I hate having to go along with everything my friends say! BRIAN Well then why do you do it? CLAIRE I don't know, I don't...you don't understand..you don't. You're not friends with the same kind of people that Andy and I are friends with! You know, you just don't understand the pressure that they can put on you! Brian is shocked. BRIAN I don't understand what? You think I don't understand pressure, Claire? Well fuck you! Fuck you! Brian hides his head in his arm because he is crying. BRIAN Know why I'm here today? Do you? I'm here because Mr. Ryan found a gun in the locker... ANDREW Why'd you have a gun in your locker? BRIAN I tried. You pull the fuckin' trunk on it and the light's s'posed to go on...and it didn't go on, I mean, I... ANDREW What's the gun for Brian? BRIAN Just forget it... ANDREW You brought it up, man! BRIAN I can't have an F, I can't have it and I know my parents can't have it! Even if I aced the rest of the semester, I'm still only a B. And everything's ruined for me! CLAIRE (with pity) Oh Brian... Brian bashes a chair over. BRIAN So I considered my options, you know? CLAIRE No! Killing yourself is not an option! BRIAN Well I didn't do it, did I? No, I don't think so! ALLISON It was a hand gun? BRIAN No, it was a flare gun, went off in my locker. ANDREW Really? Andrew starts to laugh. BRIAN It's not funny... They all start to laugh, including Brian. BRIAN Yes it is...fuckin' elephant was destroyed! ALLISON You wanna know what I did to get in here? Nothing...I didn't have anything better to do. Everyone laughs. ALLISON You're laughing at me... ANDREW No! Allison starts to laugh too. ALLISON Yeah you are! CUT TO:31. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Later. We see Brian putting a record on and then music starts. We see them all dancing. This goes on for the duration of the song. CUT TO:32. INT. HEATING DUCT - DAY We see Bender crawling back through the heating duct. CUT TO:33. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Andrew, Allison, Claire and Brian are sitting, in that order on the railing. CLAIRE Brian? BRIAN Yeah? CLAIRE Are you gonna write your paper? BRIAN Yeah, why? CLAIRE Well, it's kinda a waste for all of us to write our paper, don't you think? BRIAN Oh, but that's what Vernon wants us to do... CLAIRE True, but I think we'd all kinda say the same thing. BRIAN You just don't want to write your paper...Right? CLAIRE True, but, you're the smartest, right? BRIAN (with pride) Oh, well... CLAIRE We trust you... Brian glances over at Allison and Andrew who nod in approval. ANDREW Yeah... BRIAN All right, I'll do it... CLAIRE Great... Claire looks at Allison who looks back. CLAIRE (to Allison) Come on... ALLISON Where're we going? CLAIRE Come on! We see Claire putting eye make-up on Allison. CLAIRE Don't be afraid. ALLISON Don't stick that in my eye! CLAIRE I'm not sticking it, just close... just go like that... Claire closes her eyes. Allison mimics her. CLAIRE Good... Claire puts the make-up on her and Allison squeals. CLAIRE You know you really do look a lot better without all that black shit on your eyes... ALLISON Hey...I like that black shit... CLAIRE This looks a lot better...look up. We see Brian thinking about what he's going to write. We see Andrew just thinking. We see Allison and Claire again. Claire is still putting make-up on Allison. ALLISON Please, why're you being so nice to me? CLAIRE 'Cause you're letting me. We see Brian begin to write. We see Andrew, still deep in thought. CUT TO:34. INT. CLOSET - DAY We see Bender, in the closet once again. Claire opens the door and enters. BENDER You lost? Claire stares at him. Bender smiles. Claire smiles. CUT TO:35. INT. LIBRARY - DAY Brian is busily preparing the essay. Andrew looks up and sees the newly made over Allison and is in awe. Allison walks towards him and stops when she notices Brian staring at her with his mouth open. She glares at him. BRIAN Cool! ALLISON (smiling) Thank you! CUT TO:36. INT. CLOSET - DAY Claire kisses Bender, then she breaks the kiss. BENDER Why'd you do that? CLAIRE 'Cause I knew you wouldn't. BENDER You know how you said before, how your parents used you to get back at each other...wouldn't I be outstanding in that capacity? CLAIRE Were you really disgusted about what I did with my lipstick? BENDER Truth? CLAIRE Truth... Bender nods and speaks at the same time. BENDER No... CUT TO:37. INT. LIBRARY - DAY We see Brian lift up his paper and kiss it. We see Andrew and Allison. ANDREW What happened to you? ALLISON Why? Claire did it! What's wrong? ANDREW Nothing's wrong, it's just so different. I can see your face. ALLISON Is that good or bad? ANDREW (laughing) It's good! Allison smiles. We see Brian laugh and give himself a congratulatory punch in the arm. CUT TO:38. INT. HALLWAY - DAY The five are walking down the hall where they are met by Carl, sweeping up. Brian nods at him. CARL See ya Brian... BRIAN Hey Carl... BENDER (to Carl) See you next Saturday... CARL You bet! CUT TO:39. EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY Brian gets into his dad’s car and leaves. Andrew and Allison kiss, Allison rips a patch off Andrew’s jacket and gets into the car. Andrew's dad arrives and looks at him, then at Allison. Andrew gets into the car and they drive off. We see Claire take out one of her diamond earrings and put it into Benders hand. They kiss and she gets into her car. She leaves. We see Bender put the earring in his ear. CUT TO:40. INT. LIBRARY - DAY We see Vernon pick up Brian's essay and begin to read. BRIAN (VO) Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you're crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. CUT TO:41. EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD - DAY We see Bender walking towards us as Brian's monologue continues. BRIAN (VO) (CONT'D) But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain... ANDREW (VO) ...and an athlete... ALLISON (VO) ...and a basket case... CLAIRE (VO) ...a princess... BENDER (VO) ...and a criminal... BRIAN (VO) Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club. We see Bender walking across the football field as he thrusts his fist into the air in a silent cheer and freezes there. The Breakfast Club Starring... Andrew Clark.............Emilio Estevez Richard Vernon...........Paul Gleason Brian Johnson............Anthony Michael Hall Carl.....................John Kapelos John Bender..............Judd Nelson Claire Standish..........Molly Ringwald Allison Reynolds.........Ally Sheedy
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+                                     CASE 39                                    Written by                                    Ray Wright                                                                                                                                                                02/06/06          INSPIRED BY REAL EVENTS           1.                                                            Pitch black. We hear FOOTSTEPS sneaking up an old wooden          staircase. Two people moving as one.                                   Topping the stairs, they creep down the hall to the closed          door that protects us. We can hear them behind it,          whispering, bickering insanely, one shushing the other.                                   The squeak of a door knob slowly turning. The faint click of          the latch. And the door inches open, throwing a razor-thin          shaft of light into the darkness where it illuminates a                                                  FRIGHTENED EYE                                   As a ten-year-old GIRL sits up in bed. Dead tired. Staring          at the two dark faces peering in at her.                                                   GIRL           I can see you...                                   And the door closes, leaving us once more in total darkness.          We can hear them bickering again as they shuffle away, their          footsteps descending the stairs, fading into the uneasy          silence of this old house...                                   INT. FIFTH GRADE CLASSROOM, LOS ANGELES - DAY                                   A young teacher (DARLA) chalks a lesson on a blackboard in a          sun-drenched Los Angeles classroom.                                                   DARLA           -- and we know from yesterday that the           base of a triangle times half the height           equals the area.                                   A girl in the back row raises her hand.                                                   DARLA           Yes, Mia?                                                   GIRL           Lucy's asleep again.                                   Darla puts down the chalk and comes up the aisle to where a          slight, fair-skinned girl in a thrift shop dress sleeps head          down on her desk. The girl from the opening scene. LUCY          SHERIDAN. Darla stands over her with obvious concern. Puts          a finger to her lips to quiet the giggles.                                                   DARLA           Let her sleep.                                   She draws the shade. It drops a shadowbox on the sleeping          girl.           2.                                                            INT. COUNSELING ROOM, DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SERVICES, LOS          ANGELES - DAY                                   A former gang member sitting with his wife and troubled eight-          year-old son. The MARTINEZ FAMILY. A family in crisis.          Sitting opposite is an LA County social worker. Twenties.          Attractive but overworked. EMILY.                                                   GANG MEMBER           He would just go off, you know, start           tearin' the place down. You didn't even           know why he was doin' it half the time,           you just got out of his way...                                                   EMILY           And what you learned from your father now           Diego's learning from you...?                                   It's painful for him to hear that. He loves his son, quit          the streets for him. Overcome by emotion, he nods yes.                                                   EMILY           That really upsets you, doesn't it?                                   He wipes his eyes on his tattooed arm.                                                   GANG MEMBER           Yeah. Cuz I mean I don't want him to be           like me.                                   The boy looks at his father, has never seen him cry before.                                   INT. CORRIDOR - DAY                                   Outside the conference room, Emily musses the boy's hair.                                                   EMILY           A whole week without skipping school? Is           that true?                                   He smiles, nods. A glimpse of the boy he might have been.                                                   EMILY           That's the last time I make a bet with           you.           (to his parents)           See you guys next week.                                   The Martinez family heads down the hall, Diego lagging          behind. Emily watches with guarded optimism, knowing their          chances. Then turns to the NEXT FAMILY, welcoming the                         BELEAGUERED MOTHER:           3.                                                                            EMILY           You cut your hair. It looks great.                                   INT. EMILY'S CUBICLE - DAY                                   The hurried opening and closing of files reveals PHOTOS of          abused children. Bruises. Cuts. Broken bones. Emily          trying to locate a single case amid the stacks and clutter on          her desk. An angry mother SCREAMING at her on the phone:                                                   EMILY           No one is trying to steal your child,           they found bruises and cigarette burns --           Mrs Lynch, I read the medical report --           well, if you feel you need legal           representation that's perfectly within           your rights...                                   A flurry of obscenities followed by a dial tone. Emily puts          the phone down. Sighs wearily.                                    WAYNE (O.S.)           One less Christmas card for Emily.                                   Her supervisor WAYNE, forties, gay, leaning in the doorway.                                                   WAYNE           How many active cases you have?                                                   EMILY           Thirty-eight.                                   He drops another file on her desk.                                                   EMILY           No, absolutely not, look at this, Wayne,           look, I'm buried --                                                   WAYNE           Sorry, Em, we all are.                                   He walks off. Emily shoves the new file onto the shelf above          her desk. Looks at it guiltily. Takes it down again.          Handwritten on the front: SHERIDAN, LUCY.                                   She opens it. A school portrait of ten-year-old Lucy clipped          to the preliminary report. The sad face draws Emily in.                                   EXT. WILSHIRE BLVD - DAY                                   An old VOLVO WAGON skirts rush hour traffic on Wilshire.          Faded red paint. Ski rack on the roof. An ancient          bumpersticker says Educate.           4.                                                            INT. VOLVO WAGON - DAY                                   IPod jacked into the car stereo playing hip alternative          MUSIC, Emily leans on an elbow as she drives, not crazy about          L.A. but at ease with herself.                                   EXT. EMILY'S HOUSE - DAY                                   Emily's red Volvo wagon turns in the drive of a single-person          home she rents in a working-class neighborhood.                                   INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - DAY                                   Cozy. Her haven. Light colors offset dark hardwood floors.          Emily comes in, stack of files under her arm. Tired. Long          day. Drops the files in a chair. Sprinkles some food in a          fish tank. Referees through the glass.                                                   EMILY           Don't fight. Hey, that's his.                                   Turns on the tv. World news. Violence. People suffering.          Turns it off. Puts on some quiet music. Hits play on her          answering machine as she flops down barefoot on the sofa with          a magazine, peeling an orange, decompressing.                                    YOUNG WOMAN'S VOICE           Hey, it's Suze, missed you at yoga the           other day, give me a call.                                   BEEP.                                    YOUNG WOMAN'S VOICE #2           Hi, Em, Jackie, just checking in, hope           you're good.                                   BEEP. A charming male voice:                                                   DOUG'S VOICE           Exhausted, her career path questionable,           her faith in mankind shaken, she resisted           her tendency toward introspection and           went to have a drink with her friend           Doug.                                   BEEP. Emily gives a tired sigh. Faint smile under it.                                   INT. BAR - NIGHT                                   Noisy, trendy downtown bar. Professional type on a bar          stool. Thirties. Handsome. DOUG. He laughs when he sees          Emily.           5.                                                                            DOUG           I am so in your head.                                   She gives him a kiss. Sits down beside him.                                                   EMILY           Be honest. The whole psychology thing,           it's just about scoring chicks, isn't it?                                                   DOUG           Regrettably, yes.                                   They share a laugh. He gestures to the bartender for another          beer.                                                   EMILY           You know what freaks me out?                                                   DOUG           That you have a four-year degree and make           seventeen grand a year after taxes?                                                   EMILY           I sit there talking to these families,           you know, like I'm some expert. My           family's a train wreck. I mean, I had           this moment today where I realized I           might be totally full of it.                                                   DOUG           Everybody's full of it. In the end           you're a number to call for people who           don't have anyone else. There's no way           that's bad.                                   Emily nods, appreciates that. Recognizes a girl going by in          the crowd. A friend from school. Well-dressed. Career-          oriented. The track Emily might be on if she weren't a          social worker.                                                   EMILY           Hey Becca...                                                   FRIEND                          (HUGGING HER)           Hey. So one of us is a major screwup, I           can't remember if I was supposed to call           you or the other way around...?                                                   EMILY           No, it's me, it's just been a crazy           couple weeks. You remember Doug.           6.                                                                            FRIEND                          (HANDSHAKE)           Hi.           (then to Emily)           Listen, my ride's leaving, let's catch up           soon, okay?                                   Emily nods okay. The girl departs. Emily's beer arrives.          Doug hands it to her.                                                   DOUG           So anyway, I've done some soul searching           and I just want to say that if a full-on           relationship feels like too much right           now, I'd be willing to consider a purely           physical one.                                   Emily, sipping her beer, smiles.                                                   DOUG           Hey, you might actually enjoy yourself.                                                   EMILY           I'm sure I would, I just...                                   Hard to explain. Doug saves her the trouble.                                                   DOUG           I know, I know, the job, you get home you           don't have anything left.                                   Emily nods yeah, leans in closer, the friendly banter giving          way to a moment of real sincerity.                                                   EMILY           If it were anyone, it'd be you.                                   They exchange a look then Doug clinks his glass against hers.          And as they drink together after a long day, more than          friends, less than lovers...                                   INT. EMILY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                                   Emily in glasses, reading the Sheridan file on her bed. The          preliminary report concerns her: "Socially withdrawn. Lack          of appetite. Sleeping at school..."                                   Her gaze returns to Lucy's photo. Sadly, under her breath:                                                   EMILY           What are they doing to you?           7.                                                            EXT. SHERIDAN HOUSE - DAY                                   A dark, rundown family home on a once-prosperous cul de sac.          Emily pulls up. Gets out. Checks that she has the right          address. Halfway up the walk something stops her dead in her                         TRACKS -                                   A WOMAN'S FACE                                   staring at her through one of the lacy white curtains          upstairs. Ghostly pale. Gone as soon as she sees it. Emily          stands frozen for a moment. Walks on.                                   She reaches to knock on the door and it opens abruptly, the          security chain snapping taut. A woman's voice growls at her          from the darkness inside:                                                   WOMAN'S VOICE           What?                                                   EMILY           Emily Jennings. Child Services? We           spoke on the phone...?                                   Peering through the crack is the pallid, bony face from the          upstairs window. Lucy's mother. MARGARET SHERIDAN.                                                   MARGARET           You said the seventeenth.                                                   EMILY           Today is the seventeenth.                                                   MARGARET           Is not.                                                   EMILY           I'm sorry, but it is.                                                   MARGARET           Friday was the thirteenth.                                   Emily, rather amazed at the conversation she's having, takes          a newspaper from her bag. Indicates the date.                                                   EMILY           Friday was the fourteenth, that makes           today the seventeenth. Monday the           seventeenth. The date of our           appointment.                                   The door closes in Emily's face. What the hell? Then we          hear the chain unlock. It opens again.           8.                                   And we get our first good look at Lucy's mother. Gaunt.          Pale. Dark rings under her eyes. She steps aside, not          welcoming Emily in, merely allowing her to enter.                                   INT. SHERIDAN HOUSE - DAY                                   It's dark, the curtains drawn. Margaret twitches one open in          begrudging courtesy. The house is tidy but sad, steeped in a          kind of puritanical gloom. Lucy peers down through the          upstairs banister, anxious, unsure what's going on. Emily          sees her, smiles.                                                   EMILY           Come down, I'd like to meet you.                                   Lucy hesitates, sensing her mother's disapproval. Comes          slowly down the stairs. Emily shakes her hand.                                                   EMILY           My name's Emily. What's yours?                                                   LUCY           Lucy.                                                   EMILY           Pretty name. Pretty girl.                                   Lucy turns shyly away.                                                   EMILY                          (TO MARGARET)           Is there somewhere we can talk?                                   Margaret sighs and heads down the hall.                                   INT. LIVING ROOM, SHERIDAN HOUSE - DAY                                   Emily, file in hand, trying to project professionalism in an          arm chair that tilts to one side. Margaret and Lucy sitting          opposite on the sofa.                                                   EMILY           When do you expect your husband back?                                   Margaret shrugs.                                                   EMILY           Because we've found it's more beneficial           if the whole family participates.                                                   MARGARET           Well he's not home so...                                   Shrugs again.           9.                                                                            EMILY           Do you have any way of contacting him?                                                   MARGARET           Not if I don't know where he is.                                   Just then we hear a POWER TOOL go on in the basement. Emily,          sensing the lie, indicates the floor.                                                   EMILY           Is that...?                                   Margaret averts her eyes.                                                   EMILY           Would you ask him to join us?                                                   MARGARET           He doesn't have anything to say.                                                   EMILY           Would you ask him?                                   Margaret weighs Emily's resolve, gives Lucy a cautionary          glance then exits. We hear her open a door and holler into          the basement over the noise of the power tool.                                    MARGARET (O.S.)           Edward! EDWARD!                                   The power tool stops.                                    MARGARET (O.S.)           That lady's here. From the state. She           wants to talk to you.                                   We hear an angry unintelligible reply.                                    MARGARET (O.S.)           I already told her, she wants to anyway.                                   We hear the power tool get thrown aside. FOOTSTEPS pounding          up the cellar stairs. Emily's and Lucy's faces reflect the          same simple fear. Their eyes meet.                                                   EMILY           It'll be okay.                                   Lucy not so sure. The FOOTSTEPS are upon them. EDWARD          SHERIDAN makes his entrance. A menacing man with a gaunt          face and dark deep-set eyes. Emily holds out her hand.           10.                                                                            EMILY           Hi, I'm Emily --                                   Edward forgoes the handshake, his contempt obvious. Sits          beside Lucy on the sofa. Margaret sits on the other side.          Lucy tenses, trapped between them. Emily speaks with          kindness and composure. Hostile encounters part of the job.                                                   EMILY           I'm here today because Lucy's school is           concerned about changes they're seeing in           her academic performance. The kinds of           changes they're seeing are often           associated with family problems.                                   Edward leans over and whispers something caustic in          Margaret's ear.                                                   MARGARET           Eddie says we don't have family problems.                                                   EMILY           That's just it, many times a family won't           even know they're having problems until           it's too late. That's where we come in.           We help families communicate and learn           healthier ways of resolving conflict.                                   Edward whispers again in Margaret's ear.                                                   MARGARET           Eddie says we don't need your help.                                                   EMILY           Mr Sheridan, is there some reason you           won't speak to me directly?                                   Edward just stares at her.                                                   EMILY                          (TO MARGARET)           Is there some reason why your husband           won't speak to me directly?                                   Margaret nods, gives Edward a look as though for permission.                                                   MARGARET           Eddie doesn't like speakin' out of anger.                                   Emily does well to hide her fear. Refusing to be          intimidated, she engages Edward's stare. A battle of wills.          But his gaze has a murderous intensity she can't match. She          looks down, shuffling papers. Battle lost.           11.                                                            INT. CHILD SERVICES - NIGHT                                   Emily follows Wayne along a row of cubicles after hours.          He's dropping files on desks. The new cases never stop.                                                   WAYNE           No laws against being weird, Em. Send it           over to CMC, we'll do a follow-up in a           month.                                                   EMILY           I didn't say weird, I said scary. The           guy sat there the entire time staring at           me, the mother is like his emotional           slave.                                   Wayne pauses in mock bewilderment.                                                   WAYNE           Wait, did you just fly to New York and           meet my parents?                                                   EMILY           Wayne, this girl's in trouble. I can           feel it.                                   Beneath Wayne's humor, a sober, hard-learned practicality.                                                   WAYNE           Wanna know what I can feel? The lawsuit           we're gonna get hit with if we violate           her parents' rights without any evidence           they've done something wrong.                                                   EMILY           Every time I talk to you you sound more           like a lawyer, you know that?                                                   WAYNE           Yeah, well, maybe because every time I           make an emotional decision I get called           by one. I'm sorry, you're gonna have to           let this one go.                                                   EMILY           You put these files in front of me and           you ask me to tell you what's going on.           Well, I'm telling you, there's something           going on and it's not something good.           I've done my job, I've told you, what you           do with it is yours.                                   She walks off. Wayne alone after hours with his conscience.           12.                                                            INT. CORRIDOR, CHILD SERVICES - DAY                                   The elevator doors open with a DING and Edward and Margaret          Sheridan step out in their Sunday best. Benevolent faces.          Lucy between them, ribbon in her hair, brand new dress,          appearing coached as she eats an ice cream cone.                                   Emily, disgusted by the charade, trades looks with the          parents as they go past.                                   INT. PRIVATE CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY                                   Gazing fondly at Lucy, Edward directs his comments at Wayne,          who sits opposite the family with Emily.                                                   EDWARD           They really are God's miracles. Day she           was born was the happiest day of our           lives. We're not perfect parents, we           know that, but we figure if you let `em           know how much you love `em a lot of the           other stuff takes care of itself.                                   Wayne nods his agreement. Edward puts his arm around Lucy          for effect. Her eyes go to Emily. A silent plea for help.                                                   EMILY                          (HOSTILE)           Tell me, Mr Sheridan, since you've           suddenly acquired the power of speech,           doesn't it concern you a little that           Lucy's grades have gone from A's to D's           in three months?                                                   EDWARD           Course it does, she's our daughter.                                   With a glance Wayne cautions Emily about her tone of voice.                                                   EMILY           So you have no idea why she's falling           asleep at school every day? Why she's           not able to sleep at home?                                   Edward looks at Margaret, then Emily, affects bewilderment.                                                   EDWARD           Bad dreams?                                   INT. BREAK ROOM - DAY                                   Emily and Wayne in private conversation. She's pissed off.          The Sheridan family in the other room, preparing to leave.           13.                                                                            EMILY           He's gonna be having bad dreams when he           gets hit with child endangerment.           (off Wayne's reluctance)           Don't tell me you're buying this daddy's           little girl routine?                                                   WAYNE           So they're overcompensating a little.                                                   EMILY           A little? Let me talk to her. Alone.           She wants to talk.                                                   WAYNE                          EM --                                                   EMILY           Five minutes. Talk to them about how           much they love kids.                                   She goes out the door.                                   INT. CORRIDOR - DAY                                   Emily walks with Lucy, looking for a way in.                                                   EMILY           I knew someone at school named Lucy, she           was a writer. Do you ever write? I do           sometimes, it helps me sort out how I'm           feeling.                                   Lucy doesn't take the bait. She stops for a drink at a water          fountain. Emily bends for a sip after. Misfires. As she          wipes her face, embarrassed:                                                   EMILY           Okay, I just shot like a gallon of water           up my nose. So much for establishing           trust.                                   Lucy smiles, for the first time. It's the opening Emily was          looking for. Maintaining that precious eye contact,                         DEEPENING IT:                                                   EMILY           What's happening to you? I can help.           Let me help.                                   Lucy looks away, eyes brimming with tears.           14.                                                                            EMILY           What is it, sweetheart?                                                   LUCY           They hate me.                                   She lowers her head in shame, tears rolling down.                                                   EMILY           I'm sure they don't hate you.                                                   LUCY           They do. I hear them. They go in the           cellar and talk.                                                   EMILY           What do they talk about?                                                   LUCY           Sending me to hell.                                   Emily's mouth falls open.                                                   EMILY           You've heard them say that?                                   Lucy nods. As Emily registers this in quiet horror...                                   INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY                                   A tape recorder is running. Emily and Wayne alone with Lucy.          She's hesitant to speak, naturally distrustful.                                                   EMILY           It's okay. You can tell him. He's on           our side.                                                   WAYNE           Did you hear your parents say they were           going to hurt you?                                   Nobody sees what Lucy sees at this moment. Edward glaring in          at her through the window. Lucy looks at Wayne, shakes her          head. Wayne looks at Emily, case closed.                                   INT. CORRIDOR - DAY                                   Emily watches in agony as the Sheridan family steps into the          elevator. Parent on each side, Lucy gives her one last          pleading look then the elevator doors close and she's gone.           15.                                                            INT. WAYNE'S OFFICE - DAY                                   Emily and Wayne in the heat of an argument.                                                   EMILY           She doesn't trust anybody. You think I           made it up?                                                   WAYNE           I think you'd do just about anything you           had to do to help a child you thought was           at risk. Here are the facts, Emily.           They haven't laid a finger on her that we           can tell. And we have no proof they           intend to. Meanwhile on your desk right           now are thirty-plus cases of actionable           abuse. What about those?                                                   EMILY           I'm not giving up on her, Wayne.                                                   WAYNE           Yes, you are, you're leaving this alone.                                   A look that says he means it.                                                   EMILY           I hope you can live with a dead child on           your conscience.                                                   WAYNE                          (HURT)           That's a little unfair, don't you think?           I care about these kids as much as you           do, but we can't go around yanking them           out of their homes on a hunch. Parents,           even bad ones, have rights, that's how           the laws of this great land are written.                                   Emily gives a resigned nod, backing away from him, from the          job, all of it.                                                   EMILY           So that's it? We let kids get killed           until they rewrite the goddamn laws?                                   She exits before he can answer, doesn't want to hear it.                                   INT. DETECTIVE BARRON'S OFFICE, POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   Detective MIKE BARRON. Veteran of the force. Man of quiet          faith.           16.                                   A well-built silver-haired family man who played fullback at          Brigham Young. He's doing paperwork. Smiles warmly as Emily          enters.                                                   BARRON           Was just thinking about you, got a nice           letter from Sandy Hutchinson...                                   She drops Lucy's file on his desk. Whatever Barron was going          to say is no longer relevant. Soberly, after a pause:                                                   BARRON           Well, it's sitting in front of me which           means our good friend Wayne thinks it           fails to meet the criteria for child           endangerment and has told you in no           uncertain terms to leave it alone...?                                                   EMILY           Surprise, surprise.                                   She starts to open the file. Barron stops her.                                                   BARRON           I can't, Emily. I'm sorry.                                                   EMILY           Mike, I'm desperate here.                                   Tense beat. The need for privacy now apparent, Barron gets          up and closes his door. Sits down at his desk again.                                                   BARRON           You know how dear to my heart the work           you do is, but the department doesn't pay           me to stakeout potential child abusers.           Last time almost cost me my job.                                                   EMILY           This girl heard her parents say they're           going to send her to hell.                                                   BARRON           Sickening as that is, you're a part of           the system that handles those situations,           I'm not.                                                   EMILY           The system is broken.                                                   BARRON           Maybe you just need to let it work.           17.                                                                            EMILY           What? Jesus, I feel like I'm talking to           Wayne. You don't want to get involved,           fine, but don't bullshit me, I'm running           out of people I respect.                                                   BARRON           Okay. No bullshit. Give me evidence of           a crime, I'll be all over it. Till then           there's nothing I can do.                                                   CUT TO:                                   The blade of a circular saw SCREAMS through a pinewood board,          spitting sawdust...                                   A ten-pound hammer CRUSHES the head of a nail, sinking it,          CRUSHES another, CRUSHES another, the speed of the handiwork          conveying its urgency...                                   INT. SHERIDAN HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Lucy peering into the basement through an air vent in the          floor, vertical bands of light on her face. Edward hammering          down below. He steps aside and we see what he's making...                                   A HOMEMADE COFFIN                                   Sensing Lucy's stare, he glances up over his shoulder. And          Lucy ducks out of sight, breath held.                                   EXT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - DAY                                   Children waiting for the bus after school. Talking,          laughing. Lucy stands apart, tired and solemn. The bus          pulls up to the curb. As she goes to get on:                                    EMILY (O.S.)           Lucy.                                   She turns. Emily behind her.                                                   EMILY           I just wanted you to know I haven't           forgotten about you. I'm doing           everything I can.                                   Lucy hugs her, clinging for a moment.                                                   LUCY           If I disappear will you come look for me?           18.                                                                            EMILY           You're not going to disappear.                                                   LUCY           If I do?                                   Emily holds her gaze, seeing the fear. Backing away, Lucy          indicates the bus.                                                   LUCY           I have to go. They get mad when I miss           the bus.                                   Lucy turns to go. Emily watches. Helpless.                                                   EMILY           Lucy, wait...                                   Takes her cell phone from her bag. Puts her number on speed          dial.                                                   EMILY           If anything happens, call me, okay? Just           press this. Don't let your parents know           you have it.                                   Tucks the cell phone in Lucy's coat pocket.                                                   EMILY           I'm gonna get you out of there, I           promise.                                   Lucy boards the bus. Waves to Emily from a back window as it          drives away. Emily waves back, heart in her throat. Might          be the last time she sees her alive.                                   INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - NIGHT                                   A sleepless night finds Emily slouched on her sofa, leaving a                         MESSAGE:                                                   ANSWERING MACHINE           Hey, this is Doug, here it comes -                                   BEEP.                                                   EMILY           It's me, thought you might be up, um,           anyway, call if you get this.                                   Hangs up. Clicks on the tv remote. Channel-surfs. World          news. Cooking show. Home shopping network.           19.                                   Hip-hop music video. Watches it for a moment. Gangster with          a mic. Scantily-clad girls shaking their asses.                                   The phone RINGS. Emily mutes the tv, picks up.                                                   EMILY           Too late, I met someone else...                                   A child's whisper.                                    LUCY (V.O.)           Emily...?                                                   EMILY           (concerned but calm)           Lucy? Are you okay?                                    LUCY (V.O.)           I'm scared...                                                   EMILY           Why? Why are you scared, honey?                                    LUCY (V.O.)           They're waiting to get me, I can hear           them... I'm sorry...                                                   EMILY           Why are you sorry?                                    LUCY (V.O.)           I'm falling asleep...                                                   EMILY           Okay, listen, I want you to go over and           open the window. Can you do that?           Lucy...?                                    LUCY (V.O.)           (softly; drifting off)           I'm sooorry...                                                   EMILY           Lucy, no, wake up!                                   INT. LUCY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                                   The cell phone lying on the bed at Lucy's fingertips.                                                   EMILY                          (FROM PHONE)           Lucy...?!           20.                                                            The illuminated screen casts an eerie glow on her SLEEPING          FACE.                                   INT. EMILY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT                                   Emily drops the phone. Moment of panic. Then a decision.          Throws a coat on over her bed clothes. Grabs the phone          again, dials a number in desperation.                                                   EMILY           Mike, it's Emily, listen, that girl I           told you about, I think she's in trouble -           - yeah, I know what you said, but --           Mike, you're not listening --                          (LOSES IT)           HELP ME!                                   EXT. EMILY'S CAR - NIGHT                                   Emily fumbles with her keys. Gets the right one in the door.          Opens it. Jumps in. Starts the engine. Peels off down the          road.                                   INT. LUCY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                                   The cell phone turns itself off, plunging the room into total          darkness.                                   In BLACK, we hear FOOTSTEPS coming up the stairs. Down the          hall. Stopping at the door. The knob turning. The click of          the latch. The door opening. A shaft of light. Edward and          Margaret peering in with frenzied anticipation:                                   Lucy is asleep. The time has come.                                   INT. EMILY'S CAR - NIGHT                                   Emily red-lines the tachometer, doing ninety down the          freeway.                                   INT. STAIRWAY - NIGHT                                   Slowly, quietly, Edward descends the stairs with Lucy asleep          in his arms. Margaret in front of him, moving in tandem,          holding a roll of duct tape.                                   They reach the bottom. Margaret rushes ahead into the          kitchen.                                   INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT                                   Edward carries Lucy toward the OLD GAS OVEN where Margaret          waits, holding open the door.           21.                                                            Delicately, cradling her head, Edward puts Lucy into the oven          without waking her. But as he lifts the door, one of the          metal hinges CREAKS.                                   Lucy jolts awake with a SCREAM. Kicks open the door before          Edward can shut it. With animal terror she thrashes her way          out onto the linoleum floor. Margaret throws a piece of duct          tape over her mouth, silencing her screams as Edward wrestles          her back into the oven. But she kicks open the door again          and the frantic struggle continues as...                                   EXT. SHERIDAN HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Emily's car lurches to a stop out front. As she jumps out,          Barron's pickup arrives. He joins her, a reluctant          accomplice.                                                   BARRON           What are we doing here?                                                   EMILY           Saving her life!                                   She goes up the walkway. Barron lagging a few steps behind,          eyeing the darkened house.                                                   BARRON           They're asleep.                                                   EMILY           They're not asleep.                                   Emily hears something inside the house.                                                   EMILY           Did you hear that?                                                   BARRON           I didn't hear anything.                                   Emily, trusting her gut, starts pounding on the door.                                                   EMILY           Leave her alone!                                   INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT                                   Hearing Emily, Edward and Margaret intensify their efforts,          jamming Lucy's legs inside the oven. The duct tape peels off          her mouth in the struggle and before the oven door slams shut          she belts out one last desperate SCREAM.           22.                                                            EXT. SHERIDAN HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Clearly audible outside, it makes Barron jump.                                                   EMILY           Did you hear that?!                                   Barron pounds his big fist on the door.                                                   BARRON           Police, open up!                                                   EMILY           Break it down!                                   Barron rams his shoulder against the door, but it holds          solid.                                   INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT                                   We see Lucy's screaming face through the oven window as          Margaret cranks the temperature dial as high as it will go.                                   INT. GAS OVEN - NIGHT                                   From inside we see Edward and Margaret peering in as Lucy          claws at the glass with her fingernails. Coughing as the gas          fills the oven with a low hiss. We hear it ignite beneath          her with a faint poof. The first shimmering waves of heat          rising up, singeing her hair.                                   EXT. SHERIDAN HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Emily, hysterical, knowing they're too late:                                                   EMILY           BREAK IT DOWN!                                   INT. DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT                                   The front door comes crashing down, kicked off its hinges by          Barron. Emily and he race in.                                                   EMILY           LUCY?!                                   They take off toward the kitchen at the end of the hall.                                   INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT                                   Emily and Barron rush in. Emily sees Lucy trapped inside the          oven. The sleeve of her pajamas catching fire.           23.                                                                            EMILY           Oh my God...                                   Edward tries to fend Barron off. It's a mistake. Barron          unleashes a devastating blow that sends him recoiling into          the fridge so hard the back of his head leaves a visible dent          in the door.                                   Emily shoves Margaret aside and throws open the oven. Pulls          Lucy out onto the kitchen floor, swatting out her burning          pajamas with a dish towel.                                   Margaret grabs a steak knife and rushes at Emily, but Barron          has her covered. Backhands Margaret so hard it spins her          around fully before dropping her to the floor.                                                   BARRON           The hell's the matter with you people?!                                   Pajamas scorched, wild with terror, Lucy cries in great          heaving sobs in Emily's arms. Reduced to tears herself,          Emily keeps saying the same thing over and over.                                                   EMILY           I gotcha... I gotcha... I gotcha...                                   Shielding her from the sight of her parents: Margaret          sprawled on the linoleum weeping. Edward slouched against          the fridge, blood pouring down his shirt, his broken jaw          hanging open like a man thinking wow.                                   INT. COUNTY COURTROOM - DAY                                   Edward and Margaret holding hands at the defendant's table,          remorseless and defiant in their Sunday best. Among the many          spectators we find Emily and Mike Barron. The STATE          PROSECUTOR and PUBLIC DEFENDER addressing the JUDGE.                                                   STATE PROSECUTOR           Prosecution asks that you disallow an           insanity defense. This was an act           committed with premeditation, malice                          AFORETHOUGHT -                                                   PUBLIC DEFENDER           Your honor, the egregiousness of the           crime makes the competency question all           the more relevant.                                                   JUDGE           Yes. I hereby order the defendants           undergo psychiatric evaluation to           determine their mental fitness for trial.           24.                                                            Emily rolls her eyes at Barron, some justice system.                                   EXT. COURTHOUSE PARKING LOT - DAY                                   Barron walks Emily to her car. She's outraged.                                                   EMILY           Steal a pizza, San Quentin, try killing           your kid, Freudian dream analysis.                                                   BARRON           Well, you're gonna hate me for saying           this, but my money's on crazy.                                                   EMILY           Did they or did they not know what they           were doing? That's the legal standard.           They knew, they knew damn well!                                                   BARRON           It's not that simple sometimes.                                                   EMILY           (stops on a dime)           Meaning what exactly?                                   Barron hesitates. He's crossing the line by telling her          this.                                                   BARRON           When we brought them in that night they           told Captain Lister... They think she's           evil, some kind of demon spirit, minion           of the devil or something.                                                   EMILY                          (LAUGHS)           Oh, that's great - what is this, late-           night cable?                                                   BARRON           No, but that might be the world they're           living in.                                   INT. CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL - DAY                                   Lucy in a hospital bed, dressings on her hand. Emily's          friend Doug sitting bedside. Child psychologist.                                                   DOUG           -- and what's the most important thing we           talked about that you have to remember?           25.                                                                            LUCY           It's not my fault what happened.                                                   DOUG           That's right and you know what? It's           not.                                   Lucy nods, not entirely convinced. Doug gives her a pat,          crosses to the exit. At the door he runs into Emily. Shakes          his head, awed at what she did.                                                   DOUG           That is some seriously proactive social           work happenin' there. You all right?                                                   EMILY           Yeah, I'm okay. How's she doing?                                                   DOUG           Typical reaction, blames herself. We'll           get there. I'm gonna put her in a group           setting, see if I can get her to open up.                                                   EMILY           Group therapy for kids, what's that say           about the world?                                   He nods - no kidding, heads off. Emily comes over and sits          on Lucy's bed. Strokes her hair.                                                   EMILY           Good news. You get to leave here           tomorrow.                                                   LUCY           Doug said I might have to go to a state           home.                                                   EMILY           Only for a few days, till we find a           better place.                                                   LUCY           Why can't I live with you?                                                   EMILY           Oh, sweetheart. That would never be           allowed.                                                   LUCY           Why?           26.                                                                            EMILY           It's complicated, there's a whole           process, I'm not even a foster parent...                                   Lucy gives a sad nod. Emily touches her arm.                                                   EMILY           I'm sorry.                                   EXT. STATE CHILDREN'S HOME - DAY                                   No frills, purely functional housing. Emily comes up the          steps with Lucy and knocks. The COORDINATOR answers. A kind          but beleagured-looking woman of fifty, who is surprised to          see them.                                                   COORDINATOR           They were supposed to call you. We don't           have any rooms.                                                   EMILY           Nothing?                                                   COORDINATOR           There was a mixup with the dates. Sorry.                                   Emily rolls her eyes. Lucy standing there holding a          suitcase.                                   INT. EMILY'S CAR - DAY                                   Through the windshield Lucy watches Emily on a pay phone          outside a convenience store. Her back is to us but you can          see she's arguing with someone, scratching addresses off a          typed list with a ballpoint.                                    TIME CUT TO:                                   Emily gets in and starts the car, putting on a smile.                                                   EMILY           Hey, are you hungry? Let's get some           lunch. What kind of food do you like?                                                   LUCY           There's nowhere for me to go is there?                                   Heartbreaking. Emily can't lie. She turns off the engine          and leans back with a sigh. Lucy's silence is a plea for          rescue.           27.                                                                            EMILY           I can't, Lucy, it wouldn't work, I live           in this tiny house, I... I'm sorry, I'm           not mom material...                                                   LUCY           You don't have to be my mom. Just my           friend.                                   A ten-year-old girl stranded at a convenience store, suitcase          in her lap. Emily stares out the windshield, wrestling with          her conscience.                                   INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY                                   At a round table, Emily addresses the CHILD WELFARE PANEL,          six grave-faced administrators. Wayne is here, offering          support.                                                   EMILY           I know what it feels like to be that age           and be unwanted. It's terrifying. She           needs to be with someone she trusts; she           trusts me. So much of our time is spent           negotiating red tape, I think if we just           look at the situation - this one           situation, this one child - it's clear           what's best for her.                                   The head of the panel is a bloated bureaucrat in a polka dot          blouse (NANCY).                                                   NANCY           This is highly irregular and I'll tell           you right now it makes me very           uncomfortable. But since, Wayne, you've           spoken so persuasively on Miss Jennings's           behalf...                                   INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY                                   Emily comes out and nods yes to Lucy who waits with a          guardian. As they hug:                                    NANCY (V.O.)           ...I'm going to go against my better           judgement and approve this petition for           temporary custody.                                   INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - DAY                                   Emily walks Lucy through the house, showing her around,          tidying things self-consciously.           28.                                                                            EMILY           I like to think of it as a glass-half-           full situation. Kitchen. Bathroom.           Fish. And here, is your room...                                   INT. LUCY'S BEDROOM - DAY                                   They stop in the doorway. A small office in which Emily has          made space for a bureau and a bed. Professional books and          backup case files pushed aside on a shelf.                                                   EMILY           Be okay?                                   Lucy nods yes.                                                   LUCY           Where's your family?                                                   EMILY           My family... well, I've met my dad twice           and my mom's not a part of my life           anymore.                                                   LUCY           Why?                                                   EMILY           (choosing her words)           Sometimes people have kids and then           decide they don't want to be parents.                                   Beneath the measured tone Emily's pain is revealed, raw and          untouchable, her entire life a rebellion against it. She          opens Lucy's suitcase on the bed. Pauses, remembering          something.                                                   EMILY           I'm glad you're here.                                   Lucy comes over to help unpack the clothes.                                    TIME CUT TO:                                   Lucy in bed, sipping a cup of tea as Emily brushes her hair.                                                   LUCY           What's this?                                                   EMILY           Chamomile, when I get stressed out it           helps me sleep.           29.                                                            Lucy nods that it's good. Emily brushes her hair. A natural          bond between them.                                                   EMILY           None of this ever should have happened,           if I could make it go away I would.                                                   LUCY           You did.                                   Nice moment for Emily. A rare triumph. She tucks Lucy in.          Turns off the bedside light.                                                   EMILY           I'm right down the hall if you need me.                                   Lucy settles. Emily pauses at the door, looks back at the          lost child she's taken in, then closes the door halfway.                                   EXT. SHERIDAN HOUSE - DAY                                   Dark, abandoned. Emily's Volvo pulls up.                                   INT. EMILY'S CAR - DAY                                   She eyes the house. It haunts her, the memory of what          happened.                                   A SUDDEN KNOCK on the window makes her jump out of her seat.          The guy there gestures a friendly sorry, didn't mean to scare          you. White shirt and tie. A COURT CLERK.                                   EXT. SHERIDAN HOUSE - DAY                                   Emily signs a form as he unlocks the door, letting her in.                                                   EMILY           I have to grab some of her things, might           take me a minute.                                                   COURT CLERK           I trust ya, Em, make sure you lock it on           the way out.                                   INT. SHERIDAN HOUSE - DAY                                   Emily closes the door, glances around the dark interior.          Through a window she sees the Court Clerk drive off. She's          alone. It's quiet, eerily still.                                   She goes up the stairway. Slows, noticing something on the                         WALL -           30.                                                            A FAINT SQUARE where a picture once was hung, the wallpaper a          half tone darker underneath. More SQUARES farther up. A few          nails still sticking out.                                   INT. LUCY'S BEDROOM, SHERIDAN HOUSE - DAY                                   Tattered lace curtains sway in a draft beside a bed with a          moth-eaten coverlet. Emily packs Lucy's spare clothes into a          dufflebag. Zips it and walks out.                                   INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAY                                   Exiting Lucy's room, she notes the door to Edward and          Margaret's bedroom, at the far end of the hall, is slightly          AJAR. Succumbs to a natural curiosity.                                   INT. EDWARD AND MARGARET'S BEDROOM - DAY                                   The door pushes open, Emily peering in. A sad little master          bedroom with old floral printed wallpaper and water stains on          the ceiling.                                   She explores the room, inspecting various personal items -          aftershave, glasses, hair brush - looking for clues to their          madness.                                   An ALARM CLOCK with a cracked crystal face. She picks it up          and it GOES OFF in her hand. Gives her a scare. She puts it          down. Sees something out the bedroom window. Steps closer.          Parts the curtains.                                   In the backyard, by the garden shed, a long rectangular hole          has been dug. A SHALLOW GRAVE filling with leaves. Edward's          handiwork. Emily's seen enough, heads for the door.                                   But slows, noticing something odd as she comes back around          the bed -                                   A LONG DEEP SCRATCH                                   in the wooden floor, hidden under a long runner rug. Emily          peels back the rug and finds -                                   HUNDREDS OF LONG DEEP SCRATCHES                                   in the floorboards leading toward the door. Something - the          old oak bureau perhaps? - has been dragged repeatedly across          the room.                                   Emily comes over and looks behind the door and sees, on the          back of it, something even more bizarre -                                   TWO MASSIVE DEADBOLTS           31.                                                            screwed hastily, crookedly, into the wood. She closes the          door. Slides-to the big heavy bolts -                                   CLUNK.                                   CLUNK.                                   Pauses. Looks again at the bureau. Slides it in front of          the door, a wheelless caster bracket leaving another long          scratch in the hardwood. And it's clear at this point what          the deadbolts and bureau add up to -                                                  A BARRICADE                                   Emily stares at it. Looks over at Edward and Margaret's bed,          imagining them here behind this door. Slides the bureau          aside. Opens the deadbolts. And as the door swings open she          is looking straight down the hall at                                                  LUCY'S BEDROOM                                   Emily stares, bewildered.                                   INT. GROUP THERAPY ROOM - DAY                                   ABUSED CHILDREN aged eight to thirteen sit in a circle of          folding chairs. Lucy among them. Diego. Doug facilitating.                                                   DOUG           Sometimes when our parents aren't getting           along it's better if they don't see each           other for a while, that's what a           `restraining order' does...                                   INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE GROUP THERAPY - DAY                                   Emily looks in, waiting with other parents. Lucy sees her in          the window and sneaks her a little wave. Emily smiles and          holds up a hand that says, hi, hon. It's clear from these          gestures how close they've gotten.                                    TIME CUT TO:                                   Emily and Doug walk together after session. Lucy talking to          other kids her age by the elevator.                                                   DOUG           She's starting to come out of her shell.           It's good, I just wish I thought it was           me making the difference.                                   Emily accepts the compliment.           32.                                                                            EMILY           I went by the house. I think her mom and           dad were barricading themselves in their           room at night. How sick is that?                                                   DOUG           Hatred and fear are part of the same           pathology - oh, but I forgot, you don't           think they're crazy.                                                   EMILY           I'm coming around.                                   As they part ways...                                   INT. EMILY'S CAR - DAY                                   Emily pulls up in front of Lucy's school. Big moment for          Lucy. New clothes. New haircut. New life.                                                   EMILY           Okay?                                   Lucy nods, apprehensive, but she's ready to face it. Emily          hugs her.                                                   EMILY           This is your new beginning.                                   Lucy gets out. Pauses on the sidewalk.                                                   LUCY           I love you, Emily.                                   Emily, touched, smiles.                                                   EMILY           I love you, too.                                   Lucy goes up the walk. Emily watches her safely into the          building.                                   INT. CHILD SERVICES DEPARTMENT - DAY                                   Emily draws grim looks as she crosses the common area. A          pall hanging over the entire department. The first person          she walks past says:                                                   COWORKER           Wayne's looking for you.                                   The second person:           33.                                                                            COWORKER #2           Wayne wants to --                                                   EMILY           Got it.                                   She comes past Wayne's office. Empty. A coworker points          over toward Emily's cubicle - he's there. She goes over.          Wayne's inside, grave-faced, looking for a file. He finds it          on the shelf. A photo of eight-year-old DIEGO clipped inside          the cover. The boy we met earlier.                                                   EMILY           What's up with Diego?                                   Wayne hesitates, wanting to spare her the bad news.                                                   WAYNE           Why don't we talk in my office.                                                   EMILY           Tell me what's going on.                                                   WAYNE           We don't know why yet, but... he killed           his mother and father last night.                                   Emily stands there, jaw on the floor.                                   EXT. MARTINEZ HOUSE - DAY                                   A police perimeter around a small house in a tough low-income          neighborhood. Cops and crime scene investigators on the          scene. Local news media broadcasting live. A couple of news          choppers hovering overhead.                                   Emily pulls up, jumps out of her car. Mike Barron waves off          the uniformed officer who moves to intercept her as she comes          up the walkway to the house.                                                   EMILY           What happened?                                                   BARRON           Sure you want to see this?                                   With an uncertain nod she follows him inside.                                   INT. MARTINEZ HOUSE - DAY                                   Emily and Mike Barron come along the uncarpeted hallway.           34.                                                                            BARRON           Gets a tire iron from the garage, comes           back inside, locks all the doors and           windows, kills them in their sleep...                                   The master bedroom. A bloodbath.                                                   BARRON           Had to use dental records to identify the           bodies.                                   Emily looks around, aghast.                                                   EMILY           An eight-year-old did this? There's no           way.                                                   BARRON           I was there when they brought him in.           Took three guys my size to subdue him.           Kid was climbing the walls.                                   Barron turns to the window and - WHAM! - AN ATTACK DOG HITS          THE GLASS RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS FACE. Barron recoils with a          yelp. Then, embarrassed, eyes the TRIO OF BATTLE-SCARRED PIT          BULLS prowling the chainlink-fenced backyard.                                                   BARRON           Just your average American family.                                   EXT. MARTINEZ HOUSE - DAY                                   Emily and Barron come down the steps.                                                   EMILY           Where is he now?                                                   BARRON           Juvie lockup. And, no, I'm not taking           you to see him.                                                   EMILY           You want to know what happened?                                                   BARRON           I know what happened.                                                   EMILY           I don't. I need to talk to him. Mike,           please, I care about this kid.           35.                                                            INT. JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER - DAY                                   Diego Martinez sitting alone in a holding cell. Confused.          Scared. He sees Emily approaching and immediately breaks          down.                                                   EMILY           Diego...                                   Emily tells the cop at the cell door:                                                   EMILY           Let me in. He won't hurt me.                                   The cop looks at Mike Barron who nods it's okay. The cop          opens the cell. Emily enters. Diego looks up at her,          shuddering with emotion:                                                   DIEGO           Are they dead?                                   Emily, gutted, nods yes. Diego buries his face in Emily's          stomach and sobs.                                                   EMILY           What happened? Tell me what happened.                                                   DIEGO                          (SOBBING)           I killed my mum and dad...                                   Emily, devastated, trades looks with Barron through the bars.                                   EXT. VENICE PIER - DAY                                   Doug tenderly consoles Emily. Has his arms around her.          They're leaning against the railing, wind on their faces.                                                   DOUG           Every family you sit down with every day           of every week is a family in crisis.           Those are your odds. That's the job you           do. Trying to beat them.                                   Wipes away her tears. The hair from her face.                                                   DOUG           You're one person, Em. You can't save           the world.                          (THEN)           I know somebody you did save.           36.                                                            Lucy on the beach below, walking barefoot at water's edge,          hem of her dress in her hands. Emily watches her and,          finding solace in it, leans into Doug's embrace and closes          her eyes.                                   EXT. BEACH - DAY                                   The plaintive cries of seagulls overhead as Emily and Lucy          walk along the surf at sundown, Emily barefoot now as well.                                                   LUCY           You okay?                                   Emily nods, putting on a brave face to spare Lucy.                                                   EMILY           It's just work. Don't worry.                                   Lucy nods okay. They walk on in silence for a moment.                                                   LUCY           Why do you do it if it makes you sad?                                                   EMILY           My job? I don't know, I guess... I guess           maybe I want to believe families can           work, so I can have my own someday, I           don't know - does that make sense?                                   Lucy nods, takes her hand. They walk off up the beach          together.                                   INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - DAY                                   Emily, days later, dressed for work, halves an omelet with a          spatula and slides the halves onto two plates.                                                   EMILY           (calls to other room)           Breakfast.                                   There's no answer. Emily goes to get her.                                   INT. LUCY'S ROOM - DAY                                   Stops in the doorway.                                                   EMILY           Honey, breakfa--                                   Sees Lucy hide something under her pillow. Emily comes over,          brow arched, playful.           37.                                                                            EMILY           Come on, let me see...                                   Lucy guiltily eyes the floor. Emily lifts the pillow.          Underneath it is a photograph.                                   EMILY, AS A YOUNG GIRL, WITH HER MOTHER.                                   She looks at Lucy, then at the filing cabinet from which it          was taken. More surprised than upset.                                                   EMILY           You went through my things?                                                   LUCY           I'm sorry... I wanted to know what           happened to you.                                   Disarming sincerity. Emily's gaze falls to the photo. Quiet          moment. She sits down on the bed with it.                                                   LUCY           Is that your mom?                                   Emily nods, lost in the image. It's a photo that captures          her entire childhood. Emily and her mother sitting on the          steps of a house, together but apart, like a lost child that          sat down next to a pretty stranger who hasn't yet noticed          her. Emily's ten-year-old face shows the quiet sadness of          the disconnect. Reminds you of a child from her caseload.                                                   EMILY           She used to just leave, she'd just...                          (GESTURES `ADIOS')           ...and I never knew when she was coming           back, or if she was... I used to think it           was my fault and I would try so hard when           she got home to be good, do everything I           could think of, so she'd think I was           `special' and stay next time or take me           with her, but... it didn't matter, she'd           always go away again, that's how it was.                                   Emily fights her emotions and, practiced at the task, wins.          Lucy sits beside her on the bed. Understands her deeply.          Linked by their pasts.                                                   LUCY           Where was your dad?                                                   EMILY           Gone, he left before I was born. First           time I met him I was like thirteen.           38.                                                                            LUCY           What'd you say to him?                                                   EMILY           Oh, I had all these things I was gonna           say. Angry things I'd thought of and           kind of memorized. And um.... And then I           met him and I wasn't angry, I was just           sad and I told him...           (pauses, raw emotion)           I said, I love you, even if you don't           love me.                                   Emily smiles a pained smile and then buries the memory.          Lucy, a portrait of contrition:                                                   LUCY           Are you mad at me?                                                   EMILY           No... No, I'm not mad at you.           (puts her arm around her)           But I need you not to do that again,           okay? Go through my private things           without asking?                                   Lucy nods okay. Emily moves on, with a loving touch:                                                   EMILY           Omelet's getting cold. Better hurry.                                   Lucy exits. Emily eyes the photo a moment longer then stands          and puts it away in the filing cabinet. She pauses, feeling          exposed, and turns the little key to lock the drawers.                                   INT. EMILY'S CUBICLE - DAY                                   Emily stops at her cubicle, registering a surprise. Wayne          handing her case files to three COWORKERS. Awkward moment          for everyone.                                                   WAYNE                          (SYMPATHETIC)           I need another set of eyes to go over           them, make sure we haven't missed           anything else.                                                   EMILY           You mean, to make sure I haven't missed           anything else?           39.                                                                            WAYNE           It's just a legal thing. You'll have           them back tomorrow.                                   They exit. She goes in and stares at the BARE SHELF above          her desk. Her caseload gone. More than an insult.          Everything she cares about.                                   A pink phone message on her keyboard. She picks it up: Mike          Barron called. Important.                                   INT. COFFEE HOUSE - DAY                                   Newspaper headline: "INSANITY DEFENSE FOR GLENDALE COUPLE".          MUGSHOTS of Edward and Margaret below. The morning edition          folded on a table between Barron and Emily. They're drinking          coffee.                                                   BARRON           You watch, six months, their lawyer will           hire some expert to say they're rehabbed           and they'll sue for custody when they get           out.                                                   EMILY           She's not going back there, I'll take her           out of state before I let them near her           again.                                                   BARRON           I didn't hear you say that.                                   Emily knows she's misspoken, but lets it stand.                                                   EMILY           You wanted to talk about something?                                   Barron nods, sips his coffee, a bit uncomfortable.                                                   BARRON           We pulled the Martinezes' phone records.           They got a call that night before the           murders.                                                   EMILY           From who?                                                   BARRON                          (SOBER PAUSE)           Emily, the call came from your house.                                                   EMILY           What...?           40.                                                                            BARRON           Look, I'm not accusing you of anything, I           just need to know what was said.                                                   EMILY           That's impossible. I might have called           the week before...?                                                   BARRON           I'm talking to you as a friend here, you           know that, right?                                                   EMILY           Did you not hear me? I'm telling you,           Mike, as a friend, I did not call that           family.                                                   BARRON           Then who did? Go find the guy who broke           in and just happened to dial the number           of a kid whose case you handle.                                   Emily starts to say something, but stops as a confounding          realization comes to her. And then to Barron.                                   INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - DAY                                   Lucy sits on the sofa studying a photo of Diego. Emily sits          beside her, her advocate. Barron opposite.                                                   LUCY           He's in my group...           (puts down photo)           ...why, did something happen?                                   Emily nods yes. Barron, gently, mindful of Lucy's age:                                                   BARRON           We're trying to figure out why. He got a           call Thursday night from this number.           I'm just wondering if he might have said           anything...                                                   LUCY           It wasn't me.                                                   BARRON           You didn't call him?                                   Lucy shakes her head. Barron nods okay, then, speaking to          her as a father might his own daughter:           41.                                                                            BARRON           Lucy, it's hard sometimes to tell the           truth, but I know you will because you're           a good little girl.                                                   LUCY           I am telling the truth.                                                   EMILY           My backup files are in your room.           Diego's is in there. Maybe you got           curious and went through some, dialed a           number?                                                   LUCY           It wasn't me, I swear.                                   Complete innocence. Emily nods okay, wanting to believe, but          remembering the stolen photograph.                                                   BARRON           The call was at 2 am, are you ever up           that late?                                                   LUCY           I didn't call him.                                                   BARRON           Are you ever up that late?                                                   EMILY           Mike, she said no. Maybe someone made a           mistake.                                   Barron reads Emily's posture and disengages, stands to go.                                                   BARRON           Yeah, maybe so. Night, Lucy.                                   INT. FRONT DOOR, EMILY'S HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Exiting, Barron tells Emily as gently as possible:                                                   BARRON           She's lying.                                   And goes down the steps. Emily closes the door. Turns          around and there's Lucy. Uncomfortably close.                                                   LUCY           Do you believe me?           42.                                                                            EMILY           I believe you.                                   Lucy hugs her and Emily hugs her back, but she's still          thinking about what Barron said.                                   INT. EMILY'S CUBICLE - DAY                                   A PHOTO of Emily and Diego tacked to the corkboard panel          beside her desk. Emily sits contemplating it. Her gaze goes          from the photo to the BARE SHELF above her desk. Her          caseload is still missing. This is bullshit.                                   INT. WAYNE'S OFFICE - DAY                                   Emily walks in, power pose.                                                   EMILY           Give me back my cases or fire me. Right           now.                                   Wayne, caught unprepared, eating a doughnut.                                   INT. EMILY'S OFFICE - DAY                                   Caseload restored, Emily is multi-tasking, opening mail,          sorting backlogged paperwork, talking on the phone:                                                   EMILY           I don't care if it's a hairline fracture,           he broke her arm, I don't want him back           in that house. He what? He found           Christ? When? That recently? Uh huh.           Well he should have found Him sooner.                                   Hangs up. Doug leans in the doorway, drops a manila envelope          in her in-box. And a computer printout.                                                   EMILY           What's up?                                                   DOUG           Copy of the Sheridans' psych evals for           the file. And the cognitive profile Lucy           did for me the other day.                                                   EMILY           (re: Lucy's profile)           How's it look?                                                   DOUG WINTERS           Normal.           43.                                                            But his tone suggests otherwise.                                                   EMILY           Do I have to beg or are you gonna tell me           what's going on?                                                   DOUG           You have to beg.                          (SAME BREATH)           Coming from an environment like that,           testing this normal is a bit abnormal, if           that makes any sense.                                                   EMILY           She's `abnormally normal'?                                                   DOUG           I think she faked it, gave the answers           she thought she should.                                                   EMILY           Why would she do that?                                                   DOUG                          (SHRUGS)           She's ashamed of who she is. Ashamed of           how she feels. Afraid nobody would want           her if they saw the real her.           (off Emily's reaction)           It's no big deal, it just means I might           have to push her a little.                                                   EMILY           No, I know, I just... The Martinezes' got           a call Thursday night. From my house.                                                   DOUG           Did you ask her about it?                                                   EMILY           She said she didn't. Mike thinks she's           lying.                                                   DOUG           What do you think?                                                   EMILY           I don't know what to think.                                                   DOUG           Hmm. Bring her in after work, I'll do a           one-on-one. I wanted to talk to her           about this anyway.           44.                                                            He departs. Emily, alone in her cubicle, scans the test          results with growing concern.                                   INT. JUVENILE DETENTION CELL - DAY                                   Diego eating macaroni and cheese from a jailhouse tray.          Emily sets a folded blanket on the bed as she sits down to          talk to him.                                                   EMILY           Got you an extra in case it gets cold.                                   Diego nods without looking up.                                                   EMILY           I need to ask you something... about the           night it happened... did you get a call,           really late?                                   Diego stops eating. Stares at his food. Shakes his head no -          warily, like someone might be listening.                                                   EMILY           You didn't?                                   He shakes his head no. Still staring at his food.                                                   EMILY           Diego, I know you did, they called from           my house.                                   Diego puts down his fork, his fear obvious now, his breathing          quick and shallow.                                                   EMILY           What's the matter? What's scaring you?                                   He looks at Emily, terrified, starts HYPERVENTILATING.                                                   EMILY           Oh God...                                   Emily tries to calm the panicked boy as he gasps for air, a          horrible WHEEZING sound in his throat.                                                   EMILY           It's okay... slow breaths... you'll be           okay...           (yelling down hall)           Can somebody help us down here?!           45.                                                            INT. INFIRMARY, JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER - DAY                                   A little two-bed infirmary with unpainted cinder block walls.          Diego in bed on an IV drip. Emily talking to a NURSE by the          check-in desk.                                                   NURSE           He asked to see you before you left.                                   Emily comes over to Diego's bed. He holds her gaze in          silence, a secret he's afraid to tell. Emily speaks at a          whisper, as if to make the truth less frightening:                                                   EMILY           Who called you? Was it Lucy?                                   Diego's PULSE ACCELERATES on the EKG monitor. He gives a          trembling nod.                                                   EMILY           Did she say something to you? Something           that scared you?                                   Diego replies in Spanish, barely discernible, his throat raw:                                                   DIEGO           El dijo...                                                   EMILY           `El' dijo? What do you mean, `He said'?                                   Diego looks at her, confused, terrified. His RACING PULSE a          jagged green line above the bed.                                                   DIEGO           Era un hombre.                                   A chill goes through Emily.                                                   EMILY           It was a man?                                   Diego gives another trembling nod. Emily beside him, baffled          and a bit scared.                                   INT. CHILD SERVICES - NIGHT                                   After hours, the office is empty, half lit and eerily still.          Emily is photocopying at a work station, haunted by what          Diego said, the harsh upward light accentuating her tense          features.           46.                                                            The CYCLICAL SQUEAKING NOISE we hear is Lucy, in Emily's          cubicle in the b.g., turning herself in circles on the office          chair. Something very creepy about the disappearance and          reappearance of that pale watchful face.                                   Finished, Emily walks back to her cubicle, thrown by the          sight of Lucy spinning in the chair, walking head-on into          that eerie intermittent gaze.                                                   LUCY           Do...                          (TURNS)           you...                          (TURNS)           like...                          (TURNS)           working...                          (TURNS)           here?                                   Emily, unnerved, enters the cubicle.                                                   EMILY           Well, photocopying isn't much fun.                                   Lucy stops turning, stares at her, sensing something.                                                   EMILY           What...?                                   Lucy just stares. Doug appears in the doorway.                                                   DOUG           Knock, knock. Sorry I'm late, guys.                          (TO LUCY)           Ready, kiddo?                                   Lucy nods and gets up from the chair.                                                   DOUG           Go ahead down, I'll be right there.                                   Lucy heads down the hall to the conference room.                                                   DOUG                          (TO EMILY)           You all right?                                                   EMILY           This is weird. Diego said it was Lucy           that called, but he called her a he, he           said it was a man.           47.                                                            His face - what? Emily nods yes. Doug's brow arches then          furrows. He turns and heads down the hall.                                   INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - NIGHT                                   Doug sits opposite Lucy at the table, keeps it easygoing          despite what he's just been told.                                                   DOUG           So how's school?                                                   LUCY           Fine.                                                   DOUG           Any of your classmates giving you a hard           time?                                                   LUCY           No, they've been nice.                                                   DOUG           Sleeping okay?                                                   LUCY           That's not really what you want to talk           about, is it, Doug?                                   Awkward pause. Awkward smile.                                                   DOUG           You got me.                                   Opens his file. Takes out her cognitive assessment profile.          Lays it flat on the table.                                                   DOUG           Question 16a, are you afraid of the dark?           You answered `no'. Question 16b, are you           afraid of being alone? `No'. 16c, are           afraid of your parents? `No'. You           answered `no' to everything in that           section. I think some of those should           have been yesses. Everybody is afraid of           something. Working through our fears,           conquering them, is how we get better.           So I want you to tell me... What scares           you?                                   Lucy steeples her fingers and rests her chin on top, regards          Doug with a look of frank appraisal. It is the face of a          child, but behind those eyes there is a keen intelligence.           48.                                                                            LUCY           I'll tell you what scares me if you tell           me what scares you.                                   Doug did not see this coming.                                                   DOUG           Fair enough. When I was twelve I was           climbing a tree and I accidentally put my           hand through a giant hornets' nest. They           didn't like it. I got stung over a           hundred times. They had to rush me to           the hospital. I've been afraid of           hornets ever since. Don't climb many           trees either.                          (SMILES)           Everybody has fears. Now, what scares           you?                                                   LUCY           Me.                                   Pause.                                                   DOUG           You scare yourself?                                                   LUCY           Sometimes.                                                   DOUG           Why, what about yourself scares you?                                                   LUCY           I have bad thoughts.                                                   DOUG           About what?                                                   LUCY           People.                                                   DOUG           People in general or certain people?                                                   LUCY           Certain people.                                                   DOUG           Like who?                                                   LUCY           You.           49.                                                            Silence.                                                   DOUG           You have bad thoughts about me?                          (SHE NODS)           Why?                                                   LUCY                          (SHRUGS)           I just do.                                                   DOUG           Was there something I said or did that           upset you?                                                   LUCY           (shakes her head)           It's just the way you are...                                                   DOUG           How am I?                                                   LUCY           Facile.                                                   DOUG           Facile?           (she nods yes)           Do you even know what that means?                                                   LUCY           Easily comprehended. Often lacking           sincerity or depth. You're smug, too.           Want me to tell you what that means?                                   Dead silence. Doug skewered by a ten-year-old. A boyish          shyness emerges, a relic from his own youth.                                                   DOUG           Well, if, um, if I seemed `smug' or           `facile' I want to -                                                   LUCY                          (GIRLISH LAUGH)           Don't apologize.                                                   DOUG           Why?                                                   LUCY           You're a grown up, it's embarrassing.                          (THEN; DEADPAN)                          (MORE)           50.                                                   LUCY(CONT'D)           Should we talk about school now? My           grades are getting a lot better.                                   Doug just stares at her.                                   INT. HALLWAY, CHILD SERVICES DEPARTMENT - NIGHT                                   Waiting until Lucy is out of earshot down the hall, Doug          confers with Emily by the water cooler. He's sweating,          shaken by the encounter.                                                   DOUG           Talked to a lot of ten-year-olds, I don't           think I've ever felt like that before...                                                   EMILY           Like what?                                                   DOUG           Threatened.                          (THEN; BAFFLED)           I know a specialist, I'll call him in the           morning.                                                   EMILY           What do I do with her in the meantime?                                   Doug pauses, no idea, smiles an eerie smile.                                                   DOUG           Don't let her get in your head.                                   Exits. His paranoia feeding Emily's. In the hush she hears          that faint CYCLICAL SQUEAKING. Looks across the darkened          office to her cubicle where Lucy is turning circles in her          chair again.                                   That face. That face. That face.                                   INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Tense dinner. Emily barely touching hers. Lucy, absently,          but with an almost surgical precision, is CUTTING PEAS IN          HALF ON HER PLATE AND EATING THEM ONE BY ONE OFF THE TIP OF          THE KNIFE. Weird. She stops, self-conscious, looks at Emily          across the table.                                                   LUCY           Are you mad at me?                                                   EMILY           No. Just tired.           51.                                                                            LUCY           Want me to brush your hair?                                                   EMILY           That's okay.                                                   LUCY           Are you sure?                                                   EMILY           Some other time.                                                   LUCY                          (STANDS UP)           It will make you feel better. I'll get           the brush.                                                   EMILY           I said no, thank you.                                   Lucy stares at Emily for a moment then sits again. And it's          strange, her posture seems subtly different, stiffer, bonier,          as if all her muscles have drawn taut under her clothes. In          a voice at once innocent and menacing:                                                   LUCY           Doug said something, didn't he?                                                   EMILY           No. Doug? He says you're doing great.                                   Tense silence.                                                   LUCY           What did he tell you?                                                   EMILY           Nothing.                                   Lucy stares at her, seeing through the facade. Then, oddly          bright, taking a bite of food:                                                   LUCY           You're funny.                                   INT. LUCY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                                   EMILY SILHOUETTED in the doorway, keeping her distance as she                         SAYS GOODNIGHT:                                                   EMILY           Get some rest.           52.                                                            She starts to close the door.                                                   LUCY           You forgot to kiss me goodnight.                                   A tense pause then Emily walks over and kisses her on the          forehead.                                                   EMILY           Goodnight.                                   Lucy clutches her wrist as she turns to go.                                                   LUCY           I love you.                                   Emily, trapped, forces a tender smile.                                                   EMILY           I love you, too.                                   Lucy's EYES GLEAM in the darkness. She turns onto her side          for sleep, but those eyes don't shut even after Emily has          walked out and closed the door behind her.                                   INT. DOUG'S CONDO - NIGHT                                   Football highlights on a liquid plasma tv. Doug flipping          through a DSM IV diagnostic manual. The phone RINGS. He          picks up, distracted, scanning the DSM index.                                                   DOUG           Hello?                                   A strange INTERMITTENT STATIC BUZZ on the line.                                                   DOUG           Hello...?                                   BZZZZT. BZZZZT. BZZZZT. A telecommunications glitch.                                                   DOUG           Try again, sorry.                                   He hangs up. Finds the chapter he's looking for. ANTI-          SOCIAL PERSONALITY TYPE. But he hears it again now -                                   BZZZZZZZZT BZZZZZZZZZT - louder, deeper - and realizes, in          quiet terror, that it's coming from INSIDE HIS EAR.           53.                                                            INT. DOUG'S BATHROOM - NIGHT                                   Doug opens the medicine cabinet and grabs a Q-tip. Wiggles          it around in his ear and when he takes it out there's a                                                  HORNET                                   sitting on the cottony tip, scissoring its wings.                                   Doug stares in disbelief. Mouth gaping.                                   He throws the Q-tip in the toilet. Hits the flush lever.          Watches the hornet spiral away. Gone.                                   Stares at the empty bowl. Did I just imagine that?                                   Shaken, he turns to the sink. Wedges his head under the tap          and runs water into his ear.                                   Straightens and looks at himself in the mirror, toweling his          face, trying to impose rational thought on the situation.          But as the water spills from his ear, down his neck, onto his          shirt, it brings with it -                                   TWO MORE LIVE HORNETS, half drowned.                                   With a yelp Doug swipes them from his shirt. Crushes them          underfoot. Terrified, but clinging to rational thought a          moment longer, he turns his head sideways to the mirror,          parts his hair, and sees -                                   ANOTHER HORNET crawl from the ear canal, followed by SIX OR          SEVEN MORE!                                                   DOUG           FUCK!                                   Rationality goes out the window. He flails at them with the          towel. Swats them dead. Picks them up and drops them in the          toilet. Studies the last one for a moment. Its little legs          twitching. Drops it in. Flushes.                                   A false respite. And a brief one. Because as the FLUSHING          NOISE FADES he can hear an ominous DEEP BUZZING SOUND RISING.                                   It's coming from behind him. He turns to have a look.          Nothing there. Bare wall.                                   But it's strange: the BUZZING IS STILL BEHIND HIM.                                   With dawning horror Doug turns and checks his back in the          mirror, sees           54.                                                            HIS ENTIRE SHIRT BACK IS CRAWLING WITH HORNETS!                                   Whimpering like a child, he undoes the buttons of his shirt,          taking it off as delicately as possible. Slipping his arms          gently from the sleeves.                                   Holding it by the collar, he takes two quick steps and tosses          it in the shower. Slams the glass door, seals the crack with          towels. And watches the hornets fly around in the glass          enclosure, BUZZING FURIOUSLY, bouncing off the glass.                                   But as he backpedals he realizes the FURIOUS BUZZING is too          close, too loud and too deep, to be coming from the shower          over there. A sharp pain in his head confirms it. He GROANS          and brings a hand to his ear as something awful happens          inside.                                   The BUZZING in his right ear spreads to his left - LOUDER,          ANGRIER, its sources multiplying. Disoriented, he stumbles          backwards with an AGONIZING SCREAM. Catches sight of himself          in the mirror, the terror of the moment on his face. This          can't be happening.                                   And now the nightmare takes a devilish turn. Looking at          himself in the mirror, he sees -                                   HORNETS START CRAWLING FROM HIS NOSE. FROM BETWEEN HIS LIPS.          FROM UNDER HIS EYELIDS. THE BUZZING NOW UNBEARABLY LOUD. AN          ENTIRE SWARM RAGING INSIDE HIS SKULL, FIGHTING ITS WAY OUT!                                   Doug grabs his head in both hands and starts shaking it,          trying to shake away the madness inside. But the hornets          keep coming, COUGHED UP IN CLUMPS as he gasps for air.          They're all over him, stinging his tongue, his eyes.                                   He goes berserk and starts SMASHING HIS HEAD against the          wall, the door, the edge of the sink, anything he can find,          opening a deep gash in his forehead, smashing it harder and          harder because the BUZZING WON'T STOP, cracking his skull,          SCREAMING HYSTERICALLY, pitching his head violently forwards          and backwards like some demon-possessed heavy metal fanatic.                                   It's a grotesque display that ends on a sickening note when,          with one particularly violent head jerk, he snaps his own          neck - CRACK!!! He sinks to the floor, head askew,          astonished look on his face.                                   And there he sits, paralyzed, eyes locked on the tv in the          living room where football highlights play in silence. Fully          conscious as the hornets fight their way back into his ears,          nose, and mouth - a pilgrimage back to the mind that bore          them.           55.                                                            INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE COUNSELING ROOM - DAY                                   Emily exits a counseling room. Says goodbye to a young                         FAMILY -                                                   EMILY           See you next week.                                   - and comes down the hall toward the common area. A coworker          stands from an adjacent cubicle. DENISE.                                                   DENISE           Seen Doug? He had an appointment with           one of my kids this morning, never showed           up.                                                   EMILY           Did you try calling him?                                                   DENISE           All I get is voicemail.                                   Emily dials Doug on a fax/phone by the Xerox machine. On the                         FIRST RING:                                                   ANSWERING MACHINE           Hey, this is Doug, here it comes -                                   BEEP. She hangs up. A dark thought sends her toward the          exit, calling back to Denise -                                                   EMILY           Cover my desk.                                   EXT. DOUG'S CONDO - DAY                                   Emily knocking on the door of his Marina Del Rey townhouse.                                                   EMILY           Doug, it's me, it's Emily...                                   No answer.                                   She comes down the steps to his car, walks past it and then          stops, noticing the window is open a crack. Slipping her          hand inside, stretching, she extends one finger just far          enough to push the button on the garage door remote clipped          to the sunvisor.                                   Up the drive, the door starts to open.           56.                                                            INT. DOUG'S CONDO - DAY                                   A door in the first-floor hallway opens. Emily steps in.                                                   EMILY           Doug?                                   No answer. She comes up the stairs into the LIVING ROOM.          The tv is still on. Muted. Calls up the next flight of          stairs.                                                   EMILY           Doug, you here?                                   No reply. She goes up the stairs and down the hall and          checks the BEDROOM. Empty. The bed unmade. It's when she          turns from the room to go back downstairs that she sees him:                                   SLOUCHED DEAD AGAINST THE BATHROOM WALL, GUT BLOATED BY          DECOMPOSITION, FACE COVERED IN BLACKENED DAY-OLD BLOOD.                                                   EMILY           NOOOOO!!!!!                                   INT. COUNTY CORONER - DAY                                   With stoic grief Emily walks down the cold, fluorescently-lit          corridor, intercepts a CORONER as he exits the exam room.                                                   EMILY           Dr Johannsen?                                   He looks at her; pale, bespectacled, a bit standoffish.                                                   EMILY           You did the autopsy on Doug Winters?                                                   CORONER           (trying to remember)           Winters -- oh, right, Douglas.                                                   EMILY           How did he die?                                                   CORONER           Family?                                                   EMILY           Friend.           (preempting his reply)           I know the rules -- please, he meant a           lot to me.           57.                                                            Her face the proof. He indicates his adjoining office. They          go in.                                   INT. CORONER'S OFFICE - DAY                                   He takes the autopsy report from a filing cabinet. Reviews          his findings.                                                   CORONER           Compression fracture of the third and           forth vertebrae. Severed his spinal           cord. Actual cause of death was...           suffocation.                                                   EMILY           You're saying he did that to himself?                                                   CORONER           It appears all his injuries were self-           inflicted, yes.                                                   EMILY           Oh come on. He looked like he'd been           beaten to death! Don't tell me he was           some - some suicidal...                          (BREAKING DOWN)           ...I knew him! He was my best friend!                                   She turns away crying.                                                   CORONER           Miss, I would never presume to know your           friend better than you. But the injuries           suggest he was trying to hurt himself.           Unfortunately, he succeeded. I am sorry.                                   Emily, composing herself, gives a quiet nod. She has no          quarrel with this man.                                                   EMILY           Have you ever seen this before, somebody           dying like this?                                   The coroner files the report, world weary.                                                   CORONER           Truly, I am shocked every day by the           violence people do to themselves.                                   INT. CEMETERY - DAY                                   DOUGLAS J. WINTERS etched in granite. A final prayer read          by a PRIEST as he is laid to rest.           58.                                   A breeze ruffles the clothes of the MOURNERS. Blows hair          across Emily's haunted face.                                   Lucy, at her side, sees her grief and reaches for her hand.          Instinctively, Emily retracts it. Lucy registers the slight,          the wider implications.                                   Emily watches the coffin descend. She weeps openly.                                   INT. EMILY'S CAR - DAY                                   Emily, red-eyed, driving home, sees something in her          peripheral vision that sends a chill through her.                                   Lucy, gazing quietly out the passenger-side window, is          SWINGING HER LEGS in that contented way children do. A small          but telling detail. Immediately HER LEGS STOP SWINGING,          sensing Emily's stare. And with her head still turned away:                                                   LUCY           You think it's my fault, don't you?                                   She turns to face Emily, who measures her words.                                                   EMILY           It was an accident. It was nobody's           fault.                                   Lucy holds her gaze. Then, as if to test her, reaches again          for Emily's hand. Trapped in the lie, Emily has to let her.          And as she drives on in that private hell, holding hands with          Lucy...                                   INT. MIKE BARRON'S OFFICE - DAY                                   Emily, an emotional wreck, confides in Barron.                                                   EMILY           He was scared. He came out of that room           with her, Mike, and he was scared. He           said she threatened him.                                                   BARRON           Listen. You're still in shock. Let's                          NOT --                                                   EMILY           Diego said it was a man on the phone.           You know who made that call. There was           no one else in the house.           (off his look)           You think I don't know how crazy this           sounds?!           59.                                                                            BARRON           Look, I don't know, all I'm saying is a           kid in his state of mind maybe isn't the           most reliable witness.                                                   EMILY           Why is he in that state of mind? Why was           Doug? Pull my phone records. See if she           called him.                                                   BARRON           Emily. I already did. There were no           calls from your house.                                   Emily's argument collapses. She sits there for a moment,          vexed, her intellect telling her one thing, her gut another.          She gets up to go. Pauses at the door.                                                   EMILY           Her mother and father, their bedroom door           has these deadbolts on it, big ones, two           of `em... Something came through that           door and they didn't want it ever coming           through there again.                                   INT. EMILY'S CUBICLE - DAY                                   Emily digs through her in-box, spilling things on the floor.          Finds the manila envelope Doug gave her. Rips it open.          Dumps the contents into her hand.                                   A VIDEO TAPE                                   Typed on the label: Sheridan, Marg. & Ed., Prelim. Psych          Interviews.                                                   CUT TO:                                   ON A TELEVISION - Margaret Sheridan sits facing the camera,          responding to the questions of an unseen interviewer. Her          haunted face and frank tone make the interview chilling.                                                   INTERVIEWER           And by forcing your daughter into the           oven, can you tell me, what did you think           the outcome would be?                                                   MARGARET           You mean what were we doing it for?                                                   INTERVIEWER           Yes.           60.                                                                            MARGARET           To kill her.                                                   INTERVIEWER           Why?                                                   MARGARET           God's will.                                   INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY                                   Pulling back, we see Emily alone in a dimmed conference room          watching the tape.                                                   INTERVIEWER           And why was it God's will that you should           kill your daughter?                                   An eerie smile comes to Margaret's face.                                                   INTERVIEWER           Why is that funny, Margaret?                                                   MARGARET           `Cause she's not my daughter.                                                   INTERVIEWER           You're her mother...?                                                   MARGARET           I bore her, but she's not mine.                                                   INTERVIEWER           Help me understand. If you and Edward           are Lucy's biological parents, how can           she not be yours?                                                   MARGARET           `Cause she's not Of us.                                                   INTERVIEWER           Not Of you?                                   Margaret nods.                                                   INTERVIEWER           Who is she Of?                                                   MARGARET           Not who, what.                                                   INTERVIEWER           What is she Of?           61.                                                                            MARGARET           Stop acting like you don't know what I'm           talking about.                                   Stares at him. Her eyes black and unblinking.                                                   INTERVIEWER           You think your daughter is the devil?                                                   MARGARET           Not him himself, Of him, working in his           name, in his honor.                                                   INTERVIEWER           Evil incarnate?                                                   MARGARET           I don't care what you call it.                                                   INTERVIEWER           And why do you think that?                                                   MARGARET           Not what I think it's what I know.                                                   INTERVIEWER           How do you know this? Could you give me           an example?                                   Margaret pauses. Seeming afraid for the first time. Some          secrets perhaps best left untold.                                                   MARGARET           She can make you see things. Visions.                                                   INTERVIEWER           Visions of what?                                                   MARGARET           Hell. Damnation. Whatever you're afraid           of.                                                   INTERVIEWER           I see. Any other `special abilities'?                                                   MARGARET           People die around her, is that a special           ability?                                                   INTERVIEWER           She kills people?           62.                                                                            MARGARET           Not by her hand, they just die. I had           two brothers, Brent and Travis...                                   Margaret's voice falters. Overcome by grief, she dissolves          into tears. It's a side of her we've never seen. Human.                                                   MARGARET           ...and I mean they was healthy boys,           healthy as can be. Eddie, three sisters.           Soon as she was born they started dying.                                                   INTERVIEWER           You blame Lucy for their deaths?                                   Margaret nods yes, wiping her eyes. Embarrassed.          Unaccustomed to crying in front of strangers.                                                   INTERVIEWER           Why do you imagine you were spared?                                                   MARGARET           I guess she couldn't get rid of us till           she found somebody else. Now that she           has, I don't imagine we're long for this           world.                                   CLOSE UP ON MARGARET - face streaked with tears, her pain          deep and undeniable.                                                   CUT TO:                                   VIDEO OF EDWARD SHERIDAN in a violent rage. Pushing his          chair back from the interview table, he stands, screaming          through clenched teeth, his broken jaw wired shut:                                                   EDWARD           THE HELL DID I JUST SAY?!                                                   INTERVIEWER           Edward, please calm --                                                   EDWARD           YOU AND YOUR GODDAMN QUESTIONS! YOU           DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!                                   A pair of orderlies rush in to restrain him. The CAMERA gets          knocked ajar in the struggle. The tape ends as they take          Edward screaming to the floor.                                                   EDWARD           IT'S NOT CHILD KILLING IF SHE'S NOT A           CHILD!           63.                                                            And that's the interview. Emily stares at the BLANK BLUE          SCREEN, transfixed, lowers her gaze to the table.                                   There's a PHOTO tucked inside the psychiatric file. Edward          and Margaret in happier times - YOUNG BIBLE CAMP COUNSELORS          in T-shirts and hiking boots on a path through sunlit forest.          Sweet. Innocent. Emily's age. The year they met perhaps.                                   She holds it up to the newspaper mugshots for a before-and-          after comparison. The transformation of their faces is          shocking. Emily sits frozen by the realization: Edward and          Margaret Sheridan. Not criminals. Victims.                                   INT. STATE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - DAY                                   An old brick orphanage turned psychiatric hospital. Emily's          Volvo goes up the winding tree-lined drive.                                    CHIEF PSYCHIATRIST (V.O.)           Unfortunately Mrs Sheridan suffered a           rather severe psychotic episode last           night...                                   INT. STATE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - DAY                                   Emily and the CHIEF PSYCHIATRIST walk down a dark,          institutional corridor.                                                   CHIEF PSYCHIATRIST           ...Woke up screaming, absolutely           convinced she was on fire. She wasn't,           of course, they managed to sedate her.           But it's curious, she displays all the           symptoms of a burn patient. Except the           burns themselves...                                   Margaret's door. Emily peers through a little square of          reinforced glass. A padded cell. Margaret strapped to a          bed. Writhing in pain. Laboring to breathe. Eyes swimming.                                                   CHIEF PSYCHIATRIST           In no condition for visitors as you can           see. If you'd like, I could let you see           Mr Sheridan?                                   Emily hesitates, afraid of him.                                                   EMILY           Okay.                                   She casts a departing glance through the window and shudders          to see that Margaret's roaming eyes have locked on her in a          hollow stare.           64.                                                            INT. VISITATION ROOM, PSYCH HOSPITAL - DAY                                   Restrained in a straitjacket, Edward is brought in by two          orderlies who seat him at a table opposite Emily and then          exit. Jaw wired, everything he says is spoken through          clenched teeth.                                                   EMILY           I know I'm probably the last person you           want to see right now, but you're...                                   His stare unnerves her. She stops and collects herself.                                                   EMILY           You're the only one I can talk to.           Lucy's been staying with me -                                                   EDWARD           Who died?                                   Emily falls silent. Her voice cracks with emotion.                                                   EMILY           A friend.                                   Edward nods yup. Regards her in silence. Emily speaks, or          tries to, just to fill that awful void.                                                   EMILY           I, ummm...                                                   EDWARD           You're scared.                                   Emily, skewered again, nods yes.                                                   EDWARD           You oughta be.                                   Dead silence. She meets his gaze. And there is eye contact,          true understanding.                                                   EDWARD           You judged us before you ever walked in           that house. Sat there in our living room           tellin' us about our problems, how to be           better parents - certain of everything           and dead wrong about all of it.                          (THEN)           Ask what you came to ask.                                   After a moment:           65.                                                                            EMILY           What is she?                                   It's a question Edward has asked himself once or twice. He          leans back in his chair and folds his arms with an almost          casual air.                                                   EDWARD           Can tell you what she's not. She not a           daughter of mine. She's not a ten-year-           old having trouble in school. She's not           some innocent victim whose door you           busted down and life you saved. And           she's not going no place, lady, till           she's good and done with you.                                                   EMILY           Done with me how?                                                   EDWARD           However she wants. You think it's an           accident her ending up with you? She saw           you coming a mile away.                                                   EMILY           Why me? I don't have anything.                                                   EDWARD           You have that you're good. Kindness.           Decency. That's what she feeds on.           Bleeds ya dry, moves onto the next. We           were a big family, she went through us           like a wrecking ball. And you know,           every time something happened, every           time, we had an excuse for why it wasn't           her fault. Cuz it's easier to lie to           yourself than think bad things about your           baby girl. But finally we got to a point           where me and Maggy looked at each other -           (remembers so clearly)           - where we looked at each other and we           was out of lies, both of us. Most           terrifying moment of our lives. And           that's where you are now.                                   Emily silently registering this truth.                                                   EDWARD           I'll tell you this. She sees everything.           And what she doesn't see she just sort of           senses it, like when you call a friend           and they pick up before it rings?                          (MORE)           66.                                                   EDWARD(CONT'D)           Only time you got the upper hand is when           she's sleepin' but she almost never does.           We checked on her every night for three           months. Every twenty minutes, up and           down those stairs. First time she slept           was the night you kicked in my front           door.                                   After a moment:                                                   EMILY           What does she want?                                                   EDWARD           To know... what your idea of hell is...           and make you live there.                                   Emily sits in haunted silence. Edward's features soften.                                                   EDWARD           I'm not a hateful man. I look at you and           I wish I could tell you you're through           the worst of it. That it's gonna work           out for you in the end. I wish I could.                                                   EMILY           What should I do?                                   A pitying smile reveals Edward's wired teeth.                                                   EDWARD           How strong's your faith?                                   INT. CORRIDOR, CHILD WELFARE - DAY                                   NANCY, the bloated director from the custody panel, walking          briskly down a corridor. Emily calls to her from behind,          approaching.                                                   EMILY           Nancy...?                                                   NANCY           Emily, I heard about Doug. I'm so sorry.                                                   EMILY                          (NODS)           Do you have a minute?                                   Nancy glances at her watch, nods okay, a minute.                                   INT. CHILD WELFARE DIRECTOR'S OFFICE - DAY                                   Emily and Nancy enter the lavish office.           67.                                                                            NANCY           How's it working out with the Sheridan           girl?                                                   EMILY           Actually, that's why I'm here. I           appreciate what you did for me, Nancy, I           really do, but I think it'd be best if           she was placed in foster care.                                                   NANCY           She is. You're it.                                                   EMILY           I know, but it's not working out.                                                   NANCY           Playing mommy isn't the laugh-a-minute           you were hoping, huh?                                                   EMILY           I suppose not.                                   Nancy nods, not entirely surprised.                                                   NANCY           Sorry, you petitioned for custody, you           got it. She's your responsibility.                                                   EMILY           Until when?                                                   NANCY           Till we find a suitable foster home.                                                   EMILY           How long is that going to take?                                                   NANCY           You're asking me questions you know the           answer to. Three to six weeks. Surely           you can manage that long.                                                   EMILY           I don't want her anymore. I'm done.           That's it.                                   Nancy grimaces. Scary lady.                                                   NANCY           Now you look. I put my reputation, quite           possibly my career, on the line for you.           Don't embarrass me. You make this work.           68.                                                                            EMILY           How do I make it work if it's not           working?                                                   NANCY           However! Find a way!                                   INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY                                   A CLERK stops in an aisle, hands Emily a DEADBOLT from a          shelf.                                                   HARDWARE CLERK           That what you're looking for?                                                   EMILY                          (NODS)           Thanks.                                   He walks off. Emily weighs the deadbolt in hand. Puts it          down and picks up the next larger size. Grabs a second one          just to be safe. A third for good measure.                                   INT. LUCY'S ROOM, EMILY'S HOUSE - DAY                                   With urgency Emily removes all her backup files from the          shelf in Lucy's room. Dropping them in banker's boxes.          Stops on Diego's. Eyes his photo. Drops it in. Grabs the          office phone, boxes it with the files.                                   INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - DAY                                   Emily unplugs the phone in the kitchen. Unplugs the one by          the sofa.                                   Opens the closet and tosses the phones inside with the          banker's boxes she put there. Closes the door. Locks it.          Hides the key.                                   Just then, a FLASHING RED LIGHT draws her gaze to the window -                                   A SCHOOL BUS                                   stopping at the end of the block. Emily crosses to the          window, watching as                                                  LUCY                                   gets off and comes up the sidewalk toward the house. Sensing          Emily's stare, she stops and meets it. Waves, testing the          waters. Emily waves back but it's a hollow gesture. Lucy's          smile fades, knowing this as she continues toward the house.           69.                                                            In a sudden panic Emily goes into the kitchen, grabs one of          the knives. Eyes the blade, forced to contemplate the          unthinkable - its use as a weapon, self-defense.                                   She comes into the living room, holding it. Catches sight of          herself in the mirror. A jarring image:                                   Sweet Emily Jennings with a butcher's knife in her hand.                                   The sound of LUCY'S FOOTSTEPS on the front steps breaks the          spell.                                   Emily hides the knife behind the fish tank. No good, you can          see it through the glass.                                   We hear LUCY'S KEY IN THE LOCK.                                   Emily grabs the knife. It's in her hand as the door CLICKS          open, until the last second when she tosses it under a sofa          pillow.                                   Lucy enters. Shy. Innocent. A ten-year-old home from          school.                                                   LUCY           Hi.                                   Emily returns a plastic smile.                                                   EMILY           Hi.                                                   LUCY           You weren't there so I took the bus.                                                   EMILY           Sorry, work - lost track of time.                                                   LUCY           It's okay, I know how busy you are.                                   Emily watches unnerved as Lucy crosses to the sofa, to the          very pillow where she hid the butcher's knife, and sits down          to untie her shoes. The point of the knife is almost          touching her leg. If she moves at all, it will cut the skin.                                                   LUCY           Doesn't matter anyway, the bus stops           right at the end of the street. So I can           always get home, whether you're there or           not.           70.                                                                            EMILY           Lucky.                                   Lucy nods then pauses and looks at the pillow, or appears to,          but she is actually looking at the end table.                                                   LUCY           Where's the phone?                                                   EMILY           Oh, it wasn't working...                                   Lucy nods oh. Finishes untying her shoes then gets up and          walks into the kitchen, checks the wall, turns to Emily.                                                   LUCY           Wow. That one, too.                                   Emily, caught in a lie, says nothing.                                                   LUCY           Can I have a shower? We had gym today...                                   Emily nods. Lucy heads into the bathroom. Pauses at the          door, back turned.                                                   LUCY           Are they being nice to her?                                                   EMILY           Who?                                                   LUCY           My mother.                                   She turns for Emily's reaction.                                                   EMILY           How - how would I know that?                                                   LUCY           I thought you said you were going to see           her.                                                   EMILY           I never said that.                                   Lucy frowns. A bewilderment that seems genuine.                                                   LUCY           Hm. I must have dreamt it.                                   Goes into the bathroom. Closes the door.           71.                                                            INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - DAY                                   Ear pressed to the bathroom door, Emily listens to the          RUNNING WATER: Lucy taking a shower.                                   She goes to the closet, unlocks it. Grabs one of the phones.                                   INT. EMILY'S KITCHEN - DAY                                   It sounds like EMILY'S VOICE is coming from the fridge until          we sweep past it to see her crouching by a phone jack in the          corner. Whispering.                                                   EMILY           I don't care, Robin, anywhere. Just find           somewhere that will take her. Tonight.           I don't want this girl in my house.                                   Emily unplugs the phone. And just then hears a SOFT BREATH          behind her. Oh shit. Slowly turns.                                   LUCY IN A BATH ROBE BEHIND HER.                                   Hair dripping wet. A chilling stare. How much did she hear?          Lucy walks out. We hear her bedroom door close.                                   Emily crouched in the corner, holding the phone, terrified at          the thought of what's in store.                                   INT. EMILY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                                   THE HEAD OF A TURNING SCREW - Emily installing a DEADBOLT on          her door in the middle of the night.                                   It's the third lock, the other two already in place. Hands          trembling, she lines up the last screw. It slips from her          fingers. ROLLS UNDER THE DOOR.                                   She cracks opens the door. Reaches to grab it and lets out a          SHRIEK, recoiling -                                                  FEET                                   standing just outside her door.                                   LUCY, IN PAJAMAS, HOLDING THE SCREW                                   She hands it back to Emily, making no overt acknowledgement          of it.                                                   LUCY           Good night.           72.                                                            She walks down the hallway to her bedroom.                                   As soon as Lucy's door closes, Emily closes hers and goes          back to work, doublespeed. Winds that last screw into the          wood and then slides-to the heavy bolts.                                   CLUNK. CLUNK. CLUNK.                                   Scooting backwards, she sits against the bed, wide-eyed with          terror, screwdriver clutched in her fist like a stabbing          weapon.                                   EXT. OLD STONE CHURCH - DAY                                   A bell TOLLS in a steeple.                                   Down below, Emily is going against the tide, walking up the          steps past CHURCHGOERS who are coming down after morning          mass. Halfway up, she runs into Mike Barron and his wife and          son. It's awkward, more for her than him.                                                   BARRON           Emily...?                                                   EMILY           Mike.                                   EXT. CHURCH PARK - DAY                                   Sitting on a bench in a park that occupies the shadow of the          old stone church, Emily and Mike talk privately. His wife          pushing his young son on a playground swing.                                                   EMILY           `No such thing as a bad kid, only bad           parents.' I always believed that. It's           a lie. Her parents aren't crazy.                                                   BARRON           You wanna end up where they did keep           talking like this.           (off her look)           I'm not judging you. You're grieving for           Doug and you're still confused about what           Diego did.                                                   EMILY           Aren't you?                                                   BARRON           Diego grew up in a bad home, he saw           violence and he repeated it, that's the           cycle, you know that better than anyone.           73.                                                                            EMILY           Why did she lie about calling him?                                                   BARRON           `Cause she's a liar, that doesn't mean           she made him do it. Look, let me tell           you what Lucy is. Lucy is a damaged           child, a deceitful child, a manipulative           child. But a damaged, deceitful,           manipulative child is not a demon. Ask           my brother-in-law, he's got a couple of           `em.                                   Barron stands from the bench.                                                   EMILY           Mike, you know I'm not crazy. Don't run           away from something just because it           scares you.                                   His concern edges toward sadness. He indicates the church.                                                   BARRON           I stopped you on the steps. I think           maybe you oughta go all the way in.                                   Walks off to rejoin his wife and son. Emily alone on a bench          in the shadow of a church.                                   INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE GROUP THERAPY - DAY                                   The circle of abused children. Lucy among them, a happy          participant. Nancy filling in for Doug.                                   It's EMILY'S POV - as she spies on Lucy through the window,          second-guessing herself for a moment.                                   Session over, Nancy dismisses the group with a smile and          theatrical applause.                                   Emily watches Lucy cross the room. At the coat rack, she          whispers something to another girl. The veil of Lucy's hair          partially obscures her profile, but through that veil Emily          sees something chilling. For a moment, a moment so fleeting          it might just be a trick of the eyes -                                   LUCY'S LIPS APPEAR THICKER, MORE MASCULINE, SPEAKING CAUSTIC          WORDS THAT HOLD THE OTHER GIRL CAPTIVE.                                   Emily draws a sharp inward breath. Lucy, feeling Emily's          stare now, turns to meet it. Her SWEET INNOCENT GIRL LIPS          widening into a smile.           74.                                                            But Emily knows what she saw. She throws open the door and          rushes in.                                   INT. GROUP THERAPY ROOM - DAY                                   Grabs Lucy by the arm and yanks her bodily from the room.          This, to the amazement of Nancy, the other children -                                   INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE GROUP THERAPY - DAY                                   - and to the shock of the other PARENTS waiting outside.          Nancy comes after her in a fury. Runs her down. Erupts.                                                   NANCY           Who do you think you are barging in there           like that?!                                                   EMILY           I don't want her in group anymore, I           don't want her around the other kids.                                                   NANCY           Well that's not your decision, is it?!                                   Emily opens her mouth to reply, but Lucy beats her to the          punch.                                                   LUCY           It's okay, Nancy, Emily's been under a           lot of stress lately, but she's really           nice to me and I hope I can stay with her           a really long time.                                   Nancy, disarmed by the glowing praise, turns back to Emily.                                                   NANCY           We'll talk about this later.                                   Storms off.                                                   LUCY           See you next week, Nancy.                                   Nancy doesn't hear, busily reassuring parents, damage          control. Emily and Lucy arrive at the elevator. Emily hits          the button.                                                   EMILY           You're never going back there.                                                   LUCY           Why, Emily?           75.                                                            Emily says nothing. Lucy keeps asking the same question, in          the exact same intonation, as Emily ignores her:                                                   LUCY           Why, Emily? Why, Emily? Why, Emily?                                   DING. The doors open.                                   INT. ELEVATOR - DAY                                   Emily and Lucy step in. The door closes. Lucy continuing          her verbal assault as they start to descend:                                                   LUCY           Why, Emily? Why, Emily?                                   Suddenly the ELEVATOR LURCHES TO A VIOLENT STOP. It buckles          Emily's knees. She is terrified, practically          hyperventilating.                                                   EMILY           W-w-what's happening - ?!                                   Lucy has gotten her attention.                                                   LUCY           Can I go back to group next week?                                                   EMILY           You're never going back there!                                   Lucy looks at her as one regards a small dumb animal. Then          looks up at the ceiling.                                                   LUCY           Are you sure?                                   Horror as Emily realizes what she's thinking. We hear the          first CABLE SNAP above them. In the CREAKING HUSH that                         FOLLOWS:                                                   EMILY           No...                                   The second CABLE SNAPS. The elevator goes into a HELLISH          FREE FALL.                                   The acceleration is dizzying.                                   Emily clutches the rail with both hands, SCREAMING as the          elevator goes cannonballing down the shaft. Lucy indifferent          as they plummet toward certain death.           76.                                                            The floor indicator light races toward L, the car shuddering          violently, the noise deafening. It's a horrible way to die.                                   Emily closes her eyes in anticipation of impact. And in the          sudden BLACKNESS there's no noise at all. Just a soft,                         DISTINCT                                   DING.                                   A breathless pause then Emily opens her eyes. And sees the          elevator is no longer falling. Never was. The doors glide          open to the first floor lobby.                                   Lucy gives her a quiet look and strolls out. A businessman          steps into the elevator, watching bewildered as Emily          releases her white-knuckled grip on the railing and staggers          out, so badly shaken she can barely stand...                                   INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Fish swim languidly in the tank. It's after midnight. We're          looking down the darkened hall at Emily's closed bedroom          door.                                   INT. EMILY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                                   Emily, in a coat and shoes, packing a suitcase. Snaps it          quietly shut. Looks over at the barricaded door. Draws a          tense breath.                                   INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT                                   From down the hall we hear the DEADBOLTS SLIDE QUIETLY OPEN.                                   The door opens a crack.                                   EMILY'S TERRIFIED FACE peers out. Making sure the hall is          empty.                                   She steps out, suitcase in hand.                                   Tiptoes down the hall. Quietly as possible as she comes past          Lucy's door. It's open a crack. The room pitch black          inside. Emily steps closer, breath held. Peers in through          the little crack. Sees -                                   LUCY ASLEEP IN BED.                                   But suddenly her EYES SNAP OPEN. Her face horizontal on the          pillow.                                                   LUCY           I can see you.           77.                                                            Emily backs away. Goes quickly to the front door.                                   INT. EMILY'S CAR - NIGHT                                   Emily throws the suitcase in the trunk. Slams it shut.          Comes around to the driver's side door. Jumps in. Closes          the door. And gets the scare of her life.                                   LUCY IS SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT!                                   Emily recoils with a SCREAM, throwing her body against the          window behind her. Lucy sits there, silent, betrayed.                                   It's too much for Emily. She breaks down. Buries her face          in her hands and sobs.                                   Lucy, after a moment, takes a brush from Emily's bag and          starts lovingly brushing her hair.                                   Emily slowly lifts her head, resigning herself to this latest          horror. She sits zombie-like behind the wheel, tears          streaming as Lucy tugs gently at the snarls, playing mommy.                                                   LUCY           Don't be sad. This is your new           beginning.                                   INT. EMILY'S CUBICLE - DAY                                   Unopened mail and new case files piling up. Emily looks          terrible, phone to ear, getting SCREAMED at, sworn at,          interrupted every time she tries to speak.                                                   EMILY           Mrs Lynch, I told you - will you let -           that's not what I said - no, I did not -           you never sent me the - Mrs Lynch - will           you let me respond? - will you let me -           Mrs Lynch - will you let -                                   Emily can't take it anymore. She unloads.                                                   EMILY           SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU MISERABLE MISERABLE           WOMAN BEFORE I GET IN MY CAR AND COME           OVER THERE AND BEAT YOUR ASS LIKE YOU           BEAT YOUR SON! I HAVE YOUR ADDRESS!           THINK ABOUT THAT NEXT TIME YOU CALL AND           SWEAR AT ME! I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!                                   Slams the phone down. Sits there looking rather dazed.          Wayne arrives, dazed in a different way, having overheard.           78.                                                                            WAYNE           Um, so, I notice you haven't taken any           personal days. Come on, you look like           crap, go home.                                   Emily levels a withering stare.                                                   EMILY           I don't want to go home.                                   EXT. LOS ANGELES APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY                                   Emily knocking on a door in an outside hallway. It opens.          It's the girl from the bar. BECCA. The friend. Not          expecting her.                                                   BECCA           Emily...                                   INT. BECCA'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   Emily, disheveled, five days without sleep, doing her best to          appear rational.                                                   EMILY           I know I haven't been a great friend           lately, but... do you think maybe I could           crash here for a couple of nights?                                                   BECCA           Sure, when?                                                   EMILY           Tonight and tomorrow.                                   Becca draws air through her teeth, pained by her predicament.                                                   BECCA           Em, any other weekend you know I'd say           yes, but I just met this guy and he's           coming over tonight like for the night           and it might be, you know, kinda weird.                                   Emily nods. And there's nothing more to be said.                                   INT. EMILY'S ROOM - NIGHT                                   Stormy night. Heavy rain. High winds. The trees, thrashing          outside the window, backlit by a streetlight, cast OMINOUS          SHADOWS on the walls of the bedroom.                                   Emily huddles in the corner, wrapped in a blanket, clutching          the screwdriver.           79.                                                            There is a KNOCK on the bedroom door. Emily's EYES JERK WIDE          OPEN. She looks at the door, but doesn't answer.                                   After a moment, Lucy's voice, innocent, afraid -                                    LUCY (O.S.)           Emily...? Can I come in? I'm scared...                                   Emily says nothing. Heart racing. There's another KNOCK. A          little louder.                                    LUCY (O.S.)           Emily? Please? I know you're in there,           please...?                                   Emily says nothing. Lucy starts pounding on the door.                                    LUCY (O.S.)           Please, Emily...                                   SILENCE.                                   Emily listening, barely breathing. Is that it? Is she gone?                                   And then suddenly - WHAM! - WHAM! - WHAM! - the pounding          turns VIOLENT, practically shaking the door off its hinges.          Far too violent for a little girl.                                   Emily wedges herself into the corner, absolutely petrified.          There is something very strong and very angry on the other          side of that door, SHRIEKING in the voice of a child -                                    LUCY (O.S.)           LET ME IN!                                   WHAM - WHAM - WHAM - WHAM - WHAM - WHAM!                                    LUCY (O.S.)           LET ME IN!                                   WHAM - WHAM - WHAM - WHAM - WHAM - WHAM! The door getting          absolutely pummeled, looking like it might splinter from the          force. And it's so intense that it's almost surreal what          Emily is seeing. Lucy's voice eerily monotone, the words          coming inhumanly fast like some auctioneer from hell -                                    LUCY (O.S.)           Let me in, let me in, let me in, let me           in, let me in, let me in, let me in, let           me in, let me in, let me in...           80.                                                            Relentless. Tormenting Emily. Until she can't take it          anymore. And she SCREAMS as loud as she can, half cursing,          half begging, the veins standing out in her neck -                                                   EMILY           LEAVE ME ALONE!!!                                   And the POUNDING STOPS DEAD. All we hear is the rain          drumming on the roof. And Emily's QUICK TERRIFIED BREATHS as          she stares at the door wondering what's next.                                   But there's nothing. Just the shadows dancing on the walls.          It appears the nightmare is over for now.                                   But not quite.                                   A sudden CLUNK in the closet makes her jump. Her head snaps          around - what was that? She just stares, unable to breathe          because whatever she just heard is INSIDE HER ROOM!                                   White-knuckled grip on that screwdriver, Emily stands up and          comes slowly over to the CLOSET DOOR.                                   Raises the screwdriver. Ready to stab.                                   Takes hold of the door handle.                                   Slowly turns it.                                   Opens the door.                                   PITCH BLACK inside.                                   A tense pause as she stares into that blackness, then reaches          a hand into the closet, feeling around for the pull-string.          Finds it. Gives it a tug. And there, right in front of her,          is a vision of unspeakable horror:                                                  MARGARET SHERIDAN                                   Twitching spasmodically in a hospital gown. HIDEOUSLY          BURNED.                                   She comes at Emily arms flailing, clumsy with rage and          dementia. Emily leaps aside and Margaret goes careening into          the furniture, howling and spinning like some crazed Whirling          Dervish.                                   Emily scrambles over the bed. Reaches the door. Fumbles at          the deadbolt. Here comes Margaret. At the last second Emily          gets the door open. Runs out.           81.                                                            INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT                                   Tears a path down the dark hallway. Margaret right behind          her, hideous, reeling, hitting the walls with her flailing          arms.                                   Emily throws open the front door.                                   EXT. EMILY'S HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Dashes from the house into the abandoned street. Running in          the rain. Margaret comes crashing out of the house, chasing          her down the middle of the street.                                   Emily sees a city bus parked up ahead. Makes a run for it.                                   EXT. METRO BUS - NIGHT                                   A metro transit bus idling along the curb. The DRIVER with          his feet up between shifts, reading a porno mag. Emily comes          running up to the door. Pounds frantically on the glass.                                                   EMILY           Help me! Please!                                   The driver meets eyes with her through the door. Keeps          reading. Unimpressed. More pounding from Emily.                                                   EMILY           Let me on!                                   The driver points to the sign above the door: OUT OF SERVICE.          Keeps reading. Emily near hysterics at this point. Margaret          closing in fast.                                                   EMILY           She's coming! Please!                                   The driver sighs, weighing his obligations. Emily spins,          back to the door. Margaret nearly upon her, ten feet away,          five, four...                                   INT. METRO BUS - NIGHT                                   The driver opens the door. Emily dives backwards onto the          bus, the door snapping closed in front of her just as          Margaret lunges for her throat.                                                   EMILY           Drive!                                                   BUS DRIVER           There's nobody out there.           82.                                                                            EMILY           DRIVE!                                                   BUS DRIVER           There - is - nobody - out - there!                                   It sinks in the second time. Emily scans the sidewalk, the          darkened streets outside the bus. Margaret is gone. Was          never there. The driver opens the door, nods to her - out.                                   EXT. METRO BUS - NIGHT                                   With a hydraulic HISS the bus releases its brakes and diesels          off down the empty street. Emily stands alone. Rain-soaked.          Shivering. Staring at her house down the block.                                   The SILHOUETTE OF A CHILD in the window.                                   INT. CHILD SERVICES DEPARTMENT - NIGHT                                   Wayne and his BOYFRIEND shake rain off an umbrella as they          cross the darkened office.                                                   BOYFRIEND           (re: the office space)           No, I like it. It's like those things           they put baby cows in to make veal -                                   The boyfriend slows as they go past a cubicle. Saw something          weird.                                                   WAYNE           What?                                   He points. Freaked. Wayne comes over, pokes his head in a          cubicle.                                                  EMILY                                   head down on her desk, rain-soaked, sleeping in her chair.                                                   WAYNE           Em...?                                   No reply. Wayne's face darkens. Is she dead? He comes          over, puts his hand on her shoulder.                                                   WAYNE           Emily...?                                   She awakens with a jolt. Expecting to see Margaret. She          looks terrible.           83.                                                                            WAYNE           Jesus - are you okay?                                                   EMILY                          (HOARSE WHISPER)           I... I had some things to catch up on...                                   She fumbles unconvincingly at some loose paperwork.                                                   WAYNE           You look like shit, you need to see a           doctor.                                                   EMILY           I saw a doctor.                                                   WAYNE           What did they say?                                                   EMILY                          (LOSES IT)           They said mind your own fucking business!                                   Shocked by the outburst, by her general appearance, he walks          away, muttering to his boyfriend. Emily puts her head in her          hands, pressing down at her temples. Wayne steps into his          office in the b.g. and grabs something then they exit.                                   And the office is quiet again. Emily closes her eyes. Just          then, she hears -                                   A faint CYCLICAL SQUEAKING NOISE in the cubicle right next to          hers. Goes rigid. Recognizes the sound. Calls over the          partition without moving.                                                   EMILY           Wayne...?                                   No reply, but the SQUEAKING CONTINUES. Rising slowly from          her seat, scared as hell, she leans over her desk and peers          over the partition into the adjacent cubicle.                                   It's empty. But the OFFICE CHAIR IS TURNING as if someone          were just playing there.                                   Emily steps slowly back. And now hears the same CYCLICAL          SQUEAKING behind her. The opposite row. She spins.                                   EXT. CHILD SERVICES DEPARTMENT - NIGHT                                   Walks slowly from her cubicle. Comes along the row of          darkened cubicles, following the sound to its source. This          is the one. She looks in.           84.                                                            Empty cubicle. TURNING CHAIR.                                   Emily backs away. Terrified. The chair winding slowly to a          stop.                                   Suddenly, behind her, at the far end of the office, a          different NOISE splits the silence. Emily turns and stares          toward the sound. The XEROX MACHINE. Someone is using it.                                                   EMILY           Hello...?                                   No answer.                                   Emily comes slowly down the aisle to the partitioned          workstation. A torturous walk set to the RHYTHMIC CADENCE of          the photocopier, the HARSH GREEN LIGHT SWEEPING ACROSS THE          CEILING ABOVE IT, again and again and again...                                   And then it stops, ejecting one final page as Emily enters          the workstation. And sees there's no one there.                                   She stares at the idle machine for a moment, then at the          STACK OF COPIES lying upsidedown in the tray. She comes          over, picks them up. Turns them over.                                   The first page is a photocopy of a PAIR OF HANDS PRESSED FLAT          AGAINST THE COPYING GLASS.                                   Emily stares, haunted. Tense breath. Continues through the          stack.                                   Successive pages show the same two hands, but leaning forward          into the inky blackness between them is a FACE, its features          resolving into murky focus as it approaches the glass. The          last page is a horrific image. A man screaming in such          terror that his face appears almost deformed.                                   It's DOUG. The night of his death. Like a snapshot from his          bathroom mirror.                                   Emily shudders, the stack of pages tumbling to the floor.          Runs out. And we see the photocopies, lying on the floor,          are totally BLANK...                                   INT. CORRIDOR, CHILD SERVICES BUILDING - NIGHT                                   Emily, leaving, rushes down a corridor toward the lobby.          Tense. Head on a swivel. Hears MORE SQUEAKING behind her.          Spins.                                   A NIGHT JANITOR WHEELING A MOP BUCKET           85.                                                            She walks on. Turns the corner and RUNS INTO SOMEONE          UNEXPECTED. Jumps back with a SHRIEK before she realizes who          it is.                                                   EMILY           Robin...                                   A ponytailed woman in her mid-forties, the child placement          specialist Emily called from home.                                                   ROBIN           What are you doing here so late? I tried           calling you. I found someone to take           Lucy.                                                   EMILY                          (STUNNED RELIEF)           You did?                                                   ROBIN           Anaheim couple. They've helped us out           before.                                   She shows Emily a custody form with an attached photo:                                   A KIND HUSBAND AND WIFE WITH TWO YOUNG CHILDREN.                                   Emily's face darkens.                                                   EMILY           (under her breath)           Oh God...                                                   ROBIN           What's the matter?                                   Emily stares at the unsuspecting family. Lucy's next          victims. She fends off a wave of emotion as the full horror          of her predicament hits her. Then, matter-of-factly, facing          that fear head-on:                                                   EMILY           I can't. I'm keeping her.                                   As Emily walks off, ripping the custody form to shreds, Robin          utterly confused...                                   INT. STATE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - DAY                                   Emily sits opposite Edward Sheridan in the visiting room, an          odd sense of camaraderie between them.           86.                                                                            EMILY           If I get rid of her, if I put her into           the system...                                                   EDWARD                          (NODS YUP)           She starts all over again somewhere else.           Can't let her stay, can't let her go.           That leaves you with one option.                                   Eye contact. Emily looks away, shakes her head.                                                   EMILY           I can't, Edward, I --                                                   EDWARD           You have to. You have to find the           strength. Don't you understand? That's           why she's doing this. To test you. Test           your faith.                                                   EMILY           I don't have any faith.                                                   EDWARD           How `bout anger. Got some of that?                                   Emily lowers her gaze to the table.                                                   EMILY           How... how do I...?                                                   EDWARD           Kill her? In her sleep, assuming you           can...                          (THEN; THINKING)           Tell you what I'd do different. Count           myself dead at the outset. Accept that           going in and use it to my advantage.           That's the one thing I don't think she'd           see coming, someone giving up their own           life to take hers.                                   As Emily registers this...                                   INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Middle of the night, the living room is lit by the eerie glow          of the fish tank. The filter humming. The fish swimming          languidly. Suddenly they DISPERSE, spooked by something          outside the tank.           87.                                                            INT. EMILY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                                   The bureau has been pushed in front of the deadbolted door to          form a barricade. Emily lies in a fetal position on her bed,          exhausted but unable to sleep.                                   She tenses at the sound of a MUFFLED MALE VOICE in the other          room. Comes over to the door, trying to listen. Thinks she          recognizes it.                                                   EMILY           (calls through door)           Mike...?                                   No reply.                                   A moment of indecision then Emily tightens her grip on the          screwdriver and quietly slides open the deadbolts.                                   INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT                                   She comes slowly down the hall, following the VOICE to its          source, stops in the living room doorway, haunted...                                   INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT                                                  THE TELEVISION                                   Edward's psych interview playing to the empty room. He's          straightjacketed, sedated. Talking directly to the camera.                                                   EDWARD           Where is she now? Some family somewhere?                                                   INTERVIEWER           Why does that concern you, Edward?                                                   EDWARD           `Cause you have to warn them.                                   Emily turns off the tv. IMMEDIATELY IT SWITCHES ITSELF BACK          ON. Emily freezes, realizing the room is not empty.          Turning, she sees Lucy sitting in the shadows holding the          remote. Lucy mutes the sound and returns Emily's stare,          thoughtful, almost empathetic.                                                   LUCY           I like it here. I like you. You want me           to like you, don't you?                                   Emily nods. The room bathed in the tv's flickering blue          light. Lucy is quiet for a moment. Then, in her innocently          menacing voice, explains the rules:           88.                                                                            LUCY           You have to do what I say. If I say I           want to go to group, you have to do it.           If I say I want a new dress, you have to           do it. If I say I want ice cream every           day after school, you have to do it.           Okay?                                   Emily gives a haunted nod, remembering:                                   A FLASHCUT of Lucy sitting between Edward and Margaret at the          Child Services meeting, new dress, ribbon in her hair,          licking her ice cream with a wicked little smile.                                   BACK TO SCENE                                   Lucy stares coldly at the television: Margaret speaking with          the sound off.                                                   LUCY           They did what I said for a while and then           they stopped and started with the           secrets. But they weren't really secrets           I guess...           (looks at Emily)           ...because I always knew what they were           thinking.                                   She holds Emily's gaze then looks back at the tv. Margaret's          image reflected in the pupils of her eerie unblinking eyes.                                   INT. MARGARET'S PADDED ROOM, PSYCH HOSPITAL - NIGHT                                   Margaret, straps unbuckled, sits on the bed beside a YOUNG          NURSE who checks her temperature. Done, the Nurse heads out.                                                   MARGARET           Don't leave me.                                   Terror in Margaret's voice.                                                   YOUNG NURSE           It's okay, Maggie. I'll check on you           later.                                   The Nurse exits. Locks the door.                                   CLICK-KA-THUNK. The sound of doom to Margaret.                                   She stands up, looking around, trembling at what's to come.          Her footsteps sound oddly HOLLOW, METALLIC on the floor.           89.                                                            MARGARET'S POV - surveying the room, we see what Margaret's          hell looks like. It's not a room she's living in...                                   AN OLD OVEN                                   With dark scorched metal walls. A bolted-down bed to one          side, perfectly white, like a practical joke.                                   We can hear the low HISS of it filling with gas. The faint          POOF as it ignites beneath her. The first SHIMMERING WAVES          OF HEAT rising up, singeing her hair.                                   Margaret runs screaming to the door, claws at the pane of          glass like a madwoman. But there is no escape from the hell          of her own mind. The YOUNG NURSE'S FACE APPEARS there in the          window, shocked by Margaret's insane rantings.                                   INT. PSYCH HOSPITAL CAFETERIA - NIGHT                                   Edward, dinner tray in hand, going through the cafeteria line          with other INSTITUTIONAL PATIENTS.                                   He sits down at a table and starts eating, quiet, lost in his          thoughts. Takes another mouthful of food and suddenly stops          chewing, noticing something very strange:                                   A BALD, MORBIDLY OBESE INMATE SITTING DIRECTLY ACROSS THE          TABLE IS CUTTING PEAS IN HALF ON HIS PLATE, ABSENTLY, BUT          WITH AN ALMOST SURGICAL PRECISON, EATING THEM ONE BY ONE OFF          THE TIP OF HIS KNIFE!!                                   He lifts his gaze to Edward. Smiles a knowing, taunting          smile. Then his WIDE WET MOUTH speaks in a little girl's                         VOICE:                                                   LUCY'S VOICE           I'm happy you're getting the help you           need, daddy.                                   Edward goes berserk. Launches himself across the table at          the guy, stabbing him in the neck with his fork. Vicious          attack. Unprovoked as far as anyone else is concerned. A          guard rushes over. Edward turns on him, maniacal.                                   THE GUARD SHOOTS HIM DEAD.                                   As blood pools around Edward's body, some LUNATIC who          witnessed the event starts to applaud. Others join in. It's          the most excitement they've seen all year. And as the          applause spreads through the entire cafeteria...           90.                                                            EXT. EMILY'S HOUSE - DAY                                   Emily comes down the steps, past the morning paper on the          walkway. Stops dead in her tracks. Stunned. Comes back and          picks it up.                                   A SMALL PHOTO OF EDWARD ON THE FRONT PAGE WITH A HEADLINE:          HOSPITAL PROBES DEATH.                                   At the bus stop at the end of the street, Lucy mingles          happily with other CHILDREN. She meets Emily's gaze down the          length of the sidewalk. Smiles and waves goodbye as she gets          on the school bus.                                   INT. BARRON'S OFFICE, POLICE STATION - DAY                                   Emily drops the newspaper on Barron's desk. The headline          about Edward speaks for itself.                                                   BARRON           I know...                                   It's a different Mike Barron than last we saw. Gone is the          quiet assurance. Whatever happened rocked him to the core.          He closes the door for privacy.                                                   BARRON           There's something I want you to hear.           Came in at two o'clock last night. You           might wanna sit.                                   Emily sits. Barron cues a voicemail message on his phone,          plays it over the speaker. After a BEEP we hear it. A          SINISTER MALE VOICE, guttural, taunting, the voice of a                         DEMON:                                    SINISTER MALE VOICE           (mocking his earlier line)           `It's hard sometimes to tell the truth,           but I know you will `cause you're a good           little girl...'                          (THEN; INTIMATE)           Twenty years in the trenches, can't make           Lieutenant? Hurts, doesn't it? Shakes           your faith sometimes. You know why they           keep passing you over? Do you, Michael?           `Cause you're soft. Soft, soft, soft...                                   DELIRIOUS LAUGHTER followed by a CLICK and a DIAL TONE.          Emily's mouth gapes. After a moment:           91.                                                                            BARRON           You're right. She called Doug. Took me           an extra couple of days to get your cell           phone records. That's what she's been           using.                                   Grim pause. Emily digs through her bag. Reaches the bottom.          No cell phone. Staring into the bag, voice wavering with                         EMOTION:                                                   EMILY           She's taking me apart, Mike.                                   She loses it for a second. Barron sits in front of her on          the edge of the desk.                                                   BARRON           I'm gonna help you get to the bottom of           this.                                                   EMILY           (re: Edward's photo)           He told me I have to kill her.                                   Barron registers that in silence. Stuns her, and himself, by          what he says next.                                                   BARRON           I'll help you.                                   Emily looks at him. Disbelief.                                                   BARRON           Whatever it takes.                                   She hugs him. A godsend.                                                   BARRON           I'm gonna put Beth and Tim in a hotel.           Keep her at the house.                                   INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE - DAY                                   Emily buttoning her shirt after an exam.                                                   DOCTOR           Physically you're fine. How's the           stress?                                                   EMILY           I'm not sleeping, I was hoping you could           give me something.           92.                                                            The doctor writes on her prescription pad.                                                   DOCTOR           Take one of these, you'll sleep.                                   Emily watches the pen scribble.                                   INT. EMILY'S CAR - DAY                                   A prescription pill bottle on the passenger seat. Emily,          driving home, glances at it with apprehension.                                   EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT                                   A high-rise hotel in downtown Los Angeles.                                   INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT                                   Barron, saying goodbye to his WIFE and SON, sets down the          overnight bags they've packed.                                                   BARRON'S WIFE           Why won't you tell me what's going on?                                                   BARRON           Because I can't.                                   Kisses her. Turns to his son.                                                   BARRON           Take care of your mom.                                   Musses the boy's hair and leaves.                                   INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR - NIGHT                                   Barron strides down the corridor, his face reflecting the          grim task ahead.                                   INT. HOTEL PARKING STRUCTURE - NIGHT                                   His footsteps echo in the parking structure as he walks along          a row of parked cars.                                   A faint JANGLING SOUND stops him dead in his tracks. He          turns and scans the garage behind him. It's quiet, eerily          still.                                   He continues onward, but hears the faint JANGLING SOUND again          a moment later. Spins, trying to place it. There it is          again. Closer this time. Something moving, hiding, behind          the rows of cars over there.           93.                                                            He bends, trying to get a look under the cars. Can't see          anything. Unnerved, he moves on, clicks the button on his          keychain remote. The lights flash on his car fifty yards          away.                                   But as he continues toward it they reveal themselves,          trodding into view from between the cars, CHOKE-CHAIN COLLARS          JANGLING around their necks...                                   THREE PIT BULLS                                   Battle-scarred. Vicious. The dogs from Diego's house. They          sit down right in front of Barron's car. It's a surreal          moment, a trio of attack dogs sitting at quiet attention,          square-jawwed, black-eyed, the kinetic calm before a predator          strikes.                                   Barron draws his gun. Fires a warning shot over their heads.                                   BANG!                                   Deafeningly loud, it echoes through the garage like a          thunderclap. But the dogs don't move, just sit there          staring.                                   Barron lowers his gun. It's time to get the hell out of          here. He backpedals, making no sudden movements, gun still          trained on the dogs.                                   They watch him, eyes livening with excitement, one of their          back legs twitching in anticipation.                                   Barron quickens his step and that's their cue.                                   ALL AT ONCE, WITH EXPLOSIVE SPEED, THE DOGS SPRING INTO          MOTION, VICIOUS AND MUSCLED AND SMELLING BLOOD.                                   Barron fires an errant shot and takes off running. But he          can't match their pace, the deadly trio race along the row of          police cruisers, closing the gap with ease.                                   At the last second Barron jumps the partition. The pit bulls          crash skull-first into the concrete, but continue their          pursuit unfazed as Barron takes off up the adjoining ramp.                                   He jumps up onto the row of cars and runs across the hoods,          denting the metal. The dogs jump up behind him, relentless          in their pursuit.                                   Jaws snapping at his heels, Barron takes to the car roofs,          the pitbulls leaping from car to car behind him.           94.                                                            He looks back just in time to see the dogs launch themselves.          They hit him at chest height, sinking teeth in his flesh.                                   Stumbling forward, struggling to keep their jaws from his          throat, Barron doesn't see what's coming. The last car. The          edge of the parking garage.                                   He's over the edge before he even understands, flailing his          arms for a handhold that doesn't exist. The ground, far          below, flies up at him in a rush of acceleration.                                   We hear a sickening THUD and find Barron lying face down on          the pavement below, blood pooling around him. Clinging to          life, he opens his eyes and sees the TRIO OF PIT BULLS          SITTING OBEDIENTLY BESIDE HIM, unharmed, watching.                                   But from a distance we see there is only Barron. Dying alone          between the parked cars. No dogs anywhere in sight.                                   INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Emily opens the front door, peers in, trying not to make a          sound.                                                   EMILY           Lucy...?                                   No reply. She enters. Sees -                                   THE CLOSET DOOR IS OPEN.                                   She comes closer.                                   EMPTY BANKER BOXES strewn in the hall. SCATTERED PAGES.                                   At the far end, the light is on in Lucy's bedroom. The door          open a crack. A shaft of light spilling out into the          darkened hallway.                                   Emily comes down the hallway past SCATTERED FILE PAGES.          Preliminary reports. Medical records. Personality          profiles...                                   She opens the door to Lucy's room.                                   INT. LUCY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                                   Freezes in the doorway, shocked by what lies before her.                                                   EMILY           Oh my God...           95.                                                            Black eyes. Bloody noses. Bruises. Cuts. Burns. PHOTOS          OF ABUSED CHILDREN COVER THE ENTIRE FLOOR. A collage of          misery.                                   Lucy is nowhere to be seen. Emily comes in and starts          quickly picking them up.                                   Tucked between the file cabinet and the wall is a CORKBOARD.          Emily pulls it out. It's covered with PHOTOS FROM WORK.          COWORKERS. HER KIDS. Two of the photos are turned around.          She flips them over in rapid succession. Diego. Doug.                                   She rips all the photos from the board.                                   Photos bunched in her hands, she heads for the door, but          hears something that stops her in her tracks -                                   A strange INTERMITTENT BUZZING NOISE                                   It lasts two seconds and stops. She turns around, scans the          room. Puts down the stack of photos. There it is again:                                   BZZZZZZZZZZZT. BZZZZZZZZZZZZT.                                   Sounds like a housefly trapped against a window, but it's          bigger, angrier, and appears to be coming from the                                                  KNOTTED RUG                                   at the foot of Lucy's bed. Emily crosses to it. The BUZZING          STOPS. She bends. Takes hold of a corner. Peels it slowly          back to reveal                                                  BARE FLOOR                                   Weird. Nothing there.                                   BZZZZZZZZZZZZZT! BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!                                   Emily straightens, turns. It's coming from the                                                  BED                                   As she approaches it the BUZZING INTENSIFIES, louder, more          agitated.                                   Pauses as she gets there, terrified of what she might find,          the bed BUZZING FURIOUSLY FROM WITHIN. Something is trapped          under those blankets, waiting for release.                                   Emily extends a trembling hand, takes hold of the blankets          and, slowly, rigid with fear, peels them back to reveal           96.                                                                           BARE MATTRESS                                   Impossible, because the BUZZING IS LOUDER THAN EVER.                                   With a tense swallow Emily realizes it's coming from lower,          deeper within the bed, between the mattress and the box          spring.                                   She slips her fingers into the crack.                                   And slowly lifts the mattress, the BUZZING GROWING          FRIGHTENINGLY LOUD as its source is exposed, something          hellish waiting for her as she cranes her neck and look to          see what lies below -                                   HER CELL PHONE                                   Vibrating. BZZZZZZZZZT. BZZZZZZZZZZT. On the viewscreen:          "INCOMING CALL..."                                   She picks it up. Stares at it vibrating in her hand.          Presses the TALK button. Brings it to her ear.                                   The LOW STATIC of an open line. Then, a RASPY MALE VOICE:                                    MALE VOICE ON PHONE           Emily...                                   Emily flinches.                                                   EMILY           Who is this...?                                    MALE VOICE ON PHONE           It's Wayne, Emily, I just got a call,           Mike's dead...                                   Emily, stunned, barely able to speak.                                                   EMILY           No... he's...                                    WAYNE (V.O.)           They don't know if he fell or what           happened...                                   Emily's phone hand drops to her side in shock. From down          there, we hear Wayne's voice:                                    WAYNE (V.O.)           Emily? Emily, are you okay...?                                   After a moment, she lifts it.           97.                                                                            EMILY           I have to go.                                   Hangs up. On the brink of emotional collapse. Her only          confidante dead.                                   Just then she hears BREATHING from behind the open door.          Someone or something hiding in that dark corner over there.          She crosses to it. Pulls back the door and there sits                                                  LUCY                                   quiet, innocent, chin on her knees.                                                   EMILY           What did you do to him?                                   Lucy says nothing. Emily grabs her by the arm. Yanks her to          her feet.                                                   EMILY           WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!                                   After a moment:                                                   LUCY           He did it to himself.                                   WHACK! Emily slaps her. Hard across the face. Knocks her          to the floor. Lucy sits up, lip split. Tastes the blood          with her tongue. Hint of a smile. The taste of victory.                                                   LUCY           Europa. Ganymede. Io. Callisto. The           moons of Jupiter. We got back our           astronomy tests today.                                   It's there on the floor. A++ Well done, Lucy!                                   There's a LOUD BEEP in the other room. Lucy gets up and          walks out. Emily watches as Lucy goes into the kitchen.          Takes a bag of popcorn from the microwave. Empties it into a          bowl. Sits down on the living room sofa and clicks on the tv          remote, watching it like nothing ever happened. Emily walks          over and pitches the tv onto the floor. The SCREEN SHATTERS.                                                   EMILY           Get out of my house.                                   Lucy, unimpressed, expressionless, takes another handful of          popcorn. Chews it. CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH. Emily swats          the bowl from her hands.           98.                                                                            EMILY           GET OUT!                                   Flicking bits of popcorn off herself, Lucy stands up from the          sofa. Her face catches the light from the hallway. Emily          shudders at the sight.                                   Lucy's features look altered somehow, sharpened. It's          subtle, but the overall effect is chilling. THE FACE OF A          LITTLE GIRL LAID OVER THE MUSCULATURE OF SOMETHING MORE          DEVIOUS AND WICKED.                                                   LUCY           Don't yell at me. My mom and dad used to           yell at me.                                   Emily backs away, mortified, takes off down the hall.                                   INT. EMILY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                                   Rushes in. Slams the door. Bolts the deadbolts. CLUNK.          CLUNK. CLUNK. Moment of panic. Will they hold?                                   Slides her bureau in front of the door. Shoves her bed in          front of the bureau just to be sure.                                   In the silence we hear LUCY'S FOOTSTEPS coming down the hall          toward the door.                                   Closer, closer...                                   There's nothing else to block the door with. Emily backs          away, trembling as                                   LUCY'S FOOTSTEPS arrive at the door. A tense silence. Then:                                    LUCY (O.S.)           Emily... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to...                                   Emily grabs the screwdriver, clutches it in both hands.                                    LUCY (O.S.)           Can I come in so we can talk and work it           out?                                   There's a GENTLE KNOCK on the door. Emily flinches,          remembering last time.                                    LUCY (O.S.)           Emily...?                                                   EMILY           Stay away from me!           99.                                                             LUCY (O.S.)           Don't be mad. I said I was sorry. I'll           brush your hair for you.                                                   EMILY           STAY AWAY FROM ME!!                                   Silence.                                                  THEN:                                   WHAM! The door shudders from a MAMMOTH IMPACT. Last time,          it shook the door, this time it shakes the entire wall.          Emily recoils, dropping the screwdriver.                                   WHAM! CRACKS APPEAR in the door as it bows from the          tremendous force.                                   WHAM!! CRACKS FAN OUT into the plaster around the doorframe.                                   WHAM!! Half the SCREWS HOLDING THE HINGES fly from the wall.                                   WHAM!! The DEADBOLTS BENDING from the ungodly pummeling.                                   WHAM!! The DEADBOLT SCREWS getting yanked from the wood.                                   Emily frozen in terror, watching. Whatever's out there is          coming in.                                   WHAM!! One of the DOOR HINGES rips clean from the wall.                                   WHAM!! The FIRST DEADBOLT comes flying off.                                   WHAM!! The SECOND DOOR HINGE gone.                                   WHAM!! ANOTHER DEADBOLT flies off.                                   WHAM!! The DOOR SPLITS down the center.                                   WHAM!! The THIRD DEADBOLT lands on the floor at Emily's feet          with a METAL THUD.                                   A breathless silence.                                   Then the DOOR RATTLES and drops loose from the frame with a          DEAD WOODEN CLUNK.                                   Nothing holding it in place now except the bureau and the          bed. And now they both start to SLIDE BACKWARDS as whatever          is on the other side starts pushing its way in.           100.                                                            Emily topples a high bookcase against the door and pushes          back with every ounce of strength she can muster, but it's no          use. The bureau overturns, CRASHES to the floor. Emily's          bare feet slide backwards along with the bed.                                   And then they stop. The barricade sufficiently breached.                                   Emily, in her panic, makes a hasty decision. She hides under          the bed.                                   We HOLD LOW on the open door as LUCY'S FEET step into the          room, the feet of a child, but the BREATHING we hear sounds          emphysemic and the VOICE is unquestionably male - harsh,          guttural, taunting Emily as it comes for her:                                    SINISTER MALE VOICE           Emily...                                   Wide-eyed with terror under the bed, she watches those feet          pick their way over the shattered remnants of the barricade.                                    SINISTER MALE VOICE           Emily... We need to learn healthier ways           of resolving conflict, Emily.                                   The feet step gingerly past the overturned bureau.                                    SINISTER MALE VOICE           ...Most families don't even know they           have a problem...                                   The feet stop at the SCREWDRIVER.                                    SINISTER MALE VOICE           ...until it's too late.                                   A HAND reaches down and picks it up, a girl's hand, but the          fingers as they wrap tightly around the handle look strong          and sinewy.                                   The feet stand motionless for a moment then turn and come          toward the bed, stopping right in front of EMILY'S HORRIFIED          FACE.                                   A pause and then, still from Emily's POV, we see Lucy lower          herself onto her knees.                                   WHAM!! - with shocking force that hand IMPALES THE          SCREWDRIVER IN THE WOODEN FLOOR!                                   Another pause then both hands come into view, palms flat on          the hardwood, as she leans her head down.           101.                                                            Emily recoiling in anticipation as the face comes into view -                                   LUCY'S INNOCENT FACE                                   A little girl. With a little girl voice to match.                                                   LUCY                          (PLAYING MOMMY)           What are you doing, you silly           pumpkinhead?                                   Emily, hyperventilating, stares in shock. Lucy reaches her          hand in. Emily backs away, wedges herself in the corner.                                                   LUCY                          (PLAYING MOMMY)           You don't want me to come under there and           get you, do you?                                   Emily, crying now, shakes her head. Lucy, almost          sympathetic, frowns.                                                   LUCY                          (PLAYING MOMMY)           I'm going to count to three. One...                                                   EMILY           No...                                                   LUCY                          (PLAYING MOMMY)           Two... Two and a half...                                                   EMILY           Please...                                                   LUCY                          (PLAYING MOMMY)           Two and three quarters... Three...                                   Lucy starts crawling under the bed.                                                   LUCY           Here I come.                                   Emily tries to go backwards, but there's nowhere for her to          go.                                   LUCY'S FACE SLIDING CLOSER LIKE THE HEAD OF A SNAKE.                                   Trapped, Emily screams.           102.                                                                            EMILY           WHAT DO YOU WANT?!!                                   Lucy stops crawling. Folds her arms, sets her chin on them.          Comfortable here under the bed. Delighting in the question.                                                   LUCY           What you wanted from your mother. I want           you to love me.                                                   EMILY           Okay... okay, I will, I will, I promise.                                   Lucy weighs Emily's surrender for a moment. Then, oddly                         BRIGHT:                                                   LUCY           Come tuck me in.                                                   EMILY           Okay... I'll be right there.                                                   LUCY           You better come.                                   Lucy slithers out and we see her feet scamper from the room.          Emily puts her head down on the floor and cries, covering her          mouth with her hands so she won't make a sound.                                   INT. EMILY'S KITCHEN - NIGHT                                   A WHISTLING KETTLE on the stove.                                   Emily, still in tears, takes it from the burner. Dumps SIX          SLEEPING PILLS from the prescription bottle. Crushes them          with the blunt edge of a knife. Stirs them into a cup of          Chamomile tea.                                   She freezes at a NOISE behind her. Looks tensely over her          shoulder.                                   The fridge.                                   She adds sugar, continues stirring.                                   INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT                                   We follow the TEA CUP, in Emily's hand, as she comes          nervously down the hall to Lucy's room. We can see Lucy in          there, waiting for her in bed. Emily, playing the part,          dries her eyes and enters.           103.                                                            INT. LUCY'S ROOM - NIGHT                                   Sits down on the bed, hands Lucy the tea.                                                   LUCY           Chamomile.                                   Emily nods. The face of a loving mother. Lucy brings the          cup to her lips, pauses.                                                   LUCY           Maybe you should have it, you look           stressed.                                                   EMILY           I'll have one later.                                   Lucy considers this, nods okay, takes a sip of tea. Emily          picks up a brush and brushes Lucy's hair.                                                   EMILY           Tomorrow's our new beginning.                                                   LUCY           I'll be good.                                                   EMILY           I know.                                   Lucy takes a few more sips and sets the tea cup on the          bedside table. Emily, tucking her in, gives the cup a          nervous glance. Did she drink enough?                                                   EMILY           Get some rest.                                                   LUCY           Say it.                                                   EMILY           I love you.                                                   LUCY           Forever and ever?                                                   EMILY           Forever and ever.                                   Emily kisses her on the forehead. Lucy looks up at her and          for a moment she's the little girl Emily met. Innocent,          angelic, closing her eyes for sleep. They flutter open one          last time.           104.                                                                            LUCY           Where are you if I need you?                                                   EMILY           Right down the hall.                                   Lucy's eyes shut. Emily, brushing her hair, staring at the          HALF-FULL TEA CUP.                                   INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT                                   Lucy asleep in bed. Emily watches from the door, wary,          expecting Lucy's eyes to snap open any second.                                                   EMILY           Sweetheart...?                                   She doesn't move, dead to the world. Or is it a game? Emily          closes the door. Leans against the wall, shaking,          contemplating her next move.                                   Wedges a chair under the door handle. Time of the essence.                                   INT. EMILY'S GARAGE - NIGHT                                   Junk-filled. The door lifts to reveal Emily, silhouetted,          looking in. Amid the clutter is a lawnmower. Beside it, a          big can of GASOLINE.                                   INT. EMILY'S HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Emily stifling sobs as she douses the walls of the house.          The hallway, the bathroom, the kitchen, all of it.                                   TIP OF A MATCH strikes flint, ignites.                                   Emily stares at it for a long moment.                                   Lets it fall.                                   FLAMES SCURRY in a shimmering blue-gold sheet across the          floor. Climb the walls, the entire house ablaze in a matter          of seconds.                                   Emily sits and watches as the door to Lucy's bedroom is          engulfed. It's an image straight from hell: A YOUNG WOMAN          SITTING ON A SOFA IN A HOUSE OF FIRE.                                   The fish, frantic in their tank, catch Emily's eye. She goes          over and grabs the tank.           105.                                                            EXT. EMILY'S HOUSE - NIGHT                                   Smoke swirling past her, she exits the house, locking the          front door behind her. She backs away and watches it burn,          holding her fish tank, the only thing she saved.                                    TIME CUT TO:                                   Billowing black smoke. The house fully engulfed as fire          engines arriving on the scene, sirens wailing. Emily          watching with neighbors on the sidewalk as the FIREFIGHTERS          uncoil their hoses.                                   The window to Lucy's bedroom is a bright red square, an          inferno. And as Emily stares at it, disbelieving what she's          done, the figure of a CHILD appears.                                                  LUCY                                   Her whole body ablaze. Horrific. She just stands there,          arms at her sides, burning.                                   Just now the FIRE MARSHALL crosses to the onlookers. Hollers          over the noise and commotion:                                                   FIRE MARSHALL           Everybody get out okay?!                                   Emily wavers, not sure what to say. The Fire Marshall sees          her indecision.                                                   FIRE MARSHALL           This your house?!           (she nods yes)           Anybody else inside?!           (off her hesitation)           Ma'am...?!                                   Emily opens her mouth to reply, but sees something behind her          that closes her throat.                                                  LUCY                                   standing on the sidewalk in her pajamas. Unscathed.                                                   FIRE MARSHALL           Anyone else inside?! Yes or no?!                                   Emily, in shock, shakes her head no. The Fire Marshall          rushes off, walkie-talkie squawking. Emily stands frozen as          Lucy comes through the crowd to her. More dismayed than          angry.           106.                                                                            LUCY           That was mean.                                   She takes Emily's hand. Together they watch the house burn.          Firelight playing on their faces. The fish bouncing off the          glass in the tank at Emily's feet.                                   INT. EMILY'S CAR - NIGHT                                   The blue halflight before dawn. Emily and Lucy sit in the          Volvo, eyeing the scorched remains of the house. The          firecrew stowing equipment. Emily puts the car in drive.                                   INT. EMILY'S CAR - DAWN                                   The FISH FLOATING DEAD at the top of the tank in the back          seat as Emily drives down the freeway at daybreak. Lucy          gazing out dreamily at the sunrise.                                                   LUCY           Maybe we can find a hotel with a swimming           pool.                                   Emily says nothing. Lucy turns and looks at her, thoughtful,          almost empathetic. She draws up her knees and rests her chin          on top, levels an appraising stare at Emily like the one she          leveled at Doug.                                                   LUCY           It's sad, isn't it? How it gets passed           on. How people do to their own kids what           their parents did to them. That's why           you got the job...                                   Emily turns on the radio, full volume, trying to drown out          Lucy's voice. Lucy reaches over and turns it off. CLICK.                                                   LUCY           ...To prove to yourself you're not like           her, that you're not like your mother.           Because that scares you. Scares you more           than anything.                                   Lucy, in mock sentiment, puts her hand on Emily's.                                                   LUCY           I love you... even if you don't love me.                                   Emily looks at her, gutted. But defiant. Turning her gaze          forward, she tightens her grip on the wheel and calmly,          resolutely, JAMS THE GAS PEDAL TO THE FLOOR. The          acceleration pitches Lucy backwards into her seat. She sits          up, eyes wide, didn't see this coming. A suicide run.           107.                                                                            LUCY           What are you doing? Slow down.                                   A tense smile from Lucy. The tables have turned.                                                   LUCY           Did you hear me?                                   Emily stares dead ahead, red-lining the tachometer. Lucy          flits her eyes skyward. IMMEDIATELY IT DARKENS AND STARTS TO          RAIN. Emily turns on the wipers, speeds on, unfazed.                                                   LUCY           I said slow down!                                   Emily ignores her, going eighty now, weaving through SLOWER          TRAFFIC THAT FLIES TOWARD THEM OUT OF THE GRAY HAZE. Lucy,          panicking, changes channels like a tv. Innocent child all of          a sudden.                                                   LUCY           Please, stop, Emily, I'll be good.                                   Emily ignores her, beyond apology. And Lucy's face sharpens.          She points down the road.                                                   LUCY           Look out!                                   Through the heavy rain we see -                                   A TRACTOR-TRAILER RIG CRASH THROUGH THE DIVIDING MEDIAN AND          JACKKNIFE, BARRELING AT THEM HEAD-ON!                                   Emily goes for the brake, but reconsiders, seeing the truck          for what it is: a test of faith. She welcomes it. Tightens          her grip on the wheel and goes full throttle again, right at          the truck. Lucy shrieks in terror.                                                   LUCY           What are you doing?!                                                   EMILY           It's not real.                                                   LUCY           Yes, it is!                                                   EMILY           Are you scared?!           108.                                                            Pedal to the floor. Inviting the head-on collision. You can          see the BIG RIG DRIVER in the cab, wrestling frantically with          the steering wheel. Lucy bracing herself, screams -                                                   LUCY           STOP!                                   Emily clenches her teeth in anticipation of impact, of death.                                   THE CHROME GRILLWORK OF THE TRUCK RUSHES TOWARD THEM IN THAT          FINAL MOMENT, THE AIR HORN DEAFENINGLY LOUD!                                   But the impact never comes. In the blink of an eye the truck          is gone. Open road in front of them. It's not raining.          Never was. The wipers SQUEAKING on a dry windshield.                                   Lucy sits in silence, her bag of tricks empty. Emily,          triumphant, turns to her with a vindictive smile, the          speedometer hitting a hundred.                                                   EMILY           ARE YOU SCARED?!                                   She clutches Lucy's wrist.                                                   EMILY           I'M NOT!!                                   Emily jerks the car off the road, crashing through the          guardrail. Trees snapping in half across the hood as they go          careening through roadside woods and down a steep embankment                         TOWARD -                                   EXT. LOS ANGELES RESERVOIR - DAY                                   The car tears through a chainlink fence and leaps off the          high embankment into the water.                                   INT. EMILY'S VOLVO - DAY                                   Impacts and sinks with frightening speed. Water rushing in          from all sides. Emily shackles Lucy with her arms as the          water rises to cover their mouths.                                                  UNDERWATER                                   They stare wide-eyed at one another through the water. Hair          swirling around their faces as they sink to the bottom.                                   LUCY'S LIPS CURL INTO THAT CREEPY MANNISH SMILE.                                   As though she anticipated this. Or welcomes it. Or knows          something Emily does not. And now Emily sees what Lucy sees -           109.                                                            A FIGURE SWIMMING DOWN TOWARD THEM THROUGH THE MURKY WATER.                                   A HAND pries open the door and wrestles Lucy from Emily's          grasp. Pulls her from the car, swimming to the surface with          her. Emily is left empty-handed, stunned, alone in her          watery grave.                                   SHE DROWNS IN STAGES, EACH ONE DIFFICULT TO WATCH, THE          INITIAL FRANTIC FLAILINGS, THE HOPELESS PANIC, THE SLOW          DAWNING OF ACCEPTANCE, THE MUSCLES LOOSENING, ARMS FLOATING          LIMP, EYES FIXED IN A BLANK STARE.                                   And just when her death seems certain, a HAND grabs her by          the shoulder and yanks her out the driver's side window...                                   EXT. BANK OF RESERVOIR - DAY                                   Ambulances. Patrol cars. Paramedics. Onshore, drying off          with a towel, talking to a uniformed officer is the PASSERBY          who saved Lucy's life.                                                   PASSERBY           Right through the guardrail, never           touched the brakes...                                   Emily goes by on a gurney, semi-conscious, oxygen mask over          her face. Paramedics checking her vitals.                                   Loaded into the ambulance, she meets the gaze of Lucy who is          being attended to by a female PARAMEDIC, who puts her arm          around Lucy in a maternal gesture, shielding her from the          sight of Emily as Emily did of the Sheridans.                                                   PARAMEDIC           Don't look at her, okay? Just don't even           look.                                   Lucy nods, the innocent victim. Clinging to her protector as          she watches the ambulance take Emily Jennings away.                                                   CUT TO:                                   A TELEVISION - NEWS FOOTAGE                                   of Lucy wrapped in a blanket sitting beside the female          paramedic in an ambulance. Shivering. Wet-hair clinging to          her face. Portrait of a child victim.                                                   NEWS REPORTER           A remarkable story of survival this           morning as a young girl is pulled from           the Los Angeles reservoir in an accident           police are calling suspicious...           110.                                                            INSTITUTIONAL PATIENTS watching tv in the psych hospital rec          room. Slouched on the vinyl sofa, watching without          comprehension, heavily sedated, Margaret Sheridan.                                   INT. WINDOWLESS ROOM - DAY                                   Emily talking agitatedly to a MAN IN A SUIT who is writing          something and not paying attention to her. We only see her          face at first.                                                   EMILY           Where is she? Where'd they put her?           Foster care? Is she with a family? You           have to let me talk to them...                                   She snatches the pen from his hand.                                                   EMILY           Do you hear me?!                                   He looks at her, quietly takes back his pen.                                    MAN IN SUIT           I hear you.                                   Continues writing. There's a KNOCK on the door. A BAILIFF          pokes his head in.                                                   BAILIFF           Set.                                   Emily stands up from the chair she's been sitting in and we          see she's wearing an ORANGE LA COUNTY JAIL JUMPSUIT. The          man, her public defender, instructs her as they exit:                                    MAN IN SUIT           Let me do the talking in here.                                   EXT. PRIVATE WOODED ROAD - DAY                                   Lucy walks a private road through sunlit forest with a kind          RETIRED COUPLE. Temporary guardians who've taken her in for          the weekend.                                                   LUCY           Why can't I live with you?                                                   RETIRED WOMAN           Oh, darling, we're not foster parents, we           just help out when the system's full.           111.                                                                            RETIRED MAN           They'll contact us, Lucy, when your           placement comes through.                                   The woman puts her arm around her as they walk on.                                                   RETIRED WOMAN           Some nice family that always wanted a           little girl.                                   Lucy smiles, shy, innocent, quietly taking in the scenery.                                   INT. FOSTER PLACEMENT SERVICES - NIGHT                                   Two women cross the office after hours, a pudgy middle-aged          FOSTER CARE SUPERVISOR and a younger CASEWORKER who is          leaving for the day. The office reminds you of Child          Services, another tier of the child welfare system.                                                   CASEWORKER           Going to the thing Saturday?                                                   SUPERVISOR           I don't know.                                                   CASEWORKER           Oh, you should. It'll be fun.                                                   SUPERVISOR           Maybe I will, I don't know. We'll see.                                                   CASEWORKER           Bye, Janey.                                                   SUPERVISOR           See you tomorrow.                                   The Caseworker exits. The Supervisor comes down the row of          cubicles dropping files on desks. Alone. After hours. A          thankless profession.                                   It lands on some random desk, amid the usual backlog of mail          and paperwork. A case file like all the others. The name          typed on the label:                                   SHERIDAN, LUCY.                                    FADE OUT.                          
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+FADE IN: A SPECK OF DUST Grains of sand dance in the wind. As we glide over a VAST DESERT, the speck of dust becomes a HORSE AND RIDER. CATHERINE YOUNG straddles the beautiful black animal, her mesmerizing eyes scanning the horizon. A curious breeze blows across her exquisite face and she drinks it in, as if the wind itself were telling something to her... Catherine sees a FLICKERING LIGHT in the sand. She pulls the reins and the horse stops moments before the dune drops into nothingness. She dismounts, affectionately scratches the horse's neck, and follows the LIGHT. When she looks over her shoulder, the Arabian is now a child's WOODEN HOBBY HORSE. Not surprised, Catherine smiles and walks down a dune, sand sliding beneath her feet... She finds herself in a valley of dead trees whose decayed, gnarled limbs appear to form hands. The light dances across her face. She shades her eyes and pinpoints the source... A SMALL MIRROR reflecting rays of bright sun, housed within a locket and chain. It's held by EDWARD, a haunted-looking boy of seven with a precocious grin and piercing eyes. He sits on a fallen tree trunk, patiently waiting for her arrival. CATHERINE Thanks for the horse. He's a shy child, yet comfortable with Catherine. EDWARD You liked him? CATHERINE He's beautiful... Edward smiles, delighted he made her happy. CATHERINE (CONT'D) But I thought we were going sailing. The boy frowns. CATHERINE (CONT'D) You promised. A devilish glint in his eye, Edward redirects the mirror. Catherine follows the flicker to a TOY BOAT in the sand. CATHERINE (CONT'D) We can't fit into that! Edward shines light in her eyes, momentarily blinding her, then snaps the locket shut. When her vision clears, Catherine sees a GIANT SHIP perched among the dunes. A craft weighing hundreds of tons just sitting there in the desert. CATHERINE (CONT'D) That'll do. She walks toward it, but Edward doesn't follow. CATHERINE (CONT'D) (coaxing him) Come on, Mister E. She extends her hand, but he adamantly shakes his head no. CATHERINE (CONT'D) What now? EDWARD (nods at the ship) 's broken. Undaunted, she... finds herself standing on the DECK. CATHERINE (calling to him) Who says? EDWARD Mocky-Lock. CATHERINE Oh no... No you don't. EDWARD "Mocky-Lock is the bogeyman. Mocky-Lock wants me where I am." CATHERINE I bet we can fix it. She opens a rusted iron DOOR. It makes an HORRIFIC SCREECHING SOUND. Similar to metal-on-metal, but more piercing, more pained. As if made by a living thing. CATHERINE (CONT'D) (familiar with the noise, a warning to him) Ed-ward... The boy's FACE CONTORTS, turning into something half-human, half-animal. A monster. Mocky-Lock. He SCREECHES, trying to frighten Catherine, but she cocks her head... CATHERINE (CONT'D) We agreed. No more Mocky-Lock. The creature sticks its tongue out and DIVES. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Edward! But it's too late! Edward/Mocky Lock slithers into the sand and disappears. Resigning herself to a failure, she opens the palm of her left hand, revealing a SMALL BUMP in the flesh between thumb and forefinger. She presses hard and... PICTURE AND SOUND DISTORT AND CHANGE INT. LABORATORY - DAY We are looking at a large SCREEN showing an electronically generated three-dimensional view of a human brain featuring color-coded neurological activity. In a specific section of the image, cells flash from yellow to red... PULL BACK TO REVEAL HENRY WEST surrounded by computers, monitors, electronics, and keyboards. DR. MIRIAM KENT stands before a peculiar diagnostic machine scrutinizing data and images. Both wear garb favored by surgeons or microchip assemblers. The impressive, weird computer system HUMS as it shifts programs, the unusual brain image changing colors. THROUGH A LARGE WINDOW, we see into an ADJOINING ROOM within which a HUMAN FIGURE hangs suspended in mid-air by a series of cables designed to simulate flotation. AT THE CONSOLE, Miriam uses a pen to hit specific areas of the touch-sensitive screen, changing the complex CHEMICAL SYMBOLS displayed there. IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, a series of pharmaceuticals are injected into an intravenous tube feeding the sleeve/arm of the figure. A featherweight cloth MASK electronically rises, revealing the sleeping face of Catherine. AT THE CONSOLE, Miriam hits a button and speaks into an intercom microphone. MIRIAM Sing a song of sixpence... IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, there is no reaction from Catherine. MIRIAM (O.S.) (CONT'D) Sing a song of sixpence... CATHERINE (hoarse, groggy) A pocketful of rye... MIRIAM (O.S.) Four-and-twenty blackbirds. Catherine's eyes open. CATHERINE Baked in a pie... IN THE CONTROL ROOM, Henry hits a switch and Catherine is lowered to the pedestal. Miriam checks Monitors displaying Catherine's vital signs and continuing what must be a routine, presses numbers on a keypad to open the PRESSURIZED AIRTIGHT DOOR separating the two areas. IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, lights come on and Miriam eases Catherine out of the apparatus. She checks her pupil dilation, pulse, throat, and reflexes. She pokes and prods with a familiarity that would seem rude to an outside observer, but is nothing to them. Getting to her feet, we see that Catherine's BODYSUIT is made of an unusual dark fabric almost liquid in consistency. AT THE CONSOLE, Henry moves to another section and for the first time, we see there are two elaborate neural monitors. And the "brain" pictured here is smaller. Younger... HENRY "Mister E." is doing fine. REVEAL A SECOND FIGURE suspended from the ceiling in the PROCEDURE ROOM. A SMALL BOY is lowered to the pedestal and as Miriam records data, Catherine removes the child's "mask," displaying the haunted face of Edward. Clearly, the boy is in some kind of catatonic state. MIRIAM Did we go sailing? CATHERINE Almost. Mocky-Lock showed up. MIRIAM "Mocky-Lock is the bogeyman, Mocky-Lock wants me where I am." CATHERINE Mocky-Lock is a pain in the ass. Henry communicates with them via the intercom. HENRY Where did that come from again? Catherine looks annoyed - How could he forget? CATHERINE A nursery rhyme. Catherine detaches the cables and eases Edward's frail body into a waiting wheelchair. Miriam takes a penlight and examines the boy's eyes... An emotionless void, oddly beautiful. MIRIAM (thinking aloud) Nursery rhymes, fairy tales, the bogeyman... All preparation for the horrors of the real world. Making certain the child is comfortable, Catherine covers him with a blanket, rests a teddy bear on his lap, and pushes him into the CONTROL ROOM, accompanied by Miriam. Henry types in a command and moves to join them. HENRY Anybody hungry? I'm hungry... A BUZZER sounds and ANOTHER DOOR HISSES OPEN... A constantly fretting administrator, BARRY COOPERMAN, is waiting for them in the corridor. COOPERMAN Edward's parents are here. We can see it in Catherine's face - this isn't good news. EXT. CAMPBELL CENTER - DAY Situated in a corporate/industrial area north of San Diego, California, a series of well-secured buildings form a mini compound. A sign near the gate reads CAMPBELL CENTER - A DIVISION OF SUNERSET INDUSTRIES. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - EDWARD'S ROOM - DAY Although this is a hospital room filled with medical equipment, its sterility has been camouflaged with toys, posters, photographs, and drawings to make it more "homey." (Some hint at aspects of Edward's fantasy world). Every comfort has been provided and no expense spared. Henry, Miriam, and Catherine, now wearing funky/casual clothes under a lab coat, stand opposite Cooperman. Sitting on the bed with Edward is ELLA BAINES, an elegantly dressed woman in her mid-40's. There is a soulfulness to her, but the husband, LUCIEN BAINES, 60's, possesses the icy demeanor of a corporate tycoon. One might write him off as cold, but we sense a genuine love for his wife and child. Ella smiles and caresses Edward's hair. ELLA He needs a haircut. CATHERINE I'll tell the nurse. (sensing something in Edward) God, he loves when you visit. ELLA My husband wonders if that's true. (delivering bad news) He wants to place Edward in a hospital. Seeing an unfunded future, Henry's ready to disassociate himself from Miriam and Catherine... HENRY There are other applications for the scanner, Mr. Baines... LUCIEN I realize that, Henry... (to Miriam) And I know your work, Dr. Kent, is invaluable to this company... CATHERINE You don't know about me, though, do you? LUCIEN Catherine, we've waited eighteen months for signs of progress... CATHERINE There's been progress. LUCIEN Yes, but there is no proof the procedure works. All I have is a belief that your interaction with my son is not a hallucination. Catherine is hurt and vulnerable due to exhaustion and the intensity of her experience with Edward, but feels she must defend herself. CATHERINE (to Cooperman, Miriam, Henry) You picked me, remember? And I took the job. Gladly. This is the next wave and I want to be part of it... COOPERMAN No one is doubting your ability. CATHERINE Then what is it? Introspective and solemn-eyed, Lucien takes a moment, then: LUCIEN I've invested millions of dollars in this study... And I've convinced others to do the same. I suppose I should feel responsible to them, but I don't. I could care less if they see a profit. I'm responsible to my boy, that's all that matters. (looks her in the eye) You tell me... Am I doing the right thing? OFF CATHERINE'S FACE... INT. WHITE ROOM - DAY At first, we're not sure where we are or what's happening. It's too bright, the space confining. As our eyes adjust, we seem to be in a bathroom or shower stall. We HEAR a WOMAN CRYING and the camera finds ANNE VICKSEY. Dark circles beneath eyes red and puffy from crying. Hair wet and ratted. Sweater and pants damp and stained. Barefoot, she shivers from cold and fear... PULL BACK to show more of her surroundings. The white-tiled 10' x 8' room features a SHOWER HEAD, TOILET, and a push button SPIGOT for drinking water. Two walls are SOLID, the other two MIRRORED, the glass covered by thick clear plastic. The floor is littered with empty food wrappers - candy bars, juice boxes. In the center of the floor is a DRAIN and above her, on the ceiling, a FLUORESCENT LAMP, also encased in clear plastic. There is no door. A mechanism CLICKS. Then a RUMBLING... Anne seems to know what's coming. She presses against the wall, removes her arms from the sleeves of the sweater, hunches down, and raises the garment over her head, forming a tent. WATER ERUPTS from the shower head. There is no steam, so this water must be cold. Shaking, Anne whispers a count to herself - "One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three..." and so on. The spray hits everything in the room - mirror, toilet, floor - and a food wrapper drifts toward the drain. ANNE Thirty. She peeks up from the tent, but the water has not stopped, and that isn't what she expected. We hear a soft SUCKING NOISE and a CLICK. The wrapper rises on a puddle of water. Anne POUNDS her fist on the wall. ANNE (CONT'D) (angry, scared) THIRTY! A puddle forms around her feet and she realizes the drain has somehow been sealed shut. Her panic intensifies as we hear another CLICK and the water pressure increases. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY - DAY In the darkened procedure room, Miriam finds Catherine standing between the two suspension devices, alone. MIRIAM You okay? Catherine turns, nods, and tries to smile. Has she been crying? Miriam steps further into the room. CATHERINE He hates me. MIRIAM Lucien Baines? Catherine nods. MIRIAM (CONT'D) I wouldn't say "hates." Dislikes, distrusts, maybe. Catherine laughs. Exactly what Miriam wanted. MIRIAM (CONT'D) She adores you. CATHERINE She thinks I can bring Edward back. MIRIAM Someday you can. We all believe that... Catherine halfheartedly nods, but her mind is elsewhere, focused on the two apparatuses. CATHERINE I want to try it. Please. Miriam knows what this is about. MIRIAM We've been over this a dozen times. No. CATHERINE Why not? Just once. A trial run. What harm could it do? MIRIAM I don't want to find out. Ever the doctor, Miriam finds herself surreptitiously examining Catherine's eyes, flesh tone, a slight trembling in her fingertips. CATHERINE Why is it taking so long for us to reach him? Because we've been reactive, that's why. And we need to be active. Miriam reaches for Catherine's wrist and takes her pulse. CATHERINE (CONT'D) (annoyed) Miriam... MIRIAM Shush. As Miriam examines her, Catherine continues: CATHERINE He creates the obstacles, he decides which games to play. MIRIAM I've heard this argument before. It's not happening. CATHERINE (frustrated) It could take years for me to get past the barriers he's created. MIRIAM If we reverse the feed and bring Edward into your mind, it could be devastating for him. Imagine the shock of suddenly existing in a whole other world. CATHERINE I do it all the time! MIRIAM Yes, but, you're a willing participant. Picture Edward in a strange place, lost, frightened... CATHERINE I'd be there for him. MIRIAM And he might blame you for terrifying him. That one moment could erase all you've accomplished. And if that happened, the trust he has in you is gone. CATHERINE (defeated) Okay, okay... Miriam takes a penlight and examines Catherine's eyes. MIRIAM Besides, I don't know what it might do to you. You're already exhausted. (concerned) Have you been sleeping? Catherine nods. MIRIAM (CONT'D) I can prescribe something... Catherine shakes her head no. Miriam shuts off the penlight and looks at Catherine with professional and personal concern. MIRIAM (CONT'D) You're sure? Any more nightmares? CATHERINE (defensively) No. MIRIAM Good. We need you healthy and relaxed. You're going to eat well, meditate, exercise, and watch mindless television. CATHERINE Yes mother. MIRIAM I don't want you up all night reading Edward's case file of the nine millionth time. Balance, dear girl, is the key. Leave the work here. She taps Catherine's head. MIRIAM (CONT'D) Don't bring it home in this. CATHERINE Okay. Miriam gathers her belongings. MIRIAM Henry wants me to try this Vietnamese place he's wild about. Want to come? CATHERINE (declining) I've got to feed my cat. Besides, I want to get to bed early. MIRIAM That's my girl. Miriam exits, but Catherine remains, still curious what could happen if things were reversed. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - HALLWAY - DAY The corridors are dark and most everyone has gone home. At the NURSES STATION, a staff member observes the child on a closed-circuit monitor. Further down the hall, Miriam and Henry exit. Wearing a (chic) thrift store coat and lugging a worn book bag, Catherine stands outside Edward's room, watching him sleep. CATHERINE Pleasant dreams, Mister E. EXT. RURAL HIGHWAY - DAY A GREEN FORD PICK-UP TRUCK cruises down this deserted stretch of two-lane blacktop, the driver carefully maintaining the speed limit. He signals and exits... EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAY The truck rumbles along a stretch of bumpy, unpaved road. The area is desolate, depressing, and deserted. It feels like no one's been anywhere near here for years. The pick-up stops at a RUSTED GATE and the DRIVER, a tall, lean, sinewy fellow undoes a combination lock-and-chain. We do not yet see his face. EXT. ABANDONED FARM HOUSE - DAY The truck parks inside a charred barn, now hidden from view, and the driver steps out, followed by his DOG. A magnificent WHITE GERMAN SHEPHERD. We notice a GLINT in its BLUE EYES - the animal's an albino. The driver points and whistles. Well-trained, the Shepard sprints to the gate and waits, keeping a watchful eye on the road. INT. THE CELL - OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY From the outside, a passerby would never know this sanctuary existed. Within the foundation of a farm building never completed, we find a small room in the center of a much larger space. The cell. We hear the WHIR of ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT and notice VIDEO CAMERAS mounted on tripods pointed at the two-way glass. We follow CABLES to a massive VIDEO RECORDER - the type used in surveillance, able to record for days without maintenance, and an elaborate TIMING DEVICE connected to a series of VALVES and SWITCHES. As if in a beatific trance, the driver moves to the window and gently rests his palm on the glass. ANNE MOVES! Arms flailing, mouth gasping, eyes filled with dread. The last spark of life... The driver JUMPS, startled and frightened. Almost shamefully, he turns and hides, unable to look at her. Suddenly, his body tenses and writhes, as if seized by torturous pain. He opens his mouth in a silent scream. And then, quickly as it came, the pain subsides. Hidden in shadow, he breathes deeply, regaining self-control. He waits, then moves back to the glass. Anne's dead face floats past him. Almost angelic. He watches her and leans his head against the window, closer. And the driver catches his own reflection in the mirror. Meet CARL STARGHER. EXT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Small and isolated, the nearest neighbor a block away. INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - NIGHT The place is a mess. Computer print-outs, dirty dishes, unopened mail, videotapes, and notepads cover tables, chairs and floor. On the crammed bookshelves, psychology texts sit next to volumes on mythology, religion, and the occult. Totems, figurines and artifacts (Central and South American in origin) adorn the walls and tables. As Portishead plays on the stereo, we find Catherine suffering from insomnia, wearing goofy-yet-hip eyeglasses, sweatpants and a UCSD T-shirt, sharing a late-night snack with her pet CAT. She shuts the refrigerator door and we linger on an odd POSTCARD taped to the surface. A kitschy postcard of a warrior/goddess. INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT We MOVE out of shadow, toward a bright focused light, following the albino German Shepherd - VALENTINE - as it enters a VAST SUBTERRANEAN ROOM. Most of the walls have been knocked down, leaving only thick support posts. Valentine finds Stargher in a DUGOUT PIT - about five feet deeper than the rest of the room - polishing a stainless steel table. A bright tungsten work light hangs above, and near it is the chain, cables and hooks of a customized MECHANICAL HOIST. The dog picks up an unpleasant scent and follows it to a far corner where there are empty jugs of BLEACH sitting next to a long, deep cast iron TUB. Stargher WHISTLES and Valentine obediently retreats to a KENNEL CAGE. Stargher gives him a chew toy and locks the dog inside before moving to the tub. Soaking in the bleach is the nude corpse of Anne Vicksey. The interior of the tub is glazed with gleaming porcelain and the whiteness of her flesh makes it appear as though she is floating in nothingness, but what hypnotizes and appalls are her eyes. Wide open, transformed by the chlorine into something ghostly, they are unforgettable. As the bleach gurgles down the drain, Stargher lifts Anne from the tub and carries her to the table. He places her face up and dries her with a clean white towel. He moves her limbs, lips, hips, and hands into desired positions then retreats into shadow. In the harsh light, against the shiny table, the bleached body has the quality of an apparition and we almost expect her to move... We HEAR Stargher remove his clothes and he steps into the pool of light. Nude, we see that his lean, muscular frame is laced with some rough tatoos. When he turns his back to us, we find EIGHT METAL RINGS, thick and strong, PIERCED through his flesh. Two columns of four on either side of the spine, running from shoulder blade to just below the waist. What in God's name are they for? Stargher shuts off the work light and moves to an area where he keeps TELEVISION MONITORS and VCRs. He inserts a videocassette taken from the surveillance deck and watches the screen. In BLACK AND WHITE, we see Anne awaken in the cell. Her first moments inside. Disoriented, terrified, trapped, she examines her surroundings. Stargher is mesmerized by her fear. Fast-forwarding to her death, he presses a remote and we get SOUND. Anne screaming, begging for her life. Aroused, stimulated, Stargher drinks it in like a symphony. Valentine cowers in the back of his cage, hating this. INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Lying on her bed (a waterbed), Catherine sleepily stares at the ceiling, rolls onto her side, and feels herself drawn into the comforter. The folds of the fabric become ripples. Ripples become dunes. EXT. EDWARD'S WORLD - DAY And we find ourselves in the DESERT of EDWARD'S WORLD. We fly over dunes and come up behind Catherine as she struggles through waves of sand. The tree trunk is up ahead and we glimpse someone hiding inside. Catherine reaches. MOCKEY-LOCK ERUPTS FROM WITHIN THE TREE TRUNK! SNARLING! Catherine retreats, silently screaming. INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAWN IN HER OWN BED, Catherine's eyes are open. In sharp contrast to a typical reaction to a nightmare, she remains calm. No sweaty face, no gasp, no reaction at all, really. She might as well have been dreaming of puppy dogs. Wide awake, her eyes return their gaze to the ceiling. CATHERINE Go. To. Sleep. INT. STARGHER HOUSE - BASEMENT - NIGHT CHAINS attached to bizarre HOOKS dangle from the ceiling. Admiring Anne's body, Stargher links the hooks to the rings in his back. He presses a remote unit and up in the rafters, a series of GEARS click into motion. The sound is torturous as the mechanical hoist LIFTS Stargher off the ground, pulling at the rings, strips of flesh rising. Stargher grimaces, but clearly he wants the pain, needs it. As the hoist clicks into another gear, it carries Stargher over the table until his body is perfectly positioned above Anne's. In the flickering weird light of the television screen, Stargher resembles something from the twisted imagination of William Blake - a levitating demon ready to debauch an innocent angel. With his free hand, he touches himself, chains clinking and swaying. EXT. RIVER BANK - DAY A railroad bridge and highway span an almost-bone-dry creek bed. Gathered beneath the overpass are the POLICE, CORONER, CRIMINIALISTS, AND A LOCAL FBI. A SEDAN travels down a service road and stops nearby. TWO MEN exit, identify themselves as FBI and move to the crime scene. Special Agent GORDON RAMSEY is well-groomed, prides himself on professionalism, and follows the Bureau party line. Special Agent PETER NOVAK is rough around the edges, introspective, and intense. A loner who marches to the tune of a peculiar drummer, he's unconventionally handsome with probing eyes. He moves slowly, observing the scene - the world, for that matter - from a unique perspective. As Ramsey finds the FBI's local liaison - AGENT COLE - Novak oblivious to the people around him, touches dirt, smells the air, and examines road, river, bridge and sky. RAMSEY Who found her? Cole nods at a visibly shaken WORKMAN seated in a patrol car. COLE Surveyor for the railroad... 'Bout six this morning. Novak sees a FEMALE BODY wrapped in plastic and bound by wire. Supervising the examination of the woman is FBI PATHOLOGIST DR. THEODORE "TEDDY" LEE, a polite, dapper southern gentleman. NOVAK Thanks for waiting, Teddy. Teddy gives Novak a friendly, respectful salute - "My pleasure." Novak dons gloves, nods to an FBI PHOTOGRAPHER and assists Teddy Lee in snipping wire and peeling back thick clear plastic. As the photographer reacts to a strong smell, Teddy comments. TEDDY LEE Bleach. As the man snaps pictures, Ramsey and Cole join them. Sadly, Novak recognizes the face. NOVAK Anne Marie Vicksey. We recognize her, too. COLE She the one from Santa Cruz? NOVAK Just graduated law school. Single mom. Had a two-year-old daughter. He and Teddy expose the bleached flesh of her torso, neither man surprised. Coldly thorough, Novak finds another of the killer's tell-tale signs. NOVAK (CONT'D) (instructing the photographer) The semen on her legs and abdomen. FLASH! Photos are taken. TEDDY LEE Someone looking after her little girl? NOVAK Grandparents. Live over in Davis. Novak looks into the dead white eyes of Anne Vicksey, trying to imagine the horrors she beheld. He moves to the creek and sees only a few inches of water. His eyes move from the drop site to the highway above. TEDDY LEE The poor thing. FLASH! We're up there now, ON THE OVERPASS, with the photographer and Novak, examining TIRE TRACKS in the soft shoulder. Novak peers over the edge at the crime scene, steps back, and focuses on the highway - imagining the killer's truck as it disappeared into the night. EXT. OFFICE PLAZA - DAY A PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN, JULIA HICKSON, shares lunch with her fiancee, JOHN TRACY. They talk, laugh and kiss, not a care in the world. INT. PICK-UP TRUCK - ACROSS THE STREET - DAY As TALK RADIO plays, Carl Stargher watches them, specifically Julia, his eyes never off her for too long as his hands work on something banal but unseen. TALK RADIO HOST ...complaining about government subsidies for farmers... The voice on the radio becomes DISTORTED as we hear it through Stargher's ears... TALK RADIO HOST (CONT'D) ...but without subsidies, families will starve, and I'm nodd exagggeerrrrr....ayding. Iff id werrrr up tooooo meeeee..... The host's voice fades into a guttural, monstrous groan. TALK RADIO HOST (CONT'D) Meeeee gawwwwwdd Caaaarrrrlll. Mee god cum... (returning to normal) Meeeee....wwuuuuuddunnnnttttt... be spending billions on other countries when we've got problems right here. He opens his eyes and watches John kiss Julia goodbye as she returns to work. Stargher looks down and we see what he's been working on - A TOY DOLL. Female. Stripped of its clothes, a single metal ring stuck through its plastic neck. INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY His lunch finished, Ramsey is on a cell-phone talking to his wife. Chain-drinking coffee, Novak scrutinizes photos of the tire tracks. RAMSEY Well, honey, what's worse? Doing it yourself or asking your mother for help? (gets his answer) Can it wait 'til I get back/ (listens, answers) I have no idea, Jeannie. Novak checks his watch and the street. Clearly waiting for someone or something. RAMSEY (CONT'D) Well all right. Good luck with the Monster. I love you too. Bye-bye. Ramsey snaps shut the cell-phone. RAMSEY (CONT'D) We call Jeannie's mother "The Monster" because, well... she just is. Novak is oblivious, pouring over tire-related info. RAMSEY (CONT'D) I know you could care less about my personal life, Peter, but I do appreciate the occasional, "How's your wife, Gordon?" He waits. Novak obliges: NOVAK How is she? RAMSEY Pregnant. Thanks for asking. Novak is distracted by Teddy Lee entering the diner. NOVAK Here he is. RAMSEY Damn, man, I give up. Your partner tells you his wife's gonna have a baby, and all you care about is a coroner's report! Ramsey assesses the exhausted, lonely, intense man sitting across from him. RAMSEY (CONT'D) I feel for those girls too, Pete. And their families. But it's just a job. Someday it'll be over. And then what'll you have? Much to Novak's appreciation, Teddy Lee's arrival provides an escape from answering the question. TEDDY LEE Hot off the presses. He gives them copies of the AUTOPSY REPORT and FORENSIC ANALYSIS of Anne Marie Vicksey. The WAITRESS sees Teddy, approaches, and offers a menu. TEDDY LEE (CONT'D) (doesn't need it) Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, garden salad with Thousand Island dressing and an iced-tea. Thank you darlin'. She nods and moves to the kitchen. Novak and Ramsey flip through the documents. TEDDY LEE (CONT'D) Water in her lungs. Same brand of bleach. Match on the semen. Lots of hair. RAMSEY (unenthused) More hair. I could knit this guy a toupee. Novak finds something in the report that catches him by surprise. He double-checks and shows the item to Teddy. TEDDY LEE (reading) So? NOVAK Anne Vicksey didn't own a dog. Ramsey checks his copy. NOVAK (CONT'D) I need it. TEDDY LEE Now? NOVAK Now. INT. FORENSIC LABORATORY - DAY A MONITOR shows a SINGLE HAIR under a video microscope. Teddy Lee plays with the dials and gets a spectral view. TEDDY LEE Complete absence of melanin. Novak and Ramsey stand over his shoulder. RAMSEY And that means? Teddy moves aside and takes another bite of his lunch (chicken fried steak now carry-out). NOVAK The dog's an albino. (pictures it) He'd love an animal like that. TEDDY LEE Gentlemen, I believe an albino dog is rare indeed. INT. PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT Exiting an elevator, Julia heads for her little Toyota. Smart girl that she is, her eyes scan the area and her fingers hold a can of mace. INT. TOYOTA - NIGHT Julia climbs in, checks her mirror and backs up. WHAM! Did she hit something?? She brakes, puts the car in park, and checks her sideview mirror. Reflected there is a WOUNDED DOG. A white German Shepherd. She rolls down her window and can hear the poor thing whimpering. JULIA Oh no... INT. PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT Julia exits her car and kneels next to Valentine, who appears to be in terrible pain. JULIA God... I didn't see you. STARGHER'S HANDS COME AT HER FROM BEHIND! One grabs her hair and the other covers her face with a chloroform-soaked towel. He presses so hard, she cannot scream, cannot move. After a brief struggle, he SHOVES her into her car and holds her until she passes out. Stargher pushes Julia into the passenger seat and starts the car. Pulls a dog treat from his pocket and WHISTLES. The Shepherd instantly perks up. Perfectly healthy. And jumps into the car. STARGHER (feeds him a treat) Good boy. INT. RIVERSIDE COUNTY SHERIFF'S STATION - DAY In a BRIEFING ROOM we find Teddy Lee, Ramsey, Cole and local cops. All in need of caffeine. They complain, gossip, and shoot the shit. Resembling a demanding professor, Novak enters and through presence alone, lacking any self consciousness about his dishevelled appearance, takes control of the room by holding up a PHOTOGRAPH of a young woman. NOVAK Donna Krozin. (a new picture every time) Helen Francis, Teresa Manicki... The chatter dies. NOVAK (CONT'D) Antoinette Simms, Natalie Pagels, Grace Cassatt... Anne Vicksey. Every person is solemn and focused. NOVAK (CONT'D) Smart, gentle, attractive young women. Just starting out in life. Embarking on careers, going to school, getting married... He's hooked them. The victims, these women, now mean something to them. With great effect, he holds up grisly post-mortem photos. NOVAK (CONT'D) They were killed. Kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. By a white male. About 30-years old. (significantly) Who owns an albino dog./ Everyone knows this is a real clue and awareness is heightened. Ramsey chimes in. RAMSEY A purebred German Shepherd. Novak shows them a picture of a WHITE GERMAN SHEPHERD taken from a resource on the Internet. RAMSEY (CONT'D) Breeders typically destroy albino pups, so this animal is truly unique. NOVAK Nicole Labetzki. Victim seven. Forensics found dog hair in her car, but they had a K-9 unit at the scene and never had it checked. TEDDY LEE The Phoenix office tested that hair thirty minutes ago. And we got the match. NOVAK It's his dog. Ramsey holds up a thick list. RAMSEY Registered breeders of German Shepherds. The list is long and a few of the cops GROAN. Novak silences them with a fierce look that says, "I will not rest until this man is found and neither should you." NOVAK Be thorough, but be fast. This guy's accelerating. He only waited six days this last time. When he started, two months could pass. A DESK SEARGENT enters the room and hands a FAX to Ramsey. Novak is curious about it, but continues. NOVAK (CONT'D) This can mean different things. He thinks we're stupid and can't catch him. He's having fun and needs more. Or... (thinking it through) This dog hair thing is sloppy. The body this morning was found in less than three inches of water. He knew we'd find her. He wants to be caught. But if we can't stop him... Gravely concerned, Ramsey moves across the room. NOVAK (CONT'D) (dreading what's on that fax) ...he can't stop himself. INT. STARGHER HOUSE - BATHROOM - DAY Stargher, the awful PAIN eating away at his skull. He searches the medicine chest. DISTORTED VOICE Me god feed on pain. The VOICE echoing inside his skull. DISTORTED VOICE (CONT'D) Pain good. Cumm home to meee... INT. STARGHER HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY Struggling to stay on his feet, he moves to the KITCHEN. Valentine paces nervously, whimpering concern. Stargher reaches for a bottle of vodka but falls to the floor. Valentine BARKS, but gets no reaction from master. We MOVE IN on Stargher's unblinking eyes. DISTORTED VOICE Go sleep Carl. Me god wake up now. INT. THE CELL - DAY Julia Hickson finds the snack foods, drinking spigot, toilet, shower, and drain. Her bare feet try to adjust to the tile floor, but it's fucking cold. She glimpses herself in the mirror and is startled by what she sees - a terrified girl. INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - DAY A TAN SEDAN sits in the driveway of this modest middle-class home. A VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF'S CAR sits nearby, a deputy keeping watch. INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - DAY A distraught middle-aged couple, MR. AND MRS. HICKSON, sit on the couch of their living room. FAMILY PHOTOS show them with Julia, whose fiancee, John, does his best to comfort the mother. Novak and Ramsey have the unfortunate task of interviewing them about their daughter's disappearance. RAMSEY She was still living at home? MR. HICKSON Yes, sir. JOHN We were looking at apartments. MR. HICKSON (important they know) But nobody was moving in together 'til after the wedding. Novak hasn't said much. Instead, he looks at something in his hands - a plastic evidence bag containing the TOY DOLL. RAMSEY John, you came to pick her up when? JOHN Eight o'clock. We were going out for my birthday. MR. HICKSON Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe she... she... Novak hides the doll. RAMSEY No sir. I'm sorry. Ramsey's cell-phone rings and he excuses himself to a corner of the room, leaving Novak alone to deal with this uncomfortable, sad situation, no one saying a word until an emotionally shattered Mrs. Hickson, fingering a rosary, feels compelled to tell him. NOVAK After three years she remembers what the guy drove? RAMSEY She remembers because it was her "dream truck." Wanted one just like it. EXT. SMALL AIRPORT - DAY Ramsey and Novak exit a small jet and are met by FBI Agent STOCKWELL. STOCKWELL Ramsey, Novak? They nod and he directs them to a waiting GMC SUBURBAN. STOCKWELL (CONT'D) Agent Stockwell. NOVAK Where is he? STOCKWELL Edison. Just east of Loma Park. SWAT's had the house under surveillance for about twenty minutes. (info memorized) Suspect is Carl Rudolph Stargher. No registered weapons, no priors. Got a license for his dog, though. Named him Valentine... INT. GMC SUBURBAN - DAY Stockwell is behind the wheel, racing down the highway. Ramsey's in the passenger seat, Novak in back. Shotguns and body armor line the cargo area. Novak's eyes target the FAX, a copy of Stargher's license and registration, and the grainy dot-matrix image of the suspect's face. And Novak knows he's found him. NOVAK You're the bad man, aren't you, Carl? EXT. STARGHER HOUSE/NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY A sparsely populated lower-middle class neighborhood. A half dozen plain houses at the end of a cul-de-sac. Bare trees. Brown lawns. Crows in the air. The house furthest from the main road has a white Ford F250 pick-up in the driveway. Green trim. THE SUBURBAN, hidden from Stargher's house, four-wheels it through a prairie and stops outside the backyard of a PRESCHOOL, where two more Suburbans and a van already wait. INT. PRESCHOOL - DAY Stockwell introduces Ramsey and Novak to BROCK, leader of the FBI Tactical Unit, a calm, confident ex-Marine wearing a black uniform and body armor. BROCK Glad you could make it. We lose the sun in half an hour. Novak and Ramsey join him at the shaded window to observe Stargher's house. Children's drawings fill the wall. As Brock explains, Novak checks with binoculars. BROCK (CONT'D) Perimeter's two-hundred yards around the house. Three men at the rear, two on each side, four up front. I've got two marksmen on the roof. NOVAK Have they seen him? BROCK No. There's been movement in the kitchen. But it could be the dog. (important) You think she's in there? Novak is careful with his answer. NOVAK We proceed assuming she is. RAMSEY Let's give old Carl a call. Tell him he's got company. NOVAK No. (to Brock) Can you get a man close? EXT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY Quiet. Calm. And then we catch a glimpse of a FIGURE advancing, using any cover he can, until he is right outside the house. The sneaky SWAT team member, ERICSON, whispers into his throat mic. ERICSON I'm at the back door. BROCK (V.O.) (in Ericson's earpiece) Check the kitchen. Ericson maneuvers his way to the kitchen window and uses a MIRROR to sneak a peek. In the REFLECTION we see a motionless man lying on the floor. ERICSON I have a man down. Repeat, man down. BROCK (V.O.) Stargher? Ericson chances a quick visual check and pops his head up before reporting. ERICSON Can't see his face. INT. PRESCHOOL - DAY Brock looks to Novak, urgency and tension mounting. Novak knows how much is riding on this specific moment. All the various outcomes. And decides. NOVAK Go. EXT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY The SWAT TEAM SWARMS towards the house. INT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY ERICSON KICKS IN THE BACK DOOR. GUN READY! ERICSON FBI! He and THREE OTHERS rush inside! BAM! FOUR MEN KICK in and proceed through the FRONT DOOR! SWAT TEAM MEMBER FBI! An odd quiet is all they encounter. IN THE BACK, Ericson moves through a LAUNDRY ROOM and finds VALENTINE hiding behind a pile of dirty clothes, frightened by these masked figures in black. ERICSON (into throat mic) I've got the dog! He points for someone to secure the animal and MOVES into the KITCHEN, aiming his gun at the man on the floor, finally getting a look at his face. ERICSON (CONT'D) (recognizing him) Carl Stargher! Do not move! No problem there. Stargher appears lifeless. As various SWAT team members secure the house, Ericson removes his mask and CUFFS Stargher, startled at the sight of the horrible RINGS piercing his back. ERICSON (CONT'D) Jesus Christ... EXT. PRESCHOOL/STARGHER'S HOUSE - DAY As an AMBULANCE emerges from a hiding place behind another garage, we FOLLOW NOVAK and RAMSEY as they run from the preschool into the house. INT. STARGHER HOUSE As a K-9 UNIT secures Valentine, Novak storms into the kitchen, checks Stargher for a pulse and barks at SWAT> NOVAK Paramedics. NOW. Ramsey pushes through and Novak informs him. NOVAK (CONT'D) He's alive. EXT. STARGHER HOUSE - DAY FBI AGENTS and local police cordon off the area. INT. STARGHER HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY Valentine is muzzled and led away as the PARAMEDICS load Stargher onto a stretcher. Agent Stockwell turns to a worried Novak. STOCKWELL They'll take him to County General. Reid's already there. NOVAK Make sure he stays cuffed. Two men on him at all times. I don't want anyone treating him but Reid. Not so much as a thermometer up his ass. Understand? Stockwell nods and follows the stretcher outside. A stoic Ramsey enters from the living room and Novak can see the disappointment in his eyes. RAMSEY She's not here. Novak would give anything for that not to be true. RAMSEY (CONT'D) (it gets worse) You should come downstairs. INT. STARGHER HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY Ramsey leads Novak into Stargher's "workroom." It's all here, the table, the piercing supplies, the bleach. An odd, grisly collection of DOLLS fills cubby holes in a wooden storage/shelf unit. Novak's eyes are like a camera, documenting and storing as much information as possible, but it's overwhelming. He moves through the basement. Careful not to touch anything. He stops and focuses on the hoist and eight hooks situated over the stainless steel table. (NOTE: ON THE WINCH'S MOTOR IS A WORN PLAQUE READING "CARVER INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT" with a logo). Ramsey switches on the video monitor and the screen fills with images of Anne dying in the cell. Novak is painfully, tragically drawn to this. Although he's seen his share of horrific things, Novak is truly disturbed by the sight of Anne, desperate to escape, drowning, slowly dying, and he knows: This is what will happen to Julia Hickson unless he finds her. INT. THE CELL - NIGHT CLICK. WATER SPRAYS FROM THE SHOWER. Caught by surprise, Julia blocks the spray with her hands and searches for a shut off valve. Of course, there is none. Thirty seconds later, the water stops. Like an animal caught in a trap, Julia's eyes dart around her "cage." What kind of hell is this? Shivering, she catches herself in the mirror and looks deeply into it. Something's odd about the glass. Is someone watching her? She bangs on it with her fist. JULIA Hey! POUND, POUND, POUND! JULIA (CONT'D) LET ME OUT!!! But there's no response. Only her reflection. INT. KERN COUNTY HOSPITAL - EXAMINATION ROOM - NIGHT A HUMAN EYE. No movement, no deviation of the iris. A fixed stare. The catatonic Stargher lies in a hospital bed, wrists cuffed to the frame. An IV feeds him fluids and monitors report his vital signs. As a nervous NURSE exits, we see TWO POLICEMEN standing guard in the outer hallway. Novak, Ramsey and Teddy Lee stand by as the killer is examined by DR. MILTON REID, a brilliant forensic M.D. currently shining an opthalmoscope into Stargher's eyes. He pulls away and checks the ELECTROENCENPHELOGRAM already on a lightbox. REID Minimal activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. And here, the anterior cingulate cortex. (to Novak and Ramsey) It's what helps distinguish between external and internal stimuli. RAMSEY What the hell does that mean? TEDDY LEE (answering for Reid) He's schizophrenic. Novak doesn't like this. Not one bit. RAMSEY What're you doing here, Reid? Paving the way for his insanity defense? REID No need. There won't be a trial. This is no act. The coma is real. RAMSEY Whoa. Wait a minute. REID You ever hear of Whalen's Infraction? Clearly not. REID (CONT'D) (re: the EEG) In any schizophrenic, these areas would be affected. But in someone with Whalen's, they're hit hard and hit fast. Novak's worry intensifies. REID (CONT'D) Stargher's neurological system was infected by a virus in utero. It lay dormant. In his case for about... (guesses at Stargher's age) ...thirty years. Most likely, he's exhibited symptoms for awhile now, but the infraction - the breach - didn't occur 'til today. You never know when it'll happen, at what age, or why. The triggers vary, but the results don't. (fascinated by Stargher) He has no ties to reality. No awareness of this world or the people in it. TEDDY LEE What about Thorazine? Or... Desoxyn? REID The normal psychotropics don't work. He's not just catatonic, he's... disappeared. Like having a dream and never waking up. NOVAK This girl. Julia Hickson. Only he knows where she is. REID Then I'm sorry. For her and for you. Novak is past angry. He's bordering on devastation. Ramsey attempts to placate him. RAMSEY We'll go back to his house, Pete. There's still a lot to do. Analyze the videos, track sales of the bleach, go through his records. Maybe he owns property somewhere. NOVAK They're in that fucking thing for forty hours, Gordon. Four-oh. He got Julia at seven-thirty last night. You know what time it is now...?! Ramsey backs off, knowing his partner is on the verge of really losing it. Reid thinks perhaps he shouldn't, but sensitive to Novak's pain and anger, mentions it anyway - if only to keep his friend from true hopelessness. REID Peter? This is a longshot. I mean a real long shot. You're gonna think I'm crazy... EXT. EDWARD'S WORLD - DAY The ship's engine ROARS TO LIFE and the PROPELLER spins through sand. CATHERINE (O.S.) It's fixed! AT THE TREE TRUNK, Catherine extends her hand and suddenly Edward is there, quite close, reaching out. Catherine's hand trembles. The boy is startled. CATHERINE (CONT'D) (surprised, to herself) I'm not signalling... Her hand tenses and shakes uncontrollably. VOICE (O.S.) Sing a song of sixpence... CATHERINE (angry, to the heavens) I'm not signalling! Edward is frightened by what's happening and runs away. Catherine tries to call out, but her throat constricts, making speech difficult. CATHERINE (CONT'D) I'm not... INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY - DAY Catherine's face is covered by a cloth floating down from the sky. The sky is replaced by the ceiling and overhead lights of the LABORATORY, but Miriam's face remains constant. Now conscious, Catherine finds herself in the lab at the Campbell Center, the suspension device lowering. MIRIAM (on intercom) Sing a song of sixpence. CATHERINE (hoarse) A pocketful of fucking rye. (worried) What's wrong? MIRIAM (cagey) Nothing. CATHERINE (disappointed) Why did we stop? Cooperman appears in the window and explains. COOPERMAN (on intercom) I asked them to. (with gravity) We have a situation. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY A SMALL TV SCREEN shows footage of Anne drowning in the cell. Catherine, Cooperman, Henry, and Miriam watch with curiosity, disgust, pity. Novak and Ramsey flank the portable monitor/VCR, knowing this is a disturbing but powerful tool. There's someone else in the room. John Tracy. He cannot watch the video, not again. Catherine glances at him, uncomfortable with his presence. MIRIAM When did he lapse into the coma? NOVAK Sometime yesterday morning. John tries to keep his composure, but Novak's making this tough for him. Novak wants the scientists to see, to understand the boy's pain. NOVAK (CONT'D) Each tape is the same. He provides food, drinking water, a toilet. Periodically, a shower starts. It's on some kind of timer - he's clever with machines, building things. I think he wants them to believe this is a simple kidnapping. That there's a possibility of rescue. Of survival. But it's just a form of torture. At the end of the fortieth hour, the drain shuts. The water starts and doesn't stop. (gravely) We've already lost more than a day. If she isn't found tonight. She dies like the rest. COOPERMAN (to Miriam, Henry and Catherine) John and Ella Baines - as well as the Sunerset Board of Directors - have given their approval, but the decision is yours. MIRIAM What about the legalities of this...? NOVAK Stargher is in custody. The functional equivalent of being under arrest. Normally, we'd Mirandize him, and if he didn't lawyer up, we'd interrogate him. But because of his condition, he doesn't have the capacity to waive those rights. HENRY So what you're asking us to do is illegal? NOVAK No, not at all. (explains) We're dealing with exigent circumstances. Somewhere there's a kidnapped woman still alive. If we weigh the suspect's Constitutional Rights against the public safety. The Law favors the victim and gives us a lot of leeway. It's called the Public Safety Exception. COOPERMAN So what can you do? NOVAK Pretty much anything we want. There's a chance to save a human life. Because of that, Stargher has no reasonable expectation of privacy. Miriam, Henry and Cooperman appear to be onboard. Novak's made a persuasive, heartfelt argument. Only one person still remains uncertain. CATHERINE What if...? All eyes turn to her. CATHERINE (CONT'D) What if he wasn't like this? What if he was "normal?" Conscious. How far would you go? NOVAK As far as I needed. Catherine nods, analyzes Novak's eyes, gestures, body language, and "interrogates" him. CATHERINE Do you think he'd tell you what you need to know? John's discomfort is increasing and Novak is sensitive to it. NOVAK There's always a chance they'll confess. CATHERINE Really? I don't work with violent cases, I work with children. But even a kid lies. They love it when they get you to believe something that isn't true. Don't you think Stargher would do the same? NOVAK Sometimes... Once they've been caught they feel a need for disclosure. They have so much they want to tell. But they've never had a sympathetic ear. They need someone to understand why. (focusing on Catherine) Stargher used to hide the bodies very carefully. It was part of the ritual. Some weren't found for weeks and any physical evidence had been meticulously wiped clean. But these last three... They were still in water - always in water - but (clarifies) Listen, he wasn't just careless. It went beyond that... CATHERINE Okay. Let's assume he wanted you to find him, that some part of him hated what he was doing... Most likely, that part is dead. Schizophrenics with Whalen's Infraction sever all ties with the real world. I'm sorry, I really am. RAMSEY Is it possible? CATHERINE If he came to trust me, yes, but it takes months to build that kind of trust. Someone like Stargher can't distinguish between fantasy and reality. It's all the same. He might tell me she's in Timbuktu and absolutely, one hundred percent believe it to be true, but she's... JOHN (O.S.) Julia. They turn to John Tracy. His vulnerable, barely audible voice forcing everyone to listen. JOHN (CONT'D) Not "she." Julia. Not thing, or it, or her. Do you know anything about her? Do you know what we've been through? Julia is everything to me. Can you say that about anyone? Catherine hangs her head. And finds herself looking at photograph of the girl in question. A smiling Julia Hickson looking right at her. WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP. POUNDING REVERBERATIONS... EXT. CAMPBELL CENTER - DAY WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP. A HELICOPTER descends onto the pad. A stretcher is removed from the side door of the helicopter. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - VARIOUS/TRAVELLING - DAY The STAFF watches with a mixture of fear and curiosity as a stretcher bearing the catatonic Stargher is wheeled FAST through the corridors by an FBI escort team. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY Hundreds of photographs, drawings, diagrams, maps, blueprints, and documents - Novak's case material - cover every inch of wallspace. The table is littered with reference books, atlases, telephones, a fax machine, short wave radio, and computer/Internet terminal. An FBI TECHNICIAN completes the electronics work and points out the "speed dial" functions to Novak and Ramsey. FBI TECH (listing them) Quantico. San Diego Field Office. S.D., L.A., and San Francisco P.D. California, Arizona, Nevada State Police. Nine and ten are open lines. (re: radio set up) Direct link to the chopper. (re: the computer) That gets you into the Bureau Database. NOVAK Thanks. Once he's gone, Ramsey takes this moment "alone" to question his partner. RAMSEY You sure you want to go through with this? NOVAK What else do we do?! RAMSEY I don't know, Pete, but for god's sake... This is nuts. Do you really understand what they're going to do? NOVAK I don't have to. RAMSEY Why jeopardize what we've already done? We caught the sonofabitch. Carl Stargher. That's going to be like Bundy, Gacy, Dahmer. A case that makes careers. But if we push our luck. If this is all bullshit and we come out smelling like it. NOVAK Tell you what. If this thing burns us, I take that heat. I give you permission to point your finger at me and say "It was all his idea." RAMSEY (offended) That's not what I'm talking about, Pete. I'm talking about waking up and realizing this girl's gonna die. The words are anathema to Novak. NOVAK That won't happen. Cooperman appears in the doorway and informs them... COOPERMAN They're ready. Ramsey looks to his partner, but Novak is already on Cooperman's heels. Resignedly, Ramsey follows. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY - DAY Cooperman guides Novak and Ramsey into the lab. The FBI men are impressed, but neither is quite sure what to make it all. The FBI escort team leader gets Ramsey's signature and Novak undoes the cuffs from Stargher's wrists and ankles. Following Miriam's direction, the escorts guide the gurney carrying Stargher into the procedure room. As Cooperman shows them out, Henry seals shut the door. Miriam assumes responsibility for Stargher's care and checks his pulse, IV, pupil dilation, and vital signs... HENRY Shouldn't we get a catheter in him? MIRIAM They took care of that, thank you, Henry. (getting him out of her hair) MIRIAM (CONT'D) Why don't you give our guests a little tour? Proud of his computer, but uncomfortable around strangers, Henry directs Novak and Ramsey to the console. HENRY Gentlemen, you stand before the one and only Neurological Cartography and Synaptic Transfer System. Although he's listening, Novak's eyes never really stray from his prisoner as Miriam uses safety scissors to cut away Stargher's clothes. HENRY (CONT'D) It provides a highly detailed map of the human mind. Not the brain - any MRI can do that. The mind. (self-impressed) It reads and processes electronically allowing information to be transferred and interrupted. (for the laymen) Let's say your thoughts could be stored on DVD. If someone had the right kind of player, they could watch and listen to what you're thinking. Novak observes Miriam as she "undresses" Stargher and Ramsey pokes around the lab. HENRY (CONT'D) But we can't record or store the data. The connections between nerve cells are constantly being modified. Miriam needs a moment to fully take in the scars. Henry continues, eager to focus attention back to him, but even he is fascinated by Stargher's skin. HENRY (CONT'D) It's like the early days of television. The subject sends out a live feed and you receive it during time of broadcast. Whatever happens, happens. All you have to do is "tune in." Miriam gives Stargher an alcohol bath, the clinical procedure taking on the quality of ritual. Her wash cloth moves under Stargher's chin and over his face. She's careful around the eyes and finds herself unable to look at them for long. HENRY (CONT'D) But you do more than tune in... You become part of the snow. Catherine enters from a dressing area wearing the bodysuit. Filled with curiosity, Novak watches Miriam and Catherine fit Stargher into his suit. NOVAK I still don't understand why I can't do this... This isn't some "troubled kid" you're dealing with. CATHERINE I realize that... NOVAK How hard could it be...? Catherine and Miriam try to hide their laughter. CATHERINE The first... What? Six or seven times I went in. Remember what happened? MIRIAM Disorientation, nausea, migraines, hallucinations, insomnia, paranoia. CATHERINE Like a New Year's Day hangover. MIRIAM He needs to be turned over. Novak and Catherine roll Stargher onto his stomach. NOVAK This man is deeply disturbed, he... CATHERINE You don't know the procedure. NOVAK I know him. MIRIAM That may be true, but you don't have Catherine's gift. She... (distracted by Stargher's back) What happened here? We see a series of EIGHT BANDAGES. RAMSEY We removed eight metal rings. Miriam peels away a bandage and examines the flesh. CATHERINE Then he should like this. Catherine connects Stargher to the SUSPENSION APPARATUS and it HOISTS him off the table. CATHERINE (CONT'D) They're comforted by the feeling of weightlessness. Like floating in water. Henry catches Ramsey poking his nose near a THIRD SUIT AND APPARATUS in the dressing area. HENRY Don't touch that, please. RAMSEY Sorry. Miriam prepares a series of CHEMICAL CARTRIDGES and loads them into a container connected to the IV-like tubes linked to the suspension device. MIRIAM (intimate, quiet) This isn't your responsibility. Remember that. Don't let them use guilt as a tool. If you want to stop, say so. CATHERINE I'll be fine. MIRIAM She said convincingly. Catherine focuses on the procedure and makes the necessary connections. Reluctantly, Miriam retreats to the monitoring station. She "locks down" the procedure room and joins Henry, Novak, and Ramsey at the console. NOVAK (eyes on the chemical/drug monitors) That's the stuff? HENRY About twelve years of research, right Miriam? MIRIAM Don't remind me. RAMSEY What is it - are they - exactly? That's like asking her to explain the rules of cricket. MIRIAM Psychostimulants, serotonin, stabilizers, meprobamate, Neurontin, lithium carbonate. And my baby. It duplicates and expands upon the effects of a chemical called oxytocin, forcing a break in the neuron connections that hold experience. So new experience can form. Ramsey is utterly lost and just sort of nods, but Novak is fascinated. Catherine presses the bump on her hand. A RED INDICATOR LIGHT flashes on. HENRY There's a touch-sensitive microchip implanted in her hand. If she becomes frightened, disoriented, or simply wants to end the session, she signals us to abort. Catherine presses again and the red light shuts off. MIRIAM Although none of what she experiences is real, she can be tricked into thinking it is. The mind is awfully gullible, so she needs to monitor herself. Catherine and Stargher are suspended from the ceiling. Henry types and the lights dim to a more somber, tranquil level. Various screens flicker to life, displaying the vital signs of both "feed" and receive." Miriam initiates the injection program. MIRIAM (CONT'D) Catherine? I'm about to start. If you want me to wait, or... CATHERINE No. No. IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, we see chemicals mix with her blood, then feed the IV. AT THE CONSOLE, as Henry types furiously at the computer keyboard, Novak asks Miriam: NOVAK You said she has a "gift." Overhearing, Henry interrupts, pointing at a section of Catherine's "mind map." HENRY Not a gift. A highly evolved area in her cerebral cortex, that's all. A genetic fluke. MIRIAM Catherine has a tremendous capacity for empathy. (clarifies) When we started, there were a number of test subjects - other therapists - who acted as "receivers." All they did was observe and report. Nothing more. But Catherine, she had the ability to feel what was happening. She understood. And the patient responded. Edward engaged her in dialogue, took her places, showed her things. He knew she cared. A hopeful, solemn Novak gazes through the window, watching Catherine's body as it becomes parallel to Stargher's... IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Catherine takes a deep breath and as the drugs take effect, feels herself losing consciousness. She glances at Stargher, a man who tortures and kills women, then looks up as the CLOTH MASK descends from the ceiling. MIRIAM (O.S.) (CONT'D) Intravenous administration complete. HENRY (O.S.) Initiating connection. We follow fibrous wires running from Catherine's mask to Stargher's. Their blood mixing with chemicals in the IV-like containers. The computer system humming. HENRY (O.S.) (CONT'D) Transfer begins 1100 hours, 34 minutes, 12 seconds. Catherine's eye focuses on the mask. As it comes closer, we see the lining is laced with thread-like wires and microchips forming hyper-miniature circuit boards. Catherine's eye blinks. The mask covers her face. Catherine's eye shuts. Vision fades. Darkness. A faint light. Microscopic veins in the eyelid become wires connected to chips. And we're MOVING, into the circuitry. ENTRANCE ONE INT. STARGHER'S WORLD The pattern of the electronics grows into something more organic, textured, concrete. Evolving into a world. Black and shadow-filled, it resembles a labyrinthine complex of vertical walls with cubicle like rooms carved deep into its core. Our journey into this bleak, grim place continues and we occasionally glimpse brief images of a boy's baptism. INTERCUT with this journey are sections of cloudy blackness and fragmented visions of CATHERINE connected to the apparatus, face masked, DESCENDING into this world. There is an abrupt SHIFT from still images to regular motion and we find ourselves gliding over a tidepool filled with tiny fish and tadpoles. At water's edge, lying on rough, pebble-strewn ground, is a HAND. Catherine's hand. We sense MOVEMENT, but she remains still. From the darkness comes a DOG. Black in color and featureless, it sniffs Catherine, dismisses her, and meanders into a cubicle opposite her, disappearing from view. After a moment of odd quiet, a DROP OF BLOOD hits the mask and we follow Catherine's hand as it moves to the cloth and removes it from her own face. IN MACROSCOPIC SUPER SLOW-MOTIONS, another BLOOD DROPLET sails 64 into the air and comes crashing down, hitting a RED ANT, catapulting it onto what looks like a tree, but is just a TWIG. As the insect scurries away, MORE DROPS pound the earth, splatter against "twig trees," and explode into pools of stagnant water... As we begin to realize that this miniature landscape is the world into which Catherine descended. She sits up, shivering, and breathes deeply, acclimating to her surroundings. The "floor" is covered with filth, ash, pebbles, and insects. Water is present in many forms, puddles, moisture, dripping ceilings. Eyes focusing, queasy, not fully "awake," Catherine notices the crimson stain on the cloth mask and the blood droplets showering the air. She turns and finds the source. THE BLACK DOG stands in the opposite room next to a tub full of BLOOD, shaking himself dry after his "bath." Satisfied, the animal stops and trots away. Still adjusting to this nightmarish realm, Catherine at first doesn't hear it, but then realizes that somewhere, a child is CRYING. She looks around, then through a crack in the "floor," briefly catches sight of a BOY beneath her, on a level lower than hers. As he disappears into corridor ending in "nothing," we PULL BACK to show a MASSIVE LANDSCAPE of blocks, cubicles, crawlspace, walls, stairs, and ladders. Leading everywhere and nowhere. Catherine spots the boy as he crawls into a specific "room." Shortly after, a LIGHT comes on within the cubicle and she moves to it. We feel as though we're looking at a series of interlocked tenement rooms, some walls of which have been torn away to expose rooms within, rooms with no windows or doors. Following a path of fragile steps, Catherine makes her way to the LIGHTED ROOM and enters. INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - LIGHTED ROOM A mottled HORSE stands with its head down, nose kissing the floor, allowing the BOY to caress its neck. This sweet animal is an incrongruous vision in this hellish world and Catherine approaches with respect. CATHERINE Hello? The frightened child retreats into a corner of the claustrophobic room, but the horse does not startle. Surprisingly - to the boy - the horse takes an affectionate step toward Catherine, inviting her to take over. Catherine allows the mare to smell her, then vigorously scratches along the mane and shoulder, much to the horse's delight. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Yeah, you like that, don't you? She can see the boy hiding in the corner, stealing glances at her from the shadows. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Is your name Carl? The boy - YOUNG STARGHER - is startled and intrigued by the question - How did she know that?! - but says nothing. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Another little boy I know, he has a horse, too. The boy reacts to an unusual SOUND coming from the CEILING. CATHERINE (CONT'D) His name's Edward. The boy, not the horse... The boy takes a few steps toward her, out of the shadows, but he seems more concerned about something in the ceiling than "connecting" with Catherine. Very anxiously, he looks at the wall behind Catherine and watches an old wind-up kitchen TIMER click down. CATHERINE (CONT'D) What's the matter, Carl? Again, a sharp SOUND from the ceiling. CATHERINE (CONT'D) What's wro---? Young Stargher RUNS at her and SHOVES her hard! Catherine FALLS BACK just as EIGHT SHEETS OF GLASS drop from the ceiling! Like oversize razor blades, they slice the horse into four clean sections. They separate and compact the quadrants until four glass-contained sections of dissected horse stand within the room. Catherine SCREAMS, but the mare barely acknowledged what happened. Betraying no emotion, the boy runs. The shaken Catherine takes a moment to collect herself, then gives chase. INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - THE LABYRINTH Young Stargher knows his way around the landscape, but Catherine has difficulty simply keeping him in sight. She runs, climbs and crawls. Until she's utterly lost and disoriented. Tired and having difficulty breathing, she drops to her knees and "cools down." She hears a NOISE nearby, gets to her feet, and finds a GEARED MECHANISM connected to some kind of SHUTTERED DOOR composed of an almost metallic-looking glass. Curious yet cautious, she examines the nearby walls, floor, and ceiling for any signs of "traps" akin to the glass blades. Finding none, she pulls the mechanism and quickly steps back. The shutter opens and Catherine knows there's something alive in the tiny cubicle beyond. She retreats into shadow, hiding. Released from the chamber is a WOMAN. As she moves out of a darkness, we see VICTIM ONE. Ghostly pale and adorned in eerie fetish garb, she appears to "sense" the presence of a stranger, targets Catherine in the shadows, and ATTACKS! Catherine's had enough and moves to press the implant, BUT THE VICTIM IS ALREADY THERE! She brutally grabs Catherine, THROWS her against the wall and SMACKS her head against it. Catherine drops to the floor like a rag doll. Victim One hefts Catherine onto her shoulder and with great purpose, carries her deep into the labyrinth, toward the core. Passing in and out of consciousness, between darkness and light, a dazed Catherine is taken on a "tour" of Stargher's world. Passing mausoleum-like chambers filled with IMAGES of unspeakable horror and/or disturbing intensity. At one of the rooms, we think we see Young Stargher silently observing... Sitting of standing in individual cubicles are STARGHER'S OTHER VICTIMS (TWO thru SIX), each woman resembling the grotesque porcelain dolls glimpsed in the cubbyholes in Stargher's basement. Dressed by a fetishistic sadist (Nine Inch Nails meets the Brides of Dracula), they resemble bored housewives, barely acknowledging the new member of the "harem." INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - THE CORE VICTIM ONE drops Catherine in the center of the room and, job done, crawls away. Groggy, feeling sick, Catherine sits up. Unbeknownst to her, she is sitting at the base of a pedestal with her back to the kind of THRONE. And someone is there. In the dim pool of light above the pedestal, we see a MAN rise from the throne. The wall behind him is covered in BLOOD RED CLOTH, and as he descends, we realize it is a CAPE connected to EIGHT METAL RINGS pierced through the flesh of his back. In a fluid motion, waves of red give way to harshly textured concrete as the man reaches the floor. Catherine knows he is there. Unable to stop herself, she turns. And sees the terrifying face of STARGHER. But no the same Stargher. This is STARGHER KING. STARGHER KING (primitive, guttural) Where you come from priddy thing? In a split second, Catherine presses the implant on her hand. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY Apparently capable of staying awake if properly caffeinated, Novak sits cross-legged on the floor, shoes off, analyzing RECENT PHOTOS AND DOCUMENTS sent to him via courier. Ignoring a snoring Ramsey napping on a nearby cot, Novak looks at blow-ups from the videos, blueprints of Stargher's house, detailed shots of the basement, and a draftsman's conceptual drawing of the cell itself. HENRY (V.O.) Gentlemen? Novak looks at an INTERCOM SPEAKER. HENRY (V.O.) (CONT'D) She's back. Novak doesn't wait for his just-stirring partner and moves. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY As he enters, Novak sees a concerned Henry checking a print out of the procedure. NOVAK What happened? HENRY Must've been rather unusual. Noting Novak's confusion, Henry points to a CENTRAL MONITOR resembling a futuristic V.U. meter, gradiated in sections of white, yellow, orange, and red. HENRY (CONT'D) (re: white/yellow area) If her neural activity stays within this range, I know she's self-cognitive. (clarifies) As if she were having a dream, but she knows she's dreaming. She can "wake up" any time she wants to... As Ramsey joins them, Novak nods, understanding, but his eyes are on Catherine, who's just coming back to consciousness. HENRY (CONT'D) (re: orange section) However, if her level of involvement is rather intense, as it was just now, she can perceive things as true. It's difficult to keep perspective. As Novak lingers on that question, Ramsey gestures at the red section. RAMSEY What happens here? HENRY We don't talk about that. NOVAK What happens? HENRY Well, Theoretically, while she's inside. If she came to believe that Stargher's world is her world, her mind has the power to convince the body that anything done to it is, um, actually done. Novak doesn't like the sound of that. HENRY (CONT'D) That's why we monitor the use of the drugs so closely. We don't want her getting to that degree of perceptual disorientation. MIRIAM Pump in two liters of pure oxygen, please Henry. Henry types a command and Novak speaks into the intercom. NOVAK Dr. Kent? IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Miriam eases Catherine back to consciousness. MIRIAM Deep breaths. When she sees Stargher, Catherine's flesh crawls. CATHERINE Is it cold in here? MIRIAM What happened? No response. MIRIAM (CONT'D) What's wrong? Incapable of being in the same room as him, Catherine tears out of the apparatus and anxiously exits. MIRIAM (CONT'D) Catherine! IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM: NOVAK I'll get her... INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - DAY A worried Novak searches the halls of the Campbell Center. He's about to ask the staff for help, but stops when he sees through the window to Edward's room. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - EDWARD'S ROOM Catherine sits next to the boy's bed, holding Edward's hand, softly singing a lullaby (to him, to herself). Feeling that he must speak to her, Novak intervenes. NOVAK Edward Baines, I presume. (to the catatonic child) Hi, Ed. I'm Pete. CATHERINE Do you think that's funny? NOVAK No. Not at all. From what I understand, he knows I"m here, isn't that right? Catherine nods. Novak picks up Edward's fallen teddy bear and rests it in the crook of the child's arm. NOVAK (CONT'D) I read about a woman in TExas who was in a coma for seven years. Every time her husband came to visit, her heart would beat faster. Isn't that something? I don't know what name scientists have for something like that... CATHERINE It doesn't have much to do with science. NOVAK What then? CATHERINE The soul. The spirit. Whatever you want to call it. NOVAK Ah, the part of us that can't be explained. She appreciates his understanding. And finds herself comforted by his presence. Catherine scrutinizes Novak, his intensity, his honesty, his complexity. And asks: CATHERINE Agent Novak? NOVAK Peter, okay? CATHERINE Do you feel there's a side of yourself you don't show people? The question catches Novak off-guard, but he's willing to answer. Anything to get her talking. NOVAK Absolutely. (realizing it's too personal) I suppose everyone does. CATHERINE Just like we all have fantasies, right? Things only we know, that we don't share. NOVAK That's what therapists are for, right? Catherine laughs. It helps her relax. If only slightly. CATHERINE During the sessions. When I'm inside. I see those things. What a person hides, what they despite, what they want to control. With Stargher... This is difficult for her. CATHERINE (CONT'D) With Stargher I saw things... NOVAK What did you see? CATHERINE (professionally) A kingdom. His utopia. Life without consequence or restriction. He's not even Carl Stargher anymore. He's this... idealized version of himself who can do anything he pleases... Without fear. A horrible primitive ugly thing. (uncomfortable; re: Edward) I don't want to talk in here. She kisses Edward's forehead and exits. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM/COURTYARD - DAY Catherine and Novak sit on a bench in the center of the courtyard. John Tracy is visible in the reception area, unable to sleep, desperately trying to fight frustration. CATHERINE Why'd you bring him here? NOVAK You're the shrink, you tell me. CATHERINE (already knows) As soon as I met him, you knew I'd say yes. He makes Julia real for me. Novak nods. Guilty. NOVAK It's an old lawyer trick. Target the emotions. Do it right, you get a reluctant witness to testify, a scared kid to confess. Catherine looks at him with disbelief. "You?!" NOVAK (CONT'D) Before I was with the Bureau, I was an attorney, a prosecutor. Mr. Law and Order. And then... I had a murder case in North Carolina. Charles Gish. Butchered seventeen people in three days. And because of one tiny piece of tainted evidence, he walked. (no regrets) That's when I quit the DA's office and joined the FBI. Catherine can see the pain and frustration in Novak's eyes. She gives him a moment and asks: CATHERINE You thought Stargher wanted to be caught. NOVAK I did, yeah. CATHERINE You were right. There's a part of him that knows the truth. About what he did, about himself. Novak's curiosity is piqued. NOVAK What about Julia? CATHERINE This is going to sound terrible, but... I don't think she matters anymore. Not to him. He never finished her. The others...he was able to make them his. NOVAK You think you can do this, don't you? CATHERINE He might tell me about Julia. The part of him that wants to help, that feels shame and remorse. Who wants to be redeemed. NOVAK (skeptically) This is Stargher we're talking about? CATHERINE Not Stargher, not really. He's split himself right down the middle. Good/evil, right/wrong, merciful/cruel. A monster. And an innocent child. If I could reach the boy. NOVAK Whoa. Hold on. Aren't they the same guy? CATHERINE Don't you feel there are different sides to every personality? Maybe even the worst of us is capable of one decent act. We're all human. NOVAK It's hard for me to see Stargher as human, capable of something like "remorse." CATHERINE Then what is he? NOVAK Evil. CATHERINE If you believe that. NOVAK Maybe this is a big fucking waste of time. CATHERINE (sensing something) What happened to Charles Gish? Novak doesn't respond. She prods him. CATHERINE (CONT'D) What happened? NOVAK What difference does it make...? CATHERINE Tell me. God, he does not want to do this. NOVAK Right after the trial, the night after he was released. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Simmons found Charlie sitting in their living room watching TV with their twelve-year old daughter Margaret. He'd cut her right down the middle with a carving knife. NOVAK (CONT'D) Found the girl's heart in the freezer - he thought they might want to keep it. (grim humor) Luckily, the next thing he did was slit his own throat. (bleakly) I am convinced of one thing. Charles Gish could've been raised by Ozzie and Harriet and the same thing would've happened. He can see Catherine doesn't accept that. NOVAK (CONT'D) A child can experience abuse worse than Charlie's. And grow up to be someone who would never, ever hurt another living thing. CATHERINE You're sure of that? NOVAK Yes. I am. Catherine realizes that was a confession. RAMSEY (O.S.) Where the hell you been? They turn to see Ramsey. NOVAK Right here. RAMSEY Next time, tell me, okay? NOVAK But you looked so cute. All sleepy... Ramsey shoots him a murderous look, then asks Catherine. RAMSEY Your colleagues want to know what to do with Stargher. Novak looks to Catherine for the answer. Through the window blinds, she watches John Tracy lower his head. CATHERINE Tell them to prep him. And that I'll be right there. Ramsey nods and heads back to the lab. NOVAK Thank you. Briefly, he touches her hand. Catherine looks away from John to Novak's hand, to the photographs on the wall. Stargher's house, Valentine, the pick-up truck. Valentine... CATHERINE I need something. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CORRIDOR - DAY A K-9 UNIT FBI AGENT escorts VALENTINE to the lab. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY - DAY As the agent brings the frightened animal into the monitoring area, Catherine and Valentine share a moment of "connection." Slowly, confidently, she approaches the Shepherd, kneels, and removes his leash and muzzle. She strokes him and the dog instantly warms up to her. FBI K-9 AGENT Sure wasn't like that with me. Novak signs a document and the K-9 Agent exits. CATHERINE You're a good boy, aren't you, Valentine? The dog picks up a scent from the procedure room and moves it, Catherine and Novak following. IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Stargher lies face down on a gurney. Now taped to the wall near Stargher are PICTURES from the basement - his dolls, the hoist, etc. Miriam (in surgical mask and gloves) carefully re-inserts the METAL RINGS (taken from an FBI EVIDENCE BAG) into the eight straps of flesh on his back. When he sees this, Valentine whimpers and hides. Catherine comforts him. Miriam finishes her task and removes her mask. MIRIAM I hate to admit it, but there's something perversely satisfying about this. HENRY I think that's the whole point. Valentine runs to his "sleeping" master and barks at Catherine as if asking for help. She encourages the animal to lick and sniff Stargher's face and hands. HENRY (O.S.) (CONT'D) That's interesting. IN THE CONTROL ROOM, he scrutinizes the monitor showing the detailed "map" of Stargher's brain. HENRY (CONT'D) Increased neural activity in the frontal lobes. Rising dopamine levels in the basal ganglia. Ever since the dog walked in. IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Catherine readies herself in the "receive" apparatus. As Stargher is lifted off the pedestal, the doors HISS shut and Valentine curls up on the floor beneath his master. As Catherine is lifted, she smiles at the animal, then looks to Stargher. NOVAK (comforting and coaching her) Remember, Julia Hickson is priority number one. Nothing else matters. Find out where she is. CATHERINE Okay, okay... LIGHTS FLICKER. Catherine's eyes shut. FADE TO BLACK... HENRY (O.S.) Uh-oh... LIGHTS FLICKER. We hear an ELECTRICAL HUM rise and fall. Catherine opens her eyes and the LIGHTS blink on and off in a weird pattern, making it difficult to see clearly. CATHERINE Don't kid around, Henry... Her suspension apparatus DESCENDS on the floor. HENRY (O.S.) I'm not. It's a power problem. I need you to go to the circuit breaker and check switches six through twelve. Catherine moves toward the electrical panel. HENRY (O.S.) (CONT'D) Try to stay awake, okay? CATHERINE Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not sleepy. As she moves toward the panel, everything becomes larger. By the time Catherine reaches the circuit breaker, it is the size of a garage door. Curiouser and curiouser... She turns around to see the LABORATORY IS EMPTY and DEAD QUIET. And she sees herself - Catherine as small as a mouse trapped in a giant walled space. AT THE CONSOLE, Novak, Miriam and Henry observe the procedure room. And Catherine. Suspended in the apparatus. Motionless... ENTRANCE TWO INT. STARGHER'S WORLD Catherine turns to see... Catherine lying in the fetal position, locked in a BOX made of thick clean glass. The electronic HUM becomes RHYTHMIC, AMBIENT NOISE.. INSIDE THE BOX, staying calm, she searches for and finds a TRAP DOOR on the floor. She pushes out. The camera executes a complete 180-degree perspective change. Catherine plummets. She tries to reach out, to stop her descent, but cannot. Catherine falls through a dark CAVERNOUS ROOM resembling a mammoth hollowed-out rib cage. Below her is a DOME-LIKE STRUCTURE "growing" out of the floor, a HOLE in the center of its crest. Dozens of other such domes are visible in the murky hell-hole, but Catherine has no choice. She's dropping into this one. Once she passes through the hole, INSIDE THE DOME, Catherine's body looks as though it's moving through water, but there is no water. Like an aerial artist, she reverses her position so she's "heads up." Standing, stable, on the floor. Sensing something with her. And knows it is... CATHERINE Valentine? Out from the darkness, moving in normal motion, comes the white German Shepherd, but in the thick haze, his face is indistinct and ghostly. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Hi sweetie... And as she steps toward him, his face DISSOLVES into a STARK LANDSCAPE. An ear becomes a hill, the nose a stone, mouth a path, and the eye a HOUSE. YOUNG STARGHER retreats towards the bleak structure as CATHERINE ENTERS FRAME. Seeing the invitation, she presses on. INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - BOYHOOD HOME - KITCHEN Young Stargher is at the sink WASHING DISHES, an anxious eye on the clock. CATHERINE Need some help? As Catherine enters the claustrophobic house, the boy hesitantly pushes a towel toward her, but doesn't look. She reaches the counter and starts to dry, much to Young Stargher's relief. As he washes, Catherine hands him a MIRROR LOCKET just like Edward's. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Carl, I want to give you a present. He's hypnotized by the thing, his eyes lighting up. CATHERINE (CONT'D) If you need me, or if you feel that I'm around but can't find me, just shine it, like this. She shines reflected light onto the walls. Carl hands Catherine the wet plate and takes the locket. The dish slips from her fingers and SHATTERS on the floor. The boy's eyes fill with dread. The kitchen clock reads 5:30. He PUSHES Catherine toward a broom closet and shoves her inside. CATHERINE (CONT'D) What's wrong honey? With a finger to his lips, he pockets the locket and shuts the door. FROM WITHIN THE CLOSET, she watches the terrified child through a CRACK in the door. IN THE KITCHEN, Young Stargher desperately tries to hide the broken plate. Startlingly, his father, Martin Stargher, is already in the room. Cruel, imposing, manipulative man. MARTIN What did you do know? You make a mess? I hate a mess. Young Stargher backs into a corner, fearing what will come. MARTIN (CONT'D) Don't lie, now, Carl. IN THE CLOSET, Catherine pushes, but the door won't budge. She POUNDS. IN THE KITCHEN, we hear no sound. MARTIN (CONT'D) Remember what I said about liars? Liars will be punished. INT. CLOSET - CONTINUOUS Catherine hears the child SCREAM. But the scream comes from behind and she spins around. INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - LIVING ROOM Young Stargher is forced to sit on the lap of an ugly MIDDLE AGED WOMAN barely wearing a man's robe. On a nearby table are whisky, tumblers, and an ashtray filled with butts. WOMAN I got you a present, cutie-pie. She gives him a TOY DOLL. Drunk, she hugs and kisses him. Embarrassed, the boy tries to squirm away. WOMAN (CONT'D) Oh no. You're not going anywhere. Martin enters and sneers at the boy. MARTIN Go back to bed, worm. WOMAN It's okay, we was just. MARTIN Shut up, cunt. The woman cowers, familiar with his violent moods. The boy hurries to his room, but Martin grabs him by the collar. MARTIN (CONT'D) What is that? He pulls the doll from the child's hands, turns to the woman, and SMACKS her across the face with it, gashing her cheek. MARTIN (CONT'D) You give him nothing. Whore. Are you his mother? ARE YOU? Terrified, she shakes her head "no." Martin sees Young Stargher quietly crawling away, hoping to escape. Martin lifts the boy off the floor with one hand and holds him in front of the woman. MARTIN (CONT'D) You see that? SEE IT? You slithered out one of them. But where is she now, Carl? As far from you as she could get, that's where. (shoves him at the woman) You want a mommy? Is that what you want? The poor boy trembles with fear. And Martin notices a puddle of urine on the floor. He drops the boy and laughs. MARTIN (CONT'D) Little worm pissed his pants. Humiliated, Carl covers himself and hides in a corner. Martin and the woman LAUGH AND LAUGH, delighting in the boy's humiliation. INT. CLOSET Feeling the boy's shame, Catherine turns and finds a FADED POSTCARD taped to the wall. INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - BEDROOM Martin has discovered his son's secret hiding place - a camouflaged corner of the attic. Arranged in deliberate, artistic fashion are scavenged DOLLS. Heads, limbs and torsos held together with twine, tape and wire. Some wrapped in filthy plastic. Faded photographs (including one of his MOTHER), mementos, and most disturbingly, the feathers and bones of dead birds, insect carcasses, and dissected, desiccated mice. There's something peculiarly beautiful here, but Martin doesn't see it. Not at all. MARTIN Only girls play with dolls... He turns and we see Carl is bound to a wooden support beam, a piece of tape covering his mouth. The boy is stripped to the waste, barely conscious, face streaked with tears and sweat. MARTIN (CONT'D) What kind of thing are you? INT. CLOSET A WEIRD NOISE snaps Catherine back to "reality." She turns just as a door opens behind her. Responding to the "invitation," she moves through it. INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - BATHROOM The adult Carl Stargher sits at the edge of the tub, his back to us, smoking a cigarette. A white German Shepherd PUPPY clicks across the tile floor and YIPS at Catherine. She again hears the WEIRD NOISE. A STAINLESS STEEL BOWL wobbles as Stargher's bloody rubber-gloved hands fill it with something. Stargher knows she's there and isn't surprised by her presence, but he's not sure what to make of her. What to do with her. He rises and walks past her to the sink. He pulls off the gloves and washes his hands, glancing at her in the mirror. Catherine cannot resist looking in the tub. She sees a dead girl, her torso sliced open. Disgusted and mortified, she pulls back. STARGHER (O.S.) She was the first... She turns, and Stargher is no longer at the sink. STARGHER (O.S.) (CONT'D) Didn't know what I was doing... She turns, where's this voice coming from?! She steps back. STARGHER (O.S.) (CONT'D) Be careful... The bumps into the stainless steel bowl and it topples to the floor, spilling its contents of human organs. Wobble-wobble wobble. The bowl makes its now-familiar noise. STARGHER (O.S.) (CONT'D) What did you do now? You make a mess? And she can see him coming out of the shadows. Catherine backs into a corner, fearing what will come. STARGHER (CONT'D) I hate a mess. Stargher steps into a pool of light, shooshes the puppy into the hall, shuts the bathroom door, and looks right at Catherine. STARGHER (CONT'D) Why are you here? God almighty, what does she say? What does she tell him?! STARGHER (CONT'D) Don't lie, now... SCRITCH-SCRITCH-SCRITCH. The puppy scratches at the door and whimpers, but Stargher's not about to let him back in. Moving slowly, carefully, he approaches Catherine. STARGHER (CONT'D) Liars will be punished. Catherine makes a break for the door. "Playfully," Stargher makes a half-hearted attempt to block her, but she evades him and reaches for the knob. But the door's not there. SCRITCH SCRITCH-SCRITCH. She can still hear the dog, but there's no damn door. She turns: No door. No window. The girl's body and bloody remains have vanished. An OVERHEAD LIGHT flickers on, giving the room the look and feel of the cell. STARGHER (O.S.) (CONT'D) Where do you think you're going? Catherine turns, back to the wall, calm and intimidating, Stargher stands in the center regarding her with great curiosity. Catherine's ready to press the sensor. STARGHER (CONT'D) Don't do that. She hesitates. STARGHER (CONT'D) If you go away, you'll never find her. How did he know? STARGHER (CONT'D) If you never find her, she dies. Like the rest. Catherine stops and listens. She can't leave now. The path to Julia has appeared. STARGHER (CONT'D) I mean, that's why you're here, right? Why you came to my happy little home? He reaches for her and she flinches. Expecting such behavior, Stargher grins. STARGHER (CONT'D) You're pretty. A pretty, pretty thing. Catherine cannot show her fear, not now. She composes herself and approaches him. CATHERINE I want to help you, Carl. His grin broadens to a smile and he almost laughs. STARGHER Help me? That's good. That's a good one. (malevolent) Liar. Whore. Cunt. Catherine stands her ground. CATHERINE You sound like your father. He gets close to her face and sneers. STARGHER I am not like him. Stargher retreats into the shadows, but Catherine persists. CATHERINE Then help me. Where is Julia Hickson? STARGHER Why? CATHERINE Maybe, because you want to. STARGHER Is that right? You think you know me? INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY - DAY Henry sees a rapid rise in Catherine's warning meter. HENRY Miriam... INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - BATHROOM A wave of fear, of impending doom, overtakes Catherine. STARGHER (O.S.) You wanna know who I am? You stupid bitch! And when he emerges from shadow, Stargher is STARGHER KING. STARGHER KING Now shud you mouth, priddy thing, or me god slice you from the kunt to the tits. Catherine moves to touch the sensor in her hand. He GRABS, LIFTS and SLAMS her onto the floor, the back of her head HITTING HARD. Her vision blurs. Ears are ringing. STARGHER KING (CONT'D) Me god want you stay. Stargher King straddles Catherine and pins her arms behind her back. She's unable to touch the sensor. With the tip of the TOOL he traces a line from her pelvis up the center of her suit. STARGHER KING (CONT'D) Me god mek you beaudiful... He shoves the tool through her neck and presses the trigger. A COLLAR CLAMPS SHUT around Catherine's neck and... She blacks out. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY A SENSOR ALARM SOUNDS on the computer. Henry and Miriam express shock at the sight of the monitor peaking in the red and move to the "map" of Catherine's mind. As it becomes "cool," Stargher's becomes "hot." MIRIAM Son of a bitch! IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, VALENTINE BARKS! Startling everyone. The dog GROWLS and backs away. As if he senses something horribly wrong within his master. IN THE CONTROL ROOM, Novak questions the scientists. NOVAK When we got here, you just topped and pulled her out. MIRIAM That was with Edward. She's accustomed to his world. Stargher's mind is unfamiliar territory. She's "lost." (looks at the third suit) Someone has to go in. Remind her what's really happening. And get her out. Until then, she's at his mercy. Mercy. Novak's mind reels. NOVAK Into Stargher. Inside... MIRIAM Yes. Novak knows who that person will be. INT. CELL - DAY Fueling herself with candy and juice, Julia examines the cell for a way out, but finds tight seals everywhere. THE SHOWER ERUPTS WITH WATER! She counts until thirty, it stops. Shivering, Julia stars at the drain as the water spirals down. JULIA (trying to remember the words) Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLASS, we watch her through one-way glass from the video camera's point-of-view. She looks right at "us," in the mirror, saddened by the dark circles under her bloodshot eyes. JULIA (CONT'D) ...on Earth as it is in Heaven. We drift to the right and see the l.e.d. counters CLICKING AWAY. 01:44:54, 01:44:53, 01:44:52... Less than TWO HOURS to live and she has no idea. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Novak lies in a hastily-rigged THIRD APPARATUS/SUSPENSION DEVICE. Miriam connects him to the IV cylinder and tubes. MIRIAM I have done this, you know. Been inside. NOVAK No. Miriam nods, knowing he won't accept an opposing argument. MIRIAM (instructs him) Deep breaths. IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM, Henry adjusts monitors showing Novak's vital signs. HENRY Pulse is rapid, pressure's a little high... IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Miriam asks: MIRIAM Nervous? NOVAK Absolutely. She loads a MICROCHIP SENSOR into a high-pressure injection gun and IMPLANTS it in NOVAK's HAND. He winces from the brief pain as she loads the chemical cartridges. MIRIAM I have to ask you some things... Are you taking any prescription drugs? NOVAK Prevacid. For my stomach. MIRIAM Any psychiatric medication? NOVAK No. MIRIAM What about narcotics? NOVAK No. MIRIAM I know your partner's here, but it's very important that you're honest. NOVAK I am. I'm a pretty boring guy. MIRIAM I doubt that. Henry checks the "maps," Catherine's vitals and reports. HENRY We should hurry. Miriam walks Novak through what's about to happen. MIRIAM The first five minutes will be disorienting. Give yourself time. Let the drugs do the work. If you can see, smell, feel, hear, taste things - you're on the right track. Once you've acclimated, try to get a feeling for Catherine. Instinct plays a huge role in this. Trust it. She gives him a supportive touch on the shoulder, exits and shuts the door. IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM, Miriam continues via intercom. MIRIAM (CONT'D) You can control how you see yourself - clothes, shoes, that kind of thing - but the rest of it is up to him. Use only what he provides. Don't try to change anything. Or introduce something of your own. It'll only upset him. IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Novak flexes his fingers and sees the little bump beneath his flesh. HENRY (O.S.) Agent Novak? Press the sensor. Novak does and the red light comes on. As Novak is LIFTED, he looks at Catherine, then Stargher. Valentine YIPS and settles beneath Novak. The suspension device clicks into place and the MASK descends. MIRIAM (O.S.) No matter what happens, Peter, remember one thing: It's not real. Novak's eyes fix on the clear liquid contained in the IV-like cylinder. A liquid cloud of his blood grows within. Preparing the mixture for injection. The viscosity of the fluid starts to thicken and the CAMERA MOVES INTO THE MIXTURE. As blood and chemical swirls take shape, we MOVE FAST. Deeper into the fluid at a molecular level. We feel like we're SOARING over some kind of liquid landscape. NOVAK HYPERVENTILATES. He's having difficulty making the 98 transition. Flying faster, faster, faster. Through an entire universe. Novak is in the procedure room. Alone. His face contorted as if feeling the effects of tremendous G-FORCE. ENTRANCE THREE INT. STARGHER'S WORLD CLOUDS hover above a dark, gloomy landscape dotted with hills. THREE IDENTICAL WOMEN sit on black earth, their bodies positioned in a uniform pattern. PULL BACK TO REVEAL NOVAK at their feet, in a kneeling fetal position, face down in the gritty soil, a piece of cloth draped over his head. With difficulty, practically inhaling black grit, Novak breathes deeply and rises to his knees. His hand moves to his face and he's briefly astounded by the texture of the gravel, the sharpness of it against his face. Removing the shroud-like cloth, he looks at the soil, smells it, tastes it. MOTHER ONE (O.S.) Have you seen him? Novak finds the first of the three - VISIONS OF STARGHER'S MOTHER - addressing him. She, like the other two, speaks in a ghostly monotone, nearly devoid of emotion. MOTHER ONE (CONT'D) My boy, my little one. His father took him from me. Have you seen him? As she continues, almost mantra-like, WOMAN TWO BEGINS: MOTHER TWO (similar monotone) My child is an abomination. He is damned. He has no soul. The women's repetitive "monologues" overlap. Aurual layers now added by THREE. MOTHER THREE Me god me boy. Me god good son. Novak takes a moment to absorb his surroundings. The sights, sounds and feel of the place. Like being within a dream. As he backs away from the odd quartet, SHIMMERING LIGHT dances across his face. Shading his eyes. Novak searches for the source. Opposite him, across the valley, is a SHEER ROCK WALL. A massive cliff face pockmarked with rough "windows." Like a star, the LIGHT sparkles inside one of them, a fragment of MIRROR reflecting a beam away from Novak's face to a PATH cutting across the valley floor to the base of the wall. The light guiding him, Novak follows the path and starts to CLIMB, finding stairs or ladders, passing deep, seemingly infinite passages. Like tombs, or the "drawers" of a mausoleum. Deep within one of them, THE LIGHT FLICKERS. Fades. And Novak crawls into darkness. INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - THE DEN Novak emerges in a cavernous room dripping with decadence. The place reeks of sex, pain, lust, and cruelty. As he moves deeper into the chamber, Novak sees YOUNG STARGHER perched atop some kind of pedestal, crouching, fingering his mirror LOCKET, bouncing sparkles of light into the dark corners of the room The FLICKERING LIGHT pinpoints a FIGURE emerging from the darkness. It is Catherine. Altered to an image of Stargher's victims. Her skin, face, clothing, eyes, are just like the Victims'. It's a shocking, strange image, made even more disturbing by the look of pleasure on her face. Novak is staggered by the sight. His vision and hearing become affected by blurred vision, sharp sounds - then focus to clarity as he reminds himself... NOVAK Not real... Like an ethereal queen of the damned, she strides toward him, narrowing her eyes. NOVAK (CONT'D) Catherine. She exhibits no recognition of her name. Catherine seductively moves closer to Novak, their bodies almost touching, her hands caressing his hair, lips, neck... NOVAK (CONT'D) Jesus. Catherine. Listen to me... She presses her finger to his lips and forces him down, onto the floor, his back to the pedestal. Catherine straddles Novak, and when he tries to stand, she holds him down, forcing him to stay. NOVAK (CONT'D) LISTEN TO ME! She steals a glance over his shoulder and glimpses a MALE FIGURE coming toward them, coming into the light. Novak is utterly unaware of what's happening. Catherine is keeping him occupied. Waiting for the arrival of... STARGHER KING Catherine LAUGHS. Novak catches only a fleeting glimpse of the monster before Stargher King GRABS him by the throat and SMASHES his head against a pedestal. BLACKOUT. INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - THE DEN Eyelids rise and flutter. Novak becomes conscious. And instantly realizes what's happened. He lies on the pedestal, face up, spread-eagle, his wrists and ankles bound to the cold stone surface with leathery cords. Standing over him, in a pool of light, is Stargher King. Wearing what could be seen as CEREMONIAL GARB, a silent, solemn Stargher King prepares himself for execution of a ritual by polishing and arranging an assortment of shiny, sharp, macabre TOOLS. Novak shuts his eyes and silently tells himself, Not real. He opens them, breathes deeply and focuses on Catherine. NOVAK You're Catherine Young. You majored in Psych at UC San Diego. You work for Sunerset Industries. Stargher King's fingers pass over an array of horrific instruments - the throat piercer/collar mechanism, a cleaver knife, a misshapen hammer, a long slender needle... NOVAK (CONT'D) Your grandmother raised you after your parents died in a car crash... Stargher King lifts the blade-like NEEDLE. So far, Catherine looks at Novak like he's speaking gibberish. NOVAK (CONT'D) When you were twenty-one, you were arrested for possession and got off with community service. Stargher King SLICES through Novak's clothes, exposing the flesh of his abdomen. NOVAK (CONT'D) (reminding himself) Not real, Pete...This is not real... (urgency) You had to work at a center for abused kids for three months. You stayed on two years for no pay. You give half your fucking salary to the nursing home your grandmother stays at... Stargher King grabs his throat and traces the blade down the center of Novak's torso. Novak struggles and pleads with Catherine. NOVAK (CONT'D) I know this because I work for the FBI. Peter Novak, remember?!?! (a desperate request) Remember. You are Cath- Stargher King cuts his flesh and INSERTS the needle into his stomach. NOVAK SCREAMS! This fucking hurts! NOVAK (CONT'D) Help me!!! Stargher King wiggles the needle, pulls it out, and digs his finger into the wound. NOVAK CRIES IN PAIN. NOVAK (CONT'D) (tears forming, horrified) Fucking FEELS real! The intensity of Novak's cries hit Catherine like a thunderbolt. There's a glimmer of life, of recognition in her eyes. STARGHER KING (finally speaking) Me god gut you like a dear. Although we don't see it, we HEAR something awful. Like Stargher King fishing around inside the wound. A pale, sweating Novak tries to stay conscious. He will not go into shock... NOVAK Not real. Not real. Not real. A FEMALE HAND grabs the tool from the tray. STARGHER KING (mimicking Novak, laughing) Nod reel, nod reel, nod reel... STARGHER KING IS SLAMMED FROM BEHIND! CATHERINE RAMS THE THING THROUGH HIS THROAT! As Stargher King stumbles away gagging, blood pouring form his neck, we see that she has returned to normal. The "bride" persona is gone. As Stargher King emits animalistic growls, Catherine turns and sees an intact Novak standing next to her. As if nothing had happened. Catherine and Novak RUN out of the den, into the tunnel from which Novak gained access. He stops, ready to press the sensor, when a FLICKER OF LIGHT dances across Catherine's face. CATHERINE Wait... NOVAK Like hell "wait." But she won't listen and he's forced to play catch up as she moves further from the den toward the cliff face. The FLICKER OF LIGHT shines on the entrance to a specific TUNNEL. CATHERINE He wants us to follow. The little boy... NOVAK Little boy?! That's him! CATHERINE He brought you to me, didn't he? If you want Julia to live, trust me. Trust him. INT. TUNNEL/CUBBYHOLE On her hands and knees, she enters the TUNNEL, not waiting for him to respond. She knows what he'll do... Catherine and Novak crawl through the dark, grimy claustrophobic space, playing with his mirror locket. CATHERINE Carl... He so desperately wants her affection, but fear prevents him from reaching out to her. CATHERINE (CONT'D) This is Peter. Scared, he shakes his head "no." CATHERINE (CONT'D) Don't be scared. You're my friend and I would never hurt you. She extends her hand. Oh-so-hesitantly he takes it. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Will you take us to her? To Julia? Shyly, hesitantly, he nods. She smiles gratefully and affectionately touches the boy's face. Clasping her hand, Young Stargher leads Catherine and Novak into utter darkness. INT. STARGHER'S WORLD - THE IDEALIZED CELL More stylized than the actual cell, it's bigger and ornately decorated, with the atmosphere of a church. Individual IMAGES hang like SHRINES, each showing Julia Hickson from different angles. Central to the room is a WINDOW INTO THE CELL ITSELF. Where we find a beautiful, mermaid-like JULIA HICKSON floating in water. Peaceful, joyous. IN THE CENTER OF THE ROOM, we find Novak and Catherine, she holding the hand of Young Stargher, he stunned at the sight of Julia. The child looks at Catherine with beatific, sad eyes, regarding her as one would a saviour. NOVAK Where the hell are we? CATHERINE Carl, do you know? Like on a map... He shakes his head and buries his face in her shoulder. CATHERINE (CONT'D) It's okay, it's okay. You helped so much already. I'm proud of you. As a frustrated Novak searches for anything identifying, Catherine comforts the boy and looks deeply into his sad, haunted eyes. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Carl, I think I can help you. Would you like that? Even if Peter can't find Julia, I want to help you. The boy leans against her and she caresses his face. CATHERINE (CONT'D) I promise. Novak finds himself standing in front of the idealized cell. Mounted beneath the glass is a shiny, perfect metal plaque reading CARVER INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT, with a logo. Novak recognizes it from the hoist in Stargher's basement. NOVAK Let's go. He pulls her to her feet. Feeling betrayed and rejected, the child breaks away from her. THE ROAR OF STARGHER KING shakes the cell. Terrified, the boy searches for a place to hide. CATHERINE CARL! Novak feels what's coming. NOVAK COME ON! CATHERINE I can't leave him! STARGHER KING APPEARS! His throat wounded, bloody mess, he descends out of dark nothingness, HOWLING with rage. He reaches for Catherine, but Young Stargher runs in front of her. STARGHER KING CLAMPS HIS MASSIVE ARMS AROUND THE CHILD! Little Carl opens his mouth in a silent scream... Catherine's arms reach out to him, but Novak clasps her hand and presses. And she is haunted by the sight of a frightened child in the arms of a monster... INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY Henry notices significant activity on the monitors. HENRY They're back. Everything happens fast. He and Miriam frantically cease the procedure. Novak and Catherine are lowered and Novak startles them by quickly regaining consciousness. Miriam attempts to inject him with stabilizing drugs, but he's already trying to tear himself out of the apparatus. NOVAK Get me out! Miriam MOVES into the PROCEDURE ROOM. NOVAK (CONT'D) GET ME OUT! Miriam tries to follow protocol, but Novak is moving like a fish caught in a net, ripping and tearing his way out of the apparatus and suit. He gets to his feet, but soon falls to his knees, dizzy and disoriented. MIRIAM Don't move! Novak is not listening. Fighting off any after-effects- both physical and mental - he moves for the door. MIRIAM (CONT'D) Agent Novak! Catherine is coming back and Miriam moves to her. Novak pauses just for a moment. NOVAK Is she alright? MIRIAM Yes. But you're going to sit down right now. I have to... Novak is already gone. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM Novak speed-dials a number on speaker-phone, hurriedly dresses, and locates a photograph of Stargher's basement. When he hears someone pick up the line, he barks: NOVAK This is Novak, who've I got? A confused Ramsey enters and listens. INT. STARGHER HOUSE - BASEMENT A team of FBI AGENTS is meticulously going through every inch of Stargher's house. Crisscrossed wooden beams have been laid across the pit allowing forensics experts to search without disturbing anything. On the other end of the direct line is COLE... COLE Agent Cole. (INTERCUT WITH NOVAK AND RAMSEY) NOVAK I need you to find something in the basement... COLE Already there. NOVAK That hoist, with the winch... WE FOLLOW Cole as he moves to the machine. NOVAK (CONT'D) There's some kind of plaque, a metal plate, with a logo. On the base. Cole locates it. COLE (reading) Carver Industrial Equipment. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - CONFERENCE ROOM Novak instructs him... NOVAK Find out the history of that machine. Who bought it, used it, sold it. And check Stargher's pay stubs. I want to know every contractor he worked for. I'm calling you from the chopper in ten minutes. Dizziness and disorientation again hit Novak. Pale and sweating, he winces as his stomach agonizingly cramps. RAMSEY Jesus Christ, man, you look like hell. NOVAK Considering where I've been... Fighting the pain, he gathers together MAPS, slips on his shoes and grabs gun and holster. Ramsey is apoplectic. RAMSEY Whoa-whoa-whoa. Mind telling me what the fuck is happening? Novak points to the photo of Stargher's basement, specifically the hoist. RAMSEY (CONT'D) You're bettin' the farm on something you saw after they pumped you full of god knows-what kind of shit? NOVAK I saw her. Julia. Alive. I saw everything. RAMSEY You might've seen Jimmy Hoffa dancing with Timothy Leary. I don't care. Novak is not stopping... INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Miriam shines the penlight into Catherine's eyes. CATHERINE ...a pocketful of rye. MIRIAM Four and twenty blackbirds... CATHERINE Baked in a pie. AT THE CONSOLE, on a security monitor, Henry can see Novak and Ramsey exiting down the corridor. HENRY The FBI has left the building. IN THE PROCEDURE ROOM, Miriam appears concerned. MIRIAM Damn him. CATHERINE What's wrong? MIRIAM Agent Novak. I didn't get a chance to clear him. Catherine encourages her. CATHERINE Go. I'm fine. Go. As Miriam hurries to catch Novak, she tells Henry. MIRIAM Keep an eye on her. He nods, but isn't really paying attention. Catherine turns to Stargher's motionless form, still suspended, still connected to the machinery. INT. THE CELL - DAY JULIA Do something, Julia. She looks around the room and runs her hands along the walls, the tile, looking for a weak spot. She focuses on the CEILING PANEL and although it's painful because of swollen fingers, removes her ENGAGEMENT RING. EXT. CAMPBELL CENTER A ready-and-waiting HELICOPTER is on the pad. Novak races out of the Center, Ramsey right behind him, SHOUTING at each other in order to hear above the chopper noise. RAMSEY Pete, listen to me. What did you really learn in there? Anything new? You really think Stargher gave you a save the-day clue? What if this is all some kind of trick your head is playing on you? He won't consider that. Novak climbs into the helicopter and buckles himself in. He looks to Ramsey - you coming? - Ramsey pats the side of the chopper and signals for the pilot to take off. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY Henry analyzes voluminous print-outs from the last procedure. Although his eyes are on the data, he converses with Catherine in the PROCEDURE ROOM via intercom. HENRY ...there was a moment when we thought we'd lost Agent Novak as well. We see chemicals flow and computer programs initiate the procedure, but Henry is oblivious. HENRY (CONT'D) His post-procedure consciousness recovery was remarkably quick. Never saw that before. Hey, remember that one time... He JUMPS when the door to the procedure room SEALS SHUT and mechanisms HUM. HENRY (CONT'D) Catherine? When he looks through the window, Catherine is again suspended, the procedure under way. HENRY (CONT'D) What are you doing? He types in a command, but nothing happens. He tires again. On another keyboard, but gets no response. When he looks at the "map" screens, he sees something odd. It's a small change, but it makes all the difference in the world. INT. THE CELL - DAY Like a rock climber in a crevasse, Julia shimmies up the walls of the cell by bracing herself in a corner and using her hands and feet to push up. The tile is slippery and each movement precarious. She uses strength and balance to reach a position just below the Plexiglass, the fluorescent light bathing her in an eerie intense glow. She sees a gap between the glass and the wall and uses her ENGAGEMENT RING to dig into it, SCAPE, SCRAPE, SCRAPING with the diamond. THE SHOWER SPRAYS WATER! Julia nearly loses her balance, but manages to stay pressed into the corner. She kicks the shower head, sending the spray as far from her as possible, and continues to dig at the caulking around the light fixture. IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM, we see something unexpected. The clock reads 00:00:00. That water isn't going to stop. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - EDWARD'S ROOM Miriam and Ramsey return to the lab to find Henry anxiously observing from the console. HENRY (flustered) She changed the codes. MIRIAM What's wrong? HENRY It would take hours to re-route the system, and even if I did, I shouldn't. RAMSEY What are you talking about? Miriam analyzes the situation and regretfully, angrily, worriedly realizes what's happened. MIRIAM She's done it. Stupid, stupid girl... RAMSEY Done what? HENRY Instead of going into his mind... MIRIAM She's bringing Stargher into hers. ENTRANCE FOUR INT. CATHERINE'S WORLD A bright, deliriously colorful realm visually reflective of things we saw in Catherine's home. Unusual trees, rock formations, totems, statues, and a brilliant POOL OF WATER. The pond ripples. Visible through the crystal-clear water is YOUNG STARGHER, rising to the surface like a drowning victim suddenly breaking through to air. Panicked, he scrambles to shore and pulls himself to land. Although the place is comforting and beautiful, he's in strange territory and it frightens him. Shivering, he hunches down, eyes darting this way and that. CATHERINE (O.S.) You're all right, Carl. The boy turns toward the voice and finds CATHERINE, her hair waving in the wind, skin glowing, eyes bright, cutting a magnificent figure in clothes that make her a warrior goddess. She opens her arms and the boy runs to her, basking in the comfort of her embrace. He shivers and she holds him tightly. CATHERINE (CONT'D) It's okay, honey, you're with me now. You're safe here. She looks deeply into his eyes and reassuringly explains. CATHERINE (CONT'D) I promised I would help you, and I always keep my promises. YOUNG STARGHER Can... Catherine is astonished and relieve to hear him speak. A sad, trembling little voice. YOUNG STARGHER (CONT'D) Can I stay here? She is touched that he would ask and strokes his face. CATHERINE (regretfully) Oh...no, honey, I'm sorry. It's doesn't work that way. The boy breaks away from her, turning his back. She gently takes his hand but he yanks it free. CATHERINE (CONT'D) But what if I told you you could come visit? He slowly turns to her. CATHERINE (CONT'D) I'll make sure it happens, Carl. I'll get them to let me do it. And maybe... maybe we can... Young Stargher's eyes open wide with silent terror. Over his shoulder, she sees a SNAKE slither through the pool. CENTIPEDES CRAWL over her legs and hair. She stands and brushes them off. The atmosphere grows darker and ominous. YOUNG STARGHER He found me... Catherine bristles as STARGHER KING RISES FROM THE POOL like a human serpent. The brilliant colors of Catherine's world fade to GRIM TONES. YOUNG STARGHER (CONT'D) He always finds me. Stargher King SCREECHES with anger and confusion. STARGHER KING Where thiisss att?!?! Me god no like id here... He snarls when he sees Catherine. STARGHER KING (CONT'D) You. Priddy bish-hor-kund. You big trubble-mekker... (sneers at the boy) And you. You cumm home now, liddle cogsugger worm. Or me god haffa punish you... Young Stargher tightens his embrace of Catherine. She steps back, away from the pond, hugging the boy tightly. CATHERINE No.! STARGHER KING No?!??!?!?!? Stargher King laughs. STARGHER KING (CONT'D) Hoo you thing you are?? Himm Muther? He comes close and reaches for the boy... STARGHER KING (CONT'D) You gimme liddle worm. For a moment, Catherine appears frightened and intimidated. Perhaps near an emotional breakdown. But that is not the case. She quietly lowers little Carl to the ground and whispers something in his ear. As the boy nods, runs and hides, a ferocity grows within her. CATHERINE I said no. Like a vengeful Valkyrie, she emits what can only be called a BATTLE CRY! STARGHER ATTACKS! Arms reaching for her. Catherine BLOCKS, PUNCHES, AND KICKS. Stargher King doubles over. Catherine grabs his ears and pulls his face into her bent KNEE, breaking his nose. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Welcome to my world. As blood flows from his nostrils, Stargher King grins... STARGHER KING You funny. You thing you stop me god? HE CHARGES. At the right moment, Catherine sidesteps and SMASHES him in the ribs as he passes. Stargher King crumples to the ground and she KICKS an uppercut to this chin. Rising from the mud and muck, Stargher King lands a POWERFUL BLOW to her head, sending her flying. He lifts the stunned Catherine with one hand and pulls her face to his... STARGHER KING (CONT'D) You cum back wif me god. You be good bish-hor-kund... Catherine looks into his soulless eyes. Then SPITS in them and BITES his face! She breaks free as he YOWLS with pain. He steps toward her, but his feet don't move. The earth itself appears to wrap around them and turn hard, like concrete. Stargher King HOWLS with frustration. CATHERINE My world... A SHIMMERING KNIFE seems to enrage from within her forearm, out the flesh and into her hand. CATHERINE (CONT'D) My rules. She SLASHES across his chest, drawing blood. YOUNG STARGHER (O.S.) No! Catherine stops. And turns to see the distraught Young Stargher. YOUNG STARGHER (CONT'D) Don't hurt him! She spins around and sees not Stargher King, but MARTIN. YOUNG STARGHER (CONT'D) He didn't mean it. I was bad. Disturbed by the transformation, Catherine backs away. Her vision blurs, the sound distorts. And the earth cracks around Stargher King's ankles. YOUNG STARGHER (CONT'D) He teached me a lesson. I deserved it. Fighting feelings of disorientation, she kneels before the child and rests the knife on the ground. CATHERINE No one deserves it, Carl. No one. She reaches out to him, but the child is JERKED into the air by Stargher King. In one hand, the monster holds little Carl. In the other - a KNIFE. His face and chest red with crimson, Stargher King fixes his eyes on Catherine with a predator's stare. STARGHER KING Yer world. My knife. Stargher King raises the blade toward the boy's throat and - SNAP! The strong arms of an adult Stargher breaks his arm at the elbow. Both the knife and boy are dropped to the ground as Stargher King YOWLS like a stuck pig, the good arm cradling the other. STARGHER KING (CONT'D) Me god hurt! Why you do that? Why?! STARGHER Enough. Stargher King regards him with disgust. STARGHER KING Enuff?!?! MARTIN STARGHER'S VOICE comes from the belly of the beast. STARGHER I'll tell you what's enough... Stargher and Stargher King square off. The boy stands between them with the knife at his feet. CATHERINE Carl! STARGHER KING (still speaking as Martin) Shut up cunt. (to the boy) Give it here, worm... the child picks up the blade and stands between them, looking to Catherine for guidance. STARGHER KING (CONT'D) (as Martin) You want a mommy? Is that what you want? In an almost dream-like motion, the child hands the blade to adult Stargher. STARGHER Enough. And he DRIVES the thing into Stargher King's heart. For a brief moment, Martin's face is superimposed over Stargher King's. Stunned, he slumps and regards adult Stargher with sad, troubled eyes. MARTIN (as Stargher King) Why? What'd I do?... Stargher TWISTS the handle of the blade and Martin/Stargher King drops dead. Dead. Young Stargher smiles and hugs Catherine. YOUNG STARGHER Time to go 'way. CATHERINE Carl...? The boy runs to adult Stargher who lifts the child into his arms and holds him close. YOUNG STARGHER Bye. She looks to adult Stargher and begins to understand. He descends into the pool, the boy resting his head on his shoulder. STARGHER KING Thank you, Catherine. You did help me. More than you'll ever know. Man and boy disappear beneath the water's surface. Catherine stands and sees that Stargher King's body has vanished. She walks to the shore and sees, deep underwater, Stargher and little Carl floating lifelessly like women in the cell. And FADE FROM VIEW. CATHERINE Goodbye Carl. She presses the sensor in her hand. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY IN THE CONTROL ROOM, Miriam is shocked by what she sees on the monitors and looks at Stargher. MIRIAM He's in full arrest. Catherine quietly returns to consciousness and is automatically lowered. She pulls the mask from her face, rises and opens the door. Miriam races inside and desperately attempts to revive Stargher. But it's no use. Angry and stunned, she demands of Catherine. MIRIAM (CONT'D) Help me! But Catherine chooses not to. She knows Carl Stargher will never return to the world of the living. INT. HELICOPTER - DAY The chopper roars across the sky. As they head northeast, away from the urban and toward the rural, Novak gazes out the window, trying to stay focused, fighting any after-effects of the drugs. The pilot communicates via headset. PILOT Agent Novak? Go ahead. NOVAK Cole? EXT. STARGHER'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS Cole and a handful of other agents pour into waiting Suburbans. (INTERCUT WITH NOVAK IN HELICOPTER). COLE The hoist was manufactured by Carver Industrial Equipment in 1982. Serial number 117-337J. Purchased by a boat shop in Lake Havasu, but sold to Lattimer's industrial Supply in 1992... INT. THE CELL - DAY The water is near the ceiling. Kicking her legs to keep afloat, Julia DIGS with the ring and we see she has created a gap between the light fixture housing and an unused PIPE leading to the surface. She pushes, but can't get anything to move. The opening will get no bigger. Julia sucks the last bit of oxygen and swims to the bottom of the cell. Searching for something, she finds a juice box and pulls out the drinking straw. INT. CAMPBELL CENTER - LABORATORY Shaken, but oddly transcendent, Catherine watches as Stargher's body is wheeled out of the lab on a gurney. She comforts a whimpering Valentine and tells him... CATHERINE Everything's alright now, Valentine. I promise. INT. HELICOPTER Novak scans the topography of FARMS below, listening to a new report. INT. SUBURBAN - DAY Cole is the passenger, on the radio to Novak, A DRIVER next to him, doing about a hundred down the Interstate, SIREN blaring. COLE Lattimer sold the hoist to a guy named Bainbridge who tired to build a machine works out near Delano. Bainbridge ends up in bankruptcy court and the state winds up with the land - it's just sitting there. INTERCUT WITH NOVAK NOVAK Delano? COLE Yep. And guess who they hired to seal up the place? NOVAK You're kidding me. COLE I never kid. My wife hates it. Says I'm too serious. Novak locates Delano on the map. NOVAK The exact location, Cole. Give it to me. The pilot grins and pushes the copper to top speed. INT. THE CELL - DAY Julia is entirely underwater but alive. She uses the straw to suck oxygen through the gap in the ceiling, but it's difficult to tread water and her lungs are aching. INT. HELICOPTER Novak uses binoculars to scan farmland. He searches. And there it is: The abandoned farmhouse! NOVAK TAKE IT DOWN! INT. THE CELL - DAY Julia tries to hold herself up by pressing her arms and legs against the walls, but as she does, the straw slips from her mouth. She reaches for it, but only succeeds in pushing it away from her. It heads for the drain. And disappears. EXT. ABANDONED FARM HOUSE The helicopter lands and Novak jumps out. He knows this is the place. He runs into the barn, but there's nothing, no sign of her. The pilot looks at him with a true sense of loss. INT. THE CELL - CONTINUOUS As Julia desperately tires to find the straw through the tiny holes of the drain, we see for the first time an expression which tells us she's given up. THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. The cell starts to vibrate. A repetitive noise WHUP-WHUP-WHUP - comes from above. She swims to the top of the cell and POUNDS at the ceiling. EXT. ABANDONED FARM HOUSE Fighting exhaustion and the side effects of the drugs, Novak pushes on. Think, Peter, think... His eyes find the WATER TANKS and he SHOUTS at the helicopter. NOVAK Cut the engine! As the motor dies, Novak listens and listens. There it is. Water pipes beneath his feet. And very faintly, a pounding. He follows the sound, searching the earth. It's clearer now, louder. Novak tosses aside rusted junk and the pilot runs to assist him. Together, they expose the entrance to the underground sanctuary. INT. THE CELL - OBSERVATION ROOM Novak drops to the floor below. Instantly affected by the similarities and the differences to the idealized cell of Stargher's mind, he feels another wave of dizziness, but pushes on. And is hit hard by the sight of DROWNED JULIA, her motionless body floating past him. HER EYES OPEN and bubbles drift from her nose and mouth. Novak BANGS on the Plexiglas and calls to her. NOVAK JULIA! The thick Plexiglass still remains, but she now can see him. Novak pulls his ID BADGE and smacks it against the glass. NOVAK (CONT'D) MOVE ASIDE! He pulls his gun and takes aim. Julia swims to the top of the cell and presses herself against the ceiling. BANG-BANG BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG. Novak fires a circle of shots into the thick plastic. Water slowly leaks, but the damn thing is still solid. He lifts the industrial VCR and RAMS it at the bullet-damaged section. CRACK! CRASH! WATER POURS FROM THE CELL. Julia's body descends on the torrent of water. Novak reaches inside and pulls her to safety. He's just about to give her CPR when she coughs, sputters, and thirstily drinks in oxygen. Holding her tightly, Novak sinks to the floor, the water from the cell spilling everywhere. EXT. ABANDONED FARM HOUSE Cole's Suburban leads a contingent of FBI vehicles and local police cars onto the property, sirens blaring. INT. THE CELL - DAY Hearing the sirens, Novak relaxes. For the first time in god knows how long, he relaxes. And holds Julia Hickson as if his life depended on it. FADE OUT. FADE IN: EXT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - DAY Two cars parked outside. An old, quirky Volvo and a Land Rover. INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - DAY As a television plays THE WIZARD OF OZ, we find Catherine watching the movie from the couch, sitting up, drinking a cup of tea. She looks rested and quite cute in gym shorts and a T-shirt, her CAT sleeping next to her. IN THE KITCHEN, Miriam packs up her stethoscope and blood pressure monitor, moves into the living room as Dorothy falls asleep in a field of poppies... MIRIAM I left the nutritional information on the fridge door. Read it. Catherine nods, but she's more interested in the movie. Miriam deposits prescription bottles onto a side table. MIRIAM (CONT'D) I refilled the Zyprexa and Atavan... CATHERINE I don't need them anymore... MIRIAM I know. But she leaves them just the same. MIRIAM (CONT'D) I'll come by tomorrow after work. With dinner. CATHERINE Thanks Miriam. Say hi to Henry and... MIRIAM ...give a kiss to Edward. CATHERINE (overlapping) Give a kiss to Edward. The women exchange smiles and Miriam exits. EXT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE As Miriam walks to her Land Rover, she sees a government issue Suburban park on the street and Peter Novak exit. MIRIAM Agent Novak. NOVAK Dr. Kent. MIRIAM You're looking well. NOVAK Thanks you. Six weeks off does a body good. (conspiratorially) I heard she got the approval to try the reversal with Edward. MIRIAM That's a secret. NOVAK Federal Bureau of Investigation, ma'am. We know all, see all... Novak opens the rear compartment of the Suburban and we hear something moving inside. NOVAK (CONT'D) How's the patient. MIRIAM Awaiting his arrival. NOVAK What about the cat? MIRIAM Completely unaware. Miriam's pager BEEPS and she hurries to her car. MIRIAM (CONT'D) I've got to go. Good luck. Novak smiles, waves goodbye, and reaches into the Suburban. INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE As Dorothy and her companions confront the Wizard, there's a KNOCK at the screen door and Catherine sees Novak waiting. NOVAK Ready? Catherine cradles her cat. CATHERINE Ready. He opens the door and escorts a leashed VALENTINE into the living room. Catherine's cat squirms from her arms and hides under the couch. NOVAK That went well. CATHERINE Give her a minute. (smiles at the dog) Hello, Valentine. Novak unleashes the albino Shepherd and he runs to Catherine, licking her face, wagging his tail. NOVAK You sure about this? CATHERINE Absolutely. (calling for the cat) Abigail... Valentine picks up the cat's scent and sniffs around the base of the sofa. CATHERINE (CONT'D) I heard Julia and John got married. NOVAK Yep. Eloped. CATHERINE Good for them. Valentine settles on the floor. Slowly, Abigail's curiosity gets the best of her and she creeps out, sniffing the dog's nose. Patient and sweet, Valentine lies still, allowing the cat to reach an acceptable level of comfort. NOVAK Well look at that. CATHERINE I told you. You have to be optimistic. Believe in them... NOVAK So you say. Amazingly, Abigail brushes up against the dog and purrs. CATHERINE He's mine? NOVAK All yours. My boss says it's one of the strangest requests the Bureau's ever had. Catherine laughs. She likes that. NOVAK (CONT'D) He also says that until proven differently, Julia Hickson was found as a result of good old-fashioned detective work. CATHERINE It doesn't matter... NOVAK I don't know. I think it does. (genuine concern) You know, Catherine... If you ever want to talk about it. What happened to Stargher. That last time. It's painfully clear the thought of it still troubles her. CATHERINE Not just yet. Okay? Novak doesn't push it. He just takes her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. The cat dashes into the kitchen and Valentine follows. CATHERINE (CONT'D) They're hungry. NOVAK I got it. He moves into the kitchen. In a moment of quiet introspection, Catherine looks at the television screen, at Dorothy accidentally hitting the wicked Witch with a bucket of water, causing her to melt. And she looks away, unable to watch, disturbed by the image. She turns to the kitchen and sees Novak feeding an appreciative dog and cat. He rises and returns to the living room. CATHERINE Thank you. NOVAK No problem. CATHERINE No. Thank you. He smiles and nods, gently resting his hand on her shoulder. Catherine shuts her eyes and leans toward him, comforted by simple human touch... FADE TO BLACK.
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+                                  THE CHANGE-UP                                   Written by                            Jon Lucas & Scott Moore                                                         July 31, 2009                                   OPEN ON: PEACEFUL BLACK STILLNESS          Then we hear a baby SCREAM BLOODY MURDER. Then a second baby          joins in, even more shrill than the first. Finally, we hear          the worst two words a parent can ever hear:          GROGGY WOMAN'S VOICE (O.S.)          Your turn.          GROGGY MAN'S VOICE (O.S.)          Fuck.          INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE -- NIGHT          DAVE LOCKWOOD, 30, bleary-eyed father of three, shuffles          through his well-appointed suburban home, passing a          grandfather clock reading 3:45. He stumbles over a TOY          GIRAFFE -- it SQUEAKS, and Dave sleepily mumbles:                         DAVE          Sorry Hank.          INT. NURSERY-- NIGHT          His eyes half-open, Dave changes the diaper of his very cute,          very insane nine month old daughter, SARAH, who screams and          pitches about her changing table.                         DAVE                         PLEASE DON'T--          Honey, that's not--          Maybe if you--          She snatches a tin of baby powder and swings it about like a          mace, knocking over the diaper caddy, the wipes, the lotion --          and dispersing a cloud of white powder all over the nursery.          Blinded and SNEEZING, Dave manages to stay on point and          change the diaper like Van Damme at the end of Bloodsport.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Can't-see ...must...persevere...          He finishes changing Sarah, places her back in her crib, then          picks up Sarah's twin brother, PETER, from his crib -- which          is good because he's been SLAMMING his head against the wall.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Come on, buddy, we've talked about          the head thing--          Dave places Peter on the changing table and opens his diaper.          It's only wet, and Dave, pleasantly relieved, reaches for a          fresh diaper...                                                                                                              2.          Only Sarah has knocked the caddy all the way down the          changing table...          Holding down Peter with his left hand, Dave fully extends,          leaning waaay over, reaching for the diaper caddy...          It's just out of reach.. .he somehow stretches further...          It's only when Dave glances back that he realizes that his          head is now perfectly lined up with his son's QUIVERING ANUS.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Oh no.          THE BABY'S BUTT-HOLE ERUPTS          with mustardy projectile stool, blasting Dave in the eyes,          nose and open mouth. Dave remains frozen, excrement dripping          down his face -- but, like a true dad, he does not let go of          his squirming child...          INT. HALLWAY -- NIGHT          Dave staggers down the hall, his hair white with baby powder,          his face covered in poo, and a twin in each arm SCREAMING          into each of his ears.          He soldiers on, stoic, an unsung hero in his time...          INT. KITCHEN -- NIGHT          Juggling the twins in his arms, Dave wipes his face off with          paper towels and prepares two baby bottles -- nipples,          filters, defrosted breastmilk -- while the babies take turns          kicking him in the balls and SCREAMING.                         DAVE          Please, sweetheart, not my--          Honey, Daddy needs those--          INT. DEN -- NIGHT          Dave sits on his couch and positions the screaming, squirming          twins across his lap in an X pattern, plunks the bottles into          their mouths -- and instantly the twins settle down and slurp          away like perfect little angels.          Dave exhales. Whew. Then he reaches for the remote control          and turns on the TV. An old rerun of Magnum, P.I. is playing.          Dave watches, exhausted and expressionless.                                                                                                              3.          ON SCREEN, Tom Selleck, resplendent in mustache, corduroy          short shorts, and Hawaiian shirt, teaches a nubile CO-ED in a          scandalous bikini how to snorkel in beautiful sun-drenched          Waikiki. They're laughing and having a blast...          Dave watches, detached... Then his face starts to change...          MAGNUM, P.I.          Is this the life you always dreamed          of?          Dave shakes his head, no, despair in his eyes...          ON TV, the co-ed nods, yes, and hungrily kisses Magnum...          Dave watches on with genuine existential longing... and soon a          tear falls from his eye. And then another.                         DAVE          Take me with you Magnum P. I...          Before long Dave is CRYING like a schoolgirl.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Please take me with you...                         CUT TO:          MAN'S VOICE (V.0.)          How are the kids?          DAVE (V.0.)          Terrific! Just terrific.          We are now          INT. STEEL, KUHBACH, MCCLOUD -- LAW FIRM -- MORNING          Dave, in a conservative suit and clutching a massive coffee,          hurries down the hall with FLEMMING STEEL III, 50's, stiff,          humorless WASPY partner of this white shoe law firm.          FLEMMING STEEL III          Children are such a joy.                         DAVE          Aren't they? Yes. Always.          (to passing SECRETARY)          Good morning, Rebecca.          FLEMMING STEEL III          Any word on the Amalgamated merger?                                                                                                              4.                         DAVE          All but signed.          FLEMMING STEEL III          And just in time for your partner          review no less.                         DAVE                         (SMILING)          Really? I hadn't noticed.          FLEMMING STEEL III          I look forward to having your antic          sense of humor in the partners'          suite, Lockwood. It can get a touch          dry up there.                         DAVE          Thank you, sir.          FLEMMING STEEL III          (re: Dave's necktie knot)          But a double windsor? Come on, son,          this isn't the dog track.                         DAVE          No sir, absolutely not. So sorry.          Dave quickly undoes his tie as Flemming turns down a hallway.          SABRINA McARDLE, cute young paralegal, falls into step with          Dave, stymieing laughter.                         SABRINA MCARDLE          Really? The dog track?                         DAVE          Last week he told me my shoes were          "dangerously Italian."                         SABRINA MCARDLE          (laughing, handing him docs)          Amalgamated signing statements.                         DAVE          Thanks, Sabrina.                         SABRINA MCARDLE          Have a good one...          She smiles and breezes back down the hallway. Dave stops and          watches her go, lust in his eyes.                                                                                                              5.          Then he hears TSK-TSK-TSK. He looks over at his mean old          secretary, GLADYS, 71, sitting at her desk.                         GLADYS          For shame, Mr. Lockwood! For shame!          You are a married man!                         DAVE          I have no idea what you're talking          about, Gladys...          Reddening, he snatches a huge pile of pink message slips and          hurries towards his office. She follows him, scolding:                         GLADYS          With children.                         DAVE          Yes, thank you, I almost forgot          about them for like two seconds...          INT. DAVE'S OFFICE -- CONTINUOUS          Dave enters his modest office; his phone is RINGING.                         GLADYS          The only thing that harlot needs to          put in her mouth is a sandwich.                         DAVE          Gladys, I'm a grown man, okay?          He angrily punches "SPEAKER" on his RINGING phone as he          reties his tie with a more traditional knot.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Lockwood.          A shrill, horribly impersonated British accent fills Dave's          office -- as well as all of the surrounding offices.          VOICE ON PHONE          YES, MY DOUCHEBAG EXPLODED THIS          MORNING AND I'D LIKE TO SUE--!          As Gladys and various CO-WORKERS turn, shocked, Dave quickly          fumbles for the receiver and takes the call off speaker.                         DAVE          Jesus, Mitch, I'm at work--                                                                                                              6.          VOICE ON PHONE          WHO'S MITCH?! THIS IS MISS ELIZA          HAVERSHAM AND I AM THE VICTIM OF A          FAULTY BAG OF DOUCHE!                         DAVE          Dude, how stoned are you?                         INTERCUT WITH:          MITCH PLANKO, 30, shirtless, Dodgers hat backwards, sitting          on a futon in his sparse white apartment, smoking a bong          shaped like a shotgun. Beat. He drops the horrible accent:                         MITCH          I'm pretty stoned.                         DAVE          Come on, it's 10 in the morning.                         MITCH          Dude, guess what? Great news.                         DAVE          What?                         MITCH          I found a futon on the street.                         DAVE          That is great news.                         MITCH          I sort of had to fight a bum for it          -- is that bad?                         DAVE          Kind of. Is there a reason you're          calling or--?                         MITCH          Are you gonna bitch out on tonight?          You are, aren't you.          Dave, half-listening, sits at his desk and answers emails.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Dodgers-Giants, dude! We haven't          missed one of these in like 20          years! Don't be a vajeen!                         DAVE          Dude, I'm coming--                                                                                                              7.                         MITCH          You always do this! You never make          time for your friends anymore and          I'm sorry to be the one to tell you          this, but people are starting to          talk. Feelings are getting hurt.                         DAVE          Really? Whose feelings?                         MITCH          Not mine, because, like a samurai,          I have trained myself to feel          nothing except revenge and honor,          but other people -- nameless,          other, more sensitive people -- are          hurt, and they think you need to          treasure your friendships a little          bit more.          (exhaling massive bong rip)          How concerned should I be that my          new futon smells like death?                         DAVE          (distracted, typing)          Look, just, what time are you          picking me up tonight?                         MITCH          If you bail I will rape you.                         DAVE          Dude, I get it, I'm coming--                         MITCH          In your eye. I will eye-rape you.                         REPEATEDLY--          Just then there's a knock on Mitch's apartment door.          VOICE AT HIS DOOR (V.0.)          Mitch?                         MITCH          Shit.          Mitch starts waving away the pot smoke.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Gotta go, pick you up at six--!                                                                                                              8.          STAY WITH MITCH as he quickly clicks off his iPhone, jams his          bong under the futon, opens the window, and tries to blow the          pot smoke out of his apartment with quick little PUFFS.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          One sec, Dad!          The smoke clears and Mitch jogs to the door and opens it to          reveal his father, MITCH, SR., 60's, friendly, in a suit,          holding a pile of mail.          MITCH, SR.          Hey, buddy! Your mailbox was          spilling over.                         MITCH          Oh thanks, I always forget.          They hug, and Mitch takes the mail and, without looking at          it, chucks it onto a HUGE PILE OF OLD MAIL in the corner.          MITCH, SR.          Were you smoking marijuana in here?                         MITCH          No! Honestly, it's my new futon, it          smells like illegal drugs.          MITCH, SR.          We've talked about this, Mitch.          Smoke your grass on the balcony,          okay? It's just hard for me to tell          the other tenants they can't smoke          in their units when my own son is          blazing away in his, you know?                         MITCH          You got it, Dad.          MITCH, SR.           Oh hey, I saw your commercial on          channel 9 again last night...                         MITCH          Which one? "Give Gonorrhea The          Boot" or "Samir's Pet Shack Our Low          Low Prices Are Snake-sational?"          MITCH, SR.          Samir's Pet Shack. It's just a          shame you can't see your face in          that giant ape costume.                                                                                                              9.                         MITCH          Actually, the real shame is that          Samir paid me in fucking organic          bird seed, but whatever...          He glares at several crates of BIRD SEED by the door.          MITCH, SR.          Well, your mother would've liked          it. She always loved animals...                         (AWKWARD MOMENT)          Anyway. I was just in the          neighborhood, wanted to check in.          How you doing, cash-wise?                         MITCH          I'm a little tight, actually, Pops.          Especially vis a vis, you know, the          whole bird seed situation.          MITCH, SR.          Five hundred?                         MITCH          Can you make it a grand?          Mitch's dad smiles to hide his disappointment and hands his          30-year-old son a roll of hundred dollar bills.          MITCH, SR.          You thought any more about coming          to work for me?                         MITCH          Yeeeah...I'm not really sure I'm a          "work" guy, you know what I mean?          Plus, I've been getting a ton of          auditions recently, so...          MITCH, SR.          Okay, well, my door is always open.                         MITCH          Thanks, pop. Bones.          Mitch, Sr. smiles and awkwardly bumps his son's fist.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Batting cages next weekend?          MITCH, SR.          Great! See you then.                                                                                                              10.          Mitch, Sr. smiles sadly and exits. Mitch BURPS and reaches          for his bong, having noticed none of his father's distress...                         DISSOLVE TO:          EXT. DAVE'S HOUSE -- BRENTWOOD -- EVENING          ESTABLISHING SHOTS of Dave's beautiful colonial home. Huge          oak trees shade the lush front lawn. New Audi and BMW station          wagons sit in the driveway. We hear WATER SPLASHING...          INT. DAVE'S HOUSE -- BATHROOM -- EVENING          The twins sit in the bath, motionless, anticipatory...          DAVE (V.0.)          .AND THEN THE BABY-EATING MONSTER          EMERGES FROM THE DEEP RAAWWWWR.          Dave rises up from beside the tub, arms upraised, soap suds          covering his face! The twins SCREAM and SPLASH, ecstatic!          Dave tries not to laugh, but he's having too much fun...          Behind Dave, his sweet daughter CARA, 5, sits on the closed          toilet lid in a ballet tutu, reading her BUTTERFLY BOOK.                         CARA          Daddy daddy, which is your favorite          butterfly, the Southern Monarch or          the Many-Spotted Skipperling?          Dave glances at the book as he washes the twins.                         DAVE          Oh, I'm a Many-Spotted Skipperling          man all the way. The Southern          Monarch is just a glorified moth.                         CARA                         (VERY SERIOUS)          Yes. I tend to agree...          Dave smiles. Then his handsome wife JAMIE, 30's, blows into          the bathroom in a suit and starts removing her makeup.                         JAMIE          What a day. Dr. Klein lost the          twins immunization record, the          wireless went down, and Cara got          bullied in ballet class again.                                                                                                              11.                         CARA          Nicolette Peters keeps knocking me          over during the battement glisse.                         DAVE          Oh, I'm sorry, sugar-bug...          Dave looks genuinely concerned. Cara just shrugs and keeps          reading her butterfly book. Jamie whispers to him:                         JAMIE          We need to remind her to keep          striving for verbal resolution.                         DAVE          Right, of course.          Jamie finally notices Dave's foam-covered face, and softens.                         JAMIE          And how was your day, monster man?          Before Dave can answer, the doorbell rings, DING-DONG! They          exchange the weary smile of parents who never see each other.                         JAMIE (CONT'D)          He's early.                         DAVE          Of course he's early. All he does          all day is eat hummus and          masturbate.                         CUT TO:          THE FRONT DOOR OPENING          to reveal MITCH in shades, fedora, and a Dodgers jersey.          Jamie, holding Cara, lets him in.                         MITCH          Whatup bitches!                         JAMIE                         (LAUGHING)          Really?          He takes Cara and playfully -- and incredibly recklessly --          flips her in the air.                         MITCH          How's my favorite ballerina?!                                                                                                              12.                         CARA          I'm good! Are you coming to my          recital on Thursday?!                         MITCH          Oh no, honey, the only style of          dancing I support is exotic...          He plunks her on the floor and blows into          DAVE'S AMAZING KITCHEN          replete with granite counter tops, built-in appliances, fresh          flowers, and bowls teeming with fruit. Mitch beelines for the          Subzero fridge and opens it: it's stocked. His eyes alight.                         MITCH          Jesus Christ you could feed Africa          with this fridge...          As Jamie starts prepping a salad across the kitchen, Mitch          raids the fridge, packing his cargo pants with kid's snacks,          bagels, yogurts, juice boxes, everything.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          These leftovers from Morton's?                         JAMIE          Oh no, hon, those are super old--          Too late -- Mitch is already eating the very old steak.                         MITCH          Chimichurri. score.          As Mitch chews, he eyes Jamie chopping vegetables.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          You look hot by the way, Jame.          Jamie laughs but clearly doesn't mind the flirtation.                         JAMIE          Thanks... sort of...?                         MITCH          No really. I never would've guessed          twins.                         JAMIE          Annnd that's probably enough--                                                                                                              13.                         MITCH          Is Dave still meeting your needs          sexually?          Jamie just laughs, shaking her head, unbelievable.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Oh, did I tell you I ran into Miss          Hickam last week at Starbucks?                         JAMIE          Our old kindergarten teacher?!                         MITCH          Yeah. She always liked Dave better          than me...                         JAMIE          Honey, everyone likes Dave better          than you.                         MITCH          Fair enough. Anyway, I tried to get          her number, but she goes "I don't          date former students," so I go,          "great, do you fuck former          students?" and then she calls me a          "potty-mouth degenerate" and runs          out without her coffee. So I got a          free venti macchiato, which is cool-          DAVE (O.S.)          Bathed, changed and in their Pis.          Mitch turns to see Dave in khakis and a buttondown, entering          the kitchen with the freshly bathed twins. Mitch grins:                         MITCH          Awww! Come to Uncle Mitch...          Dave hands the twins to Mitch, and they COO, impishly cute.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Oh my God, they smell like heaven          had sex with a dryer sheet.          (loudly to babies)          HI! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?! WHICH ONE          ARE YOU?!          (they just GURGLE)          Why can't they talk yet? Are they          retarded or something?                                                                                                              14.                         JAMIE                         (LAUGHING)          What?! No! They're fine!                         MITCH          Really? The one on the left looks a          little downsy.                         (JAMIE GASPS)          Kidding! Kidding.          (aside, to Dave)          A little bit though, right?          Ignoring him, Dave fastens the twins into their Bouncy Seats.                         DAVE          I'll be back right after the game,          okay, Pumpkin?                         JAMIE          Whenever. Have fun.                         MITCH          See you, Jame!                         JAMIE          Always a pleasure, Mitch.          Mitch steals THREE PEARS and some TULIPS as he exits...                          CUT TO:          TWO BEERS POPPING OPEN          on the bottle cap-opener mounted on Mitch's dashboard...          INT. MITCH'S CAR -- EVENING          Mitch offers Dave one of (his own) beers as they speed along          in his Fiero. Dave is reluctant.                         DAVE          Yeah, I'm good.                         MITCH          Really? You're going to make me          drink alone?                         DAVE          Yeah, well, you're driving, so...          Mitch shrugs and slides the spare beer into his chest pocket.                                                                                                              15.                         MITCH          Oh, dude: great news.                         DAVE          You found another futon?                         MITCH          That's awesome, because I'm made of          emotional Teflon and words can't          hurt me anymore. No: I auditioned          for a major movie role yesterday.                         DAVE          Nice. What movie?                         MITCH          It's called Busted Dreams 4. It's          about a renegade coroner who reads          minds named Jake Action. It's like          a sexy Mentalist.                         DAVE          Sounds cool.                         MITCH          Yeah, I read for the part of Steve          Action, Jake's troubled younger          brother with a secret, and I          fucking killed it. I cried like          five times during the audition and          it's a fucking action movie. Plus          I'm the spitting image of the dude          who plays Jake Action, so...                         DAVE          I hope you get it, man.                         MITCH          Yeah, it could be my Raging Bull.          Plus I'd get to kill a lot of          women, which is cool.          (offering him a joint)          Hotbox?                         DAVE          No, man, I got a big day tomorrow,          I can't get wasted tonight.          SMASH CUT TO:          TWO SHOT GLASSES SLAMMING DOWN          Mitch and Dave, shit-faced, shake off their shots, B-R-R-R.                                                                                                              16.          INT. BIG WANGS SPORTS BAR -- NIGHT          The guys sit in this crowded sports bar, watching the Dodgers          game on a huge TV. When CLAYTON KERSHAW strikes out FRED          LEWIS to win the game, the guys drunkenly slap five:                         DAVE                         MITCH                         DAVE                         MITCH          Change-up -- fuck he's good!                         DAVE          He's no Fernando.                         MITCH          Of course not. Fernando is like The          Highlander. There can be only one.                         DAVE          (toasting his beer)          TO FERNANDO!                         MITCH          FER--FUCKING--NANDO!          They sloppily drink -- when Dave suddenly remembers:                         DAVE          OH! So finish your story! The girl          calls you up...?                         MITCH          Right! So she calls me up, it's          like 3 in the morning--                         DAVE          What's her name?                         MITCH          Tatiana.                         DAVE          Incredible. What's her last name?          Mitch just looks at him.                                                                                                              17.                         MITCH          Tatiana Calls-Me-At-3-In-The-          Morning-And-Wants-To-Fuck-stein,          what the fuck, who cares?                         DAVE          Is she hot? She is, right? Oh my          God I already have a boner!                         MITCH                         (DISTURBED)          Maybe we should do this later...                         DAVE          NO! Keep going! I need these          stories, man! They're all I have.          Mitch registers the desperation in his married friend's eyes.                         MITCH          Okay, well, you're in luck, because          Tatiana is stupid fucking hot.          Beautiful face, legs a mile long,          perfect ass, blonde hair, and          huuuge boobs.                         DAVE          Oh my God how big?                         MITCH          Double E.                         DAVE          Oh my God she sounds like Sabrina.                         MITCH          Who's Sabrina?                         DAVE          This hot paralegal in my office.                         MITCH          Is she on your Cancer List?                         DAVE          What's a Cancer List?                         MITCH          Don't all married dudes have a          Cancer List? No? Like the first          three chicks you would bang if your          wife suddenly died of cancer?                                                                                                              18.                         DAVE          That's sick, man. Jamie is the          mother of my children...                         (DISGUSTED)          But yes, if I had a Cancer List,          Sabrina would be the first on it.                         MITCH          Who's number two? Fergie--?                         DAVE          Just finish your story, man! I'm          dying over here!                         MITCH          Fine. So Tatiana's packing double          E's, which means like 20 plus          pounds of breastmeat -- yeah, it's          almost too much for one man to          handle. Thank God I'm the son of a          butcher and have strong hands and          wrists. Anyway, she walks in          wearing this tight black dress, and          you know what she says to me?          Dave shakes his head, on the edge of his bar stool.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Nothing. Because all Tatiana wants          to do at 3 in the morning is fucky          fucky rubber ducky!          Dave drunkenly slaps him ten, barely making hand-contact.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          And look, I'm not one to kiss and          tell...          (downing another shot)          but this chick is insatiable. She          wants it in every position:          Missionary, wheelbarrow, Reverse          Wheelbarrow, Assassin--                         DAVE          I don't even know what those are!                         MITCH          No one does! It gets so intense          that my nose starts bleeding. Yeah,          so I'm bleeding all over this chick          and she's fucking digging it.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              19.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          It's like some weird Dracula Anne          Rice shit, and I'm fading in and          out of consciousness, and then,          when it's all over, she turns to me          and goes: "Tuesday night I'm coming          back and we're really going to          fuck."          Dave just stares at him, glassy-eyed, drunk, emotional.                         DAVE          That is maybe the single greatest          story I've ever heard in my life.                         MITCH          Ah, it's not always like that...                         DAVE          I don't know why...I don't know why          I've always been in such a rush,          you know?                         MITCH                         WHAT                         (BURRRRP)          do you mean?                         DAVE          You remember me in high school, I          was always so focussed on getting          into a good college, then when I          got to college, I was so focussed          on getting into a good law school,          then in law school I was just          trying to land a job at a good          firm, then Jamie and I got married          and we had Cara right away-- I just          feel like and I missed out on all          the fun stuff, you know? The sex,          the drugs, the bad choices, and now          it's too late. I blew it. I pissed          away my 20's, and now I'm staring          down the barrel a seriously boring          life.                         MITCH          Oh come on, Jamie is hot!                         DAVE          No, I know--                         MITCH          I really want to have sex with her!                                                                                                              20.                         DAVE          Wait, what?                         MITCH          And your kids are adorable! They're          like fun little puppies that talk!          The bill comes. Dave pulls out a wad of cash, throws it on          the table, and stumbles for the door. Mitch lifts one of          Dave's twenties off the table and follows him out...          EXT. SPORTSBAR -- CONTINUOUS          They stumble down the dark Hollywood street together...                         DAVE          Don't get me wrong, I love my kids,          I do, I would take a bullet for          them, but...remember that heroin          addict you dated?                         MITCH          Tara? Or Rena? Or Rachel?                         DAVE          Jesus, how many heroin addicts have          you dated?                         MITCH          It's a national scourge, dude.                         DAVE          Anyway. Having kids is like dating          a heroin addict, only instead of          dating them, they move into your          house for 18 years. They're          laughing one second and crying the          next and then they're trying to          kill themselves in your bathroom          for no reason. They're mean and          selfish and they burn through all          your money and they steal your shit          and they break everything and they          stay up all night and they listen          to really shitty music and the          dirty secret is, no one actually          likes kids.                         MITCH          Oh come on, you don't mean that--                                                                                                              21.                         DAVE          No! It's true. Everyone pretends to          like kids because if you don't you          look like a huge dick. It's like          Drew Barrymore or jazz. No one          actually likes them, but if you say          that out loud, everybody hates you.                         MITCH          Dude, I love Drew Barrymore -- have          you seen Boys on the Side?          They weave across a LARGE PLAZA, stumbling for Mitch's car.                         DAVE          I'm just saying: don't fuck up your          life like I did, okay?                         MITCH          What are you talking about? You've          got it all! You've got a huge house          full of food and furniture -- shit,          your TV is bigger than my car! You          have a great job, you make a shit-          ton of money, and people respect          you, man! My last job involved an          ape costume -- do you know what          that does to a man?          Dave waves him off, not really hearing him. But Mitch is          sincere, heartfelt:                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Plus you've got a hot, extremely          fuckable wife who cooks and cleans          and takes care of all your needs!          It's like having a really hot mom          who you can also have sex with!                         DAVE          Wait, what--?                         MITCH          Also you're never lonely, you          always have someone to talk to          about your day, plus you get to do          all the fun gay couple stuff like          go to wine country! You think          single guys can go to wine          country?! No way! They won't even          let us in! You're living the dream,          dude! What more do you want?!                                                                                                              22.                         DAVE          Tatiana! I want Tatiana! I want sex          with strange new women and maybe          also with Sabrina if she's single          and I want to wake up at noon and          smoke weed all afternoon and I want          to not think about the needs of          four other people 24 hours a day          and I want to start reading a novel          and actually finish it and I want          to take a solid shit because I'm          not constantly stressed out and I          want to learn how to rollerblade          and also I really want to pee...                         MITCH          Yeah, me too...          They look around the plaza, and their eyes land on the HUGE          FOUNTAIN in the middle; a GREEK GODDESS sits atop it.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Fountain?                         DAVE          Bingo.          They stumble over to the fountain, unzip their pants, and,          leaning on each other, begin peeing into it. Mitch glances up          at the GREEK GODDESS METIS. She scowls down at them.                         MITCH          This chick does not look happy.                         DAVE          Maybe she has three kids and a job          she hates.                         MITCH          Dude, enough already.                         DAVE          I'm just saying...I envy your life.                         MITCH          And that's what's so fucked,          because I envy yours.                         DAVE          Yeah you don't--                         MITCH          I do!                                                                                                              23.                         DAVE          No, I do--!                         MITCH DAVE          I wish I had your life! I wish I had your life!          They're about to say "jinx" when--          BOOM!          A thunder clap CRASHES and          ALL OVER LOS ANGELES          the electrical grid starts shutting down, neighborhood by          neighborhood! Soon the entire city is PITCH BLACK...          BACK IN THE DARKENED PLAZA          Dave and Mitch freeze, terrified, hugging. . .and peeing...                         MITCH          Ummmmm...?          Then all the lights in the city flicker back to life...                         DAVE          R-Rolling blackout?                         MITCH          I guess...?          They continue peeing, a little freaked out.                         DAVE          You really have nice flow by the          way. Very thick and confident.                         MITCH          Thank you. Yours is very steamy.                         DAVE          Thank you. My urologist says I run          a little warm.          Eventually they both finish, tuck in, and zip up. Beat.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          You good to drive?                         MITCH          Now I am.                                                                                                              24.          As they stumble off towards Mitch's Fiero, HOLD ON the statue          of Metis, the shape-shifting Greek Goddess of Wisdom...          It almost looks like she's smiling...                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. DAVE'S BEDROOM -- MORNING          It's a beautiful sunny Los Angeles morning. The silhouette of          a body lies in Dave's bed, SNORING away. Then we hear          THE TWINS CRYING          followed by what is unequivocally Mitch's patter -- and his                         FAMILY-FRIENDLY LANGUAGE:                         MITCH          Whose fucking baby is that...?          A hand emerges and fumbles on the night stand.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          And where the fuck is my bong?          He groggily rises from the sheets -- only it's not Mitch.          It's Dave. His body, his face, everything.          Yup, you got it: the single auy and the married guy have          switched bodies. We will refer to them by their "brain          names," thus while this hungover dude definitely looks like          Dave, inside he's Mitch, so that's what we'll call him. The          actors, of course, will remain in their bodies.          Mitch doesn't know any of this yet.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Why are there so many fucking          pillows...?          He rolls over to see Jamie, sitting up in bed, pulling her          breasts out of her tank top, getting ready to nurse the          twins. Mitch launches out of bed, suddenly very awake.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          WHOA! WHOA! WHAT THE FUCK, JAME?!          She starts breast-feeding the babies, confused.                         JAMIE          What? What's your problem?          Mitch shields his eyes with his hands, shocked and disgusted.                                                                                                              25.                         MITCH          Oh my god that is so gross! Put          your tits away! This isn't Europe!                         JAMIE          What are you talking about?          Mitch finally notices he's in DAVE'S BEDROOM...                         MITCH          Wait: why am I in...? Did I sleep          here last night?!                         JAMIE          Um, yeah?                         MITCH          Did we...?!          Panicked, he thrusts his fist like, have sex?!                         JAMIE          Are you insane?                         MITCH          So why the hell did I wake up in          your bed?!                         JAMIE          Are you still drunk?                         MITCH          Look, just, where's Dave?!                         JAMIE          What?                         MITCH          Where's fucking Dave?!                         JAMIE          Dave is right here! You're Dave!          He turns and sees himself in the mirror. Freezes. He is Dave.                         MITCH          Oh my God... Oh my God...          He slowly touches his new face...                                                                                                              26.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          I'm a fucking tool.                         CUT TO:          INT. MITCH'S APARTMENT -- MORNING          A body lies sprawled on Mitch's futon, out cold. INSANE          POUNDING on the door shatters the silence.          MITCH (O.S.)          OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR IMMEDIATELY!          The body sits up, groggy and confused -- it is, of course,          Dave in Mitch's body. While he looks like Mitch, he moves,          talks, and even shuffles to the door exactly like Dave...                         DAVE          Mitch...?          MITCH (O.S.)          Fucking open the fucking door!          Dave stops, noticing that he's in Mitch's empty apartment.                         DAVE          Why am I in your sad apartment--          MITCH (O.S.)          The door, dude! Open the door!                         DAVE          Fine, Jesus, relax--          Dave opens the door to see himself standing there.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          What the fuck is this...?          Dave backpedals, terrified, as Mitch blows inside, furious.                         MITCH          I knew it!                         DAVE                         (FREAKING OUT)          Who the hell are you?! And why do          you look like me?!          Mitch angles Dave over to the mirror on the otherwise barren          wall-and Dave sees he's in Mitch's body... Stunned, he          slowly touches his new face... his new hair. . .his new body...                                                                                                              27.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Oh my God...                         MITCH          I know, dude.                         DAVE          I'm a fucking loser...                         MITCH          Wait, what?          Dave spins, completely awake now:                         DAVE          How the fuck did this happen?!                         MITCH          How should I know?! Has this ever          happened to you before?!                         DAVE          What, switching bodies with another          human being?! Oh yeah, this shit          happens to me like twice a week!                         MITCH          Well...I don't want to be you!                         DAVE          Oh, you don't want to be me?! No,          no, no: I don't want to be you!                         MITCH          What's that supposed to mean?!                         DAVE          Look, let's just.. .think. How could          this have possibly happened...?          They pace about the apartment, trying to think... Then:                          MITCH           Bingo. Got it. We're dreaming.          Dave grabs Mitch's nipple and twists it hard.                          MITCH (CONT'D)          Ow ow ow, fuck!                         DAVE          Not dreaming.                                                                                                              28.                         MITCH          First of all, you're a penis.          Second of all--                         DAVE          Wait, what'd you just say?                         MITCH          I called you a penis and--                         DAVE          (running out the door)          Come on!                         CUT TO:          INT. DAVE'S AUDI STATION WAGON -- MORNING          Dave speeds through morning traffic in his Audi station          wagon, leaning on the HORN. Mitch sits shotgun, confused.                         DAVE          Remember last night when we peed          into that fountain?! As we peed, we          wished we had each other's lives!                         MITCH                         (REMEMBERING)          Oh fuck.                         DAVE          Our wishes must've... somehow... come          true.                         MITCH          I thought wishes came true when you          threw a coin into a fountain...                         DAVE          Well apparently urine works too.                         MITCH          That's bullshit! I would've wished          for something way cooler!          EXT. HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD -- MORNING          Unable to find a parking spot, Mitch and Dave double-park on          Hollywood Boulevard, hop out, and sprint for the plaza...                         MITCH          What are we gonna do when we get to          the fountain?!                                                                                                              29.                         DAVE          We're gonna hug each other and pee          into the fountain and wish our          lives back!                         MITCH          That might sound really gay!          Both men race around the corner onto the plaza and stop cold:          THE FOUNTAIN IS GONE          A DEPARTMENT OF PARKS CREW is cleaning up the site where it          once sat. Mitch and Dave are blown away.                         DAVE          YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!          They hurry up to the crew FOREMAN.                         MITCH          Excuse me! Where is the fountain?!                         FOREMAN          It's getting restored.                         DAVE          Where did you take it?!                         FOREMAN          I don't know, chief, I'm not the          fountain spokesman, I'm just the          guy that fills the fucking hole.                         DAVE          Who could tell us where it is?!                         FOREMAN          Maybe the district manager?                         CUT TO:          A DESK PLACARD READING "DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON"          District Manager CARLA NELSON sits behind her desk in her          bland office, her face the model of bureaucratic ennui.          DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON          It's not in the computer.          Opposite her, Dave and Mitch pull their hair out, insane.                                                                                                              30.                         MITCH          Well of course it's not--!                         DAVE          When will it be in the computer?!          DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON          You could try calling tomorrow.                         DAVE          Tomorrow?! We can't wait until          tomorrow, Carla!                         MITCH          How can you lose a fountain?.          DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON          (beat, deadpan)          It's not in the computer.          Mitch LUNGES for Carla, but Dave grabs him and wrestles him          out of the office.                         MITCH          YOU ARE EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG          WITH THE WORLD--!                         DAVE          We'll call you tomorrow! Thank you!          EXT. DEPARTMENT OF PARKS BUILDING -- DAY          Dave and Mitch exit the Department of Parks building and pace          on the sunny sidewalk, their hands on their heads, stunned.                         MITCH          This is so fucked...                         DAVE          We should just go home and lock the                         DOORS AND--          Mitch's phone rings in Dave's pocket. Dave hesitates, then          answers it, fruitlessly trying to sound like Mitch:                         DAVE (CONT'D)          This is fucking Mitch?                         MITCH          I don't talk like that, dude--                         DAVE          Okay ...Okay...Great...Thank you.                                                                                                              31.          Dave clicks off.                         MITCH          Who was that?                         DAVE          Marty Green, the producer of Busted          Dreams 4. Apparently the guy they          cast for Steve Action OD'd last          night, and the back-up actor got          deported, so, alphabetically,          you're the next actor on the list.          You got the part, man.          Mitch covers his mouth like he just won American Idol.                         MITCH          Oh my God! Oh my God! Dreams really          do come true--!                         (REALIZING)          Wait, no, this sucks! I'm stuck in          your fat dad-body! I can't play          Steve Action looking like this!                         DAVE          (remembering, stunned)          Oh my God: and I've got my closing          today.                         MITCH          What, is that like a big deal?                         DAVE          A big--?! Yeah! Whether or not I          make partner is riding on this!                         MITCH          So what the hell are we gonna do?          PANICKED SILENCE. Then Mitch looks at Dave...                         DAVE          No. No. We can't just be each other          for a day, Mitch! You have no idea          how to be a lawyer!                         MITCH          Dude, I'm an actor, a human          chameleon, I can do lawyer in my          fucking sleep! It's you I'm worried          about: you can't act for shit!                                                                                                              32.                         DAVE          First of all, it's Busted Dreams 4,          okay? It's not The Reader. Second          of all, I'm a WASP, I've spent my          entire life acting happy and no one          has ever questioned my performance,          okay?!          They look at each other, cooling off a bit...                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Are...Are we actually considering          doing this...?                         MITCH          I mean, we have to...right?          Both men look highly anxious. Dave glances at the time.                         DAVE          All right, well, my meeting starts          in 45 minutes. You need to race          home, get dressed, then go to my          office and find my secretary Gladys-                         MITCH          She sounds hot, is she hot?                         DAVE          No. Get the merger docs from Gladys          and take them to the conference          room. All the partners will be          there so do not speak to anyone.                         MITCH          Really? Because I can vamp--                         DAVE          NO! No vamping! And once the          meeting starts, you will continue          to say nothing. When a partner asks          you for the merger documents, you          will silently hand them over, okay?                         MITCH          Dude, I get it. Play it big, but          maintain my reality--                                                                                                              33.                         DAVE          No! Play it small. Really small.          I've spent the last nine months          banging out the terms of this deal,          all you have to do is hand over the          documents. That's it.                         MITCH          Dude, that's easy as fuck. Okay,          for me, go home, put on some cool          clothes, and get to set -- all the          info is on my phone. Once you're          there, go to Hair & Makeup and          memorize your lines and try not to          be a total douche to everyone,          okay? This is the film industry.          Everyone is really cool.          They look at each other, very doubtful that this will work...                         MITCH (CONT'D)          I'm trusting you, dude...                         DAVE          I'm trusting you, too...                         MITCH          Power hug.          They hug tight then release.                         DAVE          Oh hey, you also need to pick up          Cara from ballet at 4, okay?                         MITCH          (heads for the car)          I'm so fucking all over that shit.          Off of Dave's deeply unsettled look, we                         CUT TO:          INT. STEEL, KUHBACH, MCCLOUD -- LAW FIRM -- MORNING          Mitch blows into Dave's stodgy law firm looking like a lawyer          -- from a Ralph Lauren ad: he sports a pink buttondown, red          suspenders, a blue crested blazer, khakis, no socks, black          and white wingtips, and slicked-back hair.          He also affects a preposterous patrician accent like John          Kerry or any white guy on a black sitcom.                                                                                                              34.                         MITCH          GOOD MORNING, ONE AND ALL! WHAT A          FABULOUS DAY TO BE A CORPORATE          ATTORNEY!          His co-workers look at him like he's fucking nuts. Falling          into step with him is Gladys, his mean old secretary.                         GLADYS          What in God's name are you wearing?                         MITCH          Holy dick, are you Gladys? You're a          lynx.                         GLADYS          W-What is a lynx?                         MITCH          A white-haired cougar. You really          should dress sexier, though. The          whole angry prison nurse thing is a          huge mistake.          Gladys GASPS and jams some documents into his hands.                         GLADYS          Here are your merger documents!          Good day to you!          She storms off. Mitch calls after her:                         MITCH          Hey, where's my meeting at?          She angrily points at a conference room as she stalks off.          INT. CONFERENCE ROOM -- MOMENTS LATER          The conference room is full of EXECUTIVES from KINKABE          TECHNOLOGIES and AMALGAMATED INDUSTRIES, as well as several          well-heeled LAWYERS. They chat amiably until                         MITCH ENTERS          in his ridiculous outfit. The room goes silent, but Mitch's          confidence remains sky-high:                         MITCH          What up, white people?! Republican          Party in the house, am I right?!          Come on, let's get started!                                                                                                              35.          Everyone looks a bit confused by this Nobody telling them          what to do, but nonetheless, they begin taking their seats.          Mitch goes around, introducing himself.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Dave Lockwood, thanks for coming!          Dave Lockwood, I did all the work!          Dave Lockwood-san, konichi-wa!          (to the room)          Anyone need anything? Mimosa, spicy          tuna roll? No? We're good? All          right, guys, take it away!          Mitch takes one of the last open seats -- at the head of the          conference table. It's clearly in his boss's seat. Flemming          Steel III hovers awkwardly.          FLEMMING STEEL III          Yes, well, thank you, Dave...?          (clearing his throat)          We are gathered here today to          codify the marriage of two bold          industry leaders, Kinkabe          Technologies and Amalgamated          Industries.          Mitch starts APPLAUDING. Others.. .hesitantly. . . join in.                         MITCH          Fuck yeah! Amalgamated Industries!          Finally, even Flemming claps as well, uncomfortable.          FLEMMING STEEL III          B-Before we sign on the proverbial          bottom line, are there any          outstanding questions or concerns          that we might address? Ask now or          forever hold your peace...          Pleasant CHUCKLES in the room. Then the Japanese-American CEO          of Kinkabe Technologies, KEN KINKABE, 60's, raises his hand.          CEO KEN KINKABE          We just wanted to make sure that                         THE DEBT-TO-PROJECTED-AMORTIZATION          ratios haven't changed given the          recent market fluctuations.          Everyone turns to Mitch. Who's not listening. He's drawing          pictures of boobs on a yellow legal pad.                                                                                                              36.          FLEMMING STEEL III          Dave?          Mitch looks up, sees everyone looking at him.                         MITCH          Right, my bad--          Thinking that's his cue, he slides Flemming the documents.          FLEMMING STEEL III          No, Dave. Mr. Kinkabe had a          question about the DPA ratios.          Deer in headlights.                         MITCH          Okay?          FLEMMING STEEL III          Well? How are they?                         MITCH          G-Good?          FLEMMING STEEL III          Good?                         MITCH          Bad? Bad! They're fucking terrible.          FLEMMING STEEL III          Dave!                         MITCH          Look, everything's cool, let's just          sign this fucking thing and go          party! We're all rich, who cares?!          Mr. Kinkabe angrily jabs his finger at the incredibly short          CEO of Amalgamated Industries, TED NORTON, 60's.          CEO KEN KINKABE          I knew it! You were never serious          about this merger!          CEO TED NORTON          Spare me, Ken, you were just trying          to inflate your share price!          CEO KEN KINKABE          This merger is over! I will see you          in court!                                                                                                              37.          CEO TED NORTON          Not if we see you first, you prick!          The execs furiously race out of the conference room, all of          them reaching for their cell phones. War has been declared.          The lawyers hurry after the clients, fruitlessly trying to          coax them back to the table.          Mitch frowns, oo, and tiptoes for the exit.. .until Flemming          Steel III grabs his arm, furious.          FLEMMING STEEL III          Right now you need to give me one          reason not to fire you.          Mitch stammers, oh shit.                         MITCH          Relax, dude ... this-this is all          part of my master plan.          FLEMMING STEEL III          It is.                         MITCH          Yes! Check it out: if we drag this          out...we make more money, right?          Don't we? Of course we do! And then          we can bill the fuck out of them!          Some of them don't even speak-ah          the engrish so goo, you know what          I'm saying?          FLEMMING STEEL III          That's your plan.                         MITCH          Yes...? Is it...? It's not a very          good plan, is it.          FLEMMING STEEL III          Son, what you've just said to me is          highly illegal. You could go to          jail for a very long time just for          suggesting it...                         MITCH                         (SWEATING)          We're lawyers! We're above the law!                                                                                                              38.          FLEMMING STEEL III          I must say, I've never seen this          side of you before, Lockwood. I          always thought you were on the          straight and narrow...                         MITCH          Fuck that, ese. I'm straight up          gangster all the way through.          Flemming eyes him, determining his fate. Mitch can't breathe.          FLEMMING STEEL III          Fine, I'll roll the dice with you          But if word of this gets out, I          will throw you under the bus so          darn fast you won't know what hit          you. Now go put on some proper          clothes. You look like Joe Pesci.          Flemming Steel III hurries off. Mitch exhales, holy shit...                         DISSOLVE TO:          EXT. VAN NUYS -- RANCH HOUSE -- DAY          Dave nervously pulls up to a RANCH HOUSE in the Fiero,          reading the address off his iPhone. Several crew trucks are          parked out front, and PA's with headsets loiter about.          Dave gets out wearing an ironed buttondown shirt tucked into          khakis. He self-consciously untucks half his shirt, trying to          look "cooler," as he approaches a nearby P.A.                         DAVE          Yo, Mitch Planko is here. Where the          fuck is Hair & Makeup?          P.A.                         (POINTING)          Um, trailer 3.. ?                         DAVE          That's so real.          Dave stiffly walks off as the P.A. eyes him, weirded out.          INT. HAIR & MAKEUP TRAILER -- DAY          Dave, now in leather pants, the top four buttons of his shirt          undone, sits in the makeup chair, getting his hair styled. He          studies the script, confused. Then a P.A. hurries in.                                                                                                              39.          P.A.          I'm here to take you to set. Is          there anything I can get you?          Vitamin water, Pelegrino?                         DAVE          No thanks. Hey, what does it mean          when it says T.S., or B.T.S.?          P.A.          Titty Shot and Bouncing Titty Shot.                         (TO HEADSET)          Steve Action is coming to set.          Dave, alarmed, follows the P.A. out and          THROUGH THE LOW BUDGET SET          They've taken over this valley ranch house; cables, lights          and sound equipment run everywhere.                         DAVE          Wait! W-what kind of movie is          this?!          P.A.          It's a lorno.                         DAVE          I-I'm not familiar with that genre.          P.A.          Lorno? Light porno? Tits & shadows?          You ever hear of Skinemax?                         DAVE          Oh no.          They arrive in          AN ORNATE BEDROOM          bedecked with cameras, grip equipment -- and thousands of lit          candles. The P.A. unbuttons Dave's shirt even further and          starts smearing his chest and face with Crisco oil.          Just then, the fat balding director, VALTAN -- just Valtan --          from some ethnically cleansed Balkan state, 50's, blows in.                         VALTAN          More oil! Make him shiny like fish!                                                                                                              40.                         DAVE          Excuse me, are you in charge here?          I think there's been some sort of                         MISTAKE--                         VALTAN          Mona! Where Mona?!          And then MONA -- aging actress with fake boobs -- teeters in          wearing a flimsy nightgown and six inch heels.                         MONA          I'm here!                         VALTAN          Okay guys, here scene: Mitch, you          enter with gun -- where gun?!          A P.A. runs in with a huge MACHINE GUN WITH ROCKET LAUNCHER          ATTACHMENT and gives it to Dave, who takes it limply...                         VALTAN (CONT'D)          Guard try to stop you, line-line-          line, knock him the fuck out, you          see Mona asleep in bed, you wake          her up and start fuck time, okay?          Dave stammers, his head spinning.                         MONA          What's my motivation?                         VALTAN          Your motivation? Your motivation is          show big tit to business traveler          in hotel room too scared to order          real porno, okay?          (blocking the scene)          Okay, here shot list: start makeout          here, nightgown fall, close-up of          titty, candles burning, bouncing          titty close-up, moaning, fake sex-          in-mouth obscured by hair, more          candle, fake backdoor sex obscured          by blowing curtain, more candle,          her buttock, his buttock, wind blow          out candle and finito, okay?                         MONA          It's like a poem.                                                                                                              41.                         VALTAN          I know, baby, I crush this shit big          time. Let's lock it up!          P. A.          Locking it up!          As the crew bustle about, Mona turns to a shell-shocked Dave.                         MONA          You wanna bump?          Mona snorts a fingernail of coke into her nose.                         DAVE          A bump--? Of drugs?                         MONA          You're cute. But if you try to          actually fuck me I'll set your dick          on fire with one of these fucking          candles, y'understand me?                         DAVE          Is this actually happening?                         MONA          Pound away on my upper thigh all          you want, that's what it's there          for, okay? And no, you can't pay me          to give you a real BJ, I don't do          that shit anymore.          Dave's mouth opens, but nothing comes out. A P.A. guides him          out of the room. He's still in a trance...                         VALTAN                         ANNNND ACTION:          Dave stands there, frozen. Behind the camera, Valtan          gestures, go! Dave stumbles into the bedroom, holding the          huge machine gun like, well, like a corporate lawyer.          A BLOW-DRIED GOON appears with a gun.                         BLOW-DRIED GOON          No entry!          Dave looks around at the bright lights, the camera, the crew          watching him -- and he freezes up. The goon tries again:                         BLOWDRIED GOON          I said: No entry!                                                                                                              42.          Then Dave sees a P.A. waving at him, holding up a huge board          with his lines written on them. Shielding his eyes from the          lights, Dave reads his lines, monotone:                         DAVE          If you let me don't in...don't let          me in...If you don't let me in,          Paco, I will fuck you dead. That          doesn't sound right. If you don't          let me Taco-- is his name Paco or          Taco? Your penmanship is illegible--                         VALTAN          Fuck it, we fix in post! Just knock          out guard, wake up girl, and make          fuck time! Keep rolling!          P.A.          Still rolling!          Dave very effeminately "karate chops" the goon in the neck          once, and the guy dramatically throws himself against the          wall and drops, unconscious. Then Dave crosses and pretends          to suddenly see Mona in the bed. His acting is atrocious.                         DAVE          Oh my goodness it is Lola my long          lost lover Lola who...I love. Her.                         VALTAN          More sexy! Too stiff! Annnd Mona          wake up, surprised!          Mona, not much of a better actor than Dave, wakes up -- and          SCREAMS deafeningly, like some 1950's horror queen.                         DAVE                         (COVERING EARS)                         HOLY SHIT--                         MONA          Steve Action?! You perfect bastard!                         VALTAN          And now kiss her like savage!          Dave, totally grossed out by her, very reluctantly leans in          for the kiss. Just before their lips meet, he pulls away.                         DAVE          I'm sorry! I can't!                                                                                                              43.                         VALTAN          CUT! CUT.                         (BEYOND PISSED)          What the fuck, man?! She ready for          first class trip to fuck town!                         DAVE          Look, I can't, I'm married.                         VALTAN          No no no, Steve Action throw wife          off cliff in last scene.                         DAVE          No, I mean, me, in real life. I'm          married.                         VALTAN          So am I! Mona my wife! Yeah, how          stupid is that shit, man?! Now go          fake-fuck my wife before owners of          house come back from ski vacation          to find film crew in master          bedroom!          Dave just stands there, hopelessly out of place...          MATCH CUT TO:          MITCH LOOKING EQUALLY OUT OF PLACE          standing in the back of an auditorium as on stage, two dozen          5 year old GIRLS in tutus prance about, rehearsing a ballet.          The teacher, MRS. KLEINMAN, fruitlessly tries to direct them.          CAMERA FINDS CARA onstage, twirling around -- until a bigger          girl, NICOLETTE PETERS, knocks her over. Mrs. Kleinman turns          to see Cara splayed out on the ground, trying not to cry.                         BALLET TEACHER          Oh Cara, do try to stay on your          toes! Let's start again...          In the audience, Mitch straightens: what was that...?          INT. DAVE'S AUDI STATION WAGON -- DAY          Mitch drives Cara home from ballet. She sits shotgun in her          tutu, looking small and sad.                         CARA          Shouldn't I be sitting in my          carseat?                                                                                                              44.                         MITCH          Whatever, you're fine -- hey,          what's up with that little blonde          bitch who knocked you over?          She looks a little surprised by her dad's language.                         CARA          That's Nicolette Peters. She does          that a lot, actually...                         MITCH          So why don't you fight back?                         CARA          Um, because you told me not to? You          said I should strive for verbal          resolution.                         MITCH          Fuck verbal resolution! Put that          whore on her back and shank her! Do          you know how to make a shiv?                         CARA          What?          Mitch lights a cigarette with the car lighter.                         MITCH          Listen to me, kid: the world is a          cesspool of cruelty and violence.          If someone comes at you with a          knife, you gotta put their entire          fucking family in the morgue, okay?          That's called jailyard justice.          Because if you don't come back hard          on a bitch, your ass is gonna get          sold for a pack of Camel Lights and          a jello cup, y'understand? Always          solve your problems with violence.          Always.          Cara nods, alarmed.                         CARA          O-Okay Daddy...?                         CUT TO:          DAVE LOOKING DIRECTLY INTO CAMERA          He's sitting at a booth in a bar, highly traumatized.                                                                                                              45.                         DAVE          I dry-humped a stranger's leg for          three hours today...          Sitting opposite him, Mitch downs a shot, exhausted.                         MITCH          Cry me a river, dude: I dealt with          ballet and your ass-hat boss today.                         DAVE          Oh no -- what happened at work?                         MITCH          Nothing! Nothing.          (off Dave's look)          I fixed it.          (off Dave's look)          Okay, but look, it was not my          fault! The Japs started peppering          me with questions and I had to          improvise and then everyone got          very emotional and, well... it looks          like we're going to court.                         DAVE          Oh my God tell me you're kidding.                         MITCH          Yeah, your boss was pretty miffed,          but then I told him this was all          part of my master plan to make more          money off our clients--                         DAVE          What. 1                         MITCH          Yeah, turns out that's totally          illegal, but the old man was          surprisingly cool about it.          Dave sits there, speechless. Mitch eats wings.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Hey, your secretary is sort of hot          in like a Dame Judi Dench-playing-a-          Nazi kind of way. Is she on the          fuck team?                                                                                                              46.                         DAVE                         (WEAK)          I. .I just want to go home...                         CUT TO:          DAVE AND MITCH DRIVING IN MITCH'S CAR          as the sun sets. The windows are open and the wind is in          their hair. They're very much not talking to each other...          EXT. DAVE'S HOUSE -- EVENING          Dave and Mitch head up Dave's front walk, solemn...                         MITCH          What are you gonna tell Jamie?                         DAVE          The truth.                         MITCH          Can I highly recommend against          that?          INT. MITCH'S HOUSE -- EVENING          Mitch and Dave enter to find Cara running down the stairs in          her Dora the Explorer pajamas. Dave smiles and opens his          arms, tired and overjoyed to see her...                         DAVE          Hey, sugar-bug.          .but she passes right by him and hugs Mitch.                         CARA          Hi Daddy!          Dave stammers, stung. Mitch hugs her, acting stiff like Dave.                         MITCH          Well hello, my precocious daughter!                         DAVE          Okay, I don't sound like that--          Just then Jamie hurries past, the twins in her arms, and          kisses Mitch on the lips. Both men startle a bit.                                                                                                              47.                         JAMIE          Hey.                         (TO DAVE)          Hi Mitch.                         DAVE          This is so weird.                         MITCH          No shit.                         JAMIE          You staying for dinner?          Silence. Then Mitch nudges Dave.                         DAVE          Right -- no, thank you. I'm-- Look,          Jamie, we really need to talk.                         JAMIE          Okay, but make it quick, I've got          to put the twins to bed.                         DAVE          I. .um...I'm not Mitch.                         MITCH          I'm Mitch. Somehow.. .we switched          bodies last night. He's Dave.          Jamie looks back and forth between them, expressionless.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          You see, what happened was, we peed          into a magic fountain--                         DAVE          Then the city moved the fountain--                         MITCH          But as soon as they find it, we're          going to switch back.                         JAMIE          Great! Sounds like a plan.                         MITCH          Are you kidding? Is she kidding?          Clearly yes. Jamie heads for the stairs when Dave stops her.                                                                                                              48.                         DAVE          Baby, please don't--                         JAMIE          Okay, Mitch, first of all, don't          call me baby, it's creepy. Second          of all... what the hell are you          talking about?.                         DAVE          Look, I can prove it's true! Just,          I don't know, just ask me anything          that only I -- that only Dave --          would know. Anything.                         JAMIE          When's our wedding anniversary?          Dave freezes, oh shit.                         DAVE          Spring?                         JAMIE          Spring?                         MITCH          Dude, it's March 24th, even I know          that.                         DAVE          Why do you know that?                         MITCH          So that I can send you a thoughtful          card -- what kind of monster are          you?                         DAVE          Look, just ask me anything else.                         JAMIE          I really don't have time to--                         MITCH          Jamie, please.                         JAMIE          What's my favorite color?                         DAVE          You have a favorite color?                                                                                                              49.                         MITCH          Mauve.                         DAVE          Dude: do you not understand what          we're trying to accomplish here?!                         MITCH          I'm just saying, look at all the          accents in this room -- she loves          mauve.                         DAVE          Baby -- Jamie -- ask me anything          else, something more personal...                         JAMIE          Fine, what did we talk about two          nights ago...? I was crying...?                         DAVE          (taking a stab in the dark)          Yourrrrr mother maybe?                         JAMIE          That's great, Mitch. Thanks a big          bunch. Come on, honey.          Jamie steams upstairs, pissed, with Cara in tow. Dave runs          his hands through his hair, fuck! Mitch looks appalled:                         MITCH          Dude, you are like the worst          husband ever.                         DAVE          I have a lot on my plate right now,          man! You have no idea!                         MITCH          Okay, look, calm down: I can hold          down the fort for one night.                         DAVE          Are you joking? You worked at my          job for one day and you almost got          arrested! What are you gonna do to          my family?!                         MITCH          Dude, the kids are already going to          bed.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              50.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          I think I can handle watching Two          And A Half fucking Men and falling          asleep on the couch with the best          of 'em. The only roadblock I          foresee is: what do I tell Jamie?                         DAVE          What do you tell Jamie.. .when?                         MITCH          When she wants to have sex tonight.                         DAVE          But it's Tuesday.                         MITCH          I don't understand. You don't have          sex on Tuesdays?          A beat. Then Dave starts LAUGHING. It builds. Dave hasn't          laughed this hard in a long time. He pats Mitch's cheek.                         DAVE          That's adorable.          Dave turns and exits the house, still LAUGHING...                         DAVE (CONT'D)          You know what, give it a shot.                         MITCH          Really?! You want me to bang your          wife??                         DAVE          Sure, have at it! Let me know how          it goes...                         DISSOLVE TO:          EXT. MITCH'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT          Dave parks Mitch's Fiero on this shady Silver Lake street,          glancing at the HOMELESS GUY stumbling by, a bit scared.          INT. MITCH'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT          Dave enters Mitch's apartment and flips on the bright          overhead light. The white walls are empty. A futon, TV, and          four crates of bird seed are all that occupy the living room.                         DAVE          Jesus, it's like a Swedish asylum--                                                                                                              51.          And then Mitch's iPhone RINGS. Dave hesitates, then answers:                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Mitch Planko, who the fuck is this?          A sexy woman's voice purrs:          SEXY WOMAN (O.S.)          Hiii Mitch, it's Tatiana...          Dave straightens, oh shit!                         DAVE          Tatiana?! Hi! How, um, how are you?          TATIANA (O.S.)          I'll be better in a few minutes          after I fuck you raw.          CLICK. She hangs up. Dave freezes, wide-eyed.                         DAVE          Oh my God. Oh my God.          He quickly dials a number.          INTERCUT WITH MITCH          Sitting on the plush couch with Jamie, eating takeout sushi          and watching Two and a Half Men on the huge plasma TV.          The phone rings. Mitch sees the caller ID, then answers it.                         MITCH          Hey dude, I take back everything I          said about Two and a Half Men. This          is some edgy shit--                         DAVE          Tatiana is on her way over!                         MITCH          Nice.                         DAVE          What do you think I should do?!                         MITCH          I think you should fuck her, that's          what I think you should do.          Jamie looks over at Mitch, weirded out; he gets up and          crosses into the hallway for some privacy.                                                                                                              52.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Don't blow this for me, dude, she's          my Tuesday night regular.                         DAVE          But wouldn't I be...sort of...          cheating on Jamie? Maybe?                         MITCH          No! Cheating is when any part of          your penis touches any part of          another woman who is not your wife,          and last I checked, your wang is          safely tucked away in my incredibly          lame triple-pleated sport slacks.                         DAVE          But my mind is over here, doesn't          that count... somehow?                         MITCH          Dude, how many women have you          fucked in your mind? Thousands?                         DAVE          Millions.                         MITCH          Right, and that's not cheating,          right?                         DAVE          Your reasoning is oddly impeccable.                         MITCH          I think you're on firm legal ground          here, amigo. I say jump that ass.                         DAVE          Jesus ...I haven't had sex with          another woman since college...                         MITCH          Well, it still works the same, but          this chick is a lot to handle so          pace yourself, okay? She's hornier          than a priest at summer camp.                         DAVE          Oh my God so am I--.          There's a KNOCK at the apartment door. Dave jumps, freaked:                                                                                                              53.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Holy shit she's already here! What          do I do?!                         MITCH          You'll do fine. Just wear a condom,          okay? Don't give me AIDS--          Just then WHAM -- the door flies open and a very sexy blonde          enters the apartment wearing a long trenchcoat and five inch          stiletto heels. She moves towards Dave like a panther.                         DAVE          (freezing, breathless)          Tatiana...                         TATIANA          Are you ready to ride?                         DAVE          I-I honestly don't know...          She throws off her trenchcoat to reveal she's not wearing          anything underneath. Awesome.          Less awesome is the fact that she's NINE MONTHS PREGNANT.          Massive breasts sit atop a huge, distended, veiny, protruding          stomach. Dave recoils.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          DAAAH!                         TATIANA          Why the fuck are you still wearing          clothes?          As she advances towards him, Dave climbs up the futon.                         DAVE          But you're--?! When are you due?!                         TATIANA          Any minute now, so let's get our          fuck on before this becomes a          threesome.                         DAVE          Oh god gross! Wait, who's the          father? Am I the father?!                         TATIANA          No...but you are my daddy...                                                                                                              54.          She smiles coyly and slides on top of him.                         DAVE          Holy shit you're so heavy--                         TATIANA          My tits are aching for you.                         DAVE          Actually that's probably just the          colostrum coming in, it can be very                         PAINFUL--          Tatiana finally stops with the femme fatale routine.                         TATIANA          Okay: what's your deal tonight?                         DAVE          Nothing! Nothing. I just--                         TATIANA          Is it my new haircut?                         DAVE          No...?                         TATIANA          The trenchcoat? Too cliche?                         DAVE          No! I love the coat.                         TATIANA          Is it, I don't know, the pregnancy?                         DAVE          Well...now that you mention it?          Maybe, like, a little?                         TATIANA          What the hell?! You picked me up at          a Single Mothers Lamaze class! What          did you expect?!                         DAVE                         (HORRIFIED)          I did?! That's terrible! Who would          do something like that?!          Tatiana angrily crosses the room and -- with considerable          effort -- bends over and picks up her trenchcoat.                                                                                                              55.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Look, Tatiana, I'm sorry. You're          incredibly beautiful, it's just--                         TATIANA          (turning, fully naked)          What?! I'm not sexy?!                         DAVE          Oh my god I can see it kicking.          You can, in fact, see the fetus moving around in her belly.                         TATIANA          You know what? Fuck you, Mitch.          Don't ever call me again.          She yanks on her coat and storms out. Dave stammers.                         CUT TO:          INT. DAVE'S HOUSE -- BATHROOM -- NIGHT          It's bedtime. Wearing pajama pants and no shirt, Mitch          brushes his teeth and fixes his hair, trying to look sexy. He          sucks in his dad-gut in the mirror.                         MITCH          Jesus, Dave, it's called a sit-up.          Then he sees Jamie's dress land on the bedroom floor,          followed by her bra... Mitch exhales:                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Holy shit, I'm finally going to          fuck Jamie. This is my greatest          hour! I hope she likes it weird!          Then, IN SLOW MOTION, Jamie enters the bathroom, nude, her          hair gently blowing in the wind from an open window. She          looks insanely hot. Mitch takes her all in, ravenous...                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Oh my God I am going to ruin her--          And then she sits on the can. And starts taking a dump.          Mitch's face drops, horrified.                         JAMIE          I have to cool it on the Thai food.          I've had the shits all day.                                                                                                              56.          Mitch just stares at her, dumbstruck, as we hear the LOOSE          CONTENTS OF HER BOWELS empty into the toilet bowl.                         MITCH          Oh my GOD.                         JAMIE          Seriously -- light a candle.          She keeps shitting. It sounds like Niagara Falls. Thunderous.          Foregoing the candle, Mitch covers his nose with his forearm          and stumbles out of the bathroom, nauseous...          INT. BEDROOM -- A FEW MOMENTS LATER          Mitch lies in bed, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling,          horrified. Jamie slides in bed with him, touches his arm--                         MITCH                         (RECOILING)          DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!                         JAMIE          What is your problem?                         MITCH          Look, I am not attracted to you          right now, okay?! So just... No          means no, all right? No means no...          TIGHT ON Jamie rolling over, confused and genuinely hurt...          TIME DISSOLVE TO:          PEACEFUL BLACK STILLNESS          Then we hear a baby SCREAM BLOODY MURDER. Then a second baby          joins in, even more shrill than the first. Finally, we hear          the worst two words a parent can ever hear:          JAMIE (O.S.)          Your turn.          MITCH (O.S.)          Mmm?          JAMIE (O.S.)          It's your turn to feed the twins.          MITCH (O.S.)          Yeah...I really don't feel like it.          Jamie turns on the light, pissed.                                                                                                              57.                         JAMIE          Are you fucking kidding me?                         MITCH          No, it's 3 in the morning, you go           do it. You're the mother.                         JAMIE          Get the fuck out bed right now and          go feed your fucking children or I          will fucking cut you!          Mitch is already scrambling out of the room, terrified.                         MITCH          Yes Jamie I'm sorry Jamie!          INT. TWIN'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT          Mitch just looks at the twins, SCREAMING in their respective          cribs, no idea what to do. He reaches for the phone. Dials.          INTERCUT WITH DAVE          in Mitch's apartment, jacking off to some (very small)          internet porn on Mitch's iPhone. Then the porn disappears,          and "DAVE LOCKWOOD CALLING" appears on screen.                         DAVE          Oh come on...          (answering, panting)          What?                         MITCH          I always thought your wife was a          nice lady but she is neither nice          nor a lady! She talks like a dock-          worker and she shits like one too!          Plus I used to think your kids were          adorable but actually they're just          really fucking annoying and crazy          needy-- Wait, are you jacking off?                         DAVE          What? No!                         MITCH          So why are you panting?                         DAVE          Look, I had to, I never get this          kind of privacy anymore.                                                                                                              58.                         MITCH          But isn't that sort of...my penis?          Dave looks down.                         DAVE          Yeah. I guess. Is that weird?                         MITCH          I. .don't know?                         DAVE          It sort of hooks to the side a bit.                         MITCH          Yeah. Go lefty, you'll get better          torque.                         DAVE          Cool, thanks. Hey, how long have          you been shaved down there?                         MITCH          It's kind of pro forma now, dude.                         DAVE          Really?                         MITCH          Yeah, only married dudes still rock          dick-fros anymore-- wait: if          Tatiana was over earlier, why do          you still need to jack off?                         DAVE          Yeeeah, Tatiana might not be coming          back. Like, ever.                         MITCH          What did you do?!                         DAVE          Me?! She's nine months pregnant!                         MITCH          Oh my God you're so picky!                         DAVE          I could see the baby kicking, dude!                                                                                                              59.                         MITCH          So what, she's having a girl! It          wouldn't have been a little boy          tickling your tip! Jesus, I can't          believe you fucked up my Tuesday          night regular!                         DAVE          Relax, Mitch--                         MITCH          No! You married guys have no idea          how hard it is to build a reliable          stable! You don't! It's a full time          job! Getting girls' phone numbers,          calling them, emailing them,          Facebooking them, Twittering them,          buying them drinks and dinners and          coffees and listening to endless          stories about their stupid fucking          friends and begging them to touch          your wiener on the second date and          building an elaborate web of lies          so they don't all find out about          each other -- it's exhausting! And          then poof! In one night, you just          casually discard my life's work!                         DAVE          Jesus, okay, I'm sorry...                         MITCH          Sorry doesn't lick my ballbag every          Tuesday night...                         DAVE          Look, is there a reason you're          calling me at 3 in the morning?          Mitch glares back to the twins, who are still WAILING.                         MITCH          Yeah, your mean wife is making me          feed the kids. What do I do?                         DAVE          Have you changed their diapers          already?                         MITCH          (beat, lying)          Yes. Obviously.                                                                                                              60.                         DAVE          Okay, take them to the kitchen.                         MITCH          Hold on.          Mitch puts the phone in his mouth and picks up the SCREAMING          TWINS. Carrying them like bags of wheat, he jogs down                         THE HALLWAY          as they scream their heads off. He's totally rattled:                         MITCH          SHUT UP! STOP CRYING! JESUS CHRIST,          WE FUCKING HEAR YOU!          INT. KITCHEN -- NIGHT          Mitch jogs into the kitchen and, plop, sets the twins on the          COUNTER, then speaks into the phone again:                         MITCH          All right. In the kitchen.                         DAVE          Go to the fridge...          Mitch turns away from the twins and opens the fridge. He sees          a bottle of wine and immediately drinks from the bottle.                         MITCH          Yeah?                         DAVE          Defrost two bags of breastmilk in          the microwave for 3 minutes, then          prepare two separate bottles...          Mitch grabs a container of cow's milk, sniffs it, turns to          give it to the babies -- to discover that Sarah is gone, and          Peter is licking an ELECTRICAL SOCKET!                         MITCH          Holy fuck!          Mitch yanks Peter away just as SPARKS shoot from the socket!                         DAVE          What was that?                         MITCH          Nothing! Go on! Two bottles...?                                                                                                              61.                         DAVE          First: attach the filter to the          seal to the nipple...          Mitch hears CLINK CLINK and spins to see that Sarah has          crawled over to the KNIFE BLOCK and removed a BUTCHER KNIFE          and a MEAT CLEAVER and is waving them about like rattles!                         MITCH          Oh jesus oh jesus...          Mitch approaches her, wide-eyed, tentative -- when Sarah          giggles and spastically whips the cleaver at him! He barely          sidesteps it, and it impacts into a cupboard door -- F-TWANG!                         MITCH (CONT'D)          This is so fucked up!                         DAVE          I know, right? And make sure you          don't allow any air bubbles in.          Mitch grabs a pair of tongs and, after a few attempts,          snatches the butcher knife from Sarah's hands. Then he scoops          her up and deposits her into the sink with her brother.          Finally, he slumps over, trying to catch his breath.                         MITCH          Dude. Listen to me: you need to go          downtown first thing tomorrow          morning and you need to find that          fucking fountain...          He starts pouring cow's milk into the babies' mouths. It          splashes all over them, but they manage to lap up some of it.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Honestly, I'm really not sure how          much more of this shit I can take.                         CUT TO:          A DESK PLACARD READING "DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON"          District Manager Carla Nelson sits behind her desk in her          bland, putty office, the next morning. She is still bored.          DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON          Good news. Your formal information          request was approved.          Dave stops pacing, deeply relieved.                                                                                                              62.                         DAVE          Great. So where's the fountain?          DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON          Oh. We won't hear back for one to          three weeks, maybe more.                         DAVE          WHAT? How long can it possibly take          you to find your own fountain?!          CARLA MELSON DAVE          One to three weeks, maybe One to three weeks, maybe          more. more.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Thanks, Carla, you just ruined my          life. Have an awesome day.          Dave blows out of there, choking on his fury...          MATCH CUT TO:          DAVE RACING INTO HIS OWN HOUSE          still furious. He looks around for Mitch.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Mitch?! Mitch?! Bad news, buddy!          Dave bounds up the stairs...          INT. NURSERY -- MORNING          Jamie quietly CRIES as she gets the twins dressed for the          day. Dave charges in--                         DAVE          Real bad news--!          Jamie startles and quickly dries her eyes.                         JAMIE          Dave's in the shower.                         DAVE          Are you okay...?          Dave enters, concerned, and instinctively starts helping her          dress the babies. She watches him, a bit confused.                                                                                                              63.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Come on, you can tell me. We've          been friends forever...                         JAMIE                         (EXHALES)          It's Dave ...he's been acting so          strange lately. Last night... Last          night he even told me he wasn't          attracted to me...                         DAVE          Oh my god I'm going to fucking kill          him.                         JAMIE          Just tell me honestly...is Dave          having an affair?                         DAVE          No. Jamie. I swear he's not. You're          just going through a very temporary          rough patch, okay?                         JAMIE          Temporary? We've been in this rough          patch for years                         DAVE          (this is news to him)          Y-You have?!                         JAMIE          You don't want to hear about this.                         DAVE          No I really do. Tell me everything.          Jamie looks at him, sees the urgency in his eyes. Frowns.                         JAMIE          It's not his fault, really...I love          him with all my heart, you know I          do, but-you remember Dave's          family growing up. They were a          mess. They had nothing. Dave's          entire childhood was spent looking          over the fence, wanting a better          life. So he scrimped and saved and          worked four jobs at once and put          himself through school and built a          better life for himself. I've          always loved that about him.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              64.                         JAMIE (CONT'D)          No one ever gave him anything. The          problem is, now that he's got a          good life, he can't turn it off --          he's still looking over the fence,          wanting something even better, a          second house, more kids, a faster          car, a bigger promotion, whatever          it is that he thinks will finally          make him happy.          Dave reddens, defensive; this is hitting very close to home.                         DAVE          well poor Jamie! You have an          ambitious, hard-working husband who          provides for you and your family --          how can you even stand it?                         JAMIE                         (TAKEN ABACK)          No, I know, I should be grateful...          and I am...I guess all I'm saying          is that Dave is so focussed on what          he doesn't have that he can't see          what he does. And how long can you          stay married to someone who is          incapable of ever being happy...?          She looks at him, searching. Dave stammers, realizing for the          first time just how much trouble his marriage is in... Then:                         MITCH          Check it out: I have freckles on my          taint! How awesome is that?!          They turn to see Mitch in the doorway, buck naked and wet,          holding a hand-mirror under his balls. Then he sees Dave.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Oh, hey, fag. Why're you here?                         CUT TO:          MITCH (O.S.) (CONT'D)          One to three weeks, maybe more?!          INT. DAVE'S HOUSE -- BATHROOM -- DAY          Mitch shaves in the bathroom as Dave paces, anxious.                         MITCH          What the fuck does that even mean?!                                                                                                              65.                         DAVE          It means we might be in each          other's bodies for a while...                         MITCH          What?! No! I can't do this anymore!          Your life sucks!                         DAVE          My life sucks?! You drive a Fiero--          Jamie calls through the door:          JAMIE (O.S.)          Um, I'm going to work?                         DAVE MITCH          All right, angel! Have a nice day!          JAMIE (O.S.) (CONT'D)          You guys okay in there?                         MITCH          Yup! Just two dudes chilling in the          bathroom, nothing weird about that!          JAMIE (O.S.)          Okay...? See you later...          We hear Jamie's FOOTSTEPS retreat. Dave grows emotional:                         DAVE          Listen to me: I know I complain          about my family sometimes, but          Jamie and the kids are everything          to me... My marriage is falling          apart, my job is on the line, and I          need you to step up and be the best          possible version of me, okay?                         MITCH          Dude, honestly, I'm working my nuts          off over here. I don't know how to          play you any better.                         DAVE          Well. Then I'm just gonna have to          teach you. Let's start at the                         BEGINNING:                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              66.          INT. DAVE'S BEDROOM -- CLOSET -- MOMENTS LATER          Dave holds up a suit from his closet. Mitch watches.                         DAVE          This is called a suit. You have to          wear one every day, along with--          (holding up tie)                         A NECKTIE--          (holding up socks)          Black -- not white -- socks--          (holding up dress shoes)          Dress shoes, not shower sandals--          (holding up boxers)          And underwear.                         MITCH          Oh come on!                         DAVE          No! No more commando! You are a          grown-ass man!          Mitch mimics heiling Hitler and starts getting dressed...          INT. DAVE'S KITCHEN -- DAY          Mitch, highly uncomfortable in his business suit, scowls as          Dave shows him the kids' schedules on the fridge.                         DAVE          This is called a schedule. It tells          you everything you need to do in a          given day. Drop offs. Pick ups.          Activities. Playdates. Doctors          appointments. You'll notice that          there are approximately 50 hours          worth of obligations on any given          day. Find a way.          INT. DAVE'S AUDI STATION WAGON -- DAY          Dave drives. Mitch slumps in the passenger seat, grumpy.                         DAVE          Always be thinking of your next          responsibility. It helps to break          your day into four minute          increments. And remember: there is          no margin for error.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              67.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          If you pick up the twins, the          drycleaning and the diaper cream          but forget the organic quince paste          from that little place on Abbot          Kinney, everyone still hates you.          You have to be perfect.          INT. WHOLE FOODS SUPERMARKET -- DAY          Dave walks Mitch through Whole Foods with a cart, selecting          various items from the list.                         DAVE          This is called a grocery store. You          buy food here. Before heading to          the market, always call Jamie first          and ask her if she needs anything.          In fact, before you make anV          decisions in your life, no matter          how small, call your wife first.          Think of yourself as a retarded          mule lost in the desert: helpless,          dumb, and in constant need of          direction. Never take initiative,          never strike out on your own, never          deviate from the plan: you are          always wrong. You are a retarded          mule lost in the desert.          INT. DAVE'S AUDI STATION WAGON -- DAY          They drive down the street, the car packed with groceries.                         DAVE          When you're with Jamie, you should          always be doing one of three          things: asking her permission,          complimenting her, or begging her          forgiveness. It doesn't matter if          she already said you could go to          poker night, or if she looks like          fucking Mothra in that dress, or if          you didn't do anything wrong.          Permission, compliments, apologies.          That's all anyone wants to hear out          of a husband's mouth. Here, let's          practice: what's your favorite          joke?                         MITCH          Umm...? A rabbi, a priest--?          BAM! Dave punches Mitch in the nuts.                                                                                                              68.                         DAVE          Trick question! No one fucking          cares! You're Dave Lockwood, boring          dad, you're not Jerry Fucking          Seinfeld! Shut the fuck up!          Mitch clutches his balls, hurt and scared...          INT. PRE-SCHOOL CLASSROOM -- DAY          Dave and Mitch, wearing sombreros, sit behind a tiny desk in          this colorful pre-school classroom, preparing the healthy          snacks they just purchased for Cara and her rowdy CLASSMATES.                         DAVE          These are called children, or          dependents. Never disparage your          own children -- everything they do          is a miracle from God. When they're          bad, it's only because they're          tired or going through a phase.          When other people's kids are bad,          however, it's because of indulgent          parenting or innate defects in the                         CHILD'S CHARACTER--          A cute little BOY snatches three apple slices.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          One a piece, please, Dylan.                         (TO MITCH)          Kid's a natural born criminal. If          he sees 18, it'll be from the          inside a jail cell.          INT. DAVE'S OFFICE -- DAY          Dave walks Mitch through the office.                         DAVE          This is called an office, or work.          Think about whatever you most want          to do here, and then do the exact          opposite. You want to go home          early? Great: stay all night.          Hungry? Cool: don't eat. Think your          boss is a total douche? Terrific:          invite him to join your fantasy          baseball league.          A cute ASSOCIATE walks by and Mitch overtly eye-fucks her all          the way past. Dave nut-punches him again.                                                                                                              69.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          You're married now, jackass! You          can't look at other women, you          can't talk to other women, you          can't even be interesting around          other women! Do everything in your          power to de-sexualize yourself --          wear a fannypack, drive a Passat,          affix electronic devices to your          belt -- whatever it takes. If          you're forced to interact with a          woman, quickly find a way to          mention that you're married. It          doesn't even have to make sense.          Just be like "Nice weather today,          I'm totally fucking married."                         MITCH          Wait, so I can't sleep with my wife          and I can't sleep with other women?          What is that?                         DAVE          It's called marriage.          Dave turns into his office, nodding at his mean secretary.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Good morning, Gladys.          She scowls at him, confused, who's this guy? Then Mitch          passes and wiggles his tongue at her, simulating cunnilingus.          The old lady GASPS, appalled...          INT. DAVE'S OFFICE -- CONTINUOUS          They enter Dave's office.                         DAVE          Do you have any other questions?                         MITCH          Yeah -- when's your free time?                         DAVE          (COCK-PUNCHING him again)          Have you been listening to one word          I've said?! There is no fucking          free time! You don't have a life          anymore! You don't have a          personality, or an identity, or a          point of view! You are a dad!                         (MORE)                                                                                                              70.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Your job is to allocate resources,          to shuttle children from A to B, to          deliver food at appropriate          intervals, to clean up, to break          down, to construct, to repair, to          finance, to sooth, to make everyone          else happy, okay? And when your day          is done, you know what you get?                         MITCH          Dry handjob?                         DAVE          Nothing! You're not single anymore!          No one gives you a cupcake every          time you hold the door or speak in          complete sentences, it's expected          of you now, so grow up!                         MITCH          Okay, can I just say something          without you punching my cock?          (Dave inhales, go)          I think you might be taking some of          this adult shit a little seriously--          VOICE AT THE DOOR          Knock knock?          Both men turn to see Sabrina in the doorway, looking lovely          in a short skirt suit, holding documents. Mitch straightens.                         MITCH          HELL-lo legs.                         SABRINA          Yes...um...sort of big news.                         MITCH          (solicitous, creepy)          Please, come in! Coffee? Scotch?                         SABRINA          (entering, tentative)          No... thanks? Anyway, Kinkabe and          Amalgamated have agreed to go into          binding mediation in two days.                         DAVE          Two days? Are you kidding me?!          Sabrina glances at Dave, confused, no idea who he is.                                                                                                              71.                         SABRINA          N-No? Anyway, I'll have my briefs          on your desk by tonight.                         MITCH          (stretching leg on desk)          And I'll have my briefs on your          chin by tomorrow morning--                         DAVE          And that is Level 4 Sexual          Harassment! Awesome! Thanks,          Sabrina, that will be all.                         MITCH          Oh shit, this is Sabrina?!          Sabrina looks at Dave, even more confused.                         SABRINA          Have. . .Have we met?                         DAVE          (shaking Sabrina's hand)          Oh. I'm sorry, no. I'm Mitch,          Dave's completely idiotic friend.                         SABRINA                         (SMILING SLIGHTLY)          Sabrina McArdle. Nice to meet you.          Mitch notices their chemistry and immediately blurts out:                         MITCH          You guys should go out!                         DAVE          What?                         MITCH          Yeah! You're single now, Mitch,          remember? And Sabrina is stone          fucking hot! Look at that body!          Sabrina: swimmer in college?                         SABRINA          Dave--?                                                                                                              72.                         MITCH          You two should go out, have a nice          steak dinner, go dancing at some          weird Korean nightclub and then          fuck on the roof, you know what I          mean? How's 8pm tomorrow night,          Richter's Steakhouse?          Sabrina and Dave stammer, sharing a terrorized look.                         SABRINA          Um, good, I guess...?                         MITCH          Great! I know for a fact that Mitch          is free, so he'll see you there!          And honey: wear something tight,          you know what I mean? Make it fun.                         SABRINA          Yeah...I'm gonna go now...?          Sabrina hurries out, appalled. Dave clutches his forehead:                         DAVE          Oh my god I'm so fucking fired.                         MITCH          No dude: you're so fucking laid!                         DAVE          You can't talk to women like that          at work! Or anywhere, really!                         MITCH          I'm sorry, I just got you a date          with the number one girl on your          Cancer List and this is the thanks          I get?                         DAVE          I'm not going on the date, Mitch.                         MITCH          Yes you are.                         DAVE          No. I'm not.                                                                                                              73.                         MITCH          Yes you are, because if you don't,          I will feed'your children non-          organic snacks and then introduce          them to my extensive girl-on-horse          pornography collection. How do you          think Jamie will react to that?          Dave just looks at Mitch, horrified.                         DAVE          Why...Why are you doing this to me?                         MITCH          Because I've seen your life and if          you don't loosen up soon you are          literally going to die. So go out          with this chick. Have fun. Bust a          nut. Remember why life is beautiful          again, okay? Please?          This actually gets to Dave a bit. He frowns, fine...                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Also, see if she likes to fuck on          Tuesday nights, because you owe me          a regular.                         CUT TO:          INT. PARKING LOT -- NIGHT          His work day over, Mitch strides through the parking lot,          heading for his car, cheerfully waving to various COMMUTERS:                         MITCH          GOOD EVENING! / HAVE A PLEASANT          COMMUTE! / WHAT A WONDERFUL BROOCH!          Mitch reaches his Audi station wagon when--                         VOICE          Dave?          Mitch turns to see his father, MITCH, SR. passing, smiling.                         MITCH          Oh! Hey... Mister ...Planko? What are          you doing here?          MITCH, SR.          My attorney's in this building...                                                                                                              74.          He notices the HUMAN STICK FIGURES on Dave's rear windshield,          labelled for each member of his family. He smiles at them:          MITCH, SR. (CONT'D)          Oh, what a neat idea!                         MITCH          Yeah, maybe if you're from Kansas.          MITCH, SR.          Your parents are very lucky to have          so many grandchildren.                         MITCH          (quick, sharp)          What's that supposed to mean?          MITCH, SR.          Nothing! Nothing. How are y--?                         MITCH          I mean, you still have a really          fucking cool son, right?!          MITCH, SR.          Yes, Mitch is definitely cool...          How are the twins?                         MITCH          They're fucking fine-- what the          fuck does that mean, "Mitch is          definitely cool?!"          MITCH, SR.                         (TAKEN ABACK)          Nothing. No, it's my fault... I          spoiled him rotten after his mother          passed away, but...          He trails off, clearly not wanting to talk about this.                         MITCH          But what, dude?! Spit it out!          MITCH, SR.          But now he's a total fuck up.          Mitch actually GASPS. His dad smiles sadly:                                                                                                              75.          MITCH, SR. (CONT'D)          I mean, he's a great guy, he's the          life of the party, but he has no          work ethic, he has no backbone,          he'll never build a family or a          career or anything of substance          like you have. He's... embarrassing.          Mitch stands there, mouth agape, just decimated.          MITCH, SR. (CONT'D)          Anyway, I'm sorry to go on and on.          How's your lovely wife--?          Mitch starts TEARING UP and fumbling with the car door.                         MITCH          Your son is not a fuck up, M-Mr.          Planko! He's just a late bloomer!          His dad looks utterly confused as Mitch gets into the car.          MITCH, SR.          Dave? Are you crying...?                         MITCH          I'm sorry, I'm just very close to          Mitch and when people say mean          things about him I hurt too--          He SLAMS the door shut and jerks out of the parking spot,          tears pouring down his face. His dad watches on, bewildered.          INT. DAVE'S CAR -- NIGHT          Mitch angrily drives home, trying to stop crying.                         MITCH          Fuck! Fuck...          And then Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" comes on the radio.          Mitch's expression slowly turns to steely determination...                         CUT TO:                         BLACK STILLNESS          As "Eye of the Tiger" continues playing, we hear a baby          SCREAM BLOODY MURDER. Then we hear a second baby join in.          Finally, we hear the worst two words a parent can ever hear:                         JAMIE                         YOUR TURN--                                                                                                              76.          Mitch sits bolt upright in bed like Rambo, totally awake, his          jaw set, and bounds out of bed...          INT. NURSERY -- NIGHT          Mitch aggressively changes the twins' diapers. He's doing a          terrible job, but he's focussed, working hard...          INT. KITCHEN -- NIGHT          Mitch assembles two baby bottles as the twins sit in the sink          SCREAMING. He SCREAMS back at them...          INT. DEN -- NIGHT          Mitch sits erect on the couch like a Navajo warrior, feeding          the twins, his eyes afire...          INT. DAVE'S CAR -- THE NEXT MORNING          Wearing fingerless driving gloves, Mitch races the twins to          day care. He looks like the fucking Transporter...          INT. STEEL, KUHBACH, MCCLOUD -- LAW FIRM -- MORNING          Mitch blows into the office, looking sharp in a business          suit. He points at other lawyers, amped up, not smiling.                         MITCH          LET'S DO SOME LAW, GUYS! GET SOME!          His old secretary Gladys falls in step with him.                         GLADYS                         GOOD MORN--                         MITCH          I need the book CORPORATE LAW FOR          DUMMIES, every season of Law &          Order on DVD and Blu-Ray, and the          biggest fucking coffee you can          carry on my desk in 15 minutes or          else you're fired.          Gladys writes this down on a pad of paper, a bit turned on...                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Also get yourself a new haircut and          a pair of six inch stripper shoes.          It's time to take this shit to the          next level.                                                                                                              77.          INT. DAVE'S OFFICE -- LATER          Mitch studies a legal casebook while chugging coffee. Law &          Order plays on the TV in the background. Then an ALARM sounds          on his desk and he races out of his office, all business...          INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE -- DAY          Mitch hurries into the pediatrician's office, talking on his          BlackBerry phone, a twin in each arm, a cigarette dangling          from his mouth. The RECEPTIONIST frowns. Mitch makes the          universal "jerking off" motion with his hand...          INT. SUPERMARKET -- DAY          Mitch races through the supermarket with a cart, grabbing          items off the shelves like Supermarket Sweeps...          INT. AUDITORIUM -- DAY          Mitch jogs into the crowded auditorium and sits next to          Jamie. The ballet recital is already in progress...          ONSTAGE, two dozen adorable little BALLERINAS in pink tutu's          pile and jete about...          Jamie points out little Cara in pigtails. Mitch smiles.                         MITCH          Fuck me she's cute...                         JAMIE          Uh oh, here comes the second          battement glisse...          Jamie tenses up. Mitch does too...          As Cara starts her spin, Nicolette Peters goes to push her          over -- and Cara calmly grabs her arm, FLIPS her over her          shoulder, and drops her flat on her back with a loud WHAM!          As Nicolette starts CRYING, Cara calmly continues dancing          like nothing happened. The other girls on stage look pleased.          Mitch CLAPS and WHISTLES:                         MITCH          FUCK YEAH! NICE ONE, CARA!          Jamie hits him, SHE, but is clearly proud of her little girl.          A dozen rows ahead of them, NICOLETTE'S FATHER -- a huge          former linebacker -- leaps up, outraged:                                                                                                              78.                         NICOLETTE'S FATHER          HEY! THAT GIRL JUST FLIPPED MY          DAUGHTER!          Mitch hops up, equally fired up.                         MITCH          THAT'S BECAUSE YOUR DAUGHTER IS A          FUCKING CUNT!          The entire auditorium SILENCES. Nicolette's father turns.                         NICOLETTE'S FATHER          WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!                         MITCH          YOU HEARD ME, PAL! YOUR DAUGHTER          HAD IT COMING!          Nicolette's father, his face beet red, starts climbing over          people and seats, insanely gunning for Mitch!                         NICOLETTE'S FATHER          YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!                         JAMIE          Honey--?.                         MITCH          BRING IT, FUCK-NUTS!          Mitch bounds over the seats, charging right back at him!          ON STAGE Mrs. Kleinmen and all the little ballerinas stand          frozen, mouths agape, watching Mitch and Nicolette's father          claw their way over seats, trying to get to each other!                         MITCH (CONT'D)          I'M GONNA RIP YOUR FUCKING FACE OFF-          WHAM! Nicolette's dad levels him OUT OF FRAME as we                          CUT TO:          INT. JAMIE'S BMW STATION WAGON -- EVENING          Jamie drives along, a slight smile on her face. Mitch sits          shotgun, battered and beaten, holding an ice pack to his          cheek. Cara sits in her carseat in the back, a bit stunned.                         JAMIE          Well, looks like you won't be doing          ballet at the rec center anymore.                                                                                                              79.                         CARA          That's okay. I didn't really like          it anyway.                         MITCH          Where'd you learn to ninja-flip a          girl like that?                         CARA          The internet.                         MITCH          Good girl. So what'd we learn from          this?                         CARA          Always solve my problems with          violence.                         MITCH          That's right, baby. Bones.          They bump fists. Jamie is stunned.                         JAMIE          What?! No, angel, that's exactly          the wrong lesson. You should never          use violence, except to defend          yourself, okay?          Mitch subtly shakes his head at Cara, don't listen to her.                         MITCH          Violence is cool.                         JAMIE          Dave!                         MITCH          I'm kidding!                         (TO CARA)          I'm not kidding.          Cara GIGGLES in the backseat. Jamie can't help but laugh too.          Soon they're all LAUGHING. It's a nice moment.                         CARA          I love you, Daddy...                         MITCH                         (SURPRISED)          Oh. I-I love you too, angel.                                                                                                              80.          Jamie smiles over at Mitch...          TIGHT ON MITCH as he feels the family love for the first          time. He looks touched... even a little proud...          Then his cell phone rings. He answers it:                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Lockwood.          DAVE (ON PHONE)          I haven't been on a first date in          over a decade and I'm drowning in          my own fear--!                         MITCH          Don't move. I'll be right over.          SMASH CUT TO:          MITCH KICKING OPEN THE DOOR          of his old apartment to find Dave, in khaki's and a pressed          buttondown, freaking out in the mirror--                         DAVE          How do I look?!                         MITCH          Like a fucking tool. Step aside--          Mitch throws open the closet and yanks out a pair of jeans.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          These are called jeans. They've          been very popular with our nation's          young people for over 60 years. Put          them on immediately.                         DAVE          Jeans? To a restaurant?          Mitch punches Dave in the nuts; he doubles over.                         MITCH          Shut up and do what I say. We only          have 3 hours to make you cool...                         CUT TO:          INT. MITCH'S BATHROOM          Mitch shows Dave how to put gel into his hair.                                                                                                              81.                         MITCH          This is called gel, or product. Use          too little and you look like a          pedophile Cub Scout leader, use too          much and you look Persian. Neither          is a winning hand.          Dave very nervously applies gel to his hair...          INT. MITCH'S SHOWER STALL          Dave stands with his pants around his ankles as Mitch very          delicately shaves his balls with a Bic razor.                         MITCH          Okay, normally I would never do          this for another man, but since          we're in a rush, and technically          this is my testicle bag, I'm making          a rare exception. Always man-scape          before a first date. It shows a          lady that you're clean,          considerate, and American.                         DAVE                         IT TICKLES--                         MITCH          Don't speak, it jiggles your sack.          EXT. EXOTIC MOTORCARS -- EVENING          Exotic sells the most pimped-out used cars in LA. Mitch          SQUEALS off the lot in a RED FERRARI and cruises down the          Sunset Strip, music BLASTING. Dave sits shotgun, stunned.                         DAVE          I can't believe you just charged a          Ferrari to my Discover Card.                         MITCH          You need to learn to be          spontaneous, Dave. Chicks like          spontaneous.          (to WOMEN walking by)          Hey ladies! Show us your tits!          They flip him off. Mitch laughs. Dave is still floored:                         DAVE          What are we gonna tell Jamie...?                                                                                                              82.                         MITCH          Do me a favor, Dave. Relax your          butt hole.                         DAVE          What?                         MITCH          Your sphincter. Just... release it.          Dave's entire body visibly relaxes a bit.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          You didn't even know it was          puckered, right? Now recline your          seat a bit...                         (DAVE RECLINES)          Good. Now take some deep breaths.          (Dave does, calming)          Now give me your sunglasses.          Dave gives him his sunglasses; Mitch chucks them out the          window and hands him his cool Ray Ban's.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Now, just for like three minutes,          don't be a dad, don't be a husband,          don't be a lawyer, just be a dude          rolling down Sunset strip in a          fucking Ferrari with his best          friend listening to Seal, okay?          Dave looks out the window, getting into it...                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Feels good, right?          After a moment, a TEAR escapes from under Dave's shades.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          It's okay, just let it out.                         DAVE          It's been so long since I felt          cool...                         MITCH          I know, baby. I know.          They cruise for a bit longer, then Mitch pulls into a CAR          WASH. Dave looks confused.                                                                                                              83.                         DAVE          Why are we washing the car? It's          brand new.                         MITCH          We're not washing the car, David.          We're getting you mentally,          physically, and spiritually ready          for your date. Come on.          INT. CAR WASH -- LOBBY -- MOMENTS LATER          Mitch and a very confused Dave enter the car wash lobby.                         MITCH          Now. I don't have time to cover all          the ways in which women have          changed since you last dated...          Mitch stops at the register to pay. Various CAR WASH          EMPLOYEES keep saying hi to Dave, weirding him out.          CAR WASH EMPLOYEES          Hola, Mitch! / Como esta, Mitch?!                         MITCH          The bottom line is: the internet          has revolutionized everything.                         DAVE          You mean like J-date?                         MITCH          Fuck J-date. No. The internet has          changed chicks in three major ways:          first, access and acceptance of          pornography has commoditized women          and pressured them into becoming          sluttier at far younger ages, which          is awesome.          Mitch finishes paying and continues through the car wash.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Second: text messaging has de-          stigmatized the booty call. Call a          girl at 3 in the morning for sex          and it's creepy. Text her "SUCK          WANG MIDNIGHT??" and it's classy. I          have no idea why, but again, an          awesome development.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              84.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Third: Facebook and other social          networking sites have falsely          convinced people -- women included          -- that they are funny,          interesting, and unique. Get used          to listening waaay more than you          used to. Chicks are the new dudes,          they talk about themselves all the          fucking time now. Practice saying          things like "you are so different"          and "no, really, what Golden Girl          would you be?" and "I love Lady          Gaga too."                         DAVE          What's a Lady Gaga?                         MITCH          I don't know, it's either a pop          singer or an energy drink.          They arrive at the CAR WASH WAITING AREA. People sit around,          waiting for their cars, many of them young, female, and cute.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Okay, let's talk to some honeys,          get your flow going again.                         DAVE          So wait, why are we at a car wash?                         MITCH          The girls are alone, bored, and old          enough to drive -- it's a goldmine.          I run game here four to seven times          a week. Now go on, bust a move.                         DAVE          Come on, I talk to women all the          time, I don't need to practice.                         MITCH          Really.                         DAVE          Yes. And no offense, as a married          man, I probably know how to talk to          women better than you do.                         MITCH          Reall v!                                                                                                              85.                         DAVE          Yes! It's not that hard. They just          want to be respected and listened          to like everybody else.                         MITCH          Okay Daddy Day Care show me how          it's done then! Shit!          Dave sighs and crosses to a CUTE BLONDE texting nearby. As he          draws closer, however, he starts to tense up...soon he's          sweating... it's been a long time ...by the time he finally          reaches the blonde, his voice is ridiculously shrill:                         DAVE          Hello there what's your name?!          She doesn't even look up from her BlackBerry. Dave's          confidence instantly crumbles...                         DAVE (CONT'D)          I-I'm sorry, I'm not trying to hit          on you. I'm just...I mean, I'm          married, so that's not even a          thing. W-W-Where are you from--?          Mitch appears and yanks him away. Dave looks traumatized:                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Was she reaching for her rape          whistle?                         MITCH          Shake it off. Being single is like          the Tour De France: it's all about          quick recovery time. Now go on, get          your groove back, you're meeting          Sabrina in a half hour.                         QUICK CUTS:          Of Dave trying to chat up various YOUNG WOMEN at the carwash.                         DAVE          Your name is Dora? Like the          Explorah?! No...? You aren't          familiar with that show...?                                                                                                              86.          ANOTHER YOUNG WOMAN                         DAVE          (trying to be sexy)          So: what school district do you          live in?          ANOTHER YOUNG WOMAN                         DAVE          Yikes, what do your parents think          of all those piercings?!          ANOTHER YOUNG WOMAN                         DAVE          .and that's the difference          between a stroller and a pram.                         YOUNG WOMAN          My car's ready.          The YOUNG WOMAN races off towards her newly cleaned car. Dave          slumps, shit. Mitch nods, looking at his watch.                         MITCH          Forty seconds. Not bad. Your times          are improving.                         DAVE          I forgot how hard it is to be          single...                         MITCH          As a general rule, when you're          talking to single women,          conversation topics to avoid          include: your wife, your children,          your favorite playgrounds, and The          Wiggles...          Dave nods, hating himself. Mitch heads for the Ferrari.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          But this was good. You worked out          all your bad game and now you're          ready to dominate. Come on.                         CUT TO:          INT. FERRARI -- NIGHT          Mitch rockets down Sunset Boulevard. Dave looks nauseous.                                                                                                              87.                         DAVE          I don't feel good about this.                         MITCH          Relax: you're dressed cool, your          hair is crushing it, your ballsack          is taut and smooth, and you're way          better looking than you've ever          been. Just remember Uncle Mitch's          Golden Rule of Dating.                         DAVE          I know, always use an alias.                         MITCH          What? No. No, my Golden Rule of          Dating is always find the fun.          Think of it like this: for the next          two hours, you're stuck with this          chick. Doesn't matter if she's cool          or crazy or if she was born with a          vagina on her forehead -- you're          stuck, so make the most of it. I          dated this chick named Topaz once          who may or may not have killed her           father. Long story short, she          looked like 50 miles of bad road          and I wasn't interested, but I used          our time together to learn about          incest and the failures of the          American Appellate Court system. I          found it hugely informative, and          Topaz got caught up in my          enthusiasm and gave me a crying          blowjob on the car-ride home, so          everybody won. The point is: find          the fun for yourself and great          things will follow.          Dave looks horrified as they roll up to RICHTER'S, a chic          steakhouse.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Power hug.          Mitch hugs a still-speechless Dave...                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Now go on. Make daddy proud.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              88.          INT. RICHTER'S RESTAURANT -- A SHORT WHILE LATER          Richter's is dark, elegant, romantic. Dave sits at a candle-          lit table, anxiously folding and unfolding sugar packets.          Then Sabrina enters, looking stunning in a snug red dress,          and gazes around the restaurant. Dave's heart skips a beat,          and he waves her over. She approaches, smiling.                         SABRINA          Hey!                         DAVE          Hey. Hi. Hello.          He awkwardly goes to kiss her cheek while she goes for a          handshake. It's awkward/cute.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Oh -- whoop -- okay.          They sit. Dave stares at her, terrified. Then he blurts out:                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Do you like Googoo Lady?!                         SABRINA          What. . .what is that?                         DAVE          I-I don't know! I really don't!          Sabrina smiles politely and looks around for a waiter. Dave          winces, hating himself to the very core of his being...                         SABRINA          So. How long have you known Dave?                         DAVE          M-My whole life, actually.                         SABRINA          Annnd have you ever seen him act          like he did yesterday?                         DAVE          What, like a total douchebag?          She LAUGHS. Dave can't believe it. He loosens up a bit.                                                                                                              89.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          That's not fair. Dave...Dave isn't          himself right now. I hope he didn't          say anything to offend you...                         SABRINA          No. I mean, he totally did, but          it's fine. I have brothers.          Dave pours both of them a glass of wine, finding his rhythm.                         DAVE          So. You like working with Dave?                         SABRINA          I love it. He's the best.                         DAVE          Isn't he just?                         SABRINA          I.. .eh, nevermind.                         DAVE          No, go on.                         SABRINA          I actually used to sort of have a          crush on him, if you must know...                         DAVE                         (LAUGHING)          You did? That's so... ironic!                         SABRINA          I mean, he's married, so          obviously...                         DAVE          Right. Obviously. Well, I'm just          like Dave, only way more handsome.          She laughs. Dave smiles back, his confidence growing, as we          TIME DISSOLVE TO:          DAVE AND SABRINA TALKING AND LAUGHING          as they meander through the courses of their meal. We've          never seen Dave so animated and alive and happy...          TIME DISSOLVE TO:                                                                                                              90.          EXT. RICHTER'S RESTAURANT -- NIGHT          Dave and Sabrina exit the restaurant. It's a warm night.                         DAVE          Well, I had a great time...                         SABRINA          Oh -- are we done? It's only 2.                         DAVE          Right! No! What are we, lame          married people? Let's go to a          rave...or something? Do people...          still do that? Raving?                         SABRINA          My friend is spinning afterhours at          Foxtail, if you want...?                         DAVE                         (CONFUSED)          Spinning? Is that with the bikes?          Sabrina laughs and takes his arm.                         SABRINA          You're so funny! Come on!          EXT. FOXTAIL NIGHTCLUB -- NIGHT          A line of HIPSTERS wait outside Foxtail. Holding Dave's hand,          Sabrina cuts the line, kisses the BOUNCER on the cheek, and          he lets them inside. Dave nods, awesome...          INT. FOXTAIL NIGHTCLUB -- NIGHT          Dave and Sabrina get down on the sweaty, crowded dance floor.          The house music is deafening and the lights are hypnotizing          and everyone is having the time of their lives.          Dave, his shirt half-open, moves sensually in sync with          Sabrina, both of them possessed by the music. They're inches          apart and her dress and hair fly about in all the right ways.          INT. FOXTAIL NIGHTCLUB -- NIGHT          Foxtail is closed, but Dave, with Sabrina on his lap, sits in          a booth drinking champagne with DJ BASSNECTAR and all of his          ridiculously cool friends. Dave tells a joke and everyone          laughs -- including KIEFER SUTHERLAND, who's sitting next to          him; Kiefer slaps Dave five. Nice!                                                                                                              91.          INT. DOWNTOWN LOFT -- NIGHT          Dave, Sabrina, Bassnectar, Kiefer Sutherland, and a group of          hipsters play poker in Kiefer's unbelievable DOWNTOWN LOFT.          Music blasts, beer bottles litter the table, and everyone is          having fun. Sabrina wins a hand and does a victory dance...          EXT. WEST HOLLYWOOD STREET -- NIGHT          Dave walks Sabrina home along her quaint, tree-lined street.                         DAVE          Now that was a first date...                         SABRINA          For a guy with a poker table in his          living room, Kiefer Sutherland is          surprisingly bad at poker.                         DAVE          I know. I'm not even sure he          understood the rules...          She laughs. Then they stop in front of her apartment. Beat.                         SABRINA          It's so weird, I feel like I've          known you for longer than just one          night...                         DAVE          Yeah. Me too...          There's a lull for a kiss. Dave hesitates...so Sabrina moves          in and kisses him. It's sweet but passionate... When it's          over, Dave can barely speak:                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Can...Can, um, can I call you          sometime? Do people still say that?                         SABRINA          Yes -- and you'd better.                         DAVE          Okay. Well. Good night, Sabrina.                         SABRINA          Good night, Mitch.                                                                                                              92.          She gives him a thoughtful smile then disappears inside. Dave          waits a second, then does a victorious karate chop, YES!                         DISSOLVE TO:          A BEAUTIFUL SUNNY MORNING           Light floods into Mitch's apartment. Dave wakes up and looks          at the clock: 9:02.                         DAVE          Fuck that.          He rolls over and goes back to sleep, a smile on his face...          EXT. TOAST -- DAY          Dave sits at an outdoor table, reading a novel and taking his          time with brunch. He sees a BUSINESSMAN wolfing down his food          and running off to his car, yelling into his cell phone,          stressed out of his mind. Dave smiles and keeps reading...          INT. MITCH'S APARTMENT -- BATHROOM -- DAY          Dave sits on the toilet, reading his novel and taking a          leisurely shit. We hear the clean KER-PLOP of a solid poo          hitting the toilet water, and Dave closes his eyes, nice...          EXT. BATTING CAGES -- DAY          Dave, in a Dodgers jersey, tees off on baseballs in a batting          cage. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! It feels great...          EXT. JUNGLE -- MOVIE SET -- DAY          Dave, holding a cross-bow and wearing a loincloth, has fake          sex with his CO-STAR on a jungle set; their mid-sections are          conveniently obscured by a giant fern.          Dave is selling it, and when Valtan calls cut, the whole CREW          applauds, wildly impressed. Dave waves them off, bashful...                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. DAVE'S OFFICE -- DAY          Looking hip in jeans, flip flops, and a mildly ironic tee          shirt, Dave breezes into his office to find Mitch, in a          pressed suit, intently studying a legal casebook at his desk.                         DAVE          Well, well, look who's all growns          up.                                                                                                              93.          Dave crashes on the couch, happy. Mitch looks annoyed:                         MITCH          Really? Open-toed sandals at work?                         DAVE          Are...Are you kidding me?                         MITCH          Look, I can't hang right now, okay?          I've got the mediation in like ten          minutes.          Dave stands right back up, surprised and impressed.                         DAVE          Wow. Okay. Well, I just wanted t          tell you that if you can get a          protracted buyout for anything over          700 million dollars, take it, okay?                         MITCH          700 million, you got it.                         DAVE          (heading for the door)          Also, I wanted to thank you for          setting me up with Sabrina. She's          amazing. I can't wait to see her                         AGAIN TONIGHT--                         MITCH          What?! Dave: No. You can't, you          have to wait at least a week!          Dave reaches for his cellphone as he heads out the door.                         DAVE          Which reminds me, I wanted to call          to see if she got the flowers...                         MITCH          You sent her flowers after one          date?! Are you retarded?! Do not          get me into a relationship, dude!          Too late. Dave is already gone. Mitch scowls. Then:                         MITCH (CONT'D)          You can come out now, Gladys...          A second later, GLADYS, in a form-fitting suit and a sexy new          bob, crawls out from under his desk. Mitch zips up his pants.                                                                                                              94.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Look, honey, I don't think this is                         WORKING OUT--          Gladys YANKS him by the tie and gets in his face, wild-eyed:                         GLADYS          I haven't had sex in 34 years! This          isn't over tit I su e' it's over.                         MITCH          F-Fine, but can you please stop          following me to the bathroom and          calling my house late at night and          sending me all those filthy emails?          It's, you know, deeply disturbing.                         GLADYS          You need to realize something, boy:          (whispering in his ear)          I fucking own you now.          The old lady aggressively makes out with Mitch. Her tongue          roams from his mouth and madly licks his face, neck, and          forehead. Eventually they separate. Mitch looks stunned.                         GLADYS (CONT'D)          I left you a little souvenir in          your pocket...          She winks and exits. Mitch tentatively reaches into his          pocket and pulls out a giant pair of TAN GRANNY PANTIES.                         MITCH          I've created a monster...                         DISSOLVE TO:          EXT. DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES -- DAY          A line of limousines roll up to Dave's building and dozens of          stone-faced EXECUTIVES from both companies file out...          INT. LAW FIRM -- CONFERENCE ROOM -- DAY          KEN KINKABE and a slew of his EXECS sit on one side of the          massive conference table. Sitting across from them are CEO          TED NORTON, Mitch, Flemming Steel III, and a bevy of          Amalgamated execs. No one speaks. It's a corporate staredown.          Then the mediator, ERIN WALSH, 50's, enters, all business:                                                                                                              95.                         ERIN WALSH          Thank you all for coming. My name          is Erin Walsh and I will be          mediating your claim today...          Mitch makes the "I'm gonna slit your fucking throat" gesture          to Ken Kinkabe, who recoils, what the...:                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. SIDE ROOM -- LATER          The mediation has broken into two separate rooms. The          Amalgamated team sits in their shirtsleeves, waiting in tense          silence. PAPERS litter the table. They've been here a while.          A large tray of sandwiches sits half-eaten on the sideboard.          Mitch jams the last piece of a ham sandwich into his mouth,          swallows it, and holds up his hands, victorious!                         MITCH          14! 14 sandwiches and 9 Diet          Slice's! Pay up, cocksucker!          An EXEC gives him a 5 dollar bill. Mitch waves it in the air          and HUMS the Olympic theme song. Flemming just glares at him          like, you're so fired. Then the mediator enters.                         ERIN WALSH          Kinkabe agrees in principle to the          terms of the sale, and valuates          your company at 725 million          dollars. This is their last and          final offer. I'll be outside.          She exits. CEO Ted Norton looks at Flemming, intense.          FLEMMING STEEL III          It's a fair deal. I don't think          we'll get much more out of them...          The other execs all nod. Then Mitch BURRRRPS:                         MITCH          Fuck that, dude, you can do better.          CEO TED NORTON          I beg your pardon?          FLEMMING STEEL III          Shut your mouth, Lockwood--!                                                                                                              96.                         MITCH          Look, this is just like when you're          trying to fuck a Jewish girl and          she keeps saying "no, no, I don't          want to, I'm really drunk and          you're not circumcised" but then          she keeps making out with you and          not getting out of your Fiero so          you know she really does want it,          she just needs to be nudged a bit          more so she can rationalize it to          herself and to her God, know what I          mean? This is just like that.          Everyone in the room is speechless. Mitch opens another soda.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Jesus I do not feel good.          FLEMMING STEEL III          How is this...at all... like that?                         MITCH          If this was really their final          offer, they'd leave. Instead,          they're sticking around, which          means they have more money to          spend.          Ted looks at his execs. It's not a terrible point...          CEO TED NORTON          How much more do you think we can          get out of them? 10 million? 15?                         MITCH          Fuck it, homey, go for 100.          CEO TED NORTON          What?!          FLEMMING STEEL III          Do not listen to him, Ted, he is          beyond reckless! If we make too          large a counter-offer, we risk          driving them away.                         MITCH          Enh, can't hurt to ask. You          wouldn't believe the nasty shit I          get girls to do just by asking.          Honestly, it's revolting.                                                                                                              97.          Ted looks genuinely torn. He dabs his sweaty brow.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Seriously, does anyone have a          Pepto? Because I'm gonna throw.          Finally, Ted opens the door and says to the mediator:          CEO TED NORTON          Tell Kinkabe we want an extra 100          million and that is our final          offer, because we're leaving.          (loudly, to his execs)          Fuel the jet. Let's go.          The mediator heads off as the execs start packing up their          briefcases, bluffing. Mitch points at Ted.                         MITCH          Nice, bro. Way to show some sack.          CEO TED NORTON          You had better be right, son, or          else I am most definitely fired.                         MITCH          Hey, me too. Bones.          He extends his fist. Ted ignores him and gathers his things.          EXT. DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES -- A SHORT WHILE LATER          Ted Norton and all his execs hurry out of the building,          briefcases in hand, looking ashen. They head for their long          line of idling limos. Ted hisses to Flemming:          CEO TED NORTON          I can't believe we just walked away          from 725 million dollars.          FLEMMING STEEL III          For the record, I did not support                         THAT DECISION--:          VOICE BEHIND THEM          Mr. Norton?! Sir?!          They turn to see the mediator jogging out of the building.                         ERIN WALSH          Sir, Mr. Kinkabe has agreed to the          825 million. The deal is closed.                                                                                                              98.          A shocked CHEER rises up from the execs! Hugs and handshakes          all around! Ted pumps Mitch's hand, ecstatic.          CEO TED NORTON          Helluva job! I owe you my life!                         MITCH          Fuck it. Helping ridiculously rich          people become even more          ridiculously rich is why I go to          work every day.          CEO TED NORTON          Well, you are bar none the best          attorney I've ever worked with!                         MITCH          I am?! Fuck, I've never really been          good at anything before...          Mitch considers this a second, then laughs, proud.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          Gimme me a hug you tiny capitalist!          Mitch hugs Ted and lifts him off the ground, spinning him.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          I love you so much...                         CUT TO:          EXT. DODGERS STADIUM -- DAY          A perfect, sunny day game at Dodgers stadium. Dave and          Sabrina take their seats behind home plate.                         DAVE                         (AMAZED)          These are your grandfather's seats?                         SABRINA          Yeah, my family's been coming to          Dodger games since they moved here          from Brooklyn in '58.          Dave looks at her, his amazement only growing...                         DAVE          Really? Who's your favorite Dodger?                         SABRINA          Fernando, obviously.                                                                                                              99.          Blown away, Dave unzips his jacket to reveal a throwback          number 34 Fernando Valenzuela jersey. She laughs.                         SABRINA (CONT'D)          No way!                         DAVE          It's too soon to say I love you,          right? That's against the rules?          she laughs and kisses him.                         SABRINA          You're cute.          Smiling, Dave looks out at the perfect ball field, his arm          around Sabrina-he looks profoundly... existentially.. .happy.          And then his iPhone RINGS. He answers it:                         DAVE          Mitch Planko who the fuck is this.          INTERCUT WITH: DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON          sitting at her desk, talking on the phone and doing WHIPPETS          off a can of Reddi-Wip; twenty empty cans litter her desk.          DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON          This is Carla Nelson from the Los          Angeles Department of Parks.                         DAVE          Oh my God, hi!          Dave steps away to take the call. Carla does another whippet.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          What's.. .going on?          DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON          We found that fountain. It's in our          San Pedro warehouse.          Dave glances back at Sabrina... and winces, conflicted:                         DAVE          And... and how long is it going to          be there?          DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON          It ships out tonight for repairs.                                                                                                              100.                         DAVE          And after that?          DISTRICT MANAGER CARLA NELSON          (doing another whippet)          No fucking clue, dude.          Dave gets a CALL WAITING BEEP.                         DAVE          Right. Okay, well thanks, Carla.          (clicking over to other line)          Hello?          INTERCUT WITH: MITCH          He's walking down the hall of his law firm, on the phone, as          all of his peers step from their offices, APPLAUDING his          victory, slapping him on the back, shaking his hand.                         MITCH          You hear about the fountain?                         DAVE          Yeah... We should probably switch          back, huh?          Mitch high-fives a co-worker.                         MITCH          Sure. Right. I mean... the funny          thing is...I was just starting to          enjoy your life a little bit...                         DAVE          Yeah, and I was just starting to          enjoy yours, too...                         MITCH          Really?                         DAVE          Really.                         MITCH          So.. .maybe we should keep going--?                         DAVE          I'm so glad you said that.                         MITCH          I'm so glad I said that too! Your          life rocks!                         (MORE)                                                                                                              101.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          I just closed the Amalgamated deal          for 825 million dollars and for the          first time ever, people actually          respect me! It's so weird! Word is          they're going to make me partner          tonight! I love your life, dude!                         DAVE          And I love yours! All the free time          and the fun activities and I'm          really growing as an actor and I          think Sabrina might actually have          intercourse with me tonight!                         MITCH          Dude, you sent her flowers -- she's          gonna fuck you like a crack whore          on rent day.                         DAVE          So, wait, what are we talking about          here? Staying like this... forever:                         MITCH          No! Course not.                         DAVE          Right! That's crazy...          Beat.                         MITCH          Is it though...?          Mitch bumps fists with smiling co-workers...          Dave watches Sabrina CHEER after a base hit...                         DAVE          It's so strange, when the change-up          happened, we were so focussed on          switching back into our bodies that          we didn't even consider that this          might be exactly what we both          needed...                         MITCH          Yeah, we're fucking morons.                         DAVE          All right, well, see ya, Dave...                         MITCH          Take it easy, Mitch...                                                                                                              102.          They both hang up, surprised smiles on their faces...          SMASH CUT TO:          A DEAFENING THUNDER-CLAP          RAIN blankets Los Angeles that night. It's an epic storm...          INT. CUT RESTAURANT -- NIGHT          The private back room of this upscale Beverly Hills eatery is          filled with the esteemed PARTNERS of Steel, Kuhbach, McCloud,          as well as Mitch, Jamie, and little Cara. Everyone's dressed          to the nines and enjoying fabulously overpriced food and          drink. Then Flemming stands and DINGS his wine glass.          FLEMMING STEEL III          Good evening, one and all!          The room quiets as a PROJECTION SCREEN lowers behind him.          FLEMMING STEEL III (CONT'D)          We are gathered here tonight to          celebrate the newest partner in our          esteemed firm. For those of you who          haven't had the pleasure of working          with this brilliant young man,          we've prepared this short, mildly          embarrassing presentation to          introduce him. Please, enjoy...          Mitch looks at Jamie, who smiles conspiratorially. Behind the          table, Gladys turns on a projector. Some Dido song plays as,          on the SCREEN, we start to see PHOTOS from Dave's life...          FLEMMING STEEL III (CONT'D)          David Andrew Lockwood was born on          February 1st, 1974, in Palmdale...          SHOTS of Dave as a baby appear. Everyone AWWW's. Jamie takes          Mitch's hand...          FLEMMING STEEL III (CONT'D)          Dave was a sweet, diligent, hard-          working little boy...          A SHOT of boyhood Dave in a very dorky 70's Little League          outfit flashes onto the screen...          FLEMMING STEEL III (CONT'D)          In high school, Dave belonged to          over 17 clubs and teams, and          graduated first in his class...                                                                                                              103.          SHOTS play of Dave in 80's high school apparel, arguing for          the debate team, wearing a goofy beret at French Club, etc...          Everyone LAUGHS. Jamie smiles at Mitch, only he looks a          little troubled: this is not my life...          FLEMMING STEEL III (CONT'D)          After winning a full scholarship to          Princeton, Dave amazingly graduated          in just three years...          A SHOT of college-age Dave getting his diploma appears...          FLEMMING STEEL III (CONT'D)          And, after graduating from Yale Law          School with high honors, Dave          clerked for Justice Souter on the          United States Supreme Court...          A SHOT of young Dave talking with Justice Souter plays...          Around the table, the partners MURMUR, impressed. Mitch grows          increasingly uncomfortable, shifting in his seat...          FLEMMING STEEL III (CONT'D)          Shortly after, Dave returned west          to marry his lifelong best friend,          Jamie Anne Johnson...          SHOTS roll of Dave and Jamie on their wedding day, laughing.          Jamie squeezes Mitch's hand, a happy mist in her eyes. Mitch          frowns: this is not my wife...          FLEMMING STEEL III (CONT'D)          Cara came along first, followed by          the twins, Peter and Sarah...          SHOTS of Dave, wearing scrubs, happily holding his various          newborn babies in the hospital flash onto the screen...          Cara leans over to Mitch and whispers:                         CARA          Look, Daddy, it's you and me!          Mitch forces a tight smile, right...          FLEMMING STEEL III          And somewhere along the way, we          were lucky enough to find him...                                                                                                              104.          SHOTS roll of Dave as a lawyer, swearing in at the Bar,          arguing in court, and, finally, celebrating today's victory.          The image fades as the lights in the room slowly rise...          FLEMMING STEEL III (CONT'D)          Industrious. Ambitious. Honorable.          They were true of him then, they          are even more true of him now. It          is my distinct honor to introduce          our newest partner, David Lockwood.          The room breaks into heartfelt APPLAUSE.                         PARTNERS          HUZZAH! HUZZAH:          Mitch squirms, hating this... Jamie leans over to him:                         JAMIE          I'm so proud of you, baby. You          worked so hard for this...          Mitch winces, knowing just how wrong she is. All around him,          the partners stand, APPLAUDING. Mitch stands, a bit dizzy.                         MITCH          I-I'm sorry...I just...          He hurries off towards the bathroom. Everyone looks confused.                         CUT TO:          INT. MITCH'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT          Rain pours down outside. Then Dave and Sabrina, soaking wet          in their Dodgers gear, run into the apartment.                         SABRINA          Oh my god, I'm soaking--          (taking in barren apartment)          Wait, are you a single guy?          Dave laughs and throws her a towel from the bathroom. She          starts drying her hair.                         SABRINA (CONT'D)          I need a beer and some dry clothes.          When Dave passes her, though, she stops him, and starts          kissing him...                                                                                                              105.                         SABRINA (CONT'D)          Or maybe...mmm...maybe just a beer.          CUT BACK TO:          INT. CUT RESTAURANT -- MEN'S ROOM -- NIGHT          Mitch stands in the restaurant's upscale men's room, staring          at himself in the mirror, lost...                         MITCH          What am I doing...? This isn't my          life...                         VOICE          Good evening, Mr. Lockwood...          He spins to see Gladys in the doorway, vamping, sexy...                         MITCH          Oh no. Gladys, not now--                         GLADYS          (approaching, coy)          I'm not wearing any bloomers...                         MITCH          I thought we talked about not using                         THAT WORD--          WHAM! She throws him against the bathroom wall and starts          aggressively undressing him.                         GLADYS          What's bothering you, Mr. Lockwood?                         MITCH          Look, Gladys, I love bathroom sex          as much as the next guy, but--          She SPITS in his face, crazy-eyed.                         GLADYS          TELL ME WHAT'S BOTHERING YOU!                         MITCH          (wiping face, a bit scared)          O-Okay? Well, I guess what's          bothering me is...I didn't earn any          of this, you know?          Gladys rips open his shirt and starts licking his chest          downward until she disappears OUT OF FRAME.                                                                                                              106.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          And I know what you're thinking:          Mitch, not earning things never          used to bother you, why does it          bother you now? And the answer is:          maybe I'm growing up.          We hear the sound of his pants UNZIPPING...                         MITCH (CONT'D)          I mean, sure, I closed the deal          today, and that felt good, but I          didn't put in all the years of hard          work that got Dave to this point,          you know? Plus, those aren't my          adorable kids, that's not my          beautiful wife, you're not even my          freaky deaky old lady secretary. I          want to earn this stuff--          Just then FLEMMING STEEL III BLOWS IN -- and stops cold:          FLEMMING STEEL III          GOOD GOD MAN!          GO WIDE to see that Gladys is in the Reverse Wheelbarrow          position, her palms on the bathroom floor, her feet against          the bathroom wall, with Mitch between her legs, his pants          around his ankles. Mitch sees his boss -- and freezes.                         MITCH          Uh oh.          FLEMMING STEEL III          THE REVERSE WHEELBARROW?.          Mitch and Gladys disengage and straighten themselves.                         MITCH          Sir, it's not my fault--!          FLEMMING STEEL III          Have you forgotten everything you          learned in law school?! You can't          screw a direct hire! How can we          possibly make you a partner now?!          You're completely exposed--!          We hear a GASP from the doorway. Everyone turns to see Jamie          -- she's heard the whole thing. Mitch quickly zips his pants.                                                                                                              107.                         JAMIE          I thought you might be having an          affair... but not with Gladys:                         GLADYS          Age-ist.                         MITCH          Jamie, you gotta believe me, this          woman is a predator--!                         JAMIE          You know what? No. I can't do this          anymore. I want you out of the          house by the time the kids wake up.                         MITCH          Jamie--!          Too late. She runs off, choking back tears...          EXT. CUT RESTAURANT -- NIGHT          Fastening his belt, Mitch sprints out of the restaurant,          desperate -- but Jamie is already SQUEALING away in her car.                         MITCH          FUCK! Fuck...          He stands in the rain, overcome with self-loathing...                         CUT TO:          INT. MITCH'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT          Dave, in dry clothes, sits on his couch, happily drinking a          beer and watching SportsCenter. He calls into the bedroom.                         DAVE          You find anything that fits?          Then Sabrina appears in the doorway, wearing one of his old          tee shirts-and panties.. .and nothing else... she's unreal...                         SABRINA          This is all I could find...                         DAVE                         (WIDE-EYED)          Holy shit.          As she bends over to dim the lamp, her tee shirt rides up --          exposing her perfectly tan, arched back...                                                                                                              108.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          (hyperventilating, to himself)          Please don't come, please don't                         COME--          And then he stops short. On Sabrina's lower back is a cute          tramp stamp tattoo of a BUTTERFLY.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Oh my God: a Many-Spotted          Skipperlinq...          And everything comes rushing back. His family. His wife. His          entire life. He looks overcome with emotion...          Sabrina notices as she slides onto the couch with him.                         SABRINA          Is everything okay, baby...?                         DAVE          Yeah, no, I just...          Dave rubs his temples, overwhelmed...                         DAVE (CONT'D)          I can't do this.                         SABRINA          Why not--?          Just then the door flies open and          JAMIE STORMS INSIDE          soaking wet, hysterical, her mascara running all over.                         JAMIE          Dave is cheating on me!          Dave quickly covers his hard-on with a pillow.                         DAVE          No I'm not! I'm so not!                         JAMIE          How could you lie to me, Mitch?!          We've known each other for--!          Then Jamie sees scantily-clad Sabrina and stops.                         JAMIE (CONT'D)          Oh.                                                                                                              109.                         SABRINA                         (COVERING HERSELF)          Who is this chick?!                         DAVE          (stammering, pointing)          Umm...she's...uh...this just got          very complicated...                         JAMIE          I'm sorry -- I'm Jamie, the wife of          one of Mitch's friends.                         SABRINA          Wait, Jamie Lockwood? Dave's wife?                         JAMIE          You know the prick?!                         SABRINA          Yeah, we work together. He cheated          on you?                         JAMIE          Yes, with his secretary, Gladys!                         DAVE          What?!                         SABRINA          Of all the women in the office, he          picked her?!          Slightly awkward beat.                         DAVE          Look, Jamie, I didn't know about          Gladys, I swear. But I'm sure she          means absolutely nothing to Dave--!                         JAMIE          No! No more excuses! The next time          you see my asshole husband tell him          that I will never. Ever. Take him          back, you got that?!          Dave nods quickly, terrified.                         JAMIE (CONT'D)          Sabrina! It was nice to meet you!                                                                                                              110.          Barely holding it together, Jamie wheels and exits, SLAMMING          the door behind her. Dave just stands there, holy shit...                         CUT TO:          INT. DAVE'S HOUSE -- KITCHEN -- NIGHT          Mitch sadly packs children's snacks and Capri Sun's into a          duffel bag in the darkened kitchen, hating himself. Then:                         CARA          Daddy?          Mitch turns to see Cara, small and fragile in the doorway.                         CARA (CONT'D)          What are you doing?                         MITCH          Oh, angel, it's nothing. I'm just          going away for a little while...                         CARA          Why?                         MITCH          It's... confusing grown-up stuff--                         CARA          Try me.                         MITCH          O-Okay? Well. I'm leaving because          I'm a fuck up. Do you know what a          fuck up is?                         CARA                         (NODDING)          Like Uncle Mitch.                         MITCH          Right. Right. Well, I thought this          time was different, you know? I          thought I actually did something          right for once. But no, I'm still          the same old fuck up I've always          been. Only this time I really          fucking fucked up, because I fucked          up my life and my best friend's          life...          Mitch zips up his bag, full of regret -- and finds Cara          hugging his leg.                                                                                                                             CARA          I don't think you're a fuck up.          He crouches down and looks at her, getting choked up...                         MITCH          Thanks, sweetie, but your brain is          the size of a radish. I am a fuck          up. I always have been, and I          always will be. Guys like me, we          know how to have fun, but we don't          know how to do the important stuff,          you know...? Be good, okay, kiddo?          She nods, confused. He kisses her head and exits, emotional.                         CUT TO:          INT. BMW STATION WAGON -- NIGHT          The rain still pours down. Jamie, tears streaking her face,          drives home in stop-and-go traffic. Then, through her side          window, we see Dave sprinting alongside her car, waving!                         DAVE          JAMIE!          Not seeing him, she accelerates forward and Dave disappears          from view. . .until she stops, and Dave catches up again:                         DAVE (CONT'D)          JAMIE!          Still not seeing him, Jamie accelerates onto                         THE 101 FREEWAY          where the stop-and-go traffic moves only slightly faster.          Jamie continues quietly CRYING to herself... Then we see          DAVE RUNNING ALONG THE SHOULDER OF THE 101          in the driving rain, waving his hands and yelling!                         DAVE          JESUS JAMIE! LOOK RIGHT!          Finally, she glances over, sees Dave -- and startles:                         JAMIE          Mitch?                                                                                                              112.                         DAVE          PLEASE PULL OVER BEFORE I DIE!          Jamie, stunned, pulls onto the shoulder and stops. A second          later, Dave hops into the car, soaking wet and panting.                         JAMIE          What is the matter with you?!                         DAVE          Look, I know I haven't been a very          good husband or father recently...                         JAMIE          What are you talking about--?                         DAVE          But I'm done looking over the fence          for something better. I've seen          what's on the other side, and it's          great. . .and young... and supple...          but it's not you. And the truth is          there will always be another fence          with shinier toys on the other          side, but the only way to be happy          is to say fuck the fence and just          appreciate what you have, you know?          Find the fun with what you got...                         JAMIE          O-Okay?                         DAVE          I'm so sorry I stopped appreciating          you, pumpkin. I love you. And I          love our weird little kids. And I          can't believe I ever thought that          wasn't enough.                         JAMIE          Why...are you calling me pumpkin?          And then he kisses her. She resists--                         JAMIE (CONT'D)          Mitch--?.          But he holds her firm. And soon she's kissing him back,          confused and overwhelmed and crying...          It's emotional and intense for him, too. They finally          separate, but remain inches apart, breathing hard.                                                                                                              113.          Jamie stares into his eyes, amazed:                         JAMIE (CONT'D)          Dave?          Dave nods. Jamie squints, trying to understand.                         JAMIE (CONT'D)          But...how?          Dave shakes his head, I don't know...                         JAMIE (CONT'D)          So...then ...Mitch was the one...          with Gladys?          Dave nods again. Jamie looks relieved... Then she stops.                         JAMIE (CONT'D)          Wait, so who was that hot young          thing back in the apartment?                         DAVE          Nothing happened, I swear.                         JAMIE          Okay. But-we're going to need to          talk about this.                         DAVE          Yes. Totally.                         JAMIE          Like, a lot. Like, a-therapy-lot.                         DAVE          Absolutely: therapy, trust falls,          The Landmark Forum, Eat Pray Love,          I'll do whatever the fuck you want,          Jamie, I just want you back...          She smiles and kisses him again. And then again.                         JAMIE          I kind of like kissing Mitch.                         DAVE          Yeah, I noticed. I'm not sure how I          feel about this.                         JAMIE          (giggling, kissing him again)          So ...mmm...so what do we do now?                                                                                                              114.          Dave suddenly remembers the fountain and looks at his watch.                         DAVE          Oh shit! We gotta go!                         CUT TO:          EXT. LOS ANGELES -- NIGHT          As the rain tapers off, Jamie rockets through LA, running red          lights, skidding through turns, splashing through puddles!          EXT. DAVE'S HOUSE -- NIGHT          Jamie and Dave squeal up to their house to see Mitch, out          front, sadly trying to pack a Barcalounger into his Ferrari.                         DAVE          Mitch! Get in!                         MITCH          Dave?                         DAVE          Get in!                         MITCH          (squinting inside car)          Is that Jamie?                         JAMIE          Get in the fucking car, dipshit!          Mitch, terrified, sprints to the car and hops in.          INT. JAMIE'S STATION WAGON -- NIGHT          Jamie races through LA at 80 mph. Dave sits shotgun, and          Mitch sits in the back, wide-eyed, scared:                         MITCH          So, um, are you guys driving me to          the desert to kill me?                         DAVE          No. Jamie knows about the change-          up. We're all good.                         JAMIE          It suddenly makes a lot more sense          why you spent so much time rubbing          my breastfeeding cream onto my          boobs every night.                                                                                                              115.                         DAVE          Really, dude?                         MITCH          I was just...trying to be helpful.                         JAMIE          Oh, and what about that time you--?                         DAVE          You know what? I don't want to          know! Let's just hope we get to the          warehouse before they ship off our          fountain...          Off Dave's concerned look we                         CUT TO:          EXT. SAN PEDRO -- ESTABLISHING -- NIGHT          The Port of Los Angeles never sleeps. Huge diesel cranes load          and unload freighters as tractor trailers THUNDER to and fro.          EXT. WAREHOUSE ROW -- NIGHT          The street is lined with WAREHOUSES. Beat. Then Jamie skids          around the corner, Tokyo Drift-style, in her station wagon!          DAVE (O.S.)          There it is!          Jamie screeches up to a warehouse labelled L.A. DEPARTMENT OF          PARKS; she, Mitch and Dave pile out of the car and run into          THE IMMENSE WAREHOUSE          where they sprint down the towering aisles, past park signs,          swingsets, jungle gyms -- and finally, fountains.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          There!          Four WORKMEN pack the FOUNTAIN OF METIS into a large wooden          crate for transport. Jamie, Mitch and Dave run over to them.                         MITCH          Wait! Stop!          The workmen stop packing the fountain, confused.                         DAVE          We...We need that fountain.                                                                                                              116.                         WORKMAN #1          You.. .need this fountain?                         MITCH          Yes. We have to pee in it.                         DAVE          It's a magic fountain.          The workmen just look at them, deadpan. Then Dave reaches          into his wallet and starts pulling out CASH--          SMASH CUT TO:          MITCH AND DAVE STANDING SIDE BY SIDE AT THE FOUNTAIN          with their pants down around their ankles. Dave starts          PEEING. Mitch doesn't. Dave hisses at him:                         DAVE          Come on, open the floodgates!                         MITCH          I can't pee with them watching!          PAN OVER to the workmen, standing nearby, looking at Mitch          and Dave like they're total freaks.                         DAVE          Well I can't keep going forever!          Mitch tilts his head back and quietly sings to himself:                         MITCH          The sun is shining all the time,          Looks like another perfect day, I          love L.A. We love it! I love L.A...                         DAVE          Are you singing Randy Newman--?          Then we hear a second stream of PEE hit the fountain.                         MITCH          Oh thank god.                         DAVE          Okay, quick, we have to hug!                         MITCH          (glancing back at workmen)          Do we, though?                                                                                                              117.                         DAVE          Yes, we have to do everything          exactly the same! Come on!          As they scootch together and put their arms around each          other, Mitch calls over to the workmen:                         MITCH          Just so you know, this isn't gay!          Our penises aren't even touching--!                         DAVE          Come on: "I wish I had my old life          back" on three! One, two:                         MITCH DAVE          I wish I had my old life I wish I had my old life          back! back!          JUST THEN A THUNDER CLAP CRASHES OUTSIDE          The lights in the warehouse flicker. Dave and Mitch finish          peeing and slowly zip up, exchanging a worried look...                         DAVE          You think it worked?                         MITCH          How the fuck should I know?          (waving to workmen)          Thank you! Have a pleasant evening!                         CUT TO:          PEACEFUL BLACK STILLNESS          Then we hear a baby SCREAM BLOODY MURDER. Then we hear a          second baby join in, even more shrill than the first.          Finally, we hear the worst two words a parent can ever hear:          JAMIE (O.S.)          Your turn.                         FOLLOWED BY:          DAVE (O.S.)          YES!          Dave turns on the light, rushes over to the mirror, and          touches his face, overjoyed, clearly back in the right body.                                                                                                              118.                         DAVE (CONT'D)          Oh thank God. Thank God. Pumpkin,          it worked! I'm back!                         JAMIE          (groggy, half-asleep)          Great, go feed the fucking babies.           She rolls over and goes back to sleep. He grins and runs out.          INT. NURSERY -- NIGHT          Dave cheerfully sings as he changes Sarah's diaper.                         DAVE          You just vomited on my hand but I          love yooooou...          INT. HALLWAY -- NIGHT          Dave bounces down the hallway, a twin in each arm, SCREAMING          into each of his ears and taking turns kicking his balls...          and he's grinning. In fact, he couldn't look happier.                         CUT TO:          INT. MITCH'S APARTMENT -- MORNING          Mitch slowly wakes up in his empty apartment. He stares at          the blank walls, a little bummed...          Then he startles when SABRINA rolls over, looking ravishing.                         SABRINA          Last night was weird.                         MITCH          Wasn't it?                         SABRINA          So... are you ever going to have sex          with me?                         MITCH                         (SLOWLY SMILING)          Yes. Yes I am.          INT. DAVE'S HOUSE -- DAY          Jamie is cleaning up the toys in the living room -- when Dave          nuzzles up to her from behind, seductive.                                                                                                              119.                         DAVE          The twins are down for their nap,          Cara is watching The          Backyardigans...          Jamie raises her eyebrow, oh?                         JAMIE          It's Tuesday...                         DAVE          I know.                         JAMIE          It's Tuesday morning.                         DAVE          Tuesdays, Wednesdays, mornings,          late night, I'm like Denny's, baby,          I'm open 24-7.          She laughs, and he scoops her up and heads upstairs...                         DISSOLVE TO:          EXT. DAVE'S NEIGHBORHOOD -- DAYS LATER          The sun sets over LA. The MUSIC in the air and the cars          lining the street tell us that Dave is hosting a party...          EXT. DAVE'S HOUSE -- BACKYARD          A "CONGRATS ON GETTING A JOB, MITCH!" banner hangs from the          swingset. Kids race about as adults drink, eat, and mingle.          Dave, in jeans and a tee shirt, works the barbecue and talks          to Mitch, in a jacket and tie, as he adjusts his crotch:                         MITCH          I still can't get used to the whole          underwear thing. It's such a                         SUPERFLUOUS LAYER--          Just then CARA runs up and hugs her Dad.                         CARA          Hi Daddy!                         DAVE          Sugar-bug!                         MITCH          How's my favorite ballerina?!                                                                                                              120.          Cara turns, takes Mitch's hand, and flips him onto his back.                         CARA          I'm not a ballerina anymore, bitch.          She races off. Mitch painfully pulls himself to his feet.                         MITCH          Jesus fucking Christ...          Dave sees SABRINA, looking angelic in a sundress, chatting          with a circle of GUESTS on the patio.                         DAVE          So. How's it going with Sabrina?                         MITCH          Great. We just celebrated our two          week anniversary.                         DAVE          Wow. Good for you.          Mitch nods, proud, I know. Swigs his beer.                         MITCH          You think she's fucking Fernando          Valenzuela?          We see that the man she's talking to is, in fact, Dodger          great FERNANDO VALENZUELA, in a pimped-out white suit.                         DAVE          Maybe.                         MITCH          I'm oddly okay with it.                         DAVE          I can't believe they're family          friends.                         MITCH          I know. She really is perfect--          Just then TATIANA and KIEFER SUTHERLAND approach, wheeling          her newborn DAUGHTER in a pram.                         KIEFER SUTHERLAND          I gotta go feed her baby, but          congrats on your new gig, bro.                                                                                                              121.                         MITCH          Thanks, Kiefer. See you guys.          Mitch kisses Tatiana on the cheek and they head off.                         MITCH (CONT'D)          It's creepy that Kiefer Sutherland          is like way into other people's          babies, right?                         DAVE          Oh yeah.          Dave flips the burgers.                         MITCH          Thanks again for hooking me up with          the job at Amalgamated, man.                         DAVE          Hey, the CEO owed me a favor...                         MITCH          I think I'm really going to crush          it in corporate America.                         DAVE          I think so too.          Just then, MITCH'S DAD approaches.          MITCH, SR.          I'm heading out. Thanks for having          me.          Mitch, Sr. pulls his son into an emotional hug.          MITCH, SR. (CONT'D)          I love you, Mitch.                         MITCH          I love you too, Dad.          They break apart. Mitch, Sr. heads off. Then he stops. Turns.          MITCH, SR.          Hey Mitch...          Mitch turns.          MITCH, SR. (CONT'D)          I'm real proud of you.                                                                                                              122.          Mitch nods, trying not to show how much this means to him.          Mitch, Sr., heads off.          Mitch and Dave stand side by side, reflective...                         DAVE          Is it weird that I miss your penis?                         MITCH          Not really.          SMASH TO BLACK.
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+           byEd Solomon and John August  current revisions by        Zak Penn                             EARLY DRAFT                             August 11, 1999CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99FADE IN:EXT. THE BIG BLUE SKY - DAYA VIRGIN AIR 747 bursts through the clouds and levels off.INT. VIRGIN AIR 747 - DAYWe move through the FIRST CLASS CABIN. It's the regularmix of first class people: OLD MONEY in Gucci enjoyingfreshly baked cookies, a MILLIONAIRE in jeans and a T-shirt, BUSINESS PEOPLE relaxing after a tough day, and......a very nervous MAN.Shifty-eyed. Alone in an aisle seat, the emergency row.We hold on him for a moment, but not for too long. Thenwe continue moving into --THE COACH SECTIONStopping at the lavatory, the "OCCUPIED" sign switches to"VACANT" and...JAMES EARL JONES(or actually, a James Earl Jones type, who for ease ofdescription, we'll simply refer to as James Earl Jones)steps out of the restroom, in full African regalia:multi-colored dashiki, mufti (it's a kind of hat), theworks. He heads up the aisle towards --THE FIRST CLASS CABINWhere he is stopped by a --                         FLIGHT ATTENDANT           I'm sorry, sir. This cabin is           restricted to first cl...Mr. Jones now removes a FIRST CLASS TICKET.                         JAMES EARL JONES           Is this what you're looking for?She looks at it -- a little confused as to why he's justhanding it to her now -- but then she nods. As he passes:                         FLIGHT ATTENDANT           Oh, I'm sorry. Please. Is there           anything I can get you?                         JAMES EARL JONES           Scotch, blended. Straight.He continues into the first class cabin and toward --CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                              2.THE FIRST CLASS EMERGENCY ROOMWhere he slides in past the nervous, shifty-eyed man (hisname is PASQUAL) and sits by the window.After a moment, Pasqual quietly clears his throat andleans, slightly, towards Jones.                        PASQUAL                 (tentatively)          They say birds can't fly this high.                        JAMES EARL JONES          They say only angels can.Now Pasqual nods. Nervously begins to remove somethingfrom his pocket when they are interrupted by --                        FLIGHT ATTENDANT          Shall I pour your scotch?                        JAMES EARL JONES          No -- I'll take the bottle. Thank you.She hands him the airplane-sized bottle -- he waves offthe glass. She shrugs, leaving...Pasqual to resume what he was doing. Slowly, he removesa roll of Certs. He looks to Jones -- "Well? What aboutyour end of the bargain?"From within his dashiki, Jones pulls out a black velvetpouch. He hands it to Pasqual, who opens it to finddiamonds. A helluva lot of diamonds. Pasqual smiles.He hands the roll of Certs to Jones. It's not breathcandy at all, but a tiny roll of explosives, with a tiny,high-tech triggering mechanism.                        JAMES EARL JONES          Ah, c-5. The most dangerous          explosive material ever invented.          Hard to believe that this little          contraption could blow up ten city          blocks.                        PASQUAL          Be careful with it, huh?Both men smile.   Pasqual's very relieved that the deal isdone.Then suddenly, the lights blink out.Pasqual looks around, nervous. But it's just the in-flight movie beginning. Clouds, and a woman holding atorch.                                             (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                              3.CONTINUED:Columbia Pictures presents... David Spade and AdamSandler in "BOSOM BUDDIES: THE MOVIE."James Earl Jones shakes his head, rolls his eyes.                           JAMES EARL JONES             Another movie from an old TV show?                           PASQUAL             Well, what're you gonna do?                               JAMES EARL JONES             Walk out.                           PASQUAL             That's very funny.But James Earl Jones is dead serious.                               JAMES EARL JONES             No.   It isn't.Jones grabs Pascal in a headlock and turns toward theback of the plane, shouting:                            JAMES EARL JONES (CONT'D)             EVERYONE!   FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS!Now Jones does the unthinkable. Holding Pasqual tight,he yanks open the emergency door release.With a RUSH, the cabin decompresses.Panic erupts as air, paper and everything not belted inscreams out of the open door, including --EXT. THE BIG BLUE SKY - FALLING AWAY FROM THE 747 - DAY-- James Earl Jones, still holding Pasqual in a bear hug.They plummet, wind violently tearing at them. Pasqual'sfrantic SCREAMS doppler quite nicely.DROPPING WITH THEMThey continue to fall, gaining speed. Pasqual isterrified, but Jones doesn't seem worried. In fact,casually, he glances at his watch, and then looks --FAR BELOW THEM - ACROSS THE SKYAt the tiny black speck gradually grows larger in thedistance...CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               4.CLOSER - ON THAT BLACK SPECKIt's a jet helicopter. Its door opens, and now a SKYDIVER leapsout, helmet down, arms back, streaking across thesky in aerodynamic perfection, heading directly towardsJONES AND PASQUALwho are still plummeting toward the earth at terminalvelocity. Jones begins to let go of Pasqual, who SCREAMSand tries to clutch onto him, desperate.                        JAMES EARL JONES                 (over the rushing wind)          PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER. WE HAVE          COMPANY.                        PASQUAL          WHAT?Suddenly -- WHOMMPPPH!! -- the skydiver spread-eagles,stopping the wild dive directly behind Pasqual, andimmediately binds his arms and straps a parachute on him.All three are still free-falling.James Earl Jones nods at the Skydiver who, even under thehelmet and goggles, is clearly a beautiful woman.Meet ALEXANDRA "ALEX" MUNDAY, one of Charlie's Angels.She's a sultry bombshell -- a classic femme fatale --only she's playing for the good guys.She gives James Earl Jones a wink, then jerks Pasqual'srip cord and -- WHOOMPH. Pasqual's chute deploys. Heflies upward, leaving --Alex and James Earl Jones, both still falling.    Below theocean screams up at them. Not much time left.James Earl Jones pulls his belt -- and his mufti fliesup. It's actually a tiny drogue chute, deploying hisentire dashiki. His outfit hides a parachute rig.Alex pulls her own rip cord and -- WHOOMPH -- her chuteunfurls, and now...Alex and James Earl Jones gently float towards --EXT. THE BIG BLUE SEA - DAYA cigarette boat floats through the choppy water, agorgeous young woman expertly throttling up the growlingV-8.Say hello to NATALIE THOMPSON, Charlie's second angel.At a glance, she's the brainy-shy girl next door.                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 5.CONTINUED:But put her behind the wheel of any vehicle, and she'sunstoppable.Natalie glances ahead, maneuvering the boat perfectly underAlex, who drops on deck. Alex gathers her chute, then whips offher helmet to give her cascading mane a wild shake.Here comes James Earl Jones. Natalie guns the boatunderneath...a perfect catch. Alex helps him with hisdashiki-chute, and then all three look up...Here comes Pasqual. Natalie whips the boat around,catching him as he helplessly drops into the seats, stillbound, still scared out of his wits. He gapes wild-eyedat the two Angels, then whirls on James Earl Jones.                           PASQUAL             You crazy bastard!                           JAMES EARL JONES             I think you mean crazy bitch.With that, James Earl Jones reaches up and pulls his faceoff. Latex rips free, and standing there (without hisdashiki, James Earl Jones has a great figure) is...... stunningly beautiful DYLAN SANDERS, angel numberthree. She's the wild one.Pasqual's jaw drops as Dylan shakes her hair free, thenreaches in her mouth --                           DYLAN                    (still with James Earl Jones' voice)             Don't need this anymore.-- and extracts a voice-modifying chip.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)                    (now in her real voice)             But I sure could use this.And she pulls from her pocket the airplane-size bottle ofJohnnie Walker Black. She twists it open and downs it.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Damn I hate to fly.EXT. BEACH DOCK - DAYNow, MEN IN "FBI" WINDBREAKERS haul Pasqual away, two ofthem carefully handling the certs-explosive. A harmlessfellow pushes his way past them and onto the dock.It's JOHN BOSLEY, Charlie's lieutenant.                                                (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 6.CONTINUED:He reaches the boat, which Natalie ties off while Alexand Dylan neatly fold their parachutes.                           BOSLEY             Well, Angels, the experimental             explosives are back in the hands of             the government, and the free world             can breathe just a lit-tle bit             easier tonight, thanks to you three.Alex, Natalie and Dylan stroll from the dock onto the sand,each starting to unzip/unbutton/unsnap their action gear andhand it to Bosley as they continue walking.                           NATALIE             And thanks to you, too, Bos.                           ALEX             We couldn't have redirected the             flight path without your help.Bosley puffs, proud. He speaks over the ever-growingpile of chutes, body suits, goggles, the dashiki...                           BOSLEY             Nothing a little teamwork can't do.             At least, that's what Charlie's             always telling us, right ladies?                           DYLAN             Charlie will be joining us, won't he?                           BOSLEY             He sends his regrets. But he             wanted you to know that dinner is             on him, so feel free to celebrate.By now, the Angels have stripped off all of theirequipment, revealing eye-popping evening gowns.                           ALEX             If it's on Charlie, we will.The Angels share a laugh as they arrive in their sassyduds at a private beach club, where a WAITER greets themwith a tray of champagne flutes.They each take a glass, turn to each other and raisethem. Another Angels Mystery... Case Closed.FREEZE FRAME.    And the TITLE SEQUENCE BEGINS...                           CHARLIE (V.O.)             Once upon a time...                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               7.CONTINUED:THREE FOURTH GRADE SCHOOL PHOTOS FILL THE FRAME, side byside by side. These are three very different girls.NATALIE, with a page-boy cut and wearing a Catholicschoolgirl's uniform, sports glasses and braces; a bitawkward and gangly, even shy.ALEX, formally dressed with perfect pig-tails, issophisticated and self-possessed; a class act, even at ten.DYLAN, wild blond hair and faded T-shirt, has a jaded,street-wise smirk; even at this young age, her isolationand disillusionment are masked by seeming confidence.                           CHARLIE (CONT'D)             ... there were three very             different little girls.The triptych remains on screen.    Now it shifts into:VIDEO TAPE - THE THREE GIRLS (STILL IN TRIPTYCH)Now TEENAGERS, on HOME VIDEO.NATALIE, working the A-V equipment at school, hides herface in embarrassment, uncomfortable with the camera.FREEZE.ALEX, in riding gear, accepting her steeple-chase trophy.She knows where to look for the camera. FREEZE.DYLAN, smoking with her tough-girl friends in the girls'room of her reform school, is caught on camera. Sheflips it off. FREEZE.                           CHARLIE (CONT'D)             Who grew up into three very             different women.TRIPTYCH CONTINUESThey're all WOMEN now, in their early twenties.NATALIE, a research fellow at MIT (and beautiful, but notflaunting it) demonstrates a chess-playing computerprogram to a room of impressed advisors.ALEX, valedictorian at Oxford, passionately delivers heraddress to a crowd of rapt students, faculty and parents.DYLAN, in leather and a helmet, steps off a Harley. Shesees a punk with a mohawk slapping around his girlfriend.She decks him, then enters the back door of a seedy punk bar.                           CHARLIE (CONT'D)             With three things in common...CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                              8.TRIPTYCH ENDSWith photographs again. The women, as they are now:Natalie, Alex, Dylan. All gorgeous, all self-assured.                         CHARLIE (CONT'D)           They're brilliant. They're           beautiful. And they work for me.Now, FIREBALL EXPLOSIONS completely fill the screen.                         CHARLIE (CONT'D)           My name is Charlie.ANGEL SILHOUETTES appear, in flames.    New MUSIC kicks in.                        "CHARLIE'S ANGELS"...And a new title sequence takes over:VARIOUS SHOTS:   MONTAGE (OVER MUSIC)Credits continue as we watch the Angels in action (from,presumably, previous adventures...)-- A microscope-peering Natalie cuts a ruby, drops it ina laser housing, shoots a red beam.--   Dylan, wielding kendo sticks, spars with two Yakzuza.-- Alex side-kicks two baddies, spins, drops a third.ZOOM BACK: she is at the Parthenon.-- A motocross race. Natalie digs in for the finish,attacking the last jump with gusto.-- Dylan, in traditional Islamic robes, finds a secretswitch. She pushes back a bookcase to reveal secret stairs.-- At a ballroom dance competition, Alex wows the crowdwhile keeping her eye on a nefarious couple.-- Bosley, as "Luka, the Bad Ass Pimp," bitch-slaps acouple of "ho's" -- actually Dylan and Alex -- then winksat them as unsuspecting drug dealers back off, scared.--   Natalie bites into a messy hot-dog, has to just laugh.-- The three angels elbow their way through a roller-derby match.-- In orange prison jumpsuits, Alex and Dylan work infemale chain-gang.-- Window-washer Natalie peers into a skyscraper office,surreptitiously photographing the meeting inside.                                                (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                              9.CONTINUED:-- On an Italian street, the three Angels buy a paper,grin at the headline, "Mystery Women Save EuropeanUnion." As they high-five, Dylan's cone of gelato dropsto the sidewalk. The Angels look at it, look at eachother...and just have to laugh.TITLE SEQUENCE ENDS.OVER BLACK we hear a DIGITAL RING...INT. TINY HOUSEBOAT BEDROOM - DAYCLOSE ON Dylan as she wakes up in a tangle of uglysheets, disoriented and a bit hungover. She hears theRINGING -- where is it coming from? Why is it drillinginto her head?Checking the floor, she finds her jeans. Digs in thepocket to find her cell phone. Answering...                            DYLAN             Hi.                     (recognizing voice)             Hi.   Okay. I'll be right in.She clicks the phone off, then starts looking around.Where the fuck is she?From the next room, we hear a male VOICE singing "MySharona." She checks under the sheets. Oh God. She'snaked. She pulls her shirt from the floor, puts it on.Closing her eyes, she prays...                            DYLAN (CONT'D)             Not him.   Not him, not him, not him.                           THE VOICE             'Morning starfish.                            DYLAN             Oh God no.At the door, skinny shirtless CHAD holds a skillet of eggs.                            CHAD             Hungry?EXT. CHAD'S CRAPPY BOAT - DAYBlinded by the daylight, Dylan emerges from below,relieved to see the boat is docked. Chad follows heroutside, pleading...                         CHAD          C'mon Dylan. You + Me. It's          magic.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   10.CONTINUED:                           DYLAN             It's a mistake. A horrible,             horrible mistake.She jumps onto the dock.                           CHAD             Then how come we keep getting back             together? It's fate.Dylan just keeps walking.                           CHAD                    (yelling after)             Is it because I live on a boat?                                                  WHIP TO:CLOSEUP - MAN'S FACEThis is Jason Gibbons, handsome, action-movie stud.       He'sconcentrating fiercely.                           ALEX (O.S.)             If you don't defuse this bomb,             Logan, L.A.'s going to be a new             underwater attraction.A bead of sweat drops down Jason's face.                           JASON             Get off my back, Sanchez.   I know             what I'm doing.REVEAL ALEX, her face right next to his.                            ALEX             Which wire?   The red one or the blue one?                           JASON             Marix has a thing for red. Red             cars, red boats, red-headed hookers.                           ALEX             So the red one.                           JASON             That's why I'm gonna say blue.He makes a "snip" motion.     They both breathe a sigh of relief.                           ALEX             You saved the world again, Logan.She leans forward, closer and closer, right in his face.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                      11.CONTINUED:                              JASON             That's my job.Alex kisses him. It's a damn good kiss.          Jason's intoit, but pulls away for a second.                           JASON (CONT'D)             I don't think Sanchez would kiss             me. He's a forty-year-old man.Pull back to reveal...ALEX and JASON are in a fully macked out Airstream,sitting on a bed, leaning over an open screenplay. Wecan tell from our surroundings that Jason is a big dealHollywood action star, and this trailer is his home awayfrom home.She licks the bridge of his nose, then kisses him again.                           ALEX             Let's have it rewritten.As she smiLes, a cell phone RINGS. Both Alex and Jasonreach for their phones. It's hers.                              ALEX (CONT'D)             Hello?EXT. JASON'S AIRSTREAM - DAYJason stands in the doorway in his robe as Alex tossesher stuff in the back of a very excellent car.                           JASON             So when you coming back?                            ALEX             Not sure.   Whenever I can.      I'll             call you.                           JASON             Oh, great, that's helpful.                    (watching her prepare to go)             I don't get it, what kind of             executive assistant is on 24 hour call?                           ALEX             A very good one.                           JASON             You ask me, your boss is an asshole.                    (beat)             When do I get to meet this Charlie             guy, anyway?                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  12.CONTINUED:                           ALEX             Charlie's not very social.                           JASON             Yeah, well I think you should             quit.                           ALEX             Charlie needs me.                            JASON             I need you.Alex looks back -- that was more personally revealingthan she expected.A P.A. comes up next to Jason.                            P.A.             Mr. Gibbons?   We're ready for you             on the set.Jason nods, then back to Alex.                           JASON             I gotta go save the world.Alex smiles at the irony of that.                            ALEX             My hero.She blows him a kiss and speeds off.EXT. BEACH APARTMENT WALKWAY - DAYNatalie KNOCKS on the door to 113.      A beat later, thedoor swings open to reveal BOB.Natalie SCREAMS in astonishment.                            BOB                     (freaked)             What!   Natalie, what?                           NATALIE             I thought you were dead.She pushes past him.INT. BOB'S APARTMENT - DAYNatalie makes a beeline for his keys on the table.Starts taking one key off the ring.                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                     13.CONTINUED:                           NATALIE             I thought the police might be here.             Or your neighbors. Or your parents,             here to identify your remains.He has no idea what she's talking about.         She goes toTHE BATHROOM,where she retrieves a toothbrush.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)             I saw your car was here, so I knew             you weren't carjacked and brutally             beaten, left to die on the highway.Her cell phone RINGS.                              BOB             I'm not...She holds up a finger, just a sec.                           NATALIE                    (answering phone)             Hello. Absolutely. I'll be right in.She hangs up.                              BOB             I'm not dead.                           NATALIE             But you can understand why I             thought so. You missed our date             last night. You didn't call or             anything. I was just sitting             there by myself.ANGLE ON Bob.    What can he say?                           NATALIE (CONT'D)             I can tolerate a lot, but punctuality             and attendance, those rank very high             in my list of dating priorities.                              BOB             I can explain.Behind Natalie, a door opens.          A topless BLONDE looks out.                              BLONDE             Bobby?                            BOB                    (to Natalie)             I can explain.                                                      (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   14.CONTINUED:Behind the Blonde, ISAAC HAYES looks out.      He's also topless.                             ISAAC HAYES             Bobby?                             BOB             Damn.Beyond weirded out, Natalie just leaves.                                                   CUT TO:EXT. SUNSET BOULEVARD - DAYPassing cars reveal the one and only CHARLES TOWNSENDDETECTIVE AGENCY. That's what the sign says.INT. CHARLES TOWNSEND DETECTIVE AGENCY - DAYIn foreground, a blender WHIRRS. Still hungover, Dylancringes from the sound. Natalie pours out three fruitsmoothies for the angels.                           NATALIE             Just once, I want to date a normal             man, without a wife, or a drug             addiction, or bondage issues.                             DYLAN             Here here.She and Natalie toast.       Alex is only half-in. Off their look...                              ALEX             What?    I've got a great relationship.                           DYLAN             Your boyfriend thinks you're a             secretary.                           ALEX             That way, he doesn't ask about my work.Bosley walks in with a folder.       He eyes their drinks.                           NATALIE             I'm sorry, Bosley. I only made             enough for three.                           BOSLEY             No, that's...That's okay.It's not okay, but that's our Bosley. He takes his seatbehind his desk. Now we see the biggest addition to theoffice, the Angels Wall of Fame.                                             (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                              15.CONTINUED:Pictures of every angel, from the original cast members to somefictitious ones we've never seen before. The rest of the officeis exactly as we remember it, right down to theSPEAKERPHONE.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             Good morning, Angels.                           ANGELS                    (sing-songy)             Good morning, Charlie.The angels take a seat on couches and chairs.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             I'm sorry to call you back from             vacation, but we've got a case             that just can't wait.As he's talking, the far blinds close themselves. A whitescreen lowers from the ceiling, ready to catch theprojected VIDEO:A handsome MAN IN HIS 20'S in a CNN profile. The sound ismuted, be we see him attending a gala; in an office surroundedby computers; rock climbing; smiling in a sit-down interview.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D)             Meet Eric Knox.                           NATALIE             He's cute.                           BOSLEY             He is.Oops, did Bosley say that out loud?                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             He's 28-years old, and in three days             he'll be a billionaire, when his             company, Knox Technologies, goes public.                           DYLAN             It's good to be him.                           ALEX             So what's the catch?                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             Last night, Knox was kidnapped             from his own office.ON VIDEO: Surveillance camera footage of a parkinggarage. Two MEN IN HOODS shove Knox into black car.                                             (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               16.CONTINUED:                           NATALIE             Any ransom?                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             No one's heard a thing from the             kidnappers.                           A WOMAN'S VOICE             They don't want money. They just             want to sink our company.A striking WOMAN IN A SUIT stands in the doorway.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             Angels, meet Vivian Wu, vice             president of finance for Knox             Technologies. She's hired us to             find Knox.                           VIVIAN WU                    (entering)             The initial public offering is in             three days. If we don't get Mr.             Knox back, or if word gets out             that he's missing, the company             stands to lose a billion dollars.She seems to direct this next sentence right to Natalie.                           VIVIAN WU (CONT'D)             We need your help.                           ALEX             Charlie, where do we start?                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             Alex, I want you and Bosley to             stake out Roger Corwin.Bosley is excited to hear his name mentioned.ON VIDEO: Roger Corwin. He's an unpleasant-looking man,who's even nastier when he tries to smile. We see logosfor his company, Red Star Systems                           CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D)             For the past year, he's been             trying to buy Knox's company and             their new browser software. Knox             refused to sell. His company, Red             Start Systems, has the most to             gain from Knox's disappearance.                           ALEX             Kidnap the founder and you sink             the company.                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   17.CONTINUED:                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             Exactly, Alex. Let's keep our eyes             on Mr. Corwin, Angels. If Knox is             still alive, Corwin might lead us             to him.                            DYLAN             We're on it.                           NATALIE             Any chance you can join us,             Charlie?                                                  CUT TO:CHARLIE'S POVWe see his chalky fingers grabbing into a hand hold.We're halfway up the face of Yosemite's El Capitan -- theground is hundreds of feet below.                           CHARLIE (O.S.)             I'd love to, angels, but I've got             my hands full this morning.Two beautiful and buxomly CLIMBING BUDDIES smile at him.                                                  WIPE TO:EXT. PALM SPRINGS SPA - DAYEstablishing...EXT. SPA DECK / OUTSIDE WALKWAY - DAYBuilt into the Palm Springs Hills, this very exclusivespa has a fantastic view of the desert.Dressed in a crisp spa uniform, Alex has a sidebar with awhite-robed Bosley. She shows him a tiny electronicdevice shaped like a bullet.                           ALEX             This is a transmitter. I'll be             able to hear everything you say.                           BOSLEY             Where do I hide it?                    (leaning close)             I'll be nude.Alex takes a plastic cup, drops the transmitter into it.Covers it over with ice chips from a nearby bucket.Bosley nods, clever.                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  18.CONTINUED:                           ALEX             Try to get Corwin to talk about             the industry, Knox, anything.                            BOSLEY             Understood.She points him in the direction of the men's spa.    But he'sfrozen with excitement.                           BOSLEY (CONT'D)             I'm going undercover.                            ALEX             I know.   You'll do great.INT. MEN'S STEAM ROOM - DAYA burst of steam clears, revealing Bosley. He waddles forwardin his shower clogs, which SQUISH with every step. He's wearingtwo towels: one around his waist, and a second around hischest.As more steam dissipates, we see there    are SEVEN MEN sitting onthe risers. Six are gorgeous, ranging     from Calvin Klein modelsto Marlboro Men. Bosley looks around,     taking a keen interest.Maybe he's checking them out, maybe he    isn't. We just don'tknow.The seventh man is ROGER CORWIN, who we recognize fromthe videotape. He's leaning forward, a gold chaindangling. It's beside him that Bosley takes a seat.He sets the ice cup -- and the transmitter -- in astrategic location.Noticing that none of the other men have towels aroundtheir bosoms, Bosley nervously undoes his, revealing skinthe color of cooked salmon. He fluffs up his sparse chest hair,then decides to smush it back down.He tries to make eye contact with Corwin, working way toohard. Annoyed, Corwin finally looks over.                           BOSLEY             Hot in here, isn't it?Corwin shakes his head, idiot.                           BOSLEY (CONT'D)             Just came here to unwind a little.             Business these days is go go go. My             company just held an initial pubic offering.Yes, he said "pubic." He's about to correct himself whena very hot guy across from him moves his towel to wipe off                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                19.CONTINUED:some sweat. We don't see the promised land, but Bosleydoes. It flusters him.He sees another guy eating ice chips. Good idea.      Bosleydoes the same. He eats another. And another.                           BOSLEY (CONT'D)                    (re-composed)             So, what business are you in?Corwin seems wary, but Bosley is clearly harmless.                            CORWIN             Computers.   Software.                           BOSLEY             Computers, hunh? What do you know             about this new browser from Knox             Technologies?Corwin bristles at the mention.                           BOSLEY (CONT'D)             Word on the street is, once they             raise capital, they'll rule the             industry.                           CORWIN             I don't see that happening.                            BOSLEY             Really?   Why not?The door opens, a rush of steam. ADONIS HIMSELF enters.Picking a seat behind Bosley, he pulls off his towel ashe passes. We just see a bit of ass, but Bosley is face-to-face with the babymaker.One ice chip is not going to do it.    He chugs the rest ofhis cup, includingTHE TRANSMITTERwhich BLEEPS.    Corwin and others look over.    What the hellwas that?The device still in his mouth, Bosley has no choice but tosmile and swallow. His eyes go wide as he chokes it down.Corwin gets up to leave.                           BOSLEY (CONT'D)             Nice talking with you.Another BLEEP. He shuts his mouth tight. Smiles. Rubshis chest a bit, trying to get the transmitter down.CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               20.INT. PRIVATE MASSAGE ROOM - DAYCorwin walks into a lushly-appointed private massageroom. A masseuse dressed in a skimpy robe, her back tous, oils up her hands sensuously near the window.                        MASSEUSE                 (German accent)          Please to take off clothes, Mr. Corvin.Corwin gets under the sheet, on his stomach. Themasseuse turns around, and now we see that it's Alex.Alex starts to work on his back. She is clearly anexpert at this. This is a legit place, but there'ssomething undeniably sensual about the whole experience.                        ALEX          You're carrying a lot of tension          along ze fourth und fifth vertebrae.          Let me see if I can vork it out.Under the table, we look up to see Corwin's face in thecradle. He's in a tortured rapture.Alex works along Corwin's back and neck.   She pulls hisarms out to the side.                        ALEX (CONT'D)          The human body is an amazing instrument.          Just by activating ze right energy          points, you can improve ze circulation,          alleviate pain, or...Corwin goes limp.                        ALEX (CONT'D)                 (losing the accent)          ... knock a man unconscious.Confident Corwin is out cold, she slides the key strapoff his wrist.INT. EXECUTIVE LOCKER ROOM - DAYMaking sure she's alone, Alex uses the key to open alocker. She carefully sorts through Corwin's things,finding his Palm Pilot organizer. She clicks it into aspecial device, which BLIPS as it downloads all hisinformation.Putting the Palm Pilot away, she shuts the locker.INT. MASSAGE ROOM - DAYCLOSE ON Corwin as he suddenly wakes up, disoriented.                                               (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   21.CONTINUED:Just when we think Alex's plan has failed, we TILT UP tosee Alex is right there. She's massaging him.                           ALEX             You must have dozed off.A beat. Yeah, he must have.     A patented ANGELS FLIPleads us to...                                                   CUT TO:INT. NATALIE'S EXCELLENT CONVERTIBLE - DAYThe Angels are all in the car together, cruising downSunset Boulevard. Dylan drives, Alex in the passenger seat,Natalie in the back seat with her computer on her lap.                           NATALIE             Can you not drive my car so fast,             Dyl? I'm trying to type.                           DYLAN                    (to Alex, under her breath)             I drive too fast. Look who's talking.She pulls into an In N' Out Burger, right up to the drive thru.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Three double doubles, animal style.             Fries. Three chocolate shakes.While they wait for their order, Natalie punchessomething up on her computer.                           NATALIE             Here's Corwin's itinerary.ONSCREEN -- we see a list of all Corwin's plans for thenext week. Two events in particular stand out:     TUESDAY NIGHT -- INVESTOR RECEPTION, BILTMORE HOTEL     THURSDAY -- SAN DIEGO RACEWAYDylan glances over the schedule.                           DYLAN             Alright, we'll hit the reception tonight.             I only wish we had a clue to go on.The food comes, Dylan takes it.                           NATALIE             Hold that thought.                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                    22.CONTINUED:Natalie goes back to the computer again, slipping a CDinto the drive. Dylan hands out the food, spilling a lotof it. A big glop of chocolate shake lands on thekeyboard.                            NATALIE (CONT'D)             Uh, hello?   Expensive equipment.                              DYLAN             Sorry.Natalie licks the shake off her fingers, tapes away atthe keyboard.                           NATALIE             Check this out. New program I just             got from a friend in the Bureau. We             take that footage from the kidnapping...On screen, the footage downloads from the CD, into theprogram. Natalie fast forwards through it until shecomes to a shot of one of the kidnappers where his maskis partly pulled away from his face.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)             ... isolate the part of the suspect's             face that's revealed, then retriangulate             his bone structure...The program zooms in on the revealed part of his face,then runs a series of calculations. A new drawing startsto appear.                              NATALIE (CONT'D)             ... and voila!     We've got a composite.Natalie's portable printer spits out a simulatedcomposite of one skinny, bad-looking dude. Dylan grabsit, looks it over.                          DYLAN             Sweet. Now we've got someone to             look for.She hands it to Alex to inspect.                           ALEX             Oh yeah. He'll be easy to spot             with that open head wound.She turns the composite around, revealing that Dylan hassmudged his head with ketchup.They all just have to laugh.                                                   WIPE TO:CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  23.INT. BILTMORE BALLROOM - DAYA sophisticated reception is in full swing, an ocean ofsmart suits and power ties.Dressed as a catering waitress, Natalie carries a tray ofhors d'oeuvres. MOVING WITH her, we pass ROGER CORWIN, whotalks with another suit, and further on, a conservatively-dressed DYLAN who chats up a group of WALL STREET TYPES.                           DYLAN             The average investor sees technology             stocks as discrete entities, "This one is             up 50 points, this one is down 10." It's             only through derivative analysis that one             sees the real power of that sector.A few nods.    She makes a good point.                           BROKER GUY             Which analysis method do you prefer?On Dylan.    Shit.     She tries to stall...                           DYLAN             Well, there are so many options.             I mean, who can say what the one             best choice is?ACROSS THE ROOMStill walking, Natalie talks to no one...                           NATALIE             Keppler-Wilson.BACK WITH DYLAN                            DYLAN             For my money, Keppler-Wilson is a             strong choice.More nods, ad-libbed agreement.        The Broker Guy is impressed.Excusing herself, Dylan turns and subtly touches her ear,where she's wearing a hidden radio.                             DYLAN (CONT'D)             Thanks.AT THE BARNatalie loads champagne flutes onto her tray.                             NATALIE             Anytime.                                                    (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                     24.CONTINUED:                             MAN'S VOICE (O.S.)             Anytime what?She looks up to see a very cute bartender, PETE (26).She didn't realize he was so close.                           NATALIE                    (covering)             Anytime, day or night, I am... excited             ... to be handing out champagne.Oh God.   What did she just say?       But he smiles anyway.She heads back out into the crowd.       You can almost seethe big L on her forehead.BY THE FOUNTAINDylan has been watching this.        We INTERCUT between herand Natalie.                             DYLAN             He's cute.                             NATALIE             I'm working.                           DYLAN             Sixty-five percent of relationships             begin in the workplace.                           NATALIE             He's a bartender. I need dependable.             I need reliable. I need a Volvo man.Natalie walks past Dylan, not acknowledging her.        Dylansnaps her fingers.                             NATALIE             Miss!   Miss!   I'd love some champagne.Natalie comes back, a little annoyed. Dylan takes aglass for herself, then foists the other glasses oneveryone around her, whether they wanted it or not.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)                    (to Natalie)             Why don't you get some more?She nudges Natalie in that direction.AT THE BARWe TILT UP from a Japanese comic book to Pete.       Hesuddenly realizes Natalie is waiting for him.                                                    (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  25.CONTINUED:                             PETE             Sorry.He starts filling more flutes.                           NATALIE             What are you reading?He holds it up.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)             That's the new Michio Kazura.             That's not even out in America.                           PETE             You know Michio Kazura?                             NATALIE             Hello?    Warriors of the Broken Earth?   Classic.                           PETE             I know. I just moved back from             Tokyo. It was the biggest thing             since Haikiri Nomura.                           NATALIE             Tomuru nasgawa ishi Tokyo sen!                           PETE             Nagada quing-gong ni.     Ni zeru.Imagine that.    Natalie takes her tray and reluctantlyheads off.ON DYLAN                            DYLAN             Ask him out.   Ask him out.ON NATALIEShe turns and heads back.                             NATALIE             I'm Natalie.                             PETE             Pete.    Good to meet you.                           NATALIE             Listen, there's an animation festival             at the Egyptian this week. I was             wondering if you might want to...                           PETE             Tomorrow night? Eight o'clock?                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                26.CONTINUED:                           NATALIE             I'll meet you there.ON DYLANShe smiles, hearing the deal close. Pushing through acluster of investors, she bumps into a THIN MAN.                            DYLAN             Pardon me.He doesn't respond, but something about this man raisesher suspicions. Where has she seen him before? As hemoves out of earshot...                            DYLAN (CONT'D)             Natalie.   Nine o'clock. Thin man.ON NATALIE                            NATALIE             I'm on it.Spotting the Thin Man, she heads his way.                           NATALIE                    (offering)             Vegetarian spring roll?He waves her away, no. Oops, she drops a napkin in frontof him. She kneels down to get it.As we move in VERY CLOSE ON her tray, we see that there'sa tiny Digital display. A metal detector is built intothe rim.It BLIPS as she moves past his ankle. And again as sherises up past his chest. The man just keeps walking.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)                    (to earpiece)             Two guns. One ankle, one shoulder.                            DYLAN             You call it.                           NATALIE             You take point. I'll circle behind.                            DYLAN             Copy.INT. HALLWAY - DAYThe Thin Man is headed down the hall.    Looking back, wesee Dylan enter from the ballroom.                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 27.CONTINUED:                           DYLAN             Excuse me?He doesn't turn back.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Excuse me, do you know which way             the ladies' room is?The man takes a sudden right into a service hallway.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Why do they always run?She slips off her heels to give chase.INT. SERVICE HALLWAY - DAYThe Thin Man comes around the corner.       We stay TIGHT onhim, until he suddenly stops.NATALIEhas come around from the other side. His bad guy instinctstell him these women are working together. He's boxed in.And then, a DING!Elevator doors open beside him. He looks in to see the clue-less BELLBOY, who had a funky groove going on his headphones.In a single motion, the Thin Man yanks the guy out into thehallway and takes his place. Hits the button.From opposite directions, Natalie and Dylan run to theelevator, but the doors have already shut. Checking thepanel.                           DYLAN             He's going down.They take the stairs.INT. BASEMENT SERVICE HALLWAY - DAYNatalie and Dylan emerge from the staircase to find theelevator empty. To the left, exit doors swing tellingly.EXT. DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - DAYNat and Dylan smash through the exit doors and out intothe sun-drenched streets of beautiful, downtown LosAngeles. Natalie immediately spots the Thin Man, bookingdown the alley.                           NATALIE             That way.                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 28.CONTINUED:And they take off after him.What ensues is the fastest, wildest, two chicks and oneguy foot chase you've ever seen. Here are some highlights:-- Thin Man pulls himself, clumsily, over a chain linkfence. Dylan and Natalie pull an old Jackie Chan trickand run up the side wall and hop over easily.-- Thin Man, still on foot, waits for traffic to slow,then darts across the Harbor Freeway. By the time Dylanand Natalie get there, traffic is roaring again.Undeterred, they make their way through, tucking androlling under the wheels of a moving semi.-- Dylan is racing down an alley, when a car comes barrellingat her. She leaps up onto the hood of the car as it drivesunderneath her, a la one of those That's Incredible! stunts.-- They chase the Thin Man into an industrial laundromat.The scene goes something like this:INT. INDUSTRIAL LAUNDRY ROOMThunderously LOUD, with industrial washers and dryers operatingat full tilt. Natalie and Dylan are just entering whenTHREE SHOTSring out.    They dive for cover behind a massive washerassembly.                           NATALIE             There are times I wish we carried             guns.                           DYLAN             Where's the challenge in that?ANGLE ON the Thin Man, planning his next move. With nogood shot at the angels, he aims high, both guns BLAZING.He shots out the pipes over their heads, sending down acascade of hot water.Dylan and Natalie scramble back to avoid getting scalded.Other pipes SHATTER from the change in pressure, leadingto an interior thunderstorm. Steam fills the room as aninch of water grows on the floor.Natalie and Dylan push rolling laundry carts in the ThinMan's direction. He shoots at them, but quickly realizesthey're just trying to waste his bullets.Holstering one of his guns, he dials his cell phone.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                    29.CONTINUED:On the far wall, Natalie switches on the overhead hooks,which circle on a wire like a ski lift. The Thin Manlooks up, distracted, not noticing --DYLANAs she creeps up behind the cover of the rolling laundrycarts. She's succeeded in circling behind the Thin Manas he talks on the phone.She clears her throat.      The Thin Man turns.   She kickshim in the jaw.Knocked back, he drops the phone, which CRACKS and slipsunder a washing machine.He crab-walks back, then suddenly springs back to his feet.We weren't expecting that kind of ninja move out of this guy.HE TURNS TO SEENATALIEright behind him. With a coiled towel, she grabs his gunarm and expertly flips him. But he reacts smoothly, rollingover to charge at Natalie, picking her up like a sack ofpotatoes. As he does, he grabs her right in the tit.                             NATALIE             Hey!    Hands off, assh....Before she can finish her sentence, the Thin Man throwsNatalie at Dylan, knocking them both down. He jumps up,and with a single motion grabs an overhead pipe and kicksanother, releasing a wall of steam -- we can't see a thing.By the time the fog clears, the Thin Man is long gone.                           NATALIE             Okay, to summarize? Damn.Lying down in the water, Dylan reaches under the washerto fish out the Thin Man's busted cell phone.INT. TOWNSEND AGENCY BACK ROOM - DAYNatalie sits at a glowing computer monitor, the ThinMan's cell phone connected by a data cable to theTownsend Agency computers. Rapidly touching the screen,she calls up a list of the last thirty-five phone callshe received. They're all from the same location.                            BOSLEY             Well.   That was easy.                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   30.CONTINUED:                              NATALIE             No, it wasn't.She points to some code next to the numbers.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)             I've seen this before, he's             scrambling his calls through a             secondary location.                              BOSLEY             In English?                           NATALIE             We need to tap this phone line             at the source, THEN we'll know             where his calls were coming from.                            DYLAN                     (checking out the numbers)             503?   That's not local, where is it?                           NATALIE             Bos, can we check a directory?                           ALEX             Don't bother. I know where it is.             I used to spend every winter there.As she says it...                                                   CUT TO:EXT. ASPEN - NIGHTThe sign says it:     Welcome to Aspen.VARIOUS ESTABLISHING SHOTS of the gorgeous mountain town,still somehow quaint despite its astonishing wealth.EXT. COWBOY BAR -- NIGHTA rowdy establishment just outside of town.INT. COWBOY BAR --     CONTINUOUSThe kind of place that rich weekend skiers don't come.Lots of over-aggressive, cowboy-biker types, drinking morethan they should. There are only a few women in the place,and they are either waitresses or biker chicks. Suddenly,everyone stops what they're doing and turns to the door.CHARLIE'S ANGELS have entered the room. Dressed in theirstylish ensembles, they couldn't possibly look more out ofplace.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 31.CONTINUED:                            NATALIE             Hey look!   Mechanical bull.                           DYLAN             Eyes on the prize, Nat.   We gotta             tap the phones.                           ALEX             That looks like our target.She points to a door at the back of the bar that leadsinto a glassed-in office. Two, beefy bouncer types are guardingthe door.                           ALEX (CONT'D)             I'm gonna need a distraction.Dylan and Natalie smile at each other.                           DYLAN             I think that can be arranged.The Three Angels split up, Bosley tagging along with Dylan.DYLANsidles up to the bar. A group of three rednecks aredowning shots, one after another.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Three shots of tequila, please.                    (Bosley whispers in her ear)             And one Tom Collins.The rednecks stare at Dylan, drooling.       Dylan turns to the firstone.                           REDNECK             Hey baby, why don't you ditch that             stiff and come sit on ma lap?Bosley tries to make himself small.                           DYLAN             Ooh, that is an enticing offer.             But I got a better idea. How             about a shot contest? My treat?The three rednecks hoot and holler.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Okay, I'll take that as a yes. Bartender?             Bring ten shots of tequila over to my             table. And keep em coming.BY THE MECHANICAL BULL                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  32.CONTINUED:A group of wanna bes are waiting their turn at themechanical bull. Natalie wanders over behind them.                              NATALIE             Mind if I try?The crowd parts for her, and Natalie hops up on the bull.She cranks it up, and letsBY THE BAR --Dylan downs a shot, slams it on the table.      Countlessother glasses surround her.REVEAL that two of the rednecks are down for the count, onefalling out of his chair, the other passed out on the table.The third redneck is slurring badly, trying to keep upwith Dylan.                         DYLAN          Hey, I've got an idea. Now let's          have a chair throwing contest.                              REDNECK             Hunh?                           DYLAN             Chair throwing? Never heard of             it? You just pick up your chair             and throw it as far as you can.The redneck nods, lifts up his chair and heaves it acrossthe bar.OKAY, HERE'S AN OUTLINE OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE REST OFTHIS SCENE:Dylan and Natalie create a distraction, while Alex sneaksinto the back office with Bosley to get the phone numberof the chalet.EXT. HIGH MOUNTAIN ROAD - NIGHTA VW van climbs the winding road.       As we get closer, we see theside reads, "Chalet Grams."A DING-DONG DING-DING-DONG doorbell rings.INT. MOUNTAIN HOUSE / GREAT ROOM - NIGHTTWO THUGS with shoulder holsters look up, hearing the bell.One was tending to the fire.                           THUG ONE             We expecting somebody?                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                              33.CONTINUED:Thug Two shakes his head.Checking his gun, Thug One grabs for his windbreaker.Puts it on over.EXT. FRONT PORCH - NIGHTThug One opens the door to find Dylan and Natalie dressedin Swiss Miss outfits, complete with blonde braids.                           DYLAN             Guten Tag!                           NATALIE                    (correcting Dylan)             Guten Morgen!                           DYLAN                    (correcting Natalie)             Guten Nacht!                           DYLAN AND NATALIE                    (to each other)             Guten Freund!The girls lean in and hug each other, butts sticking out.To the left, Bosley starts playing oommpa OOMMPA oommpaOOMMPA on a wrap-around tuba. He's wearing lederhosen,with a feather in his hat.Natalie begins to YODEL.Dylan hands a fancy envelope to the bewildered thug. ThugTwo is approaching from behind, curious what the hell isgoing on.Dylan begins to TALK-SING a song in German about a too-curious goat and his worried mistress. Even with the pantomime,we have no idea what's happening. It seemswholesome, but occasionally one of the girls touches theother in a weirdly coquettish, oddly sexual way.Thug Two looks at the address on the envelope.                           THUG TWO                    (low)             They got the wrong address.                           THUG ONE             Shut up.As the angels continue their routine, the CAMERA RISES,three quick cuts to take us to...CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               34.EXT. THE ROOF - NIGHT... where a black cat-suited Alex stands at thechimney... A ribbon of smoke curls from the stack.Pulling the pin from a canister, she drops it down thechimney.INT. MOUNTAIN HOUSE GREAT ROOM - NIGHTA cheerful fire burns in the over-sized fireplace. Thecanister drops into the flames from above, suddenlyventing a HISSING cloud of halon gas. The fire diesimmediately, the logs covered with a violent frost.INT. THE CHIMNEY - NIGHTAlex doesn't even need a rope. Her feet pressed to thesooty walls, she expertly slides to the bottom.INT. GREAT ROOM - NIGHTAlex backs out of the fireplace to find a WAITING BAD GUYswingingA FIREPLACE POKERat her head. She ducks just in time.     The poker CHINGSagainst the stone, making a spark.Rolling, jumping and diving, Alex scurries as Pokermanslashes and stabs. She ducks behind a chair, whichPokerman catches with the hook, winging it across theroom.Backed against the wall, Alex yanks on the heavycurtains, pulling them down, along with the woodencurtain rod. A spin, a flourish of velvet and thecurtain rings drop off to leave her with a trustyquarterstaff.She goes on the offensive.    Thrust, parry, spin.But he's a worthy adversary. One good karate kick breaksher staff in two. She uses both pieces to club him inthe knees, then rolls back to the fireplace.She grabs the remaining tool: the fireplace tongs.Pokerman swings. Alex catches his weapon in the tongscissors, yanking it free with such force the point sticksin the wall.A quick kick knocks Pokerman to the floor, where Alexrolls on top of him. She catches his head in the tongs,squeezing his temples. His eyes bulge.                           ALEX          Where's Knox?CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  35.INT. WINDOWLESS ROOM - NIGHTYoung billionaire ERIC KNOX paces. He's grungy, withtwo days of stubble, but still a darn attractive guy.Hearing a KICK at the door, he turns.A second KICK blows the door open.     It's Alex.                           KNOX          Who are you?                           ALEX          The calvary.     Giddy up.EXT. FRONT PORCH - NIGHTBosley is about to hyper-ventilate on the tuba, sweatyand a little blue.Dylan and Natalie's new song has them sharing the saddleof an imaginary horse. When Dylan reaches back to slapthe "horse," she hits Natalie in the rump. Both womentee-hee.The thugs think it's pretty hot.Dylan whispers a secret to Natalie.     Natalie WHISPERSback.Turning to the thugs, they each lean in to WHISPER intoa different thug's ear. As the men smile, the angelssuddenly BONK the two men's heads together. Both menfall, knocked out.Stepping over the bodies, Dylan heads inside.INT. MOUNTAIN HOUSE HALLWAY - NIGHTLooking for the way out, Alex leads Knox to a closeddoor. She opens it to find...INT. TV ROOM - NIGHT... TWO MORE THUGS sitting in front the big-screen TV,watching a college basketball game (Duke vs. Maryland,in case you care.) The guards look back, spotting Alexwith Knox.That wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't for theFIFTEEN OTHER THUGSwatching the game with them.ANGLE ON Alex.   It's an oh-shit moment.                                                    (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   36.CONTINUED:                             ALEX             Sorry.    Wrong room.                      (to Knox)             Back!    Run!The thugs are out of their seats a moment later, each ofthem pulling out a firearm.EXT. FRONT PORCH - NIGHTHolding down three keys on the tuba, Bosley talks intothe mouthpiece. It has a secret radio.                           BOSLEY             Alex, what's your status?INT. STAIRCASE - NIGHTRunning, Alex pushes Knox ahead of her, checking theirbacks. She talks into a wrist-mic.                            ALEX             Good news:   I found Knox.Another THUG steps out in front of her.      She kicks himdown the steps.                             ALEX (CONT'D)             Bad news:    I found company.Reaching the bottom of the steps, Knox is surprised to begrabbed by Dylan.                             DYLAN             This way.At this point, he'll do whatever they say.EXT. FRONT OF MOUNTAIN HOUSE - NIGHTDylan rushes Knox across the driveway to the waiting van-- Natalie is pulling it around. Overhead, brightsecurity lights switch on.Back at the front door, Alex pulls it shut. She attachesa carabiner clip to the handle, running a thin steel cordfrom it around the porch column.INT. FOYER - NIGHTThe first of the thugs reaches the door, tries to pull itopen but can't. The next few guards try to help him,while the rest start smashing through the windows.CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               37.EXT. FRONT OF MOUNTAIN HOUSE - NIGHTRunning with the tuba, Bosley stops for a moment to catchhis breath, hands on his knees. Okay, ready to runagain.He's the last to be pulled into the van.    A spray ofgravel and they're off.INT. THE VAN - NIGHTEveryone is piled on top of each other. Dylan and Knoxhave a few awkward moments as they get untangled. Bosleykeeps making inappropriate TUBA NOISES.At the wheel, Natalie is fierce and focused, in totalcontrol.Looking out the back windows, Alex sees the kidnapperspiling into jeeps to give chase. From the side of thehouse, more thugs appear on motorbikes.                        ALEX          They're coming after us.                        DYLAN                 (to Knox, confident)          We were expecting that.                        NATALIE          Okay, new problem.Everyone's attention WHIPS FORWARD to see the headlights ofGIANT LOGGING TRUCKcoming up the high mountain road. It straddles thecenter line, blocking both directions. There's no wayaround it.                         NATALIE (CONT'D)           Thoughts, suggestions, points to           consider?                        BOSLEY          I don't suppose giving up would          be a...No, it wouldn't.   Then --                         DYLAN          Right!                        NATALIE          There is no right.                         DYLAN          There!                                                (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   38.CONTINUED:She points to a faded "CLOSED" sign that hangs from achain. In the darkness, who knows what it's blocking.But as we hear the THUNDEROUS HORN from the oncomingtruck, we know there's no choice.Natalie cuts a hard right, SMASHING through the sign.The van THUMPS AND BUMPS its way across the low grass,its headlights only showing ten feet ahead. At anymoment, the ground could stop in a cliff.Like now.The van leaps into empty space.      Tires spin, helpless.The van falls.Everyone SCREAMS.    Bosley is the loudest.And then, touchdown. The van hits the ground, hard butnot catastrophically. Natalie hits the brakes, cuts thewheel hard to avoid hittingA CONCRETE WALLin front of them.    Everyone takes a beat to acknowledgethey're alive.                             DYLAN             Where are we?Suddenly, a BRIGHT LIGHT goes on overhead.EXT. THE MOUNTAIN - NIGHTOne by one, a series of arc lights switches on, forming asnake all the way to the bottom of the mountain.INT. THE VAN - NIGHTLooking out the back windows...                           ALEX             It's a bobsled run.They're facing backwards.Up ahead, the kidnappers are charging down the access roads.The first of two jeeps makes the jump into the bobsled chute.                           NATALIE             If it goes down the mountain,             that's all I need.Throwing it into reverse, Natalie peels out.The jeeps follow.CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               39.EXT. BOBSLED RUN - NIGHTThe VW Van leads the way down the mountain, tail-first.As it builds speed, it starts to climb the wall, each turngetting steeper and steeper.The two jeeps are following. Facing the right direction,they have a much easier time of it.INT. VAN - NIGHTEverything is shaking so violently, it looks like a NASA launch.                         ALEX                  (looking out the back)           Hard left! HARD LEFT!Natalie makes the turn. The van rises up, nearly tiltingover. But they make it through the turn.                         KNOX                  (to Dylan)           Is this part of the plan?                         DYLAN           Yes. Except for the bobsled run,           and the backwards part, it's           going exactly according to plan.A beat.   He smiles at her.   He has a nice smile.EXT. BOBSLED RUN - NIGHTOne of the jeeps makes a move, closing the distance tothe van. A RIFLEMAN leans out the passenger window,lining up a shot. He FIRES.INT. THE VAN - NIGHTThe shot blasts cleanly through the top of the windshield,through the horn of Bosley's tuba, then out the back window.   Itmissed hitting somebody by millimeters.Natalie is still focused, making each turn as Alex calls it.EXT. BOBSLED RUN - NIGHT`The front jeep gets even more aggressive, building speed.It hits the next turn too fast, rising up too high alongthe wall. It tips further, and further, finally rollingover onto its back. It SCRAPES across the concrete, ashower of sparks as it slows down.With nowhere to go, the second jeep brakes hard, but can't stop.It SMASHES into the first jeep, a tangle of steel.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                              40.CONTINUED:The combined mass continues sliding down the run, like ajagged pinball in the chute.INT. THE VAN - NIGHTDylan looks out through the windshield as the jeep combo recedesfarther and farther away.                           DYLAN             I think we're in the clear.Just then, two MOTORBIKES race up along the chute walls, passingthe crippled jeeps. Two more MOTORBIKES jump in from above.                             DYLAN             Or maybe not.Suddenly, Natalie GASPS, remembering something.                             NATALIE             Oh God, no.                             DYLAN             What is it?WHIP CUT TO:EXT. EGYPTIAN THEATRE - NIGHTA dejected Pete stands in front of the sign for the animefestival, two tickets in hand.WHIP BACK TO:INT. THE VAN - NIGHT                           NATALIE             I have a date with Pete.   Right now.                             DYLAN             Ouch.                             ALEX             HARD RIGHT!Natalie makes the hard right. The motorcycles are gaining onthem, but Natalie and Dylan have to talk through this first.                           DYLAN             Call him, he'll totally understand.                           NATALIE             "Gee, sorry Pete. I had to rescue a             billionaire."                                                (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  41.CONTINUED:                           ALEX             Hard left!She makes the left.                           NATALIE             I'll sound like a flake.   I can't             stand flakes.                           DYLAN             He will so give you the second chance.                           NATALIE             You think?                           DYLAN             Hello, I saw the way he looked at you.One motorcycle charges, coming up just feet from thewindshield. Natalie taps on the brakes. The freaked outguy can't slow down in time. He SMACKS into the windshield,then goes flying.                           ALEX             We're at the bottom!Indeed, we are. The concrete walls end, leaving open ground.Slamming on the brakes, Natalie turns the van around.Everyone goes flying. Bosley is still on the phone withCharlie.EXT. BASE OF THE MOUNTAIN - NIGHTBack facing the right direction, the van charges onward.The motorcycles race up to the passenger side, grabbingfor the door.INT. THE VAN - NIGHTDylan SLAMS open the door, knocking one RIDER off.The sliding door opens, another RIDER outside trying to getin. Thinking fast, Knox grabs Bosley's tuba and shoves itat the motorcyclist, who tumbles, taking out the fourthrider in the process.                           DYLAN                    (genuinely impressed)             Well done.                           KNOX             Thanks.                                                  CUT TO:CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                42.HELICOPTERthunders over.    We are...INT. THE HELICOPTER - NIGHTNatalie is at the controls, Bosley beside her.      Alex leansforward from the second row.                           BOSLEY             I think that went very well. Charlie             should send me on more missions.                           ALEX             We couldn't have done it without             you, Bos.Natalie pats him on the arm. She and Alex exchange a quickglance. They have to just laugh.In the back row, Knox is looking out over the gorgeous lightsof Aspen.                           DYLAN             Cocktail?She offers him an airplane-sized bottle of Johnnie Walkerblack. He takes it and toasts. They both down their drinksin a single shot. A smile, and then...MUSIC rises.THE ANGELS TRIPTYCH descends.The act is over.    After a beat, weWIPE TO REVEAL:EXT. CHARLES TOWNSEND DETECTIVE AGENCY - DAYRe-establishing.INT. CHARLES TOWNSEND DETECTIVE AGENCY - (THE NEXT) DAYCharlie is on the speakerphone.      The angels are in theirusual lounging positions.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             Good work, Angels. Not only did you             save Knox, you saved his company as well.                           DYLAN             I think that earns us a vacation.                           NATALIE             Say, Fiji?                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 43.CONTINUED:                           ALEX                    (to Natalie)             Any special guy you were thinking             of inviting?Natalie grins a guilty smile.                              CHARLIE'S VOICE             Sorry, Angels.     Our work is only             half-done.Knox enters. Clean-shaven and neatly pressed, he's still adarn good-looking man. Vivian Wu follows him.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D)             Meet your new client, Eric Knox.                           KNOX             First off, thank you. You rescued             me, for which I am eternally grateful.He's talking to all the angels, but his gaze seems to fallmost upon Dylan. She notices it.                           KNOX (CONT'D)             But there's still a problem. Whoever             kidnapped me wasn't just trying to             screw up our IPO. They also stole             the proprietary software for our new             web browser. I'm sure it was Roger             Corwin, but I need proof.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             That's where you come in, Angels.CIRCLING AROUND, we see the video images of Corwin and theRed Star Systems logo on the big screen.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D)             We need to break into Red Star's computer             systems to see if Mr. Knox's software is             indeed being converted for Red Star's use.                           NATALIE             Sounds like a plan.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             Not as easy as that, Natalie. Red             Star's headquarters are as tightly             guarded as a military facility.             We're going to need reconnaissance             on their mainframe computer system,             and the best way to get that is             through Mr. Corwin himself.                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 44.CONTINUED:A video image of Corwin's Palm Pilot Schedule comes up thebigscreen. The shot pulls in close on "SAN DIEGO SPEEDWAY."                           CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D)             We need to pin a camera on him to get             footage of the inside of the building.             Thanks to Alex's work at the health spa,             we know that Corwin will be at the San             Diego Speedway on Thursday. Get close to             him Angels, but don't tip your hand.                           ALEX             Consider it done.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             Dylan, I need you to arrange for Mr.             Knox's security. I'd hate to have him             kidnapped again.                           DYLAN             Absolutely. But we'd all feel safer             if you could join us, Charlie.                                                CUT TO:UNDERWATERFrom Charlie's P.O.V., looking up at the sunlight.      Threemanta-rays swim above us.We can hear the BUBBLES from Charlie's regulator.                           CHARLIE             I'd love to Angels. But I'm in a             bit over my head at the moment.A manta-ray swims past, super-close, letting us...                                                WIPE TO:EXT. KNOX HOUSE - DUSKA majestic craftsman in the hills, Frank Lloyd Wright meetsconspicuous consumption.INT. KNOX HOUSE ATTIC - DUSKA flashlight beam sweeps past, revealing Dylan. With justher shoulders above the rafters, she's checking a dustycrawl space. She finds nothing suspicious.INT. KNOX'S WALK-IN CLOSET - DUSKKnox stands below, Dylan's boots on his shoulders. The heelsdig in a bit, but he's not complaining.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                45.CONTINUED:                           DYLAN             We're good.He moves to help her down, but she does a reverse-pullup tohandle it by herself. She leads the way...INT. KNOX'S BEDROOM - DUSKThe room is huge. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, we seethat we're up in the hills.Knox follows her as she walks.                           DYLAN             I've got surveillance on all the windows.             Don't answer the door, don't answer the phone.We continue...INT. KNOX LIVING ROOM - DUSKJust as big, just as beautiful. Knox, or his decorator, hasgreat taste. Everything is top quality, but unpretentious.                           DYLAN             Also, stay away from the windows.                           KNOX             They're bullet-proof.   The last             owner was paranoid.                           DYLAN                    (a smile)             Lucky for us.She takes a marker-sized device off the table.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             This is a panic button.                    (tosses it to him)             Press it and one of us can be here             in ten minutes.                           KNOX             Which one of you?                           DYLAN             Whoever's closest.She takes her jacket off the couch, ready to go.                           KNOX             I have a better idea.                           DYLAN             What?                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 46.CONTINUED:He tosses her the panic button.                           KNOX             Stay for dinner.                    (preempting objections)             I'm a pretty good cook.                           DYLAN             I can't Mr. Knox. I'm sorry.     If you...                           KNOX                    (quickly)             I'm scared.Dylan is surprised by this.                           KNOX (CONT'D)             Look, I didn't want to admit it, but I             am. I was kidnapped once, and it wasn't             fun. I know, you probably have other             plans, but it would be very reassuring.Dylan looks him over. Normally, she'd be suspicious, butthe guy WAS just kidnapped, and he seems sincere.                           KNOX (CONT'D)             Come on, don't make me beg. I'm             embarrassed already.She smiles.                            DYLAN             Don't be.She throws her coat back on the sofa.INT. KNOX LIVING ROOM - NIGHTWe PAN OFF a half-played Scrabble game to find Dylan andKnox at the windows. Dylan picks up a family photo, Knoxas a little boy with a father in a military uniform.                           DYLAN             That's you, hunh? Cute kid.    Cute             family.                            KNOX             Thanks.                    (taking the photo)             It's the only picture I have of me with             my parents. They died a week later.                            DYLAN             Oh.   Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea...                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 47.CONTINUED:                           KNOX             Please, don't apologize. I was too             young to understand.                    (looking at the photo)             I never knew how they died. When I             was a kid, when I got shuffled from             one foster home to another, I always             thought they just disappeared.                            DYLAN             But...?                           KNOX             I only found out later, my father was             in the military. He and my mother were             killed while he was on assignment,             somewhere in Eastern Europe.                    (mostly to himself)             The files were classified, but I             read enough to know that he was a             good man. Apparently, he was             betrayed by one of his own team.                            DYLAN             Wow.   That's a lot for a kid to live with.                           KNOX             Yeah, but it motivated me, losing my             family. It still does. I don't take             anything for granted.Dylan nods.                           DYLAN             Boy did I have you pegged wrong.                           KNOX                    (intrigued)             How do you mean?                           DYLAN             Well, to be honest, I thought you             were a rich kid who inherited             everything. But that's pretty typical.             I've got instincts for the job, but             when it comes to men? Well...                           KNOX             I'm glad you don't see me as just a client.He brushes his hand against hers.     She brushes back, fingersagainst fingers. A long beat.                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   48.CONTINUED:                            DYLAN             Oh.   Well, you ARE, so...                           KNOX             Is there someone you need to be going             home to?                              DYLAN             No.                    (beat)             But I...He kisses her. After a moment, she breaks off. It's not thatit was a bad kiss. It was a damn good kiss. It's just...                              DYLAN (CONT'D)             I shouldn't.Knox moves towards her.                              KNOX             Shouldn't you?Dylan holds him back.                            DYLAN                     (firmly)             No.   I shouldn't.She stands up.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Thank you for dinner, Mr. Knox.    And             lock the door behind me.She gets up and leaves.                                                   CUT TO:FORMULA-ONE RACE CARSROARING past on the track.       It's all thunder, smoke andasphalt. We are...EXT. SAN DIEGO SPEEDWAY - DAYWith a ROAR, another blur of racers whips past, with heatand noise and speed. The lead car bears the familiarmarkings of RED STAR INDUSTRIES. Roger Corwin is at thewheel, steering calmly to a comfortable lead, when he issuddenly BUMPED.                              CORWIN             What the...?                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  49.CONTINUED:ANOTHER BUMP sends him screeching to the left. He almostcrashes, then gets back on course, just as he's passed by...A SLEEK, BLACK CAR, sponsored by the SONY CORPORATION, andmanned by a mysterious driver with TEXAS TORNADO inscripted onthe helmet. We follow the black car as it pulls into the pit.EXT. FREEWAY PIT - DAYThe racer pulls off her helmet as the pit crew surrounds her.Of course, the racer is Natalie, aka BETTY LOU HOBERT, the TexasTornado.                           PIT BOSS                    (yelling over the                     engine noise)             NICE RACING!                    (beat)             CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'VE NEVER RACED             THIS TRACK BEFORE!                           NATALIE                    (Texas accent)             BACK WHERE AH'M FROM, WE RACE IN SWAMPS             AND BACK ROADS! THIS ALL'S A PIECE A CAKE!Natalie shakes out her hair, winks at the pit boss.The Pit Crew races in to make repairs. DYLAN, dressed in apit suit, kneels by Natalie's front tire. Natalie crouchesdown next to her so they can talk.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)             I nicked him. Should give you             enough time to do the deed.                             DYLAN             I'm on it.Dylan steals away, heading for...CORWIN'S PIT CREW --Corwin is seething mad as he pulls into his pit.                             CORWIN             LET'S GO!    WE'RE LOSING TIME HERE!The pit repairs his car as Corwin is approached by anotherracer, also wearing a Red Star racing suit. He leans intoCorwin's car and now we see that's it's... THE THIN MAN.                           THIN MAN             You okay, Boss?                                                    (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   50.CONTINUED:                           CORWIN             No thanks to you! You're supposed             to be my head of security! Who is             that bitch?!The Thin Man peers over at Natalie, but she's got herback to him.                            THIN MAN             Don't know.   I'll keep an eye out.                            CORWIN             Yeah.   You do that.Corwin peels out onto the track again, almost crushingthe Thin Man in the process.AS CORWIN PULLS OUTDylan sneaks in. In all the cacophony, no one noticesas she grabs CORWIN'S SUITCASE out of the back seat ofhis regular car, a bitching Mercedes. She checks bothways to see if she's being watched.                           BOSLEY (O.S.)             Coast is clear, Dylan.                                                   CUT TO:EXT. THE WINNER'S CIRCLEWhere Alex, dressed as a trophy girl, watches the racethrough binoculars and keeps an eye on her pals. Shenods to BOSLEY, who is dressed as the Flag Waver. Hespeaks into a walkie talkie.                           BOSLEY             Let's make the switch.BACK IN THE PIT --Dylan pulls a briefcase out of her jumpsuit, and swapsit with one in Corwin's car. She carefully switches allhis files from the old briefcase to the new one, thengives Alex a thumbs up.MEANWHILE BACK IN THE RACE --NATALIE roars back onto the track, keeping Corwin in hersights. Then she spots another Red Star car, coming upright next to her. She locks eyes with the Thin Man.The two of them recognize each other at the exact sameinstant.                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  51.CONTINUED:The Thin Man, realizing he's been made, jams on thebrakes and skids off to the right, which leads to a rampthat heads out of the stadium.Natalie, not wanting to lose him, does something crazy.Even though she's at the front of the pack, she brakeshard, swerves into a full 180 degree U-turn, and startsheading the WRONG WAY on the race track.Startled drivers pull off to the left and right as shefollows the Thin Man out of the racetrack.EXT. SPEEDWAY ACCESS ROAD - DAYTo a chorus of CAR HORNS, the Thin Man's blue racer weavesthrough the spectator traffic entering the speedway.Looking back, we see Natalie is gaining on him.Finally clear of the traffic, both cars let it rip.                                                  CUT TO:HELICOPTER VIDEO FOOTAGELooking down on a freeway, where a ubiquitous policepursuit is in progress.                            TV ANCHOR VOICE             If you're just joining us, we're             approaching hour five of a pursuit             that has lead us all across the             Southland, at speeds up to 80             miles an hour.A beat-up gray Chrysler leads a phalanx of police carsdown the empty freeway. It's oddly calm and hypnotizing.                           FEMALE ANCHOR VOICE             Chuck, time and again we hear the             question, "Why don't the police just             ram the other car, or shoot out the             tires?" The LAPD has a policy of             hanging back and following unless...Suddenly, the blue Formula One car comes screeching pastthe cops and the suspect, over 200 miles per hour.                              TV ANCHOR VOICE             What was that?INT. NATALIE'S RED CAR / ON THE FREEWAY - DAYStill hot on the Thin Man's tail, Natalie has the engineROARING.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               52.CONTINUED:As she passes the police cars, we see several OFFICERSlook over -- what the hell?Natalie catches up to the gray Chrysler. Looks over tosee the WILD-EYED SUSPECT, hunched over the wheel.He looks back at her. A beat later, she's passed him,just taillights on the freeway.EXT. FREEWAY - DAYWith the lanes cleared for the other chase, there isnothing preventing the Formula One cars from hitting topspeed -- which they do.Natalie is catching up to the Thin Man.As they head under an overpass, we see KIDS CHEERING.INT. BLUE CAR - DAYThe Thin Man checks his gauges. The gas dial is perilouslyclose to empty -- these cars are meant to be refilled often.Up ahead, he sees an exit.   He starts to slow down...EXT. FREEWAY - DAY... but when you're going 200 miles per hour, that cantake a while. He misses the exit.Natalie is trying to match his speed.The Thin Man pulls over to the side, stops fully.Braking as hard as she can, Natalie still passes him.The Thin Man throws a U-turn, heading up the freeway on-ramp.Natalie follows.EXT. SAN DIEGO SHIPYARD - DAYWe catch glimpses behind fences and between train cars --the two racers gliding slowly down the narrow roads, likelions pacing.INT. NATALIE'S RED CAR - DAYPulling off her helmet, Natalie scans right and left forthe blue car -- she's lost sight of him. The narrowwindshields of these racers doesn't make it any easier.EXT. SHIPYARD - DAYWe LOOK DOWN on Natalie's car as she rounds a corner,still searching.CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               53.EXT. PIER - DAYNatalie spots the blue racer reaching the end of thelong pier. It pulls a U-turn to face her, then stops,engine idling. There's only way off the pier, and it'spast Natalie.The Thin Man REVS his engine.Natalie REVS hers.ANGLE ON a white seagull, pecking at something on thepier, halfway between the two racers. The bird looks up,hearing the engines.ANGLE ON the Thin Man. He pulls his harness tighter.REVS his engine higher.ANGLE ON Natalie. If it's a game of chicken he wants,she'll give it to him. She REVS her engine higher still.The noise scares the bird, who suddenly flies off. Likea flag being dropped, that's the signal for both racersto peel out.A cloud of SMOKE.    Rubber on asphalt.Already reaching a tremendous speed, the racers are on acollision course. The Thin Man isn't going to turn away.Neither is Natalie.Racing faster, and faster still, there's only one waythis can turn out. But then, at the very last moment,the Thin Man wusses out. He cuts the wheel right,missing Natalie and careening off the edge of the pier.In SLOW MOTION, we watch as his racer hangs in mid-air,wheels still spinning. Back-heavy, the tail hits thewater first.Natalie brakes hard, cuts the wheel to avoid going offthe far end of the pier. She finally stops, the reartire just 1/4 inch from the edge.CRANING UP along the side of the pier, we find Natalielooking into the water where the blue racer went in.There's just a slick of oil and a steady stream of bubbles.                                              CUT TO:VIDEO / CAMERA'S P.O.V.We see lots of hallways, doorways and security locks, allfrom the POV of a man's hip.The footage is from the camera in the switched briefcasethat Corwin is now carrying with him.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               54.CONTINUED:We PULL BACK from the video to see we are actuallywatching it...INT. CHARLES TOWNSEND AGENCY - DAY... on the big screen. The angels and Bosley watch thefootage, along with Knox and Vivian Wu. Vivian hasseated herself close to Natalie. So close, in fact, thatNatalie keeps having to shift a few inches.Dylan, meanwhile, sits across the room from Knox,deliberately avoiding eye contact.ON THE BIG SCREEN: As the videocamera passes a roommarked with an intimidating warning sign...                           KNOX             There!VIDEO FREEZES.                           KNOX (CONT'D)             That's the room with the             mainframe. Everything at Red Star             goes through that system.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             So if we want to find proof that             Red Star stole Knox's technology,             that's the computer to tap.                           KNOX             Exactly. But they have heavy firewalls             and encryption. You can't jack in from             outside. You'll have to physically be             in that room to get at the data.                           ALEX             Even if we do get inside, there won't             be time to search for it. There's got             to be a hundred terabytes of             information there. It could take days.                           NATALIE             So you install a transmitter.All eyes go over to Natalie.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)             Patch in directly to the relay,             broadcast on a high frequency.             That way, you can have access to             the mainframe from the comfort of             your own home. And they have no             idea that you can peek inside.                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               55.CONTINUED:Knox is impressed.    The other angels nod.   It's a good idea.                           VIVIAN WU             That's all fine in theory. But you             still have to get inside that room             to install it. What about security?                           ALEX             Red Star has a lot of Government             contracts, so security is tight. Key-             card badges throughout. Redundant             security at all red-line areas with             biometric scanners and weekly keycodes.             Pervasive video surveillance, lasers,             air-displacement sensors. Plus a hard-             wired fail-safe at the relay to prevent             exactly this kind of tapping.                           VIVIAN WU             It sounds impossible.Alex checks with her fellow angels.    They're in agreement.                           DYLAN             It sounds like fun.With a subtle RUSH, we move into a stylized MONTAGE thatshows How They Do It. It features WHIP PANS, FREEZEFRAMES and ZOOMS to show us only the highlights.                           NATALIE (V.O.)             Only the two directors can disengage the             fail-safe. We have to get their keys.WHIP CUT TO:INT. NUDE NUDE NUDE GIRLS - DAYANGLE ON DIRECTOR #1, 40's, part of the lunchtime crowd.Alex and Natalie are on the catwalk, in the middle of agrinding routine. Paying for his drink, he fumbles withhis wallet. His waitress helps him find the right bill.As she walks away, we see the waitress is Dylan. FREEZE FRAME.We ZOOM IN on the orange key-card she's grabbed from him.EXT. BACK YARD BIRTHDAY PART - DAYANGLE ON Bosley, done up in full clown makeup. He triesto twist a balloon animal, but no luck. Finally it POPS.The CHILDREN CRY.Entertaining the ADULTS, magician Alex whips open her silkhandkerchief to reveal that the "item" has disappeared.                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  56.CONTINUED:ANGLE ON DIRECTOR #2, who looks very worried. Magician'sassistant Dylan takes off her giant hat to reveal the director'sbillfold is underneath. Getting it back, he'srelieved.Passing behind Dylan, Natalie takes the orange keycardDylan hands off. FREEZE FRAME. ZOOM IN.                           ALEX (V.O.)             Then we have to get back into Red             Star. Problem is, their biometric             sensors are too good.                           DYLAN (V.O.)             We need someone's help.                                                 WHIP TO:EXT. STREET OFF MULHOLLAND - DAYANGLE ON Roger Corwin, driving his Mercedes.     He slows,a road crew working ahead.ANGLE ON Dylan, dressed in an orange vest, manning theslow/stop sign. She makes Corwin stop, leans in toapologize for the delay.Behind the Mercedes, Natalie sneaks up. She quicklypicks the trunk lock, then quietly climbs in. She hoistsin a large duffel bag, then shuts herself inside.INT. TRUNK OF CORWIN'S MERCEDES - DAYWe HEAR the car moving again.Stripped down to a bra, Natalie attaches an illuminated mirrorto the underside of the trunk lid. Starts to pull more itemsfrom her duffel bag: black shoes, a dress shirt, a tie.EXT. RED STAR - DAYEstablishing. We see Corwin's Mercedes pull into theparking garage.INT. PARKING GARAGE / RED STAR - DAYWalking away from the car, Corwin hits the remote.    TheMercedes BWOOPS.A beat later, a hand comes out from under the trunk lid.Natalie climbs out, only she's not Natalie anymore.She's become Corwin -- identical to the last detail.She tucks the last of the latex mask under her collar asshe walks. FREEZE FRAME.CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 57.INT. SECURITY STATION - DAYCorwin puts his right hand on the sensor grid.    A laserscans it. Approved.The Security Guard hits the button, releasing the gate.He goes back to his magazine as Corwin passes through.A beat, then...                       A VOICE          Tommy? You gonna let me through          or what?Tommy the Guard looks up, sees Corwin is still at thecounter.                           TOMMY THE GUARD                    (confused)          Oh.     Yeah, sorry Mr. Corwin.He hits the button again, letting Corwin through. Tommygoes back to his magazine, still a little perplexed.INT. SECURE HALLWAY - DAYThe same places we saw on the videotape. Natalie-as-Corwin swipes the two stolen failsafe cards in a reader,sending the lights from red to green. FREEZE FRAME.She splices in a transmitter the size of a cigarette pack.Pulls up a tiny antenna. FREEZE FRAME.INT. SECURE HALLWAY - DAYCorwin walks down the hall, still talking with hiscolleague. Natalie-as-Corwin is walking right towardsthem. She turns away as she passes. He didn't even spother.She smiles.                                                 CUT TO:EXT. POSH BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL - DAYEstablishing...INT. RESTAURANT - DAYAs a group, the angels move through the upscale lunchcrowd to find Knox and Vivian Wu at a booth.Alex opens a slim Sony laptop, sets it on the table.                        ALEX          It's done. Red Star's mainframe          is open for business.                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  58.CONTINUED:Astonished, Vivian Wu hits some keys, checking that whatthey say is true.                           DYLAN                    (to a passing waiter)             Champagne, please. Your best.Smiling, Knox motions for them to take a seat.                           KNOX             Now I know why I hired you.   You're             the best.A look between the angels.      They know it's true.                           VIVIAN WU                    (to Knox, re: laptop)             I'll have Systems get to work on             this right away.She reaches for the laptop.      Bosley snatches it away.                           BOSLEY             Uh, actually Miss Wu, WE will get to             work on this right away. Any evidence             we find will be turned over to you AND             the proper authorities.                           VIVIAN WU             I don't think you understand how             important that data is, Mr...                           BOSLEY             Oh, indeed I do. And that's why I'll             take very good care of it when I find it.                             VIVIAN WU                      (reaching for the laptop)             But...                           KNOX             Vivian, please. Do as the man says.Reluctantly, Vivian Wu pulls her hand away. Bosley tucksthe laptop into a steel briefcase, then stands.                           DYLAN             Where you off to, Bos?                             BOSLEY             Vacation.                           NATALIE             Uh oh, lemme guess. You're off to             chase bikinis at some tropical resort?                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  59.CONTINUED:                            BOSLEY             Exactly!   Fire Island, here I come!Dylan does a spit take, the other two Angels roll their eyes.                            BOSLEY (CONT'D)             Goodbye, Angels. Mr. Knox.                     (coldly)             Ms. Wu.As Bosley exits the restaurant, Vivian Wu eyes himcarefully. Knox raises a glass to toast the Angels.                           KNOX             More champagne?                            NATALIE             Have to go.   Plans tonight.                             ALEX             Me too.As they get up...                           KNOX                    (to Dylan)             And you?She notices the other Angels staring at her.        She doesn't answerat first.                             DYLAN             Um... well...Natalie quickly picks up what's going on.        She glances atAlex, then clears her throat.                           NATALIE             Hey Dylan, can we talk to you             for a second?THE LADIES ROOMNatalie, Alex, and Dylan kibbitz near the sinks.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)             There's something going on between             you and Knox. Isn't there?                           DYLAN             So what, so I like him.   Is that             so wrong?                           NATALIE             Uh, yeah Dylan, it IS.    He's a client.                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                     60.CONTINUED:                             DYLAN             WAS a client.    We finished the job.                           ALEX             She's got a point.                           NATALIE             What? She doesn't have ANY point, Alex,             I can't believe you're siding with her.                           ALEX             I'm not siding with anyone, but             technically, he is no longer...                           NATALIE             You know Charlie would NEVER             approve of this.                           ALEX             Oh come on, Charlie wouldn't care. I             think you're just being overly cautious.                            DYLAN             Uh, guys?   GUYS!They turn to look at her.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             I'm a big girl. I make my own             decisions. I'm going out with him.She walks out of the ladies' room.                                                     CUT TO:INT. PARKING GARAGE / BEVERLY HILLS - DAYBosley hums "In the Navy" to himself as he walks througha parking garage. He's alone in the echo-y garage, andeverything we know about movies tells us This Means Trouble.BWEEP BWEEP as his alarm shuts off. Just as he's aboutto lift the handle, he stops. Looks back over his shoulder.Did he hear something? He scans the empty garage.         Noone in sight. Must've been his imagination.INT. BOSLEY'S MERCEDES - DAYBosley climbs in, shutting the door behind him.        He'sputting the keys in the ignition, when...A HAND clamps a chloroformed rag over his mouth. It'sthe Thin Man. Bosley struggles, but in moments, he'sunconscious.CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                61.OUTSIDE THE CARTHE THIN MAN stuffs Bosley in the trunk, slams it shut,revealing...                          VIVIAN WU (O.S.)          Sweet dreams.Vivian Wu, standing beside the Thin Man. She's holdingthe case Bosley refused to give her before.                        THE THIN MAN          So, now we have the transmitter, what          do we do with fat boy? Dirt nap time?                        VIVIAN WU          NO! Not until I've got the          information I need. We'll take          him to the compound, hold him there.                 (beat)          In the meantime, we've got to tie          up some loose ends.                        THIN MAN          Whenever you say something like          that, it means more work for me.                        VIVIAN WU                 (ignoring him)          The Angels will figure out they          were duped. We can't afford them          jeopardizing our plans.                        THE THIN MAN          Here it comes...                        VIVIAN WU                 (coldly)          We have to Kill Charlie's Angels.The Thin Man sighs, whips out his cell phone.                        THE THIN MAN          Guess I'll cancel my weekend plans.And speaking of weekend plans...                                                CUT TO:EXT. ITALIAN STREET - NIGHTJason and Alex are walking down a beautiful, tree-linedcobblestone street, holding hands. The buildings andoutdoor cafes are reminiscent of a quaint, vaguelyEuropean town.                                                (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   62.CONTINUED:                           JASON             Alex, I can't tell you how happy I             am you came.                              ALEX             Me too.                           JASON             No, I mean, it's weird. It's             weirding me out how happy I am when             you're around. Am I sick or something?                              ALEX                       (smiling)             Got me.                           JASON             The only bummer is, I start to             jones when you're not around.             What the hell am I gonna do this             weekend, if you're not with me?                           ALEX             We'll get you some sedatives.             You'll be fine.He stops, takes her in his arms. With the moonlightshining down, it's very romantic. They kiss. Then...                            JASON             Hey.   Wait a second.   Come with me!                              ALEX             Come with you?                           JASON             Miami, on the Sony Jet. I've got             two tickets to the Final Four.                           ALEX             Jason, I don't...                           JASON             Wait, before you say no, let me just             say something, okay? I'm sick of how             little we see each other. I'm sick of             stealing a day here, or a week there.                           ALEX             It's my job, Jason. I can't             explain it, but I have to be on             call, all the time, and...                           JASON             What if I changed all that?                           (MORE)                                                     (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  63.CONTINUED:                           JASON (CONT'D)             What if I told you to quit your             job, and come live with me. What             I'm saying, Alex, is that I want             you to...BLAM!    BLAM!   Gunshots ring out!                            ALEX             Gunfire!   Get down!Alex, in Angels mode, immediately throws him to theground and covers him. She feels something wet, looksdown to see Jason's chest, covered in blood.                           ALEX (CONT'D)             My God, you're hit. You're...                           JASON             Fine.  I'm fine.                    (he laughs)             They're squibs, it's fake.   See?He wipes off a little, puts it on her tongue.     Finallyconvinced, she almost lets herself laugh.REVEALthat we are in a soundstage, the cobblestones street isjust a set. The gunfire was coming from some effectsguys, who are test firing guns for the upcoming actionscene just outside the soundstage, visible through theopen loading door.                           JASON (CONT'D)             Fake guns, too. They're just             setting up for the next scene.He helps her up.                           ALEX             Sorry about that, I...                           JASON                    (smiling)             God, I loved that. The way you             yelled and everything? Baby, you             been watching too many movies.                    (he kisses her on the nose)             Alright, I gotta go reset these.             DON'T GO ANYWHERE. I want to             finish this conversation.As he walks out of the soundstage, Alex is left behind,alone. She cleans herself off, shaking her head at herown paranoia.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               64.CONTINUED:                            ALEX             Nice, Alex.   Real nice.THIPP!A wall next to her sprays a cloud of plaster.     Alex looksat the hole. That's strange.THIP, THIP!Two more little explosions, these barely missing her face.                           ALEX (CONT'D)             Hey, is someone firing more squibs             or...Suddenly, without warning, the wall is plastered withSILENCED GUNFIRE. It's only Alex's instincts that lether duck in time to avoid being turned into Swiss cheese.She tucks and rolls behind a Styrofoam set as...TWO GUNMEN with silenced SNIPER rifles fan out on thefake city street.ON ALEX --crouched behind a wall.She looks both ways. If she tries to break for the openloading door, she'll lead the gunmen right back to Jason.Only way out of here is to head for the far wall, all theway across the building, where there's a fire exit.Taking a deep breath, she darts across the fake street.THE GUNMENfire at her, one of them pulling off his silencer and goingto machine gun mode. The sound of the gunshots are coveredby the sound of the effects guy, test firing guns outside.ALEX --Sees that the sets are held up by wooden support beams.She lifts her leg and delivers a solid blow, cracking thetwo-by-fours in half.THE GUNMENmove slowly through the fake street set. Suddenly, theyhear a creaking sound. They look up to see the whole,fake building set collapsing!They dive out of the way, just in time to see Alex racethrough the fire doors.CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                65.EXT. BACKLOT - NIGHTAlex races out of the soundstage and jumps into her car,parked nearby. The Gunmen emerge from the stage and spother, just as she gets the car started. She peels out asa hail of gunfire just misses her windshield.EXT. OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE SOUNDSTAGEJason has just gotten his squibs refitted. He's facingthe opposite direction, so he doesn't see Alex's carwhizz away in the background.INT. SOUNDSTAGEJason walks into the Soundstage, followed by the effects crew.                            JASON          Alex?     ALEX?Of course, she's nowhere to be found. While he looksaround, one of the effects guys fingers a bullet hole inthe set wall. He presses against it and a FLATTENEDBULLET FALLS OUT.He thinks for a moment, then shakes his head.   Couldn't be.                                                CUT TO:INT. EGYPTIAN THEATRE - NIGHTA passing FILMGOER reveals Natalie and Pete. Seated nearthe aisle, they share a giant tub of popcorn. The moviehasn't started yet, but there's a slide show of variousanime heroes and villains.                        NATALIE          Thanks for the second chance. I          swear, I'm really not a flake.He shrugs it off.                        PETE          How can I deny any woman who's          seen all 23 "Lords of Wind and          Power"?                        NATALIE          I bet there's a dozen women here          who fit that description.She's right.                        PETE          Honestly -- there's a looks          component as well.                                                (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   66.CONTINUED:                             NATALIE             Really.                           PETE             You're the most beautiful woman             I've ever seen this close up.How can she not be flattered by that? She would saysomething back, but the moment has gotten so electrifiedthat each little glance just brings on more goofy-in-loveness.The only solution is to leave...                             NATALIE             Ladies room.    I'll be back in two minutes.                             PETE             I'll be here.INT. LADIES ROOM - NIGHTA wee bit smitten, Natalie enters as the last WOMAN leaves.We hear just the DRIP DRIP DRIP of a faucet and the Muzakversion of Power Station's "Some Like It Hot."NATALIEIN A STALLNatalie shuts the door behind herself, then sets to workputting down a tissue-paper seat cover.SWEEPING ACROSS THE FLOORWe look under stall doors to find a pair of black men'sboots stepping down from inside. Natalie is not alone.IN HER STALLNatalie is about to hoist her skirt when she stops.         HerSpider Sense is tingling.A DOOR LATCHCLICKS open. We TILT UP to see a WELL-DRESSED MAN.          He'sat least 6'3".He stops at Natalie's stall door, drawing his gun.      Abeat, then he KICKS the door open, revealing...AN EMPTY STALL.The automatic toilet FLUSHES itself.      The Man takes ahalf-step in, confused. Suddenly --                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                67.CONTINUED:The door swings back, SMASHING into his right hand.     Hedrops the gun, looking up to seeNATALIE,Who is perched atop the stall walls.     She pushed the doorwith her foot.Grabbing an overhead pipe, she performs an acrobaticswing, landing both feet on the guy's head. He fallsinto the next row of stalls.Natalie reaches for the gun, but the Man grabs her ankles.He pulls her back across the tile floor, flipping her over.That just makes it easier for her to kick him where it counts.With a scissors lock around his neck, Natalie is pulledup while the Man falls. She lands a knee on his windpipe.                           NATALIE             Who do you work for?He tries to pull her off.    She leans in harder.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)             Speak now or never again.                            THE MAN                    (motioning with eyes)             Jacket pocket.Suspicious, she digs inside his coat to pull out a leatherbillfold. Flips it open to reveal an I.D. that reads...                           NATALIE             National Security Agency?   You're with the NSA?                           THE MAN             I've been following you. I didn't             know which side you were on.                    (beat)             This is bigger than you think.INT. MOVIE THEATER - NIGHTThe anime classic is playing. Pete keeps looking backtowards the door. He's been ditched again. Just when he'sabout to give up hope, Natalie is there.                            NATALIE             I'm so sorry, but I have to go. I             can't explain.                    (hands card)             This is my cell phone number. Please             call me tomorrow. Please. I'm sorry.                                                (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                     68.CONTINUED:With that, she goes. A beat, then she comes back.Kisses him once, hard. Then goes for real.                                                     CUT TO:EXT. HOLLYWOOD HILLS - NIGHTDylan and Knox walk hand in hand up a quaint, woodsy pathbehind Knox's home. We can hear music drifting up fromthe hill in front of them.                           DYLAN             Where's that music coming from?                             KNOX             You'll see.    Just a little farther.He helps her up a steep part of the path.       As she comesover the crest of a hill.                              DYLAN             Oh...                       (taking in the view)             Oh wow.DYLAN'S POV --The hill behind Knox's house has a magnificent view rightinto the Hollywood Bowl. The music is the symphonyplaying something very romantic.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             That's amazing.They stand there, together, just listening to the music,Knox watching her reaction closely.                           KNOX             Can I ask you a personal question?                              DYLAN             Maybe.                           KNOX             How much do you know about Charlie?Dylan seems surprised by this question.                           KNOX (CONT'D)             I just find it strange that you             work for a man you've never met.                           DYLAN             Well, I don't know what he looks like,             but I feel like I know him. We all do.                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  69.CONTINUED:                           KNOX             And none of you have any clue who             he actually is?                             DYLAN             Nope.                           KNOX             And you're never curious to find out?                           DYLAN             Of course, but believe me, it's             impossible. I've tried.                    (beat)             Let's not talk about Charlie,             okay? Or work.She smiles t him, motioning for them to go back up toKnox's house.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             In fact, let's not talk at all.                                                 WIPE TO:INT. KNOX'S HOUSE - NIGHTDylan and Knox are asleep in his bed, when the doorbellCHIMES. Dylan bolts upright. She slips out of bed, peersout the window. Vivian Wu is waiting by the front door.                           DYLAN             Eric, it's Vivian.                             KNOX             Hmmm.    I wonder what she's here             for?                           DYLAN             Want me to tell her to come back, or...                           KNOX             No, no.  I'd better deal.                    (he kisses her)             You go back to bed.Knox pulls on a robe, goes downstairs.STAY ON DYLAN --as she pulls on her clothes, her CELL PHONE rings.     Shegrabs it.                             DYLAN             Hello?                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 70.CONTINUED:                           NATALIE             Dylan, we were set up. Vivian Wu is not             who she says she is. She's a former             assassin and an all around bitch.                            DYLAN             Oh no.   OH SHIT. Natalie, she's HERE!                            NATALIE             What?!                           DYLAN             I'm at Knox's, she just showed up!EXT. FREEWAY - NIGHTDriving her own highly excellent car, Natalie has it floored.INTERCUT                           NATALIE             I'm ten minutes away. Wait until I             get there.                           DYLAN             I can't do that. Call Alex and meet             me here.                            NATALIE             Dylan...But Dylan's already hung up.     Cursing her partner, Natalieraces the car even harder.INT. KNOX'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHTKnox is sitting at the coffee table, signing papers. Vivian,sitting across from him, has her cell phone open. They areboth surprised to see Dylan walk into the room.                           VIVIAN WU             I see you take your bodyguarding             services seriously. Still, I worry             that no one is watching the door.                           DYLAN                    (covering)             Oh, I'm watching it.     In fact, I just             called for back up.From her bag, Vivian pulls a silver 9MM.                           VIVIAN WU             All the same, I'm concerned about             Mr. Knox's safety.                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               71.CONTINUED:Although Knox is clueless, it's clear the message Vivianis sending to Dylan. She's in control here.Vivian sets the gun on the table, in easy reach.                           KNOX                    (explaining)             Vivian just came over to run through             some numbers for the IPO.                           VIVIAN WU             Please, take a seat. I'm almost             finished.With a knowing glance at Dylan, she goes back to herphone call.No alternative, Dylan takes a seat beside Knox.     Both faceVivian, whose hand is very near the gun.Dylan looks at Knox as he reads through his papers.    He has noidea there's anything wrong.                           VIVIAN WU (CONT'D)                    (on phone)             Really. How disappointing.Vivian gestures to the abandoned Scrabble game on the table.Why not play?                           DYLAN             I'm not much for games.                            VIVIAN WU             Pity.As Knox flips pages in the report, Dylan casually beginspushing Scrabble letters around, nothing serious. But she'smanaged to spell...ENEMYShe gets Knox's attention, looks to the word, up to Vivian.Knox follows her intention, but doesn't seem to believe it.While Vivian continues to talk on the phone, Knox sets hisreport down. Pushes around some letters of his own. Thewords finally come out as...I   KNOWCLOSE ON Dylan.      What does that mean?Vivian snaps her phone shut.                                                (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 72.CONTINUED:                           VIVIAN WU (CONT'D)                    (to Knox)             Bad news: The other angels are still             alive. Good news: Everything else             proceeding apace.Dylan stands up.    What the hell is going on?Vivian draws the gun on her.    Knox moves over towardVivian's side.                           KNOX             Sorry Dylan. I knew this moment             would come sooner or later. I was             just hoping for later.A long beat, Dylan trying to wrap her head around this.                           DYLAN             All this time, we thought Red Star             was behind this, but it was you.                    (realizing)             You faked your kidnapping.Knox taps his nose.    She's got it.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Why?                           KNOX             To gain your trust. And get your             help.                    (beat)             I want you to know, my personal             attraction to you was a sincere             and unrelated complication.                           DYLAN             Oh, well, in that case I feel a lot             better about you being a lying pole             smoker.Dylan looks like she's about to leap forward and tear Knox'sthroat out. Vivian gestures for Dylan to keep stepping back.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             I can't believe I trusted you.                           KNOX             Why not? You trust Charlie and you've             never even met him.Dylan crosses the sill, out onto the balcony.                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   73.CONTINUED:                           KNOX (CONT'D)             And believe me, there's a lot about             him that you don't know. Anyway,             I'm not going to be an idiot and             stand here talking when we could do             something useful, like KILL YOU.             Goodbye, Dylan, I'll miss you...How right he is, because as soon as Vivian squeezes thetrigger...Dylan drops to the floor, then rolls.BLAM!the bullet misses Dylan and slams into the bulletproof windowcausing a spider-web crack to spread. Dylan sees heropportunity and heads right for the window while Vivianpumps off shots.As she comes to the window, Dylan jumps up in the air anddoes a flying kick, hitting right at the spot where thebullet impacted.SMASH!The bulletproof glass shatters outward, and Dylan flies outthe window, onto the ledge.                            KNOX (CONT'D)             Wow.                    (to Vivian)             I've never seen YOU do something             like that.                            VIVIAN WU             Oh, shut up.                                                   CUT TO:EXT. BALCONY - NIGHTDylan looks over the edge of the balcony. The drop-off isincredibly steep -- the house is built on stilts -- and thefall looks like it would kill her. But she doesn't havemuch choice.KNOX AND VIVIANcome running out onto the balcony, just in time to see Dylanjump. They rush to the edge, look down into a forbiddingthicket of trees.                           VIVIAN WU             She can't have survived.   It's too far.                           (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                74.CONTINUED:                           VIVIAN WU (CONT'D)                    (beat)             Still, I should probably check...Knox shakes his head.                           KNOX             We've got more important things to do.The two of them head back inside.    As they do...We hold on the railing, then slowly start to drift down, tothe underside of the balcony. Dylan has attached her belt tothe bottom of the railing, and is hanging in the rafters. Asshe pulls herself back up...                                              WIPE TO:EXT. AIRPORT -- NIGHTA black sedan pulls onto the tarmac. Knox and Vivian Wu emerge,then hustle into a waiting private plane.INT. ANGELS DETECTIVE AGENCYNatalie, Dylan and Alex nurse their wounds and compare notes.                           DYLAN             I can't believe Knox tried to kill me.             I mean, I've been lied to, I've been             cheated on, but no guy has ever             tried to SHOOT me before.                    (coldly)             I'm gonna get him for that.                           ALEX             He played us from the very start.             It was all just so he could get us             to tap into Red Star. He couldn't             figure out a way to do it himself.                           NATALIE             Who knew that we are actually             tapping into the main servers for             The National Security Agency?                           DYLAN             And now, thanks to us, he's had hours             to download whatever top secret             information he wants, for God knows             what reason.The angels take a beat to let their indignation grow.                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                            75.CONTINUED:                           NATALIE             Wait a minute. We installed the             transmitter, yes, but we never gave             him the receiver.                             ALEX             What?                           NATALIE             That laptop was the only way to access             the transmitter. And we gave the             laptop to...They look at each other...                             ANGELS             Bosley!And on that note...EXT. BEACHFRONT COMPOUND - FLORIDA COASTLINE - DAYWe PUSH IN over the water to reveal the massive complex -- half-villa, half-castle. Built into the green hills, it'sflanked by oversized windmills.EXT. STAIRCASE -       DAYArmed guards, as if they were necessary, make sure no onegoes up or down a staircase that leans up into the tower,where their dangerous prisoner is being held.INT. COMPOUND TOWER - DAYBosley's cell, as such, is a round room.Bosley flits about in a panic. He's hardly touched the gourmetfood on his tray. Except for the pudding. He loves pudding.JUMP CUT TO:Still a-twitter, Bosley flips through the 500 channels onhis big-screen TV. He watches a few moments of E!JUMP CUT TO:As the Thin Man takes the tray away, Bosley suddenly attackshim with the silverware. With a single hand to Bosley'sforehead, the Thin Man holds him at arm's length, harmless.He takes the weapons away.JUMP CUT TO:Bosley WHISTLES to a bright red songbird who has landedon the windowsill. The bird WHISTLES back. Bosley thinksthey're having a conversation.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  76.CONTINUED:Bosley is going a little insane.JUMP CUT TO:In his spacious bathroom, Bosley is sitting on the toilet,rocking as he makes spaceman noises.We hear a PLOP in the water, and then a BLEEP BLEEP.Curious, he stands up and looks in the bowl.      He's surprisedby what he sees.                                                  CUT TO:INT. TOWNSEND AGENCY - DAYAlex is on the phone, frantically dialing numbers.                           ALEX             Come on, Bosley, answer.                    (she hangs up, then,                     to the Angels)             I've tried all his numbers and paged             him five times. No answer.                           NATALIE             I don't even want to think about             what I'm thinking right now.                           DYLAN             Don't!  He's alive, he's gotta be.   If...                    (she pauses)             What IS that?There's a very faint voice coming from Bosley's desk drawer.Dylan walks around the desk, yanks it open...                            BOSLEY (O.S.)             Angels!   Angels, can you hear me!Dylan grabs the radio receiver from the drawer, holds him up.Bosley's voice gets louder.                           BOSLEY (O.S.) (CONT'D)             I don't know if you can hear me. I don't             know if this thing is even working.The Angels crowd around Dylan and the receiver.     It seemsimpossible.EXT. COMPOUND TOWER - DAYCLOSE ON a satellite mini-dish mounted to the roof. We CRANEDOWN to look in a tower window, where Bosley is hunched overthe TV.CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                77.INT. COMPOUND TOWER - DAYOn the top of the TV, a wire runs from the satellite feed to --THE TINY RADIOthat Bosley swallowed at the spa.   It's worked its waythrough his system.                         BOSLEY           I know you can't answer, but... I           really hope you can hear this.EXT. RUINS OF TOWNSEND AGENCY - DAYThe angels still can't believe they're hearing his voice.                         DYLAN           Can we trace him?                         NATALIE           Not off a boosted signal. We'd           have to be within 20 miles.                         ALEX           Come on, Bosley. Tell us where you are.INT. COMPOUND TOWER - DAY                         BOSLEY           I don't know where I am, really. I'm           in a round room. The walls are white.           Well. Not white-white. More of a           cream, or an eggshell. Vanilla. Yes,           I'm going to say vanilla.INTERCUTThis isn't helping.                         BOSLEY (CONT'D)           I can see the ocean.                         ALEX           Bingo.Dylan finds a globe amid the wreckage.     Wipes off the soot.                         BOSLEY           I don't know which ocean. I was           blindfolded the whole time. We were           flying. It must've been three or           four hours. Maybe more.                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  78.CONTINUED:With her fingers, Dylan figures out how far he could haveflown. Estimates the circumference.                           DYLAN                    (frustrated)             He could be anywhere in North America.The bird Bosley was whistling to lands on the TV, looksat the transmitter, curious. SINGS its song.                           BOSLEY             Wherever it is, they have really             good pudding.Natalie holds up a finger -- stop.                            DYLAN                    (incredulous)             What, pudding?The bird SINGS its song again.      Natalie smiles.                          NATALIE             Hear that? That's a blue spotted             egret. They only live in one place.                           ALEX             Florida.The MUSIC revs up, as we...                                                  CUT TO:EXT. VILLA COURTYARDA HELICOPTER touches down inside the villa gates.     Knoxand Vivian emerge.INT. COMPOUND - DAYKnox and Vivian walk into a fully macked computer room,where the Thin Man is supervising a techie as he taps awayat Bosley's laptop.                           KNOX             Well?                           THIN MAN             Our access was cut off at the source.                           KNOX             GODDAMNIT!                           THIN MAN             But not before we retrieved the             information you wanted.                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  79.CONTINUED:The Thin Man pulls a piece of paper out of a printer,hands them to Knox.                           THIN MAN (CONT'D)             The National Security Agency's secret file             on the man known as Charles Townsend.Knox smiles.    Takes the print-out.                           KNOX             Finally.                    (beat)             How about Bosley? Did we get the             information we wanted?                           THIN MAN             Once we we drugged him, he sang like a bird.The Thin Man hands Knox another print-out.                           KNOX             Hmmm. Miami Arena.    Preparations             have been made?                             THIN MAN             Yes.    We move out tonight.                           KNOX             Excellent.                    (beat)             Where IS Bosley?                           THIN MAN             In the tower. We were waiting till             you gave the word.                             KNOX             Well?    No time like the present.The Thin Man nods.INT. KNOX COMPOUND - DAYThe Thin Man cocks his gun as he heads to the tower to doaway with Bosley. Then...                             HENCHMAN             Sir?    You should take a look at this.The Henchman leads Thin Man into...SECURITY ROOMA room lined with monitors that survey the courtyard. Henchmanpoints to one in the corner.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                  80.CONTINUED:                          HENCHMAN (CONT'D)             See here? Look at the timer on             the camera.                           THIN MAN             It's not moving.                    (beat)             Oh, this is the oldest one in the             book. Punch up camera three.Another camera angle comes up, this also a view of theempty courtyard.                              THIN MAN (CONT'D)             Now pan left.The Henchman does what he's told and, on the monitor...WE SEE DYLAN, dressed in a black cat suit, as she rewiresa security camera. She glances around, making sure noone sees her.                           THIN MAN (CONT'D)             The old re-loop the video camera trick.             And look, she's not even carrying a gun.                    (beat)             What is this, amateur hour?                                                  CUT TO:EXT. COURTYARD - DAYDylan sneaks her way through the courtyard, doing anadmirable job of trying to stick to the walls. As shecomes around the corner.                              THIN MAN (O.S.)             Um, excuse me?     I think you're             trespassing.She whips around to see the Thin Man, standing rightbehind her. She instantly swings at him, he blocks it.She's about to swing again when five guns get cockedagainst her temple. She's surrounded by guards.NOW --The thin man and his boys lead Dylan into the house.                           THIN MAN (CONT'D)             No offense, but as "storming the             castle" plans go, this one sucked.                          DYLAN             Oh yeah? And I suppose you could             do better?                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 81.CONTINUED:                           THIN MAN             Yeah, I sure as hell could.                           DYLAN             Oh, right.                           THIN MAN             How about an underwater entry? Or             hang gliding over the main tower?             There's a million good ways in, if             you just do your homework.Dylan glares at him, and as she does...We move in CLOSE ON Dylan's funky belt buckle.       There's atiny camera concealed there.EXT. OUTSIDE THE COMPOUND - DAYNatalie and Alex huddle around a three-inch monitor,getting live video from Dylan's camera.                           ALEX             You heard the man.                           NATALIE             Nice work, Dyl.They move into action.EXT. SECOND STORY VERANDAH - DAYDylan is led inside by the Thin Man.       Knox is waiting for her.                           THIN MAN             Present for you, sir.                           KNOX             Dylan, how nice. Welcome to my             Florida home. Not as tasteful as             the one in LA, but much more private.She shrugs off the goons -- enough already.                           DYLAN             So tell me, Knox, what's the brilliant             plan? You gonna sell a list of our             foreign spies to the highest bidder?             Blackmail the President?                           KNOX             The first plan is too complicated,             and the second is virtually             impossible.                           (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 82.CONTINUED:                           KNOX (CONT'D)             Besides, I already have all the             money I need and my motivation is             much simpler...                    (leaning in close to her)             ... revenge.                            DYLAN             Revenge?   Against who?                           KNOX             You know what? I'm not in a gabby mood             right now. I've got a score to settle.He flips shut a suitcase filled with C-5 explosive, thesame stuff we saw Pascal selling in the opening scene.                           DYLAN             Seems like you're going a bit overboard.                           KNOX             No, just leaving myself plenty of             margin for error. Goodbye, Dylan.With that, he walks out of the room.The Thin Man signals to the Henchmen. Two of them forceDylan to sit in one of the wooden deck chairs.Then, with the thick packing tape, they begin binding herarms to the arms of the chair. As they do:                           DYLAN             I don't know why you bother.   I've             already won.                            THIN MAN             Is that so?                           DYLAN             Every moment I sit here is a             moment I'm using to figure out how             to take you down. In fact, this             statement -- this one I'm making             right here-- is just me stalling             for time while I decide which of             your goons I'm going to flatten             first.                    (whispering)             It's gonna be the guy behind me.The Thin Man can't help but be amused. After all, thereare six guards and one blonde -- who is now taped to achair.                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               83.CONTINUED:                           THE THIN MAN             Really?                            DYLAN             By the time your guys are firing,             I'll be at about 180 on my reverse             inverted 360, which will land me             on Fat Boy there, as promised.                     (nods to the second guard)             He'll take the chair seat in the             chin.                     (re: two others; very slowly)             Now... I'm warning both of you:             I'm going to get you to shoot each             other. I know. Cliche as that             sounds.                     (then to the last two)             Last, you guys -- hell, I'll make             something up. We'll have fun.The Thin Man smirks oh-so-confidently.                           THE THIN MAN             And what will you do to me?                            DYLAN             You won't even be here. I mean, I             don't want to tell you how to do             your job, but you should've killed             me by now. Because I already know             that your people are onto my             people, which means any moment now             you're going to be called out to             go and deal --Suddenly the door flies open and --                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Ah!   See?                           HENCHMAN AT THE DOOR             We have intruders.With a glare to Dylan, the Thin Man follows him out.INT. UNDERWATER GROTTOAlex, dressed in a sexy bikini, emerges from the waterand instantly takes out two guards.EXT. SMALL GARDEN - DAYNATALIE hang-glides into a courtyard, knocking out twohenchmen as she does. Alex catches up with her, asNatalie pulls out a small scanner.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               84.CONTINUED:                           NATALIE             Bosley's close.                             ALEX             You find him.    I'll get Dylan.Natalie heads left.     Alex goes right.INT. TOWER OFFICE - DAYRacing up the stairs, Natalie enters a round room withopen windows on all sides. A gentle breeze stirs thecurtains. There's an amazing 360 degree view, from hillsto ocean.According to her scanner, Bosley should be here, butthere's no one.                           NATALIE                    (yelling)             BOSLEY! Bosley, can you hear me?INT. BOSLEY'S ROUND ROOM      DAYHearing her voice, the feral Bosley looks up.                            BOSLEY             Natalie!   Is that you?INT. TOWER OFFICE - DAYShe hears him. She keeps yelling -- so does he -- untilthey both realize that his room is above hers.                           NATALIE             How do I get up to you?                           BOSLEY             There's a staircase. Look for a             switch.She begins frantically checking the desk, the shelves,everything.Her cell phone RINGS.     She answers it.                           NATALIE             Hello?... Pete, hi! How are you?INT. BILTMORE HOTEL - DAYOn break, Pete is talking on a pay phone.                           PETE             I'm good. I just -- you said you             wanted me to call.CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                85.INT. TOWER OFFICE - DAYNatalie keeps checking the shelves, looking for a secretswitch.                          NATALIE           I did. I do.    I mean, thank you           for calling.INTERCUT                         PETE           I'm not an insecure person or anything,           and I've really enjoyed the very brief           time we have spent together.Two GOONS race up the stairs into the office.   Natalieturns to face them.                         PETE (CONT'D)           I'm just wondering if it's           something I said or did that's           making this whole thing so weird           between us.The Goons approach.                         NATALIE                  (into phone)           Can you hold on a sec?Hitting MUTE, Natalie kicks the chair behind her and divesunder the desk. She comes up on the other side with aSURGE SUPPRESSOR,electric cords attached. She backhands it into thegoons, who jerk and twitch as electricity shoots throughtheir bodies.                         NATALIE (CONT'D)                  (un-muting)           One more sec.She re-mutes.With a roundhouse kick, she flattens one of the goons,WHACKS the other with the cell phone.The first goon charges at her, but she sidesteps at thelast moment, leaving Goon One to hit Goon Two. Both mentopple through the open window, falling. Yikes.                         NATALIE (CONT'D)                  (un-muting)           Sorry about that.                                                (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                              86.CONTINUED:                           PETE             Listen, is this a bad time?                            NATALIE             No.   Not at all.She starts searching again for the switch.                           PETE             You just sound distracted.                           NATALIE             You know, work this week has been             really busy. It's been hard to focus.BEHIND NATALIE, Vivian Wu reaches the top of the stairs.She moves stealthily. Natalie has no idea she's there.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)             See, the thing is, I'm not a full-             time waitress. I should have been             more up-front about that, it's just...At the last moment, Natalie catches a moving reflectionin a shiny trophy. Turns to find Vivian Wu swinging anantique chair at her head.She ducks.    The chair SHATTERS the display case.Scrambling to get away, Natalie drops the phone.                           PETE             Natalie, what was that?                           NATALIE                    (yelling to phone)             Everything's fine!                           VIVIAN WU             Hate to disagree.Vivian upends the desk, nearly crushing Natalie. Vivianjumps on top, ready to kick the shit out of our angel.As we probably suspected, Vivian Wu is one hell of amartial artist. Fortunately, so is Natalie.In their first series of blows, Vivian seems to have theupper hand, but Natalie rallies hard. Vivian surprisesher with a floor-sweeping kick, knocking her down.Vivian grabs the phone off the floor.                           VIVIAN WU (CONT'D)             Is this the famous Charlie?                                                (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                87.CONTINUED:                            PETE                    (confused)             No, it's Pete.Vivian looks at the phone. Who the fuck cares?      Shethrows the phone out the open window.Getting up, Natalie stares her down, incredulity buildingto rage.                            NATALIE             You bitch!   I like that guy.Mocking, Vivian wipes away a tear.Natalie lets forth a typhoon of fury, a full-out MortalKombat. Vivian is thrown back against the bookcase,where she knocks over a candlestick.That's the trigger for the bookcases to begin sinkinginto the floor. Circling around the room, each set ofshelves drops to a different level, forming steps thatlead to the upstairs room.As Natalie and Vivian continue to fight, Bosley stickshis head down from above, watching the brawl. Natalie iskicking ass.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)                    (to Vivian)             Do you have any idea how difficult it             is to find a quality man in Los Angeles?She slams Vivian into the wall.      Grabs her again, handsaround her head.                             VIVIAN WU             To be honest?Vivian suddenly leans forward and KISSES her, right onthe lips.                             VIVIAN WU (CONT'D)             I don't care.Natalie is surprised for a moment, which gives Vivian thechance to swing at her. She misses.                           NATALIE             I can handle villainy. I can even             handle super-villainy.                    (Vivian swings and                     misses again)             But what you did is just wrong.                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                              88.CONTINUED:She head-butts Vivian, knocking her out cold.   She throwsthe limp body on the floor.A beat, then Natalie looks up to see Bosley.                           NATALIE (CONT'D)                    (suddenly chipper)             Hi, Bos!He waves.EXT. VERANDAH - DAYFrom below, we hear SECURITY WHISTLES. The compound has beenbreached. Dylan looks at the six armed guards surrounding her.                           DYLAN             Here we go.And now she does exactly what she told the Thin Man she'd do:She pitches forward, ducking her head so the chair's backcrashes into the railing, tearing it off. She stands.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Okay, that part worked.The Guards FIRE -- but Dylan has already launched herselffrom the railing into that backflip, which lands her onthe head of --Fat Boy, flattening him bad, and smashing the rest of thechair into kindling. She grabs the wooden seat and whipsit up, catching bullets from Guard #3 before flinging itlike a Frisbee at Guard #2, nailing him right on the chin.Quickly she stands again, between Guards #3 and 4.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Now, guys, I warned you. This is             where you shoot each other.The two men scoff, disbelieving. Then Dylan does a headfake, both Guards panic, and fire, but Dylan drops, leavingeach man a clear shot at the other. Both gape. Both fall.Just Guards #5 and 6 left.    Dylan's chair arms are stilltaped to her forearms.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             Okay, here's where we improvise.In a whirl, she overhead-chops Guard #5. Drives herright arm into his shoulder while swinging her left arminto the back of the Guard #6's head.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   89.CONTINUED:A few more blows, then both men fall.Now Dylan drops into a second chair, half-exhausted,half-amused with herself. Has one brief beat to take itall in, then --Bosley steps onto the veranda, sees Dylan sitting in thechair.FROM HIS POINT OF VIEW: It looks like Dylan -- whosearms are still strapped to the arms of the first chair --is taped to the chair she now sits in.                           BOSLEY             Oh my God, let me help you.Bosley hurries over, "freeing her." Amused, Dylan letshim. Natalie steps out from inside, pausing to KICK oneguard who was starting to revive.                                                   CUT TO:EXT. KNOX COMPOUND - DAYKnox, carrying the briefcase bomb, gets into his waitinghelicopter, followed closely by the Thin Man.                           KNOX             Let's GO!The helicopter quick ascends, just as...                           DYLAN (O.S.)             Damn!THE THREE ANGELSrun into the courtyard.                           NATALIE             Don't worry, we'll get him.                           DYLAN             You don't understand. He's got a             pound of C-5 in that briefcase.                           ALEX             The question is, where's he headed?                           BOSLEY (O.S.)             Miami.The three angels turn to see Bosley, huffing and puffinghis way into the courtyard.                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 90.CONTINUED:                           BOSLEY (CONT'D)             The man Knox is trying to kill has two             general admission tickets to the Duke-             Maryland game at Miami Arena. He's going             to blow up the arena and kill his target.                           DYLAN             Not that I don't believe you, but how             exactly do you know all this?                           BOSLEY             Because Angels, I was the one who             purchased those tickets.                           NATALIE             But Bosley, you HATE sports, why             would you...                    (suddenly getting it)             You didn't buy them for yourself.                           ALEX             You bought them for...Bosley lowers his head.    Suddenly all the angels understand.                           ANGELS             CHARLIE!They race out the courtyard, in hot pursuit.                                                 CUT TO:INT. MIAMI - DAYRacing across the water, we find thong-clad BEACH BABESmoving to a Latin beat. Art Deco buildings flank sun-kissedstreets. The people are sexy, the daiquiris strong, and everynight's a fiesta -- Welcome to MIAMI.Running down the street, towards Miami Arena, the threeangels pass THREE OTHER WOMEN rollerblading by: JILLMONROE, SABRINA DUNCAN and KELLY GARRETT.Nothing is said, but a cool moment just happened.                                                 CUT TO:INT. LONG, LONG, HALLWAY -- LATERThe three Angels are running down a very long hallway.Their voices are the only sound that echoes off thesewalls, although there is a faint humming that grows louderas they approach two, metal fire doors.                           DYLAN             What do you think he looks like?                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                   91.CONTINUED:                           ALEX             Sixty, tall, well-built.                           NATALIE             I always saw him as younger.                            DYLAN             Definitely.   With black hair.                           NATALIE             No, silver hair. And tan.                           ALEX             He's not George Hamilton.                           NATALIE             He's outside a lot.                           DYLAN             We'll know him when we see him,             that's for sure.                              ALEX             IF we see him.                           NATALIE             How hard can it be to spot Charlie?They slam into the doors, and we...                                                   CUT TO:INT. MIAMI ARENA - NIGHTWe reverse angle to reveal the inside of Miami Arena. The firstthing that hits us is the WALL OF SOUND, the noise madeby twenty thousand people in a basketball induced frenzy.The next thing that hits us is the sheer magnitude of thejob facing the Angels. Hard to spot? The crowd is one,enormous, teeming mass of brightly colored humanity.                              DYLAN             Aw, shit.The game is in progress, Duke vs. North Carolina, and it's abarn burner. A one point game with six minutes to go. BALLPLAYER pulls up and swishes a three pointer, Duke by two.The crowd goes apeshit.BY THE MEZZANINEThe Angels huddle, yelling over the deafening noise of thecrowd...                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             We have to split up!                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               92.CONTINUED:                           ALEX             I'll take the luxury boxes.                           DYLAN             I'll take the mezzanine.                           NATALIE             I got the floor.They split up. Dylan leads the charge down the loge section,blowing past the SECURITY WOMAN, who yells after her.INT. ARENA FLOOR - NIGHTBEHIND THE RIM, COLLEGE PLAYER #2 pulls down a brick, slamshome the rebound. The crowd ROARS.INT. LUXURY BOXES --JASON GIBBONS, famous movie star and North Carolina alumnus,pumps his fists in the air. His luxury box is loaded withfellow Tar Heels and nameless studio executives. Herepeatedly high fives a Hollywood type in sunglasses and Armani.                               JASON             Yes, yes!When suddenly, the door to the luxury box is flung open.                           ALEX                    (yelling)             Charlie!? Charles Townsend!Jason whips around and locks eyes with Alex.                               JASON             Alex?                               ALEX             Jason?                      (beat)             Shit.Realizing she has no time to explain, and that Charlie isn'tin here, she turns and leaves.                               JASON             ALEX!    Hey...While everyone watches, confused, Jason pushes his waythrough the box and follows Alex into the hall.                                               CUT TO:CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               93.INT. ARENA -- MEZZANINEDylan races past rows of seats, pissing off plenty of fansin the process.                        DYLAN                 (looking everywhere)          Charlie! Charlie!FLASHES FIREin the stands.STATISTICIANSscribble at their monitors. Natalie runs behind them,scanning the crowd. WHIP PANS, from ONE MAN to ANOTHER toANOTHER. Stopping on a likely candidate...                              NATALIE          Charlie?                              LIKELY CANDIDATE          Who?THE SCOREBOARD CLOCKcounts down.    :60.   :59.    :58.INT. LUXURY BOXES - NIGHTAlex bursts in.   It's a crowd of fifteen cocktail-drinkingBUSINESS MEN.                        ALEX          Charles Townsend? Anybody, Charles          Townsend?She ducks back into the hallway.INT. HALLWAY -- CONTINUOUSAlex walks out into the hallway, frustrated.     Then,miraculously, she spots him...KNOX.He walks out of one of the luxury boxes, holding a large,metal briefcase. He heads for the elevator.ALEXimmediately goes to intercept him, but...                              THIN MAN (O.S.)          Don't move.                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 94.CONTINUED:It's the Thin Man, standing behind her, with a gun inher back.                           THIN MAN (CONT'D)             You move, you say anything, I             perforate you. Got it?Knox glances back at the Thin Man, nods to him.      Then hegets in the elevator.The Thin Man starts edging Alex towards some emergency exitdoors, gun still in her back. Alex is trying to think of anescape, quickly. She knows that the second he gets her outof this public space, he's gonna shoot her. The door getscloser and closer...                            JASON (O.S.)             Alex?!   Jesus, what is going on?The Thin Man and Alex turn around to face Jason, who issweaty and exasperated from chasing her.                           ALEX             Jason, hi, I...The Thin Man digs the gun deeper into her back.                           ALEX (CONT'D)             Can I talk to you later?                           JASON             No you can talk to me NOW. I want             to know what the hell is going on.             First, you disappear with no             explanation, not even a goodbye.                           ALEX             I'm sorry, I...                           JASON             Now, I see you here, but you're             with some other guy.                           THIN MAN             Hey, movie star, do yourself a             favor and get lost.Jason double takes.     He's not used to someone talking tohim like that.                            JASON             Lemme guess.   You must be Charlie?                           ALEX             Jason, please...                                                   (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                               95.CONTINUED:                           JASON             No, no I'm sick of this shit. I'm             sick of this asshole telling you             what you can and can't do.And then, with no warning, he hauls off and punches theThin Man.Now, Jason's just an actor, not an ass-kicking superdetective, so his punch isn't all that great. In fact, itleaves Jason shaking his hand in pain.The Thin Man, a trickle of blood running from his lip, smiles.                           THIN MAN             That was stupid.First, he pops Jason right in the jaw. Jason stumblesbackward, dazed. Then he reaches for his gun, in theprocess, loosening his grip on Alex...                           ALEX             Jason, get down!Alex spins out of the Thin Man's grasp and does a fullroundhouse kick, knocking the gun out of the Thin Man'shands. The Thin Man immediately responds, throwing twoquick punches, which Alex expertly blocks and then followswith a hitch-kick to the chin.Jason, dazed and confused, thinks he must be hallucinating.                           JASON             What the hell is going on?What's going on is a world class ass-kicking, courtesy of hisgirlfriend. While the action star watches in amazement, Alexunloads an arsenal of bad ass kung fu moves that would makeJet Li green with envy.The Thin Man doesn't stand a chance. A flying side kicksends him stumbling backwards into the stairwell. Wefollow the fight...INT. STAIRWELL -- CONTINUOUS... to the first landing. The Thin Man, battered and bruised,reaches down to his ankle holster to get his spare gun, butAlex is too fast for him. She stamps on his hand, thendrops a knee to his throat.                           ALEX             Right now, just by leaning forward, I             could crush your windpipe. You'd die             a slow and painful death. You don't             want that, do you?                                                 (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                96.CONTINUED:The Thin Man shakes his head "no."                           ALEX (CONT'D)             Where is the bomb, when's it going off?She presses harder.INT. HALLWAYJason slams out into the stairwell, looking for Alex. Hefinds her on her walkie talkie, the Thin Man handcuffedto the staircase.                            ALEX             Hi, Jason.   Gimme one second?Jason nods, sure.We go to another triptych, all three Angels on their cellphones in different parts of arena.                           ALEX (CONT'D)             Angels! Knox planted the bomb in the             basement, and it's timed to go off             when the game clock hits zero!                           NATALIE (O.S.)             Roger that, Alex, I'll stop the clock!                           DYLAN (O.S.)             I'll look for the bomb!Alex turns back to Jason. He's clearly having a difficulttime processing everything he's just seen.                           ALEX             I lied to you Jason.    I'm not a             secretary.                           JASON             Yeah, I can see that.                           ALEX                    (referring to the                     Thin Man)             And that wasn't Charlie.                            JASON             Right.                           ALEX             I'm actually here to stop a madman             from killing everyone in this             building. Would it be okay if we             talked later?                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 97.CONTINUED:                           JASON             Go save the world, honey.                    (beat)             I'll be waiting for you.Alex smiles.    Runs off.INT. ARENANatalie stares up at the clock... :30.       :29.The WHISTLE BLOWS.                            REFEREE             Time out!Whew, that was close. But it'll start up any second.       Shehas to keep it stopped. But how? She glances to thesidelines and gets an idea.ON THE COURT --MUSIC starts from overhead, the respective teams' cheerleaderscoming out for one last routine.As they kick into gear, Natalie comes out with them, dressedas a Duke cheerleader. She follows along with the dancers, abit timid at first, then more confident as she gets into it.INT. ARENA BASEMENT -- BENEATH THE COURTDylan races through the basement, looking for the briefcase.Then she spots it, hooked into some wires that snake upinto ceiling above.Dylan approaches it cautiously.       She slowly opens the top...                           DYLAN                    (to herself)             Alright, Dylan, all we have to do is             figure out which wire to cut.REVEAL THE BOMB --there are about fifty different wires, in every color inthe Crayola box.                            DYLAN (CONT'D)             Oh, shit.INT. COURTSIDEAlex, still searching for Charlie, notices something strange.                           ALEX             You're kidding me.CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                98.NATALIEis fully transformed on the court, from wallflower to full-out cheerleader. It's not that she's as good as the othercheerleaders. She's better.ON THE COURTThe SONG ends. The Cheerleaders vacate the court, but Nataliekeeps dancing her heart out. She has 18,000 fans watchingher, and she's totally in the moment. But there's anotheragenda as well...                        COURTSIDE RADIO ANNOUNCER          The time out is over, but one          cheerleader doesn't seem to notice.          Officials can't start the clock again          while she's on the court.                                                CUT TO:INT. MIAMI ARENA -- CONTINUOUSDylan has picked two wires.                        DYLAN          Chartreuse and magenta.   This has          gotta be it.She prepares to snip them with her wire cutters, when...                        KNOX (O.S.)          I wouldn't do that, if I were you.She spins to see Knox, standing behind her.                        KNOX (CONT'D)          See, if you snip ANY of those wires,          the bomb WILL blow up.                        DYLAN          It's gonna blow anyway, once the          clock gets to zero.                        KNOX          Who told you that, my idiotic          henchman? Do you think I tell him          ANYTHING that's confidential?He holds up a small TRIGGERING DEVICE. It's the same onewe saw Pascal try to sell in the opening scene.                        KNOX (CONT'D)          THIS is what triggers that bomb.     So          if you'll kindly step away, I'll          refrain from killing both of us.                                                (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                             99.CONTINUED:Realizing she has no choice, Dylan stands up and backs away.                        KNOX (CONT'D)          In different circumstances, Dylan, I          think you and I could have worked out.          We have a lot in common.                        DYLAN          Yeah, I fall for assholes, and you          ARE one.Knox laughs.                        KNOX          Good one.                 (beat, as he backs up)          Well, I must be going. If you like          your body parts attached to your          torso, I suggest you do the same.Knox turns to go, but the other Angels are blocking his way.                        ALEX          Give it up, Knox. You're surrounded.                        NATALIE          Give us the detonator.                        KNOX          NO!Stumbling backwards, Knox holds it up high.                        KNOX (CONT'D)          I'll blow this building sky high, I swear!                        CHARLIE (O.S.)          Don't do it, Eric. It's me you want,          not all these innocent people.Everyone turns, as one, to a figure emerging from the shadows.                        KNOX          Charlie?That's right, it's Charlie. Finally, after all these years,we get a look at him, and boy is it... disappointing.He's not what we expected. Short, portly, dressed in a"We're #1" t-shirt; the Angels are absolutely floored byCharlie's appearance.                        ANGELS          Charlie?Charlie ignores their stares and addresses Knox directly.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                 100.CONTINUED:                           CHARLIE             Your father was a double agent, Eric.             Yes, I revealed him, but he was killed             by his own people before we could             throw him in jail.                    (beat)             He was my friend.                           KNOX             It's still your fault, you arrogant             prick! You still killed my father!                           CHARLIE             Maybe. Maybe I did. But why should             YOU kill all these people? If you             hate me so much, just shoot ME.             Just shoot me, Eric.Charlie spreads his arms, leaving Knox a plenty wide target.It's a horribly tense moment.       The Angels are frozen, watchingKnox decide Charlie's fate.Knox is sweating, debating his choices. Can he really dothis? Charlie's not the glamorous, smug asshole he imagined.He starts lowering his gun.                           KNOX             Okay.  You're right.                    (quickly)             I'll just kill you.BLAM!It all happens in the blink of an eye. Knox fires, hittingCharlie in the chest. Natalie leaps out and tackles Knox.Alex dives and grabs the detonator, before it has a chanceto go off.Dylan runs to Charlie's side.                            DYLAN             Charlie, no.   NO!She hold shim in her arms as the other Angels gather roundtheir fallen leader. He gasps for air.                           DYLAN (CONT'D)             He's trying to say something.Then Dylan notices something weird. He's not gasping forair, there's something stuck in his mouth.With a great, hacking cough, he spits it out. It's a voicechip, like the one Dylan used in the opening scene.                                              (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                101.CONTINUED:                           VOICE             Ucch, that tasted terrible!The voice isn't Charlie's. Dylan reaches down and ripsoff Charlie's mask, revealing...                            NATALIE             Bosley!   Are you okay?                            BOSLEY             Think so.He pulls back the padding from the suit, revealing a smallwound where the bullet grazed his side.                           BOSLEY (CONT'D)             Hurts, but it looks like it'll heel.Dylan laughs, Alex ruffles his hair.                           DYLAN             Hey, wait a second. If Bosley's             here... then where's Charlie?The Angels all look at each other.      No one knows.EXT. CENTER PASSAGE - DAYIn gorgeous SLOW MOTION, the three angels walk side-by-sidewith a calm assurance, fireballs exploding behind them.They won.As MUSIC rises, the ANGELS TRIPTYCH descends, then peelsaway to reveal...EXT. GORGEOUS BEACH - DAYThe angels kick back on the white sands, tropical drinks in-hand. Bosley is there as well, with a grass hat and zincon his sniffer.Charlie is on the cellular speakerphone.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             Great work, angels. You'll be happy             to know you received another             presidential commendation.The Angels, and Bosley, clink glasses.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE (CONT'D)             Enjoy your vacation, angels.                           THE ANGELS             Thank you Charlie.                                                  (CONTINUED)CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                                102.CONTINUED:They toast the speakerphone.                           CHARLIE'S VOICE             Alex, Natalie -- I know you've been             putting in some long hours on this case,             so I thought you might enjoy a chance to             catch up with some old friends.NATALIE AND ALEX TURN TO SEEPETER AND JASONwalking across the beach towards them. Each is carrying adrink of his own. They wave. Damn those men look good.Alex and Natalie share a smile.                           DYLAN             Any chance you'll be joining us,             Charlie?                                                CUT TO:A SUNNY DECKWe're in Charlie's point-of-view. We can see part of hisreflection in the window -- not enough to see his face,but we get some sense of the man.He turns away, begins walking.    Steps down onto the sand.                           CHARLIE                    (to cell phone)             I'd love to, Angels. But I have some             precious treasures to watch over.With that, he hangs up. We stay in his P.O.V., walkingacross the beach. And it's not just any beach.TO THE LEFT, WE NOTICEPETE AND JASONapproaching.    We're on the same beach.Looking right, we see the backs of the Angels and Bosley.They have no idea that Charlie is walking right behind them.A beat, then Dylan looks back.She looks directly as us -- at Charlie -- tracking as wemove past. Does she somehow recognize it's Charlie?From her reaction, it's not clear.A beat, then we...CHARLIE'S ANGELS - 8/18/99                            103.REVERSE ANGLE/NOT P.O.V.Dylan looks back forward again. Did she just see Charlie?Her smile tells us she thinks she did.She raises a toast.                           DYLAN          To Charlie.                           THE ANGELS AND BOSLEY          To Charlie.They knock glasses.Right at the moment we should probably fade out, Bosleyspills his icy drink in his lap. His eyes go wide.The Angels just have to laugh.We FREEZE FRAME, then...CUT TO BLACK.                               THE END
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+INT. BEDROOM - NIGHTEd lies awake in bed.  He is sweaty and nervous.  His eyes are wide-open, blood-shot and tired.He picks up his bedside clock which is ticking loudly.  It is 3:37.He looks over at the other side of thequeen-size bed. It is still made. He picks a long, blonde hair from thepillow and examines it curiously.There is a noise outside and Ed gets up to investigate.INT. HALLWAY - NIGHTEd walks through the dark hallway and into the living room of his small house.INT. LIVING ROOMBy the front door, hanging on the wall, is aframed picture of Eve, Ed's wife. Ed passes by it and looks outsidethrough the window. There is some wind outside, but nothing else.INT. BATHROOMEd looks longingly at his reflection. Ed Saxon,45, is a morbid, insecure man. His frustration with his life has tingedhis sense of humor with an acerbic bite. His early success, a fewpublications of his poetry, has given him a professorship at theUniversity. He is well-read, intelligent, a bit pompous andoccasionally condescending. But mostly, these qualities are restrainedand his outward appearance is a little sorrowful. There is anunquestionable charm about him, and its effect is evident in the peoplearound him.He searches through the medicine cabinet, whichis full of women's items, and takes out a Cosco-sized bottle ofsleeping pills. He reads the back and takes two.He hears something bang against the front door.INT. LIVING ROOMHe opens the front door and takes a step outside.EXT. PORCH - NIGHTHe looks down by his feet and finds the morningpaper, wrapped in blue plastic, lying on the doormat. He picks it upand goes back inside.INT. LIVING ROOMEd stands helplessly in the empty living room.  Ed's desk sits on one side of the living room,crammed into the corner. He searches quickly through the stuff on thedesk and finds a small address book. He finds a name in the book anddials the number.SUSIE(over phone)Hello?EDSusie.  Hi, it's Ed.  I'm sorry I woke you up.SUSIEIs something wrong?EDEve isn't there, is she?SUSIENo.  She's not there?EDNo.  She didn't come home after work.SUSIEOh, no.  Didn't she call or anything?EDNo.  She was supposed to be home around six.  I cooked her dinner.SUSIECould she have gone anywhere else?EDI don't think so.  Do you?SUSIEI don't know.EDI'm a little worried.SUSIEI bet.  Did you call Harborview?EDNo.  Do you think I should?SUSIEYeah.  If she got into an accident of something, they would take her there.EDYou don't think that's overreacting?SUSIEDon't be silly.  Just call them.  It can't hurt.EDAlright.  But if she comes home later and it turns out to be nothing, don't tell her I called the hospital, OK?SUSIECall me back.EDAlright.Ed finds the Yellow Pages and finds a page of"non-emergency" numbers. His finger runs down the list: Trauma, Fire,Disaster, etc. until he comes to Hospitals and then Harborview. Hedials the number.OPERATORHarborview.EDHello.  I wanted to find out if someone had come in.  In an emergency, maybe.OPERATORHold on.She transfers him and the phone rings again.NURSEEmergency room.EDI wanted to find out if someone had been brought in.NURSEWhat's the last name?EDSaxon.  Eve Saxon.NURSEAre you a relative?EDShe's my wife.NURSEOne second.  No.  No one with last name Saxon.EDAre there any other hospitals that I could check?NURSEWell, we serve as the emergency room for King County,so unless they specified a hospital, they would have been brought here.In an emergency.EDOK.  Thank you.He calls Susie back.SUSIEWhat happened?EDNothing.SUSIEJeez.  Did you guys have a fight?EDNo.  No.SUSIEDid you call the school?EDYeah, a while ago.  No one answered the phone there.SUSIEIt's not like her to not call, is it?EDNo, she would have called.SUSIEWhy don't you call the police?EDThe police?SUSIEMaybe they know something?  Like if she was in an accident.EDIt's going a little far, don't you think?SUSIEI don't know.  If you're worried...It's not like the police have anything better to do.EDI guess.  OK.  I'll call you tomorrow.  Sorry to wake you up.SUSIEIt's OK.  Call me tomorrow.He hangs up.INT. KITCHEN - NIGHTEd looks around the kitchen, searching lazilyfor something to eat. He opens a cabinet that is full of boxes offat-free Skin-EE( chocolate-marshmallow cookies.He opens the fridge, looks around and takes theplate of food he made for his wife. He takes off the cellophane andstarts to eat.He sits at the table, but after a few more bites, he loses his appetite. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHTEd sits at his desk, staring at the phone.  He takes a breath and calls 911.OPERATOR911 emergency.EDHi.  I don't think this is an emergency.OPERATORWhat's the problem?EDMy wife hasn't come home and, I don't know..I wanted to check with the police to see if there was an accident.OPERATORWhen was the last time you saw her?EDThis morning.  She was supposed to come home from work, but she didn't.OPERATORWhen does she get off work?EDAround six.  Usually.OPERATORShe hasn't called since then?EDNo.OPERATORDo you have any idea where she might have gone?  Maybe to a friend's house?EDI don't think so.  I called the only place I could think of.OPERATORBut you were expecting her home.EDYes.  I cooked dinner.OPERATORI could send a police officer to your house.EDDo you think that's necessary?  Maybe I should wait.OPERATORUntil when?  It's five in the morning.EDMaybe she went somewhere.OPERATORWhere?EDI don't know.  Should I be worried?OPERATORI would be.EDYes, I'm worried.OPERATORSo, do you want me to send an officer to your house?EDI don't think so.  I think I should wait.OPERATORDo you think she's going to come home soon?EDI hope so.OPERATORSo do I.  How long are you going to wait?EDA little longer.  I think I may be overreacting.  She might have gone somewhere I can't think of.  Sometimes I worry too much.OPERATOROK.  It's up to you.  My name is Paul.  I'll be here if you change your mind.Ed hangs up.INT. BATHROOMEd takes the sleeping pills from the medicine cabinet and takes two more.INT. HALLWAYEve has a small room in the house that Ed iscautious about entering. He walks in and looks around, as if he hasn'tbeen in there for a while.INT. EVE'S ROOMThe room is painted sky-blue and the ceiling has clouds painted on it.On one side of the room, there is a console piano with some sheet music resting on it.On the other side of the room is a small,antique writing desk. Ed sits down and looks at some of the items lyingon it. There are a couple of letters and an address book. There is abox containing paper clips, etc. There is an open box of Skin-EE(cookies.There is a drawer in the desk which he tries toopen, but finds that it is locked. He searches around the desk for akey, but can'' find one. He presses a little harder at the drawer, butit won't budge. He takes a letter opener from a jar on the desk andstarts to fidget with it, but he still can't open it.Then he hears some distant voices coming fromoutside. He looks out the window where he can see the house next door.There is a light on in the neighbor's window, where the voices arecoming from, and some vague shadows move around inside. Ed turns offthe lights in Eve's room, so that he can see more clearly.From the muffled sounds, it is soon clear that the couple next door is having an argument.Only the woman's voice is clear.WOMANI hate you! Stay away from me! Don't touch me! Just goto sleep! I'll scream! I am not screaming now! You don't know anythingabout me!Then the noise dies down and the woman can be heard sobbing in the distance.INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHTEd picks up the phone and dials 911.OPERATOR911 emergency.EDHi.  I called before.  I think I was talking to Paul.OPERATORHold on.Paul comes on the line.OPERATORThis is Paul.EDHi.  I called before.  My wife hasn't come home.OPERATORYes.  I remember.  You want me to send an officer over?EDYes.OPERATORWhat's your address?ED4523 East Street.OPERATORHe should be there in a few minutes.  OK?EDYes.  Thank you.OPERATORYou did the right thing, sir.Ed hangs up. Almost instantly, he sees somelights pass by the window. He looks through the window and sees apolice car pull up. He opens the door and watches the officer as heapproaches the house.OFFICER STEWART is a youngish patrolman.  He is relaxed, caring and formal.STEWARTYou called the police?EDYes.  It was me.  That was fast.STEWARTThank you.EDCome in.Stewart is led a few steps into the living room.  He looks around.STEWARTYour wife didn't come home?  Is that right?EDYes.STEWARTWhen was the last time you saw her?EDWhen she left for work this morning.  She was supposed to come home after work.  I cooked dinner.STEWARTAnd she made it to work, right?EDYes.  I think so.  I don't know.STEWARTWhat time does she usually come home?  Around six?EDYes.  Usually.STEWARTWhat does she look like?EDShe's blonde, straight hair.STEWARTWhat was she wearing?  Do you remember?EDI think it was a red sweater and a dress.STEWARTWhat kind of car does she drive?EDA Volvo.  Gray.  '85, I think.Stewart lets out a sigh of relief.STEWARTWell, you had me worried. There was a blonde womaninvolved with a car-jacking around six. Apparently she was hit on thehead by one of the perpetrators and then wandered away from theincident in a daze. Nobody's seen her since. When I got the call on theradio, I thought that must have been your wife, but this woman wasdriving a Pathfinder and was wearing jeans, so it probably wasn't her.You had me worried.EDShe drove a Volvo.  Drives a Volvo.STEWARTThat's a relief.  Do you know anywhere your wife might have gone?EDI called the only place I could think of.  And I called the hospital.STEWARTHarborview?EDYes.Stewart takes a couple of pills from a bottle and takes them, chasing them down with a coffee he has with him.STEWARTI'm afraid there's not much I can do now. By law, wecan't put out a missing persons until 72 hours has elapsed since thelast time she was seen.ED72 hours?STEWARTUsually in these cases, it was something stupid. Maybeshe was upset about something, had to get away. Who knows? What I cando is take the license plate number of her car and if it shows up forsome reason, we'll give you a call. Do you have your wife's licenseplate number?EDYes.  Actually, it's easy to remember.  007 FEC.STEWARTJames Bond.EDRight.  And FEC, For Every Child.STEWARTAnd what's her name?EDEve.  Eve Saxon.STEWARTAnd your name?EDEd.  Saxon.STEWARTLike I said, it was probably something stupid.  Did you have a fight?EDNot at all.STEWARTWell, you should try to get some sleep and, if shedoesn't show up tomorrow, give us a call and we'll see what things looklike then. OK?EDYes.  Thank you.STEWARTUsually, they come back.EDYes.  Thank you.  I feel much better now.  Thank you for coming.STEWARTNo problem.  You have a good night.  Or morning, I guess.EDYes.  You too.Ed shuts the door. He's a little wired so hesits at his desk and picks up a pile of his students' papers. He readsthe one on top, marking it with a red pen as he does.He hears a gurgling noise coming quietly from the bathroom.  He gets up and walks into the-INT. BATHROOMHe looks around the bathroom, tracing the soundto the bathtub drain. It gets louder as he approaches it, but before hecan investigate, there is a knock on the front door.INT. LIVING ROOM - DAYWhen Ed comes out to answer the door, it is now bright daylight outside.  The sun is streaming in through the windows.Through the washed-out sunlight outside his window, Ed can see a policecar parked in front of his house. Someone knocks again and Ed answers the door.As he does, he picks up the mail that has been dropped through the slotin the door.DETECTIVE DERM, 46, stands outside in plainclothes. Derm is, above all, a nice man. Experience has given him aknowing stare, but he is affable, not suspicious. He is consistentlyprofessional and genuinely concerned.EDHello.DERMMr Saxon?EDYes.DERMSorry to wake you up.EDI wasn't asleep.DERMOh.  I called a few times and when there wasn't any answer I thought I better come over.EDWhat time is it?DERMAbout 3:30.ED3:30?  Maybe I did fall asleep.  Damn.DERMI'm Detective Derm of the Seattle Police Department.  You called last night about your wife.EDYes.DERMWe found her car this morning.  On Capitol Hill.  Actually, somebody called it in.  It was running.EDRunning?DERMDid your wife come home last night?EDNo.DERMDid she go to work today?EDI don't know.  I haven't called.DERMDo you have a number for her there?EDSure.Ed picks up the phone and dials from memory.DERMWhy don't you let me?He hands Derm the phone.DERMHi, this is Detective Derm of the Seattle Police. I waswondering if Mrs Eve Saxon had come into work today, or called in, anyword from her. Yes. Since yesterday. Did you see her leave yesterday?Yes. About what time was that? I'm not sure. Is she calls, or comes in,could you please ask her to call me. My number is 734-9722, extension38. Thank you. Bye.He hangs up.DERMShe hasn't been in today.EDMy God.DERMShe hasn't called here at all?EDNo.DERMAny messages?He points to the answering machine.  It is blinking, full of messages.EDI must have been asleep.DERMThat happens.EDI was up late last night.  DERMI understand.  Why don't we listen to these messages?EDAlright.Ed pushes the button on the machine.The first message is from Eve's work.CELESTE(on machine)Hi, this is Celeste, calling for Eve. We're worriedabout you. You don't come in. You don't call. No, seriously, we justwant to make sure you're OK. Don't worry about your students. Marie'scovering for you. But give us a call, OK? Bye.EDThat's the school where Eve works.  She's a piano teacher at Franklin High.Then there's a message for Ed.MRS MASTRIONI(on machine)Hello, Mr Saxon. This is Mrs Mastrioni from theUniversity. You didn't show up for your morning class and I'm callingto see if you'll be in for your other classes so that I can make theproper arrangements. I assume you remember how to use the phone.EDDamn.DERMYou're a teacher too?EDA professor at the University.The next message is Derm.DERM(on machine)Hello, this is Detective Derm from the Seattle Police Department...Derm takes a small pill box from his overcoat, while the machine plays in the background.DERMThat's me.  Do you have a glass of water?EDSure.Ed goes into the -INT. KITCHEN- and fills a glass for the detective.INT. LIVING ROOMWhen he comes back, he sees Derm casuallylooking over the woman's magazines on the coffee table. Derm picks up afilled-in New York Times Sunday Crossword and looks it over.DERMYour wife did this?EDYes.DERMSmart woman.  The acrostic, too.Ed hands Derm the water.DERMThank you.  Meanwhile the next message comes on.  It is a girl from Ed's class.SADIE(on machine)Hello, Mr Saxon? This is Sadie, from your creativewriting class. Anyway, you didn't show up today and I just wanted tosee if you were OK and, you know, if there was any reading or anythingyou wanted us to do. My number is 323-4854. I hope you're alright. Bye.DERMA student?EDYes.DERMDo they call you often?EDNo, but they all have my number.The next message is from Susie.SUSIE(on machine)He, Ed. I just wanted to find out what happened lastnight. If Eve ever showed up, or what happened. Call me at work,672-5695.EDI thought she might have gone over there last night.  Excuse me, I better call the University.The next message is Detective Derm again and it plays behind Ed's conversation.EDHi, Mrs Mastrioni?MRS MASTRIONI(over phone)Yes.EDThis is Ed Saxon.MRS MASTRIONIOh, yes.  Didn't make it in today, huh?EDI guess not.MRS MASTRIONIThere were students waiting for you.EDYes, I know.  It's a personal matter.MRS MASTRIONIA personal matter, huh?EDThat's right.MRS MASTRIONISo you'll be in tomorrow.EDYes, tomorrow.MRS MASTRIONIOr you'll call.EDOr I'll call, yes.  Hello?  Hello?Ed hangs up, having been hung up on.  He turns around to see Derm standing right by, listening to his call.The next message is from George Simian, a manwho works with Eve. His cautious voice makes it known that it is weirdthat he is calling. Ed pays special attention to this call.GEORGEHi, Eve. This is George, from school. You didn't comeinto work today and I just wanted to make sure everything was OK. Iguess I'll see you tomorrow.DERMWho's that?EDSome guy she worked with.  P.E. teacher, I think.DERMI see.  Mr Saxon, does your wife have an address book?EDYes.DERMCould I see it, please?  And a picture, if you have one.EDCertainly.Ed heads into -INT. EVE'S ROOM- and picks up the small address book from the desk.INT. LIVING ROOMHe hands the address book and takes a picture of Eve from his desk, removing from the frame.DERMGreat.Derm flips through the address book and a business card falls out.  Derm picks it up and looks it over.DERMGeorge Simian.  Is that the same George that called?EDYes.DERMThis address, this George Simian lives on Capitol Hill, where we found your wife's car.EDReally?DERMMay I borrow this?EDI suppose.DERMI'll call the numbers in here and see what I can turn up.  Try no to worry, Mr Saxon.  I'll be in touch.EDYes, thank you.Derm leaves.  Ed shuts the door and locks it.The phone rings and Ed picks it up.EDHello.SADIE(over phone)He, Mr Saxon?EDYes?SADIEHi, it's Sadie Crumb, from your creative writing class.EDOh, yes.  Hi.SADIEAre you OK?  Is this a bad time to call?EDNo.  It's alright.SADIEI was, I don't know, wondering if you were sick or something, when you didn't come to class.EDNo, well, a little.SADIEDo you need anything?  I mean, I could bring you something.EDNo, I don't think so.SADIEReally, it's no problem.  Have you eaten?EDNo, but...SADIEI can bring you something to eat.  It's no problem.  Some soup or something.EDReally, I don't know if it's a good idea.SADIEOh, I'm sorry.EDNo, don't be.  It's just that I don't feel too well.SADIEThat's OK.  I used to volunteer at a hospital.EDReally?SADIEYeah, I was a candy striper.EDYou're kidding.SADIEWhat I mean is, I'm used to it.  You know, sick people.EDYeah?  OK.SADIEWhere do you live?ED4523 East Street.SADIEI'll be there soon.EDOK.SADIEOh.  Do you not eat meat, or anything?EDNo.  I eat anything.SADIEGreat.  Bye.Ed hangs up the phone.  He walks into the -INT. BATHROOMHe looks in the mirror.  His hair is a mess and he is unshaven.  He looks tired.  He turns on the shower.INT. BEDROOMEd takes off his clothes and walks back into the -INT. BATHROOMHe puts his hand under the water.  It isn't warm yet, so he picks up his toothbrush and puts some paste on it.Then he hears a piano playing, behind the sound of the shower.  It can hardly be heard.EDEve?INT. EVE'S ROOMHe looks around Eve's room quickly.  There is no one there.  Ed goes back to the -INT. BATHROOMHe comes back into the bathroom.  The music has stopped and all that can be heard is the shower filling up the tub.The water is about ankle-deep.EDDamn.Ed reaches into the drain and pulls out a clumpof Eve's hair. He throws it into the toilet and then gets in theshower. The drain is obviously still clogged up. He is up to his kneesin soapy water.INT. HALLWAY - NIGHTAs Ed comes out of the shower, he sees that it is completely dark.  There is a knock on the door.EDHold on!  One second!Ed grabs Eve's robe from the back of the bathroom door.INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHTEd answers the door.SADIE, 18, is the kind of girl who always hassomething to say in class, who has always done her homework and who hasdefinite ideas about her future and the future of the planet. She isinnocent and naÔve, nice and well-mannered. But also pushy andmanipulative, used to getting her way.SADIEHi, it's me.EDOh, hi.SADIEAre you OK?EDI didn't think you'd be here so fast.SADIEIt's almost eight.EDOh.  I seem to be having a little trouble with time.SADIEI know what you mean.  I'm one of those people who is always late.EDCome in.SADIEI hope you don't mind me coming over like this. Itdidn't occur to me that it might be a little strange until after I hungup. It's just, well, at my high school, I went to boarding school, andwe were pretty close with our teachers.EDIt's nice.  Kindness.  Very refreshing.SADIEI brought you some soup.EDI better get some clothes on.  Make yourself at home.SADIEOK.INT. BEDROOM Ed gets dressed. As he does, he notices a pileof Eve's clothes on the floor. He picks them up and puts them in thecloset, on top of a pile of Eve's dirty laundry.INT. LIVING ROOMWhen Ed comes out, Sadie has put the soup in a bowl and set a place at the table.SADIEI put it in a bowl for you.  I hope you don't mind.EDThank you.Ed sits down and tastes the soup.EDIt's good.SADIEI got it at my favorite place.  You don't mind me hanging out for a little while, do you?EDNo.  I could use the company.  Like I said, I haven't been feeling very well.Sadie notices the pile of papers on Ed's desk.SADIEOh, you graded our papers.EDSome of them.SADIECan I look?EDSure.Sadie looks through the papers.  She finds hers marked with a C minus.SADIEOh.EDWhat is it?SADIEI just...I guess I though this one was better.EDLet me see.Ed looks over the paper for a second.  He takes a pen and crosses out the C and changes it to an A.EDI was in a bad mood when I graded these.SADIEDon't change it if it's not good.EDIt's just a grade.SADIEPlease don't.  No.  Don't.  Please.Sadie takes the paper away from him.EDSorry.  I didn't mean to.SADIEIt's just. I don't think you're doing me any favors byletting me off easy. I mean, I'm hear to learn. It means a lot to me todo well in your class. You're the best teacher I've had since I came tothe University.EDHow long has that been?SADIEWell, I'm still a freshman, but I've met a lot ofteachers and I'm very discerning. Before I took your class I went tothe library and looked up your work.EDYou're kidding.SADIENo.  I read all your poems, or all they had.  The ones in the New Yorker and in Poetry Magazine, and two short stories.EDWhat did you think?SADIEI loved them; the poems especially. I mean, they'redark, but they're so...true. Really. I really got into them. Iphotocopied one and put it on my wall. I hope you don't mind.EDWhich one?SADIE"The Passion of my Youth". It is so intense. "Her eyesblew gently, purposefully by my ears, echoing gentle pulses of blisswhich bounced and fired like a chill on my whole being, leaving just atrace to fuel my longing."EDMy wife like that poem.SADIEYou're married.EDYes.SADIEWhere's your wife?EDShe's at her mother's.  She's gone for a while.SADIEOh.There is an awkward silence.SADIEMay I use the bathroom?EDSure.  Go ahead.Sadie takes her purse and goes into the bathroom.  Ed finishes his soup.  The phone rings and he picks it up.EDHello.GEORGEIs this Ed?EDYes.GEORGEThis is George Simian.EDYes.GEORGEWhere's Eve?EDWhy do you want to talk to Eve?GEORGEWhat have you done?EDExcuse me?GEORGEYou've done something.  I know you have.EDWhat are you talking about?GEORGEThe police found her car near my house.  They think I have something to do with her disappearance.EDMaybe it's because you were fucking her.GEORGEYou son of a bitch.  What did you do?  If you hurt her, I swear, I'm going to kill you.EDLook, she disappeared.  I haven't seen her.  Why do you think I called the police?GEORGEI'll kill you.  I'll kill you, you bastard.  I swear.Ed hangs up. He is shaky, but also strangelyexhilarated. He turns off the ringer on the phone and turns down thevolume on the answering machine.INT. KITCHENHe brings the rest of the soup to the sink,scrapes it into the garbage disposal, and flicks the switch. When thefood has gone down, he starts to wash the dishes. He stops and looksback to the bathroom.INT. HALLWAYEd walks over to the bathroom door.EDSadie?There is no answer.  He knocks on the door.EDSadie?  Is everything alright?There is still no answer.EDI'm coming in.  OK?INT. BATHROOMEd opens the door. Sadie is lying on the floor,passed out. Her pants are around her knees, as if she passed out whilestanding up from the toilet.Her nose is bleeding, like she might have hit it on the way down.  It has bled on her sweater.The air from the open door wakes her up, but she is in a heavy daze.EDAre you alright?  My God.  What happened?Ed comes over to her and lifts her head.  She stares at him strangely.EDCan you stand?  Do you understand me?  I'll help you to the bedroom.Sadie notices her pants are down.SADIEOh.EDI'll wait outside.INT. HALLWAYEd waits outside and, a second later, Sadiecomes out, still reeling, clutching her purse. She leans on Ed, wholeads her into the bedroom.INT. BEDROOMSadie lies down on the bed.EDYou want some water.SADIEYes, please.Ed goes into the -INT. KITCHENHe takes a glass from the cupboard and fills itup. He stops, having noticed something on the glass. He holds the glassup to the light. Eve's lipstick is clearly marked on the rim.He puts that glass down and fills another.INT. BEDROOMWhen he comes back, he finds Sadie digging through her purse.  She pulls out an asthma inhaler and takes a couple of big hits.Then she sits on the bed and drinks a little water.  SADIEI'm so embarrassed.EDNo, don't be.SADIEGod, my nose.EDDoes it hurt?SADIENo, but the blood.EDMaybe you hit it when you fell.SADIEIt was so weird.  I heard someone's voice, a woman's voice.  Like a scream.  And then it was like all my blood left my body.EDSometimes you can hear the neighbors.SADIEIt was like it echoed around the bathroom.  Maybe I imagined it.  I've been taking these caffeine pills to stay awake.EDJust relax.SADIEI should go.EDI can't let you leave like this.SADIEI didn't mean to be such a burden.  I'm such a loser.  I am so sorry about this.It seems that her nose has stopped bleeding, but her sweater has a surprising amount of blood on it.EDI'll get you a towel.Ed leaves and then comes back with a wet towel.He starts to wipe the blood off her nose.SADIEI feel better now.  Thank you.EDDo you want me to drive you home?SADIEI'll be OK.EDMaybe you want me to call your roommate.SADIEMy roommate moved out.  She hated me.  She said I was immature, do you believe that?EDYour friends, then.SADIEI don't have any friends. I don't know what it is.People don't like me here. I thought it would be a good idea to go to aschool far away from home, but since I've been here, it's like, I spendall this time on my own. At my high school, my friends and I were soclose. I just don't get along with people anymore. I don't know what itis.EDYou get along with me.SADIEYou're the first person I've met since I've been here that talks to me like a real person.Ed walks over to the closet and takes out a sweater.EDYou can borrow this, if you want.  It's my wife's.SADIEShe wouldn't mind.EDNo.SADIEI bled so much.Ed gets up to give her some room.She slips out of her sweater and puts the other one on.Sadie looks at a picture next to the bed.SADIEIs this your wife?EDThat's my mother.  That picture is older than it looks.SADIEShe's so pretty.EDShe was young when that was taken.  She died a few years ago.SADIEThat's awful.  How'd she die?EDCancer.  It was quite an ordeal.  She died very slowly.SADIEThat's so sad.  I better go, huh?EDIt's getting late.INT. LIVING ROOMEd walks her to the door.SADIEI'm sorry about everything.EDDon't be sorry.  I'm glad you came.SADIEI'll see you tomorrow.EDTomorrow?SADIEIn school.  You'll be there, right?EDOh, yes.  I'll be there.SADIEBye.Sadie kisses him on the cheek and then leaves.Ed locks the door after her.INT. BATHROOMEd looks at the tub in the bathroom which is full of water.He sticks his finger deep into the drain, tryingto free whatever is in there. There is another tuft of hair, and againhe throws it into the toilet.The gurgling sound that he heard before has come back, resonating through the soapy water from the drain.INT. BASEMENTEd follows the gurgling sounds into the basement.He takes a flashlight from behind the basementdoor and shines it at the pipes that lead from the bathtub drain. Hecan hear the gurgling sound running through them. It sound like theyate something they can't digest. He reaches up and touches the pipe. Itseems to be leaking a little, or maybe it is condensation.Ed traces the noise to a larger sewage pipethat runs down into the basement floor. He watches the pipe, butslowly, his attention is drawn to the shadow next to the pipe.As he stares intently into the darkness of theshadow, a figure begins to emerge in the distance. The darkness beginsto change into a long hallway. A small figure is walking towards Ed andhis footsteps echo in the distance.Ed watches, mesmerized.The basement fades into the blackness, and now, the hallway becomes more clear.INT. HOSPITALIt is a very long hospital hallway, and the figure walking toward Ed is a doctor, carrying a clipboard.DOCTORMr Saxon.EDYes.DOCTORThere's nothing we can do for her now except toalleviate any pain she may be feeling. We have her on a morphine dripand we'll keep increasing the dosage as she shows any signs of pain.EDI see.  Can she understand me?DOCTORAt this point, probably not. She has so much morphinein her, I doubt she can even recognize you. But you never know.Actually, in cases like this, where the end is inevitable, I recommendthat we increase the dosage on the morphine drip at an acceleratedrate. There's no point in making this last longer than it has to.EDWhatever you think is best.The doctor nods, then walks into the hospitalroom where, we see now, Ed's MOTHER is lying in a hospital bed, hookedup to a digital IV. She is old, but looks older - she's been throughchemotherapy and radiation and they have all taken their toll.She stares at Ed with confused and desperate eyes.  It is hard to tell if she is looking at him or not.The doctor, at the door, has a few words with the NURSE, who then looks into the room.Ed sits next to his mother and takes her hand.  She stares at him.The nurse comes in and pushes a button on thedigital IV. Ed watches the LED numbers on the digital IV go up. Thenurse smiles an attempt at comfort, then leaves the room.Mother reacts to the higher dosage of morphine.Her eyes get wider and more delirious. She sits up a little and tensesher muscles. She lets go of Ed's hand and starts moving her arm up anddown.She starts shouting something.  At first, it is completely unintelligible, but slowly, it becomes clearer.MOTHERIT MEANS YOU'RE GOING TO HELL! IT MEANS YOU'RE GOING TO HELL! IT MEANS YOU'RE GOING TO HELL!Ed stands up and backs away.  He backs out of the hospital room as his mother continues to scream.Ed backs into the hallway, which is now blackness.As he backs away, another noise starts to echo around him.  A banging.  A loud banging is coming from upstairs.Ed backs away and then runs upstairs.INT. HALLWAY - DAYAs Ed opens the basement door, he sees that it is bright daylight again.INT. LIVING ROOMEd opens the front door and before he can react, a fist hits him hard in the face.Ed falls to the ground, next to a pile of letters that has been dropped through the slot in the door.GEORGE SIMIAN walks in, wearing a track suit.George, 35, is a stronger man than Ed. He is better looking, too, or,at least, younger. He has a genuine honesty about him, like a big boy.It is this boyish quality that makes his anger seem uncontrollable.GEORGEYou son of a bitch.  Get up.Ed staggers to his feet. He tries to get a swingin at George, but George grabs him by the collar, hits him again, thenthrows him over the coffee table. Ed hits the phone and the answeringmachine on the way down.GEORGEEVE!When Ed doesn't say anything, George starts searching around the house.GEORGE(O.S.)EVE!Ed can hear George searching around in the other rooms.He gets up and sits on the couch, nursing his wounds.After a minute, George comes back into the living room.GEORGEWhat have you done?EDDon't hit me again.GEORGEYou son of a bitch.George sits down on a chair across from Ed.GEORGEYou son of a bitch.EDWhat did you think would happen?  Nothing?GEORGEYou did something.EDI did what I always do. I woke up, went to my shittyjob, came home and cooked dinner for my wife, who was too busy bouncingup and down on your bedsprings to cook it herself. Not exactly what Ihad planned for my life. The same boring shit as always. Why don't youleave?GEORGEI love her.  I'm sorry.  I know she's your wife.George is crying.  Ed, despite himself, is moved.EDWhat? Am I supposed to feel sorry for you now? Well, Iwon't. People think they can just carry on. They don't think that theremight be consequences to their actions. You won't find sympathy here.Why don't you just leave?GEORGEWhat did you do?EDI didn't do anything.  She didn't come home after work.George gets up and starts to leave.EDDon't come back here again.George stops when he hears this and turnstowards Ed with and angry look on his face. He grabs Ed's collar, pickshim up from the couch and slugs him hard across the head. Ed lands onthe floor, stunned and not moving.GEORGEI swear.  If I find out you did something to her, I'll kill you.Ed watches George leave and stays lying on the floor as George's car can be heard driving away outside.The telephone is lying on the floor, knocked offits cradle, just out of Ed's reach. Ed stares at it for a few seconds.It is making that beeping noise that phones make when they are off thehook too long.He slowly gets up and limps into the bathroom.INT. BATHROOMHe looks in the mirror. His eye is swelling upalready and his lip is bruised. He washes his lip off, and then takes atowel from the bathroom.INT. KITCHENHe fills the towel with ice and holds it to his head.INT. LIVING ROOMHe picks up the phone as he walks into theliving room and places it on the coffee table. He sits on the couch andstares at it for a second.Then he brings the phone over to his desk and finds Derm's business card.  He sits down at the desk and calls Derm.EDHello.  Detective?DERMMr Saxon?EDYes.DERMI've been trying to call you.EDYou found her.DERMNo.  I need to talk to you.EDDetective.  George Simian was just over here.  He hit me.DERMAre you OK?EDI think so.DERMDo you want me to call an ambulance?EDI don't need an ambulance.DERMI'll be right over.EDOK.He hangs up the phone.He sits at the desk, resting the ice on his forehead.Then he notices something under the sofa.  It grabs his attention.  He gets up for a closer look.There are dust bunnies and dust under the edgeof the sofa, like it hasn't been swept for a while. Ed kneels down andtries to peer under the sofa. It is dark underneath and he can't seeanything.He reaches his fingers under and sweeps out a few dust bunnies.Then he reaches a little further under the sofa and sweeps out Eve's pinkie finger.He recoils at the sight of this. The finger hasbeen neatly cut, as if by a sharp blade. Dust has clung to the clottedblood around the stump, but it is unquestionably a woman's pinkiefinger.He stares at it for a second, curiously disgusted.He goes to pick it up, decides he doesn't want to touch it, then uses a tissue to pick it up.He hurries to the bathroom.INT. BATHROOMHe drops the finger into the toilet with the tissue and flushes it.INT. LIVING ROOMHe hurries to the edge of the couch with a sponge and cleans up the small amount of blood and dust left there.INT. KITCHENHe squeezes the sponge out until it is clean, then puts it aside.He lets out a huge sigh of relief.INT. LIVING ROOMMuch of the ice has melted and the towel it was wrapped in is now soaking wet.INT. BATHROOMHe takes the towel into the bathroom and rings it out.Then he looks over at the toilet. The finger isstill there, floating like a cigarette butt. The water is pink from theblood, the tissue is gone, but the finger floats there defiantly.He flushes the toilet again, but this time stays to watch.  The water goes down, but the finger stays buoyant and won't go down.There is a knock on the front door.Ed takes a bunch of toilet paper from the rolland tosses it over the finger. He flushes again, but the tank hasn'tfilled up yet and, if anything, this makes it longer until it will fillup again.There is another impatient knock at the door.EDOne second!Ed sits there waiting, listening to the toilet tank filling.The knocking outside is becoming more impatient.The tank finally fills. Ed flushes and watches.This time the paper he threw in clogs the toilet and the bowl quicklyfills up with water.Ed reaches behind the toilet and turns off the water, stopping it from overflowing.He looks in the toilet and can't see the finger through the mess of toilet paper.There is another knock on the door. Ed closes the toilet lid.INT. HALLWAYEd shuts the bathroom door firmly, takes a breath, and hurries out to meet Derm.INT. LIVING ROOMEd answers the door.  Derm comes in with two assistants, MAZUREK and SNYDER.  Snyder is holding Ed's morning paper.DERMDamn.  You did take a couple of blows, didn't you.EDI was just putting some ice on it.DERMThat's the best thing for it. Try to keep the swellingdown. It's going to look worse tomorrow. You don't want to have adoctor examine you?EDIt's not necessary.DERMMr Saxon, Officer Mazurek and Officer Snyder.  They'll be assisting me.EDHi.MAZUREKHow's it going?SNYDERHere.  I brought this in.Snyder hands Ed the newspaper.EDThanks.DERMYou say it was George Simian who hit you?EDYes, he did.  He came barreling in here and hit me.  Several times.DERMDo you have any idea why he would come here?EDBecause he's a fucking asshole.DERMI should say that I'm concerned that he would comehere. Mr Simian has a history of violent behavior, in regards todomestic disputes.EDWhat kind of history?DERMNothing too serious. No felonies. But enough, I think,to warrant some concern. With your permission, I'd like to fill in acomplaint report for his assault on you, and as soon as we're finishedhere, I'll send these two over to arrest him, assuming he can be found.EDYou think he did something to Eve?DERMWe don't have any evidence that he's even seen yourwife she left her office and disappeared. We'll be arresting him solelyfor his assault on you.EDBut Eve's car.  You said you found her car near his house.DERMIt does no one any good to jump to conclusions.EDI guess I misunderstood.DERMWe're going to have to take some pictures of you forthe complaint report. The pictures will be used as evidence against MrSimian if this matter does, eventually, go to trial.EDFine.Derm turns to Snyder, who has heard this conversation, and Snyder begins to take pictures of Ed.DERMMr Saxon. These investigations can be quite demanding,especially when experiencing the trauma of loss. Do you understand whatI am saying?EDYes.DERMIf you feel that you need someone to talk to, at anytime, there are people, sometimes victims of similar situationthemselves, who are will to listen and would like to help.He hands Ed a business card which reads Human Support Services, and has some address and phone information on it.DERMAre you aware that your wife has been having an affair?EDWith George Simian?DERMYes.EDThe P.E. teacher.  I guess I should have known.DERMApparently your wife has been seeing him for some time.  Almost a year, in fact.EDA year?DERMDo you consider that you and your wife have a normal relationship?EDI don't know. Normal relationship. We get on eachother's nerves, have sex a few times a year, order pizza on Fridays.We've been married for ten years. It doesn't stay rosy forever. Maybeit isn't paradise, but that doesn't mean that I don't love her.DERMAre you having any other relationships?EDNo.DERMDoes your wife keep a diary?EDNo.  She isn't the type.DERMMr Saxon.  May I be frank?EDYes.  Please.DERMCases involving missing persons are not uncommon. Inmany cases, and that is not to say in every case, but in many cases,the results are unfortunate.EDMy God.DERMI'm not saying that you should give up hope, but myexperience tells me that you should prepare yourself for the worst.Now, having said that, we will do everything in our power to find yourwife.EDI understand.DERMNow, it's best if we can gather as much information aspossible, as quickly as possible. I'm sure you understand the urgencyhere.EDOf course.DERMIt will be necessary for us to search through some of your wife's personal items.EDI'm sure I can find whatever it is that you want.DERMIt's really in your wife's best interests if you allowus to do it. We won't disturb anything or touch anything without yourpermission.EDAlright.DERMHow about we start in the bedroom?EDThe bedroom.DERMYes.EDRight.  I'll show you.Ed stands up and leads them into the bedroom.INT. HALLWAYThey pass by the bathroom. The gurgling noisesfrom the plumbing echo around the hallway, and while the police don'tseem to pay it any mind, Ed can definitely hear it.INT. BEDROOMEd looks around the bedroom quickly before they go in.EDHere you go.  It's sort of a mess.DERMDo you know where your wife keeps her credit card receipts?EDYes.  Sure.  This way.Ed leads Derm to Eve's room, leaving the two assistants in the bedroom.INT. EVE'S ROOMEd goes over to Eve's writing desk and looks over the papers lying on top.DERMNice room.EDYou like it?DERMYeah.  Very Magritte.  It's like a nursery.EDI guess it is.  I always through it was more of a conservatory.DERMWith the piano.EDRight. She plays in here sometimes. It's nice. Wealways wanted to fix up the whole house, but, this is the only room wegot to.DERMThings always cost more than you think.EDYeah, I don't know what happened.  Anyway, we share a credit card, but she mostly uses her own.DERMIf someone has taken your wife, there's a chance theymight have used one of her credit cards. Or she might have used itherself.Ed pulls at the locked drawer in the writing table.EDI think she keeps the receipts in here, but I don't have a key.Derm looks at the lock.DERMLet me try.Ed gets out of the way and Derm sits in thechair to examine the lock more closely. He presses his thumbs againstthe desk and breaks the wood around the lock, forcing the drawer open.DERMThere we go.EDI could have done it if I wanted to break it.DERMI'm sure she'll understand.EDShe won't.  I promise.Ed sits back down and searches through the drawer.  He finds some credit card receipts and sorts through them.MAZUREKDetective Derm.Mazurek comes into the office carrying Sadie's sweater, which has blood all over it.Snyder follows Mazurek in and looks over Mazurek's shoulder.MAZUREKIt was under the bed, sir.Derm takes the sweater and looks at the blood on it.DERMIs this your wife's?EDNo.DERMThere's blood on this sweater, Mr Saxon.EDYes, I know. A student. Detective, this is going tosound awkward, I guess, but a student of mine came to the houseyesterday, after you were here. She was nervous, I suppose. She had abloody nose.DERMWhy would she have been nervous?EDI don't know, but she seemed nervous.DERMThat is awkward, isn't it.EDI suppose it is.  I gave her one of my wife's sweaters to wear home.  She must have left that one by accident.DERMBy accident?  Under the bed?EDI don't know.DERMWhat was her name?EDSadie.  Sadie Crumb.Derm finds a small, printed name-tag readingSadie Crumb sewn into the collar. Derm shows it to Mazurek and thenindicates for him to go back to the bedroom.Derm shows the label to Ed.DERMDo you have this girl's phone number?  I'd like to talk to her.EDI don't think so.  Maybe.Ed gets up and walks into the -INT. LIVING ROOM- where his desk is.  He searches around and quickly finds a photocopy of a hand-written list of phone numbers.DERMI should call her.EDSure.  Here.He hands him the phone.  Derm dials the number.EDI didn't tell her about my wife.  I didn't see any reason to.Derm reaches into his pocket and pulls out aroll of Tums. He takes a couple and chews them and it obviously puts abad taste in his mouth.DERMCould I trouble you for a glass of water?EDSure.Ed walks into the -INT. HALLWAYHe passes by the bathroom and stops by thebedroom door. He looks into the bedroom where the officers aresearching through his stuff. They find a copy of Hustler Magazine andthey chuckle about it, before they notice Ed watching them.As he watches, he can hear Derm talking to Sadie.DERM(O.S.)Hi. May I speak to Sadie Crumb, please? This isDetective Derm of the Seattle Police Department. Can I ask you a fewquestions?The officers turn and stare at Ed until he leaves.INT. KITCHENEd takes a glass from the cupboard. He takes itover to the sink and fills it with water. The tap makes enough noise sothat he can't hear anything else.INT. HALLWAYAs Ed passes the bathroom door, the gurglingnoises from the plumbing get louder. He makes sure the door is firmlyshot and then brings the glass of water to Derm.INT. LIVING ROOMDerm hangs up the phone and drinks the water.DERMThank you.EDWell?DERMShe sounded very nice.  You know, I think she left her sweater under your bed on purpose.EDWhy would she do that?DERMSo that she'd have a reason to come back.EDI see.Derm sees an open box of Skin-EE( cookies.DERMHey.  My wife loves those things.  I swear, she eats them by the box.  I think they taste like shit.EDI know.  I hate them.  Sometimes I think she eats them just to spite me.MAZUREKDetective Derm.Derm looks at Ed, then goes into the other room.  Ed follows.INT. HALLWAYDERMDid you go to work today, Mr Saxon?EDNo.  I guess I didn't.DERMIf you'd like, I can call the University for you and explain the situation.  It might help.  I'm sure they would understand.EDI don't think it's necessary.DERMWell, the offer stands if you change your mind later.EDIt's just that, I don't want them to know anything about all this.  At least not yet.DERMI understand.They walk into the -INT. BEDROOMMazurek is holding a small, fabric-bound writing book.DERMWhat's that?MAZUREKLooks like a diary, sir.DERMLet's have a look.Derm looks it over, reads the last couple of entries quickly.DERMWhere'd you find this?MAZUREKBehind the bedside table.EDI didn't know.DERMWe have to keep some things to ourselves, or we'd go crazy.  This is your wife's handwriting?He shows him the diary.EDYes.  Can I look at that?DERMOf course.Ed takes the diary and wanders into Eve's room, flipping through it as he walks.INT. EVE'S ROOMEd flips through the last pages of the diary. Hereads for a minute. Some distant noises are coming from the neighbor'shouse. While we can't hear exactly what is being said, it is clear thata man is saying something funny and a woman is laughing hysterically.Ed reads for a minute until, astonished, he puts it down and looks up at Derm, who is standing in the doorway watching him.EDI guess you never really know anyone.DERMYou didn't know that you're wife is pregnant?EDNo.DERMI'm sorry.  I talked to her doctor yesterday.  I thought you knew.Mazurek comes up behind Derm and says something inaudibly in his ear.DERMIs it alright if Mazurek uses the bathroom?EDExcuse me?DERMThe bathroom.  May we use the bathroom?  We might be here for a while.EDNo.  The toilet is stuffed up.  Actually.  Do you mind leaving?  I just would like to be alone.DERMMr Saxon. I'm sorry about the intrusions into yourprivacy, but you must understand: my first priority is finding yourwife. There is still a great deal to go over. We might want to notifythe press.EDThe press?DERMIn cases like this, when we don't have many substantial leads, getting a picture of your wife on TV can be invaluably helpful.EDI don't know if I'm comfortable with that.DERMWe still have options left, but without a thorough search of your wife's belongings, those options are extremely limited.EDI want to be helpful, but I really don't see how, ifyou think she was kidnapped, I don't see how it helps you to searcharound our things.DERMWe don't know that she was kidnapped. We can't drawthose kinds of conclusions. She could have simply decided that sheneeded some time alone. We have to consider every possibility.EDI just don't see how it helps.DERMI don't want to argue with you.  We're trying to help you.  This is our job.EDI understand.DERMIt is in the best interest of your wife that you let us do that job without impediment.EDI don't want to get in the way. I just would like sometime alone. You can comes back tomorrow, but, please. I'm very tired. Iknow it might seem irrational, but I haven't slept in a long time andthis is all extremely overwhelming. Please. I need to be alone.DERMCertainly.  If I could just take those receipts.EDSure.  Here.  Take them all.The receipts are on the desk in front of him and he hands them to Derm.Derm reaches out for the diary.EDI'd like to keep this.DERMThere are some things it may be better not to know, especially if your wife comes back.EDI can give it to you tomorrow, if you still want it.Ed leaves the diary on Eve's writing table and walks the officers out.INT. LIVING ROOMDERMMr Saxon.  Is there something wrong with your answering machine?EDYes.  It broke when I fell on it.DERMYou haven't been answering your phone.EDIt hasn't rung.Derm looks at the phone and sees the ringer is turned off.DERMThe ringer is off.EDOh.  I must have turned it off.DERMWhat if your wife calls?DERMYes.  Of course.  I wasn't thinking.DERMCould you please leave the phone on from now on?EDYes.  I thought I was.  OK.  Thank you.DERMI'll be calling to let you know how things go with Mr Simian.EDYes.  Thank you.Derm and the officers leave.Ed lets out a sigh of relief.  He touches his forehead and it obviously hurts.He goes back into the bathroom.INT. BATHROOMHe opens the medicine cabinet and searchesthrough the plethora of over-the-counter medicine crowding the shelves.He takes a bottle of Midol, or some other feminine pain-killer. Hetakes a few of them and chases them down with a handful of tap water.Then he turns to the toilet, lifts the lid and looks at the stuffed-up mess.He rolls up his sleeve and sticks his hand in the bowl.  He searches around for the finger.The phone rings.  He gives up searching and, with some wet toilet paper stuck to his arm, hurries to answer the phone.INT. LIVING ROOMEd picks up the phone.EDHello.MRS MASTRIONIMr Saxon.  This is Mrs Mastrioni, from the Dean's office.EDYes?MRS MASTRIONIMr Saxon.  You are supposed to call us when you plan on missing class.  There were students waiting for you.EDYes.  I know.  I'm just having some personal problems.MRS MASTRIONIAnyway, the Dean wants to see you.EDThe Dean?MRS MASTRIONIYes.  Can you come in today?EDNo.  What does he want to see me about?MRS MASTRIONII don't know.EDIs it about me missing classes?MRS MASTRIONIIt might be.EDWhat's that supposed to mean?MRS MASTRIONIIt means that if I was the Dean, and I wanted to see you, that is what it would be about.EDWhat kind of bullshit is that?MRS MASTRIONIThere's no need to get upset, Mr Saxon.EDAm I being fired?  Is that it?MRS MASTRIONILook, I don't know.  The Dean said he wanted to see you.EDWell, I can't see him.MRS MASTRIONIPersonal problems?EDThat's right.  Yes.MRS MASTRIONIThat's too bad.EDYes it is too bad.  Because I know what you're trying to do.MRS MASTRIONIReally?  What's that?EDYou know what?  Why don't you tell the Dean to go fuck himself?MRS MASTRIONIMr Saxon...EDAnd you go fuck yourself too.MRS MASTRIONIDoes this mean that you won't be coming to class tomorrow?EDFuck you!Ed slams the phone down.INT. BATHROOMEd takes the bottle of Midol from the medicine cabinet and takes a few more.Then he notices a trail of pink water leading from the toilet, along the bathroom floor and into the hallway.He follows the trail.INT. HALLWAYThe trail leads up to the pinkie finger. Edwatches while the finger moves, inchworm-like, across the floor, towardEve's room, leaving a wet trail behind it.Ed watches for a second while he decides what to do.He quickly grabs the finger and takes it to thekitchen sink. He drops it in the sink, pushes it down the drain andflicks the garbage disposal on. He turns the water on and leaves itrunning until it sounds like there is nothing left of the finger.When he turns it off, he sticks his hand in, searching for any remnants of the finger.  It appears to have gone down.He takes the sponge and wets it.INT. HALLWAYHe wipes up the trail of the finger, following it back into the bathroom.INT. BATHROOMHe looks at the toilet, which is still stuffed up.INT. BASEMENTEd searches around the basement for a plunger.  The basement is full of strange sounds, all ruminating from the exposed pipes.He finds a plunger among some other tools andstarts back upstairs, but on his way upstairs, he finds that there is apuddle of water on the floor. He traces the source of the puddle to thepipe that was only moist before. It is now dripping slowly and a largepool of dirty water is collecting in the shallow recess of the cementfloor.Ed stares into the murky, black pool.There is a knock on the door upstairs and Ed turns to answer it.INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHTEd answers the door and sees that it is now dark outside.GEOFFREY COSTAS stands outside. Geoffrey, 54, isa wise, patient man. He is formal and calm in his manner, but thesequalities belie a warm emotional vulnerability. Physically, he is notsmall or weak. One gets the impression that he wasn't always so kind.GEOFFREYMr Saxon?EDYes.GEOFFREYHello.  My name is Geoffrey Costas.  I'm from Human Support Services.EDI'm not interested.GEOFFREYDetective Derm asked me to stop by.He hands him a business card.  Ed takes the card and looks it over.GEOFFREYYou've been hit.EDI'm fine.  I don't need a doctor.He tries to hand the card back.GEOFFREYOh, I'm not a physician.  I'm a psychiatrist.  But I'm not here on business.  This is my time off.EDThis is a personal visit?  I don't understand.GEOFFREYHuman Services is a volunteer organization.  We offer assistance to victims of traumatic crimes.EDWhat kind of assistance?GEOFFREYAdvice, support, a shoulder to cry on.EDWhy would I want to cry on your shoulder?GEOFFREYMaybe you just want someone to talk to.  It can be a lonely world when those you love are taken from you.EDNo.  I don't think so.GEOFFREYWell, you have my card.  If you feel like talking at another time, please feel free to call.EDActually, there is something you can help me with.  I've been having trouble sleeping.GEOFFREYThat's understandable, under the circumstances.EDIs there something you can give me?GEOFFREYYou mean a prescription?EDYou're a doctor, aren't you?GEOFFREYYes.EDI can't seem to find anything strong enough.GEOFFREYYou're anxious.EDYes.  I can't sleep.  It makes me anxious.  Or maybe I can't sleep because I'm anxious.  I don't know.GEOFFREYHow long has this been going on?EDA long time.GEOFFREYWeeks?EDOh, yes.GEOFFREYYou must have slept some.EDMaybe I do. But I don't seem to get the benefits. Inever feel rested. There just doesn't seem to be the time to relaxanymore. I'm always two steps behind. I have to stop the thinking. Thelonger I stay awake, the more my thoughts become frantic, irrational.If I don't get some sleep soon, nothing is going to make any sense.GEOFFREYI see.  May I come in?EDYes.  Come in.Geoffrey comes in and places his briefcase on the table inside.GEOFFREYThere are times when the pressures of everyday lifebecome overwhelming. As a doctor, I notice more and more of my patientsexperiencing similar symptoms. I'm afraid it's a sign of the times, asmuch as anything else.EDCan you help me?GEOFFREYLike I said, I'm not here on a professional basis. Yourinsomnia is merely a symptom of a greater unwholesomeness. A lastingtreatment may be extremely hard to come by. There's very little we canhope to accomplish with pharmaceuticals alone. However, under thecircumstances, I can give you something to help you sleep. Do you havehealth insurance?EDYes, through work.Geoffrey takes a prescription pad from his briefcase and scribbles out a prescription.GEOFFREYThe prescription I'm going to write for you isexpensive, so I recommend you save the receipt for your insurancecompany. I'm sure they'll cover it. These pills are quite new. I'vebeen prescribing them to my patients who travel a great deal, for theirjet lag. They will help stabilize your internal clock by chemicallysuppressing certain amino acids in your brain.EDWill it help me sleep?GEOFFREYOh, yes.  Now, take two at night, and don't take more than six in a day.  OK?EDYes.  Thank you.Geoffrey shuts his briefcase and starts to leave.GEOFFREYI'm glad I could help.  How about I check in on you tomorrow afternoon?EDTomorrow?GEOFFREYTo see how you're doing?EDI don't know.GEOFFREYFor what it's worth, I understand your position betterthan you think. Don't shut it all out. Sometimes that fragileconnection to the rest of the world is all we have. I sincerely hopethings turn out for you. Tomorrow then?EDTomorrow.Ed shuts the door behind Geoffrey.INT. BATHROOMEd works the plunger in the toilet. The water isstill pink from the finger, but also might be pink from the pink toiletpaper that is now broken up and mixed in with the water.He plunges the toilet a few more times and thenstops to see if it is working. The water slowly goes down. He reachesbehind the toilet and turns the water back on. He flushes it and itseems to be working again, albeit weakly.He sits on the edge of the bathtub and takes abreath. The water in the tub hasn't gone down, so he takes the plungerand starts to work it over the drain.After a minute, he sees that it isn't working.He reaches into the drain and pulls out a huge clump of scum-filledhair. It is repulsive to Ed. He throws it into the toilet. The water in the bathtub still hasn't gone down.INT. KITCHENHe searches under the sink through an exhaustivesupply of cleaning supplies. He eventually pulls out a king-sizecontainer of Drano.INT. BATHROOMHe reads the back of the container quickly, then pours the whole thing down the drain.He watches it for a second, waiting for it to go down.Slowly, then softly, the piano can be heard playing in the other room.Ed listens to it before following it down the hallway.INT. HALLWAYThe lamp on Eve's writing desk is on and it lights up the end of the hallway.  The music still seems to be coming from her room.INT. EVE'S ROOMEd comes in and looks around the room.  There is no one playing the piano, but the music continues over the rest of the scene.Ed's attention turns to the diary, which isstill sitting on the desk where he left it. Ed sits in the chair andstarts paging through Eve's diary. The piano continues playing.We hear Eve's voice as it must have been when she was writing.EVE(V.O.)More than three weeks late. Damn. I'm so stupid. Ihaven't told George because I'm sure he would use this as an excuse topressure me to leave Ed. And how can I tell Ed. There's no way he couldbe the father. We haven't had sex in months. He would know it isn't is.Ed flips back a few pages.As he does, the camera starts to travel aroundthe room, passing the piano, and then a few pictures from Eve's past,then some souvenirs on a shelf.EVE(V.O.)Saw a movie last night with George. It was awful; justthe kind of movie Ed hates. I wanted to tell him about it, but Icouldn't. I told him I was at Susie's. George loved it, of course. Ithink he likes every movie. Still, it was nice to go out on a date likethat. It was fun.INT. HALLWAYNow the camera has turned to the empty hallway.  It slowly moves toward the bathroom.EVE(V.O.)Ed came home in a shitty mood and started picking afight with me about a coffee cup I broke last week. It was the lastthing I needed, today especially. Sometimes I fucking hate him. He canbe such a shit.INT. KITCHENThe camera pans over the glass that has Eve's lipstick on it.EVE(V.O.)I can't believe what a jock George is. I knew he workedout, but he really takes car of himself. After we had sex, I wasembarrassed to let him see me naked. How could I have gotten so fat?I'm going back to the gym tomorrow. I've really let myself go to pot.Maybe I'll get him a softball bat for his birthday next week.INT. BATHROOMThe camera comes into the bathroom and passes over all of Eve's things sitting on the back of the toilet.EVE(V.O.)Ed doesn't sleep anymore. He's beginning to scare me.He takes all these pills to help him sleep, but they only make itworse. And he hates me. I can see it in his eyes. He blames me foreverything that went wrong in his life. Maybe he's right. Maybe it ismy fault. I feel so guilty about George that I can't argue with himanymore. I can't keep this up much longer. Fuck it. I'm going to tellhim about George tomorrow. He knows anyway. He must know. He's beenacting so weird. Poor Ed. He used to have so much ambition. And he's sotalented. I just wish things had turned out better.The camera turns toward the bathtub, andfocuses slowly in on the drain. A few bubbles pop out from under thewater and the water starts to drain out. As the camera dollies in onthe drain, the last of the murky water disappears.Ed, now standing in the bathroom, strikes amatch and holds it up to the diary until the corner finally catches onfire. He fans out the pages so that it will catch more. When he can't hold it anymore, he drops itinto the bathtub and watches it burn. He watches it until it has burntitself out, burning into a pile of thick, black ashes.INT. HALLWAYEd looks up at the smoke alarm.  He tries to pull it down, but it is out of his reach.Ed grabs a chair from the living room and standson it so that he can reach the alarm. He pulls the cover off the alarmand then the battery out and the alarm is finally silenced.Then he hears voices coming from outside the front door.He approaches the front door cautiously, thenputs his ear up to the door and listens. The voices are muted andwhispered, but Ed can still hear what is being said, although it ishard to tell who is talking.HARVEY(O.S.)No.  I won't.SADIE(O.S.)You are so crazy.HARVEY(O.S.)I'm crazy?  What about you?SADIE(O.S.)Quiet.  He's going to hear you.HARVEY(O.S.)So what if he hears me.  Who is he, anyway?SADIE(O.S.)God, you are being such an asshole.Ed opens the door quickly.EXT. PORCH - NIGHTSadie and Harvey freeze like caught children.HARVEY, 19, looks younger than his is; hisfacial hair isn't capable yet of filling out his meager goatee. Heseems hurt, like a spoiled child who hasn't gotten his way.EDWhat's going on?SADIEChrist.  I'm so sorry.HARVEYWho's this?  Is this him?SADIEWill you shut up?HARVEYHe's so old.EDExcuse me?SADIECan we just go inside?  Please?Ed lets Sadie inside.HARVEYSo that's it?  You're going with him now?SADIEYou really don't understand anything.HARVEYYou said you loved me.SADIEJesus.  Would you shut up?  You are so embarrassing.HARVEYEmbarrassing?  I'll tell you what's embarrassing.  You with this fucking geriatric old man.  That's embarrassing.EDYou little shit.Ed makes a move toward Harvey, but Harvey backs away quickly.HARVEYDon't touch me!SADIELet's just go in, OK?  He'll leave.HARVEYUser.SADIEStalker.  Psycho.HARVEYSlut.Sadie slams the door on him.INT. LIVING ROOMSadie stands staring at the floor.  SADIEI can't believe that.  You know, he followed me here.EDHe followed you?SADIEYeah.  Do you believe it?  Oh my God.  What happened to you?EDSomebody hit me.SADIEAre you alright?EDI'm fine.SADIEWho hit you?EDI really don't want to get into it.SADIEI nearly had a heart attack when the police called me.EDWhat did they ask you?SADIEJust about me being here.  About what happened.EDBut nothing happened.SADIEThat's what I told them.EDThey found your sweater.  It has blood all over it.SADIEYou're kidding.EDYou left it under the bed.SADIEOh, yeah.  Damn.  I don't know why I do things like that.EDWhat if my wife had found it?SADIEOh.  Is she here?EDNo.  Look, Sadie.  I don't want you to get the wrong idea.SADIEDon't be mad. It's just that I worry too much. Youdidn't come to class again. And you said you would. I started gettingall these ideas. I called you, but nobody answered. I meant to bringyour wife's sweater back, but I forgot it.EDActually, I'm glad you're here.  Can you do me a favor?SADIESure.  Anything.EDI have to get a prescription filled.SADIENo problem.Ed finds the prescription on his desk.EDI'd go myself, but I'm expecting a phone call.SADIESure.He hands her the prescription.EDThere's a twenty-four pharmacy on Market.SADIEI know the one.  I go there all the time.  It's like my second home.EDI'll give you my credit card.Ed finds his wallet and hands her the card.SADIEI'll be back in a minute.EDThank you.Sadie skips out the door and Ed shuts it behind her.INT. BATHROOMEd turns on the shower, washing the ashes down the drain.After he's watched them go down, he takes asponge and cleans off the burnt mark in the tub as best he can. Heturns the shower on, rinsing it out.He turns the shower off and hears the phone is ringing.INT. LIVING ROOMEd picks up the phone.DERMMr Saxon?  Detective Derm.EDYes, hi.DERMI wanted to let you know that we've taken Mr Simian into custody.EDI understand.DERMWe found him at his place of work.EDAt the school?DERMYes. We arrested him there. He'll come up forarraignment tomorrow morning and then, as far as I can tell, he'llprobably be released on his own recognizance.EDI see.DERMIt's just standard procedure, but I thought I'd keep you informed.EDYes.  Thank you.  Did he say anything about Eve?DERMTry to rest, Mr Saxon.  We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow.EDI will.  Thank you.DERMGood night.Ed hangs up the phone.Then he hears some sounds coming from Eve's room.INT. EVE'S ROOMEd takes a few steps into Eve's room.  He traces the noises to the window and looks out at the neighbor's house.The light is on in the neighbor's window, andthere are some vague shadows moving around on the closed curtain. Asthe noises get louder, it soon becomes clear that the neighbors arehaving sex.Ed peers out at the light in the window,listening to the woman's increasing moans. The woman seems to be insome sort of painful, orgasmic delight. In other words, it mostlysounds like she is having a good time, but there should be a growingsuspicion that not all is right.WOMAN(O.S.)Oh.  Oh.  Oh!  Oh!  OH!  OH!  NO!  NO!  NO!Ed backs slowly away from the window.  He hears someone knocking on the front door.INT. LIVING ROOMEd opens the door and Sadie comes in holding a colorful paper bag.EDThank you.Ed takes the bag from Sadie and goes into the kitchen.INT. KITCHENSadie follows him in.Ed opens the pills quickly and swallows three of them with a glass of water.SADIEThose pills cost a lot.  They must be strong.EDThey're sleeping pills.  I've been having trouble sleeping.SADIEYou must have anxiety.  I can never get to sleep when I'm anxious.EDI am anxious.  Yes.Sadie takes some other stuff out of the bag. Oneof the items is an individually wrapped Skin-EE( fat-free cookie,chocolate, chocolate chip.SADIEI got you some peroxide and stuff.  And a cookie.  I haven't eaten today.EDYou put it all on my credit card, right?SADIEActually, I paid for it.  They wouldn't take your card.EDWhy not?SADIEThey said you hadn't paid your bill, on the phone.  They called the credit card people when it didn't go through.EDDamn.  Well, I'll pay you back.SADIEIt's OK.  I charged it to my Dad.  I don't even pay the bill.EDNo, those pills are expensive.  And my insurance will cover it anyway.SADIEPay me back later, then.  Really, it's OK.EDAre you sure?SADIEIt's fine.  I swear.Sadie looks at the cuts on his face.SADIEYour face must hurt.EDNo.  I don't seem to feel anything.SADIEIt's nasty.Sadie takes a closer look.SADIEHere.  Sit down.She sits Ed down at the kitchen table, under alight, and sits across from him, then takes the peroxide and somecotton swabs she bought at the pharmacy and starts to dress his wounds.EDI've never been hit before.SADIEMe neither.EDIt's not so bad, really. It's humbling, but I like theeffect it seems to have on people. It seems to make them morecompassionate. There's a competitive market for suffering in the world.It's difficult to stand out from the handicapped and the homeless andthe politically oppressed. Sometimes a little advertising helps remindpeople that you're a human being.SADIEIt does make you look sort of cute, in a pathetic kind of way.EDSadie.SADIEAre you really married?EDWhat?  You think I just made it up?SADIEI don't know.  Some people just say they're married, you know, because maybe they think it's more respectable or something.EDI'm not one of those people.SADIEI didn't mean to imply anything.  It's just that you act sort of weird.EDI act weird?SADIENot weird, really.  Worried, I guess.  Secretive.  Like you're worried I might find out something about you.EDYou don't want to get involved with my problems.SADIEMaybe I do.EDBelieve me, you don't.SADIEI didn't mean to pry.  Well, maybe I did.  I'll just put a band-aid on it.EDWould you like a drink?  I'm going to have one.1tt1He finds a bottle of wine.SADIEYou're not supposed to mix wine with sleeping pills.  It increases the amount of medicine that's absorbed into the bloodstream.1tt1Ed searches for a corkscrew and starts to open the bottle.EDI need all the help I can get.SADIEIt's dangerous.EDIt's just wine. I'll only have a glass.1tt1He offers her some and she nods. He pours her a glass. Sadie takesher glass into the living room. Ed downs his glass of wine and refillsit quickly before following her.INT. LIVING ROOM1tt1She sits down at his desk.SADIEAre you working on anything new?EDNo.  I don't write anymore.SADIEWhy not?EDI just don't have the time.  I have to work all day.  Time just slips by.SADIEI know what you mean.  There's not enough time in the day.EDNot as much as there used to be.SADIEThere used to be more?EDYes.  Before I had to work there was plenty of time.SADIEBut you had all that stuff published.EDSure, but it didn't pay very much. I had a lot of debtsfrom school that needed to be paid off. And then, credit cards. Andthen I got married, bought a house. Life comes with all these expenses.And poetry just doesn't pay. I thought working at the University wouldat least give me summers off.SADIEDoesn't it?EDNot really.  No.1tt1There is a knock on the door.  The idea that someone else might see them together makes it awkward for both of them.1tt1Ed freezes for what seems like a long time; long enough for whoever it is to knock again.EDI better see who that is.SADIEYeah.1tt1Ed goes over to the door and opens it cautiously.  It is Eve's friend, SUSIE.SUSIEHi, it's me.EDOh, hi Susie.1tt1She is about to walk in, when Ed blocks her way.  She can see Sadie sitting at Ed's desk holding a glass of wine.EDEve's not here.SUSIEOh.  She came back though, didn't she?EDNo, she didn't.SUSIEOh no.  Can I come in?EXT. PORCH - NIGHT1tt1Ed, rather than let her in, pushes her outside and shuts the door behind her.EDNo.  I'm busy right now.  I called the police.SUSIEWhat did they say?EDThey're working on it.  You can call them if you want.1tt1Ed finds Derm's card in his pocket and hands it to her.SUSIEAren't you worried?EDOf course I'm worried. I'm just working right now. Thisgirl is one of my students. She wanted some help on an assignment. Shedoesn't know anything about Eve being missing.SUSIEWhat happened to you?EDGeorge Simian hit me.SUSIEGeorge?EDYou know him.  It figures.1tt1Susie starts crying.  Ed stares at her helplessly, then goes back inside.SUSIEWait.1tt1Ed stops.SUSIECan I come back later?EDIt's late.  I just took some sleeping pills.  I haven't slept much since this all started.  Why don't you come back tomorrow?SUSIETomorrow?EDGood night, Susie.Ed walks back in, leaving Susie standing on the porch.INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHTEd waits by the door until he hears her footsteps walking away outside.Sadie stands up, looking nervous.SADIE2t2Is that your wife?ED2t2No.  It was a friend of hers.SADIE2t2I should go.ED2t2No.  Why?SADIE2t2You must be tired.  Those pills must be working.ED2t2I don't think they're working at all.SADIE2t2Still.  You're married, right?ED2t2Yeah, but, please don't go.  Please.  Time has a way of slowing down when you're around.SADIE2t2Really?  For me, too.ED2t2So you'll stay?SADIE2t2If you want me to.Ed comes over to her and kisses her.SADIE2t2Can I ask you something?ED2t2What?SADIE2t2Do you think my writing is good?ED2t2You've done some good work.SADIE2t2Yeah.  C minus good.ED2t2I told you, I was in a bad mood when I graded that.SADIE2t2I guess so.She is unresponsive at first.SADIE(to herself)2t2What am I doing?They kiss for a minute, then Ed slips his hand under the back of Sadie's sweater.She kisses him again.INT. BEDROOMSadie turns the lights off and we can only see by the light coming in from the hallway.Ed lies on the bed and Sadie lies next to him,under the covers. Ed slips his hand under the back of her sweater andfiddles with her bra while they kiss.The gurgling sound starts up again, and whileSadie doesn't notice, or doesn't hear it, it becomes increasinglydistracting to Ed. He looks to the bathroom where the noise is comingfrom.INT. BATHROOMThe camera focuses in on the drain.  The water in the bathtub starts rising again.INT. BEDROOMSadie breaks away from him, sits up and takes off her sweater.  Ed takes off his shirt.Ed's kisses move around the side of her neck. Ashe reaches her ear, he looks up and notices Eve's clothes sitting onthe chair.INT. BATHROOMThe water is rising slowly, but we can see solidstuff (the ashes from the diary are clearly part of the muck) seepingout of the drain with the water. It is a cloudy, dark, disgusting waterwhich probably stinks too.INT. BEDROOMEd is trying to concentrate on Sadie, but he notices the closet door is open and there are some dresses blowing around inside.And the noise from the bathroom is getting louder.He turns Sadie onto her back, turning himselfaway from the closet. His kisses run down her chest until he gets toher jeans. He unbuttons her jeans and starts to pull them off, kissingas he goes.Ed has taken her pants off, but his passion andenthusiasm has faded, and he stops and stares off into space, towardsthe bathroom. He is spooked.SADIE2t2What's wrong?He looks down and sees Sadie staring at him.ED2t2I don't know.  Maybe it's those pills.  I don't know.SADIE2t2Just relax.  Lie back.Sadie gently pushes him back and starts to go down on him.Ed get more uptight.ED2t2No.  Please.  Just stop.She keeps trying until Ed is forced to push her away.ED2t2It's just not working.  OK?SADIE2t2Alright.  I'm sorry.Sadie turns away.  She's upset.SADIE2t2Maybe I should go.ED2t2No.  Please, don't.  It's my fault.  Please.  Don't go.SADIE2t2Damn, I'm so stupid.ED2t2No, it's me.  Please.SADIE2t2This was a mistake.Sadie gets up and puts on her shirt.  She grabs the rest of her clothes and goes into the living room.Ed stares after her, listening to her finish dressing herself and then leave.The clock next to the bed is ticking loudly and the sound of the ticking continues of the next few scenes, as indicated.INT. KITCHENEd pours a few more pills into his hand, swallowing them with some wine from the bottle.INT. BATHROOMEd looks at the bathtub, which is full of themurky water. He picks up the plunger, which is still by the toilet, andstarts working it on the drain.More stuff is coming up, making the waterdarker, but as he relaxes the plunger, the water doesn't go down. Ifanything, the gurgling sound is louder.He works the plunger some more, more vigorouslyand then, again, relaxes it and watches the drain hopefully. Thegurgling noise seems closer and the water still does not go down.Then he hears something hit the front door.INT. LIVING ROOMEd opens the front door and picks up thenewspaper which has just been thrown. He puts it with the othernewspapers, which have piled up in their plastic wraps on his desk.INT. BATHROOMHe comes back into the bathroom and looks at the bathtub. He puts the plunger over the drain and works itmuch harder and, this time, after a few seconds, there is a loud knockin the pipes, as if he hit something. He takes the plunger away andwatches the drain.Suddenly, a large air bubble bursts out of the drain.  He watches, but the water shows no sign of draining.Then, slowly, blood starts to leak into the tub from the drain.Ed is naturally terrified by this.  He watches until it is clear that it is blood and not just more gook.He puts plunger back on the drain and pumps it afew more frantic times. More blood seeps out of the drain. He seems tobe making the problem worse.He shuts the shower curtain and backs out of the bathroom.INT. KITCHENHe spills the pills on the kitchen counter andcounts them quickly. There are about ten left. He pours them into hismouth and swallows the rest of the wine.Then the ticking stops.  Ed looks at a clock on the wall.  The second hand has stopped.He hears voices in the other room.INT. EVE'S ROOMHe looks out of the window in Eve's room. Hesees that the light in the neighbor's window is on. The couple nextdoor are having another argument, but this one is much more intensethan the last.WOMAN(O.S.)2t2Why do you care! You don't care! You know nothing about me! I hateyou! Stay away from me! I'll scream! I am not screaming now! You thinkyou're the only one? Yes, I do! I LOVE YOU! You never do that! You donot! You never do anything! You think that nothing's wrong! You thinkwe live in paradise! This is what I think of this fucking house!There is the sound of things breaking.WOMAN(O.S.)IT'S NOT MY FAULT! IT'S NOT MY FAULT! THEN DON'T! I AMNOT! I LOVE YOU! FUCK YOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT! STAY AWAYFROM ME! YOU RUINED MY LIFE! STAY AWAY FROM ME! STOP IT! SHUT UP! STAYAWAY FROM ME! NO! STOP IT! YOU SON OF A BITCH! HELP! HELP!This ends with a loud, terrifying shriek.  It seems to echo around the room as Ed watches.  Then the voices stop.Ed watches the window and sees a featureless manstick his head through the curtains to see if anybody is listening.Then he closes the window and curtains.The phone rings in the other room.INT. KITCHENHe hurries to answer the phone.While he is on the phone, a new sound is coming from the bathroom.  It is like the gurgling sound, but also subtly different.EDHello.DERMMr Saxon?EDYes.DERMIt's Detective Derm.  I'm sorry to call you so late, but I thought you would want to hear this.EDYes?DERMI'm afraid I have some bad news.EDWhat is it?DERMIt's your wife.  We've found her...EDYou found her.DERMWe found her body.EDHer...DERMYes, sir.  In the woods, near George Simian's house, where we found her car.  I'm afraid she's dead.Ed drops the phone.  He walks trance-like into the hallway.He follows the noise into the -INT. BATHROOMThe noise coming from the bathroom now sounds more human, like a baby gurgling.As Ed walks into the bathroom, he can see thatthere is something in the bathtub. The shower curtain is closed, butbehind it, there is some sort of body moving. Ed pulls the curtainback. He reveals a baby, just born, lying in the tub. Most of the murkywater has drained and left a dirty ring around the tub.The BABY is a newborn, except that its eyes aremaybe larger than they would be. The Baby is also SIX FEET TALL. It'simmense frame fills the bathtub. It is naked (it's a boy).Ed watches with amazement. The baby looksincredibly real, except for its size. The stare at each other for aminute. The baby looks a lot like George Simian. It has his eyes.Other than this, it behaves like a baby. It islying on its back, gurgling peacefully with his feet in the air and hisleft hand gripping the shower curtain.The baby reaches out for Ed lovingly.Ed backs away.Seeing this, the baby starts crying.Ed, panicking, approaches the baby. It is stillcrying. Ed reaches out to touch it. He touches its arm and the baby'scrying starts to subside. The baby moves with typical, quick, chaoticmovements that, because of the baby's size, are almost threatening.Ed puts his hand in the baby's hand. The babygrips it as baby's do, but this baby's hand is about the size of Ed's.The baby stops crying and returns to its curious gurgling.Ed tries to pull his hand back, but the babywon't let go. The baby, it seems, is incredibly strong. Ed pullsharder. He still can't get the baby to let go. Ed tries to pry thebaby's fingers off, and this time manages to get his hand out of thebaby's grip.But as soon as he does, the baby starts crying again.He backs out into the hallway.INT. HALLWAYEd is in a panic.  The baby's cries echo around him as he backs away from the bathroom.INT. KITCHENEd finds himself in the kitchen. He looks at hishands which are covered with bloody muck from the tub. He washes themoff in the sink. He looks over at the kitchen knife which has beendrying in the dish rack.INT. HALLWAYEd walks slowly, purposefully to the bathroom.  The crying baby gets louder as he approaches.INT. BATHROOMHe comes into the bathroom, but in the tub,instead of the baby, there is a grown man's body. It is Ed, staring upat himself from under the water. We only see a very tight shot ofBATHTUB ED's head and part of his neck. His head is under water and helooks up, unable to move.We then see the reverse shot of this and it isalso of Ed, so that Ed is, in effect, looking up at himself through thecloudy water.The baby cries continue, although the baby is no longer in the scene.From Bathtub Ed's point of view, we see the other Ed takes the kitchen knife and lean forward and to the right, off-camera.Bathtub Ed, who can move his eyes, tries to lookto his arm, where the other Ed is cutting. Soon, blood starts to mixwith the water, diffusing over Bathtub Ed's face.The blood also diffuses over Bathtub Ed'sP.O.V., as he looks up at the other Ed cutting him. When the other Edis finished cutting, Bathtub Ed sees him put the knife aside and thenreach down, off-camera. After a short struggle, the other Ed pulls upBathtub Ed's severed arm and slips it into a garbage bag he has alreadyprepared.The blood from Bathtub Ed's cut fills the water with dark blood, turning the film red.The red dissolves into a pool of blood that is in the hallway.INT. HALLWAYEd, with a bucket and sponge, is cleaning pockets of blood from the floor and walls.  He is crying while he does this.He squeezes the sponge for the last time, theninspects the hallway as closely as he can, searching for any spots hemight have missed.Then he picks up the bucket and takes it into the bathroom.INT. BATHROOMHe dumps the water from the bucket into thebathtub. The water is pink and dirty. He sits down on the edge of thebathtub and watches the water go down the drain.He stares at the drain in a trance until he hears a knock on the front door.  He turns to listen to it in the other room.INT. HALLWAY - DAYAs he opens the bathroom door, he sees that the sun is shining in from the living room.INT. LIVING ROOMGeoffrey stands patiently outside as Ed opensthe door. He carries his briefcase and looks dressed for work. Hisappearance is a stark contrast to the half-dressed, blood-shot Ed.GEOFFREYHi.  I wanted to see how you were getting along.EDGetting along?GEOFFREYI have to say, you don't look well.EDI'm not well.GEOFFREYHave you slept?EDI don't know.  Maybe.  It's difficult to tell.  I have these lapses, but I'd hardly call it sleep.GEOFFREYDid you take the pills?EDThe pills are fucking useless.GEOFFREYBut you took them?EDYes.GEOFFREYI see.  May I take your blood pressure?EDOK, fine.Geoffrey comes in and places his briefcase onthe table. He takes a stethoscope and the rest of his blood pressurekit and starts to take Ed's blood pressure.EDI feel like a lab rat.  Like one of those lab rats they drug up and study.  You know what I mean?GEOFFREYYou feel like a rat.EDThey put them in a maze and they give them shocks anddrugs and they see what they do. They try to prod them in the directionthey want them to go.GEOFFREYTry to relax.EDI feel like a rat who took all the turns, took all thedrugs, went down the right path and then, when I got to the end, theyshocked me anyway, right up the sphincter, like it was all just a bigjoke. I guess they thought I'd be too drugged up to notice.GEOFFREYIt's been a few days, hasn't it, since your wife disappeared?EDDays?  Yes.  I guess.GEOFFREYHas there been any word from the police?EDHaven't you talked to them?GEOFFREYNo.  But if you'd like me to, I will, on your behalf.  They know me and I've been through this before.EDWith others?GEOFFREYWith others, and myself.  My wife was taken from me about three years ago.EDWhat happened?GEOFFREYIt was a similar situation to yours. The police foundher car in the parking lot of a mall. They found her body about a weeklater in some woods nearby.EDShe was murdered.GEOFFREYYes.EDDid they ever catch the man who did it?GEOFFREYNo.EDWhy would somebody do that?GEOFFREYSometimes a man, when faced with his own problems or inadequacies, takes it out on someone weaker than themselves.EDI'm sorry.GEOFFREYDo you feel responsible at all for your wife's disappearance?EDWhy?GEOFFREYPeople often blame themselves for events that they haveno control over, especially when the events seem so random and cruel.Action leading up to tragedy tend to become more significant. Detailsweigh on the conscience.EDI do seem to be having problems with my conscience.GEOFFREYI see.EDDo you think that's why I can't sleep?GEOFFREYCould be.EDIs there anything you can give me?GEOFFREYA prescription?  For your conscience?  Of course not.EDThen what's the point?GEOFFREYThere are other ways I can be of help.EDA shoulder to cry on?GEOFFREYWould you like me to call the police?  There might be some news.EDThe police called last night, late last night.  They found Eve's body.GEOFFREYOh, no.EDThey found her buried in the woods, near where they found her car.GEOFFREYI'm sorry.  I didn't know.Geoffrey's watch alarm goes off. He looks at thetime and then, habitually takes a shiny silver pillbox from his pocket.He takes two pills out.GEOFFREYExcuse me.EDI never knew I could feel so alone.Geoffrey takes a thermos from his briefcase, pours some hot tea into the lid and swallows the pills with a mouthful of tea.GEOFFREYHe hasn't called since last night?EDNo.GEOFFREYIt's been a while.  Why don't you let me call him?  Maybe there's some news.When Ed doesn't object, Geoffrey takes his address book from his briefcase, along with a cellular phone and dials the number.GEOFFREYDetective Derm, please. Hi, Charlie, it's Geoffrey. I'mover at Ed Saxon's house. Yeah. He was hoping to get some informationon his wife. Uh-huh. Well, he said you called him last night and toldhim that you had found her body. Uh-huh. I see. In the woods, nearwhere you found her car. I don't know. Yes. Well, I did give himsomething to help him sleep. Right. Yes.Then Geoffrey turns away from Ed and says a few words quietly, so that Ed can't hear.  Then...GEOFFREYYes.  Yes.  I'll tell him.  Yes.  OK.  Bye.Geoffrey hangs up and turns back to Ed.EDWhat?GEOFFREYHe says he never called you last night.EDWhat?GEOFFREYHe told me to tell you to wait here for him; that he's coming over.EDI don't understand.GEOFFREYIt is possible that you did fall asleep, that youdreamed the phone call. I have to say that I was surprised when yousaid you hadn't slept. Those pills are very effective.EDThe pills.  Yes.  Maybe.GEOFFREYStill, this is better, isn't it?  I mean, now there's still a chance.  Your wife could still be...There's still hope.EDYes.  Hope.  But why is he coming over here?GEOFFREYHe said he had some questions to ask you.EDWhat questions?GEOFFREYHe didn't say.EDIf he had some questions to ask me, he could have asked me on the phone.GEOFFREYCalm down, Mr Saxon.EDWhy did you turn away from me when you were talking to him?  What did you say?GEOFFREYI said you were very tired and anxious and that you seemed to be under a great deal of stress.EDYou're lying.GEOFFREYI have no reason to lie.EDDon't you?GEOFFREYNo.  Why do you think I'm lying?EDBecause you're scared.Geoffrey does look scared.  He has quickly packed up his briefcase.GEOFFREYMr Saxon.  Please.  I understand you're under a lot of stress.EDYou don't understand anything.GEOFFREYI came here to help you.EDThen help me.  Please.GEOFFREYI've done all I can now.  I'm sorry.  I can't do any more.EDBut, you'll come to see me again, won't you?GEOFFREYNo.  I don't think I will.Geoffrey leaves.  Ed shuts the door.The phone rings.Ed picks it up.EDHello?GEORGEIs this Ed?EDGeorge.GEORGEWhat did you do to Eve?EDI didn't do anything.GEORGEI know you did. I saw her before she left work. We metin the parking lot, like we always did. She told me she was leavingyou. She was going to tell you when she got home.EDYou don't know anything about it.GEORGEYes, I do.  I know you.  Eve talks about you.  She tell me things.EDWhat things?GEORGEI know about the fights you have.EDShe's my wife.  We fight sometimes.GEORGEThat's bullshit.  I know what kind of a son of bitch you can be.  She's told me.EDWhat don't you tell it to the police?GEORGEI did.EDYou think she was some sort of angel?  She was cheating on me.GEORGEI love her.  I loved her.Ed listens to George break down.EDI'm sorry.There is a long pause.GEORGEIt's not enough.George hangs up.INT. BATHROOMThe bathroom is completely clean. There is nosign of any of the activity from before. Ed finds the bottle ofprescription sleeping pills. It is empty. He takes a couple of Midoland swallows them dry.INT. LIVING ROOMEd sits down at his desk.  He looks over the papers on his desk.  Sadie's is on top.  He looks it over.The phone rings and he picks it up.EDHello?SADIEHello.EDSadie.SADIEI wanted to apologize.EDNo.  Don't apologize.  It was me.SADIEI shouldn't have left like that.  I don't know what came over me.EDIt was understandable, under the circumstances.SADIEI really wanted you to like me.EDI wonder if you'll still feel the same way when you find out what kind of person I really am.SADIEI'll still keep your poem on my wall.EDYes.SADIEI think it's a beautiful poem.  I really do.  Are you still there?EDYes.SADIEI wish things had turned out better.She hangs up.  Ed stays on the phone, listening until the dial tone clicks back in.Then Ed hears a car pull up outside.  He follows some quiet footsteps as they walk up to the front door.He sees the door knob turn quietly in the door.  The door is locked.Ed approaches the door slowly, but suddenly, there is a crash against it.  Someone is trying to knock the door down.The door is strong, and doesn't open, but the wall around it shakes.After a few seconds, there is another crashagainst the door. This time the wall shakes so much that Eve's picture,which hangs by the door, almost falls off its nail.Ed looks out of the window. The window ispositioned facing the street, but not the porch, so he cannot see whoit is, but he can see a car parked out front, with the door still open.Inside the car, there is a softball glove lying on the passenger seat,along with something that George Simian was wearing when we last sawhim.George crashes against the door again. Thistime Eve's picture falls off the wall. It hits the ground and smashes,spreading broken glass around her picture.The door is starting to loosen around the lock and jamb.INT. HALLWAYEd backs into the hallway.  As he passes the bathroom, he can hear the gurgling sounds from the plumbing starting up again.INT. KITCHENEd backs into the kitchen. He searches around,quickly finding the kitchen knife. He grabs it out of the dish rack andstarts walking toward the front door.INT. HALLWAYThere's another bang on the door.  Ed passes slowly through the hallway, watching the door, holding the knife in front of him.The gurgling sounds in the bathroom are deep and resonant, echoing out of the drain, around the bathroom and into the hallway.There is another hard crash against the door,which breaks the jamb. The door is only being held on by the splintersaround the lock and George starts kicking the door with his foot.Ed backs into the basement door.  He opens it and goes into the-INT. BASEMENTHe hurries down the stairs into the darkness ofthe basement. The pipes surround Ed with hysterical, thick, waterysounds. There are metallic creaks and strains which reverberate aroundthe walls of the basement as the pipes seem to expand and contract.A couple of inches of dark, dirty water have collected on the floor and Ed's feet get wet as he steps off the last stair.Ed finds a place to hide in the shadows behindsome boxes. He stares up, as he hears the door breaking open upstairsand someone walking into the living room.With his eyes, he follows the footsteps as they search the apartment.Ed has hidden under a large pipe, which isdripping drops of dirty water onto his face. In the darkness of thebasement, the color of the water is unclear, but as he wipes some ontohis fingers, he can see it is murky and dark.The basement door opens slowly, and from thelight upstairs, Ed can see the silhouette of George Simian standingwith a softball bat.Ed grips onto his knife and watches as Georgecomes down the stairs, step by step. The water keeps dripping on thetop of Ed's head, running down the side of his face, but he holdsstill.Ed watches George come down the stairs.George reaches the bottom and steps into the shallow water.  He peers cautiously into the shadows.  He starts walking toward Ed.Ed withdraws as much as he can into his corner until he is in complete darkness.He watches George approaching him and he slowly raises his knife.George raises his softball bat. He takes a fewmore steps up to Ed, but then steps blindly past him and into a deep,dark shadow.Ed watches him disappear into the shadow andthen, makes his move. He rushes into the shadow with his knife raisedand both he and George are engulfed in darkness.After a few seconds, Ed emerges from theshadow. He drops the knife into the water at his feet. As he does,blood runs out of the shadow, mixing with the water in the basementfloor.Ed walks slowly upstairs.  The noises around him in the basement are now at their loudest.  INT. BATHROOMEd takes a long look at himself in the mirror.He is wet with blood and dirt. He opens the medicine cabinet and findsthe sleeping pills he was using before. He opens the bottle and emptiesit into his hand. There are only about five pills left.He takes the two toothbrushes from a toothpaste-crusty glass and fills it with water.  He takes the pills.Unsatisfied, he searches through the rest of themedicine cabinet. The selection, though not particularly toxic, is agood representation of standard, over-the-counter pills and tonics. Hefinds the Midol and takes the last few from the bottle. There is abottle of cold medicine which he finishes off. He drinks down a nearlyfull bottle of pink diarrhea medicine. He finds a bottle ofmulti-vitamins and takes a handful of those. As he finishes each one,he drops the empties onto the floor of the bathroom.When he stops, he notices blood seeping out ofthe bathtub drain. It is pure, thick, dark blood. He backs away intothe hallway.INT. HALLWAYEd backs into the wall and then, losing strength in his legs, lowers himself to the floor.  He keeps watching the bathtub.Piano music starts to seep through the gurgling noises.  Ed turns towards Eve's room.On the other side of the house, outside thebroken door, Ed can hear Derm's car pull up. Ed watches the living roomas Derm comes in carefully, flanked by Mazurek and Snyder.Derm comes over to Ed and kneels down in front of him.  Ed looks up at him helplessly.EDIt wasn't me.Derm looks at Ed's hands, which are covered in blood.EDIt wasn't me.Ed watches Derm looking at him.  Then he notices, behind Derm, blood seeping over the rim of the bathtub.Ed turns to Eve's room, where the piano can still be heard.The camera continues on where Ed can't go: downthe hallway to Eve's room. As it approaches, all the other noises fadeout and the piano is all that we hear.Ed watches from his position in the hall so that it all seems like his point of view.INT. EVE'S ROOMThe camera comes into Eve's room and turns to the piano.EVE is sitting at the piano, playing some music.We watch her for a few seconds. She turns to the camera as she plays,then continues playing.Then the camera turns toward the clouds paintedon the ceiling. A crack appears in the plaster and starts wideninguntil there is an empty black space behind it. The sound of the babycrying seeps in from the crack. The camera zeroes in on this blackuntil it fills the frame. Over the blackness, we can hear the babycrying until it fades out.THE END
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+                                  THE CIDER HOUSE RULES                                       Written by                                       John Irving                                                         Production Draft                               FADE IN. BEGIN TITLE SEQUENCE.               EXT. ST CLOUD'S - TRAIN STATION - DAWN               An establishing shot of the rundown train station on an                overcast morning. There's snow on the station platform. A                train arrives and departs.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         In other parts of the world, young                          men of promise leave home to make                          their fortunes, battle evil, or solve                          the problems of the world.               Behind the station, at the top of the hill, lies the St.                Cloud's orphanage.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         I was myself such a young man, when                          I came to save the orphanage in St.                          Cloud's... many years ago.               EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - ORPHANAGE - EARLY MORNING               A man and woman (COUPLE #1) make their way toward the main                entrance of the large brick building.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         Here in St. Cloud's, I have come to                          understand that promises are rarely                          kept, that the battle isn't so much                          against evil as ignorance, and that                          being successful can't hold a candle                          to being of *use*.               The couple enters the orphanage, where we hear the sound of                babies.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         Nor have I solved the problem I came                          here to solve.               INT. ORPHANAGE - MORNING               Two nurses, EDNA and ANGELA, chase CHILDREN--a morning                routine.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         Even in the most enlightened times,                          unwanted babies will manage to be                          born. That there will always be                          orphans is simple not a problem to                          be solved. Here is St. Cloud's, we                          don't regard the sordid facts of                          life as problems.               The camera goes up the stairs with some of the kids.               INT. LARCH'S OFFICE - DAY               We enter an office where DR. LARCH shows couple #1 their                newly adopted son, HOMER, an infant who lies smiling in Dr.                Larch's arms.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         In truth, we've only had one real                          problem.               We close in on the infant until his face fills the screen.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         His name was Homer Wells.               Dr. Larch hands over the infant to the adopting parents.                                     LARCH                         I named him after the Greek writer.                          You know Homer, of course?               Hesitant nods. (They don't look as if they read.)                                     LARCH                         I made his name "Wells" because I                          could tell he was very deep.               The parents look with pride at their adopted son.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         In truth, Nurse Angela named him--                         her father *drilled* wells, and                          "Homer" was one of her family's                          umpteen cats.               INT./EXT. ORPHANAGE - DAY               At the front door, Larch and the nurses wave and call good-               bye to Homer, they close the door.               INT./EXT. ORPHANAGE - NIGHT               The same door swings open; it's another night. The same couple                is bringing Homer back. There is concern in their faces as                Nurse Edna lets them in.               INT. BOY'S DIVISION, DOORWAY - NIGHT               Larch is delivering his benediction to the boys.                                     LARCH                         "Good night, you Princes of Maine,                          you Kings of New England!"               As he turns, he is startled by Nurse Edna, waiting with couple                #1 and baby Homer.                                     ADOPTING MOTHER                         There's something wrong with him! He                          never makes a sound.               Larch looks quickly at Homer.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         He didn't cry enough for them, if                          you can believe it.                                     ADOPTING FATHER                         Do you think we could have a look at                          someone a little different?               The mother hands over the baby to Larch. Baby Homer lets out                a happy squeal as soon as he's in Larch's arms. The parents                stare in disbelief.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         Thus was Homer Wells returned. He                          was too happy a baby.               EXT. ORPHANAGE - DAY               Angela and Edna call and wave good-bye to a two-year-old                Homer, leaving with COUPLE #2. Larch stands on the porch and                watches the family head down the hill.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         The second family has an unfortunate                          gift for getting sounds out of Homer.               INT. COUPLE #2'S HOME - DAY               Larch bursts into the home of the second couple and lifts a                crying and bruised Homer out of his bed. There is rage in                Larch's eyes as he looks at the couple.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         The rumor was true. They beat him.                          He couldn't stop crying.               EXT. HILL, ST. CLOUD'S - DAY               Larch carries Homer up the orphanage hill.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         Here is St. Cloud's, I try to                          consider, with each rule I make or                          break, that my first priority is an                          orphan's future.               INT. DELIVERY ROOM - DAY               The naked belly of a VERY PREGNANT WOMAN.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         Easier said than done.               A tiny hand comes in with a stethoscope and puts it on the                big belly. Young Homer's head, with the stethoscope around                his neck, pops up behind the belly; he closes his eyes as he                concentrates on listening to the sounds of the unborn child.                Larch stops in the doorway, catching sight of Homer. He smiles                faintly.               EXT. COUPLE #3'S HOME - DAY               The door opens to a THIRD COUPLE smiling at us, welcoming                and embracing a sixteen-year-old Homer. Behind them waits                the would-be STEPSISTER--an attractive girl, a little older                then Homer.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         I told the third family to take good                          care--this was a special boy.               INT. STEPSISTER'S BEDROOM - NIGHT               Homer and the stepsister are in bed together. The parents                burst in on them--the father chasing Homer around and around                the bed, the mother beating her daughter, who covers herself                with a pillow.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         It was Homer who took too much good                          care of himself.               EXT. COUPLE #3'S HOME - NIGHT               From her window, the stepsister watches Homer leave the house                carrying his suitcase. Homer looks up at her as he walks to                the street.               EXT. ORPHANAGE - EARLY MORNING               It's after dawn, but still a little dark, as Homer walks to                the orphanage door, suitcase in hand. A HUGELY PREGNANT WOMAN                arrives at the same time. They stand awkwardly next to each                other, waiting for someone to answer the door. The woman is                crying. Homer reaches out and takes her hand.                                     HOMER                         Don't be frightened. Everyone is                          nice here.                                     PREGNANT WOMAN                         Do you live here?                                     HOMER                         I just belong here.               The woman sniffles; she nods vaguely. The door opens. Nurse                Edna lets the woman in and embraces Homer.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         What could I do with him? He kept                          coming back!               INT. LARCH'S OFFICE - DAY               Larch instructs an older Homer from "Gray's Anatomy." Homer                is bored and looks out the window.                                     LARCH                         Homer, if you're going to stay at                          St. Cloud's, I expect you to be of                          use.               INT. DELIVERY ROOM - DAY               Homer looks adoringly at Dr. Larch as Larch examines ANOTHER                PREGNANT WOMAN. Larch waves Homer over; he places the boy's                hand on the woman's abdomen, to feel the fetus kicking.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         But, in failing to withhold love,                          had I created a true and everlasting                          orphan? I had been too successful                          with Homer Wells. I had managed to                          make the orphanage his *home*.               INT. OPERATING ROOM - DAY               Larch closes a door quickly behind him (so that Homer doesn't                see the ABORTION PATIENT in the O.R.)               INT. DELIVERY ROOM - DAY               Homer assists Larch in delivering a BABY.               EXT. INCINERATOR - DAY               Homer carries a white enamel pail to the incinerator. He                looks inside the pail; he stops.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         God forgive me. I have *made* an                          orphan by loving him too much. Homer                          Wells will belong to St. Cloud's,                          forever.               Hold on Homer's disgusted expression as he stares at the                contents of the pail.               END TITLE SEQUENCE. FADE OUT. We hear a song playing on an                old phonograph.               INT. DISPENSARY - DAY               We see the song playing on the old phonograph. Dr. Larch is                taking ether. He holds the bottle in one hand, the cone over                his mouth and nose with the other.               SUPER: ST. CLOUD'S, MAINE, MARCH 1943.               When Larch dozes off, his hand loosens its grip on the cone;                the cone falls off his face, and he wakes up. Then he puts                the cone back in place, dripping more ether from the bottle                to the gauze covering the cone.               Pan the dispensary, which also serves as Larch's photo gallery                and bedroom apartment. The ether-bed is separated from the                room by a hospital curtain (the kind on casters). We see the                recording revolving, the glass-encased cabinets of medical                supplies, the old photographs of St. Cloud's.               Homer enters, he stands uncomfortably, watching Larch for a                moment. Then he turns around and walks back into the corridor.               INT. CORRIDOR - DAY               Homer calls out as though he's just coming down the corridor.                                     HOMER                         Dr. Larch! Dr. Larch!               INT. DISPENSARY - DAY               Larch wakes up; he shakes off the ether haze. Homer reenters.                                     HOMER                         We've got two new patients, one to                          deliver.               Dr. Larch and Homer leave together.               INT. CORRIDOR - DAY               The *two* doctors walk briskly down the hall, a couple of                professionals.                                     LARCH                         First pregnancy?                                     HOMER                         Yes, for both.                                     LARCH                              (sarcastically)                         I presume you'd prefer handling the                          delivery.                                     HOMER                              (tiredly; an old topic)                         All I said was, I don't want to                          perform abortions. I have no argument                          with *you* performing them.                                     LARCH                         You know *how* to help these women--                         how can you not feel *obligated* to                          help them when they can't get help                          anywhere else?                                     HOMER                         One: it's illegal. Two: I didn't ask                          how to do it--you just showed me.                                     LARCH                         What *else* could I have showed you,                          Homer? The only thing I can teach                          you is what I know! In every life,                          you've got to be of use.               Homer and Larch split off and disappear into two different                operating rooms. As he goes, Homer mumbles to himself, "Of                use, of use, of use."               INT. OPERATING ROOM - DAY               Larch and Angela are preparing the ether for DOROTHY, a not                visibly pregnant woman. The sounds of labor across the hall                can be heard Over.                                     LARCH                              (holds the cone)                         Have you ever had ether, Dorothy?                                     DOROTHY                         Once, when they took out my appendix.                                     ANGELA                              (looks for scar)                         No one's touched your appendix.                                     DOROTHY                         Whatever it was... the ether made me                          sick.                                     LARCH                         It won't make you sick this time,                          Dorothy--not the way I do it, just a                          drop at a time.                                     DOROTHY                         I can't pay for this, you know--I                          got no money.                                     LARCH                         One day, Dorothy, if you have any                          money, a donation to the orphanage                          would be very much appreciated.                                     ANGELA                         Only if you can afford it.                                     LARCH                              (holds the ether bottle)                         Try to think of nothing, Dorothy.               Angela puts the cone over Dorothy's mouth and nose; Larch                drips the ether on the cone. A newborn wails in the other                O.R. Over.               INT. DELIVERY ROOM - DAY               Homer has delivered CARLA. A newborn baby is screaming in                Edna's arms. Homer is attending to Carla, who is panting.                                     HOMER                         That was good, Carla--that was                          *perfect*. Everything's fine.                                     CARLA                         I don't wanna see it!                                     EDNA                         You don't have to see it, dear. Don't                          worry.                                     CARLA                         I don't even wanna know what sex it                          is--don't tell me!                                     HOMER                         We won't tell you, Carla. You're                          going to be okay.                                     EDNA                         Your *baby's* going to be okay, too.                                     CARLA                         I don't wanna know!               Larch pops into the delivery room; he peers at the baby.                                     LARCH                         He's a big boy!                                     CARLA                         Let me see him, for Christ's sake--I                          wanna see him.               Edna shows the baby to Carla, who stares, then turns away.                Larch whispers to Homer.                                     LARCH                         Would you mind having a look at                          Dorothy?               INT. OPERATING ROOM - DAY               Angela sits with the still-etherized Dorothy while Larch and                Homer confer over a basin containing Dorothy's uterus.                                     HOMER                         There was no visible wound?                                     LARCH                         No. The fetus was dead. Her uterus                          was virtually *disintegrating*--my                          stitches pulled right through the                          tissue!                                     HOMER                              (mystified)                         It looks like scurvy.                                     LARCH                              (derisively sarcastic)                         Scurvy! Ah yes, the curse of the old-                         time sailor, suffering long periods                          at sea with no fresh fruits or                          vegetables. Homer, Dorothy isn't a                          *sailor*!                                     ANGELA                         She's a prostitute, isn't she?                                     HOMER                              (to Angela)                         Did you look in her purse?                                     LARCH                              (frustrated)                         I looked everywhere else!               Angela hands Larch a bottle of brown liquid.                                     ANGELA                         It's called French Lunar Solution.               Larch wrinkles his nose at the odor.                                     LARCH                         It's not ergot, it's not pituitary                          extract, it's not oil of rue...                                     ANGELA                         It claims to restore monthly                          regularity.                                     HOMER                         It's obviously an aborticide.                                     LARCH                         Obviously.               Larch wets his finger with the stuff, then touches it to his                tongue.                                     LARCH                              (spits)                         Christ, it's oil of tansy!                                     HOMER                         I don't know it.                                     LARCH                         If you take enough of it, your                          intestines lose their ability to                          absorb Vitamin C.                                     HOMER                         In other words, scurvy.                                     LARCH                         Good boy. Good job. And you call                          yourself "not a doctor"!                              (to Angela)                         Keep an eye on her--she's in trouble.               As Homer turns to leave, Larch stops him; he points to the                basin.                                     LARCH                         Take care of that, will you?               Homer stops, annoyed; he picks up the basin and empties the                contents into a white enamel pail.               INT. DINING HALL - AFTERNOON               MISS TITCOMB is teaching math to some distracted boys and                girls in a corner of the dining room. A blackboard on wheels                is a mass of numbers. Homer, passing through the dining room                with the white enamel pail, attracts the attention of BUSTER,                a sixteen-year-old who is picking over a plate of pastries                on a table. Buster immediately goes with Homer.                                     BUSTER                         I'll help you.               Homer shakes his head, keeps walking. Buster follows. Dr.                Larch passes close to Buster. Buster makes a face, disgusted.               EXT. INCINERATOR - AFTERNOON               Buster and Homer tramp through the snow toward the                incinerator. Homer still carries the pail.                                     BUSTER                         He *sniffs* that ether! I've seen                          him do it!                                     HOMER                         It's because he's too tired to sleep.                          He has to.                                     BUSTER                         He *smells* like he could put you to                          sleep!                                     HOMER                         He's a doctor, Buster--doctors smell                          like ether.                                     BUSTER                         *You're* a doctor, Homer--you don't                          smell like ether.                                     HOMER                         I'm *not* a doctor. I haven't been                          to medical school--I haven't even                          been to high school!                                     BUSTER                         But you've studied with the old man                          for *years*!                                     HOMER                         I'm *not* a doctor!                                     BUSTER                         I'm sorry, Homer.               Buster stands watching as Homer empties the pail into the                incinerator.               INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT               With his head inclined to the giant ear of Larch's phonograph,                FUZZY--six, thin, and pale and looking remarkably like an                embryo--is listening to a recording. He can't hear what Larch                and Homer are saying about him as they construct a humidified                tent over a small hospital bed on wheels. The humidifier is                operated by a car battery.                                     LARCH                         Fuzzy is not uncommon. I tell you,                          there's something about the premature                          babies of alcoholic mothers. They                          seem susceptible to every damn thing                          that comes along.                                     HOMER                         I haven't read that.                                     LARCH                         I haven't, either. But you *will*.                          The morons who write the books should                          do a little research *here*.                                     HOMER                         But isn't Fuzzy just... well,                          underdeveloped?                                     LARCH                         When *doesn't* he have bronchitis? I                          wouldn't call his bronchial infections                          "underdeveloped." Would you?               Larch plucks Fuzzy from in front of the phonograph and zips                him into the breathing tent. Fuzzy smiles. As larch leaves,                MARY AGNES, a pretty but tough-looking teenager, comes into                the dispensary.                                     HOMER                         What is it, Mary Agnes?               Mary Agnes smiles at Homer; then she sticks her tongue out                at him. Homer looks at her impassively, but as the moment                continues his expression suggests his annoyance. Fuzzy starts                to cough; he wheezes as he breathes. Homer leans down; he                peers at Fuzzy through a hole by the zipper of the tent.                                     MARY AGNES                              (garbled because of                               her tongue)                         Look!               Homer examines Mary Agnes' tongue.                                     HOMER                         Did you bite it?                                     MARY AGNES                         I don't remember.                                     HOMER                              (dismissively)                         It looks like you bit it--it'll be                          all right.                                     MARY AGNES                         Maybe I was kissing someone and he                          bit me.                                     HOMER                              (looks at her tongue                               again)                         No, you did it yourself. Maybe in                          your sleep.                                     MARY AGNES                         I must have been *dreaming* of kissing                          someone.               Homer is not responding to her come-on. He wheels Fuzzy into                the hall.                                     HOMER                         Story time, Fuzzy!               INT. GIRLS' DIVISION - NIGHT               In the girls' bunk room, Nurse Edna is saying prayers. The                girls lie with their palms pressed together on their chests.                                     EDNA                         "Oh Lord, support us all the day                          long..."               EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - THE HILL - NIGHT               The building of St. Cloud's is silhouetted against the sky.                Carla, the woman we saw deliver the baby, is heading down                the hill alone, she sobs, not looking back.                                     EDNA (O.S.)                         "...until the shadows lengthen and                          the evening comes, and the busy world                          is hushed, and the fever of life is                          over, and our work is done."               INT. GIRLS' DIVISION - NIGHT               In the bunk room again, with Edna and the girls.                                     EDNA                         "Then in Thy mercy grant us save                          lodging, and holy rest, and peace at                          the last."                                     ALL THE GIRLS                         Amen! Amen! Amen!               INT. BOYS' DIVISION - NIGHT               Dr. Larch is reading from Oliver Twist--the death scene of                Bill Sike's dog. The boys listen in horror in their beds.                                     LARCH                         "A dog, which had lain concealed                          till now, ran backwards and forwards                          on the parapet with a dismal howl,                          and collecting himself for a spring,                          jumped for the dead man's shoulders."               Homer enters; he walks quietly to his bed in the far corner                of the room, where he starts to undress.                                     LARCH                         "Missing his aim, he fell into a                          ditch, turning completely over as he                          went; and striking his head against                          a stone, dashed his brains out.               Larch turns out the lights. From the open doorway to the                hall, Larch delivers his nightly benediction.                                     LARCH                         Good night, you Princes of Maine!                          You Kings of New England!               Larch closes the door, leaving them in the semi-darkness.                One young boy runs into Homer's bed, nervously giggling.                                     FUZZY                              (in his breathing                               tent)                         Why does Dr. Larch *do* tht every                          night?                                     CURLY                              (about seven)                         Maybe to scare us...                                     COPPERFIELD                              (about eleven)                         No, you jerk.                                     STEERFORTH                              (about nine)                         Dr. Larch *loves* us!                                     FUZZY                         But why does he do *that*?                                     BUSTER                         He does it because we like it.               The boys silently agree, Homer among them.               EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - EARLY MORNING               The girls, led by Mary Agnes, round a corner of the orphanage,                towing a sled piled high with snowballs.                                     MARY AGNES                         Buster is mine. You two get                          Copperfield and Curly. Nobody touches                          Fuzzy.               They shriek as the boys suddenly surprise them. Buster throws                two hard snowballs that hit Mary Agnes and CLARA (eight or                nine) before Mary Agnes overwhelms him and repeatedly sticks                his head in the snow. Copperfield, terrified of Mary Agnes,                escapes. Curly misses, then tips over the sled of snowballs                as Clara and the adorable HAZEL (five or six) throw him to                the ground. Fuzzy drops his one snowball; he runs aimlessly                in circles, coughing, as Nurse Edna explodes from a door of                the orphanage.                                     EDNA                         Stop it! No fighting! *Share* the                          snowballs!                                     BUSTER                              (mouth full of snow)                         They're *our* snowballs! They *stole*                          them!                                     MARY AGNES                         They attacked us--just like the Japs!               Fuzzy coughs and wheezes, trying to catch his breath.                                     EDNA                         Listen to you, Fuzzy! You've been                          running. You get to the shower!               A NEW COUPLE comes up the hill. The orphans stop and stare,                brushing snow off themselves, struggling to make themselves                look presentable. Curly is desperate to look his best. Mary                Agnes doesn't bother to pretty herself. She whispers to Clara                and Hazel.                                     MARY AGNES                         I know the type--they'll take one of                          the babies.               INT. DINING HALL - MORNING               The children are eating breakfast as the would-be parents                walk around the tables, looking over the assembled orphans.                Curly works on his table manners; he forks and eats a piece                of pancake with elegance. Angela and Edna try to make the                couple slow down by the older children, but the couple stop                and stare at the adorable Hazel.               INT. BABY ROOM - MORNING               Larch and Homer are examining the babies. The doctors are                checking the babies' grips, their eyes, ears, and throats.               Angela appears in the doorway.                                     ANGELA                         Wilbur, the adopting couple is waiting                          in your office.                                     LARCH                              (irritated)                         Life is waiting.               Angela disappears. Larch looks at the next baby's record                (attached to the bed).                                     LARCH                         Where's the name sheet?                                     HOMER                         Nobody's named this one yet.                                     LARCH                         It's my turn!               Homer is tired of this game. Larch touches the child's                forehead with his index finger.                                     LARCH                         Henceforth you shall be... Little                          Dorrit!               The baby starts to cry.                                     HOMER                         He doesn't like it.                              (looks at the record)                         He's a boy, That's why.                                     LARCH                         Can't a boy be a Dorrit?                                     HOMER                         I don't think so.                                     LARCH                         You do it then.               Homer points his finger at the child's forehead like a gun.                                     HOMER                         Henceforth you shall be... Little                          Wilbur.                                     LARCH                         I'm not crazy about the "Little..."               Homer is writing the name.                                     HOMER                         Okay, he's just a Wilbur then.                                     LARCH                         We haven't had a Wilbur here in a                          year or so, have we? We used to have                          *dozens*!               They are interrupted by Copperfield, who comes running from                the corridor.                                     COPPERFIELD                         They picked Hazel! The idiots chose                          Hazel!               INT. GIRLS' DIVISION - DAY               Hazel is being fussed over by Edna. Hazel clutches a cardboard                suitcase and a tattered rag doll. Mary Agnes, by far the                oldest, sits on a bed.                                     MARY AGNES                         If people want to adopt one of us,                          they should have to take the oldest                          first.                                     EDNA                         Please, Mary Agnes! This is Hazel's                          special day--don't make her feel                          sad.                                     MARY AGNES                         Hazel's practically the youngest of                          us. She should be the *last* to leave!                                     CLARA                         At least Hazel can talk. Usually                          they take one of the stupid babies.                                     MARY AGNES                         They take the babies so they won't                          ever have to tell them that they                          were orphans!                                     HAZEL                              (begins to cry)                         I'm not a baby!                                     MARY AGNES                         If you cry, Hazel, they'll just send                          you back.                                     EDNA                         Mary Agnes, that's not true!               Hazel cries harder.                                     MARY AGNES                         That's what they did to me!                                     EDNA                         You *wanted* to come back--that's                          why you cried.                              (to Hazel)                         You can cry if you feel like it,                          Hazel. You cry as much as you want.               INT. LARCH'S OFFICE - DAY               Homer is in the corridor outside the office, overhearing                Larch's lecture to the couple adopting Hazel.                                     LARCH                         It is strictly for our orphans' sake                          that I destroy any record of their                          natural mothers. Of course they will,                          one day, want to know. But orphans,                          especially, should look forward to                          their *futures*. Not back to their                          pasts.               INT. WINDOW, CORRIDOR - DAY               Homer sees Curly standing all alone by a window in the                corridor; a suitcase is next to him.                                     HOMER                         Hi, Curly. You going somewhere?               Curly shakes his head.                                     CURLY                         I thought they might take me.                                     HOMER                         They wanted a girl.                                     CURLY                         Nobody ever wants me!               Homer embraces Curly and lifts him up, he grabs the suitcase                and continues down the corridor.                                     HOMER                         You're one of the best, Curly--we                          couldn't let just anyone take you.                                     CURLY                         Dr. Larch wouldn't let just anyone                          take *any* of us!                                     HOMER                         That's true.                                     CURLY                         Nobody's asked for me, have they?                                     HOMER                         Nobody special enough, Curly.                                     CURLY                         You mean somebody asked?                                     HOMER                         Only the right people can have you,                          Curly.               Homer disappears into the boys' bunk room carrying Curly and                his suitcase, leaving the corridor empty.               INT./EXT. ORPHANAGE - DAY               Faces in the windows; the orphans watch Hazel walking across                the snowy lawn with her new parents.               INT. GIRLS' DIVISION - NIGHT               Edna (with the girls) gives her good-bye blessing to Hazel.                                     EDNA                         Let us be happy for Hazel. Hazel has                          found a family. Good night, Hazel.                                     THE GIRLS                         Good night, Hazel! Good night, Hazel!                          Good night, Hazel!               INT./EXT. ORPHANAGE - FRONT DOOR - DAY               The front door opens. The orphans excitedly run outside onto                the green lawn, into the warm weather of spring.               INT. DISPENSARY - MORNING               Angela is singing along with the song on the phonograph, a                more romantic song then before, which rouses Larch from his                ether. He is grumpy, but she sings the song in his ear and                won't give him back the ether cone; he rolls away from her,                but she tickles him and bites his ear, coaxing him into a                more playful mood.                                     LARCH                         I was dreaming about you. How                          beautiful you were!                                     ANGELA                         You weren't dreaming about me.                                     LARCH                         I was!               Playfully, she slips out of his embrace.                                     ANGELA                         Then I wasn't beautiful.                                     LARCH                         You were! You *are*! It was fantastic.                                     ANGELA                         It was just the ether, Wilbur...               INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT               Homer wheels a tray with glasses of water between the beds.                A DISTRAUGHT PREGNANT WOMAN stops him by her bed.                                     HOMER                         Are you okay? Can I get you anything?                                     DISTRAUGHT WOMAN                         No one but me ever put a hand on me,                          to feel that baby. Don't you want to                          touch it or put your ear down to it?                                     HOMER                         Okay.               Homer touches the woman's belly.                                     DISTRAUGHT WOMAN                         Put your ear there. Go on.               Homer cautiously lays his ear against her belly.                                     DISTRAUGHT WOMAN                         You shouldn't have a baby if there's                          no one who wants to put his face                          right there!               She holds Homer's head against her belly; she presses his                face into her. She shuts her eyes. Homer's eyes stare widely.                Dr. Larch stops in the doorway; he watches with concern.                                     DISTRAUGHT WOMAN                         Stay right there. Right where you                          are. Stay right here. Right here.               EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - TRAIN STATION - DAY               Homer at the train station, staring down the empty tracks.                Buster is hanging around with him, kicking a rock.                                     BUSTER                         Do you ever think about leaving this                          place to go find them?               Homer makes no response. As the train approaches, Homer and                Buster go sit on a loading cart. They see the distraught                woman (no longer pregnant) from Homer's experience of a few                nights ago; she is leaving St. Cloud's without her baby,                waiting for the approaching train. Her face is a mask. The                DISAPPROVING STATIONMASTER gives her a hard look.                                     BUSTER                         I mean your parents.                                     HOMER                         I know who you mean. I think about                          leaving here, but not to find *them*.                                     BUSTER                         Why not?                                     HOMER                         Whoever they were, they didn't *do*                          any of the things parents are supposed                          to do. Dr. Larch did those things,                          and Nurse Edna, and Nurse Angela.                                     BUSTER                         Yeah. But sometimes I wish I could                          meet mine, anyway.                                     HOMER                         What for, Buster? What would you do                          if you met them?                                     BUSTER                         Uh... I'd like to show them that I                          can cook, a little.                                     HOMER                         You cook very well!                                     BUSTER                         And that I can drive a truck!                                     HOMER                              (laughing)                         Better than I can!                                     BUSTER                         Sometimes I want to meet them so I                          can kill them. Just sometimes.               Buster is ashamed; he knows he's said the wrong thing.                                     BUSTER                         Homer, you know I would never kill                          anyone--you know I wouldn't.                                     HOMER                         I know.               The slowly moving train has stopped. There are SOLDIERS                leaning out the windows. Buster turns to see Mary Agnes                walking past the train--she's doing her best to look grown-               up, sophisticated. One of the soldiers reaches out and gently                tugs on  her hair. Mary Agnes is enraged; she spits at the                soldier.                                     BUSTER                         I think Mary Agnes could kill someone.                                     HOMER                         I doubt it. She's just an...               Mary Agnes spits at *all* the soldiers.                                     HOMER                         ...emotional girl.               The soldiers roll up the windows as Mary Agnes improvises                some verbal abuse.                                     BUSTER                         What's she so emotional about?                                     HOMER                              (shrugs)                         I don't know. She got left here,                          like the rest of us, didn't she?               Camera closes on Homer.               INT. DINING HALL - NIGHT               The orphans are watching King Kong, the part when the giant                ape first captures the screaming Fay Wray. Intercut Kong                with the orphans' rapt faces. Homer sits near the front,                mesmerized by the film. Dr. Larch and Angela sit by the                projector; Larch is reading a letter. Fuzzy points to the                screen.                                     FUZZY                              (coughing)                         He thinks she's his *mother*!               King Kong is undressing Fay Wray in the cave.                                     COPPERFIELD                         He doesn't think she's his mother,                          Fuzzy.                                     FUZZY                         He does so! He *loves* her!                                     CARLA                         How could she be his *mother*?               Larch shakes the letter in front of Angela.                                     LARCH                              (a harsh whisper)                         They want to replace me! The Board                          of Trustees wants to *replace* me!                                     ANGELA                              (whispering back)                         They just want you to hire some new                          help.                                     LARCH                         Some new *things* would be useful. I                          don't need any "new help."               The film breaks--to huge cries of disappointment from the                orphans. Fuzzy coughs and coughs while Larch fumbles with                the projector. Angela turns on the light while Larch squints                at the broken film. The orphans are chanting, "Kong! Kong!"                                     LARCH                         Homer! I need you!               Homer gets up and walks to the projector.                                     LARCH                         I thought you took care of this. It                          always breaks in the same place.                          It's your splice, isn't it?                                     HOMER                              (angry)                         It's *your* splice! You blame me for                          everything!               Larch abruptly lets go of the film.                                     LARCH                         Angela, we need a new movie, a new                          projector, a new typewriter--*that's*                          what they should replace around here!               Edna comes in; she speaks to Larch, then quickly leaves.                                     EDNA                         We have a delivery. Imminent, in my                          estimation...               Larch turns to Homer.                                     LARCH                         Homer, would you get this one?               Homer shifts his weight to the other foot; aggravated; he                stands there.                                     HOMER                         She's a patient, right? She should                          see a doctor.               Homer and Larch stare at each other.                                     LARCH                              (trying to stay calm)                         Homer, you are a skilled and gifted                          surgeon. You have near-prefect                          obstetrical and gynecological                          procedure.               Homer is also trying to avoid a fight.                                     HOMER                         I just mean I'd rather fix the movie.                          Tonight.               Larch can't hide his disappointment.                                     LARCH                         Sure. Okay. You splice. I'll deliver.               It is an uneasy peace.               INT. BOYS' DIVISION - NIGHT (LATER)               Homer is adjusting Fuzzy's breathing tent as the other boys                climb into bed.                                     FUZZY                         Homer... doesn't King Kong think the                          woman is his *mother*?                                     HOMER                         Uh, sure--that's what Kong thinks,                          all right.                                     FUZZY                         That's why Kong loves her!               Larch comes in and walks over to Homer and Fuzzy. Larch and                Homer exchange a look.                                     HOMER                         I thought it was my turn.                                     LARCH                         It is. I'll get this. You go ahead.               Homer sits down with 'David Copperfield.' There is quiet                anticipation while Homer readies himself to read.                                     HOMER                              (reading)                         "Whether I shall turn out to be the                          hero of my own life, or whether that                          station will be held by anybody else,                          these pages must show."               Larch continues to adjust Fuzzy's breathing tent.                                     HOMER                         "I was a posthumous child. My father's                          eyes had closed upon the light of                          this world six months, when mine                          opened on it."                                     FUZZY                              (whispers to Larch)                         His father's dead, right?                                     LARCH                              (whispering back)                         That's right, Fuzz.               Close on Fuzzy.                                     HOMER (O.S.)                              (continues reading)                         "There is something strange to me,                          even now, in the reflection that he                          never saw me..."               As Larch bends over Fuzzy to fix the breathing apparatus,                Fuzzy whispers.                                     FUZZY                         Is *your* father dead?                                     LARCH                              (nods, whispers)                         Cirrhosis--it's a disease of the                          liver.                                     FUZZY                         *Liver* killed him?                                     LARCH                         *Alcohol* killed him--he drank himself                          to death.                                     FUZZY                         But did you know him?                                     LARCH                         Barely. It hardly mattered that I                          knew him.                                     FUZZY                         Did you know your mother better?                                     LARCH                              (nods, still whispers)                         She's dead now, too. She was a nanny.                                     FUZZY                         What's a nanny do?                                     LARCH                         She looks after other people's                          children.                                     FUZZY                         Did you grow up around here?                                     LARCH                         No. She was an immigrant.                                     FUZZY                         What's an immigrant?                                     LARCH                         Someone not from Maine.               EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - NIGHT               The orphanage in moonlight. Not a sound.               EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - MORNING               The children are chasing a ball near the incinerator.               A VERY FRIGHTENED GIRL---not one of the orphans--is lying                next to the incinerator.               Edna kneels by the strange girl, who cringes with fear.                                     EDNA                         No one's going to hurt you, dear.                          Have you come to visit us? We have                          beds, you know. Have you had any                          breakfast? What's your name?               The girl won't speak; when Edna touches the girl's forehead,                she pulls back her hand in alarm.               INT. OPERATING ROOM - MORNING               Edna is holding the head of the frightened young girl. The                girl is feverishly hot and whimpering; she keeps looking at                her feet in the stirrups as if she's an animal caught in a                trap. Larch and Homer stand on either side of her.                                     EDNA                         Her temperature is a hundred and                          four.                                     LARCH                              (very gently)                         How old are you, dear? Thirteen?               The girl shakes her head. The pain stabs her again.                                     LARCH                         Twelve? Are you twelve, dear?                              (the girl nods)                         You have to tell me how long you've                          been pregnant.                              (the girl freezes)                         Three months?               Another stab of pain contorts the girl.                                     LARCH                         Are you *four* months pregnant?               The girl holds her breath while he examines her abdomen;                Homer very delicately examines the girl's abdomen, too.                                     HOMER                              (whispers to Larch)                         She's at least *five*.               The girl goes rigid as Larch bends into position.                                     LARCH                         Dear child, it won't hurt when I                          look. I'm just going to *look*.               Homer assists Larch with the speculum.                                     LARCH                         Tell me: you haven't done something                          to yourself, have you?                                     TWELVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL                         It wasn't me!                                     LARCH                         Did you go to someone else?                                     TWELVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL                         He said he was a doctor. I would                          never have stuck that inside me!                                     HOMER                         Stuck *what* inside you?               Homer holds the girl still--she is babbling on and on while                Larch is examining her.                                     TWELVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL                         It wasn't me! I would never do no                          such thing! I wouldn't stick that                          inside me! It wasn't me!               Larch, his wild eye peering into the speculum, makes an                audible gasp from the shock of what he sees inside the girl.                Larch tells Homer to have a look. Larch then whispers                something to Edna; she brings the ether bottle and cone                quickly. Larch starts putting the cone in place, over the                nose and mouth of the frightened girl. Homer bends to the                speculum.                                     LARCH                              (to the twelve-year-                              old)                         Listen, you've been very brave. I'm                          going to put you to sleep--you won't                          feel it anymore. You've been brave                          enough.               Homer stares into the speculum; he closes his eyes. The girl                is resisting the ether, but her eyelids flutter closed.                                     EDNA                         That's a heavy sedation.                                     LARCH                         You *bet* it's a heavy sedation! The                          fetus is unexpelled, her uterus is                          punctured, she has acute peritonitis,                          and there's a foreign object. I think                          it's a crochet hook.               Homer has pulled off his surgical mask. He leans over the                scrub sink, splashing cold water on his face.                                     LARCH                              (to Homer)                         If she'd come to you four months ago                          and asked you for a simple D and C,                          what would you have decided to do?                          *Nothing*? *This* is what doing                          nothing gets you, Homer. It means                          that someone else is going to do the                          job--some moron who doesn't know                          *how*!               Homer, furious, leaves the operating room. Edna lifts the                girl's eyelids for Larch so that he can see how well under                the ether she is.                                     LARCH                         I wish you'd come to *me*, dear child.                          You should have come to me, instead.               INT. CORRIDOR - MORNING               Homer storms down the hall, then stops, pulling off his white                coat. Angry, pacing, he kicks at nothing.               EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - GRAVEYARD - EARLY MORNING               Buster and Homer are digging the pit. Larch paces by the                coffin of the 12-year-old girl.                                     BUSTER                         What'd she die of?                                     LARCH                              (inhales deeply)                         She died of *secrecy*, she died of                          *ignorance*...               Buster nods, but he's totally bewildered.                                     LARCH                              (to Homer)                         If you expect people to be responsible                          for their children, you have to give                          them the right to decide whether or                          not to *have* children. Wouldn't you                          agree?               Buster doesn't get it. Homer has heard this too many times;                he rolls his eyes.                                     HOMER                         How about expecting people to be                          responsible enough to control                          themselves to begin with?                                     LARCH                         How about this child? You expect                          *her* to be responsible?               Homer looks away.                                     HOMER                         I didn't mean her. I'm talking                          about... adults.                              (annoyed)                         You know who I mean!               Larch studies him.               EXT./INT. ST. CLOUD'S ROAD - TRUCK CAB - DAY               Buster is driving the old pickup truck, with the shovels and                a wheelbarrow in the back. Larch and Homer are in the cab,                they are being bounced all over the cab by Buster's wild                driving. Larch looks at Homer; he stares at him with a curious                smile.                                     HOMER                         What?!               Larch says nothing. Homer gives him a look.                                     LARCH                              (smiling)                         It's just a marvel to me that you                          still have such high expectations of                          people.                                     HOMER                         I'm happy I amuse you.                                     LARCH                              (to Homer)                         Try to look at it this way. What                          choice does Buster have? What are                          his options? Nobody will ever adopt                          him.                              (Buster considers                               this)                                     HOMER                         Try to look at it *this* way. Buster                          and I are sitting right here beside                          you. We could have ended up in the                          incinerator!                              (Buster grins)                                     LARCH                         Happy to be alive, under any                          circumstances--is that your point?               Buster is distracted; he drives the truck into a ditch and                it bounces around, missing a tree by an inch. He is up on                the road again in a few seconds.                                     HOMER                         Happy to be alive... I guess so.               They are all distracted by a luxurious convertible that                overtakes them on the hill to the orphanage. The fast car is                driven by a handsome man in the uniform of the Army Air Corps--               a YOUNG OFFICER. From the passenger seat, a BEAUTIFUL YOUNG                WOMAN smiles at them, rendering them speechless.               EXT. ORPHANAGE DRIVEWAY - DAY               The luxurious convertible (now parked) has drawn all the                orphans to it. The handsome young officer (WALLY) and the                beautiful young woman (CANDY) stand confused by the car;                they are surrounded by the curious orphans, with whom they                are painfully self-conscious. They are overly friendly to                the children as they are anxious of Larch and Homer and Buster                (in their gravedigging attire), who are getting out of the                truck. Nervously, Wally gives the children chocolates.                                     CANDY                         So many children. Are they all                          orphans?                                     WALLY                         Well, this *is* an orphanage.               The kids climb into Wally's car.                                     CANDY                         Oh, they're getting into the car...                          watch your fingers!               Curly tugs on Candy's dress, staring up at her, his face                already smeared with chocolate.                                     CURLY                         I'm the best.                                     CANDY                              (sweetly)                         You are?                                     WALLY                              (good with kids)                         The best? Wow! The best at *what*?                                     CURLY                         I'm the best one.               Curly's nose is streaming snot. Candy kneels beside him and                holds her handkerchief to his nose.                                     CANDY                         Here, blow...               Curly tries to talk while she's holding his nose.                                     CURLY                         I really *am* the best, I just have                          a cold.                                     CANDY                         Blow! There, I bet that feels better.                                     CURLY                              (sniffs)                         Yeah.               The other orphans are dying with envy--Candy is so beautiful.                (Some, like Buster, are torn between Candy and the car.)                                     LARCH                         Curly, come here!                                     CURLY                              (to Larch)                         *Tell* them! I'm the one.               Virtually all the orphans have climbed into Wally's car.                                     HOMER                              (to Wally)                         I'm sorry. They're not used to seeing                          a car like this.                                     WALLY                         It's okay--I don't mind.               Larch, scowling, presents himself to the new couple.                                     WALLY                         We brought some chocolates for the                          kids.                                     LARCH                              (witheringly)                         Chocolates. How *thoughtful*.               Larch picks up Curly and carries him toward the boys'                division.                                     CURLY                         I'm the best! *Tell* them!                                     LARCH                         You're the best, Curly.               INT. LARCH'S OFFICE - DAY               Homer is seated in the desk chair. The impressive couple sit                in front of him.                                     HOMER                         So, Mrs...                                     CANDY                         Candy. Candy Kendall.               Wally jumps up to his feet to shake Homer's hand.                                     WALLY                         Wally. Wally Worthington.               Wally sits down. The three sit still for an awkward moment.                                     HOMER                              (to Candy)                         How many months are you?                                     CANDY                              (whispers)                         Two.               Homer writes on a piece of paper. Candy and Wally exchange a                worried look.                                     WALLY                         So, now, uh... you're not... I mean,                          do *you* do the--                                     HOMER                         No. Dr. Larch will be performing the                          procedure.                                     WALLY                              (relieved)                         Ah, well... okay. Good! I just                          wondered...               Edna pokes her head in the door.                                     EDNA                         Excuse me, Homer. Dr. Larch said                          this one is your turn.               Edna quickly sees that all three of them have misunderstood                her.                                     EDNA                         Oh, dear--I'm sorry. I meant the                          circumcision. That boy you delivered                          on Tuesday...                                     HOMER                         Sure. Fine. Have you prepped him?                                     EDNA                         I'll get started.               Candy and Wally can't conceal how impressed they are with                the young Homer.               INT. CORRIDOR - DAY               Homer walks down the corridor, dressed in his operating gown,                as the door to the O.R. opens and Wally stumbles out,                hurriedly opening a window. Wally breathes deeply to regain                his composure.                                     WALLY                         I think it was the ether--the smell                          got to me.                              (pause)                         God. This is all my fault.               Edna comes down the hall with a dirt-stained, crying Curly                who's covering one eye.                                     EDNA                              (over the din)                         Steerforth got into the pantry--he's                          eaten all the pie dough.                                     CURLY                              (sobbing)                         He wasn't sharing it, either.                                     EDNA                         He's down the hall, throwing up.               Homer nods to Edna, who is marching off with Curly. Wally                smiles at Homer.                                     HOMER                         What kind of plane are you flying?                                     WALLY                         A B-24 Liberator.                                     HOMER                         Liberator...                                     WALLY                         Have you enlisted?                                     HOMER                         They wouldn't take me. I'm Class IV--                         I've got a heart defect.                                     WALLY                         Really! Is it serious?                                     HOMER                         No, it's not serious. I'm just not                          supposed to get excited. You know--                         no strain, no stress. I try to keep                          calm all the time.               Wally hears Homer's facetiousness--how tired he is of his                heart condition.                                     WALLY                         Oh, well. I don't imagine there's                          any strain or stress around *here*!               Homer appreciates the joke.               The door to the operating room that Wally exited opens into                the corridor; Candy is being wheeled out on a gurney by Larch                and Angela. Wally rushes to Candy's side. Homer follows                slowly. Candy is groggy, coming out of the ether.                                     WALLY                         How is she doing?                                     LARCH                         Just fine.                                     CANDY                              (slurred speech)                         Boy or girl?                                     ANGELA                         It was nothing--it's all over.                                     WALLY                         It's all over, honey.               They walk Candy on her gurney. Homer looks after them.                                     CANDY                              (slurred speech)                         I would like to have a baby, one                          day. I really would.                                     ANGELA                         Why, of course--you can have as many                          children as you want. I'm sure you'll                          have very beautiful children.               Larch wheels Candy behind a curtain.                                     LARCH                         You'll have Princes of Maine! You'll                          have Kings of New England!               Larch has a different tone of voice when he speaks to Wally.                                     LARCH                         I suggest you find yourself some                          fresh air, Lieutenant.               Wally is left alone in the corridor.               INT. BOYS' DIVISION - DAY               Cranked at three-quarters, Fuzzy sits in bed, wheezing and                coughing. He's drawing with great intensity, using crayons                on a piece of paper held by a clipboard. Homer sits on the                end of Fuzzy's bed, cleaning up Steerforth. Homer pauses to                look out of the window; he sees Wally, dashing and spotless                in his uniform beside his flashy car. A life Homer might                have had crosses his face.                                     FUZZY (O.S.)                         Homer, when is Halloween?               Homer turns to Fuzzy, who holds up his picture--a big pumpkin                with a jack-o-lantern face.                                     HOMER                              (distracted)                         Uh... it's the end of October.                                     FUZZY                         Is that soon?               Homer looks at Fuzzy; his little body is working hard just                to breathe.                                     STEERFORTH                         That's a few months away, Fuzz.                              (to Homer)                         I still don't feel so good.                                     FUZZY                              (disappointed)                         Oh. It's the best time! How come we                          only get pumpkins once a year?               Fuzzy coughs and coughs.                                     HOMER                         Don't get too excited, Fuzzy.                                     FUZZY                         Why can't we have pumpkins for                          Christmas, too? We don't get any                          good presents at Christmas, anyway.               Homer looks out the window at Wally again. His decision forms.               EXT. ORPHANAGE DRIVEWAY - DAY               Homer approaches the flashy car, where Wally is still pacing.                                     HOMER                         Has anyone offered you anything to                          eat?                                     WALLY                         Actually, someone did. I just didn't                          think I could eat anything.               An awkward silence, which Homer covers by examining the car.                                     HOMER                              (trying to sound casual)                         I wonder if you might give me a ride.                                     WALLY                         Sure! Be glad to! Uh... a ride where?                                     HOMER                              (unprepared)                         Where are you going?                                     WALLY                         We're heading back to Cape Kenneth.               Homer nods, but he has no idea where Cape Kenneth is.                                     HOMER                         Cape Kenneth...               Wally nods.                                     HOMER                         That sounds fine.               INT. STAIRWAY/CORRIDOR - DAY               Homer runs up the stairs, two steps at a time; he races into                a corridor at full speed, exhilarated. Suddenly Dr. Larch                appears in front of him. Homer stops abruptly, out of breath,                unable to speak.               INT. LARCH'S OFFICE - DAY               As Homer stands guiltily, Larch rifles through an X-ray file,                holding various X rays up to the lit screen. He quickly finds                the one he's looking for, attaching it briefly to the screen                for a confirming look--a heart X ray, which Larch waves at                Homer as he talks.                                     LARCH                              (sarcastic)                         Doubtless you'll let me know what                          immensely worthwhile or at least                          *useful* thing it is that you find                          to do.                                     HOMER                              (restrained)                         I wasn't intending to leave here in                          order to be entirely useless--I expect                          I'll find some ways to be of use.                                     LARCH                         In other parts of the world, I suppose                          there are other ways.                                     HOMER                              (still restrained)                         Of course.                                     LARCH                              (blows up)                         Are you really so *stupid* that you                          imagine you're going to find a more                          gratifying life? What you're going                          to find is people like the poor people                          who get left here--only nobody takes                          care of them as well! And you won't                          be able to take care of them, either.                          There's no taking care of *anybody*--                         not out there!                                     HOMER                              (feeling trapped)                         You know I'm grateful for everything                          you've done for me...                                     LARCH                              (calmly)                         I don't need your gratitude.               Larch hands Homer the heart X ray.                                     HOMER                              (exasperated)                         I don't need this--I know all about                          my condition.                                     LARCH                         It's your heart--you ought to take                          it with you.               Camera closes on Homer with the X ray.               INT. KITCHEN - LATE AFTERNOON               Buster and Mary Agnes are serving the evening meal while                Larch rails at Angela and Edna, who are helping Buster and                Mary Agnes. The sound of children in the dining hall is                intermittent and chaotic.                                     EDNA                         Going where? Does he have a plan of                          some kind?                                     ANGELA                         Will he be back soon?                                     LARCH                         I don't know! He's just leaving--                              (to Angela)                         you're the one who says he needs to                          see the world!                              (to Edna)                         *That's* what he'll do--he'll see                          the world!                                     EDNA                              (stunned)                         He's leaving...                                     ANGELA                         He'll need clothes... some money...                                     LARCH                         Let him try to *make* some money!                          That's part of "seeing the world,"                          isn't it?                                     ANGELA                              (angrily)                         Oh, just stop it! You knew this was                          going to happen. He's a young man.                                     LARCH                              (almost breaking)                         He's still a boy--out in the world,                          he's still a boy.                                     ANGELA                         Just find him some clothes, Wilbur.                          He could use some clothes.               Camera closes on Larch, fighting tears.               INT. BOYS' DIVISION - AFTERNOON               Homer is packing his things--we see the heart X ray, and                some photos of Larch and Edna and Angela.               Larch approaches Homer with a small bundle of clothes.                                     LARCH                              (gently, almost                               reverently)                         I think these will fit you.               Homer is grateful and ashamed. Before he can speak, Edna is                there--a wad of bills in her hand. She tries to put the money                in his pocket; when he refuses it, she simply puts the money                in his open suitcase, stuffing the bills under his clothes.                                     EDNA                         You'll need some money--just a little                          something, until you find a job.               Larch and Edna retreat from him, humbly, as if they were his                servants.               EXT. DRIVEWAY - AFTERNOON               As Homer puts his stuff in the truck of Wally's car, Angela                can't resist touching his face. She is too upset to speak.               From a window, Larch is watching the departure. He sees Homer                saying goodbye to the children, embracing them.               From another window, Fuzzy just stares. (Of course he's                coughing.)               We see Wally carrying Candy to the car.                                     CANDY                              (groggy)                         I'm okay--I can walk.                                     WALLY                         I don't want you to walk--I want to                          carry you. Should I put the top up?                          It might get cold.                                     CANDY                         No--keep it down. I want to feel the                          air.               She speaks to Homer, touching his sleeve, like a sleepy                person, as Wally puts her gently in the backseat.                                     CANDY                              (still groggy)                         Coming with us? It's always a good                          idea to have a doctor along for the                          ride.               Homer gets in the passenger seat beside Wally, who starts                the car; suddenly there is Curly. Homer can't look at Curly,                who looks betrayed. Edna picks up Curly and carries him to                the passenger-side window. Curly is sobbing.                                     HOMER                         I have to go, Curly. I'm sorry.                              (to Edna)                         I couldn't find Buster. Will you                          tell him...               He can't finish what he has to say. Edna kisses him good-               bye.               From the window, Larch watches the car leave.               Buster, whittling a stick, isn't watching.               INT./EXT. WALLY'S CAR - ON THE ROAD - AFTERNOON               There is quiet as the journey gets underway. Wally keeps                glancing at Candy in the rear-view mirror; she seems distant,                lost in thought. Homer is taking everything in--the speed,                the road, the wind in his face.               INT. BOYS' DIVISION - NIGHT               Angela speaks to the boys.                                     ANGELA                         Let us be happy for Homer Wells...               INT. GIRLS' DIVISION - NIGHT               In the girls' washroom, in front of the mirror by the row of                sinks, Mary Agnes is repeatedly slapping her face. Angela's                benediction to the boys plays Over this scene of violent                self-abuse. Except for the sound of the slaps. Mary Agnes                doesn't make a sound.                                     ANGELA (O.S.)                         Homer Wells has found a family. Good                          night, Homer!                                     ALL THE BOYS (O.S.)                         Good night, Homer!               INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT               On his bed, Larch is taking ether. We hear the refrain from                the boys in the bunk room Over.                                     ALL THE BOYS (O.S.)                         Good night, Homer! Good night, Homer!                          Good night, Homer Wells!               INT. WALLY'S CAR - NIGHT               The radio is playing. Candy is lying down, her knees drawn                up, in the backseat; she appears to be asleep, oblivious to                Homer and Wally's conversation.                                     WALLY                         Actually, the Army has given me leave                          twice. First when my father died,                          and now I'm on leave to help my mother--                         I'm just trying to get her ready for                          the harvest. She's no farmer. Apples                          were my dad's business. And with the                          war on, she's short on pickers.               Candy's eyes are open but her voice is groggy.                                     CANDY                              (to Homer)                         Wally thinks apples are boring.                                     WALLY                              (to Homer)                         I never said they were boring.                                     CANDY                         You said, "Apples aren't exactly                          flying."                                     WALLY                         Well, they aren't.               Homer looks back at Candy. Her eyes close.                                     HOMER                         I think I'd probably like the apple                          business.                                     WALLY                         You're a little overqualified, aren't                          you?                                     HOMER                         No, I'm not. I need a job.                                     WALLY                         The only jobs are picking jobs.                          Picking apples is truly boring.               Candy's eyes snap open and she sits up a little.                                     CANDY                         There! You said it was boring.                                     WALLY                         Well, *picking* them is! It's about                          as exciting as... walking!               Candy seems irritated with Wally. Homer tries to engage her.                                     HOMER                         Is your family in the apple business,                          too?                                     CANDY                         No, but I work there--I like it. My                          dad's a lobsterman.                                     HOMER                         I've never seen a lobster.                                     CANDY                         Really?                                     HOMER                         I've never seen the ocean, either.                                     WALLY                              (amazed)                         You've never seen the *ocean*?               Homer shakes his head, smiles.                                     WALLY                         That's not funny... that's *serious*.               EXT./INT. ROADSIDE/CAR - NIGHT               The car is parked at the side of the road. Wally is half-               hidden behind a tree. Candy and Homer are left alone in the                car; there's an awkward silence as Homer pretends not to                hear Wally's excessive peeing. Suddenly Candy starts to sob.                                     CANDY                         I couldn't have a baby with someone                          who's leaving me--I didn't know what                          else to do!               Homer is a doctor--he's used to postabortion reactions.                                     HOMER                         I know.                                     CANDY                         He's going to be dropping bombs on                          Mandalay! They're going to be shooting                          at him!                                     HOMER                         Where's Mandalay?                                     CANDY                         Burma!                                     HOMER                         Oh...                                     CANDY                         I can't have a baby alone. I don't                          even know if he's coming back!                                     HOMER                         I understand.               He doesn't, really. Wally returns. Wally leans over Candy to                hug her.                                     WALLY                         Honey, honey... of course I'll come                          back.               Candy pounds on his chest with her fists.                                     CANDY                         You don't *know*, Wally. You have no                          *idea*!               Wally backs away. Candy sobs uncontrollably.                                     CANDY                         Stay away from me!               Wally signals to Homer to get out of the car.               Later, Wally and Homer stand outside the car, overhearing                Candy's weeping. Homer is smoking nervously.                                     HOMER                              (strictly medical)                         This is all normal. Don't worry. The                          abortion procedure... it affects                          you. It's the ether, too. It'll take                          a little time.                                     WALLY                         I don't *have* any time. There's a                          *war*!                                     HOMER                         It's all very normal.               Wally looks at Homer, who takes a nervous drag on his                cigarette.                                     WALLY                         You ought to cut that shit out--it's                          terrible for you.               Homer looks at Wally; he sees the authority in his eyes.                Homer drops his cigarette and puts it out with his foot.               They notice that Candy has stopped crying. Wally finds Candy                asleep in the backseat.               EXT. WALLY'S CAR - ON THE ROAD - LATE AT NIGHT               The lone car on the road. Snatches of war news from the radio                are the only sound as the headlights illuminate the dark                highway.               EXT. COAST OF MAINE - MORNING               The car is parked, with Homer sleeping in it alone. The sounds                of the ocean increase as Homer opens his eyes. Homer gets                out of the car and walks toward the beach, enchanted. There                it is: his first view ever of an ocean, the horizon, the sun                glimmering on the water. Candy is lying on a blanket in the                sand. Wally is throwing rocks in the water. Homer takes it                all in. When Candy calls for him, Homer walks up to her.                                     CANDY                         I'm a little worried about the...                              (she gestures below                               her waist)                         ...about how much bleeding is okay.                                     HOMER                         It should taper off tomorrow, but it                          can come back again. You have cramps?                              (Candy nods)                         They'll ease up, almost entirely. As                          long as the bleeding isn't heavy,                          it's normal.                                     WALLY (O.S.)                         Catch!               A football comes flying through the air toward Homer; it                bounces off his chest. Wally laughs.                                     WALLY                              (meaning the football)                         Give it here!               Homer throws the football; it's clear he's never thrown one                before.                                     WALLY                         What was *that*?! Come over here!               Homer runs over to Wally, who proceeds to show him how to                pass the ball. Snatches of his instruction drift to Candy,                who closes her eyes. "Put your fingers on the laces--no, it                rests in your palm, like this! You want the laces up--yes,                like that!"               EXT. COAST OF MAINE - DAY (LATER)               Homer and Wally sit on the beach a short distance from Candy's                blanket. She appears to be asleep. Wally looks in her                direction before he speaks to Homer.                                     WALLY                         It's called the Burma run. It's about                          a seven-hour round-trip flight between                          India and China.               Wally draws a crude map in the sand.                                     HOMER                         "Burma run" because you fly over                          Burma...                                     WALLY                         *And* over the Himalayas. That's                          called flying over the hump.               On Candy's face: she's not asleep; she's listening.                                     HOMER (O.S.)                         At what altitude?                                     WALLY                         I've got thirty-five minutes to climb                          to fifteen thousand feet--that's the                          first mountain pass.               Homer looks at Wally, thoughtfully.                                     HOMER                         What lousy luck--I mean your orders...                          to draw an assignment like that!                                     WALLY                              (conspiratorially)                         Actually, I volunteered.               Homer is shocked; he looks back at Candy, lowers his voice.                                     HOMER                         It's the flying, right? You love to                          fly, don't you?               Wally nods; he also gives a look in Candy's direction before                he responds.                                     WALLY                         I love the bombing, too. But there's                          also the Himalayas--they have the                          most wicked air currents in the world.                          I wouldn't miss flying there for                          anything.               Homer's smile suggests that he's impressed, but that he                wouldn't have Wally's enthusiasm for the task. Wally laughs                and puts his hand on Homer's shoulder.                                     WALLY                         Uh, look... if you're serious about                          wanting a job, picking apples isn't                          that boring.                                     HOMER                         Oh, I would love that, Wally.               EXT. CAPE KENNETH - LOBSTER POUND - AFTERNOON               The car is parked at a lobster pound. Homer sits in the car                watching Wally carrying Candy's bag to the door. Candy stands                outside the car; she shakes Homer's hand.                                     CANDY                         I guess I'll see you around the                          orchards. Thanks for everything.                                     HOMER                         Sure... I'll see you around.               Candy turns and heads toward the house to catch up with Wally.                A lobsterman in his boat is approaching the dock. It's RAY,                Candy's father. Candy waves. "Hi, Daddy!" Homer glances at                Candy and Wally on the dock, kissing good-bye.                                     CANDY                              (whispering)                         I love you, Wally.                                     WALLY                         I love you, too. See you tomorrow.               EXT. OCEAN VIEW - WORTHINGTON HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON               Wally drives up to the Worthington house; he gets out of the                car. Homer sits in the car, admiring the beautiful farmhouse.                                     WALLY                         Come on. You have to meet my mom.                              (conspiratorially)                         If it comes up, I've been at a                          wedding. That's where I met you, at                          the wedding.               INT. WORTHINGTON HOUSE - WALLY'S BEDROOM - LATE AFTERNOON               Homer as never seen such a room: the sports trophies, the                photos of athletic teams, and of Candy with Wally. Model                airplanes are everywhere. Mrs. Worthington's voice comes                from the hall.                                     OLIVE (O.S.)                         Wally? I expected you earlier...               She appears in the doorway of Wally's room. Mrs. Worthington                (OLIVE) is an elegant, fiftyish New Englander, as handsome                as Wally, but more reserved. She is surprised to see Homer.                                     WALLY                         This is Homer Wells--he's the most                          overqualified apple picker you'll                          ever meet, but he's dying to learn                          the apple business.               Wally is taking his uniform off as he speaks, just dropping                it on the floor as he quickly puts on some farm clothes.                                     OLIVE                         How do you do, Homer Wells...               Homer has never met anyone like her.                                     HOMER                         How do you do...               Mrs. Worthington starts picking up her son's uniform from                the floor. She is politely curious about Homer.                                     OLIVE                         Were you a friend of the bride or                          the groom?               Homer looks confused; he seems to have forgotten about the                alleged wedding. Wally puts his arm around Homer, urging him                into the hall.                                     WALLY                         Homer is everybody's friend, Mom...                          the bride's, the groom's, mine,                          Candy's, *everybody's*.               Homer is embarrassed, but Olive is obdurately well-mannered.                                     OLIVE                         Well, perhaps you'll come to dinner,                          Homer...               Wally calls to her as he pushes Homer down the hall.                                     WALLY                         Not tonight, Mom--he's got to meet                          *Mr. Rose*!               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - DUSK               Homer and Wally get out of the jeep at the cider house, a                barnlike building with adjacent sheds and, behind it, line                after line of trees--the apple orchards.               Homer sees an outdoor shower where THREE BLACK MEN are                showering. It is a wooden stall that leaves the shower's                occupants visible above and below their midsections. A FOURTH                BLACK MAN is caught naked, running behind the cider house                and out of sight as he wraps a towel around himself.                                     JACK                         You already used up the hot water!                                     MUDDY                         You're usin' my soap, ain't you?                                     JACK                         I ain't usin' no soap--it's too cold                          to bother with soap!                                     MUDDY                         There ain't never enough hot water,                          soap or no soap.                                     WALLY                         They're migrants.                                     HOMER                              (no clue)                         Migrants?                                     WALLY                         Yes. They pick fruit, all kinds.                          They travel up and down the coast                          with the seasons.                              (leaning close to                               Homer)                         The trick to Mr. Rose is, you have                          to let him be the boss.               Homer wonders what that means as Wally reaches for the door                of the cider house. Before Wally can knock, a pretty young                black girl, ROSE ROSE, bumps open the screen door with her                hip and throws a bucket of water in the grass--almost hitting                Homer and Wally.                                     ROSE ROSE                         That sink's backed up again, Wally.                          I thought you was gonna get me a                          plumber.                                     WALLY                         Rose, this is Homer--Homer, this is                          Mr. Rose's daughter, Rose.                                     HOMER                         Rose Rose?                                     ROSE ROSE                         Pretty, ain't it? You a plumber?                                     WALLY                         No, no--Homer is a new *picker*.                          He's going to stay here with you.               This gets the attention of the men on their way from the                showers. They walk over, towels around their waists.                                     ROSE ROSE                              (suspiciously)                         He's stayin' *here*?               The screen door swings open and shut again, startling them                all, as MR. ROSE comes out of the cider house.                                     MR. ROSE                         That daughter of mine sure is Miss                          Hospitality, ain't she, Wally?               Grinning, Mr. Rose shakes Wally's hand. Rose Rose goes back                inside the cider house as Mr. Rose shakes Homer's hand. Homer                introduces himself.                                     MR. ROSE                         You got lots of experience pickin',                          I suppose.                                     WALLY                         Homer's got no experience, Arthur,                          but he's smarter then I am. He's a                          fast learner.               Mr. Rose looks briefly at the men, who wait for his reaction.                                     MR. ROSE                         This is history. Ain't that what                          you're sayin', Wally? I guess we                          makin' *history*... havin' this young                          man stay with us!               Wally slaps Homer on the back; he goes inside the cider house                to help Rose Rose with the plumbing.                                     WALLY                              (over his shoulder)                         See you later.               Homer looks at Mr. Rose for instructions. Mr. Rose stares                back at him with his enigmatic smile.                                     HOMER                         So. What should I do now?                                     MR. ROSE                         Out back, there's a shed. It's just                          a mess. If that shed was better                          organized, I could put my truck in                          there.               Homer looks at Mr. Rose with an uncomprehending expression.                                     MR. ROSE                         If you're as smart as Wally says,                          you know you sometimes gotta do one                          job before you do another.               Homer thinks that over.               Later, Homer is cleaning out the shed.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - EVENING               The pickers all sit down to supper around a picnic table.                Homer with Mr. Rose, Rose Rose, and the other black pickers.                Mr. Rose takes an apple from a bowl on the table. Then he                pulls out a knife and opens it in one fluid motion; he's so                fast, the knife seems to come out of nowhere. He begins to                peel the apple. Homer eyes Mr. Rose, but Mr. Rose's focus is                riveted to his apple and the long, perfect strand of peel                dangling from it.                                     MR. ROSE                         You did a good job with that shed,                          Homer.               Peaches breaks the awkward silence.                                     PEACHES                         What kind of a name is Homer?                                     HOMER                         It's the name of a cat. Originally.                          Well, not *originally*.               Homer decides to stop. Another silence.                                     MR. ROSE                         Now, now--we all got names, sensible                          or not.                              (to Homer)                         Peaches is from Georgia, where we                          met him pickin' peaches. He's still                          better with peaches than hs is with                          apples.                              (Peaches grins)                         Jack here is new. And this here is                          Hero, 'cause he was a hero of some                          kind or other once. Ain't that right,                          Hero?               There are some disrespectful suggestions from the pickers                concerning what his heroism might have been.                                     MR. ROSE                         And this here sensitive-lookin' fella                          is Muddy. The less said about Muddy,                          the better. Ain't that right, Muddy?               Muddy scowls at Homer, but he smiles at Mr. Rose.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT               Homer unpacks his suitcase. (His bed should be nearest Muddy's                and Mr. Rose's.) Jack lies on his bed, smoking. Muddy, also                smoking, is sitting on his bed, sharpening a knife. Hero and                Peaches are playing cards on one of their beds. Mr. Rose is                finishing shaving. Rose Rose watches Homer unpack.                                     ROSE ROSE                         What's that?                                     HOMER                         It's just my heart.                                     ROSE ROSE                         What you got a picture of your heart                          for?               He holds up the X ray, in order to show her.                                     HOMER                         There's a little something wrong                          with it. Just this part here--the                          right ventricle. It's slightly                          enlarged.                                     ROSE ROSE                         So what?                                     HOMER                         Yes, so what. It's nothing serious,                          really. Just a small defect.                                     MR. ROSE                         It's big enough to keep you out of                          the war, I suppose. Ain't that right?                                     HOMER                         Right.               Rose Rose picks up the book that Homer has put on the bed.                She studies the cover; it's "Great Expectations" by Charles                Dickens. She puts it down, restlessly.                                     MR. ROSE                         They told me I was too old to serve.                                     PEACHES                         They told Muddy his feet was too                          flat!               Everybody laughs, except Muddy.                                     MUDDY                              (to Peaches)                         And you was "generally unfit," as I                          recall.               Finished unpacking, Homer sits on his bed; he picks up "Great                Expectations" and begins to read. Rose Rose sits down next                to him, watching him read. Homer notices her interest.                                     HOMER                         Do you like to read?                                     ROSE ROSE                              (embarrassed)                         I can't read. Nobody taught me.               Homer smiles politely and goes back to his book. Rose Rose                keeps looking over his shoulder at the pages.                                     ROSE ROSE                              (pointing to the page)                         What does it say there?               Homer looks around at the pickers lying in their beds,                smoking, listening. (Like bedtime stories at the orphanage,                he thinks; however, the picker's attitude is suspicious,                reserved.)                                     HOMER                              (reading)                         "I looked at the stars, and considered                          how awful it would be for a man to                          turn his face to them as he froze to                          death, and see no help or pity in                          all the glittering multitude."               Homer looks up; there's no response.                                     HOMER                              (to Rose Rose)                         More?               Some muttering, some giggling, mostly silence. Rose Rose                wants more, but suddenly Jack jumps out of bed and stomps to                the kitchen end of the cider house, where a piece of paper                is tacked to the wall. Jack is talking to Homer all the way.                                     JACK                         Since you're the one who's smart                          enough to read... what's this?               Jack points at the piece of paper. Homer gets up and looks                at it.                                     HOMER                         It's a list of rules, it seems.               All the men groan--Jack swears and Peaches laughs.                                     ROSE ROSE                         *Whose* rules?                                     MUDDY                         They're for us, I suppose.                                     JACK                         Go on and read 'em, Homer.                                     HOMER                         "One. Please don't smoke in bed."                                     ROSE ROSE                         It's too late for that one!               All the smokers laugh and cough in their beds.                                     MR. ROSE                              (uncharacteristically                               blunt)                         Stop it, Homer. They aren't our rules.                          We didn't write them. I don't see no                          reason to read them.                                     HOMER                         Okay...               Rose Rose stomps back to her bed. Her father absently snaps                his towel.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT (LATER)               Everybody is asleep, except Homer. He is staring at the                ceiling in the quiet semi-darkness, the book lying on his                chest.                                     LARCH (O.S.)                              (distant echoing)                         Good night, you Princes of Maine!                          You Kings of New England.               INT. BOYS' DIVISION - NIGHT               Dr. Larch is standing in the doorway to the boys' room; he                closes the door.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT               Homer, on his bed, closes his eyes.               INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT               Larch lies in bed with his eyes open. (No ether.)               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - NIGHT               The cider house and the apple orchard in the moonlight.               EXT. ORCHARDS - MORNING               Wally in his farm clothes at the wheel of the Jeep--he is                racing through the orchards, dodging trees, with Homer in                the passenger seat, hanging on for dear life.                                     WALLY                         Remember this! In the morning, when                          the tall grass is wet, you can make                          the Jeep slide on the grass. Can you                          feel it?               Homer is excited as Wally weaves among the trees--faster and                faster.                                     WALLY                         It's almost like flying.                                     HOMER                         What about the trees?                                     WALLY                         The trees are flak--antiaircraft                          fire from those geeks on the ground.               Wally brakes hard. The Jeep comes to a stop in the packing-               house area.               Candy has been waiting on the loading platform. The pickers                are working in the background.                                     WALLY                              (defensively to Candy)                         I was just showing Homer the                          orchards... kind of a geography                          lesson.                                     CANDY                              (good-naturedly)                         I know what you've been doing.               She pulls an apple branch, with an apple to two, out of the                vehicle's grille--or else the branch is wedged in the front -               bumper or headlight area. Candy playfully starts poking Wally                with the branch.                                     CANDY                              (to Wally)                         You've been giving him a *flying*                          lesson!                                     WALLY                              (teasing her)                         He *loved* it!                              (to Homer)                         Didn't you?                                     HOMER                         Yeah, it was great.               Wally gets the apple branch away from Candy. He pins her                arms at her sides--he hugs her, kisses her. She doesn't                struggle.                                     CANDY                              (laughing to Homer)                         He thinks people *like* to get whacked                          by branches.                                     WALLY                         *Homer* liked it!                              (to Homer)                         Didn't you?                                     HOMER                         Yeah, sure. There's no stress or                          strain around here...               They all laugh. Homer observes the happy couple.               EXT. ORCHARDS - DAY               Homer is walking with Wally and Candy. The orchards are                beautiful.               EXT. PACKING HOUSE - MORNING               Much activity: the pickers are unloading apple crates from a                full flatbed trailer. An angry-looking VERNON gives Homer an                evil glare. Homer spills some apples lifting the crate to                the loading platform.                                     VERNON                         What's wrong with you?               Mr. Rose takes Homer aside.                                     MR. ROSE                         That's Vernon. You best stay away                          from him until he gets to know you                          better--then you best stay away from                          him *more*!               Wally, in full uniform, appears from inside the packing house;                he calls for Homer.                                     MR. ROSE                         Out lieutenant's calling you, Homer.                          Mind your ass.               Homer smiles are runs toward Wally.               INT./EXT. PACKING HOUSE - MORNING               Homer and Wally walk through the packing house, where the                HEFTY, LOUD WOMEN sort through the apples rolling by on the                conveyor tracks. Wally snatches an apple from one of them,                giving it to Homer.                                     WALLY                              (to Homer)                         You getting along okay?               Before Homer can answer, the women interrupt.                                     BIG DOT                         Where is that Candy?                                     FLORENCE                         Did she leave you, Wally?                                     DEBRA                         Who's the boy?               Wally makes an effort to introduce Homer, but he's                interrupted.                                     FLORENCE                         Wally, you can marry Debra if Candy                          leaves you!                                     BIG DOT                         Wally's gonna marry *me* if Candy                          leaves him!                                     DEBRA                         You can marry all three of us, Wally!                                     FLORENCE                         We can take turns.               Wally puts his hand to his heart.                                     WALLY                         You girls make it hard for a guy to                          go off to war.                              (points to Homer)                         But I'll leave my best man here to                          pinch-hit for me.               As the women are left behind giggling, Wally continues talking                to Homer.                                     WALLY                         Uh... I'm shipping out sooner than I                          thought. I just wanted to be sure                          you were settled in--and happy enough,                          considering...                              (grabbing another                               apple from a crate)                         Are you bored stiff? Or can you stick                          it out for a bit?                                     HOMER                         Uh... actually, picking apples is as                          much excitement as I want for a while.                          I'm grateful for the job.                                     WALLY                              (his hand on Homer's                               shoulder)                         You're the one who's helping *me*,                          Homer. You're going to give my mom a                          little peace of mind while I'm gone.                          Candy, too.                                     HOMER                         Well, sure... that's good, then.                              (awkward pause)                         All I mean is, I'm lucky I met you.                                     WALLY                         I don't think so, Homer. *I'm* the                          lucky one.               Homer shakes his head. Wally stops walking; they both stop.                                     WALLY                              (more serious)                         You want to fight about it?               Homer is unfamiliar with this kind of kidding around; at                first he is startled, but then he laughs. Wally laughs, too.                They shake hands.               Mr. Rose calls out to Homer from the tractor. The pickers                are impatiently waiting for him on the flatbed; they're going                back to the orchard. Homer has to run to catch up to them.                He jumps on the flatbed; he sees Wally waving good-bye.               EXT. ORCHARDS - DAY               High up in a tall tree on a couple of ladders, Mr. Rose and                Homer are picking side by side. Mr. Rose is picking with                high-speed perfection, but Homer is slower and fumbling--he                drops an occasional apple to the ground.                                     MR. ROSE                         You pickin' more cider apples then                          anythin' else. Them drops is good                          only for cider. And you pickin' the                          stems with the apples only half the                          time. They good only for cider, too--                         if you don't pick them stems.                              (Homer watches him)                         The rule is, you wanna pick the apple                          *with* the stem, Homer. And see                          here... see that *bud* that's just                          above the stem? That's the bud for                          *next year's* apple--that's called                          the *spur*. You pick the spur, you                          pickin' two years in one--you pickin'                          next year's apple 'fore it have a                          chance to grow. You leave that on                          the branch, you hear?               Homer nods; he picks more carefully, with more concentration.                                     MR. ROSE                              (approvingly)                         That's better. I can tell you got                          yourself some education. Them's good                          hands you got, Homer. Them hands you                          got, they know what they're doin'--                         ain't that right?                                     HOMER                         I guess so...               Homer can see over the apple mart parking lot from the top                of the tree. He can see the driveway of the Worthington house,                where Candy and Olive are saying a tearful good-bye to Wally.                Distracted, Homer drops another couple of apples, which Mr.                Rose observes with a wry smile.                                     ANGELA (O.S.)                         Wilbur! Wilbur!               INT. LARCH'S OFFICE - DAY               Larch is doing something at his desk when Angela comes in.                                     ANGELA                         Wilbur, you should read this.               Larch stares at Angela, who holds a letter.                                     ANGELA                         It's from the Board. Another letter.               INT. LARCH'S OFFICE - NIGHT               Dr. Larch stands in front of a mechanical drawing easel. He                works intently with a calligraphic pen, but we don't see                what he's working on. Angela and Edna sit at the desk; they're                looking over the letter.                                     ANGELA                              (quoting the letter)                         Uh... "merely suggesting that some                          new blood might benefit you all...                          someone with new ideas in the                          obstetrical and pediatric fields."                              (she looks up at Larch)                         I think they're just testing some                          ideas for our next meeting.                                     EDNA                         Dr. Holtz seems nice. I think he                          only wants to help...                                     LARCH                         He is a goddamn psychiatrist--of                          *course* he wants to "help"! He'd be                          happy if he could help *commit* me!                                     ANGELA                         It's that Mrs. Goodhall you have to                          be careful of, Wilbur.                                     LARCH                         One has to be more than "careful" of                          Mrs. Goodhall--she has sufficient                          Christian zeal to start her own                          country! I'd like to give her a little                          ether.                                     EDNA                         So what are you going to do?               Larch puts down the pen, comes around the easel, opens a                drawer in a filing cabinet, and hands Edna a folder containing                a few cleanly typed pages. Larch returns to the easel, to                his painstaking work. Edna opens the file; as she and Angela                read the contents, Larch recites from memory as he works.                                     LARCH                         "Homer Wells, born Portland, Maine,                          March 2, 1915..."                                     EDNA                         Homer was born *here*, in, what was                          it, 1922?                                     LARCH                         "...graduated Bowdoin College, 1935,                          and Harvard School of Medicine, 1939."                                     ANGELA                         This is *your* life story, Wilbur!                          You just changed the dates!                                     LARCH                         "An internship and two years of                          training at the Boston Lying-in,                          South End Branch. For his age, he                          was judged an accomplished                          gynecological obstetrical surgeon;                          he is also experienced in pediatric                          care..."                                     ANGELA                         You *invented* him! You've completely                          made his up!                                     LARCH                         Don't you understand? The board is                          going to *replace* me! That's what                          the "new blood" is *for*!                                     EDNA                         You mean they'll replace you with                          someone who won't perform abortions.                                     LARCH                              (sarcastically)                         Well, we can only guess about that,                          Edna. They *are* against the law.                                     ANGELA                         These *credentials* are against the                          law!                                     LARCH                         We all know who trained Homer--his                          credentials are as good as mine are.                          Don't you be holy to me about the                          *law*! What has the law done for any                          of us here?               Edna and Angela think this over.                                     LARCH                              (points at file)                         So here is my candidate. What do you                          think?                                     EDNA                         But what about school records? Homer                          doesn't have any *diplomas*...               Larch turns the easel around. Attached is a parchment headed:                "HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL"--it's a diploma-in-progress.                                     LARCH                         He *will* have them, Edna.               The women are shocked, awed.                                     ANGELA                         Oh, Wilbur, I don't know...                              (sudden thought)                         We don't even know where he is!               EXT. CIDER HOUSE, ROOF - NIGHT                                     ROSE ROSE (O.S.)                         Where's that Homer?               Homer stands in front of a ladder that leans against the                cider house; he starts to climb up, drawn by the murmuring                voices, the soft laughter.                                     JACK (O.S.)                         Who cares?                                     MR. ROSE (O.S.)                         Now, now. He's a good boy.                                     JACK (O.S.)                         Shit. We don't know what he is.                                     MR. ROSE (O.S.)                         Jack, you gotta watch your language                          'round my daughter.               Homer arrives at the top and sees everyone sitting on a long                plank, a bench attached to the apex of the roof--obviously a                popular spot.                                     MR. ROSE                         Here he is.               No one moves.                                     MR. ROSE                         Where's your manners? Make room for                          Homer, so's he can enjoy the view.                                     MUDDY                         What view?               Peaches slides over and Homer sits down.                                     HOMER                         Are we supposed to be up here? The                          rules said...                                     MR. ROSE                         Homer, you the only one who's read                          them rules, so you the only one who                          feels like he's doin' somethin' wrong.               The others laugh.                                     MUDDY                         *What* view?                                     MR. ROSE                         Well, Muddy, we can look at all these                          angry stars Homer's been readin' to                          us about.               More laughter; Homer smiles, enjoying the teasing.                                     JACK                              (gesturing toward the                               Worthington farmhouse)                         I bet the view looks better from the                          Worthin'tons'.                                     MR. ROSE                         You think so, Jack? Well... I wouldn't                          want to be in that Wally's shoes                          tonight.                                     ROSE ROSE                              (playfully, teasing                               him)                         Daddy, I'd like to be in that Wally's                          shoes *every* night.                                     MR. ROSE                              (teasing her back)                         You lucky you in your work boots                          tonight, girl...                                     ROSE ROSE                         What's lucky about that?               Rose Rose is being physically affectionate with her father--               lightly punching his arm, rubbing the top of his head.                                     MR. ROSE                         You know where that Wally is tonight,                          darlin'? He's up there in them angry                          stars.                              (gesturing at the                               dark sky)                         He's flyin' all around up there...                          with them Japs shooting at him.               They all look up, imagining that. Homer more than the others.                Rose Rose, looking thoughtful, rests her head on her father's                shoulder. They are completely natural together.               EXT. CAPE KENNETH - APPLE MART - DAY               Homer and the pickers are loading crates of apples into a                shipping truck. Olive and Candy are consulting some papers                (the shipping tally) on a clipboard; Mr. Rose is standing                beside them.                                     MR. ROSE                         They all on board, Mrs. Worthin'ton.                                     OLIVE                         Thank you, Arthur.                              (see is looking at                               Homer)                         And how is our Homer working out?               She catches Homer's eye; he smiles, then joins them. Mr.                Rose puts his arm around him.                                     MR. ROSE                         Oh, he's a smart young man, most of                          the time--Wally was right about him.               Olive is looking over the rest of the picking crew.                                     OLIVE                         No rotten apples?                                     MR. ROSE                              (it's an old way of                               speaking that they                               have)                         No, no--not this year. Well... maybe                          we got *one*, but it ain't Homer.               He means Jack, who gives Olive and Candy and Mr. Rose a                furtive look. Olive smiles at Rose Rose, who comes up to her                and Candy. Olive touches Rose Rose with affection.                                     OLIVE                         Rose... dear girl, I'm sure I can                          find you some other clothes.                              (to Candy)                         You must have some things that would                          fit her.               Candy takes Rose Rose by the shoulders and turns her around.                Rose Rose is enjoying this.                                     CANDY                         I have a *ton* of things that would                          fit you.                                     MR. ROSE                         Now, now, Candy--this girl don't                          need no more clothes, not for pickin'.               He starts leading his daughter away.                                     OLIVE                              (charming)                         Arthur, there's no such thing as a                          young woman who's got all the clothes                          she needs.               Olive waves good-bye as she moves toward her car. Candy turns                to Homer.                                     CANDY                         So. Not bored yet?                                     HOMER                         I'm *never* bored! It's all very...                          different for me... here.               Homer has the hardest time looking at Candy.                                     HOMER                         Uh... have you been *feeling* okay?                                     CANDY                         When I'm not thinking about Wally.                          I'm not good at being alone.                              (realizing)                         Oh, goodness. You meant... yes, I'm                          fine. I...                              (struggling to change                               the subject)                         ...I don't suppose you've seen a                          lobster yet.               Homer shakes his head. He looks at the tractor and the empty                trailer. Mr. Rose and the pickers are just watching them.                                     CANDY                              (more seriously)                         You have to come to my dad's lobster                          pound and see one, then.                                     HOMER                         Okay...               Homer looks toward the pickers sitting on the flatbed when                he hears the tractor start. Candy follows his gaze.                                     HOMER                         I better go.                                     CANDY                         I don't think Mr. Rose would leave                          without you.               Mr. Rose gestures for Muddy to drive off; the tractor trailer                pulls away.                                     CANDY                              (laughing)                         Sorry!               Homer has to run to catch up.                                     CANDY                              (calling)                         Come next week!               He jumps on the back of the departing flatbed between Mr.                Rose and Rose Rose, as Candy watches him.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - DUSK               An anxious-looking WHITE PLUMBER is fixing the kitchen sink                while the pickers (in their towels) stand around and watch.               Homer is putting on his best shirt. Peaches admires the shirt                as Rose Rose cooks the night's supper on the wood stove.                                     PEACHES                         Whoa--look at that Homer! He's gettin'                          all dressed up for supper tonight!                                     ROSE ROSE                         He ain't gettin' dressed to have                          supper with *us*, Peaches!               The pickers all look at Homer, who looks guilty as he leaves.                                     MR. ROSE                              (to the plumber)                         Don't let us make you nervous or                          nothin'--we know you gotta job to                          do.                                     MUDDY                         Yeah, we can wait all night for the                          water to come back on--you just go                          on and take your time.               EXT. INLAND ROAD - DUSK               Homer pedals a bicycle down a dirt road.               EXT. LOBSTER POUND - DUSK               Ray holds a lobster up to the camera. We see the old-fashioned                wooden pens, floating dockside.                                     RAY                         Hungry?               Homer looks uncertain.               EXT. GANGPLANK, DOCK - DUSK               Homer and Ray and Candy go up the gangplank from the dock to                the lobster pound.                                     RAY                         They're the garbage-eaters of the                          ocean's floor. The seagulls clean up                          the shore. The lobsters clean up the                          bottom of the sea.                                     HOMER                         They eat everything?                                     RAY                         Everything that falls to the bottom.                                     CANDY                         It's time somebody ate *them*.                                     RAY                              (to Candy)                         I was lookin' for Wally's letter. I                          was gonna show it to Homer...                              (to Homer)                         They made him a captain already--                         *Captain* Worthington!                                     CANDY                         Daddy, it's a letter to *me*.                                     RAY                         He mentions Homer, too, you know.                                     CANDY                              (awkwardly)                         Wally said to say, "Hello."                                     HOMER                              (equally awkward)                         Oh! That's... nice.                                     RAY                              (to Homer)                         Wally said the most spectacular hits                          were in the oil fields at Yenangyat.               Later, through the window of the lobster pound, we see them                eating lobster around a kitchen table. Laughter and some                unclear dialogue drift to us.               EXT./INT. CAPE KENNETH/WALLY'S CAR - NIGHT               With the bicycle stowed in the trunk, Candy is driving Homer                back to the cider house. They pass a drive-in movie theatre,                the marquee announcing "CLOSED FOR THE SEASON." Homer stares                in awe at the giant blank screen.                                     HOMER                         A movie *outside*?                                     CANDY                         Yes. But it's closed all the time                          now, because of the blackout.                                     HOMER                         People watched the movies in their                          cars?                                     CANDY                              (smiling)                         When they watched at all. Do you                          like movies?                                     HOMER                         Yes! I've only seen one, though.               Candy looks at him; he isn't joking.                                     CANDY                         You've seen only one movie? Which                          one?                                     HOMER                         "King Kong". It's really good.               Candy laughs.                                     CANDY                         I haven't seen "King Kong" since I                          was a kid!               Homer laughs a little self-consciously; around her, he feels                like he's *still* a kid.               INT. DINING HALL - EARLY MORNING               At one table, the children are happily eating apples; a few                of the kids are stuffing apples from a big bowl into their                pockets. At another table, Larch, Edna, and Angela sit around                an open packing crate of apples. Larch takes a bite from an                apple and spits it out. Angela takes the apple out of his                hand.                                     ANGELA                         That's a pie apple, Wilbur. Homer                          said you're not supposed to eat it!               Angela hands him another apple.                                     LARCH                         So he's an apple expert, is he?               Angela gives him a critical look as Larch takes a bite out                of the new apple.                                     LARCH                              (sarcastically)                         Oh my, yes! This is a *far* superior                          taste--and crisp, too! You know, so                          many apples are disappointingly mealy.                          I wonder of most of the apples in my                          life weren't meant for pies!                                     ANGELA                         Wilbur, he picked them for us                          himself...                                     LARCH                              (incredulous)                         You don't find it depressing that                          Homer Wells is picking apples?               Both Edna and Angela glower at him.                                     LARCH                         Or that he can't be bothered to write                          us a proper letter? A dissertation                          on apples, we don't need!                                     EDNA                              (annoyed)                         He probably doesn't make much money                          picking apples--he must have had to                          pay to send them, too.                                     LARCH                         I wouldn't worry, Edna, that he                          doesn't have money. If he gets hungry,                          he can pick his dinner!               Larch angrily tosses the half-eaten apple into the garbage.                                     EDNA                         Wilbur, it's a *gift*! How can you                          be angry with Homer for sending us a                          *gift*?               Larch stares into space, depressed. Then he examines the                crate and finds the mailing label that says "OCEAN VIEW                ORCHARDS--CAPE KENNETH, MAINE." He rips it off, holds it up                triumphantly.                                     LARCH                         I'll show him a *gift*! I'll give                          him a gift he can *use*!               Larch storms out of the room.               INT. CAPE KENNETH - MOVIE THEATRE - NIGHT               A newsreel from the war is playing on the screen--soldiers                marching, smiling, waving to the camera. Homer and Candy sit                together watching. Homer is completely fascinated; Candy                watches Homer as much as the news. Her expression changes                when the newsreel cuts to footage from an air raid.               EXT. CAPE KENNETH - MOVIE THEATRE - NIGHT               Candy and Homer walk out of the theatre, under the marquee                and past the poster for "Wuthering Heights."                                     CANDY                              (disappointed)                         But you looked as if you liked it.                                     HOMER                              (smiling)                         I *did* like it. All I said was,                          "It's not 'King Kong'."               Candy makes a face, but in good fun.                                     HOMER                         First she loved him, then she didn't,                          then no one else could have him...                                     CANDY                         She *did* love him!                              (teasing him)                         How many women have you known?               Homer is embarrassed; he ducks the question.                                     HOMER                         And what did she die of, exactly?                                     CANDY                         She was torn apart! She died of a                          broken heart.                                     HOMER                         Oh, sure!               Homer smiles and shakes his head; Candy starts to laugh.                                     HOMER                         What's the *medical* explanation?                                     CANDY                         Well, she was in a weakened                          condition...                              (laughs)                         I don't know! What about "King Kong"?!                          Is that medically possible?               Homer smiles; he knows she's teasing him, and he likes it.                                     HOMER                              (mock serious)                         At least King Kong knew what he                          *wanted*.               Candy pushes him playfully. They're both having a good time,                *too* good a time.               EXT. ORCHARDS - DAY               Homer is picking apples in a big tree; Rose Rose is on a                ladder in the tree right beside him. She's picking about                twice as fast as he is, and he keeps dropping his apples. In                another tree, Muddy is watching.                                     ROSE ROSE                         What is you *doin'* with that Candy,                          Homer?                                     MUDDY                              (imitating Mr. Rose)                         He's makin' history, I suppose.               From the surrounding trees, the other pickers laugh.                                     ROSE ROSE                         You ain't gettin' in no trouble, I                          hope.                                     HOMER                         No trouble.               In adjacent trees, both Peaches and Hero are picking apples;                they can hear Homer and Rose Rose, too. (So can Mr. Rose.)                                     PEACHES                         That Candy--she's the nicest girl I                          know!                                     MUDDY                         She's about the most beautiful girl                          I ever seen--I don't know if she's                          the nicest.                                     HOMER                         She's the nicest *and* the most                          beautiful girl I've ever known.               The men *oooh* and *aaah* at Homer's announcement--Mr. Rose,                too.                                     ROSE ROSE                         That sounds like you is in trouble                          already, Homer.                                     MR. ROSE                         That's right--that sounds like trouble                          to me.                                     HOMER                         I'm not in trouble.                                     ROSE ROSE                         Yeah, you is. I know when people is                          in trouble, and you is.               Camera closes on Homer's face; he keeps picking.                                     LARCH (O.S.)                         His name is Homer Wells...               INT. ST. CLOUD'S - DINING HALL - EVENING               Edna and Angela face the Board of Trustees around a table.                Larch circles the table as everyone reads the contents of a                folder. Larch has provided a copy for each member. The three                elderly gentlemen on the Board don't speak; they just nod                their heads to everything Dr. Holtz or Mrs. Goodhall says.                                     LARCH                         ...and his *pathetic* resume is the                          best I've seen. Though I find it                          hard to believe the Board would be                          interested in this character.                                     DR. HOLTZ                         But he looks like an excellent young                          man, a first-rate candidate!                                     LARCH                         He looks like a bleeding-heart                          missionary *moron* to me, but that's                          going to be the problem with any                          doctor interested in coming here!                                     MRS. GOODHALL                         Do you know him?                                     LARCH                         *No*! I don't want to know him! He's                          doing *missionary* work--in *India*!                          I wrote him *weeks* ago, but he's                          either too holy or too busy to answer.                          Maybe he got killed in the war!               Suddenly Steerforth bursts through the door, having been                pushed from behind by Mary Agnes. The two stop when they see                what's going on--not to mention Larch's stern expression.                They back out. Mary Agnes winking at Dr. Holtz before the                door closes. Mrs. Goodhall is ready to continue.                                     MRS. GOODHALL                         I fail to see how someone courageous                          enough to make a commitment to a                          foreign mission is automatically to                          be dismissed--that part of the world                          requires precisely the kind of                          dedication that is needed here.                                     LARCH                         Does it *snow* in Bombay? One winter                          here and we'll be shipping him south,                          in a *coffin*!                                     MRS. GOODHALL                         You can't think that a man who has                          *served* under such conditions as                          exist over there will be in the                          slightest daunted by a little *snow*--                         have you no idea how harsh and                          primitive and full of *disease* that                          part of the world is?                                     LARCH                         Then I suppose we can look forward                          to catching various diseases from                          him!                                     DR. HOLTZ                         But, Dr. Larch, he seems exceptionally                          qualified...                                     LARCH                         I'm not talking about his medical                          qualifications. It's the *Christian*                          thing that bothers me--I just don't                          see it being of much *use* around                          here.                                     MRS. GOODHALL                              (bitterly)                         I fail to see how a little                          Christianity could *hurt* anyone                          here!                                     LARCH                         Anyway, I was just showing you this                          guy as an example of what's available--                         I didn't think you'd be interested.                                     DR. HOLTZ                         We're *very* interested!                                     MRS. GOODHALL                         Yes, *very*!                                     DR. HOLTZ                         You wouldn't be opposed to meeting                          with him?                                     LARCH                         I suppose it wouldn't hurt to *meet*                          him. What's his name again?                                     ANGELA                         Dr. Homer Wells.                                     LARCH                              (mumbling)                         I just hope he won't expect us to                          say *Grace* all the time.               The three elderly gentlemen repeat the name.                                     MRS. GOODHALL                         It's a nice name, very New England.                                     DR. HOLTZ                         Very *Maine*, a very *local*-sounding                          name.                                     EDNA                         *Very*!               INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT               A song plays on the old phonograph as a happy Larch and Angela                dance. Edna interrupts them.                                     EDNA                         I just wanted to ask you...                                     LARCH                         Edna! Come dance with me! Let's be                          foolish tonight.                                     EDNA                         Does he *know* he's supposed to be                          in India? Does he even *want* to                          come back?               This causes Larch to take the needle off the record.                                     LARCH                              (angrily)                         He's a field hand! What could possibly                          hold him there?               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - RAINY DAY               The rain beats down on Olive's car. Homer gets soaking wet                as he leans in to talk to Candy, who's behind the wheel. Mr.                Rose calls to Homer from the doorway of the mill room.               INT. MILL ROOM - RAINY DAY               Mr. Rose is instructing Homer as they stand bottling cider                in their yellow slickers and rubber boots. Rose Rose is hosing                down the pressboards; Muddy and Hero and Peaches are operating                the grinder and the press. Jack is stirring the vat. In a                defiant, contemptuous way, Jack keeps flicking the ash of                his cigarette into the vat. This make everyone uncomfortable;                only Mr. Rose doesn't appear to notice.                                     MR. ROSE                         Cider don't have no taste till later                          in October--it's too watery now,                          when we're usin' just them early                          Macs and them Gravensteins. You don't                          get no *good* cider till you're                          pickin' them Golden Delicious and                          them Winter Bananas, them Baldwins                          and them Russerts...                                     HOMER                         What about the worms? Most of these                          apples are the drops--off the ground,                          right? There have to be worms.                                     MR. ROSE                         Of *course* there's worms, Homer!                          And what is them worms, really? They                          just *protein*, them worms! They is                          *good* for you!               Everyone but Jack laughs. He takes a last drag on his                cigarette, then deliberately drops it into the vat.                                     MR. ROSE                         That just ain't right, Jack--your                          cigarette's gonna end up in nine or                          ten gallons of this batch of cider!                          That ain't right.                                     JACK                         Them people drinkin' that cider,                          they don't know there's a cigarette                          in there!                                     MR. ROSE                         It's not that hard to find it in                          there, Jack--it'll take you just a                          minute. You just gotta go fishin'.                                     JACK                         You mean *swimmin'*. I ain't goin'                          in that vat to fish out no cigarette!                                     MR. ROSE                         What business is you in, Jack? Just                          tell me what your business is...               Jack looks for a translation from the other men, who are                nervous.                                     MUDDY                         Just say you're in the *apple*                          business, man. That's the only                          business you wanna be in. Just say                          it.               Jack pulls a knife on Mr. Rose.                                     PEACHES                              (whispers excitedly                               to Jack)                         You don't wanna go in the knife                          business with Mistuh Rose--just say                          you're in the *apple* business, Jack!                                     JACK                              (to Mr. Rose)                         What business are *you* in?               We never see Mr. Rose's knife. We see the men circle each                other: Jack takes a swipe at Mr. Rose's head--then he steps                back, his yellow slicker slashed open. His slicker is opened                up, right up the middle. His shirt underneath the slicker is                slashed open, too--he feels his bare chest and stomach,                feeling for the cut. But there's no cut--Jack's not bleeding,                he's not even scratched. Just his clothes have been slashed.                                     MR. ROSE                         I'm in the *knife* business, Jack.                          You don't wanna go in the knife                          business with me.               Muddy turns Jack around and views his slashed clothes.                                     MUDDY                         You're lucky he didn't cut your                          *nipples* off, man.                                     PEACHES                         The good news, Jack, is you're half-                         undressed for *swimmin'*...                                     MUDDY                         Yeah, that cigarette ain't hard to                          find when you're properly undressed.               Jack starts to undress for the vat.               Mr. Rose ushers Homer and Rose Rose outside.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - RAINY DAY               Mr. Rose has cut his own hand in the fight. Homer's                professionalism if offended to watch Rose Rose's amateurish                efforts to stitch up her father's wound, but clearly this                isn't the first time she's done it.                                     HOMER                         Give men that. I know how to do it.                                     ROSE ROSE                         Oh, I suppose you is a doctor, Homer?                                     HOMER                         Almost.                                     MR. ROSE                         I don't need no "almost" a doctor,                          Homer.               Homer can't bear to watch Rose Rose at work with the needle.                                     ROSE ROSE                         We should drown that damn Jack in                          the vat!                                     MR. ROSE                         Now, now, darlin'... Jack just needs                          to know what business he's in.                                     ROSE ROSE                         Yeah, you really showed him, Daddy--                         you just about cut your own hand                          off, and all you cut off *him* was                          his clothes!                                     MR. ROSE                         You oughta know you don't go to jail                          for cuttin' a guy's *clothes*. Ain't                          that right, Homer?               Homer winces at the stitching.               INT. WALLY'S CAR - DRIVE-IN THEATRE - EARLY EVENING               Wally's car comes bouncing along the ditches of the closed                drive-in. Homer is at the wheel; Candy calls out some driving                instructions. The car comes to a stop next to a speakerpost.                Candy leans out; she grabs the speaker and hangs it on the                window. Homer sits back and drapes his arms out the window                and over the seat. He feels great.                                     CANDY                         You're a natural. You were born to                          drive a car like this.                                     HOMER                         You think? Maybe I was.                              (looks around)                         I love this place!               Homer looks up at the giant movie screen.                                     HOMER                         The screen is enormous! Imagine King                          Kong up *there*! Have you seen a lot                          of movies here?                                     CANDY                         Yes... and no. When you come here,                          you don't really care about the movie.               Homer stares at Candy in disbelief.                                     HOMER                         You don't care about the movie?               Candy looks at him for a moment.                                     CANDY                         What are you so crazy about the movies                          for?                                     HOMER                         It was my favorite night at the                          orphanage--movie night. We'd race                          into the dining hall. Of course                          everyone wanted to sit in front, so                          we'd be packed in so tight you could                          feel the kid next to you breathing.                                     CANDY                         At least you were never lonely.                                     HOMER                         I didn't say that. Growing up in an                          orphanage, you're always lonely.                          You're just never alone.               Candy is moved. Homer feels exposed; he tries to change the                mood by making light of what he's said.                                     HOMER                         You're not alone in the bathroom,                          or... or in the shower... you're                          never alone in wanting the last piece                          of meatloaaf, or even in your own                          bed on a cold morning.               Candy laughs.                                     CANDY                         You don't miss it?                                     HOMER                         I miss things. I miss... people.                              (with certainty)                         I miss reading to the boys.                                     CANDY                         But you had so much *responsibility*.                                     HOMER                         I never *asked* for any                          responsibility.                                     CANDY                         Just a little privacy.               Homer laughs.                                     CANDY                         Privacy is exactly the point of drive-                         in movies.                                     HOMER                         Did you come here with Wally--to                          *not* watch movies?               At the mention of Wally they both look a little self-               conscious.                                     CANDY                         Sometimes... movies mostly bore Wally.                                     HOMER                         Ah-ha.                              (points to the speaker)                         So what is that--a radio?                                     CANDY                         The *speaker*. For the movie sound.               Candy looks at Homer.                                     CANDY                         Scrunch down like this.               Candy scrunches down in her seat; Homer imitates her. Homer                is focused on the giant screen.                                     HOMER                         How could you not *care* about the                          movie?                                     CANDY                         You just cuddle. You come to hug...                          to kiss. You don't *come* here to                          watch the movie.                                     HOMER                              (teasing her)                         That's what *I'd* come here for. I'd                          watch the movie.                                     CANDY                         Not with the right girl you wouldn't.               Homer's expression changes from exhilarated to guilty. He                leans back in his seat and looks straight ahead at the screen.                Candy tentatively leans her head on his shoulder. Homer looks                afraid to breathe.               From behind, with her head on his shoulder, they look like a                normal couple. We track in toward the huge screen until we                see only the screen. There are shadows on the black screen.                Suddenly the movie "King Kong" appears.               INT. DINING HALL - NIGHT               "King Kong" is playing against the bare, white wall. Fuzzy                is very weak, but he smiles at the sight of the love-struck                Kong holding the screaming Fay Wray in his giant hand. Dr.                Larch runs the projector; he sits close beside Fuzzy. When                the film breaks in the predictable place, Fuzzy makes no                protest. Dr. Larch looks at Fuzzy, who has stopped breathing;                his eyes are closed.                                     LARCH                         Fuzzy? Fuzzy?               They are alone in the dining hall. Larch has wheeled in Fuzzy                for a private viewing.               EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - GRAVEYARD - MORNING               Buster helps Larch lower the small coffin into the grave.                The tiny gravestone says "F.S."                                     BUSTER                         What are you going to tell the little                          ones?                                     LARCH                         I'll tell them Fuzzy was adopted.                                     BUSTER                         Why would the little ones believe                          that *anyone* would adopt him?                                     LARCH                         They'll believe it because they want                          to believe it.                                     BUSTER                         Shouldn't we tell Homer?                                     LARCH                         If Homer wanted to know what was                          happening here, he could pick up a                          telephone and call us.               INT. BOYS' DIVISION - NIGHT               The boys in their beds listen to Buster inventing Fuzzy's                "family."                                     BUSTER                         It was a family with a better                          breathing machine then the one Dr.                          Larch built.               INT. ST. CLOUD'S - CORRIDOR - NIGHT               Larch leans against the wall, covering his eyes, overhearing                the boys.                                     BUSTER (O.S.)                         The family that adopted Fuzzy, they                          *invented* the breathing machine.                          It's their business... breathing                          machines.               Larch pauses; he waits to see if they believe this.                                     CURLY (O.S.)                         Lucky Fuzzy!               Larch almost breaks with a sudden sharp breath.                                     ALL THE BOYS (O.S.)                         Good night, Fuzzy! Good night, Fuzzy!                          Good night, Fuzzy Stone!               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - MORNING               As the men sit at the picnic table eating their cornbread,                Rose Rose pours coffee. A jeep comes down the orchard road                toward them. It's Olive. Mr. Rose leads the "Good mornin',                Mrs. Worthin'ton!" greeting. Olive has an armful of clothing                and a fairly sizable package; she brings the latter over to                Homer.                                     OLIVE                         Some mail for you, Homer.               Homer shakes the package; he puts the package beside the                table, unopened. Olive turns to Rose Rose.                                     OLIVE                         And some clothes for you, dear--                              (nodding to the cider                               house)                         let's go see if they fit.               Mr. Rose watches Rose Rose and Olive disappear into the cider                house. The other men view Homer's package with curiosity,                especially Peaches.                                     PEACHES                         Ain't you gonna see what it is, Homer?                                     MR. ROSE                         Mind your own business, Peaches.                                     PEACHES                         Sorry, Homer...               INT. BUNKHOUSE - LATE AT NIGHT               Homer lies awake in bed; everyone else is asleep. Homer pulls                the package out from under his bed, opening it just enough                to see what it is; then he shoves it back under his bed.               EXT. OCEAN/BEACH - DUSK               The beach at sunset. Candy and Homer, dressed for cooler                weather, are alone at the water's edge. From a paper bag,                Candy is scattering some small, brightly colored pieces of                broken glass.                                     HOMER                         Aren't you worried that people will                          cut their feet?                                     CANDY                         Nobody will swim here until next                          summer. By then, the water will have                          rubbed the glass smooth against the                          sand--there won't be any sharp edges.               She finds and old piece of glass among the stones and shells                at the high-tide mark.                                     CANDY                         See? That's last year's glass, or                          from some year before. I put glass                          here every year. The ocean makes it                          beautiful.               Candy holds up a piece of glass to the sun for Homer to look                at. The ocean is a gray-green color, the glass a paler shade                of green.                                     CANDY                         Give me your hand.               She rubs the smooth piece of glass against his hand, then                throws it toward the water. It falls short. Homer retrieves                it. Candy splashes him playfully. He chases her away from                the beach, into the pine trees. Homer locks his arms around                her, from behind. He can't let go. She lets him hold her,                then breaks his grip. She turns to face him. She is taller                then he is, older, obviously more experienced. She initiates                the kiss. They drop to the ground right there; they make                love by the roots of the tree, Candy guiding him.               EXT. WALLY'S CAR - BEACH PARKING LOT - NIGHT               They come out of the woods, walking toward the car, Candy                leading. We hear Candy talking just before we see her and                Homer.                                     CANDY                              (increasingly upset)                         *Nobody* volunteers for the Burma                          run--he said so himself. And nobody                          knows *me* better than him! So how                          am I supposed to feel? He's a bomber                          pilot and I'm just selfish, I know.                          Well, I'm *not* a brave little girl                          and I'm *not* sorry.               She sits in the passenger seat, Homer in the driver's seat.                                     CANDY                         I *know* this was right.                              (pause)                         I told you. I'm not good at being                          alone.                              (pause; in a whisper)                         I told him, too.               Homer concentrates on starting the car.                                     CANDY                              (repeating herself)                         I *know* this was right.                                     HOMER                         Right.               Their expressions, as the car pulls away, belie their words.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - END OF DAY               Homer and Mr. Rose sit opposite each other at the picnic                table. Rose Rose stands behind her father, her hands on his                shoulders, watching Homer snip out Mr. Rose's stitches--very                quickly.                                     MR. ROSE                         Slow down, Homer--don't be in such a                          big hurry.                                     HOMER                         This is easy--I'm not hurrying.                                     MR. ROSE                         You still doin' it too fast!               Job done, Homer leaves the table and hurries to the bicycle,                pedaling away. Rose Rose watches Homer go, as Mr. Rose flexes                his healed hand.                                     ROSE ROSE                         He's in a big hurry, all right. I                          told you he's in trouble.               EXT. CAPE KENNETH - LOBSTER POUND - EVENING               Candy and Homer sit on the dock. Candy still seems to be                wrestling with her conscience. Homer throws snails in the                sea. It's cold.                                     HOMER                         Just tell me. Do you want me to go?                          Do you want me to stay?                                     CANDY                         It will be okay.                                     HOMER                         *What* will be okay?                                     CANDY                         We have to wait and see. I think                          that, for *everything* in life, you                          have to wait and see.               Homer throws a snail with more force.                                     HOMER                         I'll just move on, get another job                          somewhere.               Ray comes out onto the dock; he sees Homer throwing another                snail.                                     RAY                         Every time you throw a snail off the                          dock, you're makin' someone start                          his whole life over.               Candy throws a handful of snails into the water.                                     CANDY                         Maybe we're doing the snails a favor,                          Daddy.               Ray looks at the two of them; he sighs.                                     RAY                         It's gettin' late. I think I'll pack                          it in.                                     CANDY                         Good night, Daddy.               Ray nods good night; he leaves. Homer looks expectantly at                Candy.                                     CANDY                         We'll just have to wait and see.               INT. WORTHINGTON HOUSE, DINING ROOM - NIGHT               Olive and Homer sit at the dining-room table, the remnants                of an apple pie in front of them. Homer is still eating.                Pictures of Wally are on the wall.                                     OLIVE                         I used to hate it when Wally went                          back to college--even when it was                          just college! And this was when his                          father was still alive... I hated it                          even then. Naturally I hate this                          more.               Homer nods in sympathy. His mouth is stuffed with apple pie.                                     OLIVE                         What I mean is... I would like it                          very much if you thought you could                          be happy here, Homer.                                     HOMER                              (wiping his mouth)                         Mrs. Worthington, I feel I'm very                          lucky to be here.                                     OLIVE                         There's not a lot of work in the                          winter, and you'll have to tolerate                          Vernon--even Wally despises him, and                          Wally likes everyone.               Olive's thoughts drift; her eyes look up at a photo of Wally.                                     HOMER                         I think Wally will be fine, Mrs.                          Worthington--he seems indestructible                          to me.                                     OLIVE                              (distracted)                         I don't know.                              (intently at Homer)                         Just promise me one thing.               Homer is tense. Does Olive suspect about Candy?                                     HOMER                         Uh... sure.                                     OLIVE                         Just promise me that, if there's a                          blizzard, you'll move into Wally's                          room until it's over.               They both laugh, but Homer has a hard time looking her in                the eye.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - DAY               The pickers are moving out; the harvest is over. Olive and                Homer stand near the door to the bunkhouse, talking--we can't                hear their conversation. Rose Rose and the other men walk                past them, carrying the last of their belongings to the truck.                Olive and Homer walk over to the truck.                                     OLIVE                         Good-bye. Have a safe trip home.                          Thank you, again, for all your hard                          work.                                     MR. ROSE                         You take care now, Mrs. Worthin'ton.               They shake hands.                                     OLIVE                         Good-bye, Arthur.                              (she hugs Rose Rose)                         Homer, I'll see you tomorrow?                                     HOMER                         Right.               Olive gets in her Jeep and waves as she drives off.               The truck is packed. Muddy tugs on a rope that secures the                load.                                     MUDDY                              (to Mr. Rose)                         We all set, I think.               Mr. Rose nods and gets in behind the wheel. Rose Rose and                Muddy get in next to him. The others are bundled up for the                ride in the open back of the truck.               As they're leaving, Homer waves good-bye--the pickers calling                out to him.                                     MR. ROSE                         You all take care of yourself, too,                          Homer!                                     PEACHES                         We see you next harvest.                                     MUDDY                         Don't freeze to death, Homer.                                     JACK                         Go on and freeze to death if you                          want to, Homer.                                     MR. ROSE                         Now, now, Jack--that just ain't right.                                     ROSE ROSE                         You just stay out of trouble, Homer!               Homer stands looking after them, after they're gone.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - LATER THAT SAME DAY               Homer is alone, rearranging his stuff--spreading out a bit,                making the place his own. (On the other beds, we see the                mattresses rolled up on the bare bedsprings.)                                     CANDY (O.S.)                         So, you're staying.               Homer turns; he hadn't seen Candy come in.                                     CANDY                         Olive told me.                              (awkward pause)                         You might have told me yourself.                                     HOMER                         I'm just waiting and seeing. Like                          you said.               She smiles. He goes to her; they embrace.               BEGINNING A MONTAGE OF THE NEXT NINE OR TEN MONTHS.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE ROOF - MORNING               Homer, drinking coffee, is writing a letter on a note pad.                                     HOMER (V.O.)                         Dear Dr. Larch, thank you for your                          doctor's bag...               EXT. RAY'S LOBSTER BOAT - DAY               Homer is learning how to "haul" a lobster pot with Ray and                Candy's guidance.                                     HOMER (V.O.)                         ...although it seems that I will not                          have the occasion to use it.               EXT. LOBSTER POUND, FLOATING PENS - EVENING               Following Ray's example, Homer is trying to "disarm" the                lobsters' big claws by blocking them shut with the little                wooden wedges. Roy works quickly, never getting pinched. As                Candy watches, Homer gets pinched.                                     HOMER (V.O.)                         Barring some emergency, of course. I                          am not a doctor. With all due respect                          to your profession. I am enjoying my                          life here.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT               Homer and Candy are naked. They have pulled two beds together                and made a double bed. He can't take his eyes off her.                                     HOMER                         I've looked at so many women... I                          mean, I've seen *everything* about                          them, *everything*... but I never                          felt a thing. I felt nothing. Now...                          with you... it *hurts*... to look at                          you.               INT. DISPENSARY - DAY               Edna and Angela and Larch are all reading Homer's letter,                their lips moving silently as they read the words.                                     HOMER (V.O.)                         I am enjoying being a lobsterman and                          an orchardman--in fact, I have never                          enjoyed myself so much.               INT. WORTHINGTON HOUSE, FIREPLACE - NIGHT               Olive and Homer and Candy are playing a board game around                the fireplace.                                     HOMER (V.O.)                         The truth is, I want to stay here. I                          believe I am being of *some* use.               INT. LARCH'S OFFICE - NIGHT               Edna and Angela view him anxiously from the doorway as Larch                furiously types and types.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         My dear Homer, I thought you were                          over your adolescence, that period                          which I would define as the first                          time in our lives when we imagine we                          have something terrible to hide from                          those who love us.               INT. WALLY'S CAR - DAY               Candy is singing to the car radio, as animated and happy as                we've ever seen her. Homer, driving, can scarcely keep his                eyes on the road; he has to keep looking at her.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         Do you think it's not obvious to us                          what's happened to you?               INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT               With the radio playing (a popular song), Homer hops across                the bare floor, pulling on his boxer shorts; he opens the                door to Olive, who's holding out an armload of blankets to                him. He sheepishly thanks her. When Homer closes the door,                we see a hidden (and stricken) Candy, naked from their                interrupted lovemaking.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         You're fallen in love, haven't you?                          By the way, whatever you're up to                          can't be too good for your heart.                          Then again, it's the sort of condition                          that can be made worse by worrying                          about it. So don't worry about it!               EXT. ORCHARDS - DAY               Vernon and Homer are working under an apple tree; they are                poisoning mice.                                     HOMER (V.O.)                         Dear Dr. Larch, what I am learning                          here may not be as important as what                          I learned from you, but everything                          is new to me. Yesterday I learned                          how to poison mice. You use poison                          oats and poison corn.               INT. DINING HALL - EVENING               Supper chaos--Buster and Mary Agnes are doing their best to                stop a food fight while Larch and Angela and Edna are                completely absorbed reading Homer's letter.                                     HOMER (V.O.)                         Field mice girdle an apple tree.                          Pine mice kill the roots. I *know*                          what you have to do--you have to                          play God. Well... killing mice is as                          close as I want to come to playing                          God.               INT. MOVIE THEATRE - CAPE KENNETH               Homer and Candy are watching "Rebecca".                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         Do I interfere? When absolutely                          helpless women tell me that they                          simply *can't* have an abortion,                          that they simply *must* go through                          with having another--and yet another--                         orphan... do I interfere? *Do* I? I                          do not. I do not even *recommend*. I                          just give them what they want: an                          orphan or an abortion.                              (close on Homer)                         You are my work of art, Homer.                          Everything else has been just a job.                          I don't know if you've got a work of                          art in you, but I know what your job                          is. You're a doctor!               INT. BUNKHOUSE - DAY               The radio is playing a slow, sexy dance number. The fat ladies                from the apple mart are dancing as they paint the interior                walls of the bunk house.                                     HOMER (V.O.)                         I am not a doctor.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         You know everything I know, plus                          what you've taught yourself--you're                          a better doctor then I am and you                          know it!               Homer is finishing up painting the kitchen walls. When he                gets to the list of rules, tacked on the wall, he removes                the list and finishes painting under where the rules were.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         They're going to replace me, Homer!                          The Board of Trustees is looking for                          my *replacement*!               Two of the ladies unroll the rolled-up mattresses on the                bare bedsprings, as Vernon enters with an armload of blankets                and pillows.                                     HOMER (V.O.)                         I can't replace you! I'm sorry...               Homer holds up the list of rules, rereads it briefly; he                walks over to an unpainted beam, a support beam, and tacks                the rules on this beam.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE, ROOF - MORNING               Homer reads Larch's letter, sipping coffee.                                     LARCH (V.O.)                         Sorry? I'm not 'sorry'! Not for                          anything I've done. I'm not even                          sorry that I love you!               INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT               Larch sits on his ether-bed with a letter from Homer in his                hand. He looks completely deflated. Angela is standing in                the doorway.                                     LARCH                         I think we may have lot him to the                          world. He's not coming back.               END OF THE MONTAGE.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - EARLY EVENING               In the newly painted, spruced-up cider house, Homer and Candy                are dancing to another slow, sexy song on the radio. He is                untucking her blouse, feeling under her blouse--she starts                to unbutton his shirt. They kiss while they dance. But the                song changes abruptly on the radio to something fast and                silly.               Homer responds to the music, dancing goofily--instantly out                of the mood. Candy laughs, but she picks up a pillow and                swings it at him, hitting him. He dances away from her. She                throws the pillow; he ducks--the pillow lands somewhere near                the door. Now Homer grabs a pillow and chases her from bed                to bed. She shrieks--they're both laughing. They each grab a                pillow and stand toe to toe whacking each other, laughing                all the while, until he pins her arms behind her and,                breathing hard--and despite the stupid music that broke the                mood--they are passionately kissing again.               The sound of a truck is sudden and loud.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - DAY               Mr. Rose's truck has arrived. The pickers are hopping out of                the truck, grabbing their gear.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - DAY               The door opens. Hero and Peaches barge in, as Homer and Candy                are struggling to return the pillows to the beds.                                     HERO                         Who's that?                                     PEACHES                         It's that Homer!               Muddy is right behind them. He picks up a pillow, off the                floor, looking for which bed it belongs on.                                     MUDDY                         It's that Candy, too...               Then comes Mr. Rose, slyly smiling, taking it all in--there's                no hiding what's going on. Homer and Candy are caught, their                shirts untucked and half-unbuttoned--they're still out of                breath. The pillows lie crazily on the beds, each one of                which has been stepped on.                                     MR. ROSE                         Don't this place look like home?                                     PEACHES                         It look nicer then home!                                     MR. ROSE                         What have you two been doin' to make                          it look so nice?               Rose Rose enters. She looks hardened, toughened--not happy.                She plops down her stuff on her bed, looking only at Candy.                                     ROSE ROSE                         How is that Wally doing?                                     CANDY                         Oh, he's fine! I just heard from                          him. He's bombing all these places...               Homer tries to help out.                                     HOMER                              (mumbling)                         ...bridges, oil refineries, fuel                          depots...               He peters out, knowing how sick of hearing this Candy is. He                tries to change the subject.                                     HOMER                         Where's Jack?               There is an uncomfortable silence.                                     MUDDY                         He just wasn't up for the trip.               More silence.                                     MR. ROSE                         That Jack just never knew what his                          business was.               One look at Muddy and we know something pretty bad happened                to Jack.               EXT. ORCHARDS - DAY               The pickers on their ladders, all picking. Homer is now a                good picker; he looks over at Rose Rose. She is slumped                against the ladder, not picking, completely ignoring an                argument beneath them in the aisle between the trees. (Mr.                Rose is checking over the apples Peaches has just picked.)                                     MR. ROSE                         You pickin' nothin' but cider apples,                          Peaches--I hope you understand that.                                     PEACHES                         They ain't drops--I picked 'em off                          the tree!                                     MR. ROSE                         Then you pickin' 'em too fast--they                          ain't no better than drops to me.                          See that bruise, and that one? *Half*                          of these is bruised! Look at this                          one! It ain't got no stem! You might                          as well *step* on 'em, too--they                          only good for cider.               EXT. ORCHARDS - DUSK               In the aisle between the trees, Homer and Candy are arguing                in one of the work vehicles.                                     CANDY                         Do you think I'm having a good time?                          Do you think I'm just *teasing* you?                          Do you think I *know* whether I want                          you or Wally?                                     HOMER                         So we should "wait and see." For how                          long?                                     CANDY                         I grew up with Wally. I began my                          adult life with him.                                     HOMER                         Fine. That's all there is to it then.                                     CANDY                         No! That's not all there is to it! I                          love you, too--I *know* I do.                                     HOMER                         Okay, okay--I know you do, too.                                     CANDY                              (bitterly)                         It's a good thing I didn't have that                          baby, isn't it?               Her sudden hardness leaves him speechless as they go their                separate ways. Candy drives on.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - SUNNY MORNING               Breakfast time at the picnic table. Rose Rose by herself,                away from the table. She does not look well; she suddenly                goes back inside the bunkhouse.                                     PEACHES                              (calling after her)                         Ain't you eatin' with us, Rose?                              (to the men)                         She used to eat with us. Now we ain't                          good enough for her, I guess.                                     HERO                         She ain't hungry, maybe.                                     MUDDY                         She ain't hungry every mornin' 'cause                          she's sick every mornin'.               Homer gets up to take his dishes inside.               INT. KITCHEN AND BUNKHOUSE - MORNING               When Homer comes in, Rose Rose is throwing up in the sink.                                     HOMER                         You okay, Rose?                                     ROSE ROSE                         I guess you must like watchin' me be                          sick...                                     HOMER                         I don't like watching anyone be sick.               Rose Rose lies down on her bed with the curtain open. There                is something familiar about the way Homer approaches her                bedside; he does so with the authority of a doctor. He sits                on the edge of her bed with such complete self-assurance                that she doesn't protest.                                     HOMER                         How many months are you?               She just stares. But she doesn't stop him when he touches                her abdomen. It's as if she knows that he knows what he's                doing.                                     HOMER                         You're not yet three months, are                          you?                                     ROSE ROSE                         Not yet. What do you know about it?                                     HOMER                         I know more than I want to know about                          it. Who's the father?                                     ROSE ROSE                         Don't trouble yourself about it,                          Homer--this ain't your business.                                     HOMER                         But you don't look very happy.                                     ROSE ROSE                         *Happy*! What are you thinkin'? How                          am I supposed to take care of a baby!                          I can't have a baby.                                     HOMER                         Rose, please listen. Whatever you                          want to do, I can help you.               She is taken back.                                     HOMER                         What I mean is, if you don't want                          to... keep the baby, I know a place                          where you can go.                                     ROSE ROSE                         You think Daddy's gonna let me go                          anywhere? I ain't going *nowhere*.               She rolls over on the bed, facing away from him again.                                     ROSE ROSE                         Why don't you just go back to your                          pickin', Homer? I can take care of                          it myself!                                     HOMER                         Rose, listen--don't *do* anything.                          You know, I mean to yourself. Please                          listen...                                     MR. ROSE (O.S.)                              (calling)                         Homer! Is this a workin' day or what?               EXT. LOBSTER POUND - EVENING               Homer and Candy are sitting at the dock.                                     CANDY                         We should take her to St. Cloud's.                          That much is obvious, isn't it? Let                          her make up her mind when she gets                          there...                                     HOMER                         I told her! She doesn't feel she can                          do that. Something about her father                          not letting her go anywhere...                                     CANDY                         Well, we have to help her!               Homer doesn't respond.                                     CANDY                         We have to do *something*. Don't we?                              (beat)                         Homer?               Homer looks out over the ocean; he remains unresponsive.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - MIDDAY               Rose Rose is setting the picnic table for lunch when Candy                arrives.                                     CANDY                         Hi...                                     ROSE ROSE                         Hi...               She keeps setting the table.                                     CANDY                         I've got some more clothes for you--                         I just keep forgetting to bring them                          with me.                                     ROSE ROSE                         I don't need no more clothes, thank                          you.                                     CANDY                              (softly)                         Rose, I know what's going on. Homer                          told me. I got pregnant, too--about                          a year ago.                              (pause)                         I've been through this.               Rose Rose looks down.                                     ROSE ROSE                         You ain't been through what I been                          through, Candy.                                     CANDY                              (doesn't get it)                         Yes, I *have*!               Rose Rose dismissively waves her hand.                                     CANDY                         Who's the father, Rose?               Rose looks at Candy and shakes her head.                                     CANDY                         You want to have the baby?               Rose Rose shakes her head again, more emphatically.                                     CANDY                         I know where you can go. Homer and I                          can take you...                                     ROSE ROSE                         I can't go nowhere.                                     CANDY                         Why?               Rose Rose stays silent.                                     CANDY                         Is it the father? Does he know?               Rose Rose turns away from Candy.                                     CANDY                         You can trust me. Is it Jack? It's                          not Jack, is it? It's *Muddy*! Is it                          Muddy?                                     ROSE ROSE                              (almost wistfully)                         No. It ain't Muddy. Muddy's just...               Rose Rose stops; she can't even continue setting the table.                Her voice turns bitter, despairing.                                     ROSE ROSE                         It sure ain't Jack.               There, suddenly, is Mr. Rose, walking past them. He is                uncharacteristically tentative.                                     MR. ROSE                              (to his daughter)                         I'll be up top...               Mr. Rose leaves Candy and Rose Rose alone again. Rose Rose                nods almost invisibly after her father. Rose Rose looks                pointedly at Candy, nodding. Candy slowly gets it. Mr. Rose                is the father! Rose Rose lets that sink in; she keeps looking                at Candy with an ashamed expression.               EXT. ORCHARD - DAY               The pickers are at work, on their ladders, when Candy runs                down the aisle between two rows of trees. She stops at the                bottom of Homer's ladder, out of breath. Muddy and Peaches                and Hero, in the treetops, are watching and listening.                                     CANDY                         She won't go to St. Cloud's!                                     HOMER                              (shrugging)                         Well, we can't force her. It's her                          decision.                                     CANDY                         You don't understand! It's her                          father...                                     HOMER                         Mr. Rose *knows*?                                     CANDY                              (shouting)                         He's the *father*! He's her baby's                          father!               The pickers can't help but hear this, too. Candy starts to                leave, Homer running after her.                                     HOMER                         Wait... *wait*! Are you sure?                                     CANDY                         We've got to keep her away from that                          bastard!               Candy leaves. Homer starts looking for Mr. Rose.               EXT. ORCHARD, NEAR CIDER HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER               Smiling his enigmatic smile, Mr. Rose keeps slowly picking                while Homer stands at the foot of his ladder.                                     MR. ROSE                         I didn't see where you was pickin'                          this mornin', Homer, but you musta                          worked up a big appetite. You look                          like you're serious about gettin' to                          your lunch today!                                     HOMER                         Is it true?               Mr. Rose stops picking, his eyes darting to see who's around.                                     HOMER                         Are you sleeping with your own                          daughter?               Mr. Rose, with deliberate slowness, comes down the ladder.                                     MR. ROSE                              (slyly; still composed)                         I think you been stayin' up too late                          at night, Homer.                                     HOMER                         You're actually having sex with your                          own little girl? Is that possible?                                     MR. ROSE                         Ain't nobody havin' *sex* with my                          little girl, Homer--that's somethin'                          a father knows.                                     HOMER                         You're lying. How can you... with                          your own daughter!               Mr. Rose switches from sly to threatening in a split second.                                     MR. ROSE                         Homer, don't you know what business                          you in? You don't wanna go into no                          business with me, Homer--ain't that                          right?                                     HOMER                         Go on, cut my clothes. I've got other                          clothes.               Mr. Rose is indignant.                                     MR. ROSE                         You a fine one to be talkin' about                          lies. Shame! These people took you                          in. That boy Wally's at *war*!               That takes some of the steam out of Homer's superiority.                                     HOMER                         But she's your *daughter*...                                     MR. ROSE                         And I *love* her! There ain't nobody                          else gonna treat her as good as I                          do!                              (looks away)                         I wouldn't do nothin' to hurt her,                          Homer--you must know that.               Homer turns; he speaks over his shoulder as he walks away.                                     HOMER                         She's *pregnant*. Do you know *that*?               By his expression--he looks as if he's been punched--it's                clear that Mr. Rose didn't *know that*.               The other pickers are on their way to lunch; it's obvious                that Muddy, Peaches, and Hero already know that Mr. Rose is                sleeping with his daughter.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - PICNIC AREA - LUNCHTIME               Rose Rose is sitting at the picnic table when the pickers                arrive for lunch, almost simultaneously with Homer. He looks                at, then looks away from, Rose Rose. Mr. Rose is the last to                sit down at the table as a very tense, wordless lunch begins.               EXT. ORCHARD - DAY               Homer is on a ladder picking apples. Muddy climbs a ladder                on the other side of the same tree.                                     MUDDY                         Don't mess in this, Homer, if you                          know what's good for you.                                     HOMER                         How long's this been going on, Muddy?                                     MUDDY                         Long enough. You ain't gonna stop                          it.               Muddy looks all around for Mr. Rose; then he gives Homer his                knife.                                     MUDDY                         There's my knife, Homer. It ain't                          gonna do *me* no good. You give that                          knife to Rose Rose, you hear?               Homer nods, pocketing the knife. As Muddy climbs down and                moves his ladder to an adjacent tree, he keeps talking to                Homer until he disappears in the leaves.                                     MUDDY                         You best just watch you ass, Homer!                          You don't wanna end up like Jack!               Homer thoughtfully continues his work.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - LATE AT NIGHT               Homer lies awake in his bed.               EXT. ORCHARD - LATE AFTERNOON, ANOTHER DAY               The pickers on their ladders in the trees; nobody is talking.                In the late sun, the leaves have a reddish, fiery glow.               EXT. ORCHARD - ANOTHER DAY               It's much colder; the pickers are on their ladders in the                trees again, but they're dressed for the cold. Homer is high                on a ladder; he turns toward the view of the Worthington                house when he hears a car come to a screeching halt in the                driveway. Homer sees Candy get out of Wally's car; she leaves                the door open and runs toward the house. Parked in front of                Wally's car is an Army Jeep, with an ENLISTED MAN leaning                against it. The indifferent soldier smokes a cigarette as he                watches Candy run.                                     CANDY                         No! No!               Homer descends the ladder and runs for the house, down as                aisle between the row of trees. The pickers watch him run.               INT. WORTHINGTON HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - DAY               Camera follows Homer into the Worthington house where, from                the front hall, he sees Olive and Candy (in profile) sitting                on the couch. We can't see who's talking, nor do we recognize                the voice. As Homer comes into the living room, we see MAJOR                WINSLOW sitting in a chair (also in profile), talking to                Olive and Candy.               Major Winslow is a smooth, handsome well-briefed officer in                the casualty branch of the Army Air Corps; he's done his                homework, but he's not all business. He's painfully aware of                the delicate nature of his report.                                     MAJOR WINSLOW                         When the plane was hit, the crew                          chief and the radioman jumped close                          together. The copilot jumped third.                          All on Captain Worthington's orders--                         the captain was still flying the                          plane. None of the men of the ground                          could see the sky--that's how thick                          the jungle was. They never saw the                          plane crash--they never *heard* it                          crash. They never saw Captain                          Worthington's parachute, either.                                     OLIVE                         Why was he missing for twenty days?                                     MAJOR WINSLOW                         Because the crew thought he'd gone                          down with the plane. They were                          hospitalized for almost a week in                          China before they were flown back to                          India. It wasn't until that they                          sorted through their gear...                                     CANDY                         Who cares about their *gear*?                                     MAJOR WINSLOW                         Three men jumped from the plane, but                          they had four compasses with them.                          One of the crew jumped with Captain                          Worthington's compass.                                     CANDY                         He was in Burma for twenty days                          without a compass?                                     MAJOR WINSLOW                         He followed the Irrawaddy River, all                          the way to Rangoon. Somehow he managed                          to avoid the Japs, but not the                          mosquitoes.                                     OLIVE                         Then it's malaria?                                     MAJOR WINSLOW                         It's encephalitis B. He's recovering                          at Mount Lavinia Hospital, Ceylon.                              (pause)                         Uh... Captain Worthington is                          paralyzed.                              (Olive gasps)                         Waist down. He won't walk.               Candy stands and leaves the room.                                     MAJOR WINSLOW                              (to Olive)                         I'm sorry.                                     HOMER                              (asks the major)                         There are no autonomic effects, are                          there?               Major Winslow has to consult his notes.                                     MAJOR WINSLOW                         No autonomic effects... that's                          correct.                                     OLIVE                         When will he be home, Major?                                     MAJOR WINSLOW                         Four weeks or so, right around                          Halloween.               INT./EXT. WALLY'S CAR - LOBSTER POUND - END OF DAY               Homer and Candy are sitting in the parked car in silence.                                     HOMER                              (finally)                         There are no autonomic effects, just                          the paralysis of the lower                          extremities.               Candy stares at him, uncomprehending.                                     HOMER                         Wally can have kids, a normal sex                          life...               Candy cries.               EXT. LOBSTER POUND - EVENING               Ray is throwing snails in the water. Candy sits on the end                of the dock, slumped on Homer's shoulder.                                     RAY                         How about him not needin' the friggin'                          compass! How about that?                                     CANDY                         Daddy, *please*...               Ray knows that she wants him to leave. He shuffles off the                dock, toward the house. He knows how they both must feel.                                     RAY                         Good night, kids. Don't catch cold--                         it's gettin' cold already.                                     CANDY                         Good night, Daddy.                                     HOMER                         Good night, Ray.               Homer tries to cuddle closer, but Candy sits up, preoccupied.                                     HOMER                         Just tell me. I'll do whatever you                          want to do.                                     CANDY                         Nothing.                                     HOMER                         Isn't that like waiting and seeing?                                     CANDY                         No. Nothing is nothing. I want Wally                          to come home. I'm afraid to see him,                          too.                                     HOMER                         I know.                              (he kisses her)                         Is *that* nothing.                                     CANDY                         No, don't--that's something. Nothing                          is nothing.                              (Homer's sad smile)                         Don't even look at me. I want...               Candy buries her face in his chest.                                     CANDY                         ...to do nothing.               Homer holds her, doing nothing, while she sobs. As her crying                subsides, Homer's thoughts are far away. With Candy slumped                against him, hugging him, he doesn't look at her; instead,                he looks out to sea and at the darkening coast, Candy's words                resonating. An unfamiliar expression is on his face.                                     HOMER                              (mumbling to himself)                         It's a tempting idea, I know... to                          do nothing.               Candy is silent. Homer feels strangely agitated; he shifts                his position.                                     CANDY                              (groans)                         Please don't move, don't go anywhere.                                     HOMER                              (overly genuine)                         *Go* anywhere? Of course not! That                          would be *doing* something, wouldn't                          it? We wouldn't want to *do*                          something. Let's just sit here all                          night!                                     CANDY                              (irritated)                         If you're trying to be funny, Homer...                                     HOMER                              (irritated, too)                         I'm not trying to be anything--I'm                          just doing nothing! If I wait and                          see long enough, then--with any luck--                         I won't *ever* have to make up my                          mind! Decisions can be painful, after                          all...               Candy is angry; she gets to her feet and stares hard at him.                                     CANDY                         Stop it! Just cut it out!                                     HOMER                              (mock surprise)                         You got up! You *did* something! If                          you keep this up, you might be in                          danger of making a *decision*!                                     CANDY                         For God's sake, Homer, Wally's been                          shot down!               Candy sobs. Homer puts his face in his hands for a minute.                He regains his composure and stands up.                                     HOMER                              (genuinely contrite)                         I know, I'm sorry.                                     CANDY                              (yelling and sobbing)                         He's *paralyzed*!                                     HOMER                              (deadpan; just the                               facts)                         He's *alive*. He still loves you.                              (pause)                         So do I.                                     CANDY                              (anguished)                         What do you want me to *do*?               He faces away from her.                                     HOMER                              (with calm resolve)                         Nothing. You're not the one who has                          to do anything.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - NIGHT               Homer is in semidarkness as he walks toward the cider house.                                     MR. ROSE (O.S.)                         Where do you think you're going?                                     ROSE ROSE (O.S.)                         You gotta let me go, Daddy. Please...               Homer walks faster. When he gets to the cider house, he sees                Mr. Rose and Rose Rose arguing. Rose is sitting on the                bicycle, a bundle of her clothes tied up behind the seat.                                     MR. ROSE                         You ain't goin' nowhere in the middle                          of the night, girl!                                     ROSE ROSE                         I ain't your business no more, Daddy.                          Please let me go.               Rose Rose starts to pedal away, but Mr. Rose stops her. She                starts to struggle.                                     HOMER                         Hey, hey! Stop it. Maybe I can help.               They turn to see Homer.                                     MR. ROSE                         You just go inside, Homer. We don't                          need no help.                                     ROSE ROSE                         That's right, Homer. This ain't your                          business.               She tries to break free from her father and pedal away, but                he stops her again. They keep struggling.                                     HOMER                         Please listen to me! *Both* of you...                                     MR. ROSE                         You forget yourself, Homer. This                          here's my daughter! You got your own                          mess to deal with--ain't that right?               Homer steps between them, which makes Mr. Rose furious.                                     MR. ROSE                              (yelling)                         What business is you in, Homer?                                     HOMER                         Mr. Rose, I'm in the *doctor*                          business.                              (to Rose Rose)                         If you want, I can help you. You                          don't have to go anywhere.               Rose Rose and Mr. Rose stop struggling. Suddenly Homer is in                charge.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT               Muddy, Hero and Peaches smoke in their beds. Rose Rose opens                her curtain and peers out from her bed. She gets up and goes                toward the kitchen area in her nightshirt; she stops at an                unused bed, now covered with white rubber sheeting--Homer's                medical instruments are displayed and ready. Homer finished                scrubbing his hands in the sink. His surgical mask is loosely                tied around his neck.               Mr. Rose is looking at Homer's surgical instruments when                Rose Rose joins him.                                     MR. ROSE                              (to Homer)                         What's that? What's it called?                                     HOMER                         One cervical stabilizer, two sets of                          dilators--Douglas points. One medium-                         sized curette, one small; one medium                          speculum, one large; two vulsellum                          forceps.                                     MR. ROSE                         There ain't no *almost* about this                          stuff, Homer--ain't that right?               Homer ignores him; he keeps naming his equipment.                                     HOMER                         Merthiolate, ether, vulval pads,                          gauze--lots of gauze.                                     MR. ROSE                         When it comes to this, you is the                          real thing--is that what you sayin'?               Homer looks at Mr. Rose and Rose Rose.                                     HOMER                         No *almost* about it--I'm a doctor.               Homer turns to Peaches, Hero, and Muddy.                                     HOMER                         Get out of here, please.               Muddy herds Peaches and Hero out of the bunkhouse.                                     MR. ROSE                         I'm stayin', Homer.                                     HOMER                         Okay. Then you can be of use.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT               Mr. Rose wears a surgical mask; he is sweating, even in the                cold, and his eyes look stricken as he watches Homer, who is                performing the abortion. Mr. Rose holds the ether cone over                Rose Rose's face. He drips some ether from the bottle on the                cone.               Cut quickly for Rose Rose's etherized face... to Mr. Rose's                eyes above his mask... to Homer working with his eyes trained                on the speculum...               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - NIGHT               ...to Muddy and Peaches and Hero huddled under the overhanging                roof in the rain.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT               Mr. Rose is having a hard time breathing.                                     HOMER                         You better get some air.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - NIGHT               The cider house in the rain. Mr. Rose staggers out; he stands                there in the rain, trying to regain his composure. He starts                to scream.               Another angle: huddled under the overhanging roof, Muddy and                Peaches and Hero are watching him.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - RAINY DAY               Rose Rose, curled in a fetal position, listens to the rain                on the roof. Candy sits on her bed beside her. She helps her                to sit up, to drink a glass of water; then Rose Rose lies                down again. Rose Rose's expression never changes while Candy                talks to her. Mr. Rose lies in his bed in the exact same                fetal position as his daughter; he too, is listening to Candy.                Homer is putting away his instruments.                                     CANDY                         The bleeding should taper off                          tomorrow, but it can come back again.                          The cramps will ease up, almost                          entirely. The bleeding is usually                          much lighter in two days. As long as                          the bleeding isn't heavy, it's normal.               Muddy enters the cider house from out of the storm. He glances                at Candy and Rose Rose; then at Homer. Then he speaks to Mr.                Rose.                                     MUDDY                         It's that Vernon--he keeps askin'                          where you and Homer and Rose Rose is                          at.                                     MR. ROSE                         Tell that Vernon to mind his own                          business, Muddy.                                     MUDDY                         I told him that you all is sick.                                     MR. ROSE                         Tell him what you want, Muddy--*you*                          is the crew boss today.               Hero and Peaches, dripping wet, come inside. Peaches is                standing next to the list of rules tacked to the kitchen                support beam.                                     PEACHES                         Look at that. Them same damn rules                          is tacked up again!               Homer has finished putting his instruments away.                                     MUDDY                         Why don't you put them damn rules in                          the wood stove, Peaches?               As the men are murmuring their approval of this idea, Rose                Rose interjects.                                     ROSE ROSE                         I want to hear what they are, first.               The men groan, but Mr. Rose won't oppose his daughter on                this subject--not this time. He just lies there.                                     ROSE ROSE                         Homer, let me hear what they are.               Homer begins to read.                                     HOMER                         "One: Please don't smoke in bed."                                     MUDDY                         We heard that one already, Homer.                                     HOMER                         "Two: Please don't go up to the roof                          to eat your lunch."                                     PEACHES                         That's the best place to eat lunch!                                     HOMER                         "Three: Please--even if you are very                          hot--do not go up to the roof to                          sleep."                                     HERO                         What do they think? They must think                          we're crazy!                                     MUDDY                         They think we're dumb niggers so we                          need dumb rules--that's what they                          think.                                     HOMER                         This is the last one.               The men groan, in mock disappointment.                                     HOMER                         "Four: There should be no going up                          on the roof at night."                                     PEACHES                         Why don't they just say, "Stay off                          the roof!"?                                     HERO                         Yeah, they don't want us up there                          *at all*!               Homer crumples the list and throws it into the wood stove.                                     ROSE ROSE                              (to Homer)                         That's *it*?                                     HOMER                         That's it.                                     ROSE ROSE                         It means nothin' at all! And all                          this time I been *wonderin'* about                          it!                                     PEACHES                         They're *outrageous*, them rules!                                     MR. ROSE                         Who *live* here in this cider house,                          Peaches? Who grind them apples, who                          press that cider, who clean up the                          mess, and who just plain *live*                          here... just breathin' in the vinegar?                              (he pauses)                         Somebody who *don't* live here made                          them rules. Them rules ain't for                          *us*. *We* the ones who make up them                          rules. We makin' our *own* rules,                          every day. Ain't that right, Homer?                                     HOMER                         Right.               Camera closes on Candy.               INT./EXT. WALLY'S CAR - DRIVE-IN THEATRE - EVENING               Homer and Candy sit and stare at the blank screen; they don't                look at each other. Candy grips the steering wheel of the                parked car.                                     CANDY                         Please don't make me say it again.                                     HOMER                         No, that's not it--I just want to be                          sure I understand you.               Candy slumps forward with her forehead on the steering wheel.                                     HOMER                         I *helped* you not to think about                          Wally. You were so upset--you couldn't                          stand worrying about him, about his                          being killed and not coming back--                         but when you were with me, you could                          stop worrying... well, for a while,                          anyway. This is how I helped you,                          right?                                     CANDY                         Please... that's enough. I *loved*                          you, too--you know I did.                                     HOMER                         "...did." Well, okay.                                     CANDY                         Please don't...                                     HOMER                              (sarcastically)                         And now that Wally's coming back,                          and because he'll certainly *need*                          you...                                     CANDY                         You say that as though it's some                          awful thing!                              (angrily)                         I never stopped loving Wally!               Homer lets that sink in.                                     HOMER                              (still sarcastic)                         At least there's no more waiting and                          seeing. At least I got to see the                          ocean.               Candy covers her face in her hands and cries uncontrollably,                unstoppably. Homer's anger keeps him impervious to her tears--               another "first" for him. He turns and looks at her with an                almost clinical curiosity; then he goes back to staring at                the blank screen.               EXT. ORCHARD - IN FRONT OF THE APPLE MART - DAWN               The rain has stopped but the grass is wet, the trees                glistening in the dawn light as Wally's car stops and Homer                gets out. The car exits the frame in one direction; Homer,                walking, exits the frame in another.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE - DAWN               As he walks toward the cider house, Homer sees Muddy and                Peaches and Hero waving to him from the roof.                                     MUDDY                         Rose Rose has runned away!                                     PEACHES                         She took off in the night!                                     MUDDY                         She took off on the bicycle, man.               Homer starts jogging, then running toward the cider house.                Muddy comes down the ladder to meet him.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - EARLY MORNING               Rose Rose's bed is exposed. The curtains are flung open; her                bed is empty. Mr. Rose is still in his bed, in the fetal                position we have seen before. Mr. Rose's trancelike expression                doesn't change as Homer and Muddy enter.                                     MR. ROSE                         Ain't nobody gonna find her, Homer--                         she's long gone.                              (pause)                         I swear, I didn't try and stop her--                         I just wanna touch her hand before                          she go. That's all I wanna do, I                          swear.                              (pause)                         Where'd she get that knife, Muddy?                          That looked like *your* knife--what                          I seen of it.               Muddy is scared; he looks to Homer for advice.                                     MR. ROSE                         If that was your knife, Muddy, I                          wanna thank you for givin' it to her--                         no girl should be goin' *hitch-hikin'*                          if she don't got a good knife with                          her.                                     HOMER                              (seeing the blood)                         Where'd she get you?                                     MR. ROSE                         She just plan misunderstand me--I                          was tryin' to give her my knife, I                          was just reachin' to touch her hand.                          But I understand if she misunderstand                          me--it's all my fault, ain't that                          right?               Homer takes the blanket off him; Muddy gasps. Homer tries to                examine Mr. Rose's wound. Mr. Rose smiles at him.                                     MR. ROSE                         It's too late for the doctor now,                          Homer--ain't that right?               Homer doesn't answer; he knows Mr. Rose is a goner.                                     MR. ROSE                              (proudly)                         She's *good* with that knife! She's                          real fast. She's a lot better with                          that knife than *you* is, Muddy! And                          who do you suppose taught her?                                     MUDDY                         *You* taught her, I suppose...                                     MR. ROSE                         That's right! A girl's gotta know                          how to defend herself, don't she?               He winces in pain at Homer's examination.                                     HOMER                              (surprised)                         There's more than one laceration,                          more than one cut.                                     MR. ROSE                         That's 'cause I sticked my *own*                          knife in the wound--after she go, I                          sticked my *own* knife in there. I                          poked it all around, I just tryin'                          to find the same place she got me.               Homer finds Mr. Rose's knife. There's blood everywhere.                                     MR. ROSE                         You listen to me: you tell them police                          how this happen, you tell it *this*                          way, you hear? My daughter, she runned                          off--and I so sad about it that I                          stabbed myself. I so unhappy that                          she gone, I killed myself--that what                          you say, you hear? That the true                          story--ain't that right?               Homer and Muddy exchange a glance. Mr. Rose, with his blood-               soaked hand, suddenly grabs Homer by the throat.                                     MR. ROSE                         Let me hear you say that! I so unhappy                          she runned away that I killed myself--                         that what happen here, ain't that                          right?                                     HOMER                         Right?                                     MUDDY                         That what happen--you lost you only                          daughter so's you killed yourself!                          That's what we say, all right.                                     MR. ROSE                         That's right. I know you understand                          how I feel, Homer--you is breakin'                          them rules, too. Ain't that right?               Mr. Rose dies. Muddy turns away. Homer closes Mr. Rose's                eyes.               EXT. CIDER HOUSE, ROOF - MORNING               Muddy and Hero and Peaches are sitting close together on the                roof, like banished children. It is from their perspective                that we see the police car and the ambulance--two men carrying                the body out of the cider house, and a cop or two talking to                Homer and Olive, and Homer talking to them. We hear no                dialogue.               EXT. APPLE MART - DUSK               Homer and the men load crates of apple jelly onto a truck.                The mood is solemn; they work with tired focus. Candy drives                up. The men are evasive with her; they find a reason to work                across the mart. Candy walks to Homer, stands next to him.                They say nothing for a moment, until Candy breaks the silence.                                     CANDY                         Do you think she'll be all right?                                     HOMER                         She knows how to take care of herself.               Candy looks away; she can't think of what to say. She shoves                her hands into her pockets, finds a letter there, which she                hands to Homer.                                     CANDY                         This came for you a couple of days                          ago. Olive asked me to bring it.                          With everything happening, I guess                          she forgot.                                     HOMER                         Sure. Thanks.               Homer looks at the letter from St. Cloud's; he puts it                unopened in his pocket without a second thought. Candy can't                let things end there.                                     CANDY                         I know you don't think much of being                          needed, or of me for that matter...                                     HOMER                         I'm sorry for what I said about Wally                          needing you. It was... unnecessary.                                     CANDY                         No, I'm the one who should be sorry.                          You have every right to be angry.                                     HOMER                         No. You warned me. I didn't listen,                          but you warned me.               Candy looks surprised.                                     HOMER                         You told me you weren't any good at                          being alone.                              (pause)                         You told Wally, too. Right?               Candy can only stare straight ahead.                                     HOMER                              (relenting)                         He's going to be fine, Wally's going                          to be fine. I know he is.               A tear rolls down Candy's cheek, Homer wipes it away; then                he stops touching her and looks off into the quiet orchards.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT               The pickers lie in their beds, smoking. Homer is undressing.                He pulls the letter out of his pocket and sits down on his                bed. Homer opens the letter without enthusiasm and begins to                read.                                     ANGELA (V.O.)                         Dear Homer, I am writing to tell you                          about Wilbur.               INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT               Music is playing on the old phonograph as an exhausted Larch                gives himself ether.               INT. GIRLS' DIVISION - NIGHT               Edna is getting the girls ready for bed. Music continues                Over.               INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT               Larch has twisted himself on the narrow bed so that his face                is unusually close to the windowsill, and when the ether                cone starts to fall off his face--and his slack hand trails                down, off the side of the bed--the cone becomes caught against                the windowsill.               He tries to turn his face away from the cone, but he presses                his face into the sill--thus holding the ether-soaked cone                over his mouth and nose. His hands twitch, he's trying to                wake up; the hand that holds the ether bottle lets the bottle                fall. The bottle shatters against the sill; the ether spreads,                running red with blood from a cut on Dr. Larch's hand or                finger. Music continues Over. It's a funeral.               INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT               Buster is bringing in the wood as the music plays Over. Buster                smells the spilled ether. He heads toward the dispensary,                sniffing. Camera follows him into the dispensary.               In the dispensary: Buster approaches Larch's ether-bed.                                     BUSTER                         Dr. Larch? Dr. Larch?               He drops the armload of wood and runs for help.               INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT               Angela enters. She feels for Larch's pulse; Larch is dead.                Angela opens a window. She pull's Larch's body away from the                windowsill. Buster joins her on the bed.                                     ANGELA (V.O.)                         I can assure you that the overdose                          was entirely accidental.               INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT               Homer finishes reading the letter; he puts it down, gets up,                and walks to a window. He stares into the night.                                     ANGELA (V.O.)                         Let us be happy for Dr. Larch. Dr.                          Larch has found a family.                                     THE BOYS (V.O.)                         Good night, Dr. Larch! Good night,                          Dr. Larch! Good night, Dr. Larch!               Homer wipes a tear off his cheek.               EXT. PICKERS' TRUCK - CIDER/PACKING HOUSE - MORNING               The truck is packed for the long trip south; it passes by                the packing house, which looks closed for the season. No one                else is about. Muddy is driving slowly, his arm out the open                window. In the back, huddled among their belongings, are                Peaches and Hero (on one side) and Homer (on the other). The                pickers are trying to draw Homer into their conversation,                while Homer is giving the apple farm a good-bye look. He has                made up his mind about something.                                     MUDDY                         You ever see a palm tree, Homer?                                     PEACHES                         He ain't never been outta Maine!                                     HERO                         Ain't you sick of pine trees, Homer?               Homer just smiles and shakes his head.               EXT. WORTHINGTON HOUSE, DRIVEWAY - MORNING               As the pickers' truck drives past, Homer is on the side of                the truck nearest the Worthington house and driveway; he                sees Olive and Candy and Ray helping Wally out of the car                and into a wheelchair. A NURSE stands by.               Wally is wearing what appears to be an oversized officer's                coat or flight jacket, his face looking small in the overlarge                clothes. He can't move his legs at all, and his mouth is                drawn into a tight-lipped smile.                                     PEACHES (O.S.)                         Let me tell you somethin' about                          Florida, Homer.                                     HERO (O.S.)                         The Sunshine State!                                     PEACHES (O.S.)                         It's so nice 'n' warm down there,                          you can pick them grapefruits and                          oranges *naked*, if you want to.               Olive is dissolved in tears. Candy is sobbing; she kisses                Wally, without ceasing, while he haltingly touches her face,                her hair.               In the truck the smile is gone from Homer's face. He shakes                his head.                                     HOMER                         Thanks, guys... I'd like to go with                          you. But I've got to move on.                                     MUDDY                         Yeah, well... you could move on with                          *us*, man! You could move on somewhere                          *warm*!                                     PEACHES                         Homer, stayin' in Maine ain't movin'                          on!               This makes all the pickers laugh, but Homer just smiles and                shakes his head. He watches the Worthington house disappear                from view.               INT. MOVING TRAIN - PASSENGER CAR - NIGHT               A CONDUCTOR, taking tickets, comes to Homer, who is better                dressed than we've ever seen him; he is looking at his sober                reflection in the black window-glass of the night train when                the conductor gets his attention. When the conductor moves                on, Homer takes Angela's letter out of his breast pocket; he                skips ahead to the end.                                     ANGELA (V.O.)                         Dr. Larch often wondered how the                          world was treating you.               EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - GRAVEYARD - AFTERNOON                                     ANGELA (V.O.)                         He talked a lot about you, hoping                          you would be of use, whatever you                          were up to.               Angela and Buster and Mary Agnes and Edna carry Larch's                coffin; they set it down by the raw hole. The pile of fresh                dirt stands out against the new snow; the hole is black                against the new white.                                     EDNA (O.S.)                         "Oh, Lord, support us all the day                          long..."               We see the wheelbarrow with the gravestone.                                     EDNA (O.S.)                         "...until the shadows lengthen and                          the evening comes, and the busy world                          is hushed, and the fever of life is                          over, and our work is done."               INT. GIRLS' DIVISION - NIGHT               We see the faces of the girls praying for Larch (Mary Agnes,                too) as Edna finishes her favorite prayer.                                     EDNA                         "Then, in Thy mercy grant us a safe                          lodging, and a holy rest, and peace                          at the last."               INT. MOVING TRAIN - PASSENGER CAR - NIGHT               Camera closes on Homer, sleeping to the sound of the rocking                train. Angela's letter lies in his lap.                                     THE GIRLS (O.S.)                         Amen! Amen! Amen!               EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - TRAIN STATION - EARLY MORNING               The train stops, blowing snow. Homer steps off the train                carrying a suitcase and Dr. Larch's bag. The disapproving                stationmaster is still disapproving. Music plays Over,                something triumphant.               EXT. ST. CLOUD'S - THE HILL - EARLY MORNING               Homer makes his way up the hill toward the orphanage. Music                Over.               EXT. ORPHANAGE - EARLY MORNING               Edna is breaking up fights; this time, instead of fighting                over snowballs, the orphans are fighting over their pumpkins.                Suddenly Homer tops the brow of the hill and they all see                him. Buster is the first to catch sight of Homer; he runs                toward him. Mary Agnes also sees Homer; she immediately turns                away and runs inside. Music FADES OUT Over.               INT. LAVATORY - EARLY MORNING               Mary Agnes crashes into the bathroom and stumbles up to the                mirror; she starts to fix herself up with shaking hands.               INT. ORPHANAGE, FRONT HALL - EARLY MORNING               Everyone has heard the news; they come on the run. The                children flock around Homer, hugging him. Homer takes Angela                and Edna in his arms. Mary Agnes joins the group. Homer takes                in how changed, how attractive she is. They smile awkwardly                at each other.               INT. BOYS' DIVISION - EVENING               Homer's suitcase is open on the bed; we see Homer's hands as                he begins to unpack. Smaller hands reach in and root through                the clothes.                                     CURLY (O.S.)                         Did you bring something for me?               Curly continues his search. Homer thinks for a second; then                reaches into his pocket and pulls out the piece of pale-green                glass.                                     HOMER                         You know what? I did.               Homer hands the piece of glass to Curly.                                     HOMER                         It's from the ocean. It's for you.               Curly is duly impressed; he walks away to examine his new                treasure. Homer continues unpacking. He pulls his X ray out                and puts it aside.                                     BUSTER                         What are you doing here?               Homer turns to see Buster, Mary Agnes, Angela, and Edna in                the doorway.                                     MARY AGNES                         We made up a room for you.                                     ANGELA                         Wouldn't you be more comfortable by                          yourself?               Homer smiles; he nods.               Angela and Mary Agnes start to put Homer's things back in                his bag. Edna picks up the X ray and looks at it with a somber                expression.                                     EDNA                         Homer, do you know what this is?                                     HOMER                         Sure. It's my heart.                                     ANGELA                              (shakes her head)                         Actually, it's Fuzzy's. There's                          nothing wrong with your heart.                                     HOMER                         Fuzzy's?!                                     EDNA                         Dr. Larch wanted to keep you out of                          the war, Homer--that's why he did                          it. That's why he told you it was                          yours.               Homer is stunned; he puts his hand to his heart.                                     ANGELA                         I think he worried about his own                          heart. He said it would never stand                          up to Homer Wells going off to war.               Homer takes that in; he nods. Mary Agnes touches him                sympathetically.               INT. LARCH'S OFFICE - NIGHT               Homer looks at his fake diplomas; they are now framed and                hanging on the office wall. Homer surveys the office, as if                for the first time; he sits down in the desk chair, as if                slowly getting used to his new position.               INT. BOYS' DIVISION - NIGHT               Homer reads to the boys from "David Copperfield". While his                voice is strong--positive, optimistic, certainly reassuring                to the boys--there is in the conclusion of the chapter                something that distracts him. He seems to hesitate; he misses                a line or two, and perhaps he purposely skips one or two                others. (Possibly Homer's eyes wander ahead, to the title of                the next chapter: "I Make Another Beginning.")                                     HOMER                         "Thus I began my new life, in a new                          name, and with everything new about                          me... I felt... like one in a dream...                          The remembrance of that life is                          fraught with so much... want of                          hope... Whether it lasted for a year,                          or more, or less, I do not know. I                          only know that it was, and ceased to                          be; and... there I leave it."               Homer stops and looks at the boys' faces.                                     CURLY                         What happens next?               Homer smiles.                                     HOMER                         That's tomorrow, Curly. Let's mot                          give the story away.               Homer puts out the lights and leaves the boys in the familiar                semi-darkness. Seconds, later, the closed door to the hall                is flung open, flooding the room with light from the hall,                and Homer, dressed in his long white laboratory coat and                looking every inch the doctor, delivers his best imitation                of Larch's popular blessing.                                     HOMER                         Good night, you Princes of Maine!                          You Kings of New England!               On Copperfield and Steerforth and Curly as the door to the                hall is closed and semi-darkness prevails in the room again.                Copperfield, smiling, shuts his eyes. After a second, the                wide-eyed Steerforth shuts his eyes, too. Then Curly.               The last to close his eyes is Buster.                                                             FADE TO BLACK:                                         THE END
\ No newline at end of file
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+++ b/unformated_scripts/Script_Clueless.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2223 @@
+Directed by Amy Heckerling
+CAST:
+Alicia Silverstone.........Cher HorowitzStacey Dash................DionneBrittany Murphy............TaiPaul Stephen Rudd..........JoshDonald Adeosun Faison......MurrayElisa Donovan..............AmberBreckin Meyer..............TravisJeremy Sisto...............EltonDan Hedaya.................MelAida Linares...............LucyWallace Shawn..............Mr. HallTwink Caplan...............Miss GeistJustin Walker..............ChristianSabastian Rashidi..........ParoudasmHerb Hall..................PrincipalJulie Brown................Miss StoegerSusan Mohun................HeatherNicole Bilderback..........SummerRon Orbach.................DMV TesterSean Holland...............LawrenceRoger Kabler...............College GuyJace Alexander.............RobberJosh Lozoff................LoganCarl Gottlieb..............MinisterJoseph D. Reitman..........StudentAnthony Beninati...........BartenderMicki Duran................DancerGregg Russell..............DancerJermaine Montell...........DancerDanielle Eckert............Dancer
+Written by      Jane Austen   (novel Emma)       Amy HeckerlingCinematography by      Bill PopeMusic by      David KitayProduction Design by      Steven J. JordanCostume Design by      Mona MayFilm Editing by      Debra ChiateProduced by      Barry M. Berg  (co-producer)       Twink Caplan  (associate)       Robert Lawrence (III)      Scott Rudin      Adam Schroeder  (co-producer) Other crew      Den Abraham..............set dresser       Barry M. Berg............unit production manager       Alan 'Doc' Friedman......make-up       Richard Graves...........assistant director       Raul Gutierrez...........assistant to Scott Rudin       William Hiney............art director       Lawrence Karman..........camera operator       Mark Kusy................set dresser       James LaBarge............set dresser       Alyson Dee Moore.........foley       James Muro...............steadicam operator       Wendy Murray.............set dresser       Patricia Nedd............foley       Nina Paskowitz...........hair styles       Karyn Rachtman...........music supervisor       Patrick Romano...........stunt co-ordinator       Marcia Ross..............casting       Daniel Silverberg........assistant director       Jeffrey T. Spellman......location manager       Amy Wells................set decorator       Diana Williams...........assistant director 
+ 
+OK, so here it is. The entire script to Cluelessincluding important actions, songs from thesoundtrack, and my own personal comments.Just hit the little speaker  nextto the character's name to hear the lines from the movie (They'renot working yet). I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyedwriting it. It's amazing the things you pick up when watching a scene 50times. One thing: this is written by a hopelessly devoted and loyal AliciaSilverstone fan, so some of the commentary may be biased. But, I figureif you're reading this then you must have some interest her. Enjoy.
+Any suggestions, errors, anything?! Please emailme pacey578@rocketmail.com
+  
+SCENE I - CHER'S HOUSE
+"Kids in America" The Muffs
+(Heaps of shots of the girls having fun)
+CHER V.O.
+So OK, you're probably thinking, "Is this, likea Noxema commercial, or what?!" But seriously, I actually have a waynormal life for a teenage girl. I mean I get up, I brush my teeth, andI pick out my school clothes.
+"Fashion Girl"David Bowie
+Daddy's a litigator. Those are the scariest kindsof lawyers. Even Lucy, our maid, is terrified of him. He's so good he getspaid five hundred dollars an hour just to fight with people, but he fightswith me for free 'cause I'm his daughter.
+CHER
+Daddy!
+MEL
+Cher, please don't start with the juice again.
+CHER
+Daddy, you need your vitamin C.
+MEL
+Where's my briefcase?
+CHER
+It's been a couple of months now, so I say we go outto Malibu.
+MEL
+Don't tell me those braindead low-lifes have beencalling again.
+CHER
+They are your parents. And don't try sneaking outof the office. Dr. Lovitz is coming by to give you a flu shot.
+MEL
+Oh, Josh is in town. He's coming for dinner.
+CHER
+Why?
+MEL
+Because he's your step-brother!
+CHER
+But you were hardly even married to his mother andthat was five years ago. Why do I have to see Josh?
+(Watch those LIPS!!)
+MEL
+You divorce wives, not children.
+CHER
+Here.
+MEL
+Forget it!
+SCENE II - CHER'S CAR
+"Just a girl" NoDoubt
+CHER V.O.
+Did I show you the loqued-out Jeep Daddy got me? It'sgot four wheel drive, dual side airbags and monster sound system. I don'thave a licence yet, but I need something to learn on.
+(Cher runs over a potted planton the kerb)
+Oh, why that came out of nowhere.
+(Watch her face when she looksback at the road)
+Here's where Dionne lives. She's my friend becausewe both know what it's like to have people be jealous of us.
+DIONNE
+Dude!
+CHER
+Girlfriend!
+CHER V.O.
+And I must give her snaps for her courageous fashionefforts.
+DIONNE
+Hey Cher.
+CHER V.O. 
+Dionne and I were both named after great singers ofthe past who now do infomercials.
+DIONNE
+So?
+CHER
+Shopping with Dr. Seuss?
+DIONNE
+Well, at least I wouldn't skin a Collie to make mybackpack.
+CHER
+It's Faux.
+DIONNE
+Hello. That was a stop sign!
+CHER
+I totally paused!
+DIONNE
+Yeah, OK.
+SCENE III - SCHOOL WALKWAY
+DIONNE
+It's not even eight thirty and Murray is paging me.
+CHER
+He is so possesive.
+DIONNE
+Tell me about it. This weekend he called me up andhe's all "Where were you today?" and I'm like "I'm at myGrandmother's house"...
+CHER V.O.
+Dionne and her boyfriend, Murray are in this dramaticrelationship. I think they've seen that Ike and Tina Turner movie justtoo many times. Now I have to say to her...
+CHER
+Dee, why do you put up with it? You could do so muchbetter.
+DIONNE
+Alright, sh, sh. Here he comes.
+"Shoop" Salt n'Pepa
+MURRAY
+Woman, why don't you be answering any of my pages?
+DIONNE
+I hate when you call me Woman!
+MURRAY
+Where you been all weekend? What's up? You been jeepin'around behind my back?
+DIONNE
+Jeepin'?
+CHER
+Jeepin'.
+(Watch Cher closely. It's Classic!)
+MURRAY
+Jeepin', jeepin'.
+DIONNE
+No, but speaking of vehicular sex, perhaps you canexplain to me how this cheap K-mart hair extension got into the back seatof your car.
+MURRAY
+I don't know where that came from. That looks likeone of your stringy something on others you got up here...
+DIONNE
+Excuse me. I do not wear polyester hair, OK. Unlikesome people I know, like Shawanna.
+CHER
+Dee, I'm outie.
+DIONNE
+Bye.
+MURRAY
+Why do you gotta go there?
+DIONNE
+That's it. I've had it with you.
+MURRAY
+Is it that time of the month again?
+(Croud Gasps)
+CHER V.O.
+I don't know why Dionne is going out with a high schoolboy. They're like dogs. You have to clean them and feed them and they'rejust like these nervous creatures that jump and slobber all over you.
+(Random guy puts his arm aroundCher)
+CHER 
+Ooo! Get off of me! Uh, AS IF!
+SCENE IV - CLASSROOM DEBATE
+MR HALL
+Should all oppressed people be allowed refuge in America?Amber will take the con position. Cher will be pro. Cher, two minutes.
+CHER 
+So, OK, like right now, for example, the Haitiansneed to come to America. But some people are all "What about the strainon our resources?" But it's like, when I had this garden party formy father's birthday right? I said R.S.V.P. because it was a sit-down dinner.But people came that like, did not R.S.V.P. so I was like, totallybuggin'. I had to haul ass to the kitchen, redistribute the food, squishin extra place settings, but by the end of the day it was like, the morethe merrier! And so, if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrangesome things, we could certainly party with the Haitians. And in conclusion,may I please remind you that it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue ofLiberty?
+(Class breaks into applause)
+CHER
+Thank you very much.
+MR HALL
+Uh, Amber? Replying?
+AMBER
+Mr. Hall, how can I answer that? The topic is Haitiand she's talking about some little party.
+CHER
+Hello?! It was his fiftieth birthday!
+AMBER
+Whatever. If she doesn't do the assignment, I can'tdo mine.
+MR HALL
+Ladies. So, does anyone have any further thoughtson Cher's oration? Elton? Comments?
+ELTON
+Yeah, I can't find my Cranberries CD. I've gotta doto the Quad before somebody snags it.
+MR HALL
+I'm afraid I can't permit that. Any further insights?
+TRAVIS
+I had an insight, Mr. Hall.
+MR HALL
+I'm all ears.
+TRAVIS
+OK, like, the way I feel about the Rolling Stonesis the way my kids are going to feel about Nine Inch Nails, so I reallyshouldn't torment my Mom anymore, huh?
+MR HALL
+Yes. Well, it's a little off the subject of Haiti,but tolerance is always a good lesson, even when it comes out of nowhere.
+TRAVIS
+Thank you.
+MR HALL
+And with that in mind, I'm going to distribute youreport cards. Now, is there a Christian Stobich in this class?
+CHER
+MR. Hall? The buzz on Christian is that his parentshave joint custody, so he'll be spending one semester in Chicagoand one semester here. I think it is a travesty on the part of the legalprofession.
+(Look at Cher's face while speaking!Ahhh, I can't take it anymore!)
+MR HALL
+Thank you for that perspective Cher.
+(Mr. Hall hands out the reportcards)
+Now could all conversations please come to a halt.
+(Travis jumps up to the window)
+And could the suicide attempts please be postponedtill the next period?
+TRAVIS
+Must die.
+(After Cher, the most classiccharacter in the movie)
+CHER V.O.
+Suddenly, a dark cloud settled over first period.I got a C in debate?!
+SCENE V - SCHOOL HALLWAY
+CHER (on phone)
+Dee?
+DIONNE
+Wassup?
+CHER
+Did you get your report card?
+DIONNE
+Yeah, I'm toast. How'd you do?
+CHER
+I totally choked. My father is going to go ballisticon me.
+DIONNE
+Mr. Hall was way harsh!
+(Cher and Dionne meet up inthe hall)
+He gave me a C minus.
+CHER
+Well, he gave me a C, which drags down my entire average.
+DIONNE
+Bye.
+CHER
+I'll call ya, OK?
+DIONNE
+Yeah.
+SCENE VI - CHER'S HOUSE
+CHER V.O.
+Isn't my house classic? The columns date all the wayback to 1972. Wasn't my Mom a betty? She died when I was just a baby. Afluke accident during a routine liposuction. I don't remember her, butI like to pretend she still watches over me.
+CHER
+Hey, Ma. 98 in geometry. Pretty groovy, huh?
+"Fake Plastic Trees(Acoustic Version)" Radiohead
+CHER V.O. 
+Yuk! Uh, the maudlin music of the University station.
+CHER
+Waa, waa, waa.
+(Cher enters the kitchen)
+Yuh, what is it about college and cry-baby music?
+JOSH
+Hey, who's watching the Galleria?
+CHER 
+So, the flannel shirt deal. Is that a nod to the crispySeattle weather, or are you just trying to stay warm in front of the refrigerator?
+JOSH (grabs Cher's tummy)
+Oo, wow. You're filling out there.
+CHER
+Wow. Your face is catching up with your mouth.
+JOSH
+I went by Dad's office.
+CHER
+He is not your Dad. Why don't you torture a new family.
+JOSH
+Hey, just because my mother marries someone else,doesn't mean he's my father.
+CHER
+Actually, Kato, that's exactly what it means.
+(They enter the Lounge)
+I hope you're not thinking of staying here.
+JOSH
+I sure want to.
+CHER
+I'm sure you do.
+JOSH
+I've got a place in Westwood, near School.
+CHER
+Shouldn't you go to school on the East Coast? I heargirls at N.Y.U. aren't at all particular.
+JOSH
+Hahaha, you're funny.
+(Josh changes the channel fromBeavis and Butthead to the News)
+CHER
+Hey! God, you just got here and already you're playingcouch Commando!
+JOSH
+Hey! In some parts of the Universe, maybe not in ContempoCasual, but in some parts, it's considered cool to know what's going onin the world.
+CHER
+Thank you, Josh. I so need lessons from you on howto be cool. Tell me that part about Kenny G again?
+MEL (From Dining Room)
+C'mon you chuckleheads, get in here!
+(They move to the Dining Room)
+Josh, are you still growing? You look taller thanyou did at Easter.
+JOSH
+I don't think so.
+MEL (to Cher)
+Doesn't he look bigger?
+CHER
+His head does.
+MEL
+So, Josh, have you given any thought to our littlediscussion about Corporate Law?
+JOSH
+Yeah, you know, but I think I'd really like to checkout Environmental Law.
+MEL
+What for? Do you want to have a miserable, frustratinglife?
+CHER
+Oh, Josh will have that no matter what he does.
+MEL 
+At least he knows what he's doing. And he's in goodcollege. I'd like to see you have a little bit of direction.
+CHER
+I have direction.
+JOSH
+Yeah, towards the mall.
+MEL
+Which reminds me, where's your report card?
+CHER
+It's not ready yet.
+MEL
+What do you mean, "it's not ready yet?"
+CHER
+Well, some teachers are trying to low-ball me, Daddy.And I know how you say, "Never accept a first offer", so I figurethese grades are just a jumping off point to start negotiations.
+MEL
+Very good.
+(One of the mobile phones rings,everyone answers their phone)
+CHER
+Dee?
+JOSH
+Yeah?
+MEL
+Hello? Yeah, Jake, what? NO! Not the afternoon.
+(Cher and Josh put their phonesdown)
+CHER
+You are such a brown-noser.
+JOSH
+Oh, and you are such a superficial space-cadet. Whatmakes you think you can get teachers to change your grades?
+MEL (in background)
+I told you I wanted it in the morning! Doesn't heunderstand? In the morning.
+CHER
+Only the fact that I've done it every other semester.
+SCENE VII - VARIOUS SCHOOL LOCALES
+"Shake some action"Cracker
+CHER V.O.
+I told my P.E. teaher an evil male had broken my heart,so she raised my C to a B.
+CHER
+I'm so miserable. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can'tstudy.
+MISS STOEGER
+They're slime, they're slime, I mean they're horrible,don't feel bad, don't feel bad, I know, and you see they're all like this.
+CHER V.O.
+Then I promised Miss Giest I'd start a letter writingcampaign to my congressman about violations of the clean air act.
+But Mr. Hall was totally rigid. He said my debateswere unresearched, unstructured, and unconvincing, AS IF!
+I felt impotent and out of control, which I reallyhate. I needed to find sanctuary in a place where I could gather my thoughtsand regain my strength.
+SCENE VIII - THE MALL
+DIONNE
+Dude, what's wrong? Are you suffering from buyer'sremorse or something?
+(Watch Cher flick her head)
+CHER
+God, no! Nothing like that. It's just that, we'vebeen shopping all day and I still don't know what to do about Mr. Hall.I have tried everything to convince him of my scholastic aptitude, butI was brutally rebuffed.
+DIONNE
+Get over it, OK. He's a miserable little man who wantsto make everyone else miserable too.
+CHER
+Dee, that's it! We've got to figure out a way to makeMr. Hall sublimely happy.
+SCENE IX - SCHOOL
+CHER V.O.
+Here's the four-one-one on Mr. Hall. He's single,he's 47, and he earns minor duckets for a thankless job. What that manneeds is a good healthy boinkfest. Unfortunately, there was a major babedrought in our school. The evil trolls from the math department were actuallymarried,... oooh Snickers... and in the grand tradition of P.E. teachers,Ms. Stoeger seemed to be same-sex oriented. Of course, there was alwaysMiss Giest. Something told me not to discount Miss Giest. Well sure, shehas runs in her stockings, and her slip is always showing, and she alwayshas more lipstick on her teeth than her mouth. God, this woman is screamingfor a make-over. I'm her only hope.
+(Cher is writing a note outsideMiss Giest's pidgeon hole)
+DIONNE
+Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May but thyeternal summer shall not fade. Phat! Did you write that?
+CHER
+Duh, it's like a famous quote.
+DIONNE
+From where?
+CHER
+Cliff's notes.
+DIONNE
+Oh.
+(Travis and Miss Giest walkout of her office toward where Cher and Dionne have split the scene)
+MISS GIEST
+I know you're going to be better now. Now, you runalong and I'll see you third period and you will try to remember to bringyour textbook.
+TRAVIS
+Uh, OK.
+(Miss Giest reads the note leftby the girls and her face brightens)
+DIONNE
+Oh, my God! She actually looked happy!
+CHER
+Oooh, classic!
+(Scene changes to Mr. Hall'sclassroom)
+MR HALL
+Paroudasm Budapshawn, 16 tardies to work off.
+(Paroudasm mutters somethingin Farsi and his friends cheer)
+Janet Huon, no tardies.
+CLASSMATES
+Kisser!
+MR HALL
+Travis Berkenstock, 38 tardies. By far the most tardiesin the class. Congratulations.
+(The whole class cheers andapplaudes. Travis approaches the podium)
+TRAVIS 
+This is so unexpected, I, uh, I didn't even have aspeech prepared. Uh, but I would like to say this: Tardiness is not somethingyou can do all on your own. Many, many people contributed to my tardiness.Uh, I'd like to thank my parents for never giving me a ride to school,the L.A. city bus driver for taking a chance on an unknown kid, and, uh,last but not least, the wonderful crew at McDonalds for spending hoursmaking those egg McMuffins, without which I might never be tardy.
+MR HALL 
+Well, if Mr. Berkenstock has no political messagesto include in his speech, I'll go on. Cher Horowitz, two tardies.
+CHER
+I object! Do you recall the dates of these allegedtardies?
+(Cher in lawyer mode. Legendary!)
+MR HALL
+One was last Monday!
+CHER
+Mr. Hall, I was surfing the crimson wave, I had tohaul ass to the ladies'.
+MR HALL
+I assume your referring to women's troubles, and soI'll let that one slide.
+CHER
+Thank you, Mr. Hall. Miss Giest was right about you.
+MR HALL
+What do you mean?
+CHER
+Well, she said that you were the only one in thisschool with any intelligence.
+SCENE X - CHER'S HOUSE
+MEL
+Cher, get in here!
+CHER
+Yes, Daddy?
+MEL
+Would you tell me what the hell this is?
+CHER
+Um, a second notice for three outstanding tickets.I don't remember getting a first notice.
+MEL
+The ticket is the first notice. I didn't even knowyou could get tickets without a licence.
+CHER
+Oh, sure you can. You can get tickets anytime.
+MEL
+Oh, is that so?
+(Cher nods)
+Well not around here you can't. From this moment on,you will not drive, sit, do anything in that jeep without a superviseddriver present. And no cruisin' around with Dionne, alright? Two permitsdo not equal a licence! Do I make myself clear?
+CHER
+Yes, Daddy.
+MEL
+Cher, I expect you to become a good driver. I wantto see you apply yourself.
+CHER
+I will. I'm gonna practise real hard.
+MEL
+OK.
+(The scene moves to the poolside)
+CHER V.O. 
+A licenced driver with nothing to do? Where wouldI find such a loser?
+CHER
+Hey, granola breath, you got something on your chin.
+JOSH
+I'm growing a goatee.
+CHER
+Oh, that's good. You don't want to be the last oneat the coffee house without chin pubes.
+JOSH
+I can't tell you how much I enjoy these little chatsof ours, but in the interest of saving time, why don't you just tell mewhat you want.
+CHER
+OK. So, actually, I have a permit and I can driveand all, but Daddy says I can't take the jeep out without a licenced driver,and since your not doing anything and all, you know?
+JOSH
+What are the chances of you shutting up until youget your way?
+CHER
+Hmmm, slim to none. C'mon!
+SCENE XI - CHER'S CAR
+JOSH
+Hey, James Bond, in America we drive on the rightside of the road.
+CHER
+I am. You try driving in platforms.
+JOSH 
+Look, I got to get back to school. Ah, you want topractise parking?
+CHER
+What's the point? Everywhere you go has valet. Whatclass you going to?
+JOSH
+Actually, I'm going to a tree people meeting. Me mightget Marky Mark to plant a celebrity tree.
+CHER
+How fabulous. Getting Marky Mark to take time fromhis busy pants-dropping schedule to plant trees? Josh, why don't you justhire a gardener?
+JOSH
+You know, maybe Marky Mark wants to use his popularityfor a good cause, make a contribution. In case you have never heard ofthat, a contribution is the giving of...
+CHER
+Excuse me, but I have donated many expensive Italianoutfits to Lucy...
+JOSH
+time... funds...
+CHER
+And as soon as I get my licence I fully intend tobrake for animals, and I have contributed many hours helping two lonelyteachers find romance.
+JOSH 
+Which I'll bet serves your interest more than theirs.You know, if I ever saw you do something that wasn't ninety percent selfish,I'd die of shock.
+CHER
+Oh, that'd be reason enough for me.
+SCENE XII - SCHOOL
+CHER
+Would you call me selfish?
+DIONNE
+No. Not to your face.
+CHER
+Really?
+DIONNE
+What's wrong? Is Josh giving you shit because he'sgoing through his post-adolescent idealistic phase?
+CHER
+Look, there's Mr. Hall.
+(The girls run over to Mr. Hall)
+Mr. Hall, Mr. Hall, Mr. Hall, um, do you drink coffee?
+MR HALL
+Well, not from this cafeteria. But, uh, yes undernormal circumstances.
+CHER
+Well, I am such a retard. When I was packing Daddy'slunch this morning I gave him my lemon snapple, and I took his sucky Italianroast. Do you want it?
+MR HALL
+Are you sure you don't want it?
+CHER
+Duh, it might stunt my growth. I wanna be 5'10"like Cindy Crawford. But I thought maybe you and Miss Giest might likeit?
+DIONNE
+Maybe you can share it?
+MR HALL
+Well, uh, thanks.
+CHER
+Sure.
+(To Dionne)
+Hmm?
+(Outside Miss Giest's office,she opens the door)
+CHER & DIONNE
+Miss Giest!
+MISS GIEST
+Hi girls. Did you sign up for the environmental fair?
+DIONNE
+Oh, yeah, we will.
+CHER
+You have such pretty eyes. Don't hide them. And theseclips are so cute.
+DIONNE
+And this tiny little waist. Oooh, wow.
+MISS GIEST
+Girls. Oh, and don't forget to sign up for the environmentalfair.
+DIONNE
+Not a total betty, but a vast improvement.
+CHER
+Well, we did our best. 
+DIONNE
+Mmmm, Hmmm.
+CHER
+We gotta book it if we're going to make it to P.E.
+(Scene moves outside)
+C'mon, Dee.
+DIONNE
+Ohh, I feel like failing, dude, c'mon.
+CHER
+I know what you mean, but at least it's exercise.I feel like such a heffer. I had two bowls of special K, three pieces ofturkey bacon, a handful of popcorn, five peanut butter M&M's, and like,three pieces of licorice.
+DIONNE
+(Gasp) Oh, my God. Look.Is that a photo op, or what?
+CHER
+Will you look at that body language? Legs crossedtowards each other. That's an unequivocal sex invite.
+DIONNE
+Oh, Cher, he's getting her digits. Look at Giest,she is so cute.
+CHER
+Ohh, old people can be so sweet.
+"Change" LightningSeeds
+(The following scenes show MissGiest and Mr. Hall get it on while everyone is thanking Cher.)
+CHER V.O.
+The entire student body wasutterly grateful for the improvement in their grades.
+SCENE XIII - CHER'S HOUSE
+MEL
+Cher, what's this all about?
+CHER
+My report card?
+MEL
+The same semester?
+CHER
+Uh-huh.
+MEL
+What'd you do? Turn in someextra-credit reports?
+CHER
+No.
+MEL
+You take the mid-terms over?
+CHER
+Uh-uh.
+MEL 
+You mean to tell me that youargued your way from a C+ to an A-?
+CHER
+Totally based on my powers ofpersuasion. You proud?
+MEL
+Honey, I couldn't be happierthan if they were based on real grades.
+CHER
+Thank you.
+MEL
+Fabulous.
+SCENE XIV - SCHOOL P.E.
+"Girls Just Wanna HaveFun" Robert Hazard
+CHER V.O.
+I felt so satisfied, I wantedto do more good deeds.
+(Dionne sneezes)
+CHER
+Dee, when your allergies actup, take out your nose-ring.
+MISS STOEGER
+Follow... through! There yougo, there you go. All right, Cher. Earth to Cher! Come in Cher!
+CHER
+Oh. Miss Stoeger? I would justlike to say that physical education in this school is a disgrace. I mean,standing in line for forty minutes is hardly aerobically effective. I doubtI've worked off the calories in a stick of care-free gum.
+(Class cheers)
+MISS STOEGER
+Well, you certainly exercisedyour mouth Cher. Now, hit the ball.
+(Ball flies by, inches fromCher's nose)
+CHER
+Miss Stoeger, that machine isjust a lawsuit waiting to happen!
+MISS STOEGER 
+Thanks for the legal advice.
+(Cher returns to line)
+Dionne? You're up.
+DIONNE
+Uh, no, Miss Stoeger? I havea note from my tennis instructor, and he would prefer it if I didn't exposemyself to any training that might derail his teachings.
+MISS STOEGER
+Fine! Amber?
+AMBER
+Miss Stoeger. My plastic surgeondoesn't want me doing any activity where balls fly at my nose.
+DIONNE
+Well, there goes your sociallife.
+(Girls giggle. Principal walksonto the scene)
+PRINCIPAL
+Miss Stoeger? Got another one.Ladies, we have a new student with us. This is Tai Frasier.
+MISS STOEGER
+Tai, you don't have time tochange, but you could hit a few balls in those clothes.
+AMBER
+She could be a farmer in thoseclothes.
+CHER
+Dee, my mission is clear. Wouldyou look at that girl? She is so adorably clueless. We have got to adopther.
+DIONNE
+Cher, she is toe-up. Our stockwould plummet.
+CHER
+Dee, don't you want to use yourpopularity for a good cause?
+DIONNE
+No.
+CHER
+(Motions to Tai)
+C'mere. Yeah, c'mere. Hang withus.
+TAI
+Oh, thank you.
+CHER
+How do you like California?
+TAI
+Man, I am freakin'. I couldreally use some sort of a herbal refreshment?
+DIONNE
+Well, we do lunch in ten minutes.We don't have any tea, but we have Coke and stuff.
+TAI
+No shit! You guys got Coke here?
+DIONNE
+Well, yeah.
+CHER
+Yeah, this is America.
+(Scene changes to the girlswalking down main path)
+"Unknown song and artist"
+CHER V.O.
+So, we decided to show Tai theropes at Bronson Alcott High School.
+CHER
+That is Alana's group over there.They do the T.V. station. They think that's the most important thing onEarth. And that's the Persian mafia. You can't hang with them unless youown a BMW. And there's Elton in the white vest, and all the most popularboys in the school.
+DIONNE
+Including my boyfriend. Ain'the cute?
+TAI
+Yeah.
+CHER
+If you make the decision todate a high school boy, they are the only acceptable ones.
+TAI
+Cher, which one of them is yourboyfriend?
+CHER
+As if!
+DIONNE
+Cher's got attitude about highschool boys.
+CHER
+It's a personal choice everywoman has got to make for herself.
+(Murray approaches the girls)
+MURRAY (toDionne) 
+Woman, lend me five dollars.
+DIONNE
+Murray, I have asked you repeatedlynot to call me Woman!
+MURRAY
+Excuse me, Miss Dionne. 
+DIONNE
+Thank you.
+MURRAY 
+OK, but street slang is an increasinglyvalid form of expression. Most of the feminine pronouns do have mocking,but not necessarily in a misogynistic undertone.
+(Murray hops away)
+TAI
+Wow! You guys talk like grown-ups.
+CHER
+Oh, well, this is a really goodschool.
+TAI
+I'm gonna go get a soda. Youguys want?
+CHER
+Sure.
+TAI
+Alright.
+DIONNE
+She's nice.
+CHER
+Oooh, project!
+(I can't put that cute littlesqueal into words)
+(Scene changes to inside cafeteria)
+"My Iron Lung"Radiohead
+TRAVIS (Tofood)
+Oh, wow. That's disgusting.
+(To Tai)
+That's nice representation.
+TAI
+Thanks. Those are really nicestickers.
+TRAVIS
+Oh, you like 'em? See, I wasthinking it was too cluttered. You know, I wanna wipe all of this out andconcentrate on one main decorative statement. Like, uh, Marvin the Martian.Right there.
+TAI
+Get outa town! I can do Marvinthe Martian.
+TRAVIS
+Really?
+TAI
+Well, I mean, there's not reallya lot to him. But, you wanna see?
+TRAVIS
+Yeah.
+TAI
+Here.
+TRAVIS
+Oh, wow! That's really cool.
+TAI
+Thanks.
+TRAVIS
+You drew that?
+TAI
+Yeah, and wait, I got... onehere.
+TRAVIS
+You didn't trace this?
+TAI
+Uh-uh. No. Here's another oneover here. And, lots of little guys. 
+TRAVIS
+That is so cute! 
+TAI
+I love to draw.
+TRAVIS
+You're really good at it.
+TAI
+No.
+TRAVIS
+Yeah, really you are.
+TAI
+No.
+TRAVIS
+Yeah!
+(Scene changes to outside)
+DIONNE
+Are you sure that's fat free?
+CHER
+Oh, yes. And you lose wait bydoing it like this. Like really small.
+(Dionne giggles/hisses)
+It's true.
+TAI
+I met a really cool guy.
+CHER
+Describe!
+TAI
+Alright, he's got long hair,he's really funny, and straight off, right? He offers me some smoke. Therehe is!
+CHER
+Are you talking about drugs?
+TAI
+Yeah.
+CHER
+Tai, how old are you?
+TAI
+I'll be sixteen in May.
+CHER
+My birthday is in April, andas someone older, can I please give you some advice?
+(Tai nods)
+It is one thing to spark upa dubie and get laced at parties, but it is quite another to be fried allday.
+DIONNE
+Do you see the distinction?
+TAI
+Yeah.
+CHER
+Loadies generally hang on thegrassy knoll over there.
+"unknown song and artist"guitarish
+Sometimes they come to classand say bonehead things, and we all laugh, of course. But no respectablegirl actually dates them. 
+DIONNE
+Hmm-mm.
+CHER 
+You don't want to start offon the wrong foot, do you?????????????
+(TAI shakes her head)
+I've got an idea. Let's do amake-over!
+(Dionne lights up)
+TAI
+No, no.
+DIONNE
+Oh, c'mon! Let us! Cher's mainthrill in life is a make-over. OK, it gives her a sense of control on aworld full of chaos.
+CHER
+Pleeeaaase.
+(How could anyone resist that?!)
+TAI
+Sure. Why not? Shit! You guys!I have never had straight friends before.
+ 
+SCENE XV - MAKE-OVER AT CHER'SHOUSE
+"Supermodel" JillSobule
+(Various scenes of Cher andDionne making over Tai, then Cher and Tai working out in the lounge room)
+CHER
+Squeeze in.
+TAI
+Cher, I don't wanna do thisany more, and my buns, they don't feel nothin' like steel.
+CHER
+OK, it will get easier, I promise.Just as long as we do it every day. Not just sporadically.
+TAI
+How do you know if we're doingit sporadically?
+CHER
+That's another thing, Tai. We'vegot to work on your accent and vocabulary. See, sporadic means once ina while. Try and use it in a sentence today.
+TAI
+Alright.
+CHER
+OK, from now on we're alternatingCindy Crawford's "Aerobicise" and "Buns of Steel",and reading one non-school book a week. My first book is "Fit or Fat".
+TAI
+Mine is "Men are from Mars,Women are from Venus".
+CHER
+Good. Now that takes care ofour minds and bodies, but we should do something good for mankind or theplanet for a couple of hours.
+(Josh walks in)
+JOSH
+Hey, brainiac.
+CHER
+Uh, the dreaded ex. Tai, thisis Josh.
+JOSH
+Nice to meet ya.
+CHER 
+Hey! You know about this stuff.I want to do something good for humanity.
+JOSH
+How about sterilization?
+(Tai cracks up. Cher and Joshenter the kitchen)
+CHER
+So, what do ya think?
+JOSH
+I'm amazed.
+CHER
+That I'm devoting myself sogenerously to someone else?
+JOSH
+No, that you've found someoneeven more clueless than you are to worship you.
+CHER
+I am rescuing her from teenagehell. Do you know the wounds from adolescence can take years to heal?
+JOSH
+Yeah, and you've never had amother so you're acting out on that poor girl as if she was your Barbiedoll.
+CHER
+Freshman psych rears it's uglyhead
+JOSH
+Hey, I am not taking psych.
+CHER
+Whatever. I am going to takethat lost soul in there and make her well-dressed and popular. Her lifewill be better because of me. How many girls can say that about you?
+(Josh and Cher walk back tothe lounge where Tai is watching T.V. and singing along with the "Mentos"ad. God I hatethose ads!)
+JOSH
+Be seein' ya.
+TAI
+Yeah, I hope not sporadically.
+SCENE XVI - SCHOOL
+CHER
+Oh, my God. Do you see how boysare responding? My heart is totally bursting.
+DIONNE
+I know. I'm kvelling!
+(Travis approaches)
+TRAVIS
+Cher, you have Timor, right?
+CHER
+Giest.
+TRAVIS
+Hey, Tai! Did you get a flyer?
+TAI
+Uh-uh.
+TRAVIS
+Here.
+TAI
+Thanks. Wow, a party!
+CHER
+It's in the Valley. The copsusually break 'em up in less than an hour, and it takes that long to getthere.
+DIONNE
+And besides, it's just localloadies.
+TAI
+Do you guys think that Travisis gonna be there?
+DIONNE
+Tai, I thought we moved on fromthere.
+CHER
+Don't sell yourself short now.You've got something going for you that no one in this school has.
+TAI
+Oh, I'm not a virgin.
+CHER
+I mean mystery. As far as everyoneis concerned you were the most popular girl in your school, and the factthat you hang with Dee and I, well...
+DIONNE
+Speaks very highly of you.
+CHER
+If you strike while the ironis hot, you can have any guy that you want.
+TAI
+Like who?
+CHER
+Let's see. Who's available?There's Bronson... I got it! Elton! He just broke up with Collette.
+DIONNE
+Oh, yes!
+TAI
+Who's Elton?
+DIONNE
+Oh, my God. He's way popular.He's like the social director of the crew.
+CHER
+Yeah, and his Dad can get youinto any concert, and I noticed him scoping you out.
+TAI
+He was looking at me?
+CHER
+He said you gave him a toothache.
+TAI
+How'd I do that?
+CHER
+It's an expression. It meanshe thought you were sweet.
+TAI
+Yeah?
+CHER
+Yeah.
+TAI
+Wow.
+DIONNE
+Is that true?
+CHER
+No.
+DIONNE
+Oh, you are so bad.
+(Scene moves to fountain whereCher is taking pictures of the crew)
+"Alright" Supergrass
+CHER
+Ok, you guys, all get together.Oh, that is great. Smile! Tai, Tai, get a little closer. Closer Tai. Good,great! Hey, Elton, uh, why don't you put your arm around Tai?
+ELTON
+(Unwillingly)Alright!
+CHER
+Yeah, that's great.
+(Check out Cher's little smileand rock! Awesome!)
+OK. Tai, c'mere, c'mere, Tai.
+(Scene moves to just Cher andTai by bushes)
+Hold that.
+TAI
+OK.
+CHER
+OK.
+(Elton approaches.)
+ELTON
+Cool picture.
+CHER
+Doesn't she look classic?
+ELTON
+Yeah, this is beautiful.
+CHER
+She looks like one of thoseBottichellis chicks.
+ELTON
+Hey, why don't you make me acopy of this, OK?
+CHER
+Sure.
+(Another one of Cher's littlesqueals. Classic!)
+SCENE XVII - CHER'S HOUSE,DINING ROOM
+CHER
+Hi Daddy. This is my friend,Tai.
+MEL
+Get out of my chair!
+(Tai moves to opposite Cher.Lucy brings in dinner.)
+CHER
+Thank you, Lucy. It looks great.
+MEL
+What is this crap?
+CHER
+Daddy, it's from the "Cutyour Colesterol" cook book. Doctor Lovitz says you've got to get downto two hundred.
+(Cher's pager beeps.)
+MEL
+No calls tonight.
+CHER
+But it's Dionne, it might...
+MEL
+Sorry!
+CHER
+It might be important.
+MEL 
+We're going to have a nice familydinner. So, uh, what'd you do at school today?
+CHER
+Well... I broke in my purpleclogs.
+(Mel's phone rings.)
+MEL
+Yeah, hello? Alright, Jake.Yeah, yeah, no, no, what?
+CHER
+Dee? Whatup?
+DIONNE
+So, check it. Murray's geometryclass is right by Elton's locker, and taped up inside was the picture youtook of Tai.
+CHER
+Oh, my God.
+TAI
+What?
+CHER
+Elton's got a picture of youhanging up in his locker.
+TAI
+Oh, no shit!
+DIONNE 
+Hello! So, anyway, the wholecrew is going to this party in the Valley.
+CHER
+Bye. 
+(Cher hangs up the phone.)
+Looks like we're going to haveto make a cameo at the Val party.
+MEL (inbackground)
+I told you I want it in themorning. No!
+SCENE XVIII - MURRAY'S CAR
+DIONNE
+Murray!
+MURRAY
+Just look at the top of themap. Sun Valley is north.
+DIONNE
+OK, no. All I see is Bel Air,OK.
+MURRAY
+Then you're on the wrong map.
+DIONNE
+I am not on the wrong map.
+MURRAY
+Look at the number on the top.What is the number on the top?
+DIONNE
+There are no numbers on thetop. There's letters.
+(Murray makes a frustrated noise.)
+DIONNE
+Murray, shut up!
+CHER
+Please don't friz out!
+SCENE XIX - THE VAL PARTY
+(The gang pull up outside theparty.)
+Listen Tai, when we get theremake sure Elton sees you, but don't say hi first. Look like you're havingfun and you're really popular. Talk to someone in his eyeline, preferablya guy. Make him come to you, and find an excuse to leave while he's stillinto the conversation. The key is, always have him wanting more. You gotit?
+TAI
+I got it.
+CHER
+OK.
+TRAVIS
+Heads up!
+(Does a rail slide with hisskateboard on the stair-rail.)
+TAI
+Oh, did you just see that?!
+CHER
+Oh, God. Skateboards, that islike, so five years ago.
+TRAVIS
+Oh, you guys came! That's great!You want a beer? I'll get you one.
+CHER (toTai)
+No.
+(The girls enter the party house.)
+"Unknown song and artist"
+TAI
+This is ragin'.
+CHER
+Let's do a lap before we committo a location.
+(Dionne drags a dancing girlaway from Murray.)
+DIONNE
+Who was that?!
+TAI
+Cher, ain't that the same dressthat you was wearin' yesterday?
+CHER
+Say, Ambular?
+AMBER
+Hi.
+CHER
+Was that you going through mylaundry?
+AMBER
+As if. Like I would really wearsomething from Judy's.
+CHER
+Do you prefer fashion victimor ensembly challenged?
+(Amber walks off.)
+AMBER
+Uh!
+CHER
+What a clone.
+TAI
+Cher, you looked much betterin that dress than she did.
+(Travis bursts onto the scenespilling drink on Cher's shoes.)
+CHER
+Uh! Ruin my satin shoes, whydon't you?!
+TRAVIS
+I'm sorry.
+(They move to the kitchen.)
+CHER
+Excuse me, my shoes! Uh! Thisis so not fixable.
+TRAVIS
+It's a small price to pay tothe party gods. Look, I'll make amends. How about some chronic shit?
+CHER
+Oh, it's the least you coulddo.
+TAI
+Spark it.
+CHER
+Hey, Elton's over there. Actlike Travis is saying something funny.
+(Tai hands joint to Cher andblows smoke in her face.)
+TAI
+Sorry.
+(Tai starts cracking up.)
+TRAVIS
+What's so funny?
+TAI
+Nothing.
+(Elton approaches and reachesbehind Cher for the joint)
+CHER
+Oh, here.
+(Summer enters holding a card)
+SUMMER
+Hey, everyone! Let's play suckand blow.
+(The card passes through thegroup until Elton drops it (on purpose)and plants one right on Cher's mouth)
+CHER
+God, Elton. Can you suck?
+(Dionne screams in the background)
+It's Dee. C'mon!
+(Scene changes to the bathroom,where Murray is getting his head shaved)
+DIONNE
+What have you done! Oh, my God!Uh! Why did you do this to your head?!
+MURRAY
+Because I'm keeping it real.Because I'm keeping it real.
+DIONNE
+What?!
+MURRAY
+'Cause I'm keeping it... 'causeI'm keeping it real.
+DIONNE (toCher)
+Look! Look what he's done tohis head! Can you believe this?
+MURRAY
+Look at Lawrence's head. Alright?
+LAWRENCE
+It's the bomb!
+MURRAY
+You know what I'm sayin'? Youlook good.
+LAWRENCE
+As will you.
+DIONNE
+What'd you care what he thinks,Murray? I'm the one that has to look at you. That was a big mistake. Whatam I going to do with you now? And right before the year book pictures?What am I going to tell my grandchildren?
+MURRAY
+Alright.
+DIONNE
+You know what? Ok, that's it.
+MURRAY (mimicking)
+That's it.
+DIONNE
+You wanna play games?
+MURRAY (mimickingagin)
+You wanna play games?
+DIONNE
+I'm calling your mother.
+MURRAY
+I'm... I'm ca... Oh, wait! Oh,no, no, no, no, no, no. No, wait. Don't call my Ma.
+LAWRENCE
+Yo, man. Chill, chill!
+MURRAY
+Chill?!
+(Cher and Tai start walkingaway)
+CHER
+Same thing happened at the springdance. She spent the entire after-party in the bathroom.
+TAI
+See, that almost destroyed bybuzz.
+CHER
+I'm still baked.
+TAI
+Yeah.
+(Back to the dance floor.)
+"Rollin' With My Homies"Coolio
+CHER
+What do ya say, we go bump intopeople?
+TAI
+Yeah, I'm cool with that.
+TRAVIS (fromon the fireplace)
+Hey, Tai! Wait up! Whooh!
+(Travis jumps onto the crowd.No one keeps him up and he hits the deck.)
+TAI
+Are you OK?
+TRAVIS (todancers)
+Where's your sense of pit hospitality?
+TAI
+That was so cool, the way youdid that. I wish I could do it.
+TRAVIS
+Oh, no, don't.
+TAI
+Why not?
+TRAVIS
+Well, 'cause if girls did it,what would guys do to impress them?
+TAI
+I don't know, like stuff. Youknow?
+TRAVIS
+What kind of stuff?
+(Cher spots Travis tuning Taiand butts in to stop it)
+CHER
+Tai, I need you.
+TAI
+OK.
+CHER
+Elton's over there.
+(The girls start dancing. AsTai is trying to impress Elton she is hit in the head by a flying Clog)
+CHER
+Tai! Tai, Elton, help me!
+(Elton carries Tai into thekitchen and places her on the counter)
+CHER
+Thank you.
+TRAVIS
+Here, you should use ice.
+CHER
+No, Travis! We've got it undercontrol. 
+TRAVIS
+Tai, are you OK?
+CHER
+Travis, Tai would have wantedyou to enjoy the party.
+CHER 
+If it's a concussion, you haveto keep her concious, OK? Ask her questions.
+ELTON
+What's seven times seven?
+CHER
+Stuff she knows!
+(Tai sits up and hits her headon the light. Whata clutz!)
+ELTON
+Some bump you've got there.
+TAI
+Yeah.
+ELTON
+Yeah? You ready to go back outthere?
+TAI
+Yeah, I am.
+ELTON
+Alright. Are you sure? Can youdo this? (Singing)Rollin' with the homies.
+TAI
+(Singing)Rollin' with the homies. 
+(Great voice.)
+ELTON
+Yeah, let's do it. You're ready.
+(Elton and Tai go back to thedance floor.)
+CHER V.O.
+I had to give myself snaps forall the good deeds I was doing. It was so great. Love was everywhere. Eventhough I was alone, I was really happy for Tai. It's like that book I readin ninth grade that said, "'tis a far, far better thing doing stufffor other people."
+(Scene changed to outside bythe pool. Cher's phone rings.)
+CHER 
+Hello?
+MEL
+Do you know what time it is?
+CHER
+A watch really doesn't go withthis outfit, Daddy.
+MEL
+Where are you?
+CHER
+Uuhh, just having a snack withmy girlfriends.
+MEL
+Where, in Kuwait?!
+CHER
+Is that in the Valley?
+MEL
+Cher, I expect you to walk inthis door in twenty minutes.
+CHER
+Well, um, it might take longerthan that, Dad.
+MEL
+Everywhere in L.A. takes twentyminutes.
+(Cher hangs up the phone.)
+(Scene changes to outside frontof party house.)
+CHER
+Sorry to make you leave, Dionneis bucking for best dramatic actress at a Val party.
+(Tai laughs.)
+CHER
+Hey, Summer!
+SUMMER
+Hi! Pretty random fiesta. Needa ride home?
+CHER
+That'd be great! Thanks!
+ELTON
+No, I got it.
+SUMMER
+Well, I'm right below Wilshireand Lindon.
+TAI
+Oh, that's right near me! I'm,um, above Olympic.
+ELTON
+Great! Then, Tai you'll go withSummer, and Cher you'll come with me.
+CHER
+Actually, you could take Wilshireto Cannon and that turns into Bennedict.
+ELTON
+Well, then she'd have to goback south and I'm already going north.
+CHER
+But, you could take Tai on yourway up to Sunset. Yeah.
+ELTON
+That doesn't make any sense!I'd have to get off the freeway, I hate that. Tai, go with Summer, Cher,you'll come with me. Watch your feet.
+(Each get into respective carsand wave each other goodbye.)
+SCENE XX - ELTON'S CAR
+"Away" The Cranberries
+(Elton is singing along to music.Trying to be sexy, but he fails miserably,the sleazy bastard!)
+CHER
+Didn't Tai look cute tonight?
+(Elton just sings.)
+I really love her hair whenit's all wild, you know? But it's also very pretty when it's all up, withthat curly tendrils. Like in that picture I took.
+ELTON
+You know, you're one of my bestfriends and I do not have friends that are girls.
+CHER
+Well, I'm glad, because yourhappiness means a lot to me.
+ELTON
+It does?
+CHER
+Sure. I mean, I saw how hardyour breakup with Collette was.
+ELTON
+Yeah. I think we both know whatit feels like to be lonely.
+CHER
+Whatever. The thing is, is thatI'd really like to see you settled already.
+(Elton pulls the car into aparking lot.)
+Where are we going?
+(The car stops.)
+ELTON
+I knew it, I knew it.
+(Elton makes a pass at Cher.)
+CHER
+Oooh, you knew what?!
+ELTON
+That you were totally sprungon me.
+CHER
+Hello?! Don't you mean Tai?
+ELTON
+Tai?!
+CHER
+You have her picture in yourlocker.
+ELTON
+I have the picture you tookin my locker.
+CHER
+Ohh, I'm having a twin peaksexperience.
+ELTON
+I knew it, I knew it when youkissed me.
+CHER
+Suck and Blow is a game, Elton!
+(Elton has another go at Cher.)
+Stop it!
+ELTON
+Alright! You know, I don't getyou Cher. I mean, you flirt with me all year.
+CHER
+As if! I have been tryng toget you together with Tai.
+ELTON
+Tai?! Why would I go with Tai?
+CHER
+Why not?
+ELTON
+Why not? Why not?! Don't youeven know who my father is?
+CHER
+You are snob and a half.
+ELTON
+Cher, listen to me. Me and Tai,I mean, we don't make any sense, right? Me and you, well, makes sense.
+(Elton tries for Cher, yet again.)
+CHER
+Cut it out!
+ELTON
+C'mon.
+CHER
+Stop it!
+(Cher gets out of the car.)
+(Watch Cher compose herselfafter getting out of the car. i.e. the head movements and sound effects.)
+ELTON
+Cher?! Where are you going?You're only hurting yourself here, baby. C'mon, you gonna walk home? Wouldyou get back in the car, please? Get back in the car.
+CHER
+Leave me alone!
+ELTON
+Fine!
+(Elton drives away.What a prick!)
+CHER
+Hey, where are you going? Shit!
+(Cher whips out the phone anddials)
+OPERATOR
+Valley information.
+CHER
+Yeah, do you have the numberof a cab company?
+OPERATOR
+Which one?
+CHER
+I don't know which one. Whatdo you have out here?
+OPERATOR
+We have Valley Cabs...
+ROBBER
+Hand it over.
+(Cher squeals/moans)
+Give me the phone.
+(Cher complies)
+OK. Bag, too. C'mon! Alright,now, uh, get down on the ground. Face down. C'mon!
+CHER
+Oh, no. You don't understand,this is an Alaia.
+ROBBER
+An a-what-a?
+CHER
+It's like a totally importantdesigner.
+ROBBER
+And I will totally shoot youin the head. Get down!
+(Cher whimpers as she lies downon the pavement)
+Alright, um, count to a hundred.Thank you.
+CHER
+One, two...
+CHER V.O.
+The evening had turned intoa royal mess. Sexually harrassed, robbed. I didn't know the number of theparty, so I couldn't call Dionne, and Daddy would kill me if he knew whereI was. There was just one person left to call, and I really, really didn'twant to call him.
+(Cher dials up Josh's place.He's trying to get it on with his girlfriend)
+JOSH
+C'mon.
+(Phone rings)
+Hello.
+CHER
+Josh, you busy?
+HEATHER
+Who is it?
+JOSH
+It's Mel's daughter.
+CHER
+So, OK, I was at this party,and my designated driver tried to attack me, so I got out 'cause we'd stopped,and then he drove off and deserted me, and then this guy with a gun heldme up, took my money, and my phone and he yelled at me and he forced meto ruin my dress.
+JOSH
+OK, OK, look, um. Where areyou?
+CHER
+Sun Valley.
+JOSH
+Man, you owe me.
+SCENE XXI - JOSH'S CAR
+"The Ghost in You"Counting Crows
+HEATHER
+The man is ridiculous. He doesn't have one uniquethought in his little, puny brain.
+JOSH
+I think there's some merit in learning the form straightoff.
+SCENE XXIV - CHER'S HOUSE
+CHER V.O.
+Suddenly, Daddy had a case that had to be solved rightaway, so some clerks and Josh came to help him go through a gazillion depositions.
+(The doorbell rings)
+CHER (from upstairs)
+Daddy!
+MEL
+What?
+CHER
+I can't just open it, I have to make him wait a while.
+MEL
+Then he can wait outside.
+CHER
+Josh, pleeeaaase!
+(Who could resist that?!)
+C'mon, Josh? C'mon.
+(Josh opens the door. Christianwalks right in)
+CHRISTIAN
+What do ya hear?
+JOSH
+She's not ready.
+(The two of them walk over towhere Mel is working)
+CHRISTIAN
+Hey, man.
+(Christian extends his hand,but Mel ignores it)
+Nice pile of bricks you got here.
+MEL
+You drink?
+CHRISTIAN
+No, thanks. I'm cool.
+MEL
+I'm not offering, I'm asking you if you drink? Youthink I'd give alcohol to teenage drivers taking my daughter out?
+CHRISTIAN
+Hey, man. The protective vibe, I dig.
+MEL
+What's with you kid? You think the death of SammyDavis left an opening in the Rat Pack?
+(Cher appears walking down thestairs. Josh and every male in the audienceis stunned)
+CHER
+Christian.
+CHRISTIAN
+Doll face.
+CHER
+Handsome.
+CHRISTIAN
+Stunning.
+JOSH (to Mel)
+You're not letting her go out like that, are ya?
+MEL
+Cher, get in here.
+CHER
+What's up, Daddy?
+MEL
+What the hell is that?
+CHER
+A dress.
+MEL
+Says who?
+CHER
+Calvin Klein.
+MEL
+It looks like underwear. Go upstairs and put somethingover it.
+CHER
+Duh, I was just going to.
+(Cher runs off)
+MEL 
+Hey, you?!
+(Christian turns around)
+Anything happens to my daughter, I got a .45 and shovel.I doubt anybody would miss you.
+(Cher reappears)
+CHER
+Bye, Daddy. C'mon!
+(They walk out)
+CHER
+	•	It's so killer!

+CHRISTIAN
+Thank you. Your dad is pretty scary.
+CHER
+Isn't he?
+CHRISTIAN
+You like Billie Holiday?
+CHER
+I love him.
+CHRISTIAN
+Right.
+"Miss Brown To You"Billie Holiday
+(They drive off)
+JOSH
+I didn't like him.
+MEL
+What's to like?
+JOSH
+I think I should go to the party.
+MEL
+If you feel like you should go...
+JOSH
+You don't need me, do ya?
+MEL
+No, no, no.
+JOSH
+I mean, unless you want? I mean, unless you want?
+MEL
+Josh! Go to the party. Go, go, go, go.
+JOSH
+OK. I'll watch her for you.
+(Josh walks off)
+MEL
+You do that.
+SCENE XXV - THE FRAT PARTY
+"Someday I Suppose"Mighty Mighty Bosstones
+(Everyone is just dancing. Taienters)
+CHER
+Tai!
+(Tai falls down the stairs onher butt! Classic!)
+Oh, my God. Tai, are you OK?
+TAI
+God, shit! That is so embarassing!
+CHER
+No, no one saw.
+TAI
+Now, all night long, I'm gonnabe known as that girl who fell on her butt.
+CHER
+Tai, no one noticed.
+"Where'd You Go?"Mighty Mighty Bosstones
+COLLEGE GUY
+Wow! Are you OK? That lookedreally bad.
+TAI
+Yeah, thanks.
+(Tai spots Elton dancing withAmber.)
+Oh, my God, Cher, look. He'sgoing with Amber?!
+CHER
+No, he's probably just dancingwith her.
+TAI
+Do you think she's pretty?
+CHER
+No, she's a full on Monet.
+TAI
+What's a monet?
+CHER
+It's like a painting, see? Fromfar away, it's OK, but up close, it's a big old mess. Let's ask a guy.Christian, what do you think of Amber?
+CHRISTIAN
+Hagsville.
+CHER
+See?
+CHRISTIAN
+Dig this. They're charging forbrewskies. Cash me a five, I'll pay you back.
+CHER
+Sure.
+(Christian kisses Cher on thecheek)
+CHRISTIAN
+Thanks.
+(Christian walks away)
+TAI
+He is so cute!
+CHER
+Oh, my God. Do you see how heis falling in love with me?
+(The girls watch Christian shrugoff an interested girl)
+I mean, look how he ignoresevery other girl.
+TAI
+Oh, God, look. There's Josh.
+CHER V.O.
+I didn't even see him come in,but it's like he finds the only adult in here, like he's deliberately tryingto not have fun.
+(Watch the look on Cher's faceas she's waving. Truly legend.)
+TAI
+Cher, I have a question. Whatdo you think I should do with this thing? Should I, uh, like tie it around,or put it over my shoulder?
+CHER
+Tie it around your waist.
+CHRISTIAN
+Ready to slide?
+TAI
+Thanks.
+CHRISTIAN
+Let's go.
+(Christian and Cher return tothe dance floor)
+CHER V.O.
+The band was kickin', and Christianwas the hottest guy there, but my enjoyment was put on pause when I sawhow unhappy Tai was.
+(Josh walks over to Tai, engagesin small talk, then asks her to dance)
+CHER
+Oh, look, look! Josh is dancingwith Tai, he never dances.
+CHRISTIAN
+I can see why.
+CHER
+No, he's doing her a prop soshe won't feel left out.
+CHRISTIAN
+Oh, I dig it.
+(Time passes. Cher, Tai, Josh,and Christian are left. Christian is still dancing by himself)
+"Here (Squirmel Mix)"Luscious Jackson
+JOSH
+How are you guys holding up?
+CHER
+We're so ready to leave.
+TAI
+I'm tired.
+CHER
+Let's get Christian and go.Christian! You wanna go?
+CHRISTIAN
+Now? These guys here have gotthe skinny on the happenin' after hours.
+CHER
+My trainer's coming really,really early this morning.
+CHRISTIAN
+Oh.
+JOSH
+Look, I could take the girlshome.
+CHRISTIAN
+No, it's OK.
+CHER
+No, I'm fine, stay.
+CHRISTIAN
+You sure?
+CHER
+Yeah, sure.
+CHRISTIAN (toJosh)
+Thanks, man. You got my marker.
+(to Cher)You are a down girl. I'll call you tomorrow.
+SCENE XXVI - JOSH'S CAR
+CHER
+That was really decent of youto dance with Tai tonight.
+JOSH
+My pleasure.
+CHER
+You notice any positive changesin her?
+JOSH
+Yeah, it's under your tutilageshe's exploring the challenging world of bare midriffs. So you didn't wantto make a night of it with the ring-a-ding kid?
+CHER
+Yeah, Daddy wouldn't go tooballistic, it's not like he's going to sleep or anything.
+JOSH
+No, not if they're going tofinish those depo's.
+CHER
+Hey, you what would be so dope?If we got some really delicious take-out. I bet they haven't eaten allnight.
+JOSH
+That would be pretty dope ofus. Let's do it.
+SCENE XXVII - CHER'S HOUSE
+CHER V.O.
+The midnight snack totally revivedthe lawyers and Daddy was way grateful.
+MEL
+Mmm, Meat!
+CHER
+Meaty oranges and you get alot of vitamin C.
+(Mel picks up a large sandwich)
+Daddy, no! Daddy, no. You knowyou can't have that...
+MEL
+Cher, c'mon!
+CHER
+Don't be silly.
+CHER V.O.
+I know it sounds mental, butsometimes I have more fun vegging out than when I go partying. Maybe becausemy party clothes are so binding.
+JOSH
+Look, I'm just curious. Howmany hours a day do you spend grooming yourself?
+CHER
+Some people are not lucky enoughto be as naturally adorable as you are.
+JOSH
+Stop it, you're making me blush.
+(Phone rings. Cher answers)
+CHER
+Hello?
+GAIL
+Hi Cher, how are you?
+CHER
+Hi, Gail.
+GAIL
+Is my son there, cleaning outyour refridgerator?
+(Josh motions a "No"to Cher)
+CHER
+No, no, he's not here. You shouldtry the dorms.
+GAIL
+Alright, bye, hon.
+CHER
+Bye-bye.
+(Cher hangs up the phone)
+What was that all about?
+JOSH
+She wants me to come home forspring break.
+CHER
+So, what's the big deal? Nobodywill be in school.
+JOSH
+Yeah, but husband number four'sat home and his whole idea of acting like a family is to criticize me.
+CHER
+So, what? You're just goingto roam around campus for two weeks all by yourself?
+JOSH
+I don't mind.
+CHER
+That is stupid. Why don't youjust come here, you can have your old room, and there are going to be somegreat parties.
+JOSH
+I don't know.
+CHER
+Why not?
+JOSH
+You got your whole social worldgoing on, I don't want to get in the way.
+CHER
+you won't be in the way.
+JOSH
+How much fun would it be havinga brother-type tagging along?
+CHER
+Josh, you are not my brother.
+JOSH
+You know what I mean.
+CHER
+C'mon, you need some excitementin your life. It'll replenish you for your finals.
+JOSH
+OK.
+CHER
+Good.
+JOSH
+I can't believe I'm taking advicefrom someone who watches cartoons.
+CHER 
+That's Ren and Stimpy. They'reway existential.
+JOSH
+Do you have any idea what you'retalking about?
+CHER
+No, why? Do I sound like I do?
+SCENE XXVIII - CHER'S HOUSE
+(Theme from "2001:A SpaceOdyssey" is playing while camera is focused on phone. The phone rings)
+CHER V.O.
+Christian said he'd call thenext day, but in boy time, that meant Thursday. So, you can imagine myastonishment to hear from him while I was packing Daddy up.
+CHER
+Hello?
+"I Believe I'm You"Gail Orange
+CHER V.O.
+He said he'd come over withsome video tapes and we'd watch them. A night alone with Christian! I sentfor reinforcements. Then, Dee and I had to design a lighting concept, andcostume decisions. I don't rely on mirrors, so I always take polaroids.Whenever a boy comes, you should always have something baking.
+CHER
+Oh, I'm still all red.
+DIONNE
+Well, I'm trying to make youas white as I can, Cher. Look, you're all flushed. You have to calm down.OK? Calm.
+CHER
+You know, I am so glad I neverdid it with someone I had lukewarm feelings for. Christian is brutallyhot, and I am going to remember tonight forever.
+DIONNE
+Blot.
+(Later)
+(The door bell rings. Cher opensthe door)
+CHRISTIAN
+Hi.
+CHER
+Hi.
+CHRISTIAN
+Is something burning?
+CHER
+Oh, my God!
+(Cher runs to the kitchen. Thebake was fried)
+CHRISTIAN
+Oh, honey, you baked.
+CHER
+I tried.
+CHRISTIAN
+C'mon, show me the rest of yourpad.
+(Cher and Christian are outsideamong Mel's art collection)
+CHRISTIAN
+Your father has a well-roundedcollection.
+CHER
+Daddy says it's a good investment.
+CHRISTIAN
+He's absolutely right. KlausOldenberg.
+CHER
+Oh, he's way famous!
+(Christian approaches a differentsculpture)
+CHRISTIAN
+This is older, see? Transitional.A very important piece.
+CHER
+Um, do you want to go swimming?
+CHRISTIAN
+Hmmm, let's watch the movies.
+CHER
+Oh, OK.
+(Scene moves to Christian andCher lying on bed watching "Spartacus")
+CHER V.O.
+Christian had a thing for TonyCurtis, so he brought over "Some Like It Hot" and "Sparaticus".
+(Cher starts rubbing her feetup against Christian's legs. Christian doesn't enjoy it)
+CHER
+My feet are cold.
+(Christian puts a pillow overCher's feet)
+Thanks.
+CHRISTIAN
+Oh, watch this part, this isgood.
+(Cher falls off the bed whiletrying to look sexy. Toofunny.)
+Are you OK?
+CHER
+I'm fine. Do you want some,something to drink? You know, I could get you some wine.
+CHRISTIAN
+No. You notice how wine makespeople wanna feel, like sexy.
+CHER
+That's OK.
+CHRISTIAN
+I'm actually getting tired.
+CHER
+But, um, I could make you somecoffee if you'd like?
+CHRISTIAN
+Oh, no thanks. Got the ulcer.
+CHER
+But you had all those cappucinosbefore?
+CHRISTIAN
+Oh. Well, you know, that was,like... foam.
+(They move to the front door)
+You're great. We're friends,right?
+(Cher nods)
+Knock me a little kiss.
+(Cher kisses him on the cheek)
+I'll see ya.
+(Christian leaves)
+CHER V.O.
+I don't get it. Did my hairget flat? Did I stumble into some bad lighting? What's wrong with me?
+(NOTHING!)
+SCENE XXIX - MURRAY'S CAR
+DIONNE
+Nothing! Maybe he really wastired!
+CHER 
+I suppose it wasn't meant tobe, I mean, he does dress better than I do. What would I bring to the relationship?
+MURRAY
+Get back into the right lane.What's the first thing you do?
+DIONNE
+First thing I do is, I put onmy blinker.
+(Dionne accidently turns thewipers on)
+Oh, wait, shit.
+MURRAY
+Watch the road, watch the road!
+DIONNE
+Alright! Stop. Then, I lookin my mirror. OK, then I glance at my blind spot.
+MURRAY
+Glance with your head, not thewhole car. I swear to God, I swear to God, Woman, you can't drive for shit!
+DIONNE
+I'm not trying to hear that.
+MURRAY
+Hear me...
+CHER
+Actually, going all the wayis like a really big decision. I can't believe I was so caprecious aboutit. Dee, I almost had sex with him.
+MURRAY
+You almost had sex with who?
+CHER
+Christian.
+(Murray cracks up)
+DIONNE
+What?
+MURRAY 
+Yo, look. Are you bitches blindor something? Your man, Christian is a cake-boy!
+CHER & DIONNE
+A what?!
+MURRAY
+He's a disco-dancing, OscarWilde-reading, Streissand ticket-holding friend of Dorothy, know what I'msaying?
+CHER
+Uh-uh. no way.
+MURRAY
+He's gay.
+CHER
+Not even.
+MURRAY
+Yes, even.
+DIONNE
+He does like to shop, Cher,and the boy can dress.
+CHER
+Oh, my God. I am totally buggin'.I feel like such a bonehead.
+MURRAY
+What the hell? Yo, you're gettingon the freeway!
+DIONNE
+What?!
+MURRAY
+Yo, turn right! Get out of thelane! Don't go. Forget procedure, just get out of the lane!
+(Both Cher and Dionne scream)
+MURRAY
+Truck, truck, truck, truck!Ahhh!
+CHER (screaming)
+You're on the freeway!
+DIONNE
+What do I do, Murray?
+MURRAY
+Go straight, go straight, gostraight! Just relax and drive, baby! Just relax and drive.
+(An old lady gives them thefinger)
+CHER (screaming)
+Shut up! Shut up!
+(Lots of screams from everybody)
+MURRAY
+Whatever you do, keep your handson the wheel, at all times!
+(A huge truck closes in on them.Murray sees it)
+Aaahhhhh!!!
+(A lot more screaming from thethree)
+Turn to the right! Oh, thereit is. Alright, we're off. Damn, you did wonderful. Sorry, baby.
+CHER
+You did it, Dee!
+MURRAY
+Relax, relax, relax, relax,honey, relax. Baby, relax, relax. Breathe, breathe, breath in, breathe.Let it out. Breathe, breathe, breathe, honey, breathe, breath. Relax, relax.
+CHER V.O.
+Boy, getting off the freewaymakes you realize how important love is. After that, Dionne's virginitywent from technical to non-exisistant. I realized how much I wanted a boyfriendof my own.
+SCENE XXX - THE MALL
+CHER V.O.
+Not that Christian wasn't ablast to hang out with. He was becoming one of my favourite shopping partners.
+CHRISTIAN
+???????? Um, where'sTai?
+CHER
+Oh, she met some random guysat the Foot Locker and escorted them right over there.
+TAI (indistance)
+Oh, my God! Did you see...
+CHER
+I don't know where she meetsthese Barnies.
+CHRISTIAN
+I have a question, alright?
+CHER
+What?
+CHRISTIAN
+The jacket? Is it James Deanor Jason Priestly?
+CHER
+Carpe' diem. OK, you lookedhot in it.
+CHRISTIAN
+Really?
+TAI (withthe barnies)
+If I fall, would you guys catchme?
+CHER
+Could we please be more... generic?
+(Tai screams)
+TAI
+Stop it! Please! Bring me backup, please! Bring me back up.
+(Tai screams a little more,then Christian rescues her)
+TAI
+Thank you.
+CHRISTIAN
+You asshole!
+BARNEY #1
+Hey, man. We're just joking.
+CHRISTIAN
+Oh, really?! Someone could getkilled.
+(Tai runs over and hugs Cher)
+TAI
+Cher, you don't understand.I was just sitting there and I was just talking to those guys, and then,all of a sudden, we were laughing, and...
+CHRISTIAN
+Hey, are you OK?
+TAI
+Yeah.
+CHRISTIAN
+Are you sure?
+TAI
+I'm fine. Yeah, uh-huh.
+CHRISTIAN
+Let's get you home for someR&R, huh?
+TAI
+What's that?
+(Christian laughs)
+CHER V.O.
+Boy, considering how cluelessshe was, Tai certainly had that "damsel in distress" act down.
+SCENE XXXI - SCHOOL
+CHER V.O.
+Meanwhile, back at school, everyonewas talking about Tai's "brush with death" at the mall.
+STUDENT
+Was it, like a montage of allthe scenes in your life?
+TAI
+Not exactly a montage...
+SUMMER
+Hey, Cher! Is it true some gangmembers, like tried to shoot Tai in the mall?
+CHER
+No.
+SUMMER
+That is what everyone is saying.
+CHER
+Whatever.
+STUDENT
+When I was nine, I fell offthe jungle gym, that's when I saw this light, you know?
+TAI
+Wait, wait. Move down for Cher.
+DIONNE
+Hi!
+AMBER
+Tell me more, tell me more.
+TAI
+Where was I?
+AMBER
+You were thinking about wasreally important.
+TAI
+Oh, right, right. Right beforeyou die, your mind just sort of gets very clear. It's a very intense, spiritualthing...
+CHER
+Well, I know when I was heldat gun-point...
+STUDENT
+Excuse me. (toTai) You were saying.
+TAI
+It's spiritual. I don't know,I can't, I can't pinpoint the spirituality out for you, you know, if you'venever experienced anything...
+SCENE XXXV - CHER'S HOUSE
+CHER V.O.
+But now I don't know how toact around him. I mean, ordinarily I would strut around in my cutest littleoutfits and send myself flowers and candy, but I couldn't do that stuffwith Josh.
+(Cher and Josh are in the loungewatching T.V.)
+JOSH
+What's with you?
+CHER
+What do you mean?
+JOSH
+You're so quiet. You haven'tmade me watch the real world?
+CHER
+I care about the news.
+JOSH
+Since when?
+CHER
+Since now.
+(T.V. shows scenes from Bosnia)
+JOSH
+You look confused.
+CHER
+Well, uh, I thought they declaredpeace in the Middle East.
+(Scene changes to Mel's Denwith Cher walking past the door in her pyjamas)
+MEL
+Cher, get in here!
+CHER
+What's up Daddy?
+MEL
+What are you doing, dancinginfront of my office?
+CHER
+Nothing, I just wanted to seeif you needed any help with anything.
+MEL
+Yeah, you caould help me withsomething. Come over here. Every time that you see a telephone conversationthat took place on September third, highlight it. just September third.
+CHER
+OK.
+MEL
+Fun, huh?
+CHER (laughing)
+Yeah. Daddy, did you ever havea problem that you couldn't argue your way out of?
+MEL
+Tell me the problem, and we'llfigure out how to argue it.
+CHER
+I like this boy.
+MEL
+Yes?
+CHER
+And he likes someone else.
+MEL
+How could that be?
+CHER
+I don't know, but I feel wretched.
+MEL
+Well, obviously this boy isa complete moron. You are the most beautiful girl in Beverly Hills. Andto tell you the truth, I'm not sure I want you with a stupid fella likethat.
+CHER
+Well, actually he is a smartguy and, you know he's one of those do-gooder types, and now I feel likeall my after-school commitments are just not good enough.
+MEL
+How can you say that? Who takescare of everyone in this household? Who makes sure that Daddy eats right?To tell you the truth, I have not seen such good-doing sice your mother.
+CHER
+Really?
+MEL
+Really. Now get back to work.
+SCENE XXXVI - PISMO BEACHDISASTER
+CHER V.O.
+Later, while we were learningabout the Pismo Beach diaster, I decided I needed a complete make-over,except this time I'd make-over my soul. But what makes someone a betterperson? And then I realised, all my friends were really good in differentways. Like, Christian, he always wants things to be beautiful and interesting.Or Dionne and Murray, when they think no one is watching, are so considerateof each other. And poor Miss Giest, always trying to get us involved, nomatter how much we resist?
+MISS GIEST
+Oh, it's just, that doesn'teven show... you know, every single possesion, every memory, everythingyou had your whole life... gone in a second. Can you imagine what thatmust feel like?
+(Elton raises his hand)
+Elton?
+ELTON
+Can I use the Pass?
+MISS GIEST
+Yeah. We'll be collecting blankets,disposable diapers, canned goods...
+(Cher raises her hand)
+CHER
+Miss Giest?
+MISS GIEST
+Cher?
+CHER
+I wanna help.
+MISS GIEST
+That would be wonderful.
+CHER V.O.
+I felt better already.
+(Back at Cher's house)
+CHER
+Daddy?
+MEL
+What?
+CHER
+You didn't like that red caviar,did you?
+MEL
+What's she talking about?
+(Cher starts dragging a heapof stuff to the front door)
+MEL
+Cher, what are you doing?
+CHER
+I'm captain of the Pismo Beachdisaster relief.
+MEL
+I don't think they need yourskis.
+CHER
+Daddy, some people lost alltheir belongings, don't you think that includes athletic equipment?
+MEL
+This is your influence, Josh?
+(Scene changes to sign-on stallat school)
+"Shake Some Action"Cracker
+CHER
+Hey, c'mere. Sign up, it's goingto be really fun.
+(Scene cahnges to indoors)
+No, you know what? Can you pleasetake it to bedding? Yes, thank you very much.
+Oh, Miss Giest, Miss Giest.
+MISS GIEST
+Yes, dear?
+CHER
+I need more boxes, they're allfilled up.
+MISS GIEST
+Already? Great!
+CHER
+I divided them into entres andapetisers.
+MISS GIEST
+Oh, OK, I'll have them pickedup.
+TRAVIS
+Hey.
+CHER
+Proper. This is really decentof you Travis.
+TRAVIS
+Sure.
+(Cher picks up a Bong from Travis'box.)
+I wasn't sure about that. Idon't need it anymore, but far be it from me to deny anyone else, you know?Oh, I wanted to tell you something, I'm sorry about your shoes.
+CHER
+What shoes?
+TRAVIS
+The red ones with the strappythings?
+CHER
+Oh, those are so last season.What even made you think of them?
+TRAVIS
+Well, it's one of my steps,you see? I joined this club, and there are these steps...
+CHER
+Twelve?
+TRAVIS
+Yeah, twelve! How'd you know?
+CHER
+Wild guess.
+TRAVIS
+Wow, good guess. Ah, also, here.
+(Travis hands Cher a flyer)
+CHER (reading)
+A.S.L. ?
+TRAVIS
+Ameteur Skateboarding League.This clarity thing has brought me to, like a whole new level with my skating.You gotta see it. Would you come Saturday?
+CHER
+Sure.
+TRAVIS
+Cool!
+CHER (holdingup bong)
+Well, um, I guess, kitchenware?
+TRAVIS
+That's where I used to keepit.
+SCENE XXXVII - A.S.L. COMPETITION
+"Mullet Head" BeastieBoys
+(Tai approached Cher at thedrinks stand)
+TAI
+Hi?
+CHER
+Hi.
+TAI
+Cher, can I talk to you a minute?
+CHER
+Um, sure.
+TAI
+Look, I have been in agony thepast week and I can't even believe that I went off the way I did.
+CHER
+No, I have been going down ashame spiral. I cannot even believe I was so unsupportive of your feelingsfor Josh.
+TAI
+No, you are entitled to yourown opinion, alright? I'm the tart here. Cher, you've been nothing butsuper-duper nice to me.
+CHER
+Not even. If it wasn't for me,you wouldn't have even liked that loser, Elton. I'm so sorry, Tai.
+TAI
+Cher, I'm really sorry. Oh,shit. Now I'm going to go ahead and cry.
+CHER
+Let's never fight again, OK?
+(Cher and Tai hug. Travis isannounced on the P.A.)
+PA
+Next up, number fourteen, TravisBerkenstock.
+(The girls sit down, excitedlygiggling and pointing to Travis.)
+TAI
+Alright Travis!
+CHER
+I had no idea he was so motivated.
+TAI
+Oh, I did.
+CHER V.O.
+When I saw the sparks betweenTai and Travis, I knew Josh was out of the picture.
+SCENE XXXVIII - CHER'S HOUSE
+JOSH
+You look like Pippi Longstocking.
+CHER
+Well, you look like ForrestGump. Who's Pippi Longstocking?
+JOSH
+Someone Mel Gibson never played.
+CHER
+Funny.
+(Cher lets her hair down, andJosh is dumbfounded by her beauty)
+LAWYER
+What happened to the August28th files?
+JOSH
+Hmm, what?
+LAWYER
+Mel wanted them tonight, therewere twice as many. He's gonna go ballistic, where are they?
+CHER
+I think I checked them for theSeptember third conversation.
+LAWYER
+What?
+JOSH
+Where'd you put them?
+CHER
+I divided them into two piles.Is that wrong?
+LAWYER
+Oh, my God. I have to redo allthat. What are you, some kind of idiot?
+JOSH
+Hey, she didn't know.
+LAWYER
+She just set us back a day.Who cares about the September call? Now we're screwed!
+CHER
+I'm sorry.
+LAWYER
+Just forget it, OK? Just goback to the mall or something.
+(Cher runs out of the room)
+JOSH
+What's your problem, man? Shedidn't mean any harm.
+LAWYER
+I'm gonna get killed becauseshe's a moron.
+JOSH
+She's not a moron. You know,if you were paying attention to your assignment, it wouldn't have happened.
+LAWYER
+Well, if you hadn't been playingfootsy with the dumb kid, she wouldn't be bothering me.
+JOSH
+What the hell are you talkingabout?!
+LAWYER
+You know exactly what I'm talkingabout. Josh, this is a multi-million dollar law suit, not some excuse forpuppy-love.
+JOSH
+Look, we've been working ourbutts off on this case!
+LAWYER
+Well, tell you what? You dowhatever you want with your butts, I'm calling in sick.
+(Lawyer leaves while Josh slamsthe door behind him. Cher is sitting at the top of the stairs)
+CHER
+Did I really ruin Daddy's lawsuit?
+JOSH
+No.
+(Josh moves up to sit besideCher)
+Of course not.
+CHER
+Well, did I set him back? Imean, there's so much work to be done, and he can't afford to lose thattime.
+JOSH
+Don't worry about it, I'll takecare of it. Your father won't lose any time. Can you imagine the nerveof that guy? I mean, making you worry like that, and yet, he's the onethat screwed up and then he goes and blames us. Imagine saying we were...you know?
+CHER
+That's right, you've been verydedicated to this case.
+JOSH
+Yeah, well, it's a good learningexperience, at least for me, I want to be a lawyer. But you, I mean, youdon't need to be doing this. Go out and have fun, go shopping.
+CHER
+You think that's all I do, I'mjust a ditz with a credit card?
+JOSH
+No, no, ah, that's not whatI meant.
+(Josh just stutters a bit, lookingfor the right words)
+You're young and beautiful...and...
+CHER
+And?
+JOSH
+And, well, uh, what?
+CHER
+You think I'm beautiful?
+(YES, YES!!!! FOR THE LOVE OFGOD, YES!!!!)
+JOSH
+You know your gorgeous, alright?And popular, and, um, and... but this is not why I, you know, I come here.This is a good learning experience for me.
+CHER
+You already said that.
+JOSH
+Mel, I wanna help out Mel. He'sthe only one who cares about me.
+CHER
+That's not true.
+JOSH
+He's not? Are you saying youcare about me?
+CHER
+Josh.
+(Cher goes to hit his shoulder,but he catches her with a kiss. Good move!)
+(Both like it. So they try again.)
+CHER V.O.
+Well, you can guess what happenednext.
+SCENE XXXIX - THE WEDDING
+CHER V.O.
+As if! I am only sixteen, andthis is California, not Kentucky.
+(Mr. Hall and Miss Giest getmarried)
+TAI
+I know, that when I have myown wedding, I want this, like whole entire floral motif, very floral garlens...floral dresses.
+DIONNE
+No, no, no, no. When I get married,I'm gonna have a sailor dress, but it's going to be a gown, and all mybridesmaids are gonna wear sailor hats... with vails.
+TAI
+That sounds so cool.
+MURRAY
+Oh, my God. They're planningour weddings already. Could you all stop all that to death do us part mumbo-jumbo.I'm telling ya, man, I'm completely buggin'.
+JOSH
+I'm buggin' myself.
+(Miss Stoeger runs on the scene)
+MISS STOEGER
+Girls! She's about to throwthe bouquet, c'mon!
+(Miss Stoeger, Dionne and Tairun off)
+JOSH (toCher)
+Look, we got a pool going tosee who's girl gets the bouquet. It's up to two hundred dollars.
+CHER
+It's in the bag.
+"Tenderness" GeneralPublic
+(All the girls are jumping aroundwaiting for the bouquet. Miss Giest/Mrs. Hall throws it amongst them. Thebouquet exchanges hands and they all fall down. Classicscene! Cher ends up with it.)
+(Cher and Josh kiss.It's the one scene that I'll never get outof mind for the rest of my life. Simply awesome lip-lock!)
+END CREDITS
+"Need You Around"Smoking Popes
+(Sheesh! Finally. Well, Ihope you enjoyed the script. Now be sure to go and watch it repeatedly.If you have already done so, watch it again! Bye-bye!)
+ 
+If you know of any script errors, soundtrack details,or any other suggestions about the script, then please email me at pacey578@rocketmail.com.
+THE END
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+                           COLOMBIANA                           Written by                  Robert Mark Kamen & Luc Besson                                                         August 2009           ON A BLACK SCREEN                                   BOGOTA, COLOMBIA 1997                                   CLOSE ON A PAGE OF A LARA CROFT COMIC BOOK                                   Being copied, with uncanny precision, down to the last          detail, by a ten year old hand clutching a pencil.                                                   VOICE           Cataleya!                                   The page of a notebook turns, revealing neat cursive          handwriting, covers the comic.                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. CAT'S HOME - DAY                                   CATALEYA RESTREPO, CAT for short, a contained, very          centered 10 year old, pretty, but with a toughness, sitting          at the dining room table, in a well kept, but modest home,          with windows that look out over the steep hillside favela,          attends to her notebook.                                   On the window there are half a dozen beautiful orchid          plants. The rare Cataleya orchid. All around there are          packed cartons, suitcases. Moving day is at hand.                                                   MOTHER           Cat! Is your homework finished           yet?                                                   CAT           Working on it Mama.                                   Her mother, taking time off from packing, comes over to          Cat, and turns the page of the notebook to reveal the Lara          Croft comic and it's copy.                                                   MOTHER           You draw beautifully my love, but           if you want to be something in           life you have to study.                                                   CAT           I am studying Mama. I want to be           a super hero.                                   Her mother turns the page back to the lessons.                                                   MOTHER           Better to be a doctor. A lawyer.                                                   CAT           Are we going to see Uncle Emilio?           2.                                                   MOTHER           I don't know. Just waiting to           hear from your father.                                   Cat looks up at a picture on the wall of the family. Cat,          her mother, and her father. Her face carries a bit of          worry.                                                  CLOSE ON                                                   DON LUIS           I can't believe this.                                   Mid 40'S, a gentleman, calm, courteous, impeccably dressed.                                   PULL BACK TO                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S GARDEN - DAY                                   At a table, with bottle of liquor and two glasses, Don          Luis sits opposite...                                                   FABIO           Why not?                                   Cat's father. Off to the side, Don Luis's right hand man,          MARCO, stands like any right hand, unobtrusive.                                                   DON LUIS           Because I love you Fabio. Like a           brother.                                                   FABIO           And I love you Don Luis. Like a           brother.                                   He turns to Marco.                                                   DON LUIS           Can you believe this guy Marco?           We started when we were little...how           old were we Fabio?                                                   FABIO           Ten.                                                   DON LUIS           Ten year old bastards stealing           apples from the carts in the market.           After all we've been through.           And now we're on top, he wants to           leave...                                                   FABIO           Luis, I'm going to be honest with           you. You remember I had that           operation?           3.                                                   DON LUIS           That was last year.                                                   FABIO           Since then, I'm not a hundred           percent. And you can't do this           thing if you're not a hundred           percent. I'm tired.                                                   DON LUIS           So you'll take a rest.                                                   FABIO           You know how many times we should           have been dead?                                                   DON LUIS           I don't even want to count.                                                   FABIO           Neither do I. But you gotta think.           How lucky we are to still be alive.                                                   DON LUIS           Yeah. That's right. We're alive.           And what about the future of this           thing we built?                                                   FABIO           It's yours. It's not my thing any           more.                                                   DON LUIS           I'm not going to talk you out of           it, am I cabron?                                                   FABIO           I'll always be there for you Luis.           Just pick up the phone, I'm there.                                                   DON LUIS           I'm gonna hold you to that. You           bastard.                          (EMOTIONAL)           I'm going to miss you.                                                   FABIO           And I'm going to miss you.                                                   DON LUIS           OK. Enough of this sentimental           bullshit. Next we'll be crying           like two old women. Come on! One           last drink, huh?                                   He pours the liquor into the glasses.                                                   DON LUIS           To the future.           4.                                   They tap glasses.                                                   FABIO           Bueno.                                   They shoot the liquor down. Fabio rises.                                                   DON LUIS           So. Business is all clear?                                                   FABIO           All clear.                                   He hands Don Luis a computer disc.                                                   FABIO           It's all here.                                                   DON LUIS           No other copies?                                                   FABIO           You even have to ask?                                                   DON LUIS           Hey.                                   He shrugs. Opens his arms. The two men embrace. Close          as brothers.                                                   FABIO           Adios Marco. Make sure he doesn't           get in too much trouble.                                                   MARCO           Adios Don Fabio. I'll do my best.                                   And with that, Fabio exits the garden. Don Luis watches          him, sad to see his friend go. Sighs deeply, pours himself          a whiskey, downs it, turns to Marco.                                                   DON LUIS           Kill this motherfucker.                                   INT. CAR - DAY                                   Two men, holding automatics in their laps sit in the back,          the driver in the front. They see Fabio very contained,          calm, walking towards them. The driver turns the engine          on. Fabio slips into the passenger seat. The car takes          off.                                   Fabio explodes. Smashes the dashboard. Over and over.                                                   FABIO           This fucker! The motherfucker!                                   He keeps banging the dash.           5.                                                   DRIVER           Not OK Boss?                                                   FABIO           This bastard thinks I'm an idiot.           Playing it all mellow and shit.           If he would have yelled and screamed           and threatened to kill my whole           family, it would have been OK. We           have an hour to get out of here.           At most.                                   Off the nervous looks of the guys in the car...                                   EXT. CAT'S HOME - DAY                                   Fabio's car comes to a screeching halt. Fabio exits to          three other gunmen, nervous, on edge. The gunmen from the          car take defensive positions. Fabio runs up the stairs.                                   INT. CAT'S HOME - DAY                                   Cat is still at the table drawing, when she hears the          screeching of tires, the fast footsteps outside. She senses          a storm coming. Fabio bursts in. His wife sees his tension          filled face.                                                   MOTHER           Fabio?                                                   FABIO           We've got ten minutes.                                                   MOTHER                          (PANICKED)           Cataleya, go pack!                                                   CAT           I'm packed Mama.                                   Cat is strangely calm, just sits at the table. Watches as          Fabio takes the family picture off the wall, pries the          frame back, extracts a small chip hidden inside the frame,          comes over to Cat.                                                   FABIO           Listen to me my darling. Just in           case of anything. This...                                   He holds the chip up.                                                   FABIO           This is your passport. Do you           understand?                                   She nods. He places the chip in her hand, takes a card          out of his pocket.           6.                                                   FABIO           You find yourself alone? You go           to the address on this card. Show           it to the man at the front gate.                                                   CAT           I don't understand papa.                                                   FABIO           You don't have to understand. You           just have to listen, and remember.                                   As Cat looks at the chip.                                   EXT. CAT'S HOME - DAY                                   As Fabio's men keep a sharp lookout, two SUV's come rolling          down the street. Their fingers work the triggers of their          weapons. The two SUV's roll up. The blacked out windows          roll down.                                                   MAN           (polite. smiling)           Hola. We want to see Don Fabio.                                                   BODYGUARD           He's not home.                                                   MAN           You mind if we wait?                                                   BODYGUARD           Your time.                                   INT. CAT'S HOME - DAY                                   Fabio writes on top of Cat's drawing, rips the page off,          folds it, puts it in her pocket, removes a medal from around          his neck, drapes it over hers.                                                   FABIO           And this will keep you safe.                                   Cat looks down at the medal.                                   CLOSE ON THE MEDAL                                   An imprint of a flower.                                                   FABIO           The Cataleya orchid. It comes           from one place on Earth. Our place.           My mother, your grandmother, used           to grow them. Every morning I           would wake up to the sight of them.           The smell of them. That's why I           named you after them. It reminds           us of who we are.           7.                                   He kisses her on the forehead. His wife appears at the          doorway with two suitcases.                                                   MOTHER           I'm ready.                                   EXT. CAT'S HOME - DAY                                   The man in the SUV is on the phone.                                                   MAN           They said he's not home yet.                                   He listens.                                                   MAN           OK. OK.                                   He hangs up. Puts his phone back in his pocket. Walks up          to Fabio's men.                                                   MAN           Change of plans.                                   He pulls out his gun, shoots them point blank.                                   INT. CAT'S HOME - DAY                                   As they are exiting the house through a rear door, the          shots ring out. They see another black SUV rushing up the          street.                                                   FABIO           Back!                                   He pushes his family back inside. Fabio runs to the window.          Sees his men on the losing end of a gun battle. As the          men fall, and others run up the stairs firing as they          retreat toward the front door...                                                   FABIO           Too late. Get ready!                                   The Mother drops the suitcases and runs to the rear room.          Fabio comes over to the unnaturally calm Cat.                                                   FABIO           I love you very much.                                                   CAT           I love you too Papa.                                   CLOSE ON FABIO'S HAND                                   Reaches under the table where Cat is sitting, takes a gun          strapped there. Next to the gun is a big knife.                                   And then footsteps, coming fast outside, draw his attention.           8.                                                   FABIO           Alicia!                                   His wife runs into the room toting two big assed assault          rifles. She tosses one to Fabio. Both of them take up          shooter's positions facing the door.                                   ANGLE ON CAT                                   Sitting at the table, very still. Watching.                                   ANGLE ON HER MOTHER AND FATHER                                   Facing the front door, hands gripping their assault rifles,          sweat dripping down their faces, chests heaving, waiting,          waiting, to blow anyone who comes through the door to          kingdom come.                                   But they never get the chance because...                                   BBBBRRRRAAAAKKKKKK!!!!!!!!                                   Machine gun fire shatters the windows on both sides of the          room, tearing into their bodies before they even get one          shot off. Tearing the orchid plants there to shred.                                   Cat watches in mute disbelief, shocked, as her parents          bodies are riddled with heavy caliber rounds making them          twitch and dance like marionettes on wires. Their blood          splattering across the room, across her.                                   And then...                                   Silence. Silence so complete it is deafening in it's          absence of any sound. Cat just sits in her chair.                                   And then the door bursts open and four gunmen storm into          the room, their assault weapons trained on the only living          thing in the room.                                   Cat. Marco enters.                                                   MARCO           You in the kitchen. You, the           bedroom. You, the back.                                   The gunmen scatter. Marco has his inquisitive eye on Cat,          who does not drop her eyes, impossible to read.                                   One of the GUNMAN strides over to Cat, jams a gun to her          head. Cat does not move a muscle. Does not blink.                                   ANGLE ON MARCO                                   Examines the frame Fabio dug the chip out of.                                   ANGLE ON THE GUNMAN WITH THE GUN TO CAT'S HEAD                                   He chambers a round, is about to pull the trigger...           9.                                                   MARCO           Hey! What are you doing?                                   As the other gunmen begin to tear the house apart, looking          for something, Marco strides over to Cat. The frame in          his hand.                                                   GUNMAN           Don Luis said kill everyone.                                                   MARCO           He also said no names.                                                   GUNMAN           She won't remember.                                   He is about to pull the trigger.                                                   MARCO           HEY!                                   The gunman stops.                                                   MARCO           She's a kid.                                                   GUNMAN           So what?                                                   MARCO           What do you mean so what? You           take a kid, teach them, they have           value.                                   The gunman takes his gun, lifts Cat's lip, looks at her          teeth.                                                   GUNMAN           I couldn't even get ten bucks for           her in the street.                                   The gunman is about to pull the trigger again.                                                   MARCO           Are you stupid or what? Here.                                   Marco hands him some cash.                                                   MARCO           Here's twenty asshole. Go do your           job.                                   Scowling, the gunman joins the others in ripping the house          apart, looking for something.                                   Marco calmly goes to the fridge, takes out two bottles of          water, cracks the caps, sets one down on front of Cat as          he sits opposite her. Her hands are in her lap.           10.                                                   MARCO                          (SOFTLY)           Remember me Cataleya?                                   Cat shakes her head no.                                                   MARCO           I was at your confirmation. My           name is Marco, and I was a very           good friend of your father. I see           he gave you his medal.                                   Alluding to the medal around her neck.                                                   MARCO           The Cataleya orchid. His symbol.           Your name. That's good. This way           you will always remember him.                          (BEAT)           I know this is a terrible thing           for you to have seen.                                   All the while his men are searching, frisking the bodies          of the dead, even tearing the heels off their shoes.                                                   MARCO           Some things are too complicated           for a kid to understand. This is           one of them. But I am going to           try explain it and make it very           simple for you. So you understand.           Now, you know who Don Luis is?                                   Cat responds, shakes her head yes. Her hand slips          imperceptibly under the table.                                   CLOSE ON HER HAND                                   Touches the handle of the knife taped there.                                                   MARCO           Of course you do. He was your           father's best friend since they're           kids. He's like an Uncle to you.           You know he has always been good           to your family, don't you?                                   Again Cat shakes her head.                                                   MARCO           This house, the food you eat, the           clothes you wear. Even your school           fees. All this comes from Don           Luis. You know that?                                   Again Cat shakes her head.           11.                                                   MARCO           But when someone is good to you           and you are not good to them back,           then bad things happen. Things           like...                                   He alludes to the riddled bodies of her dead parents.                                                   MARCO           This.                                   Cat looks from the bodies and back to Marco, no emotion in          her eyes.                                                   MARCO           I know you are a smart girl. You           do well in school. So I know this           is not too complicated for you to           understand. Am I right?                                   Cat nods.                                                   MARCO           Good. Now, your father had           something that belonged to Don           Luis. A little thing. No bigger           than...                                   He holds up his thumbnail.                                                   MARCO           This. Maybe it was in this.                                   He holds up the frame, shows where the chip was dug out of          the wood.                                                   MARCO           Do you know what I am talking about?                                   Cat nods.                                   CLOSE ON CAT'S HAND                                   Gripping the knife handle.                                                   MARCO           Excellent. Do you know where it           is?                                   Cat nods.                                                   MARCO           Well, if you give it to me, Don           Luis will be very grateful. And           very generous. He will make sure           that you are clothed, fed, and           sent to the very best school. You           will have everything you want.                          (MORE)           12.                                                   MARCO (CONT'D)           But if you don't give it to him,           he will be very unhappy. And you           see what happens when he is not           happy, yes?                                   Cat nods yes.                                                   MARCO           So why don't you just give that           little thing which belongs to him.           Will you do that?                                   Cat hesitates for a moment, and then removes one hand from          underneath the table, her fist closed tight. Marco smiles,          kindly. He holds out his hand.                                                   MARCO           You are a smart girl.                                   Marco opens his hand.                                                   MARCO           And in this life, smart girls get           everything they want. What do you           want Cat?                                   And just as she is about to open her hand...                                   CLOSE ON HER OTHER HAND                                   Under the table, gripping the handle of the knife taped          there.                                                   MARCO           Just tell me sweetheart...what do           you want?                                   In a flash, the knife is whipped out and buried into Marco's          unsuspecting, open palm. Driven with such force, the knife          pierces through the back of his hand, and sticks into the          table beneath; pinning his hand. Marco wants to scream          but there is so much pain, nothing escapes his throat.                                                   CAT           (in his ear)           To kill Don Luis!                                                   MARCO           AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!                                   The men searching look up, and before they can react, Cat          races past them.                                                   MARCO           Get her!                                   TRACK WITH CAT           13.                                   As she runs through the rooms of the house, sprints to the          bathroom where one foot hits the toilet, springing her          onto the ledge of a very small window. As she looks back,          she sees the gunmen in hot pursuit. And she jumps, head          first. Barely squeezing her small frame through the tiny          window.                                   And she drops...                                   Six feet down, onto a ledge, that is just beneath the          window. She flattens against the wall, holding onto the          medal of her father.                                   ON THE BATHROOM                                   One of the gunman comes to the window, cannot fit through,          looks out, does not see anybody across, then hears something          beneath him, looks down, sees the tip of a shoe below.          Puts his gun out the window, points it down, and....                                   BBBBRRRRAAAAKKKKKKK!!!!!!                                   Lets loose with a barrage from his weapon.                                                  ON CAT                                   She watches as the bullets split the cement all around her          feet. Coming inches from ripping into them. And then the          barrage stops.                                   ON THE GUNMAN                                   His clip runs out. And as he fumbles to slam another one          in...                                                  ON CAT                                   She hears the pause. Looks out over the sprawl of houses          that stretch up and down the steep hillsides of the favela.          She looks down at her open palm at the small chip her father          gave her. Pops the chip in her mouth, swallows, leaps          over the small divide between her house and the next roof,          and takes off running.                                   ON THE GUNMAN                                   Gets the clip to fit, sees Cat heading off across the roof,          out in the open, exposed, vulnerable. He lifts his gun to          shoot, when the gun muzzle is slammed up, peppers the          ceiling with bullets. The gunman turns to Marco, holding          his bloody rag wrapped hand.                                                   MARCO           We need her alive!                                   EXT. FAVELA - DAY                                   Cat leaps from one rooftop to another, shinnies down a          drain pipe onto another roof.           14.                                   ANGLE ON THE GUNMEN                                   Jumping down from the window of Cat's home, start to sprint          across the roof in hot pursuit.                                                  ON CAT                                   She drops down to another roof, this one filled with a          vegetable patch, where an old man is gardening.                                   EXT. FAVELA - DAY                                   Marco exits Cat's house, wrapping his bloody hand tightly          with a piece of his shirt.                                                   MARCO           Go! Go!                                   He orders four more gunmen who have just zoomed up on          motorcycles. The souped up rice rockets take off in four          different directions.                                                  ON CAT                                   As she comes off the last rooftop, down into a small alley.          She sprints across to a small door. She kicks at the door,          which gives way and enters...                                   AN OPEN COURTYARD                                   Where a half dozen women are doing laundry by an open tap.          They look up to the sight of this little girl in the blood          splattered school uniform, do not say a word. And neither          does Cat. She just runs through to a small gate on the          far side of the courtyard, opens it, and disappears. One          of the women casually hangs one of her wet sheets over the          gate, hiding it.                                   ON THE GUNMEN                                   They crash through the vegetable garden. The old man deftly          kicks a rake leaning against the wall. It falls in between          the rows of tomato vines.                                   When the gunmen sprint through, the first one trips over          the rake, goes crashing through the vines, which causes          the two men behind him to also trip and fall. The fourth          man hurdles his fallen cohorts, bounds over the roof.                                   And the fifth man, looks at the old man. Knows what he          has done. Shoots him dead before jumping off the roof.                                                  ON CAT                                   She races down a steep hill in the crowded favela streets.                                   ON THE GUNMEN           15.                                   They enter the laundry yard. The women don't even look          up. The gunmen look around, just see laundry hanging from          the fence, do not see the hidden door. Race back out.                                                  ON CAT                                   She runs down a steep alley, filled with people sitting          outside their homes, chatting, playing dominoes.                                   At the end of the alley, two motorcycles appear. The riders          see Cat, as she sees them. They turn their bikes into the          alley...                                   VRROOOM!                                   And bear down on Cat.                                   Cat sprints back up the hill. She goes to escape into one          of the open doors, but she finds that one after another          the doors have closed shut, the people fled inside.                                   The bikes eat up the hill. Cat's legs are no match for          them. It seems she will be caught any second. She ducks          down a street where laundry is hung on a concealed metal          pipe running the length of the alley. As Cat ducks through          the sheets the gunmen gun their bikes right towards her,          tear through the sheets...                                   AND THE CONCEALED METAL PIPE CATCHES THEM ACROSS THEIR          THROATS.                                                  ON CAT                                   She looks back, to the dead gunmen, disappears over the          hill.                                   AND JUST AS SHE DOES...                                   Marco, in an open top jeep, with three of his gunmen ON          BOARD, comes rolling up the road. He sees Cat.                                                   MARCO           There!                                   The jeep screeches around. Cat dashes down an alley.                                                  ON CAT                                   As she runs up the alley with it's open sewers running on          either side.                                                  ON MARCO                                   The alley is too narrow for the jeep. The men spill out,          spring up the alley.                                                   MARCO           Alive!           16.                                                  ON CAT                                   She runs up the alley, then ducks down another one. She          comes to a ladder that leads up a fence, begins to climb.                                   ON THE GUNMEN                                   Running up the alley, turning into the next one. Where          they see the ladder. One of the gunmen pulls out his cell          phone.                                                  ON MARCO                                   In the jeep, scouting as it rolls along.                                                  ON CAT                                   She is running for all she is worth, out of breath, scared.                                                  ANGLE ON                                   More thugs on bikes, on foot, in cars. They are everywhere.                                                  ON CAT                                   She is leaning against a wall on a rooftop, gulping air,          when she hears the roar of engines. Looks over the side          of the building to see dozens of gunmen flooding the area.                                                  ON GUNMEN                                   Climbing the ladder.                                                  ON CAT                                   Hearing them coming.                                                  ON GUNMEN                                   Surrounding a building. Throwing grappling hooks onto the          roof ledge.                                                  ON CAT                                   Seeing the grappling hooks claw onto the roof edge.                                                  ON GUNMEN                                   Cresting the roof from the ladder.                                                  ON GUNMEN                                   Rappelling up the side of the building on the grappling          ropes.                                                  ON GUNMEN                                   Flooding onto the roof from both sides. Coming to the          spot where Cat was only moments before. To find no Cat.           17.                                   One of the gunmen takes out his cell. Dials.                                                  ON MARCO                                   On the phone.                                                   MARCO           North! Go North! We're cutting           off the southern streets!                                   Marco slams his phone shut. Heads for his car.                                                  ON GUNMEN                                                   GUNMAN           North!                                   The gunmen clear the roof. As the last one leaves, he          takes one last suspicious sweep of the roof, cannot figure          where this wisp of a girl went to. His eyes briefly focus          on the chimney...                                                   GUNMAN           Let's go.                                   He clambers over the side of the roof.                                   THE CAMERA STAYS FOCUSED ON THE CHIMNEY.                                   INT. CHIMNEY - DAY                                   Cat, holding her breath, listening keenly to the sound of          the men departing, is wedged into the chimney, her hands          and feet clinging like a lizard to the walls on either          side.                                   EXT. STREET - DAY                                   Cat comes over the top of a hill, the soot of the chimney,          mingled with the blood of her parents, staining her dress.          The doors and windows all along the street are shuttered          tight. Her eyes search the curb as she makes her way down          the street. When she hears the sound of a vehicle. She          looks up to a jeep turning the corner.                                   REVERSE ON MARCO                                   In the windshield of the jeep, staring at her.                                                   MARCO           We got her! Close the net!                                                  ON CAT                                   She sees Marco. She pauses for a moment, and then does          something that stuns even Marco. She starts to run right          towards the jeep!                                                  ON MARCO           18.                                   A bit stunned.                                                   MARCO           What is she doing?                                                  ON CAT                                   She keeps sprinting toward the jeep. Another jeep appears          over the hill behind her. Starts to come at her.                                                  ON MARCO                                   As his jeep speeds right for her.                                                  ON CAT                                   As she runs, her eyes go to the right, and it becomes          apparent she knows exactly what she is doing. She has a          plan. And she executes it. Suddenly, she leaps for the          curb and...                                   A SEWER GRATE.                                                  ON MARCO                                   Sees Cat dive to the curb.                                                   MARCO           No!                                                  ON CAT                                   As she wriggles her skinny little body down the grate,          with barely enough room to squeeze in. But in she does          squeeze.                                                  ON MARCO                                   In total disbelief, watching her disappear down the narrow          slit in the curb.                                   Both jeeps pull up. The men jump out. Marco flattens to          the street, peers into the grate, sees Cat staring up at          him.                                   Marco takes his gun out. Jams it in the grate...                                   BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM!!!!                                   Empties his clip into the dark. When he runs out of ammo,          he peers down again.                                   Cat is gone. The gunmen run to the next sewer grate fire          into that one. Marco looks down, no Cat.                                                   MARCO           Get down there!                                   The gunmen rip the grate out, jump down the hole.           19.                                   INT. SEWERS - DAY                                   The gunmen, following the beams of their flashlights, go          tramping through the muck of the sewers, trying to find          Cat. The only living things they find are rats, scurrying          across their feet.                                                   GUNMAN                          (ON PHONE)           We lost her!                                                  ON MARCO                                                   MARCO           FUCK! FUCK!                                   He kicks every car in the street in frustration.                                   INT. SEWERS - DAY                                   The gunmen wait in the sewer, waiting.                                    MARCO V.O.           Come back out.                                   The gunmen retreat back the way they came. They do not          see someone watching them go.                                                  ANGLE ON                                   A small crevice in the sewer wall. Cat has squeezed herself          into the crack, almost invisible.                                   EXT. STREET - SUNSET                                   Cars and trucks rumble along a busy thoroughfare.                                   CLOSE ON A SEWER GRATE CUT INTO THE SIDE OF THE CURB                                   A hand emerges. And then, Cat pulls herself out, into the          street.                                   PULL BACK TO CAT RISING                                   She stands at the edge of the busy thoroughfare, and looks          around. She is in the heart of the city. Where tall office          buildings, compete with graceful, classical mansions. In          the distance, she sees the hillsides, covered with the          twinkling lights of the favelas, two miles, and a world          away.                                   EXT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - NIGHT                                   Two Marines stand guard. Looking straight ahead.                                                   VOICE           Excuse me...           20.                                   The Marine looks down to Cat. Bedraggled, covered in soot          and blood and shit. Holding out the card her father gave          her.                                   CLOSE ON THE FACE OF A MIDDLE AGED AMERICAN                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. EMBASSY OFFICE - NIGHT                                   The American looks at the card Cat gave to the Marine,          hands it to another American.                                                   AMERICAN 1           And you say you have something for           us?                                   He turns to Cat, who nods yes.                                                   AMERICAN 1           May I see it?                                   Cat takes a beat. Puts her fingers down her throat. And          throws up all over the man's desk.                                                   AMERICAN 1           Oh jeez...                                   Cat reaches into the goop on the desk and comes up with          the chip. She hands it over to the man behind the desk,          who takes a handkerchief out and takes it from her,          gingerly. He looks at the chip, looks at Cat.                                                   AMERICAN 1                          (REPULSED)           Thank you.                                   CLOSE ON A COMPUTER SCREEN                                   Facts, figures, names, dates, a wealth of information          scrolls down.                                   PULL BACK TO THE TWO AMERICANS LOOKING AT EACH OTHER                                                   AMERICAN 1           We have to record this.                                   Cat does not understand. The second American hits a button          on a remote.                                   ANGLE ON A HIDDEN CAMERA ROLLING                                                  BACK ON                                                   AMERICAN 1           Where did you get this?                                                   CAT           My Papa.           21.                                                   AMERICAN 1           And where is your Papa?                                                   CAT           Dead.                                                   AMERICAN 1           Did he tell you what this is?                                                   CAT           Yes...my passport.                                   INT. AIRPLANE - DAY                                   Cat watches out the window as the plane's landing gear          drops and the city of Miami spreads out before her in all          it's shimmer and glistening glory.                                                   VOICE           We are making our final approach           to Miami International airport.           Please fasten your seat belts.                                   She looks down at the medal around her neck. A tear forms          in her eye. Rolls down her cheek. Impossible to tell if          it is a tear of joy or sadness.                                   INT. JETWAY - DAY                                   Cat, with a plastic envelope holding her travel documents          around her neck, accompanied by an airline rep, walks down          the jetway toward the entrance to the airport, where a MAN          is standing. Looking directly at her.                                   All the passengers are filing to the left as they leave          the jetway, but as Cat and her escort approach the man...                                                   MAN           Come with me.                                   He walks to the right.                                   INT. PRIVATE OFFICE - DAY                                   Cat stands in front of a rotund bureaucrat, with the man          who escorted her, handing over her passport.                                                   BUREAUCRAT           She's the one?                                                   MAN           She is indeed.                                   The Bureaucrat looks at her passport. As Cat glimpses          through the slatted window looking out over the Customs          floor, where all the other passengers are being processed          in long lines.           22.                                                   BUREAUCRAT           You must have done something pretty           important to get the royal treatment           little lady.                                   Cat says nothing. He stamps her passport.                                                   BUREAUCRAT           Welcome to America.                                   Cat looks at him, not sure if this is good news or bad          news.                                   ON THE MIAMI SKYLINE                                   INT. CAR - DAY                                   Cat looks out the window of the car at the skyline passing          by, silent, filled with wonder.                                                   MAN           You like music?                                   Cat looks at him, doesn't respond. He turns the radio on.          A god awful C&W song comes on. Cat looks at him for a          moment, then reaches over, turns the radio off. Goes back          to looking out the window.                                   EXT. BOARDING SCHOOL - EVENING                                   The car passes a gate with a sign: MISS PORTERS SCHOOL FOR          GIRLS.                                                   VOICE           It's been our mission statement           since we first opened our doors in           nineteen twenty three...                                   INT. HEADMISTRESSES OFFICE - EVENING                                                   HEADMISSTRESS           To provide a safe, healthy nurturing           environment where young women can           get the education they will need           to meet the challenges of that           amazing adventure called life.           How does that sound to you, my           dear?                                   Cat does not respond, she just stares out the window.                                                   MAN           It's been a long day for her.           Here's the check for the year's           tuition.                                   He hands over a check.           23.                                                   MAN           And the five hundred dollars           allowance for the first six months.                                   He hands over a wad of bills.                                                   HEADMISSTRESS           Which we keep right here...                                   She places the money in an envelope with Cat's name on it,          and puts the envelope into a drawer.                                                   HEADMISSTRESS           And give you twenty a week for           incidentals.                                   She hands a twenty to Cat. Who takes it without saying a          word.                                                   HEADMISSTRESS           What do we say darling?                                                   CAT           Where do I sleep?                                   INT. DORMITORY - EVENING                                   Three dozen girls of all ages go about their business.          Some do homework on their beds, others do their hair, dance,          run around.                                   And suddenly, at the sound of a door opening, they all          stop and look in the same direction at Cat and the MONITOR                                                   MONITOR           Girls, this is your new classmate.           Please welcome her and show her           the ropes.                          (TO CAT)           Wake up is at seven. Sweet dreams.                                   She exits. All the girls stare at Cat. No one makes a          move. In the silence, you can hear a pin drop, until...                                   The biggest girl in the dorm, a head taller than everyone,          and twenty pounds heavier, with bully written all over her          face, saunters down the aisle right towards Cat. Her name          is...                                                   SHERRI           I'm Sherri. And you are?                                                   CAT           Very tired.                                   The girls all around twitter. Sherri looks back at them,          no good rising on her smirking face.           24.                                                   SHERRI           Well, 'very tired', I'm sure you           want to lay down and rest your           little head?                                                   CAT           I do.                                                   SHERRI           There's your bed...                                   She points halfway down the aisle to an empty bed. Cat is          about to walk towards it, when Sherri puts a beefy hand in          her chest.                                                   CAT           But it's gonna cost you.                          (BEAT)           Twenty dollars.                                   Cat looks at Sherri. Looks at the other girls all hanging          on every word, waiting to see what jumps off.                                   Cat considers, then reaches into her jumper and extracts          the twenty dollars the headmisstress gave her. Hands it          over to Sherri.                                                   SHERRI           A week. Peace has it's price,           y'know what I'm saying?                                   Cat says nothing, just stares at Sherri.                                                   SHERRI           Are we clear on that?                                                   CAT           Twenty dollars a week.                                   Sherri opens her sweatshirt to reveal a fanny pack. She          unzips it, puts Cat's twenty in with a wad of other          twenties.                                                   SHERRI           We got a smart one!                                   The other girls hoot and whistle. Sherri removes her hand          from Cat's chest.                                                   SHERRI           You can go now.                          (BEAT)           In peace.                                   Cat still says nothing. She walks up the aisle past all          the other girls, who remain silent. It is only after Cat          has laid down on her bed, that the laughing and twittering          resumes.           25.                                   Cat stares at the ceiling, her hand reaches inside her          jumper, takes out the medal her father gave her. She holds          it close in her hand, just lays that way.                                                  FADE TO                                   INT. DORMITORY - NIGHT                                   All the girls are asleep in their beds. Silence reigns,          except for the small cries and sighs of girls asleep.                                   CLOSE ON CAT                                   Her eyes still open, her hand clutching her father's medal.          She gets up.                                   INT. HALL - NIGHT                                   Cat makes her way down the hall. At the end of the Hall          is a door marked EXIT. But she is not looking at the exit          she is looking for something else. And she finds it. A          door marked: HEADMISTRESS.                                   Cat tries the door, it is locked. She takes her father's          medal from around her neck, and uses it to pop the lock.          Looking left and right to make sure the coast is clear,          she enters.                                   INT. HEADMISTRESSES OFFICE - NIGHT                                   Cat tries the drawer where the Headmistress locked her          money away. She looks around, takes a letter opener off          the desk, pops the drawer, extracts the envelope with her          name on it.                                   INT. HALL - NIGHT                                   Again Cat walks down the darkened hall, looking for another          door. Finds it marked: INFIRMARY.                                   INT. INFIRMARY - NIGHT                                   Cat walks along the cabinets containing the pharmaceuticals          until she finds what she is looking for. She smashes the          glass door, reaches in, extracts one bottle.                                   CLOSE ON SHERRI ASLEEP                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. DORMITORY - NIGHT                                   Cat, with four belts slung over her shoulder, the bottle          from the infirmary in one in one hand, a cloth in the other,          stands over the sleeping Sherri.                                   Cat pours the contents of the bottle out into the cloth.          Seals the bottle. Puts it down. Then takes the cloth and          places it over Sherri's sleeping face, ever so gently.           26.                                   FADE TO BLACK                                   EXT. HORIZON - SUNRISE                                   The sun comes up over the horizon, casts it's first rays          through the windows of...                                   INT. DORMITORY - MORNING                                   The sun hits the faces of the girls. As they wake, they          find two very interesting things.                                   1. A twenty dollar bill on each bed.                                   2. Sherri fast asleep, her hands and feet tied to the post          of the bed with belts, her shirt pulled up, her money belt          gone. And the word THIEF written in magic marker across          her stomach. And the drawing of the Cataleya orchid.                                                  CLOSE ON                                   A kind faced Hispanic woman, a...                                                   TICKET AGENT           Hola chica, where are we wanting           to go today?                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. BUS STATION - DAY                                   Cat, barely up to the window, hands the ticket agent the          piece of paper her father gave her. The woman looks at          the paper.                                                   TICKET AGENT           Chicago is not next door, you know.                                                   CAT           How much?                                   Cat holds up the envelope from the headmistresses office.                                   MONTAGE DAY/NIGHT                                   The landscape of America passes by through the window of a          bus. Clutching a new Lara Croft comic, nibbling on a big          Mac and fries out of a bag, Cat sees...                                   The sugar cane harvests in the Florida wetlands.                                   Two big fat black women sitting on the porch of a shack          shelling peas in the deep South.                                   The Steel Mills of Pittsburgh fire up.                                   The endless expanse of corn and wheat stretching from          horizon to horizon across Ohio.           27.                                   The giant milk barns of Indiana with their hundreds of          cows.                                   And finally, sees the great city of Chicago looming in the          distance as the bus hurls down the highway towards it.                                   EXT. CHICAGO BUS TERMINAL - NIGHT                                   As seedy as any bus terminal. People bustling, people          hustling. A veritable cauldron of humanity bubbling with          the good, the bad, the ugly. The predators and the prey.                                   Cat exits into this stew of life, looks around, checks          things out. As she is checked out in turn by some pretty          sleazy types.                                   Cat ignores the eyes following her, walks up to a dwarf          hawking newspapers. Hands him her slip of paper. He points          her in a direction.                                                  MONTAGE                                   Cat walks across the neighborhoods of Chicago.                                   Sees the signs in Polish change into signs in Italian, in          Spanish, Chinese, Ethiopian.                                   She hands her paper to an Ethiopian cabbie. He points her          onward.                                   She walks past bars where black gangbangers watch her pass.          She hands one her paper, he points her on.                                   She walks past massive churches, synagogues, mosques.                                   She walks past the stately houses of the Gold Coast, along          the deserted stretches of the glam shops on Michigan Avenue,          over the bridges...                                   Until she comes to...                                   EXT. ROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD - NIGHT                                   The denizens of this world look every bit as dangerous as          they are. Gangbangers, con artists, trouble waiting to          happen at every turn.                                   ANGLE ON CAT                                   Cat, walking down the block as the eyes of everyone she          passes follow her. She stops on a street corner. Seems          lost. Opposite her a group of men, hanging outside a bar          see her. The leader of the group calls her over.                                                   MAN           Hey kid. You know what time it           is?                                   Cat shakes her head.           28.                                                   MAN           It's late, and this is not the           kind of place a kid should be           hanging out. What are you doing           here?                                   Cat hands him her paper. He looks at her, suspicious.                                                   MAN           Who are you?                                                   CAT           Cataleya.                                   The man takes a moment...                                                   MAN           Wait here.                                   He disappears up a small alley into the darkness beyond.          Cat, not knowing what to do, sits down on the curb, watches          street life. She sees...                                   Hookers soliciting men in passing cars.                                   Cops sitting in a patrol car, bored, blase.                                   Men playing craps against a wall.                                   Some very discreet dope deals, more sleight of hand than          anything else.                                   CLOSE ON A FIST COLLIDING WITH A FACE                                   A very bloodied face. Once, twice, three times.                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. ROOM - NIGHT                                   EMILIO RESTREPO, 35, a hard case, fuck with me at your own          risk written all over his face, is about to deliver another          crushing blow to a poor soul strapped to a chair when...                                                   MAN           Emilio.                                   The beating stops, Emilio turns.                                                   MAN           There's a girl looking for you.                                                   EMILIO           I'm not interested in a girl right           now.                                   He turns back to the task at hand. Cocks his fist.           29.                                                   MAN           It's not that sort of thing. She's           eight.                                   Again, Emilio stops. The man hands her Cat's paper.                                                   MAN           Says her name's Cataleya.                                   This focuses Emilio's attention.                                   EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                   Cat is sitting watching the street, when a pair of legs          appear in front of her. Cat looks up to the man who          disappeared.                                                   MAN           Come with me.                                   He turns abruptly, heads back up the alley.                                   EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT                                   Cat follows the man through a darkened alley. At intervals,          on either side, dangerous looking men, armed to the teeth,          stand in the shadows. The man opens a door, beckons Cat          to enter.                                   INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT                                   Cat follows the man as he moves down a long hallway. Cat          looks into the rooms on either side of the hall as she          walks along.                                   In one room, opening out to a trucking bay, TV sets are          being unloaded into a big warehouse full of stolen          merchandise.                                   In another room, guns are being serviced. Lots of guns,          hand guns, assault rifles. Big artillery.                                                   MAN           Hey!                                   Cat's attention is drawn away from the room with the guns,          to the Man holding a door open for her at the very end of          the hall.                                   INT. OFFICE - NIGHT                                   Cat enters an office with three women working on computers.          Looks like any other business office. At the sight of          Cat, the women get up and exit, closing the door behind          them. Cat is left alone.                                   She looks around the office, when the sound of a door          opening behind her. She turns to Emilio. Who approaches          her cautiously, scrutinizing her.           30.                                                   EMILIO           Cataleya?                                   Now it is Cat who hesitates.                                                   CAT           Uncle Emilio?                                   Emilio covers his mouth, seems rocked.                                                   EMILIO           Madonna! I thought you were dead!                                   He crosses himself.                                                   EMILIO           I thought you were all...                                   Cat stands stock still. Emilio takes her up in his arms,          lifts her, crushes her to his chest. Cat remains suspended,          emotionless for a moment. And then, for the first time          emotion, real emotion, washes across her face. Her lower          lip begins to tremble. Tears well up in her eyes. She          bursts into tears.                                                   EMILIO           You're safe now.                                   All the emotion, the fear, the anger that she has kept          locked away deep inside, rushes to the surface in one          massive wave.                                                   EMILIO           You're safe.                                   EXT. CHICAGO - MORNING                                   The sun peeks over the horizon, spreading the fog infused          light coming off Lake Michigan across the sleeping city as          it ascends in the sky.                                                  CLOSE ON                                   One beam of sunlight slips through the narrow crack between          a window and the shade covering it.                                                  CLOSE ON                                   The ray of sunlight washes across Cat's sleeping face.          She wakes slowly. Her eyes open after a long sleep. For          a moment she does not remember where she is.                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. BEDROOM - MORNING                                   Cat looks around the clean, orderly bedroom as she gathers          her thoughts. Her eyes move around the room. It is a          boy's room.           31.                                   With models of soldiers, futuristic warriors, a big poster          of Al Pacino as Tony Montana in SCARFACE. A poster with          every imaginable type of assault rifle.                                   INT. KITCHEN - MORNING                                   Emilio sits reading the financial section of the morning          paper over what seems to be the remains of a very hearty          breakfast. An elderly woman, grandmotherly, fills his          coffee cup.                                                   EMILIO           Gracias mama.                                   A noise turns both of them to the doorway and Cat.                                                   EMILIO           Good morning.                                                   MAMA           Buenos diaz Cara. Come. Sit.           I'll make you some eggs.                                   Mama caresses her face, her eyes glisten with a          grandmother's love. Kisses her on the forehead, lovingly,          whispers into her ear.                                                   MAMA           You have your mother's beautiful           eyes. Don't be scared. This is           your home.                                   Slowly, hesitantly, Cat makes her way across the kitchen          to the table, where she sits opposite Emilio, tentative.                                                   EMILIO           When was the last time you slept?                                                   CAT           I don't know. A long time ago.                                                   EMILIO           Well good. A growing body needs           sleep. When I was your age I would           sleep half the day. I don't know           if it helped with the growing, but           I was well rested for whatever           came after.                                                   CAT           Whose room is that?                                                   EMILIO           My son. Your cousin.                                                   CAT           Where is he?           32.                                                   EMILIO           He's dead.                                   His voice holds anger, not sadness.                                                   CAT           Killed?                                                   EMILIO           Yes.                                                   CAT           By who?                                                   EMILIO           No one who is still alive.                                   Mama comes over, puts a plate of eggs in front of her. As          she begins to wolf down the food. He holds up the page of          her drawing, the one her Father put his address on.                                                   EMILIO           You are very talented. Is this           what you want to be? An artist?                                                   CAT           I used to want to be like Lara. A           super agent.                                   Shoveling more food into her mouth.                                                   EMILIO           Not anymore?                                   Chewing, Cat shakes her head.                                                   EMILIO           And now?                                                   CAT           (matter of fact)           I want to be a killer.                                   She keeps shoveling food in her mouth. Emilio looks up at          his mother, who crosses herself. Cat finishes the last          mouthful, looks up.                                                   CAT           Can you help?                                   Emilio blinks once.                                                   EMILIO           Sure.                                   EXT. STREET - DAY                                   Emilio walks Cat down the street. He is carrying a kids          book bag.           33.                                                   EMILIO           The good news is your father bought           you your life with what he gave           you. The bad news is Don Luis was           playing both sides, and has           disappeared. You tore down           everything he spent years building           up with that little chip. It is           something he will not forget.           There is a law in this thing of           ours. If someone does you, the           revenge goes all the way down the           line. Women, children,           Grandmothers, dogs, cats. No           exceptions.                                                   CAT           Are you trying to scare me?                                                   EMILIO           I am trying to educate you.                                   CLOSE ON MONEY BEING COUNTED                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE - DAY                                   The PRINCIPAL watches Emilio count the money out.                                                   PRINCIPAL           Normally we don't accept students           in the middle of the academic year,           but under the circumstances, losing           her parents in that tragic car           accident...                                   Cat looks out the window, saying nothing.                                                   PRINCIPAL           Here.                                   He hands a list over to Cat. Who keeps looking out the          window.                                                   PRINCIPAL           These are the school supplies you'll           need.                                   Emilio takes them.                                                   EMILIO           She's still in a bit of shock.                                                   PRINCIPAL           Of course. See you Monday Cataleya.           Such a pretty name.                                   She keeps looking out the window.           34.                                   EXT. SCHOOL - DAY                                   As Emilio walks along, with Cataleya, reading the list of          supplies.                                                   EMILIO           We'll get all this stuff, then go           over to this little place I know           down on Maxwell street for some of           these hot dogs the Polish people           make here.                                   He turns left at the cross street...                                                   EMILIO           You like hot dogs?                                   He looks down, sees no Cat. Looks back to see Cat walking          in the opposite direction.                                                   EMILIO           Hey!                                   Cat keeps going.                                                   EMILIO           Hey!                                   He hurries, catches up with her.                                                   EMILIO           Where you going?                                                   CAT           I've already been to school. I           told you what I want to be. You           don't want to help me, fine. I'll           do it myself.                                   She walks off. Emilio grabs her.                                                   EMILIO           Chica. Any idiot can be a killer.           Look!                                   Emilio draws a .357 magnum pistol from his shoulder holster,          and empties the entire clip into the front of a car coming          down the street. The car careens off the road, smashes a          fire hydrant, crashes through a plate glass window of a          shop across the street. The water from the hydrant shoot          twenty feet in the air. Emilio holsters his gun.                                                   EMILIO           You want me to teach you to be a           killer? No problema. I'll teach           you. But you'll be dead in five           years.                          (MORE)           35.                                                   EMILIO (CONT'D)           If you want to be a killer, and           survive, you have to be a smart           one. You have to know things           besides how to pull a trigger.           You have to know how the world           works. How people think. You got           to learn to be psychological.           That I cannot teach you, unless           you learn the basics at school.           Got it?                                   Cat glares at him.                                                   EMILIO           Now what's it going to be?                                   He holds out the gun in one hand, and the schoolbag in the          other. Cat hesitates for a moment. Takes the schoolbag          from Emilio. Then takes his hand, and they walk off          together as police sirens announce the arrival of cruisers,          and people pour out of the school and the surrounding          stores. As they put distance between the chaos and          themselves.                                                   CAT           But I still want to be a killer.                                                   EMILIO                          (SIGHING)           Cabron!                                   FADE TO BLACK                                                  12 YEARS LATER                                   EXT. FRESNO - NIGHT                                   A sleepy California town on the way to nowhere.                                   PAN DOWN TO                                   EXT. SIDE STREET - NIGHT                                   A police cruiser sits on a quiet street, right off a wider          avenue. Main street. There is no traffic either way.          The nose of the cop car juts out just off the street.                                   INT. POLICE CRUISER - NIGHT                                   Two cops are sitting, peeling back the wrappers on their          burgers.                                                   COP 1           So then I suggest, y'know, we buy           some things to spice it up a bit.                                                   COP 2           Define things.           36.                                   As they nibble and talk, they pay scant attention to a set          of headlights coming up the broad avenue.                                                   COP 1           A garter belt, some of those           stockings that come up the           thigh...it's fourteen years. Know           what I mean?                                   The lights come closer...                                                   COP 2           Yeah. No matter how much you like           steak, sometime a lamb chop is not           a bad thing.                                   The lights shine right into the car.                                                   COP 1           Exactly.                                   Only then, when the lights are directly on them, do the          cops turn to see a car heading right toward their front          end.                                                   COP 1           What the...                                   CRASH!!!!                                   The front end of the cop car gets sheared right off by the          impact. Glass shatters, metal crunches, airbags explode!                                                  ANGLE ON                                   The other car. The drivers door opens. A vodka bottle          falls out, clinks to the sidewalk. And a moment later,          two legs emerge from the car. Two very long, very shapely          legs. Legs that never end. In very high heels, and a          very short mini skirt. And the face on top of it, framed          by a mane of wild hair, is drop dead think-you-have-died-          and-gone-to-heaven gorgeous. The whole package reads          SUPERMODEL. And by the way she is weaving when she stands,          and the bottle at her feet, the read is; very drunk          supermodel. Who looks at the crumpled police cruiser,          looks into the windshield of the cruiser at the stunned          cops, and says in the most sweetly drunk voice...                                                   SUPERMODEL           Oops...                                   The cops can't believe this. They regain their wits and          bolt out of the car.                                                   COP 1           That's all you have to say? Oops?                                   And, ever so sensually, she starts to laugh. The cops          look at each other, perplexed. And she keeps laughing.           37.                                   The cops get pissed.                                                   COP 1           Funny?                                   ...and she keeps laughing.                                                   COP 1           Wanna laugh you crazy bitch? I'll           give you something to laugh about!                                   And even when they slam her to the hood of the car, jam          her hands behind her back, and slap the cuffs on, she keeps          laughing, and laughing.                                   CLOSE ON HER CHEST                                   WHERE A VERY FAMILIAR MEDALLION ON A CHAIN HANGS BETWEEN          HER EXPOSED CLEAVAGE. A MEDALLION ENGRAVED WITH THE          CATALEYA ORCHID.                                   IT IS CAT, ALL GROWN UP.                                   INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   A quiet night in the small station. Cat stands in front          of the booking desk, so drunk the two cops have to hold          her up. A surveillance camera over the desk innocuously          records everything. Cat keeps her head down, her face,          obscured by her mane of hair.                                   As the SERGEANT goes through her purse, finds...                                                   SERGEANT           No license, no registration. No           ID except a library card. Well           Ms...                                   He reads off the library card.                                                   SERGEANT           Valarie Phillips in addition to           all that...you're being charged           here with DUI, destruction of police           property, driving the wrong way on           a two way street...                                                   CAT           Is that it?                                                   SERGEANT           Unless you can think of anything           else you should be charged with.                                                   CAT                          (TIPSY)           Wearing no panties?           38.                                   The Sergeant and the arresting cops holding her up give          her a long look, as do any of the other cops in ear shot,          whose eyes go to her very short skirt.                                                   SERGEANT           That's not a crime.                                                   CAT           Thank goodness.                                   And she teeters over, passes out cold right on the          Sergeant's desk.                                                   SERGEANT           Take her in the back, lock her up,           put a cup of coffee in with her.           Let her sleep it off, we'll book           her tomorrow.                                   The two cops who booked her drag her out. As they do, the          Sergeant and the two other cops on duty lean over to try          and get a look up her very long legs and her very short          skirt.                                   EXT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   Three black SUV's, with blacked out windows, come rolling          up to the station. The doors open and a dozen U.S. MARSHALS          jump out. Vigilant, forming a cordon around one of the          vehicles, out of which comes a hand cuffed, kevlar wearing          hard as nails MAFIA type. GENNARO RIZZO.                                   The Marshal's surround him, guns bristling, on the look          out for any danger, and hustle him towards the doors of          the police station.                                   INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   The station doors slam open. Marshal's barge in. The          HEAD MARSHAL approaches the surprised Sergeant on the desk,          flashes his credentials.                                                   MARSHAL           US Marshal Warren. We have Gennaro           Rizzo here on an overnight.                                                   SERGEANT           Who?                                                   MARSHAL           Rizzo. The Mafia guy? On the way           to testify up in San Francisco           tomorrow? They didn't notify you?                                                   SERGEANT           Hold on a second.                                   He rifles through some papers. Finds one.           39.                                                   SERGEANT           Here we go. Says here you're not           expected until tomorrow.                                                   MARSHAL           Never expect the expected Sergeant.           (to his men)           Secure this place.                                   INT. CELL BLOCK - NIGHT                                   The Marshals come down the cell block, checking everything          out. They pass Cat in her cell, passed out cold, her long          legs and short skirt slows their progress a bit. After a          long look, they move on.                                   INT. SECURE CELL - NIGHT                                   Rizzo is pushed into a cell. The door is slammed and          locked.                                                   MARSHAL           One man here. Two more outside the           front door. Everyone else on the           perimeter, in teams of two.                                   He hands out thermos bottles.                                                   MARSHAL           It's a caffeine kinda night fellas.           Eyes open.                                   INT. CELL BLOCK - NIGHT                                   A lone cop passes Cat's cell, doing the nightly rounds.          As soon as he is gone...                                                  ON CAT                                   Cat's eyes snap open. She sits up, moves with the          efficiency and determination of someone who has not has a          drop of alcohol. She takes a spoon from the coffee cup          left for her, reaches into her mane of hair and extracts a          small pin. She inserts the pin into the keyhole of the          door, jiggles it. The door pops open.                                   Cat exits the cell, takes a broom leaning in the corner,          and keeping her eye on the camera above the door, she slides          along the wall, until she is just under the camera. She          uses the broom handle to tilt the camera up just a bit.                                   INT. SECURITY MONITORING ROOM - NIGHT                                   One lone cop sits in front of the various monitors. He          does not notice that one tilts slightly up, points toward          a blank wall.           40.                                   INT. CELL BLOCK - NIGHT                                   Cat, under the camera, unlocks the second door, slips out.                                   INT. HALL - NIGHT                                   Cat comes into the hall where several vending machines          lean against the wall. On the far side is a door marked:          ELECTRICAL. She is about to head for it, when she hears a          door open at the far end of the hall.                                   ANGLE ON THE DOOR                                   At the far end of the hall. A cop comes in, looks down          the hall. Where Cat was standing he sees only the vending          machines. He heads right for the machines. Puts coins in          the machine, waits for his food.                                   ANGLE ON THE SIDE OF THE MACHINE                                   Where Cat is pressed hard against the flat surface, inches          from the cop.                                   The sandwich falls, the cop retrieves it, moves off, exits          down the hall. Cat waits until she hears the door shut on          the far end of the wall. She crosses quickly to the door          across the way, enters.                                   CLOSE ON A UTILITY BOX PULLED OPEN                                   Revealing the electrical control panel for the station.                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. ELECTRICAL ROOM - NIGHT                                   Cat stands on a narrow shelf, undoes the last screws on a          vent in the ceiling with a screwdriver from the tool board          on one wall.                                   Cat drops down, opens the electrical control panel on the          wall, studies it for a moment, finds the switch she is          looking for, then turns to the wall of tools, plucks some          wire, a cutter, a spring.                                   Cat sets to work on a jury rigged mechanism with the items          at hand. When she is finished, she tugs at the waist band          of her mini skirt, and little by little she stretches a          thin dun colored leotard suit over her whole body. She          takes a small plastic vial, fills it with some water from          the tap, and sets it, just so, above the device she has          constructed.                                   The device is hooked to the switch she selected, a small          weight hangs from the bottom of it by a wire. She sets          the water container just so over the spoon from her cell.          The water begins to drip a drop at a time. She closes the          panel door, sets her digital watch. Hoists herself up to          the vent in the ceiling, and is gone.           41.                                   CLOSE ON THE JURY RIGGED DEVICE                                   Water dripping into the spoon a drop at a time.                                   INT. AIR DUCTS - NIGHT                                   Once inside the grate, Cat takes one of the buttons off          her blouse and presses the top of it. The button becomes          a pin light, which she clasps between her teeth, starts to          crawl on her stomach, pulling herself along by her elbows          and her wriggling hips and knees, the light still between          her teeth.                                   TRACK WITH CAT                                   As she moves through the maze of ducts. On the way, she          peers through the grates in each ceiling, down into one          cell after another, catching various views of inmates asleep          as she passes over them. Until she comes to a ventilation          fan blocking the way. The fan blades go round and round.          Cat looks at her watch, looks at the fan.                                   CLOSE ON THE ELECTRICAL PANEL                                   And Cat's jury rigged device. The water has almost filled          the spoon, one more drop, one more drop.                                   CLOSE ON CAT LOOKING AT HER WATCH                                   The digital counter goes from 4 to 3 to 2 to 1...                                                  CLOSE ON                                   The last drop of water drips into the spoon, the spoon          tips, tugging on the wire, the wire trips the switch it is          connected to, the whole device comes apart, the separate          pieces fall to the floor.                                   INT. AIR DUCTS - NIGHT                                   The fan stops. The blades slow.                                   INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   The sergeant at the desk hears the ventilation system go          off.                                                   SERGEANT           Hey Doyle!                                   He calls to one of the other cops on duty.                                                   SERGEANT           Go take a look at the breaker on           the ventilation system, will ya?                                   Doyle moves off.           42.                                   INT. AIR DUCTS - NIGHT                                   Cat watches the blades of the vent fan slow. When they          have completely stopped she starts to move herself through          the very narrow space between the now stilled blades, feet          first.                                   INT. ELECTRICAL ROOM - NIGHT                                   Doyle enters the room, opens the electrical panel. The          spoon, the weight, the spring, and the wire, fall to the          floor. Doyle looks at them curiously for a moment.                                   INT. AIR DUCTS - NIGHT                                   Cat is half way through the fan blades.                                   INT. ELECTRICAL ROOM - NIGHT                                   Doyle looks at the switches, going down the printed list          on the door, trying to locate the right one.                                   INT. AIR DUCTS - NIGHT                                   Cat is almost through.                                   INT. ELECTRICAL ROOM - NIGHT                                   Doyle finds the switch that corresponds to the ventilation          system.                                   INT. AIR DUCTS - NIGHT                                   Cat's neck passes through the fan blades. Slow going.                                   INT. ELECTRICAL ROOM - NIGHT                                   Doyle hits the switch for the ventilation system.                                   INT. AIR DUCTS - NIGHT                                   Cat is just through, when the blades start moving, brush          against her forehead, as she makes it to the other side          with no time, and no room to spare.                                   INT. AIR DUCTS - NIGHT                                   Cat comes to a vent, looks down, begins to loosen the vent          screws.                                   INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT                                   Cat drops down into a bathroom. Looks at her watch. Sits          down, waiting.                                   INT. PROTECTIVE CUSTODY - NIGHT                                   Rizzo is asleep in his cell. The Marshal on duty finishes          his coffee. Looks at Rizzo.           43.                                   Then walks over to the door at the end of the wall. He          hits a buzzer on the wall.                                   INT. SECURITY MONITORING ROOM - NIGHT                                   The cop manning the bank of monitors, wakes up, sees the          Marshal in the monitor.                                                   MARSHAL                          (OVER INTERCOM)           Gotta pee.                                   The monitor hits a button.                                   INT. PROTECTIVE CUSTODY - NIGHT                                   The door buzzes open. The Marshal passes through.                                   INT. HALL - NIGHT                                   The Marshal pushes the bathroom door open. Enters.                                   INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT                                   The Marshal finishes peeing, zips himself up. Turns.          Right into a devastating reverse wheel kick.                                   INT. SECURITY MONITORING ROOM - NIGHT                                   The cop on duty hears a buzz, looks up to the bank of          monitors, and sees the Marshal standing at the door.          Thinking nothing of it, he hits the buzzer.                                   INT. HALL - NIGHT                                   Cat, propping the unconscious Marshal up, hides behind          him. As the door buzzes, she maneuvers the body around,          pushes through. On the other side, she drops the body,          and takes his gun.                                   INT. SECURITY MONITORING ROOM - NIGHT                                   On the monitor it looks like the Marshal is passing through.                                   INT. PROTECTIVE CUSTODY - NIGHT                                   Rizzo is half asleep, when the barrel of a gun taps him on          the head. He opens his eyes slowly to...                                                   CAT           Unbutton your shirt.                                                   RIZZO           What...?                                                   CAT           Now.           44.                                   Rizzo looks over to where the Marshal is passed out cold          on the floor. He does as he is told.                                                   RIZZO           Who the hell are you?                                                   CAT           Not room service.                                   She pumps four bullets into his head.                                   INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   BAMBAMBAMBAM!!!                                   The four shots reverberate throughout the station.                                   EXT. POLICE STATION PERIMETER - NIGHT                                   BAMBAMBAMBAM!!!!                                   Two patrols of two Marshal's each hear the shots.                                   INT. SECURITY MONITORING ROOM - NIGHT                                   BAMBAMBAMBAM!!!                                   The monitor wakes up.                                   INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   Cops and Marshal's, guns drawn, come running.                                   INT. PROTECTIVE CUSTODY - NIGHT                                   The knocked out Marshal comes to. Finds a gun in his hand.          Doesn't get it, until he looks over to see Rizzo, with his          face blown off.                                   INT. PROTECTIVE CUSTODY - NIGHT                                   The door flies open and the Marshal's and cops come pouring          through, to find the Marshal with the gun in his hand and          the dead Rizzo.                                                   COPS           Drop it!!                                   The Marshal is frozen, totally confused.                                                   MARSHAL           Drop it, Joe!!!!!                                   More guns. More confusion. Tension beyond the moon.                                                   MARSHAL           I didn't do it!           45.                                                   COPS           Drop it!!!!                                   The Marshal drops his gun.                                                   COPS           On the floor!                                                   MARSHAL           Call a bus!                                   FROM THE POV OF SOMEONE ELSE.                                   INT. AIR DUCTS - NIGHT                                   Cat looks through the vent over the cell. Sees the wobbly          confused Marshal with the gun in his hand, hears feet coming          fast.                                   EXT. ROOF OF POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   Cat comes climbing out of a ventilation duct onto the roof.          She looks out over the side of the building. Marshal's          stationed outside are running into the building.                                   Cat takes off running.                                   INT. PROTECTIVE CUSTODY - NIGHT                                   The cops are cuffing the Marshal.                                                   MARSHAL           Guys! I didn't do it!!!                                                   MARSHAL 1           Ambulance on the way!                                   Another Marshal is checking Rizzo.                                                   MARSHAL           He's gone.                                                   SERGEANT           Search the place!                                   EXT. ROOF OF POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   Cat is running as fast as she can.                                   INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   Cops and Marshals are running through every room, checking          everywhere.                                   EXT. ROOF OF POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   Cat reaches another air vent, so about to pry it off when          she hears...           46.                                   INT. DOORWAY - NIGHT                                   Cops running up the stairs, headed for a door above them.                                   EXT. ROOF OF POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   Cat hears the door begin to open. She bangs her high heels          together. And two blades come out of the front. She sees          the door knob turning. She runs for the roof's edge.                                   AND VAULTS OVER THE SIDE!                                   INT. DOORWAY - NIGHT                                   The cops burst through the door to...                                   EXT. ROOF OF POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   The cops pour onto the roof, looking around, guns drawn.                                   ANGLE ON CAT ON THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING                                   Clinging to the wall like a gekko. The dun colored wall          blending with her dun colored suit. How is she doing this?                                   CLOSE ON CAT'S SHOES                                   The blades fitted into the seam between the bricks. Her          fingertips clinging to the small lip on the bottom of the          roof's edge.                                                  ABOVE HER                                   The cops look around the roof.                                                  ON CAT                                   She holds there listening to the noise above. Hears noise          below, looks down to see...                                   EXT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   Cops searching the alley below.                                                  ON CAT                                   Hanging to the edge of the building. Listening, watching.                                   EXT. ROOF OF POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   The cops, finding nothing, head back out the door. A moment          later...                                   CLOSE ON THE ROOF LEDGE                                   Cat's hand reaches up.                                                  ON CAT           47.                                   When one hand has a firm grasp on the roof ledge, she lets          go with the other hand and grasps the ledge, extracts the          blades from the brick seams, and swings herself up on the          roof. As her shoes dislodge, some mortar comes loose and          falls below.                                   ON THE COPS BELOW                                   The crumbling mortar falls on the head of one cop, he looks          down, sees the crumbly gravel, looks up, sees nothing.                                   EXT. ROOF OF POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   Cat lands on the roof, lays still.                                   ON THE COP BELOW                                   He examines the gravel, looks up again. And then moves          on.                                   EXT. ROOF OF POLICE STATION - CONTINUOUS                                   Cat pries the vent cover off, slips in.                                   INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   Cops are checking every cell in the men's block.                                   INT. AIR DUCTS - NIGHT                                   Cat is crawling along as fast as she can.                                   INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                   The cops come to the entrance of the woman's cell block.                                   INT. AIR DUCTS - NIGHT                                   Cat comes to the vent in the hallway.                                   INT. CELL BLOCK - NIGHT                                   The cops open the door to the women's cell block.                                   INT. CELL - NIGHT                                   Cat runs. Begins to pull at her leotard.                                   INT. CELL BLOCK - NIGHT                                   The cops look at the women's cells, heading right toward          Cat's. As they reach Cat's, the same cop who did the rounds          at the beginning of the night looks into her cell. Cat is          laying on her side, away from them, dead asleep, in the          same position she was when the cop first checked on her.          The cops pause for a moment, then move on.                                   CLOSE ON CAT           48.                                   Her eyes are wide open. She listens for the outer door          closing, and then she breathes out, relieved.                                   EXT. CITY MORGUE - NIGHT                                   An ambulance pulls up, along with the Marshal contingent          in their SUV's. The Marshal's spill out of the SUV's as a          gurney with a corpse is wheeled into the morgue.                                   INT. MORGUE - NIGHT                                   As the Marshal's stand around, the Police Coroner begins          to unbutton the shirt of Rizzo the corpse.                                                   CORONER           What the fuck?                                                  HIS POV                                   On Rizzo's chest the word TRAITOR is written in thick black          letters. And above them, a drawing of the Cataleya orchid.          The Marshal's knows what this is.                                                   MARSHAL           Holy shit! Call Ross.                                   EXT. SMALL AIRPORT - MORNING                                   The door of a small jet opens and MARCUS ROSS, 48, a keen          eyed, no nonsense all business FBI agent, followed by a          team of similarly focused men and women, exits down the          stairs to...                                                   MARSHAL           Agent Ross?                                                   ROSS           Where is he?                                                   MARSHAL           At the hospital.                                                   ROSS           Let's go.                                   EXT. POLICE STATION - MORNING                                   Reporters are gathered, trying to gain access. The police          are keeping them out.                                   INT. POLICE STATION - MORNING                                   Over the clamor of reporters outside, Cat is just finishing          with her finger printing, wipes off as much of the ink as          she can. The Sergeant hands over her library card.                                                   CAT           I shouldn't drink.           49.                                                   SERGEANT           No you shouldn't.                                                   CAT           I'm so so sorry.                                                   SERGEANT           Tell it to the judge at your hearing           in ten days.                                                   CAT           What's going on out there?                                   Alluding to all the commotion she sees through the window          looking out into the main room.                                                   SERGEANT           Nothing. Fill out the forms and           you can go.                                                   CAT           Really?                                                   SERGEANT           Really. We need to get things           organized. But don't worry, the           judge will send you back, for sure.                                                   CAT           I probably deserve it.                                   He hands her a sheaf of papers and a pen. As the pen hits          the paper.                                   CLOSE ON RIZZO'S PAINTED STOMACH                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. MORGUE - MORNING                                   Ross, with his team standing off his shoulder, looks down          at the stomach.                                                   ROSS           Same handwriting. Same flower.           It's him. Let's see the location.                                   INT. POLICE STATION - MORNING                                   Cat hands the paper work over to the sergeant.                                                   SERGEANT           You're lucky no one was hurt.                                                   CAT           I would have never forgiven myself.                                   Keeping her back to the security camera overhead, Cat          collects her things and exits. As the door closes...           50.                                   A DOOR TO AN SUV OPENS...                                   EXT. POLICE STATION - MORNING                                   Ross exits the SUV to the crowd of reporters.                                                   REPORTERS           Is it Rizzo? Was it an           assassination? Are there any clues?           Is it true a Marshal did it?                                                   ROSS           No comment.                                   Ross sees cops coming and going from the station. He turns          to the Marshal with him.                                                   ROSS           You didn't lock it down?                                                   MARSHAL           It was after the fact. I didn't           think...                                   Ross cannot believe what he is hearing.                                                   ROSS           Do it. Now. No one in or out.                                   ANGLE ON CAT                                   Exiting the station. Ross and his team sweep past her.                                                   MARSHAL           OK! That's it. No one in or out!           Lock down!                                   Cat just keeps walking, right past Ross, who heads into          the station as the cops try to keep the reporters at bay.                                   ANGLE ON CAT                                   Walking away from the pandemonium she is leaving behind.          As it recedes over her shoulder, she picks at her fingers          where the fingerprinting ink has stained them. Her prints          come off! She drops the fake prints down a sewer and keeps          walking.                                   INT. PROTECTIVE CUSTODY - MORNING                                   Ross scrutinizes Rizzo's cell as his team takes prints,          photos, sweeps the cell for evidence.                                                   ROSS           I want to see paper on everyone in           and out of the station in the last           twenty four hours.                                   He looks up to the end of the hall.           51.                                                   ROSS           And I want the tapes from the           security cameras.                                   CLOSE ON LOCKER OPENING                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. BUS STATION - DAY                                   Cat extracts a knapsack from the locker, heads for the          woman's bathroom.                                   INT. BATHROOM STALL - DAY                                   Cat tugs at her hair. The wild mane comes off to reveal          her straight hair, which she pulls back in a pony tail.          She begins to strip out of her mini skirt.                                   INT. BUS STATION - DAY                                   Cat dressed in jeans, a scuffed leather jacket, a baseball          cap, with the brim pulled low over her eyes, with her pony          tail sticking out of the back, the knap sack on her          shoulder, waits on line to board the bus. She keeps her          back to the security camera, has her phone to her ear. A          number is ringing.                                   INT. EMILIO'S HOUSE - DAY                                   Emilio, fifteen years older, is watching a soccer game,          picks up the phone. In the kitchen, Mama is cooking.                                                   EMILIO           Are we good?                                   INTERCUT BETWEEN THE TWO                                   Cat moves up the line to board the bus.                                                   CAT           We're good.                                                   EMILIO           When are you back?                                                   CAT           Day after.                                                   EMILIO           I have something.                                                   CAT           The morning after OK?                                                   EMILIO           Can't wait to see you Cara.           52.                                                   CAT           Say hello to Mama.                                   He looks over to Mama at the stove, who waves over her          shoulder.                                                   EMILIO           Mama says hello back.                                   He hangs up, goes back to his game.                                   INT. BUS STATION - DAY                                   Cat boards the bus. The doors close behind her.                                   As the camera ZOOMS up, and the bus pulls out onto the          road...                                    ROSS V.O.           See?                                   INT. POLICE STATION - DAY                                   Ross is pointing up at the camera Cat tilted.                                                   ROSS           He tilted the camera just enough           so the angle would catch the guard,           not who was holding him.                                   He turns to his team.                                                   ROSS           Twenty two murders in four years           all with the same M.O. The word,           the flower. He's sending a message,           for sure. And I'm beginning to           think it's not to us.                                                   AGENT 1           But we're the only ones with the           information.                                                   ROSS           And we're not getting anywhere           with it, are we?                                   No one on the team can dispute this. It occurs to Ross...                                                   ROSS           If the message is not for us, let's           make sure the one it's intended           for gets it. I want you to put it           out to the press. Splash it across           every newspaper, every magazine.           National. I want eyeballs on it           coast to coast. Monitor it. Let's           see if anything comes back.           53.                                   EXT. UPSCALE RESIDENTIAL NEW ORLEANS NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY                                   A Lincoln town car comes down the leafy, quiet street of          well kept homes. Stops at a gate guarded by two men, who          wave him through.                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   The car ends up in front of a very impressive house, which          sits at the end of a long driveway. Toward the era of the          walled property, a garage, and a guest house. MR. RICHARD,          in a suit and tie, looking like a proper mid level          government official, or a lawyer, exits, newspaper in hand.          As he approaches the front door, Richard looks over to see          two more guards, off to the side. He nods to them, knows          them. They nod back.                                   Richard approaches the front door, knocks. While he is          waiting, he looks down at the paper.                                   The door opens.                                                   MARCO           Mr. Richard...                                   Richard looks up to a fifteen year older Marco.                                                   MARCO           Been a long time.                                                   RICHARD           Yes it has Marco. How's the hand?                                   Marco holds up his scarred hand.                                                   MARCO           Only hurts when it's humid.                                                   RICHARD           Should've let us relocate you to           Arizona instead of New Orleans.                                                   MARCO           The Boss likes it humid.                                                   RICHARD           There it is then.                                                   MARCO           He's waiting for you.                                   Richard enters. The door closes.                                   INT. SALON - DAY                                   Don Luis stares out a bay window, drink in hand.                                                   RICHARD           Hello Luis.           54.                                   Don Luis turns.                                                   DON LUIS           Hello Mr. Richard.                                                   RICHARD           I brought you the morning paper.                                   He holds the paper up.                                   CLOSE ON A PICTURE OF DEAD RIZZO ON THE FRONT PAGE.                                                   DON LUIS           I've seen it.                                                   RICHARD           And...?                                                   DON LUIS           Coincidence.                                                   RICHARD           Coincidence? Twenty two times? A           flower that only grows in one place           on earth? That used to be the           calling card of...what was his           name? Your former partner? The           one who did your wet work?                                                   DON LUIS           Fabio. Fabio Maria Restrepo. But           I don't understand? Why come here           with this?                                                   RICHARD           Because when we find the end of a           string we like to know where it           begins.                                                   DON LUIS           String? Now we are talking about           string? I'm not a tailor.                                                   RICHARD           Don Luis. Let's cut to the chase           here, OK? When the Agency extracted           your ass from Colombia fifteen           years ago, and set you up here, we           let you resume your business when           what we should have done was lock           you up for life. In exchange, you           were supposed to keep the           information flowing.                                                   DON LUIS           And I have.           55.                                                   RICHARD           Not much, and not for a very long           time.                                                   DON LUIS           And this is what you traveled all           the way down here to tell me?                                                   RICHARD           No. What I traveled all the way           down here to tell you, is there's           a limit to our patience. The CIA           is not an amusement park. There           are no free rides. Everyone pays           their way. And you, my friend,           have not.                                                   DON LUIS           OK OK. What would you want?                                   He slaps the newspaper down with the picture of Rizzo.                                                   DON LUIS           I had nothing to do with this. I           swear.                                                   RICHARD           Then find out who does.                                   As he goes to leave.                                                   RICHARD           And Don Luis, don't play the           innocent with us. It won't sit           well with my bosses if we find out           you had anything to do with this.           Have a good day.                                   Richard exits.                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   Richard walks to his car, observed by...                                   INT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                                   DON LUIS           She's talking to us.                                                   MARCO           It could be anyone.                                   Don Luis reaches out, fast as a Cobra, grabbing Marco by          the lapel, pulling him close.                                                   DON LUIS           Idiot! I told you. Everyone dead.           Down to the dog.                          (MORE)           56.                                    DON LUIS (CONT'D)           You screwed up the first time.           Now go fix it. Find her.                          (BEAT)           Before she finds us.                                   CLOSE ON A BUS DOOR OPENS                                   Cat steps off the bus. Looks around to...                                   EXT. CHICAGO BUS STATION - DAY                                   The total full on crush of people that a major metropolitan          bus terminal holds. She sees a surveillance camera tucked          in a corner. She pulls the brim of her hat low over her          eyes, takes off into the crowd.                                   EXT. CHICAGO STREET - DAY                                   Cat comes to a non descript high rise. She enters.                                   INT. CAT'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   Cat enters a completely bare bones dwelling, there is          nothing that identifies the person who lives here. White          bare walls, a table with one chair, a single bed. Along          one wall, a cabinet. On the window sill a single Cataleya          orchid. Cat waters the orchid.                                   Cat opens the cabinet to three computer screens. Two of          them are divided into quarters and show various views of          the building entrance, the lobby, the stairway, the          elevator, the hallway.                                   The third screen is dark, until Cat hits a button and music          fills the apartment. Music with a heavy sensual back beat.          French Rap. Ooh la la. And the screen pulses and glows          in time to the beat. Cat's body responds to the music,          moving sexy, her shoulders rolling, her hips swaying.                                                  IN CUTS                                   Cat sashays across the open space, a stripper strutting          her stuff; shedding, first her blouse, then her jeans, her          lingerie, until, by the time she reaches a free standing          opaque cylinder of a shower with an opaque shower curtain,          she is completely nude. She enters the shower. Turns on          the water.                                   Like a snake shedding a skin, she lets the water divest          her of everything that came before.                                    ROSS V.O.           Since each and every one of the           victims was a professional bad           apple...                                   CLOSE ON A PICTURE OF RIZZO BEING PINNED TO A WALL           57.                                    ROSS V.O.           We've narrowed motive down to           payback or preemptive.                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. FBI OFFICE - DAY                                   Ross has just pinned up Rizzo's picture on a wall filled          with twenty two other deceased, all with words and a          CATALEYA ORCHID imprint on their stomach's. He turns to          face his team.                                                   ROSS           Rizzo here...                                   He points to Rizzo on the wall.                                                   ROSS           The most recent, was done to keep           him from talking. Alexa           Milshinova...                                   Points to a gorgeous dead woman with the word GRIFTER on          her stomach.                                                   ROSS           ...made a career of getting intimate           with big stakes gamblers out of           Vegas and then taking them off and           sending them to meet their maker.           D'Angelo James...                                   Points to a huge black man with USURPER written in white          letters across his chest.                                                   ROSS           ...tried to take over the heroin           trade in Houston from...                                   He points to two Mexicans, identical twins, one with PAY          written on his chest, the other with the word BACK...                                                   ROSS           The Gemini cartel. Their crimes           are self explanatory, if you can           read. Now I know some of you are           thinking whoever is doing this           makes less work for mother. And           since there's no collateral damage,           why are we wasting valuable manpower           and resources on the case? And           since until now, there has never           been a clue to go on, why go on?           But with this last killing...                                   He holds up a stack of folders from his desk.           58.                                                   ROSS           We have one. As we go to the video           tape.                                   He hits a button and the video replay of Cat walking the          unconscious guard through the door.                                                   ROSS           We can't see the assassin, but we           can see...                                   He freezes the tape. Points to the time mark on the tape.                                                   ROSS           The time. 2 AM. Which means our           perp was in the station at...I           don't have to spell it out for           you.                                   He begins to hand the folders out.                                                   ROSS           These are the names, phone numbers           and addresses of everyone with a           pulse who entered that police           station before two AM. Cops,           criminals, clerks, janitors.           Everyone. One of them is our           target. I want each of you to           locate the ten people in the folder           you've been given. I want a           complete dossier on every one of           them for the last ten years of           their lives. Run down every lead.           Check out every story. Our killer           is out there. And we're going to           find him. Before he kills again.                                   THE CITY OF CHICAGO.                                   As an elevator train rumbles by below...                                   EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                   An elevator train rumbles by above.                                   PAN DOWN TO                                   A car parking. And DANNY DELANEY, preoccupied, a pleasant,          easy going, good looker at 28, closes the door, and walks          to the entrance of his low slung apartment building. He          enters.                                   INT. DANNY'S HALLWAY - NIGHT                                   Danny puts his key in the door, finds that it is unlocked.          He pauses, then enters.           59.                                   INT. DANNY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT                                   Danny enters his darkened apartment. Goes to turn on the          switch...                                                   VOICE           Don't move.                                   Danny's hand freezes. He stands very still.                                                   VOICE           Take off your shirt.                                                   DANNY           Do I have to?                                                   VOICE           Now.                                   Danny complies.                                                   VOICE           Turn around.                                   He does. To darkness. And then, a match is struck, a          candle is lit. Standing before him, in garters, thigh          highs, a very sexy bra, and fuck me pumps is...                                                   CAT           Hello Danny.                                                   DANNY           Hello Jennifer.                                   Cat closes to an inch of him.                                                   DANNY           You should have called.                                                   CAT           Why?                                                   DANNY           I could have been out.                                                   CAT           I have a key.                                                   DANNY           I could have been late.                                   She begins to kiss him, lightly around the mouth.                                                   CAT           I've got nowhere to go.                                                   DANNY           It's just...           60.                                                   CAT           Just what?                                   She keeps kissing him, lightly on the neck...                                                   DANNY           You show up whenever you want to...                                                   CAT           And then we have the most incredible           sex.                          (BEAT)           Ever.                                                   DANNY           I know. I'm just saying...                                   He fumbles for the words.                                                   DANNY           Wouldn't you like to go to dinner           sometime?                                   She keeps nibbling.                                                   CAT           Uh-uh. This taste good enough.                                                   DANNY           Or a movie?                                   Licking him.                                                   CAT           No. They put me to sleep.                                                   DANNY           So let's pop in a DVD and you can           spend the night here?                                   She stops. Looks him in the eye.                                                   CAT           Would you like the key back?                                                   DANNY           No. I just want to get...I don't           know...                                                   CAT           Closer?                                   She resumes nibbling on his neck.                                                   DANNY           Yes. Closer.                                   She runs her nails down his chest, slowly, teasing. Her          hand finds his groin. What she finds makes her smile.           61.                                                   CAT           Is this close enough?                                                   DANNY                          (SMILES)           ...Yes.                                   She gently lowers his hands to his sides, holds them there.          Kisses him deeply. Pushes him down onto the floor. And          lowers herself on top of him. A small moan escapes his          lips as she takes him inside her.                                                  FADE TO                                   INT. DANNY'S APARTMENT - DAWN                                   Danny wakes. His face holds the smile of the memory of          the night before. He turns his head, lazily. The pillow          beside him is empty.                                                   DANNY           Jen...?                                   Cat is gone. Danny's smile fades.                                   EXT. ELEVATOR TRAIN - MORNING                                   Emilio walks down the stairs, carrying a shopping bag.                                   TRACK WITH HIM ALONG THE STREET. Until he comes to a          Laundromat.                                   INT. LAUNDROMAT - MORNING                                   Emilio loads laundry from the shopping bag into a machine,          puts in the coins, then sits down on a bench to watch the          cycle. Seems to talk to himself.                                                   EMILIO           Safe?                                   And then we see he is talking to...                                                   CAT           On my end. You?                                                   EMILIO           Safe.                                                   CAT           What do we have?                                   Emilio takes a manila envelope out of the bag. Places it          on the seat next to him. Cat picks it up, looks through          it.           62.                                                   EMILIO           You remember the guy who was in           the news for running that Ponzi           scheme about a year ago?                                   CLOSE ON A MAGAZINE PULLED FROM THE ENVELOPE                                   The cover features WILLIAM WOOGARD, 45, the most unassuming,          baldheaded, pudgy faced man, a nerd. Under the headline:          PREDATOR.                                                   EMILIO           He disappeared fifty billion           dollars. The money was never           recovered. Skipped out and bought           himself citizenship on some shit           hole of a Caribbean island that           calls itself a country with no           extradition laws. Lot of very           pissed off people lost everything.                                   Cat goes to get up.                                                   EMILIO           There's something else.                                   He slaps the newspaper down with Rizzo's picture on the          front page.                                                   EMILIO           How long has this been going on?                                                   CAT                          (BLUFFING)           Not long.                                                   EMILIO           The paper says twenty two. All           like this. Tell me why.                                                   CAT           No reason.                                                   EMILIO           Since you're a kid, you don't do           anything for no reason. Don't           play dumb, it insults me.                                                   CAT           I've got to get ready.                                   As she goes to rise, Emilio grabs her hand.                                                   EMILIO           It's not just you in this. It's           me, Mama.           63.                                                   CAT           Tio. You're removed. You book           the work, you collect the fees...                                                   EMILIO           I watch your ass. Each and every           job, I vet, I double vet. For           every one I book you, I turn down           five, ten. I promised to keep you           safe. I KEEP YOU SAFE. Cataleya.           It's a full time job, no matter           what you think. Those           pictures...they freaked me out.           OK? I didn't realize...                                                   CAT           I come to you at nine. I say I           want to be a killer. What kind of           kid makes a career choice like           that unless they have something on           their mind.                          (BEAT)           I live for the day that the blood           of the son of bitch who did my           parents drips in the gutter. Stop           playing the innocent with me. You           know this. Forever.                                                   EMILIO           Sure. Of course. But the way           you're playing it. They even have           a name for you. The Tag killer.           I would have stopped it a long           time ago. Had I known about this.                                                   CAT           Why?                                                   EMILIO           Because I love you.                                   Cat smiles. A smile that could melt ice in winter. But a          knowing smile. A 'Don't bullshit a bullshitter' smile.                                                   CAT           If you do, you would never have           let me get involved in the first           place.                                   The truth of her words deprive him of his. She kisses him          him on the forehead.                                                   CAT           I love you too.                                   And she exits, leaving Emilio more concerned. He looks          down at the picture.                                   CLOSE ON THE ORCHID WHICH MORPHS INTO...           64.                                   A REAL CATALEYA ORCHID ON A COMPUTER SCREEN WITH THE WORD          CATALEYA BEING TYPED IN THE SEARCH BAR                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. FBI OFFICE - DAY                                   Ross is at his computer, staring at the screen and the          orchid, alongside a map of Colombia and the specific region          where the Cataleya is found. He thinks.                                                   ROSS           OK. Let's try...organization...                                   He types. Data comes up. And what he sees stuns him...                                   A folder marked CIA: CONFIDENTAL. ACCESS DENIED.                                                   ROSS                          (FRUSTRATED)           Fuck...                                   OVER THE SOUND OF CHIMES...                                   EXT. PEPE'S WAREHOUSE/HOME - DAY                                   A ramshackle warehouse, it's windows streaked opaque with          years of dust and grime, surrounded by a fence, and a weedy          garden which is home to dozens of the most unique wind          chimes of all sizes and shapes, made from scrap metal.          And two of the biggest, most ferocious dogs on Earth, laying          on their sides, asleep.                                   The dog's ears perk up; hearing something we don't, a low          growl begins to rumble deep in their throats. The gate to          the garden begins to open, and like a shot the dogs are          up, hurling themselves toward the opening gate, eyes          flashing, barking loud enough to scare the dead back to          life, fangs bared, ready to kill.                                   And then they stop cold when they see who it is coming          into their domain.                                   REVERSE ON CAT                                   Holding two very full shopping bags.                                                   CAT           Hi guys.                                   And the dogs jump all over her, licking her.                                                   CAT           Hey! Hey!                                   She pets them, plays with them.                                                   CAT           OK. OK. Now sit.           65.                                   The dogs obey her in a heartbeat, sitting expectantly.          Not making a sound.                                                   CAT           Now let's see what good boys you           can be.                                   She reaches into one of the shopping bags, pulls out two          roasts!                                                   CAT           Top cut sirloin.                                   Which she puts down on the ground. The dog's eyes go to          the chunks of meat.                                                   CAT           Nice, huh?                                   The dogs can barely contain themselves.                                                   CAT           Red, juicy, delicious.                                   The dogs whimper in anticipation.                                                   CAT           Stay.                                   She picks up the shopping bags, and heads for the ramshackle          warehouse. The dogs moan, but do not move, their eyes          going from the meat to Cat.                                   Cat reaches the door. Turns. Sees the dogs looking at          her.                                                   CAT           Good boys.                          (BEAT)           Eat.                                   The dogs pounce. Each one grabs a roast and tears into          the meat with ferocious, pent up glee. Cat smiles at the          sight, enters the warehouse.                                   INT. PEPE'S WAREHOUSE/HOME - DAY                                   The warehouse, is filled with piles of rusting scrap metal,          the cannibalized carcasses of cars, trucks, shipping          containers, welding equipment, hammers tongs, all sorts of          tools. In the corner is one fully built truck, a big red          monster with huge demolition fenders.                                   This is home to OLD PEPE, an ancient, blind man, who is          working away, building yet another set of oversized chimes          out of scrap metal.                                                   PEPE           Hola Cataleya.           66.                                                   CAT           Hola Pepe. I guess the boys gave           me away.                                                   PEPE           Anyone else? The barking would           only have stopped when their           screaming began. You spoil them.                                                   CAT           I train them.                                                   PEPE           If that's what you want to call           it.                                   Cat kisses Pepe, taps one of the chimes, it makes the most          ethereal sound as one chime bangs against the other. She          opens a cupboard in the makeshift kitchen area, and starts          unpacking the groceries.                                                   PEPE           Did you get the beans I like?                                                   CAT           Of course.                                                   PEPE           And the salsa Verde?                                                   CAT           And the salsa Verde.                                                   PEPE           Not the one in the short bottle.                                                   CAT           The long one.                                                   PEPE           I hate that other one, the chili           they use sucks. Did you see your           uncle?                                                   CAT           Of course.                                   She moves from the kitchen, walks across to the far wall.                                                   PEPE           We're going to church for Easter.                                                   CAT           As always.                                                   PEPE           And you?           67.                                                   CAT           Not this year.                                   Until she reaches a big discarded safe, taller than her,          with an impregnable door.                                                   PEPE           As always. You should, you know.                                                   CAT           I should do a lot of things.                                   She turns the combination knob.                                                   PEPE           You could start with that one. It           would make us very happy.                                                   CAT           Maybe next year.                                   The door opens, reveals shelves with dozens of passports,          stacks of cash.                                                   PEPE           Cataleya. No one knows what happens           tomorrow, next year is a long time           away. How was your trip?                                   Cat starts to remove some of the cash. Starts to count          it. Stick it in her pocket.                                                   CAT           Rewarding.                                   She takes a passport out.                                                   PEPE           Passport?                                                   CAT           Your ears are better than my eyes.                                                   PEPE           You work too much. I keep telling           that to Emilio. The girl should           have a life while she is still           young enough to enjoy it. You           should take a vacation. Go some           place warm. With a nice beach.                                                   CAT           Good idea.                                   She slams the big safe door shut.           68.                                   EXT. CARIBBEAN ISLAND - DAY                                   From the air, surrounded by the bluest of waters. Bestowed          with the greenest of verdant foliage. Surrounded by          exquisite beaches.                                   A spray of water fills the screen. Comes from...                                   THREE OF THE HOTTEST NYMPHETTES IN THE SMALLEST BIKINIS          SPLASHING AROUND A SWIMMING POOL HAVING THE BEST TIME          SPLASHING WATER AT WILLIAM WOOGARD, AS HE CHASES AFTER          THEM...                                                   WILLIAM           GRRRAAAHHHH!!!!                                   PULL BACK TO                                   EXT. COMPOUND - DAY                                   An exquisite villa surrounded by a high wall. As the girls          clamber out of the pool, ignoring the four armed body guards          patrolling poolside, they are met by three maids holding          robes for them to slip into.                                                   WILLIAM                          (SMILING)           Hey! I pay to see more, not less.                                   The robes disappear.                                                   WILLIAM           That's better.                                                   GIRL           Willie you are such a perv.                                                   WILLIAM           I know. Anyone hungry?                                                   GIRL           Always!                                   As William slips into a robe held open for him, he grabs          the asses of two of the girls...                                                   WILLIAM           Lunch is served.                                   Giggling, the girls scamper toward the villa, where a          sumptuous table is set on the veranda, attended by more          servants. William is handed a drink, as he sips it, watches          their perfect, barely covered butts, his eyes pools of          desire, the servant holds out an envelope.                                                   SERVANT           For you sir.           69.                                   Perplexed, William takes his eyes off the girls and regards          the envelope. No return address, no stamps. He opens it,          and his perplexed look goes to one of concern.                                   CLOSE ON THE NOTE                                   It says. SOMEONE IS LOOKING FOR YOU. BE CAREFUL. A          FRIEND.                                                   WILLIAM           Where did this come from?                                                   SERVANT           It was in the post box this morning.                                   William cannot fathom what this is all about. But he does          not like it.                                   EXT. CARIBBEAN ISLAND - SUNSET                                   Over hot dance hall music, the sun sets magnificently into          the shimmering sea...                                   INT. VILLA - EVENING                                   The music blasts throughout the villa. Sexy, hot. There          are several bodyguards stationed all around.                                   INT. SALON - EVENING                                   Two of the girls dance erotically for William, who reclines          on an oversized couch, smoking from a hookah.                                                  ANGLE ON                                   The third girl is out in the foyer, laying on the glass          floor, which is the top of a large aquarium, where dozens          of sharks swim back and forth.                                                   GIRL           Here fishy fishy!                                   She taps on the floor, the sharks ignore her.                                                   GIRL                          (POUTY)           Willie! They're ignoring me!                                   William comes over.                                                   WILLIAM           Put a drop of blood in there and           they'll be your biggest admirers.           All the way down to your stripped           clean bones. And speaking of           stripped...                                   He lifts her up like a piece of luggage. As she squeals          with delight...           70.                                                   WILLIAM           Bedtime!                                   The other girls come running. The party moves up the          winding staircase. The bodyguards look at each other,          roll their eyes.                                   INT. VILLA - NIGHT                                   William is at the double doors to his massive bedroom suite,          the girls are on the bed in the BG jumping around, in the          skimpiest bra and panty sets, having a pillow fight.                                                   WILLIAM           (to head of security)           Bring extra security in for the           night.                                                   HEAD SECURITY           Yes sir.                                                   WILLIAM           And make sure we're shut down tight.                                                   HEAD SECURITY           Yes sir. Have a good night, sir.                                                   WILLIAM           I intend to.                                   The doors close, and lock. Wild shrieks come from inside.                                   EXT. VILLA - EVENING                                   A van rolls up to the main gate, half a dozen security men          exit.                                                   HEAD SECURITY           There are already guys in the garden           and guys out back. I want you           three upstairs, two on the roof.           You three downstairs. Follow me.                                   As they all enter the villa, the CAMERA lingers on the          van. A figure dressed in black rolls out from under the          carriage as it pulls away and disappears into the bushes.                                   QUICK TIME CUTS                                   Two guards stand outside the bedroom door. Two guards are          on the stairs. Three guards in the salon. Three more in          the garden outside.                                   INT. VILLA - NIGHT                                   The Head of Security goes around the villa checking that          all the doors and windows are secure. His men are posted          outside the door to the bedroom, on the stairs, in the          salon. He closes lights as he goes.           71.                                   He walks across the aquarium floor in the foyer to the          front door, closes the lights, so that only the glow from          the aquarium lights illuminate the dark. And he exits,          closing the door behind him, turning the lock.                                   CLOSE ON THE AQUARIUM                                   The sharks gliding back and forth. And then, a figure in          a black wet suit, fins and a mask, with a small back back,          comes gliding into through the sharks. Who just go about          their business. The figure stops at the edge of the glass          floor, takes something out of the back pack and very          skillfully cuts a small hole in one of the glass panels          that makes up the floor.                                   The diver lifts out of the aquarium, pulls back the wet          suit. It is Cat.                                   Cat opens the backpack, removes a silencer fitted pistol.                                   CLOSE ON THE BEDROOM DOORS OPENING                                   Cat enters, silent, closes the door, approaches the bed          where William is asleep sandwiched between the three passed          out girls. Empty champagne bottles and glasses are strewn          about.                                   Cat stares down at the scene, points her gun at William.          One of the girls rolls over onto William, ruining her shot.          She hesitates.                                   CLOSE ON WILLIAM'S FACE                                   As sits up suddenly, startled from sleep. No one is in          the room. He looks around, and notices the bedroom door          ajar. He is more awake now, sees the Nymphettes sleeping          soundly. He rises, dressed in a silk sleeping robe. He          feels something on his chest, goes over to the mirror,          opens his gown and sees, painted on his chest: In red          lipstick, the word THIEF, and a drawing of a Cataleya          orchid. Panic starts to set in.                                                   WILLIAM           Hello?                                   No answer.                                   William tip toes to the ajar door. He peeks out and sees          two guards with bullets through their foreheads, blood          leaked out across the white marble floor. Really panicked,          he flattens himself against the inside of the door, his          breath coming in gasps.                                   INT. VILLA - NIGHT                                   William, holding the two guns of the dead guards in front          of him, makes his way down stairs, past two more dead          guards. Growing more and more nervous by the moment, he          tries a light switch on the wall, nothing.           72.                                   The only light comes from the ambient glow of the aquarium          below. He reaches the bottom of the stairs.                                                   WILLIAM           Anybody?                                   No answer. He crosses the aquarium floor, and when he is          right in the middle...                                                   CAT           Stop right there.                                   Cat comes out of the dark. In her hand, a silencer fitted          pistol.                                                   WILLIAM           Who are you?                                                   CAT           Doesn't matter who I am.                                   He pulls the trigger on his gun. Click, click, click. He          tries the other one. Again click click click.                                                   WILLIAM           What do you want?                                                   CAT           I want you exactly where you are.                                   And then, without warning, she puts a bullet in both his          knees.                                                   WILLIAM           ARRRGGGHHHH!                                   He falls to the floor. The blood starts to seep out onto          the glass. The sharks swim back and forth.                                                   WILLIAM           Whatever they paid you, I'll double           it!                                                   CAT           You know the thing about sharks.           You can swim with them all day and           they will just ignore you, but put           one drop of blood in the water and           they become your biggest admirers.                                                   WILLIAM           Please. I'll give you anything           you want. Don't kill me!                                                   CAT           I'm not going to kill you.                          (BEAT)           They are.           73.                                   She fires three shots into the glass square he is kneeling          on. The glass shatters. William falls into the water.          Grabs onto the squares on either side and props himself          up. His blood runs down into the clear water. Cat turns          and walks toward the door.                                                   WILLIAM           Please! Please!                                   He struggles frantically to pull himself out. Cat exits.          And then the sharks hit. WHAM! And hit. And hit. And          hit.                                                   WILLIAM           Please! Help! Help!                                   He is violently dragged under.                                                  CLOSE ON                                   The front page of a newspaper with a picture of the remains          of William under the headline: SHARKS EAT SHARK. The          newspaper drops to reveal Richard at his desk.                                   INT. CIA OFFICE - DAY                                                   RICHARD           I can't believe this.                                   He drops the paper, is about to leave his office when the          phone on his desk rings. He answers.                                                   RICHARD           Yes?                                                   VOICE           Mr. Steven Richard?                                                   RICHARD           Who is this?                                                  CLOSE ON                                                   ROSS           FBI special agent Jack Ross. I'm           lead agent on a case. A serial           killer we call the tag killer.                                                  INTERCUT                                   Hiding his anger.                                                   RICHARD           I've seen the publicity.                                                   ROSS           Marks his victims with a flower.           From Colombia. A Cataleya orchid.                          (MORE)           74.                                                   ROSS (CONT'D)           When I try to access information,           I get stuck with a CIA Access denied           folder. I understand you were the           station chief down there when this           rash of murders with the same MO...                                                   RICHARD           Listen, Agent Ross, we don't give           out any type of information over           the phone. So what I suggest is           you file a formal request with the           agency for any information you           might want. And I'll be more than           happy to get back to you as soon           as I can.                                   He hangs up. Seething.                                                  ON ROSS                                   Looking at his phone and the dial tone emittting from the          handset.                                                   ROSS           Thank you.                                   EXT. MIAMI AIRPORT - DAY                                   A plane lands.                                   INT. MIAMI AIRPORT - DAY                                   People disembark. We think Cat is getting off the plane.          It is Marco and two of his thugs. As he is crossing the          terminal, he passes a newspaper machine. The headline of          the paper in the window catches his eye: SHARKS EAT SHARK.          As he stares at the picture of the dead William, his phone          rings.                                                   MARCO           Bueno?                                   INT. CAR - DAY                                   A pissed off Richard is on the phone.                                                   RICHARD           No more bullshitting me Marco.           I've got the FBI on my ass now. I           want that problem taken care of.           Yesterday. Do you hear me?                                                   MARCO           Loud and clear.                                   The newspaper picture of William being pinned to a board.                                   PULL BACK TO           75.                                   INT. FBI OFFICE - DAY                                   Ross turns from pinning up the picture alongside the other          twenty two, to his team.                                                   ROSS           Where are we?                                                   AGENT 1           We ID'd everyone who came in and           out of the police station for the           twenty four hours preceding the           incident. The only one that we           could not verify was a...                                   He reads.                                                   AGENT 1           Valarie Phillips. Picked up for           drunk driving four hours before           the hit on Rizzo.                                                   ROSS                          (STUNNED)           A woman? Are you sure?                                                   AGENT 1           It's our only lead.                                                   ROSS           Let's see her booking report.                                                   AGENT 2                          (HESITANT)           Well, there was a little problem.           Seems she was too drunk to get a           photo.                                                   ROSS           But not to get prints.                                                   AGENT 1           We ran the prints in the data base.           No match was found.                                                   ROSS           Lovely. So if there is no booking           record, how did we get the name?                                                   AGENT 1           A library card. The only ID she           had was a library card.                                                   ROSS           I don't believe this.                                                   AGENT 1           There are the surveillance tapes.           76.                                                   AGENT 2           From three angles.                                                   ROSS                          (HOPEFUL)           Well, let's see them.                                   The two agents look at each other, even more chagrined.          One of them pushes a button on the computer. And the three          angles come up. One has a shot of Cat's face covered by          her hair, one has a shot of her face covered by her hand,          and the third one has an angle of her nose.                                                   ROSS           That's it?                                                   AGENT 1           That's it.                                   Ross sighs.                                                   ROSS           It's not a lot to go on. But put           them in the data base and let's           see what matches.                                   The agents exit. Ross looks at the pictures on the board.                                                   ROSS           ...a woman.                                   Cannot believe it.                                   EXT. MIAMI - LITTLE COLOMBIA - DAY                                   Marco and his thugs enter a small social club/bar.                                   INT. SOCIAL CLUB - DAY                                   A dimly lit place, where strangers are few and suspicious          looks from the rough men playing pool at the back to able          and lining the bar are par for the course.                                   EDUARDO, a small time hood, lines up a shot with a pool          cue, when a hand comes down on the ball he is about to          shoot. He looks up to...                                                   MARCO           Hello Eduardo, que pasa?                                                   EDUARDO           I have fifty bucks on this shot.           That's what's que pasa.                                                   MARCO                          (SMILING)           Hey sorry. Come on.           77.                                   He opens his arms. They hug. Eduardo is friendly, but          there is a hesitation, a tension in the air. As they break          marco takes a roll of cash out.                                                   MARCO           Here. For you.                                   He goes to hand it to Eduardo.                                                   EDUARDO           For what?                                                   MARCO           First for fucking up your shot.           Second, for an address. You           remember Fabio? The Cataleya           Killer?                                                   EDUARDO           It's a long time. My memory...                                                   MARCO           You went to school with his brother           in law. What was his name? Emilio?                                                   EDUARDO           Like I said...my memory...                                   Now the men at the bar are starting to take notice.                                                   MARCO           I have a problem. And we think           Fabio's kid is behind it.                                   Eduardo takes the roll of bills and puts it in Marco's          shirt pocket.                                                   EDUARDO           Look Marco. I gotta be honest           with you. Everyone knows you guys           were playing a double game, and           when the shit went down, you were           the only ones who got out of it           clean.                                   The men at the bar are now edging closer. One of them has          a shot gun resting along his leg, inconspicuous, and          conspicuous at the same time.                                                   MARCO           So you do have a memory.                                                   EDUARDO           Yeah. For rats. Now get the fuck           out, and let me take my shot.                                                   MARCO           OK...           78.                                   Marco looks at Eduardo, who glares at him. Eduardo goes          to line up his shot. The tension in the room is thicker          by the moment. As Eduardo is about to hit the ball, Marco          grabs his hair and slams his forehead into the cue ball.          At the same moment, Marco's two thugs whip out their guns          and blast away. The shotgun wielding man, raises his gun,          and as he is killed by Marco, his blast takes out one of          Marco's thugs.                                   In an instant it is over. Everyone is dead, except Marco,          one of his thugs, and the dazed Eduardo. Marco notices          his ear is bleeding, touches it, it pisses him off that          blood has soiled his white shirt.                                                   MARCO           Fuck...                                   Pissed, Marco yanks Eduardo up from the floor and slams          him onto the pool table. Sticks his gun in his face.                                                   MARCO           You don't tell me what I want to           know by the count of three, you           scum sucking lowlife prick, your           memory will be permanently disabled.           One...two...                                   A buzzer sounds...                                   EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                   Danny opens the door to his building.                                   INT. DANNY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT                                   Danny enters to a candle lit room and...                                                   CAT           I brought you something.                                   She is in a very sexy lingerie top. Her hands are behind          her back.                                                   DANNY           That's real progress. Let's see.                                   She takes her hands out from behind her back, presents him          with a cute little stuffed alligator.                                                   DANNY           Wow! Just what I always wanted.                                                   CAT           You're making fun.                                                   DANNY           No. No. I mean, a gift from you.           Something to show me you're thinking           of me as more than your boy toy.           79.                                                   CAT           Well, there's that too.                                   She starts to peel off the lingerie.                                                   DANNY           Wait.                                   She stops.                                                   CAT           You don't want me?                                                   DANNY           Of course I do. But can't we talk           a little first?                                                   CAT           What would you like to talk about?                                                   DANNY           Oh, I don't know. Nothing.           Anything.                                                   CAT           You really want to do this?                                                   DANNY           Yes, I do.                                                   CAT                          (AMUSED)           OK.                                   She stands there, waiting.                                                   DANNY           So...what's new?                                                   CAT           Nothing much.                                   She stops. Waiting.                                                   DANNY           Where have you been?                                                   CAT           On vacation.                                                   DANNY           Really? Where?                                                   CAT           Down south.                                                   DANNY           Where there are alligators?           80.                                   He wiggles the toy.                                                   CAT           There was that one.                                                   DANNY           Was it nice?                                                   CAT           It was OK.                                                   DANNY           What did you do?                                                   CAT           Nothing much. A little swimming,           fed the fish.                                                   DANNY           OK. Now you.                                                   CAT           Now me what?                                                   DANNY           Conversation. It goes two ways.                                                   CAT           OK. Want to fuck?                                   Danny starts to laugh. Cat, caught in the moment, begins          to laugh as well.                                                   DANNY           OK. OK. I get it. You want to           protect yourself. I understand.           But I'm...I don't just want to be           here for the sex. I know a lot of           guys would think this is perfect.           She comes over, we fuck like mad.           She leaves. But I need a little           more.                                   She keeps staring, waiting.                                                   CAT           Like what?                                                   DANNY           Like...uh...some trust maybe.                                                   CAT           That's a hard one for me.                                                   DANNY           I got that. I'm not in a hurry.           And just so you know. The past?           If it's too painful right now?                          (MORE)           81.                                                   DANNY (CONT'D)           If you can't talk about? That's           OK. But, you know, if someone           hurt you before...like a broken           heart or something. I'm not           responsible for that. I just want           want to be here for you. To know           a little about what's inside.           What you feel. Just a little.                                   Cat hesitates, standing there half dressed, feelings that          she never wants to deal with coming to the surface.                                                   CAT           I'm lonely sometimes.                                   She stops.                                                   DANNY           ...And?                                                   CAT           Isn't that enough?                                                   DANNY           It's a good start.                                   He smiles, puts the stuffed animal aside.                                                   DANNY           Now we can have sex.                                   Cat smiles, caught a bit off guard by his sweetness. He          approaches her, she goes to touch him. He puts her hands          down, gently.                                                   DANNY           Let me this time.                                   And for the first time, she lets him touch her first.          Let's him kiss her lips, her neck, and as he goes south,          kissing as he goes, the CAMERA holds on her face, and for          the first time she allows herself to receive, to give          herself over to being the seduced rather than the seducer.          And she likes it.                                   FADE TO BLACK                                   EXT. CHICAGO - SUNRISE                                   The city wakes.                                   CLOSE ON DANNY                                   Waking. Turning over, expecting to find no one there.          Surprise this time. Because there is someone there,          sleeping peacefully, her face, half covered by her hair,          bathed in the soft light of dawn...           82.                                   Cat.                                   Danny smiles, so pleased.                                   INT. KITCHEN - MORNING                                   Danny puts the finishing touches on a breakfast tray. He          looks at the stuffed animal she brought him. It warms his          heart.                                   INT. BEDROOM - MORNING                                   Danny stands with the breakfast tray, looking at Cat          sleeping. He cannot quite believe it. He puts the tray          down, takes his iPhone, points it at her, goes to take a          picture.                                   REVERSE ON CAT                                   She wakes with a start. To find Danny standing there with          a breakfast tray, and a big smile on his face.                                                   DANNY           Morning.                                   Cat is disoriented.                                                   DANNY           I didn't know if you like your           eggs over easy or scrambled, so I           made...                                   Cat jumps out of bed, starts to dress quickly.                                                   DANNY           Wait...                                                   CAT           I shouldn't have done this.                                   Pulls on her jeans.                                                   DANNY           Done what?                                                   CAT           Any of it.                                                   DANNY           Why?                                                   CAT           Because.                                                   DANNY           Can we talk about it?                                   Pulls on her top.           83.                                                   CAT           We already talked. I'm late.                                   Slips into her shoes. Does not answer.                                                   DANNY           I made breakfast.                                                   CAT           I don't like eggs.                                   As she heads for the door, she turns.                                                   CAT           Now you know something else about           me.                                   And with a small smile, she is gone.                                   INT. HALL - MORNING                                   Outside Danny's door, Cat crosses to the elevator, waits          for it to come. As she does, she fixes her clothes a bit,          her eyes on Danny's door.                                                   CAT                          (TO HERSELF)           Don't come out. Please. Don't.                                   The door doesn't open. The elevator arrives. She takes a          deep breath, enters. The door closes.                                   EXT. PAINT SUPPLY STORE - DAY                                   Cat comes running in.                                   INT. PAINT SUPPLY STORE - DAY                                   Cat hurries down the aisle, keeping an eye on the security          camera. Making sure she stays on the far side, out of          it's range. She stops in the middle of the aisle, starts          to examine paint brushes.                                                   CAT           Sorry I'm late.                                   ANGLE ON EMILIO                                   Standing next to her, looking at a color chart, hidden          from the security camera, as is she. He is pissed. He          has the newspaper with Woogard's picture. He throws the          paper in her face. Cat is taken aback by a display of          anger she has never seen in this man before.                                                   EMILIO           You said you would stop the writing!                                   Then he shoves an article cut from a paper in her face.           84.                                                   EMILIO           Read this!                                   As she starts...                                                   EMILIO           Seven people slaughtered in a Miami           bar. I knew one of them. Years           ago, in school.                                                   CAT           So what?                                                   EMILIO           I don't like it. This is getting           too close.                                                   CAT           Tio. Could be anyone. You're           seeing things that aren't there.                                                   EMILIO           And you are so blinded by your           need for revenge that you are not           seeing things that are. The           handwriting is on the wall Cara.           Let me read it to you. This is           over. I will no longer accept           jobs. I will no longer solicit           jobs. You are retired.                                                   CAT           How many people did you kill in           revenge for your boy's death? How           many? And you're going to give me           a lecture about revenge?                                                   EMILIO                          (CALM)           Cara. It's time to get a life,           before you run out of time. Here.                                   He hands her an envelope.                                                   EMILIO           Maybe this will help you understand           what I am telling you.                                   Emilio leaves first this time. Cat just stands there, her          world rocked. She opens the envelope, takes out a          photograph, looks at it.                                   CLOSE ON A PHOTO OF CAT WITH HER PARENTS                                   Dressed for her first Communion. Everyone is smiling.          She is holding a Cataleya orchid bouquet.                                                  ON CAT           85.                                   Her eyes well up. She can't hold it anymore. She begins          to cry.                                                   VOICE           Five six. Brown eyes, hazel really,           dark hair, thick, shiny...                                   EXT. CAFE - DAY                                   Danny is sitting with his friend RYAN.                                                   DANNY           Great body, killer smile.                          (BEAT)           And I think about her all day long.                                                   RYAN           Dude, you're in love.                                                   DANNY           You're so smart.                                                   RYAN           Seriously. This comes from the           heart. OK?                          (BEAT)           You're nuts.                          (BEAT)           The girl comes over, strips down,           rocks your world, gets dressed,           asks for nothing. Leaves. The           only thing she doesn't do is bring           the pizza and beer. You are living           my dream. And you want to go and           fuck it up with love?                                                   DANNY           I knew you were the perfect guy to           talk about this with.                                                   RYAN           Hey come on. It's me. Since first           grade. You and me?                                   He crosses his fingers.                                                   DANNY           Ryan, I'm twenty eight. I met           someone who I want to be with.           All the time. I have nothing. A           stuffed animal.                          (BEAT)           And a picture.                                                   RYAN           You have a picture?                                                   DANNY           In my phone.           86.                                                   RYAN           Give it up!                                   Danny takes out his iPhone.                                                   DANNY           It's not even a whole picture. I           took it while she was asleep.                                   Shows Ryan the picture he took of Cat.                                   CLOSE ON THE PICTURE OF CAT                                   Asleep in his bed, with the morning light on her face,          half hidden by her position and her hair.                                                   RYAN           Whoa...total babe-age! When do I           meet the future Mrs. Delaney?                                                   DANNY           Haven't you been listening to me?           I don't even know how to get in           touch with her.                                                   RYAN           Dude. That is such a no brainer.                                   INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT                                   Ryan and Danny stand beside SHARI, 26, who sits in front          of her computer, attaching Danny's iPhone to a port.                                                   SHARI           You know, if you weren't my           brother's best friend...                                                   RYAN           You're doing it for love Shari.           Not for me. When they walk down           the aisle, you can say you were           the one made it happen.                                                   DANNY           Maybe I shouldn't...                                                   SHARI           Up to you Danny. I do it all the           time. Photo goes in here. Bangs           around the National Data base           looking for a match. Bingo.           Address, phone number, shoe size,           dress size, rap sheet, anything           you want to know. It's really no           big deal.                                                   DANNY           I just feel like, maybe, I'm           invading her privacy or something.           87.                                                   SHARI           Hey guys, I haven't got all day.           (holds her hand on           the send button on                          THE COMPUTER)           Yes or no?                                   Danny can't answer.                                                   RYAN           Of course yes.                                   He hits the button. Cat's picture appears on the screen          with the message: BEGIN DOWNLOAD.                                   CLOSE ON THE PROCESS                                   Cat's picture gets turned into millions of pixels, which          start combining and recombining into faces that look like          her, don't look like her, looking for a match.                                   INT. ROSS'S OFFICE - NIGHT                                   Ross is staring at his Cataleya orchid, looking over his          reports, frustrated, when his computer screen lights up          the the following message: DATA MATCH 62%                                   And alongside the half assed pictures of Cat from the          security tapes in the police station, the picture from          Danny's iPhone starts to form. Ross picks up the phone.                                                   ROSS                          (EXCITED)           I want a trace put on an incoming           transmission!                                   Ross continues watching his screen: DATA MATCH PROBABILITY          68%.                                   A map comes up on his screen immediately. A grid map of          the city with a focus finder bringing the search area closer          and closer. Until the area is identified: One Police Plaza.                                   OVER THE INTONATIONS OF A CHOIR SINGING EASTER MASS...                                   INT. CATHEDRAL - DAY                                   Emilio, Mama and Pepe are sitting in a pew during Easter          mass. Someone comes up from behind, sits down next to          them. They turn to Cat. Who smiles, like a child. Emilio          smiles back. Mama takes Cat's hand, kisses it. They all          sit and listen to the Mass, like all the other families          around them.                                   EXT. CATHEDRAL - DAY                                   As everyone is exiting...           88.                                                   MAMA           Cara. You will come home for lunch.                                                   CAT           No Mama. One thing at a time.                                   She kisses them and walks off.                                   INT. CAR - DAY                                   Emilio drives.                                                   MAMA           That was such a nice surprise.                                                   PEPE           I knew it would happen.                                                   EMILIO           Everyone grows up.                                                   MAMA           I think she's going to be OK.                                                   EMILIO           I think so.                                   As their car pulls into the driveway of the house...                                   FROM SOMEONE ELSE'S POV                                                  REVERSE ON                                   INT. CAR - DAY                                   From down the street. Watching Emilio, Mama, and Pepe          enter the house. Marco. And three thugs.                                   INT. FBI OFFICE - DAY                                   On a larger computer screen, the various pictures of Cat,          none of them conclusive. As Ross and his team look on...                                                   TECH           We need a common base, so let's           try size...                                   He punches his keyboard. The computer screen shuffles the          pictures until they all match up, one on top of the other.          And on the screen: SIZE CONFIRMATION: MATCH 96%                                                   TECH           Good...now let's see...hands...                                   He focuses in on the hands on the pictures from the security          tape and the ones from Danny's iPhone picture. The images          start moving, matching. And when they are coordinated, on          the screen: HAND CONFIRMATION: MATCH 95%           89.                                                   TECH           Looking good. And now...                                   He types in nose match. Again the pictures shuffle, line          up. NOSE CONFIRMATION: MATCH 98%                                                   TECH           Nice nose.                                   AND THEN THE MESSAGE COMES UP: MATCH IDENTIFICATION: 100%                                                   TECH           That's your girl.                                   CLOSE ON CAT                                   In the shower. The water pelting her face.                                   AS THE CAMERA WATCHES HER, IT FEELS LIKE SOMEONE ELSE IS          THERE WATCHING TOO.                                   INT. CAT'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   Cat, outside the shower.                                   AGAIN, THE CAMERA WATCHES HER AS IF THERE IS SOMEONE ELSE          THERE. THIS BEGINS TO FEEL A LITTLE CREEPY. VERY TENSE.                                   INT. CAT'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   Cat, in a bra and panties, walks across to the kitchen,          pours a drink. Downs half of it, then refills the glass.                                   AND STILL, THERE IS THIS FEELING SOMEONE IS THERE, WATCHING.          THAT AT ANY MOMENT, SOMEONE IS GOING TO POUNCE.                                   INT. CAT'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   Cat sits by the living room window. Takes the last drop          of the drink. As she looks out on the night sky, she lights          a cigarette. Feeling so alone. She takes one drag on the          cigarette, stubs it out. She takes the picture of herself          and her parents, looks at it, sighs deeply. A tear forms.          Her loneliness, her sense of isolation grows. For the          first time, she seems a bit lost.                                   INT. DANNY'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   Danny sits by his window, also feeling a bit lost, and          also, so lonely. He stares at the picture of Cat on his          phone. When the phone rings.                                                   DANNY           Hello?                                                  INTERCUT                                                   CAT           It's me.           90.                                   Danny's heart goes to his throat.                                                   DANNY           Oh my god! I can't believe it!           Hello you.                                   INT. ROSS'S OFFICE - DAY                                   Ross's computer bings. Danny's name and number come up          with the message: CALL ACTIVE. Ross looks up.                                   INT. CAT'S APARTMENT - DAY                                                   CAT           Are you busy?                                                  INTERCUT                                                   DANNY           No. I...no.                                                   CAT           I was just sitting here, looking           out the window. And I           thought...where are you?                                   INT. ROSS'S OFFICE - DAY                                   Ross and his team are listening to the call on an intercom.          On the screen a tracer is looking for the location of the          call.                                                  INTERCUT                                                   DANNY           In my apartment. Looking out the           window.                                                   CAT           So we're seeing the same sky.                                   ROSS watches the search narrow...                                                   DANNY           Yes. I'm so happy to hear your           voice.                                   NARROW...                                                   CAT           And I'm happy to hear yours.                                   UNTIL A RED BLINKING CIRCLE APPEARS ON THE MAP AROUND ONE                         BUILDING                                                   ROSS           We got her! I want SWAT there!           All of them! Now!           91.                                   Ross and his team run out of their office. AND WE ARE          BACK TO...                                                   DANNY           You know it's so crazy. I was           just sitting here, looking at your           picture, thinking "I'd wish I could           call her." And you called.                                   Cat's antenna go up.                                                   CAT           ...What picture?                                   Danny gulps hard, realizing he has made a mistake.                                                   DANNY           I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't           have. But I have nothing to           remember you by, except this little           stuffed...                                                   CAT                          (TIGHT)           What picture Danny???                                                   DANNY           I took a picture of you while you           were sleeping. With my phone.                                   Cat leaps out of her chair, on full alert now. She opens          her cabinet to the four screens.                                                   DANNY           Jen. I'm sorry. Really. I didn't           mean to offend you.                                   Cat attaches a device to her computer. Does not respond.                                                   DANNY           ...it's just you looked so cute.           I can erase it if you want. It's           not even a good picture...Jen?                                   Cat is not listening, she is looking at a message flashing          across the screen. THIRD PARTY ON LINE.                                                   CAT                          (NERVES KEENING)           Who else saw the picture?                                   Cat flips the switch on her surveillance screens.                                                   DANNY           Nobody. My friend Ryan...                                                   CAT           Who else?           92.                                                   DANNY           His sister. I didn't want to..it's           just...I wanted to contact you. I           wanted to...                                                   CAT                          (HARD)           What does the sister of Ryan have           to do with this?                                                   DANNY           Shari, that's Ryan's sister...she           works at Police headquarters...                                   And now Cat knows everything.                                                   DANNY           I just wanted to be...                                   On her surveillance screens, Cat sees FBI SWAT pulling up          to the building.                                                   CAT           Closer. I know. Goodbye Danny.                                   Cat hangs up, rushes into the bathroom, turns the shower          on full blast. Hurrying out, on her screens, she sees the          SWAT swarming into the building. Cat opens a cabinet. On          the back of the door are a dozen keys. She chooses one.          She checks the screens one more time, sees the SWAT rushing          the stairs, the elevators. She turns off her screens.                                   And runs out of the apartment in her t-shirt and panties.          Barefoot.                                   INT. STAIRCASES - DAY                                   The SWAT are running up the stairs.                                   INT. ELEVATOR - DAY                                   The SWAT led by Ross are watching the elevator numbers          climb.                                   INT. HALL - DAY                                   Cat reaches the stairs just as the elevator is reaching          her floor. She ducks down the stairs as the elevator door          opens, and Ross and his team step out, guns raised,          exercising extreme caution, keeping very quiet.                                   INT. STAIRCASES - DAY                                   Cat takes the stairs two at a time.                                   INT. STAIRCASES - DAY                                   The SWAT comes running up the stairs, two at a time.           93.                                   QUICK CUTS BETWEEN CAT AND THE SWAT. SHE GOING DOWN, THEY          ARE COMING UP. AND JUST WHEN THEY ARE ONE FLOOR APART,          WHEN IT SEEMS THAT THEY ARE GOING TO COLLIDE, RUN INTO          EACH OTHER...                                   CAT EXITS THE STAIRS ON THE SIXTH FLOOR.                                   A MOMENT LATER THE SWAT COME RUNNING BY WHERE SHE EXITED.                                   INT. HALL - DAY                                   Swat 1 listens at Cat's door. Ross is at the end of the          corridor.                                                   SWAT 1           (whispers, on mic)           Shower.                                   Ross signals for a scope. SWAT 2 takes a flex cam, and          begins to slide it under the door.                                   INT. SIXTH FLOOR HALL - DAY                                   Cat comes to a door, uses her key to open it. She enters          to...                                   INT. APARTMENT - DAY                                   ...a guy eating his lunch in front of the TV.                                                   GUY           Hey!                                   He reaches out to grab her. Cat grabs his hand and slams          his face into his tray of food, knocking him cold.                                   INT. HALL - DAY                                   Ross watches the screen as the flex cam shows the interior          of Cat's apartment.                                   INT. BATHROOM - DAY                                   Cat pulls down a camouflaged hinged door in the ceiling.          On it, is a harness, with several things attached, guns,          charges, thick metal clips. She slips into the harness.                                   INT. HALL - DAY                                   Ross's team goes from apartment to apartment. Knocking.                                                   AGENT 1           FBI...                                   INT. HALL - DAY                                   On the video cam, Ross is seeing nothing in Cat's apartment.          He points to one of the SWAT, signals for him to set charges          against the door. The man begins to do so.           94.                                   INT. BATHROOM - DAY                                   Cat is setting charges in a rectangular pattern on the          rear bathtub wall.                                   INT. HALL - DAY                                   The agents at an apartment door...                                                   AGENT 1           No ma'am everything is under           control. We just need you to stay           inside. May we have a look around?                                   As the FBI enters...                                   INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT                                   Cat has finished setting her charges. She looks up at the          ceiling, listens.                                   INT. HALL - DAY                                   Ross's man has finished setting the charges. He looks at          Ross. The rest of the team fingers their weapons.                                   INT. BATHROOM - DAY                                   Cat waits, looking up.                                   INT. HALL - DAY                                   An FBI agent knocks on the door of the apartment she has          just entered.                                   INT. HALL - DAY                                   Ross give the go ahead nod. The SWAT hits his detonator.          At the same moment that his charges explode...                                   INT. BATHROOM - DAY                                   Cat hits hers...                                   BOOM!                                   INT. HALL - DAY                                   Cat's door blows open, the SWAT flood in.                                   INT. BATHROOM - DAY                                   A perfect rectangle is blown in the wall, revealing utility          pipes.                                   INT. CAT'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   Ross and his crew swarm all over the place. Find the          shower, empty.           95.                                   INT. BATHROOM - DAY                                   Cat has attached the hooks from the harness to the pipes.                                   INT. CAT'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   Ross barks into his walkie talkie.                                                   ROSS           She's not here. Lock the building           down!                                   INT. BATHROOM - DAY                                   Cat lets go. And drops.                                   TRACK CAT AS SHE SLIDES AT A FANTASTIC SPEED DOWN THE                         UTILITY POLES                                   INT. CAT'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   Ross is looking at the bank of security monitors in Cat's          cabinet, sees all his men, all over the place, inside the          building, outside.                                                   ROSS           Where the hell did she go?                                   INT. SHAFT - DAY                                   Cat lands on the floor, next to door. She unhooks herself          from the pipes, and pushes out the door. Enters through          to the...                                   INT. GARAGE - DAY                                   Cat looks around, listens, and then begins to make her way          across the garage, using the parked cars as cover from the          security cameras.                                   INT. BUILDING - DAY                                   Ross leads his men as they scour the building.                                                   ROSS           No one in or out! Lock this place           down! Anyone?                                   EXT. BUILDING - DAY                                                   AGENT 1           Nothing here.                                   INT. HALL - DAY                                                   AGENT 2           Nothing here.           96.                                   INT. GARAGE - DAY                                   Cat reaches an open space where cars just cannot shield          her. There are two security cameras covering it. Cat          draws one of her silencers and shoots the lens out of one          camera.                                   INT. SECURITY OFFICE - DAY                                   An agent is standing next to the building security guard,          when one camera goes out.                                    ROSS V.O.           Anything?                                                   AGENT 1           Nothing...wait...one security camera           down.                                   INT. ELEVATOR - DAY                                   Ross pauses.                                   INT. GARAGE - DAY                                   Cat shoots the second camera. Heads across the open space,          quickly.                                   INT. SECURITY OFFICE - DAY                                                   AGENT 1           The second one is down.                                                   ROSS           Where?                                                   AGENT 1           The garage!                                                   ROSS           (into walkie talkie)           All units! Converge on the garage.           Cover every exit!                                   INT. GARAGE - DAY                                   Cat has reaches a vent, which she removes, having loosened          the screws before.                                   INT. GARAGE - DAY                                   The SWAT and Ross's team flood the garage. Vehicles          screeching in, men running in full body armor, guns ready.                                   CLOSE ON THE VENT GRATE                                   Cat is just climbing into the space behind it.                                   PULL BACK TO The SWAT ALL OVER THE PLACE           97.                                   CLOSE ON CAT PULLING THE GRATE CLOSED                                   PULL BACK TO THE SWAT PASSING BY LOOKING EVERYWHERE.                                                   ROSS                          (FRUSTRATED)           Look under every car. In every           trunk!!!                                   INT. SUBWAY TUNNEL - DAY                                   Cat hurries along a tunnel, comes to a utility door, and          enters.                                   INT. UTILITY CHANGING ROOM - DAY                                   Cat enters a room full of lockers. She starts opening          them until she finds what she is looking for. A maintenance          uniform.                                   INT. SUBWAY TUNNEL - DAY                                   Cat walks along in coveralls, boots and a hard hat, passing          several crews of workers welding, hammering, doing repairs.          She disappears into the gloaming.                                   FADE TO BLACK                                   EXT. EMILIO'S STREET - EARLY MORNING                                   A normal day. Kids playing ball. Trashmen picking up          trash.                                   ANGLE ON THE REAR OF EMILIO'S HOUSE                                   Cat enters the house.                                   INT. EMILIO'S HOUSE - MORNING                                   Cat walks through the house like it could be a trap, a          silencer in her hand. Her senses are keening, she is that          alert. And then she finds the first body.                                   Mama. Dead. A bullet in her head.                                   Cat has all she can do to keep it together. Then she finds          Pepe, a bullet in his head. It is almost too much for her          to bear.                                   And then she finds Emilio, tied to a chair, tortured. To          death. This IS too much for her to bear.                                   Cat cuts Emilio's beaten and bloodied body loose, and gently          takes HIM in her arms. And begins to cry.                                                   CAT           I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry           98.                                   INT. FBI OFFICE - DAY                                   An operator answers.                                                   OPERATOR           Federal Bureau of Investigation.           How may I direct your call?                                   EXT. STREET - DAY                                   Cat is on a pay phone.                                                   CAT           I'd like to speak to the agent in           charge of the TAG killings.                                   INT. ROSS'S OFFICE - DAY                                   Ross is pinning up the pictures of Cat on his board. His          phone rings.                                                   ROSS           Agent Ross. Hello? Hello?                                   EXT. STREET - DAY                                   Cat hangs up the phone.                                   EXT. FBI BUILDING - EVENING                                   The building is emptying out. In the lobby, Ross passes a          floor cleaner and a lone security guard.                                   INT. MARKET - EVENING                                   Ross picks up a prepackaged meal.                                   EXT. ROSS'S APARTMENT - EVENING                                   Ross enters his building.                                   INT. ROSS'S APARTMENT - EVENING                                   Ross enters, turns on the lights, revealing an apartment          as austere as Cat's. Heads for the small kitchen, where          he is about to put his precooked meal in the microwave.          When he feels a gun in the back of his neck.                                                   CAT           This won't take long. Hands up.                                   Ross raises his hands. Cat reaches around, removes his          gun.                                                   CAT           Turn around.                                   Ross faces her.           99.                                                   CAT           Sit.                                   She motions him into the chair behind him.                                                   ROSS           Just so you know, all this? Being           so smart? Covering all your bases?           It's not going to matter. It's           already over. The whole place is           wired with web cams.                                   His moment of triumph is short lived. Cat reaches on the          side of the counter. Holds up six web cams, wires ripped          out.                                                   CAT           You mean these?                                   Tosses the ripped out cams onto the table.                                                   CAT           Talking about covering all your           bases. Your chair is pressure           wired. You move your ass one inch           you don't have one anymore.                                   Ross looks under the chair. Sure enough, there are several          wires leading out of the bottom of the chair. He looks          further to the where the wires attach to a small charge.          She puts her gun down on the table.                                                   CAT           I know what you're thinking. Maybe           yes a bluff, maybe no. But you           have to figure yes, given what you           know about me.                                   Ross does not move.                                                   CAT           This wasn't what I had in mind for           myself when I was a kid. I wanted           to be on the other side of things.           Like you.                                                   ROSS           So what happened?                                                   CAT           He did.                                   She takes out an old picture of Don Luis, lifted from the          internet. She takes out the picture of her parents and          her as an eight year old.                                                   CAT           This is the last time I was happy.                          (MORE)           100.                                                   CAT (CONT'D)           The next day they were dead. He           killed them.                                                   ROSS           And all this? All these           clues...they weren't for us. They           were for him.                                                   CAT           I didn't know how else to find           him.                                                   ROSS           And you figured sooner or later we           would make this public.                                                   CAT           It took you a long time.                                                   ROSS           You're very patient.                                                   CAT           What else do I have to be? I have           no one. I did. Until this morning.           I had them.                                   She takes out pictures of dead Mama, dead Emilio, dead          Pepe.                                                   ROSS           You sent him a message. He sent           you one back.                                                   CAT           And now I want to finish it.                                                   ROSS           I can't help you.                                                   CAT           Yes you can. He's protected by           your government.                                                   ROSS           By a part of the government I have           no way of reaching. It's CIA. I           don't know why. But there's no           getting through it, under it, around           it, believe me, I've tried.                                                   CAT           You're going to have to try harder.                                   She takes a photo album out, opens it.           101.                                                   CAT           I found this on your table inside.           Your family, right?                                   Begins to flip pages.                                                   CAT           Brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews.           Mother, father. Nice.                                   Ross knows what is coming.                                                   CAT           I know this sounds harsh. But           until I get what I want, you'll go           to a funeral a week. And you will           begin to feel what I have felt all           these years.                                   She places the photo album in his lap. Puts his food in          the microwave, starts it. Goes to exit.                                                   ROSS           Wait...                                   She stops.                                                   ROSS           What about...?                                   He points to the chair.                                                   CAT           When your dinner's ready, the timer           on it will have expired. Then you           can get to work.                                   And she is gone. Ross watches the timer on the microwave.          When it beeps, he sits a moment longer. Hesitates to get          up. Little by little, he moves himself off the chair,          tentative. Afraid that any moment, BOOM! Until he makes          the final move, stands just enough to clear the seat,          waiting for the worst to happen. And when it doesn't, he          breathes a sigh of relief.                                   EXT. CIA OFFICE - DAY                                   A non descript building.                                   INT. RICHARD'S OFFICE - DAY                                   Facing a large picture window...                                                   RICHARD           You understand, I only agreed to           this meeting out of professional           courtesy.                          (MORE)           102.                                                   RICHARD (CONT'D)           The President wanting us to reach           out to you folks on the domestic           side, and all that pie in the sky           crap.                          (BEAT)           The truth is, I really can't help           you at all.                                                   ROSS           Can't or won't.                                                   RICHARD           Same thing really.                                                   ROSS           Look, let's put all our cards on           the table here. I've met this           woman. The killer.                                                   RICHARD                          (SKEPTICAL)           Really? Where?                                                   ROSS           My apartment. She trapped me.           She told me if I did not get her           this man.                                   He puts Luis's picture on the desk.                                                   ROSS           She will kill a member of my family           every day until I have none.                                   Richard pauses. Then he begins to laugh.                                                   RICHARD           You're kidding me?                                                   ROSS           Do I look like I could make           something like that up?                                   Richard says nothing.                                                   ROSS           So? What should I do now?                                                   RICHARD           I'd go to the police. Now if you'll           excuse me, I have a meeting...                                   He goes to rise, when Ross's phone rings. He answers.                                                   ROSS           Ross.                          (BEAT)           It's her.           103.                                   Richard sits back down.                                                   ROSS (CONT'D)           She says you either give her what           she wants or she is going to           redecorate your office.                                   Ross points to Richard's chest where a red laser beam holds          on his heart.                                                   ROSS           Bright red.                                                   RICHARD           What does she think this is?           Amateur hour? Tell her that glass           is tempered to resist a direct hit           by a fifty seven millimeter           ordinance.                                   All of the sudden, a bullet shatters the window; destroying          a picture of Richard standing with the President hanging          on the wall just behind his head. The red dot is back on          Richard in a heartbeat.                                                   ROSS           She says she's using seven point           six two steel jacketed armor           piercing shells. And you have ten           seconds to give her the address.                                   Richard starts to come unglued.                                                   RICHARD           How can I be sure once she has the           address she won't kill me anyway?                                                   ROSS           You can't. But I can assure you           that if you don't give her the           address you will be number twenty           four on her hit parade. Trust me           on this one.                                   After an interminable moment...                                                   RICHARD           Eight seven six Magnolia Terrace...           New Orleans.                                   There is a long pause on the other end of the phone.                                                   ROSS           She asked you to keep this           conversation strictly confidential.                                                   RICHARD                          (SWEATING)           With pleasure.           104.                                   A moment later, the red dot disappears from Richard's chest.          Richard breathes out. Ross reaches out, shakes richard's          limp hand.                                                   ROSS           Thank you. Because honestly I           didn't know how I was going to           explain you splattered all over           your walls.                                   Ross exits. Richard looks at the shattered picture. The          President's head is intact. The bullet has ripped Richard's          face clean off.                                   CLOSE ON A BIG STEEL DOOR OPENING REVEALING An ARMORY OF          WEAPONS FROM PISTOLS TO RPG's.                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. PEPE'S WAREHOUSE - NIGHT                                   Cat loads weapons and ammo into Pepe's big red truck. The          last thing she takes: a LAWS rocket launcher. The dogs          sit there, watching her.                                                   CAT           You guys ever been to New Orleans?                                   Off the dog's puzzled faces...                                   SMASH!!!!!                                   The red truck smashes through the doors of Pepe's warehouse.                                   EXT. PEPE'S WAREHOUSE - NIGHT                                   The truck heads off down the road, disappearing into the          night.                                                  FADE TO                                   INT. TRUCK - NIGHT                                   Cat drives through the night, just watching the road. The          dogs sit behind her, also watching the road. She passes a          sign: NEW ORLEANS 500 MILES.                                   EXT. SMITH ARCHITECTURAL OFFICE - MORNING                                   SMITH, a courtly old architect, opens his door and enters          his building.                                   INT. SMITH ARCHITECTURAL OFFICE - MORNING                                   Smith enters to find...                                                   CAT           Good morning.           105.                                   Sitting, with two cups of coffee, and pastries.                                                   CAT           I didn't know if you took sugar           and cream, so I got one of each.                                                   SMITH           Who are you?                                                   CAT           You designed the house at eight           seven six Magnolia.                                                   SMITH           You either leave immediately young           lady or I am going to call the           police.                                    Cat pulls a gun.                                                   CAT           I would love to see the plans of           this house.                                   CLOSE ON A SIMPLE FLOOR PLAN OF A HOUSE                                                   MARCO           You will take up positions here...                                   PULL BACK TO                                   INT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   As Don Luis sips a cognac, staring out the big bay window          onto the wide street beyond the garden.                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   The house sits prominent in the middle of a quiet          neighborhood.                                   INT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   Marco points to the floor plan, explaining to the dozen          thugs gathered with their weapons...                                                   MARCO           And here. And here. You must           expect the unexpected. She is           like mist under a door, like a           mouse in the wall. She will never           attack straight on. You will not           see her, until it is too late.           She is that invisible.                                   ON DON LUIS as he sips his cognac. He sees a big red truck          approaching in the distance up the road. As he watches,          squinting, curious, the truck does an abrupt U turn. Marco          drones on in the background...           106.                                                   MARCO           We would prefer she be taken alive.           But with a bitch like this, if you           get a kill shot you take it.                                   ...Don Luis watches, as a woman gets out of the truck. He          cannot make out who it is, what with the fog and his          vision...                                                   DON LUIS           Marco?                                   He sees the woman open the rear door of the truck, and          pull something out. He takes his glasses out of his pocket,          puts them on. Just in time to see...                                   CAT SHOULDERING A LAWS SHOULDER ROCKET!!!                                                   DON LUIS           MARCO!                                   Marco turns.                                   ANGLE ON CAT FIRING THE ROCKET                                   ANGLE ON MARCO DON LUIS AND THE THUGS                                   Seeing the rocket heading right for the salon. They all          leap out of the way, just as the rocket comes crashing          through the bay window. And blows the salon to smithereens.          Cat reenters the truck, drives off fast.                                   As the debris falls, and the dust and smoke rises, Marco          helps Don Luis up. He is a little stunned. Through the          gaping hole where the bay window was, they see the red          truck driving off.                                                   MARCO           You four! Get the armored Mercedes!           We have to get Don Luis out of           here!                                   The four run off.                                                   MARCO           Don Luis! This way! Everyone to           their positions!                                   As they all run out...                                   INT. GARAGE - DAY                                   The four thugs run into the garage, where there are several          cars. And a big armored van.                                                   THUG           OK! Everyone in!                                   But just as they open the doors to the big Mercedes...           107.                                   THE RED TRUCK COMES RAMMING THROUGH, TAKES OUT THE WHOLE          WALL OF THE GARAGE! DESTROYS THE MERCEDES.                                   Cat leaps out of the truck, and before the four startled          thugs know what has hit them, she puts three of them down          with shots to the heart.                                   The fourth runs out the back.                                   EXT. GROUNDS - DAY                                   The fourth thug runs for all he is worth, bleeding from          his forehead, panicked.                                   ANGLE ON CAT                                   Calmly exiting the garage, she removes a set of throwing          knives from a belt around her waist, taking a long minute          to gauge the distance. When he has almost reached the          safety of the house...                                   ON THE THUG RUNNING                                   ON CAT FLINGING THE KNIVES                                   TRACK WITH THE KNIVES AND THEN...                                   ON THE THUG                                   He drops like dead lead, the two knives embedded in his          back.                                   ANGLE ON MARCO WITH DON LUIS                                   Inside the house, seeing Cat through a window.                                   ANGLE ON CAT                                   Looking back at him. Pointing a finger at him. Before          she disappears in to the drifting mists.                                                  ANGLE ON                                                   MARCO           Don Luis! You hide here.                                   He opens a secret door in the wall, revealing a small space.          Barely big enough for a man.                                                   MARCO           Wait for my call. Either she is           dead, or we have her far enough           away so you can make it to the           garage. Take the van. The armor           is so thick nothing short of an           atomic bomb can penetrate it.                                                   DON LUIS           Marco. Thank you.           108.                                                   MARCO                          (TOUCHED)           That's the first time you ever           said that.                                                   DON LUIS           Said what?                                                   MARCO           Thank you.                                                   DON LUIS           Don't get used to it.                                   Don Luis shuts the door. Off the door slamming...                                   Another door opens, but this one is...                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   On the side of the mansion, and leads into the foundation.          Cat crawls in and pulls the door shut.                                   INT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   Marco and the men are walking through the mansion, guns at          the ready, when they come to a long stretch of hallway.          Marco signals them to stop. He listens carefully. Signals          for one of the men to move down the hall.                                   As Marco and the other men wait, the first thug makes his          way down the hall, looking left and right, opening doors...                                   ANGLE ON UNDER THE FLOOR FROM THE CAMERA'S POV                                   As the man walks along above, the floor creaks, dust drops          down in a fine cloud. As the man progresses, and the dust          gets closer and closer...                                   ANGLE ON THE THUG ABOVE                                   Turns to Marco to signal everything is OK. Just as he          signals he is riddled from below with dozens of bullets.          The man dances like a puppet on a string, before falling          to the floor, dead. Marco takes a grenade out, flings it.                                                   MARCO           Down!                                   Marco and the thugs dive for cover.                                   BAARROOM!                                   The grenade blows a big hole in the floor. As soon as the          smoke and the debris stop falling...                                                   MARCO           Go!           109.                                   The thugs hesitate. Marco points his gun at them.                                                   MARCO           Now!                                   Hesitant, the thugs approach the hole. Pointing their          weapons, they unload a barrage of bullets. Then stop.          Nothing moves. One of them peers over the side.                                   BANG!                                   A single shot pieces his eye.                                                   MARCO           Outside!                                   The thugs and Marco run...                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   The thugs set up two big ass 50 caliber machine guns at          the two openings in the foundation.                                                   MARCO           Kill her!                                   The thugs manning the guns let loose, blasting away. Smoke          and flashes from the muzzles mingle with the fog.                                   INT. CLOSET - DAY                                   Don Luis hears the firing, which thunders through his          closet.                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   The thugs fire until their ammo is spent. As the sound          dies away, silence reigns.                                   INT. CLOSET - DAY                                   Don Luis hears the silence. He speed dials on his phone.                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   Marco's phone rings.                                                   MARCO                          (WHISPERS)           Checking.                                   He motions for one of his men to look into the dark hope.          Hesitant the man peeks around the side. Nothing happens.                                                   MARCO                          (WHISPERS)           I think we got her.           110.                                   INT. CLOSET - DAY                                   Don Luis lets out a sigh of relief.                                                   DON LUIS           Did you see the body?                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   Marco urges his man to look deeper, expose himself more,          to look in the hole. Marco watches as the man does so,          very cautiously. Still no movement. He moves full body          into the opening to peer in.                                   BANG! BANG! BANG!                                   Is blown back by three fast shots.                                   INT. CLOSET - DAY                                                   DON LUIS           Marco??                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                                   MARCO                          (INTO PHONE)           Stay where you are!                                   And then he starts screaming into the hole, careful to          stand just off to the side.                                                   MARCO           You know what bitch? I loved           killing your father. He was a           coward! And you know what else?           I screwed your mother behind your           father's back! We all did! She           couldn't get enough of it! The           whore! I killed her! I killed           him! You want to avenge them?           The whore and the coward? That's           what you come from! Come out!           I'm here! Come get the bullet           with your name on it, Bitch!                                   Silence. And then, a whistle from above. Marco looks up          to see Cat, standing on a second floor balcony with two          pistols.                                                   MARCO           Kill her!                                   Marco starts to fire, his men raise their guns. Too late.          In the blink of an eye, with bullets flying wildly all          around her, Cat blows five of the seven thugs surrounding          Marco away. Marco and the remaining two thugs run toward          the guest house. Out of the range of her guns.           111.                                   INT. CLOSET - DAY                                   Don Luis is panicking. Yelling into the phone.                                                   DON LUIS           Marco! Marco!                                   INT. GUEST HOUSE - DAY                                   Marco and the two thugs run into the small house.                                                   MARCO           You two here! That door opens...                                   He points to the door they just came through.                                                   MARCO           ...kill anything that comes through.                                   Marco runs into the bedroom.                                   INT. BEDROOM - DAY                                   Marco runs to the curtained windows, rips the curtains          back, hoping to escape. And finds that the windows have          metal hurricane shutters on them. With locks. Marco pulls          out a set of keys, frantically tries fitting the keys to          the locks. None of them work.                                                   MARCO           Shit!                                   He runs for the door again. Just as he has his hand on          the knob, two shots ring out.                                                   MARCO           Giorgio?                                   Nothing.                                                   MARCO           Tonino?                                   No answer. He checks his gun, realizes he is out of ammo.          He knows his time has come. He drops is gun, backs away          from the door. Backs right up to the bed, and sits down.          His phone rings.                                   INT. CLOSET - DAY                                                   DON LUIS           Marco! What the hell's going on???                                   INT. BEDROOM - DAY                                   Marco just stares at the door.                                                   MARCO           Hold on.           112.                                   There is a small sound outside the door.                                                   MARCO           I will hold here! Run! Run!                                   The door shatters as Cat kicks her way in. Marco pulls          his trigger. Click! Click! Click! Marco is frozen.          Just stares at Cat. Waiting for what is going to come.                                                   MARCO           Do it! Do it you bitch! Isn't           this the moment you've been waiting           for?                                                   CAT           Yes, it is.                                   She empties her gun into him.                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   Gripped by fear, Don Luis runs for all he is worth across          the fog shrouded garden until he reaches the garage. He          yanks open the door, runs inside.                                   INT. GARAGE - DAY                                   Don Luis runs around Pepe's red truck and the crumbled          Mercedes, jumps in the armored van.                                   INT. ARMORED VAN - DAY                                   Don Luis fumbles with the keys, grinds the ignition in his          desperation. The engine turns over. Don Luis slams the          transmission into gear, but bangs into the crumbled Mercedes          blocking his way. He slams the gearshift into reverse,          bashes into the wall behind him, and then jerks the gear          shift into drive, ramming the Mercedes with a little more          room. Back and forth back and forth, Don Luis rams at the          Mercedes until he has made enough room to turn the van,          bang past the Mercedes, and smash his way out of the garage.                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   The van comes roaring out of the garage, tearing up the          gardens, jumping on the driveway and speeding off to the          main road.                                   Cat comes running from the opposite direction, two guns          blazing.                                   INT. ARMORED VAN - DAY                                   As bullets ping off the van, Don Luis regains some of his          confidence. A small smile breaks across his face as he          looks in his rear view mirror and sees Cat running and          firing, losing ground.           113.                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   Cat reaches the end of the driveway, fires her last shots,          runs out of bullets. Stands watching the van head off          down the road.                                   INT. ARMORED VAN - DAY                                   Don Luis watches her run out of ammo, standing in the road          receding.                                                   DON LUIS                          (LAUGHING MADLY)           I beat you bitch! You can't kill           me! I am unkillable!                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   Cat stands in the road, watching the van. She takes out          Marco's cellphone.                                   CLOSE ON THE SCREEN                                   Cat scrolls the phone book. She highlights VAN. Presses          SEND.                                   INT. ARMORED VAN - DAY                                   Don Luis is at a red light, so pleased with himself.          Humming a tune. When the van phone rings. Surprised, he          looks at the call coming in. MARCO. He presses the          speaker.                                                   DON LUIS           Marco?                                                   CAT           It's Cataleya.                                                   DON LUIS           I don't understand you. You should           have been dead a long time ago.           You got lucky. You escaped. You           were given a second chance at a           life. Why did you not take it?           Why did you involve yourself with           this insanity?                                                   CAT           For something you can never           understand. The love I had for my           parents. And you killed that.                                                   DON LUIS           And because of that, you have ruined           your whole life to try to kill me?           You stupid bitch. Don't you get           it? Someone like me?                          (MORE)           114.                                    DON LUIS (CONT'D)           I cannot be killed. I do the           killing. Not the other way around.           And now it is your turn to be           hunted. You will never find me.           But as day follows night, believe           me, I will find you. And I will           kill you. And you know why?           Because I will never be where you           can kill me. I will never be where           you want me to be.                                                   CAT           Actually Don Luis...you are exactly           where I want you to be.                                   Don Luis doesn't get it. And then he hears a low growling          behind him. He turns a little, sees sitting there in the          dark recesses of the van, two enormous dogs. Pepe's dogs.          His eyes register confusion, then apprehension...                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   Cat hears the growl over the phone. A small smile breaks          across her face. And then se speaks into the phone one          last time. One word.                                                   CAT           EAT!                                   EXT. ARMORED VAN - DAY                                   Over the sounds of the dogs tearing Don Luis to pieces and          his horrible screams, the van shakes as if it were caught          in an earthquake.                                   EXT. DON LUIS'S MANSION - DAY                                   Cat's shoulders sag, relax. Her face is peaceful as it          has never been before. She looks at Marco's phone.          Thinking.                                    ROSS V.O.           I want you to think hard...                                   INT. ROSS'S OFFICE - SUNSET                                   Danny sits opposite Ross.                                                   ROSS           Was there anything else?                                                   DANNY           I already told you everything.           She would come over, we'd have           amazing sex, and she would leave.           It's really late, and I'm really           tired, if you're not going to arrest           me...           115.                                                   ROSS           We don't really have anything to           charge you with.                                                   DANNY           Then can I go?                                                   ROSS           Just a few more questions.                                                   DANNY           Can I have a cup of coffee?                                                   ROSS           Sure.                                   Ross gets up and leaves the room. Danny is feeling really          shitty. He takes his phone out of his pocket, looks at          Cat's picture. And then it rings.                                                   DANNY           Hello?                                   INTERCUT BETWEEN...                                    CAT V.O.           Hello Danny.                                                   DANNY                          (STUNNED)           Jen...I...uh...I'm so sorry. I           didn't mean...are you OK?                                    CAT V.O.           I'm fine.                                   She says it without the slightest bit of sarcasm.                                    CAT V.O.           Where are you?                                                   DANNY           FBI headquarters. I didn't tell           them anything...besides...                                    CAT V.O.           That I would come over and we would           have amazing sex. Your phone is           tapped, you know that?                                                   DANNY           I know.                                    CAT V.O.           You have forty seconds before they           pick up on this. Gives you the           time for three questions.           116.                                                   DANNY           OK...What's your real name?                                    CAT V.O.           ...Cataleya.                                   Danny looks at the orchid on Ross's desk. Sees the name          tag. Smiles.                                                   DANNY           Like the flower.                                   Now Cat smiles. How did he know that?                                    CAT V.O.           Twenty seconds.                                                   DANNY           Will I ever see you again?                                                   CAT           I know where to find you.                                   EXT. COFFEE MACHINE - SUNSET                                   Ross is drawing coffee.                                                   AGENT 1           Ross. We're picking something up           off that kid's phone.                                   Ross drops the coffee, hurries back to the office.                                   INT. ROSS'S OFFICE - SUNSET                                                   DANNY           If there is ever a chance. I want           you to know...I could love you.           If you let me.                                    CAT V.O.           Last question.                                                   DANNY           ...I love you.                                   Cat holds on that one for a moment...then the beeping of a          phone connection cut...Danny closes his eyes. Ross bursts          into the office. Grabs the phone from his hands.                                                   ROSS           Cataleya? Cataleya!                                   EXT. COUNTRY BUS STOP - SUNSET                                   Cat, in jeans, t-shirt, a baseball cap with her pony tail          sticking out the back, exits a phone booth, She boards a          waiting bus. The doors close. The bus drives off down an          endless road.           117.                                                  THE END
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+      CONSTANTINE                  by            Kevin Brodbin  based on the characters appearing inmagazines published by DC Comics, Inc.        previous revisions by             Mark Bomback         current revisions by            Frank Cappello                             EARLY PRODUCTION DRAFT                             November 14, 2002FADE IN:EXT. ISTANBUL - DUSKGlimpses of an ancient city.   Almost motionless againstthe tide of time.Sea swelled along an endless wall. Billowing silk frozenagainst the sky. Birds lighting on Byzantine columns.FINAL IMAGE is of an imposing STRUCTURE beyond the trees.INT. PRISON FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANECorridor of ancient stone and steel extends into infinitedarkness. Stale air hangs in the dim half-light likeatomized ether.There is WHISPERING.   And tangled VOICES.DRIFT IN PAST prison cells the size of closets. Briefflashes of carved faces, insanity -- COMING TO REST ON the --FINAL CELLA gaunt PRISONER kneels on the granite, head bowed to awall hung tapestry of Christ. But he's not just praying.He's digging. With his arm under the tapestry, hescratches at the stone with a SPOON. After only a year,the spoon finally breaks through.INT. NARROW CHANNELPrisoner claws his way between ancient walls, comes to adead end against a thick wooden door. He nudges ashoulder against it, digs in and pushes. DOOR GROANSopen, sucking air into the pitch black CHAMBER.INT. PRISONER'S CELLThe tapestry covering the HOLE is pulled against thewall, then billows outward like a sail.INT. CHAMBER - PRISONERpulls himself inside, chokes in the heavy air. He scansthe musty room. Antique furniture. A few empty crates.And the remains of several deteriorating skeletons.                                             (CONTINUED)                                                       2.CONTINUED:He looks to the far wall, sees a hint of light abovethrough the crumbling limestone. A way out. Too high toreach, Prisoner pulls an old CHEST out of a cobwebbedcorner and slides it under the light.He steps up onto the chest, grabs the edges of the holeand starts to shove off when the top of the chest givesway and his foot crunches through.Prisoner reaches down to free his foot when he seessomething inside -- wrapped in a red cloth. He pulls itout and as he unwraps it, he discovers the cloth is aNazi flag.At the center is a crudely-shaped IRON RELIC. Eight incheslong. Stains on the edges. Could be the petrified tooth ofsome prehistoric animal. Or maybe an ancient arrowhead.As he holds it, feverish sweat starts to form on his face.MYSTERIOUS POVFrom BEHIND. As if he's being watched by someone else.Prisoner spins, looks back AT us. Nothing.PRISONERstarts toward the way out.INT. PRISONER CORRIDORThe Guard's flashlight beam probes the cell -- one by one-- falls on the tapestry. Christ billows out from thewall, revealing the hole.INT. PRISON - VARIOUS SHOTSALARMS SOUND.    Lights BLAST ON.   Guards with weapons rushthrough.INT. NARROW CHANNELPrisoner squeezes toward light, grips the relic tight.EXT. PRISON - NIGHTSIRENS BLARE as SPOTLIGHTS sweep across the ominousstructure. Prisoner breaks from the darkness, runs forthe trees on the other side of the wall.                                           (CONTINUED)                                                         3.CONTINUED:                            GUARDS                      (in Turkish)             Stop!   Stop!Prisoner spins, griping the relic tight. GUNSHOTS RINGOUT. Bullets streak toward him but never hit theirtarget. Guards check their weapons on the run.EXT. NEAR A ROAD - NIGHTPrisoner breaks from the trees, runs into a road.Headlights wash over him and TIRES SCREECH. Prisonerspins, is right in the path of a car.BRAKES SQUEAL -- car locks up but too late -- IMPACTSPrisoner who is violently thrown and lands in a heap.CAR slides to a stop. DRIVER jumps out, sees the frontend sheet metal has accordioned all the way to the tires.He scans the area for a body, spots the Prisoner and isstunned to see him getting to his feet. Uninjured.Prisoner is just as amazed. He glances at the RELIC inhis hand, notes the wrist has reddened and an odd SYMBOLhas appeared as if embossed in the flesh.Driver calls out but the Prisoner is spooked, runs off.OVER this we hear -- A CHILD'S SCREAM.INT. APARTMENT - DAYFATHER HENNESSEY (50), stands over a young teen (13),JEANIE, splashes holy water on her body. She screamsagain.                           HENNESSEY             Et separatur a plasmate tuo, Ut             num quam laedatur amorsu antiqui             serpentes!Her body convulses, pulls against the bandages tying herhands and feet to the bed frame. Notice her fingernails.Drained of color. Almost black.Her MOTHER is off to one side, completely hysterical.On the other side is a crowd of bewildered TENANTS, allcrammed into the hallway outside the opened door.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                     4.CONTINUED:Nothing can compare with an exorcism.   Especially onethat's gone bad.The rather obese Priest tries to steady his hands and hisheart. It's obvious he's totally out of his league here.GIRL lets out another SCREAM that ECHOES OVER --EXT. AGING APARTMENT BUILDINGNot in a third world country but smack center in one ofAmerica's richest cities. Sparkling high-rises tower inthe distance while flashy billboards tout the sexiestfashions, the hottest automobiles and the smoothest maltliquor.SUPERIMPOSE:   LOS ANGELES - TODAYEXT. ALLEY BY THE APARTMENTA faded yellow taxi PULLS UP and stops. Someone stepsout, grinds a cigarette butt into the asphalt.INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - FOYERDoors open, flood the musty darkness with a brief reliefof sunlight. A MAN -- whose face we don't see -- stepsinside, his trench coat hanging like the folded wings ofa raven.He pauses, pulls an ORNATE LIGHTER and lights acigarette. Takes a puff and pushes on inside.INT. NARROW STAIRCASE HALL WALLLined with tenants trying to get a glimpse of theunexplainable.The Stranger pushes through. Suspicious faces step outof his path. The ones that don't he pushes aside -- eventhe gangbangers.The man has no patience for politeness, no time for tact,no fear of anything.This man is JOHN CONSTANTINE.He arrives at his destination, barges into --                                                      5.INT. APARTMENT 7BOne scan of the situation is all it takes. The bed --the child -- the panicked priest -- who rushes to John.                        HENNESSEY                  (whispering)          Thank God you're here...John shoots him a disgusted look.    Hennessey gives him awide berth.John walks past the panic-stricken MOTHER without aglance, sets his cigarette on the nightstand, the glowingtip drooped over the edge. He puts a gloved hand to thechild's face and it burns on contact. His demeanorinstantly changes as he leans right next to the ear ofthe little girl and whispers --                        JOHN          This is Constantine. John          Constantine, asshole.The girl JOLTS, bandages on her arms cut into her skin.Eyes snap open -- glare right through him.                          JOHN          How ya doing?                        JEANIE          Vamos juntos a matarla.John whips out a key chain crammed with medallions.                        JOHN          Let's see who we got here...He holds them up so they cast shadows across Jeanie'sface. He flips through each of these sculptured SAINTSuntil the child suddenly reacts to one -- tries to lookaway.John stares at the Saint responsible, seems genuinelypuzzled. He turns to the Mother -- very serious.                        JOHN          I need a mirror. Now.Shaken, the Mother produces a small compact.   John pushesit away, turns to the doorway crowd.                        JOHN          A large mirror. At least --                  (sizes up the child)          -- three feet high.                                            (CONTINUED)                                                        6.CONTINUED:The hallway crowd discusses possibilities.                             JOHN             MOVE.Tenants run to retrieve a mirror.     Hennessey looksworried.John grabs the bed -- shoves Hennessey aside as he swingsthe bed around, legs gouging hardwood all the way. Facesit toward the window.INTERCUT - APARTMENT 5G BELOWSeveral of the MEN from the hallway crowd storm throughan OLD WOMAN'S stuffy apartment, locate a huge iron-framed mirror and rip it and half the plaster from thewall.JOHNcenters on a drapery ROPE, pulls hard. Drapery HOOKSEXPLODE off the curtain rod as he swings open the window,looks down into the alley where that yellow taxi isparked.                             JOHN             Chaz?CHAZ (20s) looks up from his cab. Cool. Frustrated.You just know he'd love to be up there, not down here.                             JOHN             Move the car.                             CHAZ             Why?                           JOHN             MOVE THE DAMN CAR.John frees the drapery rope, ducks back into the room.                           CHAZ             Park the car -- Move the car...Chaz shifts into reverse, moves the car three feet.                           CHAZ             There, I moved the damn car.                                                      7.INT. HALLWAYFour men struggle to carry up that enormous mirror. TheOld Woman follows, begs them to be gentle. They swingthe mirror around, take out a chunk of banister. Shefreaks.INT. APARTMENT 7BHennessey can only watch as John threads the drapery ropethrough the fire escape railing, drapes it back throughthe window and loops it over the ceiling fan.He climbs onto the bed, leans over the child whose eyeshave closed and she's shaking badly. Her body seems tobe going into shock. Isn't strong enough for this.John has no choice -- slaps her. Eyes pop back open.Dark and dilated. He yells down at her in Aramaic andEnglish.                        JOHN          Amar natash bow basar! -- Rescind          from the flesh I command thee --The girl chokes as if ready to spit.                        JOHN          That's it -- time to go home.Jeanie SCREAMS --                        JEANIE          Tiempo para morir!Her body suddenly PULSES half again larger. John recoilsfor a beat. Odd. He continues in Aramaic --                        JOHN          Amar natash bow basar --Another PULSE and this time a SHAPE is clearly seenexpanding under the child's skin -- as if the demoninside were trying to burst right through.John backs off -- watches as the shape ripples her flesh,like fingers caressing from the other side. John glancesto Hennessey. What the hell?MIRROR arrives at the doorway, BANGS against the JAM.John waves them in. The four men heft it into the room.                         JOHN          Lift it.   Over the bed.   Up.                                           (CONTINUED)                                                           8.CONTINUED:John ducks, settles on the girl as they raise it overhim.                           JOHN             Hennessey, tie it off --Hennessey is glad to be called into service -- quicklyties one end of rope to the mirror. John straddles thegirl, positions his head between her and the mirror abovehim.                           JOHN             Now close your eyes -- all of you             -- and whatever happens -- do not             look into the mirror.The men close their eyes.        Muscles tense under theweight.                           JOHN             Amar natash bow basar! -- rescind             from the flesh I command thee!Jeanie reacts -- that SHAPE reappears, contorts the youngbody all out of proportion.John unblocks the mirror for a second and Jeanie isreflected inside. It's not just the image of a younggirl in there, but something else. The surface of themirror FLEXES in the hands of the men. One starts tolook --                             JOHN             No!Jeanie SCREAMS -- breaks free of the straps. She risesup, grabs John tight around the throat. Nails dig deep.                             HENNESSEY             John?!                              JOHN                        (looking into                         mirror)             Not yet!John struggles, puts his hands over her mouth -- cuttingoff her air supply. Question is, who's going to pass outfirst?Jeanie's body is racked by whatever's inside her. Shegoes into shock, body collapsing -- shaking -- close todeath.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                       9.CONTINUED:                            JOHN             Look!   Look at me!But she's passing out first. John quickly takes themedallion that caused the earlier reaction --                           JOHN             Goddamit -- look!-- and presses it against her forehead. Eyes snap wideand John unblocks the mirror. Jeanie locks on herreflection and the image in the mirror changesdrastically.                           JOHN             Smile pretty you vain prick.The child's reflection has now changed to a pissed offDEMON. One that knows it just got suckered in.MIRROR VIBRATES wildly in the men's grip. Demonreflection ripples the glass -- bending it outward intothree-D space as the girl takes her last breaths --                           JOHN             Now, Hennessey. Now!Hennessey PULLS the rope with all three-hundred-pluspounds as John gives the demon face a full extendedFINGER.                             JOHN             For your boss.Demon pushes for him but mirror is jerked into motion.Swings right out the window but catches on a sliver ofwood --                             JOHN             No you don't.John jumps up and helps push the mirror free.EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - HUGE MIRRORFalls SLOW MOTION from the 7th story -- tumbling end overend, sunlight beams glancing off the glass, PROJECTINGthe image of the Demon into the LA cityscape. ONTObuildings, sidewalks, a passing truck -- until all threehundred pounds of IRON AND GLASS come CRASHING down ONthe taxi's hood.                                            (CONTINUED)                                                       10.CONTINUED:                           CHAZ             SHIT!Demon's image SHATTERS on impact -- GLASS SPLINTERINGinto a million diamond-like fragments that choke the air.The GROAN of something evil reverberates into the citybeyond.Chaz looks up, sees he missed dying by three feet.INT. APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS ACTIONJeanie GASPS -- takes her first breath as a child again.And CRIES. Mother pulls her in, hugs her tight. Notethe girl's fingernails. No longer black.John's beat, reclaims that stub of a cigarette, stillburning. Takes a drag. He pushes past Hennessey who isapproaching the mother.                           HENNESSEY             Now about the fee...John slips FROM VIEW into the kitchenette, hides the factthat he has to lean against the door to keep his balance.He catches his breath, looks up and is staring right at achild's crayon drawing magneted to the fridge. A drawingof a figure poking another in the side with a long stick.This image is repeated over and over.John tugs it off the fridge, tucks it away.INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - STAIRWELL - LATERHennessey follows John down the spiraling stairs, passingthe gathered tenants. A few are freaked, crossthemselves. Others horrified. But many want to touchthem, shake their hands.A shadowy FIGURE several floors up stares over the railat the heroes below. Note the slick suit, the polishedveneer.This is BALTHAZAR and he definitely does not rent here.He flicks an ancient COIN between his fingers.JOHN pauses, gazes up through the stairwell as if sensingsomething. No one there. Balthazar is gone.                                              (CONTINUED)                                                         11.CONTINUED:JOHN shakes off the feeling, continues down the stepswhere Hennessey is shoving his HAT in front of thetenants. They're gladly giving to the cause.                              HENNESSEY             Thank you.     Yes... Gracias...                             JOHN             Hennessey.Hennessey stops his panhandling, continues toward theexit.INT. FOYERJohn and Hennessey stop near the front entrance.      Johnrips the white collar from Hennessey's neck.                           HENNESSEY             I know, I know, but I didn't think             she was really possessed, not like             that.                           JOHN             I'm not back an hour and you drag             me into --                           HENNESSEY             -- Don't be mad, John, don't be --John rummages through his coat pockets --                           HENNESSEY             On the left side.John keeps searching.                             HENNESSEY             Vest pocket.John rips his smokes from the left vest pocket --                           JOHN             Don't do that shit on me --                             HENNESSEY             Sorry, sorry.    Here, you can have             half.Hennessey starts to divvy the cash but John snatches thehat.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                        12.CONTINUED:                            JOHN             I should take it all, save you             from yourself.He gestures that bagged BOTTLE in Hennessey's jacket.                           HENNESSEY             It keeps them out, so I can sleep.             Please, John, I need to sleep.John stares at his pathetic friend, sighs, finally slipsa few bills from the wad and hands them over.Hennessey is bubbling with appreciation, starts tofollow. John simply holds up a hand. Hennessey stops,watches John walk out. Alone.EXT. ALLEY BY THE APARTMENTJohn turns the corner, spots Chaz punching a dent fromthe taxi's hood.                           JOHN             I told you to move it.                           CHAZ             Well maybe if you had told me you             were dropping a three-hundred             pound mirror with a pissed-off             demon in it I would have moved it             further.Chaz slams the hood.      They slide into the car.                           CHAZ             Well?                           JOHN             Well what?Chaz reaches back into John's front coat pocket -- pullsout Hennessey's wad of cash -- slips off a few bills.                           CHAZ             Shouldn't have cut your stay in             the land of enlightenment. You             were so close to growing a             conscience.John grins, pulls his special lighter, lights a smoke andsits back.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                        13.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             Los Angeles...He looks back up at the apartment, still puzzled.                           JOHN             Never ceases to entertain.Chaz crams the car in gear as John takes a drag, coughs.EXT. THE SKYOne of those perfect days. With perfect clouds. Soclear you feel you could reach out and touch Heaven.Two young girls rise INTO FRAME on side-by-side swings.For a moment they're suspended against that incrediblesky. Then gravity takes hold and they fall back toEarth.                           MAN (V.O.)             You still with me?INT. SUBWAY - DAYANGELA'S (30) weary eyes open. She's on her belly hiddenbetween track ties and shadows even deeper. Grips apolice-issue revolver tight. She's pinned down, unableto move.                           ANGELA             Yeah...The MAN is thirty feet down the same track. Their VOICESECHO off the curved walls, come from everywhere.How either of these two got here isn't important.      Whowill get out is.                           MAN (O.S.)             So what's next, Detective?   We             gonna do a full marathon?Intermittent RADIO CHATTER buzzes from Angela's WALKIE-TALKIE. You get the sense Angela is not alone in here.                           ANGELA             Put your weapon on the tracks and             step out with your hands above             your head.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                         14.CONTINUED:                           MAN (O.S.)             Or how 'bout you show yourself and             I put a bullet in your skull just             like I did hers!                           ANGELA             That's just not going to happen.                           MAN (O.S.)             You sure about that?!Angela checks the chamber -- sees she has one bulletleft.                           ANGELA                     (almost pleading)             Now put down your weapon on the             tracks and --GROUND BEGINS to VIBRATE.     Tunnel starts to GLOW.                           MAN (O.S.)             Well ain't this a peach?!Angela looks back, sees several SHADOWS of figures wavingfar off. Her RADIO is flooded with futzed CHATTER.                           DETECTIVE WEISS (V.O.)                     (over radio)             Get off the tracks! Blueline is             coming! Clear the tracks!Angela peeks over the track.     Still no sign of her perp.The TRAIN is coming INTO VIEW and its BEAM shoots throughthe tunnel, turning every particle of dust into a supernova.The SOUND is DEAFENING.                           MAN (O.S.)             C'mon, Detective, step into the             light and be saved!!Angela looks back, squints into the brilliant LIGHT.She grips her GUN and in one burst of flat-out bravado --rises as she AIMS.And there he is -- the Man rising with his own gun.Angela FIRES as both dive off the track. His BULLETRICOCHETS behind her. Hers finds its mark. Man goesdown right in the train's path.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                       15.CONTINUED:Angela rolls over on the side of the tracks, catches herbreath. She closes her eyes and crosses herself as thetrain roars past in a staccato blur.EXT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEY - DAYChaz's taxi pulls up, parks.TAXI TRUNKOPENS, REVEALS suitcases stamped with AIR INDIA.   Johnstarts inside, pauses as Chaz yells --                           CHAZ             There are four bags. I have two             hands. This give you any ideas?                           JOHN             Make two trips?John walks in.     Chaz curses under his breath.INT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEYEvening leagues are going strong. John walks in, lookstotally out of place. He moves down the BALL RACK area,runs his fingers across the various leftovers, finallystops at a pearl-white dazzler.He lifts it from the rack, steps out into the preparea -- in front of one of the few lanes not in use.Number 13.John snatches a grease pencil from the overhead,scribbles right on the ball -- "PROVISIONS DEPLETED."He fluffs his trench coat back, steps onto the polishedwood with his well-traveled Oxfords.Young bowlers on both sides stop to look at this oddity.An attractive brunette is rather curious. John gives hera wink. Her boyfriend doesn't appreciate it.John bowls. Perfect hook ball. Strike! Brunette grins.John returns the smile, heads into the hallway by thepool tables.                                                      16.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENTSeems small until you walk in and realize it's as long asa bowling lane. Makes that cage enclosed bed at one endseem like it's a mile away.Chaz throws the suitcases on it as John arrives.                        CHAZ                  (yells across room)          Simple question. How much longer          do I have to be your slave?John pulls a chain and a wall of window shutters open.                        JOHN          You're not my slave, Chaz. You're          my very appreciated assistant.          Like Tonto and Robin and that          skinny fellow with the fat friend.Along the floor, encircling the entire room, are 5 gallonSparkletts bottles. Each is adorned by a small hand-marked CROSS. John takes a moment to adjust one out ofplace.                        CHAZ          How much longer?John doesn't like his tone.                        JOHN          Well I don't know, what's the          going rate for saving a taxi          driver hanging from his          fingernails about to be swallowed          into the jaws of Hell?                        CHAZ          So what time you want me back?John gives him a knowing look, goes back to emptying hispockets.                        JOHN          I need to make an appearance at          Midnite's. Say ten-ish?Chaz sighs, starts out --                        JOHN          Chaz...?Chaz turns back, catches an object John throws him.                                            (CONTINUED)                                                         17.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             A little something from Delphi.It's a dashboard air freshener shaped like a cow.Chaz tips it.     Moooooo.   John finds it rather amusing.                             CHAZ             Gee, thanks.Chaz leaves. John removes a small BLACK BOX from hisjacket. He sets it carefully on its own shelf by thewindow -- stares out.                           BEEMAN (O.S.)             'Provisions depleted?'John turns to see BEEMAN waddle in.                           BEEMAN             I gave you three months worth.             You were gone only one.This diminutive occult version of Bond's "Q" carries acustom bowling bag and squints in the light like a mole.                           JOHN             What can I say, Beeman, India was             a real drain.They shake hands.     Beeman sets his bowling bag onto thetable, unzips it.                           BEEMAN             So what do you need?                           JOHN             Everything you got.                           BEEMAN                     (pausing)             You smell something, John?                           JOHN             Maybe. Incubus in this girl I             just exorcized seemed a bit more             spirited than usual.Beeman starts pulling things out.      First is a frayed RAG.Then glass containers...                                                (CONTINUED)                                                         18.CONTINUED:                           BEEMAN             Well, I've got your stone             fragments from the Road to             Damascus, dust from the Dead Sea             Scrolls -- oh, you'll love this --Out comes a little MATCHBOX with a smiling bug graphic.                           BEEMAN             Screech beetle from Mount Sinai.He shakes the matchbox and the BEETLE flutters inside.It's WINGS create an eerie HIGH-PITCHED WHIRL. Johnshrugs. So?                           BEEMAN             Yeah, to you it's nothing but to             the Fallen -- like fingernails on             a chalkboard.                           JOHN             What is it with you and bugs?Beeman pulls out a set of sculptured BRASS KNUCKLES.Actually solid gold and engraved with religious markings.John takes them, tries them on. Nice fit.                           BEEMAN             Gold was blessed by the Bishop             Anicott during the Crusades.John spots a foot-long COPPER TUBE in the bag, pulls itout, grips the bicycle handle on one end.                           BEEMAN             Watch it there.With this puny little thing? John gives the handle asqueeze and WHOOOOSH -- ten-foot FLAME BELCHES out.                           BEEMAN             Dragon's breath.                           JOHN             I thought you couldn't get it             anymore.Beeman shrugs, modesty. John starts to put it down onthe table and Beeman quickly pulls the frayed rag away.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                       19.CONTINUED:                           BEEMAN             Whoa, don't want to get a flame             near this.                     (off John's look)             Piece of the shroud Moses wore to             the mountain.John picks it up -- You're shitting me, right?    Nope.                           JOHN             Got any callinicus?                           BEEMAN                     (intrigued)             How spirited was this incubus?                           JOHN                     (coughs)             Like it was trying to come right             out through the girlBeeman just stares at him -- is this a joke?                           JOHN             I know how it sounds...                           BEEMAN             We're finger puppets to them,             John, elaborate costumes -- they             can work us but don't come through             us. They can't. You know that.                           JOHN             Check the scrolls anyway.             Corinthians. See if there are any             precedents.                            BEEMAN             Sure, John.   Anything else?                           JOHN                     (coughs again)             Wouldn't happen to have anything             for --Beeman sets down a bottle from the bag -- Vick's 44.                             BEEMAN             On the house.EXT. LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT - DAYLots of blue on blue in this parking lot.                                                          20.INT. LOCKER ROOMLocker door opens and Angela is there, covered in thegrime of the subway. She's pained as she pulls off hershoulder holster. Looks at herself in the door mirror.Tired, aging eyes stare back.                        WEISS (O.S.)          Gutsy move out there, Dodson.Angela glances at DETECTIVE WEISS as he opens his locker.                          ANGELA          Gutsy?    Well that's a new one.The two exchange a look.                        WEISS          You're alive. Bad guy's dead. No          point in using the other words.                          ANGELA          Thanks.                        WEISS                  (shuts his locker)          Even though it was reckless --          irresponsible -- stupid...                        ANGELA          I knew you still cared.                        WEISS          You're good, Angela, real good but          one of these days...                         ANGELA                   (heard it before)          I know, nobody's luck lasts          forever.He meets her eyes.    Exactly.     He really does care.Weiss breaks it off, leaves. Angela turns to close herlocker door, notices her reflection does not turn.She grabs the door, looks back in. Reflection is as itshould be. She shudders, slams the locker door.EXT. CLUB MIDNITE - 10 PMSo exclusive there's not even a line out front. Just apair of bouncers waiting to roll someone just for fun.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                     21.CONTINUED:Chaz follows John from the cab to the entrance. ABouncer selects a PICTURE CARD from a deck. On the frontare TWO FLYING DOLPHINS. Only we can see the back, whichis --                           JOHN             Two frogs on a bench.Yep. They let him pass. Chaz steps up and lucky him --he gets the same TWO FLYING DOLPHINS.                           CHAZ             Two frogs on a bench.But Chaz is stiff-armed because the back of this cardshows a BEAR in a dress.                            CHAZ             What?   But I'm with him!   Right,             John?   John?John glances back -- gives him an impassive look.   Chazbacks away, stares after him. Someday.INT. CLUB MIDNITEMUSIC FLOODS this exclusive establishment. It's a clashof cultures and influences not easily dated. A retrospeakeasy for the new millennium.John walks through a maze of passages while the fantasiesof a twisted city play out in the shadows. He pauses,sees a clan of suited businessmen in a corner, showingoff for several ladies.One fills a line of shot glasses from a pitcher of water.Another waves his hand over them, turns the water intoRED WINE. The ladies are very impressed, drink up.NICO, a young black man, walks past John.                           NICO             Neighborhood's going to Hell.John offers a half smile. He likes this kid, walks on.One of the men in the group turns, watches John.Balthazar. He grins and pockets that odd COIN.INT. HALLWAYJohn starts up a long flight of stairs, stops in front oftwo very large doors.                                           (CONTINUED)                                                         22.CONTINUED:Their surface is ancient, the wood petrified overcountless centuries. John places his fingers into thegnarled folds, closes his eyes --                           JOHN             Numquam leadatur a morsu.A living GROAN BELLOWS from the rigid seams but the doorsdon't budge.                           JOHN             Bastard changed the code again.                     (bangs the doors)             Midnite! Come on, do I have to             huff and puff here?!The doors unlatch.INT. MIDNITE'S OFFICESWEEP ACROSS a meticulously-crafted ORRERY, a scientificsculpture that normally displays our solar system inrelative motion. But the planets here are ancient RELICSwith symbols and names -- MATERIAL, ASTRAL, SPIRITUAL,ICONIC, etc. And the globe at the center -- "CREATOR."This is an orrery of the forces of the Universe.      Andit's not moving.                           MIDNITE (O.S.)             Et separatur a plasmate tuo, Ut             num quam laedatur amorsu antiqui             serpentes...John steps in through the doors behind.                           JOHN             Deciding which color to paint this             place again?PAPPA MIDNITE stands in the jungle he calls an office.Part African witch doctor, part savvy businessman. Afull six and half feet of solid contradictions.                           MIDNITE             You're back early.                           JOHN             I got tired of spending your             money.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                         23.CONTINUED:                           MIDNITE             But I'm sure you spent enough.                           JOHN             Well I do have a certain standard             of living.                           MIDNITE             Tell me you found it.                           JOHN             I found the vault.                           MIDNITE             That's not what I asked.                           JOHN             Hey, can I help it if Buddhist             monks don't take bribes?Midnite strides toward him when John calmly pulls fromhis pocket a small ebony and gold RELIC. It stopsMidnite cold.                             JOHN             Gotcha.A reluctant grin cracks Midnite's stern features. Hetakes the relic in his thick fingers -- staresbreathlessly at a gaunt figure bracing itself against acosmic wind.                           MIDNITE             Second century depiction of a             sephiroth in the 4th realm...                             JOHN             Right.    So we good here?Midnite ignores his outstretched palm, slides the relicprecisely onto one of the many rods jutting from theUniversal orrery.                           MIDNITE             It should counter the iconic             plane --                           JOHN             That damn thing's never going to             balance.Midnite lets go and the complex machine actually startsto move. To turn.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                          24.CONTINUED:John is somewhat intrigued until the newest reliccollides with another and the orrery jams to a halt.Midnite deflates, stares at John, suspiciously.                           MIDNITE             Must I remind you of what selling             fake relics will do to your             health?                           JOHN             It's authentic, Midnite, you just             have the wrong piece. Jesus...The two have a mini stare-down. John's rigid poker faceis only broken by a cough. Midnite sighs, breaks it off.                           JOHN             What? -- I didn't blink -- that             was a cough. You never cough?Midnite reaches into his tuxedo jacket and hands over athick stack of HUNDREDS.                           JOHN             Better not be any Washingtons in             here this time.                           MIDNITE             Why did you cut your trip short?John stops the counting, actually thinks about it.                           JOHN             I don't know... Just a feeling --John suddenly spins toward the entrance doors, is stunnedto see --                           JOHN             Balthazar.Balthazar is behind him.     Utterly confident.     Chillinglyso.                           BALTHAZAR             We're not still whining about             Manhattan, are we?John's attempt to disguise his anger fails.                           BALTHAZAR             That expression alone has made my             entire night.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                          25.CONTINUED:John takes several steps toward him.       Grins.   Malevolent.There's history here.                           JOHN             I'll make your night -- I'll             deport your sorry ass right where             you stand --                           MIDNITE             JOHN.John stops in his tracks.                           JOHN             It's bad enough that you let these             half-breeds in at all but this             piece of shit --                           BALTHAZAR             Perks of becoming a primary             investor.                           JOHN             What?!Midnite's eyes say it all -- not here, not now.                           BALTHAZAR             Things change, balances shift.             Get used to it, Constantine.                           JOHN             Not while I'm still breathing --John starts to cough again.                           BALTHAZAR             I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.John tries to catch his breath, can't. And that scareshim a bit. He tries to hide it, pushes out.EXT. CLUB MIDNITEJohn SLAMS out the exit -- coughing. He pulls the Vicks44 from his jacket, struggles with the child protectorcap.                           HENNESSEY             Hey, John.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                         26.CONTINUED:John is surprised to see Hennessey waiting. He chokes,is about to bust the Vicks 44 bottle.   Hennessey grabshold, twists off the cap with one flick. John guzzlesthe syrup.                           HENNESSEY             I'm real sorry about this morning,             John, real sorry. Please don't             hate me for draggin' you into             that. Please don't...John can finally breathe.                           JOHN             I don't hate you.                           HENNESSEY             That's good to hear. Real good...                           JOHN             But could you at least wait until             I call for you before you show up?                           HENNESSEY             You didn't call?                           JOHN             Not yet. Jesus, Hennessey, you             freak me out sometimes.                           HENNESSEY             So you want me to go away and come             back?                           JOHN             No. I've got an assignment for you.                            HENNESSEY             Really?   What kind of assignment?                           JOHN             The kind you'll have to be sober             for.                           HENNESSEY             Oh God, you want me to surf the             ether.He instinctively touches an AMULET around his neck.       Fourintersecting crosses.                           JOHN             Come on, you know that exorcism             wasn't right.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                       27.CONTINUED:                           HENNESSEY             I... I don't have the Sight             anymore.                           JOHN             Don't have it or don't want to use             it?Hennessey vacillates.     This is obviously tough for him.                           JOHN             Just look around. A few days.             You spot anything unusual,             anything -- you let me know.             Okay?John wraps an arm around his shoulder like a good buddy,then reaches behind his neck --                           JOHN             It'll be like old times.-- and unclips the amulet from Hennessey's neck. Thatunnerves the big guy. John drops it in Hennessey'spocket.                           JOHN             Just for a few days.                           HENNESSEY             Okay, okay... for you, John.      Like             old times. Right.Hennessey takes one last sip from his drink, hands thebottle over. John downs the rest. Nods.INT. ST. ANTHONY'S CHURCH - CONFESSION BOOTH - NIGHTAngela sits inside.                           ANGELA             I killed a man today.   Another             one.FATHER GARRET sits on the other side of the mesh window.                           FATHER GARRET             I'm sorry, Angela.                           ANGELA             Most cops go twenty years without             firing their gun. Not me. I             always seem to be in the wrong             place at the wrong time.                                                     28.INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - SERIES OF SHOTS - NIGHTAngela arrives home. Pours milk for a cat.     Lets herhair down. Slips off her shoes.                        ANGELA (V.O.)          I didn't even see his face. I          just pulled the trigger and he          went away. Just like all the          others...Angela in the SHOWER -- trying to wash off the guilt.                        FATHER GARRET (V.O.)          These feelings are natural in your          line of work, Angela. I'd be          worried if you didn't have them.Angela now in a recliner, cat in her lap.   She's tired.Eyes are heavy.                        FATHER GARRET (V.O.)          But you have to be strong. You          can't allow your faith to be          overshadowed by guilt.                         ANGELA (V.O.)          I'm trying.Her eyes close.                        ANGELA (V.O.)          I'm trying real hard.INT. RAVENSCAR - NIGHTAngela's eyes open. An Angela whose frightened featuresare dripping with a fever sweat.She's in a hospital gown, stares around a corner.Janitor polishes the floor in the distance. A nursechecks off charts in the f.g. And right between the twodarts Angela, unseen by anyone.EXT. ROOFTOP - NIGHTA metal fire door swings open and Angela bursts out --breathing deep. She runs across the tar roof, almostafraid to look back.She gets to the ledge, steps up.   A BOTTLE in the wayfall -- FOLLOW IT DOWN TO the --                                                    29.COURTYARD-- where it SHATTERS --INT. GROUND FLOOR HOSPITAL ROOMThe sound has drawn the attention of BARRY (10) lying inbed. He moves up and stares out the window -- sees thebroken glass in the courtyard. He scans up the buildingand spots a FIGURE standing on the roof.ROOFTOP - WIDERChilling April air flutters Angela's gown, vaporizes herbreath. Tears stream down her cheeks as she contemplatesthe unthinkable.Cityscape of lights are spread out below but Angela isseeing something else.REFLECTED IN HER EYES --is a city engulfed in RED FLAMES. Follow that tear withthe same reflection of fire inside as it traces her cheekand slips into her mouth.ANGELA shudders, rubs her wrist where we see the skin hasswelled and reddened just like the Prisoner's. Andthere's that same circular symbol in the flesh.She wipes her tears -- tries to be strong. Takes a fewbreaths for courage, them simply steps off.INT. BARRY'S ROOMBARRY'S WIDE EYES follow her down.EXT. COURTYARD - LATERBarry approaches across the barren courtyard, leans downto Angela's contorted body. But she's still alive.Barry stares into eyes that are fading fast. He reachesout, touches her face. Eyes close. She's gone.INT. ANGELA'S APARTMENTAngela stirs awake.   Disturbed.OVER this we hear INCESSANT COUGHING --                                                       30.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - BATHROOMJohn switches on the light, leans up from the sink andwipes his mouth with a towel. It's covered with blood.More runs down the drain. He stares at himself in themirror. ON John's worried eyes --                                       MATCH CUT TO:ANGLE - ANGELA'S EYESlooking equally distraught.                        WEISS (V.O.)          It's her, Angela...EXT. RAVENSCAR HOSPITAL - WIDER - CONTINUOUS ACTION -DAYAngela is led by Detective Weiss past several officersand medical personnel.                         WEISS          It's Isabel.They arrive at the covered body in the courtyard.Coroner sees Angela approach and lifts the sheet from theface.Angela comes to a dead stop, emotions coming fast andfurious.She leans close and we see a mirror of Angela. That'swhen you realize that wasn't a dream. This is her twin.But that circular symbol is nowhere on her wrist now.Angela's eyes well with tears. It takes everything shehas to stay in control. Helps to wrap herself in thejob. She steps back, looks up at the tall building.                        ANGELA          She... she fell from the roof?                         WEISS          No.   She jumped.Angela gives him an incredulous glare.   Shakes her head.                        WEISS          I know it's hard to accept but --                                              (CONTINUED)                                                        31.CONTINUED:                           ANGELA             Isabel would never in a million             years take her own life. Never.                           WEISS             Angela... there was a surveillance             camera on the roof.INT. HOSPITAL - DAYJohn marches down a hallway, his trench coat a stepbehind. He unconsciously rubs his left wrist, coughs.Flicks an unlit smoke between his fingers.John stops at a doctor's office door -- hesitates.INT. RAVENSCAR - SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGEView of the rooftop. There's Isabel in her nightgown,stepping up -- pausing just a second. Then one step andshe's gone. So clear. So unrefutable.WIDERAngela shudders as a comforting HAND rests on hershoulder.                           WEISS (O.S.)             Take some time...Angela brushes off his hand, then spots Weiss and theothers on the other side of the room. Whose hand wasthat?INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICEA LINE OF LIGHT BOXES illuminate several CHEST X-RAYS. ADARK sinister splotch snakes through both LUNGS. Johnstands there, stares at this wall of death with disbelief.                           JOHN             No -- I've beaten things,             insurmountable things, things most             people have never even heard of             and after all that you think I'm             going to be done in by THIS?He raises a puny little cigarette. DR. LES ARCHER (50)sighs. A delicate bedside manner is not his specialty.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                         32.CONTINUED:                           DR. ARCHER             You wouldn't be the first, John.                           JOHN             It can't be that simple. I mean             come on, Les, you saved me before.             You can do it again, right.                           DR. ARCHER             This is different. This is             aggressive.John tries to stay cool -- fails.     He TRASHES the X-rayboxes. Diseased lungs disappear.      Doc shakes his head.                           DR. ARCHER             Twenty years ago you didn't want             to be here. Now you don't want to             leave.                           JOHN             That's because I know exactly             where I'm going this time.INT. HALLWAYJohn steps outside of the Doctor's office, pauses togather himself. He starts walking. Wants out of herefast.INT. RAVENSCAR - HALLWAYAngela is on the move. Emotions are coming in strong.She can't get out of here fast enough.She aims for the elevators, sees a MAN has just enteredone.                           ANGELA                     (rushing toward it)             Wait, hold the door!Angela, gets to the elevator, looks in. John standsinside alone. This should be the first time we realizethey were in the same hospital.                           ANGELA             Going down?John pauses as the doors start to close.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                      33.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             Not if I can help it.The doors close right on Angela.EXT. SOMEWHERE IN ISTANBUL - DAYA PICKUP TRUCK crosses a barren landscape.In the back bed are several goats and one Prisoner.He grips the relic tight in one hand.   That anxious feverhas returned.Glazed eyes dart to the side and lock on a risingjetliner in the distance -- dart back to the road they'reon -- heading the opposite way.Prisoner clamps his eyes tight, grips to the relictighter.Eyes snap open and he turns, thrusts his elbow throughthe center window, leans in and grabs the Driver -- jerkshis head back against the bulkhead -- cracking it in theprocess.Prisoner latches onto the wheel, takes control. Heswerves the car off the pavement, gets out and takes overas driver.Truck continues on, bouncing through a shallow ditch andinto the field beyond, aiming straight for the risingairliners in the distance.EXT. L.A. APARTMENT - DAYClose to condemned status. SCAN UP floor after floor,COMING TO REST ON a window covered with aluminum foil.INT. HENNESSEY'S APARTMENTEvery wall of this tiny shithole is covered in aluminumfoil. A sober Hennessey stands surrounded by decades ofnewspapers and periodicals -- tries to get his breathingin check.He instinctively reaches to his neck to touch the amuletbut it's not there. Oh yeah -- in the pocket. Decisionmade, he reaches up, starts tearing the foil from thewalls and the window.                                                       34.EXT. ECHO PARK (DOWNTOWN L.A.) - DAYJohn sits at a park bench. Motionless. Taking in theworld. Clouds passing the sun. Shadows drifting acrossthe city. Leaves swirling after passing cars.John just sits there, HEARING every breath he takes,wondering which one will be his last.                         ELLIE (O.S.)          Lung cancer?   Lung cancer?!John turns to see ELLIE (23) strutting up the sidewalk.Uninhibited. Oozing sex appeal. But dangerous. In moreways than you think.                        ELLIE          That's funny as shit, John.                        JOHN          As if you guys didn't have          something to do with it...                        ELLIE          Hey, I think you brought this one          on yourself.John stares at her, tries to get a read.                        ELLIE          Now why wouldn't you trust me?                        JOHN          I don't know, something in the          air --She sits right on his lap, playfully.                        ELLIE          Don't worry, John, you'll beat          this. You beat everything.                        JOHN          Not this time, Ellie.John lifts her off of him, sets her aside.                        ELLIE          Oh wow, you're serious... No          wonder the Boss is in such a good          mood.                        JOHN          Yeah, I thought maybe you could          talk to him for me. You know...?                                             (CONTINUED)                                                       35.CONTINUED:Ellie jumps off the bench, creates an odd SOUND as shedoes.                           ELLIE             What?! Dammit, John, I know I owe             you but to even ASK that? All             those saints and martyrs slipping             through his grasp -- his own foot             soldiers sent back to him in             chunks. He's going to take all             that out on you, John, and he's             going to enjoy ripping your soul             to shreds until the end of time.                           JOHN             So I take that as a 'no?'                           ELLIE             You're the one soul the man             himself would actually come up             here to collect. And you know how             much he despises this place.                           JOHN             I'm starting to see his point.Ellie sits back down, strokes his arm.                           ELLIE             Have you gone to see the Snob?Like scratching fingers across a blackboard.     No way.                           ELLIE             Look, don't let your ego get in             the way on this. I'd miss having             someone up here I can... relate             to.She gives him a kiss. And for a second John's leg isbrushed by a tail. John doesn't react. Just turns andwalks away.INT./EXT. CHAZ'S TAXI - DAYSeen through a mild rain is the Theological Societybuilding, a foreboding structure that looks out of placefor this city. John stares out the back seat window,takes a swig from a bottle of hard liquor. He turns toChaz --                                              (CONTINUED)                                                         36.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             I'm sure I can get you in here.Chaz gives the building another glance, shoves the meterflag back down. Tick... tick... tick...                           CHAZ             Pass.INT. THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY - LATERA few bishops talk quietly. A cardinal studiesScriptures. Definitely not the place for atheists.John walks through the vaulted chamber room to the --LIBRARYJohn stops, fixes on the two gentlemen standing in frontof a fireplace. One is a young man of pure class wrappedin Armani's best. The other is Father Garret.John stands to the side and waits for their conversationto end. An ATTENDANT makes the rounds.                           ATTENDANT             Can I take your coat, Mr.             Constantine?                           JOHN             No thanks, I'm not staying long.                           ATTENDANT             How about you, ma'am?Attendant turns to Angela standing just a few feet away,her gaze fixed on the same two men.                           ANGELA             I'm not staying long either.John glances over and for the second time they makecontact. Something about her eyes. John stares a bittoo long. Angela looks back toward the fireplace.                           ANGELA             My business with him is urgent.                           JOHN             First come, first served.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                         37.CONTINUED:                           ANGELA             So you're rude no matter where you             are.John gives her a look. The two men shake hands and startto part. John and Angela make their move toward the men.Both are surprised when Angela goes for Father Garret andJohn goes for ---- the SNOB, officially known as GABRIEL.       Yes, that one.FATHER GARRETand Angela have retreated to another area for privacy.                           ANGELA             Why is he stalling on this? My             sister needs a Catholic funeral.                           FATHER GARRET             Angela, it's still considered a             mortal sin --                           ANGELA             She didn't commit suicide.                           FATHER GARRET             The Bishop has read otherwise.                           ANGELA             Father... David -- this is Isabel.                     (meeting his eyes)             Please...Father Garret stares at her, tries to be compassionate.                           FATHER GARRET             I'll talk to him again.But Angela has just lost a load of faith.BY THE FIREPLACEGabriel sits in his chair, watches the fire withunblinking eyes. John approaches from behind and againstthe backdrop of flame, sees the nebulous shape of wings.The ghostly image is visible for only a heartbeat.                           GABRIEL                     (without looking back)             I know what you want, son.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                         38.CONTINUED:John sits across from him.                           JOHN             Been keeping your all-seeing eye             on me, have you?                           GABRIEL             I could offer how a shepherd leads             even the most wayward of his flock             but it might sound disingenuous.                           JOHN             So you're going to make me beg?Angela pauses on her way out, looks over.                           GABRIEL             It wouldn't help. You've already             wasted your chance at redemption.                           JOHN             What about the minions I've sent             back, the souls that I've saved --             that should guarantee my passage             across --                           GABRIEL                     (keeping it private)             -- No -- passage requires faith             and faith by definition is belief             without proof. You have proof.             And that means you're not playing             by the same rules as everyone             else. Your work has mostly been             for selfish reasons. I'm sorry.                           JOHN             This is bullshit -- bullshit!Now he's really got Angela's attention.                           JOHN             It's like you've got some cosmic             scale weighing everything we do --             help an old lady across the             street -- put in a nickel, kick a             dog, take out a dime -- you're             fucking nickel and diming us to             death down here!                           GABRIEL             Keep your voice down.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                     39.CONTINUED:John jumps up, leans into his face.                           JOHN             And you know what, you're the ones             with the problem, not us -- You make             these impossible rules to decide who             goes up, who goes down and you don't             even understand us --This more than anything gets under Gabriel's skin.                           GABRIEL             Each of you is born with the             promise of salvation preordained.             The cost of your redemption is             simple belief. And yet you whine             about impossible rules. Sometimes             I imagine you hardly deserve the             gift you have been given.                           JOHN             Gift?! More like a curse the way             you manage things.Gabriel stands and towers over John.                           GABRIEL             I am taking your situation into             account, John, but don't push me.                           JOHN             Why me, Gabriel? It's personal,             isn't it? I didn't go to church             enough? I didn't pray enough? I             was five bucks short in the             collection plate? Why?Gabriel moves right up to him, makes this very personal.                           GABRIEL             You're going to die because you             smoked 30 cigarettes a day since             you were 15. And you're going to             Hell because of the life you took.             Or to put it in a way that your kind             would understand. You're fucked.EXT. THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY - MINUTES LATERAngela stands on the porch at the edge of a downpour.She hears a cough, looks over to see John standing on theother side, looking equally frayed. They share anotherglance.                                           (CONTINUED)                                                          40.CONTINUED:John fishes a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.        Empty.                           JOHN             He has a rotten sense of humor.                     (steps past)             And his punch lines are killers.John tosses the cigarette pack, walks right into theRAIN, away from Chaz's taxi pulling up.                            CHAZ                      (shouting out)             John?   It's raining! Hey!Angela watches John disappear in the rain, looks down atthe empty cigarette pack.                                          DISSOLVE TO:INT. HENNESSEY'S APARTMENT - A CIGARETTE PACKlies on the floor next to food wrappers, Coke bottles andstacks of newspapers. Hennessey sits amongst thegarbage, slumped over. But he's not sleeping.He's surfing the ether. Allowing his sixth sense toguide him. His hands move down and across the stacks ofnewer periodicals, fingers probing the layers ofinformation.Left hand suddenly stops.Hennessey's eyes open. He removes the layers of periodicalson top of his left hand, leans close. Edges his fingersaway and sees an OBITUARY. A name -- Isabel Dodson.EXT. L.A. STREETS - EVENINGJohn walks the streets, numb to the world. A ratscurries past near the curb. Then another. Severalcrows fly by.Above him is a BILLBOARD - "YOUR TIME IS RUNNING OUT."Doesn't matter that below it is -- "TO BUY A NEW CHEVY."The point is crystal clear. John shakes his head, breaksout laughing which quickly turns into a coughing fit.He leans to a gutter. Another rat scoots past. Johnbarely notices. Then a frog jumps past. But it's thecrab crawling by that finally catches John's gaze.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                        41.CONTINUED:                           VOICE OF MAN (O.S.)             Hey, buddy, you got a light?John turns, settles on a silhouetted figure standingbehind him, unlit cigarette butt in its mouth.                           OLD MAN                     (coughs)             We gotta stick together, right?John gathers himself. As he walks over to this OLD MAN,he rummages through his coat pocket, retrieves amatchbox.The box shudders as a high-pitch FLUTTERING filters frominside. Old Man winces as his entire body VIBRATES.John realizes -- this is Beeman's matchbox, the one withthe screech beetle inside. And now he knows -- a beattoo late.Old Man attacks.John is knocked onto his haunches. As the Old Man closesin, he's revealed in more detail. Body and face areactually an intricate puzzle, an assemblage of cityvermin. Rats, insects, crows, frogs, crabs -- all heldtogether in the shape of a man.John scampers backwards, just inches from this being'soutstretched grasp. He shakes the matchbox and thescreech beetle inside flutters again.Old Man/Demon cringes as his entire body vibrates apartfor a second, then snaps back together. He GRABS ontoJohn with fingers of squirming vermin. Snake wrapsaround his wrist. Crab snaps at his skin.John shakes the beetle box harder -- causing the parts tovibrate even further. Old Man grabs John's head andvermin of various leg count crawl right onto John's face.John's had enough -- shakes the matchbox violently, thensmashes it against the sidewalk.BEETLE lets out a death SHRIEK and the Old Manstutters -- his parts vibrating so wildly you canactually see the b.g. through the seams.John scampers loose, grabs a road barricade and swings itwith all his might. Old Man form shatters on impact.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                        42.CONTINUED:The entire mess collapses to the ground in a flood ofscattering critters. John starts stomping on them asthey scatter into the city.John stands there, shocked and concerned.      What the hellis going on?INT. ANGELA'S APARTMENT - DAYThat surveillance VIDEO FOOTAGE from Ravenscar playsagain. There's Isabel in her nightgown walking acrossthe roof.Spread out on a cluttered coffee table is Isabel's casefile. CORONER'S REPORT is opened. Let's see "NO DRUGSIN SYSTEM" and the biggie -- "Cause of Death -- SUICIDE."Angela sits on the couch in her robe.      Disheveled anddistraught. She's taking this hard.                           ANGELA             I'm sorry, Isabel...She lowers her head.     And in that brief moment ofsilence --                           ISABEL (V.O.)                     (on TV)             Constantine.Angela snaps back to the TV, freezes in shock.There's Isabel ready to jump but this time she's lookingright back AT us -- at Angela. Then she's gone.Angela quickly rewinds the tape and watches the sequenceagain. This time Isabel doesn't look back. This timethere is no name. But Angela did see it. Did hear it.She sits for a second.     Stunned.INT. MIDNITE'S OFFICEJohn paces as Midnite works on that Universal orrery,adjusting components but balance continues to elude him.                           JOHN             A few months, maybe a year.             That's it. End of story. Game             over.                           (MORE)                                               (CONTINUED)                                                         43.CONTINUED:                            JOHN (CONT'D)                      (as Midnite doesn't                       react)             Well, don't break down on my             account.                           MIDNITE             What do you want from me?   A             shoulder to cry on?                           JOHN             This bastard attacked me right out             in the open -- on Sepulveda no             less.                           MIDNITE             They don't like you, John. You've             deported how many back to Hell?                           JOHN             That's just it -- this wasn't some             possession or wayward half breed,             it was a full-fledged demon.             Here. On our plane.                           MIDNITE             Right.                           JOHN             I know what I saw.                           MIDNITE             You must have just crossed over             and didn't even realize it --                           JOHN             I didn't cross over -- It was on             this side. Here.                           MIDNITE             -- it's wet out, you're wandering             around aimlessly, not to mention             completely emotional --                           JOHN             Emotional?!John slams a fist against the counter. The orrery almosttopples but Midnite saves it. Decades of work almostlost.Midnite glares at a desperate John.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                         44.CONTINUED:                           MIDNITE             Okay, so you saw something. We've             seen a few small ones slip through             now and then.                           JOHN             It's more than that... first the             girl, then this.                           MIDNITE             John, you know my connections.             Any shifts or tremors in the             planes and I'd hear about it.John just shakes his head, looks up -- convinced.                           JOHN             Something's coming.Midnite sighs, gives up with him.INT. LAPD OFFICE - LATERThe name JOHN CONSTANTINE is center screen on amonitor -- typed into the police station's SEARCH ENGINE.Angela sits alone in the squad room, rain streakingacross the windows.Interpol comes back with results and a list of priorsscroll under John's name.Must be a hundred PARKING VIOLATIONS. Several SPEEDINGtickets and a few RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT. In fact John'slicense has been REVOKED.But it's the other incidents that draw Angela in.BRIEF CLOSEUPSOf specific words in a few HEADLINES -- "Occult activityon the rise..." "Claimed possession is refuted byBishop..." "Satanic cult dissolved..."Accompanies with an assortment of unusual case photos.-- BLOOD PATTERNS on a WALL -- Odd SYMBOLS burned into aceiling. A cross burnt to a crisp.-- JOHN in handcuffs looking back at a mother holding herson in her arms. A younger and more noble FatherHennessey stands beside them, looking grateful.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                        45.CONTINUED:Another line -- "INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE to PROSECUTE."Angela scrolls, sees cities listed where John has madewaves -- LONDON -- PARIS -- ROME -- BUDAPEST -- MOSCOW.Stops on the one that matters -- LOS ANGELES. Andthere's an address.Angela hits PRINT and the HP HUMS away.A desk PHONE RINGS. Angela quickly looks around, seesshe's the only one here. She gets up, answers it.                            ANGELA             L.A.P.D.   This is Dodson, hello?Dead air. The next PHONE RINGS. Angela reaches for itwhen the NEXT ONE RINGS, and the NEXT, the NEXT.The RINGS HOP phone to phone in intimidating mockery.Angela freezes, forces herself to stay calm.     Sureenough, the RINGS abruptly CEASE.Angela reaches over, rips the page from the printer,leaves.INT. ISTANBUL AIRPORT - DAYA police guard scans passengers and a printout of thePrisoner. He walks past a man standing in the metaldetector line.This is actually the Prisoner wearing the clothes andglasses of the Driver. Is that a blood stain on thelapel?Sweat drops from his forehead and he nervously places theiron relic in a bag he took from the truck driver. Hehas no choice but to place it on the conveyer belt.MYSTERIOUS POVWatching the Prisoner.      He looks back AT us, suspicious.Nothing there.PRISONERlooks back nervously, as his bag goes through thedetector.                                                         46.DETECTOR SCREENshows the folds of the bag, a wallet, a passport andnothing else. The iron relic doesn't even produce anoutline.Bag slides out, untouched. Prisoner can't believe hisluck, grabs the bag and walks on toward the gates.EXT. LOS ANGELES - NIGHTVARIOUS of the city -- the contrasts between the brightand cheerful and the dark and mysterious. That abandonedmission behind Bob's Big Boy, the Islamic Temple wedgedbetween competing banks.COME TO REST ON --The towering statue of The Good Shepherd. His hands arewelcoming us into the "HOLY CROSS CEMETERY."Right across the street is the 20 Lanes Bowling Alley.INT. 20 LANES - THE BARJohn drinks alone.   Pissed at life.      At death.That small black box of his lies on the table unopened.Spider runs across the table. John flips an empty glass,traps it underneath. He takes a drag on his cigarette,tips the glass and blows smoke inside. Spider can'tescape the poison air, bumps the glass. Trapped. Dying.                        JOHN          Welcome to my life.                        ANGELA (O.S.)          Mr. Constantine?John looks up, spots Angela.        Those eyes again.                        ANGELA          I saw you at --                           JOHN          -- I remember.                           ANGELA          And --                           JOHN          Yeah.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                          47.CONTINUED:She did make an impression.                           ANGELA             I'd like to ask you a few             questions.                           JOHN             I'm not really in the talking mood             right now.                           ANGELA             Could you just listen then?Angela sets her LAPD detective badge on the table.                           ANGELA             Please?                           JOHN             Always a catch...Angela sits across from him, puts the badge away.                           ANGELA             My sister was murdered last week.                           JOHN             Sorry to hear...                           ANGELA             Her name was Isabel.   Isabel             Dodson?She looks for a reaction.     None.                           ANGELA             You don't remember her?                           JOHN             Never met her.                           ANGELA             You sure?                           JOHN             She look anything like you?                     (as Angela nods)             I would've remembered.Another beat as their eyes meet.       John looks away.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                         48.CONTINUED:                           ANGELA             She was a patient at Ravenscar.             Then last Tuesday she just decided             to step off the roof.                           JOHN             I thought you said she was murdered?                           ANGELA             Isabel would never take her own life.                           JOHN             You'd be surprised at what people             will do.                           ANGELA             Look, I know I'm not making much             sense -- hell I'm not really sure             what I'm doing here... I just             feel -- the circles you travel             in -- the occult, demonology,             exorcisms...John just stares at that spider in the glass.       Trapped.                           ANGELA             I believe someone got to her, Mr.             Constantine, brainwashed her into             stepping off that roof. Some kind             of legion or cult.                           JOHN             Sounds like a theory.   Good luck.                           ANGELA             Well I thought with your             background and experience, you             could at least point me in the             right direction.                            JOHN             Yeah, okay.   Sure.John points -- toward the exit.      Angela is not amused.But she's not giving up.                           ANGELA             My sister always talked about a             world better than this. Heaven as             some call it. She wasn't afraid             of dying because she knew it was             waiting for her. What everyone             fails to grasp is that if she had             really taken her own life --                                               (CONTINUED)                                                       49.CONTINUED:                            JOHN             -- she would have committed a             mortal sin and her soul would have             gone straight to Hell where it             would never feel love or             compassion or anything but pain             again as the master himself rips             her apart over and over for the             rest of eternity.                     (beat)             That about right?The words have hit so hard that Angela is speechless.John sees the hurt in her eyes, would like to take itback -- but it's too late.She turns and starts out, slows --                           ANGELA             You're not the only one afraid of             Hell.John tries not to let that get to him. She leaves. Heglances out the window, watches her pass by. So long.Good riddance.But something's not right. Those deep shadows on thebuildings seem to be moving. John watches, confused,realizes they're heading in Angela's direction.                           JOHN             Oh shit...He stands, gains his bearings. As he walks out he flicksthe glass over. Spider runs free.EXT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEY - NIGHTCars are lined all the way down the street. Angela walksalong the sidewalk unaware of the shadow following her.It's joined by another in the trees -- both closing inwith each step.                           JOHN (O.S.)             Detective!Angela looks back, sees John in the street.                           JOHN             How open is your mind?                                              (CONTINUED)                                                         50.CONTINUED:She doesn't answer, continues walking. What she doesn'tsee are the shadows seeping back into the fringes. ButJohn does. He starts walking toward her.                           JOHN             Do you believe in Heaven and Hell?                     (off no answer)             How about what comes out of each?Angela keeps walking.      He catches up with her.                           JOHN             Hey!                           ANGELA             You mean like angels?                           JOHN             And demons.Angela stares at him, continues walking.       He keeps up.                           JOHN             See, you don't have the mindset             for this kind of work.They walk together down the lonely street.                           ANGELA             Look, I see terrible things every             day. A mother drowns her baby. A             ten-year-old shoots his father.             But it's not demons, it's the evil             that men do.Behind them, a streetlight BLINKS OUT. Then another.They're not looking back so they don't see it.                           JOHN             You're right, we're capable of             terrible things but we usually             justify it with motives like money             and power and jealousy.Another LIGHT FIZZES, blinks out.                           JOHN             Then sometimes, something comes             along and gives us just the right             nudge and we do truly evil things             just for the kick of it.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                             51.CONTINUED:                           ANGELA             I don't believe in demons.                            JOHN             You should.   They believe in us.They pass another streetlamp as it goes bright, thenblacks out. Both look up.The next LAMP FLARES then FIZZES OUT.Angela turns and sees that there are no lights behindthem. She looks to John. But he's staring straightahead. Because now the light in front of them is FLARINGBRIGHT.                           JOHN             We should go...Second later it BLINKS OFF.         John grabs her hand --                             JOHN             Fast.Angela's confusion turns to tension as a raspy gutturalWIND races toward them.John jerks her into action. They run towards the nextlight. It blinks out right when they reach it.They race to stay in the light, aiming toward the safetyof the brightly-lit statue of the Good Shepherd.EXT. HOLY CROSS CEMETERYThey make it through the gate, pass through an alley ofoverhanging trees. Something RIPPLES through thebranches -- flitters right past Angela's face. She swatsat it, manages to get a branch across the cheek.They near the Good Shepherd and the floodlights FLICKER,fade out. Statues of saints become dark monoliths.John stops in an OPEN AREA between trees and a mausoleum.A lit CROSS on the wall provides the only illumination.Angela feels the scratch on her cheek, sees a trickle ofblood. Now she hears SOUNDS in the darkness. LikeLEATHER RUBBING. Surrounding them.                             ANGELA             What is that?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                         52.CONTINUED:John is just as surprised he's saying this --                           JOHN             Wings.                           ANGELA             Wings?John rummages through his trench coat -- fishes out thatcloth Beeman gave him. The one supposedly wrapped aroundMoses.                           JOHN             And maybe talons.The cross is getting dimmer and dimmer...                           ANGELA             Are you kidding? Of what?                           JOHN             Something that's not supposed to             be here.John quickly wraps the cloth tight around his hand.Angela spins, eyes seeing only darkness as the sounds getCLOSER -- ghastly sound of MOVEMENT in the fringes oflight.The cross now resembles a dying wire filament and withevery second the circle of light gets smaller and thoseSOUNDS GET CLOSER. John takes out his special lighter.                           JOHN             Close your eyes.They are now standing in pitch darkness.                           ANGELA             Why?                           JOHN             Suit yourself.John flicks the lighter and in one powerful motion --sweeps his arm up as he lights his hand.Sacred cloth catches fire -- then IGNITES with abrilliant retina-searing FLASH -- blinding Angela andilluminating a ---- CIRCLE OF WINGED DEMONS -- a roiling broth ofreptilian death -- right there -- ready to pounce.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                         53.CONTINUED:RED FLAME radiates from the cloth and DEMONS SHRIEK asthey are instantly vaporized.John tucks his burning hand into a coat pocket,extinguishes the flame. He leans down to a rubbery stainleft from one of the burnt demon carcasses. Shakes hishead in disbelief.                           JOHN                     (to himself)             'I accidentally crossed over?'    I             don't think so.                           ANGELA                     (coming up behind)             What was that? I saw wings -- and             teeth -- they were flying. What             the hell were those things?!                           JOHN             They weren't angels.John scans the area, trying to think this through.                           JOHN             Seplavites, actually. Scavengers             for the damned.                     (off her lost look)             Demons?                           ANGELA             What? You can't be serious...             this is impossible...                           JOHN             Yeah...                     (to himself)             And I don't think they were after             me...John looks at her with renewed interest.                           JOHN             You really believe she wouldn't             commit suicide?                           ANGELA                     (a bit thrown)             My sister?                     (a beat)             Never in a million years.John makes the decision.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                        54.CONTINUED:                             JOHN             Let's be sure.He starts walking.     Angela is now compelled to follow.                             ANGELA             How?                            JOHN             Simple.   See if she's in Hell.EXT. L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - NIGHTNot exactly an inviting place.Hennessey steps off the curb, looks up at hisdestination.INT. ANGELA'S APARTMENT - NIGHTJohn stares at a photo of Angela and her father in policeuniform. Obviously happier times.Angela walks out of her bedroom holding a cardboard box.That gray cat follows close to her heels.                           ANGELA             These are all Isabel's things.                             JOHN             The cat too?                             ANGELA             Yeah, why...?John ignores the box of items, picks up the cat. Hestudies it a bit, then sits back in a chair with it.                           ANGELA             Don't you need candles and a             pentagram for this to work?                           JOHN                     (deadpan)             Why, do you have any?John puts his feet, shoes and all into a BUCKET OF WATER.                           JOHN             I need you to step outside now.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                      55.CONTINUED:Angela wants to stay.                            JOHN             Angela?   Please.Angela reluctantly moves toward the exit. John holds thecat, stares into its huge, unblinking eyes. There's amoment where animal and man seem to connect.The water around John's feet begins to BOIL.ANGELA pushes the door closed behind her but it slows onits way to latch.Bulbs pulsate as current ramps down. The room flickers,is suddenly caught in a ghostly dim half-light and Johnhas now crossed over into --APARTMENT IN HELLSame layout, different decorator. John takes a deep,raspy breath, slowly stands. He turns to the wall behindhim which is torn away, looking like some half-bombedstructure in Beirut.Beyond the wall is no longer the blackness of anightscape but a sickly sepia glow. Not quite day, notquite night.John steps over the crumbling wall into --EXT. HELL LOS ANGELESJohn walks out onto the top overpass of a crumbling mazeof intersecting freeways. Burnt-out husks of long-forgotten vehicles sit in rows of gridlock. A low DRONEpenetrates the silence.                             JOHN             Is she here?On the horizon is a dying RED SUN.    It strains to cutthrough the putrid brown haze.                             JOHN             Is she here?!His VOICE REVERBERATES to infinity.                                             (CONTINUED)                                                          56.CONTINUED:John cautiously steps closer to the railing, looks downto the ribbons of twisting streets below. They'recrammed with teeming masses of the damned. All walkingdown in silence, faces numb with sorrow and grief.                              JOHN             IS SHE HERE?!That low DRONE RISES IN PITCH and John now spots a hugeblanket-like BLACKNESS crawling over the cityscape,rapidly closing in on him. You get the feeling thisisn't a safe place for the living.                            JOHN             It's a simple question!    Is she             here or not?!!John suddenly locks on something far off.On top of a distant skyscraper is a FEMALE FIGURE in asheer white gown. John can't make out her face but knowsshe's looking right at him.                              JOHN             Isabel?She lifts something and tosses it. John watches as asmall object tumbles toward him just ahead of closingdarkness.INT. ANGELA'S APARTMENT - HALLWAYIn that same motion we left her in -- Angela finishespushing the door closed. As it LATCHES --                           JOHN (O.S.)                     (weakly)             Angela... come back in...Confused, Angela pushes the door back open. Cat BOLTSout. Angela catches her breath, moves inside.INT. LIVING ROOMJohn sits slumped in the chair, drained. Steam rises offhis skin. Angela sees the water in the bucket has almostall boiled out. She walks in, kneels down to him.                              ANGELA             John?     What happened?                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                       57.CONTINUED:Sweat drips off as he looks up. He opens his palm --reveals to Angela a simple HOSPITAL BAND. The name"ISABEL DODSON" is typed on it.Even as a semi-convert, this news completely floorsAngela. She takes the plastic band -- grips it tight --tries to hold herself together. The adrenaline and painoverwhelm. Her knee buckle and she drops to the floor.John watches, isn't sure how to help. He finally reachesout a single hand -- slowly rests it on her shoulder.The contact seems to open a floodgate of emotion andAngela falls right into his arms. John hasn't been thisclose to anyone in a long time. Angela finally composesherself.                            ANGELA             How?   How did you do this...?John tries not to stare into those eyes too long.     Fails.INT. L.A. COUNTY MORGUE - NIGHTBody drawer slides open -- reveals Isabel. Lying in acold, sterile room of death. A Hell of a different type.Hennessey stares down at her, looks around the roomagain, makes sure he's still alone.He reaches in, rips open the protective plastic andlowers his hand inside. Places it first on her forehead.Nothing. Then on her chest. Nothing. Wrist is last.Hennessey shudders. This is it.He closes his eyes and opens himself to the void --                           JOHN (V.O.)             When I was a kid, I saw things...FLASHBACK - EXT. STREET - DAYA TEN-YEAR-OLD John comes out of a corner store with milkin a bag. He slows, eyes a MAN at a mailbox.                           JOHN (V.O.)             Things I wasn't supposed to.The man looks right at young John as he passes. His faceis distorted and his feet have sprouted roots which aredug into the ground.                                              (CONTINUED)                                                       58.CONTINUED:                           WAITRESS (O.S.)             Coffee?Young John looks up toward the voice --INT. DINER - NIGHT (PRESENT)John looks up at the Waitress.                           JOHN             Tea.She leaves. Angela sits across from him.      They're at thetable by the window.                           JOHN             My parents sent me to a doctor, a             shrink, a priest. I was in four             different institutions by the time             I was eighteen.Angela notes him rubbing his wrist.                            JOHN             The last place they put me was run             by a church...A DOCTOR rushes past their table.     PAN WITH him INTO...FLASHBACK - INT. MENTAL INSTITUTION - HALLWAYThe Doctor rushes toward distant SCREAMING.                           JOHN (V.O.)             The revered Father made the             brilliant deduction that I was             possessed, said I needed to be             exorcised...INT. ROOM - HIGH ANGLEThe Doctor runs in. Sees the revered Father below,leaning over a bed where an 18-year-old John is held downby three interns and that Doctor. John angrily screamsat them all.                           JOHN (V.O.)             It was like someone trying to pull             teeth that weren't there.Young John clamps his eyes shut tight.                                                      59.INT. DINER - JOHN (PRESENT)Present-day John does the same, remembering the pain.                        JOHN          So I took things into my own hands          and I found a way out.                        ANGELA          You attempted suicide.John sees she's looking at his wrist. The hint of ajagged scar can now be seen under the sleeve.                        JOHN          I never attempt anything.John's reflection in the window becomes --FLASHBACK - TEENAGE JOHNkneeling with a pair off scissors.     He's inside a...INT. CLASSROOMTeenage John looks up at a room filled with people fromall walks of life. Teachers, doctors, lawyers, garbagemen. All somewhat different than normal. They sit inschool chairs and wait for John to do the deed.He puts the blade to his wrist -- one swipe and the worldaround him accelerates away in a STREAKED BLUR --INT. DINER (PRESENT)                        ANGELA          But you're still here.    Alive.                           JOHN          Not my doing.His chest suddenly HEAVES forward -- and we're on...FLASHBACK - TEENAGE JOHNas he's jolted by DEFIB PADS.     He's in the back of a...INT. AMBULANCE - MOVINGParamedics are soaked in sweat. One looks a bit like ayoung Dr. Archer. Heart monitor is FLAT LINE. There'slittle hope.                                                     60.EXT. LOS ANGELESThe ambulance moves through a city that is transforming.From this world's Los Angeles to a barren Hell version.                        JOHN (V.O.)          Officially I was dead for seven          minutes. But believe me, seven          minutes in Hell is a lifetime.Ambulance heads toward that dying RED SUN.INT. AMBULANCEFLAT LINE on the monitor suddenly SPIKES with a pulse --INT. MORGUE (PRESENT)Hennessey's hand jerks back from the plastic. His eyesfix on Isabel's wrist. That odd circular SYMBOL is back.Hennessey's unsettled, quickly shoves the drawer closed.He rushes out, slams right into a SECURITY GUARD comingin.                        SECURITY GUARD          Hey, what're you doing in here?Guard looks back into the body room, sees a drawerpartially open. He walks over, pulls it out further --sees the plastic cut away. Jesus.The symbol has already faded from Isabel's wrist.                        JOHN (V.O.)          When I returned I didn't just see          demons anymore, I could do the one          thing they couldn't -- come and go          as I please.EXT. MORGUE - HENNESSEYruns as fast as a very obese man can -- aiming for thatPHONE BOOTH on the corner. He grabs the receiver,punches numbers as fast as he can. RING -- RING --RING --                        HENNESSEY          Be there, John... please...Something shivers up Hennessey's leg and into his body.Eyes glaze over and Hennessey settles on a RESTAURANT.                                             (CONTINUED)                                                        61.CONTINUED:                           JOHN (V.O.)             Heaven and Hell are right here,             behind every wall, every face --             the world behind the world. It's             crossing over that's the real             trick. That's why most demons can             only whisper in our ears. But             even a whisper can turn your             favorite pleasure into your worst             nightmare.INT. LATE NIGHT RESTAURANTHENNESSEY barges in, squeezes past the MAITRE D'.                           MAITRE D'             Sir, you need a reservation!But Hennessey is on a quest.     For food.   And it'severywhere.He starts grabbing meals right off of plates. Fish,pasta, prime rib. Shovels it all in. Patrons areyelling -- screaming. He's eating as if his lifedepended on it. And even though he's devouring anythingin sight, this huge man is wasting away before our eyes.In the middle of all this chaos is one customer calmlyeating his meal. Balthazar.Hennessey hijacks a food cart -- consumes everything onit yet his skin is getting looser and the body insidegets thinner.He grabs a steak from a woman's plate but she jerks itback so he bites into his arm. She screams as herhusband pulls her away.Hennessey's strength is withering away. Desperate, hegrabs a FORK, digs it into his own hand.A Hispanic BUSBOY rushes into the room, grabs ontoHennessey.                           JOHN (V.O.)             But the worst demons are the ones             that are allowed to be here -- the             ones that are half-human so they             blend in...Balthazar stands, throws a few bills on the table andstarts toward the back EXIT.                                              (CONTINUED)                                                         62.CONTINUED:                           JOHN (V.O.)             ... just like those with the             angel's touch living alongside of             us. The half-breeds.That Busboy lowers Hennessey to the floor. For a momentwe see him framed against the front doorway. And in thatinstant we get a brief glimpse of --ALTERNATE LOS ANGELESAn incredible pristine lake reflecting a city of light.BACK TO SCENEBUSBOY looks up, meets Balthazar's eyes. Bitter enemies.Balthazar grins, flips that coin between his fingers. Heleaves out the back exit.                           JOHN (V.O.)             They call it 'the Balance.' I             call it hypocritical bullshit.INT. DINER                           JOHN             So when one of them gets a little             cocky, peddles their influence or             hijacks a soul -- I deport their             scaly ass right back to Hell.                     (takes a sip of tea)             I don't get them all but maybe             enough to insure my retirement.                           ANGELA             Sounds like you're trying to buy             your way into Heaven.                           JOHN             Well, what would you do if you             were sentenced to a prison where             half the inmates were put there by             you?Not a serene image at all.     Angela studies him.                           ANGELA             Why you? I mean many go to Hell,             why were you able to escape?                                                (CONTINUED)                                                          63.CONTINUED:                           JOHN                     (sips tea)             I don't know.                           ANGELA             God has a plan for all of us.                           JOHN             Not for me.John's bitterness is obvious.     Angela just stares athim -- finally --                           ANGELA             Isabel saw things too.John looks up. Moment is lost when her CELLULAR RINGS.The cop in her reacts, flips it open.                           ANGELA             Detective Dodson here.EXT. RESTAURANT - LATERThe morgue is seen across the street.     The Guard thatchased Hennessey is just outside.                           WEISS (O.S.)             Security Guard spotted him near             the body, chased him out.We MOVE PAST Angela standing with Weiss.       Around them isa complete shambles of fine dining --                           WEISS             He comes over here, makes a run at             the entire menu and pow --             deflates like a fricken Macy's day             balloon.-- COME TO REST ON John's shattered face. He stares downat Hennessey. Now yards of loose flesh sunken over anassemblage of bones. Only that ragged black tie he woreis familiar now.John leans down to the remains of his friend. A copstarts to intervene but Angela blocks him. Let him be.John has trouble taking this in, reluctantly reaches intoHennessey's coat pocket -- finds the protective amulet hehimself removed from his friend. That's even morecrushing.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                    64.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             Shit...                     (sympathetic)             Why didn't you call me, you fat             sonna bitch...John lowers his head, then spots blood stains on one ofHennessey's hands. He opens the fingers, studies thefork wound. The blood is already drying over it.John reaches over to the mess of dishes on the floor andgrabs a melting ice cube.He pushes it into Hennessey's hand, wiping away the driedblood. It quickly becomes apparent -- this isn't randomstabbings. This is a shape.John takes a napkin, lays it on the palm and presses.Residual blood creates a symbol onto the napkin.It's the same circular symbol we saw on Isabel's wrist.John doesn't know what it is, but he knows it's important.                           JOHN                     (to Hennessey)             Rest in peace, Father.INT. 20 LANES - BEHIND THE LANESWith a loud crowd and 20 huge PIN MACHINES GRINDING AWAYthe noise back here is DEAFENING. But this is Beeman'shome. See the desk, the TV. The fold-away bed.Beeman is on the phone. There's a conversation but it'sway too noisy to hear. All we see are the emotions onBeeman's face. No doubt news of Hennessey's death is oneof the biggies.Beeman quickly reaches for a marker, puts it to paper andstarts drawing -- listening and drawing --He's finished, hangs up. Stares at the Symbol. Thatcabinet with the ancient books now gets his attention.                           JOHN (V.O.)             I need to see where Isabel died.EXT. EAST LA - NIGHTGraffiti-adorned walls give way to a tall iron fence,heavily-shadowed grounds and finally the six-storyhospital complex of RAVENSCAR.                                           (CONTINUED)                                                         65.CONTINUED:A rim-lit figure stands on the roof. But this one isn'twearing a hospital gown, he's wearing a trench coat.                           ANGELA (V.O.)             Seances, crystals -- channeling...             Our father thought she was just             trying to get attention. She             certainly did that.EXT. ROOFTOPAngela stands behind John. A large water tank isanchored to the roof next to her. Note the FLAME logo.                           ANGELA             She'd tell everyone about things             she said she saw. Crazy things.             Things that hadn't happened yet.             She'd scare my mother to death,             talking on and on about             Revelations and the end of the             world. Then one day she just             stopped... never said another             word.                           JOHN             So you put her in here.Angela doesn't need to be reminded.     It hurts even more now.                           JOHN             Show me her room.INT. CORRIDORJohn and Angela head toward Isabel's room. A NURSEappears from around the corner walking with a boy. It'sBarry, the boy in the courtyard.He locks on Angela and when she makes eye contact hebreaks away from the Nurse, runs toward her with armsoutstretched.                           NURSE             Barry!He runs right into Angela's arms, hugs her tight. Angelais totally baffled. John is thoroughly intrigued.                           NURSE             Oh God...                                                (CONTINUED)                                                         66.CONTINUED:She rushes in, gently tugs the boy away.                           NURSE             No, Barry, that's not Isabel.Barry stares at Angela. He reaches out, touches herface, confused. Nurse pulls him back even further.                           NURSE             I'm sorry. They were friends. He             kind of had a crush on your sister.Angela nods, understanding. The Nurse leads Barry away.He doesn't take his eyes off Angela the entire time.Neither does John.                           JOHN             You were twins.Angela nods, steps inside.      John pauses, thinking.INT. ISABEL'S ROOMJohn steps inside, gives the sterile room a thoroughscan.                            JOHN             So how long?                            ANGELA             Two months.                     (beat)             This time.He pulls out a drawer, looks at the bottom.                           ANGELA             I already did all that.John runs his hands under the steel bed frame.                           ANGELA             Now you're insulting me.                           JOHN             You don't walk off a building             without leaving something behind.                           ANGELA             You saw everything she left             behind. In that box.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                          67.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             Maybe she left something else.             Something more personal. Just for             you.Angela doesn't like that look he's giving her.                           JOHN             You were her twin, Angela.    Twins             tend to think alike.                           ANGELA             I'm not like my sister.                           JOHN             But you were at once time. When             you were kids. When you'd spend             every waking hour with each other.             You'd start a sentence, she'd             finish it. You'd get hurt, she'd             cry.                           ANGELA             That was a long time ago...                           JOHN             That kind of bond doesn't just             disappear.                           ANGELA             There's nothing here.Angela seems unbalanced.     John gets more aggressive.                           JOHN             She planned her death in this             room, she thought it up right             where you're standing --Angela backs away.     John advances.                           JOHN             She knew you'd come -- She counted             on you to see what she saw, to             feel what she felt -- to do what             she did. What did she do, Angela?                           ANGELA             How should I know?                           JOHN             What did she do, Angela?                                                (CONTINUED)                                                          68.CONTINUED:                             ANGELA             I don't know!                           JOHN             What would you do?Angela backs into a wall.       Nowhere else to go now.                           JOHN             What would you leave her? What             would it be? Where would it be?!             Where would it be?Angela lashes out, shoves John hard, pushing him out ofher way. She turns to the window, almost hyperventilating.John stays back, watches. Angela opens her eyes. Thetension seems to flow right out of her when she sees --                             ANGELA             The tree.EXT. COURTYARD - NIGHTA lone tree stands in the center of the lit courtyard.John and Angela approach it. Examine it. Nothing. Johndrops lower on the tree, to a child's height.   Finallysees something near the ground, gestures to Angela.She kneels down next to him, sees what he sees.That same SYMBOL. The one Hennessey carved into hishand. But this time there's more.                           ANGELA                     (trying to                      rationalize)             There must have been a tree in our             backyard... when we were kids...John may not be buying it but he's not saying anything.His fingers trace these words carved below the symbol --                             JOHN             'COR 14:01.'                             ANGELA             Cor?                             JOHN             Corinthians.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                    69.CONTINUED:                           ANGELA                     (shaking her head)             There is no 14h act in Corinthians.John's face goes pale --                           JOHN             I need a church.INT. HOSPITAL CHAPEL - MINUTES LATERSeveral families sit in solemn prayer. The pastorcomforts a man and wife. John and Angela slip through,head for the shelves of reference books on the back wall.They whisper.                           JOHN             Corinthians goes to 21 acts in the             book of Ethenius. It's like a             dark mirror of the Bible. It             paints a different view of             Revelations, says that the world             will not come to an end at the             hand of God but be reborn in the             embrace of the damned.                           ANGELA             There's a difference?                           JOHN             Depends on which side of the fence             you're standing.John stops, casually sticks his hand in the pastor's bowlof holy water near the altar.                           ANGELA             So why haven't I seen this book             before?                           JOHN             Because it doesn't exist here on             this side.John closes his eyes and the water in the bowl begins toBOIL --                           ANGELA (O.S.)             What do you mean --Flickering candlelight slows to a stop, catching Angelamid-question and the room in that dim half-light.John turns and is inside --                                                     70.SAME CHAPEL - HELLThe epitome of blasphemy -- A church in Hell. Only theydon't worship God in here. And that's not Christ on thecross. And those stained glass windows are now slateblack.John is now facing books with completely differentmarkings. He searches as a DRONE rises in pitch and anINKY BLACKNESS begins to flow down the walls, gettingcloser to John with each heartbeat.He finds the book, steps back as he closes his eyes --REGULAR CHAPEL                        ANGELA          -- not here on this side?John turns, covered in sweat. He's holding a book she'snever seen, is already flipping through it.                        ANGELA          Where did that come from?                        JOHN                  (stopping to read)          13:29. 13:30 -- Here...          Corinthians 14:01...                  (skimming to this)          'The sins of the father would only          be exceeded by the ego of the          son.'                        ANGELA          Whose son?John stands, his brain going into overdrive.                        JOHN          Symbol isn't a demon's... that's          why I couldn't place it... not a          normal possession...                        ANGELA          John, what are you talking about?                        JOHN          But he can't cross over --          impossible for the son to cross          over...                         ANGELA          Whose son?   God's?                                             (CONTINUED)                                                       71.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             No.  The other one.                     (off her look)             Lucifer had a son too.INT. 20 LANES - BEHIND THE LANESBeeman sits under the glow of a desk lamp. The narrowalley of machines stretches out behind him. He staresinto the scrolls -- an ancient book with a single pagefolded a thousand times. Turns another page.BOWLING AREAAmazing how disturbing a bowling alley is when it'sclosed. Rows of empty lanes stretching into darkness,the unlit pin areas looking like the jaws of an army ofbeasts.                           BEEMAN (O.S.)             Oh my...BEHIND THE LANESBeeman has stopped turning pages. That's because he'snow staring at an etching of the same symbol. Below areink drawings of a ghastly beast rising up through a body.But it's what's above the beast that is most troubling.A figure on a cross -- his arms outstretched -- seeminglywelcoming the beast into this world.                           BEEMAN             This is not good...BOWLING BALL hits a lane.     Beeman spins to the sound.BALL ROLLS round and round, closer and closer until itCLANGS dead against the back wall of one of the lanes.Beeman gets up, starts down the corridor of dormant pinmachines.He stops at lane 13, leans way way down, past themachinery and peeks out the pin hole.                           BEEMAN             John?                                                     72.EXT. LA STREETS - NIGHTAngela's SUV races quickly through traffic while Johngets her up to speed.                         JOHN (V.O.)           The myth says Mammon was conceived           before his father's fall from           grace but was born after.INT. SUV                         JOHN           But unlike his old man, he's never           been in the presence of the Creator           so he has no fear of him, no respect           either. That goes double for us --           God's most prized creations. Mammon           would be the last demon we'd ever           want crossing over.                         ANGELA           But demons can't come and go,           that's what you said.                         JOHN           Unless they found a bridge.                   (off her look)           Some psychic with the chops to           reach all the way to Hell and the           grit to withstand whatever shit           she'd pull out.                          ANGELA           Isabel...                         JOHN           But even a bridge wouldn't help           Mammon. Because to cross over, the           myth says he'd still need the one           thing he could never get. Divine           assistance. The help of God.Angela sits back, letting that sink in.                         ANGELA           So it's impossible.                         JOHN           Impossible? Sure it's impossible.           That's what makes it so dangerous.           These things exist to break the           rules, to find the loopholes. If           the past is any indication, then           the future isn't on our side.                                            (CONTINUED)                                                         73.CONTINUED:John sits back, gut churning.       Angela's in detective mode.                          ANGELA             She knew. That's why she killed             herself. But it doesn't make             sense...                           JOHN             Makes sense to me.                           ANGELA             John, she sacrificed herself to             beat him.John nods.     Your point?                           ANGELA             Why is she in Hell?One of those rare moments where John has no answer.INT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEYSomething small and SHINY is rolling down the alley.      Itlands in the trough, spins round and round --Beeman leans out to try and see what it is.      The silverobject keeps spinning.He waits for it to stop, swats a fly near his face.      Thenanother.Book on his desk ignites in flame.EXT. 20 LANES - NIGHTSUV pulls into the empty parking lot. John is out beforeAngela gets it in park, unlocks the side door. A fewflies escape to freedom as he opens the door. Johnrushes in.INT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEYOnly a LOW HUM pervades the dead stillness of the alley.                             JOHN             Beeman?John grabs the door that leads behind the pin area.      It'slocked from the other side.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                         74.CONTINUED:                           JOHN                     (pounds on door)             Hey, Beeman? Beeman?!The LOW HUM fluctuates -- sounds like a BUZZING.                           ANGELA             Maybe he's not here.                           JOHN             He's always here.Several more flies flit by him. This time John notices,turns and spots the source of the HUM -- a cloud of FLIESnear the center aisles. Angela follows his gaze, spotsthem as well.                           ANGELA             What?John heads across the lanes. Swarm gets thicker andthicker. Angela keeps up with him, covers her mouth.They approach the pin area of the center lane. Thesource of the swarm is slowly revealed. In the catchtrough is a solid mound of flies.John leans closer, spots a HAND protruding from themound.                           JOHN             Oh Jesus, no --He rips his coat off, flings it at the mound and millionflies scatter -- revealing the body of Beeman. Ravaged.Flies pouring out of his mouth, his ears --                           ANGELA                     (stepping back)             Oh God --John goes ballistic, screams to the walls --                           JOHN             Who are you?! Answer me!!             Goddamit -- reveal yourself!   I             summon you!He angrily rips his sleeves up -- revealing two distinctTATTOOS on his forearms. Slams them together with allhis might -- clenching his eyes tight -- concentrating --Veins in his arms and neck bulge, look ready to explode --                                                (CONTINUED)                                                            75.CONTINUED:Angela steps back in awe as the air around hisoutstretched arms begins to WARP -- to tear a faint holefrom the bowling alley right into another world righthere -- darker -- Hellish --                           JOHN             Into the light I command thee!!             Into the light I --John is choked by a cough -- can't finish -- armsseparate and he buckles to his knees, reveals to Angelajust how ill he really is.She leans down to him, sees hints of blood on the floor.                           JOHN             ... this is my fault... I sent             them in... I sent them right to             their deaths... a damn one-man             plague.                           ANGELA             John, you need a doctor.                           JOHN             I've seen a goddamn doctor!!Angela glares at him -- understands now.       He's dying.John stands, almost stumbles.       Angela tries to help.                           JOHN             Get away from me!!                           ANGELA             John?                           JOHN             Stay the hell away --                     (tortured look to her)             Please --He uses the handrail to walk away. Angela stands there,confused by her own emotions. She turns back to thecarnage, hears the distant SIRENS.INT./EXT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - NIGHTJohn sits in his opened window, simmering. He holds alit cigarette but doesn't dare put it to his lips.Outside the city goes about its unending churn.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                         76.CONTINUED:Down on the street are several police vehicles. ENGINESSTART and they drive away. Swirl of blue and red lightsflash across John's moist eyes.                           ANGELA (O.S.)             There were no trees in our back             yard.John finds Angela across the room in his doorway.                           ANGELA             But you knew that already, didn't             you?John meets her eyes.     Sees the questions piling up.                           ANGELA                     (walking towards him)             You see something in me...             Something Isabel had.                           JOHN             Go home, Angela.                           ANGELA             I need to understand --John just shakes his head.                           ANGELA             Why not?                           JOHN             Because you open up to that world,             you're inviting whatever's out             there back in. That's what             happened to Isabel.                           ANGELA             I'm not Isabel.                           JOHN             No, she embraced her gift while             you denied yours and that denial             is exactly why you're still alive.             Stick with me, that'll change.John gets off the window, starts walking away.                           JOHN             And I don't need another ghost             following me around.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                           77.CONTINUED:                           ANGELA             Dammit, John -- they killed my             sister!That stops him cold.                           ANGELA             I can't let them get away with             that. Even if it means going down             the same path she did. Now if you             won't help me get there, I'll find             my own way. But I won't run.             Never.The two stand there -- locked in this moment.                             ANGELA             Please...John can't believe this day -- looks her dead in the eye.                           JOHN             You do this, there's no turning             back. You see them -- they see             you. Understand?Angela never blinks as she nods in agreement.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - LATERPushing slowly through a lifeless apartment -- drawingcloser to the opened bathroom door. WATER is pouring.                            ANGELA (O.S.)             Do I take off my clothes or leave             them on?                      (a beat)             John?                             JOHN (O.S.)             I'm thinking.                             ANGELA (O.S.)             John.                             JOHN (O.S.)             On is fine.INT. BATHROOMJohn fills a 70-year-old porcelain BATHTUB.       Angelastands in the center.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                         78.CONTINUED:                             ANGELA             Why water?                           JOHN             It's the universal conduit.             Lubricates the transition from one             plane to another. Now ask me if             there's water in Hell.John turns off the faucet.                             JOHN             Sit.Angela grabs his shoulder for balance, lowers herself.When she's sitting, the water is all the way to her neck.                           JOHN             Normally only a portion of the             body has to be suspended but you             wanted the crash course...                           ANGELA                     (teeth chattering)             What will I see?His eyes say it all.      Enough.                             JOHN             Lie down.                           ANGELA                     (gesturing the depth)             Lie down?                           JOHN             You have to be fully submerged.                             ANGELA             For how long?                           JOHN             As long as it takes.     Here --John cups the back of her neck, holds her face just abovethe water as she lowers down. Her breathing is pickingup. John leans over the tub, looks straight down at her.                            JOHN             Last chance...                     (off her look)             Take a deep one.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                          79.CONTINUED:Angela takes a deep breath, holds it. John pulls hishand away and she settles to the bottom, her eyes rivetedon his the entire time.ANGELA'S POVA silent John ripples above.     His hand grips her arm,skin to skin.BACK TO SCENEAngela lies there and panic sets in. She starts tosurface but John pushes her head back to the bottom,holds it firm. Her eyes dart about. Air is running out.She can't hold her breath much longer. It's notworking --But the room's lighting begins to pulsate -- as if thecurrent were ramping down. It slows to that dim half-light as --JOHN'S EYES -- CLOSE.     A single blink.ANGELA is lying in now BOILING WATER, screaming for allof her life. Water muffles the sound but not the fury.Huge TUB SHUDDERS hard -- snapping out of the hold downbolts. John is stunned -- how powerful is this woman?Another SCREAM and the inch-thick TUB CRACKS.     Waterstarts streaming onto the tile.John lunges, grabs Angela and PULLS her up from thewater -- her muffled SCREAMS SHATTERING the air as hermouth breaks the surface. She SLAMS hard against hischest -- arms wrapping tight -- fingers digging into hisback -- leaving marks that might just scar.TUB GIVES WAY and the damn breaks. John and Angela godown -- hit the tile as one -- water washing over themboth.ANGELA lies there on top of John. Trembling.      She looksup him, eyes filled with revelation.                           ANGELA             All those people... so sad...John nods, helping her understand.                                             (CONTINUED)                                                       80.CONTINUED:                           ANGELA             ... I've always known... where the             bad guys are... where to aim, when             to duck... it's not luck... I've             always known...Tears stream down her cheeks. John reaches out to touchher when her eyes CLAMP TIGHT in pain --                           JOHN             Angela?Eyes snap open and she's off him in a second, runs out.John pries himself from the tile, goes after her.INT. BEHIND THE ALLEYAngela runs behind the vertebrae of machines, drippingwater the entire way. John tries to keep up.                           ANGELA             It was rolling toward him -- not a             ball -- something smaller. Shiny.She stops, kneels to the floor.     John walks up to join her.Something glints in the catch trough. She reaches down,plucks it up and brings an odd COIN INTO VIEW --John's face contorts with rage as he takes the familiarcoin.                           JOHN             Balthazar.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - LATERBeeman's bowling bag is flipped and the contents aredumped onto a table. Powder, bugs and bullets goeverywhere. John retrieves the odd-tipped bullets.Those brass knuckles and that copper pipe are taken also.CHRISTIAN RELICSare removed from a display cabinet.There's the pure platinum Flask of Divinity, thepetrified husk from the River of Life -- the hollow shaftof an iron cross -- all striking pieces individually butwhen twisted and locked together form a very imposing --                                              (CONTINUED)                                                    81.CONTINUED:-- HOLY SHOTGUN.He swings the cross down, pours a pound of blastingpowder into the husk -- chambers a special bullet intoone of the ten barrels, snaps it shut -- turns and FIRES.BULLET leaves a trail of flame as it streaks across hisendless apartment, blasts the center out of --A carton of Lucky Strikes.SETTLE ON the Surgeon General's warning -- burning away.                           ANGELA (V.O.)             Can you kill him? What about the             Balance?INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - LATERJohn is stuffing the bowling bag while Angela watches,now dressed in dry clothes. That shirt is John's.                            JOHN             That half-breed tipped my scales             when he started killing my             friends. I'm just adding a little             counterweight.John lifts that holy shotgun -- KA CHICK --                             ANGELA             What about me?    I can't stay here             forever.John turns to her -- locks on those eyes. He reachesinto his coat pocket as he walks up to her. She shuddersas his arms wrap around her face and for a beat they'recheek to cheek. When he pulls back she sees he hasclipped Hennessey's AMULET around her neck.                           JOHN             Think of it as a bulletproof vest.                             ANGELA             So I'm going.                           JOHN                     (knows he can't win)             You're staying in the car.                                                    82.INT./EXT. 20 LANES - DAWNFAT-ASS TIRES BURN under the full torque of a 426 HEMI.A jet-black '70s BARRACUDA BLASTS from the basementgarage of 20 Lanes -- slides onto the streets of L.A.Angela hangs on as John grabs the SKULL shifter knob --slams into 2nd -- leaves another layer of tread behind.EXT. OCEANFLYING OVER the ocean, a 747 ROARS RIGHT OVER US.Dipping out of cloud cover, it reveals the coast of asprawling metropolis stretched out miles below.L.A. LANDMARKS - DAWNstreak PAST. The Big Donut, the occult bookstores, the'57 Chevy sign, that Mission in the park.This is actually the POV FROM John's Barracuda.He downshifts -- DRIFTS PAST a building with a facade ofpre-stressed concrete and huge gold letters -- "BZRFINANCE AND BROKERAGE."                           JOHN (O.S.)             This shouldn't take long.INT. BZR BROKERAGEElevator opens and John steps out into a lobby ofconcrete and glass. Pretentious design screams money.Lots of it.Since trading is still a half hour away, the place ispractically empty.Across the room a stainless steal DOOR HISSES open. Johnlooks the other way as a Security Guard exits. ThickDOOR glides closed, seals with another HISS. No way in.John notices the janitor down one hallway. It's Nicofrom Midnite's. He and John lock stares. Nico opens a"Security Only" door, steps inside -- leaves the dooropen.INT. TRADING ROOMMonitors are powering up around the room. A few of thoseYoung Businessmen we last saw at Midnite's are here.                                           (CONTINUED)                                                        83.CONTINUED:                           YOUNG TURK                     (into phone)             Hey, early bird is a fat bird,             know what I'm sayin'?Balthazar walks through, looking every bit like the smugand successful businessman he is. He stops at a LONGMIRROR on one wall. Adjusts his collar, his hair. His"look."                           PRETTY BOY             What are we pushing today, sir?                           BALTHAZAR             Phillip Morris.As Balthazar admires himself, his reflection distortsslightly. The demon in him? He touches his face, does avowel stretch. His face distorts even further.That's got him moving closer to the mirror.Balthazar's concerned because now his skin appearsin motion, rippling as if liquefied. And just when hesees the surface of the mirror BLISTERING and starts tomove --BOOOM --One way GLASS EXPLODES outward on the front edge of aFIREBALL -- sending Balthazar flying with glass andflame.John stands on the other side in an ACCESS CHANNEL --that Dragon's breath flamethrower now duct-taped to hisholy shotgun.                           JOHN             How's he doing it?John steps into the trading room, eyes Balthazar risingfrom the floor. Suit's in shreds, half his face isburned off, but now he's pissed.                           BALTHAZAR             This is in direct violation of the             Balance!                           JOHN             Screw the Balance.John hits him with another BLAST of FLAME -- pins himhard against the wall.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                       84.CONTINUED:Balthazar's young turks attack. One leaps over thetrading station. John swings around -- aims the SHOTGUN-- BOOM -- half-breed is blasted midair.The other turk seems to defy gravity as he scampersacross the ceiling. John aims up -- PUMPS SEVERAL ROUNDS-- steps out of the way as a body falls, smashes into adesk. BOOM -- BOOM -- that'll keep it down.INT. BARRACUDAAngela hears the GUNSHOTS. Cop instinct takes over andshe gets out of the car. Checks the amulet. Intact.INT. BZR TRADING ROOMJohn turns his attention back to Balthazar, doesn'thesitate and hits him with a continuous tide of flame.Suit and skin is peeling off, revealing something elseunderneath. The true form.                           JOHN             How's he doing it, you half-breed             shit?!John swings the flame aside so he can KICK Balthazaragainst the wall. But now his WEAPON SPUTTERS. Shit.Charcoal hand thrusts out, bats away the shotgun andgrabs John by the throat.Balthazar rises from the ashes.     He may be burned, buthe's one tough son of a bitch.Balthazar slides    John up a wall by his neck. John can'tbreak his hold.     He's choking, frantically rummagesthrough his coat    pockets. Comes out with those sacredGOLD KNUCKLES on    his right hand.Balthazar tightens his grip and John swings, clocks himacross the face. The enhanced punch sends a dizzyingripple throughout Balthazar's body.But he doesn't let go. John is choking, starts whalingon him. Again and again -- each punch weakening thisdemon more.John finally gets him against the wall. Right arm'stired so he slips the gold knuckles onto his left hand,and with extreme pleasure -- continues punching away.Drives Balthazar to the floor, right to the brink ofdeath.                                           (CONTINUED)                                                         85.CONTINUED:He leans up, winded. Watches in delight as Balthazarstrains to take his final breaths.                           BALTHAZAR             I will see you very soon...                           JOHN             Not really, no.                           BALTHAZAR             You can't cheat it this time...             you're going back to Hell.                            JOHN             True.   But you're not.John removes that small BLACK BOX from his coat.Balthazar tries not to be concerned until John unlatchesit and removes the one weapon he hardly ever uses --A Bible.                           BALTHAZAR             What are you doing?                           JOHN             I'm reading you your last rites.Balthazar reacts.      This isn't good.                           BALTHAZAR             Your remedial incantations have no             relevance to my kind.                           JOHN             Aren't you half human?Balthazar doesn't have to answer.                           JOHN             You see, that makes you eligible             to be forgiven. You do know what             it is to truly be forgiven? To be             welcomed into the kingdom of God?Balthazar's worst nightmare.                           JOHN             A demon in heaven -- love to be a             fly on that wall...                           BALTHAZAR             You're not a priest, you have no             power...                                                (CONTINUED)                                                       86.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             -- I escaped hell, who else do you             know that has the power to do             that?!Balthazar is now doubting his own beliefs.                           JOHN             Just tell me how Mammon is             crossing over and you can go back             to your shithole.Balthazar isn't convinced.John stands -- raises the Bible and starts to read --                           JOHN             'May the merciful God have mercy             on you and grant you the pardon of             all your sins...'He places a hand on Balthazar's forehead. Balthazarglares at it as John's voice rises with commandingauthority.                           JOHN             'Whosoever sins you remit on earth             they are remitted unto them in             heaven. I absolve you from -- '                           BALTHAZAR             -- It may not even work...                            JOHN             How?   How's he doing it?!Balthazar looks scared as shit to tell him.                           JOHN                     (bellowing out)             'Grant your child entry into thy             kingdom in the name of the Father,             and the Son and the Holy Gh -- '                           BALTHAZAR             ... Sangre de dio.John is stunned -- did he hear right?     Balthazar nods.                            JOHN             How?                                              (CONTINUED)                                                        87.CONTINUED:                           BALTHAZAR             What killed the Son of God will             give birth to the son of the             devil.John's mind races and he finally puts it together.                           JOHN             He's found the Spear.Balthazar's expression confirms it.CLOSE ON THE PRISONER'S RELICIt's tucked between the folds of an AIRLINES blanket.                           FLIGHT ATTENDANT (V.O.)                     (over com)             Ladies and gentlemen, we've been             cleared for landing. Please make             sure your seats are in their             upright and locked position.Hand COMES IN, grips the relic.      WIDEN to see...INT. 747 - MID-FLIGHTPrisoner in an aisle seat, trying to keep calm. He looksbehind him as if being watched. Just nerves again.                           FLIGHT ATTENDANT (V.O.)                     (over com)             We should be on the ground in Los             Angeles within ten minutes.EXT. BZR BROKERAGE - FRONT AREAANGELA moves through the gathered crowd looking up at thebuilding. As she makes her way through, the amuletbrushes against bodies -- swinging from side to side.Angela suddenly stops in the center of the street,turns...                           ANGELA             Something's coming...She stares at her surroundings with an increasing senseof dread. Then hears the RUMBLE and TIRES SCREECHING.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                         88.CONTINUED:Angela spins, spots John's BARRACUDA exploding around thecorner. It barrels up the street and slides to aSQUEALING stop in front of her. Passenger door swingsopen.                           JOHN             What happened to staying in the             car?                           ANGELA             You were in danger.                           JOHN             Well now there's a premonition.SIRENS crack the air.     Angela jumps in and John PEELSOUT.INT. BZRBalthazar is taking his last breaths when the sound ofWIND filters through the room. He looks up as a shadowdrapes across him. Eyes widen.                           BALTHAZAR             One more chance...Shadow darkens and his decimated form shudders.                           JOHN (V.O.)             Jesus didn't die from being nailed             to a cross.EXT./INT. BARRACUDA - MOVINGJohn takes a turn at 70 as Angela stares into John'sBible.                           JOHN             He was finished off by a soldier's             spear.He points in the Bible at a detailed painting of theevent -- Jesus hanging on the cross -- being pierced by asoldier's spear. It matches that child's drawing Johnremoved from the fridge -- now lying on his seat.                           ANGELA             I'm Catholic, John -- I know the             crucifixion story.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                           89.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             Then you know what this spear             would mean to a demon trying to             cross over.She doesn't.                           JOHN             The stains on its edges?Angela looks back at the painting, notes the liquidflowing from Jesus' wound. Angela can't believe it --                           JOHN             Mammon needed divine assistance --             how's the blood of God's only son?Angela sits stunned for a moment.                           ANGELA             So that's it -- he's got             everything he needs to escape...                           JOHN             Not quite.                     (glances at her)             Twins.Angela gives him a look.       Something in the rearviewmirror catches his gaze.                             JOHN             Here we go --John floors it and Angela glances out the back window,spots something in the traffic -- bounding over vehicles,hitting the pavement on all fours --                             ANGELA             What is that?                           JOHN             A hound on the hunt.A blur of muscle and bone leaps over cars at incrediblespeed -- denting in roofs, CRACKING a WINDSHIELD --causing general chaos. Cars brake -- SLIDE into eachother. And still this thing keeps coming.                             JOHN             Hang on --BARRACUDA slides into an alley, races toward the otherend.                                           (CONTINUED)                                                        90.CONTINUED:Angela looks back, sees their pursuer enter the alley.It makes huge strides along the walls, defying all mannerof physics.                            ANGELA             Impossible.The beast goes right up the wall and disappears above thebuilding.                            ANGELA             I lost it.BAM, something lands hard on the roof, denting it a goodfoot.A huge clawed TALON punches into the sheet metal, startsshredding it right over Angela. Talon thrusts in.Angela dodges it -- her amulet swinging wildly.John HITS the BRAKES and the beast flips off the roof andonto the hood -- right INTO VIEW.A muscular anomaly with eyes that are unmistakablyBalthazar's. He lashes against the windshield with anextra appendage. Thank God for safety glass.He jerks back his embedded talon, pulls the entirewindshield out with it, smashing it on the hood. GLASSPARTICLES EXPLODE into the car.John throws the car into a spin, slamming the Barracudainto several parked cars. Balthazar is uprooted, isthrown from the car.Angela looks back, sees Balthazar rolling into traffic.                            ANGELA             He's down --                            JOHN             He's not down.   Gimme your phone.Angela pulls out her cellular.EXT. DOWNTOWNA BRITISH COUPLE sit in the back of Chaz's taxi, staringout at the seedy side of town as if it were "WildKingdom."                                               (CONTINUED)                                                         91.CONTINUED:                           BRITISH MAN             They mark their territory with             graffiti instead of urine but             they're still very much animals.British woman takes documentary photos.Chaz's CELLULAR RINGS over the BUZZ of a dispatch SCANNER.                           CHAZ             This is a private line -- John?!INTERCUT JOHN.                           JOHN             Chaz -- where are you?!                           CHAZ             Ah... 3rd and Figueroa.                           JOHN             You still got that Sedrallus?                           CHAZ                     (glancing to couple)             Yeah, but I'm kind of busy right             now, John.                           JOHN             Dammit, Chaz, I'm trying to save             my ass here!                           CHAZ                     (under his breath)             What else is new...                           JOHN             Remember the Chalic of Enook             incident?                           CHAZ                     (remembering)             Oh no, no, no, not that, I just             paid off this car!                            JOHN             West side of the 3rd Street             Bridge, say...He checks the speedometer -- 90 mph.                           JOHN             ... 2 minutes.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                       92.CONTINUED:                           CHAZ             I'm five blocks away!                     (as John CLICKS off)             John? John?! Ah... shit.Chaz downshifts, stops in cloud of dust --                           CHAZ             Sorry, tour's over.The British start to argue.                           CHAZ             OUT YA WANKERS!!! NOW!!EXT. LA STREETS - CONTINUOUS ACTIONJohn heads toward the skyline now -- at 90 mph -- to the3rd Street Bridge on the horizon.Angela scans behind them, can't believe her eyes.                           ANGELA             He's back.Here comes Balthazar through traffic on all fours --                           ANGELA             John, he's back and he's gaining!                           JOHN             Of course he's gaining.John PUNCHES the GAS to the floor.EXT. 3RD STREET BRIDGEChaz swerves onto the other side of the narrow bridge.He SCREECHES TO A STOP across the roadway -- opens theglove box, grabs a velvet-wrapped object and pulls aglass vial out of it.Inside flows a phosphorescent green liquid. Chaz jumpsout, runs to the back of the car, pauses when he hearsthe sound of a STRAINING ENGINE.Here comes the topless Barracuda over the bridge's archedroadway. And what the hell is that running behind it?                           CHAZ             Shit -- shit -- shit --                                              (CONTINUED)                                                       93.CONTINUED:Chaz twists off the gas cap, drops the vial into the tank.He pulls out his BEEPER, rips the cover off, exposing theelectronics.He wedges the beeper into the tank inlet, then startssprinting off the bridge while --INT. BARRACUDAJohn gives Angela the number.                           JOHN             9... 5... 4...Taxi in view.     Angela punches in the number --                           ANGELA             9-5-4...They RIP past the taxi --                           JOHN             6... 6... 6Here comes Balthazar up the bridge. Like a superchargedcheetah, running full stride. And not even winded.                           ANGELA             6... 6... 6Balthazar is almost to the taxi -- John waits -- then --                           JOHN             6.Angela punches the last digit as ---- Balthazar LEAPS to jump the taxi --INT. GAS TANKBEEPER CONTACTS BUZZ -- spark -- GAS IGNITES --TAXIEXPLODES right under Balthazar in a tremendous FIREBALL.Initial impact only kicks him higher. It's when theSedrallus in the tank truly ignites that the realFIREWORKS begin.                                              (CONTINUED)                                                     94.CONTINUED:Balthazar is caught in a haze of brilliant red particlesthat tear his body apart in midair. His final SHRIEK ischilling.EXT./INT. BARRACUDAJohn smacks the wheel, victoriously -- looks over toAngela who sighs with relief. His expression changes ashe centers on the empty necklace dangling around herneck.                           JOHN             Where's the amulet?WHAM -- something reaches through the roof hole and JERKSHER right out of the car.                           JOHN             ANGELA!!John SLAMS the BRAKES home -- car spins and John isalready jumping out before it comes to a stop. He runsto the rail.                           CHAZ                     (running up)             What the hell was that?!Both leap onto the concrete rail, lean over and spot aHUGE WINGED SHADOW just as it disappears below thebridge.Chaz is speechless as he turns to John. This is toomuch. John gives him the out he's been waiting for --                           JOHN             We're even.Chaz nods and John leaves him at the rail.   He jumps backin the BARRACUDA and PEELS OUT.Chaz watches him race away, looks back at his burningtaxi.                           CHAZ             Even?EXT. LAX - DAYPrisoner walks out of the terminal, here at last. Hestares at all the vehicles at his disposal. A familycrowds around the back of a minivan. Wife hugs the dad.                                                      95.MYSTERIOUS POVWatches him from behind.    Prisoner turns, looks back,suspiciously. Nothing.PRISONERwalks out to the street, slides into the minivan, tearsaway. Kids' toys tumble across the seats.INT. CLUB MIDNITE - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTIONJohn bursts through a door -- Midnite right on his heels.                         MIDNITE           Mammon has been trying to climb           out of his father's shadow for           eons.                         JOHN           And this time he might just make           it.                         MIDNITE                   (unconvinced)           Because he's got the Spear?                         JOHN           And the bridge.                         MIDNITE           You're giving this girl way too           much credit.                         JOHN           You don't know her.                          MIDNITE           And you do?   That would be a           first.John swings open a STORAGE ROOM DOOR -- looks in atlarge-scale relics -- statues, props, etc.                         JOHN           Where's the chair?                         MIDNITE           The chair?                         JOHN           The delicate little number from           Sing Sing?                                              (CONTINUED)                                                         96.CONTINUED:Midnite just stares at him.                           MIDNITE             It's a fine line that separates a             hero from a fool.                           JOHN             I'll take my chances.                           MIDNITE             And taint my establishment with             your blood? I don't think so.                           JOHN             Midnite --                           MIDNITE             You know what that device can do             to the ill-equipped --                           JOHN             Midnite --                           MIDNITE             -- and even in your most glorious             days your brain was never your             most powerful attribute --                           JOHN             Where the hell is the chair, you             dumb shit?!Midnite just stands there -- his body inflating past it'sseven feet. John knows he went too far.                           JOHN             That was the cancer talking, you             know that, right?                           MIDNITE                     (holds up his finger)             Once.John nods.INT. STORAGE AREAFluorescents flicker, REVEAL boxes of toilet tissue,cooking supplies, etc. And sitting in one corner by thehuge power transformer is --                                                (CONTINUED)                                                          97.CONTINUED:-- the chair. Heavy wooden monstrosity with straps andcuffs and the wear of many who sat in it for the lasttime. Yeah, it's an electric chair right out of SingSing.                           JOHN             What's in your bathroom, a Renoir?                           MIDNITE             I have insurance issues.John clears off the seat, starts to sit.        Midnite blockshim.                           MIDNITE             You haven't surfed in decades.                           JOHN             Like riding a bike...He tries again.     Midnite blocks him again.                           MIDNITE             You'll be lucky to reach an             elemental plane.                           JOHN             Then just increase the juice.John tries again.     Again Midnite stops him.                           MIDNITE             In your condition your body won't             take much.                           JOHN             I just need enough rope to find             her.                           MIDNITE             And if you do -- what then?                           JOHN             One goddamn problem at a time --John shoves past him, plops his ass in the huge chair.His feet dangle off the ground. Midnite stands by, won'thelp. So John starts strapping himself in the chair.His chest, his ankles. One wrist. He obviously can'tstrap the other. He looks to the big man.                           JOHN             You want me to sign a waiver?                                                (CONTINUED)                                                        98.CONTINUED:Midnite sighs -- finally straps the other wrist in --pulls it TIGHT. Ouch.                           JOHN             Hang on, Angela.EXT. SKY - CLOSE ON ANGELAmoving in a surreal fashion across an evening sky. Belowher the City of Angels sweep past. Her eyes drift openand widen in horror as she sees beyond reality --REFLECTION IN HER EYESThe city is ON FIRE. It's a repeat of Isabel's propheticvision before she jumped.                           MIDNITE (V.O.)             Listen to my voice inside...INT. MIDNITE'S - STORAGE ROOMMidnite kneels in front of John who is now handcuffed tothe chair, cables draped from every limb.                           MIDNITE             I'll try and guide you out.                           JOHN             Try?                           MIDNITE             Mammon was forced out of that girl             when she jumped so unless he found             a holding vessel to wait in, he             would have fallen back to Hell.                           JOHN             No, he's still here.   I'm sure of it.                           MIDNITE             Then watch yourself. He could be             in anyone out there.John nods. Midnite lifts a palm of INSECT WINGS in frontof his face.                           JOHN             Roach wings? What happened to             using lilac pedals -- ?                                               (CONTINUED)                                                           99.CONTINUED:Midnite cranks the JUICE on the panel as he BLOWS and Johnreacts as if being hit by a blast of wind. His head slamsback against the slats. His skin ripples from the force.STAY ON his face as the sound of POWER courses through John.                           MIDNITE             Peter do caelis, Deus, misere             nobis. Fili Redemptor mundi,             Deus, Miserere nobis...A FLASH turns into a streak behind John's face --stretching to infinity.                           MIDNITE (V.O.)             Find the possessor and the Spear             will be revealed... find them...             find them and follow...The flash whips back TOWARD us and John is suddenlysomewhere else. He looks O.S.INT. PRISON CHAMBER FROM THE OPENFROM that MYSTERIOUS POV, we watch the Prisoner hold theSpear for the first time. Like before, he turns andlooks behind him where --John now stands. Watching.      John centers on the Spear inthe Prisoner's hand.FLASH AHEAD - INT. ISTANBUL AIRPORTThat same MYSTERIOUS POV of the Prisoner in line.      Heturns as he did before and it's ---- John behind him.     Watching.   Prisoner turns away.FLASH AHEAD - EXT. LAX TERMINAL - EVENINGMYSTERIOUS POV is ON the Prisoner at the exit doors.        Helooks back, suspiciously, and there's -John.   Watching.    Prisoner turns, heads to the minivan.FLASH AHEAD - EXT. EAST L.A. - MYSTERIOUS POV - NIGHTof a minivan still smoking from a recent impact against alarge iron ENTRANCE GATE. Prisoner is running from it,glances back --                                           (CONTINUED)                                                        100.CONTINUED:John is there. Watches as the Prisoner enters theabandoned wing of -- Ravenscar. John reacts. How did hemiss this?FLASH AHEAD - INT. SLEEP ROOMFifty beds with fifty patients. Asleep. The Prisonerkneels next to one of the beds. John walks over, toucheshim and he rocks to the floor. Dead. Body reveals theSpear on the blanket of the bed.John reaches out to touch it when the boy BARRY suddenlySITS UP from under the blanket and grabs him by thethroat. NOTE the boy's BLACKENED FINGERNAILS.John struggles to pull him off but the boy's grip islocked tight. John grabs at his hands -- chokes out thename --                          JOHN             MIDNITE!!John's hands suddenly become MIDNITE'S as his ally pullshim back into --INT. MIDNITE'S - STORAGE ROOMJohn's face is held tight in the life-saving fingers ofMidnite's grip. John gasps as he comes back -- nods toMidnite and finally --                           JOHN             Ravenscar. The abandoned wing.             He's in the boy.EXT. OVER HILLSIDE - FLYING - EVENINGWINGED SHADOW glides across the landscape, sweeps acrossmanicured grounds and rises to reveal Ravenscar Hospital.INT. MIDNITE'S OFFICE - LATERMidnite piles ASSAULT RIFLES, SHOTGUNS, GLOCKS onto atable.                           MIDNITE             You know these won't kill them.John adjusts the flames of a butane heater under a pan.                                               (CONTINUED)                                                         101.CONTINUED:                           MIDNITE             You probably won't even get close             enough to use them.In the pan is that RELIGIOUS RELIC he brought from India.It's now MELTING. Midnite has trouble watching itdissolve.                           MIDNITE             And it's not just the boy.John coughs, pours the melted gold into several smallcasting blocks.                           MIDNITE             You better worry about whoever's             helping him.John gives the big guy a glance, dips one of the castingsinto a pot of water -- HISSSSSS.                           MIDNITE             As much as I admire your blind             faith even in the most dire             situations -- expecting to just             waltz into a facility that is             about to become the floodgate of             Hell is reaching a bit, even for             you.John stops the work, centers on him and Midnite justknows what he's thinking. Midnite sighs, heavily.                           MIDNITE             Well I suppose two fools can die             just as easily as one.John almost smiles.                           MIDNITE             Hey, you think I'm trusting you to             save the world?John taps the casting and out falls a GOLD-TIPPED BULLET.                           MIDNITE             But we're going to need more than             a few magic bullets to get inside.John centers on the Sparkletts bottles positioned aroundthe room. Just like John's. Hmmmm...                                                (CONTINUED)                                                       102.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             That ritual you do with the water,             can you do more than one bottle at             a time?Midnite raises an eyebrow.EXT. RAVENSCAR - NIGHTThe motorized MAIN GATE is jammed -- opening and closingon a crashed VAN. The van the Prisoner carjacked. Theabandoned hospital wing stands ominous against a moonlitnight. Vague figures move about near the emergencyentrance.John's BARRACUDA IDLES up with its headlights off. Johnstares out, points up to the WATER TANK -- on the roof.                              MIDNITE                        (sighs)             Figures.INT. RAVENSCAR - PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMTherapy machines look like medieval torture devices inthe dimly-lit room. BARRY stands waist deep in a largehydrotherapy tank inset into the tile floor. His skin ispale, sickly looking. Obviously containing Mammon takesits toll. Especially on a child.His hands are below his waist and now we see they'relowering a still-unconscious Angela into the water. Herface floats just above the surface as he bucklesrestraining straps around her wrists.INT. RAVENSCAR - ABANDONED WINGFront glass doors swing open and John and Midnite calmlystrut inside. Stop.HEAR the O.S. MURMURS of an unseen crowd.This EMERGENCY ROOM is crammed with people. Lawyers.Brokers. Soccer moms. Truck drivers. Etc... Most arecrowded in front of a set of double doors.Room goes dead silent as all eyes lock on our guys.John steps from Midnite, raises his hands like a riotcop.                                              (CONTINUED)                                                         103.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             Okay -- let's cut the scratch and             call it a night. Meeting's over.That's got their attention. As entertainment. A fewchuckle. John is surprised to see Ellie stepping fromthe crowd. Still that bundle of sexual energy.                           JOHN             Ellie?                           ELLIE             Oh, John, you know how much I love             it on this side. This was just an             opportunity to make it permanent.                           JOHN             You think his son will be any             different? He'll just turn this             place into his own Hell and then             where will you to party, Heaven?                           ELLIE             No need to get nasty.                           JOHN             Never bothered you before.                           ELLIE             I am so going to miss our little             trysts.Ellie steps closer.     The crowd starts to close in withher.                           JOHN             I'm sure you will.John pulls out his lighter, holds it up -- flicks it on.                           JOHN             Now turn around and take your             friends with you.Can he look more ridiculous?                           JOHN             I will deport you.   All of you.             You know I can.John steps back up onto a chair, thrusts the lighterhigher --                                                (CONTINUED)                                                        104.CONTINUED:                           ELLIE             Oh, John, this is embarrassing.             Where is your pride?-- right under a SPRINKLER HEAD.                           JOHN             Go to Hell.Ellie looks up just as the sprinklers trigger.SERIES OF SHOTSEllie and a room of half-humans -- all looking up aswater sprays from every nozzle. John and Midnite tensebecause the first drops have no effect. A beat -- aSPURT in the waterlines and suddenly -- SHRIEKS fill theroom as half human skin begins to FRY.                           ELLIE             Holy water!Emergency lighting has snapped on -- throwing the roominto a strobing nightmare of action. Flashes of humanskin melting, revealing snippets of the true demonsunderneath. It's total pandemonium as their rage isdirected toward the only real humans in the room.John and Midnite fling their coats open -- draw theirWEAPONS and starts FIRING away at the attacking horde.Sacred bullets cause major damage -- wounds that rippleout through demon bodies.John and Midnite slam back to back -- spinning under theprotective shield of a showering sprinkler head --shooting at all manner of distorted forms that ventureinto the COLUMN OF SPRAY.One reloads while the other FIRES. It's a hellish formof a turkey shoot. Nothing sacred, nothing spared.John goes for the double doors. Midnite covers him --blows away another two disintegrating demons. Two comeup behind and he spins, takes them down.JOHN gets to the doors, starts to open them when Elliejumps onto his back -- nails digging in.                           ELLIE             I'm not going back there!                                               (CONTINUED)                                                      105.CONTINUED:                           JOHN             We are what we are, Ellie --John FIRES over his back, loosens her grip. He grabshold, shoves her face up into the spray of an overheadsprinkler head. Legs flail about.Midnite comes out of the rain -- grabs John.                           MIDNITE             Let's go.John drops Ellie to the floor. No more pretty face -- noface at all -- yet the screams still come.John and Midnite get to the doors -- shove through.INT. PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMAngela's body and face are completely submerged now. Shecomes to, sees Barry above her -- tries to rise but theboy pushes her head to the bottom, holds it there. Lastbubbles are floating up from her mouth. Barry places hisother hand on her arm, closes his eyes.INT. CORRIDORHoly rain has stopped in here. A fine mist floats in theair. John and Midnite make their way through. Onlytheir footsteps on the tile break the stark silence.Another set of doors is ahead. Before they reach it afaint shadow crosses in the mist. Both pause, expectingsomething to reveal itself. But it doesn't.INT. PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMFaint waves undulate Barry's skin -- ripple from hischest, down his arms and into a submerged Angela. Everymuscle in her body tenses in stark relief.ANGELA'S POVBarry's image ripples above her in silence. Roomlighting starts to pulse -- slower and slower and whenit's caught in that dim half-light -- Angela JOLTS andthis time we CROSS OVER INTO --                                                        106.PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM HELLAngela is lying in a bone-dry tank, lifts her head up tosee a room not much different than the one she just left.Except for the SOUND. That low DRONE RISING IN PITCH --those DEMONIC SCREECHES scratching at the walls.And now those INKY splotches begin consuming the colorand light from the walls. Moving in on Angela. Closerand closer -- whatever's coming is just about on her.                         MAMMON (O.S.)          Angela.Angela SPINS and for a split second comes face to facewith the hideous form of MAMMON. She SCREAMS.INT. NORMAL PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - REAL TIMEJohn and Midnite burst into the room, spot Barry standingin the tank. His hands in the water. On Angela.                          JOHN                    (rushing toward him)          Barry!Barry looks up, sees the two men rushing toward him.Guns aimed.                         JOHN          Let her up!!   Let her up!!A beat as John meets Barry's eyes -- realizes he'sstaring at a frightened child. Barry backs away as ---- Angela sits up behind John.    Water rippling off,straps dangling free.John turns -- locks on her BLACK EYES.                         JOHN          Shit --John thinks fast -- scans the area and sees every mirrorin the room has been shattered. So much for the quickfix.He jumps into the water with her, grabs her face andpushes her against the tank walls. This is an exorcismon the fly.                        JOHN          Amar natash bow basar! Rescind          from the flesh I command thee --                                             (CONTINUED)                                                         107.CONTINUED:Angela's eyes snap open -- dark and dilated. John seesit -- clasps a hand over her mouth -- cutting off her airsupply.                           JOHN             Back to Hell, asshole --Her body undulates as Mammon's shape tries to come through.Pulsating through her arms, her chest -- her face.Angela BITES into his palm. John recoils. She shoveshim off and John hits the tile hard. Angela jumps fromthe tank, pushes past in a blur. John spins to seeMidnite standing right there -- Angela now firmly in hissize-twelve grasp.                           MIDNITE                     (to John)             Finish it.INTERCUT WITH:MYSTERIOUS HIGH POVJohn coughs, struggles to stand. He tries to cover butit's obvious his end is nearing. Midnite positionsAngela to face him, braces her arms out from her sides --crucifixion-style. She tries but can't break free. Johnputs a hand to her forehead --                           JOHN             Et separatur a plasmate tuo, Ut             num quam laedatur amorsu antiqui             serpentes.                           JOHN/MIDNITE             Rescind from the flesh I command             thee -- Amar natash bow basar!Angela's body stops fighting. The darkness in her eyesand fingernails begins to fade. It's working...Midnite is suddenly JERKED backwards with an agonizingYELL. Angela is dropped, slips into unconsciousness.John watches in horror as Midnite's 300-pound frame islifted right off the floor by an INVISIBLE GRASP, slammedinto the ceiling, then twisted and thrown with incredibleforce against the floor.Midnite glares at John, tries to speak.     But the wordsdie on his lips.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                          108.CONTINUED:Enraged, John scans the empty room, sees a large SHADOWon the ceiling that doesn't belong to any object.He holds back a cough long enough to rip up his sleevesand slams those tattoos together --                           JOHN             Into the light I command thee!             Into the light I command thee!It takes every ounce of John's life force to keep thisspell alive and when he's about to drop from exhaustionthe shadow is brought fully into the light -- becomesthat familiar shape of WINGS.                           VOICE OF MAN (O.S.)             Your ego is astounding.John strains to see the shadow become the real thing --the majestic wings of an angel.                           JOHN             Gabriel?John is too weak to even be surprised anymore.                           JOHN             Figures...Gabriel touches down in front of him.       Spear in his hand.                           JOHN             And the wicked shall inherit the             Earth.                           GABRIEL             You presume to judge me, John.                            JOHN             Betrayal, murder, genocide?    Call             me provincial.                           GABRIEL             I am seeking to inspire humankind             to be all that was intended.                           JOHN             By unleashing Hell on Earth?     Good             thinking...Gabriel's wings fold behind as he walks around John.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                    109.CONTINUED:                           GABRIEL             You've had it too easy for too             long.                           JOHN             So what's a few thousand years of             pain, right?                           GABRIEL             You never deserved to be blessed.             You've all been born with a silver             spoon in your mouth, never really             appreciating the gift you were             given so freely -- unconditional             love from your creator.                           JOHN             And that just bugs the shit out of             you.                           GABRIEL             It's not your fault. Like the             animals you are, you never learn             unless sufficiently prodded.             Pleasure has no lasting effect.             But subject you to pain,             unpleasantness -- suffering -- and             you will take notice, you will             fight to overcome, to earn your             redemption. That is when you're             at your best.Angela's fingernails are starting to darken once again.                           JOHN             You're trying to teach us a             lesson?                           GABRIEL             No, I'm giving you the chance to             rise above the suffering and truly             earn the love of God.                     (a beat)             The road to salvation begins             tonight. Right now.John just stares at this rogue angel, centers on theSpear in his hand. He makes a break for it. Gabriel'swings beat once.The GUST BLOWS John through the double doors, back intothe --                                                       110.CORRIDOR-- where he smashes against a mesh-screened window, dropsto the floor in a heap with the other dying carcasses.PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMGabriel turns back to Angela. He approaches her -- hisrippling wings sliding up around her, enveloping her --pulling her in. Those eyes of his could melt Dracula.CORRIDOR - JOHNcan't even stand, let alone save the girl.     Or humanity.It would be so easy to give up. To roll over and die.But instead, he tries something he hasn't done in a longtime.                         JOHN                   (whispering)           ... I know I'm not one of your           favorites... I'm not even allowed           in your house these days... but I           could use a little attention...John waits for nothing. His body crumples, his cheeklanding flat against the tile.Glistening shards of mirror glass lie around him. As hestares at his reflection in one, he gets the idea.PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - ANGELA'S EYESbegin to quiver.   The color drains.    Blackness is waiting.CORRIDOR - JOHNslides his back up the wall as he reels in that shard ofmirror.PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - ANGELA'Sposture begins to change. Mammon's form ripples throughher -- starts to push out through her skin. Gabrielstands behind her, his wings cocooned around her waist.                         GABRIEL                   (whispering to her)           Cross the bridge to your destiny...                                                     111.CORRIDOR - JOHNpulls up his sleeve, exposes his old scar. He pauses abeat, closes his eyes. STAY ON his face as he makes oneswift SLICE movement.But he's in a rush here -- makes that same motion acrosshis other wrist as well.With both wrists purging his life away, John settles backinto the corner and waits for the inevitable.                          JOHN            Hurry...PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - GABRIELreveals the Spear.CORRIDOR - JOHNis dying.    Eyes are starting to close as...PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - GABRIELRaises the Spear over Angela's chest.HEAR the SOUNDS of a million DEMONS inside of her readyto break free --He holds the Spear high above her chest -- readies forthe final thrust as --CORRIDORBulbs flicker as current ramps down and TIME COMES TO ACOMPLETE STOP.All we're left with is a distant METALLIC DRONE, like thereverberation of a gong struck a thousand years ago.John lies in that dim half-light.    Motionless.Something starts to swirl near him and just like that,John is no longer alone. Shadow falls over his patheticform.                          SATAN (O.S.)            The time has come at last to            collect your soul.                                             (CONTINUED)                                                         112.CONTINUED:John pries his eyes open...                             SATAN             Hello, John.                             JOHN             You're early.                           SATAN             You're the one show I wouldn't             miss.                             JOHN             So I've heard.Satan sees John's slit wrists.                            SATAN             I didn't think you'd make the same             mistake twice.John looks up at him.                           SATAN             You didn't, did you?                           JOHN             ... so how's your son?                           SATAN             And why would that matter to you?                           JOHN             ... he's topside...                             SATAN             I know.                             JOHN             With Gabriel.                             SATAN             Your point?                           JOHN             He's helping your son create his             own Hell on Earth...                           SATAN             Well, boys will be boys...                           JOHN             He has the Spear of Destiny.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                          113.CONTINUED:Satan didn't know that.     Now he's concerned.     He studiesthis dying man.                           SATAN             This is another one of your cons.                           JOHN             Go look for yourself...Satan is still suspicious.                           JOHN             You've waited twenty years for me,             what's another twenty seconds?Satan contemplates his remark. Metallic reverberation isovertaken as SOUND and MOTION ramp back to real time --PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOM - THE SPEARis about to be thrust into Angela's chest.                           SATAN (O.S.)             Gabriel?Gabriel looks up -- spots him in the room. Gabrielreacts -- pulls the spear toward her with all hismight -- but Satan is faster -- Angela vanishes andGabriel has now pierced dead air.Satan holds Angela tight -- covering her mouth like Johndid. She struggles and the demon inside appears --reflected in the huge chunks of tank glass scattered onthe floor. Hideous. The real MAMMON.                           SATAN             Say goodbye to the sun -- both of             you.Mammon SHRIEKS and Gabriel's beautiful wings ignite inFLAME --                           GABRIEL             No!!!!!!!!CORRIDOR - JOHNis rocked by a major jolt that shakes the entire buildingto its foundation. A moment later --                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                    114.CONTINUED:Satan is back. John looks up, gives him that look -- youowe me. Satan hates admitting it but knows it's true.                           SATAN             So... what do you want?   An             extension?John shakes his head, can barely utter a sound...                           JOHN             Isabel...                           SATAN             What about her?                           JOHN             ... let her... go home...                           SATAN             You would give up your life so she             could go to Heaven?John manages a nod...                           SATAN             Fine.                     (closes, opens eyes)             It's done.INT. PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMANGELA gasps -- her first real breath's a strain.Adrenaline rushes through her and she quickly closes hereyes --EXT. THAT GORGEOUS SKYStretches out BEFORE us. And here come those two swings,penduluming up in SLOW MOTION.Young Angela and Isabel share that moment again. Butthis time Isabel lets go and jumps out of her swing.Her body sails up and away, her fingers reaching out forwhat seems so close... so close...Isabel keeps going until she fades into the sky.                           SATAN (V.O.)             Time to go.                                                       115.INT. CORRIDORJohn relaxes, stops fighting the inevitable. Satan takeshis hand, starts to pull him home but suddenly findshimself pulling on what seems to be infinite mass. Tryas he might, he can't budge John an inch.And now John's other hand leaves his side, and as ifweightless, begins to rise toward something above.No sense in beating around the bush here, John is in theembrace of God.Satan sees this and recoils in absolute RAGE --                        SATAN          The sacrifice!! No!!!!   THIS ONE          BELONGS TO ME!!John's rising hand drifts back down in front of Satan,the middle finger fully extended. Final straw.Satan goes rabid -- turns to PURE ENERGY for a splitsecond. His hands remain on fire.                        SATAN          You will live, John Constantine,          you will live so you'll have the          chance to prove that your soul          truly belongs in Hell. You will          live!Satan eagerly plunges his blazing hands into John'sbody --John screams in agony. Satan tears through his tissue --collecting the cancer, then ripping out a mass ofdiseased tissue with one vengeful pull. John's finalblood-curdling SCREAM ECHOES over --INT./EXT. RAVENSCAR-- through every room. Every corridor. Rippling outacross the ground and finally dissipating in the hillsbeyond.INT. CORRIDOROn his hands and knees, John takes that first breath.New lungs fill for the first time. No cough. Not even awheeze. Face has renewed color. Wrists have sealedtight.                                             (CONTINUED)                                                          116.CONTINUED:John is healed.He stands, steps back inside the --PHYSICAL THERAPY ROOMJohn stops over the body of one seven-foot Africanwarrior. He stands immobilized, wrecked with emotion.          ASOUND draws his attention to the one thing that couldcause him even greater rage --GABRIEL --is hunched over near a wall. Jagged cartilage stumpsprotrude from his back. A pattern of sinew and bone isburned into the floor behind him. It's all that remainsof his once majestic wings.John approaches, spots blood dripping from the former angel.He realizes what this means. Gets a kick out of it.                            JOHN             Human...Gabriel looks up as John retrieves a gun from the wetfloor.                           JOHN             You don't deserve to be human.                           GABRIEL             Then pass judgment on me now.John raises the gun -- puts it to Gabriel's forehead.                            GABRIEL             Do it.   Seek revenge.   End my             life.John's finger nudges the trigger.                           GABRIEL             Kill me! Pull the trigger!     Be             the hand of God!John pauses, realizes what's happening here...                           JOHN             ... and I'll be condemned again...                            GABRIEL             Do it!                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                      117.CONTINUED:It takes everything John has not to pull that trigger.He lowers the gun, shaking his head.                           JOHN             You're even worthless as bait.John starts to turn away --                           GABRIEL             Deny your true nature today, but             what of tomorrow, of the tomorrow             after that? It is only a matter             of time before you end up right             back where you belong. It is who             you are, Constantine. Damned.John's fist starts behind his back, gains momentum theentire arc until it ends abruptly against Gabriel's face.The ex-angel is propelled all the way to the wall --SLAMS HARD against the concrete. Body crumples onimpact, slides down to the muck. You know this hurt likeabsolute hell.                           JOHN             That's called pain.    Get used to it.John turns toward the double doors -- stops cold.Huddled in the doorway, covered in grime is Angela andBarry. The experience has obviously left them bothdrained.John walks across the room, kneels down to them.                           ANGELA             Thank you, John.He nods, beat. Wipes a trace of blood off her brow, putsa hand on Barry's shoulder. HOLD a beat ON this grittyfamily tableau.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - MIDNITE'S UNIVERSAL ORRERYMOVING SLOWLY PAST the inoperative device. PASTstrangely-shaped objects of platinum and gold, with namesand symbols that make a bit more sense now.EXT. AFRICA - DAYHuge sun beats down on a lone FIGURE walking across astretch of the most barren landscape on Earth. He stops,kneels to the heavily-cracked soil. Starts digging.                                                       118.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - THE ORRERYA HAND comes in, affixes an unseen object to a protrudingrod. Its weight causes it to drop OUT OF FRAME but amoment later it rises back INTO VIEW and finds a balance.EXT. AFRICAJOHN pulls back the protective hood from his face.Healthy and tan with a new lease on life. He pops aNICORETTE TABLET, then unwraps rolls of cloth from aroundthe Spear of Destiny. He drops it in the hole, stares atit a long beat.INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - THE ORRERYThe entire mechanism shudders. And now miraculously,every globe, every moon, every obscure object in thisminiature occult universe begins to rotate in completesync.As it does, the defining object finally slides INTO VIEW.John's lighter.   ANGELA watches it rotate past, nods inapproval.EXT. AFRICAJohn sighs, finally sweeps mounds of soil over the sacredrelic. He stands, nods. Job done.A breeze blows past and John senses being watched. Hespins and finds -- nothing. For a hundred miles. Hestarts walking.                        JOHN (V.O.)          Some people are born to make a          difference. I had to die. Twice.                                       MATCH CUT TO:EXT. 20 LANES BOWLING ALLEY - ANGELAwalking right in step. Something is closing in on her.A new TAXI pulls up. Chaz is driving. Angela gets in.                        JOHN (V.O.)          God does work in mysterious ways.                                                     119.EXT. AFRICAJohn continues walking as something closes in on him atincredible speed.                        JOHN (V.O.)          Some people like it...Our view RISES OVER him and gliding across the barrenlandscape are the SHADOW of WINGS.                        JOHN (V.O.)          Some people don't.                                         FADE OUT.                        THE END
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+                                   CORALINE                                 Written by                                Henry Selick                            Based on the novel by                                Neil Gaiman                    HEAD CREDIT SEQUENCE MYSTERIOUS SEWING ROOM - NIGHT,                    A HAUNTING LULLABY plays against a black, star-pricked          sky when something appears in the distance. A BUTTON-EYED          DOLL floats towards CAMERA, through the open window of a          small sewing room where it lands in a pair of WAITING          HANDS, hands that are made of SEWING NEEDLES.                    The doll - which resembles a YOUNG BLACK GIRL in old-          fashioned clothes, hair fixed with ribbons and braids -          is placed on a sewing table. An elaborate sewing kit is          opened, and, in flickering green light, the NEEDLE-HANDS          go to work. The doll's old clothes are cut away; button-          eyes torn off; hair pulled out. The doll's stuffing is          removed and then the empty cloth body is pulled inside          out, turning from NUT BROWN to PALE PINK.                    Sawdust is poured in the NEW DOLL's mouth; facial          features added; blue yarn hair punched in; and then a          fresh pair of shiny black button eyes is selected from a          button drawer.                    The transformed doll, in a LITTLE YELLOW RAINCOAT, its          new button eyes affixed, is released out the window and          BACK INTO THE NIGHT.                    LAST HEAD CREDIT APPEARS, THEN FADES.                              EXT PINK PALACE, ASHLAND OREGON - DAY                    WIDE ANGLE on a rambling old Queen Anne-style house with          tacked-on outside stairs. It's late winter, the sky a          damp, grey sponge. A SIGN in the foreground reads "Pink          Palace, Apartment for Rent".                    MR. BOBINSKY - a seven-foot-tall blue-skinned man -          performs calisthenics on the rooftop, counting in          Russian.                                           MR. BOBINSKY                    Dras, dva, tri, chetyri.                    Dras, dva, tri, chetyri.                    Dras, dva, tri ...                              A BEEPING SOUND begins and he pauses. A tired MOVING VAN          backs into frame and up the muddy driveway. A VW BEETLE -          suitcases roped to its top - recklessly passes the truck          and disappears around the side of the house. Bobinsky          shakes his fist angrily after the car and shouts:                                             MR. BOBINSKY (CONT'D)                    Mer-sa-vich!                    He marches away indignantly. One of the MOVERS, unseen in          the truck, speaks to his companion.                                           MOVER 2 (O.C.)                    We're here. Time to muscle up.                              ANGLE ON moving truck's REAR DOORS as they're wrenched          open by two men - MOVER 1, tall and bear-shaped, and          MOVER 2, built like a brick top - to reveal a lot of          BOXES and BEAT-UP FURNITURE.                    They haul out the LOADING RAMP towards CAMERA.                    NEW ANGLE, EXTERIOR STAIRS to BASEMENT FLAT. APRIL SPINK,          a rotund little old English lady with bad legs, surveys          the MOVERS as they pass by her chair-lift with boxes and          furniture. The old gal can't wait to tell her flat mate          below about the young, strapping men.                                           MOVER 2 (CONT'D)                           (EFFORTS)                    Got it? Almost there, just a few more.                    Come on, now, LIFT.                    ANGLE ON FRONT PORCH. The job finished, Mover 2 heads          down the front steps while Mover 1 waits for a signature          from the unseen-but-for-his-hands new tenant. Papers          signed, a tip of a single, grubby dollar bill is placed          in the outstretched hand of the disappointed mover, and          the door is shut.                              EXT HOUSE, REAR VIEW - SAME                    ANGLE from BACK YARD. Hiding behind shrubs, WE SHARE the          POV of a MYSTERIOUS SPY. With a CLICK, a close-up lens is          rotated into place to better see the movers quietly pack          into the truck and drive away. A MANGY BLACK CAT walks          right in front of the lens and looks at us with concern.          OFF-SCREEN, a door bangs open. WE FOLLOW the cat as it          races up a tree and out a branch towards the BACK PORCH          to investigate.                    CORALINE JONES, 11, steps onto the porch in a YELLOW          RAINCOAT with a shoulder bag. WE - SPY'S POV - CLICK to a          CLOSE-UP to find this new tenant has BLUE HAIR and a          skeptical face.                    NEW ANGLE, non-spy reverse, on Coraline as she glances          furtively over her shoulder, then hops down the steps and          moves diagonally away from the house.                    NEW Angle, SPY POV. We watch Coraline head towards the          WOODY SHRUB we've hidden ourselves in. We DUCK DOWN.                    ANGLE on Coraline, non-spy, shrub by garden gate. She          reaches into the shrub and breaks off a FORKED BRANCH.          She removes the stick's red leaves, aims it like a          DOWSING ROD and heads into the garden.                    CAM PUSH IN to shrub as the SPY RISES UP, wearing a three-          eyed SKELETON MASK on his head and SKELETON GLOVES on his          hands. The black cat hops into frame, glances at the spy          and follows the girl.                              MONTAGE VARIOUS EXT - SAME                    AFISH POND IN GARDEN - SAME                    Coraline explores the drained, crumbling pond. She finds          an old TURTLE SHELL in the muck and holds it up. After          rapping on it to make sure it's empty, she puts the shell          into her shoulder bag.                    ANGLE ON CAROLINE, SPY POV. WE PUSH ASIDE dead vines from          the railing of the GARDEN BRIDGE for a better look.          Coraline aims her forked stick once more then follows it          up from the pond and out the BACK GATE. A gust of WIND          blows DEAD LEAVES into a swirling eddy WE TRACK high up          into the air.                                                                 DISSOLVE TO:                              ROCKY PATH HIGH ABOVE HOUSE - LITTLE LATER                    SPY POV on sky, now dark with GATHERING STORM. Hidden          behind a NATURAL WALL OF STONES, WE TILT DOWN to view          Coraline crossing frame on a STEEP HILLSIDE path. She          steps on an old RAILROAD TIE, and her foot SINKS into the          rotted wood, stopping her.                    WE LEAN OUT for a better view, and DISLODGE some stones          that roll down past her. WE DUCK as she jerks her head          our way.                    NEW ANGLE, non-spy. Unnerved, Coraline calls out.                                           CORALINE                    Hello?...   Who's there?                    She throws a rock over the wall of stones, HITS THE          UNSEEN SPY, causing a CRY OF PAIN. ANIMAL? HUMAN? Freaked          out, she GASPS, runs up the trail.                    NEW ANGLE, SPY POV. We rise up to watch and the black cat          hops onto the stone wall.                              EXT. OVERGROWN ORCHARD - CONT.                    Coraline races down past an OLD TRACTOR and into an          ORCHARD. WIND begins to blow.                    NEW ANGLE as we move beside Coraline through the old          apple trees, where she nearly trips on the tongue of a          harvest cart.                    DOWN ANGLE ON on Coraline as she BACKS INTO a circle of          TOADSTOOLS in front of a STUMP. BREATHING HARD, she looks          out for her pursuer.                    NEW ANGLE. The black cat shoots past Coraline in the tall          grass. She can't see him but she knows something is          there. Already behind her now, the cat LEAPS onto the          stump with a loud, warning MEROWWW!                    STARTLED, Coraline YELLS and whips around. She's both          angry and relieved when she sees it's just some cat.                                           CORALINE                    You scared me to death, you mangy thing!                    Cat GLARES at her with BLUE OPAL EYES, makes a low growl          as she stands. She exhales.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    I'm just looking for an old well. Know                    it?                    Cat BLINKS EYES slowly.                                           CORALINE(CONT'D)                    Not talking, huh?                    The wind picks up. She grasps the forks of her stick,          closes her eyes, and, tracing a figure eight above her,          SAYS:                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Magic dowser, magic dowser: show... me...                    the well!                    ANGLE ON CORALINE FROM HIGH BLUFF. The SPY moves into          frame, astride some kind of MOTOR-BIKE. He presses a          button on the handlebars and BLASTS a loud AIR HORN.          STARTLED, Coraline SPINS around.                    UP ANGLE ON SPY. As LIGHTNING FLASHES and THUNDER ROLLS,          Coraline sees him for the first time. With his turret-          lensed SKULL MASK and SKELETON GLOVES and black FIREMAN'S          COAT flapping in the wind, he looks like a PSYCHO KILLER!                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                           (freaked out)                    AHHHHH!                    He REVS his motor, pops a wheelie, then SWOOPS DOWN the          bluff towards her. She HOLLERS IN FEAR, then tries to          WHACK HIM with her forked stick.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    GET AWAY FROM ME--                    He SNATCHES it from her as he passes, KNOCKING HER to the          ground. He SIDE-SKIDS his bike, hops off and JUMPS UP          onto the stump. Looking TEN FEET TALL from the ground,          THUNDER AND LIGHTNING at a peak, the Spy turns his THREE-          EYED TURRET LENS and studies her like a predatory alien.                    And then, the thunder and lightning just FADE OUT and          this psycho-killer, three-eyed spy pulls off his mask and          Coraline GASPS -- he's just a short kid in a costume.                    Shoulders hunched, neck bent, the Spy - real name WYBIE          LOVAT - aged 12 - examines Coraline's forked stick, aims          it around.                                           WYBIE                           (OBLIVIOUS)                    Hoo! Let me guess, you're from Texas or                    Utah; someplace dried out and barren,                    right? I heard about water-witching                    before but it doesn't make sense; I mean,                    it's just an ordinary branch.                    Coraline, SNATCHES it from his GLOVED HANDS.                                           CORALINE                           (ENRAGED)                    IT'S A DOWSING ROD!                    Coraline smacks Wybie.                                             WYBIE                    Ow!                                           CORALINE                    And I DON'T LIKE BEING STALKED, not by                    PSYCHO-NERDS OR THEIR CATS!                    He crouches, nervous, to scratch the cat behind his ears.                                           WYBIE                    He's not really my cat; he's kinda feral                    ≠ you know, wild? Of course, I do feed                    him every night and sometimes he'll come                    in my window `n bring me little dead                    things.                    The cat PURRS like a diesel.                                           CORALINE                           (TOUGH)                    Look, I'm from Pontiac.                                           WYBIE                    Huh?                                           CORALINE                    MICHIGAN? And if I'm a "water witch",                    THEN--                           (points stick, stomps foot)                    --where's the secret WELL?                                           WYBIE                    You stomp too hard and you'll fall in it!                    Coraline reacts, hops out of the springy circle. The boy          scrapes at the ground, revealing a CIRCULAR COVERING          made of WOODEN PLANKS. He wedges a fallen branch under          one side, and, using a rock for the fulcrum, pries up the          covering.                                           WYBIE (CONT'D)                    See? Supposed to be so deep if you fell                    to the bottom and looked up, you'd see a                    sky full of stars in the middle of the                    day.                                           CORALINE                           (SOFTENS)                    Huh.                    Her frown RELAXES and the black cat tilts his head,          noticing her change in tone. He steps off the branch, and          the well cover thumps in place.                                           WYBIE                    Surprised she let you move in...                    Jerks his head toward the pink house in distance.                                           WYBIE (CONT'D)                    ... my Gramma. She owns the "Pink Palace"                           (indicates house in distance)                    Won't rent to people with kids.                                           CORALINE                    What do you mean?                                           WYBIE                           (suddenly worried)                    Uh... I'm not supposed to talk about it.                    Changing the subject, he lifts a gloved hand to shake.                                           WYBIE (CONT'D)                    I'm Wybie, Wybie Lovat.                                             CORALINE                             (SKEPTICAL)                    Wybie?                                           WYBIE                    Short for Wyborne. Not my idea, of                    course. What'd you get saddled with?                                           CORALINE                    I wasn't saddled with anything. It's                    Coraline.                                           WYBIE                    Caroline what?                                           CORALINE                    Coraline. Coraline Jones.                                           WYBIE                           (confused, not hearing it)                    Hmmm... It's not real scientific, but I                    heard an ordinary name, like Caroline --                    Her face goes as DARK as the rain clouds above.                                           WYBIE (CONT'D)                    -- can lead people to have ordinary                    expectations about a person--                                           WYBIE'S GRANDMOTHER (O.C.)                           (calling from afar)                    Wyborne!                                           CORALINE                    I think I heard someone calling you,                    Wyborne.                                           WYBIE                    What? I didn't hear anything--                                           CORALINE                    Oh, I definitely heard someone, Why-were-                    you-born.                    A distant dinner bell clangs.                                            WYBIE'S GRANDMOTHER (O.C.)                    Wyborne!                                           WYBIE                           (under his breath, nervous)                    Grandma!                    He holds up his hands in surrender, nodding with eyes          closed, forcing some laughs.                                           WYBIE (CONT'D)                    Heh. Well, great to meet a Michigan                    water witch.                    He picks up his bike, wheels it around, then holds up his          gloved hands.                                           WYBIE (CONT'D)                    But I'd wear gloves next time.                                            CORALINE                            (SKEPTICAL)                    Why?                    He points to her dowsing rod, nods.                                           WYBIE (CONT'D)                    `Cause that dowsing rod of yours? Uh,                    it's poison oak.                                            CORALINE                    Ehh!!                    Coraline drops the stick as he zooms away and wipes her          hands on her clothes.                    The cat merows at her, shaking his head with a pitying          look, then trots away after Wybie. She STICKS OUT HER          TONGUE at him.                    She looks down at the COVERING to the well. Coraline          finds a PEBBLE and drops it through A SMALL KNOT-HOLE.          Ear at the knot-hole, she counts until there's a watery          "plop" far below. FAT RAINDROPS start to fall around her.                                                           ROTATE DISSOLVE TO:                    INT. KITCHEN - NEXT MORNING                    It's POURING out. Coraline looks out a window at the DEAD-          LOOKING GARDEN, and places PACKETS OF SEEDS - pumpkins,          squash, snap dragons, bleeding hearts - on the sill.          She's developed a REDDISH RASH - poison oak - on one          hand.                    The main floor kitchen, like most   things in the Pink          Palace, is barely maintained, and   looks worn and faded.          Coraline's MOTHER, MEL JONES, 40,   bangs away at her          laptop on the table, MOVING BOXES   stacked nearby. She's          plain-looking and tired and wears   a NECK-BRACE.                                           CORALINE                    I almost fell down a well yesterday, Mom.                                           MEL                           (not listening)                    Uh huh.                                           CORALINE                    I would have died.                                           MEL                           (continues typing)                    That's nice.                    Coraline scratches the rash on her hand, changes subject.                                           CORALINE                    Hmmm. So can I go out? I think it's                    perfect weather for gardening.                                           MEL                    No, Coraline. Rain makes mud. Mud makes a                    mess.                    Coraline turns to her.                                           CORALINE                    But Mom, I want stuff growing when my                    friends come to visit. Isn't that why we                    moved here?                                           MEL                    Something like that. But then we had the                    accident.                                           CORALINE                    Wasn't my fault you hit that truck.                                           MEL                    I never said it was.                                           CORALINE                           (MUTTERS)                    I can't believe it -- you and Dad get                    paid to write about plants and you hate                    dirt.                    Mel stops typing, loses her patience.                                           MEL                    Coraline, I don't have time for you right                    now. And you still have unpacking to do.                    Lots of unpacking.                                           CORALINE                    That sounds exciting.                    Mel remembers something.                                           Mel (CONT'D)                    Oh - some kid left this on the front                    porch.                    Coraline walks over and is handed a NEWSPAPER-WRAPPED          PACKAGE. Attached note reads:                                           WYBIE (V.O.)                    Hey Jonesy, look what I found in Gramma's                    trunk. Look familiar? Wybie.                    She rips open the package and finds the BUTTON-EYED, BLUE-          HAIRED, YELLOW RAINCOAT-WEARING DOLL from the head          credits - it's a litte Coraline!                                           CORALINE                           (to herself)                    Huh... a little me? That's weird.                    She crumples the note, both annoyed and charmed.                                           MEL                    What's his name, anyway?                                           CORALINE                    Wybie. And I'm way too old for dolls.                    But Coraline takes it with her and leaves the room.                    INT. STUDY - SAME                    CHARLIE Jones, 40, goose-necked and gangly with thinning          dark hair, HUNT-AND-PECKS at his ancient computer,          surrounded by boxes of GARDENING MAGAZINES and empty          coffee cups. Coraline, with doll, opens the SQUEAKY DOOR.          He doesn't turn.                                           CORALINE                    Hey Dad, how's the writing going?... Dad?                    He ignores her reflection in his computer screen as he          types away, green letters on black. She CLEARS HER          THROAT.                                           CHARLIE                    Hello, Coraline...                           (notices doll's reflection)                    And... Coraline doll?...                                           CORALINE                    D'you know where the garden tools are?                    He hears rain outside.                                           CHARLIE                    It's pouring out there, isn't it.                                           CORALINE                    Humph, it's just raining.                                           CHARLIE                    What'd the boss say?                                           CORALINE                           (MOCKING)                    "Don't even think about going out,                    Coraline Jones."                                           CHARLIE                    Then you won't need the tools.                    Coraline GROANS, stamps her feet. Charlie just taps          harder on the keys. Pouting, she makes the door squeak,          opening and shutting it till he can't take any more. He          spins around.                                           CHARLIE (CONT'D)                    Uhhh, you know, this house is a hundred                    and fifty years old.                                             CORALINE                    So?                                           CHARLIE                    So explore it!                    He grabs a pen and pad, holds it out.                                           CHARLIE (CONT'D)                    Go out and ... count all the doors and                    windows and write that down. List                    everything blue!                           (BEGGING)                    Just let me work.                    She rolls her eyes, takes paper and pen and leaves.                              MONTAGE, VARIOUS - SAME                    HALLWAY NEAR STAIRS                    Coraline, with doll, jumps on BUMP in carpet that moves          with each jump.                    LAUNDRY ROOM/WINTER GARDEN                    She wipes off the misted glass so she and the doll can          see out, then writes in her pad: 7 leaky windows. A drop          of water lands on the pad, smearing the ink. She adds          really between 7 and leaky windows.                    HALLWAY NEAR STAIRS                    Coraline thumps the carpet bump again and pounds up the          stairs.                    PARENT'S ROOM/BATHROOM                    A FRAMED PHOTO sits in the foreground on a beside table.          It shows a younger, happier Coraline with her parents by          the BEAR FOUNTAIN at the Detroit Zoo. RACK FOCUS to          bedroom door as it swings into the room, with Coraline          hanging on it. She drops to the ground and, doll and pad          in hand, decides to check out the bathroom.                    When she pulls aside the mildewed shower curtain she          finds a hundred skittering SILVERFISH BUGS.                                              CORALINE                    Ewww!                    Disgusted, she jumps into the tub and smashes as many as          she can.                    She turns on the faucet to wash her hands, only to get          soaked with rusty water from the shower head.                                              CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Ahh!!                    She shakes out her hair.                    HALLWAY NEAR STAIRS                    Coraline pounds down the stairs, spots the carpet bump          again in the hallway and jumps on it. A closet door          opens, a light on inside, and she goes to investigate.                    WATER HEATER CLOSET                    ANGLE OVER water heater on Coraline. She jots down one          rusty water heater in her pad. As she leaves, she flicks          off the light switch, not noticing a note taped beside it          that says: Do not turn off!                              INT. STUDY - SAME                    Lights flicker and then Charlie's computer dies. He          hollers.                                           CHARLIE                    No, no, no, no, no; GAAAA--!                              INT. HALLWAY - SAME                                              CHARLIE (O.S.)                    --AAAAAAA!                    Coraline reacts with guilty alarm, runs back to the          closet and --                              INT. CLOSET - SAME                    -- spots the Do not turn off note. She flips the light          switch back on and gets out of there.                              INT. LIVING ROOM - SAME                    The room is faded and cold with bare windows looking out          on rain and gray. The floor is strewn with moving boxes,          a few pieces of furniture, Charlie's old Nordic Track. A          few garden tools lean against one wall; a cardboard          mattress box leans against a corner wall.                    Coraline enters, counting windows and doors to note in          her pad. She sets the doll on a low table beside an open          moving box and smiles.                    The box is filled with her mom's collection of          SNOWGLOBES. She takes out her favorite - the BEAR          FOUNTAIN AT THE DETROIT ZOO - and shakes it. She studies          the globe and sighs with homesickness. She sets it          carefully on the FIREPLACE MANTEL, then unwraps the rest          of the snowglobes and places them beside it.                    Over the mantel hangs a PAINTING of a CRYING BOY IN BLUE -          a scoop of ice cream melting on his shirt, his hand          holding an EMPTY CONE. Coraline takes up pad and pen and          adds to her list, muttering aloud.                                           CORALINE                    One boring blue boy in a painfully boring                    painting ... four incredibly boring                    windows ... and no... more... doors...                    She turns to grab the doll off the table by the snow          globe box. It's gone.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    All right, little me, where are you                    hiding?                    Scanning the room, she spots the doll LOOKING OUT FROM          BEHIND THE MATTRESS BOX leaned against the corner wall.          Perplexed, she walks over and kneels down to grab the          doll when she notices SOMETHING ON THE WALL behind the          box.                    She shoves the box aside, and discovers the outline of a          SMALL DOOR that's been wallpapered over.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Huh?                    Intensely curious, she calls to the kitchen.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Hey Mom...                              INT. KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS                    Mom, typing away, ignores her.                                           CORALINE (O.S.)                    Where does this door go?                                           MEL                    I'm really, really busy!                    INT LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline tries to open it but there's no handle.                                           CORALINE                    I think it's locked.                                              MEL (O.S.)                              INT. KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS                                           CORALINE (O.S.)                    Pleeeeeeeeease!                    Mel gets up, really annoyed. Big sigh.                                              MEL                    Uhhh...                              INT. LIVING ROOM - SAME                    She walks over to Coraline, looks at the outline of the          door in the ratty old wallpaper.                                            MEL                    Will you stop pestering me if I do this                    for you?                    Coraline nods her head quickly, PANTING like a dog.                                              MEL (CONT'D)                    Fine.                    She heads back to the kitchen.                              INT KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS                    Mel pulls open a drawer, pushes a bunch of loose brass          and nickel keys aside to find a small, sharp black key.          Holds it up.                              INT LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS                    Mel cuts the wallpaper around the door and sticks the key          in the lock. Coraline looks on, giddy with anticipation,          the doll at her side. Mel turns the key, unlocks the          door, and pulls it open to reveal ... an UNBROKEN BRICK          WALL. Coraline is totally disappointed.                                           CORALINE                    Bricks? I don't get it.                    Coraline scratches her wrist rash with annoyance.                                           MEL                    They must have closed this off when they                    divided up the house.                    Mel gets up to leave.                                           CORALINE                    You're kidding? And why is the door so                    small?                    Mel leaving room, turns back, and loses it.                                           MEL                    We made a deal. ZIP IT!                    She exits. Coraline makes annoyed sound.                                           CORALINE                    You didn't lock it.                                            MEL (O.S.)                    AaaaaH!!!                    Coraline pushes the little door shut, her head lowered.                              EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT                    WIDE ANGLE ON HOUSE. Pouring rain. We hear Charlie          singing a song about Coraline, badly.                                           CHARLIE (O.S.)                    Oh, my twitchy witchy girl,                              INT. KITCHEN - SAME                    CHARLIE, using OVEN MITT to protect his hand, takes a          BURNED-UP CASSEROLE DISH from the oven while mom closes          up her LAPTOP. Coraline sits at the table with her doll.                                           CHARLIE                    I think you are so nice,                    I give you bowls of porridge                    And I give you bowls of ice --                    CHARLIE sets the dish on the table.                                           CHARLIE                           (really bad note)                    -- cream!                    Coraline pushes it away, disgusted.                                           CORALINE                    Why don't you ever cook, Mom?                                           MEL                    Coraline, we've been through this before:                    your Dad cooks, I clean, and you stay out                    of the way.                    Coraline HUFFS.                                           MEL (CONT'D)                    I swear I'll go food shopping soon as we                    finish the catalog.                           (indicates Coraline's plate)                    Try some of the chard, you need a                    vegetable.                                           CORALINE                    Looks more like slime to me.                                            CHARLIE                    Well, it's slime or bedtime fusspot --                    now what's it going to be?                    Coraline looks to her doll, cradles its head.                                           CORALINE                    Think they're trying to poison me?                    She makes the doll's head nod "yes." Coraline rolls her          eyes, looks up to the heavens and --                              INT. CORALINE'S BEDROOM - SAME                    -- falls back, washed and dressed for bed, on her pillow.          Still raining out. Coraline puts the doll on the chair          beside her, then scratches at her wrist. ORIGAMI          DRAGONFLIES are strung between the tall, thin bed posts;          the TURTLE SHELL she found in the garden sits up on a          box, her NIGHT LAMP that projects stars and moons is          warming up on the bedside table. Despite her efforts at          decorating, Coraline's new bedroom feels small and cold,          cracked and faded.                    Coraline reaches for a framed PHOTO that rests on a toy          PRAYING MANTIS by her night lamp.                    It's her TWO BEST FRIENDS from home, posing in the snow          by her old school's marquee, its letters rearranged to          spell "CORALINE, GOOD BYE!" She touches her friends'          faces with her fingertips.                                           CORALINE                    Don't forget about me, guys. Okay?                    She puts back the photo, hits the light switch over her          bed and, looking over at the doll, sighs.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Good-night...little me.                    Her breathing slows and, with the doll WATCHING HER, she          starts to fall asleep.                              INT. CORALINE'S BEDROOM - DREAMTIME                    --SURREAL MIST SWIRLS out her window. MOONS AND STARS          SLOWLY MOVE across the walls.                    SOMETHING in the room goes t-t-t-t-t-t. Coraline sits up,          awake. SOMETHING CHITTERS under her bed. She leans over          her bedside, head first, peering underneath when a ghost-          pale KANGAROO MOUSE JUMPS OUT and bounds out the door.                              INT. HALL - SAME                    She gives chase, down the upper hall, down the stairs,          snaps on the lower hall light, sees it hop into the          living room.                              INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline enters. The mouse edges out from beneath the          sofa, then hops frantically toward the SMALL DOOR behind          the wallpaper! Coraline runs and dives, but the door is          open a crack, and the mouse escapes.                    Coraline grabs the door's edge and pulls it open. Instead          of a brick wall, there is a DARK, EXPANDING TUNNEL, with          the hopping mouse heading towards a bluish light at the          far end.                                           CORALINE                    Whoa...                    She catches her breath, pulls the door wider and CRAWLS          THROUGH.                    INT. PASSAGEWAY - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline MOVES FORWARD, towards the light ahead.                              INT. OTHER LIVING ROOM ≠ CONTINUOUS                    Coraline steps out through the same little door, into          what looks like the EXACT SAME LIVING ROOM she just left,          only something is different -- it feels deeper, more          dimensional.                                           CORALINE                    Huh?                    She looks around, notices the painting over the          fireplace: the crying blue boy is now SMILING, his shirt          clean and his ice cream back on his cone.                    From across the hall, warm light comes from the kitchen          and the smell of delicious food wafts towards her nose.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    MMMMM, something smells good.                              INT. OTHER KITCHEN - NIGHT                    Coraline enters to see her mother cooking at the stove,          wearing an apron and ROOSTER-HEAD OVEN MITTS. The light          and colors are much warmer and the details more perfect          in this kitchen. Other Mother is facing away from          Coraline as she works.                                           CORALINE                    Mom?! What are you doing here in the                    middle of the night?                    Her mother turns from the stove to greet her and Coraline          is DUMBSTRUCK: she's got BUTTONS FOR EYES! She beams with          happiness at Coraline's arrival.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    You're just in time for supper, dear!                                           CORALINE                    You're not my mother.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    My mother doesn't have b-b-buh...                    Coraline points to her own eye.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    B-b-b-buttons? Do you like them?                    She taps one with her nail.                                           OTHER MOTHER (CONT'D)                    I'm your Other Mother, silly. Now go tell                    your Other Father that supper's ready.                    She opens the oven door and the intoxicating perfume of          great cooking fills the air. Coraline breathes it in,          suddenly VERY HUNGRY.                                           OTHER MOTHER (CONT'D)                    Well, go on. He's in his study.                              INT. OTHER HALLWAY - SAME                    Coraline goes down the hall and opens the study door.                              INT. OTHER STUDY - CONTINUOUS                    She sees the back of a man like her father, only with          more hair. Instead of tapping away at his computer,          though, he's picking notes on a BABY GRAND PIANO.                                           CORALINE                    Hello?                    He turns around. He, too, has SHINY BUTTON EYES. He seems          happier and a little more handsome than real Dad, and          wears an IRIDESCENT ROBE over POLKA DOT PAJAMAS, with          ORANGE MONKEY SLIPPERS on his feet. He smiles broadly.                                           OTHER FATHER                    Hello, Coraline. Want to hear my new                    song?                                           CORALINE                    My father can't play piano.                                           OTHER FATHER                    No need to ... this piano plays ME!                    DR. SEUSS GLOVES ≠ connected with rods and pulleys ≠ POP          OUT of the piano's front and ONTO HIS HANDS. His hands          RAISE UP ≠ then DROP DOWN to play pounding STRIDE PIANO          as Other Father SINGS out.                                           OTHER FATHER (CONT'D)                    Making up a song about Coraline.                    She's a peach, she's a doll, she's a pal                    of mine.                    She's as cute as a button in the eyes of                    everyone who ever laid their eyes on Cor-                    a-line.                    Coraline is amazed as his hands fly.                                           OTHER FATHER (CONT'D)                    When she comes around exploring                    Mom and I will never ever make it boring                    our eyes will be on Coraline.                    Anxious, she taps his shoulder to stop him.                                           CORALINE                    I, uh ≠ sorry ≠ but she said to tell you                    the food's ready.                                           OTHER FATHER                    Mmmmm! Who's starving? Raise your hand.                    He sticks his hand up, still in a glove, and his other          gloved hand slaps his face. She LAUGHS, then covers her          mouth.                              INT. OTHER DINING ROOM - SAME                    Other Mother sets down a HUGE, ROASTED CHICKEN near          Coraline on a table spread with CANDLES, fine CHINA and          SILVER and a PINEAPPLE CENTERPIECE. FIGURE EIGHT MODEL          TRAIN TRACKS circle twin LAZY SUSANS covered in dishes of          POTATOES, SWEET PEAS, ROLLS, and CORN. The Other Father          seals this Norman Rockwell moment by making PRAYER HANDS          and a solemn face.                                           OTHER FATHER                    We give our thanks and ask to bless,                    Our Mother's golden chicken breast!                    He laughs with glee then a STARTING BELL rings and it's          time to eat. Other Father really digs in while Coraline          tries some chicken.                                           CORALINE                    Mmmm, this chicken is good.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Hungry, aren't you.                                           CORALINE                           (nodding, mouth full)                    D'you have any gravy?                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Well, here comes the gravy train! Choo-                    choo!                    Other Mother GIGGLES as a MODEL TRAIN circles round the          track, pulling a GRAVY BOAT CAR and blowing its whistle.          The train goes in one side of the centerpiece and comes          out the other, slowing till the gravy boat lines up with          Coraline's plate, where it POURS GRAVY on her potatoes.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Another roll, sweet peas? Corn on the                    cob?                    Other Mother looks on approvingly, not touching any food          herself.                                           CORALINE                           (mouth full)                    I'm real thirsty.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Of course! Any requests?                    A beautiful CHANDELIER DRINK DISPENSER descends.                                           CORALINE                    Mango milk shake?                    The dispenser SPINS, stops and fills her glass while          Other Mother presents dessert: a cake with candles that          POP UP and LIGHT THEMSELVES while the words "WELCOME          HOME!" write themselves in icing. Coraline is taken          aback.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Home?                    Her Other Parents squeeze each other's hands warmly.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    We've been waiting for you, Coraline.                                           CORALINE                    For me?                                           OTHER FATHER                    Yep. Wasn't the same here without you,                    kiddo.                    Coraline remains a little unsure.                                           CORALINE                    I didn't know I had an Other Mother.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Of course you do. Everyone does.                    She smiles at Coraline, her button eyes gleaming.                                           CORALINE                    Really?                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Uh huh, and soon as you're through                    eating, I thought we'd play a game.                    She taps her fingers a little too excitedly on the table.                                           CORALINE                           (SKEPTICAL)                    You mean like, hide and seek?                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Perfect! Hide and seek in the rain.                                           CORALINE                    What rain?                    THUNDER, LIGHTNING, then RAIN appears outside the window.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Huh, what about the mud?                                           OTHER FATHER                    We love mud here!                    Other Mother rises, walks towards Coraline.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Mud facials, mud baths, mud pies -- it's                    great for poison oak.                    The takes Coraline's rashy hand, but Coraline pulls it          away.                                           CORALINE                           (SUSPICIOUS)                    How'd you know I--                    Coraline adjusts her tone.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    I, I'd love to play, but ... I better get                    home to my other mother.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    But I'm your other mother.                                           CORALINE                           (BEFUDDLED)                    I mean my other other mother. Mom number                    one?                           (YAWNS)                    I think I should get to bed.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Of course, sweetheart, it's all made up.                                           CORALINE                           (shakes head)                    But ...                    Other Father steps in beside her.                                           OTHER FATHER                    Come along, sleepyhead.                    They lead her from the table towards the stairs to her          bedroom.                              INT. CORALINE'S OTHER BEDROOM - SAME                    In this world, Coraline's bedroom is a dream come true:          it is filled with rich color and light; there's a fire in          the fireplace, a sheer, lacy canopy over her now          beautiful bed. And her favorite toys are alive!                                           CORALINE                    Wow.                    Her ORIGAMI DRAGONFLIES FLUTTER towards her.                                           DRAGONFLIES                    Hello Coraline, hello, hello!                    Her BLUE SQUID greets her with a WAVE of its tentacle.                                           TOY SQUID                    What's shakin', baby?                                           CORALINE                    Hello.                    The TURTLE SHELL she'd found CIRCLES HER FEET on clothes          pin legs, making PANTING SOUNDS. She laughs, then hears          two voices from beside her bed.                                           PHOTO FRIEND 1 (O.C.)                           (MICHIGAN-SPEAK)                    Hey, how zit goin', yuper!                                           PHOTO FRIEND 2 (O.C.)                           (MICHIGAN-SPEAK)                    Where's your swampers and tuke?                    She jumps onto the bed, grabs the photo of her best          friends from home, now ALIVE IN THE PHOTO.                                           CORALINE                    Kripes a-mighty, how are my best trolls?                    I can't wait till summer. You're both                    comin', right?                                           PHOTO FRIEND 1                    We're already here, Coraline --                                                     PHOTO FRIEND 2                              -- gone to Or-e-gine!                    Coraline grins hugely, then, exhausted, she yawns,          stretching out her arms.                    The Other Mother, in the bedside chair, takes her hand          and applies some SOOTHING BLACK MUD to Coraline's poison          oak rash.                                           CORALINE                    Oh, the mud...                    The Other Mother gently tucks her in then she and the          Other Father smile at Coraline as she drifts off to          sleep.                            OTHER MOTHER                  OTHER FATHER          See you soon ...              See you soon ...                                                                PULL BACK MATCH                                                            DISSOLVE:                              INT. CORALINE'S REAL BEDROOM - MORNING                    Coraline awakens. She looks around expecting bright          colors, a magic dragonfly. But it's just her NORMAL ROOM:          moving boxes; cracks in the ceiling -- nothing's changed.                    She notices the BUTTON-EYED DOLL on the chair where she          left it, where the Other Mother was sitting. She picks it          up, absentmindedly goes to scratch her wrist. She stops,          noticing that the rash on her wrist IS GONE.                                           CORALINE                           (GASPING)                    It's gone, my poison oak, it's gone!...                              INT. LIVING ROOM - SAME                    Coraline goes to the little door, still ajar. She peeks          behind and finds the WALL OF SOLID BRICKS. Yes, it was          only a dream.                                           CORALINE                           (SOFTLY)                    Huh?                    She shakes her head and pushes the door shut. The kettle          blows from the kitchen.                              KITCHEN - DAY, GROUND FOG OUT WINDOWS                    Breakfast. Mel and Charlie finish their "Go Lean          Breakfast Twigs" and mugs of instant coffee. Preoccupied          with their work, they half-listen as Coraline recounts          her dream, her breakfast untouched. FOG lies outside the          windows.                                           CORALINE                    It was incredibly real, Mom! Only you                    weren't really you; you were my other                    mother.                                           MEL                           (DISAPPROVING)                    Buttons for eyes, huh?                           (indicates untouched food)                    Coraline, you only dreamed you ate all                    that chicken. Take your multi-vitamin, at                    least.                                           CORALINE                    You were in the dream too, Dad. You had                    wild-looking pajamas and orange monkey                    slippers.                                           CHARLIE                           (pretend offense)                    Orange? My monkey slippers are blue.                    He stands, put his dishes in the sink. Whispers over his          SHOULDER:                                           CHARLIE (CONT'D)                           (OPTIONAL)                    Pssst. Can you get me some of that magic                    mud you were talking about?                    She points to her rash-free wrists. He nods.                                           CHARLIE (CONT'D)                    Because I have a terrible case of                    writer's rash. On my---.                    Mel CLEARS HER THROAT, interrupting.                                           MEL                    If the real Charlie Jones wants his pages                    edited, he'd better wrap them up ASAP.                    He crisply salutes her, turns on his heel, and marches          out the door. Mel gets up to clear the table with          Coraline.                                           MEL (CONT'D)                    Coraline, why don't you go visit                    downstairs? I bet those "actresses" would                    love to hear your dream.                                           CORALINE                    Miss Spink and Forcible? But you said                    they're dingbats.                                              MEL                           (NODS)                    Uh huh.                    Coraline sighs, gets up to go.                              EXT. HOUSE, FRONT PORCH - MORNING                    It's drizzling and a WHITE FOG has lowered over the house          and grounds. Coraline ≠ yellow rain poncho, garden SHEARS          in hand ≠ opens the front door. Stepping out onto the          porch, she TRIPS on a big bundle of mail. Annoyed, she          picks it up, starts leafing through the envelopes.                                           CORALINE                    Bo-bin-sky...Bo-bin-sky....Bo-bin-sky...                    Smells something bad, sniffs the envelopes.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Ohh, Poo-eeeee!                    She goes down the front steps and finds a sign that reads          "Bobinsky there" with an arrow that points up long,          winding outside stairs. With an "oh well" shrug, she goes          up.                              EXT. HOUSE, BOBINSKY'S - CONTINUOUS                    At the top, she knocks on the door, a little anxious.                                            CORALINE                    H-hello?...                    She knocks again.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    I think our mail got mixed up.    Should I                    leave it outside or...                    The door swings open. Curious, Coraline peeks inside:          it's dark and cramped with something boiling on the stove          and a caged chicken.                                            CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Hmmm...                    Suddenly a HUGE BLUE MAN swings down behind her and          SCOLDS:                                            MR. BOBINSKY                    SEE-KRET...                    She whips around to find MR. Bobinsky - upside down,          reaching right at her face! She ducks and he reaches past          her to his actual target - his door knob - and pulls it          shut.          The Russian giant, dressed in a sleeveless T-shirt and          shorts, pulls a RAW BEET from his pants. He's not happy.                                           MR. BOBINSKY (CONT'D)                           (SCOWLING)                    Famous Jumping Mouse Circus not ready,                    little girl!                                           CORALINE                           (CONFUSED)                    Circus?... Oh, uh, I brought this for                    you.                    She holds out his mail. Bobinsky takes it, smelling the          stinky envelopes deeply. Nods approvingly.                                           MR. BOBINSKY                           (SNIFFS)                    Mmmm... Noviseer.                                           CORALINE                    Huh?                                           MR. BOBINSKY                    New "cheese" samples.                    He swings down like a spider monkey and stands beside her          on the balcony. Coraline backs away.                                           MR. BOBINSKY (CONT'D)                    Very clever, using this "mix up" to sneak                    my home and peek at meeshkas                                           CORALINE                    Meeshkas?                                           MR. BOBINSKY                    The Mice!                                           CORALINE                    Oh, sorry. I'm Coraline Jones.                                            MR. BOBINSKY                           (BOWS)                    And I am the Amazing Bobinsky! But you                    can call me Mr. B, because amazing I                    already know that I am.                    He smells his mail again, makes pleased sound, then seems          to fall off the side of the third story porch! Coraline          rushes over, looks down. He cartwheels in from the porch          railing behind her.                                           MR. BOBINSKY                    Ha! You see, Caroline, the problem is my                    new songs go oompah oompah. But the                    jumping mice play only toodle toot, like                    that. Is nice, but not so much amazing?                    So now--                           (indicates smelly mail)                    --I switch to stronger cheese, and soon ≠                    VATCH OUT!                    He opens his door, crouches low and turns. He hands her a          beet.                                           MR. BOBINSKY (CONT'D)                    Here, have beet. Make you strong.                           (salutes her )                    Daas vee DAAN ya, Caroline.                    He scuttles inside and slams the door shut. Coraline          mutters.                                            CORALINE                    Cor-a-line.                    Looking at the beet, she makes a disgusted sound and          tosses it away, then heads down the stairs.                              EXT HOUSE, SOUTH SIDE YARD - CONTINUOUS                    When she gets to the bottom, she starts towards the back,          gardening shears out.                                           CORALINE                           (to herself)                    Oompah oompah, toodle toot, toodle toot.                                           MR. BOBINSKY (O.C.)                    EHHH! CAROLINE: PA-DAZH-DI'-- WAIT!!                    She looks up.                                            CORALINE                    No!!!                    Bobinsky LEAPS all the way to the ground, landing beside          her, out of breath.                                           MR. BOBINSKY                    The mice...asked me to give you message.                                           CORALINE                    The...jumping mice?                    Mr. B nods gravely. He leans down, so close his moustache          touches her ear, and whispers, his voice DEAD-SERIOUS.                                           MR. BOBINSKY                    They are saying: do not go through leetle                    door. Do you know such a thing?                    Coraline is startled.                                           CORALINE                    The one behind the wall paper? But...                    it's all bricked up.                    The old man shrugs, straightens.                                           MR. BOBINSKY                    Bah. So sorry, is nothing. Sometimes the                    mice are leetle...                    He points to his head and rotates his finger.                                           MR. BOBINSKY (CONT'D)                    ...mixed up, hmmm? They even get your                    name wrong, you know. They call you                    Coraline instead of Caroline, not                    Caroline at all.                    He starts back up the stairs.                                           MR. BOBINSKY (CONT'D)                    Maybe I work them too hard...                    Coraline stares after him.                              EXT. HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER                    SHEARS IN HAND, Coraline approaches the family VW, where          one PINK SUITCASE remains tied to the roof. She snips it          free and takes out her special HAT, a black Japanese          schoolboy's cap.                              EXT. HOUSE, STAIRWELL DOWNSTAIRS FLAT ≠ SAME                    Coraline climbs down the steps to the basement flat. At          the door, she tries the comedy/tragedy door knocker and          waits. Nothing. She glances down at the doormat - it          reads "No whistling in the house."                    She peers through the door glass. A YAPPING DOG suddenly          LEAPS UP inside, startling her, and a moment after, MISS          SPINK ≠ wearing some sort of house robe ≠ opens the door          and three SCOTTIE DOGS ≠ HAMISH, JOCK, AND ANGUS ≠ shoot          out and surround Coraline. Spink tries to quiet them          down.                                           MISS SPINK                           (HARSH)                    Oh cease your infernal yapping!                           (to Coraline, sweetly)                    How nice to see you, Caroline. Would you                    like to come in? We're playing cards.                                           CORALINE                    Still Coraline, Miss Spink.                                           MISS SPINK                           (over shoulder)                    Miriam, put the kettle on!                              INT. MISSES SPINK & FORCIBLE'S FLAT - SAME                    Miss Spink leads Coraline into the living area, as MISS          FORCIBLE, taller and sporting a platinum wig and a very          large bosom, prepares tea in the kitchen to the side. The          dogs race ahead and jump onto the sofa. Coraline scans          the walls to see framed POSTERS from the "Shakespeare"          the ladies used to perform like King Leer and Julius          Seize Her. Miss Forcible peers out her, half-blind          without her glasses.                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    April, I think you're being followed.                                           MISS SPINK                    It's the new neighbor, Miriam - Caroline?                    She'll be having the Oolong tea.                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    No, no, no, no. I'm sure she'd prefer                    Jasmine.                                            MISS SPINK                    No, Oolong.                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    Ah, Jasmine it is, then.                    Forcible grabs a handful of tea, puts it in the pot and          pours boiling water in.                                           MISS SPINK                    Come on, boys!                    The dogs leap off the sofa and, as Coraline takes their          place, she looks to the side and sees a towering bookcase          filled with STUFFED SCOTTY DOGS IN KNITTED SWEATERS WITH          ANGEL WINGS.                                           CORALINE                           (ALARMED)                    Are those dogs .... real?                                           MISS SPINK                           (SIGHS)                    Our sweet, departed angels. Couldn't bear                    to part with them ... so we had them                    stuffed.                           (CONTINUES)                                 (MORE)                                           MISS SPINK (CONT'D)                    Now, there's Hamish the third, the                    fourth, the eighth, the ninth. Angus the                    second, the fifth, the..                    Miss Forcible arrives with a tea tray and urges Coraline          to take a candy as Spink goes on and on.                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    Oh go on, have one ≠ it's hand-pulled                    taffy from Brighton ≠ best in the world.                    Coraline reaches for a pink and green one. But the taffy          is so old and sticky, her fingers get stuck. Then her          other hand gets stuck, trying to get the first hand out.                                           MISS SPINK (O.C.)                    ...seventh, the third, the ninth, yes,                    the fourthI'm right; and Jock Junior,                    Jock senior, Jock the third, the                    fourth...                    Coraline, using her feet, finally un-sticks the candy          bowl which FLIES UP and sticks to the ceiling.                                           MISS SPINK (CONT'D)                    ...oh, and that's Jock's 2nd cousin,                    twice removed.                    She turns to Coraline, about to sip her tea. Spink          indicates cup.                                           MISS SPINK (CONT'D)                    I'll read them, if you like.                                           CORALINE                    Read what?                                           MISS SPINK                    Oh, your tea leaves, dear. They'll tell                    me your future. Drink up then, go on.                    Coraline gulps down the bitter brew.                                           MISS SPINK (CONT'D)                    No, not all of it, not all of it. That's                    right, now hand it over.                    Coraline passes her the cup. Spink puts a saucer on top          and swirls it three times, removes the saucer and peers          in at the abstract leaf pattern. She purses her lips.                                           MISS SPINK (CONT'D)                    Oh... Caroline, Caroline, Caroline; you                    are in terrible danger.                    Miss Forcible snorts.                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    Oh, give me that cup, April, your eyes                    are going.                                           MISS SPINK                    My eyes! You're blind as a bat!                    Spink passes the cup to Forcible, who adjusts thick          glasses and peers closely into it.                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    Oh, now, ummm... not to worry, child,                    it's good news: there's a tall, handsome                    beast in your future.                                             CORALINE                    A what?                                           MISS SPINK                    Miriam, oh really, you're holding it                    wrong.                    Spink forcibly rotates the cup.                                             MISS SPINK (CONT'D)                    See? Danger!                    Coraline wants more information.                                           CORALINE                    What do you see?                    The ladies, heads side by side, gaze into the cup. We see          a SPIKY CLAW formed from the leaves.                                           MISS SPINK                           (OMINOUS)                    I see a very peculiar hand...                    Forcible rotates the cup back again. Upside down, the          claw hand looks like a GIRAFFE.                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    I see a giraffe.                                           MISS SPINK                    Giraffes don't just fall from the sky,                    Miriam.                    The stuck candy dish suddenly CRASHES to the floor.                                            MISS SPINK (CONT'D)                    Oh!                                            MISS FORCIBLE                    Oh, lord!                    Coraline asks in a practical voice:                                           CORALINE                    Well, what should I do?                                           MISS SPINK                    Never wear green in your dressing room.                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    Acquire a very tall step ladder.                                           MISS SPINK                    And be very, very careful. Now, was there                    something you came to tell us?                    Coraline thinks it over, then shakes her head.                                           CORALINE                    No, I guess not. Thanks for the tea,                    though.                    She gets up and leaves, the dogs immediately return to          their sofa.                                            MISS FORCIBLE                    Toodle-oo.                                            MISS SPINK                    Cheery-bye.                    The ladies resume their card game with Miss Spink turning          to the dogs.                                           MISS SPINK (CONT'D)                    Do you have any nice Queens for mummy?                              EXT. HOUSE, TOP OF BASEMENT FLAT STAIRS - SAME                    Coraline climbs the stairs up to ground level, intrigued          by her fortune.                                           CORALINE                           (to herself)                    Danger?                    Behind her, a PERISCOPE RISES from the WAIST-DEEP FOG.          Coraline just catches it in her peripheral view.                    She frowns but doesn't let on she's aware of it. She          walks ahead nonchalantly, the periscope following her,          then suddenly turns and GRABS it, PULLING UP WYBIE, then          PUNCHES him in the arm.                                           WYBIE                    Owwwwwwww!                                           CORALINE                    Great, the village stalker.                                           WYBIE                    Ow. I - I wasn't stalking you. We're                    hunting banana slugs.                    Wybie takes some SALAD TONGS from a tool belt, snaps          them.                                           CORALINE                    What d'ya mean, "we?"                    There's a soft meowing from under his coat. He opens it          up and the BLACK CAT EMERGES and climbs onto his          shoulders.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Ha! Your cat's not wild, he's a wuss-                    puss!                    Cat glares at her angrily.                                           WYBIE                    What? He hates to get his feet wet. Geez.                                           CORALINE                           (MOCKING)                    Wuss-puss...                    Tired of her company, the cat jumps off Wybie, onto a          tree and up onto the roof of the house. Coraline softens.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    So... that doll. Did you make it look                    like me?                    Wybie, scanning under the ground fog for slugs, sticks          his head up for a moment.                                           WYBIE                    Oh no; I found it that way. It's older                    than Gramma -- old as this house prob'ly.                    Coraline is highly skeptical. Wybie returns to his hunt.                                           CORALINE                           (points to self)                    C'mom - blue hair, my swampers and                    raincoat?                    Wybie stands excitedly and presents a HUGE YELLOW-GREEN          SLUG to Coraline.                                           WYBIE                    Dang, check out Slugzilla!                    She's not impressed.                                           CORALINE                           (FRUSTRATED)                    You're just like them.                                           WYBIE                    Huh?                    He looks from the slug to himself.                                           CORALINE                    I meant my parents; they don't listen to                    me either.                    Wybie nods, not listening again, takes his camera --                                           WYBIE                    Uh huh... You mind?                    -- hands it to her. She acts put-out, but frames a shot.          He signals he's ready and she fires off one auto-flash          shot after another as he strikes silly poses making SOUND          EFFECTS: horrified of the slug one moment; ready to eat          it the next; pretending it's something from his nose in          another. She can't help but GIGGLE.                                           CORALINE                    Ew!                    Finished, Wybie tosses the slug back into the fog, and          takes the camera back. He lowers his head, thoughtful,          then glances up past Coraline at the house. He SIGHS and          speaks in a SAD TONE.                                           WYBIE                    You know, I've never been inside the Pink                    Palace.                                           CORALINE                           (SCEPTICAL)                    You're kidding.                                           WYBIE                    Grandma would kill me. Thinks it's                    dangerous or something.                                              CORALINE                    Dangerous?                                           WYBIE                    Well... she had a twin sister.                                              CORALINE                    So?                                           WYBIE (O.C.).                    When they were kids, Grandma's sister                    disappeared.                           (ON CAMERA)                    She says she was stolen.                                           CORALINE (O.S.)                           (SKEPTICAL)                    Stolen?                    ANGLE from roof, over CAT'S SHOULDER as dialog continues.          Cat senses something and turns -- it's Coraline's DOLL AT          THE WINDOW, looking like it's spying on things.                                           CORALINE(CONT'D)                    Well, what do you think?                                           WYBIE                    Uhhh, I-I don't know.                    BACK TO KIDS. Wybie, astride his electric bike now,          WHISTLES and the black cat jumps down from the roof, onto          his shoulders.                                           WYBIE (CONT'D)                    Maybe she just ran away?                    We hear Wybie's agitated grandmother call out.                                              WYBIE'S GRANDMOTHER (O.C.)                    Wyborne!                    Wybie turns away: he's said too much.                                           WYBIE                    Look, I gotta go.                    He starts to pull away.                                           CORALINE                    Wait a minute!                    And he's gone. PUSH IN on her pensive face.                              INT CORALINE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                    CU ON DOLL FACE, back in   the chair by the bed. Coraline          takes some yellow cheese   from her pocket and puts it by          the door: mice bait. She   lies down and her breathing          slows, the doll watching   her with a nearly IMPERCEPTIBLE          SMILE on its face.                              INT CORALINE'S BEDROOM - LATER                    Coraline sleeping, lighting suggests another dream. SOME          THINGS go t-t-t-t-t-t. Coraline sits up, looks to her          door, and spots a COUPLE OF KANGAROO MICE stealing the          last bit of cheese.                              INT. UPPER HALL - SAME                    She gives chase after the mice, hopping down the stairs          with the cheese.                              INT. LIVING ROOM - SAME                    Coraline follows the kangaroo mice directly to the little          door, opened a crack, where they disappear.                    She pulls it open. Bricks are gone; tunnel revealed. She          doesn't hesitate this time to crawl through the door.                              INT. OTHER KITCHEN - NIGHT                    Coraline enters Other Kitchen to find Other Mother          preparing a delicious breakfast. She looks PRETTIER          tonight; her black hair shining, lips REDDER. She stops          HUMMING A LULLABY to greet Coraline.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Welcome back, darling.                                              CORALINE                    Hi.                    She is grating YELLOW CHEESE into scrambled eggs.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    So thoughtful of you to send this nice                    cheddar, Coraline.                                           CORALINE                    Cheddar?... Oh, the mice bait...                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Would you go fetch your father?                    Beams at Coraline.                                           OTHER MOTHER (CONT'D)                    Bet he's hungry as a pumpkin by now!                                           CORALINE                    You mean my Other Father?                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Your better father, dear.   He's out in                    the garden.                                           CORALINE.                    But my parents don't have time to garden.                    Other Mother SHUSHES her and pops a strawberry in her          mouth.                                           CORALINE                    Mmmmmm!                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Go on...                    Coraline shrugs okay, starts for the door.                              EXT STUDY DOOR TO BACK PORCH - CONTINUOUS                    Looking out, she sees the broken-down garden from the          real world, still grey and lifeless in the dim light.                              EXT. OTHER GARDEN - SAME                    Coraline opens the gate to the garden. A large CRESCENT          MOON RISES, and THINGS START TO GROW.                    Two dead shrubs start to RISE, then BLOSSOM, then the          blossoms themselves are LIT UP by some GOLD AND AMBER          HUMMINGBIRDS.                    The hummingbirds circle around Coraline, light her          DRAGONFLY BARRETTE, then continue on, LIGHTING UP PITCHER          PLANTS that have grown up in a nearby flower bed. A          beautiful FROG POKES OUT of one blossom.                    The birds lead Coraline up steps past a stone wall where          BLEEDING HEART GROW, AND GLOW, AND BEAT.                    She spots the Other Father, riding a PRAYING MANTIS          TRACTOR on the hillside, planting SEEDS that instantly          grow into FLOWERING PLANTS.                                              OTHER FATHER                    Hey!!!                                           CORALINE                    I love your garden!                    He waves back, calling:                                           OTHER FATHER                    Our garden, Coraline!                    A gang of SNAP DRAGONS goes at her, TICKLING Coraline          till she falls down. Her squeals of delight grow into          HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER.                                           CORALINE                           (GIGGLING)                    Oh ah, stop! Stop tickling, ah!                    The Other Father hears this and looks over.                                           OTHER FATHER                    Oops, daughter in distress!                    He guns the tractor full-speed over a little bridge,          grabbing a GOURD TRUMPET from a vine and blowing it.                    JACK-O-LANTERNS surface in the pond below and spout          STREAMS OF WATER.                    Arriving beside Coraline, he waggles his finger at the          naughty snapdragons.                                           OTHER FATHER (CONT'D)                    Tickle no more, you dragon snappers!                    Then he deftly cuts a bouquet of them and presents it to          Coraline. She nods thanks.                                           CORALINE                    Well, she says it's time for dinner ...                    breakfast ... food?                                           OTHER FATHER                    Hop on, kiddo, I want to show you                    something!                    She does. The Other Father grabs the GEARSHIFT KNOB,          pulls it, and the mechanical mantis SPROUTS WINGS. They          RISE in the air. Looking down, she sees that the garden          is a PORTRAIT OF CORALINE.                                           CORALINE                    I can't believe you did this!                                           OTHER FATHER                    Mother said you'd like it! Boy she knows                    you like the back of her hand.                    He pulls a lever and they ZOOM out of frame.                              INT. OTHER KITCHEN - SAME                    Coraline doesn't hold back this time. She stacks sausages          on eggs on top of waffles, rolls it up and stuffs it in          her mouth. The Other Mother FEEDS BITS OF SAUSAGE to the          HUNGRY SNAPDRAGONS bouquet now in a vase.                                           CORALINE                    Mmmm...so good!                                           OTHER FATHER                    I love dinner, breakfast food.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Coraline, Mr. Bobinsky has invited you to                    come see the Jumping Mice perform after                    dinner.                                           CORALINE                    Really. That know-it-all Wybie said it                    was all in Mr. B's head, I knew he was                    wrong.                                           OTHER FATHER                    Well, everything's right in this world,                    Kiddo.                    Coraline hurries to shovel in the rest of her meal, while          her Other Parents smile at one another.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Your father and I will clean up while you                    and your friend head upstairs.                                           CORALINE                    My friend?                    There's a KNOCK at the door. Other Mother opens it to          reveal the OTHER WYBIE. He's cleaner, with better          posture, and cute button eyes.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Great... another Wybie. Hello, Why-were-                    you-born.                    The boy nods, button eyes shining.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Hello?                    He just makes a shy smile, doesn't answer. She's          confused.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    I thought you'd like him more, if he                    spoke a little less.                           (shrugs, smiling)                    So I fixed him.                                           CORALINE                    So he can't talk at all?                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Nope.                    She looks Other Wybie over appreciatively.                                           CORALINE                    Hmm, I like it.                                           OTHER MOTHER                           (PROUDLY)                    Now run along, you two, and have fun.                    Coraline heads out the door with the mute boy.                              EXT. OTHER ESTATE HOUSE - SAME                    The Other House ≠ lit by amber spotlights looks MAGICAL          with ornate GINGERBREAD TRIM; glowing TOPIARY in the          yard. The kids come out the front door.                                           CORALINE                    You're awful cheerful, considering you                    can't say anything.                    Other Wybie nods in agreement. Coraline and he start up          the stairs to Bobinsky's.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Uh...It didn't hurt, did it, when she...                    She points to her mouth. There's an awkward moment and          then he points past her, excitedly: a SMALL BLIMP is          flying towards Bobinsky's door.                    They run up the stairs and watch it slip through an          opening above his door. Coraline knocks and the door          suddenly SPINS, THROWING THEM INSIDE.                              INT. OTHER MR. BOBINSKY'S FLAT - SAME                    They somersault to a stop and sit up. Down two rows of          SMALL CANNONS that face each, an amazing MINIATURE CIRCUS          has been set up, with a FERRIS WHEEL beside it.                                           CORALINE                    Whoa... cool!                    Coraline goes right to the Ferris wheel where a          MECHANICAL CHICKEN eats dried corn on the cob, fires up          its belly, then POOPS OUT POPCORN into paper bags.                    Other Wybie stomps a firing button and COTTON CANDY          shoots out of a cannon. He catches the cone, then starts          firing off all the cannons. Coraline looks back to find          him covered in the cotton candy.                                             CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Look at you!                    Spotlights come on in the big top, the entrance opens,          and a big voice is heard over loudspeakers.                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY (O.S.)                    Lady and gentleman! For to tickle your                    eyes and ears and making hearts to thump,                    I ≠ Sergei Alexander Bobinsky ≠ am                    introducing...                    They race to the entrance, stoop down to crawl inside.                              INT. MINIATURE BIG TOP - SAME                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY (O.S.)                    ... my as-tound-ishing, stu-pen-dulous                    and AH-MAZING Jumping Mouse Circus!                    They sit between miniature grandstands and watch as the          little BLIMP, bathed in spotlights, enters through a          flap. It circles around, rising to the top of the tent,          then NOSE-DIVES towards the ground! It CRASHES in the          center of the circus ring, and OPENS LIKE A FLOWER from          which 50 JUMPING MICE spring up like Chinese acrobats to          spell out C O R A L I N E.                                           CORALINE                           (DELIGHTED)                    My name!                    The jumping mice leap to the ground in formation,          BRANDISH TINY INSTRUMENTS, and DRUMMERS START POUNDING.          The DRUM MAJOR MOUSE parachutes down and whips out a          BATON. On his signal, the group launch into a WILD          RUSSIAN CIRCUS MARCH.                    Coraline, grinning, turns to the Other Wybie.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    It's wonderful, Wybie!                    The boy smiles and nods to the beat of the bass drums as          the hopping band marches in and out of ever changing          formations - PINWHEELS, X's, CIRCLES WITHIN CIRCLES.                    They hoppers begin to SPIRAL to the center of the circus          ring when the floor RISES UP from its center to form a          six-foot Tower of Babel, the mice HOPPING TO THE TOP. The          DRUM MAJOR balances on the tippy-top on a COLORFUL CIRCUS          BALL.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Wow!                    He RUNS the ball DOWN AND AROUND the spiral as the MICE          HOP OFF, and when he hits the ground, the TOWER DROPS          AWAY to reveal the OTHER MISTER BOBINSKY! He CRACKS A          WHIP.                    Coraline and Other Wybie STAND and CLAP. Other Bobinsky ≠          in a RINGMASTER'S OUTFIT with a full length cape ≠ bows          graciously, doffing his tall black hat. His moustache is          waxed, his eyes black buttons.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Yah! Whooo-oooh! That was great!                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY                    Very very thank you, lady and gentleman.                    On cue, the entire jumping mice band DISAPPEARS INTO          OTHER MR. B'S SLEEVES while the drum major SWINGS UP from          the man's moustache and onto his head, where he's quickly          hidden by the tall black hat.                                           CORALINE                    We loved it, Mr. B. It was ... so ... so--                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY                           (COACHING)                    AHHHHHH---                                           CORALINE                    A-mazing!                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY                    You are very velcome anytime you like,                    you and also your good friend there.                    She happily turns to Other Wybie, beaming with joy.                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY(CONT'D)                    Dosvedanya, Coraline.                    Bobinsky takes her hand to kiss it.                              INT. CORALINE'S OTHER BEDROOM - SAME                    Other Mother kisses SLEEPING CORALINE'S forehead, sits          back in the bedside chair. Other Father, close by, pulls          a cotton candy cone off Other Wybie and munches it.          Coraline's Other Parents smile warmly, knowing something          secret that makes them glad.                                                                PULL BACK MATCH                                                            DISSOLVE:                              INT. CORALINE'S BEDROOM - DAY                    EARLY MORNING. Coraline once again wakes in own bed in          the real world, the little doll ≠ left on the chair ≠ now          clutched against her chest.                                           CORALINE                    Ughhh.                    Her gaze moves from the doll to where she left the cheese          by the door. It's GONE. This is much too confusing.                    INT. LIVING ROOM - SAME                    Coraline tries the small door in the corner wall. It's          locked. What the heck?                              EXT. SMALL OFFICE BUILDING IN TOWN - DAY                    --SQUEALING brakes, as the Jones' JEEP pulls up in front          of "Northwest Garden" headquarters. TOWNSFOLK in          SHAKESPEAREAN COSTUMES stand about, advertising a local          festival. Coraline is sharing her latest dream:                                           CORALINE (V.O.).                    ... there were garden squash like balloon                    animals AND snap dragons.                    ON FAMILY: Coraline continues from back seat as her          father and mother review their work pages.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Oh, and upstairs I saw a real mouse                    circus, not pretend like the crazy man's                    in our house.                    Her parents, preoccupied, ignore her.                                           CHARLIE                    You sure you won't come?                                           MEL                           (indicates neck brace)                    Don't fret, Charlie, they'll love the new                    catalog. At least, they'll love my                    chapters.                    Gives her an "aren't you funny" look, opens door. Mel          looks back at Coraline.                                           MEL (CONT'D)                    I did not call him crazy, Coraline.   He's                    drunk.                    She makes the hand-thumb bottle sign. Charlie leans in to          Coraline, pinches her nose.                                           CHARLIE                    Well, I guess I'll see you around, you                    dizzy dreamer.                    Coraline cuts him off, embarrassed.                                           CORALINE                    Da-ad! I'm not five anymore.                    Dad sighs, heads up the steps to his appointment as Mel          and Coraline drive off.                              INT. UNIFORMS DEPARTMENT STORE - SAME                    PRESIDENT'S DAY SALE. Mel piles gray blouses, a navy          skirt, white socks onto the arms of a CLERK.                    Sitting alone on some stairs, Coraline sees a pair of          fancy GREEN AND ORANGE GLOVES.                    As she tries them on, a YOUNG RASCAL in costume with          sword BOUNCES PAST her down the stairs on a WHEELED STEP          STOOL - his FATHER in pursuit.                                           YOUNG RASCAL                    My kingdom for a hooooooorse!!!!                    There's an off screen crash, then the step stool rolls          back to Coraline. She gets an idea.                    Mel is checking out school blouses, when Coraline rolls          past, first one direction, then the other, modeling the          colorful gloves. Without looking up, her mom tells her:                                           MEL                    Put them back.                                           CORALINE                    But Mom, the whole school's gonna wear                    boring gray clothes. No one will have                    these.                                           MEL                    Put them back.                    Coraline mutters:                                           CORALINE                    My other mother would get them.                                           MEL                    Maybe she should buy all your clothes.                    Coraline scowls and stomps away to return the gloves.                              INT. CAR - SAME                    Coraline and Mel are driving home, shopping bags in back.                                           CORALINE                    So what do you think's in the other                    apartment?                                           MEL                    I don't know. Not a family of Jones                    imposters.                                           CORALINE                    Then why'd you lock the door?                                           MEL                           (shorter than previous)                    Oh, I found some rat crap and... I                    thought you'd feel ... safer.                                           CORALINE                    They're jumping-mice, Mom! And the dreams                    aren't dangerous; they're the most fun                    I've had since we've moved here.                                           MEL                    Your school might be fun.                                           CORALINE                    With those stupid uniforms?   Right.                                           MEL                    Had to give it a try.                    They pull into their DRIVEWAY.                              INT. KITCHEN - SAME                    Mel pulls out salsa, mustard, catsup, stale tortillas          from the fridge.                                           MEL                    How do you feel about a mustard-ketchup-                    salsa wrap for lunch?                    Coraline, carrying in the bags from outside, makes a          face.                                           CORALINE                    Are you kidding me?                                           MEL                    Mmm... Had to go food shopping anyway.                    Dad's planning something special.                    Coraline squinches up her nose.                                           CORALINE                    Gross-gusting.                                           MEL                           (BRIGHTENS )                    You wanna come along? You can pick out                    something you like.                    Coraline plops down in a chair.                                           CORALINE                    Oh, like the gloves?                    Mel reaches out and musses Coraline's hair. The girl          pulls away.                                           MEL                    Look, Coraline... if things go well                    today, I promise I'll make it up.                                           CORALINE                    That's what you always say.                    Mom rolls her eyes, shaking her head, and opens the door          to leave.                                           MEL                    Won't be long.                    Shuts the door.                                           CORALINE                           (MUTTERS)                    But I might be...                    She leaves.                              INT. KITCHEN - SAME                    Coraline pulls open the key drawer, looking for the small          black key. Not there. She looks around, then spots it          hanging on a hook above a door. She stands on a chair and          snags it.                              INT. LIVING ROOM - SAME                    Coraline stoops in front of the small door and pushes the          key into the keyhole and unlocks the door.                    She listens for her mother's car. Nothing. Grasping the          key between thumb and forefinger, she closes her eyes,          she pulls the door open.                    ANGLE ON CORALINE: A SOFT BREEZE MOVES her hair. She          knows before her eyes open that the BRICKS ARE GONE.                                           CORALINE                           (TRIUMPHANT)                    I knew it was real!                    She opens her eyes, smiles, and CRAWLS FORWARD.                    ANGLE ON CORALINE THROUGH WINDOW. CAMERA PULLS BACK and          we FIND the BLACK CAT, perched on the wet window sill,          OBSERVING Coraline as she disappears into the tunnel.          With a look of concern, he exits frame.                              INT. OTHER KITCHEN - NIGHT                    Lunch is ready and waiting for her: foot-long hotdogs          with relish; grilled cheese sandwiches with gherkins;          curly-fries; piles of coleslaw and potato salad; five          flavors of soda-pop. There's a NOTE attached to a GIFT-          WRAPPED BOX:                                           OTHER MOTHER (V.O.)                    Dearest Coraline,                    M                     iss Spink and Miss Forcible have invited                    you downstairs after lunch. I hope you                    like the new outfit I made you! Love,                    Mother.                    Coraline tears open the box and finds a pair of beautiful          BLUE BOOTS, BLACK CORDUROY TROUSERS, and a METALLIC GREY          SWEATER WITH TWINKLING STARS.                    She holds up the sweater to her body, smiles, then puts          down the clothes and digs into lunch.                              EXT. OTHER HOUSE - SAME                    Coraline, dressed in her FANCY NEW CLOTHES, steps onto          the FRONT PORCH and BURPS. It's always nighttime in this          world.                    A CAT MEEEROWS. Coraline looks up to see a BLACK CAT on          the porch roof above her.                    Coraline raises her brows, studies the animal a moment.                                           CORALINE                    Hmmm... Wybie's got a cat like you at                    home. Not the quiet Wybie; the one that                    talks too much. You must be the Other                    Cat.                    The cat LEAPS down and lands on the railing by the          basement stairs. He shakes his head and SPEAKS!                                           CAT                    No. I'm not the other anything. I'm me.                    He tips his head to one side, opal blue eyes glinting.          Coraline is surprised.                                           CORALINE                    Um... I can see you don't have button                    eyes. But if you're the same cat, how can                    you talk?                    The cat shrugs from the tip of his tail to his whiskers.                                            CAT                    I just can.                    He leaps smoothly from the railing and onto a large,          FALLEN TREE.                                           CORALINE                    Cats don't talk at home.                                            CAT                    No?                                            CORALINE                    Nope.                    Climbs up the tree's upended roots, head held high and          proud.                                           CAT                           (DRYLY)                    Well, you're clearly the expert on these                    things. After all, I'm just a big fat                    wuss puss.                                           CORALINE                    Come back. Please? I... I'm sorry I                    called you that, I really am.                    Coraline forces herself to be polite.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    How'd you get here?                                           CAT                    I've been coming here for a while.                    He DISAPPEARS behind one a thick root that sticks up,          then REAPPEARS from a large knot hole beside Coraline,          startling her.                                           CAT (CONT'D)                    It's a game we play. She...                           (indicates house)                    ...hates cats and tries to keep me out.                    But she can't, of course.                    He pokes his HEAD DOWN into the knot hole, then POPS IT          UP out of ANOTHER KNOT-HOLE, ten feet away.                                           CAT (CONT'D)                    I come and go as I please.                                           CORALINE                           (SKEPTICAL)                    The Other Mother hates cats?                                           CAT                           (CONTEMPTUOUS)                    Not like any "mother" I've ever known.                                           CORALINE                    What do you mean? She's amazing!                    Cat climbs the tree's branches onto the roof.                                           CAT                    You probably think this world is a dream                    come true. But you're wrong. The Other                    Wybie told me so.                                           CORALINE                    That's nonsense. He can't talk.                    The cat looks at her, pitying her lack of intelligence.                                           CAT                    Perhaps not to you. We cats, however,                    have far superior senses than humans and                    can see and smell, and --                    Suddenly, the cat drops into a crouch and freezes,          sensing something.                                           CAT (CONT'D)                           (WHISPERING)                    Shhhh! I hear something! Right ...over...                    He SCRAMBLES across the roof and disappears around the          corner.                    Coraline shrugs, skeptical, and heads down to Spink and          Forcible's, their door now circled with CHASER LIGHTS.                              INT. MISS SPINK AND FORCIBLE'S OTHER APARTMENT - SAME                    She pushes past elegant VELVET CURTAINS to discover an          enormous, darkened THEATER with dim rows of seats and a          high WOODEN STAGE.                    A FLASHLIGHT comes towards her, carried by a black          SCOTTIE DOG with button eyes. He looks up at her, sniffs,          then leads her down the aisle past rows and rows of          BUTTON-EYED SCOTTIES, to a front seat by the Other Wybie.          She squeezes his arm hello, he looks back warmly.                                            CORALINE                    Hey, Wybie.                    Light flash, the audience quiets, then the curtains open          on a SEASIDE SETTING with ROTATING WAVES. OTHER MISS          SPINK rises up on stage left, in a MERMAID SUIT, large          WIG, BUTTON EYES, and UKULELE.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                           (SHOCKED)                    She's practically naked!                    And Miss Spink sings.                                           OTHER MISS SPINK                    I'm known as the siren of all seven seas                    The breaker of hearts by the bay.                    A flat cut-out ship manned by cut-out men rows in behind          her.                                           OTHER MISS SPINK (CONT'D)                    So, if you go swimmin'                    With bow-legged women,                    I might steal your weak heart away.                    She bows her head and the audience of dogs THUMP their          tails.                    Spink is LOWERED through the stage floor, the SCENERY          CHANGES, and on the right, a huge SCALLOP SHELL RISES up          with the OTHER MISS FORCIBLE, clad in the bare minimum -          her homage to Botticelli's BIRTH OF VENUS. She's facing          the wrong way.                                           CORALINE                           (whisper, to Wybie)                    Oh my God.                    A dog HOWLS, alerting the near-blind lady, who turns to          the audience and begins the next verse.                                           OTHER MISS FORCIBLE                    A big-bottomed sea witch may bob through                    the waves,                    And hope to lead sailors astray,                    But a true ocean goddess,                    Must fill out her bodice,                           (indicates her ample bosom)                    To present an alluring display.                    The dogs thump and woof, Wybie and Coraline clap.                    Spink, furious at the greater reaction, gets back in the          competition. Rising up, she makes it clear just who she's          dissing.                                           OTHER MISS SPINK                    Beware of old oysters, too large in the                    chest,                    Let's banish them from the buffet.                    But Forcible is up to the challenge - the scenery starts          to change faster and faster as the ladies rise up and          down, competing.                                           OTHER MISS SPINK (CONT'D)                    I'm far more nutritious                                           OTHER MISS FORCIBLE                    You smell like the fishes                                           OTHER MISS SPINK                    Did I hear a banshee?                                           OTHER MISS FORCIBLE                    You're sea-green with envy                                           OTHER MISS SPINK                    This mermaid enchantress,                                           OTHER MISS FORCIBLE                    No, I "Birth of Venus!"                    The set rigging can't take it anymore -- ropes snap,          sandbags swing, scenery starts to fall.                                           OTHER MISS FORCIBLE                                 (CONT'D)                    Will send sailors swooning --oh--!                                           OTHER MISS SPINK                    Will send sailors swooning --oh--!                              With a crash, the old ladies TUMBLE DOWN IN A PILE.          Coraline winces. The audience HOWLS with laughter as the          curtains close on the disaster.                              DRUM ROLL. A SCOTTIE DOG pushes a large BUCKET OF WATER,          labeled "POOL", onto center stage. Spotlights tilt up to          the top of very tall diving platforms WHERE THE OLD          LADIES NOW STAND. Coraline can't stand it.                                           CORALINE                           (WHISPERS)                    I can't look!                                           OTHER MISS SPINK                    Ready to break a leg, Miriam?                                           OTHER MISS FORCIBLE                    Our lives for the theater, April!                    They begin to bounce on the diving boards. As they bounce          up, the two troupers unzip FAT SUIT DISGUISES from which          emerge their YOUNGER BEAUTIFUL SELVES which LEAP to catch          matching TRAPEZE BARS that swing into place.                    Coraline LAUGHS with relief and amazement, Other Wybie          pleased. Dogs WOOF, MUSIC BEGINS and the TWO BEAUTIES ≠          eyes BRIGHT BUTTONS, SEXY BATHING SUITS striped pink and          green ≠ SWING OUT over the stage.                                           YOUNG FORCIBLE                    What a piece of work is man!                    How noble in reason!                    They FLY past each other on their trapezes, double up,          catch one another hand to ankle. We notice a LARGE PEARL          RING on Forcible's finger.                                           YOUNG SPINK                    How infinite in faculty!                    In form and moving how express and                    admirable!                    In a SUDDEN change of direction, they SWING OUT over the          audience, trapeze bar LOWERING and PULL CORALINE INTO THE          AIR! She HOLLERS, terrified.                    They expertly TOSS HER one to the other, FLIPPING AND          SPINNING, as they continue their lines. Her SCREAMS          become CRIES OF EXHILARATION.                                           YOUNG FORCIBLE                    In action like an angel!                                           YOUNG SPINK                    In apprehension how like a god!                                           CORALINE                    Ahhh!!!                                           YOUNG FORCIBLE                    The beauty of the world!                                           YOUNG SPINK                    The paragon of animals!                    Coraline swings face-to-face to the dogs in the royal box          seats where one licks her.                                           CORALINE                    Yeah!!                    The acrobats TOSS CORALINE UP into the air and JACK-KNIFE          DIVE into the large bucket below. They rise up, unhurt,          just in time to catch Coraline. The THREE BOW to          THUNDEROUS THUMPING APPLAUSE and, as the camera pulls          back on the scene, Other Wybie throws her a rose!                              EXT. OTHER ESTATE HOUSE - NIGHT                    Other Wybie escorts Coraline up the stone stairs from          Spink and Forcible's apartment. The Other Mother and          Other Father, a huge, full moon rising behind them, wait          at the top of the stairs.                                           OTHER FATHER                    Hey there.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Was it wonderful, dear?                    Other Mother's hair looks absolutely beautiful and Other          Father dapper. Coraline shakes with excitement as they          walk toward the front porch. Other Wybie holds back,          loses his smile.                                           CORALINE                    Oh yeah. They swooped down and pulled me                    right out of my seat ≠ Spink and                    Forcible. Only they weren't old ladies,                    that was just a disguise. But then, I was                    flying through the air and... it was, it                    was magic.                    They walk up the front steps.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    You do like it here, don't you, Coraline?                                           CORALINE                           (nods, turns back)                    Uh-huh! Good night, Wybie.                    Other Father takes Coraline inside. Wybie, at the bottom          of the steps, looks GUILTY AND SAD. Other Mother glares          at him, makes a huge, false smile then points to him. He          just lowers his head.                              INT. OTHER HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS                                           OTHER MOTHER                    You could stay here forever... if you                    want to.                                             CORALINE                    Really?                                           OTHER FATHER                    Sure...we'll sing and play games, and                    Mother will cook your favorite meals.                    Other Mother rests her hand on Coraline's shoulder.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    There's one tiny little thing we need to                    do.                                             CORALINE                    What's that?                                           OTHER FATHER                    Well, it's a surprise.                              INT. OTHER DINING ROOM - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline is seated in her place. The Other Mother places          a SMALL BOX with a bow in front of her, and takes her          seat along with Other Father. Coraline excitedly removes          the lid.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    For you ... our little doll.                    The "surprise" is a spool of BLACK THREAD, a SILVER          NEEDLE, and a pair of SHINY BLACK BUTTONS -- FOR          CORALINE'S EYES.                    Coraline GASPS. She looks up at her Other Parents, hoping          it's a bad joke.                                           OTHER MOTHER (CONT'D)                           (SMILING)                    Black is traditional, but if you'd prefer                    pink or vermillion or chartreuse...                    Coraline sees their button eyes changing colors, growing          ever more panicked.                                           OTHER MOTHER (CONT'D)                    ... though you might make me jealous.                                           CORALINE                    NO WAY!                    She bats the box away, and her hands FLY to her face,          COVER her eyes.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    YOU'RE NOT SEWING BUTTONS IN MY EYES!                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Oh, but we need a yes ... if you want to                    stay here.                    Other Father tests the needle on his finger.                                           OTHER FATHER                           (ENTHUSIASTIC)                    So sharp you won't feel a thi-- Oww!                    Other Mother KICKS him under the table. Embarrassed, he          puts the needle back in the box.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    There now; it's your decision, darling.                    We only want what's best for you.                    She walks over and puts her hand, now ICY COLD, on          Coraline's shoulder. Coraline PUSHES it away and STANDS          UP.                                           CORALINE                    I'm... I'm going to bed! RIGHT NOW!                                           OTHER MOTHER                           (WOUNDED)                    Bed?                                           OTHER FATHER                    Before dinner?                    Coraline fights to control her quaking voice.                                           CORALINE                    I'm really, really tired. Yeah...                           (fakes huge yawn)                    I just need to sleep on things.                    Other Mother stands, masking disappointment.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Well of course you do, darling... I'll be                    happy to tuck you in.                    Coraline backs away, urging them to stay where they are.                                           CORALINE                           (palms out, forced smile)                    Oh, no thanks, uh, you-you've done so                    much already--                    She turns to leave and finds the Other Mother BLOCKING          THE DOORWAY. Other Father joins her.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    You're welcome. And I ≠                           (smiles to Other Father)                    we aren't worried at all, darling.                           (SOFTLY)                    Soon you'll see things our way.                    She lets go. She and the Other Father herd Coraline          across the hallway to the stairs.                              INT. OTHER HALLWAY, STAIRS, UPPER HALL - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline carefully climbs the stairs, the Other Parents          watching. When they can no longer see her, she RACES up          the last steps and DASHES to her Other Bedroom.                              INT. CORALINE'S OTHER BEDROOM - TWILIGHT                    Coraline shuts the door and is quickly surrounded by          fluttering DRAGONFLIES.                                           MAGIC DRAGONFLY                    What's wrong, Coraline? Don't you want to                    play?                    She jumps up and CATCHES the paper creatures, opens the          TOY CHEST and tosses them in.                    The PLUSH BLUE SQUID greets her from the shelf, followed          by the TOY TANK GIRAFFE.                                           TOY SQUID                    Yeah, I wanna hugga your face!                                           TOY TANK GIRAFFE                    Get a grip, soldier.                    She GRABS them both and drops them in the toy chest.                    Her PHOTO FRIENDS - NOW WITH BLACK BUTTONS FOR EYES -          call out from the photo by her bed.                                           PHOTO FRIENDS                    Hey!                                           PHOTO FRIEND 1                    Where's yer buttons, yuper?                                           PHOTO FRIEND 2                    You wanna stay, don'tcha?                    Coraline grabs them as well, drops them in the chest, and          SHUTS the lid. She barricades the door with a DRESSER and          CHAIRS and then the TOY CHEST.                                           CORALINE                    I'm going home tonight, robots - and I                    won't be back.                    She sits on the bed, pulls off the blue boots then CLIMBS          UNDER THE COVERS, pulling them over her head and holding          tight. She HUGS herself to stop shaking, knowing she must          fall asleep in this bed to wake up in her real bed at          home. She closes her eyes and tells herself:                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, go                    to sleep!                    She tosses one way, then another. WE HEAR her voice          CONTINUE:                                           CORALINE (V.O.) (CONT'D)                    Go to sleep, go to sleep...                    There are strange, backwards sounds, then the eerie          voices of Other Mother and Other Father.                                           OTHER MOTHER (V.O.)                    There's just one tiny little thing we                    have to do.                                           CORALINE                    Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep...                                           OTHER FATHER (V.O.)                    So sharp you won't feel a thing...                                           CORALINE                    Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep...                                           OTHER MOTHER (V.O.)                    Soon you'll see things our way...                    Coraline fidgets and turns and turns again but sleep          finally wraps her and takes her to oblivion.                                                                  MATCH PULLBACK                                                             DISSOLVE:                              INT. OTHER BEDROOM - LATER                    We see Coraline's room, BRIGHTLY LIT LIKE MORNING IN THE          REAL WORLD.                    ANGLE ON Coraline's face beneath the covers, as she's          WOKEN by the light. With a hopeful look, she calls out,          pulls back the covers:                                           CORALINE                    Mom!... Dad!..                    Her smile turns to shock -- there's a BRIGHT, FULL MOON          in her window and it's STILL NIGHTTIME IN THE OTHER          WORLD.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Oh God, I'm still here?                              INT. OTHER STAIRS, LOWER HALLWAY - SAME                    Coraline races downstairs to the Other Living Room where          the little door home must be! But the living room is          LOCKED TIGHT. She pulls at the handles, plants a foot and          tries with all her might! It's no use. She stops,          panting, then hears a piano note being hit over and over.                              INT. OTHER FATHER'S STUDY - SAME                    Coraline opens the door and finds the Other Father          sitting at the piano, his back to her, hitting the note.          She speaks in her bravest voice.                                           CORALINE                    Hey you! Where's the Other Mother?     I                    want to go home.                    The Other Father turns around. He looks ill; his hair          messed and his glasses askew. He speaks, his voice slowed-          down.                                           OTHER FATHER                    All will be swell, soon as Mother's                    refreshed. Her strength is our strength.                    The WHITE-GLOVED HANDS POP OUT from the piano. One COVERS          HIS MOUTH, the other WAGS A FINGER in his face.                                           OTHER FATHER (CONT'D)                    Mustn't talk when Mother's not here.                                           CORALINE                    If you won't even talk to me, I'm gonna                    find the Other Wybie. He'll help me.                    She turns to go.                                           OTHER FATHER                    No point; he pulled a long face...                    He PULLS DOWN the corners of his mouth impossibly far.                                           OTHER FATHER (CONT'D)                    ...and Mother didn't like it.                    The PIANO HANDS pop out again, aggressively SHUT HIS          MOUTH and SPIN HIM away from Coraline. Frightened, she          runs to the door that leads outside, and pulls it open.                              EXT. OTHER HOUSE - NIGHT, FULL MOON                    She runs out the back porch, towards the Other Garden.                    OTHER STEEP HILLSIDE TRAIL                    She crosses the trail, the Other House in the distance.                    ENTRANCE TO OTHER ORCHARD                    She runs down the path.                    OTHER ORCHARD                    Coraline runs past trees that are LUSH WITH GREEN LEAVES          AND RIPE RED FRUIT.                    She's panting hard, and has to slow to a fast walk. The          further she goes, the LESS TREE-LIKE the fruit trees          become.                    She hears the CAT MEROWWW. Surprised, she looks down.                                           CAT                    And what do you think you're doing?                    The cat trots along by her feet. She blinks.                                           CORALINE                    Well, I'm gettin' outta here. That's what                    I'M doing.                    The sky starts to BRIGHTEN and the apple trees become          WIRE-THIN SHAPES OF TREES.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Huh? Something's wrong. Shouldn't the                    old well be here?                    The remnants of the trees and the sky and the ground give          way to a PALE, EMPTY NOTHINGNESS. No ground or shadows.                                           CAT                    Nothing out here ... it's the empty part                    of this world. She only made what she                    knew would impress you.                                           CORALINE                    But why? Why does she want me?                    They walk over the horizon.                                           CAT (cont'd)                    She wants something to love, I think.                    Something that isn't her... Or maybe                    she'd just love something to eat.                                           CORALINE                    Eat? That's ridiculous, mothers don't eat                    daughters!                                           CAT                    I don't know. How do you taste?                    OTHER HOUSE REAPPEARS                    A SHAPE RISES in front of them in the whiteness and          becomes the beautiful OTHER HOUSE. Coraline and the cat          slow, then the front yard and topiary, the sky, hills,          white gravel drive and the poplar trees behind them FILL          IN.                                           CORALINE                    Huh? But how can you walk away from                    something and still come back to it?                    The cat curls its tail into a question mark, and tips its          head to one side.                                           CAT                    Walk around the world.                                             CORALINE                    Small world.                    Coraline shivers. The cat suddenly TENSES, focuses on a          shrub.                                             CAT                    Hang on--                    He bounds towards the shrub and chases out a CUTE          KANGAROO MOUSE in uniform with a TINY TRUMPET. Before          Coraline can blink, he's PINNED IT DOWN.                                           CORALINE                    Stop, he's one of the circus mice!                    With a SWIFT BLOW of its paw, the cat KNOCKS the mouse          into the air, and catches it in his mouth. He gives a          QUICK, KILLING BITE - CORALINE GASPS - and the mouse          TRANSFORMS into a BIG DEAD RAT. Coraline is stunned. He          drops the rat on the ground.                                           CAT                    I don't like rats at the best of times,                    but this one was sounding an alarm.                    The cat picks the rat up and heads off. Slack-jawed,          Coraline speaks with admiration.                                           CORALINE                    Gooooood kitty.                    Coraline looks to the house with a determined look.                    On the porch, she takes out a HEAVY CANE from the          UMBRELLA STAND and hits it into her hand.                              INT. HOUSE,   OTHER HALLWAY - SAME                    Coraline, standing in front of the living room doors,          TESTS the cane in her hands, and peers down the hall for          danger. It's dead quiet -- no piano, no sounds of          anything.                    She JAMS the cane through the doors' handles, and PULLS          with all her might. One HANDLE AND LOCK BREAK and the          door swings open into the pitch black living room. The          hall light casts a narrow path directly to the Other          Little Door on the far wall, cracked open. She steps into          the room.                              INT. OTHER LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS                    A huge ARMOIRE BUG suddenly crab-steps in her path,          blocking the little door, and all around her things start          to glow. The room has been TRANSFORMED into an amazing          BUG MUSEUM, with all sorts of glowing, living specimens          in the place of the old furniture and furnishings. The          radiators are now big caterpillars, the Nordic Track a          serving bug.                    The Other Mother speaks out, startling Coraline.                                           OTHER MOTHER (O.S.)                    They say even the proudest --                    The sofa, now a LARGE BUG, turns in place to reveal her          sitting on it.                                           OTHER MOTHER (CONT'D)                    --spirit can be broken ... with love.                    She's all smiles, button eyes shining, one hand held out          in a behold my handiwork gesture.                    A BUG CHAIR scoops up Coraline and brings her to the          Other Mother.                    The Other Mother takes a candy dish from the servant bug.                                           OTHER MOTHER (CONT'D)                    Of course, chocolate never hurts. Like                    one?                    She extends a CANDY DISH filled LIVING CHOCOLATE BEETLES.                                           OTHER MOTHER (CONT'D)                    They're Cocoa Beetles from Zanzibar.                    Coraline is disgusted. The Other Mother takes back the          dish and BITES OFF THE HEAD OF ONE. It's the first thing          she's eaten in the film.                                           CORALINE                    I want to be with my real mom and dad. I                    want you to let me go.                    The Other Mother FROWNS, swallows. She speaks with a          FRIGHTENING STEELINESS in her voice.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Is that any way to talk to your mother?                    Coraline is mad, and feeling mad makes her brave.                                           CORALINE                    You aren't my mother.                    The Other Mother STRAIGHTENS. Her button eyes, now DEAD,          stare into Coraline's.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    Apologize at once, Coraline!                    Coraline stares right back, not blinking.                                           CORALINE                    No.                                           OTHER MOTHER                           (TENSELY)                    I'll give you to the count of three.                    One...                    Then she stands up, GROWING TALLER.                                           OTHER MOTHER (CONT'D)                    ...two...                    She grows TALLER STILL and SCARIER like a super model on          steroids.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                    ...THREE!                    This TALL OTHER MOTHER GRABS Coraline by her NOSE and          DRAGS her to the hallway.                                           CORALINE                    Ow, what are you doing!                              INT. OTHER HOUSE HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS                    She PULLS Coraline down the hallway to the mirror at the          end. Coraline flails at the Tall Other Mother with her          fists.                                           CORALINE                    Ow, that hurts!                    Tall Other Mother SHOVES Coraline RIGHT THROUGH THE          MIRROR as if it was water!                              INT. CLOSET-PRISON BEHIND THE MIRROR - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline HITS the ground hard. The Tall Other Mother,          head thrust through the mirror, stares down at her          angrily.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                    You may come out when you've learned to                    be a loving daughter!                    She PULLS HER HEAD OUT and leaves Coraline in DARKNESS.                    Coraline pounds on the mirror-door, kicks it with her          blue boots. A SOB wells up in her throat.                    And then we hear a SOFT GHOSTLY MOAN.                    She turns. She can just make out a sagging iron bed. When          the voice speaks, there is a faint glow from beneath its          stained cover.                                           CORALINE                           (FRIGHTENED)                    Who's there?                                           TALL GIRL GHOST (O.S.)                           (WHISPERS)                    Hush! And shush! For the Beldam might be                    listening!                    Coraline steps towards the bed, the faint glow from under          the covers in sync with the words she hears.                                           CORALINE                           (WHISPERS)                    You ... you mean the Other Mother? ...                    She gently pulls back the sheets.                    The DIMLY GLOWING GHOSTS of THREE CHILDREN, BUTTON EYES,          SIT UP: a SWEET GIRL GHOST, Coraline's size; a TALL GIRL          GHOST, emotional; a young BOY GHOST, very sad.                                             CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Who are you?                                           BOY GHOST                           (WISTFUL)                    Don't remember our names... But I `member                    my true mommy...                    The boy, dressed like Huck Finn, CONJURES up ghost          flowers.                    The strange-looking flowers wither and fade. He's so sad          that Coraline takes his cold hand and squeezes it.                                           CORALINE                    Why are you all here?                                            ALL GHOSTS                    The Beldam!                    The ghosts move about in a dance macabre, like ghostly          fish in water.                                           SWEET GIRL GHOST                    She spied on our lives,                    through the little doll's eyes,                                           BOY GHOST                    And saw that we weren't    happy.                                           TALL GIRL GHOST                    So she lured us away,                                           TALL GIRL GHOST (CONT'D)                    with treasures and treats,                                           SWEET GIRL GHOST                    and games to play!                                           BOY GHOST                    Gave all that we asked -                                           SWEET GIRL GHOST                    yet we still wanted more -                                           TALL GIRL GHOST                    So we let her sew the buttons.                                           BOY GHOST                    She said that she loved us,                                           TALL GIRL GHOST                    But she locked us here                                           ALL GHOSTS                    And ate up our lives.                    The ghosts fall back into their bed and sink down.          Coraline is stunned. She thinks a little and then speaks,          trying to steady her voice.                                           CORALINE                    Well, she can't keep me in the dark                    forever; not if she wants to win my life.                    Beating her is my only chance.                    A beat. Then the Sweet Girl asks in her sing-song way:                                           SWEET GIRL GHOST                    Perhaps, if you do win your escape, you                    could find our eyes?                                           CORALINE                    Has she taken those, too?                                           SWEET GIRL GHOST                    Yes, miss. And hidden them.                                           BOY GHOST                    Find our eyes, mistress, and our souls                    will be freed.                                           CORALINE                    I ... I'll try.                    The ghosts PULSE with hope. Coraline sits down against          the mirror door, bounces her head against it. She's not          hopeless.                    Suddenly, HANDS REACH THROUGH THE MIRROR and PULL HER          OUT!                              INT. OTHER HALLWAY - NIGHT                    C.U. of Coraline's FACE, eyes wild, as she TEARS at the          hands that hold her. She GRABS one and, FLIPS her MASKED          ATTACKER onto the ground. She pulls off his mask: it's          the OTHER WYBIE, his mouth stitched into a PAINFUL, EAR          TO EAR SMILE.                                           CORALINE                           (PANTING)                    WYBIE?..                    Coraline sits him up.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Did she do this to you?                    She unstitches his painfully-huge grin.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    I hope that feels bet--                                            OTHER WYBIE                    Shhh.                    He stops her with a finger to her lips, and points to the          Other Living Room, its door UNLOCKED AND OPEN. He grabs          her hand and PULLS her there.                              INT. OTHER LIVING ROOM ≠ CONTINUOUS                    It's dark, the bug furniture asleep. They run to the big          armoire bug that guards the little door and SHOVE IT out          of the way. It CRASHES to the floor. And from upstairs, a          voice calls out.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER (O.S.)                    Coraline? Is that you!                                            CORALINE                    Let's go!                    She opens the little door. A COLD WIND blows from the          dark passageway, now filled with SPIDER WEBS and the          SHOES, COATS, AND HATS of other kids who tried to escape.                                            TALL OTHER MOTHER (O.S.)                    Coraline...                    The tunnel MOVES at the sound of her voice. Coraline          takes Other Wybie's arm.                                           CORALINE                    Come on. She'll hurt you again!                    He shakes his head no, then pulls off his glove to reveal          a HAND MADE OF SAWDUST. He blows his fingers away.                    HIGH HEELS CLICK from the stairs; she's ALMOST THERE!                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER (O.S.)                    Coraline? How dare you disobey your                    mother!!                    Other Wybie shoves Coraline into the tunnel and shuts the          door.                              INT. PASSAGEWAY ≠ CONTINUOUS                    Hunched down, she moves as quickly as she can, tearing          through the sticky cobwebs.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER (O.S.)                           (calling after her)                    Coraline!                    Strands of web brush her face, stick to her hair; she          closes her eyes, hands out until she finally gets to the          little door at the other end. She DIVES, TUCKS, --                              INT. REAL LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS TIME, BUT DAY HERE                    -- AND ROLLS OUT onto the REAL LIVING ROOM FLOOR.          Coraline SLAMS the door shut and turns the sharp little          key ≠ still in the keyhole ≠ to LOCK IT.                    She stands, covered in dust and cobwebs, and calls out          with joy and relief.                                           CORALINE                    I'M HOME!                              INT. HALLWAY, STAIRWAY, DAD'S STUDY - SAME                    She goes quickly through the apartment, happily calling:                                           CORALINE                    Anybody here? Hello, hello, hello! Real                    Dad ... Real Mom!                              INT. KITCHEN - SAME                                           CORALINE                    Oh, Mom's groceries!                    There are bags of groceries on the table, as if her          mother had just gotten in. She pulls open a bag to peek          and FRUIT FLIES shoot out. The food is spoiled.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                           (PUZZLED)                    Uhhh. That's disgusting.                    Door bell rings.                              INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS                    She runs excitedly to the door and flings it open.                                           CORALINE                    I missed you guys so much-- You'll never--                    INT./EXT. FRONT DOOR - CONTINUOUS, RAIN                    But it's just Wybie, the real boy.                                           CORALINE                    Oh... the Wybie that talks...                    He's waves, face down, awkward.                                           WYBIE                    Huh? Ha ha ha....yeah... Um, so you know                    tha-that old doll I gave you?                    Coraline tenses, sharp breath.                                           WYBIE (CONT'D)                    Um... my Gramma's real mad, says it was                    her sister's - the one that...                    disappeared?                    She reads him like a book.                                           CORALINE                           (REALIZATION)                    You stole that doll, didn't you?                    Wybie answers quickly, guilty as heck.                                           WYBIE.                    Well, i-it looked just like you. And I                    FIGURED--                    Coraline, rushing the words, tells him the truth.                                           CORALINE                    It used to look like this pioneer girl;                    then Huck Finn junior; then it was this                    Little Rascals chick with all these                    ribbons, and braids, and....                    Her voice trails off. Coraline studies Wybie, then, snaps          her fingers.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Grandma's missing sister!                    He nods, one brow raising up.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    I think I just met her. C'mon!                    She pulls him inside and--                    INT HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS                    --drags him down the hall.                                           WYBIE                    Uh, listen, I-I-I'm really not supposed                    TO--                              INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline WALKS HIM to the LITTLE DOOR in the corner wall          and points. Wybie looks around anxiously, fearful and          curious to be in his grandmother's old house.                                           CORALINE                    She's in there.                    Reluctantly, he bends down and reaches for the key in the          lock.                                           WYBIE                    C-can you ≠ can you unlock it?                    She grabs his hand, stops him.                                           CORALINE                    Not in a million years. But it wouldn't                    matter; she can't escape without her                    eyes. None of the ghosts can.                    Wybie stares at her, nodding his head as if he          understands her crazy story. He changes the subject, gets          back to his mission.                                           WYBIE                    Huhhhhhh... So, uh, I really need to get                    that doll?                    Coraline snaps at him.                                           CORALINE                    Great! I'd love to get rid of it!                    She exhales in a huff. Grabs his sleeve, leads him from          room.                              INT. CORALINE'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS                    The doll's not on the bed, not on the chairs or moving          boxes.                                           CORALINE                    Where are you hiding, you little                    monster?!                    Wybie nervously watches Coraline pull out her dresser          drawers, yank cushions off the window seat.                                           WYBIE                    You and Gramma been talking?                                           CORALINE                    The doll's her spy! It's how she watches                    you, finds out what's wrong with your                    life!                    Wybie, trapped like a deer-in-the-headlights, tries to          make sense of her remarks.                                           WYBIE                    The doll...is my Gramma's...spy.                                           CORALINE                    NO! - the Other Mother! She's got this                    whole world where everything's better -                    the food, the garden, the--                           (leans in on him)                    --neighbors.                    Holds her hands up.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    But it's all a trap!                    Wybie, eager to escape, cups hand to ear by the window.                                           WYBIE                    Yeah... Uh, I think I heard someone                    calling me, Jonesy.                    Coraline sees right through him.                                           CORALINE                    Don't believe me?... You can ask the cat!                    He moves around her towards the door, turns to leave.                                           WYBIE                    The cat... I-I'll just tell Gramma that                    you couldn't find the doll-- OW!                    A blue boot - thrown by Coraline - HITS his arm. He turns          back as she takes off the second one.                                           CORALINE                    You're not LISTENING TO ME!                                           WYBIE                    That's ... cause ... you're CRAZY!                    He FLEES as the second boot flies past. Coraline GROWLS,          and gives chase.                              INT UPPER STAIRWAY - CONTINUOUS                    She grabs her boots from the floor, and CHASES him down          the stairs in her socks.                              EXT. FRONT DOOR/DRIVEWAY - CONTINUOUS, RAINING                    Door flies open and Wybie RUNS down the front steps to          his electric bike. Coraline RACES down after him.                                            CORALINE                    You creep!                                           WYBIE                           (calling over his shoulder)                    Crazy!!                    He RUNS his bike towards the FALLEN TREE, HOPS ON and          PEDALS LIKE MAD. As Coraline hurls a boot at him, he GUNS          the motor and escapes down a side path past the driveway.                                           CORALINE                    Crazy?... You're the jerk-wad that gave                    me the doll!                    Out of breath, she turns away and notices her PARENTS'          CAR parked to the side.                                            CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Mom!   Dad!                    Excited, she hops over the fallen tree and runs to the          car.                              INT. JONES' CAR - SAME          Coraline, standing in the rain, excitedly looks through          the car's window. But the car is EMPTY. She spots her          mom's PHONE, then opens the door to grabs it and speed          dial a number.                                           CORALINE                    Pick it up, Dad, pick it up.                                            CHARLIE (V.O.)                    Hi!                                            CORALINE                    Dad!   Whe-                                           CHARLIE (V.O.)                    I'm digging in my garden right now, but                    leave a message and I'll get right back                    to you.                    She dejectedly looks at the phone, then snaps it shut.                                           CORALINE                    Where have you gone?                              INT. SPINK AND FORCIBLE'S LIVING ROOM - EVENING                    Miss Spink is knitting a SWEATER WITH WINGS for a worried-          looking ANGUS, one of the Scotties, who sits on her lap.                    Coraline sips tea, anxious, the other two DOGS beside          her.                                           CORALINE                    Uh... don't you only make wings for the                    ... dead ones?                                           MISS SPINK                    Just looking ahead dear... Angus hasn't                    been feeling very well of late.                                           MISS FORCIBLE (O.S.)                    April? Aren't you getting ready?                                           MISS SPINK                           (looks off camera)                    We've lost our ride, Miriam. Caroline                    says her parents have vanished, quite                    completely.                    ANGLE ON Miss Forcible, tightening her elaborate corset          behind a screen, using pulleys and hooks.                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    What?! We've waited months for those                    tickets.                    One of the corset hooks FLIES UP and pulls off her wig.          She ignores it and comes over to address Spink.                                           MISS SPINK                    I suppose we could walk!                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    With your gamy legs? It's nearly two                    miles to the theater!                    Coraline CLEARS HER THROAT, frustrated.                                           MISS SPINK                    Oh, oh yes ... your missing parents. We                    know just what you need. Miriam,                    get...that's right.                    Miss Forcible grabs another dish of old stuck-together          candy and puts it in front of Coraline.                                           CORALINE                    How is hundred-year-old candy going to                    HELP--                    Miss Spink suddenly RAISES her KNITTING NEEDLES as if to          STAB CORALINE. Coraline yelps, hands up in defense. But          it's CANDIES she attacks, sending sticky chips flying,          making loud grunts as she stabs.                    She pulls a LARGE, THREE-SIDED CANDY WITH A HOLE IT from          the rubble and passes it to Coraline.                                           MISS SPINK                    There you go, sweety.                    Coraline studies the odd candy.                                           CORALINE                    What's it for?                    She holds it up, looks through its hole at the ladies.                                           MISS SPINK                    Well,it might help. They're good for bad                    things, sometimes.                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    No, they're good for lost things.                    They don't look any different.                                           MISS SPINK                    It's bad things, Miriam.                                           MISS FORCIBLE                    Lost things, April.                                           MISS SPINK                    Bad.                                            MISS FORCIBLE                    Lost.                                            MISS SPINK                    Bad things!                                            MISS FORCIBLE                    Lost.                                            MISS SPINK                    Bad.                                            MISS FORCIBLE                    Lost.                    Coraline can't take anymore. She gets up, takes the odd          piece of candy and leaves.                              INT. PARENT'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                    Coraline, dressed for bed with her blanket over her          shoulder, walks into her parent's room, the PHOTO of her          and her parents at the Bear Fountain in the foreground.                    She pulls down the bed covers and builds COPIES of her          parents out of pillows. She fits an extra neck brace on          one pillow head and some reading glasses on the other.          Then Coraline lies down and pulls up the covers, very          sad.                                           CORALINE                    Good-night, Mom. Good-night, Dad.                    She kisses them both and BEGINS TO CRY. CAM PUSHES IN.                                                                   DISSOLVE TO:                              INT. PARENT'S BEDROOM - NIGHT, LATER                    Coraline, asleep. SOMETHING blurs past camera. One paw          and then two paws bat her nose. She opens her eyes to          find OPAL BLUE EYES staring at her. It's the BLACK CAT,          purring loudly.                                           CORALINE                    Hello. How did you get in?                    The cat yawns, his eyes flash.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Do you know where Mom and Dad are?                    The cat blinks. Then he heads out the door.                              INT. LOWER HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS                    She follows him, wrapped in her blanket, to the MIRROR at          the end of the hallway. The mirror starts to GLOW and          then an IMAGE FORMS within the glass. It's HER PARENTS!          They cling together, blue with cold, as snow falls.                                           CORALINE                    MOM! DAD!!                    They look up and, with a desperate look, Mel BREATHES on          the inside mirror-glass to fog it. She writes H E L P U          S. ≠ her fingertip squeaking on the glass like a SMALL,          SAD BIRD. Frost RISES UP, hiding the letters and then her          parents. The image fades.                    Coraline STRIKES AT THE MIRROR as hard as she can. GLASS          SHATTERS and she drops to the ground, shaking. The cat          nuzzles her..                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    How did this happen?                              INT. PARENT'S BEDROOM - SAME                    From under the bed, the cat drags out the BUTTON-EYED          DOLL, REMADE into HER MOTHER on one side, and HER FATHER          on the other!                                           CORALINE                    She's taken them.                    Coraline, enraged, THROWS the doll. FIRE LIGHT comes up          on her face as the background DISSOLVES TO:                              INT. LIVING ROOM, FRONT OF FIREPLACE - SAME                    CLOSE ON DOLL: BURNING in the FIREPLACE.                    Coraline and cat watch until the fire burns out. She          takes a breath and looks up at the mantel.                    ANGLE ON snowglobe, the one of the FOUNTAIN BEARS from          the Detroit Zoo. Coraline cradles it, remembering.                                           CORALINE                    They're not coming back, are they ≠ Mom                    and Dad. Not on their own.                    The cat blinks. She looks over at the locked little door          in the corner wall.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Only one thing to do.                                                                        CUT TO:                              INT CORALINE'S BEDROOM   - CONTINUOUS                    Series of quick shots of Coraline getting ready to go.          Pulls her collecting bag from the closet, her puffy vest,          her boots; grabs a candle and garden shears, puts them in          the bag. She stands to go, taking her cap off the chair.          The ODD PIECE OF CANDY, the triangle green one with the          hole, drops to the floor. She hesitates a moment, then          sticks it in her bag.                              INT. PASSAGEWAY - CONTINUOUS                    We hear the click of the door being unlocked. It opens to          reveal the cat, and - holding a lit candle - Coraline.          She leaves the key in the lock, like always, takes a          breath and crawls forward.                    The candle casts huge, flickering shadows along the wall.          The cat, his voice returned, SPEAKS to her.                                           CAT                    You know, you're walking right into her                    trap.                                           CORALINE                    I have to go back.                    With great feeling, she explains:                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    They are my parents.                                           CAT                    Challenge her then. She may not play                    fair but she won't refuse. She's got a                    thing for games.                    Coraline thinks about it, remembering.                                             CORALINE                    Hmmm, okay.                    The door at the end of the tunnel clicks open, the candle          BLOWS OUT and the cat VANISHES IN THE DARK. Coraline          tenses when a voice calls out.                                             MOTHER                    Coraline?                                             CORALINE                    Mom?                    There, framed in the open door, back-lit in blue,          Coraline's REAL MOTHER, with neck brace and dressed in          her shopping clothes, calls.                                           MOTHER                    Coraline, you came back for us!                                             CORALINE                             (RELIEVED)                    MOM!                    She runs forward eagerly and--                              INT. OTHER LIVING ROOM - NIGHT                    --out the Other Little Door, throwing her arms out to hug          her real Mom.                                           MOTHER                    Darling!                           (voice shifting)                    Why would you run away from me?                    Coraline sees her mother's hand GROW as it wraps around          her. Alarmed, she PUSHES AWAY and sees the DECOY MOM grow          into the TALL OTHER MOTHER.                    The room LIGHTS UP with the glowing bug furniture and a          fireplace fire.                    Coraline tries her best to be brave.                                           CORALINE                    Where are my parents?                    The Tall Other Mother's button eyes GLITTER.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                    Gosh, I have no idea where your "old"                    parents are. Perhaps they've grown bored                    of you and run away to France?                    Her teeth gleam.                                           CORALINE                    They weren't bored of me.   You stole                    them!                    Other Father, a FOOT SHORTER than before, his sagging          face a pale PUMPKIN color, his hair VINES, comes up          behind Coraline.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                    Now, don't be difficult, Coraline. Have a                    seat, won't you?                    Other Father, GURGLING happily, herds Coraline onto the          walking bug chair.                    The Tall Other Mother, standing by the little door, turns          to it and CLAPS her hands.                    A moment later, a HUGE RAT skitters out of the tunnel -          FILLED AGAIN with spider webs and children's things -          carrying the KEY from the real world door.                    The Tall Other Mother takes the key, locks the door, and -          while the armoire bug assumes guard position - she          SWALLOWS THE KEY.                                           CORALINE                           (OFFHAND)                    Why don't you have your own key?                                           OTHER FATHER                    Only one key.                    The Other Mother PULLS A VINE growing from his ear,          SHUTTING HIS MOUTH.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                    Shhh!                           (SUNNIER)                    The garden squash need tending, don't you                    think, pumpkin?                    She turns him around, her hands under his arms and drags          him out.                                           OTHER FATHER                    Squish squash, pumpkin sauce...                    After a beat, Coraline hears the very faint SOUND OF A          FINGER ON GLASS, just like when her mother wrote HELP on          the mirror. Coraline jumps to her feet, looking around          the room for a sign of her real parents.                                           CORALINE                           (loud whisper)                    Mom, Dad, where'd she hide you?                    A muffled screen door slams O.S. and the Tall Other          Mother calls to her from the kitchen.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER (O.S.)                    Breakfast-time!                    Coraline leaves frame.                              INT. OTHER KITCHEN - NIGHT                    Coraline pauses in the doorway.                                           CORALINE (V.O.)                           (to herself)                    Be strong, Coraline.                    She sits at the kitchen table in her regular place, her          back to the sink.                    Tall Other Mother, humming happily, prepares a mushroom          omelet and bacon. Fragrant cinnamon buns bake in the          oven.                    At the table's center, Coraline sees the box with her          BUTTON EYES with needle and thread. A bead of sweat rolls          down her forehead. As casually as she can, she asks:                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                           (anxious, trying to be cool)                    Why don't we play ... a game? I know you                    like them.                    The Tall Other Mother's button eyes FLASH.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                    Everybody likes games.                                              CORALINE                           (NODS)                    Uh huh.                    Bacon sizzles and spits on the stove.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                    What kind of game would it be?                                           CORALINE)                    An exploring game ... a finding things                    game.                    Other Mother tries to act disinterested, but her fingers          drum with excitement.                                           OTHER MOTHER                    And what is it you'd be finding,                    Coraline?                    Coraline hesitates.                                           CORALINE                    My real parents.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                           (DISMISSIVE)                    Too easy.                    She folds the omelet over in the pan.                                           CORALINE                    And, and the eyes of the ghost children.                    Tall Other Mother smiles: now it's getting interesting.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                    Huh.                    The meal ready, she turns from the stove and takes the          food to Coraline.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER (CONT'D)                    What if you don't find them?                                           CORALINE                    If I lose, I'll stay here with you                    forever and let you love me.                           (indicates button box)                    And I'll let you sew buttons into my                    eyes.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                    Hmmm... And if you somehow win this game?                                           CORALINE                    Then you let me go. You let everyone go ≠                    my real father and mother, the dead                    children, everyone you've trapped here.                    The Tall Other Mother smiles a malicious not in a million          years smile.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                    Deal.                    She holds out her hand. Coraline doesn't reach.                                           CORALINE                    Not till you give me a clue.                    Tall Other Mother snorts, her smile sours. She slowly          circles Coraline, and speaks as if talking to a very          stupid child.                                           TALL OTHER MOTHER                    Oh, right... In each of three wonders                    I've made just for you, a ghost's eye is                    lost in plain sight.                                           CORALINE                    And for my parents?                    Tall Other Mother - standing behind her in front of the          sink - smiles wickedly and just starts TAPPING HER BUTTON          EYE with her finger nail. Coraline turns away from her.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                           (SHRUGS)                    Fine. Don't tell me...                    Extending her hand, Coraline starts to turn back.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    ...it's a deal--                    But the Tall Other Mother HAS DISAPPEARED and the tapping          now is the FAUCET DRIPPING in the sink.                    Coraline EXHALES, walks to the sink, stares at the          dripping faucet.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    What does she mean "wonders?"                    Out the kitchen window, the FANTASTIC GARDEN LIGHTS UP,          answering her question. She FURROWS HER BROWS, thinks          this was too easy.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Hmmm.                                                                         CUT TO:                              EXT. OTHER GARDEN - SAME                    Coraline walks through the gates. The bright magic of the          garden is DARKER NOW, with areas of black against areas          of glowing flowers.                    She passes the PITCHER PLANTS, and the one with the frog          suddenly SWALLOWS the animal.                    She goes up the steps past the BLEEDING HEARTS, which now          LEAK STICKY RED JUICE that runs down the wall.                    At the top, a few SNAPDRAGONS, feeble now, SNAP at her.          She KICKS them down. Behind her, a brick tree ring OPENS          like a monster's MOUTH and five HUGE, PALE SNAPDRAGONS          sneak towards her. They ATTACK, knock her to the ground,          spilling her bag.                                           CORALINE                    No!!                    They GRAB CORALINE at her ankles, knees, hips, waist, and          shoulder, and start to ROLL HER UP TOWARDS THE STONE          MOUTH.                    Coraline is just able to GRAB her GARDEN SHEARS. She CUTS          OFF one mutant snapdragon's head, then another, until she          is free. The HEADLESS STEMS retreat into the rock mouth.                    Coraline, winded, goes to gather her spilled things when          a trio of HUMMINGBIRDS/WASP HYBRIDS SWOOP IN. They don't          attack her; instead they poke their long beaks into the          TRIANGLE CANDY WITH THE HOLE and LIFT OFF.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Stop!!                    Coraline chases them, but they're getting away. As she          crosses the little bridge, she takes off her cap and          FLINGS IT LIKE A FRISBEE at them. SCORE! They fall to the          ground, near the eyebrow shrubs, sawdust spilling out.          She picks up the triangle candy.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Why steal this?                    With a look of what does she have to lose, she holds it          up to her eye and GASPS.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Wow...                    EVERYTHING IS BLURRY GREY like a pencil drawing, all          color gone. She scans the garden, turning slowly. As she          turns back to where she started, she sees something,          right in front of her: a BURNING RED EMBER -- A GHOST'S          EYE!                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    That must be it.                    She lowers the stone from her eye, to see that the          ghost's eye is the FADED STICK SHIFT KNOB from the          preying mantis tractor, which STANDS RIGHT IN FRONT OF          HER with the Other Father, a SQUAT PUMPKIN MAN, at its          controls, his own hands IMPRISONED IN THE MECHANICAL          PIANO HANDS.                    HEADLIGHTS GLARE and the tractor ROARS TO LIFE. The          mechanical hands FORCE Other Father to SHIFT GEARS, and          the tractor LURCHES at Coraline, its arms SLASHING. She          yells, backs away. Other Father calls in a garbled voice:                                           OTHER FATHER                    Sorrry, so sorrry, Motherrr making meeee.                    Coraline backs onto the little bridge that spans the          fountains as the tractor moves in.                                           OTHER FATHER (CONT'D)                    Don't waaaanno hurrrrrt you.                    The Other Father tries to steer the tractor away, but the          mechanical hands are stronger. It moves onto the bridge -          STUPIDLY SMASHING THROUGH THE PLANKS in front of it.          Halfway over, it lurches, then STARTS TO FALL THROUGH THE          HOLE IT HAS CREATED. The tractor hangs precariously for a          moment.                    Other Father KICKS away one mechanical hand, and with ONE          HAND FREE, manages to PULL OFF THE SHIFT KNOB.                                           OTHER FATHER (CONT'D)                    Taaaake it!!!!!                    Coraline DIVES FORWARD and just GETS THE KNOB before the          tractor and Other Father fall away and SINK UNDER THE          WATER.                    Rippling out from Coraline like a gray wave, the entire          GARDEN BECOMES ASHEN AND DEAD.                    Coraline CATCHES HER BREATH, shaken. The ghost eye/gear          knob GLOWS RED, no magic candy necessary.                                           BOY GHOST                    Bless you, miss, you found me! But                    there's two eyes still lost.                                           CORALINE                    Don't worry, I'm getting the hang of it!                    Coraline looks past the greyed garden towards the Other          House. A LUNAR ECLIPSE has begun, the full moon a pale          acid green.                    Coraline looks concerned, then resolved, and then she          heads towards the house. A haunting version of Spink and          Forcible's show song starts to play...                              EXT. OTHER HOUSE, STAIRWAY TO SPINK AND FORCIBLE'S - SAME                    CORALINE'S POV DOWN STAIRWAY: chaser lights circle the          door at half-speed. Haunting show song continues.                    REVERSE ON Coraline. She carefully descends towards CAM.                              INT DOWNSTAIRS THEATRE - SAME                    WE SEE her flickering shadow and then Coraline appears          behind the entry curtains. She steps close, pulls the          curtain open. Song stops.                    POV ON THEATER, quiet and dark save for light coming          through entry curtains. She spots usher's FLASHLIGHT on          the ground.                    ON CORALINE - she picks it up, clicks it on, and STEPS          FORWARD. She sweeps the light beam around, apprehensive,          then HEARS SOMETHING overhead. She aims flashlight up and          startles a NEST OF BAT-DOGS - half Scotties/half bats.          One bares his teeth and GROWLS. She clicks off the light          and shivers.                    On stage, one spotlight and footlights FADE UP on a huge,          wrapped SALTWATER TAFFY. It hangs from ropes and          sandbags.                    She cautiously climbs up onto the stage. A HUMAN-SIZED          TAFFY THING - striped pale pink and green - can just be          seen through the wrapper. She holds her TRIANGLE CANDY-          WITH-HOLE to her eye. There is a BLUE-WHITE GLOW coming          from inside the wrapper.                    Coraline PUNCHES A HOLE through the paper, steels          herself, then reaches inside. She touches something          sticky and cold and inhuman. Clenching her teeth, she          grabs hold and pulls out two clasped-together COLD, TAFFY          HANDS - Young Spink and Forcible's.                    Her heart thumps. She PRIES the TAFFY HANDS open like          scallop shells until a large PEARL-on-a-ring is revealed.                                           CORALINE                           (REALIZING)                    The pearl!                    The hands suddenly GRAB HER! She SCREAMS. Young Spink and          Forcible, twisted together into one taffy monster, THRUST          THEIR HEADS FROM THE BAG!                                           TAFFY MONSTER                    Thief!! Give it back!                    Coraline PULLS AWAY, STRETCHING the candy arm out across          the stage! The taffy monster THRUSTS OUT another paired          arm, and starts DRAGGING ITSELF TOWARDS CORALINE, ropes          swaying on pulleys.                                           TAFFY MONSTER (CONT'D)                           (in unison)                    You thief! Thief! Thief! Thief! Give it                    back! Thief! Give it back! Give it back!                    Thief! Stop thief! Thief! Stop!                    Coraline, desperate, gets an idea. She clicks on her          flashlight and aims it at the BAT-DOGS. They GROWL with          annoyance, OPEN their wings.                    The taffy monster is GETTING CLOSER! Coraline hurls the          flashlight at the bat-dogs and HITS THEM. Angered, they          TAKE WING TO ATTACK HER - just like she planned!                    Bat-dogs are closing on the left, the taffy monster on          the right! She waits to the very last second, and then          DIVES OUT OF THE WAY!                    BAT-DOGS AND TAFFY MONSTER COLLIDE! Coraline's hand is          released by the taffy hands, leaving her the PEARL. The          bat-dogs and taffy monster - stuck together and still-as-          stone - turn to dead, grey ash, as does the stage and          theater.                    The PEARL in Coraline's hand PULSES BLUE.                                           TALL GIRL GHOST (V.O.)                    Hurry on, girl - her web is unwinding!                    Coraline nods, sticks the pearl in her bag, and looks up          towards the ceiling and beyond.                              EXT. OTHER HOUSE/OTHER BOBINSKY'S BALCONY - SAME                    CORALINE'S MOVING POV, on lower ext stairs to UP ANGLE ON          BALCONY. We hear haunting circus music in the air.                    Other Mr. B's Russian flag, TORN in places, waves in the          air. The pale green moon is nearly HALF-ECLIPSED now with          what is clearly the SHADOW OF A HUGE, DARK, BUTTON.                    ANGLE ON CORALINE as she climbs the last flight of stairs          to Bobinsky's. She stops with a SHUDDER at the top. The          flag has been replaced with the EMPTY COAT OF OTHER WYBIE-          gloves, pants and sneakers pinned on - hanging like old          laundry.                                             CORALINE                    Oh, Wybie...                    She takes a breath, leans out over the railing and          shouts.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    EVIL WITCH ... I'M NOT SCARED!                    The door behind her CREAKS open. Coraline shivers - she          is definitely scared.                              INT. OTHER MR. B'S ATTIC FLAT - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline steps into the apartment and carefully shuts the          door. The cannons and Ferris wheel are dark and quiet;          the circus tent glows dimly. Pale green moonlight shines          in patches through holes in the roof. The corners and          edges of the room are very dark.                    OTHER BOBINSKY suddenly CRAWLS by the door behind her.          Coraline whips around, on guard. He LOOMS UP past the          cannons on her right, leaning towards her.                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY                    Hello, ga-LOO-boo-shka.                    There are too many joints in his arms and legs.                                           CORALINE                    I'm Coraline.                    His tall, crooked hat is pulled so low, and his collar so          high, that his face is completely hidden.                    He throws out his arm towards her and the CIRCUS BALL          from the mouse circus rolls from his sleeve to his hand.                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY                    Is dis vhat you're looking for?                    She looks through the hole of the triangle candy and sees          an AMBER GLOW ≠ the THIRD GHOST'S EYE!                                             CORALINE                    Uh-huh.                    She grabs for it, but he's too quick. He back-bends to          all fours and SCUTTLES around her towards the back          shadows.                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY                    You tink vinning game is goot ting?                    Coraline holds up the triangle candy, scans the room for          him. His voice sounds distorted now.                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY (O.S.)                                 (CONT'D)                    You'll just go home and be bored and                    neglected...                    WE SEE him twine up a post behind Coraline, crawl out on          a beam...                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY                                 (CONT'D)                    ...same as alvays.                    He SWINGS UPSIDE-DOWN from his ankles, his head stopping          right by Coraline's. She whips around, alarmed.                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY                                 (CONT'D)                    Stay here vis us; vee vill listen to you                    and laugh vis you.                    He DROPS to the floor on his head, then SLITHERS into the          circus tent. Coraline does not want to follow him. But          she does.                              INT. CIRCUS TENT - CONTINUOUS                    The Other Mr. B is perched on a pile of MOLDY CHEESES in          the center of the ring. He moves like all his bones are          broken.                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY                    If you stay here, you can have vhatever                    you vant, vsig-DA - alvays.                    Coraline raises the triangle candy to her eye, sees the          AMBER GLOW coming from inside his hat.                                           CORALINE                    You don't get it, do you?                    She moves closer.                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY                    I don't understand.                    Small forms MOVE under the back of his coat.                                           CORALINE                    Of course you don't understand. You're                    just a copy she made of the real Mr. B.                                           OTHER MR. BOBINSKY                           (last breath)                    Not even that anymore.                    Coraline pulls off his hat. Instead of his head, a HUGE          PALE RAT SITS THERE - holding the circus ball. It barks          at her then DIVES DOWN the coat collar.                    RATS leap from COAT SLEEVES and PANT LEGS, Coraline pulls          back, HORRIFIED, as the clothes collapse, scanning around          for the circus ball.                    There's a rat bark behind her and she turns. The HUGE RAT          - balanced on a wheel of cheese, circus ball in paws -          TAUNTS HER, then RUNS THE CHEESE OUT THE DOOR! She GIVES          CHASE.                              INT. OTHER MR. B'S FLAT - CONTINUOUS                    The OTHER RATS RACE behind the twin rows of cannons - the          cheese wheel rat rolls through them, heading towards the          door!                    Coraline CHARGES. The cannons, manned by rats, FIRE          COTTON CANDY at her. She's HIT in the side, her leg, her          ribs; she weaves and STUMBLES, the shots landing like          punches.                                           CORALINE                    Ahhh! No!!                    A PET DOOR - perfectly shaped for the rat on the wheel -          appears in the front door as the rat approaches.                    Coraline looks up to see the PET DOOR OPEN and the CHEESE-          WHEEL RAT HEADING THROUGH IT TO THE OUTSIDE.                    Coraline takes her triangle candy stone and THROWS IT as          hard as she can AT THE RAT.                    The whistling candy FLIES through the pet door towards          the RAT, just outside.                    EXT. OTHER MR. B'S FLAT - CONTINUOUS                    The RAT DUCKS, the CANDY MISSES, and the cheese-wheel rat          ESCAPES down the stairs with the ball.                    INT. OTHER MR. B'S FLAT - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline, lurching forward, HOLLERS.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    NOOOO!                    Two waiting rats - tail tips tied - pull tails tight, and          TRIP her. She CRASHES THROUGH THE DOOR AND--.                              EXT. OTHER HOUSE - CONTINUOUS                    --OUT onto the balcony which TEARS AWAY FROM THE HOUSE          with ATTACHED STAIRWAY.                                           CORALINE                    Noooo!                    The whole rig, with Coraline on top, ROTATES as it          collapses, THROWING CORALINE toward the front of the          house when it HITS THE GROUND. She BLACKS OUT a moment.                    WHEEZING for breath, Coraline pushes up on hands and          knees and SCANS past the topiaries and poplars and white          gravel driveway, looking for the cheese-wheel rat and          circus ball. No cheese-wheel rat, no circus ball ghost          eye.                    Coraline, lit by a NARROWING BAND of pale green light,          turns to look at the moon. It's nearly covered now by the          DARK BUTTON SHADOW.                    Her HAND stings from a scrape. BLOOD trickles from her          knee. She feels nothing but COLD LOSS.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                           (DEVASTATED)                    Oh God, I've lost the game; I've lost                    everything.                    She sobs, hugs knees and face to chest. The band of light          that illuminates her is narrowing to near-gone.                    In the foreground, the HEAD of the cheese-wheel rat -          CIRCUS BALL IN ITS TEETH - DROPS ON THE GROUND. Sawdust          leaks from its neck. Band of light STOPS NARROWING, the          eclipse paused.                    There's a familiar MEROWWW and Coraline looks up.                    Across from her on the front yard, sits the BLACK CAT,          licking his paws, rat's head and circus ball at his feet.                                           CAT                    I think I mentioned that I don't like                    rats at the best of times.                    Coraline smiles, walks towards him.                                           CORALINE                    I think you might have said something                    like that.                                           CAT                    It looked like you needed this one,                    however.                    He bats the circus ball and it rolls to Coraline.                    She picks it up , sticks it in her bag. Around her, the          YARD, HOUSE, TREES, SHRUBS AND DRIVEWAY TURN ASHEN GRAY.                                           CORALINE                    Thank you.                    Looks towards house.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    I'm heading inside. I still have to find                    my parents.                                                                        CUT TO:                    ANGLE ON MOON. The stalled eclipse STARTS AGAIN, and in          one beat, the last sliver of green moon is FULLY BLACKED          OUT. The EDGES of the button shadow start to FLAKE AWAY.                    ON CORALINE WITH CAT. A strange insect thrumming has          begun. What appear to be grey paint chips or bits of          paper are falling. Confused, she looks up to see:.                    The huge button shadow is EATEN TO NOTHING and then the          SKY around it IS EATEN AS WELL, revealing dirty white          light. The destruction TRAVELS from sky to the distant          hills, the sound of a million, invisible locusts growing          louder.                    UP ANGLE ON CAT AND CORALINE. The cat hisses. Deeply          alarmed, they look from one direction to another.                    POV out front yard. The destruction TRAVELS up the          driveway, PULLS APART the poplars, and then UNRAVELS the          topiary elephant and bird.                    DOWN ANGLE ON Coraline and cat, his TAIL TWITCHING. WE          PULL BACK to find they are at the center of a RAPIDLY          SHRINKING ISLAND!                    NEW ANGLE on Coraline and cat as ground beneath their          feet STARTS CRACKING, white light coming through. Cat          makes a fearful sound, afraid for the first time in the          movie!                    Coraline holds out her arms to the trembling animal, her          guardian angel.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Come on, quickly!                    The cat LEAPS and she catches him, then CARRIES HIM up          the DISINTEGRATING porch steps to the front door. She          gets through just in time, and SLAMS it shut!                              INT. OTHER HOUSE HALLWAY - SAME                    It's dark and stable in here, with just some creaks and          intermittent vibrations. A poisonous green light spills          from the other living room.                    Coraline goes there, carrying the cat over her shoulder,          past wallpaper that PEELS UP as she passes, to the room          where she last heard the sound of her mother's finger on          glass.                              INT. OTHER LIVING ROOM - SAME                    A poisonous GREEN FIRE - LIKE SLEEPY SEA SNAKES - BURNS          in the fireplace. The bug furniture looks grey now, their          lights flickering as if short-circuited; legs and wings          twitching uncontrollably.                    Coraline scans the walls, the ceiling, looking for a sign          of her parents.                    ANGLE ON CORALINE in foreground. She senses the Other          Mother behind her, a creature who is no sort of Mother at          all but a witch, a Beldam. She turns.                    The Beldam is hunched on the sofa - her face hidden.                                           BELDAM                    So, you're back....                    Her voice sounds dry and tired. She turns her face          towards Coraline. It is a WHITE DEATH MASK, cracked and          peeling - her true face.                                           BELDAM (CONT'D)                    And you brought vermin with you.                    Coraline shudders and steps back. The cat makes a fearful          sound and digs his claws into her shoulder.                                           CORALINE                    No, I ... I brought a friend.                    The Beldam rises up 12 FEET TALL. She is WITHERED to the          bone; with plate-like shoulders and hips; her bustle now          an arachnid's tail section. Her true form.                    She reaches her long, sharp FINGERS MADE OF NEEDLES to          Coraline's face.                                           BELDAM                           (FLATLY)                    You know I love you.                    Coraline works hard to not show how freaked out she is.                                           CORALINE                    You, you have a very funny way of showing                    it.                    The Beldam smiles, turns away, then back, her hand          outstretched.                                              BELDAM                    So?     Where are they - the ghost eyes?                    Coraline pulls out the three spheres from her bag and          starts to hand them over. But she catches herself.                                             CORALINE                    Hold on.                    And pulls back.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    We aren't finished yet, are we?                    The Beldam looks daggers, then smiles sweetly.                                           BELDAM                    No, I suppose not. After all, you still                    need to find your old parents, don't you?                    Too bad you won't have this.                    She produces the TRIANGLE CANDY that Coraline lost and          FLINGS it into the green fire. The Beldam laughs while          the MAGIC BURNS out of the candy with sparks and pops.                    ON CORALINE. The third ghost eye PULSES WITH AMBER LIGHT          in her hand. Coraline turns away, so the witch won't see.                                           SWEET GIRL GHOST (O.S.)                    Be clever, miss; even if you win she'll                    never let you go!                    Coraline looks towards the locked little door behind the          armoire bug and understands: she's got to get the Beldam          to unlock it! She furrows her brow as an idea comes to          her then nods.                    She turns to the witch and in the most confident tone she          can muster, says:                                           CORALINE                    I already know where you've hidden them.                    The Beldam turns from the fire, both concerned and          sceptical.                                           BELDAM                    Well... produce them.                    Coraline points to the little door.                                           CORALINE                    They're behind that door.                    The Beldam leans close, knowing Coraline is wrong, and          speaks very quietly.                                           BELDAM                    Oh, they are, are they?                    A smile creeps onto her terrible face. And she STARTS          TOWARDS THE LITTLE DOOR, moving in an odd, laboring way,          as if she had four legs instead of two. She signals the          armoire bug to stand aside, her back to Coraline.                    Coraline hears the soft chirp of her mother's finger on          wet glass! Looks around, desperate - where is it coming          from?!                    The cat's ears twitch and focus, and then he SEES          SOMETHING on the mantel!. He whispers to Coraline --                                           CAT                    There!                    -- and JUMPS to land beside the DETROIT ZOO SNOW-GLOBE -          OPAQUE WITH FROST.                    C.U. ON SNOW-GLOBE. With a SOFT-CHIRP, a section of glass          is WIPED CLEAR from inside by a TINY FOREARM - and we see          the tiny, cold figures that are CORALINE'S TRAPPED          PARENTS! Coraline's heart races. She purposely stays back          from them.                                            CORALINE                            (WHISPERING)                    Mom.   Dad!                    ON BELDAM, by little door. Oblivious to Coraline's          discovery, she COUGHS up the KEY into her hand. She turns          to Coraline, expectantly.                                            CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Go on.   Open it. They'll be there, all                    right.                    The Beldam stoops to push the key into the lock, turns          it, leaves the key in place.                    She grins at Coraline and speaks in a low, sing-song          voice.                                           BELDAM                    You're wrong, Coraline!                    She opens the little door, revealing the empty, spider-          web tunnel.                    ON CORALINE, who glances from the open door to the cat -          obscured on the mantel - and back to the Beldam. She's          thinking very hard.                                           BELDAM (CONT'D)                           (PITYING)                    They aren't there.                    She opens her hands: one holds box with Coraline's BLACK          BUTTON EYES, the other a THREADED NEEDLE. Triumphant, the          Beldam softly gloats:                                           BELDAM (CONT'D)                    Now you're going to stay here forever.                    Coraline strikes a warrior's pose, and, summons all the          fury she can.                                           CORALINE                    No ... I'm ...                    She GRABS THE CAT off the mantel and RAISES HIM OVER HER          HEAD.                                            CORALINE (CONT'D)                    NOT!                    And she HURLS THE CAT at the Beldam. The YOWLING ANIMAL -          face shocked with surprise - SAILS through the air and          lands RIGHT ON THE ASTONISHED WITCH'S HEAD.                    FREAKED-OUT, the cat DIGS in his CLAWS AND BITES the          shrieking Beldam, who STAGGERS to one side of the little          door.                    Coraline GRABS the SNOW GLOBE with her parents inside,          stows it in her bag, and moves out to approach the door          from the other side.                    The Beldam FLAILS WILDLY at the cat. The cat HOWLS LIKE A          BANSHEE, RAISES HIS CLAWS, and - quick as you can - TWO          SHINY BLACK BUTTONS HIT THE FLOOR - THE BELDAM'S EYES!                    ANGLE ON CAT as he's thrown on armoire bug.                    ON BELDAM, hands covering her face.                                            BELDAM                    NOOOOOOOOO!                    Her hands pull away to show EMPTY, FLAT SOCKETS and TORN          THREAD!                                           BELDAM (CONT'D)                    You horrible cheating girl!                    She furiously STOMPS the floor which FLIES UP in a spiral          of floorboards that drive Coraline to the room's center.          A huge WEB TRAP LIES BENEATH THE FLOOR!                    The web trap STRETCHES DOWN into a FIFTY FOOT DEEP PIT.          There is nothing beyond but PALE NOTHINGNESS.                    The cat scrambles along the tops of falling furniture          straight to the little door and disappears into the          tunnel.                    Coraline falls the very bottom of the web.                    Fifty feet above, the Beldam LAUGHS MANIACALLY and LEAPS          DOWN like a huge, flying spider!                    Coraline manages to pull herself to the outside of the          trap JUST AS THE BELDAM LANDS.                    The witch - furious her prey has escaped - spins around,          grasping blindly.                                           BELDAM (CONT'D)                    Noo!! Where are you? You selfish brat!!                    Coraline, nearing the top, looks up and spots the LITTLE          DOOR, still in the corner wall of the Other Living Room.          She goes to climb back inside the web, when her bag GETS          CAUGHT on a barb. She pulls and pulls until it breaks          free, sending a STRONG VIBRATION DOWN THE SPIRALING WEB          TO THE VERY SENSITIVE HAND OF THE BELDAM.                                            BELDAM (CONT'D)                    Hahahaha...                    The Beldam smiles - she knows where her prey is now!                    Coraline makes it to the little door, but the BELDAM IS          COMING UP BEHIND HER VERY FAST!                                           BELDAM (O.S.) (CONT'D)                    YOU ... DARE ...                              INT. PASSAGEWAY - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline SCRAMBLES through the door, KEY IN HAND, and          grabs the door's handle. Before she can shut it, the          BELDAM'S HEAD THRUSTS INSIDE.                                           BELDAM                    ... DISOBEY YOUR MOTHER??!!                    Coraline KICKS HER IN THE FACE, knocking her back. The          cat takes off down the tunnel.                    Coraline nearly shuts the door, when NEEDLE FINGERS GRAB          HOLD THROUGH THE CRACK. The door STARTS TO PULL OPEN!                                           CORALINE                    PLEASE...SHUT!!                    The ghost children's FLUTTERY, DISMEMBERED HANDS FLY OUT          FROM HER BAG and GRAB HOLD OF CORALINE'S HANDS that grip          the door's handle. And her STRENGTH IS QUADRUPLED.                    The door STARTS TO SHUT. The Beldam SNATCHES DESPERATELY          at Coraline, reaching through the closing gap with one          thin claw. There's a final moment of resistance - the          Beldam's wire-thin wrist caught in the door - and then          SNAP! The DOOR SHUTS, and the Beldam's hand drops to the          ground!                    She SCREECHES like a metal rake on pavement!                    Coraline just manages to lock the door in the dark when          it is POUNDED from the other side, green light coming          through cracks! She takes off down the tunnel, stooped          down, as fast as she can.                    The pounding grows more insistent, green light flashing.                                           BELDAM (O.S.)                    DON'T LEAVE ME! DON'T LEAVE ME!!! I'LL                    DIE WITHOUT YOU!!!!                    And then the tunnel behind coraline STARTS TO GROW          SHORTER, like a collapsing accordion and the pounding far          door with the blind, one-handed Beldam on the other side          STARTS TO CATCH UP TO HER!                    Ahead, DAYLIGHT APPEARS, and then the LITTLE DOOR TO THE          REAL WORLD!                              INT. REAL LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline FLINGS HERSELF through the doorway, SHUTS AND          LOCKS THE DOOR and BRACES HERSELF AGAINST IT. A split-          second later, the OTHER WORLD DOOR CATCHES UP WITH A          CRASH! Coraline is THROWN BACK. But the real-world door          and lock, hold. It's over...                    Coraline lies on her back, as beat-up and tired as she's          ever been, GULPING in breaths of air till her heart slows          a little. The room is brightly lit by sunlight, the first          since she moved here, and the sky out the windows is blue          with white clouds.                    She smiles, remembering, and turns to her bag with the          ghost eyes and snow globe with her parents inside.                    She opens it up, and searches, shoving aside ghost eyes          and garden shears. But the snow globe is GONE!                    She gets on all fours, starts searching the floor. Her          hand hits a small PUDDLE by the fireplace, with tiny          bits of BLUE SNOW. A drip plops down, then another. She          looks up to the mantel and spots the MISSING SNOW GLOBE.          She stands up and finds that it's BROKEN OPEN, and          neither her parents or the fountain bears are inside.                    As the last of the snowy liquid drains from the globe,          Coraline's face clouds with confusion and fear: What does          this mean and where are her parents? Then her WONDERFULLY          REAL MOTHER calls to her.                                           MEL (O.S.)                    Coraline? We're home!                    Her TRUE PARENTS enter the room from the hallway, a          dusting of snow on their shoulders and hair.                                           CORALINE                    Mom! Dad! I missed you so much!                    Coraline runs to her parents and throws her arms around          them.                                             MEL                    Missed us?                    C.U. ON CORALINE. Huh?                    Mel notices the broken snow globe.                                           MEL (CONT'D)                    Oh no, you broke my favorite snow globe.                                           CORALINE                    I didn't break it. It must've broke when                    you escaped.                    Mom spots her bloody knee.                                           MEL                    And cut your knee.                    Charlie crouches low, clutching his briefcase.                                           CHARLIE                    Coraline, I asked you to count all the                    windows, not put your knee through them.                                             CORALINE                    BUT-                    Mel tells her.                                           MEL                    Well, get yourself cleaned up,                           (WARMS)                    we're going out tonight.                                           CHARLIE                    We gotta lot to celebrate!                    Coraline, confused, takes a stab.                                           CORALINE                    You're talking about... your garden                    catalog?                                           MEL                    Of course! What else?                    Her parents turn to leave the room.                                           CORALINE                    But look at the snow on your clothes...?                    But the snow melts without a trace.                                           MEL                           (CONFUSED)                    What's gotten into you, Coraline?                    Her parents walk off. Coraline shrugs her shoulders and          looks back to the broken snow globe on the mantel. She          cocks her head, deeply puzzled, then leaves the room.                                                                    DISSOLVE TO:                              EXT HOUSE - NIGHT, SKY CLEAR                    The VW is parked out front, its interior light fading as          light in Coraline's bedroom window switches on. We HEAR          Charlie make a strangled sound.                              INT. CORALINE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT FULL MOON RISING                    Coraline sits in bed -- pajamas washed and PATCHED,          wounds-dressed, hair shining. The KEY hangs from a string          around her neck. A gibbous moon shines in the clear night          sky.                    Charlie wrestles with a blue stuffed-toy squid like it's          an alien face-hugger then, FEIGNING DEATH, falls on the          bed. Coraline LAUGHS.                                           CORALINE                    So, gonna order the tulips?                    He opens one eye, pretends he's never heard about this.                                             CHARLIE                    What's that?                                           CORALINE                    For the garden party!!                    He sits up and kids her, tickling her face with the          squid.                                           CHARLIE                    I have no idea what you're talking about.                                           CORALINE                    Dad!                    She turns to Mom, arranging things on a shelf.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    So, Mom. Invitations? Don't forget the                    invitations.                    Her mother nods, points up.                                           MEL                    Even Bobinsky?                                           CORALINE                    Mr. B's not drunk, Mom, he's                    just...eccentric.                    Charlie LAUGHS. He bends down to kiss her.                                           CHARLIE                    Good night, Coraline.                    As he steps away, Mel slips a slim box under the covers          next to her daughter. She gives Coraline a "told you so"          look, and she and Charlie leave the room.                    Coraline sits up excitedly and opens the box - it's the          GREEN AND ORANGE GLOVES she'd wanted! She pulls one on to          admire when the BLACK CAT appears outside her window                                           CORALINE                    Oh, hello again.                    She walks over to the window, opens it.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    You still mad?                    His expression says yes, he's still mad.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    I'm really sorry I threw you at her - the                    Other Mother? ≠ it was all I could think                    of.                    The cat's angry expression softens. He rests his head on          her hand, licking her fingers and purrs.                    Coraline exhales with relief then picks him up and          carries him over to her bed.                    She grabs her collecting bag and takes out the large          PEARL, the CIRCUS BALL, and the GREY STICKSHIFT KNOB. She          holds them out to the cat.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    I think it's time, don't you? To set them                    free?                    The cat nods. She puts the ghost eyes under her pillow          and gently lays down, the cat lying beside her. The two          of them close their eyes, and in no time at all, they          doze off to sleep. WE SLOWLY TILT UP.                                                       MATCH MOVE DISSOLVE TO:                              EXT. DREAMSCAPE - MAGIC TIME                    A MAGIC ART SKY animates subtly.                    CAM TILT DOWN ON Coraline, studying sky, her back to us.          From behind CAM, CHIMES sound and GOLD LIGHT begins to          shine on her. She turns toward us, shielding her eyes.                    Coraline's eyes adjust to the brightness to see the THREE          GHOST CHILDREN, now transformed into GOLDEN ANGELS; EYES          RESTORED, small fluttering WINGS ON THEIR BACKS.                                           SWEET GIRL GHOST                    It's a fine, fine thing you did for us,                    miss.                                           CORALINE                    Well, I'm glad it's finally over!                    A SHADOW crosses the faces of the three children. They          gather around Coraline and bow their heads.                                           SWEET GIRL GHOST                           (SIGHS)                    It is over and done with ... for us.                    Silent beat.                                           CORALINE                    What about...me?                    The tall girl ghost shifts uncomfortably, then BLURTS          OUT:                                           TALL GIRL GHOST                    You're in terrible danger, girl!                    Coraline is stunned and gestures for an explanation.                                            CORALINE                    But how?   I locked the door!?                                           SWEET GIRL GHOST                    It's the key, miss, there's only one and                    the Beldam will find it.                    The KEY ON THE STRING around Coraline's neck floats out          in front of Coraline. She grabs it.                    The three ghost children all embrace Coraline tenderly.                                           BOY GHOST                           (WHISPERS)                    Tain't all bad, miss. Thou art alive ...                    thou art still ... living...                    They begin to swirl around her, spinning faster and          faster. Coraline starts to turn and then she --                                                                         CUT TO:                              INT. CORALINE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                    -- ROLLS HERSELF AWAKE IN HER OWN BED. FAST PULL BACK          above her to find covers thrown off and the CAT awake by          her side.                    Coraline lifts up her pillow and GASPS - the GHOST EYES          ARE IN PIECES like hatched bird eggs. She takes out the          key on its string and explains to the cat, her voice          PANICKED:                                           CORALINE                    I -- I've gotta hide this somewhere, s-                    somewhere she can never ...                    The cat doesn't like the sound of this. Coraline grabs          her blanket and heads to her door. But the cat leaps down          and blocks her way.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    Outta my way!                    She sidesteps the cat and leaves her room. The cat glares          after her                    INT. HOUSE STAIRWAY, LOWER HALL, LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS                    Coraline trots down the stairs and purposefully heads          down the hall. She passes the LIVING ROOM and exits          frame. CAMERA stays on living room, where, on the LITTLE          DOOR in the corner wall, SHADOWS and LIGHT start to MOVE.          WE ROCKET IN AND--                                                                   JUMP CUT TO:                              INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS                    The baseboard is PUSHED ASIDE. Through the narrow gap at          the door's bottom, the DISMEMBERED HAND OF THE BELDAM          CRAWLS OUT. It scrambles out of frame in the direction of          Coraline!                              EXT ROCKY PATH HIGH ABOVE HOUSE - SAME                    Coraline moves briskly, the house below, GRIPPING THE KEY          that's tied round her neck. DARK, ROPEY CLOUDS reach like          fingers across the gibbous moon. Coraline sings her          father's nonsense song, her voice hardly trembling.                                           CORALINE                    Oh.... my twitchy witchy girl,                    I think you are so nice ...                              EXT. ORCHARD - SAME                    She moves down past the old fruit trees, now covered with          BRIGHT SPRING BLOSSOMS that fall gently like snow.                                           CORALINE                    ... I give you bowls of porridge                    And I give you bowls of ice cream.                    LOW ANGLE ON Coraline, moving away. The BELDAM'S HAND          drops into frame and CREEP-CRAWLS after her.                                           CORALINE (CONT'D)                    I give you lots of kisses,                    And I give you lots of hugs ...                              EXT. WELL - SAME                    Coraline jams the SAME DEAD BRANCH Wybie used under the          well's cover, lining it up over the SAME FULCRUM ROCK.                                           CORALINE                    ... But I never give you sandwiches                    With grease and worms and mung beans.                    Circling around behind the BIG STUMP, the HAND SCAMPERS          behind one rock to a bush to a tree, coming closer.                    Coraline manages to lever the well's cover off to one          side, leaving the WHOLE WELL OPEN. Huffing and sweating,          she wipes her brow, then takes the key string that's          around her neck.                    The hand, SEEING what is about to happen, RACES TOWARDS          HER!                    Coraline lifts string and key, not quite over her head.                    The hand JUMPS onto the big stump and SPRINGS through the          air to GRAB THE KEY and PULL CORALINE TO THE GROUND!                    Coraline makes a CHOKED SCREAM, her fingers caught          between the key string and her neck!                    The HAND wants to DRAG HER BACK TO THE HOUSE and the          LITTLE LOCKED DOOR THAT IS BREATHING WITH ANTICIPATION!                    A BLINDING HEADLIGHT hits HAND and CORALINE; an AIR HORN          SOUNDS; and WYBIE LOVAT - hollering a BATTLE CRY all his          own - comes SPEEDING DOWN THE BLUFF on his whining          electric bike!                                            WYBIE                    YAHHHHH!!!!                    Wybie GUNS the throttle, and, leaning out, GRABS the          confused HAND with his slug tongs!                    He CIRCLES AROUND and HEADS TOWARDS THE WELL, readying to          throw the hand in. But the HAND GETS FREE, and GRABS his          handlebars.                    OUT OF CONTROL, Wybie's bike HITS A ROCK, and WYBIE AND          HAND ARE THROWN RIGHT DOWN THE WELL. HOLLERING, he just          manages to hang on with one hand! The Beldam's hand,          caught on Wybie's coattail, SCRAMBLES UP his body and          face and onto the well's edge where it STABS AT HIS          FINGERS to make him fall!                                           WYBIE (CONT'D)                           (STRUGGLING)                    Get off!!                    Coraline, choking, rises to her feet. She grabs her          BLANKET and - in the still-blazing headlight of the          crashed bike - she RUNS UP and THROWS IT OVER THE HAND.          It fights like crazy as Coraline wrestles to control it.          The hand STABS THROUGH THE BLANKET and SHAKES IT OFF. It          crouches to attack her!                    And then WYBIE IS BACK, pumped with adrenaline, a BIG          ROCK raised over his head! He HURLS IT DOWN ON THE          LEAPING HAND! And it BREAKS into TWENTY LIFELESS NEEDLES.                    Wybie struggles to catch his breath. Coraline - breathing          hard - removes the key and string from around her sore          neck. She pulls up the corners of her blanket - with the          needles on it - around the rock, and ties it all together          with the string. The key is left attached.                    The two friends carry the heavy package to the well and          DROP IT DOWN THE HOLE. By the light of a stray moonbeam,          they watch and listen until it makes a muffled splash in          the dark water at the bottom. They slide the well cover          in place.                    Still catching his breath, Wybie stands, holding his          injured hand, its glove ripped by the Beldam's claw. He          looks over at Coraline as the scene brightens a little          with moonlight.                                           WYBIE (CONT'D)                    I-I'm really sorry I didn't believe you                    about all this ... evil stuff, Coraline.                    Coraline, shoulders rising as she catches her breath,          stands and smiles: he called her by real name for the          first time.                                           CORALINE                    Why did you change your mind?                    He walks over, and takes out an old B&W photo from his          jacket.                                           WYBIE                    W-well, Gramma showed me this picture,                    after I called you crazy?                    He hands it to her.                    ANGLE ON PHOTO: two light-skinned black girls - dressed          in old-fashioned clothing - stand in front of the Pink          Palace, before it was divided into apartments. One looks          just like the sweet ghost girl, and holds the DOLL WITH          BUTTON EYES, which looks just like her.                                           WYBIE (O.C.) (CONT'D)                    It's her and her sister, before she                    disappeared.                    ANGLE ON WYBIE AND CORALINE. Behind them, blossoms fall          like snow in the orchard.                                           CORALINE                    The sweet ghost girl.                    Wybie's grandmother, loud and worried, calls from the          distance.                                            WYBIE'S GRANDMOTHER (O.C.)                    Wyborne!   Come home!!                                           WYBIE                           (re: his grandmother)                    Oh, man...what am I going to tell her?                    She looks up from the photo and smiles.                                           CORALINE                    Just bring her by the house tomorrow.      We                    can tell her together.                                           WYBIE                    We...we can??                                           CORALINE                    You know, I'm glad you decided to stalk                    me.                    She gives Wybie a playful punch on the arm and LAUGHS.                                           WYBIE                    Wasn't my idea.                    The BLACK CAT jumps up on the TREE STUMP and MEROWWS.          Coraline smiles.                    We TILT UP to the sky and see the last ropey clouds -          like two clawed hands - clear away from the bright          gibbous moon.                                                                    DISSOLVE TO:                              EXT HOUSE, GARDEN - DAY                    One WHITE BALLOON floats against a blue sky with puffy,          white clouds. WE TILT DOWN past more balloons to a TABLE          OF REFRESHMENTS, set up by the front gates.                    Coraline picks up a TRAY OF DRINKS and heads out to her          hard-working GUESTS, all wearing garden gloves and          showing signs of having helped plant about TWO HUNDRED          RED TULIPS.                    SPINK AND FORCIBLE, along with their DOGS, are set up at          a table below the steps. Empty plant cartons are stacked          nearby along with some garden tools and empty bags of          peat moss.                                              CORALINE                       Thanks for helping me, Miss Spink, Miss                       Forcible.                                              MISS FORCIBLE                              (straining to see)                       Oh, look April - Pink Ladies!                                              CORALINE                       Actually, it's just lemonade.                    Coraline hands them the beverages, then nods towards the          GREY DOG digging in the flowers.                                              CORALINE (CONT'D)                       How's Angus doing?                    Miss Spink sighs.                                              MISS SPINK                       Oh, much better, dear... But he can't                       duck his wings forever!                    Coraline heads up the steps to find her PARENTS dumping a          heavy bag of PEAT MOSS around the dead-looking tree in          the stone circle.                                              CHARLIE                       Here comes a burp.                    Charlie BURPS.                                              MEL                              (SCOLDING)                       Charlie!                                              CHARLIE                       Oh, excu-say-moi, but that pizza was                       delicious.                    Mel SIGHS.                                                CORALINE                       Cold drinks?                    Charlie nods, grabs them for Mel and Wybie.                                           CHARLIE                           (HAPPILY)                    Oh yeah, great!                                           MEL                           (SKEPTICAL)                    You were right, Coraline. I really hate                    dirt, but the tulips look nice.                                             CORALINE                    Thanks, mom.                    Coraline, delighted, moves on.                    Coraline comes upon Bobinsky in the bottom of the drained          fish pond. He's stealthily PULLING just-planted tulips          from the dirt there, and putting BEETS in their place.                                           MR. BOBINSKY (O.S.)                           (pulling beets)                    Ooo, dret nican...neit, neit...da, da, dat iz                    possible.                    Coraline CLEARS HER THROAT to get his attention.                                           CORALINE                    How are the meeshkas, Mr. B?                    Surprised and looking very guilty, he tries to cover up          his activities. She smiles and hands him a drink.                                           MR.   BOBINSKY                           (SMILES)                    Dey tell me that   you - are saviour,                    Caroline. And --   soon as dey are ready --                    dey vish to give   special tenks-you                    performance.                    He drains his glass of lemonade. A familiar voice is          heard approaching. Coraline turns and smiles.                                           WYBIE'S GRANDMOTHER (O.C.)                    Wyborne, I know where I'm going--                    ANGLE ON Wybie and his GRANDMOTHER as they walk through          the garden gates                                           WYBIE'S GRANDMOTHER                                 (CONT'D)                    --I grew up here.                    Coraline sees them and waves.                                           CORALINE                    Welcome, Ms. Lovat!                    The old lady looks up and smiles.                                            WYBIE'S GRANDMOTHER                    Oh, hello.                                           CORALINE                    I'm Coraline Jones -- I've got so much to                    tell you!                                            MEL (O.C.)                            (background dialog)                    Here.                                           CHARLIE (O.C.)                           (background dialog)                    Thanks.                                           MISS SPINK (O.C.)                           (background dialog)                    Ooo, do you want to pop a little gin in                    it dear?                                           MISS FORCIBLE (O.C.)                           (background dialog)                    Of course!                    CAMERA PULLS UP from the GARDEN, FLIES OVER THE HOUSE and          BOOMS DOWN to the PINK PALACE APARTMENTS SIGN out front.          On top of the sign sits the black cat, who looks right          into camera, blinks, then walks behind the thin post that          holds the sign and DISAPPEARS.                                             THE END
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+                                         CRANK                                                                     Written by                              Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor                                                                                                   February 20, 2005                                                                                                           FADE IN:              VIDEO SCREEN                                                                 1              EXTREME CU: PACMAN, from the old video game, just a yellow              ball with a mouth, fills the screen in all it's lo-res glory.              The camera tracks along as it rolls along a tight corridor,              gobbling dots.          2                                                            CUT TO:              EXTREME CU: A RED GHOST follows, in hot pursuit.                                                                       CUT TO:              EXTREME CU: PACMAN gives it the slip, cuts down and gobbles a              big dot.                                                                       CUT TO:                        EXTREME CU: RED GHOST transforms into BLUE GHOST, changes              direction and runs. PACMAN chases ...              P.. but just before he catches up the BLUE GHOST transforms              back to RED and changes direction again. PACMAN barely              escapes.                                                                       CUT TO:                        PACMAN flees, but at every turn he is confronted by another              ghost. The CAMERA pulls out in a series of jump cuts to              reveal that unlike the old arcade game, this game screen goes              E forever, an infinite maze ... and instead of the original              on four there are thousands of ghosts at all sides, closing in.              The sound of the game redoubles, reverberates, deafening ...                                                                 CUT TO BLACK.              SOUND: A HEART BEATS SLOWLY IN THE DARK.                                                                    FADE IN:                        INT CHEV'S BEDROOM, MORNING                                        2              This scene plays out as a continuous POV shot, right up              until CHEV's face is revealed for the first time.)              CHEV CHELIOS, wakes up in his apartment to a RINGING CELL              PHONE, groggy, vision doubled ...          1    .. from his POV we see him examine his hands, which don't              feel right, don't want to move right.                                                                                     (CONTINUED)                    5                                                                                                          2.               CONTINUED:                                   The CELL PHONE, coming from some other room, plays the PACMAN               theme in beeps: BEE-DEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEE-DUM ...                         He tries to get out of bed, HITS THE GROUND. Plush rug,               ultra modern bed frame, night stand, high tech stereo, the               works.                         He crawls/stumbles into ...                         INT CHELIOS LIVING ROOM, CONTINUOUS          3                                                                       3               ... the living room, decked out by Kostabi paintings and               glass furniture then into...                         INT CHELIOS KITCHEN, CONTINUOUS                                    4               ... the kitchen, with a black marble island and hanging               copper.                         He jams his head under the Fossil sink and runs the water.               He steadies himself against the matching black marble               counter, staring at his hands ...                          .. tries to lift them and BANG!    He's back on the floor,               stunned...                         All the while we hear the faint sound of his HEARTBEAT...                         ... slow: LUBDUB... LUBDUB... LUBDUB.                         He begins crawling back into...                                                                                            5               INT CHELIOS LIVING ROOM, CONTINUOUS                         ... the living room, toward the telephone where he spots a               plain black VHS tape propped up in front of a plasma screen               TV with police ribbon wrapped around it, tied in a bow, like               a present.                                                CHELIOS                                (barely comprehensible)                            Whathufuck?                         He grabs the thing, fumbles to unwrap it, shoves it into the               VCR and pushes PLAY.                         INT.   TV SCREEN          5A                                                                  5A               It's RICKY VERONA on the SCREEN, a young, irritatingly slick               EASTERN EURO ... little to no accent - fast talking,               sarcastic, a complete dick ...                                                                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                                                                 3.               CONTINUED:                                   We see him sitting on CHEV'S bed ... CHEV is visible in the               frame, unconscious behind VERONA. Pale nicotine sunlight               filters in through the blinds.   There are HOODS loitering               around the room. It was apparently shot only hours before.               (                The discernible sound of CHEV'S heartbeat will subliminally               increase in speed and volume throughout VERONA'S monologue -               the cell phone continues to ring, somewhere.)                                                VERONA                            What's shaking, douchebag? Thought I'd                            give you the heads up. You're dead.                         On the TV - VERONA points into the CAMERA.                                                VERONA (CONT'D)                            Yeah, that's right, you little bitch ...                            if you're watching this tape it means                            that I somehow resisted the urge to                            dismember you and shove the pieces down                            the garbage disposal ... opting instead                            to poison you in your sleep. Yeah, you                            heard me...                         We stay with CHEV'S POV as he flashes a frantic glance around               the room. The LUBDUB of the HEARTBEAT is much LOUDER AND               FASTER NOW; we really begin to notice it.                                                VERONA (CONT'D)                            ... I fucking poisoned you in your sleep.                            How sick is that?... for the satisfaction                            of watching you squirm out your last                            minutes knowing it was me that did it to                            you, and there's nothing you can do about                            it...                         Cut to high angle view from a hidden lipstick camera; CHEV is 5               on his knees in front of the set, looking around ... we still               don't see his face clearly.                                                VERONA (CONT'D)          5A                                                                     5A                            ... that's right, you're on candid                            camera, try not to embarrass yourself...                         Cut back to CHEV'S POV. He holds his head down over the               5               carpet and shoves a finger in his mouth, GAGGING.                                                          VERONA (CONT'D)                            Let me guess, you're trying to puke the                            shit out, right? Right? Don't bother...                                      (MORE)                                                                                           (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                  4.               CONTINUED: (2)      VERONA(CONT'D)                         the shit I gave you is some fucking high                         tech sci-fi Chinese synthetic shit that                         even I don't know exactly what the fuck                         it is. All I know is once it binds with                         your blood cells, you're fucked, baby...                         and believe me, it's done binded. By now                         you'll be feeling your joints stiffen                         up... hard to breath...                         CHEV puts his hand on the left side of his chest to feel his          5                                                                      5               heart. The BEATS of the heart grow louder still, but the               rhythm falters, begins to slow ...                                             VERONA (V.O.) (CONT'D)                         ... your heartbeat is slowing down like                         there's rust in your veins... you're like                         the Tin Man in the Wizard of freaking                         Oz...                         One of the THUGS, ALEX, contributes from offscreen.          5A                                                                  5A                                     LEX                             (amused by his own wit,                              singing)                         "If he only had a brain."                                              ERONA                             (irritated)                         Scarecrow. Whatever. You get the point.                         You're fucked. You got maybe an hour,                         max, tough guy ... baby ... sexy ...                         The THUGS are into it; VERONA is rolling. One of them comes               up beside the bed and plants a big kiss on CHEV'S unconscious               head.                                             VERONA (CONT'D)                         Hey, it's been real. Probably should've                         thought twice before you whacked Don Kim.                         Experiencing a little 20/20 hindsight? I                         thought so. Have a nice death...                         Finally the CAMERA reverses to reveal CHEV'S slack-jawed          6               face, staring at the TV. CHEV is in his late 20s, handsome               in an offhanded way. All of the background noise - the               HEARTBEAT, the CELL PHONE - cuts to dead silence... and               through the silence, a SINGLE WORD:                                             VERONA (CONT'D)                         ... asshole.          5A                                                                  5A               (A driving SOUNDTRACK kicks in.   The OPENING TITLES play over               the following:)                                                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                        5.               CONTINUED: (3)                                   Finding a drunken man's strength, CHEV flips out. He rips               the TV out of the stand, TEARING THE WIRES FROM THE GUTS OF               THE WALL. He launches it straight into the floorboards with               a BONE-BREAKING CRUSH.                         He KICKS over the rest of the entertainment system, JUMPS on               it and heads out of the room.                         ROLLER DOLLY follows him on a STUMBLING RAMPAGE through the               apartment and down the hall.                         By the door, in an ashtray with his car keys, he finds it:               his God-damned CELL PHONE. Of course it stops ringing just               as he picks it up. He pockets it, BANGS OPEN the front door               and is out.                         INT CHEV'S APARTMENT BUILDING, CONTINUOUS          8                                                                          8               ROLLER DOLLY stays with him through the door and down the               hall, as a businesswoman peaks her head out the door - then               SLAMS IT SHUT, terrified - and then down the stairs to the               garage door.                    9                                                                          9               INT CHEV'S APARTMENT BUILDING, GARAGE, CONTINUOUS                         ROLLER DOLLY still on CHEV. He jumps up on the hood of a               moving RED SPORTSCAR as it backs out of it's parking spot,               walks right over it and hops off, clicking the keyless lock               button on his chain in mid-air ... the door to his BLACK AUDI               pops open ... he gets in.                         RED SPORTSCAR GUY is the sort of classic intolerable LA               ASSHOLE we love to hate: platinum hair, suspenders, designer               shades, programming his Blackberry while driving, etc.                                             SPORTSCAR GUY                         This is a eighty thousand dollar ride,                         cockwipe!                         CHEV backs out, runs him right over. CH-KUNK, CH-KUNK.               CHEV'S AUDI blasts out of the garage and down the street.               SPORTSCAR GUY holds his backwards leg in agony.                                             SPORTSCAR GUY (CONT'D)                             (screaming like a girl)                         You're a dead man!                                                                                  CUT TO:                         INT CHEV'S AUDI, MOMENTS LATER          10                                                                     10               The ever-present HEARTBEAT is pounding.     CHEV whips out his               cell phone and dials. A HORN BLASTS.                                                                              (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                                     6.               CONTINUED:                         CHEV quickly looks up and yanks his steering wheel to swerve               around oncoming traffic.                                                CHEV                            JESUS!                         The CAMERA ZOOMS in on CHEV'S CHEST: it becomes JUST SLIGHTLY               TRANSPARENT... we see the movement of his beating HEART SPEED               UP with the near miss.                          he HEARTBEAT SOUND is amplified as we MOVE IN CLOSER.                                                                                     CUT TO:                         INT EVE'S APARTMENT, SIMULTANEOUS          11                                                                     11               We see an old school tape answering machine pick up at her               place:                                                 OMAN (V.O.)                            Hey, this is Eve...                         This is apparently typical - she's an answering machine girl               in a cell phone world. He holds back his frustration as the               message plays.                                                EVE                            I'm glad you called, but I'm not here.                            Can you leave me a message? Unless                            you're trying to sell something, because                            I'm absolutely not interested. But if                            you're not ...                    12                                                                     12               EXT CHEV'S AUDI, SAME TIME                         CHEV begins to POUND HIS HEAD against the steering wheel.                                                EVE                            ... then just ... oh, wait ... time's up -                         INT EVE'S APARTMENT, SAME TIME          13                                                                     13               SOUND: beeep!                                                CHEV (O.S.)                            GET A CELL PHONE!!!                         We hear CHEV'S car SQUEAL again...                                                                                     CUT TO:                         INT CHEV'S AUDI, SAME TIME          14                                                                     14               ... CHEV recovers from another near miss.                                                                                 (CONTINUED)                         (                                                                              C                                                       N                                                                                                                          7.               CONTINUED:                                                          CHEV                            S                             hit!                         He clicks off the cell.       His eyes try to focus on the road.                          OTE: Through it all, the low beating of the heart - from               slow to fast - sometimes barely audible, sometimes mixed way               out front - clues us into the state of his adrenaline.                         He grabs up the cellphone again and punches in a speed dial.                                                CHEV (CONT'D)                            Come on ...                                                ANSWERING SERVICE (O.S.)                            Doctor Miles' office, may I help you?                                                CHEV                            Let me talk to him.                         SPLIT SCREEN WITH:                         INT CHOCOLATE'S APARTMENT, SIMULTANEOUS          15                                                                       15               CHOCOLATE, a too-skinny, cracked-out BLACK CHICK, sits in               front of a multi-line phone in a broken down apartment.               She's wearing a headset. She takes a long drag off her               cigarette.                                                 HOCOLATE                                (a generic imitation of                                 politeness)                            I'm sorry, the doctor isn't in the office                            at this time, may I take -                                                CHEV                            Where is he?                                                CHOCOLATE                            I beg your pardon sir?                                                CHEV                            Where - thefuck - is - he?                          In more SCREENS WITHIN SCREENS we see a 'WELCOME TO LAS               VEGAS' sign, then DOCTOR MILES reclining on a massage table               with a bunch of HOOKERS.)                                                CHOCOLATE                            I don't know sir, this is his answering                            service, would you like me to have him                            paged?                                                                                          (CONTINUED)                    C                                                                                                               8.          CONTINUED:                                                     CHEV                           (exasperated)                       Fine, yes, please let the doctor know                       that Chev Chelios is a dead man if he                       can't call me back within the hour... got                       that?     C                                  HOCOLATE                       Can you spell that for me sir?                    She searches the food and carton strewn tabletop for          something to write with.                                            CHEV                       D-E-A-D.   Chelios... got it?                                              CHOCOLATE                       Yes sir...                                              CHEV                       Thank you.                     HEV hangs up.                    CHEV finds himself nodding off in the car ...                    The CAMERA ZOOMS back into his chest. This time it becomes          COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT - we see his HEART BEAT SLOW DOWN:                    SOUND - BOOMING: ... LUB DUB, LUB DUB...                    The CAMERA SWOOSHES down to CHEV'S FOOT as he STEPS ON THE          GAS... then back up to the HEART as the ADRENALINE CRANKS HIM          UP... the BEATING SPEEDS UP -                    SOUND: ... LUBDUB, LUBDUB, LUBDUB..!                    ... and the CAMERA SNAPS back out to CHEV'S FACE as he seems          to come to his senses.                    CHEV takes the cell. One-clicks, and sticks the phone in the          cigarette adapter. Four rings. Finally someone picks up.                                              KAYLO (O.S.)                       Hello?                                           CHEV                       Kaylo. My man. So, where were you last                       night?                    SPLIT SCREEN WITH:                                              K                                                                  C                                                                            C                                                  1                                                                  O                                                                                                                        9.                                             INT KAYLO'S HOUSE - SIMULTANEOUS          16                                                                     16               KAYLO is late 20's, slightly plump, hispanic, with gelled               back curly hair. The room is unkempt. A woman in a robe               shuffles by vaguely in the background, possibly his mother?                                    K                                     AYLO                           h, what's up Chev?                                              CHEV (O.S.)                          I said, where were you last night?                         IN A SCREEN WITHIN A SCREEN WE SEE HIM DRESSING UP IN DRAG,          17                                                                     17               PUTTING ON LIPSTICK, FAKE TITS, THE WORKS, VOGUEING AT SOME               FREAKY CLUB, ETC.                         INT CHEV'S AUDI - SIMULTANEOUS           8                                                                     18                                    KAYLO (O.S.)                          I ... uhh ...                                                  HEV                          Yeah, yeah.     You wanna know what I was                          doing?                                              KAYLO                          What?                                              CHEV                          GETTING KILLED, YOU IDIOT!                                              KAYLO                          What?                                               HEV                          What? What? You heard me.      That son of                          a bitch Ricky Verona.                                               AYLO                          Ricky Verona ...                                              CHEV                              (more to himself)                          Who would've thought that little bastard                          had the stones to come whack me in my own                          crib... it's inconceivable... and yet,                          here we are.                                              KAYLO                          Where are we?                         Silence.                                                                                           (CONTINUED)                         B                                                       R                                                                                                                      10.               CONTINUED:                                                          CHEV                            I'm dead and you're simple. Now listen:                            you put the word out I'm looking for                            Ricky Verona. Anyone sees him you call                            me.                         KAYLO puts his hands up in the air, dumbfounded.                                                CHEV (CONT'D)                            I'm going to get that little son of a                            bitch if it's the last thing I do... it                            may actually be the last thing I do,                            understand that? Copy me on that?                                                KAYLO                            Ricky Verona?                                                  CHEV                            Find him!                         Arriving at his destination CHEV clicks off, simultaneously               closing KAYLO'S SCREEN IN A SCREEN, and shoves the phone into               his shirt pocket as he screeches up the sidewalk.                                                                                    CUT TO:                    19   A                                                                19               EXT STREET, NEAR BLACK SABBATH CLUBHOUSE, MOMENTS LATER                           run down street in Inglewood. The BLACK SABBATH CLUBHOUSE               is a low lying pool hall/bar with a crude hand-painted sign               reading BEER POOL DARTS. Motorcycles are parked out front.                          OLLER DOLLY from alongside CHEV'S car at high speed, break               off and follow inside as CHEV parks haphazardly, rushes out               and busts into the joint ...                         INT. BLACK SABBATH CLUBHOUSE, CONTINUOUS          20                                                                    20               The continuous ROLLER DOLLY move takes us inside and KEEPS               GOING. Eight or ten BROTHERS, some wearing motorcycle               leathers, are scattered around the room, shooting stick,               drinking, etc. CHEV BARGES IN, drawing a GLOK .45 from his               coat and goes straight at ORLANDO - black, hip, 30's, better               dressed than the others - who is at the center of a group of               BADASSES.                          efore anyone has time to react CHEV has the GUN PRESSED INTO               ORLANDO'S FOREHEAD and is pushing him through the place into               the bathroom. Everyone scatters and takes cover at the site               of the GLOK; firearms appear.                                                                                                              (CONTINUED)                    C                                                                                                                  11.          CONTINUED:                              CHEV locks the door, SLAMS ORLANDO against the far wall and          starts circling around him with the gun beaded on ORLANDO'S          forehead.                                           CHEV                           (out of his mind)                       Where's Verona!!                                           ORLANDO                           (flipping out)                       It's cool it's cool it's cool!                                           CHEV                       Talk!!                    CHEV cocks the gun.                                           ORLANDO                       I'm talking! What are we talking about?                                           CHEV                       Don't fuck with me!!                                           ORLANDO                       OK, nobody's fucking with you, just calm                       down ...                                           CHEV                       DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN MOTHERFUCKER!                    There's BANGING on the door.    A BIKER yells from outside.                                           BIKER (O.S.)                       O-land-o! What's up!                                            ORLANDO                           (calling back)                       There's a white man with a gun in here, I                       would prefer that he not cap my ass, so                       please refrain from any sudden ass                       bullshit!                           (                             to CHEV)                       Now you see that? I'm trying to help you                       here.                     HEV starts to chill out.                                           CHEV                       Look, I got to find Ricky Verona ...                                           ORLANDO                       Why would I know where ... ?                                                                                      (CONTINUED)                    T                                                                                                                 12.          CONTINUED: (2)                                                   CHEV                     ... right, I know, you don't know where                     he is, but you're going to tell me where                     he is, or I'm going to BLOW YOUR BRAINS                     INTO THAT TOILET!!                    The DOOR BUSTS OPEN and a half dozen gun wielding BROTHERS          crowd into the tiny room.                     otal mad chaos ensues, CHEV, ORLANDO and the BROTHERS packed          in like sardines, everyone pointing guns at every one else's          head, shoving each other back and forth, everyone screaming.          The situation teeters at the very edge of an explosion of          bloody violence.                    Finally ORLANDO cuts through the din with a booming voice.                                         ORLANDO                     THE WHITE MAN IS COOL!   THE WHITE MAN IS                     COOL!          S           ILENCE - just the sound of CHEV'S heartbeat, pumping.                                         ORLANDO (CONT'D)                         (calmly)                     Can we all just get along?   Can we?                    Beat.   CHEV'S gun is still trained on ORLANDO'S head.                                         ORLANDO (CONT'D)                     Now Chevy here has something he would                     like to discuss. So we are going to                     discuss it. In a civilized manner.                     Chevy? I believe you had a question, or                     some point you were trying to make?                                         CHEV                     Where's Verona.                                        ORLANDO                     OK. I am not affiliated with Ricky                     Verona.                                         CHEV                         (starting to lose it again)                     You pulled the Anselmo job together,                     don't try to bullshit me ...                    He presses closer to ORLANDO ... the BROTHERS bristle ... the          situation is close to blowing up again.                                                                                                         (CONTINUED)                    T                                                  C                                                                                                              13.          CONTINUED: (3)                                                  ORLANDO                    Easy ... easy ... now things are                    beginning to clarify ... you see how that                    works? How discussion can lead to                    clarity?                     HEV is running out of patience.                                        ORLANDO (CONT'D)                    Clearly you are operating under a false                    pretense. Ricky Verona and myself did                    not "pull the Anselmo job together." In                    fact, Ricky Verona fucked me on the                    Anselmo job. In fact, Ricky Verona owes                    me seventy five hunna dollars.                                        CHEV                    That's not how I heard it.                                        ORLANDO                    But that's the way it is. That's the way                    it is. So you see, I don't know where                    Ricky Verona is. Because if I knew where                    he is, I would probably be there right                    now, beating his Gucci ass down.          S           tandoff. CHEV holds the gun with an unsteady hand, studying          ORLANDO'S eyes, evaluating.                     hen, as much from exhaustion as from a sense that he's          telling the truth, he lets his gun hand drop.                                         CHEV                    Alright.                    The room lets out a collective exhale. The BROTHERS mutter          amongst themselves - damn right you better put that shit          away, crazy bitch ass mother ...                                        ORLANDO                    Thank you. That's what I'm talking                    about. That resembles civility.                    LUB DUB ... LUB DUB ... LUB ... DUB                    CHEV begins to fade again. He slumps back, looking as though          he might pass out. One of the BROTHERS catches him, holds          him up and shoves him away.                                        ORLANDO (CONT'D)                    Shit dude, what's the matter with you?                                                                                            (CONTINUED)                                                                                 14.          CONTINUED: (4)                                                  CHEV                    Forget it. I just gotta find Ricky                    Verona, that little bitch ...                                        ORLANDO                    I understand that. You've made that                    point abundantly clear to all of us.                    He takes pity on him - CHEV really looks like shit. A few of          the BROTHERS lose interest, begin to filter out of the room.                                        ORLANDO (CONT'D)                    Now what can I do to help you?                                        CHEV                    Look, just give me some coke, OK?    You                    got any coke?                    ORLANDO gives him the look.                                        ORLANDO                    OK, now you're insulting me.                                        CHEV                    Come on, man, I know you got coke.                                        ORLANDO                    You think every brother is carrying, is                    that it?                                        CHEV                    Come on, I don't have time for this, just                    give me something ... I'm really dying                    here ...                                        ORLANDO                    I can see that.                                        CHEV                    No. You don't understand, I'm really                    fucking dying ... if I don't ...                        (losing it again)                    May I just have some coke, please?                                        ORLANDO                    So this is medicinal use coke, that's                    what you're telling me.                                        CHEV                    That's right.                    Beat.                                                                                   (CONTINUED)                                        O                                                                                                             15.          CONTINUED: (5)                                                  ORLANDO                    Well?                                        CHEV                    W                     hat?                                        ORLANDO                    You got something for me, or what?                    CHEV shoves his gun into his belt, pulls out a wad of tens,          tosses it into the sink. He's visibly fading.                    ORLANDO takes a quick look over the wad, pulls a little          plastic bag out of his vest pocket, tosses it to CHEV. The          bag hits CHEV square in the forehead, hits sweat and STICKS.          CHEV reaches for it lamely - it slides off and lands on the          floor. His reflexes are not the best at this point.                    CHEV collapses to his knees, breaks it open and snorts it          right out of the bag like a pig on his elbows and knees. The          BROTHERS find this hilarious.                    ORLANDO shakes his head in disgust.                                        ORLANDO (CONT'D)                    Chevy ... come on, man...                    We hear CHEV'S heart rate start to build, increase in volume.                    Suddenly he pops up to his feet, almost slips and falls,          steadies himself. A new man.                                        CHEV                    OK, that's good.    That's good.                                         RLANDO                    Oh that's good, right?                    CHEV pounds rhythmically on chest, keeping time with his          beating heart.                                        ORLANDO (CONT'D)                    W                     hy you looking for Verona anyway?                                        CHEV                    Seems like some Chinese assholes hired                    him to kill me...                                         ORLANDO                    Ah, so this is about the Don Kim                    situation.                                                                                           (CONTINUED)                                           C                                                                         C                                                            T                                                                                                            16.          CONTINUED: (6)                                                  CHEV                    What do you know about it?                                        ORLANDO                    I know you pulled the trigger.                                        CHEV                        (flipping out)                    Of course I pulled the trigger! WHY                    WOULDN'T I PULL THE TRIGGER?!                                           ORLANDO                    O...kay...                    Abruptly, CHEV'S HEART STOPS... his eyes go wide - he waits          for it...                    LUB...                    ... waiting...                    DUB.                    ... and then it STARTS UP AGAIN, slow, erratic. CHEV is GHOST          WHITE.                                        ORLANDO (CONT'D)                    Whoa, Chelios. You good, man?                                        CHEV                     his shit's not working.                                        ORLANDO                    Beg your pardon?                    CHEV swoons, close to BLACKING OUT.                                         HEV                    I think I know what I have to do.                                         ORLANDO                        (shrugging)                    Well, a man's got to do what a man's got                    to do.                        (beat)                    Uhh... what exactly is it that you got to                    do?                    CHEV SNAPS to his senses.                                         HEV                    Got to kick... some black... ass.                                                                                (CONTINUED)                         S                                                  2                                                       S                                                                                                                    17.               CONTINUED: (7)                                                        ORLANDO                         What?                         CHEV turns to the biggest, meanest looking BROTHER in the               room, pats him on the chest in a mock friendly way, then,               without warning, slams his head forward into the BROTHER'S               face, knocking him backwards into the hallway, sending all               the other BROTHERS sprawling like tenpins.                                    O                                    RLANDO (CONT'D)                         There he goes again.                         CHEV has a pool cue in his hands.   He moves out into the               hallway, eyes wild.                          OUND: CHEV's HEARTBEAT starts to rev up.                                             CHEV                         Alright ... who wants white meat?                         All hell breaks loose.                         EXT OUTSIDE THE BLACK SABBATH CLUBHOUSE, MOMENTS LATER           1                                                                  21               A calm exterior of the building: single window, bars over it,               single door closed.                         SUDDENLY THE WINDOW SMASHES OUTWARD; the two arms of one of               the BROTHERS poke out through the bars as though he's been               thrown into the window frame from inside. One hand holds a               cue ball, which drops and hits the sidewalk.                         A second later THE DOOR BLOWS OFF IT'S HINGES as CHEV is               tossed, upside down, through it to land on the cement in a               jumble of glass and wood. The door falls on him. The               BROTHERS chase him out into the street, shouting him down.                         STILL BRANDISHING THE POOL CUE, HE SOMEHOW HOLDS THEM OFF AS 22          22               HE STUMBLES TO HIS CAR, PEELS OUT AND BLASTS OFF DOWN THE               STREET, LAUGHING MANIACALLY, HEART POUNDING LIKE A               JACKHAMMER.          2               INT CHEV'S CAR, MOMENTS LATER           3                                                                  23               Speeding along, weaving erratically through traffic, sweating               hard, panting with adrenaline.                          OUND: BEE-DEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEE-DUM.                         CHEV'S cell rings.   He picks it right up.                                              CHEV                         Doc?                                    C                                                        C                                                                  Y                                                                  D                                                  2               H                                                                                                                     18.                                              IN A SPLIT SCREEN WE SEE IT'S VERONA.          24                                                                   24                                    VERONA                           ey, what's up, Doc!                                              CHEV           3A                                                                 23A                          You motherfucker!                                              VERONA                           ude, aren't you dead yet?    What the hell                          are you doing out there?                                              CHEV          23A                                                                 23A                          I'm coming for you, asshole, believe me.                                              VERONA                           eah, whatever. Look, just thought you'd                          like to know that I'm all about hooking                          up with that mystery girl you've been                          banging as soon as your ass is                          underground ... I forgot to say so on                          that gay James Bond tape I left for                          you...                                              CHEV          23A                                                                 23A                          Yeah, yeah, then you're going to rape my                          grandmother, blah blah blah. What do you                          think Carlito is going to think when he                          finds out what you did? Your whole crew                          is history.                          CHEV checks the rearview mirror.                                              CHEV (CONT'D)                              (under his breath)                          Great.                          Throughout the conversation his driving has gotten faster, 23B          23B                more and more out of control. Now a SQUAD CAR has pulled up                behind him, cherry top flashing, broadcasting a warning to                "PULL OVER" out of its intercom.                           HEV goes evasive, leading the cop on a HIGH SPEED CHASE.                                              VERONA                           arlito? That's funny, I guess you                          didn't know... Carlito's my boy now,                          we're tight.                                              CHEV                          You haven't been tight since your brother                          fucked you in 3rd grade.                                                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                    D                                                                                  C                                                                                  C                                                                     C                                                                                                                        19.                CONTINUED:                                                           VERONA                              lever. Snappy. Did you pretty good,                             didn't I, Chelios? Come on, you can admit                             it.                                                    CHEV                             We'll see.                                                 VERONA                             Right, right, and the best part about it                             is...                          CHEV'S phone BEEPS - incoming call.                                                  HEV                             Sorry, I must take this. See you later.                                                 VERONA                             I doubt it.                C                 HEV pushes "answer" and picks up the new call.                                                    CHEV          25A                                                                    25A                             Yeah.                                                    DOC MILES (V.O.)                                       Doc Miles.                                                    HEV                             Doc!    Shit, it's about time.                          SPLIT SCREEN WITH:                          EXT LAS VEGAS AIRPORT, SIMULTANEOUS          25                                                                      25                                       DOC MILES                             Sorry baby, I just got the message.                                                 CHEV          25A                                                                    25A                             OK, forget it, listen: I'm dying. I've                             been poisoned with some kind of Chinese                             synthetic shit.                                                     OC MILES                             Woah!                                                 CHEV                             You've got to do something for me, it                             feels so crazy, like it's in my blood ...                                                                                                                (CONTINUED)                                                                                         20.               CONTINUED:                                   CHEV swerves wildly. Throughout the conversation we are               tight on CHEV and DOC - the only idea we have about the chase               occurring outside the car comes from CHEV'S wild steering,               the sound of BURNING RUBBER AND SIRENS, and the few details               flashing by in the background and reflected in the glass.                                                DOC MILES                            Alright, slow down. You say you've been                            poisoned. Can you describe the symptoms?                                                CHEV                            It's like... it's like... like I'm                            slowing down... like I'm caught in a tar                            pit...                                                DOC MILES                            Blurred vision?                                                   CHEV                            Yeah.                                                   DOC MILES                            Dizziness?                                                   CHEV                            S                             ure.                                                DOC MILES                            Pain in your chest?                                                CHEV                            Not really. Actually I'm feeling pretty                            good right now.                                                DOC MILES                            What are you doing?                                                                                     CUT TO:                         INT. FOX HILLS MALL, CONTINUOUS          26                                                                     26               We reveal that CHEV'S car is BLASTING THROUGH THE INSIDE OF A               SHOPPING MALL, screaming past frozen yogurt and Big n Tall               shops, missing terrified shoppers by inches.                                                CHEV                            Driving through a mall with five cops                            chasing me.                         Behind his car we see two CHPs on motorcycles and three SQUAD               CARS giving chase.                                                                                                     (CONTINUED)                          H                                                                                                                        21.                CONTINUED:                                                           DOC MILES                                 (partially to himself)                             The flow of adrenaline is keeping you                             alive.                                                 CHEV                             I'm having a little trouble hearing you,                             Doc.                                                 DOC MILES                             Listen, Chev - you have to keep moving.                                                  CHEV                             Explain.                                                 DOC MILES                             If I'm right, they gave you the Beijing                             Cocktail... very nasty ... works on your                             adrenal gland, blocking your receptors.                             The only way to slow it down is to keep                             the flow of adrenaline constant.                          CHEV CRASHES HIS CAR INTO THE ESCALATOR.          26A                                                                    26A                 e hops out with cell phone to his ear and takes a ride to                the second floor, RIDING THE SMASHED CAR UP THE ESCALATOR.                                                 DOC MILES (CONT'D)                             Meaning: if you stop, you die.                                                 CHEV                             What's that?                                                 DOC MILES                             If you stop, you die.                          INT. FOX HILLS MALL - DAY          28                                                                      28                CHEV jumps off of the car and starts booking through the                second level, huffing it, barking into the phone the whole                time.                                                  CHEV                             That's what I'm trying to do... just keep                             moving... keep the blood pumping... every                             time I slow down it's like my veins start                             to rust...                                                 DOC MILES                             Have you taken anything?                                                 CHEV                             A couple grams of coke.                                                                                  (CONTINUED)                    2                                                                                                                       22.               CONTINUED:                                                          DOC MILES                            Oh boy. Well, that's a start. Look,                            I'll be back in LA in an hour. I'll call                            you as soon as I land. Keep yourself                            pumped up. Don't stop, don't quit, I'll                            be there.               C                HEV gives the cops the slip and heads into a ...                         INT CLOTHING STORE, CONTINUOUS           7                                                                        27               ... men's clothing store.        He bolts to the back, looking for               an exit.                         He heads into the dressing room, no exit. Turns back out               into the store and then tries the EMPLOYEES ONLY door.               Behind the door are two overweight employees in suits. He               RUNS THEM BOTH OVER and heads to the exit. They chase. CHEV               gets to the exit first and BURSTS through the door.                    28                                                                        28               EXT MALL, CONTINUOUS                         He runs down the sidewalk and manages to hail a cab.                                                 CHEV                            Yo!   Right here!                                                                                     CUT TO:                    29                                                                        29               INT CAB, SECONDS LATER                         The inside of the cab has the East Indian vibe. Incense,               Koran on the dash, and Farsi music over the radio.                                                  CHEV                            Go.                                                CABBIE                                (in a thick Pakistani accent)                            Where we go?                                                  CHEV                            Straight.    Now.                         They zip through the stop sign and hit the traffic light.                                                CHEV (CONT'D)                            Make a right.                         EXT. CITY STREET - DAY          30   T                                                                    30                he CABBIE pulls a CALIFORNIA ROLLER to the right - the TIRES               PEEL.                                                                                 (CONTINUED)                                       H                                                                                                                            23.                CONTINUED:                                    Three SQUAD CARS pass, SIRENS AND LIGHTS BLARING, heading the0A          30A                                                               3                opposite way.                          CHEV starts to drop off; we hear his HEART RATE start to slow9A          29A                                                               2                down.                                                 CHEV                              ey, crank the music.                          The CABBIE turns to an FM country station playing Billy Ray                Cyrus, "Achy Breaky Heart."                                                 CHEV (CONT'D)                             No, CRANK IT.                          The Cabbie BLARES it.                          CHEV starts to embarrassingly bang his head to the Billy Ray                as if it was Metallica in the late 80's.                          Something catches his eye.                                                    CHEV (CONT'D)                             Pull over.     Come on, right here.    Thank                             you.                          A 7-11 can be seen through the side window.                                                 CHEV (CONT'D)                             OK, I'll be back in one minute.       Don't go                             anywhere.                                                 CABBIE                             OK, cowboy.                          EXT 7-11 STREET, SECONDS LATER          31                                                                          31                CHEV jumps out of the cab and into the 7-11.         We see him pull                his gun from his pants as he enters.                          INT 7-11 CONVENIENCE STORE, CONTINUOUS          32                                                                          32                He goes right to the counter and sticks the place up.                          He grabs the man from behind the counter and in one move,                yanks him over the counter and SLAMS HIM FACE-DOWN on the                floor.                                                 CHEV                             You move, you die ...                                                                                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                C                                                       O                                                       H                                                                                                                    24.               CONTINUED:                                   CHEV grabs a box of trash bags, rips it open and takes one               out. He opens the bag and starts dumping CAFFEINE in: Jolt,               Coke, Red Bull, Starbucks Frappuccinos.                          e DIALS A NUMBER on W                                    his cell.    It rings twice, then:                                                 OMAN (V.O.)                            Hey, this is Eve ...                                                CHEV                            AHHHHHHHHHH!                         He yells and jumps up and down while heading to the counter.               He grabs hundreds of the little ginseng capsules, Vivran, and               everything candy. The bag's full.                          ne last look. He spots some shitty flowers in a bucket.               The fastest double take in movie history with the grouchiest               face, then he grabs them.                                                                                   CUT TO:                         INT CAB, SECONDS LATER          33                                                                   33               He hops back in the cab with the cheap flowers and the black               santa bag.                         He opens the bag and starts SLAMMING whatever he can get his               hands on.                                                CABBIE                            Where you want to go, man?                         CHEV is guzzling Red Bull, popping vitamins, whatever.                                                 HEV                            Beverly Hills.                                                                                   CUT TO:                         EXT ROOFTOP OF CARLITO'S BUILDING, MINUTES LATER          34                                                                   34               EXTREME CU of a Fuente Fuente Opus X cigar, rich tendril of               smoke curling through the air.                         As the hand holding the cigar brings it up for a drag the               CAMERA pulls back, revealing CARLITO, an imposing 6'1", 225               lb. DOMINICAN in his late 40s.                         The CAMERA continues its move back, skimming over blue water,               revealing an elaborate pool area on the rooftop. CARLITO is               sitting by the pool in a velvet robe.                                                                                       (CONTINUED)                                             C                                                  T                                                                                                                    25.          CONTINUED:                    Bodyguards roam the property and a beautiful, rock hard BLACK          WOMAN suns on the deck.                    Still in the same shot, pulling back, CARLITO puts down the          cigar, stands up and dives into the pool. The camera drops          down below the water level, and CARLITO swims right up to it          for a CLOSE-UP.                    CARLITO'S POV - We are under water swimming towards the edge          of the pool. As we look up, we see a water-distorted figure          above the water, looking down into the pool. The classic          shot made famous in The GRADUATE and used a thousand times          since ... only this time the guy outside the pool JUMPS IN.          I           t's CHEV, fully dressed. He meets CARLITO face to face          underwater and points up with his index finger.                    We CUT TO CARLITO'S reaction.       He follows CHEV up.                     heir heads rise just above the water, like heads on a          platter. Several jittery BODYGUARDS stand at the edge of the          pool, guns drawn. With a simple motion of his hand, CARLITO          calms them.                                             CARLITO                       Chevy.                                             CHEV                       Hey boss.                                           CARLITO                       I'm surprised to see you.                                           CHEV                       Well, something urgent has come up.                                            CARLITO                       Ha!   So I've heard.                                           CHEV                       Then you know what happened?                                           CARLITO                       Word travels fast.     You amaze me, my                       friend.                                           CHEV                       What can I say. Look, Carlito, I need                       your help. I don't have much time.                                            ARLITO                       No, not much.                                                                                                  (CONTINUED)                                            C                                                                                                                 26.          CONTINUED: (2)                                                    CHEV                     We've got to find an antidote or                     something.                    Silence.                                         CHEV (CONT'D)                     What's the matter?                                         CARLITO                         (shrugs)                     The shit they gave you ... it's the                     Chinese shit. There is no antidote.     I                     wish there was something I could do.                                         CHEV                     What, so that's it?                                         CARLITO                     Honestly, you should be dead already.                     It's a miracle.                                            CHEV                     A miracle.                                         CARLITO                     We give that shit to horses ...                                          HEV                     I can't believe it.                                            CARLITO          C          I'm sorry.                     UT TO CHEV and CARLITO'S legs treading water to keep their          heads afloat.                    SOUND: LUBDUB ... LUBDUB ... LUBDUB                                         CHEV                     Well you don't have to be so damn cool                     about it.                                         CARLITO                     What do you expect me to do?                                         CHEV                     Tell me you're going to find that punk                     Verona and his whole fuckin' crew and                     feed `em to a cage of wolverines.                    CARLITO shrugs.   No response.                                                                                     (CONTINUED)                              A                                                                                                                 27.          CONTINUED: (3)                              CUT TO legs treading.                                         CHEV (CONT'D)                    What is this? Are you boys now or                    something?                                        CARLITO                    Verona? That's just a small time punk.                    But... that's not to say there isn't an                    opportunity here.                                        CHEV                    Opportunity.                                        CARLITO                    Everyone knows the love I have for you,                    Chev. Maybe this can even the score for                    the Don Kim hit, which was perhaps ill-                    advised.                                        CHEV                        (flabbergasted)                    Ill advised?                                        CARLITO                    The heat from Hong Kong has been more                    than we anticipated.                                        CHEV                    Oh. That's outstanding, Carlito. I'm glad                    to know that my death can be of some use                    to you.                                        CARLITO                    Don't be difficult.                                        CHEV                    Am I being difficult? Is this what you                    call difficult? I don't know if you                    noticed, but I'm having a DIFFICULT                    FUCKING DAY, BRO!                    Beat.                                        CARLITO                     re you disrespecting me, Chev?    Is that                    what you're doing?                    They stare each other down.                    LUBDUB ... LUB ... DUB ... LUB ... DUB ...                                                                                               (CONTINUED)                                               C                                                                 F                                                                                                                   28.               CONTINUED: (4)                                                       CHEV                          orget it, I'm out of here.                         CHEV climbs out of the pool. CARLITO NARROWS HIS EYES,               watching him leave. The BODYGUARD motions to follow, CARLITO               signals him off. CHEV passes a black HELICOPTER sitting on a               small, hard-rubbered heli-pad.                         CARLITO'S POV - from a distance we see CHEV knocking over               furniture and BREAKING GLASS on his way out.                         CARLITO'S POV descends beneath the water - his breath               releases.                                                                                 CUT TO:                         EXT STREET, IN FRONT OF CARLITO'S BUILDING, MOMENTS LATER          35                                                                 35               The building opens onto the high rent section of Sunset Blvd.               An outdoor cafe populated by the rich and trendy is next               C               door.                          HEV shakes himself off and bangs out of the revolving glass               doors. A VALET approaches him and CHEV gets in his face,               FLASHING MURDEROUS TEETH and shoving him away, hopping up and               down to keep the heart pounding ... he heads over to the cab               waiting out front.                         The same ARAB CABBIE is waiting inside.                                             CABBIE                         You're not getting into my cab wet.                                             CHEV                         I just gave you 200 dollars to wait for 3                         minutes.                                             CABBIE                         You are not getting into my car no way.                         CHEV goes to the driver side of the car, pulls the CABBIE out               of the cab and tosses him into the road. The lunch crowd at               the cafe, passerbys, etc., look on in bewilderment. CHEV               points at the CABBIE and starts screaming ...                                               HEV                         AL QEADA!   AL QEADA!                         Everybody freaks out. A WAITER dives under the a table,               expecting an explosion.                         CHEV grabs the CABBIE by his lapels and tosses him right into               the CAFE, smashing a table, still pointing and screaming.                                                                             (CONTINUED)                                       E                                                             D                                                                                                                 C                                                                                                                     29.                CONTINUED:                                                             CHEV (CONT'D)                             AL QEADA!                T                 he whole restaurant, OLD LADIES included, dogpile the poor                CABBIE, wildly protesting in a thick accent.                                                 CABBIE                             I love America! I love Bush!                          CHEV gets in the cab and drives off.                                                                                   CUT TO:                          INT CAB, MOMENTS LATER          36                                                                   36                CHEV is slamming Frappucinos, driving.                          SOUND: BEE-DEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEE-DUM.                          It's the CELL PHONE.                                                   CHEV                             Yeah.                                                 DOC MILES (O.S.)          36A                                                                 36A                             My flight's delayed.                                                   CHEV                             Shit.                                                 DOC MILES (V.O.)                             Relax. I mean don't relax. Listen to                             me. The shit they gave you is cutting                             off your adrenaline.                                                                                    UT TO:                          Science class-type microscope footage of darting chemicals          37                                                                   37                and protein globules.                                                  OC MILES (CONT'D) (V.O.)                              xcitement, fear, danger ... it causes                             your body to manufacture a chemical                             called ephedrine ... it binds with                             receptors in your blood to keep you alive                             ... what they've done is introduce an                             inhibitor into your system ... it blocks                             the receptors so your body's ephedrine                             can't bind ... and that's what's killing                             you.                    3                                                                                                                     30.                                              INT LAS VEGAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, SAME TIME          38                                                                   38                                    DOC MILES                          Your only shot is to massively increase                          the level of ephedrine in your body ...                          to force out the inhibitors ...                          INT CAB, SAME TIME           6B                                                                 36B                                    CHEV                          In English, doc.    Please.                                              DOC MILES (O.S.)                          You've got to get to an emergency room                          and get yourself some epinephrine ...                          it's artificial adrenaline ... it comes                          in 10 milligram syringes ... the shit's                          potent so don't overdo it ... probably a                          fifth of an injection will do.                          CHEV tries to remember all this while zoning in and out of                consciousness, swerving, slamming coffees and capsules.                                     D                                     OC MILES (O.S.) (CONT'D)                          Did you get all of that Chev?                          CHEV bangs his head against the steering wheel.                                              CHEV                          Epi ... something ...                                                DOC MILES                          nephrin.    Epi-nephrin.                                                CHEV                          OK, OK.    (cell beeps)    I gotta go.                                              DOC MILES                          I'll call you -                          CHEV clicks over.                                                CHEV                          Yeah.                          KAYLO pops up in a mini-screen. He's in a phonebooth          39                                                                   39                downtown, looking furtively over his shoulder as he talks.                                                KAYLO                          Chev!                                                CHEV          36B                                                                 36B                          Yeah.                                                                               (CONTINUED)                          C                                                  3                                                                                  C                                                                                                                           31.                CONTINUED:                                                              KAYLO                             Chev?                                                 CHEV                             Yeah, what is it?                                                    KAYLO                             Hello?                          CHEV hangs up.       KAYLO, bewildered, redials.   CHEV answers,                says nothing.                                                    KAYLO (CONT'D)                             Chev?                                                    CHEV                             Uh huh.                                                 KAYLO                             Chev! I just saw Verona's brother going                             into Charlie O's.                          In a series of BLACK AND WHITE STILLS we see ALEX, the          40                                                                 40                massive dude we saw in the background on VERONA's tape,                exiting a taxi and walking into CHARLIE O'S - a big New York                style 40's-era steak and cocktail joint right in the heart of                C                downtown L.A.                           HEV AND KAYLO'S DIALOGUE CONTINUES OFF-SCREEN.                                                  HEV (O.S.)                             Interesting. Downtown Charlie O's?                                                   KAYLO (O.S.)                             Yeah.    I was just down here getting a                             taco.    He went right in, like, 2 minutes                             ago.                                                 CHEV (O.S.)                             Where are you now?                          CUT BACK TO A SPLIT-SCREEN OF CHEV AND KAYLO.           9B                                                                       39B                                       KAYLO                             I'm across the street, getting a taco.                             Where are you?                           HEV hits the gas pedal and blasts off.                                                    CHEV                             I'm there.     Meet me on 3rd and Flower.                                                                                                        (CONTINUED)                         C                                                                        (                                                       C                                                  4                                                                                                                    32.               CONTINUED:                                   In fast motion we see the freeway exits flash by, one after               another.                         EXT. TACO STAND, DAY           3                                                                  43               KAYLO pays for his food at a leisurely pace - he's at a               little place across the street from CHARLIE O'S - and skulks               out onto the street, trying too hard to be inconspicuous.                         EXT. CITY STREET - DAY          45                                                                  45               Meanwhile, in the second screen, CHEV is blasting along at               high speed, off the freeway, through downtown, and right to               the corner of 3rd and Flower, where he leaves the taxi idling               in a red zone and gets out.                         As KAYLO turns the corner, the two SPLIT SCREENS meet up - he45          45               and CHEV run right into each other.                          HEV pulls KAYLO around the corner, out of sight of the               restaurant.                                                CHEV                                 motioning to the restaurant)                            He's in there now?                         KAYLO nods quickly, freaked out.                                                CHEV (CONT'D)                            Did anyone go in with him?                         KAYLO shakes his head NO.                                                CHEV (CONT'D)                            A                             lright, wait here.                         The CAMERA stays with CHEV as he walks right across the               street and up to the restaurant.                         INT CHARLIE O'S, SAME TIME          46                                                                  46               ALEX is in his usual booth, making lecherous smalltalk with a               40ish WAITRESS in a short skirt and fishnet stockings, as               CHEV, still drying, hair all fucked up and walking               erratically, enters the restaurant. Everyone turns to look               at the crazy man, nervously.                          HEV walks doggedly right by ALEX, staring straight ahead,               not letting on that he knows he's there. ALEX watches him               pass in disbelief.                                                WAITRESS                            What was that?                                                                           (CONTINUED)                         H                                                       B                                                                                                                     33.               CONTINUED:                                                          ALEX                            I just saw a ghost.                         CHEV disappears through the swinging doors to the kitchen.               The MAIRTRE'D has the phone in his hands, ready to dial the               cops, but ALEX motions to him to chill. He'll take care of               it.                         He gets up and follows in CHEV'S footsteps.                         INT CHARLIE O'S KITCHEN, SAME TIME          47                                                                   47               ALEX enters the kitchen. The COOKS all hustle by him - they               want no part of this. CHEV is nowhere to be seen.               A                LEX continues through the kitchen with a distinct lack of               caution - everyone's been afraid of the big man all his life -               drawing a gun from inside his coat as he goes.                         He passes a butcher block, a hacked up roast, a conspicuous               BUTCHER KNIFE.                         Turning a corner, he notices the back door swinging slowly               closed. He advances.                         The back door opens onto an alley. He comes up to it, brings               the gun up by his head, shoulders up to the cracked door and               tries to peer around it into the alley.                         Just then, behind him, CHEV emerges from the kitchen with the               BUTCHER KNIFE.                          efore ALEX can react, CHEV lets swing with the knife and               neatly cuts off ALEX'S gun hand at the wrist. The hand, gun               and all, hits the ground. CHEV kicks ALEX out the door and               into the alley.                         EXT ALLEY, SAME TIME          48                                                                   48               ALEX crumples in shock, holding his abbreviated arm out in               front of his face. He tries to talk, or scream, but all that               comes out is a wheezing sound. CHEV follows him out into the               alley, brandishing the BUTCHER KNIFE, heartrate slamming.                                                CHEV                            How you like that one, tough guy? How                            freaking awesome was that?                          e kicks him in the ribs, knocking him over.                                                CHEV (CONT'D)                            You feel like talking to me?   Where's                            your brother?                                                                               (CONTINUED)                    C                                                                                                                 34.          CONTINUED:                                                      ALEX                           (anger gradually overcoming the                            shock)                       Doing your mother like an Iraqi prisoner,                       you bitch.                                           CHEV                       Nice ... wonder how many steaks I could                       get out of you ...          A           LEX rolls onto his knees, and with a burst of energy throws          himself at CHEV. HE SMASHES CHEV INTO THE ALLEY WALL and          lands on him with his full weight.                    CHEV is pinned. ALEX, enraged, attempts with some success to          strangle him with his remaining hand. CHEV struggles in          futility, heart hammering. It seems hopeless ...                    ... until KAYLO appears behind ALEX with a ROLLING PIN and          brings it down on his skull with a LOUD CRACK.                    ALEX rises up, staggering, and advances on KAYLO, who drops          the ROLLING PIN and cowers amidst the trash cans.                    CHEV gets to his feet, pulls out his gun, puts it to the back          of ALEX'S head.                    CHEV pulls the trigger twice.                    CLICK. CLICK.                                           CHEV (CONT'D)                       WHAT??                    He tosses it away and stumbles to the back door of the          restaurant as ALEX proceeds to beat KAYLO down with a          trashcan, swinging it one handed.                     HEV picks up ALEX'S disconnected hand, which is still          clutching the gun, and walks back over to the action. He          uses ALEX'S finger to pull the trigger twice and blows him          away. ALEX hits the ground with a THUD.                                           CHEV (CONT'D)                       Jesus ... nothing's easy ...                    He pries the gun from ALEX'S cold, dead fingers, shoves it in          his pocket and tosses the hand to a disgusted KAYLO, who          tries to get away from it ...                                           CHEV (CONT'D)                       You want to hold hands?                                                                                     (CONTINUED)                         V                                                       I                                                                                                                      35.               CONTINUED: (2)                                   ... and begins to rifle through ALEX'S pockets. He finds a               cellphone, clicks through the menu and hits send.                          t RINGS.   RICKY VERONA answers.                                               VERONA   (O.S.)                           Talk to me, bro.                                               CHEV                               (impersonating Alex)                           Hey Ricky, whadya think about sucking me                           off, ya in the mood? Maybe let me lick                           your ass or sumtink?                                                                                   CUT TO:                         INT VERONA'S CRIB, SAME TIME          49                                                                     49               VERONA is feeding his Rottweiler some beef jerky.      A HOTTIE               in a bathrobe walks by.                                    V                                      ERONA                           Who is this? Chelios?   IS THIS FUCKING                           CHELIOS?                                               CHEV                           That's right, bro. You wanna guess how I                           got your brother's cell phone?                         VERONA is speechless, furious.    He KNOCKS OVER A TABLE and               pushes the Rot's head away.                                               CHEV (CONT'D)                           I can tell you have it all figured out.                           Looks like you should've cut me up when                           you had the chance.                          ERONA rubs his face.                                                                                   CUT TO:                         EXT ALLEY, SAME TIME          50                                                                     50                                     CHEV                           What's that? I can't hear you ...                           experiencing some 20/20 hindsight?                                                                                   CUT TO:                                    .                              (                                                        C                                                                      (                                                                               C                                                                                                                  36.                                              INT VERONA'S CRIB, SAME TIME          49A                                                               49A                                    VERONA                              (losing it)                          You're supposed to be dead!!!                                               HEV (O.S.)                          You know, man, I kind of like that shit                          you put in me. Think you can get me some                          more?                                              VERONA                               struggling to find a heinous                               enough threat)                          I'll ... I'll ...                          EXT ALLEY, SAME TIME          50A                                                               50A                                    CHEV                          I know, I know ... hey, what's this?                          CHEV spots a necklace around ALEX'S neck, yanks it off. On                the chain: a silver WWII era Russian medallion, engraved with                the image of a mounted Cossack. The name on the back is I.                VERONA.                           HEV looks it over.                                              CHEV (CONT'D)                          A necklace? You guys really are faggots                          aren't you?                                                                                 CUT TO:                          INT VERONA'S CRIB, SAME TIME          49B                                                               49B                                    VERONA                          You motherfucker, my grandfather gave                          that medallion to my father, and then to -                               realizing he's said too much)                           .. fuck you, man, shove that thing up                          your ass.                                              CHEV (O.S.)                          No thanks, but you know I believe I'll                          hang onto it... looks like you'll have to                          come find me after all. Fucked up that                          you killed your own brother.                                                 VERONA                          You -                                                                                 CUT TO:                                                                                         37.                                              EXT - ALLEY, SAME TIME          50B                                                                    50B                                        CHEV                          Out.                          CHEV hangs up, turns off the phone, and pockets it.                Immediately he's on to the next thought.                                              CHEV (CONT'D)                          What was that... epi... shit... 10                          milligrams...                H                 e shakes his head to clear it.                                                  KAYLO                          What?                                                  CHEV                          Huh?    Oh.    I'm taking off.                          We hear SIRENS.                                              CHEV (CONT'D)                          I'd get out of here if I were you.                          He splits, leaving KAYLO with the body, the hand, etc. KAYLO                looks around, tosses the hand, and bolts off in the other                direction.                                                                              FADE TO BLACK.                          EXT LA COUNTY HOSPITAL, AFTERNOON          51                                                                      51                CHEV'S cab is parked illegally.     A meter maid is writing it                up.                          INT LA COUNTY HOSPITAL, SAME TIME          52                                                                      52                The sliding doors to the ER swoosh open as a gurney is                wheeled in by paramedics. CHEV walks quickly in behind them,                a complete wreck, ignoring all the activity, seemingly lost                in his own thoughts. He checks a sign on the wall for                directions.                          An arrow points toward the PHARMACY.       He follows it.                          INT HOSPITAL PHARMACY, MOMENTS LATER          53                                                                      53                CHEV cuts off an OLD MAN with a walker making his way to the                counter. He runs his hand through his freaked out hair,                trying to straighten it out. The PHARMACIST, a cynical girl,                mid-20s, with thick horn rimmed glasses, regards him blankly.                                                                                           (CONTINUED)                                             P                                                                           P                                                                                                                    38.          CONTINUED:                                                       OLD MAN                       Asshole.                                           CHEV                           (to the pharmacist)                       I'm looking for something ... starts with                       `E' ...                                             PHARMACIST                       England?                                           CHEV                       That's funny. No, I'm talking about some                       kind of artificial adrenaline ... some                       shit ... you know ...                                            HARMACIST                       Artificial adrenaline.                                           CHEV                       I have heart problems.                                           PHARMACIST                       Epinephrine?                                             CHEV                       Yes!    Yes ... that's it ... you have it?                                            HARMACIST                       I can't give you epinephrine.                                             CHEV                       Why?                                           PHARMACIST                       Just a minute.                    She walks into the back.        Through the glass he sees her pick          up a phone.                                           CHEV                       Come on, what is that...                    A pimply faced TEENAGER with greasy, shoulder length brown          hair has been watching the whole thing from the magazine          rack.                T                                  EENAGER                       Nasal spray, dude.                                             CHEV                       What?                                                                                        (CONTINUED)                         T                                                       .                                                       H                                                                                                                    39.               CONTINUED: (2)                                                       TEENAGER                         Nasal spray.                          e gestures to a counter display: NAS-ALL, little plastic               bottles.                                             TEENAGER (CONT'D)                         It's got epinephrine in it.   Get you                         tweaked, man.                         CHEV looks from the kid to the display and back, then through               the glass window, where the PHARMACIST is talking to someone               on the telephone, looking out at him suspiciously.                         He picks up a handful of the little spray bottles and gets               out of there. The OLD MAN gives him a sour look; CHEV makes               him FLINCH with a sudden jerk toward him.                         INT LA COUNTY HOSPITAL, MOMENTS LATER          54                                                                   54               CHEV wanders through the trauma ward, trying to look               inconspicuous, avoiding eye contact, knocking things over,               trying doors, inhaling blast after blast of nasal spray,               tossing the empty bottles, eyes watering.                         He rounds a corner and freezes in his tracks: three COPS are               at the admissions counter ... a NURSE is gesturing in CHEV'S               direction. They look up toward him.                         He ducks back into the corridor, finds a recovery room and               slips in.                    55                                                                   55               INT HOSPITAL ROOM, MOMENTS LATER                         The room is quiet, save for the steady labored wheezing of an               OLD MAN in the only bed. The OLD MAN'S eyes stare vacantly               at the ceiling - CHEV can't tell if he's asleep or awake. He               watches the OLD MAN for a stolen moment, hypnotized ...                          .. then glances over at the half open closet.                         INT LA COUNTY HOSPITAL, MOMENTS LATER          56                                                                   56               The COPS come up on the corridor where CHEV disappeared.               They advance, hands on weapons, checking each room.                          hey reach CHEV'S room. The door is slightly ajar.     One of               the cops pushes it open with his foot.                         The OLD MAN is there, motionless.   No sign of CHEV.                                                                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                    C                                                                                                                          40.               CONTINUED:                                   The COPS continue down the hall. Behind them, from the door               they checked, CHEV tiptoes out wearing a blue hospital               johnnie, tied in the back with his ass hanging out, trying to               blend in.                         One of the COPS notices this.                                                    COP                            Hey!                         CHEV takes off, walking faster, around the corner.        The COPS               head after him.               T                he COPS turn the corner.        CHEV is still trying to play it               off.                                                    COP (CONT'D)                            Hey.   You.                         Finally CHEV breaks into a run and the COPS give chase.                         INT STAIRWELL, MOMENTS LATER          57                                                                        57               CHEV busts into the stairwell and starts heading down. He's               been holding his gun awkwardly in his armpit; now he whips it               out. A few flights above he hears the door bang open as the               COPS pick up the chase.                         He exits into the ...                         INT EMERGENCY ROOM, MOMENTS LATER          58                                                                        58               The busy ER is buzzing with activity. CHEV looks around               desperately. The COPS are right on his tail.                         Suddenly the entrance doors BURST OPEN ... a patient is               wheeled in at a dead run by a small group of emergency TECHS,               all shouting instructions back and forth and barking at               people to get out of the way as they race toward the far               corridor. The FAT MAN on the gurney has his shirt open ...               he's pale, glassy eyed and lathered in sweat ... they have               the DEFIBRILLATOR PADDLES out ...               B                ehind the gurney a RESIDENT pushes a CRASH CART along with               them ... the crash cart houses the DEFIBRILLATOR and various               supplies ...                         CHEV takes off after them, BOWLING PEOPLE OVER, flashing the               gun.                                                 HEV                            I know you motherfuckers have                            epinephrine!                                                                                 (CONTINUED)                    T                                                  C                       W                                                                                                                    41.          CONTINUED:                              The COPS bang open the stairwell door, guns drawn.        Chaos          breaks out.                                           COP                       Hold it right there, bro!                    The group is galloping      down the long corridor toward the          elevators that connect      to the O.R. ... three DOCS, the          RESIDENT, CHEV and the      FAT MAN on the gurney ... the COPS in          hot pursuit, trying to      get a bead on CHEV.                    CHEV is holding his gun to the RESIDENT'S head while pushing          him and the cart forward. The RESIDENT blubbers in panic.          The DOCS, in all the confusion, haven't noticed CHEV yet.                                           CHEV                       You've got epinephrine on this cart!    I                       want that shit!                                           TECH 1                       He's dropping! Stand by to defibrillate!                    The gurney slows down and the cart, shoved forward by CHEV,          crashes into it. Bodies fly, shit spills everywhere. The          FAT MAN lets out a groan, makes EYE CONTACT with CHEV.                                              FAT MAN                       My cart...                                              CHEV                       What?                                           FAT MAN                       Asshole...!                                           CHEV                       Yeah, yeah.                    CHEV spins around wildly and FIRES A FEW SHOTS over the COPS          heads. They hit the deck.                                           TECH 2                        hat is this? What the hell do you think                       you're doing? THIS IS A HOSPITAL!                     HEV shoves the gun in his face.                                              CHEV                       SHUT UP!!!                     he DOC shuts up.                                                                                                 (CONTINUED)                                         F                                                                                                              42.          CONTINUED: (2)                              CHEV brandishes the gun toward the COPS to keep them on the          ground, then motions C the RESIDENT.                               to                                          HEV (CONT'D)                    You.   Get me some ... I need ...                    CHEV is pale as a ghost ... his legs buckle ... he steadies          himself against the wall.                                        RESIDENT                        (haltingly)                    You wanted ... epinephrine, is that                    right?                    CHEV nods weakly. The RESIDENT, on his hands and knees,          starts digging through the supplies spilled all over the          floor. The COPS, sensing weakness, start to tense. CHEV          snaps out of it momentarily.                                        CHEV                    DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!                    The RESIDENT approaches him cautiously, on his knees, holding          out a handful of small white boxes.                                        CHEV (CONT'D)                    Give me that.                    He snatches them, cradling them against his stomach, and          backs up past the DOCS toward the elevator just as the chime          sounds and the doors slide open. He tosses the boxes inside.          The FAT MAN lets out another agonized groan.                                         AT MAN                    ... asshole...                    CHEV points the gun at him.                                        CHEV                    Not going to tell you again.                    He grabs a DEFIBRILLATOR paddle out of TECH 2's trembling          hands and holds it to his chest.                                        CHEV (CONT'D)                        (to the RESIDENT)                    Now juice me.                                        RESIDENT                    You ... but ... I ...                                                                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                                     43.               CONTINUED: (3)                                                        CHEV                              (weakly, not much left)                         I haven't got all day, just do it, will                         you?                         The RESIDENT flips a switch on the crash cart and the thing               begins to charge ... CHEV holds the paddle to his chest with               one hand, the gun out with the other ... finally ...                         ZAPPP!!!! CHEV flies backwards, bouncing off the wall like a               pinball. The COPS leap forward, trying to take advantage,               but CHEV pops back up, wired and wild eyed.                                             CHEV (CONT'D)                         GET DOWN, ASSHOLES!                         He FIRES ANOTHER WARNING SHOT into the ceiling and leaps into               the elevator as the doors close behind him.                         INT ELEVATOR, GOING DOWN, MOMENTS LATER          59                                                                  59               CHEV collapses on the floor of the elevator. He fumbles with               the white boxes the RESIDENT handed him and comes up with a                                    C               SYRINGE.                                              HEV                         OK ... needles, hate needles ...                         He rubs his arm, feeling for a nice vein, squirts a few drops               from the tip of the needle and pops the thing right in ...               pushes the plunger ALL THE WAY, plucks it out and tosses it               in the corner.                         CHEV sits patiently against the wall, staring blankly               straight ahead. Suddenly a curious look comes over him.                                             CHEV (CONT'D)                         How much of this stuff did he say to                         take?                         We hear CHEV'S HEARTBEAT start to speed/volume up - FAST.               His eyes widen.                                              CHEV (CONT'D)                         Woah.   Woah. Woah.                         Suddenly he jumps straight up in the air.                                              CHEV (CONT'D)                         OH SHIT!                                                                                                           (CONTINUED)                                                                                         44.               CONTINUED:                                   He starts to HOP AROUND WILDLY like a monkey in an               electrified cage. The bell chimes and the elevator doors               open.                         INT HOSPITAL LOBBY, THE NEXT MOMENT          60                                                                     60               CHEV BLASTS OUT OF THE ELEVATOR and out the front doors of               the hospital like a ball out of a cannon.                         EXT CITY STREETS - MOMENTS LATER          62                                                                     62               CHEV is hoofing it like FORREST GUMP on SPEEDBALL. We hear               sirens ... a group of squad cars flash by behind him, heading               toward the hospital ... neither they nor CHEV see one               another.                         MONTAGE:   EXT CITY STREETS - DAY          63                                                                     63               He runs what seems like eight miles.                    64                                                                     64               EXT CITY STREETS- DAY       LATER                         We pick him up, real-time, still running.                         SOUND: BEE-DEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEE-DUM.                         He answers without slowing down.                         INT. AIRPLANE - DAY          64                                                                     64                                         DOC MILES                            Chevy!                                                   CHEV                                   (ready to explode)                            Yep.                                                DOC MILES                            I'm in the air, man.     Did you get the                            stuff I told you?                                                   CHEV                            Got it.                                                DOC MILES                            You took it?                                      C                                          HEV                            Took it.                                                DOC MILES                            You shot the whole thing, didn't you?                                                                                           (CONTINUED)                                                                                    45.          CONTINUED:                                                       CHEV                       Yep.                                          DOC MILES                       Oh boy. I said a fifth of a syringe, you                       idiot. Now you're dead for sure.                                             CHEV                       Right.                                           DOC MILES                       Chest is on fire.                                             CHEV                       Check.                                           DOC MILES                       But you're cold.                                             CHEV                       Check.                                           DOC MILES                       You got a steel hard on.                                           CHEV                       Let me check.                    Looks down.                                             CHEV (CONT'D)                       Check.                                           DOC MILES                           (getting into it)                       That's the stimulation of the blood                       vessels ... your urinary sphincter is                       tight as a knot ... couldn't pee to save                       your life ...                    The LADY in the seat next to DOC is aghast.                                           CHEV                       Urinary sphincter ... check ...                                           DOC MILES                       Maybe you can get a hold of some vicadin                       ... you still at the hospital?                                             CHEV                       Negative.                                                                                                (CONTINUED)                         T                                   .                                             .                         B                                                                                                                   46.               CONTINUED: (2)                                                       DOC MILES                         Maybe some weed ... I don't know ...                                               CHEV                         Check.                                             DOC MILES                         Well, that shit should be out of your                         system in a half hour or so, if you live                         that long ... this air phone is costing                         me a fortune ... look, I'll be in LA in                         twenty minutes. I'll call you when I hit                         the ground.                                               CHEV                         Copy.                                              DOC MILES                              (sincere)                         You're a good kid, Chev.   Nice knowing                         you.                                               CHEV                         Copy.    Out.                                                                                 CUT TO:                         EXT STORE WINDOW, DAY          65                                                                  65                ut DOC MILES is already a distant memory ... CHEV lets the               phone drop from his ear without hanging up ...                          .. as he comes up on a department store window where a crowd               has gathered to watch a wall of TV's, all playing the same               thing ...                          .. he slows to a stop, joining the crowd ...                          he face on the TV is his - more or less - an exaggerated               black and white POLICE SKETCH, simian browed and thick               lipped. He looks like a serial rapist.                                             ANCHOR (V.O.)                         Police have declined to release the name                         of the West Hollywood man they say is                         still at large on a citywide rampage that                         has left one man dead, dozens injured and                         hundreds of thousands of dollars of                         property damage in its smoking, bloody                         wake.                                                                               SWITCH TO:                          T                                                                            A                                                                                                                     47.                                              A HELICOPTER VIEW OF CHEV DRIVING HIS CAR INTO FOX HILLS          66                                                                   66                MALL.                                                                                  BACK TO:                          EXT STORE WINDOW, SAME TIME          65A                                                                 65A                                     NCHOR (V.O.)                          However, Eyewitness News has learned that                          the suspect is a professional killer with                          ties to organized crime and an extensive                          police record. He is considered armed                          and highly dangerous.                          A GUY standing next to CHEV glances sidelong at him. CHEV                turns to meet his eyes. The GUY regards him in a stupor,                then looks down: CHEV's hospital johnnie is sticking straight                out in front, ass hanging out the back, a gun in his left                hand, cell phone in his right.                           he GUY looks back up at CHEV'S poker face, gulps, and turns                back to the wall of screens.                          The broadcast cuts from tape back to the live ANCHOR.                                              ANCHOR (CONT'D)                          We want to get you back to our regularly                          scheduled programming, but keep it tuned                          right here to ABC for continuing coverage                          of this bizarre story as it unfolds.                                              ANNOUNCER (V.O.)                              (over network graphic)                          We now return you to "Dr. Phil" ...                          The TV cuts to a talk show in progress. Rather than                disperse, the small crowd stays hypnotically glued to the                tube. We see in their eyes that everyone is going into that                TV alpha state thing ...                          CHEV shakes his head, snaps out of it. His HEARTBEAT, barely                audible during the broadcast, swells back to full volume,                beating like a jackrabbit's.                H                 e looks around and spots a COP on a motorcycle, waiting at a                stoplight.                          EXT. STREET IN FRONT OF TV STORE          67                                                                   67                With a last look at the TV drones he breaks from the crowd                and goes into stealth mode, darting from car to car in an                exaggerated ninja crouch, trying to sneak up on the COP.                                                                                      (CONTINUED)                         C                                                       T                                                       T                                                                                                                 48.               CONTINUED:                                   He comes up behind him, transfers his gun and cell phone to               one hand, and - heart POUNDING - reaches stealthily for the               COP'S holster with the other.                         CAR HORNS BLARE as motorists attempt to warn the COP, who               flinches and whips around at the noise - but it's too late:               CHEV has the gun.                         He begins to hop around maniacally, taunting the COP, as               everyone panics and tries to reverse out of the traffic               snarl, SLAMMING INTO FENDERS, driving up onto the sidewalk,               etc.                                                CHEV                                (tossing the gun up and                                 catching it)                            You want it? You want this?                          he COP jumps off the bike and tries to make a go at him, but               jerks back when CHEV catches the gun. CHEV holds the gun up               like a fetch stick, gluing the COP'S eyes, then flings it 40               feet through the air to splash into a plaza fountain.                          he COP starts after it, then stops short as he sees CHEV               dart past him and hop onto his still idling motorcycle. He               kicks up the stand and REVS IT.                                                COP                            You son of a bitch!                         The COP makes a dive for CHEV, grabbing him by the waist as               the bike jerks forward.                          HEV starts to burn the bike out as the COP hangs on,               dragging. SMOKE ERUPTS; black bits of rubber spray like               buckshot, pelting the COP. CHEV does a 360 DEGREE BURNOUT,               kicking with his leg to keep the bike under control, then               jerking, skidding, BLASTS OFF. The COP hangs on, cursing,               dragging, boots smoking, for a half block before he bails               out.                                                                               CUT TO:                         EXT ROAD, MONTAGE, 30 SECONDS LATER          68   "                                                             68                EVERYBODY'S TALKING" by Harry Nilsson BEGINS.                         CHEV cruises in an out of traffic and people like a Sunday               drive, ignoring traffic lights, stop signs, pedestrians. (We               speed ramp about 20% to the beat of the song - an undercrank               of about 18fps.)                                                                                               (CONTINUED)                         .                                                                                                                    49.               CONTINUED:                                   He's so jacked up and delusional he decides to try a BARE-               ASSED "ELEVATOR" ON THE SIDEWALK.                         From the rear pegs at about 30 mph he JUMPS UP TO THE GAS               TANK, feet first, STANDS STRAIGHT UP ON THE MOVING BIKE and               puts his hands out to his sides in a Jesus Christ pose,               flashing a silhouette in the sun. His HEART POUNDS as he               flies by crowds of astonished bystanders ...                          .. and CRASHES straight into a patio restaurant full of               people.                         CHEV flips through the air and lands in a cacophony of               overturned tables and busted dishes. A table spins like a               coin at his feet.                         END: "EVERYBODY'S TALKING"          6               EXT RESTAURANT, MOMENTS LATER           9                                                                  69               Stunned silence hangs in the air; a few food-covered people               wander around in dazed shock. CHEV'S arm, hand still               clutching his cell phone, sticks out from under a table. The               phone starts to ring:                         BEE-DEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEE-DUM.                         From under the table we see CHEV'S eyes blink as he comes to               his senses.                         He shakes off the debris, struggles to his feet and clicks to               answer the phone.                                               CHEV                            Yeah.                                                EVE (O.S.)                                (sleepy)                            Hey. Did you try to call?                         CHEV lets his arm drop to his side, stares blankly at               nothing, then brings it back up.                                                                                 CUT TO:                         INT EVE'S APARTMENT, SAME TIME          70                                                                  70               A room suffused in amber filtered sunlight. EVE, a non-               traditionally adorable strawberry blond in her mid 20's, yawn-               stretches with the phone cradled between ear and bare               shoulder.                                                                                               (CONTINUED)                          A                                                                               E                                                                                                                        50.                CONTINUED:                                                           CHEV (O.S.)                             You've been home all day?                                                 EVE                             I was sleeping in.                                                 CHEV (O.S.)                             You were sleeping in, that's great, Eve                             ... super great ... you all rested now?                                                  VE                             Yep.                                                                                      CUT TO:                          EXT RESTAURANT, SAME TIME          69A                                                                    69A                                       CHEV                                 (holding it together)                             Well, I'm glad to hear that. Listen,                             I've been fatally poisoned, there's                             probably a psychopath heading over there                             to torture and kill you as we speak, but                             don't bother getting out of bed, I'll be                             there in a flash ... Maybe you could fry                             me up a waffle or something, kay?                                       E                                        VE (O.S.)                                 (oblivious)                             Sure, come on over, I'll be here.                                                 CHEV                             Right, you'll be there, OK.                          CHEV clicks off.                           ll the while he's been wrestling the wasted motorcycle from                the wreckage. It's smoking, leaking oil.                          He shakes his head at a dumfounded waiter, holding up the                phone like - "Can you believe this?" ... then climbs on the                SPUTTERING BIKE and drives off.                                                                                      CUT TO:                          INT. VERONA'S CRIB - DAY          71                                                                      71                CU: VERONA stares straight down at the CAMERA.                          REVERSE: VERONA'S POV - ALEX'S severed hand, frozen stiff in                a trigger-pulling position.                                                                                                      (CONTINUED)                         E                                                                                                               C                                                                                                                    51.               CONTINUED:                                   VERONA looks up at his CREW, gathered nervously around the               room; lunatic schizo-cycles through a half dozen emotions               before arriving at something resembling off-hand, casual,               I'll have the #2 Super Size with a Diet Coke.                                                VERONA                            Right, so... let's go get the bitch.                                                                                   UT TO:                         INT EVE'S APARTMENT, 4 MINUTES LATER          72                                                                  72               EVE'S pad is nothing like CHEV'S. It's all cats and incense,               warm natural light, a scratchy Van Morrison LP playing on a               real record player.                          VE, in a cotton nightgown, is in the kitchen, attempting               some bit of microwave programming, punching random buttons               and getting herself worked up.                                    E                                       VE                                (to the microwave)                            I hate you ...                         Five BANGS on the door barely distract her.                                                EVE (CONT'D)                            Just a minute.                         More BANGS, insistent.                                                EVE (CONT'D)                            Alright, alright, Jesus ...                         She gives up on the microwave, goes to answer the door.                                                EVE (CONT'D)                            ... calm down, what the hell ...                         It's CHEV. He's dressed in a blue Adidas JOGGING SUIT - long               sleeve jacket, warm up pants with buttons down the side, the               works. He couldn't look more out of place in EVE'S mellow               apartment. He's bathed in sweat, wild-eyed, hair slicked               back like GORDON GEKKO.                                                  EVE (CONT'D)                            Oh.   My.   God.                                                  CHEV                            Hey doll.                                                                                                           (CONTINUED)                                                                                    52.          CONTINUED:                              He pulls her toward him and kisses her. She accepts the kiss          gratefully enough with her mouth, but holds both hands out to          her sides as if touching the JOGGING SUIT would kill her.                    Without making eye contact, he breaks away and pushes into          the apartment, looking around everywhere, paranoid.                                           EVE                       Is this your new look or something?                                           CHEV                       That's right. You into it?                                           EVE                       It's ... completely appalling.    Very you,                       Chev.                                              CHEV                       Thank you.                    He checks into the bedroom, satisfies himself that it's          empty.                                           EVE                       Are you looking for my other boyfriend?                                           CHEV                           (ignoring this)                       You haven't turned on the TV today,                       right?                                              EVE                       No.   Why?                                           CHEV                       Didn't think so.    Listen, we've got to                       get out of here.                                           EVE                       What are you talking about?    Don't be                       such a freak.                    CHEV goes to the window, peaks through the curtains.                                           EVE (CONT'D)                       Actually, I'm glad you're here. Can you                       change the clock on the microwave?                                              CHEV                       What?                                           EVE                       I never changed it back.                                                                            (CONTINUED)                    C                                                                                                               53.          CONTINUED: (2)                                                  CHEV                    The microwave.                                        EVE                    Yeah. I never changed it back.   You                    know, daylight savings time.                              C                               HEV                    I bought you some flowers, but they got                    fucked up on the way over here.                                        EVE                    That's sweet. Are you OK? You look like                    you're on drugs or something.                                        CHEV                    You love me, right?                                        EVE                    Yes.                                        CHEV                    Then I need you to do something for me.                                        EVE                    What is it? What's wrong?                                        CHEV                    I need you to put some clothes on and                    come with me right now.                                        EVE                    But ... I ...                                        CHEV                    I'll change the clock on the microwave.                                        EVE                    OK.                    Confused, she pads off to the bedroom to change.                    CHEV goes into the kitchen. He peeks out the kitchen window,          looks around nervously, glances at the microwave, walks up          and punches two buttons.                    EXTREME CU: in ULTRA SLO-MOTION the digital readout on the          clock switches from 11 to NOON with a sound like an 18-          wheeler being dragged on it's side through a cathedral.                     HEV'S vision starts to blur. He slumps forward, head          pressed against the microwave, trying to hold himself up.                                                                                  (CONTINUED)                    H                    S                                                                      C                                                                                                               54.          CONTINUED: (3)                    We hear his HEART skip, hang for a long moment, then thud          again, heavily.                                         HEV                        (to himself)                    That shit's wearing off ...                                         EVE (O.S.)                        (calling to him)                    Oh darn! I forgot, the waffle iron's on                    if you want to make one.                                        CHEV                        (calling back)                    Great, great ...                    He lurches over to the other side of the kitchen ... where an          old fashioned-style waffle iron sits, plugged in and starting          to smoke.                    He takes a deep breath, opens the lid, PUTS HIS HAND IN AND          PRESSES THE THING CLOSED.                     OUND: a stomach churning SEAR AND SIZZLE.                     e screams under his breath, stomping on the kitchen floor in          agony ... but his HEARTBEAT rockets up again. He pulls out          his pink, smoking hand and jams it under his armpit, hopping          up and down.                                        EVE (O.S.)                    You're so stressed out, do you want some                    pot?                                        CHEV                        (fighting to get the words out)                    Yes. No! ... thanks ...                    The waffle iron starts to SPARK from the plug. He yanks it          out of the wall as EVE walks in wearing a sun dress and a          ribbon in her hair.                                        EVE                    What's the matter?                                        CHEV                        (holding it in)                    Nothing ... burned my hand ...                    She comes up to him, tries to pry his hand out from under his          arm.                 E                               VE                    Oh my God, are you OK?   Let me see...                                                                         (CONTINUED)                         C                                                                                                                   55.               CONTINUED: (4)                                                       CHEV                         It's nothing... don't worry about it...                         let's get out of here ...                                             EVE                         Come on, let me see ...                                             CHEV                         I SAID I'M OK, CAN WE JUST LEAVE??!!                                             EVE                             (coldly)                         That was just totally uncalled for.                                             CHEV                             (exasperated)                         I'm sorry ... look, can we just ...                                             EVE                         Fine.                         She turns, grabs her purse and walks out the front door in a               huff.                          HEV is about to follow her when he notices something out the               window - DOUBLE TAKES, then parts the blinds to get a better               look.                                             A SEDAN has pulled up outside. TWO HOODS hop out and split          73                                                               73               up, one coming up the front way, the other around back. Each               one has a right hand tucked into his blazer - they're               PACKING.                                                                                BACK TO:                                             CHEV                             (under his breath)                         Shit!                         He flies out the door after EVE - the door swings shut behind               him.                         INT. HALLWAY, EVE'S BUILDING - DAY          74                                                                  74               CHEV comes up behind EVE, grabs her by the shoulders and               turns her around.                                             CHEV                         I'm parked out back.                                                                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                   E                                                       S                                                                                                                    56.               CONTINUED:                                   He glances over his shoulder. Through the glass SECURITY DOOR               he sees HOOD #1 coming up the front steps.                         EVE stops suddenly in front of her door - CHEV practically               PILES into her.                                                EVE                            Oh darn... the thing.                         She starts to dig through her purse for her keys.                                                   CHEV                            The thing.     What thing.                         The HOOD tries the front door - LOCKED.                                                 EVE                                 (unlocking the door)                            The waffle thing. I forgot to turn it                            off.                          he opens the door and walks in. CHEV tries to speak, coughs               up some unintelligible stacato nonsense.                         EXT. FRONT PORCH, EVE'S BUILDING - DAY          75                                                                  75               The HOOD runs his fingers down the directory list to:                                                         E. LYDON - 101                         ... and then across to the KEYPAD, PEEL-AND-STICK labeled:                    7                          ENTER   + APT. # TO DIAL                         INT. HALLWAY, EVE'S BUILDING - DAY           6                                                                  76               CHEV is SLACK-JAWED. Inside the apartment, the PHONE BEGINS               TO RING.                                                 VE (O.S.)                            Alright, alright...!                         CHEV shakes his head in disbelief; steels himself - then               turns and walks quickly down the hall to the front door.                         INT. EVE'S APARTMENT, CONTINUOUS          77                                                                  77               Flustered, EVE picks up the phone.                                                   EVE                            Hello?                         T                                                                           E                                                                           E                                   T                                                                                                                   57.                                             EXT. FRONT PORCH, EVE'S BUILDING - DAY          78                                                                  78               The door SLAMS OPEN. The HOOD whirls to see CHEV, grim as a               motherfucker, SIX INCHES FROM HIS FACE. He scrambles for his               gun -                          OO LATE. CHEV'S hand flashes forward, PALM connecting with               the BRIDGE OF THE NOSE - dropping him instantly.                                              VE (O.S.)                             (through the intercom)                         Hello? Hello? Alright, very funny...                         The HOOD drops to his knees, eyes rolling back in his head,               blood rushing from his nose. CHEV glances quickly around for               witnesses - then backs into the hallway, letting the door               swing shut behind him.                         INT. HALLWAY, EVE'S BUILDING - DAY          79                                                                  79               EVE pops out.                                              VE                         I hate that...                         CHEV is waiting by the door, blocking her view of the front               entrance, smiling somewhat crazily.                                             CHEV                         You trying to burn down the building?                         She gives him a look, then turns and heads down the hall.               CHEV hustles after her.                                             CHEV (CONT'D)                         Whoa whoa whoa...                         EXT. REAR EXIT, EVE'S BUILDING - DAY          80                                                                  80                he building opens out back into a small parking area. Trash               bins line the brick wall, ready for pick up. CHEV and EVE are               leaving when CHEV sees the other HOOD coming around the               corner, LESS THAN TEN FEET AWAY.                         CHEV grabs the back of EVE'S purse and turns it upside down,               spilling the contents all over the concrete. She spins               around, just missing C                                    sight of the HOOD.                                              HEV                         Aww, damn it, I'm sorry baby...                                                                                                         (CONTINUED)                         T                                                                              E                                   W                                                                                                                      58.               CONTINUED:                                                          EVE                                (irritated)                            Nice one.                         She drops down to gather up her things, as the HOOD comes               fully around the corner and MEETS EYES with CHEV.                          ithout hesitation, CHEV hurdles EVE and catches the HOOD'S               wrist as he pulls out his GUN.                                                 VE (CONT'D)                                (oblivious)                            I swear to God, Chev, I don't know what                            you're on these days but it is not                            working for you...                         CHEV wrestles himself around the HOOD, keeping the gun at a               distance with one hand, his other hand cupped over the HOOD'S               mouth, head-locking him. Their legs interlock, jostling for               leverage.                          he GUN drifts down toward EVE - CHEV wrenches it up as THE               TRIGGER SQUEEZES.                         SILENCER. The shot whizzes over EVE'S head and through a               nearby window: PLINK!                         INT. SENIOR CITIZEN'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS          81                                                                    81               A PARAKEET in a cage by the window disappears in a puff of               feathers.          8                     2                                                                    82               EXT. REAR EXIT, EVE'S BUILDING - CONTINUOUS                         From overhead, the CAMERA CORKSCREWS CLOCKWISE as CHEV               wrenches the HOOD'S neck COUNTERCLOCKWISE, snapping it.                                                EVE                            You know, I could use a little help here.                         CHEV shoves the HOOD'S body into a dumpster just as EVE               turns... CHEV snatches up the first thing he sees - a grime               encrusted plastic SHOWER CAP - and holds it up lamely.                                                CHEV                            Is this yours?                         EVE rolls her eyes, looks around.                                                EVE                            Where's your car?                                                                                                    (CONTINUED)                         W                                                  8                                   F                                                                                                                       59.               CONTINUED:                                                          CHEV                            My car. Actually... I took a cab.                         EXT. DOWN THE BLOCK - DAY          83                                                                     83               A POLICE MOTORCYCLE is tipped over on a lawn, coughing up               black smoke, spewing oil. A crowd of Mexicans are gathered               around, gaping.                          lames start to SHOOT UP from the motorcycle; THE CROWD               SCATTERS, ducking for cover.                         EXT L.A. CHINATOWN, 8 MINUTES LATER           4                                                                     84               MONTAGE: Chinatown is bustling with activity. Vendors haggle               ... workers hustle down the sidewalk with baskets of               chickens, sides of meat ... tourists wander ... motorists               argue and punch their horns ... and the lunch hour crowd               converges on a hundred eateries ...                          e hear a million HEARTBEATS, old, young ... even fast               ticking chicken heartbeats, all overlapping, blending               together in a swelling din of live things.                         The voyeuristic CAMERA picks CHEV and EVE up through the               crowd. CHEV is wearing DARK GLASSES to go with his 80's hair                                    E               and jogger.                                                 VE                            You're embarrassing.                                                CHEV                            You know, I didn't have a lot of time to                            pick this out ...                                                 EVE                            Hm.   So why are we here?                         INT NOODLE HOUSE, MOMENTS LATER          85                                                                     85               CHEV sits across from EVE in a tiny restaurant. An equally               tiny VIETNAMESE WOMAN brings them menus.                         CHEV pulls a little bottle of NAS-ALL out of his pocket and               SNORTS the entire thing, grotesquely, at the table. It               doesn't help much.                         He shakes out his head, bangs his fist on the table and sits               up in his chair.                                                  CHEV                                  (holding his fingers up to                                   indicate quotation marks)                                        (MORE)                                                                       (CONTINUED)                                           C                    C                                                                                                             C                                                                                                                 60.          CONTINUED:             CHEV(CONT'D)                       "This isn't going to be easy" ... as they                       say ...                    EVE flinches at the sight of his burned, waffle patterned          palm. He notices, draws it back.                                           CHEV (CONT'D)                       Alright, here it is. I told you I was a                       video game programmer. That was a lie.                       Actually...                                                                                UT TO:                    INT THOUSAND CRANES, KITCHEN - NIGHT (FLASHBACK)                    CHEV'S DIALOG continues over the FLASHBACK.                    CHEV is retrieving a HIDDEN GUN from the kitchen, checking          the CLIP, the BARREL, the ACTION, and slipping out a side          door into a RED CORRIDOR past two CHINESE MEN in black suits.                                            CHEV (V.O.)                       I kill people. I'm a professional hitman.                       I freelance for a major West Coast crime                       syndicate.                                                                               CUT TO:                    INT THOUSAND CRANES, PRIVATE ROOM - NIGHT (FLASHBACK)                    DON KIM sits at the head of the table, drinking alone.                                           CHEV (V.O.)                       Last night was a job like a hundred                       others. A high dollar hit. Nothing                       special.                    CHEV walks up behind him, gun drawn to the back of KIM'S          head... cocks the hammer back. DON KIM spins around in shock,          the same reaction we saw in the SCENE 1 FLASHBACK - FROZEN,          SAUCER-EYED.                     HEV'S eyes steel... his finger tightens...                                            HEV (V.O.) (CONT'D)                       And then out of nowhere this insane idea                       comes in through the back of my head like                       a .45 slug at close range...          S           ilence hangs heavy in the room... CHEV holds the gun to DON          KIM'S head, paralyzed with indecision.                                           DON KIM                       Well? What are you waiting for?                                                                           (CONTINUED)                                 I                                                               I                                                                         C                                                                                                                  61.          CONTINUED:                              With a last GRIMACE like even he can't believe what he's          doing, CHEV lets his GUN HAND DROP slowly to his side.                                            HEV                       Congratulations.                                           DON KIM                       Did I win something?                                            CHEV                       Your life, jackass.                           (beat)                       A hundred grand wants you dead, so sooner                       or later it's going to happen. But I'm                       not doing it.                                           DON KIM                       I see.                                           CHEV                        nstead, you're going to do something for                       me. You're going to get out of town.                       Disappear. I don't care where you go, I                       don't care what you do, so long as you're                       invisible for 48 hours. That's all I ask.                                           DON KIM                           (incredulous)                       48 hours.                                           CHEV                       Or if you prefer, we can do it the other                       way, the way where I go to work and you                       go meet Buddah.                                                                                CUT TO:                    INT NOODLE HOUSE, MOMENTS LATER                    CHEV leans back in his chair and slams one of the legs down          onto his foot. EVE flinches.                                           CHEV                       See: I quit. I quit the business. For                       you.                                           EVE                       For me?                                           CHEV                         figure I call you that night. I tell                       you everything. You understand.                                 (MORE)                                                                            (CONTINUED)                                                E                                                       T                                   J                                                                              E                                (                                                                                                                       62.               CONTINUED:             CHEV(CONT'D)                            We get on a plane together and leave all                            this shit behind. Never come back.                                 shrugs)                            Pretty crazy, huh?                                                 VE                            You are so weird. Are we going on a trip?                         CHEV stares at her blankly, then shakes his head to clear it.                                                CHEV                            Yeah, well... I may be going on a trip,                            but you're not coming with me...                                                EVE                            I don't understand.                                                                                     CUT TO:                         EXT CHINATOWN, OUTDOOR PLAZA, MOMENTS LATER          86                                                                     86               EVE storms out of the restaurant, letting the door slam               behind her. CHEV follows, staggering like a drunk man.                         He catches up to her and grabs her arm.                                                CHEV                            Eve... baby... please!                         She spins on him.                                                EVE                            Mob hits, Chev? Chinese poison? Do you                            know how ridiculous you sound? If you're                            going to break up with me, at least you                            can tell me the truth.                                                CHEV                            You think it sounds crazy? How do you                            think I feel - I've gotta live this                            shit...                          ust then the CAMERA SLAMS THROUGH CHEV'S TRANSPARENT CHEST -               his HEART seems to GRIND DOWN and STALL, MID-PUMP, as the               POISON'S PROGRESS moves another clock tick forward.                          he CAMERA pulls violently out of CHEV'S chest cavity - he               looks like someone just FIRED A CANNONBALL INTO HIS GUT...               face white as a dinner plate... It's the worst we've seen him               yet.                                                 VE                            Oh my God, Chev... what's the matter with                            you?                                                                                 (CONTINUED)                                 I                                                                                                                 63.          CONTINUED:                              He looks around like a drowning man. People everywhere, but          starting to disperse as lunch hour dwindles. The world          starts to SPIN.                                           CHEV                        ... just need...                    CHEV falls to his knees, pulling her down with him.                                           EVE                       Chev, you're scaring me.                                           CHEV                           (getting a desperate idea)                       Wait a minute. Do you trust me?                                              EVE                       No.                                           CHEV                       Make love to me.                                              EVE                       What?                                           CHEV                       Come on. I think it'll help.                                              EVE                       Help what?                    He starts grabbing at her.       She pushes his hands away.                                            EVE (CONT'D)                       Get off!   Are you kidding me?                                           CHEV                       Take your clothes off.                                              EVE                       No!                                           CHEV                       You always say you want to be more                       spontaneous.                                 E                                  VE                       You're insane. You're like some                       adrenaline junkie with no soul.                                           CHEV                       Save me, Eve. Save my life.                                                                                     (CONTINUED)                                          E                                                  N                                                  T                                                                                                               64.          CONTINUED: (2)                              CHEV starts feeling up EVE'S ass.                                          EVE                    Stop it!                    She SLUGS HIM IN THE MOUTH.    His head snaps back; he comes up          holding his lip.                                        EVE (CONT'D)                    Oh my God, Chev!                    She reaches instinctively to comfort him and he lunges          forward, tearing at her dress.                     hey roll around on the ground, scratching and clawing at one          another. A curious crowd gathers round. EVE starts to flip          out, SCREAMING AND POUNDING on him with her fists like a          crazy woman.                     ext thing you know she's kissing and biting his mouth,          breathless, still pounding with her fists.                                        EVE (CONT'D)                    You filthy animal ...                    She reaches down and starts fumbling with his pants. He          helps. The onlookers' eyes widen, moms covering the kids'          faces.                                        EVE (CONT'D)                    Take me right here in front of everyone.                    CHEV'S HEARTBEAT starts to pick up. He lifts her dress and          positions himself on top of her. EVE is completely out of          her head, eyes closed, legs up in the air like a porn star.                               E                               VE (CONT'D)                    That's it... do it ...                    CHEV thrusts.                                         VE (CONT'D)                    Come on, put it in me...                    He thrusts again.    EVE's eyes pop open.                                        EVE (CONT'D)                    What are you waiting for?                    CHEV looks down at his equipment, then up at EVE, helplessly.                                                                                                       (CONTINUED)                                         C                                                  W                                        A                                                                                                               65.          CONTINUED: (3)                                                  EVE (CONT'D)                        (incredulously)                    Tell me you're joking.    Now you can't get                    it up?                                        CHEV                        (determined)                    I'll fucking get it up!                    With a surge of energy he lifts her off the ground, drags her          over to a newspaper machine on the street - the crowd parts          to let them through - and bends her over it.                    He tries again to enter her.                                        EVE                    God damn it, Chev ...!                                         CHEV                    Shut up!                    He starts to SPANK her. She responds with a moan. A certain          portion of the crowd spontaneously breaks into applause.          CHEV picks up the pace. EVE begins making primal cries.                      busload of JAPANESE GIRLS pulls up - tourists in matching          red uniforms - gaping out the window with slack jawed          amazement.                     ith the crowd cheering and traffic stopped, CHEV gets a shot          of adrenaline and goes for broke. EVE shrieks like a banshee          as he enters her.                                        CHEV (CONT'D)                    I'M STILL ALIVE! I'M STILL ALIVE!!!                    CHEV'S HEARTBEAT is slamming, he's really giving it to her,          making full eye contact with the busload of tourists the          entire time.                    CHEV doubles his efforts, desperately fighting for the          climax, when ...                    BEE-DEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEE-DUM.                                         HEV (CONT'D)                    What was that?                                        EVE                    Oh God... Oh God... yes...                    BEE-DEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEE-DUM.   CHEV'S CELLPHONE.                                                                                  (CONTINUED)                    8                                                                                                                      66.                CONTINUED: (4)                                                          CHEV                          Shit!                          CHEV reaches for the E                                     phone.                                               VE                          What are you doing?!!                          CHEV puts the phone up to his ear.                                                CHEV                          Yeah.                                                                        SPLIT SCREEN WITH:                          INT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, SAME TIME          87                                                                    87                CU of KAYLO'S face.                                              KAYLO                          I've got Verona.                          We see that KAYLO is duct taped to an office chair in what                appears to be an old warehouse, knife to his neck, held by                unseen captors. He's been badly beaten up.                     6A                                                                  86A                EXT STREET, CHINATOWN, SAME TIME                          CHEV is still going through the motions with EVE, but his                attention has shifted 100% to the voice on the phone.                                                CHEV                          Kaylo?                                              KAYLO (V.O.)                          I've got Verona, man.                          CHEV yanks it out and pulls up his pants.                                                EVE                          What???                                                CHEV                          No shit.    Where are you?                          INT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, SAME TIME          87A                                                                  87A                KAYLO sweats, looks off camera.    A hand presses the knife                closer to his throat.                                              KAYLO                          Don Kim's shirt factory.     Upstairs.                                                                                    67.                                              EXT STREET, CHINATOWN, SAME TIME          86B                                                                 86B                CHEV finishes zipping up.                                              EVE                              (furious, in disbelief)                          What's the matter with you?!!                                                 CHEV                                 (to EVE)                          Shh.                              (to KAYLO)                          Downtown?                          INT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, SAME TIME          87B                                                                 87B                                    KAYLO                              (gulping)                          Yeah.                    86C                                                                 86C                EXT STREET, CHINATOWN, SAME TIME                          CHEV'S demeanor changes to an icy slow burn. He holds EVE                back with one arm as she tries to get at him, flipping out.                                              CHEV                          Listen to me. You don't let that                          motherfucker out of your sight. I'll be                          there in ten minutes. You got that?                                              KAYLO                              (close to breaking into tears)                          OK, Chevy ...                                                 CHEV                          Out.                          END SPLIT SCREEN.                                                                                CUT TO:                          INT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, MOMENTS LATER          88                                                                   88                KAYLO looks up at his captors, miserably, as the phone clicks                off. The CAMERA instantly flashes down to a low wide angle,                looking straight up as a bag is thrown over KAYLO'S head and                two unidentifiable men close in on him, lifting the chair off                the ground ... then takes its time moving slowly down to                reveal KAYLO'S feet, bicycling wildly, then twitching,                finally just dangling ... both in fishnet and high heeled                pumps. One pump falls to the concrete as KAYLO goes still                ...                          H                                                                  S                                                                                                                     68.                                              EXT STREET, CHINATOWN, SAME TIME          86D                                                                 86D                CHEV turns his attention back to EVE.                                              CHEV                          I have to go. Please understand.                                              EVE                          No. Chev. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.                          CHEV spots a flash of blue - COPS making their way through                the crowd.                                                 CHEV                           hit!                          He breaks away running, leaving EVE stranded half naked in                the street, holding her torn dress up amidst a sea of gaping                Chinese.                                              EVE                              (screaming after him)                          YOU'LL BURN IN HELL FOR THIS!!!                                              CHEV                              (shouting back, voice trailing                               off)                          I'll call you!                    89                                                                   89                INT CHINATOWN CAB, 5 MINUTES LATER                          CHEV sits in the back, fading.                          LUB ... DUB ... LUBBBB ...                          HAITIAN CABBIE, 30's, in a sleeveless black mesh T-shirt.                                                 HAITIAN CABBIE                                 (heavy accent)                          Hey.                           e adjusts the mirror to get a look at CHEV.   CHEV looks like                hell - cold sweat, woozy, glass-eyed.                                              HAITIAN CABBIE (CONT'D)                          Hey man. What's the matter with you? You                          a crackhead?                                              CHEV                          Right... just step on it, alright?                                                                                                             (CONTINUED)                    C                                                               H                                                                                                                 69.          CONTINUED:                                                      HAITIAN CABBIE                       Hey, you not gonna die in my cab,                       crackhead.                    The HAITIAN CABBIE opens up his glove compartment and takes          something out. CHEV'S eyes widen. A gun?                                           HAITIAN CABBIE (CONT'D)                       I got something for you.                    As the CABBIE turns around CHEV experiences a FLASH          HALLUCINATION:                    The CABBIE'S face is painted like a PSYCHEDELIC VOODOO SKULL          in GLOWING BLACK LIGHT PAINT. He is grinning crazily.                    CHEV flinches in horror, but just like that the CABBIE is          back to normal. He hands CHEV a vial of liquid.                                           HAITIAN CABBIE (CONT'D)                       You drink this Haitian shit, crackhead.                       This right here is some hardcore shit.                       Made from plant shit.                                           CHEV                           (laughing)                       Nice.                                           HAITIAN CABBIE                           (irritated)                       What are you laughing at? Look at this!                    He flexes a HUGE BICEP.                                            AITIAN CABBIE (CONT'D)                       You see that? That's what a man looks                       like, crackhead. That's the power. Now                       look at you.                     HEV narrows his eyes at the CABBIE, then shakes his head.                                           CHEV                       What the hell.                    He twists open the little vial and downs it in one gulp.                                           CHEV (CONT'D)                           (                            grimacing)                       Tastes like ass.                                           HAITIAN CABBIE                       That's right, devil. You wait.                                                                                     (CONTINUED)                         T                                                       L                                                       T                                                                                                                  70.               CONTINUED: (2)                                   CHEV rolls his eyes and leans against the door, face pressed               against the window glass.                          raffic flashes by at high speed then cuts to slo mo: The               CAMERA ramps down to 120 f.p.s as a car rolls by CHEV'S taxi.               A LITTLE BOY who could be younger version of CHEV himself               rides in the back seat. They make eye contact as the cars               cross paths.                         CHEV finds himself drifting into a dream state.                                                                           FLASH CUT TO:                         INT CAB, TIME UNKNOWN          92   C                                                              92                HEV'S eyes are glazed, staring through the window.                         He notices something strange in the CAB'S rear view mirror -               something RED.                         CHEV'S eyes WIDEN.                                                                                CUT TO:                         EXT CAB, TIME UNKNOWN          93                                                                  93               WIDE SHOT: the CAB cruises by ... a low sound builds to a               DEAFENING ROAR ... following the CAB, a giant RED PACMAN               GHOST rumbles down the street, animated, two dimensional ...                                                                                CUT TO:                    94                                                                  94               INT CAB, DAY                         CHEV jerks awake, and back to his senses.                                             HAITIAN CABBIE                         We're here.                          UBDUB ... LUBDUB ... LUBDUB ... LUBDUB ... steady.                         CHEV focuses his eyes on the empty vial.                                             CHEV                         What'd you say was in this stuff?                                             HAITIAN CABBIE                         I told you: it's hardcore.                          hey pull up to the sidewalk in front of a run down, 40's era               warehouse building at the outskirts of the LA Garment               District. CHEV gets out.                                                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                   H                                                                                                                    71.               CONTINUED:                                                             CHEV                                   (still shaking it off)                            Wow.                                                 AITIAN CABBIE                            Five fifty five.                         CHEV digs through EVE'S purse, which he'd been holding in his               lap the whole time, pulls out a fifty and hands it to the               CABBIE. The CABBIE digs for change.                                                CHEV                            It's all you, man.    Keep it.                                                HAITIAN CABBIE                            Have a nice day, devil.                         CHEV puts the purse over his shoulder, turns to take a look               at the building.                                                   CHEV                            Right...                                                                                CUT TO:                         INT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, UPSTAIRS, SAME TIME          95                                                                  95               HIGH ANGLE: From an upper floor window someone is watching               CHEV survey the building as the cab pulls away.                                                                                CUT TO:                    96                                                                  96               EXT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, SAME TIME                         CHEV walks toward the front door, then stops short.                                                CHEV                                (to himself)                            Wait a minute, wait a minute ...                         He glances toward the upper windows.                                                CHEV (CONT'D)                                (suddenly suspicious)                            This is fucked.                         He changes direction, heads around the side of the building.                                                                                CUT TO:                         INT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, UPSTAIRS, SAME TIME          97                                                                  97               CHEV disappears.                                                                            (CONTINUED)                          C                                                                                                                    72.                CONTINUED:                                                           HOOD #1 (O.S.)                             Where's he going?                                                                                   CUT TO:                          EXT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, SAME TIME          98                                                                   98                CHEV comes up on a loading platform. Korean workers are                loading boxes out of the building into the backs of trucks in                the sweltering heat.                          He walks by them into the building without making eye contact                with anyone. They barely notice.          9                INT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, PACKING ROOM, SAME TIME           9                                                                   99                He skirts the packing floor and heads to a dilapidated                freight elevator, gets on, starts up.                          INT FREIGHT ELEVATOR, SAME TIME          100                                                                 100                The front and ceiling of the ELEVATOR are open, exposing the                shaft, the cables and the passing floors; he reaches the 4TH                FLOOR, heading up ... hundreds of Koreans sitting at sewing                machines, all running at once, a mind numbing din ... windows                painted over black, chipped and cracked in places with shards                of light slicing through ... slow turning ceiling fans and                long rows of fluorescent light beating down on the tables ...                           HEV hops off and lets the elevator keep going.                          INT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, 4TH FLOOR, SECONDS LATER          101                                                                 101                THE CAMERA follows CHEV through the room, along the humming                rows of sewing machines. He crosses from one side of the                room to another, where a single open window leading out to                the fire escape streams sunlight. A SUPERVISOR, Korean,                skinny, mid-thirties, stringy mustache, is dozed off in a                chair by the window.                          CHEV walks right by, out the window and onto the fire escape.                The CAMERA stays with him.                          EXT FIRE ESCAPE, CONTINUOUS          102                                                                 102                CHEV beats his head into the brick wall, climbs up the fire                escape, skips the next floor up, gets onto the roof.                                                 C                                                                                                                   73.                                              EXT ROOF, SECONDS LATER          103                                                                 103                CHEV ducks behind a big ventilation duct. HOOD #2, mid 40's,                stocky, is leaning over the edge of the building on the                opposite side, looking for something - presumably CHEV -                holding a cell phone up to his ear. His folded jacket and                gun sit on the ledge beside him.                          We recognize the HOOD from CARLITO'S place; he was one of the                men loitering around the pool.                          CHEV sneaks up.                                              HOOD #2                          How the hell should I know? He went in                          where they load the boxes. Alright,                          alright ...                H                 e clicks off - and CHEV is on him, snatching up the HOOD'S                gun, spinning him around and poking it into the soft flesh                under his chin.                                              CHEV                              (sarcastically)                          Hey, what a coincidence, you like this                          spot too?                                               HOOD #2                          Chevy!   Shit!                                               HEV                          What the fuck is this, you working for                          the Chinese now?                                              HOOD #2                          The Chinese... are you crazy?                                                 CHEV                          Yeah I am.     Where's Kaylo?                                              HOOD #2                          Chevy ... I'm sorry, man ... I didn't ...                                              CHEV                              (losing his patience)                          OK, ding, time's up ...                          In one quick motion he grabs ahold of one of the HOOD'S legs,                hoists him up over the ledge and TIPS HIM OFF THE SIDE OF THE                BUILDING, then turns and heads for the roof access door ...                                                                                                           (CONTINUED)                                       L                                                 C                                                                               H                                                                               H                                                        H                                                  1                                                                                                                     74.                CONTINUED:                                                           HOOD #2 (O.S.)                                 (falling)                             You son of a ... !                          ... long seconds later, a THUD.                                    INT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, 5TH FLOOR, MOMENTS LATER           04                                                                 104                The 5TH FLOOR is a little used storage level - stacked boxes,                dusty file cabinets, garbage everywhere ... starkly lit with                harsh overhead fixtures as old as the building itself. We                recognize this as the room KAYLO called from ... more so                because his LIMP BODY is still duct taped to the rolling                office chair, now lying on its side in the middle of the                room.                A                  half dozen more HOODS are gathered in front of the freight                elevator when CHEV appears behind them, taking everyone by                surprise.                           e's standing over KAYLO'S body, gun drawn, EVE'S beaded                purse still slung over his shoulder, PISSING FIRE.                                                 CHEV                             Alright, where is that motherfucker?                          The HOODS are completely taken by surprise; they back away                from CHEV, spreading out.                                                  OOD #3                             Uh ... hey, Chev.                          The HOODS act almost guilty ... it's obvious everyone knows                each other.                                                 CHEV                             What the fuck is this?                                                  OOD #1                             Chevy, baby, take it easy.                          CHEV points the gun at HOOD #1's head; the others raise their                guns at him.                                                  HEV                              ike this? WHERE'S VERONA?                                                 HOOD #1                             Verona got nothing to do with this.                                                 CHEV                             What?                                                                              (CONTINUED)                                                                                    75.          CONTINUED:                                                     HOOD #1                       Don Carlos wants you off the street.                                           CHEV                           (stunned)                       Carlito?                                           HOOD #1                       You've totally lost your shit, dude ...                       you're all over the TV ... destroying                       property, making unauthorized hits ...                       you're causing the organization a great                       deal of embarrassment.                    CHEV gestures toward KAYLO in disbelief.                                           CHEV                       Carlito ordered this?                                           HOOD #1                           (ignoring it)                       Look, forget about Verona. We'll take                       care of him. The best thing for you to                       do is to find a nice, dark, quiet place                       and just ... die.                                             CHEV                       Just die.                                            HOOD #1                       Yeah.   Just ... die.                    CHEV'S HEARTBEAT starts to slow. The wooden elevator starts          down. He looks around, making eye contact with the other          HOODS ...                                           CHEV                       Maybe you're right.                    ... then down to KAYLO'S crumpled body. He sees the stocking          feet, the pumps ... his HEART starts to jitter - THUDUB ...          LUB ... THUDUB ... his vision doubles ... he starts to swoon          ...                                           HOOD #1                           (rationalizing)                       I mean we all gotta die sometime, right?                    HOOD #1 snickers.     The others share a tense laugh.                                           CHEV                       That's true ... we all gotta die ...                                                                                      (CONTINUED)                          C                                              K                                              C                                                                                                                     76.                CONTINUED: (2)                                    CHEV stumbles, props himself up with one hand.                                              CHEV (CONT'D)                          Right ... so ... let's all die ...                                              HOOD #1                          Eh?                          CHEV brings up his gun in the blink of an eye, draws a bead                on HOOD #1 and is about to set off a SHOOTING GALLERY, when                the ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES and the door SLIDES OPEN.                          EVE WALKS IN... looks around, and FREEZES.                          They all turn to look.                                              HOOD #1 (CONT'D)                          What the...?                          CHEV affords himself about a second and a half of BUG-EYED                SHOCK before snapping out of it and DROPPING HOOD #1                INSTANTLY WITH A SHOT TO THE HEAD.                           HAOS BREAKS OUT as the others dive for cover and start                blasting. CHEV yanks KAYLO'S chair up and shoves it toward                the HOODS - then makes a break for the elevator shaft,                grabbing EVE as he goes.                           AYLO'S body screens CHEV and EVE as they run, taking hits,                finally toppling over again. CHEV takes out another HOOD on                the run, nailing him right between the eyes.                           HEV turns his back on the hoods, covering EVE, as they make                a dive into the open elevator shaft and takes a BULLET IN THE                ASS.                                              CHEV                          OW!                          He spins and empties his clip at the HOODS, who hit the deck.                          EVE holds his ass as CHEV looks down the open elevator shaft.                The elevator is half a floor down, moving slow. He grabs                EVE, then the cable... they jump for it.          1                INT DON KIM'S SHIRT FACTORY, 4TH FLOOR, SECONDS LATER           05                                                                 105                CHEV and EVE hit the floor of the moving elevator with a                CRASH and roll out onto the 4th floor. The workers are all                in a panic, standing by their sewing machines - they've                obviously heard the shots. The SUPERVISOR is walking around,                shoving them back into their seats, screaming at everyone in                Korean to keep working.                                                                            (CONTINUED)                          C                                                                                                                     77.                CONTINUED:                                    The SUPERVISOR, all of five feet, walks right up to CHEV and                EVE, and starts screaming at them in broken English.                                                   SUPERVISOR                             You!    Assholes! What you want!                          EVE completely FLIPS OUT and starts SHOUTING DOWN the little                man.                                                 EVE                             DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!! MY BOYFRIEND                             KILLS PEOPLE!!!                                                   CHEV                             Nice.                          The door on the far end of the room BUSTS OPEN and HOODS pour                in from the stairwell. They spot him.                          CHEV and EVE duck low and start hoofing it down the rows of                machines toward the windows. The HOODS fan out. They play                cat and mouse in the maze of sewing machines and Koreans                while the SUPERVISOR, oblivious, continues screaming and                forcing the workers back into their chairs.                          CHEV puts a finger to EVE'S lips, calming her momentarily...                          ... then comes up behind a youngish HOOD and shoves the                HOOD'S gun hand under a vicious looking sewing machine at                least fifty years old, operated by a Korean woman even older.                THE RUSTY THING PUNCTURES HIS HAND OVER AND OVER AS HE                SCREAMS, JUMPING UP AND DOWN, UNABLE TO GET FREE.                           HEV grabs the gun. They make for the fire escape.                          EXT FIRE ESCAPE, SECONDS LATER          106                                                                 106                They reach the bottom of the ladder and are PINNED DOWN by                gunfire from above.                          CHEV gives her a LOOK that says it all.                                                 EVE                             I had to see if you were telling the                             truth... oh, and you have my purse.                          CHEV notices the purse still over his shoulder, takes it off                and hands it to her. With a quick upward glance he breaks                cover and squeezes off 4 SHOTS, nailing two HOODS on the fire                escape.                                                 CHEV                             Come on! Wait -                                                                               (CONTINUED)                                 W                                                  N                                                                                                              78.          CONTINUED:                              She freezes - one of the DEAD HOODS lands with a THUD in the          spot she would've been -                                           CHEV (CONT'D)                       ... OK, now come on.                    EVE is pale as a sheet. She steps over the body like she was          avoiding a particularly large pile of cow shit... CHEV grabs          her hand and yanks her along.                    He spots EVE'S CAR parked BACKWARDS across the street and          they make a desperate RUN FOR IT as more shots WHIZ AND          RICOCHET off the pavement.                    EVE is rifling through her purse as they run. Naturally CHEV          assumes she's looking for the CAR KEYS.                                           EVE                       Darn it, I forgot to take my birth                       control pill.                    CHEV answers the gunfire with shots of his own, buying them a          few seconds, then grabs the purse and shakes the contents out          onto the ground.                     o keys.                                           CHEV                        here's the keys?          E           VE holds out her hand, where she's had them all along.                                           CHEV (CONT'D)                           (taking them)                       Cool.                                           EVE                       My stuff...                    She looks like she's about to wander around, gathering up her          things, when another volley of shots BLOWS OUT THE PASSENGER          WINDOW of the car.                    CHEV picks EVE up like a sack of grain and THROWS HER, HEAD          FIRST, THROUGH THE PASSENGER WINDOW, INTO THE CAR, then runs          around the other side, hops in and PEELS OUT.                    INT. EVE'S CAR - DAY                    EVE gets herself turned upright and stares at CHEV, hair full          of windshield glass.                                                                                          (CONTINUED)                                 T                                                                           E                                                  H                                                                                                                 79.          CONTINUED:                                                     EVE                       You weren't lying.                                           CHEV                       Welcome to my life.                                           EVE                           (head over heels IN LOVE)                       No, I mean: that you were going to give                       it all up for me.                                             CHEV                       Oh. Yeah.                                           EVE                       And the other part?                                           CHEV                       The poison? Yeah, that's true too.                     e SLAMS his fist against the wheel.                                           EVE                           (cracking)                       Then... that means...                                           CHEV                       Pretty much.                                           EVE                       How can we stop it?                                           CHEV                       Adrenaline. It's the only thing that                       slows it down.                                            VE                           (getting it)                       So... when we were in Chinatown...?                                           CHEV                       Yeah. Sorry.                    A LOOK OF DETERMINATION comes over her. She reaches for his          crotch.                                           CHEV (CONT'D)                       What are you doing?                                           EVE                        his will get you going.                                                                                               (CONTINUED)                                           E                                                                                                               80.          CONTINUED: (2)                                                     CHEV                    WHAT?                                        EVE                    Come on, let's finish what you started.                    CHEV'S eyes flash to the rearview mirror and GO WIDE. He          grabs the back of EVE'S head and PUSHES IT DOWN INTO HIS LAP -          just as a BULLET SLICES THROUGH THE REAR WINDSHIELD and out          the front.                    EVE'S head STAYS DOWN.                                           CHEV                    Oh boy...                    CHEV is straining against the seat, EVASIVE DRIVING as she          GOES DOWN on him.                                        CHEV (CONT'D)                    Oh yeah, that's... that's really working                    for me...                    EVE'S head pops up. E                                         VE                        (working him up)                    You like that?                    Shots whiz by.                                           CHEV                    Stay down.                    He pushes her head back down.                    CHEV'S heart is POUNDING like a jackhammer. He's got himself          arched into a crazy position, making it happen.                                        CHEV (CONT'D)                    That's it that's it that's it... just a                    little...                    EVE'S head quickly pops back up. She PUSHES AWAY.                                        CHEV (CONT'D)                        (flustered)                    What's the matter?                                         VE                        (satisfied)                    So you can fall asleep like you always                    do? I don't think so.                                                                         (CONTINUED)                    I                              H                                                  E                                                                                                            81.          CONTINUED: (3)                              CHEV loses his mind.                    He SLAMS THE BRAKES to put the car into a SLIDE, exposing his          driver side to the pursuing sedan - punches his gun hand out          the window and BLASTS AWAY.                    He NAILS THE DRIVER BETWEEN THE EYES... the window          DISINTEGRATES... The SEDAN full of HOODS skids into the          sidewalk. Steam pours from the radiator.                     XT. CITY STREET - DAY                    CHEV gets out and walks DIRECTLY UP TO THE SEDAN, one hand          holding his gun straight out in front of him, the other          PULLING UP HIS JOGGING PANTS, which are bunched up around his          knees.                    CHEV unloads the entire clip into the SEDAN before any of the          HOODS can react.                     e walks back to EVE'S CAR, cool as a cucumber, gets in and          pulls away.                     NT. EVE'S CAR - DAY                    EVE'S face has turned a distinct shade of PALE GREEN.                                        EVE                    Are they... OK?                    CHEV looks at her like she's nuts.                                        CHEV                    They're dead.                    EVE is overwhelmed.                                        EVE                    How can you... how can you do that...?                    CHEV barely hears her - he's become DISTRACTED, flexing his          left hand and feeling around his legs.                                        CHEV                    I told you, baby... I quit.                    He spots something, hits the brakes.                                           CHEV (CONT'D)                    Wait here.                    He jumps out.                          H                                                        S                                                                                                                     82.                                        122   EXT. SIDEWALK - DAY                                            122                          CHEV almost COLLAPSES when his feet hit the ground. It seems                like the left half of his body has simply stopped working.                                              CHEV                          Jesus Christ! Now what...?                          He unsnaps the buttons of the warm-up pants to reveal that                his left leg has TURNED GREY.                          He's HALF DEAD.                                              EVE                          What's the matter?                                              CHEV                              (pointing at her)                          Stay.                          They've pulled up across the street from a HARDWARE STORE.                CHEV drags his carcass across the street, oblivious to the                traffic swerving and braking to avoid him, and stumbles in.                          EVE stays in the car for a few seconds, looking lost, then                pulls herself together and gets out.                          She follows CHEV'S path, crossing the street through traffic.                           TORE EMPLOYEES and CUSTOMERS start bailing out of the store                in a PANIC as she approaches the front doors. She walks                through them and INSIDE.                          INT HARDWARE STORE, SECONDS LATER          123                                                                 123                EVE dream-walks through the store, past the registers,                following CHEV'S trail of BLOOD-SMEARED FOOTPRINTS.                          A pimple-faced STOCK CLERK blows by her, not looking back.                                              STOCK CLERK                          He's got a gun!                          She turns the corner and there's CHEV - he's propped up in                the middle of an aisle in front of a bin of NAILS, HAMMER in                one hand...                           e's already hammered SIX FRAMING NAILS INTO HIS LEG and is                busy POUNDING IN NUMBER SEVEN.                          He looks up at her, eyes wild.                                                                                                (CONTINUED)                                                                                         83.                CONTINUED:                                                           CHEV                             I can't feel my leg.                          EVE is speechless.                          SOUND: BEE-DEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEE-DUM.                          At first CHEV doesn't understand where the SOUND is coming                from ... he looks around as if a RED GHOST might glide around                a random corner any second ... then realizes his CELL is in                his pocket. He answers it.                                                 CHEV (CONT'D)                             H                              ello?                                                 DOC MILES                             Chevy! Holy shit, man, I've been trying                             to reach you for a half hour.                                                 CHEV                             Where are you?                                                                                     CUT TO:                          INT CHOCOLATE'S APARTMENT, SIMULTANEOUS          124                                                                     124                DOC is calling from the broken down apartment we saw earlier.                CHOCOLATE is kicking back on a worn, brown imitation leather                sofa in the background, watching TV.                                                 DOC MILES                             I'm at my office. Can you get here?                                                                                     CUT TO:                          INT HARDWARE STORE, SIMULTANEOUS          125                                                                     125                SIRENS approach outside.      CHEV meets EVE'S eyes, shakes his                head: unbelievable.                                                 CHEV                             Sure, why not?                                                                             FADE TO BLACK.                          INT CHOCOLATE'S APARTMENT, 9 MINUTES LATER          126                                                                     126                An IV bag bubbles, a portable HEART MONITOR beeps. The                CAMERA follows the drip down to CHEV'S arm. He's lying on                the brown sofa, wheezing thickly. Some kind of Court TV show                plays on the tube in the background.                                                                                                     (CONTINUED)                                     (                                                                            C                                                                                                               84.          CONTINUED:                              DOC MILES crouches beside CHEV, examines the heart monitor,          shakes his head.                                            HEV                       I owe you again, Doc.                                           DOC MILES                       You're my best customer.                                           CHEV                            gesturing with his head at the                            IV)                       What is this stuff?                                           DOC MILES                       Synthetic ephedrine, diluted with saline.                                           CHEV                       It feels sort of good.                                           DOC MILES                       Oh, I also gave you a little meth.                       That's the endorphins rushing into to                       your brain that you're feeling.                                           CHEV                       So I'm not... better?                                           DOC MILES                       Fuck no. You're in such shit shape it's                       stunning. I've never seen a heart take                       this kind of punishment and keep ticking.                       You should be in a fucking medical                       journal or something.                                           CHEV                       So... what are you going to do?                    DOC just shrugs.                                           DOC MILES                       The solution I'm giving you is acting as                       a competitive inhibitor... meaning it                       pushes the poison out of your receptors                       and replaces it with a chemical... it's a                       temporary fix...                                              CHEV                       Then what?                                                                                                       (CONTINUED)                              I                                                  I                                                                                                              85.          CONTINUED: (2)                                                  DOC MILES                    Look, if we put you on life support we                    could maybe string you out for a few                    days, but at some point you'd almost                    certainly lapse into a coma... and                    then...                    And now it hits CHEV for the first time: this is really it.          He seems like he might break down.                                        CHEV                        (cocking his head toward the                         next room)                    Does she know?                                                                            CUT TO:                    INT. BEDROOM, CHOCOLATE'S APARTMENT - DAY                    EVE and CHOCOLATE are sitting cross-legged on the mattress,          staring blankly at the TV.                                        EVE                        (no inflection)                    I hate television.                    CHOCOLATE looks sideways at her: the white girl is CRAZY.                     NT. CHOCOLATE'S APARTMENT - DAY                    DOC shakes his head NO.                    CHEV broods silently.                                        DOC MILES                     f you want, I can load you up with                    something, you'll go out in a beautiful                    dream.                                         CHEV                    A dream.                    FLASH CUT: A RED GHOST, pulsing.                                        DOC MILES                        (gently)                    Can I do that for you, Chev?                                        CHEV                    No... no, that's not what I want.                                        DOC MILES                    Then ... what?                                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                                         86.                CONTINUED:                                    CHEV'S moment of weakness passes. His face goes grim with                vengeance as the mean bastard inside him kicks in. He looks                DOC MILES in the eye.                                                   CHEV                             One hour.                          DOC MILES regards him blankly.                                                 CHEV (CONT'D)                             I want one hour.                                                                                     CUT TO:                          INT HUMVEE LIMOUSINE, DAY          127                                                                   127                RICKY VERONA and his CREW are in the back, watching a noisy                satellite feed on dual plasma TV screens. A JAPANESE GIRL in                a red blazer, one of the TOURISTS from the bus, is being                interviewed in Japanese amidst a crowd of her semi-identical                friends. A TRANSLATION is overdubbed.                                                 JAPANESE GIRL                                                       The GIRLS giggle.                                                 JAPANESE GIRL (CONT'D)                                                       VERONA rolls his eyes.                                                 VERONA                             Give me a fucking break...                          The BROADCAST cuts to a MONTAGE: The trashed restaurant, the                burning Police motorcycle, the car crashed into the mall                escalator, POLICE sifting through wreckage, finally the                sketch of CHEV'S face.          1                                      ANNOUNCER (V.O.)           27                                                                   127                             And so the wild rampage that began at 9                             AM this morning in West Los Angeles                             continues, with the mysterious suspect                             still at large.                                                 HOOD                             Maybe we shoulda give him more of that                             Chinese shit.                                                                                                               (CONTINUED)                                            V                                                                                                               87.          CONTINUED:                                                     VERONA                           (sarcastic)                       Oh ... you think?    Jesus ...                    His cell phone rings.       He checks it.                                           VERONA (CONT'D)                           (shaking his head in disbelief)                       It's him. Alright, shut up.                    He answers.                                           VERONA (CONT'D)                       What's up, corpse.                                           CHEV                       Hey douchebag, thought you might be                       interested in a little deal.                                             ERONA                       A deal?   You're mental, dude.                                           CHEV                       I want the antidote.                                           VERONA                       Oh, the antidote, huh?                    VERONA makes eye contact with his CREW, covering the          mouthpiece of the phone; they all try to keep from breaking          up.                                           CHEV                       That's right.                                           VERONA                       And what are you prepared to give me.                       Asshole.                                           CHEV                       How about the jewelry I got off your                       faggot brother, you cocksucker?                    This stings VERONA. He pulls the phone away from his face,          looks at it like he wants to smash it into bits, then pulls          himself together and puts it back to his ear.                                           VERONA                           (holding back, tight lipped)                       Hmmm.                                           CHEV                       Thinking about it?                                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                      88.                CONTINUED: (2)                                    VERONA pantomimes jacking off for the boys.                                                 VERONA                          Alright.                                              CHEV                          You like that deal?                                                 VERONA                          Whatever.                                              CHEV                          I'll be at Downtown Standard in twenty                          minutes. You know the spot?                                                 VERONA                          Of course.                                              CHEV                          Don't be late, or I'll trade this thing                          to some whore for a hand job ...                                              VERONA                              (cutting him off)                          I'll be there.                          He clicks off, then sits there, seething.                                              VERONA (CONT'D)                              (to the BOYZ)                          What the hell are you looking at?                          They turn back toward the plasma screens. VERONA takes a                deep breath, then speed dials a number on the cell phone.                                     V                                     ERONA (CONT'D)                          Verona. You're not going to believe the                          call I just got.                                                                                CUT TO:                          EXT LOS ANGELES, DAY          129                                                                 129                MONTAGE TO MUSIC: more of L.A. at 3 f.p.s. - the traffic                flowing, trains zapping by, commuters commuting, everything                at a thousand miles an hour.                                              CHEV (O.C.)                          It's going to be alright, baby.                                                                                  THEN:                                                 E                                                                                                                     89.                                              EXT LOS ANGELES, DAY          130                                                                 130                From a distance, in a locked off TELEPHOTO frame, we see CHEV                walking toward the CAMERA in slow motion, 100 f.p.s.                          Dialog from an UNSEEN CONVERSATION is layered over the image.                                              EVE (O.C.)                          But... you said...                                              CHEV (O.C.)                          I know. But things have changed. There's                          an antidote. I can make a deal for it,                          but I've got to go alone.                          He's well dressed in a sportcoat, slacks, button down shirt                and tie, flapping in the wind ... sunglasses, and look of                brutal determination on his face ...                                                  VE (O.C.)                          I'm scared.                                              CHEV (O.C.)                          Of course. But you'll be safe now. And                          I'll be back.                          In a series of dissolves he comes straight at the CAMERA til                his face fills the frame ...                                                                                END MUSIC.                                                                                   CUT TO:                          EXT. CHOCOLATE'S APARTMENT - EARLIER                          EVE looks up into CHEV'S eyes, absolutely vulnerable,                absolutely STUNNING. Pale sunlight punches through the half                rolled blinds.                                              EVE                          Do you promise?                          CHEV meets her gaze.                                                 CHEV                          I promise.                                                                                   CUT TO:                          EXT STANDARD HOTEL, DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - DAY          131                                                                 131                CHEV bangs through the revolving glass doors to the hotel.                                                                                         (CONTINUED)                          R                                                  1                                                        I                                                                                                                    90.                CONTINUED:                                    The CAMERA shifts to a ROUGH HANDHELD POV, similar to the                shot that starts the film. The MUSIC is replaced by the                SOUND of CHEV'S labored BREATHING and HEARTBEAT. The POV                doubles, goes in and out of focus.                           n one continuous shot he approaches the STANDARD HOTEL and                walks past the valets into the RETRO-MOD LOBBY.                          INT LOBBY, STANDARD HOTEL - CONTINUOUS          132                                                                 132                The shot continues as CHEV moves through the LOBBY and makes                a beeline for the RESTROOM. Scattered around are hard                looking DUDES pretending to read newspapers ... he passes                them by, avoiding eye contact.                          INT BATHROOM, STANDARD HOTEL - CONTINUOUS           33                                                                 133                The bathroom is empty. He walks into a stall, shuts the door                and opens his coat - we see a PAGER-SIZED device clipped to                his belt - a green LED is illuminated.                           EVERSE: CHEV adjusts a tiny knob on the device.   His face is                shiny with perspiration.                          He pulls out his shirt tails ... we see that a small tube                runs from the device to a needle inserted in the base of                C                spine, taped up with white adhesive.                           HEV tucks the shirt back carefully, takes a series of deep                breaths and leaves the stall.                          INT LOBBY, STANDARD HOTEL - CONTINUOUS          134                                                                 134                He bangs open the door to the restroom and pushes past three                of the DUDES, who were about to go in. They let him pass,                trying to avoid attention.                          CHEV makes his way to the ELEVATORS, hits the UP button.    The                doors open, he gets on. The DUDES watch from the LOBBY.                          INT ELEVATOR, STANDARD HOTEL - CONTINUOUS          135                                                                 135                A JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN - early 50s, compact and under five                feet, immaculately groomed - hustles on as the doors slide                shut. He stands opposite CHEV against the wall and stares at                him, expressionless.                                                 CHEV                             What's happening, brother?                          Silence.                                                                                                 (CONTINUED)                    A                                                                                                                  91.          CONTINUED:                              CHEV takes a small bottle of PILLS from his coat pocket and          swallows them dry.                    He closes his eyes and leans against the wall to steady          himself as the effect of the pills washes over him.                     n UNEXPECTED VOICE breaks the silence.                                           KAREN CHELIOS                       Where did I go wrong?                    CHEV'S eyes SNAP OPEN.    The JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN stares back,          impassively.                                           CHEV                           (weirded out)                       Did you say something?                    Now the JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN answers - but when he moves his          lips, it's the voice of A WOMAN IN HER 40s.                                           KAREN CHELIOS                       Like talking to the wall...                                 C                                  HEV                       Mom?                                           KAREN CHELIOS                       I'm amazed you remember you have a                       mother.                    CHEV shakes his head in disbelief, tries to clear his eyes,          but the HALLUCINATION persists.                                           KAREN CHELIOS (CONT'D)                       You never call, you never write... I                       haven't seen you since you ran out at                       16...                                           CHEV                           (falling right into it)                       Right, with you popping Valium like Tic                       Tacs and balling some new asshole every                       two weeks... why wouldn't I stick around                       for entertainment like that?                                           KAREN CHELIOS                       That's hurtful.                    CHEV is an instant ball of regret.                                                                                                          (CONTINUED)                              Y                                                   O                                                                                                               92.          CONTINUED: (2)                                                  CHEV                        (exasperated)                    Mom, I got no time for this...                    The JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN cuts him off - this time the voice          is ORLANDO'S.                                        ORLANDO                    You got no time, period.                                         CHEV                    Orlando?                                         RLANDO                     ou a persistent motherfucker, Chev                    Chelios, I'll give you that.                                        CHEV                        (reacting)                    This is weird.                                        ORLANDO                    But you know this has got to stop                    sometime. What do you think you are,                    Michael Myers? They pop you and you just                    keep gettin up?                                        CHEV                    I'm the Terminator.                    The JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN does another transformation - this          time into ALEX.                                        ALEX                    You was that, maybe. But there's a new                    gun in town.                                        CHEV                    Don't tell me you're talking about your                    bro, Def Lepard.                                        ALEX                    He did you pretty good, didn't he?                                        CHEV                    Yeah, not so much. I don't get it - why                    didn't you guys just cut me up alive when                    you had the chance?                                        ALEX                    Verona said you was Chev Chelios - A.K.A.                    Death On Two Legs.                              (MORE)                                                                         (CONTINUED)                    T                                                                      C                                                  A                                                                                                               93.          CONTINUED: (3)      ALEX(CONT'D)                    He said you probably been a contract                    killer since grade school.                     s he speaks, ALEX'S voice transforms again, this time into          CHEV'S... he's now talking to A MIRROR OF HIMSELF...                                        MIRROR CHEV                    Bipolar. Sadomasochistic tendencies.                    Adrenaline junkie. Addicted to                    violence... probably spends every day of                    his life looking for the big thrill, the                    big rush. Cutting up a guy like that                    while he screams in his own blood and                    excrement would be like... like a GIFT...                    a warrior's death... hell, you'd probably                    get off on it...                                         HEV                    Did you rehearse this?                                        MIRROR CHEV                    No, this was the best way for a guy like                    you: a slow, ticking clock... winding                    down... inevitable... non-negotiable...                    until...                                        CHEV                        (cutting him off)                    Who the hell are you, anyway?                                        MIRROR CHEV                    Don't you know?                                        CHEV                        (soberly)                    I think I'm starting to figure it out.                                        MIRROR CHEV                    Yeah, well, better late than never.                        (conversational)                    You know you're going to die up there.                                         CHEV                        (cold)                    Yeah, maybe.                     he CAMERA holds CHEV'S gaze for a long moment, unflinching.                                        CHEV (CONT'D)                    But I'm taking you with me.                    REVERSE, CU: The JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN has TRANSFORMED INTO A          GIANT BLUE GHOST, pulsing silently.                                                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                                                       94.                CONTINUED: (4)                                    CUT TO: wide angle TWO SHOT, CHEV and the flat, two                dimensional, computer animated GHOST, facing each other at                opposite ends of the elevator.                          SOUND: the CHIME SOUNDS, signalling they've reached the top                floor.                C                 HEV glances at the lit floor number display, then back.                          The JAPANESE MAN stares back at him, blank.                                              CHEV (CONT'D)                              (under his breath)                          Some pills, Doc.                          The JAPANESE MAN ignores him. When the doors open, he                hustles off ... past two GOONS, who are waiting there for                CHEV.                          They each take an arm.                                                CHEV (CONT'D)                          Easy ...                                                GOON                          This way.                          INT RESTAURANT, STANDARD HOTEL - CONTINUOUS          136                                                                 136                The GOONS lead CHEV through a posh dining area, down a dark                corridor.                          They frisk him, finding the obvious .45 in the shoulder                holster, yank it out and push him into a SMOKING LOUNGE.                          INT SMOKING LOUNGE, STANDARD HOTEL - CONTINUOUS          137                                                                 137                CARLITO and RICKY VERONA sit side by side at the table. An                iced bucket of champagne, good cigars. GOONS chill in the                corners. The whole floor has been cleared out - they've got                the place all to themselves.                                               VERONA                              (smug)                          What's up, dead?                                              CHEV                          Looks like everyone's here.                                              CARLITO                              (chuckling despite himself)                          Chelios... what a fucking mess you are.                                                                                        (CONTINUED)                                     (                                                        C                              H                                                                   (                                                                                                                  95.          CONTINUED:                                                        CHEV                       No shit.                                           CARLITO                       Why don't you sit down?                                            VERONA                       Wait a minute.                            gesturing to the GOONS by the                            door)                       Pat him down again. He's carrying                       something.                    The GOONS give him another look. This time they reach down          his pants and produce a second small, concealed handgun ...          then discover the pager-like device. One of the goons rips          the tube from CHEV's back - CHEV winces in pain. His          HEARTRATE starts to slow almost immediately.                                           CARLITO                       Let me see that.                    A GOON tosses it to him.                                           CARLITO (CONT'D)                       Clever ... what is this, an insulin pump?                                              CHEV                       Basically.                                           VERONA                       What the fuck is insulin?                    CARLITO shuts him up with a look.                                           CARLITO                           (holding the device up)                       Ephedrine, right?                    CHEV nods. CARLITO places the device carefully on the table.                                           CARLITO (CONT'D)                           (bemused)                       Very resourceful ...                     e reaches into his coat pocket, produces a pair of black          leather gloves and starts to put them on.                                            HEV                            to Verona)                       Found a new master, you little bitch, is                       that it?                                                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                                 96.          CONTINUED: (2)                                                  VERONA                    I'm nobody's little bitch.                                        CHEV                        (egging him on)                    We'll see what kind of a bitch you are                    when Carlito hires you for half what he                    used to pay me... and you take it.                                        CARLITO                    That's enough.                                        CHEV                    You'll probably throw boss a nice little                    reach-around just to show what a good                    bitch you are.                                        VERONA                    I'm nobody's little bitch, you hear me?                    He'll pay what I tell him to pay...!                                        CARLITO                    I said that's enough.                        (calmly)                    It's been a long day. But in the end, you                    must agree, it all works out quite                    nicely. Don Kim gets his bullet, thanks                    to you...                    CARLITO unlatches a 2'x6" beautifully crafted mahogany wood          case sitting on the table in front of him. It contains          several SYRINGES and bottle of MILKY FLUID. He removes one          SYRINGE from the box with a gloved hand. It almost glows in          the soft light.      C                               ARLITO (CONT'D)                    ... and Hong Kong gets a goat to take the                    fall. Please understand, Chev, it's truly                    nothing personal.                                        VERONA                    Speak for yourself.                    CARLITO squirts a little of the MILKY LIQUID.                                        CHEV                    Is that what I think it is?                    CARLITO nods.                                                                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                                 97.          CONTINUED: (3)                                                  CARLITO                    The Chinese shit.                        (nods to the GOONS)                    Hold him down.                    In a flash, CHEV WHIPS OUT A GUN - everyone FLINCHES... but          no, wait: he's just holding out his fist, pointing the STICK-          EM-UP FINGER right between CARLITO'S eyes.                                        CHEV                    Not so fast, motherfucker.                    For a beat, no one knows quite how to react. VERONA chuckles          nervously.                                        VERONA                    Dude's gone dipsy doodle...                    CHEV whips the finger toward VERONA, shutting him down mid-          word. VERONA shrugs it off with less than 100% confidence...          the room EXHALES.                                        VERONA (CONT'D)                    Whatever, psycho...                                        CARLITO                    I'm afraid the Houdini act is over,                    Chelios.                    A GOON makes a move for CHEV... but CHEV spins on him,          leveling the finger at the GOON'S forehead, and pulls the          "trigger"...                                        CHEV                        (imitating a gunshot)                    Booosh!                    The GOON'S head is rocked back, a NICKEL-SIZED HOLE popped          right through the cranium... a GLORIOUS FOUNTAIN OF CRIMSON          arcs from the GOON'S forehead across the table, splashing          into the ice bucket.                                        VERONA                        (freaking)                    Ourfather whoartinheaven hallowedbethy -                                        CARLITO                    Shut up, Verona.                                        DON KIM                    So this is how it is.                    Everyone turns...                                                                         (CONTINUED)                    H                    S                                                                                                                 98.          CONTINUED: (4)                              DON KIM,   in a Ralph Lauren polo shirt and white slacks, is          standing   at the entrance of the bar. He's got an ASIAN          GANGSTER   on each side, one of them holding out a smoking,          silenced   GLOCK .9mm.                    More ASIAN GANGSTERS appear all around, moving in, taking          position. The GANGSTERS all look about 16 years old, dressed          for a hot night at the FLORENTINE GARDENS... but their eyes          are dead-blank COLD AS HELL.                               V                                 ERONA                      What... you... he...                                           CHEV                      Presto.                    One of CARLITO'S GOONS points an UZI at DON KIM... and is          FILLED FULL OF LEAD in the blink of an eye by a pair of          ASIANS on his blind side... who are CUT TO RIBBONS by another          of CARLITO'S MEN... and ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE.                    CARLITO scrambles away from the table and grabs one of his          GOONS, using him as a shield as he makes his way behind the          bar... the GOON absorbs a hail of bullets...                    VERONA whips out a .357 MAGNUM, turns toward CHEV...                     ummoning a surge of strength from out of his ass, CHEV kicks          the table forward, pinning VERONA'S legs to the bench - the          ICE BUCKET slides into CHEV'S lap...                     e snatches out a bottle of Dom Perignon and fastballs it at          VERONA'S GUN HAND... the bottle SHATTERS... VERONA bobbles          the .357... it hits the ground - GOES OFF - and the four          fingers of VERONA'S right hand are VAPORIZED.                    VERONA SHRIEKS like a ten year old girl at a JUSTIN          TIMBERLAKE concert.                    Behind the bar, CARLITO quickly punches up his cell phone.                                          CARLITO                      Get me out of here! NOW!                    EXT. STANDARD HOTEL, ROOFTOP - CONTINUOUS                    A PILOT is standing by in CARLITO'S personal HELICOPTER,          waiting on the roof.                                           PILOT                      Yes sir.                    He fires her up, LIFTS OFF...                                                                                 99.                                        INT SMOKING LOUNGE, STANDARD HOTEL - CONTINUOUS                    CARLITO'S and DON KIM'S MEN have backed into opposite corners          of the room, and are firing back and forth.                    VERONA crawls along the floor, gathering up what's left of          his fingers... comes across a SYRINGE and grabs it in his          teeth like a PIRATE'S KNIFE.                    DON KIM stands amidst the chaos, completely unperturbed.                                        CARLITO                        (from behind the bar)                    I'll kill you for this, Chelios!                                          CHEV                    Too late!                    CHEV swoons, almost passes out... catches sight of a GUN and          pries it from the hand of a dead GOON... he spots VERONA'S          FEET disappearing behind a wall, takes a bead and fires -          blowing off a set of toes to go with the fingers.                    An ASIAN GANGSTER runs up and lobs a GRENADE behind the          BAR... it bounces along and comes to rest next to CARLITO.                    CARLITO thinks quick, grabbing one of his GOONS - a 265          pounder - from behind...                                          CARLITO                    Get down!                    He BODY-TACKLES the BIG MAN onto the floor, right on top of          the live grenade, and brings his weight down on top of him.                                        GOON                    Thanks, boss.                    BOOM!                    The BIG GOON'S body absorbs the blast, which picks them both          up five feet in the air... CARLITO, momentarily airborne,          pops up from behind the bar like a JACK IN THE BOX, then          drops back down with a THUD...                                        CARLITO                    Ronnie James Dio...!                    The LOUNGE opens into a daylight drenched POOL AREA...          CARLITO'S HELICOPTER drops down into view, roiling up the          water...                    CARLITO makes a break for it.                                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                                        100.                CONTINUED:                                                           CHEV                             Oh no you don't...                          CHEV goes after him, spinning and careening across the slick                floor like a CHARLIE CHAPLIN DRUNK ACT, dodging bullets and                blasting away...                                                                                     CUT TO:                          EXT STANDARD HOTEL, DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - DAY                          Police have surrounded the hotel and are pouring into the                Lobby in teams. Squad cars, CHERRY TOPS FLASHING, SWAT vans                pulled up on to the curb, people roped off, crowd control,                news vans, the works.                A                  TV REPORTER is sending a live feed amidst the pandemonium.                                                 REPORTER                             Police have moved to surround the                             Downtown Standard Hotel, where the                             suspect ... the unidentified madman ...                             is believed to be holed up and making a                             desperate last stand ...!                                                                                     CUT TO:                          EXT. STANDARD HOTEL, POOL AREA - SIMULTANEOUS          145                                                                   145                CHEV staggers out into the daylight as the windows to the                restaurant shatter - and is met by a SWIRLING RUSH OF WIND as                the HELICOPTER attempts to set down amidst the chaise lounges                and futuristic plastic cabanas.                          CARLITO is climbing in as CHEV clambers up and GRABS HIM FROM                BEHIND. CARLITO spins; CHEV shoves the gun in his face.                                                 CHEV                             Present from Kaylo.                          But just as he's about to pull the trigger, he FREEZES...                face TWITCHING... knees BUCKLING...                          ... and we see that VERONA has come up behind him and JAMMED                THE SYRINGE RIGHT TO THE HILT INTO THE BACK OF HIS NECK.                          CHEV drops to his knees.    His HEARTBEAT is deafening,                GLACIAL.                                                 VERONA                                 (in a bloodthirsty rage)                             Now what? Now say shit!                                                                                           (CONTINUED)                          A                                                           D                                                                                                                    101.                CONTINUED:                                                           CARLITO                                 (shaken for once)                             Jesus, man, where the fuck where you?                          VERONA grabs the gun out of CHEV'S hand and points it at                CARLITO.                                                 VERONA                             WHO'S THE BITCH NOW?                          He blows CARLITO away with three shots.                          The PILOT starts to lift off in a blue panic. VERONA shoves                CHEV aside and hops into the back seat, pointing his gun at                the PILOT'S head.                                                 VERONA (CONT'D)                             That's right, motherfucker!   FLY!                          VERONA whips the gun around as the bird rises, intending to                .                finish CHEV off from the air ...                           .. and has the gun removed from his hand by CHEV, who has                climbed onto the landing skids, hooking his dead arm inside                the passenger space, going up with them.                          DON KIM watches the HELICOPTER rise as his MEN finish off the                last of CARLITO'S GOONS...                                                  ON KIM                             Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from                             your friend's forehead.                              GANGSTER gives him a sidelong look.                                                  DON KIM (CONT'D)                                 (explaining)                             Confucius.                          ... the DOOR BUSTS IN and the place is crawling with S.W.A.T.                          EXT THE SKY ABOVE LOS ANGELES, SECONDS LATER          146                                                                 146                CHEV'S HEARTBEAT IS SLAMMING as the bird rises high above the                rooftop and the surrounding streets. He wrestles his way up                into the back seat as VERONA tries desperately to push him                out.                          NEWS HELICOPTERS hover around the midair struggle like wasps,                shooting across at the action.                                                                                   CUT TO:                                                                                         (CONTINUED)                    1                                                                               C                                                                                                                   102.                CONTINUED:                                    LIVE TELEVISION BROADCAST: An announcer babbles over          147                                                                 147                phenomenal live video of CHEV and VERONA struggling in the                helicopter.                                                                                CUT TO:                          EXT THE SKY ABOVE LOS ANGELES, SIMULTANEOUS          148                                                                 148                CHEV has VERONA locked up; both men are fighting with just                one hand ... VERONA manages to work his up to CHEV'S                shoulder, where the steel needle still pokes through. He                slides it out and stabs at CHEV'S face ... CHEV catches his                wrist in time to hold him off, but his grip is slipping ...                          The spaces between CHEV'S HEARTBEATS have grown longer and                longer ... he's obviously having a massive coronary ...                                                 VERONA                             You're dead, you're dead, you're dead!                C                 HEV swoons; his eyes roll back in his head ... he starts to                go limp, fall backwards ...                          Then, with a final rush of adrenaline, he grabs VERONA by the                neck and pulls him along.                          The two men FALL FROM THE HELICOPTER.                          CHEV continues to strangle VERONA in midair.                                                 CHEV                             I told you I'd kill you, you son of a                             bitch!                          VERONA'S eyes bulge in disbelief. CHEV continues to strangle                him until VERONA goes limp, glassy eyed ... CHEV finally lets                go ... VERONA'S body drifts away ...                                                  HEV (CONT'D)                             There.                                    Now he's alone, free falling ... it's almost peaceful up                here.                          EXT   THE SKY ABOVE LOS ANGELES           49                                                                 149                It occurs to him he still has his cell phone. He retrieves                it from his coat pocket and clicks a speed dial.                                                                                CUT TO:                          S                                                        C                                                        V                                                                                                                   103.                                              INT EVE'S APARTMENT, SAME TIME          150                                                                 150                SLOW ZOOM in on EVE'S answering machine as he talks.                                              EVE (O.S.)                          ... leave a message.                          BEEP.                                              CHEV (O.S.)                          Hey doll. Looks like I let you down                          again. You were right about me ... funny,                          you really have time to reflect on things                          when you know you're going to die ...                          seems like all my life I've just been                          going, going, going ... I wish I'd taken                          more time to stop and smell the roses, so                          to speak, but well, I guess it's too late                          now... you were the greatest, baby.                                                                                   CUT TO:                          EXT STREET, IN FRONT OF HIGHRISE, 1 SECOND LATER          151                                                                 151                Still frame of a city street, traffic sounds - CAMERA down on                the ground. A homeless guy ambles along, looks up, hustles                his ass out of the way ...                           ERONA hits the ground - SMACK! - BOUNCES, flies out of                frame.                          Next is CHEV - he SLAMS off the canvas top of a moving                convertible car - BAM!                           HEV flies high out of frame, then comes down hard, smashing                into a NEWS STAND right in front of the CAMERA ... TRADES and                FISH WRAPS rain over CHEV and the surrounding area... on each                a different HEADLINE... "Bo Sox Break The Curse"... "Bush To                Swiss: You're Next"... etc.                          The screen CUTS TO BLACK.                          A beat of silence... is that it?                          then -                           OUND: LUB DUB.                          KICK TO SOUNDTRACK.           
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+DAWN OFTHE DEAD(The working draft 1977)by George A. Romero1	We see the face of a young woman. She is asleep. It is very	quiet at first, as credits appear. The woman's face begins to	twitch, as though she is having a bad dream. She moans slightly	and her expression grows more desperate.	A mix of subtle sounds begin to fade in. As they get louder, we	can discern what sounds like a busy office area. It is actually	a frantic television studio with the hum of panic in a national	emergency.	The woman's moans get louder and more desperate as the	background sounds reach full volume and the credits stop. The	woman sits up, snapping awake.2	She lurches forwards into the arms of a strong young man. She is	Francine, twenty three years old and very attractive, although	she is gritty with dirt. Her hair is hanging, dishevelled and	sweaty. Her jeans and blouse have been worn for several days.	She is sitting on the floor, where she has slept the last	several hours, covered by an old overcoat.	Tony:	YOU OK?	Fran stares at the young man. She is shaking. She doesn't speak.	Tony:	THE SHIT'S REALLY HITTING THE FAN.	The girl tries to clear her head as the young man moves on to	where others sleep on the floor. He wakes them up one at a time.	We begin to hear voices over the busy hum of the studio. They	have an electronic tinniness, as broadcast over a monitor. Fran	looks about. She is still shaken from her dream.3	We see the television studio. Reporters buzz about madly.	Everybody looks dishevelled and exhausted. Technicians man	monitors, and we see people on the little screens, arguing	emotionally.4	Voice:	WHAT'S MAKING IT HAPPEN? WHAT THE HELL			DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE, WHAT'S MAKING IT			HAPPEN.	Voice:	YES, BUT THAT'S...	Voice:	THAT'S A WHOLE OTHER STUDY. THEY'RE TRYING...	Voice:	BUT IF WE KNEW THAT, WE COULD...	Voice:	WE DON'T KNOW THAT! WE DON'T KNOW THAT!			WE'VE GOTTA OPERATE ON WHAT WE DO KNOW!5	The room is pandemonium. People run in with wire copy; others	organise the stacks of bulletins as they arrive. Others trip	over cables and generally get in each other's way.6	Francine stares at the madness, still trying to clear her head.	Man's voice: I'M STILL DREAMING.	Fran turns her head. Another young man sits next to her on the	floor. He is one of the ones Tony awakened.	Fran:	NO YOU'RE NOT.	Woman:	MY TURN WITH THE COAT.	Fran looks up. A young woman is offering her coffee in a paper	cup. She is next in line for the overcoat and a few hours sleep.	Fran takes the coffee and struggles to her feet.	Woman:	THE GUYS ON THE CREW ARE GETTING CRAZY.			A BUNCH OF 'EM FLEW THE COOP ALREADY.			I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER WE'LL BE ABLE			TO STAY ON AIR.7	Fran staggers over to the control consoles. The technicians are	at the end of their ropes.	Technicians: (all at once)			WATCH CAMERA TWO...WHO THE HELL'S ON CAMERA			TWO, A BLIND MAN...			WATCH THE FRAME...WATCH THE FRAME...			ROLL THE RESCUE STATIONS AGAIN.	Technicians: WE GOT A REPORT THAT HALF THOSE RESCUE			STATIONS HAVE BEEN KNOCKED OUT.			SO GET ME A NEW LIST.			SURE, I'LL PULL IT OUTA MY ASS.	Fran focuses on the monitors. She is incredulous... stunned by	the madness which surrounds her. She realises the hopelessness	of the situation as she zeroes in on the televised conversation.8	We begin to listen over the din of the news room.	TV Man 1:    I DON'T BELIEVE THAT, DOCTOR, AND I DON'T			BELIEVE...	TV Man 2:    DO YOU BELIEVE THE DEAD ARE RETURNING TO			LIFE?	TV Man 1:    I'M NOT SO...	TV Man 2:    DO YOU BELIEVE THE DEAD ARE RETURNING TO			LIFE AND ATTACKING THE LIVING?	TV Man 1:    I'M NOT SO SURE WHAT TO BELIEVE DOCTOR!9	Suddenly we cut into the studio, and we see the argument as it	is being shot.	TV Man 1:    (con't)			ALL WE GET IS WHAT YOU PEOPLE TELL US.			AND IT'S HARD ENOUGH TO BELIEVE...	TV Man 2:    IT'S FACT... IT'S FACT...	TV Man 1:    IT'S HARD ENOUGH TO BELIEVE WITHOUT YOU			COMING IN HERE AND TELLING US WE HAVE TO			FORGET ALL HUMAN DIGNITY AND...	TV Man 2:    HUMAN DIG... YOU CAN'T...	TV Man 1:    ...FORGET ALL HUMAN DIGNITY...	TV Man 2:    YOU'RE NOT RUNNING A TALK SHOW HERE, MR.			BERMAN...YOU CAN FORGET PITCHING AN AUDIENCE			THE MORAL BULL SHIT THEY WANT TO HEAR!	TV Man 1:    YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ABANDONING EVERY HUMAN			CODE OF BEHAVIOUR, AND THERE'S A LOT OF US			WHO AREN'T READY FOR THAT DOCTOR FOSTER...10	 A great cry of assent goes up from the studio floor. Doctor	Foster is flustered and frustrated. The stage hands and	cameramen are all screaming at him, swearing and ridiculing. We	notice Police guards, armed, at the studio doors. They control	the traffic in and out of the big room.11	 Back at the control panel. Fran stares at the screens. Confusion	still reigns.	Man:	 FRANNIE, GET ON THE NEW LIST OF RESCUE STATIONS.			CHARLIE'S RECEIVING ON THE EMERGENCIES...	Fran pulls herself away from the monitors as the argument rages	on screen.12	 She fights through the heavy traffic and reaches Charlie, a	harassed typist who holds the receiver of an emergency radio	unit under his chin...	Charlie:	(into receiver)			SAY AGAIN...CAN'T HEAR YOU... 	Fran:	RESCUE STATIONS?	Fran leafs through sheets of paper on Charlie's desk. He writes	notes as he listens on the receiver, and he speaks to the woman.	Charlie:	HALF THOSE ARE INOPERATIVE ANY MORE.			I'M TRYIN' TO FIND OUT AT LEAST ABOUT THE			IMMEDIATE AREA. WE'VE HAD OLD INFORMATION			ON THE AIR FOR THE LAST TWELVE HOURS.	Fran:	THESE ARE RESCUE STATIONS. WE CAN'T SEND			PEOPLE TO INOPERATIVE...	Charlie:	(into receiver)			SAY AGAIN, NEW HOPE...	Charlie makes more notes and hands them to Fran. Still listening	on the receiver, he speaks to the woman again.	Charlie:	I'M DOIN' WHAT I CAN. THESE ARE DEFINITE			AS OF NOW. SKIP AND DUSTY ARE ON THE RADIO,			TOO. GOOD LUCK.	Fran snatches up the sheets and moves across the room.13	 She stops at the consoles...	Fran:	I'M GONNA KNOCK OFF THE OLD RESCUE STATIONS.			I'LL HAVE THE NEW ONES READY AS SOON AS I CAN.	Technician:  WE'RE SENDING PEOPLE TO PLACES THAT HAVE			CLOSED DOWN. I'M GONNA KILL THE OLD LIST.14	 Fran moves toward another control room. An armed officer stops	her. A young man rushing through with copy intercedes.	Man:	 HEY, SHE'S ALRIGHT.	Officer:	WHERE'S YOUR BADGE?	Fran reaches instinctively for the lapel of her blouse. Her	badge is missing.	Fran:	JESUS!	Man:	 SHE'S ALRIGHT.	Fran:	I HAD IT...I WAS ASLEEP OVER THERE...	She makes a move toward the corner where she was asleep.	Man:	 SOMEBODY STOLE IT. THERE'S A LOT OF 'EM			MISSING.			(to officer)			SHE'S ALRIGHT. LET HER THROUGH.	The officer reluctantly steps aside.15	 The young man and Fan move down a crowded hall and into a small	camera room. The foot traffic is solid. They talk as they walk.	Fran:	I DON'T BELIEVE IT.	Man:	 ONE OF THOSE LITTLE BADGES CAN OPEN A LOT			OF DOORS...YOU AVOID A LOT OF HASSLES IF			YOU GOT A BADGE...ANY KIND OF BADGE...	Fran:	IT'S REALLY GOING CRAZY.16	 They reach a small camera installation. The camera is aimed at a	machine which rolls out a list of rescue stations. The list is	superimposed over the live broadcast as it goes out.	Cameraman:   YOU GOT NEW ONES?	Fran:	I GOTTA TYPE 'EM UP. KILL THE OLD ONES.	Cameraman:   GIVENS WANT 'EM...	Fran:	KILL 'EM, DICK. TELL GIVENS TO SEE ME!	The man clicks off his camera. Fran moves toward the studio.17	 On the monitors, we see the rescue stations blink off over shots	of the two men who still argue on the air.	TV Man 1:    WELL I DON'T BELIEVE IN GHOSTS, DOCTOR.	TV Man 2:    THESE ARE NOT GHOSTS. NOR ARE THESE HUMANS!			THESE ARE DEAD CORPSES. ANY UN-BURIED HUMAN			CORPSE WITH ITS BRAIN INTACT WILL IN FACT			RE-ACTIVATE. AND IT'S PRECISELY BECAUSE OF			INCITEMENT BY IRRESPONSIBLE PUBLIC FIGURES			LIKE YOURSELF THAT THIS SITUATION IS BEING			DEALT WITH IRRESPONSIBLY BY THE PUBLIC AT			LARGE!18	 Another outraged cry goes up from the stagehands and observers.	Doctor Foster tries to out-scream the cries...	TV Man 2:    YOU HAVE NOT LISTENED...YOU HAVE NOT LISTENED...			FOR THE LAST THREE WEEKS...WHAT DOES IT TAKE...			WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE PEOPLE SEE?19	 Fran moves into the large studio area where the broadcasters	argue. The commotion is maddening. Fran stares for a moment.20	 TV Man 2:    (now distraught...almost pleading)			THIS SITUATION IS CONTROLLABLE. PEOPLE			MUST COME TO GRIPS WITH THIS CONCEPT.			IT'S EXTREMELY DIFFICULT...WITH FRIENDS...			WITH FAMILY...BUT A DEAD BODY MUST BE DE-			ACTIVATED BY EITHER DESTROYING THE BRAIN			OR SEVERING THE BRAIN FROM THE REST OF THE			BODY.	Another outburst in the studio.	TV Man 2:    THE SITUATION MUST BE CONTROLLED...BEFORE IT'S			TOO LATE...THEY ARE MULTIPLYING TOO RAPIDLY...21	 Fran moves through the crowded room of emotional people and	finally reaches another emergency radio installation. Skip and	Dusty are trying to listen to their receivers. They jot notes.	Fran:	OPERATIVE RESCUE STATIONS?	Dusty:	THEY'RE DROPPIN' LIKE FLIES. HERE'S A FEW.			YOU KNOW, I THINK FOSTER'S RIGHT. I THINK			WE'RE LOSIN' THIS WAR.	Fran:	YEAH, BUT NOT TO THE ENEMY.			WE'RE BLOWIN' IT OURSELVES.	She gives the rest of her coffee to the two men.	Fran:	NOT MUCH LEFT, BUT HAVE A BALL.	The two men each slug eagerly from the paper cup. Fran rushes	off toward a large teleprompter typing machine.22	 The broadcasters still argue emotionally.	TV Man 1:    PEOPLE AREN'T WILLING TO ACCEPT YOUR SOLUTIONS,			DOCTOR, AND I, FOR ONE, DON'T BLAME THEM.	TV Man 2:    EVERY DEAD BODY THAT IS NOT EXTERMINATED			BECOMES ONE OF THEM! IT GETS UP AND KILLS!			THE PEOPLE IT KILLS GET UP AND KILL!23	 Handing the list of active rescue stations to the teleprompter	typist, Fran rushes back toward the control room.24	 Around the monitor consoles, the commotion has been made even	more frantic by an angered Dan Givens, obviously one of the	station managers.	Givens:	 NOBODY HAS THE AUTHORITY TO DO THAT, I WANT...	Givens spots Fran as she moves into the room.	Givens:	 GARRET, WHO TOLD YOU TO KILL THE SUPERS?	Fran:	NOBODY. I KILLED 'EM. THEY'RE OUT OF DATE.	Givens:	 I WANT THOSE SUPERS ON THE AIR ALL THE TIME.	Fran:	ARE YOU WILLING TO MURDER PEOPLE BY SENDING THEM			OUT TO STATIONS THAT HAVE CLOSED DOWN?	Givens:	 WITHOUT THOSE RESCUE STATIONS ON SCREEN EVERY			MINUTE PEOPLE WON'T WATCH US. THEY'LL TUNE OUT.	Fran stares at the red faced man in disbelief.	Givens:	 I WANT THAT LIST UP ON THE SCREEN EVERY MINUTE THAT			WE'RE ON THE AIR.	Fran is about to say something in anger, but before she can, one	of the technicians, having overheard Givens, gets up from the	control panel and starts to walk away.	Givens:	 LUCAS...LUCAS, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING...			GET ON THAT CONSOLE...LUCAS...WE'RE ON THE AIR!	Lucas:	ANYBODY NEED A RIDE!25	 Two other men from various positions in the room snatch up	personal effects and follow the technician toward the door. The	door is guarded by a nervous Officer.26	 Givens:	 OFFICER...OFFICER...YOU STOP THEM...STOP THOSE			MEN...LUCAS...GET BACK ON THIS CONSOLE...	A frantic hubbub begins over the lack of console control. People	rush in and out, the floor director's voice can be heard over a	talk back system...	Voices:	 WHAT THE HELL'S GOIN' ON IN THERE.			SWITCH...SWITCH...THERE'S NO SWITCHER...			WE'RE LOSING PICTURE...	Givens:	 OFFICER...STOP THOSE MEN...	 27	 The young officer faces the men as they reach his post. He takes	a grip on his rifles, opens the door and lets the group through.	Then he runs out himself, deserting the losing cause.28	 Givens jumps toward the console. He frantically tries to work	the complex dials and pots...	Givens:	 GET SOMEBODY IN HERE THAT KNOWS HOW TO RUN			THIS THING...COME ON...I'LL TRIPLE THE MONEY			FOR THE MAN THAT CAN RUN THIS THING...TRIPLE			THE MONEY...WE'RE STAYING ON THE AIR...	Fran moves slowly off toward the studio.29	 In the big room, the tension is thicker than ever. A few of the	newsmen still earnestly try to perform their various functions,	but most of the crew are reduced to emotional polarisation over	the broadcast which still rages.30	 TV Man 2:    THEY KILL FOR ONE REASON.			THEY KILL FOR FOOD.			THEY EAT THEIR VICTIMS, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT,			MR. BERMAN. THAT'S WHAT KEEPS THEM GOING.31	 Fran stops to listen to the argument. She falls back into the	shadows of the studio. People rush past her, some leaving the	studio in disgust.32	 TV Man 2:    IF WE'D LISTENED...IF WE'D DEALT WITH THE			PHENOMENON PROPERLY...WITHOUT EMOTION...			WITHOUT...EMOTION...			IT WOULDN'T HAVE COME TO THIS!	Foster wipes his sweat with a dirty hanker chief. He pulls his	tie away from his tight collar, and pops the shirt button open.	He is desperate now, shivering with anger and frustration.	TV Man 2:    THERE IS A MARTIAL LAW STATE IN EFFECT IN			PHILADELPHIA...AS IN ALL OTHER MAJOR CITIES IN			THE COUNTRY...			CITIZENS MUST UNDERSTAND THE...DIRE...DIRE			CONSEQUENCES OF THIS PHENOMENON...SHOULD WE			BE UNABLE TO CHECK THE SPREAD...			BECAUSE OF THE EMOTIONAL ATTITUDES..OF THE			CITIZENRY...TOWARD...THESE ISSUES OF...			MORALITY...			IT IS THE ORDER OF THE O.E.P. BY COMMAND OF THE			FEDERAL GOVERNMENT...THE PRESIDENT OF THE			UNITED STATES...			CITIZENS MAY NO LONGER OCCUPY PRIVATE RESIDENCES,			NO MATTER HOW SAFELY PROTECTED OR WELL STOCKED...	A murmur in the studio begins to build to an emotional	crescendo. Foster tries to talk over the noise...	TV Man 2:    CITIZENS WILL BE MOVED INTO CENTRAL AREAS OF			THE CITY...33	 Technicians abandon their posts. A few others jump in to take	their places, but pandemonium reigns. A cameraman whips off his	headset and breaks for the door. His camera spins on its liquid	head, and on the monitors, we see a whirling blur as Foster	continues to speak.	Fran moves quickly for the spinning camera. She aims it back at	the sweating Foster, and she stares through the viewfinder not	believing what she is seeing.34	 TV Man 2:    THE BODIES OF THE DEAD WILL BE DELIVERED OVER			TO SPECIALLY EQUIPPED SQUADS OF THE NATIONAL			GUARD FOR ORGANISED DISPOSITION...35	 Suddenly a man darts out of the bustling crowd and comes up	quickly behind Fran.	Steve:	FRANNIE...AT NINE O'CLOCK MEET ME ON THE ROOF.			WE'RE GETTING OUT.	Fran:	(letting the camera slip slightly)			STEPHEN...I DON'T BELIEVE THIS...WHAT...	Steve:	WE'RE GETTING OUT. IN THE CHOPPER.	Another technician steps over to take the camera from Fran.	Stephen talks more quietly in the other man's presence.	Steve:	NINE P.M. ALRIGHT?	Fran:	STEVE...WE CAN'T...WE'VE GOT TO...	Steve:	WE'VE GOT TO NOTHING, FRAN. WE'VE GOT TO			SURVIVE. SOMEBODY'S GOT TO SURVIVE. NOW YOU			COULD BE UP THERE AT NINE. DON'T MAKE ME COME			LOOKIN' FOR YA.	Stephen is gone in a flash. Fran nervously looks back at the	cameraman. The argument still rages between Foster and Berman.	The cameraman, without taking his eye from the viewfinder,	speaks to Francine quietly and slowly.	Cameraman:   GO AHEAD. WE'LL BE OFF THE AIR BY MIDNIGHT			ANYWAY. EMERGENCY NETWORKS ARE TAKING OVER.			OUR RESPONSIBILITY... IS FINISHED, I'M AFRAID.36	 It is dusk, and the city of Philadelphia is surprisingly quiet.	We see several large buildings. They are part of a low-income	housing project, and their lack of grace is evident. They stand	like tombstones as the first stars appear in the navy blue sky.37	 Under cover of the growing darkness, activities of the S.W.A.T.	Unit go unnoticed. Grappling hooks grab against the lip around	the roof and silent figures climb to the top of the building.	Men in armour vests, clutching the latest in special weapons,	take position here and there about the development.	Other men strategically place their cars and trucks in the court	below.38	 On the roof, at an entrance to one of the building's fire	stairs, Roger squats silently alongside three other team	members. The men check their weapons. Roger looks at his watch.	The sweep hand reaches the 12...	Roger:	(to himself) LIGHTS.39	 In an instant, large searchlights bathe the side of the	building. The troop commander, shielded with other Officers	behind a large truck, shouts through an electric bullhorn.	Commander:   MARTINEZ...YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING...YOU KNOW WE			HAVE THE BUILDING SURROUNDED...	The electronically amplified voice echoes through the concrete	caverns between the buildings of the project. There are only a	few windows which glow with lights from inside. At the sound of	the bullhorn, the lights all blink out one at a time.	Commander:   (not over the bullhorn)			LITTLE BASTARD'S GOT 'EM ALL MOVED INTO ONE			BUILDING...DUMB LITTLE BASTARD!	Sergeant:    LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE GONNA TRY TO FIGHT US.	Commander:   (on the bullhorn again)			MARTINEZ...THE PEOPLE IN THIS PROJECT ARE YOUR			RESPONSIBILITY...WE DON'T WANT ANY OF THEM HURT			AND NEITHER DO YOU!42	 There is no sign of life in the building. The great concrete	slab is silhouetted silently against the darkening sky.43	 Roger, and his team mates, crouch in readiness. The sound of the	bullhorn rises to them easily and clearly.	Roger:	I'M GIVIN' YOU THREE MINUTES, MARTINEZ...	Commander:   (Bullhorn)			I'M GIVIN' YOU THREE MINUTES, MARTINEZ...			TURN OVER YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER...	Roger:	THERE ARE NO CHARGES AGAINST YOU...	Commander:   THERE ARE NO CHARGES AGAINST YOU OR ANY OF YOUR			PEOPLE...	Roger:	YET.	Commander:   THREE MINUTES, MARTINEZ.	Roger:	AND COUNTING.			(he looks at his watch)	There is a long silence.	Roger:	COME ON, MARTINEZ!	One of the other S.W.A.T. team members is a big man, with a	rough and vicious looking face. He is WOOLEY, a hardened	veteran, and a red neck of the first order.	Wooley:	 YEAH, COME ON, MARTINEZ...SHOW YOUR GREASY			LITTLE PUERTO RICAN ASS...SO I CAN BLOW IT OFF...	Roger looks over at the big man. He is distressed at the pent up	violence in Wooley.	Wooley:	 I'LL BLOW ALL THEIR ASSES OFF...LOW LIFE BASTARDS..			BLOW ALL THEIR LITTLE LOW LIFE PUERTO RICAN AND			NIGGER ASSES RIGHT OFF...	Roger is greatly concerned. He looks at one of the other men, a	young, smoothed faced rookie. The boy doesn't know now to react.	He is obviously nervous.	Roger:	KEEP COOL. JUST DON'T POP OFF IN THERE WHEN WE			GO IN.	The boy nods, grateful for a more human contact.	Wooley:	 HOW THE HELL COME WE STICK THESE LOW LIFES			IN THESE BIG ASS FANCY HOTELS ANYWAY? SHIT			MAN. THIS' BETTER THAN I GOT. YOU AIN'T			GONNA TALK 'EM OUTA HERE. YOU GOTTA BLOW			'EM OUT. BLOW THEIR ASSES!	Roger:	(to the boy)			YOU GONNA BE ALRIGHT?	The boy nods in the affirmative.	Wooley:	 LET'S GET ON WITH IT. THIS IS A WASTE OF			MY TIME!44	 CRASH! Without warning, the metal door to the fire stair bursts	open and several figures rush out of the darkness. Shots are	fired from hand guns. A bullet smashes through the skull of the	young boy next to Roger. He falls against Roger with a pleading	expression on his face.	Figures charge this way and that. More gunfire. The other	S.W.A.T. men dodge and dive for cover. Wooley opens fire with	his automatic weapon.45	 On the street, the Commander, hearing the gunfire, barks into	the bullhorn:	Commander:   MOVE IN...MOVE IN...			GODDAMMIT!	Sergeant:    (into walkie talkie)			ALL UNITS... FULL OPERATION!46	 On the roof, Roger struggles under the dead weight of the young	man. He tries to free himself and his weapons. Shots ring out.	A handful of Black and Puerto Rican youngsters charge about the	rooftop. Another S.W.A.T. patrol appears from behind a large	elevator housing. The young civilians retreat. Several are mowed	down.	Another bullet smashes against the dead S.W.A.T. man's back.	Just as Roger frees himself, a bullet catches him squarely in	the chest, but his armour takes the impact. He is thrown back	off balance, and he struggles to catch his wind as he scrambles	over to recover his weapon which skitters away across the roof	top.	Before he reaches the gun, he is cut off by the looming figure	of one of the Black youths, pistol in hand. Roger freezes. The	young man aims his hand gun, but hesitates. A sudden barrage of	bullets rips through the young Black and he falls in a pool of	blood. It was Wooley's gun that killed him.	Wooley:	 COME ON YOU DUMB BASTARDS...			COME AND GET 'EM...	He fires again and again, even though the skirmish is winding	down.	Roger charges for his weapon, snatches it up, and runs for the	cover of an incinerator housing. He startles a young civilian	who was hiding there, trying to load his gun. The boy makes a	break...	Roger:	HOLD IT...	The boy freezes for a moment, then, thinking, breaks into a run	across the roof.	Roger:	HOLD IT, KID...DON'T RUN OUT THERE!	The boy is mowed down in a crossfire.47	 Inside the building, other S.W.A.T. teams along with units of	the National Guard are crashing through hallways and breaking	into apartment units. People are herded into the halls where	they are held at gun point.	Some men, although armed, surrender willingly. Others retaliate	against the invading force, and little skirmishes develop on	every floor of the complex structure.48	 On the ground, the Commander barks into the bullhorn:	Commander:   MASKS...	Sergeant:    (into walkie talkie)			MASKS FOR GAS...MASKS FOR GAS.49	 Tear gas canisters crash through windows and the halls are	filled with clouds of gas. Civilians trying to escape, are	choked as they attempt to shoot their way out.50	 The teams on the roof charge down the fire stairs into the	building.	S.W.A.T. 1:  WORK YOUR WAY DOWN. A FLOOR AT A TIME.			HOLD 'EM IN THE HALLS 'TIL WE CAN WORK 'EM			DOWN THE STAIRS.	Roger and Wooley and the men in their unit, snap on their	bizarre looking gas masks.51	 The troopers break into an apartment on the floor. An old couple	kneels in prayer at a small alter, while their children and	their children's children huddle in a corner. The young husband	surrenders his gun to a trooper, and Roger watches as the group	is led into the hallway.	Suddenly, a young Black man charges out of one of the	apartments. A woman appears at the door, screaming for him to	stop. He breaks through a cloud of gas and Wooley fires his	automatic. The black man crashes to the floor. Wooley is crazed.	He kicks in the door of another apartment and fires randomly	into the room.	The flurry of action causes panic among the civilians in the	hall. The younger ones try to escape while the older people	kneel or fall against the walls praying.	S.W.A.T. 2:  WOOLEY'S GONE APE SHIT, MAN...	Roger:	WOOLEY! (shouting)	Wooley kicks in the door of another apartment. Roger charges at	him and grabs him around the shoulders. The big man resists. His	gun fires and bullets fly wildly. He struggles against Roger,	but Roger manages to hold on.	Roger:	GIMME A HAND...SOMEBODY...	Another S.W.A.T. Trooper steps up out of the cloud of gas. He is	very tall and he looks mysterious in the fog as he speaks in a	deep voice.	Trooper:	STEP AWAY FROM HIM.	Roger:	GIMME A HAND.	Wooley throws his body around and slams Roger against the wall,	but Roger grabs him again just as the crazed man is levelling	off his gun at the open apartment door.	Roger:	GODDAMMIT...HELP ME...HE'S CRAZY!	Trooper:	STEP AWAY FROM HIM!	Just then, Wooley wrenches free and pushes Roger across the	hallway. The Trooper carefully aims his weapon and fires one	shot through Wooley's head. The big man falls back violently.	The mysterious Trooper turns and hurries away down the hall.	Other S.W.A.T. Officers face him threateningly. He stares at	them through his mask. They let him pass. He disappears through	the smoke as other officers begin to restore order among the	civilians.	Women scream and cry over their dead-loved ones. Roger is helped	to his feet by another Officer. Roger's eyes are wide and	staring through the insect-like lenses of his mask. They are	locked on the sight he sees through the door of the apartment	which Wooley kicked open. The other Trooper looks and his eyes	widen as well.53	 In the apartment, lying in a pool of blood, are the partial	remains of what was a human body. It has been ripped to shreds.	Roger staggers against the door frame. The other trooper moves	inside. Another corpse, also mutilated, one leg missing, one arm	badly mangled. It is trying to move. To reach the Troopers.54	 A sudden loud scream. Roger startles and spins around. A woman	in the hall has seen the grisly sight, and she runs screaming	down the corridor. More confusion, as civilians push through the	Troopers who try to hold them back.55	 The Trooper in the apartment is revulsed...	Trooper:	JESUS...HOLY JESUS...	A third officer enters the apartment. He speaks to the Trooper	which is closest to the writhing corpse on the floor.	Trooper 2:   SHOOT IT...SHOOT IT THROUGH THE HEAD.	The young officer is too dumb struck to respond so the third	Officer pulls out his pistol. Then suddenly, from out of the	shadows, a spectre-like figure lunges at the third Officer,	flailing and biting at his arms. It is a wild-haired woman.	There are several bleeding wounds over her body. She is one of	the walking dead.	The Trooper struggles to free himself, and Roger darts into the	room. Although the Zombie is weak, she manages to hold on to the	Trooper.	Another creature suddenly appears in the bedroom doorway. A	male, it staggers out into the room. The young Trooper struggles	with his holster trying to free his hand gun. Suddenly, he feels	something on his leg. The dismembered corpse is clutching his	ankle, pulling itself closer, it's mouth open. The boy tries to	pull away, but falls onto the floor, crashing over a table and	lamp. He tries to crawl away, but the frail corpse keeps its	hold and drags along behind the young Trooper, who still cannot	free his pistol.	Roger and the third Officer fling all their weight against the	woman Zombie. She flies against a wall, but bounces back	immediately, and attacks again. The third Trooper's rifle fires.	A slug tears through the woman's chest but it doesn't stop her	onslaught. Another shot rips through her neck. Still she comes.	The boy on the floor manages to level off his pistol. He fires	at the ghoulish head which draws closer to his leg. The thing's	skull blows open and its grasp relaxes. The boy is shaking	violently. His arm and gun stay in the air, still poised. He	fires again...and again...and again.56	 In the hall, the male Zombie appears, and the crowd panics. The	Troopers try to keep things calm.	S.W.A.T. 3:  IT'S ONE OF THEM...MY GOD...IT'S ONE OF THEM.	S.W.A.T. 4:  SHOOT FOR THE HEAD.	Woman:	NO! NO! MIGUEL...DIOS MIO...MIGUELITO...	The woman pushes through the crowd. The Zombies advances. Before	the Trooper can stop her, the woman throws her arms around the	creature.	Woman:	MIGUEL...MI VIDA...MIGUELITO...	S.W.A.T. 3:  GRAB HER...GET HER OUT OF THERE...			(his gun is levelled off, but he can't get a shot)	The Zombie clutches at the woman. It bites at her neck...her	arm. She screams with terror. She tries to pull away, but the	creature holds her. It bites again. A Trooper comes up from	behind and tries to wrestle the creature away. Another Trooper	grabs the woman and tries to free her. She is screaming	insanely. The Zombie pulls another piece of flesh off her arm.	S.W.A.T. 3:  STAND CLEAR...FOR CHRISSAKE...STAND CLEAR!57	 In the apartment, the female Zombie lunges at the third Trooper	and the two tumble to the floor. Roger wrestles her free and,	with all his might, throws her against the wall. She advances	again. Roger raises his gun, She is just about to reach him. He	fires. The bullet drops her.58	 In the hall, a Trooper brings his gun butt slamming against the	male ghoul's head. The creature loses his grip on the screaming	woman. The Trooper who is holding her, pulls her free across the	floor. S.W.A.T. 3 fires. The bullet tears through the Zombie's	shoulder...another shot...through his neck...another...through	the skull. It falls.59	 There is finally a calm. A few of the citizens murmur prayers.	Troopers and befuddled old people seem to drift through the	clouds of gas in a totally dazed state.60	 Roger and the third Trooper from the apartment drift to the	hallway. The third Trooper moves into the crowd, but Roger	stands against the open door jamb for a moment.	A sudden, loud gunshot makes Roger duck and spin around. He	looks into the apartment. The young Trooper has shot himself	through the head.61	 In the dark firestair, it is very quiet. Roger bursts through a	metal door from one of the halls and falls against the stair	railing. He is retching. He breathes heavily to contain himself.	He removes his mask and coughs slightly from the gas mist which	still clings in the air.	Voice:	YOU'RE NOT ALONE BROTHER.	Roger tightens, grabbing for his gun. The voice is present; very	nearby. Roger looks up. Sitting on the stairs above is the	Trooper who shot Wooley. His rifle is aimed at Roger.	Voice:	YOU WAS IN WOOLEY'S UNIT.	Roger:	I DIDN'T SEE NOTHIN.			I DIDN'T SEE HOW HE DIED.	Roger slings his rifle, so the Trooper relaxes and lowers his	gun. He removes his gas mask. He is Black.	Roger:	YOU RUNNIN?	The Black man shrugs. He hasn't decided.	Roger:	I DON'T JUST MEAN 'CAUSE OF WOOLEY.			I JUST MEAN 'CAUSE OF...	Voice:	YEAH. I KNOW.	Roger:	THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE RUNNIN'.			I COULD RUN.	Roger stares up at the grim faced Black.	Roger:	I COULD RUN RIGHT TONIGHT.	The black man just stares levelly into Roger's eyes.	Roger:	FRIEND OF MINE GOT A HELICOPTER. HE DOES			TRAFFIC FOR J.A.S. GOT A HELICOPTER AND HE'S			RUNNIN' OUT WITH IT. AS'T ME T'COME.	The Black man smiles.	Roger:	YOU THINK IT'S RIGHT TO RUN?	The Black man shrugs again, then he stands and walks down the	stairs. HE turns past Roger on the landing and continues down	into the lingering gas mist. Roger follows.62	 A few landings down...a noise. The two Troopers freeze. The	stairwell is dark. The noise grows louder. The Troopers ready	their weapons.	The sounds are little scraping thumps, like the weary foot falls	of someone...something...trying to negotiate the stairs...There	is the low, wheezing sound of laboured breath.	The men stare at the landing below. The Black man steps forward	slightly, trying not to make a sound.	Suddenly, a figure pops out of the darkness. It falls against	the wall below. Both Troopers raise their guns. The figure pulls	away from the wall. In the mist, it's shape is ghostly...	robed...in black...is sees the Troopers...	Figure:	 SENORES...			PLEASE TO LET ME PASS...	The voice weakens into a low wheezing cough. The figure slumps	and sits on the steps, clinging to the railing. It is an old	Priest, obviously from a local Puerto Rican Parish.	Roger stoops next to the old man, who is struggling to keep his	breath. He is weary. He seems to be near death. He clutches at	his chest.	Roger tries to support him.	Roger:	LET'S GET HIM TO THE MEDICS...	Priest:	 NO...NO...NO...PLEASE. JUST...LET			ME PASS...MY SISTER...I GO UP TO SEVEN			FLOOR...TO FIND MY SISTER...	Roger:	THEY'RE TAKIN' EVERYONE DOWN...THEY PROBABLY			BROUGHT HER DOWN...COME ONE...	Priest:	 MY SISTER...SHE IS DEAD...THEY TELL ME...			THE DEAD THEY DO NOT BRING DOWN.	Roger and the Black Trooper shoot glances at one another.	Priest:	 JUST LET ME PASS. MARTINEZ IS DEAD.			THE PEOPLE OF 107 WILL DO WHAT YOU			WISH NOW. THESE SIMPLE PEOPLE...			BUT STRONG...THEY HAVE LITTLE...BUT THEY			DO NOT GIVE IT UP EASILY. AND THEY GIVE			UP THEIR DEAD...TO NO ONE!	The Priest goes into a coughing fit. The Troopers look on. Roger	wants to help in some way.	Priest:	 MANY HAVE DIED ON THESE STREETS IN THE LAST			WEEKS...IN THE BASEMENT OF THIS BUILDING			YOU FIND THEM...	The Troopers are shocked. The Priest struggles to his feet.	Priest:	 I HAVE GIVEN THEM THE LAST RITES.			NOW...YOU DO WHAT YOU WILL...	The old man starts up the stairs. Roger moves to help him, but	the big Black man stops him. The Priest weaves up through the	gas mist, coughing.	Priest:	 YOU ARE STRONGER THAN US...BUT SOON, I			THINK...THEY BE STRONGER THAN YOU...	The old man's voice trails off up the stairwell as he disappears	in the cloud...	Priest:	 WHEN THE DEAD WALK, SENORES...WE MUST			STOP THE KILLING...OR WE LOSE THE WAR...63	 In the basement of the large building, S.W.A.T. troopers pry at	the boards which are nailed over the entrance to the storage	area.	The rest of the riot troops stand at the ready, weapons	raised...high powered rifles...flame throwers...	The nails creak loudly as they are pulled free. The men are	silent, not knowing what to expect.	There are three boards left...then two...	With a great, tearing sound, the door flies open before the men	remove the last boards. The boards fly and the door almost rips	off its hinges. Like flood waters, a small army of Zombies	pushes into the hall.	They are wide eyed and terrifying. In life, they were mostly	Blacks and Puerto Ricans from the neighbouring buildings. They	are all ages, from the very old to the very young.	The riot troops are stunned. They cannot react quickly enough,	and the squeeze is so tight in the little hall that it is	impossible to shoot accurately, or without the bullets injuring	other troopers.	The men fight back, wrestling and trying to back away. In the	front line, Zombies bite at the flesh of the humans. Teeth tear	into arms and hands. Some men are trampled in the crush.	Commander:   BACK OFF...BACK OFF...SPREAD OUT...	The rear lines retreat into the wider vestibule, and as the mass	of struggling bodies spreads out, shots begin to fire. Some	Troopers, at close quarters, are able to fire off accurate	rounds with their hand guns. Others fall and are lunged at by	clutching ghouls.	Roger and the Black Trooper are in the middle of the battle.	They fight off several of the creatures. The battle spreads into	little skirmishes through the dark hallways. The highly	organised Troopers are scattered and confused by the mindless	onslaught.64	 As the main action moves away from the entrance to the storage	area, several Troopers move into the room.	The walls are dank and grey. There is a dripping sound. All	around lie remnants of human civilisation. Baby buggies and	bicycles chained to pipes which ring the area. Large trunks and	cartons of every size and shape; old beds and other furniture.	And here and there throughout the large area lie the remains of	corpses. They have been eaten away. Most of them are still	moving, their heads uninjured.	Two of the Troopers retreat, revulsed. The sound of the gunfire	and screaming can be heard from the hall.	The big Black man walks calmly into the room. Roger watches him.	He walks up to the writhing creatures one at a time, and fires	carefully aimed shots into their heads with his hand gun. Tears	roll down his cheeks.	Some of the creatures are without arms and legs. Some have been	eaten away about the neck and shoulder. They moan with a	gurgling, gutteral sound as they try to move.	A young Black Zombie, pulling itself along the floor with one	arm, draws close to the Black Trooper. The big man aims his	pistol. It clicks...empty. He quickly and efficiently reaches	for more ammunition and begins to reload. The Zombie pulls	closer, its mouth wide.	Roger steps up behind the other Trooper and fires into the	creatures head with his automatic rifle.	The Black man brushes tears from his eyes and continues to load	the pistol.	Roger disposes of several other creatures. he comes to a place	where several are piled together. Some lie still, others writhe	about. Two on the heap, although they cannot move about, are	eating at parts of other bodies. Roger shoots them. They never	look up. They don't seem to notice him at all.	A loud creaking sound breaks the mood suddenly. Roger looks up.65	 In the ceiling, a double set of loading doors has been opened.	Several other Troopers look down into the storage area.	Trooper:	JESUS CHRIST.	He shines a light beam down towards Roger.	Trooper:	YOU OK DOWN THERE?64	 Roger nods.65	 Trooper:	THIS MUST BE WHERE THEY DUMPED 'EM IN.64	 Roger looks down at the pile of corpses beneath the opening.65	 Trooper:	YOU NEED MORE MEN?64	 Roger shakes his head "no".65	 Trooper:	JESUS CHRIST.	The trooper leaves the opening. He is replaced by two others who	just stare down into the storage room through the weird, round	lenses of their masks.66	 The distant sounds of the battle in the hall flare up again. The	big Black man snaps his loaded clip into his pistol and takes a	few steps forwards. He sees a corpse wrapped in a bed sheet and	tied securely with clothes line. It looks like a mummy. It is	writhing, trying to free itself. he shoots it through the head.	Nearby, a small corpse, that of a very young child, is also	writhing, but the end of the shroud, where the child's feet	should be, has been torn open and is bloody. A stump kicks	around the blood where a foot has been eaten off. The Black man	fires into the thing's head.	Roger:	THEY...ATTACK...EACH OTHER...	Black:	JUST THE FRESH CORPSES...BEFORE THEY REVIVE...	Roger:	WHY DID THESE PEOPLE KEEP THEM HERE? WHY			DON'T THEY TURN THEM OVER...OR...OR DESTROY			THEM THEMSELVES...IT'S INSANE...WHY DO THEY			DO IT?	Black:	'CAUSE THEY STILL BELIEVE THERE'S			RESPECT IN DYING.	The big man fires into the head of another squirming Zombie.67	 In the halls of the building, Troopers fall and are pounced on	by ghouls. Other Troopers fire their automatics through the	heads of attacking Zombies. The riot troops try to stay	organised, but the onslaught is so mindless and random that it	is turning into a riot.68A	The buildings of Philadelphia loom in the moonlight. What few	lights remain lit reflect in the waters of the Delaware.68B	It is quiet except for the slight sounds of lapping water and an	occasional wooden creak as the floating docks strain against one	another.	There are a few big Police launches still docked in the marina.	They bob about silently. The chain, which normally restricted	the area, is broken and dangling. The sign, which reads: CITY OF	PHILADELPHIA - POLICE - NO ADMITTANCE clangs against the broken	chain in the wind.	Halfway down the long dock is a little guard house. Inside,	sitting at a radio transmitter, is the corpse of a uniformed	guard.	Nearby is a separate floating dock on which is painted a large	square pattern. It is a landing bay for Police helicopters.	Alongside, afloat separately but securely chained fast, is a	small fuel barge, with pumps and hoses for refueling the chopper	and launches.	The other bodies lie bleeding on the bobbing docks, another	officer and a civilian. A bell buoy rings in the distance and we	begin to hear the sound of an approaching helicopter.	The blades of the J.A.S. Traffic Copter whine as they gear down	for a landing. The whirlybird settles like a hummingbird on the	gently bobbing heliport.69	 With the blades still spinning loudly, Stephen hops out of the	cockpit.	Steve:	COME ON...I NEED YOU.	Francine unbuckles her safety belt and jumps out of her side of	the machine. Steve runs, ducking under the blades, around to the	woman's side of the cockpit, grabs her hand, and they make for	the fuel pumps.	Steve:	I DON'T SEE ROGER. WE'LL GIVE HIM TEN MINUTES.	Fran:	OH MY GOD!70	 The woman freezes in mid stride, and her action brings Stephen's	eyes around to see what she is staring at. The two bodies which	lie near the fuel pumps.	Steve:	YOU HAVEN'T BEEN OUT IN IT AT ALL.			IT'S TOUGH TO GET USED TO IT.	He pulls her quickly along. They have to actually step over the	civilian corpse. Fran freezes again. She can't bring herself to	walk over the body. Steve lets go of her hand and checking the	tank gauge, he pulls the hose with him as he moves quickly back	to Fran. The long hose is heavy, and it bobbles the civilian	corpse, almost rolling it over. The back of the bodies head has	been blown out by the exit wound of a powerful bullet. Blood	still runs. The wound is fresh. Steve does not see this as he	tugs the hose over the corpse and moves to the helicopter with	Fran following.71	 At the side of the machine, the blades still spinning overhead,	Steve jams the hose nozzle into the fuel tank receptacle. He	pulls one of Fran's hands into the nozzle mechanism.	Steve:	JUST LIKE THIS...LIKE A CAR...	Fran responds, getting the feel of the nozzle trigger.	Steve:	THAT'S IT...JUST HOLD HER THERE 'TIL SHE			SPITS OUT AT YA.	The woman takes over and Stephen trots away toward the guard	shed. The propeller blades still spin. They make an eerie,	whispering sound as they pass over Fran's head. She can hear the	lapping water now, and the creaking moans of the shifting docks.	She looks this way and that, fear in her eyes.72	 At the guard house, Stephen rushes in to find the dead radio	operator. A signal is coming over the receiver in Morse Code.	The corpse is slumped over the desk and it is covering the send	key. A small entry wound is barely visible in the back of the	dead man's head. As Stephen pulls the body up to an erect	posture in its chair, he sees that the exit of the bullet all	but obliterated the corpse's face. Again the wound is still	running and bits of flesh and blood are splattered about the	desk and the radio unit.	Stephen clicks on the send switch and he quickly begins to send	a message in Morse:			OPERATOR DEAD...POST ABANDONED...73	 Back on the fuel dock, the long hose brushes over the civilian	corpse. A shadow moves nearby, making is aware of a presence	other than Fran's.74	 The woman switches hands on the pump nozzle. The blades still	whoosh overhead. Then she hears the sound of another engine. She	looks towards the mainland. The headlights of an approaching	vehicle can be seen.75	 At the guard house, Stephen, hearing the approaching engine,	steps into the doorway and looks up the dock. He calls to Fran.	Steve:	I HOPE IT'S ROGER.76	 Fran:	WHAT ARE YOU DOING?	Steve:	I'LL BE RIGHT THERE.77	 He ducks back into the shed. He snatches up a First Aid Kit and	throws it into a khaki knapsack. He rummages in the darkness. He	finds a toolbox.	As he stands up, he backs into a tall figure which stands in the	shadows. Feeling something sharp and hard against his back.	Steve recoils and spins to face the figure. It is a uniformed	officer. His rifle is levelled off at Steve's chest. From out of	the shadows, a second Policeman appears with a hand gun cocked	and aimed.78	 Fran's eyes strain to discern the approaching vehicle, but	suddenly she catches a movement in the corner of her vision.	Through the open sides of the helicopter bubble, she notices a	Police van. It has been there all along, it's doors flung wide	open, as though abandoned hurriedly. Now one of the rear doors	move. A figure appears carrying a large packing carton. The	figure is uniformed, with two rifles strapped to its back. It	rushes toward the launch docks.	Voice:	JUST STAY COOL.	Fran, already startled by the running figure, is now doubly	shocked by the calm voice behind her. She spins and the fuel	nozzle clatters out of it's receptacle to the wooden dock	boards. She is facing another "Policeman", to aims a rifle	directly at her head.	Officer 1:   IF YOU DIE...IT'LL BE YOUR OWN FAULT.	The Officer who is running with the carton shouts toward the	Guard House.	Officer 2:   COME ON SKIPPER...THEY GOT FRIENDS COMIN'.79	 In the Guard House, Steve is held at bay by one of the Officers	while the other uniformed man moves to the door to check the	progress of the approaching vehicles.	Officer 3:   WHO ARE YOU?	Steve:	WE'RE WITH J.A.S...WE...	Officer 4:   (at the door)			ABOUT A MINUTE AND A HALF.			(referring to the arrival time of the vehicle)	Officer 3, the Skipper, pushes Steve with his gun barrel. Steve	spins out through the open doorway. He looks up the dock and	sees the vehicle which is just turning onto the pier which is	almost a mile long.80	 Officer 1 has moved around Fran and he reaches into the	helicopter bubble pulling out Steve's rifle.81	 Steve:	NOW WAIT A MINUTE...WE'RE JUST HERE TO REFUEL...			THESE MEN WERE ALREADY DEAD...YOU WERE HERE...			YOU KNOW THAT...IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY WAS			AFTER THE LAUNCHES...WE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH...	Officer 3:   (looking at the insignia on the helicopter)			HEY...J.A.S. TRAFFIC WATCH...			STEVE ANDREWS.	Steve:	(trying to capitalise on his minor celebrity power)			RIGHT...THAT'S ME...I'M STEVE ANDREW...	Officer 3:   NO SHIT.82	 Officer 1:   (shouting from the helicopter)			WE'D GET A LOT FURTHER IN THIS BIRD, SKIPPER.83	 Steve freezes again, sensing that these are not law enforcers.84	 The man who was carrying the carton is now rushing back up the	dock having deposited his load in one of the motor launches.	Officer 2:   CAN'T ALL FIT.85	 Officer 3:   (directly to Stephen)			HOW MANY WILL THAT THING HOLD?	Officer 4:   HEY, MAN, I AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE IN NOTHIN' I			CAN'T DRIVER MYSELF!86	 Officer 2 has returned to the van and is carrying out another	carton rushing back to the launch.	Officer 2:   THAT'S TRUE...SOMETHIN' HAPPENS TO HIM AND			WE'RE STUCK. STAY WITH THE LAUNCH!	Officer 1:   GET A LOT FURTHER IN THIS BIRD!87	 Suddenly, above the two white headlights of the approaching	vehicle, we see a third light in red. It is the spinning	"bubble-gum-machine" of a Squad Car. It is heralded by one	blast of the car's siren.88	 Officer 4:   HEY, THAT'S A BLACK AND WHITE!89	 Officer 1 still holds his rifle aimed at Fran.	Officer 1:   THEY SEEN US!90	 Officer 3:   IT'S ALRIGHT...WE'RE POLICE...91	 Officer 2 dumps his carton at the edge of the dock and pulls one	rifle from his back.	Officer 2:   BULL SHIT...LET'S GET TO THE BOAT!92	 Officer 3 stares hard at Stephen. Then at the Squad Car. Then	back at the nervous young pilot.	Officer 3:   YOU'RE RUNNIN', AIN'T YOU, FLY BOY?	Steve does not respond. He is terrified, not knowing what answer	to be the safest.	Officer 3:   YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS IS RUNNIN' OFF IN THE			J.A.S. TRAFFIC BIRD...	The man starts to grin with knowing. He suddenly feels in more	control.	Officer 3: SIT TIGHT, BOYS...THEY'RE RUNIN', TOO.93	 It seems to take forever for the Police Car to pull down the	dock. Stephen takes a few steps forward, squinting to see, but	he is threatened by the "Policeman's" gun barrels.94	 The car screeches to a stop and two armed S.W.A.T. Troopers	immediately pop out of the front seat on either side. They are	Roger and the Black Trooper.	Roger:	WHAT'S THE PROBLEM, OFFICER?95	 Officer 3:   CAUGHT YOUR FRIENDS HERE STEALIN' COMPANY			GASOLINE.96	 Roger:	WHAT DO YOU MEAN FRIENDS?	Roger is trying to play dumb, assuming that the other Policemen	are on official business...97	 Steve:	THEY KNOW, ROG...			THEY'RE TRYIN' TO GET OUT, TOO.	Officer 3:   IT'D BE CRAZY TO START SHOOTIN' AT ONE			ANOTHER, NOW WOULDN'T IT?98	 Roger:	SURE WOULD.99	 Officer 1:   ALRIGHT, LET'S LOAD UP...	He slings his rifle and tosses the other gun back to Fran. She	bobbles it and it falls, skittering across the dock.	Officer 1:   YOU BETTER LEARN HOW TO USE THAT THING, WOMAN.			TIMES IS TENSE.100	The policemen start to unload crates and cartons from their Van.	The big Black Trooper pulls a few supplies from out of the squad	car and carries them toward the helicopter.101	Fran trots over toward Stephen. He is just coming back out of	the guardhouse where he picked up the toolbox and the knapsack	full of supplies. The woman falls into his arms. Roger trots up.	Roger:	YOU OK?	Stephen:	(nods)			WHO'S HE?			(referring to the big Black)	Roger:	HIS NAME'S PETER. HE'S ALRIGHT.	The three are already moving toward the helicopter.	Roger:	LET'S HUSTLE.102	Peter has stowed the supplies in the rear of the cockpit, and he	has noticed the fuel hose lying on the dock. He tries the nozzle	in the receptacle on the chopper and holds it in until the tank	fills.103	The other "Policemen" are still moving cartons of supplies from	their van down the dock.	Roger:	(to the other Policemen)			YOU GUYS BETTER MOVE IT. THERE'S A RADIO			REPORT ABOUT THE DOCK BEIN' KNOCKED OUT.104	They reach the cockpit. Fran climbs in and crouches on the floor	in the rear of the bubble.	Fran:	YOU SURE THIS'LL CARRY US ALL.	Steve:	LITTLE HARDER ON THE FUEL, BUT WE'LL BE OK.105	As Peter climbs aboard, one of the other policemen, carrying a	final carton, speaks to Roger.	Officer 2:   HEY...YOU GOT ANY CIGARETTES.	Roger looks at the others one at a time. Fran shakes her head	"no".	Roger:	SORRY. (he trots around to the passenger seat)	Steve:	WHERE YA HEADED?	Officer 2:   DOWN RIVER...GOT AN IDEA MAYBE WE CAN MAKE IT TO			THE ISLANDS.	Steve:	WHAT ISLANDS? (he starts the engine)	Officer 2:   ANY ISLANDS...WHAT ABOUT YOU? WHERE YOU HEADED?	Steve:	STRAIGHT UP.106	The Policeman rushes off with his two cohorts. As they untie one	of the launches from the dock, the J.A.S. helicopter whines	loudly. Then it lifts off the dock with a smooth motion.	The Police launch starts without a problem, and it pulls out	onto the dark river.107	The lights on the helicopter blink as the metal bird swoops low	over the Philadelphia skyline. We see an empty city.	Independence Hall...Betsy Ross' House, which flies the original	American flag...the oldest American heritages stand coldly in	the night. The whirring engine fades overhead.108	In the cockpit, Fran lights a cigarette. So does Roger. No one	comments, but Peter smiles slightly.	The big Black looks down at the city.	Peter:	ANY OF YOU LEAVIN' PEOPLE BEHIND?	Fran:	AN EX-HUSBAND.	Roger:	AN EX-WIFE.	Steve:	YOU PETER?	Peter:	(still looking down)			SOME BROTHERS.109	The whirlybird cuts through the dark night sky. It flies over	open country now, moving West. Some time has passed.110	Roger is asleep in the passenger seat. Twisted in the cramped	rear of the cockpit, Fran and Peter sit very close to each	other. Peter still stares off into the night.	Fran:	REAL BROTHERS?	Peter looks at her. He has a strong face.	Fran:	REAL BROTHERS OR...STREET BROTHERS?	Peter:	BOTH.	Fran:	HOW MANY REAL ONES?	Peter:	TWO.	Fran:	TWO.	Peter:	ONE'S IN JAIL. THE OTHER'S A PRO BALL PLAYER.			BUT WE CATCH UP TO EACH OTHER ONCE IN A WHILE.	Fran doesn't quite know how to respond.	Peter:	(nodding at Steve...the engine roars too loudly			for the pilot to hear the conversation)			HE YOUR MAN NOW?	Fran is taken off guard. She smiles slightly.	Fran:	MOST OF THE TIME, YEAH.	Peter:	JUST LIKE TO KNOW WHO EVERYONE IS.	Fran:	YEAH. ME TOO.111	Light downs on the horizon. The little helicopter chugs through	the shades of blue.112	Now Fran is asleep and Roger still snores. Peter stares at the	back of the pilot's head. Steve nods slightly, then shakes	himself. Soon, he nods again...falling asleep. Peter kicks him	in the shoulder.	Steve looks back, surprised that the big man is awake. Peter	just stares at him.	Steve rubs his face violently with his free hand. He pulls at	his lower eyelids.	Steve:	ANY MORE WATER?	Peter reaches into the supplies and produces a plastic container	with water. Steve slugs some of it and pours a little onto his	face. Then he passes it back to Peter, who also drinks.	Suddenly, Fran stiffens and wakes up with a start. Peter looks	over at her with a gentle expression. She takes a moment to	orient herself.	Peter:	(to Stephen)			YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?	Steve:	I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE.	Peter:	HARRISBURG?	Steve:	PASSED IT ABOUT AN HOUR AGO.	Roger finally wakes up from the loud talking.	Steve:	WE'RE PRETTY LOW ON FUEL. I'M JUST WAITIN'			FOR FULL LIGHT SO WE CAN SEE WHAT WE'RE			LANDIN' IN.113	In the morning light, several fires can be seen on the ground,	where buildings are burning.114	The chopper flies over a National Guard convoy as it chugs up a	winding country road.115	Here and there on the ground, human activity can be seen. Search	and Destroy units, made up of Police, Guardsmen and civilian	volunteers move across the country side. Occasionally, a Zombie	is seen staggering through the trees or over a field. Gunfire	cuts the creature down.116	Roger:	JESUS. IT'S EVERYWHERE.	Steve:	WE'RE STILL PRETTY CLOSE TO JOHNSTOWN. WE'RE			BETTER OFF AWAY FROM THE BIG CITIES.117	A little country airfield lies quiet in the morning sun. There	is no sign of life. A few private planes dot the area, but the	tower is empty. The J.A.S. chopper buzzes very low just outside	the tower windows.118	As the whirlybird slowly sets down near the fuel pumps, its	blades create a wind blast which raises great clouds of dust	from the dry earth. Sheets of old newspaper and other light	debris are sent flying through the air in all directions.119	One piece of torn newsprint blows flat against a window in one	of the little sheds.  It sticks against the glass for a moment,	as though glued there, then it flutters to the ground. As the	paper clears the glass, we see the face of a badly scarred	Zombie peering out through the window.120	As the group scrambles out of the helicopter, Stephen	immediately checks the fuel pumps.	Steve:	SHIT, MAN, DAMN NEAR EMPTY.	Roger:	LOTTA PRIVATE PLANES IN FARM COUNTRY LIKE THIS.			GUESS THEY ALL HIT THE PUMPS AND TOOK OFF.	Steve:	TO WHERE? WHERE THE HELL CAN THEY GO?	Peter:	WHERE WE GOIN?	By now, Steve has drained the dregs from the first pump into the	chopper's tank, and moved to the second pump. It spurts with	more force.	Steve:	THERE'S A GOOD BIT LEFT IN THIS PUMP.	He stretches the hose toward the chopper but it doesn't quite	reach.	Steve:	DAMN. I GOTTA GET IT CLOSER.121	Steve jumps back into the cockpit and the machine lifts off the	ground.122	Fran is watching the action, walking slowly backwards to a small	rickety hangar area. She turns and looks down to the private	hangars. Most of them are open wide, the planes they housed long	gone. One or two of the old wooden double-doors are still closed	and locked with chains and padlocks. The wind from the chopper	blades blows her hair and sends more debris flying.123	Peter kicks open the door to the chart house. The room is dusty	and dilapidated. A few small chairs surround an old wooden	table. Several half finished cups of coffee sit on top of	wrinkled flight charts leaving brown rings on the paper. Flies	buzz loudly. An old window shade clicks against its window from	the gusting of the wind and it makes Peter flinch.	He readies his weapon. When he sees the shade, he steps over to	it easily, pulls it and lets it roll up on itself. It makes a	loud, flapping noise.	124	Outside, the chopper sets down. Roger is ready with the hose	nozzle. Ducking under the blades he inserts the device into the	tank receptacle even before Stephen has idled the engine.	Stephen hops out of the cockpit and shouts over the engine	noise.	Steve:	I'M GONNA SEE WHAT'S LEFT IN THE HANGARS.	He trots off after Fran.125	In the chart house, Peter idly drops a coin into an old coffee	machine at one end of the room.  The machine clicks loudly and	spits out a cup. To Peter's surprise, the cup starts to fill	with hot brown liquid.	While he waits. Peter notices a series of notes taped to the	machine and the surrounding walls. They are all written	hurriedly in various hands and with all sorts of inks and 	colours.			LUCY - GONE TO JOHNSTOWN.			CHARLES - I HAVE THE KIDS. LEFT WITH BEN.			COULDN'T WAIT. GONE TO ERIE - JACK FOSTER.	There are dozens of such messages. Peter takes the full coffee	cup from the machine. As he sips it, his eyes fall on a closet	door just across the room. It is moving slightly. It is locked,	but it bangs against the lock...once...twice...more regularly	than if caused by the wind drafts.	Peter steps closer. Now the door bangs violently with a loud	crash, but it holds. Peter sets his coffee on the chart table	and takes his rifle in both hands.	Again the door bangs hard, and a skeleton key is knocked out of	the keyhole. It falls to the floor with a metallic clang, and	Peter notices a caked blood stain where blood recently ran out	of the closet, under the door and onto the linoleum.	Another bang and a gurgling moan. One of the living dead is	trying to break out of the closet.	Quite calmly. Peter raises his rifle and aims it at the door	about head high. The rifle roars in the little room, and a	splintery hole appears in the old wooden door.126	Outside, Fran and Stephen snap to attention at the sound of the	rifle. Fran stands at the entrance to one of the little wooden	hangars. Stephen is checking out the cockpit of an old Cessna	inside. Immediately, Stephen runs out and grabs Fran's hand. As	they turn the corner to run up the grade to the helicopter, they	are confronted with two Zombies, staggering slowly towards them	through the dust cloud from the chopper.	Fran screams. They have no weapons with them.	Steve:	ROGER...ROGER...127	Under the whirling chopper blades, Roger continues to fill the	fuel tank. In the roar of the engine, he cannot hear anything	else.	A third Zombie lumbers toward the helicopter. Roger's back is	to the creature and he is unaware of the impending danger.128	Inside the chart house. Peter stares at the closet door. It is	still for a moment...then another moan and the door bangs again.	Peter fires two shots, lower right and lower left of the first	forming a triangle.129	The two creatures advance slowly on Fran and Steve.	Steve:	JUST RUN.	Fran is petrified. She turns and looks behind them. They are	boxed in by the hangars.	Steve:	RUN RIGHT PAST 'EM...RIGHT AROUND 'EM.			THEY CAN'T CATCH YOU.	She hesitates. The Zombies draw closer.	Steve:	RUN, FRANNIE. GODDAMMIT, I'M RIGHT BEHIND YOU.			WE CAN HANDLE THEM!	Fran charges up the little grade. She runs to the right of the	creatures and they move in her direction, arms outstretched. As	she draws near to the dead things, she hesitates again in	fright. The creatures claw at the air. The one in front is	within a few feet of the woman.	Steve:	RUN, FRANNIE. MOVE!	Fran stares into the dead, staring eyes of the lead Zombie. She	is almost hypnotised. At the last instant, she runs and just	gets past the creatures. A little up the grade, she turns and	looks back, stopping again.	One Zombie turns slowly and starts up the grade after Fran. The	other continues to advance on Stephen.130	Stephen ducks back into the open hangar. It is very dark but for	thin beams of sunlight which cut through between the wooden	boards of the structure. Stephen roots around among the greasy	tools which clutter the area. He finds an enormous sledge	hammer. He runs out of the shed.131	He dodges around the lead Zombie, who staggers on with inertia.	Steve sees that Fran is still facing the second creature. The	man takes a firm grip on the giant hammer as he charges up the	grade toward the Zombie's back. As he reaches the creature, he	brings the twenty pound steel head of the sledge slamming	against the ghoul's skull with all his might.	The creature staggers on for a few more steps, its head a bloody	pulp, then it falls to its knees and finally flops face down in	the dust.	Without breaking stride, Stephen grabs Fran's hand and the two	run toward the helicopter. The other Zombie at the hangar has	turned around and is walking up the grade.132	Roger is pumping the last drops out of the fuel hose when he	sees the frightened couple making for the chopper.133	As Steve charges up the grade he sees the Zombie approaching	Roger from behind.  Steve shouts and Roger spins around. The	stumbling creature is very close. It raises its arms and its	hands clutch at the air. Roger lets the fuel nozzle drop to the	ground. He is trapped at the side of the machine. He doesn't	have his rifle. He fumbles with the snap on his hand-gun	holster.	Suddenly, the blank face of the Zombie turns red as the top of	its head seems to disintegrate into a bloody pulp. The creature	has walked into the spinning chopper blade. Its body staggers	forward another step or two, then the thing collapses in a heap.134	Stephen and Fran have reached the chopper. Steve let's go of the	woman's hand and he drops his bloody sledge to the ground. He	lunges into the cockpit and snatches up his rifle, ducking in	the propeller draft.135	The Zombie which is stumbling up the grade from the hangars	almost loses its footing, but it regains its balance and	advances steadily toward the helicopter.136	The shot misses clean. He fires again. The bullet grazes the	creature's face. It staggers from the impact, but does not fall.137	Roger moves quickly for his high powered weapon. Steve fires	two more rounds.138	Another miss and another graze, this time on the arm.139	He is about to shoot once more when Roger stops him, stepping up	alongside.	Roger calmly aims and fires one shot cleanly through the	creatures' brain.140	The Zombie falls and papers blow over its body.141	In the chart house. Peter fires several more shots into the	closet door. Bullet holes appear just where the creature's head	should be. There seems to be no way that the volley could have	missed.	Silence for a moment. Peter still holds his gun high.	Then, with a great crash, the closet door flies open into the	room. Two small children burst out. One has no left arm; the	other has been bleeding from a great wound in his side. They are	dead. They move directly toward Peter. Their heads are at least	a foot shorter than the bullet holes in the closet door.	Peter stares down at the creatures, revulsed.  He is so startled	that he cannot react quickly enough, and they are on him. The	moment he feels their clammy grasp, he regains his survival	instincts. He cannot effectively aim his rifle. He kicks and	thrashes around. One creature flies against a wall. The other is	about to bite the man's arm. The big Black grabs the small	Zombie and flings it physically back. The other creature pounces	on his back. He throws it over his shoulders and it crashes	against its brother.	Now Peter raises his gun. As the children try to scramble to	their feet the man fires several shots in rapid succession.	First one creature falls; then the other.	Peter continues to fire, his eyes wide with desperation and	disgust. Finally his weapon clicks. It is out of ammunition.	Peter breathes heavily. He stares at the small corpses.	Instinctively, he begins loading his weapon, without even	looking at the action, as he backs wearily out toward the door	of the chart house.142	Behind him, in the brightly sunlit doorway, we see the Zombie	who first appeared at the window. The creature staggers forward.	Peter turns and startles. He reaches for more shells and backs	away a few steps as he tries to load the bullets into his gun.	The creature reaches out and takes another step into the room.	Peter stares into the creatures eyes. Then suddenly, out in the	sunlight, a few hundred feet behind the Zombie, Stephen appears	with his rifle. Peter sees the man over the creature's shoulder.143	Steve raises his gun and aims at the Zombie, but the barrel	seems to be on a straight line with Peter.144	Peter ducks quickly. Steve's gun fires. The bullet misses the	creature cleanly and crashes into the room. It ricochets off	the coffee machine. Another shot crashes through the glass in	the front room.	Peter crouches, still stuffing shells into his weapon. A third	of Stephen's bullets tears through the Zombie's shoulder, but	the creature still stands. It turns toward Peter slowly. Peter	crawls under the table as another shot splatters into the coffee	cups.145	Once again, Roger steps up beside Stephen.  He fires one	carefully aimed shot, looking through his telescopic range-	finder.146	Just as Peter finishes loading his weapon, the Zombie crashes	into the room, falling over the table and onto the floor.147	Fran is still kneeling in the dust, trying to keep herself from	vomiting. Stephen rushes to her side. Roger, keeping his rifle	poised, shouts toward the chart house.	Roger:	PETER.148	The big Black man appears in the doorway, snapping the safety on	his rifle.151	Fran's retching causes her to choke and cough. Steve tries to	comfort her, not knowing what to say and shaking himself.152	Peter advances with long strides.153	Stephen looks up when the Black man is a dozen steps away.	Immediately, he sees the anger in Peter's eyes. The big Trooper	then raises his rifle and aims it a Stephen. Steve tries to	stand, but trips and falls on his back in the dust. In an	instant, Peter is looming over him with the barrel of his rifle	aimed at point blank range for the shivering man's forehead.	Fran screams through her choking...	Fran:	NO...MY GOD...DON'T... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?	Peter speaks calmly to Stephen, in low tones.	Peter:	YOU NEVER AIM A GUN AT ANYONE, MISTER.			IT'S SCARY.			ISN'T IT?			ISN'T IT?	Stephen looks up at the tall man, shivering. Then Peter lowers	his weapon and extends his hand, helping Stephen up onto his	feet.154	Roger clears the fuel hose from around the runners of the	chopper. Peter climbs into the cockpit and sits in the rear	without saying another word.	Roger helps Fran climb aboard. Steve wanders around the front of	the cockpit bubble and climbs into the Pilot's seat. Roger	climbs in behind Fran as she squeezes into the uncomfortable	space beside Peter. The big black offers the woman a sip of	water, which she accepts. Then she lets her head flop wearily	against the rear bulkhead.155	Steve is urgently surveying his flight charts, shuffling the	papers and trying to seem very busy after the embarrassment of	the incident.	Steve:	WE GOTTA FIND FUEL. MAYBE CLOSER TO PITTSBURGH.	Roger:	NO, WE'VE GOTTA STAY OUT OF THE BIG CITIES.			IT IT'S ANYTHING LIKE PHILLY WE MIGHT NEVER			GET OUT ALIVE.	Peter:	WE MIGHT NOT GET OUT OF ANY PLACE ALIVE.			WE ALMOST DIDN'T GET OUT OF HERE.	Roger:	WE'RE GETTIN' OUTA HERE FINE.			AS LONG AS THERE'S NOT TOO MANY OF THOSE			THINGS WE CAN HANDLE 'EM EASY.	Peter:	YEAH, WELL IT WASN'T "THOSE THINGS" THAT			NEARLY BLEW ME AWAY!	Stephen turns around and is about to say something angrily.	Roger stops him by speaking urgently.	Roger:	WE GOTTA STAY IN THE STICKS. THERE'S BOUND TO			BE MORE LITTLE PRIVATE AIRPORTS UPSTATE.	Steve:	(reluctantly going back to his charts)			THERE'S THE LOCKS ALONG THE ALLGHENY.			FUEL STATIONS THERE, PRIVATE AND STATE.	Roger:	PROB'LY STILL MANNED. WE DON'T NEED THOSE			HASSLES EITHER.	Steve:	THEY'RE JUST OUT AFTER SCAVENGERS...LOOTERS...	Peter:	OH, YOU GOT THE PAPERS FOR THIS LIMOUSINE?	Steve:	(angrily)			I GOT J.A.S. ID. SO DOES FRAN.	Peter	RIGHT. AND WE'RE OUT HERE DOIN' TRAFFIC REPORTS?			WAKE UP, SUCKER. WE'RE THIEVES AND BAD GUYS IS			WHAT WE ARE. AND WE GOTTA FIND OUR OWN WAY!	There is a long silence. The engine drones, but the helicopter	still sits on the ground. The men look at each other. Peter	takes a long slug of water.	Fran:	JESUS CHRIST. WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE WE'RE			GOING.  WE DON'T HAVE A RADIO.  WE'RE RUNNING			OUT OF WATER. WE NEED FOOD....STEPHEN,			YOU NEED TO SLEEP.156	We see a wide shot of the little airfield. The J.A.S. chopper	sits on the ground for a moment, it's props spinning. The, with	a surge of power, it lifts off and flies away. The dry earth	swirls up into clouds and blows more bits of paper over the	wide-eyed corpses which lie in the morning sunlight.157	We see the facade of an enormous structure. It is a huge,	suburban shopping mall. The outer walls are all concrete, and	their clean lines stretch upward for more than two storeys. The	building looks like a giant domino lying flat on the ground.	There are only four entrances, and the shops which are housed	within have no windows opening onto the surrounding lot.158	In the immense area around the building, lanes and stalls are	painted for automobile parking. What few cars now dot the area	are parked randomly, some with their doors open wide.159	We hear the sound of the helicopter engine fading in, then we	see the little machine as it approaches and eases down onto the	roof of the building.160	In the parking lot, walking among the abandoned vehicles, we see	several of the living dead.  They look almost like normal	shoppers at the mall for morning chores, but their lumbering	walk is unmistakably stiff.161	At one of the mall entrances, we see a revolving door flanked	by several regularly hinged doors, all made of glass and	surrounded by large windows. A few of the Zombies manage to	negotiate the hinged doors and enter the building. Others bounce	off windows and claw the transparent glass in confusion. One	creature walks around in the revolving door endlessly.	There are a good many of the creatures, but they are spread out	and far between. They move with no seeming purpose.	We do not yet see the mall interior.  The Zombies pay no	attention to the sound of the chopper engine stopping overhead.162	On the roof, even as the blades of the helicopter still spin,	the humans are out and moving to the edge of the building. They	look down at the creatures which dot the parking lot.	Fran:	OH MY GOD!	Stephen:	NO CHANCE. FORGET IT, LET'S GET OUTTA HERE.	Roger:	WAIT A MINUTE, WAIT A MINUTE...THEY CAN'T			GET UP HERE.	Steve:	YEAH, AND WE CAN'T GO DOWN THERE!	Roger:	LET'S CHECK IT OUT.	Roger trots away.163	Peter has moved directly to an area where a giant grid of	transparent Plexiglas bubbles face down into the building. He	stares through one of them and can see into the mall below.	Roger trots up and peers through another of the bubbles.	Peter:	MOST OF THE GATES ARE DOWN. I DON'T THINK			THEY CAN GET INTO THE STORES.164	The vantage point only reveals a small aspect of the interior,	a square plaza with a garden beneath the sunroof of transparent	bubbles. The space is open all the way down to the garden, which	is two storeys below. Around the garden on the bottom floor can	be seen the entrances to several shops. All but one have heavy	metal cage gates down and locked into position.	One or two Zombies are seen wandering about. They cannot enter	the stores, except for the one which is un-gated.	Halfway up the walls can be seen a balcony railing which rings	the entire plaza, it is a second storey of shops. The same cage-	gates seal off the visible store entrances, but none of the dead	creatures are evident on the balcony.165	Fran and Stephen come trotting up to the bubbles.	Roger:	I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY OF THEM UP ON THE SECOND			FLOOR.	Peter:	THE BIG DEPARTMENT STORES USUALLY USE BOTH			FLOORS.	Roger:	IF WE CAN GET IN UP TOP...166	Peter is looking across the rest of the expansive rooftop. He	takes off toward a series of other housings which jut up out of	the otherwise flat surface. Roger follows.167	Fran:	(still staring down through a bubble)			WHAT ARE THEY DOING?			WHY DO THEY COME HERE?	Steve:	(also looking down)			SOME KIND OF INSTINCT. MEMORY...OF WHAT THEY			USED TO DO. THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT PLACE IN			THEIR LIVES.168	Below, the Zombies which are in sight wander aimlessly over the	plaza. Some try the gates but cannot budge them. One wanders out	of the single open shop, it is a female. The shop is an	appliance store. As the creature leaves she drags a toaster idly	behind her, pulling it by its power cable. It scrapes on the	floor loudly.169	We see an installation of large reflectors mounted in an	intricate metal skeleton which stretches across a large area of	the roof surface.  Behind the structures can be seen a large	power generator.170	Peter:	SOLAR SCREENS.	Roger:	CAN'T BE ENOUGH TO POWER THIS PLACE.	Peter:	EMERGENCY SYSTEM, MAYBE.	Roger:	IT'S PRETTY LIT UP IN THERE.	Peter:	GUESS THE POWER'S NOT OFF IN THIS AREA.			A LOT OF PHILLY'S STILL LIT. COULD BE NUCLEAR.171	Roger:	HEY LOOK AT THIS!	Roger is peering down through a wire-hatched skylight. There are	several laid out over this particular area of the roof. He moves	to another while Peter looks down into the first. Fran and	Stephen jog up.	Roger:	THESE DON'T GO DOWN INTO THE MALL.			WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?	Fran and Stephen peer down into the darkness. Peter pulls a	flashlight from his utility belt.  He has stayed in full uniform	all the while, where Roger has stripped off all but his	ammunition belt and pistol holster.172	The big man shines a light beam down into the space. The floor	is only seven feet or so below the window. There is absolutely	nothing in sight; clear floor, clear walls, all light grey.	Peter:	DAMN.173	Roger has moved to another window.	Roger:	HEY, OVER HERE. THERE'S SOMETHIN' HERE.174	Peter trots over and shines his beam down. They see a vast	array of cardboard cartons...hundreds of them.	Roger:	STORAGE?175	Peter moves the light beam. Now it illuminates a collection of	large drums, stacked floor to ceiling and running deep past the	line of vision. On the face of each drum is the familiar symbol	of a triangle within a circle, and the letters C.D.176	Peter:	CIVIL DEFENCE. CIVIL DEFENCE WATER SUPPLY.	Roger:	AND BOXES OF CANNED FOOD!	Steve:	HOW DO WE GET DOWN THERE?	Peter looks at Stephen as a street-wise-tough would look at a	hopeless city-slick-sissy. Then the big man brings his rifle	butt down against the glass and the shattered pane crashes to	the floor below.177	Inside - the vast space is impressive. It is quite dark but for	rays of sunlight which drift through the occasional skylights.	We see an enormous quantity of food cartons and water drums, it	is very quiet. The space is barren except for the stacks of	Civil Defence supplies.178	Suddenly, a figure drops out of one of the skylights, landing on	its feet in the sunray. It is Peter.	Instantly he readies his rifle, looking this way and that across	the large room. Silence.	Peter:	OK.	He steps aside and Roger climbs in. He too drops cat-like to the	floor.179	The two men instantly sling their rifles and move to the food	cartons as by pre-arranged plan. They carry the big boxes	quickly, one at a time, to the spot under the open skylight.	In a moment, they have built a pyramid out of the cartons. It	creates a kind of stairway for a quick escape through the window	above.180	Now Fran lowers herself into the room and is able to climb down	the cartons holding onto Roger's hand. She is followed by an	anxious Stephen.181	Peter has already wandered off. There are only two doors in the	enormous room, one at either end. The big Trooper moves up to	one of them as Roger comes up behind him, gun ready.	Peter's hand turns the doorknob. It is unlocked, and the big man	gives Roger a familiar nod. Roger stands several feet back, his	rifle aimed directly at the door and ready to fire. Then, with a	sudden, commando-like motion. Peter throws the door open and	ducks away flat against the wall. Roger stiffens, his finger all	but pulling his trigger, but there is no apparent danger.182	The door opens onto another vast room, equivalent to the one the	people are in. It also has stacks of C.D. supplies.	The Troopers cautiously move into the area through the door. The	room is empty. The same sunrays pierce the darkness through	skylights. All is dead quiet. This room has no doors at all, but	for the one Peter opened.	Roger:	DOUBLE DAMN! LOOKS LIKE A FREE LUNCH, BUDDY.183	In the first room Stephen has started to rip open one of the	cartons.	Fran:	SPAM!	Roger walks back into the room.	Roger:	YOU BRING A CAN OPENER?	Fran:	OH.	Roger:	THEN DON'T KNOCK SPAM. IT'S GOT IT'S OWN KEY.	The woman flips over the can in her hand and finds the little	key.	Peter has walked right past the group.  He is moving quickly	toward the still-unknown door at the other end of the room.	Again, Roger follows.184	At the door, the two Troopers go through the same S.W.A.T.	procedure. The door swings open, this time onto a very small	space. Again no immediate danger.185	As the men enter, they discover that they are on the top landing	of a concrete and metal firestair. There are no windows, and the	air is musty. There is one bare light bulb lit in the ceiling,	but down the stairs at the next landing it is quite dark, and	there the stairs wind even further down; they recede into	blackness.	Roger:	WHATD'YA THINK?	The Black man just stares, first down into the darkness then	back into the storage area.	Roger:	THIS IS THE ONLY WAY UP HERE. WHATD'YA THINK?			CUT.186	A great barricade of food cartons has been stacked against the	stairway door.187	Near the pyramid under the open skylight, the group of refugees	sits on the floor.	Stephen is asleep. Fran sits next to his curled form, her hand	in his hair. Roger leans against the pyramid and Peter sits in	the lotus position, his gun across his legs, squarely facing the	suspicious stairwell. He and Roger still pick at their food.	Roger swills water from an empty Spam can which he has filled	from one of the C.D. drums.	Roger:	YOU BETTER GET SOME SLEEP, TOO, BUDDY.	Peter:	THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT OF STUFF DOWN THERE THAT			WE COULD USE, BROTHER.	Roger:	I KNOW IT.	Fran stiffens at the talk.  She doesn't believe what she is	hearing. She knows instantly that the men will try to raid the	mall.	Peter:	THEY'RE PRETTY SPREAD OUT DOWN THERE.			IT'S A BIG PLACE. I THINK WE WOULD OUT-RUN 'EM.	Roger:	HIT AND RUN.	Peter:	HIT AND RUN... MAYBE GRAB US OFF A RADIO...	Fran:	YOU'RE CRAZY!	Roger:	THIS PLACE COULD BE A GOLD MINE.			WE GOTTA AT LEAST CHECK IT OUT.188	Roger checks his weaponry and quickly moves toward the door	where he begins to remove the barricade of cartons. Peter still	sits, checking his own guns.189	Fran:	THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET AWAY			FROM...LOOK WHAT HAPPENED AT THE AIRPORT...	Peter:	THE ONLY PROBLEM AT THE AIRPORT WAS STRAY BULLETS!			WE COULD OUTFIGHT THOSE DUMMIES BLINDFOLDED.	Fran:	STEPHEN...(the exhausted Pilot is sleeping through				it all)	Peter:	(standing)			LEAVE HIM BE. WE'RE GOIN' OURSELVES.	The big Trooper bends over snatching up Stephen's rifle. He	snaps off the safety and slams a shell into the chamber. He	hands it to the woman.	Peter:	THAT'S READY TO SHOOT. BE CAREFUL.	Fran holds the gun gingerly.	Peter:	THE TRIGGER SQUEEZES REAL EASY, BUT THE WEAPON'LL			KICK YOU GOOD WHEN IT FIRES. BE READY FOR THAT.	Fran	 WAIT A MINUTE, I...	Peter:	ANYONE BUT US COMES UP THEM STAIRS, YOU GUYS			TAKE OFF IN THE MACHINE. WE'LL TRY TO MAKE IT			OUT TO THE PARKIN' LOT. YOU CAN PICK US UP THERE.	Fran just stares up at the big man, with desperation in her	eyes. She has stopped arguing seeing that the Troopers'	decision is made.	Peter:	IF WE DON'T SHOW UP AFTER A FEW MINUTES...			WE'LL CATCH UP TO YOU SOME OTHER TIME.			YOU UNDERSTAND?190	In the dimly lit firestair, the door on the top landing pulls	open suddenly. The stairway is still empty.	The Troopers move slowly out onto the landing. They look down	into the darkness below. Then they move slowly and silently down	the steps. Fran appears on the upper landing. She stands in the	doorway clutching the rifle.	Peter stops for a moment, looking back up at the frightened	woman.	Peter:	YOU'LL PROB'LY HEAR SOME SHOOTING.			JUST DON'T PANIC, OK.	Fran sighs exhaustedly.	Peter:	YOU'LL BE ALRIGHT. IT'S OUR ASSES THAT'S IN			THE FIRE.191	Two landings below, there is almost no light. Roger clicks on	his flashlight and shines the beam around. He is in a very small	concrete space. The stairs go down no further. There is only one	door. Peter eases down the steps behind.	Roger:	THIS IS THE ONLY WAY UP THERE.192	We see the other side of the metal door. It stands in another	cement walled space, which also seems small from our angle, but	it is fully lit.	The door opens slowly, and the Troopers cautiously step out. As	the camera swings around, we see that the men are at the end of	a long narrow hallway. Directly across from them are two open	supply rooms, one containing a stationery sink and a toilet.	Both rooms are filled with cleaning supplies.193	Down along the hall can be seen a dozen or so doorways. Some	doors are open, some are closed. Along the opposite wall there	is nothing.	The far end of the hall, about a hundred yards away, opens out	onto the second story of the mall proper.194	The men look at one another and slowly move down the corridor.	They try the first two doors, which are locked. The third is	wide open.195	Roger ducks quickly into the room with his rifle raised. It is	a large administrative office, with rows of desks which are	fully equipped for a staff of secretaries and accountants.196	The next room has a closed door, but it is unlocked. Peter	swings the door open and silently jumps into the room. This is	a much more spartan area, with two metal desks and a few chairs.	There are several phones. It is a maintenance office. On one	wall is a large map of the mall, with pin flags and scribbling	over an acetate which covers the drawing. At the other end of	the space is a huge electrical panel with circuit breakers and	an entire series of master controls all keyed by a number code	to another map of the mall showing electrical installations.	On the wall behind Peter is a large blackboard and two metal	cabinets. One is open. It contains all sorts of tools, manual	and electric. There are circuit testers, walkie talkie units and	there are several enormous rings containing hundreds of keys,	also colour and number coded. Peter grabs up one of the rings	and Roger steps up behind him.	Roger:	THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM.197	Back in the hallway, Roger's hand tries another doorknob and	throws the door open. This opens onto beautifully plush offices,	obviously the executive headquarters.	The rooms interconnect, and while Peter walks from door to door	in the corridor, Roger moves through the inner doors, meeting	Peter at each room. One office is more elegant than the next,	with the latest in designer furniture and expensive decorations.198	The Troopers finally reach a room on which both the interior and	corridor doors are closed and locked. The brass nameplate on the	interior door reads C.J. Porter - President.199	Roger moves out to the corridor where he joins Peter. They move	into the exterior corridor. They are very near the end of the	hall, and the brightly lit shopping area is close at hand. They	can only see a small section.200	The balcony on their side is railed off against the open drop	down to the first floor, and across the great cavity they see	the opposite balcony. On the far side only two store fronts can	be seen. They are both gated and shut.201	The two realise what dangers might face them in the mall proper.	They look at each other and move forward, each clinging to	opposite walls in the corridor.202	As they reach the mall proper they slowly and carefully peer	around their respective corners.203	The upper balcony totally surrounds the vast interior of the	building, and at several points bridges across from one side to	the other. Little shops of all types run along the entire length	of the balcony, and at each far end, stands the entrance arches	for a large department store.	Most of the stores are gated, but several seem open. The big	department stores are gated and locked. Here and there tall	trees grow up from the ground floor and reach up into view of	the second storey. There are none of the living dead evident on	the balcony.204	The two troopers move slowly and quietly to the railing. The	crouch and peer down through the bars of the rail. Below, the	sight is even more spectacular.205	Stores of every type offer gaudy displays of consumer items.	Everything from clothing to appliances. Photo equipment; audio	and video outlets; sporting goods and weaponry; gourmet foods	and natural organic foods. There is a Book Store, a Record	Store, a Real Estate Agency and a Bank; A Novelty Shop, a Gift	Shop; all with the absolute latest in American consumer items.	And at either end of the concourse like the main Altars at each	end of a Cathedral, stand the mammoth two storey Department	Stores; great symbols of a consumer society.	Down the centre of the ground floor, along with the gardens and	park benches, are little stalls. One is a Tobacco Specialist	another Jewellery; another is a small Photo Portrait stall where	mothers had their children photographed. There are restaurants	and Snack Bars and numerous coin operated machines selling	everything from children's toys to Blood Pressure readings.	There is a large turntable, designed to spin but which is now	still, holding a late model car on exhibit. Another turntable	displays futuristic household appliances.	The images are all too familiar, but in their present state they	appear as an archaeological discovery revealing the Gods and	Customs of a civilisation now gone.	The ghosts of a civilisation, however, are not figments in the	mind. They are quite real. And they walk below in the aisles of	the great Cathedral. At least twenty Zombies can be seen from	the Troopers' perspective.206	Roger:	IT'S CHRISTMASTIME DOWN THERE, BUDDY.	Peter:	FAT CITY, BROTHER. HOW WE GONNA WORK IT.	Roger:	WE GET INTO THE DEPARTMENT STORES UP HERE.			THEY PROB'LY HAVE THEIR OWN ESCALATORS INSIDE.	Peter:	LET'S CHECK THOSE KEYS.207	The Troopers stealthily pull away from the railing and back into	the administrative corridor. Then they move quickly down the	hall toward the Maintenance Office.208	As the men leave the balcony, the camera pans. Several yards	away a Zombie staggers out of one of the open stores. It is	followed by a second creature, a female without one arm. They	are moving along the balcony toward the open corridor.209	In the Maintenance Office, the Troopers are checking the keys	against the coded map on the wall.	Roger:	SEVENTY TWO...U. AND D. ...HERE IT IS...	The men check the keys. Peter finds corresponding numbers.	Peter:	HERE.	Roger:	LET'S JUST HOPE IT'S RIGHT.	Peter:	LOOK HERE (on the map) THESE NUMBERS MUST ALL			BE LOCKS (he points) FRONT...SIDE...BACK OUTSIDE,			MUST BE LIKE LOADING DOCKS...BUT WHAT ARE THESE?	The man points to several numbered spots which seem to be within	the big Department Store they are studying.	Roger:	WASHROOMS...EQUIPMENT...I DUNNO.	Roger moves off toward the electrical control panel. Peter still	stares at the map.	Peter:	I GUESS THESE GOTTA BE THE GATES.	Roger:	HOW ABOUT A LITTLE MUSIC?	Peter:	WHAT?210	The big Black moves up behind his partner. One of the controls	on the panel is marked: MUSIC TAPE. It indicates a master switch	which is in the off position. Another is marked FLOOR EXHIBITS	and a series of others are marked ESCALATORS. There are dozens	of master switches which are in the off mode.	Peter:	POWER SWITCHES.	Roger:	THE MUSIC MIGHT COVER THE NOISE WE MAKE.	Peter:	HIT 'EM ALL. MIGHT AS WELL HAVE POWER IN			EVERYTHING. WE MIGHT NEED IT.	Roger hits the switches one at a time.211	Throughout the mall, we hear the drone of the dull, mass	produced music designed to lull a shopper's brain.212	Upstairs, Francine startles at the sound from below. She snaps	the rifle into her hands, ready to fire. She has been standing	just inside the storage area. She steps into the firestair and	looks down into the darkness. The sounds of the insipid music	drift up to her. She leans into the storage area again.	Fran:	STEPHEN...			STEPHEN!213	Steve, still lying on the floor against the escape pyramid,	slowly awakens.214	Down on the first floor of the big mall, things begin to work.	The automobile turntable starts spinning; the great escalators	move up and sown. Two of the living dead, caught just starting	up two stalled escalator, fall and roll down as the mechanical	steps begin moving.	Lights blink on the exhibits, and mechanical window displays	begin their robot-like motions. It is like a Carnival coming	alive. The Zombies which wander the floor look about in	confusion. Some of them swat ineffectively at the moving	exhibits.215	In a very tall cage, which reaches from the first floor all the	way to the ceiling, the Tropical Birds which are housed within	begin to flutter and squawk.216	In a pet shop, there are puppies and kittens in a window	display. They whine and scramble over one another in fright at	the noise and the motion and the coloured lights.217	On one of the floor exhibits, a rear-projection movie starts. It	is a dryly produced film about the merits of a Real Estate	Developer's new tract of suburban houses. A narrator speaks in a	friendly voice:			... and for prices which anyone can afford,			you can live in these luxurious new homes			by Brandon. Fully electric, central air, ..etc.218	In the Maintenance Office, the Troopers ready themselves for	their raid. Peter secures the vital key ring to his utility	belt and the move out.	Peter and Roger move down the Hall and exit through door to	exterior corridor.219	Just as Roger moves through the door into the corridor, he is	confronted by the Zombies from the balcony. He startles and	ducks back into the room. The closest Zombie is reaching out	with clutching hands. Peter raises his gun and fires two shots	cleanly through the creature's head.220	As the shots ring through the area, Fran, standing at the top of	the firestair, startles. Steve grabs the rifle from the woman.	Steve:	JESUS CHRIST...			THEY'RE MANIACS.221	The Troopers step over the corpse. The second Zombie, the	arm less female, is walking toward them. This time Roger fires	his weapon. The creature falls in a heap.	Roger:	WHATD'YA THINK? BAG IT OR TRY FOR IT?	Peter:	YOU GAME?	Roger nods and the two men run down the hall toward the mall.	Their rifles poised, they are like commandos on an important	mission.	The men at the mall mouth see the department store and start for	it. They run from the corridor onto the balcony.222	The battle to win the mall has begun. The creatures which wander	the first floor look about, attracted by the sound, but they are	confused. They walk this way and that, in mis-guided staggering	strides.223	Several of the Zombies try to move up the down-escalator. They	fall over themselves and cannot negotiate the moving stairway.224	A few creatures who move onto the up-escalator also fall against	each other from the movement, but one falls onto the moving	steps and is carried upward. Then another manages to keep its	balance holding on to the hand rail.225	At another point down the length of the mall, there is a	stationary stairway which runs from the first to the second	floor. Several creatures move up the steps.226	At the top of the firestair, Stephen begins to move down the	steps cautiously. His rifle is at the ready. Fran stays on the	top landing.	Fran:	STEPHEN, DON'T GO DOWN THERE.			(he continues)			STEPHEN PLEASE!	Steve:	IT'S ALRIGHT.227	At the huge gate which locks off the big Department Store,	the two Troopers come to a crashing stop.228	There is a side concourse which can be seen from this vantage	point, and in the hall are four or five Zombies. They are about	three hundred feet away.229	Roger keeps his rifle levelled off in the direction of the	creatures while Peter confronts the lock at the middle of the	big roll gate.	He fumbles with the keys for a moment until he finally sinks	the proper key into the receptacle which is right at the floor.	The tumblers turn successfully.	Peter:	ALRIGHT!230	On the escalator, the creatures which fell onto the moving steps	are being carried up to the balcony. The one supporting himself	on the hand rail is still standing. The head of the standing	Zombie suddenly becomes visible from Roger's perspective.231	The Trooper raises his gun and aims for the creature's forehead.	Peter tries to life the roll gate. It won't move. It is still	locked.	Peter:	YOU BASTARD!	Roger:	WHAT?	Peter:	STILL LOCKED...(he sees another assembly)			ON THE SIDE...	The big man moves to the far side of the gate. The same key	fits. Roger re-focuses on the creature which is riding the	escalator. It is quite near the top now. Roger is about to	shoot when something catches his eye.232	The fallen Zombies, which up to now could not be seen behind the	escalator rail wall, suddenly come tumbling out onto the balcony	floor.233	Roger fires, but his aim is inaccurate.234	He hits the standing Zombie in the neck. The creature is thrown	off balance enough to lose its footing. It falls back down the	escalator, but before it reaches the bottom, it stops rolling.	The steps carry it back up toward the second floor again. It is	still very much alive. The two creatures on the balcony struggle	to stand.235	Roger looks back over his shoulder.236	The Zombies from the side concourse are now about a hundred and	fifty feet away.237	Peter turns the key in the lock, but again the gate will not	lift. It moves slightly, as the middle mechanism and the one on	the far right are free, but there is a third lock on the far	left. Peter moves to it quickly.238	On the first floor concourse, other creatures are beginning to	take note of the action upstairs. They start to move.239	The Zombies on the stationary stairway are beginning to reach	the second floor, but they are far down the main balcony. They	will have to pass the administrative corridor in order to reach	the Department Store.240	Roger fires again.241	One of the nearby Zombies falls in a heap.242	At the sound of the rifle, Fran gets desperate.	Fran:	STEPHEN...FOR GOD'S SAKE...LET'S GET UP ON THE			ROOF...243	Steve is at the middle landing. He stares down into the darkness	below. More gunfire can be heard from the mall.	Steve:	IT'S ALRIGHT, I'M TELLIN 'YA. THOSE THINGS			DON'T MOVE FAST ENOUGH TO CATCH US.	More gunfire can be heard.244	Now the giant gate rolls up with a loud rumble. Peter ducks into	the store even as the gate is still rising, but the inertia of	the great metal cage carries the lip up out of Peter's grasp. He	jumps to try to catch it, but he misses. It jerks up into its	fully open position and rolls back down slightly, but still	Peter cannot reach the lip. It slides back to rest about three	feet above Peter's fingertips.245	The Zombies advance.246	Roger drops another with a clean shot through the head, then he	backs into the archway of the Department Store entrance. Peter	is desperately looking around for something to stand on to reach	the gate.247	The Zombies are very close to the arch now, advancing steadily.248	Peter grabs a small counter used to display shoes, but it is too	heavy for him to move himself.	Peter:	HERE...COME ON...	Roger has to abandon his post at the arch long enough to help	drag the little counter. The men drag it to a point just at the	side of the open arch, and Peter instantly jumps up on the top	of it. At that instant, a Zombie rounds the corner and grabs at	Peter's legs. The big man kicks, startled, and the motion causes	him to fall off the little counter. He lands on his feet, but	out on the balcony beyond the arch. Roger brings his rifle butt	around against the creature's head and the Zombie falls back,	but is not dead.	Other creatures are only a few feet from Peter, whose gun sits	on the little counter inside the store. Roger levels off his	rifle but cannot fire as Peter is in the line. Peter makes a	move and, like a football player, jukes to the left, then to the	right. He dives right at one of the creatures carrying it into	the store.	Now Roger fires, dropping one, then another. Peter jumps back up	on the counter.	Peter:	BEHIND YOU...BEHIND YOU...	The creature in the store has crashed against a cosmetics	display and is regaining its footing. Roger turns and fires. The	creature falls. Peter grabs the lip of the roll gate and starts	to bring it down.	There are several creatures right in the archway, now they	clutch with their hands. One blocks the downward progress of the	gate. Roger fires point blank and the Zombie flies back. The	gate lowers but is stopped by the clutching hands of other	creatures. Roger grabs the cage now and helps to pull it down.	Peter, still gripping the lip, jumps off the counter to get more	leverage.	The bottom of the gate is now four feet from the floor. The two	men are able to move it steadily downward. The Zombies are very	weak, but more creatures appear making it more difficult. Then	one Zombie tries to crawl under the gate. Its torso just gets	through as the gate slams down against its chest. Its arms grab	for Peter's legs and its mouth is gasping. Its body is	preventing the gate from engaging in the floor mechanisms.	Roger lets go the cage as Peter tries to hold it against the	creatures outside. Grabbing his rifle, Roger brings the butt	straight down on the clutching Zombie's skull. The Zombie goes	limp. Then Roger tries to push the creature clear of the gate,	but the pressure is too great.	Roger:	LET UP A LITTLE...LET UP A LITTLE...	The gate rises a few inches. More Zombies appear outside. Their	hands clutch at the roll gate. The openings in the grid are only	big enough for their fingers, their hands can't reach through,	but they are pushing the gate higher and higher...more than	Peter intended to clear the obstructing corpse.	With his rifle butt, Roger manages to push the dead Zombie clear	except for one of its arms. From outside, a creature's hand	suddenly grabs Roger's weapon. For a moment its like a Tug-O-War.	Peter is having a harder time holding the gate. It is inching	upward.	Peter:	COME ON...COME ON...	Roger lets go his gun barrel and the weapon is snatched away by	the creature in the crowd. Roger grabs for the gate.	Peter:	THE ARM...THAT ARM'S IN THE WAY.	Roger squats again and manages to throw the dead Zombie's arm	clear. Then he grabs the gate again. Now it starts to move down	more steadily.	At the last moment, another clutching arm juts into the store,	but when the gate hits it, it withdraws, and the big cage clicks	solidly into place.	The two Troopers step back from the gate. The creatures still	moan and gurgle, slamming against the gate, their fingers	clutching at the grid, but they are unable to budge it.	There are ten or twelve Zombies trying to get into the	Department Store and several others are making their way along	the balcony. At least six lie dead along the floor.	Roger:	WELL...WE'RE IN...NOW, HOW THE HELL WE GONNA			GET BACK?	Peter:	LET'S GO SHOPPIN' FIRST.	The two men back into the aisles of the store. The creatures	outside still push and claw at the gate. The one with Roger's	rifle uses it as a bludgeon, but it has no effect.249	Stephen opens the door into the Administration corridor.250	From his perspective, the hall is inactive. He observes the	washrooms and the long row of doors to the various offices.251	He starts into the corridor, letting the firestair door close.252	At the top of the firestair, Fran can see the beam of light from	the open door below. As the door closes, the beam narrows, then	it blinks out with a click as the door closes.	Fran:	STEPHEN...JESUS GOD...	She is very frightened.  She backs into the storage area.253	She moves quickly to the pyramid of cartons which lead to the	roof. She sits on the bottom carton biting her fingers.254	In the Department Store, Roger is riding down an escalator. He	has found a back pack, and it is obviously already filled with	goods. As he steps off the moving stairs on the ground floor,	the surroundings are eerily quiet.255	He moves through a clothing department. We see the dead looking	faces of store mannequins. Roger runs into one and is greatly	startled. He snatches up a lined windbreaker and ties it around	his waist by its arms, then he trots off down another aisle,	where he finds Peter.256	The big Trooper has a radio under his arm and he is snatching up	a small television.	Roger:	HEY MAN, WE CAN'T CARRY ALL THIS SHIT...257	Peter turns a corner and dumps the articles into something	which we cannot yet see. As Roger trots up, he sees that Peter	has a big gardening cart already heaped with goods.	Roger:	OH...WE'RE GONNA JUST WHEEL RIGHT BY 'EM, RIGHT?	Peter:	WE GONNA TRY, BROTHER. WE AIN'T DOIN' THIS			FOR THE EXERCISE. WE MIGHT AS WELL TRY TO			GET WHAT WE CAN.	Roger:	THERE'S NO WAY THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN...	Even though he doesn't understand the plan, Roger helps Peter	toss things into the barrow.258	They race down the hardware aisle tossing in tools and other	supplies. Electrical cables, flashlights, batteries. They scoop	things up like contestants on a game-show who have five minutes	in a store to grab whatever they can.259	Stephen is in the Maintenance office. He examines the maps and	electrical equipment, then rummages through a desk.260	At the open end of the corridor leading to the second storey	balcony, Zombies wander past as they head for the Store entrance	where many creature still claw at the roll gate.261	The Zombies move randomly. Some are leaving the gate as their	prey is now out of sight. They begin to wander here and there.262	Three of the creatures turn into the administrative corridor and	start toward the offices.263	Stephen has found a large binder in the desk. It contains all	the plans for the mall, duplicating the charts on the walls and	many others. It is a complete maintenance manual revealing all	the workings and layout of the huge structure.264	Elevator doors slide open with a loud whoosh. The two Troopers	appear in the car, wheeling their barrow out onto the second	storey aisles of the big store.265	Now, they can see the roll gate and the creatures pushing at it	ineffectively. They roll their barrow very close to the gate.	When the Zombies catch sight of the humans, their efforts are	renewed. They moan and push harder at the gate.266	They Troopers leave the barrow, disappearing back to the aisles.	They run onto the interior escalator, bounding down faster than	the moving steps, then they run across the first floor until	they see the lower level-roll gate.267	There are creatures wandering the concourse, but none of them	are at the gate.	Peter:	LET'S GO BROTHER...THE OLD OKEY DOKE!	The men move up to the roll gate. A Zombie lumbers past. Roger	speaks to the creature.	Roger:	HEY, UGLY!	The creature turns instantly. Registers. Then dives for the	gate with a moaning roar. Its mouth opens and its hands clutch.	The gate pops forward from the creature's thrust, but it holds	tightly. The action causes Roger to jump even though there is no	immediate danger.	Peter:	LET'S RAISE SOME HELL...HEY...HEY...			(he is shouting)	Roger:	OVER HERE...LET'S GO OVER HERE...268	Other creatures along the concourse turn toward the Department	Store. They lumber along attracted by the sounds.269	At the gate, several Zombies push at the metal grids. The	Troopers back away, but stay in sight of the creatures.	Peter:	JUST GIVE IT TIME ...GIVE IT TIME.270	Upstairs, the Zombies at the upper gate are attracted by the	commotion below. They begin to move away from the gate and	lumber along the balcony to the stairways and escalators.271	In the maintenance office, Stephen still rummages. He finds a	loaded hand gun and stuffs it in his belt. He moves to the large	cabinets containing the walkie talkies and the keys.272	In the corridor, the stray Zombies move in and out of the	executive offices as they draw nearer to the Maintenance room.273	Several creatures fall over one another as they try to move down	the up escalator. The down escalator push others onto the first	floor. They scramble to their feet and move toward the	Department Store.274	In the concourse, many creatures are moving toward the gate.	Already there are a dozen or so clutching and pushing at the	metal grid. Through the crowd. Peter can see several other	creatures lumbering down the stationary steps.275	Peter:	OK...THEY 'RE COMIN'...	The big man readies his walkie talkie, pulling the antenna out.	Peter:	GO ON UP...STAY OUTTA SIGHT BUT LEMME KNOW			WHEN ITS CLEAR ENOUGH.	Roger, clutching his walkie talkie, disappears among the aisles	as he runs, crouching, into the store. Peter tries to hold the	attention of the creatures at the gate.	Peter:	RIGHT HERE, BABIES...THIS IS WHERE IT'S AT...			YOU DUMB ASS SUCKERS...YOU DUMB...YOU ARE DUMB!276	Upstairs, the doors to the elevator glide open again and Roger	moves through the second floor aisles stealthily.277	Stephen takes the maintenance manual and leaves the office. He	walks down the interior corridor and opens the door to the	exterior corridor. As the door opens, the Zombies attack. The	Zombies clutch as Stephen tries to close the door on Zombie 13's	arm. Stephen then runs back down the interior corridor.278	Stephen starts up the firestair to the door. Just then he hears	Fran call out. Realising he will lead the creatures to her, he	closes the door and moves toward the Maintenance office and runs	in.279	Stephen runs into the office and slams the door.280	A second creature is moving up behind the first, and another	enters the corridor from the accounting office.281	The metal door locks only with a key. Stephen fumbles for a	moment with his rifle, then dives for the key cabinet. There are	hundreds of keys on rings. He looks at the wall map. He can't	focus in his panic.282	In the hall, the first creature slams against the floor. It	doesn't even have the intelligence to reach for the knob. It	pounds on the door with its hands.283	The pounding increases Stephen's panic. He stares at the map	trying to focus on the maze of numbers.284	The second creature reaches the door and claws at it. The third	approaches slowly.285	Stephen rattles among the keys. His fingers shake and he cannot	decipher the numbers.286	Outside, one of the creatures, in its random clutching, takes	hold of the knob and pushes in and out, not yet turning it.287	Stephen, clutching one of the rings, throws himself against the	door, still trying to read the numbers. The knob finally turns.	The door opens against Stephen's weight. He manages to slam it	shut despite the pushing creatures. He throws the key ring down	and grabs his gun.288	Roger speaks into his walkie talkie:	Roger:	I THINK WE CAN MOVE THE WAGON.289	Peter, downstairs, talks into his unit:	Peter:	CLEAR?	Roger:	(over talking unit)			NOT ALTOGETHER, BUT THEY'RE SPREAD OUT PRETTY			GOOD...ENOUGH TO MOVE THE WAGON.	The creatures slam against the first floor gate, but it holds	securely. Peter stares at the beasts as he lowers his talk	unit. He backs slowly away into the depths of the store.290	Upstairs, Roger peers from behind a counter.291	The second floor gate is clear.292	On the balcony, several creatures wander aimlessly, but most of	them have already moved down the steps and escalators.293	Peter is still in sight of the Zombies at the first floor	entrance. He clips his talk unit onto his belt, then ducks and	disappears among the aisles.294	He runs, crouching out of sight, until he rounds a far wall	and comes up into the elevator.295	He enters the car and pushes "2". The doors glide shut and the	car begins to move up.296	At the door of the Maintenance Office, the knob turns again. The	door pushes open against Stephen weight. His feet slide on the	linoleum floor. He cannot get the door closed this time. Biting	his lip, he makes the sign of the cross, and backs suddenly into	the room holding his rifle high. The door flies open with a	slam, and three Zombies advance into the office. Stephen tries	to aim carefully, and he fires.297	Just as the elevator doors open. Peter hears the gunfire. He	hesitates for a moment, then runs toward the entrance arch.298	Roger is poised at one of the side locks on the gate. The	gunfire stops him also as he is unlocking the mechanism.299	Along the balcony, some of the creatures turn around in con-	fusion. They walk this way and that, attracted  by the sound.300	Peter thunders up behind Roger.	Peter:	WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?	Roger:	FUZZ MAYBE?	Peter:	OR MAYBE FLYBOY. WHERE'S IT COMIN' FROM?	Roger:	CAN'T TELL.	Peter:	COME ON. OPEN UP.	Roger :	 MAYBE WE SHOULD SEE WHAT'S HAPPENIN'...	Peter:	OPEN UP. I CAN GET THE WAGON OVER. IF IT			IS FLYBOY, LET'S GET HIM ON OUR SIDE.	Roger moves to the second lock. More gunfire.	Peter:	(setting his weapon on the floor)			YOU JUST COVER ME GOOD, YOU HEAR?	Roger moves to the third lock as Peter stands and grabs on to	the handles of the barrow.301	The body of a dead Zombie hits the floor, its head shot	through. Nearby lies the corpse of the first creature to break	into the Maintenance Office.	The third staggers into the room. Stephen stands fast now. He	holds his rifle out in front of him. The creature walks toward	the gun. Steve holds his hands on the trigger. The Zombie lunges	suddenly, and grabs the gun barrel. Steve fires, but the blast	tears through the creature's chest. Steve struggles to raise the	barrel but the motion of the Zombie makes it impossible to aim	accurately. The gun fires again, this time grazing the Zombie's	neck. With a sudden burst of energy the creature wrenches the	gun free. Steve backs against the wall. The creature tosses the	rifle across the room where it slams the floor near a desk. The	Zombie advances on Steve. Steve is next to the key cabinet and	grabs at it, trying to find some weapon. He feels the tools in	the cabinet and comes up with a hammer. The Zombie is about to	reach him when Steve pulls the hammer out and upsets the	cabinet. The Zombie fumbles with the cabinet at its feet, but	doesn't fall. Steve tries to hit the creature's head with the	tool, he misses and the Zombie grabs at his arm, trying to bite	it. Steve wrenches free and the two bodies fall to the floor.	The creature clutches at the man's legs, it's teeth bared like	an animal. Steve kicks desperately and manages to land a blow	squarely in the creatures face. The Zombie comes after him again	and from his crawling position, Steve brings the hammer as an	uppercut to the creature's jaw. The creature falls back enough	for Steve to crawl across the floor. It follows, but Steve	reaches the desk and grabs his rifle. Rolling on the floor, he	fires several shots into the creature, finally destroying it.302	The second floor gate rolls up with a rumble and Peter runs out	of the Department Store with the barrow full of supplies.303	The action attracts the attention of several of the creatures	which are still wandering the balcony. They turn slowly.304	Just as he rounds the corner. Peter almost collides with one	creature, and can barely keep from upsetting the barrow. He	manages to get past, and he runs as fast as he can toward the	opening of the Administrative corridor.305	Roger does not let the gate roll up too high. He stabilises the	metal grid well within reach, then he stands his post with	Peter's rifle. Several creatures approach from the opposite	direction. Roger fires at the closest one. It falls. The others	are still too far away to waste bullets.306	Stephen steps over the corpses in the office and grabs the	maintenance manual. He rushes into the corridor and runs out.307	Three more creatures move toward him up the hallway.308	At first Stephen freezes, then he starts backing toward the	firestair, his rifle poised.309	Just as Peter is reaching the mouth of the corridor, a Zombie	steps out of the hallway into his path. Peter slams the barrow	squarely into the creature's legs. The Zombie falls in the	barrow onto the supplies. The big man slams the load against a	wall at the mouth of the corridor. Before the Zombie can get its	balance, the big Trooper reaches down and grabs the creature's	jacket lapels. With all his might he flings the creature out	against the balcony railing. The creature flips over the rail,	but does not fall. Its arms and legs flailing as Peter comes up	quickly behind and flips it over the rail. The creature makes no	sound as it plummets to the concourse below.310	Roger fires again at a Zombie drawing dangerously near. Other	creatures throughout the area are again converging on the	Department Store entrance.311	Peter wheels the barrow into the corridor and sees Steve at the	other end, the three Zombies are still closing in.	Peter:	HOLD IT FLYBOY!312	Steve freezes. He can barely see Peter, his vision blocked by	the Zombies. The creatures are about thirty feet away.313	Peter:	DON'T GO INTO THE STAIRWAY!314	Stephen is confused. The creatures advance.315	Peter:	DON'T OPEN THAT DOOR, BABY. YOU'LL LEAD 'EM			RIGHT UP WITH YOU.316	Steve is on the verge of panic.	Peter:	RUN FOR IT.  RUN THIS WAY.	The Zombies are drawing closer and closer.317	Peter:	COME ON, MAN. RUN THIS WAY. YOU CAN RUN RIGHT			THROUGH 'EM. WE GOTTA LEAD 'EM AWAY FROM HERE!318	Steve sizes up the corridor. It is narrow, but there is room to	run past the Zombies.319	Peter:	COME ON, FLYBOY. YOU CAN MAKE IT. COME ON!320	With a sudden move, Steve breaks into a run. He passes the first	creature easily. The second grabs him as he runs past, but the	man keeps his footing even though he slams against the wall. He	keeps moving forward. The third creatures stands in his path.	Steve lowers his head and slams into the Zombie's chest. The	creature flies back and falls. Steve falls and tumbles toward	the mouth of the passageway. He regains his footing as the	creatures turn to pursue him, he runs to the end of the hall	where Peter waits.	Peter:	NOW...HEAD FOR THE DEPARTMENT STORE...GO!321	The two men run across the balcony. They slam into two other	Zombies which clutch and grab at them without success.322	At the entrance arch to the store, Roger fires at another	creature. It falls. Other Zombies are approaching, but Steve and	Peter dive into the arch and the three men manage to lower the	gate without a problem.	The Zombies converge on the area as they did before, clutching	and pushing at the metal cage, which holds them out securely.	The men breathe heavily as they back away from the gate.	Peter:	DOWNSTAIRS AGAIN ...SAME TRICK.323	The men move through the aisles of the store and go crashing	down the escalator.324	On the first floor they run toward the lower gate where they	pull up wheezing with exhaustion.	Steve:	WHAT DO WE DO...	Roger:	LET 'EM KNOW WE'RE HERE...			(shouting)			WHOOOO HOOOOOO...OVER HERE...YEEE HAAAAAAAA.	Steve starts to laugh at the ludicrous situation. Peter smiles	at the young pilot.	Peter:	YOU DID ALRIGHT THIS TIME FLYBOY.			HOW 'BOUT IT?	Stephen laughs some more, nervously at first, then whole-	Heartedly. Then he lets out a loud:	Steve:	WHOOOOOOOOOOOPEEEEEEEEE...	He has joined the cowboys. He is like a child, almost exultant	with the joy of their victory...	The three men shout through the cage at the creatures, which are	already gathering at the gate.325	Out on the concourse, a few Zombies wander aimlessly, but most	are heading for the commotion on the first floor arch.326	On the upstairs balcony, Zombies again move toward the	stationary steps and the escalators.327	The three creatures in the Administration corridor move toward	the open mall. Two walk out on the balcony, but the last one	turns into an open office. Then it staggers back out and heads	down the hall toward the firestair.328	Fran can faintly hear the "whooping" of the men as she moves	toward the stairway door, which is still open.329	She steps onto the landing and looks down into the darkness. The	shouting stops. Desperate with fear, she moves back to the	storage room, then back onto the landing. Now her fear turns	into anger.	Fran:	SHIT...	She takes a few steps down the stairs. Stops. Goes back up.	Fran:	GOD DAMMIT!	She starts back down again.330	In the corridor below, the creature walks into another office.	Then it moves back into the hall.331	The Zombies crash against the first floor gate. It holds. The	men crouch in the shadows of the gate.	Roger:	WE JUST GOTTA WAIT LONGER BEFORE WE MOVE.	Peter:	NO. THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANCE OF SOME OF THEM			STAYIN' UP ON THE BALCONY.	Roger:	YEAH, BUT WE CAN HANDLE THAT.  WE CAN BREAK THROUGH.	Peter:	IF ANY OF THEM SEE OR HEAR US, THEY'LL JUST			FOLLOW US ON UP.  IT'S NO GOOD.	Roger:	WE CAN SURE AS HELL OUT RUN 'EM...LOAD UP WHAT			WE CAN AND GET OUTTA HERE.	Peter:	I'M THINKIN' MAYBE WE GOT A GOOD THING GOIN' HERE.			MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T BE IN SUCH A HURRY TO LEAVE.	Roger:	OH, MAN...	Peter:	IF WE COULD GET BACK UP THERE WITHOUT THEM			CATCHIN' ON, WE COULD HOLE UP FOR A WHILE.			AT LEAST LONG ENOUGH TO CATCH A BREATH.			CHECK OUT THE RADIO. SEE WHAT'S HAPPENIN'...	Roger:	MAN, I DON'T KNOW...	Steve:	THERE'S SOME KIND OF PASSAGEWAY OVER THE TOP			OF THE STORES.	The Troopers look at the young pilot, almost surprised to hear	him speak.  He has been quiet up until now.	Steve:	I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S JUST HEATING DUCTS OR			IF IT'S SOME KIND OF ACCESS. I SAW IT ON A MAP.	Peter:	UPSTAIRS.  LET'S GO.	The three move off down the aisles, then duck out of sight	around a corner. The Zombies clutch at the metal gate, moaning	and rattling the grid loudly.332	In the Maintenance hallway, we see the thick manual lying on the	floor. A lumbering foot kicks it as the Zombie in the corridor	wanders into another office. The creature ignores the book, as	it does the corpses strewn in the hall.333	In the fire stair, Fran is on the middle landing. She is	suddenly overcome with a wave of nausea. She clutches at her	stomach, retching. She sits on the landing, letting her head	flop against the wall. She is almost in tears.334	The upstairs doors of the Department Store elevator open and the	men trot out. As they clear a wall, they see the entrance arch.335	There are no Zombies at the gate, but two are seen drifting	along the balcony outside.336	Peter:	WATCH IT...DON'T LET 'EM SEE YOU.	The men move stealthily along the aisles. They look up at the	ceiling and see a series of large grillwork panels. Peter shines	his flashlight beam into one.337	The ceiling is about twelve feet high, but the light beam	penetrates the grille to reveal a fairly large space above.338	Roger:	LOOKS BIG ENOUGH TO CRAWL THROUGH.	Peter:	THEY'RE LOCKED.	Roger:	DAMN. THAT'S THOSE OTHER LOCK NUMBERS WE			SAW ON THE CHART.	Steve:	WHY THE HELL WOULD THEY BE LOCKED?	Peter:	JACKPOT, FLYBOY. YOU'RE RIGHT.	Roger:	WHAT?	Peter:	THEY'RE LOCKED BECAUSE YOU CAN GET THROUGH			'EM EASY FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE BUILDING.	Steve:	OVER HERE.339	Steve notices that one of the ceiling grids is very close to the	elevators. Peter looks at the grids, then down at the double	doors.	Peter:	THE ELEVATOR SHAFT!	He moves over and hits the button. The doors open.	Peter:	HOLD 'EM.	Roger stands against the rubber safety bumper, holding the car	doors open wide. Peter steps onto the hand railing and reaches	up for the escape hatch, which is held in place by four knub-	headed bolts. He removes the bolts quickly and dislodges the	hatch cover and passes it down to Stephen.	Then the big man sticks his head up through the opening.340	He looks around the elevator shaft, shining his flash this way	and that. He sees another grid in the shaft wall.	Peter:	IT'S HERE...AND IT AIN'T LOCKED. GET A SCREW-			DRIVER AND SOMETHIN' TO STAND ON FOR IN HERE.341	Roger:	I KNOW WHERE THE TOOLS ARE. GET ONE OF THOSE			TABLES.	Roger ducks off down an aisle and Steve moves to the nearby	furniture department and grabs a lightweight lamp table. The	elevator doors close. When Steve returns with the table he has	to hit the button again. The doors open. Peter is already	climbing out of the car into the shaft. Steve uses the table to	hold the doors open and goes to get another.	This time he gets a larger coffee table and sets it under the	opening in the car and puts the smaller table on top. He climbs	up and sticks his head out into the shaft. The doors close	again.342	In the greasy black shaft, amid the cables and elevator	mechanisms. Peter examines the wall grid with his flashlight.	Peter:	IT'S ALRIGHT...WE CAN GET IT OFF.			YOU FOUND IT FLYBOY.	Even though he speaks softly, Peter's voice has an eerie,	echoing sound in the narrow shaft.343	The car doors open. Steve ducks down to see Roger bearing a	screwdriver and pliers along with some other tools in a shopping	bag.	Roger:	ONE-STOP SHOPPING ...ANYTHING YOU NEED RIGHT			AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.344	Steve relays the tools up to Peter, who immediately begins to	work on the screws which mount the grid. He passes the	flashlight to Steve who holds the beam on the work area.345	Fran sits in the stairwell, her hand over her mouth. It is very	quiet for a moment, then she hears a slight clicking. Her head	snaps to attention. She stares down at the bottom landing. There	is a thump at the door.	Slowly the woman stands to her feet, her eyes transfixed on the	door below.	Fran:	STEPHEN!	The door starts to open. Light creeps in. The slow, lumbering	figure of the Zombie moves into the firestair. Choking back a	scream, Fran turns and runs up the stairs. The creature below	follows, unsure of itself in the dim light.346	At the top, Fran makes it into the storage area and slams the	door. For a moment, she just backs away in terror. Then she	gathers her wits and moves to drag the food cartons over as a	barricade. She struggles with one of the cartons. It is very	heavy and so large she cannot get a good grip. The smooth	cardboard slips in her hands.347	The Zombie has almost reached the middle landing.348	Roger looks down through a ceiling grid. He sees the interior of	a Sporting Goods Store. Along one wall is an arsenal of the	latest weaponry for the sportsman.349	Roger:	SWEET JESUS!	Peter:	I SEEN IT. COME ON!	The men are in a large ductwork which seems to run along the	entire length of the mall. They move as quietly as they can.	There are several side tunnels branching off in both directions.350	Steve passes another ceiling grid and looks down. He sees a	full equipped radio and electronics shop.	Roger:	I HOPE YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOIN', BUDDY.	Peter:	(who is leading)			THIS IS IT. COME ON.351	Fran struggles with the carton. She gets it against the door	finally and moves to haul another.352	The Zombie has reached the top landing and makes for the door.353	Before the woman can bring another carton over, she sees the	door move. She throws herself against it, but can't plant her	feet well because of the carton of the floor. The door moves an	inch at a time. The creature's hand reaches into the room. It	clutches at the edge of the door.354	Fran panics and runs back towards the escape pyramid, where she	turns and faces the door.355	The creature is straining against the weight of the carton. Now,	now both its hands clutch the door edge. The carton moves	another inch...and another. Now, the creature's head can be seen	as it strains to get through the widening space.356	Fran's eyes are wide, almost hypnotised. She looks for something	to use as a weapon. The room is bare but for the cartons and	water drums. She is about to opt for the skylight, when she	glimpses Roger's knap-sack in the shadows. She runs for it as	the creature finally breaks into the big room.357	The woman's hands tremble as she rummages through the cloth	sack. Nothing appropriate. She dumps the contents out:	ammunition, mace cans, batteries, flares...flares! She	nervously grabs one of the cylinders and her shaking hands try	to deal with the paper wrapping.358	The Zombie moans as it draws closer. It is approaching the	pyramid of cartons.359	Fran manages to free the wrapping, and snaps the cylinder in two	at the mark.360	Now the Zombie is between her and the pyramid, cutting off her	immediate route. It is very near. Fran backs away a few steps as	she tries to strike the flare head on the small striker on the	cylinder cap. It doesn't fire...she tries again...and again.	Now, the Zombie has reached the knap-sack. It kicks through the	items and knocks and rolls the other flares.	Fran's flare finally catches with a great whoosh, the bright	flame startling the woman as well as the Zombie. The creature's	eyes go wide and it brings its arms up to avoid the brightness.	The intense white flame casts an eerie light over the creature	and throws the Zombie's enormous shadow against the cartons and	wall. The creature backs away a few steps almost tripping over	the articles on the floor.	Fran manages to advance close enough to snatch two extra	cylinders and skirt around the Zombie in a wide arc. The	creature swats the air, keeping distance, but threatening.	Fran considers the firestair door, but decides on the pyramid.	She circles around to a point where she can climb up from	behind the moaning Zombie. She rushes for the cartons and	climbs, but loses her footing while trying to hold the flares	and crashes into the topmost carton. It starts to slide off	the pyramid and tumbles to the floor almost crashing into the	Zombie. The creature starts to clutch at the pyramid.	The stack of cartons is now too short and Fran can reach the	skylight but can't pull herself up. She accidentally drops	two flares, including the lit one. It tumbles to the floor	behind the pyramid where it no longer offends the Zombie's	eye's. Now the creature tries to climb to the woman.	Fran grabs the last flare in her mouth and reaches with both	hands for the skylight. She lifts with all her might and her	feet come off the cartons but she cannot pull herself up. As she	tries to lower her feet back to the cartons, the pyramid shakes	and wobbles from the Zombie. The creature is making progress;	its hands can almost touch Fran's foot.361	Peter drops out of a ceiling grid into a plush office. Roger's	legs appear through the grid and he too swings down, holding on	with his hands to soften his landing.	Suddenly, we are aware of a third person on the room in the	large chair at the desk. Roger startles and grabs his gun.	Peter just stares. They are in the President's office. Some	days earlier, the President, shot himself in the head.	Peter:	COME ON...	Steve struggles overhead.	Peter:	JUST DROP, I GOT YOU...		 	Steve:	I CAN'T...I...	Peter:	(to Roger)			THE DESK...GIMME A HAND.	The two Troopers grab the desk and slide it away from the	President's corpse. The action causes the chair to spin slightly	and his wide terrified eyes seem to watch the action.	The desk in place. Steve's toes can reach its surface. He loses	his balance slightly and pulls back up. He kicks a picture frame	off the desk onto the floor, shattering the glass over photos of	the President's wife and children.	Peter:	COME ON!	Steve finally gets footing on the desktop and lowers himself	down. He stares at the corpse as Roger helps him off the desk.362	Peter is already unlocking the door to the corridor. He opens it	a crack and peeks out.363	The corridor is empty. He sees the door at the end which leads	to the exterior corridor.364	As the other men come up behind, Peter opens the door quietly	and slips into the hall. He starts to walk quickly toward the	door to the exterior corridor. Roger follows as Stephen moves	backwards toward the fire stairs.365	Peter's hands grab the barrow and pulls the cart down the	corridor backwards so as to face the mall opening.366	In the corridor, Steve clutches the maintenance manual. Peter	backs slowly up the hall. The wheels squeak and the big man	bites his lip. Roger kicks the last corpse to the wall. Steve	notices that the fire stairs door is open wide.	Steve:	JESUS CHRIST!	He bounds towards the door. Roger spins to see what happened.	Peter turns and quickens his pace. Steve trots up the steps.	Roger:	(to Peter)			COME ON...YOU GOT IT.	Peter runs with the cart the last few yards. As he gets to the	doorway, Roger breaks up the steps.368	Steve breaks into the storage area...he drops the manual...	Steve:	FRANNIE!369	The woman turns in Steve's direction. The Zombie swats the	flare out of Fran's hand. She startles and the cartons feel as	though they will topple. She steadies herself with both hands.	The creature is grabbing at her legs. She kicks.370	Steve raises his rifle and moves in for a close shot.	Roger:	DON'T SHOOT...THEY'LL HEAR YA...	Roger arrives and the two men charge the pyramid.371	The creature is still clutching at Fran. She kicks violently as	Roger pulls the back of the Zombie's clothing. The Zombie falls	and hits the floor. As it kneels up, Steve swings the butt of	his rifle and smashes it into the thing's head. Then Roger	delivers a blow with his gun, straight down.372	Steve rushes to Fran. She falls off the cartons into his arms	sobbing and choking.	Steve:	FRANNIE...ARE YOU ALRIGHT?			YOU OK, FRANNIE? HEY...	The woman is incoherent. She is clutching at her stomach.373	Peter appears in the doorway carrying the TV and several other	items. He dumps them on the floor.	Peter:	LET'S GET THIS STUFF UP, COME ON.374	Roger is dragging the dead Zombie to the door. Peter comes to	help and Fran starts to wretch. Steve tries to calm her. He gets	some water in a can and brings it over.	Steve:	FRANNIE...IT'S OK...COME ON, IT'S OK...ARE YOU			HURT, HUN? DID YA HURT YOURSELF? FRANNIE...375	Downstairs, at the exterior corridor, Peter peeks out. He can	see the mall at the far end. The coast is clear. He and Roger	hurriedly carry the corpse into the hall and roll it onto the	floor and retreat back into the fire stairs. Peter holds open	the door slightly and watches the corridor for a moment.	Convinced they've not been seen, he closes the door.376	Peter:	I THINK WE'RE OK, BROTHER.	They grab more supplies from the barrow and start upstairs.377	Steve still tries to comfort Fran.	Steve:	WE'RE OK...WE'RE ALL OK...WE GOT A LOT			OF STUFF...ALL KINDS OF STUFF...	In the background the two Troopers bring their load of supplies	into the big room and deposit them near the TV. Then they go	downstairs for another load.	Steve:	THIS IS A TERRIFIC PLACE...FRANNIE. THIS PLACE			IS PERFECT. WE GOT IT MADE IN HERE...FRANNIE.	The woman still cannot stop sobbing and retching.378	Now, the enormous barricade of food cartons is stacked against	the door again. It is quiet except for the little noises of	eating and occasional rustle of paper. We also head a faint	electronic whistle, but we do not recognise it.	As we see more of the room, we find our refugees sitting near	the reconstructed pyramid on the floor. Peter seems to be asleep	up against the pyramid. Roger is nibbling at delicacies from the	Department Store's Gourmet department.	Their "loot" is laid around them on the floor. Roger, as he	eats, is leafing through the maintenance manual. There is a	stack of tools, some still in wrapping; electric razors, still	boxed; some clothing articles; the radio, which also plays small	cassettes. There are soaps, toiletries, pens, pencils, and	notebooks, flashlights, cigarettes and several decks of cards	with a canister of chips. The items are clearly not all	functional. Some are representative of the luxuries considered	necessary by a consumer society.	They are all bathed in the blue glow from the television which	Stephen tries to tune in. Its power cable is spliced into the	leads of a bare light fixture overhead. Fran cannot be seen at	first.	Roger:	WHAT THE HELL TIME IS IT, ANYWAY?	Steve:	ONLY ABOUT NINE.	Roger:	AND NOTHING? (referring to the TV)	On the screen we see the Civil Defence logo, and realise that	the high pitched electronic signal is coming from the TV set.	Steve:	AS LONG AS WE'RE GETTING THE PATTERN,			THAT MEANS THEY'RE SENDING.	Roger snaps on the large, battery powered radio. He rolls the	dial getting nothing but static. Finally, he hears a signal	and tunes it in. A badly modulated voice is droning through	the interference. It sounds like a war correspondent sending	a signal from very far away.	Radio:	...REPORTS THAT COMMUNICATIONS WITH DETROIT			HAVE BEEN KNOCKED OUT ALONG WITH ATLANTA,			BOSTON AND CERTAIN SECTIONS OF PHILADELPHIA			AND NEW YORK CITY...	Roger:	PHILLY...	Steve:	I KNOW J.A.S IS OUT BY NOW...IT WAS A MADHOUSE			BACK THERE...PEOPLE ARE CRAZY...IF THEY'D JUST			ORGANISE...IT'S TOTAL CONFUSION...I DON'T			BELIEVE IT'S GOTTEN THIS BAD. I DON'T BELIEVE			THEY CAN'T HANDLE IT. LOOK AT US. LOOT AT			WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO TODAY.379	Peter's eyes suddenly blink open. None of the rest of his body	moves, the others do not realise he is awake. The big man stares	at Stephen, who is getting emotionally excited about their	exploits as a team.	Steve:	WE KNOCKED THE SHIT OUT OF 'EM AND THEY			NEVER TOUCHED US...NOT REALLY.	Peter:	THEY TOUCHED US GOOD, FLYBOY. WE'RE LUCKY			TO GET OUT WITH OUR ASSES. YOU DON'T FORGET THAT!380	The other men look at Peter. The radio drones on with more	disaster reports.	Peter:	 YOU GET OVERCONFIDENT...UNDERESTIMATE THOSE		    SUCKERS...AND YOU GET EATEN! HOW YOU LIKE THAT?	Peter speaks in a low, unemotional tone. Stephen is transfixed.	Peter:	 THEY GOT A BIG ADVANTAGE OVER US BROTHER.		    THEY DON'T THINK. THEY JUST BLIND-ASS DO WHAT		    THEY GOT TO DO. NO EMOTIONS. AND THAT BUNCH		    OUT THERE? THAT'S JUST A HANDFUL AND EVERY		    DAY THERE'LL BE MORE.		    A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE DIE EACH DAY		    FROM NATURAL CAUSES. THAT PROB'LY TRIPLES OR		    BETTER WITH FOLK KNOCKIN' EACH OTHER OFF THE		    WAY IT'S GOIN'.		    NOW SAY EACH ONE OF THEM COMES BACK AND KILLS		    TWO, AND EACH ONE OF THEM TWO MORE...		    YOU KNOW ABOUT THE EMPEROR'S REWARD?	 381	We see Fran's face. She is listening. There is no answer	audible. A tear rolls down the woman's cheek. The radio drones.	After a time, Steve appears. He is surprised to find the woman	awake. She sits on a new blanket from the store. Another is	rolled up as a pillow. She wipes away her tears with her	cigarette still in her hand.	Steve:	HEY...YOU OK?	The man kneels next to her, not knowing what to say. Stephen	sits down next to her and puts his hands on her shoulders.	Fran:	SO I GUESS WE FORGET ABOUT CANADA, RIGHT?	Steve:	(taking her in his arms)			JESUS, FRANNIE, THIS SET UP IS SENSATIONAL.			WE GOT EVERYTHING WE NEED. WE SEAL OFF THAT			STAIRWAY...NOBODY'LL EVER KNOW WE'RE UP HERE.			WE'D NEVER FIND ANYTHING LIKE THIS...	Fran:	I GUESS NOBODY CARES ABOUT MY VOTE, HUH?	Steve:	COME ON, FRANNIE, YOU WERE SLEEPING.	Fran:	WHAT HAPPENED TO GROWING VEGETABLES AND FISHING?			WHAT HAPPENED TO THE IDEA ABOUT THE WILDERNESS...			HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM ANYTHING AND ANYBODY...			STEVE, I'M AFRAID. YOU'RE HYPNOTISED BY THIS			PLACE. ALL OF YOU. IT'S ALL SO BRIGHT AND NEATLY			WRAPPED THAT YOU DON'T SEE...YOU DON'T SEE THAT IT			CAN BE A PRISON.	She leans in to him, making a final plea.	Fran:	STEPHEN, LET'S JUST TAKE WHAT WE NEED AND KEEP			GOING.	Steve:	WE CAN'T HARDLY CARRY ANYTHING IN THAT LITTLE BIRD.	Fran:	(angry)			WHAY DO YOU WANT? A NEW SET OF FURNITURE? A			FREEZER? A CONSOLE TV AND A STEREO? WE CAN TAKE			WHAT WE NEED. WHAT WE NEED TO SURVIVE.382	Cut to a close up of Peter's face. His eyes pop open.	Peter:	SHUT THAT THING OFF!	Roger clicks off the radio. They listen. They hear slight sounds	coming from the fire stairs. The end of the room with the	barricade of cartons looks surreal in the blue glow of the TV	screen which still shines.	Roger crawls over and clicks the TV off as well. The electronic	whistle slowly dies. Silence.	Steve steps out from behind the wall of cartons. Fran peers	around the corner to look, but she still sits on the floor.	Another noise. The faint squeaking of the door to the bottom of	the steps. Then footsteps on the metal stairs. Slow...	lumbering.	The faces of the humans all tighten. Peter and Roger pull their	rifles. Roger makes his ready.	Some thumping in the hall. Steve squats down and holds Fran.	The sounds are closer now. The door behind the cartons clicks	but does not move. More pounding...then silence.	After a time, the footsteps recede down the stairs.	Peter:	SOMEBODY BETTER SIT WATCH ALL THE TIME.	Roger:	THEY'LL NEVER GET THROUGH THERE.	Peter:	ENOUGH OF 'EM WILL. AND IT AIN'T JUST THEM THINGS			WE GOT TO WORRY ABOUT. THAT CHOPPER UP THERE COULD			GIVE US AWAY IF SOMEBODY COMES MESS' AROUND.	Roger:	WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO? LAND ANOTHER PILOT TO FLY			IT OUT. THEY'RE NOT GONNA MESS WITH A LITTLE BIRD			LIKE THAT. THEY GOT ENOUGH ON THEIR HANDS. YOU			KNOW BACK IN PHILLY WE FOUND A BOAT IN THE MIDDLE			OF INDEPENDENCE SQUARE. SOMEBODY TRYIN' TO CARRY			IT TO THE RIVER, I GUESS. DIDN'T MAKE IT. DAMN			THING SAT THERE FOR EIGHT DAYS.	Peter:	SOMEBODY FINALLY GOT IT, THOUGH. IT COMES DOWN TO			HOW MUCH ITS WORTH.383	Fran ducks back onto her blanket. She disgustedly lights another	cigarette. Steve sits next to her again.	Steve:	FRANNIE...	She doesn't respond.	Steve:	DAMMIT, FRAN, YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES WE'D			HAVE TO LAND FOR FUEL TRYIN' TO MAKE IT UP NORTH?			THOSE THINGS ARE OUT THERE EVERYWHERE. AND THE			AUTHORITIES WOULD GIVE US JUST AS HARD A TIME...			MAYBE WORSE... WE'RE IN GOOD SHAPE HERE, FRANNIE.			WE GOT EVERYTHING WE NEED RIGHT HERE!	Stephen curls up with his head on the rolled blanket.	Steve:	COME ON...GET SOME SLEEP.	The woman doesn't move.	Steve:	FRANNIE. COME ON.	She grinds her cigarette out on the concrete floor and stretches	out next to the man. He puts his arm around her. His hands rub	up and down her body as he curls next to her. He opens her	blouse and reaches inside. He closes his eyes and he seems	perfectly comfortable to rest in her softness. His hand moves	under her clothing. She doesn't respond, at first, then her body	relaxes somewhat and she brings one of her arms up around his	head.	Steve:	I'M NOT JUST BEING STUBBORN. I REALLY THINK THIS			IS BETTER. HELL. YOU'RE THE ONE'S BEEN WANTIN' TO			SET UP HOUSE.	She stares off across the barren room. His hands continues to	move under her blouse.384	In the Administration Corridor, a few stray Zombies wander among	the corpses on the floor. One large and severely wounded	creature pounds on the door to the interior corridor. It had	been the one which was pounding at the door upstairs.	A female Zombie squats near one of the corpses in the hall. She	lifts its arm and moves it to her mouth, but she drops it	quickly, repelled by its coldness. She leans over and picks at	another corpse, then she stands and drifts towards the mall.	Slowly the creatures leaves the corridor and move out onto the	second floor balcony. We begin to hear a voice fading in over	the scene.	Voice:	...NOT ACTUALLY CANNIBALISM...CANNIBALISM IN THE			TRUE SENSE OF THE WORD, IMPLIES AN INTRASPECIE			ACTIVITY... THESE CREATURES CANNOT BE CONSIDERED			HUMAN..THEY PREY ON HUMANS...THEY DO NOT PREY ON			EACH OTHER.385	We see the mall balcony now. Zombies wander past the stores.	Some move down the stationary stairs onto the main concourse.	Below.	Voice:	THEY ATTACK AND...AND FEED...ONLY ON WARM HUMAN			FLESH...386	At the mall entrances, some creatures drift out into the night.	Others still enter the enormous building. There are not as many	as there were in the afternoon, but there are certainly enough	to be threatening.	Voice:	INTELLIGENCE? SEEMINGLY LITTLE OR NO REASONING			POWER. WHAT BASIC SKILLS REMAIN ARE MORE			REMEMBERED BEHAVIOURS FROM...FROM NORMAL LIFE.387	Several creatures are clawing at the roll gate to the department	store. It is a strange and eerie sight. The staring, painted	eyes of the mannequins within the store seem to watch the	Zombies. The gate rattles but does not budge.	Voice:	THERE ARE REPORTS OF THE CREATURES USING TOOLS,			BUT EVEN THESE ACTIONS ARE THE MOST PRIMITIVE...			THE USE OF EXTERNAL ARTICLES AS BLUDGEONS ETC.,			EVEN ANIMALS WILL ADOPT THE BASIC USE OF TOOLS IN			THIS MANNER.388	Fran's eyes pop open the voice has awakened her. She has been	asleep on the blanket.	Voice:	THESE CREATURES ARE NOTHING BUT PURE, MOTORISED			INSTINCT...	The woman looks around. Morning sunlight is spilling in through	the skylights above. She sits up and peers into the next area of	the room. The men are gone. The television is playing. On the	tube we see a dishevelled man sitting in an emergency news room	reading the report.389	Voice:	THEIR ONLY DRIVE IS FOR THE FOOD WHICH SUSTAINS			THEM. WE MUST NOT BE LULLED BY THE CONCEPT			THAT THESE ARE OUR FAMILY MEMBERS OR OUR FRIENDS.			THEY WILL NOT RESPOND TO SUCH EMOTIONS. THEY			MUST BE DESTROYED ON SIGHT....390	Fran sees that the barricade of cartons is still in place at	the fire stairs door. She looks up. The skylight above the	pyramid is open. She realises that the men are on the roof.391	At the edge of the roof, Peter looks through binoculars.392	About a quarter of a mile away, he sees the large warehouse of	a food processing chain. IN the yard and in the large open	garages of the building, he sees a fleet on enormous trailer-	trucks parked.393	Steve:	YOU SURE WE CAN START 'EM.	Roger:	YOU HAVEN'T SPENT ENOUGH TIME ON THE STREET.	Peter:	WELL LET'S GET IT UP. THERE'S NOT TOO MANY			OF 'EM AROUND YET THIS MORNIN'.	The big trooper looks down to the parking lot below.394	There are not as many Zombies as there were the day before, and	they wander aimlessly, spread out rather than in clusters.395	The men move for the skylight.396	In the storage area below, Fran is examining the maps in the	manual. The TV still drones in a low volume. The men climb	down into the room.	Roger:	HEY, FRAN...	Fran:	I WOULD HAVE MADE COFFEE AND BREAKFAST, BUT I			DON'T HAVE MY POTS AND PANS.	There is a bitterness in her voice. Roger laughs. Steve senses	the tension. Peter just straps on his equipment.	Fran:	CAN I SAY SOMETHING?	Steve:	SURE. WHAT DP YOU MEAN?	Fran:	I'M SORRY YOU FOUND OUT I'M PREGNANT, BECAUSE I			DON'T WANT ANY OF YOU TO TREAT ME DIFFERENTLY			THAN YOU'D TREAT ANOTHER GUY.	Steve:	HEY, FRANNIE, COME ON...	Fran:	AND,...I'M NOT GONNA BE DEN MOTHER FOR YOU GUYS.	They all look at her, attentive now.	Fran:	AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. AND I			WANT SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THE PLANS. THERE'S			FOUR OF US, OK?	Steve:	JESUS, FRAN...	Peter:	FAIR ENOUGH!	Fran:	NOW. WHAT'S GOIN' ON?	Peter:	WE'RE GOIN' OUT.	Fran starts to say something, but this time Peter cuts her off.	Peter:	...AND YOU ARE NOT COMING WITH US!	Again the woman starts to protest, but Peter continues.	Peter:	AND YOU WILL NOT COME WITH US UNTIL YOU CAN			HANDLE YOURSELF. THAT MEANS LEARN TO SHOOT AND			LEARN TO FIGHT.	The big man starts back up the pyramid. Roger moves to	follow him.	Fran:	SOMETHING ELSE.	The men look at her. She faces Roger and Peter directly without	looking at Stephen.	Fran:	I DON'T KNOW ANOUT YOU TWO, BUT I WANNA LEARN			HOW TO FLY THAT HELICOPTER.	Stephen is shocked. Fran looks at him and lowers her eyes.	Fran:	IF ANYTHING HAPPENS...WE'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO GET			OUT OF HERE.	Stephen doesn't know what to say. He looks at the woman,	then up at the other men.	Peter:	SHE'S RIGHT, FLYBOY. COME ON, LET'S GO.	Fran:	AND YOU'RE NOT LEAVING ME WITHOUT A GUN AGAIN.	Stephen thinks about protesting but he complies by slowly	setting his rifle down on the cartons. Then he fishes in his	pocket for a fistful of shells and dumps them next to the gun.	He stares at the woman angry and hurt.	Fran picks up the weapon and shoots a glance up at Peter. 				Fran:	I JUST MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE			IT.	Peter and Roger disappear through the skylight. Stephen stands	still. He looks down at the floor. Fran moves close to his side.	Fran:	I'M SORRY, STEPHEN. (it is not an apology)	Steve:	I KNOW...I KNOW...IT'S ALRIGHT!	He starts up to the skylight.	Fran:	STEPHEN	Steve:	YEAH.	He stops and turns to look at her. Her eyes are pleading for	understanding, but he is incapable of it at the moment. Fran	just shrugs off whatever she was going to say, and she sighs	with exasperation.	Fran:	BE CAREFUL.	Steve:	YEAH, WE'LL BE ALRIGHT.	He disappears through the skylight. Fran stares down at the	weapon in her hands, then she steps over and clicks off the	television.397	The sudden, loud noise of the chopper engine as it hovers.	Only Stephen is on board at the controls.398	In the cab of one of the big trailer trucks Roger is crouching	working on the wiring beneath the dashboard.399	Peter sits on the cab of another truck. He tries the	complicated shift mechanism and fidgets with the other controls.	Then he pulls out. He stops the big vehicle with his cab just	abreast of the cab Roger is working in.	Peter:	HOW ABOUT IT?	Roger:	GETTIN' IT.400	Peter looks around. The mall can be seen in the distance. On the	ground between, there are a few Zombies scattered about in	little clusters. None of them present any immanent danger.401	Roger sits up and is able to start his truck.	Peter:	I'LL JUST RIDE PICK UP, I'M NOT TOO SURE OF			THIS THING...	Roger:	I GREW UP ON ONE OF THESE, LET'S GO.402	The great trucks lumber away from the warehouse. They pull	across the little loading lot and out a ramp toward the	roadway. Stephen hovers overhead in the chopper, following	the trucks as closely as he can.403	On the roof of the mall, Fran clutches her rifle. She sees the	big trucks roar up over the hill, the helicopter just above	them. It is a strange looking convoy as it speeds toward the	trucks as closely as it can.404	Along the road, several Zombies try to stagger after the trucks	but they are left in the dust of the speeding vehicles. The	creatures lumber along slowly behind.405	The vehicles pull into the little grade which loads into the	mall's parking lot. They roar right toward the building.406	At one of the building entrances, a cluster of Zombies is	moving in and lot of the main doors. Others wander nearby in the	parking lot. Attracted by the sounds of the engines, the	creatures turn and face the trucks.	As Peter pulls his vehicle in a wide arc, Roger drives his right	up to the side of the building and roars toward the entrance	doors. Then he skips his right wheels up onto the curb, and with	a great, scraping crunch, the big truck pulls directly abreast	of the building, flush with the entrance. The huge vehicle	crushes several of the helpless creatures and knocks other	flying back.407	The trailer of the truck has totally blocked off the mall	entrance. Several Zombies trapped inside try to push the glass	doors open. The doors move, but cannot be opened wide enough	for the creatures to get out.408	The few creatures immediately around the truck begin clambering	at its sides. Roger shuts off the engine and grabs his gun as	other Zombies begin clutching at the windows of the cab.409	Overhead, the whirlybird hovers very close by. Now Peter's big	truck pulls up alongside so that Peter's passenger door is	directly abreast of the free door on Roger's cab.	Peter's truck also crushes one or two of the creatures, but	there are still several in the immediate vicinity of the cab.410	As Roger opens his door and scrambles into the other truck, one	of the Zombies grabs hold. Roger just manages to kick the	creature off as the big truck pulls out and roars across the	lot.411	The helicopter flies straight up and directly over the roof of	the big shopping centre, where Fran has been watching the	action. She now runs to the other side of the roof, the wind	from the chopper whipping her hair.412	The chopper turns and waits for the big truck to move up under	it, then the whirlybird escorts the trailer back to the warehouse	down the road.413	Roger is whooping and hollering like a cowboy as the big rig	pulls up beside another of the parked vans.	Peter:	COME ON, COME ON... THREE MORE BABY.	Roger:	LIKE A CHARM, HUH? LIKE A FUCKING CHARM!	Roger grabs his knapsack and climbs into the new cab where he	immediately goes to work on jumping the engine cables.414	From the helicopter overhead, Stephen spots something moving	around the warehouse. He jockeys the chopper slightly for a	better look and he sees a small group of Zombies wandering out	of the big garage directly toward Roger's truck.415	In the meantime, Peter's truck pulls away from the cab Roger is	in. The big vehicle rolls into the large paved area behind the	warehouse where Peter can turn it around easily.416	Stephen swoops down with the big bird. He buzzes as close as he	can to Roger's truck, trying to signal the man.417	Roger continues to work on the cables, still whooping like a	child. The Zombies are very close at hand. They have just	about reached the cab. Stephen buzzes again. Roger doesn't	notice.418	Peter has now backed up into a position which enables him to	pull out. He looks up to see the helicopter heading straight	for him.419	The big chopper buzzes right over Peter's cab then spins around	heading back for Roger.420	Peter looks toward the other truck. He can now see the lumbering	creatures. He tries to slam the truck into gear, but the	complicated shift mechanism fights him.421	One Zombie slams its hands against the driver-side window of	Roger's truck. The man startles and tries to untangle himself	from his cramped position under the big steering wheel. He is	stuck for a moment. The other creatures appear at the passenger	side of the cab, where the door is open. One grabs at Roger's	legs. Roger kicks violently, but can't get a good position. He	falls lower onto the floor of the cab, his body almost knotted	among the controls and the shift sticks.422	Peter's truck starts to roll, but it accelerates slowly.423	The helicopter tries to buzz the clutching ghouls, but they do	not even flinch. The wind from the propeller blades whip at the	creatures' hair, making them look even more frightening as they	claw at the desperate Roger.424	The man kicks and kicks, but he cannot deliver a solid blow from	his pinned position. His hand gropes on the seat of the truck	for his rifle, which suddenly fires as the man's fingers	inadvertently hit the trigger. A shell blasts through the chest	of the lead creature, but the thing pays little attention.425	Peter's truck is starting to roll faster. He heads right for	Roger's cab.426	The helicopter hovers as Stephen tries to see the action.427	Now Roger has a good grip on his gun, but he cannot clear the	long weapon from around the gear sticks. The lead Zombie is	actually scrambling into the cab and is all but on top of the	struggling Trooper.428	The second creature is about to claw its way in when, with a	great roar, Peter's truck swings up and crushes it.429	Roger is desperately trying to keep the other Zombie's mouth	away. They are wrestling now. The Zombie is weak, as usual, but	Roger is still hampered by the position he is in.430	Peter has pulled too far past the other truck. He slams his rig	into reverse and backs up. Now his window is in a direct line	with the open door on Roger's cab. He raises his rifle and aims,	but he cannot get a clear shot. He shouts loudly trying to	overcome the noise of the truck engine and the hovering	helicopter.	Peter:	GET ITS HEAD UP...GET ITS HEAD UP...431	Roger realises that Peter is outside. He struggles with the	creature, dropping his gun. His hands manage to get a	stranglehold on the creature's neck. He pushes up with all his	might. The Zombie's hands are clutching at the man's face. It's	fingers push at the man's eyes.432	Peter sees the opportunity and fires. The gun roars loudly.433	The Zombie's head flies apart. Remnants of blood and brain	tissue splatter the inside of the cab and the driver's window.	The gummy stuff flies into Roger's face. The Zombie falls limp,	but Roger is still desperate. The dead weight of the creature is	now on top of him, and the bloody wound runs. Roger is frantic.	He frees himself with great heaves of his body and he pushes the	creature out of the cab. The man's eyes are wide with revulsion.	He instantly brings up his sleeve to wipe the stains from his	face. He is quivering in extremes of emotions.	A sudden crash. Roger spins. The Zombie at the driver door has	smashed through the cab window with a brick. Roger, still	shaking, dives down to the floor for his weapon.434	Peter tries to level off a shot but he cannot because Roger is	in the way...	Peter:	GET DOWN...STAY DOWN...I GOT IT!435	Roger, in his adrenalised anger, sits up with his gun and levels	off on the creature himself. He fires. The shell crashes through	the already shattered glass and squarely into the creatures	head.	Roger:	YOU BASTARDS...YOU BASTARDS...		It seems as though his mind is snapping. His voice quivers as	does his body.	Roger:	WE GOT 'EM, BUDDY...WE GOT 'EM DIDN'T WE!436	Peter:	COOL IT, MAN...GET YOUR HEAD...437	Roger:	WE GOT THIS BY THE ASS...GOT THIS BY THE ASS!	Roger is screaming. He dives down to work on the jumping again.438	Peter:	HEY, ROG...GET YOUR HEAD MAN...COME ON...			WE GOT A LOT TO DO...ROGER...439	There is no response from the other truck. Peter is about to	open his door and step out when suddenly Roger sits up again.	The engine of the truck roars. He seems to have calmed down	some. He looks across at Peter.	Roger:	LET'S GO BABY...NUMBER TWO...	Peter:	YOU ALRIGHT?	Roger:	PERFECT, BABY...PERFECT!	Roger guns the engine on his truck. The big vehicle lumbers out	of the area. Peter follows suit.440	The two Semis rumble out of the warehouse lot and start down the	grade toward the road. The helicopter escorts them.441	A few Zombies are walking up the road slowly.442	Roger's eyes get wider with anger. He steers his big rig right	for the creatures.443	The front of the cab smashes into two of them. One is crushed	under the wheels, the other flies back from the impact.444	Fran watches with anxiety. She sees the two trucks pull up over	the rise with the helicopter following. We hear spirited music	as the convoy approaches the mall building.445	The two trucks roar around the entrance ramps into the parking	lot and again, the chopper zooms right over the roof.446	Fran trots across the roof to see the action in the lot.447	the trucks rumble toward the second set of doors. The music	continues through the entire action.448	Roger steers his giant vehicle directly broadside to the doors.	The cab knocks over several creatures and scrapes the building	as the trailer blocks off the entrance. This time there are	still creatures alive in the immediate area. They clutch at the	cab of the truck and leap at the doors.449	Fran, watching from directly above, seems inspired, caught up in	the bravery of the moment. As she sees the creatures converging	on the truck, she aims her rifle at them. Before she fires,	Peter's rig slides next to Roger's, cabs abreast.450	Peter's truck knocks over several of the clutching creatures.	One Zombie, caught directly under the front wheels, is still	alive and clutching at the air. Several creatures jump at	Peter's driver side window.451	Roger, grabbing his gun, moves to leave his truck on Peter's	side, but the trucks are too close. His door won't open	enough to get out. He rolls down his window. Peter has noticed	Roger's door won't open, and the Trooper fumbles with the gear	shift in order to pull away, but he hears Roger shouting:	Roger:	THE WINDOWS...OPEN YOUR WINDOW...YOUR WINDOW...	Peter dives across the cab and rolls down the passenger window.	Roger leans out his open window, trying to get his weapon into	firing position. One or two Zombies are squeezing through the	narrow space between the truck. They are just about to reach	Roger when he fires, killing the lead ghoul. More Zombies move	around Roger's cab, moments away from him.452	The helicopter buzzes the area as Stephen watches the Zombies	converge on the cab.453	Fran, her hair blowing front he chopper, tries to aim her rifle	into the pack of creatures. Her hair covers her eyes and she	brushes it away with irritation.	Fran:	ROGER...IN FRONT, ROGER...IN FRONT, ROGER...	She shouts over the engine noises, getting very excited.454	Roger fires again and again down the narrow space between the	rigs. Another Zombie falls.	Peter:	FOR CHRISSAKE COME ON!	Roger is still emotionally crazed. He leans out of his window in	a very vulnerable position. He is whooping like a child again as	he tries to level off another shot.	Suddenly, he's grabbed from behind by a Zombie and almost falls	out the window. He struggles to hold himself and keep a grip on	his gun. Peter leans over, trying to get a shot at the creature,	but can't get a clean sight. Roger grabs the window frames on	Peter's door and tries to pull himself up. Another creature	grabs him from behind.455	Fran watches with emotion in her eyes.	Fran:	MONSTERS! MONSTERS!	She fires her gun.456	The bullet slams into the pavement kicking up a cloud of smoke.	It narrowly misses a creature. Fran fires again. Her shot tears	into the shoulder of the Zombie, but it doesn't stop him.457	The chopper zooms very close. Peter still cannot aim his rifle,	but Roger, using both hands, brings his gun butt in an uppercut.	It slams against a creature which is grabbing him and drives the	thing staggering back. Then with a desperate driving motion, 	Roger climbs through the window of Peter's cab.458	Peter pulls the big rig away even while Roger's legs still kick	out the window. The Zombies grab at Roger's ankles, and one	manages to hold on as the truck starts to move.459	Fran fires again and again.460	This shot rips into the Zombie holding Roger's leg. It lets go	and falls, rolling across the pavement. The woman fires again,	hitting the pavement. The creature struggles to its knees. She	fires again and hits the creature's neck. Again.	Shoulder. Again...head. The Zombie sprawls on the pavement. Fran	is exultant, she aims and fires at another creature.461	The helicopter passes overhead. The music is still stirring.462	In Peter's truck, just rolling out the lot, Roger realises:	Roger:	JESUS!	Peter:	WHAT?	Roger:	MY GODDAM BAG...I LEFT MY GODDAM BAG IN THE			OTHER TRUCK.	Peter brings his vehicle to a screeching halt.	Peter:	ALRIGHT, NOW YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU			BETTER SCREW YOUR FUCKIN' HEAD ON, BABY!	Roger:	YEAH, YEAH...I'M O.K. LET'S GO.	Suddenly, Peter grabs the Trooper by his lapels and slams	him back against the door of the cab.	Peter:	I MEAN IT! NOW YOU'RE NOT JUST PLAYIN' WITH			YOUR LIFE, YOUR PLAYIN' WITH MINE!	The two men stare at each other for a moment. Roger is startled	somewhat out of his emotional rush.	Peter:	(softer)			ALRIGHT, NOW ARE YOU STRAIGHT?	Roger:	YEAH.	Peter lets him go and returns to the wheel. He guns the engine	and roars into a big arcing turn in the parking lot.463	When Fran sees the truck returning, she looks up from her gun	sight. The helicopter has already flown over the roof, and	Stephen is confused as to why the truck hadn't appeared on the	road. Fran turns and tries to signal to Stephen.464	He finally sees her and flies closer. The woman waves a signal	and the chopper buzzes back over the lot.465	Her hair blowing wildly, Fran takes up her post again, her rifle	ready. She thinks a moment, then begins to reload the weapon	pulling the shells from her blouse pocket.466	Peter's truck zooms back into position, colliding with some of	Zombies in the vicinity.467	Roger immediately climbs through the windows into the original	cab. He snatches up his knapsack and several tools which are	strewn over the seat and floor.	Again, creatures converge on the cab area. Two more come up	between the trucks, several come around the front of the cab.468	Fran is still loading.469	The helicopter buzzes.470	As Roger climbs back through the window, his pack accidentally	falls to the ground. With reflex action, he drops between the	cabs, landing on his feet. He is facing the two creatures	which are very close. He reaches up and with on hand on each of	the open window frames, he swings his legs up hard. His kick	sends the creatures sprawling. Then, he bends to collect his	pack and is grabbed from behind.471	Peter tries to level off his gun but he cannot get a shot.472	Neither can Fran who is shouting from the roof.473	Roger keeps his head this time. His first thought is for the	pack of tools. He tosses the sack into the cab of Peter's truck	as though he were making a hook shot with a basketball.474	Peter catches the pack as several of the tools clatter out and	onto the floor of the cab.475	The creature which has a hold on Roger takes advantage of the	man's imbalance from throwing the knapsack. It bites at the	man's arm. Roger tears away, but blood appears at the wound.	Then Roger squares off a solid punch right to the Zombie's jaw.	The creature flies back and almost knocks over the Zombies	behind it. Roger jumps, making a grab for the window of Peter's	cab. The Zombies between the trucks, which Roger originally	kicked away, have regrouped. They advance and grab at the	struggling trooper. Roger's feet try to get hold on the side of	the door, but they slip.476	Peter moves to drop his rifle and grab Roger's hands, but Roger	falls from the high window back to the pavement. Peter draws his	hand gun.477	Roger leaps again, his hands catching the window frame. The	Zombies are clutching at him. Again he swings up his legs and	kicks the creatures off balance. This time he manages to get his	feet locked against the door and Peter grabs the Troopers arm	with his free hand, but another Zombie is pulling at the man's	shirt and still another makes a grab for his legs.	Peter reaches out with his pistol and fires a point blank shot	at one of the clutching ghouls. It flies back and Roger is able	to pull himself higher. His torso is just about through the	window when another creature grabs him.478	Peter can no longer get a shot as Roger fills the window, so the	big man drops his pistol and pulls Roger's arm with all his	might.	479	Roger is almost all the way in but his legs still dangle,	kicking. Peter starts the truck. As it begins to roll away, one	of the clutching Zombies is able to get a solid hold on Roger's	left leg. The creature opens its mouth and bites at the calf.	Blood appears. The creature bites again and this time it comes	away with bits of flesh tangled in a bloodstained strip op	material from Roger's trousers.480	Roger screams in pain and kicks violently. The truck	accelerates and the Zombie finally falls clear.481	It rolls on the pavement for a little way before it stops.	Then it sits on the ground, looking like a gorilla. It still	has a bloody mass of flesh and material in its mouth. With its	hands it tries to separate the cloth from the more important	morsels.	A bullet pings into the cement near the chewing Zombie. Another	tears through its shoulder. It still is concerned only with its	prize.482	Fran is firing, swearing through her teeth as the gun roars.	She finally hits the seated creature squarely in the head.483	We see it fall from her point of view on the roof. Others walk	by the corpse without taking notice.484	The helicopter escorts the big truck back to the warehouse.485	As it rumbles along, Roger, in extreme pain, is tying his belt	tightly around his leg as a tourniquet. He sucks air through his	teeth in anguish.	Peter:	THAT'S IT.	Roger:	BULL SHIT.	Peter:	WE GOTTA DEAL WITH THAT LEG!	Roger:	I'M DEALIN' WITH IT...I'M DEALIN' WITH IT FINE!			I WON'T BE ABLE TO WALK ON THIS AT ALL IF WE WAIT.	Peter:	CAN YOU WALK ON IT NOW?	Roger:	YOUR DAMN RIGHT, I CAN...DAMN RIGHT, I CAN!	The wounded trooper struggles to wrap the bloody part of his leg	with a torn off piece of trouser. He can hardly keep from	screaming, and his words come out sharply and with great breaths	between them. 	Roger:	I STOP MOVIN' THIS LEG...MAY NOT EVER GET IT GOIN'			AGAIN...THERE'S A LOT TO GET DONE BEFORE...BEFORE			YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE ME...	The big Black man stares at his friend for a moment. Then he	drives on to the warehouse escorted by the chopper.486	There is now a huge trailer truck at each of the four main	entrances to the mall. They are very close to the doors, if not	completely flush. Some of the glass portals can be opened not	slightly, but not enough for the Zombies inside to pass through.487	In the parking lot, the creatures mob around the trucks,	frustrated that they cannot pass into the building. They clutch	and claw at the enormous vehicles but to no avail. Some try to	climb up onto the cabs. Others try to claw at the doors on the	trailers.488	Some creatures are crawling under the rigs: When they reach the	mall doors they cannot stand, so they have no leverage. The	creatures inside are pushing the doors out, so the Zombies under	the trucks cannot push them in. The doors swing both in and out,	so it is very clear that some access could be had by the	creatures if they were more organised.	One creature, having crawled under a trailer, does manage to	push open a mall door. The thing crawls into the building	through the legs of other ghouls which are trying to exit. They	behave as a swarm of insects.	The revolving door offers the best access for the creatures,	although its inherent complexity is baffling to their empty	brains. Two creatures do manage to crawl under the truck which	blocks the revolving door, and one of them negotiates the	rotating action and enters the concourse.489	Peter and Stephen are huddled over the maps of the building.	They are back in the crawl space. The cartons are still piled	against the firestair entrance.	Peter:	IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW MANY OF THEM ARE STILL			INSIDE. THAT'S A LONG HAUL BETWEEN THOSE ENTRANCES.	Steve:	WELL IF WE CAN GET SOME MORE FLARES...OR MAYBE			SOME OF THOSE PROPANE JOBS.	Peter:	THE GUNS ARE FIRST. GUNS AND AMMUNITION.490	Roger moans with pain. Nearby, Fran is applying a dressing to	his leg. The wound is wrapped with several layers of cloth. The	first aid kit is open on the floor. Peter crouches near his	friend. He takes over from Fran. He ties more strips tightly	around the wound and around the upper thigh.	Peter:	YOU SURE YOU GONNA MAKE IT, BUDDY?	Roger:	JUST HURRY UP WITH THAT!491	Again, the military music. A tall figure drops out of a ceiling	grid and lands on the floor of the Sporting Goods Store. It is	Peter. His rifle is slung and there is an empty pack on his	back. Several of the Maintenance Room key rings are strapped	into his belt.492	Suddenly a Zombie charges across the room. The gate to the mall	balcony is open on this store. Another creature, attracted by	the commotion, starts through the open entrance arch.493	Stephen is starting down through the ceiling grid. He also has	equipment strapped onto his body. He sees the charging creature.	Peter is trying to unsling his rifle. Stephen conquers his fear	of the height, and lets himself fall to the floor. He crumples	up when he hits, and rolls into a store exhibit, knocking things	flying.	Peter manages to level off his gun and shoots the rushing	creature. Stephen regains his footing. The second creature is	moving up the aisle. Stephen grabs a powerful crossbow from a	nearby exhibit. It is loaded. It fires with a strumming sound	and the small shaft rips cleanly through the creature's skull	and imbeds itself in a wall beyond. The Zombie walks forward a	few steps before it falls. 494	The men run toward the entrance arch. Leaping up on an adjacent	counter top, Peter manages to reach the lip of the roll gate and	he swings it down fast. Stephen catches the cage below and slams	it into place just as another ghoul falls against it moaning and	clawing.	Stephen unslings his gun and is about to level it off on the	creature outside. Peter jumps down from the counter.	Peter:	DON'T TRY TO SHOOT THROUGH THOSE GATES.			OPENINGS ARE TOO SMALL. BULLET'LL WIND UP			CHASIN' US AROUND IN HERE.	The Zombie crashes all its might against the metal cage.	Stephen startles.	Peter:	HE CAN'T GET THROUGH...COME ON...495	The men crash back through the store and Peter moves right to	the racks of weapons. He pulls down a gorgeous high powered	rifle which is equipped with a sophisticated scope for sighting.	Peter:	AIN'T IT A CRIME!	Steve:	WHAT?	Peter:	(looking through the telescope)			THE ONLY PERSON WHO COULD EVER MISS WITH THIS			GUN...IS THE SUCKER WITH THE BREAD TO BUY IT.496	The cross hairs of the telescope zero in on the enlarged	forehead of the Zombie, which is thrashing against the roll	gates. The sight gives up a sense of the super-weapon's lethal	accuracy.497	Stephen dives into the ammunition and moves behind the counter	where he pulls out boxes of shiny new hand guns.	Peter finds elaborate holsters and ammunition belts. He pulls	several other rifles from the rack. We recognise the firepower	in the arsenal that the two men accumulate.498	Other Zombies appear at the gate, but they cannot break in.499	Peter:	(at the creatures)			YOU JUST WAIT OUT THERE, SISSIES...			WE COMIN'...AND WE READY!500	With a swell in the music, the band of all four humans charges	out of the Maintenance corridor and makes a break for the	Department Store. They all wear new double holsters containing	hand guns. Each has a rifle strapped over his shoulder and	another in hand. They wear ammo belts and carry packs with	other supplies. The wounded Roger is sitting in the big	gardening cart which Peter earlier used to carry the first	supply load out of the store. Peter runs, pushing the cart	before him.	There are only a few creatures on the balcony. The dead things	turn in confusion at the sound of the attacking commandos.	Roger, his hands free to shoot, fires his weapon several times	at some of the creatures who are closest.501	The creatures from the main concourse below begin to move up	the stationary staircase and struggle with the escalators.	The corpses of creatures slain in the earlier battles still	clutters in the area.502	Fran and Steve are the first to reach the entrance to the 	Department Store. Steve falls immediately on the gate locks.	Peter pulls up to a screeching halt at the gate. He turns the	cart in a full 180 so that Roger is facing out toward the mall.	Steve fumbles with the second lock. Peter faces the few Zombies	which are converging along the balcony. He lift his new	Super-gun and stares through the scope. The gun roars	eloquently. Even its sound pronounces its power. The single	shot rips cleanly through the centre-forehead of one of the	creatures.	The man aims at another head. Blam. Another perfect kill. Then a	third. Roger fires several times.	Fran stands ready at the roll gate. As Stephen finishes with the	final lock, the woman pushes against the cage and it starts up.	Steve stands, and the two roll the cage into the ceiling, but	Stephen is careful not to let it get out of his grasp.	Fran moves into the store and Peter pulls the cart behind him.	Then Steve, Peter and Fran pull the gate shut long before any of	the advancing creatures reach the area.503	Again, the Zombies smash into the cage, but the humans are	already running through the aisles of the big store.504	Peter wheels Roger into the elevator and hits the button for the	first floor. The doors shut and the car starts down.	Peter:	HOW'S THE RIDE?	Roger:	KIND BUMPY. WATCH IT.	The stern Black face stares down at the back of the wounded	man's head. Despite his attempt at humour, the stiffness in	Roger's body evidences his pain. Peter puts his hand squarely	on the Trooper's shoulder.	Peter:	LOOK HERE...I...	Roger:	I KNOW, I KNOW...SHUT UP.	Something very serious is shared between the two men, some	knowledge which we do not fully understand. We do see the	kind of bond shared by soldiers in a battle.505	The elevator doors glide open and Peter pushes the cart out	into the first floor on the big store.506	Fran and Stephen charge down the store escalator moving faster	than the steps themselves.507	They run through the hardware department where Stephen snatches	up several propane torches. Fran stuffs extra bottles of gas	into her back pack.508	With a great hiss one of the propane nozzles spits a white-hot	flame as it is lit with a new disposable lighter. Fran holds	two torches as Stephen lights them.509	Peter steps up to the first floor entrance gate with Roger in	front of him. Several creatures outside of the cage fly into	sudden frenzy at seeing the humans. They slam against the grid	but it holds as usual.	Peter:	UNLOCK THE MIDDLE ONE LAST.510	Steve falls on the right hand lock with his keys. The Zombies	all converge near the crouching man's side of the gate. They	push and shove. Fran holds one of the lit torches very close and	the creatures back away cringing. The lock opens and Steve moves	to the extreme left.	Again the Zombies follow and again Fran is ready with the torch.	Peter:	ALRIGHT...THE TOUGHEST PART'LL BE GETTIN'			BY THESE RIGHT HERE...	Steve:	IT'S A LONG HAUL DOWN TO THE ENTRANCE.511	Peter cranes his neck to see past the Zombies and down the	concourse. Several other creatures are starting toward the	Department Store. Behind them, about three hundred feet away, is	one of the main entrances which is blocked off outside by a	truck trailer.512	Peter:	WE'LL BE ALRIGHT!	Fran:	IT'S TOO FAR!	Peter:	THERE'S NO BACKIN' OUT NOW. WE GOTTA LOCK			THOSE DOORS!	Fran:	WE'LL NEVER MAKE ALL FOUR. IT'S TOO RISKY.	Steve:	YOU JUST STAY HERE AND BE READY TO UPEN UP FOR US.	Fran:	THE CAR!	Peter:	WHAT?	Fran:	THE CAR!513	Outside, we see the slowly spinning exhibit which displays the	new automobile. It is a sleek, sporty model, which looks fast	and manoeuvrable.514	Peter looks down at Roger.	Peter:	YOU OK TO START IT?	Roger nods and reaches for his supply pack. He is cringing	with pain, but he moves efficiently.515	The Zombies clutch at the gate with new vigour. At the unlocked	ends the grid gives a little, but still holds the creature out.	Fran waves the torches closer and the creatures back away.	Steve un-locks the middle lock.	Steve:	IT'S GOIN' UP!516	The gate swings up with a thunderous roar. The Zombies attack	but Fran's torches make them hold back slightly. Steve grabs	one of the propane canisters with one hand and draws a pistol	with the other. Fran draws a hand gun also. The two fire into	the pack of Zombies. One or two fall. The others try to move	in but are afraid of the bright flames. One gets close to Steve	but the man blasts his torch directly into its face. Its hair	catches on fire and the creature throws itself wildly about,	knocking other Zombies back.517	Now Peter sees an opening and he makes a break with the cart.	Roger holds on to the sides. They crash through the scattered	pack of ghouls successfully and Peter makes for the car exhibit.	There are a few creatures on the concourse on the cart's path.	Peter:	(shouting)			CLOSE THE GATE...CLOSE THE GATE...518	Steve grabs the lip of the roll cage and it starts down. Fran is	still inside the store with one of the torches.	Fran:	THE KEYS, STEPHEN...THE KEYS!	Steve tries to stop the downward progress of the gate but it	slams shut with a metallic crash.	Fran:	JESUS CHRIST!519	Peter stops in his tracks when he hears the woman's shouts. He	looks back. Several of the creatures have followed the cart.	They advance slowly.520	Several have stayed with Stephen, however, and they approach	Stephen as he tries to pass the keys back through the gate.	The big ring doesn't fit through the small openings.	Steve:	 YOU MOTHER!	Fran:	KEEP 'EM...JUST KEEP 'EM...LOOK OUT!	The Zombies at Stephen's back are very close. Steve lunges at	them with his torch. They back off slightly.521	Peter:	COME ON, MAN! GET OUTA THERE!	The creatures on the concourse are approaching the cart. A	pained Roger levels off several shots, but he is very shaky from	his extreme pain. He manages to down one of the Zombies.522	Fran:	STEPHEN...FOR GOD SAKE...	The woman holds up her torch so that the bright flame faces the	ghouls. Stephen crouches and puts a key in the right hand lock.	The Zombies converge on him.523	Peter, seeing other creatures drawing near, starts to push the	cart again. he manages to dodges two little clusters of the	walking dead.524	The lock clicks just as one bold creature grabs Stephen from	behind, Fran tries to aim her torch closer. It disarms the	Zombie for a moment, Stephen thrashes his body back knocking	the think off balance. Then he quickly slides the keys under	the gate which he can lift just high enough with the single	lock undone.	Another ghoul grabs Steve from behind. This time Steve's torch	is knocked flying and rolls away. Fran is desperate. She tries	to aim her pistol but cannot shoot through the grill. She holds	her torch high.	Steve kicks and scrambles, rolling on the floor. The Zombies	are on him. He manages to knock one or two of them to the	floor. Then he fires with his pistol, killing another, He	crawls to the torch and grabs it, the creatures clutching and	tugging at his pants and shirt.	He brings the flame up and flashes it at the Zombies. They back	away enough for him to crawl to an open space. Then he scrambles	to his feet and charges down the concourse toward the car.525	At the exhibit, Peter stops the cart. There are two of the	lumbering creatures close at hand. The big trooper raises his	rifle. Roger, using all his strength, manages to pull himself up	out of the cart. He lips to the exhibit as Peter fires at the	oncoming ghouls. The super-gun scores two perfect hits.526	As Roger tries to step onto the spinning platform, he falls and	rolls against the car. The turntable carries him around toward	another creature. He is struggling in pain toward the driver's	door of the vehicle.527	Steve, who is approaching at a run, sees the action.	Steve:	WATCH IS ROGER...ROGER!528	Roger turns his head and sees the ghoul just before the creature	grabs him. The things hands clutch at the wrapped wound, which	is already leaking blood through its dressing. Roger screams	loudly.529	Peter jumps up onto the spinning turntable, leans across the	hood of the car. His super-gun drills a hole through the	creature's skull. It falls off the exhibit.530	Peter hurriedly comes around to Roger's side. In extreme pain,	the Trooper is desperately trying to open the driver door. Peter	helps him. The door opens and Peter eases his friend into the	seat. Roger immediately goes to work under the dash.531	Zombies are advancing now from all over the concourse.532	Peter:	GET IN!	He is shouting at Stephen who is just rushing up to the	platform. He and the Trooper scramble into opposite sides of the	back seat. They slam the doors and make sure that all buttons	are locked. Roger works as quickly as he can.533	Several of the lead creatures reach the turntable. Some fall	trying to step onto the moving disc, but others manage to	struggle over to the car. They smash the windows with their	hands. It is a nightmarish scene as the men huddle in the	shiny, new car which spins very slowly in circles.534	Fran has relocked the one open gate mechanism, and she stands	now trying to see the action, but it is out of her line of	vision. She can only hear the moaning of the creatures, and	pounding on the car. She turns the valve on her propane nozzle	extinguishing the flame.535	The car's engine roars as Roger is able to jump the wires.	Steve:	I'LL DRIVE IT...	Roger:	I GOT IT.	The Trooper's face contorts in agony as he moves himself into	position behind the wheel. He is shaking, but he bites his lip	and slams the car into gear. There are at least eight creatures	crawling over the car, more approach. The platform spins. Roger	waits until the car is aimed directly down the concourse. The	men in the back seats are alert to the Zombies which pound at	the windows. The ugly and distorted faces press close against	the safety glass.536	Now the car pulls out quickly. It rolls of the edge of the	spinning display, knocking several of the creatures aside. The	front wheels move off the platform and bounce onto the floor,	but the frame of the car scrapes the top of the disc and is	stuck for a moment. The disc spins on carrying the rear of the	car with it. Then Roger gives it more gas. The rear wheels spin	and finally catch.537	The car shoots out onto the mall floor. Some of the Zombies	cling for a moment, but they fall away quickly, scrambling to	regain their footing and follow.538	The car swerves and for an instant seems as though it will	crash against the columns on the concourse. Roger manages to	control it, and the shiny vehicle zooms ahead with tremendous	energy.539	One of the stray creatures in the concourse tries to intercept	the speeding auto, but the car knocks him mercilessly aside as	though he were a bowling pin.540	Fran sees the car as it rounds the corner, heads directly for	the main entrance which she can see from her position.541	The Zombies at the entrance already started back into the mall	attracted by the commotion. The car zooms down the concourse	easily breaking their ranks.542	Roger throws the manoeuvrable vehicle into a screeching	tailspin, stopping just at the doors.543	The big trailer blocks the entrance effectively. There are some	creatures inside the doors. Under the van, several Zombies are	struggling with the doors. one is just pushing in and seems as	though it will be able to enter.544	Peter and Stephen slam against the door. Stephen aims his torch	directly at the crawling creatures. The one in front withdraws	its arm. The grotesque things writhe, kick under the truck. The	door slams and Peter produces another set of master keys. They	are all coded. he falls on the lock mechanism.	Peter:	THAT'S NOT 100%, BUT I DON'T THINK THEY'LL GET			THROUGH.	Steve:	CAN'T THEY SMASH THE GLASS?	Peter:	SAFETY STUFF...PRETTY INDESTRUCTIBLE...THEY GOT			NO LEVERAGE UNDER THE TRUCK.. GIMME THE ALARMS...545	Steve rummages in his back pack. Produces two portable battery	operated burglar alarms. Peter activates the units, stands them	against the base of the now locked doors. As he crouches near	the glass, creatures outside go into a frenzy clawing at the	glass doors. They cannot get in.	Peter:	I'M HOPIN' THEY'LL JUST GO AWAY AFTER THEY FIND			THEY CAN'T GET IN...546	The creatures moving slowly down the concourse are now getting	close to the action.547	The men hop back into the car, it roars off with Roger still at	the wheel.548	Again the sleek auto rips through the ranks of the advancing	Zombies. They fall and scatter.549	The car speeds down the concourse, turns the corner near where	Fran watches at the Department Store game. We hear Steve's voice	on the woman's walkie talkie.	Steve:	WE'RE OK...WE GOT IT MADE...IT'GONNA WORK.	Fran stares out through the roll cage. The Zombies are	staggering weakly after the car.550	With another tailspin, the auto pulls up at the second set of	doors. The men scramble out of the back seat, the Zombies	outside try to crawl under the second trailer. The men shut them	out easily, locking the door and planting alarms. They stand to	look down the concourse.551	The creatures seem even more spread out now.	Steve:	HOW MANY YOU FIGURE ARE ALREADY IN...	Peter:	DUNNO. NOT TOO MANY. WE'LL GET 'EM EASY. WE			GET IT ALL LOCKED OFF AND WE'RE GOIN' ON A HUNT!  	The big Trooper raises his super-gun and sights through the	telescope.552	As we see through the scope, cross hairs settle on the forehead	of one of the creatures which is lumbering down the hall. The	face is magnified, distorted by the telescope. The gun roars and	the head in the scope explodes with red.553	The creature falls against a column, hit squarely through the	brain. We sense the supreme accuracy of the magnificent weapon.554	It is night. The Zombies in the parking lot still group around	the semis. They set up an eerie moaning in the moonlight. A slow	piece of music starts to build.555	The creatures crawl under the trucks but cannot enter the mall.	They pound and scratch at the doors, to no avail.556	From inside the concourse, the mob is muffled. Even the	revolving door is locked now. It seems the most vulnerable, but	the crawling creatures cannot quite get leverage to smash the	glass panels and they have no tools to pound with.	The auto is flush against the revolving doors inside, offering	added protection. Several alarm units sit atop the car. They	are the early warning devices against penetration.557	They camera starts to dolly back, the music builds. We see slain	corpses of many Zombies lying askew in various parts of the	building. It is like a battlefield after a war.558	The humans appear on the second storey balcony. Moving to the	railing, looking down to the expanse of the building. They are	guerrilla fighters, with their weapons strapped on. They have	taken the Temple. The music hits a crescendo as the people look	over their spoils. Even the wounded Roger seems triumphant as he	limps to the rails, supporting himself on his arms.559	We see a spectacular shot of the full expanse of the building.	Zombies lie dead everywhere. The humans have captures the gold of	the Gods...In this case the Gods of Consumer Heaven.560	Peter's hand is on the maps of the Maintenance Corridor. He is	drawing a line past the washrooms at the end of the hall near	the firestair.	Peter:	WE PUT UP THE WALL HERE. THERE'S NO DOOR FROM			THE LAST OFFICE INTO THE WASHROOMS, SO NOBODY'LL			GET NOSEY...AND THIS WAY WE CAN STILL GET TO THE			PLUMBING...	Steve:	WHY CAN'T WE JUST BOARD UP THE STAIRWAY. HELL,			THEY CAN'T EVEN GET THROUGH A STACK OF CARTONS.	Peter:	I'M NOT JUST WORRYIN' ABOUT THEM. SOONER OR			LATER MIGHT BE A PATROL THROUGH HERE...LOOTERS			MAYBE...I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO EVEN KNOW THAT			STAIRWAY EXISTS.	They look back at the map.	Peter:	THE DUCTWORK RUNS ALL THE WAY INTO THE WASHROOMS.			WE'LL HAVE TO GET IN AND OUT THAT WAY. WE'LL			BRING UP ANY BUG STUFF WE WANT BEFORE WE PUT UP			THE WALL.561	The men sit huddled. The large storage area is filled with	mounds of supplies brought up from the mall stores, but the	stuff all sits around in disarray.562	Behind the wall of cartons, Roger seems to be sleeping, but he	is sweating feverishly, and his face twitches. Fran has been	trying to soothe him with a wet cloth on his forehead. Now she	stops, leaving the cloth on the shivering head. She moves out	to Stephen and Peter.563	Fran:	HE SEEMS TO BE SLEEPING.	Peter:	GOOD.564	The woman moves to where she has medical supplies on one of the	cartons. There are bottles, vials and diabetic hypo syringes as	well as bandages and dressings from the Pharmacy in the mall.	Fran:	I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO...	Steve:	YOU'RE DOIN' FINE.	Fran:	HIS LEG IS AWFUL...THE INFECTION IS SPREADING FAST.			CAN'T WE FLY HIM OUT OF HERE...TRY TO FIND A MED.			UNIT...565	Steve looks at Peter. The big trooper speaks softly.	Peter:	I'VE SEEN HALF A DOZEN GUYS GET BITTEN BY THOSE			THINGS...NONE OF 'EM LASTED MORE THAN THIRTY SIX			HOURS.566	Fran is stunned. Suddenly, Roger screams from behind the cartons.	Roger:	PETER...PETER...WHERE ARE YOU?567	Peter:	RIGHT HERE, BUDDY.568	Roger is sitting up. His eyes look very dark and sunken. He is	sweating even more profusely than before.	Roger:	YEAH...YEAH...	He licks his lips. He looks around the vast, barren room, trying	to clear his eyesight.569	Outside, Fran sits on a carton. The men are still huddled	around the spoils. Roger occasional shouts from the other	room.	Roger:	WE DID IT, HUH, BUDDY? WE WHIPPED 'EM.	Peter:	THAT'S RIGHT ROG.	Roger:	DIDN'T WE? PETER? DIDN'T WE WHIP 'EM?	Peter:	WE SURE DID, BUDDY.	Roger:	WE WHIPPED 'EM AND GOT IT ALL! WE GOT IT ALL!	The man's voice sounds pathetic as it echoes through the big	storage area bouncing off barren walls.570	A hammer slams into nails behind the fake wall which the people	are working on. A great network of two-by-fours are braced at	the rear of the corridor, more lumber is wedged against walls	making a frame. Stephen is slamming large nails into the	framework for reinforcement. On the frame's face a masonite	panel is nailed into place on one side. Peter works in the	corridor. He is carefully nailing in a moulding which makes the	new partition look like a finished wall.	In the corridor, there are power tools lying about and a vast	array of other hardware in the gardening cart. Fran appears from	out of the washrooms. She is carrying an old can of paint which	has obviously been used.	Fran:	THIS MUST HAVE BEEN FOR TOUCH UP...IT LOOKS			PERFECT.	Peter grabs the can and pries it open quickly with a screw	driver. He dips his finger into the liquid and smears some onto	the new wall where it butts against the corridor. It is a	perfect match.	Steve:	(to Fran) ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT BEFORE WE CLOSE			IT OFF?	Fran:	NO...	The woman is staring down the corridor toward the mall proper.571	The corpses from the hall have been carried out of the way.	They are piled together at the corridor mouth on the balcony.	It is a grisly sight. Fran turns away.572	Fran:	NO.	She steps back through the unfinished partition, leans against	the framework. Her hand goes to her mouth as she tries to choke	back a gag. Steve moves up behind her, but she feels another	wave of nausea and she darts for the washroom. Steve sets down	his hammer and follows.573	The woman is kneeling on the floor, propped up by her hands on	the toilet seat. She is vomiting. Steve approaches quietly. His	hand falls on her back.	Fran:	LEAVE ME ALONE...IT'S ALRIGHT...IT'S MY PROBLEM.	Steve:	FRANNIE...	Fran:	JUST GET OUTA HERE, STEPHEN...I DON'T WANT YOU			HERE.	The man doesn't move. Fran reaches up, taking his hand. She	clutches it tightly, indicating that she is not angry.	Fran:	I DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE ME THIS WAY...	Another wave hits her and she wretches again. She pulls her	hand back leaning over the toilet bowl.	Fran:	PLEASE GO...I'M ALRIGHT...PLEASE...	Stephen stands up reluctantly and drift out of the room. The	woman wretches but she is dry. She tries to swallow. Then sits	on the floor next to the toilet holding her stomach. She	fumbles with the flush handle, depressing it. The rushing water	makes an ugly sound. Fran looks down at her stomach thinking of	her pregnancy.574	Stephen steps out of the unfinished framework. Peter is gazing	down the corridor at the pile of corpses.	Peter:	THIS PLACE IS GONNA BE ROTTEN...WE GOTTA			CLEAN UP, BROTHER.	Flies buzz about the staring faces of the dead things on the	balcony.575	Peter's hands are on the round hatch wheel of an enormous safe.	Peter:	THEY'RE USUALLY ON A TIMER...OPEN AT			NINE...LOCKED AT FOUR...KEEPS THE BANKERS HONEST.	The wheel spins and Peter swings the giant door open.576	Inside is a huge safety deposit vault of a bank. The men stand	for a moment in awe. The clean walls are lined with drawers and	doors where depositors have stored their valuables. At one end	of the room there are stacks and stacks of paper bills. The men	approach the piles of money, stooping down.	They each pick up packets of bills and flip through the edges...	Peter stuffs several packets into his knapsack. Steve looks at	him quizzically.	Peter:	YOU NEVER KNOW, BROTHER.	Steve takes several stacks and stuffs them into his kit. He	looks about the enormous vault.	Steve:	DON'T YA WONDER WHAT THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE GONNA			THINK...GUYS IN THE FUTURE...DIGGIN' THE PLACE			UP. IMAGINE ALL THE STUFF IN THESE BOXES...			JEWELLERY...MAYBE THEY'LL FIGURE IT'S ALL SOME			KIND OF OFFERING TO THE GODS...LIKE IN THE			PYRAMIDS...A BURIAL CHAMBER.	Peter:	THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS, NOW.....577	We see the men wheeling gardening carts piled with corpses. The	sombre image is shocking as the figures move in silhouette	against the bright store fronts with their displays of goods	designed to attract shoppers to the sweet life the items	pretend to represent.578	At the bank, Peter wheels a cart with several dead Zombies	through the lobby.579	In the vault, the big Trooper dumps bodies out on top of	several others, already deposited. The corpses lie askew, their	arms and legs protruding. The stacks of money are upset by the	limp action of the bodies as they roll around.580	A finger flips a switch and we hear the mall music start up	slowly.581	We see a montage: Fran, Stephen and Peter walk slowly through	the conquered building. They drift in and out of stores picking	up various items. They use shopping carts.582	Fran rummages idly through the cosmetic department.583	Peter looks through a book store.584	Stephen plays the pinball machines in a huge game room.585	Peter tries on big colourful hats in front if a mirror.586	Fran trims Stephen's hair as he sits in the mechanical chair of	the mall Barber Shop.587	Fran feeds the animals in the Pet Store, then with a bag of seed,	she feeds the Tropical Birds in the tall cage out on the	concourse. The birds flutter, flap about, screeching loudly.588	Now the group walk along the upper balcony. They look down.	They still have their weapons and kits, Peter is wearing a wide	brimmed hat and Fran sports a new mink coat.589	The concourse is empty now of corpses, but the group can hear	the moaning and thumping at the main entrances. It is dark	outside, the creatures claw at the doors but cannot be seen in	the shadows under the big trailer trucks. The sound evidences	their presence, however.590	The people stand at the balcony railing overlooking their realm.	Fran:	THEY'RE STILL HERE.	Steve:	THEY'RE AFTER US...THEY KNOW WE'RE IN HERE.	Peter:	THEY'RE AFTER THE PLACE...THEY DON'T KNOW			WHY...THEY JUST REMEMBER...REMEMBER THAT			THEY WANNA BE IN HERE!	The noise at the entrance continues eerily. Fran starts to be	afraid.	Fran:	WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY?	Peter:	THEY'RE US, THAT'S ALL. THERE'S NO MORE			ROOM IN HELL.	Steve:	WHAT?	Peter:	SOMETHIN' MY GRANDADDY USED TO TELL US...YOU			KNOW MACUMBA? VOODOO... GRANDADDY WAS A PRIEST			IN TRINIDAD. USED TO TELL US...WHEN THERE'S NO			MORE ROOM IN HELL...THE DEAD WILL WALK THE EARTH.591	Roger is screaming wildly. He is sweating and his face looks	sunken with an ashen colour. He thrashes about as Steve tries to	hold him. His leg is swollen, almost all black. His arm, which	was also bitten, is wrapped but oozing.	Steve:	GET MORE VALIUM IN HIM...	Fran fumbles with one of the hypodermics, but she drops the vial	of serum and it shatters on the floor.	Steve:	GET ANOTHER ONE...COME ON...	Roger is throwing himself about wildly. Steve barely manages to	hold on. Fran rushes into the other room.592	The space is starting to look like living quarters. There is	furniture. There are sectioned off areas with things still	packed in cartons, but it is beginning to look like home.593	The woman rushes to the medical supply area which is now more	organised with little cabinets and a small refrigerator. She	takes a new vial of serum from the freezer.594	Downstairs, Peter is checking the covering at the floor base of	the fake wall. He hears the violent screaming from above.595	He climbs up a rope ladder in the ceiling, scrambles through the	grill in the ceiling, enters the duct. Then he pulls up the	ladder and closes the grill.596	He crawls through the tight space for a few feet, and drops out	of another grill into the washroom.597	He moves through the internal corridor and into the firestair. 598	All the while, Roger's screaming can be heard. Peter tramps up	the stairs several at a time.599	He rushes through the living space in the direction of the	screams.600	Fran is withdrawing a hypodermic from Roger's good arm. The man	still thrashes wildly. Steve is struggling to hold him. Peter	rushes in and helps. Fran drifts out of the room.	After a short time Roger relaxes somewhat.	Peter:	(to Steve) GO ON...I'LL STAY WITH HIM.	Steve leaves the area.601	In the living spaces, Fran is sitting in a chair. It is the	inflatable kind, which can be collapsed like a balloon. Steve	comes up to her and puts his arms around her neck from behind.	She cups his hands with hers and holds them tightly. She stares	off across the room.602	Roger catches his breath and looks up at Peter. He licks his	lips and tries to speak coherently.	Roger:	YOU...YOU'LL TAKE CARE OF ME, RIGHT, PETER?			YOU'LL TAKE CARE OF ME...WHEN I GO...	Peter:	I WILL.	Roger:	I DON'T WANNA BE WALKIN' AROUND LIKE THAT PETER...			NOT AFTER I GO...I DON'T WANNA BE WALKIN' AROUND			LIKE THAT...	The man's eyes are terrified. He looks this way and that at the	walls, the ceiling, at Peter...He can't focus...	Roger:	PETER? PETER?	Peter:	I'M HERE, TROOPER.	Roger:	YOU'LL TAKE CARE OF ME...I KNOW YOU WILL...	Peter:	I WILL.	Roger:	PETER?	Peter:	YEAH, BROTHER.	Roger:	PETER, DON'T DO IT...TIL YOUR SURE...SURE I'M COMIN'			BACK...DON'T DO IT TIL YOU'RE SURE...I MIGHT NOT			COME BACK, PETER...I'M GONNA TRY NOT TO...I'M			GONNA TRY...NOT TO COME BACK...603	Later, the moon shines down through the skylight in the living	area. A sturdy ladder has now replaced the pyramid of cartons	up to the open hatch.604	Stephen fiddles with the television. There is a faint signal	coming in. He has the set wired to a makeshift antenna which	stretches through the skylight. A table lamp sits on a small	end table and is lit. Its cable is patched into a network of	wiring which stretches about the room.605	Fran is unpacking things. She is stacking dishes and silverware.	It is a very orderly scene. The couple looks like a pair of	newlyweds who have just moved into a new house.606	On the television, two men are talking, a commentator and an	official of the Government. The Scientist is in a suit, but his	tie is rumpled and his collar open. He has not shaved and he	seems very tired and nervously upset.	Scientist:   I'VE GOT TO...BE CAREFUL WITH WORDS HERE...WE			HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO STUDY THEIR HABITS...WE'VE			REPEATEDLY ASKED FOR A LIVE CAPTURE SO WE CAN HAVE			CONTROLLED STUDY...WE NEED SUPPLY AND DEMAND			RATIOS.	Comm.:	YOU MEAN...THEIR NEED VERSUS...	Scientist:   VERSUS THE AMOUNT OF FOOD AVAILABLE. LETS BE BLUNT.	There is a commotion in the TV studio. We hear noises and	shouting, as we did J.A.S. earlier.607	Steve:	JESUS CHRIST.	He squats near the set, staring. Fran comes up behind him.608	Scientist:   PROJECT OUT THEIR RATE OF GROWTH...THERE'S A			CRITICAL BALANCE...AND IT'S THE WASTE THAT KILLS			US. LITERALLY...THEY USE...THEY USE MAYBE FIVE			PERCENT OF THE FOOD AVAILABLE ON THE HUMAN			BODY...AND THEN THE BODY IS USUALLY INTACT ENOUGH			TO BE MOBILE WHEN IT REVIVES. THERE'S AN ECOLOGICAL			IMBALANCE AND THEY'RE INCAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING...	Comm.:	WHAT ARE YOU PROPOSING?	Scientist:   WE HAVE TO BE UNEMOTIONAL...WE HAVE TO PROVIDE			COUNTER MEASURES OR WE'RE ALL...	Comm.:	COUNTER MEASURES?	Scientist:   THEY CAN'T CONTROL THE RATE OF GROWTH AND CON-			SUMPTION...WE HAVE TO CONTROL IT FOR THEM!	Comm.:	YOU'RE SUGGESTING THAT WE HELP THEM?	Scientist:   BY HELPING THEM IN THIS CASE WE SAVE OURSELVES...	A great outcry is heard in the studio. The camera bobbles	around. The scientist is fumbling for words.609	Stephen:	GOOD GOD.610	In the other room, Peter sits against a wall. He can hear the	television. His eyes stare straight ahead at something.	Scientist:   I'M PROPOSING THAT CERTAIN...NECESSARY MEASURES			BE PUT INTO EFFECT AT ONCE...MEASURES APPLYING TO			ALL OFFICIAL SEARCH AND DESTROY UNITS, WHILE			THEY'RE STILL OPERATIVE...HOSPITALS...RESCUE			STATIONS...AND ANY...PRIVATE CITIZENS...	The camera pulls off Peter's face. We see that his rifle is	stretched across his lap. The TV drones on from the other room.	Scientist:   IN CO-OPERATION WITH THE MOBILE UNITS OF THE O.B.P.			THE CORPSES OF THE RECENTLY DEAD SHOULD BE			DELIVERED OVER TO THE AUTHORITIES FOR COLLECTION			IN REFRIGERATED VANS...THEY SHOULD BE DECAPITATED			TO PREVENT REVIVAL...	We see now what Peter is staring at. On the floor, twenty feet	away lies the corpse of Roger. It's face is covered with a	blanket. It lies very still.	Scientist:   THIS COLLECTION...THIS COLLECTION...	The man's voice is heard almost shouting over the voices from	the studio. The angry staff protests vigorously, with	emotional language...	Scientist:   THIS COLLECTION COULD BE...STORED...RATIONED...			FOR DISTRIBUTION AMONG THE INFECTED SOCIETY...	The shouts of anger continue.			IN AN ATTEMPT...IN AN ATTEMPT TO CURB THE SENSELESS			SLAUGHTER...THE SENSELESS SLAUGHTER OF OUR OWN			SOCIETY...	Suddenly the dead Roger's foot seems to move under the blanket.	Peter's eyes pick up the movement immediately. His hands	tighten on his weapon.	Scientist:   THE DISSECTION...THE DISSECTION OF THE CORPSES CAN			BE CARRIED OUT...CARRIED OUT WITH RESPECT FOR THE			DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN BODY...	Roger's arms seem to move, in slight twitching motions...			THE HEADS...THE HEADS AND THE ...SKELETONS...			WHENEVER POSSIBLE...COULD BE IDENTIFIED AND...			AND BURIED IN CONSECRATED GROUNDS...	The commotion in the studio reaches a fever pitch.	From the movement beneath, the blanket starts to creep down off	Roger's face. Peter stares with fascination and disbelief.	The blanket clears the blankly staring eyes...the drooling	mouth...Roger tries to sit up/ Peter's hands click a shell into	his super-gun.	Suddenly, the corpse sits up. It stares at Peter, blankly at	first, then with purpose...it starts to move towards the Trooper	who calmly raises his weapon...611	On the TV, the commotion still rages. Stephen and Fran stare at	the tube, hardly believing what they see. The scientist is	shouting above the din. He is nervous. He wipes his brow with	his sleeve...	Scientist:   WE'VE GOT TO REMAIN UNEMOTIONAL...UNEMOTIONAL...			RATIONAL...LOGICAL...TACTICAL! TACTICAL!612	Steve:	THEY'RE CRAZY...THEY'RE CRAZY...	Fran:	IT'S REALLY...ALL OVER, ISN'T IT...	BLAM! The loud roar of Peter's gun from the next room. Fran	startles and falls into Stephen's arms.613	Roger's corpse is dumped on top of the stack of bodies in the	Bank vault. His eyes stare with a puzzled expression. The arms	and legs of the other bodies make the room look like a	Renaissance Painting of hell itself. There is the familiar	gunshot wound in Roger's forehead.	The heavy door of the vault closes with a metallic slam which	echoes through out the mall.614	A small puppy lifts its leg and urinates on a table.	Fran:	ADAM! NO NO!	The woman's hands reach into frame and grab the little animal.	She carries it through the room and drops it on some papers laid	out in an unused part of the storage area.	Fran's stomach is big now, her pregnancy evident. She wipes her	brow like an exhausted housewife, and shuffles back into the	living area. She fumbles with the sheets on the double mattress	which she and Steve obviously share. There is an end table near	the bed, with a reading light. Books lie strewn around, along	with magazines and half drunk cups of coffee.615	In the sitting room, we see a scene which could be comfortable	suburban. The furniture is neatly arranged. There is a small	portable stove which operates on bottled gas, a refrigerator,	and cabinets with dishes and silverware.616	There is a modern calendar on the wall, which has three months	crossed off. There are a variety of radio and TV units and a	stereo record player. There are even decorations: paintings	hung, knick knacks on the tables. The room almost looks like a	wealthy man's den, with all the gadget-oriented affluence.617	In the Department Store, Stephen wanders about. He fiddles with	a new supersonic calculator and he looks at adult games.618	On the roof, in the bright sun of early morning, Peter plays	tennis against one of the shed walls. He's dressed in a new	sweat suit with brightly coloured Addidas sneakers. He has a	sleek new racquet, slamming phosphorescent balls with all his	might. His face is set in what is almost anger. He attacks each	shot with determination and emotion.619	One of his shots misses the shed. The ball bounces and banks off	the lip of the roof, then it tumbles over the edge.620	In the parking lot below, the ball hits the pavement. It bounces	several times, rolling off among the feet of the army of Zombies	wandering this way and that through the area.621	The creatures mob around the trucks at the main entrances. They	moan and gurgle, clawing at the building. There seem to be	hundreds of them, all different ages, sexes, shapes. Some	clothed, some naked, some wounded, some almost untouched.622	Now Fran, the pregnant housewife, is cooking supper.623	The men play cards with hundred dollar bills in the living space.624	The three sit around the dinner table, just finishing their	supper. The TV set is on, but only grey snow fills the screen	and the speaker hisses as it receives no signal.	Fran:	THERE HASN'T BEEN A BROADCAST FOR THREE DAYS.			WHY DON'T YOU GIVE IT UP?	Steve:	THEY MIGHT COME BACK ON.	Fran angrily throws down her silverware and stomps over to the	TV. She clicks it off. The woman returns to the table.	Steve stands up and moves to the set. He clicks it back on.	Peter watches the two sheepishly. It is a domestic scene. The	group has become a family, with all the disadvantages of	comfortable living, including the inability to communicate.  	Fran:	WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO OURSELVES?625	The thunderous roar of the helicopter engine. The machine is	hovering over the roof of the mall.626	Fran is at the controls. Steve sits in the passenger seat.	Steve:	OK, NOW EASY...EASY...BRING 'ER DOWN...627	The whirlybird starts down for the roof. It is somewhat	unstable, but it eases down regularly.628	In the cockpit, a flustered Fran manages to handle the controls.	Steve:	EASY...STABILISE IT...THAT'S IT...	The woman reacts efficiently. She handles the controls better as	The chopper's runners are just about on the roofs surface.	Steve:	THAT'S IT...THAT'S IT...YOU GOT IT!629	The runners hit the roof surface and the chopper settles.630	Fran throws her arms impulsively around Stephen's neck.	Steve:	YOU DID IT...YOU DID IT, HON...YOU DID IT...	The woman excitedly hugs and kisses Stephen with childish joy.	She is bubbling.631	Seen from a great distance, the helicopter atop the mall looks	very small. Its engine dies and begins to whine.632	A pair of binoculars is watching the action. The lenses pull	away from a pair of beady eyes.	Voice:	THEY MUST GET IN THROUGH THE ROOF.	Voice:	SON OF A BITCH!	Voice:	THERE'S TRUCKS BLOCKIN' ALL THE ENTRANCES.	Voice:	NO SWEAT!	Voice:	WHAT DO YA THINK? HIT 'EM NOW OR WAIT			FOR TONIGHT?	Voice:	TONIGHT.633	We see the short wave radio speaker installed in the living	space near the TV. A voice rattles over the unit:	Voice:	WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE...SEEN THE WHIRLYBIRD			ON THE ROOF.634	Fran steps to the doorway attracted by the signal. Peter sits at	the radio, not knowing whether to send. Steve listens.	Voice:	HEY, ER...COULD YA USE SOME COMPANY IN THERE?	Steve is about to say something. Peter stops him.	Voice:	WE'RE JUST RIDIN' BY...WE COULD SURE USE			SOME SUPPLIES...WHAT'S THE CHANCE US			GETTIN' IN THERE TO STOCK UP?	Peter listens intently, trying to read the voice's inflections.	Voice:	HOW MANY OF YOU IN THERE, ANYWAY...THERE'S			THREE OF US. COULDN'T YA USE THREE MORE GUNS?	Peter:	RAIDERS.	Fran:	WELL, THEY KNOW WE'RE HERE, MAYBE WE SHOULD...	Peter:	(cutting her off)			NO CHANCE.	The little puppy scrambles up to Fran's feet, seeking attention.	She picks the little dog up in her arms.	Fran:	WELL, IF THERE'S ONLY THREE OF THEM...	Peter:	WHO SAYS?	There's a long silence. The radio sputters static. Voices are	heard, but they aren't speaking into the microphone. They are	obviously conferring among themselves. Steve starts to speak,	Peter cuts him off.	Peter:	SHHHH! QUIET!	He is trying to hear the muffled conversation.	Fran:	I THINK WE SHOULD...	Peter:	JESUS CHRIST, SHUT UP AND LISTEN!	More static. Slight laughter is heard. Steve looks into Peter's	face. The bug trooper just stares at the speaker without moving.	Finally, the voice again.	Voice:	HEY...YOU IN THE MALL...YOU JUST FUCKED UP			REAL BAD! WE DON'T LIKE PEOPLE WHO DON'T SHARE.	Instantly Peter grabs his weapon and straps on his holster.	Peter:	COME ON, MAN...GET IT UP.635	Under the cover of darkness, a pair of hands stores a microphone	on a portable radio unit. The radio is in a small van which is	cluttered with junk. An arsenal of weapons is strewn about.636	We see several men, and a few women, huddling inside the van.	They look like banditos. One even wears a Mexican sombrero. The	men are armed to the teeth, wearing ammunition belts criss-	crossed on their chests. They are dirty and sloppily dressed in	all sorts of surplus clothing.637	Outside, in close-up shots, hands turn controls on big motor-	cycles and feet stomp accelerators. The bikes roar, creating a	thunderous sound. Clouds of dust and fumes rise into the air.638	Peter and Stephen are running across the mall roof. The roar of	the cycles can be heard in the distance.639	Reaching the roof's edge, Peter stares off at the horizon, but	sees nothing. The thunder draws nearer. Peter tries binoculars.640	Through the lenses are vague shapes in the darkness. As the	sound swells, we see the riders. Their powerful bikes come	charging over a rise...two...then three more...three more...	more...	They are accompanied by two small vans. There are at least	fifteen bikes. The sound is deafening.641	Peter:	JUST THREE, HUH?	Steve:	HOLY SHIT!	Peter:	THEY'LL GET IN. THEY'LL MOVE THE TRUCKS.	Steve:	THERE'S HUNDREDS OF THOSE CREATURES DOWN THERE.	Peter:	COME ON, MAN. THIS IS A PROFESSIONAL ARMY.			LOOKS LIKE THEY BEEN SURVIVIN' ON THE ROAD ALL			THROUGH THIS THING...DAMN! HOW MANY OF THE			STORES ARE OPEN?	Steve:	I DUNNO...SEVERAL OF 'EM...	Peter:	WELL LET'S NOT MAKE IT EASY FOR 'EM...COME ON!642	The men charge down through the skylight. The roar of the	convoy can now be heard in the living space.	Fran is desperate. Steve rushes by her with Peter, who crashes	on ahead through the door onto the firestairs.	Fran:	WHAT'S HAPPENING?	Steve:	THERE'S FIFTEEN OR TWENTY OF 'EM...			WE'RE GONNA SHUT OFF THE GATES.	Fran:	STEPHEN!	Steve:	WE'RE JUST GONNA SHUT THE GATES.			THEY'LL NEVER FIND US UP HERE.	The man disappears through the stairway door. Fran drops the	puppy which goes running after the men floppily.	Fran thinks to chase the dog, but instead moves to the storage	area and snatches her weapons. She starts to load her rifle.643	Outside, the convoy makes a pass at one of the trucks. In the	darkness the Zombies clutch at the fast bikes. The raiders	fire their guns, dropping several of the creatures.	The mob of creatures is impenetrable at first. The raiders	leader signals the convoy to drop back across the parking lot.	Some raiders have trouble keeping balance as Zombies claw them.644	The lead bikes pull up on the other side of the lot.	Raider:	 THEY'LL SPREAD OUT COMIN' AFTER US...			THEN WE GO IN WITH THE VAN...645	The other bikes ride to the leaders. A van pulls in and two	bikers scramble aboard through the side doors. One of the women	jumps into the driver's seat and revs the engine.646	The Zombies are starting to move out after the convoy. The mob	at the mall entrance is thinning somewhat.647	In the mall, Peter drops from the grill in the exterior corridor.	He charges out and into the Maintenance corridor, where he	breaks for the mall proper. He is followed by Stephen.	Peter:	(shouting)			DOWNSTAIRS FIRST...	Steve:	OK...	Peter:	GOT YOUR TALK BOX?	Steve:	YEAH.	Peter:	KEEP IS HANDY.648	Outside, the Raiders' van revs and roars towards the mall. The	bikers stay at the other side of the lot, engines idling. Some	of them whoop and holler like American Indians.649	The van crashes through the advancing Zombies. Several of them	are knocked flying. The vehicle pulls up to the truck cab. Three	men pile out and scramble into the truck. The Zombies in the	area clutch at the raiders, but they fight their way clear. The	woman in the van revs the engine again. Zombies claw at her	window. She squeals back to the main biker group.650	The Zombies in the parking lot are approaching the ranks of	motorcycles from a good distance. The raiders open fire. They,	too, possess sophisticated weapons, the barrage sets up a great	noise. Several creatures fall. The little van pulls up behind	the bikes. The men still whoop and shout.651	On the floor on the mall, Peter and Steve dash about slamming	roll gates down on the open stores. They run desperately through	the empty concourses. They hear the din from outside.652	At the trailer cab, a raider fires point blank at the Zombies	that claw at the passenger window. Another man checks cables.	Raider:	 SHIT...IT'S STILL TAPED UP...IT'S ALL READY			FOR US...	The man sits at the wheel, revving the engine. Ghouls at	windows.653	Inside, the men hear the truck starting. Steve slams down the	Pharmacy gate. Peter is already running to the Department	Store. The big Trooper crashes up the escalator to the second	floor aisles. Steve breaks for the open Hardware Store.654	The huge trailer rolls away from the mall entrance. A shout of	victory goes up from the raiders. The Zombies at the door do not	yet enter the mall, their focus on the raiders now. From other	entrances Zombies start converging on the parking lot.655	Across the lot, the bikers rev their engines ready to make a run	on the building. The raiders in the truck hop from the cab. They	run to the doors, shooting Zombies at they move. Some creatures	fall, others claw at the runners. One raider is brought down by	the ghouls. His friends pay no attention.656	One gunman slams into the mall doors to find they are locked.	He levels his machine gun on the locks and rips open the	mechanism. The men push through the doors. The little alarm	units are knocked flying sending out a high pitched signal.657	Peter is just slamming down the gates on the balcony when he	hears the alarms go off.658	One of the raiders hears the gates rumbling. He looks up and	sees Peter running by the railing upstairs. He fires with his	machine gun.659	Peter dives, sliding across the balcony. The bullets miss him	and he crawls around the balcony just out of sight from below.660	Steve has just slammed down the Hardware Store gate, and makes a	dash for the Department Store.661	The raiders spot him as well, and open fire.662	Steve runs zip-zag and dives into the big store, where he ducks	into the shadows leaving the gate open.663	Peter, at the balcony railing, levels his super-gun on the	bikers.664	One accurate shot fires and a raider falls with a giant wound in	his chest.665	The last raider at the doors ducks out of Peter's sight.666	Steve now charges the roll gate and slams it shut on the store.667	The bikers toward the building. Zombies scatter on the lot.668	Just as the bikers are reaching the building, the raider inside	rushes the doors. He holds them open as the big fleet of	rumbling cycles comes screaming into the building.669	Steve is in awe, watching from the Department Store grid.670	The cycles pull down the concourse and Zombies lumber in after	them. The raider at the door is grabbed by a Zombie. Then	another. He manages to fight away.671	Peter, shooting above, downs the raider and one of the ghouls.672	The main band of bikers hear the gunfire and pull down a side	concourse to regroup. They make their turn close to the	Department Store and Steve backs into he shadows.673	Peter moves down the balcony as Zombies are clamouring back to	the big concourses. Peter's eyes are wide at the invasion.674	Upstairs, Fran hears the noises. She is at the top of the	firestair, weapons ready. On the landing below, the puppy	scamper and barks. Fran calls the dog, but it doesn't listen.675	The bikes arc around and several pull up to the Dept. Store.	Raider:	 ALRIGHT...COUPLE OF YOU HOLD OFF THEM ZOMBIES...			CHARLIE?...HIT THE GATES...WE GOTTA GET THAT			SNIPER.	The leader rolls out. Others follow. Peter fires and drops a	raider, his bikes flying into the approaching Zombies.676	The action is too fast and furious. Neither Peter or Steve can	see the whole layout of the concourse.677	The lead bikers pulls out of range behind a set of columns. A	couple of bikers dismount and start up the stationary stairs.678	Steve talks into his walkie talkie:	Steve:	THEY'RE COMIN' UP, PETER...THEY'RE COMIN'			UP THE STAIRS.679	Peter moves to another spot on the balcony.680	Suddenly the raiders at the Dept. Store door turn a machine	gun on the roll gate locks. One flies open...another...681	Steve runs into the store, about to charge up the escalator when	he realises he'll be in the line of fire. he runs to the	elevator, hits a button, and starts for the second floor.682	Peter fires and drops one of the charging men on the balcony.	The other takes cover. Just as Peter is changing position, the	lights in the building blink out...the escalators stop... the	power has gone off.683	Upstairs, Fran is alone in total darkness. Below, she hears the	puppy still barking. She starts carefully down the steps.684	In the stuck elevator, Steve gropes and fumbles for his talk box.	Steve:	PETER...PETER...685	The big trooper charges through the darkness to the Maintenance	corridor, ignoring the buzzing on his talk unit.686	The raiders on the balcony approach quickly, ducking against the	walls occasionally for cover.687	The other bikers spill into the Dept. Store, raiding the	counters and raping the displays. They throw things into sacks	while others move to different stores and shoot off roll gate	locks. They raid the arsenal in the Sporting Goods store.688	The main pack of bandits are holding off the Zombies. The	creatures charge with new vigour. Some raiders fall and the	ghouls pounce on them, ripping flesh with teeth and hands.689	The van pulls up outside the doors and two bikers ride out to	it, loading supplies into it. The Zombies are everywhere, but	the actions of the professional looters befuddle them.690	Several creatures move onto the balcony. One Zombie pounces the	raider Peter shot and tears at his body.691	As remaining raiders appear at the mouth of the corridor, Peter	opens fire, killing the lead raider with a clean shot in the	heart. The man flies back over the railing, falling to the	concourse below where Zombies attack it. The other raider falls	back against the wall.692	Peter dashes into the Maintenance Room and rushes to throw the	emergency power switch.693	The portable emergency light units blink on all over the mall.694	Steve, who has crawled through the escape hatch of the elevator,	suddenly feels the car move. He grabs onto the cables but his	hands slip from grease and his rifle falls down and wedges	between the wall of the shaft and the moving car.	Suddenly, the car stops again, and Steve sees through the	escape hatch as light spills in as the main elevator doors open.	He thinks to jump down, but hears raiders below.695	Two of the big, greasy bandits charge into the car. They whoop	and shout as they see the open escape hatch.696	Steve settles back out of sight against the wall.697	Raider:	 COME ON, MAN...LET'S GO...	The other raider whoops loudly and fires a barrage of bullets	into the escape hatch.698	The shells bang and clatter in the shaft and ricochet off the	walls and gears. A shell nicks Stephen's arm, but he is silent.699	Finally, the barrage stops. The raiders charge back to the	store.700	Other bandits battle with Zombies. The men crash through	stores, collecting weapons, ammunition, tools, clothes, food.701	Bikers shuttle goods out to the side doors of the van. The	woman in the front seat is ready with giant pistols. Zombies	try to pound their way in, but they cannot succeed.702	In the mall, another biker drops to the Zombies. They pounce	on him and start devouring his screaming body.703	Several creatures now wander through the Department Store,	having entered from the second storey gate. They move through	aisles knocking against displays. One grabs a mannequin thinking	it human, throws the dummy aside roughly.704	The raider on the balcony is approached by several Zombies. He	runs down the corridor to the Maintenance office. Peter is gone.	Breaking into the various empty offices, the raider comes to the	fake wall panel and assumes it goes nowhere. Then he hears the	faint barking of the dog. He checks the panel again by running	his hand along the edge.	Suddenly a sound in the corridor and the raider turns. There	are three ghouls coming. He fires and knocks off the ghouls one	at a time and runs onto the balcony.705	Bikes roar this way and that. It is a war zone.706	The man is about to run downstairs when he hears a noise above.	He spins and looks up. He sees Peter just too late.707	The big Trooper, in an open ceiling grid, aims his super-gun	squarely at the raider's head. The gun roars and the man flies.708	Below, the raiders are starting to regroup. The bikes begin to	peel out of the mall entrance one at a time.709	Another raider is snatched off his machine by the Zombies.710	The bikers toss a last bit of booty in the van and the woman	driver gets ready to pull out. She lowers her window and fires	point blank at the heads of the clutching creatures.711	The last wave of raiders is at the first floor entrance. The	Zombies are mobbing around the bikes outside. The men shoot and	beat their way to the cycles. One man is brought down, but three	manage to mount their cycles. The big bikes roar out.712	Peter is crawling through the ductwork. Just as he opens a grid,	he sees the last bike rolling across the concourse. He levels	off with his scope.713	He shoots one raider out of the saddle. Two others get out.714	Regrouping in the lot, the band of twenty is now seven or eight.715	One last cyclist revs his engine and roars through the	concourse. He dodges several ghouls and heads for the entrance.	He is the leader. The one who was on the radio. He whoops	victorious just as he is about to drive through the doors.716	Peter leans out of the grid work and settles the cross-hairs on	the back of the riders head. He waits as the biker roars out	onto the lot. The rider lets out one last victorious shout in	the fresh air. Peter's scope is locked on the riders back and	the super-gun roars. The biker is blown off his machine.717	The bike flies into a pack of Zombies. Some fall back, but	others advance on the rider. The man rolls over the cement,	stops, not dead yet. He screams wildly as they move onto him.718	The other bikers move off in the night and the engines fade	away.719	The puppy stops barking. Fran is tense in the darkness clutching	her rifle. She stands on the now silent landing.720	In the parking lot and main concourse the Zombies move freely.	They fight over the remains of the corpses. They eat ravenously,	the sounds of their feast the only thing in the area.721	Peter peers down at the slaughter below from the ductwork.	Suddenly he hears the beeper of his talk unit, hits the button.	Steve:	PETER!	Peter:	WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?	Steve:	IN THE ELEVATOR!	Peter:	LISTEN, THOSE THINGS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE.			CLIMB UP TOP...I'LL GET YOU OUT THE GRID ON			THE SHAFT...I'M COMIN.	Peter starts to crawl through the ducts.722	Steve hits the second floor button and the car moves. He	clamours up on the hand rail on the car. His hands reach up and	grab the escape hatch pulling his head and shoulders out the	opening. He kicks with his legs to force himself up when the car	stops. He sees the grid in the shaft wall.723	Suddenly, the car doors open on the second storey and abruptly	several Zombies dart into the car. They claw at Steve's legs and	pull him out of the hatch. He screams, thrashes violently.724	In the duct, Peter hears the screams. He stops and listens for a	moment. He backs away heading for the Maintenance corridor.725	In the elevator, Steve thrashes with all his might. The ghouls	try to pull him out of the car while the elevator doors open and	close repeatedly against the creatures which block it.	A Zombie bites Steve's arm, another bites his neck. The man	scrambles to unholster his gun. Although he is bleeding	profusely, he finally pulls his gun and fires...once...twice...726	Peter is dropping out of the washroom duct. He hears the pistol	shots and realises Steve is not dead. He thinks about climbing	back in the grid, but stops. He punches at the wall violently.	He is angry and confused.727	Again the pistol roars and rips through a Zombie head, flying	out of the elevator. The doors still slam against the last	creature and Steve fires. The Zombie flies back and the doors	finally close.728	Outside, Zombies fall against the elevator doors.729	Inside, Steve falls to the floor. His neck runs red. His eyes	are wide with terror. He sits stupidly staring at the pistol in	his hand. He finds it hard to breathe.730	Peter appears at the bottom of the firestair. The puppy runs to	meet him, tails wagging and yapping. He hangs his head as Fran	looks down.	Fran:	NO.....NO!	She runs down the steps. The big Trooper catches her bodily as	she is about to charge out into the hall.	Peter:	I HEARD HIS GUN...MAYBE HE'S ALRIGHT...WE'LL			WAIT...WE'LL JUST WAIT A WHILE...731	The mall stands silent in the blue haze of impending dawn.732	Zombies move through the building freely, walking the halls,	lumbering through the stores.733	Several creatures still pound and scratch the elevator doors.	As they push each other, one creature inadvertently makes	contact with the elevator call button.	The doors glide open. Steve is standing, his blood dry now.	His eyes are blank as he steps forward. The creatures step	away seeing that he is no longer prey...he is among them now.	The doors slam against Steve and open again. Steve lumbers into	the store down the aisle. Other creatures drift away.734	Upstairs, Fran is packing her sack slowly and ponderously. Her	face is red from crying.735	Peter stands at the stair top looking down at the landing.736	Fran sets the sack down at the escape ladder leading to the	roof. She deliberately goes to fill another sack.737	On the mall balcony, Stephen's corpse walks to the Maintenance	corridor. He looks past other wandering Zombies and sees the	fake partition. Something in him remembers. He moves forward.738	Fran:	IT'S ALMOST LIGHT...LET'S GO.	Peter looks at her silently from the stairway door.	Fran:	HE DOESN'T ANSWER THE RADIO...IT'S BEEN HOURS...	She starts to cry again.	Fran:	FOR GOD SAKE. YOU BETTER COME ON BECAUSE IF			I GET TO THINKIN' ABOUT THIS, I'LL JUST GO ON			DOWN THERE AND LET THEM...LET THEM...	The puppy suddenly growls. It charges between Peter's feet and	runs floppily down the steps.739	In the hallway, Steve pounds at the fake wall. Other creatures	notice and they all move toward the partition.740	Upstairs, the pounding can be heard. Peter stands stoically,	looking down into the darkness. The dog barks below.	Fran:	WHAT IS IT?	Peter:	IT'S STEPHEN...THEY'RE COMIN' UP!741	With a great crunching noise the partition gives way from the	army of creatures.742	Peter slams the door. He speaks quietly.	Peter:	GO ON...YOU GET OUT OF HERE.	Fran:	PETER...	Peter:	I SAID...GET OUT OF HERE.	From the firestair, we hear the sudden yelping of the puppy as	it falls victim to the creatures. The sound echoes through the	barren spaces of the storage area.	Fran:	OH, JESUS, PETER...PLEASE...	Peter:	I DON'T WANT TO GO...I REALLY DON'T...			YOU KNOW THAT? I REALLY DON'T.743	Suddenly, the door flies open and the creatures lumber into the	living space. Peter stares at them. He smiles slightly. The	creatures advance, led by Stephen.744	Fran starts to scream.	Fran:	STEPHEN...STEPHEN...	She makes a slight move for her lover, but Peter raises his	super-gun and shoots the Zombie through the head.	As Stephen falls, Fran comes up short. The act startles her into	awareness. Peter faces her as the creatures come up behind him.	Peter:	MOVE, WOMAN!745	Fran grabs the sacks and climbs the ladder to the roof.746	The creatures advance on Peter. He backs away, trying to lead	them from the skylight. They crash through the living space,	upsetting the carefully planned room.747	On the roof, Fran desperately starts the helicopter engine.748	Peter backs into the storage room, slamming the door. The	creatures approach the door and the super-gun roars one last	time. The Zombies push through the door and move in for their	feast.749	Several zombies manage to scramble up the skylight to the roof.	Fran stares, transfixed. The blades roar up to full speed.	The creatures advance toward the machine.	Fran steps out onto the running board; the creatures very close	now. She crouches, watching for a moment, then looks up at the	spinning blades.	She stands straight up, driving her head into the spinning	blades.	A headless form falls to the roof. The Zombies advance.750	In a wide shot, silhouetted against the dawn sky, we see the	creatures huddled under the chopper blades, feasting on their	last victim.	The credits crawl up.	Just as the credits end...	the engine of the helicopter sputters...	and dies.		www.homepageofthedead.com
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+THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY By JOAN O'BRIEN And CHARLES DENTON Based on a Story Idea by JOAN O'BRIEN Additional Material by Jerry Lewis I TOOK A CHILD BY THE HAND... TO LEAD HIM ON HIS WAY. I TOLD HIM OF THE LOVE OF GOD... AND TAUGHT HIM HOW TO PRAY. AND AS I SEARCHED FOR BETTER WAYS HIS GUIDE AND HELP TO BE... I FOUND, AS WE WALKED HAND IN HAND, THAT HE WAS LEADING ME. "THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED" COLD OPENING EXT. PARIS CIRCUS - NIGHT The normal activity and excitement of showtime around the circus is in evidence where we see the half dark street and alley directly adjacent to the circus tent which (in Paris is an enclosure)... the animals, the midgets, the people and the roustabouts moving with a fixed speed and getting faster as we now know showtime is momentarily due. We MOVE TOWARD the action, slowly but definitely picking up SOUNDS and actions of the busy people as we go. STRAIGHT CUT TO: EXT. CIRCUS - FRONT OF CIRCUS - PEOPLE ENTERING - NIGHT We see barkers, children, people, pushing... buying tickets, hats, candy... SOUNDS of children laughing, MUSIC playing from o.s. within the tent area... and we... CUT TO: EXT. BACK OF CIRCUS - NIGHT A continuation of the animals, trainers, clowns INTERCUT with the action of the circus customers jamming the entranceway to get in... (complimented CUTS from backstage to out front... building to the final crescendo... as we see the alley empty and clear out vs. the front area clearing and also becoming empty.) DISSOLVE TO: INT. CIRCUS PROPER - NIGHT The fully dressed orchestra playing the oncoming people to their respective seats as we PAN ALONG the happy faces and excited children... DOWN and BACK within the circus backstage and SLOWLY COME TO A STOP OUTSIDE: "CLOWN ALLEY". CLOWN ALLEY - NIGHT The heartbeat of any circus... The long row of unkempt, yet beautifully neat trunks where the clowns make up, with many of the clowns just coming in and setting their clothes and things around their own little areas... midgets running and playing, like the little children they are about to entertain... MUSIC is in the deep background... as we COME TO A STOP at the large trunk with the letters clearly printed ...'GUSTAV - EUROPE'S PREMIER CLOWN." We PULL BACK and AWAY from the lettering on the trunk and REVEAL the face of a gentle but drawn man, a man whose body and movements indicate he has been at this for a long time. As he sits, the little midgets run close to see what they can do to help; one pulls the chair for him to sit on; another brings a hot cup of coffee; another takes his coat and hangs in on the hattree, adjacent to his trunk... as we PUSH PAST HIM to introduce the other clowns... some half made up, others finishing their make-up... and some just sitting and rapping together, smoking, drinking coffee, waiting for showtime... and in the very distant b.g., almost against the wall of clown alley, we see the trunk and the body of a "CLOWN" in silhouette... we CRAWL TOWARDS the body and the trunk... and COME TO A STOP... HOLDING FULL FRAME. The clown, already made-up and dressed in his tramp outfit, has his head in his hands, leaning down on the trunk table top, a depressed and sad looking hulk of a man... an o.s. voice: MIDGET Coffee? It's nice and hot. The MIDGET slides the cup in front of the clown's face... as he picks up his head and smiles and nods yes... he sips the coffee and we see the clown is HELMUT DORQUE (pronounced Doork). He is a depressed and very unhappy clown... the frown on his face shows years of knocking around... plus fear that those years are now over. From o.s. we HEAR the SOUND of a small air horn being blown and carried by one of the midgets. He is yelling through an old megaphone. MIDGET 15 Minutes to circus... 15 minutes to circus. Upon hearing this, "Clown Alley" really gets busy... all the clowns get up and put their last minute touches together... touching up their make-ups... getting their coats and props together... and as they get themselves up and ready, they exit the clown alley area and start for the arena. The last one to go is Helmut, lingering behind intentionally as we: CUT TO: INT. CIRCUS ARENA - CLOSEUP RINGMASTER - NIGHT RINGMASTER Ladies and gentlemen, we proudly present... "The Clowns"! INT. CLOWN ALLEY - NIGHT Helmut hangs back until the very last clown exits Clown Alley, as we: CUT TO: INT. CIRCUS PROPER - NIGHT The MUSIC is really going strong... and the clowns come on like all forty. They explode in the ring... doing all their bits and pieces which ultimately brings them back to the entrance area they just came from and they make the "West Point" arch for the TIMPANI DRUM ROLL and the grand entrance of "Gustav" the Great. CLOSER SHOT "Gustav" makes his famous comedy walk into the tent with the longest pair of tails ever seen (at least 75 feet long) and at the end holding them from dragging on the floor is Helmut, the "Tramp Clown". WIDER SHOT We see Gustav taking the applause, and it is tremendous. He stops center of the ring, but Helmut keeps walking and doesn't see the post in front of him as he walks around the post, still holding the tails and goes on his butt, pulling Gustav down as well. The audience screams with laughter, believing this all part of the act, as we: DISSOLVE TO: INT. CLOWN ALLEY - NIGHT All the clowns are sitting around their respective trunks and there is a sense of gloom permeating the air, as Gustav and MR. SCHMIDT pace back and forth behind Helmut, both going at him unmercifully. MR SCHMIDT (in the middle of his tirade) Not to mention how unprofessional that was... HELMUT But it was an accident... GUSTAV Oh, sure it was... A very well planned and calculated accident! HELMUT I swear to you... it was an accident! Gustav stops and grabs Schmidt's arm, and with a threatening, pointing finger... GUSTAV I don't want to hear any more... You will get me another stooge. I don't want this man!! SCHMIDT Don't get excited, Gustav, you shall have it. GUSTAV You bet I will, or you shall have no show. Gustav walks away, sits at his trunk, starts taking his make- up off. SCHMIDT (moving to Helmut's trunk, leaning over into Helmut's ear) You will run with the other clowns and that's all you will do... is that clear? Helmut, shattered, nods his head yes. SCHMIDT (continuing) And if there is another one of your cute tricks... I promise you will do your bits for the "Cats" while cleaning their cages! Schmidt walks away... leaving Helmut stunned and shocked. Helmut lifts his trunk cover, which opens on a hinge and stays upright, as we SLOWLY CRAB AROUND to REVEAL the "One Sheets" glued to the inside of the trunk lid... as Helmut reaches for a towel to clean his face, we read: RINGLING BROS. & BARNUM AND BAILEY PRESENTS THE WORLD'S GREATEST CLOWN "HELMUT" SCHMIDT From Germany The one sheets are battered and torn and certainly appear to be many years old. As we PAN the "Lid" to see them all, Helmut's face is reflected in the mirror as we see the tears rolling down his face. As we FREEZE FRAME, MUSIC hits for: MAIN TITLES: THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED FOLLOWING CREDITS: EXT. DESERTED STREET AND BISTRO - NIGHT Helmut, dejected and as sad as any man could be, strolls down the deserted street, alone. INT. BISTRO He comes to a small bistro and walks in... stands at the bar. HELMUT Clause... give me a double whiskey with beer chaser. CLAUSE (who knows him) You won't get "Funny" out of a bottle. HELMUT And you won't make a dime sticking your nose in other people's business. Clause pours the whiskey, and places the beer next to it; as Helmut gulps the drink down and chases it with the beer from the bottle... we: STRAIGHT CUT TO: INT. THE APARTMENT - NIGHT Standing at the window looking out is a beautiful WOMAN, simply dressed, no make-up and clean; she has the look of a woman who has just bathed and one could almost smell the fragrance of bath oil on her body. She is tense and concerned. She sees something and moves toward the door and opens it. There is a beat and finally the o.s. SOUNDS of feet scuffling get to the door. It is Helmut, fairly crocked at this point. ADA Helmut, darling, are you all right? HELMUT (nastily) Do I look like I'm not all right? ADA I was so worried about you... Your dinner is cold and I couldn't imagine what happened to you... HELMUT Were you really worried about me or your stupid dinner was getting cold? Ada is hurt by this, but knows something is really chewing away at him... and deals with it even more tenderly, which only digs in deeper on Helmut. ADA Sweetheart, I care about you... I love you... I worry about you... I can't help those feelings... During the above Helmut is at the small bar in the living room pouring another "blast" and gulps it down... he hears the words but tries to ignore them. HELMUT If there is anything I don't need right now... it's your super- sentimentality... He flops down in the armchair and stares straight ahead... Again, Ada is hurt by his blasting her, but she's wise enough to know this isn't the man she loves... she has to get what's eating him out of there. ADA Helmut... what's tormenting your soul? Please let me help you... talk to me... I don't care what it is... I love you... I'm your friend... you can trust me to understand... HELMUT I can't trust anybody... I don't know how to trust anybody... ADA I'm not anybody! I'm your wife! Helmut, hearing these words, looks up at her and sees the beauty in her eyes, and he is affected by this. He stands up and takes her in his arms... almost breaking her in two. HELMUT I'm sorry, my love... I'm so sorry... You're right! You're not anybody. You're my wife and I love you, too... So very much I just have no one to fight back at... I'm lost and alone, I can't handle the disgrace of failure... the pain of being a has- been is more than I can bear... Ada knows now what's happened. ADA Schmidt again? Gustav again? When will you learn they fear you and they know how vulnerable you are now... if they can beat you down then they needn't worry about you coming back to haunt them. HELMUT They worry about me? Don't be ridiculous... they just took the last comic bit away from me... because of a silly accident... I'm now down at the bottom, just a stooge assisting a not-so-funny clown. ADA But they can't take your talent away... That's your strongest force! Walking away from her, getting angry again... HELMUT What the hell are you talking about? What talent? And if I had any it's being suffocated into nothing... And that's just what I am now... nothing... No one... just empty... a prop to be used and mis-used... how does my great talent stand up to those odds? ADA By not quitting... You must fight! Creative survival is even more difficult than human survival... You must fight!!! Helmut gets quiet and listens, and it makes sense... Ada knows she's got him now. ADA (continuing) Go to Schmidt... Force a confrontation... Don't let Gustav win... make Schmidt see what an injustice they are imposing on you... Please, my love, fight! Make your world better by fighting for it... You can do it... I know you can... Helmut hears it all and it sounds so good and right. HELMUT I will go now and see Schmidt... I will tell him I won't take any more degradation... I will tell him I am a "clown" not a stooge... A "clown"... A special person... A special clown... Ada happily gets his hat. ADA (placing the hat on his head) Go, my love... Go and fight for what you know is right... I will warm your dinner and wait for you to come home. She kisses him, opens the door for him and he goes. DISSOLVE TO: INT. THE EMPTY CIRCUS - NIGHT The low key light and the silence of the circus is almost ominous and a little frightening for Helmut as he walks across the empty arena... with a small light burning from up high. All the equipment is tied off. Slight ANIMAL SOUNDS in the deep background... and the faintest SOUND of circus music is heard. Helmut is now center of the main ring and stops and looks around. HIS POV - THE EMPTY STANDS CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT His face tense, then eases as he looks around. HIS POV The stands are full, the lights come up, and the audience is standing, applauding thunderously! MED. CLOSE - HELMUT In his clown outfit bowing and acknowledging the ovation. HIS POV - THE AUDIENCE as they stop applauding and sit down. WIDE SHOT Helmut -- the chair and the trombone -- THE TROMBONE PANTOMIME As the completion of the "Trombone Pantomime" Helmut walks away from the position he was in with the trombone and bows and milks the crowd for reactions and as he bows the second time... WE SHIMMER: BACK TO: CLOSE - HELMUT In bowing position as he looks at the crowd. HIS POV - THE EMPTY STANDS CLOSE - HELMUT His face shows signs of utter despair and dejection... the dream is gone and the memory of what was really hurts deep down. He looks around making sure he hasn't been noticed by anyone and takes that deep sigh and strolls towards the back of the circus tent area on his way to find Schmidt. WIDE ANGLE TRUCK WITH HIM, HOLDING the many empty seats in the b.g. as he walks... trying to muster up the courage he's going to have to call... something that has now become totally foreign to him. HIGH SHOT - THE EMPTY CIRCUS We see Helmut as the tiny figure he feels like, walking out of the tent area and into the backstage section. CUT TO: BACKSTAGE OFFICE AREA - NIGHT Helmut enters the section of the circus where Schmidt has his "Temp" office quarters. It is a tent-like arrangement with the canvas flap as his door and we see light streaming from the half open canvas flap. HIS POV - THE TENT OFFICE Helmut looks and sees a shadow of a body moving around in the tent office area and starts for it. INT. TENT OFFICE - NIGHT Schmidt pacing up and down... thinking, as we PULL BACK to see Gustav seated in one of the fold-up chairs with a "I am waiting" look on his face. SCHMIDT Naturally, I agree... Doork is a nuisance, but to just let him go seems a little unfair. GUSTAV Schmidt! Don't make me put it on a "either him or me basis". SCHMIDT All right... all right... I'll give him -- CUT TO: OUTSIDE OFFICE TENT - HELMUT - NIGHT listening. SCHMIDT (V.O.) -- his two weeks notice tomorrow. Will that satisfy you? GUSTAV (V.O.) Perfectly!! Let's have a drink... Helmut drops his head, completely discouraged and saddened by what he knows is a losing battle. As he starts to walk away we can HEAR the tinkling of glasses and the slight laughter of the two men as we watch Helmut slowly scuff his way towards the backstage circus exit, as we: DISSOLVE (12-ft) HOLDING his walk over his limp body at bar. INT. THE BAR - NIGHT Helmut has had more than a few and really looks beaten and shoddy -- he waves for the bartender to bring another. CLAUSE (pouring still another blast) It's your funeral. HELMUT (not too clearly) A funeral is usually in order when someone dies. Up to now, we have no idea, whatever, as to the time (in history) we are indeed in Germany, but as Helmut downs another blast we SLOWLY CREEP our CAMERA to include more of the bar than we have seen before and it includes pictures, framed, of soldiers, arms interlocked (looking somewhat like summer camp stills), the German flag (1933 vintage / crisscrossed with the Swastika), a large banner marked "Deutchland" Ober Aliss... and finally, the larger than life photograph of "Hitler". Helmut slowly CROSSES CAMERA as he takes another drink and starts spouting again. HELMUT The trouble with man today is that he takes everything for granted... he thinks things he's told to think... and accepts it! Just because we know meanings of words we use them and we fool ourselves... people should use the dictionary more... look up words like good... bad... honest... loyal... especially loyal, I know what loyal means, and I have always been that... but does anyone care? No! Of course not... Only when it is expedient... When it isn't --- (he slashes his throat with his finger) --- ZIPPPP! You're out! Helmut stops with his BACK TO CAMERA looking straight at "Hitler" and screams: HELMUT And that goes for you too... Mine Fuhrer... He shoves his right arm up and out at the photograph of "Hitler". HELMUT ... you, too, are a fool. You allow yourself to think you have "loyal" followers... Ha! Wait until they've had it with you... You'll get yours... all the smiling, bowing, heel clicking idiots will shaft you too. And you will deserve it because if you allow people like Herr Schmidt to got about his business of lying, and cheating, and being disloyal, one day all the Schmidts in Germany will turn on you and you will finish as the dumb little corporal you started as, and never know what hit you... During the above dialogue, two S.S. men along with two Gestapo men walk into the bar and sit at a table unseen by Helmut, and as they sit, Helmut continues: HELMUT He really has to be stupid -- (indicating Hitler) I could help him by telling him about the people he thinks are good Germans... Ha! The two S.S. men and the two Gestapo men just happened to stop in the pub, they can't really believe what they are hearing, and the two S.S. men make a move to get up and secure Helmut. The head Gestapo man nods to them to stay seated and wait and listen. Helmut continues his rave and gets more violent as he goes on. Clause, the bartender, would love to tell him the Germans are there, but chooses to go about his business. Helmut is really getting the effects of the booze now and is bordering on flipping his lid, completely. (He does the stagger routine trying to get to the table on the other side of the bar furthest away from where the S.S. men and Gestapo men are sitting)... We play this for visual humor, but at the same time showing just how swacked he is!!! Helmut finally reaches the table he has been trying desperately to get to and falls into it, exhausted and emotionally drained. He looks around at the few people who have been watching him, most of which are frightened at what he has said, trying vainly to stay out of it. Helmut catches the eyes of the four men (S.S. and Gestapo) just looking at him. HELMUT (angrily) What are you staring at? Didn't you ever see a man drink before? The four men just stare at him with no answer. HELMUT What's the matter? Haven't you guys got a sense of humor? You must have! Look how you're dressed! Grown men in their little soldier suits... And the black coats and gloves... Like in a movie... Helmut gets up and walks over to their table... mumbling, and staggering as he goes... HELMUT Real cloak and dagger stuff... Didn't you Gestapo guys ever know that everybody can spot you a mile away? (leaning over and whispering) Listen, if you really wanted to be unnoticed... You should dress like plain people, then nobody would know you... You might even wear straw hats and shorts... He hears this and gets hysterical laughing. HELMUT Straw hats and shorts!! That's funny! Now that's really funny, isn't it? Straw hats and shorts! They just stare! HELMUT Well, isn't that funny? Think of it... That's funny! Why don't you laugh? HELMUT'S POV - THE S.S. AND GESTAPO MEN They are really staring now, hard to believe their ears and eyes. HELMUT (gets an idea) I know why you're not laughing... Because things you hear, you have to think about... I'll show you something that you'll laugh at because all you'll have to do is watch... DIRECTOR'S MEMO!!! (INSERT CHAPLIN FOOTAGE) Helmut goes over to the bar, where a little man is standing drinking his beer. Alongside of the beer is a small plate with crackers and brown jam. Helmut takes a comb out of his pocket, dips it in the man's glass of beer, combs his hair down over one eye, takes a finger full of the brown jam and makes a shicklegruber mustache from it... and turns on the four men yelling: HELMUT Ve vill conquer the world... Heil me! Heil me! Heil me! He screams the last "Heil" and collapses on the floor. The four men get up and proceed to pick him up and carry him out of the bar. As they get to the doorway and exit we STAY on... Ada who has just arrived to see them pick him up and carry him away. She is shocked. We STAY on a CLOSEUP OF HER FACE showing the strain, pain and sadness as we: DISSOLVE TO: INT. LT. REICHER'S OFFICE - OUTER OFFICE - BERLIN GESTAPO HEADQUARTERS - DAY We OPEN on the shiny black boots swinging the door open in front of him and as we PULL BACK we see Helmut seated in a slumped position on the hard wood bench as we introduce the wearer of the black boots -- LT. REICHER -- he enters his office as we go with him... (Feather Edge Set)... he walks briskly to the desk where there are briefs and papers stacked high on his desk... he bellows, after looking at the top folder. REICHER STEINER !!!! Get in here! A frightened and spineless like corporal springs into his office and clicks his heels and screams. CORPORAL Heil Hitler! (shooting that stiff arm out like on a spring!) Reicher flips his wrist in answer to the heil, showing complete annoyance at having to do it. REICHER Do I see what I think I see here? The corporal leans over the desk, and in order to see puts his hand on the desk to brace himself... Reicher smacks his arm, knocking his face flat on the desk... he stays there with his ass in the air, waiting for instructions. Reicher leans down putting his nose right to the corporal's nose. REICHER Never put your hands on my desk... is that clear? Still in the same position, the Corporal extends his arm for a heil Hitler, which is virtually impossible in the position he is in. CORPORAL (meekly) Yes sir! REICHER MOVE IT!! The Corporal rises and stands stiffer than ever... REICHER (picking the folder up) Now tell me, is this brief correct? Is that prisoner, the drunk, the one that impersonated the Fuehrer? CORPORAL Yes sir! It is! Reicher paces behind his desk... the Corporal still stiff at attention... waits and watches in mortal fear. REICHER (to himself) I get all the weirdos... Alright, Corporal, send him in! The corporal clicks his heels, thrilled that he can go. CORPORAL Yes sir!!!! He exits, and returns with Helmut and one more guard. Helmut stands in the doorway, frightened and unsure, Reicher still pacing behind his desk feels Helmut's presence... REICHER Alright, come in, sit down! Helmut walks to the chair in front of Reicher's desk... The spineless corporal moves towards the door... turns... and takes his position on the opposite side of the door that the guard is standing at... Reicher picks up the folder again, fingers through it. As he looks through the folder, he looks at Helmut and looks and fingers pages and the silence and the anxiety is getting to Helmut as he sweats and waits. Reicher is toying with him, and each time Reicher looks up the sick, little-boy smile crosses Helmut's face, hoping to endear himself to this Prussian pig! Reicher finally sits down beside his desk in a chair that resembles a throne. It is high and it looks down on Helmut. (Props: This chair must be higher and taller than Helmut's chair... for POV shots diminishing Helmut seated there. OVER REICHER ON HELMUT REICHER (soft spoken) Are you Helmut Doork? HELMUT (nervously) Doork, yes sir, Helmut Doork! I am he! Yes sir, that is correct, Doork! REICHER And are you a clown in the circus? HELMUT (ego setting in and forgetting for a moment his trouble and danger) Not JUST A CLOWN! I am Helmut Doork, Premier Clown! I've clowned for the royal heads of many of our finest countries, why there were times when I had to... REICHER (breaking in) That was years ago... According to these papers you are now just a helper in the circus with little or no importance!! This stuns Helmut, his facade destroyed... His face drops along with his fear... HELMUT (meekly) Some things are only temporary... Lt. Reicher! Only yesterday, I had calls from one of the great circus owners in all of Europe... he... REICHER (breaking in, strong and angry) You are NOTHING!! You are a HAS BEEN!! You WERE A CLOWN... REICHER (continuing) You are now a prisoner of the State and that's not funny... Can you make something funny out of that, Clown? Helmut sinks even lower in the over-stuffed chair, despair in his eyes and a weight on his heart... the truth slashing at his very being. HELMUT (softly) No! Lt. Reicher, I can't make anything funny from that thought... REICHER It is no thought... It is fact, Clown, unquestionable fact!! Now down to the issues at hand... Did you willfully and with malice attack the State and impersonate the Fuhrer? HELMUT (softly) I was drunk! It was a mistake! I meant no disrespect... Sir... Honestly, I was drunk and not responsible for my actions and thoughts! And my actions were subconscious! REICHER (screaming) Subconscious?? Meaning it was all motivated by truth that came out under the influence of alcohol! HELMUT (still softly) I am a LOYAL German! REICHER And what kind of commendation would you expect for being a loyal German? HELMUT I want nothing! But I'm more loyal than most Germans I know... REICHER Like who? Helmut realizes this was the wrong thing to say... he sweats... HELMUT Ah, like... re... REICHER Names! Names!!! Who? HELMUT I don't know... REICHER Sir!!! HELMUT I don't know, sir... REICHER But you said other Germans... What OTHER Germans... Who are they? Why aren't they loyal? Who? HELMUT (trying desperately to cop out) I'm not responsible for what I say now... REICHER Why? You're not drinking... you said you weren't responsible last night because you were drunk! Are you drunk now? HELMUT No, sir! REICHER Then why are you not responsible now? HELMUT I don't know!! REICHER SIR!!! HELMUT I don't know -- sir !!! REICHER Why are you not responsible? Why? Why? Why? Why? On each attack of the word "why", Reicher creeps up closer and closer to Helmut, really intimidating him... and the sound of his voice echoes and becomes monotone and ominous... [THE NEXT TWO PAGES OF THE SCRIPT ARE MISSING AS THEY ARE IN THE ORIGINAL] The corporal gets Reicher's point and marks his notebook, flips the cover closed, snaps to attention as we: DISSOLVE TO: INT RAILWAY STATION - DAY Ada walking as briskly as a woman can walk without running and then her walk becomes a panic running, looking, sweating, and the look on her face is evident that she is frightened and close to shock... she gets to a train gate where she sees the S.S. men pushing men through the gate to the train... she knows she is where she has to be... she approaches one of the S.S. men... ADA Excuse me, sir, but I wonder if you would help me... you see... S.S. MAN (very briskly) No! Go away! ADA You don't understand... S.S. MAN You don't understand... I said go away !! Ada backs away from the gate, and stands to one side watching the prisoners being moved from the back of the huge truck backed up to the railway area... she is looking through the iron bars (we SHOOT the bars holding depth of field snugly so that the prisoners and the bars are in sharp focus)... we make QUICK CUTS between Ada and the prisoners exiting the huge truck... as we see the change of expression on Ada's face we know she sees what she's been looking for... Helmut... he is walking in a slow rhythm following a group of men who look equally as broken and sad as he looks... Ada yells through the bars... ADA HELMUT ! Just as she yells, the voice of an S.S. Man drowns out her scream as he yells... S.S. MAN Move along... you swine... move... we haven't got all day... move... move... one-two-three-four -- His voice rings loudly in echo in the vast station it's as though he is timing his yells to each scream of hers... we see her mouth moving with the SOUND of the S.S. Man's voice coming from it... she is screaming Helmut... as the S.S. Man screams... S.S. MAN Move it... move it... move... move... hurry... faster... faster... Helmut and the other men push ahead faster and faster... with INTERCUTS of Ada, tears streaming down her face... with CUTS of Helmut walking with his head down, embarrassed and shattered... MED. - ADA We MOVE the CAMERA SLOWLY towards her, peering through the bars of the huge gate... and as we MOVE, we HEAR the doors of the train slamming... the whistle... and the slow start of the locomotive moving the train out of the station... by the time we get to the (choker) of Ada... the train is almost out of listening range... She drops her head, wipes her eyes with her handkerchief, as we hear so.: S.S. MAN (the same one at the gate who told her to go away) Now I would be glad to help you, Fraulein... shall we start with a drink? There is a lovely little bar around the corner... During the above dialogue we see another S.S. Man closing and locking the gate to the train platform... She looks at this "Pig", then down and up as though she were examining a rare, never seen insect... and then right into his face... and softly whispers: ADA Go away !! She turns and slowly walks the long walk down the empty station corridor as we DISSOLVE TO: INT. THEIR APARTMENT - NIGHT Ada is sitting at the kitchen table, the table is empty, the light is low and we see the picture of a lonely heartbroken woman, she has a small bowl of soup in front of her and the spoon in her hand is doing nothing more than swirling the soup around in the bowl... she can't eat, which is evident and as she swirls the spoon around, we MOVE IN SLOWLY and into the bowl of soup (choker)... and HOLD on the spoon in the bowl as we STRAIGHT CUT TO: INT. CAMP MESS HALL - INSERT - BOWL OF SLOP - DAY We see wooden spoon doing exactly what Ada was doing, just swirling the spoon around in what looks like dirty water with a carrot in it, the bowl is chopped and cracked, the spoon is old and almost white from use... the handle still retains its wooden look... as we PULL BACK we see Helmut is swirling the spoon in the slop... behind him is a Guard just watching his actions... after a beat, the Guard taps Helmut on the shoulder... GUARD Tsk! tsk! tsk! shame on you, Doork... shame... don't you want to grow big and strong like me? Helmut knows he's in trouble and just waits indifferently for the fireworks to start... GUARD We must eat our food! Do we want Uncle to feed the little man? The guard pulls the man next to Helmut out of his seat and practically throws him to the floor to make room for himself to sit down next to Helmut which he does... he half turns his body towards Helmut and turns Helmut around in the same fashion so they are almost facing one another. The Guard takes the wooden spoon and fills it with the soup and proceeds to feed Helmut... he stuffs the spoonful of soup into his mouth... and Helmut takes and swallows... then the Guard takes another spoonful and makes believe he is blowing it (like a mother blows the hot soup not to burn the baby's mouth)... and forces the spoonful into Helmut's mouth. GUARD (continuing to feed him as he puts the spoon in his mouth) And now one for Aunt Ada... As the Guard uses the name Ada, Helmut bites down on the spoon and won't let it go... but if looks could kill... he stares at the Guard with hate... GUARD (pulling the spoon) Let go, Doork, let go... it's the soup that makes us big and strong... not the spoon... LET IT GO! Helmut still holds it clenched in his teeth, and the Guard smacks his face full force. Helmut lets it go... and holds his face, embarrassed and humiliated as any many would be... GUARD (continuing) Now let's try it again... He fills the spoon and sticks it toward Helmut's mouth, but Helmut clenches his teeth keeping his mouth shut. GUARD I said let's try it again... He shoves the spoon into his lips, as the soup drips all over the front of Helmut's shirt. The Guard uses the spoon to clean the front of his shirt and forces the liquid he took from the shirt front into Helmut's mouth... Some of the men at the table and surrounding tables feel for Helmut, others think it's funny... they laugh quietly. GUARD Oh, I know why you're unhappy... soup without bread is terrible... The Guard takes the large loaf of brown bread and rips a huge piece out of the center of the loaf and proceeds to stuff Helmut's mouth with bread, until he looks like his cheeks are eight times their normal size. GUARD Isn't that better? Now take some soup... He pushes a spoonful of soup into his mouth which is so full, nothing can get in... consequently the bread spills out, the soup spills out... and he is a mess... (We play this scene for plot value, but it will work comically as well.) HELMUT I've had enough, thank you... No more, please... The Guard just stares at him... HELMUT Please! GUARD I'm surprised at you, Doork, you've been here two years now, you should have learned we, of the Third Reich, never acknowledge the weak, sniveling, begging of you swine... that's all you're good for... begging... pleading... praying... you're a disgrace to the human race. That's why we of the superior race must do away with all of you... The guard turns to the other men at the table, and goes into one of his mentally unbalanced tirades... GUARD And we will! We will! Do away with all of you. You're worthless pigs... with no courage, no guts, why if anyone did to me what I just did to Doork I would kill him! (turning to Helmut) Why don't you kill me, Doork? Go on... kill me... kill me... take the knife from the table and kill me... Helmut looks at the knife on the table, picks it up, holds it in stabbing style, thinks about it... and we know by his look, he would love to... HELMUT (with knife in hand) I would kill you... but I am getting my release any day now... and I won't do anything that would spoil my chances... Helmut digs the knife into the table top and buries his head in his hands... totally shook from the encounter... GUARD Your release? He begins to laugh, but hysterically. GUARD Release? They told me you were funny... but I never realized just how funny you are... RELEASE ???? And the hysterical laughter really echoes throughout the mess hall as the Guard makes his way towards the exit. The men at the table slowly get up and exit the scene, as do the others at the surrounding tables... leaving Helmut just sitting there... we PULL BACK to reveal the empty mess hall, and the lonely sad body of Helmut, as he looks around realizing he's alone, gets up and slowly creeps out of the hall like a puppy with his tail between his legs... as we DISSOLVE TO: EXT. PRISON YARD - FULL SHOT - DAY There are two rows of prisoners quarters, wooden buildings, weather beaten each row consists of about a dozen barracks each... joined at the ends, farthest from the CAMERA by the administration building, a two story type making a "U" shape of the compound... The entire yard is surrounded by two high wire fences about ten yards apart and fifteen feet high. At intervals of about twenty-five yards, in the area between the fences, are the guard towers, each about eighteen feet above the ground equipped with searchlights, sirens, machine guns, with three Guards on duty. Along outer fence, also about twenty-five yards apart, other powerful lighting equipment mounted on high poles. It is morning and although the sun shines brightly it doesn't in any way alter the drabness of the compound... nor does it help change the look of the men... There are about three hundred men milling about, some still chewing what was their breakfast, some pulling brown bread from their shirt fronts and exchanging bread for cigarettes or just making deals, one with another... some sit along the barracks walls trying to get some sun... others walking in circles... some talking, laughing, even playing cards... doing whatever they can to kill time... PAN the entire camp. At completion of the long PAN introducing the prison camp, we pick up the sixtyish JOHANN KELTNER (formally ANDERLICH), a warm, sensitive looking greying man, thin but with a dignity and a serenity about him... He walks briskly (and we know he'd love to walk slowly and tiredly, but we can see he knows his attitude and conduct will help those that can't help themselves...) His face tells us he is good, kind and the reason men want to live, he is special and he smiles at all those he passes, greets the men and is generally what man wishes he could be under the same circumstances... He walks into the building, which we learn is the barracks... INT. BARRACKS - DAY The barracks are empty... Keltner enters the huge room and looks around and sees Helmut at the other end of the barracks just walking back and forth like a caged lion... angry, hurt, sad, and generally out of sorts... he can't even hear Keltner approaching him... he finally stops at the back wall of the barracks and lays his head against the barracks wall... HELMUT (not aware Keltner is behind him) Dear God, please hear me! KELTNER He hears you, my son... Helmut jumps, scared... throwing his back against the wall, like a man who fears being attacked at any time... KELTNER (sympathetically) Here, here, easy, you can't do this to yourself... HELMUT You frightened me, Johann, I'm sorry... KELTNER (softly) You have nothing to be sorry for... Fear isn't something controlled by man... fear can not be conferred with... there isn't anyway known to mankind where man can say to himself... "I will not be afraid"... Oh, certainly man can try to fight it... but faith and believing are man's only chance... You must have faith... you must! HELMUT I have faith... but not always... sometimes it eludes me... I can't remember to remember it. KELTNER But that's natural... you can't expect to be perfect in what you try to do... HELMUT I don't know... He starts pacing again. KELTNER I heard what happened at breakfast this morning with ROTHMAN, the guard... Helmut spins around, frightened again... HELMUT Will they do something to me? What have you heard? KELTNER (putting his arm around him) Nothing, absolutely nothing... don't worry about it... I just wanted you to know that I believe you handled yourself admirably... HELMUT That was one time I didn't care for the laughs I was getting from some of the men... KELTNER Of course you didn't... but I'm sure you know man laughs for two reasons... one because something is funny... two, because they fear showing fear... they laughed because "there but for the grace of God go I!" HELMUT Do you really think so? KELTNER I'm certain of it! Helmut smiles and takes Johann's hand, tenderly, and warmly: HELMUT Thank you, Johann. I always feel so much better after you talk to me... KELTNER I'm glad, Helmut, I'm very glad... you know you can always talk to me, about anything... HELMUT (remembering) Oh! I almost forgot... Helmut puts Johann around the back of the barrack area near the wall out of sight of anyone coming in... HELMUT Before breakfast this morning, I spoke to one of the guards, a very intelligent one, and he seems quite nice and friendly too. Well, he said that the Gestapo has set up a special review board to handle cases just like mine. And he said he would get me a form, a special form. Just been printed up. And I'm to fill it out. Isn't that good? Keltner looking at him, like a child that believes in the boogie man: KELTNER How many times since you've been here, have you filled out forms? Twenty? Thirty times?? HELMUT (in fast) But this is different. It's entirely new. Helmut takes out a set of papers from his back pocket to show Keltner. HELMUT See? These are made up by the Gestapo itself... and the form will go directly to Berlin, to Gestapo headquarters. That's the important thing about this... the Gestapo's in on it. That's a very good sign. (a beat) Isn't it a good sign? KELTNER (sympathetically) Yes, my son, it is a good sign. HELMUT (in fast, excited; scanning the papers) And I have to be very careful of everything I put down on the form. The tiniest detail could make the difference. Don't you agree? Helmut looks up and notices Johann is looking up towards the ceiling of the barracks... watching something... Helmut looks up, too. THEIR POV - THE BIRDS Up and under the eaves of the barrack just above their heads, two small birds are perched (apparently they flew in from outside and decided to nest there). BACK TO HELMUT AND KELTNER - TWO SHOT KELTNER Isn't it strange? They are free to go anywhere they want, and they come here to nest. Helmut doesn't react to Keltner's dialogue, but goes back to his creased and soiled papers that he's read a thousand times before, and reads them again... as he reads... Keltner takes a piece of brown bread from his shirt pocket and crumbles it and throws the crumbs up to the little birds... HIS POV - THE BIRDS They scramble to chew the crumbs, and they do... DOWN SHOT - KELTNER watching. Johann just watches, smiling at the birds, turns and looks to see if Helmut is watching, too... HELMUT - CLOSE Intense at scanning through the papers and totally oblivious to Keltner and the birds... KELTNER - CLOSE KELTNER (softly) Watch the birds eat, Helmut... it's so cute... HELMUT I'm sure I've got everything here... The important facts from the moment I was arrested, the questions the Gestapo officer asked me... now what was his name again? I can't seem to remember what his name was... KELTNER HELMUT... HELMUT What the devil was his name? KELTNER (LOUDER) HELMUT ! HELMUT (coming out of it) Oh, yes, Johann... I'm sorry... you were saying? KELTNER You're not a religious man, are you, Helmut? HELMUT (thinking about it) Well, I... ah... KELTNER Not sure I am myself anymore. Helmut quite surprised by this remark. KELTNER Yet... when I see those birds, I wonder... were they sent here to let us know this place really isn't God forsaken? HELMUT He should have sent them elsewhere... they could be eaten here! Helmut goes back to studying his papers, Keltner ponders Helmut's remark, looks backup at the birds... his face full of compassion, as we: DISSOLVE TO: INT. BARRACKS - NIGHT (DUSK) We now see the Barracks completely (SHOOTING from flat on), the wooden bunks are housed in a low wooden building with eight two tier bunks on each side. A group of men are clustered around Keltner's bunk. Here we meet: ADOLF, a large, once powerful man, in his mid thirties. LUDWIG, once a fairly prosperous businessman before his politics landed him in prison, is older, and his bitterness is written all over his face. FRANZ, is the youngest. He is a sensitive looing twenty five year old, more than likely the "rebel" type of the 1930s. Helmut is in his upper bunk over Keltner writing on an old piece of paper with a scruffy pencil, which he bites to make a point of, and wets with his tongue like any fat butcher selling liverwurst and marking the price on a brown paper bag... (i.e. Brooklyn, circa 1928). We TRUCK the CAMERA down the long barrack to include the other men doing their things. A couple of men are getting ready for a card game... several others are comparing clothing, mending and helping one another, a couple play chess. A few are sleeping, but for the most part, most of the men lay in their bunks staring at the ceiling... The floors are spotless... suffice to say they better be... the walls have nothing hanging but a few socks drying... a torn calendar, wrong year, etc. CLOSE - KELTNER GROUP Johann sits with his back to CAMERA... at the edge of his bunk, leaving room on his bunk for Adolph, Ludwig, Franz. He is showing something to them that we cannot see. Keltner's body covers whatever it is that the three men are gawking at, facing CAMERA... and they are indeed gawking with delight and admiration. LUDWIG (seriously) I think we should eat it! KELTNER Not on your life... (catching himself) Er, that is... I wouldn't... FRANZ Put it somewhere so it can brighten up the place. LUDWIG (sourly) It would take a hell of a lot more than that to brighten up this place. ADOLF It'll be better than looking at your long face. Chuckling, Keltner rises. We BOOM UP with him, and as his head comes up over the top of the bottom bunk... he holds out the object for Helmut to see... It is a potato, a sorry looking spud... that Keltner has put in a small can of water and is beginning to sprout two sick-looking shoots. KELTNER (to Helmut) Do you see the way it's sprouting... I told you it wasn't completely rotten. HELMUT (his mind on his thing) That's nice, Johann. Do you remember when I filled out those last forms? The date might be important. KELTNER (almost annoyed) About four weeks ago, I think. LOOSER SHOT As Keltner walks away from Helmut's bunk. KELTNER I'll put it up here on the window sill, it'll get the morning sun. He reaches the window and starts to reach up, to place the potato on the sill... a hand shoots out holding the hand of Keltner... STOUT PRISONER Think you can trust your potato so close to me, Reverend? LUDWIG The potato he TRUSTS... it's you he doesn't trust! All the men laugh, including the "stout prisoner" who laughs the loudest... Keltner hands the stout prisoner the potato, who in turn takes same and places it gently on the window sill just adjacent to his bunk... after placing it on the sill, he gestures ala the trapeze artist after making a super truck, looking for applause... Keltner pats his leg in a gesture of "thank you". He starts back towards his bunk when the front door of the barracks flings open and the Guard enters. GUARD ATTENTION ! The men jump, but quickly, to their feet, and stand at attention at the front of their bunks, ala inspection in the army. They are rigid and waiting to hear what's up. The Guard takes a few steps into the barracks... behind him we see several prisoners carrying bunks waiting to enter the barracks. GUARD All the prisoners from the other side of the camp are being moved over to this side of the camp over to this side of the camp. Barracks "H" will make room for three additional bunks. He takes a few steps down the aisle... GUARD I want all the bunks moved down toward the far end. Get them as close together as possible. Now! GET MOVING! LONG SHOT The men scramble back to their own bunks and immediately begin pulling, shoving, and grumbling comments about being too overcrowded as it is... THE MEN (ad lib) Gotta have more room... We need more space... Hey, watch where you're going. This is stupid! GUARD (yelling) YOU! You down there at the end... get those bunks right up against the wall. CLOSE - HELMUT AND KELTNER As bunks are moved towards the far end of the barracks, Keltner and Helmut prepare to move their bunks, the last ones on their side. Helmut and Adolf, who have already made their move, come up to Keltner to help him with his bunk... Helmut sees that Keltner has help so he decides to back off and hide in his little corner with his pencil and scrap of paper... totally involved with his own pain and his undying fantasy about his ultimate release... WIDER SHOT - THE ENTIRE BARRACKS The guard looks down the barracks as the men just about finish the moving job... GUARD Hurry it up! Come on, get moving! The guard turns towards the door and motions for the SIX PRISONERS to enter the barracks... they enter by pairs, each pair carrying a double-tier bunk. Their personal belongings are piled on the bunks and slung over their shoulders in sacks (barracks bags)... the Guard motions for the two bunks to be placed next to Helmut's and one on the opposite side... next to the Stout Prisoner... NOTE: This arrangement leaves space for one additional bunk right by the door. The guard motions for the Stout Prisoner and Herman to give the new arrivals a hand with the placement of their bunks. GUARD Get them close. (he looks around the barracks) You're all going to be nice and cozy in here. STOUT PRISONER (in a loud voice) Yeah, like triplets before they are born to a mother weighing 98 pounds... HERMAN That's what I call cozy! The guard smiles, and all the men laugh... ANOTHER ANGLE The guard starts for the door, satisfied with the arrangements... as he gets the door open, Helmut runs over to catch him before he makes his exit... HELMUT (anxiously) Excuse me, sir, the papers... Did they arrive yet? GUARD (annoyed) They'll have to wait! He exits, closing the door behind him. Helmut, with a look of despair on his face, goes back to his bunk. MED. SHOT - HELMUT AND KELTNER HELMUT You'd think, since he was coming over here anyway, the least he could do was bring the papers with him. KELTNER This moving men around has undoubtedly kept him very busy... don't worry, he'll bring them. HELMUT I'm sure if I asked him again he'd really become annoyed with me. Would you remind him for me, please? KELTNER (kindly) Of course I will. Helmut climbs up to his bunk and goes back to his precious paper work. WIDER ANGLE As the new prisoners make up their bunks and arrange their belongings, the regulars of Barracks H, among them Adolf, Ludwig, Herman and Franz, begin moving towards them to meet them. Keltner turns to the new white-haired prisoner whose bunk is directly next to his. KELTNER I've seen you around the yard, but the others... WHITE-HAIRED MAN About thirty of them got here yesterday from the prison outside of Frankfurt. 1ST NEW PRISONER (who occupies the bunk above the white- haired prisoner) For the last three months we've been shuttled from one camp to another. 2ND NEW PRISONER (his bunk is the lower bunk on the direct opposite side) Now they're shuffling us from one side to another. I think they're trying to lose us. HERMAN Do you think they're bringing in war prisoners? LUDWIG I don't know why they're sending them here... we're overcrowded as it is. KELTNER No, no... it's got to be something else... Otherwise they would have left the bunks. ADOLF It could be possible that he is fixing up the barracks for some of his lady friends. KELTNER That many women? HERMAN (standing at attention) Reverend, we Germans are SUPERMEN! All the men break out in laughter at Herman's comment and his actions... but the laughter is cut short as they HEAR the door open again, and they all look in that direction. ANOTHER ANGLE SHOOTING OVER the men onto the door, entering is the same guard that was just there... this time he enters with two more prisoners carrying their bunks. One of them is JOSEF GALT, a burly bully like man, who knows all the tricks of survival, and ERNST UHLMANN, a think little man with a face like a weasel... they follow the Guard into the barracks proper. GUARD ATTENTION ! The men quickly snap to attention. The guard indicates for Galt and Uhlmann to put the bunk in the space right by the door. GALT We might as well be outside. UHLMANN If I get pneumonia, I'll hold the government responsible! GUARD With a little luck, you'll both get pneumonia! The guard turns and moves towards the door, stops, and turns to see all is well, and exits the door, closing it behind him. Galt sits on the lower bunk as Uhlmann sprints up to the upper bunk and looks towards the original men, who are just standing around watching the two new "fish"... then men sense trouble and slowly and quietly return to their own bunks... some of the other men just stare at the two new prisoners... UHLMANN (sitting on his bunk) It's sure quiet in here... WIDER ANGLE Uhlmann in his surveying the barracks spots the potato plant on the window sill... next to the Stout Prisoner's bunk... he jumps from his bunk and runs over towards the plant... he takes it from the window sill and yells over to Galt... UHLMANN Hey, Galt! Come over and look at this! GALT (coming over to Uhlmann) What is it? UHLMANN Ain't it cute? GALT It's a God damn posie! He and Uhlmann burst into laughter... UHLMANN Looks kinda sick, doesn't it? GALT (examining it) It's one of them potato things... and it sure as hell is sick! UHLMANN Maybe we should put it out of its misery. GALT No, we don't want to do that... we might break someone's heart. He looks around at the other prisoners. GALT Whose little plant is this? The stout prisoner gets up from his bunk and starts to move forward and challenge Galt... but Keltner jumps from his bunk and gets to Galt first. KELTNER (with deep conviction) The plant is MINE! GALT Is it now? Tell me precious... do you knit, too? KELTNER If necessary, I can... and I do ! This brings a ripple of laughter from the others... particularly the new prisoners who are delighted at seeing someone stand up to Galt for a change... Galt with a sneer on his face steps out into the aisle to face Keltner square on! GALT (to Uhlmann) What do you think of that, Uhlmann... he knits! UHLMANN Now, if he could just cook... Galt and Uhlmann laugh, but they are the only ones that do... GALT (coming out of the laugh) Can you cook, sweetheart? Keltner knows damn well he can't fight the brute, yet he realizes that if he steps down, life not only for him, but for the others in the barracks will be intolerable under Galt's bully rule. (During the following dialogue, Adolf, Franz, Ludwig, Herman and the Stout Prisoner... easy up a little closer to Keltner and Galt.) KELTNER If necessary, I can cook, yes! Now, if you don't mind, I'll take that plant! He holds out his hand... Galt, wearing a deceptive smile, eyes the older man... GALT Alright, old man, you really want it? He raises his arm over his head with the plant in that hand. GALT Go get it!! CLOSE - KELTNER He looks past Galt at Helmut who is sitting up on his bunk... CLOSER - KELTNER He looks at Helmut. His eyes try to encourage Helmut to do something, say something, do anything to show that he is on Keltner's side. CLOSE - HELMUT He sits up on his bunk, and wants nothing to do with the bully and his pranks... so he goes back to studying his papers and looks up again to catch Keltner's look of disappointment, and as Keltner turns away from Helmut... Helmut realizes he should do something to show Keltner he, indeed, cares... he jumps down from his bunk and grabs Galt by the arm and turns him around... they are now face to face... HELMUT Why don't you pick on someone your own size... GALT (shocked, but pleased that he finally got a rise out of someone) What? HELMUT (firmly) You heard me! Give him his plant back, and leave him alone... He didn't bother you ... and if you have to show your muscle, there's plenty of other guys to pick on! GALT You're my size! ... and with this, Galt smacks Helmut a shot across the mouth that sends him spilling into the corner, half knocked unconcious... he lays there with blood flowing from his mouth... Keltner leaves Galt and runs to the corner to see if Helmut is okay. Galt follows him... Keltner is leaning down checking Helmut... as Galt bends down next to the two of them... still holding the plant. GALT He's alright... that'll teach him to keep his nose out of my business... here's your plant! Galt makes like he's handing the plant to Keltner, who reaches for it, and as he does Galt slowly stands up making Keltner reach and reach and reach... and as Keltner gets closer and closer, Galt stands to his fullest height... making it literally impossible for Keltner to get it... Franz, Ludwig, Adolf, Herman and the Stout Prisoner (more than likely provoked by Helmut's stand, now circle Galt)... GALT (still holding the plant up high) Go on, little man, reach for it! Keltner, torn between seeing that Helmut is alright, and getting his plant back, tries to get it, and still looks to see that Helmut isn't hurt too bad... HERMAN (in a low menacing voice) Give it to him! Galt looks at him with a menacing stare... ADOLF You heard him... give it to him! FRANZ You've had your fun... give it to him... NOW! STOUT PRISONER (closing in on Galt) RIGHT NOW!! Galt realizes this is no time for a showdown... and with a childlike smile... grits his teeth... GALT Sure, here's your stupid flower or whatever you call it... Keltner takes it from him. KELTNER Thank you... Keltner leans down and picks Helmut up and walks him to his bunk, helps him onto it, and puts the plant on his own bunk... ANOTHER ANGLE The four men: Ludwig, Adolf, Franz and Herman stay with Galt, as does the Stout Prisoner... They are clustered around Galt. GALT What's the matter with you guys? Can't you take a joke? ADOLF What joke? GALT Hell, all I was doing was trying to have a little fun. LUDWIG Have it with someone else! GALT What's so special about him? ADOLF That's the Reverend. Even when they came and dragged him from his church... he kept right on preaching against them until they knocked him unconscious. Galt is silent for a beat. GALT Well, how the hell was I supposed to know? HERMAN NOW you know! Galt shoves his way through the five men and walks beaten, for the moment, to his own bunk... as the men disperse and walk back to their respective bunks... CLOSE - GALT AND UHLMANN Galt walks over and sits at the edge of his bunk, while Uhlmann swings his legs back and forth from his perched position on the top of his bunk... Galt gives him a stare... GALT You and your posies... UHLMANN That was close... GALT Where were you when I need you? UHLMANN I make love, not war! (goes giggly over what he just said) Hey, that's pretty good... I made that up... Make love, not war! I bet that would make a good slogan someday... GALT Aw, shut up! And he smacks his legs up and onto the bunk. TWO SHOT - KELTNER AND HELMUT Keltner with a wet towel in his hand cleaning the blood- dripping mouth of Helmut... KELTNER That was really very nice of you, Helmut... HELMUT Yeah, nice and STUPID! Helmut grabs the towel and throws it to the floor and turns on his side away from Keltner. Keltner bends down, gets the towel, sits on the edge of his bunk... looks up, wonders and ponders Helmut as we DISSOLVE TO: EXT. BARRACKS H - NIGHT The door to Barracks H slowly opens and Helmut peeks through the opening to see that all is clear... he slips out and walks along the dark, dreary alleyway towards the Guard's shack... he moves like a prisoner trying to miss the spotlights in a jail break... ANOTHER ANGLE Helmut gets to the Guards hut... he looks into the window, and sees the Guard he wants... sitting at his desk eating off a tray that has a meal fit for a king on it... including the "doilies"... wine, and a steak that would satisfy six men in Barracks H... Helmut looks around to be sure no one notices him and slowly slips up to the front door of the shack and knocks on the door... INT. GUARD'S SHACK - NIGHT GUARD (annoyed at being bothered) Come in! The meek and frightened Helmut enters the shack and walks over to the Guard's desk, and his eyes go immediately to the tray of food. While the Guard just stares at him... somewhat shocked at his presence in the shack. GUARD (breaking the silence) What the hell are you doing here? Who gave you permission to leave your quarters? Helmut tries to talk as the guard gets louder and louder. GUARD Are you some kind of privileged character? Helmut nods no... GUARD Then what are you doing out of the barracks? The frustration of not being able to answer, and the frustrations of being hungry... and the child-like treatment Helmut is getting from this Pig becomes emotionally too much... as he screams... HELMUT (turning red) If you'll shut your stupid mouth maybe I can answer one of your questions! The Guard looks at Helmut in disbelief... but at the same time a little delighted at this chance to show his German superiority... as he slowly gets up from behind the desk and crosses to Helmut, with a sneer that would frighten Rommel... GUARD (nose to nose with Helmut) I have a STUPID MOUTH? Helmut backs away towards the door, and the Guard moves closer and closer to him... backing him up against the door. HELMUT (meekly) I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice... He bows his head in fear, as well as concern for what he might have done to his chances of release. GUARD The volume of your voice isn't the issue... it's what comes out of your mouth that disturbs me... maybe you need a little lesson in respect and courtesy... And he smacks Helmut across the face with his black glove... GUARD ... and maybe I've been a little too soft with you... He smacks him again, harder... the glove now feels like a sword to Helmut... and his hands hang limp down by his sides. GUARD You see, Doork, I knew why you came in here... I knew why you left your barracks without permission... It's just that I hadn't heard you mention your release papers for so long I had hoped I could hear you begging once more... HELMUT (in a whisper) I'm sorry... GUARD (mimicking him) I'm sorry, I'm sorry... You're a sorry specimen of a human being... that's what you are... And he smacks him this time with all the force he can muster... GUARD Now, I will help you to your quarters, Herr Doork, here you will stay, and pray for release papers that may, or may not, ever come... This wakes Helmut's soul and he becomes erect and stonefaced at the words the guards just said... this look infuriates the guard even more... he grabs Helmut by the scruff of the neck... like grabbing a wet cat to be thrown out of the house... and he opens the door and pulls Helmut by the back of the office... out the door, down the three steps and onto the ground... and pulls him like a sack of potatoes to the barracks doorway... EXT. BARRACKS H - DOORWAY - NIGHT Helmut is just about beaten at this point as the guard opens the door of the barracks and pulls Helmut into the doorway, and his body stops on the threshold. INT. BARRACKS H - NIGHT SHOOTING OVER the men onto the doorway... in the deep b.g. the sad body and figure of the man lays in the doorway, as the Guard kicks him in the ribs, unmercifully... GUARD Now, get inside where you belong and don't ever let me catch you doing anything without permission again. Helmut slowly gets up... in pain and practically crawls to his bunk... having to pass all the men, almost as though he were ashamed .. he gets to his bunk, and tries vainly to get up to the top where he lives... Keltner helps him... and as he settles in his place... CLOSE - THE GUARD GUARD (yelling across the barracks) Reverend! If you don't watch that idiot, we may have to get him a keeper! The guard storms out the door... slamming it shut. CLOSE - KELTNER AND HELMUT Keltner leaning over the side of Helmut's bunk whispering... as the other men go back to their respective chores and whatever they were doing when the guard stormed in... KELTNER Helmut, Helmut, how could you think of doing such a thing? I begged you not to irritate him... and that I would ask him about your papers... that wasn't smart, Helmut... not smart at all... as a matter of fact... HELMUT (gritting his teeth) Leave me alone! ... and mind your own business... Just leave me be... Keltner knows this is nothing more than Helmut's dismay and pain in his heart talking... The kindly man drops down to his own bunk... just shaking his head... as if to say, how can I help him? as we: DISSOLVE TO: EXT. BARRACKS H - DAY The same Guard is motioning for the men to hurry and get outside... he is standing at the doorway to the barracks and the men are moving out into the ice cold morning as briskly as they can... the Guard moves inside after the last man has made his exit... INT. BARRACKS - DAY SHOOTING OVER the Guard as he looks around, we see Keltner coming out of the toilet area, rushing because he's late... he throws his towel on his bunk, and as he does... he sees what stops him in his tracks... KELTNER'S POV It is Helmut still sound asleep in his bunk... ANOTHER ANGLE Keltner moves towards Helmut to wake him... GUARD (in a sotto voice) Reverend, let him sleep... you move out, I'll take care of this... Keltner reluctantly starts to move out towards the front door, as the Guard passes him on his way to Helmut's bunk... Keltner goes out the door... the Guard sneaks over towards the bunk where Helmut is asleep and very sneakily slips the cover off Helmut's body... then proceeds to open the window above his head and the window alongside... and across the way and opens the back door... which is adjacent to the toilet area... and walks out of the barracks leaving the front door wide open... EXT. BARRACKS H - DAY All the men are lined up for inspection, they are all looking straight ahead as the Guard walks down the line. All except Keltner who can't help but look in the direction of the barracks where he knows Helmut is still sleeping. He throws a glance at the guard as if to say... why? Why are you doing this? Why did he leave Helmut sleeping, usually the one thing that would send the guard up a wall... why is he allowing this to happen? GUARD (as he finishes his walk) You are a sick looking group of things... I can't even call you human... because you're not... you're all lice... DISMISSED! The men break up and go about their business, they move in all directions, but Keltner starts for the doorway to the barracks and is detoured by the guard who knew he would, as he stands in the way of Keltner who has to turn away and go about his business... the Guard peeks into the barracks. INT. BARRACKS - GUARD'S POV - DAY Helmut still sleeping... EXT. BARRACKS - CLOSE - GUARD - DAY He is delighted... he grabs the door and slams it shut with a bang that would wake the dead... then opens it again and walks off... INT. BARRACKS - CLOSE - HELMUT - DAY He jumps from out of his hard sleep... foggy and unsure about where he is, what time it is and he looks around and sees the barracks are empty... and he panics... but he is also shivering... the barracks feel like the inside of a meat truck refrigerated somewhat below zero... Helmut grabs his pants from the front of his bunk, pulls the cover over him and tries to get the pants on under the cover... It is cold! (Photographically, we can show "cold"... Props: vapor/smoke.) He gets his pants on and jumps down onto the cold floor and dances from the ice-like floor, he bends down looking for his socks and shoes... he wears just a tee-shirt... Having trouble finding both shoes, he grabs the blanket again and covers himself with it, while searching for the other shoe... He finds the other shoe and proceeds to put them on... takes a beat and sees he has no socks on... reaches under the bank and pulls out the pair of socks... which stand straight up (from the cold ... he holds them in the air, and drops one at a time and they sound like "pans" hitting the floor... he takes one and blows warm air from his mouth into the socks, one at a time, which warms them... (Props: the socks need discussion!) He then proceeds to put his shoes on and puts one on, and then the other... now wearing both shoes he starts to tie the laces... he pulls them straight away to tie and they stand straight up! (Props: this is done with leather laces, pure leather... it works without any unnecessary rigging!) INSERT - THE STANDING STRAIGHT LACES BACK TO SCENE He finally gets them tied and starts, still sleepily, into the toilet area... (We can go for a great sound joke here.) He steps into the latrine, closes the door and we HEAR the SOUND of crushed ice being poured into the bowl... he flushes and we HEAR what might sound like an ice crusher... he steps out of the latrine and walks over to the basin and turns the water on. INSERT The water spigots... they both read "COLD". BACK TO SCENE And as he takes some water on his hands to his face... it is "cold" and his face just freezes from the pain of the cold... he looks around and sees the little metal ashtray, that looks like a small bowl or a tin from a used shaving cream lather soap... he fills it with water.. and to show his ingenuity, he takes a lighter from his pocket, places the tin on the edge of the sink and lights the fire under the tin (which couldn't possibly hold more than a handful of water) and proceeds to heat same... Once he is satisfied that it is at least warmer than the spigot supplied, he grabs for the tin which is so hot from the burning, he screams in another type pain... the pain of "HOT" hurting... he decides to flick his fingers in the tin bowl and splash some of the water on his face (which is by now, just drips of water)... brushes his teeth with his finger and soap... straightens his hair and exits the toilet to his bunk to get his shirt... another "ICE COLD" item... he feels how cold it is, and doesn't have the courage for another climate blast... he rolls up his shirt and places it under his armpit to warm it... as it hits under his arm... the cold just about wipes him out... he decides to sit on it... and he does. CLOSE - THE GUARD - AT THE DOOR He's been peeking all the while... He figures he's had his laugh, and it's the first time we see he can laugh... he steps into the barracks area, and yells: GUARD Doork! Move it out, and on the double!! Helmut jumps with fright, unravels his shirt, runs towards the open door putting on his shirt as we DISSOLVE TO: INT. BARRACKS H - NIGHT Most of the men are clustered around their bunks, and in the dull light we see some of them in the aisles, talking, playing cards... while most of the others are whistling, clapping, and laughing as Uhlmann does his silly little clog dance... it is apparent the ugly episode between Galt and Uhlmann has been forgotten for the moment. The lights are hung from cords down off the ceiling and for a complex this size it could use ten... there are but two. Uhlmann is having the time of his ignorant life... the more the men applaud, the more he "clog dances". MED. CLOSE SHOT - LUDWIG AND ADOLF They are both seated on their top bunk, Adolf enjoying the poor dance Uhlmann is giving as Ludwig looks down the aisle towards Helmut's bunk. LUDWIG (nudging Adolf) It looks like Helmut found some new ears to listen to his Super Star fantasies... Adolf takes a look, shrugs his shoulder, as if to say I couldn't care less... and goes on watching the action of Uhlmann and the other men... LUDWIG (to himself, but for Adolf to hear as well; a la Shakespeare, mimicking Helmut) Ringling Brothers would have done anything for me to appear with them but I had to do what was best for me! CLOSE - HELMUT AND THE FOUR NEW PRISONERS The four new men are surrounding Helmut on the top of his bunk listening to his bragging. HELMUT So I told Mr. Ringling if he wanted "Helmut" he'd have to bring his circus to Germany... I am a German, I told him, and my responsibility is to my own people who are my biggest fans. 1ST PRISONER (NEW ONE) Did you really say that? HELMUT (proudly) Of course I did... they offered me anything... anything I wanted to go with them. 2ND NEW PRISONER Hey! I saw the circus in Berlin about four years ago... Didn't you make your entrance in a long tail coat with a pair of tails on the jacket about fifty feet long? Sure! And a funny Little clown at the very end carrying the tails like a woman's train? Helmut studies the prisoners glare and decides he couldn't even remember the clown he saw was Gustav the Great, why not? No one would ever know... and he nods with a kind of studied humility... yes. 2ND NEW PRISONER You were great! Helmut eats it up. 2ND NEW PRISONER You should have seen him... You'd never know it was him... with the long tails and white tie... red nose... long hair... and a battered top hat... with the hair hanging way down to his shoulders... and, ah, let me see... oh, yeah... your mouth went from ear to ear. HELMUT (softly) Right! 3RD NEW PRISONER How do "clowns" ever come up with such ideas for faces and make-up? HELMUT It doesn't happen overnight... it takes years and years... You try many faces, then finally you hit the one that's just right for you. 4TH NEW PRISONER My kids will never believe this, I can't wait to... tell... His voice trails off as he realizes the hopelessness of what he was about to say. This puts a damper on the discussion and the men start to break up and get down off the bunk. Helmut, seeing his captive audience leaving... panics. HELMUT (emotionally) Wait, let me tell you some other things... I mean things that are really exciting and... please! Please... let me just have a few more... 1ST NEW PRISONER (ignoring Helmut completely) What's going on with those guys? He's looking off down the aisle where Uhlmann has his audience... The four prisoners move out into the aisle to get a better look, leaving Helmut perched on his bunk with a pleading and broken look of despair... HELMUT (a last attempt) Did you know "clowns" literally bequeath their faces to their sons, or sometimes to... He realizes it's futile as the four new prisoners move towards Uhlmann and the others down the aisle... 3RD PRISONER Come on, let's see what's such fun... He moves and the others move along with him. Helmut thinks about joining them, and starts to move off his bunk but his body won't respond... he just hangs there limply... his head lowered, a sad man. ANOTHER ANGLE SHOOTING OVER the men placing Helmut in the very deep b.g. as we see the four new prisoners walk over to watch the action... MED. CLOSE - UHLMANN, GALT, KELTNER, AND OTHERS Uhlmann is just finishing his dance with a spin, when he finally gets dizzy and topples over on one of the bunks. All the men applaud wildly. Uhlmann laying half down and half up on the lower bunk he landed on, breathing heavily... yells over to Galt... UHLMANN Hey, Galt, it's your turn, how about doin' one of your belly dances for us? All the men agree and start yelling for Galt to do it... Galt moves out into the center of the aisle in the clearing made by the men, and holds up his hands for silence... they quiet down and Galt looks around until he spots Keltner. GALT Reverend? The men become very still, they look from Galt to Keltner and back to Galt, their eyes reflecting suspicion of him, wondering what he's up to now. Galt is fully aware of this. GALT Well, Reverend, what do you think? Would a little belly-dancing be too much for the boys? Keltner studies Galt for a beat, then accepts his offer of a truce. KELTNER (moving over towards Galt) A little fun is what we need... so... if you'll all hold the noise down, I'll join in. A hushed cheer goes up from the men as Keltner stands besides Galt. Galt holds his hands over his head and nods for Keltner to do the same thing. The Reverend does, and now Galt begins undulating his hips. Keltner studies the move for a beat and then does the same thing but with comical awkwardness. Franz starts playing a slow sensuous rhythm on his harmonica. The men clap and whistle softly. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT He is sitting upright on top of his bunk, watching what Galt has Keltner doing, a look of disgust passes his face as he turns away from what he'd been watching and gets busy with his papers and figuring again. MED. SHOT - GALT, KELTNER They are just finishing their dance. The men applaud wildly but softly... Keltner, puffing, moves over to the side and sits on one of the bunks to catch his breath. Galt takes a few bows, and the men react with applause and whistling that's beginning to take on "noise" proportions... Keltner motions for the men to hold it down... and they do. 4TH NEW PRISONER Say, why don't we get the clown to do something? GALT A clown? Who's a clown?? HERMAN You've heard of "Helmut Doork". That's him down there! LUDWIG Don't waste your time. You'll never get the Great Doork to do anything. WIDER SHOT as he starts walking towards Helmut's bunk... 1ST NEW PRISONER Oh, I'm sure he will! The others follow right behind. There is a look on Keltner's face like he would like to stop them, but between his puffing and his certainty that Helmut will be alright, he stays where he is. CLOSE - ADOLF as he walks with the others. ADOLF You're wasting your time. He doesn't perform for the likes of us... he'll turn you down. LUDWIG He's right, we've been asking him for three years... I have a feeling he only does his little routines for the crowned heads of Europe. ADOLF And, of course, the BIG heads of Berlin. There is general laughter... as the group arrives at Helmut's bunk. CLOSE - HELMUT He sees something's going to happen, he puts his papers away and sits upright... waiting... his eyes catch Galt's eyes peering at him. Galt tells it all with his eyes... This one isn't "sacred" to the men... he might just be the pigeon Galt's been hoping for... the one every bully looks for, for his own brand of fun. 1ST PRISONER How about it, Doork? HELMUT (swinging his legs around ready to jump down) I'd like to, but I can't... really... I can't. GALT (strongly) Can't? Did I hear you say you can't? HELMUT (it stops him in his tracks; he stays up on the bunk) I'd like to do something... but... (pointing to the 2nd New Prisoner) He can tell you... He's seen me work... I need props... make-up... I work with a lot of different things... 2ND NEW PRISONER That's right... I did... and he does! HELMUT (in fast) Sure, tell them... I can't just do anything... I need lights, props, my costume. Galt doesn't like no for an answer... GALT (gritting his teeth) Now, me and these... gentlemen... we don't expect you to do your "act", just a little something that'll give us a laugh, that's all. Keltner moves in from o.s. and stands at the back of the group watching and listening. LUDWIG (to all the men) Aw, forget it... and that's probably his problem... he's forgotten how! GALT (trying to suck him in) Wait a minute, you guys... show people have to be in a mood... (to Franz) Play a little music, like in a circus... Franz starts playing his harmonica... slowly... GALT There! Ain't that nice? Don't it put you in a mood? HELMUT (getting fed up) I TOLD YOU! I need things to do my act. 2ND NEW PRISONER Hey, Doork, what about that drunk routine... that was funny... Helmut looks at him puzzled... he can't think or remember anything at this point... certainly not anything relating to any of the previous lies he's told... GALT (pacifying his head off) Yeah, that drunk thing... that does sound funny... HELMUT I still need many things... props and... 2ND NEW PRISONER (puzzled) I don't remember you using anything in that drunk routine. GALT (starting to fume) Hey... are you trying to fool us? With this Keltner moves in and up to Galt. KELTNER Leave him alone! GALT Stay out of this, Reverend. We're not doing anything... We just want him to join in the fun. UHLMANN (to the men) Right! If a Reverend can give us a laugh, why not a clown? All the men ad lib their agreement with what Uhlmann just said; it appears that they are all on Galt's side, and Keltner knows it. KELTNER (to Helmut, softly) It doesn't have to be anything special... a little dance, maybe? HELMUT (taking it all out on Keltner) Like that disgusting exhibition you did? Oh, no... not me! 4TH NEW PRISONER Go on, Doork, so I can tell my kids. HELMUT Can't you get it through your heads, I need... GALT (firmly) WE need you to give us a laugh. Galt grabs Helmut's jacket and pulls him off the bunk, nose to nose to him... GALT So... TRY! Galt has Helmut by the neck portion of the jacket, practically choking him to death... his vice-like hands are closing in on his throat and Helmut's trying vainly just to breathe... One of the prisoners starts pounding his feet and making a march-like noise yelling from the other end... "So try!"... "So try!"... "So try!"... "So try!"... the other prisoners in the barracks pick up the chant and the stomping... Keltner doesn't even hear the racket they've started because of his concern for Helmut being choked to death... He tries to loosen Galt's hands from Helmut's throat. KELTNER That's enough, leave him alone! GALT Stay out of it, Reverend! Galt spins Helmut around so that his back is facing the aisle and he walks him into the center area... the other men feeling this violence happening, and watching. Helmut being choked, triggers all of their venom and their hate and they really come on strong... stomping, yelling... THE MEN (ad lib) Choke him harder... see if that's funny! Make him dance! Hey, Doork!... be funny now! He don't look so funny to me! He sure as hell looks funny to me! Hey, Galt, pull his string and make the dummy funny! And they stomp and they stomp and they stomp... "So try!"... "So try!"... They get louder and louder... Helmut is kicking his legs, which are off the ground, and Galt won't let go. CLOSE - HELMUT His face is turning color... he hasn't a lot of air left in his lungs... and Keltner is practically hanging onto Galt trying to get his hands loose... and Galt could carry another three men without batting an eye. Galt puts him down slowly, in the middle of the aisle, so that just his feet touch the ground, but he keeps his hands around his throat. GALT Your public is calling, clown... now, clown! WIDER SHOT SHOOTING OVER Galt, Keltner and Helmut, we see the door of the barracks slam open and bang against the wall making more noise than anything all the men made together, and they all freeze... MED. CLOSE - THE GUARD He stands in the doorway, legs spread apart, hands on his waist... and he is wearing a raincoat, the barracks has become totally silent... all that is heard is the rain pecking away on the roof. Galt has let go of Helmut who just lays on the floor with Galt and Keltner on both sides of him... GUARD (walking slowly into the barracks) What is going on here? (to Helmut) On your feet! Helmut gets up, dizzily, just about getting oxygen back into his system... GALT (like a little boy) He was showing us some of his funny clown falls... The Guard surveys the faces of the others as they stare back. GUARD Because of all the noise coming from in here -- I have been called up front to explain... I don't like to be called up front... I don't like to have to explain... (menacingly) And, you might not like it, either. (a beat) Back to your bunks, all of you... Turn out the lights, and keep it QUIET ! As the guard turns to the door to go, Helmut takes a step forward about to stop the guard, Keltner grabs his arm and turns him the other way... the Guard exits closing the door, quietly behind him... The men start to disperse... Galt gives Helmut a "I'll get you for this" look and returns to his own bunk with Uhlmann almost up his ass following... Keltner leads Helmut back to their bunk. HELMUT (whispering) I was just going to ask him about the forms... my release... KELTNER (shaking his head) That was not the time, believe me! Keltner sits Helmut down next to him on his lower bunk, as Helmut rubs his throat, and tries swallowing a few times... KELTNER Hurt much? HELMUT (beaten) No, I'm alright... thank you. They both sit in silence... Helmut breaks the silence... HELMUT Johann, why do they pick on me? I've never done anything to them. KELTNER You've never done anything for them! Helmut dislikes Keltner's remark and gets up from the lower bunk and starts up to his. He gets to the top bunk and starts to get onto it, stops and whispers to Keltner. HELMUT You think I should have performed? KELTNER The men would have appreciated it. Helmut rolls into his bunk, the lights go out and he lies on his back staring at the ceiling. Keltner sits on the side of his bunk and takes his shoes off... periodically the rays from the searchlights revolving outside cross the windows to momentarily flood the barracks with light. After a few seconds, Helmut leans over to whisper to Keltner. HELMUT Johann! KELTNER (he stands up, eye level with Helmut) What is it? HELMUT They don't believe me, do they? I mean about being a clown? KELTNER Oh, I'd say you've convinced most. However -- (a long beat) There is one you haven't convinced... Helmut stares at Keltner, knowing full well what's coming... yet doesn't have the courage to take the chance that it might be another thought... so he waits... KELTNER (gently) You, Helmut... you! CLOSE - HELMUT The truth of Keltner's charge hits Helmut with an overpowering force. He looks at Keltner for a beat... his eyes filled with pain, then slowly turns away from him, leaving him standing there as we PAN with Helmut and HOLD on... CLOSE - THE WINDOW The rain is pouring down. DISSOLVE TO: FULL SHOT - YARD - DAY It is the next morning, a chilly, damp day following a night of rain. LOUDSPEAKER (O.S.) Attention! Attention! All prisoners will assemble immediately in the yard. All prisoners will assemble immediately in the yard. Attention! Attention! The loudspeakers repeat the command. Across the muddy, puddle splotched yard, a barbed wire barricade about six feet high has been erected, dividing the camp in two. A number of guards patrol the fence on both sides. EXT. BARRACKS H - WINDOW - DAY Uhlmann is looking out into the yard. He motions to someone to "take a look at this". INT. BARRACKS H - DAY Galt has just arrived at the window where Uhlmann is standing. UHLMANN They've put up barbed wire! MED. SHOT - FAVORING HELMUT, KELTNER They look at each other in wonder as they start into the aisle. The men in the barracks are frantically trying to organize themselves. EXT. PRISON YARD - DAY The prisoners are pouring out of the barracks doorway. Galt and Uhlmann are already standing outside as Helmut, Keltner, Herman, Adolf, Franz, Ludwig, Stout Prisoner, New Prisoners, join them. All look o.s. momentarily speechless at what they see. GALT What the hell... ? FULL SHOT - YARD - PRISONERS' POV Beyond the fence we see men, women and children standing in groups near the barracks on that side of the camp. The SOUND of children crying can be heard. VARIOUS SHOTS - MEN As they quickly scurry to line up in front of their own hut. STOUT PRISONER Youngsters! They've got youngsters over there. YOUNG PRISONER Women! ADOLF Another fence! MED. SHOT - PRISONERS - FAVORING KELTNER Helmut stands next to him. HELMUT What does it mean? What do they need a fence for? KELTNER (shaking his head) Misery loves company. Looks like they're going to deny us even that. The Guard is shoving the late-comers into place. GUARD All right. All right, move. Hurry it up. Move. ANOTHER ANGLE SHOOTING ACROSS the prisoners in f.g. toward the new fence. Guards move among the men, herding them into lines. On the other side of the fence, we can see the new arrivals lining up, being prodded into place by Guards. LONG SHOT - PRISON YARD - DAY On both sides of the fence, the prison inmates have assembled in the wet, forbidden yard. On one side are the regular prisoners, who watch the guards warily as they straighten their lines. On the other side are the new prisoners -- about two hundred frightened Jews of all ages, including thirty or forty children and a number of very old men and women. They stand in absolute silence as the loudspeakers blare again, except for the crying children. LOUDSPEAKER Attention! The Commandant issues the following special order: the north side of the camp is now temporary quarters for non-Aryan prisoners. Fraternizing between Aryan and non-Aryan prisoners is strictly prohibited. Any violation of this order will be severely punished. Heil Hitler... Repeating... ANOTHER ANGLE SHOOTING THROUGH the booted, outspread legs of a soldier guard in f.g. toward the line of prisoners behind him. One woman holds a child of about three who cries inconsolably. LOUDSPEAKER The Commandant issues the following special order: As the announcement is read, the guard's legs turn around, and he walks away from the CAMERA toward the woman. He stands before her menacingly, and she clutches the child closer to her in a futile attempt to hush its crying. LOUDSPEAKER The north side of the camp is now temporary quarters for non-Aryan prisoners. Fraternizing between Aryan and non-Aryan prisoners is... MED. SHOT - PRISONERS SHOOTING along line of prisoners from barracks H to show their various reactions as the announcement continues -- disdain, surprise, sympathy and relief. The guard stands with his back to the line at the end farthest from the CAMERA. Galt is near the CAMERA. GALT (under his breath) Jews! Prisoners nearest to Galt eye him questioningly. LOUDSPEAKER ... strictly prohibited. Any violation of this order will be severely punished. Heil Hitler. The loudspeakers go dead. The prisoners stand silently studying the new arrivals across the yard. The new prisoners self-consciously file back into their huts on the other side of the fence. As the prisoners begin to break rank -- GUARD Prisoners from barracks H remain in line. Barracks H will remain in line. The prisoners turn and look in direction of the Guard as they straighten their lines. The guard paces slowly along the line inspecting it silently. On the fringes of the scene, we can see prisoners from other barracks gathering to see what their fellow convicts are in for. MED. CLOSE SHOT - GUARD Finally he stops and contemplates his shabby charges with disgust. GUARD I said last night I didn't think I would enjoy being called up to account for the noise coming from barracks H. I can tell you this morning I didn't enjoy it. He walks down the line, looking at each man. GUARD I don't know what caused the trouble last night, but I'm not blaming you entirely. (fatherly) I failed you. I should have seen that you all have much too much energy for the confined life you lead here. (he smiles benevolently) GUARD We're going to correct that. I've been told that energy comes from food. MED. SHOT - PRISONERS Their faces reflect that they know what is coming. ANOTHER ANGLE SHOOTING PAST the line of prisoners in f.g. to the Guard, who has paused to let his words sink in. GUARD So... to help you... all rations are canceled for the next... forty-eight hours. A hushed ripple of ad lib grumbling and growling rolls along the line of prisoners. GUARD And, if that doesn't quiet you down, I'll think of some other ideas you'll like even less. I'm going to make this barracks the quietest in the camp. (roaring) Is that clear? The prisoners are silent but their faces register their resentment. GUARD Now, don't blame me. (with sly meaning) I didn't start the trouble last night. The truth of what he has said is reflected in the faces of the men. GUARD Fall out. ANOTHER ANGLE - FAVORING HELMUT, KELTNER As they stand with the other prisoners, watching the guard move off. Keltner looks worried, the others are angry, Helmut seems undecided as his eyes follow the guard. HERMAN Bastard! STOUT PRISONER I can't go without food. I'll starve. Suddenly Helmut makes up his mind and starts off after the Guard. Keltner, sensing the mood of the men, puts a restraining hand on his arm, whispers to him hoarsely. KELTNER Helmut, don't. But Helmut shakes him off and hurries away. The other prisoners notice where he is headed and exchange looks. Keltner shakes his head. Galt's eyes narrow as he watches Helmut run off after the guard. GALT (loudly) He's the one we can thank for the diet. MED. SHOT - GUARD - MOVING The CAMERA MOVES BACKWARD as the Guard strides toward it, his face sour. Behind him we can see Helmut running to catch up to him. When he is close enough... HELMUT Sir? Corporal... The guard stops and turns so abruptly that Helmut almost runs into him. GUARD What? HELMUT (obsequiously) Doork. Helmut Doork. Remember? The papers... You said... Remember the special forms for the Gestapo to review my case. GUARD No papers. He stalks off. Helmut starts to say something more but thinks better of it. Crushed, he starts back towards his barracks, head down. He walks sadly for several steps, then looks up and stops, his expression changing to one of uneasiness. MED. SHOT - PRISONERS - HELMUT'S POV A dozen of Helmut's barracks-mates, including Galt, Uhlmann, Adolf, Ludwig, Herman, the Stout Prisoner, several of the New Prisoners, are drifting across the yard towards him, and the looks on many faces bode no good for Helmut. FULL SHOT - HELMUT, PRISONERS The men converge and form a half circle around him. As the men close in on him, he moves back until we cna see the barbed wire fence behind him. Helmut senses their disposition and remains warily silent. Keltner and Franz stand slightly behind the pack. GALT What'd you say now, Mr. Doork, Almighty! (to men) Last night he wouldn't give us a laugh. Today they won't give us food. LUDWIG (venomously) What were you doing? Making a deal with your guard pal to slip you some food? HELMUT (indignantly) No! I was asking him about the forms he'd promised to get me. (admonishing) Because of last night... I'm not getting them. Keltner, seeing how disappointed Helmut is, moves up through the group. KELTNER (encouragingly) When this blows over, Helmut, we'll... LUDWIG (interrupting) Don't feel sorry for him. He's got no one to blame but himself. The whole thing was his doing. ADOLF He's been telling us how great he is; how funny. Why? Why couldn't he have done a trick or two for us? UHLMANN The Reverend did a turn. What's so special about him? The men voice agreement... Helmut should have performed. Helmut starts to go around one end of the semi-circle but the men bar his way. KELTNER Don't start anything here. We're in enough trouble. The other prisoners in the b.g., those who have remained in the yard to see what was going to happen to the men of barracks H, sense trouble, the kind they want no part of, and begin scurrying back to their own barracks. UHLMANN We're not starting anything, we're finishing something. GALT We've decided Doork here is going to keep us laughing so hard we won't be able to hear our stomachs growling. STOUT PRISONER Better hurry it up, clown. 'Cause my stomach's growling already. Can you hear it? HERMAN Hear it! The whole place hears it. The men take a few steps toward Helmut as they call for him to perform. MEN Yeah, Doork, do a trick. How about that night in Munich when they wouldn't stop laughing. How about it, Doork? Come on, just a little trick. Give us one laugh. That's all we're asking for. Come on, Helmut, do something. Helmut, hoping to stall the inevitable, still hoping to preserve for a while longer his beautiful myth of being a great clown, holds up his hands for the men to be quiet. Franz interpreting the gesture as giving in to the demands of the men... FRANZ (excitedly) He's going to do it! He's going to do it! The men quiet down and move back a few steps to give Helmut room. HELMUT (grandly) Nothing pleases an artist more than to perform. I'm going to do a real show for you. All I ask is that you give me a little time... time to get things together... things I can use as props... I'll even try to make a costume, and... ADOLF You don't need a costume. We've got imagination. (TO MEN) Right? Murmurs of agreement. HERMAN Do the drunk pretzel like the kid suggested last night. GALT (commanding) And do it now, clown. No more stalling. Helmut, still trying to hold on to his dream of greatness, draws himself up proudly and begins to move forward. HELMUT Let me through. ADOLF Aren't we good enough for you? LUDWIG He'd do his tricks fast enough if his guard pal asked him. Wouldn't you, Doork? As the mention of the word "guard" the mood of the men turns ugly. MED. SHOT - PRISONERS - HELMUT'S POV Their faces show their determination that Helmut will perform or... else. KELTNER Do something, Karl. For God's sake, do something. GALT And be sure it's funny. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, GALT Helmut is frightened. He strains to look beyond the men for help. He opens his mouth to scream for the Guard, but Galt puts his hand over Helmut's mouth. GALT (his face pressed close to Helmut's) You make us scream... scream with laughter... or I'll tear you to shreds on the wire. Galt presses Helmut right up to the barbed wire fence so he can feel the barbs in his back. FULL SHOT - HELMUT, MEN Galt takes his hand away from Helmut's mouth. Helmut doesn't utter a sound. He knows that Galt and the men mean business and he now must do something. He nods his head. HELMUT All right... all right. The men move back to give him room. Frantically, he tries to think of something to do... he knows it must be great... or else his myth will explode. He walks around in a little circle, trying, trying to think of something. Finally he faces them. He bows his legs and pretends he's a bow-legged man trying to walk a high wire, but he's so frightened the result is pathetic, not funny. PAN SHOT - PRISONERS The camera works across their faces, which are expressionless. MED. SHOT - HELMUT Seeing that he is getting no reaction from his "audience", Helmut tries something else. He pulls his shirt over his head and walks around like a headless man. He pretends to trip over some unseen object, peers through the front of his shirt at it, and stamps on the object. Again he tries to walk over it, and again he slips. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, MEN as Helmut starts to repeat the same routine, many of the men are openly contemptuous. Galt wears a smirk. Keltner, unable to watch Helmut's degradation, moves away. Others express their disappointment, their disdain. MEN If he's Germany's greatest clown, God help the Fatherland. Doork, the Great! You got paid for that? To go without food is bad enough, but to have to watch that! 2ND NEW PRISONER (accusingly) You're not the clown I saw. You lied. You're big all right. A big liar. 4TH NEW PRISONER (contemptuously) And I was going to tell my kids! UHLMANN He's no clown. Not even a bad one. HELMUT I am. I am a clown! They move away from him. HELMUT (continuing) Give me a chance. I just got started. But the men continue to walk away. Helmut tries to do a hand stand, but his hands slip in the mud, and he lands ignominously on all fours. When he looks up, only Adolf, Galt and Uhlmann remain. ADOLF (sadly) That's what we've been eating our hearts out to see! (a beat) You stink. You really stink. HELMUT I... I slipped. I can do it. Seeing the disbelief on their faces, Helmut becomes almost hysterical. He is still on his knees. HELMUT I am a clown. I am. I am. He pounds on the ground in frustration. Galt spits contemptuously, and the three start to leave. Galt turns back, looks down at Helmut. Very deliberately, he comes forward to stand at a mud puddle. GALT Doork the Great. With that he kicks a shower of mud directly into Helmut's face. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT The mud splatters over his face. He cries out. His hands go to his eyes instinctively. he kneels there, rocking back and forth in misery. Then from o.s., we HEAR a tiny, tentative laugh -- the tiniest laugh ever heard. Helmut looks up quickly. He isn't sure that he heard it. Then it comes again, a little stronger. He looks around quickly to see who has come back to taunt him, to ridicule him. LONG SHOT - PRISON YARD - HELMUT'S POV The yard is empty except for a few prisoners from other barracks way off on the other side. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT He is puzzled. Then again he hears the laugh o.s. He turns slowly to look behind him. MED. SHOT - BOY - HELMUT'S POV On the other side of the fence stands a wide-eyed boy of about eight, who is watching Helmut timidly. The ragged youngster laughs again, hesitantly, as if unsure what Helmut is doing is supposed to be funny, but finding it so nevertheless. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT He looks uncertainly at the youngster. Is the child ridiculing him, too? He leans over the mud puddle and looks at his reflection. He likes what he sees. The mud on his face looks almost like a primitive clown mask. Very deliberately Helmut scoops up more mud and puts a blob of it on the end of his nose. He waits for the child's reaction. CLOSE SHOT - BOY His eyes are laughing, but his little lips are pressed tight together. He has been taught not to make sounds... not even sounds of laughter. But finally what he is looking at becomes too much for him and the laughter spills out between his lips as they form a smile. He laughs delightedly now, satisfied that Helmut is being purposely amusing. TWO SHOT - HELMUT, BOY Helmut gets to his feet, bows slightly and stiffly to the child, and then attempts another hand stand. This time he holds himself up for a moment and then deliberately allows himself to fall on his back in the mud. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT As he lands, he quickly glances off towards his barracks, but from the look of disappointment on his face, we know that none of his barracks mates are watching. When he hears more laughter from o.s., he quickly rolls on his side to look. MED. SHOT - CHILDREN - HELMUT'S POV Two more youngsters have joined the first, and all are laughing excitedly. The first child jumps up and down, clapping his hands. WIDER ANGLE - FROM THE FENCE - FAVORING HELMUT Helmut gets up and bows, more deeply this time, a tribute to the children's vindication for his claim that he is a clown. He turns toward the direction of his barracks. HELMUT (screaming at top of voice) Come back, damn you, come back. The children... they're laughing. They're laughing. I am a clown. I am a clown. He turns back to the children and again bows. He quickly leans down, looks at his reflection in the puddle, and scoops up a handful of mud which he plasters on his nose to make a bulbous, artificial proboscis. He turns back to the children and in pantomime, pretends to see a fly buzzing about and tries to swat it. The imaginary fly buzzes closer. The CAMERA MOVES UP to -- CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT As the "fly" lands on his nose. He looks cross-eyed at the mud blob, then swats at it. The blob falls off. MED. SHOT - CHILDREN There are now nine or ten youngsters at the fence, all squealing with delight. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT He bows again, and as his head comes up he looks o.s. toward his barracks, still hoping that someone will be watching his "great" success. When he turns back to the children, we see that he continues to smile -- while tears course down his cheeks through the mud still caked on them. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MESS HALL - DAY The last barracks on the open end of the camp on the political prisoners' side. Outside the building is a low counter arrangement with two prisoners behind it serving mush and black bread to a long line of men, all of whom carry bowls and spoons. This time in mid-July, three weeks after the incident at the fence. The day is bright and hot. Our ANGLE FAVORS Helmut as he nears the prisoner who is serving up the mush. MED. SHOT - HELMUT As he moves up to be served and holds out his bowl. The prisoner - messman spoons a blob of mush into it. Then he looks around quickly and, before Helmut can pull back his bowl, slops another half spoonful into it with a wink at Helmut, who gives him a grateful smile in return. Helmut moves on to the bread server, who gives him a big grin as he slips two pieces of bread into the bowl on top of the mush. Helmut hurries away, the CAMERA FOLLOWING him. He walks strangely, as if having trouble controlling his own feet. Helmut ducks around the corner of the barracks nearest the mess hall, then peers cautiously back into the main yard. Satisfied that he hasn't been noticed, he quickly puts one piece of bread into his pocket and takes out his spoon. Holding the second piece of bread beneath the bowl, he wolfs down a few mouthfuls of the mush. Then he smooths out the remainder with the spoon to make the mush appear untouched. He places the one slice of bread back on top of it, and studies the end result. Nodding approval, he licks his spoon clean and puts it back in his pocket. He goes back around the corner of the barracks into the main yard and heads for the next building. CLOSE SHOT - BARE FEET This pair of massive feet are the property of the Big Prisoner, a massive hulk of a man. OLD PRISONER'S VOICE Don't know how you can go without shoes. Soles of my feet are too sensitive. The CAMERA PANS UPWARD to the Big Prisoner and an Old Prisoner, sitting against the side of their hut. The Old Prisoner, a frail man, with shirt off, is finishing his mush. BIG PRISONER It's my stomach that's sensitive. OLD PRISONER (looking o.s., smiles) Here comes your second helping. As Helmut's feet walk into FRAME and stop next to the Big Prisoner, we see the reason for his peculiar walk. He is wearing a pair of enormous shoes, many sizes too large for him and cut open along the soles from the toes to the insteps so that they flap as he moves along. ANOTHER ANGLE as Helmut joins them and holds out his bowl of bread and mush to the Big Prisoner. HELMUT Here. Still grinning, the Big Prisoner puts his empty bowl on the ground beside him and takes Helmut's bowl. Holding the bread aside, he digs into the mush. Helmut watches him eat, his own hunger written all over his face. After a few bites, this makes the Big Prisoner a little self-concious. BIG PRISONER How're the shoes? HELMUT Perfect. The Big Prisoner nods and goes back to eating, satisfied that he has made a fair bargain and shouldn't be embarrassed about taking Helmut's food. HELMUT Don't forget the bowl. The Big Prisoner, his mouth full of mush, only nods. Helmut, tearing his eyes from the food, moves off. The Big Prisoner watches him go. Suddenly, he looks down at the departing Helmut's feet, and his face darkens. BIG PRISONER (irked) Hey, Doork! Helmut stops and turns as the Big Prisoner shoves himself away from the hut and goes to him, staring down at the shoes. BIG PRISONER My shoes! The Big Prisoner reaches out with the large toe of one bare foot and lifts up the flapping toe of one of Helmut's shoes. He lets it drop again. BIG PRISONER I said you could use 'em, not ruin 'em. HELMUT I had to fix them this way... for the act, you know. Wait till you see how funny it is. BIG PRISONER Yeah. But will I feel like laughing when it gets cold! HELMUT Don't worry. BIG PRISONER Worry! I'm the one who'll get frost bitten toes, not you. HELMUT When I return them, they'll be like new. I promise. The Old Prisoner has finished his mush and puts his bowl down on the ground and moves forward to join Helmut and the Big Prisoner. BIG PRISONER For what you've done to my shoes I should get more food. OLD PRISONER He's got to have something to eat. The Big Prisoner looks at him questioningly. OLD PRISONER (continuing) If he gives you his other meal... he'll starve to death. Then you won't get anything. This reasoning makes sense to the Big Prisoner. BIG PRISONER (to Helmut) Remember... you fix them before you bring 'em back. HELMUT Promise. Helmut shakes his head "yes", turns and quickly hustles off in the direction of his own barracks, the CAMERA MOVING with him. After a few steps. BIG PRISONER'S VOICE Doork! MED. SHOT - BIG PRISONER - HELMUT'S POV The Big Prisoner looks at Helmut, then at the piece of bread Helmut had given him. His manner is self-conscious. He tosses the piece of bread to Helmut. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, BIG PRISONER, OLD PRISONER Helmut catches the bread, his smile expressing his thanks. The Old Prisoner puts his arm around the Big Prisoner's shoulder, while the Big Prisoner tries not to show that he is pleased with himself for his "generous" act. MED. SHOT - HELMUT Taking bites of the bread, Helmut, rather jauntily, lopes off toward his own barracks. As he moves among the other prisoners, the CAMERA MOVING with him, we see many of them point or nod toward Helmut and smile good-naturedly. Helmut is completely unaware of them, so lost is he in his own thoughts. EXT. BARRACKS H - MED. SHOT - KELTNER, FRANZ, HERMAN - DAY They sit in the shade beside their barracks. Herman is using his empty bowl as a fan. Keltner is just finishing his food. Franz is examining his jacket, his empty bowl beside him on the ground. FRANZ (IRRITATED) I mean it this time. KELTNER Don't tell us. Tell him. Franz holds up the tattered jacket to show that a button is missing. FRANZ What am I supposed to do? Use pins? HERMAN Who has a pin? Keltner chuckles. FRANZ You can laugh. He isn't always after you for something. KELTNER No? He fishes in a pocket and pulls out a large piece of chalk, holds it up. FRANZ What's that? KELTNER Chalk. FRANZ What for? KELTNER (SHRUGS) Says he can mash it into a powder and put it on his face. Herman stops fanning along enough to ask... HERMAN Where'd you get it? KELTNER From a guard. Astonished, Herman and Franz look at him questioningly. KELTNER (lowers his voice) A very bad Nazi. Still has a heart. Herman and Franz smile. Then Franz holds up his tattered coat. FRANZ I wish he'd have a heart and use someone else's coat. Or better yet -- his own. KELTNER (looking o.s. and nodding) Ask him. WIDER ANGLE - FAVORING HELMUT As he comes flapping up, still munching on the piece of bread given to him by the Big Prisoner. Keltner holds out the chalk to him. KELTNER Finally got it. Helmut takes it and examines it in a very professional manner. Herman and Franz exchange looks. Keltner waits for Helmut to speak. KELTNER (a little annoyed) Isn't that what you wanted? HELMUT (holding up the chalk) This will do more for the act than anything. Wait'll you see! KELTNER (a sigh of relief) For a moment there you had me worried. FRANZ (indicating bread Helmut's nibbling on) I see you got smart. HELMUT His conscience bothered him. KELTNER I thought he would kill you when he saw what you had done to his shoes. HELMUT (sheepishly) So did I. The men laugh. FRANZ I don't know what I'm laughing at... look at what he's doing to my coat. (holds it up) Look at it! Yesterday a button off. And you've got it ripped here under the arm. Besides all that falling down isn't doing it any good. HELMUT (firmly) I've got to have it. It is the only one I can get on and still is tight enough to look funny. FRANZ At the rate you are tearing it up, it's going to look a lot funnier. ANOTHER ANGLE SHOOTING PAST Helmut and group and in f.g. toward the main yard, where we see Galt and Uhlmann approaching. During the ensuing dialogue, Galt spots Helmut, nudges Uhlmann and together they come toward him. KELTNER Give in, Franz. You know he's going to talk you out of it again. HELMUT I'll be careful. I swear. Besides, I've got to have it. I explained before... a clown can't change his costume. It's his trademark. FRANZ I know... I know... but... Galt and Uhlmann join the group, looking to start trouble. GALT (interrupting) Why should he give it to a Jew clown? Right, kid? FRANZ That's got nothing to do with it. GALT What's the matter with you bastards anyway? All he ever did for us was cause trouble, but for them... (nodding toward the other side) ... he can't do enough. (a beat) I say he's one of them. KELTNER (coolly) If he were, he'd be over there Through this Helmut remains silent -- his eyes focused on the coat. GALT That's where he belongs. Franz and Keltner get to their feet. Herman remains seated. FRANZ What're you so hot about? It's no skin off your... UHLMANN (cutting in) We've got a good reason for not liking them. GALT If it wasn't for them... we wouldn't be in here. This surprises the men. Herman gets to his feet. HERMAN What'd you mean? UHLMANN A bunch of them got picked up with papers we'd sold them. And what'd they do? Turn us in, they did. The ungrateful... KELTNER So that was it! Counterfeit papers. I can imagine the prices. GALT Supply and demand, Reverend. Supply and demand. Deliberately, Franz hands his coat to Helmut. FRANZ Take it, Doork -- anytime you want it. Helmut accepts the coat... nodding his head in the gracious manner of a ruler accepting homage from a faithful subject. He turns smartly and slowly struts away with as much dignity as he can muster in his big shoes which flap with every step he takes. The others stand and stare at Galt and Uhlmann. UHLMANN What's so terrible about what we did? Lot of them got out of the country with our papers. They were damn good counterfeits. Keltner, without a word, turns and goes off after Helmut. GALT (calling to Keltner, very proudly) And what's more, we never charged for children. Never. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, KELTNER As Keltner catches up with Helmut. The CAMERA MOVES BACK as they walk along the side of the barracks toward the door. KELTNER I've been meaning to ask you. Heard anymore about the request for a review of your case? Helmut doesn't hear him as he's deep in his own thoughts. HELMUT Did you hear the laughs I got yesterday? Keltner nods. HELMUT Not just from the children... but the adults, too. You know where a lot of clowns make a big mistake? They play just for the children. They forget... it's the parents, the adults that buy the tickets. KELTNER Never thought of that. Helmut stops, faces Keltner, a sly smile on his face. HELMUT They said I couldn't come up with anything new. Keltner looks puzzled. HELMUT At the circus. Schmidt and the rest. Wait'll they see my act now. It's funny. Really funny. (a beat) Isn't it? KELTNER The children certainly enjoy it. Helmut begins to move along again with Keltner following. HELMUT What I needed was time. Time to concentrate on new material. A man's got to have time alone. KELTNER (glancing around) You call this being alone? Helmut takes a few more steps then stops short. HELMUT Do you think... maybe... they'd let me go to other camps and entertain? Keltner is about to say something... but shrugs his shoulders. He knows there's not much point in trying to make Helmut look at things the way they really are. Helmut starts to walk again. HELMUT I'd have to get to the Commandant. Would need his permission. They arrive at the steps to the barracks. Helmut swings Franz's coat over his shoulder as he starts up the steps. HELMUT If you have time later, I'd like you to see something I've been working on. I hunch down and do a tiny soldier parading. Think they'll like it? KELTNER (pointedly) Who? The adults? HELMUT (matter of fact) The children, of course. KELTNER I thought the smart clown only played to the adults. Helmut, caught in a contradiction of his own "theory" of clowning, gives Keltner an annoyed look, then goes into the barracks letting the door slam behind him. CLOSE SHOT - KELTNER As he stands at the bottom of the steps -- he shakes his head and smiles as he marvels at the change taking place in the pompous Helmut as the little gentle clown within him struggles to emerge. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. PRISON YARD - PAN SHOT - CHILDREN - DAY The CAMERA is PANNING across the faces of about forty children behind the fence as they watch Helmut o.s. Some of them are laughing; some clapping; some squealing with glee, and a few just watching quietly, but with laughter in their eyes. Behind them, near the barracks on the non-Aryan side, a number of adults also are looking on, but they hang back, fearful that getting too close to the fence might provoke the always anticipated wrath of the guards. EXT. PRISON YARD - FULL SHOT - DAY We see now that Helmut on his side of the fence is performing for the children on the other side of the menacing barbed wire fence. Behind him, also at a safe distance because they still aren't certain of the official reaction to all of this, a number of his fellow political prisoners are watching his antics. But, in spite of his talk about the importance of playing to the adults -- it is the children that Helmut plays to -- and it is for their laughter that he listens. The CAMERA MOVES IN to -- MED. FULL SHOT - HELMUT And we see that he has used the chalk to whiten his face. With charcoal he has blackened his eyebrows, formed a wide black mouth and drawn lines down over his eyelids to his cheekbones, giving him the appearance of a clown at once sad and happy. At the moment he is coatless, but Franz's coast lies nearby on the ground. For the stunt he is doing now Helmut carries the remains of an old broom and a piece of cardboard. He is trying to sweep a small heap of dirt he has gathered onto the cardboard, but each time he tries, the dirt goes over the cardboard and he must sweep it into a pile again. After a few attempts he feigns exasperation and ponders the problem. Inspiration comes. He sweeps the dirt into a pile again, bends over and very carefully sweeps it into the front of one of his shoes, holding up the split top to let it in. This accomplished, he is very proud of himself, but when he tries to take a step, some of the dirt comes out. Frustrated, he ponders again, and again has an inspiration. He removes the shoe and puts it under his arm. But as he walks away with it, all the dirt slides out through the open toe. The children roar with delight. CLOSE SHOT - LITTLE GIRL She is a flaxen-haired youngster of about five who holds a weathered rag doll as she jumps up and down for sheer joy at Helmut's performance. CLOSE SHOT - LITTLE BOY He is a completely delighted boy of perhaps seven. Each time Helmut does something he particularly enjoys he hugs himself and spins around. CLOSE SHOT - BROTHER AND SISTER The girl is no more than four; the boy about eight. He clings to her hand as they watch Helmut, unsmiling, perhaps not understanding. The boy looks at his sister, and a tiny smile tugs at her mouth. The boy smiles back. The girl giggles. The boy laughs outright. They have re-discovered happiness. They look back at Helmut, both laughing. CLOSE SHOT - SISTERS The older girl is ten or eleven; her sister five or six, tugs at her arm, and the older girl bends down to her. The younger girl whispers to her, pointing to Helmut, and the older girl picks her up. The little one puts her arms tightly around her sister's neck. Both laugh merrily. MED. FULL SHOT - HELMUT He is putting on Franz's too-small jacket. He tries to button it, but it won't go around him. He sucks in his belly, but then his pants begin to slip, and he grabs at them with an embarrassed look at the laughing children. Deciding that the only way to button the coat is to hunch his shoulders, he tries that, but now his shoulders must remain hunched. He manages to pick up the broom and puts it over his shoulder, playing soldier. But when he tries to snap to attention, the coat pops open again, bringing another roar of laughter from Helmut's audience. Now he marches a few steps toward the CAMERA, stops, snappily puts the rifle down at rest position and salutes -- knocking himself flat. Another roar of laughter. As it swells, we -- PAN SHOT - JEWISH PRISONERS The laughter o.s. continues to swell as the CAMERA PANS across the faces of the adult Jewish prisoners huddled near their huts. They smile, fearfully at first, then break into timorous laughter. ARYAN PRISONERS - PAN SHOT As the laughter swells even more, the CAMERA MOVES over the faces of the political prisoners on Helmut's side of the camp. They, too, are laughing -- some tolerantly; some at Helmut rather than with him, but they are laughing. As the laughter continues to SWELL, the CAMERA PANS over to yard-guard. He is trying very hard not to laugh. The result is a self-conscious giggle. As the laughter grows even louder, the CAMERA PANS as though wafted on the waves of laughter, up to a guardtower, and we see two rifle-armed soldiers in the tower watching the performance below them. They gesture in Helmut's direction and laugh. The CAMERA continues to PAN over to the administration building and UP to an open window on the second floor. CUT TO: INT. COMMANDANT'S OFFICE - FULL SHOT - DAY LT. SCHARFF, handsome, mid-30's, stands with his back to CAMERA at an open window in a small, but luxuriously furnished office. The window through which he is looking opens onto the prison yard. An AIDE pokes his head in the doorway. AIDE (in a loud whisper) He's coming back down the hall. Scharff nods, quickly closes the window, gives a look around the room, and follows the Aide out. CUT TO: INT. COMMANDANT'S OUTER OFFICE - FULL SHOT As Scharff comes through the door from the adjoining room. The Aide is standing in front of a small desk. Scharff takes his position beside the door into the outer office. They wait. After a beat, the room's other door opens and in comes COL. HEINRICH BESTLER, a slightly built, pinch-faced SS officer in his 50's. Scharff and Aide spring to attention and give him the salute. SCHARFF AND AIDE Heil Hitler. BESTLER Heil Hitler. (striding into his inner office as he passes Scharff) BESTLER (continuing) Come in. CUT TO: INT. COMMANDANT'S OFFICE - FULL SHOT Bestler goes directly to the desk and sits down. Scharff stands at attention just inside the door. BESTLER Oh, stand at ease. And, close the door. Scharff closes the door and moves over to stand near the desk. BESTLER I don't have to tell you why your Commandant was relieved of his command here. This prison is a disgrace. Disgrace! The latitude allowed by him will not be tolerated by me. Understand? Scharff nods his head. Bestler gets up from the desk and walks around it. BESTLER That includes the staff. I'm going to turn this place into a model prison, a credit to the Reich. Understand? Scharff again nods his head. BESTLER Speak up. SCHARFF Yes, Colonel. Bestler returns to his desk, sits, and opens a folder. He glances up to study Scharff. BESTLER This isn't the first prison the SS has had to take over from the military. Military men are too soft to deal with those... (he nods toward the window) Scharff starts to speak but quickly changes his mind. SCHARFF Yes, sir. BESTLER You were about to say something? SCHARFF Oh... I... was just going to say that I didn't hold with the soft treatment of the prisoners. BESTLER Good! (taking papers from folder) Our first order of business is to prepare... He is interrupted by the SOUND of laughter o.s. He turns slightly and looks curiously at the window, then turns back to read from the papers in the folder. BESTLER Our first order of business is to prepare all non-Aryan prisoners for shipment in two weeks. SCHARFF Where are they being sent, Colonel? BESTLER Work camps. Again the SOUND of laughter from o.s. and Bestler looks quickly at the window, irritated. Scharff, uncertain of his superior's reaction, tries to cover up. SCHARFF (speaking a little louder) But we have about 40 children, some only babies, with more scheduled to arrive tomorrow or the next day. They're not going to be much use in a work camp. BESTLER (his attention diverted back to Scharff) I'm aware of that. This order covers only the adult prisoners over fifteen. We won't have to wet nurse the children for long. Other plans are being made for... Again he is interrupted by the laughter o.s. BESTLER What is that? Before Scharff can answer, Bestler goes to the window and opens it. PRISON YARD - LONG SHOT SHOOTING PAST Bestler through the window, we can see Helmut performing for the children. Bestler watches for a moment. BESTLER What is that supposed to be? BESTLER, SCHARFF - MED. SHOT Scharff goes to the window and looks over Bestler's shoulder. SCHARFF That! Well, you see, sir, one of the prisoners used to be a circus clown. Sometimes he gives a little... well... a sort of show -- for the children. BESTLER (turning away from window) A show! Is this a prison camp or a traveling circus! (he looks out window again) Am I correct in assuming that those children are on the non-Aryan side of the camp? SCHARFF (almost in whisper) Yes, sir. BESTLER (leaving window) And the... buffoon? A German? SCHARFF Yes, Colonel. Bestler sits on the side of the desk and looks at Scharff, who tries very hard not to show how uncomfortable he is. BESTLER Am I to believe you aren't aware of the general order absolutely forbidding fraternization? SCHARFF (not worried) I know about it, sir. BESTLER Close the window. Scharff carefully closes the window. Bestler walks around desk to stand leaning against the wall. BESTLER Just what do you think fraternization means, Lieutenant Scharff ? SCHARFF Communication. Social contact. Giving aid, talking... (shrugs helplessly) BESTLER How long has this been going on? SCHARFF Just the last two or three weeks. BESTLER And the Commandant approved? SCHARFF Well, sir, children are very hard to handle. BESTLER This clown! Who is he? SCHARFF (trying hard to remember) It's... I know. It's Doork, the Great. BESTLER Not his clown name, you idiot. His number. His identification. SCHARFF If I have the Colonel's permission to leave, I will check it at once. BESTLER Later. Right now I want these performances halted. Understand? SCHARFF Yes, sir. Bestler begins shuffling papers from the folder. Scharff, uncertain whether he has been dismissed or not, hesitates. Bestler glances up. BESTLER (shouting) Immediately! SCHARFF Yes, sir ! He salutes and bolts from the room, almost crashing into the door in his flight. CUT TO: PRISON YARD - FULL SHOT - DAY Shooting past the children in f.g. to Helmut through the fence, as he bows to the applauding youngsters. Behind him we can see a number of soldier-guards coming through the cordon of watching prisoners, and waving them to disperse. They do so reluctantly, as the guard from Helmut's barrack moves forward to Helmut, who is just about to start another routine. GUARD (shouting) That's all. Show's over. Everybody clear out. Helmut stops, startled. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, GUARD ANGLED to include children across the fence. HELMUT What's wrong? GUARD (to Helmut) Get back to the barrack. (to children) You heard me. Show's over. The children don't move, but stand staring at Helmut as if waiting for him to tell them what to do. This frustrates the guard, who isn't accustomed to being questioned. GUARD Go on. Get away. Still the children refuse to budge. Angry, the guard goes close to the fence, waving his arms at them. GUARD Move, damn it, before I come over there and... The youngsters scuttle back a few feet fearfully, but there they stop, their eyes still on Helmut. The guard turns to Helmut. GUARD Get them moving before somebody gets hurt. Helmut goes up to the fence and speaks to the children softly. HELMUT That's all the show for today. Go back inside. The children back away with long faces. Finally convinced that Helmut is through, they turn and wander back toward their barracks, but with many a backward look at him. Helmut continues to encourage them, as the guard looks on. HELMUT That's right now, go along. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye. Goodbye. Until tomorrow. Many of the children wave to him. The guard takes Helmut by the arm, turns him toward the barrack and hustles him off. MED. TWO SHOT - HELMUT, GUARD The CAMERA MOVES BACK as they come toward it, the guard firmly propelling Helmut along. GUARD Get inside and take that stuff off your face. HELMUT I don't understand. What's the matter? GUARD Orders. No more shows. HELMUT You mean... not ever? GUARD That's right. HELMUT But we weren't doing any harm. GUARD The Commandant thinks you are. HELMUT The Commandant? GUARD The new Commandant. He minds. HELMUT Just because I make them laugh a little... GUARD You know the rule... no mixing with Jews. HELMUT I wasn't mixing! I was only... The guard stops him and turns him so that they are face to face. The CAMERA MOVES UP TO -- TIGHT TWO SHOT - HELMUT, GUARD GUARD (quietly, threatening) Look, it's not my order. It's the Commandant's. (more kindly) Now do what I tell you and save yourself a lot of grief. He pushes Helmut toward his barrack and then turns and walks off, the CAMERA PULLING BACK to -- WIDER ANGLE Helmut watches the guard go, then, dejectedly, shuffles toward his barrack. As he nears it, Keltner, Franz, Adolf, Herman, Ludwig, and the other regulars intercept him. MED. SHOT - GROUP They crowd around Helmut, anxious to know what's happened. FRANZ What happened? HELMUT (still bewildered) He says I've got to stop -- with the children. KELTNER (nodding) I've been expecting it. LUDWIG Because they're Jews? KELTNER Because of the laughing. HELMUT Why should that bother them? KELTNER When you rule by fear, laughter is the most frightening sound in the world. Silently the men walk up the steps and into the barrack, the CAMERA PANNING with them until we... DISSOLVE TO: EXT. PRISON YARD - FULL SHOT - DAY It is a warm, sunny afternoon and most of the prisoners on both sides of the fence, are out warming their weary bones. On the Aryan side, a number of prisoners, including Ludwig and Herman, are having a makeshift soccer game using a bound bundle of rags for a ball. They play with fierce rigor for such emaciated men, yelling at each other and kicking up clouds of dust as they try to work off their frustrations. On the non-Aryan side of the fence, the children, now about 50 in number, are grouped near the wire barricades staring across it, their faces dour. It appears they are watching the game. MED. LONG SHOT - CHILDREN Shooting past the soccer players in f.g. toward the fence. Through the men we can see the children, but the play moves away from them. They continue to stare straight ahead, obviously watching something else. Suddenly many of them press close to the fence straining to see. CUT TO: EXT. BARRACK "H" - CHILDREN'S POV Helmut can be seen standing in the doorway. After a beat, he quickly retreats back into the barrack. CUT TO: INT. BARRACK "H" - DAY The CAMERA MOVES BACKWARD down the aisle between the bunks as Helmut walks dejectedly down the aisle, nervously fingering his white ascot. The barrack is empty except for Keltner, who is arranging the sprouts of his potato plant over a little trellis of sticks. Helmut turns and walks back up the aisle to stand in front of Keltner. HELMUT I can't go out there. I can't take another day of them staring at me. KELTNER They'll get over it. Disappointment is no stranger to those children. HELMUT They look at me as though it was all my fault. Haven't they been told why I can't... KELTNER I'm sure they have. HELMUT Then why do they stare? KELTNER (holding up the plant) It's amazing how a thing like this can feed off itself. Think how lucky we would be if we could do that. Helmut glances disinterestedly at the plant as he reaches up to his bunk and brings down the coat belonging to Franz. He holds coat up for Keltner to see. HELMUT I sewed a button on. Look all right? KELTNER (inspecting coat) Fine. Helmut gently pats the coat, then folds it and puts it back on his bunk. HELMUT I did make them laugh. Didn't I? Keltner nods. HELMUT (angrily) I wish they'd get them out of here. Prison is no place for little children. KELTNER We've been all over that before. You've got to stop thinking about them. HELMUT (trying to convince himself) You're right! I've got to think of myself. Keltner puts the plant under his bunk and gets up. KELTNER It's too hot in here. I'm going to get some air. HELMUT Johann... do you think there's any possible way I could talk to the Commandant. Maybe I could make him understand... The sentence trails off as Helmut realizes how useless his suggestion is. KELTNER There's nothing you can do... but forget. HELMUT How can I! They were my own very special audience. And now they stare at me as if I had betrayed them. KELTNER They're children, Helmut. You can't expect them to understand the madness of adults. HELMUT (sudden thought) If I could talk to them. To the children themselves -- that would help, wouldn't it? Keltner doesn't answer but he watches Helmut with new interest. HELMUT If I explain it to them -- then they'll know I am not mad at them. KELTNER (very deliberately) You go near that fence once again... and you're taking your life in your own hands. You know that as well as I do. HELMUT (pleading) I would just need a minute. A minute to talk to them. Helmut goes to the door and looks out. CUT TO: LONG SHOT - CHILDREN AT THE FENCE - HELMUT'S POV The children are still pressed against the fence, still trying to get a glimpse of Helmut CUT TO: MED. SHOT - BARRACK "H" Helmut stands just inside the doorway... looking out. HELMUT I wish to God I didn't care. I wish to God I could forget them. Helmut walks back to Keltner. HELMUT But I can't. Helmut looks at Keltner, his eyes pleading for help. KELTNER I'm going to ask you a question, Helmut, and I want you to think carefully before you answer. Helmut nods. KELTNER The reason you can't get them out of your mind -- is it because you need them -- for you audience? Helmut drops his eyes as he attempts to find the right answer. KELTNER I want the truth. HELMUT (after a moment) I know I can't perform for them anymore. I know that. (a beat) I really don't know what the reason is. I think it's got something to do with... well, I don't want those little ones to think I've turned against them, too. That's why I've got to do something. Something. Keltner studies Helmut for a moment. KELTNER You'll be taking a chance. A great chance. Helmut nods that he know this. KELTNER (very definite) All right! Come on then. HELMUT Where are you going? KELTNER You want to talk to the children? Well, I think I can help you. HELMUT There's no reason for you to get involved in this. KELTNER Reason? When war is waged against children! That is reason enough for the whole damn world to get involved. And it will, believe me, it will. Keltner puts his arm around Helmut's shoulder. Helmut grins, a broad grin of thanks. KELTNER So, come on, Doork the Great, let's start getting involved. They both walk quickly to the door. CUT TO: EXT. HELMUT'S BARRACK - DAY As Keltner and Helmut come out. In the b.g. we can see the soccer game still going on, the players shouting excitedly at each other. Keltner surveys the scene for a moment. KELTNER Wait here. He moves down the line of barracks toward the mess hall. EXT. PRISON YARD - FULL SHOT - DAY As Keltner moves among the men lounging around the barracks, talking and watching the soccer game. Trying to appear as nonchalant as possible, we whispers something to a group of prisoners. They glance back at Helmut and then nod. Keltner moves on to another group, taking care to avoid the two yard guards, one of which is the guard in charge of Barrack "H". Again Keltner murmurs something to the other prisoners, and again they look at Helmut and nod assent. Keltner goes on to another group. As he does, the men in the first group casually disperse and start across the yard toward the fence, moving around the soccer players. One of them goes up to Ludwig, who is playing in the match, and whispers something to him. Ludwig nods, and the other prisoners move away. Ludwig runs off chasing the "ball". MED. SHOT - LUDWIG as he storms into a clutch of players, including Galt, all kicking at the "ball". LUDWIG (low to Galt) Kessler is going to talk to the children. Cover him. GALT (mean) Who says so? LUDWIG (evenly) The Reverend says cover him... so we cover him. The players around Galt give him a meaningful look and he gets their message. GALT All right! I was just asking. FULL SHOT As Keltner's plot takes shape, we see a dozen or so prisoners wander, apparently aimlessly, across the yard and form a spectator's section for the soccer game with their backs to the fence, thus providing a shield between the children and the guards. The game picks up tempo, but the play somehow stays in the center of the yard, strengthening the shield. MED. SHOT - HELMUT As he watches the plan in action. Keltner rejoins him. KELTNER You know what to do? Helmut nods. KELTNER Stay behind the men and keep an eye out for the guards on the other side. HELMUT Right. KELTNER Make it quick. You won't have much time. Helmut nods again and starts away, but Keltner stops him KELTNER And Helmut, keep the children quiet. We don't want trouble. Helmut nods and moves off across the yard. The CAMERA FOLLOWS him as he circles around the soccer players, trying to look as if he is just wandering over to join the other spectators. As he nears the other side, the children spot him and react, pressing closer to the fence and pointing to him. MED. LONG SHOT - HELMUT Shooting past the children in f.g. toward Helmut as he nears the line of prisoners, who continue to ad lib shouts of derision and encouragement to the soccer players. The children begin ad libbing cries of greeting to Helmut. He puts his fingers to his lips to silence them and takes his place in the line with his back to them. MED. SHOT - HELMUT as he stands pretending to watch the soccer game with the others. HELMUT (shouting) Kick it, Ludwig. Kick it! The prisoner next to him gives him a sidelong glance and nods almost imperceptibly. Quickly, Helmut ducks behind the line. MED. SHOT - HELMUT Behind the line as he scurries, bending over, to the fence. The children flock to him. The CAMERA FOLLOWS him to the fence. CHILDREN Doork, Doork, Doork is back. It's Doork. It's Doork. Helmut tries to silence their squeals of delight. Holding a finger to his lips: HELMUT Shhh. Shhhh. The guards... The children quiet down and press closer to the fence. Helmut drops to his knees, looking around. CHILDREN Do a trick, Doork. Please, Doork, please, please. HELMUT No, no. I can't. The guards won't let me. Not now. Maybe some other day. CLOSE SHOT - LITTLE GIRL This is the same flaxen-haired little five-year-old with a doll we saw before. She regards Helmut solemnly. LITTLE GIRL They're bad. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, CHILDREN Smiling wryly at the simplicity of this appraisal, Helmut reaches through the fence and pats the head of the girl's doll. Eager to touch Helmut, another child take his hand, others grab at his arm. Still other youngsters, following this lead, try to reach through the fence to touch him. Obviously enjoying this adulation, Helmut takes as many of the little hands as he can, squeezing them affectionately. Only one group of eight children hangs back. They do not seem to understand what this is all about. Their little faces are fearful, yet they are fascinated by Helmut. Suddenly one little boy gives a yelp of pain and backs away from the wire, clutching his forearm. HELMUT What is it? What happened? LITTLE GIRL He hurt himself. Wide-eyed with fright, the little boy takes his hand away from his arm to reveal a nasty looking scratch from one of the barbs on the fence. Seeing his own injury, the youngster bursts into tears. HELMUT Shhh. Shhh. Don't cry. It's going to be all right. (to the other children) Be careful when you're near this fence. He consoles the little boy, who continues to cry and holds up his wounded arm for Helmut to see. Helmut looks around frantically, as if hoping to find help somewhere. Then he quickly removes his ascot -- his precious trademark, the symbol of his self-accorded status -- and hands it through the fence. HELMUT Here, wrap this around it. I'll make it all better. The little boy goes on crying, but some of the other children take the cravat and fashion it into a crude bandage around the youngster's arm. It fails to silence the boy's crying, however. HELMUT (worried) Hush now. Stop crying. Please. Look... Look at this. He begins shuffling around on his knees, imitating a duck in an effort to appease the crying child. As he goes, Helmut quacks softly. The boy stops crying, but his face remains unhappy. The other children laugh in spite of Helmut's efforts to keep them quiet, all but the group of eight youngsters who only stare at Helmut in awe. Seeing that he is making progress with the crying child, Helmut next pulls his coat up over his head and, still on his knees, moves around like a headless man, groping ahead with his hands. CLOSE SHOT - LITTLE BOY His frown gradually dissolves and, in spite of his sniffling, he smiles, timorously at first, then broadly. Finally, he laughs. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, CHILDREN Helmut shrugs his jacket back into place and smiles at the boy. HELMUT There, that's better. No more crying now. For the first time he notices the other group of frowning children. Among the other smiling and laughing youngsters, they seem to stand out. When Helmut fastens a quizzical look on them, they back away a little, fearfully. HELMUT What's the matter with them? LITTLE GIRL They're new. We can't understand them. All they do is cry. OLDER BOY They're all the way from Czechoslovakia. The eight just start at him wordlessly, their fear naked in their eyes. HELMUT (to the silent ones) There's nothing to be afraid of. Everything is all right. When there is no reaction from the children, who obviously don't understand him, Helmut looks over his shoulder, wondering if he has time. MED. LONG SHOT - PRISONERS - HELMUT'S POV The prisoners are still rooting for the soccer players, but as Helmut looks, Adolf, in the middle of the cheering section, turns and sees him. ADOLF (a hushed call) Hurry up. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, CHILDREN Helmut nods to Adolf and then turns back to the youngsters, afraid but still unable to tear himself away. HELMUT Here. Look. I'll show you... No noise now. In pantomime, he pretends to pull a hair from his head and threads it through an imaginary needle. Finally accomplishing this, he pretends to be sewing a button on his jacket, holding the thumb of his left hand under the button while he sews with his right. When he has finished, he pantomimes that he has sews his thumb to the jacket. He pretends to be embarrassed and tries to hide his hand in his trouser pocket, but in order to put his hand in his pocket the jacket goes too. The children giggle, then roar with laughter at his frantic efforts to detach his thumb from his jacket. The silent children press closer to watch Helmut's antics. Some look at each other and smile, then grin. Suddenly the entire group is laughing. Helmut holds up his hands for silence, but the grin on his face says he loves it. HELMUT No, no, be quiet. Be quiet. Shhh. Shhhh. The children go on laughing as if this is just part of the game. MED. LONG SHOT - TOWER GUARDS The SOUND of the children's laughter floats up to two guards in a tower on the non-Aryan side of camp. One of them, who has been watching the soccer game below, nudges his partner and points down to Helmut. LONG SHOT - PRISON YARD - GUARDS' POV Between the children at the fence and the line of soccer spectators we can see only the top of Helmut's head bobbing up and down. But that is enough. MED. LONG SHOT - TOWER GUARDS After a long look, one of the guards picks up a telephone and starts to make a call. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, CHILDREN Helmut seems to have thrown caution away under the stimulus of the children's laughter. He is on his feet trying a hand spring. He lands flat on his back, but rolls over on his side and grins broadly at his audience, which laughs appreciatively. This is the old Doork. Their Doork. Again Helmut tries the hand spring and again he flops. FULL SHOT - PRISON YARD A HIGH ANGLE with Helmut and the children in f.g. and beyond them the Aryan side of the yard. The soccer game is still in progress, with the spectators on both sides of the action whooping it up. Then in b.g. we see two soldiers, two SS officers, and the guard in charge of barracks "H", come bursting through the spectators near the huts and into the game itself. The players slowly subside as they realize what is happening. They watch the guard cross the yard. The cheering trails off, and the yard becomes strangely quiet, the prisoners' warning to Helmut. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, CHILDREN Oblivious to all this in his joy at performing for the children again, Helmut is just pretending to slip on something underfoot. His arms flay the air as he tries to regain his balance, but he falls. Through this, however, the children seem to be watching something behind Helmut, and when he lands on the ground, they do not laugh. Again their faces are frightened as they look o.s. Helmut looks at them, puzzled. Then, realizing that something is wrong, he turns and looks up from the ground. ANOTHER ANGLE SHOOTING PAST Helmut in f.g. toward the guard, SS men, and soldiers, who have come through the line of spectators and stand glowering at him. The prisoners have moved back, warily watching for the next move. GUARD You wouldn't listen, would you? Almost wearily, he goes to the fence. This isn't something he likes, but his authority is at stake here, and he has no choice. As the CAMERA PANS him to the fence we see that some non-Aryan adults have drifted over to see what the disturbance is. GUARD (to the children) Go on. Get back. The children don't move. Their eyes are on Helmut. The guard shouts over to the adults standing behind the children. GUARD You back there, get them out of here. The adults begin to gather up the children. HELMUT They had nothing to do with it. It was all my doing. The guard turns and comes up to face Helmut. He studies him for a moment, then hits him a vicious backhand slap across the face. Taken by surprise, Helmut staggers backward and falls. A murmur runs through the prisoners. The children still near the fence, cry out with alarm. Seeing their terror, Helmut is determined to make it look like just another act. With a painful effort he gets to his feet, smiles at the children, turns and salutes the guard, knocking himself down again. A couple of children giggle. The FIRST SS OFFICER quickly steps forward to stand behind the guard. He holds a swagger stick in his right hand, which he repeatedly whacks into the palm of his left hand. He looks down at Helmut. FIRST SS OFFICER Get up. Helmut struggles to his feet. He glances over at the children. They are all watching him. He takes a deep breath, winks at the little ones, then salaams before the SS Officer and the guard. Some of the children giggle. This infuriates the SS officer. He raises the swagger stick and brings it down hard on Helmut's head knocking him to his knees. The children scream with terror. The SS Officer raises the stick to hit Helmut again, but Keltner, in an almost instinctive reaction, catches hold of his arm. KELTNER The children! Not in front of the children! TWO SHOT - FIRST SS OFFICER - KELTNER The SS Officer turns and brings the stick down on Keltner. He hits him over and over, each blow more vicious. MED. SHOT - HELMUT - FRIGHTENED CHILDREN IN B.G. Helmut turns away from the beating, pulls his jacket up over his head and starts to walk around like a headless man stumbling and falling over his own feet. The children, many still screaming, turn their eyes away from the SS Officer to watch Helmut's antics. FULL SHOT - FRANZ, GALT, UHLMANN, LUDWIG, ADOLF, HERMAN AND OTHER PRISONERS The horror-stricken men stand frozen as the SS Officer continues to hit Keltner until he drops to the ground. Suddenly Franz breaks away from the men and charges at the First SS Officer. MED. SHOT - SS OFFICER - FRANZ Franz runs INTO CAMERA and attempts to stop the First SS Officer. The Second SS Officer whips his pistol out, aims carefully and FIRES a shot into Franz's head. VARIOUS SHOTS OF THE PRISONERS Uhlmann stands speechless and dumbfounded. Galt cowers. Beads of perspiration pour from his brow. Adolf weeps bitter tears as Herman places his arm around his shoulder to comfort him, and himself as well. Ludwig, dead to any emotion, simply turns and walks away into the crowd. MED. SHOT - HELMUT Helmut is now, more than ever, the clown, as he goes into a frenzied version of the "Clap Dance". The complete incongruity of his behavior leaves the spectators stunned. WIDER ANGLE - SHOWING THE CHILDREN IN B.G. The children are no longer screaming, instead they are watching Helmut as though they are hypnotized. FULL SHOT - HELMUT, GUARD, SS MEN, OTHER GUARDS The guard, fully aware that the sadist SS men may take action against Helmut, quickly motions for two of the other guards to take Helmut away. The First SS Officer, still panting with exhaustion, shows his approval of the action taken by the guard. The two guards seize Helmut by the arms and begin dragging him off toward the administration building. The prisoners move away before the guards holding Helmut, forming a sort of line of march for them. As they drag Helmut along, he waves back at the children, makes a funny face and moves his feet in something approaching a dance step. DISSOLVE TO: INT. SOLITARY CONFINEMENT CELL - NO LIGHT SHOOTING FROM THE BACK of the cell toward the door. The cell is about eight feet long and four feet wide with a steel door at the far end. The cell is bare. We HEAR men approaching, and a guard opens the door letting in a shaft of bright light. Two guards hoist the unconcious Helmut into the cell and drop him onto the floor. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT He lies in a heap on the floor, his face swollen from a severe beating. MED. SHOT - CELL The guards walk out, slamming the door shut leaving the cell pitch dark. DISSOLVE TO: CLOSE SHOT - WINDOW WITH WINDOW SHADE Window shade quickly rolls up letting in a steam of blinding sunlight. INT. COLONEL BESTLER'S OFFICE - DAY Lt. Scharff is by the window, having just rolled up the window shade. Colonel Bestler is on the phone and obviously exasperated by what he is hearing. MED. SHOT - BESTLER, SCHARFF BESTLER (on phone) Yes. (pause) Yes. Yes, I understand perfectly. However, I don't see how we can be held responsible. (pause) Our orders were very clear. We were to have the freight car ready to be picked up at midnight. (pause) Of course, I'm aware the operation must be kept secret. (pause) I just don't have the staff to send down there now and... Yes, I'll wait. He puts hand over mouthpiece to talk to Scharff. BESTLER The freight car wasn't picked up. SCHARFF It's still down there on the siding! BESTLER Some stupid mix up. If they think... The SOUND of the voice coming over the phone causes him to literally snap to attention. BESTLER Yes, General. (pause) Yes, I'm as distressed about the situation as you are. (long pause during which he nods his head) Yes. Personally! Immediately! Yes, General. You can leave it in my hands. (pause) Heil Hitler! He puts down the instrument and turns at once to Scharff. BESTLER Who did you leave in charge down there? SCHARFF Sergeant Hoffman. Very reliable. BESTLER Apparently not reliable enough. The cargo seems to be raising quite a fuss. SCHARFF (explanatory) Fifty children, sir! In a boxcar! BESTLER I know. I know. But the siding isn't far from town. The General doesn't want unauthorized persons getting curious. Understand? SCHARFF I'll get some men down there right away. BESTLER Men! You'll get yourself down there. And take at least a dozen guards with you. Don't let anyone get close to that boxcar... under any circumstances. No one ! SCHARFF Yes, sir. Scharff turns to leave the office, but after a few steps he stops and turns back toward Bestler, a look of concern on his face. SCHARFF Sir? Bestler looks up. SCHARFF I wondered, sir, if you might have any suggestions as... well... how do we quiet children? BESTLER Use any method you can, but shut them up. That's an order. Scharff is disappointed at not getting some help from Bestler. Suddenly his face brightens. SCHARFF Sir, the clown! Bestler looks at him quizzically. SCHARFF The one who amused the children BESTLER Out of the question. The man's being disciplined for that very thing. We can't change our position now. SCHARFF No one need know. BESTLER He'd know. Scharff thinks this over. Suddenly his face brightens. SCHARFF Sir, if I could guarantee he'd never say anything. Bestler looks interested. SCHARFF You see, sir, he's been trying to get a review of his case. Claims he's here by mistake. I could tell him you would recommend the review. BESTLER A man who wants something. Good. Very good strategy, Lieutenant. (he turns to face Scharff) However, when you bring him back here, return him to solitary and keep him there. (a beat) I've seen the best of men, after several years in solitary, unable to remember even their own names. SCHARFF Then I have your permission to take the clown. BESTLER Permission granted. DISSOLVE TO: LONG SHOT - OPEN ROAD - DAY A small open truck with 12 soldiers in the back, followed by a staff car, move along the road. INT. STAFF CAR - MOVING - DAY DRIVER is in the front seat, Helmut and Scharff in the back. MED. SHOT - HELMUT - SCHARFF Helmut has been cleaned up, but still shows the effects of the beating and his stay in solitary. Holding a small mirror, he is applying his makeup. He occasionally closes or tries to shade his eyes from the light. They ride on in silence. Scharff stares straight ahead. HELMUT Wish you could've gotten the big shoes. The children laugh so when they see them flopping up and down. Scharff makes no reply. Helmut starts to put on his big black mouth. HELMUT (a touch of the old arrogance) The Commandant, himself, asked for me! (a beat) You say he's personally requesting a review of my case! Why, that means I'm practically on my way back to Berlin. (studies mouth in mirror) Should be red. Mouth looks better in red. (a beat) Know the first thing I'm going to do when I get to Berlin? Buy an overcoat with a fur collar. Had such a coat. Very elegant. Very elegant. (finishing the up- turned corners of mouth) It's a good idea... moving the children. Scharff reacts to this. He looks sharply at Helmut. HELMUT Prison's no place for children. I said all along that it was some kind of mistake. SCHARFF (uncomfortable) Finish your makeup. We're almost there. HELMUT Know what Johann Keltner said? SCHARFF Who? HELMUT Keltner. From my barracks. The minister. He said... Let me think. He said... men who wage war on children. That's it. Men who wage war on children... commit such a crime... (a beat as he thinks) ... such a heinous crime. That's it. Men who wage war on children commit such a heinous crime that even the devil damns their souls. Scharff looks as though he'd just been slapped across the face. He quickly turns toward the window. Helmut inspects his reflection in the mirror as he draws black vertical lines down over each eye -- giving him a very lost, sad, dejected look. EXT, RAILROAD SIDING - LONG SHOT - DAY as the truck and staff car leave the highway and jolt down a short roadway to a railroad siding where a boxcar sits on the tracks. Uniformed GUARDS stand watch on both sides of the car, which has the door nearest the CAMERA, partially open. The truck and staff car pull up to the nearest boxcar. The soldiers jump from the rear of the truck, one of them carrying a large burlap sack. MED. SHOT as Scharff gets out of the car, from the boxcar comes the SOUND of children crying. SCHARFF (to Helmut in car) Wait here. Scharff strides purposefully over to Sergeant Hoffman, the guard beside the open door. Hoffman salutes Scharff. SCHARFF Any word about the train yet? HOFFMAN No, sir. The last we heard -- it won't get here until evening. SCHARFF Anyone been around? HOFFMAN No, sir. SCHARFF With all that wailing, it's a wonder. Couldn't you keep them quiet? HOFFMAN I didn't know what to do, Lieutenant. I was afraid to close both doors. SCHARFF (to other soldiers) Keep a tight guard on the whole area. No one gets near here. Understand? (to Hoffman) You post them. HOFFMAN (saluting) Yes, sir. Hoffman moves over to soldiers and begins giving them their orders. SCHARFF (to soldier holding the sack) Leave that here. The soldier puts down the sack, and hurries off after the others with Hoffman leading the way. Scharff turns toward the staff car. SCHARFF (calling to Helmut) Over here, Clown. Helmut quickly gets out of the car and moves over to Scharff. He looks toward the partially open door. HELMUT They're crying. SCHARFF (indicating the sack) Take that in to them. Helmut picks up the sack and peers into it. HELMUT What is it? SCHARFF Bread. They won't wait so loud with their mouths full. HELMUT (shocked) How... how long have they been here? SCHARFF You just get in there and keep them quiet. You can do that, can't you? Helmut nods. Scharff puts his hand on Helmut's shoulder. Helmut stiffens under his touch. SCHARFF Do a good job and I'll personally ask that you get a favorable decision on your case. Understand? HELMUT Yes, sir. Helmut moves over to the half open door of the boxcar, the CAMERA MOVING with him. Just before he looks inside, he puts a wide grin on his face. But when he does peer into the car, his eyes cease to smile. INT. BOXCAR - HELMUT'S POV - DAY In one end of the car the children are huddled together in one frightened, wailing mass. They do not even notice Helmut at first, so great is their sorrow. The little ones cling to the larger youngsters, who, in turn, cling together. The small ones weep hysterically , as children do when they have been crying for a very long time. The CAMERA PULLS BACK so that Helmut is in f.g. He slides the boxcar door open fully, throwing more light on the children. This brings renewed walls of anguish from the youngsters, who cluster together more fiercely. But one little boy sneaks a look at the door, expecting to see more guards. When he sees Helmut, his tear- filled eyes widen. He can scarcely believe what he sees, much less verbalize it. He tugs frantically at an OLDER GIRL he has been clutching. She looks first at him, then at Helmut. She, too, can hardly believe it. OLDER GIRL (tentatively) Doork? (shrill with recognition) It's Doork. It is! It is! The children begin untangling quickly. Faces appear between legs, around skirts and over shoulders. For a moment they can only stare at Helmut, speechless with wonder. HELMUT (gently) So this is where you've been hiding? That breaks the silence, and the children begin squealing ad- libbed expressions of greeting and relief. They repeat his name time and again: "Doork, Doork, Doork." As one... the youngsters surge toward him. The little boy who first saw him reaches him first. He drops to his knees and puts his arms around Helmut's neck, hugging him furiously. Helmut returns the embrace. BOY I want to go home. Take me home. HELMUT Now, now, there's nothing to cry about. We're going to have fun. (disengaging himself and picking up the sack) Here. I brought you something. (he tosses it into the car) The children pounce on the sack and tug at it, unsure what it is except that it's a gift from Helmut. HELMUT Wait now. Don't open it yet. Wait'll I get in. You help me. He backs up a few steps, the CAMERA PULLING BACK with him. Then he runs toward the car and, with strength he really doesn't have, jumps up so that he gets his arms on the floor of the boxcar. He heaves himself forward partially into it, and the children grab his clothes to help him inside. A couple of the older boys seize the seat of his pants and finally pull him in. INT. RAILROAD CAR - DAY FAVORING Helmut as he rolls over and jumps up, waggling his head from side to side in the manner of a Jack-in-the-box. The children watch him big-eyed. A few giggle. HELMUT Look, I'm a Jack-in-the-box. He gestures around to indicate that he is, indeed, in a box. HELMUT We're all Jacks-in-the-box -- the same box. The children laugh, and some begin imitating Helmut's head movements. Others do the same, and still others, including the Czech youngsters, until all are waggling their heads at each other and loving it. Then, out of sheer adoration, the youngest of the children close in on Helmut and hug him around his legs. Slowly he stops waggling his head and stretches out his arms to embrace as many of them as he can -- almost as if trying to protect them. Suddenly the gaiety dissolves, and the children go solemnly silent. Helmut reacts. HELMUT Well... who's hungry. Almost in unison, the children shout "I am", again forgetting their unhappiness. HELMUT All right, I want everybody to sit down. When I count three, everybody sit. Ready? One, two... On the count of two, many of the youngsters sit down. Helmut feigns surprise. HELMUT Oh, you're too fast. Three! This brings a burst of giggles, and the remaining children, sit down... the Czechs following the example of the others. Helmut opens the burlap sack and begins handing out pieces of black bread. The children grab at the chunks and gnaw it voraciously. When all of the youngsters have been given the bread, Helmut takes a piece and bites into it with great relish. After a few chews on the bread: HELMUT Now... what'll we do? There is a long moment of silence, then the little blonde girl with the rag doll speaks up timidly. LITTLE GIRL I want to see my Mommy. Helmut is brought up short. For a beat he searches his brain frantically for an answer. Then he goes to the child and kneels beside her. HELMUT You would? All right. LITTLE GIRL You know where she is? HELMUT She's right here with you. LITTLE GIRL I don't see her. HELMUT That's because you don't know how to look. I'll show you. Close your eyes. (to the other children) All of you... close your eyes. The little girl closes her eyes and one by one the other youngsters do also. The Czech children look at each other, then at the other children, then they too close their eyes. HELMUT Everybody's eyes shut? Now, think about your mommys and Daddys... There, don't you see them? Can't you see their faces? The children, marvelling at this feat, ad lib expressions of assent. HELMUT So you see! They're right here with you. All you have to do is look in your hearts. LITTLE GIRL (putting her hand over her heart) Does Mommy see me, Doork? HELMUT (deeply touched) Yes, she does. She has you safe in her heart, too. The silence in the car tells Helmut that sadness has returned to the children. He brightens quickly and rises. HELMUT I've got an idea. You all know my name, but I don't know yours. So let's find out everybody's name, shall we? He points to a boy of about ten in the group. HELMUT You... come here and I'll show you what we'll do. The boy, honored at being singled out, rises and comes to Helmut, who takes a stubby pencil from his pocket. HELMUT What's your name? BOY (timidly) Willie. HELMUT Willie. That's a good name. How do you spell it? BOY W-I-L-L-I-E. HELMUT Fine. I'll just write that on top of your head. Using the eraser end of the pencil, Helmut carefully traces the letters on top of the boy's head. The youngster peers upward, wondering. HELMUT There. See, this way we'll all be able to tell everybody else's name just by looking at his head. CLOSE SHOT - BOY still looking up, but now doubtful. BOY Did you really? MED. SHOT - THE GROUP HELMUT Of course I did. Here... He pulls an older boy to his feet, winks at him and points to the first boy's head. HELMUT (to the older boy) Tell him what it says. OLDER BOY (giggling) It says Willie. BOY (impressed) Really? Truly? He puts his hand to his head. HELMUT Be careful. Don't smear it. (he glances around) Let's see now... Yes. You shall be next. He points to a Czech girl of about six. He motions for her to come over to him. She shyly bows her head. Her friends push her forward. Helmut holds out his hand to her, she grabs it. HELMUT What is your name? She looks at him, then at the other Czech children. They all giggle. HELMUT (squatting down beside her) Forgive me. I don't speak your language. He gently plants a kiss on her cheek and she puts an arm around his neck. HELMUT (to others) See! We understand each other. Now... (he points to Willie) Willie. (he points to himself) Doork. (points again to Willie) Willie. (pointing to himself) Doork. The child's eyes light up and she whispers into Helmut's ear. HELMUT A beautiful name! Now you tell all the children. CZECH GIRL (almost a whisper) Inga. HELMUT It's such a pretty name... say it again. CZECH GIRL (more sure of herself) Inga! She quickly bows her head for Helmut to outline her name on the top of it. HELMUT (with a flourish of his pencil) I-N-G-A. There it is. The little girl gives a quick curtsy and hurries back to her group. Helmut glances around at the children. HELMUT Let's see now. Who wants to be next. The little girl with the doll presses forward. HELMUT You? Shaking her head she holds up the doll. HELMUT Her? LITTLE GIRL So the little children will know her name. HELMUT Of course. That way she can't get lost, can she? What's her name? LITTLE GIRL Frederika. HELMUT (mock dismay) Frederika? He studies the top of doll's tiny head. Then he holds up his hand and measures off a distance of about three inches in the air with thumb and forefinger. HELMUT Frederika! Next he puts the doll's head between his thumb and forefinger, illustrating that the head is too small for the name. HELMUT Couldn't we just make it Freda? LITTLE GIRL (solemnly) Oh, no! Frederika. Helmut shrugs, closes one eye and begins writing in tiny letters on the doll's head. The children laugh delightedly. EXT. RAILROAD SIDING - FULL SHOT - DAY Sergeant Hoffmann is walking his post beside the open door of the boxcar. Inside we can see Helmut and the children and HEAR their laughter. The CAMERA PANS over to the staff car, where Scharff sits in the front seat smoking a cigarette and waiting. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. RAILROAD SIDING - FULL SHOT - AFTERNOON It is perhaps two hours later. Sergeant Hoffman is now leaning wearily against the boxcar near the door. The CAMERA PANS over to the staff car, where Scharff is dozing in the back seat. MED. SHOT - SERGEANT HOFFMAN From within the boxcar we can HEAR Helmut SINGING softly to the children. Sergeant Hoffman is listening. Finally he takes something from his pocket, goes to the door of the boxcar and sticks his head inside. INT BOXCAR The children are scattered about, either sleeping or near sleep, many of them cuddled close to Helmut, who sits near the door with his back against the side of the car, crooning. SERGEANT HOFFMAN (whispering) Clown. Clown, can you play one of these? He holds out a harmonica. Helmut leans over to get it, being careful not to disturb the children. SERGEANT HOFFMAN I got it to send home to my boy... but if it'll help... TWO SHOT - HELMUT, HOFFMAN HELMUT It will. It will. (he takes it) SERGEANT HOFFMAN You won't say anything to the Lieutenant. HELMUT I promise. He leans back and looks at the harmonica, then he has a sudden thought as Hoffman's head disappears. He leans back toward the door. HELMUT Guard... guard. Hoffman reappears at door. HELMUT It's going to be dark soon. The little ones may be afraid. Do you think... well... could you get some kind of a light for in here? SERGEANT HOFFMAN (angry) Want to get me in trouble? Helmut nods that he understands Hoffman's situation. SERGEANT HOFFMAN (trying to justify himself) I would if I could. HELMUT I know. I know you would. Again Hoffman's face disappears. Helmut leans back and begins experimenting with the harmonica. Actually he can play it only slightly, but he manages to get some sort of soft tune out of it. The CAMERA PULLS BACK SLOWLY to include the children, most of who are resting peacefully, secure in Helmut's presence. But suddenly a little dark haired, dark- eyed girl of about six, sits upright and cries out, frightened by a bad dream. Helmut reacts. The child looks around the boxcar as if she can't remember how she got there and begins crying inconsolably. Some of the other children stir. Helmut quickly but carefully disengages himself from the tots around him and picks his way over to the girl. He kneels beside her, and the CAMERA MOVES UP to -- TIGHT TWO SHOT - HELMUT, DARK-EYED GIRL The child continues crying, but more softly, he wide wet eyes on Helmut. HELMUT (gently) What's the matter? (she only stares at him) It's all right -- just a bad dream. He tries to put a comforting arm around her, but she shrinks away continuing to sob softly. Realizing that words won't help, he turns to the harmonica for communication, serenading her with a soft but sprightly tune of his own improvisation. It is hardly a masterpiece, but it has the desired effect. The girl stops sobbing, and when Helmut finishes the tune he makes a real funny face and she timorously puts a hand up to touch his make-up, but pulls it back quickly. With an affectionate smile, Helmut takes her hand and runs it over his face, pretending that her touch tickles him. As he laughs, the child begins to smile faintly. He shows her the traces of chalk make-up on her fingers, and she giggles. His conquest is all but complete. He picks the youngster up, and holding her like a dancing partner, pretends to dance with her to a little tune he hums. She loves this and laughs outright. When Helmut finally puts her down, he kisses her on the cheek and turns his cheek in an unspoken request for a return kiss. The girl shyly and quickly gives Helmut's cheek a peck. Grinning, Helmut pats the spot where she kissed him to show his appreciation for her wonderful gift. WIDER ANGLE The older girl we saw earlier calls to him in a hushed voice. OLDER GIRL Doork. Helmut moves over and squats down beside her and the CAMERA MOVES IN to -- CLOSE TWO SHOT - HELMUT, OLDER GIRL OLDER GIRL Where are they sending us? HELMUT (shaking his head) Don't know. OLDER GIRL Do you have children? Helmut looks around at the children. He smiles sadly. HELMUT I do now. DISSOLVE TO: INT. STAFF CAR - NEAR DUSK Scharff, dozing in the back seat, is awakened by the SOUND of an approaching train o.s. He listens, glances at his watch, shakes his head and gets out of the car. EXT. RAILROAD SIDING - NEAR DUSK As Scharff strides to the boxcar, where Sergeant Hoffman has also hear the locomotive. He salutes as Scharff comes up, the CAMERA FOLLOWING him. SCHARFF It finally got here. SERGEANT HOFFMAN Yes, sir. SCHARFF Help them get the car coupled on. We want to move it out of here as fast as possible. Be sure the doors are locked. And, get the clown off. Hoffman salutes, and Scharff moves off toward the approaching locomotive and freight cars being backed up to the boxcar. FULL SHOT - FREIGHT TRAIN - (STOCK) It is backing down the siding toward the boxcar. MED. SHOT - SERGEANT HOFFMAN With a cautious look around, he reaches under the waiting boxcar and brings out a box-type, battery operated lantern. He goes to the boxcar door and peers inside. SERGEANT HOFFMAN (calling) All right, clown, time to get off. Helmut appears at the door and looks down. HELMUT What is it? SERGEANT HOFFMAN Train is here. They are hooking it up now. (he hoists the lantern inside) Here. Tell them not to light it up until the doors are closed. Helmut gives him a look of deep gratitude. SERGEANT HOFFMAN (curtly) And get off right now. Just then the boxcar is jolted as the locomotive makes contact and Hoffman runs off toward the front of the car. INT. BOXCAR - EVENING The jolt has awakened several of the children, who gather around Helmut in the dimness of the car, frightened and bewildered. CHILDREN We're moving. What's happening? What was the noise? Doork, where are we going? HELMUT (forced gaiety) It's nothing. You're going for a train ride. What do you think of that? A real train ride. CHILDREN (pressing close -- sensing his anxiety) Is it far? Are you coming, too? I don't want a train ride. HELMUT Oh, it'll be fun. I would like to come, but I don't think I can. CHILDREN (pleading) Please come, Doork. Please. Please. Please. HELMUT I can't. They want me to stay here. There are cries from the children, whose pleading eyes make Helmut terribly uncomfortable. He backs toward the door. HELMUT But... I'll come to see you. Soon as I can. And, I want you all to promise me to be very good. No crying. The children stare at him silently, their eyes unconsciously accusing. With him goes all their security. Helmut knows it, but he has no choice. When he reaches the door... HELMUT If you want me... remember, just close your eyes. CLOSE SHOT - LITTLE GIRL WITH THE DARK EYES Wordlessly, she shuts her eyes -- tight. PAN SHOT - CHILDREN Following the dark-eyed girl's example, the smaller children one by one, close their eyes. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT Near tears with emotion, he wavers. Then with great control.. HELMUT (huskily) Goodbye. MED. SHOT - HELMUT He turns and sits down on the floor of the car with his feet hanging outside. He is just about to jump down when he is stopped by a LOUD WAIL of anguish from one of the children behind him. He turns and looks back at them. MED. SHOT - CHILDREN - HELMUT'S POV A BOY of about six, one of the Czech youngsters, is crying with the dejection of a lad who has just lost everything. The other little Czechs and the older girl who first recognized Helmut at the boxcar door are trying unsuccessfully to console him. Between cooing and patting the boy's shoulder, the girl throws accusing looks at Helmut. WIDER ANGLE - TO INCLUDE HELMUT Uncertain what to do, Helmut glances around outside. Satisfied that the train isn't going to move at once, he gets up and goes to the children. HELMUT What's this now? Crying? After all the fun we've had? The boy only looks at Helmut and goes right on crying. Helmut looks helplessly at the older girl. GIRL It's his birthday. He thought there would be presents. HELMUT (to girl) He's a Czech. Do you speak... GIRL (annoyed) Of course not! Helmut is angry with the girl because he really wants to get off the train and yet can't because of the accusing look in her eyes. HELMUT (pointedly) Then how do you know it's his... birthday? GIRL (with typical child logic) He told me. HELMUT He speaks German? GIRL No. HELMUT But he told you it's his birthday? The girl nods firmly as do the other children. The boy watches it all, wide-eyed. Helmut figures to put an end to this. HELMUT What date is this? GIRL (after thinking it over) Why, it's his birthday! This is too much for Helmut to fathom. He turns his head away, trying to think. GIRL Don't you believe him? Helmut turns back to them, looking first at the girl, then at the boy, his little upturned tear-stained face full of wonder. Helmut softens, recalling perhaps his own birthday disappointment. HELMUT Of course, I do. (pats boy's head) Tell him I wish him a happy birthday. GIRL He knows that. But... but what're you going to do about a present? Helmut fans his clothes, finds the harmonica and produces it with a flourish. HELMUT Aha, the very thing. He can be the clown while I'm gone. ANOTHER ANGLE - FAVORING THE CZECH BOY As Helmut bows and holds out the harmonica to him. HELMUT Happy birthday. The boy looks solemnly at Helmut and the harmonica. He doesn't quite seem to understand what this is all about, but the harmonica is enticing. He looks up at his countrymen for encouragement. They smile at him, and he takes the harmonica, examines it, then blows into it experimentally. When he hears the SOUND that comes out, he brightens. Then the little girl with the rag doll comes forward and offers it to the boy. He looks at her strangely, one of the older German boys scoffs. GERMAN BOY He's a boy! Dolls are for girls. The little girl is hurt, and looks to Helmut for support. HELMUT When you give something you love... it doesn't matter if it's the right thing. He takes the doll and puts one of it's hands in the boy's hand, the other in the little girl's. They stand looking at each other and sharing the doll. Helmut looks towards the door apprehensively, but there seems to be no action outside -- and there are the eyes of the children on him. HELMUT Maybe we have time for a birthday game. A quick one. Let me take a look. INT. BOXCAR - FULL SHOT Helmut goes back to the door. He glances around outside. There still seems to be time. He returns to the children. HELMUT Everybody line up behind me now, and I'll show you how a train goes. Wait -- the harmonica. Helmut looks around for the new owner of the harmonica. He goes over to him. HELMUT May I borrow it back... for just a minute or two? The boy studies him dubiously with that "Indian-giver" look in his eyes. HELMUT For just a minute -- then I'll give it right back to you. (trying a sort of sign language) Just for the game. Finally the boy hands over the harmonica and manages a smile because he sees all the other children smiling at him. HELMUT Good. Now everybody... line up behind me. The children scramble into line behind him. Helmut looks back at them. HELMUT Grab hold of the one in front of you... 'cause we're going to be a fast express train. The children, laughing and giggling, grab hold of one another. HELMUT (calling out) All aboard. All aboard. He puts the harmonica to his lips and begins huffing and puffing on it, imitating a train. He begins to shuffle his feet and move slowly down the side of the car... the children holding on for dear life and following him... their eyes shining with expectation as Helmut begins to quicken his pace. CUT TO: INT. BOXCAR - NEARLY DARK Dim shafts of light from the two small square vent openings near the top on each side, gives the boxcar an eerie look. Helmut stops abruptly as he hears the slamming of the door. The children pile up behind him. HELMUT WAIT! He moves quickly to the door and tugs at it. Finding it locked, he pounds on it. HELMUT Open the door! Let me out... LET ME OUT! But the train NOISES drown his voice. Then the boxcar suddenly lurches and starts to move forward. Helmut's pounding weakens and stops. He turns from the door, his face reflecting his fright. The children, not quite understanding what has happened, gather around him, and pull on him. He manages to control his fear, and looking at the children, he manages a big smile. HELMUT Guess I'm going with you after all. He switches on the lantern and holds it high so its rays cover all the children. CHILD Let's play some more, Doork? Helmut glances down at the tot, started by the suggestion. Then he nods in a stunned sort of way. He puts the harmonica to his mouth and begins puffing on it. CUT TO: EXT. RAILROAD SIDING - EVENING Scharff and Sergeant Hoffman stand watching the boxcar move away. MED. TWO SHOT - SCHARFF, HOFFMAN SCHARFF I'm glad that's over. Call in the sentries. SERGEANT HOFFMAN Yes, sir. He starts to move away. SCHARFF Kessler in the car? SERGEANT HOFFMAN Kessler? SCHARFF The clown? SERGEANT HOFFMAN (looking around) I... I guess he is, sir. SCHARFF You GUESS! Scharff races to the car with Sergeant Hoffman right behind him. The CAMERA FOLLOWS them. Scharff peers inside and finds the car empty. With an angry glance at Hoffman, he hurries to the truck and looks in the cab. It too is empty. SCHARFF (moving back toward Hoffman) I told you to get him off the train. SERGEANT HOFFMAN I told him, sir. HE was standing right by the door. I'm sure he got off. SCHARFF Did you see him? SERGEANT HOFFMAN Why, I... SCHARFF DID you? SERGEANT HOFFMAN You told me to see that the car was coupled on. When I came back... Why wouldn't he get off? SCHARFF Idiot! (shouting) Guards. GUARDS! The other soldiers come running from o.s. SCHARFF The clown prisoner is missing. He may have escaped. Search the area. If he got off the train he must be around here someplace. The soldiers rush o.s. into the deepening darkness. CLOSE TWO SHOT - SCHARFF, HOFFMAN SCHARFF You know what happens if he gets away. SERGEANT HOFFMAN (hopefully) He can't get very far. Scharff looks o.s. after the disappearing train. SCHARFF If he's on that train -- he's going farther than you know --- CUT TO: LONG SHOT - TRAIN - EVENING (STOCK) The rear of the boxcar is just disappearing from sight in the darkness. CLOSEUP - SCHARFF SCHARFF ... or he knows. DISSOLVE TO: INT. BOXCAR - MOVING - DAY It is the next morning. Light is coming from the vents and the lantern which hangs from a peg in the middle of the right side of the car. Helmut is asleep on the floor with the children huddled around him. He lies on his side with one arm thrown protectively over the little Czech girl, Inga, and Willie. Behind him, the Czech birthday boy and the girl with the doll are cuddled close to him. Other youngsters have their heads on his legs and feet, and all are as close to him as they can get. He is, in fact, a sort of human bed. From the train NOISES o.s. we can tell that the freight train is slowing down. Then, with a jolt, it stops, and o.s. we HEAR a truck engine approaching. Helmut stirs and sits up, trying to get his bearings. This arouses some of the children and they too sit up and look around. CHILDREN What is it? Are we there, Doork? Where are we? Why are we stopping? HELMUT I don't know. He untangles himself, rises and stretches his numbed arms and legs. He starts toward the door, but it slides open suddenly and a BURLY GUARD vaults inside. Behind him we see a truck similar to a moving van being backed up to the boxcar. Helmut blinks uncertainly at the light pouring through the door. BURLY GUARD Everybody up. No noise. The children are too startled to move. The guard notices Helmut and reacts. BURLY GUARD Who the hell are you? HELMUT Where are we? BURLY GUARD How the devil did you get in here? HELMUT I... I'm from the other prison. Got locked in -- by accident. BURLY GUARD Ah, for... (shouting out the door) Sergeant! CUT TO: EXT BOXCAR - DAY We see now that the train has stopped at an isolated siding. The truck has backed up almost to the door of the boxcar. A SERGEANT climbs down from the cab of the van and hurries to the boxcar door, the CAMERA PANNING him there. SERGEANT What's the matter? BURLY GUARD Look at this. He's from the other camp. Got in here with the shipment. SERGEANT How did that happen? HELMUT I... I was taking care of the children back there and... accidentally got locked in. SERGEANT Of all the... What's your name? HELMUT (realizing he's in big trouble) Doork. Helmut Doork. The Sergeant fumes for a moment, then... SERGEANT (to the guard) Put him in the truck with the others. And, let's get going. CUT TO: INT. BOXCAR - DAY ANGLE to the door as the Sergeant disappears. Reaching out, the Burly Guard lowers the tailgate of the truck so that it forms a bridge to the boxcar. BURLY GUARD (to the children) All right, in the truck, quick now! The children, most of whom are on their feet now, hesitate, looking to Helmut for guidance. The guard seizes one youngster and shoves him toward the door. Instead, however, the child flies to Helmut and grabs him around the legs. BURLY GUARD I said move! HELMUT (quickly) Wait. Let me. (to the children) Everybody up. Come on. Up, up, up. He moves around, helping the still seated children to their feet. When they're all up... SERGEANT (to Helmut) Not you. HELMUT Don't you want me to stay with them? They'll be frightened without me. BURLY GUARD Not for long, they won't. SERGEANT (to guard) That's enough. Get them inside and keep them quiet. Burly guard starts to prod the children but they don't move, their eyes are fixed on Helmut. BURLY GUARD (threateningly) MOVE! HELMUT Do as he says. And, don't worry, I'll be with you soon. I promise. Reluctantly, the children march off. They look back frequently at Helmut who waves to them. SERGEANT (to Helmut) Come along, now. They walk over to a two-story building. Helmut looks back in the direction of the children, then looks about the camp. HELMUT This is just another prison. SERGEANT What'd you expect? HELMUT I thought the children were going to a better place. The Sergeant, with an incredulous look on his face, stares at Helmut. INT. CELL - DAY The cell is a small, bare cubicle containing only a cot and an open toilet. In the wall, fronting on the prison yard, there is a small barred window. Helmut stops pacing and moves over to it, and looks out. The CAMERA SWINGS so that it is SHOOTING PAST Helmut's head through the window. At the far end of the yard we can see the windowless stone buildings. As Helmut stares out at them, we HEAR approaching footsteps. Helmut stiffens, turns toward the door as the SOUND of the footsteps grows louder and louder. The CAMERA SWINGS toward the door as it opens to reveal CAPTAIN CURT RUNKEL, a slender, impeccably groomed and thoroughly Nazified officer of the elite S.S. He is the embodiment of all Hitlerian ideals. Runkel strides into the cell. RUNKEL (over shoulder to guard at door) Close the door, and wait out there. Guard closes the door. Runkel studies Helmut coldly. Without taking his eyes off Helmut, he pulls out a cigarette case, takes out cigarette, lights it and slowly inhales. RUNKEL You're a remarkable man. Very remarkable. Helmut stirs uneasily. RUNKEL Have you any idea where you are? Helmut shakes his head. RUNKEL Auschwitz. This is Auschwitz. (a beat) Mean anything to you? (before Helmut can answer) You may have observed we're enlarging our facilities. He moves over to the window and looks out, puffing slowly on his cigarette. RUNKEL Still a great deal of work to be done. (proudly) It's going to be our most efficient, most modern prison. (he turns and smiles) And, I might add, most unique. (walks back towards Helmut, studying him carefully) RUNKEL Yes, you are a remarkable man. I always wonder about remarkable men. (then evenly) Why did you come here? HELMUT I explained. I got locked in the boxcar and... RUNKEL (cuts in - still bland) Ah, yes. An accident. Unavoidable I suppose. HELMUT I was taking care -- I mean, the Commandant requested me to take care of the children. RUNKEL (a slight note of mockery) The Commandant! Runkel tosses his cigarette on the floor and very deliberately grinds it out with his boot. RUNKEL I've spoken to YOUR Commandant. He hs you listed as an escaped prisoner. HELMUT Escaped! But... RUNKEL (finishing it for him) ... it was an accident. (his face close to Helmut's) Are you one of them, clown? HELMUT (terrorized at the thought of death) No... no! I'm not one of them. I'm not ! Runkel smiles, moves away from Helmut. RUNKEL You misunderstand completely. The Judas goat is never killed. He isn't worth killing. (moves to cell door) I'm just asking you to lead them. ANOTHER ANGLE - FAVORING HELMUT His eyes plead, "No. I can't do it. No." RUNKEL Not... even to save your own life? For a brief moment, Helmut struggles to find the courage to stand up to Runkel -- but he has no courage and he sinks slowly to his knees, his head bowed. CLOSE SHOT - RUNKEL RUNKEL (victorious) I'm glad to see you're not a self- appointed martyr. TWO SHOT - HELMUT, RUNKEL Runkel towers above Helmut who sits back on his haunches, leaning against the wall. RUNKEL Just think! Now you're really one of us. The truth of Runkel's remark hits Helmut like a devastating blow. He turns his face to the wall in shame. Runkel walks to the door, raps on it, the guard outside swings it open. HELMUT (attempting to get to his feet) Sir... Sir... could I... could I have a little time with them before ... before... His voice trails off. Runkel looks at Helmut while he thinks it over. He moves back to the middle of the cell. RUNKEL Yes. Yes, of course. (he looks at his watch) I can give you about half an hour. (a little smile lights his face) You see, we're not heartless men here. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. CHILDRENS' HUT - DAY ANGLE to the door as Helmut and the Sergeant approach from o.s. Helmut has freshened his make-up. SERGEANT Remember what I told you. HELMUT There won't be any trouble. Helmut goes to the door and starts to open it. The CAMERA MOVES UP to -- CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT With a great effort, he composes himself and throws open the door. CUT TO: INT. CHILDRENS' HUT - DAY ANGLE to the door, where Helmut stands wearing an enormous grin. The children are about the barren room in little groups. When they see Helmut, they leap up and run to him, clinging to him as he closes the door behind him and moves into the room. CHILDREN Doork, Doork, you came back. You came back. We thought you'd left us. Don't leave us, Doork. The children continue to ad lib expressions of mingled fear and delight at his return. Helmut goes among them, patting their heads comfortingly. HELMUT There. There. It's all right. It's all right. Everything is going to be all right. When the youngsters are calmed, Helmut holds up his hands for silence. HELMUT Now I want everyone to put on a big smile and sit down, because we're going to have more fun than we've ever had. Slowly, still unconvinced that they have nothing to fear, the children sit on the floor. HELMUT Good. We'll start by seeing that we all have our names on our heads. The children begin to lower their heads so Helmut can check to see if their names are still there. HELMUT (as he moves among them) Yes, yes. There's Fritz, Maria, Sadie, Inga, Josef, Nathan, Helga, Willie... The little girl with the rag doll holds up the doll for Helmut to see. HELMUT Ah, yes, Frederika! Good. I see all of your names. This is almost too much for Helmut, but he manages to control himself by turning away for a beat. Then he turns back to the children, his big smile back in place. HELMUT Now... on with the show. Just watch this. CUT TO: PAN SHOT - CHILDREN Their little faces are troubled, worried. DISSOLVE TO: PAN SHOT - CHILDREN It is a half hour later, and now the children are laughing at something Helmut is doing o.s. The CAMERA PULLS BACK to -- MED. SHOT - THE GROUP Helmut is walking an imaginary tightrope. Every few steps he almost loses his balance, but with comical gyrations he manages to complete the walk. He bows deeply to the children -- and falls flat on his face. The youngsters laugh, applaud and squeal delightedly. TWO SHOT - HELMUT, WILLIE Helmut is lying on the floor near the boy. He looks up at the tot and grins. WILLIE Doork! Doork... you're great ! Helmut grabs Willie and holds him close while he fights back his tears. Willie plants a big kiss on his cheek. Helmut scrambles to his feet, the CAMERA PULLING BACK to -- WIDER ANGLE SHOOTING PAST Helmut to the door as it opens, revealing the Sergeant, his face expressionless. Helmut reacts. SERGEANT (to Helmut) It's time. HELMUT Just a few more minutes? The sergeant shakes his head. HELMUT I'll bring them. The children are watching him, puzzled. CHILDREN What's the matter, Doork? Where are we going? You come with us this time. Where're they taking us. HELMUT (trying to think what to say) They... they want us to move to another building... where we'll have more room... to play. (a beat) Tell you what. Let's make it a big circus parade. Everybody get in a line behind... He picks up Willie and stands him near the door. HELMUT (continuing) ... behind Willie here. The children scramble up and begin forming a line behind the very proud Willie. Helmut looks around for the boy with the harmonica. HELMUT Now, where's our band? The harmonica? He sees the boy and goes to him. Helmut pantomimes playing the harmonica and points to himself. The boy smiles widely, fishes the harmonica out of his pocket and holds it up. HELMUT There we are? Everybody ready? Here we go. Helmut takes his place at the head of the line, like the Pied Piper, leads the youngsters out the door, playing a crude sort of circus parade music. The little children giggle excitedly as they troupe out. The older ones seem less certain, but as long as Helmut is with them, they feel secure. CUT TO: EXT. PRISON YARD - DAY As the procession of youngsters emerges from the barracks with Helmut dancing along at its head. The Sergeant and the other two Guards stand watching in disbelief as the line turns and moves along toward the first of the windowless buildings. MED. SHOT - SERGEANT, GUARDS They look at each other incredulously. What they are seeing surpasses their imagination. FULL SHOT - HELMUT, CHILDREN SHOOTING from a HIGH ANGLE as the procession moves toward the CAMERA. Helmut looks back at his charges from time to time, smiling and waving and always puffing away on the harmonica. The children smile back, some timidly and some a bit fearfully, but all smile. PAN SHOT - PARADE CAMERA PANS in on the children as they march behind Helmut. We see some of them strutting, their little arms swinging freely. Some of the little ones have to skip to keep up with the others. They are all smiling. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT With each step, Helmut looks about, his eyes searching heaven, praying for the miracle that will save the children... the sudden blast of thunder, the striking down of the guards. CLOSE SHOT - SERGEANT, GUARDS As they follow the parade warily, almost as if expecting a trick. They wear scowls worn into their faces by long use. MED. SHOT - BUILDING - HELMUT'S POV Its steel door gapes open. Through the open doorway we can see a bare room in which what appears to be shower heads jutting from the wall. A single ceiling light gives the room a stark appearance. The CAMERA PULLS BACK and UP as the procession comes up toward the building. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT Despair fills his eyes as he realizes that there is to be no miracle. He looks ahead into the room, his courage fails him and he stops so abruptly that the children behind him run into his legs. He turns and looks at them, then back to the door. WIDER ANGLE Almost reluctantly, Helmut stands aside. He tries to smile, but the result is almost grotesque. He tries to speak, but no words come. The Sergeant and the guard drift up toward him, scowling. Gently, Helmut tousles the hair of little Willie and steers him through the door into the room. The other children follow him hesitantly. Helmut puts the harmonica to his lips and begins playing again. ANOTHER ANGLE - TAKING IN SERGEANT AND GUARDS FIRST GUARD Their clothes! They've got to undress. The sergeant starts to move toward the line of children, the Sergeant grabs his arm and stops him. SERGEANT Leave them alone. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, CHILDREN SHOOTING over Helmut's shoulder down at the children as they file past him. Each one hesitates a beat before him and looks up at him. Their faces are wondering, but trusting. They smile tentatively. Only the little girl with the doll hangs back, waiting for something rather than fearful of entering. When all of the other children have gone in, she goes up to Helmut and wordlessly holds out her hand in a silent request to enter with him. In her eyes is the absolute certainty that he will. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT - LITTLE GIRL'S POV He looks down at her hand for a long beat. MED. SHOT - HELMUT, LITTLE GIRL The little girl waits for Helmut, but he doesn't take her hand. Shyly, she begins to withdraw it. Suddenly, Helmut reaches out and grabs her hand, clutching it desperately as he needs her innocence to control the panic that is tearing at him. Holding on to her to steady himself, they walk together into the room, the CAMERA PANNING with them. CUT TO: INT. CHAMBER - DAY ANGLE to the door as Helmut and little girl enter. Suddenly, the door slams shut behind them. Helmut whirls to it instinctively, as if to shove it open or cry out for help, but he does neither. CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT His face is pressed against the steel door. He fights the panic within him. Then, he quickly wipes his eyes and turns back towards the children. Slowly he takes three chunks of stale bread from his coat pocket and begins juggling them, at the same time waggling his head from side to side, slowly at first, then more gaily. From deep inside him comes a tiny, tiny laugh. The CAMERA PULLS BACK SLOWLY to reveal the children in the f.g. Suddenly, Helmut tosses the pieces of bread high, high into the air and stretches out his arms to encompass all the children. As they gather around him, they take up his soft laugh, timidly at first, then more assuredly until the chamber resounds with gentle laughter. CUT TO: IF ANOTHER MAN'S CHILD IS THREATENED AND YOU MOVE NOT TO PROTECT IT, THE CHILDREN OF ALL MEN ARE IN JEOPARDY AND YOU STAND AS GUILTY AS THOSE WHO THREATEN. JOHN F. O'BRIEN FADE OUT THE END
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+                                        DEEP COVER                                        Written by                              Michael Tolkin and Henry Bean                                         Story by                                      Michael Tolkin                                      SHOOTING DRAFT                               EXT. CLEVELAND STREET - NIGHT (1970)               Rain. Christmas lights. A rusted out '56 Lincoln rattles                down the bleak boulevard. In it: JOE STEVENS, an angry, black                man in his late 20's, beside him his 10-year-old son, JOE                JR.               Joe Jr. stares out the window at passing: boarded buildings,                whores with raincoats over their heads trying to flag down a                john, a black Santa, a knot of drinkers. Breaking the silence:                                     JOE STEVENS                         Your mother okay?                                     JOE JR.                         Yes, sir.               They stop at a light. Joe Stevens tries to furtively snort a                little something. He spots Joe Jr. watching.                                     JOE STEVENS                              (firm, without irony)                         Don't you do this shit, boy. Don't                          you ever fuckin' touch it, you hear                          me?               Joe Jr. stares, silent; Joe Jr.'s about to hit him.                                     JOE STEVENS                              (continuing)                         You hear me, goddam it?               The boy nods. Satisfied, Joe Sr. draws in the stuff. It makes                him feel good, strong, worried and determined all at once.                                     JOE STEVENS                              (continuing; charged                               up)                         What do you want for Christmas?                                     JOE JR.                         I don't know.                                     JOE STEVENS                              (light changes; he                               accelerates)                         You don't know?? You gotta know what                          you want, boy, if you ever expect to                          get it.               A sudden charm to his bravado. Joe Jr. smiles uncertainly.                Joe Sr. grins back, pulls up in front of a liquor store.                                     JOE STEVENS                              (continuing)                         Wait here. This won't take a minute.               Joe Jr. doesn't notice or doesn't remark that his father,                just before entering the store, draws a handgun from beneath                his coat.               The boy gazes dreamily at the street. The lunatic Black Santa                marches by, ranting to himself ("Then the white man say...").                The RAIN HAMMERS on the roof and windshield. Joe Jr. breathes                on the glass, fogging the scene.               From the store: MUFFLED GUNFIRE.               Joe Jr. looks that way. Another GUNSHOT, then:               His father comes out the door clutching money in one hand.                He strides toward the car with a reckless pride. He doesn't                notice:               The liquor store door opens behind him.               A SHOTGUN BLAST. Joe Stevens' guts splatter onto the car                windshield. A look of terrible amazement; he sinks to his                knees.                                     JOE JR.                         Daddy!!               He jumps from the car, kneels by his father.               The STORE OWNER (47, Slavic) drags the gun toward them,                bleeding profusely.                                     STORE OWNER                              (enraged, almost to                               tears)                         Fuckin' niggers... fuckin' niggers...               JOE STEVENS               looks at the money in his hand: two 20's, two 5's.                                     JOE STEVENS                         Fifty bucks... fifty goddam bucks.                              (looks up at his son)                         I'm sorry...               He stuffs the blood-soaked bills in the boy's shirt pocket                and dies. Joe Jr. looks up at...               THE STORE OWNER               Bloody, nearly unconscious, he aims the shotgun at the boy                who is too frightened to move.                                     JOE JR.                         Please, Mister...               The man dies on his feet. As he falls backward, he pulls the                trigger, the BLAST shattering the car windows.               Cop cars SQUEAL up. Uniformed cops leap out, guns drawn,                survey the scene. Then one notices Joe Jr., staring motionless                at his father and the store owner, dead together. ON HIS                EYES:                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               THOSE SAME EYES               -- but older, harder, colder. They're concentrating on a                paper before him.               TITLE: 17 YEARS LATER               CLOSEUP - THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY               Hundreds of TRUE/FALSE questions...               1.) I have never indulged in any unusual sexual practices.                (T/F)               2.) I have often felt that strangers were looking at me                critically. (T/F)               3.) When I was young I occasionally stole things. (T/F)               Joe Stevens marks these TRUE, FALSE, FALSE then comes to:               4.) A person's station in life is at least partially                determined by his race. (T/F) We are:               INT. A ROOM - DAY               Thirty-seven Black Cleveland police officers (many in uniform,                including Joe) are taking the MMPI. Some roll their eyes at                the questions. Some try to copy answers. Others, like Joe,                work with rapid concentration.               But he gets stuck on #4. Marks it false. Erases it. Marks it                true. Erases that. Ponders. Goes on to: #5. At times I hear                so well it bothers me. (T/F) He marks that true.               INT. INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY               GERALD CARVER, 36, an ambitious government lawyer with a                relaxed, vaguely hip manner, looks over the file of the                ingratiating BLACK OFFICER sitting across the desk from him.                                     CARVER                         Officer Leland? You know the                          difference between a black man and                          nigger?               Leland is startled, insulted, but doesn't want to blow the                interview. He smiles weakly, shakes his head no.                                     CARVER                              (continuing; pleasant                               smile)                         Yeah, most niggers don't.               Stung, Leland tries to laugh. Carver puts his file aside,                picks up another.                                     CARVER                              (continuing)                         Nice to meet you.               INT. SAME - ANOTHER INTERVIEW               A SECOND BLACK OFFICER is powerfully built, politically                conscious, takes no shit. Carver's leafing through his file.                                     CARVER                         So, Winston, what's the difference                          between a black man and a nigger?               Winston is out of his chair before the question is finished,                drags Carver by the shirt front halfway across the desk and                hisses into his face:                                     WINSTON                         Who the fuck do you think you're                          talking to?               Carver smiles cheerfully past Winston's cocked fist.                                     CARVER                         Thanks for coming in.               Nonplussed by this cool dismissal, Winston stalks out. Carver                picks up the next file, unfazed.               INT. SAME - ANOTHER INTERVIEW               Joe Stevens watches Carver reading his file and waiting for                an answer. When none is forthcoming, Carver glances up, finds                Stevens looking right back at him.                                     STEVENS                         The nigger's the one who falls for                          your bullshit.               He says it pleasantly, without belligerence. Carver smiles:                he's found his man. He offers his hand.                                     CARVER                         Gerald Carver, United States District                          Attorney. Call me Gerry.               INT. A DARKENED ROOM - DAY/NIGHT               ON A TV SCREEN: a grainy black-and-white tape, date and time                stamped at the bottom. A grungy street, palm trees. The light                from the monitor dimly illuminates Carver and Stevens.               On SCREEN the CAMERA finds: A MAN in jeans, sneakers and                sweatshirt on a street corner.                                     STEVENS                         He ought to be wearing a sign.                                     CARVER                         You can tell he's a cop?               Stevens laughs: it's obvious.               A real DRUG DEALER joins the cop. UNDERCOVER COP: "You got                it?" DEALER: "In the motel, right over here..." The Cop's                uneasy, keeps glancing back toward the CAMERA as they go.                                     STEVENS                         He keeps looking for his back-up.                          Now, the other guy knows it, too.                                     CARVER                         Then why's he taking him to the room?                                     STEVENS                              (why else?)                         To rip him off.               Carver studies Stevens in the darkness, impressed.               ON SCREEN: The figures disappear into the motel. We hear                their voices. DEALER: "Here, try some of it." UNDERCOVER                COP: "Uhh... No, I don't..." DEALER: "Why not, you                sonofabitch?" Two bursts of SOUND DISTORTION.               A plainclothes cop, TAFT, (black, stocky, powerful) bolts                from behind the CAMERA, sprints toward the motel. The CAMERA                wobbles after him.                                     STEVENS                              (continuing)                         Too late.               ON SCREEN: The CAMERA (jerky, hand-held) nears the open motel                door. Taft is bent over the Undercover Cop's body.                                     TAFT                         Oh, Bobby... Jesus, Jesus...                              (to the CAMERA)                         Get an ambulance -- and back up.                          Now!               He slams the wall, starts past the CAMERA. Carver pushes the                pause button; the tape freezes on a jerky image of Taft's                face.                                     STEVENS                              (focussed on Taft)                         Who is he?                                     CARVER                         Charles Taft. LAPD Narcotics.                                     STEVENS                         He's a good cop.                                     CARVER                         He's a great cop. Two [names citation]                          and a [another citation]. As tough                          as they come and twice as honest.               Carver watches Stevens watch Taft, smiles at something.                                     STEVENS                         But the cops aren't getting it done                          here, are they? Gotta try something                          new...               He opens a manila envelope, dumps the contents on the desk:                driver's license, social security card, high school                transcript, prison records... all in the name of William G.                Hull. No photos.                                     STEVENS                              (continuing)                         Who's John Hull?                                     CARVER                         You are. If you want to be.                              (off Stevens)                         Most undercover guys don't know what                          they're doing because it's a day                          gig.                              (indicates dead cop                               on TV)                         I need somebody who goes under and                          stays there; six months, a year,                          five years...                                     STEVENS                         What does he have to do?                                     CARVER                         Buy drugs. Sell drugs. Feed me                          information.                                     STEVENS                         He's a snitch.                                     CARVER                         He's a drug dealer. A criminal. A                          scumbag. But for the right side.                              (beat)                         I want you to come to Los Angeles on                          loan to the Justice Department as a                          federal agent. Your experience there                          will be credited toward your seniority                          here. And you'll come back to                          Cleveland a P3 or higher.                                     STEVENS                              (uncomfortable)                         I can't do that. I've got a wife and                          kids.                                     CARVER                         You're separated from your wife,                          she's filled for divorce. You see                          your kids every other weekend.               Stevens takes a breath: this is awkward to explain.                                     STEVENS                              (almost a confession)                         All my life I've stayed away from                          that stuff. I've never touched drugs.                                     CARVER                              (tolerant)                         Come on, a little grass...?                                     STEVENS                         Not grass. Not nothing. I never even                          had a drink.                              (his motto)                         Never have, never will. You don't                          understand. I made a choice in my                          life.                                     CARVER                         What's to understand? You saw your                          father killed when you were ten, and                          you decided you wouldn't be like                          that.                              (off Stevens' surprise,                               Carver grins)                         I'm God, I know everything. You wanted                          to be a good boy, so you became a                          cop. Hiding out in uniform... That's                          why you got the hard-on for Taft.                                     STEVENS                         It's not that simple.                                     CARVER                              (opening Joe's file;                               as if reluctantly)                         I'll tell the truth, Joe. You're                          never going to be a Taft.                                     STEVENS                         I don't believe that.               But he does.                                     CARVER                              (looks at MMPI results)                         You ever take a look at your                          psychological profile? You score                          almost like a criminal.                              (reading)                         "Resents authority..."                                     STEVENS                         I do not.                                     CARVER                         "...Exaggerated moral standards, but                          with no underlying value system."                          Look at the anger, the repressed                          violence, it's almost off the scale...                                     STEVENS                         Let me see that...               Carver hands him the scores which are, of course, just                clusters of numbers. Stevens is upset, though oddly                unsurprised, as if this only confirmed his secret fears.                                     CARVER                         Why'd you join the force?                                     STEVENS                              (awkward, but felt)                         I wanted to be of use.                                     CARVER                         Well, now you can be. You won't be                          Taft, but maybe you'll be something                          more... interesting.                              (sits back)                         There's a man named Ramon Gallegos                          who supplies 60% of the cocaine to                          the West Coast. He's smart, smooth,                          and sufficiently elusive that we                          don't even have an adult photograph                          of him. However, his uncle is Hector                          Guzman, an important Latin American                          political figure. Gallegos uses                          Uncle's connections to get product                          into the country, and everyone we've                          sent after him has ended up like                          that...               Indicates dead body on TV.                                     STEVENS                         Why would I be different?                                     CARVER                         You already are, that's the point...                              (indicates file, test                               scores)                         You've got the ability and the                          personality to go underground and                          blend in completely. That's what the                          others couldn't. Some part of them                          showed. That's why they're dead.                          See, there's only one rule in this                          game.               Stevens raises his eyebrows: what?                                     CARVER                              (continuing)                         Don't blow your cover.               EXT. WORKING CLASS CLEVELAND NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY               Stevens parks outside a small, well-maintained house. As he                gets out, he spots a GROUP OF KIDS (black and Hispanic)                playing down the street. He's not pleased about that.                                     STEVENS                              (calls to them)                         Joe-J, Carmen...               A BOY, 7, and a GIRL, 5, (both light-skinned) run to him                shouting, "Daddy," jump into his arms, competing for                attention, as if they haven't seen him in ages.                                     STEVENS                         What were you doing with those kids?                                     JOE-J & CARMEN                         Playing...                                     STEVENS                              (displeased)                         Your mom lets you play with them?                                     JOE-J & CARMEN                         Yes, sir... Yes, sir.               His strictness has already sobered their enthusiasm. Sensing                this, he attempts to embrace them which he can do only                awkwardly.               Meanwhile, his wife, TERRY (Southern white) has come out the                screen door. She and Stevens bristle at each other.                                     STEVENS                         I thought we talked about this. The                          older brother up there's got a sheet                          with --                                     TERRY                         Lay off it. They're just kids...               Both are ready to fight, but restrain themselves. A big                Polynesian, TITO comes out the door.                                     TITO                         Hey, Joe.                                     STEVENS                         Tito...               A moment of surprise, then he gets it. He looks to Terry.                She gives a little shrug, refusing to be embarrassed.               INT. KITCHEN - FIVE MINUTES LATER               Stevens is trying to seem interested in Carmen's little                drawings.                                     STEVENS                         They're real nice, honey. Is that a                          horse?                                     CARMEN                              (exasperated)                         Daddy! It's a bunny...               She puts her arms around him.                                     CARMEN                              (continuing)                         I don't want you to go away, Daddy.                                     STEVENS                         It's my work. I've got to.               Over her shoulder he sees Terry sitting with a subdued Joe-               J. Her face seems to say, "See, I told you..." Avoiding this                accusation, Stevens notices a bruise on Carmen's arm.                                     STEVENS                              (continuing)                         What happened to you there, baby?                                     CARMEN                         Tito did it.                                     STEVENS                              (instantly outraged)                         He hit you?!                              (up in a fury)                         God damn it, what's he doing touching                          her? I'm gonna...               Terry intercepts him on his way out of the room.                                     TERRY                         She was running behind his chair                          when he got up. It was an accident.                              (he's uncertain)                         A complete... total... accident.               Stevens looks at Carmen who giggles. He's humiliated by his                own temper, attempts to calm himself. Terry puts a sympathetic                hand on his shoulder.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. LOS ANGELES - AERIAL SHOT - DAY               The immense sprawl, the arterial flow of the freeways, the                blinding light. We DESCEND...               INT. TRAIN STATION - UNDERGROUND - DAY OR NIGHT               People getting off, among them the former Joe Stevens, now                known as JOHN HULL. He's carrying a suitcase.               INT. TRAIN STATION/EXT. STREET - DAY               Hull goes up the stairs onto a downtown street.               EXT. ANOTHER STREET - DAY               South L.A. neighborhood. A 13-year-old BLACK YOUTH selling                drugs through a car window. Hull walks by. He's at ease,                looking around, his manner subtly announcing that he belongs                here, just as in the train station he seemed to belong among                the commuters.               EXT. TRANSIENT MOTEL - COURTYARD - DAY               A fat BLONDE WOMAN (61, large white glasses, tiny shoes)                leads Hull down a corridor.                                     BLONDE WOMAN                         Television mostly. I was on "Sky                          King" twice, "Ramar of the Jungle."                          That was a silly show. The jungle                          was mostly flats...               They pass an open door where a 6-year-old boy, JAMES, a                latchkey, sits on the stoop playing Gameboy; inside, his                mother, BELINDA, a broken down whore, is doing her nails and                drinking Pepsi. She looks up, bats her lashes at Hull.                                     BLONDE WOMAN                              (continuing)                         You want my advice, I'd stay away                          from that bitch.               She opens the door to the room across the hall. A dump. Hull                walks in, drops his duffle: he'll take it. The Blonde lounges                in the doorway. He closes the door.               INT. ROOM - DAY               Hull empties his pockets on the dresser. Looks at his money,                room key, identification. Looks at himself in the mirror. He                touches his clothes, his face, tries on different expressions.               (NOTE: Throughout the film, Hull continually checks himself                out in mirrors, both to adjust his appearance to the                circumstances and as if in an attempt to recall who he                "really" is.)               EXT. 79TH AND FIGUEROA - TWILIGHT               On the seam between South-Central and USC. Lots of people                out: children, students, dealers, whores. Hull with a new                haircut.               EXT. ANOTHER, SIMILAR CORNER - DAY               Dealers (most in mid-teens) meeting cars, making transactions.                All this casually observed. EDDIE comes up the street,                reciting his version of an old street toast.                                     EDDIE                         On the day of the King's castration,                          all the counts and no accounts were                          down on the deck with Georgia Tech                          taking turns in the back seat...               Those dealers not at car windows, gather around. He never                speaks to them, goes on declaiming as he exchanges drugs for                money.               Hull watches, talking to another street person. His appearance                continues to change: clothes, posture, walk, gestures subtly                conform to the environment, a bit like Zelig. Throughout the                film his appearance shifts, depending on who he's with. We                always recognize him, but each time he's different.               He walks up to a dealer, makes a quick buy and keeps going.                But he sees them and is seen.               INT. AN OFFICE - NIGHT               Hull drops eleven foil balls on a green blotter. Carver counts                out money for him.               INT. HULL'S MOTEL ROOM - DAY               He sits at the window, eating a burrito, watching little                James play in the courtyard.               EXT. STREET - EVENING               Hull approaches another Dealer, the 13-year-old seen earlier                (angelic face). Like Hull, he's trying to act tough.                                     HULL                         Whatta you got?                                     13-YEAR-OLD DEALER                              (voice just changing)                         Nickel rock, dime rock. Excellent                          shit.               Hull exchanges a folded twenty for two foil balls. He walks                off. He has gone twenty feet when...               RED RANGE ROVER               SQUEALS to a stop opposite the Dealer.               A huge young black man, IVY (23, all in red with a red                headband), leans out the passenger window, shouting at the                13-year-old.                                     IVY                         What the fuck I tell you about being                          here?               Everyone turns to look, but Hull's view is blocked.                                     13-YEAR-OLD DEALER (O.S.)                         No, wait...                                     IVY (O.S.)                         Too fuckin' late.               POPPING noises. Ivy is waving an automatic weapon. Everyone                on the street but Hull has hit the ground.                                     IVY                              (enjoying it, shouting)                         Get down, motherfuckers!               Ivy laughs and fondles a girlfriend as the car ROARS off. He                sees Hull, pretends to fire, laughs as Hull, too, ducks.                When Ivy's gone, he runs to where a CROWD has gathered                around...               THE 13-YEAR-OLD               lying in the street, a bullet hole in his head, eyes open.                He twitches and kicks, blood pulsing from the neat wound.                Then he's dead. The faces around him (young, old, many races)                watch with a variety of emotions.                                     CROWD                         Who is he?... Why'd they shoot him?...                          Ivy did him, man... He's in the wrong                          fuckin' place... That poor boy...                          Get his beeper...               Cops push through to the body. As the crowd disperses, Hull                can't take his eyes off the boy. When he finally does, he                sees Eddie, drink in hand. Their eyes meet, and Eddie, a                rapper, raises his eyebrows in brief acknowledgment of sorrow.                                     EDDIE                              (sadly)                         He done done, ain't he?               EXT. LEWAZZ - NIGHT               TITLE: TWO WEEKS LATER               A bar with a neon bird for a sign. Hull enters.               INT. LEWAZZ - NIGHT               A racial mix. Hull takes a seat at the bar. Stuffed birds                line the lintel above the bottles. A female BARTENDER (long                red nails) greets him familiarly.                                     BARTENDER                         How's it going, John?                                     HULL                         I'm in there.               Without being asked, she sets him up a Dry Sack with a long                red straw. (NOTE: He never touches the drink.) Hull's                appearance has continued to change. His clothes have become                flashier, he has an earring, the start of a goatee.               Eddie approaches the bar compulsively reciting one of his                toasts.                                     EDDIE                              (to himself)                         "Where's the Queen," said the King.                          "She's in bed with laryngitis." "Is                          that bastard still in town?... Fuck                          the Queen," said the King, and ten                          thousand knights straaaained at their                          utmost...                              (to the bartender)                         Pina colada times two and a white                          wine.               He goes on muttering under his breath, tapping his foot like                any crankhead. He notices Hull, greets him as someone he                can't place but knows he's seen around.                                     EDDIE                              (continuing)                         How you doin', Dudley...               Tries to remember name.                                     HULL                         John.                                     EDDIE                         John, man, right...               Clasp hands. Eddie takes his drinks, carries them to...               A TABLE               where he rejoins a white man, DAVID ELIAS (30s, slick,                powerful) and a well-dressed BLACK WOMAN (mid-20s, good-               looking). She gets the wine.               Elias rises to let her out. As the woman passes Hull on her                way to the restrooms, their eyes meet: an instant of perfect                chemistry. He's struck. Her features open, grow sensual for                a moment, but then, as if seeing something she doesn't like,                her eyes flick away, and she walks by as if he weren't there.               INT. CARVER'S OFFICE - NIGHT               (NOTE: Hull invariably meets Carver in this anonymous room,                distinguished only by the green blotter and a view of the                city. This simple regularity suggest visits to a psychiatrist,                Carver probing, testing, teasing, trying to draw Hull out.                And they feel like therapy, at once a respite and a torment.)               More foil balls on the blotter beside boxes of 3x5                photographs. Photos of Eddie and David Elias are up on a                corkboard, the beginning of a pyramid.                                     HULL                         Eddie something... a motormouth...                          he supplies the street dealers...                          buys from him...                              (reads name on back                               of photo)                         David Elias... who apparently buys                          from a guy named Barbolla or                          something. But I haven't seen him.               Carver produces a photo of a handsome Latin in his 50s, pins                it on the board above Elias.                                     CARVER                         Barbosa, Felix.                                     HULL                         There was also a woman, but she's                          not here.                              (as Carver reaches in                               a drawer)                         I saw a kid killed. Twelve, thirteen                          at the most. Turf war.               Carver shrugs: these things happen. He hands Hull a lot of                cash, much more than expected. Hull does understand.                                     CARVER                         Get to Elias. Then to Barbosa.                                     HULL                         You can't rush this stuff.                                     CARVER                         Rush it, please. I want art, John,                          not reality. Budget hearings start                          in April, and I need Gallegos by                          then. They won't give us funding for                          three ounce buys.                                     HULL                         We're not just doing this for the                          funding, are we?                                     CARVER                         Without funding, we aren't doing it                          at all.               TITLE: TWO WEEKS LATER               INT. CRACK HOUSE - DAY               Virtual darkness save splinters of light between the curtains.                Pipes burn here and there in the gloom. Ten or fifteen                crackheads huddle around a battery-operated TV on which Tom                Brokaw is narrating an NBC documentary on drugs. A 12-year-               old sits against a wall too stoned even for television.               Hull approaches Eddie, regally installed on an automobile                bench seat-cum-sofa, a lit pipe in one hand. We barely notice                the redhead kneeling between his legs, face buried in his                crotch. He greets Hull from wrecked bliss. They know each                other now.                                     EDDIE                         My man, Dudley, he's so fud-ley...               Hull greets Eddie, some of the others, drops familiarly onto                an adjacent auto seat. The patrons are making fun of Brokaw,                laughing, exchanging fives.                                     HULL                         Eddie, man, I need...               Eddie holds up a hand telling Hull to wait. His mind is                elsewhere. His features contract in brief concentration.                                     CHORUS OF COMMENTS                         Whatever happened to that Drug Czar                          motherfucker?... He gave up 'cause                          he finally realized he didn't know                          nothing about any of that shit...               More laughter, etc. Eddie's concentration peaks, breaks off                into a sigh and a smile.               Eddie sings a satisfied little song...               The redhead rises from Eddie's crotch, and we see it's a                boy, seventeen going on death; he might have been pretty a                year ago.               Eddie passes him the crack pipe, lets him suck greedily for                a few seconds before ripping it out of his scabrous mouth                and offering it to Hull, who, with a grimace that gets laughs,                declines. The others continue to watch and comment on the                speech.                                     EDDIE                         So what is it you need so bad, blood?                          Need, need, need??                                     HULL                         A whole K, quick as you can get it.                                     EDDIE                              (impressed, a trace                               of envy)                         Comin' in the world, Dudley.                                     HULL                              (winning grin)                         All because of my man...               Eddie likes that, holds out a hand. Hull hits it.                                     EDDIE                         Give me a day.               Hull nods, rises.                                     EDDIE                              (continuing)                         Stick around, let the bitch Hoover                          you, too.               Indicating redhead.               In all these scenes, Hull acts indifferent to the horror,                but here the effort costs him. He masters his disgust with a                joke.                                     HULL                         Only if you Clorox him first.               Everyone laughs, even the boy.               EXT. STREET - NIGHT               Eddie comes out the back door of a building, is immediately                collared by Taft (the cop on the videotape). He's in his mid-               40s, stocky, balding.                                     TAFT                              (cheerful, gregarious)                         Eddie Shitface! Where you been, boy?               Eddie breaks free, runs three feet before HERNANDEZ (a                muscular Mexican) knees him in the groin. Eddie crumples.                                     TAFT                              (continuing)                         Eddie, I don't think I introduced                          you to my new partner, Michael                          Hernandez...                                     HERNANDEZ                         Pleased to meet you, Mr. Shitface...               EXT. STREET - NIGHT               Eddie folded over his wounded nuts. Hernandez and Taft sit                on crates to either side. The drugs they've taken from him                are neatly arranged on a garbage can lid.                                     HERNANDEZ                         You have the right to remain silent...                          You have the right to an attorney...                          You have the right to go back to                          Ontario for eight-to-ten on a second                          offense...                                     EDDIE                              (in several kinds of                               pain)                         Oh, man, I can't go back in there, I                          just can't.                                     TAFT                              (soothing)                         'Course you can't, child, 'course                          you can't. That's why you're gonna                          start giving us some help.               EXT. DAVID ELIAS'S HOUSE - NIGHT               A pleasant, Santa Monica neighborhood. Spanish style house.               INT. ELIAS'S HOUSE - NIGHT               Pleasant, tasteful. Elias's wife, NANCY, (dressed like the                attorney she is) sits in an alcove-study reading a real estate                contract through half-glasses. Elias himself is helping his                daughter, MIRANDA, 7, with her homework. He is 38, with the                body and bearing of a powerful man.                                     ELIAS                         Again. Three times four.                                     MIRANDA                         Seven.               Elias is not a sweet Daddy. It should make us uncomfortable                to watch him push his daughter.                                     ELIAS                         No. You're adding again, you have to                          multiply. Three and four is seven.                          Three times four is...                                     MIRANDA                         Twelve.                                     ELIAS                         Three times five.               The DOORBELL.                                     NANCY                         Can you get that?                                     MIRANDA                         Eight.                                     ELIAS                              (getting up; more                               about the answer                               than the door)                         Damn it.                                     MIRANDA                         Why can't I just use a calculator?               INT./EXT. FRONT DOOR - NIGHT               Three men: FELIX BARBOSA (whose photo we saw in Carver's                office). Barbosa is a veteran of the coke business, but he's                doing too much of the drug now; he's sweating, paranoid,                unstable. With him is GOPHER, early 60s, a wizened high-voiced                old con who Barbosa keeps the way Spanish kings kept dwarfs,                for amusement and luck; like the court jester, Gopher can                say anything he wants without fear. Behind them is an Hispanic                kid, CHINO, 17, a thug.               Elias knows them all, but is not happy to see them at his                door.                                     ELIAS                         What are you doing here?                                     BARBOSA                         We've got a problem, David.                                     ELIAS                         Call me on the phone.                                     BARBOSA                         Your friend Eddie just started bending                          over for the cops.               This is very bad news. Elias murmurs a shaken, "Shit..." and                steps outside, half-closing the door behind him.                                     BARBOSA                              (continuing)                         They busted him, and he's dealing to                          save his ass.                                     GOPHER                         Which is how he'll lose the skinny                          little thing.                                     ELIAS                         Did he give us up?                                     BARBOSA                         Not yet, but he will if he has to,                          and eventually he'll have to.                                     MIRANDA (O.S.)                         Daddy! I thought we were doing my                          homework.                                     ELIAS                         I don't think he'd talk about us.                          He'd try not to.                                     BARBOSA                         If we whack him, he definitely won't.                                     MIRANDA (O.S.)                         Daddy!!                                     ELIAS                              (to Miranda)                         Just a second.                              (to Barbosa)                         Not yet. Let me check on this, first.                                     BARBOSA                              (taunting)                         Nobody said you had to do the dirty                          work, David. I'll take care of --                                     ELIAS                         Felix, if he's a problem, we'll kill                          him. I'll kill him myself.               He doesn't realize until it's too late that Nancy has just                then opened the front door to see where he went. They look                at each other, a terrible moment: she knows what he does,                hates it, can't bring herself to leave him, hates herself                for that.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         Nancy, get out of here.                                     NANCY                         For you; it's Eddie.               She hands him a cordless phone, goes inside closing the door.                                     BARBOSA                         You got a tasty wife, David. No wonder                          you don't want us coming here.                                     ELIAS                              (warning him)                         Don't talk about her that way.               Barbosa laughs.                                     GOPHER                         He can't help it, David, it's his                          nature.                                     ELIAS                              (into phone, chipper)                         Eddie... Sure, man, what do you need?               INT. A BOXING GYM - NIGHT               Elias joins Eddie and Hull to one side. In the b.g. two guys                sparring.                                     EDDIE                         David, this is John, John, David.                          Eddie, this is Eddie. Everybody ready?                                     HULL                              (to Elias)                         So what's this, you want to meet me?                                     ELIAS                              (charming, touch of                               mockery)                         I like to know the important                          customers.               Hull makes a show of weary patience, gestures: here I am.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         You're taking a lot of weight for a                          guy we hardly know. Where're you                          moving this stuff, John? We haven't                          seen you around. We like to have a                          sense who your customers are.                                     HULL                         Ah, come on, man, do Macy's tell the                          Gimbel motherfuckers?                                     ELIAS                              (beat; watches him)                         Eddie, forget this guy, he's a cop.               He gets up, walks away.               ON HULL               He's blown it. He's been made. The crushing failure. He                rallies himself to indignation.                                     HULL                         What is this shit, Eddie? I thought                          you were the man.               Eddie's sickened, wants to get paid, owes Taft a bust.                                     EDDIE                         Nobody's the fuckin' man. Go to your                          place. I'll call you.               EXT. GYM/INT. A VAN - CONTINUOUS TIME               Taft and Hernandez, watching the gym. Hull comes out, looks                up and down the street carefully. Taft sits up, pays                attention.                                     TAFT                         This is our collar?               Hernandez grunts.                                     TAFT                              (continuing)                         Who is he?                                     HERNANDEZ                         Some scumbag...               But Taft clearly thinks there's something different about                Hull. He's not sure what, but it troubles him. (NOTE: Hull                makes a little move that Taft will later realize was a cop's                move. For now he can't quite place it.)               EXT. PARKING LOT - CONTINUOUS TIME               Eddie pleading his case to Elias.                                     EDDIE                         He's no cop, David. He's an animal.                          You see his eyes? You never see a                          cop with those eyes. I know this                          shit, man, you don't.                                     ELIAS                              (giving him an opening)                         What's going on, Eddie?                                     EDDIE                         Twenty-six thousand cash is what. We                          need it, David. We're behind.               Elias studies Eddie: is he a rat? Elias hopes not, but he's                going to find out. He hands a fat Federal Express envelope                through the window.                                     ELIAS                              (a warning)                         I want him to get it all, Eddie.               Eddie bows in gratitude, hurries off.               EXT./INT. HULL'S MOTEL - NIGHT               Hull's unlocking his door when Belinda, the hooker across                the hall, comes out to talk. Her 6-year-old, James, watches,                silent.                                     BELINDA                              (a crackhead)                         Mr. Hull... Mr. Hull...                                     HULL                              (wearily)                         What's happening, Belinda?                                     BELINDA                         Now you know, Mr. Hull, I was to the                          welfare this afternoon, but the bus,                          you know what I'm saying?... the one                          bus, and then the other, and when I                          got there they'd gone and changed                          the time on me, without notification.                          They's supposed to give notification,                          ain't they? They said I got a thing                          in the mail, but I don't remember, I                          don't think they sent it, so now I'm                          off the welfare, plus I forgot to                          take James for his shot... for the                          school? Which otherwise they let him                          go. And he's gotta learn, he's gotta                          learn, don't he, Mr. Hull, you tell                          him, so's he can better hisself.               Hull slouches in the doorway, fingers to his eyes.                                     HULL                              (to James)                         You had any food today, James?                                     JAMES                              (disclaiming any need)                         I had Ding-Dongs.                                     HULL                              (sighs, gives him                               money)                         You go to the Mexican place over                          there, and get the chicken tostada                          or the beef and bean burrito or both.                          And a milk.                                     JAMES                         I don't like milk. I want a --                                     HULL                              (an order)                         You get the milk! And get something                          for your mother, too.                              (to Belinda)                         What do you want?                                     BELINDA                         Now, Mr. Hull, if you just --                                     HULL                              (to James)                         Two tostadas, two burritos, two milks.               Gives him another bill. The boy runs off.                                     BELINDA                         You now, I look out for my James                          best I can, Mr. Hull, but it's hard.                          Now you like the boy, don't you?               Hull grunts.                                     BELINDA                              (continuing)                         I know you do. And I was thinkin' if                          you wanted to take care of him, that                          might be good for him. Give him a                          male figure to look up to.                                     HULL                         Look, Belinda, I can't...                                     BELINDA                         If you could just give me something                          for him. Say five thousand dollars...                              (off Hull's shock)                         Or maybe four thousand. I couldn't                          give up my boy for less than four                          thousand...               Hull is rescued from this horror by the ringing PAY PHONE.                He runs down the hall, grabs it.                                     HULL                         It's me. I'm here... Where?... five                          minutes.               He dashes past Belinda into his room.                                     BELINDA                         Or you could just give me a part                          now...               He closes the door, takes the money Carver gave him out from                behind the mirror, dashes back outside. As he rushes by:                                     BELINDA                              (continuing)                         Let me do somethin' for you, Mr.                          Hull. Let me do a little somethin'                          for you.               He keeps going. The Blonde Woman addresses Belinda.                                     BLONDE WOMAN                         No solicitin' in the halls. I told                          you that before.                                     BELINDA                              (spunkier than we've                               seen)                         I ain't doin' shit. Bitch...               EXT. TACO STAND - VENICE AND LA BREA - NIGHT               A handful of customers under a mud sky. The THROB of a distant                helicopter. Hull pulls into the lot beside Eddie's BMW.               He climbs into the BMW, tosses Eddie a brown envelope; money                spills onto his lap. Eddie does a quick count, produces the                Fed Ex envelope. The usual white stuff.               Hull's about to taste when the chopper swoops in with a sudden                blinding overhead light. A BULLHORN booms down like the voice                of God.                                     AMPLIFIED VOICE                         This is the police. Remain inside                          the vehicle. Place your open hands                          against the windshield so that they                          are clearly visible...                                     HULL                         Christ...                                     EDDIE                              (a strategy)                         Spread the floor, Dudley.                              (rap sound effects                               with rhythmic head                               spasms)                         A-ga, a-ga, a-ga, a-ga...               Eddie starts the car, and Hull rolls out the passenger door                as the BMW races across the lot.               Two black-and-whites and an unmarked converge on the stand.               Hull can't reach his car. He vaults a metal rail and runs                off between two buildings.               Hernandez jumps out of an unmarked and races after him. Taft                speeds the car out onto the street.               HULL               running. Police and SIRENS pursuing. He hurls the Fed Ex                envelope into a dumpster. HELICOPTER light sweeps over him.               As he cuts around a building, Taft opens a car door right                into his face. Hull goes down hard.                                     TAFT                              (into car radio)                         Thank you kindly...               He waves at the helicopter which goes away, kneels over Hull                who is twitching spastically on the ground, gasping for air.                Hernandez arrives carrying the Fed Ex envelope.                                     TAFT                              (continuing)                         How you doin', child?...               Hull is astonished to look up and see Taft looming over him,                the man he remembers from the videotape. He tries to speak:                                     HULL                              (barely audible)                         You...                                     TAFT                              (briefly puzzled)                         Me? Of course, it's me. You know me?               Hull shakes head, winces.                                     TAFT                              (continuing)                         Hurts, huh?               Hull tries to curse.                                     TAFT                              (continuing)                         Here, I want to show you something.                          You have kids?               He takes out his wallet, opens it to pictures of his two                children, a boy and a girl, seven and eight.                                     TAFT                              (continuing)                         These are mine. Aren't they the most                          beautiful children you ever saw?               Hull groans, twists in pain. Taft sticks the pictures in his                face. Hull is affected by the children despite everything.                                     TAFT                              (continuing)                         Yeah, I know, they kind of leave you                          speechless. So let me ask, if someone                          put a gun to your baby's head,                          wouldn't you kill him if you could?               Hull just looks up.                                     TAFT                              (continuing)                         Me, too. And you're the bastard with                          the gun.               He takes the Fed Ex envelope from him.                                     HULL                              (hoarse; his first                               words)                         You know the difference between a                          nigger and a black man?                                     TAFT                         Don't jive me, boy.                                     HULL                         The nigger's the one covers Whitey's                          ass by puttin' the brothers in jail.               Taft yanks him hard to his feet; Hull cries out in pain.                                     TAFT                         You ain't my brother.               INT. COURTROOM - NIGHT               Hull is led in with other handcuffed PRISONERS. Carver is                here, catches Hull's eye. Hull shakes his head; doesn't want                Carver to intercede. A woman PUBLIC DEFENDER (26, attractive,                harried) addresses the prisoners.                                     PUBLIC DEFENDER                         Hi, I'm Shelley Weissbrod. This is                          only an arraignment, a preliminary                          hearing, but if you don't have money                          for an attorney, the Public Defender's                          office can...               Hull is listening to this when a BAILIFF taps his shoulder.                                     BAILIFF                         You've got counsel. Over there.               Puzzled, Hull sees the back of a suit conferring with a                PROSECUTOR. The suit turns. It's DAVID ELIAS who smiles,                offers his hand. Hull is stunned. Elias enjoys that.                                     HULL                         You're a lawyer??                                     ELIAS                         I'm your lawyer.                                     HULL                         Who hired you?                                     ELIAS                              (smiles)                         It's pro bono. If you don't want me,                          there's Shelley. She's good. She                          just can't provide special services...                                     HULL                         Like what?                                     VOICE (O.S.)                              (calling the next                               case)                         John Hull...                                     ELIAS                         Getting your case called first.               Elias addressing the court.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         Your Honor, I believe the preliminary                          police toxicology report will show                          that the substance seized from my                          client was Mannitol, a baby laxative.                          We move for immediate dismissal.               Hull is surprised at this news. The Judge looks to the                Prosecutor who waives objection. Gavel.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing; to Hull)                         We're out of here, Dude.               As they walk toward the back, Taft approaches Hull. There's                already a deep pull between these two, and in Taft's presence,                Hull can't sustain the tough street act. We almost see the                little boy inside him.                                     TAFT                              (to Hull, amused)                         Baby laxative, they sold you some                          bad shit.                                     DRUNKEN PRISONER                              (to Hull)                         You have a constipated baby, and                          you're in jail? What kind of a father                          are you?                                     TAFT                         A father who don't know his own                          children, ain't that right?               A long look between them, broken when Elias takes Hull's                arm, leads him away. Elias cheerfully greets a couple of                hookers waiting arraignment. Hull furtively grabs his sleeve.                                     HULL                              (under his breath)                         You sold me Mannitol, motherfucker.                                     ELIAS                              (under his)                         If it hadn't been, asshole, you'd be                          in jail right now... Come on, I want                          you to meet some people.               EXT. LEWAZZ - NIGHT               After hours. The place is closed. A couple of cars in the                lot. Elias's BMW pulls in.               INT. LEWAZZ - NIGHT               Deserted except for one table where Eddie, Barbosa, Gopher                and Chino are eating shrimp. They look up as Hull and Elias                approach. Eddie's astonished to see Hull.                                     EDDIE                         Dudley, Dudley, Fo-Fudley...                                     ELIAS                         Surprised to see him, Eddie?               Eddie looks around, uneasy.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         John got busted and kept his mouth                          shut. Can't say that for everybody,                          can we?                                     EDDIE                         What are you saying? Are you saying                          me? Are you saying something about                          me?                                     GOPHER                         Tell the truth, Eddie. Be honorable.                          It's all you got left.                                     EDDIE                         Shut up, you little faggot.                                     ELIAS                         The cops made you give them somebody.                          We know it.               Eddie looks around. Everybody's looking at him. He considers                lying, but realizes it's pointless.                                     EDDIE                         All right, so what? I mean, so what,                          man? You got the money. Twenty-six                          G. Twenty-six, David. Count it.                                     ELIAS                         Next time you might trade us.                                     EDDIE                         Never.                              (turns to Barbosa)                         Never, Felix, never. Come on, man,                          you know I'd never...               Hull observes Barbosa become the power center.                                     BARBOSA                              (softly)                         I know you never will.                                     EDDIE                         Felix, no. Don't be... I'm worth                          money to you. Let me give you money.                                     BARBOSA                         Why? You don't owe me anything.                                     EDDIE                         Another twenty-six grand... Just to                          show you... Fifty.                                     BARBOSA                         Why not a hundred?                                     EDDIE                              (that's so much)                         A hundred??? Felix...               Barbosa's impassive.                                     EDDIE                              (continuing)                         Okay, a hundred.                                     BARBOSA                         Give it.                                     EDDIE                         Tomorrow. Twenty-four hours.                                     BARBOSA                         Now. Ten seconds.                                     EDDIE                         Felix, I need time. I --                                     BARBOSA                         One... two...                                     EDDIE                         I don't have it right now. But I can --                                     GOPHER                              (sadly)                         Then goodbye, Eddie. I forgive you                          for what you said to me.                                     EDDIE                              (pleading)                         Twelve hours. Tomorrow morning.                                     BARBOSA                         Six... seven...                              (to Elias)                         You want to do it, David?               Elias looks stricken. Barbosa laughs. Eddie jumps up. Hull                turns away, can't bear to watch this.                                     BARBOSA                              (continuing)                         Nine...               EDDIE               grabs the first thing he lays eyes on, a tiny snail fork and                plunges it into Barbosa's neck.               As if it were a fly bite, Barbosa flings the table aside                and, with a long knife already in his hand, guts Eddie from                groin to breast bone. Eddie falls like a suddenly emptied                sack.               Elias can't help gasping.               Hull looks away, hiding his horror.               Barbosa rips the fork out of his neck and hurls it at the                body.                                     BARBOSA                         Piece of shit!               Elias stares at Eddie's body, transfixed. Horrified,                fascinated, afraid, in awe. Barbosa turns to Hull.                                     BARBOSA                              (continuing)                         What'd you think?                                     HULL                         At least it was clean.                                     BARBOSA                              (pleased, to Elias)                         What about you, bar mitzvah body?                          First time you saw somebody die?                                     ELIAS                              (eyes fixed on the                               body)                         No.                              (catching breath)                         At camp... when I was fourteen... a                          friend of mine was water skiing...                          The motorboat ran him over... A junior                          counsellor was driving.                                     BARBOSA                         You should kill a man some day, David,                          it's liberating...                              (walking out)                         Summer camp. I'm in business with                          somebody who went to summer camp.               Everyone else is silent, grave.               INT. ELIAS'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - EARLY MORNING               Through sliders we see a small pool. Elias and Hull sit over                uneaten omelets. Both still shaken by the previous scene.                                     ELIAS                         Eddie, man... He was always nice to                          my daughter.                                     HULL                         How'd a guy like you get into this?                                     ELIAS                         The way most drug lawyers do: clients                          paid me in product, and I had to                          move it. Soon I was doing more dealing                          than law. But this was '83, '84,                          there was so much money we thought                          it would never end.                                     HULL                         Yeah. And now...?                                     ELIAS                         The road gets rougher. Cocaine's a                          dying business.                                     HULL                         Then what are we doing here?                                     ELIAS                         People are always going to want to                          get high. Every society has ways to                          alter consciousness.                                     HULL                         Because they can't bear reality.                                     ELIAS                              (smiles)                         We all need our delusions, only the                          means change: psychedelics, opiates,                          prayer, orgies, human sacrifice...                                     HULL                         What's next?               Elias puts a finger to his lips.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         Why aren't you selling it?                                     ELIAS                         I know how to make it and market it.                          But I need capital. That's the only                          reason I'm hanging out with an asshole                          like Barbosa.                              (feels his hatred of                               Barbosa)                         And because I can't get to the big                          guys.                                     HULL                         Who are the big guys?                                     ELIAS                         Gallegos, et cetera.                                     HULL                              (reacts to the name)                         Why can't you get to them?                                     ELIAS                         What do you care?               Hull shrugs: he doesn't.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         Anyway, designer drugs have a bad                          name: ice, ecstasy, tar -- there's a                          limited market for Parkinson's                          disease. But what about completely                          safe, almost legal, terrific shit                          you can go to work on and do your                          job better than you ever did it                          straight?                                     HULL                         Sounds like a dream.               They hear someone coming.                                     ELIAS                              (closing the subject)                         In dreams begin responsibilities.                                     HULL                         Tell me about this new shit.                                     ELIAS                         Some other time, John, when we know                          each other better.                              (as Miranda enters                               kitchen)                         Hey, bunnela.                              (she snuggles against                               him; Elias enjoys it)                         Five times two.                                     MIRANDA                         It's too early. Don't bother me.               He hugs her, kisses her, much more openly affectionate than                Hull was with his own children. Hull notices that.                                     MIRANDA                              (continuing; head in                               her father's chest)                         Seven.               Elias whispers in her ear.                                     MIRANDA                              (continuing)                         Oh, yeah... Ten... Who's he?                                     ELIAS                         That's my friend, John. This is                          Miranda.                                     HULL                         Hi, Miranda.               Miranda gives Hull a shy greeting. Nancy hurries into the                kitchen, handsome, busy, ready for work.                                     NANCY                         Come on, honey...                                     ELIAS                         Nancy, this is John.               Nancy nods briefly in Hull's direction. Elias kisses Miranda                who grabs the back-pack her mother proffers, and they go                out. When they're gone:                                     ELIAS                              (continuing; on Nancy's                               chilliness)                         That's not about you. It's, she's...                          judgmental about what I do.               When they're gone, he opens louvered doors onto a                washer/dryer, takes a sports bag off a shelf, gives it to                Hull. Hull looks inside. White powder. He tastes. Real. He                hefts the bag.                                     HULL                         That's more than I bought.                                     ELIAS                         Half we owe you. The other half's on                          consignment. A token of our esteem.                                     HULL                         You're having trouble moving it.               Elias doesn't deny it.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         Make me your partner. I'll help you                          get your capital.                                     ELIAS                         I don't need a partner. I need a                          salesman.               INT. CARVER'S OFFICE - DAY               Now in daylight. Two separately wrapped kilograms of crack                cocaine on the green blotter.                                     CARVER                         I can't buy this much shit. I haven't                          got it in the budget.                                     HULL                         What am I supposed to do with it?                                     CARVER                         You're a drug dealer, John. Deal                          drugs.               Hull just looks at him. Carver doesn't blink.                                     HULL                         You know how this goes, Gerry. It                          won't stop here. You know what they're                          going to ask me to do pretty soon,                          to prove I'm down. What am I supposed                          to do then?                                     CARVER                         Don't blow your Carver.               Hull: a moment of horror as he realizes what Carver is saying.               MUSIC -- A DRUG DEALING SEQUENCE               INT. HULL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               He's filling glass vials with crack. Hundreds of them. It's                tedious work. He spills some, curses. He stops. He can't                believe he's doing this. He goes on doing it.                                     CARVER (V.O.)                         You're still thinking like a cop,                          John. Forget that. Cross the line.                          Be what you are. You're a criminal.                          You don't give a shit about other                          people. You're just trying to survive.               INT. CRACK HOUSE - DAY               Hull doling out vials to DEALERS seen earlier with Eddie.                                     HULL (V.O.)                         I can't do this shit. I just can't.               EXT. A STREET - DAY               DEALERS going up to cars as before, only now they're Hull's                dealers. A well-dressed Black businessman buys from his BMW.                                     CARVER (V.O.)                         But you want to be of use. You want                          to get drugs off the street, don't                          you?                                     HULL (V.O.)                         That's why I'm here.               EXT. SAME - ANOTHER TIME               Another sale: Teenagers on foot.                                     CARVER (V.O.)                         Well, this is the cost. Pay it or go                          grow flowers someplace.               EXT. HULL'S MOTEL - ANOTHER TIME               He comes out of the motel talking to a Dealer we've seen                above.                                     HULL                         You can't back down with them. You've                          got to project strength, from inside,                          you know?               The Dealer nods. Across the street Hull sees:               A blue sedan. Taft and Hernandez. Taft gives Hull a little                nod and grin.               EXT. STREET - ANOTHER TIME               Hull sitting in an aging Trans Am, making entries in a                notebook. Across the street he watches:               A PREGNANT WOMAN (19), a squawling baby in arms, buying from                one of his Dealers.               He kicks the dash in frustrated anger. Under the MUSIC:                                     HULL                         Cocksucker...               As soon as the woman's gone. He goes over to the Dealer,                slaps his head, slaps it again. Under the MUSIC:                                     DEALER                              (hurt, confused)                         What'd you do that for?                                     HULL                              (walking off)                         'Cause I can, motherfucker, 'cause I                          can.               EXT. SAME - ANOTHER TIME               A white housewife making a buy from a new mini-van, a baby                in the car seat.               EXT. STREET - TWILIGHT               Two USC football players (letter jackets, huge) hassling                BIJOUX, a woman dealer, pushing her, she pushes back, curses.               Suddenly Hull comes running up, shoves them apart. He's                yelling, pointing a finger in their faces. Elias comes up                behind, calmer.               Hull is smaller than either USC kid, but they back down as                he curses them. Under MUSIC:                                     HULL                         ...Touch her again, motherfuckers,                          I'm gonna mess you up.               A brief scuffle. Hull decks one USC, and Elias pulls him                off. The kids leave. Elias doubles over with laughter. Hull                yells at Bijoux and walks off.               EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE - DAY               Hull (looking at written address) knocks on a door. It's                opened by a beautiful, dark-skinned black woman in a skimpy                robe. She looks at him with disarming frankness. He thinks                he must be in the wrong place.                                     HULL                         Is David Elias here?                                     ELIAS (O.S.)                         Momentito...               Through the door we see him emerge from a bedroom stepping                into his loafers, buttoning his shirt. He gives the woman                along, dark kiss, caressing her body.                                     ELIAS                         Jacqueline, ho-ney...               She laughs, closes the door. As he and Hull walk to the                street, Elias sings happily to himself:                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         "Who's making love to your old lady...                          while you're out make love...?"                              (cheerful)                         How come I like balling black chicks                          so much?                                     HULL                         'Cause you're a racist asshole. You                          feel like you're fucking a slave,                          and it gets you off.                                     ELIAS                         Oh, don't mau mau me with the Malcolm                          X shit. Tell me you're not chasin'                          white pussy every chance you get.                                     HULL                         I don't dig white women.                              (knowing that's a lie)                         Even if I did, it wouldn't mean the                          same thing.                                     ELIAS                         Sure, it'd be the slave fucking the                          master. Hegel talks about it. Just                          like me, but the other way around.                                     HULL                         Fuck Hegel. Who the fuck is Hegel?                          Some smart-ass kike that talks                          backwards?               Elias laughs, gets into Hull's car. Hull's angry, takes a                beat before he gets in.                                     ELIAS                         Everybody digs the other, John. They                          dig their own, and they dig the other.                                     HULL                         Does your wife dig black guys, David?                          Did she fuck Eddie? Does she want to                          fuck me?                                     ELIAS                              (mock-terrified)                         Ooo... you mean with that great big                          purple dick of yours? I hope not.                          She'd never be impressed with my                          little thing again.                                     HULL                         You think what impresses her now is                          your dick?                                     ELIAS                              (musing)                         What does impress her?               Hull can't help laughing. He starts the car.               EXT. BETTY'S STORE - DAY               Elias and Hull approach. Hull's carrying a satchel and wearing                a new leather jacket.               INT. JEWELRY STORE - DAY               As they go in, Elias switches the OPEN sign to CLOSED and                turns the latch. The store is filled with Latin American                folk art, particularly masks which line the walls.               BETTY STONE, the woman Hull saw with Elias at the bar, comes                out from the back. She is 27, a bad girl trying to dress the                way she thinks a banker who went to Vassar dresses for                success. She's also a little strung out.               She and Hull recognize each other at once, (a brief reprise                of that moment of perfect chemistry) but she avoids his gaze.                                     ELIAS                         Betty, this is John, my new associate.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Your new Eddie. I hear the old one                          wore out.                                     ELIAS                         Factory recall. John's going to be a                          good customer. He does a lot of wash.               Hull puts the satchel on a display case. Betty still won't                look at him, opens the satchel, begins a quick count. She                does this with a speed and sureness that suggests high test                scores.                                     HULL                         So how's this place work?               Betty doesn't answer, so Elias covers the awkwardness.                                     ELIAS                         Betty wires the money to a store in                          Aruba in payment for things they                          never sent her. They deposit the                          money in a bank there that turns                          around and loans her money she never                          has to repay. That way it doesn't                          turn up as income for the IRS. Welcome                          to the laundromat.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         David, you talk too much.                                     ELIAS                         She doesn't trust you.               Hull has taken down a mask, puts it over his face, looks in                a mirror.                                     HULL                         How much is this?                                     MCCUTCHEON                         More than you can afford.                                     HULL                         I'll take it.               She produces a vial of coke, looks questioningly at Elias.                                     ELIAS                         By all means.               She draws out six lines. Elias does two.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (offering him the                               straw)                         Come on, Eddie 2... you're up.                                     HULL                         No, thanks.               NOTE: Betty is acutely attuned to Hull, and in his refusal                she senses -- albeit unconsciously -- two things: first,                that he doesn't trust himself on drugs, therefore, he's a                dangerous guy and, therefore, exciting; and, second, more                important, the refusal bespeaks a repudiation of the violence                and danger and, thus, a longing for goodness. Despite the                seeming contradiction, she finds this even more attractive.                But because she feels herself to be bad, his goodness seems                only a judgment against her, and so she thinks she hates                him.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Who is he, my mother?                                     HULL                              (smiles)                         Never have, never will.               Betty ignores him, does her lines.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (taunting Hull)                         Oooh... Cocaine, I love it and I                          hate it and I love it. The disease                          is the cure.               She can't help looking at Hull who's looking at her. She and                Elias are stoned; he's not.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (continuing)                         Don't look at me. Elias, tell him                          not to look at me. I don't like the                          fucker.               But Elias is too busy vacuuming up Hull's leftovers.                                     ELIAS                              (sniffling)                         John's an ascetic Negro; he wants to                          make sure you know he's not a jungle                          bunny.                                     HULL                         Watch your mouth, David.                                     ELIAS                         But he's got another side. You should                          seen him on the street the other day                          with these two USC kids. Do the spade                          bit for her, John.                              (black accent)                         I'm gonna mess you up, muthafugga...               He sticks his finger in Hull's face just like Hull with the                boys.                                     HULL                         Don't call me a spade. And don't                          tell me to play black.               He says it gently, but Betty hears the edge.                                     ELIAS                              (hurt, disappointed)                         Come on, John, you do it so well.                              (falling into it)                         Ah ain't playin', muthafucka. Ah                          ain't playin'.               Hull glares; Elias refuses to be intimidated.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         Don't fuckin' dis me, muthafucka.                          Fucka... fucka... fucka a... fucka                          b... fuck b-hive... fucka, fucka,                          fucka...               Elias dances around repeating "fucka" until it's almost                musical.               Hull picks him up and slams into a wall.                                     HULL                         Say it again, and I'll kill you.               Elias throws Hull back against a display case. He's strong                and unafraid. They're ready to fight.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Grow up, assholes!               This half snaps them out of it. Still glowering, they slowly                relax, release each other.               EXT. STREET - NIGHT               Hull sits in the Trans Am eating a sandwich and watching the                street as a DEALER leans in the window telling his sob story.                There's an authority to Hull's manner that tells us he may                not like this job, but he knows how to do it.                                     DEALER                         ...The guy ripped me off, man, so I                          don't got the money, I don't got the                          stuff and --                                     HULL                              (eyes on street)                         You gotta pay anyway.                                     DEALER                         Oh, but, man...               As he raps on, comical pathos, Hull spots in his side                mirror...               THE RED RANGE ROVER               coming slowly this way. Ivy in the passenger window, the                barrel of an automatic weapon glinting in the streetlight.                                     HULL                         Shit...               Hull glances up: Bijoux is selling on the next corner.               The Range Rover passes the Trans Am. Ivy leans out.               Hull flings open the Trans Am door, throwing the Dealer to                the ground. He jumps from the car:                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         Bijoux!!               She turns. Sees Ivy. She puts out her hands to block the                shots. The SOUND of the gun is inaudible. The barrel bounces                slightly. Bijoux sprawls backward.               Bijoux: dead on the sidewalk, limbs askew, bleeding from                many wounds.               Hull, standing over her, covers her face.               EXT. SAME - MUCH LATER THAT NIGHT               The body has been taken away, the crowd has cleared. Elias                sits on the hood of the Trans Am. Hull stands, staring down.                                     ELIAS                         It wasn't your fault.                              (no response)                         What could you have done?                                     HULL                         She worked for me. I'm supposed to                          protect her.               Elias knows that's true, and it leads to another truth.                                     ELIAS                         We have to kill him.               Hull looks up.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         Or we lose all authority with the                          other dealers. And one of them'll                          kill you.               Hull looks up, startled.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         You've got to assert now, or you're                          dead.               Hull sees the truth of that and slowly nods.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         And if we kill Ivy, we control this                          whole territory.                                     HULL                         That guy who works for Barbosa can                          do it, Chino.                                     ELIAS                         No. If we use Chino, it's Barbosa                          who's asserting. It'll be Barbosa's                          territory.                              (again: his hatred of                               Barbosa)                         It's gotta be us.                                     HULL                         Right.                                     ELIAS                         And if it's us, it's gotta be you.               Meaning he can't do it. Hull knows that. A long beat on Hull's                face as he reaches the inevitable decision.                                     HULL                              (to himself)                         Don't blow your cover.                                     ELIAS                         What?                                     HULL                         If I do this, we're partners. Equal                          partners on everything.               Elias offers his hand. Hull stands up, a sudden resolve.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         Let's go.                                     ELIAS                              (afraid)                         Now...?               But Hull is already moving.               EXT. STREET/INT. ELIAS'S CAR - NIGHT               Hull and Elias driving, looking for Ivy. Elias double parks                by two prostitutes.               We STAY in the car with Hull who's silent, frightened, keeps                trying to warm his hands.               Outside, Elias is talking and laughing with the prostitutes.                We see them point. He gives them money, kisses. They laugh.                He gets back in the car.               EXT. A DANCE CLUB - NIGHT               The Range Rover parked in front. Elias's car stops. MUSIC                pounds from inside. Then one CONTINUOUS SHOT:               They pass the club, other store fronts... Turn at the                corner... Turn into an alley... Down the alley past the same                buildings... The rear door of the club... To the next                street... Turn... Turn... onto the original street, back to                the front of the club. They stop again.                                     HULL                         Go wait around back.               Elias nods. A beat. They look at each other.                                     ELIAS                         I want to see you in that alley.               Hull's so terrified he seems calm. With an air of submitting                himself to fate, he gets out and walks into the club.               INT. CLUB - NIGHT               Crowded and BOOMING and strobe lit. Hull pays the cover and                climbs a staircase to a...               CIRCULAR BALCONY               that overlooks the dance floor. On stage: a RAP ACT with its                throbbing beat and below Hull a sea of dancers.               Hull circles the balcony. It isn't hard to pick out Ivy --                he's all in red, dancing with the woman we saw him with in                the Range Rover the first time.               Hull reaches the steps again and starts down, keeping his                eye on Ivy. The number ends. In the pause before the next                one, Ivy can be seen excusing himself, heading toward the                rear of the club.               The next number begins. People dance. Hull pushes his way                through the dancers to...               INT. REAR OF CLUB - A SHORT HALLWAY - NIGHT               leading toward the rear door they saw from the alley.               MOVING DOWN THE HALL               A woman's room. A men's room. Hull goes into...               INT. MEN'S ROOM - NIGHT               Ivy is pissing into a urinal. He's so huge he seems to take                up all the space in the tiny room. Hull stares at him, unable                to look away.               He notices Hull. All dialogue is UNDER the POUNDING MUSIC.                                     IVY                         What're you looking at?               Hull stares at Ivy's face. Ivy considers this rude.                                     IVY                              (continuing)                         You want to suck it, bitch?                              (offers his dick)                         Or drink it?               Laughing, he turns, urinates on Hull's pants. Hull doesn't                move.                                     IVY                              (continuing;                               recognizing him)                         Oh, I know you. You're the bitch                          whose whore I wasted tonight, ain't                          you?               Somebody pushes on the outside of the door. Hull holds it                closed with his back.                                     IVY                              (continuing)                         I gotta take care of you, too, huh?               He reaches into his pants for the butt of a gun.               Hull is frozen.               Ivy starts to draw it out.               Hull steps forward, grabs Ivy's gun arm. With his other hand                he clumsily pulls a silenced .22 from inside his jacket,                puts it in the underside of Ivy's jaw and SHOOTS twice. Ivy's                brains spray upward onto the wall, and he slides straight to                the floor. Hull steps out into...               INT. SHORT HALL - NIGHT               An Hispanic busboy coming out of the kitchen sees him and                the gun in his hand, freezes.               Hull walks past him and out the back door. From inside we                see Hull go down three steps, stumble in the drive and fall                to his knees, the gun CLATTERING away from him.               A couple that had been making out, stops, looks.               It takes Hull a moment to gather himself. He picks up the                gun, gets into Elias's car. It drives away.               INT. HULL'S MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT               Alone, he looks at his face in the mirror. As if he doesn't                know the person there.               With a knife, he draws out something hidden inside the wooden                backing of the mirror. A manila envelope. He empties it onto                the dresser:               Mementos among which we see, carefully preserved, the blood-               soaked bills his father gave him. Hull ignores them and picks                up...               PHOTO OF HIS CHILDREN               He smooths out the folds, stares at it as if trying to fix                this in his thoughts.               EXT. MOTEL COURTYARD - PAY PHONE - DAY               Hull on the phone. He's unusually excited, even moved.                                     HULL                         ...Carmen, it's me. It's Daddy...               INT. HULL'S HOUSE - CLEVELAND - DAY               Carmen on the phone, jumping up and down with excitement.                                     CARMEN                         Daddy!!                                     HULL (V.O.)                              (through phone)                         Hi, baby. How are you? I miss you!                                     CARMEN                         What?                                     HULL (V.O.)                         I miss you...                                     CARMEN                              (thrilled)                         I miss you, too, Daddy...               EXT. MOTEL COURTYARD - DAY               Hull pressing the phone to his face, trying to master his                emotions.               GRAINY 16MM FILM - A LABORATORY MAZE               A lab rat with a metal electrode protruding from its head,                is running a maze at high speed. A VOICE explaining things.                                     VOICE                              (young, nasal, too                               smart)                         The maze leads in two directions. At                          one end the rat can obtain a food                          pellet. At the other...                              (pointer indicates                               each end)                         ...it receives electrical stimulus                          to a very specific area of the                          cerebellum...               The rat reaches this second destination, pushes a bar, is                stimulated. A lab worker (white coat, gloves) picks up the                animal, replaces it at the start. It runs the same route.                                     VOICE                              (continuing)                         This rat, like 86% of the others in                          the experiment, chose the electrical                          stimulus repeatedly and exclusively.                          It continued to do so until it died                          of malnutrition.               ANOTHER SHOT -- the rat dead.               INT. A LABORATORY - DAY OR NIGHT               A 21-year-old RENEGADE from the Cal Tech chemistry department                (red hair, freckles, glasses held together with electrical                tape), a brilliant nerd. He picks up...               A MOLECULAR MODEL               Colored balls stuck together with wooden dowels.                                     CAL TECH                         This is an addictive amphetamine                          with time-space distortion, delusions                          of grandeur -- or maybe they're real --                          tending to be impulsive, sometimes                          violent behavior. Psychotropic                          adaptation for late monopoly                          capitalism. It's illegal, and you                          can buy it on any street corner.               He tears off some of the balls, sticks on new ones.                                     CAL TECH                              (continuing)                         This increases energy, attention,                          cognitive powers, yet with a smooth,                          almost opiate-like emotional surface.                          Ideal for the post-political, post-                         rationalist global marketplace and                          24 hour lifestyles. It's completely                          legal and can only get it here, in                          my lab.                                     ELIAS                              (to Hull, proudly)                         Randy's a genius. His professor told                          him he could win the Nobel prize.                                     CAL TECH                         Nobel prizes are for wussies.                                     HULL                         What does this shit do to you?                                     CAL TECH                         I'm on it now. It's like cocaine                          only better.                              (offers him powder on                               a slide)                         Want some?                                     HULL                         I don't take drugs.                                     CAL TECH                              (unoffended)                         Your mistake. This is designed for                          the top end of the market. For people                          who want to master reality, not avoid                          it. Because it's synthetic, you don't                          grow it, refine it, or -- best of                          all -- import it.                                     ELIAS                         What would it take to manufacture                          this stuff in quantity?                                     CAL TECH                         With a million dollars, I could                          produce enough for a limited market                          at about two bucks a pop.                              (makes a face: fair)                         But then with five million, or better                          yet ten, the cost would drop to thirty                          cents, and we'd have enough for the                          whole world.                                     ELIAS                         I'm going to put two hundred fifty                          thousand into your corporate account.                          You cheat me, Randy, I'll use your                          bladder for a bagpipe.                              (to Hull, with a                               vengeance)                         We're going to put Barbosa out of                          business.               Elias is very happy. He leads Hull out.               INT. CARVER'S OFFICE - DAY               On the pyramid chart there's a black border around Ivy's                photo, as around Eddie's. A photo of Hull is now on the board                beside the one of Elias. Hull stares out the window, lost in                thought.                                     CARVER                              (dismissive)                         Synthetic shit?? Sounds like a 20/20                          segment...               Hull shrugs: it's not that important. Carver turns to his                real interest.                                     CARVER                              (continuing)                         So, what was it like?                                     HULL                              (still looking out)                         What was what like?                                     CARVER                         Popping Ivy...                                     HULL                         You knew.                                     CARVER                         I'm God, remember?                                     HULL                              (looks back out)                         Then you should know how it was.               Carver smiles, but he's non-plussed by Hull's new detachment.                                     CARVER                         You didn't clear it with me. You're                          getting independent. That's good.               Hull smiles.                                     CARVER                              (continuing)                         How're we coming on Gallegos?                                     HULL                         He supplies Barbosa. To get to him                          we'll have to take quantity.                                     CARVER                         Then you've got to --                                     HULL                         That's what killing Ivy did. I'll                          get to him soon.               Carver's impressed.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         Is that it?                                     CARVER                              (seeing him to the                               door)                         I want you to get a new apartment.                          Something expensive.                                     HULL                         I like where I am.                                     CARVER                         That shithole? You're big time now.                          Act it. And get some clothes. Spend                          money. Have fun. That's an order.               INT. HULL'S MOTEL - OFFICE - DAY               Hull in a new, expensive suit, gives the big Blonde Woman                cash.                                     HULL                         Whether I'm here or not, no one else                          uses that room. And change the linen                          twice a week, just like now.                              (starts to go, stops,                               more money)                         And make sure James gets what he                          needs. And something for you.               He adds another bill. She smiles.               INT. A RENTED CONDOMINIUM - DAY               Views, open space, expensive furnishings. Hull (in another                fancy suit) is hanging a couple of Betty's masks. He's                meticulous about their placement.               Elias wanders out from the other rooms, looking around.                                     ELIAS                              (impressed, envious)                         Nice place. Nice suit.               Hull has a moment of self-consciousness about the suit, checks                himself out in a mirror -- a private moment.               Elias flops on a couch, puts his feet on an antique coffee                table.                                     HULL                         Hey...!               He hurries over, lifts Elias feet to the floor. Hull brushes                the wood, inspects it carefully, fusses, worries... Elias is                amused.                                     ELIAS                         You pick all this shit out yourself?                                     HULL                         A Jewish lady in the store helped                          me.                                     ELIAS                              (mock touched by racial                               harmony)                         Aw... Very nice. Understated. I'm                          impressed.               Hull starts to place stacks of cash in a briefcase. He's                momentarily mesmerized by all the money.                                     HULL                              (to himself)                         Fifty bucks, fifty fucking bucks...                                     ELIAS                         You sold it all?               Hull nods.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         I'll order a couple more keys from                          Barbosa.                                     HULL                         Order ten.                                     ELIAS                         Ten??                                     HULL                         Better twenty.                                     ELIAS                              (afraid of that)                         I don't want to push it.                                     HULL                         I do. We've got a bigger territory,                          we need more product. I want to deal                          directly with Gallegos. It would                          save us money.                                     ELIAS                         Barbosa'll never let us near him.               Hull closes the briefcase, ushers Elias toward the door.                He's going out, too.                                     HULL                         If we buy twenty, Gallegos'll come                          to us himself.                                     ELIAS                         How do you know?                                     HULL                         When I bought a key from Eddie, you                          came to me.               Elias laughs, surprised, afraid.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         Who's above Gallegos?                                     ELIAS                         Guzman, but he's... Don't ask so                          many questions.                                     HULL                         How else will I learn?                              (hint of a threat)                         Call Barbosa, David, put in our                          order... Because we have to split                          this, and there isn't enough here                          for both of us.               Elias feels the threat.               EXT. BETTY'S JEWELRY STORE - NIGHT               Despite the CLOSED sign, a light's on inside. Hull knocks.                No response. He keeps knocking without let-up until:                                     BETTY'S VOICE                              (annoyed)                         Nobody's home, go away.               He knocks harder. Finally she appears in the doorway, stopping                short when she sees it's him. She's immediately aware of                white streaks on her grey suit. she tries to brush them off.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (doesn't want to let                               him in)                         Look, I'm tired, why don't you...               Hull holds up the briefcase. She sighs, unlocks the door.               INT. BETTY'S OFFICE - NIGHT               A bill counter toting up the cash. She watches it fixedly to                avoid looking at him, but she feels the chemistry.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Why do you look at me like that?                                     HULL                         How do I look at you?                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Like you know something I don't.                          Like you're better than me.               That catches Hull off-guard, and he responds with a candor                she didn't expect.                                     HULL                         I don't think I'm better than you. I                          don't think I'm better than anybody.               She's startled by this remark and instinctively drawn to                him.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         But I do know something... You can't                          stop thinking about me.               Embarrassed, she looks away. He takes her hand, and at his                touch something yields to her. She lets him draw her to him.                His kiss is strangely tender, searching. It turns Betty on                incredibly. She melts into him.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Let's go back here...               She leads him into...               THE SMALL OFFICE               She's sweet and loving, but her sweetness scares her. He's                all over her, but she pulls back for a moment. There is a                couch and before it a coffee table with coke scattered on a                plate.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (indicates coke)                         Do this... do it with me.               She offers him a straw. He doesn't take it.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (continuing)                         This is where I'm at. You want to be                          with me, it's gotta be there.                                     HULL                         I don't do that.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Never have, never will.                                     HULL                         It's for fuck-ups.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         What do you think, you're not a                          nigger? You're a nigger as much as                          me.                                     HULL                         More.               She's angry, hurt, confused, wants to love him, but feels he                won't let her, or she won't let herself. It's torment. Finally                she's released by a KNOCK on the door. She goes out to...               THE FRONT OF THE STORE               Lets in Elias. He smells the tension.                                     ELIAS                              (amused, jealous)                         Having fun?                              (neither answers; to                               Hull)                         I talked to Barbosa. He'll see us                          now.               Hull turns to Betty. Both want to go that way instead of                this, but events are leading somewhere else. He follows Elias                out.               EXT. A SALSA CLUB - NIGHT               MUSIC pouring into the darkness.               INT. CLUB - NIGHT               Kids dancing to a live STAGE ACT. High in a wall: a lit                window.               INT. THAT ROOM - NIGHT               Very different from the club. A comfortable room with a bar,                tables, filled with men much older than the dancers below.                Barbosa and Gopher at the bar with Elias and Hull. Chino and                other SHADOWY FIGURES lurk in the room's depths.                                     BARBOSA                         Ten kilos? You're always late on                          two.                                     HULL                         Not ten... twenty.               Barbosa's impressed.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         The more we have, the more we can                          move. There're markets we can't open                          because we don't have the inventory.               Barbosa's coked to the eyeballs, mean and dangerous.                                     BARBOSA                         Finally some balls on this team...                              (taunting Elias)                         Come work for me, John. I'll give                          you your own franchise. You can supply                          Elias, lean on him when he's late.                                     ELIAS                         Go fuck yourself.               Barbosa laughs.                                     HULL                         I'm with David.                                     BARBOSA                         Why? He give you his "designer drugs"                          pitch. He's never going to do it.                          He's a shmuck.                                     ELIAS                         Don't talk to me that way.                                     BARBOSA                         I'm not talking to you at all. I'm                          talking to John.                                     GOPHER                         It's the cocaine. Don't listen to                          him. Felix, you've had enough...                                     BARBOSA                         Shmuck.               Elias goes for him. He's fast and strong, and it takes Chino                and Hull to pull him off.                                     GOPHER                         Praise God they don't let guns in                          here.                                     CALMING VOICES                         "None of that in here..." "Take it                          outside..."               Barbosa's laughing, but his cheek is flecked with his own                blood, and his eyes are dead.                                     BARBOSA                         David, you've been working out, you're                          getting strong. Are you quick, too?                              (shadow boxes)                         Come on, I'll give you a shot at me.                                     ELIAS                         Any time, any place.                                     BARBOSA                         Right here, right now. Do this.               He puts his hands out, palms up.                                     ELIAS                         This? What is this?                                     BARBOSA                         You know, you slap me, I slap you.                              (mimes that game)                         Come on, it's fun. Like summer camp.               It doesn't look fun. Elias glances at Hull for guidance.                                     HULL                         Don't waste your time.                                     BARBOSA                         Stay out of this.                              (to Elias)                         Come on, you can do it, David, you're                          not a shmuck.               Elias puts his hands out, palms up. Barbosa covers them with                his own. ON THE HANDS: Barbosa's broad, muscular with thick                gold rings and a Rolex; Elias's paler, slighter, a wedding                band and a slim watch.                                     BARBOSA                              (continuing)                         Slap my hands. Just slap them.               Elias looks Barbosa in the eye. He's trying to be a snake,                but he's more the mouse. He looks away and as he does tries                to...               Slap him with both hands but hits only...               Air. The room breathes. Barbosa turns his rings so the big                surfaces point down.                                     BARBOSA                              (continuing)                         Now it's my turn.                                     GOPHER                         It's Barbosa's turn. He's gonna kill                          the white boy.                                     ELIAS                         One more.                                     BARBOSA                         No, you went, Davey, now it's my                          turn. First to four wins, like the                          World Series.               Elias covers Barbosa's palms with his own.                                     GOPHER                         Oh, God, I can't look.               ON THE HANDS: Barbosa tenses his hands. Elias yanks back.                Barbosa's hands haven't moved.                                     BARBOSA                         You remember the rules? If you flinch,                          I get to hit you.               He slaps Elias across the face. Hull starts forward. A knife                appears. He stops.                                     BARBOSA                              (continuing)                         Again, shmuck.               Elias covers Barbosa's hands. Barbosa tenses. Elias holds                firm, and Barbosa quickly slaps both hands, hard. Elias                doubles over, holding his hands in pain.                                     GOPHER                         One.                                     ELIAS                         That was two.                                     BARBOSA                         No, this is two.               He slaps him again, a stinging crack. Elias looks to Hull,                but they're across a canyon. Hull lowers his eyes.                                     GOPHER                         Oh, and it hurts. Mercy, it hurts.               ON THE HANDS. Barbosa moves his hands a millimeter, and Elias                flinches again. Barbosa smacks him across the face. The sound                reverberates through the room. Now even Gopher is silent.                Tears run from Elias's eyes, blood from his mouth, but he                doesn't move.                                     GOPHER                              (continuing)                         Three.                                     A VOICE                         Felix! No mas. Finito.               A MAN               steps forward out of the shadows. He is young, mid-30's,                handsome, European features, beautifully dressed, accompanied                by a guard we'll know as MOLTO. Someone murmurs to someone                else:                                     SOMEONE                         Gallegos...               Hull reacts. Their eyes meet.                                     GOPHER                         The fight is over! The Ambassador                          from the South has spoken!                                     ELIAS                              (refusing any mercy)                         One more.               Barbosa shakes his head, ashamed now in front of Gallegos.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         One more! We're not finished!                              (people are silent)                         Four was the match.               He holds out his hands. Barbosa resumes the stance, then                waits, waits, waits, and finally brings both hands down,                terribly hard, the sound of the slap is awful.                                     BARBOSA                         Four.                                     HULL                         Okay, that's it. Get away.               Hull leads Elias to the door right past Gallegos. Their gazes                meet again. As they go out they hear Gallegos BERATING Barbosa                in furious Spanish.               INT. STAIRCASE - NIGHT               Trembling, Elias holds his bloody hands against his chest,                as Hull leads him in silence down the steps.                                     ELIAS                         Look at me. Look at me, damn it!               He barely whispers, but it's like a shout. Hull, who'd been                avoiding his gaze, forces himself to look. Elias's humiliation                is so profound it almost ennobles him. Finally:                                     HULL                         Why did you do it?                                     ELIAS                         I needed it. They taught me what I                          needed to know. That I'm not part of                          them, and I never will be. That they                          don't respect me. That I don't deserve                          respect. Because I'm a shmuck, John.                          I'm a shmuck...               He laughs a terrible laugh. The door behind them opens, and                Barbosa appears with Gopher. Everyone is ready for death,                but:                                     BARBOSA                         David, I'm sorry. It's a crazy time,                          and... you know... I'm doing a little                          too much coca... I'll buy your kid a                          pony... anything you want... Let's                          forget about it.               He comes down the stairs, offers his hand. Elias will never                forget about it, but he silently takes the hand, holds them                in his own bloody paws, looking directly into Barbosa's face.               Barbosa becomes uneasy, manages to extract his hand. Elias                and Hull continue down and out the door. Gopher gushes to                Barbosa.                                     GOPHER                         I am so proud of you. You can be                          cruel, and you can be kind. And just                          now you were kind. Proud, proud, and                          more proud. That's me.                                     BARBOSA                         Shut up.               INT. BOXING GYM - NIGHT               Barbosa, Gopher with Hernandez, Taft's partner. Now we know                Hernandez is corrupt: that's how they knew Eddie was talking.                                     BARBOSA                         I got nothing to give you, my man.                          I'm an il-liquid son of a bitch.                                     HERNANDEZ                         Felix, I keep telling them, "I have                          informants down there, I'm working                          guys, I can't say who..." If you                          don't have money, give me busts, or                          they're gonna start wondering about                          me.                                     GOPHER                         They're already wondering.                                     BARBOSA                              (deadpan)                         You can have Gopher.                                     GOPHER                         Oh Gawd...                                     BARBOSA                         How about a lawyer?                                     GOPHER                              (knows who he means)                         Felix, don't do this.                                     HERNANDEZ                              (he knows, too)                         Great, lawyers are great, Jewish is                          best. But I need spades, too. The                          politicians want dark facts to scare                          the suburbs so they'll vote                          Republican.                                     BARBOSA                         Lawyers and spades; I got the                          trifecta: two dealers and a girl who                          does their wash. Two niggers and a                          kike; all Democrats.                                     HERNANDEZ                         You're my man. And afterwards...               Hernandez rubs thumb against fingers.                                     BARBOSA                         When this is over, I'll send you to                          Hawaii, Maui. It's very beautiful in                          Maui, it's a very spiritual place.                                     HERNANDEZ                         I just want money.               And he's gone.                                     GOPHER                         I wouldn't trust that man when he's                          out of rifle range.               Barbosa looks tired.                                     GOPHER                              (continuing;                               premonition of                               disaster)                         Don't do this, Felix. It'll go wrong.                          Kill Elias if you have to, honey,                          but don't set him up for this. It                          damages your prestige.               Barbosa faces his cocaine. He tries to resist the pull, then                yields. He does another line. It's his friend. He loves it.                He picks up a cellular phone, dials.                                     BARBOSA                         David, you're awake, I'm impressed...                          I'm sorry about what happened...                          Listen, I'll get you twenty boxes,                          like you wanted. You were right, you                          should have what you need... Tomorrow                          night... Bring your partner and that                          girl with the store, Betty... I need                          her advice on something. I want us                          to have fun, like we used to. We'll                          go to that shrimp place, okay?...                          Good... Me, too, David.                              (hangs up; does another                               line; drawing it                               deep into him)                         Yes!               INT. CARVER'S OFFICE - BEFORE DAWN               Hull jacked up, excited, pleased with himself. As he paces,                Carver observes his beautiful suit, shoes, expensive watch.                He looks much better than Carver.                                     HULL                         We're getting twenty kilograms                          tomorrow.                              (notes the lightening                               sky)                         Tonight. I made it happen. I pushed                          Elias, now he doesn't make a move                          without me.                                     CARVER                         You run Elias.                                     HULL                         I control him. Barbosa's selling it                          to us because he thinks I can move                          it...                              (now the big news)                         And last night I met Ramon Gallegos.               Carver sits up fast. Hull likes that.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         We're getting the dope from him;                          it's still coming through Barbosa,                          but Gallegos will approach me soon                          on his own. We're going to get him,                          Gerry. We're going to bring him and                          the whole thing down.               Carver sits back, grimaces.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         What's your problem?                                     CARVER                              (looking out window)                         My problem? My problem is that you                          don't really know what's happening.                                     HULL                              (sardonic)                         Oh, so, tell me what's happening,                          Gerry.                                     CARVER                         Barbosa is setting you up tonight.                                     HULL                         Bullshit.                                     CARVER                         He's dealing you to Taft and                          Hernandez. You're going to be taken                          down as you receive the drugs. They're                          putting together the arrest team                          right now.               That rocks Hull. He is up, pacing.                                     HULL                         What do we do?                                     CARVER                         You stay away. We're going to take                          them down.                                     HULL                         Who? Elias and Betty? Don't be silly.                                     CARVER                         My boss wants a bust right now. He                          goes before the oversight committee                          next week. He needs something to                          justify the budget.                                     HULL                              (imploring)                         I'll get him something. Give me ten                          days, and I'll get him Gallegos on a                          plate.                                     CARVER                         Too late. The whole thing's set up.                                     HULL                         Gerry, what are you telling me? I                          need Elias... and Betty. You arrest                          them, and you're throwing away                          everything I've set up.                                     CARVER                         It's out of my hands.               Hull walks out.                                     CARVER                              (continuing)                         John, don't go near that bust.               EXT. 96TH STREET NEAR THE AIRPORT/INT. A CAR - NIGHT               Elias (no sleep) driving. Betty in front. Hull in back.                                     HULL                         We shouldn't go to them. Maybe them                          come to us.                                     ELIAS                         He wouldn't.               They pull into the lot of a boarded up restaurant where                Barbosa and Chino stand outside of a limousine.               EXT. BEHIND AN AIRPORT MOTEL - NIGHT               Taft and Hernandez in the same van that was outside the gym                earlier. They're watching THROUGH BINOCULARS, night scopes.                They spot Elias's car.                                     HERNANDEZ                              (whispering into radio)                         Here they are. Nobody move until we                          see the green suitcase.               EXT. PARKING LOT - NIGHT               The two groups meeting. Barbosa gives Betty a courtly kiss.                                     BARBOSA                              (flirtatious)                         I'm sorry for dragging you out so                          late, but I have to be careful.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         It gives me confidence.               HULL               watching planes descend into the airport, nervous. He knows                what's coming, but how does he handle it?                                     HULL                         Let's see what we've got.               Elias takes a satchel out of the rent-a-car trunk. Chino                opens the limousine's trunk. Inside is an over-sized day-glo                green plastic suitcase. He is about to pick it up.                                     HULL                              (continuing; spotting                               the police van in                               the adjacent lot)                         Don't touch it.               Everyone looks at him, then the direction he's looking.                                     BARBOSA                         What is this?                                     HULL                         Something's wrong. What's that van                          doing there?               Everyone looks. They can barely see the van. Hull pulls a                gun.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         This is a bust. The minute we take                          the stuff, they'll be over us.                                     BARBOSA                         He's crazy, David. I thought you                          were the crazy one, but it's him.               Hull puts the gun to Barbosa's head, addresses Chino:                                     HULL                         Chino, pick up the suitcase and give                          it to Elias. I'll only kill him if                          something goes wrong.               Chino moves to pick up the suitcase.                                     BARBOSA                         No!!               Everyone looks at Hull amazed, even Chino.                                     ELIAS                              (softly)                         Fucking A, John...                                     HULL                         Okay, everybody in the car.               He throws the money in the limo truck, slams the lid. He's                running the show now, and everyone knows it. He's winging                it, but confident and strangely calm.               Elias, energized by Hull's command, grabs Barbosa and throws                him toward the limo.               HERNANDEZ'S POV THROUGH NIGHT SCOPE                                     TAFT                         We have a problem.                                     HERNANDEZ                         Shit! Shit! Shit!                              (aiming rifle; Hull                               in sights)                         Enough of this...                                     TAFT                         No!               EXT. TWO CARS - NIGHT               Hull shepherding everyone into the limo. He glances toward                the van. On instinct. He pulls Chino to him.               A RIFLE SHOT               Chino's head explodes. Betty screams.                                     BARBOSA                              (screaming at van)                         Don't shoot... Don't shoot...               INT. VAN - NIGHT               Taft hurling Hernandez against the wall.                                     TAFT                         Goddam it, what the hell are you                          doing?               EXT. TWO CARS - NIGHT               SIRENS. GUNFIRE. Elias drags Barbosa into the limo. Hull                throws Betty into the front seat. The limo takes off.               EXT. STREET/INT. LIMO - DRIVING - NIGHT               Hull driving, Betty up front. Elias with a gun on Barbosa in                back. Hull slaloms the limo through police GUNFIRE. Windows                are blown out. Glass everywhere.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (weeping)                         I asked for this... I asked for it...                          It's my fault...                                     HULL                              (calm, eyes on road)                         Relax. We'll make it.               She looks at him, stunned yet soothed by his certainty.                                     BARBOSA                         He's a cop. He has to be. How else                          would he have known?                                     HULL                         If I was cop, you'd be face down                          back there.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         How did you know?                                     HULL                         The whole thing smelled. Changing                          his mind about the stuff. Meeting us                          way out here. And I'd seen cops in                          that van before. Hernandez is dirty,                          that's who he's using.                                     ELIAS                              (to Barbosa)                         Get out of the car.               He starts to open the door.                                     HULL                         David, not now.                                     ELIAS                         Yes, now!               INT. TAFT AND HERNANDEZ'S CAR - NIGHT               Racing. Taft at wheel, raging at Hernandez.                                     TAFT                         Who are you, man? Who the fuck are                          you?                                     HERNANDEZ                              (stonewalling)                         I'm me.               INT. LIMO - DRIVING - NIGHT                                     ELIAS                         He traded us to the cops. Just like                          Eddie. Eddie, who was nice to my                          daughter, had to die because that's                          the rule. And you were vulgar about                          my wife, Felix, so at the very least                          the same rule applies to you.                                     BARBOSA                         I'll give you money. I'll give you a                          million. Anything you want.                                     ELIAS                         I want you to get out of the car.                          Get out of the fucking car. Out of                          the fucking --                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (near tears)                         No, no... we can't do this.                                     HULL                              (turning around from                               front seat)                         Stop it, David, or we're...               Elias wheels on him, sticks the gun in his face:                                     ELIAS                              (in a fury)                         Look at my hands!               He holds them up: swollen, black and blue, cut up.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing; to                               Barbosa, softly)                         Get out of the car.               Barbosa's frozen. Elias grabs his hand, SHOOTS a bullet                through. Barbosa screams...                                     MCCUTCHEON                         No!                                     HULL                         Goddammit!               Elias wheels on them, swinging the gun from one to the other.                                     ELIAS                         Stay out of this, or you'll die.                          You'll both die. Everyone'll die.               His fury makes anything seem possible. He pushes open the                door. Trembling, Barbosa starts to climb out.               The limo enters a tunnel, police still in pursuit.               Halfway out, Barbosa stops.                                     BARBOSA                         I can't...               Elias SHOOTS him in the butt. He shrieks, jerks forward. The                cops are getting close behind.               Other cops waiting at the far end of the tunnel.               Hull hits the brakes, spins a 180 into the opposite lane.               Barbosa is flung out of the car and plastered by a succession                of fishtailing vehicles.               Hull speeds back the other way. They're going straight at:               INT. VAN - COMING STRAIGHT AT THEM - NIGHT               Taft and Hull, the two drivers, lock eyes. It's chicken, but                more than that. Two men set against each other who, for some                reason, want to be friends.               At the last instant, the van swerves away, but:               ELIAS AIMING AT TAFT               Taft sees the gun too late. He can do nothing.               Hull's gaze follows Taft's. He sees Elias, deliberately                swerves, sending the SHOT wild.               INT. LIMO - RACING - NIGHT                                     ELIAS                         I had him!                                     HULL                         You want to kill a cop?? Don't be                          stupid.               The limo speeds away.               EXT. STREET/INT. LIMO - DRIVING - NIGHT               The windows shot out. Hull and Betty silent, shaken. Elias                charged up, happy.                                     ELIAS                         Everything is different. We're the                          Colombians now.                              (radiant)                         This is the greatest night of my                          life. Terrible but great. Felix was                          right...                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (appalled)                         About what?                                     ELIAS                         He said I should kill a man. He was                          right.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         My God.                                     ELIAS                         Barbosa was a roach. Do you miss                          him? Will anybody in the world miss                          him?                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Are you a roach, too?                                     ELIAS                              (happily)                         Yes. Thank God.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (to Hull)                         What about you?               He's silent, keeps driving. She's had enough.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (continuing)                         Stop the car.               Hull looks at her.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (continuing)                         Stop it!               He brakes to a stop. She jumps out, leans back in.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (continuing)                         No more laundering, no more anything.                          I'm finished with this.               And she disappears into the night. Elias watches her go.                Hull resumes driving.                                     ELIAS                         She knows too much. We have to kill                          her.                                     HULL                         No! She's with me. She's not going                          to talk.                              (looks at Elias)                         You touch her, I'll kill you.                                     ELIAS                         She's your responsibility then.               Hull accepts it.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         We're going to get the money now,                          John. Enough for the new drug. We're                          going to be rich. We're going to be                          so rich that we're going to leave                          the world of ordinary people and                          going to a higher realm. I mean that.                                     HULL                         They're going to come after us.                                     ELIAS                              (matter-of-fact)                         It's a hardball game. We're hardball                          players.               EXT. COMMERCIAL STREET - EAST L.A. - NIGHT               Hernandez comes out of a bodega with groceries, wine and a                woman. He nuzzles her as he lets her into his car. As he's                getting behind the wheel, Molto (Gallegos' guard) stops the                door from closing. The conversation is entirely in SPANISH.                                     HERNANDEZ                         It wasn't my fault.                                     MOLTO                         It never is.               He SHOOTS him in the head. Hernandez slumps against the wheel.                The woman screams. Molto walks away.               EXT. AN APARTMENT COMPLEX/INT. BETTY'S APARTMENT - DAWN               Hull finds a door, pushes the buzzer. Betty looks through                the glass. She's afraid of him.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Don't kill me. I'm not going to talk.                          I swear. Please.               Then she looks closer and sees not murder in his face, but                need. She opens the door. Without a word, he gathers her to                him. She can't resist him now. Her mouth is everywhere on                him.               INT. HER BEDROOM - DAWN               Betty gasping in the wake of pleasure, turning her face away                from him, she feels so exposed.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Don't look...               She hides her face in his neck.               INT. SAME - LATER               They lie in each other's arms, relaxed together for the first                time. A wonderful, unprotected openness.                                     HULL                              (softly)                         Tell me about you.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (half-kidding)                         Everything worth knowing you just                          found you.               He laughs. They begin to make love again. Suddenly: AN EXTRA                HAND stroking Betty's hair. She gasps. A gun in Hull's ear.                Another in her face. Guns all around.                                     HULL                         Don't hurt her.               Hands pull him out of bed, leave her there alone. We see                Molto, two or three others.               EXT. A CEMETERY - MORNING               RAMON GALLEGOS lays a bouquet of white lillies on a grave.                He kneels, whispers a prayer, crosses himself.               He rises and walks to where Molto and the other guards hold                Hull and Elias. Gallegos is in his thirties, more European                than Barbosa. He has a distinctly mild manner.                                     ELIAS                         Who's grave?               An impudent question, but Elias seems strangely bright-eyed                despite the guns held on him.                                     GALLEGOS                         My wife's. She died of leukemia three                          years ago.                              (looks around)                         I like to be among the dead. They                          never interrupt you.                              (turning to them)                         Felix Barbosa started out as a skinny                          fourteen-year-old fucking Yankee                          businessman in Bogata hotels. He                          grew up. He made himself strong and                          rich, but getting there made him                          sick, and that killed him. So he                          lost everything for the same reason                          he'd gotten it in the first place.                          Now we'll see if you can do as well.               A PRIEST going by greets Gallegos who responds warmly. They                chat a minute in SPANISH. The Priest leaves.                                     GALLEGOS                              (continuing)                         Felix owed me one million eight                          hundred thousand dollars.               He addresses this to Hull; Elias feels left out.                                     GALLEGOS                              (continuing)                         When you killed him, you bought the                          debt; now you owe it to me; you get                          to keep thirty percent, like he did.                          You have three days.               Gallegos turns to leave.                                     HULL                         Who did Barbosa collect from?                                     GALLEGOS                         If you don't know, you shouldn't                          have killed him.               He notices Hull's earring: two tiny dice, the spots made of                minuscule jewels. Unembarrassed, he fingers it.                                     GALLEGOS                              (continuing)                         Cute... Can I have that?               Without waiting for an answer, he yanks it out of Hull's ear                and walks away, leaving Hull bleeding through his fingers                before a stone cross.               EXT. A GHETTO STREET - NIGHT               A club on the corner. THROUGH A WINDOW we see a RAP ACT on                the stage, their MUSIC pumping out onto the street. Hull                pulls up in a Jaguar. He and Elias go through a door adjacent                to the club.               INT. BUILDING HALL/INT. GOPHER'S ROOM - NIGHT               The MUSIC is still audible here, though muffled. Elias and                Hull are pushing at door Gopher is trying to hold closed.                                     GOPHER                         I don't want you in here. You killed                          the man, and I loved him. I don't                          want to have anything to do with                          you.               Elias kicks it open, and they enter Gopher's tiny, miserable                domain. He's wearing some sort of negligee and an immense                naked woman fills his bed. We still hear the MUFFLED MUSIC.                                     GOPHER                              (continuing; apoplectic)                         I'm a sixty-three-year-old man! I'm                          a grandfather! Would you hit a sixty-                         three-year-old white man? Would you                          hit your own grandfather?                                     ELIAS                              (slaps him against                               wall)                         Listen, you fucking monkey, you know                          who owed him money, and we know you                          know. Tell us or --               Hull pulls him off. Elias is angry. They struggle.                                     HULL                         He'll tell us. Gopher, just...               Meaning: deal with me or deal with Elias.                                     GOPHER                         You can't tell anyone it was me.               The MUSIC continues OVER the following sequence:               INT. CRACK HOUSE - DAY               Elias arguing with a dealer. He slaps him around.               TIGHT ON HANDS               Money is exchanged. The money is stuffed in a satchel.               INT. A LAW OFFICE - DAY               A well-dressed lawyer (30's) talking with clients, a                distinguished couple in their 60's.               The door BANGS open and a secretary is unable to restrain                Hull and Elias as they charge into the room. The lawyer is                up on his feet, but Hull shoves him around as Elias politely                explains to the clients that this will only take a moment.               TIGHT ON SATCHEL               Hull's hands thrust more money in. It's getting full.               INT. A MOTORCYCLE REPAIR SHOP - NIGHT               A biker in leathers on hands-and-knees spitting blood onto                the cement floor. Hull stands over him, fists clenched.               INT. A CAR TRUNK               A satchel stuffed with money is latched, set next to another                latched one. A third is opened, money and jewelry dumped in.               EXT. STREET - NIGHT               Hull looking into the trunk. Elias is beat.                                     HULL                         Where the hell is all the money?                          We're still a million short.                                     ELIAS                         I gotta get laid.                                     HULL                         David, we've got thirty-six hours.                                     ELIAS                              (slams trunk, moves                               toward door)                         Pick me up at Jacqueline's in the                          morning.                                     HULL                         Sooner than that.               Elias gets in the car and drives off. Hull turns and a dark                American sedan pulls up alongside. Carver behind the wheel.                                     CARVER                              (an order)                         Get in.               INT. CAR - NIGHT                                     HULL                              (as he gets in)                         What are you doing here? You're going                          to get me killed.               Carver peels away fast. He's very angry, frightened, too,                but that's hidden.                                     CARVER                         Where the hell have you been?                                     HULL                         Doing my job.               There's an indifference to Carver's authority we haven't                heard before. Hull isn't even aware of it, but Carver is.                                     CARVER                         You violated a direct order to stay                          away from that bust. As a result, a                          police informant is dead, a state                          senator was critically injured in                          the tunnel pile up and a city                          policeman was subsequently murdered.                                     HULL                         I didn't blow my cover.                                     CARVER                         Don't get smart with me, motherfucker.                                     HULL                         Don't be a shmuck, Gerry. I'm talking                          to Gallegos. I'm collecting his money.                          We can set him up right now.                              (NOTE: Carver arrives                               somewhere and parks.                               To be discussed, but                               let's say, for now,                               that we are:)               EXT. SANTA MONICA PARKING STRUCTURE - OVERLOOKING OCEAN -                NIGHT               They get out of the car. Carver takes out a flask, has a                drink, offers it to Hull who declines.                                     CARVER                         Never have, never will.                              (puts the flask away)                         I want you to give me your gun. You're                          coming in right now.                                     HULL                              (doesn't understand)                         Coming in where?                                     CARVER                         Your assignment has been terminated.                          You're not going out there again. If                          I have to, I'll put you in custody.                                     HULL                              (uncomprehending)                         I'm going to have Gallegos in two                          days.               Carver says nothing. Suddenly Hull understands.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         You're protecting him. You're                          protecting Gallegos.               Carver snorts: ridiculous.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         No, of course. That's why you wanted                          to bust Elias and Betty. I was getting                          close, and you wanted to cut this                          off then... What is he, the new                          Noriega? Helps you fight commies, so                          you let him sell drugs to the niggers.                          Two birds with one stone.                                     CARVER                         You violated orders, so you're                          through. Don't make a conspiracy                          theory out of it.                                     HULL                              (laughs)                         I'm through...? Then, I might as                          well have a drink after all.               Surprised, Carver reaches for the flask. As he does, Hull                grabs him, pushes him out over the edge of the building,                holds him there.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         Now tell me the truth or they're                          going to decide your troubles got                          the best of you.               Carver struggles. Hull pushes him out farther. Carver dangles.                                     CARVER                         You're insane.                                     HULL                         All the more reason to do what I                          say. Jesus, Ger, I'm having trouble                          holding on...                                     CARVER                         All right!                                     HULL                         Say it!                                     CARVER                         It's the State Department.               Hull pulls him back in. Carver slumps against the wall, drinks                greedily. Hull lets him for a moment, then takes the flask                away.                                     CARVER                              (continuing)                         I told you, Gallegos's uncle is a                          big deal down there.                                     HULL                         Guzman.                                     CARVER                         Guzman, right. Our government supports                          Guzman because he's a moderate. That's                          a right-winger who's pro-U.S.                              (he doesn't like it                               either)                         If Gallegos got busted here, it would                          hurt Guzman's political career there.                          It's politics, John, not drugs.                                     HULL                         Drugs is politics. Politics is                          drugs...                              (sickened)                         Christ, Gerry, I dealt drugs. I killed                          a man. Others died. What did I do                          all this for? For nothing.                                     CARVER                         I'm going to Washington, John. I'll                          bring you with me. We'll have clout,                          money...                                     HULL                              (outraged)                         I didn't do this for clout or money.                          You said we were gonna do some good.                                     CARVER                         We tried.                                     HULL                         Trying's for college boys.                              (his head on fire)                         If all there is is power and money...                          If all there is... then what am I                          doing here? 'Cause I can get more                          power and money out on the street, I                          got more there already, than I'd                          ever get kissing your ass in                          Washington...                                     CARVER                         But you can't do that, John. It's                          not you.                                     HULL                         Me? There is no me. We took care of                          that. First I was a cop pretending                          to be a dealer. Now I'm just a dealer                          pretending to be a cop. Why not stop                          pretending...? Quit the force. Be a                          dealer.                                     CARVER                         It's not that simple.                                     HULL                         My assignment's already terminated.                          All I have to do is quit. I hereby                          quit.                              (lifts the flask)                         My first one.                              (drinks)                         Not so bad.               He slips the flask in his pocket, gets in the car, starts                engine.                                     CARVER                         Don't blow your cover.               Hull drives off, leaving Carver alone on the roof.               INT. BETTY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               She lets him in, sees the distress in his face.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         What's the matter?               He shakes his head, drops onto the couch. He takes out the                flask, offers it to her. She shakes her head.                                     HULL                         Who are you, my mother?               He laughs, takes a drink. She's surprised, says nothing.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Tell me.                                     HULL                         Tell you what?                                     MCCUTCHEON                         What you came to say.                                     HULL                         What did I come to say?                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Then tell me anything. Something                          about you. Something real.                                     HULL                              (long beat; another                               drink)                         When I was young, I occasionally                          stole things.                              (laughs to himself)                         My father died when I was ten. Right                          in front of me.               The revelation is so sudden it surprises Hull as much as                Betty.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         Heart attack. He just fell down. He                          said, "I love you," then died in my                          arms.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Oh, baby...               She holds him, and he lets himself be held.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (continuing)                         Tell me what's going on, John?                                     HULL                              (doesn't want to talk                               about that)                         You're not doing the stuff anymore,                          are you?               Pulls playfully at her nose.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         No. Don't change the subject.                                     HULL                         How is that?                                     MCCUTCHEON                         It's hard. John...!                                     HULL                              (trying to tell without                               telling)                         Things are getting, they're getting                          a little... confusing. I had certain                          plans, and people haven't come through                          exactly as they promised.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         What do you expect with those people?                                     HULL                              (laughs)                         It's not just those people. It's...                          it's bigger than that. It's of                          everybody. Present company excluded.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         You've got to stop this, John, you                          know that. You gotta get out.                                     HULL                         I can't.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Of course, you can.                                     HULL                              (almost angry)                         No! This is what I'm supposed to do.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Supposed to? Who said you're supposed                          to?                                     HULL                         The whole fuckin' world. You think I                          didn't try something else? But                          everything funnels you right back                          here. Like it's where you had to go                          all along.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         But you know what you're doing, don't                          you, selling this stuff? Doing to                          our own.                                     HULL                         If I tried to get out now, they'd                          kill me.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (tortured)                         I can't be with somebody's who                          involved in drugs.               He nods. He knows. He's even happy about it. But she won't                yield. Finally he gets up and walks back out the door.               EXT. GOPHER'S BUILDING - 4 A.M.               The neighborhood is reminiscent of the one where Joe Stevens                Sr. was killed. The rap club still pumps MUSIC onto the 4                A.M. streets where whores, junkies, children, teenagers with                beepers and Nikes, welfare mothers roam as if it were daytime                anywhere else. Their eyes, yearning, sullen, vital, hopeless                and hoping stare at...               HULL               Everyone knows what he is: the Black Man with the Big Car.                They don't remember when he was just another hustler making                street buys. Now they hate him, revere him, want to be him,                not caring what it entails. Every eye follows as...               He and Elias cross the street toward Gopher's door. Hull's                eyes don't go right or left. He's a driven man now.               INT. GOPHER'S ROOM - NIGHT               Gopher has just been roused from sleep. A light in his face,                Hull and Elias looming over him.                                     HULL                         There've got to be more. We have a                          million two, we owe Gallegos one                          eight.                                     GOPHER                         I told you everyone. Everyone who                          owed him, everyone he... One eight?                          He's lying. Barbosa barely owed him                          a million.               Hull and Elias look at each other.               INT. BETTY'S STORE - MORNING               Taft is showing her photocopies of phone bills, bank                transactions, invoices. She's obviously upset.                                     TAFT                         I got every money transfer, every                          phone call, all your laundry tickets.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (miserable)                         What do you want?                                     TAFT                         John Hull.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         I can't!                                     TAFT                         Or you'll go away 'til you're a dried                          up old woman, and when you come out,                          ain't nobody gonna want you.               She covers her face.               EXT. EAST L.A. STREET/INT. CAR - DAY               Elias driving a car we haven't seen before and snickering to                himself at some private joke.                                     HULL                         What are you laughing at?               Elias shakes his head: nothing. He laughs. They pull into                the lot beside a movie theater.               INT. THEATER - DAY               A Technicolor Spanish melodrama is winding to its lurid end.                A door in back opens, and a burst of daylight reveals Hull                and Elias being brought in by a guard and met by Molto.               Molto and the guard frisk them, take their guns and money                satchels, make them wait a moment until...               The movie ends.               The house lights come on revealing Ramon Gallegos as the                only spectator in the theater. He beckons. Molto and the                guard bring Hull and Elias down the aisle to him.               Gallegos looking in the satchels. A tense moment.                                     HULL                         It isn't one eight.                              (off Gallegos)                         It's a million one. That's all Barbosa                          owed, it's all we're paying.               Gallegos is stern for a moment, then laughs.                                     GALLEGOS                         Big brass balls. Collecting money                          makes you strong.               Everybody relaxes. Gallegos scribbles something on a piece                of paper, hands it to the guard who feeds it into a fax                machine.                                     ELIAS                         What's that?                                     GALLEGOS                         I'm telling our suppliers they got                          paid. They'll be very happy. I'm                          happy.                                     ELIAS                         And we're happy. Everybody's happy.                          It's a happy world.               Elias seems a bit mad, but no one minds. He and Hull are                ready to go. He gestures to Molto, wants his gun back.                                     GALLEGOS                         So, how can I express my gratitude                          for a job well done?                                     ELIAS                         We want Barbosa's business.               Gallegos gestures to Molto to give them the guns.                                     GALLEGOS                         Done. Of course.                                     ELIAS                         And, also, your business. All this.                          Your money, your dope, everything.               Hull looks at Elias; what's going on?                                     GALLEGOS                              (smiles)                         You're tougher than I thought, but                          not that tough.                                     ELIAS                         How tough is enough?               He brings up the gun and SHOOTS Gallegos in the head.               Hull and the guards are frozen. Then everyone goes for a                gun. Elias SHOOTS the guard. Hull has his gun to Molto's                head and screams at Elias:                                     HULL                         No!               Meaning don't shoot him. But Elias has no intention of doing                so.                                     ELIAS                              (breathless)                         Thank you, John. I couldn't have                          done that without you.                                     HULL                              (barely able to speak)                         Jesus Christ...               He can't believe it: the guy he's been after the whole time                is dead on the floor.                                     ELIAS                         You taught me to take my work                          seriously.                                     HULL                         What's going on here, David?                                     ELIAS                         We're taking over.                                     HULL                         You're doing too much stuff.                                     ELIAS                         No, I'm very clear. I'm very, very                          clear.                              (to Molto)                         Ahora, usted nos assistamos. Enteindo?               Molto nods.               EXT. THEATER PARKING LOT/INT. CAR - DAY               Hull, Elias and Molto getting into their car. Molto is                recalcitrant. Elias pistol whips him. Hull stops him.               EXT. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY/INT. CAR - DAY               The car passes through a development of suburban homes. They                enter a driveway. Two boys play in the yard.                                     ELIAS                              (to Molto)                         Donde esta?               Molto is silent. Elias FIRES a bullet right between his feet.                Molto jumps. The boys turn. Hull grabs the gun away. We feel                the toll Elias's madness is taking on him.                                     HULL                         What the fuck's the matter with you?                                     ELIAS                         It works, John. It works.               And, indeed, Molto is pointing to a Winnebago parked at the                rear of the property.               EXT. REAR OF PROPERTY - DAY               Winnebago. With a tire iron, Hull snaps off the padlock that                holds the rear door closed. He opens the door. Money gushes                out. He slams it closed.                                     HULL                         Jesus...               He, Elias and Molto are on hands and knees scooping it up.               SAME - LATER               Molto tied to a tree. Elias is giving him instructions while,                strangely, removing Molto's shoes and socks.                                     ELIAS                              (to Molto)                         Disce a Senor Guzman que...                              (his Spanish isn't                               good enough)                         ...that we have his money, and we're                          willing to talk as soon as he comes                          to town. We'll know how to reach                          him. Okay?               Molto just glares at him. Elias smiles, takes the shoes and                socks and all the contents of Molto's into the Winnebago,                and he and Hull drive away, leaving the car behind.               EXT./INT. A PARKING GARAGE/INT. WINNEBAGO - EVENING               The Winnebago enters the garage, Elias greeting the attendant,                "Hey, Frank." Frank waves him in.               The garage is filled with various RVs. Hull pulls the                Winnebago into an empty spot beside Elias's car and gets                out. Elias remains in the cabin making calculations.                                     ELIAS                         Approximating the cubic capacity and                          depending on the denominations of                          the bills, it's somewhere between                          fifty million and two hundred million                          dollars. Right back there.               As he does, Hull checks his gun, walks around behind the                vehicle and prepares to shoot Elias in the back of the head                through the open window. Elias finishes his money report,                and sits there as if unaware of Hull, but:                                     ELIAS                              (continuing; not                               turning around)                         Think I'm crazy?                                     HULL                         Yes.                              (blowing up, gun still                               on him)                         I can't believe you got us into this.                          All of fucking Latin America is going                          to be after our asses, including                          Renaldo Guzman who's friends with                          fucking George Bush.                                     ELIAS                         I know they're coming after us. I                          want them to. We'll give them the                          money, but we'll make a deal for                          ourselves. We'll get what we need                          for the synthetic drugs. I've thought                          it all out. I've been thinking it                          out for years.               Hull uncocks the gun, rubs it against his burning face. Elias                turns around, embraces him.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         We're going to have everything. Don't                          you want everything, John?                                     HULL                         They're going to get your family,                          David. They'll kill your wife and                          daughter.                                     ELIAS                              (serene)                         Nancy and Miranda left the country                          two days ago.                                     HULL                         You knew about this then?               Elias smiles.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         What about Betty?               EXT. BETTY'S JEWELRY SHOP - EVENING               A car SQUEALS to a stop. Molto and three thugs smash through                the glass door. They disappear into the store where things                can be heard BREAKING. They emerge a moment later, jump into                the car.               EXT. SYNAGOGUE - EVENING               Hull's car races up. He jumps out, dashes toward the building.               INT. SYNAGOGUE SOCIAL HALL - EVENING               Forty PEOPLE on folding chairs. Hull enters on a dead run.                He stops short when he sees:               BETTY               at the front. He signals to her, but she's already saying:                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Hi, my name is Betty.                                     EVERYONE IN THE ROOM                         Hi, Betty!                                     MCCUTCHEON                         My name is Betty, I'm a drug addict.                          And I've been clean for nineteen                          days.               The room bursts into APPLAUSE. She sees Hull at the back; he                signals to her, but she goes on.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (continuing)                         I've been using drugs and selling                          them, and I've wanted to stop for a                          long time, and the only way I did                          was because I met a man I loved and                          who loved me. I know that's not what                          I'm supposed to say. I'm supposed to                          say there was a higher power, and                          maybe there was, behind it all, but                          this man is strong and his love made                          me strong enough that I could start,                          or at least think about a life that                          didn't have drugs in it...               She's looking right at Hull as she speaks. He's torn between                the danger he knows she's in and his emotion at what she's                saying.               EXT. SYNAGOGUE - EVENING               Hull hurrying Betty toward his car. She's protesting.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         I've got to get clothes.                                     HULL                         You can't go back.               INT. HULL'S CONDO - EVENING               Molto and men pouring through it. In frustration, Molto                smashes the table Hull had fussed over when Elias put his                feet up.               EXT. MOTEL COURTYARD - NIGHT               Hull and Betty hurry toward his room carrying shopping bags,                a newly bought suitcase. They see...               COPS               They freeze, turn, ready to bolt. But more cops behind them.                A panic, yet no one's coming after them. They walk on. The                cops are going into and coming out of Belinda's room.               INT. BELINDA'S ROOM - NIGHT               The fat Blonde Woman is talking to a policewoman. James sits                on the bed staring at...               BELINDA               who lies dead on a floor littered with crack vials. Hull                picks up a vial, holds it up to the Blonde Woman with a                question.                                     BLONDE WOMAN                              (nodding)                         She got a fever and just burned up.                          She just burned up all of a sudden.                          It must have been bad stuff.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (indicating James)                         He shouldn't be here.                                     BLONDE WOMAN                              (takes his hand)                         Come on, James, we'll go get a                          burrito.               The boy allows himself to be led out. Betty looks at Hull                who's in a private hell.               EXT. COURTYARD - NIGHT               Hull and Betty are about to enter Hull's room. The door is                ajar.               INT. HULL'S ROOM - NIGHT               Taft stands at the dresser. He's found Hull's collection of                memorabilia and is looking at the photo of his children.                                     TAFT                         Cute kids...                                     HULL                              (angry at the invasion)                         Give me that.               He snatches away the photo, but not before Betty sees it.                She reaches out her hand. He reluctantly turns it over to                her.                                     TAFT                         Tell me something, who the fuck are                          you?               Hull doesn't answer, collects the rest of his things,                including the bloody money, stuffs it back in the envelope.                                     TAFT                              (continuing)                         'Cause I don't think you're quite                          the asshole you're trying to be.                                     HULL                         Look, Mr. Taft, that's your name,                          right? Leave me alone. I got things                          on my mind.                                     TAFT                         I'd think you would. You better have                          your goddamn life on your mind, or                          it's gonna get away from you. It's                          gonna burn up like that poor woman                          across the way. Like all of you's                          gonna burn...                                     HULL                         And what do you do, Mr. Taft, except                          chase bad guys up and down the street                          with your dirty partner, never                          catching anybody important?                                     TAFT                         I do what I can. Do you do what you                          can?                              (Hull says nothing)                         Maybe my partner was dirty. Maybe                          the chief's dirty. And the mayor.                          And the President. Maybe God Himself's                          taking something on the side. That's                          their problem. But I'll bust 'em if                          I can.                                     HULL                              (without force)                         Get out of my room.                                     TAFT                         Don't deny who you are.               He leaves. Hull turns to Betty who is still holding the photo                of his children. He gently takes it, looks at it, seems to                draw both succor and pain from it.               He gets out Carver's flask and tries to drink, but it's empty.                                     HULL                         They're my children. They live in                          Cleveland with their mother. I'm                          divorced from her. I haven't seen                          them in... some time. I want to, but                          I haven't been able to arrange it.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         How much else don't I know about                          you?                                     HULL                              (trying to make a                               joke)                         Everything else... Everything else                          is... I don't know.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Taft has all the evidence about my                          laundering.               Hull's upset.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         He's going to put me in jail for a                          long time unless I give you up.                                     HULL                         Do it.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         I can't. So, I've got to get away.                          Far away. But I need money.                                     HULL                              (laughs)                         Money? I got money...               He empties his pockets of all that gushed out of the                Winnebago, empties a satchel as well until it fills the room                like snow.               EXT. MOTEL - NIGHT               Hull putting Betty into an airport limousine.                                     HULL                              (to the driver)                         International terminal.                              (to Betty)                         I'll meet you there in a week.               She kisses him. He's about to close the door. She stops it.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         You know the first time, when I saw                          you in the bar...?                                     HULL                              (smiles at the memory)                         You wouldn't even look at me.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         'Cause I knew what you were thinking.                          You were judging me.                                     HULL                         No, I wasn't, I was...                                     MCCUTCHEON                         You were. Your eyes were like an                          angel in my heart telling me I should                          be good, and I didn't want to hear                          it.               This news startles Hull, yet, strangely, he senses its truth,                and the sweetness is more than he can bear.                                     MCCUTCHEON                              (continuing)                         That's you, too. Maybe this is you,                          I don't know, but I know that's you.               She closes the door. The car pulls away.               In an unmarked car up the street, Taft picks up the radio.               EXT. A LATIN AMERICAN CONSULATE - DAY               A limousine pulls into the gate and disgorges RENALDO GUZMAN,                55, and his wife, 25. They're shown into the consulate.               The limousine pulls out onto the street and parks. Gopher                appears, knocks on the driver's window. It comes down. They                chat briefly in Spanish. Gopher opens up a cellular phone.               INT. A HOTEL ROOM - SANTA MONICA - DAY               Overlooking the ocean. Hull pacing nervously, Elias relaxed,                reading the paper.                                     HULL                         What if we forget all this? Take ten                          million each and disappear. Leave                          the country. New identities, new                          lives...                                     ELIAS                         What's the matter, John? Having                          doubts?                                     HULL                         Yeah.               A phone RINGS. Elias picks up his own cellular.                                     ELIAS                         Yes... Where?... No! No way... We                          pick the time and place... Otherwise                          no meet...                              (looks to Hull who                               nods his agreement)                         Got a pencil?               EXT. CONSULATE - LIMO - DAY               Gopher hands a piece of paper to the limo driver. He walks                away...               AROUND THE CORNER               As he's about to get into a car, Taft grabs him. Gopher is                surprised and not pleased.               EXT. PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT               Where Hull and Elias left the Winnebago. Guzman's limo                approaches. Frank, the attendant, waves it on.               INT. GARAGE - NIGHT               The limo climbs the ramps until it comes to Elias's car,                parked where the Winnebago was; the Winnie is nowhere in                sight. The limo pulls alongside.               Hull and Elias get out. Molto gets out of the limo. Then                Renaldo Guzman.                                     ELIAS                         We have a proposal to make. We regret                          what happened to your nephew...                                     GUZMAN                         Say what you have to say.                                     ELIAS                         We all know that your cousin's                          business is coming to an end. Costs                          have climbed while profits and the                          market --               Guzman waves: get to the point.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         We have developed a new product:                          simpler, cheaper to manufacture,                          superior quality and completely                          synthetic. Therefore, no growing, no                          refining, no peasants, no importing,                          no customs agents... Here's a detailed                          prospectus with anticipated cash                          flow and so forth.               He hands a copy to Guzman and the lawyer.                                     GUZMAN                              (to Molto, teasing                               Elias)                         The racist Americans just want to                          cut us poor Hispanics out of the                          market.                                     ELIAS                         There are no Americans anymore, Mr.                          Guzman, you know that. No Hispanics,                          no Japanese, no blacks, no whites,                          no anything. There are only rich                          people and poor people. We're rich,                          so we're on the same side.               EXT. GARAGE - NIGHT               Taft with Gopher in his car.                                     TAFT                         Do they have money in there?                                     GOPHER                         I don't know.                                     TAFT                         They wouldn't meet here otherwise.               Gopher shrugs; a decision: Taft picks up his radio.                                     TAFT                              (continuing)                         Okay, everybody, here's the play...               INT. GARAGE - NIGHT                                     ELIAS                         We're prepared to give you 80% of                          the money. The remainder you invest                          in our business with proceeds paid                          out according to the figures there.               He indicates the prospectus that Guzman has been looking                through.                                     GUZMAN                         This looks interesting. I'd have to                          confirm everything, of course. Do                          you have a sample of the product?               Elias produces one. Guzman gestures to Molto. Molto samples                it. Molto's eyes widen.                                     MOLTO                         Buy it!                                     GUZMAN                         Where is our money?               Elias hands him a key, points to a different Winnebago. Molto                takes the key, unlocks the back: money. He signals okay to                Guzman.               Suddenly: SIRENS. Police cars wail into the garage. The THWACK-               THWACK and sweeping light of a helicopter descend toward the                roof (though we never see the copter).                                     GUZMAN                              (continuing; anger)                         You set this up.                                     HULL                         They're after us, not you.               Everybody scatters. The garage is a labyrinth of cement                stairwells, ramps, hundreds of RVs to hide between, under                and so forth... Lots of NOISE, lights, but mostly we see                Hull and Elias dodging here, avoiding the action.               INT. ANOTHER PART OF THE GARAGE - NIGHT               Molto caught between the lights. He draws his gun. GUNFIRE.                He's cut down.                                     TAFT                              (screaming)                         Where are the rest of them?               EXT. PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT               Cars with rotating dome lights, but not many cops.               Hull and Elias emerge from a shadowy doorway and make their                way at a casual pace beyond the perimeter of police cars,                quickly mingling with other spectators. They continue down...               EXT. A QUIET SIDE STREET - NIGHT               Strolling now. Elias elated, uncontained joy.                                     ELIAS                         We did it. Twenty million. Twenty                          fucking million. We're going to have                          synthetics. We're gonna be rich.                          We're gonna...               Hull stops walking and just stands there.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         What's the matter, John? Be happy.                          Your whole life has just been solved.                                     VOICE                              (behind them)                         Stop! Police!               In one motion, Elias draws his gun, turns and FIRES.               The figure goes down. Elias can't believe he hit him.               Hull starts toward the figure.                                     ELIAS                              (heading the other                               way)                         John, where are you going?               Taft -- on the ground.                                     HULL                         Oh, Jesus, no...               He drops to his knees. Blood oozes from Taft's chest.                                     ELIAS                         John, what the hell are you doing?                          Let's get out of here.               Hull tries to hold closed the wound. The posture duplicates                Hull with his dying father. He feels for a pulse. For breath.                                     HULL                              (distraught)                         He's dying.                                     ELIAS                         Let him die. Let him die twice. Come                          one.               He pulls at Hull who won't go. Hull does mouth-to-mouth.                Taft opens his eyes, looks up at him.                                     HULL                         [Says to Taft whatever a CPR-trained                          policeman would say in this                          situation.]                              (to Elias)                         Get help.                                     ELIAS                         Are you kidding me?                                     TAFT                              (to Hull, getting it)                         Oh, man, you're a cop. You're a cop,                          aren't you?                                     HULL                              (with difficulty, as                               if against his will)                         Yeah, I'm a cop. I'm a fucking cop...                                     ELIAS                              (laughs)                         Oh, really? Where's you badge?                                     HULL                         I don't have one. I'm undercover.                          Get help, David.                                     ELIAS                         John, that's a cop. He tried to kill                          you.                                     HULL                         He didn't know.                                     ELIAS                         Oh, he didn't know. I don't know.                          Maybe you don't know. Maybe you think                          you're a cop because... because...                                     HULL                         Drop the gun, put your hands against                          the car. Spread your legs... Police!               Taft grunts once, stiffens.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         My God! Please...               The pulse is gone. Hull begins to perform CPR.                                     ELIAS                         Okay, let's say you're a cop. Be a                          cop.               Hull keeps doing CPR.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         We've still got the money. We put it                          into Randy's chemistry set. In five                          years we're worth five hundred million                          each, minimum. You'll be one of the                          richest black men in America. Richer                          than Cosby. Who gives a shit how you                          got it? You think the white ones                          were honest?               Hull keeps working on Taft.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         Is this asshole all that stands                          between you and greatness? Let me do                          you a favor.               He puts a gun to Taft's head and FIRES. In a reflex, Hull                draws his own gun, SHOOTS Elias in the stomach. Stunned, he                wobbles backward a few steps. Sits on the street.                                     ELIAS                              (continuing)                         Gee, John, that's kind of an extreme                          reaction.               Hull is stunned he did it. And this finally attracts the                police who see a black man with a gun who just shot a white                man.               Hull goes to Elias who's dead. A POLICEMAN pulls him off,                beating him with a gun.                                     POLICEMAN                         Fucking nigger...               INT. LOS ANGELES COUNTY JAIL - DAY               Hull, bandaged, wearing prison blues, walking with Carver.                                     HULL                         What about Guzman?                                     CARVER                         He vanished, thank God, or we'd both                          be in deep doo-doo. At least you got                          Gallegos.                                     HULL                         Elias did. And everything goes on as                          before.                                     CARVER                         That's the drug game. Plus a change...                          I want you to come back to work for                          me. You'll beat all charges on a                          technicality and go back to who you                          were.                                     HULL                         Who was I, Ger?                                     CARVER                         Does anyone really know?                                     HULL                         I have other things to do.                                     CARVER                         Like travel? Tangiers, maybe?               Hull looks at him; how did he know?                                     CARVER                              (continuing)                         I'm God, remember?               He beckons him. He walks him over to a cell. Through a one-               way window they see:               BETTY               alone in the cell, unaware she's being watched.                                     CARVER                         Go back to work, she walks out of                          here. Otherwise, she's up on multiple                          counts, and I'll see to it the judge                          runs them consecutively.               Hull just looks at him. Carver shrugs apologetically.               INT. ANOTHER ROOM               Absolutely white. Not a window, not a stick of furniture.                The only deviation is Hull in prison blues.               The door opens, Betty comes in wearing prison yellows. She                sits on a nearly invisible chair. They know they're being                watched.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         They want me to testify against you.                          I said I wouldn't.                                     HULL                         You have to. It's all set up. That's                          how you're getting off.               She shakes her head in cynical understanding. How difficult                it is to get back to an honorable life.               He takes her hand.                                     HULL                              (continuing; with                               difficulty)                         My father didn't have a heart attack.               She looks at him.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         He was shot robbing a liquor store.                          Trying to rob it. I lied about that.                                     MCCUTCHEON                         Baby, why are you telling me this?                                     HULL                         I had to start somewhere... There're                          other things you don't know...               AN IRIS SHOT - HULL AND BETTY               Silent. Kissing. Beginning to make love. Hull extracts                himself, gives the finger to the POV and stuffs a bit of                tissue in the iris, blocking our view.               EXT. ROOM - DAY               Carver takes his eye from the now obscured peephole.               EXT. A CEMETERY - DAY               A funeral. Taft's wife and children (from the wallet photo)                leave the graveside with the rest of the funeral party.               When everyone is gone, Hull approaches the grave. From his                pocket, he removes the four blood-soaked bills his father                gave him, and wedges these among the stems of flowers that                already cover the plot.               He's silent a moment, then he gets up. He joins Carver who's                standing with Hull's children. The kids each take his hand,                they walk together.                                     CARVER                         Betty walked out of court free this                          morning. That's my side of the deal.                                     HULL                              (to the children)                         You two run on ahead.               They do. Hull watches them go.                                     CARVER                         Her probation gets revoked the minute                          you fuck up. I want you to stay away                          from her altogether.                                     HULL                         You know the difference between a                          black man and a nigger?               Carver smiles, shakes his head. He likes a good joke. Hull                punches him so hard in the stomach that he goes to his knees.                                     HULL                              (continuing)                         The nigger's the one who'd even think                          about doing what you tell him.               He walks away. Still on his knees, doubled over, Carver                whispers after him:                                     CARVER                         Don't blow your cover.               FADE OUT.                                         THE END
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+                         DESPICABLE ME 2                           Written by                     Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio   EXT: ARCTIC CIRCLE - DAY   Snow and ice as far as the eye can see. What looks like a   windowless MILITARY BASE surrounded by barbed wire fences   sits in the middle of the wasteland.   TITLE CARD: TOP SECRET RESEARCH LABORATORY.   ARCTIC CIRCLE.   At the GUARD GATE, two RUSSIAN GUARDS play poker using an   overturned barrel as a table.   Russian Guard 1 shows a five of diamonds... and four Aces.   The other Guard folds. Russian Guard 1 LAUGHS and drags in   the pile of coins.   While he SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN and does a celebratory dance, the   coins fly up into the air. Russian Guard 1 stops dancing and   sees that the coins are gone. He accuses the other Guard of   stealing them. Russian Guard 2 swears he didn't take them.   Russian Guard 1 grabs a shovel and wields it menacingly,   until it flies up into the air. They both look up to see   where it's gone. Then the metal barrel they were using as a   table flies up, knocking them over.   Russian Guard 2 looks up to see a GIGANTIC MAGNET SHIP   LOWERING DOWN FROM ABOVE AND HOVERING OVER THE LABORATORY.   A watchtower guard shouts. A door below opens as a bunch of   Guards run out and point their guns at the magnet ship.   Then...WOOSH! All of their guns are pulled up towards the   ship, including the guards themselves, who are strapped to   their guns.   A SNOWMOBILE lifts off the ground and flies up to the magnet.   Other vehicles and small buildings begin to pull away from   the ground.   Then--   THE ENTIRE LAB STARTS TO GET PULLED UP OUT OF THE GROUND.   CLANK! The lab makes contact with the ship. It flies up and   down, shaking the scientists and guards off. They fall to   the ground. The magnet ship flies away with their lab,   vehicles, and weapons.   The remaining guards and scientists are strewn across the   snow with the remnants of the damaged base. We see a porta-   potty door open. A Confused Guard is sitting on the can   reading a newspaper, having missed the entire incident. He   closes the door.                                              MATCH CUT TO:          DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT   2.   INT: AVL HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT   SECURITY FOOTAGE of the research station named PX LABS being   carried away by the magnet ship plays on the screens at AVL   Headquarters.   We see the back of several heads watching the footage.   There's a heavy sigh.                    SILAS          Three weeks and we're still no          closer to cracking this?No response.                    SILAS (CONT'D)          Right... bring him in.                      LUCY (O.S.)          Yes, sir.EXT: SUBURBAN STREET - DAYGru steps toward camera, holding some sort of menacing gun,which he loads and cocks. He pulls the trigger, which shootsout an inflatable unicorn balloon.Smiling, he ties it to the windowsill next to some others.EXT: GRU'S BACKYARD - DAYA banner reads: "Happy Birthday Agnes!" and a massivebackyard party is in full swing. The yard is decorated withpink balloons and streamers, and a BOUNCY HOUSE shaped like acastle.AGNES and several other LITTLE GIRLS slide down a slide.They are all dressed as princesses, but Agnes is dressed as aprincess riding a unicorn.                    AGNES          This is the best party EVER!!!Edith, dressed as a ninja, emerges from beneath a table andclimbs across the monkey bars as a series of jousts, blades,and boxing gloves come up from the ground underneath her.She jumps down, narrowly avoiding a bear trap.                     EDITH          Haha!   Yeah!          DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT       3.Two LITTLE GIRLS fish in a small kiddie pool. One of thegirls pulls up a toy duck and then razzes the other girl, butthen a LIVE PIRANHA jumps out and eats the toy duck.A BOY and a GIRL sword fight. The Boy does a bunch of fancymoves. The Girl waits for him to finish and then pounds himon the head with a club.Two kids in the background are on a see-saw made of bombs.Agnes runs into the middle of the yard and points offscreen.                     AGNES          Oh no!   A dragon is approaching!All of the kids turn and see KYLE dressed as a dragon. HeGRUMBLES and then they SCREAM and huddle around Agnes. ThenMargo enters wearing a SUIT OF ARMOR and wielding a SWORD.                    MARGO          Fear not, for here come the gallant          knights to save us!She gestures to a group of minions wearing tiny suits ofarmor and wielding various MEDIEVAL WEAPONS. The Kids CHEERas the minions charge toward Kyle. One accidentally hitsanother with his sword. A fight ensues in which they use themedieval weapons on each other.One minion pounds another with a MACE. One Minion wanders offfrom the fight with his helmet on backwards, wildly swinginghis mace.Across the yard, Gru is busy grilling burgers and talking onthe phone. Not happy.                    GRU          No, no, no! What do you mean she's          not coming?! I have a backyard          full of these little girls who are          counting on a visit from a fairy          princess!The mace-swinging Minion walks by and accidently, repeatedlyhits Gru with the mace in the shin.                     GRU (CONT'D)          Ah!   Hurts! Ah! Stop it!Gru kicks the minion's helmet and chases him off with aspatula, sending him towards the party swinging his mace.Gru SIGHS and returns to the call.          DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT   4.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Listen! I don't want a refund! I          want a fairy princess... please!          Please, I am begging you.              (Resigned)          You know what? I hope that you can          sleep at night, you crusher of          little girls' dreams!!!Gru hits the phone with his spatula and hangs up.    Turns andsees Agnes standing there.                     AGNES          Ooh ooh!   When's the Fairy Princess          coming?Gru stares down at Agnes' big excited eyes. He opens hismouth to tell her the truth, but can't do it.                    GRU          Any minute now!Agnes squeals with excitement and runs off.                     AGNES          Yayyy!Gru looks worried--what do I do now?    He signals two minions.                    GRU          Stall them.EXT: BACKYARD - LATERA hand-painted piece of cardboard reading "THE MAGIC SHOW" isplaced on an easel. Agnes and all of the little kids sit ina semicircle on the grass. Two minions dressed as magiciansare doing a magic act with Edith as their assistant. Oneminion blows up a balloon and puts it in Edith's mouth. Thenthe other whips out a CHAINSAW and fires it up, headingtoward her.Margo sees this and quickly intervenes.                    MARGO          Whoa! Whoa! Okay, okay, alright.          That's enough of the magic show!The minions don't hide their disappointment.                     MINIONS          Awwww.          DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT   5.Margo suddenly looks around as if she just heard something.                    MARGO          Wait, did you hear that? It          sounded like the twinkling sounds          of magical fairy dust.                    AGNES              (gasps)          It's the fairy princess!   She's          coming!Margo gasps and points up to the sky.                      MARGO          Look!Edith spits out her magic balloon in horror and we follow itup to reveal--Gru. Dressed in a PUFFY PINK DRESS, fairy wings, glitteryeyelashes and tiara and magical wand.Up on top of Gru's house, the minions struggle to lower himdown on a rope. Edith's balloon floats by and distractsthem.They let go of the rope and Gru swings wildly, smashing intothe wall of the house and crashing to the ground.                      GRU          Aaaaaahh!He stands up and tries to cover.Agnes SIGHS HAPPILY, in awe of the fairy princess.                    GRU (CONT'D)              (in falsetto)          It is I, Gru...zinkerbell! The          most magical fairy princess of all!          And I am here to wish Princess          Agnes a very happy birthday!Gru sprinkles the girls with glitter and they continue tostare, frozen. Then a LITTLE GIRL raises her hand and speakswith a lisp.                    LITTLE GIRL          How come you're tho fat?Gru grits his teeth, then forces a smile and speaks with ahigh-pitched, dreamy voice.          DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT    6.                    GRU          Because my house is made of candy          and sometimes I eat instead of          facing my problems.The girl starts to ask another question.                    LITTLE GIRL          How come you have-Gru cuts her off with a puff of fairy dust to the face.   SheCOUGHS.                     GRU          Okay!   Time for cake!As the kids run to the table, Agnes approaches Gru.                    AGNES          Thank you, Gru-zinkerbell. You're          the best fairy princess ever!Gru smiles.                    GRU              (in falsetto)          You are welcome, little girl.She runs off, but quickly returns.                    AGNES              (whispers in his ear)          I know it's really you, Gru. I'm          just pretending for the other kids.She runs off again to join her friends. Gru watches her go.Couldn't be happier. Then he is approached by JILLIAN, aheavily-Botoxed mom.                    JILLIAN          Hey there, Gru, Mr. Life of the          Party!                    GRU              (forcing a smile)          Hello, Jillian.                    JILLIAN          Sooooo, I'm gonna go out on a limb          here, but my friend Natalie is          recently single, and...           DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   7.In the background, a homely NATALIE leans against a buffettable and seductively raises her eyebrows at Gru. The tablecollapses to the ground beneath her.                     GRU               (realizes what's going on)           No, no, no, get off of the limb           right now. No limb.                     JILLIAN           Oh, come on...she's a riot. She           sings karaoke, she has a lot of           free time, looks aren't that           important to her...In the background, Natalie inadvertently walks in front of abottle pitch game, is struck by a ball, and falls to theground.                     GRU           No, Jill's, that is not happening.           Seriously. I'm fine.                     JILLIAN               (calling after Gru)           Okay, fine. Forget Natalie.        How           about my cousin Linda?Gru walks off, passing by Edith and Margo.                        GRU           No.                     JILLIAN           Oh, oh! I know someone whose           husband just died!SPLASH!   Suddenly Jillian is sprayed in the face with water.Reveal Gru holding a HOSE with a SPRAY NOZZLE.                        GRU           I'm sorry.     I did not see you           there.SPLASH!   He sprays her again.    She falls down.                        GRU (CONT'D)           Or there.He drops the hose and walks away, CHUCKLING softly.             DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT         8.EXT: GRU'S HOUSE - DUSKGru takes Kyle out to the front yard.CAMERA POVA camera with nightvision is watching them. The screenanalyzes Kyle and a readout comes out as "SPECIES: UNKNOWN."Kyle sniffs Gru's flowers.                       GRU             Kyle... Kyle!Then it analyzes Gru and the readout says "TARGET ACQUIRED."                       GRU (CONT'D)             Ky--Kyle!   No, do not do your             business on the petunias!Kyle lifts up his leg next to Gru's flowers.He picks Kyle up and places him next to his neighbor's bush.                       GRU (CONT'D)             There you go. Those are Fred's.             Go crazy.Kyle does and the bush immediately withers and dies.         GruCHUCKLES.                         GRU (CONT'D)             Good boy.                         VOICE (O.S.)             Mr. Gru?Gru turns and sees Lucy Wilde standing there.                        GRU             Wha?   I didn't... What... Yes?                       LUCY                 (holds up her badge)             Hi! Agent Lucy Wilde of the AVL.                 (realizes her badge is                  upside down)             Oh. Whoops.                 (clears her throat, all                  business)             Sorry, you're gonna have to come             with me.                       GRU             Oh, sorry, I--Freeze Ray!          DESPICABLE ME 2                 CINCO & KEN DRAFT      9.Gru whips out his FREEZE RAY and fires it.       A WALL OF ICEheads for Lucy.But before it gets to her, Lucy pulls out a retractable gunfrom her purse, which acts as a FLAMETHROWER. Melting theice.                    LUCY          You know you really should announce          your weapons after you fire them,          Mr. Gru. For example--She pulls out a LIPSTICK. Fires it at Gru. The tip fliesthrough the air and connects with his chest, latching on.ZZZZZAPPP! It tases him, which sends his body flailing indifferent funny poses before passing out.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Lipstick Taser! Oh, it works so          good.EXT: STREET - LATERLucy tries to drag Gru to her car, but he's too heavy.                         LUCY          Man.    Ugh.     Large...person.She gets an idea.Lucy gets into her car. In the background, we see Gru beginto come to, but he is struck by Lucy's car as she pulls backand is knocked out again.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Oh...sorry!Closer now, Lucy gets out and stuffs his body into the trunk.Just then Tom and Stuart come out of Gru's garage and seetheir boss being loaded in. Lucy struggles to close thetrunk.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Get...in...there...you...big...man!SLAM! Lucy finally slams the trunk then quickly gets intothe vehicle.Tom and Stuart exchange horrified looks.                         TOM AND STUART          Boss!         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   10.They take off running after the car as it pulls away, runningas fast as their tiny legs will carry them. They get rightbehind it and Tom LEAPS up onto the trunk. He reaches hishand out to Stuart, who is falling behind.                    TOM          Koom ey lah!                    STUART          Koom ey lah! Koom ey lah!Stuart leaps for the bumper and Tom catches him by hisoverall straps. Tom holds on tight as Stuart dangles fromthe back of the car, his overall straps stretching way out.                    STUART (CONT'D)          Aaaaaaiiieeeaaaiiieeeaaaah!As Lucy turns a corner, he slams into some garbage cans andends up skiing behind the car in a cardboard box.Now in the box, Stuart continues to ride behind the car, andeven starts to get the hang of that, too. He waves at Tom,and Tom waves back.                    STUART (CONT'D)          Woooo!                    TOM          Ooooh!All is good until they go past a clothesline and a sheet getsstuck on Stuart.The sheet forms a parasail which lifts Stuart up into theair. He strikes a Superman flying pose. Then a flock ofGEESE fly toward him and one actually slams into his face.                    STUART          Quack quack!It SQUAWKS at him as it flies off.Lucy spots the commotion in her side view mirror and slams onthe brakes. SCREECH! Both minions fly forward--INT: LUCY'S CAR - SAMELucy sees this, drives forward, and opens the convertibletop, causing the Minions to land right in the passenger'sseat. They strike threatening karate poses.          DESPICABLE ME 2                CINCO & KEN DRAFT   11.                        TOM AND STUART           Hi-YAH!!Lucy tases them and they pass out.       She floors it.EXT: STREET - SAMELucy's car continues driving until it reaches a crowded PIER.And doesn't stop. It drives right off the end of the pier.A confused fisherman leaps for his life.                        CONFUSED FISHERMAN           What the--     Oh!SPLASH!INT: OCEAN - SAMELucy's car now transforms into an UNDERWATER VEHICLE. As theminions come to, one of them tries playing with the radiountil Lucy slaps his hand away. They speed through the seaand an octopus slams into her windshield. She turns on thewipers, which hits the octopus in the face until he's hadenough and swims off in a cloud of ink.She HONKS her HORN as she passes through a school of fish.                        MINIONS           Whoa...As the fish pass the Minions look ahead to see a sharkheading for them with his mouth open. They SCREAM. Lucyquickly steers the car out of harm's way. They pass byseveral more sharks until they arrive at a GIANT SUBMARINEwith the letters "AVL" on the side.A HATCH opens and Lucy's car goes inside.       The hatch closesbehind her.INT: AVL SUB - SAMEThe water drains out from the holding dock. A buffer andhair dryer come out to dry off the car. A squeegee wipes offthe windshield.Then the platform the car is on lowers down.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   12.INT: AVL ROOM - DAYLucy's car lowers into the center of the room as a largecircular table assembles around it, effectively locking themin.Lucy and the Minions get out of the car. She pushes a buttonon her remote and Gru, with a starfish attached to his head,is ejected from the trunk.                     GRU              (groggily)          Ugh...ooh...what...where...ah...oh,          foot's asleep...ah...pins and          needles...                    SILAS (O.S.)          Good afternoon, Mr. Gru.                      GRU          Ehhh...                    SILAS          I apologize for our methods in          getting you here.                    LUCY          I don't. I'd do it again in a          heartbeat. I am not gonna lie--I          enjoyed that. Every second of it.          Gave me a bit of a buzz, actually.                    SILAS          That's enough, Agent Wilde.                    LUCY          Sorry, sir.                    GRU          Okay, this is bogus!Gru peels the starfish off his head and drops it onto Tom's.Stuart LAUGHS at him.                    GRU (CONT'D)          I don't know who you people think          you are, but--A WAITER comes over with tea for Silas.                    SILAS          We are the Anti-Villain League.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   13.As Silas summons a map that shows all of the AVL officesaround the world, Lucy's car drops out of the way. Stuart istrapped on the lowering platform and he scrambles to get backonto stable ground. Silas continues.                    SILAS (CONT'D)          An ultra-secret organization          dedicated to fighting crime on a          global scale. Rob a bank? We're          not interested. Kill someone? Not          our deal. But you want to melt the          polar ice caps? Or vaporize Mt.          Fuji? Or even steal the moon?          Then we notice.                    GRU          First of all, you've got no proof          that I did that. Second, after I          did do that, I put it back!                     SILAS          We're well aware of that, Mr. Gru.          That's why we've brought you here.              (beat)          I am the League's director, Silas          Ramsbottom.Upon hearing the name, Tom and Stuart start giggling.                       TOM          Bottom.                    TOM AND STUART          Heeheheeeeheeehee.Silas bristles at this, and glances over at Lucy.                       SILAS          Hilarious.     Agent Wilde...                    LUCY          Oh, me now...?She continues the de-briefing, turning to the screens, whichshow an image of the Magnet Ship stealing the lab.                     LUCY (CONT'D)          Um, recently an entire top secret          lab disappeared from the Arctic          Circle. Yeah, the entire lab.          Just whoosh. Voom! Gone. Where          did it go?         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT    14.                    GRU          I don't care.The screen shows FOOTAGE of a TINY LITTLE BUNNY in ascientific lab. Furry and adorable.                    LUCY          The lab was devoted to experiments          involving PX-41, a transmutation          serum. What is PX-41, you ask?          Mmmm, it's pretty bad... Look.A LABCOAT TECHNICIAN approaches the bunny with a SYRINGEcontaining the purple liquid. Injects some in its butt.                     TOM AND STUART          Aaah!Instantly the bunny transforms into a HIDEOUS PURPLE MONSTERBUNNY. Gru and the Minions smile, impressed.Then it goes crazy and attacks the scientist.    Gru covers hiseyes and the Minions pass out.                     GRU          Oh!The bunny attacks the technician, then the camera...and thefilm is over.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Hmm, you usually don't see that in          bunnies.                     SILAS          As you can see, in the wrong hands,          the PX-41 serum could be the most          devastating weapon on earth.              (struggles to get through                the opening in the table)          Fortunately it has a very distinct          chemical footprint, and using the          latest chemtracking technology, we          found traces of it in the Paradise          Mall.On the screens we see images depicting a highly technicaldiagram of the shopping mall.                     GRU          Ha!   A mall?         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   15.                    SILAS          Precisely. And we believe that one          of these shop owners is a master          criminal.Silas scrolls through pictures of the mall's shop owners.                    SILAS (CONT'D)          And that's where you come in. As          an ex-villain, you know how a          villain thinks, how a villain acts.                    LUCY          The plan is to set you up          undercover at a shop in the mall,          where hopefully you'll be able to--                    GRU          Okay, I see where this is going,          with all the Mission Impossible          stuff, but no. No! I am a father          now. And a legitimate businessman.          I am developing a line of delicious          jams and jellies.Silas shoots him a look.    He CHUCKLES.                    SILAS          Jams and...jellies?                     GRU          Oh, attitude! That's right! So          thanks, but no thanks.              (beat)          And here's a tip--instead of tasing          people and kidnapping them, maybe          you should just give them a call!          Good day, Mr. Sheepsbutt!                    SILAS          Ramsbottom.                    GRU              (chuckles)          Oh, yeah, like that's any better!Gru turns and heads for the door, followed by Tom and Stuart,who continue to GIGGLE about Ramsbottom's name.EXT: OCEAN - NIGHTGru exits the AVL headquarters, which he now sees is on aSUBMARINE.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT       16.Lucy leans out the door and taps him on the shoulder.                    LUCY          Look, I probably shouldn't be          saying this, but your work as a          villain was kind of amazing, so if          you ever want to get back to doing          something awesome--give us a call.She hands Gru her BUSINESS CARD.   Gru takes it and stares atit.EXT: OCEAN - LATERGru rows back to shore as Tom yells to him like a coxswain.Gru GRUNTS with each stroke.                    TOM              ("Stroke!")          Mack-oh! Mack-oh!    Mack-oh!INT: GRU'S HOUSE - NIGHTGru carries a sleeping Agnes upstairs.INT: GIRLS' BEDROOM - CONTINUOUSGru enters to find Margo and Edith not in bed.   Margo istexting someone.                    GRU              (whispers)          Hey, I told you guys to get to bed.                       MARGO          Oh, sorry.                    EDITH          So when ya goin' on your date?                       GRU          What?                    EDITH          Remember? Miss Jillian said she          was arranging a date for you.                    GRU          Yeah, well, she is a nutjob.    And          I'm not going on any date.         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT    17.                      EDITH          Why not?    Are you scared?Gru stares back at Edith.     Gets a far-away look in his eyes.EXT: PLAYGROUND - FLASHBACK - DAYWe flash back to LITTLE GRU on the school playground. Hestares, lovesick, at a CUTE LITTLE BLONDE GIRL, named LISA.                    LISA              (to her friends)          Hey, did you guys see the moon          landing on TV?                    GIRLS          Yeah, I can't believe it.     It's so          cool...                    LISA          Yeah, and you know what--Gru approaches her.                    LITTLE GRU          Excuse me, Lisa?But she doesn't notice him.    He tries again.                     LISA               (to her friends)          I was talking to Billy the other          day.                      GIRLS          No way.                    LISA          He is so cute.Gru clears his throat.                    LISA (CONT'D)          And I think he likes me.                    GRU          Hey Lisa, I was wondering if you--Gru reaches out and taps her shoulder with his pointerfinger.Then one of the other little girls points to Gru's finger onLisa's shoulder.         DESPICABLE ME 2                 CINCO & KEN DRAFT   18.                    GIRL          Ewww! Gru touched Lisa!         Gru          touched Lisa!The other girls turn and squeal, horrified.                      GIRLS          Eeeeewww!A little buck-toothed red-haired girl shouts out to theentire playground.                    RED HAIRED GIRL          Lisa's got Grooties!The playground erupts with SCREAMS and everyone turns andruns away.Little Gru is left alone.     Crushed.INT: GIRLS' BEDROOM - NIGHTGru comes out of the flashback.                    GRU          Scared? Of what? Women?! No,          that's bonkers! I just-- I have no          interest in going on a date, that's          all. Case closed. I'm not scared--          of women... or dates... let's go to          bed.Gru gives each girl a goodnight kiss.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Goodnight, Edith.Then he goes over to Margo, who's already in bed.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Goodnight, Margo.She continues texting as he gives her a kiss.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Well, hold          the horses. Who are you texting?                     MARGO          No one.   Just my friend Avery.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT   19.                    GRU          Avery... Avery? Is that a girl's          name or a boy's name?                    MARGO          Does it matter?                    GRU          No, no, it doesn't matter... Unless          it's a boy!                    AGNES          I know what makes you a boy.Gru turns to Agnes, concerned.                    GRU          Uh...oooh...you...do?                    AGNES          Your bald head.Gru nods, relieved.                       GRU          Oh, yes...                    AGNES          It's really smooth. Sometimes I          stare at it and imagine a little          chick popping out. Peep peep peep.Gru sighs and gives her a kiss.                    GRU          Goodnight, Agnes.   Never get older.Gru turns out the light and leaves the room.INT: LAB - DAYGru rides the elevator tube down to his lab, passing minionsin various stages of jelly making. A sign reading, JELLYTESTING AREA" has been hastily pasted over a nuclear warningsign.A SUPERVISOR MINION checks his clipboard as the MINION nextto him steals a banana from his pocket. He turns, but theMinion who stole the banana has hidden it in his mouth. Wesee the ends of the banana pushing out his cheeks.                      SUPERVISOR MINION          Hey, oh!    Me banana!         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   20.The Minion with the banana in his mouth shrugs.A single apple is passed down a line of Minions in the leastefficient way possible.A few Minions mash fruits in large vats ala "I Love Lucy."One wears a bunch of fruit on his head like Carmen Mirandaand sings the CHIQUITA BANANA song. His supervisor comesover and tells him to get back to work.The Minion tries to get out of the vat of fruit, but slipsand falls down into a large test-tube filled with mashedfruit.Then all of the mashed fruit is flushed down a large holewhere it is injected into jelly jars passing by on a conveyorbelt. The trapped Minion is injected into one of the jars.Gru enters the lab and greets the minions.                    GRU          Hey, Tim, nice haircut!He points at Tim.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Donnie, hang in there, baby!    It's          almost Friday.Gru high-fives Donnie as he approaches Dr. Nefario.                    GRU (CONT'D)          So, how's today's batch, Dr.          Nefario?                    DR.    NEFARIO          I developed a    new formula which          allowed me to    get every known kind          of berry into    one flavor of jelly.Gru sticks his finger in and tastes the purple goo in thejar. Makes a disgusted face, then attempts a smile.                     GRU              (faking it)          That tastes good...              (gags)          Love the flavor of that...                    DR. NEFARIO          It's horrible, isn't it?         DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT    21.                    GRU          No! No! Oh, we're making great          progress!              (to the Minions)          Here, try some of this.He hands a jar to a minion, who tries it. He GAGS!   Anotherminion tastes some and scrapes it off his tongue. They smashthe jar and all the minions run away, disgusted.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Whoa... okay, just because          everybody hates it doesn't mean          it's not good.Dr. Nefario hangs his head.                    DR. NEFARIO          Listen, Gru. There's something          I've been meaning to talk to you          about for some time now.                     GRU          What?   What's wrong?                    DR. NEFARIO              (clears his throat)          I miss being evil. Sinister plots,          large-scale crimes...It's what I          live for! I mean, don't you think          there's more to our future than          jelly?                     GRU          Well, I'm also considering a line          of jams...                     DR. NEFARIO          Um...the thing is, Gru...              (deep breath)          I've had an offer of employment          elsewhere.                    GRU          Dr. Nefario! Come on, you're          kidding, right?                    DR. NEFARIO          It's a great opportunity for me,          bigger lab, more evil, full          dental...Dr. Nefario presses a button and his stuff folds itself upinto a traveling suitcase.          DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT     22.Dr. Nefario hangs his head.    Gru stares back at his oldfriend.                     GRU           Very well. Let us give you the           proper send-off.               (calls off screen)           Minions!INT: GRU'S LAB - LATERSeven minions are lined up with seven fart guns. Dr. Nefariosits in his scooter.                     GRU           The highest honor awarded. To Dr.           Nefario for your years of service.           The twenty-one fart gun salute!FART!   FART!   FART!Dr. Nefario COUGHS.     His eyes are watering (and not only fromthe smell).                     DR. NEFARIO           Uh, I counted twenty-two.Dave CHUCKLES, guilty.    Dr. Nefario fires up the scooter.                     DR. NEFARIO (CONT'D)           Farewell, my friends.The minions CRY. Dr. Nefario pushes another button on thescooter, transforming it into flying mode. He GUNS theengine and it begins flying away. At the slowest pacepossible. Everyone just stands there awkwardly.                     DR. NEFARIO (CONT'D)           This may take a while. Go about           your business.Everyone walks off.                     DR. NEFARIO (CONT'D)           I miss you already!Gru examines Lucy's business card.     Makes a decision.EXT: GRU'S HOUSE - NIGHTThe shadow of a mysterious figure approaches Gru's frontdoor.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT    23.EXT: GRU'S FOYER - NIGHTA Minion wears a French Maid's outfit and SINGS as he vacuumsthe floor. The doorbell rings.The Minion opens the door to see who it is.                    FRENCH MAID MINION          Hello?A shadow falls across the terrified minion as somethingunseen abducts him.EXT: GRU'S FOYER - LATERThe vacuum moves back and forth across the floor by itself.Another Minion walks by wearing a different Maid outfit. Hedoesn't see the other Minion and closes the door.Then he opens it again, cleans the doorknob, and closes it.INT: FAMILY ROOM - DAYIt's morning at Gru's house. Margo and Agnes sit on thecouch with a LAPTOP. Edith leans over the top of the couch,looking on.                    AGNES          Are you sure we should be doing          this?                    MARGO          Yes, it's for his own good.On the screen is a DATING WEBSITE (CREATE-A-DATE.NET)--thegirls are creating a profile for Gru.                    MARGO (CONT'D)          Okay, we need to choose a picture.Margo clicks through pictures of Gru.    Each one is worse thanthe last.                    AGNES          No.CLICK.                    AGNES (CONT'D)          Scary.CLICK.         DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT    24.                       EDITH          Weird.CLICK. The next picture is of Gru in a bathing suit.   Thegirls react in horror.                       GIRLS          Aaaaaah!!!Margo covers Agnes's eyes.                    AGNES          What is that?!Gru enters the family room.                    GRU          Good morning, girls! I have an          announcement to make.                    MARGO          Hey, what celebrity do you look          like?                    GRU          Ummm...Bruce Willis.The girls stare at him blankly.                       MARGO          Mmmm...no.                    AGNES          Humpty Dumpty!                    EDITH          Ooh, Gollum!The girls LAUGH.                    GRU          Okay, what are you doing?                    AGNES          We're signing you up for online          dating!                    GRU          Oh, okay...WHAT?! No, no, no, no,          no, no, no, no, no.Gru grabs the laptop away from the girls.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT    25.                    EDITH          Aw come on, it's fun.                    MARGO          And it's time for you to get out          there.                       GRU          No! Stop!      No one is ever getting          out there!     Ever!Gru hands a Minion the laptop, accidentally hitting him inthe face.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Okay, now for the announcement:    I          have accepted a new job.                    MARGO          Whoa--really?                    GRU          Yes, I have been recruited by a top          secret agency to go undercover and          save the world!                    EDITH          You're gonna be a spy?!                    GRU          That's right, baby! Gru's back in          the game! With gadgets and weapons          and cool cars...the whole deal.                       EDITH          Awesome!Agnes looks up at him in awe.                    AGNES          Are you really gonna save the          world?Gru looks at Agnes.                     GRU          Yes.   Yes I am.He coolly puts on a pair of sunglasses.We pan to Dave mimicking Gru with a pair of sunglasses.                       DAVE          Mocha!         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT   26.And then to Kevin dressed in an Amish beard and tie.                       KEVIN          Cacao!And then Stuart dressed as a little girl with pigtails.                       STUART          Papadam?EXT: MALL - DAYEstablishing.INT: MALL - SAMEGru comes down the escalator wearing the sunglasses, with thethree disguised Minions behind him. Stuart gets his dresscaught in the escalator. It comes off and he hides in anearby potted plant.Gru glances at a store called the "EAGLE HAIR CLUB." He thenarrives at a charming, pink CUPCAKE STORE. The sign reads,"BAKE MY DAY" Gru frowns and takes off his sunglasses.                       GRU          Hm.     "Bake My Day."   Blech.INT: BAKE MY DAY - CONTINUOUSGru unlocks the door and enters. JINGLE! BELLS on the doorring. The inside is sugary and clean and quaint. Gru takesit all in. Then turns to the minions.                    GRU          Alright, here is the cupcake recipe          I got off the internet.The minions excitedly grab the recipe and head for thekitchen. Gru kicks Stuart, who is still staggering around inthe potted plant.                     GRU (CONT'D)          And don't go nuts with the          sprinkles!Gru is left alone. He looks around. Sees a BUNNY CUPCAKE ina glass cake dish. Then a SHARK CUPCAKE in the next cakedish. And in the next dish he sees Lucy's head. She makes afunny face.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT     27.Gru SCREAMS, which causes Lucy to SCREAM and jump up, hittingher head on one of the shelves, sending all of the CUPCAKESflying.Lucy immediately goes into action, using incredible andfrankly weird-looking MARTIAL ARTS MOVES to dispatch thecupcakes as they fly toward her.                       LUCY          Ha! Yaa!      Ho! Ooof!   Zaaa!   Ay-ay-          ay-ay-ay!She successfully eliminates all of the cupcakes, then turnsto Gru, out of breath.                     LUCY (CONT'D)          Whoo. Wasn't expecting that.              (strikes a martial arts               pose)          Or was I?Gru has a cupcake stuck to the top of his head, frosting sidedown. Lucy gestures as if he's got a little food on hisface.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Ooh... you got... You got... a          little...The cupcake slowly slides down, then falls to the floor.    Itleaves a long smear on Gru's face.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Here, I'll-- I'll get it.Gru stands frozen as she tries to clean him up.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Oh, that's just spreading...um...                    GRU          Alright, alright.    I got it.    I got          it!... Stop it!Lucy backs off.                       LUCY          Oh!     I'll let you get it.Gru SIGHS and wipes the frosting off his face.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT   28.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Yeah, what you just saw there was a          little something new I've been          working on. It's a combination of          Jujitsu, Krav Maga, Aztec warfare,          and krumping.                    GRU          Okay, that's weird--why are you          here?                    LUCY          On assignment from Silas.   I'm your          new partner. Yay!                    GRU          What?! No, no "yay." Ramsbottom          didn't say anything about a          partner.                     LUCY          Well, seems that because of your          checkered past, everyone else          refused to work with you. But not          me. I stepped up. And I'm new, so          I kind of have to do what they tell          me anyway.Gru is about to respond when Dave the minion comes out thekitchen door. He carries a cupcake in the shape of a Minion.                    DAVE          Walla!Immediately Lucy moves with lightning-quick reflexes. Shesmashes his cupcake, flips him into the air, and pins him tothe counter. Dave SCREAMS.                    LUCY          You know this guy?                    GRU          Yes, he's one of my minions.                    LUCY          Oh, I'm sorry. I should have          known.She releases him.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          You're free to go.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT     29.Dave stares at Lucy. Immediately smitten. A magical glowappears around her as romantic music plays. We go intoDave's fantasy.EXT: BEACH - DAY - FANTASYDave and Lucy run along a beach together hand in hand.EXT: FIELD - DAY - FANTASYDave and Lucy have a romantic picnic together. They toasteach other with champagne. Dave drinks from the bottle.EXT: BRIDGE - NIGHT - FANTASYLucy and Dave sit on the railing of a moonlit footbridge.Both fire ROCKETS into the air to create fireworks and areabout to kiss when--                    GRU (V.O.)          Dave...INT: BAKE MY DAY - DAYBack to reality, where Dave is staring up at Lucy,lovestruck.                    GRU          Earth to Dave!     You can leave now.Dave goes back into the kitchen, never taking his eyes off ofLucy.INT: MALL - DAYCLOSE ON the Giant Cupcake on top of the cupcake shop. TheCHERRY on the Giant Cupcake rotates, revealing a CAMERAhidden inside. VZZZZZT! The lens zooms.                    GRU (O.S.)          Now, what do we got? Who's on the          list? Fire `em at me.INT: BAKE MY DAY - SAMEGru and Lucy stand next to each other under a domed lamplowered from the ceiling.         DESPICABLE ME 2               CINCO & KEN DRAFT   30.Inside the dome of the lamp, Gru and Lucy are uncomfortablyclose together looking at a video screen.                    LUCY          First suspect...Hedda Blumentoft,          proprietor of Mum's the Word Floral          Shop.The camera moves over to Mum's the Word Floral Shop and HEDDABLUMENTOFT.                      GRU          No.    Not her.                    LUCY          Okay, moving on...The camera moves over to the "Stuff-A-Bear" store. CHUCKKINNEY, a small perky man, holds up an empty teddy bear skinfor a little boy.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Chuck Kinney, owner of "Stuff-A-          Bear."Kinney shoves the teddy bear's butt onto a sharp metal tube.The bear inflates until it EXPLODES into a torrent of bearskin and stuffing. The little boy CRIES.                      LUCY (CONT'D)          Ooh.                    GRU          I don't think so.DING-A-LING-A-LING! The bell rings on the cupcake shop'sfront door, signaling a customer.                      EDUARDO (O.S.)          Hello?                      GRU          Oh!Gru and Lucy quickly hide their equipment, look up and seeEDUARDO PEREZ at the door. They try to act natural.                    EDUARDO          Buenos dias, my friends! I am          Eduardo Perez, owner of Salsa &          Salsa Restaurant, across the mall.          Now open for breakfast. And you          are?            DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT   31.                      GRU             Gru. And this is Lucy.    And we are             closed.                       EDUARDO             This is just gonna take un momento.             I am throwing a big Cinco de Mayo             party, and I am going to need two             hundred of your best cupcakes             decorated with the Mexican flag.             It looks something like this.He rips open his shirt, revealing a TATTOO of the Mexicanflag on his chest.                       EDUARDO (CONT'D)             What do you think?He flexes and makes it wave.     Gru hides his eyes.                          GRU             Look away!Lucy stares at it.                       LUCY             You-- Whoa... Hooo...                       EDUARDO             Anyway, I have to go. It's all             settled! I pick `em up next week!             Have a good day. Come by if you             get a chance, okay?He exits.    Gru GROANS, relieved.    Finally!Then Eduardo pops back in.                       EDUARDO (CONT'D)             And welcome to the mall family!Gru studies Eduardo's face and GASPS. He pictures Eduardo ina red luchador mask surrounded by flames. Eduardo turns andleaves. As soon as the door closes--                       GRU                 (whispers)             El Macho.                          LUCY             What?                       GRU             But it couldn't be...         DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT      32.                    LUCY          Wha-- What? What couldn't be??                    GRU          That guy looks exactly like a          villain named El Macho. From about          twenty years ago.EXT: DESERT - DAY - FLASHBACKClassic Spaghetti western sepia-toned shot of El Macholooking menacing. He looks like the large Hispanic man fromthe mall, only younger and wearing a Lucha Libre outfit andmask (a mask which looks similar to the one Gru imagined).El Macho pushes the BARKEEP out of the way and grabs a largebottle from behind the bar.                    GRU (V.O.)          He was ruthless. He was dangerous.          And as the name implies, very          macho.El Macho pours himself a shot and then smashes the bottleover his own head.He reaches down and pulls up a rattlesnake from below thebar. He squeezes its head, squirting venom into the shotglass. He drinks it down and then eats the glass.He sticks the snake's fangs into a few dollars that he leaveson the bar, before breaking through the wall behind him,leaving an EL Macho-shaped hole.EXT: STREET - DAY - FLASHBACKEl Macho head butts an armored truck and approaches thepassenger side window.                    GRU (V.O.)          He had a reputation for pulling off          heists using only his bare hands.When the ARMED GUARDS look over he punches through the bullet-proof glass, knocking them both out of the truck. Then helifts the truck onto his back and runs down the street withit.                    GRU (V.O.)          Ah, but sadly, like all the greats,          El Macho was gone too soon.         DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT    33.EXT: SKY - DAY - PASTA bird, flying in the air, is suddenly struck by an airplane.                    GRU (V.O.)          He died in the most macho way          possible.El Macho leaps out of the plane riding a SHARK, a ton ofDYNAMITE strapped to him. He plummets toward the mouth of anACTIVE VOLCANO.                    GRU (V.O.)          Riding a shark with 250 pounds of          dynamite strapped to his chest into          the mouth of an active volcano.He pulls two grenades from behind his back, yanks the pins,and holds onto them as he plunges into the volcano.There is a MASSIVE EXPLOSION.                    GRU (V.O.)          It was glorious.INT: BAKE MY DAY - DAYLucy stares at Gru, confused.                    LUCY          Yeah, sounds like El Macho's pretty          dead...                     GRU          They never found the body. Oh no.          All that was ever retrieved was a          pile of singed chest hair.              (beat)          But... that face. It has got to be          El Macho.Lucy gets an excited look on her face.                    LUCY          Then what do you say you and I          break into his restaurant?          Tonight.Gru nods at Lucy's invitation.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   34.                    GRU          Yes, that's good, because I'm          telling you--if anybody in this          place has the PX-41 serum...Gru looks out the window and points at Eduardo riding up onthe escalator, scratching his butt.                    GRU (CONT'D)          ...it's him.INT: GIRLS' BEDROOM - NIGHTGru enters and pushes the girls into their beds like a tourguide anxious to finish a tour.                    GRU          Alright, alright, homework done,          pajamas on, teeth brushed, time for          bed.                    MARGO          What's the big hurry?                    GRU          I just... I have a lot of work to          do.                    EDITH          Work, what kind of work?                    GRU          Very important business.          So...hugs, kisses...              (hugs and kisses them)          ...good night, sleep tight, don't          let the bedbugs blah-blah-blah-blah-          blah--Gru turns to leave, but Agnes is standing at the doorway.                    AGNES          But you said you'd help me          practice my part for the Mother's          Day show!Gru looks down at Agnes' puppy dog eyes.    He SIGHS.                    GRU          Fine, fine... Let me hear it.          Quickly.            DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   35.INT: GRU'S FAMILY ROOM - NIGHTOn Agnes.    She gives her lines.                       AGNES                 (robotically)             She kisses my boo-boos             She braids my hair             My mother is beyond compare             We love you, mothers, everywhere!Gru frowns.                       GRU             Wow! That was...something else. I             really liked the way you smiled at             the end. Let's try this one more             time, but a teensy bit less like a             zombie, okay?                       AGNES             Okay.                 (still monotone)             She kisses my boo-boos             She braids my hair--                        GRU             Perfect!   Time to go!As he heads for the door--                       AGNES             I don't think I should do this.This stops Gru.                       GRU             Well, what do you mean?    Why not?                       AGNES             I don't even have a mom.Ouch.   But Gru tries not to let this affect him.                       GRU             Well, you don't need one to do the             show. I mean, you did the Veterans             Day Pageant and you haven't been in             combat.Agnes looks up at Gru.                       AGNES             This is different.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT     36.                    GRU          Okay, well, then...maybe you can          just use your imagination.                    AGNES          You mean I pretend I have a mom?                    GRU          Yes, right. You can do that, can't          you?Agnes smiles.                    AGNES          Yeah! I do that all the time!          Thanks, Gru!She gives him a kiss and runs off.   Gru watches her go, deepin thought.INT: REC ROOM - NIGHTTWO MINIONS raise their ice cream sundaes and clink themtogether!                    MINIONS          Hey!Pull back to reveal many minions singing and dancing.We move through the crowd, passing by the mace-wieldingminion with his helmet still backwards and a smaller serverminion with a tray of ice cream sundaes in mugs.We cut up to the rafters, where more minions are dancing andsinging in formation, jumping and hopping all over the placein elaborate dance routines.Back on the floor, three arm-in-arm minions take the chorus.One of them clearly having had one too many sundaes is beingheld up by the other two.Another minion tries to carry empty mugs down a spiralstaircase, but he's knocked off by a bunch of minions runningup the other way.Several minions sit around a communal bowl of ice cream,lazily sipping at it through long straws.Gru enters and takes it all in.Other minions raid an ice cream cart, hanging from thecanopy, drinking directly from the spouts.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT    37.                    GRU          Alright, hey, hey--   No, no, no,          no! Hey, please!The Minions stop singing.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Kevin, Jerry, watch the girls for          me, okay?              (points)          Dave, Stuart--come this way. With          me! Come on!Dave downs a jar of maraschino cherries and sprays whip creaminto his mouth before running after them, with a toothpickumbrella in his mouth for good measure.                      GRU (O.S.) (CONT'D)          Come on!Once they are gone, the Minions go back to singing andlaughing.INT: GIRLS' BEDROOM - NIGHTMargo, Edith and Agnes are fast asleep in their beds. Kevinand Jerry sing them a lullaby. Then smile and quietly closethe door.INT: HALLWAY - SAMEKevin holds up a golf ball.   Jerry happily jumps up and down.                    KEVIN          Hey, putt-putt?                      JERRY          Oh!INT: LIVING ROOM - LATERJerry puts the tee and ball in his mouth as Kevin stands on adresser, preparing to take a swing. He asks Jerry if he'sready and Jerry gives a thumbs up.                     KEVIN          Una, doo--              (laughs as he lowers the               golf club to Jerry's               head)         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT     38.CRASH! CLANG! A noise comes from the backyard.      The minionsexchange looks. What was that?EXT: BACKYARD - NIGHTKevin and Jerry step out into the yard and look aroundnervously, armed only with the golf club and tee.                       KEVIN          Boca!                    JERRY              (scared)          Boca!They walk over to the garbage cans. The cans begins torattle. Kevin and Jerry SCREAM as a CAT pops up from one ofthe cans. The cat MEOWS.Kevin LAUGHS at him and imitates Jerry's scared face.                       KEVIN          Looka too!Jerry slaps him.    Kevin slaps him back.   They start to slapfight until--A SPOTLIGHT comes down from above, lighting up the terrifiedminions. Before they can scream...WOOSH! Jerry is sucked up into the air as if being abductedby aliens. Kevin grabs onto a flower, and then the cat totry and anchor himself down, but they both fly up into theair.The light goes out. A few seconds later the light comes backon and drops the cat back down. It turns off again and theMinions are gone.EXT: MALL - NIGHTThe mall is dark and the parking lot is empty, except for twominions and Lucy's car.INT: MALL - SAMEA lone SECURITY GUARD walks through the dark mall, listeningto music on his headphones. He passes by Eduardo's Salsa &Salsa. Shines his light inside. All clear. He moves on.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT      39.Once the guard is gone, a floor tile is moved aside and Grupeeks out. After making sure the coast is clear, Gru callsdown.                    GRU              (whispers)          We're stealth ninjas.    We make no          sound.                     LUCY          Right.   Gotcha.INT: EDUARDO'S SALSA & SALSA - LATERLucy kicks the door open.She enters.   Gru reacts.                    GRU          Alright, El Macho, you're going          down.But before Gru takes a step, Lucy stops him.                      LUCY          Wait!    Wait!                      GRU          What?She produces a SPRAY CAN and sprays the air in front of her.Gru frowns.                    GRU (CONT'D)          What are you doing?                    LUCY          I'm checking for laser beam alarm          triggers.                    GRU          It's a restaurant!                    LUCY          You never know what kind of booby          traps this guy could have set.          Huh? C'mon!                    GRU          There are no booby traps!Gru takes a step and kicks a TRIPWIRE attached to a tinybell. TING-A-LING! Lucy points to the bell.         DESPICABLE ME 2               CINCO & KEN DRAFT       40.                     LUCY          Ha!   Booby!Lucy GASPS as a door begins to creak open.      She hides behindGru.A tiny CHICKEN hops out.      It CLUCKS.   Lucy is confused.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Oh. There's a chicken. Are you          lost little guy? You must be lost!                     GRU          Ha!   Some guard dog.Suddenly, the chicken leaps into the air and lands on Gru,pecking his bald head.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiigh!Gru runs in circles, trying to get the chicken off.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Get it off of me! Get it off of          me! Get it off of me!Gru SCREAMS as the chicken goes up his shirt and bursts outof his sweater through the chest, "Alien"-style. He grabsit.                       GRU (CONT'D)          I got you!It pecks him on the head, escapes, and continues to attackhim.Lucy thinks fast and grabs a tablecloth from a table.      Shelunges and covers the chicken with the table cloth.                       LUCY          I got it!     Ha!She tightens the tablecloth around Gru's neck, trapping thechicken and Gru's head inside. A muffled scream comes fromunder the table cloth and Lucy realizes what she's done. Gruruns around trying to get the tablecloth off his head.Lucy does a karate flip/body slam on Gru and the chicken.She removes the table cloth. Gru's head has been replaced bythe chicken!                       LUCY (CONT'D)          Ha!         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT   41.She goes to karate chop the chicken, but it flies off and shehits Gru in the face instead.                      LUCY (CONT'D)          Oh!The chicken regroups, CLUCKS, and attacks.Lucy acts fast and presses a button on her watch, squirtingFOAM onto the chicken.FSSSSSSHT!   The foam instantly hardens into a glass ballaround the chicken. Only its head sticks out. It wobblesback and forth like a Weeble. Lucy turns to Gru.                    GRU              (dazed)          Ugh...                     LUCY          What is wrong with that chicken?              (beat)          Hey, that pollo? Es loco.Gru is unimpressed.                    LUCY (CONT'D)              (noticing Gru's wounds)          No? Okay, let's go.INT: KITCHEN - CONTINUOUSGru and Lucy step into the kitchen. Lucy pulls out a HIGH-TECH SCANNING DEVICE and aims it around the kitchen.                    GRU          You getting anything?                    LUCY          No. Not yet. But hey, maybe you          can find something with these x-ray          goggles.Lucy produces a pair of HIGH TECH goggles.    Gru shakes hishead.                    GRU              (skeptically)          Bah...Gru puts them on and looks around the kitchen.    We now seethe room from his X-RAY POV.         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT   42.                    LUCY (O.S.)          How're they working? Tell me, tell          me!Gru turns to Lucy and sees her as a SKELETON.                     GRU          Ahh!   Ooof!                    LUCY          What's wrong? Something wrong?                    GRU          Oh, that's an image I'll never get          out of my brain. Blagh!Gru makes a face, disturbed. Then quickly turns away andspots something behind a painting on the wall...a safe. Seessomething inside it--a METAL CANISTER. Smiles.                       GRU (CONT'D)          I knew it!He goes to the wall and removes the painting, revealing theSAFE.                    GRU (CONT'D)          The serum is in here!                    LUCY          Ooh, then let's get it!He produces a SAFE-CRACKING DEVICE and places it over thecombination wheel. Lights blink and it goes to work.                    GRU              (gleefully giggling)          Oh, this is going to be good!          Ahh...CLICK. The safe opens, revealing--a JAR OF SALSA ("EDUARDO'SSECRET RECIPE").                     GRU (CONT'D)          A-ha!              (registering it's not the                serum)          What? It's... salsa?                    LUCY              (disappointed)          Awww man.          DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT       43.INT: RESTAURANT - SAMEEduardo enters the restaurant.   Senses something isn't right.Frowns angrily.                     EDUARDO           Oh... somebody's going to die           tonight.He cautiously walks through the restaurant. Sees the chickenin the ball of cement. Gasps.                      EDUARDO (CONT'D)           Pollito!Eduardo runs over to Pollito and picks him up.                     EDUARDO (CONT'D)           What'd they do to you? Pollito?           Can you hear me?                      POLLITO           Boc!                     EDUARDO           Who would do this to such a sweet           little chicken? What? Who's           there?His eyes darken.INT: KITCHEN - SAMEGru and Lucy, who are ravenously eating the delicious salsawith chips, turn to the door. Uh-oh.INT: RESTAURANT - SAMEEduardo, carrying the chicken, makes his way to the kitchen.Grabs a LARGE KNIFE off of a table.                     EDUARDO           You coming out?! Or am I gonna go           in?!INT: KITCHEN - SAMEGru and Lucy react to hearing Eduardo's voice. Gru pulls aLASER CUTTER out of his jacket. Aims it at the ceiling.TWEEEE!   The LASER fires, cutting a hole in the ceiling.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT      44.INT: RESTAURANT - SAMEEduardo approaches the kitchen, brandishing the knife. Readyto confront any intruders. He shoves open the door and seeschips and the salsa container sitting in the open wall safe.INT: KITCHEN - CONTINUOUSEduardo enters the room, just in time to see a pair of legsdisappear into the ceiling.                       EDUARDO          Stop!Lucy quickly pops down and hits him in the eyes with her foam-shooting watch.                       EDUARDO (CONT'D)          My eyes!He rubs his eyes, dropping the chicken and cracking itsencasement.INT: MALL - SAMELucy and Gru quickly run through the mall.                    LUCY          Gru, call one of your munchkins!Gru produces a communicator and calls into it.                    GRU          We've been spotted!    Come get us!INT: LUCY'S CAR - SAMEOne minion sits on the hood of the car.   The other leansagainst a tire, toothpick in his mouth.                       DAVE          Huh?                 (to the other minion)          Hey!     Loo-koo-meow-plah!                      STUART          Ah!    Koom-kwat!         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT      45.INT: MALL - SAMESMASH! The car crashes through the glass doors and speedsthrough the mall. They crash into a bunch of cleaningsupplies being pushed by a janitor.Gru and Lucy watch them from the balcony above.                     LUCY          Hm.   Subtle.They both run over to meet the car at the escalators.The car heads for the escalators. As they reach the bottom,Gru and Lucy realize the minions are about to go up the otherone!                    GRU          Over here, over here!    Over...          here.Too late. The minions shake as they go up the bumpy stairs.Once they reach the top they take a left and start driving incircles around the balcony. Gru pulls out a grappling hookand aims for the balcony railing.                    GRU (CONT'D)              (grabbing Lucy)          Hold tight!They shoot up and land right back where they started - atSalsa & Salsa! The minions zoom by in the car and Gru SIGHSin exasperation.Just then, Eduardo emerges from the restaurant with fire inhis eyes and a knife in his hand. Eduardo produces many moreKNIVES and heads straight for them.                    EDUARDO          I have you now!BAM! Eduardo is struck unconscious by Lucy's car.       Just intime.Lucy opens the car door. One of the minions holds atoothpick in his hand and leans on the steering wheel,seductively.                    DAVE          Rawr, rawr!The other minion revs the engine suggestively.Eduardo starts to wake up.    The car zooms past him.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT   46.EXT: MALL DOME - SAMECRASH! Lucy's car plummets towards the ground. Gru SCREAMShysterically, but Lucy just hits a button and the carTRANSFORMS into a jet.They fly off into the night sky.EXT: GRU'S NEIGHBORHOOD - MORNINGIt's a beautiful morning. An ICE CREAM TRUCK makes its waydown the street (playing the song the minions were singingearlier). It stops and a couple of CHILDREN run to meet it.Stuart opens Gru's front door, having heard the commotion.Two other minions approach as well. Stuart spots the icecream truck and points to it, excited.                      STUART          Oh!   Oh!   Gelato!And then suddenly a MOB OF MINIONS appears running for theice cream truck alongside the group of children. The minionsshove the children aside and clamor around the truck holdingout their money.                       MINIONS          Gelato!     Gelato! Gelato!Stuart pushes himself to the top of the unruly pack and triesto maintain order.                      STUART          Stopa!    Stopa!!A hush comes over the minions.                    STUART (CONT'D)              (knocking on the truck)          Hey-ho! Gelato!Suddenly the ice cream cone on top of the truck transformsinto a LARGE TUBE and extends itself above the minions.Stuart offers the tube a wad of cash and attempts to ordergelato, but the it begins SUCKING the minions into it. ZUP!ZUP! ZUP!One by one the minions (dozens of them, including the minionwith his head still trapped in the jelly jar) are sucked intothe truck until there is only one left. He tries to make abreak for it, but the truck lowers a popsicle in front ofhim.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT      47.He licks it, his tongue sticks, and he is yanked back intothe ice cream cone. The it closes and the truck drives away.The children look on puzzled.EXT: PARADISE MALL - DAYThe hole that Lucy's car crashed through last night has beenpatched with plywood boards.INT: PARADISE MALL - DAYPULL BACK TO REVEAL that Gru is inside a GARBAGE CANDISGUISE. Next to him is Lucy, also in a GARBAGE CANDISGUISE, using binoculars.                    LUCY (O.S.)          All right, there he is.   Suspect          #8: Floyd Eaglesan.BINOCULARS POVFloyd Eaglesan attempts to entice a customer to visit hisbusiness, Eagle Hair Club.                         GRU          Oh.    Okay.                    LUCY          See if you can get closer.          Go...go.Gru quickly stands up, revealing his legs, and takes severalsteps toward Eagle Hair Club. Floyd looks over his shoulder,and Gru stops. Floyd enters Eagle Hair Club and Gru inchescloser.                    GRU          Alright, what do--BINOCULARS POVSuddenly a MAN approaches the trash can with a steaming cupof coffee. The binoculars readout says "WARNING! EXTREMELYHOT."                    GRU (CONT'D)              (to himself)          Oh no. That's not good.The man goes to throw the coffee in the trash and we seeGru's legs pop out from beneath the can.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT      48.The man looks confused and tries again.     Gru dodges and takesoff running. The man chases after him.Gru accidentally knocks into a bent-over woman's rear end.Insulted, she turns around, sees the man with the coffee, andslaps him across the face. Unfortunately, Gru doesn't seethe escalator ahead and goes tumbling down the moving stairs.CRASH! BANG! CLANG! Finally, Gru pops out of the trash canand lands at the bottom of the escalator with a THUD! Flaton his face, he hears a familiar voice call out.                     AGNES (O.S.)          Hey Gru!Gru looks up and sees Margo, Edith and Agnes.                   GRU          Oh! Girls! What are you doing          here?                    MARGO          Well, we thought we'd come visit          you at work.              (looks at Gru and the               trash can)          So, you're saving the world in a          garbage can?                    GRU              (sarcastically)          Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha...funny.Lucy arrives on the scene, joining them.                    LUCY          Hey, there you are.   Oh, who's          this?                    GRU          Lucy, these are my girls, Margo,          Edith and Agnes. Girls, Lucy.          Lucy, girls.                     MARGO          Hello.                     EDITH          Hi.Agnes gazes lovingly at Lucy.   A magical glow appears aroundLucy, who smiles back.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT    49.                       AGNES             Are you single?                        LUCY             Oh!   Goodness...Gru, immediately uncomfortable, claps his hands together.                       GRU             Oh! Hey! I have an idea! Since             Lucy and I have lots of work to do,             why don't you girls go and explore             the mall!Gru quickly shuffles the girls away from Lucy, trying to getout of the uncomfortable situation. Gru pulls out hiswallet.                       GRU (CONT'D)             Here is some money. Go buy some             useless mall junk! Some headbands,             and--                       AGNES             Are you gonna marry Lucy?                       GRU             Are you out of your gourd?    No!             She just works with me.                       AGNES             Plus you love her.                 (sings)             You love her, you love her, you             really really love her, and you're             gonna get married, and I will be             the flower girl, and--                       GRU             Okay, stop! That is a song of             lies. I don't even like her!                 (points to mall)             Now go have fun!Gru SIGHS.    The girls run off, but quickly return to hug Gru.                       AGNES             Almost forgot! Hugs!                       MARGO             Good luck saving the world.   Bye!                         AGNES             Bye, Gru!         DESPICABLE ME 2                CINCO & KEN DRAFT    50.Lucy watches the group hug.      Smiles.   Gru heads back over toLucy, embarrassed by Agnes.                    GRU          Ha, ha, ha! Kids...right?          They're...funny.                    LUCY          Those girls totally adore you.       I          bet you're a fun dad.                       GRU          Huh.              (beat)          I am pretty fun.INT: SHOPPING MALL - DAYThe girls are at the MALL FOUNTAIN. Agnes has her eyesclosed and a very intense look on her face, as if she'sreally concentrating on something. There is something in hertightly clenched fist. She tosses a PENNY. Then opens hereyes, waiting for her wish to come true.Then Edith emerges from the water wearing a DIVING MASK ANDSNORKEL, hands full of COINS.                    AGNES          Is that stealing?                    EDITH          Not if my wish was that I would get          a lot of free coins.Margo is busy texting.       Then something offscreen catches hereye.It's a boy. This is ANTONIO. Suave, cool, and a bitdangerous. We watch in SLOW MOTION as he strolls behind thefountain, and then disappears in its spraying water.Margo looks for Antonio.       Backs into the fountain and nearlyfalls into it.                       MARGO          Whoa!Antonio catches her.                    ANTONIO          Cool glasses.Margo CHUCKLES nervously.      He helps her back up.         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT   51.                    ANTONIO (CONT'D)          I'm Antonio.                    MARGO          I'm...Margo.                    ANTONIO          I was just going to get a cookie.          Care to join me?                      MARGO          Uh, sure.    I'm...Margo.They begin walking away together, then Margo is reminded ofher sisters when Edith loudly clears her throat.                    MARGO (CONT'D)          Um...I'll catch up with you guys          later. Bye!She turns and runs after Antonio.                    EDITH          Can I be the first to say...Ewwww!Agnes grabs Edith and shakes her.                    AGNES          We gotta go tell Gru!EXT: EAGLE HAIR CLUB - DAYGru approaches Eagle Hair Club.                    GRU          All right, I'm going in.                    LUCY (IN HEADPHONES)          If it picks up any traces of the          serum the sensor in your belt          buckle--Gru activates the high-tech scanning device on his beltbuckle.INT: BAKE MY DAY - SAMELucy is in the cupcake shop monitoring the scanning deviceresults. She can hear him and see from his POV.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   52.                    LUCY          --will make a sound like this-- MEE-          MO-MEE-MO-MEE-MO!!!                    GRU              (annoyed)          Okay! I get it!     I get it!INT: EAGLE HAIR CLUB - SAMEGru fumbles with the automatic door, then enters Eagle HairClub.                    FLOYD (O.S.)              (chuckles)          Welcome to Eagle Hair Club.At the reception desk, a large chair shaped like an eaglespins around. Sitting in the chair is Floyd, lookingsinister and petting a FURRY OBJECT that looks like a cat.                    FLOYD (CONT'D)          It's about time you showed up...Mr.          Gru.His pet BALD EAGLE perched next to him SQUAWKS.                    GRU          You...know my name?                    FLOYD              (chuckles)          When someone moves into the mall          who is follically challenged, I          make it my business to know all          about them. You are bald. And          that is bad.He strokes the furry object. Kisses it.    Then places it on aMANNEQUIN HEAD. It's a TOUPEE.                    FLOYD (CONT'D)          There you go, my sweet.INT: BAKE MY DAY - SAMELucy monitors the chem-tracking device from inside the shop.                    LUCY          I'm getting nothing so far. I          think you need to move around.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT      53.INT: EAGLE HAIR CLUB - SAMEGru listens in on the headphones.He steps over to a wall on which hangs a PAINTING of Floydflying with eagles.                    GRU          Wow, this looks interesting.     What          is it?Gru thrusts his hips at the painting.    Floyd watches him,suspicious.                    FLOYD          I take it you're an art lover?                      LUCY (IN HEADPHONES)          No serum.                    GRU          Yeah, not so much.He walks over to a podium with a TROPHY.     He thrusts his hipsat that, too.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Oh, how about this impressive          trinket?                    FLOYD          I'd hardly call it a trinket, Mr.          Gru.                    LUCY              (in headphones)          Nothing.                    FLOYD          The International--                    GRU          Yeah, I don't care.Floyd GRUMBLES in frustration.Gru moves to a shelf filled with WIG SAMPLES.     He straddlesit.                     LUCY              (in headphones)          MEE-MO-MEE-MO-MEE-MO!!! Hold on.          I'm picking up something! Behind          that wall!         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT    54.                      GRU          Ah!    And what do we have here?Floyd grabs a sample.                    FLOYD          These are my trial wigs.              (holds out wig to Gru)          You should take one.Gru sticks his head into the shelf to investigate.                    GRU          No thanks. So what's on the other          side of the wall?                    FLOYD          Here you are! Look at me!     Focus!                       LUCY                 (in headphones)          Gru?                    FLOYD          I promise that this wig will          transform you from ugly to          irresistible.Gru stares at the wig.    Clearly getting caught up in whatFloyd's saying.Gru is about to respond when suddenly Edith and Agnes burstin, out of breath.                    AGNES          MARGO HAS A BOYFRIEND!                    EDITH          AND THEY'RE GOING ON A DATE!Gru stares at them.                    GRU          Date??? Boyfriend???              (yells at Floyd)          What???Floyd shrugs.INT: SHOPPING MALL - DAYGru, Edith and Agnes race across the mall. Then Agnes pointsover to the salsa restaurant as Margo and Antonio walk in.         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT    55.                    AGNES          There she goes!INT: EDUARDO'S SALSA & SALSA - DAYGru enters to see Margo and Antonio sitting together in theback of the restaurant together. Margo laughs at somethingAntonio said.                    MARGO          Oh, you're so funny...                      EDITH          Gross!    Look, they're in love!These words hit Gru like a smack in the face.                    GRU          Oh, no, no, no! Do not say that          they are...no no no, no!He storms in.    Edith and Agnes follow.                    ANTONIO (O.S.)          ...and my dream is to one day play          video games for a living.                      MARGO          Wow.    You're so complicated.Gru storms over to Margo.     Attempts a smile.                      GRU          Margo.    What is going on here?                    MARGO          Oh! Gru, se llama Antonio.       Me          llamo Margo.                    GRU          Me llama-lama-ding-dong, who cares.          Let's go.SALSA MUSIC begins to play and a curtain opens across theroom. WOOSH! Someone leaps out, spinning like a tornado,then lands in the middle of the restaurant with a flourish.It's Eduardo.                      MARGO          Whoa!Everyone in the restaurant cheers.    Gru frowns.   Not thisguy!         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT      56.The music continues and Eduardo dances across the floor andout into the mall where he grabs a passing SHOPPER and pullsher into the restaurant.The confused woman holds on for the ride    as Eduardo twirlsand dances her all around the floor. He     dips her and shemelts, as do all of the women watching.     Eduardo gazes intothe woman's eyes and produces a business    card.                    EDUARDO          Kids eat free on Tuesdays.The woman grabs the business card from his hand with herteeth.Then Eduardo flings her across the floor and she twirls backout into the mall where she knocks over her confused husband.Then the song comes to an end and Eduardo strikes a finalpose.Everyone in the studio cheers.                     GIRLS          Yeah!   Wahoo! Cool!   Awesome!Everyone except Gru.   Eduardo walks over to him and gives hima big warm hug.                    EDUARDO          So good to see you again, mi          compadre!Gru tries to get out of the hug as quickly as he can.                    ANTONIO          Oh, I see you have already met my          father.                    GRU          What the-- Father?!                    EDUARDO          Si! Look at this crazy small world          we live in, eh? Come, sit, let me          get you something.Gru looks down and sees Eduardo's chicken glaring at him.    ItSQUAWKS. It's unsettling.                    GRU          Oh... look at you.Eduardo scoops the chicken up.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT     57.                    GRU (CONT'D)              (nervous)          Haha. He likes me!Gru tries to pet the chicken but Pollito lunges at him.                    EDUARDO          Oh, oh, I'm sorry, Pollito is          usually very friendly.              (cradling Pollito)          He had a rough night.The chicken stares relentlessly.   Gru CHUCKLES nervously.                    GRU          Well, we really should be going.          Girls, come on.Gru tries to gather the girls, but Eduardo stops him, pushingAntonio and Margo closer together.                    EDUARDO          That is a pity. Young love is          beautiful, no?                    GRU          No!              (chuckling nervously)          You know, they're not in love.          They hardly know each other!Eduardo suddenly lights up, having an idea.                    EDUARDO          You are right, Cabeza de Huevo!          They must get to know each other          better. Antonio, why don't you          invite your girlfriend and her          family to our Cinco de Mayo party?                    GRU          No, no, I am--                    GIRLS          Si!The girls are all thrilled at this, as is Antonio. As if oncue, MUSIC begins playing and they all begin dancingtogether.Antonio takes Margo's hand and twirls her across the floor.Gru stares at Antonio with a look that could kill. A waitercomes by to give Gru a party drink, and he promptly crushesthe glass with his bare hands. His eye twitches.         DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT   58.INT: AVL HEADQUARTERS - NIGHTGru and Lucy sit across from Silas at headquarters.                    SILAS          I'm sorry, El Macho? Hadn't we          eliminated him as a suspect? After          the whole salsa incident?                    GRU          Yes, but there has been a new          development, and I'm telling you,          this is the guy. You need to          arrest him immediately. And his          deviously charming son. I'm pretty          sure that the son is involved, too.          The son also. You've got to get          the son.Gru approaches Silas.                    GRU (CONT'D)              (whispers)          I think that the son is the          mastermind. There's a look.          There's a devilish look in his eyes          and I don't like it!                    SILAS          Yes, but I don't really see any          evidence for--                    GRU          Evidence schmevidence! I go with          my gut, and my gut tells me that          this guy is El Macho! Lock him up!          Lock up the son. Don't forget          about the son. The kid gives me          the creeps!Silas takes a deep breath and rubs his temples.                    SILAS          Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...Lucy jumps in, trying to save the situation.                    LUCY          Uh, but, on the less...              (whistles)          ..."crazy" side of things, uh, Gru          discovered traces of the serum at          Eagle Hair Club.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT   59.                      SILAS          Hm...    Interesting...                    LUCY          Yeah, and you know who made that          happen? Huh?              (points to Gru)          This guy. Nailed it. Amazing,          right?                    GRU          No. I mean, sure, but it's not          him. It is...              (whispers)          ...El Macho.                       SILAS          Mr. Gru.     Please--                     GRU          No.   It is him!   And I will prove          it!And Gru storms out.                    LUCY              (calls after him)          Gru, c'mon!Once he's gone, Silas gives Lucy a look.                    LUCY (CONT'D)              (laughs nervously)          He really thinks it's El Macho.          Can you tell?Silas is not amused.EXT: BEACH - DAYThe minion with the popsicle stuck to his tongue wakes up ona beach, disoriented. He slowly sits up----and sees hundreds of minions partying!This is where all the abducted minions were taken!There are minions sitting at a Tiki bar, being tended by abartender minion......The French maid minion and a ukelele-playing minion aredancing in the sand. They wave at him...         DESPICABLE ME 2                 CINCO & KEN DRAFT   60.Meanwhile, Jerry approaches the popsicle minion with twobananas. He gives him one, does a Hawaiian dance with theother, then runs off for the water. Popsicle minion tearsoff his overalls and follows suit.                        POPSICLE MINION             Koonga!The Popsicle Minion, now nude, runs across the sand and jumpsinto a clear, blue ocean. We pull back to reveal thatunbeknownst to any of the minions, this is all happeninginside a large terrarium, and they are being watched by amysterious figure in silhouette.INT: FAMILY ROOM - DAYGru sits with his laptop. He's on the eVillain site. Heclicks through various images of El Macho. Edith chasesKevin, who has the wig in his mouth. A minion sets a stackof magazines on the coffee table.Then "YOU ARE NO LONGER CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET" appears onGru's screen. He grimaces and calls out.                       GRU             Kevin, the wi-fi's out!     Kevin?He looks to the minion at the coffee table.                       GRU (CONT'D)             Hey, Lance! Where the heck is             Kevin?The minion just shrugs and walks away.                       GRU (CONT'D)             Alright, we need to revisit the             number of vacation days you guys             get. I can't find anybody anymore!DING-DONG!    Someone's at the door.      Gru turns to it.                        JILLIAN (O.S.)             Gru!   It's Jillian!Gru pretends to shoot himself.                       JILLIAN (O.S.) (CONT'D)             I've got good news!         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   61.EXT: GRU'S HOUSE - SAMEJillian and her artificially beautiful friend SHANNON standoutside on Gru's porch. Shannon texts on her phone, lookingbored.                    JILLIAN          I have my friend Shannon here with          me! I was thinking you two could          get some grub, you know, tear it          up! See what happens!INT: GRU'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS                    JILLIAN (O.S.)          Uhh, open up!He sees Agnes walking by, singing softly and playing with herunicorn. He whisper-shouts to her.                    GRU          Agnes! Agnes!     Tell Jillian I'm          not here!Agnes turns to the door.                    AGNES          Gru's not here!                    JILLIAN          Are you sure?                     AGNES          Yes!   He just told me!Gru, panicking, shakes his head and wags his fingers.                    AGNES (CONT'D)          I mean no, he didn't just tell me!                    JILLIAN              (laughs)          Agnes--where is Gru?Gru makes the "zip your lips" gesture.                    AGNES          He's putting on lipstick!Gru waves his arms.                    AGNES (CONT'D)          He's swatting at flies!         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT     62.Gru waves his hand around his throat, making a "cut it off"gesture.                    AGNES (CONT'D)          He's...chopping his head off!Gru clenches his fists and grunts in frustration.                    AGNES (CONT'D)          He's...pooping?Outside, Jillian and Shannon look confused.                    JILLIAN (O.S.)          I know you're in there, Gru!          There's no way you're getting out          of this!Kyle enters the room, carrying the bag with the wig in hismouth.EXT: RESTAURANT - NIGHTEstablishing.INT: RESTAURANT - SAMEShannon sits at a table talking to Gru, who's offscreen.    Awaiter drops off a plate of spaghetti.                    SHANNON          I have to tell you, I was so          nervous about tonight. I mean          there's just so many phonies out          there!CUT TO Gru sitting across from her. Wearing a ridiculous WIGfrom Floyd. And looking extremely uncomfortable.                    GRU          Yes, I hear you.              (awkwardly laughs)                    SHANNON          Oh, so do you work out?                    GRU          Well...                    SHANNON          I mean, obviously, you don't, but          would you consider it? Huh?                    (MORE)         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT    63.                    SHANNON (CONT'D)          Physical fitness is very important          to Shannon. As you can tell,          right? Huh?Shannon drops to the floor and starts doing push-ups.                     GRU          Ah.   I can tell.                    SHANNON              (mid-push-up)          Solid.She switches to one-armed push-ups.                    GRU          We are in a restaurant, you know.Gru looks even more uncomfortable.Just then Lucy (unseen by Gru) enters the restaurant.     Sheapproaches the HOSTESS.                     LUCY          Hi.   Takeout for Lucy?                    HOSTESS          Sure, just a sec.The Hostess leaves. Lucy looks around and then spots Gru.Sees him with the wig and Shannon who is now doing cruncheson the floor. Lucy narrows her eyes, then has an idea. Shepresses a button on her watch, which transforms into a HIGHTECH EAVESDROPPING DEVICE, and puts it in her ear. Now she'sable to hear Gru and Shannon talking. She watches them,intrigued. Shannon has returned to her seat.                    SHANNON          Your accent is so exotic.                   GRU          Ah. Well, thank you very much.      I          was--                    SHANNON          I know someone who can fix that for          you. And you'll be talking normal          in no time.Gru is starting to sweat.                   GRU          Hahaha. Hoooo. Is it hot in here?          Oof. How's the food?         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT     64.He wipes his brow and accidentally shifts the wig on hishead. Shannon stares at Gru's hair.                    SHANNON          Wait a minute. Wait a minute.      Are          you wearing a wig?                    GRU              (really sweating it)          What? Ah!              (readjusts the wig)          I don't think so.                       SHANNON          I knew it.     You're a phony.   I hate          phonies.                    GRU          Oh. What? No.      These locks are          all mine...                    SHANNON          No they're not! You know what I'm          gonna do? I'm gonna rip that thing          off your head and show everyone          what a bald-headed phony you are.                    LUCY          I don't think so, Miss Lady.Lucy presses a button on her watch and a target sight popsout.Gru watches in horror as Shannon reaches across the table forthe wig.Quickly Lucy presses another button on her watch which firesa MINI-DART GUN at Shannon.PLIP. The mini-dart goes into Shannon's butt, knocking herout instantly. And saving Gru from certain humiliation. Grustares at the now sleeping Shannon, confused.                    GRU          Hello... Hello, are you...?                       LUCY (O.S.)          Hey, Gru.Gru quickly removes the wig.                    GRU          Hello, Lucy, how you doin'...?         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   65.                    LUCY              (noticing Shannon)          Wow, looks like your date's out for          the count. It's like she's been          shot with a mild moose          tranquilizer.Shannon MOANS like a MOOSE, then passes out again.                    LUCY (CONT'D)              (winks)          Yeah, I'm winking `cuz that's what          actually happened.AN ITALIAN WAITER approaches.                    ITALIAN WAITER              (re: Shannon)          `Scusi, whassa happenin' here?    She          no like?                    LUCY          Oh, she's just uh--              (makes drinking gesture)The waiter nods and leaves.                    ITALIAN WAITER              (laughs)          Oh, oh, si, si...Lucy turns to Gru.                    LUCY          Shall we take her home?EXT: RESTAURANT - NIGHTGru and Lucy carry an unconscious Shannon out of therestaurant. Her head gets stuck in the swinging doors on theway out. They try to dislodge her and accidentally end upthrowing her headfirst into a lamp post. They pick her upbetween them, Weekend at Bernie's-style. They wave to apassing COP. The cop tips his hat.EXT: SUBURBAN STREET - LATERGru and Lucy get in her car. But it's cramped with Shannonin there too. She doesn't really fit.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT     66.EXT: SUBURBAN STREET - LATERLucy's car drives down the street. Gru and Lucy now haveplenty of room in the car. We boom up to see that Shannonhas been strapped to the roof like a deer.EXT: SHANNON'S HOUSE - NIGHTGru and Lucy arrive at Shannon's house. Lucy comes to anabrupt stop and Shannon flies off the roof and slams into thecar in front of them.EXT: SHANNON'S HOUSE - LATERGru and Lucy sit on the front steps of Shannon's house.                    LUCY          Well, I think you did it. You just          officially had the worst date ever.                    GRU          Huh, tell me about it.                    LUCY          Don't worry--it can only get better          from here, right? But if it          doesn't, you can always borrow my          dart gun. I've had to use it on          one or two dates myself.                    GRU          Yeah, you know, as far as dates go,          I think I'm good with just the one.Gru and Lucy exchange looks.   He CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY.   Time togo.                    LUCY          Well, good night, partner.She pats his shoulder and walks toward her car.   Gru gets upto walk beside her.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          This was fun.                     GRU          Yes.   Surprisingly, it was.                    LUCY          Oh, and uh, just between you and          me? You look much better bald.         DESPICABLE ME 2                CINCO & KEN DRAFT    67.They smile at each other, and she gives him a peck on thecheek and walks away.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          See you tomorrow!Gru smiles a big smile. Shannon slumps over on the porchbehind him. Could he be...falling in love?INT: GRU'S BEDROOM - SAMERIIIING! Gru's ALARM CLOCK goes off. He reaches out andturns it off. Ready to greet the day.INT: SHOWER - DAYGru happily washes in the shower, acting out a puppet showwith his rubber ducky.                       GRU          Quack!     Quack!    Quack!INT: BATHROOM - DAYGru brushes his teeth with two toothbrushes. He jokinglyarranges them in his mouth like walrus tusks, then BARKS likea seal.INT: KITCHEN - DAYHEART-SHAPED PANCAKES are served to the girls sitting at thetable. Edith makes a face at getting hers.                       AGNES          Yeah!                    MARGO          So I take it the date went well?                     GRU          No!   It was horrible!He laughs gleefully.    The girls exchange looks.    What?Then he skips out of the room, dancing with a minion in thekitchen. Agnes's face lights up. Yes!         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT    68.EXT: STREET - DAYGru makes his way to work--on foot:--he strolls down the sidewalk.--he passes a MAILMAN and gives him a high five.                       GRU          High-five!Then a POLICEMAN, with whom he exchanges mimed gunfire.Then a NUN, with whom he bumps rumps.                       GRU (CONT'D)          Bump it.Seeing something offscreen, Gru GASPS.--he stops traffic so a happy family of DUCKS can cross thestreet.--he plays ultimate frisbee with a bunch of COLLEGE KIDS,balancing the spinning disc on his pointy nose.--he joins a group of OLD LADIES doing Tai Chi.--he "air" drums with a couple of BUCKET DRUMMERS on thecurb.--he picks a flower, then walks by a MAN and a WOMAN sittingalone with their backs to each other at a cafe. He quicklyturns their chairs around so they find each other and handsthe man the flower for the woman. They smile and Gru goeshis merry way.INT: SHOPPING MALL - DAYGru continues happily dancing through the mall on his way tothe cupcake shop. He shimmies with a FAT WOMAN on theescalator, then GAPS and stops suddenly upon seeing EagleHair Club closed. The MUSIC abruptly ends.Gru sees Silas speaking with an AVL AGENT.    Gru approacheshim.                    GRU              (confused)          Mr. Ramsbottom?                       SILAS          Oh, hello.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT    69.                    GRU          What are you doing here?                    SILAS          We got him.                     GRU          Got who?                    SILAS          Floyd Eaglesan! Our agents located          a secret room in his shop last          night, and uh, discovered this!He snaps his fingers and an AVL agent hands him a METALCANISTER in a ziploc bag. Silas holds it up.                    SILAS (CONT'D)          It's empty, but we found traces of          the PX-41 serum in it. He's our          man. So somehow, in spite of your          incompetence, we solved this one.TWO AVL AGENTS carry Floyd away in handcuffs.                    FLOYD          I was framed! You won't get away          with this! Get your mitts off of          me! I am a legitimate businessman!Gru turns back to Silas.    He is stunned by this.                     GRU          Ah.   Alright. So...what now?                    SILAS          Well, now you're free to go back to          your "business." Mmmm. Jams and          jellies. And it looks like Agent          Wilde will be transferring to our          Australian branch.                    GRU              (in shock)          Australia...?                     SILAS          Yes. But thank you--for          everything. And by everything of          course I mean...nothing.              (beat)          Toodle pip and cheerio, Mr. Gru.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT    70.Silas walks away to join the AVL agents.   Gru stares blankly,sadly. And then Lucy approaches him.                       LUCY          Hey there.                       GRU          Hey.                    LUCY          So...we got him.                     GRU          Yay.  That's great.              (beat)          And now you're going to Australia?                     LUCY          Well, it's not definite yet. Still          figuring it out. Already been          working on my accent.              (Australian accent)          Wallaby. Diggeri-doo. Hugh          Jackman.              (beat)          So...um. Pretty excited...                     GRU          Great.   Well...good luck.                    LUCY          Thanks. You too.              (remembering)          Oh. Here. I wanted to give you          this.She holds out her lipstick taser.                    GRU          Your lipstick taser?                    LUCY          Yeah, it's just a memento. Just,          you know, from the first time we          met.                      GRU          Oh.    Thank you, Lucy.Gru accepts the lipstick taser.                    SILAS (O.S.)          Agent Wilde!         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT      71.Lucy ignores this and just waits, not wanting to leave.     Sheand Gru stand there awkwardly.                     GRU          Well... it looks like they need          you, so...                    LUCY          Yeah, I uh, I better go.    Bye, Gru.And she leaves Gru.    He stands there.   Completely miserable.EXT: STREET - DAYGru walks back home, completely depressed.Walks past the college kids playing frisbee.      Catches thefrisbee and tosses it down the sewer.Walks past the group of bucket drummers.    As he passes heKICKS one of the buckets.Walks past the old ladies doing Tai Chi. As they balance onone leg he pushes them all and they all fall over.EXT: GRU'S HOUSE - NIGHTIt's pouring rain.    Gru sits alone outside his house.Miserable.And then an UMBRELLA approaches him. It looks like it'straveling on its own. But when it gets closer it lifts up,revealing Agnes.                    AGNES          I brought you an umbrella.Gru takes the umbrella and Agnes joins him.    They both huddleunder it.                    GRU          Ah, thank you.                    AGNES          What're you doing out here?                    GRU          Remember when you said that I liked          Lucy? Well, it turns out...you're          right.Agnes's face lights up.         DESPICABLE ME 2               CINCO & KEN DRAFT   72.                       AGNES          Really?                    GRU          Yes, but...well, she's moving away.              (sadly)          I'm never going to see her again.Agnes's face falls. All her hopes and dreams shattered.     Butshe tries to encourage Gru.                    AGNES          Is there anything I can do to help?                    GRU          Oh, I don't--I don't think so,          sweetheart.                    AGNES          Well, is there anything you could          do?Gru thinks.INT: GRU'S OFFICE - DAYGru is on the PHONE.                    GRU          "Hello, Lucy. This is Gru. I know          up to this point our relationship          has been strictly professional, and          you're leaving for Australia and          all, but..."              (struggles to get it out)          Okay, here is the question. "Would          you like to--to go out on a date?"PULL BACK TO REVEAL Dave the minion standing across from Gru,pretending to be on a cell phone on the other end of theline. And wearing a RED-HAIRED WIG. He shrugs.                       DAVE          Eh, no.                    GRU          Okay, that's not helping.He hangs up.                       GRU (CONT'D)          All right.     Here we go.   For real          this time.         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT      73.He stares at Lucy's card. Then turns to the phone. It's astand-off. He does stretches and calisthenics to psychhimself up. He SIGHS.                    GRU (CONT'D)          I can do this.He stares down the phone again. It sits there, taunting him.We cut back and forth between Gru and the phone, untilfinally--                      GRU (CONT'D)          Agh!    I hate you!He produces a FLAMETHROWER and burns up the phone.    Davedives out of the way.                       GRU (CONT'D)                 (satisfied)          Ah.RIIIIIING !!!    The FIRE ALARM goes off.CHOP! Suddenly AXES chop through the wall. Several minionsin FIREMEN'S GEAR enter.  Another minion imitates a sirenthrough a bullhorn.                      SIREN MINION          Beedo!    Beedo! Beedo! Beedo!One continues chopping everything in sight with his axe, thenchops his way right through the wall of the house and fallsoutside. Another minion brings in a MASSIVE HOSE, turns iton, and goes flying around the room as it whips around like asnake. Dave tests out a fire extinguisher.                      SIREN MINION (CONT'D)          Beedo!    Beedo! Beedo! Beedo!Gru takes away the bullhorn from the Siren minion.    But hekeeps on making the noise.                      SIREN MINION (CONT'D)          Beedo!    Beedo! Beedo!Dave fires the extinguisher at the Siren minion. He makesthe noise again and Dave sprays him with the fireextinguisher, sending him flying offscreen.         DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT     74.INT: MINION BEACH HABITAT - DAYThe minions enjoy another day at the beach. Kevin the Golfminion drifts out in the water on an inner tube. He fixeshis coconut bra, then unpeels a banana and eats it.INT: CONTROL ROOOM - SAMEA hand pulls a lever in a control room.INT: MINION BEACH HABITAT - SAMESuddenly a WHIRLPOOL appears in the water right next to him.He gets sucked into it.Kevin is pulled down to the bottom of the habitat and into aTUBE.INT: LAB - SAMEKevin pops out of the tube and lands in a waiting metallicchair. His hat follows him down the tube and lands on hishead.CLICK! A metal strap fastens around his waist.    He shrugsand continues to eat the banana.                     FRENCH MAID MINION (O.S.)          Kevin?Kevin looks over and sees the French Maid Minion strappedinto a chair nearby. He has a banana too.                     KEVIN          Tom?They raise their bananas in the air.                     KEVIN & FRENCH MAID MINION          Bello!   Compai!And then a GIANT DEVICE appears, looking like a huge, scaryHYPODERMIC NEEDLE filled with purple liquid. The needlecomes toward the French Maid Minion.                    FRENCH MAID MINION              (to the needle)          Compai!The needle is injected into him and administers the serum.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT         75.The French Maid Minion starts to shake.    Contorts.   ThenMORPHS into a PURPLE MINION.                     PURPLE FRENCH MAID MINION          Blaaah!Kevin points and LAUGHS at him. He doesn't see the needlecome down behind him. It injects him with the serum as well.                     KEVIN          Oh...EXT: EDUARDO'S HOUSE - DAYGru's vehicle makes its way up the winding road to Eduardo'shouse.INT: GRU'S VEHICLE - SAMEGru drives the vehicle, looking deeply depressed. The girlssit in the back, dressed up for the Cinco de Mayo party.                    MARGO, EDITH & AGNES          Cinco de May-yay-yo! Cinco de May-          yay-yo! Cinco de May-yay-yo!Gru's expression doesn't change.   They pull up to the frontgate.EXT: EDUARDO'S HOUSE GATE - SAMEGru's vehicle pulls up in front of the open gate in front ofEduardo's house. His car almost knocks a bunch of parkedcars off the cliff.The grounds are set up for the most elaborate and fun Cincode Mayo party of all time. Sumptuous spreads of MEXICAN FOODeverywhere. LANTERNS hanging from trees. PEOPLE having agreat time.Gru and the girls enter the compound.                     EDITH          Whoa!   This place is awesome!                    GRU          Okay. Let's party. Ah? But first          let's go over the rules. Because          what is fun without the rules?On Agnes with her mouth and arms full of churros.         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT   76.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Agnes, easy on the churros.On Edith, swinging her ninja sword.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Edith, try not to kill anyone.                       EDITH          Hai!                       GRU          Margo--As Gru turns to Margo he sees that she is holding hands withAntonio, face-to-face, almost close enough to kiss.                    ANTONIO          Hello, Mr. Gru.Gru furrows his brow.                      GRU          Aghhh!    Okay...He grabs Antonio and drags him far away from Margo.                       MARGO          Gru!                    GRU          There must be the standard six feet          of space between you and boys.              (re: Antonio)          Especially this boy.Gru turns and sees that Antonio is back next to Margo.                    ANTONIO              (laughs)          You are a funny man. There are no          rules, SeÒor! It's Cinco De Mayo!              (to girls)          Come on! They're starting the          dance!He grabs Margo's hand and takes off.    Edith and Agnes follow.Agnes explodes with delight.                    AGNES              (rolling her r like crazy)          Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriba!Gru watches them go.    Frowns.         DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT       77.EXT: EDUARDO'S HOUSE - LATERGru, sneaking through the party, spots Antonio and Margodancing.Gru sneaks up on Antonio, using the flashing strobe lights tocover his approach. Suddenly Antonio is gone and Gru is theone dancing with Margo, who has her back to him and isoblivious to what's going on.Antonio reappears and kicks Gru in the crotch from behind.He dances once again with Margo while Gru hunches over inpain.Gru then gets the upper hand and starts choking Antonio andshaking him. Margo turns around and sees this.Gru and Antonio see they are being watched by Margo and startcasually dancing next to each other as if nothing is wrong.As the song ends, Margo takes Antonio's hand and pulls himaway from Gru off the dance floor.Gru is defeated and all alone.INT: EDUARDO'S HOUSE - LATERGru sits by himself in the corner, sulking and staring atLucy's lipstick taser. A WAITER walks by and places atortilla chip sombrero on his head with the rim filled withguacamole. He breaks off a piece, dips it, and eats it.                    EDUARDO (O.S.)          So glad you could make it, mi          compadre.Gru looks up and sees Eduardo standing there.   Gru quicklyhides the taser.                    EDUARDO (CONT'D)              (sensing something's               wrong)          Hey, what's wrong?                    GRU          Oh, nothing. Nothing is wrong.          I'm just chilling with the          guac...from my chip hat.Gru takes another scoop of guacamole, smiles, and gives athumbs up. A glob of guacamole falls from the sombrero.Eduardo puts his arm around him.         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT   78.                    EDUARDO          Gru, please. I know that look all          too well. It is the look of a          broken heart.                    GRU          How did you know?                    EDUARDO          Believe me, my friend, I too have          spent many nights trying to drown          my sorrows in guacamole.                    GRU          You?                    EL MACHO          Yes. But we are survivors.          There's much more to us than meets          the eye. Enjoy the party.Eduardo gives Gru a meaningful look. And then walks away.Gru watches him go. Deep in thought.Gru notices Eduardo suspiciously sneak away from the partyand head into the house.Gru gets up from the table and follows Eduardo. As he walksthrough the party, several partygoers break tortilla piecesoff his sombrero to eat.INT: EDUARDO HOUSE - CONTINUOUSEduardo enters a dimly-lit room. Gru sneaks behind and peersthrough a crack in the door.INT: SECRET MAYAN ROOM - CONTINUOUSEduardo stands in the center of a secret room, which is linedwith Mayan-style totem poles. He dances on the tile floor,which lights up and plays "La Cucaracha" with each strategicstep.The musical pattern is a code which opens a secret passagewaythrough the largest totem's mouth. Eduardo enters and themouth closes behind him.Gru tentatively enters the room. He pauses at the tilefloor. He tries to replicate Eduardo's "La Cucaracha" code,but a glob of guacamole from his sombrero falls to the floorand hits the wrong tile. This activates a booby-trappedtotem pole, which halves Gru's sombrero with a spear.         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT   79.                    GRU          What the--oh!Gru observes the destroyed sombrero in his hands.                       GRU (CONT'D)          Huh.Gru attempts the code again, but missteps.    An axe from thewall swings at him and misses.                       GRU (CONT'D)          Oooh!Gru missteps again and one of the totems lights up and spitsfire at him, burning his face.                     GRU (CONT'D)              (dazed)          Aaaahhh...He missteps again and a club whacks him over the head.                       GRU (CONT'D)          Oh!One of the totems shoots darts at him, piercing his nose.                    GRU (CONT'D)              (in pain)          Aaaahhh!Gru falls to the floor.                       GRU (CONT'D)          Oooohhh.His head hits the correct tile, and the Mayan passagewayopens. Gru walks to the door, pointing at the totems andgloating.                      GRU (CONT'D)          Aha!    Ha ha ha--The passageway doors slam on his arm.                       GRU (CONT'D)                 (in pain)          Oh!He pulls his crushed arm through the doors.                       GRU (CONT'D)          Ouch!         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT      80.EXT: SKY - DAYA 747 jets through the sky.INT: AIRPLANE - SAMELucy sits alone and stares out the window.    Depressed.   SheSIGHS.She grabs an in flight magazine and opens it up to an ad forwristwatches. It reads; "IN THE SKY, HE IS THE ONE MANEVERYONE CAN TRUST" and shows a picture of Gru giving thethumbs up in a cockpit.                       LUCY          Say what?Lucy reacts, shakes her head, and now the picture is just aregular airline pilot in the cockpit.Lucy turns the page. It's another ad, saying simply "GruNow!" and showing a picture of a muscular Gru diving from awaterfall. She GASPS and slams the magazine shut, thenslowly reopens it to find the picture is really just a randommuscular guy diving. It says "GO NOW - TO HAWAII!"                    FLIGHT ATTENDANT (O.S.)          Would you like some peanuts or          pretzels?Lucy looks up from her magazine to see the flight attendant,who looks like Gru. She REACTS. Then looks across the aisleand sees a lady that looks and sounds like Gru, talking toanother man who looks like Gru.                    FEMALE GRU PASSENGER          Ha ha ha ha ha! That's a good          joke.Then Lucy looks behind her and sees the young mother lookslike Gru. The baby turns around and also looks like Gru.                    GRU BABY          I just did a boom boom.The flight attendant tries to get Lucy's attention.                    FLIGHT ATTENDANT          I really need you to make a choice,          hon.Close on Lucy as she has a moment of epiphany.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT    81.                    LUCY          I choose Gru.              (to everyone)          I CHOOSE GRU!Lucy runs to the exit door and flings it open.   WOOSH!   Airrushes throughout the cabin.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Thank you, Gru stewardess!The flight attendant stands up, recovering from her twirl.                    FLIGHT ATTENDANT          You're welcome!The other passengers wave as the plane's oxygen masks fallfrom each overhead console. And with that, Lucy jumps fromthe plane, holding her purse.EXT: SKY - DAYAs Lucy falls from the sky she presses a button on her purseand it transforms into a hanglider. She flies off withpurpose.INT: TUNNEL - DAYElevator doors open revealing EL MACHO'S UNDERGROUND LAIR.Gru stands in the doorway, pulling the dart out of his nose.The lair is a massive villainous complex that looks a lotlike hell. Gru takes the place in. It's awesome andterrifying. The magnet ship is there!                    EDUARDO (O.S.)          You have not lost your touch, my          friend.Gru turns around and sees Eduardo dressed in El Macho's oldwrestling outfit, like we saw in the flashback.                      GRU          Ha ha!    I knew it!   You are El          Macho!                    EL MACHO          That's right!                    GRU          Nobody believed me! Ho ho!     But I          knew you weren't dead!         DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT    82.                     EL MACHO              (laughing)          Of course not. I merely faked my          death, ha, ha!              (beat)          But now it's time for me to make a          spectacular return to evil!          Doctor, I think it's time we showed          Gru what we're up to here.Standing in the middle of the lair's walkway is the one, theonly...Dr. Nefario.                    GRU          Dr. Nefario?                    DR. NEFARIO          Nice to see you, Gru.                    GRU          Whaaat? This-- So, this is your          new job opportunity?                    DR. NEFARIO          Absolutely. You're gonna like          this.Dr. Nefario pulls a lever. A platform rises with the PurpleMinion version of Kevin strapped to a chair on it.                    EL MACHO          Sorry--I had to borrow some of your          minions, but it was for a worthy          cause.                     GRU          Oh!   Kevin? Agh!                    EL MACHO          No, he's not Kevin anymore. Now he          is an indestructible, mindless          killing machine!                    KEVIN          Blah!                    EL MACHO          Just watch this!He then presses a BUTTON.--a machine gun lowers and the purple minion's RIDDLED withBULLETS, but unhurt.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT     83.--a FLAMETHROWER shoots fire at the purple minion, but he'scompletely unharmed.--an axe is swung at him, but he just eats it.--an atom bomb falls on him, but he just swallows it and itexplodes harmlessly in his belly.--a POLICE CAR is dropped onto him, and he devours it whole.Gru stares, stunned.                    EL MACHO (CONT'D)          And here's the best part! I've got          an ARMY OF THEM!The lights come on above El Macho, revealing hundreds ofcaged PURPLE MINIONS.Gru can't believe his eyes.    El Macho LAUGHS.                     EL MACHO (CONT'D)          Soon I will unleash them on the          world--and if anyone, anyone,          tries to stop them...YEOW! Their          city gets eaten!              (beat)          We can do it together!                       GRU          Together?                    EL MACHO          Together! I have admired your work          for years, amigo. Stealing the          moon?! Are you kidding?! We would          be unstoppable! Men like you, men          like me, we should be ruling the          world!              (excitedly)          So, are you in?Dr. Nefario pops a celebratory noisemaker in the background.                       DR. NEFARIO          Woo-hoo!El Macho eagerly awaits Gru's reply.   Gru just stares at him.How does he get out of this?                    GRU          Uh...yeah...probably...El Macho is taken aback.          DESPICABLE ME 2                  CINCO & KEN DRAFT   84.                        EL MACHO           Probably?Gru realizes he's in danger and quickly tries to backpedal.                     GRU           I mean, yes! Yes. Of course, yes,           I just have a lot going on right           now...I just need to get some           things off my plate before we start           taking over the world, that's all.                        EL MACHO           `Scuse me?                     GRU           No--no, forget it! One hundred           percent! I am in!               (pretending to hear                something)           I think--what is--do you hear that--           I do. That's Agnes calling me from           on the surf--Gru steps into the elevator and the door shuts. Then opens.He's frantically trying to press the button that will returnhim to the surface.                     GRU (CONT'D)           Totally in!The doors close and Gru is gone.       El Macho stares, deep inthought. Clearly suspicious.                     EL MACHO           You know what? I am not so           convinced that he is in.El Macho presses a button that releases the Purple Minion.                        KEVIN           Blah!EXT: EL MACHO'S HOUSE - SAMEEdith knocks a piÒata down with a BAT, then beats the crapout of it.                      GRU           Edith!   Agnes!      Come on!SMACK!   Edith accidentally hits Gru in the face with the bat.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT   85.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Ooof!Edith takes off her blindfold.                    EDITH          Sorry.                    GRU          We need to go home now!    Where's          Margo?                    AGNES          But I didn't get a turn!EXT: OTHER SIDE OF EL MACHO'S HOUSE - DAYMargo sits at a table alone and depressed, wearing the chiphat. She looks like she's been crying.                    GRU          Margo!Gru approaches her with the other girls in tow.                    GRU (CONT'D)          Come on, we're leav--hey, what's          wrong?                    MARGO          I hate boys.Gru turns and sees Antonio dancing with a PRETTY GIRL.   Grufrowns.                    GRU          Yes...they stink.   Sorry, honey,          we've got to go.He takes her hand and leads her offscreen before popping backinto frame and firing the freeze ray at Antonio. We see heis now frozen in a block of ice.EXT: EL MACHO'S DRIVEWAY - DAYSCREEECH! Gru's car pulls out of the driveway and speedsdown the mountain, just as Lucy's hang glider lands atEduardo's.         DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT       86.EXT: EDUARDO'S HOUSE - DAYLucy looks around, but doesn't see Gru.   She maneuvers herway through the crowd.                    LUCY          Oops, sorry!She makes it through, but still no sign of Gru.Suddenly Pollito appears and exchanges looks with Lucy. HeSCREECHES and flies towards her. She strikes a martial artspose ready to defend herself. As she does, her purse fallsto the ground.The attack never comes and she looks down to see Pollitopecking at her purse.                     EL MACHO (O.S.)          Pollito!   What's the matter?El Macho appears and picks up the chicken, petting it.                     LUCY          Oh, hey!   Eduardo!                    EL MACHO          Lucia! I apologize. Pollito, he's          usually not like this. The same          thing happened the other day          with... with Gru and...El Macho drops off, deep in thought.   Connecting the dots.Lucy is oblivious.                    LUCY          Oh, speaking of Gru...uh, have you          seen him? I really need to talk to          him.                    EL MACHO          Yes, I think he's somewhere around          here. You two are close, no?                    LUCY          Oh, I don't know. I mean close...          I wouldn't say we were close. Why,          did he say we were close? Did he          say that?         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT      87.                    EL MACHO          It's more what he didn't say. For          instance, he never mentioned...that          you were both working for the Anti-          Villain League!!!Suddenly El Macho turns Pollito around revealing that he hasher AVL credentials in his beak. El Macho grabs Lucy.                    EL MACHO (CONT'D)              (threateningly)          You're coming with me.He leads her away.                       LUCY          Hey!We see Dr. Nefario watching this, in shock.      He's holding adrink and a Mexican flag cupcake.                       DR. NEFARIO          Crikey.EXT: GRU'S HOUSE - DAYThe vehicle pulls into the driveway.INT: GRU'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUSGru walks the girls into the family room. Two minions sit infront of the big screen TV playing a video game.                    EDITH          So Eduardo's actually El Macho?          Cool!                    GRU          No, it is not cool. Plus, I pretty          much knew it was him all along, so          if anyone's cool, it's me.The BIGSCREEN TV BEEPS. Gru and the others turn to look.It's Dr. Nefario. He's at El Macho's, whispering and lookinganxiously around him from under a table.                       DR. NEFARIO (ON SCREEN)                 (whispering)          Gru!                    GRU          Well, Dr. Nefario...         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT    88.                    DR. NEFARIO (ON SCREEN)              (hurriedly)          El Macho's on to you. He knows          you're working for the AVL. And          he's got your partner!Gru is confused.                    GRU          Lucy? Wha--that's impossible!          She's on her way to Australia...                     EL MACHO (O.S.)          Nefario!Dr. Nefario looks nervously offscreen.    El Macho's coming.                    DR. NEFARIO (ON SCREEN)          Sorry, gotta go!Nefario disconnects the camera.   The screen goes blank.Agnes GASPS and turns to Gru.                    AGNES          He's got Lucy?                    GRU              (determined)          Not for long.Gru begins to walk out of the room.    He turns to the minions.                     GRU (CONT'D)          Come on.              (beat)          We're getting her out of there.Gru marches out of the room, fire in his eyes.    A man on amission. To save the woman he loves.The minions are visibly disappointed to leave their videogame. One of them clutches the controller in his hand andcontinues to play until the moment he exits the frame.INT: GRU'S GARAGE - DAYGru gets on his motorcycle. It's the GRUCYCLE, a Gru-stylemotorcycle, like Arnold in Terminator 2.         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT    89.EXT: GRU'S HOUSE - DAYA playhouse in Gru's front yard drops away, revealing a hatchin the ground. Out drives Gru. Two minions sit behind himholding on.He speeds down the road.    Ready to kick some butt.EXT: EL MACHO'S COMPOUND - DAYThe yard is now filled with ROCKET SHIPS.From behind, we watch El Macho emerge from his home to surveythe troops.Some minions file into the rocket ships.    El Macho watchesthem and LAUGHS maniacally.EXT: GRU'S HOUSE - DAYEVIL MINION POV: The evil minion Kevin runs down the street,nearing Gru's house. He is scared by his own reflection in ashiny parked car. He spots a tricycle and eats it.Then Kyle spots him and GROWLS.Kyle runs off and evil minion Kevin gives chase.   He stopswhen he sees the front door.INT: GRU'S HOUSE - DAYMargo and Agnes sit on the floor playing a princess boardgame. Next to Agnes is her unicorn.They hear a SCRATCHING SOUND outside the window.   Agnes looksscared.                    AGNES          What was that?Margo stands up. Makes her way toward the window, which iscovered with drapes. Then reaches a nervous hand and pullsback the drapes.                    MARGO          I don't see anything.Suddenly, evil minion Kevin appears at the window, lookingreally scary!Margo SCREAMS.         DESPICABLE ME 2                CINCO & KEN DRAFT   90.SMASH! Evil minion Kevin crashes through the window andlands in the family room surrounded by shattered glass andtangled up in the curtain. He turns to the girls, who slowlyback away. He looks at Agnes and ROARS.                       MARGO (CONT'D)          Run!Margo grabs Agnes and they run out of the room, accidentallydropping the stuffed unicorn behind.Agnes stops and runs back for it.                    AGNES          My unicorn!                       MARGO          Agnes, no!Agnes stops and sees evil minion Kevin already has it in hismouth.Agnes screams a crazy HIGH-PITCHED SCREAM. It SHATTERS allthe glass in the room, including the glass in evil minionKevin's goggles. He spits out the unicorn. He is slowed himdown for a bit, so Agnes safely grabs the unicorn, and Margograbs Agnes's hand.They run for the elevator to the lower level, with the purpleminion hot on their tails.   The elevator drops just in time.Evil minion Kevin slams into the glass door.INT: GRU'S LAB - SAMEMargo and Agnes run into the lab to find half a dozen minionsmilling about.                     MARGO          C'mon!   Hurry!                       AGNES          Whoa!Edith plays ping-pong with the minions using nun-chucks likeBruce Lee. Margo shuts the big iron door.Edith and the minions stare back at Margo.                    EDITH          What's the matter?CRASH! The purple minion has eaten its way through theceiling!         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT   91.                       AGNES          Whoa!It drops down into the lab and lands on a dazed yellowminion. The girls SCREAM as it jumps up and dashes towardsthem.Evil minion Kevin stomps toward the girls.    They are backedinto a corner. It's all over.Then suddenly a HYPODERMIC NEEDLE enters frame and injectsevil minion Kevin. He falls over, writhing on the floor.Then he sits up and--Has turned back into a YELLOW MINION.    It's Kevin!                       KEVIN          Ooh-la-la!     Pilatos?                       AGNES          Kevin!The other minions dog pile on him with friendly hugs.                    MARGO          Dr. Nefario! You're back!Reveal Dr. Nefario holding the needle.                    DR. NEFARIO          In the flesh.Nefario produces a VIAL filled with YELLOW LIQUID.                    DR. NEFARIO (CONT'D)          Behold, the antidote!He walks over to a vat of the jelly.                    DR. NEFARIO (CONT'D)          Come on. Let's finally put this          horrible jelly to some good use.He pours the antidote into the vat.EXT: EL MACHO'S HOUSE - LATERGru makes his way up the road leading to El Macho's house.He is wearing handcuffs, and being led at spear-point by Daveand Stuart, who have been painted purple to look like Evilminions. But they are goofing around and giggling. And theystill have a few yellow spots.         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT   92.                       GRU          Hey, guys.     Come on!   Stay focused          here!The minions somber up.                    MINIONS          Okay, okay.Gru covers a smeared yellow spot with purple paint.They approach the front gate, which is closed. Dave boostshimself onto a stray box and speaks gibberish into theintercom. He hears Evil Minion gibberish in response. Heresponds back in Evil Minion gibberish.The intercom buzzes and the gate begins to open.The gate opens and there are DOZENS of PURPLE MINIONS millingabout. They eye Gru and his captors suspiciously.Dave and Stuart poke Gru with a spear.                    GRU              (attempting to act)          Curses. Foiled again. These guys          captured me.The Evil Minions CHEER at seeing this.Gru, Dave and Stuart have to walk all the way to the housesurrounded on all sides by evil purple minions. The paintedyellow minions are very nervous. The purple minions eye themas they pass. They GROWL and the yellow minions attempt toGROWL back.It's extremely intense, but it looks like they're going tomake it.Then one of the evil minions makes a slobbery raspberry atone of the painted ones. They get into a raspberry fightuntil the painted minion is grossed out and tries to rub theslobber off him. It rubs off the purple paint.One of the evil purple minions points and SCREAMS. They'reexposed! All of the purple minions run towards Gru, Dave andStuart. Teeth bared. Ready to chomp.                       GRU (CONT'D)          Run!They take off running.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT      93.EXT: EL MACHO'S BACKYARD - CONTINUOUSGru and the yellow minions burst into El Macho's backyard.The Evil Minions give chase.                    GRU          Up that tree! Hurry, hurry!They climb a tree up to the roof of the house, only to bepursued by more minions up there. And the Evil Minions havedevoured the tree so they can't go back that way either.With no escape, Gru and the minions run up a tower until theyreach the top--a dead end.Here come the purple minions. They're trapped. Gru kicksthem away and the yellow minions try to fight off the purpleones. But they are clearly doomed.And then Gru's ship appears hovering above them! Modified asa jelly-dispensing weapon and with Dr. Nefario at thecontrols! The minions hang on the sides holding JELLYBLASTERS.The ship opens fire on the evil minions, transforming them.POP! POP! POP! POP! One by one they transform back intoyellow minions. One of the Minions wipes the horribletasting jelly off his tongue.Dr. Nefario sticks his head out the side of the ship.                    DR. NEFARIO          Hello, Gru!                      GRU          Hey, hey!    Nice work, Dr. Nefario!Gru leaps onto the ship.                     DR. NEFARIO          I put an antidote in the jelly.              (beat)          I mean, I'm happy to create an evil          army to destroy the world, but          nobody messes with my family.                    GRU          Thank you, Doctor!   Now let's go          get the--Gru looks over to see Margo, Edith and Agnes onboard theship, holding jelly blasters.         DESPICABLE ME 2              CINCO & KEN DRAFT   94.                       AGNES          Hi!Gru is flabbergasted.    He turns to Nefario.                    GRU          You brought the girls?                       DR. NEFARIO          Yes!                 (beat)          Oh.     Was that wrong?Gru's ship flies toward El Macho, blasting purple minions allalong the way.From behind a large jelly gun Edith unloads round afterround.                      EDITH          Wooooo!    Yeeeaaahhh!El Macho witnesses his evil minions being converted back toregular ones.                      EL MACHO          Oh no! What's happening to my          minions?               (beat)          Gru?Gru turns to Nefario and the girls.                     GRU          You guys take care of the rest of          the minions.              (beat)          I'm going to find Lucy.Gru leaps out of the ship down to the roof El Macho is on.He has two big jelly weapons in his hands.Meanwhile the ship flies off with its jelly blasters firing,and comes to land on the ground below.The minions and the girls start jumping from the ship.    Agnestakes aim.                    AGNES          Eat jelly, you purple freaks!          Waaaaah!         DESPICABLE ME 2           CINCO & KEN DRAFT     95.Agnes' gun is a little too big for her and the kick sends hera bit out of control. But she still manages to hit a numberof Evil Minions. The tide is turning.Meanwhile, Gru has gone ballistic on the evil minions.   BLAM!BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! He takes the remaining few out.El Macho kicks an evil minion at Gru, but he manages to hitit with jelly and transform it back to yellow. Gru holds hisgun up to El Macho and gives him a threatening look.                    GRU          It's over, El Macho.   Now where is          Lucy?                    EL MACHO              (chuckles)          Let me show you.He turns to a computer and pushes a button.A fountain stops spewing water and underneath it STEEL DOORSopen from the ground. And out of them rises a ROCKET.Strapped to it is Lucy. Tied to a SHARK with TWO HUNDRED ANDFIFTY POUNDS OF DYNAMITE strapped to her.Gru is horrified.   He GASPS.                     LUCY          Oh, hey Gru! Turns out you were          right about the whole El Macho          thing, huh?               (unconvincingly)          Yay!El Macho calls to Gru, brandishing a remote.                    EL MACHO          One push of this button and I send          that rocket straight into the same          volcano where I faked my death.          Only this time--it's for real!                      GRU                (horrified)          No!Dave swoops in on a rope and grabs the remote, Tarzan-style...                      DAVE          Tally ho!         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT    96.But unfortunately he smacks a roof support and drops theremote. It bonks a bunch of minions on the head and lands onthe ground.El Macho stares down Gru.   Fire in his eyes.                     EL MACHO          We could've ruled the world          together, Gru. But now--you're          gonna die.He pulls out a vial of PX-41 and drinks it. Gru GASPS. ElMacho transforms into a giant, purple, furry creature. HeROARS.Gru pulls the trigger on his jelly gun, but he is out ofammunition. He then pulls out the FREEZE RAY and fires,encasing El Macho's fists in blocks of ice. El Macho GROWLSand slams his fists to the ground, shattering the ice andknocking Gru off the platform and onto a scaffolding. GruSCREAMS.The scaffolding tips over. El Macho grabs the scaffoldingand holds it above his head, ready to crush Gru.Suddenly Gru pulls out Lucy's lipstick taser and fires it atPurple El Macho! The jolt of electricity has him shaking anddancing and ultimately sizzling and smoking, until he finallycollapses on the ground.                    GRU          Lipstick taser!Lucy smiles at this.                    LUCY          Aw...he copied me.Gru runs off to save her.   The minions surround El Macho,cocking their jelly guns.                    EL MACHO              (dazed)          I am not afraid of your jelly guns.                    DR. NEFARIO          Oh, this ain't a jelly gun,          sunshine.Dr. Nefario fires the Fart Gun directly into El Macho's face,causing him to pass out. The minions CHEER, firing theirjelly guns into the air.         DESPICABLE ME 2            CINCO & KEN DRAFT     97.One of the minions stands on top of El Macho and poses for abig game hunter-style photo. Dr. Nefario smiles for thecamera as well.Gru runs toward the rocket.                     LUCY          Don't worry about me, Gru! I'll be          fine. I have survived lots worse          than this.              (beat)          Okay, that's not entirely true.          I'm actually kind of freaking out          up here!                    GRU          Don't worry--I will get you out of          this!Gru attempts to untie Lucy. And then sees Pollito has walkedover to the remote. Gru and Lucy GASP. The chicken looks atGru and Lucy, then pecks the button.                    GRU (CONT'D)          I really hate that chicken.The rocket blasts off into the air. The Minions and Girlswatch in horror as Gru and Lucy fly off on the rocket.EXT: SKY - CONTINUOUSGru uses his knife to cut Lucy's ropes. They SCREAM as theshark gets loose and falls down to a SUSHI BAR below whereall of the CUSTOMERS and SUSHI CHEF CHEER.Meanwhile, on the rocket Gru rips a panel off the side,revealing a mess of WIRES inside.                    LUCY          Is there a red one?   It's usually          the red one.Gru starts to pull out wires left and right.   To no avail.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Gru, anytime now!Gru GASPS, realizing they are approaching the VOLCANO. Timeis running out. Death is imminent. He looks Lucy in theeyes.          DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT    98.                     GRU           Listen, Lucy--we may not get out of           this alive, so I need to ask you a           question.                     LUCY           Uh, better make it quick!                     GRU           If I'd asked you out on a date,           what would you have said?                     LUCY           Are you kidding me?!   Yes!Gru smiles. Then realizes that the rocket is still careeningtoward the volcano. He grabs Lucy.                       GRU           JUMP!!!Gru and Lucy grab hands and leap off the rocket.The rocket plunges into the volcano.Gru and Lucy plummet through the air.KA-BLAAAAM!!! The volcano explodes in a massive tempest offire and smoke and lava.The impact of the blast hits Gru and Lucy and sends themflying.SPLASH!   They hit the water.BAM!   BOOM!   The volcano continues exploding.SPLASH! Gru emerges, soaking and out of breath.     Fire andlava flying all around him. He can't find Lucy.                      GRU (CONT'D)           Oh!  Lucy!               (looks around, panicking)           Lucy! Where are you?!After a few moments, Lucy also emerges.    Gru is incrediblyrelieved.                       GRU (CONT'D)           Oh, Lucy!                       LUCY           Gru!         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT      99.Lucy smiles and hugs Gru. They both go underwater.       Thencome back up. Sputtering. And in love.                    LUCY (CONT'D)          Sorry...I guess you kind of need          your arms to tread water, huh?The Minions appear in the rowboat.                    TOM              ("Stroke!")          Mack-oh! Mack-oh!      Mack-oh!But they pass right by them.                    GRU          They'll be back...TITLE CARD: 147 DATES LATER...Romantic music plays under the title card.EXT: HILLSIDE - DAYFour minions, dressed in matching suits, begin to sing a All-4-One's "I Swear," pronounced "Underwear" in Minionese.We are at Gru and Lucy's wedding reception. We PULL BACK tothe WEDDING CAKE, and then to Gru and Lucy dancing. As theydance we see all of the wedding guests watching: Gru's Mom,Dr. Nefario, Silas, Jillian, Shannon, Natalie, etc.Gru dips Lucy and they attempt their kiss, but their noseskeep bumping. They finally manage to kiss and the crowdCHEERS.We see the three girls watching in their beautiful bridesmaiddresses. Agnes can barely contain her glee. PAN OVER TOEdith, who makes a face.                    EDITH          Can I be the first to say--ewwww!The minions finish the song.The girls sit at their table.    Agnes clearly has something onher mind. She SIGHS.                      AGNES          Okay.She stands up on the table.        DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT    100.                       AGNES (CONT'D)          Excuse me!Looks out at the crowd, but they can't hear her.                     AGNES (CONT'D)          Um...hi!   Excuse me!She still doesn't have the crowd's attention, so Margo tapson her glass. Everyone looks to Agnes, who is visiblynervous.                    AGNES (CONT'D)          Uh...hi, everybody! I'd like to          make some toast. Uh...She looks out at the crowd. Is really nervous. Looks overat Gru. He smiles. Mouths "okay." This helps, and Agnespulls herself together and recites the Mothers Day poem fromearlier.                    AGNES (CONT'D)          She um...she um, kisses my boo-boos.          She braids my hair.          We love you mothers, everywhere!Agnes turns to Lucy and looks her right in the eyes.                    AGNES (CONT'D)          And my new mom Lucy is beyond          compare.Lucy smiles, melting. The crowd goes "awwwww." Agnes andLucy spin around in a hug. The crowd cheers and applauds.Gru, Margo and Edith join Agnes and Lucy in a group hug. Thefamily is complete.                    AGNES (CONT'D)          To the bride and Gru!A minion begins to spin The Village People's "YMCA" at the DJtable. The minions, several of whom are dressed as TheVillage People, begin to perform the song. The miniondressed as the Chiquita banana lady also joins in.Then the entire family boogies across the dance floor,including Dr. Nefario and Gru's Mom.                    AGNES (CONT'D)          I'M SO HAAAAPPPPYYYYYYY!!!!         DESPICABLE ME 2             CINCO & KEN DRAFT    101.EXT: HILLSIDE - MOMENTS LATERA minion poses Gru, Lucy, and the girls for a formal picture.Everyone looks good. They all smile.CLICK!Another picture adds Gru's Mom, Dr. Nefario, and two minionsto the group.CLICK!Another picture adds even more minions to the group.CLICK!An evil minion pops up and photobombs the last picture!                       EVIL MINION           Blaaaaah!                       THE END
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+                              "DIE HARD"                                                                                          Screenplay                                                                         by                                                            Jeb Stuart                                                                                       Revisions by                                                                                 Steven E. DeSouza                                                                                                                                  based on the novel                                                  Nothing Lasts Forever                                                                             by                                                        Roderick Thorp                WITH REVISION #1  (Blue)    WITH REVISION #5  (Goldenrod)        November 2, 1987            November 5, 1987        WITH REVISION #2  (Pink)    WITH REVISION #6  (Salmon)        November 4, 1987            November 17, 1987        WITH REVISION #3  (Green)   WITH REVISION #7  (Blue)        November 4, 1987            November 23, 1987                WITH REVISION #4  (Yellow)  WITH REVISION #8  (Pink)        November 5, 1987            November 30, 1987                                                      SECOND REVISED DRAFT                                                      October 2, 1987A Gordon Company/Silver Pictures Production------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                            "DIE HARD"        FADE IN1       405 FREEWAY - LOS ANGELES - EARLY EVENING              1         Christmas tinsel on the light poles.  We ARE LOOKING east past        Inglewood INTO the orange grid of L.A. at night when suddenly        we TILT UP TO CATCH the huge belly of a landing 747 -- the        noise is deafening.2       INT. 747 - PASSENGERS - SAME                           2         The usual moment just after landing when you let out that sigh        of relief that you've made it in one piece.  As the plane TAXIS        to its gate, they stir, gather personal belongings.3       ON JOHN MCCLANE                                        3         mid-thirties, good-looking, athletic and tired from his trip.        He sits by the window.  His relief on landing is subtle, but        we NOTICE.  Suddenly, he hears --                                 SALESMAN'S VOICE                  You don't like flying, do you?        McClane turns, looks at the Babbit clone next to him.  Caught,        he tenses, holds his armrests in exaggerated fear.                                 MCCLANE                  No, no, where'd you get that idea?                                 SALESMAN                         (smiling)                  Ya wanna know the secret of successful                  air travel?  After you get where you're                  going, ya take off your shoes and socks.                  Then ya walk around on the rug barefoot                  and make fists with your toes.                                 MCCLANE                  Fists with your toes.                                 SALESMAN                  Maybe it's not a fist when it's your                  toes...I mean like this...work out                  that time zone tension.                         (demonstrating)                  Better'n a cup of coffee and a hot                  shower for the old jet lag.  I know                  it sounds crazy.  Trust me.  I've                  been doing it for nine years.        The plane stops.  Passengers rise, start to take down overhead        luggage.  McClane does this, but as he opens the door above,        the businessman BLANCHES seeing:3-A     HIS P.O.V. - MCCLANE'S BARETTA PISTOL                  3-A         Peeking out from his jacket.3-B     BACK TO SCENE                                          3-B         Recognizing the look, McClane smiles reassuringly.                                 MCCLANE                  It's okay.                         (showing badge)                  I'm a cop.                         (pause)                  Trust me.  I've been doing it for                  eleven.        The businessman relaxes, moves off.  McClane now wrestles down        the biggest Teddy Bear FAO Schwartz had to offer.  Balancing        this, he moves down to another overhead, takes out a topcoat        and an overnighter.  Barely managing all this, he turns,        COLLIDING WITH:3-C     A PRETTY STEWARDESS                                    3-C         She bumps noses with the bear, gives a look.                                 STEWARDESS                         (smiling, about the bear)                  Maybe you should have bought her a                  ticket.                                 MCCLANE                  Her?        He scrutinizes the nether regions of the bear, shrugs.                                 MCCLANE                  She doesn't complain.                                 STEWARDESS                         (eying him)                  Neither would I.        McClane smiles, with just enough of a sigh to know he's as        wistful about things-that-might-have-been as she is...moves        down the aisle.                                                      CUT TO:4       INT. THE NAKATOMI BUILDING (LOS ANGELES) - EVENING     4         CLOSE ON A bottle of Dom Perignon as the cork explodes across        a large office floor decorated for Christmas.  A Japanese man,        mid-fifties standing on a desk holds up the bottle triumphantly        and looks out at an adoring audience of junior executives and        office personnel.  He is JOSEPH TAKAGI, Sr V.P. of Sales for        Nakatomi, a multinational corporation.                                 TAKAGI                  Ladies and gentlemen...I congratulate                  each and every one of you for making                  this one of the greatest days in the                  history of the Nakatomi corporation...        In the b.g., obviously still at work, an attractive BUSINESSWOMAN        in her mid-thirties, studying a computer printout, heads toward        her office.  Falling into step with her is HARRY ELLIS,        thirty-seven, V.P. of Sales.  Well-dressed, with stylish,        slicked-back hair, he looks and acts very smooth.                                 ELLIS                  What about dinner?                                 WOMAN (HOLLY)                  Harry, it's Christmas Eve.  Families...                  Stockings...chestnuts...Rudolph and                  Frosty...those things ring a bell?        She turns into:5       HER OFFICE                                             5         Her name is HOLLY GENNARO MCCLANE, though the nameplate on her        door stops after the first two.  She puts the printout down        on her secretary's desk.                                 ELLIS                         (in reply)                  I was thinking more of roaring                  fireplaces...mulled wine and a nice                  brie...        Holly ignores the come-on, turns to her secretary.                                 HOLLY                  Ginny, it's 6:40, you're making me                  feel like Ebeneezer Scrooge.  Go on,                  join the party, have some champagne.        Ginny slowly manipulates herself out of her seat.  She is        enormously pregnant.                                 GINNY                         (grateful)                  Thanks Ms. Gennaro.                         (worried)                  Do you think the baby can handle                  a little sip?                                 HOLLY                         (eyeing her)                  Ginny, that baby's ready to tend bar.                                 ELLIS                         (not giving up)                  How about tomorrow night?        Holly just points to the door.  He follows Ginny out, clearly        not giving up.  Just then the party on Holly's phone picks up        and we:                                                      INTERCUT:6       INT. NICE HOUSE IN SANTA MONICA                        6         where a five-year old LUCY MCCLANE races her YOUNGER BROTHER        to the phone, winsthe wrestling match, and answers with a sense        of importance.  An Xmas tree is in the b.g.                                 LUCY                  McClane residence.  Lucy McClane                  speaking.        Holly suddenly smiles.  It is the first time we've seen her        smile and it speaks volumes about the person hidden under a        tough business exterior.                                 HOLLY                         (with affection)                  Hello, Lucy McClane.  This is your                  mother.        She looks up and watches Ellis leave.  He "shoots" her with a        "catch ya later" wink.                                 LUCY                  Mommy!  When are you coming home?!                                 HOLLY                  Soon.  You'll be in bed when I get                  there, though.                                 LUCY                  Will you come say 'good night'?                                 HOLLY                  Don't I always, you goose?                         (enjoying Lucy's giggle)                  Now put Paulina on the line, and                  no searching the house for presents!                                 LUCY                         (caught)                  I didn't look in the front closet                  under the steps!  Is Daddy coming                  home with you?                                 JOHN, JR.                         (hearing this, jumping up                         and down)                  Yeah!  Daddy!  Daddy!  Daddy!                         (on second thought)                  And a Captain Power!                                 HOLLY                         (a little tightly)                  Well, we'll see what Santa and Mommy                  can do.  Goose, put Paulina on, okay?        Lucy hands the phone to a young Salvadorian woman, PAULINA,        the housekeeper.                                 PAULINA                  Hello, Mrs. Holly.  You coming home                  soon?                                 HOLLY                  I'm working on it.                         (beat)                  Did Mr. McClane call?                               *                                   PAULINA                  No ma'am.        Holly hides a trace of disappointment.                                 HOLLY                  Well...maybe there wasn't time before               *                    the flight.  You should probably make                  up the spare room just in case.                                 PAULINA                         (smiling)                  Yes, Mrs. Holly.  I do that already.                *          Holly's smile comes through again.7       INT. LAX - EVENING                                     7         McClane, wearing his wool topcoat and carrying the biggest        stuffed animal FAO Schwartz had in stock and his hangup bag,        comes down the American Airlines ramp and into the terminal.        He avoids one near-collision involving his stuffed animal, an        act which drives him into another fender bender with a CUTE        GIRL who looks like she's ready for high tide at Zuma.  As she        smiles, weaves onward, McClane looks at his own Arctic gear        and then the girl as she kisses a similarly garbed boyfriend.                                 MCCLANE                         (sotto, to himself)                  California.        He looks around the terminal at:7-A     HIS P.O.V. - TERMINAL                                  7-A         FAMILY REUNIONS are going on all around his as grandparents        greet grown children and their children, YOUNG WIVES greet        uniformed SOLDIERS, our Babbit businessman greets a pleasant        wife and two pleasant kids.  It's all very traditional, very        touching and not the least bit corny.7-B     BACK TO SCENE                                          7-B         McClane watches, moved by the sight, then looks around the        waiting area, just on the chance his family might be waiting.        Instead he spots a thin, gangling black kid, ARGYLE, in an        ill-fitting chauffeur's uniform.  As he waits he beats out a        rhythmn on a "Nakatomi Corporation" card with J. McCLANE written        on it in magic marker.  McClane pauses in front of him, unsure.                                 MCCLANE                  I'm John McClane.                                 ARGYLE                         (introducing himself)                  Argyle.  I'm your limo driver.  Hey,                  nice bag.        He turns and starts walking.  McClane paces him, still juggling        bag and giant animal.                                 MCCLANE                  Argyle.  Don't you take this stuff?                                 ARGYLE                         (stops)                  Do I?  I'm sorry.  You're gonna have to                  help me, man.  This is my first time                  driving a limo.                                 MCCLANE                  That's okay.  This is my first time                  riding in one.                                                       CUT TO:8       WITH THE LIMO - DUSK                                   8         TILT UP from the Lincoln emblem on the car.        Both Argyle and McClane are in the front seat.                                 ARGYLE                  Just kick back and relax, man.  We                  got everything you need:  CD, CB,                  TV, VHS, telephone, full bar.        He looks in the back seat, which is occupied by the bear.                                 ARGYLE                  If your friend is hot to trot...I                  know a couple of mama bears.                         (turning to McClane)                  ...Or is he married?                                 MCCLANE                  Married.        McClane tries to get comfortable, scowls as a RUSTLING NOISE        reveals wrappers and styrofoam from Taco Bell.  He scowls at        Argyle.                                 ARGYLE                  The girl was off today.  Hey, I                  didn't expect you to sit up front.                         (back to the topic)                  So, your lady live out here?                                 MCCLANE                  The past six months.                                 ARGYLE                         (thinking about that)                  Meanwhile, you still live in                  New York?                                 MCCLANE                  You're nosey, you know that, Argyle?                                 ARGYLE                  Hey, I'm sorry.  When I was a                  cabdriver, see, people expected a little                  chit chat, a little eccentricity and                  comaraderie, I forgot how stuck up you                  limo guys were, so excuse me.                                 MCCLANE                         (amused)                  It's okay, it's okay.                                 ARGYLE                         (instantly)                  So, you divorced of what?        McClane gives up.                                 MCCLANE                  She had a good job, it turned into                  a great career.                                 ARGYLE                  But meant her moving here.                                 MCCLANE                  Closer to Japan.  You're fast.                                 ARGYLE                  So, why didn't you come?                                 MCCLANE                  'Cause I'm a New York cop who used                  to be a New York kid, and I got six                  months backlog of New York scumbags                  I'm still trying to put behind bars.                  I don't just get up and move.                                 ARGYLE                         (to the point)                  You mean you thought she wouldn't                  make it out here and she'd come                  crawling on back, so why bother to                  pack?        McClane grins, he like Argyle even if he is direct.                                 MCCLANE                  Like I said, Argyle...you're fast.                                 ARGYLE                         (popping in a cassette)                  Mind if I play some tunes?        A hard RAP SONG blasts from the speakers.                                 MCCLANE                  How 'bout some Christmas music?                                 ARGYLE                  That is Christmas music.        And damned it if isn't, the Fat Boys of Run DMC doing a        revisionist number on WHITE CHRISTMAS or something.  McClane        gives up, looks out the window.9       HIS P.O.V.                                             9         Convertibles with Christmas trees in their back seats,        Time/Temperature signs which reads:  69 degrees, palm trees        trimmed in Christmas lights, intermittent West side token        "Happy Chanukahs"...it is clear that Christmas L.A. style has        its own unique style.10-     OUT                                             OUT   10-11                                                            11  11-A    THE LIMO - CENTURY CITY                               11-A          TILT DOWN FROM one of the stars of this film, the well-lit,        impressive and spanking-new NAKATOMI BUILDING.  The limo pulls        up, parks, and Argyle gets out.  McClane lets himself out,        which is fine because Argyle doesn't remember he's supposed to        do it.  They both go to the rear of the vehicle.12      EXT. NAKATOMI BUILDING - NIGHT                        12          Argyle climbs out of the limo and stops by the trunk.                                 ARGYLE                  So, you go on upstairs to the party,                  your lady sees you, you run into each                  other's arms.  Music comes up, you                  live happily ever after, that it?                                 MCCLANE                  It's corny, but I could live with it.                                 ARGYLE                  What is it don't work out that way?                  Where you gonna stay?                                 MCCLANE                  I'll find someplace.        He looks up at the highrise lit by huge spotlights, then        back at Argyle who's made no attempt to open the trunk.                                 ARGYLE                  Tell you what.  I'll pull into the                  parking garage and wait.  You score                  with your wife give me a call on the                  car phone and I'll leave your bags                  inside at the desk.  You strike out...                  I'll get you to a hotel.        He hands McClane a business card with the number on it.                                 MCCLANE                         (taking the number)                  You're all right, Argyle.                                 ARGYLE                  Just remember that when you sign                  for the tip.                         (pointing to the                         building)                  They're paying for it, so don't be                  shy.        McClane grins, heads inside.13      INT. NAKATOMI LOBBY - NIGHT                           13         Beautiful and -- on first glance -- deserted.  Finally a        SOUND in the sterile lobby reveals the presence of a        SECURITY GUARD hidden until now behind a massive desk.        McClane goes there, signs in.                                 MCCLANE                  Holly McClane?        The Guard points to a prominent touch screen computer console.                                 GUARD                  Just type it in there.        McClane is confused for a moment, then he moves to the screen.        He gives the Guard a look...the Guard raises his eyebrows as        if to say give it a try.13-A    SCREEN - CLOSER                                       13-A          McClane types, "McClane, Holly".  Pause.  The screen replies,        NO SUCH EMPLOYEE LISTED.13-B    MCCLANE                                               13-B          Frowns...thinks.  Simultaneously inspired and suspicious, he        types again.13-C    THE SCREEN                                            13-C          McClane types, GENNERO, HOLLY.  This time the screen CHANGES,        shows an elevation of the building and then a floor plan of the        30th floor with Holly's office BLINKING.                      *  13-D    BACK TO SCENE                                         13-D                                   MCCLANE                  Cute toy.                                 GUARD                  Yeah.  When you have to take a leak                  it'll help you find your zipper.                                 MCCLANE                  Thirtieth floor...                                  *                                   GUARD                         (pointing)                  Take the express elevator and get                  off at the noise.        McClane nods, moves off.  He moves to the elevators, and as he        does his experienced eye takes in:13-E    ANOTHER SECURITY GUARD                                 13-E          Patrolling a different area.13-F    SEVERAL HI-TECH CAMERAS AND SENSORS                    13-F          which are cleverly worked into the decor of the lobby.13-G    BACK TO SCENE                                          13-G          McClane reacts with bored professionalism, NODS to the guard.                                 MCCLANE                  Lots of hardware...        The guard shrugs.  McClane gets in the elevator.14      INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT                                  14          McClane hits "30" and REACTS to the hyper-powered SPEED with        which he rises.  He rotates his head, getting out the travel        cricks.        As he approaches the 30th floor we hear a tremendous THUMPING,        THROBBING NOISE.  McClane stops and listens before he        realizes -- it's the party.  As the doors open the noise        ATTACKS us.15      30TH FLOOR - SAME                                      15         McClane moves around the edge of the party, gradually        spiraling inward.  He grabs a glass of Mimosa champagne punch        from a passing tray, sips...scowls.  Spotting open beers in        an ice bucket, he tosses the punch into a potted plant, even        burying the plastic glass.  Sipping the beer, he moves through        the dense party.  People he doesn't know throw streamers over        him.        A WOMAN kisses him.  He grins.  A MAN kisses him.                                 MCCLANE                         (to himself, shaking                         his head)                  California...        Finally he queries a DANCING WOMAN.  The MUSIC drowns out their        words but she nods, points off in some generic direction.        McClane heads that way, cuts around a Christmas tree, loses        his bearings.  He sees:15-A    TAKAGI                                                 15-A         who has an air of authority.  McClane goes up to him.                                 MCCLANE                  Excuse me, I'm looking for --                                 TAKAGI                  Holly Gennero?                                 MCCLANE                  Yeah.  How'd you know?                                 TAKAGI                  I've spent half my life on airplanes,               *                  I can recognize someone who just                  got off one.                         (shaking hands)                  I'm Joe Takagi, Mr. McClane.  I have                  ...something to do with this company.                                 MCCLANE                  So I've heard.        Takagi smiles, leads the way.  As they approach Holly's office        door, McClane notices the name there is -- again -- "Gennero".                                 TAKAGI                  Holly went to the Vault room to FAX                  some documents...she should be back                  any...16      HOLLY'S OFFICE                                         16         Ellis is behind the desk.  He's SNIFFLING and just as they        come in he SWEEPS the back of the slick desktop with his hand.        Both McClane and Takagi catch on...but Takagi tries to hide        his awareness.                                 ELLIS                  Ah...hi...I just had to make a quick                  call, and this was the nearest phone...                                 TAKAGI                         (as Ellis rises)                  Ellis, this is John McClane...                         (with meaning)                  Holly's policeman?                         (to McClane)                  Ellis is in charge of International                  Acquisitions.                                 MCCLANE                         (shaking hands with Ellis)                  That explains the recent deal with                  Bolivia.        Ellis REACTS, runs a checking finger under his nose.                                 MCCLANE                         (sotto)                  Relax, Ellis.  I'm off duty.                                 TAKAGI                         (eager to change the                         subject, to McClane)                  Can I get you anything?  Food?  Cake?                  Watered down champagne punch?                                 MCCLANE                         (grinning)                  I'm fine.                         (looking through the                         glass)                  You throw quite a party.  I didn't                  know they had Christmas in Japan.                                 TAKAGI                  Hey, we're flexible.  Pearl Harbor                  didn't work out, we got you with                  tape decks.        McClane laughs.  He likes this guy.                                 ELLIS                  Actually, it's kind of a double celebration.        *                  We closed a pretty big deal today and a lot                  of it was due to Holly.        The door OPENS.  Holly comes inside.                                 HOLLY                  All set, Joe.  The contracts went                  over the wire, and --                         (surprised)                  John...!16-A    MCCLANE AND HOLLY                                      16-A         A moment.  Does the sound of the party stop for him?  We know        it.  For her?  It's more cryptic.  We sure hope so.                                 HOLLY                         (recovering)                  I was hoping you made that flight.                                 JOHN                         (quietly)                  I was hoping you were hoping that.        She laughs, kisses him on the cheek.  Ellis notes the awkwardness.                                 TAKAGI                         (to McClane)                  You wife's made for this business.                  She know how to drive a hard bargain.                                 MCCLANE                  Yeah.  I remember our first date.                                 ELLIS                  Show him the watch.        As she hesitates:                                 ELLIS                 Go on, show him.  What're you,                 embarrassed?                         (to McClane)                 A little token of our appreciation                 for all her work.        He takes Holly's wrist, holds it up.  McClane smoothly takes        the wrist away from Ellis, looks at the watch.                                 MCCLANE                  Nice, but one of us is three hours                  out of sync.  I think it's me.                         (to Holly, pointedly)                  Is there a place I can wash up?                                 HOLLY                         (happy for the excuse)                  Sure.  Follow me.        They go out.  Alone, Takagi's look at Ellis shows his        disapproval of certain snow at Christmas.                                                      CUT TO:17      EXT. NAKATOMI - NIGHT                                  17         An Emory freight truck turns off Olympic into the underground        parking garage of Nakatomi.18      INT. PARKING GARAGE                                    18         It goes down the ramp and passes Argyle's black limo.  The        driver's seat is EMPTY.19      INT. LIMO - SAME                                       19         Argyle sits in the back seat hidden from the outside world by        the tinted rear windows.  He is making a drink from the bar        with the TV on and his rap music blasting from the cassette        player, oblivious to the truck passing behind him.20      INT. PARKING GARAGE - SAME                             20         The Emory truck stops in front of the service elevator on the        next level down.  As the truck idles, the uniformed driver        makes a note on his clipboard.21      INT. ELLIS' OFFICE - NIGHT                             21         TILT UP FROM McClane's BARE FEET.  He is clenching and        unclenching his toes.                                 MCCLANE                         (surprised, actually feeling                         tension decline)                  Son-of-a-bitch.  It works.         Holly sits on the desk here, watches him remove his jacket, tie         shirt, etc.  Begin to wash up in the private bath.                                 HOLLY                  What are you doing?                                 MCCLANE                  It's a long story.  You know, I                  think that Ellis has his eye on you.                                 HOLLY                  That's okay...                         (pause)                  ... I have an eye on his private                  bathroom.         McClane's face shows his relief (or rather, his attempt not         to show any).                                                                      *                                 HOLLY                  So, where are you staying?  This                    *                  all happened so fast I didn't even                  ask you on the phone.         McClane finishes drying his face and steps to the bath doorway.                                 MCCLANE                  Well, Cappy Roberts retired out                  here a couple years ago.  He said I                  could bunk with him.                                 HOLLY                  Oh...Where does he live?                                 MCCLANE                  Ramona...no, Pomona, that's it.                                 HOLLY                  Pomona!  You'll be in the car the                  whole time...Look, let's make this                  easy.  I have a spare bedroom.  It's                  not huge, but the kids would love to                  have you at the house.         McClane fixes her with a look.                                 MCCLANE                  They would, huh?                                 HOLLY                        (beat; honest)                  I would too.                                                                      *         They lock eyes for a moment, but it's an intense moment that         says a lot about how they still feel about each other.         Just then a man and a woman, both a little tipsy, open the         door to the office, see that it's occupied and beat a hasty         retreat.  The interruption temporarily dents the mood.  Holly         tries to smile.  But for McClane it's the last frustration.                                 HOLLY                  ...I've missed you.                                 *                                 MCCLANE                  Especially my name.  You must miss                  it every time you write a check.  When                  did you start calling yourself                  'Ms. Gennero'?                                 HOLLY                        (caught)                  This is a Japanese company, you know?                  They figure a married woman, she's on                  the way out the door...                                 MCCLANE                  Sure.  It's unnerving.  I remember                  this one particular married woman,                  she went out the door so fast there                  was practically a jetwash...I mean,                  talk about your wind chill factor...                                 HOLLY                  Didn't we have this same conversation                  in July?  Damn it, John, there was                  an opportunity out here -- I had to                  take it --                                 MCCLANE                  No matter what it did to our marriage -- ?                                 HOLLY                  My job and my title and my salary did                  nothing to our marriage except change                  your idea of what it should be.                                 MCCLANE                  Oh, here it comes.  One of those                  'meaningful relationship conversations.'                  I never should've let you get those                  magazine subscriptions --                                 HOLLY                  You want to know my idea of a marriage?                  It's a partnership where people help                  each other over the rough spots --                  console each other when there's a                  down...and when there's an up, well,                  hell, a little Goddamn applause or                  an attaboy wouldn't be too bad.                        (quietly)                  I needed that, John.                        (pause)                  I deserved that.         There's a clumsy pause as if she's almost challenging him to         say...something but he sets his jaw, says nothing.  Just then         the door opens and Ginny leans inside.                                 GINNY                  Miz Gennero?  Mr. Takagi is looking                  for you...he wants you to say something                  to the troops...                                 HOLLY                  Thanks, Ginny.  I'll be a second.                  Oh, this is --                                 MCCLANE                        (mock bright 'radio' voice)                  Hi.  John Gennero here.  I'm the                  sensitive and supportive man of the                  eighties.         Ginny looks puzzled, goes out.  Holly sighs, moves to the         door.                                 HOLLY                  I'll be a few minutes.  Wait here --                                 MCCLANE                  Don't I always?         She's gone.  Immediately, he slaps his forehead, contrite.                                 MCCLANE                        (to himself)                  Schmuck!22-     OUT                                              OUT   22- 23                                                             23 24      INT. BUILDING LOBBY - SAME TIME                        24         The Guard at the front desk notices the Emory truck on his        monitor.  The Guard continues to watch the Emory truck and        only half notices as a Mercedes pulls up in front of the        building and two extremely well-dressed BUSINESSMAN (late        twenties) climb out and start up the stairs for the door.  As        they cross the lobby to the Guard's table to sign in, we hear        their conversation.                                 MAN #1 (THEO)                        (animatedly)                  ...So, Kareem rebounds -- listen,                  this is a great play -- feeds Worthy                  on the break, over to A.C., to Magic,                  back to Worthy in the lane and --        Suddenly the other man pulls out a Walther pistol with a        silencer and aims it at the Guard's forehead.  Before the        Guard can react he pulls the trigger.                                 THEO                        (dryly)                  Boom...two points.        (The speed with which the murder takes place sets the tone        for the rest of the action.)  The killer moves behind the        desk, stepping over a small pool of blood from the Guard.        His name is KYLE, big, with long blond hair like a rock        drummer.  Karl takes off the silencer and looks at the video        monitor of the Emory truck.  The first man, Theo, opens his        briefcase, takes out a portable CB radio and speaks into it.                                 THEO                  We're in.25      ON THE SCREEN                                          25          the driver nods at the security camera as several men climb out of        the rear of the van and begin unloading wooden crates by the        service elevator.26      INT. ELLIS' OFFICE - NIGHT                             26         McClane looks at all the lavishness around him and picks up a        phone by the toilet.  He opens his wallet and takes out the        phone number Argyle have him.  A photo of his children stops        him.        It's of Holly, the two children and himself in happier days:        Six months ago, before Nakatomi came calling to Holly's door.        McClane flips it over.  On the back in crude but painstaking        hand of a five-year-old it says:  WE MISS YOU, DADDY.  LOVE        LUCY (and in more primitive letters) JOHN.        McClane returns the photo to his wallet, dials the number.26      INT. BUILDING OPERATIONS CONTROL ROOM                  26               Theo enters the small control room and comfortably sits behind        a maintenance keyboard.  Whistling a vaguely familiar tune, he        TYPES in some commands and locks down the passenger elevators        up to the 30th floor.  Then with several more computer commands,        systematically causes:27      THE HEAVY STEEL GATES TO THE PARKING GARAGE CLOSE      27 28      THE ESCALATORS TO THE GARAGE COME TO A STOP            28 29      OUT                                             OUT    2930      CONTROL ROOM - SAME                                    30         Theo finishes typing and disconnects the keyboard and pulls out        the wires from beneath the panel.31      INT. LOBBY - SAME                                      31         The doors to a service elevator open TO REVEAL HANS GRUBER,        impeccably dressed, lean and handsome, he steps out into the        lobby like he owns the building -- and in a way he does.        Theo steps to the door of the control room and tosses Hans a        COMPUTER CARD.        Hans goes to the front door, waves the card over a magnetic        plate.  An LED BLINKS and the door LOCKS with a THUD.        Hans looks out at the street.  Appropriately enough, "not a        creature is stirring."  Century City is quiet.32-     OUT                                             OUT    32-35                                                             35 35-A    LOBBY - QUICK CUTS                                     35-A         An elevator opens REVEALING TEN MORE MEN, all armed with        Kalashnikov machine guns are carrying canvas kit bags.  One        of them, EDDIE, a rugged American in his twenties, goes to        the dead guard and immediately begins changing into his cloths.        Meanwhile:           A)  Karl takes a tool case from the elevator and joins his           brother TONY, first playfully grabbing him.  They head           for the basement stairwell;           B)  Theo leaves the control room and nods to Hans.           C)  Eddie finished adjusting buttons and snaps on his           pilfered uniform, takes his position behind the front desk.36      HANS                                                   36         looks at his watch and seems pleased.  He steps into the service        elevator with the others and presses the button for the 30th        floor.  The entire sequence has taken maybe sixty seconds.37      INT. ELLIS' BATHROOM - 30th FLOOR - SAME               37         McClane is still barefoot, his pant legs now rolled up above        his ankles.  He stretches his toes again.  Damn, it works.  He        lights up a new Marlboro, dials a number on the (bathroom)        phone.38      INT. BUILDING BASEMENT - PHONE ROOM                    38         A large sign says:  PACIFIC BELL EMPLOYEES ONLY.  Inside Tony        stands in front of an intimidating matrix of phone lines -- but        what he has in mind won't require a doctorate in Electrical        Engineering.  Karl comes over, gives his an elder brother's        punch on the arm, points out what to do.  Together they focus        on four CPV plastic conduits which run out of the main panel        over their heads.  Tony nods.  Opens a case REVEALING a        compact electric chainsaw.39      INT. ELLIS' BATHROOM - RESUME                          39                                  MCCLANE                         (on phone)                 Argyle...?40      INT. LIMO                                              40         Argyle is reclining on the seat.  The music is on so loud that        it is nearly impossible to hear.                                 ARGYLE                 Hey, John, what's the word on you                 and your lady?                                 MCCLANE'S VOICE                 The vote's not in yet.41      INT. PHONE ROOM - SAME                                 41         Karl cuts through the four tubes one at a time.42      INT. ELLIS' BATHROOM - SAME                            42         McClane on the phone.                                 ARGYLE'S VOICE                         (mocking)                 'Vote's not in yet?'  What's that                 supposed to mean.                                 MCCLANE                 What do you want, 'All My Children'?                 We're making progress.  After I get my                 foot out of my mouth, we'll really be                 cooking, and then I can --        He stops and gently taps the phone cradle.  No dial tone.43      INT. LIMO                                             43         Argyle looks at the phone.                                ARGYLE                 What?...Mr. Mac, you there?        He turns down the music but there is on one on the line.                                ARGYLE                        (to himself)                 Well, call me back, John.  You got                 the number.        He hangs up and turns the volume back up.44      ELLIS' OFFICE                                         44         McClane hangs up the original phone and then tries the other        one on the desk.  It, too, is dead.45      INT. SERVICE ELEVATOR                                 45          Hans and the others approaching the 30th floor.  As they grow        closer, we hear the noise of the speakers growing louder and        louder.  The men cock their weapons and brace themselves as the        car stops and the elevator doors open.  ON THE SOUND OF GUNSHOTS        AND SCREAMS WE:                                                     CUT TO:46      INT. ELLIS' OFFICE                                     46         McClane grabs his shoulder harness off the back of the chair,        moves quickly to the doorway.  He looks down the hall.47      MCCLANE'S P.O.V.                                       47         Two terrorists, FRANCE and FRITZ, armed with M-5 machine guns        searching the offices on the hall one by one.  They open a door,        look in from the hallway, and move on quickly to the next.        They are four offices away and moving fast.        McClane looks across the corridor and sees the stairwell door        -- too far to reach without being seen.48      MCCLANE                                                48         steps back, throws off the safety on his Beretta and braces        himself.  He opens the door, peers through a crack at:49      HALLWAY - FRANCE AND FRITZ                             49         QUICK CUTS as McClane's eyes SCAN their weapons...he's totally        outgunned, and he knows it.        Franco and Fritz reach the office just before Ellis' and throw        open the door REVEALING the man and woman who interrupted Holly        and McClane a few minutes before, now in the throes of        passionate lovemaking on the desk.  The two terrorists smile        at each other, then enter the office.        A moment later the man, (trying desperately to pull up his        pants) and the woman (buttoning her blouse) are pushed out        into the hall and toward the larger group by Fritz.  The other        terrorist, Franco, goes to Ellis' office and opens the door.        It is...empty.50      INT. STAIRWELL - SAME                                  50         CLOSE ON McClane's bare feet padding quickly up the concrete        stairs, two at a time.  We FOLLOW him up, then out onto the:50-A    31th FLOOR                                             50-A        This is the mezzanine floor immediately above the main        Nakatomi lobby.  McClane sees Theo and KRISTOFF wheeling carts        of equipment.  McClane ducks back into the stairwell, he runs        up another flight and out onto:51      UNFINISHED FLOOR                                       51         Eventually it will be one large secretarial pool, but only a        portion is completed.  Half-finished partitions and office        furniture in its original plastic wrappings are everywhere.        One end has a few lonely finished working areas.        McClane moves quickly to a desk and picks up a phone.  It's        out.                                 MCCLANE                  Shit...        He looks out the window at:51-A    NEIGHBORING BUILDING - MCCLANE'S P.O.V.                51-A         A high-rise apartment building a half-block away sparkles with        lights.  McClane stares at a PRETTY GIRL in her bedroom.  She's        wearing drop dead underwear right out of the Victoria's Secret        catalog.  As we watch, she flops down on her bed, and with        one long leg in the air, effortlessly dials        a call on her high-tech phone.  It seems so easy.51-B    BACK TO SCENE                                          51-B         Frustrated, he watches this, knits his brow.                                 MCCLANE                  Think...52      INT. 30th FLOOR (HOSTAGE FLOOR) - SAME                 52        The employees have been herded to the center of the room where        the desks have been pulled back.  Many people are whimpering.52-A    HOLLY                                                  52-A         She looks around the room for McClane.  She's so intent on        this that she doesn't see one TERRORIST waving her forward.        Exasperated, he SHOVES her.  Her glare at him shows us her        mettle.52-B    WIDER                                                  52-B         As the employees are bunched together, Ellis seeks out Holly.        He's clearly scared but trying to fake courage.  He pats her        hand "reassuringly."        Hans steps up on top of a desk and looks over the group.  He        reaches into a pocket...several people CRINGE...but what he        comes out with is a Bottega Venata pocket notebook.  He checks        his own scribblings like a dais speaker.                                 HANS                         (soothing, in control)                  Ladies and gentlemen, due to the                  Nakatomi Corporation's legacy of                  greed around the globe, it is about                  to be taught a lesson on real power.                  You...will be witnesses.                  If our demands are not met, however --                         (sad smile)                  -- You may become participants instead.                         (beat, checking notes)                  Now, where is...'Takagi'?  Where is                  the man who...                         (slight smile)                  ...used to be in charge here?        Takagi is shoved forward.  He's worried but far from cowed.        Hans steps towards him.  Extends a hand.                                 HANS                         (quite civil)                  Mr. Takagi.  How do you do.  My                  name is Hans Gruber.        Takagi is confused by his charm.  Hans waves politely in the        direction of an elevator and with an armed escort takes the        executive away.  CAMERA ADJUSTS to show Holly, concerned.56      INT. STAIRWELL - 33rd FLOOR - SAME                     56         McClane pauses outside the stairwell door to the 33rd floor,        he presses the handle and cracks the door open TO REVEAL a        computer floor.  The computer machinery drones on under the        lights behind plate glass windows.  McClane quietly closes        the door and moves to another floor.                                 MCCLANE                         (mumbling to himself)                  32 construction...33 computers...57-     OUT                                              OUT   57- 58                                                             58 59      INT. SERVICE ELEVATOR - NIGHT                          59         Hans, Takagi, Karl and Tony.  Riding silently.  Hans alone        seems relaxed.  He whistles.  We recognize it as a snatch of        Wagner.                                 HANS                  Nice suit.  John Philips...London?        Takagi stares at him, speechless.                                 HANS                         (smiles)                  I have two myself.                         (beat, as he exits:)                  I'm told Arafat shops there too...60      INT. STAIRWELL                                         60         McClane starts to open the stairwell door to the Machine Floor        when a NOISE above him gets his attention.  He moves silently        up one flight to the roof.  Quietly, he cracks the door and        looks out onto a Machine Floor on the lower level of the roof.61      MCCLANE'S P.O.V.                                       61         Three terrorist, JAMES, ULI and HEINRICH, are unpacking the        wooden crates we saw in the garage from the service elevator.        It's not clear what they're doing but it seems very military        like and ominously defensive.  Heinrich POINTS up to the        ceiling and says something in German.  The others nod.  Heinrich        starts to turn towards the CAMERA and:62      MCCLANE                                                62         closes the door and slips back down the stairs.63      INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - BOARD ROOM FLOOR - NIGHT        63         Hands enters, looks around.                                   *                                   HANS                                 *                    And when Alexander saw the breadth                  of his domain, he wept.  For there                  were no more worlds to conquer.                         (to Takagi)                  The benefits of a classical education.        Hans admired a scale model of a bridge.  Behind him are       *          photographs of the gorge where the bridge will be constructed.        Karl and Tony listen.  Takagi watches.                                 HANS                  It's beautiful.  I always enjoyed                  models as a boy.  The exactness, the                  attention to every foreseeable detail...                  perfection.                                 TAKAGI                         (defensively)                  This is what this is about?  Out                  building project in Indonesia?                  Contrary to what you people think,                  we're going to develop that region...                  not 'exploit' it.        Hans straightens, looks hard at Takagi.                                 HANS                  I believe you.                         (smiling)                  I read the article in Forbes.                       *          Takagi looks confused.  Hans puts a friendly arm around Takagi's        shoulders and guides him into the adjacent board room where        Theo types in commands onto a built-in computer console.                                 HANS                  Mr. Takagi, we could discuss                  industrialization of men's fashions                  all day, but I'm afraid my associate,                  Mr. Theo, has some questions for you.                  Sort of fill-in-the blanks questions                  actually...                                                   JUMP CUT:64      A COMPUTER SCREEN SPITS OUT:                          64                  NAKATOMI CORPORATION.                 BOARD WORKSTATION.                 ENTER CENTRAL COMPUTER CODE KEY _ _ _ _.65      THEO                                                  65         sits fingers poised over the keyboard.  Hans sits opposite.        Takagi stands like the accused at the foot of the table, has        just read the screen, blurts:                                 TAKAGI                  I don't have that code...!                         (beat; to Hans)                  You broke in here to access out                  computer?!?  Any information you                  could get -- they wake up in Tokyo                  in the morning, they'll change it!                  You won't be able to blackmail our                  executives or threaten --        Hans barks him to silence:                                 HANS                  SIT DOWN!        Takagi complies.  Hans is abruptly compassionate and quiet.                                 HANS                  Mr. Takagi...I'm not interested in your                  computer.                         (beat)                  I'm interested in the 640 million dollars                  in negotiable bearer bonds you have in                  you vault.        ON Takagi's reaction.                                 HANS                  Yes...I know about them.  The code                  key is a necessary step in accessing                  the vault.                                 TAKAGI                  You want...money?  What kind of                  terrorists are you?                                 HANS                         (amused)                  Who said we were terrorists?65-A    MCCLANE - ENTERING THIS FLOOR                         65-A         He tiptoes along, gun held ready.  He can HEAR the MUMBLE of        voices from the conference room, moves slowly towards it.65-B    CONFERENCE ROOM - RESUME                              65-B          Hans slowly takes out his Walther and his silencer.  He feels        his silencer a moment, as if making a decision, then slips it        back into his coat pocket.                                 HANS                         (weighing the gun)                  The code key, please...?                                 TAKAGI                  It's useless to you!  There's seven                  safeguards on our vault, and the                  code key is only one of them!  You'll                  never get it open!        Hans lifts the gun.                                 HANS                  Then there's no reason not to tell                  it to us.                                 THEO                         (aside to Karl)                  I told you...                                 KARL                  It's not over...        Hans gives them both a look like an annoyed schoolmaster,        turns back to Takagi.                                 HANS                  This is too nice a suit to ruin,                  Mr. Takagi.  I'm going to count                  to three.  There will not be a                  four.  Give me the code.        He cocks the gun:                                 TAKAGI                  I don't know it!  get on a Goddamn                  jet to Tokyo and ask the chairman!                  I'm telling you!  You're just going                  to have to kill me --                                 HANS                  Okay.        BANG!!  He pulls the trigger:66      OUT IN THE MUSEUM - MCCLANE                           66      *           reacts as if shot.A66-A   HIS P.O.V.                                           A66-A    *           The glass doors to the boardroom are splattered red and        dripping...66-A    INSIDE                                                66-A          Takagi is still seated, but the chair in flat on its back,        blood flowing out into the carpet.        Hans springs to his feet:                                 HANS                  We do it the hard way!  Tony, see if                  you can dispose of that. (the body)                  Karl, you'd better check Heinrich's                  work up on the machine floor.        Karl, in the midst of handing Theo a fifty dollar bill, nods.67      OUTSIDE - MCCLANE                                     67          stunned, sees Hans move and tries to retreat.  But his gun        bumps the underside of the table:68      INSIDE - HANS                                         68          hears it.  Karl is the first to move:69      KARL                                                  69          springs through the door, finds nothing.  He checks two        adjoining rooms, the first is deserted.  The second...is        locked.70      KARL                                                  70          returns to Hans.                                 KARL                  Nothing...                                 HANS                         (nods)                  See to Heinrich...                         (to Theo)                  Now...you can break the code key...?                                 THEO                         (grins)                  You didn't bring me along for my                  charming personality.        As he heads for the elevator.                                 THEO                         (under his breath)                  'Though you could have...        Hans smiles, confident in his team, and follows.  CAMERA        SETTLES ON the door that Karl found locked.71      INSIDE THE SUPPLY CLOSET - MCCLANE                    71          slowly lets out a breath, praying softly:                                 MCCLANE                  Argyle.  Tell me you heard the shot.                  Tell me you heard the shot and you're                  calling the police right now...                                                   CUT TO:72      INT. LIMO - PARKING GARAGE                            72          Argyle is on the car phone.  The music is playing.                                 ARGYLE                  I'm working, honey.  Working hard.                  'Course I'll be by later to pick you                  up, have I ever lies to you?  My boss?                  He thinks I'm cruising to Palm Springs...72-A    MACHINE LEVEL - TIGHT ON CEILING                      72-A          Heinrich PRESSES something into a niche here, scrambles like        a monkey to a new position.  Helped by one of his men, he        JUMPS down, moves to another area, climbs up again, removing        something from his shoulder bag.73      VAULT ROOM - 31ST FLOOR                               73          Hans and Theo enter the safe room.  The huge corporate safe        looms in front of them.  Theo places three kit bags onto a        table and rolls up his sleeves.  He swivels a computer console        into handy reach, sits down.                                HANS                 How long?                                THEO                 Thirty minutes to break the code...                 Two hours for the five mechanicals.                 The seventh lock...that's out of                 my hands.                                HANS                 If out plan works...the FBI will                 get rid of it for us.        Theo grins, begins typing.73-A    HIS SCREEN                                            73-A         He types BEGIN ALGORITHM CODE PROGRAM.  RANDOM NUMBERS AND        LETTERS begin going by:  AAAAA; 11111; AAAAB; 11112.74      32ND FLOOR                                            74           McClane moves out onto the 31st floor, angry at himself.                                MCCLANE                 Why the fuck didn't you stop him?                        (beat)                 Because, you ignorant sonofabitch,                 you'd be dead, too.  Think...think,                 Goddamnit!        Suddenly he looks up at the ceiling and sees a sprinkler head.        His look drops to the wall and focuses on a small red fire alarm        switch by the door.75      INT. MAIN FLOOR - L.A. FIRE STATION - NIGHT           75         An ALARM sounds.  Quickly firemen move to their machines as a        voice of a 911 DISPATCHER drones.                                911 DISPATCHER                 Main Wilshire units.  Two alarm fire                 at Nakatomi Plaza --        The voice continues as the station doors open and we:                                                    CUT TO:76      INT. NAKATOMI - GROUND FLOOR OPERATIONS ROOM - SAME   76          A fire alarm indicator light showing which floor has sounded the        fire alarm -- suddenly begins flashing, emitting short, loud        beeps.  Eddie, the terrorist in the guard's uniform and manning        the station, immediately picks up his CB.77      32ND FLOOR - SAME                                     77          McClane stands at windows looking Northward for fire trucks.        Suddenly we SEE the flashing red lights of FOUR ENGINES in        traffic two miles away.                                MCCLANE                 C'mon, baby...come to Papa.  I'm                 gonna kiss your Goddamn dalmatian.78      INT. SERVICE ELEVATOR - ON HANS - SAME                78          He rides the elevator back to the 30th floor with Tony.                                HANS                        (calmly, to Eddie                        on CB)                 Call 911, give them the name and                 badge number on your uniform and                 cancel the alarm...then disable                 the system.                        (looks across at                        Tony, presses talk                        button again)                 Eddie?  What floor did the alarm                 go off?78-A    MACHINE FLOOR                                         78-A          They've heard the alarm here, too.  Heinrich, Marco and       *          Uli HEAR the alarm and continue their mysterious work.79      UNFINISHED FLOOR - SAME                               79          McClane stands silhouetted against the window.  In the distance        he can see another fire truck swing off Santa Monica onto        Avenue of the Stars.        Suddenly the red light on the first truck goes out, then on the        second.  McClane watches in disbelief.  The trucks slow and        turn down separate side streets, heading for home.                                MCCLANE                        (realizing)                 Son of a bitch...        Just then the elevator bell rings and we HEAR the ELEVATOR DOORS        OPEN.  A figure (Tony) slips into the shadows -- his machine        gun drawn.  We MOVE WITH HIM FROM the elevator area until he        reaches the light switch and throws it illuminating the entire        floor.  McClane is gone.80      ON MCCLANE                                            80          under a desk.  He takes in his options.81      HIS P.O.V.                                            81          The feet of Tony.  They move slowly in his direction.  McClane        Looks down the aisle next to the windows.  It leads to a series        of cubicles at the other end of the floor and is a clear path        if he can make it past Tony.82      TONY                                                  82          He moves steadily toward the area where we saw McClane.                                TONY                 The fire has been called off, my                 friend.  No one is coming to help                 you.  You might as well come out                 and join the others.                        (fingers the trigger                        of his machine gun)                 I promise not to hurt you.        Moving more confidently, he steps up to McClane's desk, then        around it and fires a blast into the space.  It is empty.  As        the SOUND OF THE MACHINE GUN FADES he listens and hears another        SOUND -- a NOISE coming from the other end of the room near        the cubicles.        Tony heads toward the noise.  Sensing a trap, he moves past        each cubicle carefully, checking each office until he reaches        the doorway of the last one.  The sound is just around the        partition.  He tenses, then spins into the cubicle.83      TONY'S P.O.V.                                         83          A radial arm saw spins noisily.84      TONY                                                  84          grins at his nervousness.  He moves to turn it off, not        realizing the sound has buried the soft rustle of McClane,        steps INTO FRAME behind him, McClane shoves his pistol barrel        against Tony's temple.                                MCCLANE                 Freeze, Police...don't move or name                 your beneficiary.        Tony doesn't.  McClane cocks his Beretta.  Tony watches him        calmly.                                TONY                 You won't hurt me.                                MCCLANE                 Yeah?  Why not?                                TONY                        (smug)                 Because you are a policeman.  There                 are rules for policemen.                                MCCLANE                 Yeah.  My Captain keeps telling                 me the same thing.        McClane suddenly PISTOL WHIPS Tony across the head.  Tony        REELS, then swallows, worried for the first time.                                MCCLANE                 Let's go.        Suddenly Tony spins to the side and McClane FIRES, but the        big man's momentum slams McClane into a filing cabinet and sends        his pistol into the hall.        Tony fires his machine gun, but McClane kicks him into the desk.        He locks his arms around the big man's neck in a hold that        sends Tony reeling into the hall.  McClane holds on as they        slam through several plastic board partitions.  They careen        across the hall into the stairwell door, opening it, and crash        into:85      STAIRWELL LANDING                                     85          then down the concrete steps into the wall on the landing below.        For a moment, both men lie still.  McClane, still holding onto        Tony's neck, releases it and the man's head flops sickeningly        to the side.        For a moment McClane just looks at the dead man.  Then, slowly,        methodically, he begins to SEARCH HIM.  He turns all his pockets        inside out, looks at his clothing labels, stares long and very        hard at a California driver's license with Tony's picture on        it.  He expertly examines the machine gun when a HISSING SOUND        coming from somewhere attracts his attention.        He rises, moves cautiously to the source.85-A    NEW ANGLE                                             85-A          It's Tony's CB, which has fallen from the dead man's waist during        the struggle.  McClane stares at it, formulating a plan.                                                    CUT TO:86      INT. 32ND FLOOR - NIGHT                               86          PAN FROM Tony's now shoeless feet TO McClane, who sits on the        floor near the body hurriedly lacing up the dead terrorist's        boots on his own feet.  He ties the last lace and tries to take        a couple of steps.        He winces in pain, goes off balance.  Quickly he starts taking        the boots off.                                MCCLANE                 A million terrorists in the world                 and I kill the one with feet                 smaller than my sister.        He yanks off the boots and tosses them into the garbage.  Then        he pulls the body up and sets it down on a secretary's chair.        He starts to push it along when he gets an idea and moves to:86-A    A DESK                                                86-A        Where he scribbles a note we cannot read on a piece of paper.        Then his eyes fall on some Xmas decorations nearby.  He smiles        to himself.86-B    IN THE ELEVATOR - UNFINISHED FLOOR                    86-B          TIGHT ON McClane's back as he pushes Tony's body on swivel        chair into the elevator.  (NOTE:  WE CANNOT SEE TONY'S HEAD)        CAMERA ADJUSTS as McClane pushes the buttons for the 31th and        30th floors.        We notice he's got the dead man's machine gun and that a wooden        desk ruler protrudes from McClane's back pocket.        The elevator doors close and the car starts down.  After it's        dropped only half a floor, McClane forces the doors open with        his fingers -- stopping the car between floors.        Using the ruler he blocks open the inside doors, then opens the        outside doors of the floor above (31st) with his fingers and        pulls himself up onto the carpeted floor, then up onto the roof        of the car.  Once on the roof of the car he reaches over the        edge and removes the ruler, closing the inside doors and setting        the car in motion again.86-C    HOSTAGE FLOOR                                         86-C          The hostages have been gathered together in a group in the center        of the open floor, guards flanking them.  The elevators are        barely visible from the edge of the group, which is where Ginny        and Holly are sitting.  Ginny winces, uncomfortable on the floor.        Holly soothes her.  Hans stands in front of them like a stern        camp counselor in front of the assembled bunk.                                HANS                 I wanted this to be professional,                 efficient, adult, cooperative.  Not                 a lot to ask.  Alas, your Mr. Takagi                 did not see it that way...                        (harder)                 So he won't be joining us for the                 rest of his life.                        (as that sinks in)                 We are prepared to go any way you                 make us.  When we have achieved our                 aims you can walk out of here...                 or be carried out.  Decide now, each                 of you.  But remember that we have                 planned everything to the last detail.                 We are completely in change.        A "DING" attracts his attention.  He turns.87      NEW ANGLE                                             87          The elevator doors OPEN and Fritz, guarding the area.  WHIRLS,        gun held ready.  His jaw drop as he sees:87-A    TONY'S BODY - HIS P.O.V.                              87-A          Still and dead, flopped in a swivel chair, a red Santa hat        gaily placed on his head.87-B    HANS                                                  87-B          REACTS.                                HANS                        (indicating the hostages)                 Get them over there.  Schnell!        The guards quickly hustle the hostages away as Hans crosses to        the elevator, but for before.87-C    HOLLY                                                 87-C          Sees the body...and REACTS.  She knows her husband's abilities...        not to mention his twisted sense of humor.87-D    NEAR THE ELEVATOR                                     87-D          As Fritz stands there, confused, Hans comes to the elevator with        Franco, lifts Tony's chin and sees that his neck has been        snapped.  He sees a folded piece of paper in Tony's collar,        takes it out.87-E    INSERT - THE NOTE                                     87-E          It reads, "Now I have a machine gun.  HO-HO-HO."87-F    BACK TO SCENE                                         87-E                                  FRITZ                 Perhaps a security guard we                 overlooked...?        Hans lifts Tony's chin again, lets the head flop over.                                HANS                        (thoughtfully)                 Security guard?  They're usually                 tired and burned out old policemen growing           *                   fat on a pension...This is...                 something else.87-G    ROOF OF ELEVATOR - SAME TIME                          87-G          McClane is staring through a tiny crack at the scene below him.        CAMERA ADJUSTS from Fritz in the b.g. to Hans and France just        below.        McClane is WRITING in his weather-beaten cop's notebook.  The        first notation is NUMBER OF HOSTAGES:  HOLLY + 30 -- odd.  Then        it says, NUMBER OF TERRORISTS?  As we watch, he adds "3 ? 187-H    in Lobby (?) and 2+ with hostages??  Plus ones on     87-H          roof (3)."                                FRITZ'S VOICE                        (slightly spooked)                 We have to do something, Hans.                                HANS' VOICE                        (not pleased)                 Yes...we have to tell Karl his brother                 is dead.  Tell him to come down.        Now McClane writes "HANS=LEADER.  Karl=BROTHER.  USE THIS?"        As Fritz calls Karl on his CB, Hans looks at Franco.                                HANS                 Franco, you and Fritz take the body                 upstairs and out of sight.  I don't                 want the hostages to think too                 much.88      INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT - CAR ROOF - ON MCCLANE - SAME    88          On top of the car, listening to the conversation below.  Franco        and Fritz step into the car and the doors on the elevator close.        The car accelerates upward and McClane grabs onto the heavy,        grease-coated cables to keep his balance.  Already his clothes        are soiled; his face and feet, arms and hair are dark from the        dirt and sweat.  The car speeds up the shaft -- passing the car        bringing Karl down to the hostage floor -- and stops at the        machine floor.  The doors open and McClane hears them roll the        chair with the body off the car.  McClane looks up.89      MCCLANE'S P.O.V.                                      89          A metal catwalk runs around the inside of the elevator shaft.90      MCCLANE                                               90          pulls himself up onto it.  As he moves along the catwalk looking        for a way out, he passes an unmarked metal door, 2'x3'.  McClane        pushes it open and looks in.91      MCCLANE'S P.O.V.                                      91          Total darkness.92      MCCLANE                                               92          takes out a coin.  A quarter.  He stops, switches to a nickel.        Throws it into the void.  It is a full four seconds until we        HEAR it "CHING" and bounce on concrete far below.  You don't        have to be a mathematics whiz to know it's a long drop.                                MCCLANE                 Jesus...        He moves cautiously around a corner and we SEE a metal ladder        leading up to a door marked PUMP ROOM.  Opening the door        McClane enters a darkened:93      PUMP ROOM                                             93          damp and full of pipes and goes to another door.  He cracks the        door and looks out.94      MCCLANE'S P.O.V.                                      94          The lower level of the roof.  Open and deserted.  Only a heliport        above him is higher.95      30TH FLOOR (HOSTAGE FLOOR) - HOLLY'S OFFICE - SAME    95        WIDEN as a FILING CABINET is FLUNG across the floor, drawers        SLAMMING out, papers flying.  KARL has done this, and he's    *          barely started.  He FLINGS a LAMP against a wall, PUNCHES a hole        into the plaster.  Finally, Hans goes to him, lays controlling        hands on the man's shoulder.                                HANS                 I know what you are feeling.  But                 this is not productive --                                KARL                        (pushing him away)                 He was my only brother...my only                 family!                        (a flat statement)                 I want blood for my blood.  We                 search...now.        He starts to move.  Hans stops him.                                HANS                        (firmly)                 No.  Heinrich's team must finish                 planting the detonators...and Theo                 needs time on the vault.  After the                  *                 police come they'll waste hours trying                 to negotiate...that's when we search                 *                 for this man.  Until then...we do not                 alter the plan.                                KARL                        (quietly)                 And if he alters it...?                              *        For once Hands doesn't have an answer.95-A    HOSTAGES - AROUND THE CORNER                          95-A          They've heard the alarm, can see and sense the agitation among        their captors.  Ellis slides over to Holly.                                ELLIS                 What's happening?                                HOLLY                 They don't look happy...something's                 gone wrong.                                ELLIS                 The police...?                                HOLLY                        (shaking her head)                 John.                                ELLIS                 John?  Christ, he could fuck this                 whole thing up...what does he think                 he's doing?                                HOLLY                 How about his job?                                ELLIS                 His 'job' is 3000 miles away.  Without                 him, they might let us go...at least                 we have a chance...                                HOLLY                        (quietly)                 Tell that to Mr. Takagi.96      EXT. ROOF - NIGHT                                     96          McClane climbs to the heliport and leans against the leeward side        of a wall surrounding it.  Shielded from wind, he pulls out the        CB, turns to channel nine, and starts broadcasting.                                MCCLANE                 Mayday, Mayday!  Anyone!  Terrorists                 have seized and Nakatomi building                 and are holding 30 or more hostages!                 I say again --97      OUT                                             OUT   9798      INT. HANS' OFFICE - SAME                              98          Hans, Karl, Fritz and France hear the clear signal over Hans'        CB.                                MCCLANE'S VOICE                 -- unknown number of terrorists,                 six or more, armed with automatic                 weapons at Nakatomi, Century City...                 Somebody answer me, Goddamnit!        Karl looks almost...satisfied.                                HANS                 The roof.  It's the best place to                 transmit.        They move.99      INT. LOS ANGLES EMERGENCY DISPATCH CENTER - SAME      99          A SUPERVISOR weaves her way back from the break room toward a        DISPATCHER who is monitoring the call.                                DISPATCHER                 It's the same address as that fire                 signal --                                            *                                  SUPERVISOR                        (frowning)                 -- the false alarm?  I'll handle                     *                 it.        She plugs in her headset.  (Her condescending, arrogant tone is        like the one in the famous tape where the dispatch lady spends        so much time on red tape that the patient dies.)                                SUPERVISOR                        (into mike)                 Attention, whoever you are.  This                 channel is reserved for emergency                 calls only --                                MCCLANE'S VOICE                 No fucking shit, lady!  Do I sound                 like I'm ordering a pizza?100     OUT                                             OUT  100101     INT. SERVICE ELEVATOR - ON KARL - SAME               101          with Franco and Fritz.                                KARL                 No one kills him but me.        It's an order and the look he gives the other two backs it up.        Karl checks his magazine, SLAPS it into his rifle as the elevator        opens to the roof.102     EXT. UPPER ROOF                                      102          McClane moves around the roof, circling the helipad, making sure        he has a good enough view to avoid being ambushed.  He can't        see in all directions at once but he's doing the best he can.                                MCCLANE                 They've already killed one hostage,                 and they're fortifying their positions                 while we're bullshitting!  Now, send                 police backup ASAP!                                SUPERVISOR'S VOICE                 Sir, I've already told you, this is                 a reserved channel.  If this is an                 emergency call, dial 911 on your                 telephone.  Otherwise I will report                 you to the police --                                MCCLANE                        (to the radio)                 -- fine!  Report me!  Hey, come down                 here and fucking arrest me!  Send                 the police.  NOW -- !        Suddenly machine gun shells rip into the concrete wall in front        of him.  The noise is deadening as we:                                                    CUT TO:103     INT. DISPATCHER OFFICE - SAME                         103        Both Supervisor and Dispatcher reach for their headsets in        pain from the INTENSE SOUND and:104     OUT                                             OUT   104105     EXT. ROOF - ON MCCLANE - SAME                         105          Running.  Tracer bullets rip into the wall behind him.  He        reaches the corner and sees the other two terrorists moving        toward him.  Before they see him, he leaps down to the next        level out of range of Karl.106     INT. EMERGENCY DISPATCH - SAME                        106          The Dispatcher looks critically at the Supervisor in the        sudden silence.                                SUPERVISOR                        (importantly)                 Ad...have a black-and-white do a                 drive-by.                                                    CUT TO:107     INT. 7-11 - AT THE COUNTER - NIGHT                    107          TIGHT as one after another after another HOSTESS TWINKIE is        stacked up on the counter.  CAMERA WIDENS and we SEE the        young male CLERK, who stifles a smile.  Another teenage        employee behind the counter also smothers a laugh.        The customer is POWELL, young for a police veteran, old for        the rest of the world.                                CLERK                 Thought you guys just ate donuts.                                POWELL                 They're for my wife.  She's pregnant.                 If I knew she was gonna eat a dozen                 at a shot, I woulda bought stock in                 the company.        The Clerk nods and puts them in a bag.  As Powell pays, suddenly        his BELT RADIO crackles to life.                                DISPATCHER'S VOICE/RADIO                 Dispatch to One Adam Ten, over.        Powell grabs the radio, speaks into it.                                POWELL                 One Adam Ten, go ahead.                                DISPATCHER'S VOICE/RADIO                 Investigate a code two at Nakatomi                 Plaza, Century City.                                POWELL                        (thinking)                 Nakatomi Plaza?        He moves to the door, steps outside.107-A   EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE                                107-A          Powell looks towards the horizon and up.        There it is, Nakatomi, in all its gleaming glory.                                DISPATCH VOICE                 One Adam Ten, do you copy?        Powell is already moving to the car.  He tosses in the twinkies,        hops behind the wheel.                                POWELL                        (into police                        radio)                 Roger, dispatch.  I'm on the way.        And he BURNS RUBBER leaving the store:                                                    CUT TO:108     EXT. ROOF - ON MCCLANE - NIGHT                        108          running for his life, from Fritz and Franco, doesn't realize        he is being herded around the building toward Karl.  Suddenly        McClane turns a corner and sees Karl.  The big man fires a        burst and McClane ducks back stopping at the exterior door        to the pump room he used before.  It is locked from the inside.        He BLOWS the lock off with a burst from his machine gun and        slips into the darkness of the:109     ELEVATOR SHAFT NEAR PUMP ROOM                         109          Coming quickly out of the pump room, McClane picks his way        over the same ground as a few minutes before and opens the door        to the elevator shaft.  The dimly lit shaft yawns before him.        He starts down the ladder back to the catwalk, moves along        it -- STOPS.        The catwalk ends, and the elevator is gone.109-A   INT. PUMP ROOM - OTHER END                            109-A          Karl crosses, starts to open the door to the elevator shaft        when suddenly their radio crackles with --                                HANS' VOICE                 Karl?  Franco?  Did you catch him?                                FRANCO                 No, but he's in the elevator shaft.                                HANS' VOICE                 Prefect.  The elevators are locked off.              *                   He can't escape.  Just shut him in and                 return to base.                                KARL                 Hans, he killed by brother --                                HANS                        (more firmly)                 Karl, I know you want him, but the                 police are probably on their way.                 Maybe we can convince them it was all                 a mistake, but not if they hear gunshots!                 If you lock him in he'll be neutralized                 -- now do it!  Karl?  Karl!        Karl turns off his radio.  In the light of their flashlights,        the two other terrorists look at Karl in stunned disbelief.        He opens the door to the elevator shaft.109-B   INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT - ON MCCLANE                      109-B          He's OVERHEARD enough of this to realize he's in deep shit.        He backtracks to the air shaft door, strikes a cigarette        lighter.110-    OUT                                             OUT   110-117                                                           117  117-A   ELEVATOR SHAFT (OPPOSITE SIDE)                        117-A          Karl steps off the ladder to the catwalk, his own gun held    *          ready.118     MCCLANE                                               118        HEARING Karl's approach, McClane thinks fast, looks down at        his narrow confines, and then at:118-A   HIS WEAPON                                            118-A          and its canvas gunsling and metal strap slides.118-B   BACK TO SCENE                                         118-B          Quickly, McClane lets out all the slack in the sling.  Then,        he BRACES the weapon across the outside opening of the air        shaft door and lowers himself into the:119     AIR SHAFT                                             119          meanwhile holding onto the canvas sling with his elbows bent        over it like a kid doing a half-asses skin-the-cat on a swing        set.        His feet slowly move down the smooth aluminum walls until they        reach the top of the air duct, then DANGLE in the open space.        He straightens his arms to give him length enough to touch        the bottom edge of the duct.        Suddenly he FEELS something GIVE above him and looks up.120     CLOSE ON THE SLING                                    120          It was designed to carry a gun on a man, not vice versa.  The        few inches of extra canvas are sliding through the clips.        When they're gone...he will be too.121     KARL                                                  121          He moves silently toward the corner.122     CLOSE - MCCLANE'S TOES                                122          now only inches from the bottom edge.  McClane's arms are        fully extended now.  He hears Karl on the metal catwalk.  His        muscles strain and quiver.123     THE SLING                                             123          One of the canvas end slips through the clip.124     ON MCCLANE                                            124          FALLING.  He grabs the ledge of the air duct as he falls and        his body slams into the aluminum wall with an echoing BOOM.        Above him on the catwalk the rifle rattles on the metal outside        the door.125     ON KARL                                               125          Around the corner Karl FREEZES, unsure of the sound:126     ON MCCLANE                                            126          holding onto the ledge by his hands.  With every ounce of        strength he tries to pull himself up into the horizontal duct,        clawing for a hold.127     ON KARL                                               127          He rounds the corner and sees McClane's rifle lying beneath        the doorway.  He moves to the small door, shines his light and        aims his rifle down into the air shaft ready to fire.128     HIS P.O.V.                                            128          The shaft is deserted.  Moving his light around he sees the air        duct.  Without hesitation he turns and backtracks to the pump        room door.129     INT. AIR CONDITIONING DUCT - ON MCCLANE - SAME        129          He lies exhausted and motionless in the narrow crawl space.  He        awkwardly fishes out the lighter from his shirt pocket and        thumbs it ON.        The flickering GLOW shows him this ain't no place for        claustrophobics -- it's a long, long long dark and narrow        corridor full of weird shadows.  The far end (if there even        if one?) is BLACK.                                MCCLANE                 Whew...for a moment there I was                 worried.        He turns out his lighter, and starts crawling.130-    OUT                                             OUT   130-  133                                                           133-  133-A   INT. MACHINE FLOOR                                    133-A          The three terrorists rush down from the roof in hot pursuit,        Karl leading the way through the door.  Karl points quickly to        the left and right where there are a series of rooms.  The        others checks these while Karl approaches the CAMERA, trigger        finger ITCHING.  Almost immediately, the others return.                                FRANCO                        (a whisper)                 Nothing.        Karl looks puzzled.  Then he thinks, mentally retracing McClane's        few options.  Karl's eyes scan the architecture here, and then        suddenly he looks UP.133-B   OUT                                             OUT   133-B   *  134     HIS P.O.V.                                            134     *           The ceiling is criss-crossed with air ducts.  He fires a      *          burst into the ducts.135     INT. AIR DUCT - SAME                                  135        McClane remains motionless in the air duct.  Three quarter-size        holes inches from his face show how close Karl came to nailing        him.  Sweat covers his face, drips silently onto the aluminum.136     MACHINE ROOM                                          136        Karl listens patiently for sound.  Just then the two other        terrorists return.                                FRANCO                 Nothing.        Karl hesitates a moment, fighting his instincts before finally        turning to go.  Suddenly the duct McClane is in GROANS slightly        under his weight.  Karl stops and looks up at the matrix of        aluminum duct work, trying to single out the source of the        sound.  He steps back into the room and raises his rifle.        Holding it upright he presses the barrel up into the belly        of McClane's air duct, feeling for weight -- the weight of a        body.137     INSIDE THE AIR DUCT                                   137        McClane sees the indention of the barrel pressing into the        aluminum fifteen feet away.  There is a pause and another        three feet closer.  He can hear Karl's footsteps on the        concrete -- moving slowly below the duct.138     ON KARL                                               138          His eyes are fixed above him on the air duct.  He presses the        barrel up again.  Still nothing.139     ON MCCLANE                                            139          Silently he moves his hand, slowly draws his Beretta.  The        next indention presses up six feet away.  McClane points his        gun downward and waits.140     KARL                                                  140          stops directly below him.  The barrel starts up and just        touches the duct under McClane when Franco returns to the        door and calls:                                FRANCO                 Karl!  Police!  Come on.        Karl hesitates then lowers his gun and leaves.141     CLOSE - MCCLANE                                       141        He hears the door close and lowers his head.141-A   INT. 33RD FLOOR - SAFE ROOM                           141-A        The large LED WINDOW in the front of the safe BEEPS and letters        creep by:  ACCESS CODE ACCEPTED.  We HEAR a CLUNK.        CAMERA ADJUSTS to show Theo, who grins.  Now his computer        screen reads, LOCK #1 DISABLED.  DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?        Theo puts goggles on his eyes, holds out his hands towards        Kristoff like a doctor requesting a scalpel.  Kristoff gives        him a GIANT DRILL.                                THEO                 You bet your ass I'm gonna proceed.        He turns on the drill:142     OUT                                             OUT   142143     EXT. CENTURY CITY - AVENUE OF THE STARS - NIGHT       143        The street is empty, quiet.  A lone police black-and-white        pulls out of the shadows of a side street and begins a slow        cruise toward the Nakatomi building.144     ON POWELL                                             144        Driving, alone.  He starts up at the tower.  It seems calm,        its glowing lights matching the warmth of the holiday        decorations on the streets.  Powell slows to a stop and        scans the premises.  In the lobby we SEE Eddie, sitting behind        the desk.  Powell reports to his radio.                                POWELL                 Guard inside.  No signs of disturbance                 ...I'm going up for a closer look.        He pulls in and parks in the front.145     INT. MACHINE ROOM - SAME                              145          McClane punches out a ceiling vent and drops down into the        machine room.  For a moment he stands, listening for sounds        of movement.  The floor is quiet.  He goes to the stairwell.146     EXT. ROOF - SAME                                      146        The edge of the roof.  Suddenly a tall terrorist, James,        moves along the wall and looks over at Powell's car.147     INT. 3RD FLOOR - SAME                                 147        The elevator doors open on Karl, Franco and Fritz.  They      *        step out onto the darkened floor.  We SEE large number "3"        painted on the doors of this floor.        They move quickly toward the windows on the Avenue of the Stars        side where a terrorist, ALEXANDER, with a BAR rifle has set up        a machine gun nest under a half-opened window.  Directly below        him we SEE Powell's car.        Alexander PANS the police car with his weapon, finger on the        trigger.  This is clearly a man hungry for action.148     30TH FLOOR (HANS' OFFICE) - SAME                      148          Hans watches from above.  He raises his CB.                                HANS                        (his usual calm)                 Eddie?149     INT. LOBBY - SAME                                     149        Eddie picks up his CB.  He watches Powell coming up the stairs.                                EDDIE                        (to CB)                 Had a feeling you'd be calling...                                HANS' VOICE                 Let him in.        Eddie is a little startled, but he moves quickly.149-A   ALEXANDER                                             149-A        also hears this, and his eager expression fades.  But orders        are orders.150     EXT. FRONT DOOR OF NAKATOMI - SAME                    150          Powell tries the front doors.  Locked.  Eddie comes hustling        across and unlocks the door with the magnetic card.                                EDDIE                 Evening, officer.  What's up?        Powell steps in and looks around.  Bland HOLIDAY MUZAK filters        from Speakers here.   (LET IT SNOW)                           *                                          POWELL                 We got an emergency call that there                 was a problem here.151     INT. 34TH FLOOR - BOARD ROOM - SAME                   151     *        McClane makes his way to the Avenue of the Stars side of        the building, enters the board room where Takagi was shot.        McClane goes to the windows and looks down at the street.152     HIS P.O.V.                                            152        Powell's car.                                MCCLANE                 All right!        McClane waits, expectant.  Five seconds.  Ten seconds.  But        no commotion, no shouting.  He frowns.                                MCCLANE                 Where's the fucking cavalry?152-A   INT. LOBBY - SAME TIME                                152-A          Powell walks casually across the slick floor, eyes panning the        area.  Eddie sits casually watching a game on one of his        monitor screens.                                EDDIE                 We already had that false alarm, you                 ask me, the Goddamn computers sent                 you out on another wild goose chase.                 They been chasing bugs in that system                 since they installed it.                        (to the screen)                 Oh, shit, come on, I got fifty bucks                 on you assholes -- !        Powell's face shows us he's starting to think he's wasting his        time.152-B-  OUT                                             OUT   152-B153                                                           153153-A   WITH MCCLANE                                          153-A        The silent tension is driving him crazy.                                MCCLANE                 Come on, come on...who's in that                 car, Stevie Wonder?        He makes up his mind.  He lifts one of the big chairs and        swings it at the window.  The tempered glass whitens on the        first blow.153-B   EXT. ROOF                                            153-B        James sees the glass whiten below him and shouts into his mike.153-C   INT. MACHINE FLOOR                                   153-C        Heinrich hears the radio and shouts to Marco who grabs his        machine gun and runs.154     INT. LOBBY                                           154        Eddie watches confidently as Powell moves through the lobby        looking for signs of trouble.154-A   AROUND THE CORNER FROM POWELL                        154-A        Uli is there, gun held ready.                                 *155     BOARD ROOM - 34th FLOOR                              155        McClane draws the chair back for the final hit when a terrorist        (MARCO) appears at the door.  Both men react, but Marco already        has his gun up.  He FIRES a round at McClane.  The bullets rip        into the table top and the chair, and McClane goes down behind        the table.156-    OUT                                             OUT  156-156-A                                                        156-A157     INT. 34th FLOOR - BOARD ROOM                         157        Marco smiles and moves around to the other side of the table,        but finds no one.  He looks around frantically than squats        beneath the table and sees:158     MCCLANE                                              158        lying prone, his pistol trained on him.                                MCCLANE                 Drop it or you're a rugstain.159     BOARD ROOM DOORWAY                                   159        Just then Heinrich, the terrorist steps into the doorway, sees        the situation.                                HEINRICH                 Marco, duck!        Marco dives sideways, but Heinrich still isn't quick enough.        McClane FIRES TWICE and Heinrich DROPS sprawling in the hallway,        machine gun FIRING BLINDLY until he hits the floor.159-A   HOSTAGE FLOOR                                         159-A        They can FAINTLY HEAR the gunshots.  Holly pales:159-B   THE LOBBY                                             159-B        All Powell can hear here is "LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW."  He        STOPS just a yard from seeing the armed terrorist, turns back.                                POWELL                 Screw this.        He turns back.159-C   THE BOARD ROOM                                        159-C        Marco springs on top of the huge table.  McClane rolls on his        back so he can cover either angle but it is clear that Marco        is in the more enviable position.160     ON MARCO                                              160        on the table top slams in a fresh magazine and smiles.                                MARCO                 Next time -- don't hesitate.        He leans his machine gun over the edge.161     MCCLANE                                               161        aims directly above him and fires twice into the underside        of the table.  The bullets rip through the table and Marco,        who DROPS beside McClane.                                MCCLANE                 Thanks for the advice.162     OUT                                             OUT   162163     INT. LOBBY - SAME                                     163        Powell heads for the door.  Eddie moves to lock up after him.                                POWELL                 Sorry to water your time.  Merry                 Christmas.                Powell goes out.164     INT. 34TH FLOOR BOARD ROOM - SAME                     164        McClane rolls out from under the table, goes to the windows,        and looks down in time to see Powell heading for the car.                                MCCLANE                 Oh, man, please, no --        Desperate, he leans on the glass...which CRACKS again, on the        verge of going.  McClane thinks...looks over his shoulder at        the body of Marco.165     INT. POWELL'S POLICE CAR - SAME                       165        Powell check in on his radio.  Unconsciously he begins to        HUM the Muzak he overheard in the lobby.                                POWELL                 One Adam Ten to 6421.  We had a                 wild goose chase on that 436.                 Everything's okay here.  Over.                        (waiting, loosening                        his tie, he murmurs)                 'Oh, the weather outside is frightful,                 but the...the uh, dum, de dum's                 delightful...'                                DISPATCHER'S VOICE                 Roger, One Adam Ten.  We thought it                 was a crank call anyway.  Clear to                 code eight.                                POWELL                 Roger.                        (putting the                        car into gear)                 '...let is snow, let it snow, let                 it snow -- '        Suddenly Marco's body CRASHES onto the hood of his car.                                POWELL                        (terrified)                 -- Jesus H. Christ!                        (grabbing for                        his radio)                 6421, this is One Adam Ten --        Suddenly a barrage of MACHINE GUN FIRE from Alexander on the        third floor drowns out his call!  Powell ducks and flattens        against the seat as bullets blow out the front window,        covering him in glass.                                DISPATCHER'S VOICE                 Roger, One Adam Ten, please repeat.        But Powell accelerates in reverse away from the building,        keeping his head low and praying he doesn't hit anything        as the bullets follow him, digging into asphalt.  A half block        away his car runs off the pavement and down a SLOPE, finally        BOUNCING to a jarring HALT in a parking lot which is destined        to become police H.Q. a few pages from now.  Powell sits up        and clutches the mike.                                POWELL                 One Adam Ten, under automatic rifle                 fire at Nakatomi!  Requesting immediate                 backup and SWAT assistance...166     INT. 34TH FLOOR - BOARD ROOM                          166     *        McClane looks down at Powell and grins.                                MCCLANE                 Welcome to the party, pal.                                                    CUT TO:166-A   INT. OFFICE - TV STATION - SAME TIME                  166-A        WIDEN FROM A POLICE SCANNER.  We take in the action here,        all color coordination and slickness.  RICHARD THORNBURG,     *        local TV news reporter, is on the phone to his girlfriend.                                THORNBURG                             *                        (into phone)                 -- of course I can get us a table,                 Wolfgang and me, we're like that.                 I interviewed him...hold on,                         *                 babe...        He covers the mouthpiece, because he's become aware of what's        coming from the scanner.                                POLICE SCANNER                        (various voices)                 -- attention all units.  Officer                 pinned down by automatic weapon                 fire at Nakatomi, Century City --                 request assistant -- (ETC)                                POWELL'S VOICE                        (intermixed with                        all this)                 -- guys, you want to cut through                 the red tape?  They practically                 turned this car into Swiss cheese -- !                                THORNBURG                        (pleased)                 All right...!        He drops the phone, pick up another.  Shouts --                                THORNBURG                 Mary, this is Dick.  I want a remote                 truck and a crew to meet me at the                 South gate in fifteen minutes...                        (listens)                 Damn right, fifteen...                        (listens)                 Where are we going?                        (Hearing gun shots)                 For an Emmy!        Now, hearing MACHINE GUN FIRE, Thornburg hangs up the second        phone.  Runs out of the room.  CAMERA PANS BACK TO the first        phone.                                WOMAN'S VOICE                 Richard?  Richard?167     EXT. CENTURY CITY - NIGHT                            167        Sirens wail as the first few police cars arrive.  Powell sees        them, waves them back, points to the third floor.168     INT. HOSTAGE WING - ON ELLIS - SAME                  168        He leans back and closes his eyes, luxuriating in the sound        of WAILING POLICE SIRENS.  He looks at Holly.                                ELLIS                 I never through I'd love to hear                 that sound.169     HANS' OFFICE                                         169        Hans, Karl, Fritz and Franco confer.                                HANS                        (in mid-speech)                 -- all of you, stay at your posts!                 We knew that police action was                 inevitable...                        (an odd smile)                 ...In fact, it's necessary.  So let                 them start their feeble efforts;                 until them, stay calm.  We have                 the hostages, remember.  We are                 still in charge.        Suddenly Hans' CB crackles to life.                                HANS                        (picking it up)                 I told all of you...I want radio                 silence until further --                                                    INTERCUT:169-A   MCCLANE - 34th FLOOR - BOARD ROOM                    169-A    *        He's got a CB on the table and ON, and his cop's notebook is        out again.  He's already upgraded the NUMBER OF TERRORISTS?        to "12 (?) minus 3 = 9" and added other information.  As he        speaks he takes ammo clips the dead men dropped, their        sidearms, etc.                                MCCLANE                 Gee, I'm sorry, Hans, nobody gave                 me the message.  You shoulda put                 it on the bulletin board.  Anyway,                 I thought you and Franco and Karl                 and the other boys might be lonely,                 now that I waxed Tony and Marco and                 their buddy.  So I invited some of                 the guys from my card game.        In the office, the terrorists REACT, startled, as McClane        name-drops.                                FRANCO                                *                 How...how does he know so much                 about --                                HANS                        (waving for silence)                 Ah, how nice of you to call.  I                 assume you are our mysterious party                 crasher.  You are most troublesome                 for a...security guard?170     INT. 34th FLOOR - ON MCCLANE - INTERCUT              170      *        Moving down the corridor.  Now armed with Marco's machine        gun and carrying Heinrich's kit bag, he seems more lethal.    *                                MCCLANE                        (into CB)                 BZZZ!  Sorry, Hans, wrong guess.                 Would you like to go for                 Double Jeopardy, where the stakes                 are double and the scores really                 change?        He rolls Heinrich over and is delighted to find a pack of        Gauloise's in the man's pocket.  He takes them, pats the      *        dead man's face.                                MCCLANE                        (sotto, to the body)                 Bad for your health anyway.                                HANS                 Who are you, then?                                MCCLANE                 Just the fly in the ointment, Hans.                 The monkey in the wrench, the pain                 in the ass -        McClane STOPS in mid-speech.  He's just opened the kit bag        Heinrich had over his shoulder when he died.  Now McClane        takes out the contents...dozens and dozens of EXPLOSIVE        DETONATORS marked "DANGER" and a CHUNK of cello-wrapped        PLASTIQUE the size of an electric razor.  He WHISTLES in        surprise to himself.        In the office, Hans turns off his mike for a moment, turns        to Karl.                                                      *                                HANS                 Check on all the others...don't                 use the radio.  See if he's lying                 about Marco  and find out if anyone                  *                 else is missing.                                     *        He moves.   Hans goes back onto the CB.  Meanwhile, McClane   *        SMILES at the tell-tale STATIC as Hans goes off and on.  He        knows what's happening.  Now, he starts to walk down        a corridor, eyes PANNING FROM elevator to the stairwell        doors.                                HANS                 Mr. Mystery Guest.  Are you still                 there?                                MCCLANE                 I wouldn't think of leaving, Hans.                 Unless you want to open the front                 door...?                                HANS                 I'm afraid not.  But you have me                 at a loss -- you know my name, but                 who are you?                        (scornfully)                 Just another American who saw too                 many movies as a child.  Another                 orphan of a bankrupt culture who                 thinks he's John Wayne...Rambo...                 Marshal Dillion.                                MCCLANE                 Actually, I was always partial to                 Roy Rogers.  I really dug those                 sequined shirts.                                HANS                        (harsh)                 Do you really think you have a chance                 against us, Mr. Cowboy?        A LIGHT blinks on the elevator.                                MCCLANE                        (long pause)                 Yipee-yi-yea...mother-fucker.        McClane goes quietly through the stairwell door and is gone        by the time the search party steps onto this floor.        Hans sits quietly...thinking.170-A   OUT                                             OUT   170-A                                                    CUT TO:171     INT. 30TH FLOOR - SAME                                171        Karl steps off the elevator and goes through the crowd of        hostages to Hans.                                KARL                        (quietly)                 He wasn't lying about Marco:  He's                 thirty stories down on the street.                 The other man is Heinrich, and I found                 his body upstairs.                        (pause; Hans looks                        alarmed)                 And his bag is missing.                                HANS                 He had the detonators!                        (into CB)                 Theo?  Theo!                                                    INTERCUT:171-A   THEO - IN SAFE ROOM                                   171-A        With Kristoff, he has DRILLED TWO HOLES in the safe and is        working on a third when he HEARS the CB.  He turns off the        drill, answers.                                THEO                 Yo!                                HANS                 We may have some problems.  How is                 your schedule?        Theo moves to his computer screen which shows a schematic of        the safe and blinking icons and the words MECHANICALS #2        and #2 DISABLED.                                THEO                 Three down, four to go --                                HANS                 Then don't waste time talking to                 me.        Suddenly all REACT to a nearby CB transmitter which broadcasts.                                POWELL'S VOICE                 This is Sergeant Al Powell of the                 Los Angeles Police Department.  If                 the person who radioed for help on                 this channel can hear me, acknowledge                 this transmission...I say again...172     INT. 33RD FLOOR - ON MCCLANE - NIGHT                  172     *                                MCCLANE                        (to CB)                 I read you, Powell.  You the guy                 in the car?                                                    INTERCUT:173     EXT. POLICE OPERATIONS TRAILER                        173        Powell stands in front of his destroyed cruiser and looks        up at the building.  Behind him technicians, City Power and        Light personnel, SWAT officers in protective gear, etc., arrive        from all directions.  A trailer is being backed into a parking        lot, which will become the police center of operations.  It        is like watching a small town being constructed right before        your eyes.                                POWELL                        (to CB)                 What's left of him.  Can you                 identify yourself?                                                    INTERCUT:173-A   HANS AND KARL                                         173-A        Listening intently.                                MCCLANE                 Maybe later.  Just listen fast                 because this is a party line and                 the neighbors are trigger happy.                 Now here's the skinny:  There's                 thirty or so hostages on the                 30th floor, with probably 2 or 3                 guards to cover a group that size.                 The leader here is named Hans,                 and besides the pea shooter he                 ventilated your car with,                            *                 they got machine guns and                            *                 sidearms up the yin yang.  On top                 of that one of 'em had a big enough                 chunck of plastic explosive to                 orbit Kate Smith.                                    *        NOTE:  The following dialogue is said OVER McClane's.                                FRANCO                 We have to find him and shut him                 up!  He's telling them everything --                                HANS                        (shaking his head,                        calming)                 The police are irrelevant.  We've                    *                 waiting for the FBI.  Until they                     *                 arrive, we can't finish out work.                 Meanwhile, let this fool waste time                 for the police.  Fritz, go help Uli                  *                 find the bag.        The CAMERA TIGHTENS ON him                                HANS                 We must find those detonators.        They leave.173-B   WITH MCCLANE                                          173-B                                POWELL'S VOICE                 How many are there?                                MCCLANE                        (thinking about it)                 Figuring there's at least one to                 cover the lobby, a couple with the                 hostages...I'd say they came in                 with about a dozen...but they're                 down to nine now, including the                 skydiver you already met.  These                 guys are mostly Europeans, judging                 by their clothing labels, and they're                 well financed and very slick.                                POWELL                 How do you know?                                MCCLANE                 I've seen enough phoney ID's in                 my time to recognize that the ones                 they've got cost a fortune.  Add all                 that up and I don't know what the                 fuck it means, but these are bad                 ass preps and they're here to stay.        We notice that everything McClane has said about "clothing"        and ID's and police jargon, etc., has set off a little buzzer        in Powell's brain.                                POWELL                 I hear you...                        (on a hunch)                 Partner.  And LA's finest are on it,                 so light 'em if you got 'em.                                MCCLANE                 I'm ahead of you...partner.                                POWELL                 Uh, what do I call you?        A moment.  McClane smiles.  What the hell?                                MCCLANE                 'Roy'.                                POWELL                 Got it...'Roy'.  Now listen.  If                 you think of anything else you think                 we need to know, don't be shy, okay?                 In the meantime I want you to find                 a safe place and hole-up and let                 us do our job.  Understand?                                MCCLANE                        (to CB)                 They're all yours, Al.  Good luck.        McClane turns off his CB and sits against the wall.174-    OUT                                             OUT   174-176                                                           176177     EXT. POLICE OPERATIONS - NIGHT                        177        An unmarked police car pulls up across the street from        Nakatomi building and a MAN in a sportcoat climbs out.        Stocky, his hair a little too perfect, the very fact that        he is the Deputy Chief of Police Operations on a Christmas Eve        gives some evidence to his position in the pecking order.  His        name is DWAYNE T. ROBINSON and he moves brusquely past police        technicians and goes to the forward group of officers.                                ROBINSON                 Who's talking to them?        Powell turns around                                POWELL                 I am, Sir...Sergeant Al Powell.                                ROBINSON                 Dwayne Robinson.  Well, what have                 you learned?  What do they want?                                POWELL                 The terrorists?  Don't know, Sir.                 We haven't heard a peep from them.                                ROBINSON                        (puzzled)                 Then who the hell have you been                 talking too?                                POWELL                 We don't exactly know, Sir.  He won't                 give us him name.  He appears to be the                 man who called in the report...he's                 killed one of the terrorists for sure                 and claims he capped two others.                                ROBINSON                        (exasperated)                 He claims?  Powell, has it occured                 to you he could be one of the                 terrorists, pulling your chain?                 Or some kind of nut case who --                                POWELL                 I don't think so, Sir.  In fact...                 I think he's a cop.  Maybe not                 LAPD, but definitely a badge.                                ROBINSON                 How do you know?                                POWELL                 A hunch.  Things he said.  Like,                 knowing how to recognize a phony                 ID --                                ROBINSON                        (exasperated)                 -- recognizing phony ID's?  Christ,                 Powell, he could be a fucking                 bartender for all we know!        Something draws Robinson's attention.  He looks at:178     HIS P.O.V. - REMOTE NEWS TRUCK                        178        Pulling up and parking just beyond the barricades.        Richard Thornburg gets out, starts supervising the            *        positioning of cameras.178-A   BACK TO SCENE                                         178-A                                ROBINSON                 Oh shit...179     HOSTAGE FLOOR                                         179        Hans examines building plans at Holly's desk.  Behind him        the TV is ON, the sound muted.  TV cops triumph over oafish        bad guys.        Hans looks up as Fritz brings in Holly.                                HOLLY                 I...have a request.                                HANS                 Oh?  What idiot put you in charge?                                HOLLY                        (evenly)                 You did.                        (on his look)                 You murdered by Boss.  Now...                        (waving towards                        the hostages)                 They're looking to me.  Personally                 I'd pass on the jab.  I don't enjoy                 being this close to you.        Hans is impressed by her candor.  And she's easy enough        on the eyes.                                HANS                 Go on.                                HOLLY                 We have a pregnant woman out there --                        (on his look)                 -- relax, she's not due for two                 weeks, but a marble floor isn't                 doing her back any good.  I'd like                 permission for her to more to one                 of the offices where there's a sofa.                                HANS                 No.  But I'll have a sofa brought                 out to you.  Good enough?                                HOLLY                 Good enough.  And unless you like                 is messy, you'd better start taking                 us in groups to the bathroom.                                HANS                        (nods)                 Yes, you're right.  It will be done.        He nods to one of his men, and she is waved to the door:        As she goes:                                HANS                 Mr. Takagi chose his people well,                 Mrs...?                                HOLLY                 Gennero.  Miss Gennero.        He nods, thoughtful.  She goes out.  Hans suddenly notices:180     CLOSER - TV                                          180        A slide "SPECIAL BULLETIN" has appeared.  This changes to a        SHOT of the Nakatomi building with "LIVE" supered over it.        Richard Thornburg is in front. The CAMERA TIGHTENS ON him.                                THORNBURG                 This is Richard Thornburg, speaking                 to you live from Century City...                 where Los Angeles has joined the                 sad but world wide fraternity whose                 only membership requirement is the                 awesome spectre of International                 Terrorism...181     ANOTHER TV SCREEN - NIGHT                            181        As Thornburg Continues, we PULL BACK.  We're WITH Argyle in        the back seat of the limo.                                ARGYLE                        (reaching for the                        remote)                 What else is new...?        The CAMERA PULLS BACK and we SEE the Nakatomi Building rise        up in the b.g. behind Thornburg.                                ARGYLE                        (stunned)                 Holy shit...                                THORNBURG                 We're told that the situation began                 some two hours ago when an                 unidentified party of men took over                 the building and sealed off all of                 its entrances and exits...        Argyle is already bailing out of the car.182     EXT. LIMO - IN THE GARAGE                            182        Argyle looks at the metal gates, swallows.  He JUMPS back        in the car.183     BACK INSIDE                                          183        Argyle pours himself a stiff drink.                                THORNBURG                        (on TV)                 Since all the telephone lines have                 been cut, the only contact with the                 building had been through the use of                 CB communicators which the terrorists                 brought with them.  Strangely enough,                 so far the terrorists have not                 communicated directly with the police...                 but an unidentified man has had                 several conversations which seem to                 indicate...        Argyle nearly spills his drink as he leans over the front        seat and turns on the CB.                                                    CUT TO:184     OUTSIDE THE BUILDING - SAME TIME                     184        Signs of activity along the edges and shadows of the area.        Men and vehicles.  The SNAP of weapons and breeches.        Footsteps running in unison.  Powell picks up on this, turns        to Robinson, who is standing with the SWAT Captain, MITCHELL.                                POWELL                 What's going on?                                ROBINSON                 What's it look like?  We're going                 in.                                POWELL                        (flabbergasted)                 Going in...are you out of your mind?                 There's 30 hostages in there -- for                 all we know --                                ROBINSON                 -- all we know?  We don't know shit,                 Powell.  If there's hostages why                 hasn't anyone asked for ransom?  If                 there's terrorists, where's their                 goddamn list of demands?  All we know                 is that someone shot up your car, and                 it could be the same flake you've been                 talking to on the radio!                                POWELL                 What about the body that fell out of                 the window -- ?                                ROBINSON                 Who the hell knows?  Maybe he was a                 stockbroker who looked at the Dow Jones                 and opted for early retirement!                                MITCHELL                 Chief, we're ready.                                ROBINSON                 I'm coming.                                MITCHELL                        (into radio)                 Rivers.                                RIVERS                        (over radio)                 Yo.                                MITCHELL                 Begin your reconnoiter.185     MCCLANE                                               185        Inside the building, sadly realizing that the Marlboro pack        has only two more to go.  He savors the dregs of his current        number, then suddenly becomes aware of an almost EERIE QUIET.        He moves to the window.186     HIS P.O.V. - OUTSIDE                                  186        Hints of activity in the darkness.  A LIGHT FLARES extinguished.        Shadows move on trailer walls.187     BACK TO SCENE                                         187                                MCCLANE                        (spooked, into CB)                 Powell?  Al, you still with me?                 What's going on?  Al?                                                    INTERCUT:188     OUTSIDE                                               188        Powell stiffens.  Robinson looks at him warningly, shakes his        head.                                POWELL                 I'm here, Roy, but I'm, uh, kind of                 busy.  Let's talk later, okay?                                MCCLANE                 Al, what's wrong?  Did something --                        (realizing)                 -- Oh, God.  You're coming in!  That's                 it, isn't it?  Christ, Powell, I told                 you what you're dealing with here --                                POWELL                 I said we'll talk later, Roy.  If                 you're what I think you are you should                 know when to listen, when to shut up...                 and when to pray.        Hating himself, Powell DISCONNECTS, watches LIGHTS snaps on in        the parking lot to illuminate the area.        Also hating himself, McClane does the same thing.  Pale, he        moves to a window to watch what he knows is going to be brutal.188-A   IN HOLLY'S OFFICE - HANS                              188-A        He hunches over his communicator.                                HANS                 They'll be coming.  Get ready.                 Theo, watch the screens.  Be our                 eyes and ears.                        (pause)                 Wait until they're close.188-B   EDDIE                                                 188-B        slips away from the desk, a computer card in his hand.  He        meets up with another terrorist and they move behind a slit        in the wall.  Eddie waves his card at the sensor and a METAL        GRID crashes into place.  They hold their weapons behind it,        ready.188-C   VARIOUS SHOTS - TERRORISTS - ON OTHER FLOORS          188-C        All now with earplugs in their CB's, taking up positions:189     AT THE LOBBY DOOR                                     189        The SWAT team leader moves in SOP style to the door, scans it        carefully.189-A   EXT. CENTURY CITY - ON MITCHELL AND ROBINSON -        189-A        POLICE BARRICADES        Mitchell listens to CB radio.                                RIVERS                        (over radio)                 We're in position.        Mitchell looks at Robinson, who is visible tense.  Robinson        hesitates, then gives his approval with a nod.                                MITCHELL                        (to CB)                 Go.190     QUICK SHOTS - INSIDE THE LOBBY                        190        The SECURITY CAMERAS on the walls PAN and ZOOM:191     THE VAULT DOOR                                        191        Kristoff DRILLS AWAY, is rewarded with the message FIFTH LOCK        DEACTIVATED.  DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE?  Nearby, Theo sits at        a bank of monitors.  Screen after screen pinpoints all the        police activity outside, down to the last detail.  Theo SMILES.        Suddenly we RECOGNIZE that tune he's been whistling.  It's        "Singin' In The Rain."                                THEO                        (into a throat mike)                 It was the night before Xmas, and                 all through the house, not a creature                 was stirring, expect for the four                 assholes coming in the rear in                 standard 2 X 2 cover formation.192     INT. LOBBY - NIGHT                                    192        Eddie and another terrorist, ULI, take up prone firing        positions, using the gaps in the steel partition like gunpoints.193     ANGLE ON TWO SWAT OFFICERS                            193        Mitchell and Robinson watch from behind the cover of a police        car as the SWAT officers remove a portable welding torch and        begin cutting their way through the locks.194     INT. 33RD FLOOR - MCCLANE                             194        He moves painfully to the window and looks out.  He can't see        a thing because of the lights.                                MCCLANE                        (to himself)                 No...195     EXT. POLICE BARRICADES - ON MITCHELL AND ROBINSON     195        Suddenly rifle fire sounds from the building.                                ROBINSON                        (worriedly)                 They're shooting at them                                MITCHELL                        (calmly)                 It's panic fire...they can't see                 anything.                                POWELL                        (under breath)                 They're shooting at the lights.        More shots ring out from the building going over the SWAT        officers' heads and suddenly the huge dome of one of the        spotlights shatters behind Mitchell and Robinson's head.        The glow fades.  A moment later the next light twenty feet        away dies.                                ROBINSON                 They're going after the lights!        The two SWAT officers cutting the garage ate suddenly look up        as their cover starts to disappear.                                ROBINSON                 Call them back.                                MITCHELL                 No, they're almost in.        Suddenly the third and fourth lights are shot out and the SWAT        men become sitting ducks.196     IN HOLLY'S OFFICE - HANS                              196        He calmly speak into his CB.                                HANS                 Don't get impatient.  Just wound them.197     INT. LOBBY                                            197        Eddie and Uli fire.  They hit one of the officers in the leg,        the second one in the arm.198     EXT. POLICE BARRICADES - ON MITCHELL AND ROBINSON     198                                MITCHELL                        (on radio)                 Send in the car!        An armored car wheels toward the building and starts toward        the wounded men.199     INT. ROOF-MACHINE ROOM/SERVICE ELEVATOR - SAME        199        JAMES and Alexander quickly load two crates onto the service        elevator and push the button for the 3rd floor.  As the car        starts down, they remove an anti-tank gun from one of the        crates.200     WITH THEO - WATCHING SCREENS                          200                                THEO                 Well, what have we here.  The                 police've got themselves an R.V.                 James, Alexander, southeast corner.201     INT. 3RD FLOOR - SAME                                 201        The service elevator arrives on the 3rd floor and James and        Alexander move across the room toward the windows with the        anti-tank weapon.  At the window, they prepare the weapon        for use.        Outside the window the armored car has stopped in front of the        wounded man and paramedics quickly load them in from the        sheltered side of the vehicle.  Alexander quickly sights on        the armored car.                                ALEXANDER                        (to Hans, CB)                 I have them                                HANS' VOICE                        (o.s., over CB)                 Fire.202     EXT. THE ARMORED CAR                                  202        A blast ROARS from the third floor window and the shell hits        the armored car.  The car pitches forward like a beast whose        front legs have been shot out from under it -- its front axle        destroyed, unable to move.  Alexander looks back at James and        grins.203     30TH FLOOR - HANS                                     203        He watches from his window.  Coldly picks up his CB.                                HANS                 Hit it again.204     MCCLANE                                               204        listening.  He picks up his CB.                                MCCLANE                 Hans, you motherfucker, you've made                 your point.  Let them pull back!                                HANS' VOICE                 Thank you Mr. Cowboy, I'll take it                 under advisement.  His it again.        McClane slumps to the floor below the window.  He feels        helpless, then notices his kit bag.205     3RD FLOOR                                             205        James runs back to the crate on the elevator.206     EXT. POLICE BARRICADE - ON ROBINSON AND MITCHELL      206        They look on in horror as the armored car sits helplessly on        fire.  On the police radio channel we HEAR the screams of men        inside.                                MITCHELL                        (to radio)                 Rivers!  Rodriguiz!...Report...                                RIVERS                        (voice over; on                        radio, yelling)                 This is Rivers.  We've got one dead.                 Everybody's hit.  Rodriguiz's bleeding                 bad.  We've got to get the fuck out of                 here!                                MITCHELL                        (to radio)                 Rivers, hang on!  That's an order!                 Hang on, we'll get you out.207     INT. ELEVATOR CAR - 3RD FLOOR - SAME                  207        James opens the box of shells and takes two and starts back        across the room.208     INT. 33RD FLOOR - CLOSE ON A SHAPE ON PLASTIC         208        EXPLOSIVE - SAME        Like a football.  It sits on the seat of a secretary's chair        with castors.  We PULL BACK TO SEE McClane press three        detonators into the top, then cover the explosive with a        typewriter, tying it securely in place with electrical cords.209     ANGLE ON SERVICE ELEVATOR - MCCLANE                   209        wheels the chair to the service elevator, opens the door and        block them with a fire axe.  He looks in -- the top of the car        can just be seen thirty-five floors below.210     INT. 3RD FLOOR                                        210        James hands the shell to Alexander, who expertly loads it into        the anti-tank gun. Alexaneder lifts the  gun to his shoulder        and aims.211     INT. 38TH FLOOR                                       211        McClane push the chair into the shaft.                                MCCLANE                 Geronimo...motherfuckers.        For a long moment there is nothing, then:  the shaft is filled        with light, then SOUND -- an ungodly ROAR -- and McClane is        thrown back across the elevator corridor against the other        back of doors by the concussion wave.212     ON THE 3RD FLOOR                                      212        The explosion, like a firestorm, rips across the floor:213     BLOWING OUT THE MACHINE GUN NEXT AND JAMES AND        213        ALEXANDER214     SHATTERING WINDOWS                                    214215     SENDING DESKS, CHAIRS, PHONES, AND TYPEWRITERS        215        FLYING216     EXT. AVENUE OF THE STARS                              216        The police take cover behind their cars.  Powell, Robinson,        and Mitchell look like they've seen the face of God as the        building rocks from the blast.  Henry's cigarette falls from        his mouth as a desk is sent hurtling across Avenue of the Stars        into the trees across the street.217     INT. UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE - ON WILLIAM - SAME   217        watching it on TV, feeling it all around him.                                WILLIAM                 Oh, Jesus...218     EXT. DOWN ON THE STREET - SAME                        218        Dick Thornburg's crew is taping.                                THORNBURG                        (in awe)                 Unreal.                        (to the cameraman)                 Did you get all that?                                CAMERAMAN                 Yep.        Thornburg looks at his competitors still setting up.                                THORNBURG                 Eat your heart out, Channel Four.219-    OUT                                             OUT   219-221                                                           221222     ON HOSTAGE FLOOR                                      222        The hostages are shaken and the terrorists guarding them        aren't too sure of themselves either.  Only Hans is relatively        calm.                                FRANCO                 They're using artillery on us -- !                                HANS                 You idiot, it's not the police...                        (pause)                 ...It's him.223     ANGLE ON HOLLY                                        223        She comforts Ginny.224     INT. 32ND FLOOR - MCCLANE - SAME                      224        He sits up and lifts the CB.                                MCCLANE                 Al!  Al, the guys in the car, did                 they make it?                                                    INTERCUT:225     EXT. POWELL                                          225        on the street, watching as the survivors are pulled out of the        wreck and to safety.                                POWELL                        (on CB)                 Safe and sound, thanks to you.                 What the fuck was that?                                MCCLANE                 The plastique I found.                        (worried)                 Is the building on fire?                                POWELL                 No, but it's gonna need one hell                 of a paint job and a shitload of                 screen doors.                        (looking off,                        nodding)                 One spotters say you got two with                 that blast.                                MCCLANE                 Two?  Are you sure?        Before Powell can answer Robinson comes running up to him.                                ROBINSON                 Is that him?                                POWELL                 Yessir.                                ROBINSON                        (reaching for Powell's                        CB)                 Give me that.                        (angrily at McClane)                 Now, listen to me, mister, I don't                 know what you think you're doing,                 but demolishing a building doesn't                 fall under the definition of 'help'!                 There's hundreds of people out here                 and you covered half of them in                 pieces of glass --                                MCCLANE                 Glass, my ass!  Who the fuck is this?                                ROBINSON                 This is Deputy Chief of Police                 Dwayne T. Robinson, and I'm in                 charge of this situation.        McClane leans tiredly against the elevator door.                                MCCLANE                 Well, from up here, it looks like                 you're in charge of shit, Dwayne.                 I haven't seen such a fucked up                 operation since the                 Bride of Frankenstein.  Ask                 the guys in the armored car if                 they minded a little flying glass.                                ROBINSON                 Listen asshole -- !                                MCCLANE                        (exploding)                 Asshole?  I'm not the one who just                 for butt fucked on national TV,                 Dwayne!  Now if you're not part                 of the solution, stop being part                 of the problem!  Get off the                 Goddamn radio and put Al back on!        McClane is so furious, he's out of breath.226     INT. LIMO - ARGYLE - SAME                            226        Argyle nods in agreement.                                ARGYLE                 Tell 'em, Mr. Mac!  Tell 'em!227     INT. 33RD FLOOR - ON MCCLANE                         227        still seething.  There is a long pause on the CB, then:                                POWELL'S VOICE                 Hello, Roy.  How're you feeling?                                MCCLANE                        (pissed)                 Pretty fucking unappreciated.                                                    INTERCUT:228     ON POWELL                                            228        Other officers, including Robinson, monitor the conversation.                                POWELL                 Hey, I love you.                        (looking around)                 So do a lot of the guys.  So hang                 in there, man.  Hang in there.                                MCCLANE                        (tired, touched)                 Thanks...partner.229     TV - CLOSE                                           229        As it SNAPS ON.  We're in the studio set.                                GAIL                        (as the picture                        stabilizes)                 ...of the Nakatomi building,                 sources say that the terrorist                 leader 'Hans' may be this man,                 Hans Gruber.        A SLIDE of Hans appears behind her.  At the same time, the CAMERA        PULLS BACK.  We realize we're on THE HOSTAGE FLOOR, and Hans        has just turned on the set out here for his "guests".  He smiles        modestly as they "recognize" him from the on air shot, returns        to the office.                                GAIL                        (on TV)                 A member of the radical                 West German Volksfrei movement.                 Strangely, the Volksfrei leadership                 issued a communique an hour ago                 stating that Gruber has been expelled                 from the organization and is operating                 on his own.                                HARVEY                        (on TV)                 Obviously, Gail whatever his                 affiliation, it's safe to say                 that Gruber's terrorist actions                 in Los Angeles tonight are well,                 terroristic...        As the bullshit continues, Ellis suddenly STANDS, head towards        the terrorist "office".  Immediately the chief guard here,        Fritz, moves to intercept Ellis.                                HOLLY                 Where are you going?                                ELLIS                 I'm tired of sitting here waiting                 to see who gets us killed first...                 them...or your husband.                        (to the approaching                        Fritz)                 Hi there.                                HOLLY                        (worried)                 What are you going to do?                                ELLIS                 Hey, I negotiate million dollar                 deals for breakfast.  I can handle                 these clowns.                        (to Fritz)                 I want to talk to Hans.  Hans!                 Sprickenzie talk?        He doesn't wait for an answer.  Fritz follows him.  Holly        worries.230     THE OFFICE                                           230                                KARL                        (in mid-speech,                        angry)                 -- you wouldn't let me kill him                 when I had the chance --                                HANS                 If you'd listened to me he would                 be neutralized already!                                KARL                 I don't want neutral...I want dead --        ALL TURN at a rap on the door.  Ellis is there.                                ELLIS                 Hope I'm not interrupting...?                                HANS                        (to Fritz)                 What does he want?        As Fritz shrugs:                                ELLIS                 It's not what I want, it's what                 I can give you.  Look, let's be                 straight, okay?  It's obvious                 you're not some dumb thug up                 here to snatch a few purses, am                 I right?        Karl looks at Ellis and then at Hans, as if to say, let me plug        this asshole right now.  But Hans is either amused of curious        or bored enough to shake his head, turn back to Ellis.                                HANS                        (politely)                 You're very perceptive.                                ELLIS                        (flattered)                 Hey, I read the papers, I watch                 60 minutes, I say to myself, these                 guys are professionals, they're                 motivated, they're happening.                 They want something.  Now, personally,                 I don't care about your politics.                 Maybe you're pissed at the                 Camel Jockeys, maybe it's the                 Hebes, Northern Ireland, that's                 none of my business.  I figure,                 You're here to negotiate, am I right?                                HANS                 You're amazing.  You figured this                 all out already?                                ELLIS                 Hey, business is business.  You use                 a gun, I use a fountain pen, what's                 the difference?  To put it in my                 terms, you're here on a hostile                 takeover and you grab us for some                 greenmail but you didn't expect a                 poison pill was gonna be running                 around the building.                        (smiling)                 Hans, baby...I'm your white knight.                                HANS                        (dryly)                 I must have missed 60 Minutes.  What                 are you saying?                                ELLIS                 The guy upstairs who's fucking things                 up?  I can give him to you.        As Hans reacts with real interest for the first time, we:                                                    CUT TO:231     POWELL                                               231        By the CB.  He suddenly REACTS to a GROAN from McClane.                                POWELL                 Roy!  You all right?232     INSIDE - MCCLANE                                     232        He's by an open desk drawer, having just ripped open a package        of twinkies he's found.  He grimaces, mouth full.                                MCCLANE                 Yeah, just trying to handle some                 year old twinkies.  Yucck.  What                 do they put in these things?                                POWELL                        (reciting)                 'Sugar, enriched flour, partially                 hydrogenated vegetable oil,                 polysorbate 60 and yellow dye #5.'                                MCCLANE                        (laughing)                 You sound like a man with a                 couple of kids.                                POWELL                 Not yet, the wife in working on our                 first.  You got any kids back on                 the ranch?        McClane swallows Twinkie with a grimace, takes out his wallet,        flips it open to a picture of himself and Holly and the kids        in happier days.                                MCCLANE                 Two.  And I'd sure like to see them                 swinging on the jungle gym with                 Al junior.                                POWELL                 It's a date.  You buy the ice cream.        McClane laughs, stares at the photo, when suddenly another VOICE        besides Powell's comes over his radio.                                HANS' VOICE                        (o.s., on CB)                 Touching, cowboy, touching.                        (pause)                 Or should I call you Mister McClane?                 Mister officer John McClane on the                 NYPD?        McClane FREEZES.  How much do they know?233     THORNBURG - IN TRAILER                               233        Reacts, gleeful, writes down the name.                                THORSON                        (to Mary)                 Get on the phone to our New York                 affiliate...move, move!234     POWELL                                               234        reacts, signals an Aide, who's already writing, too.                                                    INTERCUT:235     MCCLANE AND HANS                                     235                                MCCLANE                        (fighting to stay calm)                 Sister Teresa in third grade called                 me Mr. McClane.  My friends call me                 John Mac.  You're neither...shithead.                                HANS' VOICE                 I have someone who wants to talk                 to you.  A very special friend who                 was at the party with you tonight.        McClane's face falls.  Oh, God.  Eyes closed, he waits for the        voice that tells him it's all over.                                ELLIS' VOICE                 Hello, John boy?        McClane's eyes open, showing equal parts of shock and hope.        In the office, CAMERA ADJUSTS TO SHOW Ellis as Hans gives him        the CB.                                MCCLANE                 Ellis?        Ellis has a cigarette, and a terrorist brings him a Diet coke.                                ELLIS                 John, they're giving me a few minutes                 to try and talk some sense into you.                 I know you think you're doing your                 job, and I can appreciate that, but                 you're just dragging this thing out.                 None of us gets out of here until                 these people can negotiate with the                 LA police, and they're just not gonna                 start doing that until you stop                 messing up the works.                                MCCLANE                        (carefully)                 Ellis, what have you told them?                                ELLIS                 I told them we're old friends and you                 were my guest at the party.        McClane sighs, partially relieved.  Hans meanwhile, narrows his        eyes.                                MCCLANE                 Ellis...you shouldn't be doing                 this...                                ELLIS                 Tell me about it.        He looks at Hans, who gives him a nod.                                ELLIS                 All right...John, listen to me...                 They want you to tell them where the                 detonators are.  They know people are                 listening.  They want the detonators                 of they're going to kill me.        Ellis gives Hans a big "ok" sign.  Hans returns it.236     INT. POLICE TRAILER - ON POWELL, ROBINSON - SAME     236        and others listening intently.  McClane closes his eyes and        leans his head back again.  He knows what is going to happen,        even if this poor bastard Ellis doesn't.                                ELLIS' VOICE                 John, didn't you hear me?                                MCCLANE                        (to CB, quietly)                 Yeah, I hear you, you fucking moron!                                ELLIS                 John, I think you could get with                 the program a little.  The police                 are here now.  It's their problem.                 Tell these guys where the detonators                 are so no one else gets hurt.  Hey,                 I'm putting my life on the line for                 you buddy...                                MCCLANE                 Don't you think I know that!  Put                 Hans on!  Hans, listen to me, that                 shithead doesn't know what kind of                 scum you are, but I do --                                HANS                 Good.  Then you'll give us what we                 want and save your friend's life.                 You're not part of this equation.                 It's time to realize that.        Saying this, Hans takes out his gun, points it at Ellis, smiling.        Ellis smiles, too.                                ELLIS                 What am I, a method actor?  Hans,                 babe, put away the gun.  This is                 radio, not television...                                MCCLANE                 That asshole's not my friend!                 I barely know him!  I hate his                 fucking guts --                        (desperately sincere)                 -- Ellis, for Christ's sake, tell                 him you don't mean shit to me --                                ELLIS                 John, how can you say that, after                 all these years--?  John?  John?        Ellis looks at Hans and shrugs, "Well, I tried..." Hans nods        understandingly.  He takes the CB, presses the TALK button, and        in one frighteningly smooth motion brings the Walther up to        Ellis' forehead and PULLS THE TRIGGER.                                                    CUT TO:237     INT. 33RD FLOOR - MCCLANE                            237        He was expecting the SHOT but it still chills him.238     30TH FLOOR - HOLLY AND HOSTAGES                      238        She lowers her head sadly.  Around her, the others go CRAZY as        they SEE Ellis' blood splattered on the glass walls on Hans'        office.239     INT. HANS' OFFICE - ON HANS                         239        He throws open the door to let McClane and the police hear the        screams of the hostages.                                HANS                 Hear that?  Talk to me, where are my                 detonators.  Where are they or shall                 I shoot another one?  Sooner or later...                        (taking a shot)                 ...I might get to someone you do care                 about.                                MCCLANE                        (after a beat)                 Go fuck yourself.        He DISCONNECTS.240     EXT. BUILDING                                       240        Powell fends off Robinson, who wants the CB.                                ROBINSON                 Goddamn, didn't you hear him!  He                 practically pulled the Goddamned                 trigger himself -- he gave that man                 to them --                                POWELL                 Christ, can't you read between the                 lines!  He did everything he could                 to save him...if he gave himself up                 they'd both be dead!                                ROBINSON                 Maybe.  And maybe they'd at least                 be talking to us!  Now tell your                 'partner' to stay out of it, or so                 help me if he lives through this                 I'll put him behind bars myself!                                POWELL                        (amused)                 He's alone, tired, hunted, and hasn't                 seen diddly-squat from us and you                 think he gives a flying fuck about                 what you're going to do to him?                 Robinson, wake up and smell the shit                 you're shoveling!                                ROBINSON                        (cold)                 Anytime you want to go home,                 Sergeant...consider yourself dismissed.        They lock eyes.                                POWELL                 No Sir.  You couldn't drag me away.                                HANS' VOICE                        (over CB)                 Attention police.  Attention police.        It's asses and elbows time.  Tape recorders are started.                                POWELL                        (starting to speak)                 This is --                                ROBINSON                        (taking the CB away)                 This is Deputy Chief Robinson.  Who                 is this?                                                    INTERCUT:241     HANS' OFFICE                                         241                                HANS                 This is Hans Gruber.  I assume you                 realize the futility of direct action                 against me.  We have no wish for                 further loss of life.                                ROBINSON                 What do you wish for, Mister Gruber?                                HANS                 I have comrades in arms around the                 world who are languishing in prison.                 The American State Department enjoys                 rattling its saber to its own ends...                 now it can rattle it for me.                                                    INTERCUT:242     MCCLANE                                              242        Listening to this with expressions ranging from astonishment        to dismay to outright derisive amusement.                                HANS' VOICE                 ...The following people are to be                 released from their captors:  In                 Northern Ireland, the seven members                 of the New Provo Front.  In Canada,                 the five imprisoned leaders of                 Liberte de Quebec...243     HANS' OFFICE                                         243                                HANS                 ...in Sri Lanka, the nine members                 of the Asian Dawn movement...                                KARL                        (sotto)                 'Asian Dawn Movement?'                                HANS                        (off-mike, a shrug)                 I read about them in Time magazine.                        (on mike)                 When these Revolutionary Brothers and                 Sisters are Free, the hostages in this                 building will be taken to the roof and                 they will accompany us in helicopters                 to the Los Angeles International Airport                 where you will be given further                 instructions.  You have two hours to                 comply.                                ROBINSON                 Two hours?  Are you insane?  I can't                 authorize...hello?  Hello?                                KARL                 Do you think they'll even try to                 do it?                                HANS                 Who cares?                        (on another                        channel)                 Theo.  Are we on schedule?                                                    INTERCUT:244     VAULT ROOM                                           244        Theo and Kristoff have been rewarded with another LOCK        DEACTIVATED.                                THEO                                  *                 One more to go...then it's up                 to you.        The graphic on his screen flashes:  "WARNING:  ELECTRO-       *        MAGNETIC SEAL ARMED."                                         *                                THEO                 And you better be right, because                 this one's going to take a miracle.                                HANS                                  *                 It's Christmas, Theo, it's the time                 of miracles.  So be of good cheer                 and call me when you hit the last                 lock.                        (disconnecting)                 Karl...hunt the little shit down                 and get those detonators.                                                                      *                                KARL                 Franco is checking the explosives,                 Fritz is with him.                                HANS                 I'll check the explosives.  You                 just get those detonators.245     MCCLANE - 32ND FLOOR                                 245        As he talks, he essentially PATROLS the floor he's staked        out, constantly looking into every dark corner, gun held        ready, moving toward the stairwell.                                MCCLANE                 Al?  Al, you there?                                POWELL                 I'm here, cowboy.                                MCCLANE                 Speaking of cows, did you ever                 hear so much bullshit in your life?                 Two hours?  That doesn't even make                 any sense --                                POWELL                 Don't tell me, partner.  I'm just                 a desk jockey who was on the way                 home when you rang.                                MCCLANE                 The way you drove that car, I                 figured you for the streets.                                POWELL                 In my youth, partner.  In my youth.246     INT. TV STUDIO - NIGHT                               246        Gail and Harvey have company, a man from the Senator        Paul Simon's school of grooming.                                GAIL                        (in mid-speech)                 ...author of...                        (holding up a copy)                 'Hostage/Terrorist, Terrorist/Hostage,                 a Study in Duality.'  Dr. Hasseldorf,                 what can we expect in the next few hours?                                HASSELDORF                 Well, Gail, by this time the hostages                 and their captors should be entering                 the early stages of the Helsinki                 Syndrome.                                HARVEY                 As in Helsinki, Sweden?247     CONTROL ROOM                                          247        Sam sighs, shakes his head.                                HASSELDORF                        (over monitor)                 Uh...Finland.  Basically, it's when                 the hostages and the terrorists go                 through a sort of psychological                 transference and projection of dependency...248     INT. NAKATOMI - HOSTAGE FLOOR                         248        Fritz drags Ellis' body out of the office and throws it on the        floor.                                HASSELDORF                        (over Hans' TV)                 What can only be described as a                 strange sort of trust and bond                 develops...We've had situations where                 hostages have embraced their captors                 after their release and in one case                 even corresponded with them in prison...249     INT. BUILDING - MACHINE FLOOR                         249        Hans turns, looks up at the ceiling.  Too dim up there to see        from here.  He sighs, sets his gun down on a buttress, starts        to climb up, not enjoying it.250-    OUT                                             OUT   250-253                                                           253                                                    CUT TO:254     OUTSIDE THE BUILDING                                  254        Robinson looks at a YOUNG COP, reacts, startled:                                ROBINSON                 The...the FBI?  Here?  Now?                                YOUNG COP                 Yessir.  Right over there.        Robinson looks at Powell, adjusts his clothing, fixes his tie.                                POWELL                        (dryly)                 You want a breath mint?        Robinson glares at him, then they move together towards:255     A BIG DARK GOVERNMENT CAR                             255        Headlights still on, dominating the area where it sits.  Robinson        steps up, sees: 256     HIS P.O.V. - FBI AGENTS                               256        They get out.  One big back lit SILHOUETTE, one little one.                                BIG JOHNSON                        (showing badge)                 I'm Special Agent Johnson of the FBI.                 This is Agent Johnson...no relation.                                ROBINSON                        (stepping forward, plastic                        smile)                 Dwayne Robinson, LAPD.  I'm in charge                 here.                                BIG JOHNSON                 Not any more.        As Robinson REACTS, we GO TO:257     THE MECHANICAL FLOOR - TIGHT ON HANS                   257        He checks the plastique, not pleased.  He turns, DROPS to the        floor.258     LOW ANGLE                                              258        He lands, knees bent...looks directly at a PAIR OF BARE FEET.        A GUN BARREL DROPS INTO THE SHOT close to his head.                                MCCLANE                 Lost?259     NEW ANGLE                                              259        A moment.  And then Hans turns, looks up.        The transformation in his expression and bearing are mind-        boggling.  Hands shaking, eyes filled with fear, he swallows,        looks up at McClane and in a perfect American accent says:                                HANS                 --ohGodplease -- don't kill me --                 don't kill me -- you're one of them,                 I know it --                                MCCLANE                        (thrown, unsure)                 Whoa, whoa, easy man.  I won't hurt                 you.  Who are you?  What are you                 looking for?        Hans' eyes dart towards:260     THE BUTTRESS TEN FEET AWAY                             260        Where a tiny piece of his gun sticks out, barely visible.261     BACK TO SCENE                                          261                                HANS                 A way up to the roof...I thought I                 could signal for help --        He starts in that direction.                                MCCLANE                 Forget it.  They got a guy up there.                 You want to stay alive, keep moving.                 Hey?  You hear me?        Hans realizes this tack won't work.  He follows McClane.                                HANS                 You...you're an American?                                MCCLANE                        (friendly, easing the                        man's fears)                 Only if New Jersey counts.        It works.  The poor frightened civilian shows a hint of a smile.                                                    CUT TO:261-A   OUTSIDE BUILDING                                       261-A                                ROBINSON                        (in mid-speech to FBI)                 We've got thirty, maybe thirty-five                 hostages, probably on the 30th floor...                 seven, maybe eight terrorists.                                LITTLE JOHNSON                        (to Big Johnson)                 Sounds like a standard A-7 scenario.        Big Johnson nods in agreement, turns to Robinson.                                BIG JOHNSON                 Thank you.  We'll handle it from                 here.  When we need to commandeer                 your men, we'll try and let you know.        He starts to move away with his partner.                                POWELL                        (angry)                 Aren't you forgetting something?        Johnson and Johnson turn.  Robinson wants Powell to shut up.                                BIG JOHNSON                 Such as...?                                POWELL                        (pointing to the building)                 John McClane!  He's the man who gave                 us all the information we've got!                 He's the reason you're facing seven                 terrorists instead of twelve.                                LITTLE JOHNSON                 He's inside?  Who is he?                                ROBINSON                        (nodding)                 He may be a cop...we're checking                 on that --                                BIG JOHNSON                 One of yours?                                ROBINSON                        (too quickly)                 No, sir.                                BIG JOHNSON                        (after a moment)                 If he's not a terrorist, and he's                 not a hostage...he's just not part                 of the equation.        They start to walk away.                                POWELL                        (indignant)                 T...that's the same Goddamn thing                 the terrorists said!                                LITTLE JOHNSON                        (interested)                 Really?                        (to Big Johnson)                 That's one good thing.  Sound like                 we're dealing with pros.        They leave.                                                    CUT TO:262     THE COMPUTER FLOOR                                     262        McClane and Hans walk together.  Hans is still a "nervous wreck."                                HANS                        (nodding)                 There was a party -- celebration --                 all of a sudden they were there --                 shooting -- threatening us --263     CLOSER SHOT                                            263        McClane looks at this poor civilian, on the edge of going to        pieces.  He puts his hand on his shoulder.                                MCCLANE                 Relax, man...you smoke?        Hans nods, still "frightened".  McClane takes out his spoils        of war, the Marlboros.  Two left.  He sighs, takes one, offers        the other one with an expression like a little boy forced to        share a cookie.  McClane takes out a lighter, does his and        Hans'.  Hans nods, grateful...then peers at McClane.                                HANS                 You...you don't work for Nakatomi...                 and if you're not one of them...                                MCCLANE                 I'm a cop from New York.                                HANS                        (puzzled)                 New York...                                MCCLANE                        (explaining)                 They invited me to the Xmas party.                 Who knew?        Hans' eyes take in his bare feet.                                MCCLANE                 Better than being caught with your                 pants down, right?                        (extending his hand)                 John McClane.                                HANS                        (shaking hands)                 William Clay.                        (smiling)                 Call me Bill.        McClane nods, friendly like, and his eyes glance casually over        at:264     THE WALL - A ROSTER OF NAKATOMI EMPLOYEES              264        In alphabetical order.  CAMERA MOVES OVER the "c's":  CAMPBELL,        S.: CLAY, WM.: CRAWFORD, L...PANS BACK TO CLAY.265     BACK TO SCENE                                          265                                MCCLANE                 Bill, you know how to use a handgun?                                HANS                        (hesitant)                 One weekend I went to a combat ranch...                        (apologetic)                 You know, that game with the, the guns                 that shoot red paint?  Must sound                 pretty silly to you...                                MCCLANE                 Sounds better than nothing.        McClane takes out his Baretta, pops out the magazine, jams in        a fresh one and hands it to him.                                MCCLANE                 Time for the real thing.        McClane turns, moves on...we STAY ON him until he REACTS to a        CLICK.  He slowly turns:265-A   NEW ANGLE                                              265-A        Hans is...well, Hans again, from expression to posture.  He        holds the pistol aimed at McClane's face and talks calmly into        his radio in German.                                HANS                 Karl!  Franco!  I'm on 33.  Come                 quickly.                        (to McClane)                 Put down your gun and give me my                 detonators.        McClane just looks at him.                                MCCLANE                 Hans.  Your Hans.                                HANS                        (nods, indicating McClane's                        gun again)                 Put it down now.                                MCCLANE                 That was tricky, with the accent.                 I bet you do a great Ed Sullivan.                 Why do you need the detonators, Hans?                 I already used the explosives.                                HANS                 I'm going to count to three...                                MCCLANE                        (cold)                 Yeah.  Like you did with Takagi.        McClane raises his machine gun, aims at Hans.  Hans PULLS THE        TRIGGER.        Click.  Astonishment.  Click-click-click.  McClane steps in        carefully, reclaims his pistol.                                MCCLANE                 You think I'm a shmuch, Hans.        Hans pales as we hear the ding of an approaching elevator.                                HANS                 You were saying.        McClane whirls in time to see:266-    OUT                                           OUT    266-269                                                          269                                                            260     KARL, FRANCO AND FRITZ                               270        Coming out of it, FIRING.271     BACK TO SCENE                                        271        McClane FIRES back, killing Fritz.  Karl and Franco take        cover.  McClane ducks into a water cooler alcove, looks back        at:272     WHERE HANS WAS                                       272        He's gone, a SWINGING OFFICE DOOR the only evidence of his        passing.273     BACK TO SCENE                                        273        McClane curses himself, then RETREATS into a:273-A-  OUT                                            OUT   273-A-273-I                                                        273-I274     BANK OF COMPUTERS                                    274        Where he DUCKS and DODGES as bullets ping and ricochet all        around him.  Ducking, rolling, he FIRES at:275     FRANCO                                               275        McClane's bullets RAKE his middle, throw him over a desk, his        weapon FLYING:276     CLOSER                                               276        He SLIDES right into a glass door.  It smashes around his head.        Bright arterial BLOOD fountains up:277     MCCLANE                                              277        hope rising at the prospect of an equal battle, his face        suddenly FALLS as BULLETS fly in from an unexpected direction.        He turns:278     HANS                                                 278        has reappeared and snatched up Franco's weapon.279     MCCLANE                                              279        FIRES, moving, trying to keep from bring flanked.  One of his        shots SHATTERS a glass panel, raining down shards near Hans,        who escapes with only superficial scratches.280     HANS                                                 280        looks at the glass around him, gets an idea.  He SHOUTS to        Karl in German:                                HANS                 The glass!  Shoot the glass!        And, saying this, he demonstrates.  Karl follows suit.281     MCCLANE                                              281        as GLASS FLIES EVERYWHERE, McClane sees one option, takes it.        BLASTING a burst to keep their heads down, he WHIRLS, JUMPS        on top of a long counter and RUNS ACROSS THE ROOM.  Their        BULLETS follow him, six inches behind his moving form!  Big        CRAY UNITS GROAN with electronic SQUEALS and SPARKS as a        million Gigabytes goes to RAM heaven.  McClane reaches the end        of the counter, DIVES and rolls to the floor:282     HIS FOOT                                             282        goes right down on a jagged SHARD.  He GROANS, keeps going:283     STAIRWELL DOOR                                       283        He's out, gone, safe!284     BACK TO SCENE                                        284        Karl looks pissed as hell.  Behind him, Hans sifts through        rubble, then comes over, smiling.        He's holding the bag of detonators.                                HANS                 Smile, Karl.  We are back in business.                                                    CUT TO:285     INT. TV TRAILER                                      285                                HASSELDORF                        (on monitor here)                 ...all depends on what we mean by                 "Terror.'  If Clauswitz could say                 'War is the last resort of Deplomacy,'                 couldn't we just as well say that                 terrorism has an equal claim to...        Mary comes inside, grinning ear to ear.  Thornburg looks up from        his danish, a cute little chin napkin protecting his shirt        collar.                                THORNBURG                 You got something?                                MARY                        (waving a paper)                 Just McClane's name, badge number,                 police record, vital statistics...                        (the ringer)                 ...And his family's address right                 here in L.A.        As Thornburg GRINS we GO TO:286     HOSTAGE FLOOR                                         286        Eddie and Uli are guarding the hostages.  Hans and Karl return.        Hans tosses the bag of detonators to Uli, who grins, leaves.287     HOLLY AND GINNY                                       287        Holly has watched all this nervously.  But Ginny's eyes follow        Karl, who doesn't share the mood of the others.                                GINNY                 That one look pissed, Ms. Gennero...                                HOLLY                        (relieved)                 Thank God.                        (explaining)                 He's still alive.                                                    CUT TO:288     UPSTAIRS - WASHROOM                                   288        The door JARS open.  McClane all but crawls inside.  As he        passes the CAMERA we SEE his dragging foot leaving a trail        of blood on the linoleum.                                                    CUT TO:289     VAULT ROOM - SAME TIME                                289        Theo and Kristoff REACT, delighted, as they get the message        SIXTH LOCK DEACTIVATED.  Suddenly a BUZZER SOUNDS and the        graphic flashes:  "ELECTROMAGNETIC SEAL ENGAGED.  CANNOT        BE DISARMED AT THIS LOCATION.  TERMINATE SEQUENCE (Y/N)?"                                THEO                 You better heat up that miracle                      *                 you were talking about.  We broke                 through on Number Six, and the                 Electromagentic came down like a                 sledgehammer...                                                    INTERCUT:290     HANS' OFFICE                                          290                                HANS                        (unphased)                                    *                 Well have a look at what our friends                 outside are doing and I'll be right                 up.291     INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT                                 291        Wincing in pain, McClane washes his foot in a sink basin.  He        washes a deep cut, soaps it, but the pain doesn't relent.        When a VOICE speaks, he JUMPS, realizes it's the CB.                                POWELL                        (on CB)                 Roy?  You still with us?                                MCCLANE                 Yeah.  But all things being equal,                 I'd rather be in Philadelphia.  By                 the way, chalk up two more terrorists.                                                    INTERCUT:292     POWELL - OUTSIDE                                      292                                POWELL                 They boys'll be glad.  We got a pool                 going on you.        McClane tries to wrap paper towels on the foot but his grimace        shows that is still hurts like hell.                                MCCLANE                        (through his teeth)                 Yeah?  What's the odds?                                POWELL                 You don't want to know.        Suddenly remembering an NYPD course in first aid from ten years        ago, McClane removes the improvised bandage, check the cut        more carefully.                                MCCLANE                        (as he work)                 Put me down for twenty anyway...I'm                 good for it...so, what got you off the                 street, Al?  You liked lousy coffee,                 or what?        Powell doesn't answer right away.  At the same time, McClane        swallows, seeing a gleam inside his foot.  He gingerly probes,        and pulls out a shard of glass almost three inches long from its        angled gash, his mouth twisted in a silent scream all the way.                                POWELL'S VOICE                 I...realized I couldn't do what I                 had to anymore...at least not out                 there.  I had an...accident.        McClane throws the glass across the room, forehead bathed in        sweat.                                MCCLANE                        (weakly)                 They way you drive, I can see why.                                POWELL                        (beat, serious)                 I...I shot a kid.        Realizing what he's hearing for the first time, McClane's face        shifts to a new kind of pain.                                POWELL                        (soft)                 Eleven years ago.  Oh, it was dark...                 he was big for his age...damn ray gun                 he had looked real enough...yeah, I had                 all the right excuses...but afterwards...                 I really couldn't draw my gun again.                                MCCLANE                 I...I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to make                 a joke of it.                                POWELL                        (offhand)                 Hey, you couldn't know.                                MCCLANE                 I still feel like shit.                                POWELL                 Then this won't matter.                        (reluctantly)                 LAPD's not calling the shots anymore.        And as McClane REACTS we GO TO:293     INT. VAULT ROOM - NIGHT                               293        Hans and Theo lean over a monitor watching a DWP truck near        the parking garage.                                THEO                                  *                        (tapping the screen)                 There's the city engineers...they're                 going into the street circuits...But                 who are these guys in the suits?                                HANS                 That's the FBI...ordering them to cut                *                 the building's power.  They're as                 regular as clockwork...or a time lock...        ON Theo's look:                                HANS                 ...the circuits that cannot be cut...                 are cut automatically in reponse to                 a terrorist incident...You ask for                 miracles, Theo...I give you the FBI...                                THEO                 When you're hot, you're hot.                                                    CUT TO:           *294     EXT. BUILDING                                        294        As we saw on Theo's screen, the Johnsons and Robinson and        Powell are my a MANHOLE with a CITY ENGINEER.  A big CONTROL        BOX is there, cables snaking into the ground where another        CITY WORKER finishes WELDING a last connection.                                GUY IN MANHOLE                 We're spliced in down the line.                                LITTLE JOHNSON                 Do it...now.        The engineer THROWS GIANT LEVERS.  Inside the manhole, SPARKS        SIZZLE and massive contacts CLUNK.295     THE BUILDING                                          295        One by one, all the light on all the floors GO OUT.296     MCCLANE                                               296        in the bathroom, ripping off his shirt and tying it around his        foot, he REACTS --                                MCCLANE                        (into CB)                 Powell?  What's going on?                                                    INTERCUT:297     OUTSIDE                                               297                                POWELL                        (watching the others)                 Ask the FBI.  They've got the terrorist                 playbook and they're running it, step                 by step.        McClane reacts, worried; he knows better.298     THE HOSTAGES                                          298        groan with this new problem:299     THE VAULT ROOM                                        299        Theo and Kristoff and Hans huddle over the computer monitor        screen as if it was a warm fireplace.  Theo points to the        computer screen; all they can do is wait.        We HEAR the HUMM of a portable generator.  The lights go OFF.        The computer screen stays ON.  Theo looks over at the safe.300     SAFE LED READOUT                                      300        It still reads "FIBER OPTIC TIME LOCK CANNOT BE DISARMED AT        THIS LOCATION.  TERMINATE SEQUENCE (Y/N)?"301     BACK TO SCENE                                         301                                KRISTOFF                 Damn!  It didn't go!                                THEO                 They're on the building circuit...                 it's too local.                                HANS                 Encourage them to be bolder.                                THEO                 The only thing left for them is the                 City Grid...                        (worried, typing)                 ...They may not do it.302     EXT. BUILDING                                         302        Just as the Johnsons are looking SMUG...all the floors GO        BACK ON, one by one!                                LITTLE JOHNSON                 Shit!                        (turning, to the                        Engineer)                 Cut it again.  Go wider.                                ENGINEER                 I can't go wider here...                        (to Robinson, looking                        for help)                 ...I'd have to call downtown have                 them take down one of the city                 grids...you're talking ten square                 block --                                ROBINSON                 -- ten blocks?                        (to Big Johnson)                 Are you crazy?  It's Christmas Eve,                 thousands of people -- the Mayor'll                 scream bloody murder --                                BIG JOHNSON                        (ignoring Robinson,                        to the Engineer)                 We must shut down the building.  Go                 wider --!                                ENGINEER                 I need authorization --                                BIG JOHNSON                 Authorization?  How about the                 United States Fucking Government?                 Lose the grid or lose your job!        The engineer looks at Robinson.  No help.  The engineer looks        at his guy in the manhole, shrugs.  No choice.                                ENGINEER                        (takes phone)                 Central.  This is Walt, out at                 Nakatomi.  I want you to shut down                 grid 212.                        (listens)                 No shit, it's my ass.  Just shut it                 down now.        Pause...pause...AND THEN THE FLOORS OF THE BUILDING ALL GO        OUT AGAIN.303     IN THE VAULT ROOM                                     303        EMERGENCY LIGHTING FLICKS ON.   An ALARM "beep-beep-beeps."304     THE LED READOUT ON THE SAFE                           304        changes to "FIBER OPTIC TIME LOCK DEACTIVATED AT SOURCE.        SEVENTH LOCK DISENGAGED."305     BACK TO SCENE                                         305        With a dramatic HUM worthy of 2001, the vault door OPENS!306     OUTSIDE                                               306        The FBI guys look at the dark building, than at the LAPD guys.                                BIG JOHNSON                 That should shake'em up.  With all                 the power shut down, those bastards                 are probably scared shitless.307     IN THE VAULT ROOM                                     307        The safe door finishes its ponderous move, CLUNKS to a halt.        Theo and Kristoff LAUGH, give each other high fives.  Even Hans        loses his usual cool, slaps Theo on the back as Theo and        Kristoff CHEER.                                                    CUT TO:308     THORNBURG'S TV TRUCK                                  308        drives along a residential street.  We SEE the Nakatomi tower        in the b.g., spotlit by the police beams.  Thornburg checks a        map, POINTS a turn out to the driver.                                                    CUT TO:309     OUTSIDE THE NAKATOMI BUILDING                         309        Powell looks up at the dark structure lit only by emergency        lighting.  He sidles over to the FBI men.                                POWELL                        (dryly)                 What do we do now, arrest them for                 not paying their electric bill?                                LITTLE JOHNSON                        (sharply)                 We let them sweat awhile.  Then, when                 they're expecting helicopters...                        (pause)                 ...We give them helicopters...                                BIG JOHNSON                        (nodding)                 Right up the ass.                        (into another communicator)                 This is Johnson...no the other one.  I                 want that air support ready to lift off                 in five minutes...Damn right fully                 armed.  We're on our way.                        (into CB)                 Attention in the building.                                                    INTERCUT:310     VAULT ROOM                                            310        Hans talks while Theo and Kristoff tackle the problem of        unloading the racks and racks of bonds and transferring them        to the black cases.                                HANS                 This is Hans...                                BIG JOHNSON                 This is Agent Johnson of the FBI.                 The State Department has arranged for                 the release of your comrades.  The                 helicopters you requested are on the                 way.                                HANS                 I hear you, FBI.  We'll be ready.        He disconnects, smiles at Theo.                                HANS                 When they touch down and we blow the                 roof, they'll spend a month sifting                 through the bodies and rubble.  By the                 time they figure out what went wrong...                        (smiling at the                        irony)                 ...we'll be earning twenty percent                 like nice fat Capitalists.                                BIG JOHNSON                        (disconnecting, grinning)                 By the time he figures out what hit him                 he'll be in a body bag.        The Johnsons exit.  Powell and Robinson look at each other,        unhappy.  Powell's CB HISSES --                                MCCLANE'S VOICE                 Powell, listen...        Powell moves off to be alone.                                                    INTERCUT:311     INT. BATHROOM                                         311                                POWELL                 I'm here, John.        McClane tries walking on his foot.  He winces in pain, clearly        at the end of his resources.                                MCCLANE                        (long pause)                 Look...I'm getting a bad feeling up                 here...I'd like you to do something                 for me.  Look up my wife...don't ask                 how, you'll know by then...and tell                 her...tell her...I've been a jerk.                 When things panned out for her, I                 should've been behind her all the way                 ...We had something great going until                 I screwed it up...She was the best                 thing that ever happened to a bum                 like me.  She's heard me say I love                 you a thousand times, but she never                 got to hear this...honey...I'm sorry.                        (pause)                 You get all that?                                POWELL                        (clearly touched)                 I got it.  But you can tell her                 yourself.  Just watch your ass and                 you'll make it.                                MCCLANE                 I hope so.  But that's up to the                 guy upstairs.                        (pause; struck by                        a thought)                 Upstairs...                        (thinking, to himself)                 ...Hans, you bastard...what were you                 doing?                                POWELL                 Roy?                                MCCLANE                 Stand by, Powell.  I gotta check                 something out.        He moves towards the door, limping hurriedly out of the room.                                                    CUT TO:312     HOLLY'S FRONT DOOR                                    312        Thornburg's got one foot literally in the doorway, but since        Paulina still has the chain on, it's not quite enough.                                THORNBURG                        (to Paulina)                 One minute, that's all we ask.  You                 could be denying them their last                 chance to talk to their parents.                                PAULINA                 I'm sorry...Mrs. Holly says I                 couldn't let strangers into --                                THORNBURG                 Strangers?  I'm with KFLW TV, that's                 affiliated with the FCC, and I'm sure                 you know that's the United States                 government...just like the INS?        As she wavers...                                                    CUT TO:313     THE MECHANICAL FLOOR                                  313        McClane hobbles in here, favoring his foot.  He retraces his        steps earlier, mentally replaying his meeting with Hans.                                MCCLANE                 I was here...he was...                His eyes flick over the area...then he looks up.  Seeing        something, he moves closer.  He sets down his CB and then, with        difficulty, he climbs up on a thick pipe, flicks his lighter        and hold its high.314     HIS P.O.V.                                            314        Explosives are everywhere.315     BACK TO SCENE                                         315        He reacts, quickly extinguishing the lighter.  He follows the        detonator lines with his eyes.                                MCCLANE                 Oh my God...        He drops to the floor, winces in pain, picks up his CB.                                MCCLANE                 Powell!  Powell, listen to me!  You're                 being double crossed!  The whole roof                 of this building is --        Suddenly a GUN BARREL is pressed against his head.  He stiffens.316     NEW ANGLE                                             316        Karl takes his Baretta, tosses it away.  Then Karl takes the        CB.  Smiling, Karl SMASHES the transmitter underfoot.                                                    CUT TO:317     EXT. BUILDING - POLICE LINES                          317        Powell is beside one of the radio monitoring officers.                                POWELL                        (into CB)                 Roy?  Hello?  Hello?                        (to the officer)                 I thought you had him.                                OFFICER                 I did.  He said something about a,                 a double cross...                                POWELL                        (looking off)                 Tell me about it.318     NEW ANGLE                                             318        Showing two HELICOPTERS in the distance heading this way.                                                    CUT TO:319     MACHINE FLOOR                                         319        Karl hovers over McClane, who hasn't moved a muscle.                                KARL                        (quietly)                 We're both professionals.  But this                 is personal.  You...are done.        WHAM!  McClane DRIVES his elbow into Karl's face.320     NEW ANGLE                                             320        Karl's weapon clatters on the floor.  McClane follows his first        blow with another.  Karl recovers, and with a spinning karate        kick SLAMS McClane back.                                                    CUT TO:321     HOSTAGE FLOOR - NIGHT                                 321        Eddie turns from a window, where the chopper lights loom closer.                                EDDIE                 They're coming.        CAMERA PANS across the room to the doorway of the office, where        Hans nods, stands.                                THORNBURG'S VOICE FROM TV                 -- I know you're proud of your daddy...322     CLOSEUP - HOLLY                                       322        She's speechless, watching in shock as:323     THE PORTABLE TV                                       323        shows Thornburg at Holly's house!  He's squatting down with his        microphone to interview the children in their P.J.s.  His voice        is soft, comforting.                                THORNBURG                        (to the children)                 ...because he's a very brave policeman.                 And your mom has shown just as much                 courage.  But is there something you                 would like to say to them if they're                 watching?        John Jr. says nothing, but Lucy looks at the camera.                                LUCY                 Come home.324     HOLLY                                                 324        She struggles to stay composed...can't.  She slowly turns her        head, looks at Hans.325     HER P.O.V. - HANS                                     325        He's looking away from us, at the picture of the children on        her desk.  He turns back and looks at her.  He smiles.                                HANS                 Mrs. McClane.  How nice to make your                 acquaintance.        He raises his weapon...but he only shoot it into the ceiling,        making everyone jump!                                HANS                        (shouting)                 On your feet, everyone!  Upstairs,                 now!                        (quietly, to Uli)                 You'll lock them up there and come                 right down...        Uli nods and he and Eddie help herd everyone towards the stairs.        Hans moves forward...grabs Holly himself.                                                    CUT TO:326     THE MACHINE FLOOR                                     326        McClane and Karl move towards each other, each sizing the other        up, each looking over the terrain.                                MCCLANE                 Better this way, isn't it?  I mean,                 any faggot can shoot a gun.        This time Karl doesn't take the bait.  Then, when he        does charge, it's unexpected.        The two men fight brutally, Karl bringing years of martial        training to this moment, McClane bringing nothing but the street.327     NEW ANGLE                                             327                                MCCLANE                 You should've heard your brother                 scream when I broke his fucking                 neck...        Karl steps in quickly with a deadly move.  McClane twists free,        slams an elbow into Karl's kidney.  Karl backs off, circles        McClane with new respect.                                                    CUT TO:328     INSIDE AN FBI CHOPPER - IN FLIGHT                     328        THROUGH THE CANOPY we SEE another flanking chopper.  Johnson        and Johnson are here, helmets and mikes on.  Big Johnson checks        aerial maps while Little Johnson checks ammo clips for his        sniper scoped assault rifle.                                BIG JOHNSON                        (shouting, to the pilot)                 Stay low.  They're expecting transports,                 not gunships.                                LITTLE JOHNSON                        (shouting over the noise                        of the rotors)                 What do you figure on breakage?                                BIG JOHNSON                 I figure we take out all the terrorists,                 and lose 20 percent of the hostages...                 25, tops.                                LITTLE JOHNSON                 I can live with those numbers.                                                    CUT TO:329     VAULT FLOOR                                           329        Theo and Kristoff load the bonds into the big cases which carried        all their gear when they entered.  As Hans and Eddie come in they        look curiously at Holly.                                HANS                 A little bonus for us.                        (shoving her forward                        violently)                 A policeman's wife might come in                 handy.        He picks up a CB, speaks into it.                                HANS                 McClane!  McClane!  I have some news                 for you...McClane?330     THE MACHINE FLOOR                                     330        TILT UP from the CB radio Karl smashed.        Karl and McClane are in the b.g., almost toe to toe, all their        tricks played out, going at it with animal instinct.331     THE VAULT ROOM                                        331                                HANS                 McClane?                        (pause, then on a                        new channel)                 Karl?  Karl?        Nothing.  He looks at Theo.                                HANS                 Hurry.332     THE ROOF                                              332        Uli herds the hostages up onto the roof, pushing the last few        out.333     LONG SHOT - FBI CHOPPERS - DOWN AVE. OF THE STARS     333        They float toward us, hugging the street, their prop wash        shaking the trees.334     POWELL AND ROBINSON                                   334        Following them with their eyes, for once sharing the same opinion.335     HOSTAGES ON THE ROOF                                  335        They see their very own Christmas decorations, the friendly        copter lights, and begin to smile and cheer.  Uli smiles to        himself, moves towards the door:336     VAULT ROOM                                            336        Theo closes the lid of a bond-stuffed case, carries it out of        the room.  Holly's eyes follow his exit while the others continue.                                HOLLY                        (to Hans, scornfully)                 After all your posturing, all your                 speeches...you're nothing but a common                 thief.                                HANS                 I'm an exceptional thief, Mrs. McClane.                 And now that I'm moving up to kidnapping,                 you should be more polite.        He SLAPS her.337     MACHINE FLOOR                                         337        Karl drives McClane back with a sweeping head kick.  Another one.        McClane is staggering.  He gets in one hard punch and then Karl        charges at him.  McClane falls backwards, drives his legs        upwards, propelling Karl into the air:338     LOW ANGLE                                             338        Karl goes into a loop of chain hanging over a turbine, becomes        entangled.339     MCCLANE                                               339        jumps to his feet, yanks the other end of the chain.340     KARL                                                  340        is JERKED upwards by the neck.  He TWITCHES like a captured        fish -- starts to turn blue:341     MCCLANE                                               341        Twists the chain end around a pipe as Karl STILLS.  McClane        snatches up his Baretta from the floor, runs out.                                                    CUT TO:342     CHOPPERS - IN THE AIR                                 342        We can SEE the tailing 'chopper through the open port of this        one.  Big Johnson leans over, slaps the shoulder of his pilot.                                BIG JOHNSON                 Just like Saigon, eh, Wally?                                PILOT                 My kind of town.                                                    CUT TO:343     THE ROOF                                              343        The door rattles.  His back to the CAMERA, Uli goes to the door,        OPENS it -- and TWO BULLETS COME OUT HIS BACK.  Smoking Baretta        in hand, McClane vaults over the body before it has even stopped        twitching.  As the hostages SQUEAL and SCREAM, McClane snatches        up Uli's machine gun, runs out onto the roof.  He charges        through the crowd, spots Ginny near the edge of the roof.  She        meets him halfway.                                MCCLANE                 Where's Holly --                                GINNY                 The took her -- after they saw the                 kids on television --                                MCCLANE                 What?  God --        He looks off to the choppers.  Closer yet.  He turns, SHOUTS.                                MCCLANE                 Listen to me!  All of you, get down                 to the lower floors -- you're all                 in danger.                                HOSTAGE                 What are you, crazy?  We're being                 rescued!  Those helicopters --                                MCCLANE                 -- there won't be shit for those helicopters                 to land on, because the whole top of this                 building is wired with explosives!  Now                 get below --                                SECOND HOSTAGE                 But...we're safe up here --                                MCCLANE                 Safe, my ass!  This ain't a helipad,                 it's a launching pad!        And he FIRES over their heads!  They SCREAM, head for the door        as he hoped!  He FIRES again, raking a line across the roof.        They really haul ass.                                MCCLANE                 GET BELOW!  NOW!344     IN THE WING CHOPPER - MID-AIR                         344        A YOUNG FBI AGENT is here with a rifle and a partner.                                YOUNG FBI                        (into throat mike, looking                        out the door)                 Flight leader, this is Wing.  I think                 they're on to us.  One of the terrorists                 is firing on the hostages.345     INSIDE THE OTHER CHOPPER                              345                                LITTLE JOHNSON                        (into mike)                 Roger, Wing.  We copy.                        (to the pilot)                 Swing around.                        (raising his rifle)                 Give me a clear shot.        The pilot nods.346     INT. VAULT ROOM                                       346                                HANS                        (supervising the work)                 Schnell, schnell...der zeitz ist kurz...        Something catches his eye.  He turns, looks at:347     VIEW THROUGH WINDOW -- HIS P.O.V.                     347        Through the glass here he can catch a glimpse of the hostages        coming back into the room!                                                    CUT TO:348     THE ROOF                                              348        McClane herds the last of the hostages inside, starts for the        door himself, when with a ROAR and a CHATTER of rotors, the        lead chopper zooms overhead!  McClane throws himself down on the        ground, looks up as the chopper banks in a tight turn and then        from the open side GUNFIRE erupts!  Shocked, McClane DIVES out        of the way of the bullets that stitch across the door.349     HOSTAGES - ON LOWER FLOORS (OR IN STAIRWELL)          349        descending, SCREAMING and HOWLING as a chopper SWEEPS past a        window on a loop back towards the roof.350     IN THE CHOPPER                                        350        Both Johnsons FIRE AWAY                                BIG JOHNSON                 Bank and we'll nail him!351     THE VAULT ROOM                                        351        Hans whirls towards Kristoff.                                HANS                 Blow the roof.  Now!                                KRISTOFF                 But Karl and Uli are up there --        CAMERA ADJUSTS to show the remote detonator on a table.  Hans        goes to it.352     THE ROOF                                              352        McClane DIVES away from another burst.                                MCCLANE                 You assholes, I'm on your side -- !        They come in on another pass.  Desperate, he looks around, see        a fire hose.  Makes up his mind.  With the chopper LOOMING UP        behind him, he slings Uli's weapon, runs to the fire hose,        unreels three yards, loops it around his back and under his legs.        He looks over the edge, hesitates:                                MCCLANE                 Fuck this...                Bullets HIT all around him.  He JUMPS:353     THE VAULT ROOM                                        353        Hans extends the antenna...HITS the button.354     LONG SHOT - THE ROOF                                  354        The helipad EXPLODES!  A FIREBALL rolls into the sky.355     THE HOSTAGES                                          355        lose their footing on the floor.  Dust and debris fall down,        but they're okay.356     JOHNSON AND JOHNSON'S CHOPPER                         356        STRAINS to avoid the rising fireball...can't!  It's CAUGHT in        the explosion!  It tips over, a rotor hits the roof -- it        CRASHES, EXPLODES, tumbles down the side of the building!357     MCCLANE                                               357        Dangling against the side of the building, he DUCKS and winces        as FLAMING DEBRIS soar past him.358     THE ROOF - HOSE WHEEL DEVICE                          358        Flame ROARS TOWARDS it, engulfs it.  It JERKS on its foundation        PIVOTS 180 degrees as several bolts slip:359     MCCLANE                                               359        DROPS several more feet.  He swallows, then KICKS against the        side of the building, his bloody feet leaving smears.  The        shatterproof glass doesn't budge!  Wincing as more FLAMING DEBRIS        sizzles by, McClane levels the machine gun, KICKS off from the        building, SWINGS back ten feet -- reaches the zenith of his        arc -- FIRES the gun and sails back in:360     INSIDE THE BUILDING                                   360        McClane SMASHES through the shattered glass, SAILS inside, rolls        onto the floor, PLOWING through furniture and decor.  Finally        he STOPS, catches his breath with relief...rises to one knee:361     UP ON THE ROOF                                        361        The fire hose mounting is BLASTED off the roof, SAILS past the        CAMERA:362     OUTSIDE THE BUILDING                                  362        The hose mechanism tumbles downward!363     INSIDE                                                363        McClane is YANKED off his feet, dragged towards the window!364     THE HOSE WHEEL - OUTSIDE                              364        It SLIDES down the side of the building!  The hose PLAYS OUT        on the edge of the windowsill, dragging McClane towards his death!365     MCCLANE                                               365        CLAWS at the floor...no help.  Inches from the shattered window,        he braces his legs against the sill, groans as he fights the        weight of the hose and the reel.  One foot SLIPS.  Only his        already wounded foot keeps him indoors.        He scrambles to untie his improvised rappeling rig -- gets free        just before the hose nozzle CRASHES out and into the great beyond!        Winded, strength ebbing, he staggers to his feet -- just in time        for:366     THE ROOF                                              366        to RECOIL from another staggering explosion!367     THE HOSTAGES                                          367        They scream, cry out:368     IN THE VAULT ROOM                                     368        As Holly covers her head from falling plaster, the men work        like automatons, piling up the bonds.369     MCCLANE                                               369        recovers from another AFTERSHOCK, runs up the steps -- is        momentarily amazed to HEAR a "ding" from the elevator -- he looks        at:370     THE SHAFT                                             370        where suddenly the WALL EXPLODES OUTWARD as an ENTIRE ELEVATOR        CRASHES THROUGH THE WALL, swinging on its cable like a        demolition ball on a crane!371     BACK TO SCENE                                         371        McClane runs up the steps as brickwork flies past his head like        schrapnel:372     THE ELEVATOR                                          372        reaches the apex of its swing, drops down in an arcing turn:373     WIDE SHOT                                             373        the elevator CRASHES into the stairs!  The section McClane in        on SNAPS LOOSE!  At the last minute McClane LEAPS towards:374     THE VAULT FLOOR BALCONY                               374        and catches it as stairs and elevator CRUMBLE behind and beneath        him!  With his last effort, he hauls himself onto the balcony        and them moves off!                                                    CUT TO:375     EXT. BUILDING                                         375        The police are scrambling for cover.  Powell and Robinson are        open-mouthed.376     IN THE BASEMENT                                       376        Argyle is huddled down on the floor of the back seat, the stuffed        animal held over his head as much for company as protection.        As the building ceases to ROCK Argyle sneaks a peek out from        under the fur...and sees:377     HIS P.O.V. - THEO                                     377        at the delivery truck.  He steps into a white paramedic's        jumpsuit and zips it up.  He hops into the cab and pulls the        truck away from the loading dock.378     MCCLANE - ON THE VAULT FLOOR                          378        He creeps forward, looks carefully into:379     HIS P.O.V. - VAULT ROOM                               379        They're getting ready to leave with the bearer bonds.  Suddenly        the CAMERA FOCUS CHANGES TO HOLLY.380     BACK TO SCENE                                         380        McClane's face shows his anguish.  He checks the weapon he took        from Uli.  One bullet!                                MCCLANE                        (under his breath)                 Shit...        He checks his Baretta.  One bullet.  He thinks, desperate.        Decides.  He takes the bullet from the rifle clip, adds it to        the Baretta clip.  He slams the pistol clip back, really worried.        Mind racing, he looks all around the room...his eyes fall on a        tape dispenser.  He thinks again...steps towards it:380-A   IN THE BASEMENT                                       380-A        Theo has pulled two ramps out from the truck and slips into        the back.  A car engine fires up inside the delivery truck.381     ARGYLE                                                381        Realization dawning, he vaults into the front seat.382     THE GARAGE                                            382        A paramedic van shoots out of the back of the Pacific Courier        delivery truck.  Flooring the limo, Argyle CRASHES into        the van, which CAREENS into the wall.383     CLOSER                                                383        Theo staggers out in time for Argyle to deck him with one punch.                                ARGYLE                        (looking around)                 Where's the camera when you need them?                                                    CUT TO:384     THE VAULT ROOM                                        384                                HANS                 Let's move.        The last of the money is piled on.  Hans hangs onto Holly while        Eddie pushes the mail carts of moneybags.  Kristoff goes to the        door to scope their escape...suddenly he is COLD COCKED by a        rifle butt.385     WIDER                                                 385        McClane steps into view in the doorway, backlit by sparks still        tumbling down from the roof above.  He holds the machine gun        ready.                                MCCLANE                 Hans!        Hans turns, not that surprised.  Grinning, he yanks Holly into        view.  No words need be said.                                HOLLY                 John!                                MCCLANE                 Holly, we have to stop meeting like                 this.                        (taking in the vault)                 So that's what it was.  A fucking                 robbery.                        (thinking)                 So why nuke the building, Hans?                                HANS                        (with a shrug)                 When you steal six hundred dollars,                 you can disappear...but when you                 steal six hundred million, they will                 find you...unless you play dead.                        (tight smile)                 Which happens to be your next role...                 drop your gun, please.        McClane hesitates...Hans pushes the gun against Holly again,        really hurting her.  Eddie quickly raises his weapon.                                HANS                        (to Eddie)                 Nein, dies ein ist mein.                        (to McClane)                 This time John Wayne does not walk                 off into the sunset with Grace Kelly.                                MCCLANE                 That was Gary Cooper, shithead...                                HANS                 No more jokes, drop it or she gets it                 between the eyes!                                MCCLANE                        (slowly putting down                        his gun)                 Whoa, Hans, now you're the cowboy?                                HANS                 'Yippe-ki-yea, mother fucker'?  Now                 you are fucked.        He aims:                                MCCLANE                 Holly, now...!        Instantly, Holly sidesteps, JABS her elbow into Hans' face!386     MCCLANE - OVER SHOULDER SHOT                          386        At the same moment Holly moves, McClane grabs his Baretta        from its hiding place TAPED TO THE BACK OF HIS NECK, SHOOTS        Hans high in the chest!        The bullet passes right THROUGH Hans, and the WINDOW behind        him SPLATTERS with blood and SHATTERS.  Even while this is        happening, McClane SPINS:387     EDDIE - THROUGH MCCLANE'S WIDESPREAD LEGS             387        Eddie takes a gunshot, DROPS just like on Gunsmoke.388     BACK TO SCENE                                         388        Hans drops his weapon, staggers, looks down at his own blood        in shock.389     MCCLANE                                               389                                MCCLANE                 You were right about us Americans.                        (he blows smoke                        from his pistol                        barrel)                 We are cowboys.390     VAULT ROOM - WIDER                                    390        Incredibly, Hans still stands, eyes filled with shock and        disbelief.  He REELS, falls against the windowsill, starts to        TOPPLE -- and then he GRITS his teeth and from some inward        place finds a last reserve of strength and he GRABS:391     HOLLY'S WRIST                                         391        and she is YANKED off her feet!392     BACK TO SCENE                                         392        Hans goes out the window, pulling Holly with him!  McClane        LEAPS forward, catches her inside arm near the elbow at the        last minute!393     EXT. BUILDING - LONG SHOT                             393        The roof still in flames, McClane hangs halfway out of the        window, jagged glass raking his face, straining to hold onto        Holly as Hans drags her out!        McClane braces himself against the window frame and strains to        pull Holly closer.  With a MOAN, she catches the windowsill with        her inside hand.  McClane STRETCHES with his other hand, begins        to INCH towards Holly's wristband.394     HANS' HAND - WIDEN                                    394        A death grip on the watchband.  We WIDEN, SEE that, blood        flecked teeth GRITTING, he is STRAINING with his other hand        to bring up the gun he is still holding!395     MCCLANE                                               395        Holly's SCREAM alerts him.  Hans locks eyes with McClane one        last time, starts to pull the trigger, as:396     VERY CLOSE                                            396        McClane RELEASES the latch on the watchband!  The overtaxed        metal SNAPS, links flying:397     WIDER                                                 397        Hans' face registers his horror as he and most of the watch        suddenly drop.        We LISTEN to his scream all the way down, finally HEAR him HIT.        McClane pulls Holly back into the room and holds her.                                MCCLANE                 It's okay, babe.  It's okay.        He looks down at Hans' body, then back at the scrap of wristband        he's still holding.                                MCCLANE                 You got a warranty on this?        She laughs through her tears, holds onto him.                                                    DISSOLVE TO:398     EXT. BUILDING - DAWN                                  398        Smoke drifts up from what has suddenly become the top floor.        Thornburg's remote truck careens into the parking lot.399     CLOSER                                                399        A crowd watches as the front doors of the building open.  We        SEE McClane, who holds up Holly and in turn is supported by        SWAT men.  As REPORTERS start shouting questions, McClane        breaks free of his entourage, and, holding Holly, pushes into        the crowd.                                MCCLANE                        (calling out)                 Al?  Al, you here -- ?        The crowd eddys and surges...suddenly Powell is there, and        McClane knows it's him.  They stare at each other, ten feet        apart, and then they're grinning, extending their hands.  But        somehow a shake isn't enough, and they're embracing each other        like men who've lived through combat together...which, in fact,        is the truth.                                MCCLANE                        (emotional)                 Al.  Man, you were my rock.  I                 couldn't have made it without you.                                POWELL                 Bullshit.                                MCCLANE                 I'm serious.  Hey, this is my wife...                 Holly Gennero.                                HOLLY                        (taking Powell's hand,                        correcting)                 Holly McClane.        Hearing this, McClane grins, pulls her close.                 *                                POWELL                        (to her)                 A pleasure.  I guess John doesn't                 need me to give you that message                 anymore.                                HOLLY                        (puzzled)                 Message?        McClane begins to make silent "ixney" gestures in Powell's        direction.                                POWELL                 You know, about him being such a                 jerk -- and how he's really sor --                        (seeing McClane)                 -- ee...Uh, I'm sure he'll fill                 you in.        Just then Robinson barges forward.                                ROBINSON                 I want you for debrief, McClane.                 You've got some things to answer                 for -- Ellis' murder -- property                 damage -- interfering with police                    *                 business --        A SCREAM causes McClane to turn.400     HIS P.O.V.                                            400        There in the doorway is Karl, clothing and body scorched.        Easily as crusted in dirt and blood as McClane, he holds his        machine gun.401     EXT. BUILDING                                         401        As the crowd panics trying to escape, Karl locks eyes with        McClane and levels his gun.  McClane throws Holly to the        ground and grabs the dumbstruck Robinson's sidearm.        But he doesn't get off a shot -- a lone gunshot stops Karl --        knocking him back through the doorway.  McClane looks back to        see Powell still sighting down the barrel of his .38.        His hand is rock steady.  He sees McClane's look.                                POWELL                        (shrugging)                 You were right.  You couldn't have                 made it without me.        They smile.  Suddenly McClane and Holly squint as LIGHTS pan        onto them.  Thornburg pushes his way forward, mike extended        like a weapon.                                THORNBURG                 Mr. McClane...Mrs. McClane...any                 comment on your incredible ordeal?                 What are your feelings now that it's                 all over?        Without a beat, Holly PUNCHES HIM in the chops.  He FALLS,        dropping the mike with an electronic SQUEAL.  McClane looks at        his wife, amazed.  Behind them, Thornburg sits on the ground, *        nurses his lip, turns to his camerman.                                THORNBURG                        (eager)                                       *                 Did you get that?        McClane and Holly continue on, turn towards:                  *402     ARGYLE'S LIMO                                         402        It's a little smashed up, but still running.  Argyle is        standing beside the open door.  McClane and Holly get in and        Argyle closes the door.                                ARGYLE                        (getting in the                        front)                 If this is their idea of Christmas                 I gotta be there for New Year's.        CAMERA ADJUSTS TO SHOW the read window where McClane and        Holly are kissing.  As they drive off, we:                                                    FADE OUT                             THE END                             Twentieth Century Fox SCRIPT DEPARTMENT                             10201 W. Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90035                             Telephone:  (213) 203-2494
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+                                  DINER                                Written by                              Barry Levinson                         FADE IN:          The SCREEN IS BLACK. We hear MUFFLED ROCK and ROLL          MUSIC. Then we read:                         BALTIMORE                         1959          FADE OUT.                         :FADE IN:          INT. DANCE HALL BASEMENT - NIGHT          FENWICK walks along the dimly lit basement. Heavy wiatei          coats hang from hooks on the wall. In the b.g., there          is constant traffic of pecple coming and going from the          rest rooms. From above we hear the MUFFLED SOtJV OF THE          ROCK AND ROLL BAND.          Fenwick is in his early 20s and dressed in the "JOE          COLLEGE." style of the late fifties. Sports jacket, button-          down shirt, chino pants, and Bass weejuns. We sense          that he is a little lost in himself, confused. He looks          out one of the windows that views the parking lot. Then          without any outward anger, he punches his fist through a          window pane. Seconds later he breaks another window with          his fist.          Fenwick, picking up the music beat from above, struts to          the sound as he approaches another bank of windows. He          calmly breaks another window pane with. his fist.          A GUY coming out of the bathroom in the b.g . sees Fenwick's          actions and then heads up the steps.                         CUT TO:          INT. DANCE HALL - NIGHT          The crowd is gathered around the bandstand listening to          the local group, the SH K RS, playing their popular hit          HOT NUTS. The song is played toward the end of the even-          ing because of its risque Lyrics.                         BAND LEADER          Hot nuts, hot nuts, get from          the peanut man.           BAND LEADER (CONT' D)           Hot nuts hot nuts, get em any -          way you can.          As the crowd swings the verse back to the Band Leader.          The Guy who spotted Fenwick breaking windows approaches          BOOGIE. Boogie is something of a "Dandy," flashiar          in dress than others in his crowd. Although he isn't          particularly good looking there is something about his          attitude that is very appealing to girls. Boogie          aster hearing the Guy heads downstairs.          INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT          Fenwick casually breaks another window with his fist.          His hand is bleeding. Boogie approaches.                         BOOGIE          What's up, Fen?                         FENWICK          Just breaking windows, Boog          BOOGIE. -          What for?          It's a smile.          He breaks another window with his fist.                         BOOGIE          C' mon, don't be a sWuck.          FENWICK          I know that glass is made from          sand, but how come you can see          through it?          He breaks another window. Boogie grabs him.                         BOOGIE          Leave the windows alone. What's          the matter with you?                         FENWICX          It's a smile, that's all.                         BOOGIE          I'm cracking up.                         BOCCIE                         (CONTINUING)          I'm warning. you, Fen, break another          window and you're gonna get a fat lip.          He lets Fenwick go.                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING)          Where's your date?          FENWICK          Gave her away.                         BOOGIE          What?                         FENWICK          Gave her away. David Glazer said          she was death.. So, I said if you          like the way she looks, take her.                         BOOGIE          What are you, the Salvation Any?          FENWICK          Charged him five bucks.                         BOOGIE          C'mcn, upstairs.          (as Ferwick just          stares at him)          C'mon .          They walk away                         BOOGIE                         (CONCTHUIRG)          Ycu really are nuts, you know that?                         FENWICK          Me? What about her? She didn't          have to go. I'm nuts. Get that.                         BOOGIE          That's what you get from dating          eleventh graders. Brains aren't          developed.                         T          FENW I CK          But her tits were.                         (CON INL'ED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:                         BOOGIE          Falsies. --.-          FE UW I CK          They were?                         BOOGIE          First hand info .                         FENWI CK          Shit, then what as .1 pissed about?          They disappear up the, steps.                          CUT TO:          INT. DANCE HALL - NIGHT (SLIGHTLY LATER)          The band is on a break. A FRANK SINATRA RECORD is PLAYING.          CAP_7RA PANS TO EDDIE who is in a corner with one foot up          on a chair. He smokes a cigarette and taps his foot _          lightly to the music. Eddie takes Sinatra very seriously.          ShBEVI ; approaches Eddie.                         SHRREVIE          Where's Elyse?                         EDDIE          Talking with your wife about the          fucking wedding plans.                         SD EVZE          Gettin' cold feet?                         EDDIE          They've never been warn.          Boogie is talking with DLANE, the young eleventh grader          that Fenwick had the falling out with. She is an          attractive petite girl with large breasts.                         BOOGIE          How can you take Glazer over the          Fen?                          DUNE           'Cause.          r4' BOOGIE          Diane, did you know that Glazer          bought you for five bucks? That's          the kinda guy he is.          (C0NTINL_D)                                                                                                              CONTIN tD : .          - DIANE-.          He did?                         BOOGIE          Do you want to leave with Glazer?                         DIANE          Not really, but Fe^.wzck scares me.          Why don't you take- me home?                         BOOGIE          Diane, I'm in law school at night,          I have to go home and study. I          just stopped by here, 'cause I          appreciate fine music.                         DIANE          I thought you worked in a beauty          parlor.                         BOOGIE          I do during the day. -          (he puts his hand          up and strokes her                         CHEEK)          Diane, go with Fen. For me, okay?                         CUT TO:          EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - NIGHT          Fen-.sick's          7R3 speeds by. Diane is in the car. Fenwick          is telling her scnething and she laughs          Boogie and MODE; t, follow. Behind them, Shrevie and his          wife BETh follow in a 1950 Hudson Hornet.          Fenwick floors his car and disappears around a bend.          The other cars do not keep pace'.          INT. SHREVIE' S CAR                         BETH          Elyse feels that Eddie is getting          very sensitive about the wedding.                         SHRE IE          I k:_ow. We were talking about it.                         ?? (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINLED :                         _ _ _ _ BETH          She thinks that since he never talked          it over with Billy beforehand, it kind          of bothers him even more.                         SHREVIE          The closest of the close. You t-_.ow          Billy's flying in this morning?                         BETH          I didn't hear about it. Thought          he was just coming in for the          wedding day.                         SHREVIE          We didn't want to mention it.          Surprise for Eddie.          Shrevie's car follows in the taillights of Boogie's car.          Fenwick's car is nowhere in sight.                         BETH          Elyse's mother is very upset with          Eddie. They picked out a yellow          and white motif for the wedding.          You know, like we did, tablecloth,          napkins, maids-,of-honor. Anyway,          Eddie objected. He wanted blue and          white because that's The Colts'          colors. Refused to give in.                         SHREV7E          Yeah, so?                         BETD          Well, you know how stubborn Eddie          is .                         SHP_-VIE          Could be worse. It could be black          and gold. Steelers' colors.          Shrevie notices Boogie's taillights come or.. He slows          down. Something is wrong up ahead.          f EXT. ?.CADSIDE - NIGHT          Fenwick's car is turned over. The headlights of the car          shine brightly against a tree.                         V                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              CCNTINLt.D :          --_S.t's. ficult to see exactly what has happeried.Jn the          darkness of the road. Boogie, Modell, Shrevie and Beta          exit the cars and walk toward the accident.          As they approach we see Fe_zwick lying halfway out of the          car covered in blood. Diane cannot be seen.                         SERE VIE                         (TO BETH)          Stay here.          The three guys move apprehensively toward the car. Fenwick's          face is covered in'blood, so touch so that it-can hardly be          .recognized.                         MODELL          (-,?eac ting to the          sight of Fenwick's                         FACE)          Oh Jesus.          Boogie kaeels nest to Fenwick. -After a beat,. Fenwick          explodes with laughter.                         BOOGIE          You son-cf-a-bitch !          Fenwick screams in laughter.                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING)          You asshole!          Then Boogie laughs. The rest of the guys join in. Not          Bech. She is not acused. Fenwick crawls cut of the          Triumph.          F:-.NW. C.{          I really got you guys, didn't I?          Didn't I? Been carrying a ketchup          bottle around for weeks.          Diane steps out of the woods. She laughs nervously.                         DIANE          11 I hid in the woods. Didn't want          any ketchup on me.          Fc: W ICK          Weeks, just lookin' for the right          ti=e.                         (COYR INTJED)                                                                                                              CONTINLE.D :          You got me. Christ, I thought          you bought it.          FENW IC.{          Real hard holding back the laughs.          Real hard.                         BOOGIE          You outdid yourself.                         B ETH          That's very matt,-re, Fenwick.                         FENWIC          Fuck mature.                         SHREVIE                         HEY[          FENWI C.(          Sorry, Beth.                         BOOGIE          Tug--ied the car over yourself?          FEi1Gi I CIK          Yeah, give me a hand.          BOOGIE.          No way.                         FENWIC          C'man.                         +          Boogie starts back to his car. The others fe] low. enwick          pleads with them. Boogie with his back to Fen -wick is           amused, delighted that he's got Fenwick or. a nu:rber.                         BOOGIE          (with the authority          of a school teacher)          Fenwick, you to ed that car over.          You must put it upright yourself.          You need some discipline in your          life.          F.:- i " + 4 1 CK          C'mon, guys. It was easy pushing          it over 'cause of the angle. 1:'11          be a bitch getting it up.                         (CON INLED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED :          Boogie and Modell get in the car. Shrevie and his wife          ge c 111--the?uason- - - - -                         MODELL          Have you tried? You haven't tried.          FE NIW7 CK                         (DESPERATE)          I'a buying at. the diner.          Without missing a beat, Boogie and Modell exit the car.                         BOOGIE          .Sbmuck, _another five seconds an3          you'd have us for free.          They laugh.          Shravie starts his car.           INT. SHREVIE' S CAR                          BET'RL           You guys t eal ly are sick, you           n k ow that.?                         COT SHREVIE          That's 'cause you got no sense          of humor.          He pulls away.          Sr.REVIE                         (CONTINUING; YELLING          out the window)          See you guys later at the dine=.                         CUT TO:          Exi . -DINER - NIGHT          The diner is one of the typical late S0's metal and glass          structures. Almost deco in design. Cars are parked in          front, including Shrevie's Hudson Hornet. CAXR4 PANS          to a car parked over in a corner.          TABACX has his truck open, filled with pants. A few guys          are going through the goods as Taback tries to wheel-and-          deal.                         (CON'I INLTD)                                                                                                                             CON IMIED :          (to one of the guys)          Seven bucks. All wool. You can't          beat it.          h T e GUY holds it up.                          GUY          The crotch looks too short. Don't          ca--e for that.                         TABACK          What are you afraid it's gonna got ∞          caught In the crack between your          legs?.          The other guys "Whoco" in reaction to Taback's put-down.                         GUY          You sure are hot shi . since you've          taken over your father's business          here.          He throws the pants back and walks away,                         CUT TO :          INi . DINER - NIGHT          The diner is the late-night hangout... made up of a mixed          bag crowd. Around one side, the aluinun siding SALE'S?. N          guys in their 30s and 40s. Some HIGH SCHOOL ERS , only          there on the waekends, and the, Boogie-S?irevie c_cwd. (The          guys in their early tï,?enties .) One thing is quite          apparent. There are no girls present, except WAIT=S.SSES.          T h at is the unspoken rule. NO DATES.          Eddie, Shrevie and Modell sit in a booth. They all eat          french fries and gravy.                         EDDIE          You can't compare Mathis to          Sinatra. No way.                         SHEEV IE          They're both great singers.                         EDDIE          Yeah, but you can't compare them.          Sinatra is the lord. He's big in          movies, everything.                         (CO`::NLID)                                                                                                                             COYI INUED :                         I          If Mathis wasn't a blue, he'd be          a big movie star.                         MODELL          That's true. There's hardly any          blues in movies. Just sidekicks.                         EDD IE          C'mon, they could've put Mathis in          'From Here to Eternity.' They had          blues in the war.                         S'DREVIE          Mathis didn't come around until after          that movie.                         EDDIE          Are you telling me Mathis could've          played Maggio? Is that what I'm          hearing?                         MODELL          Who do you make-out to? Sinatra          or Mathis?                         EDDIE          For that, Mathis.                         S EREVIE          I'm married. We don't Wake-cut.          They laugh. -          Fern wick enters and heads toward the guys' booth.-          passes the -Waitress .                         FZN 1 CK          Enid. French fries and gravy, and          a cherry coke.          He sits dcw-n and joins the guys.                         SRREVIE          How'd it go?          FEiWWI C:K          Pretty good. Said she never wanted          to see me again.          J,                         MOD-LL          charmed her, huh?          ., (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              CCN.iNU D:                         FENWICK          AI-I-did was -park the --car on a nice          lonely road. I Looked at her and          said, 'Fuck or fight.'          The guys laugh.                         EDDIE          You maniac.          FE:l I cK          Kidding. Said she wanted to see          me again. Liked aye, sort of.                         I                         EDDIE          Emis?          Fenwick nods. He sticks out his pinky. Eddie gabs it          with his pinky. Therefore it's the truth.          ANGLE ON THE ALUMINUM SIDING GUYS' BOOTH          BAGEL is holding court with his guys.                         BAGEL          The guy's canvassing the neighborhood,          and I notice he's stopping at the          brick houses. He's trying to sell          aluminun siding to the brick house          owners.                         (HE LAUGHS)          Sure enough, he comes back to the          car. He's got a lead. Fools rush          in, right?          To the guys, this type of story is fascinating. 3cbgie          comes cut o f the rest roam in the b . g . As he starts to          pass Bagel stops him.                         BAGEL                         (CONTINUING)          Boog, come here.          Boogie approaches.                         BAGEL                         (CONTINUING)          You lay down a bet with Barnett?                         BOOGIE           Don't remember.                         I                          (CCNTINUZ )                                                                                                              CON I? ?i D :                         BA GET-          ?'oa,. nobody bets two thousand          and forgets.                         BOOGIE          Okay, so? What's the point, Bagel?                         BAGEL          Where you getting C40 thousand?          You haven't got a pot to piss in.                         'BOOGIE          Game's a lock.                         BAGEL          Nothing's a lock. You want me to          call it off? As a favor to your          father, may he rest in peace.                         BOOGIE          Bagel, get in. Trust me.          Boogie Walks off. - -                         BAGEL          Kids today. Nobody's interested          in making an honest buck.                         CARSON          Heard he wants to be a lawyer.                         BAGEL          That's what I'm saying. You call          that an honest buck?          Boogie approaches the guys and sits do                         BOOGIE          Bagel heard about my basketball          bet.                         'MODELL          I'm down for fifty.                         BOOGIE          Woo, biz spender. I'm telling you.          They're shaving points on the game.          This is no bullshit tip. Get in,          guys.                         EDDIE          I'll think about it. Listen, who          do you pick? Sinatra or Mathis?                         `' (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CO TINUED:                          -BOOGIE           Presley.                          EDDIE           Presley. You're _ick.                          BOOGIE          Did I tell you guys I'm taking out          Carol Heatrow tomorrow night?                         FENWICX          You're taking out Carol Heatrow?                         BOOGIE                         (SARCASTICALLY)          No, you're taking her out.                         EDDIE          She is death.                         B00GIE          Only go for the best.                         SHREVTE          Cold.                         BOOGIE          What's the bet she goes for my          pecker on the first date?                         FEN ICK          The only hand on your schiong is          gonna be yours.                         BCOGI_          Bet me t-wen t-r .                          FE4 LCK          You got it.                          EDDIE          I'm in.                          MODELL          Me, too.                         SHREVIE          I'm in, but we need validation.                         BOOGIE          All right. I'll arrange it.                         CUT TO:                         T                                                                                                              EXT. AIRPORT RUNWAY ï- NIGHT                         -- --          --A .our -engine- prop -comes into-vi view asTt rates its          approach. The plane sails inches off the runway and          then touches down.                         CUT TO:          EXT. AIRPORT DOCKING AREA - .NIGHT          A moveable stairway is put in place. Seconds later the          hatch opens: Passengers depart, walking down the steps          in the cold night air. BILLY HALPERT steps forward into          the doorway. Billy, in his early 20s a:_d wears the          typical button-down shirt, crew neck sweater, chino pants,          and the Bass weejuns. He starts down the steps and heads          toward the terminal. As he enters:                         CUT TO:          EXT. AIRPORT TERMINAL - NIGHT          Billy exits the building carrying a suitcase. We hear a          HOR! B .PING. The sound attracts his att.:ntion. He          smiles.                         ANOTHER ANGLE          to include Shrevie's Hudson Hornet, as it backs up, moving          toward Billy. As it approaches, the back door opens .                         BILLY          (thr awing his                         BAG INSIDE)          You g' ys ara too much. Hcw' d you          know I was ccain' in this mcFn._nc?          BOOCIE. (O.5 .)          C'mcn, get in.          Billy climbs in and slams the door shut. The Hudson pulls          away.                         C'JT TO:          E COUNTRY ROAD - NIGHT          The Hornet speeds down the quiet two lane road.                         I                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              M1. CAR NIGHT          Ehrevie -drives -- _ Bocgia sits shotguin_ --Fen rick and          sit in the back seat.                         BOOGIE          He's crazy is t-,hat he is. With          the Shrevie here it was just nuts,          but Eddie? T?:at's lunacy.                         SHREVIE          Mari age is a? right. I'm not          complaining.                         BOOGIE          Not complaining. Uz u, sounds good.          FENW I CK          'Course it isn't a hundred percent          sure yet.                         BILLY          What? He's getting mar_ied on          New Year's Eve.                         BOOGIE          Not until she takes the test.                         BILLY          Boog, what are you talking about?          FEN WI CK          Eddie's going to give Eylse a          football test. If she fails, the          marriage is off.                         BILLY          Are you shitting me?                         BOOGIE          You know Eddie and the Colts. Very          serious. The test has something          like a hundred and forty questions.          True and false, multiple choice,          short answer.                         FENWI CK          Oral cast. He doesn't want any          cheati:,g.                         BILLY          What happens if she fails? He's          going to call. it off? Is that          what I hear?          (CO TINL∞ED)                                                                                                              CONTIN"i E'D ;                         SHREVIE          rte swears to 1.tThe was          supposed to be two months ago.          Elyse keeps delaying. Heavy          pressure.                         FENWI K          Her plan could be, though, to          stall until the last minute. Then          if she falls, it doesn't matter.          It's a fait accompli. Kno.t's tied.                         BOOGIE          Fait accompli, my ass. He walks.                         B ILLY          I doubt it. I tell you, it was a          real surprise. No call. Just a          note. Why do you figure, all of          a sudden?                         BOOGIE          Botton line? Elyse turns into -- -          Iceland and Eddie's not the type          to look elcev.here. Eddie goes for          the marriage, and Elyse is back to          being the Bahamas again.                         SHREVIE          You dgn' t know that for sure, Boog.                         BOOGIE          I'm a good judge of human nature.                         CUT TO:          EXT. HILLTOP DI`HrR - NIGr'.T          The Hudson is parked out front. The morning light is just          beginning to break. THROUGH iZ WINDOW we can see the          - guys sitting in a booth eating. They are obviously having          a good time. Shrevie takes a sip of coffee. Billy says          something and Shrevie puts his hand to his mouth. Coffee          pours through his fingers and down his chin.                         CUT TO:                         {                                                                                                              L1` T. J-:(r. - NIGhl                         B ILLY                         AF          -And hat' -was-nothing -compared to          what happened in Miss Nathan's          class.                         SHREVIE          This is great. I was there.                         BILLY          Had her for Art class. Third floor.          She catches mq talking. Tells me          to see her after class. I jumped          up from my seat and started          screaming 'I can't take it - any          morei You're always picking on met          I can't stand itt' Then, I ran to          the window, opened it and jumped          out. She freaks and faints dead          away. She forgot the gym roof was          six feet below.                         SHREVIE          ----Her eyes closed. -- She swayed for - -          a moment and then toppled right          over her high heels. Out cold.          I was hysterical.                         BILLY          The topper was the Principal.          Donley comes in and sees Miss          Nathan on the floor. He doesn't          I .ow what to make of it.                         SERE VIE          Than She=an, remember him? Normally          a shruck, but ne stands up and says          'Snhrhhh, she's sleeping, Mr. Donley.'          T h an he sees Billy in the window.                         B ILLY          I said, 'I'm sorry I'm late, sir,          but my bus broke dour.. Is Miss          Nathan up yet?'          All the guys laugh.                         BOOGIE          You're missing the action now,          Billy. Half the guys are a: U. of          B. night school. A Lot of          fucking laughs.          (CON, INLzD)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:                          FENWI CK           - : Cto?BiiIy) -           A Masters in Business. That's           the lowest.           Billy shrugs his shoulders as if to say, "What. can I          - tell you?"                         BILLY          Who's there?                         BOOGIE          Eddie, of course. Burton.                         BILLY          Burton?                         BOOGIE          Dropped out of rabbinicalïschool.          Henry...          FENW1CK,          -Cliff, -.the Mouse..-.- -          SH'ZI.EVIE          Youssei.                         - ??1                          B00GIE           Thrown out.                          SHREVIE          Yeah?                         BOOGIE          Accidentally stole some money          from one of the teachers.                         BILLY          U. of B.'s busy at night, huh?                         BOOGIE          And then there's me.                         BILLY          Yeah? You at law school?                         BOOGIE          Thought I'd take a pop with the          law. Although I'm still working          the beauty salon.                         CUT TO:          S.                         F1                                                                                                              20.          -EXT.SSDE:IZ`LLRE.?. =STAY          The Hudson slowly drives down the          quiet tree-lined staeete          All is quiet, the morning'having y et to begin. The          neighborhood is well cared for. A pleasant, middle-          class area. The car pulls up in front of a three-story          white shingled house. Billy exits the car with his          suitcase.                         BILLY          See you guys at the diner tonight. i          He slats the door shut. The car pulls away. Billy walks          up the steps, pulls out a key and opens the .door.                         CUT TO:          INT. HOUSE - DAY          Billy walks up the steps to the second floor. He sees          his parents' door is open and peeks inside. The bed is          made. No one is there. He turns toward his sister's          room. CA RA 2ANS. The bed is also made. He goes up          the stairs to the third floor.          ANGLE ON A BLACK DOOR          A sign reads "No Admittance." Billy enters.                         CUT TO:          INT. BILLY'S ROOM - DAY           Billy lies cn the bed in his shorts, sroking a cigaret,Ce.           C tiA SLOWLY PANS the room. An upright piano           is in a           corner. Then we see magazine pictures of variou s base-           ball stars tacked on the wall. C.A..`-'ERA PANS to pe nnants           of the Baltimore Orioles and the -Baltimore Colts. CAÄ A           DRIFTS over to centerfold girls of Playboy. Then w e           see a photograph of Billy and a bunch of the guys le aning           against a railing in Atlantic City taken during the h igh          school years.                         CUT T 0 :          E BILLY'S HOUSE - DAY          Billy walks away from his house, crosses the street and up          t the steps of another house. He rings the doorbell.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:          Seconds later the door opens. t.S. SI:2ONS, a short,          heavyset woman, stands there.          MRS. SI ;ONS                         (PLEASED)          Billy, you're in town already?                         BILLY          Yeah, thought I'd spend the          holidays here. Lot of parties,          I hear.          He enters.          INT. SI?ONS' HOUSE          .Billy and Mrs. Si ons walk down the hallway.          MRS . S r,010 NS          Did you know your parents are          cut of town?                         BILLY          No.          MRS . SI? IONS          They're in Florida. Be back for          Eddie's wedding though.                         BILLY          He still. sleeping?          MRS. S IMMONS          What else? It's only two-thirty.          Wake him.          Billy starts up the steps.          IRS . S I;MONS                         (CONTINUING)          I'll be happy when he's out of.          the house.                         CUT TO:                         F                                                                                                              IN-I.. EDDIE'S ROOM - DAY          It is a total mass. Clothes, underwear, and shoes are          strews al over the room. Bi?.lyYs lakes Eddie His eyes          open.                         EDDIE          Whaddya say, Bill?                         BILLY          Still the early riser, huh?          Eddie reaches over to the night table and lights a Pall          Mall.                         EL DIE          Nothin' changes.                         BILLY          Except you getting married.                         EDDIE          Yeah, ain't that a kick.          Ae gets out of bed, picks -up a--pair of pants off the floor          and steps into them.                         EDDIE                         (CONTINUING)          Thcughc you weren't coming in          until New Year's Eve.                         B ILLY          Nothing's happening arc=-d. c==us ,          so...          Eddie puts a shirt on and slips'a tie with an aebeady          make scot around his neck. He pulls t:e tie ud , then          ï starts buttoning the rest of the shirt.                         EDDIE          You bring in that girl with you?                         BILLY          Broke up.                         EDDIE          Shame. In that picture you sent,          looked like she had great knockers.                         B ILLY          Yea?-i.          I (a beat)          Didn't figure on you and Elyse so          soon.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:          Eddie searches the floor and picks out two socks that are          sLi= i ar, ut rot the same. -                         EDDIE          I figured New Year's Eve would be          good. Get married. Party through          the night. You know.          He puts the socks on. They have holes in the heels.                         BILLY          I was pissed off, Ed, figured          you would call, or something.          Let me know you were planning it.                         EDDIE          Yeah, I know. But you're my best          man.          He walks into the bathra.,m. CA2--ERA FOLLOWS. He splashes          some water on his face and wipas it with a wash rag.          - -- - - - BILLY          Boogie and the guys picked me up          at the airport-          Eddie takes a drag on his cigarette and puts it on the          toilet seat. Then he squirts some toothpaste on the tooth-          brush.                         EDDIE          (with a mouthful                         OF PASTE)          Yeah? I left the diner at five.          They didn't say anything to me.                         BILLY          Surr .se, I guess.                         EDDIE          How'd they know?                         B ILLY          Barbara Keller told Fenwick.                         EDDIE          You keep in touch, huh?                         BILLY          Yeah.                         [                         (CONTINLED)                         I                                                                                                                             CONTINUED :                         EDDIE          You re tiIl n3ili± g her, a= en t          you, you son-of-a-bitch.          Eddie spits the toothpaste out and sticks his ncuth under          the faucet to rinse, .aking sure to keep his tie dry.                         BILLY          Never did.          Eddie wipes his mouth with his hand.                         EDDIE          Who you kidding?          He puts the cigarette back in his mouth and starts out of          the room. Billy follows.                         ??DDIE                         (CONTINUING)          wnac else would you be doing with          her all these years?                         BILLY          Talking.          ANOTHER ANG1.,E          as they start down the stairs.                         EDDIE          Talking? Shit, if you want to          talk there's always the guys at          the diner. Yov don' L -need a girl          if you want to talk.                         BILLY          Eddie, you'll never change.                         EDDIE          Da=. right.                         CUI TO:          INT. S IZ :ONS ' K r c,.-,. z: - DA          Mrs. Si=cns is cleaning the refrigerator as Eddie and          Billy enter.                         I 01          (Mr, I 'UED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUZD:          ---- - EDDIE --          Ma, what's for breakfast?          IBS. S IM."2ONS          The kitchen is closed.          Eddie sits down at the table. Billy sits down on a chair          over by the wall.                         EDDIE          I'm hungry here.          MRS . S I:?:ONS                         (STILL CLEANING                         THE REFRIGERATOR)          You want something to eat? Make          it. I haven't got all day to wait          on you.                         EDDIE          Come on, Ma. Don't give me that          shit. -A fried baloney sandwich          will be good.          M.rs. Si=ons t:..Ts around angrily.          .MS. SI DNS          Get out of the house! Billy,          take him out of here!                         EDDIE          A fried baloney sandwich is not          a lot to ask for, for Christsake!          Mrs. Sion picks up a butcher knifa off the sink cct:rte;          and waves it at Eddie.`-          IBS. SI- ONS          Eddie, you're giving me a headache!          Take a walk.          Eddie rises from his chair.                         EDDIE          You want to stab me? Come on l          Come on!          He brings his fist up and ass,,=es a bossing position. Mrs.          Simmons moves toward Eddie welding the knife. Eddie backs          around the table. Billy watches this scene without ex-          1ïf pression.                         (CONTINLED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:          -IBS. -SI EONS -          You miserable creature.                         EDDIE          Take your best shot. Then I'm          going to p=.,ch your lights cut,          Ma.          MRS. 'S IY-"4.ONS                         (STALKING HIM;          Who do you think you area                         EDDIE ∞          Lome on! Come on2 Go for the cut,          then you're down and out.          The short, heavyset woman continues to stalk Eddie as they          move around the table. Billy is not disturbed or surprised,          T h is is apparently an ongoing occurrence,          IPS. S IIV!ONS          How dial-you -turn_ in to' such a thing t.'                         EDDIE          I'-ie gat fists of granite. You're          going down.          S i=ons turns away.          FIRS. SIMMONS          I'm not going to ruin a good knife          on you. It's not worth it.          ..cdie t.T-:s to Billy and smiles .                         BILLY                         (QUIETLY)          So what's new.                         M          =s. Si=ons opens the refrigerator.          MRS . S 1i ONS          Eat a sandwich, t en give me score          peace. Bill;, you want something?                         BILLY          No thanks.          V I M - S. SIMNIONS          You sure? It's no trouble.                         F                         B ILLY          No, really.                         CUT T0:                                                                                                              INT. APPLIANCE STORE - TIGHT SHOT TV SCREEN - DAY          "Who_ Do You Trust?" with Johnny Carson as the emcee is on.          r CUSTOMER (0.5.)          Is this show in 'color or is there          something wrong with the set?          SH:REVIE (0.5. )          This is a black and white set, but          I don't think . that - show is in          color, anyway.          ANOTHER ANGLE - SHREVIE AND THE CUSTOM-ER          standing in an aisle filled with rows of televisions.                         CUSTOMER          I don't like color television.          Don't like. that color for no thin' .          Saw 'Bonanza' at my in-laws, it's          not fog me. The Ponderosa looked          fake. Hardly recognized Little          Joe.                         SHRRVIE          It might have needed some tuning.          C'JST0I R.          It's not for me. You got an Emerson?          Hear they're real good.          Screvie and theCustcmer move down the aisle Ferriick          enters the store. He looks like he is slightly drink.                         SHREVIE          Here's an Emerson. This is portable.                         }          Customer stares at it. Shrevie notices Fen-wick up at to          Iron= of the store. He nods to hi-.          C:J'S 10i'R          You got that 21-inch Emerscr.. 711-4 e          cabinet type.                         SHREVIE          The console model.                         (YELLING INTO                         THE BACK)          Kenny! We get some of the Emerson          consoles in?!                         (CON'TINT E0)                                                                                                                             CON'T_N'UED :          Let me check out in the warehouse!                         SHREVIE          Be right back. That'll take a          minute or two for him to check.          The Customer nods and Shrevie walks up to Fenwick.                         FEZWI C:{          I talked to Boog. He's going to          take Carol to the Crest tonight.                         SHREVIE          So what do you want to do?                         FENWI CK          I figure I'll be there. Sit a few          seats away.                         SHREVIE I          --- Think 3 ` Ll -be -there -too : - - Don'-t-----          want any judgecent calls.          r r _.WICK          Bong's got about'a hundred dollars          riding on this thing now. Making          bets left and right.                         SHREVIZ          Jesus, hundred bucks, already?          F EMNi CK          Lot of paople bectin' for. Carol.          Sh_evie senses that Fenwick is a little off.                         S HREVIE          What the hell you been doing?          You been drinking- already?          F:-:7JI CK          Yeah? I guess so.                         SHREV IE          What for? It's coo early.          F ENWI CK          I don't kncw... I don'-. kn,sw.          Gettin' antsy or something.          Can't figure out what... I don't          know.                         (CONTI:NLZD)                                                                                                                             CONTINT33D :          Heturns_and sta?rr__s tv_head out of th 4Qrc          F L' aIY l CK                         (CONTINUING)          See you at the Crest.                         SHREVIE          Fen, sure you're okay?          Fenwick turns back and smiles at Shrevie.                         FENWI CK          Hey... yeah.          He turns back and exits.          EXT. STREET - DAY          Eddie parks his Studebaker and he acid Billy exit the car.          They walk along a street of row houses, then cross an old          brick street heading for the pool hall on the corner.                         EDDIE          Colt Char,.picns`:ip is tomcr- ow.          Want =,e to get you a ticket for          the game?                         BILLY          T Can you get one this late?          EDDIE,          Yeah. You can't be in Bala'-ore          and not see the Colts win the          Championship. It would be          sacrilegious.           They enter the pool hall.                          CUT TO:          INT. POOL iJ.ALL - DAY          Billy and Eddie come down the steps into the pcol room.          The place is old and dirty looking. Candy wrappers and          cigarettes litter the floor. KNOCKO, a gray-haired man          in his 60's, sits behind the cash register reading she          Wall Street Journal. On the back wall there are pictures          of the semi-nude girls from the men's magazines of the          period. Some are autographed to Knocko.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONTI NTUED :          As the guys approach, Knocko looks up and smiles.                         L-1                         KNOCKO          Billy, Billy, Billy.                         BILLY          Row you doing, Knccko?                         KNOCKO          Eat, sleep, you know. Never see          you and the guys anymore.                         BILLY          You know how it is. Time to move          i W n, I guess.                          KNOCKO           Eddie's the only one who still           pops in. Still loves the game.           (ve Gerious lv)           You doing okay, Billy.                          -(CONTINUED)                                                                                                              CONTIM. 7ED :          -. LILLY _- _.._ --          Going for my Masters.                         KNO CKO          Wonderful. All your crowd turned          out fine. Take seven. It's got          a new felt.          .EDDIE          Eight's better.                         KNOCKO          Take eight. The pool maven here.          They walk toward the tables. The place is quiet. After-          noons are not the action time.                         CUT TO:          INT. POOL FALL - TIGHT :HOT - A POOL BALL - DAY 'SLI Gr.TLY                         LAIR) -          After a beat, Eddie's head. comes INTO FRAM behind the          ball. He closes one eye aQ he '.fines up a shot.                         EDDIE          I'm scared shitless, to tell you          the truth.          BILLY (O.S.)          You know anybody who's Mot?          EDDIE,          If I had a choice, I'd just date          Elyse all my Life. Just date her          and the hell with the rest. I          like dating.                         ANOTHER ANGLE          as Eddie backs off the shot and starts to Bove around the          table. Billy sips an or3rige soda.                         BILLY          What are you doing it for?          Eddie approaches Billy; reaches for the bottle and takes          a sip.                         { CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUE-D:                         EDDIE          1tat -am 4-doing_i..t -ford--I've          been dating Elyse for five years.          What am I... I have no choice..          It gets to a point where a girl          says, 'Hey, where am I going?'          He hands the bottle back and chalks his pool cue.                         EDDIE                         (CONTINUING)          So, there is nobody else that I          really care about. So, you know.          I'm not saying that I'm doing it          just to make her happy. The hell          with that.          He shoots and sinks a ball.                         EDDIE                         (CONTINUING)          She's the only one I care about.          -I -don ` t go looking for girls to -- .          date or anything like that. Arid,.          it seems like the time and all...          so. At least she's not a          ballbreaker. Christ; if she were          a ballbreaker there'd be no way.          Billy feels a certain sadness for Eddie, but he doesn't          1= ow what to say.          Eddie sees Vz'::-..a1L1, a blond-haired kid, several years          ycunger than himself.                         EDDIE                         (CONTINUING)          How you doing, Methan?          Megan approaches Eddie and stands inches away from Ed s          face.          MFi:?A&N          JJ, I want to be where you are.          'here the air is rare, and nobody          can touch me. What about my          sister, Harry?          Bi11y has no idea what is going on.                         I ETHAN                         (CONTINUING)          I -never couched your sister.          What are you saying?          (cot;-, _:vUZ7)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:          Sudde^I Methaa wa??ks away.                         EDDIE                         (TO SILLY)          Methan's favorite movie. 'Sweet          Smell of Success.'                         BILLY          He memcrized the whole movie?          Eddie lines up another shot.                         EDDIE          h T e younger guys, I tell ya,           are crazier than we were.          He shoots and misses. From another table a GUY yells out.                         GUY          Eddie, you taking any of Boogie's          action?                         EDDIE          Yeah! No way he pulls this off.                         CUT TO:          EXT. CREST THZATZR - NIGHT          Tlhere is a lot of milling around in frcnt of the cheater.          The marquee reads : Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee in "Su--:er          Place."          INT. CREST TT-iEATER - NIGiT          Shrevie stands in the lobby with his wife, Beth, an attrac-          tive girl. Eddie and Fenwick enter and walk over to Shrevie.                         SH 1ZEVIE                         (ALMOST APOLOGIZING          for bringing Beth)          Beth heard the movie was pretty          good.                         BETH          Eddie, where's Elyse?                         I                         EDDIE          She's hcme studying for the          football test.          (CO,rTINTJ D)                                                                                                              C0NTINU D:          You're kidding.                         FENWICK          See- the Bcog yet?                         SEREVIE          Not yet.          FART. MAGET, an enormously fat guy, enters with a FRIE.TD.          The Friend stops at the candy counter.                         FRIEND          Eari, want sane candy?                         EARL          (s,.arting into the                         THEATER)          No. don't care for sweeti.          Boogie enters with CAnOL HEATHROW. She is a b-auti foal,          shapely blonde. Boogie looks over at the group.-nods,-          and walks to the candy counter with Carol.          B:.TH          Is that Carol Heathrow?          S HREVI E          Where?                         BETH          With 3oogie.                         SH_IRVI          (staring for a                         LONG BEAT)          I think so.                         BETH          In surprised she's with h--m. -          fro= what I've heard about her,          Boogie wouldn't seen her type.          Eddie is as;azed at hcw beau, ci±u1 Carol looks.                          EDDIE          She is death. Death.           Fenwick spots the GRIPPER walking toward the Men's Rcon.          The Gripper stands about 6'4" and is all muscle.                         11                                                                                                              CON_iIN DD                         FENWICK          Davit The Gripper's :era.          SH V7.          Where?          Fenwick nods toward the Yen's Room.                         SHREVIE                         (CONTINUING)          Christ, the Grip's still growing,          _I think.                         RNWICK          Hope he doesn't see me. Every          time he sees me, he puts the          grip on me.                         EDDIE          Saw him put a grip on a guy at          the diner. Gripped him right          through his corduroy jacket.          Made him stand on tip-toes.-          S'r'_P'.EVIE          Where's Billy?'                         EDDIE          Cowin' with that Barbara Keller          chick, I think.          Bccgie gets a large box of popcorn and a Coke and starts          into the theater with Carol. Just before he enters he          gives a smile to the guys.          FS:IWI CK          Guess I might as well get a seac.                         (TO EDDIE)          Cowin'?           Eddie nods and they start inside. After a beat, S:revie          - - and Beth start in.                         SHREVIE          Let's sit in the back.          BE'1"s.-I          Why?          SHP.VI                         I          I'm tired of sittin' down close          with the guys and all.          Just as they go into the theater, Bill., enters alone.                         I                                                                                                               a:U'rt.. i :.. -           Boogie and Carol sit watching-the screen. The box of pop-          --- co -ZAsutg in-his aa? Boag a ??ze -keep ==?.y.king-?aaks-           at Carol, then his hand slowly moves down to his fly and           he quietly unzips it.          ANGLE TO INCLUDE FENWI C<          looking over from his vantage point three seats away.          Boogie squirs around ever-,so-slightly and then places          the box of popcorn back on his lap. Evidently he has          stuck his penis into the bottom of the popcorn box. Fen-          wick nudgesEddie and then whispers some thing.into his ear.          Eddie smiles.          Carol's hand dips into the popcorn box on Boogie's lap and          takes out a handful of popcorn.          Shrevie, seated in the back, is restless, wondering what          iz happening. Beth is mesr-arized by Troy Donahua.          Billy sits on an aisle, =aware of the quiet intrigue that          is . taking place. - ?..          Carol's hand again reaches into the box and takes out a          few kernels. Boogie's eyes glance toward Fenwick. Fenwick          shakes his. head and mouths "Bet's off. Not fair." Boogie          nods "Yes.          Troy and Sandra walk the beach. The romantic score swells.          The yotzia- audience is caught up in this screen love affair.          Carol reaches into the- popcorn box once again. Suddenly          she screaws. She bolts up from her seat and races up the          aisle. The audience iq alive with chatter, war, wondering what          has happened.          Boogie turns to Fenwick and smiles. Then he heads ue the          aisle after Carol.                         BETH          (as she watches          Boogie racing up          the aisle after                         CAROL)          What's going on?                         SHREVIE                         (PLAYING DTJNB)          I don't know. I don't know.                                                                                                              INT. LOBBY - NIGHT          Boogie catches up to Carol just before she was about to          ente th Ladies'-Room. - - - -- --?                         BOOGIE          Hold on, hold on a second.                         CAROL          You'are disgusting!                         BOOGIE          I know it was terrible, really          horrible and all, but it was an          accident.                         CAROL          An accident!          She starts into the Ladies' Room. Boogie holds her arm.                         BOOGIE          Wait! Carol! Woo! Seriously,          it was an accident. Swear to          God.- -                         CAROL          An accident. Your th?.ng just          got into a box of popcorn?                         BOOGIE          Damn near that. Can I be straight          with you?          Carol tries to settle dc--n.                         CAROL          Boogie'...                         BOCGIZ_E          There's a good reason, but it's          a little embarrassing to me. So          maybe you don't want to hear it.          I'll understand.          A long beat.                         CAROL          Co on. Let me hear this.                         BOOGIE          I don't like to tell this to          girls, but you really are a          C knockout, really.                         (MORE)          (C01,;-: :LZD)                                                                                                                             CONT1NUZD:          L.j BOOGIE (CONT'D)          ? h;-, use sitt`rg rtex? toy u          in there got me crazy. I got a          hard on.. I don't like to admit          it, but I did. You don't know me,          but I always try to come off          being cool. Don't like to look          like I'm hustling, and there I am,          sitting next to you with a boner.          Am I embarrassing you?                         CAROL                          (INTRIGUED)          Co on.          The "St. = er Place Theme" can be heard softly through the          theater doors.                         BOOGIE          Well, it was killing me. So ..o          stop tho pain, it was digging          into my pants and all, I opened          -----m7 fly. - Lmosen everything up.          Give it a little air, you know.          And it worked. Everything settled          down and I got caught up in the          picture. Forgot all about it.          Then when I saw Sandra wearing          the bathing suit in that cove          scene, you know, it just popped          right out and went right through          the bottom of the popcorn box.          The force of it opened the flap.          Carol stares at him, wondering if ? s is telling th= Lrut`:.          The beautiful "Su_.^ -per Place Love Theme" GROWS LCCSER for          a few seconds ar som=one comes through the doors and heads          for the candy counter.                         CAROL          It just pushed the flap open?                         BOOGIE          It's Ripley's, I tell ya. An d          I couldn't move the box or you          would have seen it.                         CAROL          That's true.                         (CONTIVL:ID)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:          - B0EIE -- -          I was just hoping it would shrink          back out.          (he puts his hand          up to her cheek and          lovingly touches it)          Come, on, let's go back inside.          As they go through the doors we hear Troy say:          TROY (V.0.)          I want. to kiss you here in front          of God and evcryone.                         CUT TO:          EXT. CREST THEATER - NIGHT          Shrevi? and Beth exit the theater.          SHREVIE - --          What was the guy's name? The          actor?                         BETH          Troy Donahue.                         SERE VIE          What kind of a name is Troy?                         BET:          He's gorgeous.                         SHREVIE          (mï,.:mbling to himself)          Troy.          Fenwick and Eddie approach.                         SHRE TIE                         (CONTINUING)          Ever hear of a guy named Troy?                         FEN ICX                         (SARCASTICALLY)          Yeah, Troy Swartz=an from Towanda.                         SHREVIE          Cute.                         (CONI INLED)                                                                                                                             CO TINLED:          Booszie and Carol exit the theater.                         BOOGIE          (as he passes the                         GROUP)          See you guys at the diner. Bring          some tens.          Boogie cockily walks on-with-his arm around her waist'.                         BETH          Ten whats?                         SHREVIL          Have no idea.                         EDDIE          (looking at Carol          as she walks away)          Death.                         (TO FENWICK)          I'd give up your life if I could          have her.          Billy exits the theater and starts toward the crowd. Out          of the corner of his eye, he spots someone exiting through          ( 1 ' another door. He watches the guy for a beat, then quickly          moves toward him. He taps the guy on the shoulder. As          the guy tins, Billy punches him in the face. The guy          goes down.          -A crowd quickly- forms. Confusion takes over as everyone          moves to see what has happened.- Shrevie, Fenwick, and          Eddie move in for a better lock.                         I          The gu_y sits on the ground holding his bleeding nose. He          looks up at Billy.                         BILLY          We're even.          He turns and moves away.--- -Eddie, Fenwick, and Shrevie ncve          to catch up with Billy. Beth trails along.                         EDDIE          I'll be.dar ed. Willard Broxtonl          F ENWI CK          Long time ccn_n', huh, Billy?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED :                         BILLY                         -- (EXCITED)          I couldn't belieye it! There he          was i I- didn't wait to hit hi=,          but I had to, you know.                         SHREVI E                         (PATTING BILLY'S                         BACK) '          Outstanding! See you guys later.          Come on, Beth.                         BETH          Are we going to eat?                         SHREVIE          Nah, not-in the mood.          Shrevie heads toward his Hudson. Be_h fol.Lows.          - - - -- - -BET -          Who's Willard Broxton?                         SHREVIE          It was the 11th... no 10th grade.          Billy was playing ball against one          of the high school fraternities.          I think they were ULP. Billy came          sliding into second base-to break          up a double play. - The second baseman          s Billy, thinking he was out to          hurt"hJm Billy punches the guy          and the whole ULP team -j=-?.d him.          r Beat the shit out of him.          They approach the Hudson. Shrevie goes around to the driver's          side and opens the door and ge:S inside. He then opens the          door for Beth to get in.          INIT. SHREVI= ' S CAR - NIGHT                         BETH          He's been after them all these          years? That was forever ago.                         SHFEVIE          Y He swore he'd get them. Broxton          makes eight.          (CONT_N ED)                                                                                                                             CONTIN'UED':          Emi is tha car-nd lla-a??av: -                         11                         SHREV:IE                         (-CONTINUING)          .." or seven. No, eight. There's          one guy left. -                         CUT TO:          EXT. BACK ALLEY - NIGHT          Billy, Eddie, and Fenwick walk away from the theatre toward          their cars.                         FENWICX          I'm so pissed I mis.:ed the puncl-a          I was watching out for the          Grippe t-.                          BILLY -          .even years. Seven years to get          him.                         - EDDIE          Who's t1he last? Donald Tucker?                         B ILLY          No, I get Tucker in a bath=ocr;          at Chestnut Ridge. :Mon Shaw.                         EDDIE          Moon Shaw.          (af ter a beat)          Who's Moon Shaw?          ---Billy gets in his car,                          B ILLY          If you ever see hi.:., you'll          remember.                         EDDIE          Going to the diner?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              CON:, NLED:          In a while. I'm going to see          Barbara.                         EDDIE          Thought you were supposed to          have a data.                         BILLY          She had to work. I'm going to          stop by the TV station and see          her for a hit.          He starts his car and pulls away.          FE i i C+{          :Jasn't Moon Shaw the 'toast' who          used to data Elaine?                          - EDDIE          h T at was my cousin, Denny. You           calling hin an asshole?                         T-R-          F Z 'I" 1,          (knowing he said          the wrong thing)          Oh... not Elaine. Her name was          Ellen. I'm thinking a whale          other guy.          Fen::ick tiptoes away from Eddie, playing like he dceJn0 t          want to get hic.                         CUT TO:          I , r':.E'viS IvY S'I Ate? Ord - CCR_:=DCR .ditsr. T          Billy and BA?.B? walk dowr the hallway quickly. Barbara          is a tall, thin brunette with classical features. She          was never a girl. Born a woman. She moves dot.n the hall-          way with great purpose. Billy keeps pace.          B ARE ABA          There's not u.uch time before the          news.                         (CO:NTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:          I tried to call.                         BARBA          Switchboard closes down at ten.                         BILLY          I was just getting the feeling          you were avoiding me, Barb.                         BARBARA          That's -.lot true, Willy.          They enter the control room.          INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGdT          The control room overlooks the studio floor. Technicians          are setting up the cameras, microphones, lights. -over-          the control room a bank of monitors hang down from a metal          shelf. The TEC:=`iICAI. DI? CTOR is talking over a headset,          balancing video levels. Barbara slips cis a headset and          shuffles through some papers.          BA_R.QARA                         (INTO HEADSET)          Telecine, you want to. run down          the file. chains for me?          Silly takes in all the activity. He is. cverwhelmed. His          eye catches the OLD GOLD dancing boxes on one of the          race r: l ~'o r s .                         BARBARA                         (CONTINUING; GETTING          infor=a_ion)          Governor's press conference is          on Three? There's a B roil to          that. Four? Okay. Goodwill          Charity Christmas Party? Three          also? And :h-s slides? One?          Barbara looks up at the clock. It reads: 10:58. h T e          Director rushes into the booth with the news script. He          quickly sits and puts on his headset.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:                         DIRECTOR                         -          Stand by -for cold -tease-_                         I PH                         BARBARA          - Ten seconds.          Billy steps forward to get a better view of the activity          on the floor. The Director becomes aware of his presence.                         'DIRECTOR          Who's the visitor?                         BARBARA          Friend of mine. Five seconds.                         DIRECTOR          And one, mike, cues                         NEWSCASTER          President Eisenhower returns from          WÑrld Peace Trur. Steel dispute          continues . " These and other stories          next.                         DIRECTOR          Roll three. Three and track.          A cor ercial cones up on the air mot i car .                         BARBARA          Willy, after this I still have a          lot of work to do. Why don't you          call in the morning?                         DIRECTOR          Where's the news opening?                         BARBARA'          On six.                         BILLY          What's good?          BARB A RA          Church services are at ten, ei jht-          thirty, nine.                         DIRECTOR          Punch I.D. and announce.          A slide of the television station's call letters comes uo.          The Alti'NOUNCZR in a glass booth off to the right speaks:                         ANNOUNCER           This is Wi?'4R TV 2 in Baltimore,           wishing all our viewers a Merry          G<_ Christrias and a Happy New Year.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              EXT. CHURCH GRCU 'TDS - NIGHT           The Nativity scene is set up "on the grounds . Wonderfully _          e..acora e, a out?-?alf L±i scale. The figures are made          frcm clay and painted in fine detail. CA:-ZRA PANS over to          Fenvick who is parked nearby. He leans on his Triumph          holding a half pint of whiskey. He takes a big swig and          shivers slightly. The air is cold and his breath comes          out in white puffs.                         CUT TO          E:71. DINER - NIGHT          Eddie and Shrevic lean against a car parked in front of the          hangout. The diner's. blue neon sign above reflects off          the cars bathing the guys in a cold blue light.                         EDDIE          Two days till the test. If she          passes, t7.ro more days to the thing          tae marriage.                         -                         SHREVIE          Where you going? Puerto Rico?                         E'DDIE          Cuba.          SHRF. VIE          My parents' friends, the Copelands,          go every year. Nice.          There is a long, pause.                         EDDIE-          Shrevie, you happy with your d          rtar- _a ge , or what?                         S'R'REVIE          To be honest, I dcn't kncw.          You kncw. . How can you not know?          It's not like you're trying to          figure out the difference between          Pepsi. Cola and Rcyal Crown, for          Chris' s.tke .          S FR-t viE          Beth is te -ific and everything,          but I don't know.          Eddie locks off, not happy with the answer.                          (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              4 0.          C 0 NT IN-E D                         (CONTINUING)          You know the big part of the problem?          when we were dd4i ng we spent mo_s t of          our ti=e talking about sex. Whv          couldn't I do it? where coule we do          it? Were her parents going to be          out so we could do it. Talking about          being alcne for a weekend. A whole          night. You know. Everything was          T talking about gettin' sex or planning          our wedding. Then when you're m::r:ied.          It's crazy. You can have it whenever          you want. You wake u She's there.          p.          You come home from work. She's there.          Sc, all the sex-planning talk is          over. And the wedding-planning talk.          We can sit up here and bullshit the          night away, but I can't hav. a five          minute conversation with Beth. But,          I'm not putting the blame on her.          -We've just got nothing to talk about.          Eddie lights a Fall Mall.                         EDDIE          Well, that's okay. We've got the          diner.                         CL TO:          EXT. CAROL rE_. ROW'S PAR PARENTS HOUSE - NIGHT          The house is a pleasant two -s tcry wccd s t=cc r_,d e . A          yellcw porch light is on. Bocgie and Carol walk ut the          steps to the front door. Carol opens the door with the          key. She back toward Boogie.                         BOOGIE                         (SOFTLY)          I love ycu.          He gently kisses her forehead, then looks her 'in the eyes.          Carol throws her arts around his neck and kisses him          passionately.                         CAROL          Do you want to come inside?                         IR BOOGIE           -Are your. parent:. around?                          (CONTINUED)                         I                                                                                                                             CONTINUED :          They're probably in the basement          watching TV.                         BOOGIE          I'd lave to, but I really should          hit the law books. Okay?          Carol nods. He st=okes her cheek.                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING)          i wish t could stay.                         CAROL ∞          Talk to you. Soon?          Boogie nods and walks away. Carol watches hi= with great          affection. then t-trns and enters the hc.use.                         CUT TO:          EXT. DINER - NIGHT          Fenwick pulls over to the curb across the street from the          diner. He exits the car. Eddie, Shrevie, Modell, and a          group of others are all hanging out. A VOICE calls Cu:,          A so. t, but yerz authoritative voice.                         VOICE          Whaddya say, Jim?          F enwick tur::s . The Grippe= is s an ding by his ca--.                         FEN ICK          Whaddya say, Gripper?                         GRIPPER          Not much Jim.          He moves toward hi_- ever so slowly.          F E; A4, I C K          Oh no, you're not going to put          the grip or. me,                         I                         GRIPPER          Where do you get that idea, Jim?           Fenwick backs up, then suddenly rips the a ntenr.a of his          i car and waves it like a sword.          (C0^1TINL?JI                                                                                                                             CCN:INLT :                          --- -          Not Stay away! I'm not going to          get gipped! You're not going to          get me to walk on my tiptoes in          pain. Oh, no.                         GRIP FER          (even more softly)          Jim, I'm not going to grip you.          FE WI CK          (waving the antenna)          Yes, you are.          The guys across the street are loving what is happening.                         GRIPPER          To be honest, I was. But not now.          I like. a guy who stands up to the          Gripper. I like that, Jim.          - - - ---ï .FE`TWiCK - -          You're not going to grip me?                         GR_''PER          No, I just want to snake your hand.          F::ti?;ICK          You're settin' me up for a grip.                         GRIPPER          Untrue, Jim.          FE-.1 iCK          Sure?                         GRIPF_R          I want to shake the hand of the          an who stood uo to the Gr'_oper..          ÑNWICK --          No grip?                         GRIPPER          That's right, Jim.          Fenwick drops the antenna. He moves toward the Gripper,          slowly. The Gripper extends his hand. Fenwick extends          his hand. They shake. No grip. Fenwick is relieved.                         GRIPPER                         (CONTINUING)          Let's go-see the guys. The scan          who stood up to the Gripper.                         CCGNTINL D)                                                                                                                             CCNTINLED :          Fenwick, feeling very proud, -walks with the Gripper across          the - s e e t - Iowa d--t le - S u d d "il lalfway ac, fls 5 ??'.$T          street, the Gripper puts one of the greatest grips in his          career on Fenwick. He squeezes Fern´ick's forea right          through his winter coat. Fenwick feels the pain. The          famous grip is on.                         GRIPPER                         (CONTINUINZ}          Up on your toes, j                         FEN''NICK          Oh no, grip.          Grippes puts a little more pressure on and Fenwick is up          on his toes. The guys cheer Gripper.                         GRIPPER          Jim, never doubt the Gripper.          When I say I want to shake your          hand, believe what I say. Never          doubt, Jim.          r ;TW`rC?          Never doubt. Right.          The Gripper turns Fer.wick around and leads him away from          the guys back to the other side of the street. Fenwick          up on his toes. The guys are eating it up. Then they          head back to the guys. C.41'E PANS to Boogie's ca_ as          it pulls into the parking lot or. the left side of the          building. He starts to pass Bagel who is about to drive          out. Bagel BEEPS HIS HORN and rolls down the window.          Bcogie.ralls his down.                         BAGEL          Did you hear? T F-y on by          fourteen.                         BOCCIE          Fourteen'. Shit. They weren't          supposed to roll up that big a          score.                         BAGEL          Lis ten to me next time.          He pulls out. Boogie pulls forward and parks. He slams his          fist into the steering wheel. Again and again. Then he          leans back in his car seat.                         CUT TO:                         I                                                                                                              INT. DINER - NIGHT (LATER)          -Earl-;''.ale t- sits i? a th ? cn His r.;I          taking about one whole side. He finishes off one section          of a club sandwich and very politely wipes his mouth with.          a napkin. Before him' then a are five deluxe sandwiches          waiting for his hungry mouth. He the financial          page and picks up another sandwich.          Eddie, Billy and Modell are turned around in their booth          watching Maget. Boogie; Fenwick, and Shrevie are dis-          cussing the pecker in the popcorn bet.                         EDDIE                         (WATCHING EARL)          Where's he-now?                         MODELL                         (LOOKING OVER                         THE MENU)          He's on the Pimli:o.          (he then surveys                         THE TABLE)          That's the George's Deluxe. The          Garrison, the Avalon and The Junction.                         EDDIE                         (AMAZED)          The whole left side of the menu.          What.a triumph if he pulls it off.          Modell starts counting the sandwiches on the left' side          of the menu. We catch snatches of Boogie, Fenwick, and          Shr ev=e argu inz                         FEN IC:{          The bet was touch your pecker.          Not pecker hidden in pc-acorn.          SHR.VIE          It was pecker touching without          intention.                         BOOGIE          Lis ten to this .          Modell looks up from the menu.                         MODELL          Fifteen.. or sixteen more. If          you include the Maryland Fried          Chicken dinner.                         EDDIE          I think he's just talking deluxe          sandwiches.                         (CONIINIJZD)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED :          .i                         (YELLING OVER)          Earl! That include the Fried          Chicken dinner?-                         EARL          Yes .                         EDDIE                         (TRULY AMAZED)          Twenty-two deluxe sandwiches and          the Fried Chicken dinner.                         -BILLY          And no bets.                         EDDIE          Nope. Just a personal goal.          Another private triumph. i"his' lI          top the eighty white Tower          hamburgers.                         BILLY          He ate eighty White Tower          hamburgers?          EDDIE.          Oh yeah, you didn't know?          Thanksgiving night. Eighty-six          he ate. Saw him later and said,          'Earl, your goal was eighty. Why          eighty-sic?' He looked at me and          said, 'I got hungry.'          Billy laughs,                         MO DELL          Truth,          They slide back down in tale booth.          ï Sr?. VIE.                         (TO BOOGIE)          But it was a trick. I don't                         BUY IT                         EDDIE          (joining back in the                         CONVERSATION)          Me either. I want it an the up          and up. Default.                         BOOGIE          Let it all ride. Tell you what.          (CONT NL:E0)                                                                                                                             CO`'T-INUED :          Boogie stirs his french fry in the gravy for a long beat.          T e ? 's $gerzy??aa:.z :=s :cposai. - -                         BC OGLE          (ccn tin uing) -          I bet I ball Ca_ of Heathrow or, the          net date.                         FENWICK          Now you're nuts.                         BOOGIE -          Fifty bucks a guy.                         EDD;E          Fifty?                         $HREVIE          It's like stealing money from          you, Boog.                         BOOGIE          The guys all take the bet e:cepc Billy.                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING)          ?nd I'll take all the action I can          get.                         FEN I ^1          We need validation.                         ECOGI??          I'Il arrange it. You want to          be there to Validate?          FE NWI CK          Sure.          here's a slight sense o -anxit?Cy in Boogie's at;.d?e e.          Billy picks u- on it.           CU -6 TO:          EXT. DINER - NIGh T           The first rays of mar-,i::g light reflect in the diner's front          r windows . Earl rLaget exits. The guys following behind          applauding as he goes.                         (CONTI` TRD)                         7                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:          L J Maget calmly crosses the parking lot and gets in his lithe          veFlaw ;,ssile-t?apclitan anc ?rivesE- --                         SHREVIE          You all want to meet here and go          to the game in my car?                         BOOGIE          Yeah, that's good..          SHREVIi:.                         (GETTING INTO                         HIS CAR)          Meet here at twelve.                         EDDIE          Make it quarter to. Don't want          to miss any of the pre-game shit.                         SHREVIE          Why don't you go now. Then you'll          be sure not to miss anything.          He starts his car.                         EDDIE          We're talking the championship          game. Quarter to.          Shrevie nods. The guys all exchange "See ya's," get in          their cars and drive off. The diner parking lot is now          empty except for Fenwick's Triumph.                         CUT TO:          EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY          The morning sun is now uo. A very attractive GIRL in full          rising gear gallops along or, a chestnïit stallion. She          rides expertly, seemingly unaffected by the cold morning air.          CuNEZt PULLS BACK until we'-see Boogie's cherry and white          DeSoto keeping pace on the road close by.          INT. CAR - DAY                         BOOGIE          I've got to meet this girl. She                         IS DEATHL                         R                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              .JJ          CCZ I TIi'UED:          Very nice.                         BOOGIE          I'm in love.          EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY          Boogie's car continues to trail alongside the Girl on the          horse. Boogie rolls dom the window.                         BOOGIE                         (YELLING OUT)          T Miss! Miss! Woo! Miss!          The Girl pulls upon the reins and stops. Boogie quickly          steps out of the car and approaches.                         GIRL          Yes.          Boogie is amazed.-- She's more beautiful up close. Long          black hair and deep blue eyes. Elegant.                         BOOGIE          I was admiring your horse .                         (CONTIN ED)                         A1                                                                                                                             CDNTINLC??D :                         -GIRL`---                         (VERY RESERVED)          Were you?                         BOOGIE          Do you ride Wester. style as well?          Fenwick gets out of the car and leans against the door.                         GIRL          I do, but I prefer English.          There's a finer sense or control.                         BOOGIE          What's your name?                         GIRL          Anti Chisholm.          (as Boogie star-s)          As in the Chisholm Trail.          --She gallops away. Boogie watches her go for a beat, then ----          tur-:s to Fenwick.                         BOOGIE          What fuckin' Chisholm Trai? ?           He walks back to the car and gets inside. F enwick does          the same.          INT. CAR - DAY           ry.           C irY _C{          You get the feeling there's          something- acing on that we don't          know about?                         BOOGIE          You get the fee! ing she gav` me a          - false name?          (starting the car up)          Wan: to drive scme more?                         FENWICK          Naw, let's call it a night.          EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY          Boogie's Desoto drives off. The white picket fences framing          the car as -it heads down the road. We hear the SOUND OF          CHURCH BELLS .                         CUI 7 0:                                                                                                              t.:?1-1 . ST. AGNE5 CHURCH - JAY          The BELLS in the tower RING. Billy sits in his car wait-          acs--Bar-b-a=a:?          egaticna1-members wa?K 3cw-;:? tie          path passing the Nativi ty scene off to the left.          Billy watches for Barbara. The crowd thins, we exits his          car and walks toward the church, looking arcunu, thi nking s          he may have missed her somehow.          He peeks inside the church. Unsure whether to enter. A          C U CH 1E DER exi is .                         BILLY          Is there anyone inside?          CHURCH ?EMB E R          I didn't notice.                         BILLY          Is it all right to go in?                         CHURCH I'EMBER          Of course.          Billy enters.                          CUT TO          INT . C?:L'cZC:i - DAY          Billy stands at the back and looks around. the Lang stone          st=,-uct.:re.          He sees Barbara still sitting. All alone.          He quietly goes down the aisle and Joins her in the pew.                         BILLY          Aryt .ins wrong, Barb?                         BAR3IRA          No.                         (LONG PAUSE)          Yes. I think I't< pr .a                          BILLY                          (LONG PAUSE)           Me?                          BARBARRA           Yes. Our one day in New York           last month. SLY years of a           plt,toric relations Lh , then one           nig^t of sex... and this happens.          h T ey sit silently in the church.                          / 9T           {COIN I,Wc.J}                         I                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:                         BILLY-          Maybe it's for the best.                         BARBARA          No... I don't think so. Do you          wan: to marry me?                         BILLY          Yes.                         BARBARA          Is that why you came back a few          dayz. early? To ask?                         BILLY          I thought after New York, you know.          Seven weeks is a long time when          you miss someone.                         BARBARA          New York was a mistake.                         BILLY          Maybe it wasn't as romantic as we'd          like it to be, but I think it will          happen. It's not perfect, yet,          but... I love you, Barb.                         BARBARA          You're confusing a friendship with          a woman and love. It's not the                         SAR E          They sit. Saying nothing.           EXT. 'MORIAL STADIUM - DAY          __ .RTAL VIEW MCVING toward the main tower of the stadiu           We hear the CROWD YELL "C!!! 0! ! !" We MOVE CLOSER to           the tower. The crowd roard "L!!! T!!!" We KEEP MOVING           CLOSER. "S! W' " We PASS OVER the tower and ENTER the          s cad ium. A deafening crowd ROAR is heard ."COLTS! ! ! "                         CUT TG:          A COLT DEFENSIVE LINEMAN          smashes into the Giant's quarterback, knocking him to the          ground with a thud. The Colts are fired up. The Champion-          ship is within their grasp.                                                                                                                             THE SCOREBOARD          reads: "GIANTS 16 - COLTS 31."          ANGLE,          Eddie, Billy, Shrevie, Boogie and Fenwick are or, their          feet. Victory is minutes away.'                         EDDIE                         (YELLI NG)          Cino! Gino!                         (TO BILLY)          He's incredible. They should build          .astarue, a monument to him.          - Something, you know.          Shrevie takes the binoculars from Boogie, and looks through          them.                         SHREVIE          W rich one?                         - SOOGIE          Second from the right.          S'HRLï VIE' S POV THi OUCH THE B1I:000.ARS          We see a cheerleader, then it PANS TO another cheerleader.          BOOGIE (O.S.)          See her?          SHREVIE ,(O.S.)          Yeah. How can you tell she's not          wearing panties?          BACK TO SCENE          Shrevie puts the binoculars down.                         BOOGI          You have to wait nor her to ju p .          S`r.EVIE          And when she jumped you saw?                         BOOGIE          I see everything.          Shrevie puts the glasses to his eyes again.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              CONT.INU,ED :          Si ;.REV I          Come on! Jump!          Boogie stiles at Fenwick.' Fenwick holds back a laugh.                         FENWICK          I think there's a jump coming up.          The Colts take possession of the ball and start to run the          clock down.                         `EDDIE          Moe points! Johnny, the bomb!                         BILLY          Ed, we've got it wrapped up.                         EDDIE          I don't want just a win. I want          humiliation. Goddarn New "fork          teams, think they're hot shit.          (yelling out).          -;h-ailzation! - Joh,.ny, ht iliaticn!          The cheerleaders give a big cheer.                         FEIR'WICK          Quick, Shrevie. She's going to          j ump .          Shrevip cuickly starts to bring the binoculars u:), but          Boogie has his arm through the scrap.                         BOOGIE          Cops. Wait a record.          Shrevie ties to untangle Boogie's a=.          FE.? ' ICs          Too lace.          __--- Shreve stares at Bccgie a beat, t en. _aaliz_s he'.s .been          Very good. Very good.          The scoreboard clock ticks down. The crowd counts down          the seconds. "5 .. 4. 3 . 2 . 1. " FAM4DLMOJILT,.1. The          guys go crazy, grabbing and hugging one another.          Some of the crowd starts to swarm onto the field. The          guys follow.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONTIMT1 D :          T e_ late a`tet-soon sun Ii as dropped be-Low -the `t ends-_-ThE          lights.are on. A gray-golden haze envelops the field.          Fans are trying to tear down: the goal post. Billy, Eddie,          Shrevie, Boogie and Fenwick, hang from the goal post sing-          ing the Baltimore Colt fight song. There may be happier          days ahead for the guys but this one will be hard to beat.          The goal post finally comes apart and the guys fall to          the ground in a heap laughing happily.                         CUT TO:          _IN:.. FZl-WICK'.S AP_\R1"'1,MNT - DAY          Fenwick sits watching the GE College Bowl. The quiz          show that pits one college against another. It's a real          game of intellectual skill. CA?M-RA PANS the apartment.          I. It is imaginatively decorated in pink and turquoise          colors. Five pink flamingos, four feet high, are placed          around the room.          - - - -          QUIZ ?!ASTER          Socrates was probably the greatest          philosopher of the ancient world.          Plato was his student. For sixty          points, who was the ocher famous          student?                         FENWICII:          Xenophon.          (CO:i d INNL ED )                                                                                                              A BUZZER RINGS.           TV QUIZ MAS'TE'R          Yale.           YALE TE M LEADER          Xenophon.           Right for sixt points.                          XENWICK          'Bout , -e, Yale.                          TV MAMER           That makes thescore Z Pr inceton 345.           Yale 290. The hundred                          POINT TOSS-           up. This eoration was sp oken to           these who died fighting Sparta. Who           said this and when? '0ur government           is not copied from our neig hbors...'           FE W, I CK          (screaming the answer out)          Percles, 413.. .          TV QUIZ FASTER          'Our cons tztutian is named a          democracy...          FE:t?i I CK           Cor_ection. Pericles 431.          The BUZZER RINGS.           TV QUIZ MASTER           Prince ton.           PRINCETON T.rAM LEADER                          (STILL DISCUSSING           with te ' -_ ":.ates)a          - - That           was the Peloponeslan War...           'i J QUIZ EASTE           I n ga wag to           need an answer.           PRINCETON TEAM LEADER           Aristotle.          sorry. Yale? TV QUIZ MASTER                         (NO ANSWER)          Pericles 431 B.C.                         IT                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              ;c.                         CONTINT:LD :          r E:?                         (HE CHEERS)          Fenwick takes the lead again.           CUT TO -          INT. FENWICK'S BEDROOM - DAY          The room is black. rcra pink flamingos are present. SoogiE          is talking on the phone. Through the wall we hear the          GE College Bowl and Fenwick's answers.                         BOOGIE          Yeah, Ma, I know I owe two          thousand dollars. Guess what? I          heard it before you. What an I          going to do? I'm choice. Got to          find a way to pay it off. Me?          I've got fifty-s ix dollars t. my          name. Yes, I know I'm in trouble.          Then they `ll kill me.__ 'What can -I -- -          tell you? No, not tonight. No          dinner. I know what you're :laving.          It's Sunday. Take-out Chinese. I'm          a mind reader. All right, I'm a          wise guy. Fenwick did not corrip t          me. I cc=zap t ed hi Or we go t          outside help.          FENWICK (0.S.)          (through the wall)          Darwin. Origin of the Species.          1859.          CUT B.kCK TO:          INT. LIV?NG ROOM - DAY          TV QUIZ MASTER          That's all the time we have this          Sunday. Next week uaryland vs          UCLA.          FE:T6 7CK          i I'll wipe them out.          Boogie comes into the living room and grabs his winter          coat off a chair. The show's closing theme begins.          BOOGIE.          Talked to Shrive. He's going to          lend me to hundred.          (CO: TINi,ED)                                                                                                              J 2.                         CONTINUED :          Going over now?                         BOOGIE                         YEAH                         FE ICX          I'm going to drop in an my brother.          Might be able to get some bucks          from the to-!st.                         BOOGIE          Howard? Really?          Fenwick shrugs his shoulders.                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING; REAL                         SINCERITY)          I appreciate that, Fen. I know          ho∞.r you guys feel about one another.          Ferwick waves him off. He doesn't like any fcr of praise.          Boogie starts for the door.                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING)          With the Heathrow bet and all, I          should be close. See ya.          He exits.                         CUT TO:          IN'T. SH?EVIE AND BET-.-.' S HOUSE          A 43 record drops down the sL_;.d'e. The tone ar comes          forward and gently rests on the record. A ROCK AND ROLL          SONG STARTS TO PLAY.          Shrevie is look'ng through his extremely large reccrd rac:t.          Something is bothering him. He pulls out one record,          then another.                         SERE VIE          Beth! Betht          Beth is in another room.          BETH (O.S.)          -What?                         (CCNTIN ED)                                                                                                              s0.                         CONTINUED :                         COME HEREL          SETH (0. S.)          I'm working on a crossword puzzle.                         SHREVIE                         COME HEREL          Beth sticks her head in from the other room.                         BETH          What?                         SHREVIE          Have you been playing my records?                         BETH          Yeah. So?                         SHREVIE          Didn`t I tell you the -procedure?                         BETH                         (CBVIOUSLY HAVING          heard this dis-          cuss_on before)          Yes. You told me all about it,          Shrevie. They have co be in          alphabetical order. -                         SHREVI          (like a teacher          to a student)          And what else?                         BETH          They have to be ?_le according to          year as well. Alphabetically and          according to year. Okay?`                         SHREVIE          And what else?          Bet;thinks .                         SHREVIE                         (CONTINUING)          And what else?                         BETH          (confused, then angry)          I don't know l          t.          (C0INTT VzD)                                                                                                                             L??                         CON'TIN JED :          I- - - -_ - S HREVIF - _- - ---          Let me give you a hint. I found          James Brown filed under the is          instead of the $s, but to ton it          off you rut him in the rock and          roll section! Instead of the R and          B section! How could you do that?!                         BETH          It's too complicated! Every time          I pull out a record there's a whole          procedure to go thrcugh. I just          want to hear music, that's all! ∞                         SHREVIE          Is it too much to keep records in          a category? R and B, with R and          B. Rock and roll with Rock and roll,          You wouldn't put Charlie ga: ktr with          rock and rill, would you?          Beth says nothing.                         SI:REVIE                         (CONTINUING)          Would you?!!!                         BETH          I don't know! Who's Charlie Parker?          Shrevie almost goes out of his mind.          SriREJI.,          Jaz,!!!! Jazz!!!! Ja??it! ! ! !          i+ T H          What are you getting so crazy about.          It's only Music. It's not chat big          a deal.           - S'r'.FE VI          It - -s! Don't you understand that!!?          It's important to me!          They stare at one another. Shreve trying to control his          temper. Beth's eyes become watery. Holding back tears.                         BETH          Why do you yell at me? I never          see you yell at your friends.                         SHREVIE          Pick a record. Any record.                         (CONTIN ED)                         I                                                                                                              _ BETE._          W"na t ?                         SH REVIE          Pick a record!          Beth moves over to the record rack and pulls out a recoil          She holds on to it, not sure what Shrevie wants.                         SHREVIE                         (CANTINU-NG)          What's the hit side?                         BZT??I          'Dream.' The Everly Brothers.                         SHREVIE          Ask me what's on the flip side?                         BETH          Why?                         SE E          Ask me what's on the flip side.                         BETH          What's on the flip side?ï                         SHREVI          Bird Dog. 1951. You don't ask me           things like that. Do you? Never!                          BETH L??          Because 1 don't give a shit!           cares about the flit side? i                         SHRED                         =E          I do I          He gen t          1y th=bs through a han d _u1 ezP records          SH .EVIE          /. (co\i Linuin c.)          Every one of these means something.          The label. The producer. The year          they were made. Who was copying          whose style or expanding on it.          hear these and they bring back          certain times in my life.          (he stares at                         HER COLDLY)          Dcn't ever touch these again. Ever.          He starts cut of the room. He turns back to Beth.          (CC 7IN ED)                                                                                                              63.          CONTINLc.D:                         S          I first met you at Modell's          sister's high school graduation          party.- 1955. .'Ain't That a           Shame' was playing as I walked in          the door.          He exits and slams the door shut.                          CUT TO:          E27. RESIDENTIAL STREET - DAY          Boogie drives down the quiet street and pulls over in          front of Shrevie's modest duplex. He quietly exits his          Desoto and walks up to the front door. He rings the door-          bell and waits. Beth opens the door. She holds some          Kleenex in her hand.                         BETH          -Oh, hi. Boogie.          He notices she looks upset, but says nothing.                         BOOGIE          Shrevie here?                         BETH          No.                         BOOGIE          Is he coming back soon? I talked          with hi a littl_ while azo. Said          he'd be in.                         BET          I don't kno:a .          She starts to cry. Boogie puts his a= --.s around her and          -holds her close. -                         BOOGIE          What's wrong, babe?                         BETH          He ever yell at you?                         BOOGIE          Uh a t?                         (CONSI:NJEO)                                                                                                              64.          CONi INT cD                         (CHOKING BACK                         HER TEARS)          I don't know wn'at to do. We've          got a real problem.                         BOOGIE          (stroking her hair)          Go on, cry. Just - cry, babe.          They stand in the doorway. Beth. crying uncontrollably.          .Boogie holding. her. Comforting her.                         CUT TO:          E=. FENWICK' S BROTHER'S FiCUSE - NIGHT          Fenwick and his olc:er brother FOWARD stand in the driveway          arguing. It is dark, the main source of light coning          from a wrought iron lamp post ca the property. The house          - in design. -THROUGH T? -?ICTL - - --- -          is large, very modern          WINDOW we see small rhi? dzen at play in the living room.          FZ1 WI C'c?          He's in trouble. Don't you know          about friendship, Howard?                         HOWARD          Five hundred dollars?                         FZNWICX          Four hundred, three hundred. at          ever you can afford.                         HOWARD          Maybe this is a lesson for yoi2. If          you worked, you would have some          money to lend him.          - FEV JICX - -          Yeah, I know. I'm irresponsible.          Dropped out of college. Won't work          in the family business. I'm a          disgrace. That's a good reason          for keeping me out of your house,          God knows.                         HOWARD          You're a bad example.          F 41 C.<          Far be it from me to disagree.          (i?ORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONS: UED          FENWICK (COIN' D)          Give me s cme money , 7,oward . -                         HOWARD          You ever read a book?                         FENWICK          Huh?                         HOWARD          Read. Do you ever read?                         ??YWICK          Never.                         HOWARD          You should read Dale Carnegie's          'How to Win Friends and Influence          People.'                         FENWI CK          I have it or. ny night table. It's          right under 'Hew to Wax Your Car.'          Give me some money, Howard.                         HOWARD          Where did you get this attitude?          r.ti^WI C 1          I borrowed it. Have-to have it          back by midnighr. Howard.          Fenwick sta. ?s to pace the driveway. His anger is build-          ing .          H OWA RD          I should talk to Daddy about          stopping your trust fund. It s          killing your initiative.          FE YWIC'?.                         BI          ¶. g trust -%:nd. One ht.dred dollars          a month until I'm twenty-ch_ee.          Granddad was a real Rockefeller.          Suddenly Fenwic'k lunges at his brogher, grabbing his over-          coat by the lapels, pushing him up against the la,.;p post.                         FEN'WIC                         (CONTINUING)          Howard, it's important.                         (MORE)          (CO;?∞TI `b?D)                                                                                                              C0NTINU-D .                         FRNWICK (CONT'D)           -come--0-the7Wi--s-e -dc1Z           like to see you, so you know it's                         FL-           very important..                          HOWARD           Get of?.                          FE;WICK          I despise you and 'yet I'm here.                         HOWARD          Get off.          Fenwick lets go of him and starts toward his care                         FENWICK          Funny. As a little kid I always          wanted a brother. I told that to          Mom once. She said, 'You have a          ?rother. ' I said, 'Ch, thaws          who the asshole in the other bed          Fenwick gets in his Tri=ph and pulls away, Howard shakes          his head in disgust.                         D          r Cu TO:          EXT. MOV t.E Tr.?T - NIG'T          Eddie and Billy walk toward the theatre. he marquee reads:          "La Dolce Vita."          F.?D;          So, what are you going to do?                         B ILLY          It's up to her.          Her? Ycu've got a big decision          to make. We could make it a double          wedding.          They reach the box office and hand over a dollar apiece          and get t-.;o tickets in return.                         CU TO:                         I                                                                                                              Iti'T. LOBBY - NIGHT                         V          11 i EGUi?_;0?`?L`?s there t o CA dV -C L::L?r. No popcorn,          and only coffee is served as abeverage,                         EDDIE          What the hell's going on here?          Nothing to eat.                         BILLY          It's an art theatre.                         EDDIE                         (THROWING BILLY                         A LOOK)          Puck art. They oughta get some          popcorn in here.          They head into the theatre.                         CUT TO:          I NT . THEATRE - -NIGHT          'r"hle fiLr is in progress. A statue of Christ is being          fl(,w-n across Rome, dangling from wires as a helicopter          carries it.          Eddie upon seeing this turns to Bi11y.                         EDDIE          h W at arnnl I watching? It just           started and I dcn' t k:.cw what's                         HAPPENING                          BILLY          It's syrbol_c.                          EDDIE          Yeah?          He gives Billy the -"jerk -of"' me icn,-                          CUT TO:          EXT. NATIVE`? SCE'TE - NIGHT          The CAMERA PANS the faces of the three wise men, then cores          to rest on Fenwick's face. After a beat his half pint          comes into view and he takes a swig. He shakes his head          in disgust.          As we MOVE BACK we -see that the Eby Jesus is gone.          Fenwick is very bothered by this.          (CJ "rI`;L=D)                                                                                                              CONTIm.J)          - --- __ E=` i - - -          Kids . Kids did this. A sacrilege          for Chris'saka..          He sits down on the hay next to one of r.he sheen. He          - takes another sprig on the bottle.                         CUT TO :          INT. S':?REVIZ'S CAR - NIGHT          Shrevie drives along, still coming down from his fight with          Beth. As he moves alozig we see St. Agnes an the right up          ahead. The Nativity display cannot be seen clearly. We          MOVE CLOSER. CLOSER..          Shrevie notices something unusual. Out of curiosity he          paya clcser attention.          We see the Nativity scene more clearly now. Everything is          zhe same except F enw-ick has replaced the Baby Jesus. - He          Iles there next to the figure of Mary in his jockey shorts.          Because of the scale ofrthe display, Fer.wick locks like          an enormous baby.          Shreve slams on his brakes and pulls over to the curb.          He quickly gets out c16 the Hudson and walks uo the slope          toward the manger.          CUT. TO:          INT. MO v IE THEA- - NI CHT          Eddie is bored to death. He sits in the chair his eyes          drooping, fighting to stay awake. Billy is con Le ely          involved. Suddenly a Light flashes on them. They turn,          toward the source.          An zSH=R stands holding a flashlight Shrevie is rh          him.          S H EVIE          (to the usher)          That's t'e guys .          (tU Billy and Eddie)          Come on[ Emergency!                         B ILLY          What is it?          (C0NTINV D)                                                                                                              COLT INIJ D :                         SHREVIE          Come on!!          The guys quickly get u                         EDDIE          What's wrong?                         SHRE VIE          Fenwick' s in the manger.          As they head down the aisle:                         B ILLY          What?                         SHREVIE          He's in the manger and he won't          leave.                         EDDIE          The manger?          _ _ - - -          SH :E VIE          I've never seen him like this.          They e-%--;t through the swinging doer to the lobby.                         CUT TO          EX 77. ST. AGNZS CHURCH - NIGHT          Fenwick happily lies in the manger sprawled out in the hay.          Alt :cuzh he is almost naked, he seems i..?;:.ïne to the chid          night air, However, his battle certainly helps as a          warmer. He h=s "Little Town of Bet.-lehem."          The guys core across the church ground. Fen-,rick sees them          and smiles.          E NWI CK          Come, three more wise men You've          heard of the m                         EDDIE          Let's go, Fen.          FE. TI; CK          You must have traveled far, Rest          your weary feet.                         (CO:VTINLED)                                                                                                                             CCNTIN IED :                         BILLY          T:.e price will be-here.          Somebody's going to spot you.                         FENWICK          This is a big smile. Don't you          t`_: ink?                         SHREVIE          Yeah, come on. -          The guys prod him on. Fenwick will have none of it.          Billy reaches down to help Fer:wick up. Fenwick pushes          hi= awaï-.                         FENWI CK                         NOT          Eddie and Shrevie try to help out. Fenwick struggles with          them. He grabs hold of a wise man. 3illy tries to pull          him off it. The wise man topples over. The guys co itimue          to struggle with him. Billy is knocked b.ckward and part          ,of the s t=uctur-e rails down. -                         CL-' T0:          12N7. FOLI CE CAR - NIGHT          Two men drive along, patroling the street. Off to the          right they see what is happening in the NaLiv ty display.          It looks like a riot-has broken out in the manger. A          sheep suddenly sails through the air. The SI .E WAILS.          EXT. CHURCH GROUND - NIGHT          h T e guys are still struggl           ing with Fenwick. Everything          is a mess. They hear the SIREN and the activity quickly          comes to a halt.          As the police apprcac:h-, the guys stand very still. rhe          three guys are standing side by side. Ferur_ck is i= the          hay. In an odd way it looks like a new version of the          Nativity.                         EDDIE          (out of the side          of his mouth)          What do we do?                         F BILLY          Cho ice.                         CUT TO :                                                                                                              IiTr. LOCK-UP - NI(=          r enrrick is in a call alone. Eddie and Shrev__ are in the          calm moo-him- Billy ZS l?acrosssfro ?h -          locked up with another guy. The lights are low. Fenwick          and Shrevie are asleep. Billy and Eddie stand by the          bars talking to one another.                         EDDIE          I added a cou          ple killer questions          to the test. Tomorrow night's the          showdown.                         BILLY          She studying hard?                         EDDIE          Better be. Otherwise she's off          to Cuba alone.                         BILLY          Wish I knew what to do about          Darbara.          The CELL MATE stars pu rirg his - 6ing ers in Bil iy' s - ha{ r .-.-          Billy pushes him away. He tries to ignore him.                         LDDIE          Get married. Take her back to          school. Get a part time job.          By the time the kid arrives you'll          have your Masters and all's well.                         BILLY          And what about her job?          EDDIE,          Her job? I give you an answer          and you confuse it by bringing          her into the problem.          Billy pushes the guy away again.                         B ILLY          (to the csllr.ate)          Take a walk.                         O EDDIA)          Ed, she's in this thing. There's          two or US. She loves her work and...          and she doesn't want to marry me.          That's the bottom line.                         EDDIE                         C          -You're dealing with an irrational          girl.                         (:LORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CCN'TINT ED :                          EDDZ -MCPN-T )          4 That's your problem.          Billy pushes the guy away, from h; again.                         B ILLY          Listen, find somewhere else to          stand, buddy.                         GUY          What's wrong, cutie? Am I          bothering you?                         EDDIE          You heard him, back off.          The guy grabs at Billy. Billy pushes h iLm off.                         GUY          You going to do something about it?          (he grabs at          -bdm again)..          Huh?                         EDDIE                         (YELLING)          Back off him, sa:uck!                         GUY                         (TO BILLY)          You. going to do some th_rg about it?          Huh? Huh? Huh?          Billy pushes the s-uy back against the 'ha' 1, than noes          into a boxing stance.                         B ILLY                         (VERY CALMLY)          You want to fight? That what you          want? Cane on. Come on, you son-          of-a-bitch,. I'll hit you so hard           I'll kill your whole ` _ amil          ;r.          Billy stands there waiting. The guy doesn't know what to          make of this threat. He could be dealing with a real          tough kid. He looks at Billy, unsure wheth.:r to tes` hi^.          Billy stands ready. Eddie watches. After a few seconds          the guy sits down or. the cot. Billy sneaks Eddie a look          and smiles.                         T                                                                                                              I POLICE STATION - NIGHT          Billy, :dd=e, Shrevie and their FA7r_'RS walk dcwn the           police corridor.           EDDIE' S FA :=R          We cared Jimmy's father, but he          said he wouldn't post bail until          the morning. He wants to teach          him a lesson.          CAY-71RA PANS TO Billy and his Father.                         BILLY'S FATHER          We get back from Florida, open          the door aid the p-olice call.                         T                         BILLY          That's what I call gcod ti .ing.          How's M.om?                         BILLY'S FATHER          She's fine. I thought you were          going to .come _dowa for a __few days--_          after the school break.                         BILL Y          Things came up.                         THE          y round a cor::er. . CAS RA HOLDS on the empty co id.c r .                         CLRI TO          ? TYSALna1 _ r v L.z, ruï ..? g y n          Boogie is finishing putting rollers in a middle4.ge          WOMAN' S hair.                         W OREL          One of these days I ray try another          hairstyle, not yet.                         BOCCI          Whenever you're ready.          Boogie notices Beth enter the store. She looks around,          then approaches Boogie.                         BETH          Hi, Bocg.                         BOOGIE          (with a hairpin           in his mouth)          Beth.           (CO.1TIN )                         R                                                                                                                             CONTINUED                         BETH          -Is t . 'Sc?iTHw??- -                         BOOGIE          He'll be back. He went down the          street for some donuts and coffee.          What's up?          He puts the last curler in place.                         BETH          Well, you know, we're all getting          our hair done for the wedding.          Boogie leads the Woman toward the hair dryers. Beth follows.                         BETH                         (CONTINUING)          The bridesmaids, the whole group.          And I'm i.i charge of making sure          that Mr. Sol can handle us.          Without any problems. . Maybe have          -- ?:ccra cperat=s cr -somethi:.g.          Boogie sits the Wort dcwnr under the dryer and turns it on.          he hands her a magazine.                         BOOGIE          (to the Woman)          Here's the Saturday Evening Post.                         (TO -BETH)          I don't knew what.he's planned.                         BET:D           You're not working t at day, are          you?           A stocky set GUY, enters the salon. Bccgie notices.                          BOOGIE          No. So, I guess he's got scWet hi.ng          arranged; - - - -          i::= Guy motions for Beo,gie to come over.                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING)          He'll be back. Wait around.          Bcogie walks to the front of the store where the Guy waits.          (CON TIN B)                                                                                                              75.                         CONTINUED:                         ID                         (CONTINUING)          How you doing, Tank?          Tank nods for Boogie to follow. They exit the beauty          salon.                         CUT TO:          EXT. BEAUTY SALON - DAY          Tank and Boogie come out of the shop and walk around the          side of the building that leads into a small alley.                         TANK          You had a payment to make.                         BOOGIE          Yeah, I'll have it tonight.                         TANK          Suppose to have it last night.          No one in the office.got a call.                         BOOGIE          It was a mistake. Forgot. Tonight.          I've got some bets that I've called          in. I'll have it.          Tank looks Bookie straight in the eye.          T.-L K          Don't bullshit me, Boogie.                         BOOGIE          S?caight. I'll have it.          Tank starts to turn away. He quickly tu=-ns back and punches          Boogie with a hard fist to the stomach. Bccgie doubles up.          His breathing comes hard and fast.          ir-no do you think you're fucking          with? You think this is kids          stuff?          He pushes the now helpless Bocgie against the wall.                         TANK                         (CONTINUING)          You think this is fun and games?          Little game that kids play, huh?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              75A.                         CONTINUED:          H-e -s' ?? ar ouz d--t:re head-                         TANK                         ( TON:INUI-NG)          'Cause, I'm not amused. Tonight,          Boogie. No if-ands-or-buts.          Tank walks away. Boogie slowly straightens up, takes in          a few breaths and feels. his stomach.                         CUT TO:          INT. BEAUTY -SALON - DAY (NIINUTES LASER)          Boogie enters the shop.                         BEAUTICIAN          Boogie, there's a call for you.          Boogie having gotten himself together now walks over to          phone and answers it-          BOOGIE.          Hello? C=-701? Just -tilinking          about you. What? The flu?          Are you sure? 102, yeah, that          doesn't sound good. Okay, babe.          Take care. I'll call and check          up on you. Feel better. 'Bye.          (C0NbIbvi.ED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:          So-o h: ",,s- up -bra          - He's in deep trouble. He looks across the room at Beth          who sits in a chair reading a magazine. He watches her.          Thoughts race across his .ind. He walks over to her and          sirs down.                         BOOC:E                         (CONTINUING)          Feeling better today?                         BETH          I'm not crying. That's about          the only improvement. Thanks          for last night. I needed someone          to just be there.                         BOOGIE          Felt like old times, you kZow.          Standing Li, the doorway.          (a small laugh)          Like I was dating you main.                         BETH          Boog,,,when we were dating, cfid          YOU care fcr me?                         B00GI=          Sure I did.                         BETH          11o: because you could do things          to me, but because you cared?                         BOOGIE          Of curse, Beth. There were          plenty of girls for that, you          know, if a guy wanted a pop.          But I got to tell you, you were          real good.          was ?                         BCOGIZ          Believe me.                         BETH          How would I rate?                         BOOGIE          Right up there. We had some good          nights. Still think about those          times, and that's long ago.                                                                                                              CC:V'TINL ED          Beth locks away. Her eyes start to tear up. She is on the          edge of-breaking dawn.                         BETH          I don't have any sense what I'm          like any-.ore. Don't ?--,ow what          I am. If what I wear is nice.          If I look pretty... just lost all          sense of me.                         BOOGIE          I don't know what Shrevie doesn't          tell ya, but you have nothing to          worry about. Yoïi're a definite          looker. A sexy lady.                         (A BEAT)          We should get together sometime.          They sit in the chairs, looking off in opposite directions.                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING)          Shrevie going over to Eddie's for          Elyse's football test?                         BETH          Yeah? ï Are you going?                         BOOGIE          No.                         BE H          Can we get together tonight, Bcog?          Boogie has accomplished what he warts. Bu= he's not happy          about it.                         BOOGIE          Yes.                         CUT TO:          1'.'7L. TELE ]rS ION STATION - NI(7r.T          Billy and Barbara walk dowr. the corridcr. Billy is angry.                         BILLY          It's mine as well. I have something          to say in this as well. Don't I?                         (COI; 1 NTJE )                         I                         1                                                                                                                             CONTINUED                         (SPEAKING QUIETLY)          I'm not talking about doing anything          drastic, an abor pion or anything          like that.                         BILLY          Well, I get the feeling I'm not          even included.                         BARBARA          Keep your voice down.                         BILLY          I'm half responsible for this                         MESS T                         BARBARA          Plea--e. Don't be so loud.          She sees a door and opei:s it.                         BAP3APA                         (CONTINUING)          In here.          r Billy enters. She closes the door bei.ind.                         CUT TO          INT . ANNOLNCBR' S BOOTH - DAY          i'. ROUGH THE, GLASS PARTITION we see the control roc= and          the Stu io floor belc-w. There is some actiïTi`y gci g on          in preparation for. the rRd-day newscast.                         B ILLY          Have you been to the doctor yet?          - BIA?3A ..A.                         BILLY          Why not?                         BAZBAPA          I'm afraid to. Ccnfi-. your worst          fears, as they say.          CUT TO.                         '6R                                                                                                               IN-77- CONTROL BOO -LE, - DAY          J S t e c.--". I C an e c ing o u t equ;pmentprio. to a tie          In the b.g., THROUGH THE-GLASS PARTITION, we see Barbara          and Billy talking in the s:=all announcer's booth.          On the monitors above we see the daily soap operas. The          audio to one of them is on. The audio an asks for voice          checks on the floor microphones.          CUT BACK TO:          INT. ANNOUNCER'S BOOTH                         B ILLY          What do we do? Don't you think          we should explore the situation?          Barbara sits on the desk. A small light is d;rectly behind          her. At prese.it it is not on.                         BARBARA          - I can't believe' this' happened.          I'm hardly the adventurous type.          Some:.ow i:. Just dcesn' t see= fair.          CUT BACK TO:          TNT. CONTROL BOOTH,          The audio man completes his audio check. Directly behind          him we see Billy and Barbara IN THE GLASS BOOT;:. 'ie picks          up a paper and puts his feet up on the audio c:, nscle.          Accidentally, he kicks on a switch.          CU BA Ci, bO:          I' T . A.?N:1OL'NC:.R' S BOOT'ri          The li?^z behind Barbara turns red.                         BARBARA          And that makes iL very difficult.          CU i BACK TO          INT. CONTROL ROOM - DAY          h T e soap opera continues. We hear the AUDIO TO T::L SHOW.           A couple is- having l=ch in a restaurant.                         (CONTI-NUED)                                                                                                              COh"TINL D :                          T L          a ?L -t.&ar??l y_an .?i-rïaab r -S- 'ï U41 to '-?trtra .::sV h          but very low key.          SOAP OPERA MAN          He's very, very ill          SOAP OPERA WOMAN          You were there?                         BARBARA'S VOICE          I have a great affection for you,          Willy. You're my closest friend.          SOAP OPERA WOMAN          If he dies, what will we do?          CAMERA HOLDS an the soap opera ncnicvrs, the audio man who          reads the paper, and Billy and Barbara in the b . g .          BARBARjA ' S VOICE          I won't marry you, not out of          -_convetaence. - - - -- -- -          SOar OPERA M..NL          I th_nk we should wait.                         BARBARA'S VOICE          Not because it's the thing to do.          God, I sound disgustingly brave.                         CUT TO:          LAT. IDDIE' S CLUB CELLAR - t?IG?iT          F.d?;ie's          We are LOOKING UP a flight of ste;.s. A door ovens.          Father stands there.          EDDIE' S F Ai :ER                         (YELLING DOWN)          ----How's she doing?           S}iPEJiE (O.S.)          Elyse has about a 72 so far, but          she's hitting a bad streak.          Eddie's Father comes down the steps. We see Shrevie, Fen-          wick, Modell, and Billy gathered. The basemen has a bar          with neon lights around it, so as to set it off as a show-          piece in the room. The walls are knotty pine.          - (CJa;1: tJED)                         T                                                                                                                             T                         CCNTTNUED :          Eddie and Elvse_are _not-in the rocn:_ They _a-e_j          lat:ndry room. The door is partial l.y open. We hear:          EDDIE (O.S.)          Before the Cleveland Browns Joined          the NTL they were in another league.          what was it .-abed?          'ELYSE (O.S.)          Another league?           EDDIE (O.S.)           Yes.          Lo n g pause. The guys eagerly await the answer.           ELYSE (O.S.)          I don't know.          Shrevie shakes his head and makes a mark on a piece of          paper.                         BILLY          What's it now?          SH?,r VIE          I don't know an more. Maybe          about a 67.                          BILLY          Passing is 65?           SE E VIE          Yep.          EDDIE (0.S.)          Buddy Young played for a team          't a.t no longer exists. what was          the name of that tea=?          All the guys lock at one ano then . A very tough gtpesticn.          EDDIES FA%:ER          Anybody know that?          Ncr.e of the guys have the faintest idea.          ELYSE (O.S.)          The New York Yankees football          team.                         INUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUO :          EDDIE . (0 . S . )                         TU-9                         MODELL          The New York Yankees footba?l          team?          EDDIE'S r1iHER          They were also in the American          Conference. I contributed that          question.           EDDIE (O.S.)          h T at was the lrngest run from           scrimnaga by a rookie in his          first game?                          S HREVIE          Alan Ameche.           EDDIE (0.S.)           We heard that in here. I'm           disqualifying that question.-           ELYSE (O.S.)          I knew that. 79 yard run. Opening          day 1955.          EDDIE (O.S.)          Sorry, Elyse.                         BILLY          You blew that, Shrevie.          S E "IIE          Sorry. I got exc.ted. It's one          of the few questions I k-:et-:.                         BILLY          How many more?          I don't knew. I've Lest count.           The door to the ton of the stairs opens. EDDIE' S O N THE?          stands there. +          EDDIE' S MOTHER          Elyse's mother is on the phone.          How's she doing?          EDDIE'S rA'?HER          The guys think it could go either          way.                         (CONTI`TUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED :          EDDIE' S MCTILR          E t_ er way. ay. -          Shecloses the door.-          EDDIE (U.S.)          The Colts siged him. A Heisma-n          trophy winner who decided to play          in Canada. Now, however, he plays          for the team. What's his name.          The CA?ZRI A PANS the faces of the guys.          -ErlYSE (C.S.)          Heis=an trophy winner. L.G. Dupre.          EDDIE (O.S.)          No. Billy Vessels.          Er.YSE (U.S.)          I should have known tha          - EDDIE (0:?.?          'Should ofs' don't count.                         FZ'YWI CK          Vessels. Out of Oklahoma.                         MODELL          She could of racked up points on          that one.          , : : VIE          I have no idea what the score is          now.          MCDE`- T.          Want to bet she goes do,.-n, for the          count?           aDL (0.5.)           -T ast question.           The guys and Eddie's Father c ghc:2n up. Tension fibs the          room.           EDDI: (O.S.)                         (CONTINUING)          The Colts had a team here, lost          the franchise, then got one from          Dallas. What were the colors of          the original Colt team?          CO:tT HUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINL`ED :          Woo. A ball buster.                         MODELL          ( :.soling to himself)          The original colors?          EDDIE'S FAT:R          Also my question.          ELYSE (O.S.)          Original colors? Green and gray.          -EDDIE (0. S - )          Right.                         B ILLY          (Jumping up and                         APP LAUDING)          A real scrapper! Tough question          and she pulls it out of a hat.          The other guys don't share his excitement.                         BILLY                         (CONTINUING)          Come on, guys. Green and gray.          Any of ycu guys know that? Cone          on. -Give her credit.           n T I I9           We hear EDDIE'S. VOICE. The guys quickly "shhhs doom.                          SHRE IZ           Tct<,l's coming up.           EDDIE (O.S.)           True and false. 72. Multiv?e          choice. 58.                          MODELL           __- _ Killer choices. Conf::sing.           EDDIE (C.5.)           Short answer. 64.          Eddie totals. The guys wait.                         BILLY          What do you think?                         MO DELL          Pick 'em. .          ( C 0 NT INLED)                         I                                                                                                                             CCH' INUED :          Eddie' 5-Father walks the war           EDDIE (0.S.)          The tocal is... 63.                         I          ELYSE (O.S.)                         OH NOT          r E WI CK          A cliff hanger.          .BILLY          Two points.                         S HREVIE          What do you think he'll do?          EDDIE' S FATHER          He'll give it to her. Good          sportsmanship is worth two points.          The door -to the ? aundry room -opens. Eddie steps into the -          room. He looks at the guys and his Father.                         EDDIE          The marriage is off.                         CUT TO:          INT. BOOGIE'S CAR - NIGHT          He sits in the car and waits. Beth comes out of the house          and dc--m the walk. She gets in the, car-and s la:.s the dcc m          shut. She is excited. She leans over and kisses Bccgia          on the cheek.                         BETH          W' ere are we going?          - BOOGIE - -          Ferwick' s apa_ amen t .          He hands her a long blonde wig.                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING)          Here, put this on.                         BE TRY          What's that for?                         (C0INTINJZD)                                                                                                                             CONTIN=M :                         - BOORI∞ __           Case someone sees us. 'They might           .think you're Carol Heathrow, or           somebody like that.           She slips the wig on her head and straightens it out,                          BETH           How's it look?                          BOOGIE           Fine. Jus t fine.          'they 'drive away.                          CUT TO          EXT. \EDDIE' S HOUSE - NIGHT          Fenwick and Shrevie walk out the front door. From inside          we hear YELLING AND SC3E.L NG between- Eddie and -his _-parents                          SHREVIE          You going up to the direr?          FENWI C+.          No, got to validate the Heathrow          bet.          SHREVI?          Christ, yeah, of course.          They approach their cars.                         (CONTINUING)          fen, you mind if I came along?          Fenwick thinks about it.                         SII; VIE                         (CCNTINSI_NG)          I won't matp a so=d.          FF_.T i I CX          It's a small closet. Gotta be          will.                         SHRVIE          Great.          ,:          They get into Fenwick's car and dr.-;e off.                         CUT TO :                                                                                                              -EXT . S T REZE T - NIGHT          Boogie drives his Desoto along. Beth, wearing the blonde          -" Grp; s shy a.s si4e.                         CUT TO:          EXT. S TR Z T - MIGHT          Fenwick's Triumph turns.a corner and heads down another          street.                         CUT TO :          INIT. CAR - NIGHT                         FENWI CK          The flip side of Donna?          SHREVIF.          Easy. La Bamba.                          CUT TO :          INT. BCCGIE' S CAR - NIGHT           Boogie is uncomfortable. Knowing what he is about to do          is wrong. Beth is silent. -                          CUT TO:                         F          INT . F =ti'WICK' S AFAR TNT - NIGHÑ          Fenwick and Shrevie enter the dark acar t=enc. Fenwi ck          doesn:' t tï.:,-m on the lights. They nog c toward the bedroom.                         CUT TO:          --- INT.--BEDROOM - NIGHT -.          The room is 'dark.' A shaft of light corning through a win-          dow offers the only source of illumination. Fen-wick opens          the closet door. Shrevie steps inside.                         F-NWICK 1          You crouch. I'll stand.          Shrevie kneels down. Fenwick enters and closes the door.          It. retains about four inches open.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              SHREVIE (O. S . )          Fine with me. Good view.                         CUT TO:          EXT . r EN'WI C:X' S APARTMENT - NIGHT          Boogie and Beth are walking toward the apar O_r.: building.                         BOOGIE          You've got to be real quiet inside.          No talking.                         BETH          I think you're a little paranoid.          The walls are very, very thin.          Promise?                         BET;I          Sure.          They approach the door. Boogie unlocks it. He starts co          open the doer, then closes it. He's changed his mind.                         BOOGIE          Let's go.          He takes her by the a= and leads her away. Beth is ccn-          fused.                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING)          It's a mistake, Beth. Bet or no                         --BET-                         BETH          What?          They approach the car. Bocgie opens the door. Beth gets          inside.          BE'? :-i                         (CONTINUING)          What are you talking about?          Boogie closes the door and goes around to his side. He gets          in, starts the engine and pulls away.                         CUT 70                                                                                                              INT. BEDROOM - ANG't ON r-: SLIGHTLY OPENED CLOSET DOOR -                         NIGHT          FENW1C{ (O.S.)          They should be here now.          SH VIE (C..S.)          Let's wait.           C. T TO          INT. CAR - NIGHT          Boogie is very urser, with hi=self. Beth is calm.                          SHE HOLDS          the blonde wi'g in tier lap.                         BETH          I was suppose to be Carol Heathrow?                         BOOGIE          That's right. Sick thing to do.          I'm real sorry.          They drive i.^. silence. Beth plays with the blonde hairs          of the wig.                         BET:          Thank you.,                         BOOGIE          For what?                         BETH          At least you had enough respect          for me to call it Off. That          says a lot.          A beat.                         BOOGIE          Shreve and you should work out          ya t t:.i_^.g          B;.-r-:          T wish I k=ew what to do.                         300GIE          I'm not real good at talking to          girls when there's problems and          all. With me, if I have a hassle          with a girl, I just split. But          you guys should try something.          -It would be worth it.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              EXT. SHREVI AND BETH'S HOUSE - NIGHT          Bowie's car is culled over. -Beth's door is openand she          stands on the curb talking to Boogie inside the car.                         BETH          What are you going to do about          the money?          Boogie szugs his shoulders and smiles at her,                         BOOGIE          Take care, babe.          Beth closes the door: Boogie drives his Desoto away.          Btth watches him as he disappears down the street.                         CUT TO:          TNT. STRIP JOINT - NIG'iT          -Bil Ly and Eddie are in one of the clubs on Baltimore's          famous Block. In the b.g. a bored STRIPPER goes through.          the mo tions. The' drier thz.:. -?ps out a monotonous beat          and a saxophonist drones away,- A few sailors and some          other customers sit at cables around the stage area. All          t h e tables have wooden =a? lets . When the Stripper does          something they especially like they pound the table with          tr.Le mallets.          Billy and Eddie both have beers and chasers in front of          then. Billy sips the chaser and his body actually shakes          from it for a few seconds.                         BILLY          There is no reason to actually          like this, you know that.                         EDDIE          An acquired taste                         BILLY          No matter-how long -I drink- whiskey          I still don't like it.          He takes another sip, and once again shakes. Then he sips          the beer.                         BILLY                         (CONTINUING)          Now beer's another story.                         (CONT INUED)                                                                                                              91.                         CONTINUED          Eccie watches t::e Stri pa= zn owing a few bps an g in s.                         EDDIE          You know something?                         BILLY          What?                         EDDIE          I don't Iike strippers. I mean,          so they show a little here and          there. So what? But, give me          a coc. rle of ranoosas in a pink          sweater.., look out?                         BILLY          Remember the first time we became          aware of breasts on girls?                         EDDIE          Arlene Stowe.                         BILL Y          Showed up for the new school year          and there they were.                         EDDIE          Seventh grade.                         BILLY          We gave little Joel Cher--I a nickel          -apiece to find cut is they were          real. Told him to be slnbcle. He          walked over, reached uc and grabbed.          T::rned to us and yelled, 'They're          real!'                         EDDIE          The whole thing with girls is          painfu?. And it keeps getting          acre painful... instead of easier.          Billy downs his beer and orders tT,o more.                         BILLY          Remember 'copping a feel'? Boogie          was the first. Said it was great.          So, when I tcck out Ruth Ray I          figured I had to do it.                         EDDIE          Ruth Ray, eighth grade.                         CC                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:          Right. Sat on the couch in her          club cellar for hours, trying to          figure out a way to get my arm          arc:,tzid her. Finally, I learned          the 'move.' I yawned and put my          arm around her shoulder.          He demonstrates on Eddie.-                         BILLY                         (CONTINUING)                         I          Then came the big task of getting          my hand down to her-breast. By          the time I worked un the nerve          to move down, I realized my arm          was asleep. Figured out there          wasn't enough time to take it back,          ge6 the feeling again, acid start          over. Had to be in by eleven.          Time was running out. So, I move          toward- the breast -with my arm - -----          asleep. My first copping a feel          was like this. -          He bangs his limp arm against Eddie's chest. He bps it          again.                         BILLY                         (CONTINUING)          Next time I saw the guys they          said, 'Did you cop a feel?' I          said, 'Yeah.' 'How was it?'          'Great.'          Eddie laughs and Billy joins in.                          CJ1 TO:          ---EXT. -DINER - NIGHT                         R          Bocgie pulls into te diner parking lot. Fenwick and          Shrevie race over to the car. Boogie opens the door.                         17;          Bong, you should get outta here.          Tank's Inside.          Boogie gets out of the car and slams the door shut. He          looks coward the diner and thinks a moment.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:          S HR VIE          tiny Con ycu wait until he splits?                         BOOGIE          He'll just keep looking for me.          He starts toward the diner.                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING)          Hand's dealt. Might as well          play the cards.          The guys hang behind? Boogie continufts on. Inside the          diner we see Tank moving along the aisle toward the door,          Boogie heads for the door. Just as he reaches it, Tank          steps outside. -                          TANK           Boag..                          BOOGIE'          Tank. --                          TANK           Lucky can.                          BOOGIE          That so.                         TA K          Yeah. The Bagel just raid off          your debt.          Boogie looks at him, trying to size up the situation.          Wcnderirg if he's r=ning a nurbey for scale reason.          B COG I E          We're even? Straight?                         TA K          T'hat's the story.          Tank starts past Boogie.                         BOOGIE                         TANKS          Tank tu :s. Boogie slams his fist into his stcWach. Tank          drops to one knee in pain.                         (CC'TTINL' C)                                                                                                              94.                         CONTINUED:                         OUGIE                         (CONTINUING)          I still owed you that.          He enters the diner. Fenwick and Shrevie are amazed by          what just happened.                         CUT TO:          INT. DINER - NIGHT          Boogia approaches Bagel wL_o sits at a booth alone. He                         JOINS HI--                          BOOGIE          Thanks, Bagel.                         BAGEL          Your mother called. She was          frantic. So, out of respect for          your -f at:.er. - - -          He sips his coffee. Then h,.i picks up a toasted bagel and          butters it.                         BAGEL                         (CONTINUING)          Your mother feels you're just          wasting your t4---e in law school          it's not for you.                         BCOGIE          Probably right.                         BAGEL          Ccee to work for me. There's a          lot of money to be made in the          home improvement business. You'd          be very good at it.          Boogie thinks about it. Bagel chews on his bagel.                         BOOGIE          Well, I was only really using law          as a come=on for the girls. They          like that. But, what the hell.                         (HE SMILES)          I can always lie.          The waitress passes..                         (CCNTIB3UED)                                                                                                              95.                         CONTINUED                         VVGIH                         (CONTINUING)          Enid, some french fries and gravy.                         BAGEL          Call the two thousand an advance.                         BOOGIE          I'll work for you... for awhile.          Then, I'll have to move on to          bigger things.          ,.BAGEL          Always a dreamer, eh, Boog?                         BOOGIE          If you don't have good dreams,          Bagel, you've got nightmares.          He flashes him a smile.                          CUT -TO          tNT. STRIP JOINT - NIGHT          Billy and' Eddie are still dri^king at the bar. They are          not drunk, just ve-cy happy.                         EDDIE          I'll tell you one chinz that          happens when you get mcrried.          You have to give up your old          friends.          Billy listens to the music, slapping his thighs, crying be          get the band to pick up the beat.                         EDDIE                         (CENT INUING )          idle wi Fe wants you to get new          friends. 'Cause me and you have          secrets she'll never know. And          new friends can never be as good,          'cause we've got a history.                         BILLY          It won't change, only if we let          it.          Billy keeps ,slapping his thighs, but the dr.:mmer and the          saxophonist continue on, unaware of Billy's private urgings.                         (CONTINUED')                                                                                                              C0N.II'LcD :                         BITT Y          f nti- Yirg?          This is getting me crazy.          Billy goes toward the small stage.          BILLY (O.S.)                         (CONTINUING)          Come on, guyst Pick up the beat!          They don't respond. Eddie sits at the bar amused. Billy          claps his hands to a strong rhythm, but of course, the          guys pay no attention.          Billy goes up on the stage and pulls a cover off a small          piano in the corner. He sits down and runs his fingers          down the keyboard, then starts to play. It bas a nice,          pleasant sound to it. The dr er and the saxophonist          stop, not knowing what to do. The Stripper also stops.          The club bouncer at the front door turns toward the stage,          notices something is wrong and makes his way forward.          Billy's "piano playing becomes more intense. Stronger. He          drives the keys hard. Full tilt rock ane roll. The sound          becomes infectious. The sailors and other customers pick          up the beat. One after another they start to pound the          tables with the wooden mallets.          Eddie moves toward the stage banging empty beer battles          together .          The saxophonist joins Billy. Then the dry--?e,. The          Stripper stands by the side of the stage watching. The          music builds.          Billy's fingers pound the piano. Eddie jL ps up on the          stage and starts dancing around. He grabs the Stripper          and they jitterbug.          The sailors and other customers are cn their feet, banging          .the mallets Cr. the tables for all they are worth. A room          full of dr-=..e,s. The Lemon heightens.          Billy kicks back the stool a la Jerry Lee Lewis. The crowd          cheers. The bouncer cheers along.          The saxophonist struts the stage playing his heart out.          The dr'er drives the bass dr.:.m with his foot. His hands          sweep back and forth across the skins.          Eddie's feet are flying. Enthusiasm over grace. The Scrip          per is a whirlwind of motion and sexuality. The tempo is          fierce.                         (COVTI:TLZJ)                         F                                                                                                                             C0NTTNLED:          Ril i" _lMI IkC tZtT ?' ??rt ,,..-,p n ? ca vnn?+nn r?          The .sc builds, and bu=lds, and t.,en altogether they          s u.. WW&A. e place e:cplodes in cheer and applause,                          CUT TO:          EXT. TFZ BLOCK - NIGHT          Billy and Eddie walk with their arms around the Stripper.          They are enjoying one another.                          EDDIE          . let's see.                          STRIPPER          First joke you remember.                          RDDIE          Ah, let's see. Filth ?rade. Junior          Scholastic Magazine. Hic' tory          hickory, doc._. _.The mouse ran . up the..,-          clock. The clock struck one.,, and          the other taro escaped with minor          injuries.'          Billy and the Stripper boo. Eddie Laughs.                         STRIPPER          That's terrible.                         _ EDDIE          Fifth grade huWcr.                         S TRIPPER          Since then your hu o has moved          up to the sixth grade, is that          it?          Eddie laughs. He enjoys the put-down.          _..._                         EDDIE -          You're all right.                         STRIPPER          You guys have made my night. You          should come dewy, and hang out          more often.                         EDDIE           Don't think I can. Getting ma--- ' ed.          Billy looks- at him. - Eddie smiles.          (COii T INLTED)                                                                                                                             EDDIE                         (CONTINUING; TO                         BILLY)          Figured she would have gotten the          Alan Aaeche question that Shrevie          screwed up.                         BILLY          Benefit of the doubt.                         EDDIE          Exactly.                         STRIPPER          I love weddings. Just never found          the time to settle... or wanted to.                         (TO BILLY)          And you?                         BILLY          No marriage.                         STRIPPER          Got a girl?                         BILLY          Not really. Just in love.          STRIP?ER          Does the girl know?                         BILLY          Yeah, I told her about it.                         STRIPPER          Told her? Did you show her?          Billy thinks about that as they enter an all-ciaht cootee          shop.                         CUT TO:          EXT. COFFEE SHOP - NIGHT          Billy, Eddie, and the Stripper sit in q.booth by the win-          dow, eating, drinking and laeeahing.          The CA?'RA SLOWLY .PULLS BACK. The first rays of morning          light are breaking behind the building. The CA:"'RA KEEPS          PULLING BACK.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              E cr. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY          ,'vN Cc?ISHOL' rides her horse across the gently rolling          hills . The ho          L se and her-"are one; Grace and bra          She rides OUT OF F: 'E. Seconds later Boogie rides a          horse INTO FR.'%lE. He pulls up on the horse and cc .es to          a stop. He watches Ann ride, then pulls up his collar on          his wool overcoat and rides off.          Boogie rides after Ann. Although he is not a goad rider,          he pushes to pick up ground.. Finally, he pulls alongside.          Ann slows her horse and Boogie does the same.                         BOCCIE          Nice morning.                         ANN          Yes, it is.                         BOOGIE          Mornings I've always felt are a          good time to ride.          - Ann doesn't- respond. -                         BOOGIE                         (CONTINUING)          (f You live around here?                         ANN          Not around here. Here.          Boogie looks around what seems like endless ccun yside.          He's over,whelmed.                         LNN                         (CONTINUING)          Which means you are trespassing.          Boogie looks her in the eye and flashes his smile.                         BOOGIE          -- '---I was wait ng for an invite.          Ann studies him.                         ANN          Let's ride.          She kicks her horse and gallops off. Boogie follows As          they ride AWAY FROM CAMERA.                         ANN                         (CONTINUING)          What's your name?                         (COIN TIL =))                                                                                                                             CONTINL D:          BO CI '          Boogie. As in Bobby Shef tel..          They ride over a crest and disappear from sight.                         CUT TO:          INT. BANQUET HALL - WEDDING ROOM - NIGHT          The "Wedding Rcom" has been elaborately decorated. Potted          blue and white flowers in stands line the aisle to the blue          and white flower-d altar. The room is a festival of blue.          and white.          The guests sit in fold;.ng chairs eagerly waiting for, the          wedding procession to begin.          The MUSIC BEGINS. However, it is not the traditional          wedding math but rather the Baltimore Colts'Fight Song.          Even though the organist has softened it, there is still          _a _"rah-rah" quality to it. The flower girl comes down the---          aisle throwing white flowers on the blue aisle.          Modell with his GIRLFRIEND.                         GIRL RIEND          What is that music?                         MO DELL          Colt Marching Song. Sounds good,          huh?          The ushers come for4ar3. Boogie and Fenwick, followed by          Shrevie, who walks alone. They are all smartly dressed          in black tuxedos.          The bridesmaids come forward. Beth and another girl. Fol-          lowed by tao more girls. Followed by two more girls.          Billy and Eddie start down- the aisle. Behind them is          Eddie's Mother and Father. They walk on either side of          his grandmother.          The COLT ING SONG CONTINUES ON.          Eddie sees someone sitting one seat in from the aisle. He          whispers to Billy.                         BILLY          Moon Shaw? Where?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              CONT ?NUZD :          td t rh? -:td. B:L117 1K5 otter.                         BILLY                         (C ONTINUING)          You're right?          As they start to -pass, Billy leans into the row and grabs          Moon Shaw by the shirt. He pulls back his fist. Jxoor is-          shocked. -                         BILLY                         (CONTINUING)          Hi, Moon. ∞          He smiles, lets him go and rejoins Eddie, having missed          only a few steps. No one is quite sure what has happened.          Quickly the attention is back to the wedding procession.          LONG SHOT -. THE HALL          --as Elyse and her -mother and --father-come down -the-ai-s7le.-                         CIJT TO:          INT. WEDDING ROOM. - TIGHT SHOT - EDDIE'S .-AC NIGHT          IAB3I (O.S.)          Do you, Edward, take this woman,          Elyse, to be your lawful wedded          wife?' For better or worse, in          sickness and in health,. until          death do you part?                         EDDIE          I do .          RABBI (O.S.)          Do you, Elyse...          TIGH SHOT - FENWIC{' S FACE           CBI (O.S.)           take this man, Edward, to          be...           TIGHT SHOT - BOOGIE'S FACE           RABBI (O.S.)           your lawful wedded husband.          t For better or worse...                                                                                                              TIGHT SHOT - BILLY'S FACE          R4_3BI -(O.S.)          in sickness aril in health,          till death do you part?          TIGHT SHOT - EDDIL' S FACE          ELYSE (O,S.)          I do.          Eddie smiles.          RABBI (O.S.)          I now proncui ce yot an and wife.                         CUT TO          INT . BANQUET MALL - NIGHT           -The hall is also decorated in blue and white. The table           clothes, th_e napkins, ribbons, flowers, the bandstand, - -. - - - __ - ---.-          the band.          The six-piece band plays a nice, perky, dance t ne. Some          women dance with women. Mothers dance with sons, fathers          and daughters and some husbands with wives.          Shrevie dances with Beth and they seem to be enjoying          themselves.          C.?NaRA PANS TO Fenwick and the eleventh grader, Diane.                         DIANE          Why not travel the United States?          Fr`IW CK          It's been done. Europe. Europe          looks like a smile.          Cr=1 'RA PA NS TO Boogie and Ann C'._sho'.m. He is staetieg          Co walk coward the buffet table.                         ANN          Bobby, I think I will have a few          more of.          (holding up an                         HORS D'OEUV-E)          , whatever this hors d'oeu' e          is.           CAA PA PAN'S TO a banner on the back wall that reads:          EDDIE AND ELYSE. FOR THE 60'S AND FOREVER.                          CUT TO                                                                                                              INT. BANQUET HALL - NIGHT (SLIGHTLY LATER)          A SLOW SONG IS PLAYING. Billy- and Barbara dance.                        BARBARA          I made arrangemefits with my boss.          He said not to worry. The job          was mine.                         BILLY          That was nice of him.                         BARBARA          So, I'll work and care for the          child. It can be done. I'll          just have to put up with those          who want to think badly of me.                         BILLY          That's not going to be easy.                         BARBARA           I know          The baby is ours, Billy. We can          both celebrate that. You can          love him just as much, spend time          with him or her.          Boogie and Ann pass then Boogie kisses Ann lightly on          the cheek.                         BILLY          You know what I realized just          yesterday? I've been intimidated          by you. I always liked you because          you were strong, independent, and          all. But I've been intimidated          by that as well. I've always held          -.back with you.- When we kissed, I          held back. The same when we made          Luve in New York. I keep thinking          I have to be special, like normal          passion wasn't proper... as if it          were just too ordinary and we were          beyond that.          Barbara pulls away from him slightly so she can see his          face. There's a sad look in his eyes.                         (CONTIN ED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED :                         BARBARA          If that's the case,          think that's a hard thing to                         CORRECT;          She kisses him, they hold each other tightly,                          BARBARA                         (CONTINUING)          We've got plenty of time to find          out about one another. Plenty          of time.          _He .kisses her. They stand still on tha dance _floor nsothers dance around them.                         CUT TO:           INT. BANQUET HALL - NIGHT (LATER)           Elyse stands with her BACK TO THE Holding the           bouquet up toward -the eagerl - await                          SJ           She tosses the bouquet from the stage.           Seated at the table           They look down at the bouquet, then at Boogie,           There is a faint smile on their faces.                         THE END
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+                                    "DOUBLE INDEMNITY"                                      Screenplay by                            Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler                                    Based on the novel                          "Double Indemnity In Three Of A Kind"                                            by                                      James M. Cain                               CHARACTERS               WALTER NEFF               PHYLLIS DIETRICHSON               BARTON KEYES               LOLA DIETRICHSON               MR. DIETRICHSON               NINO ZACHETTI               MR. NORTON               MR. JACKSON               SAM GORLOPIS                                                       SEQUENCE "A"               FADE IN:               A-1 LOS ANGELES - A DOWNTOWN INTERSECTION               It is night, about two o'clock, very light traffic.               At the left and in the immediate foreground a semaphore                traffic signal stands at GO. Approaching it at about thirty                miles per hour is a Dodge 1938 coupe. It is driven erratically                and weaving a little, but not out of control.               When the car is about forty feet away, the signal changes to                STOP. Car makes no attempt to stop but comes on through.               A-2 A LIGHT NEWSPAPER TRUCK               is crossing the intersection at right angles. It swerves and                skids to avoid the Dodge, which goes on as though nothing                had happened. The truck stops with a panicky screech of tires.                There is a large sign on the truck: "READ THE LOS ANGELES                TIMES". The truck driver's infuriated face stares after the                coupe.               A-3 THE COUPE               continues along the street, still weaving, then slows down                and pulls over towards the curb in front of a tall office                building.               A-4 THE COUPE               stops. The headlights are turned off. For a second nothing                happens, then the car door opens slowly. A man eases himself                out onto the sidewalk and stands a moment leaning on the                open door to support himself. He's a tall man, about thirty-               five years old. From the way he moves there seems to be                something wrong with his left shoulder.               He straightens up and painfully lowers his left hand into                his jacket pocket. He leans into the car. He brings out a                light-weight overcoat and drapes it across his shoulders. He                shuts the car door and walks toward the building.               A-5 ENTRANCE OF THE BUILDING               Above the closed, double-plate glass doors is lettered:                "PACIFIC BUILDING". To the left of entrance there is a                drugstore, closed, dark except for a faint light in the back.                The man comes stiffly up to the doors. (CAMERA HAS MOVED UP                WITH HIM). He tries the doors. They are locked. He knocks on                the glass. Inside, over his shoulder, the lobby of the                building is visible: a side entrance to the drugstore on the                left, in the rear a barber shop and cigar and magazine stand                closed up for the night, and to the right two elevators. One                elevator is open and its dome light falls across the dark                lobby.               The man knocks again. The night watchman sticks his head out                of the elevator and looks toward entrance. He comes out with                a newspaper in one hand and a half-eaten sandwich in the                other. He finishes the sandwich on the way to the doors,                looks out and recognizes the man outside, unlocks the door                and pulls it open.                                     NIGHT WATCHMAN                         Hello there, Mr. Neff.               Neff walks in past him without answering.               A-6 INT. LOBBY               Neff is walking towards elevator. Night watchman looks after                him, relocks door, follows to elevator. Neff enters elevator.               A-7 ELEVATOR               Neff stands leaning against wall. He is pale and haggard                with pain, but deadpans as night watchman joins him.                                     NIGHT WATCHMAN                         Working pretty late aren't you, Mr.                          Neff?                                     NEFF                              (Tight-lipped)                         Late enough.                                     NIGHT WATCHMAN                         You look kind of all in at that.                                     NEFF                         I'm fine. Let's ride.               Night watchman pulls lever, doors close and elevator rises.                                     NIGHT WATCHMAN                         How's the insurance business, Mr.                          Neff?                                     NEFF                         Okay.                                     NIGHT WATCHMAN                         They wouldn't ever sell me any. They                          say I've got something loose in my                          heart. I say it's rheumatism.                                     NEFF                              (Scarcely listening)                         Uh-huh.               Night watchman looks around at him, turns away again and the                elevator stops.                                     NIGHT WATCHMAN                              (Surly)                         Twelve.               The door opens. Across a small dark reception room a pair of                frosted glass doors are lettered: PACIFIC ALL-RISK INSURANCE                COMPANY - FOUNDED 1906 - MAIN OFFICE. There is a little light                beyond the glass doors.               Neff straightens up and walks heavily out of the elevator,                across reception room to doors. He pushes them open. The                night watchman stares after him morosely, works lever,                elevator doors start to close.               A-8 TWELFTH FLOOR INSURANCE OFFICE               (Note for set-designer: Our Insurance Company occupies the                entire eleventh and twelfth floors of the building. On the                twelfth floor are the executive offices and claims and sales                departments. These all open off a balcony which runs all the                way around. From the balcony you see the eleventh floor below:                one enormous room filled with desks, typewriters, filing                cabinets, business machines, etc.)               Neff comes through the double entrance doors from the                reception room. The twelfth floor is dark. Some light shines                up from the eleventh floor. Neff takes a few steps then holds                on to the balcony railing and looks down.               A-9 THE ELEVENTH FLOOR FROM ABOVE - NEFF'S POINT OF VIEW               Two colored women are cleaning the offices. One is dry-mopping                the floor, the other is moving chairs back into position,                etc. A colored man is emptying waste baskets into a big square                box. He shuffles a little dance step as he moves, and hums a                little tune.               A-10 NEFF               Moves away from the railing with a faint smile on his face,                and walks past two or three offices (CAMERA WITH HIM) towards                a glass door with number twenty-seven on it and three names:                HENRY B. ANDERSON, WALTER NEFF, LOUIS L. SCHWARTZ. Neff opens                the door.               A-11 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE - DARK               Three desks, filing cabinets, one typewriter on stand, one                dictaphone on fixed stand against wall with rack of records                underneath, telephones on all three desks. Water cooler with                inverted bottle and paper cup holder beside it. Two windows                facing toward front of building. Venetian blinds. No curtains.                Waste basket full, ash trays not emptied. The office has not                been cleaned.               Neff enters, switches on desk lamp. He looks across at dicta                phone, goes heavily to it and lifts off the fabric cover. He                leans down hard on the dictaphone stand as if feeling faint.                He turns away from dictaphone, takes a few uncertain steps                and falls heavily into a swivel chair. His head goes far                back, his eyes close, cold sweat shows on his face. For a                moment he stays like this, exhausted, then his eyes open                slowly and look down at his left shoulder. His good hand                flips the overcoat back, he unbuttons his jacket, loosens                his tie and shirt. This was quite an effort. He rests for a                second, breathing hard. With the help of his good hand he                edges his left elbow up on the arm-rest of the chair, supports                it there and then pulls his jacket wide. A heavy patch of                dark blood shows on his shirt. He pushes his chair along the                floor towards the water cooler, using his feet and his right                hand against the desk, takes out a handkerchief, presses                with his hand against the spring faucet of the cooler, soaks                the handkerchief in water and tucks it, dripping wet, against                the wound inside his shirt. Next, he gets a handful of water                and splashes it on his face. The water runs down his chin                and drips. He breathes heavily, with closed eyes. He fingers                a pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket, pulls it out, looks                at it. There is blood on it. He wheels himself back to the                desk and dumps the loose cigarettes out of the packet. Some                are blood-stained, a few are clean. He takes one, puts it                between his lips, gropes around for a match, lights cigarette.                He takes a deep drag and lets smoke out through his nose.               He pulls himself toward dictaphone again, still in the swivel                chair, reaches it, lifts the horn off the bracket and the                dictaphone makes a low buzzing sound. He presses the button                switch on the horn. The sound stops, the record revolves on                the cylinder. He begins to speak:                                     NEFF                         Office memorandum, Walter Neff to                          Barton Keyes, Claims Manager. Los                          Angeles, July 16th, 1938. Dear Keyes:                          I suppose you'll call this a                          confession when you hear it. I don't                          like the word confession. I just                          want to set you right about one thing                          you couldn't see, because it was                          smack up against your nose. You think                          you're such a hot potato as a claims                          manager, such a wolf on a phoney                          claim. Well, maybe you are, Keyes,                          but let's take a look at this                          Dietrichson claim, Accident and Double                          Indemnity. You were pretty good in                          there for a while, all right. You                          said it wasn't an accident. Check.                          You said it wasn't suicide. Check.                          You said it was murder. Check and                          double check. You thought you had it                          cold, all wrapped up in tissue paper,                          with pink ribbons around it. It was                          perfect, except that it wasn't,                          because you made a mistake, just one                          tiny little mistake. When it came to                          picking the killer, you picked the                          wrong guy, if you know what I mean.                          Want to know who killed Dietrichson?                          Hold tight to that cheap cigar of                          yours, Keyes. I killed Dietrichson.                          Me, Walter Neff, insurance agent, 35                          years old, unmarried, no visible                          scars --                              (He glances down at                               his wounded shoulder)                         Until a little while ago, that is.                          Yes, I killed him. I killed him for                          money -- and a woman -- and I didn't                          get the money and I didn't get the                          woman. Pretty, isn't it?               He interrupts the dictation, lays down the horn on the desk.                He takes his lighted cigarette from the ash tray, puffs it                two or three times, and kills it. He picks up the horn again.                                     NEFF                              (His voice is now                               quiet and contained)                          It began last May. About the end of                          May, it was. I had to run out to                          Glendale to deliver a policy on some                          dairy trucks. On the way back I                          remembered this auto renewal on Los                          Feliz. So I decided to run over there.                          It was one of those Calif. Spanish                          houses everyone was nuts about 10 or                          15 years ago. This one must have                          cost somebody about 30,000 bucks --                          that is, if he ever finished paying                          for it.               As he goes on speaking, SLOW DISSOLVE TO:               A-12 DIETRICHSON HOME - LOS FELIZ DISTRICT               Palm trees line the street, middle-class houses, mostly in                Spanish style. Some kids throwing a baseball back and forth                across a couple of front lawns. An ice cream wagon dawdles                along the block. Neff's coupe meets and passes the ice cream                wagon and stops before one of the Spanish houses. Neff gets                out. He carries a briefcase, his hat is a little on the back                of his head. His movements are easy and full of ginger. He                inspects the house, checks the number, goes up on the front                porch and rings the bell.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         It was mid-afternoon, and it's funny,                          I can still remember the smell of                          honeysuckle all along that block. I                          felt like a million. There was no                          way in all this world I could have                          known that murder sometimes can smell                          like honeysuckle...               A-13 EXT. DIETRICHSON HOME - ENTRANCE DOOR               Neff rings the bell again and waits. The door opens. A maid,                about forty-five, rather slatternly, opens the door.                                     NEFF                         Mr. Dietrichson in?                                     MAID                         Who wants to see him?                                     NEFF                         The name is Neff. Walter Neff.                                     MAID                         If you're selling something --                                     NEFF                         Look, it's Mr. Dietrichson I'd like                          to talk to, and it's not magazine                          subscriptions.               He pushes past her into the house.               A-14 HALLWAY - DIETRICHSON HOME               Spanish craperoo in style, as is the house throughout. A                wrought-iron staircase curves down from the second floor. A                fringed Mexican shawl hangs down over the landing. A large                tapestry hangs on the wall. Downstairs, the dining room to                one side, living room on the other side visible through a                wide archway. All of this, architecture, furniture,                decorations, etc., is genuine early Leo Carrillo period.                Neff has edged his way in past maid who still holds the door                open.                                     MAID                         Listen, Mr. Dietrichson's not in.                                     NEFF                         How soon do you expect him?                                     MAID                         He'll be home when he gets here, if                          that's any help to you.               At this point a voice comes from the top of the stairs.                                     VOICE                         What is it, Nettie? Who is it?               Neff looks up.               A-15 UPPER LANDING OF STAIRCASE - (FROM BELOW)               Phyllis Dietrichson stands looking down. She is in her early                thirties. She holds a large bath-towel around her very                appetizing torso, down to about two inches above her knees.                She wears no stockings, no nothing. On her feet a pair of                high-heeled bedroom slippers with pom-poms. On her left ankle                a gold anklet.                                     MAID'S VOICE                         It's for Mr. Dietrichson.                                     PHYLLIS                              (Looking down at Neff)                         I'm Mrs. Dietrichson. What is it?               A-16 SHOOTING DOWN FROM UPPER LANDING               Neff looks up, takes his hat off.                                     NEFF                         How do you do, Mrs. Dietrichson. I'm                          Walter Neff, Pacific All-Risk.               A-17 PHYLLIS                                     PHYLLIS                         Pacific all-what?               A-18 NEFF                                     NEFF                         Pacific All-Risk Insurance Company.                          It's about some renewals on the                          automobiles, Mrs. Dietrichson. I've                          been trying to contact your husband                          for the past two weeks. He's never                          at his office.               A-19 PHYLLIS                                     PHYLLIS                         Is there anything I can do?               A-20 NEFF                                     NEFF                         The insurance ran out on the                          fifteenth. I'd hate to think of your                          getting a smashed fender or something                          while you're not fully covered.               A-21 PHYLLIS               She glances over her towel costume.                                     PHYLLIS                              (With a little smile)                         Perhaps I know what you mean, Mr.                          Neff. I've just been taking a sun                          bath.               A-22 NEFF                                     NEFF                         No pigeons around, I hope... About                          those policies, Mrs. Dietrichson --                          I hate to take up your time --               A-23 PHYLLIS                                     PHYLLIS                         That's all right. If you can wait                          till I put something on, I'll be                          right down. Nettie, show Mr. Neff                          into the living room.               She turns away as gracefully as one can with a towel for a                wrapper.]               A-24 ENTRANCE HALL               Neff watches Phyllis out of sight. He speaks to the maid                while still looking up.                                     NEFF                         Where would the living room be?                                     MAID                         In there, but they keep the liquor                          locked up.                                     NEFF                         That's okay. I always carry my own                          keys.               He goes through the archway. Maid goes off the other way.               A-25 LIVING ROOM               Neff comes into the room and throws his briefcase on the                plush davenport and tosses his hat on top of it. He looks                around the room, then moves over to a baby grand piano with                a sleazy Spanish shawl dangling down one side and two cabinet                photographs standing in a staggered position on top. Neff                glances them over: Mr. Dietrichson, age about fifty-one, a                big, blocky man with glasses and a Rotarian look about him;                Lola Dietrichson, age nineteen, wearing a filmy party dress                and a yearning look in her pretty eyes. Neff walks away from                the piano and takes a few steps back and forth across the                rug. His eyes fall on a wrinkled corner. He carefully                straightens it out with his foot. His back is to the archway                as he hears high heels clicking on the staircase. He turns                and looks through the arch.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         The living room was still stuffy                          from last night's cigars. The windows                          were closed and the sunshine coming                          in through the Venetian blinds showed                          up the dust in the air. The furniture                          was kind of corny and old-fashioned,                          but it had a comfortable look, as if                          people really sat in it. On the piano,                          in couple of fancy frames, were Mr.                          Dietrichson and Lola, his daughter                          by his first wife They had a bowl of                          those little red goldfish on the                          table behind the davenport, but, to                          tell you the truth, Keyes, I wasn't                          a whole lot interested in goldfish                          right then, nor in auto renewals,                          nor in Mr. Dietrichson and his                          daughter Lola. I was thinking about                          that dame upstairs, and the way she                          had looked at me, and I wanted to                          see her again, close, without that                          silly staircase between us.               A-26 STAIRCASE (FROM NEFF'S POINT OF VIEW)               Phyllis Dietrichson is coming downstairs. First we see her                feet, with pom-pom slippers and the gold anklet on her left                ankle. CAMERA PULLS BACK SLOWLY as she descends, until we                see all of her. She is wearing a pale blue summer dress.                                     PHYLLIS' VOICE                         I wasn't long, was I?                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         Not at all, Mrs. Dietrichson.               CAMERA PULLS BACK WITH HER INTO THE LIVING ROOM.                                     PHYLLIS                         I hope I've got my face on straight.                                     NEFF                         It's perfect for my money.                                     PHYLLIS                              (Crossing to the mirror                               over the fireplace)                         Won't you sit down, Mr. -- Neff is                          the name, isn't it?                                     NEFF                         With two f's, like in Philadelphia.                          If you know the story.                                     PHYLLIS                         What story?                                     NEFF                         The Philadelphia story. What are we                          talking about?                                     PHYLLIS                              (She works with her                               lipstick)                         About the insurance. My husband never                          tells me anything.                                     NEFF                         It's on your two cars, the La Salle                          and the Plymouth.               He crosses to the davenport to get the policies from his                briefcase. She turns away from the mirror and sits in a big                chair with her legs drawn up sideways, the anklet now clearly                visible.                                     NEFF                         We've been handling this insurance                          for three years for Mr. Dietrichson...                              (His eyes have caught                               the anklet)                         That's a honey of an anklet you're                          wearing, Mrs. Dietrichson.               Phyllis smiles faintly and covers the anklet with her dress.                                     NEFF                         We'd hate to see the policies lapse.                          Of course, we give him thirty days.                          That's all we're allowed to give.                                     PHYLLIS                         I guess he's been too busy down at                          Long Beach in the oil fields.                                     NEFF                         Could I catch him home some evening                          for a few minutes?                                     PHYLLIS                         I suppose so. But he's never home                          much before eight.                                     NEFF                         That would be fine with me.                                     PHYLLIS                         You're not connected with the                          Automobile Club, are you?                                     NEFF                         No, the All-Risk, Mrs. Dietrichson.                          Why?                                     PHYLLIS                         Somebody from the Automobile Club                          has been trying to get him. Do they                          have a better rate?                                     NEFF                         If your husband's a member.                                     PHYLLIS                         No, he isn't.               Phyllis rises and walks up and down, paying less and less                attention.                                     NEFF                         Well, he'd have to join the club and                          pay a membership fee to start with.                          The Automobile Club is fine. I never                          knock the other fellow's merchandise,                          Mrs. Dietrichson, but I can do just                          as well for you. I have a very                          attractive policy here. It wouldn't                          take me two minutes to put it in                          front of your husband.               He consults the policies he is holding.                                     NEFF                         For instance, we're writing a new                          kind of fifty percent retention                          feature in the collision coverage.               Phyllis stops in her walk.                                     PHYLLIS                         You're a smart insurance man, aren't                          you, Mr. Neff?                                     NEFF                         I've had eleven years of it.                                     PHYLLIS                         Doing pretty well?                                     NEFF                         It's a living.                                     PHYLLIS                         You handle just automobile insurance,                          or all kinds?               She sits down again, in the same position as before.                                     NEFF                         All kinds. Fire, earthquake, theft,                          public liability, group insurance,                          industrial stuff and so on right                          down the line.                                     PHYLLIS                         Accident insurance?                                     NEFF                         Accident insurance? Sure, Mrs.                          Dietrichson.               His eyes fall on the anklet again.                                     NEFF                         I wish you'd tell me what's engraved                          on that anklet.                                     PHYLLIS                         Just my name.                                     NEFF                         As for instance?                                     PHYLLIS                         Phyllis.                                     NEFF                         Phyllis. I think I like that.                                     PHYLLIS                         But you're not sure?                                     NEFF                         I'd have to drive it around the block                          a couple of times.                                     PHYLLIS                              (Standing up again)                         Mr. Neff, why don't you drop by                          tomorrow evening about eight-thirty.                          He'll be in then.                                     NEFF                         Who?                                     PHYLLIS                         My husband. You were anxious to talk                          to him weren't you?                                     NEFF                         Sure, only I'm getting over it a                          little. If you know what I mean.                                     PHYLLIS                         There's a speed limit in this state,                          Mr. Neff. Forty-five miles an hour.                                     NEFF                         How fast was I going, officer?                                     PHYLLIS                         I'd say about ninety.                                     NEFF                         Suppose you get down off your                          motorcycle and give me a ticket.                                     PHYLLIS                         Suppose I let you off with a warning                          this time.                                     NEFF                         Suppose it doesn't take.                                     PHYLLIS                         Suppose I have to whack you over the                          knuckles.                                     NEFF                         Suppose I bust out crying and put my                          head on your shoulder.                                     PHYLLIS                         Suppose you try putting it on my                          husband's shoulder.                                     NEFF                         That tears it.               Neff takes his hat and briefcase.                                     NEFF                         Eight-thirty tomorrow evening then,                          Mrs. Dietrichson.                                     PHYLLIS                         That's what I suggested.               They both move toward the archway.               A-27 HALLWAY - PHYLLIS AND NEFF GOING TOWARDS THE ENTRANCE                DOOR                                     NEFF                         Will you be here, too?                                     PHYLLIS                         I guess so. I usually am.                                     NEFF                         Same chair, same perfume, same anklet?                                     PHYLLIS                              (Opening the door)                          I wonder if I know what you mean.                                     NEFF                         I wonder if you wonder.               He walks out.               A-28 EXT. DIETRICHSON HOME - (DAY)               Shooting past Neff's parked car towards the entrance door,                which is just closing. Neff comes towards the car, swinging                his briefcase. He opens the car door and looks back with a                confident smile.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                              (Over scene)                         She liked me. I could feel that. The                          way you feel when the cards are...               A-29 ENTRANCE DOOR, DIETRICHSON HOME               In the upper panel the peep window opens and Phyllis looks                out after Neff.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         falling right for you, with a nice                          little pile of blue and yellow chips                          in the middle of the table. Only                          what I didn't know then was that I                          wasn't playing her. She was playing                          me -- with a deck of marked cards --                          and the stakes weren't any blue and                          yellow chips. They were dynamite. I                          went back to the office that afternoon                          to see if I had any mail. It was the                          same afternoon you had that Sam                          Gorlopis on the carpet, that truck                          driver from Inglewood, remember,                          Keyes?               A-30 NEFF               He sits in his car, presses the starter button, looking back                towards the little window in the entrance door.               A-31 ENTRANCE DOOR               The peep window is quickly closed from inside.               A-32 STREET               Neff makes a U-turn and drives back down the block.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               A-33 LONG SHOT - INSURANCE OFFICE - TWELFTH FLOOR - (DAY) -                CAMERA HIGH               Activity on the eleventh floor below. Typewriters working,                adding machines, filing clerks, secretaries, and so forth.                Neff, wearing his hat and carrying his briefcase, enters                from the vestibule. He walks towards his office. He passes a                few salesmen, etc. There is an exchange of greetings. Just                as he reaches his office a secretary comes out. She stops.                                     SECRETARY                         Oh, Mr. Neff, Mr. Keyes wants to see                          you. He's been yelling for you all                          afternoon.                                     NEFF                         Is he sore, or just frothing at the                          mouth a little? Here, park these for                          me, sweetheart.               He hands her his hat and briefcase and continues right on,                CAMERA WITH HIM, to a door lettered:                              BARTON KEYES - CLAIMS MANAGER               Keyes' voice is heard inside, plenty loud. Neff grins as he                opens the door and goes in.               A-34 KEYES: OFFICE - (DAY)               A minor executive office, not too tidy: large desk across                one corner, good carpet, several chairs, filing cabinet                against one wall, a dictaphone on the corner of the desk.               Keyes is sitting behind the desk with his coat off but his                hat on. A cigar is clamped in his mouth, ashes falling like                snow down his vest, a gold chair and elk's tooth across it.                On the other side of the desk sits Sam Gorlopis. He is a                big, dumb bruiser, six feet three inches tall -- a dirty                work shirt and corduroy pants, rough, untidy hair, broad                face, small piggish eyes. He holds a sweat-soaked hat on his                knee with a hairy hand. He is chewing gum rapidly. As Neff                opens the door, Keyes is giving it to Gorlopis.                                     KEYES                         Wise up, Gorlopis. You're not kidding                          anybody with that line of bull. You're                          in a jam and you know it.                                     GORLOPIS                         Sez you. All I want is my money.                                     KEYES                         Sez you. All you're gonna get is the                          cops.               He sees Neff standing inside the door.                                     KEYES                         Come in, Walter. This is Sam Gorlopis                          from Inglewood.                                     NEFF                         Sure, I know Mr. Gorlopis. Wrote a                          policy on his truck. How are you,                          Mr. Gorlopis?                                     GORLOPIS                         I ain't so good. My truck burned                          down.               He looks cautiously sideways at Keyes.                                     KEYES                         Yeah, he just planted his big foot                          on the starter and the whole thing                          blazed up in his face.                                     GORLOPIS                         Yes, sir.                                     KEYES                         And didn't even singe his eyebrows.                                     GORLOPIS                         No sir. Look, mister. I got twenty-                         six hundred bucks tied up in that                          truck. I'm insured with this company                          and I want my money.                                     KEYES                         You got a wife, Gorlopis?                                     GORLOPIS                         Sure I got a wife.                                     KEYES                         You got kids?                                     GORLOPIS                         Two kids.                                     KEYES                         What you got for dinner tonight?                                     GORLOPIS                         We got meat loaf.                                     KEYES                         How do you make your meat loaf,                          Gorlopis?                                     GORLOPIS                         Veal and pork and bread and garlic.                          Greek style.                                     KEYES                         How much garlic?                                     GORLOPIS                         Lotsa garlic, Mr. Keyes.                                     KEYES                         Okay, Gorlopis. Now listen here.                          Let's say you just came up here to                          tell me how to make meat loaf. That's                          all, understand? Because if you came                          up here to claim on that truck, I'd                          have to turn you over to the law,                          Gorlopis, and they'd put you in jail.                          No wife. No kids --                                     GORLOPIS                         What for?                                     KEYES                              (Yelling)                         And no meat loaf, Gorlopis!                                     GORLOPIS                         I didn't do nothin'.                                     KEYES                         No? Look, Gorlopis. Every month                          hundreds of claims come to this desk.                          Some of them are phonies, and I know                          which ones. How do I know, Gorlopis?                              (He speaks as if to a                               child)                         Because my little man tells me.                                     GORLOPIS                         What little man?                                     KEYES                         The little man in here.               He pounds the pit of his stomach.                                     KEYES                         Every time one of those phonies comes                          along he ties knots in my stomach.                          And yours was one of them, Gorlopis.                          That's how I knew your claim was                          crooked. So what did I do? I sent a                          tow car out to your garage this                          afternoon and they jacked up that                          burned-out truck of yours. And what                          did they find, Gorlopis? They found                          what was left of a pile of shavings.                                     GORLOPIS                         What shavings?                                     KEYES                         The ones you soaked with kerosene                          and dropped a match on.               Gorlopis cringes under the impact.                                     GORLOPIS                         Look, Mr. Keyes, I'm just a poor                          guy. Maybe I made a mistake.                                     KEYES                         That's one way of putting it.                                     GORLOPIS                         I ain't feelin' so good, Mr. Keyes.                                     KEYES                         Sign this and you'll feel fine.               He puts a blank form in front of him and points.                                     KEYES                         Right there. It's a waiver on your                          claim.               Gorlopis hesitates, then signs laboriously.                                     KEYES                         Now you're an honest man again.                                     GORLOPIS                         But I ain't got no more truck.                                     KEYES                         Goodbye, Gorlopis.                                     GORLOPIS                              (Still bewildered)                         Goodbye, Mr. Keyes.               He stands up and goes slowly to the door and turns there.                                     GORLOPIS                         Twenty-six hundred bucks. That's a                          lot of dough where I live.                                     KEYES                         What's the matter, Gorlopis? Don't                          you know how to open the door? Just                          put your hand on the knob, turn it                          to the right, pull it toward you --                                     GORLOPIS                              (Doing just as Keyes                               says)                         Like this, Mr. Keyes?                                     KEYES                         That's the boy. Now the same thing                          from the outside.                                     GORLOPIS                              (Stupefied)                         Thank you, Mr. Keyes.               He goes out, closing the door after him. Keyes takes his                cigar stub from his mouth and turns it slowly in the flame                of a lighted match. He turns to Neff.                                     KEYES                         What kind of an outfit is this anyway?                          Are we an insurance company, or a                          bunch of dimwitted amateurs, writing                          a policy on a mugg like that?                                     NEFF                         Wait a minute, Keyes. I don't rate                          this beef. I clipped a note to that                          Gorlopis application to have him                          thoroughly investigated before we                          accepted the risk.                                     KEYES                         I know you did, Walter. I'm not                          beefing at you. It's the company.                          The way they do things. The way they                          don't do things. The way they'll                          write anything just to get it down                          on the sales sheet. And I'm the guy                          that has to sit here up to my neck                          in phony claims so they won't throw                          more money out of the window than                          they take in at the door.                                     NEFF                              (Grinning)                         Okay, turn the record over and let's                          hear the other side.                                     KEYES                         I get darn sick of picking up after                          a gang of fast-talking salesmen dumb                          enough to sell life insurance to a                          guy that sleeps in the same bed with                          four rattlesnakes. I've had twenty-                         six years of that, Walter, and I --                                     NEFF                         And you loved every minute of it,                          Keyes. You love it, only you worry                          about it too much, you and your little                          man. You're so darn conscientious                          you're driving yourself crazy. You                          wouldn't even say today is Tuesday                          without you looked at the calendar,                          and then you would check if it was                          this year's or last year's calendar,                          and then you would find out what                          company printed the calendar, then                          find out if their calendar checks                          with the World Almanac's calendar.                                     KEYES                         That's enough from you, Walter. Get                          out of here before I throw my desk                          at you.                                     NEFF                         I love you, too.               He walks out, still grinning.               A-35 EXT. OFFICES - TWELFTH FLOOR               Neff comes out of Keys' office and walks back along the                balcony. Activity of secretaries going in and out of doors,                etc. Neff enters his own office.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                              (Over scene)                         I really did, too, you old crab,                          always yelling your fat head off,                          always sore at everyone. But behind                          the cigar ashes on your vest I kind                          of knew you had a heart as big as a                          house... Back in my office there was                          a phone message from Mrs. Dietrichson                          about the renewals. She didn't want                          me to come tomorrow evening. She                          wanted me to come Thursday afternoon                          at three-thirty instead. I had a lot                          of stuff lined up for that Thursday                          afternoon, including a trip down to                          Santa Monica to see a couple of live                          prospects about some group insurance.                          But I kept thinking about Phyllis                          Dietrichson and the way that anklet                          of hers cut into her leg.               A-36 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE               Anderson, a salesman, sits at one of the desks, filling out                a report. Neff enters, goes to his own desk. He looks down                at some mail. On top there is a typewritten note. He reads                it, sits down and leafs through his desk calendar.               A-37 INSERT - CLOSEUP - CALENDAR PAGE               Showing date: THURSDAY 23 May and five or six appointments                penciled in tightly on the page.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               A-38 DIETRICHSON HOME - ENTRANCE HALL - (DAY)               THE CAMERA PANS with Phyllis Dietrichson's feet and ankles                as she comes down the stairs, her high heels clicking on the                tiles. The anklet glistens on her leg as she moves. THE CAMERA                PANS ON. Phyllis has reached the entrance hall, and as she                walks toward the front door her whole body becomes visible.                She wears a gay print dress with a wide sash over her hips.                She opens the door. Outside is Neff, wearing a sport coat,                flannel slacks. He takes his hat off.                                     PHYLLIS                         Hello, Mr. Neff.               He stands there with a little smile.                                     PHYLLIS                         Aren't you coming in?                                     NEFF                         I'm considering it.               He comes in.                                     PHYLLIS                         I hope you didn't mind my changing                          the appointment. Last night wasn't                          so convenient.                                     NEFF                         That's okay. I was working on my                          stamp collection.               She leads him toward living room.               A-39 DIETRICHSON LIVING ROOM               Phyllis and Neff come through archway. She heads toward a                low tea table which stands in front of the davenport, with                tall glasses, ice cubes, lemon, a pot of tea, etc.                                     PHYLLIS                         I was just fixing some iced tea.                          Would you like a glass?                                     NEFF                         Unless you have a bottle of beer                          that's not working.                                     PHYLLIS                         There might be some. I never know                          what's in the ice box.                              (Calls)                         Nettie!...                She pours herself a glass of tea.                                     PHYLLIS                         About those renewals, Mr. Neff. I                          talked to my husband about it.                                     NEFF                         You did?                                     PHYLLIS                         Yes. He'll renew with you he told                          me. In fact, I thought he'd be here                          this afternoon.                                     NEFF                         But he's not?                                     PHYLLIS                         No.                                     NEFF                         That's terrible.                                     PHYLLIS                              (Calls again,                               impatiently)                         Nettie!... Nettie!... Oh, I forgot,                          it's the maid's day off.                                     NEFF                         Don't bother, Mrs. Dietrichson. I'd                          like some iced tea very much.                                     PHYLLIS                         Lemon? Sugar?                                     NEFF                         Fix it your way.               She fixes him a glass of tea while he is looking around. He                slowly sits down.                                     NEFF                         Seeing it's the maid's day off maybe                          there's something I can do for you.               She hands him the tea.                                     NEFF                         Like running the vacuum cleaner.                                     PHYLLIS                         Fresh.                                     NEFF                         I used to peddle vacuum cleaners.                          Not much money but you learn a lot                          about life.                                     PHYLLIS                         I didn't think you'd learned it from                          a correspondence course.                                     NEFF                         Where did you pick up this tea                          drinking? You're not English, are                          you?                                     PHYLLIS                         No. Californian. Born right here in                          Los Angeles.                                     NEFF                         They say native Californians all                          come from Iowa.                                     PHYLLIS                         I wanted to ask you something, Mr.                          Neff.                                     NEFF                         Make it Walter.                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter.                                     NEFF                         Right.                                     PHYLLIS                         Tell me, Walter, on this insurance --                          how much commission do you make?                                     NEFF                         Twenty percent. Why?                                     PHYLLIS                         I thought maybe I could throw a little                          more business your way.                                     NEFF                         I can always use it.                                     PHYLLIS                         I was thinking about my husband. I                          worry a lot about him, down in those                          oil fields. It's very dangerous.                                     NEFF                         Not for an executive, is it?                                     PHYLLIS                         He doesn't just sit behind a desk.                          He's right down there with the                          drilling crews. It's got me worried                          sick.                                     NEFF                         You mean a crown block might fall on                          him some rainy night?                                     PHYLLIS                         Please don't talk like that.                                     NEFF                         But that's the idea.                                     PHYLLIS                         The other day a casing line snapped                          and caught the foreman. He's in the                          hospital with a broken back.                                     NEFF                         Bad.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's got me jittery just thinking                          about it. Suppose something like                          that happened to my husband?                                     NEFF                         It could.                                     PHYLLIS                         Don't you think he ought to have                          accident insurance?                                     NEFF                         Uh huh.                                     PHYLLIS                         What kind of insurance could he have?                                     NEFF                         Enough to cover doctors' and hospital                          bills. Say a hundred and twenty-five                          a week cash benefit. And he'd rate                          around fifty thousand capital sum.                                     PHYLLIS                         Capital sum? What's that?                                     NEFF                         That's if he got killed. Maybe I                          shouldn't have said that.                                     PHYLLIS                         I suppose you have to think of                          everything in your business.                                     NEFF                         Mr. Dietrichson would understand.                          I'm sure I could sell him on the                          idea of some accident protection.                          Why don't I talk to him about it.                                     PHYLLIS                         You could try. But he's pretty tough                          going.                                     NEFF                         They're all tough at first.                                     PHYLLIS                         He's got a lot on his mind. He doesn't                          want to listen to anything except                          maybe a baseball game on the radio.                          Sometimes we sit all evening without                          saying a word to each other.                                     NEFF                         Sounds pretty dull.               Phyllis shrugs.                                     PHYLLIS                         So I just sit and knit.                                     NEFF                         Is that what you married him for?                                     PHYLLIS                         Maybe I like the way his thumbs hold                          up the wool.                                     NEFF                         Anytime his thumbs get tired --                                     PHYLLIS                         I want to ask you something, Mr.                          Neff. Could I get an accident policy                          for him -- without bothering him at                          all?                                     NEFF                         How's that again.                                     PHYLLIS                         That would make it easier for you,                          too. You wouldn't even have to talk                          to him. I have a little allowance of                          my own. I could pay for it and he                          needn't know anything about it.                                     NEFF                         Wait a minute. Why shouldn't he know?                                     PHYLLIS                         Because I know he doesn't want                          accident insurance. He's superstitious                          about it.                                     NEFF                         A lot of people are. Funny, isn't                          it?                                     PHYLLIS                         If there was a way to get it like                          that, all the worry would be over.                          You see what I mean, Walter?                                     NEFF                         Sure. I've got good eyesight. You                          want him to have the policy without                          him knowing it. And that means without                          the insurance company knowing that                          he doesn't know. That's the set-up,                          isn't it?                                     PHYLLIS                         Is there anything wrong with it?                                     NEFF                         I think it's lovely. And then, some                          dark wet night, if that crown block                          fell on him --                                     PHYLLIS                         What crown block?                                     NEFF                         Only sometimes they have to have a                          little help. They can't quite make                          it on their own.                                     PHYLLIS                         I don't know what you're talking                          about.                                     NEFF                         Of course, it doesn't have to be a                          crown block. It can be a car backing                          over him, or he can fall out of an                          upstairs window. Any little thing                          like that, as long as it's a morgue                          job.                                     PHYLLIS                         Are you crazy?                                     NEFF                         Not that crazy. Goodbye, Mrs.                          Dietrichson.               He picks up his hat.                                     PHYLLIS                         What's the matter?                                     NEFF                         Look, baby, you can't get away with                          it.                                     PHYLLIS                         Get away with what?                                     NEFF                         You want to knock him off, don't                          you, baby.                                     PHYLLIS                         That's a horrible thing to say!                                     NEFF                         Who'd you think I was, anyway? A guy                          that walks into a good-looking dame's                          front parlor and says "Good afternoon,                          I sell accident insurance on husbands.                          You got one that's been around too                          long? Somebody you'd like to turn                          into a little hard cash? Just give                          me a smile and I'll help you collect."                          Boy, what a dope I must look to you!                                     PHYLLIS                         I think you're rotten.                                     NEFF                         I think you're swell. So long as I'm                          not your husband.                                     PHYLLIS                         Get out of here.                                     NEFF                         You bet I will. You bet I'll get out                          of here, baby. But quick.               He goes out. She looks after him.               A-40 EXT. DIETRICHSON HOME - (DAY)               Neff bangs the front door shut, walks quickly to his car and                drives away.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                     NEFF'S VOICE                              (Over scene)                         So I let her have it, straight between                          the eyes. She didn't fool me for a                          minute, not this time. I knew I had                          hold of a redhot poker and the time                          to drop it was before it burned my                          hand off. I stopped at a drive-in                          for a bottle of beer, the one I had                          wanted all along, only I wanted it                          worse now, to get rid of the sour                          taste of her iced tea, and everything                          that went with it. I didn't want to                          go back to the office, so I dropped                          by a bowling alley at Third and                          Western and rolled a few lines to                          get my mind thinking about something                          else for a while.               A-41 DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT - (DAY)               Shooting past Neff sitting behind the wheel of his car The                car hop hangs a tray on the door and serves him a bottle of                beer.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               A-42 INT. BOWLING ALLEY               Neff bowling. He rolls the ball with an effort at                concentration, but his mind is not really on the game.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               A-43 EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE - (DUSK)               It is late afternoon. The apartment house is called the LOS                OLIVOS APARTMENTS. It is a six-story building in the Normandie-               Wilshire district, with a basement garage. THE CAMERA PANS                UP the front of the building to the top floor windows, as a                little rain starts to fall.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                     NEFF'S VOICE                              (Continuing)                         I didn't feel like eating dinner                          when I left, and I didn't feel like                          a show, so I drove home, put the car                          away and went up to my apartment.               A-44 INT. NEFF'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - (DUSK)               It is a double apartment of conventional design, with kitchen,                dinette, and bathroom, squarecut overstuffed borax furniture.                Gas logs are lit in the imitation fireplace. Neff stands by                the window with his coat off and his tie loose. Raindrops                strike against the glass. He turns away impatiently, paces                up and down past a caddy bag with golf clubs in it, pulls                one out at random, makes a couple of short swings, throws                the club on the couch, paces again.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                              (Continuing)                         It had begun to rain outside and I                          watched it get dark and didn't even                          turn on the light. That didn't help                          me either. I was all twisted up                          inside, and I was still holding on                          to that red-hot poker. And right                          then it came over me that I hadn't                          walked out on anything at all, that                          the hook was too strong, that this                          wasn't the end between her and me.                          It was only the beginning.               The doorbell rings.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                              (Continuing)                         So at eight o'clock the bell would                          ring and I would know who it was                          without even having to think, as if                          it was the most natural thing in the                          world.               Neff goes to the door and opens it.                                     PHYLLIS                         Hello.               Neff just looks at her.                                     PHYLLIS                         You forgot your hat this afternoon.               She has nothing in her hands but her bag.                                     NEFF                         Did I?               He looks down at her hands.                                     PHYLLIS                         Don't you want me to bring it in?                                     NEFF                         Sure. Put it on the chair.               She comes in. He closes the door.                                     NEFF                         How did you know where I live?                                     PHYLLIS                         It's in the phone book.               Neff switches on the standing lamp.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's raining.                                     NEFF                         So it is. Peel off your coat and sit                          down.               She starts to take off her coat.                                     NEFF                         Your husband out?                                     PHYLLIS                         Long Beach. They're spudding in a                          new well. He phoned he'd be late.                          About nine-thirty.               He takes her coat and lays it across the back of a chair.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's about time you said you're glad                          to see me.                                     NEFF                         I knew you wouldn't leave it like                          that.                                     PHYLLIS                         Like what?                                     NEFF                         Like it was this afternoon.                                     PHYLLIS                         I must have said something that gave                          you a terribly wrong impression. You                          must surely see that. You must never                          think anything like that about me,                          Walter.                                     NEFF                         Okay.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's not okay. Not if you don't                          believe me.                                     NEFF                         What do you want me to do?                                     PHYLLIS                         I want you to be nice to me. Like                          the first time you came to the house.                                     NEFF                         It can't be like the first time.                          Something has happened.                                     PHYLLIS                         I know it has. It's happened to us.                                     NEFF                         That's what I mean.               Phyllis has moved over to the window. She stares out through                the wet window-pane.                                     NEFF                         What's the matter now?                                     PHYLLIS                         I feel as if he was watching me. Not                          that he cares about me. Not any more.                          But he keeps me on a leash. So tight                          I can't breathe. I'm scared.                                     NEFF                         What of? He's in Long Beach, isn't                          he?                                     PHYLLIS                         I oughtn't to have come.                                     NEFF                         Maybe you oughtn't.                                     PHYLLIS                         You want me to go?                                     NEFF                         If you want to.                                     PHYLLIS                         Right now?                                     NEFF                         Sure. Right now.               By this time, he has hold of her wrist. He draws her to him                slowly and kisses her. Her arms tighten around him. After a                moment he pulls his head back, still holding her close.                                     NEFF                         How were you going to do it?                                     PHYLLIS                         Do what?                                     NEFF                         Kill him.                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter, for the last time --               She tries to jerk away but he holds her and kisses her again.                                     NEFF                         I'm crazy about you, baby.                                     PHYLLIS                         I'm crazy about you, Walter.                                     NEFF                         That perfume on your hair. What's                          the name of it?                                     PHYLLIS                         Something French. I bought it down                          at Ensenada.                                     NEFF                         We ought to have some of that pink                          wine to go with it. The kind that                          bubbles. But all I have is bourbon.                                     PHYLLIS                         Bourbon is fine, Walter.               He lets her go and moves toward the dinette.               A-45 THE DINETTE AND KITCHEN               It contains a small table and some chairs. A low glass-and-               china cabinet is built between the dinette and kitchen,                leaving a space like a doorway. The kitchen is the usual                apartment house kitchen, with stove, ice-box, sink, etc. It                is quite small.               Neff goes to the ice-box and Phyllis drifts in after him.                                     NEFF                         Soda?                                     PHYLLIS                         Plain water, please.                                     NEFF                         Get a couple of glasses, will you.               He points at the china closet. He has taken a tray of ice                cubes from the refrigerator and is holding it under the hot-               water faucet.                                     NEFF                         You know, about six months ago a guy                          slipped on the soap in his bathtub                          and knocked himself cold and drowned.                          Only he had accident insurance. So                          they had an autopsy and she didn't                          get away with it.               Phyllis has the glasses now. She hands them to him. He dumps                some ice cubes into the glasses.                                     PHYLLIS                         Who didn't?                                     NEFF                         His wife.               He reaches for the whiskey bottle on top of the china closet.                                     NEFF                         And there was another case where a                          guy was found shot and his wife said                          he was cleaning a gun and his stomach                          got in the way. All she collected                          was a three-to-ten stretch in                          Tehachapi.                                     PHYLLIS                         Perhaps it was worth it to her.               Neff hands her a glass.                                     NEFF                         See if you can carry this as far as                          the living room.               They move back toward the living room.               A-46 LIVING ROOM               Phyllis and Neff go toward the davenport. She is sipping her                drink and looking around.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's nice here, Walter. Who takes                          care of it for you?                                     NEFF                         A colored woman comes in twice a                          week.                                     PHYLLIS                         You get your own breakfast?                                     NEFF                         Once in a while I squeeze a                          grapefruit. The rest I get at the                          corner drugstore.               They sit on the davenport, fairly close together.                                     PHYLLIS                         It sounds wonderful. Just strangers                          beside you. You don't know them. You                          don't hate them. You don't have to                          sit across the table and smile at                          him and that daughter of his every                          morning of your life.                                     NEFF                         What daughter? Oh, that little girl                          on the piano.                                     PHYLLIS                         Yes. Lola. She lives with us. He                          thinks a lot more of her than he                          does of me.                                     NEFF                         Ever think of a divorce?                                     PHYLLIS                         He wouldn't give me a divorce.                                     NEFF                         I suppose because it would cost him                          money.                                     PHYLLIS                         He hasn't got any money. Not since                          he went into the oil business.                                     NEFF                         But he had when you married him?                                     PHYLLIS                         Yes, he had. And I wanted a home.                          Why not? But that wasn't the only                          reason. I was his wife's nurse. She                          was sick for a long time. When she                          died, he was all broken up. I pitied                          him so.                                     NEFF                         And now you hate him.                                     PHYLLIS                         Yes, Walter. He's so mean to me.                          Every-time I buy a dress or a pair                          of shoes he yells his head off. He                          won't let me go anywhere. He keeps                          me shut up. He's always been mean to                          me. Even his life insurance all goes                          to that daughter of his. That Lola.                                     NEFF                         Nothing for you at all, huh?                                     PHYLLIS                         No. And nothing is just what I'm                          worth to him.                                     NEFF                         So you lie awake in the dark and                          listen to him snore and get ideas.                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter, I don't want to kill him. I                          never did. Not even when he gets                          drunk and slaps my face.                                     NEFF                         Only sometimes you wish he was dead.                                     PHYLLIS                         Perhaps I do.                                     NEFF                         And you wish it was an accident, and                          you had that policy. For fifty                          thousand dollars. Is that it?                                     PHYLLIS                         Perhaps that too.               She takes a long drink.                                     PHYLLIS                         The other night we drove home from a                          party. He was drunk again. When we                          got into the garage he just sat there                          with his head on the steering wheel                          and the motor still running. And I                          thought what it would be like if I                          didn't switch it off, just closed                          the garage door and left him there.                                     NEFF                         I'll tell you what it would be like,                          if you had that accident policy, and                          tried to pull a monoxide job. We                          have a guy in our office named Keyes.                          For him a set-up like that would be                          just like a slice of rare roast beef.                          In three minutes he'd know it wasn't                          an accident. In ten minutes you'd be                          sitting under the hot lights. In                          half an hour you'd be signing your                          name to a confession.                                     PHYLLIS                         But Walter, I didn't do it. I'm not                          going to do it.                                     NEFF                         Not if there's an insurance company                          in the picture, baby. So long as                          you're honest they'll pay you with a                          smile, but you just try to pull                          something like that and you'll find                          out. They know more tricks than a                          carload of monkeys. And if there's a                          death mixed up in it, you haven't                          got a prayer. They'll hang you as                          sure as ten dimes will buy a dollar,                          baby.               She begins to cry. He puts his arms around her and kisses                her.                                     NEFF                         Just stop thinking about it, will                          you.               He holds her tight. Their heads touch, side by side, THE                CAMERA SLOWLY STARTS TO RECEDE as we                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               A-47 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE - (NIGHT)               Neff sits in the swivel chair, talking into the dictaphone.                He has hooked the wastebasket under his feet to sit more                comfortably. As he talks, a little cough shakes him now and                then.                                     NEFF                         So we just sat there, and she kept                          on crying softly, like the rain on                          the window, and we didn't say                          anything. Maybe she had stopped                          thinking about it, but I hadn't. I                          couldn't. Because it all tied up                          with something I had been thinking                          about for years, since long before I                          ever ran into Phyllis Dietrichson.                          Because, in this business you can't                          sleep for trying to figure out the                          tricks they could pull on you. You're                          like the guy behind the roulette                          wheel, watching the customers to                          make sure they don't crook the house.                          And then one night, you get to                          thinking how you could crook the                          house yourself. And do it smart.                          Because you've got that wheel right                          under your hands. And you know every                          notch in it by heart. And you figure                          all you need is a plant out in front,                          a shill to put down the bet. And                          suddenly the doorbell rings and the                          whole set-up is right there in the                          room with you... Look, Keyes, I'm                          not trying to whitewash myself. I                          fought it, only maybe I didn't fight                          it hard enough. The stakes were fifty                          thousand dollars, but they were the                          life of a man, too, a man who'd never                          done me any dirt. Except he was                          married to a woman he didn't care                          anything about, and I did...                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               A-48 INT. NEFF'S APARTMENT LIVING ROOM               CAMERA MOVES SLOWLY towards the davenport again. Neff sits                in one corner with his feet on the low table. He is smoking                his cigarette and staring at the ceiling. Phyllis has been                sitting fairly close to him. She gets up slowly and crosses                to her rain coat, lying over a chair.                                     PHYLLIS                         I've got to go now, Walter.               Neff does not answer. He keeps on staring at the ceiling.                She starts to put the rain coat on.                                     PHYLLIS                         Will you call me, Walter?               Neff still does not answer.                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter!               He looks at her slowly, almost absently.                                     PHYLLIS                         I hate him. I loathe going back to                          him. You believe me, don't you,                          Walter?                                     NEFF                         Sure I believe you.                                     PHYLLIS                         I can't stand it anymore. What if                          they did hang me?                                     NEFF                         You're not going to hang, baby.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's better than going on this way.                                     NEFF                         -- you're not going to hang, baby.                          Not ever. Because you're going to do                          it the smart way. Because I'm going                          to help you.                                     PHYLLIS                         You!                                     NEFF                         Me.                                     PHYLLIS                         Do you know what you're saying?                                     NEFF                         Sure I know what I'm saying.               He gets up and grips her arm.                                     NEFF                         We're going to do it together. We're                          going to do it right. And I'm the                          guy that knows how.               There is fierce determination in his voice. His fingers dig                into her arm.                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter, you're hurting me.                                     NEFF                         There isn't going to be any slip up.                          Nothing sloppy. Nothing weak. It's                          got to be perfect.               He kisses her.                                     NEFF                         You go now.               He leads her towards the door.                                     NEFF                         Call me tomorrow. But not from your                          house. From a booth. And watch your                          step. Every single minute. It's got                          to be perfect, understand. Straight                          down the line.               They have now reached the door. Neff opens it. Phyllis stands                in the doorway, her lips white.                                     PHYLLIS                         Straight down the line.               She goes quietly. He watches her down the corridor. Slowly                he closes the door and goes back into the room. He moves                across the window and opens it wide. He stands there, looking                down into the dark street. From below comes the sound of a                car starting and driving off. The rain drifts in against his                face. He just stands there motionless. His mind is going a                hundred miles a minute.                                                                  FADE OUT:                                   END OF SEQUENCE "A"                                       SEQUENCE "B"               FADE IN:               B-1 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE - (NIGHT)               Neff sits slumped in his chair before the dictaphone. On the                desk next to him stands a used record. The cylinder on the                dictaphone is not turning. He is smoking a cigarette. He                kills it then lifts the needle and slides off the record                which is on the machine and stands it on end on the desk                beside the other used record. He reaches down painfully to                take another record from the rack beneath the dictaphone,                looks at it against the light to make sure it has not been                used, then slides it into place on the machine and resets                the needle. He lifts the horn and resumes his dictation.                                     NEFF                         The first thing we had to do was fix                          him up with that accident policy. I                          knew he wouldn't buy, but all I wanted                          was his signature on an application.                          So I had to make him sign without                          his knowing what he was signing. And                          I wanted a witness other than Phyllis                          to hear me give him a sales talk. I                          was trying to think with your brains,                          Keyes. I wanted all the answers ready                          for all the questions you were going                          to spring as soon as Dietrichson was                          dead.               Neff takes a last drag on his cigarette and kills it by                running it under the ledge of the dictaphone stand. He drops                the stub on the floor and resumes.                                     NEFF                         A couple of nights later I went to                          the house. Everything looked fine,                          except I didn't like the witness                          Phyllis had brought in. It was                          Dietrichson's daughter Lola, and it                          made me feel a little queer in the                          belly to have her right there in the                          room, playing Chinese checkers, as                          if nothing was going to happen.                                                                  DISSOLVE:               B-2 A BOARD OF CHINESE CHECKERS CAMERA WITHDRAWS AND                GRADUALLY REVEALS THE DIETRICHSON LIVING ROOM - NIGHT               The checker-board is on the davenport between Phyllis and                Lola. Mr. Dietrichson sits in a big easy chair. His coat and                tie are over the back of the chair, and the evening paper is                lying tumbled on the floor beside him. He is smoking a cigar                with the band on it. He has a drink in front of him and                several more inside him. In another chair sits Neff, his                briefcase on the floor, leaning against his chair. He holds                his rate book partly open, with a finger in it for a marker.                He is going full swing.                                     NEFF                         I suppose you realize, Mr.                          Dietrichson, that, not being an                          employee, you are not covered by the                          State Compensation Insurance Act.                          The only way you can protect yourself                          is by having a personal policy of                          your own.                                     DIETRICHSON                         I know all about that. The next thing                          you'll tell me I need earthquake                          insurance and lightning insurance                          and hail insurance.               Phyllis looks up from the checker-board and cuts in on the                dialogue. Lola listens without much interest.                                     PHYLLIS                              (To Dietrichson)                         If we bought all the insurance they                          can think up, we'd stay broke paying                          for it, wouldn't we, honey?                                     DIETRICHSON                         What keeps us broke is you going out                          and buying five hats at a crack. Who                          needs a hat in California?                                     NEFF                         I always say insurance is a lot like                          a hot water bottle. It looks kind of                          useless and silly hanging on the                          hook, but when you get that stomach                          ache in the middle of the night, it                          comes in mighty handy.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Now you want to sell me a hot water                          bottle.                                     NEFF                         Dollar for dollar, accident insurance                          is the cheapest coverage you can                          buy, Mr. Dietrichson.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Maybe some other time, Mr. Neff. I                          had a tough day.                                     NEFF                         Just as you say, Mr. Dietrichson.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Suppose we just settle that automobile                          insurance tonight.                                     NEFF                         Sure. All we need on that is for you                          to sign an application for renewal.               Phyllis throws a quick glance at Neff. As she looks back she                sees that Lola is staring down at her wrist watch.                                     LOLA                         Phyllis, do you mind if we don't                          finish this game? It bores me stiff.                                     PHYLLIS                         Got some thing better to do?                                     LOLA                         Yes, I have.               She gets up.                                     LOLA                              (To Dietrichson)                         Father, is it all right if I run                          along now?                                     DIETRICHSON                         Run along where? Who with?                                     LOLA                         Just Anne. We're going roller skating.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Anne who?                                     LOLA                         Anne Matthews.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's not that Nino Zachetti again?                                     DIETRICHSON                         It better not be that Zachetti guy.                          If I ever catch you with that ---                                     LOLA                         It's Anne Matthews, I told you. I                          also told you we're going roller                          skating. I'm meeting her at the corner                          of Vermont and Franklin -- the north-                         west corner, in case you're                          interested. And I'm late already. I                          hope that is all clear. Good night,                          Father. Good night, Phyllis.               She starts to go.                                     NEFF                         Good night, Miss Dietrichson.                                     LOLA                         Oh, I'm sorry. Good night, Mr. --                                     NEFF                         Neff.                                     LOLA                         Good night, Mr. Neff.                                     PHYLLIS                         Now you're not going to take my car                          again.                                     LOLA                         No thanks. I'd rather be dead.               She goes out through the archway.                                     DIETRICHSON                         A great little fighter for her weight.               Dietrichson sucks down a big swallow of his drink.               Neff has taken two blank forms from his briefcase. He puts                the briefcase on Mr. Dietrichson's lap and lays the forms on                top. Phyllis is watching closely.                                     NEFF                         This is where you sign, Mr.                          Dietrichson.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Sign what?                                     NEFF                         The applications for your auto                          renewals. So you'll be protected                          until the new policies are issued.                                     DIETRICHSON                         When will that be?                                     NEFF                         In about a week.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Just so I'm covered when I drive up                          North.               Neff takes out his fountain pen.                                     NEFF                         San Francisco, Mr. Dietrichson?                                     DIETRICHSON                         Palo Alto.                                     PHYLLIS                         He was a Stanford man, Mr. Neff. And                          he still goes to his class reunion                          every year.                                     DIETRICHSON                         What's wrong with that? Can't I have                          a little fun even once a year?                                     NEFF                         Great football school, Stanford. Did                          you play football, Mr. Dietrichson?                                     DIETRICHSON                         Left guard. Almost made the varsity,                          too.               Neff has unscrewed his fountain pen. He hands it to Mr.                Dietrichson. Dietrichson puts on his glasses.                                     NEFF                         On that bottom line, Mr. Dietrichson.               Dietrichson signs. Neff's and Phyllis' eyes meet for a split                second.                                     NEFF                         Both copies, please.               He withdraws the top copy barely enough to expose the                signature line on the supposed duplicate.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Sign twice, huh?                                     NEFF                         One is the agent's copy. I need it                          for my files.                                     DIETRICHSON                              (In a mutter)                         Files. Duplicates. Triplicates.               Dietrichson grunts and signs again. Again Neff and Phyllis                exchange a quick glance.                                     NEFF                         No hurry about the check, Mr.                          Dietrichson. I can pick it up at                          your office some morning.               Casually Neff lifts the briefcase and signed applications                off Dietrichson's lap.                                     DIETRICHSON                         How much you taking me for?                                     NEFF                         One forty-seven fifty, Mr.                          Dietrichson.               Dietrichson stands up. He is about Neff's height but a little                heavier.                                     PHYLLIS                         I guess that's enough insurance for                          one evening, Mr. Neff.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Plenty.               Dietrichson has poured some more whisky into his glass. He                tries the siphon but it is empty. He gathers up his coat and                tie and picks up his glass.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Good night, Mr. Neff.               Neff is zipping up his briefcase.                                     NEFF                         Good night, Mr. Dietrichson. Good                          night, Mrs. Dietrichson.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Bring me some soda when you come up,                          Phyllis.               Dietrichson trundles off towards the archway.                                     PHYLLIS                              (To Neff)                         I think you left your hat in the                          hall.               Phyllis leads the way and Neff goes after her, his briefcase                under his arm.               B-3 HALLWAY DIETRICHSON RESIDENCE - (NIGHT)               Phyllis enters through the living room archway with Neff                behind her. She leads him towards the door. On the way he                picks up his hat. In the BACKGROUND Dietrichson begins to                ascend the stairs, carrying his coat and glass. Phyllis and                Neff move close to the door. They speak in very low voices.                                     PHYLLIS                         All right, Walter?                                     NEFF                         Fine.                                     PHYLLIS                         He signed it, didn't he?                                     NEFF                         Sure he signed it. You saw him.               Phyllis opens the door a crack. Both look at the stairs,                where Dietrichson is going up. Phyllis takes her hand off                the doorknob and holds on to Neff's arm.                                     NEFF                              (Looking up)                         Watch it, will you.               Phyllis slowly drops her hand from his arm. Both look up as                Dietrichson goes across the balcony and out of sight.                                     NEFF                         Listen. That trip to Palo Alto When                          does he go?                                     PHYLLIS                         End of the month.                                     NEFF                         He drives, huh?                                     PHYLLIS                         He always drives.                                     NEFF                         Not this time. You're going to make                          him take the train.                                     PHYLLIS                         Why?                                     NEFF                         Because it's all worked out for a                          train.               For a second they stand listening and looking up as if they                had heard a sound.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's all right. Go on, Walter.                                     NEFF                         Look, baby. There's a clause in every                          accident policy, a little something                          called double indemnity. The insurance                          companies put it in as a sort of                          come-on for the customers. It means                          they pay double on certain accidents.                          The kind that almost never happen.                          Like for instance if a guy got killed                          on a train, they'd pay a hundred                          thousand instead of fifty.                                     PHYLLIS                         I see.                              (Her eyes widen with                               excitement)                                     NEFF                         We're hitting it for the limit, baby.                          That's why it's got to be a train.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's going to be a train, Walter.                          Just the way you say. Straight down                          the line.               They look at each other. The look is like a long kiss. Neff                goes out. Slowly Phyllis closes the door and leans her head                against it as she looks up the empty stairway.               B-4 EXT. DIETRICHSON RESIDENCE - (NIGHT)               Neff, briefcase under his arm, comes down the steps to the                street, where his Dodge coupe is parked at the curb. He opens                the door and stops, looking in.               Sitting there in the dark corner of the car, away from the                steering wheel, is Lola. She wears a coat but no hat.                                     LOLA                         Hello, Mr. Neff. It's me.               Lola gives him a sly smile. Neff is a little annoyed.                                     NEFF                         Something the matter?                                     LOLA                         I've been waiting for you.                                     NEFF                         For me? What for?                                     LOLA                         I thought you could let me ride with                          you, if you're going my way.               Neff doesn't like the idea very much.                                     NEFF                         Which way would that be?                                     LOLA                         Down the hill. Down Vermont.                                     NEFF                              (Remembering)                         Oh, sure. Vermont and Franklin. North-                         west corner, wasn't it? Be glad to,                          Miss Dietrichson.               Neff gets into the car.               B-5 INT. COUPE - (NIGHT) - (TRANSPARENCY)               Neff puts the briefcase on the ledge behind the driver's                seat. He closes the door and starts the car. They drift down                the hill.                                     NEFF                         Roller skating, eh? You like roller                          skating?                                     LOLA                         I can take it or leave it.               Neff looks at her curiously. Lola meets his glance.                                     NEFF                         Only tonight you're leaving it?               This is an embarrassing moment for Lola.                                     LOLA                         Yes, I am. You see, Mr. Neff, I'm                          having a very tough time at home. My                          father doesn't understand me and                          Phyllis hates me.                                     NEFF                         That does sound tough, all right.                                     LOLA                         That's why I have to lie sometimes.                                     NEFF                         You mean it's not Vermont and                          Franklin.                                     LOLA                         It's Vermont and Franklin all right.                          Only it's not Anne Matthews. It's                          Nino Zachetti. You won't tell on me,                          will you?                                     NEFF                         I'd have to think it over.                                     LOLA                         Nino's not what my father says at                          all. He just had bad luck. He was                          doing pre-med at U.S.C. and working                          nights as an usher in a theater                          downtown. He got behind in his credits                          and flunked out. Then he lost his                          job for talking back. He's so hot-                         headed.                                     NEFF                         That comes expensive, doesn't it?                                     LOLA                         I guess my father thinks nobody's                          good enough for his daughter except                          maybe the guy that owns Standard                          Oil. Would you like a stick of gum?                                     NEFF                         Never use it, thanks.               Lola puts a stick of gum in her mouth.                                     LOLA                         I can't give Nino up. I wish father                          could see it my way.                                     NEFF                         It'll straighten out all right, Miss                          Dietrichson.                                     LOLA                         I suppose it will sometime.                              (Looking out)                         This is the corner right here, Mr.                          Neff.               Neff brings the car to a stop by the curb.                                     LOLA                         There he is. By the bus stop.               Neff looks out.               B-6 CORNER VERMONT AND FRANKLIN - (NIGHT)               Zachetti stands waiting, hands in trouser pockets. He is                about twenty-five, Italian looking, open shirt, not well                dressed.               B-7 INT. COUPE - (NIGHT) - LOLA AND NEFF                                     LOLA                         He needs a hair-cut, doesn't he.                          Look at him. No job, no car, no money,                          no prospects, no nothing.                              (Pause)                         I love him.               She leans over and honks on the horn.                                     LOLA                              (Calling)                         Nino!               B-8 ZACHETTI               He turns around and looks towards the car.                                     LOLA'S VOICE                         Over here, Nino.               Zachetti walks towards the car.               B-9 THE COUPE               Neff and Lola. She has opened the door. Zachetti comes up.                                     LOLA                         This is Mr. Neff, Nino.                                     NEFF                         Hello, Nino.                                     ZACHETTI                              (Belligerent from the                               first word)                         The name is Zachetti.                                     LOLA                         Nino. Please. Mr. Neff gave me a                          ride from the house. I told him all                          about us.                                     ZACHETTI                         Why does he have to get told about                          us?                                     LOLA                         We don't have to worry about Mr.                          Neff, Nino.                                     ZACHETTI                         I'm not doing any worrying. Just                          don't you broadcast so much.                                     LOLA                         What's the matter with you, Nino?                          He's a friend.                                     ZACHETTI                         I don't have any friends. And if I                          did, I like to pick them myself.                                     NEFF                         Look, sonny, she needed the ride and                          I brought her along. Is that anything                          to get tough about?                                     ZACHETTI                         All right, Lola, make up your mind.                          Are you coming or aren't you?                                     LOLA                         Of course I'm coming. Don't mind                          him, Mr. Neff.               Lola steps out of the car.                                     LOLA                         Thanks a lot. You've been very sweet.               Lola catches up with Zachetti and they walk away together.               B-10 INT. COUPE               Neff looks after them. Slowly he puts the car in gear and                drives on. His face is tight. Behind his head, light catches                the metal of the zipper on the briefcase. Over the shot comes                the COMMENTARY:                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         She was a nice kid and maybe he was                          a little better than he sounded. I                          kind of hoped so for her sake, but                          right then it gave me a nasty feeling                          to be thinking about them at all,                          with that briefcase right behind my                          head and her father's application in                          it. Besides, I had other problems to                          work out. There were plans to make,                          and Phyllis had to be in on them...                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-11 EXT. SUPER MARKET - (DAY)               There is a fair amount of activity but the place is not                crowded. Neff comes along the sidewalk into the shot. He                passes in front of the fruit and vegetable display and goes                between the stalls into the market.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                              (Continued)                         ...but we couldn't be seen together                          any more and I had told her never to                          call me from her house and never to                          call me at my office. So we had picked                          out a big market on Los Feliz. She                          was to be there buying stuff every                          day about eleven o'clock, and I could                          run into her there. Kind of                          accidentally on purpose.               B-12 INT. MARKET               Neff stops by the cashier's desk and buys a pack of                cigarettes. As he is opening the pack he looks back casually                beyond the turnstile into the rear part of the market.               B-13 ROWS OF HIGH SHELVES IN MARKET               The shelves are loaded with canned goods and other                merchandise. Customers move around selecting articles and                putting them in their baskets. Phyllis is seen among them,                standing by the soap section. Her basket is partly filled.                She wears a simple house dress, no hat, and has a large                envelope pocketbook under her arm.               B-14 INT. MARKET               Neff has spotted Phyllis. Without haste he passes through                the turnstile towards the back.               B-15 THE SHELVES               Phyllis is putting a can of cleaning powder into her basket.                Neff enters the shot and moves along the shelves towards                her, very slowly, pretending to inspect the goods. A customer                passes and goes on out of scene. Phyllis and Neff are now                very close. During the ensuing low-spoken dialogue, they                continue to face the shelves, not looking at each other                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter.                                     NEFF                         Not so loud.                                     PHYLLIS                         I wanted to talk to you, Walter.                          Ever since yesterday.                                     NEFF                         Let me talk first. It's all set. The                          accident policy came through. I've                          got it in my pocket. I got his check                          too. I saw him down in the oil fields.                          He thought he was paying for the                          auto insurance. The check's just                          made out to the company. It could be                          for anything. But you have to send a                          check for the auto insurance, see.                          It's all right that way, because one                          of the cars is yours.                                     PHYLLIS                         But listen, Walter ---                                     NEFF                         Quick, open your bag.               She hesitates, then opens it. Neff looks around quickly,                slips the policy out of his pocket and drops it into her                bag. She snaps the bag shut.                                     NEFF                         Can you get into his safe deposit                          box?                                     PHYLLIS                         Yes. We both have keys.                                     NEFF                         Fine. But don't put the policy in                          there yet. I'll tell you when. And                          listen, you never touched it or even                          saw it, understand?                                     PHYLLIS                         I'm not a fool.                                     NEFF                         Okay. When is he taking the train?                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter, that's just it. He isn't                          going.                                     NEFF                         What?                                     PHYLLIS                         That's what I've been trying to tell                          you. The trip is off.                                     NEFF                         What's happened?               He breaks off as a short, squatty woman, pushing a child in                a walker, comes into sight and approaches. She stops beside                Neff, who is pretending to read a label on a can. Phyllis                puts a few cakes of soap into her basket.                                     WOMAN                              (To Neff)                         Mister, could you reach me that can                          of coffee?                              (She points)                         That one up there.                                     NEFF                              (Reaching up)                         This one?               She nods. Neff reaches a can down from the high shelf and                hands it to her.                                     WOMAN                         I don't see why they always have to                          put what I want on the top shelf.               She moves away with her coffee and her child. Out of the                corner of his eye Neff watches her go. He moves closer to                Phyllis again.                                     NEFF                         Go ahead. I'm listening.                                     PHYLLIS                         He had a fall down at the well. He                          broke his leg. It's in a cast.                                     NEFF                         That knocks it on the head all right.                                     PHYLLIS                         What do we do, Walter?                                     NEFF                         Nothing. Just wait.                                     PHYLLIS                         Wait for what?                                     NEFF                         Until he can take a train. I told                          you it's got to be a train.                                     PHYLLIS                         We can't wait. I can't go on like                          this.                                     NEFF                         We're not going to grab a hammer and                          do it quick, just to get it over                          with.                                     PHYLLIS                         There are other ways.                                     NEFF                         Only we're not going to do it other                          ways.                                     PHYLLIS                         But we can't leave it like this.                          What do you think would happen if he                          found out about this accident policy?                                     NEFF                         Plenty. But not as bad as sitting in                          that death-house.                                     PHYLLIS                         Don't ever talk like that, Walter.                                     NEFF                         Just don't let's start losing our                          heads.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's not our heads. It's our nerve                          we're losing.                                     NEFF                         We're going to do it right. That's                          all I said.                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter maybe it's my nerves. It's                          the waiting that gets me.                                     NEFF                         It's getting me just as bad, baby.                          But we've got to wait.                                     PHYLLIS                         Maybe we have, Walter. Only it's so                          tough without you. It's like a wall                          between us.               Neff looks at his watch.                                     NEFF                         Good-bye baby. I'm thinking of you                          every minute.               He goes off. She stares after him.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-16 NEFF'S OFFICE - (DAY)               He is wearing a light grey suit and has his hat on. He is                standing behind his desk opening some mail, taking a few                papers out of his briefcase, checking something in his rate                book, making a quick telephone call. But nothing of this is                heard.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         After that a full week went by and I                          didn't see her once. I tried to keep                          my mind off her and off the whole                          idea. I kept telling myself that                          maybe those fates they say watch                          over you had gotten together and                          broken his leg to give me a way out.                          Then it was the fifteenth of June.                          You may remember that date, Keyes. I                          do too, only for a very different                          reason. You came into my office around                          three in the afternoon...               Keyes enters with some papers in his hand.                                     NEFF                         Hello, Keyes.                                     KEYES                         I just came from Norton's office.                          The semi-annual sales records are                          out. You're high man, Walter. That's                          twice in a row. Congratulations.                                     NEFF                         Thanks. How would you like a cheap                          drink?                                     KEYES                         How would you like a fifty dollar                          cut in salary?                                     NEFF                         How would I -- Do I laugh now, or                          wait until it gets funny?                                     KEYES                         I'm serious, Walter. I've been talking                          to Norton. There's too much stuff                          piling up on my desk. Too much                          pressure on my nerves. I spend half                          the night walking up and down in my                          bed. I've got to have an assistant.                          I thought that you --                                     NEFF                         Me? Why pick on me?                                     KEYES                         Because I've got a crazy idea you                          might be good at the job.                                     NEFF                         That's crazy all right. I'm a                          salesman.                                     KEYES                         Yeah. A peddler, a glad-hander, a                          back-slapper. You're too good to be                          a salesman.                                     NEFF                         Nobody's too good to be a salesman.                                     KEYES                         Phooey. All you guys do is ring door-                         bells and dish out a smooth line of                          monkey talk. What's bothering you is                          that fifty buck cut, isn't it?                                     NEFF                         That'd bother anybody.                                     KEYES                         Look, Walter. The job I'm talking                          about takes brains and integrity. It                          takes more guts than there is in                          fifty salesman. It's the hottest job                          in the business.                                     NEFF                         It's still a desk job. I don't want                          a desk job.                                     KEYES                         A desk job. Is that all you can see                          in it? Just a hard chair to park                          your pants on from nine to five.                          Just a pile of papers to shuffle                          around, and five sharp pencils and a                          scratch pad to make figures on, with                          maybe a little doodling on the side.                          That's not the way I see it, Walter.                          To me a claims man is a surgeon, and                          that desk is an operating table, and                          those pencils are scalpels and bone                          chisels. And those papers are not                          just forms and statistics and claims                          for compensation. They're alive,                          they're packed with drama, with                          twisted hopes and crooked dreams. A                          claims man, Walter, is a doctor and                          a blood-hound and a cop and a judge                          and a jury and a father confessor,                          all in one.               The telephone rings on Neff's desk. Automatically Keyes grabs                the phone and answers.                                     KEYES                         Who? Okay, hold the line.               He puts the phone down on the desk and continues to Neff:                                     KEYES                         And you want to tell me you're not                          interested. You don't want to work                          with your brains. All you want to                          work with is your finger on a door-                         bell. For a few bucks more a week.                          There's a dame on your phone.               Neff picks the phone up and answers.                                     NEFF                         Walter Neff speaking.               B-17 INT. PHONE BOOTH - MARKET               Phyllis is on the phone.                                     PHYLLIS                         I had to call you, Walter. It's                          terribly urgent. Are you with                          somebody?               B-18 NEFF'S OFFICE               Neff on the phone. His eye catches Keyes', who is walking up                and down.                                     NEFF                         Of course I am. Can't I call you                          back... Margie?               B-19 PHYLLIS - ON PHONE                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter, I've only got a minute. It                          can't wait. Listen. He's going                          tonight. On the train. Are you                          listening, Walter? Walter!               B-20 NEFF - ON PHONE               His eyes are on Keyes. He speaks into the phone as calmly as                possible.                                     NEFF                         I'm listening. Only make it short...                          Margie.               B-21 PHYLLIS - ON PHONE                                     PHYLLIS                         He's on crutches. The doctor says he                          can go if he's careful. The change                          will do him good. It's wonderful,                          Walter. Just the way you wanted it.                          Only with the crutches it's ever so                          much better, isn't it?               B-22 NEFF'S OFFICE               Neff on phone.                                     NEFF                         One hundred percent better. Hold the                          line a minute.               He covers the receiver with his hand and turns to Keyes, who                is now standing at the window.                                     NEFF                         Suppose I join you in your office,                          Keyes --               He makes a gesture as if expecting Keyes to leave. Keyes                stays right where he is.                                     KEYES                         I'll wait. Only tell Margie not to                          take all day.               Neff looks at Keyes' back with a strained expression, then                lifts the phone again.                                     NEFF                         Go ahead.               B-23 PHYLLIS, ON PHONE                                     PHYLLIS                         It's the ten-fifteen from Glendale.                          I'm driving him. Is it still that                          same dark street?               B-24 NEFF, ON PHONE               He is still watching Keyes cautiously.                                     NEFF                         Yeah -- sure.               B-24A CLOSEUP - PHYLLIS - ON PHONE                                     PHYLLIS                         The signal is three honks on the                          horn. Is there anything else?               B-24B CLOSEUP NEFF, ON PHONE                                     NEFF                         What color did you pick out?               B-25 PHYLLIS, ON PHONE                                     PHYLLIS                         Color?                              (She catches on)                         Oh, sure. The blue suit, Walter.                          Navy blue. And the cast on his left                          leg.               B-26 NEFF, ON PHONE                                     NEFF                         Navy blue. I like that fine.               B-27 PHYLLIS, ON PHONE                                     PHYLLIS                         This is it, Walter. I'm shaking like                          a leaf. But it's straight down the                          line now for both of us. I love you,                          Walter. Goodbye.               B-28 NEFF'S OFFICE               Neff on the phone.                                     NEFF                         So long, Margie.               He hangs up. His mouth is grim, but he forces a smile as                Keyes turns.                                     NEFF                         I'm sorry, Keyes.                                     KEYES                         What's the matter? The dames chasing                          you again? Or still? Or is it none                          of my business?                                     NEFF                              (With a sour smile)                         If I told you it was a customer --                                     KEYES                         Margie! I bet she drinks from the                          bottle. Why don't you settle down                          and get married, Walter?                                     NEFF                         Why don't you, for instance?                                     KEYES                         I almost did, once. A long time ago.               Neff gets up from his desk.                                     NEFF                         Look, Keyes, I've got a prospect to                          call on.               Keyes drives right ahead.                                     KEYES                         We even had the church all picked                          out, the dame and I. She had a white                          satin dress with flounces on it. And                          I was on my way to the jewelry store                          to buy the ring. Then suddenly that                          little man in here started working                          on me.               He punches his stomach with his fist.                                     NEFF                         So you went back and started                          investigating her. That it?               Keyes nods slowly, a little sad and a little ashamed.                                     KEYES                         And the stuff that came out. She'd                          been dyeing her hair ever since she                          was sixteen. And there was a manic-                         depressive in her family, on her                          mother's side. And she already had                          one husband, a professional pool                          player in Baltimore. And as for her                          brother --                                     NEFF                         I get the general idea. She was a                          tramp from a long line of tramps.               He picks up some papers impatiently.                                     KEYES                         All right, I'm going. What am I to                          say to Norton? How about that job I                          want you for?                                     NEFF                         I don't think I want it. Thanks,                          Keyes, just the same.                                     KEYES                         Fair enough. Just get this: I picked                          you for the job, not because I think                          you're so darn smart, but because I                          thought maybe you were a shade less                          dumb than the rest of the outfit. I                          guess I was all wet. You're not                          smarter, Walter. You're just a little                          taller.               He goes out. Neff is alone. He watches the door close, then                turns and goes slowly to the water cooler. He fills a paper                cup and stands holding it. His thoughts are somewhere else.                After a moment he absently throws the cupful of water into                the receptacle under the cooler. He goes back to the desk.                He takes his rate book out of his brief case and puts it on                the desk. He buttons the top button of his shirt, and pulls                his tie right. He leaves the office, with his briefcase under                his arm.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         That was it, Keyes, and there was no                          use kidding myself any more. Those                          fates I was talking about had only                          been stalling me off. Now they had                          thrown the switch. The gears had                          meshed. The machinery had started to                          move and nothing could stop it. The                          time for thinking had all run out.                          From here on it was a question of                          following the time table, move by                          move, just as we had it rehearsed. I                          wanted my time all accounted for for                          the rest of the afternoon and up to                          the last possible moment in the                          evening. So I arranged to call on a                          prospect in Pasadena about a public                          liability bond. When I left the office                          I put my rate book on the desk as if                          I had forgotten it. That was part of                          the alibi.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-29 EXT. NEFF'S APT. HOUSE DAY               Neff's coupe comes down the street and swings into the garage                and goes down the ramp into the basement.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         I got home about seven and drove                          right into the garage. This was                          another item to establish my alibi.               B-30 INT. GARAGE               There are about eight cars parked. A colored attendant in                coveralls and rubber boots is washing a car with a hose and                sponge. Neff's car comes into the shot and stops near the                attendant. Neff gets out with his briefcase under his arm.                                     ATTENDANT                         Hiya there, Mr. Neff.                                     NEFF                         How about a wash job on my heap,                          Charlie?                                     ATTENDANT                         How soon you want it, Mr. Neff? I                          got two cars ahead of you.                                     NEFF                         Anytime you get to it, Charlie. I'm                          staying in tonight.                                     ATTENDANT                         Okay, Mr. Neff. Be all shined up for                          you in the morning.               Neff is crossing to the elevator. He speaks back over his                shoulder:                                     NEFF                         That left front tire looks a little                          soft. Check it, will you?                                     ATTENDANT                         You bet. Check 'em all round. Always                          do.               Neff enters the elevator.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-31 NEFF'S APT. - (DAY)               Neff enters. He walks straight to the phone, dials, and starts                speaking into the mouthpiece, but only the COMMENTARY is                heard.                                                                  DISSOLVE:                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         Up in my apartment I called Lou                          Schwartz, one of the salesmen that                          shared my office. He lived in                          Westwood. That made it a toll call                          and there'd be a record of it. I                          told him I had forgotten my rate                          book and needed some dope on the                          public liability bond I was figuring.                          I asked him to call me back. This                          was another item in my alibi, so                          that later on I could prove that I                          had been home.               B-32 INT. NEFF'S LIVING ROOM               Neff comes into the living room from the bedroom, putting on                the jacket of his blue suit. THE PHONE RINGS. He picks up                the receiver and starts talking, unheard, as before. He makes                notes on a pad.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         I changed into a navy blue suit like                          Dietrichson was going to wear. Lou                          Schwartz called me back and gave me                          a lot of figures...               B-33 NEFF               He is folding a hand towel and stuffing it into his jacket                pocket. He then takes a large roll of adhesive tape and puts                that into his pants pocket.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                     NEFF'S VOICE                              (Cont'd)                         I stuffed a hand towel and a big                          roll of adhesive tape into my pockets,                          so I could fake something that looked                          like a cast on a broken leg... Next                          I fixed the telephone and the                          doorbell, so that the cards would                          fall down if the bells rang. That                          way I would know there had been a                          phone call or visitor while I was                          away. I left the apartment house by                          the fire stairs and side door. Nobody                          saw me. It was already getting dark.                          I took the Vermont Avenue bus to Los                          Feliz and walked from there up to                          the Dietrichson house. There was                          that smell of honeysuckle again,                          only stronger, now that it was                          evening.               B-34 & B-35 INSERTS OF OPEN TELEPHONE BELL BOX (ON BASEBOARD)                & DOORBELL (ABOVE ENTRANCE DOOR)               Neff's hand places a small card against the bell clapper in                each of these.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-36 FIRE STAIRS, APT. HOUSE (NIGHT)               CAMERA PANS with Neff going down the stairs in his blue suit,                with a hat pulled down over his eyes.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-37 EXT. DIETRICHSON HOME - (NIGHT) - LONG SHOT - NO                TRAFFIC               Some windows are lit. Neff comes into the shot and approaches                cautiously. He looks around and then slides open the garage                door.               B-38 INT. GARAGE               Neff closes the garage door. Very faint light comes in at a                side window. He opens the rear door of the sedan, gets in                and closes the door after him. The dark interior of the car                has swallowed him up.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         Then I was in the garage. His car                          was backed in, just the way I told                          Phyllis to have it. It was so still                          I could hear the ticking of the clock                          on the dashboard. I kept thinking of                          the place we had picked out to do                          it, that dark street on the way to                          the station, and the three honks on                          the horn that were to be the signal...                          About ten minutes later they came                          down.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-39 EXT. DIETRICHSON HOUSE               The front door has opened and Dietrichson is half-way down                the steps. He is walking with crutches, wearing the dark                blue suit and a hat. The cast is on his left leg. There is                no shoe on his left foot. Only the white plaster shows.                Phyllis comes after him, carrying his suitcase and his                overcoat. She wears a camel's-hair coat and no hat. She                catches up with him.                                     PHYLLIS                         You all right, honey? I'll have the                          car out in a second.               Dietrichson just grunts. She passes him to the garage, CAMERA                WITH HER, and slides the door open.               B-40 INT. GARAGE               THE CAMERA IS VERY LOW INSIDE THE SEDAN, shooting slightly                upwards from Neff's hiding place. The garage door has just                been opened. Phyllis comes to the car, opens the rear door.                She looks down, almost INTO THE CAMERA. A tight, cool smile                flashes across her face. Then, very calmly, she puts the                suitcase and overcoat in back on the seat (out of shot). She                closes the door again.               B-41 EXT. GARAGE               Dietrichson stands watching Phyllis as she gets into the car                and drives out to pick him up. She stops beside him and opens                the right-hand door. Dietrichson climbs in with difficulty.                She helps him, watching him closely.                                     PHYLLIS                         Take it easy, honey. We've got lots                          of time.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Just let me do it my own way. Grab                          that crutch.               She takes one of the crutches from him.                                     DIETRICHSON                         They ought to make these things so                          they fold up.               For a moment, as he leans his hand on the back of the seat,                there is danger that he may see Neff. He doesn't. He slides                awkwardly into the seat and pulls the second crutch in after                him. He closes the door. The car moves off.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-42 INT. CAR               Phyllis driving and Dietrichson beside her, face TOWARDS THE                CAMERA. Dietrichson has a partly smoked cigar between his                teeth. They are in the middle of a conversation.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Aw, stop squawkin' can't you, Phyllis?                          No man takes his wife along to a                          class reunion. That's what class                          reunions are for.                                     PHYLLIS                         Mrs. Tucker went along with her                          husband last year, didn't she.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Yeah, and what happened to her? She                          sat in the hotel lobby for four days                          straight. Never even saw the guy                          until we poured him back on the train.               B-43 CLOSEUP ON NEFF'S FACE LOW DOWN IN THE CORNER BEHIND                DIETRICHSON               His face is partly covered by the edge of a traveling rug                which he has pulled up over him. He looks up at Dietrichson                and Phyllis in the front seat.                                     PHYLLIS' VOICE                         All right, honey. Just so long as                          you have a good time.                                     DIETRICHSON'S VOICE                         I won't do much dancing, I can tell                          you that.               B-44 HEADS & SHOULDERS OF DIETRICHSON & PHYLLIS - AS SEEN BY                NEFF                                     PHYLLIS                         Remember what the doctor said. If                          you get careless you might end up                          with a shorter leg.                                     DIETRICHSON                         So what? I could break the other one                          and match them up again.                                     PHYLLIS                         It makes you feel pretty good to get                          away from me, doesn't it?               B-45 PHYLLIS & DIETRICHSON - FACING CAMERA                                     DIETRICHSON                         It's only for four days. I'll be                          back Monday at the latest.                                     PHYLLIS                         Don't forget we're having the Hobeys                          for dinner on Monday.                                     DIETRICHSON                         The Hobeys? We had them last. They                          owe us a dinner, don't they?                                     PHYLLIS                         Maybe they do but I've already asked                          them for Monday.                                     DIETRICHSON                         Well, I don't want to feed the Hobeys.               B-46 CLOSEUP - PHYLLIS' FACE ONLY               There is a look of tension in her eyes now. She glances around                quickly. The car has reached the dark street Neff and she                picked out.                                     DIETRICHSON'S VOICE                         And I don't want to eat at their                          house either. The food you get there,                          and that rope he hands out for cigars.                          Call it off, can't you?               Phyllis does not answer. She doesn't even breathe. Her hand                goes down on the horn button. She honks three times.                                     DIETRICHSON'S VOICE                         What are you doing that for? What                          the --               This is as far as his voice will ever get. It breaks off and                dies down in a muffled groan. There are struggling noises                and a dull sound of something breaking. Phyllis drives on                and never turns her head. She stares straight in front of                her. Her teeth are clenched.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-47 PARKING SPACE ADJOINING GLENDALE STATION - NIGHT               The station is visible about sixty yards away. There is no                parking attendant. Ten or twelve cars are parked diagonally,                not crowded. The train is not in yet, but there is activity                around the station. Passengers and their friends, redcaps                and baggage men, news vendors, etc.               The Dietrichson sedan drives into the shot past CAMERA and                parks in the foreground at the outer end of the line, several                spaces from the next car, facing away from the CAMERA. Both                front doors are open. Phyllis gets out and from the other                side crutches emerge, and a man (seen entirely from behind,                and apparently Dietrichson) climbs out awkwardly. While he                is steadying himself on the ground with the crutches, Phyllis                has taken out Dietrichson's suitcase and overcoat. She walks                around the car and rolls up the right front window. She closes                and locks the car door. She tries the right rear door and                takes a last look into the dim interior of the car. Then she                and the man walk slowly away from the car to the end of the                station platform and along it toward the station building,                Phyllis walks several steps ahead of the man.               B-48 PHYLLIS & THE MAN - WALKING               CAMERA FOLLOWING THEM, a little to one side, so that Phyllis                is clearly seen but the man's face is not.                                     MAN                              (In a subdued voice)                         You handle the redcap and the                          conductor.                                     PHYLLIS                         Don't worry.                                     MAN                         Keep them away from me as much as                          you can. I don't want to be helped.                                     PHYLLIS                         I said don't worry, Walter.               B-49 PHYLLIS & THE MAN, WALKING DOWN PLATFORM, CAMERA NOW                PRECEDING THEM               Only at this point is it quite clear that THE MAN IS NEFF.                                     NEFF                         You start just as soon as the train                          leaves. At the dairy sign you turn                          off the highway onto the dirt road.                          From there it's exactly eight-tenths                          of a mile to the dump beside the                          tracks. Remember?                                     PHYLLIS                         I remember everything.                                     NEFF                         You'll be there a little ahead of                          the train. No speeding. You don't                          want any cops stopping you -- with                          him in the back.                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter, we've been through all that                          so many times.                                     NEFF                         When you turn off the highway, cut                          all your lights. I'm going to be                          back on the observation platform.                          I'll drop off as close to the spot                          as I can. Wait for the train to pass,                          then blink your lights twice.               Phyllis nods. They go on. Over them is heard the noise of                the train coming into the station and its lights are seen.               B-50 GLENDALE STATION PLATFORM               The train is just coming to a stop. The passengers move                forward to the tracks. Phyllis, carrying the suitcase and                overcoat, and Neff, still a little behind her, come TOWARDS                THE CAMERA. A redcap sees them and runs up. He takes the                suitcase out of Phyllis' hand.                                     REDCAP                         San Francisco train, lady?               Phyllis takes an envelope containing Dietrichson's ticket                from the pocket of the overcoat. She reads from the envelope.                                     PHYLLIS                         Car nine, section eleven. Just my                          husband going.                                     REDCAP                         Car nine, section eleven. Yessum,                          this way please.               Phyllis hands the overcoat to the redcap, who leads her and                Neff towards car number nine. Neff still hangs back and keeps                his head down, the way a man using crutches might naturally                do.               B-51 EXT. CAR #9: B-52: B-53               The pullman conductor and porter stand at the steps. The                conductor is checking the tickets of passengers getting on.                The redcap leads Phyllis and Neff into the SHOT. The conductor                and porter see Neff on his crutches and move to help him.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's all right, thanks. My husband                          doesn't like to be helped.               The redcap goes up the steps into the car. Neff laboriously                swings himself up onto the box and from there up on the steps,                keeping his head down. Meantime, Phyllis is holding the                attention of the conductor and porter by showing them the                ticket.                                     CONDUCTOR                         Car nine, section eleven. The                          gentleman only. Thank you.               Phyllis nods and takes the ticket back. Neff has reached the                top of the steps. She goes up after him and gives him the                ticket. They are now close together.                                     PHYLLIS                         Goodbye, honey. Take awful good care                          of yourself with that leg.                                     NEFF                         Sure, I will. Just you take it easy                          going home.                                     PHYLLIS                         I'll miss you, honey.               She kisses him. There are shouts of "ALL ABOARD". The redcap                comes from inside the car.                                     REDCAP                         Section eleven, suh.               Phyllis takes a quarter from her bag and gives it to the                redcap.                                     PORTER                              (Shouting)                         All aboard!               Redcap descends. Phyllis kisses Neff again quickly.                                     PHYLLIS                         Good luck, honey.               She runs down the steps. The porter picks up the box. He and                the conductor get on board the train. Phyllis stands there                waving goodbye as the train starts moving, and the porter                begins to close the car door. Phyllis turns and walks out of                the shot in the direction of the parked car.               B-54 INT. PLATFORM CAR NUMBER NINE - MOVING TRAIN - (NIGHT) -                DIM LIGHT               Neff and the Porter. The conductor is going on into the car.                Neff is half turned away from the porter.                                     NEFF                         Can you make up my berth right away?                                     PORTER                         Yes, sir.                                     NEFF                         I'm going back to the observation                          car for a smoke.                                     PORTER                         This way, sir. Three cars back.               He holds the vestibule door open. Neff hobbles through.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-55 INT. PULLMAN CAR - DIM               Most of the berths are made up. As Neff hobbles along, another                porter and some passengers make way for the crippled man                solicitously.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-56 PLATFORM BETWEEN TWO CARS - VERY DIM               The train conductor meets Neff and opens the door for him.                Neff hobbles on through.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-57 INT. PARLOR CAR - MOVING TRAIN               Four or five passengers are reading or writing. As Neff comes                through on his crutches they pull in their feet to make room                for him. One old lady, seeing that he is headed for the                observation platform, opens the door for him. He thanks her                with a nod and hobbles through.               B-58 OBSERVATION PLATFORM               Dark except for a little light coming from inside the parlor                car. The train is going at about fifteen miles an hour between                Glendale and Burbank. Neff has come out and hobbled to the                railing. He stands looking back along the rails. SUDDENLY A                MAN'S VOICE speaks from behind him.                                     MAN'S VOICE                         Can I pull a chair out for you?               Neff looks around. He sees a man sitting in the corner smoking                a hand-rolled cigarette. He is about fifty-five years old,                with white hair, and a broad-brimmed Stetson hat. He looks                like a small town lawyer or maybe a mining man. Neff does                not like the man's presence there very much. He turns to him                just enough to answer.                                     NEFF                         No thanks, I'd rather stand.                                     MAN                         You going far?                                     NEFF                         Palo Alto.                                     MAN                         My name's Jackson. I'm going all the                          way to Medford. Medford, Oregon. Had                          a broken arm myself once.                                     NEFF                         Uh-huh.                                     JACKSON                         That darn cast sure itches something                          fierce, don't it? I thought I'd go                          crazy with mine.               Neff stands silent. His mind is feverishly thinking of how                to get rid of Jackson.                                     JACKSON                         Palo Alto's a nice little town. You                          a Stanford man?                                     NEFF                         Used to be.               He starts patting his pockets as if looking for something.                                     JACKSON                         I bet you left something behind. I                          always do.                                     NEFF                         My cigar case. Must have left it in                          my overcoat back in the section.               Jackson takes out a small bag of tobacco and a packet of                cigarette papers.                                     JACKSON                         Care to roll yourself a cigarette,                          Mr. --?                                     NEFF                         Dietrichson. Thanks. I really prefer                          cigars.                              (Looking around)                         Maybe the porter --                                     JACKSON                         I could get your cigars for you. Be                          glad to, Mr. Dietrichson.                                     NEFF                         That's darn nice of you. It's car                          nine, section eleven. If you're sure                          it's not too much trouble.                                     JACKSON                         Car nine, section eleven. A pleasure.               He rises and exits into the parlor car. Neff turns slowly                and watches Jackson go back through the car. Then he moves                to one side of the platform and looks ahead along the track                to orientate himself. He gives one last glance back into the                parlor car to make sure no one is watching him. He slips the                crutches from under his arms and stands on both feet. He                drops the crutches off the train onto the tracks, then quickly                swings his body over the rail.               B-59 EXT. MOVING OBSERVATION CAR - CAMERA FOLLOWING               Neff is hanging onto the railing. He looks down, then lets                go and drops to the right-of-way. THE CAMERA STOPS. The train                recedes slowly into the night. Neff has fallen on the tracks.                He picks himself up, rubs one knee and looks back along the                line of the tracks and off to one side.               B-60 DARK LANDSCAPE - RAILROAD TRACKS               Close beyond the edge of the right-of-way, the silhouette of                a dump shows up. Beside it looms the dark bulk of the                Dietrichson sedan. The headlights blink twice and go out.               B-61 NEFF               He starts running towards the car. He runs a little awkwardly                because of the improvised cast on his left foot.               B-62 CAR IN THE DARK               The front door opens and Phyllis steps out. She closes the                door and looks in the direction of the tracks. The uneven                steps of Neff running towards her are heard. She opens the                back door of the car and leans in. She pulls the rug off the                corpse (which is not visible) and stands looking into the                car, unable to take her eyes off what she sees, while at the                same time her hands mechanically begin to fold the rug. The                running steps grow louder and Neff comes into the SHOT                breathing hard. He reaches her.                                     NEFF                         Okay. This has to go fast. Take his                          hat and pick up the crutches.               Neff points back towards the tracks. He reaches into the car                and begins to drag out the body by the armpits. Phyllis coolly                reaches past him and takes the hat off the dead man's head.                She turns to go.                                     NEFF                         Hang on to that rug. I'll need it.               Phyllis moves out of the shot carrying the hat and rug.               B-63 NEFF               He gets a stronger hold on the dead Dietrichson and drags                him free of the car and towards the tracks. The corpse is                not seen.               B-64 PHYLLIS               She has reached the point where one of the crutches lies.                She picks it up and goes for the other crutch a short distance                away. She carries both crutches, the hat and the rug towards                Neff.               B-65 NEFF               He has reached the railroad tracks. The corpse is lying beside                the tracks, face down. Phyllis comes up to Neff. He takes                the crutches and the hat from her. He throws the crutches                beside the corpse. He takes the hat from Phyllis and tosses                it carelessly along the track.                                     NEFF                         Let's go. Stay behind me.               He takes the rug from her and they move back towards the                car, Phyllis first, then Neff walking almost backwards,                sweeping the ground over which the body was dragged with the                rug as they go.               B-66 THE CAR               They reach it together.                                     NEFF                         Get in. You drive.               She gets in. Neff sweeps the ground after him as he goes                around the car to get in beside her. He throws the rug into                the back of the car.               B-67 INT. CAR               Phyllis is behind the wheel. Neff beside her is just closing                the door. He props his wrapped foot against the dashboard                and begins to tear off the adhesive tape while at the same                time Phyllis presses the starter button. The starter grinds,                but the motor doesn't catch. She tries again. It still doesn't                catch. Neff looks at her. She tries a third time. The starter                barely turns over. The battery is very low.               Phyllis leans back. They stare at each other desperately.                After a moment Neff bends forward slowly and turns the                ignition key to the OFF position. He holds his left thumb                poised over the starter button. There is a breathless moment.                Then he presses the starter button with swift decision. The                starter grinds with nerve-wracking sluggishness. Neff twists                the ignition key to ON and instantly pulls the hand-throttle                wide open. With a last feeble kick of the starter, the motor                catches and races. He eases the throttle down and slides                back into his place. They look at each other again. The                tenseness of the moment still shows in their faces.                                     NEFF                         Let's go, baby.               Phyllis releases the hand brake and puts the car in reverse.                Neff is again busy unwrapping the tape from his leg. The car                moves.               B-68 DARK LANDSCAPE - WITH DUMP               The car, with the headlights out, backs up, swings around                and moves off along the dirt road the way it came.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-69 INT. SEDAN - DRIVING ALONG HIGHWAY IN TRAFFIC               Phyllis and Neff facing towards CAMERA. Neff is bent over,                peeling the towel and plaster off his foot, which is out of                shot. Phyllis is calm, almost relaxed. Neff straightens up.                They are talking to each other. Their lips are seen moving                but what they say is not heard. They stop talking. Phyllis                stares straight ahead. Neff is pulling adhesive tape off the                wrapped towel that was on his foot. He folds the adhesive                into a tight ball, rolls the towel up, puts both into his                pockets.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         On the way back we went over once                          more what she was to do at the                          inquest, if they had one, and about                          the insurance, when that came up. I                          was afraid she might go to pieces a                          little, now that we had done it, but                          she was perfect. No nerves. Not a                          tear, not even a blink of the eyes...               B-70 DARK STREET NEAR NEFF'S APT. HOUSE               The sedan drives into the shot and stops without pulling                over to the curb.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                              (Cont'd)                         She dropped me a block from my                          apartment house.               The car door opens. Neff starts to get out.                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter.               Neff turns back to her.                                     PHYLLIS                         What's the matter, Walter. Aren't                          you going to kiss me?                                     NEFF                         Sure, I'm going to kiss you.               Phyllis bends towards him and puts her arms around him.                                     PHYLLIS                         It's straight down the line, isn't                          it?               Phyllis kisses him. In the kiss he is passive.                                     PHYLLIS                         I love you, Walter.                                     NEFF                         I love you, baby.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-71 FIRE STAIRS - (NIGHT)               Neff going up.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         It was two minutes past eleven as I                          went up the fire stairs again. Nobody                          saw me this time either.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-72 B-73 INSERTS               Telephone bell box and the door bell. The cards are still in                position. Neff's hand takes them out.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                              (Cont'd)                         In the apartment I checked the bells.                          The cards hadn't moved. No calls. No                          visitors.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-74 LIVING ROOM - NEFF'S APT. NIGHT - ELECTRIC LIGHTS ON               Neff comes from the bedroom, wearing the light grey suit he                wore before the murder, only with out a tie. He buttons his                jacket, looks around the room, and opens the corridor door.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         I changed the blue suit. There was                          one last thing to do. I wanted the                          garage man to see me again.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               B-75 BASEMENT GARAGE - (NIGHT)               Fifteen or twenty cars are parked now. Charlie, the attendant                has washed Neff's car and is now polishing the glass and                metal work. Neff comes from the elevator. Charlie sees him.                He straightens up.                                     CHARLIE                         You going to need it after all, Mr.                          Neff? I'm about through.                                     NEFF                         It's okay, Charlie. Just walking                          down to the drug store for something                          to eat. Been working upstairs all                          evening. My stomach's getting sore                          at me.               He walks up the ramp towards the garage entrance.               B-76 STREET OUTSIDE APT. HOUSE - (NIGHT) - SHOOTING TOWARDS                GARAGE ENTRANCE               Neff comes out at the top of the ramp and starts to walk                down the street, not too fast. CAMERA PRECEDES HIM. He walks                about ten or fifteen yards. At first his steps sound hard                and distinct on the sidewalk and echo in the deserted street.                But slowly, as he goes on, they fade into utter silence. He                walks a few feet without sound, then becomes aware of the                silence. He stops rigidly and looks back. CAMERA STOPS WITH                HIM. He stands like that for a moment, then turns toward the                CAMERA again. There is a look of horror on his face now. He                walks on, CAMERA AHEAD OF HIM again. Still his steps make no                sound.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         That was all there was to it. Nothing                          had slipped, nothing had been                          overlooked, there was nothing to                          give us away. And yet, Keyes, as I                          was walking down the street to the                          drug store, suddenly it came over me                          that everything would go wrong. It                          sounds crazy, Keyes, but it's true,                          so help me: I couldn't hear my own                          footsteps. It was the walk of a dead                          man.                                                                  FADE OUT:                                   END OF SEQUENCE "B"                                       SEQUENCE "C"               FADE IN:               C-1 NEFF'S OFFICE - NIGHT               Neff sits before the dictaphone. There are four cylinders on                end on the desk next to him. He gets up from the swivel chair                with great effort and stands a moment unsteadily. The wound                in his shoulder is paining him. He is very weak as he slowly                crosses to the water cooler. He takes the blood stained                handkerchief from inside his shirt and soaks it with fresh                water.               The office door opens behind him. He turns, hiding the                handkerchief behind his back. In the doorway stands the                colored man who has been cleaning up downstairs. He is                carrying his big trash box by a rope handle.                                     COLORED MAN                         Didn't know anybody was here, Mr.                          Neff. We ain't cleaned your office                          yet.                                     NEFF                         Let it go tonight. I'm busy.                                     COLORED MAN                         Whatever you say, Mr. Neff.               He closes the door slowly, staring at Neff with an uneasy                expression. Neff puts the soaked handkerchief back on his                wounded shoulder, then walks heavily over to his swivel chair                and lowers himself into it. He takes the dictaphone horn and                speaks into it again.                                     NEFF                         That was the longest night I ever                          lived through, Keyes, and the next                          day was worse, when the story broke                          in the papers, and they were talking                          about it at the office, and the day                          after that when you started digging                          into it. I kept my hands in my pockets                          because I thought they were shaking,                          and I put on dark glasses so people                          couldn't see my eyes, and then I                          took them off again so people wouldn't                          get to wondering why I wore them. I                          was trying to hold myself together,                          but I could feel my nerves pulling                          me to pieces....                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               C-2 INSURANCE OFFICE - TWELFTH FLOOR - DAY               Neff comes through the reception room doors with his hat on                and his briefcase under his arm. He walks towards his office,                but half way there he runs into Keyes. Keyes is wearing his                vest and hat, no coat. He is carrying a file of papers and                smoking a cigar.                                     KEYES                         Come on, Walter. The big boss wants                          to see us.                                     NEFF                         Okay.               He turns and walks beside Keyes, CAMERA AHEAD of them                                     NEFF                         That Dietrichson case?                                     KEYES                         Must be.                                     NEFF                         Anything wrong?                                     KEYES                         The guy's dead, we had him insured                          and it's going to cost us money.                          That's always wrong.               He stops by a majolica jar full of sand and takes a pencil                from his vest. He stands over the jar extinguishing his cigar                carefully so as not to damage it.                                     NEFF                         What have you got so far?                                     KEYES                         Autopsy report. No heart failure, no                          apoplexy, no predisposing medical                          cause of any kind. He died of a broken                          neck.                                     NEFF                         When is the inquest?                                     KEYES                         They had it this morning. His wife                          and daughter made the identification.                          The train people and some passengers                          told how he went through to the                          observation car.. It was all over in                          forty-five minutes. Verdict,                          accidental death.               Keyes puts the half-smoked cigar into his vest pocket with                the pencil. They move on.                                     NEFF                         What do the police figure?                                     KEYES                         That he got tangled up in his crutches                          and fell off the train. They're                          satisfied. It's not their dough.               They stop at a door lettered in embossed chromium letters:                EDWARD S. NORTON, JR. PRESIDENT. Keyes opens the door. They                go in.               C-3 INT. RECEPTION ROOM - MR. NORTON'S OFFICE               A secretary sitting behind a desk. As Keyes and Neff enter,                the door to Norton's private office is opened. From inside,                Mr. Norton is letting out three legal looking gentlemen.                Norton is about forty-five, very well groomed, rather pompous                in manner.                                     NORTON                              (To the men who are                               leaving)                         I believe the legal position is now                          clear, gentlemen. Please stand by. I                          may need you later.               He sees Keyes and Neff.                                     NORTON                         Come in, Mr. Keyes. You too, Mr.                          Neff.               Neff has put down his hat and briefcase. He and Keyes pass                the legal looking men and follow Norton into his office.               C-4 INT. NORTON'S OFFICE               Naturally it is the best office in the building; modern but                not modernistic, spacious, very well furnished; flowers,                smoking stands, easy chairs, etc. Norton has gone behind his                desk. Keyes has come in, and Neff after him closes the door                quietly. Norton looks disapprovingly at Keyes' shirt sleeves.                                     NORTON                         You find this an uncomfortably warm                          day Mr. Keyes?               Keyes takes his hat off but holds it in his hands.                                     KEYES                         Sorry, Mr. Norton. I didn't know                          this was formal.               Norton smiles frostily.                                     NORTON                         Sit down, gentlemen.                              (To Keyes)                         Any new developments?               Keyes and Neff sit down, Norton remains standing.                                     KEYES                         I just talked to this Jackson long                          distance. Up in Medford, Oregon.                                     NORTON                         Who's Jackson?                                     KEYES                         The last guy that saw Dietrichson                          alive. They were out on the                          observation platform together talking.                          Dietrichson wanted a cigar and Jackson                          went to get Dietrichson's cigar case                          for him. When he came back to the                          observation platform, no Dietrichson.                          Jackson didn't think anything was                          wrong until a wire caught up with                          the train at Santa Barbara. They had                          found Dietrichson's body on the tracks                          near Burbank.                                     NORTON                         Very interesting, about the cigar                          case.               He walks up and down behind his desk thinking hard.                                     NORTON                         Anything else?                                     KEYES                         Not much. Dietrichson's secretary                          says she didn't know anything about                          the policy. There is a daughter, but                          all she remembers is Neff talking to                          her father about accident insurance                          at their house one night.                                     NEFF                         I couldn't sell him at first. Mrs.                          Dietrichson opposed it. He told me                          he'd think it over. Later on I went                          down to the oil fields and closed                          him. He signed the application and                          gave me his check.                                     NORTON                              (Dripping with sarcasm)                         A fine piece of salesmanship that                          was, Mr. Neff.                                     KEYES                         There's no sense in pushing Neff                          around. He's got the best sales record                          in the office. Are your salesmen                          supposed to know that the customer                          is going to fall off a train?                                     NORTON                         Fall off a train? Are we sure                          Dietrichson fell off the train?               There is a charged pause.                                     KEYES                         I don't get it.                                     NORTON                         You don't, Mr. Keyes? Then what do                          you think of this case? This policy                          might cost us a great deal of money.                          As you know, it contains a double                          indemnity clause. Just what is your                          opinion?                                     KEYES                         No opinion at all.                                     NORTON                         Not even a hunch? One of those                          interesting little hunches of yours?                                     KEYES                         Nope. Not even a hunch.                                     NORTON                         I'm surprised, Mr. Keyes. I've formed                          a very definite opinion. I think I                          know -- in fact I know I know what                          happened to Dietrichson.                                     KEYES                         You know you know what?                                     NORTON                         I know it was not an accident.               He looks from Keyes to Neff and back to Keyes.                                     NORTON                         What do you say to that?                                     KEYES                         Me? You've got the ball. Let's see                          you run with it.                                     NORTON                         There's a widespread feeling that                          just because a man has a large office --               The dictograph on his desk buzzes. He reaches over and                depresses a key and puts the earpiece to his ear.                                     NORTON                              (Into dictograph)                         Yes?... Have her come in, please.               He replaces the earpiece. He turns back to Keyes and Neff.                                     NORTON                         -- that just because a man has a                          large office he must be an idiot.                          I'm having a visitor, if you don't                          mind.               Keyes and Neff start to get up.                                     NORTON                         No, no. I want you to stay and watch                          me handle this.               The secretary has opened the door.                                     SECRETARY                         Mrs. Dietrichson.               Neff stands staring at the door. He relaxes with an obvious                effort of will. Phyllis comes in. She wears a gray tailored                suit, small black hat with a veil, black gloves, and carries                a black bag. The secretary closes the door behind her. Mr.                Norton goes to meet her.                                     NORTON                         Thank you very much for coming, Mrs.                          Dietrichson. I assure you I appreciate                          it.               He turns a little towards Keyes.                                     NORTON                         This is Mr. Keyes.                                     KEYES                         How do you do.                                     PHYLLIS                         How do you do.                                     NORTON                         And Mr. Neff.                                     PHYLLIS                         I've met Mr. Neff. How do you do.               Norton has placed a chair. Phyllis sits. Norton goes behind                his desk.                                     NORTON                         Mrs. Dietrichson, I assure you of                          our sympathy in your bereavement. I                          hesitated before asking you to come                          here so soon after your loss.               Phyllis nods silently.                                     NORTON                         But now that you're here I hope you                          won't mind if I plunge straight into                          business. You know why we asked you                          to come, don't you?                                     PHYLLIS                         No. All I know is that your secretary                          made it sound very urgent.               Keyes sits quietly in his chair with his legs crossed. He                has hung his hat on his foot and thrust his thumbs in the                armholes of his vest. He looks a little bored. Neff, behind                him, stands leaning against the false mantel, completely                dead-pan.                                     NORTON                         Your husband had an accident policy                          with this company. Evidently you                          don't know that, Mrs. Dietrichson.                                     PHYLLIS                         No. I remember some talk at the house --               She looks towards Neff.                                     PHYLLIS                         -- but he didn't seem to want it.                                     NEFF                         He took it out a few days later,                          Mrs. Dietrichson.                                     PHYLLIS                         I see.                                     NORTON                         You'll probably find the policy among                          his personal effects.                                     PHYLLIS                         His safe deposit box hasn't been                          opened yet. It seems a tax examiner                          has to be present.                                     NORTON                         Please, Mrs. Dietrichson, I don't                          want you to think you are being                          subjected to any questioning. But                          there are a few things we should                          like to know.                                     PHYLLIS                         What sort of things?                                     NORTON                         We have the report of the coroner's                          inquest. Accidental death. We are                          not entirely satisfied. In fact we                          are not satisfied at all.               Phyllis looks at him coolly.               Keyes looks vaguely interested.               Neff is staring straight at Phyllis.                                     NORTON                         Frankly, Mrs. Dietrichson, we suspect                          suicide.               Phyllis doesn't bat an eyelash.                                     NORTON                         I'm sorry. Would you like a glass of                          water?                                     PHYLLIS                         Please.                                     NORTON                         Mr. Neff.               He indicates a thermos on a stand near Neff. Neff pours a                glass of water and carries it over to Phyllis. She has lifted                her veil a little. She takes the glass from his hand.                                     PHYLLIS                         Thank you.               Their eyes meet for a fraction of a second.                                     NORTON                         Had your husband been moody or                          depressed lately, Mrs. Dietrichson?                          Did he seem to have financial worries,                          for instance?                                     PHYLLIS                         He was perfectly all right and I                          don't know of any financial worries.                                     NORTON                         There must have been something, Mrs.                          Dietrichson. Let us examine this so-                         called accident. First, your husband                          takes out this policy in absolute                          secrecy. Why? Because he doesn't                          want his family to suspect what he                          intends to do.                                     PHYLLIS                         Do what?                                     NORTON                         Commit suicide. Next, he goes on                          this trip entirely alone. He has to                          be alone. He hobbles all the way out                          to the observation platform, very                          unlikely with his leg in a cast,                          unless he has a very strong reason.                          Once there, he finds he is not alone.                          There is a man there. What was his                          name, Keyes?               Norton flips his fingers impatiently at Keyes who doesn't                even bother to look up.                                     KEYES                         His name was Jackson. Probably still                          is.                                     NORTON                         Jackson. So your husband gets rid of                          this Jackson with some flimsy excuse                          about cigars. And then he is alone.                          And then he does it. He jumps.                          Suicide. In which case the company                          is not liable.                              (Pause)                         You know that, of course. We could                          go to court --                                     PHYLLIS                         I don't know anything. In fact I                          don't know why I came here.               She makes as if to rise indignantly.                                     NORTON                         Just a moment, please. I said we                          could go to court. I didn't say we                          want to. Not only is it against our                          practice, but it would involve a                          great deal of expense, a lot of                          lawyers, a lot of time, perhaps years.               Phyllis rises coldly.                                     NORTON                         So what I want to suggest is a                          compromise on both sides. A settlement                          for a certain sum, a part of the                          policy value --                                     PHYLLIS                         Don't bother, Mr. Norton. When I                          came in here I had no idea you owed                          me any money. You told me you did.                          Then you told me you didn't. Now you                          tell me you want to pay me a part of                          it, whatever it is. You want to                          bargain with me, at a time like this.                          I don't like your insinuations about                          my husband, Mr. Norton, and I don't                          like your methods. In fact I don't                          like you, Mr. Norton. Goodbye,                          gentlemen.               She turns and walks out. The door closes after her. There is                a pregnant pause. Keyes straightens up in his chair.                                     KEYES                         Nice going, Mr. Norton. You sure                          carried that ball.               Norton pours himself a glass of water and stands holding it.                                     KEYES                         Only you fumbled on the goal line.                          Then you heaved an illegal forward                          pass and got thrown for a forty-yard                          loss. Now you can't pick yourself up                          because you haven't got a leg to                          stand on.                                     NORTON                         I haven't eh? Let her claim. Let her                          sue. We can prove it was suicide.               Keyes stands up.                                     KEYES                         Can we? Mr. Norton, the first thing                          that hit me was that suicide angle.                          Only I dropped it in the wastepaper                          basket just three seconds later. You                          ought to take a look at the statistics                          on suicide sometime. You might learn                          a little something about the insurance                          business.                                     NORTON                         I was raised in the insurance                          business, Mr. Keyes.                                     KEYES                         Yeah. In the front office. Come on,                          you never read an actuarial table in                          your life. I've got ten volumes on                          suicide alone. Suicide by race, by                          color, by occupation, by sex, by                          seasons of the year, by time of day.                          Suicide, how committed: by poisons,                          by fire-arms, by drowning, by leaps.                          Suicide by poison, subdivided by                          types of poison, such as corrosive,                          irritant, systemic, gaseous, narcotic,                          alkaloid, protein, and so forth.                          Suicide by leaps, subdivided by leaps                          from high places, under wheels of                          trains, under wheels of trucks, under                          the feet of horses, from steamboats.                          But Mr. Norton, of all the cases on                          record there's not one single case                          of suicide by leap from the rear end                          of a moving train. And do you know                          how fast that train was going at the                          point where the body was found?                          Fifteen miles an hour. Now how could                          anybody jump off a slow moving train                          like that with any kind of expectation                          that he would kill himself? No soap,                          Mr. Norton. We're sunk, and we're                          going to pay through the nose, and                          you know it. May I have this?               Keyes' throat is dry after the long speech. He grabs the                glass of water out of Norton's hand and drains it in one big                gulp.               Norton is watching him almost stupefied. Neff stands with                the shadow of a smile on his face. Keyes puts the glass down                noisily on Norton's desk.                                     KEYES                         Come on, Walter.               Norton doesn't move or speak. Keyes puts his hat on and                crosses towards the door, Neff after him. With the doorknob                in his hand Keyes turns back to Norton with a glance down at                his own shirt sleeves.                                     KEYES                         Next time I'll rent a tuxedo.               They go out.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               C-5 NEFF - AT DICTAPHONE - (NIGHT)               There is a tired grin on his face as he talks into the horn.                                     NEFF                         I could have hugged you right then                          and there, Keyes, you and your                          statistics. You were the only one we                          were really scared of, and instead                          you were almost playing on our team...                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               C-6 NEFF'S APARTMENT - EVENING - ALMOST DARK IN THE ROOM               The corridor door opens letting light in. Neff enters with                his hat on and his briefcase under his arm. He switches the                lights on, closes the door, puts the lights on, closes the                door, puts the key in his pocket. At this moment the telephone                rings. He picks up the phone.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         That evening when I got home my nerves                          had eased off. I could feel the ground                          under my feet again, and it looked                          like easy going from there on it.                                     NEFF                         Hello... Hello, baby.... Sure,                          everything is fine... You were                          wonderful in Norton's office.               C-7 INT. TELEPHONE BOOTH IN A DRUG STORE               Phyllis is on the phone. She is not dressed as in Norton's                office.                                     PHYLLIS                         I felt so funny. I wanted to look at                          you all the time.               C-8 NEFF ON TELEPHONE IN HIS APARTMENT                                     NEFF                         How do you think I felt? Where are                          you, baby?               C-9 PHYLLIS ON PHONE                                     PHYLLIS                         At the drug store. Just a block away.                          Can I come up?               C-10 NEFF'S APARTMENT - (NIGHT) - NEFF ON PHONE                                     NEFF                         Okay. But be careful. Don't let                          anybody see you.               He hangs up, takes off his hat and drops hat and briefcase                on the davenport. He looks around the room and crosses to                lower the venetian blinds and draw the curtains. He gathers                up the morning paper which is lying untidily on the floor                and puts it in the waste-paper basket.               The door bell rings.               Neff stops in sudden alarm. It can't be Phyllis. The time is                too short. For a second he stands there motionless, then                crosses to the door and opens it.               In the open door stands Keyes.                                     NEFF                         Hello, Keyes.               Keyes walks past him into the room. His hands are clasped                behind his back. There is a strange, absent-minded look in                his eyes. Neff closes the door without taking his eyes off                Keyes.                                     NEFF                         What's on your mind?               Keyes stops in the middle of the room and turns.                                     KEYES                         That broken leg. The guy broke his                          leg.                                     NEFF                         What are you talking about?                                     KEYES                         Talking about Dietrichson. He had                          accident insurance, didn't he? Then                          he broke his leg, didn't he?                                     NEFF                         So what?                                     KEYES                         And he didn't put in a claim. Why                          didn't he put in a claim? Why?                                     NEFF                         What the dickens are you driving at?                                     KEYES                         Walter. There's something wrong. I                          ate dinner two hours ago. It stuck                          half way.               He prods his stomach with his thumb.                                     KEYES                         The little man is acting up again.                          Because there's something wrong with                          that Dietrichson case.                                     NEFF                         Because he didn't put in a claim?                          Maybe he just didn't have time.                                     KEYES                         Oh maybe he just didn't know he was                          insured.               He has stopped in front of Neff. They look at each other for                a tense moment. Neff hardly breathes.               Keyes shakes his head suddenly.                                     KEYES                         No. That couldn't be it. You delivered                          the policy to him personally, didn't                          you, Walter? And you got his check.                                     NEFF                              (Stiff-lipped, but                               his voice is as well                               under control as he                               can manage)                         Sure, I did.               Keyes prods his stomach again.                                     KEYES                         Got any bicarbonate of soda?                                     NEFF                         No I haven't.               Keyes resumes his pacing.                                     KEYES                         Listen, Walter. I've been living                          with this little man for twenty-six                          years. He's never failed me yet.                          There's got to be something wrong.                                     NEFF                         Maybe Norton was right. Maybe it was                          suicide, Keyes.                                     KEYES                         No. Not suicide.                              (Pause)                         But not accident either.                                     NEFF                         What else?               There is another longer pause, agonizing for Neff. Finally                Keyes continues:                                     KEYES                         Look. A man takes out an accident                          policy that is worth a hundred                          thousand dollars if he is killed on                          a train. Then, two weeks later, he                          is killed on a train. And not in a                          train accident, mind you, but falling                          off some silly observation car. Do                          you know what the mathematical                          probability of that is, Walter? One                          out of I don't know how many billions.                          And add to that the broken leg. It                          just can't be the way it looks,                          Walter. Something has been worked on                          us.                                     NEFF                         Such as what?               Keyes doesn't answer. He goes on pacing up and down. Finally                Neff can't stand the silence any longer.                                     NEFF                         Murder?                                     KEYES                              (Prods stomach again)                         Don't you have any peppermint or                          anything?                                     NEFF                         I'm sorry.                              (Pause)                         Who do you suspect?                                     KEYES                         Maybe I like to make things easy for                          myself. But I always tend to suspect                          the beneficiary.                                     NEFF                         The wife?                                     KEYES                         Yeah. That wide-eyed dame that didn't                          know anything about anything.                                     NEFF                         You're crazy, Keyes. She wasn't even                          on the train.                                     KEYES                         I know she wasn't, Walter. I don't                          claim to know how it was worked, or                          who worked it, but I know that it                          was worked.               He crosses to the corridor door.                                     KEYES                         I've got to get to a drug store. It                          feels like a hunk of concrete inside                          me.               He puts his hand on the knob to open the door.               C-11 CORRIDOR - APARTMENT HOUSE - NIGHT - LIGHTS ON               The hallway is empty except for Phyllis who has been standing                close to the door of Neff's apartment, listening. The door                has just started to open. Phyllis moves away quickly and                flattens herself against the wall behind the opening door.                Keyes is coming out.                                     KEYES                         Good night, Walter.               Neff, behind him, looks anxiously down the hallway for                Phyllis. Suddenly his eye catches a glimpse of her through                the crack of the partly opened door. He pushes the door wide                so as to hide her from Keyes.                                     NEFF                         Good night, Keyes.                                     KEYES                         See you at the office in the morning.               He has reached the elevator. He pushes the call button and                turns.                                     KEYES                         But I'd like to move in on her right                          now, tonight, if it wasn't for Norton                          and his stripe-pants ideas about                          company policy. I'd have the cops                          after her so quick her head would                          spin. They'd put her through the                          wringer, and, brother, what they                          would squeeze out.                                     NEFF                         Only you haven't got a single thing                          to go on, Keyes.               The elevator has come up and stopped.                                     KEYES                         Not too much. Twenty-six years                          experience, all the percentage there                          is, and this lump of concrete in my                          stomach.               He pulls back the elevator door and turns to Neff with one                last glance of annoyance.                                     KEYES                              (Almost angrily)                         No bicarbonate of soda.               Keyes gets into the elevator. The door closes. The elevator                goes down.               Neff stands numb, looking at the spot where Keyes was last                visible. Without moving his eyes he pulls the door around                towards him with his left hand. Phyllis slowly comes out.               Neff motions quickly to her to go into the apartment. She                crosses in front of him and enters. He steps in backwards                after her.               C-12 INT. NEFF'S APARTMENT               Phyllis has come a few steps into the room. Neff, backing in                after her, closes the door from inside and turns slowly.                They look at each other for a long moment in complete silence.                                     PHYLLIS                         How much does he know?                                     NEFF                         It's not what he knows. It's those                          stinking hunches of his.                                     PHYLLIS                         But he can't prove anything, can he?                                     NEFF                         Not if we're careful. Not if we don't                          see each other for a while.                                     PHYLLIS                         For how long a while?               She moves toward him but he does not respond.                                     NEFF                         Until all this dies down. You don't                          know Keyes the way I do. Once he                          gets his teeth into something he                          won't let go. He'll investigate you.                          He'll have you shadowed. He'll watch                          you every minute from now on. Are                          you afraid, baby?                                     PHYLLIS                         Yes, I'm afraid. But not of Keyes.                          I'm afraid of us. We're not the same                          any more. We did it so we could be                          together, but instead of that it's                          pulling us apart. Isn't it, Walter?                                     NEFF                         What are you talking about?                                     PHYLLIS                         And you don't really care whether we                          see each other or not.                                     NEFF                         Shut up, baby.               He pulls her close and kisses her.                                                                  FADE OUT:                                   END OF SEQUENCE "C"                                       SEQUENCE "D"               FADE IN:               D-1 INSURANCE OFFICE - TWELFTH FLOOR - ANTEROOM - (DAY)               Two telephone operators and a receptionist are at work.                Several visitors are waiting in chairs. Lola Dietrichson is                one of them. She's wearing a simple black suit and hat,                indicating mourning. Her fingers nervously pick at a                handkerchief and her eyes are watching the elevator doors                anxiously.               (Now and then the telephone operators in the background are                heard saying, "PACIFIC ALL-RISK. GOOD AFTERNOON.")               The elevator comes up and the doors open. Several people                come out, among them Neff, carrying his briefcase. Lola sees                him and stands up, and as he is about to pass through the                anteroom without recognizing her she stops him.                                     LOLA                         Hello, Mr. Neff.               Neff looks at her a little startled.                                     NEFF                         Hello.               His voice hangs in the air.                                     LOLA                         Lola Dietrichson. Don't you remember                          me?                                     NEFF                              (On his guard)                         Yes. Of course.                                     LOLA                         Could I talk to you, just for a few                          minutes? Somewhere where we can be                          alone?                                     NEFF                         Sure. Come on into my office.               He pushes the swing door open and holds it for her. As she                passes in front of him his eyes narrow in uneasy speculation.               D-2 TWELFTH FLOOR - BALCONY               Neff comes up level with Lola and leads her towards his                office, CAMERA WITH THEM.                                     NEFF                         Is it something to do with -- what                          happened?                                     LOLA                         Yes, Mr. Neff. It's about my father's                          death.                                     NEFF                         I'm terribly sorry, Miss Dietrichson.               He opens the door of his office and holds it for her. She                enters.               D-3 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE - (DAY)               Lou Schwartz, one of the other salesmen, is working at his                desk. Lola enters, Neff after her.                                     NEFF                              (To Schwartz)                         Lou, do you mind if I use the office                          alone for a few minutes?                                     SCHWARTZ                         It's all yours, Walter.               He gets up and goes out. Lola has walked over to the window                and is looking out so Schwartz won't stare at her. Neff places                a chair beside his desk.                                     NEFF                         Won't you sit down?               At the sound of the closing door she turns and speaks with a                catch in her voice.                                     LOLA                         Mr. Neff, I can't help it, but I                          have such a strange feeling that                          there is something queer about my                          father's death.                                     NEFF                         Queer? Queer in what way?                                     LOLA                         I don't know why I should be bothering                          you with my troubles, except that                          you knew my father and knew about                          the insurance he took out. And you                          were so nice to me that evening in                          your car.                                     NEFF                         Sure. We got along fine, didn't we.               He sits down. His face is grim and watchful.                                     LOLA                         Look at me, Mr. Neff. I'm not crazy.                          I'm not hysterical. I'm not even                          crying. But I have the awful feeling                          that something is wrong, and I had                          the same feeling once before -- when                          my mother died.                                     NEFF                         When your mother died?                                     LOLA                         We were up at Lake Arrowhead. That                          was six years ago. We had a cabin                          there. It was winter and very cold                          and my mother was very sick with                          pneumonia. She had a nurse with her.                          There were just the three of us in                          the cabin. One night I got up and                          went into my mother's room. She was                          delirious with fever. All the bed                          covers were on the floor and the                          windows were wide open. The nurse                          wasn't in the room. I ran and covered                          my mother up as quickly as I could.                          Just then I heard a door open behind                          me. The nurse stood there. She didn't                          say a word, but there was a look in                          her eyes I'll never forget. Two days                          later my mother was dead.                              (Pause)                         Do you know who that nurse was?               Neff stares at her tensely. He knows only too well who the                nurse was.                                     NEFF                         No. Who?                                     LOLA                         Phyllis. I tried to tell my father,                          but I was just a kid then and he                          wouldn't listen to me. Six months                          later she married him and I kind of                          talked myself out of the idea that                          she could have done anything like                          that. But now it's all back again,                          now that something has happened to                          my father, too.                                     NEFF                         You're not making sense, Miss                          Dietrichson. Your father fell off a                          train.                                     LOLA                         Yes, and two days before he fell off                          that train what was Phyllis doing?                          She was in her room in front of a                          mirror, with a black hat on, and she                          was pinning a black veil to it, as                          if she couldn't wait to see how she                          would look in mourning.                                     NEFF                         Look. You've had a pretty bad shock.                          Aren't you just imagining all this?                                     LOLA                         I caught her eyes in the mirror, and                          they had that look in them they had                          before my mother died. That same                          look.                                     NEFF                         You don't like your step-mother, do                          you? Isn't it just because she is                          your step-mother?                                     LOLA                         I loathe her. Because she did it.                          She did it for the money. Only you're                          not going to pay her, are you, Mr.                          Neff? She's not going to get away                          with it this time. I'm going to speak                          up. I'm going to tell everything I                          know.                                     NEFF                         You'd better be careful, saying things                          like that.                                     LOLA                         I'm not afraid. You'll see.               She turns again to the window so he won't see that she is                crying. Neff gets up and goes to her.                                     LOLA                         I'm sorry. I didn't mean to act like                          this.                                     NEFF                         All this that you've been telling me --                          who else have you told?                                     LOLA                         No one.                                     NEFF                         How about your step-mother?                                     LOLA                         Of course not. I'm not living in the                          house any more. I moved out.                                     NEFF                         And you didn't tell that boy-friend                          of yours? Zachetti.                                     LOLA                         I'm not seeing him any more. We had                          a fight.                                     NEFF                         Where are you living then?                                     LOLA                         I got myself a little apartment in                          Hollywood.                                     NEFF                         Four walls, and you just sit and                          look at them, huh?               She turns from the window with a pathetic little nod.                                     LOLA                              (Through her tears)                         Yes, Mr. Neff.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               D-4 LA GOLONDRINA (NIGHT)               In the foreground, Neff and Lola are having dinner. In the                background the usual activity of Olvera Street -- sidewalk                peddlers, guitar players, etc.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         So I took her to dinner that evening                          at a Mexican joint down on Olvera                          Street where nobody would see us. I                          wanted to cheer her up..                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               D-5 INT. NEFF'S COUPE (DAY)               Neff and Lola driving along the beach near Santa Monica.                Neff is wearing a light summer suit, very much in contrast                to Lola's mourning. Apparently she is telling him a story                and now and then she laughs, but there is no sound.               CAMERA MOVES PAST HER TO A: CLOSE SHOT OF NEFF behind the                steering wheel. He is only half listening to Lola. His mind                is full of other thoughts.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         Next day was Sunday and we went for                          a ride down to the beach. She had                          loosened up a bit and she was even                          laughing... I had to make sure she                          wouldn't tell that stuff about Phyllis                          to anybody else. It was dynamite,                          whether it was true or not. And I                          had no chance to talk to Phyllis.                          You were watching her like a hawk,                          Keyes. I couldn't even phone her for                          fear you had the wires tapped.               D-6 INSURANCE OFFICE - 12TH FLOOR - DAY               Neff, with his hat on and no briefcase, is walking toward                Keyes' office. As he comes up close to the door, he stops                with a startled expression on his face. On a chair beside                the door sits a familiar figure. He is Jackson, the man from                the observation platform of the train. He is wearing his                Stetson hat and smoking a cigar. He is studying something in                the file folder. Neff recognizes him immediately but Jackson                does not look up. Neff controls his expression and goes on                to open the door to Keyes' office.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         Monday morning there was a note on                          my desk that you wanted to see me,                          Keyes. For a minute I wondered if it                          could be about Lola. It was worse.                          Outside your door was the last guy                          in the world I wanted to see.               D-7 INT. KEYES' OFFICE               Neff is just closing the door from the inside. Keyes, his                coat off, is lying on his office couch, chewing on a cigar,                as usual.                                     KEYES                         Come in. Come in, Walter. I want to                          ask you something. After all the                          years we've known each other, do you                          mind if I make a rather blunt                          statement?                                     NEFF                         About what?                                     KEYES                         About me. Walter, I'm a very great                          man. This Dietrichson business. It's                          murder, and murders don't come any                          neater. As fancy a piece of homicide                          as anybody ever ran into. Smart and                          tricky and almost perfect, but --               Keyes bounces off the couch like a rubber ball.                                     KEYES                         but, I think Papa has it all figured                          out, figured out and wrapped up in                          tissue paper with pink ribbons on                          it.                                     NEFF                         I'm listening.               Keyes levels a finger at him.                                     KEYES                         You know what? That guy Dietrichson                          was never on the train.                                     NEFF                         He wasn't?                                     KEYES                         No, he wasn't, Walter. Look, you                          can't be sure of killing a man by                          throwing him off a train that's going                          fifteen miles an hour. The only way                          you can be sure is to kill him first                          and then throw his body on the tracks.                          That would mean either killing him                          on the train, or -- and this is where                          it really gets fancy -- you kill him                          somewhere else and put him on the                          tracks. Two possibilities, and I                          personally buy the second.                                     NEFF                         You're way ahead of me, Keyes.                                     KEYES                         Look, it was like this. They killed                          the guy -- the wife and somebody                          else -- and then the somebody else                          took the crutches and went on the                          train as Dietrichson, and then the                          somebody else jumped off, and then                          they put the body on the tracks where                          the train had passed. An                          impersonation, see. And a cinch to                          work. Because it was night, very few                          people were about, they had the                          crutches to stare at, and they never                          really looked at the man at all.                                     NEFF                         It's fancy all right, Keyes. Maybe                          it's a little too fancy.                                     KEYES                         Is it? I tell you it fits together                          like a watch. And now let's see what                          we have in the way of proof. The                          only guy that really got a good look                          at this supposed Dietrichson is                          sitting right outside my office. I                          took the trouble to bring him down                          here from Oregon. Let's see what he                          has to say.               Keyes goes to the door and opens it.                                     KEYES                         Come in, Mr. Jackson.               Jackson enters with the file folder.                                     JACKSON                         Yes sir, Mr. Keyes. These are fine                          cigars you smoke.               He indicates the cigar he himself is smoking.                                     KEYES                         Two for a quarter.                                     JACKSON                         That's what I said.                                     KEYES                         Never mind the cigar, Jackson. Did                          you study those photographs? What do                          you say?                                     JACKSON                         Yes, indeed, I studied them                          thoroughly. Very thoroughly                                     KEYES                         Well? Did you make up your mind?                                     JACKSON                         Mr. Keyes, I'm a Medford man. Medford,                          Oregon. Up in Medford we take our                          time making up our minds --                                     KEYES                         Well you're not in Medford now. I'm                          in a hurry. Let's have it.               Jackson indicates the file folder he is holding.                                     JACKSON                         Are these photographs of the late                          Mr. Dietrichson?                                     KEYES                         Yes.                                     JACKSON                         Then my answer is no.                                     KEYES                         What do you mean no?                                     JACKSON                         I mean this is not the man that was                          on the train.                                     KEYES                         Will you swear to that?                                     JACKSON                         I'm a Medford man. Medford, Oregon.                          And if I say it, I mean it, and if I                          mean it, of course I'll swear it.                                     KEYES                         Thank you.               Keyes turns to Neff.                                     KEYES                         There you are, Walter. There's your                          proof.               Keyes remembers he forgot to introduce Jackson.                                     KEYES                         Oh, Mr. Jackson, this is Mr. Neff,                          one of our salesmen.                                     JACKSON                         Please to meet you, Mr. Neff. Pleased                          indeed.                                     NEFF                         How do you do.                                     JACKSON                         Very fine, thank you. Never was                          better.                                     KEYES                         Mr. Jackson, how would you describe                          the man you saw on that observation                          platform?                                     JACKSON                         Well, I'm pretty sure he was a younger                          man, about ten or fifteen years                          younger than the man in these                          photographs.                                     KEYES                         Dietrichson was about fifty, wasn't                          he, Walter?                                     NEFF                         Fifty-one, according to the policy.                                     JACKSON                         The man I saw was nothing like fifty-                         one years old. Of course, it was                          pretty dark on that platform and,                          come to think of it, he tried to                          keep his back towards me. But I'm                          positive just the same.                                     KEYES                         That's fine, Jackson. Now you                          understand this matter is strictly                          confidential. We may need you again                          down here in Los Angeles, if the                          case comes to court.                                     JACKSON                         Any time you need me, I'm at your                          entire disposal, gentlemen. Expenses                          paid, of course.               Keyes picks up the telephone on his desk and speaks into it.                                     KEYES                         Get me Lubin, in the cashier's office.               Meanwhile, Jackson crosses over to Neff and, during the                ensuing dialogue between him and Neff, we hear Keyes' low                voice on the phone in background. We do not hear what he                says.                                     JACKSON                              (To Neff)                         Ever been in Medford, Mr. Neff?                                     NEFF                         Never.                                     JACKSON                         Wait a minute. Do you go trout                          fishing? Maybe I saw you up Klamath                          Falls way.                                     NEFF                         Nope. Never fish.                                     JACKSON                         Neff. Neff. I've got it! It's the                          name. There's a family of Neffs in                          Corvallis.                                     NEFF                         No relation.                                     JACKSON                         Let me see. This man's an automobile                          dealer in Corvallis. Very reputable                          man, too, I'm told.               Keyes rejoins them at this point.                                     KEYES                         All right, Mr. Jackson. Suppose you                          go down to the cashier's office --                          room twenty-seven on the eleventh                          floor. They'll take care of your                          expense account and your ticket for                          the train tonight.                                     JACKSON                         Tonight? Tomorrow morning would suit                          me better. There's a very good                          osteopath down here I want to see                          before I leave.               Keyes has opened the door for Jackson.                                     KEYES                         Okay, Mr. Jackson. Just don't put                          her on the expense account.               Jackson doesn't get it.                                     JACKSON                         Goodbye, gentlemen. A pleasure.               He goes out.                                     KEYES                         There it is, Walter. It's beginning                          to come apart at the seams already.                          A murder's never perfect. It always                          comes apart sooner or later. And                          when two people are involved it's                          usually sooner. We know the                          Dietrichson dame is in it, and                          somebody else. Pretty soon we're                          going to know who that somebody else                          is. He'll show. He's got to show.                          Sometime, somewhere, they've got to                          meet. Their emotions are all kicked                          up. Whether it's love or hate doesn't                          matter. They can't keep away from                          each other. They think it's twice as                          safe because there are two of them.                          But it's not twice as safe. It's ten                          times twice as dangerous. They've                          committed a murder and that's not                          like taking a trolley ride together                          where each one can get off at a                          different stop. They're stuck with                          each other. They've got to ride all                          the way to the end of the line. And                          it's a one-way trip, and the last                          stop is the cemetery.               He puts a cigar in his mouth and starts tapping his pockets                for matches.                                     KEYES                              (Continued)                         She put in her claim and I'm going                          to throw it right back at her.                              (Pats his pockets                               again)                         Have you got one of those?               Neff strikes a match for him. Keyes takes the match out of                his hand and lights his cigar.                                     KEYES                         Let her sue us if she dares. I'll be                          ready for her -- and that somebody                          else. They'll be digging their own                          graves.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               D-8 TELEPHONE BOOTH IN JERRY'S MARKET - DAY               Neff is in the booth dialing a number, and as she waits he                looks around to make sure he is not watched.                                     NEFF                              (Into phone)                         Mrs. Dietrichson?... This is Jerry's                          market. We just got in a shipment of                          that English soap you were asking                          about. Will you be coming by this                          morning?... Thank you, Mrs.                          Dietrichson.               Neff hangs up.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               D-9 EXT. JERRY'S MARKET - DAY               The LaSalle stops in front of the market. Phyllis steps out                and goes into the market, looking around.               D-10 SHELVES IN THE REAR OF MARKET               Neff is moving slowly along the shelves, outwardly calm but                with his nerves on edge. From beyond him Phyllis approaches.                She stops beside him, facing the same way, with a couple of                feet separating them.                                     PHYLLIS                         Hello, Walter.                                     NEFF                              (In a harsh whisper)                         Come closer.               Phyllis moves close to him.                                     PHYLLIS                         What's the matter?                                     NEFF                         Everything's the matter. Keyes is                          rejecting your claim. He's sitting                          back with his mouth watering, waiting                          for you to sue. He wants you to sue.                          But you're not going to.                                     PHYLLIS                         What's he got to stop me?                                     NEFF                         He's got the goods. He's figured out                          how it was worked. He knows it was                          somebody else on the train. He's dug                          up a witness he thinks will prove                          it.                                     PHYLLIS                         Prove it how? Listen, if he rejects                          that claim, I have to sue.                                     NEFF                         Yeah? And then you're in court and a                          lot of other things are going to                          come up. Like, for instance, about                          you and the first Mrs. Dietrichson.               Phyllis looks at him sharply, sideways.                                     PHYLLIS                         What about me and the first Mrs.                          Dietrichson?                                     NEFF                         The way she died. And about that                          black hat you were trying on -- before                          you needed a black hat.               A customer comes along the aisle toward them. They move apart.                The customer passes. Phyllis draws close again.                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter, Lola's been telling you some                          of her cockeyed stories. She's been                          seeing you.                                     NEFF                         I've been seeing her, if you want to                          know. So she won't yell her head off                          about what she knows.                                     PHYLLIS                         Yes, she's been putting on an act                          for you, crying all over your                          shoulder, that lying little --                                     NEFF                         Keep her out of it. All I'm telling                          you is we're not going to sue.                                     PHYLLIS                         Because you don't want the money any                          more, even if you could get it?                          Because she's made you feel like a                          heel all of sudden.                                     NEFF                         It isn't the money any more. It's                          our necks now. We're pulling out,                          understand.                                     PHYLLIS                         Because of what Keyes can do? You're                          not fooling me, Walter. It's because                          of Lola. What you did to her father.                          You can't take it that she might                          find out some day.                                     NEFF                         I said, leave her out of it.                                     PHYLLIS                         Walter, it's me I'm talking about. I                          don't want to be left out of it.                                     NEFF                         Stop saying that. It's just that it                          hasn't worked out the way we wanted.                          We can't have the money. We can't go                          through with it, that's all.                                     PHYLLIS                         We have gone through with it, Walter.                          The tough part is all behind us. We                          just have to hold on now and not go                          soft inside, and stick together,                          close, the way we started out.               Phyllis takes his arm, forgetting where she is. He pulls                away.                                     NEFF                         Watch it, will you. Someone's coming.               One of the market help, pushing a small hand-truck loaded                with packaged goods, comes along the aisle. He stops and                begins to restock a shelf very close to Neff and Phyllis.                They go off slowly in opposite directions. CAMERA PANS with                Neff as he walks toward another shelf, one that stands away                from the wall. Phyllis appears on the opposite side of the                shelf and stops, facing toward him. They now continue their                low-voiced dialogue through the piled-up merchandise.                                     PHYLLIS                         I loved you, Walter. And I hated                          him. But I wasn't going to do anything                          about it, not until I met you. It                          was you had the plan. I only wanted                          him dead.                                     NEFF                         Yeah, and I was the one that fixed                          him so he was dead. Is that what                          you're telling me?               Phyllis takes off her dark glasses for the first time and                looks at him with cold, hard eyes.                                     PHYLLIS                         Yes. And nobody's pulling out. We                          went into it together, and we're                          coming out at the end together. It's                          straight down the line for both of                          us, remember.               Phyllis puts the glasses on again and goes.               Over Neff's face, as he looks after her, comes the COMMENTARY.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         Yeah. I remembered all right. Just                          as I remembered what you had told                          me, Keyes, about that trolley car                          ride and how there was no way to get                          off -- until the end of the line.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               D-11 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE - (NIGHT)               Neff is dictating into the dictaphone.                                     NEFF                         Yeah, I remembered it all right.                          Just as I remembered what you had                          told me, Keyes, about that trolley                          car ride, and how there was no way                          to get off until the end of the line,                          where the cemetery was. And I got to                          thinking what cemeteries are for.                          They're to put dead people in, I                          guess that was the first time I ever                          thought about Phyllis that way. Dead,                          I mean, and how things would be if                          she was dead. Because the way it was                          now she had me by the throat. She                          could hang me higher than a kite any                          day she felt like it. And there was                          nothing I could do, except hold my                          breath and watch that day come closer                          and closer, and maybe pray a little,                          if I still knew how to pray... I saw                          Lola three or four times that week.                          I guess it sounds crazy, Keyes, after                          what I had done, but it was only                          with her that I could relax and let                          go a little. Then one night we drove                          up into the hills above Hollywood                          Bowl...                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               D-12 HOLLYWOOD HILLS (NIGHT) (TRANSPARENCY)               Neff and Lola are climbing over a low hill in the foreground.                The sky is starlit and music from the Bowl comes over the                scene from below (Cesar Franck D Minor Symphony). As he helps                her climb up, CAMERA PANS with them and shows the expanse of                the Bowl below, a packed audience, and the orchestra on the                lighted shell.               They sit down on the grass. Neff sits near her, not too close.                It is very dark and they are silhouetted against the shell                lights. Neff puts a cigarette in his mouth and strikes a                match. The flame lights up Lola's face. Neff glances at her.                She is crying. He lights his cigarette and blows out the                match. A pause follows.                                     NEFF                         Why are you crying?               Lola doesn't answer.                                     NEFF                         You won't tell me?                                     LOLA                              (In a choked voice)                         Of course I will, Walter. I wouldn't                          tell anybody else but you. It's about                          Nino.                                     NEFF                         Zachetti? What about him?                                     LOLA                         They killed my father together. He                          and Phyllis. He helped her do it. I                          know he did.                                     NEFF                         What makes you say that?                                     LOLA                         I've been following him. He's at her                          house, night after night. It was                          Phyllis and him all the time. Maybe                          he was going with me just for a blind.                          And the night of the murder --                                     NEFF                         You promised not to talk that way                          any more.                                     LOLA                         -- he was supposed to pick me up                          after a lecture at U.C.L.A. -- but                          he never showed up. He said he was                          sick. Sick! He couldn't show up,                          because the train was leaving with                          my father on it.               She begins to cry again.                                     LOLA                         Maybe I'm just crazy. Maybe it's all                          just in my mind.                                     NEFF                         Sure, it's all in your mind.                                     LOLA                         I only wish it was, Walter, because                          I still love him.               Over Neff's face, as he listens to the music, comes the                commentary.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               D-13 LOBBY OF PACIFIC BLDG. (DAY)                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         Zachetti. That's funny. Phyllis and                          Zachetti. What was he doing up at                          her house? I couldn't figure that                          one out I tried to make sense out of                          it and got nowhere. But the real                          brain-twister came the next day. You                          sprang it on me, Keyes, after office                          hours, when you caught me down in                          the lobby of the building.               About 5:00 P.M. or a little later. A stream of office                employees is coming out of an elevator; a second elevator                reaches the lobby and some more office employees come out,                among them Neff, wearing his hat and carrying his briefcase.               CAMERA PRECEDES HIM as he walks toward the entrance doors.                He is stopped by Keyes' voice, off to one side.                                     KEYES' VOICE                         Oh, Walter, just a minute.               Neff stops and looks towards the cigar counter, as he moves                towards him. Keyes is standing there buying cigars. He is                stuffing them into his pockets.                                     NEFF                         Hello, Keyes.                                     KEYES                         Hang onto your hat, Walter.                                     NEFF                         What for?                                     KEYES                         Nothing much. The Dietrichson case                          just busted wide open.                                     NEFF                         How do you mean?                                     KEYES                         The guy showed. That's how.                                     NEFF                         The somebody else?                                     KEYES                         Yeah. The guy that did it with her.                                     NEFF                         No kidding?                                     KEYES                         She's filed suit against us, and                          it's okay by me. When we get into                          that courtroom I'll tear them apart,                          both of them. Come on -- I'll buy                          you a martini.                                     NEFF                         No thanks, Keyes.                                     KEYES                         With two olives.                                     NEFF                         I've got to get a shave and a                          shoeshine. I've got a date.                                     KEYES                         Margie. I still bet she drinks from                          the bottle.               He bites off the end of the cigar and puts the cigar into                his mouth. He starts tapping his pockets for a match, as                usual. Neff strikes a match for him.                                     NEFF                         They give you matches when they sell                          you cigars, Keyes. All you have to                          do is ask for them.                                     KEYES                         I don't like them. They always explode                          in my pockets. So long, Walter.               Keyes goes toward the street and OUT OF SCENE. Neff moves                back into the lobby, CAMERA FOLLOWING HIM. As he reaches the                elevator, he looks back over his shoulder, to make sure Keyes                is gone, then steps into the empty elevator.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         You sure had me worried, Keyes. I                          didn't know if you were playing cat-                         and-mouse with me, whether you knew                          all along I was the somebody else.                          That's what I had to find out, and I                          thought I knew where to look...                                     NEFF                              (To elevator operator)                         Twelve.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               D-14 ENTRANCE - OFFICE. 12TH FLOOR RECEPTION ROOM (DAY)               Neff comes out of the elevator. The receptionist is just                tidying up her desk. She has her hat on and is preparing to                leave. Neff passes on through the swinging doors to the                twelfth floor balcony.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         Upstairs, the last of the people                          were just leaving.               D-15 12TH FLOOR BALCONY               Neff enters from the reception room. A couple of belated                employees are leaving for the day. Neff goes toward Keyes'                office, looks around to make sure he is unobserved, enters.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         I made sure nobody saw me go into                          your office.               D-16 KEYES' OFFICE (DAY)               Neff has just come in. He goes over to Keyes' desk and                searches the papers on it. He tries the desk drawers and                finds them locked. His eye falls on the dictaphone on the                stand beside the desk. A record is on it, the needle is about                two-thirds of the way towards the end. He lifts the needle                and sets it back to the beginning of the record, sets the                switch to playback position. He lifts the arm off the bracket                and starts the machine. Keyes' voice is heard coming from                the horn:                                     KEYES' VOICE                              (From Dictaphone)                         Memo to Mr. Norton. Confidential.                          Dietrichson File. With regard to                          your proposal to put Walter Neff                          under surveillance, I disagree                          absolutely. I have investigated his                          movements on the night of the crime,                          and he is definitely placed in his                          apartment from 7:15 P.M. on. In                          addition to this, I have known Neff                          intimately for eleven years, and I                          personally vouch for him, without                          reservation...               Neff stops the machine. He sits down slowly, still holding                the horn. He is deeply moved. After a moment, he presses the                switch again.                                     KEYES' VOICE                              (From Dictaphone)                         ...Furthermore, no connection                          whatsoever has been established                          between Walter Neff and Mrs. Phyllis                          Dietrichson, whereas I am now able                          to report that such a connection has                          been established between her and                          another man. This man has been                          observed to visit the Dietrichson                          home on the night of July 9th, 10th,                          11th, 12th and 13th. We have succeeded                          in identifying him as one Nino                          Zachetti, former medical student,                          aged twenty-eight, residing at Lilac                          Court Apartments 1228Ω N. La Brea                          Avenue. We have checked Zachetti's                          movements on the night of the crime                          and have found that they cannot be                          accounted for. I am preparing a more                          detailed report for your consideration                          and it is my belief that we already                          have sufficient evidence against                          Zachetti and Mrs. Dietrichson to                          justify police action. I strongly                          urge that this whole matter be turned                          over to the office of the District                          Attorney. Respectfully, Barton Keyes.               Neff sits, staring blankly at the wall. The cylinder goes on                revolving, but no more voice comes -- only the whir of the                needle on the empty record. At last he remembers to replace                the horn. He hangs it back on its hook. The machine stops.                Neff gets up from the chair, walks slowly to the door and                goes out.               D-17 12TH FLOOR, BALCONY               Neff has just come out of Keyes' office. He walks slowly                back towards the reception room entrance, then stands there                looking out through the glass doors. All the employees have                now left. Neff is entirely alone. He moves as if to go out,                then stops rigidly as his face lights up with excitement of                a sudden idea. He turns quickly and walks on to his own office                and enters.               D-18 NEFF'S OFFICE (DAY)               Neff walks across to his desk, lifts the telephone and dials                a number. (During the ensuing telephone conversation, only                what he says is heard. The pauses indicate speeches at the                other end of the line).                                     NEFF                         Phyllis? Walter. I've got to see                          you... Tonight... Yes, it has to be                          tonight... How's eleven o'clock?                          Don't worry about Keyes. He's                          satisfied... Leave the door on the                          latch and put the lights out. No,                          nobody's watching the house... I                          told you Keyes is satisfied. It's                          just for the neighbors... That's                          what I said. Yeah. Eleven o'clock.                          Goodbye, baby.               Neff hangs up and stands beside the desk with a grim                expression on his face, takes a handkerchief out and wipes                perspiration from his forehead and the palms of his hands.                The gesture has a symbolic quality, as if he were trying to                wipe away the murder. Over his face comes the commentary.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         I guess I don't have to tell you                          what I was going to do at eleven                          o'clock, Keyes. For the first time I                          saw a way to get clear of the whole                          mess I was in, and of Phyllis, too,                          all at the same time. Yeah, that's                          what I thought. But what I didn't                          know was that she was all set for                          me. That she had outsmarted me again,                          just like she always had...               D-19 HALL STAIRWAY OF DIETRICHSON HOME (NIGHT)               The lights are turned on. Phyllis is coming down the stairs.                She wears white lounging pajamas, and she is carrying                something small and heavy concealed in a scarf in her right                hand. She reaches the front door, opens it slightly, fixes                the catch so that the door can be opened from outside. She                switches off the porch light and the hall light. She moves                towards the living room, where there is still light on.                                     NEFF'S VOICE                         She was all set and waiting for me.                          It could have been something in my                          voice when I called her up that tipped                          her off. And it could have been that                          she had the idea already. And an                          idea wasn't the only thing she had                          waiting for me.               D-20 LIVING ROOM               On the long table behind the davenport, one of the lamps is                lit. The only other light in the room is a standing lamp                beside the desk. A window toward the back is open, and through                it comes the SOUNDS OF MUSIC, probably a neighboring radio.               Phyllis enters and crosses to the table. She puts out the                lamp, then moves over to the desk and puts out the lamp there.                The room is filled with bright moonlight coming in at the                windows.               Phyllis crosses to the chair by the fireplace (the one she                sat in the first time Neff came to the house). She lifts the                loose cushion and puts what was in the scarf behind it. As                she withdraws the scarf, there is a brief glint of something                metallic before she covers the hidden object with the cushion                again.               She turns to the low table in front of the davenport and                takes a cigarette from the box. She takes a match and is                about to strike it when, just then, she hears a car coming                up the hill. She listens, motionless. The car stops. A car                door is slammed.               Calmly, Phyllis strikes the match and lights her cigarette.                She drops the match casually into a tray, goes back to the                chair, sits down and waits, quietly smoking. There are                footsteps outside the house.               Over the chair in which Phyllis is sitting, the hallway is                visible through the arch. The front door opens. Neff comes                in, he is silhouetted against the moonlight as he stands                there. He closes the door again.                                     PHYLLIS                              (In foreground)                         In here, Walter.               Neff comes through the arch and walks slowly towards her.                                     NEFF                         Hello, baby. Anybody else in the                          house?                                     PHYLLIS                         Nobody. Why?                                     NEFF                         What's that music?                                     PHYLLIS                         A radio up the street.               Neff sits down on the arm of the davenport, close to her.                                     NEFF                         Just like the first time I was here.                          We were talking about automobile                          insurance. Only you were thinking                          about murder. And I was thinking                          about that anklet.                                     PHYLLIS                         And what are you thinking about now?                                     NEFF                         I'm all through thinking. This is                          goodbye.                                     PHYLLIS                         Goodbye? Where are you going?                                     NEFF                         It's you that's going, baby. Not me.                          I'm getting off the trolley car right                          at this corner.                                     PHYLLIS                         Suppose you stop being fancy. Let's                          have it, whatever it is.                                     NEFF                         I have a friend who's got a funny                          theory. He says when two people commit                          a murder they're kind of on a trolley                          car, and one can't get off without                          the other. They're stuck with each                          other. They have to go on riding                          clear to the end of the line. And                          the last stop is the cemetery.                                     PHYLLIS                         Maybe he's got something there.                                     NEFF                         You bet he has, Two people are going                          to ride to the end of the line, all                          right. Only I'm not going to be one                          of them. I've got another guy to                          finish my ride for me.                                     PHYLLIS                         So you've got it all arranged, Walter.                                     NEFF                         You arranged it for me. I didn't                          have to do a thing.                                     PHYLLIS                         Just who are you talking about?                                     NEFF                         An acquaintance of yours. A Mr.                          Zachetti. Come on, baby, I just got                          into this because I knew a little                          something about insurance, didn't I?                          I was just a sucker. I'd have been                          brushed-off as soon as you got your                          hands on the money.                                     PHYLLIS                         What are you talking about?                                     NEFF                         Save it. I'm telling this. It's been                          you and that Zachetti guy all along,                          hasn't it?                                     PHYLLIS                         That's not true.                                     NEFF                         It doesn't make any difference whether                          it's true or not. The point is Keyes                          believes Zachetti is the guy he's                          been looking for. He'll have him in                          that gas chamber before he knows                          what happened to him.                                     PHYLLIS                         And what's happening to me all this                          time?                                     NEFF                         Don't be silly. What do you expect                          to happen to you? You helped him do                          the murder, didn't you? That's what                          Keyes thinks. And what's good enough                          for Keyes is good enough for me.                                     PHYLLIS                         Maybe it's not good enough for me.                          Walter. Maybe I don't go for the                          idea. Maybe I'd rather talk.                                     NEFF                         Sometimes people are where they can't                          talk. Under six feet of dirt, for                          instance. And if it was you, they'd                          just charge it up to Zachetti,                          wouldn't they. One more item on his                          account. Sure they would. That's                          just what they're going to do.                          Especially since he's coming here,                          tonight... Oh, in about fifteen                          minutes from now, baby. With the                          cops right behind him. It's all taken                          care of.                                     PHYLLIS                         And that'd make everything lovely                          for you, wouldn't it?                                     NEFF                         Right. And it's got to be done before                          that suit of yours comes to trial,                          and Lola gets a chance to sound off,                          and they trip you up on the stand,                          and you start to fold up and drag me                          down with you.                                     PHYLLIS                         Listen, Walter. Maybe I had Zachetti                          here so they won't get a chance to                          trip me up. So we can get that money                          and be together.                                     NEFF                         That's cute. Say it again.                                     PHYLLIS                         He came here the first time just to                          ask where Lola was. I made him come                          back. I was working on him. He's                          crazy sort of guy, quick-tempered. I                          kept hammering into him that she was                          with another man, so he'd get into                          one of his jealous rages, and then                          I'd tell him where she was. And you                          know what he'd have done to her,                          don't you, Walter.                                     NEFF                         Yeah, and for once I believe you.                          Because it's just rotten enough.                                     PHYLLIS                         We're both rotten, Walter.                                     NEFF                         Only you're just a little more rotten.                          You're rotten clear through. You got                          me to take care of your husband, and                          then you got Zachetti to take care                          of Lola, and maybe take care of me                          too, and then somebody else would                          have come along to take care of                          Zachetti for you. That's the way you                          operate isn't it, baby.                                     PHYLLIS                         Suppose it is, Walter. Is what you've                          cooked up for tonight any better?               Neff gets up from the davenport. He listens to the music for                a moment.                                     NEFF                         I don't like this music anymore.                          It's too close. Do you mind if I                          shut the window?               Phyllis just stares at him. He goes quietly over to the window                and shuts it and draws the curtain. Phyllis speaks to his                back:                                     PHYLLIS                              (Her voice low and                               urgent)                         Walter!               Neff turns, something changes in his face. There is the report                of a gun. He stands motionless for a moment, then very slowly                starts towards her. CAMERA IS SHOOTING OVER HIS SHOULDER at                Phyllis as she stands with the gun in her hand. Neff stops                after he has taken a few steps.                                     NEFF                         What's the matter? Why don't you                          shoot again? Maybe if I came a little                          closer?               Neff takes a few more steps towards her and stops again.                                     NEFF                         How's that. Do you think you can do                          it now?               Phyllis is silent. She doesn't shoot. Her expression is                tortured. Neff goes on until he is close to her. Quietly he                takes the gun out of her unresisting hand.                                     NEFF                         Why didn't you shoot, baby?               Phyllis puts her arms around him in complete surrender.                                     NEFF                         Don't tell me it's because you've                          been in love with me all this time.                                     PHYLLIS                         No. I never loved you, Walter. Not                          you, or anybody else. I'm rotten to                          the heart. I used you, just as you                          said. That's all you ever meant to                          me -- until a minute ago. I didn't                          think anything like that could ever                          happen to me.                                     NEFF                         I'm sorry, baby. I'm not buying.                                     PHYLLIS                         I'm not asking you to buy. Just hold                          me close.               Neff draws her close to him. She reaches up to his face and                kisses him on the lips. As she comes out of the kiss there                is realization in her eyes that this is the final moment.                                     NEFF                         Goodbye, baby.               Out of the shot the gun explodes once, twice. Phyllis quivers                in his arms. Her eyes fill with tears. Her head falls limp                against his shoulder. Slowly he lifts her and carries her to                the davenport. He lays her down on it carefully, almost                tenderly. The moonlight coming in at the French doors shines                on the anklet. He looks at it for the last time and slowly                turns away. As he does so, he puts his hand inside his coat                and it comes out with blood on it. Only then is it apparent                that Phyllis' shot actually did hit him. He looks at the                blood on his fingers with a dazed expression and quickly                goes out of the room, the way he came.               D-21 EXT. DIETRICHSON HOME - (NIGHT)               Neff comes out of the house. He closes the front door with                his right hand. His left arm hangs limp. He takes a few steps                down the walk, then suddenly hears somebody approaching. He                moves behind the palm tree near the walk.               A man comes up the steps towards the front door -- Zachetti.                Just as he reaches the door, Neff calls to him.                                     NEFF                         Hey you. Come here a minute. I said                          come here, Zachetti.               Zachetti turns and approaches him slowly.                                     NEFF                         The name is Neff.                                     ZACHETTI                         Yeah? And I still don't like it.                          What do you want?                                     NEFF                         Look, kid, I want to give you a                          present.               He takes some loose change out of his pocket and holds out a                coin.                                     NEFF                         Here's a nice new nickel.                                     ZACHETTI                         What's the gag?                                     NEFF                         Suppose you go back down the hill to                          a drug store and make a phone call.               Neff starts to drop the nickel into Zachetti's handkerchief                pocket. Zachetti knocks his hand away.                                     ZACHETTI                         Keep your nickel and buy yourself an                          ice cream cone.                                     NEFF                         The number is Granite 0386. Ask for                          Miss Dietrichson. The first name is                          Lola.                                     ZACHETTI                         Lola? She isn't worth a nickel. And                          if I ever talk to her, it's not going                          to be over any telephone.                                     NEFF                         Tough, aren't you? Take the nickel.                          Take it and call her. She wants you                          to.                                     ZACHETTI                         Yeah? She doesn't want any part of                          me.                                     NEFF                         I know who told you that, and it's                          not true. She's in love with you.                          Always has been. Don't ask me why. I                          couldn't even guess.               Zachetti just stares at him. Neff moves again to put the                nickel into Zachetti's pocket. This time Zachetti allows him                to do it.                                     NEFF                         Now beat it. Granite 0386, I told                          you.               He motions toward the street below.                                     NEFF                         That way.               Zachetti goes slowly past him. Neff grabs him and pushes him                almost violently down the walk. Zachetti goes out of shot.                The sound of his steps dies away as Neff looks after him.                Then, far off in the distance, the SIREN OF A POLICE CAR is                heard.               Neff moves off through the shrubbery toward the side of the                house where he parked his car.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               D-22 NEFF'S OFFICE - (NIGHT)               The desk lamp is still lighted. Outside the windows, the                dawn is slowly breaking.               Neff is still clutching the horn of the dictaphone. There                are eight or nine used cylinders on the desk beside him. A                widening stain of blood shows on the left shoulder of his                gray jacket. He is very weak by now, and his voice holds a                note of utter exhaustion.                                     NEFF                         It's almost four-thirty now, Keyes.                          It's cold. I wonder if she's still                          lying there alone in that house, or                          whether they've found her by now. I                          wonder a lot of things, but they                          don't matter any more, except I want                          to ask you to do me a favor. I want                          you to be the one to tell Lola, kind                          of gently, before it breaks wide                          open... Yes, and I'd like you to                          look after her and that guy Zachetti,                          so he doesn't get pushed around too                          much. Because...               Suddenly he stops his dictation with an instinctive feeling                that he is not alone in the room.               As he turns in his chair the CAMERA PULLS BACK slowly. The                office door is wide open. Keyes is standing a few steps inside                it. Behind him, on the balcony outside, stands the night                watchman and the colored janitor, peering curiously into the                room over Keyes' shoulder.               Slowly, and without taking his eyes off Neff's face, Keyes                reaches back and pushes the door shut.               Neff hangs up the dictaphone horn. He looks at Keyes with a                faint, tired grin and speaks very slowly.                                     NEFF                         Hello, Keyes.               Keyes moves towards him a few steps and stands without                answering.                                     NEFF                         Up pretty early, aren't you? I always                          wondered what time you got down to                          work.               Keyes, staring at him, still does not answer.                                     NEFF                         Or did your little man pull you out                          of bed?                                     KEYES                         The janitor did. Seems you leaked a                          little blood on the way in here.                                     NEFF                         Wouldn't be surprised.               Neff makes a motion indicating the used cylinders standing                on the desk.                                     NEFF                         I wanted to straighten out that                          Dietrichson story for you.                                     KEYES                         So I gather.                                     NEFF                         How long have you been standing there?                                     KEYES                         Long enough.                                     NEFF                         Kind of a crazy story with a crazy                          twist to it. One you didn't quite                          figure out.                                     KEYES                         You can't figure them all, Walter.                                     NEFF                         That's right. You can't, can you?                          And now I suppose I get the big                          speech, the one with all the two-                         dollar words in it. Let's have it,                          Keyes.                                     KEYES                         You're all washed up, Walter.                                     NEFF                         Thanks, Keyes. That was short anyway.               They stare at each other for a long moment, then, with intense                effort Neff gets up on his feet and stands there swaying a                little. His face is covered with sweat. His shoulder is                bleeding. He is on the verge of collapse.                                     KEYES                         Walter, I'm going to call a doctor.                                     NEFF                              (Bitterly)                         What for? So they can patch me up?                          So they can nurse me along till I'm                          back on my feet? So I can walk under                          my own power into that gas chamber                          up in San Quentin? Is that it, Keyes?                                     KEYES                         Something like that, Walter.                                     NEFF                         Well, I've got a different idea.                          Look here. Suppose you went back to                          bed and didn't find these cylinders                          till tomorrow morning, when the office                          opens. From then on you can play it                          any way you like. Would you do that                          much for me, Keyes?                                     KEYES                         Give me one good reason.                                     NEFF                         I need four hours to get where I'm                          going.                                     KEYES                         You're not going anywhere, Walter.                                     NEFF                         You bet I am. I'm going across the                          border.                                     KEYES                         You haven't got a chance.                                     NEFF                         Good enough to try for.                                     KEYES                         You'll never make the border.                                     NEFF                         That's what you think. Watch me.               Neff starts to move towards the door, staggering a little,                holding himself upright with great effort.                                     KEYES                              (In a voice of stony                               calm)                         You'll never even make the elevator.               Neff has reached the door. He twists the knob and drags the                door open. He turns in it to look back at Keyes' implacable                face.                                     NEFF                         So long, Keyes.               Neff goes out, leaving the door wide open. THE CAMERA FOLLOWS                his staggering walk along the BALCONY TOWARDS THE ELEVATOR                LOBBY. The sound of his breathing is so harsh and loud that                for a moment it dominates the scene. Finally he reaches the                swing doors leading into the lobby and starts to push them                open. At this moment he collapses. He clutches the edge of                the door and as it swings around with him he falls to the                floor. He tries to struggle up but cannot rise.               In background comes the sound of a telephone being dialed.                                     KEYES' VOICE                         Hello... Send an ambulance to the                          Pacific Building on Olive Street...                          Yeah... It's a police job.               There is the sound of the phone being replaced in its cradle.                Then there are footsteps growing louder along the balcony                and Keyes walks slowly into the shot. He kneels down beside                Neff.                                     KEYES                         How you doing, Walter?               Neff manages a faint smile.                                     NEFF                         I'm fine. Only somebody moved the                          elevator a couple of miles away.                                     KEYES                         They're on the way.                                     NEFF                              (Slowly and with great                               difficulty)                         You know why you didn't figure this                          one, Keyes? Let me tell you. The guy                          you were looking for was too close.                          He was right across the desk from                          you.                                     KEYES                         Closer than that, Walter.               The eyes of the two men meet in a moment of silence.                                     NEFF                         I love you too.               Neff fumbles for the handkerchief in Keyes' pocket, pulls it                out and clumsily wipes his face with it. The handkerchief                drops from his hand. He gets a loose cigarette out of his                pocket and puts it between his lips. Then with great                difficulty he gets out a match, tries to strike it, but is                too weak. Keyes takes the match out of his hand, strikes it                for him and lights his cigarette.                                                                  FADE OUT:                                         THE END                               The following pages are for an alternate ending that director                Billy Wilder actually shot but later decided against.                                     KEYES                         They're on the way.                                     NEFF                              (Slowly and with great                               difficulty)                         You know why you didn't figure this                          one, Keyes? Let me tell you. The guy                          you were looking for was too close.                          He was right across the desk from                          you.                                     KEYES                         Closer than that, Walter.               The eyes of the two men meet in a moment of silence.                                     NEFF                         I love you too.               Neff fumbles for the handkerchief in Keyes' pocket, pulls it                out and clumsily wipes his face with it. Then, clutching the                handkerchief against his shoulder, he speaks to Keyes for                the last time.                                     NEFF                         At the end of that... trolley line...                          just as I get off... you be there...                          to say goodbye... will you, Keyes?                                                                  FADE OUT:                                   END OF SEQUENCE "D"                                       SEQUENCE "E"               FADE IN:               E-1 WITNESS ROOM IN DEATH CHAMBER - SAN QUENTIN (DAY)               Showing the witness room and approximately one-half of the                gas chamber. BOOM SHOT towards guard standing BACK TO CAMERA                at entrance door. Except for this guard the room is empty.               Guard opens the door. Two other guards enter, followed by a                group of witnesses and newspaper men, each of whom removes                his hat as he enters the room. They form a group around the                outside of the gas chamber, some looking in through the glass                windows, some standing in the background on low platforms                against the wall.               THE CAMERA SLOWLY BEGINS TO MOVE IN AND DOWN, AND CENTERS ON                Keyes, as he enters the room and stands behind the door. His                face is seen through the bars of the door, which is then                closed, and CAMERA MOVES TO A CLOSEUP. His eyes follow the                action of the closing door, then slowly look towards the gas                chamber.               E-2 THE GAS CHAMBER, EMPTY               On its windows show reflections of the spectators, including                the face of Keyes.               The door to the gas chamber opens in the background, and                beyond that another door opens. Neff comes in between two                guards. He is wearing a white open-necked shirt, blue denim                pants, and walks barefooted on a cocoanut matting. He moves                into the gas chamber, looks through the windows in the                direction of Keyes and nods quickly, recognizing him. The                guards turn him around and seat him in one of the two metal                chairs, with his back to the witnesses. They strap his arms,                legs and body to the chair. The guards go out.               E-3 THE DOOR TO THE GAS CHAMBER               It is open. The three guards come out of the gas chamber                into the ante-chamber, where stand the warden, executioner,                two doctors, the minister and the acid man, and possibly                several guards.               The executioner and one guard close the door. The guard spins                the big wheel which tightens it. The wheel at first turns                very quickly, then, as it tightens, the guard uses                considerable force to seal the chamber tight. The guard steps                out of the shot. The gas chamber is now sealed.               E-4 THE WITNESSES AND KEYES               They are intently watching Neff in the gas chamber.               E-5 THE ANTE-CHAMBER               The warden looks slowly around the room, sees that everyone                is in his proper place and that the stethoscope, which one                doctor holds, is connected with the outlet in the wall of                the gas chamber. Also that the man in charge of the acid is                ready. The warden makes a motion to the acid man. The acid                man releases the mixed acid into a pipe connecting with a                countersunk receptacle under Neff's chair. (This action is                only suggested). The warden looks at the clock, then turns                to the executioner and nods.               E-6 THE EXECUTIONER - MED. SHOT - CAMERA SHOOTING DOWN FROM                HIGH ANGLE TOWARDS EXECUTIONER               He pushes a metal lever. (This immerses the pellets of cyanide                in the acid under the chair.)               E-7 INT. GAS CHAMBER - MED. SHOT               CAMERA IS SHOOTING ABOVE Neff's head (just out of shot),                towards spectators standing outside the gas chamber, Keyes                in the center. Gas floats up into scene between CAMERA and                spectators. Keyes, unable to watch, looks away.               E-8 THE FIRST DOCTOR - CLOSE SHOT               as he listens on stethoscope connected with the gas chamber.                He glances at the clock above his head.               E-9 THE SECOND DOCTOR - CLOSE SHOT               He stands to right of the gas chamber door, taking notes on                a pad. He glances towards First Doctor (out of scene) and                looks through venetian blinds into the gas chamber. The acid                man stands near him.               E-10 THE FIRST DOCTOR               CAMERA SHOOTING FROM HIGH ANGLE TOWARDS HIM as he listens on                stethoscope. The doctor glances at the clock again. He takes                his stethoscope from his ears. He nods to the warden, This                indicates that the man is dead. CAMERA PANS with warden as                he turns to open the door connecting the ante-chamber with                the witness room.               E-11 THE WITNESS ROOM - LONG SHOT FROM HIGH ON BOOM DOWN ON                WITNESSES GROUPED AROUND GAS CHAMBER               The door connecting with the ante-chamber opens. A guard                comes through.                                     GUARD                         That's all, gentlemen, Vacate the                          chamber, please.               The guard withdraws and closes the door by which he entered.                The witnesses slowly start to file out. A guard has opened                the outer door. The witnesses put their hats on as they pass                through. A few go close to the windows of the gas chamber to                look in at the dead man before they leave.               All the witnesses have now left, except Keyes, who stands,                shocked and tragic, beyond the door. The guard goes to him                and touches his arm, indicating to him that he must leave.                Keyes glances for the last time towards the gas chamber and                slowly moves to go out.               E-12 CORRIDOR OUTSIDE THE DEATH CHAMBER               CAMERA SHOOTING IN THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR AT KEYES, who is                just turning to leave. Keyes comes slowly out into the dark,                narrow corridor. His hat is on his head now, his overcoat is                pulled around him loosely. He walks like an old man. He takes                eight or ten steps, then mechanically reaches a cigar out of                his vest pocket and puts it in his mouth. His hands, in the                now familiar gesture, begin to pat his pockets for matches.               Suddenly he stops, with a look of horror on his face. He                stands rigid, pressing a hand against his heart. He takes                the cigar out of his mouth and goes slowly on towards the                door, CAMERA PANNING with him. When he has almost reached                the door, the guard stationed there throws it wide, and a                blaze of sunlight comes in from the prison yard outside.               Keyes slowly walks out into the sunshine. stiffly, his head                bent, a forlorn and lonely man.                                                                  FADE OUT:                                         THE END
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+Duck Soup (1933) Screenplay by Harry Ruby, Bert Kalmar and Grover Jones The story begins with an opening shot on the exterior of the executive mansion. It is a gala day. Soldiers are lined up in front of the entrance; expensive cars and carriages are arriving and depositing distinguished notables from the adjoining countries. Two trumpeters at the head of the stairs announce the arrival of each notable. In the large reception hall, Mrs. Teasdale, wife of the late president, is greeting the newcomers. The room is filled with distinguished guests. At the moment we see Mrs. Teasdale, she is talking with a notable. In the near background is a group of distinguished men, members of her own cabinet. Her words to the notable are not lost on them, and as she begins to praise the new dictator, there is the exchange of disapproving glances. MRS. TEASDALE It is so good of you to come. NOTABLE An honor, Mrs. Teasdale... You must indeed have great faith in your new dictator to give him such a magnificent reception. MRS. TEASDALE I feel that Rufus T. Firefly is the only logical successor to my dear departed husband. He has the statesmanship of Gladstone, the humility of Lincoln, and the wisdom of Pericles. The notable kisses her hand once more and leaves the scene. As he does, the background group moves into Mrs. Teasdale. Their spokesman addresses Mrs. Teasdale. FIRST CABINET MEMBER (Protestingly) Mrs. Teasdale, as members of Freedonia's cabinet, we do not approve of your choice. Who is this Rufus T. Firefly? SECOND CABINET MEMBER (Waving aloft a paper) A stranger in our midst, an agent for the Eureka Ammunition Company. Think of it, Gentlemen, an ammunition salesman dictating the policies of our peace-loving country. THIRD CABINET MEMBER Reconsider, Mrs. Teasdale, before it is too late. The citizens of Freedonia want a President! MRS. TEASDALE As the widow of your last president, I have the right to choose -- and, Gentlemen, I refuse to discuss the matter any further. Mrs Teasdale turns her back on them, leaving them to mumble among themselves. From off scene comes a servant's voice, announcing: SERVANT His Excellency, Ambassador Verdi Trentino of Amnesia! Cut... to the archway. We see Trentino enter with a beautiful brunette at his side. He is followed by two or three of his fellowmen. He moves across the reception hall to Mrs. Teasdale, bows most graciously and presses his lips to the back of her hand, then introduces his companion. TRENTINO Mrs. Teasdale... my niece, Vera. Mrs. Teasdale shakes the girl's hand warmly. MRS. TEASDALE (To niece) Your uncle has been such a friend to us in every crisis. Without his country's financial aid -- TRENTINO (Lightly) What is money? (Tenderly) Mrs. Teasdale, for you -- I would do anything. MRS. TEASDALE (Flustered) Ambassador! (Attempting to change the subject) I am so anxious for you to meet our new dictator. TRENTINO (Persistent in his flattery) Mrs. Teasdale -- no matter who rules Freedonia, to me you will always be the first lady of the land. Trentino attempts to take her hand. The latter is a bit confused, much to the amusement of Vera, who laughingly says: VERA Mrs. Teasdale, my uncle's hopeless -- you've been the only topic of conversation ever since we left Amnesia. Mrs. Teasdale's confusion is happily interrupted by the announcement of a servant, off scene. SERVANT The Honorable Mohamed Pandooh of Mufhtan! MRS. TEASDALE (Hastily) Oh, I must greet His Honor. Mrs. Teasdale exits from the scene quickly. Vera and Trentino look after her, then Vera laughs softly, as their eyes meet. VERA So that's the one you want to marry. TRENTINO With Mrs. Teasdale as my wife and Freedonia under my control -- (He rubs his hands significantly) VERA Maybe it's not going to be so easy. From what I've heard, Mrs. Teasdale is rather sweet on this Rufus T. Firefly. TRENTINO That's where you come in. I'll leave him in your hands, and don't forget you're supposed to be my niece. Vera winks agreeingly. Mrs. Teasdale enters the scene with Bob Firefly (ZEPPO). She introduces him. MRS. TEASDALE I want you to meet the son of His Excellency -- Bob Firefly... Ambassador Trentino... his niece, Vera, After the formalities of introducing, Trentino says: TRENTINO Isn't it about time for the ceremony to begin, Mrs. Teasdale? (Mockingly) I do hope His Excellency won't be late. BOB (Defensively) My father makes it a point to always be on time. As long as I've known him, he's never been late for an appointment. TRENTINO But it's two minutes of ten now. BOB (As music begins) His Excellency is due To take his station. Beginning his new Administration... He'll make his appearance when The clock on the wall strikes ten. MRS. TEASDALE (singing) When the clock on the wall strikes ten All you loyal ladies and you patriotic men Let's sing the national anthem when... The clock on the wall strikes ten. The clock begins to strike the hour... one... two... three... four... ALL (singing) Hail, hail, Freedonia... Mightiest of mighty nations! Hail, hail, Freedonia Land of the brave and free. This finishes on an operatic note with everybody with outstretched hands turned toward the main door that connects the reception hall with the outer hall. Groucho doesn't appear and once more they all sing. ALL (singing) Hail, hail, Freedonia... Land of the brave and free. Again Groucho fails to appear and they all sing once more. ALL Hail, hail, Freedonia... Land of the brave and free. Mrs. Teasdale exchanges an apprehensive glance with Bob. Vera and Trentino smile. MRS. TEASDALE (Nervously) I hope nothing has happened. BOB Mrs. Teasdale, I assure you there is nothing to worry about. Father is probably taking extra care in getting into his robes of state. I'll call him. Bob goes over to a corner of the room and pulls a tapestried bell cord. This rings a fire bell in Groucho's room -- and Groucho is disclosed asleep in his canopied bed under a mosquito netting. He has an unlighted cigar in his mouth. The continued jangling of the fire bell awakens him from his slumber and he rises quickly. The cigar begins to emit smoke when he starts puffing. He hurries over to one corner of the room where his clothes are arranged in fireman fashion, gets into them, and then sides down a fireman's pole into the reception hall. The guests are singing the last two lines of the national anthem when he arrives. ALL Hail, hail, Freedonia... Land of the brave and free. Groucho starts across the hall in the direction of Mrs. Teasdale. He passes several notables, one of whom is wearing an impressive looking medal. Groucho deprives him of it without stopping his forward movement, and pins it on himself. He pauses only when he is facing the principal group. MRS. TEASDALE (Beaming as she addresses Groucho) As chairwoman of the reception committee, I welcome you and extend the good wishes of every man, woman and child of Freedonia. I deem it an honor on this momentous occasion... GROUCHO (Interrupting) Never mind that stuff... He takes a pack of cards from is pocket and extends them to Mrs. Teasdale. GROUCHO Take a card. The bewildered Mrs. Teasdale complies. Groucho puts the other fifty-one cards in his pocket. MRS. TEASDALE What'll I do with this card? GROUCHO You can keep it -- I've got a whole pack... Now what were you saying? MRS. TEASDALE As chairwoman of the reception committee, I welcome you with open arms. GROUCHO How late do you stay open? MRS. TEASDALE In choosing you, I feel that I serve my country well. I heartily endorse everything you stand for. GROUCHO Well, I won't stand for much. And I won't stand for you if you don't show some improvement soon. Look at your report card last month -- "D" in spelling... six in behavior. Now who were the six? A fine state of affairs -- no wonder you can't matriculate, now what were you saying? MRS. TEASDALE The future of Freedonia rests upon you. Promise me you will follow in my husband's footsteps. GROUCHO (To CAMERA) I haven't been on the job five minutes and already she's making advances to me. (To Mrs. Teasdale) Not that I care -- but where is your husband? MRS. TEASDALE (Slightly embarrassed) Why - er -- my husband passed away... (reverently) I was with him to the very end. GROUCHO No wonder he passed away. I'd like to be with you to the very end. Can't you see what I'm trying to tell you -- I love you. MRS. TEASDALE (Very warmly) Your Excellency! GROUCHO You're not so bad yourself, Mrs. Teasdale, when I look at you I can see that we're facing a crisis. We've got to balance the budget -- we've got to cut down everything including, you. Ambassador Trentino enters the scene. MRS. TEASDALE Oh... Your Excellency... I would like to present to you... Ambassador Verdi Trentino Of Amnesia... Having him with us today is indeed a great honor. TRENTINO (To Mrs. Teasdale, smiling appreciatively) Thanks... but I can't stay very long. GROUCHO That's even a greater honor. TRENTINO I bring you the greetings of my President and the good will of my people. GROUCHO I'll keep the greetings -- but you can send back the good will... what we need right now is twenty million dollars. TRENTINO Twenty million dollars is a considerable sum... I'll have to discuss that with my Minister of Finance. GROUCHO Well, in the meantime, could you let me have $50 personally? TRENTINO (Surprised) $50? GROUCHO I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll give you Mrs. Teasdale as security. (Throwing a glance at Mrs. Teasdale) or my jackknife. If you want my advice, you'll take the jackknife... I've a better proposition... Make it $25 and I'll give you a first mortgage on my son and I hope you foreclose. TRENTINO (With a puzzled look at Groucho) Your Excellency, haven't we met before? GROUCHO (Looking at Trentino) Why yes. I met you at the dog races -- say, you could have won that race if you tried a little harder. Vera Trentino enters scene. TRENTINO Excellency, may I present my niece. GROUCHO Go ahead. TRENTINO You don't understand. This is my niece Vera. GROUCHO (Throwing her a glance) And Vera niece, too. VERA Your Excellency, please don't think me silly, but I'd love to have a picture of you. I want to hang it in my bedroom. GROUCHO You couldn't hang me in your bedroom -- I'll make a note of it. Where's my secretary? (Looking around) Bob (ZEPPO) enters scene. BOB Here I am, Father. GROUCHO (To Bob) Take a letter. BOB (Taking out a stenographer's pad and pencil) Who to? GROUCHO The President of the United States. Bob writes as Groucho dictates GROUCHO My dear President... read it back... BOB (Reading from pad) "My dear President"... GROUCHO That doesn't sound right... take out "President"... now read it. BOB (Reading) "My dear"... GROUCHO That's not right yet... put back "President" and take out "dear"... How does it read now? BOB (Reading) "My President"... GROUCHO There's still something wrong with it... take out "President" ...now what've you got? BOB (Reading) "My"... GROUCHO Now we're on the right track... Put back "dear"... How does it read? BOB (Reading) "My dear"... GROUCHO You can't say that to the President... Put back "President"... Now let's hear how sounds. BOB (Reading) "My dear President"... GROUCHO That's what I wanted in the first place. Tear it up and send it airmail. BOB Is that all? GROUCHO Take another letter... to my tailor. Bob takes dictation again. GROUCHO Dear Sir... enclosed find check for $100. Yours very truly... Send that immediately. BOB I'll have to enclose the check first. GROUCHO You do and I'll fire you. Groucho glares over his shoulder at Bob to emphasize his remark as the latter exits from the scene. Mrs. Teasdale enters to Groucho. MRS. TEASDALE (To Groucho) Your Excellency, the eyes of the world are upon you. Notables from every land are gathered here in your honor -- (Indicating the guests with a wave of her hand) This is a gala day for us. GROUCHO Well, a gal a day is enough for me. I couldn't handle any more. MRS. TEASDALE If it's not asking too much -- (Recitative) For our information just for illustration (Begins tune) Tell us how you intend to run the nation. GROUCHO (Singing) These are the laws of my administration: No one's allowed to smoke or tell a dirty joke -- And whistling is forbidden... ENSEMBLE (Singing) We're not allowed to tell a dirty joke HAIL, HAIL, FREEDONIA GROUCHO (Singing) If chewing gum is chewed, The chewer is pursued And in the hoosegow hidden... ENSEMBLE (Singing) If we should choose to chew, we'll be pursued - GROUCHO If any form of pleasure is exhibited Report to me and it will be prohibited. I'll put my foot down; So shall it be - This is the land of the free. The last man nearly ruined this place He didn't know what to do with it. If you think this country's bad off now Just wait 'till I get through with it. (Does sailor's hornpipe) The treasury is low on dough; The last man went and flew with it. If you think we're short of money now Just wait 'till I get through with it. (Does Highland fling) The country's taxes must be fixed - And I know what to do with it, If you think you're paying too much now, Just wait 'till I get through with it. (Takes flute from inside pocket and plays strain of Dixie) DIGNITARY (Singing) In our midst you stand The ruler of this land A man who'll govern with an iron hand. GROUCHO (Singing) If anyone gets fresh with me, I'll show him who's the boss; I'll stand upon my dignity, And toss him for a loss. And this will be the penalty For those who doublecross - We'll stand 'em up against the wall, and Pop goes the Weasel ENSEMBLE (Singing) If you should make him cross, He'll toss you for a loss. If anyone gets fresh with him, He'll show him who's the boss. Groucho does minuet with girls as above is sung GROUCHO (Singing) I will not stand for anything that's crooked or unfair; I'm strictly on the up and up, So everyone beware. If anyone's caught taking graft And I don't get my share, we'll stand 'em up against the wall - and pop goes the weasel! ENSEMBLE (Singing) So everyone beware Who's crooked or unfair; No one must take a bit of graft Unless he gets his share. (Groucho dances as above is sung) GROUCHO (Singing) If any man should come between A husband and his bride, We find out which one she prefers By letting her decide. If she prefers the other man, The husband steps outside; We stand him up against the wall And Pop goes the Weasel! ENSEMBLE (Singing) The husband steps outside; Relinquishes his bride; We stand him up against the wall And take him for a ride. (Groucho dances as above is sung) GROUCHO The population must increase With great rapidity. We give a couple seven years To raise a family. If, by that time, there is no branch Upon the family tree, we stand 'em up against the wall - and Pop goes the Weasel. Groucho does a dance with Mrs. Teasdale who joins him reluctantly and registers embarrassment as dance continues. He might finish dance in her arms, looking tenderly at her as she beams down at him. MRS. TEASDALE (As she beams on him) You've made a wonderful impression. Your views are liberal... It is easy to see you have an open mind. GROUCHO That's what I get for dressing in a hurry. MRS. TEASDALE Your Excellency, you mustn't forget your appointment at the House of Representatives... Have you got your speech ready? GROUCHO I wrote a speech last night that'll knock them off their seats... (He takes a paper from inside pocket as he says above... then reads from paper) Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation -- MRS. TEASDALE Why, that's the speech that Lincoln made at Gettysburg... GROUCHO (With a look of great surprise) He did?... I told my son not to leave it laying around... Where is son? Bob enters BOB Here I am, Father... GROUCHO Send for my car... BOB (Calling to servant off scene) His Excellency's car! This is repeated by a servant's voice off scene... A servant enters to Groucho, bearing his high silk hat. He bows low as he hands it to Groucho... Groucho takes hat, removes a white rabbit, hands it back to servant, dons his hat and with a swanky gesture exits... again we hear a servant's voice calling: "His Excellency's car"... We see the trumpeters at the top of the steps of the mansion, outside, standing at attention... their trumpets at their sides... From inside comes the voice of a servant calling "His Excellency's car"... The trumpeters click their heels, draw themselves erect, put the trumpets to their mouths and blow a fanfare to summon the car... We cut to the Exterior of the Dictator's garage. This is a pretentious affair. In central foreground a wall, in the center of which is a large wrought-iron double gate. On each side of the gate is a crest or design in relief. Also two liveried guards stand erect before the gate. A trumpeter on the wall above. Through the gate we see the patio and suggestions of the garage. Two or three high-class cars in background identify the garage. At the beginning of the scene, we hear finish of trumpeter's call. Instantly the two guards move to the center of the gates and call through the bars - GUARDS (In unison) His Excellency's car! Almost instantly there is a terrific roar of motors on the other side of the wall. The two guards open gates moving in military manner. Immediately the gates are wide open, Harpo appears on his motorcycle, that carries a side car. The motorcycle is decorated... perhaps a crest in relief on the side of the car... a thin staff, about four or five feet high is fastened to the handle bars... As Harpo rides along, he hoists the Freedonian flag to the staff. Further along the road he hits a man... he looks behind to see what damage he's done, but continues riding... A CUT BACK to the man shows that he is lying prostrate on the ground. We CUT BACK to Harpo, who is just getting off motorcycle... he takes another look back at the man, lowers the flag to half-mast, takes bugle, which is hanging on his car and blows a few bars of taps... he mounts motorcycle again and starts off... CUT TO top of mansion steps as Groucho comes from mansion... the two guards standing stiffly erect, form a seat by crossing hands... Groucho sits on the seat made by their hands, puts his arms around their shoulders and they carry him down stairs... as fast as they can. CUT TO Harpo arriving in front of mansion just as Groucho, carried by the men, moves into the scene. Groucho gets into the side-car... and in Napoleonic manner says to Harpo: GROUCHO To the House of Representatives... ride like fury... Don't stop for any signals and don't wait for a corner to make a turn... see if you can break a record... Harpo takes a phonograph record and smashes it on the ground... there is a roar of the motor -- the motorcycle starts off but leaves the side-car. Groucho gets out of side-car... starts back to steps, stops and says: GROUCHO A fine thing -- leaving the head of the nation at the foot of the stairs... As he dashes up the stairs, we CUT TO Harpo... riding along... A very attractive girl is coming along in the opposite direction. As she approaches Harpo, he toots his horn to attract her attention, she throws him a indignant look and continues on down the street. Harpo turns his motorcycle around and starts after her. She looks around, sees Harpo pursuing and breaks into a run... CUT BACK to Harpo following her, putting on speed... he lowers the Freedonian flag and simultaneously raises a pirate flag -- with skull and cross- bones on it, displayed prominently. A motorcycle cop is parked on the corner waiting for prospective violators... he sees Harpo chasing the girl and quickly starts his motor and follows in pursuit... The girl, as she reaches the executive mansion, rushes up the stairs in an effort to escape. Harpo comes into the scene and rides up the stairs after her... As Harpo gets about half way up the stairs the motorcycle cop is seen approaching the mansion. CUT TO reception room of mansion as the girl is running madly through the room... a moment later we see Harpo on his bike following... there is panic among the guests. Then we see the girl tearing up the stairs leading to the circular balcony... CUT BACK to Harpo. He looks behind him as he rides and sees the motorcycle cop following on his bike. On the balcony above, the girl is running, with an occasional glance over her shoulder as she runs out of scene... Harpo rides into scene. This time he is bent over his handle-bars in the manner of a six day bicycle rider... following closely behind him rides the motorcycle cop. They circle the mezzanine... Harpo in the lead, looking back now and then over his shoulder at his pursuer... this is done in imitation of a six day bicycle race... The motorcycle cop is closing in on Harpo... the latter approaching a large open door, rides through the opening, but the cop continues on around the balcony... as he gets to the opposite side of the circular balcony he passes another open doorway. Harpo comes riding out of it and is now in pursuit of the cop... CUT down stairs to Groucho... One hand is upraised holding a gun. As he looks at a wrist watch, he fires gun, then addresses guests looking into CAMERA. GROUCHO That concludes the nine o'clock sprints... Next Saturday night the winner of the six day bicycle race will receive ten thousand dollars in gold... the following morning we go off the gold standard... CUT BACK to balcony... Harpo is passing the cop... He holds up his hand for the cop to stop... they both come to a halt... Harpo gets off his motorcycle, walks over angrily to cop, takes out his book, writes out a summons and hands it to the cop as we FADE OUT... END OF SEQUENCE "A" SEQUENCE "B" FADE IN on interior of Freedonian House of Representatives. This interior although not a replica of our own House of Representatives, should be close enough technically to sell the idea... Each seat is occupied by an officious-looking dignitary. On the platform are a few desks... perhaps a pulpit which Groucho uses when he arrives... The one to the right is the court stenographer's desk, occupied by Bob Firefly. He takes notes as the meeting progresses. Throughout the House runs a ripple of excitement, which is stopped by the rapping of the gavel by the Speaker of the House. SPEAKER Gentlemen, gentlemen, remember for forty-six years we have enjoyed the friendship of Amnesia, so ably represented by Ambassador Trentino. (Indicating the Ambassador who is present) We owe it to ourselves to listen to what he has to say... Trentino takes the floor TRENTINO Gentlemen, while I admit it is unusual for a representative of one country to advise the legislative body of another, I assure you that I have the interest of Freedonia at heart ... (Deferential applause) We have lent you money in the past -- we are willing to lend you money again -- but, we cannot do it if your leader is allowed by you, to carry out his ridiculous proposals... In self-protection it is my -- Bob rises to interrupt BOB I object!... we have no right to discuss this matter in the absence of my father. SPEAKER (To House) We have been meeting every morning for eight days and not once has His Excellency been on time... TRENTINO (Looking at his watch) Gentlemen, I cannot wait much longer... SPEAKER (To Bob) Would you mind calling your father again? Bob presses a button, either on desk or wall... CUT TO - the corner of Groucho's bedroom, showing fireman's pole. The sound of the clanging bell is heard over scene. Groucho hurries into scene, fully clad but for his coat which he has on his arm... without waiting to don his coat he slides down the pole. We pick him up finishing the slide down the pole into the House of Representatives. As he arrives the members are on their feet singing the last four bars of the national anthem. MEMBERS (Singing) HAIL, HAIL, FREEDONIA Land of the brave and free... Groucho hurries toward Speaker's desk, putting on his coat as he goes... Just as he reaches the desk the singing subsides. Groucho turns to the body of men and looks off in the direction of one of the representatives. GROUCHO (Pointing toward the individual off scene) The Secretary of Agriculture was a little flat... (He takes a match and scratches it across the top of the desk to light his cigar... takes a few puffs, then raps the gavel.) I move we open the morning session... Has anybody got a cork screw? (Looking out and around at members) [page missing] GROUCHO What's to stop you from digging one... And after you dig a river, how're ya gonna cross it without a bridge...? We've got to have a bridge to stop people from going places -- then we've gotta stop them from coming back. If you're worried about the expense we can have a bridge with only one end -- and if that's a success we can do away with it altogether. I'm telling you that what this country needs is -- Off scene we hear Chico's voice singing "P-E-A-N-U-T-S"... this is followed by the piping of a whistle playing the first strain of the PEANUT VENDOR... Groucho listens, annoyed and then continues GROUCHO If there's one thing we don't need right now -- it's peanuts -- gentlemen, what good is a bridge if you haven't got ammunition to blow it up... ammunition was never cheaper... Right now, you can get two cannons for the price of one and shoot twice as far for half the money... With every five thousand dollar purchase we throw in a Big Bertha... If you don't like her, you can throw her right out again. I tell you no country can protect itself without -- Again Chico's voice comes over scene singing "P-E-A-N-U-T- S"... The whistling of the first strain of song - the PEANUT VENDOR is heard again SPEAKER I'm sorry your Excellency, it is that infernal peanut vendor Chicolini... How can we accomplish anything with that constant annoyance? TRENTINO Your Excellency - are we or are we not going to discuss this problem - my time is valuable - I'm a man of few words - GROUCHO I'm a man of one word... SCRAM!!! Trentino exits resentfully GROUCHO (To Bob - aroused) Go out and chase that peanut vendor away from the building -- Get rid of him if you have to use violence - if necessary call out the militia and if he isn't looking get me a bag of peanuts. BOB I've tried to chase him but it's no use - he won't go - GROUCHO He won't eh? - We'll see about that - send for your father immediately. BOB But you're my father - GROUCHO Never mind then, I'll get in touch with him myself - CUT OUTSIDE to Chico standing by his peanut stand which has a whistle on it conspicuously displayed - CHICO (Singing loudly) "P-E-A-N-U-T-S" CLOSE UP of whistle piping tune of "PEANUT VENDOR" - Trentino enters to Chico - CHICO (To Trentino) How'm I doing, boss? TRENTINO Fine - keep on yelling - Do everything you can to disturb Firefly - Now what about your cousin? CHICO He's working very hard - I got him a job driving Firefly's car - He's-a driving him crazy and I'm driving him nuts - P-E-A-N-U-T-S Singing even louder than before - Trentino smirks approvingly and exits - the whistling of the tune following as we CUT inside to Groucho - and the well-known vamp of the "Peanut Vendor" is heard coming over scene with orchestra accompaniment... GROUCHO (Glaring angrily at window) I'll get rid of that pest - watch me -- He walks determinedly in direction of window and breaks into a rhumba - with hands on hips - dipping to ground a la Spanish dancer... as he reaches window we CUT outside. Groucho is seen in the window - which is on the ground floor - Chico is by his peanut stand. GROUCHO (To Chico - angrily) Hey you!! CHICO All right - Chico takes bag of peanuts from stand - throws it to Groucho - The latter catches bag and throws Chico a dime - then starts to eat the peanuts. GROUCHO Have you got a license? CHICO No, but my dog he's a got millions of them -- GROUCHO (Munching peanuts as Chico walks over and stands under window) What kind of a dog is he? CHICO He used to be a bloodhound but he's anemic -- GROUCHO Well - what is he now? CHICO He's half poodle and half watch dog - GROUCHO Half watch dog? CHICO Yeh, he's only got one eye. GROUCHO I don't know much about dogs but you ought to be on the end of a leash - a ninety-nine year leash - (Gives him a look of disgust) Look - what do you call your dog? CHICO I don't call him, I whistle. GROUCHO What do you whistle? CHICO Yankee Poodle. GROUCHO I've got just the place for a man like you but I'm too busy right now to do any digging. What do you call your dog when you want him? CHICO I don't want him. GROUCHO Well, if you don't want your dog why don't you put him in a pound? CHICO He only weighs ten ounces -- GROUCHO I can use you in the House of Representatives. We need a man who understands dogs -- and that's where this country is going to. Step inside. Groucho turns and disappears from the window - CUT INSIDE of House of Representatives GROUCHO (To Bob) In case of fire, how long will it take to empty this place? BOB (After a moment's thought) About - thirty-four seconds. GROUCHO We'll start a fire -- (Indicating representatives) -- and get rid of these microbes. Groucho exits towards door leading into his private office. CUT to inside of private office which has another door leading to a hallway, and among other articles of furniture, there is an impressive-looking desk on which is a telephone. Just as Groucho comes through the door into his office, Chico enters through the other door. He is wearing gauntlets, reaching half way up his arms. As they walk toward each other the telephone rings and the two men make a mad dash for the telephone on the desk. Chico beats Groucho to the phone, picks up the receiver. CHICO (At telephone) Hello!... Yes... Yes... He's not in... Chico hangs up receiver and turns to Groucho who is waiting impatiently CHICO That was for you. GROUCHO I'm sorry I'm not in. I wanted to have a long talk with you... Now look here, my good man, you've got to stop yelling "peanuts" in front of the House of Representatives. CHICO Oh no, I can't do it. GROUCHO You don't want to be a public nuisance, do you? CHICO Sure. How much does the job pay? (or) Sure, if there's a chance for advancement. GROUCHO You wouldn't consider going over Niagara Falls without a barrel? CHICO 'At's-a no good. I went to Niagara Falls once. GROUCHO Did you shoot the rapids? CHICO No, but I shot some ducks. GROUCHO If there was an open season for fellows like you, I'd get myself a hunting license. Anyway, I'm going to make you a sporting proposition. You give up the peanut stand and I'll make you vice-president of the country. CHICO Oh, no -- nothing doing. I had a brother who was a vice-president once and that's the last we ever heard of him. GROUCHO Well, maybe he's still the vice- president. Now if I were to offer you -- Telephone bell rings. The two men turn and run for the telephone. Again Chico gets there first. Groucho stands by exasperated while Chico talks to the party on the other end of the line CHICO (To telephone) Hello... Yes... No, not yet... All right... Goodbye. (Hangs up receiver - then says to Groucho) That was for you again. He wants you to call him up as soon as you get back. GROUCHO I don't know what's keeping me. I should've been here a long time ago. Now how about my proposition? CHICO What other job you got? GROUCHO Let's see -- What've I got in my cabinet besides mice -- (Stops to think - then very enthusiastically) I've got it -- how would you like to be Secretary of the Interior? CHICO That's no good. I like to work on the outside. I must have something easy. GROUCHO Then you don't wanna work hard? CHICO I don't wanna work at all. GROUCHO In that case you'll have to take a civil service examination -- if you pass I'll put you in the post-office -- stick out your tongue. CHICO I don't wanna stick out my tongue. GROUCHO Well, if you wanna work in the post- office you'll have to stick out your tongue. CHICO Look, I'm a very nervous man. I gotta have a job where I come to work at eleven -- go to lunch at twelve -- and quit at one. And twice a year I gotta have a six month vacation. GROUCHO I've got just the job for you -- Secretary of War. CHICO 'At's-a fine. Telephone bell rings. They both make a dash for the telephone, but Harpo rushes in through hallway door and reaches the phone first. Harpo picks up through telephone receiver, listens to conversation on the other end with an occasional nod and shake of the head. As he listens, he scribbles message on a piece of paper. He holds the written message up to the telephone receiver for a moment, then writes a few more words on the paper. During this, Chico and Groucho stand by, terribly worried. Finally Harpo hangs up the receiver and exits, tearing up the paper GROUCHO (After a moment's glance at Harpo) You know, I'd be lost without a telephone. Now - where were we? Oh, yes - I just made you Secretary of War. The first thing you do is buy ammunition -- you buy it from me and I get 10% commission. CHICO What do I get? GROUCHO You get half mine and I get half yours. CHICO I don't want to buy ammunition -- we no gotta war. GROUCHO Then we've gotta start one. Do you know how to start a war? CHICO Sure, that's easy. You gotta insult somebody. Groucho suddenly slaps Chico across the face with his gloves, then as quickly brings to light a card which he presents to Chico in the professional manner of an experienced duelist GROUCHO My card. CHICO (Laughing) That's a-no good. You gotta insult somebody from another country. Look -- (Puts his large gloves on the desk) I come from one country. You come from another country. I say something you don't like. You say something I don't like - and I'm insulted. GROUCHO Why wasn't I insulted? CHICO You was insulted, but you don't know it. GROUCHO (Indignantly) Then I demand an apology! CHICO That's a-no good. If I apologize we no got a war. Look -- I send you a scrap of paper. You send me a scrap of paper -- and we have a scrap. GROUCHO You've got a brain after all - and how you get along without it is amazing to me -- Now, who can I insult?... Who do we owe money to?... (Enthusiastically) AMBASSADOR TRENTINO! How about him? CHICO He's-a very easy to insult -- I say something to his niece once, and he slapped my face. GROUCHO Why didn't his niece slap your face? CHICO She did. GROUCHO What did you say to her? Chico whispers in Groucho's ear -- Groucho gives him an indignant look GROUCHO You're lucky I don't slap your face -- you oughtta be ashamed of yourself. Where did you hear that story? CHICO You told it to me. GROUCHO (Puzzled for a moment) Oh, yes, I remember -- and I should have slapped Mrs. Teasdale's face when she told it to me... I'm going right out and find Trentino. You go right out and get yourself an army. Chico turns to go - Groucho stops him GROUCHO Wait a minute. What kind of an army do you think we oughtta have? CHICO I think we oughtta have a standing army, so we can save money on chairs. At this point Chico is at the door and exits - Groucho slams the door right in his face - then he walks over to the desk and sees the larger gauntlets. He takes a swing with his own gloves, then takes a hefty swing with the gauntlet. He leaves his own gloves on the desk and exits with the gauntlets in is hand. CUT outside. Harpo is just pulling up to the curb in front of the House of Representatives, in his motorcycle and side car. Groucho comes from the building wearing gauntlets, gets into the side car and with a dignified wave of his hand, says: GROUCHO To Mrs. Teasdale's residence! The motorcycle speeds out of the scene, leaving the side car behind. GROUCHO This is the fifth trip I've made today and I haven't been anywhere yet. And, as he gets out of the side car and starts to go back into the building, the scene FADES OUT END OF SEQUENCE "B" SEQUENCE "C" FADE IN to garden party. This is an afternoon tea in the garden of the Teasdale estate. Spotted in the set-up are innumerable colorful umbrellas, under which are tea tables. The guests include the notables we saw in the mansion in the first sequence. The only two people absent are Ambassador Trentino and Mrs. Teasdale. Vera Trentino is seated at one of the tables and her presence is established there in the opening shot. Music is heard over the scene and should be continued through the scene as if being played by an orchestra on the premises. Suddenly the chatter ceases as the following announcement is heard coming over scene. GUARD'S VOICE (From off scene) His Excellency, Rufus T. Firefly! All eyes turn toward those off scene and everyone rises to sing the last four bars of the national anthem. Cut to the gateway leading into the garden... a servant on each side of the gate, as Groucho jauntily strides through the gate, swinging the unusually large gauntlets... GUESTS (Singing) HAIL, HAIL, FREEDONIA Land of the brave and free... Groucho hands his high silk hat to one of the guards and starts down the walk among the guests. From his attitude it is evident that he is intent on finding Ambassador Trentino. Suddenly he stops, having seen something of interest off scene. The following dialogue comes over the scene. TRENTINO'S VOICE Can't you see, Gloria, our marriage would not only unite two great families... CUT TO Trentino and Mrs. Teasdale in a quiet corner of the garden -- both are at a tea table. This shot leaves Groucho out. TRENTINO (Continuing) ...but would further cement the relations of our countries. MRS. TEASDALE (Fluttering with excitement) Ambassador Trentino, I am indeed honored... (Falteringly) But you see - well - I -- TRENTINO (Repressing his anger - coldly) Oh. Then there his somebody else? MRS. TEASDALE Well no -- not exactly -- but -- TRENTINO (Impatiently) Gloria -- I've waited for years. I won't be put off! I love you! I want you! (Taking her hand pleadingly) Can't you see that I'm at your feet? Groucho enters the scene. GROUCHO (To Trentino) When you get through with her feet, you can start on mine. I haven't been to a chiropodist in two years... (To CAMERA) If that's not an insult, I don't know what is. (Turns to Gloria) Gloria, I love you. I -- TRENTINO (Furious, to Gloria) Can't we go some place where we can be alone? GROUCHO (To Mrs. Teasdale) What can this mug offer you? Wealth and family. I can't give you wealth... (Archly lifting his eyebrow) ...but we can have a little family of our own. MRS. TEASDALE (Coyly) Oh, Rufus! GROUCHO All I can offer you is a Rufus over your head. MRS. TEASDALE (Happily confused) Oh, Your Excellency, I don't know what to say. GROUCHO I wouldn't know what to say either if I was in your place. (Turning to Trentino) Maybe you can suggest something. TRENTINO (Hotly) This has gone far enough! This interruption is humiliating, to say the least... GROUCHO Well, why not say the least and get it over with? MRS. TEASDALE (Fearful) Gentlemen! Gentlemen! TRENTINO (Half addressing Mrs. Teasdale) I didn't come here to be insulted. GROUCHO That's what you think. TRENTINO (Furiously) You swine! GROUCHO Give me that again! TRENTINO You worm! GROUCHO Once more! (Holds his gauntlets in his hand, ready at any moment to strike) TRENTINO You upstart! GROUCHO That's it! No man lives who can call a Firefly an upstart. Without further ado, Groucho strikes Trentino across the face with his gauntlets. Then he quickly flashes his card and extends it to Trentino in the manner of a duelist. GROUCHO (As he offers the card) Touché. A sudden ripple of excitement as the guests, attracted by the rumpus begin to move into the scene. Prominent among these is Vera Trentino. Trentino refuses Groucho's card, white with rage. TRENTINO (Coldly) I shall report this indignity the my President. (To Mrs. Teasdale - polite but firm) Mrs. Teasdale, I feel this regrettable occurrence will plunge our countries into war. MRS. TEASDALE (Half crying) This is terrible! VERA Uncle, you can't do this! TRENTINO (Politely) My dear niece -- I must ask you not to interfere. War is not a woman's problem. VERA (Rising angrily) It is every woman's problem. Who supplies the sons? -- the brothers? -- the husbands? Who... GROUCHO (To Vera -- interrupting) You keep that up and you'll crab the whole war. VERA Carry out this tragic folly if you will -- But I for one will not be a part of it. (She winks at Trentino) I will stay here in Freedonia. TRENTINO (As a faint smile of understanding vanishes from his face) Very well then, if that's how you feel about it -- (suggestive shrug of his shoulders) My country has spoken. He turns on his heel as if about to leave. Groucho stops him GROUCHO Then it's war? TRENTINO (Stiffly) Yes. GROUCHO How're ya fixed for ammunition? TRENTINO Bah!! (Waves Groucho aside and exits) GROUCHO (Dramatically) THEN IT'S WAR! SOUND of trumpet - Ta - ta - ta-ta GROUCHO THEN IT'S WAR! SOUND of trumpet - Ta - ta - ta-ta GROUCHO GATHER THE FORCES! SOUND of trumpet - Ta - ta - ta - ta GROUCHO HARNESS THE HORSES! SOUND of trumpet - Ta - ta - ta - ta GROUCHO THEN IT'S WAR! The above lies are spoken in meter and each line is punctuated by the staccato notes of the trumpet. Groucho makes a military exit from scene in time to the music, which goes into a military march. As Groucho reaches the gate, the guard hands him his high silk hat. Groucho takes the hat -- removes a white rabbit from it -- hands it to the guard -- as he exits through gate. DISSOLVE. END OF SEQUENCE "C" SEQUENCE "D" INSERT of newspaper. The newspaper moves up to CAMERA from background -- as it stops we read the following headlines: "ARMIES MOBILIZE AS WAR CLOUDS GATHER!" Through this insert we get the vague impression of war activity. We see the movement of soldiers' feet. From the background the second insert moves up to CAMERA... The first insert moves past CAMERA and the second insert comes from the background. The headline reads: "AMNESIA HASTENS PREPARATIONS!" Through this insert we see the heavy wheels of army wagons moving along. This is replaced by the the insert coming from the background. The headlines read - "FREEDONIA'S LEADER MAINTAINS ATTITUDE OF DIGNIFIED SILENCE!" Bombing planes move through this insert. The front page of the paper is turned and followed by a few other pages until we come to the classified ad section of the paper. We see the following advertisement: WANTED: - A female spy. Must be young and attractive Apply to Office of Secretary of War. Above this ad we just see a few lines of another ad -- WANTED: -- A Chauffeur Below the war nurse ad we see part of another ad in which a cook is wanted. DISSOLVE TO A SHOT (in movement) of a row of shapely legs, obviously those of very pretty girls. The CAMERA moves upward disclosing the faces of the girls, who are sitting in a row in the ante-room of the Secretary of War's office. On the door leading to the Secretary's private office, we see the lettering: PRIVATE. The CAMERA discloses only four or five of these girls, but we know there are more in the room. Bob appears in the doorway leading to the Secretary's office and addresses the first girl - nearest the door. BOB The Secretary of War will see you next, Miss. This girl is very pretty and has a very attractive form. She smiles at Bob, rises and exits into the Secretary's office. Bob closes the door behind her. The CAMERA now moves along the row of girls and the sixth or seventh girl in the row is Harpo, dressed as a girl. On the other side of him are more girls. A girl to the right of him turns to the girl beside her. GIRL (To the girl at her right) Did you hear the one about the woman taking a bath?... Well, she forgot to lock the door... A man came in and said, "I'm a doctor"... The woman said, "I'm not sick"... and the man said, "that's all right. I'm not a doctor." All of the girls laugh heartily at at this remark. Harpo is laughing also. He slaps the story-teller on the leg. Her laughter ceases instantly. She slaps him back, and gets another slap on the leg in return. A little squeal of pain from her and she raises her dress disclosing a bruise on her leg just above the knee. GIRL (To Harpo) Look! Harpo does so, then pulls up his own dress and points to his leg for her to look. On his leg is tattooed a picture of two hearts entwined with an arrow running through both. She gives Harpo dirty look and rises CUT TO Private office of Secretary of War. The office is cluttered with war implements, maps, etc. The examination of the girl is in progress. She is turning around in the manner of a clothes model. Chico is looking her over. CHICO (To girl) You look pretty good to me - but very still need a spy - Have you got any credentials? The girl nods and pulls her dress up above her knees revealing an attractive leg. She reaches into her stocking for a paper. CHICO (Taking a very good look) You got credentials all right. The girl drops her skirt and hands the paper to Chico. Chico looks at the paper CHICO This is fine. Put it back. Hands the girl the paper. She lifts her dress above her knees again and puts the paper back in her stocking, while Chico looks on. She drops her skirt. CHICO I think I better take another look at that paper... She lifts the skirt again to get the paper, while Chico steals another glance. The girl drops her skirt and hands him the paper. CHICO (Looking at the paper) I look this over later -- now I look you over. If you want to be a spy, you gotta be in good condition. I better examine you. He takes stethoscope from his pocket, applies it to her heart and listens. CHICO (Listening to girl's heart beat) There's something wrong -- I think I'm getting Whiteman's band. Puts stethoscope back in his pocket and takes watch from vest pocket. He feels her pulse while looking at the watch. CHICO According to my watch it's four o'clock. (Puts watch back in his pocket) Now look -- a woman spy is a-gotta make love to men. Come on -- let's see you make love... She walks over to him and lovingly strokes his hair, puts both arms around him, then suddenly becomes very amorous, bends him over and kisses him madly. She lets go after a little while and Chico comes up for air. He staggers around in a daze. Then he takes the watch from his vest pocket, hands it to her, extends his wrist and says: CHICO Now you feel my pulse. Suddenly the screaming of girls is heard coming from the anteroom, and we cut to the anteroom in the midst of confusion. The girls are running helter-skelter, one or two of them are standing on chairs with their skirts lifted above their knees. There is a little white mouse running about the room. Harpo is sitting innocently on the bench. The girl just interviewed by Chico comes from the office, sees the mouse, screams and joins in the general confusion. Groucho enters as the girls are running about - zig-zags among them and continues through the room into the private office of Chico - closing door behind him. The girls clear out of anteroom and Harpo is left all alone. He takes a small mouse trap from his large pocketbook, puts it on the floor, crouches down and whistles to the mouse in the manner of a man trying to call a dog. The mouse in answer to the whistle runs into the trap. CUT TO The Secretary of War's office. Chico at the phone. CHICO (To phone) Send in the next girl. (He hangs receiver up) GROUCHO By the way, are you sure we need a spy? CHICO Sure, we gotta have a spy. If we no got a spy who's gonna tell the other side what we're doing? At this point, Harpo makes his entrance through the door, carrying his unusually large pocketbook which is about the size of a carpetbag. He walks past Groucho in a seductive manner, swinging his bag and rolling his eyes flirtatiously. Groucho is delighted with this action and returns the ogling. CHICO (To Harpo) Have you got any credentials? Harpo lifts his dress and shows them the tattoo on his leg of the two hearts. Groucho examines it closely. GROUCHO I don't go in much for modern art. Have you got anything by one of the old masters? Harpo lifts his dress above the other leg and shows a picture of Gainsborough's "Blue Boy". Chico and Groucho arise from the examination. GROUCHO I'm glad I didn't ask you for "Washington Crossing the Delaware". CHICO (To Harpo) We've gotta have somebody who knows how to get secrets from men. You know how to make love? Harpo walks over to Chico, throws his arms around him and starts to give him a big hug. He squeezes him very hard. In the midst of this there is a loud report. A startled look from Groucho and Chico. We see that Harpo is minus one breast. He tries to affect an innocent look when suddenly there is a second loud report and his breasts are now as flat as a billiard table. Just as he turns to hide the sight from Chico and Groucho, a hissing sound is heard -- the air is leaking out of his bustle and the bustle is becoming deflated.) GROUCHO (To Harpo) You ought to carry a spare. Harpo goes to a corner of the room and keeps his back to CAMERA. He takes a tube out of his dress front and begins to blow. Chico and Groucho wear a puzzled look as they watch him - the bustle starts to expand. This inflation continues to gigantic proportions as they look on. GROUCHO (Looking at Harpo) We're certainly living in a marvelous age. There is a terrific explosion and all of Harpo's clothes are blown off him - leaving him in nothing but running pants and ladies' silk stockings. His body is literally covered with tattoos. CHICO (Laughing) That's very funny... he certainly fooled me. He'll make a good spy. Winks significantly at Harpo. Harpo returns the wink. GROUCHO (Examining tattoos) If we can't use him as a spy, we can have him framed. He and Chico continue further examination of the tattooed designs on Harpo's body. CHICO Say, that's a nice collection. You oughta have a catalogue. Harpo pulls a catalogue from under the belt of his trunks and hands it to Chico. Groucho and Chico look at the catalogue. GROUCHO Let's take a look at number eighteen. Harpo reveals more of his back and shows a superb tattooed job of a beautiful girl's head. CHICO (Referring to picture of girl) Say, she's all right. You got-a her phone number? Harpo raises one arm and shows the phone number tattooed right under the arm pit. He holds this a moment, then turns and discloses a portion of the tattooing on his chest. Groucho and Chico's eyes shift from the telephone number to the tattooed picture on his chest. Harpo completes move and discloses the entire picture. It is a country back-house with a crescent over the door. Chico laughs uproariously. CHICO (Laughing) That's a funny one! He slaps Harpo an the back good-naturedly. TRICK SHOT on HARPO'S CHEST. The door in the outhouse flies open. The head of a real man appears in the opening. He looks off in the direction of Chico and mumbles incoherencies under his breath. He is terribly angry at being interrupted. He draws in his head, closing the door behind him. CHICO (To Harpo) I think we can use you. Here's a spy glass... go ahead and do some spying... Harpo takes the glasses and goes directly toward the window. As he looks across street through binoculars, he is grinning all over and wiggling around like a happy kid. ROOM ACROSS THE STREET Looking into the open window of a bedroom as Harpo would see it through the binoculars. A beautiful girl is undressing, preparing to retire. After a moment of this shot CUT BACK to Harpo looking through the binoculars. Chico takes the binoculars from Harpo and pushes him out of the scene, proceeds to look himself. He registers the same satisfaction as Harpo and hands the binoculars to Groucho. As Groucho looks through the binoculars at the beautiful girl, Chico says: CHICO He's going to make a good spy... that's not bad for the first day. GROUCHO (Turning and looking at Chico) That's not bad for any day. Groucho takes a second look through the binoculars at the beautiful girl. This time he sees Harpo chasing the girl around the roam. This is shot through the binoculars as before. Groucho registers amazement as he looks through binoculars; perhaps squints his eyes once or twice and takes second look. GROUCHO (To Chico) Maybe my eyes are bad - you take a look. Chico takes the binoculars and looks at the room across the street. Binocular shot as before. The girl is in her underwear, tearing out of the room into the hall, pursued by Harpo. Chico is still looking through the binoculars. GROUCHO You're right about that guy -- I think we've got something. CHICO I don't know about us, but I know he's-a got something... CUT TO the front of the building occupied by the beautiful girl. She comes dashing madly out of the door and starts down the street, clad only in her underwear. Harpo appears in doorway, riding his motorcycle and starts down the street after her. FADE OUT END OF SEQUENCE "D" SEQUENCE "E" FADE IN to living room of Mrs. Teasdale's home... It is a smartly appointed room. Its main feature for our purposes is a winding stairway leading to bedrooms above. In the absence of Mrs. Teasdale, Vera is seated by fireplace while Ambassador Trentino is excitedly pacing up and down... TRENTINO This is all Firefly's fault -- that idiot, that fool... VERA I thought everything was working out fine. TRENTINO Fine nothing! I didn't want war... My plan was to marry Mrs. Teasdale and overthrow Firefly. VERA Maybe you can still win the old dame over -- why not try to -- At this point Trentino sees Mrs. Teasdale coming downstairs and hushes Vera with a nudge. MRS. TEASDALE (As she descends stairs) I'm so sorry I've kept you waiting... Trentino walks over to meet her. TRENTINO (Taking her hand) Mrs. Teasdale... (Kisses her hand) I deeply regret the unfortunate affair with his Excellency, but his attitude left me no alternative... MRS. TEASDALE (Emotionally) To think that this should happen after all these years of friendship. VERA Maybe the war can still be averted... MRS. TEASDALE (Hopefully) Oh, if only it could... TRENTINO Mrs. Teasdale, I'm willing to pocket my pride and do anything I can to make up with his Excellency. MRS. TEASDALE (Solicitously) Oh, would you...? TRENTINO For you, I would do anything... (Bowing graciously) VERA If only we can get his Excellency to listen to reason... TRENTINO (To Mrs. Teasdale) Perhaps he will listen to you... MRS. TEASDALE Perhaps... I'll call him... She goes the phone... as she starts to dial the number there is a quick CUT to Trentino and Vera who are exchanging significant looks... CUT BACK to Mrs. Teasdale at phone... MRS. TEASDALE (Talking into phone) Hello, your Excellency?... I hate to disturb you -- I know you're a very busy man, but I must see you at once. CUT TO Groucho at other end of telephone... He is lying in bed, in his flannel nightgown, eating crackers... the bed is strewn with cracker boxes and crackers... GROUCHO (Into phone) Why not come over here? -- You can come in the back way and no one'll see you... CUT BACK to Mrs. Teasdale at phone. MRS. TEASDALE (Into phone) But your Excellency, you must -- oh thank you -- please hurry... (She hangs up phone... and walks over to her guests) He'll be right over... CUT TO corner of room (Mrs. Teasdale's living room), disclosing for the first time the fireman's pole... Groucho comes sliding down the pole in his nightgown, with a long box of crackers under his arm... stops about three feet from the floor, looks around the room and sees Trentino. GROUCHO (Hanging on to pole -- addressing Trentino) If I knew you were here I would've brought some cheese... He shoots right up the pole again out of sight. Hold CAMERA on this shot for an instant... Groucho comes sliding down again... this time he is fully dressed, including his high hat and the cigar in s mouth... He walks over to Trentino belligerently, and deposits his hat on table on the way. GROUCHO (To Trentino) So -- you've come to ask for clemency! I'll give the enemy no quarter -- not a dime... MRS. TEASDALE But Your Excellency -- the Ambassador is here on a friendly visit... He came to ask you to patch up the breach. GROUCHO Let him patch up his own breeches... TRENTINO (To Groucho -- ignoring Groucho's remark) I'm sorry we lost our tempers... I'm willing to forget if you are. GROUCHO Forget? (Like an injured woman) You ask me to forget... Why, my ancestors would rise from their graves... and I'd only have to bury them again... A Firefly never forgets... TRENTINO I am willing to apologize... I'm willing to do anything to prevent this war. GROUCHO Nothing doing!! I've taken a lease on the battlefield. I'd lose my deposit, besides, I've already ordered the ammunition... VERA (Putting her arms around Groucho) Oh, Your Excellency, isn't there something I can do? GROUCHO Yes, but I'll talk to you about that when we're alone... MRS. TEASDALE (Coming to Groucho) Oh, won't you reconsider... GROUCHO (Relenting) Well, maybe I am a little headstrong... But, you know, it's awfully hard to forget what he called me. (Indicating Trentino) TRENTINO What I called you... Why, what did I call you? GROUCHO I don't remember. TRENTINO (With a little chuckle) Oh -- you mean... worm? GROUCHO (Smiling coyly) No, that wasn't it... TRENTINO Was it -- swine? GROUCHO (Same attitude as above) No... it was a seven letter word. TRENTINO (Thinking, then with a broad smile) Oh yes! -- UPSTART! GROUCHO That's it... Takes gloves from Trentino's breast pocket and socks him across the face... and puts them in his own breast pocket. Trentino becomes apoplectic TRENTINO (Spluttering and stuttering) Why - er - Mrs. Teasdale - this is an outrage! This man is impossible... My course is clear... this means war... (Turns to go and turns and yells to Groucho) You RUNT! GROUCHO I still like UPSTART the best. Trentino exits in a rage. Vera pretends that she is overcome by the scene VERA (Putting her hand to her brow) Oh, this is dreadful! If you'll excuse me I'll go to my room... She exits toward stairway MRS. TEASDALE (Excited - almost hysterical) Yes, it's awful! (To Groucho) Are you sure you did the right thing? GROUCHO Of course. Who ever heard of calling off a war after ordering all the ammunition? By this tine Vera has descended the stairs and exited from scene. Groucho looks around the room furtively to make sure he is not being observed and takes a large envelope from his inside pocket. GROUCHO The plans of war are in this envelope. I want you to take care of them -- no one will ever suspect you. He hands papers to her CUT TO Vera lingering on stairs looking down on the scene below. Having heard the conversation, she exits from scene, and we CUT down stairs to Groucho and Mrs. Teasdale. GROUCHO Guard them with your life... don't leave them out of your sight... If the enemy gets those papers we're lost. If they don't get them, we're lost. Can't you see what I'm trying to tell you? I love you... Mrs. Teasdale, you're the salt of the earth. They don't come any better than you... MRS. TEASDALE (Modestly, with a bashful lowering of her eyes) Now -- er -- GROUCHO Well -- they might come better but they don't come any bigger... and the bigger the better. The bigger the betta you've got on a horse, the more you lose, and speaking about horses, why don't you marry me. Come, come -- say yes and you'll never see me again. I'll go 'way if it means your happiness... MRS. TEASDALE Oh, your Excellency, you take me off my feet. Groucho puts his arms around her and tries unsuccessfully to lift her off her feet. GROUCHO (Angrily) Swell chance I've got taking you off your feet... Mrs. Teasdale sinks down into a chair; without hesitation, Groucho slides into her lap and continues his passionate love making. GROUCHO Gloria -- may I call you Gloria? MRS. TEASDALE Why -- why -- of course. GROUCHO You can call me Gloria too. Gloria -- what a beautiful name. When I was born my mother named me Gloria -- two minutes later she found out her mistake... CUT TO door as Bob enters. He moves in the direction of Groucho and Mrs. Teasdale. BOB (Coming into scene) Father... GROUCHO (Looks up and sees Bob... without being a bit disturbed... remains on her lap) Take a letter... Bob takes out pad and pencil. BOB Who to? GROUCHO None of your business... Take another letter. Groucho rises to his feet and paces the floor in the manner of a studious business man with his hands behind his back... then starts to dictate as Bob writes on his pad. GROUCHO Eureka Ammunition Company -- Gentlemen -- Your shipment of sailor hats arrived this morning by freight -- (Turns to Mrs. Teasdale) Gloria, I could go for you in a big way -- (turns to Bob) However, the rifles you sent were a little rusty -- (Then to Mrs. Teasdale) -- and I don't say that to everybody -- (Now to Bob) Have not received last month's drawing account. How come? (To Mrs. Teasdale) Your neck is like a swan... Yours very truly. Now read it back. (Dashes back to Mrs. Teasdale's lap) BOB (Reading from pad) Eureka Ammunition Company, Gentlemen. Your shipment of sailor hats arrived this morning by freight. Gloria, I could go for you in a big way. However, the rifles you sent were a little rusty and I don't say that to everybody. Have not received last month's drawing account; how come your neck is like a swan. Yours very truly... GROUCHO (Rising to his feet) They'll know I mean business then they get that letter... see that that gets out immediately and that goes for you too. BOB Yes, sir. (Exits from scene) GROUCHO (Turning to Mrs. Teasdale) Gloria, much as I hate to leave, I'd be crazy to stay here. MRS. TEASDALE Well, if you must go -- She picks up Groucho's hat and hands it to him. He removes a white rabbit from hat and gives it to her. He is about to put the hat on his head when something in the hat attracts his attention. He empties six baby rabbits out of the hat onto the table; puts his hat on and exits. CUT TO outside of house just as Harpo is pulling up to the curb in his motorcycle and sidecar. Groucho comes out of house and walks directly to motorcycle. GROUCHO (To Harpo) I'm not taking any more chances. You sit in the sidecar... Harpo gets off seat and sits in sidecar. Groucho sits on driver's seat. The sound of the motor is heard and Harpo drives off in the sidecar, leaving Groucho on the motorcycle. FADE OUT END OF SEQUENCE "E" SEQUENCE "F" FADE INTO Insert of program GEMS FROM THE OPERAS PREMIER DANSEUSE VERA TRENTINO DISSOLVE - Through program to stage of opera house - company singing aria from some well-known opera. CUT TO orchestra box nearest proscenium arch. Harpo and Chico are there fast asleep leaning on each other. They are dressed in Inverness capes - wearing their high hats. Chico has a red band across his shirt-front on which is embossed "Secretary of War" in gold letters. An usher enters box with two people in the background. USHER (To Chico and Harpo) I'm sorry gentlemen - but you have the wrong seats. CHICO (Awakening) That's all right. We're not enjoying ourselves anyway. USHER You belong in that box over there - (Pointing to vacant box on opposite side of house - orchestra box) CHICO (To Harpo) Come on -- They both step out of box, onto stage and stroll casually across as singing is going on. Part of the way across, Harpo and Chico react to the singing of a very high note -- it's practically in Harpo's ear. He stops -- makes a terrible face -- takes out ear-muffs, puts them on his ears and he and Chico continue toward the box -- CUT TO other box -- the one that Chico and Harpo are headed for. Mrs. Teasdale and guests are being ushered in... Chico and Harpo come into scene, arriving at box. Chico steps into box from stage. Harpo is about to follow when he spies a pretty girl in box above. He starts climbing up the proscenium arch to upper box -- the girl sees him, screams and dashes out of box. Harpo completes climb into box -- at this point the singing has just finished and applause breaks out. Harpo acknowledges the applause as if it was in appreciation of his climb -- after a few quick bows he starts out of the box after the girl. As he is running out of box into the foyer he bumps into Ambassador Trentino. TRENTINO (Stopping him) Wait a minute... Mrs. Teasdale is in the box below. The plans of war are in her purse -- you've got to get them -- I don't care how, but get them -- and when you do, bring them to 492 North Myrtle Road -- you'd better write that down. Harpo takes out a pencil with heavy lead and writes the address on the white and purple-edged silk band which is across Trentino's shirt bosom. Then he pushes Trentino's coat aside and from under his vest pulls the ribbon in the manner of a ticker tape -- tears it off -- and starts back to box. CUT TO LOWER BOX MRS. TEASDALE I wonder what's keeping His Excellency? CHICO Never mind His Excellency -- you gotta your pocketbook? MRS. TEASDALE Yes -- why? CHICO I wanna powder my nose... Mrs. Teasdale laughs good-naturedly and puts the purse behind her between her back and the back of the chair... as we go to stage where the shooting of the apple in "William Tell" is being enacted. William Tell is just placing the apple on his son's head -- he turns his back on his son and walks toward opposite side of stage with bow and arrow. CUT TO UPPER BOX Harpo takes a look at apple on the boy's head -- reaches down in box and comes up with a bow and arrow. He takes a good aim and lets the arrow fly... It hits its mark and the apple falls to the ground. William Tell, having arrived at spot from which he's going to shoot, turns to take aim and sees that the apple is gone. He picks up another, at the base of an apple tree and starts in direction of his son. CUT TO Harpo, who is watching William Tell. He reaches down into box and brings up another arrow -- takes aim and lets arrow fly. Again it hits its mark and the apple falls to ground. William Tell, reaching his place, turns to take aim and is bewildered at the sight of the second missing apple. The tree is bare and there are no more apples around. A whistle is heard coming over scene. William Tell turns in direction of the whistle and we CUT TO Harpo whistling with his fingers in his mouth. Reaching down into the box, he brings up a bag of apples and dumps all the apples onto the stage. CUT TO: Lower box. MRS. TEASDALE (Anxiously) If his Excellency doesn't get here soon, he'll miss the whole performance. CHICO He's-a not missing anything. He's in the dressing room with Vera Trentino. (Winks at her) MRS. TEASDALE (Jealously) In her dressing room? Why, what could he be doing there? CHICO He could be playing solitaire, but I don't think so. She jumps as if she's been goosed, and gives Chico an indignant look as he withdraws his hand from her back. MRS. TEASDALE What's the matter with you? CHICO What's the matter with you? MRS. TEASDALE You haven't been still a moment since you've been here. You act as if you had neurosis -- CHICO I no gotta new-rosis. My uncle he's- a got a flower shop -- he's-a gotta new-rosis. Mrs. Teasdale looks at him disdainfully, turns to look at stage, and jumps again. She and Chico turn to look at each other. She, of course, is indignant, while Chico smiles -- his hand is coming from behind her. She takes the purse from its hiding place and places it on the ledge of the box out of Chico's reach. CUT TO: Ballet dancers' dressing room. The CAMERA PANS along, showing several of the ballet dancers limbered up by other dancers. This is done as follows: - a girl stands against the wall on one leg while another girl raises the other leg up and down. The CAMERA passes three or four of the girls and comes to a stop on Vera and Groucho -- the latter is stretching her leg in the same manner. VERA (With exaggerated romance) I shall dance for you tonight as I've never danced before. GROUCHO This is a fine thing to be doing at my age. VERA Are you getting tired? GROUCHO (Still working leg) Not at all. When I was a boy back on the farm I used to pump my own water. CUT TO shot taking in the stage and Harpo. Harpo is in the foreground. On the stage is our hero and his valet. VALET (Singing to hero) Your love is waiting for you, my lord... HERO Fetch my hat - my hat - my hat -- Harpo tosses him a large hat - possibly a fireman's hat. HERO (Continuing singing) Fetch my boots -- (Harpo throws boots on stage Hero continues) Bring me my sword -- (Harpo throws a sword on stage --) Hero continues his song while Harpo litters the stage with various articles - a saddle - a chair, etc... CUT TO box below - Chico is trying to reach for pocketbook on ledge but can't get it. He whistles up to Harpo. Harpo looks down and Chico pantomimes to him to get the pocketbook, pointing to it. The singing stops and aplause follows -- the orchestra starts a selection -- which continues through following routine without any singing. CUT TO box above. Harpo takes out a fishing pole with a reel on it -- he unwinds reel and the line descends near box below and lands in a man's hair -- the man occupies an aisle seat in the orchestra -- near Teasdale box. CUT TO Harpo reeling in. CUT TO man on aisle seat -- The hook has caught onto his toupe and its being pulled off his head. CUT TO Harpo reeling in with great satisfaction in the belief that he has the purse -- on the end of the line comes the toupe. Harpo, astonished, looks down on the victim who, minus the toupe, now displays a shiny bald pate. Harpo takes out his fountain pen and releases gadget. The ink pours down on the bald spot of the man below and spreads into the form of a toupe parted in the middle. CUT BACK to Harpo - he places the toupe on the bare back side of a figure of Cupid carved on the arch. He is now suddenly attracted by something on the stage -- it is a pool with a practical fountain in its center. Harpo digs into a decorative flower box set in a groove in the proscenium arch. He brings out a real live worm and baits his hook -- stands up and casts... the line swishes through the air and the hook lands in the pool on the stage. The line instantly tightens and a large carp fish is yanked out of the pool... as the line is drawn in the fish nearly hits Mrs. Teasdale. She covers her face with her hands. Chico takes advantage of her action, grabs the line, removes the fish, and puts hook on handle of purse... then signals Harpo with a whistle and in the manner of a construction foreman, motions to him to start "hoisting". The line becomes taut and the purse is yanked out of view. Mrs. Teasdale uncovers her face and discovers that the purse is missing. MRS. TEASDALE (Hysterically) My purse -- my purse is gone! There is a buzz of excitement among the rest of the guests as they help Mrs. Teasdale look for the purse. Chico joins in the search. He grabs an elderly dignified man in the party, throws back his coat and starts to frisk him. CHICO He no got it --- As he turns to frisk another man, Mrs. Teasdale says MRS. TEASDALE This is dreadful -- I must see His Excellency at once --- (She exits from box) CUT TO ballet dancers' dressing room, where we find Groucho still pumping away on Vera Trentino's leg --- VERA Are you sure you're not tired? GROUCHO Tired! I'd like to stretch this into a week - Mrs. Teasdale enters the scene. The sight shocks her but she recovers herself sufficiently to hide the embarrassment. MRS. TEASDALE I hope I'm not interrupting. GROUCHO (Still pumping - looks over his shoulder at Mrs. Teasdale) Take a seat -- you're next. (He lets go of Vera's leg - and she exits) MRS. TEASDALE Your Excellency, something terrible has just happened. GROUCHO That's all right. I'll fix you right up. Grabs her ankle and starts to lift her leg - she gets away from him. MRS. TEASDALE My purse has been stolen -- the plans of war are in it. GROUCHO (Shouts) WHAT ? Walks up and down puffing furiously on his cigar MRS. TEASDALE I -- I may be wrong, but I suspect the Secretary of War. GROUCHO (Still pacing wildly) Don't bother me - I'm thinking -- What was that? MRS. TEASDALE I said - I suspect the Secretary of War. GROUCHO (Stopping dead in his tracks) THIS IS TREASON!! (Strikes a pose - raising his clenched hands; then to Mrs. Teasdale scornfully) What a fool I was to listen to your siren song and fall a helpless victim under the insidious spell of your irresistible charms -- MRS. TEASDALE But - GROUCHO (Paying no attention) You satisfied your selfish whims, while nations tottered, dynasties rocked and the world plunged headlong into a chasm of chaos and oblivion -- (Throws her an arch look) Not bad, eh? Starts for door CUT TO - Stage showing about eight bars of Vera Trentino's solo dance. PAN to lower box - Mrs. Teasdale's guests are gone but Chico and Harpo are there -- Chico is examining plans of war. CHICO This is-a fine - you do a good job - you make-a no trouble and you waste- a no time. Come on, we take-a the plans to the Ambassador. You gotta the address? Harpo opens coat and across his shirt front is the ribbon with "462 North Myrtle Road" on it -- the door of the box flies open and Groucho bounds in GROUCHO Hands up! Harpo and Chico throw their hands up and wheel around CHICO (Smiling) You no gotta no gun. GROUCHO Who said I had a gun... Gimme those plans, you paper snatchers -- He makes a grab at Chico -- Chico passes the plans to Harpo - Groucho goes after Harpo - the latter leans away over ledge of box and holds the plans out over the stage. As Groucho is trying to reach for the plans, Vera dances into scene, makes a graceful pirouette and with her outstretched hands takes the plans from Harpo. As she dances away she deposits the plans in her bodice... Vera's male dancing partner enters from the wings, walks out about four feet - stops and strikes a pose with uplifted hand. Vera is dancing on the opposite side with her back turned. CUT TO Groucho back stage - he sees the dancing partner - pulls a lever on switchboard marked "TRAP DOOR" - CUT TO stage as the dancer disappears through floor. CUT TO shot of Vera - preparing to turn to join her partner - she reacts as she sees -- CUT TO Groucho standing on her partner's former spot holding the same pose ... CUT TO full stage shot. Groucho and Vera are dancing together. During the dance Groucho tries to get the paper. He bends her way over in an effort to make the paper drop out of her bodice. Harpo and Chico, watching the struggle, quickly tear off their capes and coats and leap from the box on to stage in their shirts. This develops into a four-cornered adagio dance. She hands the papers to Harpo over Groucho's shoulder as she dances with him... Groucho rushes to Harpo and they do a twirl together. Harpo hands the paper to Chico over Groucho's shoulder. Groucho rushes at Chico and twirls with him - Chico in trying to pass the papers to Vera drops them on the floor. They all make a dive for them. Groucho gets the papers and dashes with them to the lower box just as Mrs. Teasdale enters same. The following is a close shot of Groucho and Mrs. Teasdale. The latter standing on stage right by the box. GROUCHO (Handing paper to Mrs. Teasdale) Here -- put these plans where no one will ever find them - sleep on them. CUT TO - Dressing room just a Vera, Chico and Harpo enter. VERA (Apologetically) I'm sorry boys -- I did my best -- it's all my fault. CHICO It's not-a your fault. It's-a his fault -- (Indicating Harpo; then to Harpo accusingly) I fix it for you to getta the plans -- you getta the plans -- then you losa- a the plans -- now we no gotta the plans of war... Harpo lifts up his shirt and tattooed upon him is the reproduction of the war plans... FADE OUT END OF SEQUENCE "F" SEQUENCE "G" FADE IN - Mrs. Teasdale's living room. Night. Subdued light. We begin with an EXTREME CLOSE CLOSE SHOT of a hand depositing the plans of war in a vault. This vault is about the height of a man, the door flush with wall. The CAMERA TRUCKS back and discloses that the one depositing the papers is Mrs. Teasdale -- she is in negligee. She closes the vault door, pulls a cord, closing a pair of drapes which hide the vault. The CAMERA PANS to the balcony above where Vera Trentino, also in negligee, is watching the action in the living room below. She tiptoes quietly from the scene. Downstairs, Mrs. Teasdale turns out the center table light and moves toward the stairway. CUT TO Vera Trentino's bedroom. Vera comes toward window, raises it quietly and waves a handkerchief, evidently signalling somebody below. CUT TO EXTERIOR of house. Chico and Harpo are waving back to signify that they have caught the signal. The boys try to raise the window which is located next to the main entrance, but it is locked and they can't budge it. CHICO (Peeved) It's all your fault. Now we gotta steal the plans again -- You had 'em on you... you take a bath... and now we no gotta plans of war. They try the window again and find it hopeless CHICO (To Harpo) You wait here -- I'll let you in. Chico walks right in through the door, closes it behind him and then appears at the window. He raises it from the inside and Harpo climbs in through the window and joins Chico. CUT TO INSIDE. They are walking cautiously across the room when they hear the following coming over scene -- "Psst... Psst..." They stop and look around, trying to locate the source of the sound. We CUT TO the balcony and see Vera Trentino, still dressed in her negligee. Once more she tries to attract them. VERA Psst... The boys look up and see her. VERA (In a half whisper - mysteriously) In the safe -- behind the drapes -- (Pointing in the direction of the safe) CHICO (Also in a half whisper) All right -- I'll meet you behind the drapes. VERA (In a half whisper) No, no -- I mean the plans are in the safe. (Pointing to safe again) Harpo hasn't taken his eyes off of Vera during all this, makes a sudden dash for her, as she turns to her room. Chico stops him on the second or third step of the stairs. CHICO Come on, we gotta no time for that. Chico goes over to the safe and draws the curtains, disclosing safe. Harpo follows and takes from his back pocket a rather large electrical drill with a cord and plug attached to it. Chico takes the cord and plugs it into the wall socket. Harpo starts to drill the safe door, making a terrific noise -- the usual reaping whir-r-r of an electric drill. Chico grabs his hand and stops him from drilling. CHICO Wait a minute... we make too much noise... Turn on the radio so they can't hear what we're doing. Harpo goes over to radio and turns it on... a dance tune comes over the air. Harpo grabs Chico and whirls him around as if he were dancing with a dame... CHICO (Jerking himself away from Harpo) What's-a matter, you crazy... ? Chico goes to radio and adjusts dial to another station... the following comes over the air... RADIO POLICE ANNOUNCER Calling car 125... car 125... go to vacant lot at Tenth and Elm... a woman walking around in her nightgown --- Harpo drops the drill and makes a wild dash for door obviously to go to the woman... Chico stops him. CHICO Come on, we gotta finish the job... RADIO POLICE ANNOUNCER Calling car 67-W... car 67-W... go to Mrs. Teasdale's residence... burglars are attempting to break in. Chico rushes to phone... and dials... This shot excludes Harpo. CHICO (Into phone -- after slight pause) Hello -- Police department... ? That fellow's crazy... we're in the house already... Chico turns to listen to the next announcement - hanging onto receiver. RADIO ANNOUNCER The Teasdale residence is located at 232 Poloma Drive... CHICO (Into phone) You'll never find us, you gotta the wrong address... we're at 235 Poloma Drive... not 232... Look, it's a white house with a shingle roof -- shingle -- shingle -- (and sings to illustrate) Shingle bells, shingle bells, shingle all the way... (Stops singing) That's it, you got it... Hurry up, if no get-a here soon, we can't wait... Hangs up... looks around for Harpo, who is not there... CHICO Hey, Skippy... (Puts his fingers to mouth and whistles.) CUT TO Vera's bedroom. It is a CLOSE SHOT showing Vera in bed, shot from side of bed. She is under the bedcovers desperately trying to keep them from being pulled off her... TRUCK back disclosing Harpo on the other end of the bedcovers, trying to pull them off her... for a moment following, a tug of war goes on, Harpo pulling the covers about a foot his way and Vera pulling them back... The sound of Chico's second whistle coming over scene attracts Harpo, who lets go of the covers and runs out of the room. We pick him up outside of the room on balcony. Without hesitation he slides down the bannisters to join Chico who is waiting at foot of stairs. CHICO (Exasperated) Hey, you never get the safe open that way. (Looking up at Vera's room) We gotta try the combination... You gotta the combination? Harpo nods and takes from under his coat a woman's silk combination... winks and looks back in the direction of Vera's room... Chico snatches it out of his hand and throws it away. During above Mrs. Teasdale has come out on balcony, sees the boys but can't distinguish them in the room which is practically in darkness except for a few splotches of moonlight. She runs back into her room... CUT TO Mrs. Teasdale's room... she is at telephone dialing a number... MRS. TEASDALE (After a slight nervous pause) Hello? Your Excellency? There are burglars in the house... I want you to come right over. CUT TO Groucho's bedroom. He is at the other end of the phone in bed. GROUCHO (Into phone) You come over here. There are no burglars in my house. CUT BACK to Mrs. Teasdale at phone. MRS. TEASDALE (Into phone) But Your Excellency, you must -- I tell you there are burglars here... Oh, thank you... Please hurry... CUT TO Chico and Harpo in living room below at safe. Harpo has just finished putting a stick of dynamite in the door of safe... CHICO Light it... Now we blow him up... Harpo strikes a match, but Chico stops him from lighting it. CHICO Wait a minute... we gotta fix it so it don't make-a so much noise... What-a we do? Harpo takes out a large wad of cotton, tears it, hands two pieces to Chico... they both stuff their ears with large pieces. CHICO That's fine... Now, nobody hear the noise. Harpo lights fuse... each stands on either side of safe door waiting for the explosion... after a slight pause, there is a terrific blast of sound... and the screen is masked with smoke. The smoke clears away and the safe door falls to the floor. Groucho walks out of the safe putting the plans of war in his inside pocket... After a few steps he stops and addresses the boys... GROUCHO That woman is crazy... there are no burglars around here... FADE OUT END OF SEQUENCE "G" SEQUENCE "H" FADE IN - to insert of newspaper which comes from background to CAMERA. A screaming headline reads: WAR DECLARED!! This insert goes past the CAMERA as another newspaper comes from the background. The headline reads: - "ENEMY APPROACHING CAPITOL" DISSOLVE to Groucho's office. Groucho is standing in front of his desk reading a newspaper, which is spread over his desk. The headline is the same as in the second insert - "ENEMY APPROACHING CAPITOL" Harpo is standing at the other side of the desk. GROUCHO (Pounding his desk) They're coming... (He recites the following command to Harpo) Ride through every village and town wake every citizen up hill and down tell them the enemy comes from afar with a hey-nonny-nonny and a ha-cha- char CAMERA TRUCKS back disclosing a real horse beside Harpo. GROUCHO There'll be two lamps in the steeple if they're coming by land and one lamp if they're coming by sea. He and Harpo go to the window and look out. CUT TO SHOT of a steeple with three lighted lamps - CUT BACK to Groucho and Harpo GROUCHO They double-crossed me... they're coming by land and sea -- Be off, my lad! With a grand gesture, Groucho exits out of scene. Harpo grips pommel of the saddle with both hands and in his attempt to make a flying mount, vaults clear over the horse landing on the other side. He lets down a rope ladder from under the saddle, climbs the ladder, mounts the horse and starts off. DISSOLVE to CLOSE UP of Harpo riding at breakneck speed. As he looks grimly ahead he reaches down out of scene and brings up a three-cornered colonial hat and puts it on his head. DISSOLVE to a Moving Insert - Harpo bringing the horse to a stop in front of a farm house. He blows a blast on a regular army bugle... immediately a few old men rush out of the house in their nightgowns, carrying guns, and into the scene from all directions rush other men, answering the call, similarly attired. Harpo starts his horse and we DISSOLVE to him pulling up to another farm house. This house has a single door on the extreme end of it and a very large French window covering almost the rest of the house. Harpo stops and sounds the bugle call. This time there is no answer to his call. He waits a second, then turns his horse in the direction of the house and rides through the single door. After a short pause, the doors of the French window fly open and the horse runs out pulling a double bed which is on wheels. Harpo is standing at the foot of the bed, braced against the bedpost, holding the reins. There is an old couple, man and woman, fast asleep in the bed - (This couple might be the blase gentleman and young wife used by Peter Arno in his cartoons.) After riding a few feet Harpo leaps from the bed onto the horse's back and rides off leaving the bed and its occupants on the road. DISSOLVE to Harpo pulling up to another farm house. He stops, sounds his bugle. A very pretty young girl, in her night clothes pokes her head out of the second story window. Harpo takes a good look at her, leaps off his horse and dashes into the house. A moment later he comes out of the house with a feed bag and puts it on the horse's head.... then he dashes back into the house again. Almost instantly he comes tearing out of the house, followed by an old geezer in his nightgown, who is chasing him, with rifle in hand... He fires a few shots - DISSOLVE: END OF SEQUENCE "H" SEQUENCE "J" DISSOLVE through the shooting of previous scene to STOCK SHOT of artillery fire on battle field - a profile SHOT with all the activity of an actual battle, but without an indication of falling men. DISSOLVE from this to interior of Groucho's headquarters behind the front - a wooden shack. The sound of a distant booming of guns is heard over this scene. On the wall is a large war map with colored thumb tacks indicating the positions of Groucho's men and the enemy. Groucho, in the uniform of a Confederate General, (a Robert E. Lee make-up), is studying the war map with a few of his Generals. GROUCHO (Looking at a tack in a distant sector) Either there's a fly in the room or we've got a soldier in Africa. The door flies open and Bob, in a snappy uniform, enters excitedly and breathlessly. He faces Groucho with a quick salute and a click of the heels. BOB (Taking a dispatch from under his belt) A dispatch from the front, sir. Groucho snatches the dispatch from Bob's hand, tears it open -- reads it quickly -- claps his hand to his brow and staggers. The generals crowd about him. A GENERAL (Solicitously) Bad news, sir? GROUCHO Bad news -- its disastrous! A FEW GENERALS (Simultaneously) What is it? GROUCHO (Reading from dispatch) Private Moscowitz quits! (Groucho rushes to radio operator) GROUCHO Clear all wires... (The operator works key) GROUCHO The enemy has taken Hill 25, throwing twelve Hill-billies out of work... Our front is exposed to the enemy -- we'll have to bring up the rear... (Turning away, then turning back to Generals and continuing) P.S. Have misplaced flag of truce... look in upper lefthand drawer of my bureau... The whining of an approaching shell is heard and a shell about three feet long comes sailing through the open window, speeds through the room and tears through the opposite wall, leaving a clean-cut hole. Groucho rushes to window and closes it. CUT TO: SHOT of No Man's Land, with shells exploding in all directions. We see a head slowly appearing over the edge of shell-hole, looking through spy-glasses. It is Harpo... CUT TO: Inside of shell hole... Harpo registers that he has seen something of startling interest. He drops the glasses, scrambles out of shell-hole and runs out of scene. He rushes to his waiting motorcycle (without the side-car). The staff with the flag flying from it is attached to the handle-bars. He leaps onto the motorcycle seat and starts off. CUT TO: A war nurse, attracted by the roar of the motorcycle. She looks back, sees Harpo approaching and breaks into a run. As he closes in on her, she jumps into a trench to escape him. Harpo rides on a little further to the entrance of the trench and turns in, to continue his pursuit. A TRUCKING SHOT shows only the flag and staff, tearing along above the surface, with the accompanying roar of the motorcycle which is hidden from view. As it speeds along, soldiers are leaping up out of the trenches on every side to avoid being run down. This continues doing a zig-zag with abrupt turns... CUT BACK TO: Groucho's headquarters. Groucho is discovered there alone, stropping his sword on a razor strap attached to his desk. Chico enters... goes to time-clock on wall, puts his workman's card in it and punches it. Groucho, attracted by the bell of the time-clock, stops stropping and walks over to Chico, with sword in hand. GROUCHO Late again, eh? You haven't been on time once since this war started... (Puts sword in sheath) Get out there and fight... (Pointing commandingly in direction of battle field) CHICO I can't do it... GROUCHO (Surprised) Why not? You're the Secretary of War, aren't you? CHICO Yes, but I'm not working for you any more. I'm on the other side. GROUCHO (Like a surprised child) Is that so? I used to think you were two-faced - but you can't be - or you wouldn't be wearing that one. Now - let's talk this thing over. Groucho sits down at desk and Chico pulls up another chair and sits at opposite side of desk facing Groucho GROUCHO (Blowing out a puff of smoke) Now -- how many men you got in your army? CHICO Well, we gotta one hundred thousand men. GROUCHO That's not fair -- we've only got fifty thousand. CHICO That's all right. We let you have twenty-five thousand men -- and we both start even. GROUCHO (Enthusiastically) That's the spirit -- fifty-fifty. CHICO No. Seventy-five -- seventy-five. GROUCHO Well, we'll let that one go. Now -- how many battalions you got? CHICO We gotta two battalions and one Frenchman. GROUCHO I wish you were still working for me, so I could ask you to resign. How're ya fixed for cavalry? CHICO I've gotta five thousand men but no horses. GROUCHO That's funny, we've got five thousand horses but no men. CHICO That's all right -- our men can ride your horses. GROUCHO Not a bad idea. If our horses get tired they can ride your men for a change. (Chico nods agreeingly) Now, I don't mind letting you have our horses, but you must promise to put them through their maneuvers. CHICO Oh, sure. We have horse maneuvers every morning. At this point, an unusually large shell comes crashing from above, imbedding itself, point down, in the floor without exploding. Groucho and Chico rush over to look at it. GROUCHO (Looking at shell) Acme Ammunition Company, eh? How do you expect to win the war with shells that don't go off? Now, if you were buying your stuff from me, you wouldn't have that trouble. Eureka Ammunition is guaranteed to explode -- or your money back. Let me show you some samples. Groucho opens door and yells to some one outside GROUCHO Bring in No. 47, line 8. Harpo enters, bent forward, tugging at a rope which tightens over his shoulder, in the manner of a Volga Boatman... at the end of the rope is a cannon, on two wheels GROUCHO (Pointing to gun) That's our latest number... our sixteen-inch Horowitz gun. (To Harpo) Load it up. Harpo pours a great quantity of powder into the cannon, then to make sure he has enough, he lights a match and looks into the hole. Groucho takes the lighted match from Harpo. He lights his own cigar, hands the match back to Harpo. Harpo pours in a little more powder, makes sure he has enough, then proceeds to ram the powder in the barrel with his horn. He rises and moves to wall toward which the cannon is pointed. He draws a target on the wall with a piece of chalk -- goes back to cannon. He picks up the firing string, and faces the target toward which the cannon is pointing. Chico puts his fingers into his ears. Groucho picks up a pencil from desk - taps it on desk - then raises both hands, in the manner of an orchestra leader. He holds this pose for a second - and on the down beat, Harpo jerks the string and there is a terrific explosion. The cannon fires out the back end instead of the front and blows a hole through the back wall. The two stare off in the direction of the hole. Groucho turns to Chico. GROUCHO With a gun like that you can kill some of your own men. CHICO That's-a pretty good. I'll take a dozen of them. GROUCHO Anything else? (Writing order on pad) CHICO (Mentally figuring) Yes, one gross of bullets, two dozen hand-grenades, three kegs of powder -- and throw in some matches. GROUCHO (Writing) Fine. We'll throw in the matches before we make the delivery. By the way, how're you fixed for spys? CHICO Fine. We gotta him. (He indicates Harpo) GROUCHO So! -- He's on your side, too. CHICO Sure. GROUCHO Well, with you two fellows on the other side, this country should have no trouble keeping the wolf from the door. Harpo opens the door and discloses a dozen or more snarling wolves at the door. CUT TO - INTERIOR enemy headquarters. The booming of distant guns comes over the scene. Trentino is there with a Sylvanian general. GENERAL Something must be done immediately. The soldiers are getting discouraged. TRENTINO There's only one thing to do... we must capture Firefly. GENERAL But how? It's a very dangerous undertaking. TRENTINO (Standing near widow) Ask for volunteers. Some one must make the sacrifice -- someone -- (Stops to gaze out of window attracted by off scene roar of motor) Here comes Chicolini. Maybe he'll do it. (Walks away from window) Unless we can make Firefly our prisoner, we're lost. Chico enters. Trentino rushes over to him TRENTINO Chicolini, you've come just in time. We need a man who's fearless, brave. A man who's willing to die, if necessary. CHICO All right -- I'll go out and find one. TRENTINO Firefly must be captured at any cost. CHICO That's easy, I'll get him for you wholesale. TRENTINO It must be done right away. CHICO I can't do it right away. GENERAL Why not? CHICO I got a date with a General's wife. GENERAL Isn't that a little dangerous? CHICO (To General) Not unless you find it out. CUT TO: Interior of Groucho's headquarters. Groucho is on his feet addressing five or six generals, who are seated. Zeppo is at the desk writing the minutes of the meeting. GROUCHO Boys, I hate to do this, but if you generals want this war to continue you'll have to take a cut -- Bursting of a shell is heard right outside of shack. Groucho rushes to the window, opens it, fires a shot from his revolver through the window, hurriedly shuts it, then rushes back to Generals GROUCHO We can't afford to pay the money we've been paying. Now I don't want to lay anybody off. My motto in this war is: - "Live and let live". The bursting of another shell is heard right outside of shack. Groucho rushes to the window, opens it, turns his back to window, takes out a pocket mirror, holds it up in front of him and shoots over his shoulder out of window, taking his aim from the reflection in the mirror, like a trick marksman. As Groucho walks away from window, he hears another explosion outside. He rushes back to the window, takes a package of small firecrackers out of his pocket, detaches one of the firecrackers, lights it from his cigar and throws it out of the window. A very small explosion is heard. Groucho hurriedly shuts the window and rushes back to the generals, as we - CUT TO: THE OUTSIDE - A LONG SHOT of a dirigible (miniature) -- then we go to a CLOSE UP of the dirigible. On the bag, in large letters, is printed -- SYLVANIA G-62 The CAMERA PANS DOWN to the cabin of the dirigible. Chico and Harpo are standing at the open door looking down. CHICO Look! That's-a Firefly's headquarters. (Pointing down) We catch him right now. Harpo reaches back into the cabin, picks up an enormous hook and throws it out. The rope that is attached to the hook starts playing out rapidly. CUT TO -- LONG SHOT miniature of dirigible and rope dangling from it... Then CUT TO - SHOT of rope and hook as it approaches Groucho's headquarters. It hooks onto the roof of the shack and raises it off the ground. CUT TO - LONG SHOT - miniature of dirigible carrying the shack through the air. CUT TO - inside of headquarters. GROUCHO (To generals) Gentlemen, the overhead is killing us. Everything is going up. If we don't watch ourselves, we'll come down with a crash. Now -- all those in favor of taking a cut say "aye"... ONE GENERAL (Protesting) But Your Excellency! GROUCHO Carried unanimously. CUT TO - SHOT of dirigible carrying the shack. The shack just clears a steeple by a few inches. CUT TO - INSIDE of headquarters. GROUCHO Now go right out there and fight. (To one general) You go out there and relieve General Beauregard, and while you're at it, see what General Motors is doing. The general, without saluting, exits out of door and closes door behind him. GROUCHO (To another general) Call him back -- he didn't salute me. The second general exits out of door without saluting, closing door behind him. ZEPPO Father, he didn't salute you either. GROUCHO (Angrily) Attention! The remaining generals jump to their feet, stand at attention and salute. GROUCHO Go out there -- all of you -- and bring those generals back -- dead or alive. All of the generals exit through to door; the last one closing door behind him. GROUCHO Why don't those generals come back? ZEPPO I'll call them. GROUCHO Never mind, I'll go after them myself. Groucho goes to door, pulls it open, starts out -- CUT TO - EXTERIOR OF SHACK (against sky backing). Groucho is seen in the open doorway. He comes out and walks down the steps (there are three steps attached to entrance of door, with railing on each side. Groucho is about to step off into space. He grabs the railing and hangs by his hands.) GROUCHO Hey, Junior! Zeppo rushes to door and pulls him up by the hands. CUT TO - Inside as Zeppo finishes pulling Groucho in. Groucho scrambles to his feet, rushes to window, leans out of window backwards and looks up. CUT TO -- SHOT of dirigible as seen by Groucho. CUT BACK inside of shack as Groucho pulls in his head. GROUCHO Get my rifle. Zeppo runs for rifle... GROUCHO I'll get rid of them. Zeppo returns and hands rifle to Groucho. Groucho leans out of the window backwards and shoots up into the air... CUT TO - dirigible (miniature) as the bag explodes. The smoke fills the screen. As the smoke clears away we see Groucho and Zeppo descending side by side in two parachutes against sky background. GROUCHO (To Zeppo) Take a letter. Zeppo takes out pad and pencil ZEPPO To whom? GROUCHO To whom it may concern... Dear Gloria: The air has done me a world of good. I am five thousand feet above sea level speeding home to you. Can you arrange to meet me at twenty-five hundred feet? -- which is only asking you to meet me half way. Don't be surprised if I drop in on you any minute... Your fun- loving Dictator. Groucho and Zeppo descend out of scene, as Harpo and Chico come into scene from above, both suspended from the ropes of their parachutes... They are in a sitting position, with a board across their knees, playing cards... FADE OUT END OF SEQUENCE "J" SEQUENCE "K" FADE IN - to a group of notables standing around a large table. Among them are Mrs. Teasdale and Zeppo. Groucho is the guest of honor, very gaily attired for the occasion. As we FADE INTO this scene, they are singing - ALL (Singing) Hail, hail, Freedonia... Land of the brave and free! ZEPPO My dad is much too great for his position without a question. I'd like to offer this with your permission as a suggestion: I really think he should be king! ALL We really think he should be king! ZEPPO I really think he should be king! ALL He should be king! SOLO And wear a crown and everything. ALL And everything. SOLO I really think he should be king! ALL He should be king! GROUCHO From what I have been gathering, I think they think I should be king: I think they think I should be king! ALL He should be king! GROUCHO And wear a crown and everything. ALL And everything. He should be king! Then follows a musical interlude during which Groucho says: - GROUCHO (Speaking to audience) You know I think they think I should be king. (Then turning to the guests - singing) Although it would please me to govern the throng, suppose I were king and then everything went wrong. MRS. TEASDALE The king can do no wrong! ALL The king can do no wrong! The king can do no wrong! They all sit GROUCHO Of course you're All aware a king must have an heir some one to pass the family name along will some one tell me where I'd ever get an heir if a king can do no wrong ALL (Standing up) The king can do no wrong! (They all sit down) GROUCHO Suppose a pretty dame Into my castle came - And let us say that I was going strong. She might be stuck on me, but what good would it be, if the king can do no wrong. ALL (Standing up) The king can do to wrong! (Sitting down) GROUCHO King Solomon was game he gave each Girl his name to number them would make a list that long I'll bet his thousand wives led miserable lives if the king can do no wrong. ALL (Remaining seated) We really think he should be king and wear a crown and everything. GROUCHO They think I should - They think I should - They think I should - They think I should be king. (APPLAUSE) Mrs. Teasdale rises. MRS. TEASDALE My dear friends, in time of peace we should forgive those who fought against us, and so, I have invited our former enemies. (Applause) CUT TO door, as it is being opened by two pages. Trentino and Vera enter. They both stop and bow in acknowledgment of the applause coming over scene. As they walk toward table and out of scene, Chico and Harpo enter. The latter is carrying a carpet runner, rolled up under his arm. He flips the carpet runner away from him on the floor, holding onto one end. It rolls out and Harpo strides majestically down its length toward the table with Chico following. Harpo pauses, brings to light a cuspidor from under his coat, puts it on the carpet and spits into it, and continues on, following Chico, who is now ahead of him. Harpo breaks into a run and he and Chico dash madly to the table. They take seats on either side of Groucho and without hesitating, start to eat the food in front of them. The guests are standing. Trentino and Vera arrive at their places and everyone sits down. Harpo reaches for a large service plate with a pretty picture on it, pushes his plate away, breaks the service plate with a knife... it breaks into little pieces like a jig-saw puzzle. He mixes the pieces up, and then starts to put them together again ... Groucho watches him... then helps him... GROUCHO (Stopping Harpo as he tries to fit a piece) No, no, this is the one... (Picking up a piece and placing it...) A waiter places a dish of tasty food in front of Groucho... he is just about to dig into it with his knife and fork when Harpo turns the table toward himself. This brings Groucho's food to Harpo, and Chico's empty plate to Groucho... GROUCHO That was awfully good, I think I'll have a second helping... waiter... Snapping his finger to waiter off scene. The waiter immediately appears placing a second dish in front of Groucho. He starts to dig his knife and fork into it again when Chico turns the table toward himself... This brings his food to Chico... Harpo lifts his plate up and puts it down again when the table stops turning... this time Groucho has nothing in front of him... GROUCHO If I don't stop eating I'll get indigestion... A WOMAN GUEST (To the left of Chico... to Chico) Would you mind passing the salt? CHICO (Yelling to Harpo) Hey, she wants some salt... Harpo takes salt shaker from man to his right, places it in front of himself and gives the table a quick turn toward the woman next to Chico... Groucho is still without food. He rises and looks about table... Sees a dish of food in front of Trentino, who is seated at opposite side of table... Trentino is eating. GROUCHO (Yelling to Trentino) Ambassador, how's the food? AMBASSADOR TRENTINO (Looking up and turning in direction of Groucho) It's delicious, Your Excellency. GROUCHO That's all I wanted to know. He gives the table a quick turn and Trentino's plate disappears as it spins around toward Groucho... Just as it gets to Harpo, he lifts up the plate... the table goes on a few feet more and when it stops, Harpo puts down his plate and starts to eat... again Groucho has nothing... Groucho picks up his napkin and wipes his mouth. GROUCHO I couldn't eat another thing. (He stands up) Ladies and gentlemen, I want to introduce to you a man who is a prince of good fellows, generous to a fault, his own worst enemy and a devil in his own hometown... Applause... Groucho steps up on the table GROUCHO Thanks, I didn't expect to be called upon... However, in conclusion I want to tell you that I promised Mrs. Teasdale I'd marry her if we won the war.... Well, we won the war and I'm stuck... to the victor belongs the spoils... The table starts to turn slowly... Groucho starts to walk in opposite direction... staying in same place. GROUCHO In union there is strength... The table moves a little faster... Groucho increases his pace accordingly... CUT TO Harpo and Chico now seated beside each other turning the table... CUT BACK to Groucho... GROUCHO I feel that we are taking a step in the right direction, and that's what I call balling the Jack... Speed of table turning increases. Groucho keeping pace against it in tread-mill fashion... GROUCHO Now is not the time for political temporizing, all interests must be sacrificed for the common weal... CUT TO Harpo and Chico turning table... faster and faster... We CUT BACK to Groucho who is now galloping to keep his spot but he's not going any place GROUCHO All those who want to place their money on the wheel, step inside, faint heart never won fair lady... Money won't grow in your pocket like the hair on your head and now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party. This FADES OUT on a shot with Groucho running madly, and gesticulating, taking in Harpo and Chico turning the table... END OF SEQUENCE "K" THE END
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+ELECTION by Alexander Payne & JIM Taylor Third Draft July 22,1997 Based on the novels by Tom Perotta EXT. MILLARD HIGH -- DAWN The school stretches out before us, slumbering in the overcast morning air. Along the front sidewalk, a lone JANITOR trundles a garbage bin filled with overstuffed hefty bags. A weathered FORD ESCORT pulls into the empty PARKING LOT and comes to a stop near the athletic field. A TEENAGE GIRL'S VOICE - TRACY (VO) None of this would have happened if Mr. McAllister hadn't meddled the way he did. He should have just accepted things as they are instead of trying to interfere with destiny. You see, you can't interfere with destiny. That's why it's destiny. And if you try to interfere, the same thing's going to happen anyway, and you'll just suffer. JIM MCALLISTER, a teacher in his mid to late-thirties, emerges from the car in running clothes and carrying a briefcase, gym bag, and coffee mug. On his way to the field, he crosses paths with the janitor. JIM Morning, Lowell Lowell nods, hoists a bag and tosses it into a dumpster. EXT. ATHLETIC FIELD -- DAWN JIM CIRCLES THE TRACK, sweating and panting. ON THE GROUND JIM does sit ups JIM Twenty-one... twenty-two. He collapses onto his back. His head rolls to one side, and he glances past the fence at -- THE PARKING LOT Where a second CAR is just arriving. JIM watches as TRACY FLICK, a junior, and her MOTHER get out. The mother helps remove a CARD TABLE and a big plastic sack from the trunk before Tracy heads toward the school. MOTHER (distant) Good luck! JIM turns his gaze toward the sky, closes his eyes, sighs. INT. BOYS' LOCKER ROOM -- DAY Naked in the showers, JIM pumps liquid soap from the wall- mounted metal dispenser. INT. HILLARD HALL DAY THE LEGS OF A CARD TABLE - as Tracy spreads them open and locks them into place. STICKS OF GUM from a Plen-T-Pack are emptied into a FISHBOWL- SCOTCH TAPE is wrapped around the end of a pen to attach a piece of string INT. BOYS' LOCKER ROOM DAY AT THE MIRROR JIM adjusts the knot of his tie, notices a little shaving cream in his ear. INT. MILLARD HALL DAY FOUR CLIPBOARDS with pens and lined sheets of paper are being placed in a row like little soldiers. The top of every sheet reads "Tracy Flick for President: Official Nomination Signatures." INT. FACULTY LOUNGE -- MORNING AT THE REFRIGERATOR JIM tries to place his lunch inside, but the shelves are too crammed with old take-out containers. He opens one and smells it. Disgusted, he drags a garbage can over and begins throwing things away. Lowell appears in the doorway wheeling his squeaky maintenance cart and watches JIM conduct his purge as A CHINESE FOOD BOX misses the can and rolls on the floor. INT. MILLARD HALLWAY -- DAY Tracy is seated behind her card table strategically placed near the school's main entrance. A sign taped to the wall behind her reads, TRACY FOR PREZ. SIGN UP FOR TOMORROW, TODAY! She checks her watch, readies herself. JIM walks around the corner whistling vaguely. TRACY Good morning, Mr. McAllister. JIM Not wasting any time, are you, Tracy? TRACY (chirping) You know what they say about the early bird. JIM Yes, I do. An awkward moment passes between them. JIM Well, good luck there, Tracy TRACY Thanks, Mr. M. AS JIM turns and walks away, Tracy watches him. He stops and picks up some litter, tosses it in a nearby garbage can. TRACY (VO) No matter what he says, Mr. McAllister had it out for me from the start. Oh sure, he was all smiles and good wishes and everything, but underneath he was just as unfair and petty as anybody else. INT. JIM'S CLASSROOM DAY Alone in his room, JIM studies the Omaha World-Herald TRACY (VO CONT'D) He'll probably tell you how committed he was to teaching and democracy and integrity and all. Don't be fooled. After laying the paper down to circle an article, JIM leans back in his chair and momentarily loses himself in thought. JIM (VO) It's hard to remember how the whole thing started, the whole election mess. What I do remember is that I loved my job. I was a teacher, an educator, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else. Suddenly a VOICE -- VOICE (OS) Hey, Mr. M. Mr. M.! JIM glances OUT THE WINDOW and sees a kid -- PAUL METZLER -- pointing at him. Paul walks with a LIMP. Behind him, other STUDENTS approach the school. PAUL Stop daydreaming! Get back to work! JIM enjoys the affectionate joshing and gives the kid a wave. He returns to his newspaper, a contented man. JIM (VO) The students knew it wasn't just a job for me. EXT. MILARD HIGH FOOTBALL STADIUM -- NIGHT JIM sits in the bleachers, clapping his hands over his head. JIM C'mon, wolverines! Defense! Let's hold 'em back! JIM (VO) I got involved. And I cared. INT. MILLARD GYM DAY AT A PEP RALLY - JIM is dressed as a WESTERN VILLAIN, and his black hat reads "Lincoln South." With a menacing grimace he approaches a group of FOOTBALL PLAYERS at a poker table. JIM (VO CONT'D) And I think I made a difference. A CORNER OF THE SCHOOL DAY JIM has a comforting hand of the shoulder of a CRYING GIRL JIM (VO CONT'D) I knew I touched the students' lives during their difficult young adult years, and I took that responsibility seriously. INT. AUDITORIUM -- NIGHT JIM trots up the stairs to receive a plaque. He beams. JIM (VO CONT'D) In the twelve years I taught U.S. History, Civics and current Events at Millard, I was voted Teacher of the Year three times - a school record. INT. JIM'S CLASSROOM -- DAY Mr. McAllister reads aloud from the newspaper as he paces in front of his class of high school juniors, Tracy Flick among them. The seats are arranged in a SEMI-CIRCLE. JIM (VO CONT'D) Standing in front of a room full of young people, trying to make them think that's how I wanted to spend the rest of my life, JIM slaps the newspaper for emphasis and addresses the class JIM So would this be an ethical situation or a moral situation? What's the difference between ethics and morals, anyway? Tracy shoots her hand into the air. JIM notices but keeps looking around. JIM (CONT'D) Anybody Other hands rise tentatively JIM (CONT'D) Derek DEREK Uh, ethics is like when you, uh, do what society tells you is right and morals are like, uh... JIM You're on the right track, who can help him out? DEREK ..morals are when... Tracy's hand goes higher. JIM Michelle? MICHELLE Morals are like lessons, you know, like the moral of a story; it's what you learn from a story or a fable or something. . . JIM Or a life experience. Good. And ethics? MICHELLE That's more like, urn... Ethics is how you use the morals... that you learn from a story? JIM weighs the answer, tries to be encouraging. JIM Okay. But we're still missing something key here. What are we missing? TRACY (hand still raised) I know. JIM (finally) Tracy. TRACY Ethics are... FREEZE FRAME on Tracy, her hand lowering, her mouth agape. JIM (VO) Tracy Flick. Tracy Flick. I've never met anyone quite like Tracy Flick. INT. STUDENT COUNCIL ROOM -- DAY -- ONE YEAR PREVIOUS JIM sits to one side, monitoring the student council MEETING about to convene. A younger Tracy enters briskly and, unlike her casual teen comrades, has made an attempt to dress for success. She takes a seat right up front and opens her backpack. After preparing her notepad and pen, Tracy puts a MICROCASSETTE RECORDER on the table in front of her and pushes RECORD. JIM (VO CONT'D) She first showed up in my life as a freshman delegate in student council. I'd seen a lot of ambitious students come and go over the years, but I could tell right away Tracy Flick was different. JIM observes Tracy, trying to size her up. ON TRACY -- putting all her little things in order, finally folding her hands to wait. JIM (VO CONT'D) It wasn't long before everyone knew who Tracy Flick was. She made sure of that. Her drive was astonishing. Even scary. A FAST-PACED MONTAGE BEGINS UNDER TRACY'S VOICE-OVER: INSERT HILLARD HIGH YEARBOOK It fans open to the INDEX. PAN DOWN to Tracy's name followed by countless page references TRACY (VO CONT'D) Some people say I'm an overachiever, but I think they're just jealous. A page number turns BOLD, and the other numbers drop away Suddenly we are on that page, and we PAN to a headline: "Spanish Club says Oh La!" PAN to the group shot and ZOOM in on Tracy smiling in a big SOMBRERO. TRACY (VO CONT'D) My Mom always tells me I'm different -- you know, special. And if you look at all the things I've accomplished so far, I think you'd have to agree. We see Tracy on other pages too: "Yearbook Staff goes for it!" "Junior Achievers put on the dog!" "Student Council meets the challenge;" Oklahoma's a hit! TRACY (VO CONT'D) Here I am in Oklahoma. The STILL of Tracy in Oklahoma suddenly COMES TO LIFE. INT. MILLARD HIGH AUDITORIUM NIGHT On stage, Tracy wears a cowgirl outfit and hams it up with exaggerated gestures. TRACY (off-key) I'm just a girl who can't say no... TV INSERT/INT. CAFETERIA DAY It's the closed-circuit school NEWS BROADCAST. Tracy is delivering a stand-up report from the crowded cafeteria. Her dress and makeup are an obvious if lame emulation of a professional newswoman. TRACY (VO) And here I am on KMHS, our student-run TV station. TRACY (ON TV) ..that's why Principal Hendricks made the controversial announcement that the littering must stop. Tracy Flick reporting. INT. STUDENT COUNCIL MEETING ROOM -- AFTERNOON A Student Council meeting is underway led by the president, LARRY FOUCH. A girl, ASHLEY, is speaking. JIM observes from the side. TRACY (VO) But it was in SGA, the Student Government Association, where I made my biggest mark. I never missed a meeting, and I volunteered for every committee as long as I could lead it. Before Ashley can finish, Tracy STANDS UP TRACY I agree with Ashley. We should rent the barrels at least a day beforehand. What happened last time was a travesty, I mean, we were -- LARRY FOUCH (trying to quiet her) Yeah, no, I know, Tracy. That's why we're -- Look, can we just take a vote on this? INT. JIM'S CLASSROOM DAY BACK TO TRACY still frozen mid-sentence, waiting to finish her answer. JIM (VO) Now at the end of her junior year, Tracy was poised to win the presidency of the student body. And so far she was running unopposed. TRACY COMES BACK TO LIFE TRACY ...the rules of conduct determined by a culture at a... SHE FREEZES AGAIN JIM (VO) Oh. There's one more thing about Tracy I think you should know. INT. MILLARD STAFF-ROOM -- DAY CLOSE ON DAVE NOVOTNY, another teacher in his mid-thirties DAVE Her pussy gets so wet you can't believe it. WIDE - Dave is leaning across his desk to speak with JIM at an adjacent work area. They eat sack lunches. JIM (VO) A few months before the election, she'd had an affair with my best friend Dave Novotny. JIM Don't tell me that. I don't want to know that. DAVE She's incredible. Everything just gets soaked. INT. JIM'S BASEMENT DAY Dun-dun-DUN... Dun-dun-DUN JIM and Dave are playing the opening notes of "Foxy Lady" through cheap, distorting amps. JIM plays bass. Dave plays guitar and sings into a microphone. They're bad. As in not good. The basement is typical of a Midwest middle-class young couple -- half storage and laundry, half makeshift roc-room. JIM (VO) Dave came to Millard the year after I did, and we hit it off right away. We backed each other up in teachers' meetings and shared an interest in 60's music and micro-breweries. CLOSE ON DAVE really getting into it, playing to an unseen stadium. Behind him JIM is very careful with his chords. JIM (VO CONT'D) You could tell Dave was one of those guys who taught because they never wanted to leave high school in the first place, and that could get a little irritating sometimes, but basically he was a real good guy. DAVE (singing) Foxy. . . Foxy. . . You know you're a cute little heartbreaker... Foxy... You know you're a sweet little love maker... CAMERA DRIFTS toward the stairs leading up. INT. JIM'S KITCHEN CAMERA DRIFTS from the open basement stairway door and toward DIANE MCALLISTER and SHERRY NOVOTNY seated at the kitchen table. They are fussing over little six-month-old DARRYL NOVOTNY in his highchair. JIM (VO) Our wives became best friends too. And when Dave and Sherry's son Darryl was born, they asked us to be godparents. At a particularly grating note from downstairs, Diane gets up and closes the basement door. INT. GEOMETRY CLASS AN ISOSCELES TRIANGLE is being drawn on the blackboard and bisected. PULL OUT to reveal Dave explaining. The class is taking notes, and we zero in on a younger Tracy. TRACY (VO CONT'D) YOU probably think the worst - that Mr. Novotny was just taking advantage of one of his students, but it wasn't like that at all. Our relationship was based on mutual respect and admiration. I mean, during my sophomore year in geometry it was strictly professional between us -- I mean, nothing. EXT. GODFATHER'S PIZZA -- NIGHT The parking lot, the neon lights, the promise of good times. TRACY (VO CONT'D) It wasn't until junior year when we worked together on the yearbook that things got serious. INT. GODFATHER'S PIZZA -- NIGHT Dave and Tracy are at a booth along with six other students. TWO KIDS DISSOLVE OUT OF FRAME, and the others shift positions. Others continue to disappear in the same way, until only Dave and Tracy remain. TRACY (VO CONT'D) One night he took us editors out to celebrate after a deadline. Eventually Dave and I were left alone and we got to talking - not like teacher and student, but like two adults. DAVE You know, Tracy... I don't know how to say this, but... Dave's finger traces the rim of his frosty root beer mug. TRACY what? DAVE Well, I notice you don't seem to have any close friends at Millard. You seem to be kind of a loner. TRACY No, I'm not. I'm just really busy. DAVE I know. I know its not by choice. I just mean, well, being the kind of person you are, it must be really difficult to find someone you can talk to. TRACY What do you mean? What kind of person am I? DAVE What kind of person? Dave looks directly into her eyes. DAVE (CONT'D) Tracy, I've been watching you for going on two years now, and I think you are one of the most talented, hard-working, sensitive, attractive, brilliant students -- no, human beings -- I have ever met. I mean, you're the real thing. Special. TRACY (embarrassed, low) Thank you. DAVE And I know sometimes people like you have to pay a price for their greatness, and that price is loneliness. Tracy nods in quiet recognition. DAVE (CONT'D) I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. But it seems like you might need a friend. INT. MILLARD YEARBOOK OFFICE -- DAY A DOOR with cloudy glass and a stenciled sign: YEARBOOK OFFICE. DISSOLVE through the door and TRAVEL through an empty room to discover another door with a sign that reads DARKROOM. TRACY (VO) Since I grew up without a dad, you might assume psychologically I was looking for a father figure. DISSOLVE through the darkroom door to DAVE AND TRACY bathed in red light. Tracy is sitting on Dave's lap as they make out hungrily. TRACY (VO CONT'D) But that had nothing to do with it at all. It was just that Dave was so strong and made me feel so safe and protected. INT. DAVE'S CAR -- DAY Dave drives. Tracy sits in the passenger seat. TRACY (VO CONT'D) It was the first time somebody ever saw the real me, the me that nobody else knows. DAVE (looking around) Here, get down. EXT. NOVOTKY HOUSE - DAY Dave wheels his car into the open garage. The automatic door closes behind him. INT. NOVOTHY LIVIMG ROOM Dave stands up from his squat at the STEREO, and the sexy sounds of Sade set the mood. Tracy is seated awkwardly at one end of the sofa, a Diet Dr. Pepper in one hand. Dave walks slowly toward her, a sexy, knowing look in his eye. The music is sexy. Tracy is sexy. He's sexy. Keeping his eyes locked on Tracy's, he takes the pop can from her hand and takes a sip himself. Sexy. INT. NOVOTHY STAIRCASE DAY Dave and Tracy walk up the stairs and down the hall. Dave enters the bedroom first, while Tracy pauses in the hall. His arm reaches out and pulls her inside. INT. NOVOTNY BEDROOM DAY IN QUICK TIGHT CUTS we see Dave and Tracy DISROBING Tracy's head and naked shoulders lay themselves on Dave's pillow. She looks toward the foot of the bed at -- DAVE, unable to believe his eyes. He looks at naked Tracy up and down, up and down, his breath quickening. Sade wafts up the stairs. DAVE Look at you. He descends out of frame. TRACY (VO) When I think back on my relationship with Mr. Novotny, what I miss most. is our talks. INT. DAVE'S BASEMENT DAY JIM is riveted by Dave's story; he is both horrified and titillated JIM You did it at your house? Your own house? DAVE Look, Jim... Okay. I know it all seems crazy, and maybe it did start out, you know, for the... for the sex and the danger. But now it's different. Jim, what I'm trying to tell you is that Tracy and I are totally, totally in love. JIM In love? DAVE Yeah, it's serious. I mean she inspires me in ways Sherry never has. She even wants to read my novel. JIM But you haven't written your novel. DAVE That's the whole point. It's all in my head; it's right here. I just got to get it out there. Tracy wants me to write it so she can read it. It's beautiful. JIM Dave, I'm just saying this as your friend. What you're doing is really, really wrong, and you've got to stop. Dave draws a heavy sigh and buries his head in his hands perhaps JIM has reached him. Perhaps not. DAVE You're not just jealous, are you? I mean, we both used to talk about her JIM (exploding) That was just talk! Fantasy talk! What are you, nuts? We talk about girls all the time, but it doesn't mean anything. I would never. . . I mean, I take very seriously our strict moral code. The line you've crossed is... it's illegal and it's immoral. DAVE I don't need a lecture on ethics, Jim, okay? I know what -- JIM I'm not talking about ethics. I'm talking about morals. CLICK. SQUEAK. STEP STEP STEP. SHERRY (OS) Peek-a-boo! Sherry comes down the basement stairs with Darryl in her arms. DAVE (to Jim, whispering) Look, I appreciate your concern. I really do. But like I said, I got it under control. As Sherry approaches them, Dave rises to take Darryl, the perfect father: hug, tickle, kiss. JIM (VO) I guess I don't have to tell you how all this turned out. INT. PRINCIPAL HENDRICK'S OFFICE DAY CLOSE ON DAVE slumped in a chair. He is lost in agony: all he can do is look down and draw short, gasping breaths. Principal Walt Hendricks is at his desk, examining a little BOOKLET. JIM sits on the vinyl sofa. CLOSE ON -- the small makeshift booklet whose cover reads, "There's a place for us" in overdone fancy cursive. THE SECOND PAGE shows a cutout from a travel magazine of a swanky BEACHFRONT HOTEL. One room has been circled with the words "you and me" written next to it. Below: "A time and place for us." We HEAR Walt clearing his throat, swallowing. THE THIRD PAGE has glued to it a POSTCARD showing a couple hand-in- hand on the beach at sunset and reading, "Maui is for lovers." Below: Take my hand and we'll soon be there. THE LAST PAGE has a cutout of a bouquet of flowers. It reads, "Tracy, See you in paradise? Love, your 'teacher' David. P.S. I really, really need you now." The booklet is lowered. DAVE Tracy's Mom -- she doesn't understand. WALT No, I'd say she doesn't. I don't think I've ever seen a mother quite so upset. We're all very, very lucky she doesn't want this public. Dave looks at JIM for help. JIM looks away. Dave's breaths grow more convulsive. Finally - DAVE But we're in love WALT Dave. Dave, look at me Dave looks slowly up. WALT I want you to get some help. DAVE & SHERRY'S LIVING ROOM NIGHT Sherry cradles Darryl while Dave grovels at her feet. JIM (VO) After Dave got fired, Sherry kicked him out of the house and filed for divorce. SHERRY Your novel? Are you fucking kidding me? Dave follows Sherry as she takes the baby into their bedroom and slams the door in Dave's face. Dave pounds on the door, eventually sinking to his knees and crying. DAVE Sherry Sherry Sheerrry. ... JIM (VO) He ended up moving back to Milwaukee to live with his parents. I haven't heard from him in a long time. Poor guy. I warned him. INT. JIM'S CLASSROOM -- DAY Tracy, still frozen, THAWS OUT. Maybe now she can finish TRACY ...certain time in history and RINGGGGG Maybe not. At the bell, students instantly shut their textbooks and collect their things. JIM Okay. We'll pick up here next time Tracy is miffed as she puts her things away: slam, stuff, zip. She slings her backpack over her shoulder and heads toward the door. She looks back at -- MR. MCALLISTER who himself now FREEZES as he talks to a couple of students TRACY (VO) Now that I have more life experience, I feel sorry for Mr. McAllister. CLOSE-UP FROZEN DETAILS - of Jim's appearance - his slightly frayed collar and bad tie; the heels of his old docksiders worn down at irritating angles; the faded impression his too-big wallet has made in his khakis; his growing bald spot; his ear hairs. TRACY (VO) I mean, anyone who's stuck in the same little room saying the exact same things year after year for his whole life, wearing the same stupid clothes, while his students go on to good colleges and move to big cities and do great things and make loads of money has got to be at least a little jealous. It's like my room says - the weak always try to sabotage the strong. Tracy turns and walks out the door. INT. TRACY'S HOUSE -- DAY CLOSE ON A SMILING LITTLE TRACY - in a Sears-style portrait. PAN across a wall full of other framed photos of Tracy accepting awards, dancing in a recital, poised to dive at a swim meet. TRACY (VO CONT'D) One thing that's important to know about me is that I'm an only child. So my Mom is really devoted to me, and I love her so much. She wants me to do all the things she wanted to do in life but couldn't. AT THE DINING ROOM TABLE Tracy's mother, BARBARA FLICK, finishes a letter and puts it in an envelope. TRACY (VO CONT'D) See, Mom used to be a stewardess for Northwest and now works as a para-legal. She likes to write letters to successful women like Janet Reno and Elizabeth Dole and ask them how they got to be where they are and what advice do they have for me, Tracy, her daughter. CLOSE ON BARBARA'S TONGUE as the envelope flap slides across it. INT. MILLARD HALLWAY DAY A politician's SMILE plastered to her face, Tracy is at her card table vigorously gathering signatures. TRACY (VO CONT'D) Nine times out of ten they say you have to hold on to your dreams no matter what. The pressures women face mean you have to work twice as hard, and you can't let anything or anyone stand in your way. A shabbily dressed BURNOUT -- DOUG SCHENKEN -- walks past and grabs a huge handful of gum. TRACY One per person! Put those back I John just keeps on walking away, and his two BUDDIES take great delight in his nimble-witted, quick retort. DOUG SCHENKEN Eat me INT. HILLARD LIBRARY -- DAY While other students sit in groups around her, Tracy sits apart at her own table, concentrated and alone. She is writing little numbers by her signatures. TRACY Ninety-seven.. .ninety-eight. TRACY (VO) But you know, winning isn't everything. If you play fair and follow all the rules thoroughly, you'll always come out ahead. Win or lose, ethical conduct is the most important thing. Just ask Mr. McAllister. EXT. PARKING LOT -- DAY CLOSE ON TRACY'S EXCITED FACE TRACY Mr. McAllister? Mr. McAllister! Wait up I Jim, his tie loose and his sleeves rolled up, looks up from unlocking his car. Tracy runs toward him holding out a TERM PAPER FOLDER. TRACY I got all my signatures. One hundred and fifty-eight -- way more than I need! JIM Hey, that's super TRACY Here they are. JIM You can put those in my box. I'll look at them tomorrow. TRACY Could you approve them now? I'd like to kick off my campaign right away, you know, in the morning. JIM (resigned) Right He cursorily flips through the bound pages and offers them back to Tracy. JIM (CONT'D) Looks good to me. TRACY Aren't you supposed to keep them? JIM NO, that's fine TRACY I thought you were supposed to keep them. JIM Okay, fine. Sure JIM throws his briefcase and Tracy's folder into the backseat. TRACY Thanks for everything. JIM You bet. Tracy stays put as JIM climbs in, shuts the door and fastens his seat belt. TRACY (cheery, awkward) I can't wait to start campaigning. JIM Should be easy. So far no competition. TRACY Hell, you know, Coca-Cola's the world's number one soft drink, but they spend more money than anybody on advertising. I guess that's how come they stay number one. JIM Yeah. Okay. well, good luck Tracy They exchange a long, curious stare. There's a tone at once confrontational and vaguely sexual about this moment. TRACY You know, Mr. M., when I win the presidency, that means you and I are going to be spending a lot of time together next year. And I for one would like that time to be harmonious and productive. Wouldn't you? JIM Sure TRACY Okay. That's good. I just wanted to make sure. JIM Good luck, Tracy. JIM pulls away and heads for the parking lot exit. INT.EXT. JIM'S CAR ON STREET -- DAY JIM drives stone-faced, unblinking. Something about the music on the radio mocks him. JIM (VO) I don't blame Tracy for what happened with Dave. How could I? Dave was an adult more than twice her age. EXT. GROCERY STORE PARKIKG LOT DAY JIM pulls to a stop next to a giant DUMPSTER Out of his window come yellowed newspapers, balled-up fast food bags, and other detritus. He speeds away. JIM (VO CONT'D) Sure, she got on my nerves once in a while, but I admired Tracy. I really did. INSIDE THE DUMPSTER we see Tracy's little bound book of signatures. INT. MCALLISTER DIKING ROOM - MIGHT JIM and his wife Diane sit at their dining room table, eating chicken pot pies, baked potatoes with sour cream, salad with Lite Ranch dressing. Not a word passes between them. JIM (VO CONT'D) Thank God for Diane. She was my best friend, my source of love and strength. Oh sure, we'd had our share of bumpy times, but we'd always seen them through. After nine years of marriage, we were closer than ever. And the secret? Good communication. DIANE Anything wrong? JIM Everything's fine. Just, you know, school. INT. MCALLISTER BEDROOM - NIGHT JIM lies awake in bed while Diane snores beside him. Something seems to be echoing in his head. TRACY'S VOICE ...You know, Coca-Cola's by far the number one soft drink... When I win the presidency we're going to be spending a lot of time together... a lot of time... lots and lots and lots of time... president and advisor. . . CLOSE ON JIM'S EAR as Tracy's LIPS magically whisper into it. TRACY ...harmonious and productive... close and special... you and I... so close... so intimate... together... INT. MCALLISTER BASEMENT NIGHT In the darkness a light pops on, and JIM quietly pads down the stairs. He opens an old CEDAR TRUNK, lifts out a few blankets and a piece of cardboard to reveal a row of PORNO TAPES cleverly concealed in the bottom of the trunk. ON THE TV SCREEN - A FOOTBALL PLAYER in uniform and helmet filets a CHEERLEADER in a locker room. JIM watches with detachment, as though watching the news. He sips a can of PEPSI. The football stud continues to bump and grind. Looking at his Pepsi can, JIM is suddenly inspired. JIM (quietly) Paul. EXT. SKI SLOPE (REAR PROJECTION) DAY PAUL METZLER is SKIING in goggles and scarf. Behind him is a cheesy dated rear projection of other skiers. Suddenly Paul loses his balance and FALLS. CLOSE ON PAUL writhing in the snow. PAUL Why. . . ? Why. . . ? PAUL (VO) I was so mad at God when I broke my leg at Shadow Ridge over Christmas break. INSERT X-RAY LIGHT BOX CLOSE ON AN X-RAY of a multiple FRACTURE. PAUL (VO CONT'D) The doctors told me I'd have to quit sports for at least a couple years if not forever. INSERT YEARBOOK PICTURE Paul kneels in his FOOTBALL UNIFORM. The photograph erupts in flames. Bonanza-style. PAUL (VO CONT'D) ...which meant no first-string quarterback in the fall. It was like the end of my life! EXT. MILLARD HIGH FRONT STEPS DAY Paul stands talking to FRIENDS in a very typical high school tableau. All wear backpacks or carry books. A GIRL kneels to sign his cast. PAUL (VO CONT'D) When I got back to school everybody was so supportive, and they all wanted to sign my cast and everything... EXT. MISSOURI RIVER LOCKOUT -- DAY Alone, Paul leans on his crutches and watches the river PAUL (VO CONT'D) ... but I still couldn't shake the feeling that now my life had no purpose. What did God want from me? THE VAST MISSOURI - always flowing, never stopping, no beginning, no end PAUL (VO CONT'D) Why did I exist? INT. LIBRARY DAY Paul is sleeping slumped over a table, his head cradled on crossed arms. The Celestine Prophecy is open face down next to him. PAUL (VO CONT'D) Sometimes you can search everywhere for answers. Then one day destiny just taps you on the shoulder. I know, because it happened to me. A FINGER reaches down and taps Paul's shoulder. Paul comes to and looks -- it's Mr. McAllister. JIM Paul, could I talk to you for a minute? MILLARD HALLWAY - DAY His arm on Paul's shoulder, JIM walks Paul down a deserted hall and into Jim's classroom. JIM picks up some scrap paper off the floor and puts it in the proper place. PAUL (VO) Mr. McAllister changed my life. And no matter what they say he did or did not do, I believe he is a good man. JIM'S CLASSROOM - DAY Paul sits in a chair, while JIM stands JIM Paul, I know you've been pretty down since your accident. PAUL I wanted to play next year so bad I could taste it. And maybe go on to... JIM I know. I understand disappointment. I really do. PAUL Yeah. JIM But you've got a big choice right now. You can choose to be depressed about it for the rest of your life. Or you can choose to see it for what it really is: an opportunity. I personally think you have a big future ahead of you, and I don't mean the fleeting glory of sports. PAUL What do you mean? JIM Let me give you a clue. You're a born leader. You're one of the most popular students at Millard. You're honest and straightforward. You don't choke under pressure, as we all saw in that amazing fourth quarter against Westside. The other kids look up to you. What does that spell? Paul furrows his brow and looks around, searching for an answer. His lower lip is wet. JIM Student... council... president. It takes a moment for this to sink in. Finally PAUL Who, me? Nooo. I never... I don't know anything about that stuff, Mr. M. Besides, that's Tracy Flick's thing. She's always working so hard and -- JIM Yeah, no, she's a go-getter, all right. PAUL And she's super-nice JIM Yeah. But one person assured of victory kind of undermines the whole idea of a democracy, doesn't it? That's more like a... well, like a dictatorship, like we studied. JIM Paul, what's your favorite fruit? PAUL Huh? Oh. Uh... pears JIM takes a piece of chalk from the lip of the blackboard. JIM Okay, let's say PAUL No, wait -- apples. Apples. JIM draws illustrative circles on the board as he speaks. JIM Fine. Let's say all you ever knew was apples. Apples, apples and more apples. You might think apples were pretty good, even if you occasionally got a rotten one. Then one day there's an orange. And now you can make a decision. Do you want an apple, or do you want an orange? That's democracy. PAUL I also like bananas. JIM Exactly. So what do you say? Maybe it's time to give a little something back. INT. STUDENT COMHON AREA DAY Tracy directs her friend ERIC OVERHOLDT on a ladder as he hangs a large POSTER high on a wall. TRACY The right side is too high. The right side. Just a smidge. Suddenly she notices a small COMMOTION in the adjacent cafeteria and goes to investigate. INT. CAFETERIA DAY A small crowd of students compete to sign Paul's nomination petition taped to the wall. GUY (signing) Hey Paul, you going over to Anthony's on Friday, or what did you decide? PAUL I gotta talk to him first. Tracy watches the hubbub, none too pleased, and pushes her way to the front of the group. TRACY Who put you up to this? PAUL Huh? Oh, hi, Tracy Tracy stares at him. TRACY Who put you up to this? PAUL What do you mean? TRACY You just woke up this morning and suddenly decided to run for president? PAUL No. Uh... I just... you know, I just thought -- TRACY Thought what? PAUL Well, see, I was talking to Mr. McAllister about my leg and everything... and how I still want to, you know, do something for the school and -- TRACY So Mr. McAllister asked you to run. PAUL Well, I mean, you know, I talked to him and everything, but he just said he thought it was a good idea... and how there's all different kinds of fruit and... It's nothing against you, Tracy. You're the best. I just thought -- TRACY Okay, Mr. Popular. You're on. With that Tracy turns and SIGNS Paul's sheet THE "I" IN "FLICK" is dotted with a STAR CLOSE ON TRACY'S FACE - as she walks away, Paul and his fans receding behind her TRACY (VO) You might think it upset me that Paul Metzier had decided to run against me, but nothing could be further from the truth. He was no competition for me: it was like apples and oranges. It just meant I had to work a little harder, that's all. INT. TRACY'S BASEMENT NIGHT CLOSE ON TRACY'S FACE -- in a xeroxed photograph. "Vote Tracy!" is written at the bottom. Tracy is making campaign buttons with her BUTTON MACHINE. She manufactures her buttons with almost alarming intensity. PATRIOTIC MUSIC begins to rise. TRACY (VO CONT'D) You see, I believe in the voters. They understand that elections aren't just popularity contests. They know this country was built by people just like me who work very hard and don't have everything handed to them on a silver spoon. THE TRACY BUTTONS drop one by one into a box. All the little round Tracys smile up at us. EXT. MILLARD PARKING LOT DAY Paul is in the driver's seat of his hitching big-wheeled PICKUP TRUCK. His door is open, and his radio blasts a SONG carefully selected to boost soundtrack album sales. Various FRIENDS OF PAUL'S hang around. Tracy watches the scene from her seat on the SCHOOL BUS TRACY (VO CONT'D) Not like some rich kids who everybody likes because their fathers own Metzier Cement and give them trucks on their sixteenth birthday and throw them big parties all the time. They don't ever have to work for anything. The .bus pulls away. INT. TRACY'S LIVING ROOM AFTERNOON CLOSE ON TRACY'S FACE - staring into camera as she exercises on a NORDIC TRAC, Drenched in sweat, she moves in a hypnotic frenzy. TRACY (VO CONT'D) They think they can all of a sudden one day out of the blue waltz right in with no qualifications whatsoever and try to take away what other people have worked for very, very hard their entire lives. No, it didn't bother me at all I INT. PAUL'S PICKUP -- DAY Paul drives home, his stereo thumping. Silent, he appears lost in thought, as though a little gopher idea were burrowing its way to the surface. Oh, look -- there's its snout now. PAUL Paul... Paul... power... Paul... Paul for President... progress... promise... peanut... Paul-i-tics... yeah... President Paul... Punt for Paul! No. EXT. METZLER HOME DAY Paul pulls into the driveway and hops out of his car. INT. TAMMY METZLER'S BEDROOM DAY Two GIRLS are kissing on the bed. They are TAMMY METZLER and LISA FLANAGAN, fifteen and seventeen respectively. Lisa breaks away. Tammy tries to kiss her again, but Lisa resists. TAMMY (softly) What? LISA I told you ... I can't. I just -- It doesn't feel right anymore, you know? INT. METZLER KITCHEN DAY Whistling a cheerful tune, Paul tosses his backpack on a chair, grabs a banana, and opens the refrigerator. INT. TAMMY METZLER'S BEDROOM DAY Tammy is still trying to comfort Lisa. TAMMY If you could just get out of your head. Tammy leans forward, puts her palm on Lisa's cheek. Lisa looks at Tammy as though at a stranger. Tammy leans forward and .kisses Lisa's eyes. Lisa jerks her head out of Tammy's hands. LISA I said no! Suddenly, there's a quick KNOCK at the door, and Paul enters. The girls rise quickly. PAUL Hey, Tammy, guess what happened today. TAMMY Don't you fucking knock? PAUL Yeah. So guess what happened. So Mr. McAllister, he -- (noticing Lisa) Oh hi. Lisa. TAMMY Paul, get out! PAUL So Mr. M. calls me in and tells me -- LISA I gotta go. Lisa pushes her way past Paul and runs down the hall TAMMY (to Paul) You dumbshit! PAUL What'd I do? THE SCENE FREEZES. TAMMY (VO) You know how they say one day a big meteor might come and crash into the Earth and kill everybody? Well, I think that would be a good thing. BACK TO LIFE - Tammy turns away from Paul in disgust and runs after Lisa INT. METZLER LIVING ROOM AND FOYER CONTINUOUS Tammy finds the front door flung open and through it sees Lisa slamming the door of her beat-up Honda Civic and starting the engine. TAMMY Lisa EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET CONTINUOUS Tammy runs up to the car as it pulls away. She pounds on the window. TAMMY Stop! Wait! Lisa stops the car, rolls down the window TAMMY (CONT'D) Where 're you going? LISA I'm not like you. TAMMY What...? LISA I'm not a dyke, okay, and we're not in love. We were just... I was just experimenting. Lisa speeds away, and we watch her car grow smaller and smaller. CLOSE ON TAMMY'S FACE - as we see the greatest disappointment of her short life break across her face. TAMMY (VO) How can something that seems so true turn out to be such a lie? EXT. ELMWOOD PARK -- DAY Lisa and Tammy are swinging synchronized on a swingset, smiling and laughing. The image is slightly OVEREXPOSED as though to suggest an ideal memory. CLOSE ON TAMMY looking over at Lisa TAMMY (VO CONT'D) I mean Lisa and I were destined to be together. It was so obvious. Of all the people on the planet who had ever lived, somehow we'd found each other. CLOSE ON LISA in SLOW MOTION, swinging next to us. She looks back, her face so happy. TAMMY (VO CONT'D) Lisa... INT. TAMMY'S ROOM -- DAY CHOMP-CHOMP-CHOMP Tammy eats an asparagus spear. GNAW-GNAW-GNAW Lisa eats an asparagus spear TAMMY drinks a big glass of water. She giggles a little. LISA drinks a big glass of water. She giggles too. TAMMY (VO CONT'D) I remember one time Lisa and I did an experiment with asparagus to see how long it takes your pee to smell. We peed a little every five minutes. AN EGG TIMER: Ding I Tammy and Lisa, very serious now, smell little Dixie cups TAMMY (VO CONT'D) For her it took about fifteen minutes, and for me it was twenty. INT. LIBRARY DAY Lisa studies at a table, surrounded by other busy students. TAMMY (VO) Everyday I found some new way to tell Lisa I loved her. Suddenly Tammy walks by, drops a folded NOTE in front of Lisa, and walks on. Lisa opens it. NOTE (Tammy's voice) If you died right now, I would throw myself into one of my Dad's cement trucks and get poured into your tomb. Lisa looks over her shoulder at Tammy, who is now at the door of the library. Tammy nods at her with quiet loving reassurance. TAMMY (VO) But it just seemed like the closer we got, the more she pulled away. INT. MILLARD HALLWAY DAY Lisa watches Tammy open her locker and notices a four-frame PHOTO- BOOTH PHOTOGRAPH taped to the inside of the door. In the photos Lisa and Tammy are clowning and smooching. Lisa reaches over and YANKS the photos off the door. LISA Are you crazy? TAMMY What? LISA People can see this. TAMMY So? LISA These are private -- these are for us. TAMMY I know. LISA But other people can see them too. TAMMY I don't care. LISA Well, I do. Lisa walks away with the photos EXT. ELMWOOD PARK DAY CLOSE ON LISA SWINGING -- next to us, a final reprise of Tammy's favorite memory TAMMY (VO) What did I do to make her change? What's wrong with me? Lisa swings out of frame, and the swing returns EMPTY. TAMMY (VO CONT'D) (a whisper) Lisa. EXT. HILL ABOVE A POWER PLANT TWILIGHT Tammy sits on a promontory overlooking an Omaha Public Power District station -- towers, wires, insulators, a loud HUM. TAMMY (VO CONT'D) Sometimes when I'm sad, I sit and watch the power station. Tammy lifts a pair of BINOCULARS to her eyes, sees THE POWER PLANT. TAMMY (VO CONT'D) They say if you lie between two of the main wires, your body just evaporates. You become a gas. I wonder what that would feel like. TAMMY'S STREET -- EVENING Lisa's car speeds away, growing smaller and smaller. We're back at the BREAK-UP. CLOSE ON TAMMY'S FACE as she stares down the street, unable to move. It starts to rain. Tears roll down her cheeks, mixing with the rain. very French, very sad. TAMMY (VO CONT'D) I don ' t know what I did to make Lisa hate me so much, but somehow she decided to hurt roe. And she knew exactly what to do. LISA'S BEDROOM DAY CLOSE ON PAUL'S FACE -- matched in size to Tammy's. He is moaning, gasping. FROM OVERHEAD -- Paul is sprawled on Lisa's bed, surrounded by stuffed animals. His legs dangle over the edge of the bed, and Lisa kneels between them, her head bobbing up and down. PAUL (VO) I sure was surprised the day Lisa Flanagan asked me for a ride home and ended up blowing me. Lisa pauses and looks up at Paul. LISA I've wanted this for so long. She resumes with renewed vigor PAUL Uhhh... teeth. Teeth. LISA Sorry. INT. MILLARD HIGH CAFETERIA DAY Paul and Lisa sit with some other friends at a lunch table. Paul has one arm around Lisa as he eats with his other hand. PAUL (VO) Life is so weird. First Lisa has a big fight with my sister, and the next thing you know she's my girlfriend. Lisa turns around to look at TAMMY seated at another table directly behind them. She and Lisa lock eyes before they both turn around again. EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD DAY Paul poses for a campaign photo in his football uniform. He freezes in position as though about to throw a pass. Lisa adjusts his position -- CLICK. PAUL (VO CONT'D) Since Lisa knew all about public relations and stuff, she offered to help me with my campaign. We made a great team! Tammy spies from underneath the bleachers INT. MILLARD HALLWAY DAY Paul is on all fours as Lisa stands on his back to hang a poster with Paul's football picture reading: "Paul Metzier You Bet-zier!" PAUL (VO CONT'D) It seemed so natural, the two of us together. It was like destiny. Tammy watches from a nearby classroom door, her nose and cheek pressed against the window. EXT. LISA'S HOUSE DAY Paul's truck pulls up, and Paul and Lisa get out PAUL (VO CONT'D) That spring was perfect. My leg wasn't bugging me too much, and the weather was so nice. And every afternoon after school. Lisa and I would go to her house to fuck and have a swim. It was like we were in a world all our own. Tammy emerges from behind a tree. She's on her bike. Angry and fragile, she watches the couple enter Lisa's house. EXT. LISA'S BACKYARD DAY Tammy peeks OVER THE FENCE and sees -- LISA AND PAUL swimming. Paul dives off the board and resurfaces right into Lisa's arms. MOVE CLOSER TO TAMMY as she dies a thousand deaths. TAMMY (VO) I had to do something. I didn't know what, but I had to do something. FADE OUT INT. SHERRY NOVOTNY'S BACKYARD -- DAY A laughing BABY BOY is lowered into frame and pulled back up again. Then he swings across frame. It's little DARRYL NOVOTNY. WIDE - JIM has Darryl by the ankles and is swinging him between his legs. Diane and Sherry are setting the picnic table. Stacked charcoal briquettes burn off in a nearby barbecue. JIM (VO) Around that time Diane and I were hanging out a lot at Sherry Novotny's house, giving her our love and support and helping her make it through a difficult time. DIANE Jim, don't. You're scaring him. JIM He likes it. Darryl's laughter suddenly turns into CRYING DIANE Here. Give him to me. (as she takes Darryl) is little Darryl dizzy? That's it. . come here. . . SHERRY You got him? DIANE Yeah. Sherry heads into the house. JIM watches her walk, then turns toward Diane and Darryl. It's as though Diane, not Sherry, were the infant's real mother, so loving and attentive is she, so swelled with maternal piety. JIM (VO) Diane really wanted to have kids -- and so did I -- but it seemed like there was always a reason to wait: she had to finish nursing school, I had to get my masters, we needed a new house, we needed more money. Finally we just decided to go for it... INT. JIM'S BEDROOM NIGHT A DIGITAL THERMOMETER reads 99.3. Behind it Diane lies in bed reading a copy of Self. JIM (VO) ...but for over a year we hadn't had any luck. And Diane was getting desperate. INT. JIM'S HOME OFFICE NIGHT At his desk, JIM studies a High Society magazine. He is naked. JIM closes his eyes and bites his lip as though feeling something he wished not to leave him. He quickly replaces a stack of magazines in his desk and goes across the hall to -- INT. BEDROOM CONTINUOUS where 'Lisa''s car speeds away, growing smaller and smaller. We''re back at the BREAK-UP. CLOSE ON TAMMY''S FACE as she stares down the street, unable to move. It starts to rain. Tears roll down her cheeks, mixing with the rain. very French, very sad.' waits in bed. She puts aside her magazine and welcomes Papa Bear. Lisa pauses and looks up at Paul. closes the door behind him. INT. MCALLISTER BEDROOM LATER JIM and Diane copulate. Although ostensibly near climax, JIM seems to be struggling. Diane's exhortations, once forbidden and exciting, now seem routine. DIANE You gonna do it? You gonna do it? JIM Yeah, uh, just a minute DIANE Come on, doit. Doit. Fill me up. Come on, fill me up JIM Yeah, just -- DIANE Do it! JIM finally climaxes DIANE (CONT'D) Okay! With that JIM rolls off of her. Diane immediately hoists her knees to her chest. CLOSE ON JIM - on his side of the bed facing away from Diane. DIANE Could you hand me the remote? EXT. NOVOTNY BACKYARD AS BEFORE JIM is snapped out of his reverie by Sherry's voice SHERRY Say, Jim. Jim. JIM looks. Sherry is walking out the patio door holding a big bottle of wine with a corkscrew sticking out of it. SHERRY (CONT'D) Could you get this? I can't JIM Sure. JIM takes the bottle. CLOSE ON the neck as the cork emerges: POP! INT. NOVOTNY KITCHEN -- DAY Sherry stands at the base of a stepladder as JIM climbs up and points to a spot on the ceiling. JIM (VO) Without Dave around. Sherry needed a lot of help around the house. JIM Here? SHERRY (indicating) More this way. JIM Okay. Give me the drill. JIM looks down at Sherry as she hands it up. Her blouse reveals a bit more than it should, and JIM pauses to get an extra glimpse. THE POWER DRILL BIT penetrates the ceiling. EXT. HOVOTHY FRONT YARD -- DAY A shirtless JIM is MOWING the lawn on a hot day. He shuts it off as Sherry emerges from the house with lemonade. She wears culottes, a halter top, and flip-flops. JIM I'd always liked Sherry, but we'd never had a chance to spend any time alone together. How with Dave out of the picture, I began to see what an incredibly sensitive and giving person she was. JIM downs his glass in big thirsty gulps and hands her back the glass. He watches her walk back to the house. JIM (VO CONT'D) Plus she had finally dropped all that weight from her pregnancy, and really she looked great. THE RIPCORD of the lawnmower is pulled a couple of times until it starts. INT. YOUHKERS DEPARTMENT STORE -- DAY IN WOMEN'S ACCESSORIES - Sherry looks at herself in the mirror modeling a colorful floppy hat. She spins around for Jim's approval. JIM (VO) We got to be pretty good buddies. I even took her to the mall one time while her car was in the shop. JIM smiles and nods. She puts on another. Sherry is like a young girl on a date. She grabs Jim's hand and pulls him in another direction. AT THE MAKEUP COUNTER - Sherry spreads on lipstick. SHERRY What do you think? It's clear what JIM thinks. JIM You look great INT. JIM'S CAR -- DAY They're driving home. There are packages on Sherry's lap and in the backseat. SHERRY I can't afford this stuff right now. JIM Oh, come on. You've had a hard year, you're cooped up with the kid all the time. Let go; live a little. SHERRY You sure? They come to a stop at a red light. Out one window JIM spots a MOTEL. JIM So what do you think? Should we get a room? SHERRY Should we get a what? JIM points at the motel. SHERRY (CONT'D) Oh. Her smile fades, and she stares straight ahead. There's an icy, uncomfortable silence. SHERRY (CONT'D) (stiffly) That's not funny. The light changes. JIM swallows, accelerates INT. JIM'S KITCHEN DAY JIM walks in through the backdoor. Diane is loading the dishwasher. They peck-kiss. DIANE How'd it go? JIM Fine. You know. We just went to Crossroads. DIANE You guys have fun? JIM picks an apple out of a bowl. JIM (between bites) Yeah. No. I mean, you know. DIANE What? JIM Well, Sherry's great. But she can be a little much sometimes. INT. MCALLISTER BEDROOM NIGHT Diane lies face-down, and JIM is on top of her. JIM makes spirited love with her. DIANE Oh, Jim! Oh, God! SHERRY'S HEAD, like a cut-out from a tabloid cover, floats in from off-screen and lands on the back of Diane's head. At the right moment, her face COMES TO LIFE and vaguely mouths the words that Diane is saying, like a badly-dubbed movie. DIANE/SHERRY Oh, God. Just like that. Oh yes. Fill me up... Jim's wicked desire increases with each movement Now TRACY FLICK'S FACE floats over and replaces Sherry's. Tracy mouths Diane's words. DIANE/TRACY Do it, Jim. Fuck me. JIM is at once in deep-space ecstasy and surprised at himself. Diane's voice now changes: it's Tracy's VOICE. TRACY (OS) Fuck me, Mr. McAllister FADE OUT UNDER BLACK JIM (VO) So like I was saying, things were going pretty well in my life. INT. MILLARD HALLWAY -- DAY It's passing period, and hundreds of students clog the halls JIM (VO) ... that is, until things started going all haywire with that damn election. A distant DING-DING grows louder and louder. Everyone turns toward the source, far down the hall, and eventually TAMMY emerges wearing a makeshift SANDWICH BOARD that reads "Tammy Metzier For President." Smiling a perverse smile, she rings a hand bell. Salvation Army style. Paul is at his locker and watches Tammy go by. PAUL Tammy? Tammy, what are you doing? Tammy ignores her brother and keeps walking directly toward us, finally INTO CAMERA. INT. MILLARD TEACHERS' OFFICES -- DAY Tracy sits opposite Mr. McAllister. TRACY You're the advisor. You should stop her. She's not qualified. She's just a sophomore. JIM Calm down, Tracy. Just calm down. TRACY Are you sure all her signatures are real? It's not easy to get all those signatures. JIM As far as I know, they-- Suddenly LISA AND PAUL are sitting where Tracy was. PAUL We can't both run, can we? We're brother and sister. Can we? LISA It's a conflict of interest. And Paul was first. JIM Anyone who gets signatures in on time can run. And she got in just under the wire. Nothing I can do. Now TRACY replaces Lisa and Paul TRACY Let me see them. Let me see them Sighing, JIM fishes in his drawer and hands Tracy some sheets TRACY These are a bunch of burn-outs. And look at this one, I can't even read this one. JIM (taking the sheet) Looks like Tim Kobza. LISA AND PAUL again LISA She's doing this to get back at me PAUL For what? LISA I mean at you. PAUL For what? LISA I don't know. You're her brother you should know. TRACY returns. TRACY Tim Kobza? Tim Kobza! Who's he? I've never heard of him! JIM Look, why don't we just forget about Tammy? We'll have the assembly tomorrow, everybody'll make their speeches, and I'm sure everything will be fine. INT. MILLARD GYMNASIUM DAY The entire student body is assembled on the bleachers. There is a palpable mood of boredom and apathy. JERRY SLAVIN, a handicapped kid in a wheelchair, is at the microphone. His head lists to one side, and he takes long breaths as he speaks. JERRY I love Millard High, and I will be a dedicated vice President. A vote for Jerry Slavin is a vote for good government. And even if I can't really stand up for you, I will. (cracks himself up) Thank you. Jerry motors away amid scattered applause and coughs. JIM steps forward, clapping, and raises the mike. JIM Thank you, Jerry, and good luck. Again, Jerry is running unopposed for Vice President. So we'll move on now to the presidential race with three candidates running. The first in alphabetical order is Tracy Flick. Tracy steps forward with a small stack of index cards. During her speech she flips the cards over one by one but rarely looks at them. TRACY Poet Henry David Thoreau once wrote, "I cannot make my days longer, so I strive to make them better." With this election, we here at Millard also have an opportunity to make our high school days better. During this campaign I have had the opportunity to speak with many of you about your concerns. I spoke with freshman Eliza Ramirez, who told me how alienated she feels from her own homeroom. I spoke with sophomore Reggie Banks, who said his mother works in a cafeteria and can't afford to buy him enough spiral notebooks for his classes. I won't bore you with long- winded promises about all the new and innovative things I will definitely achieve during the year in which it will be my honor and privilege to represent each and every one of you, but I can say that my years of experience on the student council have taught me the three most important attributes the president needs to possess; commitment - DOUG SCHENKEN Eat me DOUG'S BUDDY Eat me raw! There is scattered laughter. Tracy pauses, wait Hendricks bounds up and grabs the mike. WALT If you can't be adults and give these candidates the courtesy they deserve, then you don't deserve to be called adults but children* Because that's what children are. And you'll be treated like children. So let's all listen up. Walt backs away to his seat. Tracy resumes TRACY The three most important attributes the president needs to possess are: commitment, qualifications, and experience. I'll add one more; caring. I care about Millard, and I care about each and every one of you, and together we can all make a difference. One of the things I would like to establish is a regular open forum where any student can come and voice their concern about issues we face here at Millard. I and the rest of the student council would then interface with the faculty and staff, so a continuous dialogue would exist. Walt whispers to Jim. WALT I'd say she knows a thing or two about student-faculty dialogue. JIM nods solemnly TRACY When you cast your vote for Tracy Flick next week, you won't just be voting for me. You'll be voting for yourself and for every other student Our days won't be any longer, but they can sure be better. Thank you. Tracy smiles and walks back to her folding chair. There is polite applause and a few whistles. JJJB comes back to the microphone. Tracy takes her seat next to Paul and glances at him. Paul scares straight ahead, a fat bead of sweat on his forehead. One of his legs is jiggling. JIM The next candidate for student body president is Paul Metzier. Paul? Paul awkwardly makes his way to the mike. Though by no means thunderous, his applause clearly exceeds Tracy's. A small cluster of jocks "woof" for him, shaking their fists in the air. Paul manages a weak grin for his buddies. Tracy shifts in her chair, her smile stiff and forced Lisa smiles and nods at Paul from the bleachers, giving him encouragement and a silent reminder to remember what they talked about. Tammy's eyes dart between Lisa and Paul. She shows no emotion, reveals nothing. The applause quickly dies, and after a moment Paul remembers to look at the white paper in his hand. He speaks in a barely audible monotone, never once glancing up. PAUL As many of you know I broke my leg pretty bad thi3 year and the experience has made me reevaluate what I want to do with my life and that is help people when you think about it a school is more than a school it's our second home where we spend all cur time and grow as individuals and a community but is our school everything it could be I want our school to reach its true potential that is why I am running for president. JIM pinches the bridge of his nose, clearly pained A few loud SOUND EFFECT SNORES saw through the air, and Walt points a stern finger at - you guessed it -- Doug Schenken. PAUL I know what it is to fight hard and win like when we almost went to state last fall and I threw that fourth-quarter pass against Westside for the touchdown that won the game by three points I won't let you down like I didn't then I promise we can all score a winning (big breath) touchdown together. Vote Paul Metzier for president thank you. Paul now gets considerably less applause, but his jock friends remain loyal. JIM Okay, Paul. Now our final candidate for President - another one of the Metzier clan -- sophomore Tammy Metzier. Tammy approaches the mike. There are scattered mocking whistles and catcalls. Tammy calmly looks over the crowd, waiting for the jeers to subside. She makes eye contact with Lisa, who stares back. WALT People. People I The room quiets down. Tammy puts her lips close to the mike, TAMMY Who cares about this stupid election? NOW there's something worth listening to. TAMMY (CONT'D) We all know it doesn't matter who gets elected president of Millard. You think it's going to change anything around here, make one single person happier or smarter or nicer? The only person it matters to is the one who gets elected. The same pathetic charade happens every year, and everyone makes the same pathetic promises just so they can put it on their transcripts to get into college. So vote for me, because I don't even want to go to college, and I don't care, and as president I won't do anything. The only promise I make is that if elected I will immediately dismantle the student government, so that none of us will ever have to sit through one of these stupid assemblies again! There is a sudden huge cathartic eruption of cheers and applause. Tammy has set them free. Even cynical old Doug Schenken and his buddies join in. STUDENTS Tammy! Tammy! Tammy! In total control, she steps back from the mike and CURTSIES. Walt shoots an angry, confused look at Jim, who shrugs. Tracy is clearly upset, but her smile remains eerily fixed Paul just looks confused and ashamed. Jerry Slavin is convulsed in laughter and chants along with the multitude. Tammy quickly grabs the mike for one final exhortation. TAMMY 0h don't vote for me I Who cares? Don't vote at all! The students go nuts. INT. WALT HENDRICK'S OFFICE DAY Dr. Hendricks is in a serious post-assembly discussion with JIM and VICE-PRINCIPAL RON BELL. WALT That little bitch made a fool of us I want her out of the election. Getting everybody all riled up like that. She's finished, you hear me? Washed up. JIM Walt, we can't throw her out of the election just because we don't like her speech. That's not what student government's about. WALT (grumbling) Yeah... whatever. All I know is she's a troublemaker. She's on my list. RON All we need to do is send a message, so maybe we should just suspend her. WALT Right. That's it. She's suspended for a week! To emphasize his point, Walt throws his STYROFOAM CUP at the wastepaper basket and misses. Lowell the janitor, passing by outside the door, notices the cup bouncing on the floor. JIM I think that's a little strong Walt. Ron? RON We don't want to make a martyr out of her. Three days sounds right to me. WALT Okay. Three days. Take care of it. EXT. STREETS DAY Tammy rides her bike on this crisp sunny spring day. The music is buoyant. Tammy is all smiles. TAMMY (VO) Being suspended is like getting a paid vacation. Too bad it was only three days EXT. 7-11 DAY Tammy is hanging out by the entrance. A DUDE emerges from the store carrying a 12-pack of beer. En route to his car, he throws Tammy a pack of CIGARETTES. DUDE Here you go. Tammy looks at the pack TAMMY Hey -- I said lights I EXT. SACRED HEART ACADEMY -- DAY A cigarette hanging out of her mouth, Tammy rides by the front of this Catholic girls' school. NOW AT THE ATHLETIC FIELD - Tammy gets off her bike, goes to look through the surrounding fence at GIRLS PLAYING LACROSSE in their cleats, short skirts, jerseys. LITURGICAL MUSIC accompanies SLOW-MOTION close-ups of the girls in action. Tammy seems to breathe them in INT. TAMMY'S ROOM -- DAY Wearing headphones. Tammy DANCES to music only she can hear. She happens to glance toward her door and notices a MANILA ENVELOPE sliding under it. She opens the door and finds a startled Paul. TAMMY What do you want? PAUL Oh. Hi, Tammy. I was just, you know, I went to all your teachers and got your assignments. Tammy looks at him, picks up the packet. PAUL (CONT'D) I just thought, well, last time you got suspended you fell so behind and - TAMMY Okay, Paul. Thanks. Thanks a lot. Paul smiles at the acknowledgment of his good deed. TAMMY (CONT'D) Now could you leave me alone? PAUL Yeah. Oh, one more thing. Tammy. You know, all this election stuff. 'Cause, you know, everyone is saying it's so weird that you're running against me, and, well, it is kind of weird, and you haven't really told me why you're doing it and didn't tell me in advance or anything. But that's okay, you know. l respect your privacy. I just want you to know that no matter who wins, if it's you or me, there's no hard feelings. We're still brother and sister. Okay? Cause... and I hope you feel the same. TAMMY Sure, Paul. No hard feelings. PAUL Okay. Great. I feel good. Paul is about to leave again but PAUL Oh. Oh. Yeah. Right. One other thing. Since you know Lisa so well, could you give me some advice? I want to get her something for helping me with the election. You know, something really special -- like flowers or candy or flowers and candy. Or is that too typical? I mean, can you think of something? Something really special? You know, something she'd really like? Tammy looks as though she'd like to push the button on all the world's atomic bombs. EXT. TRACY'S DRIVEWAY DAY CLOSE ON A GIANT OUTLINED "0" -- drawn on white paper. A hand enters frame with a brush and begins to fill in the outline with blue tempera-paint. Camera RISES to reveal the "0" as part of a giant banner. Tracy is working on some letters, while ERIC OVERHOLDT is working on others. TRACY (VO) What happened at the speeches was an unconscienceable travesty. That little bitch Tammy Metzier wanted to make a fool out of me. Well, it wasn't going to work. People do care who wins. Things do matter. Finally, we're high enough to read: WHO CARES? I DO: VOTE TRACY! TRACY Eric, the "r" is supposed to be green, not blue. ERIC Oh. Okay. Eric carefully paints over his mistake, then works up some courage. ERIC (CONT'D) So, Tracy, I was wondering if after we finish with these you'd like to go to a movie or something. TRACY That's okay. I'm too busy. Ouch. INT. MILLARD YEARBOOK OFFICE -- NIGHT A haggard Tracy sits alone at a computer monitor TRACY (VO CONT'D) People are so ungrateful. If all those students who cheered for Tammy Metzier only knew how hard I worked for Millard. Like all the late nights I spent at the yearbook office just to give them their memories. THE MONITOR displays a DIGITIZED PHOTO of the Millard yearbook staff. DAVE NOVOTNY peers proudly from behind two of the taller students. A CURSOR in the shape of tiny SCISSORS makes a small circle around Dave's face. Suddenly, the cursor turns into a tiny HAND and drags Dave's dislodged head into the TRASH. Tracy concentrates as she deftly controls the mouse. TRACY (VO CONT'D) One of my duties was to clean up the group photos. It was a cinch with our new software. THE COMPUTER MONITOR AGAIN -- as Tracy outlines a piece of the WALL and places it in the void where Dave used to be, blurring the edges for a perfect effect, voila! Satisfied, Tracy taps on the keyboard. TRACY (under her breath) Let's see... "save" is Command "S." Okay. INT. MILLARD HIGH HALLWAY -- NIGHT Tracy is heading down the hall toward the exit when she rounds a corner and, suddenly deeply troubled, sees that HER NEW "WHO CARES?" BANNER has come loose on an upper corner and is drooping. Tracy puts down her things and JUMPS up to slap the corner back into place. Satisfied, she turns away. But then - SHOOP! The banner fights back, peeling even further from the wall. Tracy prepares for battle. INT. YEARBOOK OFFICE NIGHT Tracy enters and grabs a long aluminum STRAIGHT-EDGE. INT. HALLWAY NIGHT Standing on an overturned GARBAGE CAN and wielding the straight-edge, Tracy tries to smooth the banner. But she's not holding the ruler flat against the wall and -- RIP! -- she slices the banner lengthwise. Now the plastic garbage can begins to buckle. Struggling to retain her balance, Tracy accidentally hooks the banner and as she TUMBLES yanks the whole thing down. Overcome with anger and frustration, she thrashes around on the ground and TEARS UP what remains of her banner. PAUL METZLER smiles down at Tracy from his poster across the hall. Tracy looks up at it. Instantly she is on her feet, lunging for the poster. She jumps up, TEARS it down, and RIPS Paul's head into pieces. Blood issues from a thin paper cut on one hand. Tracy regards it at first without comprehending, then raises it to her mouth. While sucking her wound, her gaze falls on -- ANOTHER SMILING PAUL mocking her pain. ANGLE FROM WAY DOWN THE HALL Hurricane Tracy begins a savage assault on the fragile coast of Millard High. Paul's campaign posters fill the air, shredded to pieces by the powerful winds of jealousy and rage. TIME DISSOLVE -- to Tracy even farther down the hall, still jumping, still ripping. TRACK FROM OVERHEAD - THE HALLWAY FLOOR - where a thousand bits of Paul lie scattered -- a grinning mouth here, an eye there. TILT UP finally to Tracy, sweating, panting. She finishes ripping a poster and looks to find another. But there are no more Paul posters: she has destroyed them all. Tracy raises her hands and sees they are streaked with Blood. INT. GIRLS ' BATHROOM NIGHT Tracy is at the sink, washing away the blood. She pats her hands dry with paper towels. The gravity of what she's done now sinks in, and she panics. TRACY I didn't do this. I didn't do it. She lifts the top off a garbage can, removes the PLASTIC LINER. INT. MILLARD HALLWAY NIGHT With frantic haste, Tracy stuffs the evidence of her awful deed into the garbage bag. EXT. BACK OF HILLARD HIGH -- MIGHT Tracy's face is half-obscured by the bulging bag she carries down the sidewalk. EXT. HILLARD PARKIMC LOT - MIGHT Tracy opens her TRUNK and heaves the garbage bag inside slamming the trunk, she looks around - no one. INT. TRACY'S CAR NIGHT Tracy drives, sucking on a wounded hand. She glances frequently in the rear-view mirror. EXT. STREET MIGHT Tracy's car drives down a REMOTE ROAD. There are no sidewalks here, and the surroundings consist of scrubby vegetation and industrial structures. In the background looms a POWER PLANT. INT. CAR - CONTINUOUS We now sense that Tracy has a plan. She throws the car into reverse, backs up and turns onto - EXT. A SMALL ACCESS ROAD -- CONTINUOUS Tracy stop the car near an EMBANKMENT. She gets out and pulls the garbage bag from the trunk. With a big shove Tracy sends the bag cartwheeling down the hill Breathing hard but clearly relieved, Tracy watches the evidence of her deed tumble into obscurity. NOW THROUGH BINOCULARS Tracy's shadowy figure runs back to the car. EXT. HILL ABOVE POWER PLANT NIGHT Tammy momentarily drops her BINOCULARS before raising them again. THROUGH THE BINOCULARS - Tracy's car speeds away. Tammy drops her binoculars and mounts her bike EXT. EMBANKMENT -- NIGHT Tammy skids to a stop, drops her bike, and heads down the embankment. CLOSE ON THE HEFTY BAG as Tammy draws near. She pauses at first, but intrepid curiosity conquers her fear. She unties the knot. FROM INSIDE THE BAG we see Tammy's sudden look of HORROR PAUL'S MANGLED FACE smiles up at her. Tammy raises it toward camera INT. NOVOTWY BATHROOM -- MORNING CLOSE ON A DRAIN as a hand extracts a huge WAD OF HAIR -- stringy, mucousy. fetid. JIM holds it up for Sherry, who stands behind him in her bathrobe. JIM There's your culprit He examines it from different angles. Both scrunch their faces JIM (CONT'D) Shall we give it a name? SHERRY (not missing a beat) Dave. CLOSE ON AN OPEN TOILET - Plop! The hairwad joins several smaller stringy friends. NOW AT THE SINK JIM washes his hands. Sherry glances between JIM and the water running in the shower. It's getting steamy. SHERRY Did you know Dave's a bed wetter? JIM No, I... uh, didn't know that SHERRY All his life. He's tried everything. JIM (about the shower) Still clear? SHERRY Yep. JIM We'll let it run awhile JIM turns off the faucet and reaches for a towel. Sherry offers him another. SHERRY This one's clean. JIM takes it and dries his hands. Sherry now stands very close to him. JIM sets the towel on the sink. It's a little awkward as they look into each other's eyes, standing so near. SHERRY (CONT'D) I guess you'd better get to work huh? You're going to be late. She slowly wraps her arms around Jim's neck and pulls him to her, a hug of gratitude and warmth -- nothing sexual here, just the embrace of two people in need of shelter from the storm of life. No, nothing sexual at all. SHERRY (CONT'D) Thank you, Jim. Now sherry begins to cry a little, and things begin to change -- hands wander, cheek brushes cheek. Finally lips meet, tenderly at first. And then it is a deluge. INT. NOVOTNY LIVING ROOM DAY JIM and Sherry stumble in from the hallway locked in an embrace. They rove around the room, barely able to keep their balance. Finally, they fall to the ground. CLOSE ON LITTLE DARRYL -- playing with his foot in the CRIB. Through the bars behind him we can discern the murky shape of Sherry and JIM rutting and grunting like wild boars. EXT. NOVOTNY DRIVEWAY DAY JIM starts his car. Sherry leans into his window. She looks around the neighborhood before kissing him firmly on the mouth. SHERRY Hey Yeah? SHERRY Take me to that motel. Like you wanted. JIM Right now? SHERRY Easy, tiger. Come by after school. I'll leave Darryl with the sitter. JIM Three twenty-five. SHERRY Three twenty-five. EXT. HILLSIDE ROAD -- DAY VROOM! JIM roars past us in his new RED FERRARI CONVERTIBLE EXT. ITALIAM RIVIERA (REAR PROJECTIOH) CONTINUOUS JIM wears a BLACK SUIT and hip HRAPAROUND SUNGLASSES as he drives. He lights a cigarette. Behind him is a cheesy dated REAR PROJECTION Of a curvy MOUNTAIN ROAD. Next Stop: portofino! JIM (VO) What had blossomed between Sherry and me was too real, too powerful to deny. For the first time in years, I felt free and alive! EXT. MILLARD HIGH PARKING LOT DAY JIM'S Ferrari heads up the driveway and into his assigned space He opens the Ferrari door. JIM'S FOOT touches the pavement - not a shiny Salvatore Ferragamo loafer but a worn out Dexter. WIDE - JIM is back in his own clothes, and his car has reverted to a Ford Escort in need of a wash. He heads toward the school. INT. HILLARD LIBRARY -- DAY JIM enters the library, walks among the stacks. JIM (VO CONT'D) So as you can imagine, my thoughts weren't on the election that Monday morning. JIM takes a BOOK from the shelf JIM (VO CONT'D) My thoughts were only on Sherry, on how perfect she felt inside. There was a special poem I wanted to read to her later, at the motel, as she lay next to me. Jim flips through the book and finds the poem he seeks. His lips move silently. JIM'S VOICE (VO CONT'D) Close, close the lovers keep. They stay together in their sleep. Close as two pages in a book That read each other in the dark.. Suddenly -- a grating VOICE from the loudspeakers. VOICE (OS) Mr. McAllister to the Principal's Office. Mr. McAllister to the Principal's office. JIM smacks the book closed INT. WALT ' S OFFICE - DAY LISA FLAMAGAN - her face streaked with tears from outrage and confusion. LISA It's not fair. It's not fair Paul sits next to Lisa on the vinyl sofa. He wants to console her, but he doesn't know how. PAUL I just don't think anybody would do something like that on purpose. It must have been some kind of mistake. Like a maintenance thing. JIM enters. WALT Jim, where the hell have you been? JIM Nowhere. I don't have class until second period. WALT Even tried you at home. We've got a situation here. LISA If Paul loses tomorrow, it's not fair. There has to be another election, with posters. JIM What's the problem? LISA Didn't you see? WALT Somebody tore down their posters. LISA Those posters cost a lot of money we don't have I There's no time to make any more posters, there's no -- WALT We'll get to the bottom of it. PAUL (to Lisa) We still have some extra ones, don't we? Maybe we can just -- LISA It was Tammy I That's who it was. PAUL Oh, no, hey. Like I said. Tammy wouldn't... she... WALT Well, that speech she gave -- it was pretty, you know, pretty out there. But we'll get to the bottom of it. Don't you worry. Mr. McAllister is going to see to that. Right, Jim? JIM (his thoughts elsewhere) Oh yeah, you bet. LISA She should be expelled. Or worse! WALT You two just go back and focus on your studies. Mr. McAllister's going to handle this. INT. CHEMISTRY CLASSROOM DAY A BUNSEN BURNER -- as a VIAL containing blue liquid is held to the flame. The solution magically changes from blue to yellow. Wearing goggles, Tracy holds the beaker with chemist's tongs Her two LAB PARTNERS observe. The classroom door and a STUDENT approaches the teacher, MR. BECKMAN, to deliver a note. MR. BECKMAN Tracy? Tracy looks up through her goggles. INT. MILLARD HALLWAY DAY LONG TRACKING SHOT . - of Tracy as she leaves the classroom. AS she walks through the .desolate halls and descends a flight of stairs, she holds her head high, suggesting a serene, almost regal confidence. TRACY (VO) When I arrived at school that morning, I was shocked to find that one of my key banners had been removed by vandals. I noticed that a few of my rival's posters had also been tampered with. Of course, I was outraged, but one day before the election is not the time to lose your head over a couple of posters. When you're in the public eye, attacks like that just come with the territory. Finally she reaches the INT. SCHOOL OFFICE DAY Upon seeing Tracy, MISS LINDA BEEDER, the "They 're-all-my-kids office administrator, points wordlessly to an open door of a conference room. JIM is inside. JIM Tracy. Come on in. And shut the door behind you. She goes in and closes the door in our face. INT. LITTLE CONFERENCE ROOM -- DAY Tracy is seated in a chair. JIM hovers above her, alternately leaning on a desk and pacing. JIM I guess you know why you're here TRACY If it's about the posters, I think it's so awful. It's a travesty. JIM A travesty. Huh. That's interesting, because I think you did it. TRACY Wait - are you accusing me? You're not serious. (indignant) I can't... Mr. McAllister, we have worked together on SGA for three solid years and... I mean, I can't believe it. I'm... I'm shocked! JIM stares at her. TRACY (CONT'D) Mr. M., I am running on my qualifications. I would never need to resort to, you know, to vandalism like a, you know... Plus, my own best banner was torn down. Did I do that too? JIM Were you or were you not working in the Watchdog office over the weekend? TRACY I was. So? Mr. Pecharda let me in. As you know, with all my responsibilities I often come in on the weekend and have permission to do so. But I left very early, around 6:30. JIM 6:30. How do you know what time the posters were torn down? TRACY I don't. I just know they were there when I left. I'm giving you helpful information is all. You know, instead of wasting time interrogating me, we should be out there trying to find out who did this. JIM Okay, Tracy, so who do you think did it? Whom should we "interrogate?" TRACY well, I don't know. It could have been anybody. There are a lot of, you know, subversive elements around Millard. You know, like Rick Thieson and Kevin Speck and those burn-outs. Or Doug Schenken - what about him? Or what about Tammy Metzier? Her whole thing is being anti- this and anti-that. JIM shifts gears JIM You're a very intelligent girl, Tracy. You have many admirable qualities. But someday maybe you'll learn that being smart and always being on top and doing whatever you need to do to get ahead, and yes, stepping on people to get there, well, there's a lot more to life than that. And in the end, you're only cheating yourself. TRACY Why are you lecturing me? JIM This isn't the time or the place to get into it, but there is, for just one example, a certain former colleague of mine, who made a very big mistake, a life mistake. I think the lesson there is that, old and young, we ail make mistakes, and we have to learn that our actions, all of them, can carry serious consequences. You're very young, Tracy underage, in fact -- but maybe one day you'll understand. TRACY I don't know what you're referring to, but I do know that if certain older and wiser people hadn't acted like such little babies and gotten all mushy, everything would be okay. JIM I agree. But I also think certain young and naive people need to thank their lucky stars and be very, very grateful the whole school didn't find out about certain indiscretions which could have ruined their reputations, and chances to win certain elections. TRACY And I think certain older persons like you and your "colleague" shouldn't be leaching after their students, especially when some of them can't even get their own wives pregnant. And they certainly shouldn't be running around making slanderous accusations. Especially when certain young, naive people's mothers are para-legal secretaries at the city's biggest law firm and have won many successful lawsuits. And if you want to keep questioning me like this, I won't continue without my attorney present. JIM draws a long breath as he tries to control himself JIM Okay, Tracy. Have it your way. There's a KNOCK. JIM and Tracy turn to see TAMMY METZLER timidly poking her head in. TAMMY You wanted to see me, Mr. M.? JIM Just wait outside. Tammy. TAMMY Okay. But is this about the posters? JIM Possibly. Please just wait outside. TAMMY Okay. (looking at Tracy) Because I know who did it. So.. I'll just be outside. Tammy manages to squeeze in a naughty little smile before closing the door. INT. OUTER OFFICE DAY Tammy sits patiently in a chair, bobbing to an unheard song. The door opens, and Tracy emerges. JIM Tracy, don't go away. Come in, Tammy. As Tammy and Tracy cross, Tracy speaks in a low voice but loud enough for JIM to hear. TRACY This ought to be good INT. CONFERENCE ROOM -- DAY Tammy sits facing Jim, cradling her backpack. JIM So... what do you have to tell me? TAMMY Well, this is hard for me, but I think it's important to be honest. Don't you? JIM (impatient) What is it. Tammy? TAMMY I'm the one. I did it. I tore down Paul's posters. JIM Looks at her skeptically doesn't say a word. TAMMY (CONT'D) I did it. JIM And when did you do it? TAMMY This weekend. JIM Exactly when? TAMMY I don't know. Yesterday. Sunday. JIM And how did you get in the school? TAMMY Door was open. JIM Which door? TAMMY I don't know. All I know is I did it I JIM I don't believe you. TAMMY I have proof. She burrows in her backpack. INT. OUTER OFFICE -- CONTINUOUS Tracy stands up from her seat and manages to PEEK THROUGH THE WINDOW of the conference room. She sees -- pulling out a handful of POSTER SHREDS from her backpack and handing them to Jim. Tracy turns away and covers her mouth with one hand. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM CONTINUOUS THE POSTER FRAGMENTS in Jim's hands. TILT UP to Tammy really hamming it up. TAMMY You don't know what it's like to grow up in the shadow of an older brother like Paul. it's always Paul, Paul, Paul, Paul. Never Tammy. I'm only Paul's little sister. You must be Paul's little sister. He's so perfect, and I'm so troubled. I hate him! I hate him! And I tore down his posters, It was a horrible, cowardly act, but I did it,.. I did it... l did it... And I'm not sorry... JIM watches her performance until he can't take it anymore he's got other fish to fry. JIM Final I don't know what your problem is, but if that's the way you want it, that's the way it'll be. I don't have time. You're out of the election, and I'm turning you over to Dr. Hendricks. He throws the door open. JIM (CONT'D) Tracy? INT. OUTER OFFICE CONTINUOUS Tracy is frightened but still plays the indignant victim. TRACY Yes? JIM Looks like today's your lucky day What does he mean? TRACY What do you mean? JIM You're off the hook. Tammy here has confessed. It takes Tracy a second to figure out how to react. But once she's got it, she runs with it. TRACY I told you! I told you! (pointing at Tammy) You're going to pay for my banner! JIM That's enough, Tracy. Quit while you're ahead, okay? I'll handle this. (to Hiss Seeder) Could you ask Walt to come in? STAFFROOM DAY JIM is feverishly TYPING. JIM (VO) The rest of the day was unbearable. I kept smelling Sherry on my clothes and on my fingers and I just couldn't wait to get out of there. He yanks the paper out of the carriage and hurries away. INT. XEROX ROOM -- DAY A PHOTOCOPY COLLATOR in operation. JIM pulls sheets out and stacks them. JIM (VO CONT'D) I wanted everything to be perfect that afternoon, so I decided to give myself a little time to prepare during eighth period. INT. JIM'S CLASSROOM DAY Students are settling into their seats. JIM breezes in, a sheaf of papers fucked under his arm. JIM Pop quiz, everybody The class groans. JIM (CONT'D) No whining. If you've done your reading, this is an easy one. JIM peels off a stack of papers for each row JIM (VO) I'd have exactly forty-eight minutes to make all the arrangements. JIM glances at the clock: 2:08 JIM If you finish early, just sit quietly and check your work. I'll be right back. POOF -- he's gone I EXT. MILLARD HIGH DAY TRACK WITH JIM as he SPRINTS toward the parking lot, fumbling for his keys. EXT. WALGREEN'S -- DAY JIM exits with a bouquet of flowers and a plastic bag. EXT. SAFARI MOTEL -- DAY Jim's car speeds into the driveway and parks INT. SAFARI MOTEL ROOM -- DAY JIM opens the door, sets his things down, and gets to work. THE SINK -- JIM dumps a bucketful of ICE and wedges in a bottle of cheap CHAMPAGNE. THE BEDSIDE TABLE - JIM props up his flowers in the ice bucket and puts a small box of Russell Stover's CANDY next to it. He unwraps the motel's plastic cups and places them just so. Perfect. JIM'S BOOK OF POETRY -- open to that special poem. He marks it with a carnation. UNDER THE BED -- Jim's face appears as he kneels down and slides the book into place, ready for that perfect moment. THE BATHROOM - Where JIM is NAKED now, squatting in the bathtub, frantically washing his undercarriage. He checks his watch. EXT: SAFARI MOTEL ROOM DAY JIM shuts the door and with jaunty confidence slips the key into his pocket. EXT. SAFARI MOTEL DAY Jim's car speeds toward the street. EXT. MILLARD HIGH PARKING LOT -- DAY JIM gets out of his car and races back toward the school. INT. MILLARD HALLWAY DAY JIM skids around a corner. INT. JIM'S CLASSROOM DAY With feigned coolness, he saunters into class just as the BELL RINGS. JIM Okay, everybody, pass them forward. Stephanie, put down your pen. The class begins to rise. JIM (CONT'D) I'll see you all on Wednesday. And don't forget to vote tomorrow. FROM BEHIND - Jim's back has a large vulva-shaped patch of SWEAT EXT. MILLARD HIGH PARKING LOT -- DAY JIM hurries back to his car, weaving his way through students EXT. SHERRY'S HOUSE -- DAY JIM pulls to a stop in Sherry's driveway. INT. JIM'S CAR JIM checks his watch: 3:24 turns into 3:25 Bingo EXT. SHERRY ' S HOUSE DAY JIM'S FINGER on the doorbell. DING-DONG. JIM waits, rings again. Ho answer. He knocks. No one. He tries the door. Locked. Maybe she's out back. He walks around the house to -- EXT. SHERRY'S BACKYARD CONTINUOUS It's a lovely little backyard. Springtime flowers bloom. Bees buzz among the peonies. JIM opens the gate, approaches the back door, and knocks. JIM Sherry I He rears back and aims his yell toward the second floor. JIM (CONT'D) Sherry I It's Jim! No response. He tries the door. It's locked. JIM cranes his neck for a last look at the house. As he starts to leave, he calls out one final time, not really expecting a response. JIM Sherry Suddenly A WASP STINGS him above his right EYE JIM (CONT'D) Oww! Fuck! Jesus fuck! Cursing and holding his head, JIM stumbles out the gate INT. SAFARI MOTEL LOBBY - DAY Through the glass windows, we see Jim's car pull into the lot and park. JIM enters the lobby. His eye is puffy and red. A MOTEL EMPLOYEE watches TV behind the counter JIM By any chance, has a woman shown up in the last half-hour or so? Maybe she was looking for me. EMPLOYEE Nobody's come in here looking for anybody. Just you. JIM Are you sure? EMPLOYEE (indicating Jim's eye) You okay? INT. SAFARI MOTEL ROOM DAY THE TELEPHONE - as JIM punches in Sherry's number. JIM holds the phone against his ear and the champagne bottle against his eye. JIM Sherry, it's me. Are you there? Pick up. Okay, it's 4:32. I came by at 3:25 like we said and waited, but you weren't there. Anyway, I hope you're okay -- I'm worried about you. So now I'm just at the... at the place we talked about. Suite 219. So I'm here. Everything's all set. You can just come over. Can't wait. Okay. Bye. EXT. SAFARI MOTEL DAY TIME LAPSE - as the sky darkens, the motel's NEON SIGN turns on. JIM now descends the motel stairway carrying his Walgreen's sack. He puts the key into the drop box and gets in his car. INT. METZLER KITCHEN -- NIGHT Dick Metzier and his wife JO are at the breakfast table Tammy sits across from them, her eyes lowered. DICK METZIER I don't get it. What you have against your mother and me, against your brother Paul, is completely beyond me. And your mother is extremely upset, she's at the end of her rope. Your behavior gets crazier and crazier and wilder and wilder, and who knows what the hell else you're doing out there that we don't even know about? TAMMY Dad, I DICK (jabbing his finger) Don't you smartass me! Don't you dare smartass me! You just shut your mouth I (taking a breath) Now your mother and I have had a long talk with Halt Hendricks --- we just got off the phone with him at home. You know, he doesn't want you back at Millard. He's fed up with you. Fed up! And I don't blame him! JO Dick... Dick,.. DICK What? JO (calmly) Tammy, now we've come to a decision. He just think it would be best -- DICK You're going to Catholic school next year. You're going to Sacred Heart. Maybe they'll straighten you out! ANGLE FROM UNDER THE TABLE - Her head low. Tammy SMILES to herself EXT. JIM'S HOUSE NIGHT JIM'S car pulls into the driveway. INT. JIM AND DIANE'S KITCHEN NIGHT JIM enters the back door and sets his satchel down in the usual place. He opens the refrigerator, grabs a beer. As he closes the door, something catches his eye. He reaches inside and throws a plastic container away. Rooting around noisily, he finds other things to dispose of. Suddenly -- A BABY CRY stops him cold. JIM stiffens, his good eye widening as the horrible truth sinks in. He carefully closes the refrigerator and tiptoes toward the living room. INT. LIVING ROOM -- CONTINUOUS Jim's face slowly appears around the corner, bad eye first. Finally, he's able to see -- SHERRY AND DIANE together on the living room sofa, staring at him. Their eyes are red from crying. Little Darryl squirms in Sherry's lap. Caught, JIM emerges from his hiding place. No one speaks. Finally, he looks down, sucks in air, blows it out again, nods a little. JIM (very softly) Okay He turns to leave, and nobody stops him. EXT. JIM'S HOME -- NIGHT JIM wanders out the front door and stands in his driveway, bewildered and alone. The camera slowly CRANES UP, eventually looking down on him from a great height. JIM (VO) As I walked out of my home that evening, unsure if I'd ever return, my entire life in question, I somehow discovered within myself a place of perfect peace. Oddly, in my solitude I felt more than ever a sense of communion with every human being - past, present and future. Because no matter what we tell ourselves, no matter what illusions of friendship and family we create, each of us is always and forever profoundly alone. INT. TRACY'S BEDROOM NIGHT FROM OVERHEAD - Tracy slides out of her bed and kneels beside it TRACY Dear Lord Jesus, I do not often speak with You and ask for things, but now I really must insist that You help me win the election tomorrow, because I deserve it and Paul Metzier doesn't, as You well know. l realize that it was Your divine hand that disqualified Tammy, and now I'm asking that You go that one last mile and make sure to put me in office where I belong, so that I may carry out Your will on Earth as it is in Heaven. If elected I promise that I will pray more often. Okay? Amen. EXT. TAMMY'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT FROM OVERHEAD -- Tammy wears a white t-shirt and underwear and kneels at her bedside. TAMMY (VO) Dear God, I know I don't believe in you, but since I'll be starting Catholic school soon, I thought I should practice. Let's see... what do I want? I want people to be nicer to each other. I want Lisa to realize what a bitch she has been and feel really bad and apologize for how she hurt me and know how much I still love her. In spite of everything, I still want Paul to win the election tomorrow, not that cunt Tracy. I also want a really expensive pair of leather pants... and someday I want to be really good friends with Madonna. Love, Tammy INT. PAUL'S BEDROOM FROM OVERHEAD -- Paul lies in bed looking at the heavens beyond his ceiling, PAUL (VO) Dear God, thank You for all Your blessings. You have given me so many things, like good health, nice parents, a nice truck, and what I've been told is a large penis, and I'm very grateful. But I sure am worried about Tammy. In my heart I still can't believe she tore down my posters, but sometimes she does get so weird and angry. Please help her be a happier person, because she's so smart and sensitive, and I love her. Also, I'm nervous about the election tomorrow, and I guess I want to win and all, but I know that's totally up to You. You'll decide who the best person is, and I'll accept it. And forgive my sins, whatever they may be. Amen. FADE OUT INT. JIM'S CAR -- NIGHT JIM sits parked outside of Sherry's house, a SLURPEE held against his now grotesquely swollen eye. He is so tired and pain-ridden that he practically gasps for breath. JIM (VO) Sherry never came home that night. I know, because I spent the entire night in her driveway. INT. TRACY'S KITCHEN -- DAWN Tracy and her mom are hard at work frosting cupcakes. TRACY (VO) Mom and I got up at five AM, and together we custom-iced three hundred and fifty cupcakes. CLOSE ON A CUPCAKE - as "PICK FLICK" is written on it with a yellow icing tube. MRS. Flick cheerfully performs her task. She hums. TRACY (VO CONT'D) I remember she was so happy, like there was nothing in the world she'd rather be doing. Besides me and her job, I guess my mom doesn't have much of a life. She hasn't dated anyone since Frank, and she hardly ever buys new clothes for herself or travels. TRACY Mom? MRS. FLICK Hmmm? TRACY I think I'm going to lose today MRS. FLICK What are you talking about? This time tomorrow, you'll be president TRACY You really think so? Mrs. Flick puts an arm around her daughter MRS. FLICK Tracy Flick's a winner. EXT. SHERRY'S HOUSE DAWN Jim's car has not moved from its spot on the driveway. Its windows are now fogged. A LOUD GARBAGE TRUCK rumbles by. INT. JIM'S CAR -- CONTINUOUS Reclined in his car seat, mouth open as he sleeps, JIM is awakened by the truck. His breath steams. His eye has turned bluish. He tries to wipe the condensation from the windshield, but it's on the outside. EXT. SHERRY'S DRIVEWAY -- CONTINUOUS JIM opens the door and looks around -- no sign of Sherry's car. He stiffly walks to the side of the garage and unzips his pants to pee. Now cradling his head on the roof of his car, JIM gathers what little strength he has, gets in, and tries to start the cold engine. JIM (VO) I had no choice but to go home. I needed to shower, get fresh clothes, explain what I could to Diane. But what was I going to say? That our marriage had become a charade? That making love with Sherry had given me a vision of a better life? THE TAILPIPE finally coughs out a cloud of exhaust INT./EXT. JIM'S CAR DAWN JIM drives, bleary-eyed. He creeps along his tree-lined middle-class block. JIM (VO CONT'D) Then again, maybe I could slip in and out without waking her up. JIM slows to a stop, looks with dread at his home EXT. JIM'S HOUSE CONTINUOUS On the front porch sits A GYM BAG. JIM approaches, stares numbly at the bag. Drawing a long breath, he bends over and picks it up. Attached is a NOTE reading: "Don't come in." EXT. MILLARD HIGH DAWN At the foot of the main walk to the school, Tracy and her mother are setting up a CARD TABLE covered with little pink cakes. Jim's Ford Escort chugs its way through the fog and comes to a stop. Looking like a war refugee, JIM emerges from his car carrying the gym bag and heads toward school. TRACY (chirping) Good morning, Mr. M. JIM stops, turns slowly, regards mother and daughter with a crazed, one-eyed, uncomprehending stare. TRACY (CONT'D) (holding one out) Looks like you could use a cupcake! JIM takes it wordlessly. AS he heads up the walkway, he eats it in two huge bites, like a feral animal. TRACY (CONT'D) (calling out) What's wrong with your eye? Are you OK? INT. BOYS' LOCKER ROOM -- DAY IN THE SHOWERS JIM scrubs himself as if to wash his whole life away. JIM (VO) Cupcakes. Jesus Christ. Cupcakes? My life was crumbling, and I was expected to care about these ungrateful kids and their pathetic little dreams. As if my only purpose in life were to serve them. JIM (mocking) Mr. McAllister. Mr. McAllister. Somebody tore down my posters. It's not fair. It's not fair. Can I have an A? Can I have a recommendation? Can I? Can I? AT THE MIRROR JIM adjusts his tie, tries to smooth his wrinkled shirt. JIM (VO CONT'D) Well, fuck them. Didn't I have my own life? Didn't I have my own dreams? He coughs up phlegm and spits it into the sink JIM (VO CONT'D) Cupcakes INT. MILLARD HALLWAY DAY JIM exits the BOYS' LOCKER ROOM door and bumps into Mr. Beckman. MR. BECKMAN Hey, Jim. Big day today JIM (putting on a smile) Oh, yeah. Big day. INT. SCHOOL OFFICE DAY MISS BEEDER of the school office is at the P.A. MICROPHONE. Walt is behind her. She looks over her shoulder, and Walt gives her the go- ahead. MISS BEEDER Attention, everyone. We have an important announcement from our principal. Dr. Hendricks. Walt gives Miss Beeder a courtesy smile and takes the mike WALT Good morning, students. It, uh, behooves me to inform you of an important change in today's elections. Effective this morning... INT. TEACHERS' OFFICES DAY BALLOT AFTER BALLOT -- as a black magic marker crosses out Tammy's name. JIM sits at his desk and carries out his absurd task. He stops and stares. His thoughts wander far, far away. WALT (OS CONT'D) . .. sophomore Tammy Metzier has been... Metzier has been determined ineligible - I repeat: ineligible -- for SGA president. You may not vote for Tammy Metzier. All other candidates are eligible. Now please pay attention to a very important, uh, audio-visual presentation. (irritated, thinking he's off) Linda, who typed this thing? I said I need all caps.... INT. TV AND MILLARD CLASSROOMS DAY CLOSE ON A TV-- mounted in the corner. An educational video is just beginning. Host CLARK NAYLOR sits on the edge of a desk in a generic office set. During the video, we cut to CLASSROOMS, where from the TV's point of view, we see the students watching: English class shop class, gym class, biology class. CLARK (ON TV) Hello, students, I'm Clark Naylor of Joslyn's Educational Resources. It's election day, and how you vote will make a big difference in the activities, events, and perhaps even the policies of your school. Over the past few days or weeks, you've heard candidates for the various offices make their speeches and tell you where they stand. You've probably seen their posters. Maybe you've even had a chance to speak with them personally. CLOSE-UPS OF STUDENTS Now replace the wider shots of classrooms. Photographed as though from a Soviet propaganda film, some students look up nobly and attentively, while others watch with dead eyes and open mouth, and still others goof off. CLARK (ON TV CONT'D) Well, today marks the end of campaigning, and now the spotlight turns to you. Voting is your privilege and your responsibility. Remember, no one needs to know for whom you've voted. That's between you. . . and you. An AFRICAN-AMERICAN TEENAGER walks up to Clark. CLARK (ON TV CONT'D) Now I'd like to introduce you to Tony. Tony's going to show you how to cast your vote. Are you ready, Tony? TONY (ON TV) I think s0 CLARK (ON TV) Good. Let's get started INT. MILLARD HALLWAY NEAR OF-PICE -- DAY JIM slinks down the hall and ducks into a PHONE BOOTH. He fishes change out of his pocket and dials. We hear the echo of the video emanating from all the classrooms. SHERRY'S VOICE (VO) Hi. You've reached the Novotnys. We're not around, but we'll call you back real soon. Have a nice day. JIM Are you there? Sherry, are you there? It's Jim. (suddenly angry) Why did you do that? I trusted you. Completely. You've ruined my life. Do you know that? Do you realize that? Huh? Do you? You've ruined Diane's life. You ruined my life. is that what you wanted? (recovering) I'm sorry. It's just... I'm going nuts here. Okay, all right, so... Really, I'm sorry. I just think we should talk, okay? I love you. INT. TEACHERS' OFFICES -- DAY JIM crosses out more ballots, this time with perverse intensity. JIM (VO) If only my own life could be corrected so easily, with nice fat black lines drawn neatly through my sins. CLOSE ON TAMMY'S NAME - as it is blackened. We WIPE with the motion of the magic marker to: INT. LITTLE SALLY ANN SHOP DAY SWISH! The curtain of the dressing room is drawn back, and there's Tammy. She beams and walks toward -- A THREE-PANEL MIRROR, where she takes herself in, dressed in her new Catholic schoolgirl UNIFORM. The SALESLADY converses nearby with Jo Metzier. SALESLADY And Sacred Heart is such a good school. Excellent school. The public schools are going downhill, as far as I'm concerned. JO Well, we've had good luck at Millard, but for this one it's time for a change. Tammy spins and admires the flip of the skirt. SALESLADY So what do you think? Sacred Heart has the prettiest. They have that nice hint of purple. TAMMY (lying) I hate it. JO You're just going to have to get used to it. TAMMY Please, morn. Please don't make me go to Sacred Heart. I beg you. JO (to saleslady) We'll take two. INT. MILLARD HIGH CAFETERIA DAY Makeshift POLLING BOOTHS are set up just outside the cafeteria. Behind two tables sit TWO TEACHERS who cross out voters' names on big master computer lists. Tracy stands in line, not-so-patiently waiting her turn. TRACY (VO) When the time came to cast our votes, I stood in line just like everyone else. She finally reaches the front of the line. TEACHER Hi, Tracy TRACY Tracy Enid Flick. TEACHER I know. Tracy goes into a VOTING BOOTH and quickly hands her ballot. sophomore PHIL CHOY stands nearby with his CAMERA. TRACY Phil you ready? PHIL Ready. Tracy exits the booth and heads toward the BALLOT BOX. She inserts her ballot halfway and freezes, smiling. Phil snaps a picture, but - PHIL Just a second. My flash. Tracy remains perfectly still while Phil fiddles with his camera. A STUDENT stands behind her, waiting to put his ballot in the box. STUDENT Come on, Tracy. TRACY (through her smile) Just wait. FLASH! Phil gets his shot and Tracy drops her ballot in. TRACY Thanks, Phil. On her way out Tracy passes Paul at the end of the line. He gives her an enthusiastic THUMBS UP. PAUL Way to go, Tracy! Isn't this exciting? TRACY (awkward) Yeah. PAUL Hell, good luck! TRACY (reluctant) Good luck to you too, Paul. PAUL Thanks! INT. VOTING BOOTH Paul scans his ballot, struggles with his decision. PAUL (VO) It's so weird. DO people always just vote for themselves? 'Cause looking at my own name on the ballot, I just... I don't know, I just felt like it's not right to vote for yourself. THE BALLOT - as Paul's pen puts an "X" next to the name "Tracy Flick INT. MILLARD HALLWAYS DAY THE BALLOT BOX is being carried through the halls and up some stairs by Larry Fouch and three other STUDENT COUNCIL MEMBERS. The music suggests the weighty importance of its contents and the sacred mission of its bearers. INT. JIM'S CLASSROOM - DAY JIM is hunkered over his desk. He's a wreck: dark, dark circles under his eyes; his hair didn't dry right -- frizzy here, matted there. And he's near tears. Larry Fouch and his retinue enter cheerfully LARRY Okay, Mr. M. Larry drops the ballot box on Jim's desk JIM What? Right. So let's start counting. LARRY Well, I thought that... well, the way it always works is that SGA president does a count, then the SGA advisor, you know, for the two independent counts. JIM Fine. So do your count. Start with president, and I'll be right back. LARRY You have the key, Mr. McAllister. JIM doesn't understand at first, then JIM Right. I know. JIM proceeds to sort through his cluttered desk drawers but can't seem to find the key. The council members exchange concerned looks as Jim's search becomes frenzied. LARRY Are you okay, Mr. M.? ANOTHER STUDENT What happened to your eye? JIM I'm fine. It's just a bee sting, a simple little everyday bee sting. Some people, they get stung, it's no big deal. Me, I swell up. Okay? JIM emerges from the drawer wielding a VISE GRIP. He goes to the box and TEARS the entire hardware assembly off. Holding the mangled lock, he turns to the students, who look back STUNNED. JIM (CONT'D) I just want to get this over with, so we can have the assembly and go home. We don't have much time until eighth period. I have other things going on, too, you know. LARRY Okay. Yeah. We know JIM All right. I'll be back INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE SCHOOL OFFICE DAY JIM slinks up to a PAY PHONE, inserts a coin, dials SHERRY'S VOICE (cheery) Hi. You've reached the Novotnys. We're not around, but we'll call you back real soon. Have a nice day. JIM it's me again. I'm sorry for all the calls. But Sherry, if I could just hear your voice, if you'd only acknowledge that I... SHERRY (OS) (picking up phone) What do you want, Jim? JIM You're there. SHERRY (OS) Yeah. I'm here. JIM Sherry... I love you. SHERRY (OS) (loud exhale) Don't say that. You know it's not true. JIM It's the only true thing I know anymore. SHERRY (OS) We made a mistake. Let's not make it worse. JIM A mistake? That was no mistake. SHERRY (OS) I was lonely. You took advantage JIM Me? I took advantage of you? You hugged me! You kissed me! You're the one who -- CLICK. INT. MILLARD HALLWAY -- DAY It's PASSING PERIOD, and the halls are jammed with students at their lockers and walking to class. JIM is walking quickly back to his classroom. He passes Paul. PAUL Hey, Mr. M. Big day, huh? Jim doesn't even hear. INT. CLASSROOM DAY Larry is just finishing his count. The ballots are on a desk in front of him, neatly organized into three piles. JIM enters. JIM (impatient) What d'you got? LARRY I'm not supposed to tell. Not until you've counted too. We're each supposed to make an independent count. JIM You're kidding, right? LARRY I thought those were the rules, Mr. McAllister. If they've changed in any way -- JIM Larry, we're not electing the fucking Pope here. Just tell me who won. Jim's use of profanity scares Larry, and he responds reluctantly LARRY It's a squeaker, Mr. M. I've got Tracy by a vote. Just one vote. Jim, who hasn't cared about any of this today, suddenly takes note. He stares blankly at Larry as the news sinks in. LARRY (CONT'D) Mr. M.? JIM Huh. Okay. Well, I guess I'd better do my count. Jim-scoops up the three piles of ballots and takes them to his desk. INT. HISTORY CLASS DAY CLOSE ON DALE - a junior honors student. He is thinking. The wheels are turning, grinding. Finally -- DALE Sputnik. MR. FLAGG is lecturing, really trying to make history come alive. Tracy takes notes, but she is noticeably distracted. MR. FLAGG Right. And what year was that? DALE 1958? MR. FLAGG Almost. 1957. So the point here is when we found out about Sputnik, we got really scared. It seemed like no matter what we had and kept secret, they could develop it too. A-bombs, h-bombs, rocket ships. And this time we were behind them. So -- February 1961, Kennedy tells Congress and the American people he wants to go to the moon. May 1961, the Apollo program is announced... Tracy just can't take it anymore. She abruptly stands up, takes the GIANT HALL PASS off the lip of the blackboard, and starts to leave. Mr. Flagg gives her a small nod. INT. RAILWAY DAY Tracy nears a room, a special room. She slows down and peeks in the window of the door. She sees -- LARRY FOUCH sitting at the back of the classroom, staring front. Tracy presses her face to see what Larry is staring at -- JIM at his desk counting ballots LARRY catches sight of Tracy in the window. TRACY crosses her fingers by her ears and gives a questioning look LARRY sneaks a guilty look at Jim, absorbed in his counting. Then, against his better judgment flashes Tracy a quick, furtive double THUMBS-UP. TRACY suddenly disappears from the window. IN THE EMPTY HALLWAY - Tracy pogos with unbridled joy TRACY (VO) You know that moment when they announce the winner of a beauty pageant? When Miss Texas or whoever suddenly realizes she's Miss America, and all she can do is scream and weep and hug the losers? I had my moment in the hallway that Tuesday afternoon with no one to hug but myself. She pulls herself together enough to peek through the window of the OTHER DOOR to Jim's classroom, the window behind which JIM is still busily doing his count. INT. JIM'S CLASSROOM -- DAY JIM counts out the last of the ballots, mouthing the numbers to himself. JIM (VO) I was at the end of my count when it happened. I'd come up with exactly the same numbers as Larry: Tracy had won the election by a single vote, 256 to 257. I was about to announce my tally when... JIM looks up and sees TRACY in the window, her face exploding with joy. She FREEZES. We move closer to Jim in SLOW-MOTION. What actually occurs in a split-second is suspended in time JIM (VO CONT'D) The sight of Tracy at that moment affected me in a way I can't fully explain. Part of it was that she was spying, but mostly it was her face. Looking at her, you might think she was a sweet, innocent teenage girl. But she wasn't sweet. And she wasn't innocent. She was selfish and cynical and ambitious and thought nothing of destroying the lives of others to get to the top. who knew how high she would climb in life, how many people would suffer because of her? I had to stop her now. Tracy UNFREEZES and darts out of sight. JIM glances at Larry. Larry is writing in a notebook. JIM'S HAND creeps up from his lap and onto the pile of TRACY VOTES. His fingers nimbly count two ballots and pull them off the desk. JIM coughs as beneath his desk he CRUMPLES THE BALLOTS into a ball and drops them into the wastepaper basket. JIM Larry? LARRY (looking up) Yeah? JIM I think we've got a problem. INT. WALT HENDRICKS'S OFFICE DAY Walt is just finishing counting the ballots on his desk. Larry and JIM stand over him. WALT 253... 254... 255. I get the same as you Jim. Looks like Paul's our president. LARRY No way I It doesn't make sense. WALT Sorry. My figures work out exactly the same as Jim's. 256 for Paul, 255 for Tracy. LARRY And 290 "disregards," right? WALT If you say so. JIM Mostly Tammy fans LARRY See, it doesn't add up. There are only 801 ballots but 803 people voted. Two votes are missing. Check the register. JIM He's right. Two people must have pocketed their ballots. Usually it's more. LARRY But, they were there I counted 803 votes. JIM It happens, Larry. People make mistakes. LARRY I didn't make a mistake. Every vote was there when you sac down WALT Whoa! Easy, Fouch. I don't like where you're going. LARRY I'm telling you. Dr. Hendricks, every vote was accounted for. JIM (stern) Larry? We've got twenty-five minutes until the assembly, and we still have to do counts for VP, Treasurer and Secretary. Mr. Hendricks and I have both verified the numbers, and unless you can come up with the ballots you claim are missing - LARRY But, Mr. M. - WALT Fouch, that's enough! End of story. INT. MILLARD HIGH GYMNASIUM -- DAY AN ASSEMBLY - The students are taking their seats on the bleachers. ON THE FLOOR are all the candidates: three for secretary, two for treasurer, one for vice-president, two for president. PAUL AND TRACY sit side-by-side. Paul seems a little overwhelmed by the whole thing. Tracy leans over and offers her hand. TRACY Paul, I just want you to know that no matter how this turns out, you've run a wonderful campaign. It's been fun competing with you. PAUL Yeah, you too, Tracy. I'm just glad it's over. TRACY Yeah. CLOSE ON PAUL PAUL (VO) You know, I don't understand why everybody bad-mouthed Tracy all the time. She was always super- nice to me. JIM approaches the microphone JIM If we could get started. People! Once the winners are announced, we can all go home, okay? The students quiet down JIM (CONT'D) Some contests are so well fought that is seems unfair for someone to win and someone to lose. I think that's the case with all the candidates you see before you today. All of them are highly qualified and embody the, uh, the integrity we expect from our school leadership. OS TRACY - Jim's voice momentarily recedes. TRACY (VO) Act surprised. Walk slowly to the podium. Be modest. Thank them for this incredible honor. JIM That said, the whole point of an election is to choose winners, and that you have done. We'll begin with president. JIM pulls a folded paper from his back pocket JIM (CONT'D) Let me add that this was an extraordinarily close race. It's my pleasure to announce the next president of Millard High School. Tracy just can't wait. Smiling, she STANDS UP. JIM Paul Metzier! The crowd breaks into applause -- and laughter ON TRACY - AS she sits, her smile belies her horror and humiliation Paul begins his acceptance speech. We cut alternately to a thrilled Lisa; a stunned Tracy, tears forming at the corners of her eyes; and to JIM, who watches the events with shifty eyes, his mouth dry and tasting of metal. PAUL Geez, you guys, thanks a lot. I mean, wow, thanks. I promise to do my best and really do a good job and be a good president. And I want to thank Lisa Flanagan for being a super campaign manager. And I just want to say that I think Tracy would have made a great president too and that she really deserves a big hand. The auditorium erupts into applause and whistles, and JIM takes the microphone again. JIM And now, for vice-president. EXT. COCO'S BAKERY/RESTAURANT DUSK In the growing darkness, the restaurant radiates its distinctive orange glow. The parking lot is nearly empty. INT. COCO'S BAKERY/RESTAURANT DUSK JIM sits alone at a booth by the window, finishing a slice of berry pie. He gets the attention of a WAITRESS and holds up his coffee cup. JIM Could I get a...? As JIM gets his warm-up, in walk the Metziers: Paul, Dick and Jo. JIM notices them as they wait to be seated. He wishes he were invisible. As a PERKY HOSTESS leads the family to a table, Paul spots Jim. Here it comes. PAUL Wow! Mr. McAllister! This is so wild. We came to celebrate my victory, and I can't believe it. Here, these are my parents. JIM stands up awkwardly. DICK METZLER (extending his hand) Hi. Dick Metzier. My wife -- PAUL This is great. JIM (extending his hand) JIM McAllister. JO METZLER (extending her hand) JO Metzier. You know, Paul just thinks the world of you. Oh, if you could just hear him... DICK Yeah, say, apparently you've really come behind him, really helped him out there with the student council thing and all. PAUL I never would have ran if it wasn't for Mr. M. JIM Paul doesn't need any of my help. He's going places. You should be very proud. JO We are DICK Having a problem with your eye there? JO Dick. JIM Just a bee sting. DICK You ought to get that looked at. Shot of cortisone or something. JIM Thanks, I'll be fine. DICK Anyway, we're awful sorry about what went on with our other one, you know, our Tammy. JO We were mortified... JIM Oh, she's not a bad girl. She'll come around. JO ... but we've had some good talks, and I think we're sorting things out. We're starting her at Sacred Heart in the fall. JIM Good school. DICK Say, you're all alone, why don't you join us? PAUL Yeah! JIM Oh, no. No. I'm just finishing up here, and I've got to get home. PAUL (to his parents) Why don't you guys go sit down, okay? I'll catch up in a minute? I want to talk to Mr. M. about some important stuff. DICK All right. Well, sure nice to meet you. JO So nice JIM You bet. The Metziers go, and- Paul slides in across from Jim. PAUL So, Mr. M, I was starting to think about ideas for next year. I was thinking it would be cool to have, like a carnival. With rides. And, you know, it could be for, like. Muscular Dystrophy. JIM tries to smile and seem attentive, but we sense his profound fatigue and his profound sadness. PAUL (CONT'D) And on Halloween we could have a haunted house. But a really good haunted house, not like those cheesy bad ones. You know, more like the radio station ones. This one would be really scary. And for Homecoming -- well, you know how last year's theme was - JIM Paul... Paul.... We'll have plenty of time to get into all this later. A whole year, in fact. Right now I just need to finish my pie and get home. PAUL Oh, okay. Yeah, sorry. The wind out of his sails, Paul gets up and is about to go when PAUL (CONT'D) Just one more thing. So, Mr. M., uh, do you think Tracy's going to be okay? I saw her face after the assembly, and I think she's taking it pretty hard. JIM Don't worry about Tracy. She'll be fine. INT. TRACY'S BEDROOM NIGHT CLOSE ON TRACY - her face drained and pallid, her eyes red and bleary: she is exhausted from crying. TRACY One vote... one vote She falls again headlong again into the throes of despair. Her mouth contorts into a rictus of agony, and there issues an almost feral cry of pain. Her anguish grows convulsive. Barbara Flick comes in and sits on the bed. She's carrying a PRESCRIPTION BOTTLE and a glass of milk. BARBARA Why don't you take a couple of my pills, darling? You'll feel better. Tracy takes the pills and sips the milk weakly. Her mother kisses her. BARBARA (CONT'D) Don ' t worry. .. don ' t worry. . . sshhhhh... that's it, baby... that's it, darling. Everything's going to be fine. She lays Tracy on the bed, and Tracy begins to quiet. Barbara kisses her again and rises to leave. At the door she pauses to add a few final words of comfort. BARBARA (CONT'D) Maybe you needed more posters, honey. Or if you'd taken my suggestions about your speech. I don't know. We'll figure it out. EXT. MCAILISTER HOME NIGHT JIM stands at his own back door, beaten and ashamed. He lifts a hand and knocks. After a moment the door opens, and there is Diane. JIM Diane, I... Diane looks at JIM in silence. Her face reveals nothing, but there is a deadness in her eyes. After a moment, she turns back inside, leaving the door open. JIM follows his wife inside, closes the door. The camera moves to peek in the kitchen window, from where we watch JIM and Diane but cannot make out anything they say. JIM (VO) I don't know how Diane and I made it through that night, but we did. Our marriage had gone right to the brink, but in the end I guess it was saved by one simple fact: we truly loved each other. So we made a commitment to begin the painful process of piecing our lives back together. The worst was over; the mistakes of the past were behind us. INT. MILLARD HIGH JIM'S CLASSROOM -- NIGHT A WASTE BASKET peeks out from under Jim's desk. We hear a distinctive rhythmic squeak, and a shadowy head appears in the window. Keys jingle. The door opens, and Lowell turns on the lights. He approaches the waste basket and slides it out. EXT. MILLARD HIGH TRACK DAY FROM OVERHEAD - JIM circles the track. ON THE GROUND -- JIM does pushups. Then sit-ups. JIM (VO) The next day held the promise of a new beginning. After all, what harm had really been done? No one was dead. INT. MILLARD OFFICE DAY Now all clean and refreshed and whistling a merry tune, JIM pops in to check his box, giving a wave to Miss Seeder. JIM Hi, Linda. JIM continues to whistle as he looks through his mail. JIM (VO CONT'D) Life would go on, and I would certainly be a stronger and wiser person from the experience. MISS BEEDER Uh, Jim? JIM Hmm? MISS BEEDER Walt needs to see you. JIM Oh. Okay. Still absorbed in his papers, JIM heads over to Walt's door. INT. WALT'S OFFICE CONTINUOUS JIM You rang? JIM stops cold. Walt is not alone. Barbara Flick and a bleary-eyed Tracy are there. So are Larry Fouch, Ron Bell, and Lowell the janitor. Prominently displayed on Walt's desk are TWO CRINKLED BALLOTS. JIM takes an eternal few seconds to absorb what is happening. WALT Mr. McAllister, I hope you can help us clear something up. BARBARA Look at his face! He knows he's been caught. Look at his face! (to Jim) Your ass is grass, Mister! LARRY You said I was a liar You're the liar, you're the -- WALT Larry, you just take it easy All turn and stare at Jim. Come to think of it, he does look awfully guilty. INT. SPANISH CLASS-- DAY MS. HOY leads the class in recitation. Paul responds along with his companeros. MS. HOY Yo -- CLASS pierdo. MS. HOY Tu CLASS pierdes. MS. HOY El/ella - CLASS pierde. A STUDENT AIDE enters the classroom and hands a note to the teacher, who upon reading the note looks up at Paul MS. HOY Senor presidente? The class laughs fondly. Paul looks around, beaming with embarrassment and pride. MS. HOY (CONT'D) Quieren verte en la oficina. PAUL Huh? INT. MILLARD HALLWAY DAY Paul walks down the hall, a bounce in his step on this fine spring morning. PAUL Senor presidente. Yo soy senor presidente... El grande presidente... PAUL (VO) I don't know why, but finding out there was a mistake and I hadn't won the election after all didn't bother me that much. Winning had seemed kind of unreal anyway. I guess I should have voted for myself. Oh, well. Paul reaches the -- INT. SCHOOL OFFICE CONTINUOUS and enters Walt's office. Everyone is there WALT (standing up) Take a seat, son. We've got something hard to tell you. PAUL Is Tammy okay? WALT She's okay. It's about the election. Walt closes the door in our faces. We hold on the door. JIM (VO) After Paul got the bad news, Walt asked for a few minutes alone with me. It was very simple, really. I offered my resignation, and he accepted. Very quietly, it was all over for JIM McAllister at Millard High - twelve years of hard work down the drain. The door opens revealing that only wait and JIM remain. The office staff is hushed as JIM the Zombie Cyclops emerges into the office and walks somberly toward Miss Boeder. His voice quavers at half-volume. JIM Walt will be speaking with you about this, but I need you to find someone to take over my classes. The lesson plans for the rest of the year are in my top right drawer. MISS BEEDER Okay, Jim. I understand. JIM Thanks. Well. I'm going home now. EXT. HILLARD HIGH (REAR PROJECTIOH) -- DAY As JIM moves toward the parking lot, the school recedes in an odd REAR PROJECTION that suggests he is floating. The MUSIC here reinforces the gravity of the moment, the inevitability of his fate. JIM stops walking, and a disembodied STEEPING WHEEL floats into his hands. The scene behind changes to: INT./EXT. JIM'S CAR REAR PROJECTION - DAY The city passing by outside is another strange REAR PROJECTION. JIM grips the floating steering wheel and makes turns wildly out-of-sync with the background. JIM (VO) I don't remember driving home, or much of anything that happened in the next few days. JIM lets go of the steering wheel, and it drifts away. JIM turns his back to camera to face - INT. MCALLISTER HOUSE (REAR PROJECTIOH) -- DAY JIM drifts toward his house, and it absorbs him through the front door. INT. MCALLISTER LIVING ROOM - DAY We're no longer in rear-projection land: reality has caught up with Jim. As he walks across the room, he strips off his shirt, shoes, socks, and finally pants. Left only in his underwear, he walks through the house and out into the - EXT. MCALLISTER BACKYARD DAY and flops down in the grass, facing the sky. JIM (VO CONT'D) There were news stories in the paper and on television, former students calling with their support, endless hours of doing nothing, thinking nothing. A shadow falls over Jim's face, and a hand offers him a glass of iced tea. Grateful, JIM takes it, and looks up at - DIANE, her head blocking the sun. JIM (VO CONT'D) Diane stood by me through the entire humiliating ordeal, in a way, it sort of evened things out between us. Diane leaves. JIM looks up at the sky. JIM (VO CONT'D) Soon school was over, and summer stretched out in front of me as it always had. Funny how the rhythm of the school year remains ingrained in you for life. in mid-June we found out Diane was pregnant. FADE OUT UNDER BLACK we hear the opening bars of a bouncy TIJUANA BRASS SONG. EXT. METZLER CEMENT PLANT NIGHT PAUL IS DANCING, twisting to the music at a PARTY, a giant grin on his face, a big sombrero with tassels on his head. Behind him we can see an enormous illuminated GRAVEL CONVEYOR. SUPER-IMPOSED: "ONE YEAR LATER." PAUL (VO) Senior year was great I Sure, I didn't get to play ball or be president, but I got elected homecoming king and prom king anyway. I got into Nebraska like I wanted and early-rushed Phi Delts. At the end of the year me and my buddies threw a hitching Mexican party down at the cement plant. Shit, that was a good party. That was a good party! LATER -- Paul is at a KEG, pumping it up and serving himself a beer. He takes a sip, seems to grow pensive. PAUL (VO CONT'D) The only really bad thing about senior year was Lisa. Right before Christmas she dumped me. One minute she's totally in love with me and then boom she's going out with my football buddy Randy. Paul looks over at LISA dancing suggestively with RANDY Paul looks sad, takes another gulp, waves at unseen friends. PAUL (VO CONT'D) Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I'd actually won the election. Maybe my whole life would be different. Like I might never have gone to Yosemite with Greg and Travis. Paul takes a BIG GULP and looks into camera. PAUL (VO CONT'D) Or maybe I'd be dead. FADE OUT UNDER BLACK we hear a distinctive AIRY HISS. INT. SACRED HEART BATHROOM DAY Tammy takes a big toke off a JOINT. TAMMY (VO) Catholic school was great! Tammy and JENNIFER, a Sacred Heart schoolmate, are jammed into a bathroom stall. TAMMY (VO CONT'D) I mean, the teachers kind of sucked, and they were supposedly way more strict, but you could get away with murder. Tammy hands off the doob to Jennifer, who takes a huge hit. TAMMY (VO CONT'D) The best thing about Sacred Heart was meeting Jennifer. Jennifer looks at Tammy. Tammy looks at Jennifer JENNIFER MONTAGE - accompanied by the early '70's song, "Jennifer." SUPER-8 style glimpses of Tammy and Jennifer in the Sacred Heart hallways, Jennifer in the park, Jennifer dancing in Tammy's room, and finally, Jennifer SWINGING. TAMMY (VO CONT'D) All those feelings I had for Lisa were just preparing me for the real thing. Jennifer and I are soul mates, and we're never, ever, ever going to be apart. FADE OUT UNDER BLACK we hear the MURMUR of a small crowd, interrupted by the BANG, BANG, BANG of a GAVEL. TRACY (VO) Senior year was very productive for me and full of personal achievement. INT. STUDENT COUNCIL OFFICE DAY Tracy officiates a MEETING. Next to her at the head table is Jerry Raynor and other council members. TRACY Order. Order. Order I Can we vote on this? Those in favor. TRACY (VO) On top of a very successful student council year, I got into Cornell like I wanted, with scholarships, and I was in the top 7th percentile of my graduating class. TRACY Approved EXT. PARK DAY Tracy walks along the edge of a pond on this overcast day, Her arms are crossed, and she wears an oversized woolen sweater. Wind blows softly through her hair. TRACY (VO CONT'D) But sometimes I got lonely, and I'd think about Dave. I missed our talks. Maybe it could have worked out between us. I don't know. INT. REAL VALU HARDWARE DAY Wearing the red vest and "Ask me" button of a Real Valu foot soldier, Dave stands above a case of SPRAY PAINT. He is stamping prices on every cap. TRACY (VO CONT'D) I wonder what he's doing now. Maybe he finally finished his novel INT. MILLARD CAFETERIA - DAY It's ANNUAL distribution time, and crowd of excited students are lined up to get their precious book of memories. Many have already received theirs and are crowded around dining tables, gleefully exchanging bans mots. Tracy takes her annual and quickly opens it to the INDEX. CLOSE ON TRACT'S NAME - followed by a whopping list of page references TRACY (VO) When the yearbooks came out, I was on almost every page. EXT. MILLARD PARKING LOT - DAY Tracy walks outside hugging her yearbook and sees PAUL AT HIS TRUCK, surrounded by supplicants. Tracy stops for a moment and watches. She gathers her courage and heads toward him. Paul doesn't even notice her, so occupied is he with his friends and admirers. TRACY Paul, will you sign my yearbook? PAUL Sure, Tracy. Paul takes the book, efficiently finds the page with his picture, and goes to work. TRACY Can I sign yours too? PAUL Oh, yeah, sure. (to a friend) Hey Nolan, give my book to Tracy when you're done* Nolan finishes and hands the book over. Tracy turns to the front pages and finds them completely filled, as are the end pages. Now she looks for her picture. When she finds it, it's almost completely obscured by part of some ASSWIPE 'S long, illegible, exclamation point-filled message. Finally, she locates an available space and begins to write. TRACY (VO) I thought very carefully about what to write. Because despite everything that had happened with the election, I really wished him well. I even signed it... CLOSE ON - Tracy writing: "Love, Tracy" beneath her inscription Tracy takes Paul's book back to him. He's already working on another annual and barely looks up when he swaps with her. PAUL Thanks, Tracy. Tracy starts to walk away and Paul stops her PAUL (CONT'D) Hey, Tracy I.. She turns around expectantly TRACY Yes, Paul? PAUL Have a great summer. And good luck at college. TRACY (genuinely moved) Thanks. You too. It was great working with you. Tracy opens the book as she walks and stops when she finds AN ALMOST BLANK PAGE with Paul's puny inscription at the bottom: Have a great Summer! Good luck at college Paul Metzier' INT. TRACY'S ROOM DAY Tracy looks at herself in a mirror, as though dispassionately assessing her own face. Then she begins to put on lipstick. TRACY (VO) After graduation, I don't know. ; somehow felt empty inside. I guess high school just seemed so meaningless now and I couldn't wait to get out of Omaha. Next year I was going to make all new friends. Smarter, more ambitious friends. It was time to move on. There was nothing left for roe here. I just had one more thing to take care of. FADE OUT UNDER BLACK comes the sound of a BUSY COMMERCIAL STREET. JIM (VO) After two months of sitting on my ass and two months helping out at my brother-in-law's travel agency... EXT. GRIFFITH SATURN DAY A standard-issue car dealership: banner-draped lot, glass enclosed showroom. JIM (VO CONT'D) ...I landed a position at a Saturn dealership. INT. GRIFFITH SATURN DAY All those cars and that new-car SMELL IN HIS CUBICLE JIM is typing at his desk across from a 55-ish MALE CUSTOMER. JIM (VO CONT'D) I never thought I'd end up selling cars, but it's not so bad. I like the Saturn philosophy -- it really is a different kind of company. A FRAMED SNAPSHOT on Jim's desk shows Diane and him with the LITTLE ONE. JIM (VO CONT'D) I'm just relieved to have a steady income now that there are three of us. INT./EXT. GRIFFITH SATURN DAY QUICK MONTAGE OUTSIDE ON THE LOT JIM saunters toward a client reading stickers. INSIDE THE DEALERSHIP JIM explains features of a CROSS-SECTIONED SATURN THE CLIENT IS IN A DRIVER'S SEAT while JIM leans in from the opposite window, pointing out dashboard features. JIM (VO) Actually, it wasn't so difficult making the transition from teaching to selling. It's like I tell my customers: my role is just to educate people so they can make informed decisions. THE GLASS DOORS TO THE SHOWROOM OPEN, and JIM watches a satisfied customer drive slowly away in a new Saturn Twin Cam. JIM (VO CONT'D) When I send someone home with a new unit, I feel a genuine sense of pride. INT. GRIFFITH SATURN EMPLOYEE BREAK ROOM DAY The room consists of mismatched sofas and chairs around a coffee table. There's a TV that no one watches. Sleeves rolled up and tie loosened, JIM eats a sandwich next to TWO OTHER SALESMEN and a FEMALE ACCOUNTANT who like him are eating lunch and watching TV. NO one speaks. JIM (VO CONT'D) So that's about it. Maybe I'll get back to teaching someday, but for the time being, I guess I'm pretty happy where I'm at. A SALESMAN pokes his head in the door. SALESMAN (to Jim) Hey, Professor. There's a young gal out here asking for you. JIM Oh JIM chews quicker and wipes his mouth as he stands up, straightens his tie. SALESMAN (low, as JIM passes) She's a real hot tamale. INT. SHOWROOM DAY JIM walks among the shiny new cars and sees the back of an attractive young woman in a red dress and heels. She turns around: it's Tracy. JIM is truly surprised. TRACY Hello, Mr. M. JIM Hello, Tracy. JIM waits for Tracy to lead the way, but she doesn't JIM (CONT'D) So what brings you here? TRACY I'm looking at new cars. JIM Oh. New cars. I see. Well, you came to the right place TRACY My mother's buying me a new car for college. JIM Huh. Right. College. Wow. Where are you going? Where 'd you get into? TRACY Well, I got in everywhere I applied, but Cornell is my first choice. JIM Good for you. Good for you An uncomfortable pause. JIM shifts gears. JIM (CONT'D) So, are you looking for something sporty or more practical? TRACY Sporty. INT./EXT. THE SPORTY SATURN -- DAY A test drive. JIM is in the passenger seat. Tracy nears the end of the dealership's driveway. TRACY Where to? JIM Anywhere you want. (checks his watch) Just so long as we're not gone more than a half-hour. Tracy turns right. They drive a moment in silence. JIM Handles pretty good, don't you think? TRACY Yeah. JIM Plenty of pep, too. TRACY Uh-huh. JIM And this model comes with ABS and dual air bags standard. TRACY That sounds good. A silence JIM So Tracy? TRACY Yes? JIM Why are you doing this? TRACY Doing what? JIM Coming to see me. Are you trying to. . humiliate me? TRACY Nooo. I just thought... l mean, I am looking for a new car. But I just thought, well, I'm going away soon, and you'll be stuck here and, I don't know, I just think maybe if things had been different we might have been, well, friends. Real friends. And then things would be different. Don't you think? JIM just looks at Tracy - it's so very odd JIM Well, I... I... that's very nice of you. TRACY (excited) I've got an idea. Tracy suddenly signals and takes a right. EXT. OMAHA STREET -- DAY Tracy and JIM and the Saturn zoom by. INT./EXT. SATURN -- DAY Tracy takes a corner and pulls to a stop in front of a modest middle class house. JIM What's this? TRACY My house. Tracy sets the parking brake. Jim's eyes register a suppressed panic. JIM I don't understand. What's the deal? Tracy looks deeply into Jim's eyes. TRACY I want you to do something for me. JIM Swallows, unsure what heaven or hell awaits him. TRACY (getting out) I just have to get something. I'll be right back. Tracy heads toward the house. JIM sits and waits. He scans Tracy's house, notices the chipped and peeling paint, the rusting lawn furniture, the bowed porch steps. NOW TRACY opens the door and gets in. She carries her YEARBOOK and gives it to Jim. JIM Oh, is this...? (thumbing through it) God. First one of these I haven't been in for a long time. TRACY Would you sign it for me? Tracy reaches over the parking brake and flips the yearbook to the blank pages at the beginning. JIM What a surprise. TRACY Take as much room as you want JIM removes a pen from his breast pocket and uncaps it. He considers what to write. TRACY (CONT'D) I'm scared, Mr. M. I kind of don't feel ready for college. JIM You'll be fine. TRACY I hope so JIM You will. CLOSE ON JIM He looks at the yearbook. He looks at Tracy. He looks out the windshield. It's all so odd. CLOSE ON THE BLANK PAGE JIM begins to write: "Dear Tracy," 
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+ENTRAPMENT Ronald Bass First Draft Screenplay December 2, 1996 Story by: Ronald Bass and Michael Herzberg EXT. HANCOCK TOWER, CHICAGO - LATE NIGHT Lake Shore Drive. Four o'clock in the morning. Minimal traffic, minimal life. As MAIN TITLES BEGIN, we PAN UP the face of... ...Hancock Tower. Up, up, forty floors, sixty, eighty, very dark up here, street sounds fading fast, and as CREDITS CONTINUE we can just make out... ...a dark FIGURE. Like a spider. Inching its way up the steel surface of the 98th floor, and we CLOSE to see... The THIEF. All in black, nearly invisible, with a sleek visored helmet that conceals the face. Two long, oblong backpacks, climb- ing ropes and harness across back and shoulders, tools at the belt. Moving STRAIGHT UP the face of the skyscraper. How is it possible? CLOSER still to see... ...the piton-like BOLTS are electromagnetic, CLANKING to the steel to support weight. A button releases the magnetic charge when the bolt is pulled up by cords to a higher position. The Thief is remarkably strong and agile, scaling the wall with fluid precision, until... ...our summit. A softly-lit, glass-walled PENTHOUSE on the 100th floor. Subtle spots which bathe paintings, sculptures, in a cavernous coldly-decorated space. Swiftly, deftly, the Thief rigs a suction-mounted HARNESS to the steel casing above a massive window. Pulleys, metal caribiner clips, yellow Kevlar ropes. So superbly practiced, the rigging is placed in seconds, huge SUCTION CUPS pressed to the surface of the glass. The Thief reaches to a metal rectangle at the top of the rigging, touches a button, a motor WHINES, the ropes TIGHTEN and the window... ...POPS FREE, hangs SUSPENDED by the Kevlar ropes which amazingly sustain its awesome weight. The huge pane shudders in the wind, and the Thief slips... ...INTO the Penthouse. Nearby, an ALARM BOX softly BEEPS its 60-second warning to the pulsing of a green light, and the Thief attaches a small computerized DEVICE which runs a series of possible CODES at dazzling speed on its display panel, until... ...the right one STOPS. Illuminated in red. The beeping, the green light, go OFF. The device is removed. Back to the window, air rushing in, attach a similar suction- mounted harness from the inside, all exquisitely engineered to rig in seconds, press new suction cups to the inside of the dangling window pane. A small remote control clicker... ...RELEASES the outside suction cups. The window's weight now supported by the interior rigging. The outside equipment pulled INTO the apartment in a single tug. The WHINE of a motor, and the pane pulls UP, the Thief expertly POPPING it into place. No trace of entry. Rapidly folding the rigging into an astonishingly compact bundle, the Thief SCANS... ...the profusion of priceless art. The paintings run to Otto Dix, Franz Marc, Marcel Duchamp. One statue an obvious Rodin. The soft lighting makes walls seem invisible, everything with an infinity perspective in mind. An obsidian slab dining table that seems to end at the horizon. The Thief has packed the rigging away, taken out a large cylin- drical TUBE bearing a label we can't read. Knows the way, quickly through the spectacular apartment, past oils by early German expressionists, Russian futurists, a Rothko, a Kandinsky, a Francis Bacon. The Thief has no interest in these, and as CREDITS CONTINUE, we enter... ...a powder room. A lime-green poured concrete sink, a copper- plated commode, and across from these... ...a single PAINTING. Unlike the others, clearly an Old Master. A 17th century city on the water, churches, spires, an ancient bridge. The Thief wastes no time, unceremoniously... ...CUTS the painting from its frame with sure, perfect strokes. Rolls it quickly in acid-free paper. Opens the cylindrical tube, pulling out... ...another CANVAS which we cannot see. Deftly unrolls this, fitting it carefully into the stolen painting's now-empty frame. Re-hangs it. Stares for a beat through the opaque helmet visor. Approves. Slips the rolled-up stolen canvas into the empty tube. Leaves. Before we follow, we shift angle to see the replacement canvas... A cheerful acrylic portrait. Bozo the Clown. WITH the Thief now, moving fast, into a panelled library. There is a CHUTE built into the wall, a brass lid with the words U.S. MAIL. The Thief pops the labeled tube DOWN the chute. Gone. Steps... ...onto a bookshelf, reaches up to punch out an overhead grating, and... Disappears into the vent. Reaching back to refit the grating seamlessly into place. INT. VENT Halogen flashlight leading the way, our Thief shimmies down the narrow space, arriving at... ...an open vertical AIR SHAFT, BLASTING air straight up the 100 floor height of the skyscraper, with frightening FORCE. Calmly, the Thief clips on a different harness, unzips a nylon cover from the backpack, and simply... LEAPS DOWN the air shaft, startling the shit out of us, as, for an instant... ...the force of the updraft seems to HOLD the Thief in place, suspended above 100 stories of nothingness. Then suddenly, the Thief... ...DROPS SHARPLY, an exhilarating moment of absolute FREE FALL, until a cord is tugged and... ...a nylon PARACHUTE OPENS with a pop. We watch the Thief drifting lazily down. A ride any kid would pay big money for... EXT. HANCOCK TOWER - LATE NIGHT Our original exterior VIEW of the skyscraper's penthouse. REVERSE ANGLE now to see in far distance... ...the dense forest of silhouetted OFFICE TOWERS of downtown Chicago against the night sky, and we ZOOM TOWARD them, covering miles in three seconds, to CLOSE on... ...the highest floor of the SEARS TOWER, and THROUGH an unlit window to see... ...a TELESCOPE. A silhouetted FIGURE looking through it. SNAP to... VIEW through the scope's lens. An amazingly CLOSE detail of the Hancock Tower Penthouse. The scope now PANS DOWN the length of the Tower, to... The street. The Thief climbing onto a battered old Lambretta. Calm as you please. And as the scooter glides off... We HEAR our unseen voyeur WALK AWAY from our telescope. A door OPENS somewhere, and as CREDITS CONCLUDE, it... Closes. Softly. INT. WEBBER ASSURANCE - DAY A basement corridor. Long, bare, dimly lit. Silent. We're in the bowels of somewhere. A startling CLANK, like a prison cell unlocking. A FIGURE enters the corridor, coming this way, on the hurried side of brisk. HECTOR CRUZ is 42, tanned, fit, graying hair swept back in a Pat Riley do. He wears Riley's Armani, too. Maybe this guy coaches. Heels ECHO until he reaches a plain door with discreet lettering... NO ADMITTANCE FOR ANY REASON. There is a dull silver rectangle below the words. He holds his hand up to it... Nothing happens. Shit. Dries his palm on his perfectly-creased slacks. One more time. CLICK. Enters... INT. SITUATION ROOM - DAY An unexpectedly VAST semi-circular room, the entire inner circum- ference made up of a single continuous WALL SCREEN, separated into a seamless array of IMAGES... Three-dimensional rotating GRAPHICS of every room in the Hancock Tower Penthouse, SCHEMATICS of electrical, plumbing, and ventila- tion systems. See-through rotating multicolored models of every piece of security EQUIPMENT imaginable, components FLASHING as performance simulations are run. Rapid-fire sequences of indiv- idual human PROFILES, complete with photos and bio blurbs. Screens flickering with blizzards of DATA, hurtling past at warp speed. The Pentagon and CNN would kill for this room. The largest segment of screen, twenty feet square, runs a LIVE FEED from the crime scene. The living room of the Penthouse, crawling with slow-moving cops and technicians, doing their slow-moving thing. Surrounding this image are a dozen smaller screens, showing this and other rooms from a variety of camera angles. All live. We see the library, the mail chute. The powder room. Bozo. Cruz skips down three steps to floor level, nine separate CONTROL STATIONS, each outfitted with super-tech panels to process the avalanche of information. But today, all stations are empty. Except one. CRUZ Baker. You got it solved? And now we see her. From the rear. Slouched at her station. Looks like a skinny teenager in tousled tawny hair, rumpled oversized workshirt, vintage jeans. GIN (O.S., from the rear) Actually. Yeh. Not a kid's voice. Throaty. Music and whiskey and sex and effortless confidence. Even the voice turns us on. CRUZ (glances at his watch) What took you so long, Gin? I called 4:30 this morn... And stops. Because she turns with a look that would freeze anyone to stone. GIN I was with someone, all right? Now we really see her. Delicate bones and features, slender body, radiating the power of a natural heart-stopping beauty. GINGER BAKER is 32, ethereal and feral at once. Electric green eyes crackle with an intellect and a will that are not to be fucked with. CRUZ So? This is work. He is not kidding. Stainless steel beneath the dapper. They are a matched team. GIN Hector, I hardly know the guy. Why be impolite to strangers? And he smiles. Maybe she's lying. He likes her. CRUZ Look at those assholes... He means the cops on live feed. CRUZ If the Vermeer were lying on that table, they'd toss their doughnuts on it. GIN Yeh, well, they didn't insure it, so they don't have to solve this. To them it's a crime. To us it's 24 mil, less re-insurance, which is... CRUZ (grim) Only thirty percent, Gin. Ouch. Really? CRUZ Which is why you're on this. Soft and straight. You're the best. I need you. GIN He came in through the window. CRUZ That's not possib... GIN What's not possible is entry through the doors or the vents. That would have triggered instant alarm. CRUZ The windows are wired, too. GIN Only for trauma. They used smart glass, where the sensors respond to violation of the panel's integrity. He's listening. He always does with her. GIN I think he scaled the wall, popped the frame. In one piece. She sounds awfully positive. Then again, she always does. GIN Then, he only had to deal with heat and motion sensors. They were on 60-second delay, so the owner wouldn't trigger the alarm just be walking arou... CRUZ The pane weighs 200 pounds, the building's 1100 feet high. GIN This particular guy is the best. The best there ever was. Almost as if she knows who. Cruz shakes his head... CRUZ Popping the frame would trigger the alarm. She smiles. First time. Even at one-tenth power, it is dazzling light. She touches the panel before her... GIN (gently) I wrote a program and ran it, Dumbo. The live feed is replaced by a red-outlined rotating three- dimensional DIAGRAM of the living room. The alarm box glows green. One window pane glows lavender. She touches the panel, and the window SHATTERS, the alarm instantly emits a PIERCING SCREECH. Reset. As he watches. This time the window SLIDES AWAY into thin air. No sound. A stick figure appears, crawls through the opening, and the alarm begins the slow BEEP we heard last night. Cruz just stares. GIN Here's how I figured it out... Live feed replaces the diagram. Our camera ZOOMS toward a VASE of lilies by the window. All the flowers are tilted in one direction. Over the lip of the vase, away from the window. GIN No one arranges flowers like that. It was the draft from the window. He turns to her. CRUZ You said. This particular guy. Now she is beaming. Excited. And just above a whisper... GIN Andrew MacDougal. Delighted at his stupefied reaction. CRUZ Why not Houdini? Or Pretty Boy Floyd? Maybe Jesus Christ. GIN Because they couldn't do it. His slow smile. This fucking kid. CRUZ He's been out of the business. For ten years. GIN Maybe not. No one ever proved, hell, even arrested him, for stealing anything. But we all know he was numero ichiban for thirty years. Why not forty? She's serious. CRUZ Why? Because of the Bozo switch? Guys have been copying his pack- rat signature for decades. Maybe the thief wanted it to look like MacDougal. She doesn't even answer. Just touches her panel, and one of the data screens BLOWS UP to huge size. It is... GIN A list of his private collection. Complete to three acquisitions last Thursday. Names SCROLLING up endlessly, next to titles, descriptions, estimated retail and black market values. Turner, Corot, Thomas Coles, DeKooning, Klimt, Cezannes, Odilon Redon, Braques, Mary Cassatt... CRUZ No Vermeer. Nothing close. GIN Don't be a putz. This is his legitimate collection, which he buys. Presentable for any search warrant surprise party. Names keep rolling, Degas, Paul Klee. Amazing. GIN What he rips off, he fences. And the money feeds his portfolio of investments, which are daring, savvy, and obscenely succesf... CRUZ Oh, I get it. He has no interest in Vermeers, so that proves he stole one. By that logic, he oughta be a suspect most of the time. She shakes her head, sadly. GIN You love to embarrass yourself. Touches her panel. The big screen now shows a grainy VIDEOTAPE of... GIN The auction. Where our client bought the painting... We see the Great Room of an English Country estate. Perhaps a hundred attend. Genteel to the max. GIN (O.S.) Ashcroft Hall, Buckinghamshire, four weeks ago. The tape PANS five PAINTINGS on the block. We recognize our VERMEER, the city of Delft, the canal, the bridge. The view PULLS BACK to include the crowd, and... FREEZES. One tiny section is circled. And BLOWS UP twenty feet. high, so blurry as to be unrecognizable. Then, SNAPS to amazing resolution. The image of... GIN (O.S., murmur) Anyone we know? ...ANDREW MacDOUGAL, perhaps 60, as charismatic and shamelessly virile a face as one can recall. Etched with character and worldly experience, lit by a twinkle behind the razor-keen gaze. Tall, wide shoulders, massive hands. This guy would be more fun to fuck than fight. By a lot. CRUZ So he was there. GIN Staking it out. Why bid, when you can mark the buyer, and jack it within the month? She leans WAY back in the molded chair. Lifts her long legs up onto the console. They end in slender bare feet. The toes wriggle. GIN At this moment, he is winging on JAL flight 307 to Narita, ostensibly to attend a prestigious auction at the Hotel Akura, which will include a mixed media collage/oil by Georges Braques, on which he supposedly has his eye. CRUZ But you know better. GIN Bet your ass. At Vegas odds. Touches the panel. The big screen now holds three faces, three names. GIN (O.S.) Research reveals three known fences, still at large, who are believed to have brokered Vermeers to black market buyers. Sandrine Palmer is hospitalized in Malta with ovarian cancer. One face and name disappears. Two remain. KOICHI NARUHITO. HIROYUKI YAMAJI. GIN The other two. Live in Tokyo. A tiny, dry, adorable, shrug. Which says, bingo. CRUZ And you did all this since 4:30 this morning. Grinning small at each other. She can't help that hers is hot. She never can. CRUZ (murmur) Plus. You were polite to a stranger. One of those moments when his attraction to her is too obvious to ignore. Best to defuse by pretending it's a joke... GIN (soft and playful) Sounds like you're sorry you're already a friend. Said as banter between pals. Which doesn't make her wrong. INT. HOTEL OKURA, TOKYO - NIGHT Auction in progress in the huge traditional LOBBY, where bonsai trees, paper lanterns and elaborate painted screens counterpoint the sleek, international, big-money crowd. Everyone milling, drinking, schmoozing, networking in a babble of languages, as up on the raised platform... ...the AUCTIONEER has a new piece on the block, a 6th Century temple scroll, from the Asuka period. It is exquisite, and bidding seems to be big time, from the rapidly escalating numbers on the overhead DIGITAL DISPLAY, which reveals bidding status in thirty currencies simultaneously. As we PAN the hall, we see... ...all non-Asians either wearing headphones, or acompanied by personal translators at their elbow, to follow the rapid-fire auctioneer. Except one. ANDREW MacDOUGAL stands alone in black tie. Tall and rugged and polished and focused, and, well, pretty gorgeous. He is bidding on the scroll, indicated only by subtle gestures with his program and the repeated finger-stabs of the auctioneer in our direction. WOMAN'S VOICE (O.S., subtitled Japanese) Don't do it. PULL BACK slightly to reveal Gin, who has stepped to his shoulder. She is barely recognizable to us in her satiny slip of a pale golden gown that drapes her frame perfectly. Breathtaking would be an insult. MacDougal doesn't turn, doesn't seem to even hear her. Just raises his program to up the bid. GIN (softly, subtitled Japanese) You're already over value. By 15 percent. And now he turns. Straight to her eyes. This is NOT an admiring glance at seeing the loveliest woman in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a look that says, in the most understated terms, shut up or I'll kill you. She shuts up. His glance goes to his obvious bidding RIVAL, a rather butch middle-aged Chinese woman in an embroidered version of a Mao suit. She indicates her bid by gesturing with a tiny Yorkshire Terrier, whom she holds in her stubby hands. MacDougal raises back. GIN (subtitled Japanese) Will you stop being stubborn for one sec... And stops. Because he has turned. With the eyes of a lion. Being pulled from an antelope carcass. MAC (quietly, subtitled Japanese) I have a question. Rich Scottish voice. Impeccable Japanese intonation. GIN (brightly, subtitled Japanese) Who the fuck am I? MAC (subtitled Japanese) That is of no interest. Oh. In spite of herself, she looks a little hurt. GIN (subtitled Japanese) What, then? MAC (subtitled Japanese) Why. Are we speaking. Japanese? Her eyes move across his formidable face. GIN Uh. I'm showing off. His eyes scan the length of her gown. Her body. MAC Something of a habit? She is minus a comeback. MAC You know the alleged value of this piece from some fucking computer, which has no clue of the price I can turn the scroll around for in 30 minutes. A beat. GIN No, you can't. He blinks. No? GIN (really sorry) It's sold. His great head WHIPS around to see Madame Mao KISSING her pooch, flushed with victory. He stares for a long moment, a veneer of philosophical almost masking his rage. When he turns back... MAC Are you a confederate of my adversaries? Or are you just stupid. And walks. Away. HOLD on her. Feeling like both. EXT. HOTEL OKURA - NIGHT Mac among the guests awaiting their cars, standing slightly apart. From behind him... ...a feminine throat clears. Nervously. He closes his eyes for a beat. Then, turns. GIN (softly) How about. If I try humility. And presents a business card to him with both hands, Japanese- style. Mac looks in her eyes. Takes the card with both hands. Reads... MAC Virginia Romay... GIN Gin, actually, Gin Romay. I was named after a card game. MAC Or a cheap cocktail. She blinks. His brows raise... MAC (softly) As in. I'll have a Gin Romay, please. With a twist. That laser, unsmiling stare. Beyond sexy. She gets lost in it for a beat. GIN You're supposed to be charming. MAC I'm supposed to be selective. Glances back to her card. Reads... MAC Art and Antiquities Acquisition Advisor, how alliterative... Looks up. Still no smile. MAC And am I the antiquity? GIN In mint condition. She sighs. Achingly lovely. GIN Look, I've studied you, I know... pretty much...everything. Do you. GIN Made your first millions selling scrap metal. Then, gold mining concessions, gems, art, and lately strategic metals for new technologies - platinum, zirconium, titanium... MAC You said. Everything. Huh? Oh. GIN The cat burglar stories? Why would anyone...with so much to lose...take those kinds of risks? Guileless smile. GIN You'd have to be. Stupid. A held beat. His glance lifts beyond her shoulder. MAC Excuse me. And walks off toward a sleek custom TOURING CAR just pulling up. She goes after him. GIN I didn't know Porsche made things like this. MAC Well, they don't... Tipping the valet. Sliding in... MAC ...as a rule. Shutting the door. Through the open window, she hands something from her bag. A plastic rectangle which OPENS into a slide viewer. She presses the light ON. He looks at the slide. GIN Recognize that? No reaction. GIN My seller is in Shinjuku, we can go there tonight. She leans closer. GIN He wants 4.6 million. I can get it for three. He hands it back. Looks in her eyes. MAC No, you can't. And TAKES OFF. Her jaw drops slightly, but in one fluid motion... She's hailed a cab. INT. IMPERIAL HOTEL BAR - LATER Graceful, timeless room, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the '20s. Burnished. Elegant. Way cool. A place to drink, to deal, to dream. PAN down the polished surface of the bartop, til we come to... ...a tropical DRINK. Cute little umbrella, tilted back toward the room. ROTATE ANGLE to see... ...INSIDE the umbrella, something small, something mechanical. A woman's HAND ADJUSTS the point of the umbrella ever so slightly, and we PAN UP her arm to see... ...Gin. Still in her gown. She is reading, with half-glasses, and one of the bows curls around her ear, which we CLOSE on to hear... ...static. Gin adjusts the drink umbrella, which is a directional mike, and hears... MAC (O.S.) ...only it's not bloody football! SNAP to Mac's table, well across the room. Drinking giant beers with a large, really fat Japanese guy in a costly; if wrinkled, suit. The hulk listens with stone attention to Mac's rant, as if he actually gave a shit. MAC (O.S.) ...it's just that crap Americans call 'football', like you could call your ass a butterscotch scone and have it be one! The guy nods seriously. Maybe he's a Sumo dude. MAC Why you'd want to bring that foolishness to Japan, you're just pissing your investment down a bungee hole. SUMO GUY (major accent) You got Cubano this trip? That he does. Mac pulls out a leather cigar holder, and passes it over. Flat against one side is an ENVELOPE, which Sumo Guy PALMS skillfully, slipping it seamlessly INTO his pocket as he withdraws a small MATCH BOX. Takes out one long cigar, lights up... MAC Seriously, put the money into pharmaceuticals or prostitution, something stable. The big guy pushes the cigar holder and match box back toward Mac. Opening the box, Mac sees one match and a small MICROCHIP fastened to the cardboard. Lights up. Slides the match box in his pocket. MAC Garbage, perhaps. Or industrial plastics. ANGLE...Gin still engrossed in her reading. A figure leans down next to her. She startles, slightly. So surprised to see... MAC My favorite thing in life. Coincidence. She gives him the great smile. GIN I'm staying here, what's your excuse? And now he smiles. First time ever. A little chilling, the way he does it. MAC Staying here, as well. You are in room...? GIN (half a beat) One thirty-eight. In one motion, he flags the bartender... MAC Will you send a half-bottle of Chateau d'Yquem '67 to Room 138, please? And some berries and chocolates for the lady to enjoy it with. He presses some currency into the barkeep's hand. Turning back... MAC Actually, I was just across the room, dickering with a gentleman over the purchase of an interesting Spitzweg. Until I determined the painting was apparently stolen... Oh. She's shocked. He agrees... MAC Goes against my grain. The DeKooning in your slide, the 4.6 million you can get for 3. Can you get it for 2 and a half? She looks in his eyes. GIN Sure. And as if he believed her... MAC My checkbook is in my safe. You wait here. His smile evaporates. He is gone before she can say... GIN Okay. I'll wait here. INT. CAR, SHINJUKU DISTRICT - NIGHT Mac driving in silence. Gin stealing glances at him. Suddenly and smoothly, he reaches down, and picks up... GIN That's my purse. He opens it. One eye on the road, he begins to rummage... MAC Just want to see if I'm with the person you say you are. Can't be too caref... She SNATCHES the bag away from him, he GRABS it back, the car SWERVES LEFT, and... ...CRASHES VIOLENTLY into a parked pure white Bentley. Metal BUCKLES and TEARS, both ALARMS go OFF, a cacophony of horrific NOISE. MAC (quietly) Oh, dear. People come RUNNING, but our focus is drawn to the refined elderly COUPLE who were just returning to their precious Bentley. Their WAILS and ANGUISH would be suitable if all their grandchildren had been crushed beneath Mac's wheels. Mac and Gin are OUT of the car. As he exits, Mac has palmed a small BLADE, and in a quick unseen motion, RIPPED a jagged tear in his left trouser leg. The old couple RUSH to Mac, SHRIEKING their rage and grief in Japanese, Gin is trying to calm them as bystanders gather, but Mac cuts through... MAC (subtitled Japanese) We'll go in there, and call the police. And HOBBLES off toward the nearest building, a block-square 30-story skyscraper bearing the name FUJITSU. The couple, the crowd, all race after the limping Mac... GIN Are you all right? No answer, he looks dark enough to rain. INTO the public lobby of the huge industrial complex. Two night GUARDS come hurrying from their desk, as the small mob POURS in. Mac in the lead, a commanding presence, tells the guards in a loud, clear voice... MAC (subtitled Japanese) I have damaged the car of these kind people. Please help them call the police... One guard leads the hysterical couple toward a phone. Mac pulls up his trouser leg, and Gin GASPS to see a bloody GASH. Mac drops the trouser back over the wound. Asks the remaining guard... MAC (subtitled Japanese) May I use a washroom, please. The guard nods absently, disoriented by the chaos. Mac hands his billfold to Gin... MAC These are my papers, passport, car registration. If the police arri... GIN You're going to need stitches, let me get you to a hospital. Soft words, genuine concern. And his eyes flicker. As if somehow seeing her for the first time. A small spark, but she feels it. Softer still... GIN Really, this can all wait. I'll handle it. The look holds. MAC That's actually. Very sweet. His first real smile. It was worth waiting for. MAC (to a guard, subtitled Japanese) Might you have a First Aid kit, of some kind? INT. TOILET STALL We are inside an empty, closed, Japanese-style toilet stall. Porcelain foot rests. A hole. The door BURSTS OPEN, and... ...Mac enters FAST with the First Aid kit, locking the door, hitting the STOPWATCH on his wrist, which begins counting at ZERO. He pulls UP his trouser leg, revealing the bloody gash, and simply... ...RIPS the entire wound OFF, the rubbery prosthetic wound DANGLES, dripping its phony blood. Mac pulls gauze strips from the kit, SOAKS them in bogus gore, expertly WRAPS his leg, then FLUSHES the prosthetic DOWN the hole. He pulls off the FUJITSU VISITOR badge clipped to his lapel, and from a Ziploc bag slides a small sheet of plastic, which he PRESSES to the face of the badge, fitting perfectly, turning the badge into... ...an EMPLOYEE I.D., the name KAWAKUBO, M., the PHOTO of a surly Japanese male. Quickly, Mac takes out the MATCH BOX from the hotel bar, and with a fine tweezers gently removes the MICROCHIP, placing it INSIDE the badge, activating it with a soft BEEP-BEEP. He reaches now... ...behind his back, up UNDER his tux jacket, and RIPS FREE a tightly-compressed PACK of what seems white paper or cloth. He SNAPS it loose, revealing it to be... ...a baggy CLEAN SUIT, not unlike hospital scrubs and falling to the floor... ...a white HOOD. With opaque tinted VISOR. INT. SECURITY CORRIDOR Mac in his clean suit and opaque-visored hood at an elevator marked CLEARED PERSONNEL ONLY in English and Kanji (Japanese characters). He holds his badge to the SCANNER, the door PINGS and slides OPEN.. INT. PREP ROOM ENTRANCE, 29TH FLOOR Mac emerging from his elevator at the entrance to an AIR-LOCK with sign CLEAN ROOM - CLASS 10. Holds his badge to the SCANNER, the air-lock door lights FLASH froin red to yellow to green. He enters... ...the PREP ROOM. Recorded VOICES purr safety instructions in Japanese, while Mac stands, being bombarded by air shower, chemical sprayer, blinding UV light. The next air-lock OPENS. He enters... INT. CLEAN ROOM ...a long ASSEMBLY LINE, where ROBOT ARMS work on a stream of black SILICON WAFERS, which pass along a clear Lexan CONVEYOR BELT. The wafers move through various airtight CHAMBERS, exposing them to multi-colored gasses, cyan, sodium yellow, magenta, etc., as part of the microchip manufacturing process. More than a dozen TECHNICIANS in their hooded clean suits watch over every phase of the work, attached to the walls by grounding wires and air hoses, which create a deafening NOISE. Mac simply hooks himself up, and saunters straight THROUGH the area, toward the place where the conveyor belt with its newly-processed MICROCHIPS... ...DISAPPEARS through the wall. Nearby, a HATCH is built into the same wall, and Mac calmly CLANKS it OPEN, squeezing through into... ...a dimly-lit MAINTENANCE BAY. Panels of switches, wires, fuses, fans, air cleaners. Maximum claustrophobia, as Mac CLANGS the hatch SHUT behind him, looking instantly to... ...an OVERHEAD HATCH with letters in Kanji and English, DANGER ARGON GAS. Mac THROWS back his hood, YANKS out his mini oxygen pouch, fits the slender forked breathing tube into his nostrils, and slips on thick round infrared GOGGLES that make him look like a refugee from 12 MONKEYS. No time to lose... ...up THROUGH the overhead hatch, closing it behind him as he enters... ...the conveyer TUBE, a horizontal Lexan cylinder three feet in diameter, filled with billowing red gas. Mac stretches out on his belly, glancing up to where the clear conveyor belt, with its precious cargo of microchips, runs along just above his head in eerie red light. He begins to... ...shimmy, crawl, squirm along the length of the tube. Gas too thick to see the end. He is agile as a commando, hauling ass, when suddenly... ...the floor beneath his tube FALLS AWAY, and he is crawling in space 29 stories above Tokyo, as his tube spans the distance between manufacturing and shipping structures. He goes faster, HARDER... INT. MICROCHIP VAULT A black chamber. We can scarcely make out the endless rows of shelving, the air purifying equipment, the conveyor belt entering through its air lock, as machinery folds each priceless microchip in foil wrappers, stacks them on shelves. Through the gasket... ...Mac TUMBLES into view, swinging himself neatly DOWN to the floor, and in a single motion, he is already FLASHING a neon-green pen light along the shelves of microchips. We see now the wrappers are different colors, with different Kanji characters, and Mac is definitely looking for something special, until... ...he's found it. A single row, 35 chips, nothing special from here, but Mac... ...WHIPS out something coiled, SNAPS it to full length, revealing a strip of shiny black SATIN CLOTH. Three feet long, little more than an inch wide. Carefully, Mac lays the strip down directly OVER the row of microchips. And when he lifts it UP again... ...the chips have ADHERED to the underside of the cloth. In one deft SNAP of his wrist, he COILS the cloth again, like a yo-yo. Turns to leave, and... Oh, yeh. Tosses a small SACK of something where the chips used to be. TIM'S CASCADE BRAND POTATO CHIPS. SEA SALT AND VINEGAR FLAVOR. INT. CLEAN ROOM Mac exiting from the maintenance hatch back into the Clean Room. No one sees, no one cares. Hooking up once again, he ambles toward a door clearly marked EXIT ONLY TO EMPLOYEE LOUNGE - RETURN ONLY THROUGH SECURITY AREA. By the door is an employee notice tacked to the wall. He pretends to scan it. A stack of flyers. He takes one. Exiting into... INT. EMPLOYEE LOUNGE Past a changing area, vending machines, guys bullshitting. Mac just strolling along, reading his flyer, as... A hand. Touches his shoulder VOICE (subtitled Japanese) Excuse me. Mac turns, stares through his opaque VISOR at a well-built SECURITY OFFICER. Dead straight eyes. OFFICER (subtitled Japanese) The company picnic. Saturday or Sunday? His eyes cut to the flyer Mac is 'reading'. Mac hands it to him, and without a trace of Scottish accent... MAC (subtitled Japanese) Better eat first. INT. GUEST LOBBY Gin is up to her ears in grief. There are no less than five COPS grilling her, taking notes, while the old couple has their second wind and are SHRIEKING in top form. The bystander gallery has grown to maybe three dozen, and they're all getting their word in. As Gin struggles to cope... ...she keeps looking at the clock. Darting glances toward the corridor. She is freaking out. Finally. She can't stand it. Hands Mac's billfold to one of the cops, pushes her way through the mob, and... ...TAKES OFF down the corridor, a security guard in belated pursuit, we go... ...WITH her DOWN the hallway, WHEEL around a corner, flat-out SPRINTING, SKIDS to a stop at the right doorway and BURSTS INTO... INT. MEN'S ROOM An empty washroom. She listens. Nothing. GIN Mr. MacDougal? Sir? No sound. Uh-oh. GIN Uh. Mr. Ma... MAC (O.S., from the stall) Just 'Mac'. And whatever became of a gentleman's privacy? The security guard BARGES IN. MAC (O.S.) My God, more females? The guard starts railing at Gin a mile a minute. She calmly takes a WAD of bills from her purse. Hands them to the guy... GIN (subtitled Japanese) Stand outside. That door. Two minutes... He does. Alone again. GIN I was worried, it's been twenty... MAC (O.S.) Eighteen, actually. The leg is fine, but I got sort of...woozy. GIN Woozy. MAC (O.S.) Lost my stomach once or twice. CUT INSIDE the stall. He is just re-taping the folded clean suit and hood to the small of his back. MAC I'm an old man. You probably noticed. Awkward silence. He smiles at that, much amused. Slips on his jacket. MAC You should see me without my teeth. UNLOCKS the door. Remembers... MAC Ah. Mustn't forget to zip up. That's not what he forgot. He pulls OUT the coiled black satin cloth strip, SNAPS it free, microchips snug to the underside. And fits it neatly... ...DOWN his trouser leg. The perfect tuxedo stripe. OUT the door. To meet her gaze. MAC Odd place, this. He goes to her. Offers his arm. MAC What do you suppose they make here? Video recorders? She takes it, wrapping both hers through. GIN Microchips, I think, for computers. He opens the door. Ushers her through... MAC Bad investment. The best ones are here today... Follows her out... MAC (O.S.) Gone tomor... Closed door. Quiet. INT. CAB, NIHONBASHI DISTRICT - NIGHT They sit together in the rear of the taxi, as it makes its way through late night traffic. She is looking around. GIN This isn't the way to my sel... MAC (quietly) I've changed my mind. Looking straight ahead. Contemplative. She stares at his profile... GIN Mind telling me why? MAC You can't get it for me at 2.5, can you? GIN Well, we can tr... MAC You were setting me up. The correct price is 2.8. You conspire with the seller to start at 4.6, so I'll be grateful when you 'bargain' him down to three. Close enough to fool some people. unfortunately... He sighs. Never looks at her. MAC I'm old. I know what everything is worth. She keeps staring. GIN So where are we g... MAC I am going to the airport. You are going on to the rest of your life. Which... He thinks. Admits... MAC ...should be interesting. Her turn to think. GIN You forgot your lugg... MAC The hotels deal with that. The things I need are always waiting at the next one. (afterthought) I don't carry. Baggage. Little twist on that. GIN Sensible. And you're off to...? MAC Oh, that's highly personal. He still stares straight ahead. The taxi pulls onto a freeway. Toward Narita Airport. Time running out. And in her dearest, most vulnerable, voice... GIN I did so hope to impress you. She puts the fingertips of her left hand. On his chest. A silence. No reaction. GIN (hopeful) I'm still hoping... And he smiles. Turns to her eyes. MAC Young lady. I am old enough to be your grandfather. She shakes her head. Uh-uh. GIN (soft) My father. Leans her mouth in for the kill. GIN (whisper) That's part of the rush. And softly. Fits her mouth to his. The green eyes close, as she tastes him. Nothing predatory in this kiss. It is tender, exquisite. A kiss of deep longing. Of true love. His arms slip around her. And in less than five seconds... TAXI DRIVER (O.S., racist accent) Still on fo' airport? Nobody. Says. Nothin'. INT. MAC'S SUITE - LATE NIGHT A small bottle. An ornate label. Chateau d'Yquem '67. Gin lifts it from the table, studies the label. She wears only a man's oversized t-shirt. Our rotating ANGLE reveals the empty bed, tangled sheets. Gin looks pretty rumpled herself. She lifts the bottle, two glasses, a plateful of chocolates and strawberries, and goes to the sliding glass door overlooking... ...the TERRACE. Mac sits on a futon at the balcony railing, overlooking downtown Tokyo. He wears a thin Japanese robe called a yukata, and is wrapped in half of a huge down COVERLET from the bed. The other half obviously waiting for... GIN Here. A reward. She curls down into the billowing coverlet, just against his body. Sets her things beside him. MAC A reward for what? GIN For not being old. After all. It is a lovely smile. He studies it for a beat. MAC You mean. Not as old as I look. She traces her finger along his cheek. GIN (a whisper) Yeh. And kisses him. It takes awhile. She seems to enjoy it. With him, it's harder to tell. When she pulls back... ...he picks up a chocolate. Tears it in half. Offers her the larger piece. GIN Do I deserve a reward? No answer. He puts the chocolate into her mouth. With great tenderness, he traces the line of her lower lip. As she swallows. GIN It's so hard to find good casual sex, anymore. I'm probably out of practice. But he just looks at her. MAC What's hard to find. Is someone you truly want to be with. And leans closer. Just above a whisper... MAC Even for awhile. He kisses her. Beautiful and deep, the way he does it. And when he pulls back, she is staring at him. As if at a loss for something to say. GIN It's lucky we stopped by my room, for the wine. She swallows. Because his gaze is unrelenting. As if not forgetting that she's changed the subject. GIN Otherwise, we'd never have found my bag was stolen. Until tomorrow. MAC Would that make it more stolen? She smiles. His face looks kind now, not formidable at all. Maybe she's wondering if she actually likes him. GIN They even got my prescriptions. MAC Something you need? There are all-night chemists... He does look concerned. And therefore sweet. She kisses his nose. GIN I take Prilosec. For stomach acid. And an inhaler. For asthma. She gets her old smile. The soft, wicked tease. GIN But since I didn't have to work all that hard tonight... He stares at her. Cocks a finger, like a gun, right between her eyes. Pantomimes pulling the trigger. GIN (softly) Ouch. I had that coming. She pivots, and snuggles her back comfortably into his chest. He wraps strong arms around her. Pulling her close. GIN Why would someone steal my luggage? Every guest in this place must have more than a wannabe art dealer. MAC Ah. Maybe the thief thought you had something valuable in there. Something in the tone. GIN Such as... MAC Well. Wannabe dealers make excellent fences. A flicker. In her eyes. And she cuddles back. As if enjoying the humor. GIN He thought I had a stolen painting. In my bag. MAC I'm joking, of course. Kisses the top of her head. MAC The Vermeer wouldn't fit. Her eyes widen. Just a little. GIN Excuse me? MAC Why, did you do something wrong? She turns all the way around. Their faces are inches apart. Each reading the other's eyes. GIN You said. Vermeer. MAC The most famous painting stolen this week. His turn. To kiss her nose. MAC If you don't keep up on your craft. You'll miss all the jokes. And lowers her gently onto her back. Still staring in her eyes, he winds her legs around him. Her mouth parts, but... ...he fills it with his own. This conversation. Is over. INT. MAC'S SUITE - MORNING VIEW of the empty terrace, the rumpled, twisted coverlet. Maybe they spent all night. HEAR the shower running full blast in a distant bathroom. PULL BACK to see... Gin, hair wet, wrapped in a plush hotel robe, rapidly and expertly going through dresser, night stand, closet, sofa cushions, every goddam thing in the room. She comes to... ...Mac's tux. The jacket, rifles the pockets, pats the lining. The pants now... ...something peculiar. The right leg has no stripe. Touches the cloth. Slightly sticky where the stripe should be. Odd. ANGLE...the bathroom. Shower running full BLAST. But there's no one in it. ANGLE...a storage closet. Mac crouching in the smallspace. We see the travel bag. The luggage tag, VIRGINIA ROMAY, a Darien, Connecticut address. The embossed initials VR. But there is something else in Mac's hand... ...a prescription bottle. Prilosec. And a name, GINGER BAKER. Chicago address. Mac puts the pills in the pocket of his robe... ...exits the closet. Locks the door. ANGLE...Mac ambling into the bedroom, toweling his hair with one hand. Holding his billfold in the other. Gin is starting a room service breakfast. Eggs, sausage, Belgian waffles. The girl can eat. MAC I'm so glad I didn't leave Tokyo. She looks up. Trademark dry grin... GIN I love a guy who knows how to sweet talk. He stands over her. Smiling. What he meant was... MAC There was a call. While you were sleeping. A call. MAC An art dealer I know. He has a Monet. Minor, but it is Giverny. He'll let me have it for 5.3 million. She stares at him. GIN (cautiously) We can maybe beat that. MAC (pulling plastic from his billfold) I agree. This is a bank debit card. It gives the bearer access to an account containing 4.6 and change. I dislike round numbers. And hand. the card to her. As her eyes move over it... MAC I'd like you to go down there, and pick up the painting. If that's all right. Without looking up... GIN Me. MAC If I'm there, he'll haggle. You just hand him the debit card, with that...luminous smile. And say, take it or leave it. Now her eyes come up. She says nothing. Hesitant. MAC Oh, dear. I thought you so wanted to make a good impression. GIN Thought I already did th... MAC And along with making an excellent impression. You will also make 2 percent of the purchase price. She blinks. MAC That's $92,000. And change.. For two hours work. The look holds. He goes to the desk. Lifts a cellular phone. TOSSES it to her. MAC Any problems. Just give me a ring. GIN Stolen painting is it? MAC Of course not. And on his way out the door... MAC If it was. I wouldn't pay more than three. EXT. WHARF, YOKOHAMA - DAY Gin climbing out of a taxi at a scruffy section of Yokohama's Bund. Sleazy shops, pachinko parlors, hostess bars, sidewalk noodle counters, all built along a tall rickety PIER nearly thirty feet above the pounding surf. The harbor is gigantic. Every type and size of vessel imaginable. Gin carries a long neoprene-covered tube with watertight seals and a lightweight bright orange foam cover. She looks at her slip of paper. Then across at the place...KENDO SOUVENIRS, a schlock kickback parlor, with a tourist bus parked out front. This can't be right. Pulls out the cellular phone. Dials. MAC'S RECORDED VOICE (O.S.) You have reached the voice-mail of AMD Investments. And, yes, you are at the right place. Fucking great. GIN (into phone, pissed) I like men with a sense of humor. This does not qualify. SNAPS the phone shut. Checks the slip again. Walks firmly across the street, through the mobs of tourists, and into... INT. KENDO SOUVENIRS - DAY The place is huge, ramshackle, loaded with every piece of tourist crap imaginable. The only paintings on display are renderings of big cats on black velvet. She winds her way through, to a counter at the back. One guy there... GIN (subtitled Japanese) May I please speak with Mr. Okati. OKATI You doin' it. The best we can say for the pudgy, balding fellow in the Hawaiian shirt and spectacularly baggy trousers, is that he does not seem to be the guy who is selling you a Monet. Even a minor one. GIN I think there's some mista... OKATI You from Mac? She stops. Jesus. The guy COUGHS horribly. GIN I'm from Mac. OKATI Lemme see card. She hesitates. OKATI Four million, six hundred thirteen thousand, five hundred? Wow. He slaps his hand on the table. Lay it down, toots. GIN You first. He shrugs. Lifts straight up, from beneath the counter... ...a brown paper-wrapped rectangle. Not much larger than two feet square. She can't even believe she's here, doing this. Gestures to him. Open it up! He obliges, COUGHING grossly all the while. Unwrapped, the painting does look like a Monet. From here. She stares at it. GIN Now bring me the real one. He doesn't blink. OKATI This as real as it gets, lady. And from within her pocket. The cellular RINGS. She takes it out. Puts it to her ear. MAC (O.S.) You got it? GIN (into phone) Is this an audition, a joke, or a rip-off? I'm staring at an obvious forgery, here. MAC (O.S.) Turn it over. This gives her pause. Then, cradling the phone against her shoulder, she does as she's told. To see... MAC (O.S.) Is there an envelope? Taped to the back? In a Ziploc bag? Sure is. GIN (into phone) Uh-huh. MAC (O.S.) Detach the bag. Read what's in it. Aloud. She does. Carefully unfolding several sheets of paper, maps... GIN (reading into phone) Shikoku Naru, a freighter, it says, Yokohama to Jakarta...dates, statistics...specs on some kind of machine, diag... MAC (O.S.) Papers back in the envelope, envelope back in the Ziploc, very quickly, without seeming to hurry... Her eyes are flickering questions, but she does as she's told, cradling the phone with her shoulder. MAC (O.S.) Now take the debit card from your purse, slipping the Ziploc into the purse as you do it, shielding the move from everyone in the room but Okati. And she does. More deftly than we could ever have imagined. Like a pro. MAC (O.S., quietly) Give him the card. A beat. GIN (into phone) Mac, the painting's a forg... MAC (O.S., even quieter) This is a test. Of whether you'll still be alive four minutes from now. Do you hear me? Her face freezes. In a pleasant smile. GIN (into phone) Yes, Mac, I do. MAC (0.5.) Now. Hand him the card, and tell him in Japanese to pretend he is checking it by phone. Tell him to take awhile, as if he's on hold. She turns the sweet plastic smile to Okati. Hands him the card... GIN (subtitled Japanese) Mac says, pretend you're checking this by phone, and take your ti... OKATI (subtitled Japanese) ...like I'm on hold, sure. And suddenly, his eyes are keen and quick, and he is no longer some schmuck in baggy pants. He takes the card, stares at it comically, picks up the phone. MAC (O.S.) While he's checking, look around the room casually, as if searching for the cheesy handbags... She begins to. MAC (O.S.) All the while laughing, as if you are chatting with someone you actually like. GIN (into phone) I'm not that good. But she is. And she laughs, as she strolls over to the cheesy handbags. MAC (O.S.) As you're looking around, do you notice any m... GIN (into phone) Three guys, two together, one alone. Cheap suits, not looking at me in a cop-casual way. MAC (O.S.) Call out cheerily to Okati, in English, 'Where's the toilet?' GIN (into phone) Can I say, 'little girl's room'? A beat. MAC (O.S.) Wing it. GIN (calls out, cheerily) WHERE'S THE CRAPPER? Okati, absorbed by his make-believe phone call, points around the back. MAC (O.S.) Get going. Now. GIN (into phone, as she saunters) Mac, the painting isn't... MAC (O.S.) You've got what we bought, are you out of their sight? She turns the corner. Filthy corridor. Restrooms at opposite ends. MAC (O.S.) Run into the men's toilet. I know you know how. A beat of uncertainty. She looks both ways. MAC (O.S., ominous) Are you running? And she DOES. SPRINTING down the garbage-strewn hallway, throws OPEN the men's room door, BURSTING IN on... ...a wispy OLD GUY taking a leak through a HOLE in the floor. GIN (subtitled Japanese) GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE! The panicked little man STARTLES. Bolts OUT the door. MAC (O.S.) Jump. Jump? HEAR now, from the corridor, footfalls POUNDING. She looks down through the piss hole. The surf ROILS thirty feet below. GIN (into phone) It's too small. MAC (O.S.) The window, twit! Oh. She hops OVER the disgusting hole, boosts herself UP to the small window, footfalls racing CLOSER, HOISTS herself HALFWAY through, DROPPING the phone a scary 30 feet to the surf below, as behind her, the door... ...SLAMS OPEN and she FLIES OUT the window... GIN SHIIIIIIIIIIT... WITH her in SLO-MO, kicking and flailing and grasping her shoulder bag, and she... HITS the ocean like a ton of bricks. Disappears. Comes up, sputtering in the swirling water, as from out of the shadows of the pilings... ...an engine ROARS to life, the BLUR of a custom JETSKI, Mac reaching to scoop the startled girl OUT of the water, and they... ...BLAST OFF, as bullets RAIN helplessly after them. The AGENTS shouting into their cellulars, racing in frustration down the pier, which rapidly vanishes behind us, as... ...Gin hangs onto Mac for dear life. This baby is REALLY hauling. He wears an orange waterproof slicker with matching trousers. Shouts back, against the noise... MAC ARE YOU PISSED OFF? She thinks. Admits, shouting in his ear... GIN ACTUALLY. IT'S INCREDIBLY COOL! He is heading into deep water, a major shipping channel, points to one side, and she sees... ...a huge HARBOR PATROL vessel FIRE UP in near distance. The chase is ON. They speed toward the WAKE of a luxury liner, and as she realizes... GIN OH NOOOOOO... They SLAM INTO the wake HEAD ON, and are AIRBORNE for an amazing distance, JOLTING back to the surface, RACING toward... ...two gigantic FREIGHTERS which approach each other from opposite directions. The Harbor Patrol in hot pursuit, BLASTING its HORN... GIN WE'RE GONNA DIE, AREN'T WE? MAC JUST AS SOON AS I'M READY! As we near the outbound freighter, Mac CUTS his speed. Now the Harbor Patrol is really gaining. GIN FASTER, NOT SLOWER, YOU TWIT!! MAC HAVE TO GIVE THEM A SPORTING CHANCE... Cruising STRAIGHT TOWARD the part side of the outbound freighter, as the inbound freighter begins to pass it on the far side... MAC ...SOMETHING WE SCOTS LEARNED FROM THE BRITS! As the Harbor Patrol is nearly ON them, Mac VEERS suddenly AROUND the stern of the outbound freighter, the Harbor patrol WHEELING madly to pursue, only to find we are both CAREENING straight AT... ...the starboard side of the inbound freighter, Mac CUTS his wheel in an adroit nearly right-angle SWERVE, and hears the SCREAMS as the Harbor patrol... PLOWS INTO the freighter! Wasting no time, he ACCELERATES into maximum BURN, STREAKING toward the immensely crowded harbor and its thousand vessels. Gin can't help but look back at the impressive crash site, mouthing a silent WOW. Nearing the harbor, Mac CUTS speed completely, drifting between two huge ships and... ...vanishing from sight. EXT. SMALL CHANNEL - DAY The tiny Jetski cruises in a quiet channel, crowded with vessels of all sizes, tugs, fishing boats, pleasure craft, junks, sampans, all larger than we are. Gin clings close to Mac, although it is no necessary. More like romantic. She is still flushed with the rush. GIN I guess you're gonna explain all this, huh? But he says nothing. Pulls out a water-tight duffle. Hands it back to her, without looking. MAC Dry clothes, you'll need them. In five minutes. She takes the bag, confused. GIN I'm supposed to change? Here?? MAC I won't look. Gentleman's word of hon... GIN There are a million sailors! MAC I've seen you naked. Give the boys a thrill. He means it. MAC You probably won't be dating any of them, so what the hell. Gin looks around as they float through the maze of watercraft. No one seems to be paying much attention. What the hell. She unzips the bag, pulling out... GIN (astonished) These...these are mine! He never looks around. MAC Found 'em in your room. Perhaps the thief wasn't your size. She stares at the back of his head. wondering. He is stripping off his slickers. A neatly-tailored SUIT beneath. MAC We have a business appointment. In four minutes. Okay. She pulls her dress off OVER her head. GIN Business, huh? She ignores some nearby WHISTLES and SHOUTS. Begins drying herself with a fluffy towel from the bag. MAC (never turns) Time has come to tell you. What business. I'm actually in. Uh-oh. Paydirt. GIN Uh. Am I gonna like th... MAC (quietly) I'm a thief. She can scarcely believe he's admitting this. MAC And now that I've told you. I'll have to kill you. He chuckles a Scottish chuckle. Cold and warm, at once. MAC Or... She slips the dry dress OVER her head. MAC ...you can spend the most interesting three weeks of your life. Training. GIN Training for wha... MAC ...followed by the most exciting night of your life. After which, you can walk away with 20 million untraceable dollars... She blinks. He means this. MAC ...which will come in handy. Things being what they are. He shrugs. MAC From now on. You can valet park. She begins taking off her wet underwear, underneath the dress. We suspect unseen hordes crestfallen at her modesty. GIN And if I refuse? MAC (very quietly) Don't. Please. GIN I mean, you won't really kill me, I'm far too adorable. He looks around at her. As if deciding on that. MAC Last night, at Fujitsu, I did some business. While you thought I was in the toilet. Jesus. GIN What could you possibly steal in 18 min... MAC Thirty-five super-microchips. Each worth one million dollars. And change. Staring dead at her eyes. GIN You hate round num... MAC I stole your suitcase when I left you at the bar. I have since sent it on to the States, with three chips, well hidden. Are you following? MAC Since you aren't there to claim it, the bag will sit at Customs. Safe. Unless... No smile. No smile at all. MAC They receive. An anonymous. Tip. Holy. Fucking. Christ. GIN That's entrapment. MAC No, entrapment is what cops do to robbers. We can feel her heart pounding from here. MAC Blackmail. Is what robbers do to schmucks. And leans. To kiss her mouth. MAC (softly) Even adorable ones. They have glided up beside the gangway of a gigantic FREIGHTER. It is at water level, the steps they use for their tender. He points up to the name... MAC Pop quiz. SHIKOKU MARU. She nods, slowly. Pulls the Ziploc bag from her purse. Hands it over. He removes the sheets of paper. Begins to peruse them... MAC Admit it's a rush. The best day of your heretofore drab life. GIN Fuck you. He glances up. GIN ...accompanied by related foreplay. And gives him the smile. What a gal. He offers his hand. She rises, hops lightly to the steps of the gangway in her bare feet. He pulls dry shoes from the duffle. And as she slips them on... ...he FLIPS a switch, and the Jetski begins to FILL with water, Mac stepping to the gangway beside her. They watch... ...the Jetski rapidly SINK out of sight. No evidence. A thorough guy. INT. FREIGHTER HOLD - DAY Mac and Gin stand inside a gigantic CARGO BAY, watching massive CONTAINERS being loaded by crane from a dock, through the gaping HATCH. The chamber is a vaulted cathedral of steel, painted hospital green, and Mac's eye moves over all of it, seeming to inspect every plate, every pan head rivet. VOICE (O.S., British cheer) Hullo, there! They turn to see a round little man with watering eyes and a very wide necktie, skipping-down the iron steps. Bursting with a salesman's bonhomie, he extends a plump hand... MAN Nickerson Carlsby, Mr... MacDuff, yes? MAC Banquo MacDuff. This is my associate-fiancee, Ms. Duncan. The little man pauses. A tic in the well-oiled smile... CARLSBY That is...fiancee and assoc... GIN (cheery herself) I'm a hyphenate. Ah. Like that makes complete sense. Fingers the gardenia in his lapel... CARLSBY Well, it's a pleasure, in this alien place, to do business with a countryman. MAC I'm a Scot. It's a different country. Culturally and historically. I see. CARLSBY (looking around) Well. They've brought you to quite the wrong place, I see. MAC (looking around) Thank God. ANGLE...Carlsby leads the way along a narrow catwalk, which ends at a steel door. He presses his thumb to the I.D. panel, and speaks into the voice box... CARLSBY (confidential code-voice) In Penny Lane, the barber shaves another customer... The door CLANGS open. They go through it, as a gangway leads toward an open five-foot-thick VAULT DOOR, where two ARMED GUARDS rise from their seats. Carlsby ignores them as if they were furniture. THUMPS the door... CARLSBY Five feet thick with hidden rein- forcements, no way to drill through! GIN (authoritative) Impressive. CARLSBY Only the tip of our security iceberg. See these two Brinks locks...? They do. CARLSBY The Captain keeps one key. The other is continually forwarded: to the Chief of Security at next port. There is no way to enter during voyage. GIN I like this. Carisby glances to Mac. He is stone. CARLSBY The best armed guard, rotated every six hours. A redundancy, of course, but we would rather be safe three times over than merely two. GIN Sound mathematics. MAC (very quiet) What if there's a fire? In the chamber. Ah. Carlsby leads them through the open door, into... ...the maximum-security HOLD. Primo. The steel coated with sleek, matte, black all-grip paint. Tubby points up... CARLSBY Sprinklers. New design. Incredible power. The entire chamber is water- proof, fireproof, airtight. If the ship sinks, God forfend, your cargo is secure for salvage. No reaction. Mac does not look convinced. CARLSBY And your cargo is...? MAC Wine. Wine. MAC The bloody Japs bought up half the premium clarets in the universe. You may have heard. Actually. He has. MAC I'm in charge of shipping some 14,000 bottles, most quite rare, to a number of premium hotels in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Phuket, and Penang. Carlsby gets the romance of it all. MAC All of which are destinations on your October voyage. Five months from now. However... And turns to the man. With laser, disapproving eyes. MAC Wine. Doesn't prefer. To be jostled. The man beams. Gestures to a series of PLATFORMS, each SWAYING at different heights, in different directions. CARLSBY Our 'delicate treasure' platforms, suspended on gimbals. Your cargo remains unruffled by roiling seas. Then, on arrival, is plucked... Pointing once more... CARLSBY By that forklift, and gently deposited on dock through the cargo hatch... ...a huge circular hatch cut into the hull. Mac's eyes stare blankly at it. A long beat. He pronounces it all... MAC Adequate. I suppose. And then turns once more. MAC Did we see...a bathing pool. On deck? CARLSBY Oh, yes, sir. The Shikoku Maru carries sixteen luxury suite pas- senger cabins. The finest cuisine. For valued clients who prefer to cruise in privacy. Mac. Thinks this over. MAC Mildly. Interesting. INT. PASSENGER DECK - DAY Carlsby ushering the couple along a plushly-appointed hallway. A secret oasis of refinement in the heart of the massive freighter. He opens a burnished door, into... ...an elegant SUITE. Cherrywood panels, spacious windows with views of the harbor. The finest furnishings. It is breathtaking. Even... MAC Adequate. I suppose. GIN But dearest, in five months, we'll be in Cape Town. Mac pulls from his pocket the folded sheets that had once been taped to the back of Okati's Monet. Peruses them casually. MAC Anything sooner? That goes perhaps from...say, Sri Lanka? To Jakarta. And looks up. To a man dumbstruck. By coincidence. CARLSBY Why, yes. In three weeks. INT. CESSNA - DAY Looking DOWN on California's San Joaquin Valley from 12,000 feet, as air RUSHES past our open door. MAC (O.S.) You seem depressed. PULL BACK to see them both in jumping suits. He's checking her gear. She's eyeing the expansive grid of fields below. GIN At your insistence, I'm leaping to my death, and I don't know why! He clips a tether from his harness to hers. MAC Because. You're a greedy girl. GIN I'm not jumping until you talk about this, it's been two days! She folds her arms across her chest. Rebellious. He smiles at her tenderly. Nods, okay. GIN Why are we going in three weeks, if the wine is on a different route months lat... MAC There is no wine. That just bought us a look at their security. She stares at him. GIN I knew that. MAC What we want is on the boat in three weeks. Now can we jump? GIN The machine in those diagrams. on the back of the painting. Maybe. He's still smiling. GIN What does it do, make gold? MAC We're nearing the targ... GIN Why won't you trust me? MAC How do I know who you are, hmmn? Stares in her eyes. MAC For all I know, your name isn't Virginia Romay. Maybe you're a cop. She stares back. Dead straight. GIN Why would a cop do all th... MAC (softly) Entrapment, remember? What cops do to robbers. GIN (just as softly) Oh. That. His smile is light, affectionate. Gently, he backs her to the edge of the doorway... MAC One...two... She THROWS her arms around his neck. Holds him close. GIN Mac, I'm afraid. Vulnerable and touchingly real. His arms slide around her. GIN Of you. MAC (a murmur) Smart girl. And JUMPS, Gin SHRIEKING in his arms, as we... FOLLOW them, TUMBLING in FREE FALL, until he releases her, and bot EXTEND their arms and legs, as if flying, as if gliding face down, her shriek CONTINUING. He floats at the end of their tether, a few feet above her. And at last... ...her SCREAMING STOPS. We see the pure adrenaline rush. Shouts back... GIN NEXT TIME, I'M ON TOP! EXT. HILLTOP, MARIN COUNTY - DAY Woods, rolling hills, a dirt path. Mac stands by a sign at a crossroads, names, arrows, STINSON BEACH, BOLINAS, MT. TAMALPAIS, MILL VALLEY. There is a phone booth nearby. He holds a stopwatch, looking down the path, as... ...Gin runs into view, steady stride, breathing hard, sheened with sweat. Approaching him, she slows to a stop. Hands on her knees, catching her wind. He CLICKS the watch. MAC Consistent. And rather impressive. She sends a nasty smile, thanks a bunch. But maybe she likes the compliment, after all. EXT. MAC'S CABIN, BOLINAS - NIGHT Rustic cabin in moonlight. Ringed by woods. Middle of nowhere, which is where Mac likes it. As we approach the lit window, we hear two oddly-matched sounds. splashing water. And the HISS of a violent POWER TOOL. We MOVE THROUGH the window, into... INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT Two figures stand in the shower, spray SOAKING their shorts and tank tops. Gin is operating a sleek WELDER, trying to perform micro-surgery on a DARTBOARD which Mac waves in all directions at the end of a short pole. MAC All right, six and seven... She blinks the spray from her eyes, and deftly SEARS the wire dividing those two numbers on the board. As Mac keeps waving it, she goes off line. Concentrates. Gets it right. The wire PEELS away... MAC Three and four... EXT. CABIN - DAY CLOSE on Gin operating a small steamshovel with a loading attachment on the front. It is mounted with two 2 x 4's, set close together, protruding from the loader. She maneuvers the wooden prongs toward a pile of big rocks. But as she positions to scoop one up, her vehicle SWAYS WILDLY, and we PULL BACK to see it is... ...dangling from a CRANE, operated by Mac. Gin stays with it, concentrates, and on the next pass she glides her boards UNDER a huge rock, LIFTING it awkwardly. Ignoring the bumpy ride, she pivots, and deposits her prize in place atop what has become... ...a WALL of stones. GIN What the hell are we building? He gives this some reflection. MAC A chalet, I think. Or an outhouse. EXT. OCEAN - NIGHT Mac and Gin paddle KAYAKS, side by side. A full moon slams off the rolling surface of the sea. Light chop, enough to bob pretty strong once they stop paddling. His stopwatch GLOWS. He says only... MAC Forty seconds. And she FLIPS OVER, submerging her head and torso, and we go... ...WITH her underwater, upside-down in the kayak, she STRUGGLES to FREE a group of tools which are tethered to her wetsuit. Fumbling to BREAK the seal on a slender TUBE, which BURSTS, sending a GLOW of yellow-green LIGHT in all directions. She fits the flexible tube around her head like a headlamp, pulling out... ...a small ELECTRIC FAN with side HANDGRIPS of black metal. Buffeted by the current, Gin manages to flip a small switch on the housing of the fan, and... ...nothing happens. Again. Nothing. And again. SHIT! With a supreme effort, she tries to ROLL herself upright, but... ...can't quite make it. Blind PANIC now, blowing bubbles, FLAILING at the kayak, which suddenly... ROLLS upright, manipulated by Mac. She sputters and tries to THROW the tethered fan at him, but it snaps back and SLAMS her across the shoulder. She is furious. GIN Get your fucking equipment together, man, this is a professional operation!! EXT. WOODS - DAY Gin in a clearing, arms at her sides, a determined look. Mac is somewhere just behind us. MAC (O.S.) This time, when you raise your arm. Don't breathe. She nods, got it. Focused. suddenly, in the clearing before her, a HOSTAGE SILHOUETTE TARGET pops up, the outline of a terrorist shielding himself with a hostage, Gin's arm rising with a BLUR and... ...BLAMM, BLAMM, BLAMM!!! The paper terrorist is NAILED in the head. Two out of three. She lets out a thin stream of air. Proud of herself, but too cool to gloat. MAC Very, very nice. Had a tour with the Mosad, did you? She turns slowly. GIN Where does this fit in the game plan? His enigmatic, yet fond, smile. MAC Oh, it doesn't. But one never knows... A quiet wink. MAC You might need it with me. INT. CABIN - NIGHT CLOSE on Gin leaning back at a 45 degree angle. She is sweating. This is hard. HEAR a SLAM-THWOCK! And ANOTHER. PULL BACK to reveal... She is climbing UP the inside of the angled A-frame CEILING, using hand rods with powerful SUCTION cups, and similar suction devices on the balls of her feet. A human spider, inching up the wall with everything she's got. She SLAMS the next hand rod down, and it... ...slips. GIN Shit. ...as she TUMBLES eighteen feet to... DISAPPEAR in an ocean of STYROFOAM packing bubbles, which EXPLODE in all directions like popcorn in a nuclear accelerator. She has totally VANISHED. Buried alive. GIN (O.S.) DID I SAY SHIT? Mac is wading into the sea of plastic bits, DIGGING her body out with his bare hands. Once more, she comes up sputtering. GIN This one, I will not get! He's holding her in his arms. Leans close. MAC But you will, you'll get it all. You are actually... He kisses her. MAC Quite remarkable. Something in the way he looks at her. Her return gaze is naked. It looks like love. MAC Take the rest of the evening off. And kisses her again. Her eyes close. EXT. FRONT PORCH - MORNING Mac sits alone at a table, sipping coffee, reading Barron's. A short-wave radio is playing BBC World Service. Leaning against an open laptop, is... ...Mac's stopwatch. He glances up at it. What he sees makes him reach into a duffle at his feet, withdraw... ...a rectangular gun-metal gray DEVICE. Looks like a cross between a remote control clicker and a large cell phone. Turns it ON. The power display GLOWS green. EXT. HILLTOP - MORNING Gin running alone. Up the dirt path we've seen before. Ahead, the crossroads, the sign. The lonely phone booth. EXT. FRONT PORCH Mac tuning the device, which is an advance-design SCANNER. We HEAR overlapping CONVERSATIONS through bursts of STATIC... OVERLAPPING VOICES (O.S.) ...told you it's not a good time f...either, personally, I've never liked h...Giants' pitching, once ag...late, you want the Chronicle or don't y... INT. PHONE BOOTH Gin at the phone. Inserts her credit card. Catches her breath. EXT. FRONT PORCH Mac HEARS a phone RINGING over the scanner. Punches RECORD, PLUGS the scanner INTO his laptop. VOICE (O.S.) Webber Assurance. GIN (O.S.) This is oh-four-six-one. Hector Cruz, please, on a secure line. VOICE (O.S.) Please hold. Mac's laptop screen in printing. WEBBER ASSURANCE...HECTOR CRUZ... VOICE (O.S.) Go ahead, please. GIN (O.S.) Thank y... The line goes DEAD. So do Mac's eyes. Click the scanner OFF. INT. PHONE BOOTH Gin in her throaty, playful voice... GIN ...no way I'm telling you shit. CRUZ (O.S.) Baker, this is an extremely dangerous g... GIN ...right now, you're more dangerous than he is. A pause. Her voice is smiling. Not her eyes. CRUZ (O.S.) You want to explain th... GIN If I tell you what this is, and where this is, you'll send back-up, and those morons will blow my cover, and I'll be too dead to accept your apology. A longer beat. CRUZ (O.S.) You're fucking him, aren't you? GIN Right to the wall. Her eyes are stone cold. We've never seen her like this. She looks like Mac. CRUZ (O.S.) You're over your head, Baker. GIN Only romantically. I'll write to him in prison. She's pulling out a different piece of plastic. A drug store phone card. CRUZ (O.S.) Okay, it's your funeral. Next time I see you, I owe you a spanking. GIN Ooooo. Is that a promise? Her cold eyes through his chuckle. CRUZ (O.S.) While you're on secure, do you want a transfer? GIN Nope. I'm headed back to the hot tub. I'll call again, if I'm in the mood. And hangs up. Collects her thoughts. Inserts the phone card. Dials from memory. Fifteen digits. She must be calling Mars. At last... ...a man's VOICE. In a strange sing-song language. GIN (subtitled Mandarin) Is it over? SMASH CUT TO... EXT. TIENANMEN SQUARE, BEIJING - NIGHT Late night, mostly youngsters strolling the unfathomable vastness of the square. At what seems an immeasurable distance, the huge illuminated portrait of Mao zedong hangs from the Gate of Heavenly Peace. The scale of this place is unique in all the world. PAN to a nearby parked... ...Mercedes. COL. QIU of the People's Liberation Army, lounges at the wheel in full uniform. Talks into his cellular... QIU (subtitled Mandarin) ...it's not over yet, it hasn't even begun. He listens, winces. We can hear Gin's voice yelling at him in Mandarin, dishing out a major piece of her mind. QIU (subtitled Mandarin) ...after Midnight, when his meeting ends. In Zhongnanhai. He doesn't like her attitude. And there's plenty of it. QIU (subtitled Mandarin) The mask will be ready... A phalanx of TROOPS march past. The Colonel turns his face to shadow. Drops his voice... QIU (subtitled Mandarin) You fucking bring the bones. EXT. ZHONGNANKAI, BEIJING - LATE NIGHT The walled compound where the Politburo's elite work and live. From an open gateway... ...the MINISTER OF FINANCE appears, flanked by bodyguards in the drab green of PRC police. They step onto the street and turn into a narrow hutong. Down the alleyway comes a young man walking his bicycle through shadow. Nearing us, he raises his right hand, and... ...SHOOTS each bodyguard TWICE through the chest, DROPS the bike, LURCHES at the Minister with something cylindrical and gleaming, and... ...SPRAYS the cowering official's FACE with something that makes him SCREAM in pain, the assassin RUNNING down the hutong for his life, as a fallen guard... ...SHOOTS him in the back, and he goes SPRAWLING, SKIDDING, face down. Lifeless. INT. OPHTHALMOLOGIST'S OFFICE, BEIJING - NIGHT Col. Qiu walks beside a jaunty ophthalmologist, DR. HONGWEI, who is turning ON lights in the darkened office as they go. Behind them, two PLA SOLDIERS half-carry the agonized minister. Into an examination room... ...the minister gently set into an examining chair. The doctor tilts the face up, shines a light into the minister's eyes, which makes him GROAN. Eye drops now, which make the man YELP in pain. HONGWEI now moves the RETINAL SCANNER into position, resting the minister's chin on the slot provided. Turns it ON. The machine's panel FLASHES numbers in red lights. Hongwei looks into the box from the reverse angle, to view... ...a red LASER SCAN moving across the pupil vertically, then retracing its path horizontally, left to right, right to left, up and down, at speed. Hongwei moves to a computer monitor with a graphic rendering of the retina, clicks the keypad to section off a slice of the graphic, and ENLARGES the section 100 times. Looks like pixels. Back to the scanner. Touch a button, and... ...a COMPACT DISC pops out of the disc drive. He places it in a box, telling the minister... HONGWEI (subtitled Mandarin) We send this to the lab for finer analysis. One piece of advice, huh...? The minister squints up, painfully. HONGWEI (subtitled Mandarin) No more red pepper in your eye. Not for awhile. The doctor LAUGHS. The minister seethes. But Colonel Qiu... Has his mind. On business. EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE, SAN FRANCISCO - LATE NIGHT CLOSE on Gin's gloved hand, holding something we can scarcely see, as MIST floats up between us. It is a carabiner with a nylon rope attached, and she CLIPS it to a thick wire. GIN (O.S.) I'm freezing my tender parts. PULL BACK to see her in climbing harness, scaling a nearly-vertical CABLE, three feet in diameter. Enveloped in fog which reveals, then conceals. MAC (O.S.) I'm relieved to hear you have some. PULL WAY BACK to see him below her. The two of them climbing the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE. They are near the top, more than 700 feet above the silvery black BAY. A precarious, dizzying sight. MAC What's amazing, is that only eleven workers died during construction of this thing... GIN (grim) ...thanks for sharing... MAC Of course, the others were saved by a safety net. Gin keeps her focus on the small railed PLATFORM just above her. A gutsy gal. MAC (loving it) Now, as for the suicides, they always jump facing the city. Avoids that tall fence about 50 stories down, see it, there? She's at the platform. GIN I never liked you. Unclips one last time. This won't be easy. Throws her rope OVER the railing, and to her surprise, Mac braces himself with his legs... ...lifts her from the waist with strong hands, boosting her easily to the platform. Grateful, she hates to confess it. GIN One act of fucking human kindness... MAC Call it a lapse. And he swings lightly up beside her. The fog has rolled past. There are several million stars. Transcendent beauty. She slows her breath... GIN And how does this fit into the game pl... MAC Oh, it doesn't. We came for the view. And from his contoured backpack, he pulls a bottle of Cristal. Flutes, wrapped in velvet. He POPS the cork in one motion, and it SAILS to its watery doom. She can't help but watch. One more motion to pour both glasses. Hands one to her. Toasts... MAC To Ginger Baker. He clicks her glass. She stares straight in his eye. Shows no surprise, no fear... GIN I'm partial to drummers. If they played with Clapton and Winwood. And takes a sip. Cool as a goose. Licks her lips. GIN The prescription bottle. When you stole my suitcase. But he's not drinking. Only staring. The wind has picked up. GIN Armand Baker was my husband, May 13 to October 27, 1982, he played alto sax, I was 17 years old. She takes another sip. Good wine. GIN He named me Ginger. He likes drummers, too. MAC And you get sentimental for him. Every time you order drugs. GIN I have I.D. in that name. I use it for various things I don't want traced. When credit unions turn their computers my way. MAC I could listen to you lie all night. She toasts him. GIN (softly) Same here, fella. Slowly, he reaches to an inside pocket, watching to see if she flinches. Her eyes do flicker. And follow. He withdraws not a pistol, but a handful of... MAC Do you like diamonds? Nine DIAMONDS, so large, so exquisite, she has to keep her eyes from bugging. Wow. MAC You asked. Does the machine. Make gold. Holy. Christ. MAC Gold is shit. It's six thousand dollars a pound. Worth your weight in gold...? His eyes travel her body... MAC That would put you at seven hundred thousand. GIN Would you pay it? And he leans. Looks in her eyes. MAC When the light hits you just right. I'd pay more. She liked that. Maybe a lot. GIN The machine. That we are stealing. Makes diamonds? No answer. GIN Real ones? MAC Gem quality. First ever. God save Japan. He toasts Blessed Japan to the East. Takes a hit. MAC A diamond reactor takes graphite, runs it through a combination of lasers, electron beams, and scanning- tunnel mg microscopes. He means this. She is transfixed. MAC This one uses krypton-fluorine laser, with a new isotope of krypton. She looks down at the diamonds in his palm. His fist CLOSES. MAC The atoms are rearranged. And the molecule of graphite becoznes a molecule of... He turns his fist UPSIDE-DOWN. And LETS GO! She GASPS as the brilliant stones FALL toward the sea. Watching, watching, long after the moonlit glimmer has evaporated. A hush. GIN I hate it. When you make a point. INT. SHIKOKU MARU - DAY CLOSE on two open PASSPORTS. The names say BANQUO MACDUFF and ISADORA DUNCAN. The faces are Mac and Gin. STEWARD (O.S.) All right, then. All set. PULL BACK to see Mac and Gin dressed as tropical tourists. She hangs on his arm. STEWARD We will keep your passports in our safe until Jakarta. MAC Of course. STEWARD You are Suite 16... GIN ...and never been kissed. The steward doesn't get it. Gin shrugs, sorry. MAC We had booked Suite 9. STEWARD 16 is our Tokugawa Suite, far superior, trust me. Mac consents. A little wary. STEWARD You luggage is in the room, these are your keys, the housekeeper will show you t... GIN (pouting) Oh. Can't we stroll around the port? Just a little? The steward checks his watch. STEWARD I'd be on board in forty minutes. Just to be safe. GIN (sweet smile) Better safe. Than sorry. EXT. DOCK, COLOMBO, SRI LANKA - DAY Mac and Gin stroll down the gangway, to the seedy, dangerous- looking wharf. At the bottom of the gangway... ...a wooden board to mark the whereabouts of guests. Each stateroom has a peg, which can be moved to ABOARD or ASHORE. Mac moves the peg for 16... ...to the ABOARD position. And off they go. INT. SMALL PLANE - NIGHT Mac in his jump suit piloting the Dehaviland DHC-53 across the endless black of the Indian Ocean. For the moment, he seems alone. Then... MAC Down there. Ten o'clock. He means a tiny grouping of LIGHTS. Way down there, against the darkness. He switches on the AUTOPILOT. Goes back to... ...Gin, waiting in her jump suit, sitting on a large pack of gear just beside the window of the jump door. Next to her, a pack that is even larger. No fear in her eyes tonight. Pure adrenaline. GIN Are you dumping fuel? MAC Changed my mind. There's nothing on the instruments downrange. The longer she flies before she ditches, the less chance they notice on the Bridge. As she stands, he begins to strap the huge pack ONTO her body. Jesus. With her chute, and the other gear attached, the load makes us uneasy. Not her. MAC You should lose the oxygen tank at 8000 feet. GIN And how do I judge that? Babe's intuition? He points to an altimeter device on his wrist. It says 12,000 feet. She cuts him a look. GIN So I just ask you on the way down? Or were you planning to e-mail me. He pulls out an identical device. Strapping it to her wrist... MAC I hate a crybaby. He straps the even-larger gear pack to himself. Checks the path of the tiny lights far below. Then, looks in her eyes... MAC (simply) You can do this. Not merely reassurance. Affection. Something connective between them. You are my partner. Her eyes send back that personal bond, and she nods. I can do this. Good girl. He pulls on his oxygen mask, goggles. She does the same. He OPENS the door, air BLASTING in. One more look down below, and he holds up ten fingers. Counts them down, nine...eight... She moves to the edge. Watching him. And on zero, she... ARCHES out INTO the starry VOID, and we go... WITH HER, the incomparable RUSH of freefall, straining to see him FOLLOW, skillfully altering his position to gain on her, coming close. She is looking between him and her altimeter, as... ...his oxygen tank FALLS AWAY, and she CUTS hers loose, the air RUSHING past her, she looks DOWN... ...the lights below are beginning to take the shape of the freighter. Back up to Mac, as he... PULLS his CHUTE, it is black and square, and JOLTS him to what seems like a full STOP far above her, and she YANKS her cord, but... ...nothing. It doesn't open. She is ROCKETING down, looking back up to see Mac make an exaggerated CUTTING sign across his body, and she closes her eyes, PULLS her secondary chute, which... POPS open, JARRING her violently, and she GASPS with the shock. He is well above her now, she isoff course, frantically trying to manipulate her trajectory, seeing him swooping closer, the freighter LOOMS in distance, she looks down and suddenly... ...the sea is RUSHING at her, she FIGHTS her braking mechanism, SHOUTING at herself... GIN FLARE, FLARE... ...and SLAMS INTO the water, PLUNGING down, twisting, disoriented CUTTING her chute loose, struggling not to get tangled, in a panic to BREAK her light tube, which... ...GLOWS yellow-green, illuminating the freezing depths, she FITS it around her head, fights now to pull out the small ELECTRIC FAN we've seen before, KICKING herself toward the surface, fighting against the weight of her gear pack, she... ...flips the switch, and the fan becomes a PROPELLER which ROCKETS her upward, but she loses her hold on one handgrip, tries desperately to hang on with one hand, but it... ...PULLS FREE, goes SHOOTING off into the blackness without her, one instant of TERROR in her eyes, and... Mac is THERE, diving at her with his propeller, she GRASPS his legs in a death grip, and suddenly, they are... AT the surface, Gin GASPING for air, and he CUTS his propeller, CRADLES her body with one strong arm, murmuring in her ear... MAC It's over, it's over... Her eyes are wild. MAC Catch your breath, quickly. Hang on for the wake. She sees the FREIGHTER now, a black mountain CUTTING the sea, a huge WAKE pluming from its bow. She grabs his waist with all she's got. GIN DO IT! GO! And he KICKS the propeller to LIFE, they ZOOM off, straight AT the towering wake and burst THROUGH it, RACING to the freighter's looming hull, speeding alongside, Mac looking up to find... ...a series of metal RUNGS, which begin twelve feet above the water line, climbing the dizzying height to the freighter's deck, far above. Mac has a Kevlar rope with a GRAPPLING HOOK, and as he reaches the rungs, he... ...THROWS it high, one of the pronged hooks CATCHING on a rung twenty feet above them... MAC HOLD TIGHT! GIN IF YOU FUCKING INSIST! And he LETS GO of the propeller, PULLING both of them, laden with gear, OUT of the water with sheer brute strength. PLANTING his feet against the outward curve of the hull, he CLIMBS with all his strength, hand over hand, until he finally... ...GRASPS the bottom rung. He PULLS them up, until she can GRAB ON. They hold tight to their rung for a beat. He attaches them both with metal carabiner clips. MAC If I were you, I'd watch the desserts. GIN Boy, I'll bet you were in shape before you got old. MAC Too long ago to remember. And pulls himself up to the second rung, so that he is standing an the first. Offers her his hand... GIN I can take it from here, thanks. Suit yourself. They begin to climb up the rungs, like a tilted backwards ladder, re-attaching their clips as they go. GIN If you'd packed my primary chute right, I wouldn't ha... MAC Yes, you would. You're a girl. Up, up. And stop. They are nearly halfway to the top. Looking across the curved hull to... ...a large circular HATCH. Thirty feet away. The goal. Mac pulls from his pack... ...their SUCTION CUP gear. With practiced speed, they fasten cups to the balls of their feet, take hold of the hand rods with cups attached, and Mac takes the lead as they begin to... ...move LATERALLY across the hull's surface toward the hatch. Mac is amazingly agile at the arduous process, scuttling sideways like a crab across the precariously tilted-back hull. Gin is deter- mined, but falls well behind, intent on making every suction seal solid one. Dark water RACES by beneath her., By the time she looks up at the hatch... He is gone. MAC (O.S.) Anytime you're ready. She looks UP sharply. He is ABOVE the hatch, attached to the hull by the balls of his feet, hanging down like a bat. Noting her astonishment... MAC Better angle. That it is. He has pulled a thick cylinder from his pack. It's a battery-operated AIR WRENCH, and with a menacing WHIRR, only partially masked by the ship's wake, he begins to swiftly POP all the rivets around the hatch. Gin has pulled out the slender WELDING TOOL we saw in the shower, and begins CUTTING through the metal seals around the hatch's rim. At thecrucial moment... MAC You might want to move aside... Which she BARELY does, as the hatch door PLUMMETS past her to the sea. BIG splash. Gone. When she turns back, Mac is already THROUGH the opening and she follows, their yellow-green headlamps partially revealing... ...the maximum-security HOLD. We've seen this with Carlsby. The fork lift. The shadowy multitude of PLATFORMS on their gimbals, all SWAYING, in different directions with the plunging of the ship. Gin just stands, staring everywhere, like she's broken into Fort Knox. The ROAR of the engines is louder here, and he moves close to her to speak beneath it... MAC May I trouble you for the torch? Or would you rather just dance. Oh. Slightly embarrassed at her lack of split-second efficiency, she tries to find the thing in her gear. After watching her fumble for a bit... GIN I know I packed it. ...he just reaches in and pulls it out. A small LANTERN which he FLICKS on, brilliantly ILLUMINATING the entire hold. Scans the platforms...polnts to a CRATE wrapped in 4-ply heavy duty plastic membrane. MAC Coal into diamonds. A wealth machine. GIN How do you know that's it? MAC (as if stating the obvious) It's 12 by 9 by 7 feet. And it's the only thing worth waterproofing, in case the ship sinks. GIN (softly) ...you twit. MAC Hmmn? GIN I'm just finishing your sentence. Can't you answer a question with- out making me feel stupid? He's heading toward the swaying platforms... MAC Why would I bother? He is climbing onto a lower platform, easily vaulting up to the magic crate. She follows, but it isn't as easy as he's made it look. She has to scramble, almost falling. He's already pulled from his gear... ...six rubber POUCHES. She hands him her welding tool, and he begins attaching the pouches to the top and sides of the crate. The plunging ship has the platform really rocking. GIN (concerned) They don't look like flotation bags... MAC (working fast) Shit. Well then, let's forget the whole thing. She stares at him. GIN Okay, it was a dumb ques... His eyes come UP. So fast that her breath stops. He looks plenty angry. MAC Let's get one thing straight. I don't work with partners much, because basically, I find most people to be idiots. She swallows. Hard. MAC You, in contrast, are first-rate. He watches the effect of that play across her eyes. MAC And if I think so. Maybe you should start thinking the same. Now move your ass. And goes back to work. She pauses a beat. Then pulls out two lengths of Kevlar rope. Begins securing their platform to the one above, to minimize the amount of sway. As she struggles with this, she sees him finish by welding a very small gray BOX to the top of the crate. When he glances up, he sees her staring at the box. MAC GPS transponder. Sends a scrambled signal by satellite... He touches the device. It BEEPS. A light glows RED. MAC Precise coordinates. You could find a golf ball in the Gobi Desert. He rises. JUMPS down to the floor. GIN Where you g... MAC (walking away) Fork lift. GIN That's my assignm... MAC (turning back) Unless you've got the keys, someone has to hot wire it. Oh. MAC Finish up on the floaters. And heads off toward the fork lift. Finish up? She looks at the rubber pouches. They seem finished to her. Tugs at a couple. On pretty firmly. Across the way, we HEAR the fork lift turn its engine OVER. GIN Won't they hear it? MAC (O.S.) Over these engines? Through five feet of steel? She hurriedly secures the last of her Kevlar lines. MAC (O.S.) Hell, if they do, they don't have the second key to get in. He is driving up in the rickety fork lift. Weaving around crates and equipment. MAC Thank God for redundant security. He hops lightly from the fork lift, reaches up, and she jumps down INTO his arms. Quickly, the switch places, Gin climbing into the idling fork lift, as Mac clambers up to UNBOLT the crate's pallet with his air wrench... Gin moves the fork lift into position. Mac bracing his legs against neighboring cargo, using all his strength to hold our crate steady. He is really straining. GIN How many tries do I get? MAC (with effort) One, before I beat you senseless, dump you over the side, and donate your share to charity. She brings the fork UP. The crate sways slightly. She lines up her prongs against the pallet's receiving holes... GIN You gotta work on that impatient streak. ...and slips them straight IN. First try. GIN (amazed) How professional. She LIFTS the crate, but the boat LURCHES, and she nearly LOSES it off the fork. But she doesn't. SWINGS her load around now. Heading for the open hatchway, the roiling sea racing by. Picking up SPEED, slightly... GIN Uh. Thing on the left is the brakes? MAC (laconic) Or the thing on the right. By now she is really ROLLING toward the wide open spaces... GIN MAC, IT'S JAMMED! He POUNCES off the platform, FLYING after the lift as it ACCELERATES THROUGH the opening... MAC JUMP, for God's sa... ...TIPPING at the hatchway lip, the crate sliding OFF the prongs, our forklift TUMBLING OUT the hatch to the sea, just as Mac... ...SNATCHES Gin by her HAIR, pulling her FREE of the falling forklift, CATCHING the rim of the hatchway with his free hand, Gin SCREAMING in fright and pain, BLINDLY grabbing his arm to be... ...jerked BACK to safety. Clutching Mac, she watches the sea behind them. Where the crate and the forklift disappeared. MAC You did activate the floaters. Her head WHIPS around. Aghast. GIN Activa... MAC I did say, 'Finish up on the floaters'. Surely, you heard me. Her life. Flashes before her eyes. As behind the ship... ...the crate BOBS to the surface. We can see the tiny red light on the transponder from here. MAC (softly) Oh. Guess I did it m'self. She WHIPS back, and starts POUNDING at him with her fists. He is laughing so hard, he takes a few good shots before he can GRASP her wrists. She SPITS in his face. He strikes back by... ...kissing her hard. She struggles for a beat. And then she lets him. When they finish, he reaches to UNZIP her jumping suit. All the way. Pulls it down gently, revealing... ...her evening gown. A wrinkle-free material which slips down across her legs from where it had been bunched across her hips. He is unzipping his outfit as well, revealing formal wear of his own. He stuffs the suits into his gear pack, removing only... ...her evening bag and shoes. Then lifting both packs, he... GIN Um... ...FLINGS them into the black ocean. Gone. GIN ...I wouldn't do that. So he turns. She looks really stunned. And scared. MAC Excuse me? GIN Well...I saw our suction things. Lying...over...there? She points. To where no suction things are lying. GIN (a mouse) ...so I put 'em in my pack? His eyes WIDEN. GIN Or maybe. I put 'em there. And points. To where they are. She tilts her head. Gives him a great smile. Is he enraged? His dry grin says, not hardly. MAC I like a quick study. Then again. You can never tell. EXT. FREIGHTER DECK - NIGHT Expansive barely-lit deck under a canopy of stars. A silver-haired couple in immaculate evening attire stroll alone, he is humming to barely-audible dance music from a distant lounge. She clings to his arm, it is romantic. Until they reach the railing where he turns, and says something quietly in German... She stiffens. Pulls her arm away from his. She sneers coldly, calls him a name in German, and he UNLOADS on her, a barrage of German-language INVECTIVE that would melt a tank. She absorbs the abuse without flinching, turns toward the rail, HAWKS and... ...SPITS over the side. Strides away from him. He watches her go. Then... ...SPITS over the side himself. And follows her. Half a beat. Mac's head APPEARS above the rail. Just where they spit. Not a mark on him. INT. BALLROOM - NIGHT Our old German couple are DANCING wonderfully in each other's arms Inspiring. PAN a dozen really old couples dancing to the three- piece Filipino ensemble, until we come to... Gin and Mac spinning slowly, flawlessly, their eyes telling the surrounding geezers that they are very much in love. We CLOSE to hear their sweet murmurings... MAC ...no matter how many stones we make, the diamonds are just an appetizer. GIN (dreamily) And the meal...? MAC My contract. With DeBeers. She blinks. Hit by a ton of bricks. GIN Oh my G... MAC Sensible folks, DeBeers. A world monopoly in diamonds based on one simple principle...something's only priceless if it's scarce. He WHIRLS her in a tight spin. The geriatic Germans can only watch and envy. MAC These guys dig up all the diamonds on the planet, just to keep them out of circulation. Otherwise, you could buy 'em at the Five and Dime... GIN Watch the old guy stuff, they don't have dimestores anym... MAC Imagine the chaos we could cause. She is imagining. GIN You said 'contract'... MAC We're sort of bounty hunters. Gin likes the ring of that. Green eyes dance with delight. MAC Our machine is worth far more dead. Than alive. VOICE (O.S.) Glad to see you're both alive. They look over. The officious STEWARD from this afternoon. Now in black tie. STEWARD When you missed cocktails. And supper. I thought of knocking on your door... Mac turns Gin so that she can send the boob a lazy smile... GIN Oh, I wish you had. We love having strangers join us! Maybe later...? Mac turns her once more, so that he faces the flummoxed steward across her bare shoulder... MAC Promise you an interesting time... Trademark smile. MAC Or my name's not Banquo MacDuff. You twit. INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT Our couple moving down the softly-lit hallway, past the burnished doors of luxury suites. Her arms wrapped around one of his, their bodies close together. MAC ...well, I would ask what you're doing with the rest of your life. But that's your own bloody affair, isn't it? She sighs. GIN Yeh. Anyway, before you get too choked up on the farewell. I feel I owe you a confession. He glances down. Really? Really. GIN Time has come to tell you. What business. I'm actually in. He thinks about this. And then... MAC Not here. EXT. DECK - NIGHT Mac leads her along the empty moonlit deck to... ...the BOWSPRIT, a long, narrow platform, ringed by a flimsy rail, it juts far out above a churning sea. The whipping of the wind makes it seem all the more precarious. MAC It only looks dangerous... Holds out his hand. She hesitates. MAC You couldn't fall off. Unless someone threw you over. Gives her the smile. She puts her hand in his, and they hop UP to the platform. Walk its length to the very end. He turns now, leans casually against the fragile railing. They are inches apart. MAC More intimate. For a confession. Gin looks down at the plume of wake leaping off the bow. MAC What business. You are actually. In. She looks up. To his eyes. Into them. GIN Yeh. I'm not an art dealer. MAC Of course not. You're a cop. And tilts his head. Just to one side. MAC An insurance investigator for Webber Assurance, your boss is an idiot named Hector Cruz, you've been there four years and ten months, you're quite the rising star. GIN (evenly) Nope. His head tilts. Just a little farther. MAC (very softly) Nope? GIN I'm a thief, Mac. Holds the look. GIN For five years, I've used the database of every client Webber has to plan my jobs. Museums, banks, jewelers, rich people, I have floor plans, alarm codes, passwords, the works. His face absolutely neutral. Unreadable. GIN I've made a fortune. It's not enough. MAC Why n... GIN Why wasn't it enough for you? He falls silent. GIN The Vermeer that was stolen from Hancock Tower? That was my job. I scaled the building with electromagnets, and parachuted down an air vent... No smile at her lips. Strictly business. GIN ...after mailing the painting. To where we're going next, actua... MAC (quietly) We. She looks him up and down. GIN Yeh, we. You passed the audition. Now he smiles. First time. MAC (a murmur) Imagine my relief. GIN I need a partner. For the biggest, smartest, job. Ever. The one you retire off of, because nothing else could ever compare with the rush. MAC Ever. Is such a long time. GIN This is a job that can only be done in one place, in one split-second in human history. If we miss that instant. We lose. MAC And it's worth...? GIN Eight billion dollars. That's eight thousand million. MAC How much in shillings? GIN You're not a real trusting guy. MAC And I tried so hard to hide that. GIN It's two jobs. The first steals something priceless from the National Palace Museum in Taipei. We don't keep that. We trade it in for our ticket to the show. MAC One moment in time, you s... GIN Midnight, July 1, 1997. Eight days from now. The moment that Hong Kong is annexed by china. And now. She has his interest. She can see that. GIN 80-20 split. MAC Don't be so hard on yourself. It's your plan, you should take at least thirty perc... GIN My 80, your 20. Asshole. He thinks this over. MAC 50-50. Or you can swim to Taipei. She is not impressed. Or afraid. He grins... MAC What are you gonna do with six billion dollars that you can't do with four? GIN Hold the record. Alone. This. He likes. So much that he leans to kiss her, with surprising tenderness. MAC Your share is 50%. And one dollar. Her hard stare. And then, she smiles. Just barely. Still in his arms... GIN I like what you left. In the hold. MAC You didn't even see wha... GIN A lump of coal. A pair of pliers. A note that said, 'Squeeze hard'. This is the most taken with her that he has ever looked. She leans up and kisses him. Whispers... GIN Squeeze hard. EXT. STREET, SHIHLIN DISTRICT, TAIPEI - LATE NIGHT Ugly section of an ugly town. Unmarked warehouses, alleyways teeming with food stalls. HEAR a motorcycle approach, and see... ...Gin driving, Mac sits behind her. Going real fast, maybe she's showing off, we FOLLOW them DOWN a blind alley, as she smoothly WHEELS them into... ...an open FREIGHT ELEVATOR. She climbs off, he doesn't. As Gin goes to work the controls, Mac sees a cat curled in the corner, mewing softly. GIN That's Madame Chiang Kaishek, she's my bud. An evil streak a mile wide. The elevator JOLTS to life. MAC No surprise. They CLANG upward. Mac seems utterly relaxed. Gin paces a little, hugging herself. Her features tense. MAC (gently) Tired? She blinks up. He is straddling the bike. Smiling at her. GIN I have a lot on my mind. Ah. Well... MAC You look beautiful doing it. He seems to mean that. And it seems to melt her a little. She sags against the wall, closing her eyes, as... ...they JOLT to a stop. She PULLS the heavy LEVER, and the door SLIDES noisily open, to reveal... ...a gigantic LOFT. She flicks on a dim light, but we see only part of the cavernous space. She strolls, Madame Chiang trotting along behind. Mac follows, looking around, then down to see... ...a pile of MAIL, cables, packages. The unopened MAILING TUBE we saw in the Hancock Tower penthouse. He crouches, lifts the tube in his hands... GIN (O.S.) You wanna buy a Vermeer? MAC Rather steal it. GIN (O.S.) Been there, done that. He nods to himself. Guess so. He rises to see her framed against the gaping starlit opening of a huge LOADING DOOR. The twinkling island lies below. But here, Gin stares down at... ...an elaborate architectural MODEL. Fifteen feet across, it features an imposing yellow, pagoda-roofed BUILDING, built into the side of a model MOUNTAIN. Formal gardens, fountains, tiny Kuomintang flags. Stretching away from the building, a large portion of the CITY, with shops and alleyways elaborately detailed. As Mac joins her... GIN National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan. Repository of four thousand years of Chinese culture... He bends to lift UP the detachable roof. All the rooms are detailed within, down to exhibit cases. GIN Works of gold, bronze, jade, onyx, pots and scrolls, paintings and porcelains and lacquer work. Every treasure the Kuomintang could loot before the Reds took over. (beat) Ever rob the place? MAC No. If memory serves. She takes him by the hand, and leads him toward the gaping doorway, walking straight toward it... GIN You need to eat something, or are you ready for sex? And just at the edge of it... MAC (torn) The options seem so limited. They jump THROUGH the opening. And VANISH. Our ANGLE closes on the doorway, to see OUT now, sitting like a jewel against the hillside... ...the NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM, looking exactly like the model. The town spread out beyond. Just as in the model. And now we TILT sharply DOWN to see... ...a loading PLATFORM, suspended above the island, only a few feet below our opening. Like a balcony without a railing. Mac and Gin already sinking down onto a waiting futon. Looks like he's made his pick. Among limited options. INT. LOFT - SUNRISE CLOSE on the MODEL MUSEUM in early light. Propped against it, the unrolled Vermeer. Pinned to the painting, a note we can't read. In the B.G., HEAR what sounds like the rattling of a SUBWAY TRAIN, which runs a short distance and STOPS. We TILT ANGLE now, to see... ...through the sunlit opening of the loading door. Mac's head APPEARS, peeking up over the lip. MAC Ginny...? LOST in another brief subway rumble. He lightly VAULTS up through the doorway. Looks around, no Gin. Goes to the model. Lifts the note pinned to the Vermeer... MAC (reads) This lovely parting gift can be yours. If the price is right. Stumped. Not in his cultural database. He looks at the model, to see that the stretch of city between museum and mountain has been lifted away, revealing... ...an underground RAILWAY TUNNEL between the two. Mac examines the tiny train, the tracks, the winding route. From the side walls, well above the tracks, huge VENTILATION PIPES open onto the tunnel. Starting at the museum end, they are labeled VENT #1, and so on. There are five. The last one shortly before... ...the mountain. Where a cavernous opening is labeled BARRACKS. Tiny toy soldiers kneel on a landing, rifles in position to shoot at the oncoming train. And as Mac studies this curiously... ...the nearby SUBWAY RATTLES the walls once more. Sounds like it's in the room, somehow. Mac rises. Saunters across the loft, and we see for the first time the enormity of this space. Suddenly, the floor ends, and we are looking down nearly thirty feet onto... ...a spacious HANGAR, outfitted with 150 feet of RAILWAY TRACK, at the far end of which sits a full-sited TRAIN CAR, exactly like the one in the model. And just below us... ...Gin crouches on a concave platform of corrugated metal, eighteen feet above the track. She holds a remote control device, which she uses to REV the train's engine, far down the line. She looks really tense. MAC Good morning. She startles slightly. Shuts OFF the train's engine. As she looks up to him now, the silence is noticeable. He crouches down, only a foot or so above her... MAC Quite a parting gift. I would have settled for roses. GIN It's a joke. You know, a joke? People who have a sense of humor make them? He's clueless. But smiling. GIN You're rich, go buy an American, have him fill you in on the culture. MAC Ah. American culture. Well, that is a joke. He leans down. Strokes her hair very gently. MAC (murmurs) Relax. It's only eight billion dollars. She looks up into his eyes. But she can't smile. MAC (softly) Your Vermeer? I like this View Of Delft better than the larger one. The sky is more emotionally rendered. Staring in his eyes. And just as softly back... GIN Nice. When a sky is that. He holds the look. Very strong and very gentle... MAC Is it easier now? Not pretending. Is it? MAC Not pretending you're an innocent. Not pretending you...like me. No answer. Effortlessly, he hops down to join her. Never losing eye contact. MAC Here's a tip from an old-timer. Never forget who you are... Settles next to her. Bodies touching. MAC It gives you someone to be. When you stop pretending. Okay? She nods, slowly. Her eyes moving over his face. Maybe more feelings going through her than she can sort out. MAC (still soft) So. Our train runs from the museum, through an underground tunnel. To a mountain. GIN Because the museum displays 10,000 relics at any given moment. But there are 60 times that many, stored in the mountain. This overwhelms. Even Mac. GIN Which is why it's guarded. By an army. She is unfastening the small pack at her feet... GIN The train shuttles relics to and from storage. It looks exactly like that. So Mac looks down the line. At the train car. GIN I've been down the air ducts four times. The train always has two armed guards. Always travels between 32 and 36 miles per hour. Relics don't like to be jostled too much. MAC (all business now) Your model has five vents. GIN We go down the first. Back up the third, if you're lucky. If not, we have to get out by the fourth. MAC (simply) Then we will. She pulls from the pack four thick DISCS, each about eight inches in diameter, each with a toggle switch and a wrist loop. She starts to put two of them on... GIN Electromagnets, incredibly powerful. This switch is on-off. He gestures at the train, the track, the hangar... MAC Seems like overkill. For one simple jump. GIN Well, it's an eight billion dollar jump. You miss the train...you've missed the train. Flicks ON her remote. Down the track the engine REVS. Like crazy. GIN We've got five days to grab the Bones, trade them for the Scan, and pull our 8 billion out of Hong Kong. Once midnight passes on July 1st... MAC ...we've missed the train, yeh. The Bones? The Scan? GIN Oh. Have I neglected to fill in the details? MAC An oversight. GIN Which I learned from the master. Hey. Wish me luck... CLICKS the remote, the train LEAP5 forward, 36 MPH never seemed so fast! She has a split-second to LEAP down, the train SAILS beneath her, Gin's feet GRAZE the back end of the platform at the rear of the car, she SWIPES DESPERATELY with the magnets, can't connect, and is THROWN into a ROLL along the side of the tracks. She's UP on her knees, watching the train SLAM into the massive blue PADS at the end of the track. She is bruised, shaken, but most of all, really worried and really pissed. MAC (quietly) Jump sooner. She pulls out the remote... GIN Be my fucking guest. The train ROCKETS backward, straight PAST where she kneels, to BRAKE at the start of the track once more. She nods up to Mac, who is strapping on his magnets. He crouches, nods, ready. And the train... ...BLASTS toward him, he counts, JUMPS, and SLAMS ONTO the ROOF of the train, which PLOWS into the heavy padding, FLINGING him twenty feet like a rag doll to land in a HEAP. He lies still. Then blinks, surprised he's alive. HEARS a rich whiskey LAUGHTER down the track. MAC I'm too old for this shit! And as he pulls himself up. She is staring at him, from her knees... GIN Know a dude named Wiley Coyote? ...with what can only be described as love. GIN (softly) Forget it. EXT. NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM, TAIPEI - DAY AERIAL VIEW down toward the sweeping pagoda roofs of the MUSEUM, the formal gardens, the fountains, the tree-lined driveway. CLOSE now, as a cab pulls up, a couple emerges... She is first. Chanel suit with an extremely short skirt, revealing endless legs. She helps him from the taxi, a white-haired geezer who seems well past 90, fumbling with his walking stick, and making quick, erratic, bird-like glances in every direction. She takes his arm for support. Murmurs in his ear... GIN Isn't it easier now? Not pretending? Gives him a full-tongue KISS in the ear, which has bystanders noticing. Starts to help him up the stairs, still whispering close... GIN Five years, you won't need make-up. In answer he GRABS her ass, and she YELPS with delight, attract- ing attention all around. His turn to whisper, as he massages her backside... MAC We agreed. No underwear. GIN Overkill. I can do it with legs. He stops. Gives the long legs a dubious twice-over. MAC I'd lose the underwear. INT. MUSEUM - DAY Mac leaning on her arm, as they pass case after case. Bronzes, jades, lacquer work. Every object exquisite, priceless. GIN The Oracle Bones date back to the Shang Dynasty, 3500 years ago. They are writings...carved into ox bones, tortoise shells... She cuddles close to him. They approach a tour group, the female guide speaking in four European languages. Really loud. GIN The oldest Chinese writing any- where, the first proof of Chinese civilization. MAC What makes this one so valuable? He stops, drowned out by the tour guide, rhapsodizing over an urn. Butts into her rap... MAC (subtitled Italian) Except it's Chien-lung, mimicking Sung Period. The color is far too delicate. The woman gets real insulted. Apparently, he's right. MAC (subtitled German) It's all right, you have a nice body. And walks on. Confides to Gin... MAC When you're old, you can do anything GRABS her bottom once more, altering her voice slightly on... GIN There we are. A separate display room. A single steel pedestal. Under the smart-glass security case, one single object. It is a fragile, yellowed fragment of bone. The shoulder blade of an ox. Covered with tiny script. GIN Last year, ancient artifacts were discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. An Olmec civilization, 3200 years old. No tourists in the display room. A velvet rope is up. Three GUARDS mill at the entrance. This exhibit is off-limits. GIN Amazingly, markings on these Olmec figures were identified as Shang Dynasty writing... A sign explains, SORROWFUL TO INFORM ORACAL BONE CLOSE FOR TRAVEL EXIBITION UNTIL IS NOVEMBER. GIN This particular Bone is price- less, because it is the one that establishes the link. Proves that American civilizations descend from Chinese ancestors. She is pulling out her coin purse, as they stand by the rope. Unzipping it slowly... GIN Exactly the kind of propaganda shit they eat up in Beijing. The mainland would pay anything to get its paws on th... As her shaking 'elderly' companion SPASMS, knocking the purse OUT of her hand, it CLATTERS to the floor, sending a hundred coins ROLLING in all directions. Some under the rope. MAC (old guy voice) SHIT! BLOODY HELL!!! And collapses to the hardwood floor in search of the coins, HOWLING as he BANGS his knees. Some bystanders hurry to help. And one of the guards. As Mac tries to crawl under the rope to pursue coins... ...the guard STOPS him with a firm hand, pointing at the pidgen- English sign. Meanwhile, calmly, very slowly... ...Gin crouches down to retrieve coins, the short skirt riding recklessly high on her upper thighs. The two remaining guards hurry to help her. Mac's guard, bystanders, all transfixed by the marginal preservation of her modesty. Noticing the eye-lines all around, she confides to the nearest guard... GIN (in Mandarin, helpful) Those are the coins. These are my legs. Unnoticed, Mac is BANGING his wristwatch, which seems to have broken. CLOSE on him now, manipulating a glide point DEVICE on the side of the watch, and we RACK FOCUS to see... ...one coin. Inside the rope. Move. As Mac checks to see all eyes are elsewhere, he guides the coin's slide slowly, inexorably, to... ...ATTACH itself magnetically. To the steel pedestal. Beneath the Bone's case. As it does, Mac's watch BEEPS slightly, as we CLOSE on it to see... ...DATA flickering across its face. MAC (old guy voice) Amanda! Time for my pills! INT. NOODLE SHOP, TAIPEI - DAY Gin and Mac at a long communal table, ignored, by Taiwanese couples, families, businessmen, chattering loudly all around them. Gin looking down at her bowl, she's barely touched her meal... GIN ...no, I don't think that way. Glances up. Mac is eating heartily, happily. GIN ...and I suppose you do? MAC Get lonely? Sure, all the time. It's healthy. Stuffs his mouth full. Talking around it... MAC What's unhealthy. Is denial. She's studying him as he eats. Since he's not looking at her, Gin's eyes are thoughtful, appraising. GIN Be real. you could never see yourself...you know, quitting the game. Settling...down. And he looks up. Direct to her eyes. A dead straight, heart- stopping look. Before the wonderful smile. MAC Why, Ginger. This is so sudden. She cuts him a hard look. Not funny. INT. MUSEUM - DAY Late afternoon, the place has closed. Four armed GUARDS, accompanied by a museum OFFICIAL, push a large DOLLY across the hardwood floor, heels clicking, wheels rumbling softly, into... ...the room we've seen. The dolly stops by the display case of the priceless oracle Bone. The four guards position themselves around the triple-paned bulletproof case. It will be a bitch to lift. The official has a key. He inserts this into the lock of the titanium frame which holds the case to the steel pedestal. And as it CLICKS, we... SMASH CUT TO... INT. NOODLE SHOP - DAY Mac's arm rising with noodle-laden chopsticks, the wristwatch BEEPING softly. He drops the chopsticks, rising in one fluid motion as Gin does the same, throwing some bills on the table, he leads her... ...OUT the door, INTO the street, step OFF the curb, turn, DROP flat on his back, SLIDE DOWN the gutter, Gin following a split- second behind... INT. TUNNEL LOADING DOCK A train car stands, pulled up to a loading dock. Two SOLDIERS with assault rifles on the train's rear platform, waiting. Along one side of the tracks, a gravel roadway. An open air Jeep-type military vehicle stands empty. One of our soldiers speaks into a walkie-talkie, watching a huge steel DOOR at the entrance to the loading dock, which... ...OPENS now. Through it come the four armed museum guards, surrounding the dolly which carries the Bone's massive bulletproof display case. The official is with them, and hands paperwork to one of the waiting soldiers, as the museum guards LIFT the case, and carry it onto the train. INT. TUNNEL SHAFT An empty stretch of dimly-lit track, somewhere down the line. Silent. PAN up, way up, to... ...the shadows of a huge air vent. Must be vent #1, because two FIGURES are crouched there, as close as lovers. Even we can barely make them out, until we CLOSE to hear the hushed... GIN (strapping on a backpack) ...way we can use those in here. I thought I was in charge of this operat... MAC You're in charge of ego and worrying. I'm in charge of keeping you alive. He is holding something dull gray and small. It looks like a trun- cated nerf football with one end pointed and the other cut blunt. MAC These are plasma jet. All the force is directed forward, instead of dissipating in a sphere like a grenade. He has four of these. Gives her three. GIN I don't need th... MAC (whispers) Shut up. He reaches out, gently... MAC You don't trust me, you won't get through this. Touches her face. MAC Try to adjust to that for three more days. After July 1... Stares in her eyes. MAC ...you'll never have to trust again. And smiles. One more whisper... MAC Something. To look forward to. INT. TUNNEL LOADING DOCK The museum guards are back on the landing with the official. Our two soldiers stand facing them from the rear platform of the train car, as... The train RUMBLES to life. Ready to go. INT. MUSEUM Two guards arrive with a hand truck to carry off the empty pedestal, which once supported the Bone's case. One tilts the top of the pedestal back, supporting its weight, as the other stoops to lift the base, and... ...stops. He sees the coin. Oddly flat against the pedestal's shaft. He kneels, tries to lift the coin, but the magnet HOLDS it fast. He looks up to his companion. Then... ...PEELS the coin free, the other guard reaches for it, the first guard YANKS it away, and it FLIES from his hand, INTO the wall, and drops. As the guards go to look, the coin's back has come away. Revealing... ...electronics. INT. TUNNEL LOADING DOCK An ALARM SHRIEKS at a deafening level. Five museum GUARDS BURST through the doorway, LEAP from the landing, pile into the Jeep, and BLAST OFF down the gravel roadway after the departed train. INT. BARRACKS ENTRANCE A much larger landing at the other end of the tunnel, facing back the opposite way. The ALARM SCREAMS here, too, and massive steel doors CLANG open, as 25 SOLDIERS with assault rifles SWARM out onto the landing, taking up sharpshooter positions, weapons pointing back up the track. INT. AIR VENT #1 Mac and Gin crouched in the vent, high above the track, gas masks dangle around their necks, magnet paddles from their wrists, various objects from their belt loops. The alarm ECHOES, absolutely EAR-SPLITTING. She leans to shout in his ear... GIN WE HAVE TO ABORT! Above the siren, we can now hear the TRAIN coming... MAC HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO MAKE A CAREER OF THIS, IF YOU CAN'T TAKE A LITTLE INCONVENIENCE? The train LOUDER, closer, the alarm BLARING... GIN THEY'VE GOT AN ARMY DOWN TH... MAC I can do this. Quietly. Straight in her eyes. The train ROARS into view, FLASHES beneath them, as he GRABS her wrist and... ...JUMPS, HURTLING DOWN, both STRIKING the empty rear platform, Gin slipping off, but he HOLDS her fast, SWIPING with his magnet which... ...CLANKS hard, LOCKS solid. He PULLS her onto the platform, she looks dazed, clinging to him, he tugs her gas mask into place, slips on his own, and... ...FITS a magnetic DEVICE from his belt loop ONTO the door lock, SPINS a dial on the device, which POPS the lack OPEN, Mac BURSTING... ...THROUGH the door, lobbing a GAS GRENADE at the startled guards, who try to whirl and FIRE through the fog of red smoke, two wild SHOTS above the rolling Mac, and they are felled by the gas where they stand. Gin races in, falling on her butt, as the car ROCKS along the track. Points OUT the window... GIN (through mask) THERE'S THE NUMBER TWO VENT, ONLY 45 SECONDS TO THE THIRD! Scrambling to her feet, Mac wheeling toward the Bone. GIN (through mask) TEST THE CASE! He THROWS a handful of coins at the glass case, and purple UV BEAMS ARC from the glass to FRY the coins in midair. Mac pulls a dull rectangle the size of a cigar box from Gin's backpack, as we SMASH CUT to... INT. TUNNEL The Jeep BLASTING after the train at crazy speed, the four non- drivers with weapons at the ready... INT. BARRACKS LANDING TROOPS FILL the platform, and have spilled onto the tracks, enough weapons to dust Butch and Sundance. INT. TRAIN Mac operating the cigar box which is actually a customized OSCILLOSCOPE, with countless KNOBS and a SCREEN which displays WAVE PATTERNS. The machine is emitting SHRILL whistling TONES that cut through even the siren. GIN (through mask) TAKE IT TO 30 AND CLIMB! Mac SPINS the dials and two overhead light bulbs BLOW. The glass case housing a fire ax SHATTERS. The Bone's case is untouched. SMASH CUT to... INT. TUNNEL WITH the Jeep, BOMBING around a curve to SEE the train at last. WE OPEN FIRE, accelerating after the train with everything we've got, gravel FLYING like shrapnel, and up ahead... ...the train's windows BLOW OUT, the tunnel SHOWERED with glass fragments. SMASH CUT... INT. TRAIN Mac JUICING the box, the deafening TONE competing with the sirens, the gunshots, Gin SHRIEKING as she points through a blasted-out window... GIN (through mask) THIRD VENT GONE! And the Bone's case EXPLODES, Gin WHIRLING away to protect her face, as we SMASH CUT to... INT. TUNNEL The Jeep now ALONGSIDE the rear platform of the train. The driver fighting to hold it steady, as... ...the guards begin to CLAMBER over the side, GRASPING for the platform's rails, one goes DOWN screaming onto the tracks, but two MAKE IT, then a third, they BURST... ...INTO the train to see... Nothing. Two groggy, half-conscious soldiers. Discarded gas masks, oscilloscope. No Mac. No Gin. And inside the shattered case... A chicken bone. The pack-rat strikes again. INT. TUNNEL Mac and Gin FLATTENED to the side of the train above the window line, held fast by their magnets. We are on the opposite side from the gravel path, so the train screens us from the jeep. SHOUTING above the din... GIN THERE'S THE FOURTH! Up ahead an AIR VENT looms, we are HURTLING toward it. Mac and Gin each free one hand, reach into their backpacks for... GIN OUR LAST CHANCE, THE FIFTH IS AT THE BARRACKS! ...twin GRAPNEL GUNS, which look like big 9mm pistols, but with a blunt, round end. As we STREAK toward the VENT, Gin lifts her gun, SHOOTS at it, a cable-attached PROJECTILE EXPLODING toward the target, OPENING in mid-flight to a three-pronged HOOK, which... ...FALLS just SHORT, the hook tumbling to CLANG on the tracks, as Mac... ...FIRES his, the projectile EXPLODING, the hook OPENING and... ...BITES into the wall, only four feet from the vent, its cable stretching back to the gun in Mac's hand, we're almost there, and Mac slips the pistol... ...INTO Gin's free hand. GIN WHAT ABOUT YOU? MAC ALLOW US A MOMENT OF CHIVALRY. Their eyes meet. He sees her hesitate to abandon him. MAC FIRST RULE. SAVE NUMBER ONE. They FLASH PAST the vent, Mac RELEASES her magnet, Gin's freed hand GRASPING to join the other at the pistol, as she... ...ROCKETS up, CATAPULTED back toward the vent by the retractable cable, as a RIFLE APPEARS from a window beneath us, taking aim at Gin, and Mac... KICKS it off line, the shot BOOMING, the guard almost dropping the weapon, then SWINGING it back UP, slamming the muzzle directly INTO Mac's GROIN, as Mac... ...GRASPS the barrel, YANKING it up, SLIPS the shot SCREAMING past his head, PULLING the guard half out the window to KICK his face, sending him DOWN to the tracks, as we CAREEN around a curve, seeing in distance now... ...the END of the line, the massive BARRACKS LANDING, the phalanx of TROOPS, the fifth and final AIR VENT midway between us. Mac's free hand pulls out... ...the lone PLASMA GRENADE he kept for himself, and as we CAREEN toward the troops, Mac HEAVES the grenade uptrack, and it... ...EXPLODES in a horrifying FIREBALL, which RIPS UP the train tracks, COLLAPSING a section of tunnel wall ONTO the gravel path, a choking CLOUD of yellow SMOKE filling the tunnel, obscuring everything, our train ROCKETING... ...TOWARD the flames, nearly AT the metal SUPPORT BEAM which runs vertically up to the final air vent, and as the train FLASHES PAST it, Mac... LUNGES out, SLAMMING both magnets ONTO the support beam, the momentum FLATTENING his body fully horizontal like a flag on a pole, the train PLUNGING ON without him, as guards shoot blindly back from the windows, the jeep PLOWING full tilt INTO the rubble of tunnel wall, the train... ...DERAILING in a terrifying CRUSH of twisted metal, screams, shouts, the smoke and flame everywhere, and we SNAP TO... REVERSE ANGLE...the soldiers' POV from the landing, SCATTERING as the derailed train HURTLES AT them, INTO them, chaos, until at last they see... ...above the clearing smoke, near the tunnel ceiling... ...Mac CLIMBING deftly up the support beam, magnets CLANKING, hand over hand, nearly at the vent, and the shouting troops... ...OPEN FIRE, bullets CHEWING UP the tunnel wall, as we SMASH CUT TO... INT. STORAGE ROOM - DAY Silence. Cluttered, dimly-lit storage room. Boxes of SHOES reach to the ceiling, Gucci, Bruno Magli, the good stuff. Footsteps precede... ...a young SALESMAN, tailored, attractive. He goes right to the shelf he needs. Opens a box. Takes it and two others. As his steps recede, we PAN UP to... ...the ceiling. The mesh grating, which soundlessly... ...slides away. Gin DROPS lightly, twelve feet to the floor. Filthy from her adventure, she quickly unzips her backpack to remove... ...a sleek Halliburton case. Opens it. The Oracle Bone undamaged in its cushioned setting. Steps returning, she is... ...OUT of her jumpsuit in a heartbeat, revealing a costly slip of a dress, kicks the jump suit under the bottom shelf, as... ...the young salesman APPEARS to find her peeking into a shoe box. He is startled. She scowls at him, rubbing the grime from her face... GIN (subtitled Mandarin) There you are! Do you know how filthy this place is? Shows her dirty fingers as proof. SALESMAN (subtitled Mandarin) Madam, no one is supp... GIN (subtitled Mandarin) I'm looking for dress pumps, I'll need eight pairs. Oh. GIN (subtitled Mandarin) Unless you're too busy to help me. SALESMAN (subtitled Mandarin) Well, no, I... GIN (subtitled Mandarin) Come to think of it, I need some dresses for evening... Lifts the Halliburton case, slings her pack over her shoulder, strides to the doorway. See the crowded upscale boutique... GIN (subtitled Mandarin) Are you coming? Out she goes. And he follows. Maybe he's on commission. INT. VENT - DAY Mac, very much alive, somewhat the worse for wear, crawling through a darkened pipe on his belly, toward... ...a grating. Light filters through. Reaching the screen, he squints through it. Can't see shit. Listens. Nothing that rises above an ambient wooshing of air in the duct. He grasps the wires, pushes, and... ...FALLS straight THROUGH, tumbling ten feet to CRASH LAND in a heap. HEAR feminine SCREAMS before we look up to... ...three young WOMEN trying on lingerie, being attended by an older SALESWOMAN. The girls are half-naked and as Mac rises, one THROWS a red lace TEDDY in his face. He peels it off, and still holding the garment, calmly tells the saleswoman... MAC (subtitled Mandarin) It's all right, the security cameras behind the mirrors are working again. At which the customers SHRIEK, cover themselves all the more, and begin screaming at the poor saleswoman. During which... MAC (subtitled Mandarin) Well. If everything is in order... All four women. Look at him. EXT. LINGERIE SHOP, SHIN KONG MALL - SUNSET CLOSE on an entrance, just as Mac comes... ...FLYING THROUGH, propelled by two sizeable SECURITY GUARDS, once again landing in pieces. It's a long day. As Mac clears his head, they stand at the doorway with folded arms. Hoping he wants some more. MAC WHAT KIND OF A COUNTRY IS THIS? IN BRITAIN, A MAN CAN TRY ON LINGERIE WITHOUT COMPROMISING HIS DIGNITY! The bruisers look at each other. No habla Espanol. EXT. KAOHSHING HARBOR, TAIWAN - DUSK A super TUGBOAT, engines RUMBLING, ready to pull out. A woman paces the deck. Every time we see her, she seems more tightly wrapped. At last... ...here he comes, stepping briskly from the taxi, striding up the gangway, pulling from inside his coat... ...the red lace teddy. He drapes it over her face, and she pulls it away, steps into his arms... ...her kiss is urgent. Real. HOLD on the look in her eyes. What is she thinking? He strokes her hair, gently. Then, goes to look into the Halliburton case, which stands by the rail. As he crouches. As he looks at the Bone... She is watching him. An intensity to her gaze. More feeling than she is comfortable with, which... ...disappears completely, as he turns to her. And when he mimes FLINGING the case into the sea... She laughs. EXT. STATUE SQUARE, HONG KONG - DAY CLOSE on a British Petroleum BILLBOARD with a huge DIGITAL CLOCK, counting down by seconds...JUNE 29, 1997, 11:32 A.M. - 1 DAY, 12 HOURS, 27 MINUTES, 48 SECONDS TO: REUNION WITH CHINA! PAN to an AERIAL VIEW of... Hong Kong's bustling STATUE SQUARE, the hub of countless feeder streets and alleyways, as we ROAM to a SERIES OF SHOTS... ...billboards everywhere. Western businesses that announce WE'LL STILL BE HERE FOR YOU. Others, primarily British, sending farewells, gratitude for past patronage. China-sponsored depictions of happy Hong Kong and Chinese citizens, proclaim ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS. ...moving vans, people pushing carts of belongings, shop signs advertising blowout inventory clearance sales. Traffic beyond gridlock. The human ant colony. ...incredibly long queues in front of post offices, American Express, the imposing glass and steel skyscraper called the HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI BANK BUILDING. ...large groups of uniformed CHINESE SOLDIERS in the streets. More orderly DEMONSTRATION by anti-China PROTESTERS, their signs say MORE DEMOCRACY and FREE HONG KONG, their numbers watched by Chinese soldiers, who in turn are watched by British soldiers. CLOSE on the square now. A couple at a sidewalk vendor. Mac is purchasing a t-shirt. Gin dutifully lifts her arms, and Mac slips the garment over her head. It says CHINA GOT HONG KONG, AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT. He regards her thoughtfully, and she turns, modeling for him as if wearing a Givenchy original. He approves, lifts the Halliburton case, and they move on, strolling, chatting until Mac... ...bumps HARD into a Chinese SOLDIER, both men REELING with the impact. The soldier carries an identical HALLIBURTON CASE, and the two men set their cases down side by side, as Mac steps forward... MAC (subtitled Mandarin) FUCKING HELL! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, MAN! No one notices, no one cares. Gin tugs on Mac's arm, don't get involved, dear. Mac reluctantly steps back. The soldier glares at him. Then, bends and picks up... ...Mac's case. A parting epithet in Mandarin, and the soldier starts off. Watching him, Mac unobtrusively fingers a concealed... ...PISTOL, ready for action. But keeps watching, as within a few yards, the soldier... ...stops. Opens the case. Checks out the Oracle Bone, right there in the middle of the square. Mac and Gin watching across the distance, with hair-trigger keenness. At last the soldier CLOSES the case... ...walks back to us. SOLDIER (subtitled Mandarin) I believe I took your case. Handing it to Mac, he leans forward, and in low, aecented English... SOLDIER 21 Old Peak Road. In 45 minutes. Picks up his own case. And is gone. EXT. MANSION, VICTORIA PEAK - DAY A vintage Aston Martin pulls up to a spectacular gated MANSION. Sparkling white, it is a blend of Edwardian and Regency. Gin is driving, speaks into the voice box, and the gate swings open. As they pull up the crushed rock driveway... ...a BUTLER appears, as British as the architecture. Climbing from the car, Mac has the Halliburton case. BUTLER Will you please come this way? And leads them around the side of the house. They walk slowly, a distance behind the butler, taking everything in. MAC I like this. His voice is strong, calm. No hint of a smile. GIN You like wha... MAC Not being told what the fuck we're doing. She looks equally serious. Just more tense. GIN You're on a 'need to know' basis. You'll get each step in time to execute, I thought you agreed to those condit... MAC (quietly) I like your not trusting me. Because it frees me to do the same. They come upon the spacious GROUNDS behind the mansion. A breathtaking view down the slope of Victoria Peak to Hong Kong and the harbor. Kowloon across the water. GIN I trust you. I only need to... MAC ...remain in control. They pass a towering row of perfect ROSEBUSHES. Mac SNAPS OFF a giant blossom. MAC Which is a sign of weakness. And hands it to her. Their eyes meet. MAC I like that, too. At the edge of the garden, above the commanding view, a luncheon TABLE has been set. Spread with delcacies. Two SERVANTS attend, also British. Only the host is seated. He does not rise. GIN Colonel Col. Qiu glances up from his meal. Green PLA uniform, absurdly decorated, wraparound Gautier sunglasses. We recognize him as the man who took Gin's call in his Mercedes in Tienanmen Square. The man who accompanied the poor Minister of Finance to the ophthal- mologist. QIU You look lovely, Ginger. Is the rose for me? GIN Of course. And leans prettily. To fasten it in the buttonhole of his lapel. GIN Col. Qiu Lai Chuen, this is Andrew MacDougal. Hearing his real name, Mac cuts her a look. GIN Real names here, darling. The Colonel and I have every incentive to keep each other's secrets. And she sits. Close to Qiu. Mac looks around at the property, the view. QIU Like the place, Andy? MAC Please. Mr. MacDougal will do. The Colonel smiles. First time. Like an alligator. Mac notices that the tablecloth is actually... ...a Union Jack. He fingers the flag. QIU This way. Doesn't matter if we spill. MAC My sentiments exactly. He sits. QIU This place was a gift. From its former owner. A Brit whose business will now happily continue to function. Perhaps...even expand. MAC (spreading his napkin) Planning to spend much time here? QIU Tho it has required many sacrifices. GIN The Colonel has divorced his wife. To facilitate the necessary entertaining of Western women. QIU Tho some are more entertaining than others. And runs the back of his knuckles up the length of Gin's bare arm. MAC Colonel. You are touching the woman I love... Which brings Qiu's eyes over. Really? MAC From time to time. And pulls up the Halliburton case. Handing it across the table. As Qiu takes the case in his lap, opens it... QIU You're a Scot. Would you like some 25-year-old Macallan? MAC Sure, I'll take a case. Qiu glances across the lawn to the butler, who stands behind the bar trolley. As the drinks are prepared, the Colonel studies the Bone. GIN The Colonel told his Minister of Culture that he could mount a surgical raid to liberate this treasure from Taiwan. MAC Ah. How much was the Minister told the raid would cost? QIU (not looking up) Counting equipment, personnel, bribes, an even fifty million American. All in. MAC Which you can now keep. The drinks arrive. QIU He would have paid twice that. But my needs are modest. And lifts from beneath the table, a leather POUCH. QIU Unlike. The woman you love. From time to time. Drops it into Gin's lap. She opens the pouch to reveal... ...goggles. Like one would wear in a tanning salon. Only these are flesh-colored with one small hole in the center of each lens. Slightly larger than the size of a pupil. She slips them on. A bright smile. GIN How do I look, honey? And Mac smiles. In return. MAC Like a woman. Of mystery. INT. SUITE, PENINSULA HOTEL - LATE NIGHT Glass doors open WIDE to a terrace which overlooks Kowloon, the harbor, Hong Kong Island beyond. More lights than stars in heaven. And speaking of heaven... ...the SOUNDS of lovemaking are fierce, feral, an urgent rhythm, part comic, part wondrous, and mostly, arousing enough to make us PAN TO... ...lovemaking in silhouette. This is the lovemaking of tigers, mesmerizing to watch, ferocious enough to inspire envy, and somehow... ...tender enough. To suggest real love. LATER...Mac and Gin sit before the open terrace. There is wine and food and abandoned clothing all around them. She has her pack drawn near. And Qiu's leather pouch. She removes the goggles... This is the moment. GIN In the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Building. Is a room with two computers. One for you. And one for me. MAC Glad I have a function, here. GIN The room is a vault on the 14th floor. Access codes to that room are changed daily, computer pass- words on the hour, but... But. She is electric, more alive than he's ever seen her. GIN Four men in the world. Don't need codes. Their retinas will scan to unlock everything. One of these is China's Minister of Finance. She lifts the goggles... MAC And his retinal plate is in there. Yep. MAC Our trade for the great train robbery. All right, let's say we're in the door. Now what? From her pack, she pulls a slender black rectangle. Opens it to reveal a shiny metallic DISC. GIN Hong Kong has a huge portion of its holdings invested in foreign banks. In hundreds of separate accounts... Holds up the metallic disc. GIN This CD ROM is programmed to send, instantaneously, thousands of instruc- tions, with all necessary confirmation codes, to transfer reasonably modest sums out of those accounts.... MAC Modest. GIN Two or three million at a crack, in odd numbers. Total, eight billion. And change. MAC And you've set up a laundry. GIN Every wire transfer gets rocketed through a series of multiple switches, Austria, Uruguay, Antigua, The Channel Islands, the Caymans... MAC (quietly) Seychelles? GIN (beat) I left that out. MAC You're forgiven. GIN Thank you. As soon as each deposit lands somewhere, it's shot somewhere else, til the Mafia couldn't find it. MAC But those first instructions, transferring the 8 billion dollars. They're recorded in the main computer. She waggles the disc. GIN Nope. The CD instructs the computer to erase the real transactions. And replace them in its memory with an innocuous loan coded XJ6. Little homage to Limeyland, there. MAC Dearest. The accounts won't reconcile. She waggles the disc. Again. GIN Wrong. The CD instructs the computer to over-report all account totals forever, in the exact amounts we've lifted. So the Chinese think the money's still there. On this one. He has to smile. MAC The money. Is still. Missing. GIN Sure, the foreign banks know they sent out some money. But they think Hong Kong knows it, too. And since we're leaving plenty in every account... MAC The shit doesn't splatter. Until the first account runs dry. Exactly. GIN And then. Comes the really brilliant part of the whole thing! MAC I was hoping there'd be one. He settles back. Looks at her. GIN Admit it, so far you're blown away. Well... MAC It does sound like the beginning of a beautiful friendship. And his fingers reach out... MAC Pity it will be over. In 21 hours. Touch her hair. Her face. She swallows. A raw moment. A hoarse... GIN Bet you say that. To all the one-night-stands. But he's just staring in her eyes. The look pins her. She can't wriggle off. A murmured... MAC No, ma'am... He leans to her... MAC Only the best of them. They kiss. EXT. STATUE SQUARE - ROUND MIDNIGHT CLOSE on the British Petroleum billboard, where the countdown CLOCK says...JUNE 30, 1997, 11:41 P.M., 0 DAYS, 0 HOURS, 18 MINUTES, 51 SECONDS TO: REUNION WITH CHINA! The square is beyond BEDLAM. Times Square looks deserted New Year's Eve compared to this carnival CRUSH of humanity, rock and rolling as if reunion with China was the doorway to Paradise. Singing, chanting, screaming, dancing, music and booze everywhere, firecrackers exploding, soldiers and civilians, tycoons and hookers, tourists and peddlers and Party members and homeless, going absolutely nuts. Who knows. Could be the last party. Ever. WHIP PAN to the crowded plaza in front of the towering glass-and- steel headquarters of the HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI BANK. ZOOM to focus on our smashing couple in evening wear, Gin with a large beaded shoulder bag. Mac presents an invitation to a PLA soldier, who admits them into... INT. PUBLIC LOBBY, HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI BANK ...a VIP party going full blast in the lobby of this truly breathtaking structure. A central ATRIUM rises 47 floors, creating a soaring clear core, around which the offices and working spaces are ringed. The view straight up is interrupted only at three well-spaced levels, where thick CANOPIES of glass, stitched together with spidery skeletons of steel, SPAN the open core. Mac looks up... ...at the balcony railings surrounding the atrium, the revelers have been granted access to the lower five floors. Above these, all is empty. MAC Nice of the Colonel to provide an invitation... She is guiding him toward one of the multiple hors d'oeuvre stations. Half the celebrants seem to be armed PLA soldiers, many with rifles slung boldly across their shoulders. GIN Well, I promised him a bonus. Five million. Comes out of your share. MAC ...long as I don't have to have sex with him. Mac loads up on six hors d'oeuvres, piling them on a napkin, as she takes two flutes of champagne. They step away from the mob toward a potted plant near the wall, and Mac... ...drops his snacks with a SPLAT. Shit. Bending to clean the mess, he slips from his waistband a flat CIRCUIT BOARD with a bank logo and a three-pronged plug. In a single motion, he plugs it INTO a socket concealed by the pot, scoops up his canapes, and we CUT TO... INT. SURVEILLANCE ROOM Three SECURITY OFFICERS blink, as ALL FIFTY monitor screens go HAYWIRE at once. The images compressed to a blur of lines between a series of diagonal SLACK BARS that slash across the screens. The way your TV acts when the horizontal hold goes out. They can't believe it. Stumped, they start slamming buttons, flipping switches, jabbering to each other. Now the images begin to ROLL vertically, as if in response to their attempts at adjustment. Welcome to the world of high tech. INT. ELEVATOR BANK Mac and Gin wait with a party of older Brits, who've had plenty to drink and are carrying more. Two armed soldiers flank the elevators. A car arrives. As the Brits enter... MAC (politely) We'll take the next one. Waiting, calmly. Mac smiles at a soldier. MAC (subtitled Mandarin) What time tomorrow do the tanks roll in? The guy LAUGHS. An elevator arrives. Gin sipping champagne as they enter. The doors CLOSE. They are alone. The panel has floors 1 through 5 lit. The other numbers, 6-10 and 16-47, are dark. There are NO numbers 11-15. Mac pulls from his pocket a small flat DEVICE, not much thicker than a credit card, with a window and a series of LED lights on its face. He fits it into a SLOT beside a black glass PLATE on the elevator panel. Immediately, the LEDs scramble, all RED, numbers FLASH across the card's window, as the device begins to lock on the elevator code. In sequence, the LEDs turn GREEN, and... ...the glass plate LIGHTS, announcing in Kanji and English...ACCES GRANTED TO FLOORS 11, 12, 14, 15. Mac presses the lit number 14. The elevator RISES. He looks over at her. She is tight enough to snap. We can feel her heart racing from here. MAC So all that time, sitting at your computers. All the research, the access codes your job allowed you to steal, floor plans, schematics... setting up all your bank accounts... She looks irritated. He is smiling, gently. MAC Years of work, comes down to.... (checks his watch) ...six minutes. Don't be nervous. Easy come, easy go. She looks away. The elevator stops. MAC Your share prob'ly works out to, what? Dollar and a quarter an hour? Me laughs. The door opens. She is pissed off. GIN What's your point? MAC (very real) That I like you, Ginger. Now they're staring at each other. An open elevator door. An empty dim hallway. They see only each other. MAC The dedication, the skill, the guts... He holds out the crook of his arm. As a gentleman escorts a lady. MAC I'm going to see you get everything you deserve. Her eyes flicker on that. So he grins... MAC Woman. If you can't have fun, right now. You're in the wrong business. She looks in his eyes. Her body seems to relax, just a little. She takes his arm. INT. 14TH FLOOR CLOSE on a KEYPAD. Next to it, a mirrored PLATE with two APERTURES, set apart the distance of human eyes. Gin's goggled face DROPS into frame, reflected in the mirrored surface. She fits her eyes to the apertures... GIN (whispers) Open. Sesame. A red scanning light APPEARS. Tracks vertically. BEEPS. Tracks horizontally. And from somewhere... ...a soft CLICK. PULL BACK now, to see... They stand at what seems the door to a BANK VAULT. Round, gigantic, heavy steel. Bolts eyerywhere. Mac reaches to GRASP the handle, and... CLANG. The door swings OPEN. They stare at the inner sanctum... ...a windowless ROOM. Dim, eerie fluorescence. A blast of white noise from the elaborate air-cooling system. Two large MAINFRAME COMPUTERS face each other from opposite walls, desks and work stations with PC monitors filling the space between. As Mac closes the vault door behind them... ...Gin goes quickly to the smaller mainframe. Pulls the high- resolution monitor around on its adjustable arm. The screensaver displays Guernsey cows swimming among tropical fish. She hits a key. The screen saver replaced by, WELCOME. AUTHORIZATION MODE PLEASE. Two boxes for PASSWORD and SCAN. She hits SCAN. A plastic shield RISES, revealing... ...the mirrored PLATE, the tiny APERTURES. Gin leans to fit her goggled eyes in place. The red scanning light. Vertical track. BEEP. Horizontal track. And the monitor announces...WELCOME MINISTER FEIHONG. Gin takes off the goggles, and... ...THROWS them across the room to Mac at the larger mainframe. As he repeats the scanning process, Gin is loading the precious CD-ROM into her mainframe's driver. Watches the screen... GIN Uploading. And you've got... two minutes, fifty seconds. WITH Mac now. Typing the words CONTROL PANEL. The screen now shows icons for time setting, and he clicks his mouse to create a CLOCK in the center of the screen, labeled LOCAL TIME, and reading 11:57:19, changing with each second that passes... MAC So let's see. Across town at the British Consulate... INTERCUT...frenzied activity in a large war room filled with computers, wall screens, every worker functioning at top speed... CONTINUE to hear Mac over this... MAC (V.O.) ...everyone is working frantically to complete transactions before they go off-line at midnight. CUT BACK to Mac in the vault. He clicks his mouse to create a clock at the LEFT of the screen, labeled BRITISH TERMINAL TIME. It is, of course, showing the same time as the local clock. MAC ...then, deep in the high-tech bowels of the Bank of China Building, just across the square... INTERCUT...an even larger war room, even better staffed and equipped. Everyone...doing...nothing. Staring at blank monitors and wall screens. MAC (V.O.) ...the Chinese are sitting on their thumbs, waiting to come on-line at midnight. CUT BACK to Mac in the vault. He clicks his mouse to create another clock at the RIGHT of the screen, labeled CHINA TERMINAL TIME. Shows the same time as the other clocks. 11:58:22. MAC I feel for these boys. Let's give them a breather, hmmn? CLICKS the mouse, and the BRITISH TERMINAL TIME begins FLASHING. MAC We'll let the Brits go off-line 4 seconds early. As the flashing clock reaches 11:58:30, and Mac HITS the key four times, advancing the British clock to 34 seconds, four seconds later than the others. MAC And we'll give our new Chinese overlords 4 extra seconds of rest before they have to go on-line. As the local and Chinese clocks reach 40 seconds, Mac HITS the key four times, regressing the Chinese clock back to 36 seconds. We watch all three clocks, clicking down the last moments of British rule. The British clock is 4 seconds FAST, the Chinese clock 4 seconds SLOW. MAC Playing God here, Ginger. We've created 8 seconds that do not exist, anywhere but in this room. LOCAL TIME...11:59:00. One minute to midnight. MAC 8 seconds, where no one is on-line but your little CD-Rom. He turns around. Her eyes are waiting. Across the room. MAC And when, eventually, everyone discovers what transaction XJ6 was really about... GIN China will think it happened before midnight. Britain will swear it happened after midnight... MAC They'll each be positive. The other guy. Did it. Mac sighs. This is a sad thing. MAC Liable to be an ugly international incident. She squints across at his clock. GIN Britain off-line in 18 seconds. We're bulletproof. His smile returns. Bittersweet and real... MAC Baby girl. Nothing. Is bulletproof. Ever. The look holds. He turns back to his screen. She lingers on him for an instant. Then, back to the mainframe, finger poised above her ENTER key... MAC Britain goes bye-bye in 6... 5...4...3. INTERCUT...The British Consulate. All screens go DARK. A logo APPEARS of a POPPING Champagne BOTTLE, whose spray forms a Union Jack twined with a PRC flag, everyone SHOUTS, cheers or curses, and we SMASH CUT... BACK to Gin...striking ENTER, the screen flashing TRANSACTIONS XJ6 PROCESSING. GIN (softly) Jesus God, it's going through. MAC (watching his clocks) Hong Kong midnight, happy new year. Except at China Bank. GIN (to her screen) C'mon, c'mon... Her screen flashes TRANSACTIONS XJ6 COMPLETED, hear her SHRIEK of ecstasy, as we... INTERCUT...Bank of China where dark screens suddenly LIGHT with the same stupid PARTY LOGO. Only nobody cheers. They just get to work. BACK TO the vault... MAC Feel like a nightcap? But across the way, Gin is JAMMING a button. Again. Again. GIN The CD won't come out of the driver. Houston. We have a problem. MAC Relax, don't jam it... GIN (jamming it) FUCKING THING!! He crosses the room. She's rummaging on a nearby desk, finds a LETTER OPENER. MAC Don't panic, now, there's no rush... GIN We can't leave it IN THERE, it's got all our accounts, everything that can NAIL us to a goddam CROSS!! She's fitting the letter opener INTO the narrow slot above the lid of the driver. MAC Easy with that, there's no ru... WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP! WHOOP! Every SIREN in the skyscraper is SHRIEKING, lights are FLASHING CRIMSON, Gin's screen says SECURITY BREACH in a selection of languages. Gin just staring at it. GIN There's a rush. The sirens are EAR-SPLITTING. We know that elsewhere in this building, all hell must be breaking loose. Gin is YANKING Mac's arm out of the socket... GIN LET'S MOVE IT, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING F... MAC The disc. Is still in there. Yeh. She stares at it. Really scared. GIN We can't help it, we...we've gotta... He stares at her. In one motion, he SNATCHES a stapler from the desk and SMASHES the driver with all his strength. It pops open. Calmly, he plucks her CD from the tray. She mouths a barely audible... GIN What a guy. But just as she's about to bolt...he holds up one hand. Slips another CD from his pocket. We see the words KENNY G. MAC Was wondering where to leave this... Pops it IN the drive. SLAMS it shut. MAC (quietly) Time to go. INT. CORRIDOR Mac and Gin RUNNING full tilt through the siren BLARE, turning a corner to see ahead... ...the balcony railing, the building's empty central CORE. Mac BOLTS straight TOWARD it, Gin sprinting to follow, lungs pounding, they reach the railing, looking DOWN to see... Hysteria, unimaginable chaos. Soldiers, black-tie partygoers, SCRAMBLING in all directions, looking to his left Mac sees... ...the bank of ELEVATORS, soldiers POURING in, some cars already RISING, fourth floor, fifth. Now he looks directly BELOW, where... ...soldiers are POUNDING up the metal service staircase, the front rank almost at the third floor. In the lobby, some faces look up to see us, but no one is shooting. GIN They don't know we're the bad guys. He PLUNGES his hand into her shoulder bag... MAC Time they find out. Pulls OUT two PLASMA GRENADES, and FLINGS one toward the elevator cables three floors down and it... ...EXPLODES in a horrifying FIREBALL, causing PANDEMONIUM in the lobby below, the elevator cables BLOWN AWAY, cars PLUNGING, the yellow smoke momentarily screening us from the soldiers far below, and Mac HURLS the second grenade... ...STRAIGHT DOWN and the fireball WIPES OUT the staircase, a huge section of ninth floor landing RAINING down on the lobby. GIN Okay. How do we get down? MAC Down? I never liked down. Grabs her hand and they RACE to the staircase, as smoke BILLOWS everywhere below. UP they go, two stairs at a time, the lowest glass-and-spiderweb-steel CANOPY is three floors above us, the cacophany of SHOUTS below is like an amplified insane asylum. He is dragging her now, up, up, BULLETS are flying blind through the smoke, CHEWING up metal and glass all around us, up, up, and as the smoke at last clears, they have reached... ...the canopy floor. They can see the army down below. Clutching her hand, Mac leads her OVER the railing, ONTO the canopy itself, and together they RUN... ...straight ACROSS the heavy glass toward the far side of the building, like space-walking above the throng 150 feet below, BULLETS now TRACING their path from beneath, SLAMMING OFF the underside of the bulletproof canopy, Gin SHRIEKING with fright as they go. We see ahead... ...three EXECUTIVE ELEVATORS beginning to climb the far wall. These are glass-enclosed tubes, all filled with soldiers, the car in the lead already at the tenth floor. Mac keeps running straight TOWARD them. GIN (out of breath) WE'VE GOT ONE MORE GRENADE! MAC (not) SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY! They make it to the edge of the canopy, the lead elevator only two floors below them. We can see the soldiers through the glass. Mac GRASPS her hand, and as the car nears our level... MAC You can do this. They LEAP across five feet of open air to... ...LAND squarely on the car's metal roof, Mac WRAPPING his free arm AROUND the cable, and UP we go. The ant colony below us receding fast. Gin is hanging onto the cable, petrified. Mac is looking up toward the roof. GIN Okay, now what? MAC (absently) Shut up. You're on a 'need-to- know' basis. GIN Mac, I'm sorry. He looks at her. Just now, she seems more miserable than afraid. GIN Turns out, I'm a screw-up. He doesn't smile. Passing the third canopy. MAC Well. Something to be said for being self-aware. Looks back up. Forty-first floor. Six to go. MAC May I have the last grenade, dear. It's about to rain. She blinks. Huh? So he reaches into her bag, pulls out the grenade, and THROWS it... ...STRAIGHT up. The roof above them EXPLODES in a FIREBALL, and SHIELDS her body against the wall of their shaft, as a huge SECTION of roof comes RAINING down. We watch as it... ...CRASHES through the upper canopy, TONS of roof and glass PLUNGING to... ...BLAST through the middle canopy, everyone below SCRAMBLING for shelter, as the whole shebang... ...EXPLODES through the lowest canopy. Gin can only GAPE at the incredible display. Mouthing a silent WOW. They've passed the second canopy, thirty-sixth floor. Still climbing. The other two elevators maybe five floors below us. MAC You see, banking will be more democratic under China. She looks to him. MAC Well. No more glass ceiling. The elevator car has STOPPED. We are at the roof. The soldiers are in the car beneath our feet, nowhere to get out. Above our heads. ...the last few feet of elevator cable. And starry sky, where our patch of roof used to be. MAC How refreshing. The night air. He begins to shimmy up the few feet of cable. At the top, he reaches out with one hand toward the lip of the remaining roof, GRABS it, LUNGES with his free hand, and... ...DANGLING 47 floors, he pulls himself UP, swings ONTO the roof. Reaches back down. She is only twelve feet below him. Frozen with fear. GIN I can't do this. MAC You can. If I say so. She stares up at his eyes. He smiles. MAC If you stay. You'll have to pay for the damage... She looks down at the mess below. And starts to climb the cable. Not so easy in a ball gown, but the adrenaline is pumping. Gets to the top. Here's the hard part. One hand reaches out... ...GRABS his. She lets GO. And she is DANGLING in space. MAC Now that split. Did we say 60-40? And with all his strength, hauls her up onto... ...the roof. Two-thirds of it remain. At the far edge, a gigantic MAINTENANCE CRANE, itself two stories high. But between here and the crane... ...a HELICOPTER. Big and beautifUl and empty. She looks like she's seen God. Mac starts to jog toward it, she runs to follow but sees him go... ...straight PAST the chopper. GIN HEY! He turns back. She points to the copter. It's over here. MAC Got the keys? Oh. GIN I thought you could...hot-wire stuff? Guess not. MAC They fix those things so you can't steal them... And keeps walking. Toward the monster CRANE. MAC These, they're not so worried. Moving fast, he points off to his right. Her eyes follow a long CABLE, leading from the arm of the crane, across the roof, attaching by a huge HOOK to a massive WRECKING BALL. MAC Go grab that hook. He reaches the crane's cab. Turns back to see she hasn't moved. MAC Let me rephrase that. Run and grab that hook. Or die... Got it? She takes off running. He hops IN the cab. PUSHES the start button. It rumbles to life. Tests some levers... GIN (O.S.) SHIT! DON'T DO THAT! He turns to see that he's tightened the cable, pulling her ball six feet in the AIR. She clings to the hook with a true death grip. He lowers her ball to the roof. Getting the hang of it. MAC This only works if you shut your eyes. Which makes her eyes BUG OUT. GIN You're not gonna lower me over the side. MAC Of course not. Now close baby eyes... (she won't) Suit yourself. He THROWS a lever and the crane's arm begins to SWING in a circle, finally taking the ball WITH it, and as she SCREAMS, Mac... ...POUNCES out of the cab, RACING along the edge of the roof, NOT toward the ball which is sweeping the hysterical Gin in a widening ARC, but toward the point where he thinks the ball will clear the edge, and JUST as it does, he... ...LEAPS aboard, throwing one arm around the hook, the other around her, and they go... ...OVER the side, WHOOSHING DOWN in a gigantic, every-increasing LOOP, as the endless steel cable UNWINDS from its huge drum like a fishing reel hooked onto a killer whale. GIN OH NOOOOOOOOOO.... The ride no theme park could insure, SWOOPING out ACROSS the skyline, DROPPING like an anvil, as the cable UNSPOOLS hundreds of feet, nothing but NOTHING for miles below them, Gin grabbing a breath to SHRIEK her guts out, as the monstrous pendulum reaches its max, begins to slow toward that one nauseating motionless instant... MAC Let go NOW!! He YANKS her loose, and they drop... ...four feet. The ball SWINGS OFF lnto space to some unknown mayhem. Clutching Mac, Gin looks WAY down to the street, and realizes they are standing on... ...a rooftop. Quiet, safe. Alone. MAC Planning. She WHIPS around, GLARING death at his eyes. MAC And dumb luck. She COLLAPSES in his arms, every muscle trembling in spasm, sobbing... GIN God, I hate you. He holds her tenderly. Kisses the top of her head. MAC (softly) Good. I hate you, too. EXT. NATHAN ROAD - EARLY MORNING WITH Gin in a soft brunette wig, walking briskly, light carry-all across her shoulder. Very early, even the busiest street in the world is less than that at this hour. Up ahead... ...Tsimshatsui Station, a tall man with a tourist shopping bag, leaning casually against a pole. Talking into a cellular. As she approaches, Mac doesn't seem to notice, but she can now hear his conversation... MAC (into phone) ...if I can't have my usual suite, I'll take my business to the Bristol, simple as that. He sees her now. Smiles small. MAC (into phone) ...why indeed should I be more loyal to you than you've been to me? Think it over. SNAPS the phone shut. MAC You ran your calls. She did. She is frankly exhilarated. GIN All the transactions, all the transfers. It's a miracle. MAC Why? The CD erased the trans- actions, all accounts seem in order. It looks like the thieves were stopped in time. She sighs. It is a miracle. GIN The Colonel says police have nothing. A man in black-tie, a blonde in a gown. The elevator guards saw faces, but no mug shots to ID. I think it's over. Mac's smile. Bittersweet affection. MAC Except it never is, really. Quite. Over. She smiles. It is easy, but dazzling. Atypically soft. GIN Well, one hopes not. The Bristol, huh? In...Paris? Ah. MAC You're not going back to Mr. Cruz, and the nine-to-five? GIN Not hardly. I've arranged to be killed in a car crash. On Taipei. Amazing how little it costs. MAC Well. You want to watch those pennies. She takes a breath. Scared, in an excited way... GIN I could arrange for two. In that crash. His smile back. He looks at his watch. Takes her hand. Leads her to the subway steps. MAC You know, for a bitch. You can be awfully sweet. GIN Woman of mystery. What do you say? I like the Bristol, just fine. mean, it's not the Ritz... MAC You know, all night I've been wrestling with something... GIN Not the most flattering way to put it. He takes his big tourist shopping bag. Puts it in her hand. MAC I've changed your travel plans. They are descending now. Into the vast underground train station. GIN Mine. MAC Instead of taking the subway to the airport, you change at Jordan Station for Kowloon Tong. Got that? Got that? MAC Jordan is only 90 seconds up the line. Like a wire transfer, you're gone. Vanished. He holds up a silencing finger. Listen to me. MAC In this bag are passports, tickets, papers. An amber wig, a good one. A dress you can slip on in five seconds. Her eyes moving over his face. What is this? MAC You're on a tight connection to the Trans-Siberian Express, be in Europe in a week. GIN Mac, wh... MAC Shhh. You always talk too much. They're at the booth. He pays their fare. Through the turnstiles, now. MAC Time has come to return the favor. One last time. Smiles at her. As they enter a tunnel. MAC Tell you. What business. I'm actually in. And in an instant of blind panicked clarity. She gets the whole thing. GIN (hushed) My God. You're a cop. MAC (very softly) That's my girl. Keep walking. People are everywhere. But they are alone in the world. MAC See, my profession was cover, too. A notorious thief has access to colleagues, their plans... He sighs. MAC I've turned in...well, couple hundred. over forty years. Scotland Yard, Interpol, FBI... Looking around the tunnel. MAC Thought I might retire. After you. GIN And all the...microchips, the diamond machine... MAC Well, the chips were returned. The machine was just a box, did you actually think it was real? Glances at her. GIN I thought...everything was real. Stupid girl. End of the tunnel in sight now. It leads to a massive, endless quai. Trains in transit. GIN Those were your jobs, so I could have claimed entrapment. You had to wait. For mine. Nearly there. He says nothing. Looks pretty grim. GIN The Oracle Bone... MAC Well, the State Department liked that one. They have more fish to fry with Beijing than Taiwan. He sighs. MAC So they're taking credit for letting it go through. Tho I'm afraid your Colonel may be in for a career disappointment. She stops walking. She has to know... GIN And the 5 billion. Ah. That. MAC I haven't told them. Gently, takes her arm. Leads her onto the endless train platform. Walking slower now. MAC I said you hadn't revealed the job. That it wouldn't take place until after the changeover. Down the platform they stroll. As her eyes wander... MAC Don't look, they're there. Her breath catches. Her eyes go down. GIN And my tickets. In the shopping bag? MAC Well. Kept my options open. If I give you up, they don't matter, do they? Her heart pounding through her chest. GIN If. MAC Had lots of crazy thoughts. One was retirement. With four billion dollars. After all, I know some places where life could be private... GIN But you couldn't do that, huh? They've stopped. Just two travellers in a strange land. waiting for a train. GIN Otherwise. They wouldn't be here. He nods. Smiling pleasantly. MAC Creature of habit. I suppose. We feel her adrenaline racing. GIN Lots. Of thoughts, you s... MAC Keep smiling. They won't move, until I raise my left arm. And so she smiles. As prettily as she can manage. MAC I thought. Well, I've got the CD. I could contact the banks, reverse all the transactions... A train is COMING. We HEAR it. MAC ...except maybe. Leave you with... oh, a hundred million, say. To tide you over. SEE the train. Slowing. Pulling in. MAC Then, I thought, nah. Not my style. With a SHRIEK of metal. The train PULLS toward us. MAC I figured. What the hell? What the hell? MAC Let her keep the lot. The train STOPS. The doors OPEN. People come out, people go in. Pouring around them. They are alone again. The subway doors stand open. Two feet away. She looks at them... MAC No rush. The doors won't close for 60 seconds. Sixty seconds. And still smiling... MAC There's a pistol in the bag. Reach in slowly. Take it out fast. Point it at my temple. She freezes to stone. MAC You can do it. If I say you can. And she...DOES IT. A blinding MOVE, the gun straight at his head, Mac miming fear, raising his hands to chill the agents we... WHIP PAN to see. Half a dozen, everywhere, but none too close. They REACT, pull their weapons, but it's a stand-off. BACK TO... Two people. Alone in the universe. MAC Step onto the car, keep the pistol trained on my face. She hesitates. Does as he says. Passengers are screaming, cringing, bolting for other cars. Our world is FROZEN. His hands raised... MAC Seems I was wrong. Gentle smile. MAC Entrapment. Is what robbers. Do to cops, huh? Her eyes are flooding. The gun is trembling. MAC Twenty seconds. Shoot me in the shoulder, it'll slow them down. Her pistol is shaking like she has palsy. Tears are on her cheeks. GIN Oughta shoot you in the face. MAC Come on, you can do it, if I sa... GIN No way. Not anymore. She sobs. She can't stand this. MAC Ten seconds, hold on. GIN When do I see you? There is no answer. There are no words. The doors HISS SHUT. She stares, training her pistol on him through the glass, his hands reaching back to hold off the agents, and the train... PULLS away. An instant to pick up speed, and it ROARS into a tunnel. Gone. Mac stands motionless as ALL HELL breaks loose around him, AGENTS rushing to his side, Mac shaking his head, calmly... Still staring after the train. MAC Airport. Changing at Mongkok Station, we can cut her off. Walkie-talkies WHIP out. These guys are the same the world over. We begin to CRANE UP... MAC She might lose the wig, be looking brunette or blonde, navy pants suit... AGENT I think Yaumatei changes for the airport, and it's closer. Keep PULLING UP, an AERIAL VIEW now, too high to see their faces... MAC (O.S.) I think you're wrong, but cover it. You got maybe four minutes. HIGHER still, the mob below an ant colony... MAC (O.S., calmly) No problem. She's trapped. But as the crowd parts. We can make out one lone man... Staring after. What has gone. FADE TO BLACK. ROLL END CREDITS. 
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+                                     "EVENT HORIZON"                                      Screenplay by                                      Philip Eisner                                      SHOOTING DRAFT                               EXT. NEPTUNE - MODEL INTERPLANETARY SPACE               A vast field of stars. The gas giant Neptune slowly spins                into view. Brilliant and blue and cold against the void.               EXT. NEPTUNE - MODEL A BLACK SILHOUETTE               stands out against the planet, tiny against Neptune's scale.               EXT. NEPTUNE - MODEL DRIFT CLOSER               to discern the hard angles of a man-made craft. A ship. No                longer dwarfed by the planet, the scale of the vessel emerges:                a vast labyrinth of steel.               Its shadow swallows all in darkness.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY               Shafts of Neptune's blue light enter through windows,                illuminate debris suspended in the zero-gravity environment:                shards of metal and glass.               MOVE from the Corridor into:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               A cockpit for three. Neptune's blue light fills the chamber,                reflects off immobile particles in the air. Thick quartz                windows look down at Neptune. The cockpit lights are dark                but for one blinking red light.               An emergency beacon. Under-floor lights go on.               The strobe of the red light reveals a man floating at the                helm, slowly spinning. He is dead, perfectly preserved in                the cold vacuum of space. His eyes are empty black pits and                his mouth hangs open in a scream: DR. WILLIAM WEIR.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT               Weir opens his eyes, waking from dream. Sweat beads his                ascetic, etched face. Many years a scientist.               He turns on the bedside lamp, revealing a couple's apartment.                Decorated by a woman, but Weir is alone, unless you count                photographs. His nightstand looks like a shrine to a beautiful                woman.               Weir reaches to the stand. Picks up...               RECENT, UNFRAMED PHOTO               The woman appears thin and haggard and wears a small brave                smile.               Weir lies back on the bed. Looks at the photo. Presses it to                his forehead and closes his eyes. Trying to be with her,                just one more time.                                     WEIR                              (whisper)                         I miss you.               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT - LATER               Weir stands in front of the bathroom mirror, shaving with a                straight-razor. The mirror reveals the bathtub just behind                him. DRIP, DRIP, DRIP...               Weir turns to stare at the bathtub. Water wells up at the                mouth of the tub's faucet, grows impossibly large, falls...                DRIP.               Weir turns back to his shaving.               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT - LATER               Weir stands in the kitchenette, staring at the microwave as                it cooks his breakfast.               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT - LATER               Weir stands before his window, chewing his oatmeal                mechanically, forcing himself to swallow. He reaches out to                open the blinds...               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT REVERSE ANGLE               as the blinds pull aside, revealing Weir, upside-down.               ROTATE AND PULL BACK...               EXT. DAYLIGHT STATION - MODEL TO REVEAL DAYLIGHT STATION               Weir's window is just one of many in a space station, a                delicate combination of cylindrical habitats and solar panels.                The structure hangs above the Earth in low orbit.               TITLE CARD: DAYLIGHT SPACE STATION 08.23.2046               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT (BLINDS OPEN)               A videophone RINGS OS...                                     WEIR (V.O.)                         This is Weir.                                     LYLE (V.O.)                              (tinny)                         Dr. Weir, Admiral Hollis would like                          to see you as soon as possible.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. DAYLIGHT - OFFICE               A military office, United States Aerospace Command seal                blazoned on the door. Views of the Earth. Admiral HOLLIS                sits behind his desk, a gruff career officer and a good man.               Weir enters, escorted by Hollis' adjutant, LYLE.                                     WEIR                         You wanted to see me, Admiral?                                     HOLLIS                         I apologize for the short notice,                          Bill, but we've had something come                          up that requires your immediate                          attention. Lyle?               INT. HOLOGRAPHIC DISPLAY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM               Lyle activates a holographic display of the solar system. A                box magnifies the eighth planet, Neptune, revealing a flashing                red dot in its orbit.               INT. DAYLIGHT OFFICE                                     LYLE                         At oh-three-hundred this morning,                          TDRSS picked up an automated                          navigation beacon broadcasting at                          two minute intervals in Neptune orbit.               Lyle hands Weir a stack of hardcopy data. Weir reads the                data with growing excitement.                                     WEIR                         Incredible... These are the same                          coordinates before the ship                          disappeared... this, this happened?                          This isn't some kind of hoax?                                     HOLLIS                         I wouldn't bring you here on a hoax.                          Houston confirms the telemetry and                          I.D. codes.                                     WEIR                              (excited)                         It's the Event Horizon. She's come                          back.               Hollis answers drily.                                     HOLLIS                         That ship was lost in deep space,                          seven years ago. If the Titanic sailed                          into New York harbor, I'd find it                          more plausible.                              (beat)                         Houston wants Aerospace to send out                          a search and rescue team, investigate                          the source of the transmission. If                          it really is the Event Horizon,                          they'll attempt a salvage.                              (beat)                         We need you to prepare a detailed                          briefing on the ship's systems for                          the salvage crew...                                     WEIR                         A written briefing can't possibly                          anticipate the variables on a mission                          like this. I have to go with them.               Lyle looks at Weir, stunned by the request.                                     LYLE                         Dr. Weir, you have no experience                          with salvage procedures.                                     WEIR                         I designed the ship's propulsion                          system. I am the only person capable                          of evaluating the performance of the                          gravity drive. You can't send a Search                          and Rescue team out there alone and                          expect them to succeed. That would                          be like... like sending an auto-                         mechanic to work on the shuttle.                                     LYLE                         I can understand your desire to redeem                          your reputation, Dr. Weir, but it                          doesn't factor into this.                                     WEIR                         This is not about my reputation!                          This is not about me at all!                              (beat, passionate)                         The Event Horizon was created for                          one reason: to go faster than light.                          Imagine mankind exploring new solar                          systems, colonizing new worlds. Seven                          years ago, we didn't just lose the                          ship and the crew. We lost the dream.                              (beat, quiet and                               relentless)                         I have to go.                                     HOLLIS                         It's not that simple.                              (off of Weir's                               expression)                         Lyle, play the recording for Dr.                          Weir.                                     LYLE                         Navigation Control tried to hail the                          vessel. This was the only response.               Lyle presses a button on Hollis' desk. An unholy GARBLE rips                from office speakers: STATIC and NOISE and INHUMAN VOICES.                Alone, each sound would raise the hair on your neck. Together,                they are unbearable.               The sound mercifully cuts off to STATIC. Lyle stops the tape.               Weir sits there, stunned.                                     LYLE                         Since the initial transmission,                          there's been no further contact.                          Just the beacon, every two minutes.                                     WEIR                         The crew? Could they still be alive?                                     LYLE                         The ship had life support systems                          for eighteen months. They're been                          gone seven years.                                     WEIR                         Someone sent that message. Admiral,                          you have to put me on that ship.               Hollis stares at Weir, judging the man with his eyes.                                     HOLLIS                         It's against my better judgement,                          but I'll run this by the Man                          downstairs. You'll know my decision                          by the end of the day.                                     WEIR                         Thank you.                                     HOLLIS                         Don't thank me, Bill. I'm not doing                          you any favors.               Weir leaves. The door closes behind him.                                     LYLE                         You're not seriously considering                          sending him?                                     HOLLIS                         You don't just dismiss Bill Weir.                          The man held Oppenheimer's chair at                          Princeton. If the Event Horizon had                          worked, he would have gone down in                          history as the greatest mind in                          physics since Einstein.                                     LYLE                         The official inquiry blamed Weir's                          design for the ship's loss.                                     HOLLIS                         That doesn't mean a damn thing. They                          were looking for a scapegoat and                          Weir fit the bill. But he's not                          responsible for what happened to the                          ship.                                     LYLE                         Does he know that?                                     HOLLIS                         What's on your mind?                                     LYLE                         He doesn't belong on this mission.                          Responsible or not, he blames himself.                          He's too close to it.                              (beat)                         And then there's his wife.                                     HOLLIS                         It's been two years since she died.                          He's over it.                                     LYLE                         Some things you don't get over.               Beat.                                     HOLLIS                         I want our best people on this.                          Where's Miller?                                     LYLE                         The Lewis and Clark just returned                          from patrol in the asteroid belt,                          she's docked in bay four.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. DAYLIGHT STATION/EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK               The Lewis and Clark pulls away from Daylight station, turns                towards the depths of space. It is a tough-looking spacecraft,                all engine.               Sequence omitted from original script.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               MOVE IN on thick quartz windows near the ship's nose: the                bridge...               Split level. Above: avionics, navigation, flight control.                STARCK (female, Navigator, sharp mind, sharp tongue) checks                the navigation data on her screen as SMITH (male, Pilot,                wrapped too tight) punches in the course.                                     SMITH                         I can't believe this, I haven't gotten                          more than my hand in six weeks and                          now this shit. Why not Mars, Cap,                          Mars has women...                                     STARCK                         Smith's right. Neptune? There's                          nothing out there. If something                          happens, we'll be on our own.               The captain's chair drops from above, swivels to reveal MILLER                (male, Captain, intense).                                     MILLER                         I don't like it either, but you know                          the rules: we get the call, we go.                          Is the course locked in?                                     SMITH                         Locked and cocked.                                     STARCK                         We're past the outer marker, we can                          engage the ion drive whenever you're                          ready.                                     MILLER                         Justin?               Below: the bridge's "war-room" -- ship's systems and mission                stations. JUSTIN (male, Engineer, young hot-shot).                                     JUSTIN                         Everything green on my boards,                          Skipper.                                     MILLER                         Start the countdown.                                     STARCK                         Ion drive will engage in... T-minus                          ten minutes.                                     MILLER                         Let's go.               Miller slides down a ladder into the war-room. The others                follow into...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY               Bulky EVA (extra-vehicular activity) suits line the walls.                MUSIC blares from a JAMBOX, built into a storage locker.               An Emergency Tech stows safety lines: COOPER -- male, the                resident pain-in-the-ass. He SINGS along with the music.                                     MILLER                              (not breaking stride)                         Kill it.               Cooper reaches up, turns off the box.                                     COOPER                         Time to play Spam in the can.                                     MILLER                         Don't start with me, Cooper.               Cooper falls in as the crew continues into...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - QUARTERS               Evidence of long term habitation. Personalized lockers. Fold-               down bunks, chairs, tables; currently stowed for docking. A                modular galley.               PETERS (female, Emergency Technician, the crew's denmother)                and DJ (male, Doctor, a cold perfectionist) load CO2 scrubbers                into a bin in the floor.               Weir stands to the side like a fifth wheel.                                     WEIR                         Captain Miller, I just want to say...                                     MILLER                         The clock is running, Dr. Weir. If                          you'll follow the rest of the crew,                          they'll show you to the gravity tanks.               Weir hesitates, then follows the crew into Medical. Miller                hangs back.                                     MILLER                         What's the hold up?                                     PETERS                         Just loading the last of the CO2                          scrubbers.                              (to Miller, accusatory)                         Good for four months.                                     MILLER                         I put in for a replacement for you                          but no one...                                     PETERS                         No, no, its alright. I talked to my                          ex, he'll keep Denny over Christmas                          and I'll get him this summer.                              (beat)                         Goddam it, Skipper... I haven't seen                          him in two months.                                     MILLER                         I am sorry. But now we have to go to                          work.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MEDICAL               A high tech operating room. Modular equipment. Vertical tanks                line the walls, each large enough to hold a human being:                gravity couches.               The crew stands before the gravity couches, almost nude, no                room for modesty.               Starck catches Cooper looking at her ass as she strips to                her undergarments. Cooper grins. She flips him off, not                bothering to turn around.                                     COOPER                         Is that an offer?                                     STARCK                         It is not.               Miller disrobes. Two service tags hang around his neck. He                does not remove them. Weir approaches him.                                     WEIR                         Captain Miller, I appreciate this                          opportunity...                                     MILLER                         Doctor Weir, my crew is not going on                          your mission because we want to. We                          were pulled off a well deserved leave,                          to be sent out to the middle of                          nowhere, and no one's even told us                          why.                                     WEIR                         I've been authorized to brief you                          and the crew once we reach Neptune                          space.                                     MILLER                         Until then, do what you're told and                          stay out of my way.               Weir nods, moves to an empty couch bearing his name, written                on a piece of tape. Peters watches him.                                     PETERS                         First time in a grav couch?                                     WEIR                         Yes.               She checks Weir's couch, helps him climb in. Weir keeps one                eye on Miller.                                     PETERS                              (Off of Weir's glance)                         Don't worry about it. He's hard, but                          he's fair. You're lucky to be shipping                          out with him. He's one of the few                          Captains in the service with                          experience in the Outer Reach.                                     WEIR                         He's been past Mars?                                     PETERS                         He served on the Goliath.                                     WEIR                         Wasn't that ship destroyed?                                     PETERS                              (nods)                         They attempted to rescue a supply                          shuttle bound for Titan. The shuttle's                          oh-two tanks ruptured during the                          rescue, flooded both ships with pure                          oxygen. There was a spark and both                          ships were incinerated. The Skipper                          and three others just made it to a                          lifeboat. Captain Miller was able...                                     DJ                              (interrupting)                         He doesn't like to talk about it.               DJ swathes one of Weir's arms with alcohol.                                     DJ                         You didn't eat anything in the past                          twelve hours?               Weir shakes his head.                                     DJ                         When the Ion drive fires, we'll be                          taking about 30 gees. Without a tank,                          the force would liquefy your skeleton.               DJ injects Weir. The scientist winces.                                     WEIR                         I've seen the effect on mice.               The overhead lights change to red.                                     MILLER                         Five minutes.               DJ hands him the breathing mask.                                     DJ                         Put this on.               Weir does. DJ checks the fit.                                     PETERS                         You'll be fine. You'll wake up and                          we'll be there. Watch your fingers.               DJ closes the tank. It begins to fill with green gel. Weir's                eyes grow large with fear and then the anaesthesia hits. His                eyes close. His body draws into a fetal position.                                     DJ                              (checking the monitor)                         Heart-rate decreasing... body temp                          dropping to 80... 70... 60... 50...                          40 degrees Fahrenheit. He's in stasis.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL               THE ION ENGINE at the aft of the ship begins to glow a deep                red.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MEDICAL               The crew hang inert in the gravity couches.               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL               SILENCE. The engine flares white hot. The Lewis and Clark                lances forward.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - INTERPLANETARY SPACE - MODEL               The Lewis and Clark races SILENTLY past. The engine at its                aft holds a sustained fusion reaction like the sun.               GRAPHIC: U.S.S. Lewis and Clark. 56 days out.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MEDICAL CLOSE ON WEIR               immobile in the grav tank. He might be sleeping. He might be                dead. A distant SOUND echoes though the ship, the unholy                garble of human and inhuman voices -- it is the Event Horizon,                calling to him -- the sound refines into a WOMAN'S VOICE, no                more than a WHISPER:                                     VOICE                         Billy...               Weir opens his eyes.                                     VOICE                         I'm so cold...               Weir's grav tank opens.               WIDER TO REVEAL               the seven bodies of the crew, suspended inert in the gel.               A sound: DRIP... DRIP... DRIP...               Weir slowly walks to the Bridge.                                     VOICE                         I'm so cold...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               A naked WOMAN sits at the helm, her back to us. Completely                still. Her skin is very pale. Water pools around her chair.                Weir stands behind her.                                     WEIR                              (tentative)                         Claire?               She does not answer. She does not move. Weir reaches out to                touch her shoulder, then pulls his hand back, afraid.                                     WEIR                         Claire? I'm sorry. Claire?               He reaches out again. He touches her hair. She doesn't move.                Weir catches her reflection in the computer monitors.                Something wrong with her face... He starts to spin her around.                                     CLAIRE                         I'm so cold...                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MEDICAL               Weir awakes with a jolt, in his grav couch. His mask has                slipped. His tank has filled with blood. He is drowning.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MEDICAL               Reality. Weir's eyes open. He presses against the glass of                the tank, trying to force it open, panicked. The others are                already stepping from open tanks.               Weir's tank opens with a HISS. He tumbles to the floor,                gasping, fluid streaming from his mouth.               Peters rushes to him.                                     WEIR                              (gasping)                         Claire...                                     PETERS                         DJ!                              (to Weir)                         It's okay. You're okay. Just breathe.               Weir catches his breath. He looks up. The crew surrounds                him, concerned.                                     WEIR                         I'm alright now. I'm alright...               DJ helps him to his feet.                                     DJ                         Move slowly. You've been in stasis                          for fifty-six days. You're going to                          experience a little disorientation.               Weir nods.                                     COOPER                         Damn, Dr. Weir, don't scare us like                          that. Coffee?                                     WEIR                         What?                                     COOPER                         Coffee.                                     WEIR                         No, thank you.               Cooper, still butt-naked and proud of it, grabs a metal                cylinder from the wall and pours a mug for himself.                                     COOPER                         Hey, Starck. You wanna dry my back?               Starck gives him a cool once over.                                     STARCK                         Maybe when you finish puberty.               Miller zips up.                                     MILLER                         Starck, why aren't you on the bridge?                                     STARCK                         I just finished drying...                                     MILLER                         Then what are you doing here? Come                          on, people, let's go!                              (to Cooper)                         And Cooper... Put some pants on.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. INTERPLANETARY SPACE - LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL               SILENCE. The Lewis and Clark drifts towards Neptune.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - QUARTERS               The crew has secured the quarters from flight status. Bunks                have been folded down, each alcove personalized with                photographs and pin-ups.               DJ moves around the cabin, checking the crew's radiation                badges.               Cooper and Justin sit on their bunks, tossing a handball                across the cabin.               Peters holds a "Watchman" video unit, watching a "video                letter"...               EXT. PETERS HOME - GARDEN (DENNY'S PARTY)               ...from DENNY, her four-year-old son, a paraplegic, grinning                widely in his new wheelchair:                                     DENNY                              (video)                         Play horsey, Mommy, play horsey...               IN THE VIDEO, Peters enters shot, scoops her child from the                chair.                                     PETERS                              (video)                         Want to play horsey, do you...                              (etc.)               INT. LEWIS AND CLARKE - QUARTERS               Weir sits huddled in a blanket. Miller takes a seat next to                him.               Starck and Smith enter. Starck sits next to Miller.                                     SMITH                         30 hours to Neptune orbit.                                     STARCK                         All boards are green, everything's                          five by five.                                     MILLER                         That's good to know. Justin, you                          wanna stow that?               Justin catches the ball, holds onto it.                                     MILLER                         Okay, listen up. As you all know by                          now, we have an addition to our crew.                          Dr. Weir, this is: Starck, navigation;                          Smith, pilot, Justin, ship's engineer --                                     COOPER                         You can call him Baby-bear, he loves                          that...                                     MILLER                         This is Cooper, what the hell do you                          do on this ship, anyway?                                     JUSTIN                         Ballast.                                     COOPER                              (to Weir)                         I am your best friend. I am a                          lifesaver and a heartbreaker...                                     MILLER                         He's a rescue technician. Peters,                          medical technician. DJ...                                     DJ                         Trauma.                                     MILLER                         And this is mission specialist Dr.                          William Weir. We all know where we're                          going. Dr. Weir is going to tell us                          why.               Miller and the crew look at Weir, waiting. Weir clears his                throat.                                     WEIR                         What I am about to tell you is                          considered code-black by the NSA.               The crew look at each other: they haven't heard that in a                mission briefing before.                                     JUSTIN                         That means top-secret, Cooper.                                     COOPER                         I heard it.                                     WEIR                         The USAC intercepted a radio                          transmission from a decaying orbit                          around Neptune. The source has been                          identified as the Event Horizon.               STUNNED SILENCE. Then everyone talks at once:                                     STARCK                         That's impossible! She was lost with                          all hands, what, seven...                                     JUSTIN                         Seven years ago, the reactor blew...                                     PETERS                         How can we salvage...?                                     SMITH                         Let the dead rest, man...                                     COOPER                         ...cancel our leave and send us out                          on some bullshit mission...!                                     MILLER                         EVERYBODY SHUT UP! Let the man speak.               In the quiet that follows:                                     WEIR                         What was made public about the Event                          Horizon, that she was a deep space                          research vessel, that its reactor                          went critical, that the ship blew                          up... None of that is true.                              (beat)                         The Event Horizon was the culmination                          of a secret government project to                          create a spacecraft capable of faster-                         than-light flight.               The crew stares at Weir: he has just dropped another bomb on                them.                                     SMITH                         You can't do that.                                     STARCK                         The law of relativity prohibits faster-                         than-light travel...                                     WEIR                         Relativity, yes. We can't break the                          law of relativity, but we can go                          around it. The ship doesn't really                          move faster than the speed of light;                          it creates a dimensional gateway                          that allows the ship to                          instantaneously "jump" from one point                          in the universe to another, light                          years away.                                     STARCK                         How?                                     WEIR                         Well, in layman's terms, you use a                          rotating magnetic field to focus a                          narrow beam of gravitons; these in                          turn fold space-time consistent with                          Weyl tensor dynamics until the space-                         time curvature becomes infinitely                          large and you have a singularity...                                     COOPER                         Laymen's terms.               Weir thinks of another way to explain it. He rips a pin-up                from Smith's locker.                                     SMITH                         Hey...                                     WEIR                         Say this paper represents space-time,                          and you want to get from "point A"                          here...                              (marks it on the photo                               with a pen)                         ...to "point B," here.                              (marks point B)                         Now: what's the shortest distance                          between two points?               The crew stares at him. Starck decides to play.                                     STARCK                         A straight line.                                     WEIR                         Wrong. The shortest distance between                          two points...               Weir folds the paper, lining up point A over point B... then                THRUSTING his pen through both, skewering the pin-up.                                     WEIR                         ...is zero. That's what the                          singularity does: it folds space, so                          that point A and point B coexist in                          the same space and time. After the                          ship passes through this gateway,                          space returns to normal.                              (hands the ruined pin-                              up back to Smith)                         It's called a gravity drive.                                     JUSTIN                         How do you know all this?                                     WEIR                         I built it.               Even Cooper is impressed.                                     COOPER                         I can see why they sent you along.                                     JUSTIN                         So if the ship didn't blow up, what                          happened?                                     WEIR                         It was the ship's maiden voyage, to                          test the drive. The Event Horizon                          moved to safe distance using ion                          thrusters. They received the go-ahead                          to activate the gravity drive.                              (beat)                         And the ship vanished from all our                          scopes. No radar contact, no enhanced                          optical, no radio contact of any                          kind. They disappeared without a                          trace.                              (beat)                         Until now.                                     MILLER                         Where has it been for the last seven                          years?                                     WEIR                         That's what we're here to find out.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. INTERPLANETARY SPACE - MODEL               The Lewis and Clark flashes silently past, heading deeper                and deeper into space.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               The crew assembled.                                     WEIR                         We haven't been able to confirm any                          live contact, but TDRSS did receive                          a single transmission from the Event                          Horizon.               Weir punches a button on a console. The transmission BLARES                from the bridge's speakers, STATIC and NOISE and, underneath                all, INHUMAN VOICES.               The crew listen, look at one another. The recording ends                abruptly.                                     SMITH                         What the hell is that?                                     PETERS                         It doesn't sound like anything human.                                     WEIR                         Houston has passed the recording                          through several filters and isolated                          what appears to be a human voice.               He activates a different file. The resulting WAIL is more                human but no less terrifying, a cry of despair. The last                message from a drowning man...                                     SMITH                         Jesus...                                     MILLER                         What is that?                                     DJ                         It sounds like Latin.                                     COOPER                         Latin? Who the fuck speaks Latin?                                     STARCK                         No one. It's a dead language.                                     DJ                         Mostly dead.                                     MILLER                         What does it say?                                     WEIR                         NSA encryption specialists have                          deciphered some of the message...               Weir plays the HELLISH INCANTATION for a third time.                                     WEIR                         There: "...liberatis me..." They                          haven't been able to translate the                          rest, it's too distorted.                                     DJ                         "Liberatis me." "Save me."                                     COOPER                         From what?                                     MILLER                              (to Weir)                         You're convinced the crew could still                          be alive? After seven years?                                     WEIR                         The Event Horizon only had life                          support for eighteen months. It seems                          impossible, but in light of the                          transmission... I have to think that                          someone has managed to endure until                          now.                                     COOPER                         Skipper, do we get hazard pay for                          this?                                     MILLER                         You heard the tape, Smith. We're                          looking for survivors.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. NEPTUNE - LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL               The Lewis and Clark closes in on the blue planet.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               The flight crew assembled. Data flashes across the main                monitors on the bridge.                                     STARCK                         Crossing the horizon. Optimum approach                          angle is fourteen degrees.                                     MILLER                         Come around to three-three-four...                                     SMITH                              (echoing)                         Heading three-three-four...                                     MILLER                              (continuing)                         ...Make your approach vector negative                          fourteen degrees...                                     SMITH                         One-four degrees...               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - NEPTUNE ORBIT - MODEL               RCS thrusters pivot and fire as the ship enters Neptune orbit,                dropping lower and lower into the dense blue clouds...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               The ship begins to rock as it encounters atmosphere, a growing                vibration.               GRAPHICS flash across the main window's HUD. Neptune's dark                shadow fills the screen.                                     SMITH                         We have a lock on the Event Horizon's                          navigation beacon. It's in the upper                          ionosphere, we're in for some chop.                                     MILLER                         Bring us in tight. Starck, get on                          the horn, see if anyone's listening...                                     STARCK                              (into radio)                         This is U.S. Aerospace Command vessel                          Lewis and Clark, hailing Event                          Horizon, Event Horizon, do you                          read...? This is the Lewis and Clark,                          hailing...                              (she continues B.G.)                                     SMITH                              (over Starck)                         Matching speed... now. Range to target                          ten thousand meters and closing...                          Skipper, I got a bad feeling about                          this...                                     MILLER                         We're all on edge, Smith. We're a                          long way out...                                     SMITH                         That's not it. That ship was built                          to go faster than light... That's                          just wrong, it goes against everything                          we know...                                     MILLER                         What are you trying to say? "If God                          had intended Man to fly, he would                          have given us wings?"                                     SMITH                         Something like that, yeah.               Miller grins grimly.                                     MILLER                         I guess we're about to find out.                          Keep us slow and steady.                                     SMITH                         Yes, sir.                                     MILLER                         Dr. Weir...!               Weir sticks his head into the bridge.                                     MILLER                         I think you want to see this.               Weir climbs up the ladder to the flight deck.                                     WEIR                         Where is she?                                     SMITH                         Dead ahead, 5000 meters.               Suddenly, the ship SHUDDERS VIOLENTLY.               Weir braces himself in the doorway, staring out the forward                window into the roiling azure clouds.               Smith grimaces, his knuckles white at the controls.                                     SMITH                         We've got some weather.                                     MILLER                         I noticed. Starck, anybody home?                                     STARCK                         If they are, they're screening their                          calls.                                     SMITH                         Range 3000 meters and closing.                                     WEIR                         I can't see anything...               Only turbid clouds of methane ice whirl past the Lewis and                Clark's windows.                                     SMITH                         1500 meters. We're getting too                          close...                                     MILLER                         Where is it?                                     STARCK                              (checking her console)                         The scope is lit, it's right in front                          of us...                                     SMITH                         1000 meters...               A red warning light begins to flash in time with a shrill                BEEP.                                     SMITH                         Proximity warning! 900, 800 meters,                          700... we're right on top of it,                          we're gonna hit!                                     MILLER                         Starck...                                     STARCK                         It should be right there...               She looks up, trails off...                                     STARCK                         My God.               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - AGAINST NEPTUNE - MODEL STARCK'S POV               ...the clouds break, revealing...               THE EVENT HORIZON, right in front of them. A black                labyrinthine blasphemy against Neptune's arctic blue. Cloud                banks encircle the ship as if it were the eye of a hurricane.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARKE - BRIDGE                                     MILLER                         Reverse thrusters full!               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - DWARFED BY EVENT HORIZON - MODEL               The Event Horizon looms enormous as the Lewis and Clark hangs                off the port stern, dwarfed by the giant ship.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               The turbulence subsides. The bridge crew stares at the massive                craft. The only sound, the PROXIMITY WARNING. Finally:                                     SMITH                         Jesus, that is one big ugly fat                          fucker...                                     WEIR                         She's not ugly.               Miller reaches over Smith's shoulder, turns off the proximity                warning. Smith snaps back to business.                                     SMITH                         Range 500 meters and holding.                          Turbulence is dropping off...                                     STARCK                         Picking up magnetic interference.                                     MILLER                         Put it through TACS. Smith, you up                          for a flyby?                                     SMITH                              (he is not)                         Love to.               EXT. NEPTUNE - LEWIS AND CLARK - EVENT HORIZON - MODEL               The Lewis and Clark maneuvers in close to the Event Horizon,                dwarfed by the dark ship.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               Smith keeps a tight hand on the controls. The crew stare out                the viewport at the abandoned craft.                                     STARCK                         Look at the size of that thing.               Weir explains the view out the cockpit window.                                     WEIR                         Foredecks. Crew quarters, bridge,                          medical and science labs, hydroponics,                          what have you. That central section                          connects the forward decks to the                          Engineering containment area. Can we                          move in closer?                                     SMITH                         Shit, Doc, any closer and we're gonna                          need a rubber...                                     MILLER                         Do it.               Smith grimaces. His hands move carefully over the controls.               EXT. NEPTUNE - LEWIS AND CLARK - EVENT HORIZON - MODEL               The Lewis and Clark moves even closer. Vanishing into the                shadow of the Event Horizon.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               The crew stares at the ship rushing past the viewport. A                huge spherical structure looms eerily ahead.                                     WEIR                         That's the engineering containment.                          And there's the main airlock. We can                          dock there.                                     MILLER                         Smith, use the arm and lock us onto                          that antennae cluster.                                     WEIR                         Be careful. It's not a load bearing                          structure...               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL               The Lewis and Clark carefully maneuvers in close to the Event                Horizon's airlock.               A mechanical boom-arm extends from the smaller ship to latch                onto the Event Horizon. Its clawed hand grabs the antennae                cluster. The cluster buckles under the stress.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE                                     SMITH                              (to Weir)                         It is now.                              (to Miller)                         We're locked in.                                     MILLER                         Starck, give me a read.               A scan of the Event Horizon appears across Starck's screen.                                     STARCK                         The reactor's still hot. We've got                          several small radiation sources,                          leaks probably. Nothing serious.                                     WEIR                         Do they have pressure?                                     STARCK                         Affirmative. The hull's intact...                          but there's no gravity and the thermal                          units are off line. I'm showing deep                          cold. The crew couldn't survive unless                          they were in stasis.                                     MILLER                         Find 'em, Starck.               Starck frowns at her display.                                     STARCK                         Something's wrong with the bio-scan.                                     MILLER                         Radiation interference?                                     STARCK                         There's not enough radiation to throw                          off the scan. I'm picking up trace                          life forms, but I can't get a lock                          on the location.                                     WEIR                         Could it be the crew? If they were                          in suspended animation, wouldn't                          that effect the scan?                                     STARCK                         If they were in stasis, I'd get a                          location, but these readings, they're                          all over the ship. It doesn't make                          any sense.                                     MILLER                         Okay. We do it the hard way. Deck by                          deck, room by room. Starck, deploy                          the umbilicus. I believe you're up                          for a walk, Mr. Justin. Go get your                          bonnet on.                                     JUSTIN                         Yes, sir!               Weir starts to follow Justin from the bridge.                                     MILLER                         Dr. Weir, I need you on the bridge.                                     WEIR                         Captain, I didn't come out here to                          sit on your bridge, I need to be on                          that ship...                                     MILLER                         Once the ship is secured, we'll bring                          you on board --                                     WEIR                              (interrupting)                         That is not acceptable --                                     MILLER                              (overlapping)                         -- once we've secured the ship, that's                          the way it is!                              (beat)                         I need you to guide us from the comm                          station. This is where I need you.                          Help us to do our job.               Weir exhales.                                     WEIR                         Very well.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - EVENT HORIZON - MODEL               The docking collar umbilicus extends to the Event Horizon's                airlock.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY               Miller, Peters, Justin and Cooper in EVA; Cooper and Justin,                without headgear.                                     COOPER                         ...come on, Skipper, I already put                          my shoes on...                                     MILLER                              (muffled)                         You've had plenty EVA, Coop, it's                          Justin's turn. Stay on station. If                          anything happens...                                     COOPER                         I'll be all over it.               Miller nods to Peters.                                     PETERS                              (muffled)                         Opening inner airlock door.               The inner airlock door opens: CH-THUNK. Miller, Peters and                Justin enter the airlock. Justin attaches his safety line.                Miller and Peters do not.                                     COOPER                         You still need the rope? I thought                          you were one a those spacemen with                          ice in ya veins.                                     JUSTIN                         I'd rather be on the rope and not                          need it than need it and not have                          it. Now step aside, old man.               Cooper puts Justin's helmet on. It seals tight.                                     COOPER                              (serious now)                         You just keep your nose clean, Baby                          Bear. Clear the door.               Cooper backs out, allowing the inner airlock door to shut,                ECHOING through the ship.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - UMBILICUS               Miller, Peters and Justin float down the brightly lit                umbilicus into the Event Horizon, all in EVA suits. Justin's                safety line trails out behind him.               The OUTER AIRLOCK DOOR of the Event Horizon waits for them.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               Weir has taken over Justin's station. He watches the POV                monitors like a kid watching Christmas. Smith and Starck                keep tabs over his shoulder.                                     WEIR                         You've reached the outer airlock                          door.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - UMBILICUS               Peters attaches a thumper -- a device using sound waves to                measure pressure -- to the inner airlock door.                                     PETERS                         We've got pressure.                                     MILLER                         Clear and open on my mark. Three...                          two... one... mark.               Peters inserts a zero-G drill into the panel beside the door.                The door slowly opens...                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS               The immense corridor stretches away into darkness in both                directions. Distantly spaced windows manifest as remote pools                of blue light amidst endless black, adding to the vast sense                of scale.               The light from their dual spotlights on the team's helmets                reflects off tiny ice crystals of frozen atmosphere. They                are ants in a tomb built for giants.                                     PETERS                         Jesus its huge.                                     MILLER                         Ice crystals everywhere. This place                          is a deep freeze.                                     WEIR (O.S.)                              (radio)                         You're in the central corridor. It                          connects the personnel areas to                          Engineering.                                     MILLER                         Peters and I will search the forward                          decks. Justin, take Engineering. No                          hot-dogging, not on this one, alright?                                     JUSTIN                         Not a chance, sir.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               The group separates. Justin kicks off from the wall, shoots                down the corridor at immense speed.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS               Miller and Peters move in the opposite direction. They use                magnetic plates on their boots and gloves to cling to the                walls as they slowly make their way down the dark shaft.                Their journey seems endless. The darkness almost seems a                living thing as it surrounds them.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               Miller spots something at a coupling, where two sections of                the corridor join...                                     MILLER                         Dr. Weir, what's this?               Miller indicates a box nestled against the coupling. The                universal symbol for explosives is on the cover.                                     PETERS                              (ahead at the next                               coupling)                         Here's another one. They're all over                          the place.                                     WEIR (O.S.)                              (radio)                         They're explosive charges.                                     MILLER                         I can see that, what're they for?               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE                                     WEIR                         In an emergency, the charges detonate                          in series, destroying the central                          section and separating the personnel                          areas from the rest of the ship.                          That way, if the gravity drive                          malfunctions, the crew could use the                          foredecks as a lifeboat.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               Peters and Miller keep moving.                                     PETERS                         That means they didn't abandon ship.                                     MILLER                         So where are they? Starck, any luck                          with the bio-scan?               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE                                     STARCK                         I'm running diagnostics now,                          Skipper... Nothing's wrong with the                          sensor pack, I'm still getting trace                          life readings, all over the ship.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               Miller and Peters unconsciously look around. Sweat beads                their faces.                                     PETERS                         There's no one in the corridor but                          us.                                     STARCK (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Not according to the computer.                                     MILLER                         Peters is right, no one's here.                                     PETERS                         I don't know, this place is really                          dark, I can't see a thing...               She starts to wave her searchlight around wildly.                                     MILLER                              (calming her down)                         Easy, Peters, we're okay, we're okay.                          Let's finish the sweep.                                     WEIR (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Captain Miller, the foredecks are                          just ahead.                                     PETERS                         I can see the hatch.                                     MILLER                         Starck, you still showing those                          readings?                                     STARCK (O.S.)                              (radio)                         That's an affirmative.                                     MILLER                              (to Peters)                         Keep your eyes open.               She nods as he reaches for the hatch...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY               The hatch opens, allowing Peters and Miller entrance into                the forward decks. These areas were intended for human                habitation, and seem similar in design to the Lewis and Clark,                only larger.               Gravity couches line both walls, eighteen in all. Empty.                                     PETERS                         We found the gravity couches.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               Weir peers eagerly at the monitors.                                     WEIR                         Any survivors?                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Negative.               Hope drains from Weir's face.                                     WEIR                         No one?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY                                     MILLER                         They're empty, Dr. Weir. Moving                          forward.               Miller and Peters split up, each taking a separate exit from                the chamber.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               Weir looks at Justin's POV screen: a grainy image of the                First Containment Seal.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR (BY FIRST SEAL)               Justin stands before a thick pressure door. Justin checks                the door with his thumper, his boots are now on.                                     WEIR (O.S.)                              (radio)                         You've reached the First Containment                          Seal. The engineering decks are on                          the other side.                                     JUSTIN                         We still have pressure. The radiation                          count's steady at 7 millirads an                          hour.                                     WEIR (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Background radiation. Perfectly safe.               Justin touches a panel beside the door. It opens. He enters...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT               ...a long corridor shaped like a tube. It rotates like a                turbine, causing vertigo. Justin's BREATH echoes in his helmet                as he moves forward...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY               Cooper stares at Justin's safety line in the airlock.               THE SAFETY LINE               counts off silently, passing 150 meters...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - CORRIDOR TO BRIDGE               The corridor ends at a pressure door.                                     PETERS                         Dr. Weir, what's this the door to?                                     WEIR (O.S.)                              (radio)                         You're at the Bridge, Ms. Peters.                          You still haven't seen any crew?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Miller, moving through a deserted lab. Empty operating tables.                Stainless steel surgical instruments float in zero-G. A glove                floats up behind him, brushes his shoulder. He wheels... the                glove is empty. It spins away.                                     MILLER                         If we saw any crew, Doctor, you'd                          know about it.                              (looking around)                         I'm in Medical. No casualties, it                          looks like this place has never been                          used.               He finds a computer console.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - CORRIDOR TO BRIDGE               Peters opens the door.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE ANTECHAMBER               Peters enters. Looks around: a small antechamber for crew                briefings, with chairs and a display table. Red crystals                float in a crimson mist around her.                                     PETERS                         I found something.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               Weir peers at the monitors, trying to make out the red haze.                                     WEIR                         Yes, we can see some kind of mist.                          What is that?                                     PETERS (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Blood. Looks like arterial spray.                                     WEIR                              (nervous)                         Can you see a body?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE ANTECHAMBER                                     PETERS                              (confused)                         There's no one here.                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         The blood came from somewhere,                          Peters...                                     PETERS                         There's no one here, Skipper.               Peters takes a sample container from her belt. Carefully                tries to capture a suspended crystal...                                     PETERS                         Come on...               CLOSE UP OF THE BLOOD CRYSTAL               and the Container; Peters' brow furrowed with concentration.               WIDER AS A FLASH OF BLUE LIGHTNING ILLUMINATES THE ROOM,                REVEALING...               ...THE WALL BEHIND PETERS, CASED IN A FROZEN EXPLOSION OF                BLOOD AND TISSUE. Someone died here in a violent and terrible                way.               Peters starts to look up but the flash dies away. She never                saw the horror behind her.               Peters turns her attention back to her tiny crystal. She                traps the it, returns the container to her belt.               She moves from the antechamber into...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Her helmet lights sweep the room. Every surface a control                panel.                                     PETERS                         Okay. I'm on the bridge.                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         What you got, Peters?               Peters examines the other consoles -- most are dark but for                a few dim lights.                                     PETERS                         Everything's been shut down.                          Conserving power, I guess. Green                          light on the hull, it's intact.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE                                     MILLER                         The science workstation has power,                          I'll see if I can find the crew from                          here.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               Weir stares at Peters' monitor.                                     WEIR                         Ms. Peters, turn back and to your                          left, please.               On her monitor, Peters' POV shifts as she complies.                                     STARCK                         What is it?                                     WEIR                         Ship's log.                                     PETERS (O.S.)                              (radio)                         I see it.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Peters reaches towards a small video deck. Touches the eject                button. Nothing happens.                                     PETERS                         It's stuck.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT               Justin's light bounces off an even larger pressure door,                built like a bank vault. The Second Seal.                                     JUSTIN                         I've reached another containment                          door. This thing's huge...                                     WEIR (O.S.)                              (radio)                         That's the Second Containment Seal.                          Beyond that, engineering.                                     JUSTIN                         I'm going in.               Justin opens the seal. It releases SLOWLY, inching open.                Justin squeezes through.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Peters takes a small probe from her belt, inserts it into                the video deck.               A small laser disc emerges partway from the deck. Peters                pulls on it. It doesn't move.                                     PETERS                         It's really jammed in there.               A shadow crosses the window behind her. Someone -- something --                is in there with her...               Peters pulls harder. Nothing. Another effort. The disc pulls                free. Peters spins in the zero-gravity, spinning into...               ...A BODY floating at the helm, the face illuminated by                Peters' helmet lights. His swollen tongue clogs his gaping,                screaming mouth. His cracked and crystallized skin is crossed                by a network of bloated veins. He has no eyes. Just like                Weir's dream.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               Peters' monitor shows the CORPSE'S face, its mouth open in                mute agony. Weir GASPS.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Peters pushes free of the body.                                     PETERS                              (professional)                         I found one.                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Alive?                                     PETERS                         Frozen.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               The dead man's face leers from Peters' monitor.                                     STARCK                         What happened to his eyes?                                     SMITH                         Explosive decompression.                                     STARCK                         Decompression wouldn't do that.               Weir just stares at the ruined face, rapt. Starck notices.                                     STARCK                         You okay?               Weir nods, not taking his eyes from the screen.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY               Cooper, on station. He keys his radio.                                     COOPER                         Hey, Baby Bear, Mama Bear got a                          corpsicle for ya...               No reply.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Miller looks up from the workstation, concerned.                                     COOPER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Baby Bear, you copy?               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY               Cooper stares out at Justin's safety line slowly counting                off past 175 meters.                                     COOPER                         Justin, do you copy?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT               The Second Seal is open. Justin's safety line snakes into                darkness.               FOLLOW the safety line into the dark...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               An alcove, opening into a vast chamber. Once pristine, all                the surfaces have been coated in a dark gray slick. Globules                of fluid hang motionless, sticking to Justin's suit, leeching                away his light and swallowing him in darkness.                                     COOPER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         ...do you copy?                                     JUSTIN                              (quiet)                         Uh, yeah Coop, I'm still here.                                     COOPER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Shit! Do not do that! Where the fuck                          are you?                                     JUSTIN                         I'm in the Second Containment area.                          It's pitch black in here. There must                          have been a coolant leak. Man, this                          shit is everywhere. I can't see a                          damn thing.               A lighted console blocks Justin's view of the chamber beyond.                He drifts over to it, wipes the console clear of coolant,                revealing dim lights: the station has power.                                     JUSTIN                         The reactor's still hot. Coolant                          level is on reserve, but still in                          the green.               TIGHT ON JUSTIN'S FACE AS THE LIGHTS COME ON                                     JUSTIN                              (triumph)                         I got it...               His expressions changes as he looks past the console and                sees... something.                                     JUSTIN                              (trailing off in awe)                         Holy shit...                                     COOPER                         Justin?                                     JUSTIN                         I think I found something...               JUSTIN'S POV - THE CORE               A massive sphere, 10 meters in diameter, dominates the center                of the second containment. Intricate machinery surrounds the                sphere but the globe itself is featureless, smooth; a                enigmatic monolith. Black ice encrusts it, giving it the                seeming of a living thing.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               They stare at Justin's monitor.                                     SMITH                         What the hell is that?                                     WEIR                         That's the Core: the gravity drive.                          The heart of the ship.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Justin, check the containment for                          radiation leaks. Peters...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         ...how's the client?                                     PETERS                         Crystallized.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               Justin examines the outer wall of the Core, looking for any                cracks or ruptured seams.                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Justin, finish your sweep.                                     JUSTIN                         Almost done, I just gotta check one                          thing...               Justin turns to the Core...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               Justin's monitor fills with static.                                     STARCK                         Justin, hold on a sec, you're breaking                          up...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT                                     STARCK (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Justin...?                              (static obscure her                               voice)               Justin reaches towards the Core with his pressure sensor.               His helmet light flickers. He hesitates...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Miller's helmet light flickers...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Peter's helmet light winks out...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE                                     STARCK                         Justin, come in...               Suddenly, the bio-scan lights up, from green to red as signals                race across the display.                                     WEIR                         What is it?                                     STARCK                         I don't know. The life readings just                          went off the scale.                                     SMITH                         Something's wrong...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               Justin places the pressure sensor against the Core. Touching                it.               The Core turns deepest black. A darkness that light cannot                penetrate. For a second, Justin's white suit is captured                against the hungry void...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT (TANK)               THEN THE VOID SUCKS HIM IN AND JUSTIN IS GONE...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY               Cooper stares in shock as Justin's safety line as it reels                out at an incredible rate -- 250 meters, 300 meters...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT A WAVE               surges out of the Core, bending light like a ripple on a                pond, pushing coolant and debris before it...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               The gravity wave surges forward, blowing out emergency lights                as it comes, flotsam and jetsam swirling in its wake...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Data floods Miller's workstation, flashing across the screen                too fast for comprehension...               INT. BLACKNESS OF CORE               FOLLOWED BY A FACE -- JUSTIN...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE                                     MILLER                         What the hell...               A DEEP ROAR fills the ship. Miller rises to investigate...               The door BLOWS APART as THE WAVE HITS, ripples through the                Medical Bay towards Miller...                                     MILLER                         Oh shit...!               Debris swirls around him... the wave sweeps him up... SLAMS                him into a bulkhead...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE JUSTIN'S POV SCREEN               the briefest suggestion of a SCREAMING FACE, obscured by                STATIC and ROLL before the screen CUTS to static entirely.               The rest of the crew's POV screens go dead as...               ...the wave hits them, threatening to tear the Lewis and                Clark apart. The ship shudders violently. Consoles EXPLODE                with sparks. Weir and the others hold on for dear life.                                     STARCK                         Miller, do you read me, Peters --                                     SMITH                         Get them back --                                     STARCK                         I'm trying, goddammit --               An equipment rack IGNITES. Smith grabs an extinguisher, fights                the blaze...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY               Cooper and DJ, bracing against the bulkhead. Cooper hits the                intercom.                                     COOPER                         What's happening?                                     STARCK (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         I don't know, the screens are dead...!               Cooper peers out the airlock window.               JUSTIN'S SAFETY LINE               passes 350 meters and accelerating...                                     COOPER                         350 meters... 400 meters...                                     DJ                         He's in trouble. Go!                                     COOPER                         I'm gone!               Cooper grabs his helmet. DJ helps him lock the helmet into                place with a HISS.               The inner airlock door opens. As Cooper enters the airlock,                Justin's safety reel stops, the line jerking taut at 500                meters.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Miller tries to get his bearings in the dark.                                     MILLER                         Boarding party, sound off... Peters,                          do you read me... . Peters...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Peters' light, too, remains dark, but Neptune's blue light                fills the Bridge. The frozen corpse floats before her. No                longer a man.               A young boy, maybe five years old. His legs are withered,                useless things. The skin remains a crystallized surface, but                the eyes look straight at her, alive.                                     PETERS                         Denny...               Peters reaches out to touch the body. It falls away from                her. No longer her son, but the body of the astronaut. It                hits the door and shatters.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE                                     MILLER                              (growing desperation)                         ...Peters, do you read me...               A MAN'S VOICE, in agony, CRACKLES over Miller's radio:                                     VOICE                              (radio)                         Don't leave me...                                     MILLER                         Justin? Justin, sound off...                          Justin...!               Miller trails off as RED LIGHT flickers across his visor. He                turns...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE (BURNING MAN) POV                MILLER               A BURNING MAN stands in Medical/Science, a human body wreathed                in flame. The eyes are like sunspots. As the Burning Man                moves, bones and black flesh poke through the fire. He raises                one hand to point at Miller in accusation...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Miller's BREATH stops in his throat. His mouth works but                nothing comes out. He BLINKS...               ...and the VISION is gone. Miller is alone, BREATHING hard.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT               Cooper enters at full speed, shooting through in a controlled                fall...                                     COOPER                         Hold on, Baby Bear...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               ...into the Second Containment. He catches himself at the                console. Cooper sees Justin's safety line, cut off abruptly                by the darkness of the Core.                                     COOPER                         Oh my God...               The darkness of the Core ripples...               Justin suddenly emerges from the darkness, a white figure                riding a wave of impenetrable blackness.               Cooper catches him, holds him tight as the wave carries them                towards the wall. Cooper sees a control rod -- a long metal                spike -- coming at them. He twists his body so that they                miss -- barely -- before slamming into the wall.                                     COOPER                         Justin, do you read me? Justin... .               Cooper pulls Justin close. Justin's head lolls to one side.                Unconscious.                                     COOPER                         Baby Bear, don't do this. Don't do                          this...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               Weir, Starck and Smith continue to hold on tightly as the                vibration builds... and builds...                                     STARCK                         Here comes another one! Hold on!               The second wave hits. Sparks fly as consoles EXPLODE. Deep                in the ship metal SCREAMS, followed by the SHRIEK of escaping                atmosphere. An emergency klaxon RINGS out: PRESSURE WARNING.               Starck checks Justin's station:                                     STARCK                         We lost the starboard baffle! The                          hull's been breached!               The Bridge pressure door begins to close...and then stop.                                     SMITH                         The safety circuit's failed!                                     WEIR                         We're losing atmosphere...                                     STARCK                         There are pressure suits in the                          Airlock. Go!               Starck pushes Weir ahead of her, Smith follows hard as they                run the length of the ship for the airlock bay.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               The vibration subsides.                                     MILLER                         Can anybody hear me...                                     PETERS (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Skipper...                                     MILLER                         Peters...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         ...you okay?                                     PETERS                         Yeah. I'm -- I'm okay.               Her voice cracks as she says it. She looks anything but.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               The reports come, one on the other...                                     COOPER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         We have a man down...                                     MILLER                         Coop, where are you...                                     COOPER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         The containment, Second Containment...                                     MILLER                         Hold on, Coop...                                     SMITH (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Captain Miller...                                     MILLER                         Smith, where the hell have you been?!                                     SMITH                         We have a situation here...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY               Starck and Smith already in suits. DJ assists Weir. Smith                has already locked his helmet into place.                                     SMITH                              (continuing)                         We lost the starboard baffle and the                          hull cracked. Our safety seals didn't                          close, the circuit's fried --               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Miller moves down the central corridor towards his wounded                ship.                                     MILLER                         Do we have enough time for a weld?                                     SMITH (O.S.)                              (radio)                         We don't have time to fart.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY                                     SMITH                         We're losing pressure at 280 liters                          a second and our oxygen tanks are                          cracked. In three minutes, our                          atmosphere will be gone. We are                          fucking dead.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE                                     MILLER                         No one's dying on my watch, Smith!                          What about the reserve tanks?                                     SMITH (O.S.)                              (radio)                         They're gone.               Beat. Miller closes his eyes, desperately trying to think of                a solution.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK BAY               PAN across the faces of the astronauts. No hope. Except for                Weir:                                     WEIR                         The Event Horizon.               The others turn to stare at Weir.                                     SMITH                         What?                                     WEIR                         It still has air and reserve power,                          we can activate gravity and life                          support.                                     STARCK                         What if the air has gone bad? We                          can't wear these suits forever.                                     SMITH                         I don't think this is a good idea,                          we don't even know what happened on                          that ship...                                     WEIR                         It beats dying, Mister Smith.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE                                     MILLER                         Dr. Weir's right. Get on board the                          Event Horizon. I'll meet you at the                          airlock.                                     SMITH (O.S.)                              (radio)                         But...                                     MILLER                         You heard me, Smith. Peters, are you                          with me?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Peters at the life support console.                                     PETERS                         I'm ahead of you. Bringing the thermal                          units on line...               Peters flips a series of circuit-breakers. Reaches for the                final switch.                                     PETERS                         Hold tight and prep for gees.               Everything floating in the bridge CRASHES to the floor.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               Justin and Cooper collapse to the deck, coolant splashing                down all around them...                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS               Miller meets the crew as they evacuate the Lewis and Clark.                Weir leads the way, eager; Smith hangs back.                                     MILLER                         Everybody okay?                                     STARCK                         We're all here.                                     MILLER                         Okay. Let's find out how much time                          we just bought.               Miller reaches for the catch on his own helmet.                                     DJ                         We haven't tested the air yet. It                          could be contaminated...                                     MILLER                         No time. We need whatever's left in                          our suits to repair the Clark. Like                          it or not, this is the only oxygen                          for three billion kilometers.               Miller pulls his helmet off with a HISS. He breathes deep.                Starck does the same, coughs.                                     STARCK                         It tastes bad.                                     MILLER                         But you can breathe it.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. NEPTUNE ORBIT - LEWIS AND CLARK - EVENT HORIZON               The Lewis and Clark and the Event Horizon, locked together                in Neptune orbit. Lights shine from the Horizon as power is                restored. No longer cloaked in darkness, it is revealed in                all its hideous glory, a nightmare etched in steel.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Weir moves from station to station, restoring power to each.               Starck sits at the communications workstation. Miller watches                over her shoulder.                                     STARCK                         The antennae array's completely fried,                          we've got no radio, no laser, no                          highgain... No one's going to be                          coming to help us.                                     MILLER                         How much oh-two do we have?                                     STARCK                         Oxygen is not the problem.                                     MILLER                         Carbon dioxide?                                     STARCK                              (nods)                         It's building up with every breath                          we take. And the CO2 filters on the                          Event Horizon are shot.                                     MILLER                         We can take the filters from the                          Clark...                                     STARCK                         I thought of that, with the filters                          from the Clark, we've got enough                          breathable air for twenty hours.                          After that, we'd better be on our                          way home.                                     MILLER                         What about the life readings you                          picked up?                                     STARCK                         The Event Horizon sensors show the                          same thing: "Bio-readings of                          indeterminate origin." Right before                          that wave hit the Clark, there was                          some kind of surge, right off the                          scale, but now it's back to its                          previous levels.                                     MILLER                         What's causing the readings?                                     STARCK                         I don't know, but whatever it is,                          it's not the crew.                                     MILLER                         So where is the rest of the crew?                          We've been over every inch of this                          ship and all we've found is blood.                          Dr. Weir? Any suggestions?               Weir just stares at the bloodstained wall.                                     MILLER                         What happened here?               Miller follows Weir's gaze to the wall: a Rorschach test in                blood...                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE WINDOW               PULL BACK from the bridge windows TO REVEAL...               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL               ...the Event Horizon in all its horrific glory, hanging skew                in the center of the hurricane like a mote in God's eye.               The Lewis and Clark clings to the giant craft, as                insignificant as a tick. An even smaller figure clings to                the hull of the Lewis and Clark...               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - HULL SECTION               It's Smith, EVA in full protective gear. His magnetic boots                hold him to the Lewis and Clark's hull. He kneels over a                hole in the hull, where the metal has buckled and torn. Vapor                still leaks from the hole into space.                                     SMITH                         Captain Miller, you copy?                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         I'm here, Smith, how's the Clark?                                     SMITH                         I've found a six inch fracture in                          the outer hull. We should be able to                          repair it and re-pressurize, it's                          gonna take some time.                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         We don't have time, Smith. In twenty                          hours we run out of air.                                     SMITH                         Understood.               Smith uses a foam applicator to fill the hole. The gel freezes                in place. Smith reaches to his belt, pulls out a ZERO-G                NAILGUN. Presses it to the patch and begins to rivet it into                place.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Justin lies unmoving on a table. His eyes are open, staring                at a smear of blood on the ceiling.               A needle slides into the skin below his eye. He doesn't                respond.               DJ removes the needle. It glistens with blood. He looks up                at Miller and Peters.                                     MILLER                         How is he?                                     DJ                         His vitals are stable, but he's                          unresponsive to stimuli. He might                          wake up in fifteen minutes. He might                          not wake up at all.                                     PETERS                         What happened to him?               DJ shakes his head. Miller eyes the bloodstain above them.                                     MILLER                         DJ, take samples from these stains,                          compare them to medical records, I                          want to know whose blood this is.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Gravity has scattered debris and freeze-dried blood about                the room. The crew (Justin and Smith excepted) tries to relax                on the chairs of dead men. Their faces are wan and haggard.               Weir relaxes at the table. Unlike the others, he seems almost                at ease. DJ remains forever stoic; Starck, animated and                nervous. Cooper bounces the handball on the floor, a reflex                action.               Miller stares at a video monitor, watching Smith repair the                Lewis and Clark. He turns from the window.                                     MILLER                         Okay, people, there's been a change                          in the mission. In less than eighteen                          hours, we will run out of breathable                          air. Our primary objective is now                          survival. That means we focus on                          repairing the Lewis and Clark and                          salvaging whatever will buy us more                          time.                              (pause)                         Our secondary objective is finding                          out what happened to this ship and                          its crew. Two months from now, I                          fully intend to be standing in front                          of the good Admiral giving my report,                          and I'd like to have more than my                          dick in my hands.               Grim smiles all around.                                     MILLER                         Peters, I want you to go through the                          ship's log, see if we can't find                          some answers.                                     PETERS                         I can use the station in Medical,                          keep an eye on Justin...                                     MILLER                         Fine. Starck, I want you to repeat                          the bio-scan...                                     STARCK                         What's the point? I'll just get the                          same thing...                                     MILLER                         Not acceptable. I want to know what's                          causing those readings. If the crew                          is dead, I want the bodies, I want                          the crew found.                                     STARCK                         I can reconfigure the scan for C-12,                          amylase proteins.                                     MILLER                         Do it. Dr. Weir...                                     WEIR                         Yes.                                     MILLER                         One of my men is down. I want to                          know what happened to him.                                     COOPER                         I told you. He was inside the Core...               Weir starts shaking his head.                                     COOPER                         It was like... nothing was there...                          and then Justin appeared and the                          Core... became metal...                                     WEIR                              (cutting him off)                         No, he didn't.                                     COOPER                         You weren't there. I saw it.                                     WEIR                         Saw what, Mr. Cooper? What did you                          really see, because what you're                          describing is not physically                          possible...               Cooper throws the ball at him, hard. Weir ducks. It bounces                wildly around the room. Miller catches it.                                     MILLER                         Cooper! Enough!               Cooper sits down.                                     MILLER                              (turning on Weir)                         Dr. Weir, Justin may die. Whatever                          happened to him could happen to all                          of us.               Beat.                                     WEIR                         I don't know what happened to Justin.                                     COOPER                         I'm telling you, I saw it...                                     WEIR                         What you saw could have been an                          optical effect caused by gravitational                          distortion.                                     COOPER                              (turning on Weir)                         I know what I saw and it wasn't a                          fucking "optical effect!"                                     MILLER                         Hold on, what's this "gravitational                          distortion?"                                     WEIR                         It's possible that a burst of gravity                          waves escaped from the Core,                          distorting space-time. They could be                          what hit the Lewis and Clark.                                     MILLER                         What could cause them?                              (Weir doesn't answer)                         What's in the Core?                                     WEIR                         It's complicated...                                     MILLER                         How much time do you need? We have                          seventeen hours and forty-two minutes.                          Now: what is in the Core?               Beat. Here comes another bomb...                                     WEIR                         A black hole.               The crew stares at him, stunned.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               Miller, Starck and Weir stand before the Core. Dark ominous                structures loom around them, glistening with coolant. The                PULSE of the ship is loud here, a deep THRUM that steals                their breath. Weir's voice is a reverent WHISPER:                                     WEIR                         That's how the gravity drive works,                          you see: it focuses the black hole's                          immense gravitational power to create                          the gateway. That's how the Event                          Horizon travels faster than light.                                     STARCK                         I can't believe we built this.                                     MILLER                         It's insane.                                     WEIR                         "Insane?" The finest astronauts fought                          to be posted to this ship. It would                          take the Lewis and Clark a thousand                          years to reach our closest star. The                          Event Horizon could be there in a                          day...                                     MILLER                         If it worked.                                     WEIR                         If it worked, yes.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT - 3RD SEAL               They stare at the Core, the surrounding machinery moving in                a slow giant's dance. A trick of the eye, or does the Core                stare back at them?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT                                     MILLER                         I want this room sealed. The Second                          Containment is off limits.                                     WEIR                         There's no danger. The black hole is                          contained behind three magnetic                          fields, it's under control.                                     MILLER                         Your black hole damn near ripped my                          ship apart. It may have killed one                          of my men.                              (beat)                         No one goes near that thing.               MOVE IN ON THE CORE               until its darkness fills the screen...                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Peters sits before the computer workstation, running the                ship's log, forwarding through hours of boring footage. Rubs                her eyes.               The lights flicker.               Peters hears something RUSTLING behind her. She turns...                                     PETERS                         Justin...?               Justin lies unmoving on the nearest examination table.                Comatose. Peters reaches out and picks up a scalpel.               Peters hears the sound again, FINGERNAILS ON PLASTIC. She                moves past Justin...               ...past several empty tables, covered with clear plastic...               ...to the last table. She stares in shock.               THERE'S SOMETHING UNDERNEATH THE PLASTIC COVER               She slowly reaches out. Lifts the cover.               Her son DENNY looks at her and GIGGLES. She GASPS. The scalpel                drops to the floor at her feet.               Denny reaches up to her, to be picked up...                                     DENNY                         Mommy...               ...but the plastic that still covers his withered legs squirms                like a bag full of snakes...               Peters drops the plastic and backs away.                                     DJ (O.S.)                         Peters?               She turns. DJ stands in the doorway, holding blood samples.               Peters turns back, but her son is gone.               DJ reads her expression.                                     DJ                         What's wrong?                                     PETERS                         Nothing. It's nothing.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 2               The Airlock light turns red -- a warning. The Inner Airlock                door control flashes: "LOCKED." The Outer Airlock door opens.               Smith enters. He closes the Outer Airlock door. Atmosphere                HISSES into the chamber. The Inner Airlock door flashes:                "PRESSURIZED."               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 2               Cooper in EVA, getting ready to go outside. The Inner Airlock                door opens. Smith enters. Takes off his helmet.                                     COOPER                         You been out there a long time. Trying                          to break my record?                                     SMITH                         I'd rather spend the next twelve                          hours Outside than another five                          minutes in this can. This ship is                          bad. It watches you.                                     COOPER                         What?                                     SMITH                         You heard me. This ship, it's crazy:                          trying to go faster'n light, that's                          like the Tower of Babel.                                     COOPER                         Shit, Smith, you're going Biblical                          on me.                                     SMITH                         You know what happened to the Tower                          of Babel, don't you? It fell down.                                     COOPER                         You're sucking too much nitrogen in                          your mix.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Starck programs the sensor workstation. She glances over at                Weir: sitting at a computer terminal, his face rapt as data                flashes by. His lips move, muttering to himself.                                     STARCK                         Why Dr. Weir, I think you're in love.                                     WEIR                         Hmmm. Claire used to tell me I loved                          the Event Horizon more than I loved                          her. I told her that wasn't true, I                          just knew the Event Horizon better,                          that's all.                                     STARCK                         Claire is your wife?                                     WEIR                         Yes.                                     STARCK                         It must be hard, being so far away                          from her.                                     WEIR                         Yes. I miss her. She died. Two years                          now.                                     STARCK                         I'm sorry.               Weir keeps his attention focused on the screen.                                     WEIR                         These things happen.                              (reacting to something                               on the screen)                         Wait a minute, that's not right...               He fingers fly across the keyboard, double-checking the data.               Miller leans over Weir's shoulder.                                     MILLER                         You have something, Dr. Weir?                                     WEIR                         The date.                                     MILLER                         What about it?                                     WEIR                         The Event Horizon's computer think's                          it's 2034.                                     MILLER                         It's 2041...                                     WEIR                         Exactly. The ship's internal clock                          is off by seven years.                                     STARCK                         Maybe a power interruption crashed                          the system...                                     WEIR                         No, there's no evidence of a surge                          or spike of any kind. It's as if                          time just... stopped for seven years.                                     MILLER                         Explanation?                                     WEIR                         Intense gravitational fields effect                          the passage of time, it's possible...                              (beat)                         Black holes make sense on paper,                          it's all math, you see, but as to                          what really happened...                              (he shakes his head)                         The Event Horizon has passed beyond                          our plane of reality, and like                          Lazarus, returned from the dead.               The INTERCOM interrupts them:                                     PETERS (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Captain Miller, Dr. Weir? I found                          the final log entry.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Peters sits at the workstation. Miller, DJ and Weir stand                behind her, watching.               A VIDEO SCREEN               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY (FOR VIDEO)               A jumpy, handheld camera view of:               Gravity couch bay. Two crewmen checking electronics modules.                The ship is well-lit, clean, no sign of debris. The narrator's                voice is excited and nervous.                                     KILPACK (O.S.)                         We have reached safe distance and                          are preparing to engage the gravity                          drive and open the gateway...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE                                     PETERS                         The speaker is the mission                          commander...                                     WEIR                              (quiet)                         John Kilpack.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT (FOR VIDEO)               Second Containment. A lone engineer finishes his check of                the Core. He turns to the camera and gives a self-conscious                "thumbs-up."                                     KILPACK (O.S.)                         When you get this message, God                          willing, we will reach the solar                          system of Proxima Centauri...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE                                     MILLER                         I wonder if they ever made it.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR (FOR VIDEO)               Corridor. The entire original crew assembled, playing catch                with the stuffed dog                                     KILPACK                         I just want to say how proud I am of                          my crew. I'd like to name my station                          heads Chris Chambers, Janice Rubin,                          Dick Smith, Tom Fender and Stacie                          Collins. And to Bill Weir and all                          the scientists that got us here.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE (FOR VIDEO)               Bridge. KILPACK addresses the camera. His face is flushed                with excitement.                                     KILPACK                         I... uh, I had something historic to                          say, and I wrote it down but I... I                          can't find it. Ave, atque, vale.                          Hail and farewell.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               A BURST of static...               ...followed by an inhuman HOWL of FEEDBACK, like screaming                hyaenas, almost alive. Through the swirl of static, the                suggestion of movement.               Miller freezes the frame. He squints at the screen...               POV MILLER               Obscured by static, the image is blurred beyond comprehension.                                     MILLER                         What the hell is that? Dr. Weir?                                     WEIR                         I don't know.                                     PETERS                         I can run the image through a series                          of filters, try to clean it up.                                     MILLER                         Do it.               Suddenly, the lights fade out. Dim emergency lighting snaps                on...                                     PETERS                         What's happening...?                                     DJ                         A power drain --                                     MILLER                         We barely have enough power for life                          support as it is, if we can't stop                          the drain, we're not gonna make it.                                     WEIR                         The Core...!               Weir heads for the door.                                     MILLER                         Wait!               But Weir has vanished into the corridor.                                     MILLER                         The rest of you, stay here, I don't                          want anyone else going near that                          thing.               Miller follows after Weir.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               The Second Containment Seal opens. Weir is about to enter                when Miller stops him. He checks a Geiger counter. It is                silent.                                     MILLER                         No radiation. What's causing the                          drain?               Weir crosses to a console. Frowns.                                     WEIR                              (shakes his head)                         The magnetic fields are holding.                          Maybe a short in the fail-safe                          circuit. I'll check it out.               Miller assists Weir in removing bolts from an access panel.                The panel falls away, revealing a cramped duct leading into                the ship's circuitry.               Weir climbs into the duct. Miller hands him a flashlight and                a toolkit.                                     MILLER                         We don't get the power back, our                          air's gonna go bad.                                     WEIR                         Check the Core for radiation. Carbon                          dioxide may be the least of our                          worries.               Weir begins to crawl into the depths of the ship.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - WEIR'S DUCT               Weir's breath ECHOES in the cramped shaft. He counts off                circuit panels as he goes:                                     WEIR                         E-three... E-five... E-seven... where                          are you...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               Miller slogs through the coolant to the Core. Stares at it.                It remains metallic, mundane.               He pulls out a Geiger counter and crosses to the reactor                shell. Examines a gleaming weld. The Geiger counter CLICKS                slowly: no leak.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               A yellow light starts flashing on the engineering board.                Starck's eyes widen: the engineering sections flash                yellow...and green...                                     STARCK                         What the hell...               STARCK'S POV               as the bio-scan goes wild.                                     STARCK                              (into intercom)                         Skipper, the bio-scan just went off                          the scale...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Justin shakes on the bed in an epileptic fit. DJ rushes to                him.                                     DJ                         Justin! Can you hear me? Justin!               Justin's eyes remain unfocused, unseeing as he tries to speak.               DJ leans in close, trying to hear him speak...               Justin arches in agony and the words come in a strangled,                tortured voice:                                     JUSTIN                         THE DARK IS COMING...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - WEIR'S DUCT               Weir stops before module E-12. Hears a faint HISSING and                POPPING.                                     WEIR                         There you are.               He uses a screwdriver to open up the module. Reveals a series                of circuit boards. One SPARKS. Weir plucks the damaged chips                and starts running a by-pass.               His flashlight flickers. He bangs it against the duct wall.                It grows dimmer. Goes out.                                     WEIR                         Um. Captain Miller? I, uh, I seem to                          have a problem with my light.               A single DRIP of water in the darkness...                                     WEIR                              (beat, hushed)                         Captain Miller?               Another DRIP, then a woman's VOICE like a distant echo:                                     VOICE                         Billy.               Weir starts at the sound. He recognizes the voice.               She speaks again, no longer far away, but a close WHISPER in                his ear:                                     CLAIRE (O.S.)                         Billy. Help me. I'm so cold.               Weir's eyes open wide in hope and fear.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               Even the emergency lights go out. Total darkness.                                     MILLER                         We just lost all power in here. Dr.                          Weir...?               Miller's voice trails off as he looks towards the Core. A                red glow reflects across his eyes. He takes a few steps away                from the reactor. He stares...               ...at the BURNING MAN, standing before the Core. The deep                ROAR of its conflagration fills the containment.               It slowly turns and raises its arm and points at Miller in                accusation.                                     BURNING MAN                         Don't leave me...               Miller stares as the Burning Man turns and vanishes into a                bulkhead, leaving the wall blackened and burned with his                passing.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - WEIR'S DUCT               Total darkness. Weir's breath ECHOES in the cramped metal                space.                                     WEIR                              (a whisper)                         Claire...?               Weir bangs his flashlight. Again. Again...                                     CLAIRE (O.S.)                         Help me. I'm so cold.               The flashlight flickers...               Claire's face is inches from Weir's.                                     CLAIRE                         So cold.               His flashlight flickers again, snaps on...               She is gone. Weir lets his head fall to the floor of the                deck, breathing in ragged SOBS.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE ANTECHAMBER               The crew, except for Cooper. DJ whets a scalpel against the                leg of his jumpsuit, an unconscious gesture. FLICK. FLICK.                FLICK.                                     DJ                         Carbon dioxide poisoning produces                          hallucinations, impaired judgement...                                     MILLER                         Goddammit, DJ, it was not a                          hallucination! I saw a man, he was                          on fire. And then he disappeared.                                     STARCK                         Maybe one of the original crew?                                     MILLER                         No. It was someone else.                                     STARCK                         Who?                                     MILLER                              (ignoring the question)                         Dr. Weir, you were right there, you                          must have heard something, seen                          something...                                     WEIR                         No. I saw nothing.                                     PETERS                         I did.               All heads turn to her.                                     PETERS                         About an hour ago. In medical. I saw                          my son. He was lying on one of the                          examination tables and his legs                          were...                              (she trails off)                                     WEIR                         Isn't it possible that you were                          traumatized by finding the body on                          the bridge?                                     PETERS                         I've seen bodies before. This is                          different.               She falls silent, unwilling to say more.                                     MILLER                         Peters is right. Its like something                          reaching into your mind. Seeing your                          thoughts and making them real. Smith,                          did you or Cooper experience anything                          unusual?               Smith, leaning against the doorway:                                     SMITH                         I didn't see anything and I don't                          have to see anything. This ship is                          fucked.                                     WEIR                         Thank you for that scientific                          analysis, Mister Smith.                                     SMITH                              (exploding)                         Hey! You don't need to be a scientist                          figure it out...                                     MILLER                         Smith...               Weir's face is stone.                                     SMITH                         ...you break all the laws of physics,                          you think there won't be a price?                          You already killed the first crew...                                     MILLER                         That's enough!               DJ lays one hand on Smith's shoulder to calm him...               Smith reacts violently, turning on DJ, shoving him back. DJ                uses Smith's momentum to spin the pilot into the wall. He                presses his scalpel just below Smith's ear...                                     MILLER                         DJ!!               DJ freezes. The scalpel falls from his hands. He releases                Smith.                                     DJ                         I'm sorry, I... I don't know why I                          did that.                                     WEIR                              (wry)                         Carbon dioxide.               Smith goes for Weir.                                     SMITH                         He's fucking lying, you know                          something...!               Miller heads him off, grabs him.                                     MILLER                         That's it, that's enough for one                          day, Smith! I need you back on the                          Clark, I need you calm, I need you                          using your head, you make a mistake                          out there, none of are getting home,                          you understand?               Smith calms.                                     SMITH                         Sir.                                     MILLER                         Get outside, go back to work. I'll                          join you shortly.               Smith leaves.                                     MILLER                         We're a long way from home and we're                          in a bad place. Let's not make it                          worse. If anyone has any constructive                          suggestions, now is the time.                                     WEIR                         I think I can stabilize the fields                          around the singularity, that should                          prevent another power drain.                                     MILLER                         Do it.                                     DJ                         To conserve our oxygen, we should                          severely restrict our activity. Anyone                          who can should get some sleep.                                     MILLER                         I don't need sleep, DJ. I need                          answers.               Miller exits. Starck follows.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GENERIC CORRIDOR               STARCK TRAILS MILLER:                                     STARCK                         Miller...                                     MILLER                              (not slowing)                         What is it, Starck?                                     STARCK                         ...I ran the bio-scan with the DNA/RNA                          filter. The results were bio-readings                          of indeterminate origin...                                     MILLER                              (simultaneous)                         "...bio-readings of indeterminate                          origin," don't you have anything                          useful to tell me?                                     STARCK                         I've got a theory.               Miller stops.                                     MILLER                         Go ahead.                                     STARCK                         There was a another surge in the bio-                         readings right before you... you saw                          what you saw. We picked up a similar                          readings right before the Clarke was                          damaged. What if there were a                          connection between the two? The                          gravity waves, the hallucination,                          all part of an defensive reaction,                          like an immune system...               Miller starts walking again.                                     MILLER                         I don't need to hear this.               She rushes to follow.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 2               Miller and Starck enter the Airlock Bay:                                     STARCK                         You've got to listen...                                     MILLER                         To what? What are you saying? This                          ship is alive?                                     STARCK                         I didn't say that, I said the bio-                         readings correspond to what happened                          to you, the ship is reacting to us...                                     MILLER                         We're hanging on by our fingernails                          and you're giving me bullshit                          stories...               She grabs him by the arm.                                     STARCK                         It's not bullshit, it's the only                          conclusion the data supports...                                     MILLER                         Starck, do you know how crazy that                          sounds? It's impossible.                                     STARCK                         I know that.               Beat. Miller allows himself to relax.                                     MILLER                         If you knew it was impossible, then                          why'd you waste my time?                                     STARCK                         I thought you wanted an answer. And                          that's the only one I have.               Miller pulls an EVA suit from the wall, starts putting it                on.                                     MILLER                         What I want is to survive the next                          ten hours.                                     STARCK                              (checks her watch)                         Nine hours and twenty-two minutes.                                     MILLER                         I'm going outside to work on the                          Clark. And Starck... don't tell anyone                          what you just told me. We've got                          enough to worry about.               She nods. He locks his helmet into place.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - MODEL               Establish.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GENERIC CORRIDOR               The ship seems to breathe. The lights flicker...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS               ANOTHER ANGLE. The ship seems to breathe. The lights                flicker...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               ANOTHER ANGLE. The ship seems to breathe. The lights                flicker...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Peters has fallen asleep in her chair.               On the threshold of hearing, a distant POUNDING. Not a                heartbeat. Metal on metal. Something trying to get out.                Something trying to get in.               Peters wakes with a start.                                     PETERS                         Justin...?               She turns. Justin lies on the floor in a heap, completely                covered by his sheet. She crosses to him. Pulls back the                sheet...               Revealing empty nitrogen tanks.                                     PETERS                         Justin!               She looks up, eyes widening, as...               The IV bottles fill with blood. Blood fills the X-ray                lightboxes, it surges up from gutters in the floor...               And the pounding grows louder... LOUDER... almost to                Medical...               The spell breaks and she RUNS...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GENERIC CORRIDOR               Peters sprints, the SOUND BOOMING after her, almost on her                heels...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE ANTECHAMBER               Peters darts into the Bridge Antechamber. She SLAMS the                pressure door shut behind her, CUTTING OFF the sound.               She turns. Weir, DJ, Starck look up from their work, staring                at her.                                     DJ                         What's wrong?                                     PETERS                         You didn't hear it? You must have                          heard it!                                     STARCK                         Heard what?               Beat. Peters starts to LAUGH, part hysteria, part relief.                                     PETERS                         Oh... nothing...               DJ crosses to Peters, concerned.                                     DJ                         Sit down...               As he reaches out to touch her...               BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. POUNDING ON THE DOOR ITSELF               Peters SCREAMS. DJ clutches her to him, backs away from the                door.               The POUNDING grows louder. LOUDER. The door vibrates with                each blow Starck puts her hands over her ears. Peters SCREAMS                at the door.                                     PETERS                         Stop it! Stop it!               But the POUNDING intensifies, metal GROANING under incredible                pressure.                                     DJ                              (shouting to be heard)                         What is it?               Weir slowly walks to the door.                                     STARCK                         What are you doing?                                     WEIR                         It wants me. I have to go.               He reaches for the door.                                     STARCK                         No...!               Starck grabs him. He tries to shake her off, but she traps                his arm in a wrist-lock. He turns on her, his face furious...               ...and the POUNDING stops. They remain frozen for a moment.                Afraid to breathe.               Weir shakes the trance.                                     STARCK                         In our current environment, Dr. Weir,                          self-control is an asset.                                     WEIR                         I'm alright. Please.               In the distance, the POUNDING begins again. Moving away from                them.               The ship systems station BEEPS. A warning light flashes on                the console.                                     STARCK                         What is it?                                     WEIR                         The forward airlock.                                     STARCK                              (into radio)                         Miller, Smith, Cooper, any of you in                          the airlock?                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         That's a negative, Starck.                                     PETERS                              (realization)                         Justin.               Peters, Starck and DJ rush from the Bridge, leaving Weir                behind.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR NO. 2 - WITH                AIRLOCKS               Peters leads Starck and DJ down the corridor towards the                Forward Airlock bay. They round a corner in time to see a                figure moving in the Airlock.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 3               They race into the bay even as Justin steps into the Airlock.                He is naked.                                     PETERS                         Justin, no!               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 3               Justin turns and stares through them with cold eyes. He                reaches out to the airlock control.               The pressure door shuts with a HISS.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - HULL SECTION               Miller, Smith and Cooper cling to the Lewis and Clark's hull.                They carefully remove an access panel, revealing scorched                wiring.                                     COOPER                         We'll have to re-route through the                          port conduit to the APU.                                     SMITH                         What about the accumulator...?               Starck's VOICE breaks in:                                     STARCK (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Miller, come in...                                     MILLER                         What's going on in there, Starck?                                     STARCK (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Justin's in the airlock.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 3               Starck at the intercom. The others huddle by the door.                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         What?                                     STARCK                         He's awake, he's in the airlock,                          he's not wearing a suit.               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - HULL SECTION                                     MILLER                              (to Cooper)                         Stay here! Don't stop working!                                     COOPER                         But Justin...                                     MILLER                         I'll get him.               Miller swings his body around, heads across the umbilicus to                the Event Horizon. He moves in great leaps, using the magnetic                plates in his gloves and boots to keep from drifting off                into Neptune's thin atmosphere.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 3               Starck works the airlock control panel without success.                                     STARCK                         He's engaged the override.                                     PETERS                         Can you shut it down?               She opens the Airlock access panel.                                     STARCK                         I'll try. DJ, you better get your                          bag of tricks.               DJ nods, runs off. Peters bangs on the Airlock door.                                     PETERS                         Justin! Open the door!               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 3               Peters' voice barely penetrates the pressure door:                                     PETERS                              (muffled)                         Open the door!               Justin turns off the artificial gravity. He begins to float                gently.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - (MILLER'S CROSSING)               Miller moves like a frantic spider across the surface of the                Event Horizon.                                     MILLER                         I'm on my way, Starck.                                     STARCK (O.S.)                              (radio)                         You better hurry. He's engaged the                          override, we can't open the inner                          door.               Miller curses under his breath, moves even faster...                                                                   BACK TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 3               Peters, against the window:                                     PETERS                              (muffled)                         The door, Justin! Open the door!               He fixes his gaze upon the outer airlock door. And beyond                it, space. He speaks in a flat monotone:                                     JUSTIN                         Did you hear it?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 3               They are stunned to hear his voice. Peters answers:                                     PETERS                         Yes. Yes, Justin, we heard it.                                     STARCK                         Keep him talking.                                     PETERS                         Do you know what it was?                                     JUSTIN                              (muffled)                         It gets inside you. It shows you                          things... horrible things...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 3                                     JUSTIN                         ...can't describe it... there are no                          words...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Weir sits alone, listening to the VOICES on the intercom.                                     PETERS (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         What, Justin, what shows you?                                     JUSTIN (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         It won't stop, it goes on and on and                          on...                                     PETERS (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         What does?                                     JUSTIN (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         The dark inside me.               A LOW MOAN escapes Weir's lips. He cradles his head in his                hands.               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - (MILLER'S CROSSING)               Miller races across the surface of the Event Horizon, the                only sounds, his LABOURED BREATHING, and Justin's tortured                VOICE, patched through on his radio:                                     JUSTIN (O.S.)                              (radio)                         ...It's inside and it eats and eats                          until there's nothing left.                                     PETERS (O.S.)                              (radio)                         "The dark inside..."? I don't                          understand.                                     JUSTIN (O.S.)                              (radio)                         From the Other Place...                                                                   BACK TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 3                                     JUSTIN                         The other crew, they're there, they're                          waiting for me. They're waiting for                          you. I won't go back there... I                          won't...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 3               Peters presses her face against the Airlock window, trying                to calm him:                                     PETERS                         Justin, look at me. Look at me. Open                          this door.               DJ runs up with his medkit.                                     STARCK                         I don't think she can talk him down.                          We need a sedative.                                     DJ                         If he opens the outer door he'll                          turn inside-out.               Starck's hands fly as she re-wires the circuits. Sweat beads                her face.                                     STARCK                         Almost got it.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 3                                     PETERS (O.S.)                              (muffled)                         Come on, Baby-bear, open this door...               Justin looks at her with dead eyes. He reaches out to gently                touch the glass between them.                                     JUSTIN                         If you could see the things I've                          seen, you wouldn't try to stop me.                          You'd come with me.               Justin's hand moves to the OUTER AIRLOCK DOOR control.                Hesitates... then floats to the OUTER AIRLOCK control. Hits                it.                                     PETERS                              (muffled)                         NOOO!               A yellow warning light flashes. A warning klaxon WHOOPS,                deafening.               Justin jerks his hands to his ears, closes his eyes...                                     COMPUTER                         Stand-by for decompression. Thirty                          seconds...               Justin opens his eyes as if waking from a dream...                                     JUSTIN                         Hey, Mama-Bear... what are doing...?               And then he realizes where he is...and what is about to                happen.                                     JUSTIN                         Oh my god OH MY GOD...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 3                                     PETERS                         Starck!                                     STARCK                         I can't! The inner door can't open                          once the outer door has been                          triggered, it would decompress the                          entire ship!                                     JUSTIN                              (muffled)                         You gotta open, you gotta stop it,                          please...                                     PETERS                         We have to do something, oh God...                                     STARCK                              (into radio)                         Skipper, Justin just activated the                          door. It's on a thirty second delay...               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - (MILLER'S CROSSING)               Miller moves through the Event Horizon superstructure,                recklessly leaping from one beam to another, trying to build                up speed.                                     MILLER                         Patch me through to him.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 3                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Justin.                                     JUSTIN                         Skipper, you gotta help me...                                     COMPUTER                         Twenty seconds.                                     JUSTIN                         ...tell them to open the door...                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         They can't do that Justin, now listen                          carefully...               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 3               Miller moves faster and faster, his BREATH echoing in his                helmet. He can see the exterior airlock just beyond a deep                chasm in the ship's superstructure. If he misses this jump,                Justin will not be the only man to die today.               He doesn't hesitate but leaps, soaring across the chasm                towards the airlock.                                     JUSTIN                              (radio)                         ...I don't want to die...!                                     MILLER                         You're not going to die! Not today!                          I want you to do exactly as I say                          and I'm gonna get you out of there,                          alright?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 3                                     JUSTIN                         But I can't... I gotta get out of                          here... Skipper, please...                                     MILLER                              (radio)                         Justin. I won't let you die.               Miller's words give Justin hope. He regains some control.                                     JUSTIN                         Okay... okay...               Justin breathes hard and follows Miller's hurried                instructions:                                     MILLER                              (radio)                         Tuck yourself into a crouched                          position, shut your eyes as tight as                          you can!                                     STARCK                         Five seconds.               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 3               Miller lands on the superstructure opposite the exterior                airlock.                                     MILLER                              (radio)                         Exhale everything you got, Baby Bear,                          we can't have any air in those lungs,                          blow it all out...               INT. EVENT HORIZON -- AIRLOCK NO. 3               Justin goes into a fetal crouch and covers his eyes.                                     JUSTIN                         Oh god --               He wheezes out all his air...               EXT. EVENT HORIZON -- AIRLOCK NO. 3               Miller squats on the girder, ready to push off. He focuses                on the 5 meters of space between him and the airlock...               The outer doors OPEN...               The rush of escaping atmosphere carries Justin's body out...               Miller pushes off... catches Justin's body... sending them                both back towards the open Airlock...               Ice forms on Justin's body. His veins bulge. Blood fountains                from his noise and mouth, forming a red icicle over his face.               Miller pulls him into the Airlock. Five seconds have passed                since the airlock door opened.               INT. EVENT HORIZON -- AIRLOCK NO. 3               Miller closes the Airlock behind them. Air HISSES into the                chamber. Justin's body hits the deck as "normal" gravity                exerts itself.               Miller opens the Inner Door. Peters and DJ rush in.                                     PETERS                         Oh God... Justin...               DJ puts a tube in the Justin's mouth immediately, feeding                him oxygen.                                     PETERS                         I've got a pulse, he's alive...                                     DJ                         Pressure?                                     PETERS                         90 over 50 and falling... .                                     DJ                         He's crashing...               Blood bubbles from Justin's mouth and eyes. He GASPS, then                SCREAMS, spraying blood from his mouth.                                     DJ                         He can breathe. That's good. Let's                          get him to Medical, go, go!               Starck helps DJ and Peters carry Justin from the Airlock.                Miller sits there, exhausted. Reaches up and pulls his helmet                off.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON -- BRIDGE               Weir listens to                                     DJ (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Intubate, pure oxygen feed, get the                          nitrogen out of his blood...                                     PETERS (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         His peritoneum has ruptured...                                     DJ (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         One thing at a time, let's keep him                          breathing. Start the drip, 15cc's                          fibrinogen, Christ, he's bleeding                          out...                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON -- GRAVITY COUCH BAY               One of the tanks has been activated. Swaddled in bandages,                Justin floats within, suspended in green gel. The others --                DJ, Starck, Peters, Miller, Weir -- look exhausted.                                     DJ                         He'll live... if we ever make it                          back.                                     MILLER                         We'll make it.                                     STARCK                         CO2 levels will reach toxic levels                          in four hours.               Peters stands, looking at Justin's ravaged form floating in                the tank.                                     MILLER                              (gently)                         Peters. We need to know what happened                          to the crew. Before it happens to                          us.                                     PETERS                              (weakly)                         I'll get back to the log. But on the                          bridge, I won't go back, back in                          there...                                     MILLER                         Thanks.               Peters exits.                                     STARCK                         Justin said something about, "The                          dark inside me..." What did he mean?                                     WEIR                         It means nothing.                                     MILLER                         Is that your "expert opinion?" The                          only answer we've had out of you is                          "I don't know."                                     WEIR                         Justin just tried to kill himself.                          The man is clearly insane.                                     DJ                         How would you explain your own                          behavior?                                     WEIR                         What?                                     STARCK                         On the bridge. You said "it" wanted                          you.               Weir glances at Justin...               INT. EVENT HORIZON -- GRAVITY COUCH BAY -- POV OF CLAIRE               But it's not Justin in the tank. It's his wife CLAIRE, naked,                wet, dead. Weir stares at her.               INT. EVENT HORIZON -- GRAVITY COUCH BAY                                     WEIR                         I said that?                                     DJ                         Yes. You did.               Weir blinks. Justin floats in the grav couch. Weir turns                back to the others.                                     WEIR                         I don't remember saying that.                              (covers with a joke)                         Maybe I'm insane, too.               Weir exits.               INT. EVENT HORIZON -- GENERIC CORRIDOR               Miller follows Weir out of the Gravity Couch Bay.                                     MILLER                         I want to know what caused that noise.                          I want to know why one of my crew                          tried to throw himself out of the                          airlock.                                     WEIR                         Thermal changes in the hull could                          have caused the metal to expand and                          contract very suddenly, causing                          reverberations --                                     MILLER                              (exploding)                         That's bullshit and you know it! You                          built this fucking ship and all I've                          heard from you is bullshit!                                     WEIR                         What do you want me to say?                                     MILLER                         You said this ship creates a                          gateway...                                     WEIR                         Yes...                                     MILLER                         To what? Where did this ship go?                          Where did you send it?                                     WEIR                         I don't know...                                     MILLER                         Where has it been for the past seven                          years?                                     WEIR                         I don't know...                                     MILLER                         The "Other Place," what is that...?                                     WEIR                         I DON'T KNOW!                              (beat, calm again)                         I don't know. There's a lot of things                          going on here that I don't understand.                          Truth takes time.                                     MILLER                         That's exactly what we don't have,                          Doctor.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GENERIC CORRIDOR               Miller moves through the maze of the ship, heading for the                Bridge.               As he reaches a junction, he hears...               ...A DISTANT CRY...                                     VOICE (O.S.)                         Don't leave me...!               Miller wheels like a cat, staring wildly down the branching                corridors.               Nothing. He is alone. Miller leans against the wall, sinks                to the floor, rests his head in his hands.               EXT. NEPTUNE - MODEL               The grotesque ship continues it's orbit as the moon Triton                eclipses the sun. Darkness swallows all.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY               DJ enters, checks Justin's display.                                     MILLER (O.S.)                         Any change?               DJ turns, surprised. Miller sits, barely visible in the dark.                                     DJ                         No. No change.                              (beat)                         I've analyzed Justin's blood samples.                          There's no evidence of excessive                          levels of carbon dioxide. Or anything                          else out of ordinary.               A grim LAUGH from Miller.                                     MILLER                         Of course not. Justin just climbed                          into the airlock because he felt                          like it. Just one of those things.                              (beat)                         I swore I'd never lose another man.                          I came close today. Real close.                                     DJ                         "Another man?" Who?               Miller nods, pulls his service medal from beneath his                jumpsuit.                                     MILLER                         It was on the Goliath. There was                          this bosun, Corrick, a young guy, a                          lot like Justin. Edmund Corrick,                          from Decatur, Georgia. He got caught                          when the pressure doors sealed, one                          closed on his arm. Severed it at the                          wrist. The pain of that must have                          been... He passed out and...               Miller trails off. DJ waits patiently. Finally:                                     MILLER                         I, I tried to go back for him, to                          save him, but I couldn't get to him                          in time. The fire... Have you ever                          seen fire in zero-gravity? It's like                          a liquid, it slides over everything.                          It was like a wave breaking over                          him, a wave of fire. And then he was                          gone.                              (beat)                         I never told anyone until now. But                          this ship knew, DJ. It knows about                          the Goliath, it knows about Corrick.                          It knows our secrets. It knows what                          we're afraid of.                              (beat, wan smile)                         And now you're going to tell me it's                          carbon dioxide.                                     DJ                         No.               Miller sees something in DJ's expression.                                     MILLER                         What is it?                                     DJ                         I've been listening to the                          transmission. And I think Houston                          made a mistake in the translation.                                     MILLER                         Go on.               DJ plays the recording again. Stops it abruptly.                                     DJ                         They thought it said, "Liberatis                          me," "Save me," but it's not "me."                          It's "tutemet:" "Save yourself."                                     MILLER                         It's not a distress call. It's a                          warning.                                     DJ                         It gets worse.               Miller stares at him.                                     DJ                         It's very hard to make out, but listen                          to this final part.               He plays the recording again.                                     DJ                         Do you hear it? Right there.                                     MILLER                         Hear what?                                     DJ                         It sounds like "ex infera:" "ex,"                          from; "infera," the ablative case of                          "inferi." "Hell."                                     MILLER                         "Save yourself. From Hell."                              (beat)                         What are you saying, are you saying                          that this ship is possessed?                                     DJ                         No. I don't believe in that sort of                          thing.                              (beat)                         But if Dr. Weir is right, this ship                          has passed beyond the boundaries of                          our universe, of reality. Who knows                          where this ship has been... What                          it's seen...                              (beat)                         And what it's brought back with it.               DJ looks at Miller. He does not have an answer. The intercom                CRACKLES:                                     COOPER (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Captain Miller, we're ready to                          repressurize the Clark.                                     MILLER                              (into intercom)                         On my way.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               Miller stands in his EVA suit in the darkened bridge. He                twists a manual valve.                                     MILLER                         Alright, Cooper.               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - HULL SECTION               Cooper looks at Smith.                                     COOPER                         Cross your fingers.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               A moment later, mist flows from the vents into the bridge,                filling it with atmosphere. Miller watches the pressure rise                on his suit gauge.                                     SMITH (O.S.)                              (radio)                         It's holding... She's holding...!                                     COOPER (O.S.)                              (radio)                         We're still venting trace gasses,                          gimme twenty minutes to plug the                          hole.                                     MILLER                         You got it, Coop.               Miller removes his helmet. Breathes deep.                                     MILLER                         Back in business.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Peters sits in front of the screen. The log is still                distorted.               Frustrated, she types in a series of instructions. Get to                her feet.                                     PETERS                         You got any coffee?                                     STARCK                         It's cold.                                     PETERS                         I don't care.               Behind Peters, the process refines, accelerates... pieces                coming together like a jigsaw...               Peters turns around. Sees the screen. The coffee slips from                her hand to the floor.                                     PETERS                              (tiny voice)                         Starck...               Starck turns, sees the screen.                                     PETERS                         Sweet Jesus. Miller... MILLER!                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Miller, Starck, DJ watch the video. Peters turns away,                miserable. Unable to watch...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE THE VIDEO SCREEN               still distorted by static and roll, but finally lucid: FOUR                ORIGINAL CREW of the Event Horizon. On the Bridge.               ONE MAN dislocates his shoulder with a WET POPPING sound as                he shoves his arm down his own throat. Blood bubbles from                his nose. With a SHUCKING sound, he pulls his stomach out                his mouth...               Behind him, a MAN and WOMAN fuck, covered with blood. She                bites through his neck. His head lolls to the other side.                She buries her face in the torn flesh as he thrusts into her                again and again...               Presiding over them, KILPACK. His eyes are bloody holes. His                hands reach out in offering. In the palms of his hands, his                eyes.               Kilpack opens his mouth and speaks with an INHUMAN VOICE.                                     KILPACK                         Liberatis tutemet ex infera...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Miller switches off the video. No one says anything.                                     MILLER                         We're leaving.                                     WEIR                         You can't, your orders are specific...                                     MILLER                         "...to rescue the crew and salvage                          the ship." The crew is dead, Dr.                          Weir. This ship killed them. And now                          it's killing us.                                     WEIR                         You're insane. You've lost your mind.                                     MILLER                         Maybe you're right. But it's still                          my command, and I have leeway to                          abort when I feel there is an                          unacceptable threat to my crew. And                          I think there is.                              (beat)                         Starck, download all the files from                          the Event Horizon's computers. Coop,                          Smith, finish moving the CO2 scrubbers                          back onto the Clark.                                     WEIR                              (stammering)                         Don't... don't do this...                                     MILLER                         It's done.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK               Peters enters, carrying heavy CO2 scrubbers. Smith stops                her.                                     SMITH                         What's going on, sweethearts?                                     PETERS                         CO2 scrubbers for the Clark. Miller                          pulled the plug on the mission.               Smith smiles.                                     SMITH                         About goddam time.               Sequence omitted from original script.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS               Weir follows Miller down the Corridor.                                     WEIR                         What about my ship?                                     MILLER                         We will take the Lewis and Clark to                          a safe distance and then launch tac                          missiles at the Event Horizon until                          I am satisfied that she has been                          destroyed.                              (beat)                         Fuck this ship.                                     WEIR                         You... You can't do that!                                     MILLER                         Watch me.               Miller turns to walk away. Weir grabs Miller, wheeling him                around, almost frenzied.                                     WEIR                         You can't kill her, I won't let you!                          I lost her once, I will not lose her                          again...!               Miller shoves Weir back into the wall. The two stare at each                other. Adversaries...               The lights cut to emergency lighting.                                     STARCK (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Miller, come in ...               Miller finds the intercom:                                     MILLER                         Starck, what the hell is going on?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Starck peers at the Engineering board:                                     STARCK                              (into intercom)                         We just lost main power again.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS               Miller and Weir are barely visible in the darkness.                                     MILLER                         Goddammit! Starck, get those files                          and vacate. I want off this ship.               He releases the intercom.               Weir's voice is a WHISPER as he backs into the shadows.                                     WEIR                         You can't leave. She won't let you.                                     MILLER                         Just get your gear back onto the                          Lewis and Clark, doctor, or you'll                          find yourself looking for a ride                          home.               Weir is swallowed by the darkness.                                     WEIR (O.S.)                         I am home.               REGULAR LIGHTING snaps on...               Miller looks around. Dr. Weir has vanished.                                     MILLER                         Weir? WEIR!               He slams the intercom:                                     MILLER                         All hands. Dr. Weir is missing. I                          want him found and restrained.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Starck gathers all the files and disks. Shuts down the                consoles, one by one.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               Smith and Peters finish removing CO2 scrubbers from panels                in the walls.                                     SMITH                         Let's go, let's go, this place freaks                          me out...                                     PETERS                         Last one.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT               Peters follows Smith down the First Containment towards the                Main Access Corridor, carrying the last case of scrubbers.                She begins to lag behind.               A GIGGLE echoes down the First Containment.                                     PETERS                              (whisper)                         Denny?               She turns back to the Second Containment...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT POV PETERS               A SMALL FIGURE dashes through the darkness in the Second                Containment. Denny...?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT                                     PETERS                         Smith.               Peters turns, but Smith is already out of sight. She                hesitates. Moves back towards Second Containment.               Again, Peters hears the GIGGLE of a child. The SCRAPE of                metal on metal. She slowly moves forward...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               ...into the darkness of the Second Containment. Peters sees                an open access panel. She looks inside.               PETERS' POV - ACCESS DUCT               A narrow tube, vanishing into darkness. A YOUNG CHILD'S VOICE                echoes from far away:                                     DENNY (O.S.)                         Mommy...               PETERS               ducks her head and enters the access duct.                                     PETERS                         Denny...?                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               Miller sits at Justin's engineering position. Flips a series                of switches...               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL               Cooper works on the patch as the ship's running lights come                on in sequence...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - BRIDGE               The bridge lights flicker, illuminate...                                     MILLER                              (to his ship)                         Thank you.                                     SMITH (O.S.)                              (radio)                         Captain, we got a problem.                                     MILLER                         Now what?                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS               SMITH AND MILLER                                     SMITH                         She was right behind me, I turn                          around, she's gone. She could be                          anywhere.                                     MILLER                         Alright. Prep the Clark for launch.                          I'll find her.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - DENNY'S DUCT               Peters moves through the duct. Reaches a junction. Anything                could be with her, there in the dark.               A child's WHISPER, too faint for words. Peters turns...               Behind her, FOREGROUND, a YOUNG CHILD dashes across the                corridor.               Peters turns back. Too late to see. Again, the child's WHISPER                draws her onward.                                     PETERS                         Denny? Denny, come to Mommy...               FAINT LAUGHTER is her only answer. She follows the sound,                now climbing into a vertical shaft that takes her higher and                higher...                                     PETERS                         Hold on, Denny, Mommy's coming...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - DENNY'S DUCT - CATWALK               Peters pulls herself up from the vertical shaft onto a catwalk                that snakes between huge oily machinery, just in time to                see...               A SMALL CHILD running, disappearing into the gloom ahead.                                     PETERS                         Denny?               She runs forward into a junction. The lights flicker red.                                     PETERS                         Denny...?                                     DENNY                         Mommy...               Her son can barely be seen in the flickering darkness ahead.                                     PETERS                         You can walk... Denny, you can walk...                          oh, my baby...                                     DENNY                         Wanna show you, Mommy, wanna show                          you something...               He reaches his arms out to her...               Peters steps forward, reaching for her son...               ...falling into an open access hatch, hidden in the dark...               INT. DENNY'S DUCT - (VERTICAL TUBE)               ...a twenty meter drop...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               Peters hits hard, lies before the Core, an offering of flesh                and blood. Her legs twist beneath her, shattered; blood pools                around her head. Her chest heaves: still alive.                                     PETERS                              (bloody gasp)                         Denny...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - DENNY'S DUCT - TUBE SECTION               Denny peers down from the top of the shaft and GIGGLES. CLAPS                his hands in childlike glee.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT               Weir wanders into First Containment, brooding.                                     WEIR                              (to himself)                         I won't. I won't leave. This is my                          ship.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               Weir enters the Second Containment. Freezes as he sees...               Peters body lying twisted and broken before the Core.                                     WEIR                         Oh no. Peters...?               He rushes to Peters. Reaches out to touch her but pulls his                hand back. Her eyes are black, eight-ball hemorrhage darkening                the irises. She is dead.                                     WEIR                         Why did you do that? You didn't have                          to do that...                                     CLAIRE (O.S.)                         Billy.               Weir looks up from Peters' corpse.               CLAIRE stands before the Core. She is naked. Her skin is                pale and beautiful and cold and wet. Her hair hangs in her                face, covering her milk-white eyes...               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT               Claire stands naked before the bathroom mirror. Behind her,                the tub steams...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT - (SEX AND SUICIDE                INTERCUT)               Weir stares at Claire in shock. She walks to him. Slowly.               She stops in front of him. Her arms hang at her sides. He                must reach for her.               He does, putting his hands on her hips. He slides from his                chair to the floor to his knees. He presses his face to her                pale belly and cries. SOBS wrack his body...               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT               ...and in the bathroom, she clutches Weir's straight-razor...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               She reaches down. Slowly, her arms cradle his head. She slides                down on him. Straddles him.               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT               ...Claire slips into the steaming water...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               He raises his head to her breasts. His eyes, closed. She                remains unnaturally still, only her hips rocking back and                forth.               Weir's mouth opens, GASPS as he enters her...               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT               ...and the razor bites her skin...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               She caresses his face. Lifts his face to hers. Her mouth is                slack. Her hair hangs in front of her eyes.               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT               ...Claire floats dead in the red water, eyes open, hair                billowing around her head like a halo...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               Weir gazes up at her, transfixed. He takes her hand and raises                it to his face. She caresses his cheek. And reaches for his                eyes...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT               A MUFFLED SCREAM rips through the Second Containment Seal.                It begins as a human sound and ends as something else, an                alien CRY of rage.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS               The CRY echoes down the Main Corridor.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               DJ packs up blood samples. He raises his head at the sound                of the CRY.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Starck GASPS as the CRY resounds through the bridge.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               Miller turns in the direction of the CRY. He begins to move                down the Corridor, towards the source.               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - HULL SECTION               Cooper examines the weld on the baffle plate. It's solid.                                     COOPER                         Solid as a rock.                              (into his radio)                         Hey, Smith...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK                                     COOPER (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Smith, clear that airlock, man, I'm                          coming in.                                     SMITH                         Roger that.               Smith carries another load of supplies. Movement out of the                corner of his eye...               He turns in time to see Weir disappear around a corner inside                the Event Horizon.                                     SMITH                         Dr. Weir! Hey, get your ass back on                          board! Dr. Weir!               No response.               Smith keys the radio.                                     SMITH                         Skipper, come in...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               Miller jogs down the Main Corridor. An INTERCOM gets his                attention:                                     SMITH (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Skipper...                                     MILLER                              (into intercom)                         What is it, Smith?                                     SMITH (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         I just saw Weir, I think he was                          messing around on the Clark.               Something SPARKS and SIZZLES in the dim light, catching                Miller's eye. He looks up...               One of the EXPLOSIVE CHARGES has been removed from the its                mounting in the Corridor.                                     MILLER                         Smith, get out of there...                                     SMITH (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Come again, Skipper?                                     MILLER                         One of the explosives is missing                          from the corridor. I think Weir may                          have put it on the Clark.               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - AIRLOCK               Smith's eyes open wide.                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Get off the Clark now and wait for                          me at the airlock.                                     SMITH                         No, no, we just got her back                          together...                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Get out of there now!               But Smith has already left the airlock...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - QUARTERS               ...entering the Quarters, tearing through storage lockers.                                     SMITH                         Where is it, where is it...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - WITH AIRLOCKS                                     MILLER                         Smith? Smith! Fuck!               Miller races down the corridor towards the airlock, towards                his ship...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - QUARTERS               A BEEPING sound catches Smith's attention. He follows the                sound to a storage compartment. Rifles through it.                                     SMITH                         I gotcha... I gotcha...               The BEEPS are coming closer and closer together.               Smith grabs a duffel.                                     SMITH                         I gotcha.               Opens it. He sees the EXPLOSIVE CHARGE from the Event Horizon                even as the BEEPS become a steady TONE. He closes his eyes                and SIGHS...               INT. LEWIS AND CLARK - EXPLOSION               WHITE LIGHT. A MASSIVE EXPLOSION...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 1 - (TATTERED                UMBILICUS)               Miller enters the docking bay even as a HUGE BLAST knocks                him back.                                     MILLER                         NOOO!               Safety doors close, sealing off the airlock and preventing                loss of pressure.               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - MODEL               The SILENT EXPLOSION tears the Lewis and Clark into two                pieces, spiralling away from each other and from the Event                Horizon. Metal shards, like confetti, fill the space between                them.               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - EXPLODED HULL SECTION               Cooper clings to the forward section, watching the Event                Horizon recede as he tumbles into space. His FRENZIED                BREATHING is the only sound.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 1 - (TATTERED                UMBILICUS)               Miller gets to his feet. Stares out the window upon the                wreckage of his ship, spiralling away. He hits the intercom                with his forearm.                                     MILLER                         DJ. The Clark's gone. Smith and Cooper                          are dead.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE                                     DJ                         What happened?                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Weir. He used one of the explosives                          from the Corridor.               The door opens behind DJ. The lights go out. DJ turns...               Face to face with Weir...               Blood crusts Weir's cheekbones, his mouth. He has no eyes.                Only clotted, empty sockets.               DJ opens his mouth to SCREAM. Weir grabs DJ by the throat,                cutting him off.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 1 - (TATTERED                UMBILICUS)                                     MILLER                         DJ, you read me?               DJ does not answer. The CRASH of glass and steel resonates                over the intercom.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               Too dark to see... glimpses of violent motion in the stainless                steel cabinets... the sounds of STRUGGLE continue...               ...then something WET... and the struggle stops.                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         DJ? DJ, come in...               Finally, Weir emerges from the gloom. He searches among the                surgical instruments until his blood caked hands find a                needle... and thread...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK BAY NO. 1 - (TATTERED                UMBILICUS)               Miller, at the intercom. He tries another channel.                                     MILLER                         Peters...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               Peters body lies before the Core. The intercom CRACKLES.                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Peters, are you there?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - AIRLOCK NO. 1 - (TATTERED UMBILICUS)                                     MILLER                              (growing panic)                         Starck, do you read me? Starck...?               But it is Weir who answers. His voice sounds thick, choked                with dirt.                                     WEIR (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         I told you... She won't let you                          leave...                                     MILLER                         Son of a bitch!               Miller yanks open a storage locker full of zero-G tool. Lifts                a nailgun. Chambers a round.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. LEWIS AND CLARK - EXPLODED HULL SECTION               Cooper watches the Event Horizon fall farther and farther                away.               He checks his oxygen gauge. One tank full, one tank at half.               Cooper twists his backpack around, giving him access to the                oxygen tanks. He seals off his primary hose and disconnects                the full tank. His gauge immediately goes to "Yellow -                Reserve."               Cooper points the full tank away from the Event Horizon and                OPENS IT...               The blast of pressurized air pushes him towards the ship,                leaving the wreckage of the Lewis and Clark behind.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GENERIC CORRIDOR               Miller races through the corridors to Medical...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE               ...and finds DJ, suspended above the table, neatly dissected.                His organs have been laid out carefully before him on the                steel table.                                     MILLER                         Oh my God.               DJ raises his head.                                     DJ                              (whisper)                         Please...                                     MILLER                         Oh, God, DJ, what do I... how do                          I...                                     DJ                         Please... kill...                                     MILLER                         Oh God...               Miller raises the nailgun with trembling hands. FIRES.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - CORRIDOR TO BRIDGE               Miller approaches the door to the Bridge. It is open...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Miller stands in the doorway. A figure sits at the helm.                Miller aims the nailgun.                                     MILLER                         Weir.               The figure doesn't move. Miller slowly circles around the                helm...               It's Starck. Bound with wire in a sadomasochistic pose,                unconscious.                                     MILLER                         Hold on... Get you outta these...               Miller kneels in front of her, puts down the nailgun, loosens                the cords. She BREATHES in ragged gasps, opens his eyes...               Then stops. She stares over Miller's shoulder like a deer                caught in the headlights.               Miller looks behind him...               WEIR STANDS THERE, STARING WITH EYES SEWN SHUT.               Miller reaches for the gun...               Weir hits him, sending Miller across the bridge into a                bulkhead. Weir picks up the nailgun, examines it.               Miller slowly gets to his feet.                                     MILLER                         Your eyes...                                     WEIR                         I don't need them anymore. Where                          we're going, we won't need eyes to                          see.                                     MILLER                         What are you talking about?                                     WEIR                         Do you know what a singularity is,                          Miller? Does your mind truly fathom                          what a black hole is?                              (beat)                         It is NOTHING. Absolute and eternal                          NOTHING. And if God is Everything,                          then I have seen the Devil.                              (a dead man's grin)                         It's a liberating experience.               With his free hand, Weir reaches for the navigation console.                Flips a series of switches with gore caked fingers.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE (ENLARGED CONSOLE)               The display lights up.                                     COMPUTER                         Gravity drive primed. Do you wish to                          engage?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE                                     MILLER                         What are you doing?               Weir grins as he flips the final switch.                                     COMPUTER                         Gravity drive engaged. Activation in                          T-minus ten minutes.               Miller lunges for the nailgun. Weir raises the nailgun to                point at Miller's face. Miller slowly backs away.                                     MILLER                         If you miss me, you'll blow out the                          hull. You'll die too.                                     WEIR                         What makes you think I'll miss?               Miller sees something out of the corner of his eye...               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Cooper. Outside, braced in the viewport bracket.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Weir spins and FIRES at Cooper. The nail lodges in the thick                quartz glass. A web of cracks spreads out from the bullet,                the glass SHRIEKING under the pressure.               Weir takes a step towards the window, raises the gun to fire                again.               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               Miller dives for the door. Before Weir can fire,               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE WINDOW (HANGING SECTION)               the window EXPLODES outward.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE               The ship HOWLS as air rushes out, ripping Weir off his feet.                Weir catches himself in the broken window, trying to pull                himself back in...               A monitor tears free, SMASHES into him. HE IS SUCKED OUT.               Miller pulls himself through the door as it begins to shut.                He is safe...                                     STARCK (O.S.)                         Don't leave me!               Miller turns. Starck clings to a console, barely able to                resist the winds that try to suck her into the void.                                     STARCK                              (gasping for air)                         Please... help, help me...               Miller hesitates, looking from Starck back into the safety                of the ship. The door continues to shut. In seconds, he will                be safe. And she will be dead.               Miller YELLS and rips a compressor from its mount, wedges it                in the door to keep it open. He keeps one hand on the door,                reaches the other hand to Starck.                                     MILLER                         Give me your hand! Your hand!               She does. Frost forms on their bodies as the air cools. Their                veins begin to bulge, blood pulses from their noses. He YELLS                with exertion...               ...drags her to the door... through the door...               ...as the compressor tears free, sucked into space...               ...and the door SNAPS shut, missing them by a fraction.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - CORRIDOR TO BRIDGE               Starck and Miller collapse against the door. A moment passes                between them. Just happy to be breathing...               ...and then the AIRLOCK KLAXON goes off.                                     MILLER                         The forward airlock.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GENERIC CORRIDOR               Starck and Miller race towards the Forward Airlock Bay.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - FORWARD AIRLOCK BAY NO. 4               They enter, see a humanoid shape moving in the strobing light                of the airlock.                                     STARCK                         Weir can't be alive.                                     MILLER                         Whatever was on that bridge wasn't                          Weir.               Miller looks around for a weapon. Pulls a zero-G bolt cutter                from the wall. Wields it like a bat.                                     MILLER                         Stay behind me.               The inner airlock door releases with a HISS. Swings open...               Cooper tumbles through, clawing at his helmet.                                     STARCK                         Cooper!               Starck rushes to him, takes his helmet off.               He SUCKS air in, COUGHS it out.                                     COOPER                         Let me breathe, let me breathe...                                     STARCK                         You're okay now, it's over...                                     MILLER                              (sees something)                         It's not over. It's just starting.               Starck follows Miller's gaze to a workstations's flashing                display: GRAVITY DRIVE ENGAGED. ACTIVATION 00:06:43:01...                                     MILLER                         Weir activated the drive. He's sending                          us to the Other Place.                                     STARCK                         We've got to shut it down, we've got                          to...                                     COOPER                         How? The Bridge is gone.                                     STARCK                         There must be a way! What about                          Engineering?                                     COOPER                         Can you shut it down?                                     STARCK                         I don't know the process, Dr. Weir                          was the expert...                                     COOPER                         I don't want to go where the last                          crew went. I'd rather be dead.                                     MILLER                         BLOW THE FUCKER UP.                                     STARCK                         Blow it up?                                     MILLER                         We blow the Corridor. Use the                          foredecks as a lifeboat, separate it                          from the rest of the ship. We stay                          put...                                     COOPER                         ...and the gravity drive goes where                          no man has gone before.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY                                     MILLER                         You prep the gravity couches. I'm                          going to manually arm those                          explosives.                                     COOPER                         Will it work?                                     MILLER                         It worked for Weir. Prep the tanks.               Cooper nods, heads for the gravity couch bay. Starck follows                Miller to the steel pressure door.                                     STARCK                         I'll do it --                                     MILLER                         No. I'll be right back.               Miller opens the door.                                     MILLER                         Close it behind me. Just in case.               Beat. Starck stares at Miller as if memorizing his face.                                     STARCK                         Don't be long.               Miller smiles wanly. The door slides shut with a dull THUNK.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               Miller runs down the corridor. Stops at a bulkhead coupling.                Kneels down to remove the cover from an explosive charge,                switch it to MANUAL detonation.               Miller runs to the next coupling. Repeats the process...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY               Starck and Cooper check the gravity couches. One by one,                they slide open...                                     COOPER                         I'm gonna activate the emergency                          beacon.                                     STARCK                         Hurry.               Cooper exits down a ladder. Starck turns to the console,                activates three gravity couches. Behind her, two begin to                fill with blue gel...               ...and one begins to fill with blood... the hint of dark                shapes moving within...               Starck doesn't see it, concentrates on the console.               THUMP. THUMP. Starck turns. Sees the bloody tank. Sees                something moving inside it.               She slowly crosses to the tank. Peers at it...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY (TANK)               THUMP. A FACE PRESSES AGAINST THE GLASS, STARING BACK AT                HER. WEIR. Bone and muscle are exposed where the skin hasn't                finished forming.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY               Starck SCREAMS and backs away.                                     STARCK                         Cooper...!               The glass BURSTS in an EXPLOSION OF BLOOD...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - CORRIDOR BELOW GRAVITY COUCH BAY               A corridor beneath the Gravity Couch Bay. Cooper searches                through circuit panels until he finds the EMERGENCY BEACON                breaker. He runs a by-pass, activating it manually. The lights                begins to STROBE...               DRIP. DRIP. A bloodstain spreads over his shoulder. He follows                the drip to the ceiling...                                     COOPER                         Starck?               No response. He slowly moves to peer up the ladder...               ...as Starck CRASHES down, bloody but alive.                                     COOPER                         What...?                                     STARCK                         Run!               She shoves him away...               Weir appears at the top of the ladder, crawling down headfirst                like a spider...               Starck gets to her feet, staggers away...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - BY FIRST                CONTAINTMENT               Miller kneels, removing the cover from the last explosive.                Flips a switch.               A small cover pops open. Miller reaches in, removes a RADIO                DETONATOR.               He arms the explosives. Watches the red lights on the                explosives wink on in the darkness.               He reaches for an intercom.                                     MILLER                         We're armed. This fucker's ready to                          blow...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GENERIC CORRIDOR - (INTERSECTION)                                     MILLER (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         ...repeat, we're armed...                                     STARCK                         Miller, he's back, he was in the                          tank...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - BY FIRST                CONTAINMENT                                     MILLER                         Slow down, Starck, I can't understand                          you, who was in the tank?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               A figure seems to coalesce from the shadows behind Miller.                                     STARCK (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         You have to get back here now, he's                          out there now, if he finds you...               The figure moves forward into the light... Arcane runes etch                Weir's face; his eyes, now restored, blaze with unholy zeal.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - BY FIRST                CONTAINMENT                                     MILLER                         Who? Who?                                     STARCK (O.S.)                              (intercom)                         Weir.                                     MILLER                         He's dead...               Miller glances over his shoulder. His jaw drops in surprise                as he sees...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               Weir grinning at him... then SMASHES the intercom with his                fist, cutting off Starck's VOICE.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - BY FIRST                CONTAINMENT               Miller backs away.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               Weir stands between Miller and safety.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - BY FIRST                CONTAINMENT                                     MILLER                         You're dead, I saw you die.                                     WEIR                         Weir is dead.                                     MILLER                         Then who the fuck are you?                                     WEIR                         Your fear. Do you remember the                          Goliath, Miller?               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               FLAMES SPREAD OVER WEIR'S BODY, TRANSFORMING HIM INTO THE                BURNING MAN.                                     BURNING MAN                         Do you remember me?                                     MILLER                         Corrick...                                     BURNING MAN                         You left me behind.                                     MILLER                         That's not true...                                     BURNING MAN                         I begged you. I begged you to save                          me and you did nothing. You stood                          there and watched me burn...                                     MILLER                         SHUT UP! SHUT UP!               The Burning Man YELLS and raises his arm in accusation...               ...and FIRE RACES OUT FROM BEHIND HIM, flowing over the walls,                the ceiling, the floor, racing for Miller like a rising                tide...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - BY FIRST                CONTAINMENT               Miller runs. Dead ahead, the First Containment...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - FIRST CONTAINMENT               Miller runs fast. The fire is faster, flooding in behind                him.               Miller dashes for the Second Seal as IT BEGINS TO CLOSE. The                fire gains on him, surrounding him.               Miller dives through the Second Seal...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               ...barely makes it...               ...SLAMS into the engineering console. Miller looks back at                the Second Seal. It's still open by a fraction when the fire                hits it...               ...SENDING A LANCE OF FLAME stabbing out towards Miller. He                rolls aside as the fire hits the console. The console                EXPLODES.               The Second Seal shuts tight, cutting the fire off. The paint                on the Second Seal begins to bubble and scorch... and then                cools as the fire subsides.               Miller gets to his feet. Almost allows himself to relax.                Then he sees his shadow before him, dancing in the growing                red light. He turns...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               The Second Containment is a holocaust. Fire swarms over the                walls. Burning jelly drips from Control Spikes. The Core                itself is a blazing orb; the gyroscope that holds it glows                red-hot.               Miller stares at the blazing Core.                                     BURNING MAN (O.S.)                         Don't leave me!               Miller turns. The Burning Man stands RIGHT BESIDE HIM.               He SMASHES Miller with a backhand that ignites Miller's                clothes and sends him flying. The detonator falls from                Miller's grasp, lost beneath two feet of coolant. Miller                comes up CHOKING and SPLUTTERING.               The Burning Man stalks towards Miller. The coolant STEAMS                and SIZZLES at his feet.               Miller stares at the Burning Man as he approaches. Slowly                rises to his feet.                                     MILLER                         You're not Edmund Corrick.               The Burning Man's flames wane, revealing Weir's misshapen                form.               Miller throws a wicked right. Weir catches Miller's fist.                SQUEEZES until blood wells up between his fingers. Then slings                Miller against a cooling tank with BONE CRACKING force. Miller                collapses into the slime, barely able to raise his head to                breathe.               Weir slowly approaches.                                     MILLER                         What are you?                                     WEIR                         You know.                                     MILLER                         You want me to believe you're the                          Devil, well, I don't, that's bullshit!                                     WEIR                         I'm not the Devil.                                     MILLER                         Then what, what are you? Tell me...                                     WEIR                         Better if I just show you.               Weir's hands reach down and he grabs Miller by the skull.                Miller GASPS as he sees...               SERIES OF SHOTS               Faster than the eye can see. More than mind can accept...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - BRIDGE (VISIONS FROM HELL)               The ORIGINAL CREW writhe naked and bloody in carnivorous                frenzy...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT (VISIONS FROM HELL)               Peters' bloody grinning child, devouring his mother...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT               MILLER writhes in Weir's grip. His hands flail out to the                sides. One hand brushes a long steel cannister sunk in the                muck. A CO2 scrubber...               THE VISIONS CONTINUE:               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MEDICAL/SCIENCE (VISIONS FROM HELL)               DJ's dissected body, except that here, DJ looks up, and                smiles...               EXT. SPACE - MODEL (VISIONS FROM HELL)               AN ALIEN SUN, red and bloated and dying.               EXT. ALIEN TERRAIN - MODEL (VISIONS FROM HELL)               AN ALIEN TERRAIN; a sluggish, oily, black sea. A hand reaches                from the oil...               INT. STUDIO APARTMENT (VISIONS FROM HELL)               CLAIRE floating dead in a bathtub filled with the thick black                fluid...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT (VISIONS FROM HELL)               Justin, Starck and Cooper, crucified upside-down upon the                Third Seal...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - SECOND CONTAINMENT                                     MILLER                         NO!               His hand closes on the scrubber and he swings it across Weir's                head. Weir reels back, stunned.               Miller gets to his feet.                                     MILLER                         You can't have them!               He hits Weir again. HARD. Blood gushes from Weir's skull,                filling the runes on his face.               Weir staggers. Miller attacks. Again and again and again...               This time Weir is ready. He catches the scrubber and tears                it from Miller's grasp. SMASHES Miller to the floor with a                single blow. Miller GROANS.                                     WEIR                         I'm not the Devil. I'm much, much                          older. I watched the Beginning and I                          will see the End. I am the dark behind                          the stars. I am the dark inside you                          all.               Miller gets to all fours, trying to get up.                                     MILLER                         ...not the Devil...               Weir kicks Miller savagely. Miller slides through the coolant,                comes to rest beneath a walkway. He attempts to rise,                collapses back into the sludge.               Weir slowly stalks towards him.                                     WEIR                         There is no Devil. There is no God.                          There is only... NOTHING.                                     MILLER                         You're lying...!                                     WEIR                         I'm not asking you to believe me.                          You'll see for yourself... and so                          will your crew. You're all coming                          with me.                                     MILLER                         Starck... Cooper...               Weir's grotesque face is inches from his. He reaches down                and pulls Miller from the dripping ooze...                                     WEIR                         They are mine. And so are you...               ...as Miller clears the surface, he holds something in his                fist.               Miller stares dead-on into Weir's hellish face...               ...and raises his right hand. HE'S HOLDING THE DETONATOR.                                     MILLER                              (a grim smile of                               triumph)                         You can't have them. Go to hell.                                     WEIR                         NOOO!               MILLER DEPRESSES THE DETONATOR.               EXT. EVENT HORIZON - MODEL               A small, silent EXPLOSION blossoms in the aft section of the                ship...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - MAIN ACCESS CORRIDOR - NO AIRLOCKS               ...followed frames later by a sequence of DETONATIONS that                rip the Main Access Corridor apart and propel the foredecks                away from the containment section.               INT. EVENT HORIZON - CORRIDOR (ROLLOVER SET)               The EXPLOSION knocks Starck and Cooper down. They hold on                tightly as...               EXT. NEPTUNE - MODEL               Waves of distortion ripple over the Event Horizon's                containment section...               A dark sphere of energy spreads out from the containment as                the gateway opens... A BLACK HOLE...               The black hole begins to shrink, imploding. As it collapses,                it sucks Neptune's blue clouds with it, creating a TITANIC                WHIRLPOOL with the black hole at its center...               The SHRIEKING winds carry the foredecks back towards the                whirlpool, towards the black hole...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - CORRIDOR (ROLLOVER SET)               Cooper and Starck slide across the floor as the deck tips at                a terrific angle...               EXT. NEPTUNE - MODEL               The foredecks teeter on the edge of oblivion...               The black hole collapses utterly, vanishing to a point. An                enormous SHOCKWAVE rips out from the point of implosion.               The foredecks ride the wave away from the implosion and out                of Neptune's atmosphere to safety...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - CORRIDOR WINDOW               The VIBRATIONS subside. Cooper and Starck stagger to their                feet. Look out the window...               EXT. NEPTUNE - MODEL COOPER/STARCK POV               Neptune recedes, the ugly hole of the implosion already being                erased by Neptune's violent winds...               INT. EVENT HORIZON - CORRIDOR WINDOW               Starck's voice is tiny.                                     STARCK                         Miller...                                                                   FADE TO:               SPACE - MODEL               Black planets silhouetted by a dying red giant. The                Engineering Containment of the Event Horizon drifts in the                eddies of gas that swirl and spiral into the bloated star.               MOVE towards the ship until its shadow consumes all...               DELETE SCENE               INT. EVENT HORIZON - GRAVITY COUCH BAY               Starck awakens but the SCREAMS continue as the Event Horizon                calls out to her... she SCREAMS... hands on her body... the                CRIES stop...               Starck looks around uncomprehending at the faces around her.               IT'S A RESCUE TEAM               Cooper pushes them aside. She clings to him, CRYING...                                     COOPER                         It's over, hush now, it's over...               FADE TO BLACK.                                           END
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+                             THE FAULT IN OUR STARS                                                           Written by                      Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber                                                                               Based on the novel by                                  John Green                                                                                                            May 1, 2012                                                          FIRST DRAFT          HAZEL GRACE LANCASTER (16) lies in the grass, staring up at          the stars. We're CLOSE ON her FACE and we hear:           HAZEL (V.O.)           You have a choice in this world, I           believe, about how to tell sad           stories.          CUT TO a SERIES OF QUICK IMAGES:          - Hazel and the BOY we will come to know as AUGUSTUS "GUS"          WATERS (17) at an outdoor restaurant in some magical place.          [They look very much like the perfect Hollywood couple.]           HAZEL (V.O.)           On the one hand, you can sugar coat           - the way they do in movies and           romance novels.          - "Perfect" Hazel and "Perfect" Gus sit on a BENCH          overlooking an incredible seascape in some foreign country.          She rests her head on his shoulder.           HAZEL (V.O.)           Where villains are vanquished           and... heroes are born and...          - "Perfect" Hazel and "Perfect" Gus kiss in a dark room.           HAZEL (V.O.)           ... beautiful people learn           beautiful lessons...          - "Perfect" Hazel and "Perfect" Gus fall onto a bed together.          They look deep into one another's eyes.           HAZEL (V.O.)           ... and nothing is too messed up           that can't be fixed with an apology           and a Peter Gabriel song.          BACK TO Hazel on the grass, still watching the stars. Were          those dreams or were they memories? Still unclear.           HAZEL (V.O.)           I like that way as much as the next           girl, believe me. It's just not the           truth.          Hazel closes her eyes.           HAZEL (V.O.)           This is the truth.          And EVERYTHING GOES BLACK. We HEAR:           HAZEL (V.O.)           Sorry.           FADE IN ON:           2.                                   INT DOCTOR'S OFFICE - DAY          The real Hazel is no less beautiful than the one we just saw.           HAZEL (V.O.)           Late in the Winter of my 17th           year...          There are, however, some key and obvious differences.          First, you'll notice the OXYGEN TUBE in her nostrils which          help her to breathe.          Second, you'll notice her hair - which we couldn't see in the          grass. It's much shorter than the "Perfect" version, the          result of someone whose head was completely shaved a few          years before.           HAZEL (V.O.)           ... my mother decided I was           depressed.                          HAZEL           I'm not depressed.          Hazel's legs dangle over the side of an exam table. Her          mother FRANNIE (early 40s, younger than she feels) explains          to the DOCTOR:                          FRANNIE           ... she eats like a bird. She           barely leaves the house,                          HAZEL           I'm not depressed.                          FRANNIE           ... she reads the same book over           and over...                          DOCTOR           She's depressed.                          HAZEL           I'm not depressed!          Off her look, CUT TO:          QUICK SEQUENCE, which play over:                          HAZEL (V.O.)           The booklets and web sites always           list depression as a side effect of           cancer...          - A SHOPPING MALL. Filled with TEENAGE GIRLS - gossipping,          laughing - being teenage girls, basically. And here's Hazel.          With her Mom. And her oxygen tank. Just another day.           3.                                                   HAZEL (V.O.)           Depression's not a side effect of           cancer...          - HAZEL'S LIVING ROOM. She sits watching game shows in the          middle of the afternoon. Her Mom brings her a sandwich. A          glass of water. And then a whole host of prescription meds.          Hazel eyes them with indifference.                          HAZEL (V.O.)           ... it's a side effect of dying.          - A STARBUCKS. Hazel sits alone reading a dog-eared, heavily          underlined copy of a novel ("An Imperial Affliction" by Peter          Van Houten). She only looks up when distracted by a squeal of          delight. A YOUNG GUY has lifted a YOUNG GIRL over his          shoulder playfully. He spins her around. Hazel watches a beat          - goes back to the book.                          HAZEL (V.O.)           Which is what was happening to me.          And we CUT BACK TO:                                   INT DOCTOR'S OFFICE - SAME          Frannie continues to talk to the doctor. Hazel continues to          dangle her feet.                          FRANNIE           ... some days she won't even get           out of bed.          The Doctor scratches his beard, thinking.                          DOCTOR           I may switch you to Zoloft. Or           Lexapro. And twice a day instead of           once.                          HAZEL           Why stop there?                          DOCTOR           Hmm?                          HAZEL           Keep `em coming. I can take it. I'm           like the Keith Richards of cancer           kids.          The Doctor looks at Frannie who just shakes her head.                          DOCTOR           Have you been going to that Support           Group I suggested?          Instead of answering, Hazel looks at her Mom.           4.                                                   FRANNIE           She's gone a few times.                          HAZEL           I'm not sure it's for me.                          DOCTOR           If you're depressed --                          HAZEL                          (EXASPERATED)           I'm not de--                          DOCTOR                          (IGNORING HER)           -- support Groups are a great way           to connect with people who are...                          HAZEL           What?                          DOCTOR                          (BEAT)           On the same journey.                          HAZEL           "Journey?" Really?                          FRANNIE           Hazel.                          DOCTOR           Just give it a chance, ok? For me.          Hazel rolls her eyes, knows she's lost this battle.                          DOCTOR           Who knows? You might even find           it... enlightening.           SMASH CUT TO:                                   INT CHURCH BASEMENT - DAY          CLOSE UP on PATRICK (30s, pony-tail). He has a guitar.                          PATRICK           ... we are gathered here today -           literally - in the heart of Jesus.          ANGLE on Hazel who just shakes her head. This is the lamest          thing she could be doing right now.                          PATRICK           Who would like to share their story           with the group?          The basement is filled with SICK PEOPLE. Hazel among them.          Most are under the age of 18. QUICK CUTS:           5.                                                   SPEAKER #1           Jillian. 15. Lymphoma.                          SPEAKER #2           Angel. 17. Ewing sarcoma.                          PATRICK           Patrick. 34. Testicular. It started           a few years ago, when I was...          As Hazel watches, bored, and Patrick continues, we hear:           HAZEL (V.O.)           I'll spare you the gory details of           Patrick's ball cancer. Basically,           they found it in his nuts, cut most           of it out, he almost died, but he           didn't die, and now here he is -           divorced, friendless, addicted to           video games, exploiting his           cancertastic past in the heart of           Jesus - "literally" - to show us           that one day - if we're lucky - we           could be just like him.          They all say:           ALL IN UNISON           "We're here for you Patrick."          Hazel says it the least enthusiastically. She locks eyes with          her only friend in Support Group, a blonde kid with an eye          patch, ISAAC. He's also shaking his head.                          PATRICK           Who else would like to share?                          (NO RESPONSE)           Hazel?          Oh no. Patrick gestures for her to speak. Reluctantly she          stands, sighs...                          HAZEL           I'm, uh, Hazel. 16.                          (BEAT)           Thyroid originally but with quite           the impressive satellite colony in           my lungs.          Not much more to say, Hazel is about to sit down.                          PATRICK           And how are you doing Hazel?          Hazel has no idea how to answer that.           HAZEL (V.O.)           You mean besides the terminal           cancer?           6.                                   But that's not what she says. She says:                          HAZEL           Alright? I guess...?          Isaac tries not to laugh at this. Hazel sits back down.           ALL IN UNISON           "We're here for you Hazel."          Hazel exhales. This is not at all helpful. A few more beats.                          PATRICK           Maybe now I'll play a song...                                   EXT CHURCH - LATER          Frannie sits in the car in the parking lot, reading from a          book, waiting for Group to be over. She sees the church door          open and puts the book away. Hazel comes out. Frannie looks          at her like "well, was it great?" Hazel just exhales and gets          in the car. CUT TO:                                   INT HAZEL'S LIVING ROOM - ANOTHER DAY          "America's Next Top Model" is on the TV. Hazel sits on one          side of the L-shaped couch, flipping through her novel.          Frannie and Hazel's dad MICHAEL (40s, kind, doing his best to          stay positive) sit on the other side, watching her - but          trying not to make it seem that way. After a few beats:                          FRANNIE           It's Friday night.                          HAZEL           Hmm?                          FRANNIE           I was just thinking... you should           call your friends, see what they're           up to.                          HAZEL                          (DISINTERESTED)           That's ok.          Frannie and Michael look at one another, don't say anything.                          MICHAEL           Wanna see a movie?          Hazel looks up from the book. Sees her parents. Gets an idea.                          HAZEL           Why don't you guys go to a movie?           (off their look)                          (MORE)           7.                          HAZEL (CONT'D)           You haven't been out in a while.           Go. Have fun. Take the night off.          Frannie and Michael look at one another again.                          MICHAEL           This is a really good show.          Hazel sighs. And just like that, everyone goes back to what          they were doing. CUT TO:          QUICK SEQUENCE, which plays over:           HAZEL (V.O.)           And that was my life.          - Hazel watching TV, book in hand.          - Hazel in another doctor's office.          - Hazel popping pills.           HAZEL (V.O.)           Reality shows. Doctor's           appointments. Eight prescription           drugs, three times a day.                                   INT HAZEL'S KITCHEN - ANOTHER DAY          Hazel and her parents in the kitchen.           HAZEL (V.O.)           And worse worse worst of all...           support group.                          HAZEL           Ugh. You can't make me.                          MICHAEL           Of course we can, we're your           parents.          Hazel frowns.                          MICHAEL           Hazel, you need to get out of the           house. Make friends. Be a teenager.                          HAZEL           If you want me to be a teenager,           don't send me to Support Group. Buy           me a fake ID so I can go to clubs           and drink gimlets and take pot.                          MICHAEL           You don't take pot.           8.                                                   HAZEL           See, that's the kind of thing I           would know with a fake ID.                          FRANNIE                          (BEAT)           Get in the car.          Hazel mock stabs herself in the stomach with an invisible          sword. CUT TO:                                   EXT CHURCH - ESTABLISHING          A small Episcopalian sanctuary in suburban Indianapolis.           HAZEL (V.O.)           And so I went...          Frannie's car pulls up close to the back entrance.           HAZEL (V.O.)           Not because I wanted to or because           I thought it would help. But for           the same reason I did anything           these days...          Hazel, oxygen tank in toe, gets out of the car with Frannie's          assistance.           HAZEL (V.O.)           ... to make my parents happy.                          HAZEL           Are you gonna sit here and wait the           whole time?                          FRANNIE           Of course not, no. I...           (she totally is)           I have errands to run.          Hazel knows she's not planning to run any errands. She          doesn't press the issue.                          HAZEL           Ok.                          FRANNIE           Love you.                          HAZEL           Love you too Mom.           HAZEL (V.O.)           The only thing worse than biting it           from cancer - is having a kid bite           it from cancer.          As Frannie gets back in the car, she shouts to her daughter:           9.                                                   FRANNIE           Make some friends!          Hazel just shakes her head. CUT TO:                                   INT CHURCH - SAME          Hazel walks towards the elevator. An EXTREMELY SICK LOOKING          KID holds it open for her. Hazel thinks better of it.                          HAZEL           I'll take the stairs.          The KID nods. The doors shut. Hazel is reminded - it could          always be worse. She turns to go, walking right into:                                                   GUS HAZEL          Ooph. Sorry!                                   A SUPREMELY BEAUTIFUL BOY (we will come to know him as GUS).          Tall, lean, muscular, straight short mahogany hair, blue          eyes. Hazel has never seen a better looking kid in her life.                          GUS HAZEL          My bad. No, it's...                                   For a brief moment, the Earth stops. They stand looking at          one another. Hazel is speechless.                          HAZEL           Excuse me.          With the Beautiful Boy watching, a wan smile on his face,          Hazel shuffles off as fast as she can, ducking into:                                   INT BATHROOM - SAME          Hazel catches her breath. Shakes her head. Surprised at          herself.          She looks in the mirror. So doesn't like what she sees. The          Earth starts moving again. CUT TO:                                   INT CHURCH BASEMENT - LATER          Hazel sits in the Circle of Sick.                          PATRICK           Who would like to begin?          No volunteers. Hazel catches sight of the Beautiful Boy,          sitting next to Isaac. He seems to be watching her, that same          flirty smile on his face. She self-consciously looks away.           10.                                                   PATRICK           Isaac, I know you're facing a           challenging time. Perhaps you would           like to say something...          Isaac nods, rises.                          ISAAC           Yeah, um... I'm Isaac. 17. Eye           cancer.                          (BEAT)           It's looking like another surgery           in a couple weeks. After which,           well, I'll be blind...          Hazel tries to focus on what Isaac's saying but it's          difficult. She still feels the Beautiful Boy's gaze on her.                          ISAAC           Not that I'm complaining or           anything. I know a lot of you have           it way worse but, still, I mean,           you know, being blind's gonna           suck...          As Isaac shares, the Beautiful Boy doesn't look away from          Hazel. Hazel finds this intimidating. And intimidation          irritates her. So she decides to play the game with him,          meeting his gaze and holding it just as firmly.          A staring contest.                          ISAAC           ...My girlfriend helps. And friends           like Augustus here...          Isaac nods towards the Beautiful Boy who now has a name -          AUGUSTUS. He still doesn't look away from Hazel.                          ISAAC           So... yeah. That's what's up.           ALL IN UNISON           "We're here for you Isaac."          The staring contest continues another few beats until:                          PATRICK           And does your friend want to speak?          This causes the Beautiful Boy to momentarily look away. Aha,          he's lost the contest! Hazel smiles, flicks her eyebrows up          as if to say "Victory is mine!" He smiles back at her, the          most radiant smile on the planet. He turns back to the Group.                          GUS           Hi. I'm Augustus Waters. 17. Had a           touch of osteosarcoma bout a year           and a half ago - lost this baby as           a result...           11.                                   Gus holds up his right leg - a prosthetic.                          GUS           But really I'm just here at Isaac's           request.                          PATRICK           And how are you feeling Augustus?                          GUS           Me? Oh I'm grand. I'm on a roller           coaster that only goes up, my           friend.          Hazel smiles. Gus catches this. Embarrassed, she stops          smiling and looks away.                          PATRICK           Perhaps you'd like to share your           fears with the group, Augustus.                          GUS           My fears?          Gus thinks about this.                          GUS           Oblivion.                          PATRICK           Oblivion?          ANGLE ON Hazel, intrigued.                          GUS           Yeah, see... I intend to live an           extraordinary life. To be           remembered. If I'm scared of           anything it's... not doing that.          Patrick doesn't quite have the tools to deal with that.                          PATRICK           Would, uh, anyone like to speak to           that?          And Hazel's hand goes up. Even Patrick is surprised by that.                          PATRICK           Hazel! That's unexpected.          Hazel stands, takes a second to gather her thoughts. Augustus          watches her, waits for it.                          HAZEL           I just wanna say... there will come           a time when, you know, all of us           are dead.          Gus is now even more fixed on her than before.           12.                                                   HAZEL           It might be tomorrow. Might be a           million years from now but... it's           gonna happen. And when it does,           enough generations will come and           go, there'll be no one left to           remember Cleopatra. Or Mozart. Or           Muhammad Ali, let alone any of us,           right?          The look on Gus's face is unreadable.                          HAZEL           Oblivion's inevitable. And if that           scares you, well, I suggest you           ignore it. God knows it's what           everyone else does.          A beat. And then an enormous smile spreads across Gus's face,          not a flirty smile but a surprised one, a real one. CUT TO:                                   EXT OUTSIDE THE CHURCH - LATER          Hazel waits for her Mom's car to appear.          Across the parking lot, she sees Isaac going at it with a          redhead, MONICA (17), sucking face like there's no tomorrow          against the door of her green Pontiac Firebird. Between          kisses, we can hear:                          ISAAC MONICA          Always. Always.                                   And Hazel hears:                          GUS           Literally.          Hazel turns to find the Beautiful Boy, Augustus, standing          right next to her.                          GUS           I thought we were in a church           basement but apparently we were           literally in the heart of Jesus.          Hazel smiles.                          HAZEL           Someone should probably tell him,           don't you think? Jesus? Seems kinda           dangerous keeping all these kids           with cancer in your heart.          Gus laughs.                          GUS           What's your name?           13.                                                   HAZEL           Hazel.                          GUS           No your full name?                          HAZEL                          (CONFUSED)           Hazel Grace Lancaster.          Gus nods to himself, smiles. Still fixated on her.                          HAZEL           What?                          GUS           I didn't say anything.                          HAZEL           Why are you looking at me like           that?                          GUS           Because you're beautiful.          Hazel is taken aback. No one's ever said that to her before.                          GUS           I enjoy looking at beautiful people           and I decided a while back not to           deny myself the simpler pleasures           of existence. Particularly given           that, as you so astutely pointed           out, we're all gonna die pretty           soon.                          HAZEL                          (BEAT)           I'm not beaut --          A CUTE YOUNG GIRL walks past them.                          YOUNG GIRL           Hey Gus.                          GUS           Hey Alisa.          Hazel isn't surprised that other girls know Gus. Of course          they do. She turns back towards Isaac and Monica pawing at          each other. She hears:                                                   ISAAC MONICA          Always. Always.                                                   HAZEL           What's with the "always?"           14.                                                   GUS           "Always" is their thing. They'll           "always" love each other and           whatnot. Must have texted "always"           to each other at least four million           times this year.          They continue to watch the show. It's pretty gross. Isaac          squeezes Monica's breast like a clown horn.                          HAZEL           He's gotta be hurting her boob.                          GUS           Let's watch a movie.          Hazel is again surprised.                          HAZEL           Oh. Um. Uh...           (yes!)           Sure. Yeah. I'm... pretty free this                          WEEK--                          GUS           No I mean now.                          HAZEL           What?                          GUS           Hmm?                          HAZEL           What do you mean "now?"                          GUS           I've got a car.          He shrugs. Hazel has never seen someone so confident.                          HAZEL           You could be an axe murderer.                          GUS           There is that possibility.                          (BEAT)           Come on Hazel Grace... take a risk.          As Hazel mulls this over, Gus reaches into his pocket and          pulls out, of all things, a pack of cigarettes! Hazel is in          disbelief. He flips the box open, puts a cigarette between          his lips.                          HAZEL           Oh my god. Oh. My. God. You're           kidding right?           (off his look)           You just ruined the whole thing!           15.                                                   GUS           Whole thing?                          HAZEL           What, you think that's cool? Oh you           idiot! There's always a hamartia,           isn't there? And yours is - even           though you had FREAKING CANCER you           give money to a corporation for the           chance to acquire EVEN MORE           CANCER!? Ugh. And you were doing so           well.          As she rants, Gus continues to look at her with that smile on          his face. Hazel does not find it so amusing.                          HAZEL           Let me tell you... not being able           to breathe? Sucks. Totally sucks.                          GUS           Hamartia?          Hazel folds her arms and turns away from him.                          HAZEL           A fatal flaw.          Gus takes a beat and then moves to face her, the smile still          etched on his face.                          GUS           They don't hurt you unless you           light them.                          HAZEL           Sorry?                          GUS           I've never lit one.          Hazel turns back to him.                          GUS           It's a metaphor. See? You put the           thing that kills you between your           teeth. But you don't give it the           power to do the killing.          Hazel is floored. And impressed.                          HAZEL           Metaphor.          Gus holds her gaze. And it's at this point Frannie pulls up.                          FRANNIE           Hi sweetheart. Ready for some           "Model?"           16.                                   Hazel looks at Gus, cigarette dangling from his lips. Cool as          anything. Handsome as hell. She looks back at her mom.                          HAZEL           Can't tonight.           (off her confused look)           I've made plans with Augustus           Waters.          And with that, she walks off. Frannie looks at the boy with          the cigarette in his mouth. This could be trouble. Or          awesome. Or both. And we CUT TO:                                   INT GUS'S CAR - LATER          Hazel is terrified. Turns out, Gus is the world's worst          driver. When he brakes, her body flies forward against the          seatbelt. And when he hits the gas, seconds later, her neck          snaps back in the seat. Gus sees the look on her face.                          GUS           I failed the test a couple times.                          HAZEL           You don't say.                          GUS           Most amputees can drive with no           problem but... yeah. Not me.                          HAZEL           I'm surprised you have a license.                          GUS           Tell me about it!          Another brake forces Hazel against the seat belt.                          GUS           The fourth time I took the test...           it was going about how this is           going... and when it was over, the           instructor looks at me and goes,           "your driving, while unpleasant...           is not technically unsafe."                          HAZEL           Aha. Cancer perk.                          GUS           Total cancer perk.          A few beats of silence.                          GUS           So what happened to you?          Hazel takes a deep breath. She's told this story before but          somehow this seems different.           17.                                                   HAZEL           I was 13 when they found it.          And as she speaks, we see it unfold. SMASH CUT TO:                                   INT HOSPITAL BED - FLASHBACK          13-YEAR OLD HAZEL has a biopsy.           HAZEL (V.O.)           Stage IV thyroid cancer.                                   INT OPERATING ROOM - FLASHBACK          13-YEAR OLD HAZEL on the operating table. It's a nightmare.           HAZEL (V.O.)           I had surgery first.                                   INT SEVERAL MORE HOSPITAL ROOMS - FLASHBACK          This poor little girl is taking a beating. And it's just          getting started.          - Radiation treatment.           HAZEL (V.O.)           Then Radiation...          - Having her head shaved by Frannie.           HAZEL (V.O.)           Then Chemo...          - With a PICC line in a chemo chair.           HAZEL (V.O.)           All of which worked for a while.          - A RADIOLOGIST looks at an X-ray. He's not pleased.           HAZEL (V.O.)           And then stopped working.          - 14-Year Old Hazel lies in bed, struggling to breathe.          Frannie runs her fingers through her hair. Dad calls 9-1-1.           HAZEL (V.O.)           And then my lungs started filling           up with water.          - In the ICU, her parents standing over her.           HAZEL (V.O.)           That should have been the end.           18.                                                   FRANNIE           (through the tears)           Are you ready, sweetie?          14-Year Old Hazel nods. Michael can't keep it together any          longer. He completely breaks down.           HAZEL (V.O.)           But it wasn't.                                   INT ICU - THE NEXT MORNING          The sun shines in the room. 14-year old Hazel eats ice chips,          the color has returned to her cheeks.           HAZEL (V.O.)           The antibiotics kicked in. They           drained the fluid from my lungs.           And in time I got better. Stronger.                                   INT YET ANOTHER HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY          Slightly older Hazel is getting more intravenous medication.          It's never ending.           HAZEL (V.O.)           I even found myself in an           experimental trial. You know the           ones that are famous in the           Republic of Cancervania for not           working.          - A SECOND RADIOLOGIST examines a second X-ray.           HAZEL (V.O.)           It's called Phalanxifor. Didn't           work in over 70 percent of patients           but, for some reason...          The Radiologist looks surprised.           HAZEL (V.O.)           ...it worked in me. They called it           "The Miracle."          And finally, BACK TO:                                   INT GUS'S CAR - SAME          Gus has one eye on the road, the other on Hazel. He was          impressed with her before. He's totally dazzled now.                          HAZEL           Tumors shrank, my mets have hardly           grown since...                          (MORE)           19.                          HAZEL (CONT'D)           Of course my lungs still suck but,           theoretically, they could continue           to suck in just this way for, I           dunno, a while maybe.                          GUS           Wow.                          HAZEL           Yeah.                          GUS           So are you back in school or...?                          HAZEL           Can't.                          GUS           Why not?                          HAZEL           Got my GED.                          GUS           A college girl! Well that explains           the aura of sophistication...          He smiles at her. She smiles back. Shoves his upper arm          playfully. They're easing into each other.          Eventually Gus's car pulls into his driveway.                          GUS           We're here.          He's as good at parking as he is at driving. CUT TO:                                   EXT/INT GUS'S HOUSE - SAME          Hazel follows Gus inside. She quickly notices all sorts of          engraved plaques and framed signs with phrases like "Home is          Where the Heart Is" and "True Love is Born from Hard Times."          Hazel looks at Gus quizzically.                          GUS           My parents call them           "encouragements."           (rolling his eyes)           Don't ask.          Gus's MOM and DAD (40s) are in the kitchen making dinner.                          GUS           Hey guys.                          GUS'S MOM           Augustus, hi. New friend?           20.                                   Gus's parents don't seem surprised to see Gus with some          random girl in their house. Hazel takes note of that.                          GUS           This is Hazel Grace.                          HAZEL           It's just... Hazel.                          GUS'S DAD           How's it going, Just Hazel?                          GUS                          (ABRUPTLY)           Downstairs if you need us!          Gus drags Hazel to the next room. As she's pulled:                          HAZEL           Nice to meet you!          They walk down the carpeted stairs - Gus having an easier          time with his one leg than Hazel is with her oxygen tank and          weak lungs.          Eventually they arrive at Gus's basement bedroom. There's a          TV with a video game console, a few band posters, and a whole          host of basketball memorabilia (autographed sneakers, school          trophies, framed images etc.) Gus sees her looking at them.                          GUS           I used to play.                          HAZEL           Must have been pretty good.                          GUS           These are mine. And these. The rest           of it's just cancer perks.          Gus grabs a DVD from his stack of DVDs. Hazel sits down on          the bed, her breathing noticeably heavier.                          HAZEL           Need to sit.          Gus sits down next to her on the bed.                          HAZEL           Don't get any ideas.           (catching her breath)           All that standing... and stairs...           and then more standing... lotta           standing for me.                          GUS           I understand.           21.                                                   HAZEL           I'll be fine in a minute. Unless I           faint. I'm a bit of a Victorian           lady, fainting-wise.          Gus smiles. He waits for her breathing to slow down. In time:                          GUS           You ok?          Hazel nods, smiles.                          GUS           So what's your story?                          HAZEL           I already told you my story. I was                          DIAGNOSED --                          GUS           Not your cancer story. Your story.           Interests, hobbies, passions, weird           fetishes...                          HAZEL           Um...                          GUS           Don't tell me you're one of those           people who becomes their disease.                          HAZEL           No. I'm just... I don't know... un-           extraordinary.                          GUS           I reject that out of hand.           (beat, Hazel shrugs)           Think of something you love. First           thing that comes to mind.                          HAZEL           "An Imperial Affliction."                          GUS           Ok. What's that?                          HAZEL           It's a novel. My favorite novel.                          GUS           Does it have zombies?                          HAZEL                          (LAUGHING)           What? No.                          GUS           Stormtroopers.           22.                                                   HAZEL           Seriously?                          (HE SHRUGS)           It's not that kind of book.                          GUS           Sounds horrible.                          HAZEL           It's not, it's... kind of my bible           actually.                          GUS           Interesting. What's it about?                          HAZEL           Cancer.           (off his look)           But not in that way, trust me. The           guy who wrote it, Peter Van Houten,           he's... well, the only person I've           ever come across who seems to a)           understand what it's like to be           dying and b) not have died.                          GUS                          (INTRIGUED)           In that case... I am going to read           this horrible book with the boring           title that does not contain zombies           or stormtroopers. And in           exchange...          Gus pulls a book from his bookshelf.                          GUS           ... all I ask is that you read this           brilliant and haunting novelization           of my favorite video game.          Hazel looks at the slim, ridiculous novella. She laughs.          She's adorable when she laughs. She takes the book from him          and as she does, their hands get tangled together for a          brief, charged moment.                          GUS           Your hands are cold.                          HAZEL           Not so much cold as under-           oxygenated.                          GUS           Ooh Hazel Grace...                          (BEAT)           I love it when you talk medical to           me.          Hazel blushes. And off her completely smitten smile, CUT TO:           23.                                   INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - ANOTHER NIGHT          Hazel sits in bed reading Gus's novella. Frannie stands in          the doorway, notices the new book.                          FRANNIE           That's different.          Hazel shrugs. Frannie looks intrigued.                          FRANNIE           Did he give it to you?                          HAZEL           By "it" do you mean herpes?          Frannie rolls her eyes. Hazel's phone buzzes. She excitedly          checks it - only to be disappointed. Frannie notices.                          FRANNIE           I'm sure he'll call, don't worry.                          HAZEL           I'm not worried. Please. It's not           like I'm waiting for him to call or           anything. I just... we hung out. No           big deal.          Frannie says nothing to that. Her silence says it all. Hazel          rolls her eyes. CUT TO:          QUICK SERIES OF SCENES:          Hazel continues "not to wait" for Gus's call. We see her:          - Brushing her teeth. And checking her phone.          - Watching TV. And checking her phone.          - Eating breakfast. And checking her phone.          - Looking out the window on a rainy day. Trying not to check          her phone. Willing herself to not check the goddamn phone.          And checking the phone.          Where is he?! Did he forget about her?                                   INT HAZEL'S DINING ROOM - NIGHT          Hazel at the dinner table with her parents. She's a little          sullen, barely touching her food.          Hazel's phone buzzes. She tries not to seem too eager to          check it, what with her parents watching and all. She subtly          looks down at her lap. And sure enough: a text from Gus! Her          eyes bug out. We see:           24.                                   "Tell me my copy is missing the last ten pages or something."          Hazel smiles. Goes back to eating. Frannie and Michael share          a quick glance. A second later, there's a follow-up text.          "Tell me I have NOT reached the end of this book!"          Hazel smiles again.          And then a third text:          "A BOOK CAN"T END IN THE MIDDLE OF A SENTENCE?! WHAT IN GOD'S          NAME IS THIS MADNESS! AAAAHHHH!"          Hazel now laughs out loud. Michael clears his throat. Hazel          looks up.                          MICHAEL           Would you like to be excused?                                   EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - BACKYARD - MOMENTS LATER          Hazel sits down on a patio chair and dials the phone. Gus          answers on the first ring.           GUS (O.S.)           Hazel Grace.                          HAZEL           Welcome to the sweet torture of           reading "An Imperial --"          At which point she hears a loud WAIL coming from the other          end of the phone.                          HAZEL           What the -- are you ok?           GUS (O.S.)           Me? Yeah. I'm excellent.          INTERCUT between Hazel on the patio and:                                   INT GUS'S BASEMENT BEDROOM - SAME          Isaac's head is buried in Gus's couch. He's wailing like a          banshee, having some kind of nervous breakdown.                          GUS                          (INTO PHONE)           I am, however, with Isaac.          Hazel hears more wailing. Has no idea what to make of it.           25.                                    GUS (O.S.)                          (TO ISAAC)           Dude! Hey! Does Support Group Hazel           make this better or worse?          Hazel genuinely has no idea what the hell is going on.                          GUS           Isaac! Focus. On. Me.          Hazel waits a few beats for Gus to come back on. Finally:           GUS (O.S.)                          (TO HAZEL)           How fast can you get here?          Hazel thinks about this. And on her face, CUT TO:                                   INT GUS'S BASEMENT - LATER          Hazel descends the steps. She hears an ungodly moan before          she sees anyone. What has she gotten herself into? Gus          appears at the base.                          GUS           (calling to Isaac)           Isaac, Hazel from Support Group is           coming downstairs.          Gus waits for a response. None comes. He gestures for her to          follow him into the room. Before he does:                          GUS           A gentle reminder: Isaac is in the           midst of a psychotic episode.                          (HAZEL NODS)           You look nice, by the way.          Hazel blushes, follows Gus into the room to find Isaac          sitting upside down in a gaming chair. Tears are flowing down          his reddened cheeks. Empty soda cans and bags of junk food          lie around him.                          HAZEL           How ya doing Isaac?          Again, no response. Hazel looks to Gus for an explanation.                          GUS           Seems Isaac and Monica are no           longer a going concern.                          HAZEL           Oh I'm sorry.                          (BEAT)           Do you want to talk about it?          Isaac starts to sob again.           26.                                                   GUS           He just wants to cry and play video           games.                          HAZEL           Fair enough.                          GUS           It doesn't hurt to talk to him,           however. If you have any sage words           of feminine advice...                          HAZEL           I actually think his response is           appropriate.                          GUS           "Pain demands to be felt."                          HAZEL           (lights up at that)           You're quoting my book!          Gus winks at her. At which point, Isaac lets out another          howl. Gus gestures for Hazel to sit. The two of them flank          Isaac. He finally speaks.                          ISAAC           She didn't want to do it after the           surgery. Said she couldn't handle           it. I'm about to lose my eyesight           and she can't handle it.          Hazel rubs his shoulder in sympathy.                          ISAAC           I kept saying "always" to her.           Always, always, always. And she           just kept talking over me and not           saying it back. It was like I was           already gone, you know? "Always"           was a promise! You can't break           promises.                          HAZEL           Sometimes people don't understand           the promises they're making when           they make them.                          ISAAC           Right, sure, but you keep the           promise anyway. That's what love           is. Love is keeping the promise           anyway.                          GUS           That could be an "encouragement."          It's silent for a beat. And then Isaac stands up, a funny          look on his face.           27.                                                   GUS           Isaac...?          Suddenly Isaac starts kicking his chair across the room.                          GUS           Here we go...          The chair lands against the bed. Gus hands Isaac something          else to throw, a pillow. Isaac grabs the pillow and slams it          against the wall. He dives on it and beings pummeling the          pillow like a maniac.                          GUS           That's it! Punch that thing.          And so he does. As he continues to, Gus looks at Hazel,          cigarette dangling from his mouth.                          GUS           I've been wanting to call you on a           nearly minutely basis but I have           been waiting until I could form a           coherent thought in re: "An           Imperial Affliction."                          (SHE SMILES)           I can't stop thinking about it.                          HAZEL           I know, right?                          GUS           The only problem is the ending.                          HAZEL           It is rather abrupt.                          GUS           It's torture! I mean, I totally get           that she died or whatever - Anna.           But there is an unwritten contract           between author and reader and I           think ending your book in the           middle of a sentence kind of           violates that contract.                          HAZEL           But that's part of what I like           about it. It portrays death           truthfully. You die in the middle           of your life, in the middle of a           sentence. But I do - God, I do want           to know what happens to everyone           else.                          GUS           Yeah like her Mom.                          HAZEL           The Dutch Tulip Man...           28.                                                   GUS           Sysiphus the Hamster...          Hazel beams. Gus totally gets the book. A bond between them.                          GUS           Have you tried contacting this...           Peter Van Houten?                          HAZEL           I've written letters. He's never           responded. Apparently he moved to           Amsterdam, became a recluse. Hasn't           published anything. Doesn't do           interviews.                          GUS           Sad.                          (BEAT)           Hang on.           (turns to Isaac)           Isaac!          Gus stands and takes the pillow out of Isaac's hand.                          GUS           Pillows don't break.          Gus hands Isaac one of his basketball TROPHIES.                          GUS           You need to break something.          Isaac looks at it, then back to Gus as if asking permission.          Gus nods. Isaac holds it over his head and SMASH! The trophy          breaks into a million pieces. Isaac almost smiles. Gus hands          him another.                          GUS           Go to town, my friend.          And Isaac does. Smashing them one by one. Hazel looks at Gus.                          GUS           I've been looking for a way to tell           my Dad that I kinda hate           basketball. Think maybe we've found           it.          Isaac grabs more of the TROPHIES, smashing them to pieces.          Gus and Hazel enjoy the spectacle. When there are none left          Isaac is panting, standing over the bronze carnage.                          GUS           Feel better?          Isaac thinks about it. Shakes his head no. Gus puts his arm          around him but looks at Hazel.           29.                                                   GUS           That's the thing about pain... it           demands to be felt.          Hazel smiles. And on her face, we CUT TO:                                   INT LANCASTER HOUSE - DINING ROOM - ANOTHER NIGHT          Where Hazel is having dinner with her parents.                          FRANNIE           Dr. Maria called today. The PET           Scan is set for the eighth.          Hazel nods. This could be a source of worry but she's not          going to think about that right now. She's upbeat. And she's          actually eating, which her parents can't help but notice.          Frannie and Michael look at one another, pleased.                          FRANNIE           I told you Support Group was a good           idea.          Hazel's phone buzzes. "Augustus." She looks to her parents.                          MICHAEL           By all means.                                   EXT HAZEL'S BACKYARD - MOMENTS LATER          Hazel lays on the grass in her backyard staring up at the          stars. She rings him back and as she does SPLITSCREEN w/          Hazel in the grass and:                                   INT GUS'S BASEMENT BEDROOM - SAME          Gus (upside down) in bed, a laptop on his chest.                          GUS           Hazel Grace.                          HAZEL           Hello Augustus.                          GUS           So I read it again. And I just kept           feeling like... like it was a gift.           Like you'd given me something           important.                          HAZEL                          (TOUCHED)           You're welcome.                          GUS           On the other hand... we need           closure, don't we?           30.                                                   HAZEL           What we need is a sequel.                          GUS           Yes. We need to know what happens           to Anna's family after she dies.                          HAZEL           That's what I kept asking Van           Houten for in my letters.                          GUS           But he never wrote back.                          HAZEL           That's correct.                          GUS           Because he's a recluse.                          HAZEL           Yeee-up.                          GUS           Utterly unreachable.                          HAZEL           Unfortunately so.          Gus clears his throat, smiles. Hazel waits.                          GUS           "Dear Mr. Waters... I am writing to           thank you for your electronic           correspondence received this 6th of           April.          Hazel sits up. Could it be...?                          GUS           "I am grateful to anyone who sets           aside the time to read my book..."                          HAZEL           Augustus!?                          GUS           I found his assistant. I emailed           her. She must have forwarded it to           him.           (Hazel is stunned)           Shall I continue?                          HAZEL           Keep reading, keep reading!           31.                                                   GUS           "I am particularly indebted to you,           sir, both for your kind words about           `An Imperial Affliction' and for           taking the time to tell me that the           book, and here I quote you           directly, `meant a great deal' to           you."          Hazel pays attention to every word.                          GUS           "To answer your question: No, I           have not written anything else, nor           will I. I do not feel that           continuing to share my thoughts           with readers would benefit either           them or me. However thank you again           for your generous email. Yours most           sincerely, Peter Van Houten.                          HAZEL           You're making this up?                          GUS           Hazel Grace, could I, with my           meager intellectual capabilities,           make up a letter from the great           Peter Van Houten?                          HAZEL           Holy hell.                          GUS           Indeed.                          HAZEL           Can I... would you mind...                          GUS                          (SMILING)           Go check your in-box.          Hazel jumps up as fast as her lungs will allow. CUT TO:                                   INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT          Hazel sits at her computer, Van Houten's assistant's email          address staring her in the face. The cursor blinks on a blank          page. And then Hazel starts writing...           HAZEL (V.O.)           "Dear Mr. Peter Van Houten, my name           is Hazel Grace Lancaster. My friend           Augustus Waters, who read your book           - at my recommendation - just           received an email from you at this           address. I hope you will not mind           that he shared that email with me."           32.                                   While Hazel reads the letter, we see a SERIES OF SCENES          showing the next several days. They include:          - Hazel and Gus drinking coffees at a cafe. He's          enthusiastically telling a story and she's enjoying every          moment of it.          - Hazel helping Gus become a better driver. It's no use.           HAZEL (V.O.)           "I was wondering if you wouldn't           mind answering a few questions I           have about what happens after the           end of the book. Specifically, the                          FOLLOWING:"          - In his kitchen, laughing, trying to make omelettes.           HAZEL (V.O.)           "Does Anna's Mom marry the Dutch           Tulip Man; is the Dutch Tulip Man           up to something - or is he just           misunderstood? What happens to           Anna's friends?          - Watching TV. Their bodies almost touching. But not quite.           HAZEL (V.O.)           Lastly, I was hoping you could shed           some light on Sisyphus the Hamster.           These questions have haunted me for           years. And I don't know how long I           have left to get answers to them."          And finally, back in Hazel's bedroom. She finishes reading          this letter into the phone.                          HAZEL           "I know these are not important           literary questions and that your           book is full of important literary           questions, but I would just really           like to know."          INTERCUT w/ Gus bouncing a ball against the wall, listening.                          HAZEL           (reading it aloud to him)           "And of course, if ever you do           decide to write anything else, even           if you don't want to publish it,           I'd love to read it. Frankly, I'd           read your grocery lists. Yours with           great admiration, Hazel Grace           Lancaster. Age 16."                          GUS           Not bad.           33.                                                   HAZEL           You think?                          GUS           Bit pretentious. But then again,           Van Houten uses words like           "tendentious" and... "bacchanalia"           so I think he'll like it.          Hazel smiles, looks at a clock.                          HAZEL           Is it really almost 1?                          GUS           Guess so.                          HAZEL           I gotta get to sleep.                          GUS           Ok...                          HAZEL           Ok...          Neither one of them want to hang up the phone.                          GUS           Ok...                          HAZEL           Ok...          They both laugh at this.                          GUS           Perhaps "ok" will be our "always."          Hazel smiles.                          HAZEL           Ok.                          GUS           Ok.                          HAZEL           Ok.          Gus hangs up. We stay with Hazel. Is it really possible this          Beautiful Boy likes her? She thinks about it. She's not          convinced. CUT TO:                                   INT HOSPITAL - RECOVERY ROOM - DAY          Isaac lies in bed, bandages covering his eyes, now officially          blind. A NURSE attends to him while Hazel sits by his side.           34.                                                   ISAAC           She hasn't even visited. Fourteen           months we were together. What kind           of person...                          ISAAC'S NURSE           You'll get over her Isaac. Just           takes a little time. You'll see.          The Nurse exits the room.                          ISAAC           Is she gone?                          HAZEL           Yeah.                          ISAAC           Did she really just say "you'll           see?"                          HAZEL           (shakes her head)           Qualities of a Good Nurse. Go.                          ISAAC           Doesn't pun your disability.                          HAZEL           Gets blood on the first try.                          ISAAC           That is huge. I mean, seriously, is           this my freakin' arm or a           dartboard? Three - no condescending           voice.                          HAZEL           (lays it on thick)           "I'm gonna stab you with this           needle now, so there might be a           little ouchie."          They laugh and then lapse into silence for a moment.                          HAZEL           You doing alright, Isaac?                          ISAAC           I don't know. To be honest, I think           a hell of a lot more about Monica           than my eye. Is that crazy? That's           crazy.                          HAZEL           It's a little crazy.           35.                                                   ISAAC           But I believe in love, you know? I           don't believe that everybody gets           to keep their eyes or not get sick           or whatever, but everybody should           have true love. Don't you think?          Hazel thinks about it as Isaac presses the button on his pain          pump, self-administering morphine.                          ISAAC           Gus was here earlier.                          HAZEL           (trying to be nonchalant)           Was he?          Isaac exhales as the pain pump starts to kick in.                          ISAAC           Mmm... that's better.                          HAZEL           The pain?           (off his slow nod)           Good. Good, Isaac.           (Isaac closes his eyes)           What about Gus?          But Isaac is already asleep. Whatever he was going to say          about Gus is gone. Hazel nods, pats his hand. CUT TO:                                   INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - MORNING          Hazel rolls out of bed, stumbles to her computer. She          casually checks her in-box and is shocked to discover - he's          written her back!                          HAZEL           Holy shit!                          (READING ALOUD)           "Dear Ms. Lancaster... I cannot           answer your questions, at least not           in writing, because to do so would           constitute a sequel, which you           might publish or otherwise share on           the internet. Not that I don't           trust you, but how could I trust           you, I barely know you."          Hazel's jaw hangs open as she reads the next part:                          HAZEL           "Should ever you find yourself in           Amsterdam, do pay a visit at your           leisure. Yours most sincerely,           Peter Van Houten" Son of a - WHAT           IS THIS LIFE!!!           36.                                   Frannie races in, clearly expecting a health problem.                          FRANNIE           What's wrong?!                          HAZEL           (realizing she scared her)           Nothing. Sorry.                          FRANNIE                          (CONFUSED)           Nothing?                          HAZEL           Everything! Look!          Hazel shows Frannie the note. Frannie reads it.                          HAZEL           Can we go to Amsterdam? Please?          Frannie thinks about how to respond for a beat.                          FRANNIE           Hazel, I... I love you and... you           know I'd do anything for you, but           we don't...                          (PAINED)           We don't have the money. The           expense of getting equipment over           there - love, it's just not           possible...                          HAZEL                          (DEFLATES)           No, yeah, of course.          Clearly Frannie feels awful. Which makes Hazel feel awful.                          FRANNIE           I mean, I could talk to your father                          OR --                          HAZEL           Mom, no. Please. Don't do anything.           Forget I mentioned it.          A beat between them. Frannie walks out, sadly. Hazel sits on          the bed, totally bummed now for two reasons.           HAZEL (V.O.)           Guilt is definitely a side effect           of cancer.                                   EXT SUBURBAN STREET - LATER          Hazel and Gus walk together on the sidewalk.           37.                                                   GUS           Just use your wish.                          HAZEL           I've used it already. Pre-           "Miracle."                          GUS           What'd you do?          Hazel doesn't want to say. Gus realizes.                          GUS           Not Disney.                          HAZEL           I was 13...                          GUS           Tell me you did not go to Disney           World.           (Hazel looks away)           Hazel Grace! You did not use your           one dying Wish to go to Disney           World!                          HAZEL                          (FEEBLE)           And Epcot Center.                          GUS           (hands in the air)           Oh my God!                          HAZEL                          (DEFENDING HERSELF)           We had fun on that trip.                          GUS           That is the saddest thing I've ever           heard!                          HAZEL           I met Goofy...                          GUS           Now I'm embarrassed.                          HAZEL           Why are you embarrassed?                          GUS           How can I have a crush on a girl           with such cliche wishes?                          HAZEL           Wait, what?          The word "crush" has taken Hazel totally by surprise.           38.                                                   GUS           What?          She looks at him. A beat. She quickly looks away, blushing.          Gus continues on about Disney but all Hazel can think about          is "CRUSH". She tries not to seem too excited. CUT TO:                                   INT PET SCAN ROOM - DAY          Hazel, in a hospital gown, is slowly fed through the machine.          A TECH explains that she should hold still, try and relax,          etc. But Hazel knows. She knows all about these procedures.          She's a pro. CUT TO:                                   EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - FRONT          Gus is waiting on the front stoop when Frannie's car pulls          up. They're home from the hospital.          He wears an Indiana Pacers JERSEY and carries a bouquet of          bright orange TULIPS.          Michael gets out of the passenger's seat to help Hazel out of          the car. Gus rises to assist them.                          MICHAEL           Is that a Rik Smits jersey?                          GUS           It is indeed.                          MICHAEL                          (BEAT)           Man, I loved that guy.          Hazel sees Gus, wasn't expecting him.                          HAZEL           Gus?                          GUS           Hi Hazel.                          (BEAT)           How would you like to go on a           picnic?                                   INT HAZEL'S LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER          Gus is with Frannie and Michael downstairs.                          FRANNIE           Something to drink?                          GUS           I'm great Mrs. Lancaster.           39.                                   Meanwhile, upstairs, Hazel gets ready for the date. She's put          the orange flowers in a toothbrush holder and is putting on          LIP GLOSS. She can faintly hear the conversation downstairs.          ANGLE ON Gus sitting on the stairs. Michael next to him.                          MICHAEL           You're a survivor yourself?                          GUS           (taps his leg)           Didn't cut this fella off for the           hell of it. Though it is an           excellent weight-loss strategy.           Legs are heavy!                          MICHAEL           How's your health now?                          GUS           N-E-C for fourteen months.                          MICHAEL           That's fantastic.                          GUS           I'm very lucky.          ANGLE ON Hazel, checking herself out in the mirror. Seems to          like what she sees a lot more than before.          BACK ON Gus and Michael, downstairs:                          MICHAEL           Son, you have to understand...           Hazel's still pretty sick. She will           be the rest of her life.          ANGLE on Hazel, who can hear all of this. She stops what          she's doing and listens.                          MICHAEL           She'll want to keep up with you -           she's that kind of girl - but the           truth is, her lungs --                          HAZEL           You ready Gus?          Hazel appears, silencing her Father mid-sentence. CUT TO:                                   EXT PARK - LATER          Behind the Indianapolis Museum of Art is 152 Acres of Gardens          and Grounds. Hazel and Gus walk together.                          HAZEL           Is this where you bring all your           romantic conquests?           40.                                                   GUS           Every last one.                          (BEAT)           Probably why I'm still a virgin.          Hazel laughs, elbows him.                          HAZEL           You're not a virgin.           (off his look)           Are you really?          Gus picks a STICK up from the dirt. Draws a BIG CIRCLE in it.                          GUS           See this? This circle is virgins...          Now Gus draws a much smaller circle inside that circle.                          GUS           And this... is 17 year old dudes           with one leg.          Hazel laughs. Point made. He grabs her hand, helps her walk          up a tiny hill. Once up there, Gus lays a blanket on the          ground. They sit, looking out over a rather odd SCULPTURE - a          set of GIANT WHITE BONES where children can jump and play.                          GUS                          (EXPLAINING)           "Funky Bones" by Joep Van Lieshout.                          HAZEL           He sounds Dutch.                          GUS           And he is. Much like Rik Smits. And           tulips.          Hazel raises an eyebrow at Gus. He's sure taking this          Amsterdam/Dutch thing pretty far. He removes some sandwiches          and orange juice out of a basket.                          GUS           Sandwich?                          HAZEL           Let me guess --                          GUS                          (NODS)           Dutch cheese. And tomato.           (she takes one)           The tomatoes are Mexican. Sorry.          They eat for a second, their eyes watching the children play          on the bones.           41.                                                   GUS           How cool is that? A skeleton being           used as a playground.                          HAZEL           You do love your symbols.                          GUS           Speaking of which...          Gus stands up, takes a cigarette, puts it in his mouth. He          clears his throat.                          GUS           You're probably wondering why           you're sitting here eating a bad           cheese sandwich and drinking orange           juice with a guy in a Rik Smits           jersey.                          HAZEL           It has crossed my mind.                          GUS           Hazel Grace, like so many before           you - and I say this with great           affection - you spent your Wish...           moronically.                          HAZEL           I was thir--                          GUS           Hush! I'm in the midst of a grand           soliloquy here.                          HAZEL           Sorry. Please, continue...                          GUS           You were young. Impressionable. The           Grim Reaper staring you in the           face. And the fear of dying with           your one true Wish left ungranted           led you to rush into making one you           didn't really want, for how could           little Hazel Grace, having never           read "An Imperial Affliction" ever           know that her one TRUE wish was to           visit Mr. Peter Van Houten in his           Amsterdamian exile.          Hazel nods in agreement.                          GUS           If you were smart, you would have           saved your wish til the time in           your life when you really knew your           true self.           42.                                   Gus stops talking. Hazel is confused.                          HAZEL           But I... didn't save it.          Gus smiles.                          GUS           Good thing I saved mine.          Hazel cocks her head to one side. What is he talking about?                          GUS           Got it in exchange for the leg.                          (BEAT)           And I still have it.          She starts to realize.                          HAZEL           Are you saying --                          GUS           I'm not gonna give you my Wish or           anything. But I too have an           interest in meeting Peter Van           Houten and it wouldn't make much           sense to meet him without the girl           who introduced me to his book, now           would it?           (Hazel's eyes widen)           I talked to the Genies and they're           in total agreement.                          (BEAT)           We leave on May third.          Hazel is so excited that she grabs Gus and pulls him into a          hug. Their faces close, lips inches apart, and just when it          looks like something might happen --                          HAZEL           Wait a minute.                          (BEAT)           Are you only doing this so I'll           kiss you?          A beat. Gus blinks a few times.                          HAZEL           Cause I'd totally kiss you either           way.          And kiss him she does. He's surprised. And when it's over,          they sit back, look at one another. A magic moment.                          HAZEL           Seriously... why are you doing           this?           43.                                                   GUS           Because Hazel Grace... I found my           Wish.          And Hazel is beyond touched. We hear:                          FRANNIE (OVERLAP)           Are you out of your mind?                                   INT HAZEL'S UTILITY ROOM - DAY          Frannie folds laundry while Hazel pleads her case.                          FRANNIE           It's too much, Haze. We can't           accept something like that from a           virtual stranger.                          HAZEL           He's not a stranger.                          FRANNIE           Really?                          HAZEL           Don't be gross.                          FRANNIE           It's still "no," I'm afraid.                          HAZEL           Can we at least ask Dr. Maria?                                   INT DOCTOR'S OFFICE - ANOTHER DAY          Where Hazel's oncologist DR. MARIA shakes her head.           DR. MARIA           That's out of the question.                          HAZEL           You said the PET scan was           encouraging!           DR. MARIA           The PET scan is encouraging. We           just don't know how long it'll stay           that way. What if you get sick in a           foreign country?                          HAZEL           They have doctors in Amsterdam. And           cancer. Someone will know what to           do.           44.                                    DR. MARIA           Be that as it may, without someone           familiar with your particular case,           I can't --                          HAZEL           (turns to her Mom)           So you'll come too.                          FRANNIE           What?                          HAZEL           The Genies can hook it up. They're           loaded.                          FRANNIE                          I --                          HAZEL           You've never been to Amsterdam,           have you Mom?          And judging from her face, seems she'd kinda like to. Dr.          Maria looks at Frannie, shrugs - kid's got a point.          Hazel smiles. And on that smile, we SMASH CUT TO:           BLACK.          Over which, we HEAR:           HAZEL (V.O.)           And then this happened.                                   INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT          [Note: There's no sound in this sequence. Just images.]          Hazel wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, shaking          and holding her head.          Frannie and Michael burst in. Mom grabs her crying daughter,          frightened beyond belief, waves to Michael to call for help.           HAZEL (V.O.)           People talk about the courage of           cancer patients. And I do not deny           that courage...          He leaves the room to do so and Fran stays behind, rocking          with her daughter, promising her it'll all be ok. Whatever          nightmare this is, it's going to end. CUT TO:                                   INT FRANNIE'S CAR - MOMENTS LATER          Still silent. Michael drives, trying to keep it together.          Frannie's in the back with Hazel's head in her lap.           45.                                   Hazel continues to scream in silence, whether from pain or          terror, we do not know.           HAZEL (V.O.)           I'd been poked and stabbed and           poisoned for years and still I trod           on.                                   INT EMERGENCY ROOM - MOMENTS LATER          Michael carries Hazel into the chaotic emergency room.          They're practically running. There's still no sound.           HAZEL (V.O.)           But make no mistake...          The doctors rally to assist the screaming, crying child.          She's wheeled away from her family who can only watch. We          stay with her and WE HEAR:           HAZEL (V.O.)           In that moment I would have been           very, very happy to die.          END SEQUENCE.                                   INT HOSPITAL ROOM - ICU - MORNING          The sound returns. And it's the sound of a heart monitor.          BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. It's also the sound of a working heart.          Hazel has made it through. Her eyes open. A NURSE is there.                          HAZEL'S NURSE           Hello.                          HAZEL           Hi.                          HAZEL'S NURSE           You're ok, Hazel.          Even Hazel seems surprised by that.                          HAZEL'S NURSE           Would you like to see your parents?          Hazel nods. The Nurse goes to get them. Soon they come          bounding in, crying and kissing her repeatedly. So much          relief. CUT TO:          LATER. Hazel's bed has been raised up so she can talk to her          parents "comfortably."                          FRANNIE           They thought it was a brain tumor.                          MICHAEL           It wasn't - thank god --           46.                                                   HAZEL           So what happened?                          FRANNIE           The usual. Fluid in the lungs,           preventing oxygenation. They put           that in...          There's a TUBE in Hazel's side draining fluid into a plastic          bladder that hangs off her bed.                          FRANNIE           Drained a liter and a half last           night.          (That's a lot of fluid.)                          MICHAEL           The good news is... no tumor           growth. No new tumors in your body.          Hazel nods. That is a relief.                          MICHAEL           We're all so relieved.          Frannie embraces her daughter.                          FRANNIE           This is just a thing Hazel. It's a           thing we can live with.          Hazel nods again. Only in the universe of Hazel Grace          Lancaster is something like this just a thing. Meanwhile:                                   INT HOSPITAL ICU - WAITING AREA - LATER          Here's Gus, his foot tapping nervously on the floor. It's          unclear how long he's been waiting there. He sees Michael          walk down the hall. Races after him.                          GUS           Mr. Lancaster! How's she doing?                          MICHAEL           Better, thank you. Much better.          Gus nods, as relieved as the rest of them.                          GUS           They won't let me in. Family only.                          MICHAEL           I'm sorry --                          GUS           No I get it. Will you just... will           you tell her I was here?           47.                                                   MICHAEL           Of course I will.          Gus smiles. And sits back down. Though he won't get to see          her, he still wants to stay.                          MICHAEL           Gus.          Michael really likes this kid.                          MICHAEL           Why don't you go home, get some           rest?          Gus looks up. That might be for the best. CUT TO:                                   INT HOSPITAL - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAYS LATER          Hazel and her Parents sit at a very large conference table          along with Dr. Maria and THREE OTHER ONCOLOGISTS - her whole          "Cancer Team."                          ONCOLOGIST #1           The great news is... Phalanxifor           continues to control your tumor           growth.                          (BEAT)           The not so great news is we're           still seeing serious problems with           fluid accumulation.                          (BEAT)           So how should we proceed?          Silence. Hazel looks around the room, waits for someone to          answer. No one does.                          HAZEL           Um, I feel like I'm not the most           qualified person to answer that.                          ONCOLOGIST #1           I was talking to Dr. Simmons.          DR. SIMMONS (late 60s, white beard, old school) speaks next.           DR. SIMMONS           It's a strange case. Normally the           tumors start resisting the           treatment. But that hasn't happened           here - yet.          Hazel hears the "yet" the loudest.           DR. SIMMONS           Unfortunately, the drug may be           worsening the edema.           48.                                    DR. MARIA           But if we stopped it entirely,           we're likely to face even graver           dangers.                          MICHAEL           So we're gonna do nothing?           DR. MARIA           That's what we have to decide. The           truth is... very few people have           been on Phalanxifor as long as           Hazel has. We don't really know the           long term effects.          That comforts no one.                          HAZEL           Can't I just get like a lung           transplant or something?          The Doctors look at one another like "who wants to take that          one?" Eventually:           DR. MARIA           You would not be considered a...           strong candidate for a transplant.          Hazel takes that in, nods, tries to pretend it didn't bother          her. Sensitive Michael on the other hand starts to cry a          little bit. He grabs Frannie's hand.           DR. SIMMONS           We're trying to prevent endothelial           growth while at the same time           preventing immunosorbent...          As Dr. Simmons drones on with some cancer gobbledygook,          Hazel's eyes remain firmly fixed on her parents. She hates          what she's doing to them. And seeing them holding hands,          crying but trying not to cry - it jogs a memory. CUT TO:                                   INT HOSPITAL ICU - FLASHBACK          We saw this once before. It looks like the end for 13-year          old Hazel. Her father is weeping off to the side while her          mom stands over her, holding her hand, and asking:                          FRANNIE           (through the tears)           Are you ready, sweetie?          13-year old Hazel nods. The doctors get to work. The          anaesthetic takes hold and Hazel goes under. But not enough.          Cause she totally hears her mother say:                          FRANNIE           I won't be a mom anymore.           49.                                   She falls into her husband's chest. And we're BACK TO:                                   INT HOSPITAL - CONFERENCE ROOM          Hazel comes out of the memory when her parents see her          staring at them. She tries to shake it off. Dr. Simmons is          still talking nonsense when:                          HAZEL           I have a question.           DR. MARIA           Yes Hazel.                          HAZEL           Can I still go to Amsterdam?          Dr. Simmons can't help himself. He laughs. Everyone looks at          him. He clears his throat.           DR. SIMMONS           That would not be wise at this           juncture.                          HAZEL           Why not?           DR. SIMMONS           Excuse me?                          HAZEL           Why not, Dr. Simmons?           DR. SIMMONS                          I --          The doctors are trying to be delicate here.           DR. MARIA           It would... increase some risks --                          HAZEL           So does going to the mall --           DR. MARIA           Yes but an airplane?                          HAZEL           They have oxygen on airplanes.                          FRANNIE                          HAZEL --                          HAZEL           It's my life, right?           DR. SIMMONS           You're Stage IV --           50.                                                   HAZEL           I have this opportunity I may never           have again. If the medicine's           working, I don't see why --           DR. SIMMONS           Because, Hazel.                          (BEAT)           Look, I don't know any other way to           say this... You're just too sick.          And this is like a punch in the gut.           DR. SIMMONS           I'm sorry.          Everyone feels horrible now. Dr. Maria, Frannie and Michael,          and even Hazel. This meeting couldn't have gone worse. And we                         CUT TO:                                   EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY          Hazel parent's bring her home from the hospital. She looks          miserable. It's clear the last few days have been a big          emotional set back. CUT TO:                                   INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - LATER          Her parents tuck her in.                          FRANNIE           We'll be right outside.          Hazel nods. Her phone buzzes. She looks at it. A text from          Gus that reads: "ok?" Hazel looks at it.          And she doesn't write back. CUT TO:                                   INT HAZEL'S KITCHEN - ANOTHER NIGHT          Hazel sits staring at nothing. The house phone rings. Michael          comes in from another room with the phone in hand. Whispers:                          MICHAEL           Gus again.          Hazel thinks about it - silently shakes her head, no. Michael          says into the phone.                          MICHAEL           I'm sorry Gus, she's asleep.          Hazel stands and goes into her bedroom, clearly depressed.           51.                                   INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - LATER          Hazel reads from "An Imperial Affliction." Her phone buzzes          again. "Augustus." It just says "hello?" Again she ignores          it.          And then a second text. She looks at it. "The silence is          deafening." She puts the phone back down.          Hazel's heart breaks. She can't take it anymore. She picks          the phone back up. She texts the following:          "I don't know if you'll understand this but I can't see you          anymore. I mean I want to. I just..."          She thinks about the rest. She writes:          "I'm a grenade."          She sends the text. Waits.          And then there's more to say. She sends a second text.          "When I look at you, all I can see is what I'm going to put          you through. I can't have that. I'm sorry."          She sends that text. Waits.          He writes back.          "Ok."          Hazel reads it. Writes back: "Ok."          A beat. Gus responds: "oh my god, stop flirting with me!"          Hazel smiles - she can't help herself! - but she must. She          gets her emotions in check. Puts the phone away. CUT TO:                                   EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - ESTABLISHING          An ugly day in Indianapolis.                                   INT HAZEL'S HOUSE - SAME          Inside, Hazel is about as miserable as the weather. The sky -          and the circumstances - have cast a grey pall over the day.                                   EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - BACKYARD          Hazel walks out back. Looks up at the clouds, threatening          rain but not yet delivering it. She sits down in the grass,          on the verge of tears. She looks at the old rusty SWING SET          that's been in her backyard for years.           52.                                   And starts to cry. Just for a few brief moments, she lets          herself cry.          Then she wipes the tears. Becomes strong again. And makes a          decision.          Hazel dials her phone. We hear:           GUS (O.S.)           Hazel Grace!                          HAZEL           Hi Augustus.           GUS (O.S.)           Are you crying, Hazel Grace?                          HAZEL           Kind of.           GUS (O.S.)           What's the matter?                          HAZEL           I don't know. I want to go to           Amsterdam. And I want him to tell           us what happens after the book and           I don't want my particular life and           also the sky is making me sad and           there's this old swing set that my           Dad made for me when I was a kid.           It's just... everything.          Hazel is on the verge of losing it again. A few beats of          silence pass by.           GUS (O.S.)           I demand to see this swing set of           tears.          Hazel can't help but smile and we CUT TO:          LATER. Same backyard - only now Hazel is with Gus. Which          makes everything better.          They both look at the swing set.                          GUS           I see your point.                          (BEAT)           That is one sad swing set.          Hazel nudges her head onto his shoulder.                          HAZEL           Thanks for coming over.           53.                                                   GUS           You do realize... trying to keep           your distance from me will in no           way lessen my affection for you.          Hazel says nothing.                          GUS           All efforts to save me from you           will fail.          Hazel looks at him. He's sure not making this easy.                          GUS           Is this about Amsterdam? Cause we                          DON'T --                          HAZEL           It's not about Amsterdam. It's           about me. It's about...                          GUS           Grenades.          Hazel nods.                          GUS           I get it. One day you're going to           explode in a huge ball of fire and           everyone close to you will die in           your wake.                          HAZEL           Exactly.                          GUS           There's already two people in your           life you're going to destroy. Why           add a third to that list. Am I           right?                          HAZEL                          (NODS)           That's why I don't have a hamster.          Gus is silent. He can't argue. They stand there quietly a few          more beats, looking out at the swing set. Until:                          GUS           We have got to do something about           this frigging swing set.                                   INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER          Hazel sits at the computer screen writing a Craigslist post.          Gus stands next to her.           54.                                                   HAZEL                          (TYPING)           "Swing Set Needs Home."                          GUS           "Desperately Lonely Swing Set Needs           Loving Home."                          HAZEL           "Lonely, Vaguely Pedophilic Swing           Set Seeks Butts of Children."          Gus laughs.                          HAZEL           No?          Gus laughs harder. Hazel laughs with him.                          GUS           That's why.          Hazel looks at him, not understanding.                          GUS           In case you were wondering...           that's why I like you.           (beat, off her look)           You're so busy being you that you           have no idea how utterly           unprecedented you are.          Hazel absorbs that. Her feelings for this boy in a tangle.                         CUT TO:                                   EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - BACKYARD          Gus and Hazel watch as a TOWNIE finishes loading the swing          set into the back of his PICK-UP. Gus salutes the swing set          as the truck drives off.          Then he sneaks a quick kiss on Hazel's cheek. She shoots him          a look. Gus throws up his hands.                          GUS           Friendly.          She playfully elbows him away.                                   EXT CHURCH - ANOTHER DAY          Hazel walks with Isaac out of Support Group.                          ISAAC           Do you like him?                          HAZEL           Of course I like him.           55.                                                   ISAAC           But you don't want to hook up with           him?          Hazel doesn't know what she wants.                          HAZEL           It's complicated.                                   INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - DAY          Hazel is at her computer reading a new email from Lidewij          Vliegenthart. Clearly Hazel was not expecting this.           HAZEL (V.O.)           "Dear Hazel, I have received word           via the Genies that you will be           visiting us with Augustus Waters           and your mother beginning on the           4th. A week away! Peter and I are           delighted and cannot wait to --          Hazel is confused. She stands and walks into the hallway.                          HAZEL           Mom?          No response.                          HAZEL           Mom!                          (STILL NOTHING)           MOM!!!          Frannie races out of her room in a towel, dripping wet.                          FRANNIE           What is it, what's wrong?!                          HAZEL           Sorry, I... I didn't know you were           in the shower.                          FRANNIE                          (EXHAUSTED)           Bath. I was just... just trying to           take a bath for five seconds.           What's the matter?                          HAZEL           Did you ever call the Genies to           tell them the trip is off? I just           got an email from Peter Van           Houton's assistant. She still           thinks we're coming.          Frannie purses her lips and squints past Hazel. Clearly          unsure what to say.           56.                                                   HAZEL           What?          Frannie can't keep a straight face.                          FRANNIE           I'm not supposed to tell you until           your father gets home.                          (BEAT)           We're going to Amsterdam.                          HAZEL           (still not believing)           Really...                          FRANNIE           Dr. Maria called last night and           made a convincing case that you           need to live --                          HAZEL                          (YELLING)           I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!          Hazel can't move all that fast to hug her Mom so Frannie          comes to her and they embrace. After:                          FRANNIE           I'm getting back in the tub now.          When she leaves Hazel grabs her cell phone. ANGLE ON IT.          Hazel sends Gus the following text: "STILL FREE MAY 3? :-)"          A moment later Gus responds: "EVERYTHING'S COMING UP WATERS!"          Hazel is over the moon with excitement. She smiles, then          tries to calm herself, knowing it's the best thing.                          HAZEL           (whispering to her lungs)           One week, lungs. Keep your shit           together one more week...                                   INT KITCHEN - ONE WEEK LATER          Luggage waits by the door, including oxygen tanks and medical          equipment. Frannie makes breakfast as Hazel enters, now          dressed and excited for the trip.                          HAZEL           Amsterdam!                          FRANNIE           Amsterdam!          And a moment later Michael joins them.           57.                                                   MICHAEL           Amsterdam!          They're all going crazy with excitement! CUT TO:                                   EXT HOUSE - LATER          Michael finishes loading up the car. Kisses his wife goodbye.          He embraces Hazel. She hugs him back and of course he starts          to cry.                          MICHAEL                          (WHISPERING)           I love you. I'm so proud of you.                          HAZEL           For what?          Michael lets go of her and wipes away his tears. They look at          each other. Unable to help himself, he grabs her for another          hug. Hazel lets him, laughing.                                   INT / EXT CAR - LATER          The car is packed with oxygen tanks, a suitcase for clothes,          another for medicines and back-up medicines just in case etc.          Frannie pulls up to Gus's house. They get out of the car and          head to the front door, buzzing with excitement.          As they get close, they can hear a commotion inside. A          WOMAN'S VOICE yelling something unclear, followed by:           GUS (O.S.)           BECAUSE IT'S MY LIFE, MOM. IT           BELONGS TO ME!          Frannie immediately puts her arm around Hazel and quickly          spins her back to the car.                          HAZEL           Mom?                          FRANNIE           We can't eavesdrop, Hazel.          Back at the car, far out of earshot, they wait. Hazel unsure          what that was about. Frannie politely honks the horn.          A moment later Gus emerges from the house, smiling. A travel          bag over his shoulder and a cigarette dangling from his lips.                          GUS                          (TO FRANNIE)           Always a pleasure to see you ma'am.                          (BEAT)           Hello, Hazel Grace.           58.                                                   HAZEL           Ok...?                          GUS           Ok.                          HAZEL           Ok.          Frannie doesn't know what to make of any of that. She just          says, when they stop and look at her:                          FRANNIE           Amsterdam!                                   EXT AIRPORT - ESTABLISHING          A SKYCAP helps Hazel, Gus and Frannie with all their bags and          equipment.                                   INT AIRPORT - MOMENTS LATER          They wait in line for the security checkpoint. When it's          Hazel's turn she unhooks the plastic nubbins from her nose.          Gus places the oxygen tank on the conveyer belt.          Hazel takes slow, careful steps through the metal detector.          She seems determined to get through this without any help.          But upon reaching the other side it's clear that even these          few steps without oxygen were a struggle.          Hazel holds on to the side of the conveyer belt to steady          herself. As soon as her tank reappears she puts the cannula          back in place. Still light-headed, Hazel closes her eyes and          focuses on her breathing. She catches her mom looking at her,          nervously.                          HAZEL           (with some difficulty)           Amsterdam!                                   INT AIRPORT GATE - LATER          Arriving at the Gate area they draw curious looks from the          OTHER PASSENGERS: Hazel with her oxygen tank, Gus with his          noticeable limp and Frannie helping with the equipment.          A YOUNG COUPLE gets up so that Hazel and Gus can sit.                          HAZEL           Oh that's not necessary.          But they give up their seats anyway. Hazel and Gus take them.          We see various Passengers watching. Hazel ignores the          attention until a LITTLE GIRL (6, cute braids) appears.           59.                                                   LITTLE GIRL           What's in your nose?                          HAZEL           It's called a Cannula. These tubes           give me oxygen and help me breathe.          The GIRL'S MOTHER swoops in, a little frantic.                          GIRL'S MOTHER           Jackie... Oh, I'm sorry.                          HAZEL                          (SINCERE)           No, no. It's alright.                          LITTLE GIRL           Would they help me breathe too?                          HAZEL           I dunno. Wanna try?          Hazel removes her cannula and let's the Little Girl try it.                          LITTLE GIRL           Tickles.                          HAZEL           Right?                          LITTLE GIRL           I think I'm breathing better.                          HAZEL           Well... I'd love to give you my           cannula but... I kinda really need           the help.          The Little Girl nods, hands it back to Hazel, who quickly          reattaches it.                          LITTLE GIRL           Thanks for letting me try it.          They smile at each other before the Little Girl walks back to          her family. She waves. Hazel waves back.           AIRPORT ANNOUNCEMENT (O.S.)           We will now begin pre-boarding           Flight 144 to Amsterdam. For those           passengers in need of extra           assistance...                          HAZEL           I think that's us.           60.                                   INT AIRPLANE - MOMENTS LATER          Hazel sits in the middle with Frannie on the aisle and Gus at          the window. He looks around, antsy.                          HAZEL           Have you never been on a plane           before?          Gus shakes his head, he has not. And he's nervous. He pulls a          cigarette out of his pocket and puts it in his mouth. Within          seconds a FLIGHT ATTENDANT rushes over.                          FLIGHT ATTENDANT           Sir, you can't smoke on this plane.           Or... any plane.                          GUS           (cigarette in his mouth)           I don't smoke.          The Flight Attendant shoots him a look.                          HAZEL           It's a metaphor. He puts the           killing thing in his mouth but           doesn't give it the power to kill           him.                          FLIGHT ATTENDANT                          (NO NONSENSE)           That metaphor is prohibited on           today's flight.          Gus nods and puts the cigarette away.                          PA SYSTEM           "Flight attendants, prepare for           departure."          The engines roar to life and the plane accelerates towards          take off. Gus is getting more worried by the second. He grabs          the arm rest, his eyes wide.                          HAZEL           Ok?          Gus doesn't say it back. Hazel laughs.                          HAZEL           This is what it feels like to ride           in a car with you.          Gus grabs Hazel's hand as the plane lifts off. He looks out          the window - they're flying! - and then back to Hazel.                          GUS           We're flying! Look!          Hazel smiles at his enthusiasm.           61.                                                   GUS           Holy -- look at that?! NOTHING HAS           EVER LOOKED LIKE THAT EVER IN ALL           OF HUMAN HISTORY!          He's adorable at this moment. Hazel can't resist leaning over          to give him a kiss on the cheek.                          FRANNIE           (not looking up from her                          MAGAZINE)           Just so you know, I'm right here.           Sitting next to you. Your mother.                          HAZEL           We're just friends, Mom.                          GUS           She is. I'm not.          Hazel shoots him a look. Gus shrugs - "what, it's the truth."          Hazel just shakes her head. CUT TO:          LATER. Mid-flight, the plane is dark, Frannie's asleep. Hazel          and Gus watch the same gory action movie. Actually, he          watches the movie. She just watches him watch it. He watches          it with gusto.          Hazel continues to watch him. Try as she might, she's falling          in love. CUT TO:          SFX: the PLANE touching down. CUT TO:                                   EXT/ INT AMSTERDAM HIGHWAY - TAXI CAB - MORNING          Hazel, Gus, and Frannie ride in the back of a YELLOW CAB.                          CAB DRIVER           Americans?                          FRANNIE           We're from Indiana.                          CAB DRIVER           Indiana. They steal from the           Indians but the keep the name, yes?          Hazel and Gus share a look.                          HAZEL           Something like that.          Meanwhile, the landscape outside is flat and dusty, with dirt          tracks and the occasional concrete building. In other words,          it looks more like Indianapolis than Holland.                          HAZEL           (to the Driver)           This is Amsterdam?           62.                                                   CAB DRIVER           Yes and no. Amsterdam is like the           rings of a tree. It gets older as           you get closer to the center.          Soon enough, the cab takes an off-ramp and turns a corner and          suddenly, it's as if they're transported - not only to          another universe but to another time as well.          We see MULTI-COLORED ROW HOUSES lined on both sides of a          windy CANAL. HOUSEBOATS float against the edges and everyone          rides BICYCLES down cobblestone streets. They're astounded.                                   INT HOTEL - LATER          Gus helps Hazel and Frannie bring their stuff into the room.          We see a WICKER BASKET of gifts - presents from the Genies -          welcoming their arrival. Hazel, exhausted, sits on the bed.                          GUS           I'll be right down the hall.          Hazel nods, already drifting off to sleep. CUT TO:                                   INT HOTEL ROOM - HOURS LATER          Some time later. Hazel stirs. Her Mom is seated in a sagging,          paisley CHAIR across from the bed reading a TRAVEL GUIDE.                          HAZEL           Good morning.                          FRANNIE           Actually, it's five o'clock.                          HAZEL           How was the park?                          FRANNIE           Never made it.                          HAZEL           Mom!                          FRANNIE           What? I like watching you sleep.          Hazel shoots Frannie a look. Even in an exotic city, her Mom          still can't enjoy herself.                          FRANNIE           I promise I'll do crazy Mom stuff           tonight while you and Gus are at           dinner.                          HAZEL           What do you mean?           63.                                                   FRANNIE           You have reservations at a place           called Oranjee. Mr. Van Houten set           it up. Very fancy according to the           Book. And romantic.                          HAZEL           Mom...                          FRANNIE           I'm just saying...                          HAZEL           A 16 year old girl running free           with an older boy on the streets of           a foreign city famous for its vice           and debauchery... is totally cool           with you. Is that what you're           saying?                          FRANNIE           (beat, excited)           Let's get you dressed!          Hazel just shakes her head. CUT TO:                                   INT HOTEL ROOM - LATER          Frannie opens the door to find Gus in a perfectly tailored          BLACK SUIT, cigarette dangling from his mouth.                          FRANNIE           (calling to the bathroom)           Hazel! Gus is here.                          (TO GUS)           Looking sharp.                          GUS           Thank you ma'am.          A few beats later Hazel emerges from the bathroom. She wears          a knee-length, pale blue SUNDRESS. And she looks...                          GUS           Wow.                          HAZEL           I...                          (BEAT)           Am I under-dressed?                          GUS           You look gorgeous.          Gus offers Hazel his arm. She takes it. They're ready to go.           64.                                   INT/EXT AMSTERDAM - ON THE TRAM - LATER          Hazel and Gus ride the crowded tram through the city. ELM          TREES line the canals, their pale petals blowing into the          wind like a spring snowstorm.          An OLD COUPLE stands to give up their seats - this happens          all the time. Hazel again tries to protest and again it falls          on deaf ears. She and Gus sit. They look out the window onto          the city. Excited. The night just beginning.                                   EXT ORANJEE RESTAURANT - LATER          At the edge of the canal, near an ancient bridge. Hazel and          Gus are shown to a TABLE right next to the water.                          HOSTESS           Your table, Mr. And Mrs. Waters.          Gus pulls out Hazel's chair for her. A WAITER brings them a          bottle of CHAMPAGNE as they sit.                          HOSTESS           The champagne is our gift.          Hazel and Gus look at each other. Is this a dream? The          champagne is poured and Gus raises his glass.                          GUS           Ok.          Hazel raises hers.                          HAZEL           Ok.          They clink glasses and sip.                          HAZEL           Wow that's good.                          WAITER           Do you know what Dom Perignon said           after he invented champagne?                          (BEAT)           `Come quickly,' he said. `I am           tasting the stars!'          Hazel and Gus smile.                          WAITER           Welcome to Oranjee. Would you like           a menu or will you have the chef's           choice?          Gus looks at Hazel. She shrugs.           65.                                                   GUS           The chef's choice sounds lovely.           (the Waiter nods)           And can we get more of this?                          WAITER           We have bottled all the stars for           you this evening, my young friends.          The Waiter leaves. Hazel and Gus look at each other.                          GUS           Thank you for coming to Amsterdam.                          HAZEL           Thank you for letting me hijack           your wish.                          GUS           Thank you for wearing that dress           which is like whoa.          Hazel shakes her head, trying not to smile but unable not to.          The Waiter brings two more glasses of champagne and a plate:                          WAITER           Belgian white asparagus with a           lavender infusion.          Hazel takes a bite.                          HAZEL           Oh my god.                          GUS           Yeah?          Gus takes a bite.                          HAZEL           I mean...                          GUS           That is just...                          HAZEL           There are no words.          Meanwhile, down on the water a BOAT passes, filled with          merry, drinking LOCALS. One of them raises a glass to them          and says something in Dutch.                          GUS                          (SHOUTING BACK)           We don't speak Dutch!                          ANOTHER LOCAL           She says, "the beautiful couple is           beautiful!"           66.                                   Hazel and Gus smile. This night could not be going any better          so far. CUT TO:          LATER. Hazel and Gus enjoying their second courses.                          GUS           I want this dragon carrot risotto           to become a person so I can take it           to Vegas and marry it.          Hazel leans back in her chair, in need of a breather.                          HAZEL           I like your suit.                          GUS           Thanks. First time wearing it.                          HAZEL           That isn't the suit you wear to           funerals?                          GUS           Oh no. That one's not nearly this           nice.           (off her look)           When I first found out I was sick -           I mean, they told me I had like an           85% chance to be cancer-free. Great           odds, sure. But that meant a year           of torture, the loss of my leg, and           still a 15% chance it might fail.                          (BEAT)           So right before the surgery I asked           my parents if I could buy a suit,           like a really nice suit, just in           case I didn't make it.                          HAZEL           It's your death suit.                          GUS           That's what it is.                          HAZEL           I have one of those. Bought it for           my 15th birthday. Don't think I'd           wear it on a date, though.                          GUS           Are we on a date?                          HAZEL           (cocks her head)           Watch it.          Gus winks. CUT TO:          LATER. Dessert on the table. As they euphorically eat:           67.                                                   GUS           God?                          HAZEL           Maybe.                          GUS           Angels?                          HAZEL           Undecided.                          GUS           Afterlife?                          HAZEL           No. Well...                          (BEAT)           Maybe I wouldn't go so far as to           say no. I just... I'd like some           evidence.                          (GUS NODS)           What do you think?                          GUS           Absolutely.                          HAZEL           Really?                          GUS           Oh for sure. I mean, not like a           heaven where you ride unicorns,           play harps, and live in a mansion           made of clouds but, yeah, I believe           in something.          Hazel is surprised.                          GUS           Something becomes of us. It has to.           Otherwise what's the point?                          HAZEL           Maybe there is no point.                          GUS           I refuse to accept that.                          (BEAT)           I won't accept it.          Hazel thinks about it. She appreciates his conviction but is          still not sure she agrees. The hand they've been dealt too          unfair. Hazel looks out at the water as she says:                          HAZEL           I hope you're right.                          GUS           I'm in love with you.           68.                                   That gets her attention.                          GUS           You heard me.                          HAZEL                          AUGUSTUS --                          GUS           I'm in love with you. And I know           that love is just a shout into the           void, and that oblivion is           inevitable, and that we're all           doomed and that there will come a           day when all our labor has been           returned to dust, and I know the           sun will swallow the only earth           we'll ever have, and I am in love           with you.           (shrugs, matter-of-fact)           Sorry.          At which point, the Waiter reappears.                          WAITER           More stars?          Hazel is still too speechless to respond, her eyes fixed on          Gus. Eventually Gus answers for them.                          GUS           Just the check, please.                          WAITER           No, sir.                          (BEAT)           Your meal has been paid for by Mr.           Van Houten.          Gus raises his eyebrows at Hazel. This Van Houten guy is          something else.                                   EXT AMSTERDAM CANALS - LATER          Hazel and Gus on a park bench, his arm around her, looking          out over the water. Seeds blow from the elm trees and the          reflections of the city ripple in the water below them.          Hazel leans into his body, just a little. They stay like          that, savoring the best night of both of their lives. CUT TO:                                   EXT AMSTERDAM - HOTEL - ESTABLISHING          A crisp Spring morning in Amsterdam. The buzz in the air          outside is equalled by the buzz in:           69.                                   INT HOTEL ROOM - SAME          Where Hazel excitedly paces through the room.                          FRANNIE           I really don't get that shirt.          Hazel wears a screen print t-shirt of Magritte's "Ceci N'est          Pas Une Pipe." (A painting of a pipe with words below that          mean "This is not a pipe.")                          HAZEL           Van Houten will get it. Trust me.           There are like fifty Magritte           references in "Imperial           Affliction."                          FRANNIE                          (READING)           "This is not a pipe."                          HAZEL           Exactly.                          FRANNIE           But it is a pipe.                          HAZEL           No it's not. It's a drawing of a           pipe. See?                          (SHE DOESN'T)           All representations of a thing are           inherently abstract. A drawing of a           thing is not the thing itself. Nor           is a t-shirt of a drawing of a           thing the thing itself.          Frannie is still at a loss but she's impressed.                          FRANNIE           When did you get so grown up? I           feel like it was yesterday I was           telling 8-year old Hazel why the           sky was blue. You thought I was a           genius back then.                          HAZEL           Why is the sky blue?                          FRANNIE                          (BEAT)           Because I say so.          A knock on the door. Gus pokes his head in.                          GUS           Who's ready for some answers!           70.                                   EXT. VONDELSTRAAT ROW HOUSES - LATER          Gus and Hazel stand outside Van Houten's white house.                          HAZEL           I'm so excited I can barely           breathe.                          GUS           As opposed to other days...?          She playfully hits him. He takes her arm, picks up the oxygen          tank, and up they go towards his front door.          As they approach, there's a noticeable NOISE coming from          inside the house. It's the deep thump of a BASS BEAT. Loud.          Like, obnoxiously loud.          Hazel grabs the brass ornament and knocks. They wait. There's          no response.                          GUS           Maybe he can't hear over the music?          Gus tries again, this time with more force. Still nothing. He          tries a third time. Finally, the music stops. They wait.          Still excited.          A moment later the door swings open.          It's a MAN IN PAJAMAS (60s), with a huge potbelly, thinning          hair, and a week-old beard. All he says is:           MAN IN PAJAMAS           What?!          Gus and Hazel look to one another. Could it be?                          GUS           Mr. Van Houten?          At which point, the Pajama Man slams the door in their faces.          Hazel and Gus are too stunned to react. Through the closed          door, they hear this:           MAN IN PAJAMAS (O.S.)                          (SHOUTING)           LEEE-DUH-VIGH!           WOMAN'S VOICE (O.S.)           Are they here, Peter?          So it is PETER VAN HOUTEN. Gus and Hazel can't believe it.           MAN IN PAJAMAS (O.S.)           There are two --                          (BEAT)           Who the hell's "they?"           71.                                    WOMAN'S VOICE (O.S.)           They are Augustus and Hazel, the           young fans with whom you've been           corresponding.          Gus and Hazel smile at hearing their names. Perhaps this will          help things take a turn for the better.           MAN IN PAJAMAS (O.S.)           The Americans?           WOMAN'S VOICE (O.S.)           You invited them, remember?           MAN IN PAJAMAS (O.S.)           You know why I left America,           Lidewij? To never have to encounter           Americans. Get rid of them.          Hazel and Gus can't believe it. This is terrible!           WOMAN'S VOICE (O.S.)           I will not do this Peter. Be nice.          At which point, the door opens - opened by the Woman whose          voice they'd been hearing - Van Houten's assistant LIDEWIJ          (30s, Dutch, pretty in a bookish way). She virtually shoves          Van Houten towards a stunned Gus and Hazel.          And they are again face-to-face with Van Houten. One beat,          two beats. No one knows what to say. Finally:                          VAN HOUTEN           Which of you is Augustus Waters?          Gus raises his hand tentatively.          Van Houten sizes them up. Without another word, he turns and          walks inside - at least this time, leaving the door ajar.                          LIDEWIJ           Please. I am sorry. Come in.          Hazel and Gus share one more awkward glance before Gus takes          a step. Hazel follows. They walk:                                   INT VAN HOUTEN'S HOME - SAME          Lidewij leads Gus and Hazel into a living room so sterile          it's creepy. The walls are empty and white, there's a single          couch, a small ottoman, and a single lounge chair. That's it.          Van Houten sits in the chair.          Off to the side are two large black garbage bags, full and          twist-tied.                          HAZEL           Trash?           72.                                                   LIDEWIJ           Fan mail. 18 years worth. He never           opens it.          Van Houten kicks his feet up on the ottoman and crosses his          slippers. He motions for them to sit on the couch.                          VAN HOUTEN           Yours are the first missives to           which I've replied and look where           that got me.          Hazel and Gus take their seats.                          VAN HOUTEN           Scotch?                          HAZEL           Um, no thanks.                          VAN HOUTEN           Augustus Waters?                          GUS           It's 11am.                          VAN HOUTEN           Just me then, Lidewij. Scotch and           soda.                          LIDEWIJ           Perhaps some breakfast first Peter?                          VAN HOUTEN           She thinks I have a drinking           problem.                          LIDEWIJ           I also think the Earth is round.          Nevertheless, Lidewij pours Peter half a glass and hands it          to him. He takes a sip, then sits up straight.                          VAN HOUTEN           So you like my book.                          HAZEL           Yes. We - well, Augustus, he made           meeting you his Wish so that we           could come here and talk to you.          Van Houten says nothing. Takes a long pull on his drink.                          VAN HOUTEN           Did you dress like her on purpose?                          HAZEL           (looks at her shirt)           Kinda.           73.                                   Van Houten says nothing to that.                          VAN HOUTEN           I do not have a drinking problem. I           have a Churchillian relationship           with alcohol: I can crack jokes and           govern England and do anything I           want to do. Except not drink.          He glances over at Lidewij, who dutifully refills his glass.                          GUS           Incidentally, thank you for dinner           last night.                          VAN HOUTEN                          (TO LIDEWIJ)           We bought them dinner last night?                          LIDEWIJ           It was our pleasure.                          VAN HOUTEN                          (SIGHS)           You've come a long way so... what           is it I can do for you?                          HAZEL           We have some questions --                          VAN HOUTEN           Uh-huh...                          HAZEL           About what happens, you know...           after... the end of your book.           Specifically to those who Anna           leaves behind. Like her Mom, the           Dutch Tulip Man, Sisy --                          VAN HOUTEN                          (INTERRUPTING)           How familiar are you with Swedish           hip-hop?          Hazel looks at Gus. Is he kidding?                          HAZEL           I would say... limited?                          VAN HOUTEN           But presumably you know Afasi Och           Filthy's seminal album "Flacken."                          GUS           Um...                          VAN HOUTEN           Lidewij! Play `Bomfalleralla'           immediately.           74.                                   Lidewij sighs but she does as she's told. A few seconds          later, some loud Swedish rap song blasts from the speakers.          Hazel and Gus sit through this, totally baffled.                          HAZEL           (yelling over the music)           I'm sorry, sir. We don't speak           Swedish.                          VAN HOUTEN                          (YELLING)           Who the hell speaks Swedish? The           important thing is not what           nonsense the voices are saying, but           what the voices are feeling.          The song continues another awkward ten seconds or so before          Gus has enough. He gets up and turns off the music.                          GUS           Are you messing with us?                          VAN HOUTEN           Pardon?                          GUS           Is this some kind of performance?                          VAN HOUTEN           Rudolf Otto said that if you had           not encountered the numinous then           his work was not for you. And I say           to you, my friends, if you cannot           hear Afasi Och Filthy's bravadic           response to fearfulness, then my           work is not for you.          Hazel is really getting worried at this point. They came all          this way for this?                          HAZEL           So anyway... when the book ends,           Anna's mom --                          VAN HOUTEN           (raising a hand to silence                          HER)           Let us imagine that you are racing           a tortoise.          Hazel and Gus fidget in their seats. Lidewij frowns, clearly          feeling bad for them. Van Houten continues.                          VAN HOUTEN           The tortoise has a ten yard head           start. In the time it takes you to           run ten yards, the tortoise has           moved maybe one yard. And so on,           forever.                          (MORE)           75.           VAN HOUTEN (CONT'D)           You are faster than the tortoise           but you can never catch him, you           see, you can only decrease his           lead. Now certainly you can run           past the tortoise as long as you           don't contemplate the mechanics           involved but the question of how           turns out to be so complicated that           no one really solved it until           Cantor's proof that some infinities           are bigger than other infinities.          Hazel and Gus have no idea how to respond.                          VAN HOUTEN           I assume that answers your           questions.                          GUS                          (TO HAZEL)           I don't know what's going on.                          VAN HOUTEN           And yet you seemed so intelligent           in print, Mr. Waters.           (under his breath)           Must be all that cancer in your           brain.                          LIDEWIJ           Peter!          Gus could throw a punch right now. Hazel tries to calm the          situation.                          HAZEL           Can we please, maybe, talk about           Anna for a sec? I mean, I           understand that the story ends mid-           sentence because she dies or she           becomes too sick to continue --                          VAN HOUTEN           I'm not interested in talking about           that book.                          HAZEL           - but that doesn't mean her family           and everyone she loves doesn't have           a future, right?                          VAN HOUTEN           I said I'm not interested --                          HAZEL                          (GETTING UPSET)           But you promised!                          (CALMS HERSELF)                          (MORE)           76.                          HAZEL (CONT'D)           Mr. Van Houten, you said you would           tell us what happens and that's why           we're here. We... I need you tell           me. Surely you've thought about it.           I mean, as characters --                          VAN HOUTEN           Nothing happens to them! They're           fictions. They cease to exist the           moment the novel is over.          This is not what Hazel came all this way to hear. She won't          accept it.                          HAZEL           They can't!           (again, has to calm                          HERSELF)           I mean, I understand. In a literary           sense. But it's impossible NOT to           imagine some future --                          VAN HOUTEN           I can't do this. Lidewij, get rid           of them, please.           (Lidewij doesn't move, he           turns back to Hazel)           I won't indulge your childish           whims. I refuse to pity you in the           manner in which you're accustomed.                          HAZEL           I don't want your pity --                          VAN HOUTEN           Of course you do. Like all sick           kids, your existence depends on it.                          LIDEWIJ           Peter!                          VAN HOUTEN           (on a roll)           You are fated to live out your days           as the child you were when           diagnosed, the child who believes           there is life after a novel ends.           And we, as adults, we pity this, so           we pay for your treatments, for           your oxygen machines. We give you           food and water though you are           unlikely to live long enough --                          LIDEWIJ           PETER!                          VAN HOUTEN           You are a side effect of an           evolutionary process that cares           little for individual lives.                          (MORE)           77.           VAN HOUTEN (CONT'D)           You are a failed experiment in           mutation.                          LIDEWIJ           I RESIGN!          Lidewij has tears in her eyes. Gus has balled his fists. But          not Hazel. Van Houten's words have not phased her one bit.          She rises from the couch.                          HAZEL           Hey listen douchepants. You're not           gonna tell me anything I don't           already know about illness. I need           one thing and one thing only from           you before I walk out of your life           and that's for you to tell me what           happens to your goddman characters!                          VAN HOUTEN                          (BEAT)           I cannot tell you.                          HAZEL           Bullshit!                          VAN HOUTEN           I cannot --          Van Houten goes to take a drink but...                          HAZEL           Make something up.          ... Hazel smacks it right the fuck out of his hands,          surprising everyone.          After a beat:                          VAN HOUTEN           Lidewij. I'll have a martini           please.                          LIDEWIJ           I have resigned.                          VAN HOUTEN           Oh don't be ridiculous.          No one moves. Van Houten realizes he's alone in this.                          VAN HOUTEN           I'd like you to leave now.                          HAZEL           You're really not gonna tell us?                          VAN HOUTEN           I would like you... to leave.           78.                                   Hazel is furious. Gus stands next to her, touches her arm is          if to say "come on, enough of this guy." CUT TO:                                   EXT VAN HOUTEN'S HOUSE - SAME          Gus and Hazel come out of the house, practically shaking. As          they get to the street, Van Houten has one more thing to say.                          VAN HOUTEN           Have you ever stopped to ask why           you care so much about your silly           questions?          A beat.                          HAZEL           Go fuck yourself.          Van Houten doesn't have a response to that. He just shuts the          door. And when he does, that's when Hazel gets emotional.                          GUS           Hey. It's ok. It's ok...           (beat, an idea)           I'll write you a sequel.           (she cries harder)           I will. Better than any shit that           drunk could write. With blood and           guts and sacrifice. You'll love it.          Hazel nods, then wipes away tears. She fakes a smile and Gus          gives her a hug. Afterwards:                          HAZEL           I spent your Wish on that asshole.                          GUS           You did not spend it on him. You           spent it on us.          They embrace once more.                          HAZEL           I wanted...                          GUS           I know... I know. Apparently the           world is not a wish-granting           factory.          This gets a real smile from Hazel. That's when Lidewij comes          outside. Clearly she's been crying too.                          LIDEWIJ           I'm so sorry. Circumstance has made           him cruel. I thought meeting you           would help him, if he would see           that his work has shaped real           lives, but... I'm very sorry.           79.                                   Hazel says nothing. Gus holds her in a very protective way.                          LIDEWIJ           Perhaps we can do some sightseeing.           Have you seen the Anne Frank House?                          GUS           I'm not going anywhere with that           monster.                          LIDEWIJ           He is not invited.                                   EXT ANNE FRANK HOUSE - LATER          Lidewij walks back from the ticket kiosk with more bad news.                          LIDEWIJ           I'm afraid there's no elevator.                          HAZEL           Oh, um, that's alright.                          LIDEWIJ           No, there are many stairs. Steep           stairs.                          HAZEL           I can do it.                          GUS                          HAZEL --                          HAZEL           I can do it!          Hazel is not going to stand for any more disappointments          today. They are going inside. CUT TO:                                   INT ANNE FRANK HOUSE - GROUND FLOOR - MOMENTS LATER          A VIDEO plays on a MONITOR showing the Nazi invasion of          Holland. Hazel and Gus stand with Lidewij in a pack of          BACKPACKERS and TRAVELERS about to take the tour. Many of          them begin to walk up the first flight of stairs.                          LIDEWIJ           Shall we?          Hazel nods. Both Hazel and Gus walk slowly up the stairs. So          far so good. They find themselves in an office space.                          LIDEWIJ           This is the bookcase that hid the           Frank family and four others.          The BOOKCASE is half open. Behind it is an even steeper set          of stairs, only wide enough for one person at a time.           80.                                   Some of the Travelers begin to walk up the stairs. Gus looks          at Hazel - are you sure we should continue? She begins the          climb, determined. Lidewij trails behind, carrying her oxygen          tank.          Hazel moves very slowly. We are aware of her labored          breathing the entire time.          ANGLE ON OTHER TOURISTS, watching and quietly commenting.          Just like at the airport, except now in foreign languages.          Hazel arrives on the NEXT FLOOR - an empty room. She's          definitely starting to struggle. She leans against the wall          to catch her breath. Gus comes to her side, wipes her brow.                          GUS           You're a champion.          Hazel smiles. When she's feeling up to it they walk into the          next room, also empty. And another staircase, even more          narrow and steep - practically a ladder. When Gus sees this          he looks at Hazel:                          GUS           That's enough --                          HAZEL                          (RESOLUTE)           I'm ok.          Hazel very slowly begins the climb. Again we're aware of her          every breath. It's dark. And it's becoming very difficult.          Near the top Hazel stumbles but is finally able to pull          herself through.          Once there, she falls to the floor, slumping against the          wall, trying to catch her breath. Gus crouches next to her.                          GUS           We're at the top. That's it.          Hazel becomes aware that TOURISTS look at her with concern.          She smiles, stands up, nothing to see here.          And now they're in the final room - a long, narrow hallway.          This is where Anne Frank and 7 other people lived in hiding          for as long as they could. There's a TIME LINE detailing          their story.                          LIDEWIJ           The only member of the whole family           to survive was Otto, Anne's father.          Gus takes Hazel's hand.                          LIDEWIJ           I don't know how you go on, without           your family.           81.                                   Lidewij stays behind to study part of the exhibit. Gus leads          Hazel into the room at the end of the hallway where a VIDEO          details the last days of Anne Frank's life. Over it, we hear          a YOUNG GIRL's VOICE reading from the diary.          The Travelers stand to watch and listen. Gus and Hazel do the          same. The room is dark.           GIRL'S VOICE (O.S.)           "At such moment's, I don't think           about the misery..."          Gus and Hazel stand very closely together. The video is the          cherry on top of a very emotional day. Hazel watches it.           GIRL'S VOICE (O.S.)           "...but about the beauty that still           remains."          Gus, meanwhile, is just watching Hazel, the same way she          watched him on the airplane. After a beat, she catches him.          Their eyes meet. The emotions build...           GIRL'S VOICE (O.S.)           "Try to recapture the happiness           within yourself. Think of all the           beauty in everything around you...           and be happy."          And Hazel KISSES Gus. A most passionate, intense, you-and-me-          against-the-world kind of kiss, better than any they've          experienced or could even imagine. It seems to last for a          small eternity.          Eventually, they break away and open their eyes. They quickly          notice all the Travelers staring at them. For a brief second,          they wonder if that was a very inappropriate thing to do...          When suddenly everyone starts clapping for them, moved by the          whole thing. One EUROPEAN even shouts "bravo!" Hazel blushes,          Gus smiles, bows, he grabs her hand. CUT TO:                                   INT GUS'S HOTEL ROOM - LATER          They fall onto Gus's bed, kissing. Hazel is very in the          moment and now it's Gus who seems nervous. As they kiss:                          GUS           It's above my knee.          She ignores him, more kissing. She takes off his shirt.                          GUS           It tapers a little and then it's           just skin --                          HAZEL           What?           82.                                   Hazel pulls away from him.                          GUS           My leg.                          (BEAT)           Just so you're prepared --                          HAZEL           Oh get over yourself.          Hazel kisses him again. Now he tries to pull her shirt off          but it gets tangled in with her oxygen tube. He can't figure          it out. Eventually the whole thing is hilarious to them. They          shake their heads - laughing - certainly not your typical          Hollywood movie moment. And yet, for them:                          HAZEL           I love you, Augustus Waters.                          GUS           I love you too, Hazel Grace.          They resume kissing. And we CUT TO:                                   INT HOTEL ROOM - MORNING          Gus wakes up in the bed. He looks around for Hazel but she          isn't there. On the bed is a piece of paper. A note.          It reads: "Dearest Augustus..."          Beneath that is a BIG CIRCLE, labeled "Virgins." And in that          circle is a SMALLER SECOND CIRCLE labeled "17 year old dudes          with one leg." We'll notice part of that circle is now          outside the bigger circle. Gus flashes that signature smile.                                   EXT CAFE - DAY          Hazel and Gus sit with Frannie drinking coffee in the sun at          an outdoor cafe. They're re-enacting yesterday's events.                          HAZEL           "Get up you fat bastard."                          GUS           "I can't stand up, I'm too drunk."                          HAZEL           I said "get up."                          GUS           "Standing is for fools!"                          HAZEL           God, what an asshole.          They both giggle at the whole thing.           83.                                                   HAZEL           It was awful, Mom. You can't           imagine.                          FRANNIE           And then what happened?                          HAZEL           Then we went to the Anne Frank           museum.                          FRANNIE           And after that?          A quick glance between Hazel and Gus.                          HAZEL           We just... walked around.          Hazel and Gus smile, thoroughly in love but trying to keep it          in check in front of her Mother.                          FRANNIE           Sounds lovely.          A few beats later.                          FRANNIE           Listen... I'm gonna stretch my legs           a little. Give the two of you some           time to talk.                          HAZEL                          (THAT'S WEIRD)           Um... ok...          As she stands up to leave, Hazel thinks she catches Gus and          Frannie making eye contact for a brief second. Once Frannie          has left them:                          HAZEL           That was weird.          Gus doesn't respond except to say:                          GUS           Shall we?                                   EXT AMSTERDAM STREET - LATER          They start to walk. Gus takes a cigarette out of his pack,          sticks it between his lips. Hazel notices he's struggling          with something.                          HAZEL           Augustus?           84.                                                   GUS           There's something I have to tell           you...          They walk in silence a few beats.                          GUS           Just before you went into the           hospital... There was this... I           felt this... ache in my hip.          Hazel grabs onto his arm, a lump already forming.                          HAZEL           Oh no...          Gus takes the cigarette out of his mouth, clenches his teeth          tightly, trying not to cry.                          GUS           I had a PET scan.          Gus sits down on a BENCH. Looks up at her. Tries to smile.          Before he even says it, she knows.                          GUS           It lit up like a Christmas tree,           Hazel...                          HAZEL           Oh god.                          GUS           The lining of my chest, my liver...           everywhere.                          HAZEL           Oh my god no!          Hazel loses it in that moment, falling on top of him, hugging          him for dear life, her head in his lap.                          HAZEL           I'm so sorry, Augustus. I'm so so                          SORRY --                          GUS           I'm sorry too --                          HAZEL           It's so unfair --                          GUS           I should have told you --                          HAZEL           It's so fucking unfair!          A beat. Gus still trying not to cry.           85.                                                   GUS           Apparently the world is... not a           wish-granting factory.          And at that point, Gus lets it go, lets himself cry and be          sad and feel awful.          But just for a second. Then he shakes it off, pulls Hazel's          face up to his, tries again to smile through the tears.                          GUS           Don't you worry about me, Hazel           Grace. I'll find a way to hang           around and annoy you for a long           time.          She hugs him, perhaps a little too tightly. He winces.                          HAZEL           Does it hurt?                          GUS           It's ok.                          (BEAT)           I'm ok.                          HAZEL           Ok.                          GUS           Ok.          But of course it's not ok. Not by a mile.          Hazel takes a moment to look at him, touches his cheek.                          GUS           What?                          HAZEL           I'm just... I'm very fond of you.          He grabs her hand and holds it.                          GUS           I don't suppose you can forget           about it, treat me like I'm not           dying.                          HAZEL           I don't think you're dying,           Augustus. You've just got a touch           of cancer.          Gus nods. Squeezes her hand.                          GUS           Would it be absolutely ludicrous to           make out right now?           86.                                   Hazel doesn't answer. She just kisses him, hard. And on the          two of them, so in love, we CUT TO:                                   INT AIRPLANE - LATER          Hazel lays on Gus's shoulder as he stares out the window,          leaving Amsterdam behind.                                   INT INDIANAPOLIS AIRPORT - BAGGAGE CLAIM - DAY          As they ride down the escalator, Hazel sees Michael standing          amongst the livery drivers. He holds a sign that says -          instead of someone's last name - "My Beautiful Family (and          Gus)."          Upon seeing them, he immediately starts to cry of course. He          kisses his wife, gives Hazel a big hug. Gus goes to shake his          hand but Michael hugs him as well. CUT TO:                                   INT HAZEL'S LIVING ROOM - THAT NIGHT          Hazel sits with her father on the couch.                          HAZEL           Gus had a recurrence.                          MICHAEL                          (NODS)           Mrs. Waters told us the night           before you left.                          (BEAT)           I'm sorry Hazel.          They sit for a beat. Tears form in Michael's eyes.                          HAZEL           You're not gonna say it?                          MICHAEL           What's that?                          HAZEL           The usual. "Everything happens for           a reason..."          Michael shakes his head.                          MICHAEL           I don't know, Haze.                          (BEAT)           I always thought being an adult           meant knowing what you believe...                          (BEAT)           ... that has not been my           experience.          Hazel understands exactly. CUT TO:           87.                                   INT GUS'S BASEMENT BEDROOM - DAY          Gus lays in bed, eyes open, a PICC line now being fed through          a port in his chest. Chemotherapy at work.          Hazel and Isaac are keeping him company.                          HAZEL           How are your eyes?                          ISAAC           Great. Wonderful. I mean, they're           not in my head is the only problem.                          GUS           I hate to one-up you but... seems           my entire body is made out of           cancer now, so...          Isaac nods. Tries not to get emotional but it's happening. He          goes to touch Gus's arm and accidentally touches his thigh.                          GUS           Whoa, I'm taken.          Isaac laughs.                          ISAAC           (to Hazel, re: Gus)           Did you write his eulogy yet?          Hazel is confused.                          GUS           Dude.                          ISAAC           What?                          GUS           I haven't asked her.                          ISAAC           Oh.                          (BEAT)           Oops.                          HAZEL           What are you talking about?                          ISAAC           My bad.                          HAZEL                          (STILL CONFUSED)           Augustus?          Gus looks at her, grows a little serious.           88.                                                   GUS           I need speakers at my funeral. I           thought maybe you and Isaac... but           especially you --                          ISAAC           Hey!                          GUS           Would you be kind enough to whip           something up?                          HAZEL           (touches his hand)           It would be an honor.          They hold holds.                          ISAAC           You guys are adorable.          Hazel play slaps Isaac on the arm.                          HAZEL           How's your love life? Anything from           Monica?                          ISAAC           Not a word.                          HAZEL           She hasn't even like, texted to ask           how you're doing?          He shakes his head. Gus gets an angry look on his face.                          HAZEL           That is so messed up!                          ISAAC           I've stopped thinking about it.           Moving on. There's a new girl in           Support Group with these humongous -          Isaac gestures to his chest. Hazel is confused.                          HAZEL           How do you even know that?                          ISAAC           I'm blind but I'm not that blind.                          GUS           Hazel Grace!          They turn to him.                          GUS           Do you happen to have four dollars?           89.                                   No one knows what that means. CUT TO:                                   INT HAZEL'S CAR - LATER          Gus is in the passenger's seat. Isaac sits in the back. Hazel          returns to the car. With a CARTON OF EGGS.                          HAZEL           Ok now what?          Gus smiles. CUT TO:                                   EXT SUBURBAN STREET - MOMENTS LATER          Hazel, Gus, and Isaac lean against Hazel's car staring          something down.                          ISAAC           Is it there?                          GUS           Oh it's there.          REVEAL they're looking at Monica's green Firebird.                          ISAAC           She's in the house?                          GUS           Who cares where she is? This is not           about her. This is about you.           (sticks out his hand)           Hazel...          Hazel nods, opens the egg carton, hands Gus an egg. Gus puts          it in Isaac's hands. Positions Isaac - who, of course, can't          see a thing - towards the Firebird.          Isaac winds up and tosses the EGG.          It misses the car by a mile. After a beat:                          ISAAC           I didn't hear anything.                          GUS           A little to the left.                          ISAAC           My throw was to the left or I           should aim to the left?                          GUS           Aim left.          Isaac turns his shoulders.           90.                                                   GUS           Lefter.          Isaac turns some more.                          GUS           Yes! Excellent! And throw hard.          Gus hands him a SECOND EGG. Isaac winds up and hurls it -          missing the car again but hitting the HOUSE.                          GUS           Bullseye!                          ISAAC           Really?                          GUS           No you missed it by like 20 feet.           (hands him a THIRD)           Try one more time.          Isaac hurls it, this time smashing the car's taillight.          Isaac's face lights up.                          HAZEL           Woo hoo!          Isaac grabs for ANOTHER EGG. Throws it. Then ANOTHER. He's a          throwing machine. Most of them miss but at least he's          enjoying himself. Finally there's a DIRECT HIT on the car          door, triggering the alarm. Isaac pauses.                          GUS           Keep throwing, keep throwing!          Isaac does. Gus smiles, putting an unlit cigarette in his          mouth. Hazel watches him, enjoying this moment.          Eventually, MONICA'S MOM opens the front door and comes out.                          MONICA'S MOM           What in God's name --          Seeing Hazel, Gus, and Isaac, she stops in her tracks.                          GUS           Are you Monica's mom?                          MONICA'S MOM                          (CONFUSED)           I am.                          GUS           Hello ma'am. Your daughter has done           an injustice and we've come here           seeking revenge. We may not look           like much. Between the three of us,           we have five legs, four eyes, and           two and a half working lungs.                          (MORE)           91.                          GUS (CONT'D)           But we also have two dozen eggs. So           If I was you, I would go back           inside.          Monica's Mom is very confused. A beat. Without another word,          she turns and goes back inside. The three of them celebrate.          As Isaac picks up where he left off, Hazel gently kisses Gus          on the cheek. And over we hear:           HAZEL (V.O.)           A few days later, Gus landed in the           hospital with chest pains.                                   INT HOSPITAL - WAITING ROOM - DAY          Hazel bounds in to find Mrs. Waters in the waiting room. She          stands to hug Hazel. They both sit down.                          HAZEL           How's he doing?           MRS. WATERS           He's had a tough night, Hazel. His           blood pressure's low. His heart --          Mrs. Waters starts to cry.                          HAZEL           What about the chemo?           MRS. WATERS           (shakes her head)           They're gonna stop the chemo.          They both know what that means. Mrs. Waters gathers herself.                          HAZEL           Can I see him?           MRS. WATERS                          (BEAT)           We have to be a family now.          Hazel nods. She understands.           MRS. WATERS           We'll tell him you were here.                          HAZEL           If you don't mind, I'll just hang           for a while.          Mrs. Waters nods, hugs her again, walks out through the heavy          doors towards Gus's room. Hazel sits in the chair. Same chair          Gus sat in while waiting for her. They've switched places.           92.                                   EXT INDIANAPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART - DAY          Hazel pushes Gus, now confined to a WHEELCHAIR, to their spot          on the hill overlooking "Funky Bones." A second picnic, this          time with champagne. Hazel pours some for them both into          little Winnie the Pooh cups. She's trying to be upbeat - but          it's difficult. Gus watches the kids play on the bones.                          HAZEL           What are you thinking about?                          GUS           Oblivion.                          HAZEL           Augustus...                          GUS           I know it's kid's stuff but... I           always thought I'd have a grand           story to tell, you know? Something           that would run in all the papers. I           always thought I was special.                          HAZEL           You are.                          GUS           Yeah but... you know what I mean.          Hazel, annoyed finishes her cup, tosses it to the side. Gus          can tell he's said something wrong.                          GUS           What?                          HAZEL           I do know what you mean, I just...           I don't agree.          Hazel stands up, anger building.                          HAZEL           This obsession with being                          REMEMBERED --                          GUS           Don't get mad --                          HAZEL           But I am mad!                          (BEAT)           I think you're special, is that not           enough?                          GUS                          HAZEL --           93.                                                   HAZEL           You think the only way to live a           meaningful life is for everyone to           love you, for everyone to remember           you. Well guess what, Gus, this is           your life. This is all you get. You           get me, and your family, and this           world. And if that's not enough,           well I'm sorry, but it's not           nothing. Cause I'll remember you,           I'll love you --                          GUS           You're right --                          HAZEL           And I just wish... I just wish           you'd be happy with that.                          GUS           You're right. I'm sorry.           (pulling her back down)           I'm sorry.          Gus hands Hazel another Winnie the Pooh cup. Raises his to          hers in a toast.                          GUS           It's a good life, Hazel Grace.          She softens. They toast.                          HAZEL           It's not over yet, you know.          Gus nods. Of course it isn't. And yet they both know there          isn't much time. CUT TO:                                   INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - ANOTHER NIGHT          Hazel is asleep. Suddenly, her phone buzzes. She looks at it -          "Gus" - then she looks at the clock - 2:35am. A pit grows in          her stomach. A quick panicked beat before she answers:                          HAZEL           Hello?           GUS (O.S.)                          (WEAKLY)           Hazel Grace.                          HAZEL                          (RELIEVED)           Oh, thank God. Hi. Hi, I love you!           GUS (O.S.)           I'm at the gas station --           94.                                                   HAZEL           What?           GUS (O.S.)           Something's wrong. You gotta...           please come help me.                                   INT/ EXT HAZEL'S CAR - MOMENTS LATER          Hazel drives like a maniac down the street, eventually          finding herself at the Speedway gas station.          Gus's car is alone in the parking lot and she pulls up next          to it. She gets out of her car, opens his driver's side door,          and finds him sitting there, his shirt stained with vomit and          blood. She gags from the smell.                          GUS                          (MUMBLING)           Hi.          Hazel looks down at his hands which are pressed tightly to          his belly. She sees something is leaking from the TUBE          sticking out of it.                          HAZEL                          (PANICKED)           Oh, God, Augustus, I'm calling 911.                          GUS           No! Please! Hazel, listen to me. Do           not call 911 or my parents -- I'll           never forgive you -- Don't, please.          Gus starts to cry.                          GUS           Please just look at it.          Hazel lifts up his shirt. His ABDOMEN is bright red.                          HAZEL           I think it's infected...          Hazel feels his forehead, he's burning up.                          HAZEL           Gus, what the -- why are you here?           Why aren't you home?          Gus throws up. He doesn't even have the energy to turn his          mouth away from his lap.                          HAZEL           Oh, sweetie...                          GUS           I wanted to buy some cigarettes. I           lost my pack. Or they took it.                          (MORE)           95.                          GUS (CONT'D)           I don't know. They said they'd get           me another one but I wanted... to           do it myself. Do one little thing           myself.          Hazel doesn't know what to do.                          HAZEL           I can't fix this. I have to call           someone. I'm sorry.                          GUS           No, Hazel, please!          But she must. She gets out her cell phone and dials. At which          point, Gus really loses it, weeping like the poisoned, dying          teenage boy that he is. As Hazel dials, we hear:           HAZEL (V.O.)           I wish I could say Augustus Waters           kept his sense of humor till the           end, did not for a moment waiver in           his courage and his spirit soared           like an eagle to the sky...                          GUS           (to himself, shaking)           I hate myself I hate myself I hate           this I hate this...           HAZEL (V.O.)           ...but that is not what happened.          LATER. An EMT loads Gus into the back of an AMBULANCE. Hazel          is allowed to ride with him in the back. As the car starts          moving, Gus grabs her hand.                          GUS           Read me something.                          HAZEL           Read you something?                          GUS           Do you know any poems?                          HAZEL           I know one.                          GUS           Read it to me.                          HAZEL           "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William           Carlos Williams.           (beat, tries to remember)           "So much depends / upon / a red           wheel / barrow / glazed with rain /           water / beside the white /           chickens."           96.                                                   GUS                          (BEAT)           Is that it?          That is it. But there's another ten minutes of driving to do.          Hazel thinks fast.                          HAZEL           No of course not. Um... what           else...                          (THINKS)           so much depends/ upon a blue sky/           cut open by the branches/ of the           trees./ So much depends/ on the           transparent G-tube/ erupting from           the belly/ of the blue-lipped boy.          Gus smiles, weakly, barely conscious. Hazel cradles his head          in her arms. And continues...                          HAZEL           So much depends upon this observer/           of the universe...          As Gus is drifting off to sleep, WE HEAR:           HAZEL (V.O.)           One of the less bull-shitty           conventions of the cancer genre is           the convention known as the "Last           Good Day..."                                   EXT GUS'S HOUSE - ANOTHER DAY          Gus comes home from the hospital. He does not look good - but          he lives. Hazel is there to help get him inside.                                   INT GUS'S HOUSE - ANOTHER DAY          Gus no longer sleeps in his basement. Nor does he sleep in          his own bed. He sleeps in a HOSPITAL BED set up in a guest          room. Hazel is with him. They're watching sports on TV.           HAZEL (V.O.)           This is where the victim of cancer           finds himself unexpectedly with           some hours...                                   EXT GUS'S BACKYARD PORCH - ANOTHER DAY          Hazel and Gus getting some fresh air. She sits there reading          a book. Gus just sits there. His eyes staring off into          nothing. Hazel waves to him. Gus looks over, as if waking          from a dream. She manages a smile. He manages one back.           97.                                    HAZEL (V.O.)           ... when it seems like the           inexorable decline has suddenly           plateaued, when the pain is for a           minute bearable.                                   INT HAZEL'S DINING ROOM - ANOTHER DAY          Hazel sits at dinner with her parents. She is barely touching          her food.           HAZEL (V.O.)           The problem, of course, is that           there's no way of knowing that your           last good day is your "Last Good           Day." At the time, it's just           another decent day.          The phone buzzes and Hazel answers it.                          HAZEL           Hi, Augustus.           GUS (O.S.)           Good evening, Hazel Grace.          His voice is strong today, and Hazel is happy to hear it.           GUS (O.S.)           Quick question for you. Did you           ever write that eulogy I asked you           to prepare?                          HAZEL           I may have...                          GUS           Excellent. Do you think you could           find yourself at the Literal Heart           of Jesus in 20 minutes.                          HAZEL           Um... sure. Is everything --           GUS (O.S.)           I love you Hazel.          The call ends. Hazel, confused, stands to go.                          HAZEL           I gotta go.                          FRANNIE           Finish eating first.                          HAZEL           I can't, I have to meet Gus.           98.                                                   FRANNIE           You haven't eaten a thing.                          HAZEL           I'm not hungry.                          FRANNIE           You can't not eat, Hazel.                          HAZEL           I am aggressively unhungry, ok?                          MICHAEL                          HAZEL --                          HAZEL           I have to go.                          FRANNIE           Sit down.                          HAZEL           No!                          MICHAEL           Hazel, listen to your mother.          Hazel tries to push past her but Frannie grabs her shoulders.                          FRANNIE           You have to eat, Hazel. You're not           gonna starve yourself to death just           because Gus is sick. You have to           stay healthy --                          HAZEL           I can't! I can't stay healthy           because I'm not healthy, Mom. I am           dying. I am going to die and leave           you here alone and you won't have           me to hover around and you won't be           a mother anymore, and I'm sorry,           but I can't do anything about it,           ok?! Just leave me alone!          Upon seeing her mother's face change, Hazel immediately          regrets this.                          FRANNIE           You heard me?          Frannie has tears in her eyes. Hazel looks away, feeling          terrible.                          FRANNIE           You heard me say that to your           father?          Frannie sits down on the couch with her daughter.           99.                                                   FRANNIE           Oh god, sweetie. I'm sorry. I was           wrong, ok? It wasn't true. It's not           something I believe.          Michael sits across from them.                          FRANNIE           As long as either of us is alive, I           will be your mother. Even if you           die, I --                          HAZEL           When.                          FRANNIE           Even when you die, I will still be           your mother. I will always be your           Mother.          By now Michael is crying too. They all are.                          HAZEL           I worry that you won't have a life.           That you'll sit around all day with           no me to look after and stare at           the walls and be miserable or off           yourselves or something.                          FRANNIE           We're not gonna off ourselves. It's           gonna hurt like hell to lose you                          BUT --                          MICHAEL           Hazel. You of all people know it's           possible to live with pain.          She takes that in. It rings true to her. Hazel nods.                          FRANNIE           I don't just sit around, you know.          Hazel is confused. Frannie looks at Michael like, "should I          say something?" She goes for it.                          FRANNIE           I'm taking some classes. Online. To           get my master's in social work.                          HAZEL           You are?          Hazel is stunned.                          HAZEL           So when you're waiting for me           outside Support Group or whatever,           you're always --           100.                                                   FRANNIE           Working or reading. If I get my           MSW, I can council families in           crisis or lead groups dealing with                          ILLNESS --                          HAZEL           Why didn't you tell me?          Frannie and Michael don't quite know what to say.                          MICHAEL           We didn't want you to feel                          ABANDONED --                          HAZEL           Are you kidding? Mom, this is           awesome! This is fantastic! Oh my           god!          Hazel grabs her Mom for a hug.                          HAZEL           I'm so excited! You're gonna be so           great, Mom!                          FRANNIE           Thank you. That means everything to           me.          Mom and Daughter hug. And when it's over:                          FRANNIE           I'd still really like you to eat.                          HAZEL           I know Mom. And I will. I promise.           But right now... I really gotta go.                                   INT CHURCH - LATER          Hazel enters the Literal Heart of Jesus room which is now          empty except for Isaac, up on a dais, and Gus, in his          wheelchair. Gus is thinner than we've ever seen him, thinner          than any young man should be. But for now, he's happy.                          GUS           Hazel Grace, you look ravishing.                          HAZEL           I know, right?                          (BEAT)           So, um, what's going on guys?                          ISAAC           You're late.                          HAZEL           Late for what exactly?           101.                                   Gus gestures for her to sit next to him and she does.                          GUS           I wanted to attend my funeral. By           the way, will you speak at my           funeral?          Hazel looks at him like "of course, silly" and then kisses          him on the mouth.                          GUS           Sweet. I'm hopeful I'll get to           attend as a ghost, but just to make           sure, I thought I'd - well, not to           put you on the spot, but I thought           I'd arrange a pre-funeral.                          HAZEL           Why now?                          GUS           No time like the present.                          HAZEL           (looks around the room)           How did you even get in here?                          GUS           Would you believe they leave the           door open at night?                          HAZEL           Um, no.                          GUS           As well you shouldn't.          He smiles and for a brief moment it's old Gus. Hazel laughs.          Isaac clears his throat.                          ISAAC           "Augustus Waters was a self-           aggrandizing bastard. But we           forgive him. We forgive him... not           because he had a heart as           figuratively good as his actual one           sucked, or because he got 18 years           when he should have gotten more."                          GUS           17.                          ISAAC           I'm assuming you've got some time,           you interrupting bastard! I mean           seriously...           (back to the speech)           "Augustus Waters talked so much           that he'd interrupt you at his own           funeral. And he was pretentious.                          (MORE)           102.                          ISAAC (CONT'D)           Sweet Jesus that kid never took a           piss without pondering the           resonances of human waste           production. And he was vain. But           that comes with superhuman           handsomeness."          Gus nods - that part is true.                          ISAAC           "But I will say this: when the           scientists of the future show up at           my house with robot eyes and they           tell me to try them on, I will tell           the scientists to piss off, because           I don't even want to see a world           without Augustus Waters."          Hazel smiles - but it's one that triggers an immediate          emotional waterfall.                          ISAAC           "And then, of course, having made           my rhetorical point, I will put my           robot eyes on because, I mean...           robot eyes!"          Gus has a big smile on his face.                          ISAAC           "So anyway, Augustus, my friend...           Godspeed."          Gus nods a couple times.                          GUS           Thank you Isaac.          This causes Isaac to lose it. He clings to the lectern.                          ISAAC           Goddamn it, Gus.                          GUS           Hey don't swear in the Literal           Heart of Jesus.                          ISAAC           Shit! Ass! Balls!          Isaac sighs. Wipes away the tears. And another beat passes.                          ISAAC           Can I get a hand here, Hazel?          Hazel remembers Isaac can't see. She rises, goes up to get          him, walks him back to her seat.                          GUS           Hazel Grace, it's down to you.           103.                                   Hazel takes out a piece of paper, walks up to the dais. Takes          a beat to ready herself.                          HAZEL           "Augustus Waters was the great star-           crossed love of my life. Ours was           an epic love story, and I won't be           able to get more than a sentence           into it without disappearing into a           puddle of tears.                          (BEAT)           Like all real love stories - ours           will die with us, as it should. I'd           hoped that he'd be eulogizing me,           because there's no one I'd rather           have..."          And that's all she can get out before falling apart. She lets          it out for a couple beats and then pulls herself together.                          HAZEL           (beat, composing herself)           "I can't talk about our love story           so instead I will talk about math.           I am not a mathematician, but I           know this: there are infinite           numbers between 0 and 1. There's .1           And .12 And .112 And an infinite           collection of others. Of course,           there is a bigger infinite set of           numbers between 0 and 2, or between           0 and a million. Some infinities           are bigger than other infinities. A           writer we used to like taught us           that. I want more numbers than I'm           likely to get, and God, I want more           numbers for Augustus Waters than he           got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot           tell you how thankful I am for our           little infinity. You gave me a           forever within the numbered days,           and for that I am eternally           grateful. I love you."          Gus smiles, nods, and closes his eyes. CUT TO:           BLACK.          Over which we hear a RINGING TELEPHONE.                                   INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT          Hazel turns on the LIGHT by her bed. Her HOUSE PHONE is          ringing and it's 4am.          She knows instantly.           104.                                    HAZEL (V.O.)           Augustus Waters died eight days           later in the ICU...          Hazel's head falls into her chest.           HAZEL (V.O.)           ... when the cancer, which was made           of him, stopped his heart, which           was also made of him.          Her bedroom door opens. It's Frannie and Michael. This only          confirms her worst fears. She starts to cry. Her parents          embrace her in the bed.           HAZEL (V.O.)           It was unbearable. The whole thing.           Every second worse than the last.                                   EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - SAME          Hazel sits in the car in the dark. She's blaring the loudest          music she can possibly blare - a means of drowning out the          horrors of the world. Over which we hear this:           HAZEL (V.O.)           One of the first things they ask           you in the ER is to rate your pain           on a scale from 1 to 10. I'd been           asked this question hundreds of           times and I remember once, early           on, when I couldn't catch my breath           and it felt like my chest was on           fire, and the nurse asked me to           rate the pain and though I couldn't           speak, I held up 9 fingers.          The loud music isn't protecting Hazel as well as she hoped.          She falls apart nonetheless.           HAZEL (V.O.)           Later on, when I'd been feeling           better, the nurse came in and she           called me a fighter. "You know how           I know," she said. "Because you           called a ten a nine."                                   INT HAZEL'S BEDROOM - ANOTHER MORNING          Hazel puts on her funeral dress. She looks in the mirror.           HAZEL (V.O.)           But that wasn't the truth. The           reason I called it a nine was... I           was saving my ten.           105.                                   INT CHURCH - DAY          The place is filled today with mourners for Augustus Waters.          Hazel comes in with her parents and stands in the back,          watching people she's never seen before approach the Waters          family and extend their deepest condolences.           HAZEL (V.O.)           And this was it. The great and           terrible ten.          When Mr. and Mrs. Waters see Hazel, they open their arms.           MRS. WATERS           He loved you so much.          Hazel nods. Hugs them back.                          HAZEL           He loved you so much too.          More MOURNERS approach the family, leaving Hazel stranded in          the receiving line. Her eyes turn towards the COFFIN. She's          not entirely sure she wants to go there but she takes a deep          breath, wills herself to walk towards it.          Gus is there in the same suit he wore to Oranjee.          Immediately, Hazel breaks down. And immediately, she catches          herself.                          HAZEL           It's ok, you hear me? It's ok.          She leans forward and kisses his cheek. She looks around.          Once in the clear, she pulls out a hard pack of Camel Lights          and sticks them in the space between Gus and the lining of          the coffin. A MINISTER approaches at that moment.                          MINISTER           I think we're ready to begin.          Hazel nods and walks back to her parents, taking her seat in          the middle of the room.                          MINISTER           Augustus Waters fought hard for           many years. His battle was a           courageous one and his strength was           a source of inspiration for each           and every one of us...          Hazel frowns. This is all such bullshit. And she hears:                          MALE VOICE           What a load of shit, eh kid?          Hazel recognizes that voice. But it doesn't make sense. She          turns around and, sure enough, it's Peter Van Houten.           106.                                                   MINISTER           Let us pray.          Everyone clasps their hands, closes their eyes. Hazel keeps          staring at Van Houten, too shocked to do a thing.                          VAN HOUTEN           We need to fake pray now.          Van Houten bows his head. Hazel, still stunned, slowly turns          back to the Minister, trying to make sense of this unexpected          appearance.                          MINISTER           Now I call on Augustus's close           friend Isaac to say a few words.          Isaac stands, walks up to the podium with someone's help.          Hazel sneaks one more look at Van Houten. Yup, it's really          him. That makes no sense to her. Isaac starts to speak.                          ISAAC           Of all the things I've lost in my           life, this hurts the most.          And Isaac stops talking. It's unclear if that was the end or          if he just can't go on. He returns to his seat. The Minister          walks back up.                          MINISTER           And now we'll hear from Gus's...           special friend Hazel Lancaster.          Hazel stands, walks up to the podium. A few titters in the          room at the words "special friend."                          HAZEL           I was his girlfriend.          Some laughter from the crowd. She takes out her notes.                          HAZEL           There's a beautiful quote in Gus's           home that reads "if you want the           rainbow, you gotta deal with the           rain."          Hazel continues to speak but we over it, WE HEAR instead:           HAZEL (V.O.)           I didn't believe a word, of course.           But that was ok. Funerals, I'd           decided, aren't for the dead.           They're for the living.          Gus's Parents, arm in arm, nod along with every word. CUT TO:           107.                                   EXT CEMETARY - DAY          Everyone is watching Gus's body be lowered into the ground.          Everyone but Hazel. She looks off into the distance.          Off to the side, we see Van Houten, also not watching the          burial. He's watching Hazel. CUT TO:          LATER. Ceremony over, we see Hazel with her parents.                          HAZEL           I'll be fine.                          FRANNIE           Are you sure? We can drive you --                          HAZEL           No, I'd... I'd like to be alone for           a while.          Hazel hugs Mom and Dad, walks alone towards the parking lot.          As she gets to the car, Van Houten approaches.                          VAN HOUTEN           Could I hitch a ride?          Hazel doesn't want to help this man.                          VAN HOUTEN           Just to the bottom of the hill.          Hazel exhales. Fine. Once they're both in the car:                          HAZEL           How did you even --                          VAN HOUTEN           The internet.                          HAZEL           And you just... bought a ticket?                          VAN HOUTEN           The drinks are free drinks in First           Class.          Van Houten removes a FLASK from his coat pocket. Takes a          swig. Hazel shakes her head in disgust. Starts driving.                          VAN HOUTEN           Omnis Cellula e cellula.          Hazel ignores him.                          VAN HOUTEN           Your boy Waters and I corresponded           quite a bit in his last --                          HAZEL           You read your fan mail now?           108.                                                   VAN HOUTEN           I would hardly call him a fan. He           despised me. But he was quite           insistent I attend his funeral and           tell you what became of Anna and           her mother. So here I am and that's           your answer: omnis cellula e           cellula.                          HAZEL           I'm so not in the mood --                          VAN HOUTEN           "Life comes from life."                          HAZEL           Goodbye Mr. Van Houten.                          VAN HOUTEN           You don't want an explanation?                          HAZEL           Nope. Thanks though. Have a great           life.                          VAN HOUTEN           You remind me of her.                          HAZEL                          (BEAT)           I remind a lot of people of a lot           of people.                          VAN HOUTEN           She was eight, my daughter. She           suffered... beautifully. For so           long.          Hazel starts to understand Van Houten - and softens.                          HAZEL           She had leukemia? Like Anna?                          VAN HOUTEN           Just like her, yes.                          HAZEL           Were you married then?                          VAN HOUTEN           Not when she died, no. I was           insufferable long before Anna, my           dear. Grief doesn't change you,           Hazel, it reveals you.          Hazel takes that in.                          HAZEL           Well I'm sorry for your loss.           109.                                                   VAN HOUTEN           And I'm sorry for yours. I'm sorry           for everything, for being so rude           to you two, for ruining your trip --                          HAZEL           You didn't ruin our trip, you           asshole. We had an awesome trip.                          VAN HOUTEN           Hazel, I'm trying. I'm trying! You           asked me to tell you what happens           and I wish I could do that. I wish           that I could. But I can't. No one           can. No one knows, Hazel. They           don't talk to us. Unless...          Van Houten takes out a typed piece of paper. He hands it to          Hazel who grabs it - and immediately crumples it into a ball.                          HAZEL           You think I care about that? I           don't give a shit, Van Houten.          Hazel throws the piece of paper at Van Houten.                          HAZEL           You're a drunk and a jerk and a           failure. And I'd like you to get           out of my car right now so I can go           home and grieve.                          VAN HOUTEN                          (STUNNED)                          BUT --                          HAZEL           Get out of the car!          Van Houten knows he's too late. He does as he's told,          stepping out of the car onto the side of the road. He stands          there as Hazel peels out.          In the rearview mirror, she sees him raise the FLASK, as if          toasting her. She blinks away some tears and drives. CUT TO:                                   INT HAZEL'S LIVING ROOM - DAY          Hazel lies in front of the TV. "Top Model" is playing but          she's lost in her own world. Tears fall from her eyes and she          can't do anything to stop it. Hazel gets up.                                   INT BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS          Hazel sits against the tub on the floor and weeps. Soon          there's a knock.           110.                                                   HAZEL                          (THROUGH TEARS)           Occupada.           MICHAEL (O.S.)           Can I come in?          Hazel leans over and unlocks the door. Michael kneels down          next to her, putting her head on his shoulder.          Hazel presses her face into his shirt and cries some more.          Michael squeezes her tightly. And this time, he doesn't cry.                          MICHAEL           I'm so so sorry.                          (BEAT)           It was a privilege to love him,           though, wasn't it?          Hazel nods into his shirt. Then looks up at her Dad.                          MICHAEL           Gives you an idea how we feel about           you.          Michael smiles at Hazel. And he doesn't cry. Hazel draws          strength from him.                                   EXT ISAAC'S HOUSE - NIGHT          Hazel and Isaac have climbed through his open bedroom window.          They sit on the roof.                          ISAAC           Do you know if it hurt or whatever?                          HAZEL           He was really fighting for breath,           I guess. He eventually went           unconscious, but it seems like,           yeah, it wasn't great or anything.           Dying sucks.                          ISAAC                          (LONG BEAT)           It just seems so impossible.                          HAZEL           Happens all the time.                          ISAAC           Are you angry?                          HAZEL           Very.           111.                                                   ISAAC           Me too.           (a few beats)           Gus really loved you, you know.                          HAZEL           I know.                          ISAAC           He wouldn't shut up about it.                          HAZEL           I know.                          ISAAC           It was annoying.                          HAZEL           I didn't find it that annoying.          They sit there in silence a few beats.                          ISAAC           Did you read the note or whatever           from your author friend?                          HAZEL           He is not my friend and -- how do           you know about that?                          ISAAC           We talked at the cemetery. Said he           came all this way to give you that.                          HAZEL           Yeah well I'm over it. I never want           to read another word of that           asshole's again.                          ISAAC           Yeah but he didn't write it - Gus           did.                          HAZEL                          (STUNNED)           What?                          ISAAC           That's what he said. Gus had           written something, sent it to Van                          HOUTEN --          Hazel sits up. Her heart is racing.                          ISAAC           What?                          HAZEL           I... I have to go. I... Are you...?           112.                                                   ISAAC           I do it all the time. Go.          As quickly as possible Hazel leaves. Isaac stays behind,          enjoying the cool night. A new day is coming.                                   INT/ EXT HAZEL'S CAR - DAY          Hazel is inside the car, rummaging crazily through the trash          in an effort to find what Van Houten gave her. She's about to          give up when she sees it - crumpled up into a ball beneath          the passenger's seat. She reaches under, pulls it up, and          unwraps it. As she reads, WE HEAR:                          GUS'S VOICE           Mr. Van Houten, I'm a good person           but a shitty writer. You're a           shitty person but a good writer.           We'd make a good team. I don't want           to ask you any favors but if you           have the time, and from what I saw           you have plenty, please fix this           for me. It's a eulogy for Hazel.          Hazel is overcome with emotion.                          GUS'S VOICE           She asked me to write one and I'm           trying, I just, I could use a           little flair. See the thing is...           we all want to be remembered.          She smiles to herself, remembering:          - That first time Gus and Hazel ran into each other.          - The staring contest in Support Group.                          GUS'S VOICE           We all want to leave a mark.          - Driving (badly) in Gus's car.          - Their first kiss at the picnic by "Funky Bones."                          GUS'S VOICE           But not Hazel. Hazel is different.           Hazel knows the truth. She didn't           want a million admirers, she just           wanted one. And she got it. Maybe           she wasn't loved widely but she was           loved deeply. And isn't that more           than most of us get?          - And BACK TO HAZEL reading the letter, tears in her eyes.                          GUS'S VOICE           When Hazel was sick, I knew I was           dying. But I didn't want to say so.           113.                                   INT ICU - FLASHBACK          Gus stealthily sneaks into Hazel's single room in the ICU.          She sleeps. He kneels by her side.                          GUS'S VOICE           She was in ICU and I snuck in for           ten minutes and sat with her before           I got caught. Her eyes were closed,           her lungs were intubated...          Gus takes her hand and holds it.                          GUS'S VOICE           ... but her hands were still her           hands, still warm, and the nails           painted this dark blue back color           and I just held her hands and I           willed myself to imagine a world           without us and what a worthless           world that would be.          - AND BACK TO HAZEL reading the letter. She never knew that          story, never knew he was there. CUT TO:                                   EXT HAZEL'S HOUSE - BACKYARD - LATER          Hazel walks out to the grass behind her house, the oxygen          tank dragging behind her. She lays down on the grass and          looks up at the stars - the same IMAGE that opened the movie.                          GUS'S VOICE           She's so beautiful. You don't get           tired of looking at her. You never           worry if she's smarter than you           cause you know she is. She's funny           without ever being mean.                         SHE REMEMBERS:          - The magical dinner at Oranjee.          - The bench in which they sat overlooking the water.          - The passionate kiss in Anne Frank's house.          - Falling onto the bed together.          [All of these are images we saw at the beginning of the          movie, only now, we SEE the oxygen tank, we SEE Gus's leg, we          SEE the fumbling and the difficulties etc. They don't make          these images less beautiful. They make them twice as          beautiful - because they're real.]                          GUS'S VOICE           I love her, god I love her. I'm so           lucky to love her, Van Houten.                          (MORE)           114.           GUS'S VOICE (CONT'D)           You don't get to choose if you get           hurt in this world but you do have           a say in who hurts you.          - AND BACK ON Hazel in the grass. She holds the letter to her          chest. A single tear falls onto her cheeks.                          GUS'S VOICE           I like my choices. I hope she likes           hers.          Hazel CLOSES HER EYES.                          GUS'S VOICE           Ok, Hazel Grace?          A beat. Another.          Hazel OPENS HER EYES. And she says to the universe:                          HAZEL           Ok.           BLACK.                          
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+                                  THE FIGHTER                                 Written by                  Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson                                                            CREDITS OVER BLACK. Gradually hear the sound of metal          scraping against asphalt...           TITLE: Lowell, Massachusetts - 1993                          FADE IN:          1 FIVE-CORNER INTERSECTION - LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS - AFTERNOON.          2 FORWARD MOVING WALKING STEADICAM WIDE ANGLE POV 2          Abandoned textile mills on both sides, a two-story flat-iron          style building splits the roads 100 yards ahead. Still hear          metal scraping against asphalt.. .then it stops.          BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF FRAME, a wheelbarrow filled with 250          pounds of black asphalt edges into frame, followed by the guy          sweating, struggling as he pushes it, GEORGE "MICKY" WARD          JR., 31, short, compact, close-cropped reddish-blonde hair,          little boy face, glancing over his shoulder, dumps the          wheelbarrow on old cracked cement.. .picks up a scraping-          spreading tool on a metal broom stick, and commences to          spread out the new asphalt. Trying to complete a newly paved          road to the right which ends in this intersection. The          scraping tool spreading the new asphalt. Micky sweating,          dirty from asphalt.          Now skinny bare arms start shadowboxing around Micky working.          Only the arms enter frame in combinations, shadow punches.                         MICKY          (ignoring punches, keeps                         SPREADING ASPHALT)          Will you help me finish this?          He turns and kinda smiles as leans away with the rake, then          slips and moves with the punches being thrown by RICHARD          "Dicky" ECKLUND JR., 38, Micky's half-brother, skeleton-like          arms, backwards baseball cap, shorts, work boots, enters          frame, shadowboxing around Micky, smiles missing teeth. The          two brothers play spar, joking, having fun. Micky throws a          and Dicky play snaps his head back. Then Dicky does it to          Micky. Then Micky throws an upper cut and Dicky pops his head          up, broken toy robot.                         DICKY          You knocked my block off!          He resets his head, punches Micky.                         MICKY          You knocked my block off!          (C.C)NTTNTTFT)1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 1A.                         2 CONTINUED: 2          He resets his head, Micky throws again, Dicky mimes going          down, then gets up immediately.                         MICKY          (counts like ref)          -six, seven, eight. [takes Dicky's          hands] Can you continue? [Dicky          nods] Who's the president?                         DICKY          Five o'clock.          Micky waves his hands like Dicky's done. Dicky throws another          play punch and Micky hams up going down, getting knocked out,          feet flying up in the air.                         (CONTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 2.                         2 CONTINUED: (2) 2                         DICKY          He's down! Micky Ward is down! 4-          3-2-1, it's ovah! He's out! A          surprising ovahhand right! Dick          Ecklund Jr. is BACK, right hereon          HBO, ladies and gentlemen!          PAN REVEALS, HBO documentary camerman, and a PRODUCER taping          it all. Guys on the ROAD CREW crack up in the background.                         DICKY          The Pride a Lowell is back!          He pulls Micky up INTO A BROTHERLY ARM BUMP/HUG HANDS          CLASPED. Micky smacks the back of Dicky's head as Dicky          raises Micky's arm in the air like a champ.                         DICKY                         (SHOUTS)          My brothah's gonna beat Mamby, next          week, on ESPN, sorry HBO!          Camera crew laughs as DICKY helps Micky up, HOLDS BROTHERS'          ARMS IN THE AIR, E.L.O.'S 'DON'T BRING ME DOWN' starts;                         (RNNTTNTTFT) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 3.                         2 CONTINUED: (3) 2          CAMERA PULLS AWAY FROM THEM FAST DOWN THE STREET LEAVING THEM          SMALL IN THE DISTANCE --          SMASH CUT TO:          3 STREETS, LOWELL - DAY 3          Dicky walks like a hero down the streets of working class          Lowell, locals spilling out of storefronts, lunch counters,          HBO camera following him.                         DICKY          (shadowboxing, moving)          Look who's here! I'm comin' back,          Lowell! Micky's gonna win, we got          HBO here! Look at this --          He walks down the street like he's running for office, people          shouting his out his name. . .most everyone knows him...and          even those who don't are charmed by this toothless Pied          Piper... some look confused, surprised by his comeback, some          hold memorabilia from his Sugar Ray Leonard fight to sign. He          kisses a girl, laughs his missing-toothed grin. Dicky high-          fives 19-year-old RAY RAMALHO, crew cut, body bent by          cerebral palsy.                         DICKY          Ray Ray! Smile, you're gonna be in          my movie! HBO's makin' a fuckin'          movie about me! And my brothah's          gonna win next week!          He grabs Micky's arm again, they are trailed by the road crew          guys (one holds a boom box) walking behind Dicky shaking          their heads, smiling, following. "Don't Bring Me Down"          continues... Everybody shouting out Dicky's name, "Dicky!"          "Dicky!" "Dicky!" Some calling "Micky!" "Micky!" "Micky!"                         CUT TO:          4 LOWELL MAN ON THE STREET INTERVIEWS. What Dicky & Micky meagh          to the city.. .What the city is all about, broken dreams, no          hope. . .How Micky & Dicky are both the pride of Lowell now &          forever... TAR AND DONNA COME UP AND SAY ARE YOU TALKIN ABOUT          MY FAMILY? THAT'S NOT RIGHT. Other sisters come up asking          questions: Pork, Little Alice. "Let's go to the bah!" Sherry          shouts.          TIME CUT TO:                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 4.          5 THE FOXTAIL LOUNGE - COUPLES SQUARE, THE ACRE - NIGHT 5          .Dicky moves through the crowd, punches the air dancing in          the dark crowded smoky club, old disco ball scattering light          on gray carpeted walls, "Don't Bring Me Down" still          playing...                         DICKY          (shouts over the music)          Meet my muthah! We're back on HBO,                         MA -          His mother, ALICE WARD, 57, caught off guard, smoking, waves          them away, hides her face.                         ALICE          NO! JESUS! I'm not ready!          Catch a glimpse of her tough, sexy, fighter's nose, years of          hard life, bleached-blonde hair, sucking on a Lucky Strike,          drinking by at a white-topped table cluttered with empty beer          bottles, overflowing ashtrays, cigarettes burning out.                         DICKY          (shouting over music)          My sistahs!          Six of Alice's seven daughters ARRIVE, look up as the camera          pans and pauses for each one: GAIL "RED DOG" (ECKLUND)          CARNEY, 35, skinny, red hair; SHERRY "THE BABY"; PHYLLIS          "BEAVER" ECKLUND, 32, blonde red, tall. CATHY "PORK" ECKLUND,          30, full breasts, bleached-blonde; "LITTLE" ALICE ECKLUND,          31, a mini-version of Alice; DONNA (ECKLUND) JAYNES; 36,          round face, bleached-blonde, CINDY "TAR" (ECKLUND) COOPER,          33, wasted; and They are like a bleached blond, cigarette          smoking Greek chorus that trails Alice everywhere. PAN FROM          ONE TWO the next as Dicky introduces them, seeing each          distinctive, hardened face.                         DICKY          (as each nods to camera)          That's Red Dog, Sherry, the baby,          Beavah, Pork, Little Alice, Donna,          and Tar. They follow my muthah          everywhere!                         MICKY          (Holding a napkin to his                         FACE)          I'm Mary, the eighth sister.          Alice runs for the bathroom. Dicky chases after her through          the crowd and the smoke and the music.                         (CONTTNTTFT) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 4A.                         5 CONTINUED: 5          Dicky grabs and pulls her onto the crowded little dance          floor.. .Dicky and Alice dance. Micky and the sisters join in.                         (C ONTTNTJFN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 5.                         5 CONTINUED: (2) 5          THROUGH THE CROWD MICKY STARES AT CHARLENE FLEMING, 25, tall          long red hairy strong, serving drinks, guys encouragi ng her          to do shots, hesitates, they pull her around the bar, moves          in slight SLOW MOTION, Micky sees her ass, then her cl eavage          when she turns, bends over to do shots with them.          SMASH CUT TO:                         6           EVERYONE SITTING TOASTING WITH DRINKS -- 6           Dicky, Alice, Little Alice, Donna, Red Dog (Gail), Beaver          (Phyllis), Tar (Cindy), Pork          (Cathy), HBO Producer, cameraman          laughing sit along the wall at tables. Micky just drinks          water and watches, from afar bartender CHARLENE FLEMING at          the BAR.                         HBO PRODUCER          I'm confused, George's whose          father?                         DICKY                         (TOOTHLESS GRIN)          - Who knows how many fathahs,          Alice ain't prejudice, she gives          everybody a chance!          Alice punches Dicky in the arm.                         LITTLE ALICE                         (NODS)          Dick Ecklund Sr. is Dicky's father                         (CONTTNTTFT)1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 6.                         6 CONTINUED: 6                         SHERRY          And Donna's, Gail's and Phyllis's          fathah.                         SHERRY          And even though I'm an Eklund, and          so is Cindy and Cathy, George is          really our dad.                         DICKY          George is my Poppa.                         MICKY          But we got the Eklund name.                         ALICE          (horrified by all of this)          Dick Ecklund and I were separated.          It's not like I was foolin' around.          Producer looks confused.                         TAR (CINDY)          Georgie's fingahs are so fat he          can't dial the phone.          Pan to George Ward, holding a roofing invoice, trying to dial          the buttons on a pay phone next to them.                         GEORGE          (trying to dial pay phone)          Shut up, Tah.          Alice and everyone laughs. George reading the roofing          invoice, holding the pay phone, and gives them all the          finger. Short & fat.                         ALICE          That's not helpin', George.          RED DOG (GAIL)          Look at that fat thing!          They all crack up.          CAMERA TRACKS WITH GEORGE WALKING WITH MICKY A STEP TOWARD          THE BAR, STARING AT CHARLENE THE BARTENDER TENDING BAR 15-          FEET AWAY.                         GEORGE          You can't beat that ass, come on.          George pats his son's shoulder as he stands behind Micky at          the bar, both looking at Charlene. Awkward.                         (RNNTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 6aA.                         6 CONTINUED: (2)                         6          She glances up at him once in the midst of her bartending.          He doesn't say anything. She ignores him. It's awkward.                         CHARLENE          (works, not looking)          Are you gonna say anything? Are you          gonna order a drink? Are you gonna          just stand there lookin' at my ass?          Your father looks at my ass but at          least he talks.          Micky looks at her.                         CHARLENE          (works not looking)          He thinks you're the greatest, but          he didn't tell me you're mute.                         MICKY          You're Kenny Fleming's sistah.                         (RUNTTNTTRT)1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 6A.                         6 CONTINUED: (3)                         6                         CHARLENE          (works, not looking)          Oh, you talk. You pave streets,          right?                         MICKY          I do, and I'm a fightah.                         (CONTTNTTPD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 7.                         6 CONTINUED: (4)                         6                         CHARLENE          (works, not looking)          I heard you're a steppin' stone.                         MICKY          A steppin' stone?! I'm no steppin'          stone. What do you mean steppin'          stone?                         CHARLENE          (finally turns and looks)          The guy -- they use -- against          othah fightahs to move the othah          fightahs up.          Micky and Charlene stare at each other. He is taken aback.                         MICKY          Maybe I had a few -- tough fights,          but that's not who I am. [she          stares at him, gauging him]. Next's          gonna show who I am.                         DRUNK GUY          (shouts from behind Micky)          He's gonna lose again! [Micky looks          away, pissed, like he's gonna          leave]. Scotch & soda one for me          and one for Charlene, move that          sugar ass and get the drinks!          Micky suddenly slaps the guy fast twice with one hand, the          guy kinda falls to the bar.                         MICKY          Be nice! Be respectful. Don't          disrespect her.          Charlene watches, slightly turned on.                         DICKY          (jumps in front of Micky)          Don't hurt ya hands, we got a fight          next week!          (turns to the drunk)          - What you say to my bruthah? What          you say to me?          OTHER BARTENDER plunks down the drunk's drinks.                         DRUNK GUY          (peaking above the bar)          I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Micky.                         ( CCNTTNTTPD 1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 7A.                         6 CONTINUED: (5)                         6                         DICKY          And whatta ya say to me?                         DRUNK GUY          I'm sorry, Dicky.                         DICKY          (to Charlene, hugs Micky's                         SHOULDERS)          That's right, and I'm takin' ya          drink. My bruthah's gonna beat          Saoul Mamby! This guy's gonna be a          champion, he's a great guy, a great          fightah.                         (NNNTTNT7RT)1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 8.                         6 CONTINUED: (6) 6          He takes the guy's drinks, kisses smiling Micky on the cheek.          Charlene stares.                         MICKY          That's my big brothah. Taught me          everything i know. HBO's doin' a          movie about 'im.                         CHARLENE          Everybody's talkin' about it. But          who are YOU fightin'? Saoul, Sal,          Saul? Mamby, Mamby. Momby. What          kinda name is Saoul Mamby?                         MICKY          Black. And Jewish.                         CHARLENE          Where'd they find a guy like that?                         MICKY          He's no joke, Formah World Champ.                         CHARLENE          Formah champ.                         MICKY          But I match up good against him.                         CHARLENE          What's that mean?                         MICKY          I'm lightah, not gonna brawl him,          I'm gonna outbox him.                         CHARLENE          I didn't know there was a          difference.                         MICKY          Brawl, ya slug it out, I hit you,          you hit me; boxin', like a chess          game, I pick my punches to take him          down. I'm gonna go head, body,          head, body, see I go up his side, I          hit him here, arm comes down, I go          back up [demonstrates on her,          close, looks at her shy] I'd like          to maybe take you out some time.                         (CNNTTNTIFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 8aA.                         6 CONTINUED: (7) 6          Charlene smiles at Micky's awkwardness, drinks. A DRUNK GUY          squeezes her around the shoulders, she shoves him off, turns          away, guarded, takes care of business other side of bar.                         CHARLENE          Are you married?                         MICKY          Married? Would I ask you out if I          was married?                         CHARLENE          It happens all the time, trust me.                         MICKY          I'm not married. I wanna get to          know you bettah. I could take you          to dinnah and a movie, how 'bout          that? I'm not married. I got a          daughtah I see every othah weekend.          Let me take you out.                         CHARLENE          When?                         MICKY          Saturday I get back from Atlantic          City.                         (CC)NTTNTTRD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 8A.                         6 CONTINUED: (8)                         6          She holds his gaze a moment. She picks up a pen and starts          to write on a white cocktail napkin. She writes "Charlene"          and her number on the napkin, then draws a lopsided heart          around it.                         MICKY (CONT'D)          (takes the napkin, smiles)          Next Saturday. Dinnah and a movie.                         (CNNTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 9.                         6 CONTINUED: (9) 6          A fight breaks out next to Micky, jostling him but he remains          oblivious, happily reading the napkin. George, cigarette          dangling from his lips, claps for Micky.          SMASH CUT TO:          7 RAMALHO'S WEST END GYM - RING, 1ST FLOOR - NEXT DAY 7          Micky jumps rope in the ring, stops, sweating, moves around          the ring. HBO producer sits bored, looks at his watch.          Dilapidated gym, peeling paint, exposed pipes. Owner, ART          RAMALHO, 60s, pushed-in nose, starts working a couple kids on          old duct-taped heavy bags, speed bags, including JOSE          SANTANA, 20s, middleweight. Micky, sweating, leans on the          ropes, glances at the clock, 11:25.           EXPLOSIVE LAUGHTER AND CACKLES of WOMEN - Micky looks across          gym: 4 SISTERS LAUGH UPROARIOUSLY AS HBO Cameraman tapes.                         HBO CAMERAMAN                         (SMILING)          Why is Gail the toughest?                         SHERRY          Cuz she's quiet, but she'll          straighten anyone out.          Gail makes a fist, cracks up, covers her missing teeth.                         HBO CAMERAMAN          Whose your mother's favorite?                         TAR          The princesses.                         SHERRY          The girls.          They all crack up.                         RED DOG          They never had to do nothin', never          take out the garbage, or clean--                         SHERRY          You can never wake 'em up, shhh,          the babies ah sleepin'.                         MICKY          That's cuz we hadda train! Come on!                         (RNNTTNTTFN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 9A.                         7 CONTINUED: 7                         SHERRY          [STARTS CRYING] This is ah family          and they're makin' a movie, it's us                         (MNTTNTTPD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 10.                         7 CONTINUED: (2) 7                         RED DOG          She's the baby, Sherry's the baby,          very emotional.                         TAR          Ah mothah's excited about the          movie, Dicky comin' back. And we          hope Micky wins (crosses herself).          SMASH CUT TO:                         MICKY                         (MID-INTERVIEW)          Dicky's six years older than me.          (pause) I used to carry his bags          (pause) to his workouts, some of          his fights. He's a born fighter,          very natural talent. I always hadda          work harder, and he's been my          teacher. He's -- ya know - [real          love] Dicky, nobody talks like him,          moves like him, he fought Sugar Ray          Leonard, ten rounds, he's the hero          of Lowell. Everybody knows Dicky.                         HBO PRODUCER          He's s'pposed to be trainin' you          right now, right? Is he still          coming or did we mix this up?                         SISTERS                         (OS)          He'll be here -- should be --                         MICKY          He kinda goes on his own schedule          sometimes. He'll be here. --                         MICKY O'KEEFE                         (OS)          You know where he is --          They turn and look: MICKEY O'KEEFE, 50, COP IN UNIFORM, walks          up to the ring. Sisters react with bit of surprise, drama.                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          You gotta fight next week, Micky,          you gotta be trainin' on time.                         MICKY          He'll be here.          ( C'.C)NTTNTT1 fl )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 10A.                         7 CONTINUED: (3) 7                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          Come on, I can do the mits for ya,          but then I gotta get back to work.          He jumps into the ring and holds the mits for Micky who hits          them, they work the mits. Sisters whisper, gossip.          Suddenly the door bursts open, EVERYONE LOOKS: Alice, made          un, hair done, high heels, gold earrings, new dress, grand          entrance with Dicky's scrapbooks under her arm...Two more          daughters, Little Alice and Beaver, follow her. She stops          when she sees the camera guys look up, unprepared.                         ALICE          What's he doin'? Where's Dicky?                         MICKY          Look at Alice! All dressed up for          the movie!                         ALICE          Outta the ring, O'Keefe, you can't          do what my Dicky does!                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          Your Dicky ain't here, Alice.                         MICKY                         (LAUGHING)          Where could he possibly be, Ma?          Undah the cabbage patch?                         (CC)NTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 11.                         7 CONTINUED: (4) 7                         ALICE          (to the crew, laughing)          Oh, Micky. Micky's a clown. Dicky          went to the store for me.                         MICKY          Yeah. He'll be here.                         ALICE          Get outta the ring, O'Keefe,          Dicky's the numbah one trainah,          should be that way in the movie.                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          Jesus, I come by to help! I gotta          go back to work anyhow, it ain't          fair to Micky. He needs to be          trainin'. He's not bein' handled          right.                         ALICE          (waves off HBO producer)          Don't -- he's not part of this,          forget him. He's numbah two man          O'KEEFE LEAVES UNDER ALICE'S GAZE; MICKY LOOKS KIND OF LAUGHS          TO HIMSELF SHAKING HIS HEAD. THEN EXHALES, SERIOUS, LOOKING          DOWN, BIT FRUSTRATED..                         ALICE          You need me walkin' in again?          (turns back to the door)          - I wasn't ready last night, but          I'm ready today.                         SISTERS                         (LAUGHING)          She's all dressed up! Look at her!                         MICKY          Alice is dressed up.          Producer nods for cameraman to turn to door. ALICE RE-ENTERS.           Alice turns to an old framed BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPH on          the wall ...A row of 14 year old boys posed in fighter's robes          and gloves.                         ALICE          That's the Golden Gloves, before          that the Silvah Mittens, Micky did          that too. Micky used to follow his          big brothah everywhere, Dicky          taught ya everything, right, honey?                         (RNNTTNTTFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 11A.                         7 CONTINUED: (5) 7          Micky raises eyebrows, nods.                         MICKY          He's not only a great fighter, he's          also a pretty great trainer.                         (C ONTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 12.                         7 CONTINUED: (6)                          7                          ALICE           (eyes lighting up)           My Dicky had went pro at 12,           Rockingham Race Track with a 26           year old jockey. Both weighed 106           pounds. Dicky lied he was 18.          In the ring, push in on Micky looks up, eyes wide.                         MICKY          Tell 'im about Sugar Ray, Ma.          Dicky knocked down Sugar Ray          Leonard.                         ALICE                         (NODS)          In '78 -- we got the offah to fight          Sugah Ray Leonahd.                         MICKY          He just won the Gold Medal at the          Olympics, Sugar Ray. He was the,          ya know, the big new welter weight          at that time.                         ALICE          And Dicky was just a kid from          Lowell.                         MICKY          Dicky was undefeated!                         ALICE          Dicky had never been knocked down          in his professional career, neither          had Sugar Ray. They were both 21-          yeahs-old.                         MICKY          It was Dicky's first ten roundah.                         ALICE                         (PAUSES)          I know ya could question the          judgement, first ten roundah          against Sugar Ray Leonard, right?          But as his managah, how could I not          take a Sugah Ray? Do you see what          I'm saying? It was the biggest          thing that evah happened to Lowell.                         (MNTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 12A.                         7 CONTINUED: (7) 7                         MICKY          It was huge. People still talk          about it to this day. It was a          great fight.                         ALICE          AHT! WHERE'S YA VIDEO AT?          ACTUAL GRAINY 1978 VIDEOTAPE OF HBO OLD-FASHIONED COLOR          GRAPHICS INTRODUCE THE FIGHT. ALICE BEING INTERVIEWED.                         ALICE          ( 15 years earlier, already                          HALF-IN-THE-BAG)          Tonight my son is gonna surprise          everybody and beat Sugar Ray          Leonard. Believe it, I know it.          Micky and Sugar Ray are described over HBO clips.          BACK TO ALICE AT THE GYM NOW:                         ALICE          It's true! Sugar Ray had a hard          time hitting Dickie, didn't really          knock him down, but Dicky knocked          Ray down! I wore a new white          dress. This fight was gonna change          our lives forevah, and it did.          BACK TO VIDEOTAPE, 2ND ROUND, Dicky, 21, bobbing moving          versus Sugar Ray, 21. Hear Don Dunphy & Larry Merchant,          "Ecklund is fast, Larry. If his goal is to frustrate Leonard,          he's doing it. Leonard still hasn't solved his speed, still          hasn't been able to find him, I think in his own cute way          Ecklund is making Leonard be the aggressor.."                         (CONTTNTTFM                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 13.                         7 CONTINUED: (8) 7          BACK TO THE TAPE, Sugar Ray seems to either punch or pull          Dicky to the mat. "Ecklund smiling again, Ecklund is down!          Let's see if they call that a knock down." Dicky pops right          back up and they go to separate corners. "Let's see if they          call that a knock down. Nope, not a knockdown. And the bell          rings." "I didn't think that was a knockdown, Don." "I didn't          think so either Larry, he was wrestled down. Not a          knockdown."          8 LIVING ROOM - CRACK HOUSE, 48 SMITH STREET - DAY 8                         DICKY          (shakes his head, holding          crack smoke in)          Wasn't a knockdown.          Dicky kneeling smoking a crack pipe. He exhales crack smoke          as he pops back to his feet where he bounces on his toes like          a fighter opposite GARY "BOOBOO" GIUFFRIDA, 40, a goofy          looking chubby crackhead, rotting teeth, trucker's hat;          WOLFIE, long sideburns, sunken eyes, 35.          Dicky inhales again from pipe, a refashioned plastic soda          bottle, lit with a Bic lighter. He starts sparring BooBoo.          SINGLE ON Dicky OVER BOOBOO'S SHOULDER, actual audio in his          head from the fight: "Ecklund has a bit of a reputation for          being a fast-liver, Don." "A what?" "A fast-liver. And they          think, at least Angelo said he thought that's what has held          him back. But of course with an opportunity like this perhaps          he's slowed down his living a little bit."                         DICKY          (holding white dog)          BooBoo put ya hands up, stand like          Sugah Ray I gotta get ready for my          movie!                         BOOBOO          Why they doin' a fuckin' movie on          you?                         KAREN                         (CAMDODIAN ACCENT)          Legend-a Lowell, BooBoo! Comeback!          Come on!          (CnNTTNTTF.D )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 14.                         8 CONTINUED: 8          Karen, 33, Dicky's Cambodian girlfriend, sitting on a stained          suede couch with BECKY, 31, dirty blonde hair; BONNIE, tall,          35, mid-drift, high, moving, in the background. Dicky shadow          boxes BooBoo, while holding white dog.                         DICKY          I stahted the ovahhand right in the          8th. Slippin' his left, settin'          him up for the knockdown in the          9th.          FAST CUTS OF BOOBOO, WOLFIE, KAREN, BRENDA, BONNIE, WATCHING          Dicky IN SUSPENSE. PUSH IN ON Dicky'S FACE, HEAR ACTUAL FIGHT          AUDIO IN HIS HEAD -- FLASH TO ACTUAL FOOTAGE, Dicky KNOCKS          SUGAR RAY DOWN. BACK TO Dicky ACTS IT OUT ON BOOBOO, WHO GOES          DOWN ACTING IN SLOW MOTION:                         DICKY          THERE IT IS! First knock downa          Sugar Ray's career!                         WOLFIE          (snaps to rare moment of                         LUCIDITY)          Ain't ya 'sposed to be trainin'          Micky in the movie right now?                         DICKY                          (SHADOWBOXING BOOBOO)          That's not til 9.                         BECKY          It's 11:45, Dick.                         DICKY          What?!          SMASH CUT TO:          9 48 SMITH ST., CRACK HOUSE - DOWNTOWN, LOWELL - DAY 9          They scramble looking for the car.                         DICKY          Where'd you fuckin' pahk the cah,          BooBoo?                         BOOBOO          I didn't pahk it, you did!          They are on the street of row houses, CAMBODIAN IMMIGRANTS.          ( C'.ONTTNTTF.n 1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 15.                         9 CONTINUED: 9                         DICKY          Fuckit, I'll run, I need the                         ROADWORK -          Dicky starts running down the street ...BooBoo shakes his          head, "roadwork?"...Wolfie staring after Dicky in shock.                         BOOBOO          Roadwork?! Are you crazy?                         WOLFIE          He runs great even when he's high.          10 STREETS - DOWNTOWN, LOWELL - DAY 10          .Dicky runs in his crack clothes, shorts, work          boots... .Dicky runs in his crack clothes, shorts, work boots,          throwing punches in the air. HE PASSES A 'WARD ROOFING' TRUCK          and WAVES to his father GEORGE WARD ON A ROOF WITH WORKMAN.                         DICKY                         (RUNNING)          Hey, Pappa!          George looks up as he kneels, roofing, and sees Dicky. Kids          run after him shouting.          11 RAMALHO'S WEST END GYM - 1ST FLOOR - DAY 11          HBO camera crew in the background filming Micky working the          heavy bag, boom-boom-boom-boom! Tinny radio blares 'Voices          Carry' by Til Tuesday. ALICE LOOKS THROUGH SCRAP BOOKS WITH          THE SISTERS WHO LAUGH AND CHAT.          Dicky BURSTS THROUGH THE DOOR sweating out-of-breath, yet          still goes into his trademark pimp stroll. Nobody turns,          Micky's punches and radio too loud. His mouth drops, sees the          camera filming Micky.                         DICKY          Quackah!                         MICKY          Quackah! Look who decided to show          up, Dicky Donuts.          ALICE AND SISTERS          Ahh! Dicky! Quackah!                         (CNNTTNTTFM                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 16.                         11 CONTINUED:                         11                         DICKY          (notices Alice's hair,                         TOUCHES IT)          - This is nice.          She slaps his hand away half coyly.                         DICKY          (walks over to the HBO          camera, laughs)          You been talkin' to the camera,          Mick? Introduce everybody!          (laughs, points at Carlos)          Hoppy cut!                         MICKY          (throws upper cut)          -Hoppy cut!          CARLOS GARCIA, 50, short, Puerto Rican, points back, laughs                         DICKY          Goncho, goncho, no goo' for yooou,          Deeckie, no goo' for youuu!'                         CARLOS          (thick Puerto Rican          accent, nods)          No goo for you, Deeckie!          Micky cracks up. Ray Ramalho, cerebral palsey limps up to          Dicky, high-fives him.                         RAY RAMALHO          Dickyeeeee!                         DICKY          Ray-Ray!          (sweetly holds Ray's head          to his to teach him)          Put ya hands like this, turn that          punch. Turn it. Ya ready for the          camrahs?          Micky's stands waiting, watching Dicky putting on a show.          It's always the Dicky show.                         HBO PRODUCER                         (TO MICKY)          Are you annoyed that Dicky's late?          Micky smiles, fades, a little annoyed, sorta covers.                         ( C:ONTTNURD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 16A.                         11 CONTINUED: (2) 11                         DICKY          Micky, how do ya make a girl sound          just like a porpoise?                         MICKY          I don't know, how?                         DICKY           Ya go for the back door [Looks over           his shoulder, shakes his head          'no' ]" "Eh-Eh! Eh-Eh!' [Everyone          cracks up] I had a lot of eggs this          mornin' I'm full of yokes!          Micky laughs as he punch/taps Dicky in the ribs.                         DICKY          (holds his back)          My back! My back!                         MICKY          (laughing, mimics Dicky)          "My back! My back! I'm full a          yokes!" Quackah!                         DICKY          We got Saoul Mamby. Jewish, black,          formah World Champ. I think we got          all the bases covahed, right?          (laughs) Micky lost three fights in          a row, he can't get used to losin',          it becomes a mental thing, we're          gonna break it with Mamby, right?                         MICKY          Yeah, let's train!                         (CONTTNTTRD                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 17.                         11 CONTINUED: (3)                         11                         DICKY          Enough a you wastin' time, Mick,          half the fuckin' day's gone, we got          work to do!          Micky glares at Dicky like he's going to fucking hit him.                         DICKY          Oooh, Alice, he's mad now, look at          him. Ya hit one those guys like ya          wanna hit me right now maybe ya          woulda won one of them fights!          (laughs to HBO producer) See? He's          a quiet guy, he needs the fire.          SMASH CUT TO:          12 RING, RAMALHO'S GYM - DAY                         12          Micky, mad, motivated, works mits with Dicky. As they flow          together, Dicky's movement is, impressive, fluid and more          intense.                         DICKY          (calls out combinations)          Work, work, head, body, head, body.          [To camera] Set it up sneaky,          switches stances inside. No!          [shoves Micky] That's too far out,          switch inside, see, he switches          outside, I'm gonna catch him like          this, [upper cuts Micky, nails          him], don't switch OUTSIDE!          Micky, mad, throws a fast combination back but Dicky leans on          the ropes and SLIPS IT ALL, clinches Micky, smiles at camera,          pops his hips forward.                         DICKY                         (CLINCHING)          Gimme Jose!          SMASH CUT TO:          .Micky sparring Jose in the ring, headgear, mouthpiece.          Dicky on the apron, shouting out instructions. Alice and his          sisters standing behind him. HBO documentary camera filming.          (CC)NTTNT7Fn )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 18.                         12 CONTINUED: 12                         DICKY          (shouting at Micky)          Micky does everythin' I tell him,          he's goin' all the way to a world          title! Now move, that's why you          dropped the weight! We're gonna out          box Mamby. [Now to Producer] Three          months. I can get myself back in          shape in three months.                         ALICE          (hand on Dicky's shoulder)          My Dicky can do anything!          Micky looks over annoyed.                         DICKY          Hook-- Head-Body-Head! C'mon!          That's ya fuckin' combo, head-body-          head!                         ALICE          Dicky taught him that!                         DICKY          (throwing the combo himself)          Ya know Sugah Ray's gonna be there          callin' the fight for ESPN. I ain't          seen him since since I knocked 'im          down 14 yeahs ago.          (shouts at Micky in ring)          You don't wanna embarrass yaself in          front a Sugah Ray, do ya Mick?!          Micky scowls at them, gets inside, unloads a vicious hook to          Gilberto's ribs. Jose crumples down to the canvas.          .Micky's eyes go wide as he looks down at Jose on the          ground. Micky's surprised himself, that was good!                         DICKY          That's ya punch, Micky.                         (CNNTTNTTRD)                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 19.                         12 CONTINUED: (2)                         12                         ALICE          (nods, clapping)          Both my boys are gonna do it!                         MICKY          (hiding a young smile)          Hey Jose, I'm sorry. [helps Jose                         UP]                         DICKY          That's a kidney punch, shuts the          whole body down. Right heah -          [pokes HBO producer on the spot and          he bends over in pain, Dicky          laughs].          13 STREET, RAMALHO'S GYM - DUSK 13           .Micky & Dicky head out of the gym, showered, dressed, hair           still wet. Alice walking up ahead of them heading for her          ' 88 white Lincoln Continental parked on the street, Little          Alice and Beaver (Phyllis) following after her. HBO cameras          gone.                         MICKY          (energized, hopeful)          I feel good. I feel lightah.                         DICKY (CONT'D)          You look good! You can definitely          do this. You look good in there,          Micky, real good. [false teeth          sideways, crazy face]. I'm Saoul          Mamby, Micky Ward hit me -          Dicky arm around Micky, walks up to Alice at her car, Little          Alice and Beaver getting inside. He shoves his dentures coo-          coo sideways --                         (RLNTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 19A.                         13 CONTINUED:                         13          Micky smiles as Dicky acts crazier, zinging him in the sides          a little; Micky zings him back, two brothers, they mash into          Alice and sisters and against the car, all laughing, Dicky          tickles Alice.                         (CNNTTNTTFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 20.                         13 CONTINUED: (2) 13                         ALICE          (scrunches her neck &          shoulder, squirms away                         LAUGHING)          I can't stand that, Dicky, JESUS,          STOP!          14 ' 89 SILVER FORD TEMPO (MOVING) - NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE - DAM          .Micky driving his banged-up old car, parking in the          driveway of a large beautiful house, upper-class          neighborhood.          15 EXT. BEAUTIFUL HOUSE - FRONT DOOR - DAY 15          Micky knocking on the door. His ex-girlfriend's husband,          JIMMY, 45, well off, answers the door.                         LAURIE'S HUSBAND                         (WHISPERS)          Micky, how's it goin'? Ya know I          don't think Laurie's expecting --          LAURIE CARROLL, 32, dirty blonde, thin walks up.                         LAURIE          What's he doing here? This isn't          your visitation day, Micky.                         MICKY          I just wanna say hi to Kasie.                         LAURIE          It's not your day, goodbye.                         MICKY          I'm not around next weekend --                         LAURIE          Now you're ditchin' the days you DO          have?                         MICKY          I have a fight I told you that. (To          Jimmy) Jimmy --                         ( NNTTNTTFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 21.                         15 CONTINUED: 15                         JIMMY          I can't get in the middle.                         MICKY          I'm asking YOU, Jimmy. I can't talk          to her, so I'm asking YOU.                         JIMMY          Kasie, talk to your father.          .Micky's daughter, KASIE WARD, 10, curly hair, cute, comes          up to the door, hugs her father hello.                         LAURIE          Goddamnit, Jimmy!                         JIMMY          Don't put me in the middle-a this                         KASIE          (through the doorway)          Daddy's gotta fight Saoul Mamby-                         MICKY          That's right, and I wanna tell ya          that after I win --                         LAURIE          Talk to her on your days!                         MICKY          I'm gonna staht makin' good money                         LAURIE          Hah! That's a good one!                         MICKY          I'll move to a biggah apahtment so          you can live with me more days like          we talked about.                         LAURIE          Don't hold ya breath, Kasie. It's          cruel to mislead ya child, Micky.          She closes the door, arguing inside with Jimmy.                         KASIE          (shouts through door)          Good luck, Daddy!          ( C'.nNTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 22.                         15 CONTINUED: (2) 15                          MICKY           (shouts to door)           Thanks, Kasie.          16 EXT. MICKY'S APARTMENT ABOVE GARAGE - MORNING - LATER IN THIB                         WEEK          Micky's apartment above a two-car garage, next to a gray          Victorian house, lower-class neighborhood.          17 BEDROOM, MICKY'S APARTMENT - EARLY MORNING 17          Micky fixes himself in the mirror, straightening his button-          down shirt, wears an ill-fitting sports coat, looks like a          little boy playing dress up. Suitcase open on his bed. This          is it, the day before the big fight.          18 ' 89 SILVER FORD TEMPO (MOVING) - LOWER HIGHLANDS, LOWELL -18                         EARLY MORNING          Micky parks in front of his parents' house; a limo out front.          Micky opens the door, grabs his suitcase...          19 ALICE & GEORGE WARD'S HOUSE, BEDROOM - 28 HAWTHORNE ST., 19          LOWER HIGHLANDS - EARLY MORNING          Alice checks her hair, smooths her dress in the mirror.          George, dressed nicely, struggles to close their suitcase on          the bed, whistling. Both smiling, excited about the day, the          fight. LITTLE Dicky, 5, redhead, Dicky's son, runs in,          followed by Pork.                         ALICE          (embraces Little Dicky)          Little Dicky, listen to Mummy, you          be good for ya Aunt Cathy so ya          daddy can help ya Uncle Micky win a          fight, OK?          20 LIMOUSINE (PARKED) - ALICE & GEORGE WARD'S HOUSE - EARLY 20                         MORNING          .Micky, Alice, George, Pork, Sherry, and Red Rog standing          around the limousine. All dressed nice for their travel.          They exchange looks. George shakes his head and mutters          something to himself. No sign of fucking Dicky.                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          (lowers his voice)          It's none a my business, but I been          goin' to meetin's, and they say let          go and let Gahd. You don't need          this shit, Micky. Let's just go          without 'im.                         (RONTTNTTFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 23.                         20 CONTINUED: 20                         MICKY          (looks down at his feet)          - thanks, Mick, but Dicky taught me          everything, he's been in my cornah,          ya know. I can't do it without 'im.                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          You're already doin' it without          him.          A21 EXT. CRACK HOUSE - EARLY MORNING A21          Micky walks down the driveway of the crack house as Alice          walks up to the front porch.          21 CRACK HOUSE, 2ND FLOOR - LIVING ROOM - EARLY MORNING 21          .Dicky open mouth makes out with Karen, his Cambodian          girlfriend, BooBoo sits next to them smoking crack. They've          been up for days, eyes racing, high.                         WOLFIE          (shouts from downstairs)          Dicky, YOUR MUTHUAH'S OUTSIDE!                         DICKY          (real fear in his eyes)          I'm not here!           Bonnie laughs as Dicky rushes for an open window in the back           of the kitchen, 2nd floor of the crack house. Dicky climbs           out the window and jumps...          22 BACK ALLEY, CRACK HOUSE 22          .Dicky flying, falling... lands hard on top of some garbage          bags...Bounces onto the filthy ground. He rolls over, his          back fucked. Stumbles up to his feet, grimacing...          Micky stands there waiting in the back yard, watching.                         MICKY          What the fuck are you doin'?                         DICKY                         (WHISPERS)          Don't tell Ma I'm here, pick me up          back at the house, I'll go through          the yahds -                         MICKY          We gotta go to the airport now.          You know how important this fight          is.                         (CNNTTNTTFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 23aA.                         22 CONTINUED:                         22                         DICKY                         (WHISPERS)          Pick me up at the house!          Micky gives Dicky a boost onto a fence to climb over.                         MICKY                         (BOOSTING DICKY)          Hurry up, she's out front, and we          gotta flight to catch.          But as Dicky struggles to climbing over, George comes          charging toward them.                         (CONTTNTIFT) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 23A.                         22 CONTINUED: (2)                         22                         (CNNTTNTTFT) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 24.                         22 CONTINUED: (3)                         22                         GEORGE          This is what you do to ya brothah          the day we travel?          George pulls Dicky off the fence, swings at him with a big          punch; Dicky slips the punch and nails George in the eye with          an overhand right, George goes down. Micky rolls his eyes.                         MICKY          Could we please just go to the          airport for once?          Alice comes around the corner.                         ALICE                         (SCREAMS)          Ohmygawd, Dicky, why do you come to          this place?                         DICKY          (walks her, arm around)          No, no, I just came to check on          some friends, I'm not mixed up in          this.          Micky looks at his mother in disbelief, his father down on          the ground behind him... . his brother high out of his mind.                         MICKY          Help ya husband up, Alice. Ya          husband's on the ground there.          Instead Dicky helps Alice up the driveway to the limo. Micky          helps his father to his feet.                         23 LIMOUSINE (PARKED)           - CRACK HOUSE - MORNING 23          Everybody sits in the limo in silence looking out different          windows as Micky helps George settle into his seat and hands          him a can of Coke George holds to his punched eye.                         MICKY          Close the door.                         DICKY          Hold on.          BOO BOO STARTS TO CLIMB IN, 'COSMO' written on forehead.                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          What the fuck is he doin' here?                         ( NNTTNTIFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 25.                         23 CONTINUED: 23                         DICKY          We got a promotional thing we're          doin', for the bar, it's gonna be          good, you'll see.                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          No. That's distracting for Micky.                         DICKY          Nobody asked you!                         MICKY          No. No BooBoo.          BooBoo looks to Dicky who rolls his eyes; BooBoo leaves.          Micky stares in disbelief.          24 RESORTS INTERNATIONAL CASINO - ATLANTIC CITY - DAY 24          Alice leads Dicky, Micky, George, Mickey O'Keefe through the          ringing slot machines of a casino.          25 MICKY HOTEL'S ROOM - RESORTS INTERNATIONAL - NEXT MORNING 25          Next morning, day of the fight. Micky & Dicky hanging out in          Micky's room, sitting on the bed watching a video of "Mamby          vs Meekins" on TV.                         DICKY          (excited, jumps up off the          bed, showing Micky)          See his right ahm goes leaves his          side open, light him up like a          pinball machine, he'll be pissin'          blood, no way you lose, no way -          .Alice and LOU GOLD, 40s, balding, mustache, the matchmaker          for ESPN, walk into the room, "Mamby vs Meekins" still          playing on TV. Alice looks serious.                         DICKY          (stretches out his back)          ESPN couldn't get us bettah rooms          than this, Lou?                         LOU GOLD          I wouldn't worry about the rooms,          Dicky, we gotta bigger issue.                         ( NNTTNTTFN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 26.                         25 CONTINUED:                         25                         DICKY          Like what?                         ALICE                         (SADLY)          The doctor won't let Mamby fight.                         MICKY          Why not?                         LOU GOLD          He's got the flu.                         MICKY          Mamby got the flu?!                         MICKY          feels his whole fight plan go out the window.                         LOU GOLD          We can still have a fight, Micky.          Micky stares at him.                         MICKY          With who?                         LOU GOLD          Mike Mungin.                         MICKY          Mike Who? Mungin?                         DICKY          The guy from Philly, ain't he in          prison?                         LOU GOLD          He's been out a few months. It's          the only guy we could find, I          called everybody.                         MICKY          The last few fights were rough,          Lou, this one's 'sposed to be a          little easiah.                         LOU GOLD          The guy just got off the couch          today, it's an easy win for Micky.          Dicky and Alice nod, Micky unsure.                         LOU GOLD          Joey Ferrell knocked this guy out.          (C_nNTTNTTT?T)1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 27.                         25 CONTINUED: (2) 25                         ALICE          Micky knocked out Joey Ferrell.                         LOU GOLD          Exactly, and Mungin just got off          the couch. He can't make weight, of          course, he's a bit over.                         ALICE          How over?                         LOU GOLD          Maybe 162, 165.                          MICKY                          (EYES WIDE)          165?                         DICKY          He's a fuckin' middleweight, Ron!                         ALICE          Micky got light! He's 146!                         DICKY          We're gonna box Mamby, not slug it          out with a middleweight!                         LOU GOLD          He's fat! He just got off the          couch!                         DICKIE          (exhales, thinks)          OK. And Joey Ferrell knocked him          out. I gotcha.                         MICKY          Hold on, 165's big.                         DICKIE          You knocked out Joey Ferrell.                         MICKY          So what? The guy's a middleweight.                         DICKIE          He just got off the couch.                         MICKY          He's 20 pounds bigger than me.                         (CONTTNIWN 1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 27A.                         25 CONTINUED: (3) 25                         DICKY          Joey Ferrell knocked him out! You          knocked out Joey Ferrell.                         MICKY          You just said that.                         DICKIE          You can't be scared.                         MICKY          How 'bout you go fight him? He's a          middleweight.                         DICKIE          He's fat. You knocked out Joey          Ferrell.                         MICKY          How many times ya gonna say I          knocked out Joey Ferrell? A beats B          B beats C so A can beat C? But what          if it rains that day, anything          could happen --                         LOU GOLD          You don't fight, nobody gets paid.          Whoa. Micky sees Alice and Dicky looking at him.                         MICKY          OK. Joey Ferrell knocked this guy          out. And I knocked out Joey          Ferrell.          They all nod.                         ALICE          You gotta pay us somethin' extra           for the change, Lou. [He nods]          26 AUDITORIUM - RESORTS INTERNATIONAL - 26          TITLE: Ward vs. Mungin - Resorts International, Atlantic          City. MICKY CLIMBS INTO THE RING WHILE WE HEAR ALICE DIALOG          OS ENDING PREVIOUS NEGOTIATION.          Micky's in white trunks, robe with "'Irish' Micky Ward" on          the back, following Dicky, Mickey O'Keefe, 2nd in the corner,          cutman ED ALIANO. Micky sees his name spelled wrong on the          back of the white corner men jackets, "Mickey Ward."                         MICKY          I don't spell my name with an 'e.                         (CNNTTNTTF N'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 28.                         26 CONTINUED: 26                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          Don't fuckin' ask me. I just take          what ya give me.          O'Keefe turns back to Micky who's staring at MIKE "MACHINE          GUN" MUNGIN, 27, 5'9", 158 lbs, red trunks, in the opposite          corner: HUGE, and in prison shape, big biceps, shoulders,          neck. Micky's eyes widen with fear.                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          That guy's not a welter weight.                         MICKY          (whispers to his brother)          Dicky, look at that guy.          .Dicky's not listening, waving to the HBO cameraman filming          ringside... sees SUGAR RAY LEONARD, now 38, sitting ringside,          calling the fight for ESPN with AL BERNSTEIN, 40s, salt &          pepper hair, mustache.                         DICKY          Ray! Sugah Ray! Ovah heah!          Sugar Ray doesn't respond to Dicky. He's talking to the ESPN          camera, still looks young, handsome, not a mark on him.                         DICKY          We gotta talk latah!                         MICKY          Dicky, listen to me. I can't lose          again. Look at that guy.          DICKY NOW LOOKS AT MIKE MUNGIN AND HIS HEAD SNAPS A LITTLE.                         DICKY          Holy shit. [rubs Micky's neck]                         MICKY O'KEEFE          Yeah, holy shit, stop lookin' at          Sugar Ray and wake up.          We'll hafta run the first few          rounds, get 'im tiahed, he can't be          ready, right? He just got off his          fuckin' couch.                         MICKY          He did not just get off his          fuckin' couch.                         DICKY          Look at me, Mick, don't look away.                         (CNNTTNTTFV) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 28A.                         26 CONTINUED: (2) 26          He grabs Micky's chin and makes Micky look him in the eye.                         ((''CNTTNTTPT)                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 29.                         26 CONTINUED: (3) 26                         DICKY          You can't go back to fightin'          scared, you gotta hit back like you          know you can and I know you can. I          don't care who that guy is, you're          Micky Ward.          Micky nods, but we see he's scared; it's not a fair fight.          27 RING - RESORTS INTERNATIONAL - 8:16 PM 27           TITLE: Rd 3 - :49 (time running down). Mungin muscling Micky          into a corner, blood already dripping from Micky's nose.          Hook to the body--Hook to the body--Hard uppercut ...Bam! Bam!          Bam! Micky stumbles, hurt, almost goes down, blood spilling          down his nose, mouth, face, hear AL BERNSTEIN, "Oh, he hurt          Micky Ward!"...Micky ties Mungin up, holding on.. .Sugar Ray          Leonard, "This would be a huge upset! I'm not sure what Micky          expected from a last minute substitute, but he surely          couldn't have expected this."          .Dicky screaming from ringside for Micky to move.. .Alice,          George sitting behind him can't look. . .Micky tries to fight          back ...Mungin's just too big, too strong, unloading hard          shots to Micky's head, big uppercuts ...Micky's getting the          shit kicked out of him...All he can do is cover up, holding          his gloves close to his face.. .The bell rings. End of Rd 3.          ALICE IN THE CROWD LOOKS AWAY, CRYING.          28 MICKY'S CORNER, RING 28          .Micky heads for his corner, blood running, Dicky jumps          into the ring, Mickey O'Keefe puts down the stool.. .Micky          sits down, ED ALIANO starts to wipe the blood from his face,          Dicky takes out Micky's mouthpiece.                         DICKY          - Button it up, Ed. If you can't          stop the bleedin', we'll fuckin'          sue ya.          .Ed Aliano smiles, sticks swabs up Micky's nose to stop the          bleeding, get everything cleaned out. . .Dicky pours water into          Micky's mouth. Micky swishes it around, spits it out...                         DICKY          You okay?          (C_C)NTTNTTTT) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 30.                         28 CONTINUED: 28                         MICKY          (looks up at his brother;          knows he can't win)                         YUH -                         DICKY          What're you doin' out there? You          feel like fightin' or what? You          gotta jab and move. Don't stand in          front of this guy, keep 'im off ya,          jab and move -          (shows him, jabbing the          air, moving back & forth)          Jab and move. What are you ascared          of? You're fightin' scared again!          Micky just nods.          29 RING - RESORTS INTERNATIONAL - 8:31 PM 29           TITLE: Rd 6 - 2:01 (time running down. Micky covering his          face with his gloves, gash open, bleeding above his left          eye.. .hear Al Bernstein, "Micky's taking a beating. He's          standing there taking those shots from Mungin.I'm not sure          why." Leonard, "I don't know, Micky was once one of the most          promising light welterweights around, but he's had some tough          luck losses, and sometimes after a fighter loses a few times          it becomes a mental thing." Mungin hits him with hard left          uppercut and an overhand right right on the chin. . .Micky goes          sprawling across the ring, stumbling backwards... Falling down          hard onto the canvas!          .Micky gets back onto his feet, looks into his corner at          Dicky screaming, "Hold on! Hold on!"...Micky bleeding from          his nose, above his eye, looks lost. . .Referee JOE CORTEZ          gives him a standing eight-count, "One... Two... Three..."          .Micky wipes blood from his nose with the back of his          glove..."Six... Seven..." He glances into the crowd, blood          smeared on his face, gloves, sees his mother covering her          face with her hands...          30 RING - RESORTS INTERNATIONAL - 8:49 PM 30          Post-fight, crowded. Ring doctor checking the cut above          Micky's left eye, another deep gash open on his cheekbone          just under the eye, still bleeding from his nose, his face a          bloody mess.. .Dicky wiping Micky's face with a sponge,          glancing down at the HBO crew, shaking his head, Mickey          O'Keefe rubbing Micky's neck ...Mungin smiling in the          background, everybody waiting for the decision...                         (CONTTNTIRT)                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 31.                         30 CONTINUED: 30          .Blood, sweat dripping into Micky's eyes, he knows he lost,          he knows he fucking lost again...          31 MICKY'S DRESSING ROOM - RESORTS INTERNATIONAL - NIGHT 31          Micky sits on the trainer's table in the middle of the room,          showered, dressed, face bandaged. Alice gently touches the          back of his neck, whispers in his ear. He nods. She holds his          head a few moments. Dicky comes in. HUGS HIS BROTHER.                         DICKY          We nevah shoulda fought that guy.          Forget about it. Alice, HBO's          waitin' for us. Sugah Ray's out          there! C'mon you come too, Mick.          Dicky heads back out. Alice looks at Micky, pats his cheek          and follows after Dicky, leaving Micky sitting alone on the          trainer's table.          32 RESORTS INTERNATIONAL, CASINO - NIGHT 32          Dicky walks toward Sugar Ray Leonard who is with A PRETTY          WOMAN AND A BODYGUARD signing autographs for fans.                         DICKY          RAAAAAAAY! Hey, Ray,--          The bodyguard stops him. Sugar Ray sees Dicky and waves him          over.. .Dicky smiles, missing teeth. The HBO cameraman          following after him. Sugar Ray shakes Dicky's hand.          SUGAR RAY LEONARD          Tough night for your brother, he          shoulda jabbed more, stayed away.                         DICKY          That's what I was tellin' 'im! I          told 'im, Ray. But Mungin weighs          like 160 pounds! ESPN fucked us,--          (stretches his back, turns          to Sugar Ray's girl)          Ya know I knocked Ray down.          SUGAR RAY LEONARD          (laughs, smiles his          million dollar smile)          Come on, Dick, I tripped.                         ( C''NNTTNTTFT))                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 32.                         32 CONTINUED: 32                         DICKY          Oh don't say that now. I know I          look like shit, but,-- I went 10          rounds with you, Ray, I knocked you          down. C'mon, lemme buy you guys a          drink.          SUGAR RAY LEONARD          Thanks, Dick, but we have to get          going, I have a plane to catch.                         DICKY          (points to the HBO                         CAMERAMAN)          HBO's doin' a movie on me, Ray.          And I'd like to call ya sometime,          I'm gonna get a fight, and I'd like          ya to be there for old time's          sakes, ya know, maybe you can          commentate on it or somethin'.          SUGAR RAY LEONARD          OK, Dick, you let me know. What's          the movie about?                         DICKY          (looks at Sugar Ray like          he's fucking crazy; what                         ELSE)          My comeback.          Sugar Ray just nods at Dicky, sees Alice walking up to them.          SUGAR RAY LEONARD          - You look great Mrs. Ward, hope          you're well.                         ALICE          Nevah bettah, Ray, nevah bettah.          God bless.          Sugar Ray smiles and slips out of the casino with the girl          and his bodyguard, leaving Dicky & Alice standing alone under          the bright neon lights. HBO camera still filming...          DICKY TURNS AND SEES MICKY TALKING TO AN OLDER GUY,MIKE TOMA,          30 FEET AWAY. TOMA'S ENTOURAGE STANDING NEARBY.                         DICKY          What's he talkin' to Mike Toma for?          He starts to head over.                         (RNNTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 33.                         32 CONTINUED: (2) 32                         ALICE          (holds Dicky back,          lowering her voice so the          camera doesn't hear)          Stay heah, Dick, stay heah, don't          go ovah thayh.                         CUT TO:          33 MICKY TALKING TO MIKE TOMA; TOMA'S ENTOURAGE NEARBY. 33                         MIKE TOMA          (shakes his head, gruff                         BROOKLYN ACCENT)          You goin' to the hospital?                         MICKY                         (NODS)          They said I need stitches.                         MIKE TOMA          (pulls Micky in closer,          lowers his voice)          Listen, Mick, I'm just gonna cut to          it, you never shoulda fought that          guy. You should be doin' better.          With all due respect, I don't think          you're bein' handled properly. I          wanna give you a real shot. I want          ya to come with me. I wanna pay ya          to train with my guys.                         MICKY          Where?                         MIKE TOMA          Las Vegas. Do it right and make          one last run at this thing before          it's too late.                         MICKY          You'll pay me to train in Vegas?                         MIKE TOMA          Change of scenery's good, get outta          Lowell.          Micky looks at him, eyes widen as he looks over Toma's          shoulder; he seems to feel a touch of VERTIGO AS CAMERA          CIRCLES so we can see what he's looking at: ALICE AND DICKY          30 FEET AWAY WATCHING.                         ( C'_NNTTNTTFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 34.                         33 CONTINUED: 33                         MICKY          What about my brothah?                         BOB ARUM          (shakes his head)          With all due respect, he's too much          trouble. You owe it to yourself to          come to Vegas.          CAMERA CIRCLES BACK TO MICKEY STARING AT HIS FAMILY,          THINKING, deciding.          34 LIMOUSINE (MOVING) - LOWER HIGHLANDS, LOWELL - SATURDAY 34                         MORNING          Hear his mother and father and brother laughing, kibbitzing,          smoking cigarettes.                         ALICE          What did Mike Toma want?                         MICKY          (looking out window,                         DISTANT)          He wants to train me in Vegas.          Alice and Dicky glance at each other, and study Micky.                         DICKY          You can't trust that guy, Micky,          you don't know 'im. Did he say          anythin' about me? Did he say I          could come?                         MICKY          (looking out window)          No, he didn't mention you.                         ALICE          Who's gonna look out for ya in          Vegas, Micky? They're all crooks          out there. What would you do          without Dicky? Or the family?                         MICKY          (looks at Dicky)          Yeah I know. That's what I told          'im.          Micky looks back out the window, face bandaged, no emotion.                                                                                                              The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 35.          35 EXT. ALICE & GEORGE WARD'S HOUSE - LIMOUSINE (PARKED) - 35                         MORNING          Everyone walking away from the limo, suitcases in hand.          Micky heading for his shitty car parked on the street, Dicky          walking to Alice's house with his mother and father. Micky          O'Keefe stands nearby at his car. Pork, Tar, Beaver, Sherry          and Red Dog are also there.                         DICKY          (calls out to Micky)          Take care, Mick, we'll talk          tommorrah.          Little Dicky runs out of the house into Dicky's arms.                         DICKY          Hey, champ! Daddy's home!                         LITTLE DICKY          Did Uncle Micky win?                         DICKY          Not this time, Dicky, try and gimme          a sock in the nose--          Micky, lost in thought, stands at his car watching Dicky          playing with Little Dicky.                         ALICE                         (TO MICKY)          We'll get you anothah fight, Micky.                         MICKY          Nah, I don't think I wanna do this          no more.                         ALICE          What?                         DICKY          (looks up as Little Dicky          tags him in the nose)          What're you talkin' about?          George walks over to his Micky sympathetically as Dicky grabs          his brother by the shoulders.                         DICKY          ESPN screwed us, they owe us.          We'll get anothah fight. Just get          healed up, Micky, you're okay -                         (RNNTTNTTFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 36.                         35 CONTINUED: 35                         ALICE          Listen to your bruthah, honey, they          owe us big time. Maybe they could          even do Dicky's comeback fight too.          Micky just nods okay. Dicky pats him on the back as Micky          gets into his car.                         GEORGE          Christ, Alice, he's been through          the wringah -                         ALICE          What're you talkin' about?          (to O'Keefe who's staring                         AT HER)          - And what's your fuckin' problem?          Mickey O'Keefe shakes his head and walks away.          36 MICKY'S APARTMENT, ABOVE GARAGE - NIGHT 36          PAN of photographs of Kasie, Micky & Dicky in the ring after          fights; red & white boxing gloves; boxing magazine;          flickering TV. Micky lies sleeping in his clothes on the          couch, bandages on his head. He sits up, TV playing.          He gets up and walks into the small kitchen, grabs a beer out          of the refrigerator, swallows some PAIN pills. And picks up          the cocktail NAPKIN WITH CHARLENE'S NUMBER AND HEART ON IT.          Picks up the phone, starts to dial, stops, looks at the          number. Hangs up the phone. Goes back into the living room          and lies down on the couch and falls asleep again. FADE OUT.          37 FADE IN. NEXT MORNING. MICKY'S STILL SLEEPING IN HIS 37          CLOTHES ON THE COUCH, TV STILL ON, MORNING LIGHT BLEEDING          THROUGH THE SHADES. HE IS WOKEN BY BANGING ON HIS DOOR.          MICKY SNAPS AWAKE, SITS UP, LOOKING AROUND.                         MICKY          (groggy, out of it)          What,-- What is it?          He gets up off the couch and peeks through the shade.. .AND          SEES CHARLENE STANDING ON HIS DOORSTEP. Scared, he ducks          back down, crouches behind a chair. KNOCKING continues.                         (RNNTTNTTFT))                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 37.                         37 CONTINUED: 37                          CHARLENE (OS)          I saw your shadow. And I heard you          talk two seconds ago!          Micky doesn't move.                         CHARLENE (OS)          Why don't you open the door and          tell me to my face why you didn't          call me yestahday?          Micky thinks, goes to the door, opens it. Charlene is          slightly taken aback by his bandaged face.                         CHARLENE          - Why'd you stand me up last night?                         MICKY          I was gonna call, I started to          call, but I couldn't call.                         CHARLENE          'Cuz you lost the fight?                         MICKY                         (PAUSE)          Maybe, yeah, 'cuz I lost the fight.          They stand there looking at each other.                         MICKY          How'd you know my house anyway?                         CHARLENE          I asked my brothah,--          (sees one of the bandages          on his head peeling away)          Your, ahhh, your thing is comin'          off.          She points to his face. He touches the right side bandage.                         CHARLENE          No, the othah thing. It's a mess.          It IS a mess.                         CHARLENE          Ya got any tape?                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 38.          38 MICKY'S BATHROOM - DAY 38           Micky sits on the edge of the tub while Charlene carefully re-           bandages the left side of his eye and cheek bone. It is           quiet for a few moments while Micky looks into her face.                         CHARLENE                         (QUIETLY)          Did the Jewish black guy do this to          you?          Micky looks away. Charlene fixes the bandage.                         MICKY          I didn't get to fight the Jewish          black guy.                         CHARLENE          You didn't go head-body-head.                         MICKY          (shakes his head)          He got the flu, the guy who took          his place had 16 pounds on me, I          nevah shoulda fought him.                         CHARLENE          So why'd you fight him?                         MICKY          Nobody woulda got paid. Everybody          said I could beat 'im.                         CHARLENE          Who's everybody?                         MICKY          My mothah and my brothah.          She looks at him as she takes this in.                         CHARLENE          So are you gonna take me to dinnah          and movie tonight or what?                         CUT TO:          39 ' 89 SILVER FORD TEMPO (PARKED) - CHARLENE'S APARTMENT - DUS9          Sun starting to set. Micky stands next to his car, checks          himself in the side view mirror, hair still wet, combed, new          bandage on his face, pauses.                         (CINTTNTTFN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 39.                         39 CONTINUED: 39          CUT TO: He opens the passenger door for Charlene, she's in a          tight top, short skirt, fancy flip-flops. Her large yellow          Victorian house behind her.                         MICKY          Wow, you look great. You got a          nice house.                         CHARLENE          Thanks. It's an apahtment building.                         MICKY          Oh.                         CHARLENE          There's five of 'em in there, one-a          my old roommates lives in one.                         MICKY          (closes the door, gets          into the car)          Old roommates from where?                         CHARLENE          College, but a lot a good it did          me, I'm workin' in a bah.                         MICKY          You seem to enjoy it. You're very          populah down there -                         CHARLENE          Uh yuh. Popular. I need to get          the hell outta that place. If I          don't drink while I'm workin' I'd          kill myself -                         MICKY          (starts the car, looks          over at her)          What college?                         CHARLENE          U.R.I. Full boat.                         MICKY          Scholarship? For what?                         CHARLENE          I was a high jumpah.                         (CNNTTNTIFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 40.                         39 CONTINUED: (2) 39                         MICKY          A high jumpah?! You gotta be          kiddin' me.                         CHARLENE          Fuck you, I cleahed 5-10, I was          New England Champ, but so what, I          nevah graduated. I pahtied too          much.                         MICKY          (drives looks at her          raising an eyebrow)          You?!          Charlene laughs lightly through her nose.          40 ' 89 SILVER FORD TEMPO (MOVING) - ART-HOUSE MOVIE THEATER - 40                          LEXINGTON- NIGHT           Night. Micky pulls up to an art house movie theater in           another city, state (right next door), "hip" part of town.           They get out of the car.                         CHARLENE          (looking around the          theater, street)          What the hell we doin' in Richie          Rich Lexington? You come to this          theatah a lot?                         MICKY          Oh yuh, it's a good movie theatah.          They have good movies.                         CHARLENE          Like what?                         MICKY                         (MUMBLES)          Bell-ah Epa-cue.          The marquis says "BELLE EPOOUE" is playing.                         CHARLENE          I think Belle Epic is how ya say it          and I nevah heard of it. Is it only          playin' up here in Lexington?                         MICKY          Oh yuh. And I heard it's a good          movie.                         (RNNTTNTTFN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 41.                         40 CONTINUED: 40                         CHARLENE          From who?                         MICKY          (walks ahead of her)          Guy at work -          She looks at him puzzled as she they enter the theater.          41 INT. LEXINGTON ART-HOUSE MOVIE THEATER - NIGHT 41          Four people there - movie in progress. Charlene sit watches,          looks at Micky asleep with his head back, mouth open.          42 EXT. LEXINGTON ART-HOUSE MOVIE THEATER - NIGHT 42          After movie, Micky and Charlene exit the theater. Neither          says a word for a moment.                         CHARLENE          That's what you wanted to see?          There wasn't even any sex. What          Lowell guy on a road crew saw that          movie in Lexington and recommended          it??          Micky walks quickly ahead to the car, can't find his keys.                         MICKY                         (GROWING ANXIOUS)          Where's the keys, I musta lost 'em          in the theatah, I'm a dummy [WALKS                         TOWARD THEATER]                         CHARLENE          Micky. [He stops, turns] They're          in your hand.          Micky looks at the keys in his hand, embarrassed.          43 ' 89 SILVER FORD TEMPO (PARKED) - NIGHT 43          .Charlene stares at him as he starts the car. He starts to          back out, looking over his shoulder.                         CHARLENE          What's going on? You afraid to run          into your girlfriend? You have a          girlfriend, just say it, that's why          you took me to Lexington.          then stops, puts the car in park and turns the engine off.          f nNTTNTTFT)'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 41A.                         43 CONTINUED: 43                         MICKY          I don't have a girlfriend. I came          here because I don't wanna show my          face in Lowell.                         (CNNTTNTTFT)1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 42.                         43 CONTINUED: (2) 43          Charlene stares at him. He doesn't look at her.                         CHARLENE          - What do you have to be ashamed          of?                         MICKY                         (GROWS DARK)          I told everyone I was gonna win          that fight and get back on track.          I told Kasie we'd get a biggah          place so she could move in.                         CHARLENE          (stares at him a beat)          You said you never shoulda fought          that guy, but your mothah and your          brothah wanted ya to do it.                         MICKY          What's the difference, I'm alone in          the ring anyway.                         CHARLENE          You think your family's lookin' out          for ya?                         MICKY          (finally looks at her)          You can't say that about my family.                         CHARLENE          What else could I say after what          you told me? Look at your face,          look at you.          Beat. He suddenly leans in and kisses her. The kiss builds          with confidence and passion to a very intense level of          connection and abandon and promise.          44 LOWELL MAN ON THE STREET INTERVIEWS. YEAH, WELL, HE LOST 44          AGAIN, YA KNOW, SO MAYBE HE'S GONNA BE DICKY ALL OVAH AGAIN,          NO CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR LOWELL, HE'S LIKE THE REST OF US I          GUESS. THE TOWN'S SEEN BETTAH DAYS, SO HAVE OUR FIGHTAHS.          45 ALICE & GEORGE WARD'S HOUSE - DAY - WEEKS LATER 45          CAMERA CIRCLES Alice talking on the phone, sitting at her          dining room table control center, long Lucky Strike cigarette          in her hand.                         (RNNTTNTTRT))                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 43.                         45 CONTINUED: 45          Most of the sisters sitting and walking around her, center of          their universe, some drinking some smoking, all chattering.                         ALICE                         (INTO PHONE)          - Bullshit, Lou, I'm not gonna stop          callin' til ya make it right and          give us a fight that's fair! My boy          coulda got killed last time. . .Like          what? ...What else?... OK, what is          it? Mm, mm. Now you're talkin',          that sounds very interesting, I'll          get back to you. [Hangs up] We          gotta a great opportunity, we gotta          find Micky.                         PORK          Nobody seen him for like a week.                         ALICE          Jesus, it used to be Dicky was the          one we couldn't find, now it's both          of 'em?                         TAR (CINDY)          I think Micky's with that girl from          the bah.                         ALICE          What girl?          RED DOG (GAIL)          George was all fuckin' eagah for          them to get togethah.                         BEAVER (PHYLLIS)          I heard she's into threeways.                         SHERRI          With othah girls.                         PORK (CATHY)          Yeah like one of them MTV girls -          ALICE LITTLE ALICE          (puts her hand over the (screws up her face)          phone) MTV girl?          MTV girls? What're you          talkin' about, Cathy?                         PORK (CATHY)          Wild.          (C ONTTNTT1 fl                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 44.                         45 CONTINUED: (2) 45                         TAR (CINDY)          She acts all superiah 'cuz she went          to college.                         ALICE          Just find Micky and tell him we          have business to discuss.          I'm gonna go find Dicky myself.          46 SMITH STREET, CRACK HOUSE - '88 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL (PARKEI4}5 -                         DAY          Alice, trailed by Dicky holding the white dog, walks back to          her car from the crack house, trying not to cry. Dicky,          behind her like a kid in trouble, looks like shit, up for          days. She pauses at the car, crying. Dicky hugs her          shoulders with one arm.          47 ALICE & GEORGE WARD'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY 47          Mid-handshakes, awkward Charlene, with Micky, meets Alice,          Tar, Beaver, Pork, Little Alice, Red Dog, Sherri. Cuts on          Micky's face healed. Charlene does a double take on Alice's          staring and studying her as Charlene has moved on to the          sisters, she and Alice share an icy wary look.                         ALICE          (looks Charlene up & down)          - I've heard a lot about you.                         CHARLENE          Really? I heard a lot about you,          too.                         ALICE          What's that supposed to mean?                         CHARLENE          The same thing you meant.          Micky shifts uncomfortably toward the sofa.                         MICKY          Why don't we sit down and hear          what's goin' on businesswise?                         CUT TO:          48 THEY ALL SIT IN THE LIVING ROOM 48                         ALICE          (smiles, excited again,          proud of herself)                         (MORE)                         (C ONTTNTTFT) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 45.                         48 CONTINUED: 48                          ALICE (CONT'D)          I got ya anothah fight, Mick, just          like I said I would. Lou Gold and          ESPN made it right.                         DICKY          (holds white dog)          Just like I told ya! Against Joey          Belinc in six weeks at Foxwoods!          Kid's like 10-8. He's nuthin'.           And they're payin' us 25 grand!                         ALICE          (nods, still smiling                         PROUD)          17.5, Dick.                         DICKY          17.5, I thought you said 25,          anyway that's still good money,          Mick.                         MICKY          Oh yuh. That's good, Dick, I'm          just, ya know, trying to figure          out what's best for me--          Micky tilts his head, cat's got his tongue. They all look at          him. Alice lights a cigarette, exhales, tense.                         ALICE          (exhales cig smoke)          Like what?                         DICKY          What!?          Charlene looks at Micky, as if to say, "speak. is He looks at          her, she starts to open her mouth, stops.                         ALICE          (looks at Micky, hurt)          I don't know why you're not more          excited, Mick. I thought ya'd be          more excited. That's good money.          It's a good fight. I got tough          with Lou Gold, Micky, I told him he          owes us.                         MICKY          Yeah, I know, Ma. It's just,-- I          don't want things goin' the way          they been goin'.                         ( CONTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 46.                         48 CONTINUED: (2) 48                         DICKY          (mouth open, wild-eyed)          Why, how they been goin'? You're          the one in the ring, Micky, yeah          that last one was unfair, but we          ain't gonna repeat that, so it's up          to you in the ring.                         MICKY          I know, but I don't want things to          go like they been goin' HERE.          ALICE AND DICKY          Where?                         MICKY          Here, this, us, Lowell. The          routine.                         ALICE          We're workin' very hard for you,          Micky, I don't know what more you          want.                         DICKY          What's his problem?          Micky sits back and folds his arms, a bit frustrated.                         CHARLENE          I don't know, maybe you not showin'          up on time to train. Maybe Micky          havin' to come find you in a crack                         HOUSE--                         ALICE          Crack house?!                         CHARLENE          --when you're sposed to go to the          airport.                         ALICE          (glares at Charlene)          I'm sorry, I don't understand who          you ah or why you're talkin' -                         CHARLENE          My name is Charlene, you just met          me, I'm datin' Micky. Should we do          it again? Hi, my name is Charlene.                         (CENTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 46A.                         48 CONTINUED: (3) 48                         DICKY          What do you know about anythin'!          We don't even know who you ah.                         MICKY          You just met her -                         (C()NTTNTTFT)1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 47.                         48 CONTINUED: (4) 48                         ALICE          (sits back, laughs)          YOU just met her!                         DICKY          (laughing with his mother)          He don't know who she is!                         MICKY          We're togethah.                         CHARLENE          (nods, getting pissed off)          We're together, don't insult me and          don't insult Micky.                         ALICE          You gonna listen to some MTV girl          who works in a bah. What does she          know about boxin'?                         CHARLENE                         (CONFUSED)          MTV girl? I might not know -- much          about boxin' - but goin' to Vegas          an' gettin' paid yeah round --          sounds much bettah to me -- than          what you got 'im doin' heah.                         ALICE          (looks over at Micky)          - Ah you gonna let 'er talk like          that to your muthah?                         PORK (CATHY)          C'mon, Micky!                         MICKY          I told you we're together! This is          my girlfriend, I want her here.                         ALICE                         (TEARING UP)           I have done everything [pauses] I          could [pauses] to help you. And for          this -- MTV girl --                         CHARLENE          Stop callin' me a MTV girl,          whatever the fuck that means.                         SISTERS          Wild. [Charlene makes a face]                         WNNTTNTTFN 1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 48.                         48 CONTINUED: (5) 48                         ALICE          (wipes a tear)          I been doin' this for ovah 15          years, she comes in and disrespects                         ME--                         DICKY          And me.                         MICKY          She don't mean no disrespect. I had          a chance to get paid to train year          round, that's all she's talkin'          about. I think everyone can          appreciate that.          Dicky stares taking this in, wheels turning.                         DICKY          Of course! Of course, Micky, I          coulda had that! I know what          you're talkin' about. You think          I'm stupid?                         ALICE          He knows, we know --                         DICKY          Ma, please, let me say this                         (PAUSE)          I had opportunities like you're          gonna maybe have. I had a girl I          wanted to be home with.[Sad for a          moment] You should have that. No          one's sayin' you shouldn't have          that. But I can't have you goin'          to Vegas, we gotta stick together,          Micky, please. I can get ya money          to train yeah 'round, if that's          what ya want. I'll handle it.          Dicky looks at Micky. . .then turns to Alice and nods his head          at her. He's got it. She's puzzled. Micky nods.          Uncomfortable awkwardness as everyone looks at him and          Charlene.          49 EXT. CRACK HOUSE IN LOWELL - DAYS LATER 49                         CAMBODIAN GUY          (OS, TALKS IN CAMBODIAN)                         (CNNTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 48A.                         49 CONTINUED: 49                          DICKY                          (OS)          You put in $200, then you get ten          OTHER people --          50 INT. CRACK HOUSE IN LOWELL - DAY 50          Dicky and BooBoo sit amid an ASSEMBLED GROUP OF ABOUT 10          CAMBODIANS. Karen, his CAMBODIAN CRACK GIRLFRIEND AND 6 YEAR          OLD SON IS NEXT TO HIM HOLDING HIS HAND LOOKING A BIT STRUNG          OUT. BOOBOO is behind Dicky.                         (CC)NTTNTTFN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 49.                         50 CONTINUED:                         50                         DICKY          -- to give YOU $200 each, and now          you have your $2,000.          KAREN (DICKY'S CAMBODIAN CRACK                         GIRLFRIEND)          Translates to Cambodian.                         DICKY          Understand?                         PRAN          Everyone give you 200 dollah?                         DICKY          Not everyone, just 10 a you.                         BOOBOO          Ten lucky ones.          Karen shouts at the others in Cambodian.                         PRAN          You rip us off!                         DICKY          No no no no. I'm givin' you an          OPPORTUNITY!                         CHAN          You give ME $200!                         DICKY          You get that from TEN OTHAH PEOPLE          you offah the opportunity to.                         PRAN          You think Cambodian people STUPID.                         BOOBOO          White people do this! To othah          white people! It's what makes the          world go 'round.                         DICKY          (puts an arm around Karen)          I love Cambodian people!          They all yell in Cambodian at Dicky who looks aggravated,          still holding onto Quackah.                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 50.          51 CRACK HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY 51          .HBO crew filming Dicky smoking crack, Bic lighter in his          hand, leaning against half of an old dining-room table in a          filthy kitchen, faded strawberry wallpaper. BooBoo, Karen,          Becky, Wolfie, standing around. Bonnie in background.                         DICKY          (mumbling fast to camera,          high out of his mind)          They didn't understand. They're          practically my gang, they usually          listen to me but didn't understand          the opportunity, anyway, where were                         WE--                         HBO PRODUCER          Before you fought Sugar Ray --                         DICKY          Oh, yeah, all the money I coulda          made if we just fuckin' did it          RIGHT, they threw me in too early.          We didn't know, my mothah didn't          know, Sugar Ray was too much, too          soon. I needed to build slow. If I          had Micky's discipline, with my          talent, forget about it. My wife          Debbie was the prettiest girl in          Lowell, and my daughtah Kasie, I          mean Kerry, I want Kerry to be          proud a me. [Lights pipe]                         KAREN          Why you let them film you smokin'?          What this movie about again?                         BONNIE          Hey's crazy!                         HBO PRODUCER          I told you it's about crack          addiction. Showing what can          happen, what it really is, so kids          can see it for real.                         BOOBOO          I can tell ya about the way it          works in the brain--                         (CONTTNTTFT))                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 50A.                         51 CONTINUED: 51                         DICKY          Excuse me, BooBoo, it's still my          movie, and this part [lights pipe]          will make me and Micky's comeback          more dramatic. I'll tell ya how          crack works [inhales from pipe].                         (MORE)                         (C'ONTTNTIFF 1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 51.                         51 CONTINUED: (2) 51                          DICKY (CONT'D)          When it entahs ya blood, ya get a          peaceful energetic feeling ovah ya          body, a kinda happiness -          As his words continue we PUSH IN ON Dicky'S FACE and CUT TO          FLASHBACK: medium shot, Dicky sits by a window, high; from          this dissolves a second Dicky who dances a slow happy, funk          dance across the room; out of this second Dicky dissolves a          third Dicky who lies on the couch, Karen comes and makes out          with him --                         DICKY          (OS over the above)          -all the mistakes and the regrets          of the past melt away, you feel so          much lightah like when you were          young and everything's in front of          you. Then it fades and you gotta          get high again.          All three Dickys in the flashback - by the window, dancing,          making out on couch -- flicker and vanish to the grating          sound of aphone left off the hook.          PULL OUT FROM Dicky's face in present                         DICKY                         (EXHALES SMOKE)          Fuck I gotta find money for Micky.          What time is it?          52 EXT. CHARLENE'S YARD - DAY 52          Charlene stands alone on the lawn with her arms crossed.                         CHARLENE          Why aren't you at work? Is ESPN          paying you to train?                         MICKY                         (OS)          Dicky's handlin' it.                         CHARLENE          Dicky? Alice would be better than          Dicky.                         MICKY                         (OS)          Would you jump for Chrissakes?          Kasie's bein' very patient.                         (CONTTNTTFT)1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 52.                         52 CONTINUED: 52           PAN REVEALS: MICKY, IN RUNNING CLOTHES, HOLDS ONE END OF AN           OLD BAMBOO GARDEN STICK, 5' ACROSS, LIKE A HIGH JUMP BAR; HIS           DAUGHTER KASIE, 10, HOLDS THE OTHER END, A PILE OF tattered          chez pillows on the lawn beneath it.                         KASIE          Maybe it's too hard for her. Maybe          there's not enough cushions.                         MICKY          It's only 5'1", she did 5'8" as a          champ, right Charlene? 5'8"?          Charlene jogs a little curve to the bar and LEAPS backwards,          clearing 5'1," landing on the pillows.          MICKY AND KASIE          Yes!          He claps with Kasie as Charlene stands rubbing her ass.                         CHARLENE          Fuck, those pillows barely did the          job, pardon my French, Kasie.                         MICKY          Hey, we gotta get you home Kasie, I          gotta business dinnah with Nana.          53 EXT. ABANDONED LOWELL CRACK CORNER - NIGHT 53          Skinny Karen stands on the corner in hooker hot pants, high          heels, halter top. A new Volvo station wagon slows down and a          nervous-looking upper middle class NPR-type businessman, 45,          in a suit and tie, cruises and toots the horn. Karen walks          up to the window.                         KAREN          You wanna date?          The businessman swallows and nods as he looks at Karen's          nipples and body.          54 EXT. SHADOWY DEAD END STREET - NIGHT 54          The Volvo wagon is parked by the side, lights off.          55 INT. BUSINESSMAN'S VOLVO STATION WAGON - NIGHT 55          Karen starts to go down on the businessman while he leans          back and closes his eyes.                         (RNNTTNTTFT)                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 53.                         55 CONTINUED: 55          Suddenly a beat-up station wagon pulls in behind them with          its brights shining.                         BUSINESSMAN          Oh shit.                         DICKY          (through cheap megaphone                         SLURRING)          Get outta the cah put ya hands on          the roof!          The business man gets out, nervous, hands up, pants undone,          puts his hands on the roof. All he sees are bright lights          and Dicky's silhouette holding up a wallet like a badge.          Still hear Quackah barking.                         BUSINESSMAN          (puts his hands on roof)          Please, God, I never did this          before, I have two kids, a wife and          I support my mother and my aunt.                         DICKY          Empty ya pockets, put everything on          the roof, ID, wallet, cash. Your          wife know you're here, huh?                         BUSINESSMAN          (confused, starts to turn)          No, what? Are you - are you a cop?                         DICKY          (swaying, wasted drunk)          Don't turn around! Empty ya          pockets!          The guy empties his pockets onto the roof of the Volvo.          BooBoo sits in Dicky's station wagon.                         DICKY          Walk to the sidewalk, we have to          take the vehicle. [Takes cash,          mumbles to Karen] Take half, get us          some rocks.                         BUSINESSMAN          How will I get home?          Suddenly the BWOOP-BWOOP of a police siren and the flashing          lights as a COP CAR PULLS UP AND ANOTHER BUSINESS MAN, bald,          gets out and POINTS AT Dicky.                         (RNNTTNTTT T) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 54.                         55 CONTINUED: (2) 55                         BALD BUSINESSMAN          THAT'S THE GUY, HE GOT ME AND HE'S          DOIN' IT AGAIN!          Dicky takes off running away...          56 STREETS - DOWNTOWN, LOWELL - NIGHT 56          Dicky running down streets... running through backyards,          driveways...          57 INT. OLYMPIA RESTAURANT - DOWNTOWN, LOWELL - NIGHT 57          Alice pulls out a LOBBY CARD, "WARD VS. BELINC - FOXWOODS          RESORT as she sits in a large booth with George, Mickey          O'Keefe, Red Dog, Sherry. Micky arrives with Charlene --                         ALICE          (excited, smiles proud)          What do ya think, Mick? Looks          good, right?                         MICKY          (kisses his mother hello,                         SITS DOWN)          Oh, yeah, Ma, it looks great.          Dicky comin'?                         ALICE          (looks at watch)          He'll be here.                         GEORGE          (nods, kisses Charlene                         HELLO)          Yuh. Hey, Charlene didja quit the          bah?                         ALICE          Didn't she just staht workin'          there?                         CHARLENE          She did. But she's wants to quit          to go for teachah certification.                         ALICE                         (CHUCKLES)          I thought she was plannin' to live          offa Micky.          Charlene gives Alice a look.                         (CONTTNTTFT) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 54aA.                         57 CONTINUED: 57                         MICKY          C'mon, c'mon, this is 'sposed to be          about the fight, let's just talk          about the fight --          (C'_C)NTTNTTRT))                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 54A.                         57 CONTINUED: (2) 57                         ALICE          What?! I was just makin' a joke for          chrissakes. I'm sorry, Charlene.                         CHARLENE          It's OK, I know you been tryin' to          live offa Micky for years.                         MICKY          Can we talk business?                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          (changing the topic)          Is there gonna be a press          conference?                         ( RNNTTNTTT Y )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 55.                         57 CONTINUED: (3) 57                          ALICE           Yeah, five days before the fight --          58 STREET - COSMOPOLITAN CAFE/OLYMPIA RESTAURANT - DOWNTOWN, 58          LOWELL - NIGHT          .Dicky running down the street toward the restaurant,          passing the COSMOPOLITAN CAFE, crowd of people out front,          BOUNCER, 6'4", 230 lbs., sirens in the air.                         BOUNCER          (puts his hand up, shakes                         HIS HEAD)          Whoa, spucky teeth, I thought you          were smokin' rocks, now you're          gargling with 'em?                         DICKY          (looks away, mumbles)          You're 'bout to lose your breath.                         BOUNCER          I'm about to lose my what?          And Dicky nails the bouncer in the gut, drops him to his          knees, wind knocked out of him, then Dicky hooks his          jaw... 6'4" guy dropping fast, hitting the sidewalk, sickening          thud. COP CHASING HIM on foot runs up, Dicky PUNCHES HIM          OUT. Busting open his nose, blood pouring. Dicky takes a          swing at ANOTHER COP. More police cars pull up. Officers          jump out and slam Dicky to the ground! Dicky screams,          fighting back, kicking and punching the police arresting          him...          59 OLYMPIA RESTAURANT - NIGHT 59                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          We were lookin' at tape today on          Belinc and I think if Micky cuts          off the ring in most rounds --          GUY IN DINER          Dicky! IT'S Dicky ECKLUND!                         ALICE                         (STANDS UP)          Ohmygahd! Dicky!          Mickey O'Keefe jumps up, starts for the door. Charlene just          shakes her head, what the fuck. Alice still holding Micky's          lobby card, heads outside with George, Sherry, sisters.          Micky stands up. Charlene pulls him back down.                         (RNNTTNTTRT) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 56.                         59 CONTINUED: 59                         CHARLENE          Whoa.                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          (glances back, shouts)          Don't, Micky! I don't want ya          gettin' hurt before the fight!          He rushes out after Alice, George, Red Dog, Sherry leaving          Micky and Charlene behind. Hear more SIRENS, SCREAMS from          the street.          Micky can't take it, jumps up.          CHARLENE MICKEY O'KEEFE          Are you kiddin' me? Are you Are you for real? Sit down.          serious? Sit down, sit. Sit down.          She grabs the back of his pants.. .he drags her a little,          pushes her hand off, leaves her outstretched, hair fallen          over her face.          60 COSMOPOLITAN CAFE - DOWNTOWN, LOWELL - NIGHT 60          Alice, George running across the street. Red Dog rushes          toward the fight, tries to pull the cops away from Dicky,          kicking & clawing... Another officer grabs her. Dicky's          thrashing handcuffed on the ground, struggling against the          officers keeping him down, crying out for help...          .Micky runs out as cops bang Dicky up outside the paddy          wagon. Micky runs into the middle of it all, grabs a cop's          arm.                         MICKY          Just put him in the wagon.          Police tackle Micky to the sidewalk, start beating, subduing          him with their flashlights... Crack! Crack!                         ALICE                         (SCREAMS OUT)          They didn't fuckin' do anything!          Get off my boys!          .Micky raises his arm defending himself from the long black          metal flashlights, head split open bleeding.                         CHARLENE          Mickyyyy! Nooooo!                         (CCNTTNTTFN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 56A.                         60 CONTINUED: 60          .Hear a cop yell, "He's a fightah, break his fuckin'          hands, break his hands!" Crack! Hard metal breaking bone in          Micky's left hand. Micky screams out in pain...                         (C'C)NTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 57.                         60 CONTINUED: (2) 60          CHARLENE THROWS HERSELF between the cops and Micky and starts          shoving them off him.                         CHARLENE          LEAVE HIM ALONE! [swings at cops]          Back the fuck up!                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          (pulling fellow cops away,          trying to keep the peace)          Guys, come on, back up.          Cops back up from Charlene and O'Keefe... Blood spilling into          Micky's eyes, holds up his left hand, which Charlene looks          at.                         CHARLENE                         (CRYING)          - Micky, your hands! Your hands!                         COP          Separate cells, don't let' em work          up some bullshit defense story.          Alice runs up to Dicky as he's put into one police car, Micky          into another; she drops the lobby card which is trampled on          'til it's no longer visible.                         FADE OUT          FADE IN: PULLING OUT ON MICKY'S BANDAGED HAND...          61 LOWELL DISTRICT COURT - 1ST FLOOR - MONDAY MORNING 61          Micky is led in through one door where he stands before          judge; Dicky led in separately through another door to stand          15 feet from Micky -- they exchange looks -- both shackled,          handcuffs, leg irons, both still wearing their bloody clothes          from the fight. Hear the laundry list of charges against          Dicky, "Ward one count of disturbing the peace, released on          your own recognizance. .Ecklund. Three counts of Assault &          Battery on a Police Officer. One count of Resisting Arrest.          One count of Larceny from a Person. One count of          impersonating a police officer."          Alice holding 4-year-old Little Dicky in her lap starts to          sob, sitting in the gallery with Tar, Pork, Sherri, Little          Alice. Daughters try consoling Alice. No sign of Charlene.          Karen there, ignored by Alice. HBO camera crew filming...                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 58.          62 ATRIUM OUTSIDE COURTROOM - MORNING 62          Micky stands while his cuffs are unlocked by an OFFICER;          Dicky comes led down the hall by ANOTHER OFFICER, he slows          down and leans to Micky, and stops --                         DICKY          We gotta talk, it was self-defense,          right, say it was self defense, ya          come outside, ya seen 'em beatin'          on me, I didn't do nuthin' --                         MICKY          You didn't do nuthin? Look at my          hand ya selfish prick.                         OFFICER                         (PULLING HIM)          Let's go, Dicky -                         DICKY          (leaning back to Micky)          I was doin' it for you!                         MICKY          What were you doin' for me?          Officer pauses so Dicky can listen.                         MICKY          This? Do me a favah, don't do          nuthin' for me.                         DICKY          (stung, eyes well)          What ah ya gonna do without me?          Micky stares as Officer pulls Dicky away, sad.          63 HOLDING CELL - BEHIND COURTROOM - MORNING 63          .HBO cameraman filming Dicky shaking his head, being placed          into a holding cell behind the courtroom.                         DICKY          - I can't believe they let Micky          go. What about me?                         (CONTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 59.                         63 CONTINUED: 63          HBO PRODUCER (OS)          What'd you expect, Dick? You          violated your parole.                         DICKY          What'd I do? They're aftah me.          I'm fuckin' Dicky Ecklund. I'm          gonna have to plead out, right, get          like three yeahs. Could HBO help          talk to 'em? What's gonna happen          to my movie? I'll be out in a yeah          or so, maybe less with good          behaviah. We can finish it then,                         RIGHT -                         HBO PRODUCER          Your part will just end with you          bein' arrested.                         DICKY          (tears in his eyes)          What about my comeback? I didn't          do nuthin'. Who's gonna take care          a Little Dicky and, what about          Tommy?          64 MICKY'S APARTMENT ABOVE GARAGE - NIGHT 64          Micky sitting alone drinking a beer, left hand in a cast,          staring at the floor.          65 CHARLENE'S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT 65          .Micky finishes another beer, throws it into the bushes and          walks up to the entrance. Rings the intercom.          CHARLENE (OS INTERCOM)          Who is it?          Micky doesn't say anything.          CHARLENE (OS INTERCOM)          I don't wanna see you, Micky.                         MICKY                         CHARLENE-          CHARLENE (OS INTERCOM)          I can't take it, I'm not gonna let          you or your family drag me down.          ( C''nNTTNTW.1) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 60.                         65 CONTINUED: 65                         MICKY          I'm quittin', Charlene, OK? I'm          done fightin' I don't need it no          more.          CHARLENE (OS INTERCOM)          That's fuckin' stupid.                         MICKY          What?! Why?                         CHARLENE          Because it's sad you let them take          it away from you, with all their          stupid bullshit.                         MICKY          - What else could I do, Charlene?          CHARLENE (OS INTERCOM)          There's a lot you could do, Micky.          Ya fathah's gotta guy he wants ya          to meet. You just don't think you          can do it without Dicky -          Micky looks at the intercom... doesn't say anything... looks up          at the apartment building. Walks away.          65aA INT. DICKY'S CELL - BILLRICA HOUSE OF CORRECTIONS- NIGHT 65aA          Dicky shivers through crack withdrawal, clinging to his bed,          sweating. SCREAMS, scratches at himself, SCREAMS in agony.          PRISONER'S SHOUT OS 'SHUT THE FUCK UP.' Time lapse shows day          night day night as Dicky shakes, screams, shivers. Til he          stops - exhausted. Clean.          65A FADE IN - EXT. ROOF OF HOUSE -- DAY 65A          2 MONTHS LATER - Micky, depressed, one hand bandaged, roofs          with George and Beaver. FADE OUT - FADE IN --          65B INT. ALICE'S HOUSE - 3 WEEKS LATER - HBO PROMO FOR 'HIGH EB          CRACK STREET' PLAYS ON A TV          66 LOWELL MAN ON THE STREET DOCUMENTARY INTERVIEWS. REAL 66          INTERVIEWS WITH REAL LOWELL. TALKING ABOUT "HIGH ON CRACK          STREET" AIRING THAT NIGHT... HEARD IT MAKES THE CITY LOOK          BAD...MICKY & DICKY BAD FOR THE CITY... DREAM IS DEAD...                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 60aaA.          67 DUNKIN' DONUTS - CHELMSFORD ST., LOWELL - DAY 67          Raining. Micky runs into a crowded Dunkin' Donuts, tired,          dark circles, out-of-shape. HAND HEALED, HABITUALLY          STRETCHING AND CLENCHING IT.                         (CUNTTNTTRT) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 60aA.                         67 CONTINUED:                         67          Everybody looking at him, some whisper. Micky's eyes wide,          catches sight of Mickey O'Keefe in the back drinking coffee,          reading the newspaper, still in his police uniform.                         MICKY          Hey!                         (C'NNTTNTTRT)1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 60A.                         67 CONTINUED: (2)                         67                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          (stands, hugs Micky hello)          How's ya hand?!                         (MORE)                         ( NNTTNTTP FL                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 61.                         67 CONTINUED: (3) 67           MICKEY O'KEEFE (CONT'D)          Looks bettah.                         MICKY          It's good, gettin' there.                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          Why don't ya come down to the gym          if ya want? Ya fat fuck, look          atcha.                         MICKY          (looks at people staring)          Now I gotta worry about this movie          tonight on HBO, everybody lookin'          at me like I did somethin' wrong,          ain't my fault he's on TV.                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          It's bettah for ya if ya don't see          it, Micky, it's just gonna make ya          feel bad. [turns to everyone] What          are you lookin' at? He ain't gonna          be on TV, it's his crazy brothah.          People stare at them.          68 BILLERICA HOUSE OF CORRECTIONS - VISITOR'S ROOM-1ST FLOOR 68                         - DAY          .Dicky playing with his 4-year-old son, sitting across from          Alice smoking a Lucky, three newspapers in her lap, room          crowded with convicts, visitors, thick with smoke.                         ALICE          Everybody's talkin' about the          movie, Dicky, it sounds.                         DICKY          (regretful, wary)          I know.          (shakes his head)          They're lettin' everybody on the          first two tiers watch it tonight.          C'mon, hit daddy with a kunckle          sandwich. Bang-bang. Right in the          mouth.          (takes Little Dicky's          hand, hits own mouth)          C'mon, a knuckle sandwich!          .Little Dicky hits Dicky in the mouth again. . .And Dicky          pops out his fake teeth. Little Dicky cracks up laughing.          (CENTTNTTF.T))                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 61aA.                         68 CONTINUED: 68                          DICKY (CONT'D)          (laughing with his son)          - My teef, my teef, Dicky, you          knocked out my teef!                         ALICE          They're sayin' it makes you an' the          city look bad. What'd they make ya          do?                         DICKY          (pops his teeth back)          It wasn't supposed to work out this          way. Say we did it for the kids,          ma.                         ALICE          What kids, Dicky?                         DICKY          About drugs, and all that. Is Micky          gonna watch it? You ask 'im why he          don't come to see me? All I do in          here is think about comin' back and          workin' with Micky, that's what          keeps me goin'. I want a second          chance to do it right for him and          win a title. Will ya tell him that          for me?          They hear a guard, "C'mon, five minutes Dicky, wrap it up."          Little Dicky reaches out and gently cups his father's nose..                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 61A-62.                         69 PRISON CORRIDOR 69          Dicky escorted by GUARD walks past 6' of bars where guys          crowd and yell: "Dickyeee!" "Hey, Dicky! Dicky!" "Can't wait          for tonight, brothah!"          70 HALLWAY, RE-ENTRY ROOM - 1ST FLOOR, B.H.C. - DAY 70          .Dicky heading back to his cell down the long tunnel-like          hallway, stopping at the checkpoint for his strip search.          The guard, Corrections Officer 1, 30s, short, stocky, opens          the door to the small closet-like room, handprints on the          wall.          Dicky turns back around, bends over and separates his          cheeks...                         CORRECTIONS OFFICER 1          Lookin' forward to seein' your HBO          movie tonight.          71 DICKY'S CELL, 1ST TIER - 2ND FLOOR, B.H.C. - NIGHT 71           .Dicky pacing his 6-by-10 cell, solid stone walls, black          iron-barred door, stainless-steel sink, toilet, crucifix          hanging on the wall. Dicky starts throwing punches in the          air, dancing around a rope stretching from one wall to the          other, make-shift clothesline drying underwear, white          socks.. .over the loudspeaker, "15 minutes to movie time."          Dicky glances in a small mirror hanging on the wall...                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 63.          72 DAY ROOM - 2ND FLOOR, B.H.C. - NIGHT 72          Two prison guards supervise. Convicts cheer when they see          Dicky walk in. Dicky raises his hands above his head...          73 MICKY'S APARTMENT ABOVE GARAGE - KITCHEN/LIVING ROOM - NIGHTl3          .Micky sitting in the tiny kitchen, drinking beer alone,          dead drunk, ON TV, HBO's "High on Crack Street," a Tour Guide          says, "Lowell was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution          in America, a place people came to find the American dream."          BooBoo riding in a car, pointing, "That house sold crack,          that one sold heroin, the one on the cornah sold crack."          MICKY SCRAMBLES FOR THE PHONE, DIALS FRANTICALLY.                         MICKY                         (INTO PHONE)          Jimmy, hey, sorry to rush, but I          wanted to make sure Kasie's not          watchin' HBO, okay?          74 LAURIE & HER HUSBAND'S LARGER HOUSE - NIGHT 74                         LAURIE'S HUSBAND                         (INTO PHONE)          OK, Mick, I got it --                         LAURIE                         (GRABS PHONE)          I want her to see it! Let her see          who her uncle is! Who you ah!                         MICKY                         (INTO PHONE)          Who I am? What are you talkin'          about? Turn it off, Laurie, turn          it off.          Laurie up, joins Kasie, Jimmy as she watches eyes wide ...ON          TV, Dicky talking to camera, missing rotting teeth, hollowed-          out eyes, skeleton-like arms, fucked-up high, tries to spark          a lighter, "Whoa,-- there's Richard Pryah for ya."          75 B.H.C. - DAY ROOM, 2ND FLOOR - NIGHT 75          .Dicky laughing, sitting in the room, wall-to wall noise,          cigarette smoke, convicts whistling, cheering, watching his          life playing back in front of him on TV, "You shoulda seen me          then! My wife Debbie was the prettiest girl in Lowell, and my          daughtah Kerry, I want Kerry to be proud a me now. Who knows          what my life woulda been like, ya know." Convicts hollering,          "Dickyge!" "Dicky!" "Dickyeee!"                         (C ONTTNTTRN                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 64.                         75 CONTINUED: 75          Dicky jumps up & puts on a show, grinning, throwing punches          in the air... ON TV, Court officers leading Dicky out of the          courtroom. Camera zooming in on Alice holding Little Dicky in          her arms, both crying, sobbing. Zooming tighter on Little          Dicky's face, tears falling down his cheeks, snot dripping          from his nose...          DICKY STOPS PUNCHING, GRINNING... STANDING IN THE NOISE AND          THE SMOKE... WATCHING HIS 4-YEAR-OLD SON CRYING FOR HIM ON TV,          THEN, his own face behind bars in a holding cell, tears in          his eye, "I didn't do nuthin'. Who's gonna take care a Little          Dicky and, what about Tommy?"          .Dicky stands there for a moment watching himself, his son,          his life on TV... starts shaking his head no no no no. He          turns still shaking, and heads for the payphones in the back          of the room, ignoring all the noise, cheering, yelling. He          picks up one of the phones, dials 0 + his mother's number,          hears the operator, "Operator."                         DICKY                         (INTO PHONE)          Collect call from Dicky.          He hears a busy signal, operator say, "Sorry, that line is          busy, sir." Dicky looks back up at one of the TVs, Alice and          Little Dicky sitting in the living room watching a tape of 24-          year-old Dicky fighting Sugar Ray Leonard on HBO.          He hangs up the phone and walks out of the day room...          76 CAFETERIA - 2ND FLOOR, B.H.C. 76          .Dicky drifts through the cafeteria, darkness lit only by          fluorescent lights from the open kitchen, three inmate cooks          chatting, cleaning. Nobody even sees Dicky, a ghost floating          through the gloom. He opens a large unlocked black metal mesh          door in the back, heads down the stairs, at the bottom          another large door. Dicky opens it...          77 INT. TRAP, 1ST FLOOR - B.H.C. - NIGHT 77           .He steps into.. .the Trap, the room in which inmates arrive           to be processed, where a guard, Corrections Officer 2, 30s,           tall, sits.                         CORRECTIONS OFFICER 2          (stands, surprised)          Dicky!? What're you doin' here?                         ( CONTTNTTFD'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 65.                         77 CONTINUED: 77                         DICKY          I gotta go home, Harry. I gotta          tell Dicky it's gonna be okay, he          don't gotta cry.                         CORRECTIONS OFFICER 2          (steps out, puts a hand on                         DICKY'S SHOULDER)          Get back upstairs before I write ya          up.                         DICKY          - He don't gotta cry no more.                         CORRECTIONS OFFICER 2          I don't know what you're talking          about, Dicky, but you can't be          here. You gotta go back up.          Dicky looks at Corrections Officer 2, turns and heads back.          78 CORRIDOR, 2ND FLOOR - B.H.C. - NIGHT 78          .Dicky walking down the dimly lit hall, shadows dancing off          walls, distant cheering, screaming echoing... stepping into          the dark kitchen... Dicky sinks to his knees.. .onto the hard          grey cement floor.. .and bows his head to pray.          79 ALICE'S & GEORGE WARD'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 79          .Alice cries as she watches "High On Crack Street" with          George and couple of her daughters. Little Dicky comes in.                         ALICE          (wiping away her tears                         DIALING PHONE)          No, sweetheaht, go back upstairs,          you can't watch this. [into phone]          Micky, can you believe what they're          doin' to us?          80 MICKY'S APARTMENT ABOVE GARAGE - LIVING ROOM/KITCHEN 80                         - NIGHT          .Micky on the phone, upset, watching HBO.                         MICKY                         (INTO PHONE)          Ma, I know, but he did it to          himself.                         (CNNTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 66.                         80 CONTINUED: 80                         ALICE                         (ON PHONE)          What was he thinkin! They set him          up!          KNOCKING ON THE DOOR, HE OPENS IT AS HE LISTENS TO          PHONE..CHARLENE IS THERE. Micky's eyes widen with surprise.          He hasn't seen her in a while.                         ALICE                         (ON PHONE)          Maybe they got the drugs far 'im          an' the movie --                         MICKY          (staring at Charlene)          It's very sad, ma, I gotta call ya          back.          He hangs up. He and Charlene stare at each other, taking it          in, emotional, awkward. She laughs a little through          tears. - .they hug.          Micky crying into her shoulder and hair, Charlene holding          onto him, she backs him into his BEDROOM, the fall to the          bed, kissing. FADE OUT -          81 FADE IN - MICKY'S BEDROOM - EARLY NEXT MORNING 81          Next morning. Micky's hands grab dingy white boxing wraps          out of the darkness of his messy closet, faded red gloves,          throws them into an old blue gym bag, leaves. Charlene sits          up in bed, groggy, gets up in Micky's t-shirt, goes out.          81A STAIRS - MICKY'S APARTMENT ABOVE GARAGE - EARLY MORNING 81A          Micky stands at the top of the stairs, old blue gym bag slung          over his shoulder, early morning. He looks out at morning...          82 EXT. MICKY'S 2ND FLOOR APT. PORCH - CONTINUOUS 82          Charlene runs out; Micky pauses on stairs.                         MICKY          (pauses on stairs)          I wanna meet that guy George told          you about. [pause] The one with the          cab company.          Charlene nods, Micky disappears down the stairs; she runs to          the edge of the balcony, looks down, waits, in a moment          Micky's back appears from under the porch, walking away. She          watches him go.                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 66A.          82A EXT. LOWELL STREET NEARY MICKY'S - DAY 82A          Micky walks -- silently -- camera tracks with him, on his          face. Then let's him go into distance.                         (CC)NTTNTTFN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 67.          82A CONTINUED: 82A           TICK TICK TICK WE HEAR JUMP ROPE BEFORE WE DISSOLVE TO:                         83 OMITTED 83          84 RAMALHO'S WEST END GYM - DAYS 84          Days later: MICKY JUMPS ROPE; MICKY DOES ABS WORK under          Mickey O'Keefe's watchful gaze.; MICKY HITS SPEED BAG; MICKY          MOVES IN RING. JUMPS ROPE AGAIN. Pan reveals: Charlene,          George, and SAL LONANO, 45, Italian, dark, mustache, tinted          glasses, thick dark hair, watch.          .Micky stops jumping, catching his breath. Kisses Charlene          hello.                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          Nobody keeps tryin' like this kid,          I swear to God someone up there's          watchin' over him, he's far from          done. He'll take five punches to          land one, that's how he fights,          that's who he is. Micky this is Sal          LoNano.          Micky shakes Sal LoNano's hand.                         MICKY          You own a cab company, you're a          good businessman, right?                         SAL LONANO                         (NODS)          I already made some calls. Spoke          to Bobby Tags and he says we can          get a small fight, somethin' local          to staht back with.                         MICKY O'KEEFE          Get ya confidence back.                         SAL LONANO          Right, go from there. [claps his          hands together in an idiosyncratic                         WAY]                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          - Micky, I know ya dad wants this          guy to manage ya, and I'll train ya          on one condition.                         CHARLENE          No crazy-time nonsense.                         (RNNTTNTTFN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 68.                         84 CONTINUED: 84                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          No Dicky, no Alice. If they come          back, I'm gone, Mick. I can't deal          with the bullshit, no offense          Georgie.                         GEORGE          None taken, I'm the one who's gonna          get his balls cut off anyway.          85 ALICE & GEORGE WARD'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY 85          George holds his arms up as pots, plates come flying at him.          Alice looking around for something else to throw at him.          George grabs her and holds on before she can hit him...                         ALICE          You traitor motherfucker!                         GEORGE          Those pans hurt, you crazy bitch! I          hadda help Micky!                         ALICE          With that scumbag LoNano?! Now I          gotta save Micky!          86 ' 88 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL (PARKED) - ALICE & GEORGE WARD'S 86           HOUSE - DAY           Alice and most of the sisters piling into Alice's car.                         87 OMITTED 87          88 CHARLENE'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - DAY 88           Micky and Charlene make out in their underwear on the bed          when a car screeches up outside. The intercom rings.          .Charlene looks out her window, sees TWO SISTERS on her          porch while Alice and FOUR OTHER SISTERS pile out of the car          and up her walk.                         CHARLENE          Holy shit. Your mothah's here with          your sistahs.                         MICKY          Don't answah the door.                         CHARLENE          I'm not hidin' from your crazy          fuckin' family, Micky!                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 69.          89 FRONT DOOR - CHARLENE'S APARTMENT - DAY 89          THE DOOR OPENS...and Charlene stands there with Micky          slightly behind her.                         CHARLENE          Hi.                         ALICE          Well, well, well, look at this.                         CHARLENE          Look at what?                         ALICE          You can't hide from us, Micky.                         CHARLENE          He's not hiding.                         ALICE          I wasn't talkin' to you, I was          talkin' to my son. What're you          doin' Micky?                         MICKY          I'm not hidin' from nobody -                         ALICE          Ya not helpin' yaself with ya          fathah's scumbag friend, and ya          can't turn ya back on Dicky, all he          evah wanted was for you to be World          Champ.                         CHARLENE          Micky's a grown man, he can make          his own decisions.                         ALICE          Keep ya mouth shut. I'm his muthah.          You need Dicky, no one trains you          like him, ya can't do it without                         'IM -                         CHARLENE                         (LAUGHS)          What else can he do, Dicky's in          prison!                         (CNNTTNTTFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 70.                         89 CONTINUED: 89                         MICKY          Why ya always lookin' out for him,          Ma? Wes? Why's it always Dicky,          Dicky, Dicky -                         ALICE          I'm lookin' out for YOU. My boys          are everything to me. I had nine          children, I loved all a you the          same.                         CHARLENE          You got a funny way a showin' it --                         MICKY          Yeah, a funny way, Ma, Dicky's a          great trainah, I love him to death,          but do ya evah think all the othah          damage he's done?                         CHARLENE          Lettin' him get beat up, get his          hand broken.                         ALICE          (lunges at Charlene)          Are you crazy, Micky's my baby!          Micky grabs her before she gets to Charlene.                         MICKY          Don't ever lay a hand on Charlene.                         TAR (CINDY)          Skank.                         PORK (CATHY)          She's a fuckin' bah skank!                         CHARLENE          Don't call me skank, I'll rip that          hair right outta ya fuckin' head!          Red Dog lunges at Charlene and takes poke at her; Charlene          grabs Red Dog's face and shoves her.. .then backhands Beaver,          who's grabbing her hair, sloppy like a bar fight.                         MICKY          (lets go of his mother,          breaking up the fight)          HEY! HEY! For the love a Christ!                         (CNNTTNTTFF '                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 71.                         89 CONTINUED: (2) 89                         ALICE          (quiet, crying)                         MICKY --          They look at each other, tearful, heartbreaking. Red Dog and          Beaver put their arms around her and walk her to the car.                         ALICE          (crying as they walk)          What's happening? My God, what is          happening to everyone? I don't          undahstand it.          George pulls up in roofing truck, starts to get out, sees          Alice and sisters, looks scared, pulls out.          90 SHERATON INN LOWELL - GUEST ROOM, 4TH FLOOR - 7:00 PM - 90                          FRIDAY           TITLE: Ward vs. Castillo - Sheraton Inn Lowell - August 19,           1994. Micky getting undressed, getting ready for the fight.          Charlene sitting on the bed watching him. CLOSE ON: Micky          stands till in the mirror, muttering under his breath as he          goes over combinations and scenarios in his head.          91 HALLWAY - SHERATON INN LOWELL - 8:28 PM 91          Hour later. Micky leaving his room, head moving side-to-          side, warmed up, sweat dripping, gloves, robe on. . .Charlene          next to him, Mickey O'Keefe, Art Ramalho, andcutman Ed          Aliano walking in front of him.. .Micky sees "'Irish' Mickey          Ward" on the back of O'Keefe's corner jacket.                         MICKY          (shakes his head, on edge)          I do not spell my name with a          friggin' "E."          92 ELEVATOR, SHERATON INN LOWELL - DOORS OPEN 92          Micky stands in his robe, boxing trunks, gloves, in the          elevator with the others, nods to a young couple and their          two kids, rolls his neck, shakes his legs, Mickey O'Keefe          rubs his shoulders. Young couple not sure what to make of          it..Ding! The elevator finally arrives. Micky lets the          family out first, then he, Charlene, Mickey O'Keefe, Art          Ramalho and Ed Aliano step off.                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 72.          93 RING - BALLROOM, SHERATON INN LOWELL - 8:58 PM 93           TITLE: Rd 4 - 2:08 (time running down). Micky's chin almost           atop LUIS CASTILLO's, 33, 5 9", 144 lbs, shoulder... throws a          left hook to Castillo's ribs...Mickey O'Keefe shouting from          ringside... Charlene cheering with Sal LoNano...George ...Micky          follows with a short right uppercut, then a hook.. .And          Castillo goes crashing down to the canvas! Tries to get up,          stumbling... Referee waves the fight over... hometown standing-          room-only crowd explodes cheering, screaming for Micky...          .Micky raises his hands in victory for the first time in          years, looks over to his corner...no Dicky. Micky O'Keefe          ducks through the ropes and hugs Micky, whispering something          in his ear. Charlene follows, hugging Micky.          94 INSIDE YARD, 1ST FLOOR - B.H.C. - DAY 94          Weeks later. Dicky's running, shadowboxing around a track,          gray hooded sweatshirt soaked with sweat, noisy crowded          square 75-by-75, solid brick up 20-feet, razor-spiraled          barbed wire. He slows down, walks, alone, quiet within          himself. We watch him for a moment. Over loudspeaker,          "Visit for Dicky Ecklund."          95 VISITOR'S ROOM - 1ST FLOOR, B.H.C. - DAY 95          .Micky and Dicky sit facing each other.                         MICKY          I know you know what I'm doin'.          I'm sure Alice, everybody else,          told you, I wanted to tell you to          your face, myself. I got new          management, I'm workin' with Mickey          O'Keefe, and it's going good.                         DICKY          Yeah, sure, they got ya fighin'          Alfonso Sanchez.                         MICKY                         (PROUD)          On HBO.                         DICKY          (makes a face)          Yeah, HBO's all invested in the          Mexican, Micky, wake up, they don't          care if you get killed. Toma did          it. He's usin' ya like a steppin'-          stone for Sanchez.                         (RNNTTNTTPN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 73.                         95 CONTINUED: 95                         MICKY          Of course, how could I stand a          chance without the Great Dicky          Ecklund in my corner? You didn't          care if I got killed with Mungin,          now all of a sudden, you're worried          Sanchez is gonna hurt me, why? Cuz          you're stuck here and you can't be          center of attention no more.                         DICKY          I seen that Mexican fight, Micky!          He hits very hard! 15 knockouts!          Undefeated! Are you crazy? That          idiot LoNano went right for it!          He's usin' you to steal money!                         MICKY                         (PISSED)          I wasted my 20s in bad fights set          by you and Alice! I finally gotta          good thing goin', shut up and be          happy for me!                         DICKY          What's ya plan, Mick? How ya gonna          fight Sanchez?                         MICKY          I ain't here to talk about that!                         DICKY          Oh yeah, you are.                         MICKY          Watch the fight, you'll see the          plan.                         DICKY          They won't let us watch the fight          cuz it's 'violent'! They let us          watch the stupid documentary on          crack but not my own brothah          fightin'! [people look at them].          Are ya scared? Are ya embarraassed          cuz ya don't even have a plan? Just          tell me.                         MICKY          Ya gonna shit on it no mattah what          I say!          ( C'.ONTTNTTFT)'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 73A.                         95 CONTINUED: (2) 95                         DICKY          I won't shit on it. Come on, just          tell me.                         MICKY          (thinks, then, grudgingly)          Go toe to toe; ovahhand right in          the middle rounds. He's weak          against the overhand right.                         DICKY                         (EYES WIDE)          Who came up with that? Fatty          O'Keefe?                         MICKY          Fuck you. I'm gonna go. (Stands]                         DICKY          Ya gotta run against this guy!          Move, let 'im punch himself out                         (MORE)                         (C''ONTTNTTF:F )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 74.                         95 CONTINUED: (3) 95                          DICKY (CONT'D)          Take 'im to the body, Micky! Get          inside. Switch stances like ya          workin' his right, hit 'im on the          left. Be careful, don't switch          outside.                         MICKY          (starting to go)          You're not me. You can't be me. You          had a hard enough time being you          when you had your chance. I'll          fight Sanchez the way I fight.          Walks out.                         DICKY          (stands and shouts)          I'm TALKIN' about the way you          fight, you moron! You know I'm          right!          As Micky opens the door his face registers Dicky's words.          96 THOMAS & MACK CENTER, LAS VEGAS - AISLE - 9:02 PM 96          TITLE: Sanchez vs. Ward - Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas.          Micky making his way down the aisle for the Sanchez fight,          emerald trunks, robe with white trim, "Mickey Ward" spelled          wrong on the back, crowd cheering, HBO. . .Mickey O'Keefe and          cutman ED ALIANO, 62, gray hair, glasses, right behind Micky,          emerald "Mickey Ward" corner 'aackets.          97 RING - THOMAS & MACK CENTER- 9:28 PM 97           TITLE: Rd 5 - :48 (time running down). Micky beat up,          running away, face red, scrape on his left cheek, cut above          his left eye.. .Hard punching ALFONSO SANCHEZ, 25, 5'7", 140          lbs, black trunks, chasing after him.. .Charlene screaming          sitting ringside with Sal LoNano, George, Donna, Beaver,          their husbands, sitting behind them.. . .crowd all around          booing Micky, hear one of the HBO announcers, LARRY MERCHANT          (the real audio), "I mean, Ward's just running away.                         (RNNTTNTTFD'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 75.                         97 CONTINUED: 97          It's awful. I know Sanchez is strong, really strong, but I          can't understand why Ward's not fighting back. This fight's          supposed to be a reality check to see where he's at. He's a          better fighter than this. He lust keeps running away."          .Sanchez catches Micky, lands a right and a left ...Bam!          Bam!...Micky reels against the ropes... Sanchez hits him with          a right--Right--Left hook--Left hook.. .Micky tries to tie          Sanchez up...Bam!...Left hook! The bell rings. End of Rd 5.          98 RING APRON, MICKY'S CORNER - BETWEEN 5TH & 6TH RDS-8:29PM 98          .Charlene watches Micky stumble to the corner. Mickey          O'Keefe inside the ring pouring water into Micky's mouth, Al          Gavin leaning over, working to stop the bleeding above          Micky's left eye.                         CHARLENE          (stands up, shouting)          Come on Micky! Stop dickin' around!                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          (kneels in front of Micky)          Breathe, Mick, breathe. Catch this          sunovabitch with an ovah hand          right, ya hear me? He won't see          it comin'.                         MICKY          (nods, spits out water)          He hits like bricks. When he          misses it hurts.          99 RING - THOMAS & MACK CENTER - 8:31 PM 99           TITLE: Rd 6 - 2:01 (time running down).Micky running again,           around & around the ring.          100 ALICE & GEORGE WARD'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS 100           Alice stands holding the phone to her ear as she watches the           fight on HBO. Little Alice, Sherri, Tar, Pork, all watching          the fight with her.                         ALICE                         (ON PHONE)          He's fightin' scared, Dicky.          Runnin', not hittin' back, O'Keefe          looks mad. He's gonna get hurt -                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 76.          101 B.H.C. - DAY ROOM - CONTINUOUS 101          .Dicky on a pay phone, convicts on all the phones, more          waiting their turn behind the yellow line.                         DICKY                         (ON PHONE)          No, Ma, it's okay, it's okay, he's          doin' what I told' im. He's doin'          it!          INTERCUT as necessary:          ON TV, Micky switches stances outside...Sanchez counters with          a booming left uppercut ...Bam! Micky drops to one knee!                         ALICE                         (ON PHONE)          Oh Jesus!                         DICKY                         (ON PHONE)          What happened?!                         ALICE                         (ON PHONE)          Knocked down with an uppah cut          changin' stances outside!                         DICKY          (on phone, screaming)          I told 'im inside, c'mon, Micky!          CUT BACK TO:          102 RING - THOMAS & MACK CENTER 102          .Micky gets back to his feet. . .Referee MITCH HALPERN gives          him a standing eight-count, "Three... Four...Five..."          REFEREEE MITCH HALPERN          (looks at Micky)          You alright?                         MICKY          (eyes wide, blood                         DRIPPING)          Yuh.          .Halpern motions to start fighting. Micky immediately runs          again, staying away from Sanchez, hear another HBO announcer,          ROY JONES JR., (the real audio), "The referee should just go          ahead and stop this fight.                         (RNNTTNTTFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 77.                         102 CONTINUED: 102          He knows that Micky doesn't want to be here." Hear JIM          LAMPLEY, "This is really one of the saddest kinds of fights          in boxing. Micky Ward is 32-years-old. He's here because he          needs the money. He's taking a beating. Getting humiliated."          Micky just keeps running.          The bell rings. End of Rd 6.          103 ALICE & GEORGE WARD'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM 103                         ALICE                         (ON PHONE)          They're sayin' they should stop the          fight, they never seen such an          embarrassin' performance, oh it's          awful, Dick.          104 B.H.C. - DAY ROOM 104                         DICKY          (eyes wide, starting to          get nervous, on phone)          He's gotta go inside, Ma, he's          gotta go inside when the time's           right. He's gotta -          105 MICKY'S CORNER, RING - THOMAS & MACK CENTER 105          .Micky makes his way over to his corner, bleeding from          above his left eye, left cheek.. .Mickey O'Keefe jumps into          the ring... Sal LoNano leaves his seat and goes to the corner,          Charlene follows him.                         SAL LONANO          (shouts at Micky)          Why you running around so much?!          Don't run around no more                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          (yells back at Sal)          Shut the fuck up, Sal!                         SAL LONANO          You're blowin' it!          .Mickey O'Keefe pours water into Micky's mouth. Referee          Mitch Halpern comes over to the corner.          REFEREEE MITCH HALPERN          Ya gotta show me somethin' soon,          Mick, or I'm gonna stop it.                         (CONTTNTTRT)                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 78.                         105 CONTINUED: 105                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          He's good! He's good!                         CHARLENE          (looks up at Micky from                         RINGSIDE)          They're gonna stop the fight!                         MICKY          (leans out ropes, angry))          Don't stop the fight,-- I got it.                         CHARLENE                         (SHOUTS)          THEN LET'S GO, BABY! Let's GO! Get          ya frickin' punches off!                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          (through the ropes)          Will ya siddown, I got it! I know          what I'm doin', Jesus --          (wipes Vaseline over                         MICKY'S FACE)          I don't know what's happenin' out          there, maybe you wanna fuckin' tell          me, cuz we're losin' all six          rounds. Is that what ya want? You          want me to stop it? I'm gonna stop          this fight, Micky. I sweah to          Christ, I'll stop it. I don't know          what ya doin' but ya bettah do it          soon.                         CUT TO:                         ALICE          (tense teasrs, holds          phone, watches TV)          Round 7. Sanchez'll try to finish          'im right now. (tearing, wipes                         EYES)                         CUT TO:          Dicky on the phone at prison, leans head on wall, tense,          muttering to himself, shakes his head, tearing up. Prisoners          watch, SAD.                         DICKY                         (SAD)          Aw, come on, Micky.          CUT BACK TO:                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 79.          106 RING - THOMAS & MACK CENTER 106           TITLE: Rd 7 - 3:00 (time running down). Sanchez comes out          from his corner, no fear of Micky. The bell rings. Micky          meets him in the middle of the ring...Sanchez COMES OUT HARD,          TRYING TO END IT, pounds Micky's body ...Bam! Bam!          Bam!...Micky shakes his head, unloads a hard left hook and          takes a step closer...          SUDDENLY EVERYTHING SLOWS DOWN.. .Micky sees excactly what          Dicky told him-mapped out like dance steps on the canvas.          Micky moves inside on Sanchez He switches stances workin'          his right.. .Then he hits him on the left. That's his punch.          He owns it. He and Dicky worked it a million times.          BACK TO REGULAR SPEED. Sanchez goes down to his hands and          knees like he's been shot! Hear Lampley, "What am I looking          at? This is one of the most extraordinary things I've ever          seen in boxing!"...Sanchez crawling on the canvas in pain.          Halpern counting him out, "Six... Seven..." Micky runs to a          neutral corner; then jumps with his arms in the air when          Sanchez does not move.                         CHARLENE          (jumping up & down)          YEAHHHHHH! FUCK YEAHHHHHHH!                         CUT TO:                         ALICE          (shocked, eyes wide)          HE DID IT! BODY SHOT! IT'S OVAH!                         CUT TO:                         DICKY                         (SCREAMING OUT)          YEAHHHHHH! MY BRUTHAH DROPPED          SANCHEZ! Just like I told 'im!          PRISONERS AND GUARDS EXPLODE INTO CHEERS.          CUT BACK TO:          Mickey O'Keefe HUGGING MICKY, jumping up and down in the ring          together as Sal LoNano and George jump up in Micky's corner.          Charlene jumps up and down crying and laughing. Sal hugs him,          Micky pushes him off.          .Micky drops to one knee in his corner and crosses himself,          blood dripping down his face.                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 80.          107 DRESSING ROOM - THOMAS & MACK CENTER - NIGHT 107          Micky sitting on a table, Ed Aliano fixing up his face,          cleaning up the blood. Charlene, Mickey O'Keefe, George,          Donna, Beaver, husbands, other hanger-onners, celebrating,          happy, drunk. Sal LoNano walks in.                         SAL LONANO          Micky, Mike Toma just told me          something very interesting.          Micky, Charlene look at Sal, unsure.                         SAL LONANO          Remember Alice told ya Mike Toma          was usin' ya like a steppin stone          for Sanchez and I said she was          fulla shit? Turns out she was          right. Toma said Sanchez had a          title shot if he won tonight.          Micky and Charlene look unsure as they take this i                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          Holy Christ, that's beautiful.                         CHARLENE          Why? Why is the beautiful?                         SAL LONANO          Now it's Micky's shot. Shea Neary          in London for the title.          Charlene kisses Micky. Everybody slapping Micky on the back,          hugging him, jumping up & down around him, celebrating him, a          world title shot. Micky smiling in the middle of the          celebration, then, distracted, something's missing.          108 LOWELL MAN ON THE STREET DOCUMENTARY INTERVIEWS. REAL 108          INTERVIEWS WITH REAL LOWELL. EXCITED TALK ABOUT SANCHEZ KNOCK          OUT: BAM, LIKE HE WAS SHOT! MICKY PROVED EVERYONE WRONG. . .AND          NOW SHEA NEARY! WORLD TITLE! HOPE IS BACK...DREAMS RENEWED...          109 B.H.C., FRONT DOORS - NORTH BILLERICA, MASS - DAY 109          Months later. Dicky walks out of prison into the bright sun,          three-story brick building high on a hill, wearing the same          clothes he was arrested in over a year ago... stretches out          his back, heads down the stairs toward the driveway, 30-foot          chain-link fence, high razor-spiraled barbed wire.                                                                                                              The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 81.          110 VISITORS PARKING LOT, B.H.C. - '88 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL 110          (PARKED) - DAY          .Dicky sees his mother's Lincoln parked at a security gate,          starts to run. Alice gets out of her car, Little Dicky, now          6-years-old, jumping out the other side.                         ALICE          (gives Dicky a big hug)          Oh Dicky, thank Gahd, everythin's          gonna be OK again.                         DICKY          (hugging his mother)          Easy, Ma, my back's killin' me.                         ALICE          Thank god you're out! Charlene and          that LoNano charactah are robbin'          'im blind, Sal's sayin' ain't no          money for spahhin' pahtnahs!                         DICKY          I'll make it right with Micky, I'll          apologize, it'll all be okay.                         ALICE          (looks at Dicky like he's                         CRAZY)          What are you talkin' about? You're          Dicky Ecklund. You got nuthin' to          apologize for.                         CUT TO:          111 ' 88 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL (PARKED) - RAMALHO'S WEST END GYM,111           SCHOOL ST. - DAY           .Dicky closing the door to his mother's car, Little Dicky           in his arms, McDonald's in his hands.. .Alice gets out after           him. Dicky looks up at the decaying brick warehouse, still           abandoned except for the 1st floor, broken windows still on           all the upper floors.          112 RAMALHO'S WEST END GYM - 1ST FLOOR - DAY 112          NOTE: SISTERS WILL COME IN WITH CAKE AND WELCOME BACK DICKY          SIGN AT WORST POSSIBLE MOMENT WE FEEL AND CHOOSE TOMORROW.          Dicky steps through the doorway, holding Little Dicky,          McDonald's, Alice behind them...sees Micky hitting the pads          with Micky O'Keefe in the center ring... Charlene, George,          Sal, Art Ramalho watching ringside, Ray Ramalho cleaning up          the place.                         (RNNTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 82.                         112 CONTINUED: 112                         DICKY          (looks around, shouts)          Quackah!          .Micky stops punching, smiles when he sees his brother,          sweat dripping... and jumps out of the ring, leaving Mickey          O'Keefe behind holding the pads... Charlene, George, Sal, Art,          Ray, other fighters in the gym look at Dicky, some call out,          "Dicky!" "Dickyee!" "Dicky!" WHILE MICKY AND ALICE HAVE          AWKWARD EYE CONTACT; ALSO CHARLENE AND ALICE, then Micky and          Charlene.                         MICKY          -- Dicky Donuts lookit ya! They let          ya keep the new teeth!                         DICKY          (nods, smiles)          Hey, why ain't Micky spahhin'!?          Georgie, what're you doin' outta          the house?          Charlene just shakes her head at Dicky. Micky kisses his          mother hello.                         GEORGE          (puts a short beefy arm          around Dicky's neck)          Dicky, meet my friend Sal LoNano.          Dicky glances warily at Sal for brief eye contact.                         DICKY          (emotional, defended)          Hey. (turns to Ray Ramalho) Ra          Ray! (high fives Ray)          O'Keefe stares, fuming, looks to Micky, who glances          nervously, but says nothing.                         DICKY          I wanna make an amend to everyone          here, I know I done a lot of stupid          things, and I wanna say I'm sorry,          and that's ovah.          They all look at him.                         DICKY          I'm very grateful to be back in          this gym with you all. I gotta          lotta time to make up for, and I          wanna make the best of it.                         (MORE)                         (CNNTTNTTFT)'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 82A.                         112 CONTINUED: (2) 112                          DICKY (CONT'D)          You deserve the best, Micky, you          have a chance to go all the way and          I'm ready to be there for ya.          Charlene and O'Keefe look upset. Awkward, everyone looking at          Dicky who nods, pleased, and walks into the locker room.          O'Keefe and Charlene stare intensely at Micky, who looks          somber.                         (RNNTTNT7FT)1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 83.                         112 CONTINUED: ( 3) 112          Micky goes into the locker room.          113 LOCKER ROOM, RAMALHO'S WEST END GYM - DAY 113          Dicky changing, Little Dicky watching him, both still          eating McDonald's. Micky walks into the locker room.                         DICKY                         (CHANGING)          I can't tell ya how good it is to          be back.                         MICKY          You look good, your eyes are clear.                         DICKY          I look good, right? Alice said lock          up mighta been the best thing to          happen to me. I got clean. I got          clear up here (taps his head).                         MICKY          That's beautiful, Dick. There's          somethin' we gotta talk about.                         DICKY          Hold on, I wanted to say' I been          waitin' for this day, Micky, I been          waitin' the whole time I was away.          It kept me goin', it kept me alive,          the idea of us workin' togethah          again.          Micky looks at him, nods. It's breaking his heart.                         MICKY          I made a promise to them that I          wouldn't work with you again.          Dicky takes this in. Stunned.                         (CNNTTNTTFF'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 83A.                         113 CONTINUED: 113                          DICKY           Ever?                         MICKY          I had to. After everything that          happened. I'm sorry.          Dicky is hurt, stunned.                         DICKY          The whole time I was away --                         MICKY          I'm glad you're back, I'm glad          you're doing good, I don't know          what else to say.                         (RNNTTNTTFT)'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 84.                         113 CONTINUED: (2) 113          Micky, tears in his eyes, stares at Dicky a moment, nods,          leaves the locker room.          114 INT. GYM - CONTINUOUS 114          All eyes watch Micky messed up now -- Charlene, O'Keefe,          George, Alice, Little Dicky, others. He steps back into the          ring with O'Keefe.          O'Keefe looks unsure as he holds the mits. Micky's about to          throw when O'Keefe turns, looks.          (CnNTTNTTF. )1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 85.                         114 CONTINUED: 114           Dicky walks back into the gym as Micky is about to work out          with O'Keefe.                         ALICE          What happened?                         DICKY          He says I can't work with him.                         ALICE          That's not right. [Dicky starts to          leave] He never woulda won Sanchez          without me!                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          That's fuckin' bullshit! Take that          back!                         DICKY          Don't talk to my mother my mother          like that.                         ALICE          Why don't you ask Micky?                         MICKEY O'KEEFE          They gotta go. If we're gonna          train.                         CHARLENE          They have to go, Micky.                         ALICE          Why don't you ask Micky if he          woulda won Sanchez without Dicky?          Ask him.          They all look at Micky. He is torn up over this as he          considers it before he speaks and they all watch, tense.                         MICKY          I wouldn'ta won Sanchez without          Dicky.                         CHARLENE          How can you say that to O'Keefe?                         MICKY          Because it's true. I went in with          our plan and it wasn't working, I          switched to what I learned with          Dicky.          Micky looks at O'Keefe, who is hurt.                         (CNNTTNTT' N                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 85aA.                         114 CONTINUED: (2) 114                          MICKY (CONT'D)          I wouldn'ta won it without you,          either, O'Keefe, you know that.                         CHARLENE          You got the focus and confidence          from O'Keefe and Sal and your          father and me!                         ALICE          You were lucky to win that fight,          Dicky saved him!                         CHARLENE          We saved him! Dickya junkbag!                         (C ONTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 85A.                         114 CONTINUED: (3) 114                          DICKY           Fuck you, Charlene, I'm 8 months           sober.                         CHARLENE          I'm sure you'll need somethin' for          your back now that you're out.                         DICKY          O'Keefe's in the same boat I am,          one day at a time, why's it all          right for him to be here, but not          me? I'm blood.                         MICKY          I'm the one fighting, not you, not          you, and not YOU. I know what I          need.                         CHARLENE                         (GETS SHRILL)          And you need Dicky?          Micky roils as he makes this decision.                         MICKY          I want Dicky back. And I want you,          Charlene, and I want O'Keefe, and          my family.                         CHARLENE          You can't do that to us.                         MICKY          You sound like them now.                         CHARLENE          Maybe you're just like them and          that's where you belong.          She looks at him, turns and walks out of the gym, followed by          O'Keefe, who looks sadly back at Micky.                         ALICE          Everything happens for a reason,          this could be for the best, honey.          Micky watches Dicky get geared up with gloves, headgear,          mouth guard by Art Ramalho. ANOTHER BOXER gears up Micky.                         (CNNTTNTTFN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 86.                         114 CONTINUED: ( 4) 114          Alice's eyes glow.                         RAY RAMALHO          Dicky Ecklund, the pride a Lowell!          This rankles Micky as he and Dicky square off.                         DICKY          I was trainin' in jail, so I'm          ready.          The two brothers spar, falling right back into it as Alice,          George, others watch. Dicky moving around the ring...          He snaps Micky's head with a combination. Micky starts          banging him with body shots...Bam! Bam! Bam!...Dicky tries to          make Micky miss. Micky grabs him tying him up.. .Dicky pushes          Micky away, ducks, jabs.. .Micky traps Dicky's left under his          elbow/arm, pulling it. . .Turning Dicky so his back is exposed,          drilling him in the kidney. Dicky goes down on one knee in          pain...          And Micky comes over the top with a straight right off the          back of Dicky's head.. .Dicky SLAMS down hard! Face hitting          canvas, blood running from his nose into his mouth...                         (CONTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 86A.                         114 CONTINUED: (5) 114                         LITTLE DICKY                         (CRIES)          Daddy, Daddy!          (CUNTTNTTF.n'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 87.                         114 CONTINUED: ( 6) 114                         ALICE          (holds Little Dicky)          Alice, take him home. [Little Alice          leaves with Little Dicky]. What're          you doin', Micky? What's the          matter with you!                         MICKY          Can this be my fight, for once,          Alice, huh, just once, maybe just          this one time, not for Dicky? I          know you think he's comin' back,          he's 40 years old and doesn't have          a tooth in his head that's his own--                         DICKY                         (GETTING UP)          I can go ten more rounds, let's go-                         ALICE          Let your brother talk.                         DICKY          I'm Shea Neary, let's go, I'm Shea          Neary, how ya gonna work me?                         MICKY          Shut up!                         DICKY          Shea Neary --                         MICKY          Shut up!          Dicky, hurt, stops.                         DICKY          I'm the one who has this fight,          this is my chance for a title, and          I won't get another one after this.          Am I being selfish? Am I saying          Micky, Micky, Micky? I'm sorry, I          thought I was fighting for a          championship.          He throws his gear off and starts to go when she runs to him,          embraces him.                         ALICE          I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't          know.                         (MORE)                         (CONTTNTTRN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 87aA.                         114 CONTINUED: (7) 114                          ALICE (CONT'D)          I didn't know what I was doing, I          don't know why I did what I did, I          did the best I could, I'll do          better, I don't want to hurt you,          Micky, I love you so much.          As she holds him, Micky looks frustrated, but tears up in          spite of himself and nods.          THEY HEAR WOODEN FOLDING CHAIRS THAT WERE PROPPED BY THE CAKE          FALL BY ACCIDENT, AND LOOK TO SEE Dicky throw gear as he          leaves via the main door.          A115 EXT. RAMALHO'S WEST END GYM - CONTINUOUS A115          George runs after Dicky outside the gym, shouts.                         GEORGE          (trying to keep up with                         DICKY)          Come on back--                         DICKY          No, I gotta take care a something.                         GEORGE          Micky wants you, I want you.                         DICKY          Do ya, Georgie?                         (CONTTNTTFD'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 87A.          A115 CONTINUED: A115                         GEORGE          We gotta do this for Micky, come          on. You're my son, too, Dick.          Come on.                         DICKY          You're my poppa, George.                         DICKY          I gotta take care a something.          He takes off, leaving George behind.                         GEORGE                         (SHOUTS)          I know what that means, don't do          it, Dick. Come back.          But Dicky keeps going. George watches, sad.                         (CNNTTNTTFT)1                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 88.          A115 CONTINUED: (2) A115                         (CONTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 88A.          A115 CONTINUED: (3) A115                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 89.          115 STREETS - DOWNTOWN, LOWELL - LATE AFTERNOON 115          Sun starting to die in the sky. Dicky limping down the          street, still sweaty in shorts, t-shirt, hears people          shouting out his name, "Dicky!" "Dicky!" "Dicky!"                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 90.          116 EXT. CRACK STREET - CONTINUOUS 116          Dicky walks down the street, waves to familiar Cambodian          faces and others. Approaches the crack house. BooBoo,          Wolfie, some other crackheads hanging out front.          BOOBOO, WOLFIE, KAREN          (see Dicky, shout)          Dicky's back! Hey, Dicky!          Dicky limps toward them, slows down, looks at BooBoo, the          house behind then continues to walk-then starts to run.          Dicky running down the street...          117 CHARLENE'S APARTMENT BUILDING - LATE AFTERNOON 117          Dicky pushes the buzzer, sweat dripping.                         DICKY                         (INTO INTERCOM)          Charlene, it's Dicky.                         CHARLENE          Get off my porch, you piece of          shit.          Dicky presses the buzzer and won't stop.                         CHARLENE          (over the buzzer)          You fuckin' asshole!          118 FRONT DOOR, CHARLENE'S APARTMENT - LATE AFTERNOON 118          Charlene opening her door...Dicky standing in the doorway,          sweating, agitated.                         DICKY          I know you can't fuckin' stand me.                         CHARLENE          Really? What makes ya say that?                         DICKY          I got no use for you eithah, but my          bruthah loves ya and ya can't walk          away 'cause a me. He don't deserve          that. If you want me to quit, I'll          quit.                         CHARLENE          You're full a shit.                         (CNNTTNTT D'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 91.                         118 CONTINUED: 118                         DICKY          Sweah to God, I'll quit if it makes          you go back. Micky's got a chance          to do somethin' I nevah did -                         CHARLENE                         (MOCKING)          Oh, the Sugah Ray Leonahd fight was          my chance, I was great, I fought          Sugah Ray Leonahd---                         DICKY          Fuck you, Charlene. I came here to          make things right -                         CHARLENE          OK, let's make things right, numbah          one: Ya didn't knock down Sugah Ray          Leonahd, he tripped.                         DICKY                         (PAUSES)          I was in the fuckin' ring with 'im,          Chalene, don't you think I know          what happened? But I went ten          rounds with Sugar Ray Leonard, what          the fuck have you evah done? Is          your life so great?          She doesn't say anything.                         DICKY          Your eyes are red, you're hung          ovah, don't tell me you're not. Ya          life sucks.                         CHARLENE          Maybe, the part without Micky          sucks. Maybe I never did anything          special like you, but I love Micky          and I want him to have his chance.                         DICKY          Then leave me alone. He needs me,          you heard him, and I know he needs          you, so let's spare him the          bullshit from either one of us.          She looks at him. Nods grudgingly.                         (CC)NTTNTTFF )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 92.                         118 CONTINUED: (2) 118                         CHARLENE          OK. I'll see ya in Micky's corner,          otherwise go fuck yourself.          Dicky nods, walks off the porch.          119 STREET - CHARLENE'S APARTMENT BUILDING - LATE AFTERNOON 119          .Micky slams the door of his car, walks to see: Dicky          leaving.                         MICKY                         (SURPRISED)          - What the hell are you doin' here?                         DICKY          We worked it out fah you. Ask her.          It's all together.          Micky looks up and sees Charlene standing in the door. She          nods. He looks at Dicky.                         MICKY          Good. Get O'Keefe back, too.                         DICKY          Micky nods, heads toward Charlene.                         DICKY          - hey, Mick, you think I knocked          down Sugah Ray Leonahd?          Micky pauses, looks at his brother, says nothing.                         MICKY          You went ten rounds, and he never          hurt you. You were my hero.                         DICKY          (walking away, back                         TURNED)          I was...          He walks away.                         (CNNTTNTTFF '                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 93.                         119 CONTINUED: 119                         MICKY          (calls after him)          Do you want a ride home?                         DICKY          (shakes his head, limps                         AWAY)          Nah, I'm good. I'm good.          Micky watches his brother walk away; Charlene hugs Micky's          arm.          120 HILTON LONDON OLYMPIA HOTEL - CONFERENCE ROOM - LONDON, 120          ENGLAND - NIGHT          TITLE: Neary vs. Ward, WBU Light Welterweight Title Weigh-In -          Hilton London Olympia Hotel, London.          Dicky, Alice, Charlene, George, Sal, O'Keefe bicker as Micky          stands on edge of press conference.                         DICKY          I should be the one standin' there          next to him, I'm his trainah, his          brothah and my mothah--                         ALICE          Been there from the staht --                         CHARLENE          Me and O'Keefe got him through                         SANCHEZ --                         MICKY          HEY. Nobody goes on stage. Just          me and the manager, that's how it's          done by the professionals. I don't          wanna hear anothah word.          Micky & Dicky standing together watching SHEA "SHAMROCK          EXPRESS" NEARY, 30, 5'8", 140 lbs, hard looking, flat nose,          short-cropped hair, square jaw, shirt, pants off, underwear          only, being weighed-in by British Boxing Commissioners, WBU          officials. Neary's manager, JOHN HYLAND, 41, bald, glasses,          by his side, yapping at reporters, microphones, cameras.                         JOHN HYLAND          (thick Liverpool accent)          - Shea's been sleepin' on a          concrete floor in an empty          apahtment, livin' by 'imself away          from 'is family.                         (CNNTTNTTFN )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 94.                         120 CONTINUED: 120           Dicky whispers intoMicky's ear...Micky smiles, putshisarm           around his brother.Sal LoNano standing behind thescale,           hear a commissioner shout, "Neary,-- 9 stone, 13 pounds!"           Photographers snapping shots, reporters shouting questions,           "Hey, Micky, what about you?"                         MICKY          Nah, I ain't gonna sleep on no          floor. I like my bed an' my          girlfriend too much -          He waves at Charlene in the crowd. Reporters laugh. Neary          glares at Micky and steps off the scale. Micky sees Alice          squeezed way in the back of the room with George, both all          dressed up, new clothes, hair done up.                         MICKY                         (SHOUTS OUT)          Hey, Ma, Dad, come on up here!          Alice and George start heading toward the front of the room,          Alice looking at all the cameras, smiling, she's back in the          spotlight. She's the belle of the ball.                         MICKY          (to the reporters)          My muthah used to manage both of          us, me and Dicky both. Neithah of          us would be here if it weren't for          her, right?                         DICKY          No shit, Mick, she's our muthah -          Reporters laugh, shout, "How long were you their manager for,          Mrs. Ward?"                         ALICE          (smiles at all the          cameras.. .her one well-                         REHEARSED LINE)          I been managin' both of 'em my          whole life, honey.          Reporters laugh. Micky & Dicky laugh. Micky sees Charlene          shake her head and smile despite herself.                         SHEA NEARY          (Liverpool accent, snaps)          Why the hell's ya mothah up here,          this ain't no place for old ladies.          (C Y)NTTNTTT?T) )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 95.                         120 CONTINUED: ( 2) 120          Alice turns to Neary like she's gonna fucking hit him. Dicky          puts an arm around her. Photographers yell, "Let's eeta          Picture, boys!" "Face off!" Micky shakes his head, stands          across from Neary. Neary glares at Micky trying to          intimidate him. "Micky, it's your first fight overseas, and          it's in Shea's hometown, you worried about that?"                         MICKY                         (SHRUGS)          - You can have the whole country          behind ya, but it's only gonna be          me and him in the ring, right?          121 OLYMPIA GRAND HALL - 9:10 PM 121          TITLE: Neary vs. Ward, WBU Light Welterweight Title -Olympia          Grand Hall. Crowd streaming into Olympia Grand Hall,          stunning Victorian architecture, barrel-vaulted roof. Neary          fans singing, waving Irish flags, painted green faces.          122 HOLDING AREA, AISLE - OLYMPIA GRAND HALL - 9:11 PM 122          .Micky & Dicky stop at the top of a long aisle down to the          ring, both looking out at the screaming crowd, 11,000 Neary          fans ...an HBO producer with a headset holding up a hand.          Micky pops his yellow gloves together, white trunks, robe,          black trim, "MickyWard spelled right, Dicky stretches out          his back, kicking the nervousness out of his legs, "Micky          Ward" on his white corner jacket. . .Sal LoNano, the 2nd in the          corner, and cutman Al Gavin behind them.                         DICKY          (turns to Sal, on edge)          Where's his song, Sal? You gotta          be good for somethin'. I dunno why          you gotta be in the cornah anyways -                         SAL LONANO          Make sure you don't do somethin'          stupid.          .Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" begins playing over the          sound system...                         DICKY          Why dontchya try singin', Sal,          maybe you can do that -                         MICKY          (nods, singing the song          quietly to himself)          "Now I don't know where I'm goin'          But I sure know where I been."          (CC)NTTNTTRT)'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 96.                         122 CONTINUED: 122          Dicky looks at his brother and starts quietly singing along          with him. . .walking down the aisle together, crowd booing,          whistling, screaming... Sal LoNano and Al Gavin following,          Whitesnake singing, "And here I go again on my own/Goin' down          the only road I've ever known. Like a drifter I was born to          walk alone."                         123 RING 123          .Micky climbs into the ring, Dicky helps him take off his          robe... lights go dark, green spotlights shine, the Pogues          rollicking "The Irish Rover" plays...Micky & Dicky watch Shea          Neary making his way down the aisle, black trunks, no robe,          green gloves, handler behind him holding up the WBU title          belt, another waving a big Irish flag. .. Crowd cheering,          dancing, singing along...          .Dicky crosses himself, kisses his fingers... Micky sees          Charlene sitting ringside in the dark, flashing green lights,          and gives her a little wave... Charlene waves back, mouths, "I          love you. Kick ass!" Alice and George sitting a couple rows          behind her. Neary walks toward the ring, pounding himself          hard in the face, jaw, forehead with both gloves...          124 RING - OLYMPIA GRAND HALL - 9:19 PM 124          .Micky and Neary standing face-to-face in the middle of the          ring, Dicky rubbing his brother's neck ...Neary leans in and          presses his forehead against Micky's forehead...Referee          MICKEY VANN, red shirt, black bow-tie, giving the fighters          pre-fight instructions.          REFEREEE MICKEY VANN                         (LEEDS ACCENT)          Come out when ya hear the bell, and          don't piss about. Shake hands, both          of ya.          .Micky reaches out to touch gloves with Neary...Neary will          not touch gloves, instead, to Micky's surprise, he pushes his          forehead into Micky's. Ref separates them, Micky again          reaches to touch gloves but Neary will not.                         MICKY          (walks to Dicky in his                         CORNER)          - You see that? I'm gonna kick his          ass.                         DICKY          Good. Go right at him, staht early          for once!                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 97.          125 RING, OLYMPIA GRAND HALL - 9:20 PM 125           TITLE: Rd 1 - 3:00 (time running down). The bell rings.          Micky and Neary meet in the middle of the ring, hear one of          the HBO announcers, JIM LAMPLEY (the real audio), "The big          challenge for Ward is to get off to a faster start than is          customary for him. Micky Ward a notoriously slow starter,          Shea Nearv an ultra-fast starter. And that's the question          that hovers over round one, will Ward be ready for the          fight." Neary takes it right to Micky, whistling shots          hammering his body ...Bam! Bam! Bam! Micky stands his ground          and catches Neary with short uppercuts... Standing forehead-to-          forehead in the middle of the ring. . .Micky taps Neary on the          side of the head, drops down and drills a left hooks into          Neary's ribs ...Bam!...Neary grimaces, lowers his elbow...          1:47 (time running down) ...Micky throws another hook--          Uppercut--Uppercut--Hook...Neary fires back, unloading wide          rights into Micky's body...Bam! Bam! Bam!...Micky takes the          punches and answers. Both fighters in close, trading back &          forth, hear HBO's Larry Merchant (the real audio), "Forehead-          to-forehead. And Ecklund I'm sorry, Ward's,-- the right side          of Ward is red from the body punches being thrown by Neary."          Hear Lampley, "Ward's coming out trying to match Neary blow          for blow! And now Neary starts to come on and take the last          30-.seconds .Nearv fires          Ward!" Micky goes          sprawling into the ropes, almost falling out of the ring,          only the ropes holding him up! Crowd on its feet screaming          for blood... Charlene, Alice, George all yelling for Micky.          Dicky screaming, "COVER UP! COVER UP!"          :20 (time running down) ... Lampley, "Ward's still hurt. He's          trying to hold on. He eats an uppercut. A fighter cannot be          saved by the bell in any round "...Neary moves in for the          kill.. .Micky trying to hold onto him, hear HBO's GEORGE          FOREMAN (the real audio), "Ward should stay still. His legs          aren't under him.". Neary attacking wildly...Micky's out on          his feet, stumbling drunk. The bell rings. End of Rd 1.          126 MICKY'S CORNER, RING 126          .Dicky jumps onto the apron, forgetting the stool...hear          Lampley, "Ward is out on his feet." Micky standing unsteady,          hear Merchant, "They don't have the stool up there fast          enough!" Dicky holding up Micky, blood from Micky's mouth          spilling all over Dicky's shoulder, chest, white corner          jacket...                         (CC)NTTNTTFM                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 97A.                         126 CONTINUED: 126                         DICKY                         (TO MICKY)          You got the Elvis leg, Mick, jump,          c'mon, Micky, jump with me, we          gotta get ya legs back, jump with                         ME -                         (CNNTTNT7FD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 98.                         126 CONTINUED: (2) 126                         CHARLENE          (screaming at Sal)          Give him the stool! Where's the          stool!                         DICKY          Shut up! Get outta here!                         CHARLENE          He needs to sit!                         DICKY                         (TO MICKY)          Jump with me!                         (CNNTTNTTRT))                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 99.                         126 CONTINUED: (3) 126          Micky jumps with Dicky ...two brothers lumping, jumping like          little kids.. .Referee Mickey Vann motioning Micky back into          the center of the ring...                         DICKY          (leans close into his          brother before he goes,                         TALKING FAST)          Go aftah 'im so he don't think ya          hurt, Mick, stay off the fuckin'          ropes!          .Dicky heads out of the ring... crosses himself, kisses his          fingers and climbs out through the ropes, his brother's blood          all over him.          127 RING, OLYMPIA GRAND HALL - 9:24 PM 127           TITLE: Rd 2 - 3:00 (time running down). Neary comes out of          his corner ready to put Micky away... crowd still standing          screaming for blood. He gets Micky right back on the ropes.                         DICKY          Go aftah 'im! Get off the ropes!          Micky throws a right, going right after Neary. Neary caught          off-guard, steps back, letting Micky off the ropes. Micky          keeps throwing, legs still unsteady. Neary flicks out a jab,          keeping his distace. Foreman, "I think Neary's making a big,          big mistake. He's allowing Micky to recover. He knows Micky's          a veteran who's been hurt before, knows what to do when he's          hurt. But he doesn't know if he's still hurt or not."          .Micky waking back up, getting his legs back under him,          hitting Neary with a left to the body--Left uppercut ...Neary          answers, landing a left hook to Micky's chin--Left hook--Left          hook.                         (RNNTTNTTRD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 100.                         127 CONTINUED: 127          Lampley, "And now Neary comes back again, and now Ward!"          Micky answers with a short right--Uppercut...Bam! Bam!...hear          Merchant, "This isn't entertainment. This isn't business.          This is fighting!"                         CUT TO:          128 MICKY'S CORNER, RING - BETWEEN 2ND & 3RD RDS - 9:28 PM 128          .Micky taking deep breaths, Al Gavin in the ring working on          a two-inch gouge under Micky's left eye, Dicky leaning          through the ropes, pouring water in Micky's bloody mouth.                         DICKY          (inches from his face,          just the two of them)          Don't take unnecessary punishment,          you're not a punchin' bag, don't          let him abuse you! You hear me? We          been waitin' our whole lives for          this! It's all been leading up to          right now, Micky! This is your          time, Micky! I blew it, but you          don't have to. Take all ya emotion          and pain from me all we done and          use it out there right now. Don't          let 'em take it away from you,          Micky! Do you hear me?          Micky looks at his brother, nods, turns spits out blood and          water. Dicky TAKES MICKY'S NECK IN HIS HANDS AS HE PUTS HIS          FOREHEAD TO MICKY'S; THEY CLOSE THEIR EYES A MOMENT; BELL          RINGS FOR THE NEXT ROUND.          Micky stands, turns to Charlene sitting ringside; Dicky puts          the mouth piece into Micky's mouth. She's on her feet staring          at her man. Alice and George on their feet, staring as well.          129 RING, OLYMPIA GRAND HALL 129           TITLE: Rd 3 - 3:00 (time running down). Micky stands up and          crosses himself, cut, bruised, swollen face.. .sees Neary          standing across the ring... Dicky starts bouncing on his toes          ringside, looks up at his brother in the ring. Micky starts          bouncing on his toes.. .walks toward Neary...                         CUT TO:          2:28 (time running down). ..Micky and Neary toe-to-toe trading          punches, neither backing down, hear Larry Merchant, "They are          trying to hurt each other with every punch. This is a test          now of will." Neary swings hard hitting Micky's temple with          a big right...Bam!...Micky's hurt, legs dancing about!          Lampley, "Ward wobbled there by a right cross from Neary!          (C.ONTTNTTF.n'                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 100A.                         129 CONTINUED: 129          Neary goes to the body and to the uppercut as he tries to          finish Micky!"          A130 INT. ALICE'S LIVING ROOM - DAY A130          THE SISTERS WATCH THE FIGHT ON TELEVISION, TENSE, chatting          about it.                         (CONTTNTTFD )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 101.          A130 CONTINUED: A130          .Crowd standing, screaming...Charlene and Alice can't          watch ...Neary backs Micky up against the ropes, hitting him          with everything he's got, pounding hard right after hard          right ...Bam! Bam! Bam! Merchant, "Vicious body shots from          Neary!"...Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!...Micky covering his face with          his gloves, bleeding from his mouth, under his eye.. .hear          Merchant, "And Micky Ward is in trouble again!"          .Dicky's on his feet ringside, leaning on the ring apron,          mirroring Micky in the ring... covering his face with his          hands, bobbing his head.. .starts punching, screaming, "Punch          ya way out of it. Punch out of it!"          .Micky starts firing at Neary, hear Lampley, "Ward trying          to trade his way back!"...Neary steps back...Micky slips off          the ropes and raises his hands over his head, letting Neary          know he survived. . .And fires a left hook--Right uppercut!          Lampley, "And Ward hurts Neary with a body shot! Ward hurts          him again with that left to the body! Neary is wobbled!"          Micky rocks Neary with another left hook to the body ...Bam!          Micky follows with a huge left uppercut... Bam!          Neary stumbles backwards and goes crashing down to the          canvas! Hear Lampley scream, "Big uppercut by Ward! First          time in 22 fights that Shea Neary has been down!" Neary gets          back up to his feet at "Four..." Referee Mickey Vann giving          him the standing eight-count, "Six... Seven... Eight."          .Dicky shaking his fist, screaming Micky on, "This is it!          This is it! This is it!"          .Micky walks back in and unleashes a huge left hook--Left          hook--Right uppercut--Left hook. Neary backpedaling. Right          uppercut. Neary trying to cover up. Another left uppercut          sends Neary reeling across the ring! Sprawling out of          control, landing with his head CRASHING down in Micky's          corner!          Dicky raises his hands over his head, white corner jacket          stained with Micky's blood...          .Charlene, Alice, George all on her feet screaming, crowd          now cheering for Micky ...Lampley, "Neary down for the second          time! Mickey Vann's gonna stop it!"...The referee waves it's          over, it's over, hear Merchant, "He's done it! Micky Ward's          done it!" CUT TO: SISTERS EXPLODE TO CHEERS WATCHING AT HOME.          .Micky throws his hands in the air, blood dripping down his          face...he can't believe it...he can't believe it...he can't          believe it...he screams with joy. . .Dicky jumps up into the          ring, runs to his brother... Charlene... Alice... George all          screaming with joy outside the ring...          (C_fNTTNTT1 f )                                                                                                               The Fighter 8/28/09 GREEN DRAFT 102.          A130 CONTINUED: (2) A130                         MICKY          (looks down and hugs his          brother's head between          his gloves, laughing)          Dickyeeee!                         DICKY          (holding Micky up off the          ground, looks up at          him.. .tears in his eyes)          Ohmygahd, Micky, you're the world          champion! You're champion a the          whole world!          .Dicky holding his brother up in his arms...Micky raises          his fists above his head... the two brothers together in the          middle of the crowded ring... FREEZE FRAME ON MICKY IN THE AIR          HELD ALOFT BY Dicky. Credits start. Then TEXT: 'Micky Ward          went on to three epic fights with Arturo Gatti. bringing          Micky his first seven-figure paydays. He retired in 2003."          UNFREEZE: Dicky turns as he holds Micky and now we see          Dicky's face, scrunched against Micky's hip as he holds him          aloft. FREEZE FRAME ON Dicky: "Dicky lives with Alice and          Little Dicky a few blocks away from Micky, and trains          fighters in Lowell. Free from crack, he battles his addiction          every day.' UNFREEZE: Alice steps into the ring, BEAMING,          followed by George.                         ALICE          Both my boys are champions, Micky          you're a champion! I love you!          She touches Micky's hair and neck, loving eye contact with          him, when Micky is pulled toward Charlene, who grabs his face          and kisses him deeply, leaving Alice to turn and lovingly fix          the collar of Dicky's cornerman jacket. FREEZE ON MICKY          CHARLENE KISS: 'Micky married Charlene in 2005. They live in          Lowell with his daughter Kasie in the house he bought with          the money he made from the Neary fight. Credits continue.                         CUT TO:          130 LOWELL MAN ON THE STREET DOCUMENTARY INTERVIEWS. 130          Credits continue over real interviews with real Lowell;          followed by the sisters. Micky & Dicky are champions of the          world. . .the dream is alive in Lowell...
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+                               FROZEN                             Written by                             Adam Green                                                  January 28, 2009    EXT. MOUNT HOLLISTON - DAY                                    1    Peace.    Fresh snow glistens in the sunlight and reflects off of the    giant pine trees covering the serene mountain side.    It's quiet.    So quiet.                                                   HARD CUT TO:                                   FROZEN                                                   HARD CUT TO:2   EXT. THE CHAIR LIFT - DAY                                     2    Tight on a gloved hand as a lever is released.    Tight on the cables at the top of a rickety chair lift as    they kick into motion.    Wider as an empty chair swivels around and beneath the asses    of a threesome of SKIERS.    Even wider to reveal a long line of Skiers and SNOWBOARDERS    awaiting their moment to step up to the chair.    The camera finds a group of three standing off to the side of    the line, decked out in their winter gear.3   EXT. SNOW BANK OVERLOOKING THE CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS        3    Angle on DAN WALKER (college age, shaggy hair, holding a    snowboard and a helmet in one hand) as he studies the    situation. Next to him stands an impatient JOE LYNCH    (college age, goggles on his head and a face full of fresh    stubble, standing on skis).                          LYNCH                I don't see her.                          DAN                The shift change is late.   Just                wait.    PARKER O'NEIL (college age, red hair, holding a snowboard)    sighs and stares back at the lift lane.                                                          2.                    PARKER          Are you sure about this?                    DAN          We've been doing this forever.          Trust me. This lady loves Lynch.          She always goes for it.Lynch smiles at Parker.                      LYNCH          I'm cute.Just then, JASON (a ski mountain employee) approaches thefront of the line and excuses the employee working the chair.                    PARKER          Is um... is that her?                      DAN          Shit.                      LYNCH          Dude.                    DAN          It's cool, it's cool.              (to Parker)          Look, all you have to do is smile          real pretty and tell him-                     PARKER          -What?   Me? No way.    This is your          thing.                    DAN         Parker, listen, listen. It's so          easy. All you do is tell the guy          that you and your friends-                    LYNCH          -GIRLfriends. Say "girlfriends".                    DAN          -you and your girlfriends forgot          your credit card and you can't pick          up your lift tickets.He grabs a wad of cash out of Lynch's glove and shoves it inParker's hand.                                                                 3.                        DAN (cont'd)              Start at $50. That's what we              usually give the other lady. He'll              take it. Trust me.                         PARKER              Dan, no.   You do it.    I feel              stupid.                        DAN              You've got this.    You can totally              do this.                        LYNCH              Parker, you've so got this.                        DAN              The worst thing that happens is he              says no. He won't say no. No one              ever says no.                         PARKER              Why me?                        LYNCH              `Cause you're a girl.                         DAN              A very beautiful girl with a very              charming smile.                  (then)              Just...    He unzips her jacket a little bit, showing some more of her    body.                         DAN (cont'd)              There.                        PARKER              My charming smile?    Dan and Lynch smile back at her.    She exits reluctantly    towards the lift line.4   EXT. CHAIR LIFT LINE - CONTINUOUS                                4    Parker pushes her snowboard forward and moves up the side of    the line, passing all of the skiers who are waiting.    She approaches Jason who is now running the lift.    He lights    a cigarette.                                                           4.                      PARKER          Hey.Jason looks up at her.                    PARKER (cont'd)          Could I bum a smoke?She flashes an adorable but forced smile and he quicklyobliges with a cigarette.                      PARKER (cont'd)          Thanks.He lights her cigarette.                    PARKER (cont'd)          I'm Parker.He looks around, not all that sure why a cute girl is talkingto him for more than just to get a smoke.                      JASON          Jason.                      PARKER          Oh, cool.    My brother's name is          Jason.                      JASON          OK.                    PARKER          Yeah, so I don't want to waste your          time and bullshit you cause you          seem like a wicked busy guy and          everything...but..this is gonna          sound so stupid...Jason is all ears.                    PARKER (cont'd)          My girlfriends and I drove all the          way up here from Salem State, and I          was sort of the dumbass who told          everyone that I could cover the          lift tickets on my Mom's credit          card...but then I left her credit          card at the gas station...and so...Jason totally sees where this is going.                                                              5.                          JASON              Right.                        PARKER              No- but I mean, we totally have              some cash and stuff. We just don't              have enough to cover all 3 lift              tickets, you know?    Jason exhales two lungs full of smoke as the next group gets    onto the lift.                          JASON              How much?                        PARKER              Like...fifty?    Jason scoffs and starts the lift.                        JASON              I could lose my job.    He looks around.5   EXT. SNOW BANK OVERLOOKING THE CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS        5    Lynch and Dan watch Parker at work.                        LYNCH              He's not going for it.                        DAN              Will you shut up? He's gonna go              for it. It's either stand there              and do the job for minimal...              minimal, what is it?                          LYNCH              Minimum.                        DAN              -Minimum wage or do it for minimum              wage plus a little bit more.    Lynch sighs, then changes the subject.                        LYNCH              She had to come skiing with us?    Dan looks back at him, offended.                                                         6.                    DAN          You said you didn't mind?                     LYNCH          I don't.   I don't mind.   Don't mind          at all.                                                    XA beat.                    LYNCH (cont'd)          I'm just saying, you haven't done          dollar pitchers at Fezziwigs with                                                  R          us since last semester. You never          come around for Monday night          football, nobody has seen you at-                    DAN                                      A          -I watched the game with you last          week!                    LYNCH          For ten minutes, Dan. Football          games are more than ten minutes.                        M          They're lots of ten minutes-es, you          know?                    DAN          Dude, I have a girlfriend now. I          love this girl. I don't know what          you...  D                    LYNCH          No, no it's fine. I'm just saying,          the Mount Holliston day trips were          our thing, you know? She doesn't          even know how to board yet.E                     DAN          She's getting better.              (then)          Now I feel like a dick. You should          have said something if it was a          problem.                    LYNCH          It's not a problem. It's not.          Forget I ever said anything.They see Parker hand Jason something. He pockets it and sheglides her way back to the end of the line.She looks up at the guys waiting on the hill and thenexcitedly waves. Proud of herself.                                                              7.    Dan smiles at Lynch.6   EXT. CHAIR LIFT LINE - CONTINUOUS                             6    Lynch and Dan join Parker and slowly work their way up the    line.                                                       X                           DAN              Good work!     See?   They always go              for it.                                                     R                        PARKER              I did good, right?                        LYNCH              You did great.                                           A                        DAN              Oh, so where's my change?                        PARKER              There isn't any.                              M                        DAN              You gave him the full hundred?                        PARKER              He wasn't going for it at 50.                        DAN      D              So what happened to the other fifty              numbers in between there? Like, I              don't know, $51 or maybe even $75?                        PARKER    E              You gave me two 50's. What was I              supposed to do, ask for change?                        LYNCH              I would have asked for change.                        PARKER              It's still way cheaper than paying              for tickets, right?    Dan is disappointed.                        LYNCH              I would have definitely asked him              for change.                                                                8.    They get up to the front of the line.    Jason looks at Dan and    Lynch behind Parker.                        JASON                  (scoffs at Parker)              "Girlfriends"?                                                         X    Parker gives him an apologetic smile.    The three get in front of the chair. It descends under them    and scoops them off of the ground into the air.                                                       R7   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - MOMENTS LATER                                 7    The threesome float high above the mountain as the chair    slowly makes it's way to the top.                                          A                         DAN              Look at that. See? All these              other idiots are paying top dollar              to ski. Not us. All thanks to              you, baby.                           M                        PARKER                  (teasing)              Oh, now I'm "baby"?     You never call              me pet names.                        DAN              I'm just not a `pet name' guy.      D                        PARKER                  (to Lynch)              He calls me "Parker."    E                        DAN              It's your name.                        PARKER              Yeah but you're supposed to call me              something affectionate, you know?              Like "honey" or "sweetie".                        LYNCH              I hooked up with a girl last              semester that called me by my last              name in bed. It was so weird.              "Oh, Lynch! Your hair is so soft!              Do me harder, Lynch!" It was like              I was throwing it to Dan over here.    Dan looks back to Parker.                                                          9.                    DAN          See? At least I don't call you          "O'Neil".                    PARKER          You don't touch my face enough          either.                                                  XDan laughs.                    LYNCH              (to no one imparticular)                                                R          Third wheel.Parker reaches across and playfully taps Lynch.                    PARKER                                   A          Watch it, Lynch.                    LYNCH          Hey, that's not fair. I'm not          dating you, you don't get to make          my life suck.                          MParker shoots Dan a look: "Oh, really?"                    DAN          Wha-? I never said that. I never          said you make my life suck.              (then, forced)          Sweetie.  DAfter a beat he awkwardly reaches out and touches her face.Nothing sweet or sensitive about it, but he's trying.                       PARKERE                 (sarcastically)          Aww!                    LYNCH              (to Parker)          Dan tells me you're getting the          hang of that board?                    PARKER          I wouldn't say that. But last time          we went I did pretty good, right?                    DAN          You did awesome. I'm telling you,          the first few times are frustrating          but once you get the hang of it,          it's like riding a bike.                    (MORE)                                                 10.                    DAN(cont'd)              (to Lynch's skis)          Are you gonna trade in those          ancient things for a board?                    LYNCH          Please. Snowboards are too EMO for          me. Give it ten more years and          that fad will be dead.                                                 X                    DAN          That's what they said about rap.Parker removes a cigarette and lights it.                                               R                    LYNCH          Mmm-mmm. Smell that fresh mountain          air, huh? Kind of smells like...          cancer.                                   A                    PARKER          You know what, I am so sick of          potheads giving me shit about          smoking butts.                       M                    LYNCH          At least pot does something for          you. Cigarettes are just gross.          Especially out in the cold. It          like sticks to you and then you          smell like a mixture of ash tray          and an old man's used floss.  D                    DAN          Used floss? Where do you come up          with this shit.                    LYNCHE          Have you ever sniffed your floss?          It's nasty.Dan and Lynch both crack up at this, huge.                    DAN          No, I have never- why would I ever          sniff my floss? Why am I friends          with you?Parker blows more smoke out.                    DAN (cont'd)          Gimme a drag.He takes her cigarette from her.                                                          11.                    PARKER          What time do you think we'll get          back? I have about 2 weeks worth          of chapters to read tonight.                    LYNCH          Oh no. She broke the rule.                                                 X              (to Parker)          Parker you just broke the first          rule.                    PARKER                                               R          What?                    DAN          No worrying about the bullshit of          real life. The whole point of this                                   A          is to relax and have fun. Worry          about school when you get home.                    PARKER          But, I haven't read a-                          MThe chair suddenly stops and lurches forward slightly.   Thesound of the chair lift cuts out.A deep silence takes over quickly, like the type of silencethat used to suddenly happen in school when you were taking atest and the radiator that you never even noticed was onwould suddenly shut off.  DRandom SKIERS and BOARDERS in the surrounding chairs expresstheir disgust for the delay.Parker instinctively grabs Dan's hand.E                    DAN          It's alright.                   LYNCH          Uh-oh! Is someone afraid of          heights?                    PARKER          No.                    LYNCH          So it doesn't bother you when I do          this?Lynch rocks the chair back and forth.Parker grabs hold of the safety bar.                                                         12.                     PARKER          Quit it!Dan motions to Lynch to stop.                    PARKER (cont'd)          I'm not afraid of heights.   I just                                                  X          don't like them.                     DAN          Baby, in the whole history of time,          only one chair has ever fallen off                                                R          of a lift.                    PARKER          Points for calling me "baby" but          you just made that statistic up.                                   A                    LYNCH          Yeah, statistics don't work on          smokers.                    PARKER                        M              (nervous laughter)          Oh, shut-up.Lynch turns around and yells behind him.                    LYNCH          OK, WHAT ASSHOLE COULDN'T GET ON          THE CHAIR RIGHT?  DLaughter echoes from the chairs behind him.He yells forward.E                    LYNCH (cont'd)          COME ON, I PAID GOOD MONEY TO DO          SOME SKIING!                    DAN          Actually, I paid good money.                    LYNCH          Yeah, but I'm gonna pay you back so          it's like the same thing.With a lurch, the chair starts moving forward again and thewhirring sound of the cables above them start up again.Applause is heard from all of the other chairs.                                                                 13.                        LYNCH (cont'd)              THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!              WOO!    Dan lets go of Parker's hand and gives her a smile.   She    smiles back.                                                      X    He playfully sticks his tongue out at her and she laughs as    their chair moves forward exiting frame.8   EXT. TOP OF THE CHAIR LIFT - LATER                                8                                                    R    The three begin to get situated with their boards and skis.                        PARKER              Why do I have to wear a helmet?                                         A                        DAN              Safety first.                        PARKER              But you guys don't wear them.                              M    She looks around.                        PARKER (cont'd)              I only see little kids wearing              them.                        DAN      D              Cause they're still learning, too.              Come on, I'm not gonna argue about              this.                        LYNCH    E              Even extreme boarders wear helmets.              Nobody makes fun of them.    She begrudgingly puts on her helmet.   She's not happy about    it.    Dan and Lynch smile.                           DAN / LYNCH              Awww.                        PARKER              You're just doing this to make fun              of me.    Dan's laughing.                                                         14.                    DAN          No, I'm not. I swear.    You look          hot in a helmet.Off to the side, Lynch spots SHANNON (cute, brunette, 20's)struggling with her boot strap. She falls down on her ass.                                                XLynch nonchalantly maneuvers over to her side.                    LYNCH          Need some help?                                              R                    SHANNON              (laughing)          Do you think?Lynch puts out a hand to help her and pulls her up almost                                    Adirectly into his face.Parker and Dan watch from afar as Lynch helps her with herboot strap.He has one hand innocently on the back of her knee and he is                         Mfastening the strap with his other.                    PARKER          Aww, check out Lynch.From their point of view, they watch Lynch helping the girl.                     DAN  D          See?   Chick magnet.Almost as if on cue, RYAN (an enormous dude, 20's) stompsover and shoves Lynch down into the snow.E                    RYAN          What the hell?Lynch tries to get up.                    LYNCH          Woah! Shit, man!    I was just          trying to help!Instantly, Dan moves over to Lynch's aid. Parker followsslowly behind him. She's clearly not too good on her board.                    SHANNON          Ryan, what the hell?                    RYAN          He had his hands all over you!                                                        15.                    SHANNON          No he didn't. I can take care of          myself!She shoves him back. Ryan just shakes his head at her andshoves off, away from the group. He waits for her down thehill a few feet.                                                  XDan and Shannon help Lynch to his feet.                    SHANNON (cont'd)          I am so sorry about that. He can                                                R          be such an asshole sometimes.                    LYNCH          I was seriously just trying to          help. I mean, how could I even                                    A          compete with a catch like that?He waves to Ryan.   Ryan just looks away.                    SHANNON              (laughs)                          M          Are you OK?                    LYNCH          Yeah, I'm fine.                     SHANNON          Well, thank you for your help.    I          am so, so sorry about that.  D              (then)          I'm Shannon, by the way.                     LYNCH          Joe.E                    RYAN              (calling to her)          Shan!Shannon rolls her eyes.                    SHANNON          Well it was nice to meet you.She takes off after Ryan.                    LYNCH              (to his friends)          I was like one second away from          beating that guy's ass.                                                               16.                        DAN              I know you were, man.   Come on.              Don't sweat it.                        LYNCH              Seriously, that guy was such a              dick.                                                     X                        PARKER              Come on boys. We can talk about              how tough you both are at the              bottom.                                                   R    Lynch starts down the hill.                           DAN              I'm tough.                                        A                        PARKER              I know you are.    They push off out of frame.                                 M9   EXT. SKI TRAIL - LATER                                          9    Dan, Parker, and Lynch move down the mountain on their snow    boards and skis.    Quick cuts of Dan helping Parker learn.    Lynch impatiently    waits.      D    Finally, Parker comes to a stop on her own next to Dan and he    claps for her.                        DAN    E              Look at you! See?   Having fun?                        PARKER              Are you kidding? We are totally              doing this every weekend. In fact,              if they were open during the week              I'd say we should cut class, too.    Lynch suddenly flies over the hill and sprays both of them    down with powder.                        LYNCH              Last one to the bottom is buying              dinner!    He eats it mere seconds later and lands on his ass.                                                              17.     Parker and Dan take off laughing while Lynch feebly tries to     get back on his feet.10   INT. SKI LODGE - EARLY EVENING                            10     Parker gets herself some hot chocolate in the distance while                                                       X     Dan and Lynch pick at what's left of a pizza on the table in     front of them.                         DAN               We gotta take a weekend trip up                                                     R               North one of these days. Hit up               Killington or Okemo and really do               it up right.                         LYNCH                                        A               Why don't we just do it over               Christmas. You and me.                         DAN               Done. When I stayed with my cousin               out West two years ago it was like                            M               the stuff you see in commercials.               We had to take like 3 lifts to get               to the top and it was powder as far               as you could see.                         LYNCH               Well, speaking of good skiing...               it's been cool doing the bunny hill       D               all day but do you think we could               get one real run in before we leave               tonight?     Dan feels bad.     E                         DAN               Dude, you didn't have to stay with               us. It's totally cool if you want               to go off for a few.     Parker is now walking back to their table behind Lynch and is     pretty much right on top of them.                         LYNCH               No, it's fine. I'm just saying               let's step it up a notch at some               point. It's been cool watching               Parker fall on her ass all day but               I would like to actually ski at               some point.                                                   18.Parker feels horrible.                    PARKER          You know, I've probably had enough          for today anyway. I can just stay          in the lodge if you guys want to go-                                                   XNow Lynch feels horrible.                    LYNCH          -no, no, no that's not what I          meant. I didn't mean it like that.                                                 RParker looks to Dan.                    PARKER          I told you I didn't have to come.                                    A                    LYNCH          Parker, I didn't not want you to          come.Dan tries to help.                          M                    DAN          It was his idea that we invited you          in the first place.                    LYNCH          Exactly. Remember? I was like          "Hey man, why doesn't Parker come  D          with us?" And you were like-                    DAN          -I was like, "OK that would be          cool".EParker isn't buying it.   She puts on a smile.                    PARKER          It's OK, you guys. The last thing          a girl wants to do is intrude on          "guy time". I won't be offended.          I've got stuff I could do anyway.              (to Dan)          Actually, can I have the key? I          should check my messages.                                                  19.                    DAN          No. No locker key. I can tell you          right now that every message on          there is going to be from your Mom          giving you more aggravation about          whatever the hell.                                                  XParker laughs.                    PARKER          She does not.                                                RDan looks to Lynch.                    DAN          Ready for this? Two nights ago we          were watching a movie and her Mom                                    A          kept calling and calling.              (to Parker)          And what did she want?Parker laughs.                         M                    DAN (cont'd)          She wanted to know if we wanted to          have chicken soup or vegetable soup          with Christmas dinner. Christmas          dinner! Four weeks away, and she          had to now right then and there          what kind of soup we'd prefer.  D                    LYNCH          What did you say?   You said          chicken.                    DANE          Hell yes, I said chicken, but          that's not the point.              (to Parker)          The point is you can go a few more          hours without hearing from Annette.Parker looks to Lynch.                     PARKER          I'm sorry if I ruined skiing for          you today.                                                                 20.                         LYNCH               You didn't! You didn't at all!               You missed the part before you               walked over here when I was all               like, "Dude, this has been so               cool...you know...doing..."                                                       X     Parker and Dan are beaming at him.   He knows he's beat.                         LYNCH (cont'd)                   (frustrated)               What?                                                     R11   EXT. FRONT OF LODGE - MOMENTS LATER, NIGHT                   11     Parker, Dan, and Lynch come out of the lodge.                                          A     From their POV the chair lift is still moving but the line is     empty.     They start to move to the empty lift line when...                            M                         SHANNON (O.C.)               Joe!                         LYNCH                   (to his friends)               Wait up.     Lynch walks over to Shannon while Dan and Parker move towards       D     the lift line.                        SHANNON               Hey. I just wanted to apologize               again.     E                         LYNCH               Oh, no big deal. He's just lucky               he didn't make me mad. You know, I               just look half your boyfriend's               size.                         SHANNON               Ex. He's my ex-boyfriend. We're,               you know, trying to still be               friends and everything but as you               can see, that's not really gonna               work.                         LYNCH                   (teasing)               No way.                                                        21.                    SHANNON          A group of us all agreed to go          skiing this weekend and well,          whatever. It's a whole story and-She looks over at Dan and Parker.                                                  X                     SHANNON (cont'd)          -I don't want to hold you up. But          that was just really embarrassing.          So I just wanted to say sorry.              (then)                                                R          Are you gonna be here next weekend?                    LYNCH          Where, here? Yeah, probably, yes.                                      A                    SHANNON          Cool. Well, my roommate and I come          like every Sunday, so maybe I'll          see you.                    LYNCH                          M          That would be...a nice time.                     SHANNON          OK.   See ya later.She turns and starts walking away.Lynch walks away. He gets a few steps and then turns back  Dand jogs after Shannon again.                    LYNCH          Actually, you know what? Would it          be cool if I got your number orE          something? That way I'll...know          how to catch up with you and stuff.                    SHANNON          Yeah, sure.Lynch pats his pockets.                    LYNCH          Shit. Don't ski with my phone.          It's in the locker with everyone          else's stuff. Do you have a pen?She laughs and shakes her head no.                    SHANNON          Don't ski with a pen.     Sorry.                                                              22.                         LYNCH               Just shoot then. I've got a really               good memory. I've only smoked pot               like 500 times so I'm good.     Shannon gets serious.                                                         X                         SHANNON               You know it's a gateway drug right?     Joe is nervous.                                                       R                          SHANNON (cont'd)               Kidding.                          LYNCH               Whew.   You! That's so like you!                                         A12   EXT. CHAIR LIFT LINE - MOMENTS LATER                         12     Dan and Parker are in a heated debate with Jason the chair     lift operator.                                M     He puts a red flag on the back of a chair that heads up the     mountain.                         DAN               But we gave you a hundred bucks and               we've only gotten like 4 runs!       D                         JASON               It's not my decision, man.    They're               closing early.                         DAN     E               You're only open three days a week.               You can't afford to close early.                         JASON               Why don't you write a letter?     Lynch pushes himself up behind them.                         LYNCH                   (to Dan)               Remember "429".                          DAN               What?                                                              23.                       LYNCH             Just remember "429".                 (to himself)             "5022". "5022." "5022."                       PARKER                 (to Jason)                                                     X             Come on, just one more run.                       JASON             Sorry.                                                   R                       DAN             Honestly, I'd slide you some more             money but we gave you everything we             have.                                        A                       LYNCH                 (to Jason)             Hey man, do you have a pen?Jason ignores him.                             M                       JASON             It's not about the money. They             need to clear the mountain. We've             got weather coming in. There's             nothing I can do.                       PARKER             What if we promise to run straight  D             down. Like the quickest run ever.                       DAN             Wicked fast.EJason struggles. He sighs and looks around.        There are stillplenty of skiers coming down.                      JASON             Fine. But hurry.                DAN                              PARKERThank you!                           Thank you so much!                       DAN             We'll be wicked fast.    Like the             wind!Jason sends them up the lift.    He checks to make sure no oneis watching.                                                              24.13   EXT. CHAIR LIFT    - MOMENTS LATER                        13     Parker, Dan, and Lynch slowly move up the mountain yet again.                         LYNCH               Seriously. For a hundred bucks                                                      X               you'd think he could cut us some               slack.                         DAN               I know right? They're supposed to                                                    R               stay open until 10 on Sundays.               Whatever happened to night skiing?                          LYNCH               Wachusett still has night skiing.                                          A               We should have gone there. It's               kinda like Ward Hill but not as               lame.                   (then)               Hey, you remember the numbers I               told you?                                M                          DAN               "429".                         PARKER               Good for you, Lynch.   You got her               number!       D                         DAN               What did He-Man have to say about               that?                          LYNCH     E               That guy? Who cares? Steroids               shrink your dick.                   (then)               Wait, shit. What were my four               numbers? "5022". Parker, will you               remember "5022"?                          PARKER               Nope.14   EXT. CHAIR LIFT LINE - CONTINUOUS                         14     Jason reaches for his cigarettes.    He's all out.     Disappointed he tosses the empty pack in the trash.                                                              25.     A fellow employee (RIFKIN) approaches.                         RIFKIN               Early night, huh?                         JASON               You're not gonna hear me complain.                                                      X                         RIFKIN               Pendergraft wants you to stop by               the office.   Something about next               weekend's schedule.                                                    R                         JASON               I'm not working next weekend.     Rifkin gives him a look.   "That's what you thought."                                         A                         JASON (cont'd)               Oh, come on. It's my brother's               bachelor party. I put in for it               two months ago.                               M                         RIFKIN               Go talk to the boss. He's getting               ready to leave.                         JASON               I'm the best man!                   (under his breath)               Shit.       D     Rifkin takes his place.                         RIFKIN               Ready to shut down?     E     As Jason runs away he turns back.                         JASON               There's three more on their way               down. Wait for them, then it's all               set.15   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                              15     The three continue to talk.                         PARKER               I'm not waiting til we get back to               campus to eat. I'm starving.                                                         26.                    DAN          Why didn't you have some pizza?                    PARKER          You mean the cardboard with tomato          sauce that you guys ate? That          wasn't pizza. That was like,                                                  X          `roller skating rink birthday party          pizza'.                    LYNCH          There's a Papa Gino's on our way                                                R          back. It's like 15 minutes down          the road from the mountain.                    PARKER          Sweet. I am gonna eat a whole real                                    A          pizza myself.Dan spies something.                    DAN          Check it out!                          MThey look down to see THREE SKIERS hit a huge jump, one afterthe other.                    DAN (cont'd)          We are so hitting that jump.                    LYNCH  D          Last run. Gotta make it count.The wind blows the chair really hard.Parker holds on.E                       PARKER          Jesus!The guys just laugh.                    DAN          It's just wind, Parker.                    LYNCH          Don't you mean, "baby"?Parker starts laughing.                    DAN              (to Lynch)          Who invited you?                                                                   27.16   EXT. CHAIR LIFT LINE - MOMENTS LATER                           16     Rifkin warms his hands with his breath.       The temperature is     dropping fast.     He checks his watch, dancing back and forth.                                                         X     HEYMAN (another employee) runs by him on his way to the     lodge.                           RIFKIN                                                       R               Heyman!    HEY, HEYMAN!   Do me a               solid?     Heyman looks back him.   His face already says "no."                                             A                         RIFKIN (cont'd)               I've gotta piss so bad I can taste               it. Can you just take over for 2               minutes?     Heyman points to his ears as if he can't hear what Rifkin is                              M     saying to him. He keeps running.                           RIFKIN (cont'd)               Asshole.17   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                   17       D     A low, distant thunder roll echoes far away.                          PARKER               Shit.   Do you hear that?     E                         DAN               It's the mountains.    It snows every               night. Relax.     The chair moves on in silence for a few moments.                         PARKER               Seriously. I'm gonna eat a whole               pizza.                   (a few beats)               I'm not even kidding.                                                              28.18   EXT. CHAIR LIFT LINE - MOMENTS LATER                      18     Rifkin kicks his feet around. He spies Jason's discarded     cigarette box on the top of the trash and he inspects it for     any left over cigarettes.                                                      X     Nothing.     He sighs.     Just then, the three skiers that we saw taking the jump a few                                                    R     minutes earlier come flying down the mountain and past him.     A voice from the top lift cuts through the radio.                           VOICE (O.S.)                                          A                 Last chair is through.     Rifkin picks up the radio and calls the top of the mountain.                          RIFKIN                 Cool. Last three just hit.   I'm                                 M                 clear.                           VOICE (O.C.)                 Clear up here.     He hangs up and moves over to the lever.     Tight on the lever as he pulls it back towards him.       D19   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                              19     The chair lurches to a stop. Once again, the comforting     E     white noise of the motorized cables goes away, leaving them     in silence.     The wind blows hard against them.                           DAN                 Oh, come on.     Parker instinctively grabs his hand.     The cold bites through their layers of clothing.                           PARKER                 Bur!                                                               29.                         LYNCH                   (yelling to the sky)               IT'S FRIGGIN COLD UP HERE!   NO TIME               FOR THIS CRAP! THANK YOU!     They sit and wait in silence for a few seconds.                                                        X                         PARKER               It's gonna start again, right?                            DAN                      (quickly)                                                      R               Yes.                   (then)               Anyone got any jokes?                         LYNCH                                        A               What did the fourteen year old girl               from New Hampshire say to her               father when she lost her virginity?                         DAN               "Get off me, you're crushing my                                  M               Marlboros".     Beat.                         LYNCH               I told you that?                                                        CUT TO:       D20   EXT. MOUNT HOLLISTON - MOMENTS LATER                         20     From this distance the mountain looks like a giant night-     E     light of converging white strings.     Even in this darkness, the menacing clouds are visible over     the trees.                                                        CUT TO:21   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 21     The three sit in the freezing chair.   Lynch is really getting     impatient.                         DAN               What do you think the worst way to               die would be?                                        30.           PARKER That's not morbid.           LYNCH Yeah, seriously.    That's kinda spooky, Dan.                                        X            DAN I think getting eaten by a shark would be the worst way to go.     (beat) Not if it was like one of those                                      R surfers where they get hit from behind and they don't even know what happened.     (beat) You know. Cause it like came up                            A from beneath them.     (beat) Like on the Jaws poster.           LYNCH The chick on the Jaws poster was               M hot.            PARKER She was?           LYNCH I don't know. She was naked. Naked chicks are hot.  D           DAN But if you actually like saw the fin coming for you in the water. That would be worse than actuallyE getting eaten. Knowing that this animal is coming for you but you can't get away. And that it's going to eat you. Like you're gonna get eaten alive? Have you guys ever seen that footage of the great white jumping out of the water to eat that seal?           LYNCH That's why I only swim in pools.            PARKER I think burning to death would be the worst.                                                 31.                    LYNCH          Well yes and no. Because most          people die of the smoke inhalation          before any fire even hits them.                    PARKER          I remember watching TV for like 3                                                 X          days straight after 9/11. That          footage that they kept showing of          all of those people leaping off of          the top of the Trade Center? Can          you imagine how bad it was inside                                               R          to know that jumping was a better          way out?                    LYNCH          But they say that when you jump                                     A          from that high up your heart stops          before you hit the ground and you          don't even feel it.                    PARKER          OK, then Lynch. What is the worst                         M          way to die?                    LYNCH              (defensive)          What?                    PARKER          No, you have an answer for  D          everything. What's your biggest          fear?Lynch has been waiting for this.E                     LYNCH          Easy.   The Sarlaac pit.                      PARKER          The what?                    LYNCH          The Sarlaac pit. From Return of          the Jedi? Hel-lo...being slowly          digested over 1,000 years? Worst.          Death. Ever.                    DAN              (teasing)          "I don't know why I never have a          girlfriend, you guys!"                                                               32.                            LYNCH                 Shut-up.      The wind starts blowing again and Parker nestles close to      Dan.                           PARKER                                                        X                 Why hasn't it started again?                           DAN                 Give it a minute.                                                      R                           LYNCH                 This is nothing man. At Stowe last                 year, me and Solet were stranded                 for like 25 minutes. This big                 chick fell getting off up top and                                            A                 twisted her leg. It was like-                 "move her to the side and keep the                 line going people". But no. They                 had to stop and celebrate it right                 there and we all had to-                               M      BOOM.   The lights go out.A21   EXT. MOUNT HOLLISTON - CONTINUOUS                           A21      Across the mountain all of the trail lights go out, one by      one.        DB21   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                B21      They sit in darkness.      E      At first no one can speak.      Dan reacts first.                           DAN                     (yelling)                 WHAT THE FUCK??!    HELLO???!!!!                           LYNCH                 Come on now! This is messed up.                           PARKER                 HEY! TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON!                 HELLO!!!!      Dan tries to laugh in frustration.                                                  33.                    DAN          Are they fucking kidding?                    LYNCH          I kind of just shat in my pants a          bit, I'm not gonna lie.                                                  X                    DAN          HE-LLO!!!!!!!!!!!????Parker is starting to shake.                                                R                    PARKER              (quietly)          No one knows we're up here.    They          forgot that we're up here.                                      A                    DAN          No they didn't. They couldn't          have. I'm sure they have a system          or something. There's probably          security cameras on us right now.                           MHe starts waving around his hands.                    DAN (cont'd)          HEY ASSHOLES?! START THE CHAIR!!!          WE'RE FREEZING UP HERE!!!                    PARKER          What if they don't start it again?  D          What if everyone went home?                     DAN              (angered out of panic)          Will you stop?!E              (recovering)          They didn't go home. Stop freaking          me out.              (then)          Remind me to knock down that          fucking lift operator when we get          down. This is horse shit.                    LYNCH          What did you say to the guy?                     DAN          Me?   Nothing!                    LYNCH          Well, clearly you pissed him off          enough to do this.                                                        34.                    DAN          I didn't do anything!   He knows          we're still up here.                     PARKER          Then why are the lights off, Dan?          Is that part of their policy? Shut                                                 X          off the lights and scare the          customers?                     DAN          They just lost power or something.                                               R          I'm sure it's gonna come back on          any second.              (then)          They didn't go home. That's          retarded.                                    AAfter a few more moments.                    LYNCH          This is so messed up.                       M                    DAN          It's a power outage. They'll come          up with a ladder if they have to.Parker is starting to whimper. In a few more seconds she mayeven be teetering on full-on panic.                    PARKER  D          We need to get down from here. We          can't just sit up here. Why isn't          the goddamn chair moving, Dan?          What the hell?!E                     DAN          Well you being all psycho about it          isn't gonna make it move. Just          chill out.Another few beats.                    PARKER          Don't yell at me.                    DAN          I wasn't yelling at you but you          need to relax. This stuff happens          all the time. Can you imagine the          law suit if they left everyone on          this lift up here all night?                                                         35.                    LYNCH          Free lift tickets.                    PARKER          What other people on the lift?          There was no one in front of us.                                                 XShe made a good point.   But still...                    DAN          We won't be stuck here all night.                                               R                    PARKER          No. You're right. We won't be          here all night. It's Sunday.              (she starts crying)          Its fucking Sunday and they aren't                                      A          open again until Friday.              (sobbing)          We'll be stuck here all week.Silence as Dan and Lynch take this in.                         M                    PARKER (cont'd)          We're gonna die up here.Lynch tries to be the voice of reason.                    LYNCH          We're not going to be stuck here.          Parker. Parker, look at me. Even  D          if by some strange reason they          really did forget us up here- we          can jump. I see people jump off of          chair lifts all the time.E                    DAN          It's true. I've done it before.          You just get tired of waiting, you          wait for a spot with some serious          powder and you just jump. It's          actually kind of fun, but they can          ban you from the mountain for it.Looking below them, it is way too far a drop to be jumpingoff of the chair.                    PARKER              (hysterical)          -HELP!!! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP          US!!!! HEL-LO!!! HELP!!!!!She cries into Dan's shoulder.                                                         36.                       DAN             Shh. I know you're scared. I'm             scared, too. But any minute now             they're gonna turn the power back             on and we're all gonna be laughing             about this.                                                      XMore moments pass in silence as they survey their situation.Finally...                       PARKER                                                    R             I have to pee.They all share an uncomfortable laugh.                       PARKER (cont'd)                                         A             I have to pee wicked bad.                       LYNCH             That makes two of us.                       PARKER                          M             Ew, Lynch if you pull out your junk             in front of me I'm gonna puke.                       LYNCH             Well, what do you want me to do?   I             gotta go.                       PARKER  D             How am I supposed to go?Dan moves the safety bar a little.                       DANE             Well if we just lift the bar up you             could probably just bend over if we             hold on to you.Parker instantly starts freaking out with the bar up.                       PARKER             Are you crazy! Put the bar down!!!                       LYNCH             It's just the safety bar. It             doesn't really do anything anyway.                       PARKER             Well I like the safety bar and I             like it down where it's supposed to             be.                                                         37.                    DAN          Then how are you going to piss?                    PARKER          I can hold it.                    LYNCH                                                  X          For a whole week?Dan and Parker glare at him.                     LYNCH (cont'd)                                                R          Sorry.              (then)          She's the one who said we'd be here          for "a week"!                                      AParker takes a deep breath.                    PARKER          I can hold it.                    DAN                        M          I'm telling you, five minutes from          now we'll all be laughing.                    LYNCH          I'm pissing.Lynch lifts the safety bar up, whips out his business andstarts to pee off the side of the chair into the snow below  Dthem.                    DAN          I hope they catch you and throw you          out. I hope they ban you from theE          mountain. That's so nasty.                    LYNCH          Ban me from the mountain? You          couldn't pay me to come back here.          Make me sit up here in below zero          weather forever while they get          their damn Fisher Price lift          working? Sorry. Not coming back.Lynch finishes his business.                     LYNCH (cont'd)          There.   Much better.A low thunder clap rolls in across the trees and the chillingwind picks up.                                                                  38.                          DAN / PARKER / LYNCH               HELP!   / HEL-LO! / UP HERE!     They continue to scream their heads off for a few moments     until freezing sleet starts falling all around them, soaking     them through to the bone.                                                     X     Almost instantly, giant balls of hail stream down at them.     "Ping-ing" off of the metal chair and pelting their faces.     The wind blows hard as their flimsy chair swings back and     forth in the foul weather.                                                   R     Parker sobs quietly into Dan's shoulder.                         LYNCH               SOMEBODY GET US DOWN FROM HERE!                                          A               HELP!                         DAN                   (quietly)               Put the safety bar down, Joe.                             M                         LYNCH               SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP US!                         DAN                   (louder)               Put the bar down.                          LYNCH       D               SOMEONE-                         DAN               PUT THE BAR DOWN!     E     Lynch pulls the bar down and sulks, looking away from Dan.     The hail/sleet mixture keeps pelting against their skin as     they sit together in silence.     Another loud thunder clap hits.   This time, much closer.                                                        CUT TO:22   EXT. MOUNT HOLLISTON - MOMENTS LATER                          22     The sleet begins to ice over the leaves and vegetation below.     Ski tracks fill in with the wet rain.                                                        CUT TO:                                                               39.23   EXT. MOUNT HOLLISTON - MOMENTS LATER, WIDER                  23     The entire mountain is covered in dark clouds.                                                        CUT TO:                                                     X24   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - MOMENTS LATER                              24     The three stranded kids huddle together for warmth as the     hail pours down around them in sheets.                                                   R     Suddenly, a beam of light begins to shine up at them.     Dan's head snaps up.                                         A                                                        CUT TO:25   EXT. MOUNT HOLLISTON - CONTINUOUS                            25     A Snow Cat slowly makes it's way down the hill towards the                            M     bottom. It's headlights shine across the trees in front of     it.                                                        CUT TO:26   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 26       D     Dan begins to cheer.                         DAN               What did I tell you guys, huh?   WOO-               HOO! UP HERE!     E                         PARKER               Oh, thank God.                                                        CUT TO:27   EXT. MOUNT HOLLISTON - CONTINUOUS                            27     The Snow Cat is now really close.   It is literally coming     right for them.                                                        CUT TO:                                                               40.28   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 28     Dan and Parker wave their hands in the rain.                            PARKER               UP HERE!                                                      X                            DAN               HELLO!                                                        CUT TO:                                                    R29   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                            29     The Snow Cat continues on right underneath them.   It doesn't                                           A     look like it's going to stop.                                                        CUT TO:30   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 30                                  M     Panic sets in yet again.                         PARKER               Why isn't he stopping?                          LYNCH               HEY!   WHAT THE HELL?!!       D                                                        CUT TO:31   INT. SNOW CAT - CONTINUOUS                                   31     E     STEVE (the driver) concentrates on the path.   The roar of his     engine is almost deafening.     His radio chimes in.                            VOICE (O.C.)               Steve.     Steve picks up his radio.                         STEVE               Go for Steve.                                                              41.                         VOICE (O.S.)               We got a problem here.                                                       CUT TO:32   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                32                                                       X     Below them, the Snow Cat slows down to a halt.     The three kids cheer.                                                     R                         DAN / PARKER / LYNCH               THANK YOU! / WOO! / YES!!                                                       CUT TO:                                        A33   INT. SNOW CAT - CONTINUOUS                                  33     Steve listens.                         VOICE (O.C.)                             M               It's nothing but ice at the bottom               of Wildcat so you're gonna have to               cut over to the south hill and come               around the side.                         STEVE               That's gonna take me 20 minutes!       D                         VOICE (O.C.)               Sorry brother, but it's a frozen               swimming pool down here.                         STEVE     E               10-4.     He puts the Snow Cat in gear and begins to back up.                                                       CUT TO:34   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                34     Below them, they see the Snow Cat start to back up and turn     to the right.                         LYNCH               What is this asshole doing?     The Snow Cat switches back into drive.                                                                42.                           PARKER               No!   No!     Quickly Dan and Lynch start to ball together the slush on the     sides of the chair.     They throw them at the Snow Cat, but keep missing by a few                                                    X     inches.     Desperately, Lynch throws his goggles at the Snow Cat.     They land just shy of the driver's side window.                                                  R     Parker takes off her helmet and throws it down.                                                       CUT TO:                                        A35   INT. SNOW CAT - CONTINUOUS                                   35     Steve turns the headlights in the opposite direction, just     missing the helmet falling past his windshield.                               M     Though we can briefly see the light shine off of the three     kids, unless you knew they were there or were looking for     them...you would have missed them, too.     As the windshield turns the other way, one of Lynch's skis     slams into the ground, just out of the headlight's view.                                                       CUT TO:       D36   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 36     The Snow Cat drives away.     E     Lynch throws one of his ski poles but doesn't even come     close.     Parker sobs hysterically.                         PARKER               NOOOO!!!!!!                                                  HARD CUT TO:37   EXT. MOUNT HOLLISTON - LATER                                 37     It has stopped hailing.                                                                 43.     The moon shines down on the mountain.     It glistens like a     block of ice.     Silence.                                                          CUT TO:                                                       X38   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                   38     The three shiver uncontrollably.                                                     R     Finally.                          PARKER                My face is burning.                                           A                          DAN                The power is coming back on soon.                          PARKER                No it isn't.                                   M                             DAN                It has to.     The wind makes eerie sounds as it whistles through the frozen     trees.                          DAN (cont'd)                Anyone know what time it is?    I       D                don't wear a watch.                          LYNCH                Me neither. I use my phone. Hold                on, let me just run back to the     E                locker real quick and I'll find                out.     No one laughs at his attempt at "humor".                          LYNCH (cont'd)                OK, top 3 breakfast cereals of all                time. Go.     Silence.                          LYNCH (cont'd)                I'll go first.                             PARKER                Stop.                                                           44.                     LYNCH           Crunch Berries...                     PARKER           Please, stop.                     LYNCH                                                   X           Apple Jacks...                     DAN           Dude, quit it.                                                 R                     LYNCH           ...and I'm gonna go out on a limb           and say Lucky Charms pre-purple           horseshoes.                                      ASilence.                     LYNCH (cont'd)           There's just something weird about           eating purple horseshoes, am I           right?                        MSilence.                     PARKER           Everyone went home.    They left us           up here.More silence.  D                      LYNCH           Top 3 celebrities you'd do.               (then)           Me first again? Fine...E                     DAN           Someone has to jump.They steal glances at each other.    They are soaked through.Parker's hair is frozen.                     DAN (cont'd)           We can't just sit up here until           next weekend. We'll die.No one acknowledges him.He sighs and closes his eyes.Parker starts to cry.   Neither of the guys even try toconsole her.                                               45.Finally, Dan puts an arm around her.                     DAN (cont'd)          Shhh.   It's OK.                    LYNCH          SOMEBODY HELP US!!                                               XHis voice is getting hoarse.                    PARKER              (aside to Dan)                                             R          I don't want to die up here.                    DAN              (aside to Parker)          You're not gonna die, baby. I                                      A          won't let you die. OK? I promise          I won't let you die.Parker cries.                    PARKER                         M              (aside to Dan)          I'm so scared.                    DAN              (aside to Parker)          It's alright. It's alright.Snow starts to lightly fall around them.  D                      DAN (cont'd)          Hey.    It's snowing.They shiver together.E                     LYNCH          Great.              (then)          Best Christmas present you ever          got? Go.Parker chimes in first this time.                     PARKER          Shayna.   My puppy.                    DAN          Disneyworld in 8th grade.                                                            46.                     LYNCH           Hmm...guess that leaves me. I'm           gonna go with...oh yeah...these           skis! Get it? MY SKIS. How           ironic, huh?Silence.                                                  XParker takes off her glove to light a cigarette.As she struggles with the lighter, the glove falls out of herlap and lands on the ground below them.                                                R                       PARKER           Shit!                       LYNCH                                      A           See?    That's where smoking gets           you.                       PARKER           Shut-up.                          MShe keeps struggling with the lighter but eventually givesup. She throws the cigarette away and puts her exposed handback in her pocket.The snow falls around them.Dan pushes the safety bar up.  D                     PARKER (cont'd)           -what, what are you doing?                     DAN           I'm jumping. I'm gonna get help.E                     LYNCH           Dan...woah. Let's talk about this.                       PARKER           No.    No, don't leave me up here.Dan takes her face in his hands.    Tenderly.   And probably forthe first time...correctly.                     DAN           Parker, I can do this. Even if I           get hurt, as long as I can get to           the bottom I....your skin is so           red. You're getting frost bite.                                                            47.                    LYNCH          You can't get frost bite that fast.          It's only been- what, like...how          long has it been? A few hours,          tops?Dan inspects Parker's face. It's tough to see in the dark,                                                   Xbut the tip of her nose and her right cheek (the side facinginto the wind) is discoloring.                    PARKER              (quietly)                                                 R          Don't leave me.                    DAN          I'll get help. Lynch is here.          He'll be with you.                                      ALynch is looking down below them.    It's far.                    LYNCH          Dan, it's a far drop.     I don't          know.                       M                    DAN              (heated)          Do you have a better idea? I'm          telling you, I've totally jumped          off of a lift before.                    LYNCH  D          If we can wait `til morning I bet          someone will come up here. Like a          snow groomer or some shit.                    DANE          Really?   And why would they come          groom the snow on a day when they          aren't open, Joe? A day when they          still have a full work week before          they open again?Lynch says nothing.                    DAN (cont'd)          I can do this.He positions himself to try and jump off.     Parker grabs hisarm.                    PARKER          No, no, no. Please don't jump down          there, Dan. You'll get hurt.                                                              48.                    LYNCH          How are you going to find your way          in the dark?                     DAN          I'll stick to the trail. I'll ride          to the bottom.                                                   X              (then)          You don't get a fresher run than          this, right?Dan drops his snowboard down.                                                 RIt lands sticking up straight in the snow.                      DAN (cont'd)          OK.                                        AParker and Lynch look back at him.      They don't know what tosay.Lynch tries to grab on to Dan's arm.                            M                    LYNCH          Walker, no.Dan shrugs free.    He is determined.    Concentrating.                      DAN          One.  DParker's tears are freezing on her cheeks as the seconds tickby.                      DAN (cont'd)          ...Two.ELynch takes a deep breath. When enough time has elapsed tothink Dan's gonna jump, he suddenly looks up at Lynch insteadof jumping.                    DAN (cont'd)          Remember when I was saying how I          jumped off one of these things          before?Lynch stares back at him.                    DAN (cont'd)          I totally lied. I'm scared          shitless right now.Lynch musters a laugh.      It's forced, but it's a laugh.                                                               49.     Dan laughs back at him. He turns to face Parker.    She tries     to smile but is frozen with fear.     Dan whispers to her...                            DAN (cont'd)                      (whispered)                                                           X                  You're gonna be OK, baby.     ...and he is gone.     From his point of view (the camera pointed down at his feet)                                                         R     we drop (without cutting) from the chair all the way to the     frozen ground below.                                                         CUT TO:                                               A39   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                             39     CRACK! Both of Dan's legs shatter from the impact. Viscera     protrudes out of his snow pants as his leg bones shoot out     the top of his knees.                                  M                               DAN                  AHHH!!     OH MY GOD!   AHHHH!!!!                                                         CUT TO:40   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                  40       D     Parker calls down to him.                             PARKER                  DAN!   DANNY? Oh my god!     E     Dan's cries turn to quiet breaths below them. It is tough     for Parker and Lynch to make out what exactly is happening.                            LYNCH                  Dan, say something.     Are you                  alright?     More quiet breaths from below.     Finally...                              DAN (O.C.)                  My legs.    I broke my fucking legs.                               LYNCH                  Oh, shit.                                                               50.                         PARKER               Can you move? Dan?                   (she starts to panic)               Hold on. Hold on, baby.     Lynch stops her.                                                      X                         LYNCH               What are you doing?                         PARKER               I gotta...I have to get to him.                                                    R                          LYNCH               You'll just get hurt, too.   Stop.               Calm down.                                           A                         PARKER               Calm down?!                   (to Dan)               Talk to me, Danny!                                                       CUT TO:                            M41   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                           41     Dan struggles.                         DAN               Stay there. Don't get off the       D               chair.                         PARKER (O.C.)               How bad is it?     E     Dan can see that his legs are shattered and that he is     bleeding. Bone protrudes from his bloody ski pants.                         DAN               It's bad. It's really fucking bad.                   (starting to cry)               SOMEONE HELP US! PLEASE!                                                       CUT TO:42   EXT. MOUNT HOLLISTON - CONTINUOUS                           42     Dan's screams can barely be heard from this distance. The     blanket of snow muffles all sounds of life on the mountain.                                                       CUT TO:                                                              51.43   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                43     Parker sobs into Lynch's shoulder.                         LYNCH               OK. Alright. You gotta stay                                                         X               strong for me, Parker. Can you do               that?     He looks every which way, trying to come up with a solution.                                                       R                         LYNCH (cont'd)               If we go to pieces we're never               gonna get through this, OK?                         PARKER                                           A               What are we gonna do?     We're gonna               die up here.                         LYNCH                   (to Dan below)               Buddy, can you move at all?                            M                                                       CUT TO:44   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                           44                         DAN               I can't even stand up.       D                                                       CUT TO:45   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                45     E                         LYNCH               You can't, like...I don't know,               slide down the hill or something?                                                       CUT TO:46   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                           46                         DAN               My legs are shattered, asshole!               I'm bleeding to death- NO, I CAN'T               SLIDE DOWN THE FUCKING MOUNTAIN!                         LYNCH (O.C.)               Alright, alright. Um...?                                                                    52.                         DAN               ...so much blood.                                                            CUT TO:47   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                     47                                                         X                         PARKER                   (to Dan below)               Can you stop the bleeding?                                                       R                            DAN (O.C.)               With what?                            PARKER               Here...                                              A     She takes off her scarf and tosses it below.     It blows away into the trees.       It doesn't even make it     halfway.                               M                            PARKER (cont'd)               SHIT!     Lynch removes his scarf and balls it up.                          LYNCH               Here you go, Dan.     I'm throwing               mine down.       D                         DAN (O.C.)               I can't see.                         LYNCH     E               Just feel for it, OK?       Here it               comes...     He drops the balled up scarf.                                                            CUT TO:48   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                                48     The scarf lands right next to Dan.                         DAN               What do I do with this?                                                              53.                         LYNCH (O.C.)               Tie it over your leg. Tie it off               above wherever it's bleeding. Like               a tourniquet thing.     Dan fumbles with the scarf and ties it just above his right     knee as tight as he can.                                                      X                         DAN               I'm so cold.                                                       CUT TO:                                                    R49   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 49     Parker starts to take off her coat.                                           A                         PARKER               Here, take my coat.                         DAN (O.C.)               No! Don't you take off your coat!                               M               You need it!                         PARKER               No, I'll be OK. I can huddle next               to Lynch. Please-                                                       CUT TO:       D50   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                            50                         DAN               -Parker, keep your coat on.     E     Dan takes off his snowboarding gloves and ties the elastic     strings together. His fingers are so numb that it takes     several tries.     Once tied, he tries to stretch the gloves around his left     knee, but it is useless.                         DAN (cont'd)               Shit!                         LYNCH (O.C.)               Dan, buddy. You gotta let us throw               something down so you can stop the               bleeding.                                                               54.                         DAN               I...I've got it.                         PARKER               Are you sure.     Dan's left leg is definitely still bleeding.                                                      X                          DAN               Yup.     Thunder shakes the mountain side.                                                    R     Moments pass with only their breathing.                         LYNCH (O.C.)               Are you sure you can't try and get                                          A               down the hill, buddy?     Dan falls onto his back, panting from the pain.   He struggles     to flip himself over, but it hurts too much.                          DAN                                M               No, man.   I can't move.   I can't               move.                                                        CUT TO:51   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 51       D     Lynch holds his head.                          LYNCH               Alright.   Hold on.     E     Once again, Lynch starts looking all around.   Above, below.                         LYNCH (cont'd)               Maybe...if I could climb up to the               lift cable? Maybe I could like,               scale across to the other chairs               until I find one that isn't quite               so high up from the ground?                         PARKER               You think you can pull yourself               across that many chairs?     Lynch looks back at her.                         LYNCH               I can't even do a pull-up.                                                           55.                    DAN (O.C.)          You never even tried to do a pull          up you asshole. You had your Mom          write you a note to get out of          climbing the rope in gym cause          you're a pussy.                                                  X                    LYNCH          There was no reason to embarrass          myself. I knew I couldn't do it.                    DAN (O.C.)                                                R          You can too. Remember Jenny Bluth?          She fucking did it. You can do it.                    LYNCH          Even if I made it across to the                                     A          next chair...how many more would it          take before I found one closer to          the ground?                    DAN (O.C.)          Every lift pole has an emergency                        M          ladder on it.They look forwards and backwards.The chair behind them is not near the pole.But the one behind that one is.  D                    LYNCH          OK. The chair that's two back.          Does it look like it's near the          pole?E                    PARKER          I don't know. I can't see.                    LYNCH          Shit, that's far.He and Parker just stare at it.                     LYNCH (cont'd)          Just.   Just give me a second.He starts taking deep breaths.    Trying to psyche himself up.                    PARKER          What if you fall, too?                                                              56.                         LYNCH               Parker...if we just sit here, we're               gonna freeze to death.                         PARKER               Maybe...maybe in the morning               someone else will come up here.                                                       X               Maybe, they'll need to do               maintenance on the lift or               something, you know?                         DAN (O.C.)                                                     R               What's going on up there?     You               guys?                         PARKER               We're right here, baby.                                            A                         LYNCH               Yeah, man. We didn't go anywhere.               I think...I think I'm gonna try and               climb back to the pole. If the               chair is close enough, maybe...                             M               maybe I can jump to it.                                                       CUT TO:52   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                           52     Dan is in agony.       D                          DAN               Do it.   Please do it now.                                                       CUT TO:     E53   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                53                         PARKER               Just hang in there, Dan.     It's               gonna be OK.     Lynch starts to maneuver himself in the chair. Slowly he     pushes himself up so that he is sitting on the chair back and     holding onto the connecting post.     The chair swings back and forth in the wind.     Above him it is a solid 5 feet before the chair arm connects     to the wire.                                                           57.                    LYNCH          It's funny. But I was never afraid          of heights, until like...right now.                    PARKER          What can I do to help?                                                  X                    LYNCH          Just hold on to my legs. You can't          really stop me from falling...but          it's, you know...psychological or          something you know?                                                RParker maneuvers herself to hold Joe's legs..Joe tries to move into a standing position, but panics.                                   A                    LYNCH (cont'd)          OK...OK...just give me a second.                    PARKER          I think we should wait til morning.          We can make it a few more hours.                        M                     LYNCH              (quietly)          Us? Maybe.              (then)          But not him.The gravity of this settles in.  DAs Lynch gets ready to try and stand again...we hearsomething in the surrounds.They freeze.EAgain, a sort of "moan" rings in the distance.                    PARKER          Baby, is that you?                     DAN (O.C.)          What?                     LYNCH          Shh!They listen again.                                                  CUT TO:                                                              58.54   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                           54     This time, clear as day...a WOLF HOWL.                         DAN               Oh, motherfucker.                                                      X                                                       CUT TO:55   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                55                                                    R     Lynch tries to control the panic.                         LYNCH               It's alright man. It's just a                                         A               coyote or something. They're               scared of people. It probably               won't even come anywhere near us,               OK?                         DAN (O.C.)                            M               That sounded like a fucking wolf.                         LYNCH               Just relax. When's the last time               you heard of a wolf attack in New               England?                                                       CUT TO:       D56   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                           56     Even in the pale moonlight, it is easy to see how white Dan     E     is becoming.                         DAN               I read about one on-line somewhere               last year. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.                                                       CUT TO:57   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                57                         LYNCH               Wolves around here are pussies.               They aren't even that big.     They stop and listen...but there is only the sound of the     rain.                                                         59.                    PARKER          It could be worse, right?                    DAN (O.C.)          How the hell...could this be worse?Long pause...                                                     X                    PARKER          It could be the Sarlacc Pit.They can't believe it...but Dan and Lynch both actually                                                   Rlaugh. It's uncomfortable and forced as hell. But it's alaugh.                    LYNCH          Parker- coming through with the                                      A          tension breaker, look out!              (to Dan)          She's alright, Walker. Your girl          is alright.He focuses on the task at hand again.                        M                    LYNCH (cont'd)          OK...here we go.Slowly he pushes up on the back of the chair again. With onehand on Parker's shoulder and another on the back post of thechair, Lynch gets to his feet. Looking down at the drop, heinstantly crouches down again.  D                    LYNCH (cont'd)          Holy shit, is that high up.                    PARKERE          What can I do?                     LYNCH          Nothing.   Just be quiet.He psyches himself up again and starts to rise up.                    DAN (O.C.)          You can do this, Lynch.     You've got          it.                    LYNCH          Please stop talking.He puts one foot up on the top of the chair back...but itslips off to the side.                                                                 60.                        LYNCH (cont'd)               Woa-! The whole back of this thing               is ice.     Together, he and Parker start hitting the chair back.                                                        CUT TO:                                                      X58   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                            58     Shards of ice fall down around Dan.   He covers his head for                                                    R     protection.                         LYNCH (O.C.)               Hold on, down there. I think once               I can stand on the back- I should                                           A               be able to reach the top.     More chunks of ice shower down around Dan.     Finally the falling ice subsides.                             M     Dan takes his gloves away from his face...only to freeze in     horror.     Not even 10 feet away, stands a WOLF.     Silently the wolf watches him from the bushes.   Lightly     growling.       D                         DAN                   (quietly at first)               You guys.     The wolf gives a low growl.     E                         DAN (cont'd)                   (really loud)               YOU GUYS!                                                        CUT TO:59   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 59                          PARKER               What?   What's wrong?                         DAN (O.C.)               There's a wolf down here.                                                                  61.     Lynch and Parker look down. From their POV they can see that     the wolf is standing right next to Dan, watching him. No     fear.                          PARKER                    (gasps)                Oh shit!                                                        X                                                           CUT TO:60   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                               60                                                      R     Dan doesn't take his eyes off of the wolf.      He is shaking in     fear.                          DAN                                           A                What the hell do I do?     The wolf sniffs at the air and then growls again, this time     baring it's teeth. It smells the blood.                          DAN (cont'd)                             M                WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO??!     The tension builds in the stand-off.     Neither the wolf or Dan look away.    When...     SLAM!   Lynch's other ski lands between the two of them.       D                          PARKER (O.C.)                    (screaming)                GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!     The wolf steps back and snarls.     E     THWOCK! Parker's snowboard comes down and skids away into     the trees, pushing the wolf further back.     The wolf darts back into the bushes. Though it can no longer     be seen, we can hear it moving away through the brush and     back into the darkness.     Growls come from the surrounding bushes as the wolf angrily     retreats.                                                           CUT TO:                                                              62.61   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 61                         LYNCH               Are you alright man?                          DAN (O.C.)                                                      X               Yeah.   I'm alive.     Lynch slides his remaining pole in between the bars on the     chair back and rests it there.                                                    R                         LYNCH               See? What did I tell you? They're               more scared of you than you are of               them.                                         A                         DAN (O.C.)               I don't know. I'm pretty scared, I               gotta be honest.                         LYNCH               It's just a dog. That's all it is.                             M               He won't be back.                         PARKER               Are you keeping warm down there?                                                       CUT TO:       D62   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                            62                          DAN               As warm as I can.                   (then)     E               I can't feel my legs anymore. Is               that bad? I mean, it doesn't hurt               as much...but that's bad right?                                                       CUT TO:63   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 63                         LYNCH               No, no. You'll be alright.                   (quietly to Parker)               That's probably really bad. I               gotta move, so I need you to-                                                          63.He looks closely at Parker's face. The tip of her nose andthe tops of her cheeks look as if there is black soot onthem.                    LYNCH (cont'd)          Hey...go like this.                                                    XHe motions wiping his face.Parker follows suit, but winces in pain.                     PARKER                                                  R          Ow!   It feels like...like sunburn.Pieces of her chapped skin are stuck to her icy glove.                    LYNCH                                      A          I'm not an expert but I think          that's frost bite.                       PARKER          What?                          M                    LYNCH          Look at me- is my face changing          color anywhere?Parker looks as closely as she can.                    PARKER          I don't..I can't see anything.    I  D          don't know, it's too darkShe starts rubbing at her cheek again.                     LYNCHE          No!   Stop touching it.   Don't touch          it.                    PARKER          But it itches now...                    LYNCH          I know- but if you keep touching          your face it's gonna rub off.Parker is terrified.                    LYNCH (cont'd)          Just try and cover your face.    Try          and stay warm.                                                            64.Staying warm is absolutely impossible. Parker hides herexposed hand deeper inside her wet jacket.Icicles dangle from the bottom of the chair and theirclothing.                     DAN (O.C.)                                                   X               (winded)           You gotta move faster up there.                     LYNCH           I'm trying man, I'm trying.                                                 RLynch slowly lifts himself up onto the back of the chair,which bends at an awkward angle.From above him we can see the long drop down, and as he                                    Aslowly starts to maneuver his body up to the top of the chairarm- the height looks `stomach droppingly' scary.                      PARKER           Careful.                         M                     LYNCH           Stop talking.                      DAN (O.C.)           Lynch.   I think the-                     LYNCH           DAN, STOP TALKING.  DSilence.Lynch gets his gloved hands around the top of the cable.    Itis frozen over with a thick layer of ice.EThe distance to the next chair seems about 10 times as farnow.                     LYNCH (cont'd)               (to himself)           I can do this. If Jenny Bluth           could climb the rope, I can totally           do this.Slowly, he wraps his arms around the wire, now with his fullbody weight on the back of the chair.The bolt holding the arm into place on the cabling starts tocreak. It bends slightly, but seems to hold firm.                                                              65.                       LYNCH (cont'd)          OK.    OK.   OK.He starts to pull himself up onto the cable.                    PARKER          Don't look down.                                                 XWith one hand in front of the other, Lynch hoists himselfabout two feet off of the chair and into the air.                    LYNCH                                               R              (gritted teeth)          Slippery.                    PARKER          Do you got it?                                        A                       LYNCH          Shh.He slides out a little bit more, his feet dangling high abovethe ground.                          MThe cable clangs somewhere to the front and back of Lynch.The noise is almost refreshing in the silent ice coveredwilderness.With another deep breath, Lynch moves another two feet outover the sky. He is straining hard.  DAnother two feet out.    He looks down for the first time.He sees something that scares the shit out of him.                       LYNCH (cont'd)E          Oh god.                    PARKER          What's wrong?                       LYNCH          Please no.     Please no...He starts to pull himself back to the chair, quickly.                    DAN (O.C.)          Come on, Lynch! You had it!Lynch gets his foot on the icy chair back and tries tobalance his weight on it.                                                                 66.     SWISH! His foot slips off of it and he almost falls...but     Parker grabs onto his coat.                            PARKER               I got you.     Lynch scrambles into the chair and huddles next to Parker.                                                      X                         PARKER (cont'd)               What's wrong?     He looks at her, icy tears in his eyes.    His face is white.                                                    R                         PARKER (cont'd)               What happened?     Finally Lynch grabs her face in his hands.    He gets close to                                           A     her.                         LYNCH               Don't look down.                            PARKER                               M               What?     He grabs her head forcefully, trying to cover her ears.                         LYNCH               Don't look down there, Parker.     The camera booms up and above them. As it tilts down at       D     them...we reveal Dan splayed out on the ground below.     Out of the darkness of the bushes...a pack of SIX WOLVES     slowly and silently descends on him from all angles.     E                          DAN (O.C.)               Lynch?   What's wro-                                                         CUT TO:64   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                             64     Dan hears the first growl.                          DAN               Oh shit.   Oh shit.     The hungry wolves circle around him.   The smell of his     freezing blood makes them drool.                                                                  67.                         DAN (cont'd)                   (yelling up)               LYNCH.                                                            CUT TO:                                                           X65   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                     65     Lynch doesn't look down.       He just stares at Parker.                          LYNCH                                                         R                   (fighting tears)               YEAH, MAN.                         DAN (O.C.)                   (crying)                                             A               DON'T LET HER LOOK.                            LYNCH               I WON'T.                         DAN (O.C.)                               M               DON'T YOU FUCKING LET HER LOOK.     Lynch is trying to cover Parker's ears...but she can hear     what they are saying. She forces her head free and steals a     glance down.     She sees Dan's untimely death approaching and instantly     starts to scream and cry.       D     Lynch holds her head in a vice grip. He presses his forehead     into hers. Her tears and snot overflow onto his gloves.                        LYNCH     E               Shhhh. Don't listen to it.        Don't               listen. Don't listen.     As we push in tight on the two of their faces, below them we     hear the wolves begin their attack on their defenseless prey.     First one growl and a bite.     Dan shrieks in pain.                         DAN (O.C.)               Don't let her look!     Below we can hear him put up a fight. But the attacks and     bites get more frequent and his screams even more painful.                                                               68.                          DAN (O.C.) (cont'd)               Don't look! Don't you fucking look               down here!     The sound of several wolves attacking in unison over powers     his cries.                                                      X     Lynch continues to hold his hands over Parker's ears and keep     her eyes pointed at his as the sounds of Dan's demise echo     through the night.     The sounds of clothes being shredded, flesh being torn, and                                                    R     bones popping from their joints creates a chorus of pain     below.     Dan doesn't scream as much as does cry out in pain and agony.                                         A     The camera never sees it.   Only Lynch and Parker's faces.     After what seems to be an unbearable minute...the sounds from     below begin to dissipate.     Eventually Dan's remains can be heard dragging away.                            M     Silence once again.     Finally, Lynch let's go of Parker's head. He sobs into his     own frozen gloves as Parker hysterically screams out into the     night.                                                         CUT TO:       D66   EXT. MOUNT HOLLISTON - CONTINUOUS                             66     Parker's screams echo across the dark wilderness.   Somewhere     E     in the distance, birds take off in fear.                                                    DISSOLVE TO:67   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - MUCH LATER                                  67     Lynch and Parker sit on the frozen chair, shivering.     They are now in the devastating silence that has fallen after     what must have been endless screaming and crying. Only the     occasional sniffle lets us know that they are even awake.     Finally Lynch breaks the silence.                         LYNCH               I should...try and...                                                         69.He starts to try and sit up on the back of the chair again tocontinue his climbing effort.                    PARKER              (emotionless)          Why did you let him jump?                                                  XLynch turns and looks at her in disbelief.                    LYNCH          You can't be fucking serious.                                                R                    PARKER          It was too far.                     LYNCH          He said he could do it. You didn't                                      A          try and stop him!              (then)          I can't believe this?! You're          blaming me?                    PARKER                        M          I'm not...I'm not blaming you.                    LYNCH          You're his girlfriend! I didn't          see you throwing yourself in front          of him!                    PARKER  D          He wasn't going to listen to me.                    LYNCH          Oh, but he would have listened to          me? I said it was a bad idea! IE          said it was too far a drop! But I          didn't hear any better ideas out of          you except for crying about it!          Don't you fucking blame me! You've          been his girlfriend, for what? A          year maybe? I've known him my          whole fucking life!                    PARKER          But you... You should have...                     LYNCH          What?   Say it.Parker looks at him, uncertain.                                                           70.                     LYNCH (cont'd)          Say it!   It should have been me?                    PARKER          I didn't say that.                     LYNCH                                                   X          But you want to! It's OK. I get          it. It should have been me down          there cause who gives a fuck about          me, right?                                                 RParker feels terrible.    She puts her hand on his shoulder.                       PARKER          No, no, I-                                     ALynch shrugs her hand off of him.                    LYNCH          You know what? If we hadn't spent          the whole fucking day on the bunny          slope watching you fall on your ass                          M          we would have gotten some real runs          in and we could have just gone          home!                       PARKER          I'm sorry.                    LYNCH  D          You're sorry? Maybe if you hadn't          fucked with our thing... maybe if          you had just stayed home and not          forced yourself into every aspect          of his life... maybe my best friendE          wouldn't be dead right now!                    PARKER          That's not fair!                    LYNCH          And it's not fair that my best          friend is DEAD!Parker begins to sob.                    PARKER          I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!     I'm          just- I'm just-                       LYNCH          -Fuck you.                                                                 71.      Lynch is numb.    He sits expressionless.   Seething.      In her crying, Parker slowly keeps moving towards him. Like      a puppy who knows they did something wrong and only wants you      to love it again.      Finally she gets next to him and buries her head in his                                                        X      chest, letting it all out.      Eventually, Lynch can't help but feel compassion for her.    He      puts his arm around her.                                                      R                          LYNCH (cont'd)                    (quietly)                I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Parker.                                           AA67   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - LATER                                A67      Snow has now almost completely covered any of Dan's remains      that were left on the scene. Only the tip of a boot and a      piece of jacket are visible.                               MB67   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                B67      Parker and Lynch are shivering together.      After a beat, they begin to banter again. Everything is said      in a monotone voice. They never even look at each other.        D      They only speak to be speaking.                            PARKER                429...      E                          LYNCH                5...5...shit, what was it?    5520?                5020?                            PARKER                5022.                          LYNCH                5022. 429-5022. I'm so gonna call                that girl when we get home. And                you know what? I'm gonna marry                her. No messing around. I'm just                gonna be like "Hey Shannon, it's me                Joe from the chair lift. Will you                marry me?" And then we're gonna                get a house and have 2 kids and a                dog named Steve.                                                              72.     Parker's face is expressionless.                          PARKER                Who's gonna pay for the house.                            LYNCH                She will.    Shannon's got a great                                                       X                job.                          PARKER                What does she do.                                                     R     Lynch makes something up...but continues to have no     expression in his words. Despite his talk, his spirit is     shattered.                          LYNCH                                           A                She...an orthodontist.                          PARKER                Orthodontists make a lot of money.                            LYNCH                               M                Yup.                          PARKER                I bet you guys will be really                happy.                            LYNCH                429-5022.       D68   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                          68     A wolf settles in the bushes and looks up at the two "pieces     E     of food" on the chair high above.     Another wolf lays down in the snow by a tree.     They wait like vultures.69   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                               69     Silence.   Then...                          PARKER                Who names their dog "Steve".                            LYNCH                I will.                                                        73.                     PARKER           Steve's a "people" name.                       LYNCH           Says who?                     PARKER                                                     X           You don't like walk into someone's           house and have them say "Here's my           dog Steve."                       LYNCH                                                   R           Why not?    Steve's a good name for a           dog.                     PARKER           "Here, meet my cat Chris."                                       A                       LYNCH           No cats.    Just a dog.   Steve.Silence.                          M                     PARKER           Shayna must be so hungry.Lynch tries to change the subject.                     LYNCH           What kind of pizza should we get at           Papa Gino's?  DParker doesn't hear him. As she continues, wet snow startsto fall around them and the icy wind starts to pick up.                     PARKERE           The poor thing. She's just a           puppy. She won't understand that I           died. She's gonna think I left           her. That I forgot about her. All           she wants is for me to come home.           She's probably waiting by the door           for me right now. Every sound she           hears in the hallway she's probably           cocking her little head to the           side, waiting to see if I'm going           to walk in. But I won't. I won't           ever walk in. And Shayna's going           to starve to death. The poor thing           is gonna wither away and die           waiting by the door for me and it's           all my fault.                                                           74.                    LYNCH          She won't starve to death and          you're not going to die.                    PARKER          No one else has a key to my place.                                                  X                     LYNCH          The neighbors will break the door          down if she doesn't stop barking.          Someone will figure it out. She'll          be fine.                                                R              (beat)          And so will you. So will we.He puts an arm around her and huddles closely trying toshield the wind.                                    A                    PARKER          I would have had Shayna for a year          this month. I got her a year ago          for Christmas.                        M                     LYNCH          I know.   But you'll see her again.                     PARKER          Dan and I were spending Christmas          with my parents this year. We          won't be there though.              (then)  D          I want to see my Mom and my Dad.              (then)          I want to open presents in the          morning and then wait for my          grandmother to show up so we canE          eat. She's always late. But she          brings all of the desserts. And          she makes this special hot apple          cider thing with cinnamon and          nutmeg. It's so good. And after          dinner my Dad always passes out on          the couch `cause it's his one day          off and he's had too much eggnog.          And my sister, my Mom, and I watch          A Christmas Story until the          marathon is over. And that's how          you know Christmas is really over.          When Ralphie gets his Red Rider          carbine-action two-hundred-shot          range model air rifle that last          time and they go back to their          regular programming.                     (MORE)                                                               75.                          PARKER(cont'd)               It's kind of sad because then you               know you have to wait another year               for Christmas again.                   (then)               It's the same routine every year.                   (then)               I just want to see my Mom and Dad.                                                      X     The camera pulls back wider and wider until their chair is     lost in the wet snowfall and darkness.     Slowly we fade to black as the wind howls and thunder gently     rolls...                                                    R                                                FADE TO BLACK.                                                      FADE IN:                                          A70   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - THE NEXT MORNING                           70     Dawn is breaking over the trees.     Lynch and Parker are still. Their bodies are huddled                            M     together, but neither is moving.     In fact, at a first glance, one might think they are both     human popcycles.     The dark splotches of frost-bite on Parker's nose and cheeks     have now grown to what almost looks like patches of black     fungus on her skin.       D     Lynch has the start of his own frost-bite on his ears and     nose.     Slowly, Parker's eyes flutter and she awakens.     E     Her eyes search around as the realization that this was not     all just a bad dream sinks in.     She adjusts in her seat and feels something pull. She winces     and looks down. Slowly the camera follows her stare down to     reveal her bare hand, gripping the icy safety bar.     She pulls...but her skin is stuck to the frozen metal.     Beginning to panic, she jerks her hand hard, taking the bar     up about half an inch with it.                         PARKER               Uhh...                                                           76.Painstakingly slow, she begins to peel her hand off of thebar.A sound that resembles `jeans slowly tearing' can be softlyheard as she moves her arm forward and separates her handfrom the skin that is attached to the metal.                                                  XAfter what feels like an eternity, she gives her hand onelast jerk, freeing it from the safety bar.                    PARKER (cont'd)          Ruuugh!                                                RHer movement startles Lynch awake, and he bolts upright as iffrom a `falling nightmare'.Discombobulated, Lynch turns back and forth frantically                                      Atrying to get his bearings.Parker is crying and holding her bloody hand,                    PARKER (cont'd)          Shhhh.                       MLynch, bug-eyed, takes in the world around him.A fresh coat of snow has covered everything in several inchesof peaceful white bliss.Below them, the snow has completely covered Dan's remains.There is nothing left to show that there was ever even a  Dstruggle.Parker hides her bloody hand back inside of her coat, awayfrom Lynch's eyes.E                    LYNCH          I...thought I was dreaming.   This.          I thought this was a dream.He turns to look at Parker. It takes everything he has tonot jolt back in horror at how bad her face looks.                    PARKER          What?                    LYNCH          Your frost-bite.   It's          getting...worse.She starts to touch her face.                                                            77.                      PARKER          Really?    How bad is it?Lynch stops her.                      LYNCH          Don't.    It's bad.                                                 X                    PARKER          It's not as itchy any more.                    LYNCH                                               R          Just don't touch your face, OK?          When we get out of here, we'll get          you to a doctor right away and          they'll fix it.                                      A                     PARKER          You have some dark spots on your          face, too.                    LYNCH          They'll fix me, too then.   Just                         M          don't touch it.He looks around, front to back.   In daylight it's easier tosee the other chairs.His breath blows out of his body in huge plumes of mist.                    LYNCH (cont'd)  D          Well, it's morning. Maybe someone          will come up here now.                      PARKER          For what?E                    LYNCH          I don't know. Mountain          maintenance. Besides, when none of          us show up for class people are          going to start looking for us.                    PARKER          No one's gonna look for me. I skip          class all the time. By the time          anyone notices I'm gone I'll be          dead.                    LYNCH          Can you please just think ONE          positive thing? Please!                                                          78.                     PARKER          Besides.   No one knows we're here.                    LYNCH              (to the sky)          HEL-LO!!! WE NEED HELP!!      HELP!!!                                                    XHis voice echoes off of the frozen trees, almost as iftaunting him.He turns around to look at the chairs behind him.                                                  R                    LYNCH (cont'd)          Alright. Look. If I can get to          that chair...two back...I could          make it to the ladder on that pole.          I think I could make it down.                                      AParker doesn't speak.                     LYNCH (cont'd)          Help me.                        M                    PARKER          Are you sure you don't just wanna          give it a few more hours? What if          you're right? What if someone is          going to come up here, even though          they're not open today?Lynch doesn't respond. The look on his face says that "no  Done is coming" but he decides there's no harm in waiting justa little while longer.Lynch tries to yell for help again, though his soar throat ismaking it almost impossible to scream.E                     LYNCH          UP HERE!   SOMEONE HELP US!Once again...only echoes.He re-settles in his chair.                    PARKER          I just wish I could stand up. Get          out of this position for a minute.                    LYNCH          If you want, you can stand on the          chair and I can hold onto you.                                                                  79.                            PARKER               No.     I can't.                         LYNCH               Well, if anything's gonna get you               over your fear of heights, it's               this.                                                       X                         PARKER                   (quickly, sternly)               No. I'm fine.                                                     R                            LYNCH               Alright.                                                            CUT TO:                                          A71   EXT. CHAIR LIFT LINE - LATER                                     71     The bottom of the mountain looks like it has been abandoned.     Empty ski racks.                               M     An empty lodge.     An empty parking lot.     A still chair lift.     All covered in white, still snow.       D                                                            CUT TO:72   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - LATER                                          72     E     Lynch is sleeping. His head is leaned to one side in a     position that is sure to give him the worst stiff neck he's     ever had.     Parker is ancy.    She looks all around.   Thinking.     Finally she squeezes her eyes shut...embarrassed.     Her snow pants turn dark around her bottom. Slowly a puddle     of urine forms on the chair between her and Lynch.     Below them, the urine falls into the snow and disappears.     Parker's eyes swell as she begins to cry what's left of her     tears. She is emotionally degraded and devastated.                                                                  80.     As her nose begins to run, she instinctively wipes her hand     across it...taking a small piece of the dead flesh off of her     cheek with it.     She doesn't even feel it.                                                     DISSOLVE TO:                                                       X73   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - LATER                                        73     They both sleep.                                                     R     Finally, Lynch stirs and checks Parker to see if she is still     breathing.     It appears she is not.                                           A                          LYNCH                Hey...hey Parker...     He lightly shakes her.                               M     Nothing.                          LYNCH (cont'd)                Parker wake up.     He shakes her harder and she comes to with a gasp.                           PARKER       D                What?                          LYNCH                Shit, I thought you stopped                breathing...     E     He notices her skinned cheek.    Her ear tips are now     completely blackened.                          PARKER                What's wrong?                           LYNCH                Nothing.     She studies his eyes.    Clearly something is very wrong.                          LYNCH (cont'd)                How about you help me up again and                we try and get out of here?                                                              81.                          PARKER               Yeah.74   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - LATER                                      74     From beneath the chair we see shards of ice and snow fall                                                    X     onto the ground.     Lynch is once again trying to maneuver himself up onto the     chair back as Parker holds him steady.                                                  R                          LYNCH               OK.   1...2...3-     He hoists himself up onto the cable briefly, but after just a     few seconds, he returns his feet to the chair back.                                           A     Parker holds onto his legs tightly.                         LYNCH (cont'd)               I feel like I gained about 100               pounds overnight.                               M                         PARKER               It was all that pizza talk.                         LYNCH               I have no strength.                         PARKER       D               Then don't do this.     Lynch tries again. He hoists himself up, but bails     instantly...like a trainer giving up on his 100th pull up.     E                          LYNCH               Damn it.     He settles back down into the assumed position on the chair.                         PARKER               Maybe later.                         LYNCH               What? Like I'm gonna feel better               if I wait a little longer? I               should have done it last night               while I still had some strength.                                                                 82.                         PARKER               There's more snow fall on the               ground and it's all fresh. Maybe               the jump won't be as bad now.                         LYNCH               Even if it was a foot deeper- it                                                        X               wouldn't break that fall. I should               have just climbed across last               night. I had strength. I had               adrenaline.                                                      R                         PARKER               What do you want me to do?                          LYNCH               Nothing.   Let's sit and do nothing.                                           A     She reaches into her pocket and removes her cigarettes.     The     box is damp, but the cigarettes inside are still dry.     She starts to remove one but her gloved left hand and her     numb right hand make her fumble the pack.                             M                                                          CUT TO:75   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                               75     The pack of cigarettes falls into the snow.       D                          PARKER (O.C.)               AHHHH!                                                      HARD CUT TO:     E76   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - LATE AFTERNOON                                76     The two are bundled together as the evening winds start to     pick up.     Again, they speak without emotion. It's conversation just to     let themselves know that they are still alive.                         PARKER               How come you never have a               girlfriend?                         LYNCH               How am I supposed to answer that?                                         83.           PARKER I mean, you're a decent guy. Girls dig you. But you never stay in a relationship.           LYNCH I had a serious girlfriend once.                                         X           PARKER High School doesn't count.           LYNCH                                       R No, post-high school.   Freshmen year.           PARKER Who?                             A           LYNCH This girl Annie. I met her at orientation. We emailed all summer and when we started school, it was like we were already going out. I              M totally just felt it with her, you know? We were into a lot of the same stuff, which was cool. She was way into Aerosmith. I had seen them fifteen times, she had seen them twenty. How cool is that?           PARKER  D What happened?           LYNCH She um... same favorite movie as me. E.T. It was like soul matesE and that stuff you read about.           PARKER So then... what happened?            LYNCH Same old shit.     (then) No. You know what happened? She liked another guy. This fucking fraternity douchebag named Dean who kept sending her flowers and stuff. I don't know who it was exactly, but every time I'd go to her room some guy named "Dean" had left her notes and shit.                                        84.           PARKER Why did she keep it? Was she trying to make you jealous?           LYNCH I don't know. I think she just liked getting attention.                                        X           PARKER So she dumped you for a frat guy?             LYNCH                                      R No. I dumped her. We were in the cafeteria, right? And I was sitting facing her, facing the wall...and she was facing everyone in the cafeteria behind me. And I                          A kept seeing her smiling at someone behind me and like, almost laughing. So I was like, "who are you laughing at?" You know? Like "what the hell is going on?" And she's like, "Dean's making fun of              M you."      (beat) So I turn around, and I'm like ready to kick the shit out of this guy. And all I see is a sea of fucking random people. Just all of these faces. This guy could see me and was making eyes with my  D girlfriend...but I couldn't see him.           PARKER That's messed up.E            LYNCH I've never felt so stupid and bad in my life.     (then) So I left.           PARKER You just walked out?           LYNCH Yup. Told her to go laugh with "Dean the Frat guy". I was out.           PARKER That sucks.                                                          85.                    LYNCH          Maybe... maybe I shouldn't have          been so quick to walk out. Maybe I          needed to have a thicker skin and          not be such a sensitive bitch, I          don't know. Sometimes I think I          was just insecure and maybe I                                                  X          screwed up.                    PARKER          You should call her. When you get          home. You could tell her that.                                                R                    LYNCH          I can't.              (laughs)          She's dating Dean.                                   AEmotion has fought it's way to the surface again.   Parker andLynch share a nervous laugh together.She turns away from him.                       MAfter a few seconds, her laughs turn to tears.                    PARKER          I should have done something.                    LYNCH          There was nothing either of us          could have done.  D                    PARKER          I sat here and let him die.                    LYNCHE          No, you didn't. We didn't let him          die. There was nothing we could          have done. He jumped down there to          try and save us, OK?                    PARKER          He was the one. He was the boy I          was gonna marry.                    LYNCH          Funny story. First grade, we all          get left there for the day by our          mom's. You know, alone in real          school for the first time without          our folks around. And Dan... Dan          was this sort of chubby kid when he          was little...                                                    86.Parker laughs.                    LYNCH (cont'd)          Nah, fuck it. He was a fat ass.Parker laughs harder.                                                    X                    LYNCH (cont'd)          And all the mom's left and he just          wouldn't let go of his mom's hand.          He just stood there after she left,          at the front of the room, crying                                                  R          like a total pussy.                    PARKER          Sounds like Dan.                                      A                    LYNCH          You have no idea. But then, the          teacher... Mrs... What was her          name? Mrs. Schifrin? She was          trying everything to get the fat          kid to stop crying. And so she                          M          says, "Well Dan, is there anyone          else in the class that you know?"          You know, like, "Maybe there's a          friend you'd like to sit with?"          And the fucker points right at me          and says "him"! I had never seen          this kid before in my life, you          know? But for whatever reason, he  D          points right at me.                    PARKER          And so he had to sit with you?E                    LYNCH          For a week! For my whole first          week of school I'm sharing my          little cubby desk with his fat ass!Parker laughs through her tears.                       LYNCH (cont'd)          Douchebag.     I never let him forget          it.                    PARKER          I loved him so much.Lynch is determined.                                                               87.                         LYNCH               But if he died only for you and me               to give up and die up here, that's               bullshit.                         PARKER               Yes.                                                      X                         LYNCH               So I need you to pull it together,               and we're gonna get out of this               shit. We're gonna get out of this                                                    R               for Dan. Alright?                         PARKER               Yes.                                        A     Lynch bites his severely chapped lips.                         LYNCH               Help me up.                                                       CUT TO:                            M77   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - MOMENTS LATER                              77     Lynch feebly climbs up on the chair back and reaches up for     the cables.                         LYNCH       D               OK....let's try this again.     He steadies himself on the chair, which sways in the wind.     TIGHT ON the bolts connecting the arm to the cables.   The     E     metal is bending with a light squeaking sound.                         PARKER               Are you OK? Do you have it?     Lynch just grunts as he reaches and tries to steady himself     on the chair that is swinging at an odd angle under his     weight.     The camera swivels up to reveal his shaky feet trying to find     footing on the chair back and the ground far below him.                         LYNCH               Rrruh!     He pushes off hard and grabs on to the cabling.                                                             88.As his foot pushes fast on the chair, it swings at animpossible angle.TIGHT ON the connecting bolts as one of them SNAPS!                         PARKER          Oh my god!                                                   XThe chair leans hard to the right side, forcing Parker toslide down into what is now the bottom corner of the chair.The chair is still in place, but it is now hanging by one                                                 Rbolt and at a severe angle.                         PARKER (cont'd)          Joe!    JOE!                                           AJoe tries to look back over his shoulder, struggling to keephimself on the cable against his own body weight and wetclothing.                      LYNCH          Shit!    Hold on, just hold on!                            MAnother grunt and Lynch makes another big move forward.The camera booms up above him, shooting straight down at thedistance between his dangling body and the frozen ground.Tight on his gloved hands as they slowly slide forward on themetal cable.  DLynch squeezes his eyes shut and takes another reach forward.Behind him, Parker looks on in agony.      She is holding herbreath and whispering...E                    PARKER              (whispered)          Please God...please God....please          God...The metal arm above her groans under the pressure that theone remaining bolt is under. Looking at the arm in thisstate, it is especially eerie to imagine how these metalchairs even stay attached to the cables in the first place.Lynch takes another move forward.                         LYNCH          Rrrugh!                                                         89.                    PARKER          You can do it. Please do it.Lynch reaches forward again...and his hand slips on the icycable. He momentarily hangs by one arm.                      LYNCH                                               X          Arrrrr!                      PARKER          JOE!                                             RHe reaches up and grabs hold again...his strength is weaning.                    LYNCH              (through gritted teeth)          Got it.                                     AAnother few quick reaches forward and he is more than halfwayacross to the next chair.From Lynch's point of view we can see his feet floating abovethe earth and hear the sound of his own heart beat. His own                         Mpained breathing fills his ears.It's only now that he sees two of the wolves watching himfrom the bushes.                    LYNCH (cont'd)          Motherfucker.  DThe wind blows hard against him, swaying his body back andforth as he momentarily rests.                    LYNCH (cont'd)          I've got an audience.EParker looks down, just in time to see one of the wolves duckback into the bushes.Her movement makes the chair groan harder. The cable twangsloudly between Lynch's shaky movements and the twisted metalthat holds the arm in place.                    PARKER          The chair is gonna fall!                      LYNCH          No.    No it's not.Slowly he makes his way the remaining distance and positionshimself over the other chair.                                                          90.He drops down onto it, sending shards of ice cascading downinto the snow below.He quickly sits down, breathing heavy and clutching the sidesof the chair.                       LYNCH (cont'd)                                                    X             Take that Jenny Bluth!                       PARKER             You made it!                                                  R                        LYNCH             Not yet.   Halfway.He looks behind him at the next chair. Just a few feet backfrom it is the giant green lift pole... and a ladder!                                         A                        LYNCH (cont'd)             Please.He stands up on the chair and reaches up to the cable.   He isweak.                           MVery weak.                       LYNCH (cont'd)             Parker. I want you to throw my             extra pole as far as you can this             way.  DShe can't quite hear him.                        PARKER             What?E                       LYNCH             I said THROW MY POLE AS FAR AS YOU             CAN THIS WAY. When I get on the             ground I'll need some defense.Parker nods.She takes Lynch's ski pole and tries to throw it as far asshe can back at him.The action forces another terrifying metallic groan from thearm above her, and her chair swings back and forth from themotion.                        PARKER             Oh shit.                                                           91.The pole lands under the second chair, splitting the distancebetween where she is and where the tree is.                     PARKER (cont'd)          Sorry.                    LYNCH                                                X          Hey. Halfway to me is better than          up there with you, right?              (to himself)          Shit.                                              RHe starts to pull himself up again, but turns back to Parkerone more time.The chair has settled down.                                       A                    LYNCH (cont'd)          Stay perfectly still. I'm gonna          get you home, OK?He pulls himself up, straining hard.                        M                     LYNCH (cont'd)          Rrrrugh!This gets the wolves attention.In the bushes their ears and eyes perk up to the sky,watching their potential next meal grapple with the high wirecable.  DWith reserved strength, Lynch shimmies across the cable asquickly as he can.Back at Parker's chair, she eyes the bending metal bolt thatEis keeping her from plunging to the ground.Tears stream down her face again.                    PARKER              (whispered)          Please god, don't let me fall.          Don't let me fall.He stops once to catch his breath, but begins moving asquickly as possible.Finally, he reaches the second chair behind them and dropsdown into it.Looking at the lift pole from this position, he can clearlysee that it wasn't as close to the chair as it looked.                                                          92.But it's possible.                      LYNCH          Shit.Parker needs to yell to hear him now.                                                   X                      PARKER          WHAT?                      LYNCH          NOTHING.                                                 RHe assesses the situation.It's going to take a big leap to try and get near the ladderand he is winded beyond belief.                                       A                    PARKER          WHAT'S WRONG?                      LYNCH          NOTHING.    I'M GONNA GO FOR IT, OK?                         M                      PARKER          ...                      LYNCH                (to himself)          OK.  DThe two stare at each other from the distance.   Both of theirweather beaten faces are a mess.Parker is buried in the corner of the chair closest to theground, holding on to the back of it to keep herself steady.EStoically, Lynch turns away from her and takes a deep breath.He climbs up onto the chair back and looks down.Parker closes her eyes and prays.The wolves below do not break their stare.   Their hungry eyesare willing Lynch to fall from the chair.It's now or never.                      LYNCH (cont'd)          Yaaaaugh!He throws himself off of the chair and towards the ladder!                                                                 93.     He lands and hooks his arm around a rung. With a SNAP his     arm dislocates from it's socket, but he is hooked on to the     ladder!                           LYNCH (cont'd)               Rrrrugh!                                                       X                         PARKER               YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT!     With his bad arm dangling by his side, Lynch works his way     down the icy metal ladder.                                                     R     Finally he reaches the ground and his body falls with a THUD     into the snow.                           LYNCH                                            A               Oooof!     The wolves' ears are at attention.     They watch carefully from     the safety of the bushes.     One, the LEADER, takes a cautious single step forward and                              M     waits.                          PARKER               LYNCH!? LYNCH!!!                   (then)               ANSWER ME!!!     The wolf leader begins a dangerously slow and cautious walk       D     towards Lynch's body.     One step at a time.                                                          CUT TO:     E78   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                              78     As the camera tracks away from the approaching wolf and     towards Lynch...it is revealed that he is only winded.     He feels his body for damage, wincing at what can only be a     broken rib or two. His right arm is twisted at an odd angle     and by the look on Lynch's face, it must be either broken or     fractured in addition to being dislocated.                           LYNCH               PARKER.                         PARKER (O.C.)               ARE YOU OK?                                                                   94.     The wolf surveys the situation and stops in his tracks.     The other wolves watch from the bushes.                         LYNCH               I'M GONNA GO GET HELP.       I'M GONNA               GET RESCUE.                                                          X                                                           CUT TO:79   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                    79                                                        R                          PARKER               Hurry.   Please.                                                           CUT TO:                                             A80   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                               80     Lynch gets himself to his feet. His body is in massive pain,     but his adrenaline is going strong enough for him to fight                               M     through it.     He moves quickly back up to the area underneath the middle     chair.     The leader growls. Drool drips down from beneath it's hungry     mouth as it takes a step back.       D                            PARKER (O.C.)               NO!   JOE!                         LYNCH               I'M GONNA GET YOU HELP!     E     The wolf leader advances on Lynch.     Lynch makes it to the ski pole just in time and brandishes it     defensively at the creature.                            LYNCH (cont'd)               Come on!     Try something, fucker!     The wolf stares back at him, growling.      Their eyes are     locked.     Lynch swings the pole at it angrily.                            LYNCH (cont'd)               COME ON!                                                                 95.     The leader shies away but growls harder.                            LYNCH (cont'd)               STAY AWAY!     SNAP!                                                      X     A second wolf rushes Lynch from behind and grabs his injured     arm by the jacket and pulls back and forth.                            LYNCH (cont'd)               ARGH!                                                    R     The rest of the wolves quickly reveal themselves in the     bushes and slowly saunter up towards the impending kill.                                                       CUT TO:                                             A81   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                 81     Parker looks from Lynch to the ground way below her.                               M                            PARKER                      (crying)               JOE!                                                       CUT TO:82   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                            82       D     Lynch tries to fight off the wolf with his free arm.     Finally, he is able to plunge the ski pole deep into the     wolf's body.     E     The wolf SHRIEKS in pain and scampers away towards the safety     of the pack.     The impending wolves, stop their slow march and wait.   This     food still has some fight left in it.                           LYNCH               AHHHHH!    STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM               ME!     He moves as fast as he can towards the area under Parker's     chair, swinging his weapon like a madman all the while.     The wolves only stare.                                                                   96.     Finally, he reaches the area and grabs Dan's snowboard, still     sticking up in the snow.                         LYNCH (cont'd)               Parker, I'm gonna go get help!               Don't move and I'll be back as fast               as I can!                                                          X     Parker sobs.                         PARKER               OK.                                                        R                         LYNCH               Just don't move!     I'm getting help!     Without hesitation, Lynch throws down Dan's board and lays                                           A     his body on top of it. Pushing off he begins to slide     quickly down the hill.                                                            CUT TO:                            M83   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - CONTINUOUS                                      83     From Parker's POV, she watches him disappear down the hill.     But mere seconds later, the pack of wolves gives chase and     follow suit behind him over the horizon.     Only the creaking of the strained metal chair arm can be       D     heard now.     Parker sobs quietly to herself.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:     E84   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - EARLY EVENING                                   84     From a distance, Parker's broken chair dangles dangerously in     the night air.     Her body is slumped in the corner.     Still.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:                                                                97.85   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - NIGHT                                      85     Parker is not moving in her chair.                                                 FADE TO BLACK.                                                     X                                                   HARD CUT TO:86   EXT. CHAIR LIFT - MORNING                                    86                                                   R     The morning sun hits Parker's pale face.   Is she dead?     Parker opens her eyes. She must have drifted off for the     night. She looks to the tree-line around her.                                          A     The sun is coming up.     She tries to move her body to look back in Lynch's direction     and the chair argues back at her with another loud groan and     cable noise.                               M                         PARKER                   (to herself)               Lynch.     There is no sign of anyone or anything in the direction down     the hill behind her.     Slowly a look of great determination comes over her face.       D     She raises the safety bar.     There is no more time to think.     E     She is going to die one way or another.     Slowly, Parker turns her body around towards the seat of the     chair.     Holding on to the metal beams that make up the chair, she     beings to lower herself, inch by inch, off of the side.     CREEEEE-EEK! The lone metal bolt protests the movement and     makes metallic threats to snap.     Parker keeps lowering herself until her entire lower body is     dangling below the chair.     RRRRRUUUUUURRR! A gust of wind pushes against the chair,     straining the arm.                                                            98.Parker concentrates and slowly tries to hold up her weight asshe inches her body even lower.Smoothly, slowly, almost there- SNAP!   The bolt gives way!The chair lurches down at an even greater angle, sendingParker off of the side!                                                X                    PARKER (cont'd)          AHHHH!WHIRRR! WAP! No longer attached with the safety bolts, the                                              Rchair falls several feet and then stops. It is now hangingonly by the one weak thread of cabling that was used toinitially wire it to the main line.Parker's hands catch at the base of the chair, and she is                                      Adangling fully beneath it.While it is still a long drop...her feet are now a good 10feet closer to the ground, if not more.CREEEEEK! The metal wire will not hold for more than a few                          Mseconds. The chair is going to fall!Parker closes her eyes.All sound cuts out except for her quick breathing and herheartbeat.The camera shows us how much the last flimsy wire does not  Dlike this movement as it stretches and the chair sways in thewind.Slowly she looks down and prepares herself to fall.EThe camera inches closer in to her face from below.Her heartbeat and breathing are all we hear until finally...She let's go.As her body falls from the chair, the flimsy wire finallygives way and the rickety metal seat plummets straight downto the ground after her.                                                   CUT TO:                                                                 99.87   EXT. BELOW THE CHAIR - CONTINUOUS                             87     THUD! Parker lands hard and sound instantly returns to her.     She rolls to the side as the chair crashes down in her very     spot.                                                       X     She is in tremendous pain but feels the solid ground beneath     her like a sailor who has found land for the first time in     years.     Surveying the damage- her ankle is badly broken underneath                                                     R     the side of the chair that landed on it. Her boot is at an     unnatural angle.     Adrenaline overtakes her pain as she lifts the chair up and     removes her foot from beneath it.                                          A     She looks around for her snow board, but with all of the     fresh snowfall it is buried and gone.     Parker lays her body down flat on her jacket and begins to     push herself down the mountainside as quickly as she can.                             M                                                         CUT TO:88   EXT. JUST OVER THE HILL - MORNING, CONTINUOUS                 88     Parker comes down the hill, gaining some speed on her awkward     coat/sled.       D     As she makes her way she spots a tree... with bright red     blood splayed out in the snow around it.     Cautiously she slows herself down.     E                         PARKER                   (meekly)               Joe...?     From Parker's POV, the camera slowly reveals what is just     beyond the bloody tree...     But the look on Parker's face tells us everything we need to     know first.     There, in the brush on the side of the trail beyond the tree,     is the pack of wolves.     Some still feeding.   Others resting attentively.     They are circled around Lynch's bloody, half-eaten remains.                                                              100.     Quick shots of his jacket, his boots, and his gloved hand all     flash before Parker's devastated eyes.     She slows herself to a complete stop now.   Not knowing what     to do.     One of the feeding wolves hears this and looks back to see     Parker just a few feet away. It is the pack leader.     Lynch's blood pools from it's jaws.     It's ears go back and it growls loudly at Parker.                                                   R     She makes eye contact with the beast, who stares back at her,     almost daring her to try and take it's treasure.     Others from the pack look up, distracted briefly, but then go     back to feeding.     Parker and the pack leader lock eyes.     Finally, the leader turns away from Parker, back to his food.     Back to his family.     Though her face is emotionless, Parker's eyes are swollen     with tears as she continues on her way down the mountain     side.     She is free.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:89   EXT. MOUNT HOLLISTON - LATER                                 89     Parker continues down the treacherous trail as the snow falls     around her.     Occasionally she hits bumps and turns that cause her to spill     from her awkward coat/sled...but she pulls herself back on     and continues to make her way down the hill stoically.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:90   EXT. CHAIR LIFT LINE - LATER                                 90     Parker reaches the bottom of the hill.     Grunting and crying from the pain, she crawls over on her     belly and begins to drag herself towards the parking lot.                                                              101.91   EXT. ROAD - MOMENTS LATER                                     91     Parker drags her devastated body into the street.     Just as she gets there....                                                    X     BEEP! A HONKING CAR races past with it's windshield wipers     blaring.     Narrowly missing being splattered, she collapses in the dirty     road.     There are no more cars to be seen.     She is alone.                                          A     All that she can do is clutch the ground.     And then...     Another car approaches in the distance.     She holds her hand up weakly.                          PARKER               Please.   Stop.                                                         CUT TO:92   INT. CAR - CONTINUOUS                                         92     A DRIVER (male, 50's) is cautiously driving down the wet icy     road. He reaches down to adjust the radio.     He looks back up to reveal Parker's body in the road in front     of him.93   EXT. ROADSIDE - CONTINUOUS                                    93     He swerves with a loud SKID!     Partially off the road in a skid, his car comes to a stop.     Instantly he jumps out and runs to the body on the road.                          DRIVER               Hey!   Are you OK?!   Hello!     Parker is not moving.                                                               102.     He runs over to her side.                          DRIVER (cont'd)               Lady.   Are you alright?     Parker looks up at him and starts to cry with relief.                                                      X                         DRIVER (cont'd)               Hold on, hold on- we're gonna get               you help...     He lifts her up into his arms and races her back to his car.                                                       CUT TO:94   INT. CAR - MOMENTS LATER                                    94     The driver drives frantically, speaking into his cell phone.                         DRIVER                   (into phone)               I don't know. I found her laying               in the road alone. Looks like she               was in some sort of accident.               Right outside of Mount Holliston.               I'm taking her to you now.95   EXT. CAR, LOOKING IN - CONTINUOUS                           95     Through the passenger side window we see Parker's blank face.     If we didn't know better, we'd think she was a rotten cadaver     at this point.     Reflected in the glass are the lights of a PAPA GINO'S     restaurant store front that goes past.     Her eyes blink at the sign.                         DRIVER               Hold on, Ma'am. The hospital is 10               minutes away. You're gonna be OK.     The camera is tighter on her eyes.                         DRIVER (cont'd)               You're gonna be OK.     Tight on just one eye.                                                 103.                    DRIVER (cont'd)              (now in Dan's voice)          You're gonna be OK, baby.Her eye closes.                                      CUT TO BLACK.
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+                                      "GANG RELATED"                                        Written by                                         Jim Kouf                                      SHOOTING DRAFT                                           1997                               FADE IN:               NEON SIGN - THE PRINCE MOTEL - NIGHT               The N and the E are not working. So it reads the PR IC motel.                ROOMS TO RENT BY DAY, WEEK, MONTH. KITCHENETTES. The Prince                Motel has passed its prime. A few beat up cars are parked                outside rooms. We CRANE DOWN to ROOM SEVEN. Curtains closed,                but someone is holding it open a crack, looking out. We PUSH                in CLOSE TO THE WINDOW and the EYE looking over the parking                lot. Then the curtain closes.               INT. ROOM SEVEN - PRINCE MOTEL - NIGHT               Peeling flowered wallpaper, ultra-cheap furniture. The man                moving away from the window is RODRIGUEZ. He is slender,                sports a thin mustache, hair slicked straight back. He's in                his late thirties. Slightly nervous.               Another man sits on the couch, looking at a magazine. He is                forty, solidly built. His name is FRANK DIVINCI.                                     DIVINCI                         Says here they got slips in Honolulu.                          325 a month. Utilities included.                          That's not bad.               Rodriguez sits down.                                     DIVINCI                         But I gotta get at least a forty                          footer. It'll handle rough water                          better and I'll need the room if I'm                          gonna live on it.               Rodriguez stands up, moves back to the window. Divinci looks                up.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I don't know how you do it.                                     DIVINCI                         What?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         How you can think about Hawaii now?                                     DIVINCI                         My heart's in Hawaii.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         You never been there. How can your                          heart be there.                                     DIVINCI                         You're tellin' me there's no place                          you'd rather be other than here?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         No, I'm saying I just don't know how                          you can think about Hawaii right                          now.                                     DIVINCI                         If I was in Hawaii right now, I                          wouldn't be thinking about here. See                          the difference?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         No.                                     DIVINCI                         Look, I'm not in Hawaii, I'm here.                          But I don't want to be here, I want                          to be in Hawaii. I can't be in Hawaii,                          therefore I think about it so as to                          not get depressed about being here.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         But I'm here, I know I'm here, I                          don't like being here, but I can't                          be anyplace else because I look around                          and I see all this shit. How do you                          get around that?! That's what I'm                          asking.                                     DIVINCI                         Focus.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Focus.               Divinci nods. Rodriguez looks at his watch.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         It's time. No more Hawaii, okay?                          Focus on this.                                     DIVINCI                              (smiles)                         Aloha.               Rodriguez shakes his head, exasperated, and exits.                                     RODRIGUEZ                              (to himself)                         Aloha my ass.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. DARK STREET - NIGHT               Poor side of town. A few old cars parked on the street. Some                buildings vacant. A LATE MODEL WHITE CADILLAC cruises past.                We HEAR LOUD RAP MUSIC.               INT. CADILLAC - NIGHT               LIONEL HUDD drives. Hudd is thirty. African American. The                MUSIC is loud. His clothes lean to African roots. A WOMAN                sits next to the passenger window. Her name is CYNTHIA WEBB.                Cynthia is thirty-five, dressed in short provocative skirt,                tight top. A little too much make-up. She's lead a hard life.               She glances at Hudd. Hudd glances at her, looks down at her                skirt hiked up on her leg.                                     CYNTHIA                         Left at the corner.               Hudd's eyes linger on her thighs for a moment, then he turns                his attention back to driving, tapping along with the heavy                bass.               EXT. PRINCE MOTEL - NIGHT               The Cadillac pulls into the parking lot. Parks in front of                room SEVEN. Hudd gets out, looks around. Cynthia gets out,                leads him to SEVEN. Knocks.               The curtains pull back. Divinci looks at Hudd and Cynthia.                She nods to him. The door unlocks and opens.               Cynthia enters. Hudd looks around again. Then follows.               INT. MOTEL ROOM SEVEN - NIGHT               Divinci waits at the door. He and Hudd eye each other as                Hudd enters the room. Divinci looks out, making sure no one                has followed, then shuts the door.                                     DIVINCI                         Hope you don't mind me checkin' you                          for weapons.                                     HUDD                         Hell yes I mind.               Divinci hesitates. This could break the deal.                                     HUDD                         I just don't want no man handlin'                          me.               Hudd looks at Cynthia. The suggestion is taken.                                     DIVINCI                         Okay. Check him.               Hudd spreads his legs, lifts his arms. Cynthia would rather                not have the job, but there's no choice.                                     HUDD                         Lotta good hidin' places on this                          body. Check good.               Cynthia runs her hands over Hudd, checking pockets, pants,                sleeves. Finally coming to his crotch. Hudd smiles.                                     HUDD                         Careful. It's loaded.               Cynthia has heard it all before. She's not squeamish in the                least and she gives him a good going over.                                     CYNTHIA                         He's got nothin'.               She smiles back at Hudd. Then moves away, sits on the couch                and seductively crosses her legs.               Divinci, satisfied, pulls a PLASTIC BAG packed tight with                COCAINE out of his pocket, tosses it to Hudd.               Hudd sits on the couch, opens the bag, sticks his finger in                and tastes the contents. But never takes his eyes off Divinci.                                     HUDD                         Not bad, not bad. Any more where                          this came from?                                     DIVINCI                         Maybe.                                     HUDD                         Then maybe we talk again.                                     DIVINCI                         Maybe.               Hudd stands, unzips his pants. Reaches in to grab his cock,                but instead, pulls out a stack of MONEY. Inch thick.                                     HUDD                         Told you there was a lotta good hidin'                          places on this body.               Hudd hands the money to Divinci and pockets the plastic bag.                Then crosses to the door. Glances back at Cynthia.                                     HUDD                         Bet you gotta lotta nice hidin'                          places, too.               Then Hudd smiles and exits.               EXT. PRINCE MOTEL - NIGHT               Hudd gets into his Cadillac, pulls out of the motel parking                lot.               EXT. STREET - NIGHT               Deserted. No one on the street this late. Several of the                buildings are boarded up.               INT. CADILLAC - NIGHT               Hudd drives. No music this time. His attitude has changed.                More serious. LIGHTS in the REAR VIEW MIRROR. Coming up fast.                Hudd watches as the car pulls around to pass.               He glances at the CAR as it pulls past him, but all we SEE                is the FLASH OF A BLAST FROM A GUN. Front WINDOW EXPLODING.               THE CADILLAC               swerves into a parked car. The OTHER CAR -- a BUICK REGAL --                screeches to a stop next to it. ONE MAN gets out. Moving                quickly to the Cadillac. It's dark, difficult to see. He                carries a SMITH AND WESSON .44. Opens the door. He's wearing                PLASTIC GLOVES.               Hudd is dead, slumped against the passenger door. The man                reaches in, turns off the engine, grabs the plastic bag of                cocaine. And now we see it's Divinci.               INT. BUICK REGAL - NIGHT               Rodriguez is the driver. Anxious. Engine running.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Come on! Hurry up!               Divinci dashes back to the Buick, hops in. Rodriguez floors                it.               THE BUICK               tears off down the dark street.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT               Not a great part of the city. Apartment buildings line both                sides of the street. An alley runs between two of the                buildings. A TAXI pulls up in front. HEADLIGHTS SHINING on a                MAN passed out in the street.               Cynthia exits the taxi. The taxi pulls away. She glances at                the man passed out in the street.               His clothes are ragged. He's filthy. His face covered in                beard and greasy dirty hair. Hard to tell how old he is.                Maybe forty. Maybe eighty. Who knows? His hand clutches a                bottle in a bag.                                     CYNTHIA                         Hey, Joe, wake up. Get outa the street                          before you get run over. Joe, wake                          up!               She nudges him with her foot. The man groans, rolls back.                Dead drunk.                                     CYNTHIA                         You're in the street, Joe. Get outa                          the street.               The man, JOE, is silent for a moment, then he starts to crawl --                toward the middle of the street.                                     CYNTHIA                         Other way, Joe.               Joe turns his crawl toward the curb. Cynthia watches him for                a moment. He is truly pathetic.                                     CYNTHIA                         Forget it, Joe. Maybe you're better                          off right there. I don't think you'd                          even feel it.               Cynthia enters the building next to the alley.                                                                    CUT TO:               CYNTHIA - INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT               asleep. The room is dark. We HEAR a door open and close.                Cynthia wakes.                                     CYNTHIA                         Who is it?               Divinci crosses to the bed.                                     DIVINCI                         Got your money.                                     CYNTHIA                         Put it on the table.               She closes her eyes, trying to go back to sleep.                                     DIVINCI                         Tired?                                     CYNTHIA                         Yes.                                     DIVINCI                         I'm not.                                     CYNTHIA                         Take a sleeping pill. There's some                          in my purse.                                     DIVINCI                         You want your money?               Cynthia's eyes open and she looks up at Divinci. He's smiling,                holding up FIVE ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR BILLS.                                     CYNTHIA                         I already worked for that.               Divinci unzips his pants.                                     DIVINCI                         This is a bonus.                                     CYNTHIA                         For who?               Divinci smiles. Cynthia snatches the money. Divinci starts                to undress.                                     DIVINCI                         This ain't my fault. This is a failure                          of our educational system. If you                          hadn't fallen through the cracks and                          dropped outa school, you wouldn't be                          here now.                                     CYNTHIA                         So what's your excuse?                                     DIVINCI                         I'm in love.               Cynthia just stares at him for a long beat. Then she unbuckles                Divinci's pants.                                                                    CUT TO:               KEY - INSERTED INTO DOOR LOCK - NIGHT               A door is pushed open. Rodriguez enters his one bedroom                apartment. Starts to shut the door when TWO MEN appear from                the shadows. The first is short, well dressed. His name is                VIC. The second is large, heavy-set, shaved head. His name                is CUTLESS SUPREME. Cutless Supreme is not a man to be messed                with.                                     VIC                         Keepin' some late hours.               Rodriguez looks at Cutless Supreme.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What the hell you doin'? What're my                          neighbors gonna think?                                     VIC                         I apologize. I understand your                          concerns. But you must understand                          that, unlike a bank, I cannot rely                          on a late fee as sufficient                          encouragement to repay one's debts.                          I am forced to employ the likes of                          Mr. Cutless Supreme, whom I might                          add, contributes significantly to my                          overhead. I am the real loser here.                          And I am concerned about your                          sincerity in repaying the twenty-                         seven thousand, nine hundred forty-                         two dollar gambling debt that is one                          week past due. What can you do to                          reassure me of your good intentions?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I can make your life fuckin' miserable                          that's what I can do.                                     VIC                         Look at me. Do I have a wife and                          three kids? Do I have a good job at                          IBM? Am I a handsome guy? No, no and                          no. I loan money at excessively high                          interest rates to pricks like you                          who can't control their urges to                          lose big money playing cards and                          then I am forced to stay up all night                          trying to convince them that I have                          needs, too. The point of which is, I                          already have a fuckin' miserable                          life. So don't threaten me you lousy                          bag of cat shit.               Rodriguez steps toward Vic, but Cutless Supreme slides in                between them. Rodriguez isn't going to win this one.                                     VIC                         All I'm askin' is that you be                          responsible. Is that unreasonable?               Rodriguez backs off, hesitates as he runs over his options.                There aren't any. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out some                of his night's earnings.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Four thousand is all I got.                                     VIC                         I am proportionally reassured. You                          purchased yourself an extension.               Vic takes the money, heads for the street. Rodriguez watches                Vic walk away. Cutless Supreme watches Rodriguez.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Cutless Supreme, what kind of fuckin'                          idiot name is that?                                     CUTLESS SUPREME                         It was the car my daddy stole to                          take my momma to the hospital, but                          the cops stopped him and shot him                          dead in an alley before he could                          explain. I was born in the back seat.               Rodriguez glares at Cutless Supreme, then he shuts the door.                                                                    CUT TO:               CREDIT SEQUENCE - BLACK AND WHITE MONTAGE               CRIME SCENE PHOTOGRAPHS -- Dead drug dealers lying where                they were shot. Overlapping CLOSE-UPS of EVIDENCE TAGS and                SHELVING filled with EVIDENCE from hundreds of crime scenes.                And CLOSE-SHOTS of CRIME SCENES -- chalk outlines -- bullet                shells - bloody foot prints. And finally CRIME SCENE TAPE.                The BLACK AND WHITE fades back into COLOR --               YELLOW CRIME SCENE TAPE               surrounding the CADILLAC. We PULL BACK, revealing COPS                controlling the area. It's early morning. A FEW PEOPLE have                stopped to watch. But this is not a high traffic area.               ANOTHER CAR pulls up. Unmarked. Two men get out. We FOLLOW                BEHIND THEM as they approach the Cadillac and PATROLMAN                MAHONEY, who knows them.                                     PATROLMAN MAHONEY                         Another day, another body. Where you                          wanna start?                                     FIRST MAN                         A hit?                                     PATROLMAN MAHONEY                         Looks like. Could be gang related.               And now we SEE THE TWO MEN from the unmarked car. It's DIVINCI                and RODRIGUEZ. Suit and ties. They act like they own the                area. And they do.                                     PATROLMAN MAHONEY                         Happened sometime last night, early                          morning, two, three o'clock. African-                         American male, looks like in his                          thirties. But even that's a guess.                          Half his head is on the upholstery.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Any witnesses?                                     PATROLMAN MAHONEY                         Oh, sure, hundreds.               INT. CADILLAC - DAY               The bloody scene is untouched. Hudd's body is where it fell,                on the seat. Dried blood everywhere. Divinci looks in.                                     DIVINCI                         Fuckin' Animals.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. POLICE STATION - DAY               EVIDENCE ROOM. Behind a locked fenced in area. A DESK OFFICER                checks in and out all evidence. He is twenty-eight, wears                glasses, very clean cut. TWO DETECTIVES are checking in                evidence as Divinci walks in.                                     FIRST DETECTIVE                         ...three shotgun shells, twelve gauge.               The Desk Officer checks in the evidence.                                     DESK OFFICER                         Three shotgun shells, twelve gauge.               The two detectives wave hellos to Divinci as he approaches.                                     SECOND DETECTIVE (SGT. GARDNER)                         Heard you got a gang related. Lucky                          guy, Divinci. You get all the pretty                          ones.                                     DIVINCI                         One less drug store on the street.                                     DESK OFFICER                         And the world is a safer place.               The Desk Officer buzzes Divinci through the door. Divinci                crosses to the --               EVIDENCE STORAGE ROOM               -- filled with shelves. Stacked with evidence from on-going                investigations. And the shelves are full of guns, knives,                bloody gloves, masks, shoes, etc.               Divinci looks around, then removes the PACKAGE OF COCAINE                and the .44 from his pockets and places them back on one of                the shelves. CASE NUMBER C-549087. One thing about the .44                which we can see now -- a BLACK STAIN on the metal of the                handle.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HOMICIDE SQUAD ROOM - DAY               Desks, phones, computers, typewriters and HOMICIDE DETECTIVES.                Some witnesses being interviewed. Rodriguez is on the phone                at his desk. He's in the middle of an interview as he fills                out one of the many forms that complicate his life.                                     RODRIGUEZ                              (into phone)                         -- a green car... you know what                          make... Maybe a Ford, uh-huh. You                          didn't see the license, did you?               Divinci comes back to his desk, next to Rodriguez. Rodriguez                looks up. Divinci gives him a confident smile and brushes                his hands together -- clean hands.                                     RODRIGUEZ                              (into phone)                         Yeah, no, I understand, it was dark...                          Uh-huh.               Divinci sits at his desk. He pulls an ADVERTISEMENT for a 42                FOOT SPORT FISHING BOAT out of his desk. He holds it up to                Rodriguez, points to the boat.                                     DIVINCI                         Wanna go for a ride?                                     RODRIGUEZ                              (into phone)                         You think you could describe the                          driver?                              (covers phone; to                               Divinci)                         You bought it?                                     DIVINCI                         As of last night, I've got the down.                          Just picture me under swayin' palms                          with a Mai Tai.               We can HEAR someone describing a felon over the phone, but                Rodriguez isn't listening. He's looking at the boat.                                     RODRIGUEZ                              (into phone)                         Uh-huh.                              (covers phone)                         You're gonna buy it, no shit. When?                                     DIVINCI                         Just a phone call away.               Divinci picks up the phone, starts to dial.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         That's really great, man.               Divinci smiles. Rodriguez suddenly realizes the person on                the other end of the phone has stopped talking.                                     RODRIGUEZ                              (back to phone)                         Uh-huh, okay... how tall was he?               A heavy set man in his fifties approaches -- CAPTAIN                HENDERSON.                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         You got primary on the drug related                          this morning on 27th.                                     DIVINCI                         I'm workin' it up now.                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         Who's your second?                              (Divinci points at                               Rodriguez)                         In my office. Both of you.                                     DIVINCI                         Why?                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         Now.               Captain Henderson doesn't wait for a response. He heads for                the office -- an inner office of glass and wood.               Divinci looks at Rodriguez, who is suddenly a little nervous.                We can HEAR the PERSON OVER THE PHONE that he's talking to,                but he's no longer interested and hangs up on them.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What the hell --               Divinci motions "keep calm."               INT. CAPTAIN HENDERSON'S OFFICE - DAY               Henderson is hanging up his coat as Divinci and Rodriguez                enter. They aren't the only ones in the office. RICHARD SIMMS,                thirty-two, trim, short cut hair, suit, is waiting.                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         Detectives Divinci and Rodriguez,                          this is Richard Simms. He's with the                          D.E.A. He wants to ask you some                          questions about your case.                                     DIVINCI                         What's the occasion?                                     SIMMS                         You get an i.d. on the victim?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We're waitin' for prints.               Divinci pulls out his note pad.                                     DIVINCI                         Car was registered to --                                     SIMMS                         -- Anchor Imports. 81 El Dorado.                          Black.                                     DIVINCI                         If you got all this, what d'you want                          from us?                                     SIMMS                         ...The man in the car is Lionel Hudd.                                     RODRIGUEZ                              (a little incensed)                         How d'you know that?                              (to Henderson)                         What's goin' on here?                                     SIMMS                         Hudd was DEA, undercover.               Rodriguez and Divinci take the news like a sledgehammer. On                their frozen expressions we HEAR --                                     SIMMS (O.S.)                         He was workin' a case on syndicate                          distribution of drugs on the south                          side. But every dealer we tagged                          kept getting killed. He finally got                          a lead on a girl -- Hudd was a friend                          of mine... I'm gonna nail the                          sonuvabitch who killed him.               A long beat on Rodriguez and Divinci, then --                                     DIVINCI                         We'll do everything we can to help.                                                                    CUT TO:               THE UNMARKED POLICE CAR - EXT. STREET - DAY               screeching around a corner and up a drive into a VACANT LOT.                The car skids to a stop and Rodriguez gets out of the driver's                side, slamming the door and storming off. He's out of his                mind.               Divinci gets out quickly, follows him. Rodriguez is so fired                up and scared he can't stop moving.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         SHIT, FUCK, SHIT, JESUS CHRIST!                                     DIVINCI                         Calm down!                                     RODRIGUEZ                         WE'RE DEAD, WE'RE FUCKING DEAD!                                     DIVINCI                         SHUT UP!                                     RODRIGUEZ                         FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!               Divinci catches Rodriguez, tries to stop him from flailing                about.                                     DIVINCI                         STOP IT! YOU HEAR ME, RIGHT NOW,                          STOP IT!                                     RODRIGUEZ                         GOD, GOD, THIS IS REALLY FUCKIN' OUT                          OF CONTROL!               Rodriguez tries to push Divinci away, but Divinci holds on.                They struggle --                                     RODRIGUEZ                         LET GO OF ME!               -- pushing, shoving, falling to the dirt. Divinci jumps on                top of him, pulling his pistol and shoving it into Rodriguez                mouth.                                     DIVINCI                         Shut up and listen to me!               Rodriguez glares up at Divinci.                                     DIVINCI                         They could be watchin' us right now                          you asshole. So fuckin' shape up!                          You got it?!                              (nothing from Rodriguez)                         I want you to nod!               It takes Rodriguez a moment, but he nods. Divinci pulls his                gun out of Rodriguez' mouth, gets off him and holsters his                pistol. Rodriguez is scared to death, not of Divinci, of the                mess they're in. He just lies in the dirt.                                     DIVINCI                         Get the fuck up!               Rodriguez starts to get to his feet. Divinci grabs him, yanks                him up. Pushes him to the car.                                     DIVINCI                         Get in the car!               They move back to the car. Rodriguez gets back into the                driver's seat. Divinci moves around to the passenger side.                Gets in, slams the door shut.               INT. UNMARKED CAR - DAY               They sit silently in the car for a moment in the middle of                the vacant lot. Breathing hard. Dirty. After a beat --                                     DIVINCI                         There's no fuckin' reason to panic.               Rodriguez turns slowly and looks at Divinci incredulously.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         No fuckin' reason to panic? Did you                          say no fuckin' reason to panic!                                     DIVINCI                         Stop being an idiot! We're the cops                          on the case. It's our case. We are                          going to find the fuckin' killers.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         WE'RE THE FUCKIN' KILLERS!                                     DIVINCI                         Since when does that matter?!               Rodriguez stares at Divinci for a beat, then we --                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. UNMARKED CAR - PARKED - DAY               Rodriguez and Divinci are sitting on the car, each with a                beer and sharing a bottle of whiskey.                                     DIVINCI                         All they want is someone to go down                          for the crime, right? Do we care who                          goes down for the crime? Fuck no. As                          long as someone goes down for the                          crime. It's a slot that's gotta be                          filled.               Rodriguez is calmer, but still something bothers him --                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We killed a cop, doesn't that bother                          you?                                     DIVINCI                         Of course it bothers me. What d'you                          want me to do, turn myself in? Well                          I'm not. That's the risk we take                          everyday, somebody might pop us,                          especially undercover like that. So                          he got popped. It happens.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Not by other cops!                                     DIVINCI                         I patted him down! He wasn't wearin'                          a wire, he had no badge, no gun, how                          was I supposed to know?!               A moment of silence, then --                                     DIVINCI                         Look, I feel just as bad as you do,                          but we gotta start thinkin' about us                          here. The important thing is we don't                          lose control of the case. We can                          never lose control of the case.                          Whatever evidence there is goes                          through us. We lay down the trail.                          Make it nice and logical. We're the                          teachers and two and two can add up                          to five if it's our classroom.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What're you talkin' about, are you                          sayin' we stick somebody with this?                                     DIVINCI                         Evidence points wherever we want it                          to point. Shit, we can provide so                          much evidence, even the asshole we                          pick will think he fuckin' killed                          him.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         You got some asshole in mind?                                     DIVINCI                         Just don't worry. We'll find a killer.                          There's lots of 'em out there.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREET - DAY               THREE AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTHS, all in their twenties, are                hanging on a street corner. Talking. Normal street traffic.                They give a long hard look to an ATTRACTIVE AFRICAN AMERICAN                WOMAN who walks past. A little chatter.               The UNMARKED CAR suddenly screeches to the curb. The black                youths scatter quickly as Divinci jumps out and goes after                the tallest of the three. His name is JAMES. Rodriguez guns                the car and gives chase on wheels.               James darts across traffic. Divinci running hard after him.               Rodriguez spins the car in a u-turn. Racing after them.               EXT. ALLEY - SAME TIME               James darts down the alley. Narrow, dark, lined with trash                bins. Divinci turns into the alley, but he isn't going to                catch him.               James is almost to the end when the car turns into the alley,                skidding to a stop. Rodriguez jumps out, gun leveled at James.               No where for him to go. He slows down. Rodriguez moves in                from his front, Divinci runs up from behind. James is                disgusted.                                     JAMES                         What the hell'd I do now?                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. POLICE STATION - EVIDENCE STORAGE ROOM - DAY               Divinci removes the PACKAGE OF COCAINE and the .44 from the                shelf. CASE NUMBER C-549087.                                                                    CUT TO:               THE .44 - INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY               SLIDING across a table to James, who stops it with his right                hand. Divinci and Rodriguez are across from him.                                     JAMES                         Ain't my gun.                                     DIVINCI                         Never is, is it.                                     JAMES                         That ain't my fuckin' gun.               He shoves the gun back. Divinci stops it with his arm, careful                not to touch it.                                     DIVINCI                         Got your fuckin' prints on it.               James quickly realizes what they've done. He lunges for the                gun, but Divinci picks it up quickly with a pencil through                the trigger guard. James glares at them with murderous intent.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Where were you Friday night?                                     JAMES                         Friday night... last Friday night?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Where were you?                                     JAMES                         Whatever you think I did went down                          last Friday night?                                     DIVINCI                         Better have a good alibi, James, or                          it's good ali bye-bye.               A beat, then James smiles.                                     JAMES                         I was in jail you assholes. Check it                          out.                              (starts to laugh)                         All night. What a couple a dickheads!               Rodriguez and Divinci are silent.                                                                    CUT TO:               DOOR - INT. APARTMENT - DAY               KICKED IN on a grungy small apartment. Divinci and Rodriguez                burst in, guns drawn. Scaring the shit out of an HISPANIC                MAN (CORTEZ) and his half-naked GIRLFRIEND as they watch                television.                                     DIVINCI AND RODRIGUEZ                         NOBODY MOVE! HANDS IN THE AIR! NOW!                          MOVE IT!               CUT BACK TO:               THE .44 - INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY               SLIDING across the table back to Rodriguez and Divinci. Cortez                sits across from them. Wearing white t-shirt, baggy pants.                Tattoos on his arms.                                     CORTEZ                         Ain't my gun.                                     RODRIGUEZ                              (smiles)                         Got your prints on it.                                     CORTEZ                              (stands; angry)                         You fuck, I ain't never seen that                          gun before!                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Where were you last Friday night?                                     CORTEZ                         Fuck you. I wanna talk to a lawyer!               Just want they wanted to hear. No alibi.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Lawyer's not gonna help you, Cortez.                          All the evidence we got points right                          to you.               Cortez stares at them for a moment, then --                                     CORTEZ                         Did you say last Friday night?               Cortez smiles and pulls up his shirt, revealing a long scar                across his stomach.                                     CORTEZ                         Intensive Care, you pindejo fuckin'                          gutter shits. And Thursday night,                          and Saturday, too. I just fucking                          got out this morning.                                                                    CUT TO:               MAN - EXT. ALLEY - DAY               SLAMMING INTO A WALL, hitting hard, falling back to the dirty                garbage covered alley. He's about twenty-seven, thin, blond                hair tied in a pony tail. He wears a flannel shirt, jeans,                boots. He doesn't want to fight. His name is DAVE.                                     DAVE                         Alright, alright, alright... shit. I                          ain't gonna fight you.               He looks up at Divinci and Rodriguez moving toward him.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY               Dave is behind the desk handling the .44 with no apparent                problem.                                     DAVE                         Ain't my gun.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         That's what they all say.                                     DAVE                         Wish it was. No better gun than Smitty                          and Wes .44 mag with serial numbers                          filed off.                              (opens cylinder)                         Got any bullets?               Divinci walks around, holds out his hand for the gun.                                     DAVE                         Who did I kill?                                     DIVINCI                         Where were you last Friday night?                                     DAVE                         You mean, what's my alibi right?               Dave spits on the gun, wipes off his prints with his shirt.                                     DAVE                         I was breakin' and entering. Jewelry                          store on seventh and Front, about                          nine o'clock. Not even close to your                          jurisdiction. I got the rocks to                          prove it.               He drops the gun, clean of prints onto the table.                                     DAVE                         Sorry I can't help ya. But one to                          five is better than ten to life.               Divinci and Rodriguez stare at Dave. They are not happy.                                                                    CUT TO:               MUG SHOTS - INT. HOMICIDE SQUAD ROOM - DAY               in plastic pages. A BINDER full of criminal portraits. Divinci                is going through one book. Rodriguez searches another.                                     DIVINCI                         Montrose LaJolla...                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We pulled him in last year for knifing                          that dealer on 32nd.                                     DIVINCI                         Yeah. Almost killed him, remember?                          He'd be good.                              (calls out to ANOTHER                               DETECTIVE)                         Anybody seen Montrose LaJolla?                                     ANOTHER DETECTIVE                         He's dead. His life partner killed                          him in a Domestic D about a month                          ago.               Rodriguez suddenly slams his book shut.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Shit!               Divinci looks at him. Rodriguez is angry, tense. Divinci                gives him a look telling him this is not the time and place                for a discussion on this topic.                                     DIVINCI                         Take it easy.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         This isn't gonna work!               Divinci leans toward Rodriguez.                                     DIVINCI                         Nobody said it was gonna be easy.                          But let's not advertise our despair...                          Okay?               The PHONE RINGS. Divinci picks it up.                                     DIVINCI                              (into phone)                         Divinci.               INT. CAPT. HENDERSON'S OFFICE - DAY               Captain Henderson is sitting behind his desk. Divinci and                Rodriguez are in front of him. Rodriguez is trying to hide                his nervousness. Divinci is absolutely cool.                                     DIVINCI                         This is our case! Not the goddamn                          DEA's!                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         It's been three days.                                     DIVINCI                         We're not fuckin' magicians! What                          the hell is three days?! This is a                          goddamn murder case! It takes a little                          bit of goddamn time!                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         When a Federal Undercover Officer                          goes down, it's never a fuckin' murder                          case! I don't like the DEA on my ass                          any better than you like 'em on yours.                          But this is personal for them and                          they want answers. Forget your other                          cases and get something, anything                          that I can give to them. The last                          thing I want is the goddamn F.B.I.                          on my back, too.               Divinci and Rodriguez are quiet for a beat, then --                                     DIVINCI                         We've got a couple leads. We need a                          little more time.                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         I can't hold 'em off much longer.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         This is no fuckin' way to run an                          investigation.                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         Let me tell you both something, if                          you don't solve this quick, they're                          gonna start askin' why? And they'll                          be lookin' to blame somebody in this                          department. So my advise to you is,                          get something fuckin' fast or turn                          over what you've got and get outa                          the way.               Rodriguez and Divinci are quiet for a moment, then --                                     DIVINCI                         How much time we got?                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         A couple days. The funeral's this                          afternoon.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What funeral?                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         For Agent Hudd. Simms wants you there.                                     DIVINCI                         What for? We didn't know him.                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         How the hell do I know?! It's DEA,                          it's their thing. You're the cops on                          the case, I suppose they want you to                          know what a great guy Hudd was so                          you'll work all that harder to find                          his killer. Just go. It'll reassure                          'em how much you care and keep 'em                          off my ass.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. CEMETERY - GRAVE SITE - LATE AFTERNOON               MOURNERS gathered around the grave site. WIFE in tears. MOTHER                in tears. The men trying their best to hold up. Beyond the                family, DEA AGENTS. Simms among them. A show of support and                solidarity. A REVEREND delivering --                                     REVEREND                         -- and it is too easy to say that he                          was a good man in his job because he                          gave more than most. And it's too                          easy to say that he was a good man                          in his community because he gave                          more than others. And it's too easy                          to say he was a good man at home                          with his family because he was always                          there when they needed him. Special                          Agent Lionel Hudd was not just a                          good man, he was an extraordinary                          man. And his death shall not be in                          vain.               CAMERA FINDS Divinci and Rodriguez at the back. Rodriguez                looks nervous. Divinci notices. Their conversation is quiet.                                     DIVINCI                         Don't Humpty Dumpty on me.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What's that mean?                                     DIVINCI                         Your cracks are startin' to show.                                     RODRIGUEZ                              (covering)                         Bullshit.               Divinci sees Simms approaching from the side.                                     DIVINCI                         Get your balance. Here comes the                          King.               Rodriguez glances toward Simms as he walks up. The                conversation is quiet. Not wanting to disturb the ceremony.                                     SIMMS                         Glad you came... Anything break?               Divinci glances at Rodriguez.                                     DIVINCI                         Nothin' to brag about. But we've got                          a couple new leads we're followin'.                                     SIMMS                         ...Look, normally we'd be all over                          this, but your Captain seems to think                          you can do the job. It's your                          territory. I guess you know it better                          than anybody. And that can be worth                          a lot. But you understand... we won't                          wait forever.               Divinci is pissed. He doesn't like Simms.                                     DIVINCI                         Just outa curiosity... What happened                          to his backup? You guys use backup                          on undercover don't you?                                     SIMMS                         It was a new lead. Hudd was afraid                          backup would blow his cover. He was                          supposed to check in ten minutes                          after the deal went down. He never                          checked in.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We want this one as bad as you do. A                          cop's a cop. We're in this together,                          right?               Simms stares at Rodriguez and Divinci for a moment, then he                returns his attention to the ceremony.                                     SIMMS                         That's why I asked you to come here.                          Just so you knew that.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. HOT DOG VENDOR STREET - DUSK               Rodriguez and Divinci walk down the street, hot dogs in hand,                returning to their car parked curbside.                                     DIVINCI                         He didn't have backup. You believe                          that?! Jesus what a dick.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I don't think we should criticize                          that particular decision of his.                                     DIVINCI                         I don't care what the reasons are,                          you don't play Lone Fuckin' Ranger                          on a drug buy. You're just askin'                          for it. That's all I'm sayin'.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I don't trust those bastards. They're                          not waitin' for us. That's bullshit.                          They're runnin' their own                          investigation. I know it!                                     DIVINCI                         Let 'em. The gun, the coke came from                          evidence. The car came from impound.                          So what's to find?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         That's what I'm afraid of. There's                          nothing for them to find. We were                          too good.                                     DIVINCI                         So what're you worried about?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Nobody is that fuckin' good.               Divinci looks at Rodriguez, then smiles.                                     DIVINCI                         Except us.                                                                    CUT TO:               STRIPPER - INT. STRIP JOINT - NIGHT               bumping and grinding her way through her performance. We                don't see her face yet. Just her body. G-string and skin                tight tank top. LOUD MUSIC. MEN in the audience appreciative.                The room is smoky. LIGHTS swirl over the stage. The tank top                comes off. WHISTLES and CHEERS. And now we see the dancer --                it's CYNTHIA.               INT. HALLWAY - BACK STAGE - NIGHT               Cynthia moves down the hall in her g-string and high heels.                She enters the dressing room.               INT. DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT               Divinci is sitting in the only chair in the cramped little                room. He's going through her purse. Cynthia stops when she                sees him, then shuts the door.                                     CYNTHIA                         I think this is breaking and entering,                          isn't it?                                     DIVINCI                         I work homicide, I don't deal with                          that shit.                                     CYNTHIA                              (puts on robe)                         Learn anything you didn't already                          have on file?                                     DIVINCI                         Yeah. You surprise me sometimes.                          Here I think you're just a hard case                          and I discover you've got a heart of                          gold.                              (holds up her drivers                               license)                         You're an organ donor. That's really                          nice. The only problem is, they'll                          never use your best parts.                                     CYNTHIA                         I'll make sure you get them.                                     DIVINCI                         Hey, don't get me wrong. I was just                          surprised that we had something in                          common... Besides what we have in                          common.                                     CYNTHIA                         Do everybody a favor, if you're gonna                          donate your heart, make sure it goes                          to science. Most people want one                          that beats.                                     DIVINCI                         Cynthia... pretty name. What do the                          first three letters spell?                                     CYNTHIA                         Don't get so clever. It's out of                          character.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. CYNTHIA'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - NIGHT               Divinci and Cynthia are lying in bed. Divinci has his arm                around her, but he's staring at the ceiling.                                     CYNTHIA                         What's so interesting up there?                                     DIVINCI                         Nothing.                                     CYNTHIA                         Then why's it got all your attention?                                     DIVINCI                         I'm thinkin', that's all.                                     CYNTHIA                         About us?                                     DIVINCI                         No.                                     CYNTHIA                         Good.               Divinci looks at Cynthia.                                     DIVINCI                         What if I was thinkin' about us?                                     CYNTHIA                         Don't waste your time.                                     DIVINCI                         What if I was?                                     CYNTHIA                         Where's it gonna get us?                                     DIVINCI                         Maybe I got plans.                                     CYNTHIA                         I don't wanna hear 'em. Plans just                          make you think somethin's gonna get                          better. I'm fine now. I don't need                          to get screwed up waitin' for                          something good to happen.                                     DIVINCI                         I just want you to know, love is                          important to me.                                     CYNTHIA                         Me, too.                                     DIVINCI                         But more important is loyalty. Nothing                          is more important than that. Not                          love, not anything. Because loyalty                          is about respect. You can talk about                          love all you want, but without respect                          it's empty. I mean the first thing                          that goes in a marriage is respect.                          And once it's gone, forget the love.                          So I am telling you, I am loyal to                          you. Like I'm loyal to my partner.                          We are closer than blood. And I trust                          him with my life.               Cynthia didn't really expect this from Divinci. She's                actually, despite herself, a little touched.                                     CYNTHIA                         Why're you telling me this?                                     DIVINCI                         When you asked if I was thinkin'                          about us and I said I wasn't, I just                          want you to know that I do.               A beat, then --                                     CYNTHIA                         Just don't ask me to marry you.                                     DIVINCI                              (smiles)                         Why aren't more women like you?               Divinci leans in and they kiss.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. CYNTHIA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               Divinci exits the building. Starts to cross the street to                his car parked on the opposite side when he HEARS SOMETHING                BEHIND him. He turns, instantly reaching for his pistol.               A drunk staggers out of the alley -- looks like he has a gun                in his hand.               Divinci instinctively raises his gun to shoot when --               THE LIGHT -- catches the object in the drunk's hand -- a                BROWN BOTTLE, the neck sticking ahead like the barrel of a                gun.                                     DIVINCI                              (lowers gun)                         You fuckin' idiot.               The drunk stops when he hears the voice. Looks through his                matted greasy hair that cascades in front of his eyes. Now                we recognize Joe.               Divinci turns away, disgusted. Opens his car door, then stops.                Caught in a thought. He turns back and looks at Joe again.               EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT               Joe stumbles back into the DARKNESS OF THE ALLEY. Lies down                next to a trash bin. LIGHTS suddenly illuminate Joe. Joe                squints as a CAR moves right up to him. Joe shields the light                with an arm.               We HEAR the DOOR OPEN and CLOSE, then Divinci bends down                into the LIGHT. He is wearing a BASEBALL CAP backwards on                his head. And GLOVES on his hands. He reaches inside Joe's                JACKET POCKET.                                     DIVINCI                         What've we got here?               He pulls out the Smith and Wesson .44. Divinci looks at Joe.                                     DIVINCI                         Where were you last Friday night?               Confused, Joe looks up at Divinci through matted hair.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. CAR - DRIVING - NIGHT (EARLY MORNING)               Divinci drives. Joe up front. In an alcoholic daze.                                     DIVINCI'S VOICE                         What's your name?               Joe looks at Divinci. Having trouble focusing.                                     DIVINCI                         Your name, what's your name?                                     WILLIAM                         ...Joe...                                     DIVINCI                         Where'd you get the gun, Joe?               Joe looks down at his hands -- he's holding the .44.                                     DIVINCI                         It was in your pocket, Joe, your                          coat pocket. You must keep it for                          protection, right?                                     WILLIAM                         I don't know.                                     DIVINCI                         Sure you do, Joe. Everybody needs                          protection. Especially a guy like                          you lives on the street, right?               Joe just stares at the gun.                                     DIVINCI                         Put it back in your pocket, Joe. You                          don't have to worry about me, I'm                          not gonna hurt you.               Joe puts the gun into his jacket pocket.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREET - EARLY MORNING               The LOCATION of HUDD'S MURDER. The street is empty. Quiet.                Divinci stops his car next to where Hudd died.               INT. DIVINCI'S CAR - EARLY MORNING               Joe is asleep, leaning against the window. Divinci reaches                across and yanks him.                                     DIVINCI                         Wake up, Joe! I want you to look at                          something. Out the window, Joe. Look                          out the window.               Joe's eyes open. Divinci forces his head to the window.                                     DIVINCI                         This is where it happened, Joe. I                          want you to remember it. This is                          where you killed him               Joe tries to turn to Divinci, but Divinci holds his head.                                     DIVINCI                         You remember it now? How you shot                          him through the head? You remember                          it?                                     WILLIAM                         I... don't...                                     DIVINCI                              (lets go of Joe)                         You will.               Divinci slams his foot down on the accelerator and --               THE CAR               -- tears off down the street.                                                                    CUT TO:               RODRIGUEZ - INT. BEDROOM - EARLY MORNING               asleep. Alone in a double bed. The PHONE RINGS. Rodriguez                startles awake. Catches the phone on the second ring.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Who the hell is this?               INTERCUT WITH DIVINCI - INT. MOTEL ROOM - EARLY MORNING               Divinci on the phone in the f.g. Joe is passed out on the                bed in the b.g. The room is dark.                                     DIVINCI                         Is that any way to answer the phone?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Divinci, shit! It's quarter to six.                                     DIVINCI                         I know what time it is, I'm not the                          one in bed. I need the photos of the                          scene.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Now?                                     DIVINCI                         I got a suspect. But he can't remember                          all the details. He needs a little                          help. And I thought, since you're my                          partner, you might jump at the                          opportunity to lend me a fuckin'                          hand.               Rodriguez sits up in bed.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         He doesn't remember last Friday?                                     DIVINCI                         He doesn't remember a lotta Fridays.                          Bring the shots and pick up a fifth                          of Vodka.                              (glances at Joe)                         Make it two.                                                                    CUT TO:               JOE - INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY               asleep on the bed.                                     DIVINCI                         Time to get up, Joe.               Divinci slaps him. Joe's eyes open.                                     DIVINCI                         I want you to look at something.               The room is still dark. Curtains drawn. We now see Rodriguez.                He's wearing a black sock cap and gloves. He hands Divinci                POLICE PHOTOGRAPHS of the car, the street, the victim -- the                murder scene. Divinci pulls Joe into a sitting position.                                     DIVINCI                         There's the guy and the street and                          the car. You remember how you shot                          him.               Joe stares at the photographs and starts to shake his head.                                     DIVINCI                         You don't remember? That's not what                          you told me last night.               Joe is confused.                                     DIVINCI                         If you remember you can have a drink.               Joe looks at the bottle Rodriguez holds out to him.                                     DIVINCI                         But you gotta remember how you saw                          him driving toward you and you were                          in the street and you were afraid he                          was going to hit you so you had to                          shoot to protect yourself. You                          remember now don't you?               Joe stares at the photographs for a moment, then nods.                                     DIVINCI                         And where's your gun, Joe, where do                          you keep your gun?               Joe thinks a moment, then reaches into his coat pocket and                pulls out the .44. Divinci hands Joe the bottle and Joe                drinks. We PUSH IN on the BOTTLE OF VODKA as the liquid drains                away and we CLOSE IN TIGHT until we can SEE LIONEL HUDD'S                FACE as we --                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               CLOSE UP - THE PHOTOGRAPHS               Hudd dead. Blood on the windows. The street. Joe is drunk                again. In a haze. Starts to lift the bottle. Rodriguez pulls                it away. Rodriguez and Divinci always stay behind Joe.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Why'd you kill him?                                     WILLIAM                         I... don't know...                                     RODRIGUEZ                         It was your gun.                                     WILLIAM                         ...I don't have a gun.                                     DIVINCI                         Yes you do. In your pocket.                                     WILLIAM                         ...I'm tired.                                     DIVINCI                         I know, Joe, it's tough to remember                          things you don't wanna remember.                          What about your last name, Joe. You                          got a last name?               Joe looks up as if trying to remember. Or trying not to.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Come on, Joe, everybody's got a last                          name.                                     WILLIAM                         I don't remember.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Don't fuck with us, Joe. We're trying                          to help you. What's your last goddamn                          name?               Joe shakes his head.                                     WILLIAM                         I don't know.               Rodriguez suddenly smacks Joe on the side of the head when                he tries to look back. Joe is surprised by the blow. Divinci                pushes Rodriguez back. Shakes his head telling him to back                off.                                     DIVINCI                              (to Joe; friendly)                         Come on, we're all tired here, Joe.                          Just give us your last name.                                     WILLIAM                         I don't remember.                                     DIVINCI                         ...Okay, fine, what's in a name? But                          you remember the gun, right, in your                          pocket.               Joe nods.                                     DIVINCI                         And you remember that you told me                          you thought he was going to hit you,                          right? That's why you shot...                                     WILLIAM                         ...Yeah.               Divinci looks at Rodriguez. Rodriguez nods.                                     DIVINCI                         How'd it happen, Joe, tell me how it                          happened.                              (prompting)                         You saw him driving toward you --                                     WILLIAM                         -- I saw him driving toward me --                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. CAR - NIGHT - LIONEL HUDD               driving. The night that he was shot. He looks ahead into the                darkness of the street. Suddenly he SEES --               EXT. STREET - NIGHT               A MAN standing in the street ahead of him.               HUDD - INT. CAR - NIGHT               smiles and turns toward the man in the street.               A .44               is pulled from a jacket pocket, lifted toward the APPROACHING                CAR. The gun is in the hands of Joe. He is scared. The                HEADLIGHTS COMING RIGHT AT HIM. He aims and FIRES the gun.               THE FRONT WINDOW               SHATTERS. And the car swerves to the curb.               EXT. STREET - NIGHT               Joe watches from the street, then looks at the .44 in his                hand.               BACK INSIDE THE MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT               Rodriguez leans into Joe who is now sitting on the edge of                the bed, looking down at the .44 in his hand.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Then what did you do?               EXT. STREET - NIGHT               Joe is in the street again. He doesn't know what he did.               BACK INSIDE THE MOTEL ROOM               Divinci leans close to Joe from behind now.                                     DIVINCI                         You ran.               And now Joe can imagine it. We PUSH INTO JOE'S EYES.               BACK TO THE STREET               as Joe turns and runs. As fast as he can away from the death.                He looks back over his shoulder, scared.                                     JOE'S VOICE                         I didn't mean to...               BACK INSIDE THE MOTEL ROOM               Joe is staring at the gun. Divinci and Rodriguez watch him.                                     WILLIAM                         He was going to hit me... I was                          scared... he was going to hit me.               Rodriguez looks at Divinci.                                     DIVINCI                         That's why you shot him.                                     WILLIAM                         That's why I...               JOE - BACK ON THE STREET - NIGHT               AIMS the gun again at the APPROACHING CAR.                                     JOE'S VOICE                         ...shot him.               And we HEAR the GUN SHOT AGAIN, shattering the silence as we --                                                                    CUT TO:               THE SMOKING .44 - INT. ABANDONED WAREHOUSE - DAY               held by Joe's hand, which is held by Divinci's gloved hand.                Divinci has held Joe's finger on the trigger and pulled it.               The gunshot is deadened in the old building. Joe is lying in                the back seat of a car, passed out, with Divinci holding the                .44 in his hand. The back door is open. The engine is running.                                     DIVINCI                         Helluva nice shot, Joe.               Divinci pulls the 44. out of Joe's hand, then shuts the door,                gets into the front. The car pulls away, exiting the                warehouse.               HAND - INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - POLICE STATION - DAY               signing a name at the bottom of a paper -- Joe. Beneath it                is the type written name: JOE DOE. We PULL BACK and see it's                Joe signing a typewritten page as Divinci and Rodriguez watch.                Joe is a mess. When he finishes he pushes the paper away and                puts his head down on the table. Divinci picks up the paper                and we --                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. CYNTHIA'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY               A small yellow Toyota with a bashed up left fender pulls to                the curb. Cynthia gets out lugging her purse and a bag of                groceries. We HEAR ANOTHER CAR DOOR SHUT. She turns. Divinci                is walking across the street from his car toward her.                                     CYNTHIA                         It's the middle of the day.               Divinci gives her a look as he takes the grocery bag from                her.                                     DIVINCI                         Just talk.                                     CYNTHIA                         Since when?               Divinci leads the way into the apartment building.               INT. CYNTHIA'S APARTMENT - DAY               Cynthia opens the door, pulls the key out of the lock as                Divinci enters behind her with the groceries.                                     DIVINCI                         I need you to do something.                                     CYNTHIA                         Good, I need the money.               She shuts the door. Divinci deposits the bag on the table.                Cynthia picks it up, moves into the kitchen.                                     DIVINCI                         This isn't a deal. Where you goin'?                                     CYNTHIA                         I got perishables, okay?               Cynthia enters the kitchen and Divinci follows. Cynthia starts                unloading the groceries, putting the milk, eggs, etc. into                the refrigerator.                                     DIVINCI                         The guy we did the last deal with is                          dead.               Cynthia turns suddenly.                                     CYNTHIA                         What?                                     DIVINCI                         Somebody popped him that night,                          probably when he tried to unload the                          stuff. I don't know.                                     CYNTHIA                         Jesus, does anybody --                                     DIVINCI                         -- Don't worry, there's no connection.                          We got the guy who did it.               Cynthia breathes a sigh of relief.                                     CYNTHIA                         You scared the hell outa me.                                     DIVINCI                         We just need you to do one thing.                                     CYNTHIA                         ...What?                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. POLICE STATION - DAY               Divinci and Rodriguez are moving down a hallway with Cynthia.                She's nervous. Wants very much not to be here.                                     DIVINCI                         He'll be third from the left. Don't                          fuck up. Third from the left.                                     CYNTHIA                         What'm I supposed to say?                                     DIVINCI                         Just look at 'em and then look at                          the man the third from the left and                          say, It's him.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         And I'll say, Are you sure?                                     DIVINCI                         And you say, Absolutely. No question.                                     CYNTHIA                         This is all I need to do right?                                     DIVINCI                         We have a signed confession. You                          i.d. him, he's goin' straight into                          the can.                                     CYNTHIA                         Okay, okay. But this is it. I'm not                          doin' anything more than this.                                     DIVINCI                         Hey, it's a done deal.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. POLICE LINEUP ROOM - DAY               ROWS of seats face a small platform. The LINEUP WALL is                striped with horizontal lines with HEIGHT NUMBERS. The                brightly lighted lineup is separated from the gallery, which                is in the dark.               UNIFORMED GUARDS are on hand to make sure there is no                discussion, verbal or otherwise, between accused and witness.                SIX MEN file onto the platform. All shady characters.                                     A VOICE                         Stop and face front.               The six men obey. A couple keep their heads down. The others                squint from the bright lights.                                     THE VOICE                         Lift your heads, look straight.               Heads are lifted. Eyes front. But we only recognize one of                them, standing third from the left. It's Joe.               Divinci, Rodriguez and Cynthia are in the gallery.                                     DIVINCI                         Take your time. Try and remember his                          face.               Cynthia counts three from the left and... wait a minute. She                looks more closely. Just to be sure. Rodriguez and Divinci                watch her. She's obviously putting on a good show. Then she                turns to Divinci, sitting next to her and whispers --                                     CYNTHIA                         I know him.               Divinci is caught a little of guard -- he didn't expect a                private conversation, nor does he want one for fear of it                looking like he's coaching her.                                     DIVINCI                         If you can identify the man --                                     CYNTHIA                              (whisper)                         I know him.                                     DIVINCI                         Just tell us which one.               Cynthia, frustrated, gives Divinci a look.                                     CYNTHIA                         No. I fucking know him.               Divinci still isn't sure what's gotten into her. Rodriguez                looks over, a little annoyed.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What's the problem?                                     DIVINCI                         There's no problem!                              (to Cynthia; pointedly)                         Do you see him up there?!                                     CYNTHIA                              (aside)                         You don't understand.               Divinci is losing his patience. He doesn't want to blow the                whole thing now, not in front of guards and police personnel.                The Guards are beginning to wonder what the hell's going on.                So are the MEN in the line.                                     ONE OF THE MEN                         Hey, come on, do it or don't!                                     THE VOICE                         No talking.               Divinci leans in close to her. We can HEAR GRUMBLING from                the men on the platform.                                     DIVINCI                         Pick the asshole out!               Cynthia starts to protest again, but she suddenly feels                Divinci's hand grip her arm. He's had enough. Cynthia gets                the message. And while keeping her eyes locked on Divinci                she says --                                     CYNTHIA                         Third man from the left.               JOE               squints against the harsh light, trying to see into the room,                as if he recognized the voice.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HALLWAY - POLICE STATION - OUTSIDE THE LINEUP ROOM -                DAY               Rodriguez, Divinci and Cynthia move briskly down the hall.                None happy about what just happened. The conversation is                strained.                                     DIVINCI                         You mind telling me what that was                          all about?!                                     CYNTHIA                         I know him. He hangs around my                          building. He lives in the alley or                          something.               Rodriguez looks at Divinci. Is this a problem?                                     DIVINCI                         You don't think people that hang                          around your neighborhood can kill                          somebody. Well let me tell you                          something. You don't live in a great                          fuckin' neighborhood.               Divinci pulls a paper from his pocket.                                     DIVINCI                         Just sign the goddamn paper.                                     CYNTHIA                         What paper?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         You picked a man out of a lineup,                          you have to sign that you did that                          so they don't think we made it up.               Cynthia just stares at Rodriguez for a beat, then --                                     CYNTHIA                         Now why the hell would they think                          something like that?                                     DIVINCI                         Sign it.                                     CYNTHIA                         You said all I had to do was pick                          him out.                                     DIVINCI                         This is part of it. Just sign it and                          you're done.                                     CYNTHIA                         How come you're so sure it was him?               Rodriguez rolls his eyes.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Jesus Christ!                                     DIVINCI                         He confessed.                                     CYNTHIA                         Bullshit.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We got it in writing.                                     CYNTHIA                         He didn't do it.                                     DIVINCI                         How the hell d'you know that? Were                          you with him at the time?! You have                          a good goddamn alibi for him?!                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Maybe she was blowing him!                                     CYNTHIA                         Better him than you.               Rodriguez grabs her arm and pushes her against the wall.                Divinci looks around quickly to see who's watching.                                     DIVINCI                         Take it easy.               Rodriguez angrily throws up his hands and glares at Divinci.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Fine, I got nothin' at stake here.               Divinci gives him a look, then leans right up next to Cynthia.                                     DIVINCI                         This is what they call an open and                          shut case. He did the kill and he's                          going down. Don't make the mistake                          of thinking you know the right thing                          to do.               Divinci holds out the paper. Cynthia hesitates a beat, then                takes it and signs her name.                                                                    CUT TO:               JOE - CLOSE SHOT - MUG SHOTS               holding a number. The SCENE FADES WHITE with the FLASH.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               CELL DOOR - INT. JAIL - DAY               closing on Joe who is standing in the small CELL, facing the                wall, his back to us. The door is locked and we --                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVIDENCE ROOM - DAY               as the .44 is placed on a shelf. But this time it's tagged                with a different number. M5114000.                                                                    CUT TO:               THE SIGNED CONFESSION - INT. CAPT. HENDERSON'S OFFICE - DAY               as Agent Simms reads through it to the end.                                     SIMMS                         Doe?               Simms looks across at Rodriguez and Divinci. Capt. Henderson                and TWO OTHER DEA AGENTS (HOOPER and SARKASIAN) are also                present. The DEA are in suits and ties.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         He wouldn't give us his last name.                                     SIMMS                         He signed a confession but he wouldn't                          give you his last name?                                     DIVINCI                         He said he couldn't remember it.                              (points to his head)                         He's a head case.                                     AGENT HOOPER                         You run prints?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         No priors.                                     AGENT SARKASIAN                         Ballistics match?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We're waiting. But a forty-four was                          used in commission. He had a forty-                         four on him.                                     AGENT HOOPER                         It went down pretty quick.                                     DIVINCI                         It's our street.                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         I think they did a helluva job.               Suddenly Simms slams his hand down on the desk.                                     SIMMS                         Goddammit!               Everyone turns to Simms. He's angry. Rodriguez is uneasy.                                     SIMMS                         Some goddamn piece a shit blows him                          away for NOTHING!               The intensity of Simms anger quiets everybody. A beat as                Simms regains his composure.                                     SIMMS                         I'm sorry. Hudd was too good for                          this to happen... I just didn't think                          he'd go down this way.               Simms crosses the room to Divinci and Rodriguez.                                     SIMMS                         Good work. Thanks.               He shakes their hands. Then exits. Hooper and Sarkasian follow                their boss out the door. Rodriguez, Divinci and Henderson                exchange a look.                                     CAPT. HENDERSON                         Do me a favor. Make sure this one                          sticks. I don't want the D.E.Assholes                          back in here.                                                                    CUT TO:               HEADLIGHTS (B&W)               coming right at us. Closer and closer. Filling the screen.               FLAMES BURST (COLOR)               from the barrel of a .44 in SLOW MOTION -- a FIREBALL. The                GUNSHOT is deafening, like thunder.               GLASS               SHATTERS in SLOW MOTION.               JOE               covers his face with his hands to protect himself from the                glass. But there is no glass. Joe is sweating, detoxing.                Wild eyed. He looks through his fingers, but there is no                street, no dead man. Just the BARS of his CELL.                                                                    CUT TO:               GLASS OF WHISKEY - INT. CYNTHIA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               golden liquid caressing the ice. A hand lifts the glass to                red lips. The liquid disappears. Cynthia lowers the glass,                staring at it.                                     DIVINCI'S VOICE (FILTERED)                         Cynthia... pretty name. What do the                          first three letters spell?               Cynthia suddenly hurls the glass across the room.               THE GLASS - SLOW MOTIONS               shatters against the wall. And bits of glass, edges sharp                tumble through space like ice.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. POLICE JAIL - CELLBLOCK HALLWAY - DAY               A GUARD leads a MAN in a dark suit and striped tie down the                corridor. He carries a briefcase. Short hair and a beard and                wire-rimmed glasses. His name is ELLIOT GOFF.                                     GUARD                         Word is he killed a DEA undercover...                              (no response)                         Word is he shot him in the face...                              (no response)                         Word is he signed a confession.                                     ELLIOT                         Word is everyone's entitled to a                          defense... no matter how guilty they                          are.               They stop at the cell block door. The guard unlocks the door.                INSIDE THE CELL we can see Joe on the floor in fetal position.                Shaking from lack of alcohol.                                     ELLIOT                         Oh shit.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. INFIRMARY - DAY               Elliot waits in the hall. Fingers impatiently drumming his                briefcase. The door opens and a DOCTOR exits the room.                                     DOCTOR                         He's detoxing. I gave him something                          to help him through it.                                     ELLIOT                         Can I talk to him?               The doctor nods, opens the door. Elliot enters.               INT. INFIRMARY - DAY               Basic first aid station. Joe is on a table. Eyes closed.                Elliot walks up. Doctor behind him.                                     ELLIOT                         Joe, can you hear me?               Joe's eyes open.                                     ELLIOT                         I'm Elliot Goff. I'm your attorney...                          Do you understand what I'm saying?               Joe's eyes close. Leaving Elliot in the dark.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. SMALL COURTROOM - DAY               Court is in session. Old metropolitan courthouse. The                PROSECUTOR and his TEAM are at one table. The DEFENSE ATTORNEY                and his CLIENT are at the other.               The Prosecutor is a woman. Her name is HELEN EDEN. She is                thirty-nine. She wears a business suit. RICHARD STEIN is her                second in command. Richard is thirty-three.               The DEFENSE ATTORNEY is fifty and a little on the portly                side. His name is JOHN OBLINGER.               But it's the DEFENDANT that really attracts our attention.                His name is CLYDE D. DUNNER. He's done his best to look like                a law abiding citizen, but no matter what kind of clothes he                wears or how he slicks down his long hair or trims his                mustache, this sonuvabitch looks like he'd kill for a nickel.                He's on trial for murder. In the first. What a surprise.               We are in the midst of opening statements. And Helen is                keeping the JURY riveted. The presiding Judge is a WOMAN,                JUDGE WEINBERG.                                     HELEN                         -- when the defendant, Clyde Dunner,                          entered the house of George and Carol                          Beaman on Friday night, a .44 caliber                          pistol in his hand. He entered the                          house with one thing in mind. To                          kill George and Carol, the people he                          blamed for the break up of his                          marriage to Carol's sister, Paula.               The defendant is hardly listening. His attention is on TWO                MEN SITTING BEHIND the prosecution table. And he turns to                glare at them. The two men are DETECTIVES RODRIGUEZ and                DIVINCI.               Clyde glares at them as if he'd like to get up right now,                walk over to them and cut off their heads. Actually, that's                what he's thinking. He mouths "You die."               Divinci mouths back. "Fuck you, prick, asshole, dickhead."                Then he smiles. Clyde boils.                                     HELEN                         George and Carol were watching a                          movie when he entered the living                          room and opened fire. George was                          killed instantly, hit in the face.                          Carol died later of three bullet                          wounds to her chest.               John Oblinger, his attorney, catches Clyde's murderous look                and instructs him, with a point of his hand, to pay attention                to Helen. Clyde reluctantly turns his gaze from Divinci.                                     HELEN                         Then the defendant, in his effort to                          cover up the crime, doused them with                          lighter fluid and set the house on                          fire... Carol was still alive.               A YOUNG MAN, looking very upset, enters the courtroom, shows                i.d. to a GUARD, then makes his way down the aisle. He tries                his best to be quiet, not to interrupt Helen's statement.                                     HELEN                         Ladies and gentlemen of the jury we                          will prove to you, beyond any                          reasonable doubt, that the defendant,                          Clyde David Dunner, is guilty of two                          counts of murder in the first degree.               Helen looks at the jury for a beat, then returns to her table.                                     JUDGE WEINBERG                         The defense may now proceed.               John Oblinger stands to present his side of the case. But                our attention stays with Helen as she approaches the table                to find her team in an upset. Their conversation is a tense                whisper.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         -- Jesus Christ!                                     YOUNG MAN                         -- I don't know where?                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Are you sure?                                     YOUNG MAN                         They looked all over --                                     HELEN                         What's wrong?                                     RICHARD STEIN                         They can't find the murder weapon.                                     HELEN                         What're you talking about?                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Dunner's .44. They can't find the                          goddamn gun!                                     YOUNG MAN                         They lost it or something. Misplaced                          it, I don't know. They can't find it                          anywhere.                                     HELEN                              (no whisper this time)                         What?!               A pause in the court. The judge taps his gavel in anger as                we --                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HELEN'S OFFICE - DAY               Rodriguez, Divinci, Richard Stein, the young man and Helen.                Helen is furious.                                     HELEN                         -- I don't have a goddamn case without                          the goddamn gun. His fingerprints,                          the ballistics, everything! I have                          to have the fucking gun or he's gonna                          walk. That murdering piece of filth                          will go free without the .44. How                          could they lose it?!               Rodriguez and Divinci exchange a look.                                                                    CUT TO:               RODRIGUEZ AND DIVINCI - EXT. COURTROOM - DAY               walking quickly down the steps.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         The Dunner gun, you used the fucking                          Dunner gun?!                                     DIVINCI                         This is not my fuck up! Our shooting                          was supposed to be gang-related and                          unsolved! Only because we tagged a                          goddamn undercover cop do we need                          the fucking .44 for evidence!                          Otherwise, we never woulda needed                          it. So don't point your finger at                          me!                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Alright, alright... But how are we                          supposed to explain how the same gun                          was used in two murder cases by two                          different killers when it was supposed                          to be in police custody?!                                     DIVINCI                         We don't explain it. It's not our                          fault they lost the evidence.                          Ballistics are already complete in                          Dunner's case. All we need is another                          gun.                                                                    CUT TO:               BRIEFCASE - ALLEY - DAY               as it opens, revealing a DOZEN different HANDGUNS.                                     THE GUN SELLER                         All my merchandise is in top                          condition. Untraceable. The best                          money can buy.               A BLACK MAN in a three piece suit, picks up the .44 with a                GLOVED HAND. His accent is British.                                     THE GUN SELLER                         It's got good knock down, but it's                          slow. Unless you have a preference                          for revolvers, I suggest a nine                          millimeter auto. They are more                          expensive, but what they cost in                          money, they save in time.               Rodriguez and Divinci look down at the gun.                                     DIVINCI                         The .44.               The gun seller eyes them for a moment.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What?                                     THE GUN SELLER                         You look like police.               Divinci and Rodriguez stare at the gun seller. Then he smiles.                                     THE GUN SELLER                         No offense.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVIDENCE ROOM - DAY               as the NEW .44 goes onto the shelf. CASE NUMBER C-549087.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. JAIL - INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY               Elliot is waiting, sitting at a table, staring at papers in                his open briefcase. Door opens and a GUARD leads Joe into                the room. Joe looks better, for the first time. His hair is                combed. And he's clean. He wears jail blues. But he is a                little gaunt. And tired. Elliot stands. The guard shuts the                door, leaving them alone.                                     ELLIOT                         Joe, I'm Elliot, we met the other...                          well, you weren't in very good shape.                          You look much better.               Joe just stares at Elliot.                                     ELLIOT                         Have a chair. We need to talk.                                     WILLIAM                         About what I did.                                     ELLIOT                         Yes.               Joe crosses to the table and takes a chair opposite Elliot.                                     ELLIOT                         Joe, before we get into what happened                          that night, I'd like to check a couple                          of things first.                              (looks at papers)                         Joe is your first name, I assume                          Joseph?                                     WILLIAM                         Okay.               Okay? Not the answer Elliot was looking for.                                     ELLIOT                         What about Doe? Is that what you                          told the officers your last name                          was?                                     WILLIAM                         I don't think so.                                     ELLIOT                         What did you tell them your last                          name was?                                     WILLIAM                         I don't remember.                                     ELLIOT                         Well, is Doe your last name?                                     WILLIAM                         I'm not sure.               Elliot stares at Joe. This is going to be a little more                difficult than he thought.                                     ELLIOT                         Do you know what your last name is?                                     WILLIAM                         I don't remember.                                     ELLIOT                         Joe, I'm your attorney, I'm here to                          help you. It doesn't matter if you                          give the court your last name or                          not, they will still put you on trial.                          Do you understand?                                     WILLIAM                         Yes.                                     ELLIOT                         So there's no reason to try and hide                          your identity.                              (Joe nods)                         What is your last name?                                     WILLIAM                         I would tell you if I could remember.                                     ELLIOT                         Joe Smith, Joe Jones, Joe DiMaggio...               Elliot hopes he can trigger a response. Joe tries hard.                                     WILLIAM                         ...I don't think so.                                     ELLIOT                         Okay. Look, we'll move on. You                          understand the charges against you.                          They're serious. And if you are found                          guilty, you could go to prison for a                          very long time.                                     WILLIAM                         Maybe I should.                                     ELLIOT                         What?                                     WILLIAM                         Go to prison. I killed him. I didn't                          mean to. But he was going to hit me.                                     ELLIOT                         Yes, I know, I read your confession.                          Joe, if you really felt your life                          was in danger, we might be able to                          use self-defense as our argument.                          But before we get into that... Do                          you have any family, Joe? Any friends?                                     WILLIAM                         I don't think so.                                     ELLIOT                         Joe... do you know what a psychiatrist                          is?                                     WILLIAM                         Yes.                                     ELLIOT                         Have you ever seen a psychiatrist?                                     WILLIAM                         ...I'm not sure.                                     ELLIOT                         Joe, you don't remember much about                          yourself.                                     WILLIAM                         No.                                     ELLIOT                         ...but you remember the night you                          shot the man in the car.                                     WILLIAM                         Yes.                                     ELLIOT                         Why?                                     WILLIAM                         ...because... I can... I'm sorry,                          I'm not much help.               Elliot stares at Joe, then looks down at the blank page in                front of him.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. SMALL COURTROOM - DAY               The trial of Clyde D. Dunner in progress. Prosecution team                at their table. Defense team at their table. JUDGE WEINBERG                at the bench. Divinci on the stand. Clyde glaring at him.                And Jury listening to Helen on the floor, prosecuting with                vigor.                                     HELEN                         -- and when you approached the suspect                          in his apartment, did you identify                          yourself as a police officer?                                     DIVINCI                         Yes.                                     HELEN                         Did the suspect respond?                                     DIVINCI                         Yes, he did?                                     HELEN                         In what way?                                     DIVINCI                         He started shooting through the door.                                     HELEN                         The Defendant fired six times, until                          his gun was empty. We would like to                          show you the weapon he used.               Helen crosses to the prosecution table, picks up the .44.                She holds it up for the jury to see.                                     HELEN                         And we would like to enter it into                          court records. It was the same Smith                          and Wesson revolver he used to                          viciously murder George and Carol                          Beaman.               The .44 is duly entered into the records.               CLYDE               glances at "his" .44 as it passes into the BAILIFF'S HANDS.                It's a .44 all right.                                     HELEN                         The prosecution would like to call                          Mr. Steven J. Allen to the stand.                                     BAILIFF                         Steven J. Allen.               STEVEN J. ALLEN, a short balding bespectacled man in his                fifties, crosses to the witness box where he is sworn in,                then sits.                                     HELEN                         Mr. Allen, would tell the court what                          you do.                                     STEVEN J. ALLEN                         I am a lab technician for the police                          department. One of my duties is to                          examine weapons used in violent                          crimes.               Clyde's attention is on Helen's LEGS. He's bored by the                proceedings, but something suddenly strikes him. He looks at --               THE .44 SMITH AND WESSON               -- on the evidence table. There is no BLACK STAIN on the                handle.                                     STEVEN J. ALLEN                         I tested the defendant's revolver                          and matched the bullets fired to the                          bullets removed from the deceased.                                     CLYDE                         That ain't my gun.               All attention turns to Clyde. His attorney, the judge, the                jury, Helen, everybody is surprised by the sudden statement.                                     JUDGE WEINBERG                         I must remind the defendant that he                          is not to speak out when --                                     CLYDE                         That ain't my gun!               The Judge taps her gavel. John Oblinger puts a hand on Clyde's                arm. Clyde pulls it away. And now things happen very fast.                                     CLYDE                         THAT AIN'T MY FUCKIN' GUN!               And Clyde is moving toward the gun. And the Bailiff and GUARDS                are moving toward Clyde. And Helen is moving out of the way.                And the Judge is standing, banging her gavel. And the jury                is scared.                                     CLYDE                         YOU'RE TRYIN' TO FUCKIN' FRAME ME!               Clyde grabs for the gun as the bailiff and guards grab for                Clyde. Clyde turns and decks the bailiff and all hell breaks                lose.                                     CLYDE                         IT AIN'T MY FUCKIN' GUN!                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. MEN'S ROOM - DAY               Door slams open. Rodriguez and Divinci enter. Rodriguez                quickly checks all the stalls as Divinci closes the door.                They are alone. When Rodriguez finishes with the stalls --                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We gotta put the right gun back.                                     DIVINCI                         We can't put the right gun back!                          Without that gun, they won't convict                          Joe.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Without that gun they won't convict                          Clyde!                                     DIVINCI                         I'm not worried about Clyde, I'm                          worried about us!                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Look, Joe's never goin' to trial,                          right. He signed a goddamn confession!                          Like you said, this one is open and                          shut. Clyde's the one we gotta worry                          about. We can't let him go back on                          the street! He's a fuckin' psychopath.                          He'll kill somebody again.                                     DIVINCI                         Shit. How the hell did that piece of                          puke know it wasn't his fuckin' gun?!                          I don't think he knows his own fuckin'                          mother, but he knows his fuckin'                          gun!                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I don't think that's important right                          now.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. EVIDENCE ROOM - DAY               The harried Desk Officer is filling out his usual paper work                when Divinci and Rodriguez approach. Divinci knocks on the                door. The desk officer looks up. He's had a tough day.                                     DESK OFFICER                         Sorry, Divinci, can't do it.                                     DIVINCI                         What d'you mean you can't do it? I                          gotta check something.                                     DESK OFFICER                         You gotta get written permission                          from the Chief.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Since when?!                                     DESK OFFICER                         Since an hour ago when he came down                          here and chewed me a new asshole                          bigger than a three car garage.                                     DIVINCI                         What's the problem?                                     DESK OFFICER                         Something about missing evidence or                          who the hell knows. I just wanna                          transfer the hell outa here.                                     DIVINCI                         What the hell're we supposed to do?!                                     DESK OFFICER                         Ask the chief. Policy ain't my                          department!                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. SMALL COURTROOM - DAY               Joe's preliminary trial. Joe is seated at the defense table                with Elliot. ANOTHER JUDGE, JUDGE HAROLD PINE, is behind the                bench. No jury. This is a preliminary hearing to determine                if there's enough evidence for Joe to stand trail. Elliot is                shuffling papers in preparation for his opening.               And at the prosecution table is a very tired Helen. She looks                completely pissed off and worn out. In no mood for anything                to go wrong.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Whenever you're ready.               Elliot stands.                                     ELLIOT                         We would like to plead not guilty to                          the charge of murder at this time                          for reason of Insanity.               Helen gives Elliot a look. She doesn't need this.                                     WILLIAM                         But I did it.               Elliot turns to Joe.                                     ELLIOT                         Yes, Joe. Let me handle this.                                     WILLIAM                         But I signed the confession.                                     ELLIOT                         Yes, Joe. Don't worry about it. I'm                          the attorney.                                     HELEN                         Your honor, can we have a moment?                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Council may approach the bench.               Helen and Elliot cross to the bench.                                     HELEN                         Your honor, my colleague's client                          admits to the killing. I don't see                          any reason to go through a trial                          when it's obvious he would like to                          plead guilty.                                     ELLIOT                         I don't agree.                                     HELEN                         If he wants to plead guilty, you                          have to let him plead guilty.                                     ELLIOT                         Not if he's not of sound mind.                                     HELEN                         Come on, Elliot!                                     ELLIOT                         I think he's crazy. I know you think                          he's just putting it on, that's D.A.                          standard procedure, but I don't think                          he is. So, your honor, I'm standing                          by the not guilty because I believe                          he's incapable of making that                          judgment.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Have you had a psychiatrist look at                          him?                                     ELLIOT                         Yes, your honor.                              (hands him papers)                         I think you'll see that my diagnosis                          is not without warrant.               The judge hesitates, then looks at Joe. Joe is staring at                him.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         I'll review the findings and make my                          decision tomorrow.                                     ELLIOT                         Thank you, your honor.                              (to Helen)                         Besides, I hear there's a good chance                          of beating the charges for lack of                          evidence.               Helen's look turns icy.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. ETHNIC BAR/RESTAURANT - DAY               Dark, smoky. Not a place for the health-conscious. Rodriguez                and Divinci at a corner booth. Both with scotch and waters.                                     DIVINCI                         Nobody can connect us to the evidence                          thing... we're clean there.               Rodriguez is quiet.                                     DIVINCI                         The most important one is this DEA                          mess anyway. Once that's finished,                          we're completely in the clear.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         You know we can't do it anymore.                                     DIVINCI                         ...yeah, I guess.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         No, we're through. That's it.                                     DIVINCI                         Good while it lasted though. A hundred                          grand apiece. Not bad for a few nights                          work.               Divinci lifts his glass in a toast to himself, drinks.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I just wanna get through this.                                     DIVINCI                         We're gonna get through it. No                          evidence problems on this one.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I hope not... I don't know, Frank,                          lately I been thinkin'... maybe what                          we did wasn't such a good idea.                                     DIVINCI                         Hey, we took out a few scumbags,                          that's it. Nobody's ever gonna miss                          those shitheels. They were all pieces                          of garbage. Not one of 'em had a                          sheet less than a mile long. Drugs,                          extortion, assault. They were all                          fuckin' guilty as hell and still on                          the street, you know that.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Except the cop.                                     DIVINCI                         Yeah, except the cop. That's part of                          the job. Could just as easily have                          happened to you or me.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         But we're cops, you know? We fucked                          up.                                     DIVINCI                         We fucked up once. Once outa ten.                          That's not bad.                              (a beat)                         I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. He was                          in the wrong place at the wrong time,                          what can I say. I'm not goin' down                          for it.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I know.                                     DIVINCI                         Look, if we got paid a decent salary                          we wouldn't be tempted by this, right?                          And what happens when we retire? You                          think our pension's gonna take care                          of us? Shit no. We are on our own. I                          mean all I want in life is a goddamn                          fishing boat, a beach, a couple drinks                          and some Hawaiian fuckin' music.                          That ain't much for twenty years                          putting murdering assholes behind                          bars. I mean, the dealers, the pimps,                          the killers, they got no rules. We                          got all the fuckin' rules. It ain't                          fair. That's all I'm sayin', it ain't                          fair... For awhile, we made it fair.               Rodriguez downs his scotch.                                     DIVINCI                         Quit thinkin' you're a bad guy. You're                          not a fuckin' bad guy. You made one                          mistake. Let it go.               Rodriguez nods. A WAITRESS comes to the table. Rodriguez                orders another. The Waitress leaves. Rodriguez hesitates a                moment, then --                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Do you think we're corrupt?                                     DIVINCI                         Hey, I never took a fuckin' bribe in                          my life.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Me either.                                     DIVINCI                         Nobody ever bought me.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I know.                                     DIVINCI                         No fuckin' way. Even the thought                          makes me sick. And what we did has                          nothing to do with being corrupt.                          It's two completely different things.                          Don't get 'em confused.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I guess you're right.                                     DIVINCI                         I'm telling you. It's nothin' to do                          with corrupt.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I'm worried, that's all.                                     DIVINCI                         Hey, you gotta worry a little. It's                          natural. Just don't lose your sense                          of humor.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         My sense of humor, right.                                     DIVINCI                         The problem with people is, nobody                          gives a shit about makin' the world                          a better place. You and me, I don't                          care what anybody says, we made the                          world a better place. No matter what                          happens. There are ten less drug                          dealin' assholes on the street today                          because of us. They're not plea                          bargainin' their way back onto the                          street, they're not clogging up the                          courts, and they're not costing the                          tax payers a fuckin' penny because                          they're not in prison. They were                          garbage. And there's nothin' wrong                          with takin' out the garbage.               Divinci downs his scotch. Rodriguez nods, then --                                     RODRIGUEZ                         So, you think you'll get back with                          Caroline?                                     DIVINCI                         Shit. Nothin' I ever do is good                          enough, you know?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Never is, never was, never will be.                                     DIVINCI                         Guess I gotta make the effort. It's                          gonna cost me if I don't.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Tell me about it. You know how much                          I got left.                                     DIVINCI                         You're gonna think I'm an idiot,                          but... I like Cynthia. There's no                          bullshit with her. I just fuckin'                          like her.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I think you just like fuckin' her.               Rodriguez smiles. Divinci looks at him for a beat, then --                                     DIVINCI                         Yeah, that, too.                                                                    CUT TO:               NEWSPAPER - INT. CYNTHIA'S APARTMENT - DAY               with JOE'S PHOTOGRAPH on the front page. HEADLINE: UNDERCOVER                COP GUNNED DOWN BY UNDERCOVER KILLER. We PAN AROUND to                Cynthia, sitting in her kitchen, staring at the photograph.                                     CYNTHIA                         What the hell, Joe, at least you                          won't get run over.               She folds up the paper and throws it in the trash can.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. SMALL COURTROOM - DAY               The Dunner trial. The JURY is back. Helen, Judge Weinberg,                Clyde D. Dunner (who now sports a couple bandages to his                head), his attorney John Oblinger -- they're all waiting for                the verdict.                                     JUDGE WEINBERG                         The defendant will stand and face                          the jury.               Clyde stands.                                     JUDGE                         What is your verdict?                                     JURY FOREMAN                         We find the defendant, Clyde David                          Dunner, not guilty.               Helen closes her eyes in defeat. Clyde smiles.                                     CLYDE                         Fuckin' A!                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HOMICIDE DIVISION - DAY               Divinci is on the phone.                                     DIVINCI                         -- when was the last time you saw                          him? -- Uh-huh -- And you haven't                          seen him since then?               Rodriguez suddenly strides up. He looks panicked.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We gotta talk.                                     DIVINCI                              (into phone)                         Just a second.                              (covers phone)                         Calm down. I heard. Clyde walked.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         No!                              (leans in close)                         They're takin' Joe to trial.               Divinci stares at Rodriguez for a beat, the reality of his                statement taking a moment to fully slam home.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         They found him mentally unable to                          plead so his attorney pleaded not                          guilty by reason of insanity.                                     DIVINCI                         You gotta be kiddin' me.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Yeah, that's me, I love to make people                          laugh. You hear the one about the                          two cops who popped the undercover                          DEA?                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. STRIP JOINT - NIGHT               Cynthia on stage, in the middle of her routine. Hoots and                whistles from the all MALE CROWD. But she's not really into                her performance tonight. She pulls off the last of her                clothing to APPLAUSE and CHEERS.               INT. DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT               Cynthia enters. An ASIAN MAN in sweat shirt and jeans is                sitting in the room.                                     CYNTHIA                         Who the hell're you and what the                          fuck are you doing in here?!                              (calls down hall)                         HEY, BOB, I GOT AN ASSHOLE IN THE                          DRESSING ROOM.                              (to the man)                         I suggest you get out before Bob                          gets here. He doesn't like assholes.                                     ASIAN MAN                         You're Cynthia Webb.                                     CYNTHIA                              (calls down hall)                         BOB!               The Asian Man stands.                                     ASIAN MAN                         But you are Cynthia Webb the famous                          dancer, yes?                                     CYNTHIA                         Yeah, yeah, nice try, get out.               The man moves toward her, pulling a PAPER from his pocket.                He hands it to her.                                     ASIAN MAN                         I liked your show very much.                                     CYNTHIA                         What the hell's this?!               He exits. No answer. Cynthia stares at the paper --                                     CYNTHIA                         A subpoena?! For what?! I didn't do                          anything!               But the man is gone. BOB, a HUGE BOUNCER, tears past, giving                chase.                                     CYNTHIA                              (staring at paper)                         Oh shit... oh shit. He served me! He                          fuckin' served me!                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT               Dark, quiet. PHONE RINGS. A hand picks up the phone.                                     MAN'S VOICE                         Hello.                                     ANOTHER MAN'S VOICE                         Detective Divinci?                                     DIVINCI                         Yeah.                                     ANOTHER MAN'S VOICE                         This is Sergeant Gardner down at the                          station.               INTERCUT WITH SERGEANT - INT. HOMICIDE DIVISION - NIGHT               The station is alive with activity. Even at this early hour.                HOOKERS, PIMPS, PUSHERS, DRUNK DRIVERS. Some being booked,                some being released, some being obnoxious.                                     SERGEANT GARDNER                         Sorry to call so late, but I got a                          hysterical woman here says she needs                          to talk to you about a murder.               Divinci turns on the light revealing a WOMAN in bed with                him. He picks up his watch, looks at the time.                                     SERGEANT GARDNER                         I told her I couldn't call you at                          home, but she said that it was very                          important. A matter of, you know,                          life and death.                                     DIVINCI                         What's her name?                                     SERGEANT GARDNER                         Cynthia.               Divinci perks up at the name.               And now we SEE Cynthia in the POLICE STATION trying not to                look as freaked out as she feels. But she's not holding                together well.                                     DIVINCI                         Tell her to wait, I'll be right down.               Divinci hangs up. Starts to dress. The woman groans.                                     WOMAN                         What the hell're you doing?                                     DIVINCI                         I gotta go down to the station.                                     WOMAN                         Now? What time is it?                                     DIVINCI                         Go back to sleep.                                     WOMAN                         Frank, this is no way to repair our                          marriage, you know?               She pulls the covers over her head. Divinci pulls on his                pants.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. POLICE STATION - 3:38 A.M.               Divinci pushes into the room. Sees Cynthia sitting on the                bench, looking nervous as hell. Smoking, tapping her foot,                looking around. Just this side of a wreck.                                     DIVINCI                         Hey!               Cynthia sees him and is immediately on her feet, moving to                him.                                     CYNTHIA                         Frank, I can't do this. He came to                          the club. You gotta --                                     DIVINCI                         Not here!               He takes her arm, leads her out of the station.               INT. POLICE STATION PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT               Divinci leads Cynthia out of the station to his car.                                     CYNTHIA                         I thought you said all I had to do                          was pick him out?! That's what you                          said, that's all I had to do. I did                          what you said. But that was supposed                          to be all.                                     DIVINCI                         SHUT UP!               He opens the driver's door, pushes her in. Gets in behind                her.               INT. UNMARKED CAR - NIGHT               Cynthia is a bundle of nerves. Divinci slams the door. Cynthia                is startled by the suddenness of his anger.                                     DIVINCI                         What're you talkin' about?               Cynthia opens her purse and pulls out the subpoena.                                     CYNTHIA                         They want me in court.               Divinci glances at the papers.                                     CYNTHIA                         You promised me I wasn't gonna have                          to do anything! What the hell is                          goin' on?!               This is yet another glitch that Divinci hadn't counted on.                                     CYNTHIA                         I can't do this, Frank. I can't go                          into court. I'm gettin' outa here!                                     DIVINCI                         You are not getting outa here!                                     CYNTHIA                         Well I can't go to court! THAT'S NOT                          WHAT YOU SAID I'D HAVE TO DO!                                     DIVINCI                         WELL THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!                          NOW JUST FUCKIN' CALM DOWN FOR A                          SECOND AND LET ME THINK!               Cynthia glares at him, then turns away, takes a drag and                blows out the smoke.                                     CYNTHIA                         Fine. Think away.               Divinci hesitates as ANOTHER CAR pulls out. Then turns to                her.                                     DIVINCI                         Look, you're a witness, that's all.                          You got nothin' to worry about. You                          saw something happen --                                     CYNTHIA                         -- What?! What did I see?!                                     DIVINCI                         I will tell you everything you gotta                          know. You understand? Everything.                          You will know exactly what to say.               Cynthia looks at Divinci, unsure. Divinci gives her a                confident smile. Look, it's another stage, that's all. Just                like dancin'.               THE UNMARKED CAR               pulls quickly out of the PARKING GARAGE.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. JAIL - MEETING ROOM - DAY               Elliot is waiting. The guard opens the door and Joe enters.                Joe is looking better. Getting him off booze has helped                immensely.                                     ELLIOT                         Hi, Joe. You're looking much better.                                     WILLIAM                         I guess jail's been good for me.               Elliot nods, motions for Joe to take a chair.                                     ELLIOT                         Trial date's been set for Thursday.                                     WILLIAM                         I've been thinking about what I did...                          and I don't think it's right that I                          try getting off.                                     ELLIOT                         Excuse me?                                     WILLIAM                         I want to plead guilty. I killed a                          man and I should be punished.                                     ELLIOT                         ...I'm a little surprised.                                     WILLIAM                         Why?                                     ELLIOT                         Nobody ever wants to be punished for                          what they've done. It's just a new                          concept. But I still think our defense                          is reasonable. I don't believe, under                          the condition you were in, that you                          were responsible for your actions.                                     WILLIAM                         But why was I carrying a gun? I had                          no right to carry a gun.                                     ELLIOT                         If you hadn't been carrying the gun,                          you might be dead.                                     WILLIAM                         And he might be alive.                                     ELLIOT                         I understand... Can I think about                          this?                                     WILLIAM                         No. I've made up my mind.               Elliot stares at Joe for a beat, then we --                                                                    CUT TO:               YELLOW CRIME SCENE TAPE - EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY               TWO MURDER VICTIMS lying in the street. POLICE OFFICERS have                the area under control. A few CURIOUS PEOPLE have stopped to                watch. An UNMARKED CAR pulls up. Stops.               INT. UNMARKED CAR - DAY               Parked. Rodriguez behind the wheel. Divinci next to him.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What if she takes off?                                     DIVINCI                         Then we got no goddamn witness puts                          him at the scene.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         And what happens if she testifies                          and nobody fuckin' believes her?                                     DIVINCI                         Perjury, maybe. But that's a fifty                          fifty. They might believe her.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Shit, Frank, she's a goddamn stripper                          for Chrissake, who's gonna believe                          her. I don't believe her when she's                          telling the truth!               An OFFICER walks to the car and knocks on the window. Divinci                rolls it down.                                     DIVINCI                         What?                                     OFFICER                         Ahh, we got two bodies out here and                          three more in the house.                                     DIVINCI                         So?                                     OFFICER                         I was just wondering if you were                          gonna be the primary on this one,                          that's all.                                     DIVINCI                         Yeah, yeah, we're comin'. Just give                          us some room.               Divinci rolls the window back up. The officer backs off.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         She could blow the whole thing. She                          could tie us in and that would be                          it. We'd be fuckin' fried.                                     DIVINCI                         If it looks like she's gonna crumble                          we'll take steps.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What steps?               Divinci looks at Rodriguez.                                     DIVINCI                         One more chalk outline more or less                          in this city who's gonna know?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Oh shit, Frank.                                     DIVINCI                         Hey, hey, you think I like this?!                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We just can't go around killin'                          everybody!                                     DIVINCI                         Just a second. Look around. Whatta                          we got here? Two stiffs on the street,                          shot to shit, three more inside.                          That's five chalk lines in one night                          in one deal in one neighborhood in                          one city. Let me fill you in on some                          statistics, we're not killin'                          everybody.                              (a beat, then --)                         Look, this is strictly last resort.                          Okay? But let's not kid ourselves.                          If push comes to shove, somebody has                          to go down. If you got another                          candidate, I'm willin' to listen.               Rodriguez is silent. Divinci opens the door. Rodriguez watches                him, then he follows. To the scene of another crime.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. CYNTHIA'S APARTMENT - DAY               Cynthia is in the kitchen, making herself a peanut butter                and jelly sandwich as she watches Sally Jesse Raphael                interview yet another moron on television. The phone rings.                She takes a bite of the sandwich as she picks up and mumbles --                                     CYNTHIA                         Hello.               INTERCUT WITH INT. OFFICE - D.A.'S DEPARTMENT - DAY               Richard Stein, the attorney, is on the phone. His office is                cluttered with the myriad of case files he's forced to juggle.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Cynthia Webb?                                     CYNTHIA                              (swallows)                         ...yeah.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         I'm Richard Stein with the District                          Attorney's office. You're a witness                          in a case we're handling and I'd                          like to talk to you as soon as                          possible.               Cynthia puts down the sandwich, her appetite suddenly gone.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Ms Webb?                                     CYNTHIA                         Yeah.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Any chance we could get together                          today?                                     CYNTHIA                              (nervous)                         I'm ah... pretty busy.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         It won't take long. Will you be home                          about two?                              (no answer)                         Ms Webb?                                     CYNTHIA                         Yeah, okay... two.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Good. Let me make sure I've got your                          correct address.                                                                    CUT TO:               SUITCASE - INT. CYNTHIA'S BEDROOM - DAY               as clothes are stuffed into it. The suitcase is slammed shut.                And Cynthia heads for the door.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. MANSION - DAY               A BLACK CONVERTIBLE MERCEDES pulls into the circular, gated                drive of the large two story home on immense manicured                grounds. A BMW is parked in front of the FOUR CAR GARAGE. It                is being waxed by car care specialists. The Mercedes stops                and a MAN gets out. He has gray hair and expensive clothes.                He carries a briefcase and heads for the front door. His                name is ARTHUR BAYLOR.               EXT. MANSION - PATIO - DAY               A BUTLER shows Arthur to the patio where another MAN, NATHAN                MCCALL, is seated behind a table, reviewing documents. McCall                is fifty-five, wears glasses.                                     BUTLER                         Mr. Baylor is here.               McCall looks up, smiles.                                     WILLIAM                         Arthur.               Arthur crosses. The two men shake hands.                                     ARTHUR                         Nathan. How are you?                                     WILLIAM                         Good, Arthur, thanks. Would you like                          some coffee, juice.                                     ARTHUR                         No, I'm fine.                                     WILLIAM                         Well, this is all a bit of a mystery.                          You certainly got my attention with                          your phone call. What's this all                          about?               Arthur removes a NEWSPAPER from his briefcase. Opens it.                Revealing the PHOTOGRAPH OF JOE and the headline: UNDERCOVER                COP GUNNED DOWN BY UNDERCOVER KILLER. McCall looks at the                paper.                                     WILLIAM                         Is there something you want me to                          see?               Arthur points at the photograph. McCall looks. A beat, then --                                     WILLIAM                         Oh my God.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. BUS STATION - DAY               Cynthia boards a greyhound. Getting the hell out of Dodge.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. CYNTHIA'S APARTMENT - DAY               We HEAR a key in the lock. The door opens and Divinci enters.                He looks around.                                     DIVINCI                         Cynthia.               He moves into the bedroom. Sees clothes strewn around and a                half empty closet.                                     DIVINCI                         Shit!               He heads back into the living room. Pulls open the door and                almost runs into Richard Stein who was just about to knock.                                     DIVINCI                              (startled)                         Jesus!               Richard Stein is just as startled and it takes him a moment                to recognize --                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Divinci?               Divinci is caught off guard.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Richard Stein, D.A.'s office.                                     DIVINCI                         Oh, yeah, sorry. I didn't expect --                          what're you doing here?                                     RICHARD STEIN                         I have to talk with Cynthia Webb. A                          witness in -- well, wait, aren't you                          and Detective Rodriguez on this one?                                     DIVINCI                              (vamping)                         Yeah, yeah, that's why I'm here. I                          wanted to go over some of the details.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Me, too. Is she there?                                     DIVINCI                         No.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         I was supposed to meet her at two.                              (looks at watch)                         Do you know her?                                     DIVINCI                         What d'you mean?                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Well, I just mean, if she's not                          here... you were...                              (a little awkward)                         ...inside.                                     DIVINCI                              (forces a smile)                         Oh, yeah, the legal thing. Well,                          she's a witness in a murder case.                          And when they don't answer a knock                          and the door's open, it's my                          experience, you know. I like to make                          sure there's no dead bodies layin'                          around.                              (pulls door shut)                         Don't tell on me.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         No, no, of course not... Well, maybe                          I should wait. She might be stuck in                          traffic or something.                                     DIVINCI                         Yeah. If she shows up, let me know.                          I'd like to talk to her, too.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Of course.               Divinci looks at Stein for a beat, then smiles and --                                     DIVINCI                         See you in court.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         Right.               Divinci heads down the walkway. Richard Stein watches him                for a moment, then looks at the closed door, then at his                watch.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. ELLIOT'S OFFICE - DAY               Elliot's office is a cramped space in the PUBLIC DEFENDERS                FLOOR of the CRIMINAL COURTS BUILDING. A buzz of activity                outside. The staff is overworked, underpaid and                underappreciated. Elliot is reviewing legal documents. Knock                on the door.                                     ELLIOT                         Yeah.               The door opens and Arthur Baylor enters.                                     ARTHUR                         Elliot Goff?               Elliot looks up and suddenly recognizes --                                     ELLIOT                         Arthur Baylor?                                     ARTHUR                         Yes.               Elliot is stunned and flattered. He stands quickly.                                     ELLIOT                         Arthur Baylor, oh my God. I ahh,                          would you ahh... are you here to see                          me?                                     ARTHUR                         Yes.               Arthur shuts the door.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. JAIL - INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY               Door opens. Joe is lead into the room by the JAIL GUARD. Joe                looks even better now. His stay in jail has broken his                dependency on alcohol. His hair is clean and combed. And                he's not as depressed. He stops upon seeing Elliot and Arthur                at the table. Both men stand. The guard shuts the door. Arthur                looks at Joe for a moment, then says --                                     ARTHUR                         William.               Joe stares at Arthur as if fighting a lost memory, then --                                     WILLIAM                         ...yes.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. DISTRICT ATTORNEY - HELEN'S OFFICE - DAY                                     HELEN                         What are you telling me?!               Richard Stein is facing a not very happy Helen. She is seated                behind her desk stacked high with case files.                                     HELEN                         She missed the appointment? She forget                          you were coming? What?!                                     RICHARD STEIN                         If you want my best guess, I'd say                          she split.                                     HELEN                         She split, our witness split... Can't                          we keep our evidence and witnesses                          from disappearing around here? I                          mean what do I have to do, lock them                          in the trunk of my car? What the                          fuck is going on?! I want that bitch                          back here and on the stand or in                          jail!               Richard Stein nods quickly.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         I'll get her.               And he exits fast. He doesn't like it when his boss is pissed.                And right now his boss is really pissed.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. BAIL BOND OFFICE - DAY               A seedy side street near the courthouse and jail. The unmarked                car pulls up and Divinci gets out.               INT. BAIL BOND OFFICE - DAY               The interior is sparse. Several FRAMED FIGHT POSTERS on the                walls. All with MANNY LADREW, a young tough fighter in the                featherweight division, in his best pose, explaining where                and when the next bout will be -- but all these posters are                at least fifteen years old.               Two desks. One for the secretary, who is on vacation, and                the other for MANNY LADREW, the ex-pugilist. He's put on                some pounds in the intervening years, plus an added thin                mustache. Manny is on the phone --                                     MANNY                         -- yeah, uh-huh.                              (takes notes)                         Why you think he'd go there?               Divinci enters.                                     DIVINCI                         We need to talk.                                     MANNY                              (covers phone)                         Just a second.                                     DIVINCI                         Not just a second, now!               Manny glares at Divinci. He doesn't like Divinci, never has,                never will. But he's a cop. Cop's you have to make room for.                                     MANNY                              (into phone)                         I'll call you back.                              (hangs up)                         What d'you want, Divinci?               Divinci pulls some papers out of his pocket, hands them to                Manny.                                     DIVINCI                         I got a witness who took off. I gotta                          get her back. I don't got a lotta                          time.                                     MANNY                         You're the fuckin' police. What're                          you comin' to me for?!                                     DIVINCI                         Don't ask fuckin' questions, you                          just find her!               Manny, annoyed, looks at the papers -- photo of Cynthia                included.                                     MANNY                         Where've I seen her before?                                     DIVINCI                         She dances.                                     MANNY                         Yeah, right, okay. So what'd she                          take off for?                                     DIVINCI                         I said --                                     MANNY                         -- I know what you fuckin' said, but                          you want me to find her I gotta know                          why the fuck she took off! So I know                          where not to look! Okay?!                                     DIVINCI                         ...she's supposed to testify. She                          got scared, thinks somebody might                          kill her, so she's hidin'. That's                          why I want you to find her. If                          somebody is tryin' to pop her, I                          don't want anyone knowin' where she                          is. Manny eyes Divinci. He doesn't                          believe anything anybody tells him.                          Especially in his business.                                     MANNY                         How long I got?                                     DIVINCI                         Two days.                                     MANNY                         Shit, two fuckin' days!                                     DIVINCI                         Find her, puss head.               Divinci glares at Manny, then exits. Manny watches him leave.                                     MANNY                         Sure, Detective. Always like to help                          out the police whenever possible!                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LARGE COURTROOM - DAY               Joe (William) is lead into the courtroom by GUARDS. Takes                his place at the DEFENSE TABLE which includes Elliot and TWO                YOUNG ATTORNEYS. The PROSECUTION TABLE, which includes Richard                Stein and Helen is going over last minute minutia.               PEOPLE are taking seats in the gallery. But another attorney                joins the Defense table. It's Arthur Baylor. And Richard                Stein double-takes when he sees him.               AT THE PROSECUTION TABLE                                     RICHARD STEIN                              (to Helen)                         Isn't that Arthur Baylor?               Helen turns.                                     HELEN                         Yes.               They watch Arthur shake hands with everyone - Elliot, the                two young attorneys and Joe.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         What's he doing here?               Arthur takes a seat at the defense table and glances across                at Helen and Richard and nods. Helen and Richard are stunned.                                     HELEN                         What the hell?                                     BAILIFF                         Hear ye, hear ye. All rise, face our                          flag and recognize the principles                          for which it stands. The Criminal                          Court, Department G is now in session.                          The Honorable Harold W. Pine                          presiding.               Everyone rises as JUDGE HAROLD PINE enters. In black robe.                Taking his place behind the bench. He sits.                                     BAILIFF                         Please be seated and come to order.               Everyone sits. And even Judge Harold Pine double-takes when                he sees Arthur Baylor at the Defense table.                                     BAILIFF                         The People versus Joe Doe in case                          number 95-24705.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Before we proceed, I'd like to ask                          the Defense if there's anything this                          court should be made aware of.               Arthur stands.                                     ARTHUR                         Yes, your honor. I have joined the                          defense in the representation of Mr.                          William Dane McCall, otherwise known                          to this court as Joe Doe.               Everyone turns to look at Joe (William McCall). CAMERA PUSHES                in on him. It doesn't look as if he's sure who he is yet.                                     ARTHUR                         I have represented the McCall family                          for several years before William                          McCall's disappearance seven years                          ago. It was assumed that he had died,                          but since he has reappeared under                          these tragic circumstances, I would                          ask this court for a continuance to                          allow the defense to prepare                          adequately in light of his real                          identity now being known.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         How long do you need.                                     ARTHUR                         One week should be sufficient.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Any objection to a week's continuance                          by the State?                                     HELEN                         I don't... believe so, your honor.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Then I grant a one week continuance.                          We will start the proceedings next                          Monday morning.               Judge Harold Pine taps his gavel.                                                                    CUT TO:               TELEVISION NEWS REPORTS - INT. HELEN'S OFFICE - DAY               FLASH Joe's photograph and scenes of him being lead from the                courtroom. Helen and Richard Stein are watching. They can't                believe it.                                     NEWSCASTER                         -- when it was discovered that the                          man who has confessed to killing an                          undercover DEA agent, was actually                          himself thought dead for seven years.                          The man who signed the confession as                          Joe Doe is actually William Dane                          McCall, brother of Nathan McCall.                          Both are sons of the founder of McCall                          International, a corporation involved                          in telecommunications, computer design                          and development and other related                          industries. The net worth of both                          men is estimated at over a billion                          dollars --                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. UNMARKED CAR - DAY               Parked on the street. Rodriguez and Divinci inside. Rodriguez                reads the paper.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         -- but William McCall shunned the                          business world and turned his life                          to medicine, receiving his medical                          degree from Harvard in 1969. Once                          again he turned his back on the                          established norm and spent several                          years in Africa performing organ                          transplants for the poor.               Rodriguez slams down the paper.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Jesus Christ, this is who you picked?                          A goddamn surgeon who performs organ                          transplants on poor Africans?!                                     DIVINCI                         He was living in the fuckin' street!                          How the hell was I supposed to know                          he was a goddamn doctor?!                                     RODRIGUEZ                         He's not a goddamn doctor! You picked                          a fuckin' Saint to pin a fuckin'                          murder on!               Divinci grabs the paper away from him. Both cops are angry,                upset, frustrated and scared to death.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         When we pick 'em, we really fuckin'                          pick 'em. We shoulda just picked up                          the fuckin' Pope.                                     DIVINCI                              (reading)                         -- he disappeared seven years ago on                          September 19 two weeks after the                          tragic death of his wife and two                          young children in a multiple vehicle                          accident. At the time it was assumed                          that he had returned to Africa, but                          that was never confirmed. What William                          McCall has been doing for seven years                          is now the mystery that the court                          will try to help unravel.               Divinci closes the paper.                                     DIVINCI                         Alright, alright, let's think here.                          What's the worse case scenario?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Are you asking me if I can think of                          something worse than what we've done                          that we can still do, or something                          worse that might happen to us if                          this all blows up and we are convicted                          and sent to jail and die in the                          electric chair and go to hell?               Divinci looks at Rodriguez.                                     DIVINCI                         Work with me here.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I'm sorry. I'm a little on edge.                          Would you repeat the question?               Both men are quiet for a moment, then --                                     DIVINCI                         Even if the doc walks, there's no                          evidence ties us to it. There's only                          one person who can connect us to                          Hudd.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Okay, fine, I don't wanna argue about                          it anymore. Let's just fuckin' kill                          her.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. BALL BOND OFFICE - DAY (LATE AFTERNOON)               Manny LaDrew is pouring himself a cup of coffee. His SECRETARY                is typing up a letter at her desk.                                     DIVINCI'S VOICE                         We need to talk.               Manny recognizes the voice. He mouths an oh fuck to himself,                then turns around to Divinci who is standing in the doorway.                                     MANNY                         Are you fuckin' with me?                                     DIVINCI                         No, I'm not fuckin' with you. Are                          you fuckin' with me?!                                     MANNY                         You don't know?                                     DIVINCI                         Know what?                                     MANNY                         Well this is a good one. You're a                          cop and you don't know.                                     DIVINCI                         Stop it.                                     MANNY                         Cops got her. Ain't that a gas. Cops                          got her, you're a cop, and you gotta                          find out from me. It's a crazy world                          we live in, don't you think?               Divinci suddenly explodes, going for Manny, grabbing him,                slamming him against the wall, his arm to Manny's throat.                                     DIVINCI                         Cops?! What fuckin' cops?!                                     MANNY                         I don't know what fuckin' cops. All                          I know is, my people got to her                          sister's place and she was already                          gone. Her sister said some cops took                          her. I thought it was you!               Divinci glares at Manny for a beat, then he storms out.                                     SECRETARY                         What an asshole.               Manny looks down at his Secretary.                                     MANNY                         You're a good judge of character.                                                                    CUT TO:               DIVINCI - INT. HOMICIDE DIVISION - DUSK               at his desk, on the phone.                                     DIVINCI                         -- look, she's our witness, if she's                          in custody, somebody better tell me!               Divinci slams down the phone. He sits quietly for a moment,                then rubs his face. Rodriguez crosses to his desk, sits down.                                     DIVINCI                         Anything?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Nothin'. Nobody knows nothin'. The                          D.A. thinks she's gone. D.E.A. doesn't                          know shit.                                     DIVINCI                         If she was bein' held by police,                          we'd know.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Unless she said somethin'.                                     DIVINCI                         If she said something we wouldn't be                          sittin' here.                              (a beat, then --)                         I think it's that lyin' piece of                          shit.                                                                    CUT TO:               MANNY - INT. BALL BONDS OFFICE - NIGHT               getting the shit beat out of him. The room is dark. Two men                are hammering on Manny. Throwing him against the wall, pulling                him up and hitting him in the stomach -- not the face.                Throwing him across the room, over the desk. Manny is too                hurt to get up. Divinci walks over to him, rubbing his gloved                hand.                                     DIVINCI                         Don't ever lie to me again.               Manny looks up weakly. Divinci walks away. Rodriguez opens                the door and they exit.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. COUNTY JAIL CELL - MORNING               Joe is sitting on his cot, staring at the floor. ANOTHER MAN                is in the cell with him, reading a magazine. His name is                DUNCAN. Duncan looks at Joe.                                     DUNCAN                         First trial, huh.                                     WILLIAM                         Yes.                                     DUNCAN                         I got one piece of advise. When you                          break for lunch, don't get the                          pastrami.               We HEAR the BARRED CELL DOOR open.                                     GUARD                         Time to go.               Joe gets up. Puts out his hands. They shackle him as we HEAR --                                     THE BAILIFF'S VOICE                         Hear ye, hear ye. All rise, face our                          flag and recognize the principles                          for which it stands.               INT. COUNTY JAIL CELL - HALLWAY - MORNING               Joe is lead down the hall by TWO GUARDS, past rows of cells                filled with other PRISONERS --                                     BAILIFF'S VOICE                         The Criminal Court, Department G is                          now in session. The Honorable Harold                          W. Pine presiding.                              (We HEAR people rise)                         Please be seated and come to order.               EXT. COUNTY JAIL - PARKING AREA - DAY               Joe is lead to a waiting prison van. He gets inside.                                     BAILIFF'S VOICE                         The People versus William McCall in                          case number 95-24705.               The van pulls away.                                                                    CUT TO:               THE .44 SMITH AND WESSON (CLYDE'S .44)               as it is introduced into evidence.                                     HELEN                         -- when he pulled this gun and fired                          at the driver of the car. Killing                          him instantly. Let the record show                          that this is the weapon used in the                          crime, a Smith and Wesson forty-four                          caliber handgun.               INT. LARGE COURTROOM - DAY               Joe is sitting at the Defense table with Arthur and Elliot.                The trial is underway. And they watch the .44 go to the                evidence table -- the .44 with the BLACK STAIN.               Richard Stein is seated at the Defense table. He, too, is                watching the .44. He leans across to his ASSISTANT.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         All these goddamn guns are startin'                          to look the same to me.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               DIVINCI - INT. LARGE COURTROOM - LATER               on the stand, being questioned by Helen.                                     HELEN                         And when you arrested the defendant,                          did he deny that he had killed Agent                          Hudd.                                     DIVINCI                         No.                                     HELEN                         Can you describe the defendant's                          condition at the time of his arrest.                                     DIVINCI                         He was drunk. We could smell the                          booze on him. But we drew blood. He                          didn't object.                                     HELEN                         We have the blood test report that                          shows --                              (picks up report)                         -- that he had four times the legal                          limit to drive. The people would                          like to enter this into evidence.               They so enter it.                                                                    CUT TO:               RODRIGUEZ - INT. LARGE COURTROOM - LATER               on the stand. Elliot is cross-examining.                                     ELLIOT                         -- and you arrested the defendant                          four days after the killing. What                          lead you to suspect Mr. McCall?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         You ask questions. Work the                          neighborhood. Find out who was on                          the street that night.                                     ELLIOT                         Yes, but specifically Mr. McCall? He                          had no previous criminal record.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We found someone who'd seen him in                          the area. So we picked him up for                          questioning. We didn't expect it to                          be him. But if someone saw him in                          the area that night we would want to                          talk to him. If he wasn't the killer,                          he might've seen the killer. Just                          routine really.                                     ELLIOT                         Where did you find the defendant?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         On the street. Corner of Third and                          Madison.                                     ELLIOT                         What was he doing?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         He was passed out.                                     ELLIOT                         But you knew it was the man you were                          looking for.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Yes.                                     ELLIOT                         Based on what?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         His description.                                     ELLIOT                         Who provided you with the description?                                     RODRIGUEZ                              (hesitates a beat)                         Cynthia something, I think.               Elliot moves to the defense table, glances at Arthur as he                picks up a paper. Arthur nods approvingly. Elliot looks at                the paper.                                     ELLIOT                         I believe her name is Cynthia Webb.                          According to the statement filed the                          night she picked him out of the line-                         up. The name familiar?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Yes... that's her.                                     ELLIOT                         Where did you find Ms Webb?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         On the street. Same area.                                     ELLIOT                         And she agreed to pick the defendant                          out of a line up.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Yes.                                     ELLIOT                         Where you aware that Ms Webb                          disappeared after she was served                          with a subpoena?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Yes, my partner and I tried to contact                          her about the case and were                          unsuccessful.                                     ELLIOT                         Thank you, Detective, that's all the                          questions I have.               Rodriguez gets up as we --                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. ETHNIC BAR/RESTAURANT - NIGHT               A waitress cruises past tables to the booth in the back. She                sets down two scotch and waters to the two men. Rodriguez                and Divinci. The waitress exits. Divinci picks up his glass.                                     DIVINCI                         To justice in all its forms.               Rodriguez picks up his glass.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We're not home free yet.                                     DIVINCI                         Without Ms Webb, there's no place                          they can go. We still got the                          confession, the gun, the ballistics...                          And I don't give a shit about all                          this African doctor crap... the man                          is a drunk and he's been a drunk for                          seven goddamn years. So lets have a                          drink for drunks.               Rodriguez reluctantly lifts his glass. They clink and drink.                                     DIVINCI                         That's the thing about life. You                          control it or it controls you. Most                          people don't understand that. They                          try'n blame their fuck-ups on                          something or somebody else. But it's                          not like that. I don't wanna hear                          why your life's a mess. It's a mess                          cause you're a mess. That simple.                          They're waitin' to live happily ever                          after. But after what? After all the                          shit happens? Well, I got a clue for                          everybody, the shit never stops                          happening. So you deal with it or                          you get buried in it. I'm not talkin'                          about you, you know what I'm sayin'                          here.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Yeah.                                     DIVINCI                         Life don't work in mysterious ways.                          There ain't no mystery to it. You                          just work it. And you don't take it                          too serious. You can't take it too                          serious otherwise you get fragile.                          And you can't be fragile and have                          any fuckin' fun.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         You think I'm fragile?                                     DIVINCI                         That's the first sign of trouble,                          when you start askin' other people.               Rodriguez nods.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         ...I just wish I knew where the hell                          she was.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HELEN'S D.A. OFFICE - NIGHT               Helen and Richard Stein are working late. Over take-out                Chinese.                                     RICHARD STEIN                              (referring to papers)                         -- so I think we'll have to rely on                          the confession for his description                          of what happened. He'll never take                          the stand, even if --               The phone rings. Richard picks up.                                     RICHARD STEIN                              (into phone)                         D.A.'s office... What?... When?...                          Where will --               Richard is surprised. He turns to Helen.                                     RICHARD STEIN                         They found Cynthia Webb.                                     HELEN                         Where?                                     RICHARD STEIN                         I don't know.                                     HELEN                         When?                                     RICHARD STEIN                         I don't know.                                     HELEN                         Well who the hell was that?                                     RICHARD STEIN                         I don't know. They hung up.               Richard hangs up the receiver. He and Helen exchange a look.                                     HELEN                         What the fuck is going on?!                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LARGE COURTROOM - DAY                                     HELEN                         Your honor, the people call Ms.                          Cynthia Webb to the stand.               VARIOUS REACTIONS               Rodriguez and Divinci are stunned. Cynthia? Elliot is                completely surprised. Cynthia? Arthur is never shaken by                anything.               The courtroom doors open and Cynthia is lead down the aisle                by a SHERIFF'S DEPUTY. She moves to the chair.               But it's Joe's turn to double take. He remembers her. My                God, he knows her. It's Cynthia -- the girl from the apartment                building. He never saw who pointed him out, but he never                expected it to be her.                                     BAILIFF                         Raise your right hand.               Cynthia raises her hand. But her look goes right to Joe.                Staring at him. She's never seen Joe like this -- cleaned                up, trimmed, handsome. She's not sure she even recognizes                him.                                     BAILIFF                         You swear to tell the truth, the                          whole truth and nothing but the truth                          so help you God.               She turns her eyes from Joe.                                     CYNTHIA                         Sure.                                     BAILIFF                         You may be seated.               Cynthia sits down. Looks at Divinci.               And Joe leans across to Arthur and Elliot. Their conversation                is in whispers --                                     WILLIAM                         I know her.                                     ELLIOT                         She's the woman who identified you.                                     WILLIAM                         No. I mean I know her.                                     ARTHUR                         ...How?                                     WILLIAM                         I'm not sure... I think I lived near                          her.               Arthur exchanges a look with Elliot. Arthur turns now and                looks at Cynthia. The wheels are turning.                                     HELEN                         Please state your name for the court.                                     CYNTHIA                         Cynthia Webb.                                     HELEN                         Do you see the man that you identified                          in a police line-up in this room.                                     CYNTHIA                         Yes.                                     HELEN                         Is it the defendant, Mr. McCall?               Cynthia looks at Joe. Joe looks straight at her. Cynthia                turns her eyes away.                                     CYNTHIA                         Yes.                                     HELEN                         Please describe what you saw the                          night of September 14th.                                     CYNTHIA                         I was comin' out of an all night                          minimart --                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREET - MINI MART - NIGHT               Cynthia comes out of a ALL NIGHT MINI-MART with a bag of                food. She walks down the street and suddenly we HEAR a                GUNSHOT. Followed by a CAR CRASH. She turns toward the sound.                And we HEAR RUNNING FOOTSTEPS. Then we see a man running. He                has a pistol in one hand.               Cynthia watches the man run past and disappear into the                darkness.                                                               CUT BACK TO:               INT. LARGE COURTROOM - DAY               Cynthia is looking at Helen.                                     HELEN                         And you're positive the man you saw                          with the gun is the defendant.               Instead of looking at Joe, Cynthia turns to Rodriguez and                Divinci who are seated in the rows behind the prosecution                table. They are looking right at her. They wait for her                answer.                                     CYNTHIA                         Yeah.                                     HELEN                         No further questions.               Divinci offers her a small smile.               Cynthia turns away. Arthur is now standing in front of her.                                     ARTHUR                         Miss Webb... is it Miss?                                     CYNTHIA                         Yes.                                     ARTHUR                         Miss Webb, had you ever seen the                          defendant before that night, the                          night you described to us?                                     CYNTHIA                         No.                                     ARTHUR                         Do you know what perjury is?                                     CYNTHIA                         When you lie.                                     ARTHUR                         When you lie under oath in a court                          of law. Do you know what the penalty                          for that is?                                     CYNTHIA                         You go to jail.                                     ARTHUR                         Yes... Cynthia, have you ever seen                          the defendant before that night?                                     HELEN                         Objection. The witness has already                          answered that question.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Sustained.                                     ARTHUR                         I just want to give the witness the                          opportunity to remember if she could                          have seen Mr. McCall anyplace else                          before the night in question.               Divinci stares at Cynthia. As if willing her to give the                answer he wants her to give.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Ms. Webb, do you understand the                          consequences of perjury?                                     CYNTHIA                         Yes.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Let's get on with it then.                                     ARTHUR                         What did you buy the night you went                          into the mini-mart?                                     CYNTHIA                         What did I buy?                                     ARTHUR                         You remembered seeing Mr. McCall                          that night and hearing the gunshot                          and a car crash. I just wondered if                          you remembered what you bought in                          the mini-mart.                                     CYNTHIA                         ...shampoo I think.                                     ARTHUR                         That's all?                                     CYNTHIA                         Yes.                                     ARTHUR                         Where do you live?                                     CYNTHIA                         4356 17th Street. Number 37.                                     ARTHUR                         Is that close to where this mini-                         mart is?                                     CYNTHIA                         Close? Sort of.                                     ARTHUR                         How far would you say?                                     CYNTHIA                         I don't really know.                                     ARTHUR                         Within walking distance?                                     CYNTHIA                         No... I don't think so.                                     ARTHUR                         Did you walk there that night or                          drive?                                     CYNTHIA                         I ahh... drove.                                     ARTHUR                         You drove. But when you left the                          mini-mart you stated that you walked                          down the street.                                     CYNTHIA                         Yeah.                                     ARTHUR                         How far?                                     CYNTHIA                         ...to the corner.                                     HELEN                         Objection. Your honor, I don't see a                          point to this line of questioning.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Is there a point?                                     ARTHUR                         Yes, your honor. Since this is the                          only witness, I'm trying to establish                          what the scene was like that night.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Try to get there as quickly as                          possible.                                     ARTHUR                              (to Cynthia)                         And how far away from the corner was                          the Mini-mart? For example was it in                          the middle of the block, close to                          the corner, where?                                     CYNTHIA                         In the middle I think.                                     ARTHUR                         So you walked all the way to the                          corner. I assume then you were walking                          back to your car, yes?                                     CYNTHIA                         ...yeah.                                     ARTHUR                         Was there a reason you parked so far                          away?                                     CYNTHIA                              (getting nervous)                         Um... there were lots of cars parked                          on the street.                                     ARTHUR                         Was there anyone else on the street                          besides you?                                     CYNTHIA                         No.                                     ARTHUR                         Lots of cars, but no people. Any                          traffic?                                     CYNTHIA                         I don't remember.                                     ARTHUR                         So you were the only person to see                          Joe on the street that night?                                     CYNTHIA                         I didn't see anybody else.                                     ARTHUR                         So you heard a gunshot, a car crash                          and a man running with a gun in his                          hand.                                     CYNTHIA                         Yes.                                     ARTHUR                         What did you do then? Did you call                          the police, 911?                                     CYNTHIA                         I went home.                                     ARTHUR                         You went home. Straight home?                                     CYNTHIA                         Yes.                                     ARTHUR                         And you're sure it was Joe you saw                          that night?                                     CYNTHIA                         Yes.                                     ARTHUR                         When you went home.                                     CYNTHIA                         Yes.               Arthur pauses.                                     ARTHUR                         When you went home you saw Joe?               Cynthia realizes what she's said.                                     CYNTHIA                         No.                                     HELEN                         Objection. Defense is trying to                          confuse the witness.                                     ARTHUR                         I'm not trying to confuse the witness,                          it's the witness that's trying to                          confuse the court. I have witnesses                          who will refute her testimony.                          Witnesses who were on that corner                          the night of the shooting, who never                          saw Ms. Webb, who never heard the                          gunshot, who never saw Joe run past.                          Ms Webb saw Joe outside her apartment                          building that night because he lived                          in the alley next to it. Isn't that                          right, Ms Webb?               Arthur turns dramatically to Cynthia. She is scared.                                     HELEN                         Objection!               Everyone's attention is on Cynthia.                                     ARTHUR                         When I referred to him as Joe, you                          knew who I was talking about, didn't                          you. This case is the People versus                          Mr. William McCall. Not Joe. Joe has                          never been mentioned in this trial.                          How did you know who I was talking                          about, Ms. Webb?               Cynthia looks from Arthur to Divinci. Divinci is frozen.                Rodriguez is sweating.               Then Cynthia turns and looks at Joe.               Joe looks at her, feeling sorry for her. Not hating her.                                     ARTHUR                         Ms. Webb, how did you know that Joe                          was the defendant?               Cynthia lowers her eyes to the floor.                                     CYNTHIA                         He lived in the alley next to my                          apartment building.               Helen and Richard Stein are stunned yet again.                                     HELEN                              (to herself)                         Oh shit.               Divinci and Rodriguez are doing their best to remain cool,                calm and collected.                                     ARTHUR                         Why did you lie to this court?                                     CYNTHIA                         I don't know.                                     ARTHUR                         Are you afraid of somebody?                                     CYNTHIA                         I don't know.                                     ARTHUR                         Are you protecting somebody?                                     CYNTHIA                         I don't know.                                     JUDGE HAROLD PINE                         Answer the questions, Ms. Webb or                          I'll be forced to cite you for                          contempt.               Cynthia looks up at the judge. She's not talking.                                                                    CUT TO:               CYNTHIA               having her mug shots taken. Holding a number. On the FLASH --                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. UNMARKED CAR - STREET - DAY               Driving.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         She didn't talk.                                     DIVINCI                         Don't hold your breath.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         You think she'll talk.                                     DIVINCI                         I know she'll talk.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         We'll make it look gang related.                                     DIVINCI                         Problem is we're gonna need another                          gun.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         The problem?! Have you forgotten?                          She's in fucking jail. That's the                          goddamn problem.                                     DIVINCI                         Since when is being in jail a guaranty                          of a long life? You just get a fuckin'                          gun.               EXT. STREET - DAY               Rodriguez gets out of the car. Divinci pulls away, driving                into traffic. Rodriguez heads into the Station.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. BAIL BOND OFFICE - DAY               Divinci enters. Manny looks up from his desk. His face is                bruised and bandaged.                                     MANNY                         Oh shit. I didn't do anything!                                     DIVINCI                         Everything's fine, Manny. I just                          came to apologize.                              (looks at secretary)                         We need some privacy...               Manny looks at Divinci, then motions for his Secretary to                take a walk. She gets up, exits.                                     DIVINCI                         Just one more favor. I want you to                          bail somebody out of jail.                                     MANNY                         You're kiddin'.                                     DIVINCI                         Bail's twenty-five thousand.               Divinci pulls out a piece of paper.                                     DIVINCI                         I want her out tonight. And don't                          tell her who. It's a surprise.                                     MANNY                         And how'm I payin' for this? They                          don't take American Express.               Divinci pulls a plastic bag filled with cocaine out of his                pocket -- tosses it onto Manny's desk.                                     DIVINCI                         I know you know how to exchange that.                          It's worth a lot more than twenty-                         five grand. You can keep the change.                              (points to cocaine)                         I want her back in two hours... Or                          I'll nail you for possession.                                     MANNY                         How'd you get to be such a prick?                                     DIVINCI                         DNA.               Divinci exits.                                     MANNY                         What a piece of shit.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. COUNTY JAIL CELL - NIGHT               Cynthia sits alone in her cell.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. COUNTY JAIL CELL - NIGHT               Joe lies on his cot. But even though he is in jail for murder,                he is no longer the bum. This is a new man now. Clean shaven.                Hair cut. Prison clothes neat. Duncan rolls over on his cot.                                     DUNCAN                         You don't have to say nothin', but...                          you really a doctor?                                     WILLIAM                         ...I was... a surgeon.                                     DUNCAN                         No shit, no shit, really. A surgeon.                          I know I'm nobody to judge, but you                          musta been a smart guy. What the                          hell's a smart guy like you doin' in                          here?               Joe looks up at Duncan, hesitates, then --                                     WILLIAM                         ...I had an affair with another                          woman... a nurse at the hospital I                          worked at. It was nothing... I can't                          even remember much about her... Except                          my wife found out. We had a fight.                          She left the house, took the kids...                          She was hysterical. I should've done                          something... gone after them, I don't                          know... they were killed in a car                          accident about a mile from the                          house... I've never told anybody                          that... about why she left.               Duncan nods.                                     DUNCAN                         Hey, doc, you can trust me. It won't                          go no farther.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. 6TH STREET OUTSIDE STATION - NIGHT               Rodriguez is outside the Station. Looking nervous and upset.                The unmarked car pulls up. Rodriguez moves for the car. He                gets in and the car pulls away.               INT. UNMARKED CAR - NIGHT               Divinci drives. Rodriguez sweats. Divinci notices.                                     DIVINCI                         You get the gun?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I got it.                                     DIVINCI                         Everything okay?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Are you kidding? We're going to kill                          a goddamn witness who's in fucking                          jail because we killed an undercover                          DEA agent. I'm sorry, but this kinda                          shit troubles me a little.                                     DIVINCI                         Take off the dress and get back in                          the game. We gotta do what we gotta                          do.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Yeah. I know. Let's just get it over                          with.               Divinci glances at Rodriguez. He's more nervous than normal.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. COUNTY JAIL - FRONT - NIGHT               Manny walks out of the jail building. Cynthia is with him.                                     CYNTHIA                         I don't understand. Why can't you                          tell me who put up the bond?                                     MANNY                         Look, a guy comes in, says bail her                          out, gives me the money, I do it.                          That's how I make my living, I bail                          fuckin' people outa jail. You wait                          with me.                                     CYNTHIA                         Was it a cop?                                     MANNY                         Yeah, right. Cops bail people outa                          jail all the time. Doesn't there                          seem to be a dichotomy there for                          you?                                     CYNTHIA                         I don't like this.                                     MANNY                         You wanna stay in jail, that's up to                          you. Or you come with me.                                     CYNTHIA                         What'd he look like?                                     MANNY                         You're a stripper right? Lotta guys                          fall in love with your type. But                          they don't know how to get close,                          know what I mean? Somebody wants you                          to owe them something.                              (shrugs)                         Take it or leave it.               Manny starts down the steps. Cynthia hesitates, then follows.               INT. UNMARKED CAR - PARKED DOWN THE STREET - NIGHT               Divinci and Rodriguez watch Cynthia get into the car with                Manny.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         This is the last time, Frank. The                          last time we kill somebody.                                     DIVINCI                         Yeah, it's the last time.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         This'll be eleven, Frank. Eleven is                          enough.                                     DIVINCI                         I get the picture.               Divinci looks at Rodriguez. He's staring out the window, but                he looks ill. Something is not right with him.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         It was all okay until you shot Hudd.                                     DIVINCI                         What's goin' on here? You mad at me                          or something?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         It wasn't my idea to start killing                          people, Frank. That's all I'm sayin'.                          We're in this goddamn mess because                          you started killing people.                                     DIVINCI                         Drug dealers don't qualify as people.                          Never did, never will. So what the                          hell's wrong with you tonight? You                          suddenly worried about where all the                          money went?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I'm just sick of it, that's all.               Divinci stares at Rodriguez for a beat, then starts car.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT               The unmarked car turns off the street onto the side street                and stops. The lights go out.               INT. UNMARKED CAR - NIGHT                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What're you doin'?                                     DIVINCI                         I need some fresh air.               Divinci exits. Rodriguez hesitates, then gets out with him.               EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Frank --                                     DIVINCI                         Talk to me, okay? Just fuckin' talk                          to me.               Rodriguez hesitates a moment, then --                                     RODRIGUEZ                         I don't know... I owe some money. I                          don't know how I'm gonna pay it...                                     DIVINCI                         You gambling again?                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Yeah, yeah... I just couldn't...                          Frank... let's forget about this.                          Let's just get the fuck outa here.                          We got enough money, let's go. We'll                          get outa the country or something.               Divinci turns toward Rodriguez. And he's got his pistol out.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What the hell're you doin'?!                                     DIVINCI                         Take off your shirt.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What're you talkin' about?                                     DIVINCI                         Just take off your shirt. If there's                          nothin' to worry about, then I'll                          apologize. But I'm not gonna argue.                          Take off your fuckin' shirt now.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         What is this, you piece of shit?!                          You don't trust me?! Is that it?!                          YOU DON'T FUCKIN' TRUST ME AFTER ALL                          WE'VE BEEN THROUGH?!                                     DIVINCI                         ...Take off your shirt.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Fuck you, you don't trust me.                                     DIVINCI                         I'm askin' you one more time.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         You wanna shoot me? Shoot me.               Divinci hesitates. He doesn't want to. This is his partner.                A beat, then he lowers his gun.                                     DIVINCI                         Okay, I'm sorry. You're right. I'm                          fuckin' nervous. Like you. Forget                          it. This thing... shit. Let's just                          get it over with.               Divinci holsters his gun. Rodriguez hesitates, breathes a                sigh, then returns to the car. They both get back in.               INT. UNMARKED CAR - NIGHT               Divinci starts up the car.                                     DIVINCI                         I'll just feel a whole lot better                          when she's dead. Then we're off the                          hook.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Right.               Divinci starts to shift gears, but suddenly throws his elbow                into Rodriguez' face. And Divinci is all over him like a                tornado. Slamming a fist into his face repeatedly. He grabs                his shirt and rips it open REVEALING the TAPE RECORDER                strapped to his body, recording their every word.                                     DIVINCI                         YOU FUCKIN' RAT!               Divinci puts his revolver to Rodriguez' head. Rodriguez,                bleeding from the mouth and nose, looks at Frank.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Yeah... yeah... I am, I'm a fuckin'                          rat... I traded you, Frank, I fuckin'                          traded you... Simms knows everything.               Divinci pulls back the hammer, ready to blow Rodriguez' head                off.                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Just fuckin' shoot me, get it the                          fuck over with! I DESERVE IT! I                          FUCKING DESERVE TO DIE!               Divinci is ready to pull the trigger.                                     DIVINCI                         You're fuckin' right.               Divinci rips the wires off the recorder. Rodriguez closes                his eyes, waiting for the end. A tense moment, then --                                     DIVINCI                         ...Get out.               Rodriguez opens his eyes, looking at Divinci, who is still                holding the gun to his head. Another moment, then --                                     RODRIGUEZ                         Frank --                                     DIVINCI                              (calm)                         Get outa the car NOW!               A beat, then Rodriguez gets out. Divinci looks up at his                partner.                                     DIVINCI                         This is why you can never -- ever --                          lose your sense of fuckin' humor.               EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT               The car tears away, leaving Rodriguez alone in the alley.                                                                    CUT TO:               THE KEY - INSERTED INTO THE DOOR LOCK - NIGHT               Rodriguez pushes open the door to his apartment, enters.                Shuts the door. Stands alone in the room for a moment, then                suddenly erupts in rage. Ripping off his coat, ripping off                his shirt, ripping off the tape recorder taped to his chest.               He throws the recorder on the ground. Stomps on it until                it's shattered into pieces. He stares at the broken recorder.                                     MAN'S VOICE (VIC)                         I guess we caught you at a bad time.               Rodriguez spins around. Vic steps into the moonlight streaming                in through the window. Behind him is Cutless Supreme.                                     VIC                         But we all have problems.               Rodriguez suddenly YELLS and CHARGES THEM. He tackles Vic.                But in the darkness we can't see anything. Until the explosion                of a GUN and the FLASH of flames lights up the room. A moment                of silence then --                                     VIC                         Oh shit. You shot him, you fuckin'                          shot him!               Two men stumble to the door. Leaving one on the floor. The                door is flung open and Vic runs out. Followed by Cutless                Supreme.                                                                    CUT TO:               CRIME SCENE TAPE - INT. RODRIGUEZ APARTMENT - EARLY MORNING               The crime scene is swarming with cops, DEA and FBI. The task                of evidence collection in progress. Rodriguez' body on the                floor. Agent Simms is standing over the body with Agent                Sarkasian.                                     AGENT SARKASIAN                         Divinci musta figured it. I didn't                          think he'd kill his own partner                          though.                                     SIMMS                         He's an animal.               DEA AGENT Hooper comes up behind Simms.                                     AGENT HOOPER                         Recorders busted up. But we might be                          able to salvage some of the tape.                                     SIMMS                         I want him. You understand me, I                          don't care what it takes. I want                          that sonuvabitch!               Simms heads for the door. Sarkasian and Hooper follow.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. BAIL BOND OFFICE - MORNING               A car pulls up in front.               INT. BAIL BOND OFFICE - MORNING               It is deadly quiet. We PAN SLOWLY around the office until we                find Manny in his chair, sprawled back. Continuing to PAN                until we see Cynthia sprawled on the couch. But no signs of                blood. Just the bodies. The door opens. TWO MEN enters. All                we SEE are GUNS in hands.               Cynthia and Manny wake up with a start. Manny is scared.                                     MANNY                         Shit! Who the fuck're you?!               A BADGE comes out. And now we see Agents Hooper and Sarkasian.                                     AGENT SARKASIAN                         Ms. Webb. We'd like you to come with                          us.               Cynthia looks at Manny. She's pissed.                                     CYNTHIA                         This was the big secret? Shit. You're                          an asshole.               Cynthia puts her coat on and heads for the door. Manny doesn't                know what the hell is going on.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - FEDERAL BLDG. - DAY               Cynthia is in with Agents Simms, Hooper and Sarkasian.                                     SIMMS                         Who set it up?                                     CYNTHIA                         I don't know.                                     AGENT HOOPER                         It was Divinci wasn't it?                                     CYNTHIA                         I don't know.                                     SIMMS                         Which one pulled the trigger? Divinci                          or Rodriguez?                                     CYNTHIA                         I don't know.               Agent Simms looks right into Cynthia's eyes.                                     SIMMS                         Detective Rodriguez is dead. He was                          shot in the head last night.               This gets Cynthia's attention.                                     SIMMS                         Rodriguez was wearing a recorder.                          Divinci found it. You can do addition,                          can't you.                                     CYNTHIA                         You're full of shit.                                     AGENT SARKASIAN                         Just tell us what you know.               Cynthia looks at both of them.                                     CYNTHIA                         Where's Divinci?                                     SIMMS                         We don't know. But we're gonna find                          him.                                     CYNTHIA                         You're gonna find him?                              (smiles sarcastically)                         Right... I don't know a fuckin' thing.               Simms stares at her for a moment, then turns to Hooper and                nods. Hooper takes Cynthia's arm and leads her out of the                office. When the door closes --                                     SIMMS                         Get a copy of the tape to Bailor.                          But make sure it doesn't come from                          us.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. COUNTY JAIL CELL - DAY               Cynthia is alone in her cell. We HEAR footsteps. She looks                up as the GUARD approaches.                                     GUARD                         Your attorney's here.                                     CYNTHIA                         What attorney?               INT. ROOM - COUNTY JAIL - DAY               Cynthia enters the office. The Guard shuts the door. Cynthia                finds herself facing Arthur Baylor. A tape recorder on the                table in front of him.                                     ARTHUR                         Hi, Cynthia. Please sit down.                                     CYNTHIA                         I got nothin' to say.                                     ARTHUR                         So I'm told.               Arthur pushes the tape recorder and we HEAR --                                     DIVINCI'S VOICE                         ...Take off your shirt...                                     RODRIGUEZ'S VOICE                         Fuck you, you don't trust me.                                     DIVINCI'S VOICE                         I'm askin' you one more time.                                     RODRIGUEZ'S VOICE                         You wanna shoot me? Shoot me.                                     DIVINCI'S VOICE                         Okay, I'm sorry. You're right. I'm                          fuckin' nervous. Like you. Forget                          it. This thing... shit. Let's just                          get it over with. I'll just feel a                          whole lot better when she's dead.                          Then we're off the hook.               Arthur watches Cynthia's reaction to "when she's dead." But                Cynthia has seen enough not to be too shocked by anything.                And her reaction is subtle. She knows better than to reveal                what she's really feeling and thinking.                                     RODRIGUEZ'S VOICE                         Right.                                     DIVINCI'S VOICE                         YOU FUCKIN' RAT!                                     RODRIGUEZ'S VOICE                         Yeah... yeah... I am, I'm a fuckin'                          rat... I traded you, Frank, I fuckin'                          traded you... Simms knows everything.                          Just fuckin' shoot me, get it the                          fuck over with! I DESERVE IT! I                          FUCKING DESERVE TO DIE!                                     DIVINCI'S VOICE                         You're fuckin' right.               The recording ends. Arthur shuts off the machine.                                     ARTHUR                         I think you know my client is                          innocent. That's all I care about,                          my client. But I understand why you're                          scared. You're already facing perjury                          charges. My guess is, your involvement                          is deeper than that. But I don't                          really care, I'm not after you... I                          get nothing if you go to jail. But I                          think if I help you, I can help my                          client.                                     CYNTHIA                         ...how?                                     ARTHUR                         William -- Joe -- didn't do it, did                          he?               Cynthia hesitates, then shakes her head.                                     ARTHUR                         Why don't you sit down.               A beat, then Cynthia pulls up a chair.                                                                    CUT TO:               AGENT SIMMS - INT. OFFICE - DAY               angry.                                     SIMMS                         No goddamn way! I'm not going to                          grant that whore immunity. She lied                          on the stand, she's protecting                          somebody. And she's involved. I want                          them all.               Arthur, who was sitting across from him, stands.                                     ARTHUR                         Before I leave, let me remind you                          that you have shit for a case. If                          you really care about seeing justice                          for your dead agent, don't blow this                          deal. Immunity for her testimony is                          a small price for a bad cop. It's                          the only way she's going to talk.               Simms glares at Arthur.                                     ARTHUR                         And William McCall walks, right now,                          all charges dropped.               Simms hesitates, then --                                     SIMMS                         If what she says is any good, I'll                          deal. If it isn't, then nobody goes                          anywhere.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HALLWAY - CRIMINAL COURTS BUILDING - DAY               Cynthia is lead down the hall by GUARDS. They enter an office.               INT. OFFICE - CRIMINAL COURTS BUILDING - DAY               Agents Simms, Hooker, Sarkasian and TWO TECHNICIANS are                waiting inside with Arthur. Cynthia is lead into the room.                The guards withdraw, closing the door.               Cynthia looks at the men, then at the TAPE RECORDING EQUIPMENT                on the table and the empty chair. A MICROPHONE is waiting.               Cynthia looks at Arthur, then sits down in the chair.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. CRIMINAL COURTS BUILDING - DAY               REPORTERS swarm around Arthur and Joe as they exit the                courthouse.                                     REPORTERS                         How does it feel to be a free man                          again?               Arthur and Joe head down the steps to a waiting LIMOUSINE.                                     REPORTERS                         Do you remember everything that                          happened to you? What are your plans?                                     WILLIAM                         I just want to go back to work.                                     REPORTERS                         As a surgeon?                                     WILLIAM                         Yes.                                     REPORTERS                         What about the signed confession,                          did the police coerce you into signing                          it?                                     ARTHUR                         I'm sorry, no more questions.               They get into the back of the waiting limo and it pulls away.               INT. LIMOUSINE - DAY               Nathan is in the back, staring at Joe. Arthur sits next to                Joe. Nathan smiles. Joe smiles.                                     NATHAN                         Good to have you back, Will.                                     WILLIAM                         ...I'd like to make one stop.                                     NATHAN                         I know.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. CEMETERY - DAY               The limousine is parked curbside. Nathan and Arthur wait.                Watching Joe walk across the lawn. He stops, looking down.               The grave stones are for his wife and two children. He sits                down beside them. It's very near where Agent Hudd was buried.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE MCCALL MANSION - DUSK               Giant party in progress. Expensive cars parked along the                drive.               INT. MCCALL MANSION - DUSK               Filled with well-wishers in TUXES and GOWNS. Arthur Bailor                and Elliot in attendance. Elliot isn't used to this much                glory, but he's taking credit where where he can -- with one                of the PRETTY YOUNG WOMEN.                                     ELLIOT                         -- you know, it just didn't make                          sense, a man wanting to be punished                          for a crime? How many times does                          that happen? Once in a lifetime, I                          can tell you.               CAMERA MOVES to Arthur, who is also receiving his share of                the credit.                                     ARTHUR                         -- to tell the truth, I had no other                          witnesses to refute her testimony.                          But she didn't know that. All we                          knew was that she was reluctant to                          testify. You look for signs.               And CAMERA CONTINUES TO Joe and Nathan.                                     A MAN                         My God, we thought you were dead,                          you know. It's just incredible that                          you're here.                                     A WOMAN                         Life moves in such strange ways. Oh,                          I just think what might've happened                          to you had you not been arrested for                          killing that poor policeman. You                          still might be on the street.               Joe just takes it all in, smiling and nodding.                                     ANOTHER WOMAN                         Joe, you look wonderful. After what                          you've been through... I just can't                          imagine.                                     ANOTHER MAN (SINCLAIR)                         When you're ready to come back to                          work, let me know. I've already spoken                          to the board, they're ready to re-                         certify you anytime. I can put you                          in the emergency sector until you                          get warmed up. We all want you back.                          We can't afford to waste someone of                          your talent.               A beat, then Joe smiles.                                     WILLIAM                         ...I'm ready.               A BLACK TUXEDO WIPES past CAMERA as we --                                                                    CUT TO:               BLACK SCREEN. We HEAR the POUNDING of the MUSIC -- a FAMILIAR                RHYTHM. And in GRAFFITI across the screen:                                    FOUR MONTHS LATER               EXT. STRIP JOINT - NIGHT               The neon blares as usual.               INT. STRIP JOINT - NIGHT               And there's Cynthia. Back bumping and grinding to the music.                He life hasn't changed at all. And she knows it. But there's                nothing else she can do.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. CYNTHIA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT (EARLY MORNING)               Door opens. Cynthia enters. Shuts the door. Tries the light.                It doesn't go on. Suddenly a man is next to her --                                     MAN'S VOICE (DIVINCI)                         I guess you had no choice.               Cynthia tries to move, but a hand grabs her arm. And now we                see Divinci. He looks like hell. A man on the run. Desperate                and dangerous. He hasn't shaved. His clothes are filthy. He                looks like... Joe. Cynthia looks up at him.                                     DIVINCI                         You had to do the right thing.                                     CYNTHIA                         What d'you want?                                     DIVINCI                         What do I want?               Divinci suddenly shoves her hard across the room.                                     DIVINCI                         Why're you asking me that? You gonna                          grant me three wishes? I don't know                          where to start. Let's see... money                          would be nice... love would be                          better... but a little loyalty...                          you can never get enough of that.                              (moves up to her)                         ...But we'll start with... money.               Divinci pushes her into the bedroom.               INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT (EARLY MORNING)               Cynthia goes to her closet, pulls out a box, opens it. It's                got her savings.                                     CYNTHIA                         This is all I've got.               Divinci grabs the money and stuffs it into his jacket pocket.                                     CYNTHIA                         They'll catch you.                                     DIVINCI                         I don't think so.                                     CYNTHIA                         You wanna bet?                                     DIVINCI                         They don't have a clue, baby. And                          you wanna know why? Because I am                          following my heart.               Divinci puts aside his gun. And pushes Cynthia down on the                bed. He leans in close to her. Face to face.                                     DIVINCI                         And they don't know where that is.                                     CYNTHIA                         So tell me about your plans. I think                          I'd like to hear 'em now.               Divinci looks at Cynthia for a moment, almost with remorse.                                     DIVINCI                         Loyalty is what it all comes down                          to. Nothing holds together when it's                          gone. And once it's gone, you don't                          ever get it back... You shouldn't've                          told 'em.                                     CYNTHIA                         I shouldn't've done a lotta things                          in my life. But that's not one of                          'em.                                     DIVINCI                         Let me tell you something... the                          only difference between a liar and a                          witness is that just one of 'em knows                          what he's doing.               INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT (EARLY MORNING)               It is dark and quiet. No clue as to what's going on inside.                And we hold on this for a long moment. Just wondering what's                she being made to do. And then there's a MUFFLED BOOM. Divinci                exits the bedroom quickly. He is upset. We HEAR the DOOR                close.               AND WHITE FEATHERS               fall like snow flakes on Cynthia's body draped across the                bed. The pillow on the floor beside her with the stuffing                blown out. She has a hole in her chest, right above her heart.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. BAIL BOND OFFICE - EARLY MORNING               Manny unlocks the door, enters his office.                                     DIVINCI'S VOICE                         Shut the door and lock it.                                     MANNY                         Jesus Christ!               Manny looks toward the voice. Divinci is sitting on the floor                out of sight. Holding his revolver.                                     MANNY                         You scared the shit outa me.                                     DIVINCI                         Lock the door.               Manny locks the door.                                     DIVINCI                         One more favor, Manny.                                     MANNY                         Since when did I become such a good                          guy?                                     DIVINCI                         I'm takin' some time off. I want a                          car, here tonight, and a driver. You                          can do that for your old friend,                          right?                                     MANNY                              (disgusted)                         Yeah, I can do that. But you are a                          hot fuckin' potato. And drivers that                          don't talk, don't come cheap.                                     DIVINCI                         I got the money. Just put it together.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. HOSPITAL - EARLY MORNING               An AMBULANCE races up to the EMERGENCY entrance.               INT. HOSPITAL - EARLY MORNING               TWO PARAMEDICS push the gurney down the hall. Cynthia is                conscious on the gurney. Looking up at the ceiling. She is                fading. We HEAR --                                     VOICES                         -- come on, hang in there, hold on.               CYNTHIA'S (MOVING) P.O.V OF THE CEILING and FACES.               The gurney pushes past and CAMERA PICKS UP TWO SURGEONS moving                out of an Operating Room. Pulling off masks and rubber gloves                bloody from surgery. One of them is Joe. The other surgeon                pats him on the back.                                     OTHER SURGEON                         Just like riding a bike.               Joe finally breathes a sigh of relief and manages a smile.                                                                    CUT TO:               BLACK LINCOLN - EXT. BAIL BOND OFFICE - NIGHT               pulls up in front of the office. Tinted windows.               INT. BAIL BOND OFFICE - NIGHT               Manny is looking out the window.                                     MANNY                         Leather upholstery, moon roof, CD.                          What more could you ask for?               Divinci looks out. Gun in hand. He's cleaned himself up.                He's now wearing a Hawaiian shirt, slacks. A traveler.                                     DIVINCI                         Better not be a set up.                                     MANNY                         Want me to hold your hand?                                     DIVINCI                         Just walk me to the door.               EXT. BAIL BOND OFFICE - NIGHT               The Lincoln idles at the curb. Divinci and Manny exit the                office. Divinci glances up and down the street as they move                toward the car. Manny opens the back door. Nobody inside.                                     DIVINCI                         I think I'll let you live.                                     MANNY                         You are a real prince. Now how about                          my money?               Divinci hands Manny a wad of cash from his pocket, then gets                into the back of the car.                                     DIVINCI                         You never saw me.                                     MANNY                         Don't I wish that were true.               He closes the door. The Lincoln pulls away. Manny watches it                move off down the street.                                     MANNY                         Have a nice trip.               INT. LINCOLN - NIGHT               Driving. Divinci in the back. Can only see the DRIVER'S EYES                in the REAR VIEW MIRROR.                                     DIVINCI                         Head south. Get on the interstate.                          Don't break the speed limit.               Divinci settles into the leather seat. Looks at the rear                view mirror.                                     DIVINCI                         You know, the one thing about life...                          you can never lose your sense of                          humor. Without it, you got nothin'.               Suddenly the driver turns around, holding a 9mm and fires.                BLAM. BLAM. BLAM. Divinci's head snaps back as the BACK WINDOW                BLOWS OUT of the Lincoln.               And now we recognize the driver. It's Clyle D. Dunner.                                     CLYDE                         Fuckin' A.               THE LINCOLN               moves right into CAMERA. BRIGHT HEADLIGHTS filling the screen.                The car stops. We HEAR the DOOR OPEN and RUNNING FEET. And                PAN INTO THE BRIGHT HEADLIGHTS GLARING into CAMERA.                                                                    CUT TO:               SURGICAL LIGHTS - INT. OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT               SHINING BRIGHTLY into CAMERA.                                     MAN'S VOICE                         -- run the cardioplegia.               Faces appear. Looking down. We recognize Joe and one of the                friends from the party -- Sinclair.                                     WILLIAM                         She's fibrilating. Go on bypass.               Faces move away as we HEAR MEDICAL MACHINES in operation. A                NURSE reappears. CAMERA MOVES back now, revealing the room.                And the operation in progress.                                     SURGEON SINCLAIR                         Forceps.                              (A nurse hands him                               forceps)                         Just like old times.                                     WILLIAM                         I wouldn't have done this without                          you... I owe you.                                     SURGEON SINCLAIR                         Lucky to have a donor. Never would've                          survived the night. Have a suture                          ready.                                     NURSE                              (picks up suture)                         I heard it was a cop's heart.               Joe looks at the nurse.                                     NURSE                         He was shot in the head a couple                          hours ago.               CAMERA PUSHES IN ON JOE                                     NURSE                         They think it was gang related.               The BRIGHT LIGHTS OVERHEAD bleed the scene to WHITE and we --                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               WAVES - DAY               crashing on white sand. PANNING with the clear blue water                racing up the sand to a woman in a bathing suit, sitting                alone. We PAN UP HER LEGS, past her stomach, to her CHEST                where we see a SCAR ABOVE HER HEART.               We CONTINUE UP TO HER FACE NOW. It's Cynthia. Staring out at                the ocean. Palm trees behind her. She's beautiful. She leans                back, hands behind her and... She smiles. Her life has                changed. And we HEAR HAWAIIAN SLACK KEY GUITAR MUSIC as we --                                                                  FADE OUT:                                         THE END
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+"GHOST WORLD" by DANIEL CLOWES and TERRY ZWIGOFF OPENING TITLE SEQUENCE - EVENING We MOVE through the city in a series of brief shots that define and establish our setting, from commercial district to residential neighborhood. Eventually we find ourselves moving down a street of two-story apartment buildings. Many of the windows are lit from within by an EERIE BLUE LIGHT. As we track past at window-level we see: A glum, sedated-looking COUPLE watching TV. An ignored TODDLER runs amok behind them as a cheery commercial plays.. An empty room... A large, hirsute MAN, wearing only Lycra jogging shorts, watching the Home Shopping Network while eating mashed potatoes with his fingers... A dazed old woman staring out the window. The silhouette of a TEENAGE GIRL dancing by herself. We enter her room and see the TV SCREEN. The source of the THEME MUSIC is A VIDEO of an insane East Indian production number from the 1960's. The room is cluttered with heaps of clothes, old records, odd knick-knacks. We see her silhouetted back as she dances along to the video while trying on a GRADUATION CAP AND GOWN. EXT. HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION - AFTERNOON NEXT DAY. A modern high school auditorium. Over the entrance a banner with a "Coca Cola" logo reads: "GRADUATION TODAY 2 PM." INT. HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - SAME DAY A graduation ceremony is in progress. We DOLLY PAST the bland faces of teary-eyed graduates until we stop on ENID. At first, we only see the top of her mortarboard; as she lifts her head we see that she's trying desperately not to laugh. She makes eye-contact with REBECCA, another graduate, who is also trying to stifle her laughter. The SPEAKER is in an elaborate wheelchair with severe-looking traction devices. SPEAKER High school is like the training wheels for the bicycle of real life. It is a time for young people to explore different fields of interest and to hopefully grow from their experiences. After all, that which we learn from our mistakes can be as valuable as what we learn from our textbooks, and often we can turn the negative experiences that are common to all high-schoolers into positive steps toward personal growth and achievement. In coming to terms with my own personal setback, which I'm sure you've all heard about, I've been able to learn a lot about myself. I've learned for one thing that I don't need to rely on drugs and alcohol (APPLAUSE) and that I'm very lucky-that more people besides Carrie and myself weren't hurt in the accident; I've learned that I'm blessed with wonderful parents, teachers and above all the best classmates in the world -- I love each and every one of you guys!! (APPLAUSE) and I've learned that to get through life's obstacles you need faith, hope and, most of all, a sense of humor. (BIG APPLAUSE) A trio of TEENAGE GIRLS (one white, one Asian, one black) come running out from the wings and start dancing and rapping. The audience loves them. EBONY No more eduCATION... VANILLA It's time for celeBRATION... JADE 'cause this is the day of our high school GraduATION... EBONY We've stayed for the durATION... VANILLA Achieved matricuLATION... JADE Now we're the newest members of the general popuLATION... EXT. HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - LATE AFTERNOON The auditorium door opens and GRADUATES emerge. Enid & Rebecca run away from the crowd, triumphantly holding rolled up diplomas. They run toward the school playground, nearly bursting with excitement over their long-awaited release. Enid stops and looks back at the school. She gives it THE FINGER. They sit on a see-saw, out of breath. ENID God, what a bunch of retards... REBECCA I thought Chipmunk-face was never going to shut up. ENID I know, I liked her better when she was an alcoholic crack addict! She gets in one car wreck and all of a sudden she's Little Miss Perfect and everybody loves her. REBECCA It's totally sickening. (she unrolls her DIPLOMA) Let's see if they gave me the right diploma... Enid opens hers. Instead of a diploma, it's an OFFICIAL LOOKING DOCUMENT with a pink Post-It note on the front page. ENID What?... Oh suck my fucking dick! REBECCA What? ENID These assholes are saying that I have to go to Summer school and take some stupid art class! REBECCA Why? ENID Remember that stupid hippie art teacher who failed me sophomore year? I didn't think that just because you get an "F" that means you have to take the class over again. REBECCA You loser. EXT. "DAYS INN" HOTEL - EVENING The sign reads "Welcome Graduates". INT. "DAYS INN" HOTEL - EVENING Party in progress in the "Gold Room". A band plays TOP-40 "lite" rock REBECCA (watching band) This is so bad, it's almost good. ENID This is so bad it's gone past good and back to bad again... CLOSE-UP ON ENID, we see the party from her POV: The six or seven MOST POPULAR STUDENTS huddle closely together. ENID Just think, we'll never have to see any of these creepy faces ever again. REBECCA Unless they're in your Summer school class! ENID Shut up! REBECCA Uh oh... don't turn around... ENID What? Why? REBECCA Forget it... MELORRA, an ambitious, incessantly upbeat classmate, approaches them. MELORRA Oh my God, you guys! I can't believe we made it! ENID Yeah, we graduated high school -- how totally amazing. MELORRA So what are you guys doing this Summer? ENID Nothing. MELORRA I'm going to be in this actor's workshop, and I'm hoping to start going on auditions soon. I'm so excited to finally have some free time. We have to get together this summer! ENID Oh yeah, that'll definitely happen... MELORRA (spotting better people to talk to) Well, bye you guys... CONGRATULATIONS! Melorra leaves. ENID Since when is she an "actress"? REBECCA I know, she needs to die immediately. TODD, a friendly but slightly below-average-looking guy, approaches from behind. TODD Hey Rebecca! REBECCA Oh... hi... TODD (pause) So... we finally -- ENID What about me? Am I not even here? TODD Oh, hey Enid... (starting over) So... we finally made it! REBECCA Yep. TODD (awkward pause) So... where are you going to college? ENID (before Rebecca can answer) We're not. TODD Really? Both of you?... Why not? ENID Just because. REBECCA We have other plans. TODD I guess I should have figured that you two would do something different. ENID What are you going to be when you grow up, Todd? TODD Well I'm going to major in Business Administration and, I think, minor in Communications. ENID See, that's exactly the kind of thing we're trying to avoid. (pause) Todd starts to talk again but Enid has noticed something off to the side. TODD So... I -- Enid grabs Rebecca and turns her away from Todd before he can finish his sentence. ENID Oh my god, look! Is Stacy Himmler going out with Rod Harbaugh? REBECCA How perfect. ENID He better watch out or he'll get AIDS when he date-rapes her. Todd, forgotten, walks away. The singer wails a sappy, maudlin ballad. Enid spots DENNIS, the class loser, wandering around by himself. ENID God, just think, we'll never see Dennis again. REBECCA Good. ENID God, think about that... that's actually totally depressing. INT. THE QUALITY CAFE - DAY The QUALITY CAFE is Enid and Rebecca' s hangout. A 50-ISH MAN with shaved head, and his VAGUELY DIABOLICAL WIFE sit eating lunch. Enid is drawing a picture of them in her sketchbook when Rebecca arrives. REBECCA Hi. ENID Look at these people behind you. I'm totally convinced they're Satanists. REBECCA Why? ENID Just look at them! REBECCA turns and makes eye contact with MR. SATANIST. She calmly turns back to face Enid before cracking up. REBECCA So, when are we going to start looking for our apartment? ENID Soon... I have to wait and see how this Summer class goes. REBECCA Did you sign up yet? ENID Yeah, I just picked the one that sounded the easiest. REBECCA God, it's so weird that we're finally out of high school... We've been waiting for this our whole life! Now we can get our own apartment and do anything we want. It's such a weird feeling. ENID I know, it hasn't really hit me yet. Enter JOHN ELLIS, an obnoxious young man with a perpetual smirk. JOHN Well, if it isn't Enid and Rebecca, the little Jewish girl and her Aryan friend. ENID You're late, asshole. JOHN Fine, and how are you? ENID Did you bring that tape? He puts a videotape on the table, just out of reach. JOHN You never paid me for that tape with the Indian dance routine. ENID I did too! JOHN Tsk! You Jews are so clever with money... ENID Fuck you, you stupid redneck hick! REBECCA Hey, look, the satanists are leaving! ENID We should follow them! As the SATANISTS walk outside, they open umbrellas, even though it's a bright, sunny day. REBECCA Totally... Oh my God, look! The girls get up to follow them. Enid grabs the videotape. ENID (to John) Thanks for the tape - I'll have to pay you later, I'm broke. JOHN Hey, where are you going? ENID Later, "Dude". REBECCA Much later. ENID In fact, never. EXT. QUALITY CAFE - DAY Under harsh, glaring sunshine, the girls follow a half-block behind the SATANISTS. REBECCA What do you do if you're a satanist, anyway? ENID You know, sacrifice virgins and stuff... REBECCA That lets us off the hook. EXT. ACROSS FROM WOWSVILLE - TEN MINUTES HAVE PASSED The SATANISTS continue slowly along with Enid & Rebecca still following. ENID Maybe there's some weird secret satanic society that meets at the Quality Cafe and all of the other regular customers are in on it except for us. REBECCA Or maybe not. ENID Maybe they're slowly poisoning us or they're planning to brainwash us and -- REBECCA Okay, okay! EXT. WOWSVILLE DINER - CONTINUOUS ENID Hey, look at this... Enid points at the mini-mall in front of them. A new restaurant - we see their banner: "GRAND OPENING. WOWSVILLE - THE AUTHENTIC 50'S DINER". ENID "Authentic 50's diner"? Since when were there mini-malls in the 1950's? REBECCA God, it's so totally pathetic. INT. WOWSVILLE DINER - DAY They're in a booth looking at menus. It's a less accurate version of "Johnny Rockets". A golden oldie from the 80's plays on the jukebox. REBECCA Who can forget this great hit from the 50's? ENID I feel as though I've stepped into a time warp! The WAITER approaches. He has an ostentatious 70's-style perm. REBECCA Check out the awesome "fifties" hairdo on the waiter. WAITER Hi, my name is Allen, and I'll be your waiter this afternoon. ENID Hi, Al! REBECCA Can we call you "Weird Al"? WAITER Heh heh. Our specials today are pasta Vasilio, which is a pasta salad with a light basil vinaigrette-- ENID That was a popular dish in the 50's, huh Weird Al? AL I imagine so! Also, we have a spinach tortellini in a ricotta sauce. Both of those are $6.95... shall I give you a few minutes to mull it over? ENID I just want an order of onion rings. REBECCA I might actually get the pasta special. ENID You loser! AL Pasta special and an order of onion rings. Very good. Al leaves. ENID Did you notice all those weird things on the menu? Like "The Salad Explosion"? REBECCA I know... and instead of "dessert" it says "Mindbenders." ENID What does that even mean? INT. WOWSVILLE DINER - TEN MINUTES LATER Enid spots an abandoned newspaper, THE FREE WEEKLY, on the adjoining table. REBECCA Check out the Personals... maybe our future husbands are trying to contact us. ENID God, this paper is so boring. Who reads all this shit? (flips through it until she gets to the Personals) Here we go... (reading) "Windsurfing Doctor, Mensan IQ, maverick Sagittarius. Let's hit the clubs, make each other laugh!" REBECCA You can have that one. ENID Okay, well here's yours... (reading) "Who said all the most eligible bachelors are taken? Not this one! Stunning bod, very snugglelicious ocean sunset dreamer." REBECCA Gross. Al returns with their food. AL Can I get you ladies anything else, or are you all set? ENID Later I might be interested in one of those far-out "mindbenders." Al leaves. Enid goes back to the paper. ENID Jesus! Listen to this one: "Do you remember me? Airport shuttle, June 7th. You: striking redhead with yellow dress, pearl necklace, brown shoes. I was the bookish fellow in the green cardigan who helped you find your contact lens. Am I crazy, or did we have a moment?" REBECCA God, that's so pathetic. I bet she didn't even notice him. ENID I know. And he's like psychotically obsessing over every little detail. REBECCA We should call him and pretend to be the redhead. ENID Oh, we totally have to. Enid tears out the ad and puts it in her sketchbook. CU of sketchbook. INT. OOMIE'S LIVING ROOM - EVENING Enid and Rebecca sit with Rebecca's grandmother OOMIE in her living room. They eat TV dinners while watching Oomie's favorite TV SHOW, which we hear but don't see. NASAL-VOICED GIRL (V.O.) So what happened next, Donna? DONNA (DUMB BLONDE'S V.O.) Then I told him he'd better take out his hose and pump me! NASAL-VOICED GIRL/ANOTHER GIRL (V.O.) Don-na?! DONNA (V.O.) You guys! My car was out of gas! LAUGH TRACK. Enid leans toward Rebecca. ENID (whispers) Does Oomie really like this show? REBECCA (whispers) Isn't it weird? It's her favorite. OOMIE Girls! Shh! Enid and Rebecca exit. INT. REBECCA'S ROOM - EVENING Rebecca looks through Enid's sketchbook while Enid fiddles with the remote, fast-forwarding through a tape in the VCR. REBECCA So what should we do? ENID Wait... I just want to see what's on this tape. REBECCA What is this? ENID I dunno. John Ellis always puts on all this sick stuff that I have to fast-forward past to get to the good stuff. There's supposed to be a Don Knotts movie on here someplace. Sound of FAST-FORWARDING. Rebecca glances up from the sketchbook. REBECCA Wait, what is that? Enid stops fast-forwarding. We don't see the screen but we hear weird sounds like BOOTS WALKING THROUGH DEEP MUD. ENID & REBECCA EEEEWWWW! Enid lurches forward to avert her gaze. She clicks off the VCR, but leaves the TV on. She notices a PHOTO ALBUM on a bookshelf under the television. ENID Hey - why do you have this? REBECCA You lent it to me in like tenth grade. ENID I've been looking all over for this. ANGLE ON ALBUM as she leafs through it. We see a picture of a FIVE-YEAR-OLD ENID with glasses. ENID Look at how cute I am! REBECCA What a little hosebag. ANGLE ON PHOTO of ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD ENID & REBECCA at a party. ENID Look, that's back when I hated you. REBECCA I remember every minute of that party. ENID (another page) There's my dad with Joanie. REBECCA I can never keep them all straight - was she the super-bitch? ENID No, she was the second wife. The third one was the super-bitch - Maxine. (finds a picture) There! Look at her! ANGLE ON PHOTO of MAXINE. ENID What a fucking monster! Something on TV catches Rebecca's eye. REBECCA Oh my God! This is that comedian I was telling you about! You have to see this guy -- he's the absolute worst! A dead-pan comedian, JOEY McCOBB, is doing his stand-up routine in a standard brick-wall comedy venue. He has a contrived "I'm a weirdo" shtick. JOEY Just because I live with my mother people think I'm peculiar... so what if she's been dead for fifteen years! Hehn hehn... (Peter Lorre laugh) REBECCA (V.O.) God, that's barely even a joke. JOEY As I always say, take my life... please! ENID (V.O.) If he's supposed to be so weird, how come he's wearing Nikes? ANNOUNCER Joey McCobb, ladies and gentlemen... Joey McCobb! (APPLAUSE) ENID Joey McCobb is our God. REBECCA I want to do him! ENID I bet! Actually he reminds me of that one creep you went out with -- you always go for guys with some lame, fake shtick. REBECCA What are you talking about -- who? ENID That Larry guy -- what look was he going for? A gay tennis player from the forties? REBECCA Fuck you! Rebecca turns the page of Enid's sketchbook to the torn-out personal ad. REBECCA Hey! We forgot to call the loser! ENID Which loser? REBECCA You know, the green cardigan guy. ENID Oh yeah. Rebecca goes to the phone and offers the receiver. REBECCA You call. ENID Why do I always have to do it? REBECCA You're better at it. ENID (as she dials) I remember when I first started reading these I thought DWF stood for "dwarf!" REBECCA (ear up to phone) What does it stand for? ENID Shh, it's his answering machine... (pause) We hear the indistinct traces of a musical message followed by a faint BEEP. ENID Hi, it's me - your "striking blonde." Of course I remember you. Let's get together for lunch sometime... How about Friday at one o'clock?... Why don't you meet me at my favorite restaurant, "Wowsville"... It's in the mall on Century Parkway... I'll see you there, darling... and be sure to wear that sexy green cardigan... As Enid hangs up they both start laughing. EXT. SIDEWINDER - DAY A franchise convenience store with a western motif. INT. SIDEWINDER - DAY JOSH, 19, is taking his apron off as his BOSS, a humorless Greek immigrant, counts out the cash register. Cheerful Muzak plays. BOSS AH AH AH! What you think you doing? You still got five minutes left on you shift! Enid (wearing wraparound shades) & Rebecca enter. ENID Well hello there, young employee of the Sidewinder. JOSH Look, I already told you I'm not going to give you a ride. ENID What can you tell me, young man, about the various flavors of "frozen yogurt"? JOSH Look, I'll be done in a minute. Just wait outside. ENID I'm afraid I don't understand. I simply wish to know -- BOSS JOSH! WHAT YOU DOING!? JOSH (SIGHS) The flavors we're featuring this week, in addition to old favorites chocolate and vanilla, are Six-Gun Strawberry, Wild Cherry Round-up, and Ten Gallon Tangerine. ENID I don't believe I care for any of those. Rebecca giggles. A customer, DOUG, enters: a lowly specimen with bad hair-cut, mustache, and jail-house tattoos, wearing filthy designer jeans and no shirt. DOUG Hey, Josh... I need two packs of smokes. I'm on a double shift tonight... fuckin' sixteen hours, man. Doug brings a 40-ouncer to the counter. Josh has two packs of Newports waiting for him. DOUG Hey, and gimme six of these beef jerkys too - I'm hungry enough to chew the crotch out of a rag doll! Doug pays. BOSS Hey! I told you: No shirt, no service! DOUG (as he leaves) Fuck you, man! ENID So Josh... JOSH Look, can we talk in a minute? I'm almost done. Enid looks at herself in the security mirror. She takes off her hat and messes up her hair. She then takes off her shades and replaces them with her standard horn-rims. REBECCA (nudging Enid, points outside) Look at this! Outside we see Doug practicing with nunchuks and drinking a beer. Heavy metal music blares from his car radio. The BOSS sees this and goes out to yell at him. BOSS You get out of here! Josh joins Enid & Rebecca on the other side of counter. ENID That guy rules! JOSH Who, Doug? He spends more time here than I do... ENID So Josh, will you give us a ride? Please? Pretty please? It's going to be super fun! JOSH No. REBECCA Please Josh? JOSH Forget it, there's no way... find some other poor sucker to abuse. EXT. JOSH'S CAR - DAY Josh is driving, chauffeur-like, with the two girls relaxing in the back seat. JOSH Why do you even need a ride? You could walk there in two minutes. ENID It's just an excuse for us to spend time with you. Enid and Rebecca giggle. REBECCA So Josh, if this guy freaks out, will you protect us? JOSH He has every reason to freak out -- this is a totally fucked-up thing to do to somebody! ENID God, I think Josh is too mature for us. REBECCA I know, look at the way he drives... he's like an old man. ENID Yeah, Josh, c'mon... MOVE IT! EXT. GAFFEY STREET - DAY Their car accelerates. INT. WOWSVILLE DINER - 12:35 PM. The three of them are seated at a corner booth. A song from any decade other than the 50's PLAYS on the jukebox. A BUSINESSMAN enters. REBECCA Look, maybe that's him! ENID It's still twenty-five minutes early. JOSH Aren't there a million places like this? ENID This is the ultimate. It's like the Taj Mahal of bad, fake 50's diners. JOSH So, where's "Weird Al"? ENID SHH! He's back there. I can see his hair bobbing up and down. REBECCA I want to "make love" to him. ENID I'm going to tell him you said that. WEIRD AL approaches with menus. AL So nice to see you again, ladies. ENID Hey, Weird Al, there's something my friend wants to tell you -- REBECCA SHUT UP! ENID She says she wants to MMPH! Rebecca puts her hand over Enid's mouth. CUT TO: A PUSH SWEEPER, SWEEPING THE CARPET. ANGLE ON: OLD WOMAN slowly sweeping. WE FOLLOW HER BACK TO: Enid, Rebecca & Josh. They're now eating: ten minutes have passed, it's 12:45. ENID So Josh... Becky and I are trying to figure out what makes you tick. Tell us about your political beliefs. REBECCA laughs. JOSH Yeah, right. ENID No, I'm serious. Give us your whole basic philosophy in a nutshell. REBECCA Oh my God, look, that's got to be him! A GUY enters. ENID Is he wearing a green cardigan? REBECCA What exactly is a cardigan anyway? The GUY joins a friend. ENID That's not him... Jesus, stop freaking me out. JOSH In answer to your question, I suppose I endorse policies that are opposed to stupidity and violence and cruelty in any form... ENID I figured something like that... REBECCA Oh my God! They see a somewhat funny-looking guy in his late 30's, wearing a green cardigan, SEYMOUR, enter. Enid and Rebecca hunch down in their seats. ENID It's obviously him! REBECCA I can't believe it! Seymour sits down and looks around. Weird Al brings a menu. ANOTHER ANGLE ON: WEIRD AL bringing his milkshake. Ten more minutes have passed, it's 12:55. REBECCA What's going on now? What's he doing? ENID Oh my god, he just ordered a giant glass of milk! JOSH (bursting her bubble) It's a vanilla milkshake. Fifteen more minutes have passed - it's 1:10 PM. Seymour looks around, still hopeful. His date is now TEN MINUTES LATE. REBECCA What's he doing now? ENID He's still just sitting there. God, this is totally unbearable! JOSH I agree. REBECCA I wish I could see him. ENID Go ahead and look, but don't make it too obvious... Rebecca turns around and pretends to look past Seymour. It's now 1:30 PM. His date is 30 MINUTES LATE. Seymour gets up and walks sadly towards the cashier (Weird Al). REBECCA Do you think he knows? ENID I dunno... They watch him leave. Enid goes up to pay the bill while Josh and Rebecca go outside. ENID Hey Weird Al, did that guy say anything to you before he left? AL Not a thing. Enid goes back to the table to leave a tip, two dollars. Al passes behind her. AL (cheerfully professional despite her abuse) Thank you and come again. Enid hesitates, overcome with guilt. She glances back at Al, then digs every penny out of her pocket (about seven dollars in coins and wadded up bills) and adds it to his tip. EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY The trio drive in silence. Suddenly, an extra-wide pick-up vrooms past Josh, cutting off the driver (SEYMOUR) next to him. SEYMOUR bobs violently as he screams silent obscenities. JOSH Jesus, look at this guy. ENID Oh my God, that's HIM! REBECCA Are you sure? ENID Totally! Look! ANGLE ON: SEYMOUR really having a fit now. Once it's out of his system, he reverts to an amiable poker-face. ENID He's insane! REBECCA We should follow him home. JOSH Forget it. ENID Come on, Josh... don't you want to see where he lives? JOSH No. ENID But this guy is like a one-of-kind, rare butterfly, and we have to follow him back to his natural habitat... JOSH You need counseling. EXT. SEYMOUR'S APARTMENT - DAY Several minutes have passed. Seymour parks. REBECCA God, he lives right in our neighborhood! Seymour gets out and disappears up the steps of his building. ENID He doesn't even look that bummed out, really. REBECCA I know... wouldn't you be totally pissed off? ENID This kind of thing must happen to him all the time. INT. EXPERIMENTAL FILM - DAY FULL SCREEN: grainy B&W video footage. The CAMERA travels up a shadowy flight of stairs. We hear FOOTSTEPS, a rhythmic POUNDING, and a deranged CHILDREN'S CHOIR ("LALALALALALA"). WOMAN'S VOICE (cheap echo effect) Returning to the house of my Fatherfatherfatherfather... The CAMERA reaches the top of the stairs, we see a door that slowly CREAKS open. We move into the room beyond, it's decorated with stuff from the 50's and a giant crucifix. We HEAR a televangelist's sermon. We MOVE CLOSE on a little girl's doll. Very slowly a MAN'S HAND reaches for the doll and drags it into the shadows. The hand throws the now mutilated doll into a toilet; water and blood swirl around. We see grainy footage (shot off of TV) of Christians angrily picketing an abortion clinic. CREDITS come up: THE END. A FILM BY ROBERTA ALLSWORTH. INT. ART CLASS - DAY The lights go on, the VIDEO ends and the monitor is shut off. There are about a dozen students, mostly pimply 14-year-old boys, a few 14-ish girls, and Enid, dressed in schoolgirl outfit. The teacher, ROBERTA ALLSWORTH, addresses the class. ROBERTA That piece is entitled "Mirror/Father/Mirror." I like to show it to people I'm meeting for the first time because it says so much about who I am and what it feels like to inhabit my specific skin. And this is exactly what I'm hoping to get from each of you over the course of this Summer: a picture of your own self-exploration. My own background is in video and performance art, but I'm hoping that doesn't influence you and that you'll find your own ways of externalizing the internal. At the end of the Summer, this class has been invited, along with several others in the area, to participate in a show of High-School art at the Neighborhood Activity Center. The title of the show will be "Brotherhood and Community: Art as Dialogue." I think the "Brotherhood" theme ties in nicely with the theme of self-discovery that I'd like to emphasize in this class. Are there any questions so far? (she's completely lost them) Great... EXT. SEYMOUR'S NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY Enid and Rebecca stand in front of Seymour's apartment. ENID This is way too creepy. REBECCA He won't see us... we'll just stalk him from a distance. ENID I'm afraid if I see him, I'll start feeling really bad again. A pause. ENID So what should we do? We can't just hide all day waiting for him to come out... EXT. SEYMOUR'S BUILDING - MAILBOX There are three mail slots. Enid pulls the mail out of the first one. We see FLOWER BULB CATALOGUES, and LADIES HOME JOURNAL. ENID This is girl mail. She grabs the mail out of SLOT NUMBER TWO. ENID This is all computer catalogues and stuff... Rebecca is looking at the mail from SLOT NUMBER THREE. REBECCA The W.C. Fields Fan Club Newsletter... (she flips through the mail) Oh my God, The National Psoriasis Foundation! ENID Bingo! She shoves back the contents of slot number two and grabs the mail from Rebecca. We hear MALE VOICES around the corner. REBECCA Wait! Do you hear that? Enid jams the mail back in the slot in a panic. ENID Shit! They slowly walk around the bushes toward the voices. INT. SEYMOUR & JOE'S GARAGE SALE - DAY They see the GARAGE SALE, in progress. They've all spotted each other. REBECCA What should we do? What if he recognizes us? ENID Come on, it's too late now... A middle-aged HOUSEWIFE browses with little enthusiasm as Enid & Rebecca tentatively approach. Enid spots a MONGOOSE VS. COBRA taxidermy piece near Joe... ENID Ew, look at this... REBECCA Gross! ENID I think it's cute - look at his little weasel teeth. REBECCA Ew, it's like some gross rat... JOE (hardly looking up from TV) It's a mongoose. REBECCA Mm... ENID A what? JOE A mongoose... they eat snakes... you never heard of a mongoose? That's a classic piece of vintage taxidermy. Nobody alive today knows how to do work like that. ENID (looking underneath it) How much is this? JOE Umm... That's not officially for sale... I might have to hang onto that for the time being. Joe shuts off the TV. He turns to the girls, not wanting to lose the rapport he's established with two potential customers. JOE So, are you looking for anything in particular? There's a lot of other stuff in storage... He picks up a plastic Casio-type guitar/keyboard (a child's toy) and starts noodling pre-programmed rock licks. JOE Perhaps the "Jam-in-ator" appeals to you. Absolutely no practice necessary. You shread like a giant. Just press a button. ENID That's okay... She notices several modern jazz LPs on Joe's table. ENID Do you have any other old records besides these? JOE Seymour does. ENID Who does? JOE Him. Seymour. He's the man with the records. Enid glances at Rebecca and mouths the implausible name: "Seymour?!" Rebecca snorts, unable to control her laughter, and turns away from the table. Enid keeps her cool... ENID Do you have any old Indian records? SEYMOUR Indian records? ENID You know, like weird 1960's Indian rock n' roll music. SEYMOUR I don't have anything after about 1935. I may have one Hindu 78 from the twenties in my collection, but it's not really for sale. I don't really collect "foreign." Enid drifts over and begins thumbing through a box of 78s. SEYMOUR Those are all 78s... Can you play 78s? ENID Sure!... Wait, maybe not 78s, but I can play regular records... He points her to a nearby box of LPs. SEYMOUR There's some good stuff in here... do you like old music? ENID Sure, I guess. SEYMOUR Well there's a few choice LPs in here that re-issue some really great old blues stuff. Rebecca tugs on Enid's sleeve. Enid gets free and continues looking through the records. She stops on one with an especially wacky cover. ENID Is this one any good? SEYMOUR Nah, it's not so great. Here's the one I'd recommend. He pulls out a bland-looking record: "COLLECTOR'S ITEMS, VOLUME THREE." Rebecca shifts impatiently behind her. SEYMOUR This track alone by Memphis Minnie is worth about $500 if you have the original 78. She was one of the greatest guitar players that ever lived, and a great singer and songwriter as well. I know the guy who owns the original and lent it for use on this reissue. ENID Wow! Rebecca snorts at Enid's over-exuberance. Enid kicks her. ENID How much is it? SEYMOUR A dollar seventy-five. ENID Okay. She pays him. SEYMOUR If you don't like it bring it back for a refund. We're here every Saturday. He puts the record into a bag. ENID I'm sure it's fine. INT. QUALITY CAFE - DAY Enid & Rebecca sit in their usual booth. Rebecca is reading THE FREE WEEKLY. REBECCA That was truly pathetic. ENID I know... I still can't get over that his name was "Seymour." Rebecca starts looking through the APARTMENT LISTINGS. She takes a pen out of her purse. REBECCA He was so excited when you bought that record -- you're a saint!... God, these apartments are super expensive... ENID It was so cute how he had his own little bags. I thought I was going to start crying!... Do you think they're gay? REBECCA What about the "striking redhead in the yellow dress"? ENID Oh yeah... REBECCA He should totally just kill himself... Hey, here's one (circles it) ...Oh wait... (crosses it out) you have to share it with a non smoking feminist and her two cats... ENID I dunno... I kind of like him... He's the exact opposite of everything I really hate... In a way he's such a clueless dork that he's almost cool... REBECCA That guy is many things but he definitely isn't "cool"... This one would be okay, but there's no kitchen... ENID Yeah, but... you know what I mean. REBECCA Not really... ENID Forget it, I can't explain it... Awkward silence. Melorra enters. MELORRA Oh my god, what are you guys doing here? ENID What are you doing here, Melorra? MELORRA My acting workshop is across the street from here. I'm just on my break. ENID Well, we won't keep you. MELORRA I love this place... it's so - you know, "funky." Enid and Rebecca look at each other. MELORRA What are you guys up to? REBECCA We're looking for an apartment. MELORRA God how cool. Where are you moving? ENID We're not sure yet, that's why we're looking. REBECCA Somewhere downtown. MELORRA God that's so exciting! (looks at clock) Oops, I should go. Bye you guys! Call me. Melorra leaves quickly. REBECCA "Funky"? ENID What, is she black now? They watch her cross the street - she's dressed in expensive "casual" clothes with a fancy backpack. REBECCA I've been thinking about when we look for our apartment how we have to try and convince people that we're like these totally rich yuppies... ENID What are you talking about? REBECCA That's who people want to rent to. It's a known fact that it's way easier to get a job and everything if you're rich... All we have to do is buy a few semi-expensive outfits and act like it's no big deal... it'll be fun. ENID You just want an excuse to dress like some stupid fashion model without me making fun of you. REBECCA Just promise you'll do it. ENID Okay, okay, I promise... Jesus, you're out of your mind. INT. ENID'S BATHROOM - DAY Loud water running; PUNK ROCK blares from adjoining bedroom as Enid, her head in the sink, sings along, making up her own words. As she straightens INTO FRAME, we see that she's dyed her hair green. She grabs a towel and heads into the bedroom. INT. ENID'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS Her DAD enters with a mixing bowl, oblivious to the green hair and loud music. DAD (over music) Have you seen my blue spatula? ENID Nope. What are you making, pancakes? DAD Not if I don't find that goddamn spatula. Dad leaves. Enid messes up her hair in different ways while singing along to the tape and looking at herself in the mirror. Rebecca opens the door and stands in the doorway. REBECCA (disdainful) When did you do that? Enid turns around, startled, but instantly regains helps composure. ENID What? How long have you been standing there? EXT. COMMERCIAL AREA/NEAR ACME SHOES - DAY REBECCA Did you have to buy new hair dye or did you still have some left over from eighth grade? ENID Fuck you, bitch! They walk past a sad-looking ACME SHOES AND REPAIR STORE, in a distinctive old building, that looks as if it's been there forever. They stop and peer through the window. ENID We still have to go in there sometime. REBECCA It's always closed... ENID I bet they have tons of incredible shoes hidden in the back. They continue walking. ENID Hey look, it's the pants. We see a pair of discarded jeans on the sidewalk. REBECCA Where are we going? ENID Let's go hassle Josh. REBECCA "Hassle"? They see a MIDDLE-AGED MAN dressed in a shabby threadbare suit and hat sitting at what was once a bus stop. The rusty sign has a red sticker on it that says "No longer in service." REBECCA There he is... ENID As always. REBECCA Waiting for the bus that never comes... ENID I wonder if he's just totally insane and he really thinks a bus is coming or -- REBECCA Why don't you ask him. Enid sits next to THE MAN. Rebecca stands behind the bench, taken aback that Enid is going to end the long standing speculation. ENID Hi... what's your name? MAN (looks at watchless wrist, then down the street) Norman. ENID ...are you waiting for a bus? MAN Yes. ENID I hate to tell you this but they cancelled this bus line two years ago... There are no buses on this street. MAN You don't know what you're talking about. EXT. JOSH'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY Enid & Rebecca are on the outside porch/walkway on the second floor of Josh's building. Enid POUNDS on his pasteboard door; the windows RATTLE with each hollow THUD. ENID JOSH! REBECCA JOSH! ENID & REBECCA JOSH! ENID He's probably in there jerking off. REBECCA I'll bet he never jerks off... ENID Yeah, he's beyond human stuff like that. REBECCA Should we leave a note? Enid finds a piece of paper - the back of a pizza flyer. ENID Do you have a pen? She writes, while Rebecca looks over her shoulder. "Dear Josh. We came by to fuck you but you didn't answer the door. Therefore you are gay. Signed, Tiffany and Amber." REBECCA You're not really going to leave that are you? Enid pushes the note over his doorknob. EXT. ENTERING ZINE-O-PHOBIA BOOKSTORE - DAY REBECCA Why are we going here? I hate this place. ENID It'll only take a second. INT. ZINE-O-PHOBIA BOOKSTORE - DAY They enter. We see racks of books-with titles like "Make Explosives At Home." Rebecca walks over to the magazine rack. CREEP #1 -- I'm telling you, you're wrong -- carpet beetles are the only way to get the flesh off a corpse... Boiling is strictly for amateurs! ENID Don't you creeps ever talk about anything nice? Don't you ever talk about fluffy kittens or the Easter Bunny? CREEP #1 Look who's talking - little miss badass... CREEP #2 Yeah, nice outfit - who are you supposed to be, Cyndi Lauper? ENID Blow me, doofus! John Ellis emerges from the back and begins to unload a box of books onto the shelves. He stops and looks at Enid. JOHN ELLIS Didn't they tell you? ENID Tell me what? JOHN ELLIS Punk rock is over! ENID I know it's over, asshole, I -- JOHN ELLIS If you really want to "fuck up the system" - you should go to business school -- that's what I'm gonna do: get a job at some big corporation and fuck things up from the inside! ENID That's not even -- JOHN ELLIS Yeah yeah yeah. Do you have my money? She wads up a twenty-dollar bill and throws it at him. JOHN ELLIS Oh, how "punk." ENID That tape sucked, by the way! JOHN ELLIS I'm so sorry if you were offended! He heads toward the back room with the empty box. ENID Go die, asshole! JOHN ELLIS Get a job! He exits. Rebecca walks over to Enid. REBECCA What was that all about? ENID It's not like I'm some modern Punk dickhead... It's obviously supposed to be a 1977 Punk look, but I guess Johnny Fuckface is too stupid to get it! REBECCA I didn't get it either. ENID Everybody's too stupid! INT. ENID'S BEDROOM/BATHROOM - EVENING Enid dejectedly enters and heads straight for the bathroom. She rummages through a cabinet until she finds the right box (black hair dye). She wets her hair, then goes into the bedroom and mechanically turns on her boom box. The punk rock song we heard earlier plays. She yanks out the tape and flings it away. She skims through her records and CDs, dismissing them all. She notices Seymour's bag in the corner. She takes out the record and puts it on. The first tune is an upbeat instrumental number. She returns to the bathroom. Several minutes pass. TRACK TWO begins on the LP. She (and we) slowly begin to take notice. It's a strange, haunting old BLUES RECORD. We see that the tune has struck a nerve. INT. ENID'S BEDROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT The song continues. Enid sits in her bean-bag chair. Her hair is now dyed back to black. As the song ends, she picks up the needle and starts it again. INT. SEYMOUR & JOE'S GARAGE SALE - DAY ENID Yeah, it took a while before I got a chance to play it, but when I heard that song it was like -- SEYMOUR So you really liked it? Yeah, there's some really rare performances. You liked that Memphis Minnie, huh? ENID Yeah, that's good too... the whole record was good, but that one song, "Devil Got My Woman" -- I mostly just keep playing that one over and over... Do you have any other records like that? SEYMOUR The Skip James record? Yeah, that's a masterpiece. There are no other records like that! I actually have the original 78 of it in my collection. It's one of maybe five known copies. ENID (nearly sincere) Wow! SEYMOUR Do you want to see it? I can run upstairs and get it... ENID Yeah, sure, I guess... SEYMOUR (to Joe, he always says this when he leaves his table) Watch my stuff. Seymour exits. An uncomfortable pause as Enid stands at the table. She touches the mongoose's tooth. JOE (not looking up) You still interested in that? ENID I thought it wasn't for sale. JOE I'm thinkin' maybe I could let it go... ENID It's kind of falling apart. Seymour returns with the 78, holding it like a precious object. SEYMOUR Here it is. It's only about V minus and has an incipient lam crack, but plays decent as I recall. Seymour passes the 78 to Enid who follows suit and holds it carefully by the edges. ENID Wow... Enid pretends to drop the record. ENID Oops! I dropped it! SEYMOUR NO!!! ENID Hey, I was only kidding! She hands the record back to Seymour, who's shaken and embarrassed. ENID Jesus, Seymour... are you all right? INT. ART CLASS - DAY Starts with a PAN ACROSS a wall of unimpressive high school art: dumb drawings of fighting Chuck Norris-types, traced centerfolds, highly sexualized horses, etc. And, on a table, a wire sculpture made from two coathangers. ROBERTA I'm not going to start a discourse on the subject of "good" art vs. "bad" art; these judgments are for each person to make on his own. I merely want to help each of you find the best way to look within yourselves the best key to your particular lock. Last week I asked you to-try and create a piece of artwork that responds to something that you have strong feelings about. Enid enters late and puts her sketchbook on the table. ROBERTA And it looks like we have some really interesting work up here.... Roberta peruses some of the art, then points to a very violent drawing. ROBERTA What can you tell, us about your piece... uh... (struggles to read signature) ...Phillip? PHILLIP (very stupid and nervous) Uh... it's uh... it's about The Mutilator... ROBERTA My goodness! PHILLIP It's this really great video game about a guy who kills people with a big hammer... ROBERTA (trying to make a joke) I thought maybe this was supposed to be your father. No response from Phillip. Roberta nicks up Enid's sketchbook and leafs through it. ROBERTA And what can you tell us about this... (searches for name) ENID Enid. It's sort of like a diary I guess. We see several sketches, including the drawing of the SATANISTS. Roberta shows a few pages to the class. ROBERTA I think that Phillip and Enid can help us to see that there are-many different ways we can express ourselves. We can do things like these cartoons that are amusing as a sort of light entertainment or we can do work that is more serious in scope and feeling and that deals with issues; emotional, spiritual, political; of great importance. I hope that you will each have the tools to do that type of work by the end of this class. (pause, points at WIRE SCULPTURE) Who is responsible for this? MARGARET I am. ROBERTA Talk to us about it... MARGARET It's my response to the issue of a woman's right to choose... it's something I feel super-strongly about. ROBERTA Isn't this a wonderful piece, class? This definitely falls into that higher category of art I was speaking of earlier. MARGARET glances over at Enid. Enid gives her a dirty look. INT. "MASTERPIECE VIDEO" STORE - AFTERNOON. On a monitor, a generic trailer is playing. MASTERPIECE EMPLOYEE #1 Hello and welcome to Masterpiece video. How may I help you this afternoon, sir? CUSTOMER I'm looking for a copy of 8 1/2. MASTERPIECE EMPLOYEE #1 Yessir! Is it a new release, sir? CUSTOMER No, it's the classic Italian film. MASTERPIECE EMPLOYEE #1 Let me look that up on the computer for you, sir! (FIDDLES WITH COMPUTER) Yes, here it is - 9 1/2 WEEKS with Mickey Rourke. It's in our "Erotic Dramas" section. CUSTOMER No, not "9 1/2", 8 1/2 , the Fellini film. MASTERPIECE EMPLOYEE #1 I'll check that for you sir. How do you spell the actor's name - F-I-L-E- E-P-E-E...? WE SEE Enid & Rebecca, dressed up in sexy outfits. REBECCA How about this one? ENID Hey, you have to see my new good luck charm. She pulls out a small porcelain figure of a MAN FLUSHING HIMSELF DOWN A TOILET with the words "Goodbye Cruel World" on the base. REBECCA Ew ... when did you get that? ENID This morning at Seymour's garage sale. REBECCA God, aren't you tired of Seymour yet? Rebecca picks up another tape. REBECCA How about this? ENID Forget it. I'm sure it sucks. All these movies suck. An obnoxious SIX-YEAR-OLD tries to get his PARENTS to add another tape to their already tall stack. He stares at the video monitor. Another MASTERPIECE EMPLOYEE reshelves videos near them. MASTERPIECE EMPLOYEE #2 (overly cheerful) Hello! How are you young ladies this evening? May I help you find a particular Masterpiece movie? ENID No. They walk by him. ENID Let's get out of here, this place makes me sick. REBECCA We have to do something fun tonight this is my last weekend of freedom before I start my stupid job. ENID I know a party we could go to... REBECCA What? Where?! ENID It's a surprise. REBECCA I don't believe you. ENID If I promise you there's really a party with a lot of guys, do you promise you'll go? INT. SEYMOUR & JOE'S LIVING ROOM - EVENING A depressing COLLECTORS' GET-TOGETHER in progress. Enid & Rebecca sit on an old sofa in the corner. Nine or ten RECORD COLLECTORS mill about. JEROME There are some records I will pay serious money for, provided they're a sincere V plus. Other than that I'd prefer to just have them on CD. STEVEN CDs will never have the presence of an original 78. JEROME WRR-ONG! A digital transfer adequately mastered will sound identical to the original. Do you have a decent equalizer? STEVEN I have a Klipsch 2B3. JEROME Obviously the problem! You expect a ten-band equalizer to impart state of-the-art sound? Dream a little dream! etc... Enid & Rebecca are sitting nearby. REBECCA I totally, totally hate you. ENID Aw c'mon, this is a fun party. ANGLE ON: Joe stands talking to GERROLD, an obnoxious, pushy, fast-talking guy who keeps eyeing Rebecca. He shovels food into his mouth as he speaks. GERROLD So what's the story with the two cheerleaders over here? JOE They're Seymour's. GERROLD Seymour? You gotta be kidding me! JOE Don't worry about it. He's not gettin' any and neither are you. GERROLD (poking Joe in the chest) Let me tell ya somethin', Joe... Listen to me, Joe... you can't hit a home run without swinging the bat! JOE Right. Gerrold walks over to where Rebecca is sitting. He sits on the arm of sofa next to her. GERROLD Mind if I sit here? REBECCA (staring straight ahead) Yes. GERROLD Whoa, that was cold! Hey, you're okay, you're pretty sharp. So uh... hey, you're wearing a green dress - whadda you Irish? I bet you're Irish. What's your name? REBECCA Melorra... GERROLD Melorra, listen to me - let me tell you something Melorra... you seem like an interesting chick - what are you doing hanging out with these losers here? Whaddya say you and me take off and hit some nightspots etc. etc. ENID I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get a beer. REBECCA (to ENID) Wait... Enid goes over to the beer keg. Nearby Seymour stands talking to PAUL - a humorless, middle-aged guy in a suit and tie who's contemptuously examining one of Seymour's 78s. SEYMOUR ...but it plays like new. There's no groove wear. PAUL Oh please... It has an enlarged center hole and a hair crack. Enid approaches them. SEYMOUR But the crack is so tight it's completely inaudible. PAUL A tight hair crack is just that - a crack. I don't collect cracked records. (walking away) I only pay a premium for mint records Seymour, you know that! Please! ENID What was all that stuff about enlarged holes and tight cracks? SEYMOUR I... I didn't think you would have any interest in this get together... I mean if you had told me you were coming I would have warned you -- it's not like a real party or anything. ENID You're right about that. (pause) So this is your record collection? SEYMOUR Oh God no. This is just junk I have for sale or trade. The record room is off-limits. ENID Really? Can I see it? SEYMOUR Yeah, well sure... you can if you want to... it's just I don't want all these guys in there at once... you know... INT. SEYMOUR'S BEDROOM - EVENING Enid & Seymour enter his inner sanctum, beverage containers in hand -- nicely-displayed old collectibles cover just about every inch of wall space. ENID Wow! This is like my dream room! Are these all records! SEYMOUR I have about fifteen hundred 78s at this point. I've tried to pare down my collection to the essential... ENID God, look at this poster! I can't believe this room! You're the luckiest guy in the world! I'd kill to have stuff like this! SEYMOUR Please... go ahead and kill me! This stuff doesn't make you happy, believe me. ENID Oh, come on! What are you talking about? SEYMOUR You think it's healthy to obsessively collect things? You can't connect with other people so you fill your life with stuff... I'm just like all the rest of these pathetic collector losers. Enid writes her name in the dust. ENID No you're not! You're a cool guy, Seymour. SEYMOUR Yeah right... If I'm so cool, why haven't I had a girlfriend in four years? I can't even remember the last time a girl talked to me. ENID I'm talking to you... I'll bet there are tons of women who would go out with you in a minute! SEYMOUR Oh, right... ENID No really... I guarantee I could get you a date in like two seconds... SEYMOUR Good luck... ENID I'm totally serious! SEYMOUR Yeah, well... ENID I mean it -- You leave everything to me -- I'm going to be your own personal dating service! SEYMOUR I appreciate the offer but you really don't -- ENID Mark my words, by the end of this summer you'll be up to your neck in pussy! SEYMOUR Jesus! That's very nice of you Enid but I - I really -- EXT. CITY STREET - DAY As Enid and Seymour walk. A 20-ish secretary-type passes. ENID What about her? Would you go out with her? SEYMOUR I don't know, what kind of question is that? I mean it's totally irrelevant because a girl like that would never be caught dead with me... ENID But putting that aside for now, would you go out with her? SEYMOUR I really didn't get a good look at her. A breasty, overweight 40-year-old walks by. ENID Okay, what about this one? Are you into girls with big tits? SEYMOUR (embarrassed) Jesus! ENID C'mon Seymour, I'm trying to collect data here! Don't you want me to find you your perfect dream girl? SEYMOUR I'm just not one of those guys who has a "type"... ENID Every guy has a type! SEYMOUR (he doesn't really mean this) I mean as long as she's not a complete imbecile and she's even remotely attractive... They walk by "the pants." ENID Hey look, there's Norman! He's sitting as before at the defunct bus stop. ENID Hi Norman. Norman nods politely. Seymour looks quizzically at Enid. EXT. CITY STREET/NEAR SIDEWINDER - DAY They're in another part of town near THE SIDEWINDER. ENID We need to narrow this down somehow... we need to find a place where you can meet women who share your interests. SEYMOUR Maybe I don't want to meet someone who shares my interests. I hate my interests! Where can I go to meet the exact opposite of myself? ENID Yeah yeah yeah... Just tell me your five main interests, in order of importance. SEYMOUR (sighs) Well, let's see... I guess I'd have to put Traditional Jazz, Blues, and Ragtime music at the top of the list, then probably... ENID Let's just say "music" - that way you only use up one... (spots The Sidewinder) Wait, we have to go in here for a second... INT. SIDEWINDER - DAY They enter. Josh has his back to the counter as he makes a complicated frozen yogurt sundae for a little girl. ENID Hi Josh. JOSH (without turning around) Hi. ENID I just stopped in to say hi. JOSH Yeah, well... hi... He turns around non-chalantly, holding the sundae. He looks up and sees Enid with the guy from Wowsville (Seymour). ENID This is my friend Seymour. Josh is startled and drops the sundae. The girl starts crying. Josh immediately starts to clean up the mess. Enid, satisfied, heads with Seymour for the door. ENID See you later, Josh! As the door closes, we hear a familiar voice. BOSS JOSH! WHAT YOU DOING!? EXT. CITY STREET - DAY Enid & Seymour continue walking. SEYMOUR (pause) So is that your boyfriend? ENID Josh? He's nobody's boyfriend... He's just this guy that Becky and I like to torture. SEYMOUR Well are -- ENID (interrupts suddenly) Oh my god! We have to go in here! They are in front of STAN'S, a porno shop. SEYMOUR Yeah, sure... very funny.... ENID Please, Seymour... Becky and I have been dying to go in here but we can't get any boys to take us... Please? SEYMOUR I - I'd really rather not... ENID We'll just go in for one minute -- it'll be a riot! SEYMOUR I don't think so... ENID PLEASE? We have to! SEYMOUR I really don't think it's a good idea. ENID Fine, I'll go by myself then... INT. ANTHONY'S II - DAY Enid & Seymour enter. There are a half dozen MEN browsing through the videos and magazines. ENID (whispering) Wow! Look at all these creeps! SEYMOUR Shh! ENID OH MY GOD! Enid runs over and grabs a BLOW-UP SEX DOLL. Everyone in the store looks at them. Seymour blushes and sweats. ENID What kind of weirdo would actually have sex with this? We have to buy this! She looks around, over-stimulated. ENID God, this place is a total riot! She picks up a magazine. ENID Look at this -- "Lollipop Lolitas" - isn't child pornography totally illegal? SEYMOUR These are older women just dressed up to look young... I think. ANGLE ON a pair of THIGH-HIGH LEATHER FETISH BOOTS. ENID (V.O.) Oh my god! WIDER ANGLE: She's in another part of the store near the CASHIER. ENID How much are these boots? Do you have these in size five? CASHIER That's the only pair of those I have right now. I'm getting a new order in next week... She spots something and gasps. She yells across the store. ENID OH MY GOD SEYMOUR! You have to lend me the money to buy this. Everyone looks at Seymour as he sheepishly approaches. He takes out his wallet. SEYMOUR Uh, I don't have much money with me right now. ENID C'mon, Seymour, please? CASHIER Why don't you come back in two weeks - we'll be having our annual Back-to- School sale. INT. THE COFFEE EXPERIENCE - LATE AFTERNOON Rebecca is at the counter serving a long line of YUPPIES. We can see a sign next to the counter that reads: "Answer today's trivia question and get a free small coffee". YUPPIE #1 I'd like a medium latte for here. REBECCA Can I get you a biscotti to go with that? YUPPIE #1 NO! Just the latte. Enid is next wearing a RUBBER BONDAGE MASK with devil horns. ENID (V.O.) Give me all your money, bitch! REBECCA Where did you get that? ENID You won't believe it! Guess! REBECCA Where? ENID Anthony's II! REBECCA No way... when? ENID Just now... I went with Seymour. REBECCA You cunt! FELDMAN is in line behind Enid. He's a poodle-haired, fedora wearing eccentric in a motorized wheelchair-golf cart contraption. FELDMAN Excuse me - I can't read the trivia question! Enid is in the way. She reads it to him. ENID "Where on the human body is the 'Douglas Pouch' located?" Feldman grunts and starts to tap away on his powerbook while Rebecca, rolling her eyes, goes to get his coffee. A DIGITAL GRAPHIC of the FEMALE FORM on his computer screen. With a few keyboard strokes he zeroes in on a schematic of the REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM. An area behind the cervix BLINKS. FELDMAN Slightly below the uterus on a female. He takes his coffee and putters towards the door. ENID That guy is totally amazing. REBECCA He does that every single day. YUPPIE #2 Can I get a decaf mocha to go? REBECCA Can I get you a... YUPPIE #2 NO, I don't want a biscotti with that. YUPPIE #2 pays and leaves. ENID God, how can you stand all these assholes? REBECCA I don't know... Some people are okay, but mostly I feel like poisoning everybody. ENID At least the wheelchair guy is sort of entertaining... REBECCA He's a total asshole... He doesn't even need that wheelchair, he's just totally lazy! ENID That rules! REBECCA No, it doesn't. You'll see... you get totally sick of all the creeps and losers and weirdos. ENID But those are our people... REBECCA Yeah, well... (pause) So when are you going to get your job? ENID I'm working on it... I've got a few leads... it's just that right now I have, all these projects that take up all my time. REBECCA Like what? ENID Nothing. Don't worry... I promise I'll get a job next week. REBECCA (pause) God, I can't believe you went to Anthony's without me. INT. ENID'S APARTMENT - DAY Enid and her dad are eating breakfast. A 13" TV sits on the kitchen counter behind them. TV COMMERCIAL (V.O.) (sincere) Hope comes in all forms. To the endangered white stork searching for wetlands it comes in the form of a sanctuary provided by people who care. Do people care? Chevron does. That's why at Chevron we're just as concerned... DAD Are you still looking for a job? Do you have any leads? ENID Will you get off my back for once? DAD It's tough to find a good job without any kind of training. ENID Look, I told you I'm not going to college. DAD Well, I think it's good to keep all your options open. You can always enroll for the winter quarter. You could even live here and go to the city college part time, and still get a job if you wanted to. ENID Look at me -- I'm not even listening to a word you're saying. Pause. DAD Did I tell you who I ran into at the bagel place? ENID (reading cereal box) Who? DAD Guess. ENID How should I know? DAD Someone from the past. ENID Who? DAD Give up? ENID YES. DAD Maxine. ENID Not the Maxine? DAD Yup. ENID God, how horrifying. INT. COLLEGE COFFEE HOUSE DAY Enid and Rebecca sit in a semi-crowded college hang-out. REBECCA ...you don't have to make a million dollars -- just get any stupid job so we can at least start looking for an apartment. ENID (thoughtful pause) I wonder if I hang around with you because you're like my surrogate mother figure or something. Like I have this subconscious biological need to be nagged and bitched at constantly. REBECCA You hang out with me because nobody else can stand to be around you. ENID Or maybe... did you ever think that deep down we really might be lesbos? Maybe that's why we spend so much time together. REBECCA You're gross. (pause) See that guy? ENID Which one? REBECCA He gives me a total boner! ENID He's like the biggest idiot of all time! The guy, a COLLEGE SOPHOMORE, walks by them with two friends. COLLEGE SOPHOMORE Are you guys up for some reggae tonight? REBECCA Okay, you're right. ENID (whispers) Heads up. An earnest "ALTERNATIVE-ROCK" GUY approaches Rebecca. He hands her a flyer. GUY Hey, my band is playing here on Friday night and uh... there's gonna be a bunch of cool bands playing and stuff and you don't have to pay if you show this flyer at the door... you should come check it out. REBECCA (shyly) Thanks... (she looks away) Enid takes the flyer from Rebecca. There are a bunch of bands listed. ENID Which one is your band? GUY Alien Autopsy. ENID (sarcastic) Bitchin'. GUY (embarrassing pause; then, to Rebecca) Yeah, well... maybe I'll see you there... (pause; walks away) ENID What a dork! REBECCA You're just jealous. ENID Yeah, right... Believe me, at this point I'm over the fact that every single guy likes you better than me! REBECCA Face it, you hate every single boy on the face of the earth! ENID That's not true, I just hate all these obnoxious, extroverted, pseudo- bohemian losers! (sad pause) Sometimes I think I act so weird because I'm crazy from sexual frustration. REBECCA Haven't you heard about the miracle of masturbation? ENID (sighs) ...maybe we should be lesbos... REBECCA Get away from me! INT. ENID'S FANTASY - EVENING Starts on full moon in night sky, framed right -- DISSOLVE TO: ...a dark moonlit room. Enid lies on her stomach in bed. We MOVE IN CLOSER to her head as though entering her thoughts, which slowly fade in: WE MOVE TOWARD a vertical sliver of light -- a cracked-open bathroom door. WE MOVE into the bathroom and see Enid taking a shower. Josh enters, dressed in a black suit, holding a large bouquet of flowers. CUT. We start again, exactly as before, only without the flowers. He starts to take off his clothes. CUT. He enters again and gets right in the shower, fully clothed. They begin to kiss. After a passionate moment, the door opens. Rebecca stands there, stunned. CUT BACK TO: We see only the slightest trace of Enid in the darkness. She sighs. INT. ART CLASS - DAY CLOSE-UP ON a charcoal portrait of DON KNOTTS. ROBERTA Who is this, Enid? ENID It's supposed to be Don Knotts. ROBERTA And what was your reason for choosing him as your subject? ENID I dunno... I just like Don Knotts. ROBERTA I see... interesting... She moves on. ROBERTA What do we have here, Margaret? MARGARET It's a tampon in a teacup... Class GIGGLES. ROBERTA I can see that... now what can you tell us about it? First of all, what kind of sculpture is this? MARGARET It's a "found object"... that's when an artist takes an ordinary object and places it in an artistic context and thus it becomes art. ROBERTA Very good. Now, what can you tell us about it in regard to your artistic intent? MARGARET I guess I see the teacup as a symbol for womanhood, because of tea parties in the olden days, but instead of tea I was trying to kind of confront people with this... like... ROBERTA This shocking image of repressed femininity! MARGARET Right, exactly! ROBERTA I think it's really a wonderful piece, Margaret! Enid gives Margaret another dirty look. ROBERTA This illustrates perfectly what I was saying about not being afraid to use controversial imagery, class... EXT. SEYMOUR'S CAR - DUSK Seymour drives. Enid plays with the radio stopping on an obnoxious AM Disc Jockey. DISC JOCKEY KFTO comin' atchya on this beautiful evening. SEYMOUR God, that asshole's voice is so hateful! No wonder I never listen to the radio! ENID (shutting it off) Relax, Seymour, relax... SEYMOUR That thing is just so shrill and piercing and loud - it's like someone jabbing me in the face! (imitating insincere DJ voice) KFTO comin' atchya on this beautiful evening... She changes the subject and holds up a 78 record. ENID So, why did you bring this along? SEYMOUR I brought it for him to autograph. He's going to be amazed to see it - it's one of two known copies... I can't believe they have him for the opening act and not the headliner. What an insult! ENID This bar's going to be packed with girls for you to pick from. SEYMOUR I'm not holding my breath in that department. Seymour waits at a stop sign for two OBLIVIOUS OVERWEIGHT WOMEN, each with TODDLERS and baby carriages, to cross.. SEYMOUR What are we, in slow motion here?! What are ya, hypnotized? Have some more kids, why don't you?... For Christ's sake, would you move!? ENID Jesus, Seymour. EXT. BLUES CLUB - NIGHT A marquee reads, "TONITE: BLUESHAMMER also FRED CHATMAN" INT. BLUES CLUB - NIGHT FRED CHATMAN, age 82, plays an acoustic blues number. He's good, but he's being politely ignored for the most part by the TWENTY-SOMETHING PATRONS. Most of them are more interested in a baseball game showing on a big-screen TV. SEYMOUR I can't believe these people! They could at least turn off their stupid sports game until he's done playing! FRED finishes to POLITE APPLAUSE. An M.C. takes the mic. M.C. Let's hear it for Fred Chatman. (a little more APPLAUSE) Hey don't go away because we've got Blueshammer coming up in just a minute! A CUTE GIRL, mid-20's, stands near their table sipping her drink. Enid nods in her direction for Seymour's benefit as if to say, "check it out." SEYMOUR Yes, that would certainly do... ENID Well, offer her a seat! You want me to do it? SEYMOUR Wait a minute! Hang on! Jesus, I gotta think of something to talk to her about. No! No... ENID Just wait here. Enid gets up before Seymour can stop her and talks to CUTE GIRL who looks back at Seymour and smiles. She goes to join him. Enid walks off in the direction of the bar, giving Seymour a "thumbs up." CUTE GIRL Hi. SEYMOUR Hello. Uh... that was great music, huh? CUTE GIRL (sitting down) Yeah, I just love blues. SEYMOUR Actually, technically what he was mostly playing would more accurately be classified in the "ragtime" idiom. Although of course not in the strictest sense of the more classical ragtime piano music like that of Scott Joplin or Joseph Lamb. Authentic Blues has a more conventional twelve- bar structure in its stanzas. CUTE GIRL Oh if you like authentic blues, you've just gotta see Blueshammer! They're so great! ANGLE ON: Enid standing alone at the bar. We see Seymour and Cute Girl from her POV. Her gaze drifts to the other people in the bar. WE MOVE OVER the faces of all the guys and stop on a skinny, introverted-looking guy with a pool-cue. He makes a shot and instantly goes into an ostentatious cue twirling routine. Her gaze drifts on. She sees herself in a mirror behind the bar and takes off her hat reconfiguring her hair. She reaches into her purse and puts on a bulkier pair of glasses. This is interrupted by BLUESHAMMER taking the stage. Young, white, cocky, pretty boys. LANCE (LEAD SINGER) All right people! Are you ready to BOOGIE? Cuz we gwine play you some authentic, way-down-in-the-delta blues to rock your world! One, Two, Three... A din of loud noise. CUTE GIRL immediately leaps to her feet, boogeying to the music. Several horny ALPHA MALES press in on Seymour (who's still sitting), spilling his drink as they vie to dance with her. Seymour extricates himself from the table and walks toward the bar where Enid sits. SEYMOUR What did you tell that girl? ENID I told her you were a big record executive and you were thinking of signing that band to your label. SEYMOUR Jesus... INT. SEYMOUR'S CAR - NIGHT SEYMOUR Now I remember why I haven't gone anywhere in months. I'm not even in the same universe as those creatures back there. I might as well be from another planet. ENID We just need to figure out a place where you can meet somebody who isn't a total idiot, that's all. SEYMOUR Look, I really appreciate your help, Enid, but let's face it, this is hopeless. ENID It's not hopeless... SEYMOUR Yeah, well it's simple for everybody else - give 'em a Big Mac and a pair of Nikes and they're happy! I just can't relate to 99.9% of humanity. ENID Yeah, well, I can't relate to humanity either, but I don't think it's totally hopeless... SEYMOUR But it's not totally hopeless for you... I've had it. I don't even have the energy to try anymore. You should make sure you do the exact opposite of everything I do so you don't end up like me... ENID I'd rather end up like you than those people at that stupid bar... At least you're an interesting person... at least you're not exactly like everybody else... SEYMOUR Hooray for me. INT. SEYMOUR'S APT. - NIGHT Enid walks in behind Seymour. SEYMOUR I'm not sure I have anything to drink... there might be some -- ENID It doesn't matter, I'm not staying long... I just want to make sure I convince you not to give up yet. SEYMOUR "Yet." INT. SEYMOUR'S BEDROOM - NIGHT They both have drinks now. He puts on a jazz record, an instrumental. ENID (picks up an antique knick knack) Wow, this is so cool... SEYMOUR If you don't mind my asking -- why do you care so much if I get a date or not? ENID I dunno... because I can't stand the idea of a world where a guy like you can't get a date... Enid finds a PAINTING leaning in a pile of stuff against the wall in the corner. It's an old-fashioned cartoony stereotype of a black man's head, with big lips and a huge toothy smile. ENID What the fuck, Seymour?! What is this? SEYMOUR What?... Oh that... I borrowed that from work about fifteen years ago... I guess it's mine now. ENID What, are you a klansman or something? SEYMOUR Yeah, right, I'm a klansman - thanks a lot!... Do you know the Cook's Chicken franchise? ENID (quoting TV commercial in deep voice) "Four-piece Cook's special deep fried with side n' slaw it's OUT RAY-GEOUS"! SEYMOUR Yeah, well "Cook's" is just a made up name. When they originally opened back in 1922 they were named "The Coon Chicken Inn" -- that's an early painting of their first logo. He takes out a scrapbook. SEYMOUR I'm obsessed with all this stuff - this lost culture of the 20th century. She looks through the scrapbook - we see the Coon Chicken logo transform first into a less stereotyped black man, then into an older distinguished black chef with the logo "Cook's Chicken Inn." Then to a white version of the same chef, followed by a female white chef, then to a streamlined 90's version. On another page is a collection of cosmetic labels tracing the design evolution of a different company. ENID Why doesn't everybody know this? The record ends. Seymour gets up to take it off the turntable. SEYMOUR (somewhat bitterly) It's ancient history. The same reason nobody knows about this Lionel Belasco record. He puts on another record. SEYMOUR Actually, I was a whole lot more interested in the Cook's phenomenon when I was about your age. I've kind of lost interest since I've been working for them... ENID You work at Cook's Chicken? SEYMOUR For nineteen years... ENID What are you, a fry cook or something? SEYMOUR Nothing so glamorous... actually, I'm an assistant manager at their corporate headquarters. ENID Jesus, I'd go nuts if I had to work in an office all day. SEYMOUR Hey, I get good benefits, a good early retirement plan, nobody ever bothers me... ENID Yeah, but still... SEYMOUR I make enough money to eat and buy old records... what more do I want? Enid puts down the scrapbook, stares at the painting. ENID So, I don't really get it -- are you saying that things were better back then (points at painting) even though there was stuff like this? SEYMOUR No, in a lot of ways things are better now... I dunno... it's complicated. Everybody still hates each other, but they know how to hide it better, or something... ENID (suddenly) Hey, can I borrow this? SEYMOUR What? Why? ENID I promise I'll take good care of it. SEYMOUR I dunno... they're very sensitive at work about all this stuff. Maybe it would be better if you -- ENID Don't you trust me, Seymour? INT. ART CLASS - DAY We see another wall of student art dominated this time by Enid's (Seymour's) 3' x 4' painting. ROBERTA Let's address some discussion to this piece. SNOTTY GIRL I don't like it. ROBERTA Can you tell us why? SNOTTY GIRL I don't know. HIPPY-ISH BOY I think it's totally weak. BLACK GIRL Yeah, it's not right. More kids respond at once. Even Margaret is confused. ROBERTA These are all valid comments, but I think we should see if the artist has anything to bring to this. ENID Well, I got the idea when I was doing some research and I discovered that Cook's Chicken used to be called Coon's Chicken, and so I decided to do my project based on this discovery as kind of a comment on racism... and the way racism is whitewashed over in our culture... ROBERTA Did you actually do this painting? ENID Well, no - it's more like a "found art object." ROBERTA And how do you think this addresses the subject of racism? ENID It's complicated... I guess I'm trying to show how racism used to -- more out in the open and now it's hidden, or something... ROBERTA And how does an image like this help us to see that? ENID I'm not sure... I mean... (thinks) I guess because when we see something like this it seems really shocking and we have to figure out why it's so shocking? A long pause as Roberta and the class stare at the painting. ROBERTA I don't really know what to say, Enid... (another over-long pause) ...It's a remarkable achievement. INT. REBECCA'S ROOM - EVENING Enid is lying on her back with her head on Rebecca's stomach. Both stare blankly at the ceiling. REBECCA Are you kidding? It's a dream job! I can't believe you got a job like that without even trying... God, I wish that was my job... ENID (trying to generate some enthusiasm) Yeah, maybe it'll be okay. At least I'll get to see every movie for free, I guess... I had to lie and tell them I already graduated... REBECCA When are you finally going to get your diploma? ENID I dunno, but next week is my last class... REBECCA Anyway, now we can start looking for the apartment... (waits for some response from Enid, but there is none) Do you remember when we first came up with that whole idea of renting our own apartment? ENID Wasn't it like eighth grade? REBECCA Seventh... you wanted to move out right then! ENID That must have been when my dad was married to Maxine... REBECCA I remember our big plan was as soon as we got the apartment we were going to trick Daniel Dusentrieb into coming over and then fuck him. ENID We were such desperate sluts back then. INT. PACIFIC THEATER - AFTERNOON Enid is behind the candy counter dressed in a brown and orange uniform. MANAGER I'm gonna let you handle the four thirty crowd by yourself - that way I can evaluate your performance while it's slow and ease you into the bigger crowds. ENID You can count on me, sir! A customer, an ALCOHOLIC LOSER, approaches the candy counter. LOSER Do you serve beer or any alcohol? ENID I wish!... actually you wish... after about five minutes of this movie you'll wish to God you had about ten beers! LOSER stares blankly, hesitates, then goes into theater. MANAGER (pulling her aside) What are you doing? You don't ever criticize the feature! ENID Why? What difference does it make? You already got his money... MANAGER Look, that's the policy... if you want to make up your own rules you can open your own theater... ENID But I was only trying to be friendly... MANAGER Look, we don't pay you to be a movie critic -- just do your job. ENID Okay, okay... I won't say a word... ANOTHER ANGLE - an hour has gone by. CUSTOMER Medium popcorn. ENID That's three dollars. CUSTOMER Let me have plenty of butter on that. ENID Ewww!... (making a face) Here you go -- smothered in delicious yellow-chemical sludge! MANAGER (pulling her aside) What the hell is wrong with you?! ENID What? I'm just kidding around with the customers... It's my shtick! MANAGER Well lose it! And why aren't you pushing the large sizes? Didn't you get training about upsizing? ENID But I feel weird... it's so sleazy. MANAGER It's not optional! ENID Jesus... CUSTOMER #2 Can I get a medium sprite? ENID A medium sprite? Why sir, do you not know that for a mere twenty five cents more you could purchase a large beverage that has a volume of over twice that of a puny medium drink? (she gives MANAGER a look) ...I'm only telling you this because we're such good friends -- Medium is strictly for suckers who don't understand the concept of value! INT. THE COFFEE EXPERIENCE - DAY Rebecca is behind the counter glaring at Enid. REBECCA What are you talking about? What kind of loser gets fired after one day?! ENID I told you - my manager was a total asshole! Don't worry, I'm going to get another job... and anyway, I have some ideas for how to make money in the meantime... An angry CUSTOMER returns with her drink. CUSTOMER I'm not at all happy with this latte what do you intend to do about it? EXT. ENID'S GARAGE SALE - DAY It's the next day. Enid has set up a GARAGE SALE in front of her apartment building. Rebecca arrives. REBECCA This is it? I can't believe you're selling some of this stuff. ENID Fuck it. Everything must go! REBECCA Oh my god, I remember this hat... this was during your little old lady phase... A trendy young HIPSTER happens along and looks through the clothes, then to the table where he picks up a ridiculous looking stuffed animal. HIPSTER How much is this? ENID That's not for sale. HIPSTER (noticing price tag) Wait, it says five dollars... ENID Oh, that's a mistake -- I decided not to sell it... The HIPSTER looks around a little more and then leaves. REBECCA What was that all about? I thought everything must go! ENID Oh yeah right, like I'm gonna let some asshole with a goatee own Goofy Gus. A couple is browsing. The GIRL, a severely skinny, CLUBHOPPER TYPE in platform shoes looks at the clothes; the BOY, a long haired SKATEBOARDER, goes through her records. GIRL How much is this dress? REBECCA Oh my god, you're selling that? ENID (long pause) That's five hundred dollars. GIRL What? ENID Five hundred. GIRL You're crazy -- it should be like two dollars! ENID I was wearing that dress the day I lost my virginity. GIRL Well why do I care about that? ENID Why do you even want it? It would look stupid on you. GIRL God, fuck you! Enid turns to the boy - he's holding some records and a book. ENID Put that stuff back, it's not for sale. BOY What is this? Some fuckin' joke? ENID Yes! Go away! They stomp off. REBECCA Now are you going to get a regular job? ENID (defeated, quiet) Don't worry. REBECCA If it makes you feel any better, I don't think you could've gotten more than ten bucks for all this stuff. ENID Yeah, thanks. EXT. ENID'S GARAGE SALE - DAY Twenty minutes later. Most of the stuff is gone. Enid packs up one last box to carry inside. REBECCA Do you want to do something tonight? ENID I can't, it's Seymour's birthday... (suddenly) Shit! What time is it? I have to go to the store! I was going to make him a cake... REBECCA (miffed, sighs) Well, are we still going shopping tomorrow? ENID Yeah, I guess... call me... She heads toward the stairs with the box. Rebecca watches her go. REBECCA Since when can you make a cake? INT. SEYMOUR'S ROOM - EVENING Enid presents Seymour with a HOSTESS CUPCAKE with a single lit candle in the center. The lights are off. ENID You can open your eyes now. SEYMOUR Oh... uh, thanks a lot Enid... I really appreciate it... ENID No, Doofus... blow it out! He leans forward and blows out the candle, then abruptly straightens up and holds the small of his back in pain. Enid turns the lights back on. SEYMOUR Arrrghhh! Ah Jeez... Christ... ENID Are you okay? SEYMOUR It's just my stupid back. I'll be all right in a minute... She notices him adjust something under his shirt. ENID What is that? SEYMOUR Oh... uh... It's just this elastic thing I have to wear for lumbar support... ENID What, like a girdle? SEYMOUR Maybe now you understand why I can't get a date. ENID Yeah, well, you're not the only one. Everybody I know has totally fucked up problems... It seems like only stupid people have good relationships... SEYMOUR (sarcastically cheering her on) That's the spirit! ENID I mean, I'm eighteen years old and I've never even had a real, steady boyfriend for more than like two weeks! SEYMOUR Really? ENID Never... SEYMOUR I'm starting to think that even if I did get a girlfriend it really wouldn't change anything. ENID I know. It's not like it makes all your problems go away. SEYMOUR Then again, that's easy for me to say, since I'll never even get a date. I'm sure you have hundreds of guys who are interested in you. ENID Actually, I've got a total crush on this one guy right now, but it's a really fucked-up situation... SEYMOUR Oh yeah? ENID Oh wait, you met him... remember that guy Josh? I'm like practically obsessed with him, but I can't do anything about it because Becky would freak out. SEYMOUR Why? ENID Never mind, it's way too complicated... (pause) Did you have problems like this when you were my age - where you're totally confused all the time? SEYMOUR I won't even dignify that with a response. He gets up and looks through his shelves for a record. ENID (looking at his records) I wonder if you really like all these old records or if you only like the fact that nobody else likes them? SEYMOUR (a sore subject) Who knows? The phone RINGS. Seymour ignores it. ENID Aren't you going to get that? SEYMOUR Let the machine get it. I have no desire to talk to anyone who would be calling me... After several more RINGS the machine picks up and we hear Seymour's message. After the BEEP there's a long fumbling pause... SEYMOUR I knew it... it's my mother. VOICE ON MACHINE Uh... HI! Uh... I'm calling for... um... you placed an ad in the Weekly over a month ago and... well, I'm the redhead in the yellow dress... at least I think I am... I saw the ad when you first placed it but I was in this relationship at the time so I cut it out, and now I'm not in the relationship anymore... (giggles) God, this is really confusing... anyway, if you still want to talk to me I can be reached at KL5-2603, that's my work number and my name is Dana... um... BYE! ENID Wow! (feigning ignorance) What was that all about? SEYMOUR It's just somebody's idea of a joke... ENID That didn't sound like a joke to me... what, did you write a personal ad or something? SEYMOUR (still confused) Uh yeah. A long time ago... she called before once... it's just somebody trying to humiliate me. ENID Seymour! I promise you that wasn't a joke -- you have to call her back! SEYMOUR How can you be so sure? ENID Well, uh... I'm an expert-about stuff like this -- she was totally for real! INT. ENID'S APARTMENT - ABOUT 10 PM Enid enters - a light is on in the kitchen. DAD (O.S.) Pumpkin? Could you come in here for a minute? She walks slowly to the kitchen - a suspenseful moment. She sees, first, her Dad (wearing an apron) and then, a hauntingly familiar MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN. DAD Pumpkin, do you remember Maxine? MAXINE Hi, Enid. ENID Hi. (to Dad) Look, I'm kind of tired - I think I'll go to bed. DAD I made spaghetti. Do you want some? ENID I-I really have to get up early for class tomorrow. MAXINE It's really quite something to see you all grown up like this, Enid. (no response from Enid) I'd love to hear about what you're doing. I can't help but feel that I had some small part in how you turned out... (another silent pause) What are you studying? You were always such a smart little girl. ENID I'm taking a remedial high school art class for fuck-ups and retards. INT. ART CLASS - DAY A toothy, zit-covered 14-YEAR-OLD BOY poses with a very poorly- made sculpture. A flash goes off and he jumps slightly, sending pieces of his sculpture flying. It's Roberta, taking photos. She moves on to Enid, in front of her big painting. ROBERTA Smile, Enid... Enid ad-libs a weird expression as... the flash goes off. Roberta now turns to address the class. ROBERTA I'm going to miss you people... I feel that we've all done a lot of growing this summer. I hope that each of you feels as though you'll be taking away something from this experience; I know I certainly will be... A long "poignant" pause as she smiles admiringly at them. ROBERTA Remember, the art show is this Saturday at seven-thirty sharp. Try to get there at least 15 minutes early. The students get their things together and file out. ROBERTA Enid, can I talk to you for a minute? ENID Uh-oh. ROBERTA Don't worry - it's nothing bad. I was just wondering what your plans were for next year? ENID I'm not really sure - working, I guess... ROBERTA Well, I know this is really short notice, but I got a call from a very close friend at the Academy of Art & Design and she tells me that I'm allowed to place one student from your graduating class in a one year scholarship program... and, well, I hope you don't mind, Enid, but I took the liberty of submitting your name. She gives her a booklet and an application form. ENID Hmm. ROBERTA As far as I know it includes housing and meals and everything... it is really quite an offer... ENID ...wow... ROBERTA (pause) So what do you think? ENID I dunno... Would I have to take classes and stuff? ROBERTA Well, yes... ENID I... ROBERTA Let me know as soon as you can, Enid. This could be a great thing for you. INT. INDOOR SHOPPING MALL - DAY Enid & Rebecca are in a Crate & Barrel-type store looking at housewares. ENID I think one of us should fuck Josh... REBECCA Go ahead... ENID No, really... REBECCA God, you're really obsessed... ENID I am not -- I just think it'd be funny to see what he'd do... REBECCA I thought we decided that Josh was way too cool to be interested in sex, and that he's the only decent person left in the world and we would never want to bring him down to our level and all that... ENID Yeah, but maybe one of us should at least try... REBECCA No matter what happened it would be a big disaster... Let's just try and keep everything the way it is. Rebecca spots some particularly fetching dishware. REBECCA Look, we have to get these... ENID I can't afford stuff like this right now. REBECCA I'm sick of waiting - we need to start getting stuff if we're ever going to move. (pause, sees towels) Aren't these the greatest towels? ENID Why do you care about this kind of stuff? REBECCA Don't you want nice stuff? ENID I can't imagine spending money on towels. REBECCA You don't have to. I'll pay for all the stuff right now and you can pay me back when you finally get a job. ENID You're insane. REBECCA Do you still want to go to that thing tonight? ENID What thing? REBECCA That guy's band is playing tonight... Alien Autopsy. ENID Oh yeah... maybe... Seymour's going on his big date tonight and I kind of want to be around when he calls, so I can hear how bad it went. REBECCA God, I'm so sick of Seymour. INT. DANA'S APARTMENT - EVENING Seymour is just finishing the dinner DANA has cooked for them at her place. Dana is an attractive redhead, about 40. SEYMOUR That was great - jeez, thanks again for cooking all this. DANA Oh I love to cook. I guess most women wouldn't invite a man over on the first date, but I believe you should trust your instincts. When I talked to you on the phone you just seemed so... I don't know... harmless. Ready for ice cream? Dana heads for the kitchen. Seymour gets up to relieve his backache. He walks over to a framed photo on the wall. DANA Here we are... it's mocha mint from Lickety Splits. Oh, isn't that photograph just heart-rending? SEYMOUR Yeah ... where is this? Bosnia? DANA Was it Bosnia? I forget... (pause) It's so sad, the tragedy of an entire country eloquently captured in the face of one little boy. (pause) A Soul/Funk song starts up on the radio that catches her attention. She goes over and turns it up. DANA Oh, I just love this song! Isn't it great? Doesn't it make you want to dance? C'mon! SEYMOUR Uh, well, that's okay - I don't dance, heh, heh... DANA Don't be silly, anyone can dance. Here, just follow me... watch my feet. SEYMOUR No, really I -- She drags him around. He's still holding his ice cream. DANA C'mon Seymour, it's all in your mind. Just loosen up and feel the music! Here, put down your bowl of ice cream. She takes his ice cream and puts it on a table. SEYMOUR (checking his watch) Hey, it's nearly nine already - we're gonna have to leave now if we're going to make that movie. DANA Oh, all right... Party-pooper! Just let me put a few things away. She shuts off the stereo as he sits and eats his ice cream. DANA I'm so excited to see this film - Dustoffvarnya is such a brilliant director! Did you see his last film, The Flower That Drank The Moon? It was simply glorious! SEYMOUR Uh, no. I missed that one. But what do I know? I like Laurel and Hardy movies. DANA Really? I never really cared for those. Why does the fat one always have to be so mean to the skinny one? INT. ENID'S ROOM - EVENING It's 9:30 PM. Enid is drawing in her sketchbook. She looks impatiently at the phone. Time passes - it's 11 PM. She can't stand it anymore. INT. SEYMOUR'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS Seymour picks up the phone. Dana is in the background getting some ice in the kitchen. SEYMOUR Uh... hello? ENID Hi, it's me... SEYMOUR Oh, hi... ENID So, what happened? SEYMOUR (almost whispering) Actually, it's kind of still happening... she's over here right now... I think everything's going pretty well... ENID What? You're kidding me... SEYMOUR Yeah, so I better go -- it's not really the best time to talk... ENID What, are you going to like have sex with her on your first date? SEYMOUR Jesus, Enid... I'll talk to you later... bye! He hangs up. Enid is stunned... Now what? She calls Rebecca. INT. OOMIE'S LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS Rebecca is sitting on the couch in her pajamas when the phone RINGS. She picks it up. REBECCA Hello? ENID Do you still want to do something tonight? REBECCA What happened to Seymour? ENID (still shocked by this) I can't believe it - he actually scored! REBECCA How repulsive! ENID So should I come over? REBECCA Actually, I'm just about to go out with some friends... ENID What are you talking about? Who? REBECCA Just some people from work... ENID I don't believe you. REBECCA Yeah well, you said you were busy... look, I'd better get going... I'll call you tomorrow. Rebecca hangs up. Clearly, she's not going anywhere. EXT. JOSH'S APARTMENT - LATER THAT NIGHT Enid stands outside Josh's door. A tentative pause; then she knocks. Josh opens the door, stunned. Enid is wearing an uncharacteristically "sexy" outfit. JOSH Hi... what's up? ENID Can I come in? INT. JOSH'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS She goes in and looks around nervously... the note (Tiffany & Amber) is tacked to the wall. JOSH Are you the one who left that note? ENID I guess. Pause. Enid sits down on futon/sofa. JOSH So what's up? He picks up half-finished beer and drinks self-consciously. ENID I don't know... I'm totally confused... Josh doesn't respond - there's another awkward pause. ENID Sit over here. He sits, tentatively. Long pause. JOSH Do you want something to drink? ENID Why? JOSH What do you mean "why"? ENID Are you trying to get me wasted so you can take advantage of my womanly charms? JOSH Yeah, right... ENID "Yeah, right"... well why not? What's so wrong with me? JOSH Nothing. ENID Then why do you hate me so much? JOSH When did I say I hated you? ENID You've never once said anything even remotely nice to me. JOSH You make me nervous! I always feel like you're going out of your way to make me feel uncomfortable so you can laugh at me! ENID That's just the way I am! JOSH Yeah, well -- ENID It's just my stupid way of getting attention! God, I practically love you, Josh! Stunned pause, then she bravely leans forward and kisses him. He kisses back but she is clearly the aggressor... they get more and more into it. ENID Do you have any protection? INT. JOSH'S APT. - 1 AM. Later, post-coital on the now unfolded futon... Enid lies on her back, Josh is face-down on top of her with his head to the side. Enid has a blank, disillusioned stare. JOSH (now he's romantic and sappy) You must have known all along how I -- you know -- how I felt about you -- it must be totally obvious... God... I always used to dream about this... ENID (staring ahead) Why do you have that stupid poster? INT. JOSH'S APARTMENT - DAY It's the next morning. Josh is asleep. Enid, fully awake and dressed, sits on the bed looking at him, thoroughly disillusioned. She pulls out a record from his collection and grimaces. She opens a closet door and finds an electric guitar. JOSH (waking up, groggy, happily surprised) Oh, hi... ENID Why do all guys have to play stupid guitars? It's so typical... Either they're into cars or guns or sports or guitars... it's so obvious... JOSH How long have you been up? ENID I couldn't sleep... I should get going; I feel really weird... JOSH Do you want to go get breakfast somewhere? ENID I don't think we should... Look, you have to totally promise me you won't tell Becky about this. JOSH Why not? ENID Because if you do, I'll kill you! JOSH Okay... I promise. ENID Just take my word for it... if she ever finds out about this I'll never hear the end of it... INT. REBECCA'S ROOM - DAY Rebecca is dressed in her best apartment-hunting outfit. She sits on her bed, dialing the phone with the FREE WEEKLY open on her lap. She circles something with her pen while the phone rings. REBECCA Goddammit, bitch -- where are you? INT. ENID'S BEDROOM -DAY Enid lies perfectly still on her bed, staring at the ceiling while the phone rings. EXT. COOK'S CHICKEN INN - DAYTIME Establish the restaurant. INT. COOK'S CHICKEN INN - DAYTIME Seymour sits alone eating lunch. We see Enid approach stealthily from behind. ENID Boo! SEYMOUR (very startled) YAAA! She sits across from him. ENID Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you... I've been wandering the streets day and night trying to find you... SEYMOUR Really? ENID No, actually Joe told me you were here... so how come you never call me anymore? SEYMOUR I know, I'm sorry... I-I've been really busy... ENID Yeah, I'll bet! So, how's it going with what's-her-name? Dana? SEYMOUR (he looks nervously at his watch) Oh... pretty well, surprisingly... you know... ENID So, what kind of stuff do you guys do together? Is she into old records and stuff? SEYMOUR Sort of... she doesn't dislike any of that stuff... she's trying, anyway... actually, we're supposed to go antique shopping for her apartment this afternoon... ENID (not convinced) Sounds good... Seymour looks again at his watch. SEYMOUR We really should get together sometime soon... I-I'll definitely call you this week -- ENID What, are you trying to get rid of me? SEYMOUR No... no, it's just that I should get going in a few minutes, and -- ENID Aren't you even going to ask me how I'm doing? SEYMOUR I-I'm sorry... uh so... uh... how -- ENID I dunno... okay, I guess... (pause) I fucked that guy Josh finally... SEYMOUR ...so... is he your boyfriend now? ENID Maybe... I dunno... He wants to be, of course. I'm weighing several offers at the present time... Suddenly, Dana enters. DANA Seymour?... uh... hello... I guess I'm a little early... SEYMOUR Dana! Hi! (pause as the gears whirl) Uh, Dana... this is Enid... DANA Hello... ENID It's great to finally meet you! Dana sits next to Seymour, facing Enid. DANA (looking back and forth between Enid and Seymour) How do you two know each other? ENID I'm surprised he hasn't mentioned me we're old friends. DANA Really? ENID Yes, we're very close... In fact, I was standing right next to Seymour the first time you called. If not for me, he would have never called you back! DANA Is that right? Seymour begins to stammer some kind of response. ENID (phony) Oops! Look at the time! I've got to run! I'll stop by to see you some time, Seymour... (then to Dana) It was really great to meet you! INT. ENID'S BEDROOM - LATER THAT EVENING Enid is in her room getting dressed. Dad enters. DAD I have some good news for you, Pumpkin. ENID (sigh) What is it now? DAD Are you still looking for a job? ENID I guess. DAD Well, Maxine thinks she can get you a sales job at Computer Station. Normally you have to have references and at least two years of experience, but she thinks she can convince them. ENID Tell her to forget it - I don't need her help. INT. COMMUNITY CENTER - EVENING A homemade banner reads: "HIGH SCHOOL ART SHOW - BROTHERHOOD AND COMMUNITY: ART AS DIALOGUE." Along one wall is all the work from Roberta's class: a collection of eccentric abstract bric-a-brac and Enid's large painting. The painting has drawn a small crowd. We see a chain of events beginning with three PARENTS talking to a matronly DIRECTOR/CURATOR who in turn seeks out Roberta (wearing make-up and fancy-ish clothes for the first time). DIRECTOR I'm afraid you're simply going to have to take that painting down. Several of the parents have complained. ROBERTA I will do no such thing. DIRECTOR Then you leave me no other choice than to remove it myself! She marches towards it. Roberta runs after her. ROBERTA I think we should give the artist a chance to talk to the parents about her intentions with this piece... We should be promoting discussion as a solution, not censorship. Roberta sees Margaret and grabs her. ROBERTA Margaret, have you seen Enid? Margaret shrugs "no." ROBERTA looks through the crowd. A college-age news-hack-type with a FREE WEEKLY T-SHIRT snaps a photo of the DIRECTOR removing Enid's painting. EXT. SEYMOUR'S APT. BLDG. - EVENING Enid, dressed as though for a glamorous date, stands knocking on Seymour's door. SEYMOUR Oh... uh, hi... What's up? INT. SEYMOUR'S PLACE - CONTINUOUS Enid worms her way past his unwelcoming stance. Seymour is wearing designer stone-washed denim jeans that look ridiculous on him. Joe can be seen in the kitchen. ENID I'm going to this stupid art show and I want you to be my date... There's something I have to show you... SEYMOUR I... I don't know. I don't really think I should... ENID Of course you should. C'mon, I'm already a million hours late. SEYMOUR ...I better not... ENID (pause) Well forget the art show... let's do something else. SEYMOUR I... I wish I could, Enid, but I really can't right now... I -- it's just that I -- ENID Well when can we do something? SEYMOUR It's just that, well, you know, Dana just got out of a really bad relationship and I don't want to give her the wrong idea... you know... JOE (walking by with his sandwich) Don't mind me, I'll just be in my room. ENID Where did you get those pants? SEYMOUR Oh, uh... they were a present from Dana. ENID And you like them? SEYMOUR Well, you know... what do I know about clothes... I've never been the most fashionable guy -- it's nice to have someone do all the work for me... ENID (pause) So that's it? You don't ever want to see me again? SEYMOUR No, of course I do... It's just that right now I need to -- ENID What's her problem anyway? Did she actually tell you you couldn't see me? SEYMOUR No, no... not exactly... she just doesn't understand how I would know somebody like you... ENID What does she mean by that - "somebody like me"? SEYMOUR Just someone so young... ENID You must have done something to make her think you like me. SEYMOUR I... I don't think so. ENID Does that mean you don't like me? SEYMOUR No, of course not. ENID (looks him in the eye) So, do you like me, Seymour? SEYMOUR In what way do you mean? ENID In whatever way you think I mean. SEYMOUR (not sure what to say; long pause) I don't know... I'm sorry, but Dana's a very jealous person. I just don't want to screw that up right now... I'm sure she'll dump me soon and we can go back to being friends... ENID I don't think you understand how I really feel about you, Seymour. SEYMOUR ...What do you mean? ENID (pause) Nothing. Don't worry, I won't bother you any more. EXT. ENID'S NEIGHBORHOOD - EVENING A LONG SHOT of Enid as she walks home alone. EXT. RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY Enid & Rebecca walk down the street. Both wear landlord friendly J. Crew outfits. ENID Where are we? This is a weird neighborhood... REBECCA It's a totally normal, average neighborhood! ENID I just mean it's weird to me... I've never been anywhere near here in my life. REBECCA Josh says this is a really good neighborhood... ENID What? When did you see Josh?! REBECCA He came into work. ENID Why? What did he say? REBECCA Nothing. ENID When was this? REBECCA I don't know! God, don't act so jealous I only talked to him for two minutes. They walk along in conspicuous silence. REBECCA Twenty-seven fifty-three... do you see it? (looks around) That must be it... ENID (without enthusiasm) Great... REBECCA What?! It looks totally normal... what's wrong with it? ENID I said "great"... REBECCA Oh yeah, I can tell you really love it! ENID Well, what am I supposed to say? "I can't wait to live in some depressing shit-hole in the middle of nowhere"?! REBECCA There's something wrong with every single place we look at! Why don't you just come right out and tell me you don't want to move in with me?! ENID Because you'll freak out and act like a total psycho about it. A few passersby stop to watch. REBECCA You're the psycho! You haven't been able to deal with anything since high school ended! ENID You're the one who's still living out some stupid seventh-grade fantasy! REBECCA (as she walks away giving her the finger) FUCK YOU! Have fun living with your dad for the rest of your life! INT. ENID'S ROOM - LATER THAT DAY Enid is on her bed, crying. Her jacket and shoes are strewn about the floor. ENID God FUCK YOU TOO! We see her Dad standing outside her bedroom. As he enters he tries to make enough noise so that she notices him before she really embarrasses herself. She stops crying and pretends to be asleep. DAD Pumpkin? What's wrong? ENID (her back to him, doesn't move) Nothing. Dad sits next to her on the bed and puts his hand on her shoulder. DAD If there's something wrong I wish you'd tell me about it... Enid pulls away from him and sits up on the opposite side of the bed, facing away from him ENID It's nothing -- it's just some hormonal thing... don't worry about it... DAD I've got some important news to tell you, but it can wait till later if you're not feeling... ENID What? DAD (speaking slowly and methodically) Well... as you know, Maxine and I have been seeing a lot of each other, and we decided it might be a good idea for all of us if she came back here to live at the end of the Summer, just so we can all get to know each other and to make sure this is what we want. Enid maintains a poker face for several long seconds before she bursts into tears, utterly defeated. INT. HIGH SCHOOL HALL - DAY Enid, determined, walks down the empty halls. She goes into a room marked "Art Class". INT. ART CLASS - CONTINUOUS Roberta is in there with a bearded EX-HIPPY COLLEAGUE. They're covering a STUDENT in plaster. ENID Hi I brought over my application for the art academy... I hope it's not too late... Roberta, absorbed in her plastering, glances at Enid. ROBERTA Just a minute... Then, realizing who it is... ROBERTA Enid! I'm so sorry about what happened. ENID What do you mean? ROBERTA The whole business with the art show and the newspaper -- it's absolutely -- ENID Huh? ROBERTA Didn't Principal Jaffee call you? ENID I didn't check my messages... ROBERTA Oh my goodness... well, the whole thing is just ridiculous, and as soon as the school board is back in session next Fall I'm going to do everything I can to help you. ENID Help me what? ROBERTA Well they're forcing me to give you a non-passing grade in the class because of what happened at the exhibition... but don't worry -- I'm sure I'll be able to get you your diploma in the Fall! ENID (pause, overwhelmed) But... can I still get that scholarship to the Art Academy? ROBERTA I'm sorry, Enid - you have to be an official high school graduate before I can nominate you. I had to give it to someone else... But I'm sure next year I can -- The PLASTER-COVERED STUDENT makes an uncomfortable moaning noise. EX-HIPPY COLLEAGUE (flustered, to Roberta) Hey, can you help me out over here? EXT. QUALITY CAFE - EVENING (SAME DAY) Enid walks the streets - it's dark out now. She goes by the Cafe - it's CLOSED FOR REMODELING. EXT. COMMERCIAL AREA/BUS STOP - LATER She continues walking until she's across the street from Norman's bus stop. She sees him there, as always. Suddenly, a BUS, well-lit from the inside and completely empty, pulls up to the stop and Norman gets on. INT. SEYMOUR'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT (ABOUT 11 PM) A knock on the door - Seymour shuffles out in T-shirt, pants, and goofy slippers. He looks through the peephole and sees Enid. He opens the door. SEYMOUR What are you doing here? ENID I had to see you. SEYMOUR What's up? ENID Can you at least let me in? SEYMOUR Uh... sure... come in. ENID (crying) Look, I just need somebody to be nice to me for five minutes and then I'll leave you alone. SEYMOUR What's the matter? ENID Do you have anything to drink? Enid goes to look for herself. SEYMOUR Uh... I think there's some root beer... ENID What about this? She returns from the kitchen with a giant bottle of champagne. SEYMOUR That's Dana's - I'm supposed to be saving it for our two-month anniversary. You better not -- ENID (as she starts opening) FUCK DANA. I'm sick of Dana. She opens it and drinks straight from the bottle. Seymour's look says: "Oh well, I'm fucked, I give up." INT. SEYMOUR'S BEDROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT Enid & Seymour sit on the bed listening to old records and drinking out of the bottle. ENID You need a bigger place - this is like a little kid's room. SEYMOUR I could never move - I've got too much stuff. Enid notices an extremely ugly modern sculpture in the corner. She goes over and picks it up. ENID Where did you get this? SEYMOUR Dana bought it when we went antique shopping. She said it didn't go with her stuff, so she gave it to me... she thought it fit in better with my "old time thingamajigs." ENID Jesus, how can you stand her? Seymour takes another slug off the bottle. SEYMOUR God, she's going to kill me... this bottle is half-empty! ENID That's great! "Half-empty" - that's what I like about you, Seymour, you're a natural pessimist! SEYMOUR If you expect the worst, you're never disappointed. ENID What are you talking about? You're disappointed every minute of your life. SEYMOUR I'm just being realistic. ENID At least you're not like every other stupid guy in the world - all they care about are guitars and sports... they're all such fags! SEYMOUR I hate sports. ENID How come in all that time I was trying to get you a date, you never asked me out? SEYMOUR You're a beautiful young girl... I can't imagine you would ever have had any interest in me, except as an amusingly cranky eccentric curiosity. ENID Yeah, but still... it's kind of insulting for a girl to be ignored like that. SEYMOUR I mean... of course I... why wouldn't I want to go out with you? ENID I dunno... I always feel like everybody secretly hates me. I'm just paranoid I guess. I mean, you like me don't you? We're good friends, right? SEYMOUR Yeah, sure. Of course. ENID (contemplative pause) ...Maybe I should just move in here with you... I could do all the cooking and dust your record collection and stuff until I get a job. SEYMOUR What about Joe? ENID Oh yeah... and Dana... (says her name with whiny, disdainful voice) You were a lot more fun before you met Dana. You've been acting way too normal lately... you're a bitter, twisted, fucked-up guy, Seymour, that's why I like you. SEYMOUR (more drunk than before) Yeah, well I like you too... TEN MINUTES LATER The bottle is empty. ENID You know what my number one fantasy used to be? SEYMOUR (pause) What? ENID I used to think about one day not telling anybody and just taking off and going to some random place... Do you ever think about stuff like that? SEYMOUR I guess I probably used to when I was your age. ENID It would have to be some totally average day when nobody was expecting it, and I'd just disappear and they'd never see me again. SEYMOUR Sounds like a healthy way to deal with your problems. ENID You know what we should do? Let's go get in your car right now and just take off! We could just drive away and find some new place and start a whole new life... fuck everybody! SEYMOUR I don't think I'm in any condition to drive. ENID I'll drive, then -- we'll go out in a blaze of glory! SEYMOUR So where would we go? ENID Who cares? Let's just go... what's stopping us? SEYMOUR I dunno, I... ENID I'm serious! I'm just so sick of everybody! Why can't I just do whatever I want? SEYMOUR What do you want? ENID What do you want? SEYMOUR I-I-I... ENID What's the matter with you, Seymour? Don't you like me? Be a man for once in your life! She kisses him passionately. He's shocked but kisses back. This escalates, leading to the sex act, shown with merciful brevity. WE SEE Enid & Seymour, post-coital. ENID God, Dana's going to kill you! SEYMOUR ...Do you really want us to drive away somewhere? ENID What?... Maybe... no... I dunno... SEYMOUR I will if you want to. ENID No... forget it... SEYMOUR (embarrassingly sappy) I-I never expected anything like this to happen... ENID Yeah, well... me neither... SEYMOUR You must know I always... did you really mean all that about moving in with me? ENID I was just thinking out loud... (doesn't want to hurt his feelings) I mean, you've got this whole thing with Dana -- I'm not going to let you fuck that up... SEYMOUR But, I... ENID Shhh... I really need to get some sleep. Enid turns her back to him. We see from REVERSE ANGLE that she's only pretending to be asleep. She looks troubled, as though she's just made a big mistake. Seymour puts his arm around her. It's the only time we've seen him look relaxed and happy. SEYMOUR Good night... He kisses her arm and goes to sleep. INT. SEYMOUR'S ROOM - THE NEXT MORNING Seymour wakes up. Enid is gone. INT. DANA'S OFFICE - EXPANSION REALTY - DAY Dana is on the phone. A lantern-jawed male COLLEAGUE listens in, his head pressed up against hers. DANA (into phone) It's a thirty-year fixed at five and- a-half... Seymour nervously enters her "workspace". Dana is pleasantly surprised - she stops her conversation. DANA (covering receiver) Seymour! Hello! What are you doing here? SEYMOUR Oh -- please - don't let me interrupt finish your phone call. DANA We're almost done. (she continues into phone) Hi. Yeah... no, it's excluded. They've already paid the earnest money... well, let them bring it up if they notice it at the final walk through. Right, great, sounds good! She hangs up and high-fives her colleague. They bear-hug. COLLEAGUE Great job! I'm proud of ya! Well, I'll check you guys later. I'm gonna go start the paperwork. Colleague leaves; Dana turns to Seymour. DANA Hey... so, what brings you down here? SEYMOUR I uh... I feel that I need to uh -- there's something I feel I have to say... I uh, I've never said this to anyone before -- believe me, I've stayed in horrible relationships for years just so I wouldn't have to do this, but I uh... DANA What are you trying to say? SEYMOUR It's just that I feel like it's maybe not a good idea for us to keep going out. Dana sits down, staring ahead, stunned for a moment. Suddenly she breaks down sobbing. SEYMOUR I-I honestly never intended for this to happen... DANA Please tell me it isn't that teenager! SEYMOUR Enid and I were just friends. You know... we feel comfortable around each other... she really likes my old records and... DANA I can't believe this! I thought at the very least a guy like you would never pull this kind of shit on me! She starts crying again. Seymour awkwardly tries to comfort her. SEYMOUR Dana, I... um... Dana pushes him away violently. DANA You disgusting pig! You're just an overgrown baby who can't deal with a woman your own age. You pathetic weakling! You make me sick! INT. ENID'S ROOM - THE SAME DAY Enid is now utterly defeated. The phone rings. She lets the machine pick it up. Maxine enters. MAXINE May I ask what you're doing? ENID Shhh! MAXINE I want to know what you think you're doing, staying out all night and worrying your father to death! ENID Oh yeah, like he even noticed. MAXINE Listen, young lady... I know you don't like me -- I don't really care whether you do or not -- but I will not allow you to treat your father the way you do. We hear Seymour on the machine in the background... SEYMOUR (V.O.) I really want to talk to you. I've been thinking about what you said about moving in here... ENID I can treat him any way I want to - I'm an adult! Leave me alone! Maxine leaves. Seymour finishes his message. Enid picks up the phone and dials. REBECCA (V.O.) Hello? ENID I need to talk to you. INT. THE COFFEE EXPERIENCE - DAY Enid & Rebecca sit at a table. Rebecca is wearing her uniform. ENID I'm sorry about the other day. I don't know what's wrong with me... I really do want to move in with you. REBECCA I don't know... I was thinking maybe I should live alone. I decided to rent that place we looked at. I'm moving in next week. ENID Please let me come with you. Please please please... REBECCA I don't know - I'm not sure it's a good idea. ENID Of course it's a good idea... it's our plan. REBECCA But how are you gonna pay rent and everything? You don't even have a job. ENID I'll get a job tomorrow, I promise. If I don't, you can totally tell me to fuck off. INT. ENID'S ROOM - LATE MORNING Enid is putting on her shoes. Her Dad opens the door slightly and sticks his head in. DAD Pumpkin, are you in there? ENID Are you going to yell at me? DAD About what? DAD Yeah, I heard about that. ENID I was in a horrible mood - tell her not to worry, I'll be completely out of her life in a few days. DAD She understands what you're going through and she really wants to help you. She says that job at Computer Station is still available if you want it. ENID I-I'm not sure... yeah, maybe. DAD Actually, I was just checking to see if you were here - your friend Seymour is on his way up. ENID What do you mean "on his way up"!? DAD I just buzzed him in. Just then, three sharp KNOCKS on the front door. ENID What's wrong with you?! Tell him I'm not here! DAD But I can't -- ENID JUST DO IT! Dad goes to answer the door. Enid hides in her room. DAD (V.O.) I'm not sure when she'll be back... Enid looks out the window and sees Seymour walking away. She has a terribly sad look on her face. INT. SEYMOUR'S BEDROOM - EVENING Seymour sits in dim light, dialing an antique "candlestick" telephone. In the background, a Peter, Paul and Mary concert plays on the TV. We hear three rings followed by Enid's answering machine message. He hangs up before it finishes. Joe walks by the doorway. JOE Well, here's where the fun never stops! SEYMOUR Yeah, I'm really, really happy. Really having a good time. JOE Still torturing yourself over that Enid, huh? Seymour doesn't answer. He looks away. SEYMOUR Where else am I ever going to find another girl who likes Geeshie Wiley records? (pause) She could at least have the decency to call me back. JOE Maybe she was just using you to try and get back at some guy. Who knows? It could be a million things. It's wasted time trying to logically figure out the female brain, that's for sure. Again no answer from Seymour, he stares off into space. JOE Maybe she's got another boyfriend. SEYMOUR (bummed out, wants Joe to stop) Yeah, well... thanks for cheering me up. JOE (deadpan) No problem. Seymour looks so miserable that even Joe has some compassion for him. JOE Look at it this way - at least things can't get any worse. Joe leaves. Seymour is left listening to the record. INT. COOK'S CHICKEN HEADQUARTERS - DAY. Seymour is at work, walking down a carpeted hallway with many doors on both sides. A door opens and a Tony Robbins- ish, 35 year-old MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE sticks his head out. EXECUTIVE Seymour! Just the man I want to see. Step in here for a minute. Seymour enters. EXECUTIVE Have a seat. He plunks down the current issue of THE FREE WEEKLY - it's open to a 1/2 page article on page 8 with the headline "Oh Brother!" and a photo of THE PAINTING being removed. EXECUTIVE What can you tell me about this, Seymour? INT. ENID & REBECCA'S NEW APT. Enid is wearing a bright orange "Computer Station" T-shirt and a yellow vest with a "trainee" tag. She's looking around at her new home: a hopelessly drab, characterless apartment. REBECCA So, whaddya think? ENID It's fine. REBECCA So where's all your stuff? Enid points to a small box with sketchbook, etc. ENID There. REBECCA That's all you're bringing? ENID I'm gonna finish packing tonight... I'll bring it over tomorrow sometime. REBECCA What time? ENID I dunno... REBECCA Make sure you're here by noon - we have tons of stuff to do... Oh yeah! I have to show you something else! She drags Enid into the kitchen and opens a BUILT-IN IRONING BOARD as though it's the most amazing thing she's ever-seen. REBECCA Isn't this the greatest? INT. ENID'S ROOM - LATE EVENING Enid is sorting her stuff into boxes. Digging through her closet, she finds a box that she doesn't recognize. Inside are her old children's records (45's). She excitedly takes one out and plays it. She folds her clothes while listening to this song, which clearly is getting to her. She grabs mechanically for the next thing hanging in her closet. It's the uniform from her job at "Computer Station." She folds it, puts it in the box, then stops, staring at the orange fabric. INT. ENID AND REBECCA'S APT. - THE NEXT DAY Rebecca is nervously arranging and re-arranging her stuff. She puts up her gigantic new kitchen wall clock and sets the time to 12:45. She goes to the phone and calls Enid. The machine picks up and Rebecca hangs up. She does another tedious, pointless task. IT'S NOW 3:30. She's pissed off and goes to the phone to call again. As it rings there's a knock on the door. Relieved, she hangs up and goes to answer. REBECCA (as she opens the door) What's wrong with you, retard - it's three-thirty! It's Seymour standing there, not Enid. SEYMOUR Uh... hi. Uh... Enid's stepmother told me I'd find her here? REBECCA She's not at home? SEYMOUR No... they said she was here... REBECCA What the fuck is she doing?! She was supposed to be here three hours ago! SEYMOUR Uh, do you mind if I wait? I really need to talk to her. REBECCA (allows him to step inside but leaves the door open) Are you sure she wasn't there? Maybe she was just hiding from you. SEYMOUR Why would she be hiding from me? REBECCA I don't know... where is she, then? SEYMOUR Maybe she's with Josh? REBECCA Josh!? Why would she be with Josh? SEYMOUR I don't know. REBECCA Why? What did she tell you? SEYMOUR She just mentioned him a few times and said that they had been dating - I thought maybe she was... REBECCA What? Is she having some secret affair with Josh? SEYMOUR I have no idea - I just want to... REBECCA Why wouldn't she tell me? There's no way! She could never keep that to herself... you're crazy. SEYMOUR Really, I don't know enough about it to... REBECCA That slut! SEYMOUR (changing subject back to me) Why did you say she might be hiding from me? Did she say anything to you about me? REBECCA (getting revenge on Seymour) Yeah, she thinks you're a dork. SEYMOUR Did she say that? REBECCA Look, what do you expect? Considering how we met you. SEYMOUR What do you mean? REBECCA On that pathetic fake blind date. SEYMOUR What are you talking about? REBECCA Didn't she ever tell you about that? God, she really is pathological... SEYMOUR What fake blind date? What are you talking about? Rebecca goes over and gets Enid's sketchbook out of the box and flips through it. When she gets to the right page she hands it to Seymour. REBECCA Here. Read it and weep. We see a pasted-up PERSONAL AD beside a DRAWING OF SEYMOUR in Wowsville. On the facing page we see a drawing of JOSH with his name surrounded by RED HEARTS. EXT. SIDEWINDER - AFTERNOON Seymour's car screeches into the parking lot. He bursts into the store, ready for once in his life to make a scene. INT. SIDEWINDER - AFTERNOON Josh is behind the counter cleaning the Slurpee machine, with his back to the entrance, as Seymour storms in. Doug is over by the magazine rack reading a dirt bike magazine. SEYMOUR I hope you had a good laugh at my expense. Josh turns around - what's going on? He recognizes Seymour. JOSH Huh... oh... hi... uh... SEYMOUR You want to see something funny? I'll show you something funny! As he says this he flips over a SMALL DISPLAY RACK of potato chips. Then he tries to flip over a BIG DISPLAY CASE in front of the counter but is unable to budge it - he keeps trying and gets more and more frustrated. JOSH HEY! Josh runs from behind the counter to stop him before he creates a huge mess. He tries to grab Seymour and they get into a ridiculous frantic scuffle. Seymour starts yelling. Suddenly Doug appears and gets Seymour in a choke hold with his nunchucks. Doug ad-libs cop-style jargon. Josh is freaked out. Seymour realizes what a fool he is and starts to cry. The Boss comes out of the back room... BOSS Josh! What going on here?! INT. ENID & REBECCA'S APARTMENT - AROUND MIDNIGHT The apartment is dark - lit only by a harsh, annoying streetlight. Rebecca sits on the couch in sweat clothes, exasperated. She goes to look out the window. Cars with loud radios can be heard driving by. She goes to the phone - she checks it and hangs up. Pause. She picks it up again - one last try. She dials the number and waits. We hear the BEEP of the answering machine. Rebecca hangs up. She gets into a sleeping bag (spread out in the center of a cold linoleum floor). She zips the zipper all the way over her head and curls up into a whimpering ball. FADE TO BLACK TITLE CARD: "SEVERAL MONTHS LATER" INT. THERAPIST'S OFFICE - DAY The dialogue begins in voice-over as the title card fades. We slowly fade in to see Seymour, lying on a pink pastel psychiatrist's couch, as he speaks to his THERAPIST, a handsome, well-coiffed woman in her late 40s. SEYMOUR I have to admit, things have really started looking up for me since my life turned to shit. THERAPIST So tell me more about this job. What exactly will you be doing? SEYMOUR Well, mostly archival research, cataloguing old records and writing liner notes for their CD reissues. It's really... I can't believe it. THERAPIST Remember what I said when we first started -- this little breakdown might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you! SEYMOUR It doesn't pay very much, but I should be able to afford my own place in a few months... Do you think that's too soon? I'm really anxious to get my record collection out of storage... THERAPIST Why don't we start with that next week? Seymour looks up. She nods toward the large wall clock behind her: thirty seconds after five. Re gets up and she walks him slowly toward the door. SEYMOUR Thank you, doctor. THERAPIST (as she opens the door) Don't thank me. You're doing all the work. A pause. They stand facing each other. THERAPIST Seymour? SEYMOUR Yes? THERAPIST Do you have a check for me? Seymour takes a filled-out check from his shirt pocket. In the waiting room, we see SEYMOUR'S MOTHER. MOTHER Seymour? Are you done? Did you have a chance to think about what you might want for dinner while you were in there? SEYMOUR We can talk about it in the car, Ma... As they leave Seymour looks back and smiles weakly at the doctor. INT. QUALITY CAFE - LATE AFTERNOON The Cafe has been FULLY REMODELED and now resembles Wowsville more than the old Quality Cafe. There are no neighborhood "characters" anymore, only well-heeled twenty-somethings. We see that Rebecca is now a waitress here. She tears off a check and places it in front of a super-muscular, polo shirted EUROPEAN HIPSTER, who is too busy tapping away at his POWERBOOK to notice. She walks toward the end of the counter to total up her receipts. She looks up and sees Enid, wearing tasteful 1930's style clothes, sitting across from her. ENID Hi. REBECCA Oh, hi... I almost didn't recognize you -- I think I need to get glasses; you're all blurry! ENID (nodding toward muscular HIPSTER) You're lucky then, you can't see the veins on that guy's biceps. REBECCA Actually, he's a really nice guy. We see at this point that Rebecca & Enid are no longer friends, but there are also no hard feelings evident. REBECCA Do you want anything? ENID Maybe an orange juice. Rebecca goes to get it. Enid looks around, bemused and saddened by what The Quality Cafe has become. ENID Hey, look what I got... She takes a crumpled envelope from her pocket and pulls out her DIPLOMA. REBECCA Wow... finally. ENID It just came yesterday... Pause. Josh enters. Enid turns around. JOSH Hi Enid. ENID Hey Josh. JOSH Are you ready to go? For a moment it's not clear who he's talking to, and then: REBECCA (still counting receipts) Yeah, just one second... She finishes, takes off her apron and emerges from behind the counter. She kisses Josh perfunctorily. REBECCA (to Josh) Did you remember to pay the phone bill? JOSH Yeah. REBECCA (to Enid) Call me sometime. ENID Definitely. We still have to go to that shoe store sometime. Rebecca & Josh leave. Enid is totally alone in the now-alien world of the Quality Cafe. A momentary pause as she calmly stares into her orange juice. We see a small, round TRAVEL BAG at her feet. EXT. CITY STREETS/ACME SHOES - EVENING We see Enid walking down the familiar streets of her world. It's early evening, quiet except for distant street noises. She walks toward the old ACME SHOES AND REPAIR STORE. It looks the same, miraculously preserved, until she stands right in front of it. She looks through the partially papered over window and sees WORKMEN inside installing new fixtures: a modern counter and several small tables, all made from a FAMILIAR GREEN PLASTIC. A sign in the window reads: "Coming Soon: Another COFFEE EXPERIENCE. EXT. CITY STREET - EVENING She continues walking as the sun has set and there is a calm stillness to the city. She turns a corner and is startled by her reflection in a large window made of one-way glass. She stops and looks at herself. Everything about her looks perfect for once; no need to change a thing. She moves closer to the glass and, shading her eyes, tries to look inside. She continues walking. Darkness is just setting in and she has the street all to herself. EXT. COMMERCIAL AREA/BUS STOP - NIGHT We see Enid at NORMAN'S BUS STOP, sitting on the bench. She looks at the apartment building across the street. A woman who has just arrived home from work turns on the TV, bathing her living room with that EERIE BLUE LIGHT. The same thing happens in another window down the street... then another... Enid looks down the street. In the distance A BUS rounds the corner and heads toward her. From a third-story window across the street, we see the bus as it arrives and stops, blocking Enid from view. A moment later it pulls away, leaving an empty bench. The CAMERA moves upward, farther and farther away as the music swells and the credits roll. EXT. BRIDGE - EVENING The bus disappears over the crest of the bridge. THE END
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+                           THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS                              "Poultrygeist!"                                     by                               Duane Capizzi                                    and                              Steven Roberts                         Last revised May 12, 1988ACT ONE-------								FADE IN:EXT. -- A FARMHOUSE OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY -- NIGHTOn the farmhouse roof a CHICKEN-SHAPED WEATHERVANE stands silhouettedagainst a FULL, BLOOD-RED MOON.  The wind HOWLS and the vane swivels withan EERIE SQUEAK.  Then a weird ANIMAL CRY is heard--a cross between achicken CROWING and a wolf HOWLING.				WERECHICKEN  (VO)			(A CROWING HOWL)						CAMERA PANS DOWN TO:CHICKEN PENA fenced-in dirt area with numerous CHICKENS milling around, CLUCKING asthey peck at the ground.				WERECHICKEN (VO)			(ANOTHER HOWL, nearer now)		The chickens' heads jerk up toward the sound.WERECHICKEN'S POV -- MOVINGA RED-tinted, shaky, MOVING CAMERA TRUCK-IN on the chickens.  (These shotsare in the style of the POV SHOTS in WOLFEN.)  Magnified GURGLING andHEAVY BREATHING of Werechicken is heard.				WERECHICKEN (VO)			(GURGLING, HEAVY BREATHING)The terrified chickens stare INTO CAMERA as the Werechicken moves closer,his shadow falling over them.  They flap into their coop, SQUAWKINGwildly.INT. -- FARMHOUSE LIVING ROOM -- NIGHTMAUDE and ZEKE sit on the sagging couch watching a werewolf movie on TVwhile munching popcorn from a huge bowl.  They're distracted by CHICKENSSQUAWKING.				ZEKE		Sump'n's stirrin' up the chickens, Maude.				MAUDE		Jes' set easy, Zeke.			(she rises; heads for door)		I'll take a look-see.Zeke continues staring at TV.EXT.  FARMHOUSE -- NIGHT -- WERECHICKEN'S POVThrough the Werechicken's red eyes, we see a distant image of Maude with aflashlight, approaching the fenced-in chicken pen and opening the gate.CAMERA STARTS MOVING IN toward Maude as she enters, leaving gate open.				WERECHICKEN (VO)			(GURGLING, HEAVY BREATHING)ANGLE WITHIN CHICKEN PENThe dirt compound is empty now as Maude crosses toward wooden chickencoop.				MAUDE			(as she goes)		Here, chick-chick-chick-chick.INT.  CHICKEN COOP -- OTS MAUDEAS Maude ENTERS from OUT OF CAMERA, her flashlight beam illuminates thechickens cowering on their roosts in a corner.  They CLUCK nervously.				MAUDE		What's got you girls so durned upset?		There a coyote sneakin' 'round?Suddenly the Werechicken's shadow moves up Maude's back, then the wall.				WERECHICKEN (VO)			(Low, gutteral CLU-UCK)Maude looks over her shoulder AT CAMERA, reacts.				MAUDE			(GASP!)MAUDE'S POV -- THE WERECHICKENRed-eyed, grotesque, three times the size of an ordinary rooster as itstands framed in the moonlit doorway.  It opens its fanged beak in ahorrifying SHRIEK as it springs AT CAMERA, wings flapping.				WERECHICKEN			(Frightening SHRIEK)INT. FARMHOUSE LIVING ROOM - CLOSE ON TVOld black-and-white movie.  MELODRAMATIC MUSIC as a man turns into awerewolf, his HOWL a continuation of the previous Werechicken SHRIEK.				TV WEREWOLF			(eerie HOWL)WIDER ANGLE - ZEKEcontinues watching TV and eating popcorn.  Maude walks stiffly into roombehind him, eyes staring blankly.				ZEKE			(without looking up)		Everythin' okay out there, Maude?WAIST SHOT -- MAUDEShe stares with glassy, red eyes and CLUCKS quietly.				MAUDE-CHICKEN			(CLUCKS)				ZEKE (VO)		What say?PAN DOWN below Maude's waist to reveal that she's turning into a chickenfrom the feet up.  First her shoes RIP apart as large, yellow chicken feetsprout.  Then her dress SWELLS and SPLITS, revealing a large, featheredbody underneath. The only piece of clothing left on her is her apron.  Onefoot scratches the floor.				MAUDE-CHICKEN (VO)			(more CLUCKS)WIDER ANGLE -- FULLSHOT OF MAUDE-CHICKENNow completely transformed and six feet tall, she leaps up to perch onback of couch, THRUSTING her chicken head repeatedly into the popcorn bowlin Zeke's lap, pecking the bowl clean.  Zeke's jaw hangs open, speechless,as he stares at the fanged, drooling, six-foot Werechicken.  TheWerechicken looks up from the empty bowl, right in Zeke's terrified eyes.				ZEKE			(SCREAMS)He scrambles backwards off the couch.EXT. FARMHOUSE -- NIGHT - WERECHICKEN'S POVSCENE RED-tinted.   We hear loud SQUAWKING from within house as chickenfeathers fly out the open windows.				ZEKE (VO)			(YELLING)		Get away!' Scat!  Shoo!				MAUDE-CHICKEN (VO)			(loud SQUAWKING)CLOSE ANGLE -- WERECHICKENWatching from slight hilltop.  Its beak seems to bend into an insidiousgrin.				ZEKE (VO)			(from distance)		Help!... He-elp!								CUT TO:EXT.  ESTABLISHING -- GHOSTBUSTERS HQ - NIGHTAs CAMERA MOVES IN, we hear:				PETER (VO)		Egon, could you hold off on the weather		balloon bit for a minute?							DISSOLVE THRU TO:INT. -- LABORATORY -- ON PETER AND RAYThey stand holding big plastic bags of trash, obviously annoyed at theO.S. Egon.  Ray's armful of trash is piled so high that he can't see overit.  SLIMER hovers behind, sticking his nose in one of the bags like adog.  He finally dives right into it.				PETER (CONT)		It's Your night to take out the trash.				RAY		And Winston's in the kitchen doing your		dishes.ANGLE ON EGONHe's busy testing his WEATHER BALLOON--a large, pink bubble half the sizeof the room.  He moves a lever on its remote control unit and the balloonrises.				EGON			(preoccupied; through above)		Be with you in ...			(checks watch)		...one minute, fifty-three seconds.ANOTHER ANGLEPeter and Ray exchange pained glances.  Peter awkwardly attempts to pickup another trash bag while Ray stumbles around, his vision blocked.  PANWITH THEM as they move toward door when Egon's weather balloon suddenlylowers INTO FRAME.  They bounce into and off of it, which sends the trashbags flying.				PETER AND RAY			(AD-LIB REACTIONS as they			bounce off balloon)NEW ANGLEPeter stumbles backwards and lands butt-first right on one of the bags.Slimer SQUEALS from within it.				SLIMER (VO)			(big muffled SQUEAL)Then he comes shooting out the back of the bag, the lower half of his bodyflat as a Frisbee.SLIMERshakes himself off like a dog, spraying slime all over Peter.				PETER			(pissed; sarcastic)		Thanks, Slimer.  I really needed that!				SLIMER		Sorreee!ANOTHER ANGLERay helps Peter up as the telephone RINGS and RINGS.				RAY			(irritated)		Egon!  The phone!ON EGONThe RINGING phone is right beside him on the workbench.				EGON			(preoccupied with remote			controls)		In a minute, Ray.ANGLE ON WINSTONHe ENTERS with sleeves rolled up, wiping a plate with a dish towel andwearing an apron.				WINSTON			(sarcastic)		Nevermind, Egon, wouldn't want you to		strain yourself.			(picks up phone)		Ghostbusters Central.				VOICE OVER PHONE			(excited CHATTER)				WINSTON		Calm down... Where are you?...			(a BEAT as he listens)		We'll be right there.He hangs up.WIDER ANGLEPeter and Ray again have their arms full of trash bags.  Even Slimer isdragging one.				WINSTON		Ready for this one?  Some farmer says his		wife was eaten by a giant chicken.				PETER		Hey, even a half-baked false alarm sounds		better than doing Egon's chores.			(he drops trash bags)		Let's roll!Ray and Slimer also abandon their trash bags and EXIT with Peter andWinston.REAR VIEW ON EGONstill oblivious as he works in the suddenly empty room.				EGON		I think I've finally perfected it.  Watch		this, guys.			(a BEAT, he looks around			over shoulder)		Guys?								WIPE TO:EXT. -- COUNTRY ROAD - ESTABLISHING - NIGHTECTO-1 roars INTO CAMERA, siren and lights going.INT. -- ECTO 1 -- MOVINGThe Ghostbusters, minus Egon, are wearing their gear.  Slimer hovers inback seat.				RAY		It sure feels strange not having Egon with		us.				PETER			(sarcastic)		Why?  Lately even when he's with us, he's		not with us.ON WINSTONDriving.				WINSTON		But wouldn't it be somethin' if he sells		that weather balloon idea of his?  He'll be		a rich man!ON PETERArms folded, grumpily.				PETER		Good.  Then he can hire a maid to do his		share of the chores.EXT. -- ECTO 1 -- NIGHTAs it speeds OUT OF CAMERA toward distant farmhouse, PAN OVER TO theapron-wearing Maude-Chicken silhouetted in the moonlight, nesting in ahaystack.  MOVE IN TO --CLOSER ANGLE ON MAUDE-CHICKENHer body starts to shake, she ruffles her wings.				MAUDE-CHICKEN			(Egg-laying CLUCKS)Then she suddenly sits up and leaps off the haystack, revealing anenormous egg beneath her.  Maude SQUAWKS and CLUCKS and struts off into acornfield, pecking away at ears of corn.				MAUDE-CHICKEN			(SQUAWKS and CLUCKS)								CUT TO:INT. -- FARMHOUSE LIVING ROOM -- NIGHTRay, Winston and Slimer listen seriously as Zeke speaks, but Peter'sobviously not buying it.				ZEKE		Had big blood-red eyes, it did.  Biggest		dang chicken I ever seen.  Mebbe six feet		tall.Peter rolls his eyes.				WINSTON		Shouldn't be hard to find.RAYis jotting info on notepad.				RAY		Did it have any distinguishing marks?ANOTHER ANGLE				PETER		Ray!  It's six feet tall!Peter grabs Ray's arm, starts ushering him to front door.				PETER (CONT)			(over shoulder as he goes)		Thank you, Sir.  We'll put out a missing		chicken report right away.EXT.  FARMHOUSE - NIGHTAs the three Ghostbusters and Slimer cross toward Ecto-1 parked in front.				PETER			(as they go)		This one's easy, guys.  Old Zeke's been		watchin' too many horror movies and eating		too much greasy popcorn.CLOSER ANGLE -- MOVING				RAY		No, Peter, I think we're dealing with a		bonafide werechicken here.CLOSER ANGLEPeter and Winston stop, look at Ray in disbelief.				WINSTON		A werechicken?				PETER		Get serious, Ray.				RAY		Then explain those!Ray points at ground.  Peter, Winston and Slimer look down.THEIR POVPeter is standing with both feet in two enormous chicken footprints.							SMASH CUT TO:EXT. -- OPEN FIELD -- NIGHTThe three Ghostbusters follow Maude's "chicken" tracks with powerfulflashlights across a field spotted with haystacks.  Slimer moves ahead,nose to ground like a bloodhound.				SLIMER			(SNIFFS as he goes)ANGLE ON SLIMERHe floats along above the flashlight-illuminated tracks which lead himright into the haystack.  We hear a BONK from within, then:				SLIMER (VO)		Ow!Slimer backs OUT INTO SHOT rubbing his head.  He looks up and his eyes popwide.				SLIMER			(amazed GASP!)LOW ANGLE ON GIANT EGGThe Ghostbusters ENTER SHOT and play their flashlights across the huge eggsitting atop the haystack.				RAY			(excited)		What'd I tell you, Peter?  A werechicken		egg!  Gimme a hand, Winston!WIDER ANGLEAs Ray and Winston ease the egg down off the haystack.  Peter holds hisPKE meter up to it.				PETER		Look, if this is a werechicken egg,CLOSER ANGLE -- METERNothing registers on the meter.				PETER (CONT)		...how come there's no PKE reading?THREESHOTRay and Winston still hold giant egg.				RAY			(looking at meter in			Peter's hand)		I dunno... that is strange.				WINSTON		Let's get it back to Headquarters and run		some tests.  Then maybe we'll have some		answers.ON RAY				RAY		Oh no, I'm not leavin'.  The werechicken		that laid this has gotta be around here		someplace -- and I'm gonna find it.ON PETER AND SLIMER				PETER			(throws up his hands with			heavy SIGH)		I'll take it.  C'mon, Slimer.They take egg from Ray and Winston and start back toward Ecto-l.				PETER  (CONT)			(shaking his head; as he			goes)		Werechickens.WERECHICKEN'S POVThrough its RED EYES we see, from a distance, Peter and Slimer carryingthe egg, Ray and Winston moving off in other direction.				WERECHICKEN  (VO)			(BREATHING & SLOBBERING)							SMASH CUT TO:INT. -- GHOSTBUSTERS HQ - LAB - NIGHTEgon still busy with his balloon as Peter and Slimer carry egg in throughdoor.				PETER			(through above)		Yo, balloon man, we've got some real work		for you:  How about analyzing this?ANOTHER ANGLEEgon looks around, reacts to egg.				EGON		Interesting.  That's the second biggest egg		I've ever seen.Peter and Slimer set egg on Egon's desk.				PETER		I don't wanna hear about it, Egon.  We've		had a long night in a not-too-fragrant		barnyard, so I'm taking a shower and hitting		the sheets.Peter EXITS as Slimer ZIPS in close beside Egon, elbows on desk, chin inhands, eyeing Egon and egg expectantly.  Egon pushes glasses up off tip ofnose and blinks at egg, not sure what to do with it.  CAMERA MOVES IN onegg and we --							MATCH-DISSOLVE TO:EXT. -- FULL MOON IN COUNTRY SKY -- NIGHTCAMERA PANS DOWN from full moon to reveal the tiny figures of Ray andWinston approaching an old barn.  They stop, shining their flashlights onclosed main door.				WINSTON			(tired)		Ray, it's gettin' pretty late.  Maybe there		really isn't any...				RAY			(holds up one hand)		Shh!CLOSER ANGLERay extends his PKE meter toward barn.  It BEEPS incessantly.				RAY			(low voice)		It's in there.				WINSTON			(unclipping his blaster)		Then let's get it!INT. BARN -- HIGH ANGLE ON MAIN DOOR -- WERECHICKEN'S POVThrough its RED EYES we see the barn door slowly CREAK open, revealing Rayand Winston peering in.CLOSER ANGLE -- RAY AND WINSTONThey ENTER cautiously, Ray holding his BEEPING meter out before him.  Thebarn is dark except for the moonlight slanting through the loft window andthe beams of their flashlights.  As the WIND picks up, WOOD CREAKS, HAYRUSTLES, and a piece of JUNKY machinery turns with a SQUEAL.				WINSTON			(WHISPER)		Man, this place is creepy.				RAY			(WHISPER)		It's in here -- I can feel it.ANOTHER ANGLESuddenly the door SLAMS shut behind them and the FLAP OF BEATING WINGSSCURRIES through the darkness.  Winston JUMPS.				WINSTON		Look out!Ray shines his flashlight toward the lofts.  Its beam catches a couple ofstartled pigeons as they fly out the window, pinion feathers WHISTLING.REACTION SHOT -- RAY AND WINSTON				RAY & WINSTON			(relieved SIGHS)WERECHICKEN'S POVRED-TINTED, moving slowly toward Ray and Winston from behind.				WERECHICKEN (VO)			(HEAVY BREATHING)CLOSE ON RAY AND WINSTONThey stop as PKE meter starts BEEPING.  Ray checks the reading.				RAY			(whisper)		Something's close.  Very close.WERECHICKEN'S POVClosing on Ray and Winston.				WERECHICKEN (VO)			(HEAVY BREATHING)The guys wheel around.THEIR POV ON WERECHICKENWe see only its face.  The blood-red eyes stare menacingly, its fangedbeak slightly open and drooling.				WERECHICKEN			(HEAVY RASPY BREATHING)ZOOM BACK TO --WIDER ANGLE ON WERECHICKENIt hops forward into a streak of moonlight.  It's three feet tall, itswings hang out at the sides, and its evil, blood-red eyes stare at CAMERA.				WERECHICKEN  (CONT)			(HEAVY PANTING)				RAY (VO)		It is a werechicken!ANGLE ON RAY and WINSTONBacking away, blasters leveled.				WINSTON		Man, he is ugly!ANGLE ON WERECHICKENIt postures, rooster-like and:				WERECHICKEN			(ROARS angrily)ON RAY and WINSTONStill backing up.				RAY		Bad choice of words, Winston.THE WERECHICKEN suddenly leaps AT CAMERA.				WERECHICKEN			(loud SHRIEKING SQUAWK)WERECHICKEN'S POVZOOM-IN on Winston and Ray.  They open fire.FULL SHOTThe proton streams catch the Werechicken in mid-air as it vaults towardRay and Winston, halting its leap and suspending it in a corona of protonenergy.				WERECHICKEN			(SHRIEKS)A HIDEOUS SPIRIT rises from its writhing body -- shapeless, but withmonstrous glowing eyes and fangs.  The spirit lets out a ROAR morefrightening than the Werechicken howl.				SPIRIT			(big ROAR)CLOSER ANGLERay, still firing his gun, snaps a trap loose from his belt, and tosses itonto the barn floor.  It POPS open.				RAY		Trap out!ANOTHER ANGLERay and Winston, struggling with the writhing Spirit caught in thestreams, guide the Spirit into the trap.				WINSTON		Hang on!  That's it!				RAY		We've almost got him!CLOSE ON TRAPThe Spirit is sucked into the trap, which SLAMS shut.WIDER ANGLE -- RAY AND WINSTONA normal chicken with singed feathers stands where the Werechicken was.It CLUCKS, starts pecking at the dirt.				CHICKEN			(Normal CLUCKING)				RAY			(looking at chicken)		Well, that takes care of one werechicken.CLOSER ON THE GUYSRay picks up the smoking trap.				RAY (CONT)		Now to find the six-footer that ate Zeke's		wife.They head for the door.  Winston stops.				WINSTON		Ray, I just had a thought...Ray pauses to look around at Winston.				WINSTON (CONT)		What if that six-foot werechicken is Zeke's		wife?And off their looks, we --								CUT TO:INT. -- GHOSTBUSTERS HQ -KITCHEN -- NIGHTEgon carries the big egg into kitchen, Slimer helping.				EGON			(straining)		Thanks for the help, Slimer, but I don't		have time to examine this egg tonight.  I		have to prepare for my weather balloon		demonstration tomorrow morning.ANOTHER ANGLEWith his elbow, Egon opens refrigerator with and the two of them place thegiant egg inside.				EGON (CONT)			(through above)		But it'll be safe in here.				SLIMER		Yeah.Egon closes fridge.				SLIMER			(big YAWN)		G'night, Egon.Slimer floats off.				EGON		Goodnight, Slimer.								WIPE TO:INT. -- BEDROOMSlimer is SNORING, hovering above Peter's empty bed.				SLIMER			(SNORING)CLOSE ON SLIMERIn a BUBBLE above him, we see Slimer's DREAM, various kinds of fooddancing and SINGING the first two bars of Los Lobos' "LA BAMBA" a la theCalifornia Raisins in "I Heard It Through The Grapevine."  Still asleep,Slimer licks his lips hungrily, opens his mouth incredibly wide andpounces on the entire dream balloon with a teeth-jarring CHOMP! that POPSthe dream bubble so that it EXPLODES inside his mouth, waking him up.Slimer sits up with a wide-eyed, hungry look, rubbing his tummy.				SLIMER		Fooooood.He zips o.s.INT. -- KITCHENDark.  Lights go on, then Slimer SKIDS to mid-air stop and whips openfridge.  His eyes pop as he sees the egg.				SLIMER			(licking his lips)		Yummy!Slimer rolls egg toward edge of shelf, then the full weight of the eggdrives Slimer straight to the floor.  The egg bounces on his stomach twicebefore he gets a grip on it.  Straining his little green brains out, hefloats the egg up into the air and o.s.				SLIMER			(SQUEALS, then GRUNTS)ANGLE ON OVENSlimer shoves egg in the open oven, closes door, turns on the heat, thenmoves O.S.  The oven interior glows red and the egg starts to quiver.ON SLIMERSlimer HUMS as he busily sets table for one:  placemat, a plate, utensils,salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard, mayo, relish, ... a flurry of activitythat all focuses on his personal eating spot.				SLIMER			(HUMMING through above)ANGLE ON OVENThrough window we see the egg shake and then begin to crack open.RESUME ON SLIMERHovering at table, still preparing for feast.  He puts on a bib, unawareof oven shaking behind him.				SLIMER			(still HUMMING)With a loud BANG, the oven practically explodes and the door flies off.Out pops a BABY WERECHICKEN, SNARLING and CACKLING.				BABY WERECHICKEN			(SNARLING, CACKLING)ON SLIMERHis eyes bug and his paw drops.				SLIMER			(startled SCREAM)Slimer barrels up through sink faucet, leaving his bib stuck in theopening.INT. -- SHOWERPeter shampooing his hair.				PETER			(AD LIB SINGING)Slimer comes shooting out through shower nozzle, hugs Peter tightly aroundthe neck and scaring the hell out of him.				PETER			(startled YELL; then:)		Slimer!  How 'bout some privacy??				SLIMER			(pointing, eyes wide)		Monster!  Inna kitchen!				PETER		Monster?				SLIMER			(nods)		Uh-huh!  Uh-huh!			(imitates werechicken)			(SNARLING & CACKLING)INT. -- LABEgon works at his table.  A now familiar Werechicken shadow appears overhis shoulder and grows up the wall.CLOSER ANGLE - REAR VIEW ON EGONWerechicken creeps OUT OF CAMERA, bites Egon on the rear and pulls backo.s., chicken claws CLATTERING off into distance.				EGON			(looking around)		Ow!				BABY WERECHICKEN  (VO)			(CACKLING fading into			distance)ON EGONDazed, he looks down at his feet.CLOSE ON EGON'S SHOESChicken toes pop through the leather, one at a time.				EGON (VO)			(dazed)		What?CLOSE SHOTSAs Egon's transformation continues:  His coveralls RIP apart at the legs,then midriff, then his arms turn into wings.  Finally, a beak sprouts fromhis face.				EGON-CHICKEN			(Weird CLUCK)							SMASH CUT TO:INT. HALL OUTSIDE LAB -- NIGHTPeter (now dressed and wearing his backpack) runs up to lab door andflings it open, Slimer right behind him.INT. LABPeter and Slimer look in, not seeing Egon, who is now a six-foot-tallwerechicken, but still wearing his glasses, standing behind door.				PETER			(CALLS)		Egon?			(to Slimer)		Well, Slimer, I don't see anything here		that looks like a monster.The Egon-Chicken jumps out right in front of Peter and Slimer.				EGON-CHICKEN			(CHICKEN HOWL)ANOTHER ANGLESlimer freaks and rockets right through the nearest wall.				SLIMER			(SQUEALS as he goes)				PETER		Holy cow!!Peter raises his proton gun.CLOSE ON EGON-CHICKENHe flaps his wings wildly, his red eyes bulging, and GROWLS, revealingimpressive fangs.				EGON-CHICKEN			(LOUD GROWL)				END ACT ONE				-----------ACT TWO-------INT. -- GHOSTBUSTERS LAB -- NIGHTEgon the Werechicken moves toward Peter, fangs bared in attack mode.				EGON-CHICKEN			(SNARLING as he goes)ON PETERHe steps back into doorway, blaster leveled at Egon-Chicken, and SNAPS onthe power.  It HUMS to life.				PETER			(horrified)		What'd you do to Egon, you bird-brain!				RAY (VO)		Peter!  Wait!A hand grabs Peter by the arm fust as the thrower fires, sending theproton stream off at an angle into ceiling, barely missing the chicken.				PETER			(surprised as he looks			around)		Hey!INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE LABas Ray pulls Peter out into corridor, Winston kicks door shut in theEgon-Chicken's snarling face and quickly locks it.  Slimer hovers nearbylooking worried.				EGON-CHICKEN (VO)			(SNARLS)CLOSE ANGLEThe door SHAKES and SHUDDERS as the unseen Egon-Chicken tries to breakthrough.				PETER			(irritated; through above)		What's wrong with you guys?  That thing ate		Egon!				RAY		Peter, that is Egon!  The egg hatched, he		was bitten and now he's a werechicken!The door behind them is starting to splinter and bulge from the batteringof the Egon-Chicken.				PETER			(looking at door)		You're kidding!			(a BEAT, then)		Come to think of it, there was a certain		resemblance.Suddenly the battering stops.				WINSTON			(looking toward door)		What happened?  He's so quiet all of a		sudden.ON RAYLooking toward o.s. window, he reacts.				RAY		It's the moon!He hurries o.s.ANOTHER ANGLERay stops at window, looks out.  Beyond we see the full moon.  Peter,Winston and Slimer come up behind him.				RAY (CONT)		Tonight's the first --CLOSE ON MOONIt's beginning to disappear, right to left.				RAY (VO)(CONT)		-- lunar eclipse in ten years!ON GHOSTBUSTERS AND SLIMERAll looking out window as eclipse continues				PETER		Ray, what's this have to do with Egon being		a chicken?				RAY			(turning to others)		Werechickens only appear during a full		moon, and for the next few minutes, the		moon's not full.INT. LAB -- ON DOORDoor opens and Ray pecks in.				RAY			(tentative)		Egon?ANGLE ON EGONSeen from the waist up (he's not wearing clothes), looking around,confused.  He sees Ray.				EGON		Ray, what is going on?WIDER ANGLEEgon is holding his tattered coveralls in front of his waist, like askirt.				EGON (CONT)		And why am I naked?Suddenly Slimer flies INTO SHOT and gives Egon a big, sloppy kiss.				SLIMER			(as he enters)		Egon!			(KISSING SOUNDS)ON PETER AND WINSTON				PETER		Sit down, Egon, we have some good news and		some bad news.				EGON			(as he sits)		Bad news first.				WINSTON		You've been turned into a werechicken!ON EGONHis glasses slip to the end of his nose as his eyes widen.  He pushes themback up.				EGON		A werechicken?ON RAYHe hurriedly thumbs through the TOBIN SPIRIT GUIDE.				RAY			(flipping through book)		Were-aardvarks ... were-bears werechickens!			(reads)		"The werechicken appears during the full		moon.  Anyone it bites will turn into		another werechicken."			(he looks at Egon)		That egg Peter brought in, it hatched and...ON EGONHe rubs his rear.				EGON			(through above)		I remember the bite clearly.  How long will		I stay like this?ON RAY, WINSTON and PETERLooking at the Tobin Guide.				RAY			(looking in Tobin's Guide)		According to this, there is an antidote.		But we've gotta move fast -- the eclipse		only lasts three minutes!INT. FIREHOUSE KITCHENSlimer scrambles through the cupboard, grabbing various bottles of stuff,and hands them to Winston who adds ingredients to mixing bowl and stirswhile Ray reads from Tobin's Guide.				RAY			(reading through above)		"One tablespoon paprika, one clove of		garlic, some parsley for color, cup of		gelatin..."ANGLE ON WINDOWThrough it we see the eclipsed moon starting to emerge from shadow.INT. LAB -- ANGLE ON EGONHis pupils look constricted and he's perspiring.				EGON			(weakly)		I don't feel well.Peter steps INTO SHOT, puts arm around Egon's shoulders.				PETER			(through above)		Take it easy, Egon.  You're gonna be fine.			(SHOUTS O.S.; worried)		Hurry it up, guys!INT.  KITCHEN -- ON WINSTON AND RAY				RAY			(reading hurriedly)		"And one tablespoon of chickenbane."ON SLIMERHe rummages through shelves, then looks down at Ray.				SLIMER			(aghast)		No chickenbane!ANOTHER ANGLERay and winston exchange panicky looks.				RAY		Then we've gotta go with this!  C'mon!They run OUT with the mixing bowl of liquid.  Slimer follows.INT. LAB -- CLOSE ON EGON'S LEGSThey're once again turning into chicken legs and chicken feet.  Toespopping out like popcorn.				PETER (VO)			(YELLS)		Come on, Ray!!WIDER ANGLEAs Peter and Egon stare down at the chicken legs and chicken feet.				PETER  (CONT)			(YELLS o.s.)		He's changing again!Ray, Slimer and Winston rush INTO SHOT.				RAY			(breathless)		Quick, Egon, drink this!Winston hands the bowl of potion to Egon, who gulps it down.				EGON			(swallowing, GULPING			sounds)As Egon drinks, his arms transform into wings and he drops the bowl,breaking it.				WINSTON		We're too late!CLOSER -- EGONAs the transformation  and feathers  rise up  his shoulders.  Suddenly,the transformation  stops at  the neck.   DRAMATIC MUSIC STOPS, too.ON PETER, RAY, WINSTON AND SLIMERThey stare, wide-eyed.  After A BEAT --				PETER		What happened?WIDER ANGLETo include Egon, who is once again a six-foot-tall chicken, but withEgon's own neck and head.				RAY		The potion only partly worked, because of		the missing chickenbane.				PETER		Well, we hafta do something!				EGON		Don't get your feathers ruffled, Peter.		There's a logical solution to every problem.				BABY WERECHICKEN (VO)			(HOWL)CLOSER ANGLEStrands of slime stand straight up on the nape of Slimer's "neck" at thesound -- like a frightened cat -- and he dives into a test tube in a rackon Egon's workbench.				SLIMER			(SQUEALS as he goes)ON RAY AND WINSTONlooking around.				WINSTON		What was that?				RAY		The werechicken that bit Egon.  It's still		out there somewhere.ANOTHER ANGLE				PETER			(to others)		Let's stop that thing before it makes		drumsticks out of anyone else!			(to Egon)		Un, no offense, Egon.The three normal Ghostbusters dash toward door.							SMASH CUT TO:EXT. -- AERIAL VIEW -- MANHATTAN -- NIGHTECTO-2 glides over the city, running lights blinking.INT. -- ECTO-2 -- MOVINGPeter at the controls.  Slimer sits beside him, looking down at the citythrough binoculars.				PETER			(into radio mike)		All quiet on the chicken front.  How about		down there?INT. -- ECTO-1 -- MOVINGWinston driving.  Ray on the radio.				RAY		Not a peep.				WINSTON			(gives Ray a dirty look)		No pun intended.EXT. SUPERMARKET - NIGHTSeveral people run out front door SCREAMING as ECTO-1 passes.				PEOPLE			(SCREAMING as they exit)INT. -- ECTO-1 - MOVINGWinston and Ray look back at exiting people.				WINSTON		That's it!Winston cranks the wheel.EXT.  ECTO-1As it makes a SCREECHING U-turn.EXT. -- SUPERMARKETEcto-1 SKIDS up, doors open, and Ray and Winston leap out, blasters at theready, running toward store entrance.INT. -- SUPERMARKETRay and winston run in and stop inside door beside a panicked BOX BOY whopoints o.s.				BOX BOY			(breathless)		It's in there!  A big chicken!  It's gotta		be ten feet tall!CLOSER ANGLERay and Winston exchange glances.				WINSTON		Ten feet tall?				BOX BOY			(nods)		Maybe fifteen, I dunno.  Big!			(he runs o.s.)		I'm outta here!				RAY			(to Winston)		Let's split up.They run off in opposite directions, flanking the long aisles.ON RAYPAN WITH him as he cautiously moves along, aisle by aisle.  At far end ofaisles, Winston can be seen doing the same.  The market is thrashed,spilled groceries everywhere.ANOTHER ANGLEAs they reach the last aisle.  No chicken.  Ray joins Winston.				WINSTON		How could we lose a fifteen foot-tall		chicken?				BUTCHER (VO)			(frightened SCREAM)				RAY		We didn't!  Come on!They hurry o.s.INT. MEAT DEPT. -- ON BUTCHERHe's hiding under his butcher block, trembling.  Ray and Winston run INTOSHOT.  The Butcher looks up, eyes wide.				BUTCHER		A giant chicken just came through here --		it was thirty feet tall!CLOSER ANGLE				WINSTON		Thirty feet tall?ANOTHER ANGLEThe Butcher is pointing out open door.  Beyond is a parking lot with atrail of crushed cars right down the middle.				BUTCHER (CONT)		Yeah!  Look what it did to those cars!Ray and Winston race out the door.EXT. INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT - WIDE ON ECTO-2 FLYING -- NIGHTThe little chopper, lights blinking, skims low past three-and four-storybuildings.				PETER (VO)			(into radio)		It's how big?  Okay, Ray, I admit you were		right about these Werechickens,...INT.  ECTO-2 -- MOVINGPeter and Slimer, as before.				PETER (CONT)		...but I definitely don't buy them growing		to the size of buildings.				SLIMER		(covers mouth, LAUGHTER FIZZING		through his closed, flapping lips.		"How absurd.")Suddenly, the head of the Werechicken rears up INTO SHOT right in front ofRay and Slimer.				SLIMER			(SCREAMS)				WERECHICKEN			(deafening HOWL)ECTO-2 is buffeted about by the howl as Peter jams the stick forward.WIDER ON ECTO-2It makes a steep, banking dive and gets the hell out of there, barelyescaping the big Werechicken's beak that SNAPS shut on thin air justbehind Ecto-2's retreating tail.INT. -- ECTO-2 -- MOVINGPeter is shaken, but in control.  Slimer is trembling like green Jell-O.				PETER			(into mike)		Ray, you were right!  The chicken's here,		and he's a walking high-rise!INT. -- ECTO-1 -- NIGHT -- MOVING				RAY			(into radio)		On our way, Peter.Winston floors it and he and Ray accelerate forward INTO CAMERA.INT. BUNKROOM -- GHOSTBUSTERS HQ - MORNINGEgon is "perched" on the window sill, looking pensively out at the city,still a chicken from the neck down.  A BEAT, then:				JANINE (VO)			(big SCREAM)				EGON			(startled CLUCK)Startled, Egon flutters up off the sill, gravity takes over, and he landson his feathered butt.WIDER ANGLERevealing Janine standing frozen in the doorway, eyes wide with disbelief,hands to her cheeks.				JANINE		Egon!  What happened?				EGON		It's a long story, Janine.   Can you get my		coat, please?  I'm due at the weather board		in forty-five...			(CLUCK)		...minutes.ON JANINEShe stares at Egon, totally bewildered.				JANINE		But what ...?			(thinks better of asking)		Nevermind.ANOTHER ANGLEJanine takes a long yellow raincoat off a door hook and helps him into it.He's completely covered except for his head and feet.				JANINE		Are you sure you wanna go to a meeting like		-- this?				EGON		Trust me.  I'm of sound mind at least.ANGLE ON EGONAs he struts toward the door, we see his tail protruding through a slit inthe back of coat.  He EXITS, CLUCKING.				EGON			(CLUCKING as he goes)CLOSE JANINEStaring after him in disbelief.EXT. MID-TOWN MANHATTAN -- ANGLE ON WERECHICKENIt walks along stepping on cars, kicking over telephone poles, etc., a laGodzilla.  The streets SHAKE.  Panicky pedestrians flee the Werechicken'sgiant feet.				CROWD			(panicky WALLA)INT. -- ECTO-2 -- MOVINGPeter and Slimer are following giant chicken.				PETER			(into radio)		It's heading down 34th toward the Empire		State Building.EXT. -- THE STREETS -- DAWNEcto-1 SPEEDS around a corner, SIREN blaring.				RAY (VO)		Check!  We're almost there.EXT. EMPIRE STATE BLDG. -- DAWNSun rises behind the werechicken as it approaches in distance.  With eachHOWL, the streets SHAKE.				WERECHICKEN (VO)			(HOWLS)LOW ANGLE ON ECTO-1Approaching CAMERA fast, it SCREECHES to a halt.  Doors fly open.  Ray andWinston LEAP out, open fire, their proton streams angling upward.LOW ANGLE POV - WERECHICKENMoving toward them down the concrete canyon, flattening street lamps andpower poles.  Ecto-2 can be seen flying above and behind it.  The protonstreams are up toward it.INT. ECTO-2				PETER		Take over, Slimer!				SLIMER		Roger!Slimer grabs the control stick in both hands as Peter leans out to oneside with his blaster and fires downward.ANGLE ON WERECHICKENCaught in the three crossing streams.  It FLAILS about, knocking overstreet lights and bashing in the sides of buildings, and lets out adeafening HOWL.  A MONSTROUS SPIRIT emerges from its body and fills thescreen like a transparent film.				WERECHICKEN			(enraged HOWLS)ON RAY AND WINSTONRay tosses out the trap.				RAY		Let's reel him in!WIDER ANGLEAs Ray, Winston and Peter's beams draw the Spirit toward the trap.				SPIRIT			(angry HOWLS)CLOSER ON TRAPRay's boot stomps on trigger and trap springs open.  As the Spirit comesinto contact with the trap a small STORM ERUPTS around it.  SPARKS andLIGHTNING BOLTS fly.  A HURRICANE-like WIND BLOWS.ON RAY AND WINSTONBeing buffeted by wind, struggling to hang onto their throwers as theycontinue firing.  They have to SHOUT over the NOISE.				WINSTON			(loud)		Trap's full!  Somebody forgot to empty it!ON ECTO-2The wind is really bouncing it around.  Slimer has his hands full, whilePeter continues shooting.				RAY			(YELLS)		Whose job was it?RAY AND WINSTONturn to each other.				RAY AND WINSTON		EGON'S!CLOSE ON TRAPLight FLASHES rapidly.  Trap begins to shake and glow.				RAY (VO)		It's gonna blow!LOW ANGLE -- ECTO-2				WINSTON (VO)			(over walkie-talkie)		Peter, get outa here!It banks, gets the hell away.RAY AND WINSTONturn off their proton guns and are KNOCKED down by the released force asthe freed Monstrous Spirit whooshes skyward.  The STORM abruptlydisappears, as if SUCKED up.  The trap stops shaking and SNAPS shut.ANGLE ON WERECHICKENAs the Spirit POPS back into its body, JARRING it.  Its chicken facecontorts with new ANGER.				WERECHICKEN			(HOWLS)WIDER ANGLEIt turns and starts up the side of the Empire State Building.EXT. EMPIRE STATE BUILDING - MORNINGThe werechicken is halfway to the top.  PULL BACK to reveal Peter, Slimer,Winston and Ray standing in street looking up at him.  Ecto-1 and 2 arebehind them.				PETER		So how're we gonna, put that big bird on		ice, guys'				RAY			(SNAPS finger)		Peter, that's not a bed idea!  Chicken		freezes at very low temperatures!CLOSER ANGLE				WINSTON		Yeah, but how do you freeze a 50-foot		chicken in August?A BEAT, then the three guys look at each other.				RAY, WINSTON & PETER		Egon's weather balloon!EXT. -- BUILDING ROOFTOP -- MORNINGNot far from the Empire State Building.  Egon stands before a group ofseated MEN and WOMEN --THE WEATHER BOARD -- in his rain coat.  To oneside, the weather balloon hovers above them.				EGON		Distinguished members of the Weather Board,		my weather balloon has the clu-cluck-clu-		capability --ANGLE ON EGONThe top of the Empire State Building is visible behind him as he holds thesmall weather device control box in one winged hand.				EGON (CONT)		... of entering the upper atmosphere where		clu-cluck-clu cloud formations occur.ANGLE ON BOARD MEMBERSThey look at each other, puzzled.				BOARD			(puzzled MUTTERING WALLA)RESUME ON EGON				EGON (VO)(CONT)		There, it can electronically alter weather		cut-cut-cut-con-ditions to produce sun,		rain, or...			(BAWK!)		...snow.Ecto-2 ascends into view behind him and hovers, the chopper's rotorsblowing Egon's raincoat up over his head, exposing the chicken bodyunderneath.ANGLE ON AUDIENCETheir mouths drop open as they stare at Egon's chicken body.				BOARD MEMBERS			(excited WALLA)ANGLE ON EGONHe pulls raincoat down off his face, holding it in place with one hand ashe looks at audience with forced smile.				EGON			(to Board members)		I, er, can explain this, but --Slimer flies INTO SHOT beside Egon and WHISPERS in his ear.				SLIMER			(WHISPERING MUTTERS)				EGON		What?He looks around to where Slimer is pointing.EGON'S POVAs the Werechicken climbs into view, scaling the upper stories of theEmpire State Building.				WERECHICKEN			(distant SQUAWKS)NEW ANGLEThe Weather Board members see the Werechicken and start to SCREAM.				WEATHER BOARD MEMBERS			(SCREAMING)ON EGONHe JUMPS onto a rope ladder hanging from Ecto-2 and climbs inside.  Slimerflies in right behind him and Ecto-2 rises up OUT OF SHOT.INT. -- ECTO-2 -- MOVINGEgon settles into passenger seat.  Slimer hovers behind them.				PETER			(loud over engine)		Egon, can we freeze that big chicken with		your weather balloons				EGON			(holds up wings)		Yes, but you'll have to work the controls.				PETER			(nods)		Piece of cake.EXT. -- ECTO-2 -- MORNINGIt banks off toward the Empire State Building as the Werechicken reachesthe top of the spire.ON WERECHICKENAs it gets "comfortable" on the spire, fluffing its feathers.  It beginsto quiver (like Maude did earlier when she laid an egg).				WERECHICKEN			(hideous CROW)ON RAY AND WINSTONOn street below, looking skyward through binoculars.				WINSTON		What's it doing?				RAY		It looks like it's about to lay an --Winston puts a hand over Ray's mouth.				WINSTON			(with dread)		I don't want to hear it.ANGLE ON WEATHER BALLOONIt rises from weather bureau rooftop, then drifts along horizontally, awayfrom the Empire State Building.  It stops, then begins to rise again.  Thesky darkens as the balloon rises into the clouds.INT. ECTO-2 - MOVINGPeter, Egon, Slimer, as before.  Peter operates the weather ballooncontrol box while Slimer flies the chopper.				EGON		Okay, Peter, the balloon's in position.		Turn the lever to the extreme left.CLOSE UP ON WEATHER CONTROL BOXPeter turns a lever.ANGLE ON BALLOONThe balloon and surrounding clouds start to freeze, turning white andforming ice on them.  Suddenly, snow starts to fall.ON SLIMERHe sticks his tongue out and catches some snowflakes.ANGLE ON WERECHICKENBlizzard-like snow pelts it.  The chicken begins to stiffen and turn whitewith frost.				WERECHICKEN			(angry SQUAWKS)ANGLE ON STREETSSnow falls on Ray and Winston as they gaze skyward.				RAY AND WINSTON		They did it!  All-right!!They high-five each other.								WIPE TO:EXT. FIREHOUSE -- NIGHTA heavy snow continues to fall as CAMERA MOVES IN				MAUDE (VO)			(calls)		Anyone for dessert?INT, FIREHOUSE - DINING AREAMaude (back to normal) emerges from kitchen carrying a large, steamingbowl.  Seated around the table are Egon (back to normal) Peter, Winston,Ray and Zeke.  No Slimer.  There are half-empty soup bowls in front ofeveryone and the diners all look full to the point of weariness -- exceptSlimer.				EGON			(raising hand)		You bet, Maude.ON PETERAs he looks at bowl of soup Maude sets down.				PETER		Lemme guess -- more chickenbane soup!ON EGONspooning soup eagerly into his bowl.				EGON		I'm actually starting to like it.ON MAUDE				MAUDE		No more werechicken problems for us,		eh, Egon?			(CHUCKLES)				WERECHICKEN (VO)			(HOWL)WIDER ANGLEEveryone freezes and looks o.s.				WINSTON		Uh-oh.				RAY		It came from the lab!The Ghostbusters burst from their chairs and run o.s.INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE LABAs the Ghostbusters cautiously advance, blasters ready.INT. LAB -- ON DOORIt opens and the Ghostbusters peer in.  Suddenly ...				WERECHICKEN (VO)			(another HOWL)SWISH PAN to ...A HUGE SHADOW on the lab wall, its head making a "pecking" motion like awerechicken.  After a beat, PAN DOWN to reveal Slimer with a Walkman onhis head, "pecking" his head to the rhythm of his music.  Slimer HOWLSagain ...				SLIMER			(HOWLS)ON GHOSTBUSTERS				WINSTON			(big SIGH)		It's just Slimer groovin' to his new James		Brown tape.ON SLIMERAs he continues to groove to the music.				SLIMER			(a la James Brown)		I feel good!		I knew that I would		So good, so good, so good!			(big James Brown HOWL as			we --)			(HOWLS)ON GHOSTBUSTERSPeter turns to the others in disgust.				PETER			(long-suffering)		Tell me, how do I get out of this chicken		outfit?								FADE OUT				THE END
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+					GLADIATOR					by				David Franzoni			Revised by John Logan								SECOND DRAFT								October 22, 1998		"While stands the Colosseum, Rome shall stand.		When falls the Colosseum, Rome shall fall.		And when Rome falls -- the World."							ByronFADE IN:EXT.  FOREST - DAYGermania.  The far reaches of the Roman Empire.Winter 180 A.D.Incongruously enough, the first sound we hear is abeautiful tenor voice.  Singing.  A boy's voice.CREDITS as we hear the haunting song float through denseforests.  We finally come to a rough, muddy road slashingthrough the forest.  On the road a GERMAN PEASANT FATHERis herding along three sickly looking cows.  His two SONSare with him.  His youngest son sits on one of the cowsand sings a soft, plaintive song.They become aware of another sound behind them on the road-- the creak of wood, the slap of metal on leather.  TheFather immediately leads his cattle and his sons off theroad.  They stand-still, eyes down:  the familiar postureof subjugated peoples throughout history.A wagon train rumbles past them.  Three ornate wagonsfollowed by a mounted cohort of fifty heavily-armedPRAETORIAN GUARDS.The young boy dares to glance up at the passing Romans.His eyes burn with hatred.INT.  WAGON - DAYMist momentarily obscures a man's face.  Frozen breath.The man is in his 20's, imperious and handsome.  He isswathed in fur, only his face exposed.  He is COMMODUS.He glances up.					COMMODUS		Do you think he's really dying?The woman across from him returns his gaze evenly.  She isslightly older, beautiful and patrician.  A formidablewoman.She is LUCILLA.					LUCILLA		He's been dying for ten years.					COMMODUS		I think he's really dying this time.A beat.  Their breath turns instantly to mist.					COMMODUS		He has to be bled every night now.					LUCILLA		How do you know that?					COMMODUS		I've been so informed.She arches an eyebrow.					COMMODUS		If he weren't really dying he		wouldn't have sent for us.					LUCILLA			(a smile)		Maybe he just misses us.					COMMODUS		And the Senators.  He wouldn't have		summoned them if --					LUCILLA		Peace, Commodus.  After two weeks on		the road your incessant scheming is		hurting my head.A beat.					COMMODUS		The first thing I shall do is honor		him with games worthy of his		majesty.					LUCILLA		The first thing I shall do is have a		hot bath.The wagon rumbles to a halt.  Voices are heard outside.Commodus leaps out...EXT.  WAGON - OUTPOST - DAYThree Roman SOLDIERS guard an outpost, a watchtower, onthe roadside.					COMMODUS		Why have we stopped?					PRAETORIAN GUARD MEMBER		We're here, sir.					COMMODUS			(to Soldier #1)		Where is my father?					SOLDIER #1		He's at the front, sir.					COMMODUS		Is the battle won?					SOLDIER #1		Don't know, sir.  They've been gone		for eight days.Commodus tosses off his furs -- beneath them he wears abeautiful set of Lorica Segmentata -- the traditionalformed armor of Rome.  He moves to a horse as:					COMMODUS			(to Soldier #1)		My sister wants a bath, take her to		the camp.			(to Soldier #2)		Take me to my father.He leaps onto the horse and canters back to the PraetorianGuard unit.Soldier #2 climbs on his horse and leads them.  Commodusrides off with most of the Praetorian Guard unit.Lucilla peeks her head from the wagon.  She glances at theremaining soldiers.  Distinctly unpromising.					LUCILLA			(dry)		Civilization at last.  Gods preserve		us.EXT.  HILL - TWILIGHTThe mighty catapults dwarf the humans.  Soldiers from theelite Felix Regiment -- a legion of the Roman Army -- haulthe monstrous machines up a hill.The commanding General of the Felix Regiment, MAXIMUS,walks between two of the catapults.  He is a striking andintense man in his 30's.  Like all the soldiers whosurround him, he is caked with mud and exhausted.He trudges up the hill with his two lieutenants, TITUS andQUINTUS.					TITUS		You would do as well to read the		mind of a rhinoceros.					QUINTUS		These barbarians would rather drown		in blood than yield an inch.  If I		didn't hate them so much I would		admire them.They have reached the top of the hill.  Stunning martialpreparations are underway.  The catapults join ten others.Archers are taking up position.  Brutal "Scorpions" --devices for firing multiple crossbow bolts -- are beingloaded.  Soldiers are also loading the catapults withenormous "Greek fire pots" -- large, round terra cottapots.Maximus and his lieutenants gaze down from the hilltop.Below them they can see a German encampment.					TITUS		They simply will not surrender.A beat as Maximus gazes down at the German position.					MAXIMUS			(quietly)		A people should know when they are		conquered.A beat.					MAXIMUS		At the first signal release the		catapults.  We'll use the cavalry to		cut off the retreat.					QUINTUS		General, I don't recommend that.		Our cavalry might be caught in the		flames.					MAXIMUS		I hope not, because I'm going to be		leading them.A beat as he gazes down at the enemy.					MAXIMUS		Why don't they know they're already		dead?EXT.  TREES - TWILIGHTMaximus and Titus are on their horses, the cavalry of twohundred Felix Regiment warriors surrounds them.  Steamflares from their horses' nostrils.  They wait in a thickstand of trees -- the German position can be seen across amuddy plain.A large wolf -- "The Wolf of Rome" -- waits at Maximus'side.Maximus nods to an archer.  The archer lights the tip ofan arrow and sends it flaming into the night sky.EXT.  HILLTOP - TWILIGHTQuintus waits.  The catapults are loaded and waiting.  Sotoo the Scorpions.  So too the 200 archers of the FelixRegiment.He sees the flaming arrow flying up from below.					QUINTUS		Now!The mighty catapults are released.  The Greek fire potsarc dramatically through the air.  A moment later soldiersrelease the Scorpions and hundreds of bolts streak throughthe sky.  The archers fire a murderous barrage of flamingarrows.EXT.  TREES - TWILIGHTThe screaming is almost immediate.Maximus and his cavalry watch as the fire pots crash downinto the German encampment.EXT.  GERMAN CAMP - TWILIGHTThe fire pots shatter -- pitch splashes everywhere --seconds later the bolts and flaming arrows slice down andignite the pitch -- FLAME EXPLODES -- it is a hellish,napalm-like vision -- the conflagration illuminating thetwilight.The deadly rain of flaming arrows spreads terror throughthe German camp --EXT.  TREES - TWILIGHTMaximus watches the German camp.					MAXIMUS			(to his men)		Hold steady... steady...He can see the nightmare destruction of the encampmentcontinuing -- fire pots and Scorpion bolts and flamingarrows -- panic in the German encampment.					MAXIMUS		Steady...He sees the Germans begin fleeing across the plain.  Hequickly raises his sword and whispers a prayer, then turnsto his men:					MAXIMUS		Brothers -- I salute you!  For Rome!He spurs his horse and races out of the trees to theplain...EXT.  PLAIN - BATTLEGROUND - TWILIGHTMaximus leads the terrifying and relentless cavalry charge-- Titus at his side -- the Felix Regiment screams outfearsome war cries as they gallop across the muddy plaintoward the Germans --Fire pots and flaming arrows are crashing down everywherearound them --The cavalry SLAMS into the Germans at full gallop --It is carnage.The Felix Regiment warriors slash ruthlessly with shortswords -- slicing a path of sheer destruction through theGermans -- but the Germans fight with equal brutality --and the Germans also fight with the desperation of ahopeless last chance -- they pull and spear Roman soldiersoff horses whenever they can --Maximus spins his horse and swings his sword with expertefficiency -- a spear stabs through the neck of his horseand it immediately collapses forward --Maximus sails over the horse's head and crashes to themuddy ground -- he jumps up and is in the midst of thebattle --The flaming arrows and exploding fire pots create aferocious inferno everywhere around the battle -- theflames silhouetting the fighting --On the ground, Maximus proves his absolute worth as awarrior -- he hacks and dodges -- ghastly images of trueancient warfare -- Maximus' eyes burn with a zealous fireas he fights for his life --He finds he is momentarily at a terrible disadvantage --Germans are surrounding him from all sides -- as he fightshe looks for an advantage -- for his soldiers -- foranything -- he is doomed --Then -- an almost mystical image -- Maximus' wolf leapsthrough a wall of flame --"The Wolf of Rome" savages several Germans around Maximus-- giving him the help he needed.The wolf and his master fight, side-by-side.EXT.  HILLTOP - TWILIGHTWe see an old man's face, staring down at the battle.  Theface is weather-beaten, ailing.  The roaring flames fromthe battlefield below flicker in his sad eyes.MARCUS AURELIUS, the Emperor of Rome, is on a horse.  Ametal brace extends from the back of his saddle.  He isstrapped to the brace with thick, leather straps.He watches as the Felix Regiment below concludes thebattle.  The cheering of the Regiment can be heard as thefinal, isolated pockets of Germans are cut down.Behind Marcus the sun is setting, painting the world bloodred.EXT.  BATTLEFIELD - SUNSETMaximus, bloody and spent, walks through the aftermath ofthe carnage.  The Wolf of Rome is at his side.  Dead anddying by the hundreds are scattered everywhere.  Romansurgeons are attending to the wounded.Marcus walks to him, embraces him warmly.					MAXIMUS		Caesar.					MARCUS		Maximus, you prove your valor again.		Let us hope for the final time here.					MAXIMUS		I don't think there's anyone left to		fight.					MARCUS		There are always people left to		fight...Marcus takes Maximus' arm and they walk through the massesof bodies.  Maximus holds Marcus' arm firmly, quietlysupporting him as they walk.					MARCUS		But this night, at least, Germania		is at last defeated... What will you		do now, my friend?					MAXIMUS		Should Caesar permit, I'll go home.		I've been away too long.  I've		forgotten my wife's face and I		barely know my son.Suddenly, a tethered GERMAN PRISONER they are passingcalls out to them:					GERMAN PRISONER		THIS BLOOD MEANS NOTHING, CONQUEROR!Maximus and Marcus stop.  A soldier moves quickly tosilence the German Prisoner.					MARCUS			(to Soldier)		Stop...			(to Prisoner)		... You speak our language?					GERMAN PRISONER		You have been in my homeland for		twelve years.  Of course I speak		your language.  So did my son, who		you murdered.  So did my daughter,		who you raped.					MAXIMUS			(to Marcus)		Come, Caesar...					MARCUS		No.  Let him speak...			(to Prisoner)		... I am Rome, what would you say to		me?					GERMAN PRISONER			(points to sunset)		You are that sun, Rome, and your		time is over... You can slit a		thousand throats here, and you can		put a thousand babies to the sword,		but it will always be our home.					MARCUS		Now it is Rome.					GERMAN PRISONER		It will never be Rome.  Not as long		as one German breathes.The soldier moves to kill the insolent Prisoner.					MARCUS		No... Release him.  Give him safe		passage.  Let him go to his family.The soldier leads the German Prisoner away.Maximus and Marcus continue walking in silence for a beat.Then:					MARCUS		Tell me again, Maximus, why are we		here?					MAXIMUS		For the glory of the empire, sire.					MARCUS			(quietly)		Yes.  I remember.They continue walking through the mountains of bodies...EXT.  ROAD - SUNSETMaximus and Marcus are now walking along a road throughthe dense forest.  Slaves follow behind them, leadingtheir horses.Both sides of the road are filled with the men of theFelix Regiment.  As Maximus and Marcus pass, the batteredand bloody soldiers drag themselves to their feet, raisingtheir swords, paying silent homage.					MAXIMUS		They honor you, Caesar.					MARCUS		I don't think they're standing for		me, Maximus.  They honor you.Just then Commodus canters into view with his PraetorianGuard escort.  He watches the army honor Maximus with rankenvy as he nears.He rides up to Maximus and Marcus.					COMMODUS		Have I missed it?He leaps from his horse.					COMMODUS		Have I missed the battle?					MARCUS		You've missed the war.  We're done		here.Commodus embraces him, awkward.					COMMODUS		Father.  Congratulations.  I shall		sacrifice a thousand doves to honor		your triumph.					MARCUS		Spare the doves and honor Maximus,		he won the battle.Commodus embraces Maximus, even more awkward.					COMMODUS		General, Rome salutes you and I		embrace you as a brother.					MAXIMUS		Highness.They walk, Maximus still supporting Marcus, as:					COMMODUS		Your Spaniards seem invincible.  May		the Gods favor the Felix Regiment		now and always...			(to his father)		Here, Father, take my arm.					MARCUS			(ignores this)		Where's your sister?					COMMODUS		She's at the camp.  She had no		desire to see the gore of the		battlefield.					MARCUS			(smiles)		Lucilla would eat every corpse here		if it brought her one step closer to		the throne.Maximus laughs.					MAXIMUS			(smiles)		Caesar, you do the lady injustice.					MARCUS		It's a foolish old cobra who doesn't		recognize his own off-spring...			(he suddenly stops,			not feeling well)		I think... I should ride now.Maximus waves for Marcus' horse.  It is brought up.Several soldiers carefully help the old man into thesaddle.  He is then tethered to the brace on his saddle.It is a slow, graceful and embarrassing ordeal for theEmperor of Rome.When at last he is strapped in, he looks to Maximus.					MARCUS		So much for the glory of Rome.Without a word to his son, Marcus nods and the horse isslowly lead away.Commodus and Maximus watch him go.					COMMODUS			(neutral)		He's dying.A beat.					COMMODUS		Poor old man.					MAXIMUS			(terse)		If you'll excuse me, Highness.He turns and stalks away.EXT.  TENT CITY - NIGHTWe see the Roman encampment, a sea of tents.  Hundreds ofcampfires burn before the tents.INT.  HOSPITAL TENT - NIGHTMaximus enters a large tent and is met by a spectacle ofthe dead and dying.  Roman surgeons are working feverishlyto save lives.  Limbs are amputated, the bloody stumpsquickly cauterized with hot irons.  Leeches and bronzecups are employed for blood-letting to balance "humours."Anesthesia as we know it is nonexistent.  Wine amphorasare passed around and orderlies fan narcotic smoke towardthe patients.  Mostly, though, they just hold down thewrithing patients.Maximus moves through the tent, offering a word of comforthere and there.  All the wounded are delighted to see him.He goes to an older soldier, GALLUS, who has one woodenhand.  His other hand is bandaged.					MAXIMUS		What, Gallus, losing your other		hand?					GALLUS		Aye, General, they're going to make		a bronze one for it.  Long fingers		this time.					MAXIMUS		And the women of your village will		crave your touch even more.					GALLUS		Ah, then you know the women of my		village.Maximus smiles and moves on.He stops at a young soldier, VALERIUS, whose head has beenshaved.  A hole has been bored into his skull to relievethe pressure on his brain.  The young soldier is dying.					MAXIMUS		What's your name, son?					VALERIUS		Valerius, General.					MAXIMUS		The name suits you.					VALERIUS		Why am I dying?A beat.  Maximus sits by his cot.  He takes Valerius'hand.					MAXIMUS		You're dying because you love Rome,		as I do.					VALERIUS		I've never been to Rome.					MAXIMUS		Neither have I.  Rome for us lives		here...			(he touches his			heart)		... it's a thing inside us that came		from our ancestors and that we give		to our children.					VALERIUS		It must be glorious, Rome.  I've		only seen pictures.  Is it a		glorious place?A beat.					MAXIMUS		Yes, it's a glorious place.					VALERIUS		It must be.He smiles.  And he is dead.Maximus sits for a moment.  He gently closes Valerius'eyes.  And Maximus finds that he is weeping.He is not ashamed of the tears.INT.  MESS TENT - NIGHTAn immediate swirl of noise.  The grand mess tent iscrowded with soldiers.  They are still filthy with caked-on mud and blood.  Wounds are bandaged and tankards areraised in celebration of the victory.Marcus sits in a central position and receives visitors.Currently two Senators, FALCO and GAIUS, are bowing beforehim.					FALCO		Hail, Marcus Aurelius.					MARCUS		Stand up, Senators.  That unfamiliar		posture doesn't suit you.					GAIUS		We live in supplication to your		glory.					MARCUS		All the while conspiring with that		fat man in Rome.  How is the old		monster?					GAIUS		Senator Gracchus is hale, sire.					MARCUS		Still damning me to the four winds?					GAIUS		Still eager for your triumphant		return to Rome, Caesar.					MARCUS		I would have silenced him decades		ago -- but I just like him too much.Meanwhile, Maximus stands with his lieutenants, Titus andQuintus.  A wound on Maximus' arm has been bound.					MAXIMUS			(to Titus)		If you want to stay on, I support		you.  So do the men.  I'll ask the		Emperor to appoint you in my place.					TITUS		It won't be the Felix Regiment		without you.					MAXIMUS		I'll return after a season at home.		Maybe two.					QUINTUS		That means after three or four more		babies.					TITUS		And you'll be too fat from Vibia's		cooking to get on your horse by		then.					MAXIMUS		Should the Gods so bless me.  I		would be thankful.Commodus perambulates up to them.					COMMODUS		Hail, warriors.  My congratulations.					TITUS AND QUINTUS			(bowing)		Highness.					COMMODUS			(to Maximus)		My old friend, my father tells me		you're returning to Spain?					MAXIMUS		Yes.					COMMODUS		A pity.  I'll need men like you in		my army...An awkward glance between the soldiers.  This sort of talkis offensively premature.					COMMODUS		There are larger division that might		appeal to you.  Even the Praetorian		Guard.  You've never been to Rome.		Imagine arriving as head of the		Praetorians!  They have really		splendid uniforms.					MAXIMUS			(cold)		I'm going home.Senators Gaius and Falco join them.					GAIUS			(to Maximus)		... And why not apply for entry to		the Senate?					FALCO		A war hero with a handsome face and		a strong heart could go far.					COMMODUS		General Maximus, may I present		Senators Gaius and Falco.  Beware of		this Gaius, he'll pour a honeyed		potion in your ear and you'll wake		up one day and all you'll say is		"Republic, Republic, Republic..."Laughter.					FALCO		Have you never considered Rome?					MAXIMUS		No.					COMMODUS		You've had my ear since we were		children.  You could be a valuable		ally in the Senate.					GAIUS		Are you a believer in Republicanism?					COMMODUS			(laughs)		There -- I warned you.					MAXIMUS		I'm a soldier, not a politician.Meanwhile, a dark eye is studying the men through a hiddenslit in the tent wall.  The eye is particularly drawn toMaximus.					GAIUS		If your heart lies with the people,		I would back you for the Senate.		I'm sure Gracchus would as well.					COMMODUS		Not a word about that sodomite		bastard.					GAIUS			(smiles to Maximus)		The august Senator Gracchus has been		rather a gadfly on the flesh of the		imperial family.					FALCO		He's a damned provocateur.					GAIUS		He lives under the antiquated		assumption that the Senate should		represent the people with vigor.					COMMODUS		I won't tolerate it.  His incessant		criticism exhausts me.  The man can		speak for five hours without taking		a breath.					GAIUS		He serves Rome best when he serves		it with honesty.					COMMODUS			(sharply)		Enough... Maximus, I would like to		inspect the Felix Regiment at dawn.		Please arrange it.					MAXIMUS		I can't do that.					COMMODUS		Excuse me?					MAXIMUS		My men have been fighting for five		solid days.  They're too busy dying		to go on dress parade.A beat.  Commodus' eyes flash fire at this public rebuke.He very quickly gets control.					COMMODUS			(smiles)		Of course, how foolish of me.  Some		other time...He notes his father being helped out of the tent byseveral body slaves.					COMMODUS		Caesar retires early tonight.INT.  TENT CORRIDOR - NIGHTMarcus is helped out of the mess tent into a tent corridorattached.He sees his daughter Lucilla in the corridor, spying inthrough the slit in the tent wall.  He watches her,smiles.					MARCUS		If only you had been born a man...She turns to him.  He leaves his body slaves and goes toher.					LUCILLA		Father.					MARCUS		What a Caesar you would have made.					LUCILLA		You're right.					MARCUS		I think you would have been strong.		I wonder if you would have been		just?					LUCILLA		I would have been what you taught me		to be.A beat.  They stare at each other.  He finally smiles.					MARCUS		Well, pretend to be my loving		daughter tonight and walk with me to		my chamber.She smiles and takes his arm.  They slowly walk down thetent corridor as:					MARCUS		This is a pleasant fiction, isn't		it?They disappear into darkness.EXT.  TENT CITY - DAWNMaximus is slogging through the mud and snow that blanketsthe Rome camp.  He stops to observe an unusual sight.Commodus is stripped almost naked, his chiseled bodycovered in a fine sheen of sweat.  He and his sixCENTURION BODY GUARDS are going through their dailyritual.  They defy the sub-zero temperatures and hack atsmall trees with swords.It is an eerie, zen-like workout.  Commodus' intenseconcentration is unnerving.Maximus watches for a moment then moves on.  He approachesa large network of tents.  He enters.INT.  MARCUS' TENT - DAYMaximus enters Marcus' darkened tent.  Flickering braziersprovide the only light in the enormous Imperial tent.Heavy beams support the canopy and they creak like thetimbers of a ship as the tent sways slightly in the wind.Marcus stands before a map of the Roman Empire.					MAXIMUS			(bows)		Caesar.Marcus holds out a scroll.					MARCUS		Read this.					MAXIMUS		I never acquired the art, sir.					MARCUS		Of course.  No matter.  In this		letter I denote my intention to		nominate you to stand for the		Emperorship after my death.A stunned pause.  Maximus stares at him.					MARCUS		My son is not a moral man.  You have		known this since you were young.  He		cannot rule.					MAXIMUS		Caesar, I am honored but --					MARCUS		For twenty years I have been		spilling blood.  For twenty years I		have written philosophy and		ruminated and conquered.  Since I		became Caesar I have only had four		years without war.  Four years of		peace in twenty.  So perhaps I can		be... forgiven.A long beat.					MARCUS		While I have been fighting, Rome has		grown mad and corpulent and		diseased.  I did this.  And now I		shall make it right.					MAXIMUS		Sire, you brought the light of the		Gods to barbarian darkness.  You		brought civilization and justice to		the farthest --					MARCUS			(fierce)		I have brought the sword -- nothing		more!  Rome is far away and we		shouldn't be here.  What matter is		it to the Gods if we subdue one more		tribe of Parthians or Gauls?  What		matter is it to Rome if a thousand		more barbarians bend to our lash?A beat.Marcus sits.  He doesn't look at Maximus.A pause.					MARCUS		Winter, Maximus.  It's winter now...A beat.					MARCUS		There was a dream that was Rome.  I		can only whisper of it now.		Anything more than a whisper and the		dream vanishes.  It's so... fragile.		The true glory of Rome is in a very		fragile idea.  Imagine a place		devoted to the rights of the		citizen.  Where every free man has a		voice.  That was the dream... And I		fear it will not survive the winter.He holds out a hand to Maximus.  Maximus takes his hand,deeply moved, kneeling.					MARCUS		Let's just whisper here, you and I.					MAXIMUS		Yes, Caesar.					MARCUS		If the dream is ever to live again		the people must have a true voice.		The voice I took from them.  That		all the Caesars took from them, bit		by bit, conquest by conquest.  And		now that I am dying I am going to		give them that voice again.					MAXIMUS		You're not dying.					MARCUS		I am, Maximus.  It's strange... I		find as I near the end I think		little of the waning moments around		me... instead I think much of the		past... and of the future.  How will		the world speak my name in years to		come?  Will I be known as the		philosopher?  The warrior?  The		tyrant?  Or will there be a more		golden sounding to my name?  Will I		be the Emperor who gave Rome back		her freedom?A beat.					MARCUS		Before I die I will give the people		this final gift.  I will give them		the Senate reborn.  The voice of the		people empowered again, as it was		always meant to be.  It is my design		that they will elect the next		Emperor.  And I would put forward		your name with my backing.					MAXIMUS		Caesar, you do me honor -- but your		son has pride of place for		succession.					MARCUS		You are the son I should have had...		Although I fear in my deepest heart		that if you had truly been my son my		blood would have polluted you as it		did Commodus.  We're a cursed		bloodline.  We have lived so long in		power and depravity that we no		longer remember a life without it.		We can no longer even imagine a life		without it.A beat.					MARCUS		Look at me, son.Maximus looks at him.					MARCUS		Son... I know that one grove of your		vineyard is worth more to you than		all the treasures of Rome.  I know		one loving word from your wife is		worth more than the accolades of an		Empire.  But... a fond old man, who		loves you more than he can say, begs		you to at least think about what he		has said tonight.					MAXIMUS		I shall, Caesar.A beat.					MARCUS		I'll keep this letter to myself.  I		hope that with the sunrise you will		agree.  And embrace me as a father.Maximus nods and rises.  He begins to go.  Stops.					MAXIMUS		You have always been my father.He goes.INT.  TENT CORRIDOR - DAYMaximus emerges from Marcus' tent into a long tentcorridor, deep in thought.					LUCILLA'S VOICE		He always favored you...He turns.  Lucilla is waiting.  She glides to him.					LUCILLA		Even over his son.					MAXIMUS			(turning away)		That's not true.					LUCILLA		Maximus, stop...			(he stops)		Let me see your face.He turns to her.					LUCILLA		You've been crying.					MAXIMUS		I lost too many men.					LUCILLA		What does my father intend?He turns and walks.  She walks with him.					MAXIMUS		I don't know.					LUCILLA		You're lying.  I could tell when you		were lying even when we were		children.  You hate it.					MAXIMUS		I never acquired your comfort with		it.					LUCILLA		True.  But then you never had to.		Maximus, stop...			(he stops again)		... Is it really so terrible seeing		me again?					MAXIMUS		No.  I'm sorry.  I'm tired from the		battle.					LUCILLA		And you are hurt to see my father		dying.A beat.					LUCILLA		He will announce Commodus'		succession.  That's why he summoned		us.  Will you serve my brother as		you served his father?					MAXIMUS		I will always serve the ideals of		Rome.A beat.					LUCILLA		Do you know I still remember you in		my prayers...?  Oh yes, I pray...		Ever since that day you saved me		from drowning off Capri.  Do you		remember?					MAXIMUS		Yes.					LUCILLA		Commodus was so angry that a mere		peasant -- a Spaniard no less --		touched the royal person, do you		remember his anger?					MAXIMUS		Yes.					LUCILLA		Mark this, Maximus:  that is the man		who will be Emperor.A beat.					MAXIMUS		May I be permitted to go, Highness?She smiles sadly.					LUCILLA		There was a time when you didn't		call me "Highness."					MAXIMUS		And there was a time when you were		just a little girl drowning in the		sea.  All that was a different life.					LUCILLA			(quietly)		Very different... I wonder if it was		better?					MAXIMUS		It was more honest.A moment between them.  We sense there is much to be said,much that could be said.Finally:					MAXIMUS		I thank you for your prayers.He goes.  She watches him walk away.INT.  MAXIMUS' TENT - NIGHTMaximus kneels before a small altar in his tent.  He facessix small figures that represent his dead ancestors.					MAXIMUS		Ancestors, true bloodline, I ask you		for your guidance.  Bring me your		solace and your wisdom.  Blessed		Mother, come to me in my dreams with		the Gods' desire for my future.		Blessed Father, watch over my wife		and my son with a ready sword.  Keep		them safe until my return.  Whisper		to them in their sleep that I live		only to hold them again and all else		is dust and air.  Ancestors, true		bloodline, I honor you and will try		to live with the dignity you have		taught me.He looks at his "ancestors" for a moment and then blowsout the candles around them.INT.  MARCUS' TENT - NIGHTCommodus' eyes are red with weeping.  He sits, head down,at the foot of Marcus' bed and speaks to his father.					COMMODUS			(quietly)		I search the faces of the Gods for		ways to please you... to make you		proud... and I can never do it.  One		kind word -- one full hug where you		pressed me to your chest and held me		tight -- would have been like the		sun on my heart for a thousand		years... What is it in me you hate		so much?  My eyes are your eyes.  My		hands are your hands.  All I have		ever wanted was to live up to you.		Caesar.  Father.He stands.  We see that he is holding the scroll denotingMarcus' intention to nominate Maximus as Emperor to theSenate.  Commodus cannot control his tears.					COMMODUS		Why does Maximus deserve what I		could never have? -- Why do you love		his eyes over mine? -- I would		butcher the whole world -- if you		would only love me...Commodus weeps.INT.  MAXIMUS' TENT - NIGHTQuintus is waking Maximus --					QUINTUS		General -- Maximus --					MAXIMUS		Quintus -- ?					QUINTUS		The Emperor needs you.  It's urgent.Maximus leaps up and throws on a cloak, strides out withQuintus...EXT.  TENT CITY - NIGHTDead of night.  Maximus and Quintus stride quickly throughthe sleeping camp toward Marcus' tent.					MAXIMUS		What is it?  Is he ill?					QUINTUS		I don't know...They continue on toward Marcus' tent.INT.  MARCUS' TENT - NIGHTMaximus and Quintus stride into the tent -- Maximus slamsto a halt.  Stunned.Commodus stands before him.  Lucilla stands in a corner ofthe tent, head down.And Marcus Aurelius dead, lying on his bed.Maximus stares at Marcus.					COMMODUS		Lament with me, brother, our great		father is dead.  I want --Maximus, not even hearing, steps past him to Marcus.He stands for a moment and then slowly kneels beforeMarcus and gently kisses the old man's forehead.  A ritualfarewell.A moment of silent mourning and then Maximus stands.  Heturns very, very slowly to Commodus.					COMMODUS		General, the Gods' have taken the		great man and left me alone.  My		first desire as Emperor is that you		take my hand in friendship.  I need		you at my side, Maximus, at this		moment above all others.  Stand with		me.Maximus glares at him:					MAXIMUS		How did he die?Commodus does not respond.					MAXIMUS		How did he die?					COMMODUS		The surgeons say it was his breath		that gave out.Maximus glances to Lucilla, she avoids his eyes.					COMMODUS		Take my hand, Maximus.  I only offer		it once.A beat.Maximus turns back to Marcus.					MAXIMUS		How will the world speak your name		now, old man?Without a glance to Commodus, he stalks out.A silent beat.  Then Commodus nods to Quintus.  Quintusgoes.Lucilla looks at Commodus for a long moment, her face anenigmatic tornado of complex emotions.Then:					LUCILLA		Hail, Caesar.INT.  MAXIMUS' TENT - NIGHTMaximus is kneeling before his ancestors, head down, hisfists clenched, praying.Quintus and four Praetorian ASSASSINS suddenly burst in --the assassins move immediately to bind Maximus -- swordsat his throat --					MAXIMUS		What -- ?!					QUINTUS			(ashamed)		Please don't fight, Maximus --					MAXIMUS		Quintus --Quintus goes to Maximus' armor, which hangs nearby, andslowly removes his seal of office.					QUINTUS		I'm sorry, General, Caesar has		spoken.They pull Maximus out --EXT.  MAXIMUS' TENT - TENT CITY - NIGHTFive horses are waiting.					MAXIMUS		Quintus, what -- ?					QUINTUS			(anguish)		I have no choice --They are almost run over by a stern cohort of twentyPraetorians who gallop past.  Maximus knows immediatelywhat this means.					MAXIMUS			(suddenly)		My family?!A beat.					MAXIMUS		What about my family, Quintus?					QUINTUS			(quietly)		They will greet you in the		afterlife.Maximus lunges at him -- the Praetorians subdue him --slamming him with a sword hilt -- knocking himunconscious.					QUINTUS			(quietly, to			assassins)		Take him as far as the sunrise and		then kill him.EXT.  FOREST ROAD - DAWNThe four Praetorian assassins lead Maximus along a road.He sits slumped in his saddle, drained.					ASSASSIN #1		All right, this is far enough.The three other assassins climb from their horses.Assassin #2 pushes Maximus from his horse.  He falls tothe ground hard.					ASSASSIN #1		You two take him down there where no		one will find him.					ASSASSIN #3		Come on, General...Assassin #3 and Assassin #4 drag Maximus down a denselyforested hill along the road.  Maximus' hands are stillbound in front of him.  He seems totally lacking in anyresistance.EXT.  FOREST - BELOW THE ROAD - DAWNMaximus eyes the two assassins as they troop down thehill away from the road, he notes their sparkling armor.The armor of men who have never seen real battle.					MAXIMUS		Have you ever done this before?					ASSASSIN #3		What?					MAXIMUS		Killed a man with a sword?					ASSASSIN #3		Not like this, exactly... this is		good, you can stop.They stop.  They are far down the hill, out of sight ofthe road.					MAXIMUS		It can be very messy -- you could		get blood all over your armor.  You		don't want to hack me up now.  You		want one clean stroke.					ASSASSIN #3		Would you kneel, General?Maximus kneels, his whole body secretly coiling.  Assassin#3 stands over him as:					MAXIMUS		One good stroke -- you do know		where, don't you?					ASSASSIN #4		Be quiet.					MAXIMUS		If you miss the spot there'll be		blood everywhere.  Quite a spray.					ASSASSINS #3		All right, where?					MAXIMUS		Here -- you don't want to hit the		vein on the neck --Maximus points his bound hands at a spot on the back ofhis neck.					MAXIMUS		Put the point of your sword here...		you want one, good blow right at		this spot --Assassin #3 dutifully puts the point of his sword on thespot on Maximus' neck.A grave mistake.Maximus instantly grabs the blade of the sword with hishands and yanks it from Assassin #3 -- EXPLODING up -- hishands are bleeding but he tosses the sword into the airand catches it -- swings the sword with brutal efficiency-- decapitating both assassins --EXT.  FOREST ROAD - DAWNOn the road above, the other two Assassins are on theirhorses, waiting.They hear a quick yelp from below.  And then nothing.Assassin #1 nods for Assassin #2 to check on theexecution.  Assassin #2 canters off the road and down thehill...EXT.  FOREST - BELOW THE ROAD - DAWNAssassin #2 canters down the hillside.He senses movement behind him -- spins around, drawing hissword -- too late --Maximus throws a sword -- it flashes through the air --and into Assassin #2.EXT.  FOREST ROAD - DAWNAssassin #1 waits on his horse.  He hears the commotionbelow -- spins his horse around just as Maximus bursts tothe road.  He stands with a sword.Assassin #1 spurs his horse and gallops toward Maximus atfull speed -- Maximus crouches and prepares --Assassin #1 and Maximus swirl together for an instant --both slashing brutally --Assassin #1 continues to gallop past Maximus.  He stops.He looks down.  A wound in his stomach.  He falls off hishorse.  Dead.Maximus has also been wounded -- a deep gash on his side.He fights the pain as he moves toward the horses...EXT.  FOREST ROAD - DAYMaximus is galloping through the forest at lightningspeed, leading four horses behind him.  The gash in hisside bleeding.EXT.  TENT CITY - DAYA gloomy day.  Emperor Commodus stands before theassembled Felix Regiment.The soldiers are already uneasy.  They note Quintusstanding by Commodus, wearing Maximus' seal of office.Where is Maximus?					COMMODUS		Even as the Gods curse this dark day		with clouds, so too does the sun		begin to shine forth on a promised		tomorrow.  Even as we mourn the		passing of our father, so too do we		celebrate the coming of a bright,		new age for Rome.  At my side,		brothers, you shall pull fresh		glories from the heavens.  At my		side, brothers, you shall know the		adoration of the Gods.  Doubly-dark		is this day because my friend, your		noble commander Maximus Meridas, has		been called to Rome to deal with		urgent matters of state...Titus glances quickly to Gallus, whose hand is bandagedfrom surgery.  They know this cannot be true.					COMMODUS		Until his promised return I		appointed Quintus Domitian to serve		in his stead.  I salute you,		Legionnaires!					QUINTUS			(raising his sword)		Hail, Caesar!The Felix Regiment responds, many unsure.					FELIX REGIMENT		Hail, Caesar!Commodus strides off and the Felix Regiment slowlydisbands, muttering to one another in confusion.Titus and Gallus go to Quintus.					TITUS		Quintus, what is -- ?					QUINTUS			(firmly)		Don't speak of it.  Never speak of		it.He stalks off.  Titus and Gallus, concerned, watch himfollow after Commodus.INT.  MAXIMUS' TENT - DAYLucilla stands in Maximus' tent.  She looks around.  Shegently touches his Lorica Segmentata.  Her fingertips movealong the contours of his armor.  She tries to retain herneutral demeanor.She notes his "ancestors" on the small alter.EXT.  HILLSIDE - NIGHTMaximus continues to gallop, he is on a different horse.He leads only two horses now.EXT.  VINEYARD - DAYMaximus' home in Spain is beautiful beyond measure.We see verdant farmlands and vineyards and a spacioushouse nestled amid gently rolling hills.Maximus' eight-year-old SON is in a paddock playing withhis pony.  He stops, sees something.  Over a hill, he canjust glimpse a battle flag, approaching.He screams with joy and runs toward the flag as he calls:					MAXIMUS' SON		MOTHER!  MOTHER!  FATHER'S HOME!Maximus' WIFE emerges from the house, drying her hands ona cloth and smiles.Maximus' Son races toward the flag.  He can just see thesoldiers beginning to appear over the hill.  Not a RomanLegion at all.  Twenty Praetorians canter over the hill.Maximus' Son stops, confused.EXT.  OLIVE GROVE - DAYMaximus is galloping up a hill, leading only one horsenow.  The horse he is on is exhausted, spent, foam coatsits neck.  It can't make it.The horse collapses and Maximus falls.  He immediatelyleaps onto the remaining horse and continues riding up thehill.EXT.  HILLS AROUND VINEYARD - SUNSETMaximus is racing over the countryside, galloping in afrenzy.  His wound is bleeding profusely, coating the sideof his horse.He rears the horse to a stop for a moment.  Over a hill hecan see thick black smoke rising.  He spurs the horse andgallops over the hill...EXT.  VINEYARD - SUNSETAnd his worst nightmares are realized.His home and his vineyards have been destroyed.  The earthhas been scorched and his house is still smoldering.  Herides up to the house and practically falls off the horse.He pulls himself up and walks past the smoldering debrisof his house, fearing what he knows he will find.He sees the bodies of servants scattered about in theruins.  He sees a Praetorian battle flag.He continues on, his wound bleeding more with everytortured step.  He finally stops.  He stares up.His wife and his son have been crucified and burnt.  Theyare nothing more than grotesquely twisted, charred shapes.Maximus instantly collapses to his knees -- he howls outhis torment in a heartrending keen of despair as he coatshis face in the ashes of his dead world.  He sinks intounconsciousness, praying for death.EXT.  VINEYARD - DAYAn unusual jingling sound is heard.  Maximus appears to bedead, his gaping wound beginning to fester.The source of the jingling becomes clear when we see thefeet of Bedouin brigands, with delicate anklets, shufflingaround him.  A hand touches his sandals.  Rich sandals.Another touches his tunic.  Good cloth.Suddenly Maximus groans.  The hands stop.  He's alive.  Abit of quick language in an unknown tongue.Then the hands grab Maximus and drag him away.EXT.  SLAVE WAGON TRAIN - DAYMaximus' eyes slowly open --Inches away from his face -- a lion roars --Maximus lurches back.He looks around to realize he is in a filthy slave wagon.Three other wagons slowly move over the desert landscape.Exotic animals are caged in pens or led alongside thewagons:  lions, panthers, zebras, a giraffe.  A dozenslaves are chained together alongside sacks of spices andother cargo.  Bedouin slave traders jabber in a surrealbabel of foreign tongues.And someone is looking at him.  JUBA, a striking African,is gazing at him impassively as he chews something.  Jubais also chained.					MAXIMUS			(weakly)		Am I in Hades?					JUBA		Yes.Juba spits what he has been chewing into his hands andmoves to Maximus.					JUBA		For your wound...Maximus stares at him.					JUBA			(nods)		For your wound.Maximus looks down -- the bloody wound at his side.Juba carefully places his poultice over the wound --Maximus hisses in pain -- Juba massages the poultice intothe wound gently as:					JUBA		If you die in the wagons they feed		you to the lions... The lions are		worth more than we are.  I think we		are worth more than the zebras		though.  So they don't feed us to		them.Maximus stares at him.  Juba looks down at him with thebarest hint of a smile.					JUBA		I'm not sure about the giraffe.EXT.  SLAVE MARKET - DAYThe heat of Morocco is unlike anything Maximus has everknown.  Shimmering heat waves undulate over the sand.The provincial market is bustling like the proverbialanthill.  Slave traders and dealers and merchants movearound, all talking very quickly and very emphatically.Maximus, Juba and a number of other slaves are on display,poked and prodded and fondled.  Their BEDOUIN SLAVE TRADERsings out their praises to any passers.The crowd parts almost magically for the dramatic arrivalof PROXIMO.  Proximo is a large man of immense appetites.He has the ferocious appearance of a true pirate.  Twoslaves follow behind him and impotently swat at flies withswitches.					SLAVE TRADER		Proximo, my old friend, see what I		have for you today -- !Proximo SLAMS a fist into the Slave Trader's face.  TheSlave Trader sails back.					PROXIMO		Those giraffes you sold me won't		mate!  All they do is run around not		mating!  YOU SOLD ME EUNUCH		GIRAFFES!!The Slave Trader pulls himself up, hugely obsequious.					SLAVE TRADER		I will make it up to you, Master.		It's bargain day for you!  Look,		look, look -- I have two lions and a		panther -- hear how they roar for		you!  "Bring me home, Proximo!"Proximo examines the animals.					PROXIMO		How much for the lot?					SLAVE TRADER		For you -- 8,000 sesterces.					PROXIMO		For me -- 6,000 sesterces and I want		to see their balls first.  And you		throw in those two slaves.					SLAVE TRADER			(moves to Maximus)		What about this one?  Look at the		arms!Proximo moves to Maximus.  The Slave Trader forces openMaximus' mouth.					PROXIMO		Good teeth --Proximo notes the many old battle scars on Maximus' body.					PROXIMO		Where did you get those scars?   Maximus doesn't respond.					PROXIMO		Are you a soldier?Maximus doesn't respond.					PROXIMO		Do you speak? --			(he roars back to a			slave)		KEEP THOSE DAMN FLIES OFF ME!			(back to Maximus)		He's dying.					SLAVE TRADER		1,000 sesterces.					PROXIMO		My ass...			(moves to Juba)		You throw in this one and we'll make		it 7,000 sesterces for the whole		lot.					SLAVE TRADER		I have to eat, Master!  He's my		finest, I couldn't let him go as		part of the lot for less than 9,000		total...			(back to Maximus)		I tell you this one is prime.  He's		a Spaniard and killed fourteen of my		men before he could be subdued!Proximo looks at Maximus, notes the many battle scarsagain.  The scars, and something he senses in Maximus'eyes, is enough for Proximo to consider it.					PROXIMO			(to trader)		All right, let's see.The Slave Trader and his colleagues grab Maximus andbustle him across the market, unlocking his chains.Maximus has no idea what's going on.In the center of the market place, a veritable GIANT of aman sits on a small stool, a wooden sword in his hand.  Heis hunched over and chained to the ground by a ten footchain shackled to his ankle.  A think metal helmet isriveted around his entire head, only long turfs of hairemerging.  His dim eyes stare listlessly through a slot inthe helmet.The Slave Trader puts a wooden sword in Maximus' hand andshoves him toward the Giant.  The Giant stands.  He towersover Maximus.The Giant suddenly swings his sword -- he moves withremarkable quickness -- Maximus makes no attempt to blockthe blow -- it sends him flying to the ground.Maximus pulls himself up.The Giant moves in and hits him again -- Maximus recoils-- the Giant hits him again -- Maximus falls.Maximus pulls himself up.The Giant moves in again -- he slams him a few more times-- Maximus makes no attempt to protect himself -- hefalls.Maximus pulls himself up.The Giant is about to attack again --					PROXIMO			(to Slave Trader)		That's enough.					SLAVE TRADER		STOP!  STOP!His colleagues race into the ring and haul the Giant awayfrom Maximus.  The Giant quietly sits back on his stool.Proximo studies Maximus for a moment and then glances tothe Slave Trader.					PROXIMO		I'll give you 500 sesterces.					SLAVE TRADER		No -- no -- 1,000!					PROXIMO			(laughs)		Come, don't quibble with your old		friend.  I'll take the lions, the		panther, the Numidian and this one		for 7,000.  And I'll buy you the		best whore in the town for two		nights.  She's an enormous mountain		of flesh who craves a stern hand.					SLAVE TRADER		How could I say no to my old friend		Proximo?EXT.  PROXIMO'S SCHOOL - DAYMaximus and Juba are crammed into a wagon with about tenother slaves, including a very scared and reedy SCRIBE.Other wagons are filled with exotic animals, includingseveral lions.The wagons move through a crowded casbah and are takenthrough an imposing set of gates to...EXT.  PROXIMO'S SCHOOL - COMPOUND - DAYAn open compound in Proximo's school.  On one side of thecompound is a series of cages filled with wild animals ofevery description -- including Proximo's two haplessgiraffes.Proximo's house slaves begin unloading the newly purchasedexotic animals into cages as Maximus and the new slavesare unloaded.  Heavily armed guards supervise everything.But Proximo's slaves are having a bit of a problem withone of the new lions -- it growls and resists them.Without the slightest hesitation, Proximo thunders to thelion and grabs it by the mane -- manhandling it into acage.					PROXIMO		COME ON, YOU FILTHY BEAST!He kicks the lion in the rear as he shoves it into thecage.Proximo's provincial school resembles nothing so much as aseedy prison.  The fading grandeur of the decayingbattlements and the sweeping North African architectureonly slightly mitigate the brutal feel of the place.And if Maximus had any doubts as to Proximo's profession-- all doubts are washed away when he sees the compound.Twenty GLADIATORS are working out in the compound --hacking at practice dummies and sparring.  The manyheavily armed guards oversee everything.  The gladiatorsstop working out as they see the new slaves enter.  Theyeye their potential new opponents warily.One huge, glowering gladiator -- VIBIUS -- watches withparticular interest.  His eye is quickly drawn to the mostobvious athlete:  Juba.The new slaves are herded to the middle of the compoundand house slaves immediately begin throwing buckets ofwater on them, cleaning them.Meanwhile, Proximo shrugs off his cloak.  A slave bringshim wine as he give his "welcoming speech" to the newslaves:					PROXIMO		Slaves.  I am Proximo, trainer of		gladiators.  You live and die at my		pleasure.  Fight well and you will		live.  Fight poorly and you will		die.  It is better to live.Slaves now toss thick handfuls of powdered lime on the newslaves -- they cough and clench their eyes shut, the limecoats and stings their wet bodies.					PROXIMO		Here you will be trained in the art		of combat.  Here you will be given		the tools to survive.  Please my		patrons in the arena and all the		gifts of the world will be showered		upon you.  Imagine riches beyond		your paltry dreams of riches!		Imagine fame beyond your rude		understanding of the word!  All this		can belong to the select few who		prove their worth in the arena.Slaves throw more water on the new slaves -- washing offthe lime.					PROXIMO		If... on the other hand... you		disappoint me... you will be		dismembered and fed to my jackals		limb by limb.He gazes evenly at his new acquisitions.					PROXIMO		And my jackals are always hungry.He strides off and the guards shove the new gladiatorstoward their cells.INT.  PROXIMO'S SCHOOL - MAXIMUS' CELL - NIGHTMaximus and Juba share a small, filthy cell.  The celldoor faces the open compound.  Across the compound theycan see the much more comfortable cells of the "star"gladiators such as Vibius.They both sit on the floor, leaning against the wall.Juba is eating a bowl of food with a wooden spoon.Maximus' bowl and spoon are at his side, he has nottouched them.					JUBA		Have you killed a man before?Maximus does not respond.					JUBA		You should eat.  You'll need your		strength tomorrow.Maximus does not respond.					JUBA		I've never killed a man.  But I		think you have.Maximus does not respond.					JUBA		I almost killed once.  The Romans		destroyed my village.  I was with a		hunting party and when we		returned... I would have killed		every Roman in the world.A long beat.					JUBA		If you don't eat you will die.Maximus does not respond.A beat.					JUBA		In the village I come from there was		a man once.  He went fishing one day		and his boat was attacked by		crocodiles.  One of them ate his		leg.  He pulled himself to the shore		and a lion attacked him.  It ate one		of his arms.  He dragged himself		through the desert on the way home		and a scorpion stung his eye.  So he		only had one eye.  When he reached		the village I sat with him.  I said,		"You have lost a leg, an arm and one		eye.  You must have a mighty will to		live."  He said, "No, Lord, it's		just better than the alternative."Maximus finally looks at him.					JUBA		Life is a gift from our fathers to		us.  Who are you to give it up for		lack of lifting a spoon?Maximus does not respond.EXT.  PROXIMO'S SCHOOL - COMPOUND - NIGHTMaximus and Juba are being observed.  Proximo stands inthe shadows of the compound and watches intently.EXT.  SLAVE WAGON - PROVINCIAL STREETS - DAYBlood appears to be flowing across an oxen's back.  Butthe blood is too rich, too red.The oxen are pulling an open slave wagon through thecrowded streets of the town.  Hanging above the street isdyed wool drying in the sun.  Vermilion and crimson dyesdrip down and splash across the oxen -- and splash acrossthe gladiators.Maximus, Juba, the formidable Vibius are chained in theback of the wagon.  Also the frightened Scribe.Proximo and a few of his guards drive the wagon.  Proximohas an umbrella over him, colored with years of drippingdyes.They pass a banner honoring Vibius, the star of Proximo'sstable.Meanwhile, the terrified Scribe is almost weeping,chattering nervously to Vibius, chained next to him:					SCRIBE		I know nothing of armaments and		warfare!  I'm a scribe -- I write		down words!  I can write down seven		languages --					VIBIUS		Be still.					SCRIBE		I don't -- how do you hold the		sword?!  I've never held a sword!					VIBIUS		You point the sharp end at your		opponent and you shove it in his		guts.					SCRIBE		I can't -- I --He suddenly vomits.					VIBIUS			(calling to Proximo)		Proximo!  You insult me with this		carrion!  Chain him to someone else!					PROXIMO			(calling back)		Don't worry, noble Vibius, he won't		be bothering you for long.The Scribe begins to weep.The crowds in the street jeer at the passing gladiators.Occasionally throwing trash at them.  A pack of childrenrun alongside the wagon, chanting:					CHILDREN		Dead guts!  Dead guts!  Dead guts!Maximus watches the children for a moment and then anothersight draws his attention.  Over some buildings he can seevultures circling in the distance.EXT.  PROVINCIAL ARENA - DUGOUT - DAYIn the cramped holding area of the arena, a dugout beneaththe stands, Maximus and the other gladiators are waiting.Proximo walks before them, giving a final "pep talk."  Hegazes at them evenly, his eyes going from face to face.					PROXIMO		Some of you say you can't fight, you		won't fight... They all say that...		But one day you will pick up a sword		and thrust it into another man.  And		the crowd will cheer you and love		you.  And you will love them for it.		On that day... you will be a		gladiator.He stops at Maximus.					PROXIMO		In this life, we all die.  All we		can choose is how we die.  And how		we are remembered.  Be remembered		proudly.Drums are heard from the arena.  Proximo nods to a waitingblacksmith.The blacksmith begins slamming shackles on the gladiator'swrists -- chaining them together in teams of two by achain about four feet long.The blacksmith is about to chain Maximus to the Scribe.					PROXIMO		No...			(he points to Juba)		... give the Spaniard to him.  Give		the Scribe to Vibius.Proximo nods to Vibius, who, for reasons we shall soonsee, makes no protest to being chained to the whimperingScribe.Proximo watches the blacksmith shackle Maximus and Jubatogether and then strides off.					JUBA			(to Maximus)		Are we going to fight each other?EXT.  PROVINCIAL ARENA - DAYProximo sits in a box with several other GLADIATORTRAINERS.  They drink wine and eat constantly.  Aperpetual chatter of wagers and odds and side bets.The arena is only sparsely attended this day.					PROXIMO		Make it 600 sesterces for each		decapitation.					TRAINER #1		How many strokes?					PROXIMO		Two.					TRAINER #1		For the great Vibius, one stroke.					PROXIMO		Done.  400 sesterces for two		strokes.In the arena:Proximo's chained teams enter the arena, five teams.Maximus and Juba are chained together.  Some of the smallcrowd cheers for Vibius.  He acknowledges the cheers.  Heis chained to the weeping Scribe.In the box:Trainer #1 laughs.					TRAINER #1			(re: Vibius)		Who's he with?					PROXIMO		A Greek Scribe.					TRAINER #1		I'll raise the wager.					PROXIMO			(smiles)		Give me odds, friend.In the arena:From the opposite end of the arena a dozen armored, veryscary Andabatae thunder into the arena.  Some of the crowdcheers.The Andabatae immediately race for the chained teams andthe battle is on.Vibius spins into action -- dragging the weeping Scribeafter him as he circles opponents and fights -- the Scribeis almost instantly killed -- Vibius immediately hacksthrough the Scribe's wrist and frees himself, as Proximosurely intended.  Vibius is now free to fight alone,swinging the chain as an additional weapon.Juba's eyes dart everywhere as he tries to move withMaximus -- Maximus neither helps nor hinders -- allowingJuba to pull him along --Proximo, now that his star Vibius is safe, watched Maximusand Juba closely.Juba fights well, with a strange elegance, his bodyflowing like liquid -- but he is inexperienced.  Hestrikes a few blows and then tries to move away -- finallyhe is in trouble -- cornered -- a huge Andabata is slicingat him -- it is a desperate battle -- Juba is losing --his sword is slammed away -- the Andabata raises his swordfor the kill --And Maximus strikes.With a sudden roar he EXPLODES into action -- he swingspast Juba and blocks the blow meant for Juba -- then heslashes the Andabata -- killing him -- he pulls Juba afterhim as he fights --It is a dazzling display of Maximus' skill -- he movesthrough the Andabatae at amazing speed -- spinning aroundJuba and protecting him -- slashing ruthlessly -- pullingJuba after him and commanding the battle -- Juba recoversa sword and they fight together.In the box:Proximo watches, smiles.  A gladiator is born.EXT.  ROME - WAGON - DAYSENATOR GRACCHUS, an imposing, moral and corpulent man inhis 60's, is riding in a luxurious wagon with SenatorGaius.And CAPTAIN MARCELLUS, the handsome Head of the Roman CityGuard.Their wagon slowly maneuvers through the crowded streetsof Rome.  The cosmopolitan bustle of the great urbancenter is everywhere around them.					GRACCHUS		We have plague in the Hebrew Quarter		and it is spreading... we have		looting at the granaries... we have		so much filth in the Tiber that the		water is undrinkable... we have		Praetorian Guard units that are		demanding protection payments from		the merchants at the exchange --					MARCELLUS		My City Guard units have tried to		curtail these excesses but no		constabulary can police the entire		city.  And the Praetorians outnumber		us two to one.					GRACCHUS		Rome dies as the Emperor plays at		beneficence.  At least Nero gave us		music!					GAIUS		Do you think he'll listen to us?					GRACCHUS		It is his duty to hear the will of		the Senate.Their wagon stops -- hopelessly stuck in a massive trafficjam of chariots, wagons and sedan chairs.					GRACCHUS		Not to mention the damn traffic!INT.  PALACE - THRONE ROOM - DAYEmperor Commodus is standing before a group of malechildren and their tutors in his throne room.The throne room is still very much the province of hisfather.  Manuscripts and astronomical charts and papyrusscrolls and wax tablets litter the heavy desk.  A largebust of Marcus Aurelius is in one corner.Lucilla and Senator Falco are present.  So too SenatorsGracchus and Gaius and Captain Marcellus.A well-rehearsed child presents Commodus with a laurelwreath.					CHILD		We honor Caesar with the laurel to		show our love and appreciation for		his benevolence.					COMMODUS		Caesar is honored to accept your		tribute, Citizen Scholar.The child smiles and moves back to his fellows.					COMMODUS			(to all)		It is the most sacred duty of the		Emperor to oversee the education of		the young.  If I could leave no		other legacy than the scholarship of		all children my life would be		blessed.  Tutors, you hold the		future of Rome in your hands.  Teach		them well so that they will bring		honor to the Empire.  I salute you.Commodus actually bows before them, an unimaginable honor.The tutors bow in response and herd the children out.					COMMODUS		Look at them, Senators... my truest		gift to Rome.					GRACCHUS		Darling children, to be sure, now if		I may proceed?					COMMODUS			(sighs)		Very well...Commodus moves to the desk, standing over it and gazing atMarcus' scrolls as:					GRACCHUS		Caesar, your presence in Rome is an		invaluable opportunity to begin		correcting some of the ills that		have beset the city since your		father went to the wars.  We would		like to --					COMMODUS		Peace, good Gracchus, peace...Commodus slowly begins pushing Marcus' papyrus scrolls offthe desk to the floor, one by one, as:					COMMODUS		My beloved father was a careless		shepherd to his flock.  I shall be a		good father to my children.  I shall		remain in Rome and show them how		they are loved.					GRACCHUS		With respect, sire, the people don't		need love -- they need law.  The		Senate has prepared a series of		protocols to begin addressing the		corruption in the city --			(Gaius hands him a			scroll)		-- starting with basic sanitation in		the Hebrew Quarter.  If Caesar could		study this and --					COMMODUS		You see that's the very problem,		isn't it, my old, old friend?  My		father spent all his time at study.		At books and learning and		philosophy...As Commodus speaks he moves to the chair behind the desk,tries it, doesn't like it, nods to a slave.  The chair iswhisked away.					COMMODUS		He spent his twilight hours reading		scrolls from the Senate.  All the		while, the people were forgotten.					GRACCHUS		The Senate is the people.					COMMODUS		I doubt many of the people eat so		well as you do, Senator Gracchus...As Commodus speaks he moves to the bust of Marcus, studiesit, doesn't like it, nods to a slave and the bust iswhisked away.  Lucilla watches this closely.					COMMODUS		I doubt many of the people have such		splendid armor, Captain Marcellus.		Or such fine mistresses, Senator		Gaius.  No... only their true father		knows what the people need.  I shall		show them they are loved.  I shall		hold them to my bosom and embrace		them tightly --					GRACCHUS		Have you ever embraced someone dying		of plague, sire?Commodus stops.  Looks at him.  A lethal moment.					COMMODUS		No.  But if you interrupt me one		more time I assure you that you		shall.  I will emulate the immortal		Caesars of the past.  I will give		the people what they truly want.		Starting this day I will draw all of		Rome to the Colosseum.  I will give		them bread.  And they will want		nothing more.Startled looks between Gracchus, Gaius and Marcellus.					GRACCHUS		You want to hold games?					COMMODUS		Not just any games, Senator!  A		series of games that will make the		Gods envious and leave my children		happy!  I will subsidize the arena		from this day forth -- and I will		culminate this celebration in a		great spectacle the likes of which		the world has never seen!  A great		spectacle to honor my father!		Magnificent, unending weeks of		festivity all in the name of Marcus		Aurelius!A beat.					GRACCHUS		If I may, Caesar... how are you		going to pay for this?					COMMODUS		That is not your concern.Gracchus ignores a warning look from Gaius.					GRACCHUS		Respectfully, sire, taxation and		import duties are the exclusive		province of the Senate --Commodus spins on him so quickly and with such feralviolence that everyone is shocked --					COMMODUS		MY FATHER DESERVES TO BE HONORED AND		I WILL HONOR HIM! -- AND THE PEOPLE		WILL LOVE ME! -- AND THE SENATE WILL		OBEY ME OR EVERY ONE OF YOU WILL		BURN!  BURN!  BURN! -- I WILL HAVE		ORDER!He snarls like a great jungle cat and he stalks away.Senator Falco quickly follows.A dreadful silence.Then:					LUCILLA		Gentlemen, in the future do not		concern my brother with these		matters.  Come to me.She sweeps out.A beat.					MARCELLUS		Games?  He wants to hold games?					GAIUS		It's madness.					GRACCHUS		No... it's not...A beat.					GRACCHUS		He knows who Rome is.  Rome is the		mob.  He will conjure magic for them		and they will be distracted.  And he		will takes their lives.  And he will		take their freedom.  And still they		will roar.  The beating heart of		Rome isn't the marble of the Senate.		It's the sand of the Colosseum.  He		will give them death.  And they will		love him for it.INT.  PROVINCIAL ARENA - DUGOUT - TUNNELS - DAYMaximus is marching relentlessly through the dugout andcramped, serpentine trench-like tunnels that lead to thearena.We don't really see Maximus well in the dark tunnels.Proximo scurries to keep up with him -- they brush pastgladiators who line the walls.  Some are wounded, some arebeing attended to by surgeons, some are shell-shocked,some are nervously waiting to go on, whispering prayers.We twist and turn in the tunnels with Proximo and Maximusas:					PROXIMO			(quickly)		I've wagered on you against the		Celts -- ignore the others and go		for them -- there are two axe-and-		net and two long spear.  Now the		Celts aren't used to the sun so you		have the advantage there...The roar of the crowd is growing, they are nearing thearena...					PROXIMO		And keep them moving, their lungs		aren't strong, ground the spears as		soon as you can and then go for the		ax-men.  If you get all four there's		an extra bonus so don't be		distracted by the Spartans...Without a word to Proximo, or a moment's hesitation,Maximus strides into the arena.EXT.  PROVINCIAL ARENA - DAYWe continue with Maximus as he strides into the roaringarena.We finally see him in the blazing sunlight -- he wearstraditional gladiator armor and now has longer hair and abeard --A battle is already in progress, fighting and dead anddying gladiators crowd the arena --We stay with Maximus as he wades through his opponents,fighting them heroically, slashing through them withoutstopping --The large crowd cheers mightily -- chants of "Spaniard!Spaniard!  Spaniard!"We stay with Maximus as he cuts through the four Celtslike a scythe through wheat and then we dramatically pullup and away --Taking in the roaring arena and the hero.EXT.  PROXIMO'S SCHOOL - COMPOUND - NIGHTA large mess area has been set up.  The tables around thecompound are crowded with gladiators.  Guards everywhere.Maximus and Juba enter.  Move to get food.  Allconversation gradually drains away as the other gladiatorswatch them.  Silence.Maximus and Juba note the strange silence as they move toa large table.Vibius is at the table with a number of other gladiators.There are no places for Maximus and Juba.Vibius stands and kicks two other gladiators off theirbench.					VIBIUS		MOVE ASIDE!  THIS IS A TABLE FOR		MEN!Maximus and Juba sit.Vibius remains standing.  He begins to pound on the tablewith his fist.  Soon all the gladiators are pounding ontheir tables.  It is a cacophonous din honoring Maximus.INT.  PROXIMO'S SCHOOL - PROXIMO'S CHAMBER - NIGHTProximo sits on a terrace overlooking his compound,sipping wine.  Various gladiators can be seen working outbelow.A guard brings Maximus.  Proximo nods for the guard toleave.					PROXIMO			(holding up a plate)		Butterfly?The plate is filled with honeyed butterflies, their wingsstill moving slightly.Maximus shakes his head.  Proximo pops one into his mouth.He chews as he looks at Maximus.					PROXIMO		Perhaps you'd like a woman?Maximus shakes his head.					PROXIMO		Boy?Maximus shakes his head.A beat.					PROXIMO		Gold?Maximus shakes his head.					PROXIMO		Well, I have nothing left to offer		you!  A man who turns down a		butterfly, a woman, a boy and gold		confuses me.  Personally, I'd grab		them all and then grab some more		because the Gods are fanciful and		take us at their whim.  Does the		Spaniard have any needs?Maximus shakes his head.A beat.  Proximo studies him.					PROXIMO		You fight like a soldier.  You have		wounds like a soldier who has been		on long campaigns.  You eye the		world around you like an enemy.		What is your name, Roman soldier?					MAXIMUS		Gladiator.A beat.					PROXIMO		And nothing more?					MAXIMUS		Nothing more.A beat.Proximo watches Maximus very closely for the following:					PROXIMO		In two days we leave for Rome.Maximus' eyes suddenly flash to Proximo.  He istransfixed, his eyes burning.					PROXIMO		Ah... so it's Rome you want.  Well		you shall have her, Gladiator.  The		new Emperor has ordered a series of		matches to culminate in a grand		spectacle.  If you do well I shall		become very, very rich.  If you do		well enough I shall set you free.		Is it freedom you want?A beat.Maximus shakes his head.					PROXIMO			(quietly)		Not even that.					MAXIMUS			(barely controlled)		The Emperor -- will he be there?					PROXIMO		Oh yes.  He's apparently quite mad		about the games.  Spending a		fortune, which is, needless to say,		good for me again.  But what is good		for you, Gladiator?					MAXIMUS		Have you -- how does one meet the		Emperor?					PROXIMO		As a gladiator?					MAXIMUS		Yes.					PROXIMO		One doesn't.A beat.  Proximo sees that Maximus' mind is racing.					PROXIMO		Except... If one has proven oneself		in battle.  If at the end of the		games you are the final man standing		-- the Emperor will present you with		a small wooden sword.  The sword is		your freedom.					MAXIMUS		He give it personally?					PROXIMO		He did to me...			(Maximus is surprised			at this)		Our great father Marcus Aurelius		looked into my eyes and touched me		on the shoulder.					MAXIMUS		You knew Marcus?					PROXIMO		I didn't know him.  He touched me on		the shoulder.  Just once.  But that		was enough.A beat.					PROXIMO		All right, Gladiator.  We shall go		to Rome together and have bloody		adventures.  The Great Whore will		suckle us until we are fat and happy		and can't suck another drop.  That		is Rome.INT./ EXT.  SLAVE WAGON - OUTSIDE ROME - EVENINGMaximus is crouched in the back of an enclosed slave wagonwith Vibius, Juba and a few other gladiators.In the distance, Rome.INT.  PALACE - COMMODUS' BEDROOM - NIGHTCommodus sits on his bed, rubbing his aching head.Lucilla is preparing a drink for him, a medicinal tonic.					COMMODUS		All my desires are splitting my head		to pieces -- there's so much I want		to do -- but all my efforts to show		my children they are loved go		unappreciated by those dragons in		the Senate --					LUCILLA			(mixing tonic)		Quiet, brother...Unseen by him, she adds a little special powder to thedrink from a vial secreted in her robe.					LUCILLA		Leave the Senate to me.  Don't		trouble yourself.					COMMODUS		All I want is to be a good father to		my people.  Why don't they		understand that?She goes to him.					LUCILLA		Shhh.  The tonic will help...She takes a sip and then hands it to him.					LUCILLA		Yes, just drink this down.She sits on the edge of the bed.  He drinks as:					COMMODUS		I must take a firmer hand with them.		They must know their father can be		firm.  As our father was firm with		us.					LUCILLA		Our father lost his way.  His		mistake was believing the old songs		of the "Republic."  We know better.		So let the Senate talk.  They have		no real power.					COMMODUS		Yes... yes... you always know the		way.  You were always so wise in		these matters...			(he takes her hand)		You know if I didn't have my duty to		Rome I think I should be an artist.		I should go away and paint pictures		of the sea and leave all the		politics to you...A beat.  He is sleepy, he lies back on his bed.					COMMODUS		Will you stay with me?					LUCILLA			(smiles gently)		Still afraid of the dark, brother?					COMMODUS		Still.  Always.A beat.					COMMODUS		My dreams would terrify the world.A beat.					LUCILLA		I'll stay with you until you are		asleep.					COMMODUS			(falling asleep)		And after... just sit with me.  Keep		me safe...He is asleep.She watches him for a moment and then rises.She goes.INT.  PALACE - HALLWAY - NIGHTLucilla moves down a long corridor in the palace and blowsout candles as she goes.She finally arrives at her own chamber and enters...INT.  PALACE - LUCILLA'S CHAMBERS - NIGHTSenators Gracchus and Gaius and Captain Marcellus arewaiting.					LUCILLA		He's asleep.  Be quick.					GRACCHUS		We've taking a sounding, the Senate		is with us.					LUCILLA		Good.					GRACCHUS		But we are only words.  We are air.		We need steel.					MARCELLUS		The City Guard is faithful to the		Republic.  But we don't stand a		chance against the Praetorians.					LUCILLA		Can they be bought?					MARCELLUS		They are zealots -- totally		committed to your brother.					GRACCHUS		Well, can they at least be rented		for a day?					MARCELLUS		I doubt it.  He pays them exorbitant		salaries and lets them loot and		extort as they see fit.  The city		belongs to them.					LUCILLA		And they've started arresting		scholars now.  Anyone who dares		speak out -- even satirists and		chroniclers.					MARCELLUS		And mathematicians and Christians.		All to fill the arena.					GAIUS		And what pays for it?  These games		are costing a fortune and yet we		have no new taxes.					LUCILLA		The future.  The future pays for		it...A beat.  She looks at them.					LUCILLA		He's started selling the grain		reserves.   					GAIUS		No.					MARCELLUS		That can't be true...					LUCILLA		He's selling Rome's reserves of		grain.  The people will be starving		in two years.  I hope they are		enjoying the spectacles because soon		enough they will be dead because of		them.					MARCELLUS		Rome must know this.					LUCILLA		And who will tell them?!  You,		Marcellus?  You, Senator Gaius?		Will you make a speech on the Senate		floor denouncing my brother?  And		then see your family in the		Colosseum?  What town-crier would		dare?A long beat.					LUCILLA		He must die.A beat as her words sink in.					GAIUS		The Praetorians would only seize		control themselves.					LUCILLA		No -- cut off the head and the snake		cannot strike.					GRACCHUS		Lucilla, Gaius is right.  Until the		City Guard can neutralize the		Praetorians we can accomplish		nothing.					MARCELLUS		And I haven't enough men.					LUCILLA		What about the army?					GAIUS		No Roman army has entered the		capital in a hundred years.					LUCILLA		So we do nothing?!A door opens, a voice...					LUCIUS' VOICE		Mother...An eight-year-old boy stands in a doorway, sleepy.  He isLUCIUS, Lucilla's son.					LUCIUS		I heard voices...					LUCILLA			(going to him)		It's all right, darling, you --Lucius suddenly notices Senator Gracchus:					LUCIUS			(running to Gracchus)		Senator!  What did you bring me?!He leaps onto Gracchus -- Gracchus laughs and pullssomething from his robe.					GRACCHUS		For you prince Lucius... a sea		monster!Gracchus gives Lucius a beautifully painted toy of a seaserpent.					GRACCHUS		Off the coast of Achaea they grow		twenty times this size, with		snapping teeth to devour any nasty		Praetorians they come across... now,		where is Achaea?					LUCIUS		Below Macedonia!					GRACCHUS		Show me on the map.Lucius runs to a map and stabs his finger at Achaea.  Wesense this is an old game between them.					LUCILLA		Lucius, you go in now, I'll be in		shortly.					LUCIUS			(to Gracchus)		Thank you, Senator Mountain!					GRACCHUS		You're welcome, Prince Anthill!Lucius goes.  Lucilla shuts the door after him.  A moment.She turns to the others, a deep anguish in her eyes.					LUCILLA		What are you going to do?Gracchus goes to her, holds her.					GRACCHUS		Peace child... One dark night the		Gods will light our path.  They will		give us the voice we need.  Have		faith in that.  Have faith.INT./ EXT.  ROMAN STREETS - SLAVE WAGON - NIGHTMaximus cranes for a sight of the Eternal City through ahole in the wooden slats that cover the slave cart.He can see only glimpses of Rome as they pass.  But theimages are not what he expected.  Alongside the undeniableglory of the city, the madness and disease Marcus Aureliusspoke of are readily apparent.Maximus sees flashes of plague victims being tossed oncarts heaped with bodies -- he sees getting and spendingand commerce everywhere -- he sees fascist PraetorianGuard units trooping past -- he sees the magnificentarchitecture of the city -- he sees starving childrenbegging from filthy gutters -- he sees rich citizens outfor a stroll -- he sees a swirling combination ofsophistication and depravity, of civilization andcorruption.He sits back in the cart, deep in thought.  Vibius looksat him.					VIBIUS		Not what you expected?					MAXIMUS		No.					VIBIUS		Rome is nothing but a slaughter		house.  And we are the meat.EXT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - NIGHTThe slave wagon pulls up to Proximo's rather grand Romancompound.  Guards unlock imposing gates and the wagondrives in...EXT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - COURTYARD - NIGHTInside the gates is a large courtyard, much like Proximo'sMoroccan school but much more impressive.  A fountain withan enormous statue of the war god Mars is central in thecourtyard.The gladiators climb from the wagon, stretching after thelong journey.  Vibius leads Maximus and Juba to thestatue.  He wades through the fountain and kisses the toeof Mars.					VIBIUS		Tradition.  He watches over us.Juba steps up and kisses the toe.					VIBIUS			(to Maximus)		Oh go on, it won't kill you.Maximus kisses the toe as well.					PROXIMO			(calling to them)		Stop that!  You'll get some		monstrous disease and then you'll be		worth nothing to me!Guards come and lead them to their cells, which line oneside of the courtyard.INT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - CELL - NIGHTLater.  Maximus and Juba again share a cell.  It is morecomfortable than their cell in Morocco, befitting Maximus'new status as one of the "stars."  A high, barred windowon one wall opens to the city.  Another barred window isdirectly over them, twenty feet above.Maximus pulls himself up to the side window, he looks out.And sees at last... The Colosseum.It is a breathtaking sight.  Monolithic Albert Speer-likecolumns of light shine up from the Colosseum.  It seems toilluminate the whole city and the heavens above.Maximus drops back to the floor.					JUBA		Do you think it will be much		different?  Here in Rome?					MAXIMUS		Bigger arena.  Same killing.A beat.					JUBA		Are you scared for tomorrow?					MAXIMUS		No.A beat.					JUBA		Me too.A beat.					JUBA		I never though it would be so easy		to kill.A beat.					JUBA		So you're finally home.					MAXIMUS		This isn't my home.					JUBA		For all Romans... this is home.A beat.					JUBA			(quietly)		Among my people we honor the soil of		our home.  Our ancestors are in that		soil.  All their dreams live there.		I will never see my home again.  The		soil is dead and no one honors them,		so the dreams die.A beat.					MAXIMUS		Perhaps one day you'll return.Juba looks at him.					JUBA		How can I go back?  I am not what I		was.  When a man kills for no		reason, he has lost himself.A long beat.Juba leans his head back and quietly begins to sing.  Ahaunting lament in his native tongue.EXT.  COLOSSEUM - DAYA flurry of images from around the Colosseum, the energymounting.  At this point we see practically nothing of theinside of the Colosseum:Slaves are balancing high above the empty arena.  They areon ropes unrolling huge rolls of muslin; sun tarps thatprovide shade below...Merchants open stalls in the curved arcade around outsideof the Colosseum.  They sell everything from food to magicelixirs, from toys to aphrodisiacs.  They immediatelystart declaiming and demonstrating the virtues of theirproducts...Gangs of whores of both sexes trawl the streets.  Theyhave bizarrely-colored hair and elaborate makeup...Citizens begin arriving, pushing past the vendors and thepickpockets.  We see whole families with picnic lunches...Ferocious animals are brought into the Colosseum in barredcages...In the busy arcade, barbers and blood-letters practicetheir craft alongside exotic alchemists, fire eaters andcontortionists...Richer citizens arrive in sedan chairs and chariots, theyfeign indifference to the hooting mob...Mounted City Guard police units try to retain someorder...Gamblers crowd betting booths and haggle mercilessly...Finally, we see Maximus and the other gladiators in aslave cart.  Maximus watches everything as the slave cartdisappears into the Colosseum...INT.  COLOSSEUM - ROUTE TO HOLDING CELLS - DAYThe interior of the Colosseum is a busy world unto itself.Maximus and the others are lead by Proximo's guards down along ramp and past countless animal cages.  Gamblerscirculate everywhere and observe the warriors, angling forthe best odds and the best matches.Maximus and the others are led even deeper into the bowelsof the Colosseum to a new whole subterranean realm.Numerous cells line the walls.  Racks and racks ofweaponry and armor.And, most striking, everywhere around them is the heavymachinery of the spectacles above.  Huge "elevator"platforms and ramps and pulleys and counterweights aremanned by teams of sweating slaves.INT.  COLOSSEUM - HOLDING CELLS - DAYFinally, Proximo's guards lead the gladiators to theirholding cells.  These cells are right at the edge of thearena.  Barred windows offer a sand-level view of theaction.Maximus immediately goes to a window and looks out.He cannot see much of the entire arena, but what he doessee transfixes him.A band of Christians are huddled together.  An eeriesilence from the Colosseum but for the prayers of theChristians.Maximus watches them.  One little girl peels past hermother's arm.  She sees Maximus.  She smiles.Suddenly a dozen ferocious lions race up a ramp by Maximus-- they roar into the arena --We do not see the carnage.  We watch Maximus' face as wehear the sounds of the slaughter.And the sound of the roaring crowd.Maximus finally cannot watch.  He drops his head.INT.  COLOSSEUM - TRAINER'S LAIR - DAYProximo is with a dozen other gladiator trainers and theColosseum's orator and majordomo, CASSIUS.  They arehaggling in an secluded area not far from the arenaitself.  Huge chalkboards chart the day's matches andwagers and odds.Colosseum touts continually erase and mark new figures onthe chalkboards to keep up with the swiftly changingbouts.The roar of the lions and the unnerving screams of theChristians can clearly be heard.					CASSIUS		... and the Emperor will have no		more animal battles today --Upset roars from some of the trainers.					TRAINER #1		You promised me a bear match,		Cassius!					TRAINER #2		I have ten damned gorillas!  You		said gorillas yesterday!					CASSIUS		Talk to the man in the imperial box.		Who has the next slot...?			(he checks the			boards)		-- Lentulus, Gideon, Trebonius and		Proximo --			(to Proximo)		-- Nice to have you back, you		piratical bastard -- now listen, the		Emperor wants the Carthage		spectacle.The four trainers explode in a flurry of resistance --					PROXIMO		No -- have pity, Cassius -- !					TRAINER #3		My men are too good for -- !					CASSIUS		You give us the Carthage match or		lose your spot on the rotation --		but don't worry -- gold is flowing		from the Emperor's fingers.					TRAINER #3		It'll cost you --					PROXIMO		I won't do it for less than 100,000		sesterces -- !					TRAINER #4		120,000!  All I have is my best		Thracians!					CASSIUS			(to Proximo)		And I want to see this famous		Spaniard of yours -- his reputation		soars from the provinces.  The		people are eager for him --					PROXIMO		I won't throw my Spaniard into a		spectacle!  Damn you and damn the		rotation!					CASSIUS		You will and the price will be		90,000 sesterces each --			(to all)		-- which you all know is exorbitant		-- AND IF YOU EXTORTING BLOOD-WHORES		TRY TO PAWN OFF LESSER FIGHTERS ON		ME I WILL SEE YOU DEAD IN THE ARENA		TOMORROW!					TRAINER #4		My Thracians are worth -- !					CASSIUS		Give me your best, brothers.  They		die before Caesar.He strides back to the arena.  The touts instantly beginmaking new marks on the boards to represent the mysterious"Carthage Spectacle" as some of the trainers hurry out.Proximo walks with Trainer #4:					PROXIMO		I give you 30,000 my Spaniard will		kill at least one of your Thracians.					TRAINER #4		30,000?!  On a Spaniard?!  That		provincial sun has curdled your		brain!					PROXIMO		Then make the wager, you smug		bastard!They disappear down a dark corridor, negotiating all thewhile.INT.  COLOSSEUM - HOLDING CELLS - DAYMaximus, Juba, Vibius and another of Proximo's gladiatorsare being armed.  They all wear mask-like helmets.Proximo hurries to them.					PROXIMO		All right -- there are three other		teams, four men each --			(to Maximus)		You know what a Thracian looks like?					MAXIMUS		Yes, but --					PROXIMO		Ignore the others -- go for the		Thracians.  The sun is to the east		-- over the gate -- keep your back		to the gate and you won't have the		sun.					MAXIMUS		What -- ?Trumpets begin sounding from the arena.					PROXIMO		Hurry -- !The guards quickly bustle the four toward a gate leadingto a dark tunnel to the arena.					PROXIMO		Die well and we'll sing songs about		you for a generation.Short swords are shoved into their hands and the gaterises.  They are pushed into the dark tunnel leading tothe arena.  The gate closes behind them.The four gladiators stand for a moment and then slowlywalk down the tunnel to...EXT.  COLOSSEUM - ARENA - DAYAt last we see it.The mighty Colosseum Arena.Nothing we could have possibly imagined could haveprepared us for the sight of the thousands and thousandsof screaming spectators, the row after row of cheeringfaces.It is staggering.But for Maximus none of this exists.  His full attentionis focused on one spot alone.  The Imperial Box.He can see Commodus and Lucilla sitting in the box.  Thebox is elevated fifteen feet above the arena floor at thetop of a sheer black marble wall.  A cohort of fiftyimposing Praetorian Guard Archers surround the box.Commodus' personal Body Guard of six Centurions actuallystand in the box itself, eyes constantly watching likemodern Secret Service agents.Commodus is untouchable.Meanwhile, three teams move from different entrances tothe arena.As Cassius orates to the crowd:					CASSIUS		This day we reach back to hallowed		antiquity to bring you... THE FALL		OF MIGHTY CARTHAGE...!			(the crowd cheers)		... On the barren armies of the		barbarian Hannibal!  Ferocious		mercenaries and warriors of all		brute nations bent on merciless		conquest!  Your Emperor is pleased		to give you... THE BARBARIAN HORDE!He gestures to the gladiators in the arena.  The crowdlaughs, jeering the "barbarians."The drummers begin pounding out a more insistent, heroicbeat.					CASSIUS		But on that illustrious day the Gods		sent against them Rome's greatest		warriors...!  The very life-image of		nobility and glorious valor... who		would on this day, and on these same		arid Numidian deserts, decide THE		FATE OF THE EMPIRE... Your Emperor		is pleased to give you... THE		LEGIONNAIRES OF SCIPIO AFRICANUS!!The crowd EXPLODES in cheers as the huge doors at one endof the arena suddenly burst open and ten chariots thunderin --Each chariot has a driver and an archer, both dressed intheatrical versions of the familiar Roman LoricaSegmentata.A chaos of dust -- and the battle is on --The chariots zoom around the arena -- the archers keepingup a deadly hail of arrows.Maximus immediately dives onto a passing chariot and killsthe charioteer and archer -- he dramatically leaps fromthe front of the chariot to a lead horse and cuts it free.And Maximus takes control, we see the General of the FelixRegiment gloriously alive again as he barks out orders andleads his gladiators in battle.  They follow himfaithfully, his stern commands unquestioned.His strategies are quick and smart, he makes thegladiators work together.This kind of slaughter could last for hours...We see flashes of the endless battle... Maximus races onhis horse past another chariot, kills the driver, thechariot smashes into a wall... the sun sinks lower, theshadows on the sand lengthen... areas of the sand areswamps of blood, Juba slips, pulls himself up fighting...Maximus uses Vibius to create a diversion, two chariotscollide... the crowd roars... a gladiator is draggedbetween a chariot and the side wall of the arena... thedrummers pound out their relentless tattoo...Finally...Maximus is on his horse across from the final chariot.We can see that Juba and Vibius and a few other gladiatorsare still alive.  The rest of the arena is polluted withthe dead and injured.Maximus spurs his horse and gallops toward the finalchariot -- the charioteer whips his horses and zoomstoward Maximus --The crowd is breathless -- watching the final battle --Maximus and the chariot speed toward each other -- likeMedieval jousters --And collide in a flashing explosion of steel --Maximus sails from his horse -- as the charioteer sailsfrom his chariot --Maximus lands hard but quickly pulls himself up, he racesto the final charioteer.  The charioteer is defeated butnot dead.Maximus glances around, all his opponents are defeated.He stands over the final charioteer.  Then he simplytosses down his sword.The crowd is stunned by this strange act of mercy.  Butthen an enormous roar grows from the crowd -- wave afterwave of adulation for the hero of the day.Maximus looks around, taking it all in.Then he turns to the Imperial Box.Maximus slowly walks to before the the Imperial Box.  ThePraetorian Archers immediately raise their bows, pointingdown at him.Maximus glares up at Commodus through his helmet mask.Commodus returns his gaze, curious.The crowd is intrigued, growing quiet.  What is going on?Then Maximus simply turns and begins walking away.					COMMODUS		Slave!  Who are you?The Colosseum is suddenly silent.  The Emperor is speakingto a gladiator.Maximus keeps walking.					COMMODUS		SLAVE!  WHO ARE YOU?Maximus keeps walking, his fists clenched now.Commodus suddenly grabs a spear from a nearby Praetorianand hurls it with perfect aim -- the crowd gasps -- thespear sails past Maximus -- actually nicking his shoulder-- it slices into the sand ahead of Maximus.Maximus stops.					COMMODUS		SLAVE!  WHO ARE YOU?!Maximus can hold it no longer.  He spins to Commodus --ripping off his helmet mask -- and THUNDERING:					MAXIMUS		I AM MAXIMUS MERIDAS, GENERAL OF THE		FELIX REGIMENT OF THE ROMAN ARMY AND		SERVANT TO THE EMPEROR MARCUS		AURELIUS!Commodus eyes shoot wide -- Lucilla bolts up -- Gracchusleans forward -- Proximo is stunned -- the crowd ismystified --					MAXIMUS		I AM FATHER TO A MURDERED SON AND		HUSBAND TO A MURDERED WIFE AND		LANDLORD TO A MURDERED WORLD -- AND		I WILL HAVE VENGEANCE!The Praetorian Archers tense their bows -- ready to killthe defiant slave --But something extraordinary stops them.  Almost as onebeing the crowd roars -- they leaps to their feet andthrust their thumbs up!  They cheer and stomp theirapproval of Maximus.Commodus looks around at the people of Rome, amazed.He finally plasters on a benevolent smile and thrusts histhumb up!  The Praetorians lower their bows.And the crowd cheers.  Never in the long, long history ofthe Colosseum have they ever seen such a thing.Maximus leads his gladiators out of the arena.INT.  PALACE - THRONE ROOM - NIGHTTo our great surprise, Commodus is not raging.  He sitsquietly on the polished marble floor in front of a modelof the Colosseum.  He moves model pieces around in theColosseum, planning his festival.Lucilla stands, tense.					COMMODUS		Why is he still alive?					LUCILLA		I don't know.					COMMODUS		He shouldn't be alive.  That vexes		me.  I am terribly vexed...Lucilla watches her brother cautiously, expecting theexplosion.  He carefully moves some model pieces in thearena.					COMMODUS		There, that's better.  Do you like		the platform here?					LUCILLA		Mmm.					COMMODUS		I do too.  Simple, elegant...Lucilla is growing more and more unnerved at Commodus'unusual serenity.					COMMODUS		Father would have wanted something		more ornate but he's dead now.A beat.  Commodus laughs.  A beat.					COMMODUS		Maximus Meridas haunts me.  I see		Father turning away from me and		gazing at him.  How many times did I		suffer that indignity, I wonder?					LUCILLA		What are you going to do?					COMMODUS		I'm going to kill him.					LUCILLA		Good.					COMMODUS			(glances at her)		Oh, you're too clever, Sister.		Don't tell me part of you won't weep		for him.					LUCILLA		When he defies my brother the		Emperor, he defies me.  But you		shouldn't send assassins.					COMMODUS		No?					LUCILLA		The people embraced him today.  They		will be expecting his next match...			(she kneels next to			him)		... let him die in the arena like		the slave he is.  Let the people see		what comes of defying Caesar.A beat as he looks at her.					COMMODUS		He wounded you deeply, didn't he?		Long ago.She does not answer.					COMMODUS		Nonetheless, your political acumen		is, as always, unerring.He picks up a model tiger and puts it in the arena.  Helooks at the model tiger and smiles.INT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - CELL - NIGHTMaximus silently awaits Commodus' assassins with Juba.They hear footsteps outside the cell.  Maximus stands,preparing for death.					JUBA			(also standing)		I will fight with you.					MAXIMUS		This isn't your battle.					JUBA		Better to die for a friend than to		die for gold.The door swings open and they are surprised to see Proximosweeping in with a cloaked woman.  The woman gives Proximoa bag of money.					PROXIMO		Enjoy yourself, Madame...			(he glances to			Maximus)		General, perform well and there will		be riches for you.He beckons to Juba, they go, shutting the door behindthem.  The woman pulls off her cloak, it is Lucilla.Maximus glares at her, his muscles tensing.					LUCILLA		Rich matrons pay well to be		pleasured by the bravest champions.Maximus backs up, fighting the urge to strangle her on thespot.  He finally bumps into a wall of the cell.					MAXIMUS		I knew your brother would send		assassins.  I didn't think he would		send his best.					LUCILLA		Maximus, listen to me --					MAXIMUS		My family were crucified and burnt		while they were still alive.					LUCILLA		I knew nothing of that.					MAXIMUS			(low)		Don't lie to me.					LUCILLA		I wept for them.					MAXIMUS		Don't.A long, tense moment.She does not look at him.					LUCILLA		Do you know what it is to be the		daughter of the Emperor?  I learned		on the night my father had my		husband killed.  I loved my husband		very much.  Very... simply.  He was		a man who believed in the Republic.		He was a man who thought Marcus		should be tending to Rome and not		conquering the world.  One night my		father had him strangled for		conspiring with the Senate.  My		father never spoke of it.  I never		spoke of it.  That is what it is to		be the daughter of Rome.She finally looks up at Maximus.					LUCILLA		My son will live.  He will survive		this cursed bloodline.  Rome will		die and the jackals will pick her		clean -- but my son will survive.		Empires come and go.  Cities crumble		to dust.  Only family matters.A beat.  Despite himself, Maximus is moved.					MAXIMUS		My son was innocent.					LUCILLA		So is mine.A beat.					MAXIMUS		I want your brother dead.					LUCILLA		So do I.A beat.  Maximus is surprised at her direct answer.					LUCILLA		My son will never be safe while he		lives.A beat.					MAXIMUS		How do you plan it?					LUCILLA		The Senate is with us, and the City		Guard.  We have growing power in the		streets.  But we need a leader.		Someone the people can --					MAXIMUS		So the crown passes to your son.					LUCILLA		No.  So that my son will be safe.		So that we may leave this charnel		house forever and never look back.		Look into my eyes, Maximus, and		believe what I say to you...She rivets him intensely with her eyes.					LUCILLA		By all the Gods, and in the name of		my father who loved you, and in the		name of the husband I loved... I		swear to stand by your side in this		now and always.A beat.					MAXIMUS		What is your son's name?					LUCILLA		Lucius Verus.  Like his father.					MAXIMUS		I weep for him.A long beat.  Maximus' cold eyes give away nothing.Lucilla turns and starts to go.  She stops, not lookingback.					LUCILLA		Commodus plans to kill you in your		next match in the arena.  He's		planning something.  I will pray for		you.  As I have always done.She then pulls something from her robes and sets it down,a little bundle wrapped in cloth.  She sweeps out.  Thesound of the door being bolted shut on the other side.Maximus stands for a moment and then goes to what she hasleft.  He opens the cloth.  Inside are his six "ancestor"figures.He picks up one of the figures.  He looks at it deeply,gently feeling along the contours with a finger.EXT.  COLOSSEUM - ARENA - DAYThe Colosseum is again packed.  Commodus, Lucilla and herson Lucius are in the Imperial Box.It is late in the day and teams of slaves are cleaning thearena after a bout.  They haul off carcasses and toss downfresh sand.Meanwhile, Cassius is orating to the crowd:					CASSIUS		... in his majestic charity the		Emperor has deigned to this day		favor the people of Rome with an		historical final match.  Returning		to the Colosseum today... after five		years in retirement... Caesar is		pleased to bring you... THE ONLY		UNDEFEATED CHAMPION IN ROMAN		HISTORY...			(the crowd is going			mad)		... THE LEGENDARY... TIGER OF GAUL!!The crowd erupts in paroxysms of joy as TIGER explodesinto the arena in an ornate chariot.  Tiger is a fierceman in his 40's, his brutal, scarred face and hugelymuscled body a testament to his many years in the arena.Tiger speeds around the rim of the arena in his chariot,raising an arm in triumph.  The crowd roars.INT.  COLOSSEUM - HOLDING CELLS - DAYProximo stands with Maximus, who is busy strapping onarmor.					PROXIMO		Gods!  That old Homicide!  The		Emperor must truly hate you.					MAXIMUS		What can you tell me?					PROXIMO		He cheats.INT.  COLOSSEUM - ARENA - DAYTiger waits.  He stands in the center of the arena.  Hehas only a traditional short sword.  The crowd isbreathless with anticipation.  As:					CASSIUS			(orating)		And from the rocky promontories and		martial bloodlines of Spain...		representing the training lyceum of		Proximo Antoninus... I give you...		THE WARRIOR MAXIMUS!The crowd cheers.  Maximus appears from his gate.  Hisfans have increased in number considerably.  They eagerlycrane forward and celebrate him.Meanwhile, Maximus looks at Tiger.  Only one man with asword?  Maximus approaches, cautious but confident.He stops a few feet from Tiger.  They lock eyes, saluteeach other and then turn to the Imperial Box, raisingtheir swords.The crowd waits eagerly for the immortal words...					MAXIMUS AND TIGER		We who are about to die salute you.The crowd cheers and Maximus immediately turns and startsslashing -- Tiger easily blocks and strikes back --The sword play is very fast -- they block and parry andhack like lightning -- constantly attacking -- they areperfectly matched --As he fights Maximus becomes aware of a strange sound overthe roar of the crowd -- a low rumbling -- then he feelssomething -- a vibration in the ground --Suddenly traps doors swing open and four enormousplatforms rise into view.  On each platform is a snarlingBengal tiger restrained by a chain.  Tiger's teams of"cornermen" hold the chains through a pulley system.  Thecornermen are safely inside cages.  The platforms stop atground level.The four ferocious tigers now mark the four corners of thebattleground.Tiger takes advantage of Maximus' momentary confusion andassaults brutally -- forcing him back toward one of thetigers -- the tiger claws for Maximus -- Maximus justevades it claws -- rolls for a new position -- anothertiger snaps at him --Tiger attacks -- Maximus is on the defensive -- fightingoff Tiger and evading the four snarling beasts --And then all four tigers are suddenly closer.  The teamsof cornermen are letting the chains play out, bit by bit,gradually reducing the size of the battle ground.  Thecrowd roars.But the fight is hardly fair.Whenever Tiger is near one of the tigers the cornermenpull back the tiger slightly -- when Maximus is near atiger they let it out a bit.Maximus and Tiger fight -- swirling action -- finally,Maximus has the edge -- he circles so that the sun stabsinto Tiger's eyes -- then Maximus lunges forward underTiger's swinging sword and SLAMS into him -- they fall --a tiger swats at Maximus' face -- he jerks his head back-- he shoots out a leg and kicks Tiger's sword toward oneof the tigers -- it is out of reach -- Maximus leaps upand stands over the winded Tiger, sword to his throat.Tiger is gasping for breath, crushed.Then one of Tiger's corners suddenly cheats -- theycompletely release a tiger -- it leaps for Maximus --Maximus barely has time to turn -- the tiger crashes intohim -- its claws slashing into his back, cutting throughhis leather armor -- Maximus shoves an armored forearminto the tiger's jaws and stabs with his sword --Tiger takes this chance to pull himself up -- one of hiscorners throws him another sword -- the crowd boos --Maximus wrestles with the tiger -- spinning it around withsuperhuman effort so it is always between himself andTiger -- so that Tiger can't get at him --Maximus finally kills the tiger and leaps for Tiger -- hequickly disarms him and tosses him to the ground --Maximus stands over him -- ready to administer the coup degrace.All eyes turn to the Emperor.Commodus slowly stands and steps to the edge of theImperial Box.  He raises his arm and gives the fatalthumbs down.Maximus looks up at him.And then defiantly tosses the sword to the ground,refusing to kill Tiger.Commodus is stunned.The crowd gasps -- a collective intake of breath -- andthen an enormous roar building.  It cascades around theColosseum.  It is a roaring celebration of the unexpectedact of mercy.  And the delicious act of defiance of theEmperor.Commodus slowly sits.Maximus walks across the arena -- the people stand andcheer for him.  Cries of "Maximus the Merciful" can beheard.It is the birth of a hero.INT.  COLOSSEUM - HOLDING CELLS - DAYMaximus is resting in his cell after the battle, headdown, deep in thought.					LUCIUS' VOICE		Is it true you're a General...?Maximus looks up, Lucius is standing at his cell.  Maximushas no idea who the boy is -- just another young fan --but Maximus is immediately struck by Lucius' resemblanceto his own son.					MAXIMUS		I was a General.					LUCIUS		I saw you fight.  The Carthage		battle too.  I've never seen so much		courage.					MAXIMUS		It doesn't take courage to kill.					LUCIUS		My father was killed.A beat.					MAXIMUS		I'm sorry.					LUCIUS		He still comes to me in my dreams.		Do you have a father?					MAXIMUS		I had a father.  He wasn't really my		father but I cared for him very much.					LUCIUS		I hope he comes to you in your		dreams.  My father and I ride horses		in mine.These simple words strike something deep in Maximus.Lucilla appears from the shadows and puts her hands onLucius' shoulders.					LUCILLA		Lucius, run along now.  I need to		talk to the General.Lucius runs off to his Male ATTENDANT, who leads him away.A long beat as Maximus and Lucilla look at each other.Finally:					MAXIMUS		Where is my army?A drum beat is heard.  It increases throughout thefollowing scenes, building momentum like a Roman galleryaccelerating to ramming speed.The conspiracy scenes are enclosed in a montage of scenesin and around the arena showing Maximus' growingpopularity with the People of Rome...EXT.  COLOSSEUM - ARENA - DAYMaximus is fighting an opponent.The drums continue...INT.  THE SENATE - DAYLucilla conspires with Senators Gracchus and Gaius andCaptain Marcellus in a dark corner of the Senate.Whispers.					LUCILLA		... Maximus will summon his army		from Ostia and he will strike from		the inside as his army strikes from		the outside.  But he insists that		the Senate be present.					GAIUS		We've been ordered to attend.					LUCILLA		How many are with us?					GRACCHUS		About half.  But once the tyrant is		dead.  All.A beat.					GRACCHUS		I want to meet him.					LUCILLA		I'll arrange it.					GAIUS		And what of the Emperor?A beat.					LUCILLA		He has withdrawn.  He's not eating.		He doesn't go out.  He won't even		see me... I don't know what tempests		rage within him but...					GRACCHUS		We should fear for the blackest		storm.					LUCILLA		Yes.A beat.					GAIUS		One question... who is to be the		actual Regicide?A beat.  She glances at him.The drums continue...EXT.  COLOSSEUM - ARENA - DAYMaximus defeats his opponent.  He stands over him.  Hedoes not kill him.He tosses his sword down and walks away.  The crowd goescrazy, roaring their approval of Maximus.Senator Falco, sits in the stands and watches with somealarm.  He glances around as the crowd exalts Maximus.  Heis becoming a hero to the people.The drums continue...INT.  COLOSSEUM - HOLDING CELLS - DAYMaximus returns to the holding cells.  Vibius and Juba arewaiting.					VIBIUS		You didn't kill him.					MAXIMUS		I will not kill another warrior.		There is no honor to it.Maximus goes.  Vibius thinks about it, listening to theadulation of the crowd.The drums continue...INT./ EXT.  SLAVE WAGON - ROMAN STREETS - DAYMaximus and the other gladiators are in a slave cart onthe way from the arena.  A gang of children run alongsidethe cart, cheering and chanting:					KIDS		Maximus the Merciful!  Maximus the		Merciful!The drums continue...INT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - CELL - NIGHTMaximus and Juba are with Lucilla and Gracchus.  Lucillais writing on a piece of parchment.					MAXIMUS		Tell him we will enter Rome on the		first day of Commodus' festival.					LUCILLA		And they will march on Rome for you?					MAXIMUS		Yes.  But this letter must go to the		lieutenant named Titus, no one else.					LUCILLA		Captain Marcellus will take it.  And		his City Guard will by with you when		you get to Rome.  Is that enough to		face the Praetorian Guard?					MAXIMUS			(looks to her)		The Felix Regiment will never be		defeated.A beat.					GRACCHUS		I only have one question for you,		General... Why?A beat.					GRACCHUS		You will lead an army of your		brothers on Rome.  Many will die.		Why?					MAXIMUS		I want Commodus dead.					GRACCHUS		That's not the reason.  Tell me the		truth.A beat.					MAXIMUS		Because one night an old man		whispered to me about a dream.  I		will die for that dream.A long beat.					GRACCHUS		I knew the old man well.  And I		loved him very much.  In our youth		we would spend hours building that		dream together.  After he went to		the wars and lost his way... I was		very cruel.  I tormented him to		remember that dream we spoke of.					MAXIMUS		He did.					GRACCHUS		You can have no idea how much that		means to me.A beat.					GRACCHUS		Any man who will die for a whispered		dream deserves my respect.  I honor		you, General.The drums continue...EXT.  COLOSSEUM - ARENA - DAYVibius defeats an opponent -- he stands over him.  Helooks around at the crowd.  Then he tosses down his swordand walks off.The crowd goes mad with pleasure.  Vibius eats it up,raising his arms and soaking up the applause.Maximus watches from the holding cells.  He smiles.The drums continue...EXT.  STREET - NIGHTProximo supervises as a huge banner is unfurled.  Itcovers the side of a tall building.It shows a dramatic painting of Maximus.Proximo supervises happily as torches and braziers are litto illuminate the mammoth banner.The drums continue...EXT.  COLOSSEUM - ARENA - DAYThe ending of a group fight -- Proximo's gladiatorstriumphant.The crowd waits for the delicious act of defiance.  Wenote many placard and banners honoring "MAXIMUS THEMERCIFUL."Maximus, Vibius, Juba and a few other gladiators toss downtheir weapons and walk off, leaving their opponents alive.The crowd roars.  They have completely embraced Maximusand his fellow gladiators.Gracchus, in the stands, laughs.The drums finally conclude.INT.  PALACE - LUCILLA'S CHAMBER - DAYLucilla is with her HANDMAIDEN.  They sit before a largemirror, the Handmaiden perfecting Lucilla's makeup for theday.One of Commodus' Centurion Body Guards enters, bows.					CENTURION		Madame, the Emperor would like to		see you.Lucilla quickly glances to her Handmaiden in the mirrorand then braces herself, stands, and quickly leaves withthe Centurion.INT.  PALACE - HALLWAY - DAYLucilla strides quickly, nervously, down the long corridorto Commodus' chambers.  She enters...INT.  PALACE - COMMODUS' BEDROOM - DAYCommodus is wrapped in a sheet, gazing out a window.					LUCILLA		Caesar...He turns.  She stops.He looks as if he has not slept for days.  If a word couldnow sum up his clouded face it is this:  tormented.She goes to him, embraces him.  He holds her tightly.					COMMODUS		I am sorry to have kept you away...		I needed this time to think...					LUCILLA		Of course...He moves away from her, slowly moving around the room.					COMMODUS		I limited my world to these four		walls so as to let my mind free...		again and again my mind settles on		but one question... What kind of		world are we making when the people		of Rome prefer a slave in the arena		to their father?A beat.  Commodus' strange philosophical bent is unnervingLucilla.					COMMODUS		It is my responsibility to make the		world as it should be.  How is it I		have made this world?					LUCILLA		Brother, do not be influenced by the		mob.  They are a great, faceless		beast --					COMMODUS		They are not "the mob," Lucilla,		they are the people.  They are my		children and all I want to do is		love them.A beat.  He stands before a bust of Marcus Aurelius.  Hetouches it.					COMMODUS		Our father loved Maximus... and I		love him still... yet he defies me,		he tasks me in front of my children.		And they love him for it.  Just as		Marcus loved him for it.  Tell me		why, Lucilla.					LUCILLA		They see themselves in him.  They		throw in their own sad dreams		alongside his.  They think he fights		for them.					COMMODUS		And what do I do but fight for		them?!  I give them games to please		them.  I strangle dissent to give		them peace.  I empower the		Praetorians to give them order.		What more can I do?!A beat.					COMMODUS		Say I should fight him, in the		arena.  Let my children see who the		Gods truly favor.					LUCILLA		And what if he should win?A beat.Commodus continues to slowly move around the room.					COMMODUS		A God is more powerful than a man...This odd statement hangs in the air for a moment.  Then:					LUCILLA		Caesar, you let this unduly worry		you.  At best he is a passing fancy		-- he is a name, an image on a		banner, ephemeral -- he will be		forgotten as the next fancy		appears --					COMMODUS		But I need to know -- why do they		love him?					LUCILLA		Mercy.He stops.  Looks at her.					LUCILLA		He will not kill in the arena.  He		is merciful.  As they all wish they		were in their own hearts.Something in her words has struck a chord in him.					COMMODUS		And for that moment in the arena		they are merciful too.  For a		moment... they are Gods.  Offering		life.He looks at her.					COMMODUS		But who can be more merciful than		the Emperor of Rome?EXT.  COLOSSEUM - ARENA - DAYMaximus is fighting a thick GIANT of a man.  A few quickblows and the Giant falls -- like a mighty tree he crashesto the sand.The arena cheers their hero.Maximus stands over the beaten Giant.  The crowd waits forthe famous act.Maximus salutes the Giant and tosses down his sword,refusing to kill.  He walks away.The arena explodes in cheers -- a chant of "Maximus theMerciful" grows to deafening proportions.Suddenly the arena is filled with Praetorians -- theyblock Maximus' exit from the arena -- the crowd boos --horrified --The Praetorians surround Maximus.  He is unarmed, butcoils for the inevitable battle.Then the Praetorians part...And Commodus walks through them.  He carries somethingwrapped in a rich cloth.  Maximus glares at him.The Praetorians move back and the crowd watches eagerly.The Emperor and the Gladiator, at last.Maximus and Commodus stare at each other.  The crowdcannot hear what is said, but strain to observe thisincredible confrontation.					COMMODUS		Brother... we've taken a sad path		since we were children at Capri,		have we not?Maximus doesn't answer.					COMMODUS		For my own part... I am sorry it		came to this.  And to you alone of		all men, I acknowledge my errors.		And my regret.  I shall live with my		sin for all my days.					MAXIMUS		As will I, Commodus.  As will I.Commodus unwraps the cloth bundle.  Inside is a smallwooden sword.  He holds it up so the crowd can see.A collective gasp.  The wooden sword, prized by allgladiators above all else.  Freedom.					COMMODUS		As the first act of my contrition I		offer you the wooden sword of		freedom.He holds out the wooden sword.  A beat.					COMMODUS		Take it, brother.  Stand at my side		as a free man worthy of your		ancestors.					MAXIMUS		I only have ancestors because of		you, brother.  You killed everything		that ever lived alongside me.A beat.					COMMODUS		Take it, Maximus.  Let us heal that		fatal wound together.					MAXIMUS		This is the new home you cursed me		to.  And I am safer here from your		treachery than I could ever be		outside.					COMMODUS		Will you always mistrust me?					MAXIMUS		Why don't you ask your father that?Commodus visibly flinches at that, but still holds thewooden sword out.  The crowd is breathless.					MAXIMUS		I have more power as a slave in the		arena than I could ever have as a		free man.  As the Colosseum goes,		the people go.  As the people go,		the Empire goes.					COMMODUS			(tense)		You think this is power?  I could		show you power, slave --					MAXIMUS		No, Caesar... I will show you.With that, Maximus does the unimaginable.  He simply turnshis back on the Emperor and walks away.And the crowd goes mad.  They cheer the defiant gladiator,their champion.And, equally, they deride the Emperor.  They mock him byholding out food and trash like Commodus is holding outthe wooden sword.  They laugh and jeer.Commodus glances around at his children, lost.Then he turns to the Imperial Box.  He sees Lucillaslipping out the back of the box.  He watches her go.And the crowd continues to jeer.EXT.  STREET THEATER - NIGHTThe crowd laughs riotously as Roman Actors perform atypically ribald comedy in a secluded street:An outrageously dressed version of Maximus is paradingaround on an outrageously dressed version of Commodus,riding him like a donkey and slapping his rear with awooden sword.  The "Commodus" actor mews and brays andwails like an infant.Captain Marcellus of the City Guard gallops past them, onhis way out of Rome.EXT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - COURTYARD - DAYMaximus stands with Juba and Vibius.  He draws a circle inthe sand with a stick.  He draws a line to the circle.					MAXIMUS		The Felix Regiment will come from		here.  We'll face the body of the		Praetorians outside -- here.  Once		inside, my archers will take up		position to counter opposition		inside the Colosseum.  I'll enter		and join you -- we'll attack here --Maximus draws a line to the Imperial Box.					MAXIMUS		-- a covert assault from within.					VIBIUS		We'll be killed.					MAXIMUS		Probably.A beat.					MAXIMUS		But if we aren't... think of the		glory.  Do you remember glory,		Gladiator?					JUBA		And if we die that day -- we die		free men worthy of our ancestors.					VIBIUS		You didn't know my ancestors.  A		rotten bunch.Maximus points to the huge statue of Mars.					MAXIMUS		Then be worthy of him.  The old		Titan who would rather die bravely		in a just battle than slink off to		grow old and fat.					JUBA		And impotent.A beat.  Vibius thinks about it.					VIBIUS		If I die, I want a hundred whores at		my funeral.INT.  PALACE - LUCILLA'S CHAMBERS - EVENINGCommodus sweeps in.  Thinks Lucilla is standing there.The woman turns, it is Lucilla's Handmaiden.					COMMODUS		Where is my sister?					HANDMAIDEN		She's out, sir...					COMMODUS		Where?					HANDMAIDEN		I... don't know, Caesar.Commodus looks at her for a moment.And then he slowly walks right to her.  His face an inchaway from hers.					COMMODUS		Where is my sister?INT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - PROXIMO'S CHAMBER - NIGHTProximo sits, considering Maximus.					MAXIMUS		Was it Centurion...?  General...?					PROXIMO		Captain.A beat.					PROXIMO		How did you know?					MAXIMUS		A soldier knows a soldier.A beat.					PROXIMO		All that was a long time ago.  Too		much wine and too many women.  And		too much money.					MAXIMUS		No --					PROXIMO		This is who I am...			(he pats his ample			belly)		You see?  There was a time I would		stand against ten men and never give		an inch, spitting into the jaws of		Hades all the while.  There was a		time my heart swelled to strap on		the armor of Rome.  But now...Something flashes across Proximo's eyes, something liketragedy.					PROXIMO		Now I am just an entertainer.A pause.					MAXIMUS		You said something to me once.  You		said in this life, we all die.  All		we can choose is how we die.  And		how we are remembered.  Do you		recall those words?					PROXIMO		Yes.					MAXIMUS		Then be remembered proudly.  This is		your time, Proximo.  Stand at my		side and be what you were.  What you		truly are.  One last time.A beat.Proximo suddenly begins to weep rather histrionically --Maximus is a bit taken aback -- Proximo dramaticallyflicks tears from his eyes -- and then can't keep the showup -- he bursts into laughter.Maximus stares at him.					PROXIMO			(laughing)		You might have spared yourself the		speech, General.  The lady Lucilla		bought all my gladiators two hours		ago!					MAXIMUS		You pox-ridden bastard -- !   					PROXIMO		I am the richest trainer in the		Empire!  And I will let my		gladiators do anything you like!		Conspire away, General!Maximus can only laugh as well.					PROXIMO		But I tell you -- if you survive		this madness I want you to go into		business with me.  I'll give you a		quarter of my holdings.					MAXIMUS			(standing)		A quarter?!					PROXIMO		A third.  And not a hair more.  And		you'll have to start in the		provinces!  Cleaning up the lion		shit!					MAXIMUS		You know, if you were half so awful		as you pretend, you'd be a		terrifying man.Maximus shakes his head, smiling, and goes.Proximo sits for a moment.Then he rises and goes to a heavy chest.  He looks at thechest for a moment and then opens it.Inside is his old Lorica Segmentata.  He gazes at hisarmor, considering what he once was.  And what he now is.INT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - CELL - NIGHTMaximus enters.  Lucilla is waiting, extremely tense.					MAXIMUS		Lucilla --					LUCILLA		Don't even say it.  I know it's		dangerous -- but I had to see you.		Captain Marcellus has gone to the		army with your message as you		instructed.					MAXIMUS		Good.					LUCILLA		He says the City Guard will be ready		at the south road at noon.  They can		only wait for an hour so --					MAXIMUS		You've told me this already.					LUCILLA		Did I?  All right then.  So		everything is prepared.  The Senate		will be in attendance and you have		your gladiators -- the usual cohort		of Praetorians will be inside the		arena --					MAXIMUS		Lucilla... why are you here?A pause.					LUCILLA		Tell me honestly... please... do you		think it will work?A beat.					MAXIMUS		No.					LUCILLA		Do you think we'll all die?					MAXIMUS		Yes.She leans against a wall.A pause.					LUCILLA		Will you swear something to me?					MAXIMUS		Yes.					LUCILLA		Will you swear it on the memory of		your son?A long beat.					MAXIMUS		Yes.					LUCILLA		By all that you have ever loved...		swear that if you survive you will		take my son out of Rome.  Swear that		you will go far away and never		return.He steps to her.					MAXIMUS			(deeply)		I will.A beat.					MAXIMUS		And if I should not survive... swear		to me that you will honor my family		in your prayers always.					LUCILLA		I will.A long, difficult beat.  She fights back tears.					LUCILLA		Had I not been the daughter of		Rome...He puts a gentle finger to her lips.					MAXIMUS		Shhh... my heart breaks enough.He holds her closely, tenderly.INT.  PALACE - LUCILLA'S CHAMBERS - NIGHTLucilla enters, deep in thought, still drained from hermeeting with Maximus.She suddenly stops.  Frozen.Commodus is sitting across the chamber, Lucius at hisknee.  An open scroll on Commodus' lap.					COMMODUS		Sister... join us.  I've been		reading to dear Lucius.					LUCIUS		I've been reading too.					COMMODUS		Yes, he's a very smart little boy.		He'll make a grand Emperor one day.Lucilla has not moved.					COMMODUS		Join us, sister.Lucilla goes to them, sits.					COMMODUS		We've been reading about the great		Julius and his adventures in Egypt.					LUCIUS		She killed herself with a snake!					COMMODUS			(to Lucius)		And just wait until you hear what		happened to some of our other		ancestors!  If you're very good,		tomorrow night I'll tell you the		story of Emperor Claudius.  He was		betrayed!  By those closest to		him...			(he glances up to			Lucilla)		... by his own blood... they		whispered in dark corners and went		out late at night and conspired and		conspired...Lucilla looks as if she is going to be ill.Lucius is busy scanning the scroll.  Commodus gentlystrokes his hair, his cold eyes never leaving Lucilla's.					COMMODUS		But the Emperor Claudius knew that		they were up to something dire.  He		knew they were busy little bees.		And one night he sat down with one		of them and he looked at her and he		said:  "Tell me what you have been		doing, busy little bee, or I shall		strike down those dearest to you.		You shall watch as I bathe in their		blood."  And the bee knew he spoke		the truth, for the Emperor always		speaks the truth.  And what do you		think happened then, Lucius?					LUCIUS			(still pouring over			the scrolls)		I don't know, Uncle.					COMMODUS			(glaring at Lucilla)		The bee told him everything.Lucilla's face is tortured.INT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - PROXIMO'S CHAMBER - NIGHTProximo is asleep -- a sound outside wakes him -- thesteady clip-clop of horses on stone.  A lot of horses.He rises and goes to a window overlooking the streetoutside.A stern Praetorian Guard cavalry unit is cantering intoposition at his gates.  Proximo grabs his clothes --EXT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - NIGHTWith cool military precision the Praetorians take upposition at the gates before Proximo's compound, anunassailable line.  They quickly prepare their bows.Meanwhile, another Praetorian unit has taken up positionat the other end of Proximo's compound -- sealing thatentrance as well.EXT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - COURTYARD - NIGHTProximo is hurrying across his open courtyard when thefirst flaming arrow arches into the compound -- it isfollowed by hundreds more --The Praetorians on either end of his compound keep up aceaseless hail of flaming arrows -- everything begins toburn -- the caged gladiators are stirring now --shouting --Proximo races to his panicked guards --					PROXIMO		Release them!  Release them all!		ARM THEM!The guards sprint to the cells -- unlocking the gladiatorsas quickly as they can --Not quick enough for many -- Praetorians are now pouringpitch through the gutter that runs along the bottom of thecells -- igniting it and incinerating all those trappedinside --The compound is soon a raging inferno --Proximo releases Maximus and Juba --					PROXIMO		Come --					MAXIMUS		But --					PROXIMO		If you want to live -- follow me --					VIBIUS			(calling to them)		Go, Spaniard!  We'll show these		Roman dogs how gladiators fight!   Proximo hauls Maximus and Juba off as Vibius and the othergladiators arm themselves --INT.  TUNNELS - NIGHTProximo is leading Maximus and Juba quickly through adecaying cramped tunnel.					PROXIMO		All the old gladiator schools have		tunnels to the Colosseum -- most		have long since collapsed --					JUBA		How did they know?					MAXIMUS		We were betrayed.					JUBA			(stops)		I'll stay here.  In case they		follow.Maximus stops as well.					JUBA		Go!  Bring us the army!Maximus nods.					PROXIMO		Quickly --He leads Maximus down the disintegrating catacomb oftunnels --EXT.  PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - NIGHTVibius hoped to die fighting -- he never got the chance.It is not a battle, it is a slaughter.The Praetorians ruthlessly shoot anyone even approachingthe gates -- all the walls are covered -- most of thegladiators die in the hellish inferno -- the relentlessrain of flaming arrows continues --Vibius coughs in the thick smoke and rages for someone tofight -- Praetorian snipers cut him down -- he diesreaching for the statue of Mars.INT.  COLOSSEUM - SUBTERRANEAN - NIGHTProximo and Maximus emerge deep in the bowels of theColosseum.					PROXIMO			(points)		Down that corridor is the butchery		-- the blood sloughs lead to the		Tiber.  Gods watch over you.					MAXIMUS		You're not coming?					PROXIMO		They are killing my men!He races back into the tunnel.Maximus moves quickly down the corridor.  He can finallysee...INT.  COLOSSEUM - BUTCHERY - NIGHTGrisly carcasses of every description hang from hooks.Two bored butchers hack them up.  The good bits are tossedinto a wagon to fed to the Colosseum animals.  The wasteand offal are shoveled into a large sewer opening.  Abutcher occasionally lifts a sluice-gate and a gush ofwater flows into the sewer from above, washing down theblood and carcasses.Maximus crouches and creeps through the nightmare ofhanging carcasses and flies.When the butchers are looking elsewhere, Maximus creeps tothe sewer opening and climbs in -- he immediately slidesdown for a few yards in the slanting, slippery bloodsluice -- out of sight --Then he thuds to a stop.  He can go no further because theremains of an animal carcass blocks his way.  He tries toslither past the carcass --Finally, one of the butchers above lifts the sluice-gateand a torrent of water flows down.Maximus is washed down the hideous sewer.INT.  TUNNELS - NIGHTProximo and Juba are quickly marching back down the tunneltoward the compound -- they are very close now -- the roarof flame is heard -- the creak of falling timber -- andthe screams of burning men.  They run.They round a corner and see there is no way past the worldof flame ahead of them.  The tunnel to the compound hascollapsed.					PROXIMO		Gods... they're killing them all.Proximo leads them up a cramped stairway to...EXT.  STREET OUTSIDE PROXIMO'S COMPOUND - NIGHTThey emerge through a sewer entrance -- right into thearms of the Praetorian Guard.  Proximo and Juba are bound.Proximo sees his compound burning.  Sees the Praetorianarchers taking out any last survivors.  Hears the screams.INT./ EXT.  VARIOUS LOCATIONS - ARREST MONTAGE - NIGHTA quick sequence of brutal arrests as Praetorian Guardunits round up many associated with the plot.  And manythat are not.GAIUS' BEDROOM:  Gaius and his wife are yanked awake andhauled out.CHRISTIAN HOME:  A congregation of Christians is chainedtogether, their secret altar smashed.CAFE:  Greek Scholars are hauled away from their scrolls.STREET THEATER:  Actors are dragged off in the midst of aperformance.GRACCHUS' STEAM ROOM:  Gracchus is enjoying grapes withhis handsome catamite.  A unit of Praetorian bursts in.Gracchus looks at them.  Sighs.INT.  PALACE - THRONE ROOM - NIGHTCommodus stands with Lucius on a balcony overlooking thecity.The roaring flames of the fire at Proximo's compound caneasily be seen.					LUCIUS		What is that fire?					COMMODUS		Why that's a bonfire, Lucius.  I		arranged it just for you.He puts his hand on the boy's shoulder.Behind them, Lucilla sits slumped in a chair.  Her face isa mask of anguish at what she has been forced to do.Two Praetorians enter with a bucket.					PRAETORIAN		Caesar...Commodus goes to them.  He talks quietly with them for amoment and glances at what they are carrying.					COMMODUS		Oh... that's for my sister.They bring the bucket to Lucilla and set it before her.Commodus ignores her and goes back to Lucius on thebalcony.Lucilla glances inside the bucket...Captain Marcellus' head is floating in brine.  Lucillamoans.  All is lost.EXT.  TIBER RIVER - NIGHTMaximus splashes to the surface of the filthy Tiber,gasping for air.Animal carcasses float up next to him.  He grabs onto oneand floats down the gently flowing river.EXT.  ITALIAN FRONT - CAMP - DAWNThe Wolf of Rome sleeps.  Then its ears rise.  Then itshead.  It sniffs the air.  The wolf slowly rises andbegins loping through the camp.It passes slumbering soldiers and tents, smoke lazilydrifting up from campfires.The wolf finally stops and looks up.Maximus is on a horse.  He climbs down.  The wolf goes tohim and licks his hand.Maximus begins marching through the camp, the wolf at hisside.  Soldiers stir, amazed to see their General isalive.Gallus leaps up, stunned, and goes to Maximus.  Theycontinue to march through the camp, more and moreastonished soldiers joining them.They march toward the large tents at the center of theencampment.Titus emerges from his tent.  Slams to a stop --					TITUS		By all the Gods...He goes to Maximus and embraces him.					MAXIMUS		Old friend...					TITUS		You're returned from Hades!  By all		the Gods!					MAXIMUS		Where is he?Just then Quintus emerges from the largest tent.  Hestares at Maximus, unbelieving.A long beat as they look at each other.Quintus knows his destiny.  With quiet dignity he beginswhispering a prayer.  Maximus moves to him, embracing him:					MAXIMUS		I forgive you.He stabs Quintus with a dagger as he embraces him.Quintus falls.A beat.Titus goes to the dead Quintus and pulls the seal ofoffice from his uniform.  He hands it to Maximus.An enormous roar of celebration from the Felix Regiment.INT.  PALACE - COMMODUS' BEDROOM - MORNINGA castrati choir sings a gentle hymn of celebration.Their eerie voices and otherworldly harmonies undulatearound Commodus' bedroom.The Emperor himself is in a chair, wrapped in a robe.  Hisbody slaves work over him closely.He is staring into a mirror, lost in another world as theslaves carefully apply golden eye makeup to him.The castrati hymn continues...EXT.  OUTSIDE THE COLOSSEUM - DAYThe hymn is all we hear as we see crowds moving into theColosseum...It seems that all of Rome is here for this great day.Huge throngs of citizens move like a massive wave towardthe Colosseum entrances.  Vendors are doing briskbusiness.  Praetorian units in full dress uniform canterpast.We elegantly float up along the outer tiers of theColosseum and then glide over the edge to see the arenastands...EXT.  COLOSSEUM - DAYThe hymn is all we hear as we see...   The stands are filling.  We see the rich and poor alike.We see the orator Cassius.  We see Senator Falco and mostof the Senate.  We see the cohort of fifty Praetoriantaking up position around the Imperial Box.A golden platform, with stairs down to the arena sand, nowextends about twenty feet from the Imperial Box to a spotover the arena.We float down the stairs and then we see the arenaitself...It is stunning in its simplicity.The days victims are tied to posts in the center of thearena.  Suspended above them is an enormous cloud.  Athick, tumescent bladder painted to look like athreatening rain cloud.We see Proximo and Juba.  We see Senators Gracchus andGaius.  We see Gaius' wife and Gracchus catamite andChristian families and scholars and actors.Seven stylized hills surround them.The hymn comes to its soaring conclusion as we see thedamned.TIME CUT:Later.  By now, the Colosseum is packed.  All fifty-fivethousand seats are taken.  Another ten thousand standwherever they can.  A feral anticipation buzzes throughthe crowd.Outside the Colosseum, the streets are crowded withthousands more who couldn't get in.Trumpets blare.Commodus' six Centurion Body Guards stride into theImperial Box.Then Commodus enters.  He is shrouded in a full lion'sskin, the head of the lion concealing his own.  His headis down, he does not look up.Lucilla and Lucius enter after him and sit.  Lucilla'sface is drained, her eyes defeated.  Lucius is wearing aminiature set of Lorica Segmentata, complete withceremonial dagger.EXT.  ROMAN STREET - DAYA mangy dog is slowly crossing a dusty street on theoutskirts of Rome.  The street is deserted.  It seems thatalmost everyone is at the Colosseum.The dog stops.  Looks up.Then a sound is heard.  The steady cadence of horses'hooves.The Felix Regiment rounds a corner.  Maximus leads thecavalry.  He wears Lorica Segmentata.  His corps ofarchers and soldiers follow.  They troop down the dustystreet.Maximus and the cavalry canter past the mystified dog.QUICK CUTS:The Felix Regiment moves through the streets.  The fewpedestrians quickly disappear into shops and aroundcorners.  The roar of the Colosseum can be heard far inthe distance...Arrows slice into isolated Praetorian sentries.  The FelixRegiment continues its stealth invasion...Finally, Maximus reins his horse and his troops stop.The mounted City Guard are waiting.Without a word, the City Guard joins Maximus and the twocombined forces continue their inexorable march to theColosseum.EXT.  COLOSSEUM - DAYCommodus, still swathed in the lion skin, his head down,slowly walks out on the platform that now extends from theImperial Box.The crowd grows hushed.Commodus reaches the end of the platform and waits for amoment.  Then he dramatically flings off the lion skin.The crowd gasps.He is almost naked, his entire chiseled body is painted ingold.  His eyes are lost in an eerie reverie as he looksaround at his people.He finally speaks:					COMMODUS			(serene)		Rome... This is the day that was		foretold.  This is the day when your		father takes away all fear...			(he holds up his			hands)		With these hands I shall destroy		your enemies so that you may sleep		always and forever in peace.  From		this day forth let it be known that		I, Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus,		have surmounted mortality.  That I,		Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus,		assume my destined place... at the		side of the Gods.The crowd is stunned.  A few scattered laughs.Lucilla stares at him, disbelieving.					COMMODUS		And as a righteous God, I shall ever		protect you.  I shall cradle the		world on my benevolent hands and		clasp it to my heart.  So I have		spoken!  And let the heavens tremble		at my might!EXT.  ROMAN STREETS - DAYMaximus continues to lead the combined Felix Regiment andCity Guard cavalry through the streets.  The roaring iscloser now.  They are nearing the Colosseum, they can justglimpse the edge of the top tier over some building.EXT.  COLOSSEUM - DAYCommodus continues:					COMMODUS		This day I reclaim Rome for her		people.  I shall give you the		rebirth of your Empire!  Reborn and		cleansed of her enemies!He raises his arms.  At his cue the Praetorian archersraise their bows, ready, aiming at the victims.					COMMODUS		I will make a new Rome!  Founded as		it was at the beginning!  Archers --		GIVE US BLOOD!The Praetorians suddenly point their bows higher andfire --They shoot the cloud -- the bladder EXPLODES and thickblood rains down on the victims -- the blood splashes overthem, coating them.EXT.  OUTSIDE COLOSSEUM - DAYThe roar from the Colosseum is now deafening as Maximusand the City Guard round the final corner -- the Colosseumis before them -- the massive Praetorian Guard force iscaught of guard -- with crisp military efficiency theFelix Regiment and the City Guard quickly canter intoplace, an unbroken line of seasoned warriors facing thePraetorians.The huge mob outside the Colosseum is confused, intrigued,watching the face-off.  The mounted archers of the FelixRegiment have drawn their bows.Maximus looks down from his horse at a Praetorian Officer.					MAXIMUS		Throw down your weapons or we will		kill you.A beat.The Praetorian Officer glances at the formidable forceagainst him.  He drops his sword.  His men follow suit.					MAXIMUS			(he turns to his men)		FELIX REGIMENT!  DO HONOR TO YOUR		ANCESTORS!  I SALUTE YOU!He spurs his horse and the Felix Regiment roars, springinginto action -- they gallop through the crowd and to theColosseum -- meanwhile the City Guard disarm and guard thePraetorian --EXT.  COLOSSEUM - DAYCommodus continues:					COMMODUS		As it was at the beginning so is it		now.  The great She-Wolf of Rome		will again suckle us, again ravage		our enemies -- AND BRING US A WORLD		REBORN!At his cue, two elevator platforms rumble into view,rising from the bowels of the Colosseum to the arena sand.On each platform is a cage full of ferocious wolves, theysnap and growl, straining to be released.					COMMODUS		So it was for Romulus and Remus,		sons of Mars, so shall it be for us!		The great She-Wolf will --Suddenly -- the huge wooden doors of the arena burst openand Maximus leads the Felix Regiment cavalry thunderinginto the arena.The crowd is stunned -- Commodus is stunned -- Lucillabolts up --Commodus immediately spins to Lucilla, his eyes burning --His Praetorian are momentarily confused --At Gallus' command the Felix Regiment archers let fly --multiple arrows and bolts cut through most of thePraetorians -- some confusing skirmishes as the remainingPraetorians fire back --Maximus leaps from his horse and begins cutting theprisoners free --Meanwhile, Commodus strides back down the platform towardLucilla in the Imperial Box, murder in his eyes --She suddenly hugs Lucius quickly and kisses him --					LUCILLA		Remember your mother.She pulls the ceremonial dagger from his little uniformand pushes him to his attendant -- his attendant pulls himaway as --Lucilla spins to Commodus -- he grabs her into an embrace-- he turns the knife on her -- thrusting deeply as hekisses her --A long kiss as he holds her tightly to him.  Then hegently sits her down on her throne.  Her eyes wide, dying.One of Commodus' Body Guards grabs him:					CENTURION BODY GUARD		Caesar -- we must go -- !Commodus' six Centurion Body Guards begin hustling him outof the Imperial Box --					COMMODUS		GET THE BOY!He grabs Lucius from his attendant and drags him off --They try to escape out the back of the Imperial Box -- butFelix Regiment troops are blocking their way -- racing uptoward them --					CENTURION BODY GUARD		THIS WAY, CAESAR!Below, through the confusion, Maximus sees Commodusescaping with Lucius down through a side tunnel.Maximus cuts Juba and Proximo free.  Juba immediatelysnatches up a sword.  Maximus quickly offers a sword toProximo.					MAXIMUS		Captain?Proximo takes the sword.					MAXIMUS			(re: Commodus and			the others)		Where are they going?!					PROXIMO		This way!They race across the arena and into a tunnel...INT.  COLOSSEUM - BOWELS - DAYProximo leads them through a series of catacombs -- damptunnels shoot off in every direction -- everywhere aroundthem the heavy machinery of the games rise like mammothcreatures to the arena above -- a baroque network of ropesand pulleys and counterweights and elevator platforms andair shafts and blood sewers -- And they suddenly rundirectly into Commodus, dragging Lucius, and his sixCenturions coming the other direction.The final battle begins with no preamble --Maximus launches himself forward -- instantly separatingCommodus and Lucius -- he slams at Commodus with his sword-- Commodus slams back --Proximo and Juba race into the six Centurions -- a wildfree-for-all as they prove their worth as warriors -- Jubafights with his usual elegant precision -- Proximo fightsas a man reborn, alive again --Proximo takes cagey advantage of his knowledge of thissubterranean world -- spinning around machinery andleaping over blood sewers and swinging heavycounterweights --Maximus and Commodus hack at each other with all the fierypassion in them -- Commodus is a perfect match for Maximusand equally ruthless -- their swords thrust and parry andslice at amazing speed -- one false move, one mistake,means death --Meanwhile, the battle is turning into a victory for Jubaand Proximo -- they are defeating the Centurions --Commodus sees this -- and sees Lucius crying in acorner --He screams to one of his remaining Centurions:					COMMODUS		KILL THE BOY!Maximus whirls to Lucius -- Commodus attacks -- slashingMaximus' shoulders -- Maximus sees Proximo racing to tryand save Lucius as he spins back to battle Commodus --A Centurion raises his sword to kill Lucius -- Juba killshis final opponent, turns -- Proximo just manages to pushLucius out of the way -- the Centurion's sword slices intohim --Juba flings his sword across the room -- the finalCenturion falls --Maximus sees Proximo collapse to a wall -- dying --Proximo locks eyes with Maximus as he slides down thewall.  The old pirate shrugs.  And is dead.Juba races to Lucius and holds the boy, turning his faceaway from the slaughter --Maximus, his furious passion redoubled at Proximo's death,attacks Commodus with every ounce of strength in him --Commodus' eyes begin to flash with something we have neverseen before, fear.Maximus strikes mercilessly -- forcing Commodus steadilyback until they are fighting atop one of the elevatorplatforms to the arena above.					MAXIMUS		For my wife!Maximus strike hard -- Commodus barely blocks the blow --					MAXIMUS		For my son!He strikes harder -- Commodus is losing --					MAXIMUS		For my father!He strikes with everything he's got -- slashing Commodus-- Commodus sails back -- his sword falling --Maximus stands over him.  Glaring.  Commodus is panting,defeated, glaring up at him.A beat.					MAXIMUS		We who are about to die salute you.Maximus raises his sword high -- Commodus raises an arm --Maximus SMASHES the sword down -- and Commodus is dead.A moment as Maximus stands over Commodus.  Then he looksat the series of counterweight ropes around the elevatorplatform.He slices through one of the ropes and the platform beginsto rise...EXT.  COLOSSEUM - ARENA - DAYA trap door springs open and the elevator platform risesto the sand of the arena.  Maximus stands above the deadEmperor.The crowd stares in amazement -- and then begins to cheerin joy at the return of their hero.  A chant begins..."Maximus the Merciful... Maximus the Merciful... Maximusthe Merciful..." which then grows to a refrain of"Caesar... Caesar... Caesar..."Maximus ignores them, his eyes drawn to one sight:Lucilla.He goes to the steps of the platform leading to theImperial Box.  He slowly climbs the steps.In the Imperial Box, Senator Gracchus is standing.  So tooJuba and others.Lucius is kneeling by his mother, holding her hand, hishead down.  Lucilla is dead.  Lucius mourns with quietdignity.Maximus looks at Lucilla and kneels.  He takes her otherhand.  A long moment.  He looks at Lucius.Then he slowly bends forward and kisses Lucilla deeply,the ritual farewell.He stands.Senator Gracchus steps to him:					GRACCHUS		General, the purple is yours if you		so desire.  The Senate will support		you.Maximus looks at him.  And then at the people.  The chantof "Caesar... Caesar... Caesar..." is like a powerfulbeating heart.Maximus moves to the edge of the Imperial Box to addressthe people.  The crowd grows silent.Maximus looks around at the blood of the arena.					MAXIMUS		Rome... you are better than this.		Look inside yourselves.  I challenge		you to find your true voice.  Help		the Senate speak for you.  Make them		your champion... And dare to think		what could be.A beat.					MAXIMUS		I give you back the dream.With that he slowly turns and walks down the steps to thearena sand.  The crowd is absolutely silent.He goes to Titus:					MAXIMUS		When everything has calmed down,		lead an orderly withdrawal.  Take		them home.Titus salutes.Maximus return the salute and then leaps onto his horse.As he canters toward the exit he turns for one final lookat Lucilla.He sees that Lucius is now at the foot of the stairs, onthe arena sand, gazing at him.Maximus stops his horse.He canters back to Lucius.  The boy looks up at him.  Amoment between them.Lucius thrusts up his hand.  Maximus grabs his hand andswings him onto the horse behind him.A look to Juba.  Juba bows his head with respect.Farewell.Maximus spins the horse around and begins cantering out ofthe Colosseum.Juba disappears into the crowd.Maximus and Lucius canter across the arena and through thehuge doors...EXT.  COLOSSEUM - DAYFrom high above we see Maximus and Lucius riding out ofthe Colosseum and disappearing into the streets of Rome.								FADE TO:EXT.  VINEYARD - DAWNMaximus stands with Lucius at his old vineyard.It is still scorched and dead, weeds overgrowing thevineyards, the house ruined.Maximus puts a hand on the boy's shoulder, this boy solike his own son.					MAXIMUS		It doesn't look it now... but soon		we'll have it growing again... Next		year there will be vines, and then		there will be grapes... It will be		alive.We leave them, dreaming of the future.								FADE OUT.					THE END
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+                                       GRAND HOTEL                                        Written by                                       Bela Balazs                          Based on the play "Menschen im Hotel"                                      By Vicki Baum                                     American version                                   By William A. Drake                                                               SHOOTING DRAFT                                                         PROLOGUE               Berlin.               Season is March.               Action of the picture takes place in approximately 36 hours.               Picture commences at approximately 12:35 in the day.               Time: The Present.                               EXTERIOR REVOLVING DOOR               Show general natural action of people going in and people                coming out but in it is the definite inference of people                arriving and people leaving the big hotel.               MOVE INSIDE THROUGH THE REVOLVING DOOR -- very quickly. CAMERA                PAUSES ON THE THRESHOLD like a human being, seeing and                hearing.               DISSOLVE OUT.               DISSOLVE INTO: Clock. It is twenty minutes to one -- and                then moves slowly into the crowd of busy mid-day business                jumble.               CAMERA pushes through crowd and passes by the foot of the                steps that lead up to the restaurant. In its journey, it                passes Kringelein looking up. He is not pointed.               THE CAMERA then saunters -- getting a slow profile movement                across -- near Senf's desk. Senf is very busy. THE CAMERA                now passes -- profile -- the desk of Senf. General action.                Senf stands before his background of slots and keys. WE                PROCEED until we are facing the elevator.               At that moment the elevator is opening. Among the people who                emerge is Suzette, who moves too quickly for us to distinguish                who she is.               THE CAMERA PANS quickly with her and in the distance we hear                her saying to Senf:                                     SUZETTE                         Madam Grusinskaya will not want her                          car.               This line is only just above the general clatter of action                but it is picked-up sharply first by Senf then by Bell-Captain --                and as the CAMERA SLOWLY TURNS AROUND, we see the boy going                towards the door and we hear the voice in the distance,                saying:                                     VOICE                         Cancel Madam Grusinskaya's car.               The CAMERA now backs away from the scene into the BAR. (a                section.) It backs to the back of the bar and proceeds -- in                profile -- behind the backs of the barmen. A mixed crowd of                people drinking before their lunch.               We pick up the Doctor, leaning his head upon his hands,                looking into space. The woman next to him, a noisy blonde,                is laughing. The doctor glances up at her -- she glances at                the doctor. She and the audience see the scarred side of his                face -- the laugh dies on her lips and she turns suddenly to                her companion, who is the Baron. We do not get much of a                chance to see him because at that instant he is glancing at                his watch, his shoulders are turning away from THE CAMERA                and he moves out towards the lobby.               BACK UP a few feet and LAP DISSOLVE as you move into the                main aisle of busy room in restaurant. Great activity of                waiters. The bustle and activity of fashionable lunchtime. A                string orchestra is playing.               Among other things, we pick up the smiling face of the pompous                Maitre d'hotel, he has apparently just shown someone important                to a table.               THE CAMERA watches his face and follows him. His face just                as CAMERA reaches service table. The pompous Maitre d'hotel                now becomes a thing of drama as he demands of a waiter:                                     MAITRE D'HOTEL                         Where is that gentleman's soup?               The waiter, frightened and perspiring, doesn't bother to                argue -- he tears off quickly (CAMERA FOLLOWING HIM) to                another service table. The waiter seizes buss-boy's arm:                                     WAITER                         Where's that soup?               Boy goes off at great rate of speed, CAMERA FOLLOWS HIM,                into service room of kitchen. Boy stops at soup chef's                counter. He is not the only waiter wanting soup at that                moment. He pushes his way to the front and puts his ticket                forward.                                     BOY                         Quick -- come on -- come on...               The soup chef, used to impatient waiters, makes no exception                of the young man. He looks at him as much as to say: "I'll                slap you on the mouth." At the same time he is pulling over                a cauldron of soup.                                                                    CUT TO:               CAULDRON OF SOUP being pulled over -- it dislodges a small                cauldron that is near the edge. We see the soup fall and                hear the scream of a woman before showing her agonized face --                She has been scalded. General steamy confusion. The chef has                filled the plate. WE PROCEED the buss-boy out. Half way down                the aisle, the waiter takes it from him.               THE CAMERA follows the waiter who places the soup before Mr.                Preysing. Preysing has been waiting, with his serviette                carefully tucked in his collar. His spoon is in his hand. A                horrible man, ready for action. The soup is in front of him,                he tastes it, pushes it away, frowns, we feel he is going to                tear the place down.                                     WAITER                              (anxious voice)                         Yes.                                     PREYSING                              (grimly)                         Cold.                                     VOICE                              (near Preysing's elbow)                         Mr. Preysing...                                     PREYSING                              (in same voice)                         Yes...                                     BELLBOY                         Telephone -- from Fredersdorf --               Preysing rises, struts from restaurant. CAMERA FOLLOWS HIM --                He walks out through the door...                                                     DISSOLVE OUT AND INTO:               Between two operators heads. Odd effect at board. CAMERA                TILTS UP as Preysing's head looks right down at girl.               Bellboy is with Preysing.                                     BELLBOY                         Mr. Preysing from Fredersdorf -- his                          call.                                     GIRL                         Yes, Mr. Preysing --               Preysing begins drumming his fingers on the top of                switchboard.                                     GIRL                              (nervously)                         They've gone -- Just a moment, sir...                                     PREYSING                              (to boy)                         You told me it was on -- you said                          the call was through.                              (he waits irritably)                                     SECOND GIRL                              (to first)                         Who's in number three?                                     FIRST GIRL                         Senf -- the hall porter.                              (Girl looks off at...)                                                                    CUT TO:               SENF IN TELEPHONE BOOTH                                     SENF                         Yes, it's Senf, the head porter,                          Grand Hotel... Are you at the                          Clinic?,... How's my wife?,... Is                          she in pain?,... Isn't the child                          coming soon?,... Patience! It's easy                          for you to talk... Get away?,... No,                          I can't -- I'd lose my job. It's                          like being in jail. Oh, I hope the                          child comes along all right.               At the conclusion of Senf's speech, CAMERA MOVES TO NEXT                BOOTH. Thru the glass door we see Preysing approaching from                desk. He enters booth and commences conversation:                                     PREYSING                         Hello! Long Distance?,... Get off                          the wire... No... I was talking to                          Fredersdorf... What?,... Oh...                          Hello!... Is that you dear?... How                          is everything at home?... What do                          you hear from the factory?... No...                          How are the children?... I left my                          shaving set at home... Yes, is your                          father there?... Hello, father?...                          Our stock has gone down twenty-three                          points. If our merger with the Saxonia                          doesn't go through -- I don't know                          what we can do... Hello, hello...                          yes, papa. Rely on me -- everything                          depends on Manchester... If they                          refuse to come in -- well, we will                          be in bad shape... no... Rely on me,                          I'll make it go through -- I'll make                          it go through... Waiting?... Yes,                          I'm still speaking...               THE CAMERA THEN PANS TO Suzette. Suzette is already in the                booth and she is waiting for Mr. Meierheim to come on.                                     SUZETTE                              (starting to speak)                         Hello, Mr. Meierheim?... Is that,                          Mr. Meierheim?... This is Suzette...                          Suzette, Madam Grusinskaya's maid...                          No... Madam Grusinskaya will not go                          to the rehearsal... No... Madam is                          in a terrible state, she didn't sleep                          all night -- She's very tired... No,                          I'm speaking from a booth -- I didn't                          want to speak in front of her... I                          gave her a tablet of veronal... She's                          sleeping now... You had better come                          to the hotel, I'm afraid...               PAN TO BARON just entering booth. He is lighting a cigarette.                (receiver down - trick)                                     BARON                              (speaking into                               telephone)                         Baron Gaigern speaking. Yes, Baron                          Gaigern himself. Where are you?,...                          Good... No -- first, I need money. I                          need it right now. I have to make a                          showing... That's my business. I                          hope to do it tonight... at the                          theatre or after the show... But                          money -- for the hotel bill, for                          tips... I don't need advice, I need                          money!... Now, listen...               PAN TO KRINGELEIN - booth.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Who is that, This is... Hello,                          hello!... Who is that... Heinrich?                          This is Kringelein. Hello, Heinrich.                          This is Otto Kringelein. Hello! Can                          you hear me?... I've got to speak                          very quickly. Every minute costs two                          marks ninety... What?... Otto                          Kringelein! Yes, I'm in Berlin,                          staying at the best hotel, the Grand                          Hotel... No, don't you understand? I                          want to explain, but I must do so                          quickly, it costs so much. Please                          don't interrupt me -- hello? Hello!                          Listen! You know that will I made                          before my operation? I gave it to                          you. I want you to tear it up. Destroy                          it. Because, listen, I came to Berlin                          to see a great specialist about that                          old trouble of mine... It's pretty                          bad, Heinrich. The specialist says I                          can't live much longer.                              (louder)                         I haven't long to live! That's what's                          the matter! Hello, hello. Are you on                          the line? No, it isn't nice to be                          told a thing like that. All sorts of                          things run through your head. I am                          going to stay here in Berlin. I am                          never coming back to Fredersdorf.                          Never! I want to get something out                          of life, too. You plague, and bother,                          and save -- and all of a sudden you                          are dead. Heinrich... You don't say                          anything. I am in the Grand Hotel,                          do you understand, the most expensive                          hotel in Berlin? I'm going to get a                          room here. The very best people stay                          here. Our big boss, Preysing, too. I                          saw him -- not five minutes after I                          was here. Sometime, I'd like to tell                          him exactly what I think of him.                          Listen, Heinrich -- I have taken all                          my savings; my life insurance, too;                          I cashed in all my policies, the                          sick benefit fund, the old age                          pension, the unemployment insurance,                          the burial fund and everything...                          What's that, miss?... Hello, Heinrich.                          I have to hang up now. I have to pay                          three times overcharge. Just think,                          Heinrich! There's music here all day                          long. And in the evening, they go                          around in full dress... Yes, sometimes                          I have pain, but I can stand it.                          Everything is frightfully expensive                          here. You can imagine, the Grand                          Hotel... What? Time's up...               Near the conclusion of Kringelein's speech, we see the Doctor                approaching through Kringelein's booth. He is looking down                at something.                                                                    CUT TO:               COMPLETE REVERSE - MATCH SHOT - SHOOT THEM BOTH TOGETHER               Doctor is looking down at parcel. Kringelein's voice on same                track. CAMERA BACKS UP. Show doctor as he passes various                booths -- voices of respective people come up sharply.                                     KRINGELEIN                         I'm a sick man -- Heinrich -- Hello -                          hello -- Operator -- every minute                          two marks ninety.               Doctor passes Baron's booth next.                                     BARON                         Dangerous?... That's my business...                          I'll do it tonight -- ...I'll do it                          alone.               Doctor passes Suzette's booth.                                     SUZETTE                         Madam is afraid -- she will never                          dance again -- there was no applause                          last night --               Doctor passes Preysing's booth.                                     PREYSING                         Yes -- the merger -- Manchester --                          it is my business as much as yours --                          we've already lost eighty-five                          thousand --               Doctor passes Senf's booth.                                     SENF                         I'm on duty -- I can't leave the                          Grand Hotel -- it's like being in                          prison -- the baby --               Doctor crosses to telephone operator:                                     DOCTOR                              (to operator)                         Any calls?                                     GIRL                         No, Doctor.                                     DOCTOR                              (half to himself)                         Grand Hotel -- people -- coming --                          going... Who cares... nothing ever                          happens.               FADE OUT.                                      SEQUENCE "#1"               FACADE OF HOTEL               showing electric sign -- odd angle -- THE GRAND HOTEL --                unlighted.                                                                    CUT TO:               ELECTRIC CONTROL ROOM               small section -- Engineer pulling down lever.               FACADE OF HOTEL               sign flashes on.                                                              DISSOLVE OUT:               DISSOLVE INTO: EXTERIOR HOTEL               Shooting directly on swinging door -- normal crowd action.                Tea-dansant at this hour is daily rendezvous for smart demi-               mondaines, gigolos, out-of-town travelers, etc. -- These                types indicated.               In the distance we hear music.                                                      DISSOLVE SUDDENLY TO:               YELLOWROOM - NEAR SHOT OF BAND               This same music is being played by the Eastman Jazz Band in                the Yellow Room of the hotel.               THE CAMERA does not wait but backs down the room. It is the                hour of the tea-dansant.               As the CAMERA IS BACKING OUT OF THE ROOM which is in reality                the restaurant converted -- the tall figure of the Baron --                he proceeds through the door of the restaurant --               Note: Question here as to whether Yellow Room will be the                restaurant converted, or not. In which case it will be                necessary to add scene of Baron walking through corridor                upstairs -- giving sense of distance.               The Baron is whistling the tune of the orchestra, he proceeds                through the lobby as if on a mission. He glances at a pretty                woman who passes and nods good evening to the Doctor, who is                seated in his chair, not far from the desk. He enters.                                                                    CUT TO:               FLORIST SHOP               Pretty girl is there, she has seen him coming. She turns                from the door and hands him a box of orchids, already tied                in ribbon.                                     BARON                         Good little girl -- nice ones?                                     GIRL                         Yes, Baron.               The Baron would stay and flirt but he has a mission; he                leaves.                                                                    CUT TO:               LOBBY               In the lobby we pick up the Baron leaving the florists with                small box of flowers -- he crosses quickly to Senf's desk.               SHOT OVER SENF'S HEAD as the Baron puts the flowers down.                Senf is busy.               The Baron is whistling gaily -- tapping his fingers on the                flower box -- he is good-natured and patient.                                     SENF                              (to Clerk -- as                               telephone bell rings)                         Is that for me?                                     CLERK                         No -- Madam Grusinskaya's car is to                          be brought.                              (he replaces the                               receiver)                                     SENF                              (to one of the bellboys)                         Madam Grusinskaya's car is to be                          brought.               Boy leaves. We hear his voice out of scene at the door.                                     BELLBOY'S VOICE                         Madam Grusinskaya's car... to be                          brought.                                     SENF                         Good evening, Baron.                                     BARON                              (amiably)                         Good evening. Will you send these up                          to Madam Grusinskaya?                                     SENF                         Yes, Baron.                              (he hands the box of                               flowers to the clerk)                         Madam Grusinskaya.               Clerk hands box to bellboy.                                     CLERK                         Room one-seventy -- Madam Grusinskaya.                                     BARON                              (to Senf)                         Have you my tickets for the theatre?                                     SENF                         Oh yes, Baron --                              (to Clerk)                         Baron von Gaigern's seats for Madam                          Grusinskaya.               Telephone rings again. Clerk picks it up.                                     SENF                              (to Clerk)                         For me?                                     CLERK                              (at telephone -- shakes                               his head)                         No -- Madam Grusinskaya's car is not                          to be brought.                                     SENF                              (to boy)                         Madam Grusinskaya's car is not to be                          brought.               The Clerk hands Senf the tickets which Senf hands to the                Baron.                                     BARON                         Charge them...               As the Baron is picking up his tickets he looks around quickly                as he hears the voice of Pimenov, who has arrived apparently                from his afternoon walk from the rehearsal at the theatre.                                     PIMENOV                              (to Senf)                         Good evening -- my key -- one sixty-                         eight.                                     BARON                         Good evening, Mr. Pimenov.                                     PIMENOV                         Oh -- good evening, Baron.                                     BARON                         How's the beautiful lady?                                     PIMENOV                         Grusinskaya -- well, to tell the                          truth, Baron -- tonight we are a                          little bit nervous. Were you at the                          theatre last night?                                     BARON                         Certainly -- always when Grusinskaya                          dances.                                     PIMENOV                         Well -- last night was not so good.                                     BARON                         I thought she was splendid!                                     PIMENOV                         Yes -- but the audience.               At that moment they are interrupted by a vehement little                Japanese with his wife. They are arguing with the Clerk. The                Japanese speaks in Japanese to his wife.                                     CLERK                              (to Japanese)                         The parquot loges are behind the                          parquet chairs.                                     JAPANESE                         Then they've put me back and I want                          to be up in front. How is that, chairs                          in front of loges?               Senf is speaking to a lady at the same time.                                     SENF                         The train leaves at seven-thirty,                          Madam. That is the only through train --                          the dining car goes along.               The Baron and Pimenov exchange glances as the little Japanese                speaks volubly to his wife.                                     BARON                              (sarcastically)                         It's always so quiet here.                                     PIMENOV                         If you occupied the room next to                          Madam Grusinskaya, you would                          appreciate the quiet of a hotel lobby.                                     BARON                         My dear sir, I would gladly change                          rooms with you.                                     PIMENOV                              (effeminately)                         No doubt you would, Baron. But do                          you know, I'm quite indispensable to                          her. I'm her ballet master and her                          nurse. I hardly belong to myself                          anymore. But, there you are, it's                          Grusinskaya -- you can't help adoring                          her.               At that moment, Zinnowitz pushes past them.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Pardon me.                              (addressing Senf)                         Is Mr. Preysing in -- I am Doctor                          Zinnowitz.                                     SENF                              (to bellboy)                         Mr. Preysing -- from Fredersdorf --                                     BELLBOY                              (quickly -- paging)                         Mr. Preysing --               Preysing steps quickly into scene.                                     PREYSING                         Ach! Here you are, Doctor Zinnowitz.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Have I kept you waiting?                                     PREYSING                         Waiting -- I'm waiting for news from                          Manchester.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         No news yet?                                     PREYSING                         No. No word.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Everything depends on the Manchester                          merger.                                     PREYSING                         I know -- I know.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         I saw Gerstenkorn at lunch -- and as                          your lawyer I made it my business to                          broach the matter ---               As they begin to move out of scene, Zinnowitz calls back to                Senf.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         I'm expecting a young woman -- a                          stenographer -- she will ask for Mr.                          Preysing. Ask her to wait.                                     SENF                         Yes, Doctor Zinnowitz.               As they move out of scene, telephone bell goes.                                     SENF                              (to Clerk)                         For me?                                     CLERK                         No -- letters to two-eighty.                                     SENF                              (to Clerk)                         If a young woman, a stenographer, --                          etc.               This just covers the scene.               The Baron and Pimenov are laughing at something one of them                has said which brings our attention to them again.               At that moment the Doctor enters the scene.                                     DOCTOR                         Any letters?                                     SENF                         No, Doctor.                                     DOCTOR                         Telegrams?                                     SENF                         No, Doctor.                                     DOCTOR                         Anyone asked for me?                                     SENF                         Nobody, Doctor.               The Doctor turns slowly away, taking out a cigarette with                his one hand.                                     BARON                              (glancing at Doctor)                         The war.                                     PIMENOV                              (looking up from his                               letter -- glances                               off at the doctor)                         That is Doctor Otternschlag -- You                          know him?                                     BARON                         Yes -- He always seems to be waiting                          for something -- and nothing ever                          comes.                                     PIMENOV                         The war dropped him here and forgot                          him.                                     BARON                              (beams)                         Yes, I was in the war.               CUT IN: FLASH OF DOCTOR --               He turns as he hears the Baron say this.               He pulls at his cigarette and looks grimly at the Baron...                then he looks off at Kringelein -- who is trying to get                Rohna's attention (the reception Clerk) -- at the reception                desk, which adjoins that of Senf's.                                     KRINGELEIN'S VOICE                         Please -- please pay some attention                          to me -- I have no time.               Pan back to desk:                                     ROHNA                              (engaged with a lady                               and gentleman, who                               have just arrived)                         If you will wait one moment, sir.                                     KRINGELEIN                         I won't wait -- I can't wait -- I                          waited three days before I got a                          room at all and what a room that is.                                     ROHNA                         It's a very nice room and inexpensive,                          sir.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Did I say I wanted a cheap room to                          live in -- when I came here did I                          ask for a cheap room? Did I?               Rohna, sensing a scene with this strange dirty little                gentleman, looks furtively around for the manager.                                     ROHNA                         Just one moment, sir.                                     KRINGELEIN                         No, I won't wait -- I can't -- Every                          day is precious -- every hour --                          Every minute.               Second Clerk is looking straight at him.               Kringelein turns his attention directly to this man and                proceeds:                                     KRINGELEIN                         I came here because I wanted to live                          here, two weeks, maybe three -- God                          only knows -- I've told you I'll pay --                          I'll pay anything you ask. I'm tired --                          I'm ill -- I can't wait.               As he finishes the Doctor draws into the scene -- he is                watching.               Assistant Manager enters.                                     ASSISTANT MANAGER                         Has the gentleman a complaint?               Rohna and Kringelein speak together.                                     ROHNA                         The gentleman is dissatisfied with                          room number five fifty-nine.                                     KRINGELEIN                         I certainly have a complaint -- and                          a fair one.               He senses an audience and warms up. The Baron and Pimenov                enter the scene. The lady and gentleman have turned. The                bellboy stands watching curiously and even Senf pauses and                looks up.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (continuing)                         I came here from a long distance to                          stay at the Grand Hotel. I want a                          room -- a big room -- like you would                          give General Director Preysing --                          I'm as good as Mr. Preysing -- I can                          pay like Mr. Preysing -- would you                          give him a little room, way up in                          the corner with the hot water pipes                          going -- bang -- bang -- bang...                              (he bangs at the desk                               with his fist)                                     DOCTOR                         This gentleman can have my room.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (turning)                         Oh!                                     DOCTOR                         Send his bags up to my room.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh -- but -- I --                                     DOCTOR                         You're tired. I can see that.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Yes -- yes -- I am tired. I have                          been ill...                                     DOCTOR                         You are ill.               During this scene the manager has been talking with Rohna                quietly. The manager how turns.                                     MANAGER                         Mr. Kringelein will take room number                          one-seventy-six, one of our most                          expensive rooms. It is large and on                          the front with bath.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (subdued -- exhausted --)                         Does that mean that the bath is my                          own? --- Private?                                     MANAGER                         Certainly, sir.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Well, now, that's very kind -- thanks.                          That's what I want -- a large room                          on the front with a private bath --                          Yes, that's what I want. I can pay                          now if you like.               He takes out his wallet and nervously commences to extract                money.                                     DOCTOR                         That will not be necessary.               The manager is instructing the bellboy to take Kringelein to                the new room.               Kringelein accidentally drops a bill -- the Baron, who has                noticed the money, stoops to pick it up.               In bending himself, Kringelein drops his hat.               Baron picks up the hat and considerately brushes it with his                sleeve.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Thank you, sir.                                     BARON                              (amused)                         Not at all, sir.                              (he beams)                                     KRINGELEIN                              (finding a friendly                               face)                         Permit me -- my name is Kringelein --                          from Fredersdorf.                                     BARON                         I'm Baron von Gaigern.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, a Baron!                              (he is impressed)               Baron catches the mood of making this gentleman suddenly                popular.                                     BARON                         And this is Doctor Otternschlag.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (turning to Doctor)                         Oh -- Doctor -- you are a Doctor --                          I am --                                     DOCTOR                         I know -- I know -- when a man's                          collar is an inch too big for him --                          I know he is ill.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Yes -- Oh -- oh -- yes, --                              (his finger goes                               nervously to his                               collar)               Zinnowitz passes through scene quickly on his way out.               At that moment, Pimenov returns from the news-stand, where                he has bought the evening papers.                                     PIMENOV                         Well, Baron -- I must go and dress.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (to doctor)                         Is this gentleman a Baron, too?                                     PIMENOV                              (laughing)                         Unfortunately no.               The Manager comes into scene.                                     MANAGER                         Will Mr. Kringelein kindly register.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Again?                                     MANAGER                         Please.               Kringelein turns to the desk. The Doctor turns up with him.               At that moment the Baron's chauffeur touches his arm.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         Have you a minute now?                                     BARON                         No -- I told you not to come in this                          lobby.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         Time's getting short.                                     BARON                         I've told you a hundred times not to                          speak to me with a cigarette in your                          mouth.               Chauffeur takes the cigarette out of his mouth -- but still                holds it in his hand.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         I want to speak --                                     BARON                         Not now.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         Yes, sir.               The Baron leaves.               General moving off, towards elevator, of Baron, Pimenov,                Kringelein and the Doctor.               SENF'S DESK               On another shot, shooting profile onto Senf's desk, bring in                Flaemmchen. Flaemmchen enters. Her back to CAMERA.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (we hear her ask)                         Mr. Preysing.                                     SENF                         Will you wait please.                                     CLERK                         The stenographer is to go up -- Mr.                          Preysing telephoned.                                     SENF                         Mr. Preysing -- one sixty-four.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Thanks --                              (calling off to                               elevator)                         Heigh! -- Wait!               She crosses to elevator.               THE CAMERA RUSHES UP BEHIND HER, ALMOST PUSHING INTO ELEVATOR                WITH HER.               As she enters the elevator and the gate shuts, she turns                around, back pressed against the Baron -- who is looking                down at her. The look on her face is the look we often see                on Flaemmchen's in elevators when they are pressed.               NOTE: Good introduction, for Flaemmchen.               The lift ascends.               UPPER CORRIDOR               Flaemmchen steps out of the lift. She is looking around for                the numbers. She moves out of scene.               The Doctor, Kringelein and the bellboy with the bag, move                straight down the hall.               Pimenov is chatting volubly.                                     PIMENOV                              (to Baron)                         Poor Grusinskaya -- how can she                          receive anyone. She can't -- theatre,                          trains, hotels -- hotels, trains                          theatre.               We see Flaemmchen being directed by the floor clerk to Mr.                Preysing's room.                                     PIMENOV                              (continuing)                         I must go and dress -- she'll be                          waking up and calling for me.               He proceeds up the passage, pompously, humming the air of                his ballet.               At that moment, Flaemmchen, who has been directed to                Preysing's door, by floor clerk, passes the Baron and there                is an amusing exchange of glances between them.               Flaemmchen knocking at Preysing's door hears a voice.                                     PREYSING'S VOICE                         Come in.               She opens the door.                                                                    CUT TO:               PREYSING'S ROOM               Preysing has had a bath and is actually steaming from it. He                stands before a long mirror, rubbing himself with a towel.               He sees her through the mirror, wraps the towel around him                very cutely, for a big man, and turns upon her.                                     PREYSING                         What...! --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         I'm the stenographer.                                     PREYSING                         Then you will please wait outside.               He is very much affronted.               Flaemmchen, who has seen many large gentlemen in the                altogether --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (lightly)                         Don't hurry -- take your time.               She goes out of the room and shuts the door.                                                                    CUT TO:               UPPER CORRIDOR               Flaemmchen emerges from Preysing's room.               Baron loitering in the hall. (Whistling as outlined). Baron                approaches, he is also whistling -- the same tune that                Flaemmchen is whistling. She glances at him, as he continues                whistling with an amusing dance step, as much as to say:                "Are you mad?"                                     BARON                         Like dancing?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Not with strangers.               Baron glances back up the passage; it is apparent that he is                going to make conversation here with this girl, in order to                keep legitimately in the passage until Grusinskaya comes                out.                                     BARON                              (turning to Flaemmchen)                         Never?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You're a fool!                                     BARON                         Yes, I am rather.               He glances down the passage again, his hands in his pockets.               She glances impatiently at her watch.                                     BARON                         He must be very nice.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Who?                                     BARON                              (gallantly)                         Whoever is keeping you waiting.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (indicating Preysing's                               door)                         Have you seen it?                                     BARON                         Oh, my large and noisy neighbor --                          really? That?                              (indicating Preysing's                               door)                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         That.                                     BARON                              (with meaning)                         You?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (quickly)                         Oh -- work!!                                     BARON                              (with meaning)                         Oh!                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Dictation.                              (she twittles her                               fingers)                         You know...                                     BARON                         Oh... poor child. If you were free,                          I'd ask you to come and have some                          tea -- but --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Tea would spoil my dinner.                              (lightly)                         One meal a day, I'd hate to spoil                          it.                                     BARON                         Reducing?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (she turns invitingly)                         No -- why? -- should I?                                     BARON                         Lord no -- charming -- but why one                          meal a day?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (laughing in his face)                         Money -- Ever heard of it?                                     BARON                         Yes -- yes indeed -- but you are                          a...                              (moves fingers)                         ...a stenographer. Don't little                          stenographers earn little pennies?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Very little.                                     BARON                         Too bad.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Did you ever see a stenographer with                          a decent frock on? -- One that she'd                          bought herself?                                     BARON                         Poor child --                              (enthusiastically)                         I wish I were free tonight -- we                          could --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (with invitation)                         Aren't you?                                     BARON                              (quickly)                         What?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Free --                                     BARON                              (glancing up passage)                         Unfortunately no -- to bad -- tomorrow                          though.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Tomorrow? What time tomorrow?                                     BARON                         Shall we say five o'clock --                          downstairs?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Where downstairs?                                     BARON                         Yellow Room where they dance --                              (business)                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You're very funny --                                     BARON                              (with great meaning)                         Yes? -- Tomorrow?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Of course.                                     BARON                         Really?               Flaemmchen laughs at him.                                     BARON                         We'll dance.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (slowly)                         All right. We'll dance.               At that moment we hear Kringelein's voice calling from his                doorway at the end of the passage.                                     KRINGELEIN'S VOICE                         Baron -- Oh, Baron!               The Baron turns and looks off at ---               KRINGELEIN               Kringelein is in his door in the distance -- radiant. He                waves.                                     KRINGELEIN                         If I could trouble the Baron to come                          and see this beautiful room. I have                          ordered champagne. Perhaps the                          Baroness could join us.                                                               CUT BACK TO:               FLAEMMCHEN, BARON AND KRINGELEIN                                     KRINGELEIN                         Waiter, oh waiter! Wait a minute!                              (to Baron and                               Flaemmchen)                         We are having caviar -- it's expensive                          but that makes no difference -- I                          see the Baroness is laughing.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Have caviar if you like, but it tastes                          like herring to me.               At that moment Grusinskaya's door opens suddenly and Suzette                comes out into the hall.                                     SUZETTE                         Ssshh! Please! Madam is asleep.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh!               By this time the others are entering Kringelein's room. The                Baron turns back for a moment.                                     BARON                              (calling back quietly                               to Suzette)                         Asleep? -- Ssshhh -- sorry!               Suzette turns back into the room.                                                                    CUT TO:               GRUSINSKAYA'S ROOM               It is typical hotel. Half-open trunks, etc. Curtains are                drawn -- room is in semi-darkness. There is a sense of                silence, except for distant music coming from the Yellow                Room below.               In Suzette's hands we see one of Grusinskaya's ballet slippers                which she has been mending.               She is about to tiptoe to her seat when she stops suddenly                and looks off dramatically at...               GRUSINSKAYA               Shot from her angle. She is sleeping beneath a Chinese robe,                on the chaise-lounge.               Apparently she has changed her position, because the hand                which is outside the robe moves.               The CAMERA, as though it were Suzette, moves up towards                Grusinskaya. Her eyes are closed. Suzette crosses to the                chaise-lounge and is looking down.               Grusinskaya's eyes open suddenly. She looks at the ceiling                and then her eyes turn and look straight at Suzette.                                     SUZETTE'S VOICE                              (quietly and reverently --                               almost a whisper)                         Madam has slept well.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         No, I have been awake -- thinking --                          thinking.                                     SUZETTE'S VOICE                         It is time for the performance.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         The performance?                                     SUZETTE                         It is time.               Like a soldier called to attention Grusinskaya sits suddenly                upright --                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Always the performance -- every day                          the performance -- time for the                          performance.                              (she pauses and droops                               suddenly)                         I think, Suzette, I have never been                          so tired in my life.                              (she takes the bottle                               of veronal which is                               nearby)                         Veronal didn't even help me to sleep.                              (laughs a little)                                     SUZETTE                              (speaking into                               telephone)                         Madam Grusinskaya's car is to be                          brought.               While she is speaking Grusinskaya rises -- with the grace of                a dancer she picks up the Chinese robe that has fallen to                the floor and although there is only one other woman in the                room -- she holds the robe around her.               She crosses to the mirror and looks at her face, running her                fingers through her hair. She gently massages under her eyes                and the CAMERA sees Grusinskaya for the first time.               There is silence in the room -- neither of the women speak.               Suzette gets madam's clothes ready. She crosses, puts the                case of pearls down on the dressing table and opens them.               Grusinskaya looks into space -- silence -- dead silence.               Suzette kneels as if to put Madam's stockings on for her.                Grusinskaya pulls her foot away.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I can't dance tonight --                                     SUZETTE                         It will pass -- it will pass -- come.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Let us cancel the engagement.                                     SUZETTE                         But, Madam. cannot do that.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Now is the time to cancel to stop                          entirely. I feel it -- everything                          tells me -- enough -- enough.               She leans forward against the dressing-table and her hands                unconsciously touch the pearls.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (very quietly)                         The peals are cold -- everything is                          cold -- finished -- it seems so far                          away -- so threadbare -- the Russians --                          St. Petersburg -- the Imperial Court --                          the Grand Duke Sergei --                              (long pause as though                               she were reliving                               incidents of the                               past)                         -- Sergei -- dead -- Grusinskaya --                          it's all gone.               She throws the pearls away, down upon the floor.                                     SUZETTE                         Mon Dieu -- the pearls -- if they                          were to break --                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         The pearls won't break -- they hold                          together and bring me bad luck ----                          I hate them!               Suzette crosses replacing the pearls.                                     SUZETTE                         Orchids come again, Madam -- no card --                          I think perhaps they are from the                          same young man -- he is at the end                          of the corridor -- tall -- he walks                          like a soldier -- Madam must have                          noticed how often he is in the                          elevator with us. Last night for                          instance --                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Oh, Suzette -- Suzette -- Sshh --                          quiet.               Grusinskaya's eyes are looking off into space -- she is away                in Russia -- she does not look --               Telephone rings -- Suzette crosses to telephone.                                     SUZETTE                         Ah, oui -- the car is here for Madam.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Send it away -- I shan't need it.               There is a knock at the door -- a certain kind of knock.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Come in.               She picks up the telephone and as she does so Pimenov enters.                Suzette quickly gives Pimenov a signal that there is trouble.                As Pimenov is closing the door we hear Grusinskaya speak                into telephone.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (authoritatively)                         Madam Grusinskaya will not require                          her car -- no -- she will not be                          going to the theatre.                              (she turns)               Pimenov (at heart a clown) makes a grand comedy bow. He will                deliberately try to tease Madam out of her mood.               She glances at him, without smiling, crosses to the dressing-               table and sits.                                     PIMENOV                         It is time for the performance.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (under her breath)                         The performance -- the performance --                          the performance.                              (during this scene                               the orchids fall to                               the floor)               It is a hysterical out-burst. It is not a woman who is just                temperamental, it is something deeper than that. She is very                near a nervous breakdown. We, the audience, must feel with                her a revulsion against the word performance.                                     PIMENOV                              (tenderly -- as he                               touches her shoulder                               gently)                         Poor little Lisevata -- she still                          has her stage frights -- it will                          pass.               Pimenov kneels by Grusinskaya -- he is chafing her hands, he                attempts to soothe her.               Now Grusinskaya draws her hands suddenly away.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         It is not stage fright -- it's                          something more --                                     PIMENOV                              (tenderly)                         What -- what is it? Last night...                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Last night?... There was no applause.                                     PIMENOV                              (quickly)                         There was -- there was.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         That theatre -- half empty -- dancing                          for those few -- I was frantic -- I                          finished -- the last beat and...                              (she reclines her                               head as the swan                               finishing the dance)                         ...I waited -- I listened -- but the                          applause didn't come -- nothing. A                          man in the box -- and just the claques                          behind -- it is passed, Pimenov. We                          are dead -- it's finished.               There is a sudden knocking at the door.                                     PIMENOV                         Meierheim --               The door opens suddenly. Meierheim bursts into the room.                                     MEIERHEIM                         What is this that you have cancelled                          your car? Who am I that I should                          wait like a fool at the door? And                          here on a whim, you cancel your car.                          Have you forgotten there is a                          performance? Do you know the time?                          Or, are we all mad? Am I your                          manager?... Have we a contract? Have                          we obligations? Am I blind?                              (glances at his watch)                         ...Or is that the time?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I'm cancelling the engagement.                                     MEIERHEIM                         Oh!               Business of Pimenov signaling to him.                                     MEIERHEIM                         Oh! Madam is cancelling the                          engagement. Madam has chosen a funny                          time for such a funny joke. Ha, ha,                          ha -- hurry, come on. Tonight --                          there's a line in front of the theatre                          since six o'clock. The house is jammed                          to the roof.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         The house is not full -- Is it really                          full?                                     MEIERHEIM                         Packed to the ceiling. Hurry -- get                          dressed. And what an audience -- the                          French Ambassador -- American                          Millionaires -- Princess Ratzville --                          er -- er --                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (to Suzette)                         Oh -- but it can't be.                                     SUZETTE                         Oh, come, Madam -- please come.                              (she holds up her                               frock)                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (changed mood)                         All right, Suzette -- quickly --                          hurry.                                     PIMENOV                         We will wait.                                     MEIERHEIM                         You are late. Hurry.               Meierheim goes over to telephone, he picks up receiver and                says:                                     MEIERHEIM                         Tell Madam Grusinskaya's chauffeur                          to bring the car.               Show few feet of Grusinskaya getting dressed.                                                                    CUT TO:               BY ELEVATOR               Pimenov and Meierheim.               Meierheim is pushing the bell.                                     PIMENOV                         How is the house?                                     MEIERHEIM                         Terrible. After this, no more ballets                          for me. Jazz --                              (snaps his fingers)                         Just jazz.                                     PIMENOV                         If the house is empty again, I don't                          know --                                     MEIERHEIM                         When she gets her paint on and hears                          the music -- she'll be all right. I                          know these people.               They are walking towards Kringelein's room. They are pacing                rather like men who walk the deck on a liner. They turn almost                together, but when they turn back past the CAMERA the CAMERA                PROCEEDS on into Kringelein's room. The CAMERA ENTERS THE                ROOM to a burst of laughter. Champagne bottles open, caviar,                smoke, etc.               In the room are the Doctor, Kringelein, the Baron, Flaemmchen,                and a very fat waiter -- comedian.                                     KRINGELEIN                         You may laugh. Caviar and champagne                          may mean nothing to you, but to me --                          they mean a great deal. You see, I'm                          ill and all of a sudden I got a fear                          of missing life. I don't want to                          miss life -- do you understand?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You are funny. You speak of life as                          if it were a train you wanted to                          catch.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Yes -- and for me, it's going to                          leave at any minute. Let's drink.               The Baron offers Flaemmchen a glass of champagne. She shakes                her head.                                     KRINGELEIN                         I'm sure this beautiful room must                          appeal to your taste -- distinctive,                          don't you think? Velvet upholstery --                          'A-number one'. I'm in the textile                          trade and I know.                              (he has a slight case                               of hiccups from the                               champagne. He touches                               the drapes)                         And these are real silk drapes.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (amusedly)                         Silk -- think of that -- silk --                          they are, too.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (who hasn't stopped                               talking)                         Have you seen the bathroom? -- Hot                          and cold running water -- You see, I                          can get a bath whenever I like.               At that moment Preysing's voice is heard calling to the Floor                Clerk.                                     PREYSING                         The stenographer!               Flaemmchen, hearing this, turns and looks off, apparently                through the door. Her manner changes, she puts down her glass.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Her master's voice!                              (turns to Baron)                         I must go now -- goodbye -- thanks.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, don't go.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         I'm engaged for the evening.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, can anyone engage you for the                          evening?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         To take dictation -- a Mr. Preysing --                              (to Baron)                         Goodbye, you -- tomorrow at five                          o'clock.                              (she is moving out)               Kringelein's optimism has left him for a moment, he stands                looking out of door undecided, he is drooped suddenly, as                though years had returned to him.                                     BARON                         What's the matter, Mr. Kringelein?                                     KRINGELEIN                              (to himself)                         General Director Preysing!                              (possibly he turns to                               Baron)                         Baron, when I was sixteen years old,                          I started as an office boy in that                          man's factory --                                     BARON                         Then you know him?                                     KRINGELEIN                         Do I know him -- I know him through                          and through.               They start to leave. Oh, gentlemen, please don't go.                                     BARON                         I must -- I hope to see you again,                          Mr. Kringelein.               Baron leaves.                                     KRINGELEIN                         You will stay, Doctor -- if you have                          nothing better to do?                                     DOCTOR                         I have nothing better to do, Mr.                          Kringelein.               They move into the room.                                                                    CUT TO:               NO SCENES: 24 and 25 Sequence omitted from original script.               NEAR ELEVATOR               Pimenov and Meierheim are standing there.               Meierheim is pushing the elevator button.               The Baron stands near and pauses, he is now a changed man.                He looks off as he hears the voice of Grusinskaya, off in                the distance.               Grusinskaya's Voice Hurry, Suzette.               GRUSINSKAYA               Shot from the Baron's angle. Grusinskaya is sweeping down                the corridor, followed by Suzette.                                                               CUT BACK TO:               BARON, PIMENOV AND MEIERHEIM                                     BARON                         Perhaps you could present me now,                          Mr. Pimenov.                                     PIMENOV                         Please, Baron -- forgive me -- not                          now -- here she is.               Grusinskaya sweeps into scene.               The Baron leans forward quickly and pushes the bell with a                glance at her.               They look at each other. He fixes his eyes on her                characteristically. She glances at him. This is the first                time they have met in the picture.               She is impatient. As if to break an awkward silence, she                turns to Suzette.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         My coat.               Suzette is carrying the coat over the pearls. As she takes                the coat off her arm, Grusinskaya glances down at the jewel                case.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Suzette -- I told you not to bring                          the pearls. I will not wear them                          tonight.                                     MEIERHEIM                         Why not?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Take them back, Suzette.                                     MEIERHEIM                         You haven't time.               Suzette hesitates.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Hurry, Suzette.                                     MEIERHEIM                         Such nonsense.               Suzette toddles off with the pearls.               The elevator opens, collects its passengers, all except the                Baron and descends.               FLASH IN               A shot of Grusinskaya's eyes as she goes down, glancing up.               FLASH IN               A shot of the reverse of him looking down.               The Baron pauses, hesitates, thinks. We are interested in                his action. For the first time he becomes furtive.               HOTEL LOBBY - FROM ELEVATORS               Music swells up from the Yellow Room. A great deal of noise,                confusion and activity as the elevator stops to emit                Grusinskaya, followed by Pimenov, Meierheim and some other                people who are rather excited to be in the elevator with the                great Grusinskaya.                                     MEIERHEIM                              (off scene)                         The car for Madam Grusinskaya.               The bellboy hears it and passes the word around. It seems to                be echoed through the lobby.               People turn, as Grusinskaya's spirit seems to rise with the                attention she is getting.               THE CAMERA precedes her through the revolving door, as she                sweeps outside of the hotel.               The Baron's chauffeur, Schweinke, is seen to watch her go.                He looks furtively around and enters the hotel.                                                               CUT BACK TO:               UPPER CORRIDOR - CLOSEUP OF BARON               As he watches Suzette returning from Grusinskaya's room. She                is about to push lift button - then decides to run downstairs.               IMPORTANT CLOSEUP OF BARON                                                                  FADE OUT:                                   END OF SEQUENCE "#1"               PREYSING'S ROOM               Zinnowitz and Preysing are standing by door.                                     PREYSING                         No news from Manchester yet -- Do                          you think we ought to postpone the                          conference?                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Good heavens no. That'd create the                          very worst impression. You must be                          optimistic. You must convince them.                          You know as well as I do that the                          merger must go through.                                     PREYSING                         Yes -- the merger must go through --                          But I am used to making my deals on                          a solid basis. I am not a liar. I am                          an honest business man -- a good                          husband and father -- I have a sense                          of honor -- I have nothing to conceal.                          I couldn't live happily otherwise.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Well, don't get excited about it. We                          agreed that the merger with the                          Saxonia people must go through.                                     PREYSING                         I want to dictate my statement for                          tomorrow. I can't speak without notes.                          I like to have things down before me                          in black and white.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         I'll see you in the morning then, at                          the conference. Everything'll be all                          right, Preysing... Don't worry.                          Goodnight.                                     PREYSING                         Good night.               Zinnowitz leaves.                                      SEQUENCE "#2"               FADE IN ON BLACKNESS OF PREYSING'S ROOM               We hear the distant voice of Preysing and the keys of the                typewriter rattling. The reason for the blackness is that                Preysing's back is flat into the camera. His hands are behind                his back and his fat fingers are moving restlessly. It is an                odd effect. We don't know quite what it is.                                     PREYSING'S VOICE                         Both parties have fully agreed that                          this merger can result only in mutual                          advantages.               Preysing moves forward showing that we are in Preysing's                room.               The change of light shows us plainly the time lapse.               Flaemmchen is seated at a small table typing. Preying strides                forward As he strides he says:                                     PREYSING                         Moreover --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (repeating)                         Moreover --               Preysing paces the room.                                     PREYSING                              (repeating)                         Moreover --                              (he pauses, thinking.                               Picks up telephone                               quickly -- into                               telephone)                         Is there a telegram for me yet?...                          Oh -- when it does, send it up.               During this, Flaemmchen, who is tired sits back and rubs her                fingers that have been over-worked. She glances at her wrist-               watch.               Preysing comes and stands behind Flaemmchen.                                     PREYSING                         Now, where was I?                              (he looks over the                               sheet in her                               typewriter --                               accidentally his arm                               touches her neck)                         Oh -- sorry.                              (he puts his cigar in                               his mouth and walks                               away. As he walks                               away)                         Where was I?               As he turns, he catches a down shot on her from behind as                she stretches back showing her busts. Seeing his face looking                down on her she pulls herself together and seats herself at                attention.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Moreover...                                     PREYSING                         Moreover...               It seems a silly kind of lull.                                     PREYSING                         Do you work in Justice Zinnowitz'                          office?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         No -- only occasional jobs.                              (she yawns suddenly)                                     PREYSING                         Tired?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You pay me.                                     PREYSING                         You're a very unusual stenographer --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Moreover...                                     PREYSING                         Moreover...                              (as he paces the room,                               it is obvious that                               he is trying to                               collect his thoughts)               She looks at him, waits a moment and then begins                characteristically to, change the sheet of paper.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         I don't see why it's unusual for a                          stenographer to be pretty -- if she                          does her work well, -- seems so silly.                          I don't know why they don't like                          girls like me in offices. Personally,                          I hate offices -- I'd much rather be                          in the movies.                                     PREYSING                         Movies?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Yes, I photograph very well. Look --               She tosses magazine -- as if it were nothing at all over to                him.               He looks down at it without touching it.                                     PREYSING                         What is this?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         I got ten marks for that.               He picks it up.                                     PREYSING                         You...                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (without looking up)                         Me.               As he looks at picture -- he lowers his voice two notes.                                     PREYSING                         You...                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (reading)                         Moreover...                                     PREYSING                              (quickly)                         What?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (reading)                         Only in mutual advantages -- moreover.                                     PREYSING                         What brown hands you have.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         That's from skiing.                                     PREYSING                         Skiing?                              (he holds her hands)                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (natural -- unabashed)                         Yes... A man I know took me to                          Switzerland last month...               He drops her hand suddenly.                                     PREYSING                         A man? -- To Switzerland? -- That                          must have been nice -- for him.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (reading)                         Only in mutual advantages --                          moreover...               Preysing paces the room trying to get his thoughts back to                the work in hand.                                     PREYSING                         Moreover... He was a lucky man --                          that man.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Perhaps.                              (she waits at attention)               He paces back and forth again.                                     PREYSING                         Don't misunderstand me. I'm a married                          man -- with grownup daughters. Uh --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Moreover -- Do you mind if I smoke?                              (she takes cigarette)                         I went to Florence once, too.                                     PREYSING                         With the same friend?               By this time she is smoking her cigarette.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (without looking at                               him)                         No.                                     PREYSING                              (quickly)                         Moreover, the possibility of the                          successful termination of negotiations                          now pending with the Manchester Cotton                          Company...                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Not too quickly.                                     PREYSING                         What?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You're a little too fast.                                     PREYSING                         Can't you understand me?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         I understand you perfectly.                                     PREYSING                         Have you got it now?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (typing)                         Cotton Company --                                     PREYSING                         Should throw a great weight into the                          balance...                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (as he turns his back                               looks at him                               significantly)                         ...weight into the balance...               There is a sudden knock at the door.                                     PREYSING                         Come in.               Boy enters with telegram.                                     BOY                         Telegram for Mr. Preysing.               With almost hysterical speed, Preysing snatches the telegram --                opens it. Flaemmchen powders her nose.               IMPORTANT CLOSEUP OF PREYSING               it is bad news. He wipes the perspiration from his forehead.                                     PREYSING                         Oh -- oh.                              (he throws the telegram                               away from him, onto                               her desk. Paces the                               room.)               Flaemmchen, believing the telegram to be something that she                must copy, picks it up quite naturally and reads it.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Deal with Manchester Cotton Company                          definitely off.               Preysing turns and snatches the telegram from her.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Sorry.               Preysing paces the room with the telegram.               Flaemmchen rises, stretches. Quite naturally she glances at                the pictures on Preysing's dressing-table.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         How nice -- your daughters?                                     PREYSING                         My daughters -- yes, my daughters.                              (he is talking more                               to himself)                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Is that Mrs. Preysing.                                     PREYSING                              (to himself)                         Definitely off.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Oh -- too bad. Did you quarrel?                              (she is looking at                               picture of Mrs.                               Preysing)                                     PREYSING                              (turns, speaks quickly --                               definitely)                         That'll be all -- be here tomorrow                          at nine o'clock.                              (he turns, goes out                               onto balcony with                               telegram)               Flaemmchen, delighted and with alacrity, crosses, piles up                her papers and is prepared to leave.                                                                    CUT TO:               FLASH OF CORRIDOR               Trim Flaemmchen out of Preysing's room. Take her down to                elevator.               At the same time, CAMERA PANS OVER and shows the Baron's                chauffeur knocking at the Baron's door.                                     BARON'S VOICE                              (calling)                         Come in!               Trim the chauffeur into the Baron's room.               BARON'S ROOM               Baron is busy changing his clothes. Chauffeur steps in, he                closes the door behind him and stands there with an                inquisitive look.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         You are late -- the dancer's gone to                          the theatre.                                     BARON                              (very nonchalantly)                         Well?                                     CHAUFFEUR                         She's gone to the theatre -- don't                          you know?                                     BARON                              (very nonchalantly)                         Yes.                                     CHAUFFEUR                              (ready to explode)                         And what are you going to do?                                     BARON                         The pearls are in her room.                                     CHAUFFEUR                              (threateningly)                         Now listen to me. The others are                          getting suspicious of you. I was on                          the telephone to Amsterdam today,                          they think you're scared.                                     BARON                         I've been careful, I've been waiting                          my chance.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         You've been waiting your chance.                          You're too much of a gentleman --                          that's the trouble with you.                                     BARON                         I told you I'll get the pearls                          tonight.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         Need any help?                                     BARON                         No.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         Have you got that skeleton key?               He takes the skeleton key out of his pocket and produces it                to the Baron.                                     BARON                         No --                                     CHAUFFEUR                         Why?                                     BARON                         The floor clerk is out there in the                          corridor -- she sees everything ---                                     CHAUFFEUR                              (contemptuously)                         I could take care of her.                                     BARON                         How?                                     CHAUFFEUR                         Chloroform on a handkerchief from                          behind -- while you...                                     BARON                         No -- no -- no -- no...                                     CHAUFFEUR                         Why?                                     BARON                         Poor girl -- chloroform would give                          her a rotten headache... I know -- I                          had it in the war. Besides, she's                          very pretty -- not young but --                                     CHAUFFEUR                         You're no good for this business.                          It's just a joke to you...                                     BARON                              (swings suddenly on                               him)                         I don't like your tone.                                     CHAUFFEUR                              (comes up to him --                               face to face)                         No --               Baron is suddenly seized with uncontrollable temper -- twists                his wrists -- backs him to door, speaks quietly.                                     BARON                         Get out and leave it to me... be                          ready to leave on the night train                          for Amsterdam...                                     CHAUFFEUR                         With the pearls?                                     BARON                         With the pearls --               The Chauffeur leaves.               The moment he is gone -- Baron looks the door -- business ad                lib.               Crosses to window.               FACADE OF HOTEL               The Baron peeps out onto balcony -- it seems to be clear. He                proceeds along and peeps into Preysing's room. Preysing is                apparently in the bathroom. Baron skips nimbly past the room.               Working at thrill of pass through to Grusinskaya's room.               GRUSINSKAYA'S BALCONY               Baron is pretty shaken by jump.                                                                    CUT TO:               GRUSINSKAYA'S ROOM               Darkness -- light from transom and building opposite.               Business of finding key and getting pearls. INTERCUT Preysing                coming out onto his balcony, bringing out with him, loud                speaker of radio -- which announces noisily as follows:                                     LOUD SPEAKER                         'You are listening to the music of                          the Eastman Jazz Band, in the famous                          Yellow Room of the Grand Hotel.'                                                                    CUT TO:               GRUSINSKAYA'S ROOM               Baron starts suddenly -- when he hears voice and with pearls                in his hand, looks cautiously out of window -- only to see:                                                                    CUT TO:               SHOT FROM HIS ANGLE ONTO PREYSING'S BALCONY:               Preysing seating himself upon his balcony -- Radio loud                speaker seen. Possibly Preysing commences dinner scene                bullying waiter.               GRUSINSKAYA'S BALCONY               The Baron knows he is trapped, if he jumps onto Preysing's                balcony, Preysing is the man that will cause the alarm.               Quickly he moves across the room -- tries the door -- it is                locked securely. He looks for skeleton key and then remembers                refusing it from the chauffeur. He is trapped in an absurd                way.               As he moves back from the door, he knocks the telephone off                of the table. He watches it for a moment, realizing that the                operator must now know that there is someone in Grusinskaya's                room.               He picks up the telephone, replaces the receiver, wipes finger                prints off with his handkerchief.               He is moving back to window when telephone starts to ring                suddenly. The thought crosses his mind they they will want                to know who is in the room. He lets the telephone ring.                Crosses to the door again.               Above the din of the telephone we hear the chambermaid's                voice singing an absurd song.               He listens. She is coming in.               The key turns in the door.               Quickly he hides behind the curtains.               Slowly and amusingly the chambermaid, tired and dragging,                enters the room.               He is looking for an opportunity to dash through the door.                After all, this maid should be an easy person to get around.                We have a feeling he wishes to dash through the door.               The chambermaid might be singing the same tune that we hear                from Preysing's radio.               The telephone commences ringing. Chambermaid does not answer                it but continues her duties.               At last, because of the noise of the telephone, she picks it                up and speaks.                                     CHAMBERMAID                         No -- no -- there is no one here.                              (she replaces the                               receiver)               At that moment, the Inspectress, a large stout woman, appears                at the open door.                                     INSPECTRESS                              (to Chambermaid)                         You're late... What have you been                          doing?                                     CHAMBERMAID                              (grumbling)                         Everyone -- all the time says, 'Come                          back - come back.' They won't get                          out of their rooms.               The Inspectress, in a very businesslike way, proceeds around                the room, coming nearer and nearer the Baron. She is looking                at ashtrays and running her fingers over the woodwork looking                for dust. She tries the door to the next room, to see if it                is locked.               Telephone bell rings again.               Inspectress picks it up quickly.                                     INSPECTRESS                         No, Madame Grusinskaya is not here...                          The Western Theater?... No...               Suddenly, out of scene, we hear the voice of Suzette.               Suzette is calling out to the night clerk in the passage.                                     SUZETTE'S VOICE                         Have you seen Madame?                                     CLERK'S VOICE                              (replying)                         Isn't she at the theatre?               Suzette comes in and hurries to telephone.                                     SUZETTE                         Hello, hello, Mr. Pimenov? Yes...                          Mr. Pimenov, have they found her?...                          No, she is not here... Yes, I'm at                          the hotel.               INTERCUT               With the Baron watching.               GRUSINSKAYA'S BALCONY               During this action the Inspectress has waven the chambermaid                out of the room. Business ad lib.               Meierheim enters, he has heard the word 'Pimenov' on the                telephone -- he takes the receiver from Suzette.                                     MEIERHEIM                              (into telephone)                         Pimenov?... What's happening?... No,                          I haven't found her. Is Desprez                          dancing?... How is it?... Oh, all                          right. Keep the show going.                              (bangs down receiver)                         Wait till I see her, she'll pay for                          this -- this little trick is going                          to cost Grusinskaya a suit for breach                          of contract.                                     SUZETTE                         Madame is ill -- her nerves...                                     MEIERHEIM                         Her nerves... What about my nerves?...                          Who is she anyway? Where does she                          think she is -- Russia? Those days                          have passed.               He turns and sees Grusinskaya standing at the door. She is                in costume, very pale, very beautiful. Her coat, over one                shoulder, is ragging, she lets it drop and moves slowly into                the center of the room. Her hair, dressed for the dance,                make-up is on her face -- she is breathless.                                     SUZETTE                         Madame --                                     MEIERHEIM                         Well?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I want to be alone.               The other women in the room draw out, leaving Suzette to                pick up the robe that has fallen to the floor.                                     MEIERHEIM                         Where have you been?                                     SUZETTE                         Should I -- Does madame wish...                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Suzette, please go, I want to be                          alone.               Suzette obediently crosses to door and pauses on threshold,                waiting for Meierheim.               Meierheim approaches Grusinskaya.                                     MEIERHEIM                         I suppose I can cancel the Vienna                          engagement.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I wish to be alone.                                     MEIERHEIM                         You'll be very much alone, my dear                          madame. This is the end.                              (he stamps out)               Suzette, with a frightened look through the door, closes it                on Meierheim's exit.               DURING THIS SCENE, INTERCUT SHOTS OF BARON.               It is some time before Grusinskaya moves. She crosses to                door -- turns the key -- takes the key out of the lock and                throws it away from her -- out upon the floor. She crosses                slowly to the mirror, regards herself, silently. We hear the                strains from Preysing's radio playing a light Viennese waltz.               Grusinskaya begins suddenly to sob.               FLASH OF BARON               Watching her.               GRUSINSKAYA               Quite suddenly -- as if with resolution she begins to undress.                Then she becomes weary again.               With a garment in her hand, she moves slowly toward the                curtain -- where the Baron is standing.               BARON               We see him tense himself.               GRUSINSKAYA               She drops the garment listlessly to the floor -- moves out                of scene.               CLOSEUP OF BARON               He peeps around the curtains.                                                                    CUT TO:               GRUSINSKAYA               She is in a thin robe. She sits before mirror -- looks                steadily at her face. Her head goes down suddenly in her                hands and we hear her say:                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         The end -- over -- finished --               Suddenly she moves quickly across the room. Goes to bathroom.               Baron half starts out toward door. He watches -- darts across                the room as if towards the door. He hears her coming and                darts quickly into the half open door of the closet.               She re-enters -- carrying a glass of water. She crosses,                places the glass down beside the bed -- her movements are                quick and furtive -- then she crosses, picks up the telephone --                asks for the theatre.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         The Western Theatre --               She leaves receiver down -- crosses quickly to mirror --                stands there and brushes back her hair -- crosses back to                telephone speaks:                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Western Theatre?               She glances up at the clock.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         The stage -- Mr. Pimonov -- the ballet                          master... Grusinskaya -- hurry --                          hurry.               Again she puts the receiver down -- picking up a pencil she                commences hastily to scribble a note. She writes frantically.                Her other hand goes up and picks up the receiver.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Yes -- yes, I'm waiting.               She finishes the note -- commences suddenly to speak into                the telephone --                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Hello, Pimenov? -- I'm at the hotel.                          I couldn't go on -- I couldn't...                          No, no don't --                              (long pause)                         ...Just alone... Good night, good                          night, my dear -- goodbye... Pimenov,                          how is it going, badly?... Uh?...                          Who's dancing?... Desprez?... Oh --                          and how is it?... Oh, -- oh, I see --                          they didn't miss me?... They didn't                          miss me.                              (she lets her hand                               drop with the receiver                               and goes on talking                               into the air)                         They didn't miss me -- good night,                          Pimenov...               She is about to replace the receiver. She sits with it in                her hand, unreplaced.               The music has stopped. The room is strangely silent. Behind                her the Baron peers from the closet.               Her head sinks down upon her hands.               A funny, singing noise comes from the telephone. She lifts                the receiver to her ear. In a very strange voice, the voice                of Opehlia, she speaks:                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (with great humility)                         Oh -- I'm sorry, yes... I have                          finished.                              (she replaces the                               receiver)               The foregoing scene is much better played than described. It                is in fact, ballet.               Quite calmly, Grusinskaya finishes the notes on the table.                She folds it up and places it in a prominent place on the                table, or hangs it over the telephone.               She crosses to the window pulls back the curtains -- the                Baron has been hiding behind a few minutes before.               We see the Baron watching. He glances at the door quickly.                "No, there is not time." She is returning calmly. She crosses                to the dressing table and takes the veronal out of a drawer.                She looks at it thoughtfully, her lips are trembling a little.                She moves to the radiator as if to seek warmth.               She sinks into a chair and her head droops over her folded                hands which contain the veronal, she seems to pray.               The Baron comes from the closet -- now is his chance, he                looks at the door but can't make it. Looks on the floor for                the key which Grusinskaya has previously thrown there, his                eyes fall upon the note on the telephone -- he reads it.               It is a death farewell note to Suzette -- do not insert it.               At this moment she has finished, the Baron returns to his                hiding place. She makes the sign of a cross and goes to her                bed.               She looks around nervously, apprehensively -- like a deer                who has heard something, then reassured. She places the                veronal on the night table beside the glass of water. She is                quiet and deliberate. She arranges the pillows under her                head and lies down. She reaches for the bottle of veronal                and empties it generously in her hand. She has to lean away                upon one elbow, from the Baron's position, in order to balance                herself.               The Baron steps like a cat from his hiding place. He goes to                the bedside noiselessly and stands there.               She reaches for the glass-her hand stretches out for the                glass. The Baron takes her wrist suddenly.               She turns quickly looking at him. The glass falls to the                floor with a crash and breaks. As she moves, the veronal                falls out of her hands upon the bed. She struggles up to a                sitting position.                                     BARON                         Please, do not be alarmed, Madam.               She glances up at him. She is bewildered. She seems to be                coming out of a trance. Again she wants to jump from the                bed.                                     BARON                         Careful -- there's broken glass on                          the floor.               Now she becomes conscious of almost nakedness. She draws her                kimono tightly around her, glances across the wide expanse                of bed. We see her consider passing over that way, but she                is now a woman again -- a woman of the earth -- it would be                a silly movement.                                     BARON                         There.                              (takes a pillow from                               the bed throws it                               upon the floor over                               the glass, steps                               back)               She gets up quickly and crosses, putting on her robe which                was lying across the back of a chair.               Her first movement is not one of alarm but of -- shame. She                draws her robe more closely around her and looks at the Baron                puzzled. She thinks, dreamily, "What is this?" She glances                back at the veronal and the bed showing us plainly that this                man must have watched her preparation for bed. We get a sense                of relief with her. She is trembling.               The Baron has controlled his nerves perfectly. He senses his                danger. He is caught red-handed with five hundred thousand                marks worth of pearls in his pocket. He is wondering if she                will ring the bell. For an instant he thinks of escape. He                could dash for the balcony. He could strike her dead or                silence her with threats. There is in the room an intoxicating                sense of romance and danger. (It should be in the scene.)                                     BARON                         Please do not be frightened, Madam.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (after a silence)                         What do you want here?                                     BARON                         Nothing -- only to be here.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Why do you hide in my room?                                     BARON                         But surely you must know -- because                          I love you.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Because you love me -- you love me?               She looks at him for a few moments and then suddenly she                throws herself upon the bed and begins to weep more and more                passionately.                                     BARON                              (going over to her)                         Poor little Grusinskaya! Does it do                          you good to cry? Are you afraid?                          Shall I go?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I was so alone -- always alone --                          and suddenly you were there and said                          that.                              (sitting up)                         No. I am not afraid. It is strange.                                     BARON                         Don't cry -- it tears my heart to                          see you sob like that.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (regaining control)                         Nerves -- just nerves. You must                          forgive me. I have had a bad evening.                          I am very tired. Do you know what it                          is to be tired -- tired of a routine                          existence?                                     BARON                         I'm afraid not -- I usually do just                          what I feel like doing at the moment.               A look in his eyes reminds her of the strangeness of the                situation. She rises with returning dignity and pulls her                robe around her -- she is becoming the Grusinskaya of Imperial                Russia; she is the woman Grand Dukes have fought for. She                sweeps across the room.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         So you feel like coming into a lady's                          room -- and you come... What now?                                     BARON                              (following her)                         I'd like to smoke a cigarette.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Certainly.               She gets her cigarette box from the writing table and holds                it out to him. He takes a cigarette and lights it. She watches                him curiously. She smiles, as she watches him greedily inhale                the smoke. She crosses and sits before her looking glass.                She brushes her hair back and powders her face. She looks                into the mirror, we feel that she has regained a desire to                live. He crosses and looks at her in the mirror. He smiles.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Why do you look at me like that?                                     BARON                         I did not know you were so                          beautiful... and --                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (bitterly)                         And then --?                                     BARON                         No irony. You're so appealing -- so                          soft -- so tired. I feel like taking                          you in my arms and not letting                          anything more happen to you -- ever.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (involuntarily closing                               her eyes)                         And -- and --                                     BARON                         How tired you are!                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Yes -- tired...                                     BARON                         So alone.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Alone. All alone.                              (whispers in Russian)                         Oh, you strange -- strange creature.                                     BARON                         You mustn't talk Russian to me.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Strange man...                                     BARON                         Am I quite strange to you?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Not quite strange now. It is as if I                          had been expecting you. You know,                          once when the Grand Duke was alive,                          I found a man hiding in my room -- a                          young officer --                                     BARON                         And...?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         He disappeared. Later he was found                          dead.                                     BARON                         I never knew it was so dangerous to                          hide in a woman's room when she's                          alone.                              (he embraces her)                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Go away. Who are you --?                                     BARON                         A man who could love -- that is all,                          who has forgotten everything else                          for you.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         You could love me. It is so long                          since I have heard that word. Nobody                          has loved me for a long time. It is                          so icy-cold to be famous. One is so                          cruelly alone. How is it that you --                          Let me look at you. Your hands. Your                          eyes. Why could you love me?                                     BARON                         I saw you just now -- then I saw you                          cry -- and now I see you in the mirror --                          Grusinskaya...                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Grusinskaya... Oh -- oh if you knew                          how I slaved and slaved for                          Grusinskaya -- for the success of                          Grusinskaya -- for the triumph of                          Grusinskaya... and what is she now?                          Just someone who has found that on                          the day success ceases life ceases --                          Are you listening to me -- Do you                          understand? -- I want you to                          understand.                                     BARON                         Yes -- I do understand.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I think you must go now -- the key                          is on the floor.                                     BARON                         I'm not going -- You know I'm not                          going -- Let me stay here?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I want to be alone.                                     BARON                         That is not so -- you don't want to                          be alone.                              (he looks back at the                               bed as if remembering                               the suicide.)                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I want to be alone --                                     BARON                         No -- You don't want to be alone at                          all -- You were in despair before --                          If I left you, you'd feel worse than                          you did before, You must not be alone --                          You mustn't cry -- you must forget...                          Tell me that I can stay with you --                          tell me.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (whispering)                         Just for a minute then.               Outside the distant noise of Kringelein is heard --                                     BARON                         What? Say it again -- I didn't hear.               She whispers.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         You -- man...               The way she says it, the word goes home. It hurts him. She                has looked into his eyes for a moment with a strangely melting                and almost happy expression. She gets up suddenly.               (NOTE: The other side of the bed -- not where the glass is)               She reaches with her feet for her slippers. She puts one on.                She can't find the other.               Business as he gets other slipper for her.               He kisses her ankle and looks up at her. She smiles down.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Thank you -- you are gallant.                              (she turns, her mood                               has changed)                         What a sentimental scene. Grusinskaya                          weeping is a sight worth seeing. It                          is many years since she did such a                          thing... You frightened me -- badly.                          You're responsible for this -- painful                          scene.               He watches her.               The sound of her own voice reassures her. She is generating                warmth. Her cry has done her good, she speaks quickly,                volubly.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         The stage frays one's nerves... the                          discipline -- it's so exacting.                          Discipline means doing what you don't                          want to do and take no pleasure in                          doing. Do you know what I mean? Have                          you ever experienced the weariness                          that comes from discipline?                                     BARON                         I? -- Oh, no. I do only what I take                          pleasure in doing.               Grusinskaya turns, she is graceful again.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I see -- you do only what you take                          pleasure in doing. You take pleasure                          in coming into a woman's bedroom and                          you come. You take pleasure in a                          dangerous climb onto a balcony, so                          you do it... And what is your pleasure                          now?                                     BARON                              (naive as he says                               frankly)                         I should like to smoke.               She rises. She had expected something else. His reply strikes                her as chivalrous and considerate. She crosses to the writing                table brings back her little cigarette box which she holds                out to him. He takes a cigarette and lights it. She watches                him curiously. She smiles, as she watches him greedily inhale                the smoke. She crosses and sits before her looking glass.                She brushes her hair back and powders her face. She looks                into the mirror, we feel that she has regained a desire to                live. He crosses and looks at her in the mirror, he smiles.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Why do you smile?                                     BARON                         Because I can see something in the                          mirror that you cannot. My dear --                              (he pauses suddenly)                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         What can you see?                                     BARON                         You are beautiful!                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         No.                                     BARON                         Beautiful but so sad. I did not know                          it was so dangerous to look into a                          woman's bedroom.               Suddenly he stoops, takes her shoulder in his hands and kisses                it. A long tender and sincere embrace.               Her eyes close. A tremor passes through her. Suddenly his                whole being is aware of her. She turns, rises and disengages                herself.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I think you had better go now. The                          key is on the floor.               He glances back. He speaks suddenly with an air of command.                                     BARON                         I'm not going... You know that I'm                          not going... Do you think I could                          leave you alone here? After that --?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         What?                                     BARON                         The veronal -- you. I'm going to                          stay here with you.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I want to be alone.                                     BARON                         That is not the truth.                              (he catches her wrists)                         You do not want to be alone -- you're                          afraid of being alone -- I know you're                          afraid. I know you. You were                          desperate, just now, if I go away                          you'll be more desperate than ever.                          Say I am to stay with you... say it.                              (he almost shakes her)               Her head falls slowly on his breast.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (whispers)                         For just a minute then.                              (she pulls away,                               crosses the room,                               quickly to the door,                               with almost a cry.                               She looks around for                               the key to the door)                         No -- oh, no!               He crosses quickly to her and holds her in his arms.                                     BARON                         Just for a minute, Grusinskaya --               Outside the distant noise of Kringelein and the doctor.               FRONT ON SHOT OF KRINGELEIN               approaching the CAMERA with the Doctor.               They are returning from the bar and are passing Grusinskaya's                room. THE CAMERA precedes them. The Doctor is                characteristically drunk. He is silent, tense, cynical. A                distinct contrast to Kringelein, whose soul is warmed for                the first time by alcohol.               Kringelein's hat, the same, eccentric one, is twisted upon                his head jauntily. The carnation is in his buttonhole.               THE CAMERA backs into Kringelein's room and pauses, because                the Doctor has paused at the door.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, but Doctor. Isn't this wonderful.                          To live -- to live -- in the Grand                          Hotel.                                     DOCTOR                              (with a deprecating                               gesture)                         The Grand Hotel.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, but Doctor. The music -- the                          champagne -- girls when they dance --                          all the shining ice in those big                          silver things -- That's life --                                     DOCTOR                         Life! -- Mr. Kringelein, you are                          drunk -- good night.                              (he leaves)                                     KRINGELEIN                              (to doctor)                         But Doctor --               But the Doctor has gone.               Kringelein re-enters his beautiful room. He crosses to the                mirror, regards himself. Business ad lib.               He looks at himself in the mirror and raises his hat.                Imitating the doctor, he repeats:                                     KRINGELEIN                         Mr. Kringelein -- you are drunk --                          good night.               He puts his hat on the knob of the bed.               He takes off his coat, holds it up and carefully takes the                carnation out of his buttonhole. With the coat over his arm                and the carnation in his hand he looks around for a glass                and some water which he sees standing on the night table by                his bed.               He puts the carnation in the glass, having filled it with                water and then his eyes fall upon his small group of medicine                bottles.               His demeanor changes. He immediately becomes a thing of pain.               He glances at his watch -- it is long past his medicine time --                his spirit droops -- he might almost be in pain.               He picks up a small bottle and carefully counts eight drops                into the glass. He is about to take it, he smells it, a sudden                impulse of well-being surges over him. He flings the medicine                away.               With a great wave of optimism he commences to sing the song                that we have heard during the evening -- the chambermaid                song - the Preysing radio song -- the love song. He saunters                around the room, undressing.                                                              DISSOLVE OUT:               DISSOLVE INTO PASSAGE               His voice is still heard in the passage.               Rows of shoes outside the doors. The dozing night clerk hears                the voice and looks up, startled.                                                              DISSOLVE OUT:               DISSOLVE INTO A WATCHMAN               with his clock, hears the voice.                                                              DISSOLVE OUT:               DISSOLVE INTO A CORNER OF DOCTOR'S ROOM               He is dozing in a chair with his clothes on. He looks up                suddenly, hearing the voice.                                                              DISSOLVE OUT:               DISSOLVE INTO PREYSING'S ROOM               He is snoring. The distant voice disturbs him. He turns in                his sleep.                                                              DISSOLVE OUT:               DISSOLVE INTO GRUSINSKAYA'S ROOM               A beautiful picture -- the distant voices -- shadows.                                     BARON'S VOICE                         I've never been as happy.                                     GRU'S VOICE                         What did you say?                                     BARON'S VOICE                         I've never been as happy!                                     GRUSINSKAYA'S VOICE                         Say it again -- say it!                                     BARON'S VOICE                         I have never been so happy!                                                              DISSOLVE OUT:               DISSOLVE INTO KRINGELEIN'S ROOM               He is now dressed in an absurd night dress. He crosses to                the bed, still singing, climbs into the huge bed -- the great                pillows. His hand goes out -- he pulls out the light. He                might be an Emperor as he turns with a happy, tired sigh.               DISTANT CLOCK CHIMES.                                                                  FADE OUT:                                   END OF SEQUENCE "#2"                                      SEQUENCE "#3"               FADE IN:               TELEPHONE ROOM               It is the first time we have seen it. There are about eight                girls very busy. Morning confusion. (parts to be written)               We pick up essential lines as we PAN DOWN SHOOTING AT THE                GIRL'S FACES, assuming the CAMERA to be the board.                                     GIRL ONE                         Grand Hotel -- good morning -- no,                          Baron von Gaigern's room does not                          answer... Yes,... all right... Baron                          von Gaigern's chauffeur calling.               CAMERA PANS TO:                                     GIRL THREE                         Good morning, nine-thirty Doctor                          Otternschlag... No, Doctor, no                          messages... No, Doctor.               CAMERA PANS TO:                                     GIRL FIVE                         Grand Hotel -- good morning... who                          is calling Madam Grusinskaya?... Oh,                          Mr. Pimenov. Madam Grusinskaya is                          not to be disturbed, sir... no, sir...                          yes, sir --               The word passes down repeated.                                     VOICE                         Mr. Preysing's calls to one sixty                          two for today.               CAMERA PANS TO:                                     GIRL EIGHT                         -- good morning... Mr. Preysing --                              (she plugs through)                                                                    CUT TO:               CONFERENCE ROOM               Telephone bell ringing.               General shot.               Gerstenkorn, an old business man and Doctor Waitz, counsel                for the Saxonia organization are sitting at a gree table,                smoking and waiting.                                     GERSTENKORN                              (glances at watch)                         Nine-thirty, Mr. Preysing keeps us                          waiting.                                     SCHWEIMANN                              (who has returned)                         He likes to play the great man.                                     WAITZ                              (glancing at market                               report from table)                         The Preysing stock is holding its                          own today on the market.                                     SCHWEIMANN                         Ask Preysing what it's costing him                          to keep it up.                                     GERSTENKORN                         And ask me what it's costing us to                          hammer it down.                                     WAITZ                         Exactly.                                     GERSTENKORN                         If the Preysing people get the                          Manchester contract, we shall                          certainly merge with the Preysing                          company -- but if they haven't they're                          ruined -- Preysing will have to                          declare himself.                                     WAITZ                         Shhh -- here he is now.               The door opens and Flaemmchen enters. She is agreeably                surprised to see the room full of men. She likes men.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (beams)                         Good morning, gentlemen -- Mr.                          Preysing will be here in a minute.               Business of Schweimann and Flaemmchen.               Gerstenkorn, making notes, glances at his watch again.               Door opens suddenly.                                     PREYSING                              (enters)                         Good morning, gentlemen.                                     MEN                         Good morning.                                     PREYSING                         Sorry I'm late, I've been waiting                          for Justice Zinnowitz, my legal                          advisor.                                     WAITZ                         Oh -- ho -- you want legal aid against                          us? -- The whole thing seems to me                          to be very simple.                                     GERSTENKORN                         Very simple -- I've always liked the                          way you dressed, Preysing -- English,                          isn't it?                                     PREYSING                              (disturbed)                         What?                                     GERSTENKORN                              (quickly)                         They turn out marvelous material in                          Manchester.                                     PREYSING                         Manchester -- yes. Yes, yes, they                          do. Yes -- Now gentlemen shall we                          begin at the beginning? -- Have we                          cigars -- water and everything?               Flaemmchen, who has been busy preparing her little table for                work is seen in several CLOSEUPS:                                     SCHWEIMANN                              (with a wink to                               Gerstenkorn)                         Manchester is a very interesting                          city, don't you think so, Preysing?                                     PREYSING                              (stalling)                         Manchester -- yes -- yes. A man in                          the textile industry naturally has                          to know Manchester.                                     GERSTENKORN                         There's a lot of business to be done                          with the Manchester Cotton Company.                          They've the whole English market                          right in their hands. Have you any                          connections with -- Manchester?                                     PREYSING                              (quickly)                         We have a good many connections in                          England, naturally.                                     GERSTENKORN                         I mean with the Manchester people?                                     PREYSING                              (looking at Gerstenkorn                               impudently)                         We are here to discuss our merger.                          Naturally I can make no statement at                          this time. We must begin at the                          beginning.                                     GERSTENKORN                              (winking at Schweimann)                         All right.                                     PREYSING                              (far-away commencing                               to read his report)                         Since, on the eleventh of June, this                          year -- when the first negotiations                          for a merger between our respective                          firms was entered into -- both parties                          have fully agreed that this merger                          can result only in mutual advantages.               INTERCUT this speech, which if played by Beery will be                interesting, with signals, winks and signs between the other                three men.                                     GERSTENKORN                         Oh -- yes -- I beg your pardon!                                     PREYSING                         I'm laying before you the last general                          statement of our concern. Active                          capital, plant and machinery, raw                          material and finished product -- for                          instance -- mop rags --                                     GERSTENKORN                         Mop rags --!               Business between Preysing and Flaemmchen finding papers on                'Mop Rag' report.                                     GERSTENKORN                         What we want to know about is                          Manchester.                                     WAITZ                         Yes, Mr. Preysing -- that's what we                          want to know.                                     PREYSING                         I'd like to wait for Justice                          Zinnowitz, before I commit myself.                                     GERSTENKORN                         Oh -- Preysing, Preysing --                                     PREYSING                         No water -- What a place!                                     GERSTENKORN                         All you have to do is phone for it.               Flaemmchen, who is on her toes and busy every minute, rushes                to the telephone and gives an order -- her conversation is                heard over the conversation of the men in the room -- CAMERA                HOLDS ON FLAEMMCHEN:                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Water -- seltzer, three or four                          bottles and cigars -- good ones.                                     WAITZ                         I can see this session is going to                          be exhaustive.                                     PREYSING                         Now to proceed with the projected                          merger, the advantages for the Saxonia                          are so obvious...                                     GERSTENKORN                         Oh -- now let's talk like adults.                          You want to tell us now a along story                          of what your factory can do. We know                          all that you could tell us and if                          you tell the truth it wouldn't sound                          so good. When you first approached                          us...                                     PREYSING                         We did not approach you.                                     WAITZ                              (quickly looking                               through the papers)                         Letter on file September fourteenth                          would show that you approached...                                     PREYSING                              (snatching the document                               from his hand --                               losing his temper)                         It isn't so -- this was a response                          to a tentative feeler of your own.                                     GERSTENKORN                              (snatching the document                               violently away)                         Tentative my foot -- a month before                          this your old father-in-law came                          very privately and scratched at my                          door.                                     PREYSING                         Scratched --                              (he nearly chokes)                         We did not take the initiative.                                     GERSTENKORN                         Of course you took the initiative.               Zinnowitz enters the room.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Good morning, gentlemen -- I see the                          conference is already underway.                                     PREYSING                         Oh, here you are, Justice Zinnowitz --                          I'm at cross-purposes with these                          gentlemen -- will you clear up the                          situation?                                     ZINNOWITZ                         But the situation is perfectly clear,                          If you will allow me --                              (he clears his throat)                                     GERSTENKORN                         How clear is Manchester?                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Foggy -- frightfully foggy, always,                          I'm told.                              (to Preysing)                         Have you said anything about                          Manchester, Mr. Preysing?                                     PREYSING                         I can make no statement about                          Manchester at this time.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Well -- gentlemen.               There is dead silence for a moment -- he clears his throat,                commences in almost the same tone as Preysing.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Since, on the eleventh of June of                          this year -- when the first                          negotiations for a merger...                                     GERSTENKORN                              (over Zinnowitz's                               voice -- with a sigh --                               sits back)                         Thank God we're beginning at the                          beginning.                                     ZINNOWITZ                              (stops suddenly --                               takes glasses from                               his nose -- he is                               speaking, not reading)                         As you remember it -- when you                          approached us...                                     GERSTENKORN                              (bangs the paper down)                         We did not approach you.                                     PREYSING                         I know you did -- I said you did --                                     GERSTENKORN                         And I said we didn't.                                     WAITZ                         And I know we didn't.               During all this commotion Flaemmchen is paying no attention                whatsoever. She is calmly spraying herself with a perfume                atomizer and smiling at a gentleman. The noise continues                over her.                                                                    CUT TO:               NO SCENE 61               Sequence omitted from original script.               GRUSINSKAYA'S ROOM               The atmosphere has changed, the sun shines. Grusinskaya is                reclining on the chaise-lounge -- her Chinese robe drawn                about her. She speaks voluably.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Oh -- I was ambitious then -- ambition                          was in my blood -- no rest, no                          stopping. We were drilled like little                          soldiers -- We danced in the school                          of the Imperial Ballet, in St.                          Petersburg. I was little and slim                          but hard as diamond -- a duty machine --                          No rest, no stopping. And then -- I                          became famous and whoever is famous                          is alone... But why should I be                          telling you this? Last night I did                          not know you at all -- who are you,                          really? -- I do not even know your                          name.                                     BARON                         I am Felix Benvenuto von Gaigern. My                          mother called me Flix.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Flix. -- And how do you live? What                          kind of a person are you?                                     BARON                         I'm a prodigal son, the black sheep                          of a white flock -- I shall die on                          the gallows.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Really?                                     BARON                         Really, I haven't a bit of character.                          None at all.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         No?                                     BARON                         When I was a little boy I was taught                          to ride and be a gentleman -- at                          school, it was a monastery, I learned                          to pray and lie -- and ---                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         And?                                     BARON                         And then, in the war, to kill and                          hide. That's all.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         And what do you do -- now?                                     BARON                         I'm a gambler -- I'm running at large                          like a happy pig, devouring anything                          of life that pleases me, I really                          belong in jail                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Oh! What a picture -- and what else?                                     BARON                              (seriously)                         I'm also a criminal and a hotel thief.                              (he turns away)                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         That's a silly joke.                                     BARON                              (turns -- takes both                               her hands)                         Please look at me. You must believe                          me -- you must believe that I love                          you -- that I have never known what                          love is -- until last night.                              (he releases her hands                               and turns away again.)                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         What is the matter?               He does not answer.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Flix!               The Baron takes the pearls out of his pocket and lays them                before her.                                     BARON                         There.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (with a little cry of                               pain)                         Oh --                              (in the silence                               Grusinskaya puts her                               head in her hands                               and thinks)               The Baron makes a gesture as if to stroke her hair and then                holds back.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (softly)                         Did you come here just -- just for                          that? Oh -- it's horrible.               Pause.               She is suddenly cold.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         You may keep the pearls -- I don't                          want them any more -- I'll make you                          a present of them.                                     BARON                              (passionately)                         I don't want them now.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (broken)                         I'll not denounce you.                                     BARON                         I know.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         So --                                     BARON                         Yesterday I was a thief -- but now, --                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         But now, you must go... I give you                          the pearls. But now you must go ---                                     BARON                         I wanted money desperately -- Can                          you understand? -- That's why I wanted                          the pearls. I was threatened -- I                          was desperately in need of a certain                          big sum of money. I've been following                          you -- I've admired you. But I have                          forced myself not to think about you --                          Last night, at last, I managed to                          came into your room and -- and now.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (softly)                         And now?                                     BARON                         I couldn't go through with it.                              (his head goes down                               into her lap -- he                               sighs:)                         Remarkable.               His hand touches her hair -- tenderly.                                     BARON                         Do you understand?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Yes -- yes -- yes.               There is a sudden knock at the door.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Quickly -- here.               With a quick gesture Grusinskaya beckons the Baron to the                bathroom. He disappears into the bathroom. She opens the                door, after finding the key and radiantly addresses Suzette.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Good morning, Suzette.                                     SUZETTE                              (delighted to see her                               in a good mood)                         Good morning, Madam.               She puts the coffee down on the table.               Charming piece of business as Suzette, in putting the coffee                down on the table must necessarily push back the heavily                crested cigarette case of the Baron.                                     SUZETTE                         Madam has slept well?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (enthusiastically)                         Oh, yes, Suzette.                                     SUZETTE                         Madam will dress now, it is late.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Five minutes, Suzette, come back in                          five minutes. I'll ring.                                     SUZETTE                         Yes, madam Suzette knows all about                          it.               She is a French woman. She is pleased.                                     SUZETTE                         Madam is beautiful this morning.               As Grusinskaya hurries Suzette to the door she says:                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Yes, Suzette.               Suzette goes out. Quickly Grusinskaya crosses and flings                open the bathroom door. The Baron comes out.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         You must go now.               As she speaks the telephone goes. She gives the telephone a                dirty look. Telephone rings again. She pulls him across to                the telephone.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         There -- it begins.               With a hand in his she lifts the telephone receiver and                speaks.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Hello -- hello -- Meierheim? Yes...               During this scene the Baron is touching her shoulder. A                charming light moment. She continues to speak into telephone.                His touch probably tickles her, she laughs -- quickly covers                the receiver so that Meierheim will not hear her laugh.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (to Baron)                         No --               During this scene she is listening to Meierheim. She frowns                suddenly --                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         What?... Cancel Vienna?... Are you                          mad? We always have great success in                          Vienna... Certainly not. Come here                          and see me... yes... good-bye.               She turns to the Baron and their arms go around each other.               The telephone rings again.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (quickly)                         There -- the day begins... I must go                          to rehearsal.               She lets the telephone ring.                                     BARON                         Grusinskaya --                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Yes.                                     BARON                         You do believe that I really love                          you?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Yes -- If I didn't believe that, I'd                          die after last night.                                     BARON                         I want to be good to you -- madly                          good.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Suzette will be back here in a minute.                                     BARON                         I'll go -- good-bye.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Shall I see you again?                                     BARON                         I --               Telephone bell rings again.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Suzette will be back here any minute.                                     BARON                         When are you leaving Berlin?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Very early in the morning.                                     BARON                         For Vienna?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Can't -- can't you -- Couldn't you                          come too -- I think it would be better --                          for us -- for us both.                                     BARON                         Oh -- yes but -- later.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Why later?                                     BARON                         I have no money now -- I must get                          some first -- I must get some.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I'll give you what you need -- I                          have money.                                     BARON                         Oh no -- that would spoil everything.                          I'll -- I will manage somehow --                          I'll manage myself. I will go with                          you. When does the train leave?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Six twenty-seven in the morning...                          But the money?                                     BARON                         Never mind -- I'll get it. I have a                          whole day. I'll be on that train.               They move towards the door.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I shall dance and you'll be with me                          and then -- listen -- After that you                          will come with me to Lake Como, I                          have a villa there. The sun will be                          shining. I will take a vacation --                          six weeks -- eight weeks. We'll be                          happy and lazy. And then you will go                          with me to South America -- oh!               Telephone starts ringing.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         You must go now. Be careful on your                          way to your room.                                     BARON                         I'll go. -- I love you.                              (he kisses her)                         I'll be on that train. I'll get the                          money.               She holds him back. The telephone is ringing.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Don't do anything foolish -- I'm                          alarmed about you.                                     BARON                         Don't worry. I'll be on the train.                              (he kisses her)                         He leaves.               Alone with the telephone bell ringing, Grusinskaya breathes                deeply, stretches herself. She goes to the glass and looks                at herself -- smiling. Happily she takes the pearls, kisses                them, drops them into the casket -- picks up the telephone.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (speaking into                               telephone)                         Yes, Pimenov... Yes... where are                          you, in your room? Come, I will see                          you now... hurry.               She rises from the telephone flutteringly, she is humming a                tune. She crosses to the mirror, pulls back her hair happily,                she is indeed younger.               Suzette is putting out a dark dress.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Not that dark dress -- something                          light -- bright -- it's a sunny                          morning, Suzette.               Suzette happily glances at her.               There is a knock at the door.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Come in.                              (sings)               Pimenov enters, before he can speak --                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Good morning, Pimenov.                                     PIMENOV                              (a little puzzled at                               change in her)                         Good morning, Gru -- your --               Before he can start speaking of last night she quickly speaks:                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Pimenov, I have an idea -- a new                          ballet -- it must have mad music --                          I'll explain it to you later. But                          now, hurry to the theatre -- I want                          full rehearsal -- properties -- full                          ballet and some musicians. Hurry --                          Quickly. I will be there --               During this scene Grusinskaya has not looked at him, she is                busy in the glass. Nice photography on hair and face.               Side scene between Suzette and Pimenov, as Suzette shows him                the cigarette case on the table.               As he goes through the door Grusinskaya crosses and almost                sweeps Suzette to the door with him.                                     PIMENOV                         Gru -- you are positively radiant.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Yes, Pimenov.                              (quickly to Suzette)                         One minute, Suzette, I will call                          you.               They leave.               Grusinskaya shuts the door. She sweeps happily to the                telephone.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (very very softly -                               her voice is like                               music to operator)                         Hello -- will you -- will you get me                          Baron von Gaigern, please... yes...                          Baron von Gaigern -- yes...               While she waits, she moves with a sense of dance.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (again into telephone)                         Will you get me Baron von Gaigern,                          please...                              (she speaks quietly)                         Cherie... yes... it is you...                          nothing... good morning, good morning,                          cherie... nothing... no... just to                          tell you I'm happy.                                                           FADE OUT SLOWLY:               Bring music up.                                   END OF SEQUENCE "#3"                                      SEQUENCE "#4"               EXT. HOTEL - SIGN               Music effect over sign "Grand Hotel." Precisely the same                angle as before. The sign lights.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               LOBBY - BY SENF'S DESK               The music comes up on the DISSOLVE into the original key                shot of the lobby.               Senf is busy.               The Baron's chauffeur is standing impatiently by his desk.                Business ad lib of Senf. He turns to the chauffeur who is                barring the way of an important looking alien.                                     SENF                         Step back please.               Chauffeur makes no effort to move. Against the normal busy,                happy traffic of the evening he is a sinister figure. He                does not move but glares at Senf.                                     SENF                         I've told you three times -- Baron                          von Gaigern is out.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         Did he leave any message for me?                                     SENF                         No, he did not -- there is no message.               This whole scene is played in a very low key, almost in a                whisper, it is interrupted by the entrance of the Doctor.                                     DOCTOR                              (to Senf)                         Any letters?                                     SENF                         No, doctor.               During this short scene the chauffeur saunters off.               Kringelein comes to the doctor.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, Doctor, such a day -- such a                          day!               They move away from the scene.               Kringelein's voice diminishes as the CAMERA MOVES following                the chauffeur.               The chauffeur saunters unthoughtfully past the florist shop                and out of the door. As we pass the florist shop we see the                back of the Baron in the shot.               CAMERA PANS chauffeur out to door. He has not seen the Baron                in the florist shop. THE CAMERA PANS back to florist shop                waits for the Baron who emerges carrying his usual box of                orchids. CAMERA FOLLOWS BARON back to Senf's desk. Key shot.                                     BARON                              (to Senf)                         Madam Grusinskaya.                                     SENF                              (taking the flowers                               and handing them to                               clerk)                         For Madam Grusinskaya.                                     CLERK                              (to page boy)                         Madam Grusinskaya -- at once --                                     SENF                              (to Baron)                         Your chauffeur's been waiting, Baron.                                     BARON                              (Quickly -- shortly)                         All right.                              (he glances around                               apprehensively)               Kringelein is speaking to the doctor.               The Baron approaches them.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Baron, we must have gone a hundred                          miles an hour, at least...                                     BARON                         Yes, quite.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (to doctor)                         We've been together all day... and                          in an aeroplane.                                     DOCTOR                         Life is changing you, Mr. Kringelein.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Yes, thanks to the Baron. The best                          shops, the very best. Look, Doctor,                          silk -- feels so nice on the skin...                          a London hat, see -- made in England,                          that's silk, too -- fifty marks...                          Look, the price is on it. That was                          half my salary before. The Baron is                          a very fine gentleman -- no one in                          my life has been so nice to me as                          the Baron.               The Baron smiles. He slaps his gauntlets on his dusty coat.                                     BARON                         I'm going to change and we'll meet                          for a drink in the Yellow Room.                                     KRINGELEIN                         In the Yellow Room, where the music's                          playing and the ladies are?                                     BARON                              (amused)                         Where the music's playing and the                          ladies are...               The Baron leaves.                                     DOCTOR                         No pain, Mr. Kringelein?                                     KRINGELEIN                         Pain? Oh, no, Doctor. I think if I                          had pain I'd be too happy to notice                          it...               NOTE: Find cut here.               While Kringelein is talking, they move away from the CAMERA.                                                                    CUT TO:               FLASH OF BARON'S ROOM               The Baron enters, throws his gloves down on the bed, turns                up the light, picks up a piece of paper that's been pushed                under the door, glances at it.               FLASH INSERT OF THE PAPER               In scrawl: "I HAVE BEEN WAITING ALL DAY. WILL BE OUTSIDE OR                AT THE GARAGE." "S"                                                               CUT BACK TO:               BARON               We again see the apprehension on the Baron's face. He crosses,                closes the window. As he does so we hear the noise from the                conference room.               Bring up noise from the conference room.                                                                    CUT TO:               CONFERENCE ROOM               We must have the feeling that these men have been arguing                all day. Cognac bottles, cigar ends, selzer water, remains                of some sandwiches. In other words it is a business                battlefield. Preysing is drawn and tired. Zinnowitz is on                his feet. Flaemmchen is fast asleep in her chair, making a                pretty picture.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         ...and let me say again for the tenth                          time...                              (he is hoarse and                               tired)                         ...you people were quite ready for                          the merger. You declared yourselves...                          fully agreed on all the terms -- Why                          should the signing of these articles                          be suddenly held up?                                     GERSTENKORN                         I've admitted that at one time we                          had reason for desiring ther merger --                          What reason have we now? The Preysing                          Company has fallon upon evil days,                          very evil days.               Preysing jumps to his feet.                                     PREYSING                         Evil days -- I've shown you here --                              (he bangs the paper)                         -- my company exports to the Balkans                          alone, sixty-five thousand marks                          worth of mop rags a year.                                     GERSTENKORN                         Mop rags -- mop rags -- we're                          interested in something quite                          different!                                     PREYSING                         What?                                     SCHWEIMANN                              (to Gerstenkorn --                               with a sigh)                         Shall I tell them again?                                     GERSTENKORN                              (glancing at his watch)                         Why waste time -- it's getting late.                                     SCHWEIMANN                         You see -- what we are interested in --                                     GERSTENKORN                              (interrupting)                         Ah, come on -- we're going home.               Due to the long tedious session the men's collars are wilted.                                     ZINNOWITZ                              (rising)                         Mr. Preysing has too scrupulous a                          regard for certainties...                                     GERSTENKORN                         You've talked enough today, you're                          hoarse now.               IMPORTANT CLOSEUP OF PREYSING               His hand goes to his pocket. Slowly he takes out the telegram                and glances at it. The following scene is played over this                closeup.                                     GERSTENKORN                         Sorry, Preysing.                              (he gets his hat)                                     PREYSING                              (nervously)                         You've decided against the merger?                                     GERSTENKORN                         Yes --                                     PREYSING                         Then, it's all over?                                     GERSTENKORN                         Yes --                                     WAITZ                              (to Zinnowitz)                         Well -- well -- You could call my                          office.               There is a general movement to go.               FLASH OF TELEGRAM               Trembling in Preysing's hand. "DEAL WITH MANCHESTER DEFINITELY                OFF."               GENERAL SHOT OF ROOM               Gerstenkorn crosses to Preysing.                                     GERSTENKORN                         Goodbye, Preysing, I hope you pull                          through. This is a very bad time to                          be in such a crisis. We've...                                     PREYSING                              (interrupting)                         Why talk -- it's over -- it's over --                          it's finished. You've broken off                          negotiations. You did it. You're                          calling them off. You had nothing on                          your mind all day, but Manchester, --                          Manchester -- Manchester.                              (he develops almost a                               passion)                         You don't suppose for one moment                          that I'm such a fool as not to have                          something that I could say definitely                          about Manchester.                              (he is generating                               almost a passion)                                     GERSTENKORN                         What?                                     PREYSING                         Oh no -- no -- the session is over.                          Let's go, it's off. Thank you,                          gentlemen.                              (he starts packing up                               his papers.)                                     GERSTENKORN                         If you actually have news from                          Manchester then...                                     PREYSING                         Gentlemen, I am now free to                          announce...                              (he is perspiring,                               his hands are                               trembling)                         ...that the deal between my firm and                          the Manchester Cotton Company has                          been successfully negotiated.                                     GERSTENKORN                         Preysing, you're joking with us.                                     SCHWEIMANN                         You're a deep one.               QUICK CLOSEUP OF ZINNOWITZ                GENERAL SHOT OF ROOM                                     GERSTENKORN                         In that case give us the articles.                          We'll sign at once. We know all the                          details...                                     PREYSING                              (smiling, slowly folds                               up the telegram and                               puts it back in his                               pocket)                         I thought we'd suspended negotiations,                          gentlemen.                                     GERSTENKORN                         Under these circumstances it's quite                          a different matter.                                     PREYSING                         Under these circumstances we might                          refuse to sign.               By this time, Waitz and Zinnowitz have the articles out upon                the table.               Preysing is perspiring.               Gerstenkorn puts his arms around Preysing's shoulders.                                     GERSTENKORN                         Come on -- business is business --                          Come on --               Preysing stands, looking ahead of him.               Gerstenkorn picks up the papers glances at them, looks at                Waitz.               Flaemmchen is awakening.                                     GERSTENKORN                         Here's my signature -- here Preysing,                          sign here.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         What a session this has been.               While Preysing is signing.                                     SCHWEIMANN                         It's twenty-five to six.                                     WAITZ                         We should celebrate this with a bottle                          of wine.                                     GERSTENKORN                              (with his hat and                               coat)                         See you soon, Preysing. Next week                          we'll meet and discuss further                          details.                                     PREYSING                         Next week.               Hasty hand-shaking, business of exits.               Waitz, Gerstenkorn and Schweimann out.               Preysing has not moved.               Zinnowitz takes the agreement and waves it in the air to dry                the signature.                                     PREYSING                              (to himself)                         Next week.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         You let me talk till I'm hoarse and                          you had Manchester sewed-up all the                          time. Why?               Preysing does not answer.               Zinnowitz amiably shrugs his shoulders.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Well -- the deal has been put through.               Preysing commences to laugh suddenly with increasing violence.                                     PREYSING                         Yes, it has been put through -- it                          has been put through.               During this scene, Flaemmchen has risen, piled up her papers,                glanced at her watch. During this action Flaemmchen motions                to Zinnowitz that she is going down to dance, etc., Preysing                is unaware of this action. Flaemmchen leaves the room trying                not to attract attention.                                     ZINNOWITZ                              (to Preysing)                         What's the matter with you?                                     PREYSING                              (hysterically)                         Bluff -- Bluff -- all bluff.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         What's bluff?                                     PREYSING                              (throwing the telegram                               on the table)                         That.                                     ZINNOWITZ                              (reading at out loud)                         'Deal with Manchester definitely                          off! "Preysing, oh -- I'd never have                          thought it of you.                                     PREYSING                         No one would have thought it of me.                          I've been getting rusty in                          Fredersdorf. Well, if bluff is what                          the world wants I guess I can put up                          as big a bluff as anyone. From now                          on...                              (he turns away)                                     ZINNOWITZ                         You must go to Manchester at once                          yourself and really see it through.                                     PREYSING                         Yes -- I must go to England -- I was                          desperate -- Now I don't care --                          This sort of thing goes to a man's                          head.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         What you need is some relaxation.                                     PREYSING                         Yes -- that's what I want -- I'd                          like to tear loose -- I'd like a                          drink. I'd like to go down to that                          dancing place. I'd like to start                          something.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         I can understand that -- after your --                          uh --                                     PREYSING                         Say it -- say it -- my lie -- it's                          the first time in thirty years that                          I've ever... Where's that                          stenographer? Miss Flaemm...                                     ZINNOWITZ                         What do you want with her?                                     PREYSING                         I want to see her, I want to do some                          dictating -- report of the conference                          for my father-in-law.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         She had an engagement in the Yellow                          Room at five o'clock -- she was in a                          hurry.                                     PREYSING                         Zinnowitz, would you say she was                          pretty?                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Pretty as a picture.                                     PREYSING                         Let's go down and find her -- I need                          a drink -- Come along Zinnowitz.                              (he is picking up                               papers)                         I don't know anything about women --                          been married for twenty-six years.                                     ZINNOWITZ                         Bluff does it, Preysing, bluff does                          it. Goodnight.               Preysing is very excited, they start to leave -- at that                moment the telephone rings.                                     PREYSING                         Aeh!               He crosses to the telephone.                                     PREYSING                              (into telephone)                         Hello... Father-in-law?... Is that                          you?... The agreement is signed -- I                          did it... yes, father-in-law... but                          now I must go to Manchester.               When he picks the telephone up his hands are shaking --                                                        DISSOLVE HANDS INTO:               COCKTAIL SHAKER               -- which shakes more. Music crashes up --                                                              DISSOLVE OUT:               DISSOLVE INTO BAR               Kringelein and the Doctor are just entering. Kringelein is                changed. His hair has been cut short and his moustache is                gone, he looks almost saucy.                                     DOCTOR                              (to barman)                         Barman -- whiskey --                              (to Kringelein)                         For you, Mr. Kringelein?                                     KRINGELEIN                         For me? -- Oh, please, something                          sweet and cold.                                     BARMAN                         A Louisiana flip, sir?                                     KRINGELEIN                         A Louisiana flip, that sounds very                          nice -- sweet, eh? --               During the following speech Kringelein keeps reaching for                the moustache that is not there. He is thoroughly happy.                                     DOCTOR                         What do you do in the Grand Hotel?                          Eat -- sleep -- loaf around -- do                          business -- flirt a little -- dance                          a little. A hundred doors to one                          hall and nobody knows anything about                          the person next to him. When you                          leave another takes your room and                          lies in your bed -- the end.               At that moment Flaemmchen enters.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Good evening, Mr. Kringelein --                          Where's the Baron?                                     KRINGELEIN                         I'm waiting for him here. The Baron                          and I have been together all day. A                          hundred miles an hour -- in a motor                          car -- and in an aeroplane -- It was                          marvelous --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Mr. Kringelein -- How you have                          changed, you look so nice.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, thank you, Miss Flaemm. Oh,                          please, Miss Flaemm -- Permit me,                          Miss Flaemm, won't you have something                          sweet -- a Louisiana flip.                              (to barman)                         A Louisiana flip.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (to barman)                         No - absinthe.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (amazed)                         Yes -- that --               Kringelein is beating time to the music -- a little carried                away.               Flaemmchen laughs.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You like music?                                     KRINGELEIN                         Yes -- it's stimulating -- a man                          might --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (mischievously)                         A man might what?                                     KRINGELEIN                         I don't know -- I'd like to do                          anything --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (very quietly)                         Oh -- you would!               The Baron enters quickly.                                     BARON                              (to Flaemmchen)                         Hello -- sorry I'm late.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh -- here you are, Baron. A drink --                          A Louisiana flip?                                     BARON                         Hello, Mr. Kringelein. How do you                          feel now?                                     KRINGELEIN                         A little strange, Baron.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         I'd given you up.                                     BARON                              (to Flaemmchen)                         Sorry.                                     KRINGELEIN                         A drink, Baron -- A Louisiana flip?                                     BARON                         No thanks -- keeping my head clear.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Dance then?                              (they exit)                                     KRINGELEIN                              (to Doctor)                         She's beautiful -- isn't she?                                     DOCTOR                              (to Kringelein)                         Oh -- there are plenty of women.               BARON AND FLAEMMCHEN DANCING                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         What have you been doing all day?                                     BARON                         Chasing around.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Chasing what?                                     BARON                         Money.               They dance a few steps, in silence.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You were very different yesterday.                                     BARON                         Yesterday -- yes -- that was                          yesterday.               They dance into the crowd.                                                               CUT BACK TO:               BAR                                     DOCTOR                         Well, Mr. Kringelein, are you getting                          what you're looking for?                                     KRINGELEIN                         What, Doctor?                                     DOCTOR                         A masculine paradise -- drink, the                          ladies, dancing...                                     KRINGELEIN                         I had a very good opportunity, a                          young lady asked me to dance -- I                          ought to be able to dance, it seems                          to be very important.                                     DOCTOR                         You must learn as quickly as your                          time allows -- Believe me Mr.                          Kringelein, a man who isn't with a                          woman is a dead man.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Haven't you anyone -- Haven't you                          anybody -- you -- I mean -- Are you                          all alone in the world.                                     DOCTOR                              (quietly)                         I'm always alone -- I have been                          everything.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Everything?                                     DOCTOR                         I was sent as a military surgeon to                          South Africa. Stinking climate. Taken                          prisoner. Home on parole not to fight.                          I was a surgeon in the Great War                          till the end. Grenade in the face.                          Carried diphtheria bacilli in the                          wound until 1920. Isolated two years.                              (pause)                         I've been everything.               The music has stopped.                                                                    CUT TO:               BARON AND FLAEMMCHEN ON DANCE FLOOR                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         That was lovely.                                     BARON                         Will you do me a big favor?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         I'll do anything for you.                                     BARON                         Would you like to make a man happy?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (quietly)                         Yes -- I'd love to.                                     BARON                         Then dance the next number with                          Kringelein.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Why?                                     BARON                         I feel sorry for him.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You're not a bit like you were                          yesterday.                                     BARON                         I fell in love last night -- the                          real thing.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Oh -- there's no real thing -- it                          doesn't exist.                                     BARON                         I thought that, too -- but I found                          that it does. Come along, dance with                          Kringelein.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Anything for you.               They move off. As they approach the bar, happily Preysing                pushes into scene, touches Flaemmchen's arm.                                     PREYSING                         Miss Flaemm.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Hello!                                     PREYSING                         I must speak with you, Miss Flaemm.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (with the Baron)                         Presently, Mr. Preysing.                                     PREYSING                         It's urgent.                                     BARON                         Pardon me, the lady has urgent                          business here with me.                                     PREYSING                              (to himself)                         Insolent -- Berlin manners.               At that moment Kringelein has descended from the stool and                crosses to Preysing.                                     KRINGELEIN                         I wish you a very good evening, Mr.                          Preysing. You are staying here, too,                          Mr. Preysing?                                     PREYSING                         I don't know you.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh -- you must know me -- Kringelein                          at the plant. Assistant bookkeeper,                          building C, room twenty-three --                          third floor.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (quickly)                         Come and dance with me, Mr.                          Kringelein.                                     PREYSING                         I must speak to you, Miss Flaemm --                          business.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (lightly)                         Tomorrow morning.                                     PREYSING                         No -- now.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Do you gentlemen know each other,                          Mr. Kringelein -- Mr. Preysing --                          Baron von Gaigern.               They bow stiffly.                                     PREYSING                         Mr. Kringelein will be a good friend                          and not accept your invitation to                          dance.                                     KRINGELEIN                         I could not think of not accepting.                                     PREYSING                         You say that you are employed by us                          in Fredersdorf, and here you are in                          Berlin, indulging in diversions which                          ill befit your position and which                          are very much beyond your means --                          Quite extraordinary, Mr. Kringelein,                          I think we will look into your books.               Kringelein stands watching Preysing, his eyes narrowing.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Now, children, no fighting -- save                          that for the office. Let's have our                          dance.                              (her arms go around                               Kringelein. They                               dance off)                                     PREYSING                         I'll remember you, Mr. Kringelein.                                     BARON                         Oh, let the poor devil alone.                                     PREYSING                         I did not ask your advice.               The two men eye each other; for a moment there might be a                fight.                                     BARON                         I think it would be much better if                          you went away.                                     PREYSING                         We shall see who remains here the                          longer.                                     BARON                              (shrugging his                               shoulders)                         As you will.               Preysing leans against the bar, orders a cognac. The Baron                turns his back to him, watching the dancing.                                                                    CUT TO:               FAEMMCHEN AND KRINGELEIN ON FLOOR                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You must look at my face and not at                          the floor.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Yes.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You're trembling.                                     KRINGELEIN                         I never danced before -- in public.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You dance splendidly.                                     KRINGELEIN                         I'm happy, Miss Flaemm.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Really?                                     KRINGELEIN                         For the first time in my life, I'm                          happy.               Kringelein shows signs of exhaustion.               Flaemmchen watches him quickly.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Let's stop -- I'm tired.               It is obvious that she has stopped because of Kringelein's                distress.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Thank you, Miss Flaemm.               They move back to the bar. Preysing catches Flaemmchen's                arm.                                     PREYSING                         Well now, Miss Flaemm, we can talk.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Some champagne, Miss Flaemm?                                     PREYSING                         You may go, Mr. Kringelein.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Does the world belong to you, Mr.                          Preysing?                                     PREYSING                         What is this insolence?                                     KRINGELEIN                         Do you think you have free license                          to be insulting? Believe me you have                          not. You think you're superior, but                          you're quite an ordinary man.                                     PREYSING                         Go away -- go away.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Please -- please!                                     KRINGELEIN                         You don't like to see me enjoying                          myself.                                     PREYSING                         Who are you? -- An embezzler most                          likely.                                     KRINGELEIN                         An embezzler -- you're going to take                          that back, right here in the presence                          of this young lady -- who do you                          think you're talking to? You think                          I'm dirt, if I'm dirt, you're a lot                          dirtier, Mr. Industrial Magnate                          Preysing.                                     PREYSING                         You're discharged.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Me?                                     PREYSING                         Yes you -- shut your mouth -- get                          out -- you're discharged.               Kringelein's hat has fallen from the stool upon the floor.                Flaemmchen picks it up, brushes it.               Kringelein starts to laugh.               The Baron steps into the scene.               The Doctor slowly comes from the bar.                                     KRINGELEIN                         You can't discharge me -- I'm my own                          master now -- at last. I'm ill, I'm                          going to die -- do you understand?                          I'm going to die very soon. Nothing                          can happen to me now. Nobody can do                          anything any more to me. By the time                          you can have discharged me I shall                          have been dead already.                              (his laugh becomes a                               convulsive sob)               The Baron steps between the two looking straight into                Preysing's face.                                     DOCTOR                         Come, Mr. Kringelein.                              (he pulls him out of                               the scene towards                               the bar)                                     PREYSING                              (his fists clenched,                               between his teeth)                         The man's insane -- he acts as if he                          is glad he is going to die...                              (hesitates -- to                               Flaemmchen)                         I shall see you in the lobby in half                          an hour.                                    END SEQUENCE "#4"                                      SEQUENCE "#5"               FADE IN:               KEY SHOT OF LOBBY OVER SENF'S HEAD               General activity.               The house detective, later identified, is talking to the                chauffeur. He leaves the chauffeur and crosses to Senf.                                     HOUSE DETECTIVE                         Better let him stay -- I've sent for                          the Baron... How's your wife coming                          along?                                     SENF                         I was at the hospital all night                          walking up and down the corridor.                          They wouldn't let me in to see her.                          She has the pains, but the child                          doesn't come and I have to stay here                          chained to this desk.                                     HOUSE DETECTIVE                         It will be all right.                                     SENF                         I hope so.               At that moment Preysing enters.                                     PREYSING                         Did you send that page?                                     SENF                         The young lady's there, sir.               Preysing glances off to see Flaemmchen standing looking                around.               Preysing crosses to Flaemmchen.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Oh, yes, Mr. Preysing?                                     PREYSING                         Sit here.                              (calls to a boy)                         Cognac -- for you?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Nothing.               At that moment the Baron and Kringelein pass.               Preysing glances up at Kringelein as he passes.                                     PREYSING                         I'm going to keep an eye on that                          Kringelein fellow. I'll find out                          where he gets the money to hang around                          the Grand Hotel.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Well -- you want me?                                     PREYSING                              (looks straight at                               her)                         Yes.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Well?                                     PREYSING                         I must go to England -- at once.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Well?                                     PREYSING                         You see, I'd like to take a secretary                          with me for my correspondence and --                         humm -- humm -- for company on the                          trip -- I'm nervous -- I need somebody --                          I don't know if you quite understand                          me. You said you have travelled with                          gentlemen -- and I mean --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         I understand perfectly.                                     PREYSING                         What do you think your salary would                          be -- for such a trip?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Wait -- I must figure it up.                              (she smokes and thinks)                         First, I'll need -- clothes -- shoes --                          it's cold in England in March, I'll                          need a suit... You'd want me to look                          nice?                                     PREYSING                         Of course -- of course.                              (he is fidgeting)                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         A thousand marks --                              (she waits anxiously                               thinking it might be                               too much)                                     PREYSING                         It's agreed -- I will get a room                          here for you.               She is looking away.                                     PREYSING                         I can get a room here in the Grand                          Hotel for you.               She still looks away.                                     PREYSING                         Can you pay some attention to me?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Oh, yes.                                     PREYSING                              (looking off)                         Insolent young cub!                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You mean Baron von Gaigern?                                     PREYSING                         Baron!                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Well, he's a gentleman!               THE BARON               Who is leaning against a chair by a pillar with Kringelein.               THE CAMERA APPROACHES THEM.               They are not speaking. The Baron is looking off at:               FLASH A SHOT FROM HIS ANGLE OF CHAUFFEUR               Sauntering between the door and Senf's desk.                                                                   BACK TO:               THE BARON               He slumps on the arm of the chair.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (watching him)                         The Baron is tired?                                     BARON                         No, Kringelein, not tired, -- just --                              (he shrugs his                               shoulders)                         Well -- well --                                     KRINGELEIN                         Perhaps this evening, Baron, we could                          go to the Casino -- the place we                          passed with the marvelous bright                          lights?                                     BARON                         I'd like to Kringelein, but I can't --                          I am broke!                                     KRINGELEIN                         Broke -- A Baron? But, Baron --               The Baron looks off, sees the chauffeur --                                                                    CUT IN:               FLASH OF CHAUFFEUR               Arguing with Senf.                                                               CUT BACK TO:               BARON                                     BARON                         Excuse me, Mr. Kringelein.                              (he strides off)               Keep the CAMERA on Kringelein as he watches the Baron.               He takes out his pocket-book and looks at his money commencing                to count it. The thought is in his mind of offering the Baron                money. Charming scene.                                                                    CUT TO:               BARON AND CHAUFFEUR               Moving into position. They are talking.                                     BARON                              (quietly)                         I've quit.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         You can't.                                     BARON                         I'm not going to get those pearls                          and neither are you.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         What about the money?                                     BARON                         I'll pay you back.                                     CHAUFFEUR                         How?                                     BARON                         I have an idea working in my head...                              (he glances at                               Kringelein)                                     CHAUFFEUR                         You might find a bullet through that                          head...                                     BARON                         If you did that, you'd get nothing                          except the police after you. If you                          wait -- I'll give you your six                          thousand back --               At that moment a voice is heard.                                     VOICE                         Madam Grusinskaya's car -- Madam                          Grusinskaya's car.               It is passed along.                                     INSIDE PORTER                              (calls through his                               little telephone)                         Madam Grusinskaya's car --                                     MEGAPHONE                              (outside)                         Madam Grusinskaya's car --                                     BARON                              (quickly to chauffeur)                         Later.                              (Chauffeur exits with                               bad grace.)               Baron looks off...               FULL SHOT -- FROM HIS ANGLE               Like a pageant Grusinskaya sweeps forward -- pretty shot.                Music comes up.               Grusinskaya is followed by Suzette, Pimenov and Meierheim.                People turn to look at her. She sweeps forward.               As she gets to the door she faces the Baron. She steps quickly                aside to him. Pimenov and Meierheim pause.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (to them)                         Go on please -- go on, Suzette.               She and the Baron are alone.                                     BARON                              (quietly)                         Bless you...                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Are you coming to the theatre? Oh --                          I shall dance tonight -- How I shall                          dance -- I want to feel that you are                          in the theatre.                                     BARON                         I can't.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         No?                                     BARON                         No! I can't explain now. Oh, look --                          the pearls. You wear them now...                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Why do you think --                                     BARON                         Why?                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         They've brought me such good luck --                          you --               He takes her hand, kisses it quietly.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I'm worried about you.                                     BARON                         Don't.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         On the train?                                     BARON                         Yes -- I will be on the train.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Till then.                                     BARON                         Bless you --               During this scene Kringelein has been hovering nearby. As                Grusinskaya turns away and exits, Kringelein approaches the                Baron, who is standing perfectly still, looking off, -- his                mind miles away.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Was the Baron joking, or is it really                          true that the Baron is -- in financial                          straits.                                     BARON                              (lightly)                         Absolutely true, Kringelein and I                          have to raise some money immediately.                                     KRINGELEIN                         If the Baron -- if you would permit                          me --               The Baron looks at him suddenly.                                     BARON                         What?                                     KRINGELEIN                         I would be awfully glad to oblige,                          you've been so decent to me. Three                          hundred?                                     BARON                         If I could get into a game I might                          win some.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Gambling! I'd like that. I have over                          six thousand eight hundred marks                          with me.                                     BARON                         If we could scare up some men to                          play.                                     KRINGELEIN                         We could come to my room.                                     BARON                              (with enthusiasm)                         Good!               At that moment Flaemmchen passes.                                     BARON                         Going?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Yes --               Flaemmchen hesitates as though she wanted to say something                that is on her mind.               A curious little scene.               She doesn't speak, she just turns suddenly through the door.                The Baron glances after her a little puzzled, turns back to                Kringelein.                                     BARON                         Ready, Kringelein?                                     KRINGELEIN                         Ready, Baron.               They move off and are last in the crowd.                                                                  FADE OUT:                                   END OF SEQUENCE "#5"                                      SEQUENCE "#6"               No scenes 88-93 inclusive               Sequence omitted from original script.                                                             DISSOLVE INTO:               KRINGELEIN'S ROOM               Possibly ten men are gathered about a green table. They are                playing cards. There are champagne bottles, glasses, etc.,                on the table -- a great deal of smoke. Good atmosphere. The                game is [...] fer. There is a dead silence except for the                monotonous words of the players.               White faced, the Baron has the bank.               Otternschlag is seen to close the door quietly and approach                the table.               Kringelein's back is to us.               They are smart people, not professional gamblers.               There is a tension in the room. The men are gathered around                tightly. We do not see the cards.               The following voices are heard:                                     BARON'S VOICE                         All right, gentlemen.                                     VOICES                         I play -- I play -- Here -- Up --                          Playing --                                     KRINGELEIN'S VOICE                         Yes -- me.               Several men glance at Kringelein and the size of his stake.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Is that too much, Baron?                                     BARON                              (glances down at his                               own money)                         No -- not at all.                                     KRINGELEIN                         All right then.                                     BARON                         All right then.               There is tension in the room. The Baron deals two cards.                Kringelein takes cards.                                     A MAN                              (quickly)                         Don't show them.               Kringelein turns it down. He is like a little boy learning a                new game.               The Baron deals himself a card.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (to Baron)                         What do I do now?               The Baron is serious. There is enough money on the table to                take him to Vienna.                                     A MAN                              (next to Kringelein)                         Turn 'em up.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh yes -- that's right -- look! I                          win, don't I --                              (he turns the card up)               The Baron rises.                                     BARON                         There you are gentlemen.                                     A MAN                              (to Kringelein)                         Will you take the bank, sir?                                     KRINGELEIN                         Yes -- I'll take everything gentlemen --                          please, let us drink -- champagne ---                         champagne is expensive and good. I'm                          winning more than I used to earn in                          a year -- double what I used to earn.                              (he is counting his                               money)               They hand him the cards.               Kringelein kisses the Baron -- he looks around.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Where is the Baron -- where are you,                          Baron?               At the side table the Baron is standing -- he is drinking --                his face is white -- he has lost.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (rising quickly)                         Excuse me, gentlemen.                                     DOCTOR                              (sitting down in                               Kringelein's place)                         I'll take the bank -- All right,                          gentlemen.               Kringelein has come to the Baron.                                     BARON                         That was my last.                                     KRINGELEIN                         You've lost everything?                                     BARON                         I've no luck.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Pardon me, Baron. Permit me again...                              (he puts bills in                               Baron's hand.)               Baron pours out a glass of champagne -- he has been drinking                plenty -- he hands glass to Kringelein.                                     BARON                         Drink to me, Kringelein -- it's my                          last chance.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (earnestly)                         I do drink, Baron -- I drink to you,                          Baron and to win.                              (he drinks)                         It's good, -- come along, Baron.               They both move back to the table where the Doctor holds the                bank.                                     BARON                         I take five hundred.                                     KRINGELEIN                         All of that at once, Baron?               The Baron picks cards, shows them to Kringelein who doesn't                understand.                                     BARON                         Eight.                              (he is triumphant.)                                     DOCTOR'S VOICE                              (rings in background)                         Nine.               The Baron throws the cards into the middle of the table and                turns to Kringelein:                                     BARON                         That's it. The luck's with you.                              (he walks away.)                                     VOICES                         Come along, Mr. Kringelein. Sit here.                                     KRINGELEIN                         I'm having luck for the first time                          in my life.                                     A MAN                         Your bank, Mr. Kringelein.               Kringelein seats himself, puts his glass of champagne down                on the table.               Doctor leaves table, crosses to Baron who is pouring another                drink.                                     DOCTOR                         Out, Baron?                                     BARON                              (bitterly)                         For a while -- I'll recover -- in                          ten or twenty years.                              (he points)                         Look at that.               He has pointed and turned off because we hear Kringelein's                voice:                                     KRINGELEIN'S VOICE                         I've won again, Baron -- I've won                          again.               Baron moves out of scene followed by Doctor. As Baron                approaches table.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Baron, I drink and win -- I drink                          and win -- I win and drink!                              (he is pulling money                               towards him, counting                               it, eagerly,                               frantically, not the                               movement of a miser,                               not a greedy movement,                               but the movement of                               an excited child                               liberated. Money has                               become so much mad                               paper to him.)               During the foregoing scene, one of the men at the table has                answered the ringing of the telephone bell, he comes back                now.                                     A MAN                         There are complaints in the hotel                          about the noise.                                     VOICES                         What time is it? Getting late? Let's                          break it up!                              (to Kringelein)                         You've been very lucky... Where's my                          coat? Let's go. He's drunk anyway!...                          Goodnight, Baron. Let's wind up the                          game, I'm broke and tired; you can't                          play against him. I put my hat down                          here, somewhere. I think I'll have a                          drink before I go. By the way, I've                          got to see you tomorrow morning.                          How've you been, Doctor?               Business ad lib. General business of slow normal exit.               Kringelein looks up from counting his money. He has been                like a little boy with a Christmas stocking. He looks up                suddenly, sees men are leaving --                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, don't go, gentlemen! -- Stay a                          while.                              (he stands to his                               feet)                         Be my guests!               By this time the men are pausing by the door.                                     KRINGELEIN                         I oughtn't to presume, but I --                              (he is a little drunk)                         I'm so grateful to you -- it's been                          so marvelous. The first time in my                          life I have gambled -- I've danced!                          Oh, you can laugh, gentlemen, but                          it's the first time in my life I've                          ever tasted life!                                     A MAN                              (slapping him on back)                         Splendid!               There is a general feeling in the room that although this                man is drunk he is terribly sincere, and that there is no                wish to embarrass themselves or him. In fact, there is a                nervous impatient movement among the men. But Kringelein has                reached an emotional pitch.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Life, gentlemen, is wonderful, but                          very dangerous. You must have courage                          for it, then it's wonderful. You                          gentlemen don't know that because                          you are all healthy and happy, but I --                          believe me -- a man must know death                          and not until then does a man know                          anything about life.                                     A MAN                              (sings)                         Rejoice in life while yet the small                          lamp burns.               General noise among men, some are ribald, others are serious.                Two men come and shake hands with Kringelein, bidding him                goodnight.               The Baron puts his hand restrainingly on Kringelein's                shoulder.               Kringelein almost staggers towards the sideboard. The men                are nearing the door.                                     A MAN                              (starts singing)                         It's a short life and a gay one...                                     KRINGELEIN                              (seizing a glass of                               champagne)                         Every glass high to life -- the                          splendid, dangerous, mighty, brief --                         brief life -- and the courage to                          live it.                              (turns to Baron)                         Baron, you know -- I've only lived                          since last night -- but that little                          while seems longer than all the time                          before -- all the --                              (he collapses suddenly                               onto the floor)               Business ad lib.               The doctor is there quickly. The Baron next.                                     MAN                         Drunk.                                     ANOTHER MAN                         Poor fellow.               General normal business ad lib between the men. Perhaps three                of them help him up, including the Baron. They carry                Kringelein to the bed.                                     VOICES                              (of players mingling)                         Drunk? No, he's ill. Looks ill.                              (well paused over:)                         He's a doctor -- The doctor's here --                          He's just drunk!                                     DOCTOR                         Gentlemen, this man is ill -- very                          ill -- if you will leave.                                     VOICES                         Certainly, Doctor. Goodnight!                          Goodnight, Baron! Bad luck!                                     DRUNKEN MAN                         He's not used to champagne -- why                          does he drink it?               Little comedy on exit. Ad lib.               INTERCUT FOR RELIEF -- Kringelein's face -- white, drawn,                tragic.               One man, perhaps, remains.                                     MAN                         Can I help, doctor?                                     DOCTOR                         No, the Baron will stay.                                     BARON                         Certainly.               Man leaves. During this scene the Baron has been carefully                making Kringelein comfortable on the bed, bolstering pillows                behind his head. Kringelein's eyes are shut tightly, his                hands are limp.               By the business of the Baron, although we do not of course                know it, this is the time that he takes the wallet from                Kringelein and puts it in his own pocket.               We might perhaps remember a sudden turn away in which we see                his back and his right hand raised as though reaching in his                inside pocket --               He stands looking down at Kringelein.                                     DOCTOR                              (drops Kringelein's                               hand)                         It will be over in a minute.               Kringelein's eyes flutter. His voice sounds hoarsely:                                     KRINGELEIN                         Over -- over so soon -- it has just                          begun.                              (he closes his eyes                               suddenly)                         Oh, the pain.                                     DOCTOR                         Try and sleep, Kringelein, don't be                          afraid.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (mutteringly)                         I'd like to live a little longer but --                          I'm not afraid to die -- I'm not...                                     BARON                              (touching his shoulder                               gently)                         You'll be all right, Kringelein.                              (he moves from the                               bed -- takes out a                               cigarette, moves to                               the table. He seizes                               his drink)                                     KRINGELEIN'S VOICE                              (out of scene)                         My pocketbook... my money in it...                                     DOCTOR'S VOICE                         What do you say -- what?               We watch Baron's face, he looks back over his shoulder.                                     DOCTOR'S VOICE                         You what -- Oh, isn't it there?                                     KRINGELEIN'S VOICE                         No -- But no I -- Baron, I've lost                          my pocketbook.               Baron turns in this scene. He walks forward toward them.               The Doctor's hands are on Kringelein's coat.                                     DOCTOR                         There is no pocketbook here... On                          the floor probably.                              (He glances down)                                     KRINGELEIN                              (starting up suddenly)                         More than fourteen thousand marks...                          were in that pocketbook.                                     DOCTOR                              (looking at Baron)                         Fourteen thousand marks... One can                          travel -- one's happiness might depend                          on fourteen thousand marks -- don't                          you think so, Baron?                                     BARON                              (with a shrug)                         Quite possibly.               At that moment, Kringelein, who has been staring up at the                ceiling, his hands clenching and reclenching, starts up.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, I've got to find it.                                     DOCTOR                         Stay where you are.                                     KRINGELEIN                         No -- I must find it --                              (he starts talking)                         Fourteen thousand two hundred marks.                              (he pulls himself to                               the side of the bed)               The doctor goes to restrain him.                                     KRINGELEIN                         I'm all right, Doctor. There's no                          pain now -- only you don't know what                          that money means to a man like me.               He is suddenly on his hands and knees, crawling along the                floor, looking for it, like a little boy; his drunkenness,                his condition, makes the situation tragic. He actually gets                under the card table.               The Doctor looks at the Baron.               The Baron only watches Kringelein. He follows him, fascinated.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (talking at intervals                               as he crawls looking                               for money)                         You don't know, because you've never                          lived like a dog -- in a hole -- and                          saved and scrimped. My life hangs                          upon that money, Baron. Nobody gives                          you anything. You have to buy                          everything and pay cash for it. I                          wanted to pay for my last days with                          that money. Every hour costs money.                          I've nothing -- nothing but that                          pocketbook.                              (he crawls along the                               floor on his hands                               and knees talking to                               the carpet as he                               looks)                         I must have it back.                              (he pauses breathless --                               like an animal along                               the wall -- looking                               up at the men)               The foregoing speech is intercut with the following action                in which Kringelein's voice is heard throughout -- thus it                is not a long speech:               The Baron watches. He throws his cigarette away -- he bites                his lip -- sweat breaks out upon his forehead; again he is a                thief. When he wanted pearls the love of a woman stopped                him. Now he wants this money and pity, a slow growing pity                for this tragic, dying thing is stopping him -- and all the                time the Doctor watches.               The one, whole eye pierces into the Baron's melting                conscience.               Twice during the speech at a spot, through and during                rehearsal, to be selected, the Doctor's voice, droning but                piercing, says:                                     DOCTOR                         He must find his money, Baron.                              (next time)                         Mr. Kringelein should find his                          pocketbook, Baron, shouldn't he?               These are two interjections.               And now, Kringelein lies upon the floor, a troubled little                sack of pain, his head down.               The Baron turns away. He bends down as though he were looking                for the pocketbook. We see him take it from his pocket and                turn. There is a very light, almost triumphant ring in his                voice as he says:                                     BARON                         Here -- here it is. Here's your                          pocketbook, Kringelein.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (his head coming up)                         Oh -- yes -- that's it -- you found                          it -- you found it for me, Baron.                                     BARON                              (quickly)                         Goodnight, Kringelein.                              (he moves towards the                               door.)                                     KRINGELEIN                         No -- no please -- oh, don't go --                          don't go -- don't leave me alone,                          Baron.                                     DOCTOR                         You've nothing to fear, Kringelein                                     KRINGELEIN                         No.                                     BARON                         Come, get up -- come let me help                          you.               NOTE: If he is a strong actor he can pick Kringelein up --                If not, he and Doctor lift Kringelein to bed.                                     BARON                         You're all right now -- it's very                          late -- goodnight, Kringelein.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, no, stay here, Baron -- stay.               Baron bites his lip. It is the first and only time in the                play that we see a tear near -- the strong man almost breaks.                                     DOCTOR'S VOICE                         Goodnight, Baron.                                     BARON                         Goodnight.                              (his hand presses on                               Kringelein's shoulder --                               he exits)                                                              CUT OUT INTO:               CORRIDOR               Baron shuts door and pauses. In front of him is the door of                the woman he loves. Down beyond is his own empty room. In                his pockets nothing. In his CLOSEUP he makes the audience                feel his problem with him.               This man who has lived and whistled and love through the                play becomes a tragic, lonely, harrassed figure. The Baron                has broken. His fists dig into his eyes -- he brushes his                hair back.               Over this comes with almost an impertinence, a tiny whistle.                He looks up and away down the corridor. The figure of                Flaemmchen stands there, a small black bag in her hand. The                Baron pulls himself together and smiles characteristically.                He walks down the corridor.                                     BARON                         Flaemmchen, what are you doing here                          in the middle of the night.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Looking for my room -- one sixty-                         six.                                     BARON                         You live here?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         For tonight.                              (she points to door --                               she looks at him a                               long time)                                     BARON                         Oh!                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Yes -- oh!                                     BARON                         Well -- such is life, Flaemmchen.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         And Baron, thanks so much for                          everything.               They both go into their respective rooms.               Here are our two gay young characters. The gay, fresh                Flaemmchen and the debonair Baron, crucified for lack of                funds. Both trying to smile, both trying to be light about                themselves. Yet, each about to involve themselves tragically                for the want of a little money.               FLAEMMCHEN'S ROOM               Flaemmchen enters her room cautiously. Except for one lamp                burning the room is in darkness and empty. From the adjoining                door to Preysing's room a thin stream of light. She puts                down her bag quickly, tiptoes through the bathroom to his                door. She peeps through.                                                                    CUT TO:               FLASH OF PREYSING'S ROOM               from her angle.               Preysing stretched on bed flat, his stomach a mountain and                on it the magazine that he has been reading with Flaemmchen's                picture. He is looking at the ceiling. She knows he is awake                because a thin stream of smoke comes from his cigar in his                hand.               FLASH OF FLAEMMCHEN               An idea occurs to her. She could possibly sneak into bed and                he would go to sleep and there would be nothing that night.               CAMERA FOLLOWS HER as she tiptoes to her room. She closes                the door noiselessly and listens. She throws off her hat and                takes off her coat. Opens her bag and takes out night dress,                lingerie, etc. The lid of her bag falls suddenly. She starts                at the noise. "Has it awakened him." She looks off.               SHOT AT BATHROOM DOOR               The thin stream of light is filled suddenly, the door of the                adjoining room opens and back-lighted from the other room                the huge form of Preysing appears. In this odd lighting he                is a little more than Preysing. He comes forward. He speaks                hoarsely, quietly.                                     PREYSING                         Flaemmchen!                              (he seizes her to him)               She goes to his arms passively. He rubs his face in her hair.                She is passive -- cold.                                     PREYSING                              (breathlessly)                         You are late. I've been waiting for                          you -- waiting.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         I had to arrange about the trip.                                     PREYSING                         You're sweet.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You think so?               He holds her again, trying to kiss her. She deliberately                avoids his kiss.                                     PREYSING                              (awkwardly)                         Come here.                              (he sits heavily on                               the bed, sitting on                               her night dress.)                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Here, hold up!               Preysing rises while she pulls her night dress from under                him.               He draws her to him.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Oh -- careful, Mr. Preysing.                                     PREYSING                         Call me -- do you know -- would you --                          would you like to call me by my first                          name?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (pulling away, glad                               of an excuse for                               conversation)                         Oh, no.                                     PREYSING                         Why not?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         I couldn't do that, you're a stranger                          to me.                                     PREYSING                         You're a funny little creature,                          Flaemmchen. I can't make you out.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         It's not funny at all. One can't get                          intimate just off hand. I could go                          to England with you and everything                          like that -- supposing I met you                          next year and I said: 'How do you                          do, Mr. Preysing! And you said:                              (she imitates him)                         'That was the young lady who was my                          secretary in Manchester'.               Preysing laughs. She laughs.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         That's all quite proper.                              (she is happy again.                               She would rather                               talk than be squeezed)                         But supposing I met you when you                          were with your wife and I called                          out: "Hello you big baby -- remember                          Manchester?' And you with your wife,                          how would you like that?               There is a pause for a moment.                                     PREYSING                         Please, Flaemmchen -- we'll leave my                          wife out of this.               Flaemmchen yawns straight in his face.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         All right. I'll get undressed -- get                          out.               He moves towards the windows which are open. She pushes his                fat body out, almost playfully, through the doors and onto                the balcony.               Preysing stands out on the balcony. He looks down in the                street below, then off. He starts suddenly because he sees a                shadow over the railing of his own balcony. He is puzzled.                Shadow crosses again. "Who can be in his room?" He moves                forward and peeps through the window. One side of the French                window is closed. From his angle we see the Baron furtively                searching the room. He is now wearing an overcoat, the collar                is turned up. Business ad lib. He finds Preysing's wallet.                He stuffs this in his overcoat pocket. Preysing's face                watching him. As Baron turns to exit, Preysing surges forward,                pulling the window after him. The two men face each other.                                     PREYSING                         Aha! -- The Baron. What do you want                          here?                                     BARON                         I must have made a mistake.                                     PREYSING                         Made a mistake -- remarkable. We                          shall soon see if you made a mistake.                              (the Baron starts to                               leave.)                              (bellowing)                         Stay here... Give me that money.               The Baron hands him the pocketbook without a word.                                     PREYSING                         So that's how we stand, Baron.                                     BARON                         Look here, sir -- I'm completely at                          your mercy -- I'm desperate -- it's                          a matter of life or death -- I had                          to get some money -- tonight.                                     PREYSING                         Indeed you must, Baron -- you must.                          Humm -- humm, but you must go to                          jail, Baron, you're a thief.                                     BARON                         Be quiet.                                     PREYSING                         I'm going to call the police. I'm                          going to watch you play the great                          Baron with the police. Aristocrat!                          Aristocrat!                              (he picks up the                               telephone)               The Baron makes for the door on the other side of the room,                pulls at the knob.                                     PREYSING                         The door is locked, Baron.               The Baron makes one dive across the room. Preysing grasps at                his coat and tears it. With one hand holding the telephone,                (the receiver dropping on its cord towards the ground) and                one hand holding the Baron.                                     PREYSING                              (into telephone)                         Hello! Hello! --                                     BARON                         Don't do that.                              (he tries to snatch                               the telephone from                               Preysing.)               Preysing wrenches the telephone suddenly away from the Baron.                The action excites him.                                     PREYSING                         Strike me, would you? Attack me would                          you? Attack me --               With a terrific lunge, Preysing brings the telephone down                upon the Baron's head. The Baron sways, stunned. (as in book).                In his mad rage, Preysing, hits again with the telephone.                                     PREYSING                         I'll strike you -- I'll strike you --                          I'll strike you -- Strike me!               By this time the Baron is a heap on the floor. We see Preysing                come out of his blind trance. He even repeats again.                                     PREYSING                         I strike you --                              (with telephone                               foolishly in his                               hand, he looks down                               at what he has done.)                                                                    CUT TO:               DOWNSTAIRS TELEPHONE ROOM               Sharp sound of buzzing.               Dozing night girl plugs in, lazily.                                     NIGHT GIRL                         Yes -- yes -- Operator -- Operator --                              (she listens -- says                               to herself)                         They are having a nice little game                          up there with the telephone.               With nonchalance she flicks plug out again, as she does so:                                                                    CUT TO:               PREYSING'S ROOM               New angle. Preysing is on his feet. He has replaced the                receiver on the telephone, he is putting it back slowly. He                is terrified.               Door opens behind him.               Flaemmchen, with a dressing gown on, light, filmy thing,                crosses and looks down at the Baron, without a word. Preysing                seizes her.               Her hand goes to her head, her eyes roll; for a moment we                think she is going to faint right on top of the Baron. She                is trying to collect her senses, it cannot be true. We can                hear nothing but the heavy breathing of Preysing and the                traffic below.               Suddenly a motor horn in the street below sounds strident,                it is the first time we have been conscious of it.               With a swift movement, Flaemmchen dashes towards the door.                It is locked. She rushes back as if to cut through her own                room. He reaches for her and rips her dressing gown from                her, leaving her almost naked. He lunges after her. She tears                through her own room.                                                                    CUT TO:               CORRIDOR               Flaemmchen enters from her room. She looks this way and that.                After all, it is Flaemmchen and not Lillian Gish, running                across the ice in "Way Down East," -- it is Flaemmchen, a                Berlin girl. She pauses to try and clear her brain. "What                the hell is this -- what is it." The impulse naturally is to                scream in alarm. She doesn't -- Flaemmchen's don't. She looks                around. At the end of the passage is Kringelein's room. She                will go there. We watch her run down the passage uncertainly.                Without knocking she pushes open Kringelein's door.                                                                    CUT TO:               KRINGELEIN'S ROOM               It is in darkness. The only light comes through the windows.                The form of Kringelein lies prone upon the bed, the Doctor                had just thrown a coat over him. He is still in his trousers                and shirt.               Like a ghost, Flaemmchen, the shreds of her filmy clothes                hanging to her, crosses.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (hoarse whisper)                         Mr. Kringelein -- Mr. Kringelein --                          where are you?               She sweeps to bed. She shakes him. Kringelein starts up.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Quick -- Mr. Kringelein.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh -- what -- what --                              (he is looking up at                               what seems to be a                               ghost.)               She pulls on the light by the bed, it flames up on their                faces.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh -- oh, Miss Flaemmchen. It's you --                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Quick -- something awful -- awful                          has happened. Go -- go at once, --                          Mr. Preysing --                                     KRINGELEIN                         Preysing?               It occurs to him that this girl with her torn clothes must                have been roughly treated by Preysing. He suddenly assumes a                strength.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Oh, don't wait -- go -- it's awful --                          it's awful.               She slides down to the floor, by the side of the bed.               Kringelein climbs out of bed, tries to help her up.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Stay here.               She waves him away.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Don't wait now -- go -- Preysing.               Kringelein assumes suddenly a strength. He is a man for a                crisis -- he forgets that he was ever ill -- he leaves.               WE GO WITH HIM. CUT HIM DOWN CORRIDOR QUICKLY. He pauses                outside Preysing's door, uncertain of the rooms, then he                knocks.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (calling)                         Mr. Preysing -- Oh, Mr. Preysing --               He feels there must be a mistake -- he steps back, sees                Flaemmchen's door open next to it. He enters.                                                           CUT HIM THROUGH:               FLAEMMCHEN'S ROOM               He enters. Looks around. Looks through bathroom. Goes quickly                forward.                                                          CUT INTO REVERSE:               PREYSING'S ROOM               Preysing is still leaning against the table, his mouth is                open, he is gaping -- stunned. The two hundred and four pounds                has collapsed and sagged. He is staring, his victim lying --                a heap upon the floor, very still and quiet. His eyes come                around as Kringelein enters.               Kringelein crosses, looks down. Touches the Baron's hand.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh -- the Baron -- the Baron.                                     PREYSING                         He tried to rob me -- he is dead --                                     KRINGELEIN                         My best friend -- poor, Baron --                          dead -- just like that.                                     PREYSING                         -- We must do something...                                     KRINGELEIN                              (quickly)                         Yes, the police must be called.                                     PREYSING                         No -- no -- wait -- the man was a                          burglar -- he was going to steal my                          money.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, no -- no -- not the Baron.                                     PREYSING                              (suddenly)                         Where is that girl -- she was working                          with him -- she enticed me into her                          room.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Her room -- oh -- I see, Mr. Preysing --                          I understand, Mr. General Director                          Preysing.                                     PREYSING                              (frantically)                         I can answer for this, it was self-                         defense -- I can answer for this --                          but that girl -- the scandal -- my                          wife -- my daughters, you know them?                                     KRINGELEIN                         Yes, I know them --                                     PREYSING                         The scandal -- we are men -- you --                          you could take that affair of the                          young lady upon yourself -- take her                          and hold your tongue. Then you can                          travel -- I'll give you anything --                          anything -- she was with you.                                     KRINGELEIN                         We must call the police, your                          excellency.               Preysing takes him by the shoulders.                                     PREYSING                         How much -- how much do you want --                          you need money -- you have nothing.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Don't worry about me, Mr. General                          Director Pryesing -- worry about                          yourself.                              (he picks up receiver)                         There has been a murder -- this is                          room one sixty-four.                                                                    CUT TO:               TELEPHONE ROOM               Telephone girl plugs in.                                     GIRL                         Hello -- hurry up... hurry up...                          someone in one sixty-four says there                          has been a murder.                                                                    CUT TO:               HALL PORTER               The scene gradually grows intense. Porter calls night man.                                     PORTER                         Here - quick - here -- go to one                          sixty-four immediately.                              (calls back on                               telephone)                         Give me Mr. Rohna -- Rohna the                          manager.                                                                    CUT TO:               ROHNA'S ROOM               Darkened room. Bell ringing. Rohna sits up in bed, turns on                light, picks up telephone; on his face we see him hear the                news.                                     ROHNA                         Where?... murder?... who?... all                          right, I'm coming. Wait a minute.                              (speaks in a monotone)                         Instruct everyone to use the utmost                          tact -- we must have no scandal in                          the Grand Hotel. Answer no questions,                          I'm coming now -- inform the police.               (he replaces the telephone commences dressing quickly)                                                                    CUT TO:               GRUSINSKAYA'S ROOM               Trunks standing around everywhere. Suzette is finishing                packing. Grusinskaya is sitting in front of the mirror in a                loose night wrap -- she is doing her hair.                                     SUZETTE                         Madam should sleep.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I've done my hair differently -- do                          you like that?                                     SUZETTE                         When a lady falls in love she does                          her hair differently.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (rising)                         In the middle of the night -- those                          flowers make me think of a funeral.                          Laurels and tube-roses.                              (she pushes the window                               closed, shivers, it                               is chilly. She crosses                               the room turning out                               one of the lights)                         Oh, think, Suzette -- the Villa and                          the sun at Tremezzo -- quiet -- simple --                          happy -- we'll have a guest, Suzette.                                     SUZETTE                              (quietly)                         Yes, Madam. And now Madam will sleep.                          It is not long 'till the train.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Goodnight, Suzette.               Suzette leaves -- turning out a light.               Alone, Grusinskaya goes to the telephone. She raises the                receiver.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Hello -- can you tell me if Baron                          von Gaigern is in his room -- ring                          him.                              (talking to herself)                         Cherie, I must wake you or you'll                          miss the train.                              (into phone)                         ...yes... are you ringing, he may be                          asleep.                              (to herself)                         Cherie, you must get up and fetch me                          from my room -- I'm longing for you,                          Cherie -- I have not been to sleep --                          I kept thinking you would come to                          me.                              (into phone)                         ...Oh, but he must answer. Ring --                          ring -- ring.               CUT IN HERE at discretion the:               BARON'S EMPTY ROOM               Telephone is ringing.                                                               CUT BACK TO:               GRUSINSKAYA'S ROOM                                     GRUSINSKAYA                              (to herself)                         Cherie, hurry -- hurry -- hurry.                          Answer the phone -- what is the                          matter.                              (into phone)                         Ring him -- ring him.                              (to herself)                         Where are you -- where are you,                          Cherie? Why don't you answer?                              (into phone)                         Well, ring him -- please -- please.                                                           FADE OUT SLOWLY:                                   END OF SEQUENCE "#6"                                      SEQUENCE "#7"               Music up as we --               FADE IN ON:               DISSOLVE INTO - EXTERIOR SERVICE ENTRANCE OF HOTEL               The trees and the milk cart effect and other curious signs                of dawn, which we remember after the climax of the first                sequence.               Music cold and eerie.                                                              DISSOLVE OUT:               General early morning bustle and activity.               From one van, fruit and vegetables are being unloaded. From                another, huge hind quarters of beef are being carried in and                in a monotonous way a baker throws two loaves at a time, to                another man, from a van backed up --                                     BAKER                              (counting)                         Forty-two -- forty-four -- forty-six --                          forty-eight -- fifty -- fifty-two --               Waiters coming to work. A noisy racket.               Sandwiched between the bread and butcher vans, is backed a                hearse.               At the moment we come upon it, the men are pausing in their                work to glance. The men take off their caps, as; proceeded                by the hotel detective and others, who will be there, the                corpse of the Baron in the basket, used at such time, is                brought out and placed in the hearse, which drives noisily                away. A policeman rides with the driver on the box.               By this time the man with the bread is counting:                                      BAKER                         One hundred and eight -- one hundred                          and ten -- one hundred and twelve...               Stay with him for a moment.                                                              DISSOLVE OUT:               DISSOLVE INTO - EXTERIOR FRONT OF HOTEL               Shooting onto door - day lighting.               A man comes out and signals a black closed limousine, which                pulls forward.                                                              DISSOLVE OUT:               DISSOLVE INTO - MAIN HOTEL LOBBY               Early morning. Sense of chill and desolation. Some chairs                stand on tables. A vacuum cleaner is at work on the carpets.                Newspaper boys are delivering papers at the news stand. The                various shops are slowly being opened, the windows being                cleaned.               The general feeling of the beginning of another day.               THE CAMERA waits at a distance shooting from door as Preysing,                with a plain clothes man on either side of him, leaves, moving                towards THE CAMERA. He is grim, his hat is drawn over his                eyes. His hands deep in his pockets. When he has passed the                CAMERA MOVES FORWARD TO:               SENF'S DESK               (the old shot) Meierheim is entering quickly goes through                the door.               He crosses now to Pimenov. They talk eagerly out of earshot.                But it is apparent that Meierheim is, as usual, in a hurry.               Rohna is there too. One of the men carries a telephone stand,                wrapped loosely in paper. But we know it's the telephone                stand.               Senf comes on duty, looks around, it is apparent that he is                late.                                     CLERK                         The night clerk has already gone --                          you are late.                                     SENF                         Man -- I was at the clinic the whole                          night -- there are no words to                          describe what my wife suffered.                                     CLERK                         And the child isn't coming?                                     SENF                         No -- no -- not yet. Well, I mustn't                          let it interfere with my duty. Any                          news here?                                     CLERK                         News? Yes -- killing in number one-                         sixty-four.                                     SENF                         What? -- Who? -- Whom?                                     CLERK                         The big manufacturer killed Baron                          von Gaigern.                                     SENF                         Good heavens. What for?                                     CLERK                         I don't know.                                     SENF                         Man -- that's terrible. He was a                          nice fellow -- I am sorry about him.                                     CLERK                         It seems that he was a thief and an                          imposter.                                     SENF                         I don't believe it -- he was a real                          gentleman. I know people... I'm so                          tired I can hardly see out of my                          eyes. No sleep for two nights and so                          many duties and now this killing in                          the hotel -- that means a lot of                          work. But it's too bad about the                          Baron, you always felt better when                          he came along -- always friendly --                          such an agreeable fellow.                                     CLERK                         Most imposters are --               A number of bellboys march up and form a line. Senf comes                from behind the desk and inspects them.                                     SENF                         Good morning.                                     BOYS                              (in chorus)                         Good morning.                                     SENF                         Show your hands.               They show their hands.                                     SENF                              (to one boy)                         You have dirty nails -- you little                          pig -- you're no good... Caps off! --                          Let's see your hair.                              (Boys take off their                               caps)                         Good -- caps on!                              (Boys put on their                               caps)                         Where is number seven?... Not here?                              (to clerk)                         Take his name -- if he comes late                          again today, he's fired. Dismissed!               The boys sit down on the bench.               THE CAMERA MOVES TO KRINGELEIN.               Kringelein and the police officer move towards the desk in                ear shot.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Please, officer.                                     OFFICER                         That will be sufficient for the                          present, sir, you may travel in peace.               Kringelein exits.                                                                    CUT TO:               CORRIDOR BY ELEVATOR               As Kringelein emerges from the elevator, Suzette speaking to                the Floor Clerk.                                     SUZETTE                         And they've taken him away.                                     FLOOR CLERK                         Yes -- it's terrible.                                     SUZETTE                         Madam must not know -- you understand --                          Madam must not know.                                     FLOOR CLERK                         I will tell the maids. I cannot answer                          for downstairs --               Suzette hurries down corridor. By this time Kringelein has                arrived at his door, he opens it.                                                                    CUT TO:               KRINGELEIN'S ROOM               Kringelein opens the door and enters. Flaemmchen is looking                into space. A lovely picture. Morning light over her hair,                she is dressed.                                     KRINGELEIN                         What's the matter?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Oh -- I was thinking -- Poor Baron --                          Lying there, his eyes so open.                                     KRINGELEIN                         You loved the Baron, didn't you?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Yes --                                     KRINGELEIN                         So did I. He was friendly to me as                          no man ever was.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Perhaps he really was a burglar --                          But they don't kill a man for that.                                     KRINGELEIN                         He was in desperate straits. He'd                          been trying to raise money all day.                          He laughed -- Poor devil! And then a                          man like Preysing kills him.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (naively)                         I didn't like Preysing right off.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Then why did you have anything to do                          with him?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                              (simply)                         Money!                                     KRINGELEIN                         Yes, of course, -- money!                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You don't understand that do you?                                     KRINGELEIN                         Of course I do -- I never knew what                          money really meant till I started                          spending it. Do you know --                              (he is silent a moment)                         I can hardly believe that anything                          so beautiful should come to me from                          Preysing -- I'll take care of you.                          Will -- will you let me?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         What?                                     KRINGELEIN                         You'll have a good time with me.                          Want to? I've got enough money. Ten                          thousand two hundred in my pocketbook.                          Three thousand four hundred that I                          won. It will last a long time. I can                          win more -- we'll travel.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Yes -- to Paris? I wanted to go there                          always.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Wherever you like. Here I'll give                          you the money I won, three thousand                          four hundred. Later you can have                          more.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Later?                                     KRINGELEIN                         When I -- I'm ill, Flaemmchen -- It                          will not be long -- I'll not last                          long. Will you stay with me until...                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Nonsense! We'll find a great doctor,                          he'll cure you. They can cure anything                          these days.                                     KRINGELEIN                         Do you believe that you will have a                          better time with me than you would                          with Preysing?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Oh yes, of course.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (takes her hands)                         Do you like me better?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         You're a good man, Mr. Kringelein --                          a very good man.               Kringelein straightens, happy, inspired, a smile on his face.                He assumes in his gestures. Takes the telephone.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (into telephone)                         When is the next train leaving for                          Paris? -- Yes... Get two tickets for                          me... and my bill please... and the                          lady's -- Miss Flaemm's.                              (puts down telephone)                              (to Flaemmchen)                         We have to hurry let's pack -- we'll                          have breakfast on the train.                                                                    CUT TO:               CORRIDOR               The figure of Grusinskaya is standing at her door, there is                no one with her. Suzette steps out.                                     SUZETTE                         Madam, it is Mr. Meierheim -- he is                          waiting downstairs.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Where is Pimenov? Where is Pimenov?                              (she looks off.)               FLASH OF PIMENOV               coming out of the elevator.               Grusinskaya hurries down to Pimenov -- they meet.                                     PIMENOV                              (breathlessly)                         He will be on the train.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         But when did he go? How do you know?               She crosses and looks in the Baron's room. A maid is there                changing the bedding. The room is unoccupied otherwise.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Baron von Gaigern has left?               The maid nods.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         When? How long ago?               Maid shrugs her shoulders.                                     VOICE OF FLOOR CLERK                         The Baron left about half an hour                          ago, Madam.                                     PIMENOV                         Oh -- Gru -- come, come -- we'll                          lose the train.               While they are waiting for the elevator Grusinskaya is like                a live electric wire.               The elevator arrives. They are stepping in.                                                                    CUT TO:               LOBBY               General activity. We hear the cry go up:                                     VOICE                         Madam Grusinskaya's car...               Grusinskaya comes out of the elevator followed by Suzette                and Pimenov. Meierheim meets her.                                     MEIERHEIM                         Come along, oh, Madam, come along.                          The train will be going.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Wait a minute. I've got to ask myself.                                     PIMENOV                         What's the use of asking, Gru -- he                          is at the train -- He will be there.                                     MEIERHEIM                         The troupe, the scenery, everything --                          all on board, waiting. You have a                          rehearsal in Vienna tomorrow morning.                          Come, Madam, are you mad?               Grusinskaya crosses to the desk. She speaks to Senf.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Have you seen Baron von Gaigern?                                     ROHNA                              (comes over quickly)                         The Baron is not here, Madam.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         He is gone?                                     ROHNA                         Yes, Madam.                                     MEIERHEIM                         Four minutes past. Please come.                                     PIMENOV                         Come, Lisaveta, he will be there --                          he will be there.                                     MEIERHEIM                              (calling)                         Madam Grusinskaya's car.               Grusinskaya, followed by the others, sweeps out towards the                door.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXTERIOR HOTEL               Grusinskaya emerges, followed by the others. The sunlight                hits them.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         Oh, the sun -- it will be sunny in                          Tremezzo --                                     MEIERHEIM                         Every seat for the opening has been                          sold at Vienna. Sold out for three                          days.                                     GRUSINSKAYA                         I know -- I know -- but it will be                          sunny in Tremezzo. We'll have a guest                          then.                                     SUZETTE                              (knowingly)                         Yes, Madam.                                     VOICE                         Madam Grusinskaya's car.               Grusinskaya moves forward.                                                                    CUT TO:               LOBBY                                     SENF                              (at telephone)                         Grand Hotel, Head Porter. What?                          There's been -- a child born? A boy!                          Yes! My child born! It is healthy...                          and my wife? Doing well -- all well!                              (to Clerk)                         The child has come. They are both                          alive. My child...                                                                    CUT TO:               BY ELEVATOR               At this moment Kringelein and Flaemmchen are coming out of                the elevator, Kringelein is carrying his suitcase.               A bellboy attempts to take his bag but Kringelein, still                confused draws his hand with the suitcase away from the                bellboy.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Let him take it.                                     BELLBOY                         Your bag, your Excellency --               Hearing the word 'Excellency' Kringelein goes through a                transformation. He stands and with a flourish hands the                suitcase over to the boy. He is a big man now.                                     KRINGELEIN                              (very definitely to                               boy)                         Cab please!                                     BELLBOY                         Cab, for his Excellency, Mr.                          Kringelein!                                     KRINGELEIN                              (to Flaemmchen)                         And now we travel, Flaemmchen...                          Glad?                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         Am I!                                     KRINGELEIN                              (to Senf)                         Is the bill ready -- the lady's too?                                     SENF                         At once. Any forwarding address, Mr.                          Kringelein?                                     KRINGELEIN                         Yes, Paris -- Grand Hotel.                                     FLAEMMCHEN                         How do you know there is a Grand                          Hotel?                                     KRINGELEIN                         Oh, there must be one in Paris...                          They have everything in Paris.                                     SENF                         Your bill, Your Excellency.               Kringelein pays and taking Flaemmchen's arm starts to move                away from the desk, General business ad lib of tipping. Boys                line up, making a deep bow. There is almost a triumphant                march as Kringelein and Flaemmchen move towards the door.                                     SENF CLERK BOYS                              (in chorus)                         Come again, your Excellency.               With head erect, happy smile on his face, Kringelein leaves                the lobby. Normal activity in lobby, reminding us of opening                scene. Doctor comes up to desk.                                     DOCTOR                         Was that Mr. Kringelein leaving?                                         THE END
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+                                   GREMLINS                                 Written by                               Chris Columbus                    HONG KONG - AN OUTDOOR MARKETPLACE          Crowded. Filled with oriental and British merchants.          You can buy anything here. Electronics. Food. Any-          thing.          RAND PELTZER          walks through the owd. An American businessman.1-He          wears a tas eful g3,y suit. He's thin, with distinguished          good looks and thin brown hair. He's 56 years old.          Rand looks around; fascinated by the vast array of people          and merchandise. He stops at a booth. A tiny ORIENTAL,          WOMAN stands behind the counter. Rand gives her a polite          smile.          RAND          Hi. I'm from out of town...          on business from the U.S.          The woman nods and smiles.          AN ORIENTAL MAN          passes by. He is very old. Deep wrinkles. Long white          hair. Ragged clothes. A rotted smile. Overhearing          Rand, the man stops to eavesdrop.          RAND          (explaining to          Oriental woman)          I'm looking for a present...          for my son.          The woman nods. She searches through her wares. She          holds up a basketball. Rand shakes his head.          RAND          He's not really involved in          sports...          The woman puts away the basketball. She picks up a Sony          "Walkman". Rand again shakes his head.,          RAND          No. I want something unusual...          something he can't get at home...          something different..                              .2.          A HAND          reaches out and grabs Rand's arm. Startled, he turns.          The Oriental man stands before him. He stares into Rand's          eyes.          ORIENTAL MAN          I can help you.          He leads Rand away from the booth.          ORIENTAL MAN          I offer something very different.          Very unusual.          Rand is puzzled. The Oriental leads him to a doorway.          ORIENTAL MAN          Follow me.          He opens the door, motioning for Rand to follow. Rand          pauses, skeptical.          ORIENTAL MAN          Come. Take a look. It will cost          you nothing.          (a beat)          You won't be disappointed.          The Oriental enters. Rand shrugs and follows.          INSIDE          Rand follows the man up a narrow, dark set of stairs.          At the top, they enter a room.          INT. ROOM          Dark. No windows. No furniture. Filled with cardboard          boxes and wooden crates.          Rand crinkles his nose. It su,Qlls bad in here.          The Oriental flips on a dim light bulb. He leads the          nervous, apprehensive Rand to a dark corner of the room.          The Oriental picks up a small, metal box. A HIGH PITCHED          GIGGLE echoes from inside the box.                                                  3.          Rand is very puzzled.          The Oriental rests the box on a stack of crates. He opens          the box.          A TINY CREATURE is inside'.          The animal is eleven inches tall and stands; upright on          two legs. It has two arms, with small; four-fingered          hands. Its body is covered with fluffy brown fur. The          piercing eyes are big, sad. Its ears are long and pointed.          A tiny black nose sits above a wide mouth, with small,          square teeth.          The creature is smiling. It lets out a giggle.          Rand is delighted and surprised. He's never seen anything          like this. The animal is more charming than a Disney          character.          The Oriental claps his hands.          The creature leaps from the box, onto Rand's shoulder.          The animal licks Rand's cheek.' He laughs, amused by the          creature.          The Oriental claps his hands again.          The creature hops back into the box. It stares at Rand          with those cute green eyes'.          RAND          (to the Oriental)          What is it?          ORIENTAL MAN          It is called ' Mogwai ' .          (a beat)          A very rare and intelligent animal.          I found it in the fields near my          home It will obey all orders.          It learns fast.          The Oriental looks at Mogwai and claps his hands.          ORIENTAL MAN          (Chinese,; English          SUBTITLES)                                                  4          --Mogwai leaps to the ground. It scurries across the floor,          to a wooden crate.          Mogwai removes a raw tuna from the crate. It tears off a          chunk of the fish and carries it to the oriental man..          He takes the fish. Mogwai hops back into the box.          Rand shakes his head. Amazed by the animal.          he Oriental takes a bit from the raw fish. Juice runs          own his chin. He smiles at Rand.          ORIENTAL MAN          And if you are ever in need of          a song...          He claps his hands to the creature.          ORIENTAL MAN.          (Chinese; English          SUBTITLES)          Music.          Mogwai begins to hum, in an unearthly falsetto. It's          beautiful.          Rand watches with wide eyes. He feels like a child again.          RAND -          How much?          ORIENTAL MAN          One hundred American Dollars.          Cash.          Rand removes five twenties from his wallet. He gives          them to the man.          The Oriental smiles and claps his hands. Mogwai jumps          onto Rand's shoulders. Rand pets it. Mogwai emits a cute          giggle.          ORIENTAL MAN          It never sleeps. It will eat any-          thing... but prefers raw meat.          (PAUSE)          It must always be kept indoors during          the day. It lives in shadow. It          hates bright light. Direct sunlight          will kill it.          Rand nods. He takes Mogwai from his shoulder and puts it          into the box. Rand puts the box under his arm. The          Oriental smiles                                                  ORIENTAL MAN          Your son will enjoy his new friend.          Rand smiles and exits. The Oriental takes a bite from          his raw fish.          CUT TO:..          INT. HONG KONG AIRPORT          Rand is on the pay telephon His baggage rests beside          him.          Mogwai is inside of a small plastic pet box. The creature's          bright eyes shine from inside.          RAND          (into the phone)          Yes, Fred. The Tai-Chan account          is definite. MmmHmm. My plane          l eaves in twenty minutes. See          you in Pennsylvania.          He hangs up. He picks up his bags and walks to the check-          in counter.          THE CHECK-IN GIRL          tags Mogwai's box and puts it on the conveyer belt.          Rand watches the box disappear through the baggage chute.          CHECK-IN GIRL          Don't worry, sir. Your pet will          be safe.          Rand smiles.          CUT TO:          EXT. SKY          The jet flies through the clouds.          INT. AIRPLANE          Rand is eating his airline dinner. AN ORIENTAL STEWARDESS          walks up and refills his coffee. He looks at her.          with the word 'Mogwai'?                                                  6.          She nods.          RAND          What does it mean?          STEWARDESS          Devil.          She moves to the next passenger.          Rand stares. Surprised. Confused.          DISSOLVE TO:          A GREEN ROAD SIGN:          "WELCOME TO KINGSTON FALLS, PENNYSLVANIA. POPULATION 6,122"          CREDITS BEGIN OVER VARIOUS IMAGES OF THIS SMALL TOWN.          One week before Christmas. It's snowing hard.          A man hangs Christmas lights outside of his home. His          young son helps.          Children ice skate along a large,. frozen lake.          A woman trudges through the snow, to her mailbox. A down          parka is over her pajamas.          Kingston's business district. Chilly gas station atten-          dants pump gas into cars.           A Pharmacy owner hangs "Merry Christmas" (in sparkling          gold letters) in his store window.          Telephone line workers share hot coffee from a thermos.          The Union Savings and Trust Bank. Two teenagers push a          woman s car from a ditch.          CREDITS END. CAMERA DOLLIES TO THE BANK DOORS. WE GO          INSIDE.          Crowded. Several peoplestandin line.          BILLY PELTZER          a bank teller, writes out a receipt for a customer.                                                  7.          Billy is 26 years old. His sturdy build and good looks are          buried beneath wire rimmed glasses, slicked dirty-blonde          .hair, a red sweater vest, a loose fitting checkered shirt,          baggy corduroys and worn loafers.          r• Finishing the transaction with his customer, Billy looks to          the line of waiting people.          BILLY          Next.          MRS. DEAGLE          an elderly woman, walks to Billy's window. She's a real          prude. Tight lips. Heavy make-up. Bleached hair. Cheap          fur coat. She hands Billy a personal check.          TRACY ALLEN          another teller, works beside Billy. Tracy is pretty. Big          brown eyes. A sexy smile. Long dark hair. Perfect figure.          25 years old.          Tracy counts out some cash to a customer. She's trying          to concentrate, to keep her mind on work.. But it's diffi-          cult when          GARY LUCIA          the bank security guard, is trying to make her laugh. He          stands by the bank entrance, making funny faces at Tracy.          Gary is 30 years old. Former high school jock. Dark,           thick hair. Deep brown eyes. Muscular. A strong, handsome          face.          Meanwhile, Billy gives the check back to Mrs. Deagle.          BILLY          I can't cash this, M'am. Your          last check hasn't cleared.          MRS. DEAGLE          Don't you recognize me?          BILLY          No, M'am. I'm sorry...                                                  8.          MRS. DEAGLE          (loud, so everyone can          HEAR)          My name is Mrs. Julia Deagle! My          husband manages the.Sparkle Market!          We've been banking here for sixteen          years!          BILLY          T at's very nice, M'am. But your          c eck hasn't cleared and...          MRS. DEAGLE          That's the problem with this world.          It's a mess because of people like          JI$          BILLY          It's not my.fault your check didn't          clear, M'am,          MRS. DEAGLE          Don't get smart with me, oung man.          BILLY          I wasn't getting smart, I was...          MRS. DEAGLE          (shouting,-looking          AROUND)          Where's the president? I want to          see the bank president!          Billy rubs his eyes. Tense. Embarrassed.          Everyone watches the scene. Tracy. Gary. The customers.          ROLAND FRESCO          the bank's Vice President, walks over to Billy and Mrs.          beagle. Roland is tall, slender with thin grey hair and          a pencil thin moustache. Friendliness and courtesy are          his job. He smiles at Mrs. Deagle.          ROLAND          What seems to be the problem,          M'am?          MRS. DEAGLE          My name is Mrs. Julia Deagle. This          young teller is being very rude! I          demand that you fire him!                                                  9          Roland looks at Billy. Billy rolls his eyes. Roland          smiles.          ROLAND          (COMFORTING)          Now,-Mrs. Deagle...I'm sure this          isn't that serious. I'm sure an          apology would fix things right          up. Wouldn't it?          The woman shrugs.' Roland turns to Billy.          ROLAND          Apologize to the woman, Billy.          Billy leans to Roland.          BILLY          (angry whisper)          I. didn't do anything wrong.          AA;          ROLAND          (doesn't care, the          customer comes first)          Just apologize.          Roland.leans back and smiles at Mrs. Deagle.          Billy looks at her. He doesn'-t want to do this.          Everyone in the bank is watching him, waiting for him          to take a stand.          Billy sighs. He needs his job.          BILL°          (forcing himself)          I'm sorry, Mrs. Deagle.          She nods and smiles. Roland puts his hand on the woman's          shoulder.          ROLAND          Come back to my desk, Mrs. Deagle.          I'll personally take care of your          banking problems.          Roland walks back to his office with Mrs. Deagle.          Gary chuckles. Tracy goes back to work.          Billy just sits. Angry. Humiliated. He calls the next          customer.                                                  lb.          BILLY          Next.          CUT TO:          INT. BANK - LATER          Billy puts on his brown winter coat and green scarf.          He picks up his dog eared copy of "The Once And Future          King". He walks to the bank lobby.          TRACY          stands in the lobby, putting on.her coat. Billy moves to          help her.          BILLY          Let me.          He helps her on with the coat.          BILLY          You look very pretty today.          TRACY          (FLATTERED)          Thanks, Billy.          BILLY          I mean.. .not that you don't look          pretty every day...But you look          especially pretty today.          TRACY          (CHUCKLES)          You're cute.          Gary walks up. He puts his arm through Tracy's.          GARY          Let's go. I'm hungry.          (notices Billy)          Hey, Peltzer...Whydidn't you stand.          up to that old bag, today?                                                  I          11.          Billy shrugs. Embarrassed.          Gary notices the book. He takes it from Billy's hand.          GARY          What's this?          BILLY          It's a book. You read 1t.          Billy exchanges a smile with Tracy. Gary isn't amused.          GARY          I know that, asshole. I meant          what's it about?          BILLY          King Arthur. . .Sir Lancelot... Knights          of the Round . Table... Dragons...          GARY          Aren't you a little old for that          kinda' junk?          BILLY          (SHRUGS)          Beats T.V.          GARY-          (gives Billy the          BOOK)          I'll take 'Monday Night Football'          over this crap any day.          (takes Tracy's arm)          C'mon. Let's go.          Tracy gives a wave to Billy. She and Gary walk away.          Billy watches. He draws an imaginary sword from his side.          He lifts the sword and lunges forward. At Gary.          Billy sits at a table. Alone. He's reading his book. He          eats, but his wide eyes never leave the page. He's fas-          cinated by the story. Like a child. He gets to a funny          section.. He laughs.                                                  12.          Gary notices Billy. Gary nudges the others.          GARY          What a nut. Laughin' to himself.          That's the kind of guy who'll shoot          a president.          TRACY          (DEFENSIVE)          I don't see anything wrong with him.          I'm sure he's very intelligent.          GARY          Yeah, and those are the guys who          always crack. The real smart guys.          6ti (pause)           He's gotta be a psycho. 26 years old,          still lives with his parents. Doesn't          have a girlfriend. He's always alone.          Real weirdo.          The others agree. Tracy doesn't. She likes Billy.          Billy continues to read, totally caught up in his book.          Totally caught up in his fantasy.          DISSOLVE TO:          INT. BILLY'S FORD PINTO - LATER THAT AFTERNOON          Billy drives home from work. He moves slow. The snow          still falls. The roads are icy.          CAR RADIO (V.0.)          .And the snow keeps coming, folks.          Looks like we're gonna have a White          Christmas. Another three inches is          expected tonight...          Billy looks out of his side window and sees          PETE FOUNTANE          walking home from school. Pete is 16 years old. A chunky,           pleasant baby faced kid. With his bright orange down jacket,          Pete resembles a tiny snowman.          Suddenly, Pete.slips on the ice. Bam. Right on his ass.          His school books scatter over the ground.                                                  13.          Billy stops the car. He gets out and hurries to Pete.          BILLY          Pete...You okay?          Pete nods. Billy helps him up. Pete brushes himself off.          Billy is amused by the boy.          BILLY          You want a ride home?          PETE          Thanks. That'd be nice.          Billy helps Pete pick up his schoolbooks.          CUT TO:          INT. CAR - A FEW MINUTES LATER          Billy drives, while trying to tell a story to Pete.          BILLY          (energetic, en-          THUSIASTIC)          Lancelot raises Excalibur and...          Wham! He knocks the Black Knight          down ! Then with-another swing...          Wham! He finishes him off!          PETE          (impressed by          Billy's storytelling)          Wow...          Billy digs into his pocket and gives Pete the copy of          "Once And Future King".          BILLY          Here. You can borrow it.          Pete takes the book.          PETE          Hey, Billy...You know so much about          Vikings and stuff...You should          write one of these stories yourself.                                                  14.          PETE          Really?          BILLY          (PROUD)          'Savage Hearts Of The Round          Table'. A Trilogy Of Honor.,          Adventure nd Romance by William          :C. P.eltzer          PETE          Sounds gre t. When can I read it?          BILLY          (CHUCKLES)          I've only got about 70 pages done...          But as soon as it's published, you'll          get one of the first copies. Speci-          ally autographed by the author.          Pete smiles. Billy makes a turn. He pulls into the parking          lot of          DOUGAL'S ANTIQUES          A huge, three story home, with an antique shop set up on          the first floor.          Billy and Pete get out of the car and enter the store.          DORRY DOUGAL          the 64 year old storekeeper, stands behind the counter.          Dorry is husky, bald on top, with thick patches of red hair          on his temples. A huge, red moustache sits beneath his          bulbous nose. His arms are thick, hairy. A strong Irish-          man.          DORRY          Good afternoon to you, Billy.          BILLY          Hi, Dorry.          (eyes light)          Is it ready yet?          Dorry smiles. He reaches to a shelf behind the counter.          He removes ,a long object, wrapped in a piece of green cloth.          He rests it on the counter.                                                  15          Billy watches with.wide eyes. Pete is curious.          Dorry slowly unwraps the object. Inside the cloth, is a          long silver sword, with a gleaming blade and an engraved          steel.holster.. - Pete is impressed..          DORRY          (to Pete)          It's an authentic replica of an          Eleventh Century sword.          Billy's eyes examine every inch of the sword. It's          beautiful.          DORRY          I got most of the rust off...But          there were a couple spots that          wouldn't budge.          Billy runs his finger along the blade.          DORRY          Careful. It's sharp.          A big smile covers Billy's face.- He's in love with the          sword.          BILLY          What do I owe you?          DORRY          Two hundred. You can pay me twenty          a week.          Billy pulls a twenty from his wallet and pays Dorry.          Billy carefully wraps the sword and puts it under his          arm.          BILLY          Thanks, Dorry.          DORRY          My pleasure, son.          Billy and Pete exit the store.          CUT TO:          EXT. MAIN STREET          The suburbs. Rows of houses. All very similar. Two          stories Aluminum siding. One car garage.                                                  16.          All are decorated for Christmas. Some are simple and          sweet. Others are ornate and flashy.          EXT. FOUNTANE.HOME          Billy's car pulls into the driveway. He drops Pete off.          Pete thanks him and Billy drives off.          ' HE PELTZER HOME          blends in with the others. But it's a little nicer,          better kept. A row of colored lights is draped across          the snowy shrubbery.          Billy's Pinto pulls into the drive. He gets out, sword          under his arm. He enters the house.          INT. FRONT HALLWAY          A small hallway, leading to a stairway.          BARNEY          a friendly Irish Setter, greets Billy. He pets the dog          and hangs his coat in the hail- closet.          INT. KITCHEN          LYNN PELTZER          Billy's Mother. 53 years old. Slightly heavy. Well           dressed. Styled brown hair. A pretty woman.          She hears Billy enter. She quickly pops a valium from          a small pill bottle. She calls to her son.          LYNN          Billy? Is the'.t you honey?          BILLY          sighs.He hates to be called "honey".                                                  17.          LYNN (O.S.)          Dinner will be ready in ten          minutes.          Okay.          He hurries upstairs w Iith          INT. BILLY'S ROOM          1 I i          Furnished with a sing Ile bed, two chairs, ajdesk and dresser.          A manual Smith-Corona, rests on the desk top. A full-sized          mirror is fastened to[ the;closet. A few plants hang in          the window.          The walls are covered with Medieval drawings, a poster of          St. George fighting the dragon, Frazzeta.paintings of          warriors, etc. A miniature set of armor rests on the          dresser's cabinet.          Billy enters. He rests the sword on his bed. He unwraps          it. He picks up the sword.          He turns to the mirror and poses with the sword. He holds          it at a few differentangles, trying to decide which looks          best for him.          He takes a few swings with the sword.          He stops and smiles to himself. A real warrior.          CUT TO:          DINING ROOM          Billy sits at the table, eating dinner with Lynn.          LYNN          How was work?          BILLY          Okay.          LYNN          Have you asked that Tracy girl          out yet?                                                  18.          LYNN          I was just curious.          BILLY          Yeah,.well it's none of your          business.          Nervous,Lynn popsvalfum with her wine.          .{ LYNN          (OFFENDED)          I guess it's none of my business          that your clothes are washed and          ironed, or that you have a hot          meal on the table...          BILLY          No. It isn't. I'm old enough          to take care of that stuff myself.          I'm old enough to get a place of          my own.          LYNN          Don't start that again. Your          Father's coming home tonight.          BILLY          Good. I think we should talk          about it.          LYNN          It'll put him in a bad mood.          BILLY          No, it'll put you in a bad mood.          Lynn and Billy exchange a glare. They look down at their          food.          A few silent, uncomfortable moments pass.          Lynn looks back to Billy. She smiles. Time for the          tender approach. She touches his hand.          LYNN          Billy, honey...          BILLY          (moves his hand          from hers)          Stop calling me 'honey'.                                                  19.          She smiles and tries again.          LYNN          Dad and I just don't want you to          have to struggle like we did.          We want to help, until you can          support yourself as a writer.          BILLY          Bit it's gonna take me another-          year to finish my novel. . .and what          if it doesn't get published?          LYNN          It'll get published.          BILLY          But what if it doesn't? Are you          gonna take care of me until I'm          old and grey, working on my 25th          unpublished novel?...          LYNN          If it takes that long, yes.          BILLY          (FRUSTRATED)          Don't you understand?.. .I've got          to 'leave now! I rve got to try and          make it on my own now!          Before Lynn.can reply, A VOICE INTERRUPTS.          RAND (O . S . )          Is anybody home?          Lynn stands and whispers to Billy.          LYNN          Please, let's forget about this.          Just for tonight. Okay?          Billy pauses. Finally gives in and nods.          Lynn stands. She pops another valium and exits to greet          her husband. We hear them, exchange an excited ".hello".          They kiss and laugh, glad to be in each other's arms.          Billy just sits. Burning.                                                  20.          INT. FRONT HALLWAY          Rand hugs his wife. Barney is jumping up and down, tugging          at Rand's coat.          Suitcases rest on the floor.' Beside them, is, Mogwai's          plastic case.          Billy enters. Rand sees him.          RAND          (SMILES)          Billy .. ,          Billy walks to his Father. They embrace.          BILLY          (happy to see him)          Hi, Dad.          They hold each other for a second. Lynn closes the front          door. Rand picks up Mogwai's case. Lynn turn's to her          husband.          RAND          (takes Lynn's hand)          Not now. I've got a surprise for          both of you. Come on.          He leads them into the living room. Lynn and. Billy exchange          a puzzled glance. They follow Rand.          INT. LIVING ROOM          Rand dims the lights. He motions for Billy and Lynn to          sit on the sofa. They do. Barney sits on Billy's lap.          Rand sits in front of them, on a leather easy chair. He          rests Mogwai's case on his lap. He opens the case.          Mogwai leaps out, onto the coffee table.          Lynn and'Bill are startled. They stare at the creature in          wonderment.          Barney hates it. He growls at Mogwai.                                                  21.          Rand lights a cigarette. He turns to Mogwai and claps          his hands. The creature picks up an ash tray and carries          it to Rand. Mogwai hops onto Rand's lap.          Lynn and Billy are amazed...          BILLY          (staring at Mogwai)          What is it? A.monkey? A rat?.          RAND          Your new pet.          BILLY          (UNCERTAIN)          Mj Oh, yeah?...          Mogwai starts to sing, humming in that unearthly falsetto.          BILLY          What's that?          RAND          He's singing.          BILLY          Sounds kind of creepy.          Barney still growls.          RAND          Barney! Be a good dog and go up-          stairs!          Barney reluctantly hops off Billy's lap and exits.          Lynn stares at Mogwai.          LYNN          I think he's just darling.          Mogwai.          Rand holds the creature out to Billy.                                                  22          RAND          Hold him.          BILLY          (inching back)          Maybe later.          RAND          C'mon. He won't bite.          Billy forces himself to take the creature. Mogwai nestles          close to Billy. Rand smiles at his son.          RAND          He likes you.          Billy looks nauseous. Lynn stands.          LYNN          You two look so cute together.          I have to take a picture.          Lynn walks to a nearby drawer, opens it and removes-a          Kodak Instamatic.          Mogwai is on Billy's shoulder, licking his cheek.. Billy          hates it.          RAND -          I want you to take good care          of him.          Lynn focuses the camera on Billy and Mogwai.          LYNN          Okay smile.          Billy forces a smile. Mogwai still licks his cheek.          Lynn snaps the picture. Flash!          Mogwai lets out a high scream. Frightened of the bright          light, Mogwai jumps back, accidentally scratching Billy's          cheek.          BILLY          Little bastard.          Mogwai scurries back to Rand. He pets the creature,          comforting it                                                  11 23.          Settle down, Billy-There's no          reason to get upset. The little          fellow's scared. He hates bright          light..          Billy shrugs. He wipes his fingers along the scratch on          his face. He looks -at t em.          There's blood on his�4ingertips.          Billy looks at Mogwai.          The creature looks at Billy. It giggles.          CUT TO:          INT. BILLY'S ROOM - LATER          Billy sits at his desk, working on his novel. His typing          is fast, intense. A small desk lamp lights.his working          area.          Mogwai watches Billy. from the darkness of the book shelves.          Above Billy., The creature begins to sing.          Billy tries to ignore Mogwai's singing. No good. It gets          on his nerves. Billy slams his hand on the desk top. He          glares at the creature.          BILLY          Shut up.          Mogwai stops singing. Billy goes back to his writing.          Mogwai.hops from the shelf. Staying out of the direct          light, the creature moves across the desktop and cuddles          up to Billy's arm. He jumps back.          BILLY          Get off of me.          Mogwai just looks at him.          BILLY          Get.off`my desk.          Billy shines the bright.desk light into the creature's          eyes. Mogwai screams and jumps. off the desk, to the floor.          Billy looks down at the creature.                                                  24          41          BILLY          Stay down there.          Billy goes back to his work.          Mogwai is-bored. The creature leaps up to the bed.. It          sees the sword. Mogwai lifts one end, examining it. It's          too heavy. The sword slips off the bed and falls to the          floor.          Billy turns.          Mogwai takes a step back. Guilty. Frightened.          Billy picks up the sword. The handle is chipped.          BILLY          (angry, to Mogwai)          You stupid little...          Billy raises the sword over.Mogwai. He's ready to kill          the tiny creature.          Mogwai loo] .s up at Billy. The creature is shivering. It          is frightened. It's big, green eyes are watery.          Billy suddenly feels sympathetic. He lowers the sword and          picks up the.creature.          BILLY          (TENDER)          I'm sorry.. .just try to be more          careful.          Billy holds Mogwai to his chest. He's petting it, com-          forting it.          CUT TO:          INT. BILLYS ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT          Billy sleeps. The room is totally dark.          CAMERA PANS to another area of the room.                                                  25          INT. BILLY'S CAR - NEXT MORNING          Outside, the snowing has stopped. Billy drives to work..           CAR. RADIO (V.0.)          It looks like the snow has stopped          for awhile. But don't put away those          ear muffs, more flurries are          scheduled for tonight...          CUT TO:          INT. BANK PARKING LOT          Billy's car pulls into the lot. He gets out.          Tracy is getting out of her car. Billy walks up to her.          BILLY          Starting work early today?          TRACY          Oh, hi. Well, I thought the          roads would be icy.          BILLY          We've got a half hour before          work. Wanna go have a cup of          coffee?          She.pauses and smiles.          CUT TO:          INT. COFFEE SHOP          Tracy and Billy sit at a table, sipping hot. coffee.          BILLY          .and if I sell the novel, I'll          •be able to quit the bank.          TRACY          I'd love to quit. I'd run straight          to the airport and buy a one way          ticket to Paris.          BILLY          Why Paris?                                                  T          26.          TRACY          I've only seen it in movies and          T.V... . But it seems like it's          got everything that this town          doesn't...Museums...great restaur          ants... Beautiful artworks and          architecture...          (embarr-a s-s-ed )          Listen to me, talking like I've          been there 10 times. I shouldn't          get so carried away. It's only a          dream.          BILLY          Hey...Don't give up on your dreams.          They just might come true.          Tracy shrugs and takes a sip of coffee.          BILLY          Can I ask you a personal question?          (Tracy nods)          What is it with you and Gary? Is          he your boyfriend?          TRACY          He thinks he is.          BILLY          Do you think he is?          TRACY          No. I think of him more as a friend.          But he thinks of me as a lot more.          BILLY          So there's a possibility...I mean...          I.just might have a chance with you?          TRACY          (smiles),          Don't give up on your dreams. They          just might come true.          They both laugh.          CAMERA PULLS BACK TO REVEAL          Standing across the street, looking into the coffee shop          window. He watches Billy and Tracy. An angry, jealous                                                  27          look fills Gary's eyes.          CUT TO:          INT.-BILLY'S ROOM - THAT EVENING-          Dimly lint with Billy's small desk lamp. Billy waters his          pl)ants_ ith a.spray bottle.,          Mggwai's case sits on the ed. The creature is inside.          Billy finishes his watering. He sits at his desk. He          takes adrink from glass of milk and snacks from a plate          of brownies. He proofreads some pages from his novel.          PETE (O.S.)          Hello? Is anybody home?          BILLY          (SHOUTS)          n here, Pete.          Billy holds the tray of brownies to him.          BILLY          Want some?          PETE _          I'm s'posed to be on a diet...          He grabs a brownie. He notices Mogwai's case.          PETE          What's in there?          Pete walks over and opens the case. Mogwai hops out, onto          the bed. The creature giggles. Pete is, taken aback.          PETE          What is it?          BILLY          A present from my Dad.          Pete picks up the creature and pets it. Pete likes Mogwai.          PETE          It's neat.          Billy shrugs. Mogwai sees the brownies. The creature hops          from Pete's hands, onto the desk. Mogwai grabs a brownie          and starts to eat.                                                  28.          PETE          Hey, Billy.. .You think I might          be able to borrow it? Just for          a night?          BILLY          I dunno, Pete...          PETE          C'mon...My Mom will never know.          I'll hide it under my bed.          Pete reaches down to pick up Mogwai. His hand clumsily          knocks over the water bottle.          A few drops of water splash Mogwai.          The creature arches its back and lets out a high pitched          scream.          Billy is surprised. Pete takes a step back. Scared.          Mogwai tenses up. The spots on its body that were hit with          water begin to bubble... .expand...'          Billy can't believe his eyes.          Mogwai writhes in pain. The spots on its body expand more,          getting bigger, bigger.. .ready to explode.          Billy and Pete stare. Fascinated.          The spots burst.          FOUR NEW CREATURES          popout. Clones of Mogwai.          The spots on Mogwai's body bond together and disappear, as          if they were never there.          There are now five identical creatures on the desktop.          Billy and Pete share a shocked glance.          Billy grabs the water bottle. He has to be certain that          he wasn't halucinating. He splashes a little more water          on one of the new creatures.          The process begins again. The creature's body,contorts.          A few lumps form. The lumps expand until...they burst.                                                  REV. 4/30/82 29          LI          THREE MORE CREATURES ARE BORN.          Billy tries to make sense out of it all.          EIGHT CREATURES stand on.the desk top, examining their          new world.          Billy picks up his glass of milk. He splashes some milk          on one of the crealtures.          Nothing happens.          BILLY          They must only multiply with plain          tap water.          PETE          (AMAZED)          M          Wow..•.this•is better than "Twilight Zone ( )          Pete looks at Billy.          PETE          Now can I have one?          BILLY          (still dazed)          Huh? Well, yeah. I guess so.          Pete grabs one of the creatures, taking it from the group.          It cries out. In a high, piercing scream.          The other creatures leap at Pete. They grab the creature          and bring it back to their group.          PETE          (SCARED)          Maybe I won't take one.          The creatures have moved to the brownies. They rip the          brownies to pieces, devouring them. They're giggling.          INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT          Rand sits in a chair, opposite Billy. The 8 creatures          climb all over Rand. Playfully tugging at his hair and                                                  30.          clothes, licking his face. Rand loves the adorable          little things.          Billy has a worried look on his face.          Barney, the dog, sits in a corner of the rood. He glare          at;the creatures. Jealous that they're gettjng all the          atjtention .I          I          I RAND          (to Billy)          What are you so worried abot?          BILLY          Dad...We don't know anything about          these things.          RAND          We know they're cute.. We know.."          they're intelligent. And now we          know they multiply by water.          BILLY          Yeah, but isn't that pretty weird?          I mean, if I throw water on�Barney          over there, we're not gonna;getjten          copies.          A creature licks Rand's ear. He chuckles.          RAND          All I know, is that I've got a million          dollars sitting in my lap.          BILLY          Huh?          RAND          I'm going to market these things.          BILLY          (hates the idea)          Oh, Christ. C'mo'i,Dad...that's ...          RAND          Just imagine the excitement when          word gets out. Everyone will want          a Mogwai of their very own.          BILLY          Don't you think we should have them          checked out first? Just to make          sure...                                                  31          RAND          No. If we want to make a big          profit, we have to move:fast          I have some investors coming over          to the house on Thursday.          (a . beat)          Who,knows?...Mogwai could replace          dog as man's best friend.          wls from his corner.          Rand continues to play with the creatures. Billy watches.          Skeptical.          CUT TO:          EXT. BANK PARKING LOT - THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON          It's snowing., Very hard. The bank has just closed.          Billy hurries to his car. Gary walks up. Billy turns to          him.          BILLY          Oh, hi Gary. Look, I'm kind of          in a hurry.          Gary grabs Billy by the collar and throws him against          the car.          GARY          a< ; Listen, Peltzer...she's my girl-          friend. Keep your hands off. Under-          stand?          Billy nods.Gary lets him go.He turns and walks away.          Billy straightens his clothes. He glares at Gary.          CUT TO:          EXT. FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL - A FEW MINUTES LATER          Students hurry from the school, anxious to get home.          0 Billy's car pulls into the parking lot. He gets out. Pete          waits in front of the school. Billy walks up to him. They          enter the school,                                                  32.          J INT. SCHOOL - BIOLOGY LAB           The last of the students exits the classroom.          ROY HANSON'           the Biology teacher, stands at the sink. He's washing out           some used glass j4rs and basins Roy is 35 years old. Tall.           Thin. Black. Good looking.          Pete knocks on the door. Billy enters with him. Roy turns.          ROY          Hey, Pete-what's up?          PETE          Mr. Hanson...this is my friend          Billy. He wants to talk to you          about somethin'.          ROY          (friendly smile)          Well, sure...          (shakes Billy's hand)          .I'm Roy Hanson. What can I do          F          or you?          BILLY          Well, you're the closest thing          this town's got to a scientist...          and I need some information about an          animal.          ROY          What kind of animal?          BILLY          That's what I'm trying to figure          out.          CUT TO:          INTBILLY'S ROOM - LATER          The curtains are drawn. The lights are dim. The eight          creatures are on the desk top. Giggling. Humming in          falsetto.          Billy enters with Roy and Pete. Roy stares at the          creatures. He is shocked. Delighted.                                                  33          ROY          I've never seen anything like this.          Billy grabs the water bottle.          BILLY          Watch this.          Billy squeezes a drop of water on one creature. Mogwa'          lets out a scream. A lump appears on the creature's back.          The lump gets bigger...bigger...bigger ...          Roy watches with wide eyes.          Suddenly, another creature bursts from Mogwai's body.          NINE IDENTICAL CREATURES now stand on the desk top.          .ROY          (startled, shaken)          Holy shit.          He remains-speechless for a few moments. He looks at Billy.          ROY          May.I stay for a while?...Run a          few tests?...          BILLY          (nods, checks his          WATCH)          My parents won't be home until          7:00. You've got three hours.          Roy takes off his coat and opens his black leather case.          Billy exits with Pete.          CUT TO:          T.V. SCREEN          "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" plays.          BILLY AND PETE          sit on the sofa, watching the T.V. Roy enters. He sits          across from Billy.                                                  I          34.          ROY          I discovered some interesting          things...          (CONTINUING)          The creatures are drawn to water.          if they sense water nearby...          they'll go to it.          (a beat)          Als , unless)th y're hunting for          foo or water.. they hate to be          separated. I t ied to move one          from the others. They cried out.          Clawing. Screeching.          PETE          Yeah...that's what happened when          I tried to take one.          ROY          If one is separated. The others          will follow.          BILLY          Anything else?          ROY          They qan't multiply by water if          their environment temperature is          below '25 degrees-          (a beat)          It's amazing. They have no bio-          logical link with any other species          of animal...in the whole world.          Billy gives an uncertain nod.-          DISSOLVE TO:          INT. BILLY'S ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT          Silent. Dark. Billy sleeps.          Distant sounds are heard. Animal-like noises. Gurgling.          Slurping. Chewing.          Billy wakes. He sits up in bed. The sounds continue.          He looks around the room.          The creatures are gone.          Billy notices his room door.                                                  REV. 4/30/82 35.          He gets out of bed. He looks at his sword, hanging above          the bed. He takes the sword from the wall. He walks out          of the.room.          HALLWAY          Billy walks. Sword in hand.          The noises get louder. Crisper. Clearer.          Nervous, Billy descends the dark stairs. He arrives at          the bottom. He stops to listen.          The sounds are coming from the living room.          LIVING ROOM          Billy enters. He looks to the floor. Beneath the'Christmas          tree.          The creatures surround Barney.          They have killed the dog.          Billy tries to move. He's frozen.          The creatures are eating the dog.          They look up at Billy.          Their bright green eyes are fiery.          Blood covers their mouths.          They smile.          They giggle.          Billy screams.          CUT TO:          CLOSE UP - A CANVAS MAIL BAG          The bag moves. Squirms. Shakes. The creatures are          inside.          Rand carries the bag up a ladder that leads into the          attic.                                                  36          Lynn and Billy stand a few feet away, in the hallway.          Rand lets the creatures loose in the attic. He quickly          latches the attic's trap door, securing it with a padlock.          He climbs down the ladder.          RAND          This should keep them out for          the rest of the niht...          INT. ATTIC          Dark. The Mogwai cluster around the trap door. They          scratch at the door. They want out.          RAND (0. S . )          Tomorrow we'll take them out in          the sun...          INT. HALLWAY          RAND          .and.finish them off.          Lynn nods. Rand looks at Billy.          RAND          I'm sorry, son. I never expected          to...          BILLY          Forget it.          Billy stares coldly at his Father. Embarrassed, Rand looks          away.          RAND          We should all get back to sleep.          Rand puts his arm around Lynn. They walk to their bed-          room.          Billy looks up at the attic door.          The creatures' scratching is heard.          DISSOLVE TO:                                                  37          EXT. PELTZER HOUSE - MORNING          The sun rises behind the house. Snow is falling.          INT. ATTIC           The tr p door opens. Billy and Rand climb inside. They           .both carry flashlights.          They s ine the lights through the attic, looking for the          creatu es. They see nothing.           Billy spots something. He nudges his Father.           There are NINE INDIVIDUAL PODS, stuck to various places-on          the floor. The pods are 16 inches long, 12 inches in dia-           meter. They are wrapped with a vein-like wire and covered          with a thick, syrupy glaze.          RAND          What in the hell?...          Billy picks up a broomstick andl pokes one of the things.          Won't budge. Hard as a rock.          BILLY          Damn things are stuck to the          floor.          Rand picks up a baseball bat. He raises it over his head          and swings down, hard. Against the pod.          The bat snaps in two.          The pod is unblemished.          Rand rubs his stinging hands. Billy and Rand just look          at each other. Puzzled.          CUT TO:          INT. KITCHEN LATER THAT EVENING          Roy Hanson sits with Billy and Rand. Lynn pours them          coffee. Roy has just examined the pods.                                                  38.          A.          r?1ND          Like a butterfly?          ROY          Exactly. Those things in the          attic-are cocoons. Inside,. the          creatures are going through some          sort of change...a metamorphosis.          BILLY          Why did they attack my dog?          ROY          Simple. They're animals. They          were hungry. Aside from water,          food is their main concern.          RAND          How long until they hatch?          ROY          A week...a month...I really can't          say.          BILLY          (STANDS)          I'm not waiting around to find          out.          ROY          Billy, don't be hasty...You've          stumbled onto a new life form.          What comes out of those cocoons          could be a major scientific          discovery...          BILLY          Screw'science. I want them des-          troyed.          RAND          Billy ...Maybe Mr. Hanson's got          a point...          BILLY          (stern, bitter)          Dad, they killed Barney. Or          have you already forgotten?          Rand just looks'at his son. Lynn pops a valium in the          background.                                                  39.          CLOSE-UP          Red hot light. The flame of a torch.          CAMERA PANS UP TO          RAND. He's holding the gas torch, aiming it at the cocoon.          Billy stands beside him. They're inside-theattic.          Rand shuts off the torch. He touches the cocoon. It          appears unharmed.          RAND          Not even warm.          (shakes his head,          SURPRISED)          They're indestructible.          BILLY          Now what do we do?          RAND          I get back from Seattle on          Wednesday. I'll call some con-          struction people. They'll come          in next week and cut these things          out of the floor.          BILLY          I don't think we should wait. Let's          do it ourselves.          RAND          No. It's late. I've got an early          plane to catch.          (PAUSE)          The attic door is locked. There are          no windows up here. Nothing can get          in or out.          Rand pats Billy on the back.          RAND          Son, you've got to stop worrying.          CLOSE UP - BILLY          A doubtful, uncertain expression on his face.                                                  40.          THE FOLLOWING DAY - LATE AFTERNOON          I          VARIOUS SHOTS. OF. THE.-TOWN          Snow comes down. Fast and hard. RADIO (V O.)          Heavier nowfalls are cheduled          Cas swerve on the; road. for this evening. Sto and           -blizzard warnings are in effect.          Little children build snbwmen. So if yoi don't have t go out,          1           please stay indoors.          Tricksiplow the roIgds.          Anjelderly man snow-blow his          driveway.          CUT TO:          a sign hangs on the-door:          OPEN LATE FOR HOLIDAYS, SPECIAL          CHRISTMAS HOURS: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM          INSIDE          A wall clock reads 5:25. Billy counts out money to a           customer. Tracy works beside him.          Finished with the customer, Billy looks to the line of          waiting people.          BILLY          Next.          MRS. DEAGLE          walks to Billy's window.          BILLY          (forced smile)          Hello, Mrs. Deagle. How are you          this afternoon?          MRS. DEAGLE          (SOUR)          Horrible. My arthritis acts up          when it snows.          (MORE)                                                  41          MRS. DEAGLE (CONT'D)          (glares at Billy)          see they still haven't fired you.          Billy shrugs, trying to remain-ca-lm.          CUT TO:          R          INTJPELTZE� HOME          Lynn removes freshly bakedSanta Claus sugar cookies from          the Microwave oven.          INT. ATTIC          Small lumps have formed over all of the cocoons. Slowly,          the lumps rise up and down-. Bubbling,. Breathing. Coming          to life.          CUT TO:          INT. BANK          Mrs. Deagle is screaming at Billy.          MRS. - DEAGLE          Do not try and tell me what to          do, young man!          BILLY          (trying to stay          CALM)          M'am...I'm only suggesting that          you see a bank officer to...          MRS. DEAGLE          I want to speak to Mr.. Fresco!          (loudly calling out)          Mr.Fresco! ...Mr. Fresco!.          Roland Fresco, the Vice President, gets.up from his desk.          He walks over to Mrs. Deagle and Billy.          Everyonein the bank is watching.          Billy bites his bottom lip, holding in his anger.          CUT TO:                                                  42.          C ) INT. PELTZER HOME - KITCHEN          Lynn decorates the cookies. She adds white icing to Santa's          beard. She dips her butterknife into the large blender that          has made the icing.          INT. ATTIC          The cocoons are bubbling furiously; as if they were being          baked in an oven.          Suddenly, a crack appears on one. Then another. And          another. Cracks begin to cover all the cocoons.          Green smoke seeps from the thin openings. A slow soft          hiss is heard.          They're hatching.          CUT TO:          INT. BANK          Roland stands beside Billy. Mrs. Deagle patiently waits.          ROLAND          (whispers to Billy)          Apologize to the woman, Billy.          BILLY          (HONEST)          But, sir...I didn't do anything          wrong. Really.          ROLAND          Apologize. Now.          Billy turns to the woman.          Everyone in the bank is.watching. Especially Tracy.          BILLY          (forcing himself)          Mrs. Deagle, I...                                                  43          BILLY          Mrs. Deagle, I...          (He can't do it.          He lets out his          honest feelings)          I think you're an-ugly old fart          and I; hope yo u fall down on the          ice a td breath your fucking neck!          Mrs. Deagle is sho ked. fi e other customers hide their          laughter.          Gary smiles. Tracy is proud.          ROLADN          (BOILING)          Peltzer, you:are fired! Do you          understand me?!? You're fired!          Billy smiles.          CUT TO:          INT. PELTZER ATTIC          Green smoke has filled the room. The cocoons quiver.          Shake. Each one is covered with cracks.          A THREE FINGERED BLACK CLAW          suddenly breaks out of one cocoon. It clutches at the          air.          ANOTHER CLAW          breaks through the shell of another cocoon.          They all begin to hatch., Claws emerge from each one,          reaching for the air.          INT. KITCHEN          Lynn. slowly arranges the finished cookies on a tray.          A LOUD RATTLING NOISE ECHOES FROM UPSTAIRS.          to listen.          CUT TO:                                                  44.          0 EXT. ATTIC DOOR          The door rattles. The lock shakes. The creatures want out.          LYNN          slowly moves to the kitch n doorway. Sh listens.          THE ATTIC DOOR          The wood surrounding the lock begins to splinter. It finally          snaps.          The door pops open. The lock falls to the floor. A loud          thump.          LYNN          jumps at the noise. Scared, she runs to the kitchen phone.          INT. BANK          Billy puts on his coat, preparing to leave.          In the background, Mr. Fresco consoles Mrs. Deagle.          Tracy walks up to Billy.          TRACY '          Billy...I thought you were great.          He smiles. Gary watches the two of them.          ANOTHER TELLER          (calling to Billy)          Billy...You have a phone call.          Billy hurries to the phone. He answers.          BILLY          Yeah?...          LYNN          stands in the kitchen, tightly holding the phone receiver.                                                  45.          LY'N          Billy-those things in the          attic... They're alive...I hear          noises upstairs...          gets scared. His face goes white.(          BILLY          Mom...stay downstairs. I'll be          right home.          He drops the phone and runs out of the bank.          Gary exchanges a puzzled glance with Tracy.          CUT TO:          LYNN          standing in the kitchen. Frightened. She downs two          valiums from her bottle.          LOUD THUMPS. RATTLING. VARIOUS OTHER NOISES ECHO FROM          THE ATTIC.          Lynn exits the kitchen and slowly walks upstairs.          CUT TO:          BILLY          Nervous. Sweating. Behind the wheel of his car. He tries          to drive fast, but the heavy snowfall and icy roads prevent          it.          Outside, the sun is going down.          CUT TO:          LYNN          She's arrived at the top of the stairs. It's dark up here.          She looks to the end of the hallway.                                                  46          Lynn--gets -a chill. She slowly walks to the door.          CUT TO:          BILLY          still driving. He tries to pass a slow truck. He hits          a is spot.          }          THE CAR          swerves and spins off the road. It lands in a ditch. The          engine stops.          BILLY          tries to start it. Nothing happens. It's stalled.          BILLY          No...Not now...          He tries again. No good. It's dead. Frustrated, Billy          slams his fist on the steering wheel. °           CUT TO:          LYNN          standing below the open attic door. She tightly clutches          her valium bottle. She looks up.          Nothing but darkness.          Lynn pops another valium. She climbs theladder, into          the attic.          TRACKING SHOT          Billy. He runs home through the snow.          It's dusk. People have begun to turn on their Christmas          lights.           Billy runs harder. Faster. His house comes into view.          At the e nd o f the block.          CUT TO                                                  REV. 4/30/82 r 47.          INT. ATTIC          Lynn pokes her head inside, looking around.          Everything looks fine. Calm.          She sighs. Relieved.          SUDDENLY          Something leaps out and grabs Lynn by the throat.          A creature. We can't see it clearly. - It moves too fast.          It is hiddenby the shadows.          Other dark figures come at Lynn. More creatures. They          want their share of the food.          Lynn watches in horror as the creatures surround her head.          She screams.          EXT. ATTIC          Lynn's body jumps and twists. Her feet kick as she is          pulled up into the attic.          There are a few seconds of silence.          Then we hear the sounds.          Chewing. Swallowing. Giggling.          CUT TO:          BILLY          sprints down his driveway.          He arrives at the porch of his home.          He opens the front door.          INSIDE          Dark. Silent.          Billy calls out before entering.          EM,000                                                  48          BILLY          Mom?..          Scattered giggling echoes from inside.          Billy flips on the'front hall..light..          A few tiny shadows scatter. They dash into other rooms.          Afraid of the light.          Billy'slowly enters. He's scared.          He looks to the top of the stairs.          BILLY          Mom?...          More giggling.          Shaking'. Nervous. Billy climbs the stairs.          At the top, he quickly flips on the bright hall light.          Something darts up into the darkness of the attic. Escap-          ing the light.          Billy spots the open attic door.          He walks beneath it.          He looks up into the dark attic.          BILLY.          (shaking voice)          Mom?...          AN OBJECT          is thrown out of the attic. It lands at Billy's feet.          He jumps back. He looks at the object.          LYNN'S VALIUM BOTTLE          Stained with her blood.          Billy picks it up.          A giggle from the attic.          Billy takes a few stepsback. He dashes into                                                  49          INSIDE          Billy grabs the sword off his wall.          He walks back. into the. hallway.          HALLWAY --           Billy stands several feet from the open attic doo           He clutches the sword.           He takes a deep breath and flips out the hall light.           Darkness.          Billy waits. A few seconds pass.          A CREATURE          leaps from the attic, into the hallway.          Billy jumps back.          Mogwai snarls at him.          Mogwai has changed.          It stands two feet tall.          The brown fur is gone, replaced by rock hard, rippled armor.          The arms and legs are muscular, covered with the same armor.          The paws have been replaced by claws. The fingernails are          sharp.          The tail is long and pointed. Reptilian. It thrashes          back and forth.          Sharp white horns have replaced the ears.          The green eyes are larger. They bulge. Evil. Angry.          A:huge mouth distorts the face with its wide grin. The          countless teeth are long and sharp. Gleaming white. Fresh          blood drips from them.          The giggle remains, undercut with a hungry animalistic growl                                                  REV. 4/30/82 50.          THE CREATURE          leaps at Billy.          Billy raises his sword and swings. He hits the. creature          in mid-air.          Mogwai fal is to the gro4nd. Thick green blood pours from          a. deep• wou nd ;in its the t.          Billy stabs the creatur Mogwai dies with a long hiss.          Billy looks back to thelattic.          Sword extended, he rushes to the ladder and climbs into the          attic. I          INSIDE          Billy sees Lynn's body. She lies on the floor. Dead.          Billy walks to her.          Lynn is covered with bites and scratches.          Billy looks away. Angry. Saddened.          He notices the cocoons. All hatched.          Sounds echo from downstairs. Thumps. Giggles.          Billy's face goes white with fear. There's more.          He dashes out of the attic.          UPSTAIRS HALLWAY          Billy walks slowly. Clutching his sword. Ready for an          attack.          He descends the stairs.          FRONT HALLWAY                                                  51.          A CREATURE          leaps from the overhead chandelier. It lands on Billy's          back.          The creature tries to bite Billy's neck.          Billy slams his blade 'nto Mogwai. He whacks the creature.          Again and again.          Finally, Mogwai falls to the floor.          Billy brings down his blade. Hard.          It slices Mogwai's head off. The creature's body quivers.          It dies.          Billy moves to the living room.          LIVING ROOM          Dimly lit. The fireplace burns. The Christmas tree lights          flash.          Billy enters.          AN OBJECT          flies at Billy from across the room. He ducks.          A DINNER PLATE smashes against the wall behind him.          Billy looks to the          CHINA CABINET.          A CREATURE sits on the middle shelf. Giggling. It throws          another plate at-Billy.          He bats the plate away with his sword.          Mogwai continues to throw plates at him.          Billy dodges the plates, making his way to the China Cabinet.          There, he lunges forward with his sword. Bullseye. Mogwai          is stabbed. Straight through the chest.                                                  REV. 4/30/82          The creature screams, writhing in pain. It falls from the          China shelf to the floor. Dead.          Billy slowly moves across the room. His eyes dart back          and forth, looking for creatures.'          He walks by the fireplace.          Three large RED VELVET STOCKINGS hang from the mantle.          Each one is inscribed with a name: BILLY, RAND and LYNN.          A-CREATURE          pops out of each stocking. Growling. Snarling.          Startled, Billy jumps back.          The three creatures hop to the floor and move towards          BILLY:          He clutches his sword. Tight.          Two creatures leap at him.          He spears one in mid-air.          He quickly spins around, knocking the other Mogwai to the          ground. He stabs the creature in the throat. He twists          the sword until Mogwai chokes to death on its own blood.          The remaining creature attaches itself to Billy's leg.          It takes a bite from his calf.          Billy cries out in pair.          Mogwai stays on. Biting hard.          Billy kicks his leg near the fireplace.          Scared of the firelight, Mogwai lets go.          Billy stabs the creature.. He holds Mogwai in the roaring          flames of the fireplace. Mogwai screams until it burns to          a crisp.          Billy removes his steaming sword.          The charred creature collapses into the flames. Dead.          Billy checks his leg. A small bite.          He walks to the kitchen.                                                  53.          CAMERA PANS TO THE CHRISTMAS TREE.          Its tiny lights flash. THE CAMERA MOVES closer to the          tree.          TWO LARGER GREEN EYES„shine from inside the tree. The eyes          of ANOTHER CREATURE.;          CUT TO.:.          INT. KITCHEN          Billy stands quietly!'in the doorway.          TWO CREATURES          are inside. They don't notice Billy.          One has crawled into the large blender. It laps up the          left over white icing.          The other sits on the table. It nibbles on the Santa cookies.          Billy looks at the bl!ende1r. It's' unplugged.          Billy moves quickly. He dashes across the room and plugs          in the blender. It starts with'a loud whirr.          The startled creature spins inside.. Mogwai's screams          die as it is chopped into a green mush.          The remaining creature growls at Billy.          Billy lunges forward with his sword.          Mogwai leaps out of the way, onto the kitchen cabinet.          Billy turns to the creature.          Mogwai stands in front of the open microwave oven.          Billy pokes at the creature with his sword.          Mogwai takes a few steps back.          Billy still pokes at Mogwai, forcing the creature into          the oven.          Billy quickly closes theoven door.          Mogwai is trapped inside.                                                  54          Billy flips the oven switch to "bake". The microwave          purrs.          Inside, Mogwai screams and pounds against the glass door.          Soon, the creature falls.' Its body quivers. The armor-,.          like skin bubbles and pops. Mogwai boils to death.          Bill wipes the swea from hs brow and exits the kitchen.          LIVING ROOM          Billy enters. He looks at the dead creatures. He sighs.          Relieved. They're all gone.          Billy rests his sword against the wall. He picks up the          telephone and dials "0".          BILLY          Yes, could you connect me with          the Sheriff's Office?...          A SWIFT SHADOW          moves across the floor, behind Billy.          BILLY          Hello? ...Is this Sheriff Lucia?...          A CLAW          tears the phone cord from the wall.          BILLY          (DISCONNECTED)          Hello?...Hello?...          THE CREATURE          walks toward Billy, ready to attack from behind.          BILLY          (clicking the phone)          Hello?...          It hisses.                                                  REV. 4/30/82          Billy turns. Face to face with Mogwai.          Billy glances to his sword. A few feet away. Against          the wall.          Mogwai takes a step closer.          Billy reaches for the sword.          The creature leaps and lands on Billy's chest, knocking          him to the floor. {          .Billy wrestles with the creature. He tries to grab the          sword, but Mogwai is clawing and biting at him.          Billy's hand finally reaches the sword. He snatches it.          He brings down the blade, into the creature's arm.          Mogwai jumps back. Wounded.          Billy stands. He raises his sword to finish off the creature.          Mogwai dodges theblade, jumping to the window ledge.          Billy moves toward the creature.          Mogwai smashes through'the window, escaping into the night.          Billy hurries out of the house.          OUTSIDE          The blizzard is starting up.          Billy arrives at the broken window. He looks to the ground          and sees          MOGWAI'S FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW          They stretch across the backyards of suburbia, disappearing          into the darkness.          Following the footprints, Billy runs after the creature.          a cute, blonde-haired, blue-eyed 8 year old          backyard. She is building A snowman.                                                  56.          PEGGY'S MOTHER          opens the back door of their home. She calls to her daughter.          MOTHER          Peggy! Come inside! It's too          dark! You'll ruin your eyes          building the snowman!          PEGGY          Just five more minutes.. And          'Skippy The Snowman' will be          finished. Please, Mommy?          MOTHER          (SIGHS)          Alright, young lady. But if you're          not inside this house in five,'          minutes...          PEGGY          (.smiles)          Thanks, Mommy.          She goes back inside.          Peggy inserts pebbles for "Skippy's" eyes.          CUT TO:          BILLY          running through the snow. Following Mogwai's footprints.          CUT TO:          PEGGY          inserting the final pebble for "Skippy's" smile.          Peggy takes a step back. She looks over her creation. She          smiles.          PEGGY 0          Gee, Skippy...You look cute.          SUDDENLY          MOGWAIBURSTS OUT OF THE SNOWMAN'S CHEST.                                                  57.          Before Peggy can scream, Mogwai grabs her.          The creature pulls Peggy inside the snowman.          Peggy puts up afight. But she isn't strong enough. Her          little feet kick as she is pulled inside of the snowman.          BILLY(          arrives in Peggy's backyard. He sees the young girl's          legs kicking from the snowman's torso.          Billy rushes over. He grabs Peggy's legs. A tug of war.          Billy pulls Peggy out of the snowman.          Peggy brushes the snow from her face.          A          E BILLY          Are you okay?          PEGGY          (unharmed, shaken)          A monster came out of Skippy          the Snowman.          Billy quickly attacks the snowman with his sword.          He swings and swings until "Skippy" is nothing but a pile          of snow.          But there is no sign of Mogwai.          Billy spots footprints leading away from the snowman.          Mogwai has escaped.          Billy runs after the footprints.          Peggy watches him disappear around the corner of the house.          Peggy's Mother opens the door. She is puzzled by the pile of          snow in front of Peggy.          MOTHER          Peggy...What happened to your          snowman?          PEGGY          (wide eyed)          This ugly little monster came          out of Skippy's chest! It tried          (MORE)          000��.                                                  58          PEGGY (CONT'D)          to pull me inside and eat me!          But this man with a big sword          came over and saved me!          Peggy's Mother just.stares at her. She shakes her head.          MOTHER          I think you've been playing too          many of those video games.          CUT TO:          CAROLERS          A group of thirty high school students stand on the front          lawn of a home. They happily belt out a Christmas Carol.          CAROLERS          'Joy To The World, the Lord'-has          come...          CAMERA PANS          their bright cheery faces.          PETE          stands in the back row, wearing his orange down jacket and          a long checkered scarf. He stands in the back row, singing          tenor.          THE CREATURE          pops out of a snow drift, behind the carolers. Mogwai eyes          the kids. Pete stands closest to, Mogwai.          The creature smiles.          CUT TO:          BILLY          running through the backyards, following Mogwai's footprints          The carolers' singing echoes in the distance.                                                  THE CAROLERS          loudly singing.          CAROLERS          "And heav'n and nature sing...          A ,tenor voi a sudde ly drops out.          A few of th carol s xchange puzzled glances. But they          resume their singin          PETE          is being dragged from the group by his checkered scarf.          Mogwai pulls the youth into a nearby wooded area.          Pete kicks and shouts. But the caroler's singing drowns          out his cries for help.          Mogwai jumps onto Pete's chest.          The creature's razor sharp teeth bite into the boy's          neck, tearing out a huge chunk.          Pete screams.          No one hears.          CUT TO:          BILLY          running to the group of carolers.          They are puzzled by the.sword in his hand, his tattered,          bloody appearance. But they continue singing.          Billy follows the creatures' footprints behind the carolers ,          into the woods.          Several feet away, Billy so-es Mogwai The creature is on          top of,Pete's body          Billy rushes, to the scene.          Mogwai sees Billy. The creature gets scared and dashes off.          Billy stops                                                  REV. 4/30/82 60.          Pete is dead.          Billy covers Pete's body with his coat. Billy is angry.          Sickened.          He quickly runs after the. creature.          CUT TO:          TRACKING SHOT.          BILLY          chasing the creature through the snow covered woods.          MOGWAI          runs out of the wooded area, into the parking lot of          THE Y.M.C.A.          The building is deserted. Closed because of heavy snow-          fall.          Billy comes out of the woods and sees the creature ahead.          Mogwai runs to the building.          Billy follows.          Mogwai scales up the building's side, to the roof.          Billy runs-up. Frustrated. He can't get to the roof.          He watches Mogwai climb into-the building through          small chimney.          Billy runs to the front door. He tries to open it.          Locked.          He notices a window, a few feet above him.          He hops to the window. He breaks the glass with his sword.          He opens the window and climbs inside.                                                  Y.M.C.A. HALLWAY          Billy jumps inside from the window. He looks around.          It.':s_ dark in here          Billy sees a closet marked "Janitor". He opens it.          Inside,1he finds a flashlight. He turns on tie flash-          light. { It's 'upright.          GYMNASIUM - SWIMMING POOL          The door is sightly open.          Billy walks to the door.          INT. GYMNASIUM          Divided into two sections. One side: A basketball court.          The other: A swimming pool.          It's dark. Billy enters.          TWO GREEN EYES BURN          from the far side of the gym.- Mogwai sits at the top of          the stacked bleachers.          Billy doesn't see the creature. He shines his flashlight          across the gym floor.          BILLY          know you're here.          The flashlight stops on the gymnasium light box. The box          is attached to a.farwall, beside. the swimming pool.          DASHES          Billy hears the creature move. He flashes his light to          the bleacher. tops.. He sees nothing.          feet. He. screams and shines                                                  REV. 4/30/82 62          V.          A BASKETBALL          rolls to a stop at Billy's feet.          Mogwai's giggle echoes through the gymnasium.          Billy looks into the vast darkness.          BILLY          Colme on out...you bastard...          It is silent again. Billy is frightened. He walks          faster, moving to the light box.          Billy hears another sound. He shines the light to another          area.          Again. Nothing.          Billy starts to tremble. He runs to the light box.          gets there and quickly flips open the box.          Billy drops the flashlight and sword.          The creature's sharp fingernails clutch onto Billy's chest.          Billy falls backward, with Mogwai holding onto him.          They tumble into the swimming pool. The deep end.          THE. WATER          Billy separates himself from the creature. He swims to the          side of the pool and gets out.          He runs and picks up his sword. He looks at the scratches          on his chest. They bleed. But he'll live.          SUDDENLY          A small rumbling sound echoes from          Billy locks to the pool.          The water is moving. Bubbling. Rippling          Billy is scared. He runs to the exit doorway.          The rumblinggets.louder. The pool's water gets          violent.                                                  63.          Billy looks back to the pool.          A CREATURE          crawls out of the swimming pool.          It is followed by anoth'r creature.          They are followed by three more.          Then five more. Eight more. Ten more.          They keep coming. In droves.          BILLY          watches from the doorway.          BILLY          (SHOCK)          Oh my God.          HUNDREDS OF CREATURES          are now coming out of the pool.- The huge amount of water          forces them to multiply at an-incredibly fast rate.          BILLY          runs outof thegymnasium.          HALLWAY          Billy closes and locks the door.          He runs to the window, boosts himself up and crawly out.          EXT. Y.M.C.A          Billy runs from the building.          CUT TO:          R �'          0000                                                  64          INT. POLICE STATION          SHERIFF FRANK LUCIA          sits' behind his desk..:'. He's          Frank is 4 years old. His          wears glas es. H deputy          OFFICER BRENT          a scrawny, weasel'' ike man in his mid-thirties, Standd's          ;          beside the! Sheriff i. Brent is also laughing.          117          BILLY          sits in front of the two men. A serious, helpless look          covers his face.          Frank leans toward Billy.          FRANK          (holding back a          LAUGH)          Let me get this straight... You're          telling me that 'little monsters'          are multiplying by the hundreds,          down at the 'Y'?          BILLY          Yes... that's right...          FRANK          These little things killed your          Mother and the Fountane boy?          Billy nods.          FRANK          And they eat human flesh?          BILLY          (nods, displaying          the bite on his          CALF)          They did this.          FRANK          (SKEPTICAL)           Looks like a dog.          E           E, 0 0 0                                                  65.          BILLY          It wasn't a dog, sir.          (NERVOUS)          Look... these things are deadly          when they're alone. but if a          couple hundred get loose.. . They'll          be hungry. Real hungry. They'll          head straight fo the town.. You' 1          h ve a major dis ster on you          h�nds          Frank looks at Billy.          FRANK          Look, Billy...We all know that you          have a very active imagination. My          brother told me about the books you          read down there at the bank ...Now,          Dungeons and Dragons are fine if          you're five years old, but...          Billy stands. Upset.          BILLY          My Mother is dead. So is my friend.          I am not imagining things.          Billy glares at Frank. The Sheriff sighs. He looks at          Officer Brent.          FRANK          Brent, go with Peltzer...check          out the 'Y'...then his house.          BILLY          (not satisfied)          Sheriff... you should radio for          more help. . .warn the people in          FRANK          (ANGRY)          Listen P?ltzer, now you're getting          me pissed off. You're lucky I don't          just throw vuu out on your ass for          telling me stories.          Frustrated, Billy exits with Officer Brent.          Frank shakes his head. He picks up the phone and dials.                                                  66          EXT. Y.M.C.A.          The building appears calm. Peaceful. No sign of the          creatures.          The police car pulls.into the parking lot. I          INT. POLICE CAR          Officer Brent parks the 'car. Billy silts beside him.          Brent looks at the building.          BRENT          Looks fine. I don't see anything.          BILLY          They're inside.          Brent checks his pistol. It's loaded.          BILLY          Look...You can't go in there          alone. It's'suicide. You've          got to radio for more help...          BRENT          (holds up the          PISTOL)          I've got, all the help I need.          Brent handcuffsBilly to the grating of the police car.          BILLY          (PLEADING)          Please... listen to me...You can't          go- in there...          Brent gets out of the car and walks to the building.          A nervous, frustrated Billy watches.          BRENT          walks to the building's front door. Locked. He smiles.          He takes astep back, draws his gun and shoots off the          door lock.          He enters.          BILLY          waits in the car. Frightened. Restless.          ) 0T                                                  67.          His sword lies on the back seat. Billy grabs it.          He begins to pound at the handcuff chain with his blade.          INT. Y.M.C.A. HALLWAY          Pistol drawn, Brent walks down the hallway, to the gym          doors.          He can hear the sounds from inside. Gurgling. Breathing.          Giggling.          He takes a drink from his hip flask. He enters the gym.          INSIDE          Brent is shocked by what he sees.          HUNDREDS OF PAIRS OF BURNING GREEN EYES          fill the gymnasium, shining in the darkness. Like a          starry night.          DROVES OF MOGWAI          are still coming out of the swimming pool.          Brent is frozen. He tries to scream.          The creatures notice him. Several move towards him.          Brent fires his pistol. Useless. There are too many          creatures.          BILLY          He hears the gunshots. He moves faster, desperately          hacking at the handcuff chain with his sword.          CUT TO:          INSIDE - BRENT          drops his gun. Out of bullets. He turns to run.                                                  68.          A creature leaps. It lands on his back.          Another leaps at him. He falls to the ground.          Brent screams-as the:creatures jump him.          They cover him like a blanket.          They feast.          CUT TO:          BILLY          Sweating. Nervous. Hacking away at the handcuff chain.          Brent's screams fade in the background.          Billy looks out the side window. He sees          THE Y.M.C.A.'S FRONT DOORS BURST OPEN          Droves of creatures pour out into the night.          BILLY          panics. He hacks at the chain. Harder. Faster.          THE CREATURES          move toward the police car.          BILLY          finally breaks the handcuff chain. He quickly moves to          the driver's seat and starts the car.          THE POLICE CAR          tears out of the parking lot          The creatures still pour out of the 'Y'.          drives. He looks to the rearview mirror. The                                                  69          reflection of          COUNTLESS GREEN EYES          'burns in the mirror. The creatures are following'him.          BILLY          drives faster.          BILLY          (PANIC)          I gotta warn people. . .1 gotta tell          THEM          He flips on the police siren and heads for town.           CUT TO:          THE SUBURBS          Peaceful. Calm. Christmas lights twinkle.          THE POLICE CAR          suddenly squeals down the main road. Lights flashing.          Siren blaring.          BILLY          steers the patrol car into the first driveway.          The car screeches to a stop. Billy gets out. Sword in          hand, he runs to the front door of the house. He          knocks. Hard.          MR. FUTTERS          a balding, middle-aged man, wearing a bathrobe and pajamas,          answers the door.          MR. FUTTERS          (PUZZLED)          Billy Peltzer?...What's going on          here?..                                                  70.          BILLY          (BREATHLESS)          They're coming.          MR. FUTTERS          Huh?..          BILLY          (fast, hyper)          You've got to keep your wind ws          locked. Or better yet...boa d them          up! And your lights... You've got          to leave them on!          f+ MR. FUTTERS          What are you talking about, boy?          BILLY          There are these little things...          animals...They're all over the          place! They'll kill you and your          family!...          Mr. Futters starts to laugh.          MR. FUTTERS          Have you been drinking?          BILLY          No sir, I...          MR. FUTTERS          And what the hell is that? A          sword?          BILLY          Yes...          MR. FUTTERS          And what are-you doing with the          Sheriff's car? Are you on drugs?          Billy starts to explain when          MR. DEAGLE          the next door neighbor, walks onto his porch.          Deagle is a portly man, with curly grey hair and a beard.          He calls to Mr. Futters                                                  71.          MR. DEAGLE          Hey, Joe...I saw the police car.          You in some kind of trouble?          MR. FUTTERS          ,No, it's this Peltzer kid. He          thinks we're gonna get: eaten up          by wild animals. And he's          carrying a sword.          MR. DEAGLE          Did you say 'Peltzer'? Billy          Peltzer?          MR. FUTTERS          1 Yeah...          MR. DEAGLE          (shakes his head)          He's a nut. Went crazy in the          bank today. Called my wife all          kinds of names.          (to Billy)          You smartass son of a bitch. If          I was ten years younger I'd beat          the crap out of you.          Billy sighs, frustrated.          MRS. DEAGLE          joins her husband on the porch.          MRS. DEAGLE          What's the matter?...          (she sees Billy)          Oh, it's you. Here to          apologize?          MRS. DEAGLE          MR. DEAGLE          The boy went crazy, dear.          carrying a sword.                                                  REV. 4/30/82 72.          MRS. DEFILE          (SMILES)          I knew he was crazy from the          start.          (glares at Billy)          I hope they lock you up for          good, and throw away the key.          Mr. Deagle puts his arm around his wife.          MR. DEAGLE          C'mon back inside, dear. Let's          finish watching 'Dallas'.          (to Mr. Futters)          G'night, Joe.          MR. FUTTERS          Good night, Ed.          (to Billy)          You've got ten seconds to get          the hell out of my yard. Then          I'm.calling the Sheriff...if he          isn't out looking for you already.          He slams the door and goes inside.          Billy just stands there. Defeated. Frustrated.          A CREATURE          hisses. Behind Billy.          Billy turns. Mogwai leaps at him.          Billy raises his sword and swings.          He knocks the creature down. He stabs Mogwai.          Mogwai dies with a long scream.          Billy looks up and sees          THE PACK OF CREATURES          moving down Main Street. They have arrived. Looking for          food.          Many break into the house across the street. There are          some human screams. Then the house lights go out.                                                  REV. 4/30/82 73          Several creatures come towards Billy.          Billy runs to the police car. He opens the door and gets          inside.          A creature leaps at him.          Billy slams the car door. It severs the creature4si-rand..          Several creatures surround the car.          Billy hears a familiar voice. Screaming. He looks out          the window.          MRS. DEAGLE          comes running out of her house, towards the police car.          f_ She-'s screaming for help.          I          A creature is on her back.          Another creature leaps at her.          She falls. Into the snow.          Several creatures attack Mrs. Deagle. Her screams fade.          So does her life.          BILLY          looks away. More creatures are. surrounding the car.          They pound against the windows. They want in.          A scared Billy flips on the police radio.          BILLY          Sheriff?...It's Billy Peltzer...          Can you hear me?!?...          INT. SHERIFF'S OFFICE          Frank plays cards with his brother, Gary. Gary is still          in his bank security guard uniform.          radio.          BILLY M.O.)          Please answer! It's me;--Billy...          GREi�;►ooo05                                                  74          Frankgrabs the mike. Gary smiles.          GRANK          What's going on Peltzer? Where's          Officer-Brent?.          BILLY (V.0.)          He was kiljed by.ithe creatures.          What? Whe          THE POL�CE C AR          is blanketed by creatures, trying to get in at Billy.          Billy screams into the radio mike.          BILLY          (panic, screaming          into the radio mike)          The creatures are all over town...          breaking into houses... killing          people... You've got to get help!...          THE READ WINDOW SMASHES.          The creatures start to rip away at the glass.          A creature's arm smashes through the passenger window.          Billy drops the radio mike.          SHERIFF (V.0.)          Peltzer?!?...Peltzer?!?...          Billy thinks fast. He flips on the siren and flashing          roof lights.          THE CREATURES          are scared of the bright lights. They scatter away from          she car.          BILLY          starts the engine. He squeals out of the driveway.                                                  75.          INT. SHERIFFS OFFICE          FRANK          (into the mike)          Peltzer?...Peltzer?...          (slams down the          MIKE)          Damn.          GARY          (SMILING)          Sounds like he really flipped          out this time.          Frank stands. He straps on his gun holster.          FRANK          Looks like I'm gonna have to          straighten this out myself. Want          to go for a ride?          GARY          (eyes light)          Can I drive?          Frank. reluctantly nods. Gary stands.          GARY          (SARCASTIC)          But, Frank...With everybody out...          Who's gonna be here to answer the          Emergency phone calls?          (FALSETTO)          'Help! The little gremlins are          eating my baby!'          Gary laughs hard at his joke. They exit the police station.          CAMERA STAYS BEHIND          in the deserted police station. We hear Frank and Gary get          into the car and drive off.          THEN          A telephone rings. And another phone rings. And.another.          People need help.                                                  76          BILLY          Shaky. Nervous. Behind the wheel of the police car.          OUTSIDE          The creatures are making their way down M in Street.          They are everywhere.          On rooftops. Front lawns. Smashing through windows.          Breaking into homes.          Scattered human screams echo through the night.          People are dying.          Mogwai is taking over the. town'.          BILLY          looks through his windshield. Up ahead, he sees          TRACY          screaming for help, from a third floor window of her home.          BILLY          steers the police car into her driveway. He squeals to          a stop.          He grabs his sword and gets out of the car.          OUTSIDE          Billy runs to below Tracy's window. He shouts to her.          BILLY          Tracy!...It's me! Billy!          TRACY          stands in her bedroom. The bedroom door is closed. Locked.          The creatures pound against it.. They want in.                                                  77          Tracy shouts down to Billy.          TRACY          Billy! These things are all over          my house... I'm trapped!          (a beat) 1           There's a ladder beside the garage...          Billy runs to the garage side. e reaches down and picks          up a rusty aluminum ladd r.          I          He puts the ladder up to Tracy's window and climbs to her.          INT. TRACY'S ROOM          THE BEDROOM DOOR BURSTS OPEN.          Two creatures stand there Growling. 'Hungry. They,          move to Tracy.          She screams.          Billy gets to Tracy. He quickly pulls her out of the          window. They begin to climb down the ladder.          ON THE GROUND BELOW          a creature jumps onto the ladder.          Tracy. is startled. She nearly falls. Billy grabs. a. better          hold of her. He drops his sword. It falls to the ground          and lands in the snow.          The creature looks up and sees Billy and Tracy. A few          feet above. Mogwai begins to climb the ladder, going          after them.          Billy and Tracy start to climb up the ladder.          But the two other creatures come out of Tracy'.s bedroom          window. They see Billy and Tracy below. They climb oft          after them, down the ladder.          Billy and Tracy are trapped. Sandwiched between the          creatures.          Billy looks to his sword on the ground. So far away.                                                  REV. 4/30/82 78          Thinking fast, Billy pulls the ladder back.          It sways. He pulls harder.          The ladder tilts to the ground. Falling.          The three creatures are thrown to the ground, into the          deep snow.          Billy and Tracy ride the ladder down. The snow breaks          their fall.          The creatures dig their way out of the snow. They move          towards Billy and Tracy.          Billy snaps up his sword and jumps to his feet. Ready          to fight. He keeps one protective arm around Tracy.          The creatures surround them. Waiting for the right moment          to attack.          One of the creatures moves forward.          Another leaps behind Billy.          Billy lunges forward and spears the first creature.          He quickly reels around, slicing the other creature in          two.          Both creatures lie in the snow. Dead.          Billy turns to the last Mogwai. With two swings of his          blade, he kills the creature.          Billy wipes the green blood off his sword with his coat          sleeve. Breathless, he looks at Tracy .          Hair .hangs in his eyes. Blood runs down the side of his.          sweaty, unshaven face. His dark brown eyes stare at Tracy.          The transformation from meek bank clerk to sexy hero is          complete.          He embraces her. They run to the police car and get inside.          Billy'starts the car. He and Tracy drive off into the          night.                                                  79.          INT. SHERIFF'S CAR          Gary drives. Frank sits beside him. Gary flips on the siren          and lights. He smiles. Like a little kid. Frank reaches          over and.turns off the siren. Gary complains.          GARY          Hey, C'mon...          FRANK          I got a headache.          GARY          (SARCASTIC)          But this is an emergency. We          gotta warn everybody! The gremlins          are coming!          Gary laughs. Frank sighs          GARY          So when are you gonna make me          Deputy?          FRANK          When you grow up.          GARY          Why don't you fire Brent. He's          nothin' but a drunk. I'could do          a lot better.          They arrive at the outskirts of town. Frank notices some-          thing up ahead.          He can see the shadows of the creatures. Crawling on          houses. Running across the front lawns.          Frank motions for Gary to slow down.          FRANK          Something looks weird.          (rolls Jown. his          WINDOW)          Damn windshield.`:: frozen. Can't          see a thing.          He sticks his head out the window to look out.          Gary continuesto drive.          Frank turns from outside, back to Gary.                                                  REV. 4/30/82 80.          FRANK          Snow's too'heavy. I can't...          A CREATURE          leaps onto the car's passenger' side. The creature grabs          Frank' arm. He tries to shake off the creature.          Gary gl nce over. Shocked. Horrified.          Mogwai takes a huge bite out of Frank's arm. He screams.          Gary turns to help him.          THE POLICE-CAR          slides on the ice. It slams-into a guard rail, flips over          a ditch and spins to a stop.          CUT TO:          BILLY'S CAR          Billy drives, as fast as possible through the heavy snow.          He's headed out of town. Tracy sits beside him. She          looks out the window..          OUTSIDE          The rows of once peaceful, cheerful homes are now the          scenes of frenzied horror.          People run out into the night, screaming for help, only          to be dragged to the ground by creatures.          Ravaged bodies lie in the snow. Frozen.          An ambulance is overturned on the roadside.          Phone lines are town down.          The creatures have made their way across town. They now          attack the last few houseson the block.                                                  REV. 4/30/82 81.          TRACY           looks away from her window. Tears fill her eyes. She's           sickened by all of it. Billy holds Tracy's hand, comforting           her.. Billy notices something.up ahead. He.stops the ( ::          police car. ( '          {          (           (           OUTSIDE          The headlights shine on Frank's overturned police car.          Gary is inside. Still alive. He screams for help.                                                  REV. 4/30/82          BILLY          I'll get him out.          Billy quickly opens the police car door. He jumps out.          OUTSIDE          He closes the door. Tracy is safe inside.          Billy walks to the.sheriff's car. He stays in the safety          of the headlight's beam.          Billy stops a few feet from the sheriff's car.          The passenger side is crushed. The driver's side is          barely damaged, save for a dented, jammed door.          Gary pounds against-the door. He wants out.          Billy grabs the car handle. He pulls hard. The door          pops open. He pulls Gary out.          Gary gets to his feet. He's okay. Billy looks inside          the car.          Billy closes the door.          GARY          What.about my brother? Can we          get him out?          BILLY          He's dead.          Tears fill Gary's eyes. Billy leads Gary to the car.          BILLY          C'mon. Just stay in the light.          They're afraid of the light.          Gary walks. He looks scared. Helpless.          They get to the police car. Billy opens the door.          INT. POLICE CAR                                                  83.          GARY          Tracy.          She smiles. Glad to see him alive. They kiss. Gary puts          his arm around her..          Billy hops into the driver's seat. He rests the sword          beside him.--He--starts the car and continues to drive.,          Gary gives Tracy another kiss. He needs her comfort.          Billy just stares ahead, at the snowy road.          CUT TO:          DOUGAL'S ANTIQUE STORE - ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN          Closed.. But the upstairs lights are on. Someone is          home.          Everything here looks calm. Untouched. Safe.          The police car pulls into the driveway.          INSIDE          Billy turns to Gary and Tracy.          BILLY          We're just outside of town...          Doesn't look like the creature's          got here yet.          (a beat)          Let's go inside and warm up.          They exit the police car.          DORRY          comes to the door. He sees the worn, hollow faces of Gary          and Tracy. He sees the bruised and bloodied Billy.                                                  84.          DORRY          What the hell happened to you?          Billy looks at Dorry.          DISSOLVE TO:          INT. DOTJGAL'S LIVING ROOM- LATER          Dorry bandages Billy's calf. Gary sits with Tracy on          the sofa.          Billy finishes telling the full story to everyone.          BILLY          .and they originate from this          marketplace in Hong Kong.          Dorrystands and shakes his head.          DORRY          Hard to believe. Like Satan's          come to walk the earth.          BILLY          (looks at everyone)          You see...they''re drawn to water.          Now, if my hunch is correct... They'll          be leaving town, and heading for the          water tower-which means they'll have          to pass by here tonight.          (a beat)          We have to get help. These things          have to be kept under control. If          they get to the water tower .they           could spread all over the St ate...          maybe the Country. They're like          inhuman divining rods.          GARY          Why didn't you think of that before,          Peltzer?          BILLY          I did. But nobody would listen.          GARY .          Maybe if you weren't such a nut          people would believe you.                                                  85.          Dorry intervenes.          DORRY          Nowt boys...arguing won't get us          anywhere.          Gary still glares at Billy.          GARY          This is your fau t, Peltzer.          BILLY          That's not true.          GARY          My brother's dead because of          you.          BILLY          That isn't..          GARY          The people in town. They're          • dead because of you.          BILLY          (ANGRY)          Stop it.          GARY          You did it. You killed all          those people.. You're. a murderer,          Peltzer.          Billy lunges at Gary. They fall to the ground. Fighting.          Dorry and Tracy break it up.          TRACY          If we want to stay . alive... We          have to stick together.          Billy turns away. Cooling off.          Gary is comforted by Tracy. But she keeps her eye on          Billy. Dorry looks at everyone.          DORRY          We should get in touch with          the authorities.                                                  86          BILLY          Yeah, and then I'd like to try and          get in touch with my Dad. If we          can...          THE LIGHTS GO OUT.          Total darkness.          CUT TO:          EXT. DORRY'S STORE          Mogwai's claw tears at the wires in the electrical box.          CUT TO:          LIVING-ROOM          Gary's cigarette lighter illuminates the room. Everyone          stays quiet. They listen.          THE GIGGLING of several creatures echoes from outside.          BILLY          They're here.          A frightened Gary holds Tracy.          GARY          Now what do we do?          The giggling gets louder. Closer. Billy turns to Dorry.          BILLY          Do you have a place without win          dows?... .A place where we could be          safe?          Dorry pauses to think.          DORRY          The storage room          The sound of breaking glass is heard.                                                  87          BILLY          (clutching his sword)          We have to hurry.          Dorry leads everyone.out of the.room...          INT. STORAGE ROOM          Large area. Crowded wit.. an#i.ques.          Dorry leads everyone inside. He closes and lo'ks the          door. He lights two can¢1es.,,          BILLY          We'll stay ere until daybreak.          Gary sits with Tracy on an old sofa.          Dorry sits beside them in an�old rocking chair.          Billy pulls up an old wooden'chair.          LOUD NOISES, CRASHES. BANGS, THUMPS, GIGGLES..          They echo from OFFSCREEN. The creatures rummage through          the antique store.          CLOSE-UP - BILLY, GARY, TRACY, DORRY          listening to the sounds. Frightened.          DORRY          Mischevious little devils,          aren't they?          No one disagrees.          Tracy suddenly notices something. She cries out.          TRACY          (pointing to the          DOOR)          Billy!          SEVERAL CREATURES' CLAWS          scratch through the thin wood of the storage room door.          Thinking fast, Billy moves to a large cabinet. He          turns to Gary.                                                  88.          BILLY          Help me with this.          Gary and Billy slide the cabinet in front of the door.          BILLY          That'llkeep them out. We're          safe now..          Billy sits back. The �oipjs contipue.          Dorrylook at ever y on          DORRY          I've only been this scared two          other times in my life. Once          was when I got drafted. The          other, was when I was six years          old.          (everyone listens)          It.was Christmas Eve. My sisters          and I were decorating the tree          with our Mother. We were singing          caroles...happy ...excited...          waiting for Dad to get home from          work.          (a beat)          A few hours passed, and we started          to worry. Dad wasn't home yet. My          Mother called the office. They said          he left.          (PAUSE)          After about a week... the police gave          up. My Mother was close to a nervous          breakdown... The rest of us weren't          eating.. .we couldn't sleep.. .Every-          thing was falling apart.          (PAUSE)          It was snowing outside. The house          was cold. I threw some logs on          the fire.--..That's when I noticed          the smell.          (a beat)          The firemen came. They broke          through the chimney top. We were          all waiting, expecting them to          pull out some dead cat or bird...          Instead, they pulled out my Father.          (PAUSE)          He was dressed in a Santa Claus          suit. He had been climbing down          the chimney on Christmas Eve,          his arms loaded with presents.          AMORE)                                                  89.          DORRY (CONT'D)          He was going to surprise us.          (PAUSE)          The coroner said that he lost          his footing. He slipped and          broke his neck. Died instantly.          His body was lodged in the narrow          chimney shaft.          (PAUSE)          ,That how I found out there was          no Sahta Claus.          Everyone has a chilled look on their faces. Dorry just          stares.          Billy stands and clears his throat..          BILLY          Well...I think you should all          try and get some sleep.          (a beat)          I'll watch the door.          Everyone agrees. Billy moves his chair in front of the          door.          .Dorry relaxes.inhis rocking chair.          Gary stretches out on the sofa, expecting Tracy to cuddle          with him. Instead,"she walks:over to Billy.          TRACY          Billy...          He looks at her. She gives him a comforting smile.          TRACY          I just wanted to say thanks...          I mean...If it wasn't for you, I          don't know what any of us would          have done.          Billy smiles.          TRACY          is it okay if I sleep here? On          the floor beside you?...I'd feel          a lot safer.          Billy nods. Tracy moves a carpet next to Billy's chair.          She lies on the carpet. She closes her eyes.          Gary watches from the sofa. Jealous.                                                  Dorry has fallen asleep in his chair.          Billy sits. Sword on his lap. He guards the door.          Sounds still echo-from downstair•s,.throughout the antique          store.          CLOSE-UP - BILLY          The horror of it all finally hits him.          His eyes fill with tears.          He cries. Alone.          FADE OUT.          FADE IN:          BILLY          sleeping in his chair. His hand still holds the sword on          his lap.          The others are asleep.          Billy's hand quivers. The sword drops to the floor. He          wakes. Startled. He quickly grabs the sword.          Everyone else wakes from the sound.          BILLY          (looking at their          scared faces)          Everything's okay...I just          dropped my sword.          Gary rubs his eyes.          GARY          What time is it?          DORRY          (checks his pocket-          WATCH)          9:15.          Billy stands. He pushes the wood cabinet from the door          The door is covered with scratches. Billy slowly opens it.                                                  91          The room is bathed with light, coming from a window          facing the door.          Everyone smiles. The light feels good. Safe.          They exit-the storage room.          INT LIVING 7 0          Destroyed by lithe creatures. Furniture. is overturned.          Windows are broken. Curtains are torn.          Billy, Dcrry, Gary and Tracy enter.          CAMERA FOLLOWS          the four people through the house. Into the kitchen, the          bedrooms, the hallways.          Every room has been destroyed by the creatures.          INT.. STORE AREA          All of the antiques have been smashed or broken by the          creatures.          Dorry is shocked to see his store in this state.          Billy walks to the front door. He tries to open it. It's          jammed. He pulls hard. Finally., it opens.          OUTSIDE          A blanket of snow. covers everything. It snowed hard last          night.. Three feet's worth.          BILLY          Try. the phone. .see if we can          get help...          Dorry walks back inside. Gary flips on a transistor radio          that has been sitting on the shelf.          RADIO (O . S . )          All major highways and roads are          closed. Driving is close to          (MORE)                                                  92          RADIO (O.S.) (CONT'D)          impossible. It looks like we're          gonna be snowbound for the Holidays.          Dorry returns.          DORRY          Phone's. dead.          BILLY          Damn.          TRACY          We're trapped.          GARY          I think we should get out.          Now.          BILLY          How? The nearest town is fifteen          miles away.          GARY          I'll walk.          BILLY          In this? You won't get far.          GARY -          It's worth'a try.          BILLY          And-what happens when it gets          dark? ...And you're on the road.          Alone.          Gary says nothing.          BILLY          No. We have to stick together          and fight these things. At least          until we can get help...          Tracy folds her arms.          TRACY          I'm cold.          Gary puts his arm around her. She'd rather have Billy's.                                                  REV. 4/30/82 93.           DORRY -           There's a McDonald's about a          block away.           BILLY          Okay. We 11 get something to          eat.          (a beat),          Them we go 1 to wJork.          CUT TO:          EXT. MC DONALDS - LATER          The police car is parked outside. Many of the restaurant          windows are broken. A few deserted cars are in the parking          lot.          INSIDE          The creatures have been here.          The dead body of an old man is slumped across a table.          A half eaten Big Mac is still in his hand.          In a booth, sits a dead family: Mother, Father, boy and          girl. Their food still sits-in front of them. Untouched.          A dead cashier girl lies on the counter.          BILLY, TRACY, GARY AND DORRY          sit at a table in the rear of the restaurant. Away from          the grisly sights.-          They eat burgers and fries. Gary takes a bite of his          burger and nods to Billy.          GARY          Not bad, Peltzer. I-didn't          know you could cook.                                                  94.          DORRY          Could there be other people in          town? Alive?          BILLY          It's.possible. But it's more          important to get at the creatures.          We've got the advantage now. It's          daylight.          GARY I          You know where they are, Peltzer?          BILLY          No...But they're all gathered in          one place. And the sun rose before          they could make it to the water          tower. So they must be holed up          between here and there.          TRACY          The old church?          BILLY          (shakes his head)          Too many windows. Too much light.          it's got to be someplace dark.          Totally dark.          DORRY          How about somebody's garage?...          Or tool shed?...          BILLY          No. There's too many of them..          They'd need a huge area...          TRACY          Ridge's movie house.          Everyone pauses to think.          GARY          It's a big place. No windows.          DORRY          Always dark. Pitch black.          Billy nods to himself. That's the place.          CUT TO:                                                  95.          EXT. RIDGE'S MOVIE THEATER - LATE AFTERNOON          The sun is going down.          Walt-Disney's "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs" is          playing. A written sign is posed in the box office window.          TONIGHT'S SHOW CANCELLED BECAUSE OF SNOW          Billy and the others walk up-to the theater. Gary is          carrying a flashlight. Billy turns to him.          BILLY          You used to work here, right?          GARY          (SHRUGS)          When I was a kid.          BILLY          You're coming in with me., You can          show me around.          TRACY          What are you going to do if they're          inside?          BILLY          Blow up the theater.          Everyone seems puzzled. Billy turns to Gary.          BILLY          This place has some kind of boiler          room...with a furnace... right?          GARY          (NODS)          In the basement.          BILLY          (to the others)          I'll use the gas lines as a bomb.          The fire will destroy the creatures.          Dorry looks at Billy.          DORRY          I want to come in with you.You'11          need the extra hand.                                                  96          TRACY          Well I'm not staying out here          alone. It's getting dark.          Billy nods. -They'll all go in together.          BILLY          Okay...just remember;.We've got          to stick together. And keep close          to the flashlight. They're scared          of the light.          Everyone nods. Gary turns on the flashlight.          Tracy takes Billy's hand. Gary is jealous.          They enter the theater.          INT. THEATER LOBBY          Gary shines the flashlight.          The candy counter has been smashed. All of the candy is          gone.          The popcorn machine is empty. The soda machine has been          emptied and turned on its side.          Billy walks to the theater entrance door. He looks into          the small window.          INT. THEATER          Countless pairs of green eyes shine in the darkness. The          creatures murmur among themselves.          Billy whispers to the others.          BILLY          They're inside the theater.          The others peer into the window.          BILLY          (to Gary)          How do we get to the boiler          room?                                                  97.          BILLY          Damn. There's too many of those          things. They'll- see us.          (PAUSE)          1 If we could. just distract them...          Tracy perks up.          •TRAC Y-          I have an 'idea'.-          They look .t her .          CUT TO:          PROJECTION BOOTH          Billy, Tracy, Dorry and Gary enter. Tracy walks to the          projector.. She finds the forward switch. She flips it.          The projector purrs. The lamp goes on. The reels turn.          INT. THEATER          The second reel of "Snow White" fills the screen.          The seven dwarfs are singing "Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to          work we go..." The song echoes through the theater.          THE CREATURES          are frightened by the images on screen. The light hurts          their eyes. But gradually, they become interested in the          movie.          PROJECTION BOOTH          CUT TO:          INT. THEATER          The creatures are clustered in their seats. Puzzled.          Fascinated by the animated screen                                                  98          Billy and the others move through the darkness. They crawl          on the floor, on the outside aisle of the theater, to the          Exit door.           They move carefully. Slowly. Silently. They make it           to the Exit. They Crawl out. safe.-          The creatures still watchthe movie.          INT. HALLWAY          Out of the theater, BillyTracy, Dorry and Gary run to          the boiler room.          INT. BOILER ROOM          Billy walks to the large gas furnace. He examines the          gas line. He finds the shut-of.f valve and turns off the          gas.          Billy takes off his coat and shirt. He removes his T-shirt.          He looks at Gary.          BILLY          Give me your T-shirt.          Gary reluctantly takes. off his T-shirt. Billy ties the          two shirts together. He winds them into a cord.          He finds a connection in the gas line. He begins to          pound against it with the handle of his sword. The. sounds          of metal ring out.          CLANG, CLANG, CLANG.          CUT TO:          INT. THEATER          The film's reel ends. The screen goes blank.          The creatures are puzzled. Distracted. They throw          their candy boxes and paper cups at the screen.          The CLANG of Billy's sword hitting the pipe is heard.          Several of the creatures group together. They move from          their seats, to the exit door. They follow the sound.                                                  99.          INT. BOILER ROOM          Billy gives one final hit to. the gas line. The connection          snaps. He stuffs the line with his and Gary's shirt. He          turns the gas back on and lights the end of the crumpled.          shirt with a match. The flame slowly creeps up the shirt,          to the line.          BILLY          We have to get out. Fast.          Gary points to a rear exit.          GARY          That leads outside.          SEVERAL CREATURES          burst into the room.          Gary panics. He pulls out a gun and starts shooting.          BILLY          Not your gun. There's too          many. Use the light.          Gary stops shooting and fumbles for his flashlight.          A creature leaps atDorry, pinning the old man to the          ground. Other creatures attack Dorry. Biting. Scratching.          Tearing.          Billy picks up his sword and begins to knock the creatures          off Dorry.          Creatures come at Tracy. She picks up a section of thick          lead pipe and bats off the oncoming Mogwai.          Gary finally turns on the flashlight beam. It keeps some          of the Mogwai at bay.          Fire creeps up the T-shirt, getting closer to the gas          line.          Billy gets all-the creatures off Dorry.          More creatures come through the door.          Gary gets scared. He drops the flashlight and runs          for the rear exit.                                                  100          BILLY          (screams to Gary)          Get back here! We need you!          .Gary runs out, leaving the others alone.          Billy and Tracy continue to fight the creatures.          I          Dorr7 lies the ground.          EXT . ! BEHIND "HEATER          Gary`] rushes] but. It's dark. He runs throi}gh the snow-          filled alle'i, to the front of the theater.          INT. BOILER ROOM          The fire is`o'nly a few inches from the gas line. Soon          the place will blow.          Billy and Tracy still fight. Billy inches back to the          rear exit. His arm blindly gropes for the 'door handle.          The fire is�almost at the gas line.          Billy's hand reaches the door handle. He opens it.          He turns to Tracy.          BILLY          Let's go.          Billy picks up Dorry's body. Tracy protects him by batting          away any oncoming creatures.          They hurry out of the boiler room.          INT. HALLWAY          Tracy closes the boiler room door. locking the creatures          inside.          Billy.carries Dorry's body. He and Tracy run to the exit.          EXT. ALLEY - BEHIND THEATER          Tracy and Billy burst through the door. They fall into          a snow p l e                                                  REV. 4/30/82 101          THE THEATER EXPLODES.          Doors fly off., Windows break. The entire theater is          engulfed in flames.          Loud high pitched screaming is'heard. Creatures are          dying.          Billy stands up from the sn w drift. H loo s at T acy.          She's okay. They look to Dcrry.          I          His body is covered with scratches and bites. He's dead. (           Billy picks up Dorry's body. He carries it to the front          of the theater. Tracy follows.          CUT TO:          INT. THEATER          TRACKING SHOT          Camera moves through the flames. Some creatures scream,          burning to death. Others try to avoid the flames.          Camera moves to the ceiling.          THE SPRINKLER SYSTEM TURNS ON.          CUT TO:          CLOSE-UP - GARY          sweating. Scared. Out of breath.          He stands across the street from the theater. Watching.          BILLY AND TRACY          emerge from behind the building. They walk towards Gary.          Billy walks up. He's holding Dorry's body. He lowers          the body-to the ground. He glares at Gary.          BILLY          You bastard. You ran out on us.          Left us alone. To die.          Billy drops his sword and jumps Gary. They fall to the          ground. Fighting. Punching.                                                  REV. 4/30/82 102.          Gary knees Billy in the groin. Billy is bent over,          catching his wind.          Gary snatches the sword. He lunges at Billy with the          blade.          TRACY          Gary! ...No!...          Billy dodges the blad�.          Gary moves closer to Billy. The sword is inches away          from Billy's chest.          Gary swings. Billy steps back. The tip of the sword          scratches across his chest.          Tracy cries out.          Gary lunges at him again. Billy is scratched across the          s tomach-.          Billy is backed against,a building wall.          Gary pulls back his sword, ready to spear Billy..          A CREATURE          leaps out of the darkness and grabs Gary by the throat.          Gary screams. He drops the sword.          Another creature attacks Gary. Followed by another.          And another.          They bring him to the ground. They eat. He dies.          Billy quickly picks up his sword, before the creatures          get to hi_m and Tracy. He grabs her hand. They.run to          the police car.          They get inside and lock the doors.          INT. POLICE CAR          Billy and Tracy look across the street.                                                  103.          CcUNTLESS CREATURES          are pouring out of the theater. Into the night.          THE POLICE CAR          squeals away into the night.          INT. CAR          Tracy examines Billy's shoulder. A deep cut.          THE CREATURE ON THE BACK SEAT          opens its eyes. It lets out a high pitched, wounded cry.          Tracy picks up the sword, ready to kill the creature.          Billy stops her.          BILLY          Wait...          He looks out the rear window.          THE PACK OF CREATURES          are following the police car.          BILLY          looks at the creature on the back seat. It still cries          out in that high pitched scream.          BILLY          (to Tracy)          Hear that? He's calling his          friends for help. They're          following us. As long as          he's alive and screaming... they'll          come after him.          TRACY                                                  104.          BILLY          We can't kill him. He's our          bait. We'll be able to lead them          away from the water tower.          (points to the          back seat)          Just keep an eye on the thing...          make s re it doe n' hurt us.          Tracy keeps the swo d on the cre ture. Billy guns the          engine and screeches off. He looks to the rearview          mirror.          THE COUNTLESS GREEN EYES FOLLOW..          DISSOLVE TO:          EXT. EXXON STATION - LATER THAT NIGHT          The station is deserted. A clock in the window reads          5:27 AM.          THE POLICE CAR          pulls into the station'lot.          Billy and Tracy get out. They look tired. Worn. They've          been driving all night. Billy pumps gas into the car.          THE WOUNDED CREATURE          still lies on the back seat. Mogwai still screams in          its high pitched wail.          TRACY          looks into the distance.          THE PACK OF GREEN EYES          is visible. A few miles away.. They move to Tracy and          Billy's direction.                                                  REV. 4/30/82          BILLY          We'd better hurry. They're          getting close.          They.. get into the car..          INSIDE          Billy starts the car. Tracy looks into the back seat.          TRACY          Billy!...          THE CREATURE IS GONE.          Billy and Tracy are shocked. Puzzled.          CUT TO:          BEHIND THE POLICE CAR          The creature has crawled outside, through the rear          window. It crawls BENEATH THE CAR, moving into the engine.          BILLY AND TRACY          look around. Puzzled. Confused.          BILLY          Where in the hell?...          SUDDENLY          The car stalls. Billy tries to re-start it. No good.          Dead engine.          GIGGLING echoes from under the hood.          Billy and Tracy get out of the car.          OUTSIDE          THE PACK OF CREATURES ARE GETTING CLOSER.          Billy and Tracy move to the-car's hood. Billy opens it.                                                  REV. 4/30/82          MOGWAI          is inside. Its mouth is full of tangled wires and plugs          that the creature has ripped from the engine. Mogwai          giggles at Billy.          BILLY          (to Tracy)          Check the garage... ee if          there's a bag...a b x...          something we can keep this          little bastard locked up in.          Tracyhurries to the garage.          INT. STATION GARAGE          Tracy finds a small, red metal toolbox., She empties          it and carries the box back to the car.          BILLY          grabs the creature. Mogwai is still wounded and dazed.          But it manages to bite and scratch at Billy.          Tracy holds the tool box open. Billy forces Mogwai inside.          He closes the tool box and locks it shut.          Mogwai is trapped inside. The creature pounds against          the metal. Its loud cry echoes from inside.          Billy checks the car's engine.          BILLY          Damn! He ripped out the          coil wires! The car won't          run without them!          TRACY          Can you fix it?          Billy looks into the distance. The creatures are getting          very close..          BILLY          There's no time.          (grabs her          HAND )          Come on.                                                  REV. 4/30/.82          Billy and Tracy run. Billy carries the tool box. Mogwai          cries from inside.          Billy looks behind him.          THEGWAI          !through the snow, moving closer to Billy anTracy. plow          TRACKING SHOT          of Billy and Tracy. Running fast. Out of breath. Trying          to keep ahead of the droves of Mogwai.          Billy looks into the distance, at the top of a hill.          A GREENHOUSE          sits in a large open area. It overlooks the entire town          of Kingston Falls.          BILLY AND TRACY          run up the hill, towards the Greenhouse.          THE MOGWAI          move fast. They're getting closer to Billy and Tracy.          Some of the creatures travel beneath the snow. Others          hop through it.          BILLY AND TRACY          arrive at. the top of the hill. They run to the          Greenhouse entrance. They open the doors and enter.          INSIDE          Billy drops the toolbox on top of a Greenhouse table..          OUTSIDE          The creatures arrive at the top of the hill. They move          to the Greenhouse doors                                                  REV. 4/30/82          INSIDE          Billy spots a huge tree. It grows up, through the          center of the Greenhouse.          Billy takes Tracy's hand. They run to the tree. They          begin to climb to the top.          THE CREATURES          crash through the Greenhouse doors. Several of them          surround the tool box. Mogwai screams from inside. Others          tear through the Greenhouse, smashing plants, overturning          tables, etc.          The creatures spot Billy and Tracy, climbing the tree.          The Mogwai move to the tree.          BILLY AND TRACY          climb. Billy looks to the sky.          Dawn is approaching.          Billy looks below him.          THE CREATURES          climb the tree, scurrying up to Billy and Tracy.          Billy fights off the oncoming Mogwai with his sword.          AT THE TREE'S BOTTOM          Several creatures have begun to gnaw at the tree trunk.          BILLY AND TRACY          are near the treetop. They cling to a large, thick branch.          The creatures still chase after them. Billy keeps them          at bay.          AT THE TREE'S BOTTOM          The creatures have almost-completely gnawed:through the          tree trunk.                                                  REV. 4/30/82          The tree sways.          The trunk snaps.          .Billy and Tracy hold tight as the tree falls to the          ground.          Billy smacks to the Greenhouse floor. Slightly.-dazed.          Tracy lands beside him. Unconscious.          A few creatures jump on her.          Billy stands. He knocks the creatures off Tracy.          Several creatures attack him.          Billy fights. But there are too many.          They keep coming. Surrounding him.          Billy can't keep up with them.          OUTSIDE          The sun is coming up. The darkness fades.          INSIDE          The creatures still attack.          Billy tries to fight.          A creature grabs his wounded leg.          Billy cries out in pain.          Another creature rips at his arm.          Billy drops the sword.          He's f inis;'ed          He falls to the ground. Beside Tracy.          The hungry creatures surround Billy.          Weak. Defeated. Billy closes his eyes.          He finally gives                                                  REV. 4/30/82 110.          ( )          THE SUN RISES.          The creatures move to finish off Billy...          Suddenly, ,they stop. They become weak..          Brigh' sunlight shines into the Greenhouse.          The c eatures try toun owhere,to hide.          Billyopenjs his eyes. He watches.          The sun shines brighter.          1          Sweatpours from the creatures' bodies.          They cry out in pain. Unearthly screams.          "Their bodies start to smolder.          Cracks appear in their skin.          The creatures begin to melt. Like candles.          Billy,wat'hes in horror.          Their'bodies collapse to the floor.          The become mounds of unrecognizable liquid.          Their screams fade. Die out.          Billy gets to his feet. He looks around.          All that remains are pools of smoldering liquid.          The nightmare is over. Mogwai is dead.          Billy takes a breath.          Cuts. Bites. Scratches. Theycoverhisbody.          He looks down at Tracy.          Billy kneels, resting her head and shoulders in his lap.          She opens her eyes.          She gives a weak smile to Billy.          He lightly kisses her on the lips. He holds her tight.          He helps Tracy to her feet. He picks up his sword.          Billy and Tracy exit the Greenhouse.                                                  REV. 4/30/82          OUTSIDE          Billy and Tracy stand in the snow.. They look out over          Kingston Falls. Now a ghost town.          Billy looks at his sword.          He pull back ,nd throws the sword.          it flip throw h the air. {           It lands. Several feet away. Speared upright. In the          snow.          Billy collapses in the snow. Exhausted.          Tracy kneels beside him.--          It CLOSE-UP           Billy's face. Lying in the snow.. Unconscious.           Hard. Lonely. Worn.           The face of a warrior. The face of ahero.           DISSOLVE TO:          CLOSE-UP          RAND PELTZER.          A pensive, tired look covers his face.          CAMERA PULLS BACK          We'.re inside of a hospital room. Rand sits in a chair,          across the room from          BILLY          He lies in bed. His wounds are bandaged. An I.V. needle          is in his arm.                                                  REV. 4/30/82          RAND          (COMFORTING)          It's okay, Billy...It's          over...          Billy holds his Father tightly.          BILLY          How's Tracy?          RAND.          Fine. She's in a room o{f          her own. You can see her          tomorrow.          Billy nods.          SUDDENLY          Billy's head pops up. His eyes are wide. Hysterical.          A shocked expression covers his face.          BILLY          Oh my God! No!...No!...          RAND          Billy?...What is it?...          BILLY          The tool box! It's locked! I          didn't open it!...It's dark          inside!...          RAND          What?...          Billy jumps out of bed. He tears the I.V. out of his arm.          He opens the closet and starts to get dressed.          2 NURSES AND A DOCTOR          hurry into the room. They grab. Billy. and wrestle him          back to bed'. The doctor gives Billy a 'shot.          BILLY          (fighting,          SCREAMING)          Waitl...You've got to let          me gol... .1 didn't', open the          tool boxl...I didn't get the...                                                  REV. 4/30/82          Billy's words begin to mush.together. His eyelids get          heavy. He falls to sleep.          The Doctor turns to Rand.          DOCTOR          He'll be okay. He's still          in shoc .exhiausted. He          needs m re reslt�.          L          Rand nods. The nurses and Dlo ctor exit.          Rand just stares at Biliy.          i CUT TO:          CLOSE-UP:          THE RED METAL TOOL BOX.          Still locked. Still sitting on the Greenhouse table,          where Billy left it.          CAMERA PULLS BACK TO REVEAL          SEVERAL WORKERS cleaning up the debris, repairing the          broken Greenhouse windows.          The workers load the trash onto a dump truck.          Outside, the snow is melting. The sun shines bright.          A BURLY, MUSCULAR WORKER          walks up to the table and picks up the tool box. He shouts          to another worker.          ANOTHER WORKER          Throw it out. • .with the          other trash.          The worker is ready to throw it out. He examines the tool          box. Fairly new. In good condition. He decides to          keep it.          He walks to his van -and rests the tool box on the front          passenger seat.                                                  REV. 4/30/82 114.          ( )          THE WORKER          driving home in his van. Later that afternoon. The radio          plays a Country tune.          THE TOOL BOX          rests on the seat beside him.          SUDDENLY          the tool box begins to shake. Something pounds against it          from inside.          THE WORKER          pulls his van to the roadside. He stares at the shaking          tool box. His eyes are wide. Scared.          The worker grabs the tool box. He gets out of his van.          OUTSIDE          The tool box shakes and rattles in the worker's hand.          Frightened, he throws the box-over a hilly, wooded area          at the side of the road.          THE TOOL BOX          tumbles down a steep hill.          It lands at the bottom and bounces into a          LAKE          The tool box stays afloat for a few seconds. Then it          slowly sinks into the lake water.          INT. WATER          The tool box sinks to the bottom of the lake.          MOGWAI'S GIGGLE          the soundtrack.
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+                                     THE HANGOVER                                                           Written by                                         Jon Lucas & Scott Moore                                                             September 30, 2007          EXT. BEL AIR BAY CLUB -- PACIFIC PALISADES, CA -- MORNING          It's a beautiful spring morning in the Palisades. High atop          the cliffs, looking out over the Pacific Ocean, sits the          exclusive BEL AIR BAY CLUB. Workers bustle about the lawn,          setting up a high-end wedding.          A STRING QUARTET warms up. A team of FLORISTS arrange          centerpieces. CATERERS set the white linen tables...          INT. BRIDAL SUITE -- DAY          A simple, classic wedding dress hangs on a closet door in          this sun-drenched bridal suite. Sitting at the makeup table,          surrounded by her bridesmaids, is the beautiful bride, TRACY          TURNER, 20's. She's busy doing her makeup.          Just then, Tracy's rich, stern FATHER, 50's, blows in.                              MR. TURNER                    Any word from Doug?          The way he spits out "Doug" tells us all we need to know          about how Mr. Turner feels about his future son-in-law.                              TRACY                    No, but I'm sure he's--          Just then, Tracy's CELLPHONE rings. She quickly answers it.                              TRACY (CONT'D)                    Hello?                                                     INTERCUT WITH:          EXT. MOJAVE DESERT -- MORNING          Heat-waves rise off the Mojave. Standing at a lone, dust-          covered payphone in the middle of the desert is          VICK LENNON          He's in his late 20's, tall, rugged -- and currently a mess.          His shirt is ripped open, his aviator sunglasses are bent,          his lip is bloodied, and he clearly hasn't slept in days.                              VICK                    Tracy, it's Vick.          Parked on the dirt road behind Vick is his near-totalled 1967          Cadillac Deville convertible; it's scratched, dented, filthy -          - and missing its passenger side door.          Slouched inside are TWO OTHER GUYS, also looking like hell.                                                                                2.                                                    TRACY                    Hey Vick!                              VICK                    Listen, honey...The bachelor party                    got a little out of control and,                    well...we lost Doug.                              TRACY                        (her jaw dropping)                    What?! But we're getting married in                    like four hours!          Vick squints at the rising sun.                              VICK                    Yeah, that's not gonna happen.                                                            CUT TO:          TITLE OVER BLACK: 40 HOURS EARLIER                                                            CUT TO:          EXT. THE 10 FREEWAY -- DAY          The top down, The Who's "Baba O'Riley" blasting from the          stereo, Vick's pristine Cadillac convertible rockets down          Highway 10 towards Nevada.          At the wheel is Vick, looking as sharp as his Caddy in a half-          open shirt and mint condition aviators.          Sitting shotgun is the groom, DOUG BILLINGS, late 20's,          handsome, barefoot, crunchy -- an all around great guy.          Behind Vick sits ALAN MERVISH, late 20's, an anal tax          attorney from Connecticut, his Izod shirt tucked into his          khakis. He's currently applying sun screen to his forehead.          Next to Alan is STU PRYCE, late 20's, former high school          linebacker and lovably dimwitted father of two. He drums the          back of the frontseat to the music, totally pumped, like this          is his first time out of the house in years. Because it is.                              STU                    Dude this is already the best                    weekend ever!                              VICK                    Stu, relax, we're still on the 10.                                                                                3.                                                  STU                    Oh, did I show you pictures of my                    kids?!                              DOUG                    No, dude, show `em.          Stu fishes pictures out of his wallet and eagerly shows them          to Doug in the front seat. Doug is clearly the core of this          group, the glue that holds these childhood friends together.                              STU                    Haylee is two, and Kaitlin is                    already four! Can you believe it?!                              DOUG                        (smiling at photos)                    How cute... Good for you, man.          Doug shows the photos to Vick; he nods, impressed.                              VICK                    The one on the left is gonna be a                    hottie. The other one, not so much.          Stu protectively snatches the photos back, muttering:                              STU                    Jesus, dude, those are my children--                              ALAN                        (re: sunscreen)                    Hey, am I rubbed in?          Stu glances over and sees un-rubbed-in sunscreen all over          Alan's face.                              STU                    Yeah, you're good.                              DOUG                    Hey so Alan, are you and Becky                    still together?          But before Alan can answer--                              VICK                    Of course they are, Doug. Jesus,                    Alan's been dating Becky for 14                    years. When they first met, Alan                    had braces and soccer hair, and                    Becky had a functioning hymen.                              (MORE)                                                                              4.                                        VICK (CONT'D)                    Asking Alan if he's still with                    Becky is like asking the sun if it                    still rises in the east.          The guys try not to laugh; Alan scowls.                              DOUG                    She still pressuring you to get                    married?                              ALAN                    Enh, we've moved past the pressure                    stage...it's more like aggravated                    assault stage now? Like at the last                    wedding we went to, she threw a                    camera at my head, called me a                    closet fag, then ran out crying.          The guys wince, oooo.                              ALAN (CONT'D)                    But we talked, and everything's                    cool now.                              STU                    Maybe you could wear a helmet to                    Doug's wedding.                              ALAN                    Great idea, Stu. Thanks.                              DOUG                        (LAUGHING)                    So Vick, how's business going?                              VICK                    Oh, great. Yeah, I'm working on                    bringing the next big dessert craze                    to Los Angeles. It's gonna be huge.                              DOUG                    What is it?                              VICK                    Bavarian custard. We ran the                    numbers, and it's gonna be bigger                    than fro yo.          Doug and Stu nod, impressed; only Alan looks skeptical.                              ALAN                    Isn't custard like a trillion                    calories--?                                                                            5.                                                  VICK                    Our plan is to open three stores in                    the Valley and then franchise it.                    Shares are selling fast, but I can                    probably squeeze you guys in...                              DOUG                    Yeah, man, count me in.                              STU                    Me too, man! I love pudding!          Alan just shakes his head, unbelievable.                              ALAN                    Is this gonna do better than the                    hip-hop label you started, Vick? Or                    the topless sushi bar? Or the                    mobile tattoo parlor--?                              VICK                    Tattoo-To-You was an idea ahead of                    it's time, Alan! And don't come                    crying to me when there's a Custard                    Cabana on every street corner in                    America and you didn't buy in--!                              DOUG                        (LAUGHING)                    All right, all right, save it for                    the party...          Vick and Alan quiet. Stu is still drumming the seat.                              STU                    Dude! I can't believe I get to                    party all night, and then, tomorrow                    ...I get to sleep in! It's almost                    too much! And FYI, if anyone gets                    really drunk and craps themself,                    just let me know, I can have you                    cleaned up and partying again in                    under three minutes. No joke. I am                    a master of stool removal...          They rocket off into the desert, LAUGHING...                                                            CUT TO:          TITLE CARD: "FRIDAY, 5:12 PM"                                                                                6.                              EXT. LAS VEGAS -- MAGIC HOUR          As the last rays of sun fade, the Cadillac crests the final          hill to reveal LAS VEGAS in all its illuminated splendor...          EXT. LAS VEGAS BLVD. -- SUNSET          The Caddy rolls down the famed Strip. We are again reminded          of the absurd scale of Las Vegas. The 5,000 room hotels, the          eight lane roads, the 60 foot billboards...          EXT. MANDALAY BAY -- NIGHT          The Caddy rolls up to the Mandalay Bay. The guys hop out,          exhilarated. Vick throws the key to the VALET...          INT. MANDALAY BAY -- NIGHT          The guys enter the glittering casino four men-wide, all          smiling, all exuding vibe. Passing WOMEN sneak glances. Vick          slides a drink off a nearby waitress's tray as they make for          THE FRONT DESK          A perfectly pressed LEBANESE MAN waits behind the front desk.          Vick strides up, smiling, sunglasses still on.                              FRONT DESK MAN                    Welcome to the Mandalay Bay.                              VICK                    Checking in. Lennon comma Victor.          The man types into his computer.                              FRONT DESK MAN                    Yes, we have you down for a one                    night stay in an economy suite--          Vick glances at the man's nametag; it reads "ATASHIR."                              VICK                    Hold it right there, Atashir. This                    is my best friend from childhood,                    Douglas Billings. In two days, he                    is to marry a woman of great beauty                    and strong teeth, do you                    understand? A woman of gigantic                    bosoms who will give him many, many                    sons...          Atashir looks confused. Alan looks embarrassed.                                                                             7.                                                  VICK (CONT'D)                    My two other childhood friends have                    travelled great distances, across                    many deserts, to be here. This                    isn't a night in a hotel for us,                    Atashir: this is a family reunion.                    Perhaps you too have family                    situated great distances away, in a                    foreign country with much sand?          Atashir looks like, sort of...? Vick reaches over the counter          and touches his arm, simpatico.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Then I have but one question for                    you, friend: if they came to town,                    would you put them in an economy                    suite?                               ATASHIR                    No, sir.                              VICK                    Well, then. I think one of us needs                    to get back on his little computer                    and find us a suitable room.          Atashir frowns...but types away at his computer.                              ATASHIR                    All the deluxe rooms are taken. The                    Dean Martin suite is available, but                    I'd have to ask my--                              VICK                    Dean-o will be fine. Send up a case                    of Cristal, two bottles of Patron,                    four ahi sandwiches, and a crate of                    skinless mangos...          Vick turns to the guys:                              VICK (CONT'D)                    You guys want anything?          The guys stammer, too stunned to speak.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    And have Jean-Marie cook up a dozen                    of those duck skewers I like so                    well. He knows the ones.                              ATASHIR                    And how would you like to pay?                                                                              8.                                                  VICK                    American Express.          Atashir looks up to accept the card. After a beat, Vick turns          to Alan:                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Dude, give him your AmEx.                              ALAN                    What?                              VICK                    Don't worry, we'll hit you later.          Alan stammers.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Dude, come on, I paid for gas. Stop                    being such a Jew.          Alan stammers some more -- then angrily pulls out his card.                                                              CUT TO:          INT. THE DEAN MARTIN SUITE -- NIGHT          The guys enter the room, jostling; Stu has Doug in a          headlock. Then they freeze: the Dean Martin Suite is massive,          complete with lounge area, two flat screen TVs, full bar and          multiple bedrooms. The guys just gape.                              STU                    This is bigger than my house.          Vick blows past them, totally unfazed.                               VICK                    Get dressed, ladies. We're wheels                    up in ten.          Stu and Doug race off to find their bedrooms, leaving Alan          standing alone, just staring at the decadent suite.                              ALAN                    I am so not getting paid back.          INT. DEAN MARTIN SUITE -- MASTER BEDROOM -- NIGHT          Vick enters the bedroom, drops his bag, and starts changing          his shirt -- when his cell phone RINGS. He answers.                              VICK                    This is Vick.                                                                              9.                              Vick listens -- then grows a bit panicked:                              VICK (CONT'D)                    He's in Vegas?! You're kidding me!                        (WINCING)                    All right, I'll get it. All right.                    All right--!          When Stu walks past, Vick turns away and covers the phone,          trying to keep the call confidential:                               VICK (CONT'D)                    I said all right, dude! How many                    more times you want me to say all                    right?!                        (BEAT)                    All right. All right.          Vick hangs up, looking uncharacteristically stressed...          INT. THE DEAN MARTIN SUITE -- BATHROOM -- SAME          Doug brushes his teeth while, at the next sink over, Alan          selects a facial wash from his highly organized toiletries          kit and begins washing his face.                              ALAN                    So, you ready for Sunday?                              DOUG                    Yeah. I thought I'd be nervous, but                    I'm actually just really psyched.          Alan nods, impressed.                              ALAN                    Tracy's dad still hate you?                               DOUG                    Oh yeah.                              ALAN                    Any closer to figuring out why?                              DOUG                    Enh, I think he wanted more for his                    girl. I mean, I'm a teacher who                    makes 45 grand a year, and he's a                    titan of industry who makes 45                    grand a day, you know? I sort of                    get it...                        (beat, brushing teeth)                    Also, I'm banging his daughter. I'm                    not sure you ever get past that.                                                                            10.                              Alan smiles, yeah, there's that. Doug spits out his paste.                              DOUG (CONT'D)                    You got floss?          Alan gestures towards his toiletries kit. Doug picks it up,          starts looking for the floss. Then Alan remembers something --          but it's too late. Doug has found the RING BOX inside Alan's          kit, and opened it to reveal a HUGE DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING.                              DOUG (CONT'D)                    Holy Christ!          Alan quickly reaches for the ring--                              ALAN                    Ahhh yeah, I wasn't going to tell                    anyone about that--          Just then, Stu wanders in, wearing only his COLORADO STATE          BOXER SHORTS. His gut is sizable.                              STU                    Anyone got any nipple lube--?                        (seeing ring)                    Jesus would you look at the size of                    that thing?!          Stu grabs the ring from Doug.                              DOUG                    It's Alan's. For Becky.                              STU                    Jesus, who made this thing? Diddy?                              ALAN                        (clutching for ring)                    Actually, I-I was trying to keep it                    a secret, so--          Just then Vick blows in, singing, effeminate:                              VICK                    Boy Party in the bathrooooom--!                        (sees ring, snags it)                    Miner's cut, 2.6 Carats, slight                    pink tint, street value: 26, 27K.          Vick studies it in the light. Alan just rubs his temples.                              STU                    Dude, it's for Becky! Alan's                    finally going to propose!                                                                            11.                                                  VICK                    Well gosh-golly, Alan Mervish, good                    for you! Where'd you get the ring?                              ALAN                    Oh, it's a family heirloom. My                    grandmother smuggled it through the                    Holocaust, actually. I was going to                    propose to Beck this weekend.          Doug throws his arm around Alan, happy for him.                               DOUG                    Well: now we have two things to                    celebrate!                                                            CUT TO:          TITLE CARD: "FRIDAY, 6:10 PM"          EXT. MANDALAY BAY ROOFTOP -- NIGHT          The guys, dressed to the nines, open the steel rooftop door          and file out onto the flat tar roof of the Mandalay Bay; Vick          is carrying a bottle of Patron and four hotel glasses.          Bringing up the rear, Alan slides a wood block between the          door and the frame so they aren't locked up here.          The guys step out onto the dark, windy roof and take in the          stunning panorama...the Strip...the mountains...the countless          stars... It's breathtaking.                              STU                    Thish is so great! I love you guys!                              VICK                    Check it out, Stu's already wasted.          Vick starts refilling everyone's glasses.                              ALAN                    We've only had two shots, man!                              DOUG                    Yeah, what happened, Stuey?! You                    used to be able to drink us all                    under the table!                              STU                    Dude, I'm a dad! I don't have time                    to get plastered anymore! It blows!                        (QUICKLY)                    Am I a bad dad for saying that?                                                                               12.                                                    DOUG                    What? No!                              STU                    Because my dad was a bad dad.                              DOUG                        (patting his shoulder)                    That's true, Stuey, but you're                    different. We've talked about this.          Stu just stares at the guys, glassy-eyed. Beat.                              STU                    Have I showed you guys pictures of                    my kids yet--?                                ALAN & DOUG & VICK                    YES!          Doug laughs and raises his glass for a toast, heartfelt:                              DOUG                    Little toast: to Tracy, the                    coolest, kindest, most beautiful                    woman I've ever met. I can't                    believe she let me come this                    weekend -- much less agreed to                    spend the rest of her life with me.                    I think both will prove to be                    massive errors of judgement on her                    part.          The guys chuckle, hear-hear.                              DOUG (CONT'D)                    And to being here, with my best                    friends in the world. There's                    nowhere else I'd rather be.          The guys raise their glasses, touched.                              DOUG (CONT'D)                    That said, let's not get too stupid                    tonight, okay? I'm getting married                    in 36 hours.                              ALAN & STU & VICK                    No, no. / We'll be good. / Totally,                    dude.          Doug lowers his glass, laughing, completely unconvinced.                                                                              13.                                                  DOUG                    I'm serious, dudes! Nothing above                    the neck -- no piercings, no weird                    haircuts, no facial tattoos. I                    gotta look decent on Sunday.                              VICK                    Jesus, what do you take us for?                              DOUG                    Vick: you shaved Alan's eyebrows                    off the night before graduation!                              STU                    Oh yeah! That was hilarious! And                    remember when I blacked out at                    Homecoming and you wrote on my face                    with permanent marker?! That was                    awesome! What'd you write again?                              ALAN & DOUG & VICK                    "Respect me!"          They all laugh. Stu throws his arm around Doug, nostalgic.                              STU                    Ahh, good times, man. Good times...                              VICK                    We'll be good tonight, Doug.                              ALAN                    Seriously, man, we're your friends.                              STU                    Yeah, we've totally grown up since                    then.          Doug looks at them, highly dubious, then hoists his glass.                              DOUG                    Well then...to a night we'll never                    forget.          They CLINK glasses, shoot their shots, and                                                         SMASH CUT TO:          THE NEXT MORNING          Shafts of white desert sunlight pour into                                                                             14.                              THE DEAN MARTIN SUITE          THE CAMERA follows a LIVE CHICKEN as it walks through the          totalled suite.          Furniture is broken, the minibar ransacked, and the floor is          covered with remnants of the night before: empty beer cans,          platefuls of room service food, a cowboy hat, the Gideon          Bible, half-eaten skinless mangos, a bra, a battle axe, etc.          SNORING on the couch, wearing only his jeans and one shoe,          the word ASSHOLE written in Sharpie across his chest, is Stu.          TITLE CARD: "SATURDAY, 11:15AM"          The chicken struts across the top of the couch, until it          reaches a plastic coin cup from Bellagio blocking its path.          Beat. Then the chicken pecks it off...onto Stu.          The cup hits Stu in the face, and stale beer splashes all          over him. Stu spastically jerks awake and flips off the          couch, onto a pile of newspapers.                              PILE OF NEWSPAPERS                    OWW! Get off! Get off! Jesus!          Confused, Stu clambers off the pile of newspapers -- to find          Vick sleeping underneath, on the floor, fully dressed. Vick          pulls himself onto the couch, clearly in pain.                              VICK                    Damn, dude, why are you retarded?          Both men are ragingly hungover.          A long beat as both of them rub their faces, then:                                 VICK (CONT'D)                    Um, Stuey?                                 STU                    Yo.                              VICK                    Why do you have a mullet?          Stu does, in fact, have a mullet haircut. But he's too          hungover to understand.                                 STU                    What?                                                                               15.                                                  VICK                    You know, business on top, party                    down the back?          Stu still looks confused. This is excruciating for Vick.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Your hair, dude. You have a mullet.          Stu touches his hair. Then he stumbles into the bathroom.          After a beat, we hear his voice:                              STU (O.S.)                    Dude...I have a mullet.          Then we hear ALAN'S VOICE in the bathroom, groggy:                              ALAN (O.S.)                    Just give me ten more minutes,                    Beck...                              STU (O.S.)                    Whoa, did you sleep in the tub?          Beat, then Stu pokes his head out of the bathroom.                              STU (CONT'D)                    Check it out: Alan slept in the                    tub.                              VICK                    Get him up. I'm hungry.          Stu disappears back into the bathroom. We hear the SHOWER          turn on. Beat. Then we hear Alan slowly awaken:                              ALAN (O.S.)                    Wet. Water. Jesus, what's--?!          There's a THUD as Alan falls out of tub. Beat.          Then Stu and a very confused, very hungover, very wet Alan          stumble out of the bathroom.          Alan appears to be wearing his polo shirt from the night          before. Only, as we PULL BACK, we see that his shirt is cut          off at his chest -- he's naked from there down.                              VICK                    Jesus, dude, put away your sack.          Alan looks down at his hairy nakedness, totally bewildered.                                                                              16.                                                  STU                    Yeah, and it might be time for some                    manscaping, bro. Your bush looks                    like Yanni.          Alan looks back up again, squinting, hungover.                              ALAN                    What did we do last night?                                                              CUT TO:          INT. HALLWAY -- MOMENTS LATER          The guys, now dressed, stagger out of their suite moments          later. Stu walks incredibly bow-legged, like an aging cowboy.                              STU                    Dude, why is my ass killing me...?          INT. ELEVATOR -- MOMENTS LATER          Looking like crap, the guys silently descend in the elevator.          BING! The elevator opens to expose a NICE-LOOKING COUPLE          waiting to get on. They see the guys and immediately step          away from the elevator.                              MAN                    We'll...we'll get the next one.          The doors close. The guys continue to descend. Beat.                              VICK                    We might not smell very good.          The guys shake their heads, yeah, no.                                                          DISSOLVE TO:          INT. MANDALAY BAY -- BREAKFAST BUFFET -- DAY          The guys slouch in a booth, shoveling masses of buffet food          into their mouths, washing it down with huge mugs of coffee.                              STU                    This might be the worst hangover                    anyone has ever had, ever.                              ALAN                    I can't taste anything.                                                                            17.                                                  VICK                    Please stop talking. If I don't                    focus on eating I'm going to throw                    up all over myself.          The guys nod, right. They keep eating. After a long while:                              ALAN                    Hey... Are we missing something?          The guys all slowly look around. Then Stu points at Alan:                              STU                    Yes: I left my hat in the room --                    thank you, Alan.          They continue eating. Alan looks up again, still troubled.                              ALAN                    No. That's not it... There's                    something else...          Vick nods at Stu as he stuffs food in his mouth.                              VICK                    You gonna finish that cruller?          Stu shakes his head, no. Vick takes it, packs it into his          already stuffed mouth. Then Alan realizes:                              ALAN                    Doug. Guys, where's Doug?          The guys look around. Hunh.                              STU                    Yeah. He's not here.                              VICK                    Probably left him in the room.          Vick pulls out his cell phone, starts dialing.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    I'll call his cell.          Then a phone RINGS in Stu's pocket. He answers:                              STU                    Good morning, this is Stu?                              VICK                    It's me, meatdick.                                                                               18.                                                  STU                        (to Alan, concerned)                    It's Vick--          Then Stu realizes. Oh.                              STU (CONT'D)                    This is Doug's phone.          Vick nods, ya. He's already dialing another number.                              ALAN                    You calling the room?          Vick nods, uh-huh. He lets it ring, rubbing his temples. Then          he hangs up.                                 VICK                    No answer.          Vick goes back to eating. Alan frowns.                              ALAN                    Ummm...shouldn't we look for him?                    Check-out is in like ten minutes.                              STU                    Yeah, and we told Tracy we'd have                    Doug back to LA by five.          Vick just looks at both of them, his mouth full of food:                              VICK                    I'm eabing.                              ALAN                    What an asshole. Stu, check the                    pool and the casino, I'll check the                    room and the gym. Maybe he's                    working out or something...          Stu nods, and they slowly slide out of the booth.                              ALAN (CONT'D)                    And Vick, if you could keep a close                    eye on the buffet, that'd be really                    helpful. Thanks, man.          Alan and Stu saunter off. Vick yells after them, mouth full:                              VICK                    HE'S FIME! YOU'RE OBERWEACTING!                                                                            19.                              Vick scowls, and angrily takes Alan's last cruller.                                                            CUT TO:          INT. DEAN MARTIN SUITE -- MOMENTS LATER          Alan weaves through the totalled suite, half-awake.                              ALAN                    Doug...? Doug...? Wake up, man.          Alan enters the bedroom where Doug slept, and stops. It takes          him a second to realize what's wrong:          THE BED IS MISSING          There are four indentations on the carpet where it once lay.          Alan scratches his head.                              ALAN                    That's weird...                                                            CUT TO:          EXT. MANDALAY BAY -- POOL -- DAY          Stu, walking bow-legged, squinting painfully in the bright          sun, tries to inspect everyone lying around the huge pool.          Doug? Doug? Several HOT WOMEN in bikinis sit up, disgusted!                              STU                    No, no. It's cool, I'm a dad. It's                    totally cool...                                                            CUT TO:          INT. GYM -- DAY          Alan stumbles through the gym, looking for Doug. The place is          packed with fit people, working out. Alan mumbles to himself:                              ALAN                    I hate you all...                                                            CUT TO:          INT. CASINO FLOOR -- NICKEL SLOTS          Stu wanders through the casino, calling out, incredibly loud:                              STU                    DOUG! DOUG!          Two GAY MEN in identical tank tops pass by, holding hands.                                                                            20.                                                   GAY MAN                    Hey Stu.                              STU                    Hey guys. DOUG! DOUG--!          Then Stu registers what just happened. He stops and turns          around -- enh? -- but the gay men are gone.          Before he can comment, however, he sees Vick and Alan          talking to Atashir at          THE RECEPTION DESK          He slowly bow-legs himself over.                              STU                    You find Doug?                              ALAN                    No, I assume you didn't either?          Stu shakes his head, no. Then Atashir hangs up his phone.                              ATASHIR                    There is no Doug Billings at any of                    the area hospitals, morgues, or                    police stations.          The guys frown, starting to grow worried.                              STU                    Maybe he went for a jog?                              ALAN                    Dude. It's 120 degrees outside.                              STU                    Or shopping?          The guys just look at him like: you're an idiot.                              ALAN                    Great. So we've officially lost                    Doug. His wedding is in what, 22                    hours?                              VICK                    Relax, it's Doug, he's probably                    crashed out on someone's couch                    right now. All we have to do is                    retrace our steps from last night,                    and we'll find him.                                                                            21.                                                  ALAN                    Okay, so last night...          The guys wince, trying to remember. It's painful to think.                              VICK                    Well, we started on the roof...                              ALAN                    Right, that was like, 6ish...?                              VICK                    Then...I think...we had steaks at                    the Palm?                              ALAN                    Yeah. Then...we played craps at the                    Hard Rock...maybe?                              VICK                    That sounds right...          Stu throws up his arms, already giving up.                              STU                    Okay, honestly? I don't even                    remember going to dinner.                              VICK                    I vaguely recall...doing body shots                    ....at some point? Is that...maybe?                               ALAN                    I'm pretty much blank after The                    Hard Rock.                              VICK                    I think we went to the Flamingo                    after that...? And then, I just                    remember a lot of blue light...and                    the overpowering smell of baby oil.                              ALAN                    So that was what, 10ish?                              VICK                    Give or take.                              STU                    Was Doug still with us?          Vick rubs his temples, trying to fight through the hangover.                                                                            22.                                                  VICK                    Yes. Yes. Doug was with us. I                    tackled him...for some reason.          The guys nod, okay, okay.                              ALAN                    Okay. So we only have a 13 hour                    window where we could've lost him.          They guys frown. Shit. Stu puts his hands into his pockets,          thinking... Then he feels something. A matchbook.          He pulls it out. It's from The Flamingo Nightclub.                              STU                    Hey! Look, we were at the Flamingo.          A long beat of silence...          Then the guys hurry to an empty BLACKJACK TABLE and start          emptying their pockets of the detritus from the night before.          They find matchbooks, receipts, room keys, a valet ticket...                              ALAN                    ATM receipt from the Rio at 10:37--                        (reading it)                    For 600 dollars?!                              VICK                    The valet ticket says we returned                    here at 4:57AM.                              STU                    We drove last night?          The guys wince, jesus...                              ALAN                    Here's a receipt from Sbarro. The                    meal was comped for some reason--                              VICK                    Why do we have a matchbook from The                    Golden Pony All Male Revue?          The guys exchange a look, alarmed.                              ALAN                    Someone could've given that to us.                                                                              23.                                                  STU                        (laughing, nervous)                    Yeah, totally! There's no way we                    went there! We're not gay! Hahaha!          They frown, then stare at all the clues lined up on the          blackjack table.                              ALAN                    I think we should call Tracy.                              VICK                    Absolutely not.                              ALAN                    What if Doug called her? She might                    know where he is.          Stu shifts uncomfortably, tenderly adjusting his ass.                              STU                    Yeah, I'm with Alan on this one.                              VICK                    Of course you're with Alan, you're                    both gutless cowards. But we're not                    calling Tracy. You never call the                    bride from the bachelor party.                    Ever. If my balls were on fire and                    Tracy was sitting next door with a                    tall glass of water, I still                    wouldn't call her. It's a rule.                              ALAN                    But shouldn't we at least tell her                    we're gonna be getting home late?                              VICK                    She has a watch, she'll figure it                    out.                              ALAN                    I think I'm beginning to see why                    you're always single.                              VICK                    And I think I'm beginning to see                    why you're always a douche--                              STU                        (clutching his ass)                    Guys, wait. I need your help -- oh                    my God -- like right now. Come on.                                                                              24.                                                  ALAN                    Jesus, what is it?                                                            CUT TO:          INT. BATHROOM -- MOMENTS LATER          Vick and Alan unhappily stand in the lavish, gold-ensconsed          men's room, watching Stu painfully undo his jeans.                              VICK                    I can't believe we're doing this.                              STU                    You don't have to look up my butt,                    just at it. Something is terribly,                    terribly wrong...          Stu's jeans fall to the ground -- and everyone freezes.                    He's wearing a snug FLUORESCENT PINK G-STRING with "I          ROGER" written vertically down the front. In glitter.                              ALAN                    Sweet mother of mercy...                              VICK                    Who's Roger?                              STU                    I-I-I don't know?! What do you                    think it means?!                              VICK                    What do I think it means? Well,                    Stuart, your ass is all torn up and                    you're wearing thong underwear                    declaring your love for another                    dude -- I don't think we need the                    CSI team for this one! You got                    reamed last night, man!          Stu covers his mouth, horrified!                              ALAN                    I'm sure there's a perfectly                    logical explanation for this...                              STU                    Really?! What?!          Alan tries to think of one.                                                                     25.                                                  ALAN                    Yeah, maybe there isn't.                              VICK                    Look, I'm sure Roger is a very                    nice, considerate young man--                              STU                    Oh my God, guys: what if I'm gay?!                              VICK                    Come on, Stu, you're nowhere near                    cool enough.                              STU                        (gasping, realizing)                    I do watch Dancing With The Stars                    with the kids!                              ALAN                    Oh god, that doesn't mean you're                    gay.                              VICK                    But sort of...it does?          Stu grows increasingly frantic.                              STU                    And once, I caught myself gazing at                    a topless photo of David Beckham!                              ALAN                    So what, he's a great-looking dude--                              STU                    And then I had those weird feelings                    for Vick that time in middle                    school, remember?!          Everyone stops. Vick most of all.                                VICK                    Um, what?                              STU                    Yeah, that weekend we were all                    camping -- I told you this.                              VICK                    Yeah, no you didn't.                                STU                    I didn't?                                                                              26.                                                  VICK                    I think I'd remember, dude.                              ALAN                    Yeah, I think we'd all remember.                               STU                    Yeah. I had weird feelings for you                    that weekend. Like really hot,                    really gay feelings. But then they                    went away.          Vick is just looking at him, stunned.                              ALAN                    Wait -- I was there that weekend.                    Did you have gay feelings for me?                              VICK                    Unbelievable.                              ALAN                    What?! I was a good-looking kid!                              VICK                    Please, you're so not his type!                              STU                    Wait, what?          Just then, a FATHER and his YOUNG SON enter the men's room          and see Stu standing there, pants down, in his G string...                              VICK                    Look, Stu, one homosexual                    experience doesn't mean you're                    permanently gay, okay? A lot of                    guys test the waters.          ...the FATHER and SON wheel right back around and exit.                              ALAN                    All right, we're scaring the                    children. Let's go.          The guys head for the door. Stu quickly pulls up his pants.                              STU                    Wait -- so have either of you                    tested the waters?                              VICK                    No! We're not gay!                                                                            27.                              Stu looks highly confused as he follows them out onto          THE CASINO FLOOR          The guys power through the crowded casino, towards the exit.          Stu tries to keep up, genuinely concerned.                              STU                    How am I going to tell my wife?                              VICK                    Quickly, and from a great distance.          Alan's hand accidentally hits a brass railing and CLINKS...                              STU                    Jesus, what kind of father am I?          Alan's hand CLINKS against the railing again, and this time          it registers. Alan looks down -- and stops cold.                                 ALAN                    Oh my God.                              STU                        (really scared)                    You think Erin will try to take the                    kids--?                              ALAN                    Oh...my...God.                              VICK                        (turning, annoyed)                    What now?          Alan holds up the source of his CLINKING: on his ring finger          is a huge, tacky, silver WEDDING RING with a unicorn on it.                              STU                        (not getting it)                    Cool ring. Also, my Dad is gonna                    have a field day with this.          Vick, however, recognizes the implications of the ring, and          starts back towards Alan.                              VICK                    Oh my God... Oh my God...                              STU                    What's the big--?                        (finally realizing)                    Oh! OH! OH!                                                                             28.                              Alan steadies himself against a SLOT MACHINE, and shakily          takes off the massive unicorn ring.                              STU (CONT'D)                    Maybe it's not a wedding ring?                              ALAN                        (reading inscription)                    "To My Noble Husband, Alan."          The guys eyes bulge, oh shit!                              STU                    This is worse than my underwear!          Vick takes the ring and reads the rest of the inscription:                              VICK                    "Now & Forever Wedding Chapel."          They guys exchange a look.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Well, at least it's a lead.          Beat. Then Alan turns and THROWS UP all over the slot          machine. Nearby OCTOGENARIAN SLOT PLAYERS look over,          disgusted -- but continue playing their nickels.                                                            CUT TO:          EXT. MANDALAY BAY -- VALET STAND -- DAY          The three guys exit the hotel looking like crap. Vick hands          his ticket to the valet. Alan chews mint gum.                              VICK                    So, we go to the wedding chapel, we                    find out what we did with Doug, we                    recover him, and we're back in LA                    before sundown. Easy as Stu's ass.          No one laughs. Tense SILENCE as they wait for the car.                              STU                    Check it out, some idiot threw his                    bed out the window last night.          Stu points over at a huge stone GRIFFIN in front of the hotel          with an ENTIRE BED impaled upon its ear.                              ALAN                    That was us, dude.                                                                              29.                                                  STU                    Really?                              ALAN                    Yeah, there's no bed in Doug's                    room.                               STU                        (FROWNING)                    Oh. Well, I'm sure we had a good                    reason for doing it.                        (BEAT)                    You think they'll charge us for--?                              ALAN                    Yeah, Stu, I really do.                              VICK                    Guys, relax. Everything's gonna be                    cool...          Just then the Valet drives up in          VICK'S DESTROYED CADILLAC          The exterior is scratched and filthy, like it's been off-          roading. The hubcaps are gone, as is the front passenger side          door. A wisp of STEAM trails up from under the hood.          The guys just stand there, agape.                              STU                    You okay, Vick?                               VICK                    I'm not emotionally prepared to                    talk about it just yet, Stuart, but                    thank you.          Vick dons his sunglasses and heads for his destroyed car...                                                          DISSOLVE TO:          THE GUYS ROLLING DOWN THE STRIP          in their ridiculous car. Cars full of FAMILIES, cute GIRLS,          even NUNS, point and stare. Our guys just face forward, each          quietly suffering in their own personal Hell.                              ALAN                    Seriously: what am I gonna tell                    Becky? For 14 years she's been                    begging me to get married...                                                                              30.                                                  VICK                    Well, now you did. Just not to her.          Alan glowers at the city going by... Then he sits up--                              ALAN                    Wait, is that homeless guy wearing                    Doug's shirt?          The guys turn to see a HOMELESS GUY weaving down the sidewalk          in Doug's DISTINCTIVE ORANGE SHIRT from the night before.          Once they pass, the guys exchange a look.                                 STU                    Naaah.                              VICK                    Yeah, that was a different shirt.          Alan doesn't look so sure. They drive in silence. Then:                                 VICK (CONT'D)                    Left turn.          Stu, sitting shotgun, braces against the empty doorframe so          as not to fall out of the car as they turn left...          EXT. NOW & FOREVER WEDDING CHAPEL -- DAY          Sitting in an East Vegas strip mall, sandwiched between a          laundromat and a pawn shop, is the pink Now & Forever Wedding          Chapel. The Cadillac parks in the lot out front.          INT. NOW & FOREVER WEDDING CHAPEL -- DAY          Everything in the small, tacky wedding chapel is white          plastic. White plastic plants, white plastic cross, white          plastic chairs. The guys enter.                              ALAN                    What if they don't remember us--?                                 VOICE BEHIND THEM                    AAAAYYYYY!          The guys turn to find the hirsute owner of the chapel, STEVE          GIANOPOLUS, 40's, in a tight white suit, his arms spread          wide. Steve is all Vegas, by way of Long Island.                              STEVE                    How are you, you dumb bastards?!                                                                            31.                              He warmly hugs the guys. They have zero memory of him, and it          shows as they hug back weakly, unfamiliar...                              STEVE (CONT'D)                    CARLA, GET YOUR FAT ASS OUT HERE!                    ALAN AND THE BOYS ARE HERE!                        (to the guys)                    You here to pick up your wedding                    photos?!          Alan starts to decline, when--                              VICK                    Does the pope wear a funny hat?!                    Let's do this thing!          Steve CACKLES and guides them over to a table; Alan scowls.                              STEVE                    And where is Chastity today?          They all sit on white plastic chairs.                              ALAN                    W-Who's...Chastity?                              STEVE                        (LAUGHING)                    Your wife, man--! AWW, you're just                    breaking my balls!          Alan looks ill. Laughing, Steve retrieves a folder and starts          laying out a series of WEDDING PHOTOS on the table. Vick          eagerly peruses them, enjoying this.                               VICK                    Uh, it was such a lovely ceremony,                    wasn't it?                              STEVE                    Hand to God, I've never seen two                    people more in love!                              VICK                    Sadly, I believe you...          The guys look at the photos of Alan's wedding from the night          before. They're typical wedding shots, only the guys are all          wearing MEDIEVAL COSTUMES, swords, bows, tights, even armor.          They look incredibly happy -- and incredibly drunk.          The next photo is of Alan and his BUSTY BLONDE BRIDE. She's          having a blast in a white medieval gown and tiara.                                                                            32.                                                  VICK (CONT'D)                    Hello, Chastity...          Alan just closes his eyes, oh God.                              ALAN                    I am never...ever...drinking again.                              STU                    Jesus, she is stacked.                              VICK                    Stu, please, show some class.                    That's Alan's wife you're talking                    about.                              STU                        (to Alan, guilty)                    Sorry. She looks really nice.          But Alan is too busy gaping at the next photo, of him and          Chastity atop a UNICORN in the chapel. (It is, of course, a          rented pony with a lame horn strapped to its head.)                              ALAN                    We got a unicorn?!                              STEVE                    Oh, yeah, you got the entire Double                    Camelot Package.          Alan just rubs his temples, oh no.                              ALAN                    A-And how much did that cost?                              STEVE                    7 thousand dollars.          Alan closes his eyes. Stu and Vick exchange a look, no way!                              STEVE (CONT'D)                    Yeah, you didn't want to get it,                    either, but Vick insisted.          Beat. Then Alan pounces across the table at Vick!                              ALAN                    I'm gonna kill you!                              VICK                        (fending him off)                    You can't put a pricetag on love,                    Alan! OW! You just can't!                                                                              33.                              Stu hops up and starts pulling Alan off of Vick.                              VOICE BEHIND THEM                    STOP FIGHTING IMMEDIATELY!          The guys straighten like schoolboys as Steve's wife CARLA,          40's, enters. She's wearing a toga, smoking a menthol, and          dollying in several large CARDBOARD BOXES. Then she grins:                              CARLA                    Ahhh! I'm just busting your nuts!          She lowers the dolly and hurries over for hugs.                              CARLA (CONT'D)                    Good to see you, you stupid mooks!          Stu and Alan force smiles, no idea who this woman is. Vick,          on the other hand, steps forward and hugs her tightly.                              VICK                    It's good to be seen, Carla. It's                    good to be seen.                              CARLA                    I brought the rest of your package.          Carla begins unloading things from the cardboard boxes.                              CARLA (CONT'D)                    First: Two dozen commuter mugs...          She unpacks 24 COMMUTER MUGS with Alan and Chastity's photo          emblazoned on them. Alan winces, oh god. Stu grabs one:                              STU                    No way! Awesome!                              STEVE                    A hundred DVDs of the ceremony...          She lays out the stacks of DVDs. Vick nods at Alan:                              VICK                    For you and Chastity to watch on                    your anniversary...          Alan just clenches his jaw, I fucking hate you.                              CARLA                    The velvet wall hanging...          She pulls out a six foot air-brushed velvet WALL HANGING of          Alan and Chastity riding the unicorn together in outer space.                                                                              34.                                                  VICK                    And it looks like real velvet,                    Alan, so no machine wash, okay?                              CARLA                    And the big finish:          Vick and Stu do a DRUMROLL on the table, excited...          Then Carla pulls out a FOUR FOOT BRONZE SHIELD with a bas-          relief of Alan and Chastity MAKING OUT on it. Alan just          closes his eyes.                                 STU                    HOLY CRAP!                              VICK                    DUDE, YOU HAVE A SHIELD!                              STU                    I want a shield!                              VICK                    Me too! Hey, can Stu and I get a                    shield?                              ALAN                    I don't suppose you have any sort                    of return policy, do you?                              STEVE                    Um...if you know another couple who                    looks exactly like you guys, and                    who want two dozen commuter mugs, a                    wall hanging, and a shield...sure.          Alan scowls. Then his cellphone RINGS. He angrily answers it          without looking at the Caller ID.                                 ALAN                    What.          We hear someone YELLING AT HIM. Alan's eyes bulge.                              ALAN (CONT'D)                    Oh, hey Becky! Hi!          He steps away to take the call. Vick explains to Carla:                              VICK                    That's his girlfriend of 14 years.                    I'm sure this'll only take a                    minute...                                                                            35.                              Vick and Stu go back to looking at the wedding photos as Alan          tries to talk to his furious girlfriend.          INTERCUT WITH:          BECKY          in her Laura Ashley bedroom, angrily packing up her suitcase.          She's beautiful and preppy in pearls and a sweater set.                              BECKY                    Can you tell me why all the goddamn                    credit cards are maxed out?!                              ALAN                    No! I-I have no idea--!          Then Vick calls over from the white plastic table, pissed:                              VICK                    HEY ALAN, HOW COME I WASN'T YOUR                    BEST MAN, DUDE!                              STU                    YEAH, WHAT THE HELL, ME EITHER!                    WHY'D YOU PICK DOUG?!          Alan waves at them, shut the hell up! But Becky has heard.                              BECKY                    "Your best man?!" What's going on                    there, Alan?!                              ALAN                    Nothing! Baby, nothing, the GUYS                    ARE JUST BEING DICKS!                              VICK                    HEY ALAN, YOU WANT ALL YOUR WALLET-                    SIZED WEDDING PHOTOS, OR CAN I                    BOGART A FEW?!          Alan furiously flips them off, shut up!                              BECKY                    I really don't appreciate being                    mocked right now, Alan, especially                    about wedding-related issues. You                    know how hard this weekend is going                    to be for me.                              ALAN                    I know, baby! I know--                                                                            36.                                                  BECKY                    So you'll call the credit card                    company and straighten this out?                              ALAN                    Yes. I will. I promise.                              BECKY                    Okay. Okay...                        (beat, calming)                    Look, sorry I'm so tense... I'll                    see you soon, okay? Love you.          But Alan is just staring at the BRONZE SHIELD of him making          out with his blonde bombshell wife...                              BECKY (CONT'D)                    Alan? Hello? I said I love you?!                              ALAN                    Yes, no, I love you too!          Becky hangs up, rolling her eyes, unbelievable.          STAY WITH ALAN as he closes his cellphone. Exhales.                              STU                    Hey, how's Becky doing, man?!                              VICK                    Yeah, did she ask about us?!          Off of Alan's hate-filled glare, we                                                            CUT TO:          STEVE AND THE GUYS SCHLEPPING ALL OF THE WEDDING CRAP          through the strip mall parking lot, back to their car. Alan          sullenly carries the GIANT BRONZE SHIELD.                              STU                    Look on the bright side, Alan. Vick                    found a great clue.                              VICK                    Turns out Doug was in all the                    wedding photos, which means -- if                    the time stamp was right -- we had                    him in our possession until 11 pm.                                                                            37.                                                  STU                    That's another hour of last night                    that we can account for. Isn't that                    great?                              ALAN                        (bitterly sarcastic)                    Amazing.                              VICK                    Hey, Steve, you don't happen to                    know where we were heading when we                    left here last night, do you?                              STEVE                    Well, the Double Camelot Package                    comes with a five course wedding                    feast, so I assume you went there.                              STU                    Great -- where was the feast?                              STEVE                    Sbarro, over in the Fremont mall.                                                            CUT TO:                              ALAN (V.O.)                    I paid 7 grand for Sbarro?!          INT. VICK'S CAR -- MOMENTS LATER          The beatup Caddy is packed with wedding crap. Vick is busy          trying to reverse the overloaded car out of the parking spot.          Stu's in the backseat with the huge shield, while Alan          seethes up front.                              VICK                    Your negativity is like a little                    black cloud over our car, Alan.                    You've got to let go of this.                              ALAN                    Let go of what, exactly, Vick?! The                    fact that I married a complete                    stranger last night? Or that my                    girlfriend's about to leave me? Or                    that I'm broke? Which one?!                              VICK                    You're broke? I thought you were                    LOADED--                                                                            38.                                                  ALAN                    I know you think it's like                    terminally uncool to be in a                    committed relationship, Vick, but I                    actually love Becky, okay?                        (SINCERE)                    I-I honestly don't know what I'd do                    without her...I really don't...          Alan looks off, lost, sick. Vick stops the car short.                              VICK                    Alan. Honey. Have you considered,                    even for a second, that maybe the                    things we do when we're drunk are                    what we secretly want to do?                              ALAN                        (dripping with sarcasm)                    Yeah, no, you're absolutely right,                    Vick, I've always secretly wanted                    to marry a bottle blonde with big                    fake melon tits named Chastity!                              STU                    I ain't mad atcha, dude...                               VICK                    Or, after 14 years, maybe you don't                    have the balls to leave Becky, and                    this is your way of getting her to                    leave you.                              ALAN                    I was going to propose to her this                    weekend, you jackass!                              VICK                    All the more reason to freak out.          Alan opens his mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. Vick          nods, chew on that, and continues slowly reversing the car.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    I love you, Alan Mervish, I do, but                    you've always had a major pole up                    your ass. Maybe last night was your                    inner cool person trying to get out-                              ALAN                    I swear to God, Vick, if you say                    one more word to me, I will destroy                    you.                                                                            39.                                                  STU                    Guys, come on, let's not use our                    angry words--          SMASH!          A baseball bat SHATTERS the windshield! The guys all jump!          Vick slams on the brakes!                              VICK                    What the--?!          They look up to see two MASSIVE SAMOAN MEN in loud Hawaiian          shirts, KALOLO FANALUA and KIKIOLANI, 30's, standing on          either side of the car. And they look pissed.                              KALOLO FANALUA                    Get out of the car, Vick.          Stu and Alan recoil in terror.                              STU                    Who are these guys?!                              VICK                    Stu, please.                        (to Kalolo Fanalua)                    I think there's been some sort of                    mistake, Mister...?                              KALOLO FANALUA                    I'm Mr. Shut The Hell Up And Get                    The Hell Outta The Car, and this is                    my associate, Mr. Smash You In The                    Teeth If You Say Another Word.                              VICK                        (beat, to Alan)                    Those so aren't their real names.                              ALAN                    Vick, don't be a dick--!                              VICK                    Alan? Relax. These men aren't going                    to hurt us. They're from Hawaii.          SMASH! SMASH! SMASH!          Kikiolani starts viciously smashing the car!                              KALOLO FANALUA                    We're from Guam, bitch! Now get                    outta the car!                                                                              40.                                                  VICK                    Okay, okay! Cool it with the bat!                    Jesus, why is everyone trying to                    kill my car...?          Vick undoes his seatbelt   and reaches for his door handle.          Kikiolani lowers his bat   -- and Vick throws the door open,          right into his nuts! The   huge Samoan staggers back, OWWW, and          Vick slams his door shut   and          FLOORS IT OUT OF THERE IN REVERSE!          The Caddy sideswipes a car, hops the curb, and lands on the          street! They SQUEAL AWAY, the huge bronze shield flying out          of the backseat as they do! It CLATTERS on the pavement...          EXT. EAST VEGAS STREET -- CONTINUOUS          Vick drives like the wind, trying to see around the huge          SPIDERWEB in the windshield. Alan and Stu are freaking out.                              ALAN                    Why'd you do that?!                              VICK                        (INCREDULOUS)                    Really?                              STU                    Maybe they just wanted to talk!                              VICK                    I honestly don't know how you two                    are still alive.                              ALAN                    Do you think we stole something                    from them last night?!                              STU                    Oh my god I am such a bad dad!                              ALAN                        (producing cellphone)                    I'm calling the police. This is                    getting way out of control--                              VICK                    No! No cops!                              ALAN                    "No cops?!" Who are you, Fitty                    Cent?!                                                                            41.                                                  STU                    Yeah, Vick, what's going on?                              VICK                    Nothing! I just think we should                    focus on finding Doug and not get                    distracted by every little thing!                              ALAN                    Every little thing?! We were just                    assaulted by the Yakuza!                              VICK                    Oh please, those guys are from                    Guam. Get a grip.                              ALAN                    They knew your name, Vick! Which                    means they probably know who Stu                    and I are, too!                              STU                    If anything ever happened to my                    family, Vick...                              VICK                    Fine. Let's just go back to the                    hotel -- Doug is probably back from                    wherever he spent the night, we'll                    get him, we'll straighten out                    whatever we did to those angry                    Samoans, then we'll get the hell                    back to LA, okay? Left turn.          Vick angrily takes a harder-than-necessary left turn. Alan          hangs on tight, almost flying out of the car.                                                            CUT TO:          TITLE CARD: "SATURDAY, 2:26 PM"          INT. DEAN MARTIN SUITE -- DAY          The boys hurry into their room, stressed.                              VICK                    Doug? Doug?          Alan quickly checks the room phone.                              ALAN                    No messages.                                                                            42.                                                  STU                    Come on, let's toss the place.          Alan starts wading through the crap in the living room, while          Vick and Stu head off to check the bedrooms...          INT. BEDROOM          Stu brushes aside beer bottles and room service dishes,          looking for anything relevant. He spots a LEGAL CONTRACT on          the ground. Picks it up.                              STU                    Hey, check it out, Vick! I invested                    30 grand in your custard store last                    night!          Vick calls from the other bedroom.                              VICK (O.S.)                    Smart move, man.          Stu opens the closet door -- and freezes.                              STU                    Hey, you wanna come in here a sec?!          Vick enters a moment later to find Stu staring into the          closet. Vick follows his gaze and sees a SEXY WOMAN snoring          away on the closet floor, her blonde hair obscuring her face.                              VICK                    Whoa.                              STU                    You think she's what those Guamian                    dudes wanted?                              VICK                    No. I think she's Alan's wife.          Stu covers his mouth, oh shit! Vick produces the wallet-          sized photos from Alan's wedding, compares them, and nods.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Alan? Wanna step in here, buddy?          A second later Alan enters, what's up?                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Alan, Chastity. Chastity, Alan.          Alan looks down, sees Chastity SNORING on the closet floor,          her body all contorted, and freezes. Oh my God.                                                                            43.                                                  ALAN                    What...what am I supposed to do?                              STU                    Wake her up, man!                               ALAN                    Why me?!                              VICK                    Because she's your spouse, dude!          Scowling, Alan slowly crouches down. Then, a little scared,          he nudges her. Nothing. He nudges her harder.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Pinch her tit. It always works.          Alan shakes her a bit harder and -- BRRAPPPP -- the girl lets          out a massive burp and awakens, COUGHING. Alan jumps back up,          terrified. The woman, CHASTITY, looks around, disoriented.                              CHASTITY                    Dang, did I sleep in the closet                    again...?          Then she notices the guys staring down at her. She smiles,          recognizing them:                              CHASTITY (CONT'D)                    Oh hey, guys! What's up?          She shakily climbs to her feet to expose a skimpy skirt, a          snug tube top, and mascara smeared all over her face.          The guys have no idea what to say. She kisses Alan on the          cheek, very intimate -- like, well, a husband and wife.                              CHASTITY (CONT'D)                    Morning, honey...          She exits into the living room, picking her wedgie.          Beat. Alan is speechless.                              STU                    She seems really cool.                              VICK                    Yeah, I really like her, man.                                                                            44.                              INT. DEAN MARTIN SUITE -- LIVING ROOM          Chastity gathers her belongings -- jacket, purse, G string --          from around the totalled living room. The guys file in.                              VICK                    So, um, did you take Alan's name?                              STU                    Yeah, are you Chastity Mervish                    now--?                              ALAN                    Listen to me. Just...did we, or did                    we not, have sex last night?          Alan braces, please say no, please say no...          Vick braces, please say yes, please say yes...                                 CHASTITY                    Well...ya?          Alan slumps, his life over. Vick pumps his fist, YES!                              CHASTITY (CONT'D)                    But we waited til we were married.          Alan GROANS.                              VICK                    What a responsible, upstanding                    young Jew. They don't make `em like                    that anymore, am I right?          Chastity smiles, sweet, as she straps on her 6 inch heels.                              CHASTITY                    I know -- he even wanted to use a                    rubber.          Alan breaks into a COUGHING FIT.                              ALAN                    Wait-- we didn't use a condom?!                              CHASTITY                    It's cool, I sponge.          Alan leans against a wall, dizzy.                              ALAN                    Can someone...please open a window?                                                                           45.                              Stu turns and tries to open a window. No luck.                              STU                    They don't open.                              CHASTITY                    So you guys don't remember any of                    last night?                              VICK                    Yeah, not so much.                              CHASTITY                    Hey, been there before, right?                        (grabbing her sizable bra)                    Sucks, though. The wedding was                    really fun. I'm bummed you don't                    remember it, Alan.          She smiles, a little saddened. Stu whispers to Alan:                              STU                    Dude, I think your wife's mad at                    you.                              VICK                    You don't happen to remember what                    time we met you last night, do you?                              CHASTITY                    Sure, we met at the bar at like                    10:00? Then we got married on my                    smoke break, which was like 11:00?                              VICK                    It's the All-American love story,                    isn't it? What happened next?                              CHASTITY                    Well, I had to go back to work. But                    when I got off at 5:30, I met up                    with you guys back here.                              VICK                    And was Doug with us then?                              CHASTITY                    No.                              VICK                    Interesting... Do you have any idea                    where we went after the wedding?                                                                                46.                                                    CHASTITY                      No, but I bet some of my work                      friends do. You were partying with                      them pretty hard.                                STU                      Work friends?                                                           SMASH CUT TO:          STRIPPERS          Dozens of `em, dancing, grinding, shimmying on poles.          INT. CRAZY HORSE GENTLEMEN'S CLUB -- DAY          Chastity leads the guys through Vegas's Most Notorious Strip          Club, The Crazy Horse. It's bacchanalia writ large, complete          with throbbing music, flashing strobe lights, and six stages          of spinning flesh. The place is mobbed with PATRONS.          Alan follows after Chastity, horrified.                                ALAN                      You work here?          Behind him, Vick SLAPS FIVE with Stu, psyched.                                CHASTITY                      Yeah -- and this is the pole where                      we first met!          She stops at a pole, around which a BRUNETTE STRIPPER          currently spins. Alan looks ill.                                CHASTITY (CONT'D)                      It's always been my lucky pole...                                ALAN                      Look, I don't know how to tell you                      this, but--                                CHASTITY                      HEY PLATINUM, CHECK IT OUT!          She holds up her hand, showing off ALAN'S GRANDMOTHER'S RING          to the stripper currently upside-down on the pole.                                PLATINUM THE STRIPPER                      Get it, girl!                                CHASTITY                      Come on, let's go meet my                      bridesmaids!                                                                            47.                              She hurries off, but Alan can't move.                              STU                    Dude.                              VICK                    I know.                              ALAN                    The Holocaust, man.          Alan just stares into space. Vick takes him by the shoulder.                              VICK                    Look, we can get your grandmother's                    ring back. We just gotta go about                    it in the right way.                              ALAN                    I have besmirched my people.                              STU                    Don't be so hard on yourself, dude--          Just then Chastity runs back over with two BLONDE STRIPPERS.                              CHASTITY                    These were my bridesmaids,                    Anastasia and Starr!                              STARR                    Hey, boys! Good to see you again!                              ANASTASIA                    Mazel Tov--!                              ALAN                    Please...don't.          Just then a SPOTLIGHT finds Chastity and Alan, and the SLEAZY          PONYTAILED DJ up in the booth comes over the P.A. system:                              STRIP CLUB D.J.                    OKAY, GUYS! LET'S GIVE A CRAZY                    HORSE SHOUT-OUT TO OUR HAPPY NEW                    COUPLE, CHASTITY AND ALANNNN!          The entire club CHEERS! Chastity holds up her wedding ring          and dances around, WOO HOO! Alan waves meekly. Thanks.                              STRIPPER D.J.                    IN HONOR OF THEIR MARRIAGE, WE'RE                    DOING TWO-FOR-ONE LAPDANCES! TWO                    SONGS FOR TWENTY BUCKS!                                                                            48.                              The DJ puts on Nine Inch Nails' "I Want to Fuck You Like An          Animal" and the club gets hopping again.                              CHASTITY                    Oh my God, he's playing our song!                        (giddy, to Alan)                    This song was playing when we met,                    remember?! You kept sliding                    twenties into my thong and saying                    "I will always love you. I will                    always love you."          Alan closes his eyes.                                ALAN                    Twenties?                              CHASTITY                    Yeah, it was so sweet...                              ALAN                    Look, I don't know how to say this,                    but my friends and I were very                    drunk last night. We would never                    come to a place like this--          He glances over at Vick and Stu -- but they're gone.                                ALAN (CONT'D)                    Guys?                                                            CUT TO:          VICK AND STU TOASTING SHOTS OF JAGERMEISTER          and downing them. PULL BACK to see that they are sitting in          THE CHAMPAGNE ROOM          getting lapdances from STARR and ANASTASIA. The Champagne          Room is a dark, plush private suite in the back of the Crazy          Horse where strippers ply their craft; the room is half full.          Vick watches Starr lean over and make out with Anastasia.                              VICK                    You are the best bridesmaids ever.                              STU                        (huge boobs in his face)                    Dude: I might not be gay.          Then Alan hurries in with Chastity; he looks pissed.                                                                    49.                                                  ALAN                    What the hell are you doing?!                              VICK                    Two-for-ones, man.                              ALAN                    We don't have time for this! We                    gotta find Doug!                              VICK                    What do you think we're doing?                              ALAN                    What?                              VICK                    We're getting into the mindset of                    last night, to see if it sparks any                    memories.                        (to his stripper)                    Now: is this exactly how you were                    dancing for me last night, Starr?          She nods. Vick nods, pensive, scientific.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Yeah, still no memories. Keep going                    -- and put your back into it.                              ALAN                    You are so goddamn selfish, Vick.                    You really are. Stu, let's go.                              VICK                    No. Stu, sit and enjoy your dance.          Stu looks between them, torn.                              ALAN                    Dude: Doug is missing! We have less                    than 18 hours til his wedding! We                    do not have time for this!                              VICK                    I'm trying to save your life here,                    Alan Mervish.                              ALAN                    Vick--!                                                                              50.                                                  VICK                    I'm not kidding, man! Life is one                    long series of emergencies, and if                    you don't learn to stop and have a                    little fun along the way, you're                    gonna grow into a joyless old prick                    like your dad. I'm sorry to bring                    Moshe Mervish into it, but it had                    to be said. Now yes, we have 18                    hours to find Doug -- which means                    we can afford to spend ten minutes                    celebrating the special talents of                    these gifted young body-artists. So                    sit down, have a jager shot, and                    smell the goddamn roses for once in                    your miserable life. Chastity,                    honey? When you're ready?          Chastity pushes Alan onto the red leather banquette and          starts dancing for him. He tries to squirm away:                              ALAN                    No, look-- I am like totally                    against this, morally and                    politically. Plus Becky                    specifically asked me not to--                                                         SMASH CUT TO:          ALAN SITTING ON THE BANQUETTE, LOOKING AWESTRUCK          as Chastity works a wildly erotic lapdance on him. She crawls          onto his lap, she whips him with her long hair, she puts her          tongue in his ear. Next to him, no longer getting lapdances,          Vick and Stu just sit, staring at Chastity, entranced.                              STU                    I think I know why he married her.                              VICK                    Because if he hadn't, I would've.          They continue watching on in silence.                              STU                    Is it weird that we're sitting this                    close watching?                              VICK                    Not for me.          More watching in silence.                                                                               51.                                                   STU                    I really shouldn't be here. I have                    daughters.          Then both of their heads angle the same way.                              VICK                    Not that can do that.                              STU                    How can she do that without                    dislocating her hip?                              VICK                    Because she's been touched by God.          They continue staring, amazed. Just then, the door is kicked          open and KIKIOLANI and KALOLO FANALUA burst into the          Champagne Room, peering through the darkness, looking for our          guys. Vick and Stu see them immediately.                               VICK (CONT'D)                    Shit.          They both hop up. Alan remains sitting, however, hypnotized          by Chastity. Vick grabs him.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Alan, come on, man, we gotta go!                              ALAN                    Whoa, whoa, I'm smelling the roses--          Vick literally yanks Alan up from the banquette.                              VICK                    Come on, man! We got company!          Finally, the Guamians spot the guys and lumber for them!                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Chastity, honey, is there a back                    way out of here?!          Thinking fast, Chastity grabs her clothes and darts over to          a darkened, unlabeled FIRE DOOR.                               CHASTITY                    Come on!          The guys race after her...                                                                              52.                              INT. CRAZY HORSE -- BACK HALLWAY          Chastity and the guys sprint through the bright, crowded back          hallways of the Crazy Horse, weaving through strippers,          cocktail waitresses, and barbacks.          Behind them, the two massive Samoans try to follow, but are          slowed by all the foot traffic. Strippers SCREAM as they're          bowled over by the obese Islanders.          INT. CRAZY HORSE -- MAIN STAGE          A spotlight holds on a CLOSED CURTAIN covering the main          stage. Some sort of techno Limp Bizkit song is playing.                              STRIPPER D.J. (O.S.)                    ANNND ON STAGE ONE, PUT YOUR HANDS                    TOGETHER FOR...DOUBLE STAXXX!          All the patrons turn their attention to Stage One -- then Stu          blows through the curtain, out of breath. Beat. The patrons          look at Stu, confused. Stu looks at them, equally so.          The patrons start to BOOO, just as Vick, Chastity, and Alan          blow through the curtain after Stu.                               CHASTITY                    Come on!          Chastity, in six inch leucite heels, sprints down the main          runway, leaps over the patrons sitting at the end, and hits          the floor running!                              STU                    Did she just do that in heels?!                              VICK                    I'm really starting to like this                    girl.          The guys all follow suit, sprinting down the runway and          leaping over the patrons!          Then the Guamians blow through the curtain, panting, very          upset. They lumber down the stage -- and the patrons at the          end of the runway clear the hell out of the way.          CHASTITY AND THE GUYS RACE THROUGH THE STRIP CLUB          Upsetting cocktails, hopping onto stages and then off again,          leaping over chairs, spinning around stripper poles, and,          finally, sprinting out the front door!                                                                            53.                              The massive Guamians give chase, leaving a wide trail of          destruction behind them, like two elephants trampling through          a forest. Just as they're blowing out of the door, however,          THEY'RE CLOTHESLINED BY TWO CHAIRS          being swung into their chests! SMASH! They both stumble          backwards, and then four roided-up STRIP CLUB SECURITY GUARDS          pounce on them, wrestling them to the ground.                              CRAZY HORSE SECURITY GUARD                        (to walkie talkie)                    Viper One, this is Rolling Thunder,                    we've subdued the targets, over.          EXT. CRAZY HORSE -- DAY          Chastity and the guys hurry around the corner from the Crazy          Horse, laughing, exhilarated from the chase.                              STU                    Did you see them trample those tiny                    Japanese businessmen?! I think they                    killed like four of them!          Everyone laughs. Vick puts his arm around Alan.                              VICK                    Come on, Alan: tell me that wasn't                    just a little fun...                              ALAN                    That was...a little fun.          Vick smiles -- just as a LAS VEGAS POLICE CAR hops the curb,          lights flashing, and cuts them off! Two mustachioed COPS get          out and hurry for them, pointing, intense.                              LAS VEGAS POLICEMAN                    Victor Lennon?! Alan Mervish?!                    Stuart Pryce?!                              STU                        (SCARED)                    Y-Yes?!                              LAS VEGAS POLICEMAN                    You're coming with us.                                                            CUT TO:                                                                            54.                              INT. LAS VEGAS POLICE STATION -- INTERROGATION ROOM -- DAY          The two LVPD cops, OFFICER MERRIWEATHER and OFFICER BLADEN,          40's, pace about this bare interrogation room, while Vick,          Alan and Stu sit behind the cold metal table.          Vick looks tense, but in control. Stu and Alan are sweating,          terrified. They've clearly been here a while.                              OFFICER MERRIWEATHER                    Where were you last night at 3am?                               VICK                    No idea.                              OFFICER BLADEN                    Okay, how about at 2am?                               VICK                    Ditto.          Officer Bladen SLAMS the table with his fist.                              OFFICER MERRIWEATHER                    You think this is cute, son?! You                    think this is a game?!                              ALAN                    Whatever we did, we're so sorry!                              STU                    Honestly, man, I will confess to                    anything you want!                               VICK                    Stu: stop talking. Alan: sit up                    straight. Officer Merriweather,                    I've told you twelve times now: we                    have no memory of last night. Now                    either charge us with a crime, or                    let us go.          Merriweather scowls and nods at Bladen, who steps over to a          TELEVISION and turns it on. Merriweather, meanwhile, pulls          out a photograph of a slick ASIAN MAN in a red suit, slides          it onto the table.                              OFFICER MERRIWEATHER                    What do you know about Jimmy Lang?          Vick flinches ever-so-slightly, clearly knowing something.          Stu and Alan just look at the photograph, confused.                                                                              55.                                                      ALAN                     Nothing?                                  STU                     Who is he?                               OFFICER MERRIWEATHER                     Jimmy Lang runs the infamous Shiang-                     Xi crime organization, and is                     wanted in seven states for money                     laundering, drug smuggling,                     racketeering and murder.                               ALAN                     Oh my god--                               STU                     Did we kill someone last night--?!                               VICK                     We have no idea who this man is.                               OFFICER MERRIWEATHER                     Is that right?                               VICK                     Yeah, that's right.          ON THE TELEVISION, grainy surveillance camera footage of a          birthday party starts playing. In the video, JIMMY LANG sits          in an upscale restaurant, in front of a BIRTHDAY CAKE, as a          table full of hip ASIAN GUYS serenade him with "Happy          Birthday To You."          When the guys sitting next to Jimmy lean forward to help him          blow out the candles on his cake, however, we see that it's          Vick, ALAN, STU, DOUG, and some BLACK GUY, all very drunk!                               VICK & ALAN & STU & DOUG (ON TAPE)                     HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JIMMMMY, HAPPY                     BIRTHDAY TOOO YOOOOU!          Everyone applauds. Vick drunkenly hugs Jimmy Lang.                               VICK (ON TAPE)                     I love you, Jimmy Lang!          Merriweather FREEZES FRAME on Vick kissing the top of Jimmy          Lang's shaved head.          In the interrogation room, Vick, Stu and Alan sit, frozen.          Silence.                                                                    56.                                                  STU                    We're in a lot of trouble, aren't                    we.                              ALAN                    Officers, I swear, we have no                    memory of that ever occurring--                              OFFICER BLADEN                    Okay. Maybe a night in jail will                    jostle something loose.                              STU                    Oh no, sir, please don't!                              ALAN                    We have a very important wedding--!                              VICK                    I know Jimmy Lang.          Everyone stops, looks at Vick.                               ALAN                    You do?!                              VICK                    Jimmy and I tried to raise capital                    for Girl-nasium, a 24 hour fitness                    center and day spa for tween-age                    girls, but it never got off the                    ground. It was an entirely                    legitimate enterprise -- I had no                    idea he was a criminal. We must've                    bumped into him last night, and he                    must've invited us to join his                    birthday celebration. No crime in                    that, is there, Officers?          Merriweather gets in Vick's face, intense.                               OFFICER MERRIWEATHER                    You actually expect me to believe                    that dung?                              VICK                        (UNBLINKING)                    Yes, Officer Merriweather. I do.                              OFFICER MERRIWEATHER                    If I find out you're lying to me,                    son, I will take all of you down,                    is that clear?                                                                               57.                                                   OFFICER BLADEN                    You boys wouldn't last three hours                    in prison.                                 VICK                    Stu might.          Stu shakes his head, unbelievable.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Now: are you gonna charge us with                    something, or are we free to go?          The cops look at each other, scowling. Beat.                              OFFICER BLADEN                    Get outta here.          Stu and Alan quickly hop to their feet and make for the door.                              ALAN                    Oh, thank you, Officers!                              STU                    It was really nice meeting you--!                              OFFICER MERRIWEATHER                    If you know what's good for you,                    you'll get the hell out of Vegas.                                                            CUT TO:          EXT. LAS VEGAS POLICE STATION -- NIGHT          Day has turned to night. Vick, Stu, and Alan descend the          steps of the police station. The mood is grim.                              ALAN                    Did you have to be such a dick?!                              VICK                    We got out, didn't we?                              ALAN                    Yeah, four hours later! If we'd                    just cooperated with them--                              VICK                    If we'd cooperated with them, we'd                    be in jail right now, Alan.          They reach the curb, and Stu starts trying to hail a cab.          Desperation is setting in.                                                                    58.                                                  ALAN                    What are we gonna do now? We've got                    zero leads on where Doug is!                              STU                    Why hasn't he called? It's 8:30.          The guys shake their heads, I don't know.                              STU (CONT'D)                    Do you think he's okay--?                              VICK                    Stu, don't. Doug is fine.                              STU                    I mean, we were hanging out with                    mobsters last night, man! They kill                    people for looking at `em weird--!                              VICK                    Stu: Doug is fine.                              STU                    Or what if we like drove Doug out                    to the desert and left him, just as                    like a funny prank--?!                              VICK                    Stu! Enough!                              ALAN                        (MUTTERING)                    I knew I shouldn't have come...                              VICK                    What did you just say?                              ALAN                    I said I knew I shouldn't have come                    this weekend, Vick!                              VICK                        (getting heated)                    Is that right?                              ALAN                    Yeah, that's right. I only came                    because Doug insisted.          Vick steps towards Alan, heated.                                                                    59.                                                  VICK                    Why do think you're so much better                    than us, dude?!                              ALAN                    I don't -- I just think I'm better                    than you, Vick! And trust me, it's                    not that hard! You haven't changed                    one bit since high school! Jesus,                    you're 28 years old and you still                    talk back to cops?! Really?!                              VICK                    You're out of your depth, Alan--                              ALAN                    And you're still the one getting us                    in trouble! Only then it was hiding                    your weed in our locker, and now                    you've got us partying with wanted                    felons! It's not cute anymore, man!                    We're too old for this!          Vick scowls; this is actually hitting home...                              ALAN (CONT'D)                    And all your stupid get-rich-quick                    schemes?! Girl-nasium?! Custard?!                    In Los Angeles?! Are you joking?!                              STU                    Okay, let's all take a breath--                              ALAN                    When's the last time you had a real                    job, man?! When's the last time you                    had a girlfriend?! Hell, when's the                    last time you picked up the check?!                              VICK                    What's so great about any of those                    things?!                              ALAN                    Those "things," Vick, are what                    grown men do!          Vick swallows, furious.                              STU                    Look, we're all tired and hungry--                                                                              60.                                                  VICK                    None of us ever liked you, Alan! We                    only hung out with you because Doug                    made us!          Alan recoils, whoa, stung. This is clearly news to him.                              ALAN                    Stu...? Is that true?          Stu gestures, uncomfortable, enh, who's to say? Alan nods, I          see, his face reddening.                              VICK                    Why would anyone like you, dude?                    Have you ever thought about that?                    You're uptight, you're judgemental,                    you're cheap, and yet somehow you                    think you're sweeter than everyone                    else! Well look around, man: no one                    wants to be you! I'd rather be Stu                    than you!                              STU                    Wait, what--?          Too late: Alan charges Vick and TACKLES him onto the lawn!          They roll on the ground, trying to punch each other, but it          ends up being a mess of half-chops, pulled hair, and hands in          each other's faces...                              ALAN                    I've...always...hated you...                              VICK                    You punch like...your sister...          Stu runs over and jumps in, trying to break them apart.                              STU                    Hey, no! Time out! We all need a                    time out--!          THUNK! Stu is accidentally kicked in the face and goes down.          Alan and Vick continue rolling on the lawn, trying to beat          the crap out of each other. They could be kids again. Then,          just when it starts getting way too intense,          A CAR HORN SOUNDS          And all three of them look up to see Vick'S BEAT-UP CADILLAC          parked on the curb, Chastity at the wheel.                                                                             61.                                                  CHASTITY                    That might not be like, the                    smartest place to fight?          Vick and Alan look over at the huge LAS VEGAS POLICE          DEPARTMENT sign right next to them. They frown...                                                              CUT TO:          EXT. THE COYOTE CANTINA -- NIGHT          Vick's car sits parked in front of a country bar.          INT. THE COYOTE CANTINA -- NIGHT          The guys sit at a booth, their hair a mess, their faces          bruised, their clothing ripped, ravenously chowing down on          TACOS. Stu's mouth is full of food:                              STU                    Good call on happy hour, Chastity.                    These tacos kick ass.                              CHASTITY                    Yeah, I always come here when I get                    out of jail.          The guys exchange a quick look.                              ALAN                    Hey -- how'd you start Vick's car?                              CHASTITY                    Oh, my daddy taught me how to                    hotwire almost anything.                              VICK                    That's funny, because Alan's daddy                    taught him tax law.          Chastity smiles, a little confused. Alan is quick to retort:                              ALAN                    And Vick's daddy taught him how to                    get really drunk at his kid's                    soccer games and then piss himself.                              VICK                    It's a disease, dude--!                              STU                    Guys, come on! For Doug?                                                                            62.                              Alan and Vick angrily continue eating their tacos. Then Stu's          PHONE rings. He pulls it out, reads the caller ID.                              STU (CONT'D)                    "Number blocked."                      VINCE                             ALAN                         Don't answer it.                 Answer it.                              ALAN                    What if it's Doug?                              VICK                    What if it's Tracy?!                              STU                        (torn, answers phone)                    Good evening, this is Stu!          INTERCUT WITH:          INT. VENICE BUNGALOW -- NIGHT          It's Tracy. She's sitting in her living room, on the phone.          Her STERN FATHER sits nearby, as do other FAMILY MEMBERS.                              TRACY                    Stu, it's Tracy!          His eyes bulging, Stu covers the phone and hisses:                              STU                    It's Tracy!          Vick glares at Alan. Alan looks away, shit.                              STU (CONT'D)                    Why is she calling me?!                              VICK                    Because she knows you're the most                    easily tricked.                              ALAN                    We have tell her we lost Doug.                              VICK                    No we don't! Tell her nothing, Stu!          Stu turns back to the phone, rattled.                              STU                    Hey, Trace! W-What's going on?                                                          63.                                        TRACY          Oh, nothing, just here with my          family...                    STU          Wow, that sounds amazing!                    TRACY          Yeah...? Hey, you wouldn't happen          to know where Doug is, would you?          He said he'd be home by 5 for this          dinner, and now it's almost 9:00. I          tried his cell, but he didn't          answer...                    STU          Ummmm........Hang on.              (covering the mouthpiece)          She wants to know where Doug is!                    VICK          I'm working on it! Buy us some          time!                    ALAN          No, just tell her the truth!          Honesty is always the best policy!                    VICK          What are you, retarded?! Honesty is          never the best policy! Especially          not with brides!                    STU              (lamely, to phone)          Um, what'd you say?                    TRACY              (FROWNING)          I asked if you knew where Doug was.                    STU          Yeah, um, hang on.              (to guys)          She still wants to know!                    VICK          Okay: tell her Alan got really          drunk last night and fell down, and          the doctor said not to move him for          a few hours, but that we'll be back          in time for the wedding.                                                                      64.                                                  ALAN                    Why do I have to be the one that                    fell over drunk?!                              VICK                    It's a fictitious canard, Alan, get                    over yourself! Stu: tell her!                              STU (TO PHONE)                    Listen, Tracy, Alan fell on a                    DOCTOR--                              VICK                    Fell over drunk.                              STU                    H-He was drunk. And the doctor -- a                    different doctor, not the one he                    fell on -- he said we couldn't move                    him until the wedding--                              VICK                    For a few hours! We'll be home                    before the wedding!                              STU                    But we're going to have the wedding                    at your home--          Tracy just looks really confused.          Exasperated, Vick rips the phone away from Stu.                              VICK                    Tracy?! Vick! How are ya, hon?                              TRACY                        (now very concerned)                    Vick, what is going on?                              VICK                    Nothing! Stu is a moron. Listen,                    Alan hurt his back last night, so                    we're gonna be laid up here for a                    bit, but I promise we'll have Doug                    home in time for the wedding, okay?                              TRACY                    Oh God, is Alan all right?                                                                            65.                                                  VICK                    Yes, luckily he had a steel rod                    surgically implanted up his ass at                    birth, so the doctors anticipate a                    complete and swift recovery.          Alan flips him the bird.                              TRACY                    Can I talk to Doug?                              VICK                    What? No! No, you can't actually,                    Doug...Doug is out.                              TRACY                    Where is he?                              VICK                    Where is he? He's aaaat...the                    pharmacy. Yeah, picking up Alan's                    medications. Listen, Trace, I'm                    losing you, but we'll see you                    tomorrow, okay? Bye, sweetie--!          Vick hangs up and nods confidently.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    She bought it.                                                            CUT TO:          INT. VENICE BUNGALOW -- NIGHT          Back in her bungalow, Tracy hangs up the phone, frowning.                              TRACY                    They've done something stupid.          Her stern father is standing there, frowning.                              MR. TURNER                    No surprise there.                              TRACY                    DAD--                              MR. TURNER                    I'm just saying, what kind of man                    stands up his fiancÈe the night                    before their wedding?                                                                             66.                                                  TRACY                    Dad, I don't want to hear it. I                    trust Doug absolutely.          Mr. Turner backs off. Tracy, however, looks a bit rattled...                                                         CUT BACK TO:          INT. THE COYOTE CANTINA -- NIGHT          The guys get up from the booth and head for the door, grim.                              ALAN                    Perfect. We just told Tracy we'd                    have Doug home in 13 hours, and we                    still have no idea where he is...          They pass a DOORMAN on their way out, who's standing with a          stamp and a UV light reader.                              DOORMAN                    Handstamp for re-entry?                    Handstamp for re-entry?          Everyone waves, no thanks -- except for Stu, who shrugs, why          not, and stops, holding out his hand.                              VICK                    Maybe we should go back to the                    hotel and--                              STU                    Oh my God, guys! Look!          Stu holds his hand under the UV light -- it's covered in          STAMPS from all the clubs they've been to the night before!          Stu yanks up his sleeve to reveal his ENTIRE FOREARM GLOWS,          completely covered with stamps!          The guys hurry back and slide their forearms under the UV          light, too: they all have the same stamps! Their eyes alight:                              ALAN                    It's like a map of last night!          The guys look at each other, hope returning to their faces!                                                             CUT TO:          TITLE CARD: "SATURDAY, 9:10PM"                                                                               67.                              EXT. LAS VEGAS/INT. VICK'S CAR -- NIGHT          The guys rocket down the Strip, weaving in and out of          traffic! All the stamps on Stu's arm are now labelled in          regular ink. MUSIC blares, and the mood is high.                              STU                    Where do you want to start?!                              VICK                    At the top! We hit every club we                    went to til someone remembers what                    we did with Doug!                              ALAN                    Nice clue, Stuey! I can't believe                    we're actually gonna pull this off!          Stu grins over at the car next to them. Then he stops.                              STU                    Hey: is that guy wearing Doug's                    hat?!          The guys look over to see that the DRIVER of the next car          over is, in fact, wearing the DISTINCTIVE FEDORA-STYLE HAT          Doug was wearing last night. The guy turns off the Strip.                              VICK                    Naaah, couldn't be.                              ALAN                    Lots of people have hats like that.          Stu nods, yeah, I guess...          TIGHT ON: STU'S HAND          The first bar written on it is "GhostBar."                                                         MATCH CUT TO:          INT. GHOSTBAR -- NIGHT          Chastity and the guys blow in, each with a photo of Doug (in          medieval armor) from Alan's wedding. As they move into the          club, every single waiter, bartender, and busboy sees them          and throws open their arms, heyyyy, remembering them!          They flash the picture of Doug to anyone who'll look --          waiters, maitre d's, thugs, bachelorettes, fetishists,          bikers, swingers, brides and grooms -- but all of them shake          their heads, we have no idea where Doug is...                                                                               68.                              INT. VICK'S CAR -- NIGHT          Stu crosses off "GhostBar" from his arm...          INT. BODY ENGLISH NIGHTCLUB -- NIGHT          The guys and Chastity enter and disperse. Again, everyone          recognizes them and hugs them like returning heroes -- and          again, no one remembers where they were taking Doug...          INT. VICK'S CAR -- NIGHT          Stu crosses off another stamp from his arm...          EXT. PURE NIGHTCLUB -- NIGHT          The BOUNCER recognizes the guys from the night before and          unclips the rope, letting them in past the immense line...          INT. TAO NIGHTCLUB -- NIGHT          The BOUNCER recognizes the guys from the night before and          unclips the rope, letting them in past the immense line...          INT. ICE NIGHTCLUB -- NIGHT          The BOUNCER recognizes the guys from the night before and          unclips the rope, letting them in past the immense line...          INT. VICK'S CAR -- NIGHT          The guys race through a shadier, more industrial area of          town, their hopes dimming...                              STU                    All right, this is the last place                    we went, "Chaps."          Vick rolls to a stop in front of...          CHAPS NIGHTCLUB          It takes a moment for the guys to realize that everyone in          line is male, buff, and wearing erotic cowboy gear.                              STU                    You sure we came here...?          Then they look up at the marquee. It reads "CHAPS: HOME OF          THE GOLDEN PONY ALL MALE REVUE."                              ALAN                    The Golden Pony. That's us.                                                                            69.                                                  STU                    Maybe I'll just wait in the car--          But Vick is already shoving Stu out of the car.          INT. CHAPS NIGHTCLUB -- NIGHT          The guys walk into the massive nightclub and stop. It's got a          kitschy barn theme, and hosts 200 TOPLESS DUDES in cowboy          hats and short-shorts grinding on each other.                              VICK                    You think we would've remembered                    this...                              STU                    Yeah, I don't think we came here...                              ALAN                    Then why is your underwear nailed                    to the wall?          The guys turn to see numerous pairs of MEN'S UNDERWEAR nailed          to the wall nearby. A sign above it reads "CHAPS WALL OF          FAME." We recognize Stu's COLORADO STATE BOXERS.                              STU                    Those could be anybody's. Thousands                    of people go to Colorado State--                              ALAN                        (looking more closely)                    Oh my God, are they autographed?                              VICK                        (READING)                    "Stu Pryce, 9/30/08. I     Chaps!"                                        STU                        (realizing, stunned)                    I am so gay...          Just then, a BUFF WAITER in assless chaps blows by, smiling.                              WAITER                    Hey, guys! Roger is backstage!          The guys look at each other, eyes wide.                               STU                    R-Roger?                                                                            70.                              INT. CHAPS -- DANCE FLOOR          The guys move through the throng of undulating, sweaty men,          uncomfortable. Alan takes Chastity's hand tightly.                              ALAN                    Stay very close to me.          She smiles and dances through the crowd.          INT. CHAPS -- BACKSTAGE AREA          They reach a HUGE MALE BOUNCER guarding the backstage area.          He sees the guys and unclips the VELVET ROPE, kissing each of          them on the cheek as they pass.                              BOUNCER                    How are Haylee and Kaitlin?                              STU                        (totally disturbed)                    Oh. G-Good, thanks...?          INT. BACKSTAGE AREA -- DRESSING ROOM DOOR          The guys reach the dressing room door and stop. They inhale.                              VICK                    We're going to love you either way,                    Stu...          Stu nods, focussed, nervous, like before a big game.                              ALAN                    Some of my best friends are gay.                              STU                    Is that true?                              ALAN                    Not...not really? I live in                    Connecticut, man, we don't even                    have black people yet.          Stu nods, right. Then, after steeling himself, he enters...          INT. CHAPS -- DRESSING ROOM          The dressing room is packed with muscular, tan, buck-naked          men, walking around, rubbing baby oil on themselves, donning          chaps and codpieces, getting ready for the next show.                                                                              71.                              Chastity and the guys move through the mob of beefcake,          staying ridiculously close together. Vick stops at one          dancer, trying not to look down at his junk:                              VICK                    Excuse me, friend, can you tell me                    where Roger is?                              BEEFCAKE COWBOY                    Oh, hey, Vick! Roger's over there.          He points to a really hot, really naked guy with a funky          mullet, stretching out in front of his mirror. The guys          shuffle over to him. Vick tries to be supportive with Stu:                              VICK                    He's cute...I guess...?          Stu shrugs, yeah, I guess...? As they draw close, Roger sees          them, and smiles.                              ROGER                    Oh! Hey guys!          He hugs all of them. The guys make sure to keep their asses          arched back to avoid genital contact.                              ROGER (CONT'D)                    I'm surprised you're even walking                    yet, Stu.                               STU                        (inhaling sharply)                    Oh my god.                              VICK                    Listen, man, we don't really                    remember what happened last night,                    can you fill us in?                              ROGER                    Really? No memory?          Stu shakes his head, wide-eyed, scared...                              ROGER (CONT'D)                    Well, I must say, Stu, I'm a little                    hurt.                              STU                    Did we...you know...do anything?                              ROGER                    Well, duh? Yeah?                                                                              72.                              The guys all freeze. A beat. Then Vick pats Stu's shoulder,          supportive.                              STU                    Was I...the boy or the girl?                              ROGER                    Oh, honey, you were everything.          Stu WHIMPERS. Vick and Alan exchange a look, holy shit!                              ROGER (CONT'D)                    But you were nothing like Vick.                              VICK                    Wait-- what?!                              ROGER                    I know, I'm sort of over group                    stuff too, but Alan insisted.          Now it's Alan's turn to look stunned.                              VICK                    You insisted?! Why'd you insist?!                              ALAN                    I don't know! I don't know why I                    insisted!                              ROGER                    Actually, after the anger went                    away, it was really quite tender.          The guys look at each other, nauseous.                              STU                    I'm really not sure we can be                    friends anymore...          Finally, Chastity starts LAUGHING.                              CHASTITY                    Guys: he's kidding.          Roger breaks into a smile and slaps five with Chastity. The          guys all exhale, incredibly relieved.                              VICK                    Not cool, Roger. Not cool.                              ALAN                    So what did happen last night?                                                                            73.                                                  ROGER                    Oh, well, you guys came in near the                    end of our last set, like 2ish.                    Doug pretty much dragged you in.                              ALAN                    Really? Doug did?                              ROGER                    Oh no, my Doug, not your Doug.                    Black guy, shaved head?          The guys look at each other, confused.                              ROGER (CONT'D)                    He's a cake designer, he said he                    met you guys at some sort of                    birthday party at the Rio?                              VICK                        (snapping his finger)                    The guy from the Jimmy Lang                    surveillance video.          The guys nod, right.                              ROGER                    Anyway, for the big finale of our                    show, we always bring someone on                    stage, and, well, Stu, you                    volunteered pretty aggressively.                        (to nearby dancer)                    Hey Dallas, do we have the video of                    last night's show?                              STU                    No! That's cool, I don't need to                    see it--                              VICK                    We must see that video.                              DALLAS                    It's in the machine.          Roger nods and presses PLAY on a little VCR/TV combo sitting          in front of his mirror. ON THE TV a very Brokeback,          Chippendale's-style male revue starts playing. Stu GASPS.          Roger fast forwards.                                                                            74.                                                  ROGER                    You were pretty mellow at first,                    Stu, but once we got you into the                    chaps, you really came alive-- oh,                    here it is.                    ON THE TV we see Stu, wearing only his "I    ROGER" g-string          and assless chaps, grinding on stage with the Golden Pony          dancers. He is way fatter, paler, and hairier than the          greased young studs. The guys look away, oooo.                              STU                    I'm a Dad, I-I don't get to the gym                    as much as I'd like...                              ROGER                    You even taught us The Pony, which                    we'd never even heard of before...          ON THE TV Stu gets on all fours on the stage, and eagerly          gestures for the dancers to take turns "riding" him.          Stu's face drops.                               ROGER (CONT'D)                    And then, of course, the piËce de                    resistance: the Ride of the                    Valkyries.          ON THE VIDEO Stu clutches onto Roger from behind as they ride          a LAVENDER MECHANICAL BULL together. The crowd goes wild.                              STU                    Annnnd that would explain the                    searing ass pain.                              ROGER                    After the show, we split a couple                    pitchers of flirtinis, you had our                    stylist cut your hair like mine,                    and then you split.                              VICK                    And what time was all this?                              ROGER                    4:30 in the morning? 4:45?                              ALAN                    And our Doug was with us?                                                                             75.                                                  ROGER                    Yeah, he had passed out by then,                    but you carried him out. It was all                    very Officer And A Gentleman.          The guys look at each other, confused.                              ALAN                    Wait, so we left with Doug at 4:45,                    we got back to the hotel at 5:00,                    and Doug was gone by 5:30 when                    Chastity met back up with us?                              STU                    That doesn't make any sense.                              VICK                    Did we lose him along the way?                              STU                    He was passed out, how far could he                    have gone--?          Just then, Vick's cellphone rings. The caller ID reads          "MANDALAY BAY." He answers:                              VICK                    Hello?          INTERCUT WITH:          INT. MANDALAY BAY -- NIGHT          Atashir is on the phone at the reception desk.                              ATASHIR                    Mr. Lennon?                              VICK                    Atashir, many greetings to you.                               ATASHIR                    I thought you might like to know                    that one of our maids just found                    your friend, Douglas, passed out in                    your room.          Vick's jaw drops.                              VICK                    What?! Are you sure it's him?!                                                                            76.                                                  ATASHIR                    I saw him with my own eyes. He is                    unconscious but breathing nicely.                              VICK                    Oh thank you, Atashir! You are a                    man of great honor! A thousand                    blessings upon your ancestors!          Vick SLAMS his phone shut, overjoyed.                               VICK (CONT'D)                    Doug is in the room! A maid just                    found him! He's passed out, but                    he's okay!                              STU                    They're sure it's him?!                              VICK                    Atashir swears it is!          The guys all laugh, a massive weight lifted.                              STU                    Oh thank God he's okay...                              ALAN                    After all this?! He's in the room?!          They keep laughing and hug each other, heartfelt. Vick even          hugs Roger.                              VICK                    I don't even care! Hug me, you big                    shiny homosexual!          EXT. CHAPS -- NIGHT          Chastity and the guys bound out of Chaps, jubilant. Stu is          carrying a box of TWO DOZEN VIDEOTAPES.                              ALAN                    That was cool of Roger to give you                    all the tapes of your performance.                              STU                    I know, if I actually was gay, I'd                    totally date Roger first. What a                    gentle soul.          They get into Vick's clunker.                                                                             77.                                                  VICK                    How we doing on time?                              ALAN                        (looking at watch)                    2:22.                              VICK                    We'll be in LA by dawn.                        (firing up engine)                    I told you bitches this would all                    work out...          They drive off into the night, grins all around.          EXT. THE STRIP/INT. VICK'S CAR -- NIGHT          Vick drives, Stu sits shotgun. Alan sits in the back with          Chastity. The cool night air washes over them. They look          happily exhausted.                              ALAN                    This has officially been the                    craziest weekend of my life.                        (to Chastity)                    Thanks for all your help. You were                    awesome.                              CHASTITY                    Anything for my hubby.          Alan's smile flickers slightly.                              CHASTITY (CONT'D)                    I'm kidding, Alan. I know last                    night wasn't, you know, real...          She looks out at Vegas as it flies by.                              ALAN                    I'm sorry about all this, Chastity.                                CHASTITY                    Jennifer.                              ALAN                    Beg pardon?                              CHASTITY                    My name is Jennifer. Jennifer Elly.          Alan hesitates; suddenly she seems a lot more...human.                                                                            78.                                                  ALAN                    Okay, well, I'm sorry, Jennifer.                              CHASTITY                    Oh, don't be. Last night wasn't the                    first flaky decision I've ever made                    in my life. I mean, I am a                    stripper.          Alan tries not to laugh. She smiles, a twinge sadly.                              ALAN                    Where you from?                              CHASTITY                    LA. Tarzana.                               ALAN                    Oh yeah?                              CHASTITY                    Yeah. I work here on the weekends.                              ALAN                    You fly out every week?                              CHASTITY                    Yeah. I'd move, but my kid is in a                    great school.                               ALAN                    Kid?                              VICK                        (aside, to Stu)                    They always have kids.                              CHASTITY                    I have a little girl, Sarah.                    She's... Well, she's everything.          Chastity proudly shows Alan a photo from her purse of a cute          little toddler. Alan smiles.                              CHASTITY (CONT'D)                    What about you?                              ALAN                    No kids. Same girlfriend for 14                    years. Becky.          Alan shows her a photo of Becky on his cellphone.                                                                         79.                                                  CHASTITY                    Wow, she's stunning.          Stu turns around, unable to keep quiet any longer:                              STU                    We like you way better.                              ALAN                    STU!          Chastity tries to stymie her laugh.                              ALAN (CONT'D)                    Becky is great.                              STU                    Becky collects teapots.                              VICK                    Yeah, she's a total canwego.                              CHASTITY                    A what?                              VICK                    You know, she's the girl at the                    party who's always like "Can we go?                    Can we go?"          Chastity laughs. Alan does too, shaking his head.                              ALAN                    She has low blood sugar.                              STU                    She has low fun sugar.                              ALAN                    Jesus, guys! This is the girl I'm                    going to marry!                        (beat, considers)                    If, you know...she forgives me for                    cheating on her...                              VICK                    Wait: you're going to tell her?                              ALAN                    Of course I'm going to tell her! I                    could never keep something like                    that from her.                                                                               80.                                                  VICK                    Dude, she still hasn't forgiven me                    for scratching her Queensryche CD                    in sixth grade -- she's neeeeever                    gonna forgive you for marrying a                    stripper in Vegas.                              ALAN                    Well, then that's just the price                    I'm going to have to pay.          Alan looks off, stoic. Chastity pats his hand, proud.                              CHASTITY                    Good for you.          She smiles at Alan, impressed, pulling her hair from her          face. Alan looks at her anew... It's a sweet moment...                              VICK                    She's gonna cut your dick off,                    dude.                                                            CUT TO:          EXT. MANDALAY BAY -- NIGHT          Lamborghini's, Ferrari's and Hummer limos clog the valet          stand. Vick rolls up in his clunker. The guys hop out.                              VICK                        (to the valet)                    Keep `er close, Paco. We'll be                    right back.          INT. MANDALAY BAY -- HALLWAY -- NIGHT          Chastity and the guys hurry down the hallway to their suite.          Vick unlocks their door and pushes inside.                              VICK                    Doug! Wake up, man!          INT. DEAN MARTIN SUITE -- NIGHT          Instead of finding Doug, however, they find KALOLO FANALUA,          sitting on their couch, pissed. He's got a huge WHITE CAST on          his right arm, courtesy of the strip club bouncers.                              KALOLO FANALUA                    Aloha, assholes.          The guys freeze.                                                                            81.                                                    STU                    Uh-oh.          The door SLAMS behind them, and they whip around to see          KIKIOLANI standing in front of the door, blocking their exit.          He has an identical CAST on his right arm.                                STU (CONT'D)                    Not good.          Just then, a toilet FLUSHES and an immensely large man in a          red suit exits the bathroom, drying his hands. We recognize          him from his police photo as crime boss JIMMY LANG, 50's.                              JIMMY LANG                    Oh, hello. Good to see you again.                              VICK                    Where is Doug?                              ALAN                    Listen, Mr. Lang, whatever we did                    last night, we are incredibly sorry-                              JIMMY LANG                    These your rich friends you were                    telling me about, Vick?          Alan and Stu glance at Vick, confused.                              JIMMY LANG (CONT'D)                    Oh, you haven't told them yet?                    Really, that's low. Even for you.                              ALAN                    What's going on, Vick?          Vick stammers, trying to find the words...                              JIMMY LANG                    Six months ago, your friend Vick                    borrowed some money from me at what                    can only be described as a very                    unfavorable interest rate. When the                    loan came due, he failed to pay me                    back, but he promised me that he                    could get the money from you guys                    this weekend.          Alan and Stu look at Vick, shocked and hurt.                              ALAN                    Jesus, Vick...                                                                            82.                                                  STU                    How could you do this to us, man?                    We're your best friends...          Vick looks away, ashamed.                              VICK                    They were gonna hurt me, man...                              JIMMY LANG                    Well, Vick, it looks like you and                    your friends have some issues to                    discuss. In the meantime...          He draws a huge, red-plated .357 MAGNUM.                              JIMMY LANG (CONT'D)                    I need my goddamn money.          The guys jump back, whoa! Vick holds up his hands:                              VICK                    I can get it! I can! I just--                              JIMMY LANG                    I've heard that before, Vick,                    including last night, when you so                    rudely skipped out on my birthday                    party. That's why I've taken some                    collateral to ensure your payment.                    His name is Doug.          The guys all look sick.                              VICK                    You have Doug?                              STU                    Oh my God...                              JIMMY LANG                    If you want your friend to live,                    meet me at mile marker 26 off                    Highway 12 at dawn, and bring the                    money. Are we clear?                                VICK                    Yes! Yes.          Jimmy nods and heads for the door. The Samoans follow him.                              ALAN                    M-M-Mr. Lang?                                                                             83.                                                  JIMMY LANG                    Yes, Mr. Mervish?                              ALAN                    H-How much does Vick owe?                                                              CUT TO:                              ALAN (V.O.) (CONT'D)                    200 thousand dollars?!          INT. THE DEAN MARTIN SUITE -- MOMENTS LATER          Alan and Stu pace about the suite, beyond stressed. Vick          stands, looking out the window. Chastity gets them all water.                              ALAN                    How the hell could you blow that                    kind of money?!                              STU                    Was it for the custard store?                              ALAN                    Jesus, Stu, wake up! There is no                    custard store! Vick was just trying                    to rip us off to pay back Jimmy                    Lang!                              STU                    Is that true, Vick?          Vick just stares out at the city, not denying it.                              STU (CONT'D)                    Were any of your deals...real?                              VICK                        (GUILTY)                    Some.          Stu drops onto the couch, deeply disillusioned...                              STU                    Dude, I manage an Applebee's, that                    money meant something to me...          Vick spins around, furious:                              VICK                    Do you really think I wanted my                    life to turn out like this, Stu?!                    Do you really think I don't know                    that I'm a massive loser?!                              (MORE)                                                                             84.                                        VICK (CONT'D)                    Jesus, you guys got out of high                    school and you just knew what to                    do, you went to college and got                    good jobs and found cool wives and                    made beautiful children -- what do                    I have to show for the last decade                    of my life?! Nothing!          Vick swats a lamp off a nearby end-table -- it SMASHES          against the wall!          The guys freeze. Tense silence. Vick grows emotional.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Jesus, I'm almost 30, and the only                    thing I really have...the only                    thing I really have is you guys.                              STU                    Come on, Vick--                              VICK                    No, man, it's true! I put on a good                    show, but my life is so goddamn                    hollow and vapid and lonely, it                    scares me, man. I-I don't know how                    much longer I can keep this scam                    going. And now I've gone and ruined                    the one good thing I had...          Tears threaten in his eyes. He wipes at them, angry.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    Just...please don't give up on me,                    okay? I-I don't know what I'd do                    without you guys. I really don't...          Alan and Stu exchange a look. They've never seen brash, cocky          Vick this vulnerable before. Stu can't help but give in.                              STU                    Come on, man, we've been bro's                    since third grade, it's gonna take                    a lot more than money to ruin our                    friendship.          Vick looks down, deeply touched...                              STU (CONT'D)                    What I don't understand is why you                    didn't just ask me for the money. I                    would've given you every last cent                    I had, man...                                                                            85.                              Tears trail down Vick's cheeks. He crosses and gives Stu a          hug. Stu hugs back, emotional.                              STU (CONT'D)                    I love you, man.                              VICK                    Love you too, bro. Love you too.          They hug tight. For a while.                              STU                    Also, I banged your sister                    sophomore year.          Vick pulls away.                              VICK                    What?!                              STU                    Sorry. Just seemed like a good time                    to tell you.          Vick stammers at Stu, speechless.                              STU (CONT'D)                    She had just broken up with that                    guy from Central, we were playing                    "I Never" at Tim Donahee's pool,                    one thing lead to another--                              VICK                    No! No. That's...that's plenty.          Vick desperately tries to clear the image from his mind. Alan          just frowns at his watch, stressed.                              ALAN                    Look, I'm glad we're all sharing,                    but we've got three hours to come                    up with 200 grand, or else...          The guys nod, frowning, back on point.                              ALAN (CONT'D)                    I'd offer to take a loan out, but                    it's 3 o'clock in the morning, I'm                    pretty sure my bank is closed.                              STU                    I think I can get a 20 grand cash                    advance on my credit card...                                                                               86.                                                  ALAN                    So that just leaves 180 grand...          The guys frown at each other.                              CHASTITY                    Well, it is Vegas...          The guys' eyebrows all rise, you think...?                                                       SMASH CUT TO:          ALAN THROWING DOWN BLACKJACK AT A BLACKJACK TABLE          The guys erupt in CHEERS around him, YAAA! The dealer slides          over a large pile of CHIPS.                                                              CUT TO:          CHASTITY THROWING CRAPS AT A CRAPS TABLE          Again the guys erupt! Alan hugs Chastity. Their pile of CHIPS          grows...                                                              CUT TO:          STU YELLING "BINGO" AT A BINGO TABLE          The guys jump up, slapping ten, YELLING! Stu points at a          table full of OLD LADIES nearby: in your face!                                                              CUT TO:          ALAN, STU, VICK AND CHASTITY SITTING AT A PAI GOW TABLE          looking lost. Then they take their large stack of chips and          quietly leave. No one knows how to play Pai Gow poker.                                                              CUT TO:          VICK JUMPING UP FROM A WAR TABLE          having just won! Chastity and the guys aggressively hug him.          Stu drinks from his glass, hands shaking, wired.                              STU                    Time check!                              VICK                        (looking at watch)                    12 minutes.                              STU                    Chip check!                                                                                87.                              Alan quickly counts the chips...                              STU (CONT'D)                    Faster! Come on chip check!                              VICK                    Dude, how many Red Bulls have you                    had?                              STU                    I stopped counting at six! I can                    hear my heart beating in my head!          Alan finishes counting the chips -- and frowns.                              ALAN                    Just over 100 grand.          The guys wince, damn.                              VICK                    There's only one thing left to do.          They all exchange a knowing look...                                                           SMASH CUT TO:          $100,000 WORTH OF CHIPS BEING PLACED ON BLACK          at a roulette table. The guys sweat, tense. Stu is insane.                              STU                    You sure we don't want red?! What                    if the ball lands on red--!                              VICK                    Shut up, Stu.                              ROULETTE CROUPIER                    Betting is closed.          The Croupier drops the ball into the wheel. It bounces, hops,          spins... Vick crosses himself. Stu looks away.                              STU                    I can't watch! My   heart's gonna                    explode! Can your   heart even                    explode?! Because   I think my heart                    is gonna explode!   I can't watch!          The ball lands. Dead silence.                                                                              88.                                                  STU (CONT'D)                    It's red, isn't it?! I knew it!                    Tell me it's not red!                              ALAN                    It's not red...          Stu turns, ecstatic--                              ALAN (CONT'D)                    It's green.          The ball has stopped on green, DOUBLE ZERO. Stu clutches his          chest, like he's having a seizure. Vick inhales, grim. Alan          slowly drops to his knees. Chastity closes her eyes.          Their HUGE PILE OF CHIPS is raked off the table...                                                               CUT TO:          EXT. MANDALAY BAY -- PARKING CIRCLE -- PRE-DAWN          The guys pack their bags into Vick's beat-up Caddy. The mood          is as dark as the pre-dawn sky. When the car is loaded,          Chastity takes Alan's hands, gentle.                              CHASTITY                    Would you like me to come with?                              ALAN                    No...It might get a little                    dangerous. I wouldn't want...          He trails off. Chastity nods.                              CHASTITY                    I'm so sorry...about everything.                              ALAN                    Thanks for all your help.          Awkward silence. The cold desert wind blows.                              CHASTITY                    There's no sense...in exchanging                    numbers or anything...right?                              ALAN                    Yeah, probably not...          Alan looks genuinely sad.                                                                            89.                                                  CHASTITY                    Well...I'll always remember you as                    a great first husband, then.          They both smile weakly.                              CHASTITY (CONT'D)                    You can just send the divorce                    papers to the Crazy Horse or                    whatever...          Alan nods, okay. Another awkward pause.                              CHASTITY (CONT'D)                    Thanks for reminding me that there                    are still some really good guys out                    there, Alan. I don't...I don't get                    to meet too many of them.          She smiles a bit sadly, kisses him on the cheek, and walks          off. TIGHT ON Alan's Grandmother's ring still on her finger.          Alan doesn't remember the ring, however; he's too busy          watching her walk out of his life, and feeling a real sense          of loss...          Then Vick fires up the car next to him.                              VICK                    We gotta go, man.          Alan nods, yeah, and gets in the car...          INT. VICK'S CAR -- PRE-DAWN          Vick's car races down a dark, abandoned desert highway. The          guys look tired, stressed, and most of all, scared.                              ALAN                    Yep, just driving out to the middle                    of desert to meet some mobsters,                    what could possibly go wrong...?          The guys all frown.                              STU                    So what's our plan?                              ALAN                    I think we should tell Mr. Lang                    that we couldn't get the money, but                    that, if he's amenable, we could                    create a payment calendar--                                                                               90.                                                  VICK                    We're gonna give Jimmy a dummy bag                    of money, grab Doug, and make a run                    for it.                              ALAN                    Yes, good! What an airtight plan--!                               VICK                    Jimmy Lang doesn't do payment                    calendars, Alan! Trust me: this is                    our only shot of getting Doug back!                    Left turn!          Vick skids onto Highway 12 -- a barely labelled dirt road.          Things are quickly going from bad to worse...                                                          DISSOLVE TO:          THE FIRST RAYS OF DAWN          streaking across Venice Beach.          TITLE CARD: "SUNDAY, 6:04AM"          INT. VENICE BUNGALOW -- MORNING          Tracy exits her bedroom in her jammies, looking like she          barely slept. Her father is up, and making breakfast.                              TRACY                    Any word from Doug?                               MR. TURNER                    Nope.                        (BEAT)                    I know you don't want to hear it,                    Trace, but you deserve better.          Tracy frowns, overwhelmed with stress.                              TRACY                    I'm sure everything's fine. They're                    all smart, capable adults...                                                              CUT TO:          VICK DELICATELY LAYING CASH INSIDE HIS DUFFEL BAG          on top of his dirty clothing, fruitlessly trying to create          the appearance of a bag full of money. He's using some $20          bills, but also some $5's and $1's.                                                                               91.                                                  VICK                    This all the cash we got?          The guys frown at their empty wallets, yeah. We are          INT. VICK'S CAR/EXT. MOJAVE DESERT -- DAWN          The Caddy is parked next to MILE MARKER 26 in the middle of          the windy desert. The Las Vegas skyline is just barely          visible in the distance.          Vick very delicately zips up his duffel bag so as not to          disturb the bills, and places it on his lap.                              ALAN                    This is the dumbest plan ever.                              VICK                    Alan I need you positive please.                              STU                    Here they come.          They all look up to see a WHITE YUKON approaching on the far          horizon, kicking up a trail of dust. The guys tense up.                              VICK                    Stuart?                              STU                    Yeah?                              VICK                    There's an emergency bottle of                    tequila in my glove box. Get it out                    please.          Stu opens the glovebox, pulls out a bottle of Patron. He          opens it, takes a swig, then passes it to Vick, who takes a          pull and passes it to Alan, who also drinks.          They all watch the white Yukon draw ever closer.                              ALAN                    I can't believe this is how we're                    going to die...          The Yukon pulls up about ten yards away. No one moves.          The Yukon's doors open... The Cadillac's doors open...          TIGHT ON the Jimmy Lang's RED BOOT as it hits the road...                                                                               92.                              TIGHT ON Vick's LEATHER SHOE, then Alan's SAILING TOPSIDER,          then Stu's FLIP-FLOP, as they all hit the dusty road...          The two parties stand by their respective cars, facing off.          Somewhere in the desert, a rattlesnake RATTLES.                              JIMMY LANG                    Let's see the money!          Vick gently holds up his duffel bag.                              VICK                    Let's see Doug!          Jimmy Lang nods to Kalolo, who opens the back door of the          Yukon and pulls out a GUY with his hands tied behind his back          and a plastic RALPH'S BAG over his head; he struggles a bit.          The guys look a bit alarmed.                              ALAN                    Jesus, what'd they do to him?                              VICK                    Pull off the Ralph's bag!          Jimmy yanks the bag off of the guy's head to reveal          IT'S NOT DOUG          It's some black dude. Vick, Stu, and Alan look confused.                              VICK                    Who the hell is that?!                              JIMMY LANG                        (ANNOYED)                    This is Doug!          He pushes the guy forward.                              ALAN                    Oh my God: it's the other Doug!                    Roger's friend, the cake designer!                              BLACK DOUG                        (to Jimmy Lang)                    I told you, man, I'm Doug Howland!                    I barely even know these guys!                              VICK                    Yeah, you got the wrong Doug, man!                                                                              93.                              Jimmy Lang and the thugs look exasperated.                                 JIMMY LANG                    You sure?!                              VICK                    Yeah, man, our Doug is white!                              JIMMY LANG                    But you were partying with this guy                    at my birthday thing!                              VICK                    I don't know what to tell you, bro,                    this isn't the Doug we requested!                              JIMMY LANG                    Well. I apologize for the mix-up...                        (drawing his HUGE GUN)                    But I'm still gonna need my money.          Vick and the guys start backtracking towards their car.                              ALAN                    Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God...                              JIMMY LANG                    Don't move, Vick.          Vick freezes, duffel in hand, as Stu and Alan slink from          view. Jimmy reaches Vick, gun calmly trained at his head.                              JIMMY LANG (CONT'D)                    Now please. Give me my money.          All eyes on Vick, anxiously clutching the bag in his hand...          Sweat beads on his brow...                              JIMMY LANG (CONT'D)                    Don't be stupid, son. You--          Then Vick throws a hard left hook, SLAMMING Jimmy square in          his massive stomach! And          NOTHING HAPPENS          Jimmy is built like a tank. Vick freezes, oh shit. Then Jimmy          PISTOL-WHIPS Vick -- his lip explodes with blood and he falls          to the ground.                              VICK                    Christ that hurts!                                                                               94.                              Then Jimmy picks up the duffel bag. Hefts it. Feels wrong. He          goes to open the zipper when he hears:                               STU                     AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!          Jimmy looks up to see Stu insanely charging him like the          linebacker he once was! Jimmy raises his gun, but          STU TACKLES JIMMY TO THE GROUND FIRST!          The gun flies free and they wrestle for it! Dust flies!          BACK BY THE YUKON          The two Guamians fumble for their guns -- but it's difficult          with huge CASTS on their shooting hands!          ON BLACK DOUG          He sees what's going down, and, his hands tied behind his          back, takes off sprinting towards Vegas!          BY THE CADDILAC          Alan looks around, what should I do?! What should I do?! Then          he spots the keys in the ignition of the car. He hops in and          fires up the engine! Just then          THE TWO GUAMIANS OPEN FIRE          Bullets pound into the Cadillac! Alan ducks down, terrified,          and floors the gas!                               ALAN                     I'm being shot at! I'm being shot                     at!          UP AHEAD          Jimmy Lang throws Stu off of him and recovers his gun,          panting. He cocks it, aims it at Stu on the ground.                               JIMMY LANG                     I really didn't want to kill anyone                     TODAY--          Then WHAM! Alan drives the car into Jimmy Lang at 25mph!          The obese mobster is pitched off his feet, and lands a good          ten yards away, in a heap of dust!          The guys freeze, shocked.                                                                            95.                              The Guamians freeze, shocked.                              ALAN                    Oh my god, is he okay?!                              VICK                    Who cares! Go go!          Alan floors the car while Stu and Vick SPRINT and DIVE in!          The caddy peels the hell out of there, kicking up rocks and          dust! The Guamians FIRE after them!          BULLETS IMPACT ALL ALL OVER CAR          taking out the tail-lights, the windshield, the headrests.          The guys duck down til they're sufficiently far away. Then          they sit up, amazed, out of breath.                              STU                    I can't believe you just saved my                    life!                              VICK                    I can't believe you just drove my                    car into Jimmy Lang!          Alan drives, his eyes as big as saucers.                              STU                    He's gonna be really upset!                              ALAN                    Yeah, I was just thinking that!          BACK ON JIMMY LANG          The huge mobster lies face-down on the desert floor. His two          henchmen waddle up, highly concerned.                              KIKIOLANI                    Boss, Boss, you okay?!          Jimmy sputters into the dirt, furious.                              JIMMY LANG                    Find Vick... And kill him.          INT. VICK'S CAR -- DAWN          The guys race down the dusty highway in traumatized silence.                              ALAN                    Now can we call Tracy?                                                                            96.                              Vick frowns and blots his split lip with his sleeve.                              VICK                    Yeah. It's probably time.                                                            CUT TO:          EXT. MOJAVE DESERT -- LONE PAYPHONE -- DAWN          The guys pull up at a lone, dusty payphone in the middle of          the desert. They all look at the phone.                              ALAN                    Who wants to make the call?          Beat. Then Vick reaches for his nose, odd man out. Stu and          Alan immediately reach for their noses, too. It's close.                              STU                    That was you!                              ALAN                    What?! No! I beat you by a mile!                              STU                    Vick, who won?!                               VICK                        (FROWNING)                    Actually...I should do it. This                    weekend was mostly my fault. I need                    to Man Up.          Alan looks shocked -- and impressed -- by Vick's newfound          sense of responsibility.                              ALAN                    Well, I'll be damned...          Vick grabs the bottle of Patron, takes a long swig. Beat.                              VICK                    I still can't believe Stu banged my                    sister.          Vick hands the bottle to Alan, gets out, and makes for the          pay phone...                                                            CUT TO:          INT. BEL AIR BAY CLUB -- BRIDAL SUITE -- DAY          Tracy is putting on her makeup in the bridal suite. Her stern          dad blows in.                                                                               97.                                                  MR. TURNER                    Any word from Doug?          The way he spits out "Doug" tells us all we need to know          about how Mr. Turner feels about his future son-in-law.                              TRACY                    No, but I'm sure he's--          Just then, Tracy's CELL PHONE rings. She quickly answers it.                                TRACY (CONT'D)                    Hello?          INTERCUT WITH:          VICK          In the desert, on the pay phone, looking through his busted          aviators into the rising sun.                              VICK                    Tracy, it's Vick.                                TRACY                    Hey Vick!                              VICK                    Listen, honey...The bachelor party                    got a little out of control and,                    well...we lost Doug.                              TRACY                        (her jaw dropping)                    What?! But we're getting married in                    like four hours!                              VICK                    Yeah, that's not gonna happen...          BACK IN THE CAR          Alan starts to take a pull of Patron -- when he freezes,          realizing something!          BACK TO VICK          on the phone with Tracy, being genuinely contrite.                              VICK                    Look, I'm really sorry, Trace. This                    is all my fault--                                                                              98.                              Suddenly, Alan flies out of nowhere and snatches the receiver          out of Vick's hand!                              VICK (CONT'D)                    What the--?!          Alan gets on the phone with Tracy, his heart racing.                              ALAN                    Tracy, it's Alan! Hey, Vick is just                    joking around! We've got Doug right                    here!          Vick looks like: what?!                              TRACY                        (HORRIFIED)                    What kind of joke is that?!                              ALAN                    I know, Vick is such a prick! We'll                    see you at the wedding! Bye!          Alan hangs up and races back to the car. Vick follows.                              VICK                    What are you doing?                              ALAN                    I know where Doug is!                                                              CUT TO:          INT. BRIDAL SUITE -- DAY          Tracy stands in her bridal suite. Then she just BREAKS DOWN          SOBBING. Her father hurries over, concerned...                                                          CUT BACK TO:          EXT. MOJAVE DESERT -- DAY          Alan floors the car back onto the 15 towards Vegas, amped!                              ALAN                    Remember when we saw Doug's bed                    impaled on the griffin thing?!                              STU                    Yeah, we threw it out the window.                               ALAN                    No: the windows don't open,                    remember?!                                                                   99.                                                   VICK                    So how did--?                        (REALIZING)                    Oh my God.                              STU                    I don't get it.                              ALAN                    And that's why we've been seeing                    Doug's clothes all over Vegas! He                    was trying to signal someone!                              VICK                    I don't believe it...                              STU                    I-I still don't get it--                              ALAN                    And it totally jives with the                    timeline, right?! We brought Doug                    back to the hotel at 5:00, he was                    passed out...                              VICK                    It's so obvious!                              STU                    Not...to me...so much?                              VICK                    How'd you figure it out?!                              ALAN                    The Patron, man! It reminded me of                    our first drink of the night!                              VICK                    Honestly, dude, you're a genius.                              STU                    CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHERE                    DOUG IS?!                              VICK                    He's on the roof!          Stu looks confused, the roof?                                                                              100.                                                   ALAN                     After Doug passed out, we must've                     taken him up there in his bed as a                     prank, so he'd wake up on the roof                     or whatever? Then we forgot him.                               VICK                     And all day he's been throwing his                     crap off the roof, trying to signal                     someone to get him down!                               STU                     You think he's still up there?!                               ALAN                     Only one way to find out...                                                          SMASH CUT TO:          EXT. MANDALAY BAY -- DAY          The guys peel up to the valet and sprint out of the car.          INT. MANDALAY BAY -- LOBBY -- DAY          The guys race through the lobby at top speed.          EXT. MANDALAY BAY -- ROOFTOP -- DAY          The guys burst out of the steel door, onto the massive black          tar roof. It's empty.                               ALAN                     DOUG?! DOUG?!                               VICK                     WHERE ARE YOU, MAN?!          But Doug is nowhere to be seen. The guys start to despair...          Then...stepping out from behind an air-conditioning vent,          naked except for tighty-whities, his entire body bright pink          from sunburn...          IS DOUG!          And he looks furious. The guys run to him, overjoyed!                               ALAN                     DOUG!                               STU                     Oh my god, I'm so glad you're okay!                                                                             101.                              Before they can hug him, though, Doug holds up his hand, and          whispers, nasty, parched:                              DOUG                    Don't...even...talk to me.          The guys stop short.                              VICK                    Okay, no, that's cool!                              STU                    Yeah, you have every right to be                    upset! We validate your anger!                                                               CUT TO:          TITLE CARD: "SUNDAY, 7:05AM"          EXT. MANDALAY BAY/INT. VICK'S CAR -- MORNING          The guys gingerly rush Doug, now in a Mandalay Bay bathrobe          and clutching an arm-full of BOTTLED WATERS, through the          hotel lobby. Alan is arguing into his cellphone.          As they pass ATASHIR at his desk, Vick yells over:                              VICK                    Why'd you do it, sweet Atashir?!                    Why did you betray us?!                              ATASHIR                    Because they paid me. And also                    because you're kind of racist.                              VICK                    Fair enough! See you next time, you                    beautiful Judas!          They blow out of the hotel...          EXT. MANDALAY BAY -- VALET -- CONTINUOUS          ...where their beatup Caddy is waiting. Alan slams his          cellphone shut, frowning.                              ALAN                    No flights to LA with empty seats!                              STU                    Well, we can't drive! It's 350                    miles to LA and the wedding starts                    at 10, which is in--                              (MORE)                                                                              102.                                        STU (CONT'D)                        (looking at watch)                    --three hours!          Beat. Then Vick, Stu and Alan exchange a look...a smile          slowly creeps across their faces.                                                         SMASH CUT TO:          THE TOTALLED CADILLAC ROCKETING DOWN I-15          Vick is at the wheel, leaning on the HORN, keeping the three-          doored Caddy at 110 miles per hour. When traffic gets thick,          he doesn't hesitate to drive in the shoulder.          In the backseat, Doug chugs bottled water, still simmering.                              VICK                    Look, Doug, I think I speak for                    everyone in the car when I say I'm                    really sorry about locking you on                    the roof of the hotel.                              STU                    You gotta admit, it's a pretty                    funny prank... I mean, up until the                    part when we forgot all about you.          Doug just stares out at the desert in stony silence.                              STU (CONT'D)                    He's still not talking to us.                              ALAN                    Totally understandable, man.                    Whenever you're ready...                                                              CUT TO:          TITLE CARD: "SUNDAY, 9:15AM"          EXT. BEL AIR BAY CLUB -- DAY          Workers bustle about the grand lawn of the Bel Air Bay Club,          putting the last touches on the outdoor wedding site.          It's beautiful: the royal palms, the expansive views of the          Pacific, the white chairs in perfect rows, the altar adorned          in roses. A HARPIST begins to warm up as well-heeled GUESTS          filter in, finding their seats...                                                                              103.                              INT. BEL AIR BAY CLUB -- BRIDAL SUITE -- DAY          Tracy checks her watch as a HAIRSTYLIST works on her hair.          Then she checks her watch again...                                                              CUT TO:          TITLE CARD: "SUNDAY, 9:47AM"          EXT. INTERSTATE 10 -- DAY          A GARY'S TUXEDO VAN speeds up alongside the Caddy as they fly          down the 10 freeway. A very nervous TEENAGER opens the van's          sliding door and, wind whipping his face, throws a huge          PACKAGE over to Alan, who stands and catches it! Vick nods at          the van driver and shouts over the wind:                                VICK                      I OWE YOU, NEECO!          The driver gives Vick a thumbs up, and heads off. Alan rips          open the package -- inside are four TUXEDOS. The guys start          taking off their tattered clothes...                                                              CUT TO:          EXT. BEL AIR BAY CLUB -- DAY          All the seats at the wedding are filled. Everyone is there.          Except the Groomsmen. Or the Groom. The harpist still plays,          though she's starting to look a little pissed.          INT. BRIDAL SUITE -- DAY          Looking beautiful in her wedding gown, Tracy gazes out of the          window at the perfect wedding arranged below...          Then she notices guests whispering, is something wrong?          Where's the groom? She turns away, trying to hold it          together...                                                              CUT TO:          TITLE CARD: "SUNDAY, 10:03AM"          INT. VICK'S CAR/EXT. THE 10 FREEWAY -- DAY          The guys,   now in their tuxes, rocket down the freeway,          primping.   Alan brushes his teeth, Doug tries to comb his          hair, Stu   flosses, and Vick shaves with an electric razor as          he weaves   in and out of traffic...                                                              CUT TO:                                                                           104.                              TITLE CARD: "SUNDAY, 10:19AM"          INT. BRIDAL SUITE -- DAY          Tracy paces in the bridal suite. Then Mr. Turner enters.                              MR. TURNER                    I'm sorry, honey, but I think you                    need to seriously consider that                    Doug might not be coming...          Tracy stops short, speechless.                               MR. TURNER (CONT'D)                    Some men just aren't cut out for                    this kind of commitment. I'm so                    sorry that this is how you had to                    find out--          Just then, we hear a car SQUEALING UP outside...          INT. BEL AIR BAY CLUB          The Bridesmaids sit around the posh lobby, waiting, anxious.          Just then, the doors blow open and          VICK, ALAN, STU, AND DOUG          stride inside! Their tuxes are wrinkled, their hair is a          mess, and the groom is bright pink -- but they're here.                              VICK                    Sorry, Mapquest took us a crazy                    route. We ready to do this thing?          The bridesmaids sit up, stunned.                                                             CUT TO:          TRACY AND HER FATHER          walking down the aisle, arm-in-arm, as Mozart plays. Tracy          looks tentative. Her father frowns, not at all happy...          IN THE AUDIENCE          Everyone smiles, AHHS, and snaps photos...          AT THE ALTAR          The groomsmen smile as well. Vick whispers to Doug:                              VICK                    She looks beautiful, man.                                                                           105.                              Doug still doesn't speak to him.                              VICK (CONT'D)                    That's cool. I get it.          TRACY          reaches the altar, then turns to her dad. His face is a mess          of emotions. They hug.                              TRACY                    I love you, Daddy.                              MR. TURNER                    I love you too, pumpkin.          Tracy's Dad shoots Doug a nasty look before taking his seat          in the first row.          Then Tracy approaches Doug at the altar, and whispers to him,          angry, hurt:                              TRACY                    Where were you? And why are you                    pink?                              DOUG                    It's a long story. All I can say is                    I'm so sorry. And I promise, for as                    long as we're married, I will never                    ever put you through something like                    this again.                        (desperate, pleading)                    Can... Can you forgive me?          Tracy studies his face, searching...          All the guests wait with bated breath...          The groomsmen wince, come on come on come on...          Then, unable to be mad at Doug, Tracy smiles and kisses him.          He kisses her back. The guests all SIGH in relief. The          groomsmen exhale, whew. Vick and Alan covertly knock fists.          The Minister clears his throat.                              MINISTER                    We, um, we traditionally wait til                    the end for the kiss...?          But Doug and Tracy just keep on kissing...                                                 MATCH DISSOLVE TO:                                                                              106.                              DOUG AND TRACY STILL KISSING          at the reception. The entire wedding party is applauding.          CHAMPAGNE IS UNCORKED          and the WEDDING BAND kicks in. We are now down on the lawn,          where white tables and a dance floor have been set up.          STANDING IN THE BACK OF THE RECEPTION          Vick, Stu, and Alan aggressively APPLAUD and WHISTLE for the          bride and the groom.                              VICK                    We did it, fellahs. We pulled it                    off.                              ALAN                    I never had a doubt.          They LAUGH. Alan smiles, more relaxed than we've ever seen          him. They sip champagne and watch Doug and Tracy enjoy their          first dance on the dance floor.                              STU                    You think Doug's ever going to talk                    to us again?                              VICK                    Give him time.                              ALAN                    Yeah. Like a decade or two--          Then Stu sees someone approaching over Alan's shoulder.                              STU                    Uh-oh.          The guys all look over to see          BECKY          Alan's girlfriend of 14 years, bearing down on them, irate.                              VICK                    Hey Beck--!                              BECKY                    Shut up, Vick! Alan, where the hell                    have you been?! I've been calling                    and calling! What, you don't answer                    your phone anymore?!                                                                              107.                              Alan shrinks down, back to being the chastised boyfriend.                               ALAN                     I-I'm so sorry, I can explain--          Then there's a WOMAN'S VOICE behind them.                                 WOMAN'S VOICE                     Alan?          They all turn to see          CHASTITY          standing behind them in a very sexy, very elegant dress, her          hair back. She cleans up nicely. Alan swallows, whoa.                               VICK                     This just got complicated...                                 ALAN                     Jennifer?          Chastity smiles that he called her by her real name.                               CHASTITY                     I-I know I wasn't invited, but I                     just had to return this...          She hands Alan his GRANDMOTHER'S HOLOCAUST RING. Becky          watches on, stunned.                               BECKY                     Okay: who the hell is this chick,                     and why the hell does she have your                     Grandmother's wedding ring?!          Alan looks back and forth between Becky and Chastity...          It's the moment of truth. The fork in life's road...                               BECKY (CONT'D)                     Talk, you moron! Jesus, you're just                     like your mother! Talk! Who's the                     ho wearing my ring?!          And in that moment, it all becomes so clear. Alan turns:                               ALAN                     She's my wife.          Becky's jaw drops. Chastity smiles slightly. Stu and Vick          grin, oh shit!                                                                           108.                                                  ALAN (CONT'D)                    We don't make each other happy                    anymore, Beck. And we can keep not                    making each other happy for another                    14 years -- hell, maybe even                    another 50 years -- but let's not.                    Let's find people who make our                    hearts race. Let's be excited and                    fun and alive again...          Alan looks at Becky, sincere, honest. Beat.                              BECKY                    Are you fucking kidding me?          Alan shakes his head, sadly, no.                              ALAN                    I'm sorry, Beck. I really am.                        (to Chastity)                    Can I buy you a free drink?          Chastity smiles, takes his arm, and they walk off together          towards the bar.                              CHASTITY                    We're not...actually...still                    married, are we?                              ALAN                    Let's start with dinner, and see                    where it goes...?                              CHASTITY                        (smiling warmly)                    I'd like that.          BACK ON BECKY          She finally recovers enough to speak:                              BECKY                    Alan! Alan Steven Mervish, get back                    here this second!                        (but Alan keeps walking)                    Don't you walk away from me, you                    stupid little clown! I own you! GET                    BACK HERE IMMEDIATELY!          But Alan just keeps walking away with Chastity. Vick and Stu          wave him on, go dude! Go!          Then Becky turns on them. Beat. They both scatter, terrified.                                                                              109.                              STAY WITH STU          as he hurries off through the crowd. After a moment, he          HEARS:                              VOICE                    Daddy?!          Stu turns to see his TWO ANGELIC DAUGHTERS in sundresses          racing through the crowd towards him! They leap into his          arms, so excited to see him! He scoops them both up.                              STU                    Oh, I missed you guys so much!                              HAYLEE                    We missed you too, daddy!                              KAITLIN                    You're the best dad ever!          Beat.          And then Stu just starts BAWLING. Tears everywhere.          His lovely wife ERIN appears, harried, a diaper bag over her          shoulder, and sees him crying. She rolls her eyes.                              ERIN                    Jesus, are you still drunk?          Stu shakes his head, no, and keeps SOBBING as he pulls her          into a big family hug...          INT. BEL AIR BAY CLUB -- MEN'S BATHROOM -- LATER          Vick, a cocktail in hand, his tie undone, heads into the          men's room and approaches a urinal. Then KIKIOLANI and KALOLO          FANALUA walk in behind him, still in their huge arm casts,          still very pissed. Vick inhales, scared.                              VICK                    Okay, okay, I'll go with you.                    Just...don't ruin the wedding.          Then JIMMY LANG enters the bathroom on RED CRUTCHES.                              JIMMY LANG                    I really didn't want it to end like                    this, Vick.          Vick nods, resigned, and starts towards him. Then Jimmy          extends his hand for Vick to shake.                                                                             110.                                                     JIMMY LANG (CONT'D)                    Good luck.                              VICK                        (totally thrown)                    Um, what...?                              JIMMY LANG                    Your friend Alan just paid your                    marker. Took out a second mortgage                    on his house. The full 200 grand,                    plus medical expenses, which I                    thought was a classy touch.          Vick looks blown away.                              JIMMY LANG (CONT'D)                    Without our friends, we are                    nothing, Vick. Remember that.          The three injured mobsters exit. Vick remains standing there,          overwhelmed, his life literally saved...                                                          DISSOLVE TO:          VICK, STU, AND ALAN          standing on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific, drinks in          hand, as the wedding reception rages on behind them.                              VICK                    I will pay you back, you know.                              ALAN                    Damn straight you will!          They all LAUGH.                              VOICE BEHIND THEM                    Okay, so what the hell happened                    this weekend?          The guys turn to see Doug approaching, smiling. They grin as          he falls in with them, looking out at the calm blue ocean.                              VICK                    Well, Alan married a stripper, Stu                    went gay, and I learned a very                    important life lesson from an obese                    hoodlum.                              STU                    We'll tell you the whole story when                    you get back from your honeymoon.                                                                             111.                                                  ALAN                    We really are sorry, man.          Doug nods, I know. Vick raises his cocktail.                              VICK                    To Doug and Tracy.                              STU                    To Doug and Tracy.                              ALAN                    To Doug and Tracy.                              DOUG                    To me and Tracy -- and to being                    here, with my three former best                    friends in the world...          The guys LAUGH.                               DOUG (CONT'D)                    There's nowhere else I'd rather be                    right now.          They nod, heartfelt, hear-hear.                              DOUG (CONT'D)                    That said, let's not get too stupid                    tonight, okay? I'm going on my                    honeymoon in 24 hours...          The guys all nod reassuringly.                              THE GUYS                    No, no. / We'll be good. / Totally,                    dude.          The guys exchange a sly smile, CLINK glasses, then                                                         CUT TO BLACK.         THE END
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+HEAVENLY CREATURESScreenplay byFRANCES WALSH AND PETER JACKSONIllustrated byPAUL HAMLYNPROLOGUE:Newsreel footage of Christchurch circa 1954.EXT. VICTORIA PARK/BUSHY TRACK - LATE AFTERNOON CAMERA CRASHES out of bush and races up a dark bushy track.CLOSE ON . . . two pairs of feet running up the track, slipping in the mud . . . desperate.WIDE SHOT . . . reveals TWO GIRLS running up the track, distraught.JULIET HULME: nearly 16 - tall, blond and willowy,andPAULINE RIEPER: 16 - dark-haired, shorter and stockier than Juliet.It is 1954. Both girls are dressed in overcoats on a chilly winter day. They slip and stumble on the dirt track that winds up the steep Victoria Park hillside. Thick vegetation and overhanging trees give the path a tunnel-like feeling.CUT TO:EXT. OCEANLINER'S DECK - DAYBLACK & WHITE . . .Pauline and Juliet running . . . this time they are happy, in holiday clothing, weaving around OTHER PASSENGERS as they race along the deck of an oceanliner.INTERCUT BETWEEN:EXT. VICTORIA PARK/BUSHY TRACK - LATE AFTERNOON Pauline and Juliet desperately scrambling up the track.ANDEXT. OCEANLINER S DECK - DAYBLACK & WHITE . . .Pauline and Juliet happily bounding along the ships deck.They push past a group of PASSENGERS. Juliet waves and calls out.JULIETMummy!The PACE of the INTERCUTTING between TRACK and SHIP, COLOUR and BLACK & WHITE, increases in rhythm.Pauline and Juliet run up toward a MAN and WOMAN (HENRY and HILDA) on the deck.JULIETMummy!PAULINEMummy!CAMERA RUSHES toward Hilda and Henry (not seen clearly) as they turn to greet the two girls:CRASH CUT:EXT. VICTORIA PARK/TEAROOMS - DAYAGNES RITCHIE, proprietor of the tearooms at the top of Victoria Park, comes rushing down the steps toward CAMERA . . . her face alarmed.PAULINE(O.S.) (Panicked) It's Mummy!Pauline and Juliet rush into CLOSE-UP . . . panting heavily. For the first time we realise their clothes, and Pauline's face, are splattered with blood.PAULINE(Panicked) She's terribly hurt . . .JULIET(Hysterical) Somebody's got to help us!CUT TO:SUPERTITLES ON BLACK:During 1953 and 1954 Pauline Yvonne Parker kept diaries recording her friendship with Juliet Marion Hulme. This is their story. All diary entries are in Pauline's own words.INT. CHRISTCHURCH GIRLS' HIGH - FOYER - MORNING MUSIC: "Just a Closer Walk With Thee," sung by a HUNDRED SCHOOLGIRLS.The school crest "Sapienta et Veritas" embossed in the lino just inside the entrance.Lisle-stockinged schoolgirl legs carefully walk around the crest . . . TRACK along with the schoolgirl legs.CUT TO:EXT. SCHOOL BUILDING/CRANMER SQUARE - MORNING HYMN CONTINUES OVER:TRACKING . . . with a row of schoolgirl legs, marching in a crocodile line across Cranmer Square.CRANE UP . . . to reveal CHRISTCHURCH GIRLS' HIGH.SUPER: "Christchurch Girls' High, 1952"CREDITS BEGIN . . . GROUPS OF GIRLS, in heavy, pleated, over-the-knee school uniforms, wearing hats, gloves and blazers, flock through the school grounds.MISS STEWART, the headmistress, stands by the rear entrance, scanning girls' uniforms as they enter.EXT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/BACK GARDEN - MORNINGCLOSE ON . . . Pauline Rieper's legs as she tries to hitch up her baggy stockings. She hops over a fence and hurries toward the school, which backs onto the Riepers' garden.She carries a boy's-style school bag on her shoulder and walks with a slight limp.EXT. CHRISTCHURCH STREETS - MORNINGTRACKING . . . LOW ANGLE with the Hulme car coming toward CAMERA.INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR - MORNINGTRACKING . . . with Pauline's striding feet down a crowded school corridor. CRANE UP . . . as she walks toward CAMERA. In contrast to the other girls, she is introspective and gruffly acknowledges her classmates.CUT TOINT. SCHOOL ASSEMBLY HALL - MORNINGThe ornate wooden ceiling of the assembly hall. TILT DOWN . . . to a sea of schoolgirls singing the last verse of the hymn. Miss Stewart and the STAFF are standing on the stage, singing.LONG LENS into the crowd . . . Pauline is not participating in the hymn. Her eyes look about uninterestedly.ZOOM IN . . . on Miss Stewart glaring straight at CAMERA.Pauline mouths the last couple of words.The hymn finishes.MISS STEWARTSit!Everybody sits.EXT. CHRISTCHURCH GIRLS' HIGH/CRANMER SQUARE - MORNINGThe Hulmes' car pulls up outside the school.CREDITS ENDWIDE SHOT . . . Juliet Hulme gets out of the car, followed by her father, HENRY. They walk into the school.CUT TO INT.SCHOOL FRENCH CLASS - MORNINGClass 3A are in the midst of a French lesson. All the class have name cards hanging around their necks denoting their chosen "French name." MISS WALLER gestures at a screed of subjugated verbs scrawled on the blackboard.MISS WALLER The imperfect subjunctive, like the imperfect indicative, indicates action in the past. "II voulait qu'elle lui donnat de l'argent." Translate, somebody . . . quickly!A SCHOOLGIRL - LAURA - blurts out from the front of the class.LAURA "He wanted her to give him some money."MISS WALLER (Angry) Put your hand up! I will not have girls talking out of turn in my class!The door opens and Miss Stewart brings Juliet into the room.The presence of the headmistress causes the class to stand up.MISS STEWARTGood morning, gels.CLASS (In Unison) Good morning, Miss Stewart.The class sit.MISS STEWARTMiss Waller . . . class . . . this is Juliet Hulme. Juliet is joining us from St. Margaret's, and prior to that she spent some time at Queenswood in the Hawkes Bay.Juliet looks at Miss Stewart haughtily.JULIETI am actually from England, Miss Stewart.MISS STEWARTOf course . . . Juliet's father is Dr. Hulme, the Rector of the University.Miss Waller looks impressed. Pauline is quietly drawing horses at the back of the class.MISS STEWARTJuliet's travelled all over the world, and I'm sure she'll be very eager to share her impressions of exotic lands across the seas with the gels of 3A. I'll leave you to it, Miss Waller. Juliet.Miss Stewart leaves. Miss Waller smiles at Juliet.MISS WALLER You can sit over here, Juliet.Miss Waller gestures to a desk at the front. She gives Juliet a cardboard name card.MISS WALLER We use French names in this class. You can choose your own.Miss Waller returns to the blackboard and starts writing.MISS WALLER Now, irregular verbs in the present subjunctive. . . "qu'il vienne". . .JULIETExcuse me, Miss Waller . . . you've made a mistake.Miss Waller turns to Juliet-who now has the name "Antoinette" hanging around her neck.JULIET"Je doutais qu'il vienne" is in fact the spoken subjunctive.MISS WALLER It is customary to stand when addressing a teacher . . . "Antoinette."Juliet stands.JULIETYou should have written "vint."Miss Waller frowns, glances at the board, and hastily rubs out the offending word.MISS WALLER (Embarrassed mumble) Oh! I must have copied it incorrectly from my notes.Juliet stands again.JULIETYou don't have to apologise, Miss Waller. I found it frightfully difficult myself . . . until I got the hang of it.Miss Waller turns to Juliet, her face clouded with anger. The class looks terrified.MISS WALLER (Icily) Thank you, Juliet. Open your text-book to page 17.Pauline is smirking.CUT TO:INT. SCHOOL ART CLASS - DAYThe teacher, MRS. COLLINS, comes in, carrying a pile of paper and a box of paints. She starts to distribute them around the tables.MRS. COLLINS Right, I thought we'd do some life drawing today. Pair off into twos and decide who wants to model and who wants to draw.The girls around Juliet turn to each other, seemingly eager not to be partnered with her. They pair off and Juliet is left alone.MRS. COLLINS Oh, Juliet. . . you haven't got a partner.JULIETThat s all right, Mrs. Collins. I'm sure I can manage without one.Mrs. Collins scans the class.MRS. COLLINS Pauline . . . are you with anybody?Pauline shakes her head.MRS. COLLINS Good! You can come here and pair up with Juliet.Pauline reluctantly comes up to Juliet's table.SERIES of SHOTS showing VARIOUS GIRLS sketching their partners. Most of the posing girls are seated in contrived positions with rigid grins on their faces. Mrs. Collins patrols the class, commenting to different girls.MRS. COLLINS You might want to change the colour- make it a bit darker . . . that's very nice, Joan.PULL BACK. . . to reveal Pauline's "pose" . . . slumped in the chair, arms crossed, a sullen look on her face. She stares intently at Juliet, who is drawing furiously . . . but doesn't refer to Pauline at all.MRS. COLLINS Good heavens, Juliet! What on earth is this???Mrs. Collins picks up Juliet's drawing. It features an armoured knight on horseback, fighting a dragon.JULIETSt. George and the Dragon.Mrs. Collins studies the detail in the drawing.MRS. COLLINS Where's Pauline?JULIETOh, I haven't gotten around to drawing her yet. I was going to pop her on a rock, but I seem to have run out room.Juliet glances at Pauline.JULIETSorry! I don't know if you've noticed, Mrs. Collin but I've actually drawn St. George in the likeness of world's greatest tenor-Mario Lanza!MRS. COLLINS Yes, I know it's very clever, Juliet, but when I set you a topic, I expect you to follow it. Now put that down and start again!Mrs. Collins moves on. Juliet looks up at Pauline rather grumpily. Pauline leans forward, an intense look on face . . .PAULINE(Whispers) I think your drawing's fantastic!CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/KITCHEN - EVENINGCLOSE-UP . . . a newspaper is unwrapped, revealing couple of fresh fish.HONORA RIEPER is standing at her sink bench. She is 43 years old. Dark hair, going gray. A middle-aged woman with a kind face.Her husband, HERBERT, has just arrived home and is taking off his coat, looking at the mail, etc. He is nearly 60 . . . 15 years older than Honora.The Riepers' house is clean and tidy. They are a low middle-class family on a modest income.HONORA Oh! . . . Mackerel. We'll have them for lunch tomorrow.Herbert comes up behind Honora, gives her a peck on cheek and puts his hand on her bum.HERBERT Let's have 'em now, while they're fresh, eh, Nora?HONORA playfully shoves his hand away.HONORA I'll think you'll find our Mr. Bayliss is not keen on seafood. I've got lamb chops in the 'frigerator.HERBERT sighs as HONORA puts the frying pan on the stove.young student boarder, STEVE BAYLISS, appears in doorway, nervously clutching a record.STEVE Excuse me . . . would you mind if I put my long-playing record on?HERBERT You're partial to a nice bit of mackerel, aren't you, STEVE?STEVE  Well . . . actually, I'm not much of a fish man, Mr. Rieper.HONORA glances at his album.HONORA You have been splashing out!STEVE  Oh! . . . I've got my board money . . .STEVE  starts fishing in his pockets.At this moment . . . Pauline comes into the kitchen, through back door. She strides past Honora, HERBERT and STEVE .PAULINE(Brightly) Hello!HONORA Well? Tell us! How'd it go?Pauline disappears into the lounge.PAULINE(O.S.) (Calling) Got an A, Mum!HONORA glows with pride. STEVE is emptying his pockets on the bench. HONORA pats STEVE's hand.HONORA Don't worry about it now. We'll sort it out after dinner. You go put your record on.HERBERT Doris Day!STEVE  I think she's very talented!INT. RIEPERS'HOUSE/LOUNGE - EVENINGCLOSE-UP. . . gramophone needle drops onto a record.FAST PULL-BACK . . . from the speaker as the opening notes of "Be My Love" by Mario Lanza burst out. Records from the cabinet lie scattered on the floor. Pauline is clutching a Mario Lanza album.STEVE backs toward the hallway door, holding his Doris Day album forlornly.HERBERT chuckles at him through the kitchen doorway.HERBERT (Laughing) Ya gotta be quick in this house, mate!Pauline stares misty-eyed at the album cover. HERBERT calls out.HERBERT (O.S.) (Tongue in cheek) Hey! Isn't it that Irish singer . . . Murray O' Lanza?PAULINE(annoyed) He's Italian, Dad! The world's greatest tenor!Mario Lanza starts singing . . . HERBERT comes into the lounge, miming the song with a limp fish. He gesticulates a grand operatic fashion.PAULINEStop it! You're spoiling it! Go away!She pushes HERBERT out of the room, into the kitchen.CUT TO:EXT. SCHOOL GROUNDS - DAYIt is the Phys Ed period and the 31 other girls of 3A are lying on their backs in the quad doing leg stretches to tinny music. MRS. ZWARTZ, the teacher, is patrolling the rows of flexing bodies.MRS. ZWARTZ Left, right . . . Ieft, right . . . one and two and one and . . .Pauline and Juliet are sidelined on a bench. Pauline is writing in a textbook. She notices Juliet glancing at her leg. Juliet moves closer.JULIETCan I have another look?Pauline purses her lips and quickly pushes her left stocking down . . . She has a large ugly scar running up her left shin, from ankle to knee.JULIETThat's so impressive!Pauline does not look convinced.JULIET(Conspiratorial) I've got scars . . . they're on my lungs.Pauline looks surprised.JULIETI was in bed for months during the war, ravaged by respiratory illness.CUT TO:INSERT:INT. ENGLISH HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHTLittle 5-YEAR-OLD JULIET, alone in her hospital bed, coughing and looking miserable.JULIET(V.0.) Mummy and Daddy sent me to the Bahamas to recuperate. I didn't see them for five years-but we're together now and Mummy's promised they'll never leave me again.INSERT:INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHTPULL BACK from little 5-YEAR-OLD PAULINE. She is lying in bed with a younger HERBERT and HONORA standing over her, looking very concerned.PAULINE(V.0.) I spent ages in hospital, too . . . with my leg. I had to have all these operations.EXT. SCHOOL GROUNDS - DAYPAULINEOsteomyelitus turns your bones to chalk. It took them two years to drain all the muck out.Pauline looks despondently at her leg.JULIETCheer up! All the best people have bad chests and bone diseases! It's all frightfully romantic!CUT TO:EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAYPauline is furiously pedalling her bicycle along a country road.EXT. ILAM/DRIVEWAY - DAYLOW ANGLE . . . a tree-lined driveway.Pauline rides her bicycle up the drive. She pauses, wide-eyed.PAN TO . . . ILAM - a large stately house, set amongst beautiful gardens . . .Pauline puts her bike on its stand. She pulls the Mario Lanza album out of her bicycle bag.Pauline is about to approach the house when she glances across the garden, and is transfixed by an enchanting sight:Juliet on a sunlit bridge that spans the Ilam stream. She is wearing a shredded chiffon dress, with a Christmas tinsel crown and a necklace made from tinfoil. Sunlight filters through the trees, lending Juliet a magical quality. She's casting flowers onto the water. Pauline stands transfixed. Juliet sees her and smiles.JULIETHi, Paul!SUDDENLY! . . . an 8-year-old boy - JONATHON HULME - comes charging out of the bushes and lays into Juliet with a wooden sword. He is dressed in a "prince's" costume.JULIET0www!Jonathon runs away. Juliet gives chase, yelling to Pauline.JULIETThe evil Prince Runnymeade is escaping! Get him, Paul!Pauline joins in the chase after Jonathon, careening through garden and bushes.Juliet and Pauline lose sight of Jonathon. They pause in a clearing, catching their breath.JULIETThe blighter's gone to ground!JONATHON Yaaaa!Jonathon drops from a tree, onto Pauline, sending, her sprawling. He whacks her on the bottom with his wooden sword.JULIETGod! Jonty! Jonty-stop it! Go away! We're not playing anymore . . . go on, bugger off!Jonathon pokes his tongue at Juliet, turns and runs away.Juliet offers her hand and pulls Pauline up. She pauses, a look of shock on her face . . .The Mario Lanza record lies broken on the ground. Pauline looks distraught.JULIET0h, God . . . I'm so sorry!PAULINE(Upset) It doesn't matter.JULIETOf course it matters! It's Mario!I NT. ILAM/LOUNGE - DAYCLOSE ON . . . HENRY HULME - a 44-year-old bespectacled academic. He is sniffing, with a disdainful look on his face. He pulls a packet of mouldy sandwiches his jacket pocket.HENRY What on earth are these?HILDA HULME, elegant, 36 years old, is setting down a tray of tea on a small table.HILDA They're egg and salmon sandwiches . . . I gave them to you several days ago.HENRY I thought I could smell sulphur.HILDA God, Henry! You're hopeless! You can't be trusted with something as simple as lunch.JULIET(O.S.) Mother!Hilda looks up as Juliet bursts into the room from the garden, followed by Pauline. Hilda smiles at Pauline.HILDA Hello . . .JULIETJonty broke Paul's record!HILDA Oh, dear!JULIETWe must buy her another one!Juliet drops to the floor, hauling records out of the radiogram cabinet.Pauline looks around, taking in the sumptuousness of her surroundings: ornate fireplace, paintings, antique furniture.HILDA Would you like a cup of tea . . . Paul?PAULINENo, thank you.HILDA Well, Juliet's told us all about you. I hear you're fond of opera.Before Pauline can reply, Juliet fans Mario Lanza albums across the floor.JULIETWhich one shall we play?Pauline shrugs awkwardly. Henry looks up from his papers, rather annoyed at this intrusion. Pauline notices a row of beautifully sculpted Plasticine horses adorning the mantelpiece.Juliet puts a record on the turntable.HILDA Juliet . . . your father's trying to study.JULIETDaddy can study while we're playing records!HENRY Why don't you go back outside, mmm? I'll be finished soon.The record drops on the turntable. The arm swings across.Henry and Hilda glance at each other. Henry silently gathers up his papers and leaves the room.The needle drops and Mario Lanza's rendition of "The Donkey Serenade" booms into the room.SWIRLING CAMERA as Juliet takes Pauline's hand and whirls her around, leading her into . . .INT. ILAM HALLWAY - DAY. . . the hallway, laughing and singing. Pauline stares wide-eyed as the wood paneling, carved sideboard and curved staircase flash past her eyes.The Donkey Serenade continues over a MUSICAL SEQUENCE:EXT. SCHOOL PLAYGROUND - DAYCAMERA RUSHES around a netball court as the class run about in the middle of a game.FAST TRACK IN toward Pauline and Juliet sitting on the sidelines, reading. Juliet laughs as Pauline reads to her from a Biggles book.EXT. ILAM/GROUNDS - DAYPauline and Juliet cavorting around bushes and shrubs, arms outstretched, acting like dogfighting aeroplanes.INT. ILAM/DINING ROOM - NIGHTCAMERA MOVES around Hilda, Henry, Jonathon, Pauline and Juliet at the table, having an evening meal. They are all sipping soup. Silver glistens, crystal sparkles.Pauline watches Hilda out of the corner of her eye. She cocks her little finger in the same fashion as Hilda, and she spoons her soup up.INT. ILAM/JULIET'S BEDROOM - DAYPauline and Juliet kneading and shaping Plasticine with their fingers . . .PULL BACK to reveal sculpted horses, knights and dragons on the table top.EXT. ILAM GARDENS - DAYHenry is showing TWO DISTINGUISHED GUESTS (a MAN and WOMAN) around the Ilam gardens, when Pauline and Juliet come bursting out of the bushes and run between them, dressed in medieval clothing. They vanish into the bushes again.EXT. CINEMA/STREET - DAYPauline and Juliet rush out of the cinema in a state of high excitement . . .. . . FAST TRACK as they bound down the street, pirouetting and dancing as they pass bewildered PEDESTRIANS.CUT TO:EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAYFAST TRACK - CLOSE-UP . . . bicycle wheel spinning.Pauline and Juliet are pedalling their bicycles like mad down a narrow, tree-lined lane.The "Donkey Serenade" continues . . .They have a near-miss with an angrily tooting car.Pauline wobbles out of control! . . . She goes flying into a bush.The Donkey Serenade finishes abruptly in mid-verse.Pauline is lying on her back.Pauline's POV . . . looking straight up into treetops and blue sky. Juliet's face looms over, looking concerned.JULIET(Worried) Paul? Oh, God! Paul . . . are you all right?Pauline's eyes are shut. She speaks with great effort.PAULINE(Gasping) I think I'm dying . . .JULIET(Upset) Don't . . . please! Please, don't!Dying breath escapes from Pauline's mouth . . . she goes limp.Juliet shrieks!JULIET(Crying) Paul!!!Juliet collapses over Pauline's body, crying.Pauline's eyes flick open! She sniffs and pulls a face.PAULINEUrrrgh! You've been eating onions.Before Juliet has time to react, Pauline pushes her off, giggling maniacally. She leaps to her feet and attempts to run. Juliet grabs Pauline's cardigan, pulling her backwards.JULIETYou toad!Pauline sheds the cardigan and runs through the bushes, with Juliet in hot pursuit!RRRRIP! . . . Juliet tugs at Pauline's blouse and the buttons pop off. Pauline is laughing too hard to run anymore. She pulls off her skirt and waves it around her head as she dances around the bushes, singing "The Donkey Serenade."PAULINE(Singing) "There's a light in her eye, Though she may try to hide it, She cannot deny, There's a light in her eye."Now Juliet is cracking up at the sight of Pauline spinning around in her underwear, shoes and socks.Pauline circles around and around Juliet, singing. Juliet hurriedly starts undressing down to her underwear.Juliet giggles and starts jumping up and down.Pauline suddenly breaks into a run and races through the bushes. Juliet follows.Both girls are screaming and hooting loudly. Pauline and Juliet burst out of the bushes and . . .PAULINE& JULIET(Singing) "Her face is a dream, like an angel I saw . . .. . . into a field. They find themselves face to face with a FARMER, mending a fence.without missing a beat, they continue singing . . .PAULINE& JULIET(Singing) "But all that my darling can scream . . .". . . then break down into convulsive laughter. They turn and flee back into the bushes.ON THE SOUNDTRACK . . . Mario Lanza picks up "The Donkey Serenade" at the point that Pauline and Juliet stopped. The song builds to a rousing final chorus as . . .Pauline and Juliet collapse on the ground, rolling and tumbling in an embrace.As Mario sings the last exhilarating notes . . .CAMERA RISES UP VERTICALLY . . . up through the foliage . . . past the branches of a tree which abruptly BLOCK CAMERA.CUT TO:EXT. STREETS - NIGHTThe final "OLE!" from "The Donkey Serenade" resounds over a SHOT of Pauline cycling furiously through dark Christchurch streets.EXT. ILAM - NIGHTTRACKING . . . down the drive as the dark shape of the Ilam house looms ahead.EXT. ILAM/SHRINE - NIGHTA corner of the garden . . . Moonlight glistens off the slow-moving stream.Three candles illuminate a little shrine, nestled flower bed in a remote corner of the Ilam garden.Bricks have been stacked to form a miniature temple, decorated with flowers and tinsel.Pauline and Juliet are kneeling on the ground, clipping pictures from film magazines. Clipped-out photos lie scattered about.Pauline holds James Mason's photo.PAULINE(Enraptured) I wish James would do a religious picture . . . he'd be perfect as Jesus!JULIETDaddy says the Bible's a load of bunkum!Pauline reacts with a degree of shock.PAULINEBut, we're all going to Heaven!JULIETI'm not! I'm going to the Fourth World! It's like Heaven, only better because there aren't any Christians.Pauline giggles.JULIETIt's an absolute Paradise of music, art and enjoyment.Pauline is entranced. Juliet plucks up some photos.JULIETJames will be there . . . and Mario! Only they'll be saints.PAULINE(Giggling) Saint Mario!Juliet places Mario Lanza's photo in the shrine.JULIETTo be known as He!PAULINEHe . . .Juliet places James Mason's photo in the shrine.JULIETHim.PAULINEHim . . .Juliet picks up a photo of Mel Ferrer and places it in the shrine.JULIETThis.PAULINEThis . . .Juliet places Jussi Bjoerling's photo in the shrine.JULIETThat.PAULINEThat . . .Pauline places the last photo in the shrine . . . Orson Welles.PAULINEIt.Juliet screws her face up and throws the photo into the stream.JULIETAbsolutely not! Orson Welles! The most hideous man alive!Juliet dramatically sweeps her hand over the photos in the shrine and bows her head.JULIETWe give praise to . . . the saints!Candlelight flickers on Pauline s enraptured face.The crumpled photo of Orson Welles floats down the stream. With a sudden violent burst of sound, it is sucked into the weir.CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/LOUNGE - CHRISTMAS DAY, 1952CLOSE-UP . . . a Christmas present is torn open . . . followed by several more, in QUICK CUTS. Typical 1952 presents.A Christmas tree adorns the Riepers' lounge. Some simple streamers and ornaments decorate the room.SUPER: "Christmas, 1952"Honora, Herbert, WENDY and Pauline are sitting on the floor, amid presents and discarded wrapping paper, GRANDMA PARKER is sitting in a chair.Pauline unwraps her present . . . a diary. Her eyes light up. HERBERT leans over.HERBERT Hope it's all right. It's from Whitcomb and Tombs . . .Pauline opens the diary . . .CUT TO IN1: RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S BEDROOM - DAYCLOSE-UP of the Jan. 1st page. Pauline's pen starts to write . . .PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I decided that my New Year's resolution is to be more lenient with others.CUT TO:INT: RIEPERS' HOUSE/DINING ROOM - DAYThe table is laid with plates of sausage rolls and sandwiches. Pauline is laying napkins out. STEVE  Bayliss wanders in.STEVE  Pikelets! Yum!PAULINE(Appalled) Aren't you going out?STEVE  Not till two-thirty . . .He reaches for a pikelet-Pauline pushes him away from the table.PAULINEThis is a private function! Go away!STEVE  retreats, hurt and confused. HONORA brings in a plate of scones.The doorbell rings.HONORA Come on! Sausage rolls.HERBERT (O.S.) Come on through.HONORA and Pauline hurriedly work together, setting out plates and cutlery.HERBERT Look who I've found!HONORA whips off her pinny as HERBERT leads Juliet into the dining room.HONORA Hello, Juliet.JULIETHello, Mrs. Rieper . . . it's so nice to meet you.Juliet shakes hands with Honora.CUT TO:LATER IN THE LUNCH:Herbert, Honora, Pauline and Juliet are sitting at the table, in the middle of lunch.JULIETAnd so, in a blazing fury, Charles runs Lancelot Trelawney through with his sword . . . leaving Deborah free to accept Charles's proposal of marriage!HONORA and HERBERT exchange a glance. HONORA smiles at Juliet.HONORA I've heard your mother on 3YA. The Woman's Session has lots of lively debate.JULIETWell, actually, Mummy's left that programme now . . she's far too busy with The Marriage Guidance Council.HERBERT They sound like a queer mob!PAULINEDad!HONORA I wouldn't want my private business being discussed with a complete stranger!JULIETOh, no . . . Mummy's awfully good at it.INSERT SCENEINT. MARRIAGE GUIDANCE - DAYSEVERAL QUICK SHOTS . . . of Hilda chatting to UNHAPPY COUPLES as Juliet's V.O. continues . . .JULIET(V.O.) She has deep discussions with unhappy couples and persuades them to have another go at it. In two years, she's only had four divorces. She should really be working for the U.N.!WALTER PERRY is now sitting across the table from Hilda. He is ruggedly handsome, in his mid-40sWALTER My wife's blaming me . . . says it's all my fault.HILDA And how do you feel about that, Mr. Perry?WALTER Please . . . call me Bill. I don't know what went wrong. My wife feels . . .HILDA No . . . no . . . let's talk about your feelings . . . Bill.The air is crackling with subtext.JULIET(V.O.) Mummy has a special technique called "Deep Therapy."INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/DINING ROOM - DAY (CONT.)HERBERT What's that?JULIETI'm not sure . . . but it's proving to be very popular!HONORA and HERBERT exchange a glance.DING DONG! . . . doorbell rings. HONORA gets up.HONORA Eat up, Yvonne.She leaves the room. Juliet raises her eyebrows at Pauline, who looks embarrassed.PAULINE(Quietly) It's my middle name.HERBERT smiles at Juliet.HERBERT Yvonne tells us you're good at making models.JULIETI adore anything to do with the arts.HERBERT We're pretty handy with model making, too, eh?Pauline looks down, cheeks burning.HERBERT I've never cottoned on to Plasticine like you girls, but I enjoy making things out of wood.JULIETAre you a carpenter, Mr. Rieper? HERBERT shakes his head.HERBERT I work at Dennis Brothers Fish Supply.Muffled voices from the hallway.PAULINEHe's the manager!HONORA leads a young man-JOHN-into the dining room.HONORA (O.S.) This is the dining room . . .She smiles at Juliet.HONORA Do excuse us.She leads John into the hallway.HONORA (O.S.) Breakfast is between seven and nine . . . the bedroom's small, but it's very clean and comfortable.Pauline scowls.HERBERT This story of yours-maybe the school newspaper will print it when it's finished.JULIETActually, Mr. Rieper . . . it's a novel, and we'll be sending it to New York. That's where all the big publishing houses are based.HERBERT (Laughs) Is that a fact! You'd better put me name down for an advance copy!HERBERT chuckles. Pauline and Juliet look at each with knowing smiles.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) We have decided how sad it is for other people that they cannot appreciate our genius . . .CUT TO:EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAYTRACKING ALONG . . . past trees - with sunlight streaming through the branches.Pauline's V.O. continues . . .PAULINE(Diary V.O.) . . . but we hope the book will help them to do so a little, though no one could fully appreciate us.The Hulmes' car is driving along a narrow, winding road on the way to Port Levy.EXT. WHARF - DAYSUPER: "Port Levy, Easter 1953"Juliet, in her swimming costume, runs to the end of the jetty and teeters nervously on the edge. Pauline fearlessly barrels past her and jumps in.SERIES of BLACK & WHITE "HOLIDAY SNAPS":Girls splashing in the water; Jonathon with ice cream smeared over his face; Henry paddling with trousers and rolled up; Hilda on deck chair.EXT. PORT LEVY BEACH - DAYPauline and Juliet are in the middle of building an elaborate sand castle. Juliet is working on a tower.LOW ANGLE . . . TRACKING IN TOWARD the castle gateway.JULIETCharles clutches his wounded shoulder as he gallops into the courtyard.ANGLE . . . from inside tower as Pauline looks in through the window.PAULINEDeborah awaits his return in their private boudoir at the very top of the tower.TRACKING from sand castle courtyard, up steps into tower.JULIETHe smells her scent from 50 paces and urges his steed onward!CAMERA rushes into . . . tower bedroom . . . PANS from Pauline's to Juliet's face, peering in through windows.PAULINEHe flings open the door and launches himself at the bed, ravishing her!JULIETGod, yes!Juliet starts to giggle at a private thought.JULIET(Giggling) I bet she gets up the duff on their first night together!Pauline guffaws with delight. Jonathon is sitting nearby, digging a hole in the sand.JONATHON What's "up the duff"?JULIETSomething you wouldn't understand.Jonathon launches himself at Juliet, and they roll on the sand, grappling.JONATHON Tell me! I'm almost 10!JULIETYou're eight and a half and incredibly stupid!Pauline is laughing happily.EXT. COTTAGE - DAYHilda sits on a deck chair in front of the cottage, brushing Pauline's hair. Henry is seated at a table, writing a letter.Juliet is lying on a towel, making notes in an exercise book.JULIETMummy . . . Pauline and I have decided the Charles and Deborah are going to have a baby. An heir to the throne of Borovnia.HILDA What a splendid idea!JULIETWe're calling him Diello.HILDA That's a good, dramatic name!JULIETPaul thought it up.Pauline beams.HILDA Aren't you clever! There, all done.Pauline stands. Juliet touches Pauline's hair. Hilda laughs.Henry is rifling through his briefcase.HENRY Hilda! I can't find that letter from the High Commission. They want our passport numbers.JULIET(Surprised) Are you going abroad, Daddy?Hilda scowls at Henry.HILDA Your father's attending a university conference in England, darling.HENRY We'll only be away for a few weeks.Juliet looks at Hilda, a trace of panic across her face.JULIET(Worried) You're not going, are you, Mummy?Hilda hesitates.HILDA Well . . . I thought I might. It's a long time for your father and I to be apart.JULIETBut I should go, too!HILDA Darling, you've got school. You've only just settled in.JULIETBut- Hilda suddenly stands.HILDA Who's coming to the shops? I need some cigarettes.Jonathon barrels out of the cottage.JONATHON Me! I'm coming.HILDA (O.S.) Put on your shoes, Jonathon!CAMERA MOVES IN . . . to Juliet's distraught face.EXT. PORT LEVY HILLSIDE - EARLY EVENINGClouds swirling about the sky.A grassy hillside overlooking Port Levy bay. An island sits in the bay, bathed in the last rays of sunlight.Juliet is a tiny figure against the vast landscape. She runs blindly toward the edge of the hill.Pauline appears over the brow . . . the hillside is empty! She panics, running, calling out.PAULINE(Worried) Julie! Julie!Pauline finds Juliet curled up in a little ball. She is motionless. Pauline gently takes Juliet in her arms. Juliet is breathing heavily . . . she squeezes her eyes shut, concentrating hard-a look of desperation on her face.JULIETLook, Paul!Pauline looks about, but can see nothing but a scrubby hillside. She looks mystified.PAULINEWhat?JULIETIt's so beautiful!PAULINEWhat???Golden light streams on Pauline and Juliet. Pauline look up as the clouds above them open. Juliet stands as if in trance. She offers her hand to Pauline.JULIETCome with me.Juliet pulls Pauline up and hugs her as they walk forward. The barren landscape around Pauline and Juliet morphs into a beautiful garden . . . the Fourth World!EXT. FOURTH WORLD - DAYPauline and Juliet are amazed! . . . They stand, holding each other's hand tightly. The world around them take on a new form.The grass beneath their feet has become a well-kept lawn. They are surrounded by fountains and waterfalls. Unicorns graze on the hillside . . . gigantic butterflies hover in the air.Pauline and Juliet walk about in wonderment.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Today Juliet and I discovered the key to the Fourth World. We have had it in our possession for about six months, but we only realised it on the day of the Death of Christ. We saw a gateway through the clouds. Everything was full of peace and bliss. We then realised we had the key . . .CUT TO:INT. HULMES' CAR/COUNTRYSIDE - DAYAs Pauline's V.O. continues . . . CAMERA TRACKS IN SLOWLY, past Henry and Hilda, to a SHOT of Pauline and Juliet sitting quietly, staring ahead, blissfully.PAULINE(Diary V0.) We have an extra part of our brain which can appreciate the Fourth World. Only about 10 people have it. On two days every year we may use the key and look into that beautiful world which we have been lucky enough to be allowed to know of . . .EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAYWIDE SHOT . . . the Hulmes' car, a small speck at the BOTTOM OF FRAME, winding over the hills.Above . . . billowing cumulus clouds fill the sky.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) . . . on this Day of Finding the Key to the Way through the Clouds.CUT TO:INT. ILAM/JULIET'S BEDROOM - DAYCLOSE-UP . . .Juliet's face twisted with pain. She gasps as if in labour. Short, harsh panting. Pauline look panic-stricken.PAULINEPush! . . . Breathe! . . . It's coming! . . . Oh, God!PULL OUT . . . to reveal Juliet lying on her bed, in childbirth pose. Her pregnant stomach is pushing at the seams of her school dress.Juliet wails . . . Pauline pulls out a pillow from between Juliet's legs, her face a mixture of surprise and elation.PAULINEIt's a boy! Deborah . . . we've got a son and heir!Pauline hands Juliet the pillow. She cradles it in her arms.JULIETI shall call him Diello.PAULINEYou're such an incredible woman.JULIETI couldn't have done it without you, Charles.INT. SCHOOL/ENGLISH CLASS - DAY"THE ROLE OF THE ROYAL FAMILY TODAY" - written on the blackboard. Mrs. STEVE ns is presiding over Form 4A.Juliet is standing at the front of the class, reading from an essay.JULIET. . . the Empress Deborah has the difficulty fending off her husband, who tries his way with her morning, noon and night . . .The class titters . . . they clearly want to I STEVE ns s glare deters them.Pauline sits at the back, smirking.MRS. STEVE NS (Icy) Thank you, Juliet!JULIET. . . However, the Queen's biggest problem is her renegade child, Diello. He has proven to be an uncontrollable little brighter, who slaughters his nannies whenever the fancy takes him . . .MRS. STEVE NS That's enough, Juliet!Juliet stops and stands quietly. Mrs. STEVE ns rips the essay out of her hand and waves it under her nose.MRS. STEVE NS I suppose this is your idea of a joke?JULIETNo, Mrs. STEVE ns.MRS. STEVE NS I suppose you think it's witty and clever to mock the Royal Family . . . to poke fun a the Empire, with this . . . rubbish!Pauline leaps to her feet.PAULINEIt's not rubbish!MRS. STEVE NS Sit down, Pauline!JULIETI really don't understand why you are upset, Mrs. STEVE n. I merely wrote an essay on the Royal Family as requested.Pauline points at the blackboard.PAULINEIt doesn't say it has to be the Windsors!MRS. STEVE NS (Yelling) Sit down!Pauline sits down, looking victorious.MRS. STEVE NS (To Juliet) A girl like you should be setting an example! To your seat!Juliet starts coughing. Mrs. STEVE ns's face darkens.MRS. STEVE NS Stop it, Juliet!Juliet continues coughing. She sits heavily. Pauline snorts, trying not to laugh.Juliet slumps over her desk, coughing . . . globules of blood splatter her exercise book.Pauline's smile vanishes.CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/HALLWAY - NIGHTPauline is standing in the hallway, holding the phone to her ear. She slowly lowers it, her face shocked.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Mrs. Hulme told me they had found out today that Juliet has tuberculosis on one lung. Poor Julietta. I nearly fainted when I heard. I had a terrible job not to cry.CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S SLEEPOUT - MORNINGPauline is lying in her bed looking depressed. She writes her diary.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I spent a wretched night. It would be wonderful if I could get tuberculosis, too.HONORA comes in with a breakfast tray: bacon and eggs, tea and toast.HONORA Come on, sit up.PAULINEI'm not hungry.HONORA You've got to eat, Yvonne. You hardly touched our dinner. I'm not having you falling ill.PAULINEI just want to be on my own for a while.HONORA starts to cut up a slice of bacon and offers it to Pauline.HONORA You may have forgotten that you were once a very sick little girl, but I haven't!HONORA holds up a loaded fork. Pauline reluctantly takes it.PAULINEDo you think Juliet could stay here while her parents are away?HONORA Juliet's infectious . . . she'll be going to hospital.PAULINEBut she'll have no one to look after her!HONORA Her parents won't be going overseas now . . . they'll have to cancel their trip. Don't worry about Juliet.MATCH CUT TO:INT. CASHMERE SANATORIUM/JULIET'S ROOM - DAYThe back of Hilda's head rises through SHOT, revealing Juliet lying in a hospital bed, looking weak. Hilda has just kissed her on the forehead. Juliet is upset.HILDA It's not too late to cancel our travel arrangements . . . if that's what you want?Juliet tearfully shakes her head. Henry is standing at the foot of the bed, hands behind his back.HENRY I'm sure you'll like it here . . . it's very tranquil.HILDA I've spoken to the Matron, and she promises to take special care of you.HENRY And you can carry on with your studies while you convalesce.Hilda touches Juliet's hand, and leans forward . . . a concerned look on her face.HILDA It's for the good of your health, darling.Juliet looks at her mother, eyes filling with tears. Henry pats her feet.HENRY Cheer up, old thing . . . four months will fly by in no time.CUT TO:INT. SANATORIUM/CORRIDOR - DAYHenry and Hilda walk up the corridor past sick patients in wheelchairs.EXT. SANATORIUM - DAYJuliet's POV through the window . . . as her parents' car disappears down the road.INT. SANATORIUM/)ULIET'S ROOM - DAYJuliet watches them drive away, tears streaming down her face.HONORA (V.O.) Juliet won't be allowed visitors for at least a couple of months.INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/DINING ROOM - NIGHTPauline is unenthusiastically picking at her dinner.HONORA I've booked you in for a chest X-ray . . . just to be on the safe side.HONORA pops a couple more potatoes on Pauline's plate. HERBERT glances at Pauline.HERBERT Thought I'd have a go at building the birdhouse on Saturday . . . anyone want to give me a hand?Pauline remains silent.HONORA You used to love making things with Dad, Yvonne.MOVE IN . . . on Pauline, who has not been listening.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) This evening I had a brainwave: that Juliet and I should write to each other as Charles and Deborah.INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S SLEEPOUT - NIGHTPauline is lying on her bed, furiously writing a letter.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I wrote a six-page letter as Charles and a two-page letter as Paul.INT. SANATORIUM - DAYJuliet lies on her bed, writing to Pauline.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) She has entered into the spirit of the thing greatly!As we listen to Juliet's V.O., we see SCENES of TB hospital life . . . the meals brought around . . . the dayroom . . . the DOCTORS.JULIET(Letter V.O.) My dear Charles, I miss you and adore you in equal amounts and long for the day we will be reunited, but as I languish here, in this house of disease and decrepitude, my mind turns-with increasing frequency- to the problem of our son . . .INT. SANATORIUM/JULIET'S ROOM - DAYJuliet sits at a desk. sculpting and painting a Plasticine figure of Diello.As her V.O. continues . . . TRACK INTO a CLOSE-UP of Diello's fierce little face . . .JULIET(Letter V.O.) Although only 10, Diello has thus far killed 57 people and shows no desire to stop . . . it worries me, Charles.CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/KITCHEN, LOUNGE - DAYCLOSE-UP of Pauline's hand, writing a letter to Juliet.PAULINE(Letter V.O.) My dearest darling Deborah. Affairs of state continue to occupy my time.Pauline washes a pile of dishes in the kitchen.PAULINE(Letter V.O.) I have to report that the lower classes are terrifically dull.Pauline is sitting in the lounge, looking very boring during a game of Lexicon with Herbert, John and a ROSS. Pauline is waiting for her turn, unaware that John is studying her from across the table. Herword PUTRID spelled out.PAULINE(Letter V.O.) Only yesterday I was compelled to execute several peasants just to alleviate the boredom . . .CUT TO:INT. SCHOOL/ART CLASS - DAYPauline is hunched over a painting in the art class, daubing great strokes of red paint onto a violent medieval carnage.PAULINE(Letter V.O.) . . . Diello insisted on coming along . . . in fact, he made such a fuss that I had to let him yield the ax himself. Heads did roll! Not just the prisoners, but the royal guard, my valet and several unfortunate copped it as well . . .IMAGES of Pauline's painting: people being run through with swords, heads coming off, etc.CUT TO:INT. SANATORIUM/DAYROOM - DAYJuliet is sitting, writing in the sunny dayroom.JULIET(Letter V.O.) Oh, Charles . . . I am despair enough to put Diello in the hands of the Cardinal, in hope that a good dose of religion will set the young chap on the right path.REVEREND NORRIS Hello again . . .Juliet peers up at a DOG-COLLARED VICAR. She eyes him coldly.REVEREND NORRIS How are you getting along? It must be awfully hard being away from your school chums . . . I've got something here you might just like to have a look at.He hands Juliet a leaflet featuring a thin, withered figure in a great deal of pain. "JESUS LOVES YOU" is printed across the top.Juliet's face hardens.REVEREND NORRIS Unfortunately, modern medicine can only go so far in combatting an illness like TB. And that's why I'm here . . . because with the power of God, miracles can happen. The Lord has said that those who have faith will be saved! Reach out, Juliet! Reach out for Jesus!During Reverend Norris's speech . . . CAMERA closes in to BIG CLOSE-UP of Juliet's face. Reverend Norris's voice fades away. . .SUDDENLY!!!A silhouetted figure rises up behind Reverend Norris . . . a lumpy hand closes around his throat!REVEREND NORRIS Aaaaarghhh!!!Diello - the Plasticine figurine, now life-size - drags Reverend Norris off his feet and across the room.Reverend Norris kicks and struggles as Diello hauls him through the doorway onto . . .EXT. BOROVNIA CASTLE COURTYARD - DAY. . . a scaffold in the town square of Borovnia. A medieval fantasy kingdom. NICHOLAS watches from a street corner.Reverend Norris is grabbed by two BURLY PLASTICINE GUARDS. They hold him down, his neck on a chopping block. Diello grabs a huge ax, swings it up above his head, and brings it crashing down onto . . .REVEREND NORRIS'S NECK!!!CHOP TO:INT. SANATORIUM/CORRIDOR - DAYCRASH! . . . swing doors burst open. Pauline hurries into the hospital corridor. HONORA follows behind her. Within sight of the dayroom, Pauline breaks into a run, nearly bowling a NURSE over.HONORA Yvonne!INT. SANATORIUM/DAY ROOM - DAYPauline rushes over to Juliet, who is seated by a window, knitting. They hug tightly.JULIETI'm so happy to see you!HONORA hurries over.HONORA It's best not to get too close. Juliet's still not a hundred percent. Hello, Juliet! We've bought you some fruit.JULIETThank you so much!Juliet sits back in her chair. She holds Pauline's hand. HONORA admires Juliet's knitting-a red cardigan.HONORA That's coming along well!JULIET(Pleased) I'm the Matron's favourite patient and she's shown me her special stitch!PAULINEI love the colour!Juliet smiles at Pauline.JULIETIt's for you.Pauline squeezes Juliet's hand.INT.JULIET'S ROOM - DAYHONORA is looking at some mail on a small table. Pauline is sitting at Juliet's bedside.HONORA Goodness me! What a lot of letters. Are your parents enjoying their trip? Oh . . . there's a couple of unopened ones, dear.JULIET(Sarcastically) I'm saving them for a rainy day.HONORA gives her a sympathetic look.HONORA I know it's hard for you being in here, but it is for the good of your health.JULIET(Bitterly) They sent me off to the Bahamas "for the good of my health." They sent me to the Bay of bloody Islands "for the good of my health."HONORA looks startled at the outburst.JULIETI'm sorry, Mrs. Rieper. I'm feeling quite fatigued.HONORA We don't want to tire you out, dear.HONORA stands and picks up her handbag. Pauline stands and Juliet grabs her hand.JULIETCan't you stay a bit longer, Paul?Pauline looks at Honora.HONORA We've got a tram to catch, Yvonne.Pauline hugs Juliet and reluctantly takes her leave.CUTTO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S SLEEPOUT - EVENINGCLOSE-UP . . . Plasticine figure of Nicholas. John's hand comes into SHOT and picks the model up. Pauline looks on anxiously . . . the face of Nicholas bears more than a passing resemblance to John, but he doesn't seem to notice.JOHN This is quite something . . . you're damn clever.Pauline beams.JOHN So . . . Deborah is married to Charles, and this chap Nicholas . . . is her tennis instructor?PAULINEYes, but there's nothing between them. Deborah would never go for a commoner. Nicholas has got his eye on Gina, an amazingly beautiful gypsy.She gestures to a Plasticine GINA figure that is sitting or the shelf.JOHN Looks like you, Yvonne.Pauline beams.PAULINEJuliet made it!John smiles.JOHN This is really quite incredible. l bet you girls know the entire royal lineage for the last five centuries.PAULINEOh, yes! It's all worked out!John returns Nicholas to the shelf, placing him amidst whole family of beautifully sculpted Plasticine figures. Pauline self-consciously returns to her sculpting, aware that John is watching her keenly.EXT. SANATORIUM/GARDEN - DAYPauline is sitting cross-legged at the foot of Juliet's bed.PAULINE(Whispers) You'll never guess what's happened!!JULIETWhat??PAULINEJohn has fallen in love with me!JULIETThat idiot boarder?Pauline beams.JULIETHow do you know? Did he tell you?PAULINEWell . . . no. But it's so obvious.Pauline giggles. Juliet turns away.JULIET(Sullen) Is that why you haven't replied to my last letter?Pauline's smile disappears.PAULINENo, silly. I'm just teasing. He's only a stupid boy!CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S SLEEPOUT - NIGHTPauline is lying in bed asleep. Her door opens and John stands tentatively in the door way. He is wearing stripey pyjamas.JOHN (Loud whisper) Yvonne!Pauline sits up, groggily flicking on a bedside light.PAULINEWhaddya want?John puts his fingers to his lips to shush her.JOHN (Whispers) l can't sleep . . . can l borrow a book?PAULINE(Whispers) Shut the door.John tiptoes across to the bookshelf He pulls a book out . . . "Girls' Own Annual 1951."JOHN This looks interesting.Pauline gives him a dubious look from her bed.John stands shivering, flicking through the annual.JOHN These knitting patterns look damn complicated. Have you tried the tea cosy?Pauline shakes her head and looks on as John continues to thumb awkwardly through the book, his shivers increasing.He glances at Pauline nervously.JOHN It's damn cold, isn't it? Do you think I could hop into bed for a moment . . . just to warm up? My feet are like iceblocks.PAULINEYou should have worn your slippers.JOHN Come on, Yvonne, I'll catch me death!Pauline rolls to one side.PAULINEJust for a minute.John climbs into bed beside Pauline and pulls the blankets up around his chin.CUT TO:EXT. RIEPERS' HOUSE - NIGHTMidnight at 31 Gloucester St. All the lights are off.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) To think that so much could happen in so little time, caused by so few. A terrible tragedy has occurred . . .INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S SLEEPOUT - NIGHTPauline is lying in bed. The lights are off.PAULINE(Theatrical voice) "Now, gels . . . it isn't ooo, it's eee," and she goes . . . "eeeeee" as if someone is jabbing a pin into her! Silly old trout!PULL OUT during Pauline's V.O.... to reveal John lying in bed beside her. He cuddles up to her.JOHN I love you, Yvonne.Pauline continues, oblivious to his attentions.PAULINEAnd then in history, we've got this senile old bat, who goes . . . (Squawky voice) "And Charles the Second met Nell Gwynn aboard a boat and he was a prince and she was a pretty young thing and these thing do happen . . ." (Normal voice) God! It's no wonder I don't excel in history!JOHN Do you love me as much as I love you?PAULINE0f course, my darling Nicholas.John can't contain himself . . . he starts pressing himself against her body.JOHN (Panting) My . . . my name's John.Pauline lies on her back, not responding to his caresses.PAULINEI like Nicholas much better!John climbs on top of Pauline.JOHN You can call me anything you like . . .John fumbles around beneath the sheets.PAULINEWhat are you doing?JOHN Nothing . . .SUDDENLY!The outside light flicks on. Sound of footsteps stomping down the path.THE DOOR OPENS!PAULINEBloody hell!John desperately tries to conceal himself beneath the bedcovers as . . .The light flicks on . . . HERBERT stands in the doorway. He surveys the situation with a grim expression.John rolls out of bed and staggers toward the door fumbling with his pyjama cord.HERBERT Go to the house.John scuttles out of the sleepout. Pauline lies still in bed, peering at her father.HERBERT (Upset) You have broken my heart, Yvonne.HERBERT turns and leaves the room. Pauline stares at the ceiling.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I lay there mesmerised. It was just too frightful to believe . . .CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/DINING ROOM - MORNING BREAKFAST . . .A plate of Weetbix bangs down on the table in front of Pauline. Milk sloshes over the side of the bowl. HONORA looks thunderous and stomps off.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) When I got up I found Father had told Mother . . .CAMERA PULLS BACK to reveal STEVE , Ross, a new boarder, LAURIE, and HERBERT seated around the table. The boarders are clearly oblivious to the tense family vibes.LAURIE Coming to Lancaster Park on Saturday, Mr. Rieper?HERBERT shakes his head, sullenly.Wendy hurries into the room, grabs a piece of toast, pulling on a coat.WENDY Where's John? He said he'd walk with me.HONORA stands in the doorway.HONORA John's no longer staying here.Wendy looks surprised.LAURIE Shot through, this morning . . . said his old Mum had taken sick.INT. RIEPFRS' HOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNINGPauline is washing dishes, up to her elbows in soapy water. Behind her HONORA tidies up, glowering at her daughter.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I had a nasty foreboding feeling at first, but now I realise my crime was too frightful for an ordinary lecture.HONORA (Angry) From now on, you're sleeping in the house, where we can keep an eye on you.Pauline bangs a dish into the rack.HONORA (Angry) If you think for one minute that your father and I will tolerate this sort of behaviour, you've got another thing coming! You're only 14!!! You're a child! What on earth's the matter with you, Yvonne? You know what can happen with boys . . . Don't you have any self-respect?HONORA sighs.PAULINECan I go now?HONORA grabs Pauline by the shoulders.HONORA You think you're such a clever little madam! You had your father in tears last night!Pauline flinches.HONORA My God, what a disgrace you are! You shame me, you shame the family. You're nothing but a cheap little tart!PAULINEWell, I guess I take after you then!HONORA whirls around and slaps Pauline on the cheek.PAULINEYou ran off with Dad when you were only 17! Nana Parker told me!HONORA steps back.HONORA (Softly) You're going to be late.Pauline triumphantly walks past her mother. HONORA barely reacts as Pauline hurries out.CUT TO: EXT. RIEPERS' HOUSE - NIGHTMidnight at 31 Gloucester St. All lights are off.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I am terribly cut up. I miss Nicholas terrifically. Mother thinks I will have nothing more to do with him, but little she knows . . .The front door quietly opens and Pauline sneaks out.Pauline pedals her bicycle furiously along dark streets.EXT. BOARDING HOUSE - NIGHTPauline climbs up a fire escape.John comes out onto the balcony and hugs her.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Nicholas was pleased that I was so early.John and Pauline disappear into his room . . .WIDE SHOT of the house, as Pauline's V.O. continues . . .PAULINE(Diary V.O.) We sat around and talked for an hour and then went to bed. I declined the invitation at first, but he became very masterful and I had no option. I discovered that I had not lost my virginity on Thursday night. However, there is no doubt whatsoever that I have now . . .CRASH CUT TO:INT. BOARDING HOUSE/JOHN'S BEDROOM - NIGHTPauline is lying on the bed, with John thrusting away on top of her. John grunts and groans . . . Pauline remains unmoved and uninvolved.DISSOLVE TO:EXT. BOROVNIA - DAYThe noonday sun glows in the sky.Pauline opens her eyes . . . she is lying in a field of the most amazingly colourful flowers.She stands and looks around her with amazement. She smiles happily.On one side are fantasy cottages with crooked chimneys and thatched roofs . . . on the other tower the walls of Borovnia Castle.Music comes wafting out of the castle gates . . . Mario Lanza singing "Funiculi, Funicula."Pauline walks through the gates, beneath the portcullis, and into...EXT. BOROVNIA CASTLE COURTYARD - DAY. . . the courtyard. A fÈte is in progress. The courtyard is full of PLASTICINE PEOPLE, laughing and singing amidst stalls and sideshows.Pauline pushes her way through the crowd. A Plasticine finger taps her shoulder . . . she spins around and gasps!PAULINECharles!The PLASTICINE KING smiles.CHARLES (James Mason voice) Hello, Gina . . . great to see you here!He turns away. Pauline scans the crowd. She gets a fleeting glimpse of the back of a ROBED WOMAN.PAULINE(Calling) Deborah!Deborah does not hear, and Pauline desperately pushes between Plasticine people to try and reach her.A blur of Plasticine faces slide past . . .CRASH CUT TO:INT. BOARDING HOUSE/JOHN'S BEDROOMCLOSE-U P . . . John's sweaty face, still grunting furiously.CRASH CUT TO:EXT. BOROVNIA CASTLE COURTYARD - DAYPauline finds herself pulled into the arms of a fierce-looking PLASTICINE KNIGHT.PAULINE(Breathless) Diello!DIELLO (Orson Welles voice) Careful, Gina. . . we almost lost you!Diello suddenly steps back, draws his sword and expertly runs a passing PEASANT through.He sweeps his hat off and bows at Pauline.DIELLO (Orson Welles voice) For you, my lady!Pauline beams. Her eye is again caught by Deborah's Plasticine figure across the crowd . . . her back is still turned.PAULINEDeborah!Deborah slowly turns around . . . she has a human face-Juliet!Tears of joy trickle down Pauline's cheeks.Juliet is laughing and smiling, looking beautiful.Diello gently wipes Pauline's tears.DIELLO (Orson Welles voice) You're crying, Gina . . . don't be sad.Another Plasticine arm tugs at Pauline's shoulder . . . she turns and looks straight at the figure of . . .NICHOLAS!NICHOLAS (John s voice) Yvonne!QUICK CUTS . . .Nicholas's Plasticine face . . .John's face in the bedroom . . .Nicholas . . .John . . .Nicholas . . .CRASH CUT TO:INT. BOARDING HOUSE/JOHN'S ROOM - NIGHTCLOSE-UP . . . John's face looming over Pauline.JOHN Yvonne!Pauline is lying on the bed beneath him. She looks at him with glazed eyes.She pushes John away and sits up in bed.JOHN (Worried) I didn't hurt you, did I?Pauline jumps out of bed and starts to dress.PAULINEI've got to go home.John jumps out of bed and wraps his arms around her.JOHN I love you so much.MOVE IN . . . on Pauline's emotionless face.CUT TO:INT. SANATORIUM/CORRIDOR - DAYPauline is hurrying down the sanatorium corridor . . . she breaks into a run.INT. SANATORIUM/JULIET'S ROOM - DAYJuliet is sitting by her bed, fully clothed. Her suitcases are packed and lie on the bed.Pauline runs into the room. Juliet stands and they embrace hugging each other tightly.Henry enters the room and frowns at the sight of the girls hugging. Juliet reaches out for Henry and pulls him into the embrace. He looks decidedly ill at ease as Pauline's black hair nuzzles against his neck.EXT. STREETS - DAYTRACKING BACK . . . as the Hulmes' car drives toward CAMERA.Pauline's V.O. starts, reading her poem "The Ones That I Worship":PAULINE(Poem V.O.) There are living among two dutiful daughters.INT. HULMES' CAR - DAYPauline and Juliet are sitting together in the back seat.PAULINE(Poem V.O.) Of a man who possesses two beautiful daughters,Henry adjusts the rearview mirror and catches sight of their clasped hands.PAULINE(Poem V.O.) You cannot know nor yet try to guess,/The sweet soothingness of their caress,Henry's steely gaze in the rearview mirror.The poem continues over a visual montage:EXT. ILAM DRIVEWAY - DAYThe Hulmes' car pulls up outside Ilam.PAULINE(Poem V.O.) The outstanding genius of this pair is understood by few,/They are so rare. . .Hilda emerges out of the house. Juliet gives her a big hug.JULIETMummy!HILDA Darling! Welcome home!EXT. STREET - DAYPauline and Juliet sitting in a tram as it crawls along slowly.John is running alongside, waving and calling, trying to get Pauline's attention. He is clearly pleading with her, but to no avail.JOHN Yvonne! Stop! I still love you!PAULINE(Poem V.O.) Compared with these two, every man is a fool,/The world is most honoured that they should deign to rule,/And I worship the power of these lovely two,/ With that adoring love known to so few . . .Pauline looks knowingly at Juliet, then down to John, hurrying along the street.MATCH CUT TO:EXT. BOROVNIA CASTLE GATES - DAYThe Plasticine figure of Nicholas, hurrying down the passage toward the castle gates.In an alcove beside the gate, the Plasticine figure of Diello is lurking in the shadows, dagger in hand. Beside him is the rope winch that operates the portcullis.Footsteps approach . . .Diello presses himself back into the corner . . .Nicholas walks briskly. As he nears the portcullis, he espies something twinkling on the ground.LOW ANGLE . . . Nicholas stops, looks down. Directly above him are the jagged teeth of the portcullis.He reaches down . . . for a silver ring, set with a small pink stone. It is lying on the ground, as if dropped by somebody.SUDDENLY!Diello slashes the rope with his dagger. Before Nicholas can react, the portcullis crashes down on him. His Plasticine body is crushed.Nicholas's twitching fingers release the brooch. It falls to the ground and breaks. The pink stone pops out of its setting, rolls down the path and comes to rest by Pauline's and Juliet's feet.Juliet picks up the pink stone. She holds it up and it twinkles in the sunlight.PAULINE(Poem V.O.) 'Tis indeed a miracle, one must feel, That two such heavenly creatures are real,DISSOLVE TO:INT. ILAM/BATH ROOM - N IGHTCLOSE-UP . . . Pauline's face, staring intently ahead.PAULINE(Poem V.O.) Hatred burning bright in the brown eyes with enemies for fuel,CLOSE-UP . . . Juliet's face, staring intently ahead.PAULINE(Poem V.O.) Icy scorn glitters in the gray eyes, contemptuous and cruel, Why are men such fools they will not realise,PULL OUT . . . to show Pauline and Juliet lying in opposite ends of a hot, steaming bath, staring at each other.PAULINE(Poem V.O.) The wisdom that is hidden behind those strange eyes.INT. ILAM/)ULIET'S BEDROOM - NIGHTPOEM CONTINUES AS . . .Pauline and Juliet . . . sleeping in each other's arms in bed.PAULINE(Poem V.O.) And these wonderful people are you and I.FAST TRACK IN . . . to the bedroom door.Henry is silently observing the two sleeping girls, his face stoney.Sound of a distant thunderclap . . .CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS'HOUSE/HALLWAY - NIGHTHenry is standing on the Riepers' doorstep. Lightning flashes light up his face like something out of a gothic horror.HENRY Mrs. Rieper . . . may I come in?HONORA is standing, holding the door open, looking rather surprised at the unexpected visitor.HONORA (Surprised) Yes, of course.INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/LOUNGE - NIGHTHenry and HONORA are sitting in the lounge. Henry looking rather uncomfortable on the edge of a shabby armchair. HERBERT is at a drinks cabinet unscrewing the top off a bottle.HENRY Your daughter's . . . an imaginative and a spirited girl- HONORA If she's spending too much time at your house, you only need to say. All those nights she spends over-she's assured us that you don't mind . . .HENRY It's rather more complicated than that. Since Mrs. Hulme and I have returned home, Juliet has been behaving in a rather disturbed manner . . . surliness, short temper . . . general irritability-most uncharacteristic.HERBERT is pouring a drink.HERBERT Sure I can't tempt you to a nice sherry, Dr. Hulme?HENRY No, thank you. The thing is . . .HONORA Yvonne hasn't been herself, either. Locking herself away in her room . . . endlessly writing.HERBERT sits down next to Honora, glass of sherry in hand.HENRY My wife and I feel the friendship is . . . unhealthy.HERBERT No arguments there, Dr. Hulme! All that time inside working on those novels of theirs. They don't get fresh air or exercise!HONORA frowns at Henry.HONORA (Concerned) I'm not sure what you mean, Dr. Hulme.Henry pauses for a moment.HENRY Your daughter appears to have formed a rather . . . unwholesome attachment to Juliet.HONORA (Worried) What's she done???HENRY She hasn't done anything . . . it's the intensity of the friendship that concerns me. I think we should avert trouble before it starts.Henry hands a business card to Honora.HENRY Dr. Bennett is a very good friend. He's a general physician, but has some expertise in child psychology. If Pauline is indeed developing in a rather . . . er . . . wayward fashion, Dr. Bennett is the ideal man to set her back on track.CUT TO:INT. DR. BENNETT'S SURGERY - DAYPauline is slouched in a chair, looking very sullen.DR. BENNETT (O.S.) What about your studies . . . are you enjoying school?DR. BENNETT is seated behind his desk. Pauline is silent. She looks at the ceiling. HONORA is sitting next to Pauline.DR. BENNETT Are you happy at home? Pauline is silent.HONORA Answer Dr. Bennett, Yvonne.Pauline remains silent.HONORA (Annoyed) Yvonne!DR. BENNETT Mrs. Rieper . . . perhaps you wouldn't mind waiting outside.HONORA leaves the room.DR. BENNETT Do you like your mother?Pauline hesitates for a moment.PAULINENo.DR. BENNETT And why is that?PAULINEShe nags me.DR. BENNETT And that's why you like to stay with the Hulmes?Pauline looks wary. She doesn't answer.DR. BENNETT Or is it because you want to be with Juliet?No answer.DR. BENNETT Do you . . . like girls?PAULINENo.DR. BENNETT Why not?PAULINEThey're silly.DR. BENNETT But Juliet's not silly?PAULINE(Emphatic) No!DR. BENNETT Yvonne . . . there's nothing wrong with having a close friend, but sometimes things can get . . . too friendly. Such associations can lead to trouble. It isn't good to have just one friend . . . my wife and I have several friend and we enjoy seeing them on a regular basis, and it's all perfectly healthy. Perhaps you could think about spending time with . . . boys- Dr. Bennett stops in mid-sentence, a look of surprise face. He looks down at his chest . . .A red bloodstain is slowly spreading across his shirt. Dr. Bennett twitches slightly as the blade of a sword work its way out of his chest!Pauline's face lights up as . . .Diello rises up behind Dr. Bennett.DIELLO (Orson Welles voice) Bloody fool!CRASH CUT TO:INT. DR. BENNETT'S WAITING ROOM - DAYThe surgery door opens and Pauline steps out, looking elated.HONORA looks up from her chair.Dr. Bennett appears in the doorway behind Pauline. He casts a wary glance in her direction.DR. BENNETT Mrs. Rieper . . .HONORA bustles in, and Dr. Bennett closes the door. Pauline sits down, folds her arms and stares blankly at a COUPLE OF SICK PATIENTS.INT. DR. BENNETT'S SURGERY - DAYCLOSE-UP . . . Dr. Bennett's mouth.DR. BENNETT Homosexuality . . .HONORA looks horrified.DR. BENNETT I agree, Mrs. Rieper, it's not a pleasant word. But let us not panic unduly. This condition is often a passing phase with girls of Yvonne's age.HONORA But she's always been such a normal, happy child.DR. BENNETT It can strike at any time, and adolescent are particularly vulnerable.HONORA But what about the vomiting? She's lost a lot of weight . . .Dr. Bennett shrugs.DR. BENNETT Physically, I can find nothing wrong. I've checked for TB and she's clear. I can only attribute her weight loss to her mental disorder.HONORA (Shocked) Oh . . .DR. BENNETT Look, Mrs. Rieper . . . try not to worry too much. Yvonne's young and strong, and she's got a loving family behind her. Chances are she'll grow out of it. If not . . . well, medical science is progressing in leaps and bounds. There could be a breakthrough at any time!INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/HALLWAY - NIGHTSLOW TRACKING . . . down the hallway corridor. As the CAMERA passes doorways, we see the Riepers' family routine . . . HONORA in the kitchen. HERBERT wanders by and goes through the adjoining door into the lounge. He sits down and opens the paper. Wendy is attempting to t the fire. The family are chatting to each other, but we do not hear their conversation because . . .. . . we are listening to Pauline's V.O.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Mother woke me this morning and started lecturing me before I was properly awake, which I thought was somewhat unfair. She has brought up the worst possible threat now. She said that if my health did not prove I could never see the Hulmes again. The thought is too dreadful. Life would be unbearable without Deborah . . .CAMERA CRANES UP . . . through the ceiling and into . . .INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT. . . Pauline's bedroom. The room is filled with the sad strains of "E Lucevan le Stelle," an aria from Puccini's Tosca that is booming out from Pauline's portable record player.CAMERA CRANES UP past the foot of the bed to reveal Pauline lying on her back, looking very morose.TRACK IN TO her intense face as her V.O. continues . . .PAULINE(Diary V.O.) l wish I could die. This is not an idle or temporary impulse. I have decided over the last two or three weeks that it would be the best thing that could happen together, and the thought of death is not fearsome.CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/LOUNGE - CHRISTMAS DAY 1953CLOSE-UP . . . a Christmas present is torn open . . . followed by several more, in quick cuts. Typical 1953 presents.Honora, Herbert, Wendy and Pauline are sitting on the floor, amidst presents and discarded wrapping paper. Grandma Parker is sitting in a chair.HERBERT waves a pair of new socks around. The family laughing and talking. Pauline is not participating. She is leaning back, looking morose. HONORA looks at her with concern.HONORA (Concerned) Is it hurting, dear?Pauline looks blank.HONORA Your leg . . . have you got pain?Pauline shakes her head. She rips open a present . . . a new diary.INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTCLOSE-UP of the Jan. 1st page. Pauline's pen starts to write . . .PAULINE(Diary V.O.) My New Year's resolution is a far more selfish one than last year, so there is more probability of my keeping it. It is to make my motto: "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may be dead."Pauline looks up from her diary as the CAMERA RUSHES IN toward her face.I NT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR - MORNINGTRACKING with Pauline as she walks down the corridor past classmates, head down, shoulders hunched.EXT. CRANMER SQUARE/SCHOOL - DAYA PHOTOGRAPHER is peering through his camera in Cranmer Square.The 33 girls of 4A are posing for their class photo. They are giggling and joking. Pauline is perched in the top right corner and is sullen.PHOTOGRAPHER Ready . . . smile!Pauline bows her bead.CLICK!CUT TO:THE BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPH. PULL OUT from Pauline's bowed head to the full shot of the smiling class.CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S BEDROOM - DAYPauline strolls into her bedroom and drops her school bag down. She plucks out an opera record to play on her radiogram.HONORA walks in, waving a letter.HONORA This arrived today, Yvonne . . .Pauline looks at her mother with distaste.PAULINEMy name is Gina!HONORA It's a letter from the school . . . from Miss Stewart.PAULINEWhat does old Stew want?HONORA She says the standard of your work is slipping. At this rate she doesn't think you'll get School Certificate.PAULINEWho cares!HONORA I care . . . your father cares . . . we want you to have a good education.PAULINEI'm educating myself!HONORA You're failing English . . . you used to be top of the class- PAULINEI'm doing my own writing!HONORA snatches up an exercise book from a large pile.HONORA These stories are not going to get you School Certificate! You don't seriously think anyone's going to publish them?PAULINE(Scornful) What do you know? You wouldn't know the first thing about writing. You're the most ignorant person I've ever met!HONORA is very angry.HONORA You're rude . . . rude and insolent! I don't see why I should keep a horrid child like you at school a minute longer.PAULINE(Shouting) I don't wanna be in bloody school!HONORA (Shouting) All right! You go out there and get a job and you damn well pay your own way!HONORA storms out of the room and slams the door.INT. DIGBY'S TYPING SCHOOL - DAYOPEN ON . . . SIGN ON DOOR:Digby's Commercial CollegePauline sits amongst rows of young ladies, typing. MISS DIGBY patrols the aisles. Pauline looks bored and morose as she stabs dejectedly at the keys.INT. ILAM BATHROOM - NIGHTPauline and Juliet are lying in a steaming bath - facing each other from opposite ends. Pauline is very upset.PAULINEI think I'm going crazy.JULIETNo, you're not, Gina-it's everybody else who is bonkers!PAULINELet's go overseas . . .JULIETYou mean travel by ourselves?Pauline nods.JULIETWhere shall we go? Not the Bahamas; it's bloody awful!A few moments of silence as the girls contemplate.JULIET(Excited) Of course! It's so obvious!CUT TO:INT. ILAM/CORRIDOR - NIGHTHenry is walking down the corridor in his dressing gown, carrying a glass of milk.He pauses as he overhears giggles and splashes coming from the bathroom. He puts his ear to the door . . .JULIET(O.S.) I know . . . I'll lean back and put my hair on my shoulders-then I'll look just like Veronica Lake!Sound of a camera clicking.PAULINE(O.S.) Stay still or they'll be blurry . . .JULIET(O.S.) Hurry up! I'm freezing!PAULINE(O.S.) Just a couple more . . .JULIET(O.S.) I know, I'll lean forward and show more cleavage!Henry frowns. Sounds of a camera clicking.INT. ILAM/HILDA'S BEDROOM - NIGHTHilda is preparing for bed.Henry opens the door and enters.HENRY Those girls are up to something in the bathroom! I think they're taking photographs of each other!HILDA Just leave them alone, Henry.HENRY I'm prepared to tolerate that Rieper girl's presence but I will not stand for any . . . hanky-panky.HILDA I'm sure it's all perfectly innocent.INT. ILAM/LOUNGE - NIGHTTRACKING ALONG . . . a mantelpiece of knickknacks. Juliet's hand grabs three pieces.Pauline and Juliet hurry around the darkened lounge, lifting various bits of silver and china. They are dressed their nighties.PAULINE(Whispers) I'm sure they'll notice things missing.JULIET(Whispers) They'll blame the bloody housekeeper. She nicks stuff all the times!INT. ILAM/JULIET'S BEDROOM - NIGHTPauline and Juliet are lying in Juliet's bed, their booty spread around them.JULIETThis lot's got to be worth 50 quid!PAULINEI can try my father's safe. I'm sure I can get the keys to his office.JULIETThat's great! We'll have the fare in no time!RIEPERS' HOUSE - DAWNSunrise over 31 Gloucester St.INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/KITCHEN/DINING ROOM/LAUNDRY - MORNINGSERIES OF VERY QUICK SHOTS . . .Pauline doing housework: sweeping floors, ironing, hanging washing, folding, dusting, cleaning bath . . .PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I rose at 5:30 this morning and did housework before 8 o'clock, including taking Wendy her breakfast in bed. I feel very pleased with myself on the whole and also the future.Pauline spins around and stares straight into the CAMERA.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) We are so brilliantly clever.ILAM GROUNDS - DAYWHACK! A tennis ball is hit by a racquet.Hilda and Walter Perry are playing mixed doubles on the court laid out in the Ilam grounds, behind the house.SUPER: "Two Weeks Later"It's a sunny, festive afternoon. Picnic blankets are laid out around the tennis court. Tables of food and colourful awnings have been erected around the lawn.Henry is chatting to some friends beside the tennis courts.Thirty cars are filling the drive in front of the house. People are wandering around, admiring the gardens.Dr. Bennett and his wife, PEARL, are strolling along the edge of the river. SUDDENLY . . .SPLASH!!! . . . Dr. Bennett and Pearl are drenched in a shower of water as a large rock lands in the river beside them.CUT TO:Pauline and Juliet in the bushes across the river from the Bennetts. Juliet is peering through the foliage. Pauline has just clearly hurled the rock.JULIETDirect hit! Gave his trousers a good soaking! Everyone will think he's peed himself!They dissolve into giggles.CUT BACK:To the Bennetts . . . and some other GUESTS as they hear the sound of giggling and rustling leaves.CUT TO:Pauline and Juliet strolling through the thick undergrowth, eating bunches of grapes and drinking straight from a sherry decanter.JULIET(Mouth full) Bloody Bill's sniffing around Mummy something chronic.They pause by a tree, with a clear view across the river to Hilda and Walter playing tennis.PAULINEI thought he was supposed to be terribly ill.JULIET(Sarcastic) That was what we were led to believe . . .INSERT SCENE:INT. ILAM/DINING ROOM - NIGHTHenry, Hilda, Jonathon and Juliet are having an evening meal.HILDA Henry . . . I'm terribly worried about Bill Perry. He's just had a spell in hospital and has nowhere to convalesce.HENRY No?HILDA I've offered him the flat . . . he really shouldn't be left by himself . . . not in his condition.Juliet is eating, quietly watching her parents.JULIET(V.O.) I was looking forward to the ambulance arriving . . .CUT TO:EXT. ILAM DRIVEWAY - DAYAn ambulance is parked outside the house, light flashing.Walter Perry is lifted out on a stretcher, looking terribly ill . . . croaking and gasping.JULIET(V.O.) There's something desperately exciting about bodies on stretchers . . . (Regretfully) But it wasn't like that at all!CUT TO:SAME SCENE - BUT:No ambulance or stretchers . . . Walter hops out of a cab, looking fit and healthy. Hilda steps out of the house, followed by Juliet.HILDA Bill! I hope the trip didn't tire you.WALTER Not in the least! (To Juliet) Hello! (Looks at house) What a splendid place!INT. ILAM/WALTER'S FLAT - DAYHilda and Walter stroll into the flat.HILDA It used to be the servants' quarters, but it's very comfortable.WALTER Oh, corker!Hilda and Walter wander into another room . . . Henry struggles through the front door carrying Walter's cases.CUT TO: EXT. ILAM GROUNDS - DAY (SCENE CONTINUES)Pauline and Juliet are finishing their grapes as they watch Hilda and Walter on the tennis court.JULIETPoor Mother was completely taken in.PAULINEDo you think Bloody Bill's trying to get into her draws?JULIETToo right . . . but he doesn't have a show! Nobody gets into Mother's draws except Daddy!They watch as Henry scampers across the lawn after the tennis ball.PAULINE(Quietly) Poor Father . . .JULIET(Comforting) Don't worry, Gina! Mummy and Daddy love each other.CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' MOUSE/BATHROOM NIGHTPauline is lying in the bath, writing in her exercise bookShe turns the page and calls out.PAULINEJust washing my hair now, Laurie. Won't be a moment.INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/CORRIDOR NIGHTLaurie is seated outside the bathroom door. He is dressed in a bathrobe, and has a new change of clothes on his lap.HONORA is walking past with an armful of washing.HONORA Is she still in there?INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/BATHROOM NIGHTThere is knocking at the door . . .HONORA (O.S.) Pauline . . . Come on, you've had enough time.Pauline sighs.INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/CORRIDOR - NIGHTHONORA knocks harder.PAULINE(O.S.) (Facetious) Yes, yes, yes!HONORA (Angry) You open up this door right now!Sound of Pauline getting out of the bathwater.PAULINE(O.S.) (Angry) I'm bloody dressing as fast as I can, for God's sake!HONORA (Angry) Open this door!The door opens and Pauline strolls out, a towel around her. HONORA starts berating her. However, we only hear Pauline's V.O. as HONORA follows her down the corridor.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Mother gave me a fearful along the usual strain.Pauline pauses by her bedroom door as HONORA continues talking to her.CLOSE UP . . . HONORA talking to Pauline, soundlessly.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I rang Deborah immediately as I had to tell someone sympathetic how I loathed Mother.EXT. ILAM HOUSE - NIGHTIlam at night. All the lights are off.INT. ILAM/CORRIDOR NIGHTCREEPING POV . . . down the CORRIDOR.TILT UP to reveal . . . Juliet, listening intently to coming from behind a bedroom door.SUPER: "23rd April 1954"Juliet's hand reaches for the door handle.INT. ILAM/WALTER PERRY'S BEDROOM - NIGHTThe bedroom door flies open . . . Juliet quickly flicks on the light.ZIP PAN AROUND TO . . . Hilda and Walter sitting bolt upright in bed! A tray of tea sits on a bedside table.JULIETThe balloon has gone up!HILDA What on Earth are you talking about? Mr. Perry is ill . . . I've brought him a cup of tea.WALTER Would you like one, Juliet?JULIETDon't try and fob me off! It's going to cost you a hundred pounds, or I'm blabbing to Daddy!Hilda looks at Walter, appalled. She looks Juliet square in the eye.HILDA Mr. Perry and I are in love, Juliet.Juliet s eyes widen at this unexpected confession.WALTER Hilda!HILDA Your father knows about us. Until other arrangements can be made, we've decided to live as a threesome.Juliet looks confused. Tears spring to her eyes.JULIET(Angry) I don't care what you do! Pauline and I are going to Hollywood. They're desperately keen to sign us up. We're going to be film stars!HILDA What are you talking about?JULIET(Yelling) It's all arranged . . . we don't need your bloody hundred pounds anyway, so stick it up your bottom!Juliet turns and leaves, slamming the door.Hilda puts her head in her hands.CUT TO:EXT. STREET - MORNINGTRACKING BACK . . . Pauline is furiously cycling through rain and wind.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Deborah told me the stupendous news! I'm going out to Ilam as we have much to talk over.INT. ILAM/HALLWAY - MORNINGPauline pushes the front door open and steps inside. All is quiet in the house.Rain is pelting down outside.PAULINE(Calling out) Hello?No reply . . . Pauline goes up the stairs.INT. ILAM/JULIET'S BEDROOM - MORNINGPauline enters the bedroom . . . Juliet is lying in bed, looking pale and upset.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Deborah was still in bed when I arrived.Pauline rushes over to the bed. Juliet grabs her and hugs tightly.WHIZ PAN AROUND and FAST TRACK IN TO . . . Henry standing in the doorway.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Dr. Hulme asked us to come into the lounge to have a talk with him.INT. ILAM/HALLWAY - MORNINGJuliet is wrapped in a blanket. Pauline has an arm around her shoulders as they walk toward the lounge.Hilda walks past and Juliet glares hatefully at her.INT. ILAM/LOUNGE - MORNINGTRACK IN . . . to a CLOSE-UP of Henry, sitting in a big leather chair.HENRY Your mother and I are getting divorced.Juliet is in shock. She clutches Pauline's hand.MOVE IN . . . to CLOSE-UP of Pauline.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) The shock is too great to have penetrated my mind. It is so incredible. Poor Father. Dr. Hulme was absolutely kind and understanding . . .Pauline's V.O. continues over . . .A conversation between Henry and the two girls. The large lounge at Ilam is dark and cold. The mood is bleak.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) He said we must tell him everything about our going to America. He was both hope-giving and depressing. We talked for a long time and Deborah and I were near tears by the time it was over.INT. ILAM/HALLWAY - MORN I NGPauline's V.O. continues over . . .Henry ushers Pauline and Juliet out of the lounge. He walks Pauline toward the front door.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) What is to be the future now? We may all be going to Italy and dozens of other places, or not all. We none of us know where we are and a good deal depends on chance.EXT. ILAM/DRIVEWAY - MORNINGPauline's V.O. continues over . . .Pauline rides her bicycle down the drive in the rain.Dr. Hulme is standing at the door, watching her go . . . a stoney expression on his face.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Dr. Hulme is the noblest and most wonderful person I have ever known of.Henry shuts the door.INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTPauline's V.O. continues over . . .Pauline is lying in bed, writing in her diary.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) One thing Deborah and I are sticking to: through everything, we sink or swim together.INT. ILAM/JULIET'S BEDROOM - NIGHTJuliet is propped up in bed, looking sick and pale. Hilda is sitting by the side of the bed. Henry stands at the foot of the bed, hands behind his back.HENRY Your mother and I have talked things over and we've made some decisions . . . I am resigning from the university and will be taking up a position back in England.Juliet looks horrified.JULIET(Vehemently) But Daddy, you can't just leave me with Mother!Hilda looks hurt.HILDA We thought it best that you accompany your father. . .JULIET(Worried) Is Gina coming, too?HENRY (Annoyed) Of course not!JULIET(Angry) I'm not going to England without Gina!Hilda and Henry exchange an awkward glance.HILDA You're not going to England, darling.Juliet looks confused.HENRY I'm leaving you in South Africa with Auntie Ina.Juliet starts to tremble.HILDA That chest of yours isn't getting any better. The warmer climate is just what you need . . .HENRY For the good of your health.Juliet opens her mouth and screams.CRASH CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTPauline is crouched on her bed, hugging her knees. She stares intensely ahead.PAULINE(Intense) The Hulmes will look after me. They want me to live with them!HONORA Don't be so ridiculous. You're our daughter, you belong here with us.PAULINEI belong with Deborah! We're going to South Africa!HONORA You're not going anywhere. You're 15 years old!!PAULINE(Intense) You have to let me go!HONORA stands and walks toward the door.HONORA We'll talk about this when you've calmed down.HONORA pauses at the door. Pauline is slowly rocking on the bed, staring at the wall.CLOSE-UP . . . Pauline's face as we hear her diary V.O.:PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I felt thoroughly depressed and even quite seriously considered committing suicide. Life seems so much not worth the living, death such an easy way out.HONORA Love, you can still write to each other.HONORA softly touches Pauline's cheek. Pauline winces, averting her face.MOVE IN . . . to EXTREME CLOSE-UP of Pauline's eyes.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Anger against Mother boiled up inside me as it is she who is one of the main obstacle in my path. Suddenly a means of ridding myself of this obstacle occurred to me. If she were to die . . .CUT TO:INT. UNIVERSITY HALL - DAYCLOSE-UP . . . a cloth is whipped away revealing a portrait of Henry painted by Rudi Gopez.Henry is on stage for the unveiling. He shakes hands with PROFESSOR 2. Hilda is sitting amongst various dignitaries on the stage.PROFESSOR 1 is at the podium.PROFESSOR 1 I can not begin to attempt to measure the inestimable value of Dr. Hulme's contributions to Canterbury College, both social and official. We wish both him and Mrs. Hulme all the best for the future.On sound of large audience clapping:CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/HALLWAY - DAYCLOSE ON . . . black & white newspaper photo of large audience in the hall.PULL OUT . . . to reveal newspaper story entitled "Canterbury College Bids Farewell to Rector Today."PULL OUT FURTHER . . . as the CAMERA rises vertically above Pauline. She is slumped on the hall floor, holding the phone to her ear. The newspaper lies open beside her.JULIET(O.S.) (Through phone) Everything's going to be okay, Gina. Mr. Perry's promised to give me 50 pounds for my horse . . .INT. ILAM/HALLWAY - DAYJuliet is in the Ilam hallway, talking into the phone . . . Walter and Hilda are visible in the lounge beyond.JULIET(Hushed) That's a hundred and twenty! It's another 30 pounds and we've got the fare!INTERCUT WITH:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/HALLWAY - DAYPauline looks very upset.PAULINE(Upset) It's no bloody good . . . I went to the passport office today. They won't give me one till I'm 20.CUT between Pauline and Juliet . . .JULIETBut that's not true! I've got one.PAULINE(Choked up) I need my sodding parents' consent.Tears well in Juliet's eyes.JULIET(Sobbing) Don't cry, Gina . . . We're not going to be separated. They can't make us . . . they can't!Hilda quietly looms up behind Juliet. She gently takes the phone out of Juliet's hand and puts it back on the receiver. Juliet struggles in Hilda's arms, pushing her mother away, screaming.Pauline stands holding the dead phone.HONORA Yvonne.Pauline turns and faces her mother.HONORA Please don't be like this, love.Pauline gives HONORA a cursory glance and walks past her, up the stairs. HONORA looks after her, a hurt expression on her face.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I did not tell Deborah of my plans for removing Mother. I have made no decision yet as the last fate I wish to meet is one in a borstal. I am trying to think of some way.CUT TO:EXT. RIEPERS' BACK GARDEN - DAYTHWACK! . . . An ax chops into a log, splitting it in two.HERBERT is chopping firewood in the back garden. HONORA approaches him.HONORA I've just had Hilda Hulme on the phone.HERBERT What now?HONORA She says Juliet's in a terrible state . . .CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/LOUNGE - DAYHONORA and HERBERT are sitting with Hilda in the lounge.HILDA She's uncontrollable. I've told her that Pauline is not going to South Africa, but she refuses to accept it.HERBERT and HONORA exchange a glance.HILDA I expect you've heard the same from your own daughter.HONORA shakes her head.HONORA (Upset) Yvonne hasn't spoken to me for nearly two weeks.HILDA Yes . . . well, it hasn't been an easy time for any of us, Mrs. Rieper.HERBERT She's cut us out of her life . . . it's been causing her mother and I a lot of worry.HILDA What I'm suggesting is that we let the girls spend these last three weeks together. We'd like Pauline to come and stay with Juliet, until she leaves.HERBERT Is that a good idea?HERBERT looks at HONORA . . . tears are running down her cheeks. He stands and ushers Hilda toward the door.HERBERT Why don't I telephone you tonight, Mrs. Hulme?HILDA Yes, of course.HERBERT accompanies Hilda into the hallway.HONORA breaks down into heavy sobs.CUT TO:INT. ILAM/HALLWAY - DAYThe front door swings open. Pauline is standing on the step, framed by the doorway, suitcase in hand.SUPER: "11th June 1954"Mario Lanza's "The Loveliest Night of the Year" begins and continues over the next few scenes.Pauline walks into the empty hallway . . . SUDDENLY!Juliet sweeps down the stairs in a rush of sparkling light. She is dressed in her mother's glittering ballgown.Juliet takes Pauline's hand, and together they sweep into . . .INT. ILAM/LOUNGE - DAY . . .. . . the LOUNGE.Pauline's drab clothes transform into a ballgown as she passes through the doorway.The song soars as they waltz into the middle of the ballroom . . . Pauline spins . . . in a blur she sees decorations and faces all around.Pauline gasps as Diello takes her by the waist and waltzes around the room. Characters from Borovnia fill the room. Juliet dances with Charles.A man in a dark suit turns around . . . MARIO! He launches into the second verse!Pauline laughs happily as she is swept around and around.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) We realised why Deborah and I have such extraordinary telepathy and why people treat us and look at us the way they do. It is because we are MAD. We are both stark raving MAD!They are no longer in the lounge - at some point the waltz has dissolved into . . .EXT. BOROVNIA CASTLE COURTYARD - NIGHT. . . the courtyard in Borovnia Castle.The crowds continue dancing to "The Loveliest Night of the Year."A doorway in the courtyard . . . Henry Hulme is lurking in the shadows, peering out. He is dressed like a jester with cap and bells. The CAMERA PUSHES IN . . . to a distorted FISHEYE SHOT of Henry.Pauline's V.O. continues, building in intensity . . .PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Dr. Hulme is MAD, as MAD as a March hare!At the conclusion of the song . . . TWO BURLY BOROVNIAN EXECUTIONERS swing their axes down, chopping a couple of ropes. A huge banner unfurls down the side of the castle tower. In embroidered letters three stories tall is the word . . .MAD!INT. CINEMA - NIGHTBANG! . . . a gunshot! CLOSE ON . . . Pauline's face flinching at the sound, a flash of light.BANG! . . . CLOSE ON . . . Juliet flinching.Black & white image of Orson Welles shooting a pistol from The Third Man.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) It was the first time I had ever seen It. Deborah had always told me how hideous he was!Pauline and Juliet are sitting in the cinema, absorbed in the film.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) It is appalling. He is dreadful. I have never in my life seen anything in the same category of hideousness . . . but I adore him!CUT TO:EXT. CHRISTCHURCH STREETS - NIGHTPauline and Juliet run along dark, damp, atmospheric streets.Orson Welles steps out of the shadowy alley into the light. He leers at them. The girls scream! They turn to run, but Orson looms out of another alley.Pauline and Juliet squeal and run about. PASSERSBY observe their antics with some alarm.INT. ILAM/HALLWAY - NIGHTThe front door bursts open. Pauline and Juliet run in, still in a state of high excitement.They charge up the stairs.INT. ILAM/JULIET'S BEDROOM - NIGHTPauline and Juliet tumble into the bedroom, only to find Orson lurking behind the door! They scream and flee along the balcony only to be greeted by Orson at the other end! They run back into the bedroom and collapse onto the bed, screaming and giggling.PUSH IN . . . to Pauline's exalted face.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) We talked for some time about It, getting ourselves more and more excited.A huge shadow of a figure, dressed in hat and cape, rises on the bedroom wall behind the girls, threatening to engulf them.MUSIC SWELLS UP . . .Pauline comes down on top of Juliet, kissing her on the lips . . . Pauline's hands slipping Juliet's blouse off her shoulders.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) We enacted how each saint would make love in bed.Juliet heaves on the bed, Pauline leans over and . . . MORPHS into Orson Welles!CUT TO INT. BOROVNIA CASTLE - NIGHTDiello thrusts and grunts, as if making love. He steps back holding a bloody sword. A slain peasant drops at his feet.CLOSE-UP . . . Pauline moaning and thrashing.CLOSE-UP . . . Diello swinging from side to side as he hacks a peasant to pieces.INTERCUT WITH SHOTS of Pauline and Juliet intertwined with Orson and Diello. Pauline and Juliet sometimes change into their Plasticine counterparts, Deborah and Gina.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) We spent a hectic night going through the saints. It was wonderful! Heavenly! Beautiful! And ours! We felt satisfied indeed. We have now learned the peace of the thing called Bliss, the joy of the thing called Sin.INT. ILAM/BATHROOM - NIGHTBATHWATERPauline and Juliet are soaking in opposite ends of a steaming bathtub.A few moments silence. Juliet looks blankly at Pauline. A tear rolls down her cheek.PAULINEI'm coming with you.JULIETYes . . .PAULINEI know what to do about mother.Juliet's eyes narrow.PAULINEWe don't want to go to too much trouble . . . some sort of accident.A moment of silence.PAULINEPeople die every day.CLOSE ON . . . Juliet's face.Silence.SMASH CUT TO:EXT. ILAM/GROUNDS - DAYCLOSE ON . . . Pauline and Juliet clasping hands.PULL OUT . . . they are standing in the beautiful sunny gardens, holding hands. Both girls are dressed in pretty summer frocks.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) Our main idea for the day was to moider mother.REVERSE ANGLE . . . Pauline and Juliet walk toward the house. Unicorns are grazing in the Ilam garden. Fairies dance in the air. Large dragonflies hover around the girls.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) This notion is not a new one but this time it is a definite plan which we intend to carry out. We have worked it out carefully and are both thrilled by the idea. Naturally we feel a trifle nervous, but the pleasure of anticipation is great.EXT. ILAM GROUNDS - NIGHTCLOSE-UP . . . James Mason's photo lands in a roaring fire and is immediately consumed by the flames. Photos of Mel Ferrer, Michael Rennie and Orson Welles follow.Pauline and Juliet are standing by a roaring fire in the Ilam grounds. They throw Mario records onto the flames. The black vinyl curls and melts. Their Plasticine figures are next. Globs of melted Plasticine drip amidst the burning debris.It is clearly a strange, ritualistic burning. Pauline and Juliet watch the fire, enraptured.JULIETOnly the best people fight against all obstacles . . .Juliet squeezes Pauline's hand.JULIET. . . in pursuit of happiness.WIDE SHOT of the fire.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) We both spent last night having a simply wonderful time in every possible way.FADE TO BLACKINT. RIEPERS' CAR/EXT. STREETS - DAYFADE IN . . . CLOSE-UP of Pauline's face. SLOWLY PULL OUT . . . to reveal HONORA and HERBERT sitting in the front of the car. They are driving home.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I was picked up at 2:00 P.M. I have been very sweet and good. I have worked out a little more of our plan. Peculiarly enough I have no qualms of conscience.INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE - DAYHONORA is bustling about the house, working. Every time she bends down, or leans over, Pauline is revealed behind her. She is helping, but the mood is one of a hunter closing in on its prey.PAULINE(Diary V.O.) I rose late and helped Mother vigorously this morning. Deborah rang and we decided to use a rock in a stocking rather than a sandbag. We discussed the moider fully. I feel very keyed up as though I were planning a surprise party. Mother has fallen in with everything beautifully and the happy event is to take place tomorrow afternoon. So next time I write in this diary Mother will be dead. How odd-yet how pleasing.DISSOLVE TO:INT. ILAM/JULIET'S BALCONY - DAYJuliet is singing a haunting aria. Tears are welling in her eyes. The aria continues over . . .EXT. OCEANLINER'S DECK - DAY BLACK & WHITE . . .Pauline and Juliet are happily bounding along the decks, pushing past OTHER PASSENGERS. They are wearing holiday clothes.We see a repeat of the same OCEANLINER SHOTS that opened the film.They run toward a MAN and a WOMAN.JULIETMummy!PAULINEMummy!CAMERA MOVES toward . . . Henry and Hilda as they turn and happily greet the two girls. Hilda kisses Juliet, then Pauline on the cheek. Henry and Hilda hug the girls and stand together as a tight group.MOVE IN ON . . . Pauline, looking radiantly happy. Pauline hugs Hilda tightly. Tears well in her eyes. She gazes at Juliet. Slowly their faces come together in profile, filling the screen. They kiss.CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S BEDROOM - MORNINGPauline opens her eyes and sits up in bed.INT. ILAM/JULIET'S BEDROOM - MORNINGJuliet opens her eyes and sits up in bed.INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S BEDROOM - MORNINGCLOSE-UP . . . Pauline's bedside clock. . . 6:37 A.M.Pauline is sitting in bed, writing in her diary. CLOSE-UP . . . Pauline's pen writing:The . . . Day . . . of . . . the . . . Happy . . . Event.PAULINE(Diary V.O..) I am writing a little of this up on the morning before the death. I felt very excited and the night-before-Christmas-ish last night. I am about to rise.CUT TO:EXT. ILAM/GROUNDS - MORNINGLOW ANGLE . . . bricks, piled up beside the garage.Juliet takes one . . . weighs it in her hands, then takes a smaller half-brick.HENRY (O.S.) (Calling) Juliet!Juliet quickly wraps the brick in newspaper and puts it in her satchel.CUT TO:Henry standing by the car.HENRY Thought I'd lost you.Juliet hurries from behind the garage. Hilda appears at the front door. She makes eye contact with Juliet and turns away.Juliet hesitates and then rushes over to her mother.JULIETMummy!HILDA You've got roses in your cheeks . . . I haven't seen that in such a long time. Have a lovely time, darling.JULIETI will . . . I'm so looking forward to it!Juliet gives Hilda a hug. Hilda smiles at her daughter.HILDA Bye.Juliet beams, turns and skips toward the car. Henry arches an eyebrow and shrugs at Hilda. He starts the car up.CLOSE-UP . . . Henry's wristwatch . . . 10:33.EXT. STREET - MORNINGTRACKING with Henry's black car as it cruises along.INT. HULMES' CAR - MORNINGJuliet is sitting next to Henry . . . sunlight flickers on her face. She sits back smiling, eyes shut, looking radiantly happy.EXT. STREET - MORNINGThe black car glides to a halt outside some shops. Juliet hops out.JULIETBye, Daddy . . . see you tonight.CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNINGHONORA is mixing up some pikelet batter. Pauline is buttering bread . . . a great pile.HONORA Whoa . . . there s enough there to feed an army!The front door opens and Juliet comes into the kitchen.JULIETHello!HONORA Hello, Juliet. Juliet take off her jacket.HONORA Oh-what a nice outfit!JULIETThank you. I bought it especially, Mrs. Rieper.MOVE IN . . . to clock . . . 11:05.Juliet puts her bags on the table. Her satchel drops with a clunk. Pauline's eyes flick to the satchel, then up to Juliet.HONORA is bending down, pulling a tray of sausage rolls into the oven. Both girls look at HONORA silently.HONORA turns around and Juliet presents her with a brown paper bag.JULIETFruit.HONORA Oh! I'll pop them in a bowl.HONORA picks up the satchel. Pauline and Juliet tense up . . . as HONORA puts the satchel on a chair.PAULINELet's go upstairs, Deborah. I wrote the last 10 pages of my opera last night.JULIET(Vacantly) All right, then.Juliet follows Pauline out of the room. Pauline has to nip back and grab the satchel.INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/PAULINE'S BEDROOM - DAYCLOSE-UP . . . The newspaper is unwrapped to reveal the half-brick.Pauline is sitting on her bed looking at the brick.Juliet stands beside her. She tugs at her collar.JULIETDo you feel sweaty? I feel sweaty.Pauline opens a draw and pulls out a stocking.PAULINEIt's a three-act story with a tragic end.JULIETYour mother is a rather miserable woman . . . isn't she?PAULINEI thought for hours about whether Carmelita should accept Bernard's marriage proposal . . .JULIETI think she knows what's going to happen . . . she doesn't appear to bear us any grudge!Pauline puts the brick in the stocking and ties a knot in the foot.PAULINE. . . but in the end I decided against it. I thought it would spoil all their fun.Pauline puts the brick in her shoulder bag.JULIET(Bitterly) Affairs are much more exciting than marriages . . . as Mummy can testify!They both laugh.CUT TO:INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/DINING ROOM - DAYClock on wall . . . 12:16.Pauline and Juliet are laughing loudly.PULL OUT . . . across the table to reveal Honora, Herbert, Wendy, Pauline and Juliet in the middle of lunch.PAULINEIt's true! He was spotted in the lingerie department, eh, Wendy?WENDY There's nothing wrong with Sir Edmund Hillary buying underwear for his wife. He was a very nice man!JULIETI bet it was thermal underwear!Pauline roars with laughter.PAULINEI bet he pitches a tent in the middle of their bedroom, and they have to pretend to be on some mountain!HONORA That's enough, Yvonne!Juliet roars with laughter. The others don't laugh.HERBERT That man's a credit to the nation.Pauline and Juliet dissolve into giggles.HONORA Right . . . who's going to help me clear away?WENDY I will, Mum . . . anything to get away from Laurel and Hardy!INT. RIEPERS' HOUSE/KITCHEN - DAYPauline and Juliet are putting dishes away.HERBERT I'd better be getting back. Bye, love.HERBERT pulls his coat on. HONORA gives him a peck cheek.HONORA Bye.HERBERT Have a nice outing, you lot.PAULINEBye, Dad.JULIETGoodbye, Mr. Rieper.HERBERT wanders out. HONORA turns to Pauline and Juliet.HONORA Well . . . I better make myself a bit more presentable.CLOSE-UP . . . kitchen clock . . . 1:13.INT. BUS - DAYCLOSE-UP . . . clock on bus dashboard . . . 2:23.HONORA is sitting at the back with Pauline and Juliet bus winds its way toward the Cashmere Hills.EXT. BUS TERMINUS/VICTORIA PARK - DAYBus destination sign rushes up to CAMERA and stop . . . "Victoria Park."The doors open and Honora, Pauline and Juliet climb out. Pauline carries her shoulder bag.VICTORIA PARK . . . a very bushy, tree-clad hillside.JULIETIsn't it beautiful!PAULINELet's go for a walk down here . . . come on, Mummy!HONORA spots a tea kiosk.HONORA I'd like a cuppa tea first! Come on!HONORA heads toward the kiosk.Pauline hoists the bag back up on her shoulder.CUT TO:INT. TEA KIOSK - DAYTray of tea and scones covered in jam and cream.Pauline and Juliet are scoffing scones as HONORA drains her cup of tea. Pauline notices HONORA glancing at the last remaining scone.PAULINE(Gently) You have it.HONORA Oh, no. I'm watching my figure.JULIETBut you're not fat, Mrs. Rieper!HONORA I put on a lot of weight over Christmas.CLOSE-UP . . . clock on wall . . . 3:02.LOUD TICKING . . .Pauline pushes the plate to Honora.PAULINEGo on, Mum, treat yourself.Honora's will weakens. She picks up the scone and takes a big bite.CUT TO:EXT. VICTORIA PARK/BUSHY TRACK - DAYPuccini's "Humming Chorus" plays over:Honora, Pauline and Juliet walking down a narrow, bushy track.Pauline leads, with HONORA behind her. Juliet lags further behind.They walk over a small bridge. Pauline glances back at Juliet. Juliet hesitates and then drops something on the path.Several yards beyond the bridge, HONORA stops. She looks at her wristwatch . . . 3:17.The music ends.HONORA Yvonne, love, we should be going back . . . we don't want to miss the bus.HONORA turns around.HONORA Juliet . . . button up your coat, dear. You'll get a chill.Juliet slowly starts to button her overcoat, as she turns around and walks back toward the bridge.Pauline is walking right behind Honora. She slips the bag off her shoulder.They walk on.Pauline stops . . . points at the ground.PAULINELook, Mother!HONORA looks down at the ground in front of her.STEP-PRINTED SLOW MOTION SEQUENCE . . .MOVE I N . . . to a small pink stone lying on the ground.MOVE IN . . . to Honora's puzzled face.She starts to bend down.Juliet turns around.Pauline reaches into the shoulder bag.Honora's fingers reach the pink stone.Back of Honora's head.The brick emerges from the bag.Honora's hand picks up the pink stone.Pauline swings the brick down toward Honora's head.SOUND OF THE IMPACT . . . Honora's fingers release the pink stone.HONORA falls to her knees . . . raising a hand to her head . . . starts to turn . . .LOW ANGLE . . . Pauline, hesitating . . . the reality of her actions have flooded in. She looks distraught, then, with renewed resolve, she suddenly swings the brick down toward CAMERA.SOUND OF IMPACT.INTERCUT WITHEXT. WHARF/OCEANLINER - DAYBLACK & WHITE . . .SHIP'S FUNNEL BELLOWS. Streamers float from ship to shore. Crowds frantically waving on the wharf as the liner prepares for departure.Pauline pushes desperately through the THRONG OF PEOPLE on the wharf, trying to reach the ship.She stumbles . . .EXT. VICTORIA PARK/BUSHY TRACK - DAYHONORA falls to the ground . . . blood trickling down her face. She's panting heavily.Pauline swings the brick down again.EXT. WHARF/OCEANLINER - DAYBLACK & WHITE . . .SOUND OF IMPACT.Gangplank hauled up. Docking ropes thrown off.Pauline is frantic . . . she's going to miss the ship. She cries out . . .EXT. VICTORIA PARK/BUSHY TRACK - DAYPauline swings the brick down.SOUND OF IMPACT.Honora's fingers scratch at the stoney ground. Juliet's feet are walking toward CAMERA in b.g.TILT UP . . . Juliet looms over.HIGH ANGLE . . . HONORA looking up at Juliet, her face imploring.EXT. WHARF/OCEANLINER - DAYBLACK & WHITE . . .Juliet, looking very upset.PULL OUT . . . she is leaning over the rail on the liner's deck.Pauline on the wharf, unable to reach the ship. She reaches out forJuliet.Juliet reaches out . . .EXT. VICTORIA PARK/BUSHY TRACK - DAYJuliet's hand . . . takes hold of the stocking. . .Pauline's hands grab Honora's neck and push her down, into the mud.Juliet swings the brick down.EXT. WHARF/OCEANLINER - DAYBLACK & WHITE . . .Pauline . . . screaming hysterically.Juliet on the liner . . . tears streaming down her face.WIDE SHOT . . . liner steams away from the dock.CLOSE-UP . . . Pauline, sobbing on the wharf.CLOSE-UP . . . Juliet, tearful. She slowly raises her hand and waves goodbye to Pauline.JULIET(Whispers) I'm sorry.PULL OUT . . . Henry and Hilda are standing on either side of Juliet. They both put a comforting arm around their distraught daughter's shoulders.CLOSE-UP . . . Pauline looking devastated.SLOWLY PULL OUT from Pauline's face . . . she stands alone, sobbing.FADE TO BLACKPAULINE(V.O.) (Anguished) No!SONG FADES UP. . .Mario Lanza singing "You'll Never Walk Alone."A SERIES OF CARDS explains what happened subsequently:In the hours following Honora's murder, a police search of the Rieper house unearthed Pauline's dairies. This resulted in her immediate arrest for the murder her mother.Juliet was arrested and charged with murder the following day.After Pauline's arrest it was discovered that Honor, HERBERT Rieper had never married. Pauline was therefore charged under her mother's maiden name of Parker.In August 1954, a plea of insanity was rejected by the jury in the Christchurch Supreme Court trial and Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme were found guilty of murder.Too young for the death penalty, they were sent to separate prisons to be 'Detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure.'Juliet was released in November 1959 and immediately left New Zealand to join her mother overseas.Pauline was released two weeks later, but remain New Zealand on parole until 1965.It was a condition of their release that they never again.THE ENDHeavenly CreaturesRelease date: November 16, 1995Directed by Peter JacksonProduced by Jim BoothExecutive Producer: Hanno HuthCo-Producer: Peter JacksonA Miramax Films release of a Wingnut Films production co-produced with Fontana Film Productions GmbH in association with the New Zealand Film Commission.PRINCIPAL CASTPauline Parker: Melanie LynskeyJuliet Hulme: Kate WinsletHONORA Parker: Sarah PeirseHilda Hulme: Diana KentHenry Hulme: Clive MerrisonHERBERT Rieper: Simon O'ConnorPublished by permission of Wingnut Films.Copyright (c) 1993 by Wingnut Films. All rights reserved.Wingnut Films gratefully acknowledges the consent of and contributions made by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, Senator Films, Eurofilm & Media Limited, Miramax Films.Illustrations (c) 1995 Paul HamlynWriting and Directing Heavenly CreaturesA Talk with Frances Walsh and Peter JacksonPeter Jackson and Frances Walsh were both born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand. Jackson's first film, Bad Taste 1988), was made by the director over a period of several years while he was working as a photo apprentice at a local newspaper. Jackson's two following films, Meet the Feebles (1990) and Braindead (1992), were co-written with Walsh and Stephen Sinclair; the latter was a hit on the film festival circuit, winning 16 international prizes including a best picture award from theAcademy of Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror.Jackson and Walsh (who had previously written for episodic television in New Zealand) co-authored the screenplay for Heavenly Creatures, which went on to garner nominations for both an Academy Award and a Writers Guild Award. Their latest collaboration is The Frighteners, executive-producedby Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J. Fox; it will be released in 1996. Jackson and Walsh live in Wellington with their son, Billy.The version of Heavenly Creatures published here is a final draft, completed in March 1993. The screenplay was 107 pages long.Fran, my understanding is that you were the first to become interested in the Parker/Hulme murder case as a film subject. It seems to be a popular topic in New Zealand.Frances Walsh: Well, popular topic-I'm not sure about that. But it's certainly a piece of New Zealand criminal history that has entered into the realm of myth. And as a young girl growing up, I knew about it, and had read lurid newspaper accounts- "Lesbian killers' rampage"?FW: Yes, yes. And I also got my hands on a novel called Obsession, which I read when I was about 14. I thought at the time that it was extremely good. [laughs] It takes a very damning view of the girls-it's written by two English journalists who came out here to cover the trial. It was something of a hack job that set out to sensationalize the case.And there was also a play, wasn't there?FW: Yeah, there's been a play, and there have been nonfiction books written about it. There's also been a great deal of coverage over the years in newspapers and magazines, so it's always had a profile here.Since it had already been treated in all of these different ways, what compelled you both to explore the subject again?Peter Jackson: Well, we didn't really think it had been treated that well. Nothing that we had read did we particularly like. And also, the other various treatments all seemed to have a specific agenda, which attempted to make political statements about the murder. What interested us was to show these two 15-year-old girls with no other agenda than to be as accurate as we possibly could, and to somehow imagine what was going on inside their minds.I know that all of Pauline's voiceovers from the film are from actual diary entries. You made an interesting comment awhile back about how they actually informed the structure of the film. Could you elaborate on that?PJ: Well, the structure was fairly apparent once we started to do research. It wasn't just the diaries themselves, it was the general research. We read as much of the diaries as we could-we haven't actually ever seen the full, unedited diary-but we gathered as many of the excerpts that were releasedat the time of the trial as we could, which amounted to quite a few pages. And we read the newspapers, and interviewed people, and then the three acts sort of materialized quite neatly. You know, act one is when the two girls meet and become friends, and the turning point is at the end of the first act when you realize that they are now bonded.FW: It's when they have their first delusional experience together at Port Levy, where they go into the Fourth World. You know these two girls have an imagination that's going to lead to something interesting happening. The second turning point comes with the decision to murder Mother, which tipsthe story into the third act.Whom did you interview to cull together all of this information?PJ: Well, we went through about 35 or 40 people. We wanted to interview as many people as we could find. Several refused. We talk to about 15 or 16 of their classmates, which was experience. These were 55-year-old women spread out around the country, and they all had changed their names because they'd gotten married. It was quite a detective job to find them.I read somewhere that the school was not particularly enthusiastic about this; did they help you locate the ex-students?PJ: No, the school didn't want anything to do with it. Christchurch Girls' School had erased these two girls from their history. The yearbook that had the class photograph with Pauline is no longer available. If you go to the school library, they have all the yearbooks available apart from 1953's, which has her photo in it. It sort of cleansing of the books. The school didn't recognize what it was we were trying to do, which was to redress the issue. Why wipe these girls off the school records? I mean, they were human beings.FW: Peter and Jim Booth, the producer of the movie, went to see the headmistress of the school, and after they explained what we wanted to do, and allowed her to read the script, her only comment was, "Why can't you make a film about pupils of whom we are proud?"PJ: We also heard from several sources we interviewed that on the day after the murder happened, the headmistress at the time stood up in front of the assembly and said, "No girl is to discuss a certain matter." This was, like, the day after two of their pupils had murdered somebody, and they couldn't even refer to it directly. Forty years later, we got the sense that the school was exactly the same. And that really gave us all the more reason to make the movie, because we felt that these people were stillliving in the 1950s. We found that with a lot of the people we interviewed-that even though 40 years had gone by, they were still presenting attitudes of the '50s: this was some dark, sordid little thingthat was best kept quiet and should never be mentioned. Many times we got, "Why on earth would you want to make a film about this?" We should just forget about it, and hope it will somehow disappear."And we actually thought about doing that. But within 20 or 30 years most of the people connected with it will be dead, and at that point in time we'll never know anything about it. We felt it was a good time now, while there were still quite a few people alive, to do the interviews and try to get something accurate, for the record. We were also aware of the responsibility we had, because film is such a persuasive medium, and we knew that, unlike any other medium-the newspaper accounts, the play-itcan give an audience visual images, which, in a way, almost replace the real event, especially if you weren't born at that time. So we thought if we made a film now, perhaps people in New Zealand would look upon this case in a different way. That was a responsibility we felt that we didn't want to take lightly.Pertaining to that quest for accuracy, how does one go about reconstructing, for instance, conversations between Pauline and her mother, or other scenes for which there is no direct documentation?FW: Well, all you can do is attempt to find out as much as you can about the people involve-the type of people they were, their class background, etc. So to that degree, we spoke to people who knew the Riepers, for example, who had good knowledge of the girls.Did you interview any of the boarders in the Rieper house?PJ: Yeah, I did, very briefly. We found one of the boarders, who spoke to me on the telephone. I did the interview, and then the following day I called him back to ask him some more questions and he clammed up; he didn't want to talk to me anymore. He'd obviously gone home to his wife, and she'dwound him up about the whole thing and told him he shouldn't be involved with it.FW: I think our understanding when we set out to write this was that we would never be able to re-create the right interiors, with characters who precisely reflect the people who were really there. Our intention was to be true to what we understood of the girls' friendship, and the nature of thatfriendship and the nature of those families from which those two girls came. It was never an attempt to re-create reality. We could never do that, obviously. So we went into those things with the spirit of trying to reflect the situation, rather than reality.PJ: The Hulme family were a lot easier to research than Pauline's family, because the Hulmes were public figures at the time. Henry Hulme being the rector of the local university, there were obviously a lot of university people we could talk to professors, students-who worked with him. Hilda Hulme was also quite a public figure. They were, in some respects, the royalty of Christchurch, because the English class system was and still does exist down there, and they all take these things quite seriously.There used to be garden and tennis parties at Ilam, and there were a lot of people who had social contact with the parents and Juliet at the time.The research actually carried on through the shooting of the film. I remember when we were in England, auditioning actresses for the part of Juliet before we found Kate Winslet, and we found out that [the late] Anthony Quayle, the English actor, had actually visited the Hulmes in Christchurch in the '50s, so we tracked down his wife and spoke with her. The research just kept on going all the time. We had trips to Christchurch to do our research, but once we started working on the film, we moved therefor nearly five months, so it was an ideal opportunity to find others. We'd hear things about this person who had sat next to Pauline in typing class, and we'd rush around to see them.I'm sure the production got a certain amount of notice in the local media, so people probably approached you.PJ: To an extent, but not as much as what we had hoped. Pauline's people were actually quite difficult to research, because they just weren't public; they were quite private people.FW: We have heard, subsequently, that Pauline's sister, Wendy, has seen the film. She still lives in Christchurch. Her con meets were that the film managed to capture the atmosphere of her home at that time, but her criticism was that the family was "better" than that, we had portrayed them in too shabby a light. And that really touched me.PJ: She thought that the portrayal of the tension between Pauline and her mother was very accurate. It was nice, because Wendy is one of the few key people alive who refuses to talk about it. She absolutely refuses to have anything to do with journalists, with anyone, so it was actually very sweet of her to get the message back to us. It was quite amazing to us that she had even gone to see this film. She thought it was good, but incredibly difficult to watch.In gathering all of this material, I'm sure there were certain things that didn't "fit" dramatically. Was there anything you were tempted to use but didn't, because it was either too sensationalistic or too ethically questionable?PJ: There was one area we deliberately steered clear of that we felt ultimately didn't have a relation to what we were wanting to tell, and that was that in the Rieper household there was actually a younger sister, named Rosemary, who had Down's syndrome, who is still alive; Wendy still looks after her. At the time of the murder, Rosemary was only 8 years old. This made Honora's life all the more difficult: the daughter lived in a special home, and would come home on the weekends. Pauline writes about Rosemary a lot in her diaries; she was very fond of her. But it was one area where we felt that we were being too invasive into the privacy of this family.As you say, there was quite a bit of stuff we had to leave out for structural reasons. Pauline's diaries are very, very funny. We ended up using a lot of the more dramatic material in the movie, in the scenes in which she's talking about murder and suicide, but unfortunately we had to leave a lot of the funny things out. She records hilarious conversations that she and Juliet had, and it's all very witty.Sometimes we used diary entries and just dramatized them, as opposed to using a voiceover. Like the sequence where they go into the Fourth World, where the hilltop changes into a magical landscape. That is described in detail in the diary. So it was a case of having to be very selective, and at the end of the day, it was the more dramatic selections that made it through to the movie rather than the funnier stuff.The girls ' sense of humor does manage to come through in the film, though. I'm thinking, for instance, of the last scene in the Rieper house, when the family is having lunch with Juliet before the two girls and HONORA go to Victoria Park. Were their snide comments about Sir Edmund Hillary in the diary, or were they invented by the two of you?FW: That was out of our imagination. We were told that they were extremely jolly at that last meal-it was actually in the court records-and that they were cracking jokes, and saying silly, outrageous things, on a sort of giggly high. And we knew that Wendy had worked at Farmer's, the localdepartment store, and also what had been very big in the news that year was Sir Edmund Hillary, a New Zealander, climbing Mt. Everest. He had been knighted, and became a huge national hero; he still is. Because he'd also spent time in Christchurch, we felt that this was an appropriate thing forthem to send up, because whatever they did, they were terribly irreverent. If the Queen was visiting, for example, they wouldn't bother to go out unless it was to take note of the decorations, the pomp and ceremony, to enrich one of their own royal celebrations. They really had no respect for the icons of the day; their interior world was much more important to them.The film critic for Time, Richard Corliss, likened you to a "physician who assumes a patients fever in order to understand her illness." At what point did you two decide that this was going to have to be presented from the girls' point of view?PJ: I think from the beginning. That was one of the motivations for doing it. None of the accounts we came across were from the girls' point of view. Like we'd said before, they all had other agendas, so we felt that telling the girls' story was important. It did take us a long time to be able to do that, because it took us a long time to learn who they were, and what was driving them. We were a bit confused-there was a bit of mystery at the beginning-but the more we read, the more we talked to people, we gradually began to formulate who these people were. Ultimately, there was a lot of Pauline that I could recognize in myself, which was very useful.You, too, Fran?FW: I felt that the diary: offered the first insight into the friendship, and into Pauline in particular. It was an extremely interesting account of her life, documenting both dramatic and mundane events with a great deal of literary flair. She was a very imaginative, funny and clever young woman who had some quite pretentious ideas, as teenagers do, and I warmed toward her immediately. Reading the diary made me wonder about the huge discrepancies between this young woman and the monster who was portrayed in the newspaper accounts and everything else. And I thought it would be great to take that journey to find out who she was. Because no diary of Juliet's survived-we have heard from people that she did keep a diary, but it was destroyed-I thought it would be harder to get to know her, but that really wasn't the case, because she appeared to be someone who more readily shared her life with people; she was much more of a social creature than Pauline. So it was a combination of the private world that they shared and the understanding that we got from talking to their school friends, inparticular, that gave us insight into the nature of these two girls and the way they appeared to the rest of the world.I think it's fair to say that both Peter and I felt hugely sympathetic toward Pauline and Juliet, and we did start to identify and empathize with them, all the while trying to keep in balance the knowledge of this terrible act. It was that dynamic, of really liking them, but feeling abhorrence at what they'd done, that kept the thing alive for so long in our minds, and gave the film inner life.Peter, your camera work, in all of the films you've directed, is extremely dynamic. In 'Heavenly Creatures,' the almost hyperactive camera seems to have an organic relationship to the girls' euphoric state. I've noticed in this script that a lot of these camera directions are written in, with more detail than most other screenplays I've read. Do all of your scripts read like this?PJ: In this particular screenplay, camera movement came quite readily during the writing stages. At the end of the day, the script is not the document we want to go out and sell; it's the document that the cast and crew have to read. When we write a script intended for me to direct, it's right from the beginning a shooting script; a document for technicians to use. You know, the grips put a circle around the word "DOLLY" so they remember on that particular day of shooting they're going to have to have it on the truck. With this movie, probably more than any other I've done, the camera moves were integral to the scriptwriting. I'll tell you where that came from: the music. We read very early in our research that Pauline and Juliet were both obsessed with Mario Lanza. Neither of us were familiar with his music, so we went out and got some of his records, and before we started writing we played through them and came across several songs that we really liked. One of the very first ones we heard was "The DonkeySerenade"- FW: Well, we knew that was important to them because Pauline had named one of her novels "The Donkey Serenade."PJ: When we heard it, just the life and vitality in the song immediately indicated Steadicam. [laughs] It immediately told you you had to have a moving camera. We chose all the songs that were in the movie, and, in the case of "The Donkey Serenade," wrote scenes around them. I found it a great visual tool. It's never happened before in anything I've done-I mean, I've never had the music in advance. We had these songs playing while we were working to get ourselves psyched up to write a scene. At the same time, the music helped me visualize, so that visualization ended up going down on the page. Of course, once you actually arrive on the set, and you have the actors and the camera people there, things can change. I don't regard anything that's written into a script in terms of a camera direction asbeing locked in stone.How long did it take the two of you to finish a first draft?PJ: Not really long. I think the first draft was written in probably 10 or 12 weeks. But we didn't start to write until we'd uncovered several months' worth of research.And the draft we're publishing is the shooting script?PJ: Yeah. I think that's about draft number five. We did an interesting thing. We did a certain amount of research first, while we were still working on Braindead [Dead Alive in U.S.], and then we wrote the firstdraft from the position where we felt we knew some of the facts, but there were a lot of gaps. We thought if we wrote a draft we would know where the holes were, and we would know what we had to pursue in terms of research. For instance, Fran and I had never been down to Christchurch when we wrote this first draft, and Christchurch is such an integral part of the story. Then we made the trip down there before the second draft and were able to modify a lot of things, interview lot more people. We actually did that on purpose, because we wanted to nail the story before overlaying it with a lot of historical detail.How do the two of you handle writing collaboratively?PJ: Well, it depends. You know, if Fran's working on some re-writes while we're shooting, and I'm on the set, she'll show me some work that she's done when I come home and we'll revise it together, but generally, when we're actually writing the initial drafts of the script, it's always together.I think that we both have a good understanding of structure, which helps, and I'm obviously very visually oriented, and Fran is very good on dialogue and character, so we complement each other quite well. I think the best advantage that we have in writing scripts together is that we write a script that I go and make, which is, I think, a wonderful thing. It would be a strange experience for us to write a script that someone else was going to make, because we've never actually experienced that loss of control that so many other writers have. So right from the very beginning, it's a movie. It's not a piece of writing that's going to go out to the marketplace and may or may not sell.Just one little thing. Even though Heavenly Creatures was very much written by the two of us, my favorite scene in the movie was written by Fran by herself.Which one is that?PJ: Well, it was late one night, and we were hoping to finish the first draft of the script-it was, like, ten o'clock already-and we had arrived at the sequence in the tearooms where they're having their last cup of tea before they walk down the track. We sat there wondering how on earth we were going to write this scene. We knew they'd actually gone there to have tea because we'd spoken to this very elderly woman who had served them. She said they were talking quite calmly to one another. But what dialogue do you put in their mouths at this particular moment, when this woman's about to be murdered? Well, the phone rang, and I got up to answer it and ended up stuck on this call for about 45 minutes, and I came back and Fran had written something. She asked me to check it out, and it was never revised: it's where she slides the plate with the last cake over to Honora, and says, "Go on, Mother, treat yourself." It was perfect.I know you found Kate Winslet at an audition in England. How did you come across Melanie Lynskey, who played Pauline? I understand she was not a professional actress.PJ: Well, it's one of those stories that sounds like it's not true. We wanted to cast someone in New Zealand, and we'd auditioned a lot of people-five or six hundred-who were either videotaped or photographed. I wanted to find someone who was young, around 1S or 16 years old; I didn't want a 23-year-old in a school uniform. And we wanted someone who was physically very much like the original Pauline; I have a thing about being as accurate as possible. So we quickly exhausted the professional actors in New Zealand who happened to look like Pauline-there's only about one or two. [laughs] We knew we were looking for someone with no experience, but we just had to find them. We kept saying, "Somewhere in New Zealand there's somebody who's perfect for this role."We were actually about four weeks away from beginning shooting, and we had one or two people on the short list, neither of whom we were happy with, but we were coming under enormous pressure to cast one of them, because, you know, the wardrobe department needed to make costumes, and soon, and Fran said to me, "You're not really happy with the choices, are you?" And I said, "No." And she said, "This is crazy; we've spent all this time and energy on this film and we haven't found Pauline. This is something close to a major tragedy." I was in Christchurch, so Fran decided to drive with a casting person around the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand-she was prepared to drive as far as she had to. They'd visit every small town, go to the local school, visit the principal's office and show a photo of Pauline Parker. She'd say, "We're making a movie about Pauline Parker; do you have any pupils in your school who resemble her who might be interested in this?"FW: We were in a rusting Ford Cortina, and we had no official I.D. We'd roll up to these provincial schools, and we'd be greeted by some curious teacher. Although no one ever once questioned our authenticity, we would always get asked about the car: "If you're in films, why aren't you drivinga Porsche?" [both laugh] So then I would pitch the story to the entire classroom, scanning the room the whole time, looking for sullen, brooding school girls, all the while thinking, "What would she look like with her hair dyed black?"PJ: I guess that went on for about a week. Every night I'd get a call from Fran. Anyone that was vaguely appropriate was videotaped, and I got a couple of tapes in Christchurch, and it was a bit depressing. Finally, Fran called from a small town called New Plymouth, and said, "I think I've found someone very interesting. ' And this was Mel. We flew her down to Christchurch and gave her an audition and a screen test, and we cast her two weeks before the film started shooting. I called her mother up on a Friday night and said, "I'd really like Melanie to do the film." And she said, "When does she have to start?" And I said, "Well, she's got to come down here on Sunday." The poor girl didn't even get a chance to go back to school to clean out her locker.Do you think there was any correspondence between the two actresses and their backgrounds and those of the characters they were playing?PJ: One of the things that we knew about Pauline was that she was incredibly witty and intelligent, and Melanie was very similar-she was the top student in her province in many subjects. And we knew if we cast an intelligent person, then they were going to hit it. Melanie's also very enigmatic. The character of Pauline doesn't have an enormous amount of dialogue. In a sense, the real Pauline Parker speaks for her, through the diaries. So what we were looking for was an actress who has that kind of aspect to her that's a real movie-star thing: where you can film somebody sitting in a room, doing nothing, and they're still fascinating to watch. We found that in Mel.I've read that you used actual locations for some of this.PJ: As much as we could. The only location we couldn't use was Pauline's house, which had been torn down. Fortunately, the school is now a community center; the actual school moved to a different location, so they no longer had control over the buildings; otherwise we'd have definitely been refusedpermission. The school buildings are now owned by the Christchurch City Council, which has done nothing to them; they're as they were 40 years ago. They just rent out the various rooms to community groups. We found out what classroom Pauline and Juliet actually were in, and it was the CanterburyWomen's Embroidery Guild-it sounds like something out of Monty Python-and we went into the room and right down one length of the wall was this huge tapestry that had been stretched out on this massive frame. I thought they would never want to take it down, but we managed to get them to do it. So that was the actual classroom where they were, down to the seating.The Ilam house, where Juliet lived, is still there. It's owned by the university, and they were very happy for us to use it. As for the doctor's surgery, where Pauline is interviewed by the doctor, we found out the address, and-you know, this is 40 years later, so you have no idea what to expect-it was just, like, a suburban house. We thought that was strange, in that it didn't seem like a doctor's office. Anyway, we knocked on the door, and the woman who answered happened to be the doctor's daughter-the doctor's long since dead-and we asked her where her father's office had been, and she said, "Oh, he had rooms out the back of the house here; we've never really touched them." We went into this doctor's surgery which was almost exactly the same as it had been 40 years before. So we ended up filming those sequences in the actual room where Pauline was interviewed by the doctor.We also spoke to the woman who was working at the tearooms at Victoria Park and found out exactly where they sitting, and filmed that scene there. Actually, about two months later, that building was demolished.And what about the murder scene?PJ: Well, we went to the murder site, and we just felt uncomfortable about filming there. It was very strange, and maybe it was just our imagination, but it was very quiet, very tranquil. I mean, all the way down the path you hear the wind and the birds, and suddenly, when you arrive at the spot, you hear nothing. So we filmed the murder scene at Victoria Park, but it was on a different track, about a hundred yards away.There is one sequence of scenes in this script which didn't appear in the film. it begins with the tennis party at Ilam, in which Pauline and Juliet are watching from behind some shrubbery as Walter Perry and Hilda Hulme play tennis.PJ: Well, that sequence was actually shot, and exists in the version of the film that was screened here in New Zealand. When Miramax released the film in the U.S., they had screenings and felt that the film was too long. We had final control over the film, but they pleaded with us to take out about 10 minutes' worth of footage, convinced that it would be tighter. We looked at it, and we actually, ultimately, agreed with them in a funny sort of way. That sequence slows the momentum down. It's quite a fun one toread-and it's fun in the film as well-but it does slow things down at a point where we didn't think things should be slowing down. Although we've had control over the film's release all over the world, we've requested that the sequence be cut out of the versions screened in every other country. When you're writing a script, a part of you thinks, "Oh, this is perfect, we mustn't change a word of it," but once it's finished it takes a life of its own. We felt that the sequence wasn't telling us anything wedidn't already know about the characters, and at a time where the tension in Pauline's house was really growing, going over to Juliet's house to watch a tennis game was not necessary.FW: I think when we wrote the script we felt it was very much Pauline and Juliet's story. After the edit, however, it became very evident to us that it was Pauline's story which was the through line and the audience's focal point. Whenever we veered too much into telling the Hulme story and Pauline wasn't on the screen, the pace started to flag. That was something we had to look at after the first assembly-we had to trim and cut Hulme scenes because they weren't as fundamentally interesting as the Rieper scenes.Although this film is very different from Braindead, both take place in the New Zealand of the 1950s. I'm not that familiar with your country, but from watching these two films I would have to assume that it was, at least in that period, a fairly repressive kind of society, acting almost as a breeding ground for transgression, for explosive kinds of behavior.PJ: Well, the script for Braindead was set in the modern day up until the very last minute. I was worried going into the movie that the hero of the film, named Lionel, acted in a fairly nerdy kind of way-he doesn't socialize, he takes care of his mother-and yet we wanted him to be the empathetic character in the film. I was afraid that if it was set in the modern day, the audience-especially a young audience-would really jeer at this character, and not be able to relate to him at all. If we set it inthe '50s, people might actually feel more sympathy for him, because they would think, "Well, that sort of thing happened then." With Heavenly Creatures, it was really just a coincidence that the actual event had taken place then.FW: But that repression is still very much in evidence here: we're I not expressive, we're not demonstrative, we're scared of showing, saying too much. When you go to New York, for instance, and people are yelling and the horns are blaring-if that happened here, someone would get out of theircar, rip open your door and bash you up. There's a level of violence, a subtext of violence, running through New Zealand society that comes out in our movies. We have a veneer of being easygoing, but underneath, we're full of rage. It's an interesting social dynamic. and it makes for interesting art, but it's not so pleasant to actually live in it. It's very much to do with a link with England- PJ: Christchurch in particular.FW: Christchurch suffers from it more than any other city in New Zealand. It's always been described as "a little piece England"; it's considered to be more English than England. It's always aspired to be that, and it still is in some ways.PJ: The thing with this murder, too, is that the sense you when you talk to the older generation in Christchurch is that it was an embarrassment to the city, that it was somehow shameful and somehow humiliating. Which is ridiculous, because the story is ultimately a family tragedy.FW: It's been said that Christchurch was more appalled by revelation that Pauline's parents were not married than by the murder itself. And some uncharitable souls even suggested that one sinful act led on to the other.Speaking generally about your films, you both seem to have a certain love of campiness, which is apparent in the use of caricatures for many characters, as well as in an overall sort of extremism reminiscent of the work of someone like John Waters here in the U.S. What's interesting about Heavenly Creatures is that while it remains a fundamentally "realistic" docudrama, some of the figures of authority, like the doctor, the vicar and the headmistress, are hilariously overplayed.PJ: Well, I like movies to be entertaining, to be a little larger than life. With something like Braindead, obviously there's no problem doing that. But with 'Heavenly Creatures,' we were telling what we hoped would be a fairly accurate story. At the same time, however, I still wanted to make a movie; I didn't want something totally tied to real life, and totally dull. So we did have a little bit of fun with some of those characters. I guess if you were trying to justify it you could say we were presenting them from the girls' point of view, but that's not strictly true. I just think that there were really only two people who we needed to be realistic with, and they were Juliet and Pauline, both of whom were slightly larger than life anyway. That's something that came across in the interviews with their classmates. They were remembered as being sort of terrifying: Juliet was so confident and loud, and Pauline was brooding and dark. So, in a sense, the film was a perfect one for us. I don't Like doing stuff that's totally naturalistic. I just like having a little bit of fun.The fantasy sequences are written pretty much as they appeared on film. Were you aware of how, technically, you were going to handle these special effects as you were writing?PJ: Pretty much. We hadn't used any optical or digital effects in Braindead, and with Heavenly Creatures, I knew that if I actually wrote digital effects into the script, then it was a great excuse to go out and get this new equipment-I have my own special effects company. So right at the beginning we wrote stuff that could only be done with morphing. We got one computer and hired someone to figure out how it all worked.What about your use of the Plasticine figures? Was that something you'd heard the girls were interested in?PJ: Yeah, we interviewed several people who remembered that they used to model figures in Plasticine, and I think HERBERT Rieper refers to it in his court testimony. We also interviewed an old guy who had been round to the Hulme's place and had seen Juliet's Plasticine horses on the mantelpiece.And, of course, there are endless passages in the diaries about Borovnia, and Diello, the murderous prince and all of that. When we thought it would be fun right at the beginning to go into some of these fantasy sequences, the last thing I wanted to do was dress up actors in medieval costumes andcrowns and have them looking like something out of a school play. So we decided it would be really fun to tie the Plasticine figures and Borovnia together. And we knew they'd sculpted figures like Diello, so we just thought, why not have those figures come to life, as it were.What about the linking of certain actors to certain figures, like Orson Welles to Diello?PJ: Well, that was something that we devised ourselves. But again, that springs from the fact that the girls used to give pet names to people. Like one of the boarders in the diary, for instance, is referred to as John for a while, and then his name changed to Nicholas.That's referred to in the scene in Pauline's sleepout.PJ: Yeah, and for some reason, Pauline refers to him as Nicholas in the rest of her diary. That happened with a lot of people. They were clearly using real, live people as prototypes for some of their fantasy characters. We figured that Diello had a lot of qualities that they seemed to fear in Orson Welles. He seemed to represent some sort of dark, sexual force, so we figured that giving his features to the figure of Diello was appropriate.Could you talk about the fact that, during production, Anne Perry, the mystery writer, was "outed " as being Juliet Hulme?FW: Well, where do you start? We knew that would be a possible outcome of making this film-that someone might try and track down either Pauline or Juliet. Which was a very good reason not to make the movie. We had more compelling reasons to make the film, however, because if we didn't, anotherone was going to get made anyway. There were, at the time the film was being funded, five competing projects in various states of preparation.Didn't Dustin Hoffman have something in the works?FW: His company, Punch Productions, I believe, had a script written by an American writer; Peter had, in fact, been very tentatively approached to read it, that was how we found out about it. At that point we were about a week away from starting to shoot. And then someone was trying to do a film version of the play we've already spoken of, and other people were developing a very politicized lesbian version of the story. Then there'd been a screenplay written by the late English novelist, Angela Carter, that was with a production company in Auckland, and there was someone in Australia developing a screenplay. So we knew that this story was going to come to the screen, soon-there was no doubt someone was going to make it. And we felt that, in that climate, we would proceed, despite the possibility that these women might be exposed.We knew that in Pauline's case it was less likely. We'd heard a lot of rumor and gossip about Juliet, but we'd heard nothing about Pauline, and I think she has very carefully hidden her identity. Juliet went to no such trouble: she took her stepfather's name-Hilda Hulme ended up marrying Walter Perry-as a novelist, and proceeded to write a series of crime novels. You can look up any contemporary author index in any library, and there is Anne Perry, and her birthdate is the same as Juliet Hulme's, her mother's maiden name is the same, etc. There is a gap in her personal history, where she leaves out New Zealand, but it picks up again after she left the country. So it didn't take a huge amount of detective work from the journalist here in New Zealand who had heard that Anne Perry and JulietHulme were one and the same.That rumor sprang from a production of the play that had gone on here a year before we started shooting, where a friend of Juliet's, who was still writing to her, confided in one of the actors that Juliet Hulme was now writing murder mysteries as Anne Perry. That rumor hew around the acting community here in New Zealand, and it reached our ears on the set, and it was something that we wanted to entirely disassociate ourselves from, because we knew it would damage the film, and we knew it would damage us. It was inevitable that we would be accused of exploiting this woman's situation in order to promote the movie. When this journalist rang Peter and asked what comment he had about the story, he just begged her not to print it. Of course that was a hopeless situation, because she was a tabloid hack who was going to go ahead and make her name, and she has dined off it ever since. We felt an enormous amount of dread, because the movie hadn't had a chance to stand on its own before this was made known, and it's now been inextricably linked with this revelation. So we've been battling that ever since. But given that it's happened, we've had to deal with it, as she has.PJ: I mean, we were absolutely disgusted by some of the ads Miramax ran. On the day that this was released in America, I rang Miramax and said, "For heaven's sake, don't associate this film with any of this because we don't approve of this publicity." And a couple of months later, lo and behold, weget sent by a friend in the States clippings with these ads saying, "Murder, She Wrote," and these other references to Anne Perry that Miramax had been running, and we were just very, very angry.Did you fever consider using the coordinates of the actual event, but changing enough of the particulars to push it into the fictional realm?PJ: No, because the case is so well-known in New Zealand; it would be like-FW: Fictionalizing the O.J. Simpson case.PJ: It's unnecessary. I mean, sure, if it was just a movie for international consumption, then, yeah. But the fact is that we weren't actually making this film for an international audience. We were very muchmaking it to try and rectify 40 years of misunderstanding about this case within New Zealand. In a way that was our main motivation for making the film, and in doing that, we obviously had to use their real names. But having said that, "Pauline Parker" and "Juliet Hulme" ceased to exist as people in 1959, because they both took different names. In a sense, I don't think there was any moral problem with using those names, because they themselves stopped using them some 30-odd years ago.Were there any other films you looked at as inspiration before writing this?FW: Well, we looked at movies like Let Him Have It, which was based on the Craig/Bentley murder case in England [Bentley was an 18-year-old with a low I.Q. who was hanged for murder]. Although I think that film has quite a lot of merit, in the end it comes across as a grim, dark, true-life murderstory, and similarly Dance with a Stranger, which was about Ruth Ellis [the last woman to be hanged in England]. We felt that if there was one thing we didn't want to do, it was to make a depressing murder film. We really wanted to tell a tale of a friendship, rather than a murder story. Sure, the movie ends with a murder, but for the most part, it celebrates friendship.PJ: We wanted to make it a lot funnier than those films. And people have said, "It's such a serious subject; why did you try to make it funny?" Well, obviously the murder wasn't funny, and we never attempted to make it funny, but the friendship was funny. Life is funny: generally, human beingslike to enjoy themselves, and there was no doubt that Pauline and Juliet had a hell of a good time, most of the time.FW: But the other reason why it was important that we tell this as a true story is that it has a kind of universal truth for anybody growing up. When you're at that age, you become very focused on things in an extreme way. And I don't think Pauline and Juliet are so very different from anybody else; I think several things went wrong in their lives-Juliet's parents broke up, and Pauline became very alienated from her family (she was an obsessional manic-depressive character)-and I think it was this terriblecombination of things that led to this extraordinarily horrible act. But it's not something that can be precluded from anybody's experience in growing up. Adolescence is such a crazy time.PJ: A lot of women have come up to us and said, "I was Pauline. That was me. That was my childhood." I don't think it's that unusual. I think what is unusual about the whole thing is that these aspects of Pauline's character led to the murder, and I don't think the sort of person she was was particularly unusual or freakish or weird. When we hear things like that, it's the best possible endorsement we could get.(Tod Lippy conducted this interview over the telephone with Frances Walsh and Peter Jackson, who were at their home in Wellington, New Zealand.) 
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+THE HEAVY METAL MOVIE- Final Draft -
+								SCREENPLAY BY								Dan Goldberg								and								Len Blum								July 18, 1980
+FADE UP ONA WHEATFIELDA beautiful field of wheat glistens in the morning sun.As the camera skims overtop, titles start to roll.  Aheadof us an odd-looking service van comes into view, sputteringalong a dirt road.  Getting closer, we can see the driver, athin, bookish man with a neat mustache.  This is AUSTIN GRIMALDI.The truck pulls up to a strange Victorian house in the middleof the wheatfield.  The house has several futuristic radardevices on the roof that rotate constantly.AUSTIN gets out, opens the van's rear doors, and pulls outtwo large metal boxes.                                             CUT TOTHE ATTIC WINDOWThe curtains part ever so slightly, and a pair of eyes peerdown.                                             CUT BACK TOTHE VANAUSTIN shuts the van's rear doors, and carries the two metalboxes into the house.  The titles stop rolling as we;                                             CUT TOINSIDE THE HOUSEAUSTIN is reading a schematic diagram as he sits in front ofthe exposed chassis of a complicated futuristic electroniccontraption, twice his size.  There are strange tools allover the floor.Putting down the diagram, he opens one of the metal cases andtakes out a sophisticated-looking glass sphere with electronicreceptacles mounted in the sides.He places this sphere in a space in the middle of the contraption,clamps it down, and plugs some wires into the globe's receptacles.Then he opens the second box.  Inside is a glowing green ball.Using a pair of special tongs, AUSTIN carefully lifts the ballout, and inserts it into an opening at the base of the machine,in the back.As soon as the ball is inside, the machine hums to life.  Theglass sphere sparkles, and a holographic picture of a greenplanet in space appears inside it.                      AUSTIN                    (looking at the holograph)                 Hmmmm ....He takes a strange tool, and moves out of frame to make anadjustment underneath the machine.  Suddenly a wire comesloose from the sphere and begins to spark.                      AUSTIN                    (seeing sparks)                 Uh - oh ....As the camera pulls closer to the holograph screen, thegreen planet begins to silently shake.                                             CUT TOSPACEWith an explosion that rocks the universe, a huge chunk ripsout of the green planet and shoots off into space, leavingthousands of glowing particles in its wake.                                             CUT BACK TOAUSTINNot noticing the silent image on the holograph, he quicklyrepairs the sparkling connection and returns to his otheradjustments.                                             CUT TOA FORESTFrom the forest floor we see the green planetoid fly overhead,dropping balls.  We watch as it moves away and disappears beyonda far-off mountain range.  The forest rumbles as the planetoidcrashes in the distance.The camera then pans over to a forest patch, where a beautifulgirl approaches, picking mushrooms.                                             CUT TOA GREEN BALL NEAR HER FEETAn ominous note is struck as the girl notices the glowingball, and is drawn to it.  Picking the sphere up, she looksat it.  Something inside her warns her of its danger, but,unable to resist, she puts it in her basket and continues on.                                             DISSOLVE TOTHE GATES OF KRAANNight falls over this futuristic chromoid city as the beautifulgirl passes through the glass gates and heads home.                                             CUT TOTHE GIRL'S BEDROOMThe girl yawns and gets into bed as the camera pans over toher basket in the corner.  Through its side, the green ballbegins to glow brightly.Getting closer, we see a slimy silk-like webbing ooze out ofthe ball and move towards the sleeping girl, pulling the greenball behind it.The ball starts to glow and pulse as the webbing begins tosurround the girl, like a cocoon.  Slowly the camera pansup the wall, and moves out through the window, and beyondthe city gates, rising higher and higher.                                             CUT TOTHE OUTLANDSFlying quickly overtop futuristic villages, the cameraheads further and further out into the less civilized sectors,where the rusting pipelines and crumbling utility stations ofa past civilization have been overgrown by scrub-bush and weeds.The camera zooms across this strange landscape toward the distantmountains where the huge planetoid fell.  Finally, from highabove the foothills, we begin to come down.In the hills below us, hundreds of blue humanoid barbarians aremoving along, mesmerized, toward a pulsing green glow high inthe mountaintops.  Suddenly the mountains begin to rumble.                                             CUT TOTHE LINE OF BARBARIANSAt the front of the line, the largest barbarian - obviouslytheir leader - stops and points.                                             CUT TOTHE MOUNTAINSA strange, green, foamy liquid comes pouring down the mountainstoward the barbarians.                                             CUT TOTHE LINE OF BARBARIANSThe barbarians stand frozen as the foam washes over them and keepson going.  One by one, their eyes turn green and they start tochange, becoming hairier, uglier, and stronger.As their transformations are complete, the barbarians gatherbehind their leader into an ever-growing mob of murderouslooking sub-humans.                                             DISSOLVE TOTHE GATES OF KRAANA frightened Kraanian councillor spurs his horse forward throughthe beautiful glass gates, as in the distance we hear the soundof ten thousand approaching footsteps.The camera pans to a hillside overlooking Kraan.  In the glowof sunset, the outline of the BARBARIAN LEADER, riding a blackwar-horse, appears at the hillside and stops.  Then with athundering of footsteps, the outline of five thousand barbarianscomes into view behind him, filling the horizon.                                             CUT TOTHE BARBARIAN LEADERHe is now wearing a strange medallion around his neck as, wild-eyed, he screams to signal the attack.  The bloodthirsty hordecharges down the hill behind him.The camera moves with the barbarians as they crash through thegates of the city, destroying everything in their path.  Smokeand flames are everywhere.  Ahead of us, terrified Kraaniansrun from the onslaught.As we track up over the burning rooftops, we see the BARBARIANLEADER riding his war-horse in the streets below.  Shoutinga command, he waves his men on as they move toward an impressivedoomed building in the middle of the city.                                             CUT TOTHE COUNCIL CHAMBERSAt the far end of this huge glass hall, the Kraanian Councilsits around a marble table.  From outside, we hear the battleraging.Pulling closer we can hear the worried voices of the Councilmembers.                      COUNCILMAN #3                 They're killing everyone.  We                 must escape!                      COUNCILMAN #2                 The city is burning!                      COUNCILMAN #4                    (throwing a parchment                     before the Elder)                 Even the mountains glow green and an                 evil slime oozes down!                      COUNCILMAN #1                 Elder, we must arm ourselves!  We                 must fight!                      ELDER                 Silence!Everyone gets quiet.  Looking at the parchment thrown beforehim, the ancient, withered ELDER rises to his feet.                      ELDER                 We are not a race of warriors.                 We are statesmen, and scientists.                 From our very beginning it was ordained                 that the warrior-race of Taarak the                 Defender would aid us in times of need.                 This was the Pact!                      COUNCILMAN #1                 Taarak the Defender?  His race is                 dead!  They cannot defend anyone!                      COUNCILMAN #2                 Some say that the race is not dead                 - that one still lives.                      COUNCILMAN #1                 One?  What good is one?                      ELDER                 One of Taarak's blood can do much.Outside, the sounds of battle grow louder.  A boy appears atthe doorway.                      BOY                 Elder!  They are at the walls!                      COUNCILMAN #3                 Well who is this last Defender?                 How can he be summoned?                      ELDER                 It is Taarna, of the blood of                 Taarak the Defender - the last of                 the race.  And must be summoned as                 my forefathers summoned Taarak                 himself - from within!                      COUNCILMAN #2                 But will this Defender answer?                      ELDER                 A Taarakian has no choice.  They                 must answer.  It is in their blood.The clattering of armour becomes audible.                      BOY                 They are in the halls!  They are coming!!                      ELDER                    (calmly to the boy)                 Bar the door.                 (to the Councilmen)                 We will summon the                 Defender together.The Councilmen nod.                      ELDER                    (shutting eyes)                 Taarna ... Taarna ...As the Councilmen take up the chant;                                             CUT TOTHE DOORAs the boy begins to bar the door, it bursts open, flinging himaside.  Standing in the doorway, surrounded by his men, isthe BARBARIAN LEADER.With a laugh, he raises a Medieval-looking multiple cross-bowand fires a burst of arrows into the boy's chest, as the crazedtroops rush in around him.The chanting continues as we;                                             CUT TOTHE OUTLANDSWe look down over this uncivilized wilderness with onlydecaying pipelines and the occasional jagged rock structurebreaking the barren uniformity of the land.  As the Council'sdistant chanting fades out, all is quiet.Suddenly from behind us, we hear the sound of flapping wingsand a huge rush of air.  Just above our heads, TAARNA THEDEFENDER comes flying in, sitting proudly in the saddle ofa giant crimson bird.                                             CUT TOTAARNA'S FACEShe is beautiful, with dark eyes and wild red hair blowingbehind her in the wind.Below her, on the ground, she sees a humanoid running in terror,chased by an ugly, four-legged mutant creature.Spurring her bird forward, TAARNA sweeps down over the uglybeast and lassoes it.  She then hoists the creature up intothe air and, tossing her end of the rope over a tall jaggedrock, she leaves the snarling beast hanging helplessly.Flying down to the grateful humanoid, she dismounts.  Asshe approaches we see that he has a barbarian medallionon a chain around his neck.                      HUMANOID                 I owe you my life.  Let me                 repay you ...He takes off his medallion and places it around her neck.Suddenly he twists the chain tight in his hand, pulling hertowards him.  His eyes change to a bright green as he forcesher to the ground and starts ripping at her clothes.  As hemolests her, TAARNA is distracted.  She hears something - voicesinside her, chanting her name.Quickly she grabs the chain and rips it apart.  Then shepowerfully smashes both her hands together around her attacker'sears.  As he holds his ringing ears, she gets up, lifts himabove her head, and hurls him mercilessly to the ground.Still hearing the chanting, she jumps on her bird, pulls outa second rope, and lassoes the barbarian's feet.  She thenlifts him up and leaves him hanging from the tall, jagged rock,next to the growling creature.As TAARNA flies off, the hanging beast eyes the barbarianhungrily.                                             CUT TOAUSTIN GRIMALDIHe is still sitting on the floor, working on his machine.As the camera pulls closer, we see that AUSTIN is reachingdeep inside the machineworks, trying to solder a small orangediode in place with an odd-style soldering iron.  The connectionbreaks, and the diode and some hot solder fall deeper into themachine and start smoking and sputtering.  As the smoke growsthicker, the machine starts to buzz loudly.                      AUSTIN                 Dammit!AUSTIN pulls his face out of the smoking chassis, grabs a pairof needlenose pliers, and reaches back to retrieve the part.The camera follows AUSTIN'S arm into the chassis, where smokesurrounds it and clouds over everything.  The buzzing soundgrows, and changes into the sound of powerful, throbbingengines.  Slowly the smoke begins to clear as we hear a voicecrackling over a radiophone.                      BOMBARDIER                    (V.O.)                 Where the hell are we?Suddenly the smoke dissipates and a formation of B-17 bomberscome tearing out into the moonlit night.                                             CUT TOTHE GROUND BELOWThe sound of jungle night creatures fills the air.  We seepalm trees silhouetted against the moon bright sky.  Thescene is almost serene.  The camera pans and suddenly thenose of a large parked bomber fills the screen, and as thecamera continues panning, we pass a large red rising sun onthe bomber's fuselage.  The pan stops at the tail of theaircraft, and we see a Japanese soldier - a guard.There is a moment of tranquillity, as jungle sounds fill theair.  The soldier almost dozes ... suddenly the cacophony ofsound stops, and for a brief moment there is complete silence... then with an agonizing wail an air raid siren shattersthe silence and the guard looks skyward, startled.Instantly all hell breaks loose as we hear pounding feet.Silhouetted figures rush by.                                             CUT TOA GUN EMPLACEMENTJapanese soldiers crank the barrel of an anti-aircraft gunskyward.  We begin to hear the sound of approaching engines.                                             CUT TOCLOSEUP OF A SHELLIt is thrust into a breech.                                             CUT TOTHE B-17 FORMATIONAs the bombers press on, the camera moves in to the leadaircraft.  In the moonlight we see her name, "Pacific Pearl".                                             CUT TOINT. - THE "PACIFIC PEARL"                      NAVIGATOR                 We're there Stepek, right on                 target ... Rabual dead ahead!Suddenly a cacophony of explosions split the air as anti-aircraftshells explode ahead of the aircraft, lighting the inside withelectric blue flashes.                      BOMBARDIER                 Gee!  Thanks for telling me,                 Holden.  I thought it was Cleveland.                                             CUT TOTHE GROUNDAckack guns blast shells skyward.  The gun blasts light upthe palm tree background, causing momentary silhouettes.                                             CUT TOTHE BOMBARDIER                      BOMBARDIER                 For Christ sake, hold her steady!                                             CUT TOTHE BELLYGUNNERHe can be seen from outside the plane as the shell flasheslight up his turret.                      BELLYGUNNER                 Quit yer bitching Stepek, just drop                 'em and let's get outta here!                                             CUT BACK TOTHE BOMBARDIER                      BOMBARDIER                 Keep your shirts on guys, tonight I'm                 gonna hit something.                 (he settles over the bomb sight)                 Left two degrees ... steady ...                 steady ...                                             CUT TOTHE BELLYGUNNERThe flak is severe, with electric blue flashes lighting upthe fuselage interior.                      BELLYGUNNER                 Hey kid, how ya doing back there?                                             CUT TOTHE TAILGUNNERTailgunner momentarily lit with a shell burst, he's scaredshitless.  He looks nervously back behind the aircraft atthe flak puffs behind the tail.                      TAILGUNNER                 Gulp, ah ... I'm ah ... okay                 ... I think.                      PILOT                    (V.O.)                 Button it up, we're almost there.                                             CUT TOTHE BOMBARDIERHe is crouched over his bomb-sights, concentrating.                      NAVIGATOR                    (V.O.)                 C'mon Stepek, there's the                 whole island of Rabaul down                 there, you can't miss!                      BOMBARDIER                 Screw you ...                                             CUT TOTHE PILOT'S COMPARTMENTSuddenly a shell explodes almost on the windshield and thepilot rears back with the blast.  The right windshield isshattered.                      PILOT                 We took a hit ...The co-pilot sags forward, held back only by his shoulderstraps.  His eyes stare.  Blood runs from under his helmet.We know he is dead.                      PILOT                 Shit.  Elkhorn just bought it.                      BELLYGUNNER                    (V.O.)                 We took one back here too.                 C'mon Stepek, blast 'em!                                             CUT TOTHE BOMBARDIER                      BOMBARDIER                    (hand on the release button)                 Steady ... steady ... bombs away!                 Let's get the hell outta here!                                             CUT TOTHE GROUNDWe hear the shriek of descending bombs.  The explosions walkacross the airfield, and in the light of the explosions wesee devastation.  The last bomb hits a fuel dump, causing anenormous ball of fire.                      BOMBARDIER                    (V.O.)                 Yahoo!  Bullseye!                                             CUT BACK TOTHE PACIFIC PEARL                      PILOT                    (exhilarated)                 Nice shooting Stepek, how are the                 rest of you guys?                      FLIGHT ENGINEER                    (V.O.)                 Flight Engineer okay.                      RADIO OPERATOR                    (V.O.)                 Radio okay.                      NAVIGATOR                    (V.O.)                 Navigator check.                      BELLYGUNNER                    (V.O.)                 Belly okay.                      TAILGUNNER                    (V.O.)                 Ah ... tail okay ...There is abrupt silence.                      PILOT                 Bellson ... Lewis?Still silence, no reply from either name.                      PILOT                 Kid, check the waist positions, see if                 they're okay.                                             CUT TOTHE TAILGUNNER                      TAILGUNNER                 Yeah ... will do, skipper.TAILGUNNER crosses himself, then exits back into the body ofthe machine.                                             CUT TOTHE PILOT                      PILOT                    (wearily)                 Let's go home.We hear jumbled comments from all positions.  Everyone ishappy.                      CREW                    (V.O.)                 Cheers and whoops.The mood of high spirits is stopped abruptly as the tailgunnerreports back.                      TAILGUNNER                    (V.O.)                 Skipper, Bellson and Lewis are both                 dead.This is the first time the kid's voice is not scared, justpuzzled.                      PILOT                 Dammit!                      BOMBARDIER                    (V.O.)                 Well kid, now you got a real                 bombing mission under your belt.                                             CUT TOTHE BOMBARDIERHe removes his oxygen mask and takes a long swig from abottle.                                             CUT TOEXT. - THE "PACIFIC PEARL"She rejoins the rest of the group.  The formation is notquite as tight as before.  As the formation flies along,puffs of cloud pass by, occasionally obscuring a machine.                                             CUT TOLOW VIEW OF THE "PACIFIC PEARL"Under the "Pacific Pearl's" belly, we see the bellygunnersuspended in his small glass pod.  A red glow brightens upas he drags on a cigar.  The rest of the formation arevisible stretched to the side and behind as puffs of cloudwaft past.  We begin to feel as if the weather might bechanging.                                             CUT TOTHE NOSE OF THE "PACIFIC PEARL"The BOMBARDIER is relaxing inside as he swigs from the bottleand sings raucously.  From the front we look in on the pilotwith the dead co-pilot sagging in his seat next to him.                      BELLYGUNNER                    (V.O.)                 Sorry about Elkhorn, skip.                 What happened?                      PILOT                 I dunno.  The shell exploded and he                 collapsed.  I think he took it in                 the head.                      BELLYGUNNER                    (V.O.)                 Are ya sure he's dead, Skipper?                      PILOT                 He's dead.                      BOMBARDIER                    (sings drunkenly)                 Oh I put my finger in a woodpecker's                 hole and the woodpecker said God                 bless my soul; take it out, take it                 out, take it out, remove it ...                      TAILGUNNER                    (bolder)                 Hey Stepek, just shut up, okay?                      BOMBARDIER                 Up yours kid, wassa matter, you don't                 like my voice?While all this banter has been going on the cloud has beenthickening.  Suddenly a serious voice cuts in on the smalltalk. It's the NAVIGATOR.                      NAVIGATOR                    (V.O.)                 Something's wrong!                                             CUT TOTHE NAVIGATORHe is frantically tapping the compass.                      PILOT                    (V.O.)                 You got a problem, Holden?                      BOMBARDIER                    (V.O.)                 Naw, the kid's the one with the                 problem.  He don't like my voice!                      PILOT                    (V.O.)                 Button it up Stepek.  What's the                 problem, Holden?                      NAVIGATOR                 I must have a malfunction, my compass                 says we're heading north!                                             CUT TOPILOTHe looks at his compass.                      PILOT                 Mine says east.                      NAVIGATOR                    (V.O.)                 Hey, can you guys see the rest of the                 squadron?                      BELLYGUNNER                    (V.O.)                 Negative, there's too much cloud.A sudden flash of lightning illuminates the whole inside ofthe plane.                                             CUT TOTHE COCKPITThe dead co-pilot's pale face is momentarily electric blue,lit by the lightning flash.  We pan past him to the compass inthe instrument panel.  It is spinning madly.                      PILOT                 What the hell ...He reaches forward to tap the compass.                      PILOT                 Hey Holden, now my compass has gone                 crazy.  It's spinning like a son of                 a bitch!                      NAVIGATOR                    (V.O.)                 Mine too, we must have hit a magnetic                 field or something !!                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE THE PLANEWe see a dull glow coming from all crew positions from theon-board lights.  Suddenly a curtain of rain lashes the machine.                      PILOT                    (V.O.)                 Christ, now they're all doing it!!                                             CUT TOTHE INSTRUMENT PANELAll the dials are going haywire.  Above the instrument panelwe see the windshield is spattered with rain.                      BOMBARDIER                    (V.O.)                 You guys quit talking business?                 I'm trying to sing here!  Oh I                 put my finger in a woodpecker's ...                      PILOT                    (irritably)                 Can it Stepek, we got real problems.Just then through the rain, a strange green glow is seenin the distance.  It begins to curve toward the aircraft.                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE THE PLANE - NEAR BELLY TURRETThe turret swings as the gunner spots the glow.                      BELLYGUNNER                 Jesus!  Look at that!!From under the starboard wing, we see the object approaching.                      PILOT                    (V.O.)                 Look at what ... look at what!!?                      BELLYGUNNER                 It's out there, just look at it ...                      PILOT                    (V.O.)                 For Christ sake, give us a position!                      BELLYGUNNER                 It's about four o'clock, just below                 ... Holy Shit, it's coming right at us!The glow suddenly zooms at the plane with great speed and hitsthe starboard inner engine.                                             CUT TOPILOT'S POVHe has to push the dead co-pilot back to peer out thebroken starboard window ... the number three prop is bentand windmilling wildly.  It has a strange green luminescenceabout it ... the whole machine shakes.                      PILOT                 Damn.The PILOT tries to fly the plane and do the co-pilot's job offeathering the bad engine.  Suddenly it's too late as the propwobbles loose and cartwheels over the wing.                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE THE PLANEThe prop flies back and slices a great gash in the aircraft'sskin, near the TAILGUNNER'S position.                                             CUT TOTHE PILOT                      PILOT                 We lost the goddamned prop ...                 Did it do any damage?  Kid, check                 the tail.Silence.                      PILOT                 Come in kid ... kid are you okay?Silence.                      PILOT                 Travis; go check the back.                      BELLYGUNNER                    (V.O.)                 Will do, skipper.                                             CUT TOINSIDE HATCHTRAVIS' turret opens and TRAVIS pulls himself up into the fuselage.                                             CUT TOTHE PILOTThe gauges are now settled except for the oil pressure toNo. 2 engine.  The pressure drops.  The engine heat gaugeclimbs rapidly.  A red warning light begins to flash.                      PILOT                    (to himself)                 Goddamn it, now what?He glances out of his window just in time to see a strange,claw-like feeler coming out of the engine casing.  It detachesone of the cooling gills, then another, and another.  They blowaway in the slipstream.                      PILOT                 Gremlins!                 (rubbing his eyes)                 Jesus, I must be getting tired.                                             CUT TOTHE BELLYGUNNERHe looks in to the kid's reargun compartment.  All that is leftof him is a tattered skeleton.TRAVIS turns, horror frozen on his face.  Quick as a flash,from seemingly nowhere, something flies at him and grabs histhroat.  The mask on his face falls off, and we get a splitsecond look of abject horror as he falls out of frame.                      PILOT                    (V.O.)                 Travis, what's goin' on back there?                                             CUT TOTRAVISHis eyes are open but he is obviously dead.  Through his helmetheadphone, we hear his name.                                             CUT TOTHE PILOT                      PILOT                 Holden, how far to base?                      NAVIGATOR                    (V.O.)                 Skip, with everything screwed up here, I'd,                 I'd guess about two hundred miles.All the time the engine pops and bangs wildly.                      PILOT                 For Christ's sake, find us a place I                 can put her down!                                             CUT TOTHE NAVIGATOR                      NAVIGATOR                 It's all ocean down there, skip!                                             CUT TOTHE PILOT                      PILOT                 Mack, can you get us a radio fix?                                             CUT TOTHE RADIO OPERATOR                      RADIO OPERATOR                 Negative skip, too much interference.                                             CUT TOTHE PILOTHe is fighting the controls.                      PILOT                 Shit!  I've gotta put her down!                                             CUT TOTHE BOMBARDIER                      BOMBARDIER                 Hey Holden ... ya old stuff shirt ...                 ya wanna snort?                      PILOT                    (V.O.)                 For God sakes Stepek, shut up!STEPEK takes another swig from his bottle.  He is lying onhis back partly propped up by the curving nose of the aircraft.He is about to make another smart ass reply, when he hears astrange scratching and chirping noise above his head.  Helooks up in time to see sharp teeth and claws start to appearthrough the lining above his head.  He blinks in disbelief andthrows his bottle away as if the image came from the whiskey.                      BOMBARDIER                 Oh my God, there's ... there's ...                 ahh ... keep away ... keep away ...                 (struggles)                 ... hey no ... hey somebody ...                 (screams)                      NAVIGATOR                    (V.O.)                 Stepek, you stupid sonovabitch, will                 you lay off the booze, you've got the                 D.T.'s ...STEPEK is wide-eyed and scared silly as the sound now beginsunder his feet and pincers begin to snip through the floor.He suddenly realizes that the whole floor is giving way beneathhim, and he grabs for a handful of cables as the floor collapses.                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE THE AIRCRAFTThe lower half of STEPEK is hanging in the slipstream, kickingmadly.  We see that his legs are covered in wriggling creatures.                                             CUT BACK TOSTEPEKHe is losing his grip with one hand, but still desperatelyclinging on to a bunch of cables with the other.  Suddenlyan ugly pincer cuts the cables and STEPEK is gone ... outinto the night.                                             CUT TOTHE PLANESuddenly the No. 2 engine begins to backfire, blasting backlarge gobs of orange flame.  The oil, heat and manifold gaugesare off the dial and red lights frantically flash.  Desperatelythe PILOT looks out of the window.Pieces begin flying off the engine.  The cowling disintegratesrevealing the bare engine beneath.  Small figures are franticallybusy ripping the engine to pieces.                                             CUT TOTHE PILOTHe is scared.                      PILOT                 Holden, for God's sake get up                 here on the double.                      NAVIGATOR                    (V.O.)                 What's the problem, skip?                      PILOT                 Just get up here!The NAVIGATOR grimaces as he pushes past the dead co-pilot.                      NAVIGATOR                 What is it, skip?                 (looking out windows)                 JESUS H. CHRIST!                      PILOT                 Hold 'em off.  I'm taking her down.He peers out at the incredible sight of the creatures rippingoff the wing skin and tearing huge plates from the cowlings.The camera pans down to his feet as the hatch door handle twistsand then bursts open.  A dozen bat-like creatures swarm in.The NAVIGATOR panics and reaches up, grabbing the flare gunfrom its rack.  He screams as the creatures attack and shootsright through the creatures, bathing the aircraft with a brightruby glow.                      NAVIGATOR                    (struggling)                 Okay you little bastards ... shit ...                 (screams)                                             CUT TOTHE RADIO OPERATORThe flare shoots down the fuselage and smashes into him.Wreathed in flames, he falls back into the fuselage.                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE THE AIRCRAFTCreatures swarm all over the plane.  The ball turret fallsoff.  A wheel suddenly lowers, then falls off.  A flap fluttersfree and blows away.  Oil streams back into the slipstream andsections of the skin of the plane come away, revealing theskeleton framework of the fuselage.                                             CUT TOTHE PILOTHe is fighting the controls.  Creatures are now in the cockpit,plucking out the instruments.  The PILOT reaches to the throttleonly to grab a creature that locks on to his gloved hand.Flying the plane with his good hand, he strikes and pummelsat the attacking creatures with the other.                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE THE AIRCRAFTIt is now almost a flying skeleton.  For the first time, wesee that it is heading for an island.  A figure detaches itselffrom the machine and plummets away.                                             CUT TOTHE PILOTHe falls, terror-stricken, through space.  Finally his chuteopens.  A slimy creature still clings to his gloved hand.  He ripsoff the glove and throws it and the creature away.                      PILOT                 (struggling)                 Jesus H. Christ!                                             CUT TOTHE ISLANDThe approaching smoking plane bellies onto the sea, bounces,then skims along the wave tops, careening up onto the beach,where it twists around crazily before coming to a lopsidedstop.  The machine faces us head-on and we see a glow comingfrom what's left of No. 3 engine. The camera zooms in rapidlyto a green ball stuck in engine No. 3.                                             CUT TOTHE PILOTHe has landed, and is undoing his parachute harness.  He looksaround incredulously.  The island is a junkyard - a veritablegraveyard of aircrafts.  There are many aircrafts, both oldwrecks and futuristic-looking ones lying everywhere.  Skeletalcorpses are still left in some of the wrecks.  The camera pansto the remains of one machine.  It is an old American LockheedElectra.  It glints dull in the half light of dawn.  Paintedon its side are two names; "Amelia Earhart" and "Fred Noonan".The camera continues to move through this panorama of metallicjunk until it stops on a long chrome rod sticking up out ofa pile of scrap.Tilting up to the sky we see the clouds part as two gargantuanmetal arms emerge and descend down toward the junkpile.  Themetal arms reach the chrome rod, grip it tightly, and begin tolift it up.WWe follow as the cylinder is pulled higher and higher, finallycoming to a stop in front of a giant eyeball.  The camera pullsback to reveal that the eyeball belongs to AUSTIN GRIMALDI,who carefully scrutinizes the orange diode held tightly in hisneedlenose pliers.                      AUSTIN                 Got it.Satisfied that this is the piece he had lost in the machine,he begins to re-solder it in place.  Behind him, a LITTLEGIRL with red hair comes into the room and walks up to him.                      LITTLE GIRL                 It's broken again, isn't it Daddy?                      AUSTIN                    (concentrating)                 Yes dear.  But Daddy's fixing                 it.  (hums)                      LITTLE GIRL                    (watching)                 How come it's always breaking?                      AUSTIN                 I don't know, sweetheart.  Mmmmhmm.                      LITTLE GIRL                 When it's fixed, will you make more                 funny pictures for me?                      AUSTIN                 Honey, why don't you go play with                 your toys and let Daddy finish his                 work, okay?  Mmmm ...                      LITTLE GIRL                 Okay.The LITTLE GIRL wanders around to the other side of the machine,as AUSTIN flips a switch.  Once again the glass sphere sparklesand the holographic screen lights up.  AUSTIN uses a tool tofine-tune the holograph and an image begins to materialize;the glass gates of Kraan.As the image becomes clearer, the camera pulls closer and closerto the holograph screen.                                             CUT TOTHE GATES OF KRAANThe Council's voices still ringing in her head, TAARNA fliesin over the demolished gates.  Below her, the once-beautifulcity lies in ruins.Gliding overtop the deserted streets, she sees a column ofsmoke rising through the wrecked dome of the building in thetown's center.  As she watches the smoke rise, she pulls hardon the reins, and heads her bird up.The camera follows as she rides in through the shattered domedown to the Council Chambers below.Corpses of the Councilmen are strewn everywhere.  In thecenter of the room, a large pile of ancient books andmanuscripts lie smouldering.  Reaching the floor, TAARNAdismounts and starts to look around.  At the head ofthe marble table sits the ELDER - dead.  In front of him,a roll of parchment lies on the table.  TAARNA opens it.Carefully painted on the parchment is a circle of mountains,their tops glowing green.TAARNA looks at it, and puts it in her sack.  Then she noticesthat the ELDER is clutching something in his hand.  Pryinghis stiff fingers apart, she finds a blood-stained medallionjust like the one her attacker wore on his chain.Looking at the dead ELDER, TAARNA grips the medallion tightlyin her hand.                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE THE COUNCIL BUILDINGTAARNA flies back out through the shattered dome and surveysthe city below.  All is quiet and dark, except for a green glowcoming from a second-floor window.  Curious, she flies over,pulls up beside the window, and climbs in.                                             CUT TOGIRL'S BEDROOMEntering, TAARNA sees the slimy silk-like cocoon on the bed.The basket of fruit still sits on the floor.  Fromwithin the webbing, the green ball is glowing brightly.TAARNA looks at the parchment in her sack, then at the glowcoming from the cocoon.  Cautiously, she approaches the cocoon,sword drawn.Suddenly a hand from within the cocoon grabs the ball andshoots forward, ripping through the webbing and holding theball up to TAARNA's face.  The hand belongs to a hideouslyugly witch, who emerges from the cocoon, cackling throughsnake-like fangs.                      WITCH                 Behold!  The Sphere of Uluhtec!                 Look upon it, Taarna.  Look upon                 it with fear.  For in its glow lies                 the end of heaven - the beginning of                 hell.  Take it Taarna.  Feel death                 in your hands.  For death is upon                 you.  And as you perish ... so dies                 your race!The witch's eyes go green.                      WITCH                    (screaming)                 Take it !!She hurls tha ball at TAARNA, who dodges it.  The ball sailspast her, out the window.  Then TAARNA, sword raised, leapsat the WITCH, slicing through her in rapid strokes.The WITCH cackles and crumbles into dust, but her green eyesstay suspended in the air, and her cackle echoes throughthe room.TAARNA backs away, climbing out the window, onto her bird.  Asshe flies off, she sees the WITCH'S green ball high above her,rising into the clouds and disappearing.                                             CUT TOSPACEThe WITCH'S green ball zooms through space, as Earth appearsin the distance.  Then another object comes into sight.  Gettingcloser we see that is is a modern winged rocketplane of nodeterminable nationality, soaring high above Earth.  The greenmeteorite passes, briefly bathing the rocketplane in its glow.The rocketplane banks sharply, then stabilizes.  Slowly thehatch-doors in its belly open up, revealing the underside ofan automobile suspended in the open hatch.Hydraulic metal arms emerge, lowering the automobile out fromthe belly of the cruising rocketplane.  We can see nowthat the car is a white, '59 Corvette convertible.With a "thunk", the metal arms release the car, andas the rocketplane blasts away, the Corvette begins itsfree-fall to Earth.As the car falls gracefully through space, the driver playswith the wheel, causing the Corvette to bank smoothly oneway, then the other.Once his direction is stable, the driver clicks on the carradio and adjusts it through various channels, until he settleson one.With the music playing, the car falls closer and closer toEarth, entering and emerging from the cloud cover over theatmosphere.  In the heat of entry the vehicle's paint startsburning up.As he heads down over a deserted area, the driver begins hisapproach.  Touching down at breakneck speed, the smokingCorvette bounces violently, every part straining at therepeated impact.The driver's face is expressionless as he jams the car intohigh gear and floors it, spinning the wheels in an attemptto translate downward momentum into forward motion.  Thenhe pops his drag chute to help slow down.TThis accomplished, the expressionless driver releases thechute, and speeds off down the road in a cloud of dust.                                             CUT TOEXT.  THE PENTAGON - AERIAL SHOTFrom high above the building we see a crowd of reportersand T.V. newsmen waiting on the front steps.The '59 Corvette pulls up at the curb below, and seeingit, the reporters all start to run over.The camera zooms down and into the car.  Inside, the driverreaches over, unplugs a rubber hose, and loosens the twolarge hex-nuts which connect him to the car.  As he gets out,the reporters come running up.                      FEMALE REPORTER                    (to driver)                 Doctor Anrak, six more mutants were                 sighted in Arizona this morning.  Do                 you still say this has nothing to do                 with the green radiation from space.The driver walks on without speaking.                      T.V. NEWSMAN                    (walking alongside)                 Doctor, is it true that the President                 himself pulled you off the Jupiter Six                 Project so that you could investigate                 those mutations? Doctor, answer me that.He ignores the question, and walks past the guard into thePentagon.                                             CUT TOINT.  PENTAGON - MEETING ROOMAround a large table sit the Joint Chiefs of Staff, members ofthe Cabinet, and a pretty secretary wearing a tight skirt.An argument is in progress as the expressionless DOCTOR ANRAKenters.  The camera follows him as he sits down next to oneof the Generals.                      FAT POLITICIAN                 ... well what I wanna know is,                 what's the Army doing about this?                 Hell!  My constiuents are turning                 green!  They're growing arms on                 their backs.  There's something or                 someone up there in space and the                 voters have a right to know about it!                      GENERAL                 Senator, we have no proof that these                 mutations are the result of interference                 from outer space.  In fact, Doctor Anrak                 has just come in, so let's hear what he                 has to say ... Doctor?The room goes silent as the DOCTOR stands up.                      DOCTOR                 First of all, there is no cause for                 alarm.  As for the theories of interference                 by alien beings, it is my firm opinion that                 we on Earth are the only intelligent,                 technically advanced civilization present                 in the universe.                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE THE PENTAGONAn enormous round spaceship the size of Pittsburg hoversoverhead.                                             CUT BACK TOTHE MEETING ROOM                      DOCTOR                 ... and whatever is causing these                 mutations is not from outer space.                 it's more likely just an isolated                 biological pheno ... pheno ... ph ...                 ph ... ph ...Suddenly the DOCTOR'S head starts to jerk from side to side.Everyone looks on, not knowing how to react.  As the DOCTORbegins to move in short bursts, like a broken robot, hefixes his gaze upon the pretty secretary across the table.                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE THE PENTAGONFrom the bottom of the huge spacecraft, a metal tube emerges andstarts to drill through the roof of the Pentagon.                                             CUT BACK TOTHE MEETING ROOMThe DOCTOR starts to shake violently as he stares at the prettysecretary.                      DOCTOR                 Pretty ... pretty ... p ... p ...Suddenly he lunges at her, sliding across the table.As the DOCTOR struggles with the terrified girl, the camerapans up to the ceiling, where the metal tube from the spaceshipdrills through.  Descending upon them, it sucks them up instantly.                      DOCTOR                 Aaarrgghh!                      SECRETARY                 Eeeeeek!                                             CUT TOINSIDE THE SPACECRAFT - CONTROL ROOMA metallic robot holding a clipboard, is standing in front ofa large glass receiving jar, as DOCTOR ANRAK comes throughthe tube and lands in the jar.  As soon as the DOCTOR'S feethit the bottom of the jar, the DOCTOR breaks into a lot ofsmall metallic parts.                      ROBOT                    (Mechanical voice)                 Oh, nice job.  How am I supposed                 to fix this guy?  He's fucked.ZEKE and EDSEL, two alien space-pilots, are standing nearby,at the control console.  They look like big furry orange headson stilts, with arms coming out of the sider.                      ZEKE                    (to Edsel)                 I guess we turned it up a                 little too high.                      EDSEL                    (to Robot)                 Sorry, man.                      ROBOT                 You're sorry?  What about me?                 I've gotta put this asshole                 back together.Suddenly the pretty secretary comes through the tube and landsin the jar.  She's a little mussed up, but okay.                      GLORIA                 (gasp)  Where am I?                      ROBOT                    (staring)                 Hey, who's the chick?                      GLORIA                 Well look at my clothes!                 Who's gonna pay for the dry                 cleaning?  And where am I?                 I demand that you return me                 to my office immediately.                      ROBOT                 Too late - molecular instability                 zone around spacecraft. You cannot                 leave.                      GLORIA                    (to Zeke)                 What?!  Is he kidding?                      ZEKE                 Uh ...He looks at the ROBOT, who winks at him.                      ZEKE                 ... oh yeah.  Instability zone.                 You're stuck here.ZEKE and EDSEL try to keep straight faces.                      GLORIA                    (stunned)                 But I have to be at my parents                 for dinner tonight.  And my                 gynecologist appointment is on                 Wednesday.                      ROBOT                 Not anymore.  Would you, ah, like                 a drink?                 (leading her away)                 You'll feel better after a glass of                 fresh blo-aak.They disappear down a corridor.                      GLORIA                    (V.O.)                 Do you have any diet soda?                                             CUT TOCONTROL CONSOLE                      EDSEL                    (to Zeke)                 Ah, typical robot.  The first                 Earth-chick we see in ten years,                 and he's gotta make a play for her.EDSEL jams the gearshift into 'D' for Drive, and the shiplifts away from Earth.                      ZEKE                 Hey, do we have any of that                 Plutonian Nyborg left?                      EDSEL                 Uh, yeah.  Just one bag.  Uh, it's                 in the transmitter compartment.                      ZEKE                 Uh, thanks man.ZEKE opens a hatch and pulls out a double-spouted plasticbag on wheels the size of a steamer-trunk.  It is full ofwhite powder.He pours two fifteen-foot lines of powder onto the floor.Then, he pauses.                      ZEKE                    (surveying the lines)                 Oh great.  Think this is enough?                      EDSEL                    (thinking)                 Uhh ... nah.  Go for broke.                      ZEKE                 Good thinking, man.As he resumes pouring, ZEKE begins singing to himself in analien tongue.  When the lines are poured, they both stand atthe start of the trail of white powder, and part their hairto reveal nostrils hidden in their foreheads.                      ZEKE & EDSEL                 Nose dive!They both start to criss-cross the room, inhaling the whitepowder like vaccuum cleaners.  As they happily snort theNyborg, the camera pans back to the glass receiving jar, andmoves down through the broken pieces of DOCTOR ANRAK.  Reachinghis lifeless face, the camera moves around to the back of thehead.  Through the shattered metal we can see a green ball,glowing inside ANRAK'S skullpiece.                                             DISSOLVE TOSPACE - ZEKE AND EDSEL'S P.O.V.As the round spaceship moves through space, a group ofasteroids approach and whip past.  Up ahead, a red sunturns white and goes super-nova.                      EDSEL                    (V.O.)                 Oh, wow ... good Nyborg!                                             CUT TOINSIDE THE SPACECRAFT - ROBOT'S BEDROOMGLORIA PEARLMAN and the ROBOT are lying in bed, naked.They have just finished making love.  She is smoking a cigarette.                      GLORIA                    (glazed)                 That was incredible.  I've never felt                 anything like it.                      ROBOT                 Oh great.  I have been programmed to                 be fully proficient in sexual activities.                 Do you want to go steady?                      GLORIA                 Gee, I don't know.  I already have                 a boyfriend.                      ROBOT                 Ah, what he does not know will not                 hurt him.                                             CUT TOCONTROL CONSOLEZEKE and EDSEL are sitting at the controls, staring wide-eyedout into space.  They are obviously stoned.  Suddenly a bellrings and the communicator screen lights up.  A serious officer'sface appears on it.                      OFFICER ON SCREEN                 Mothership calling starcruiser Alpha ...                 Mothership calling starcruiser Alpha ...ZEKE looks over at the screen and then shouts into it.                      ZEKE                 Whaddyawant, man?                      OFFICER ON SCREEN                 Mothership calling Starcruiser Alpha ...                      EDSEL                    (to Zeke)                 You gotta use the microphone.                      ZEKE                 Oh yeah.                 (shouts into microphone)                 Whaddyawant man?                      OFFICER                 Now listen, idiot.  Do I have to                 tell you eight hundred times?  You                 don't call me "man"!  You call me                 "Com-Op Officer Blix". Now is that                 perfectly clear?                      ZEKE                    (into mike)                 Yeah, sure.  Whaddyawant, man?                      OFFICER                    (disgruntled)                 You are to return immediately to                 the Mother Ship and pick up a                 humanoid civilian.  Your orders                 are to escort him to the Interplanetary                 Tribunal Courtroom so that he can testify                 at the trial of Lincoln Sternn.  And make                 it snappy!The screen goes blank.                      EDSEL                 Wow!  They finally got Sternn.                      ZEKE                 It's about time.  Hang on, man.                 Here we go.ZEKE jams the gearshift into hyper-drive.                                             CUT TOSPACEThe round spaceship blasts forward at ten times the speedof light.                                             DISSOLVE TOSPACE - LATERZEKE and EDSEL'S round spacecraft looks like an appleheading toward a freight train as it approaches theenormous mother-ship.                                             CUT TOINSIDE SPACECRAFT - CONTROL CONSOLEAn ashtray full of roaches sits on the console.  ZEKE isat the controls with a joint in his mouth.  He is swayingback and forth, eyes glazed.  Beside him, EDSEL watchesthe mothership getting closer.                      EDSEL                    (to Zeke)                 You okay to land this thing?                      ZEKE                 No problem, man.                                             CUT TOMOTHERSHIP'S LANDING AREAHuge red arrows point the way through the ten-mile widelanding area as the round spaceship glides in.                      EDSEL                    (V.O.)                 I think you're goin' a little high,                 man.                      ZEKE                    (V.O.)                 It's okay, man.  If there's one                 thing I know, it's how to drive                 when I'm stoned.  It's like, you                 know your perspective's fucked,                 so you just gotta let your hands                 work the controls as if you're                 straight.The round ship rams directly into a wall, and crashes down,skidding to a stop in front of the loading bay.                      EDSEL                    (V.O.)                 Oh, wow, good landing, man.                      ZEKE                    (V.O.)                 Thanks.                                             CUT TOINSIDE SPACECRAFT - ENTRANCE HATCHZEKE and EDSEL press a button to open the hatch doors.As the door opens we see two metallic Regolian guardswaiting on the other side.  Between them stands a small,shabbily-dressed humanoid with a crooked jaw andcauliflower ears.  This is HANOVER FISTE.                      REGOLIAN GUARD                    (to Zeke and Edsel)                 This man is to be delivered to the,                 clik, Interplanetary Tribunal, Courtroom                 #3, clik, Galaxy versus Lincoln Sternn.                 Thenk yew.  Clik.The guards wheel away.                      FISTE                    (meekly)                 Ah, hello.                                             CUT TOCORRIDOR IN SPACESHIPZEKE and EDSEL escort FISTE down the corridor.                      EDSEL                    (to Fiste)                 Umm, you're gonna testify at                 Sternn's trial?FISTE nods.                      ZEKE                 They gotta give him at least, like,                 life.                      FISTE                 Lincoln Sternn is a kind and honourable                 man.                 (camera pulls close to Fiste's face)                 He will be freed.                                             CUT TOSPACE - LATERAs the round spaceship journeys through space it passes througha fantastic space-scape of disembodied rock statues, and pasta magnificent graffiti-covered robot chained to an asteroid.                      EDSEL                    (V.O.)                 Y'know, I wish they'd clean this place                 up, man.                      ZEKE                    (V.O.)                 Yeah.  It's like pig city out here.                      EDSEL                    (V.O.)                 Yeah.                                             CUT TOROBOT'S BEDROOMGLORIA is getting dressed as the ROBOT re-charges his energy-paks.                      ROBOT                 ... but I don't understand.  We                 laugh together.  We care for each                 other.  We have highly proficient                 sex.  Why can't we get married?                      GLORIA                 Look, we're different, okay?  Let's                 leave it at that.                                             CUT TOCONTROL ROOMThe hatch opens, and GLORIA and the ROBOT walk through,still talking.                      GLORIA                 ... but mixed marriages just don't                 work.  What if you get tired of me                 and run off with a vibrator or                 something?As they move through the room, and out the other side, theypass FISTE, who is sitting quietly near the receiving jar,hands folded.  Looking around, FISTE notices a green glowcoming from the bottom of the jar.  He gets up, quietly opensthe jar, and pokes through the scrap robot parts.Finding the small green ball in ANRAK'S head, he pulls itout and looks at it.                                             CUT TOCONTROL CONSOLEZEKE and EDSEL are sitting at the controls, driving carefully.FISTE, carrying the green ball, comes up and sits down besidethem.                      ZEKE                 There it is, man.  I'm gonna hang                 a louie here.                      EDSEL                    (to Fiste)                 Yeah, well it won't be long now.  Are                 you sure you're gonna testify for Sternn.FISTE says nothing.  He just clutches the green ball and staresinto space.ZEKE and EDSEL look at each other and shrug.                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE THE SPACESHIPAn enormous, brightly-lit, multi-level space station/courthousefloats into view, completely filling the screen.  ZEKE andEDSEL'S round spaceship is just a speck as it enters the frame,approaching the mammoth structure.                                             CUT TOSPACE-STATION LANDING DOCKThe ship locks into the dock, and the exit hatch opens.GLORIA and the ROBOT come through first, ahead of ZEKE, EDSEL,and FISTE.                      GLORIA                 ... alright, alright.  I'll marry                 you - but on one condition ... I                 want a Jewish wedding.                      ROBOT                 A Jewish wedding!?!!!  But this is                 space.  95% of the population are                 robots.                      GLORIA                 Well, find me a robot-rabbi!                      ROBOT                 Okay, okay!                      EDSEL                 I give them six months, man.                      ZEKE                 He doesn't even look Jewish!GLORIA and the ROBOT disappear around a corner as ZEKE and EDSELescort FISTE through the hatch.  FISTE is carrying the smallgreen ball.As they lead FISTE away, the camera pulls back, out througha space-port, and moves along the outside of the slowlyrotating space-station.  At the top, the camera zooms downthrough a massive glass-domed ceiling and into a hugeinter-galactic courtroom.Voices echo below us.                      PROSECUTOR                 Are you Captain Lincoln F. Sternn?                      STERNN                 I am.As we move down, we see square-jawed CAPTAIN STERNN, hisshifty-eyed lawyer, and the cold Prosecutor all standingbefore the Judge.STERNN is smirking confidently as the Prosecutor reads froma long page of charges.                      PROSECUTOR                 Lincoln Sternn - you stand here                 accused of twelve counts of murder                 in the first degree  ... fourteen                 counts of armed theft of Federation                 property ...                                             CUT TOTHE GALLERYThe hostile humanoid and alien faces all stare at STERNN withhateful, accusing eyes.                      PROSECUTOR                    (V.O.)                 ... twenty-two counts of piracy                 in high space ... eighteen counts of                 fraud ...                                             CUT TOSTERNN'S LAWYERMopping his brow, he looks nervously over to STERNN.                      PROSECUTOR                    (V.O.)                 ... thirty-seven counts of rape, and                 one moving violation.  How do you plead?                                             CUT TOCAPTAIN STERNNSmiling to himself, he nods, then gets serious.                      STERNN                 Not guilty!                      LAWYER                    (whispers to Sternn)                 Not guilty?!?  Are you nuts?!?                      STERNN                    (whispers to lawyer)                 It's okay, Charlie.  I got an                 angle.                      JUDGE                    (to Prosecutor)                 Call the first witness!STERNN and his lawyer move to their seats.                      LAWYER                    (to Sternn)                 But the Prosecutor's gotcha cold!                 Yer as guilty as a cat in a goldfish                 bowl.                                             CUT TOTHE COURTROOM DOORSZEKE and EDSEL enter with FISTE, and push their way to thefront.                      PROSECUTOR                 The Prosecution calls Hanover Fiste.                      GUARD #1                 Calling Hanover Fiste!                      GUARD #2                 Calling Hanover Fiste!                      GUARD #3                 Calling Hanover Fiste!                      GUARD #4                 Hanover Fiste!ZEKE and EDSEL sit down, while HANOVER FISTE, small andshabby, walks up to the witness stand, nervously clutchingthe small green ball in his hand.  As he passes, STERNN andhis lawyer continue to argue.                      LAWYER                    (pleading)                 Lissen Sternn ... change the plea                 to guilty.  Throw yerself on the                 mercy of the court.                      STERNN                 I told you, Charlie.  I got an                 angle.HANOVER FISTE is sworn in, as Sternn's lawyer begs.                      LAWYER                 But the most we can hope for is to                 get ya buried in secrecy so yer grave                 don't get violated!  Plead guilty!                      STERNN                 Shut up, Charlie.  I got an angle.                      LAWYER                 What angle?                      STERNN                    (pointing to Fiste)                 Him!                                             CUT TOWITNESS STAND                      PROSECUTOR                 State your name for the record.                      FISTE                    (fidgeting nervously with                     the green ball)                 I am Hanover Fiste.                                             CUT TOSTERNN                      STERNN                    (winking to lawyer)                 I promised him thirty-five thousand                 zuleks to testify on my behalf.                                             CUT BACK TOWITNESS STAND                      PROSECUTOR                 You know the defendant,                 (pointing)                 Captain Sternn?                      FISTE                 Yes, I know Captain Sternn.  And                 never did there live a kinder, more                 generous man.  He is an overflowing                 cup, filled with the very cream of                 human goodness ...                                             CUT TOSTERNN AND HIS LAWYER                      STERNN                    (to lawyer)                 See?                                             CUT BACK TOWITNESS STAND                      FISTE                 ... in all the time I've known him,                 he's never done anything immoral ...                 (thinking)                 unless maybe the Pre-Schooler's                 Prostitute ring ...                                             CUT TOSTERNN AND HIS LAWYERThey look at each other, shocked.                      STERNN & LAWYER                 Huh?!?                                             CUT BACK TOWITNESS STAND                      FISTE                    (speaking gently)                 ... and he's ah, never done anything                 illegal ...                 (turning sharply)                 ... unless you count all the times                 he sold dope disguised as a nun!!                 (reverting to meekness)                 He's always been a good, law-abiding                 citizen ...                 (shouting at himself)                 Awww, gimme a break!!                 (gentle again)                 ... of the Federation, and, and ...                 (going schizo)                 Shut Up!  Shut Up!  Shut Up!                 (gentle, but starting to sweat)                 ... a community-concious individual, ah, ah ...                 (rising in crazed anger)                 STERNN!!!                 (pointing as he screams)                 He's nothin' but a low-down, double-dealin',                 back-stabbin', larcenous, perverted worm!!STERNN and his lawyer look on, horrified, as FISTE'S bodystarts to grow.                      FISTE                 Hangin's too good for him!!New muscles tear through FISTE'S shabby clothes.                      FISTE                 Burnin's too good for him!!Growing larger, he starts foaming at the mouth.                      STERNN                 Hanover ...                      FISTE                 He should be torn into little bitsy                 pieces and buried alive!!!FISTE rams his hands down onto the Witness Stand, shatteringit completely.                      STERNN                 Hanover ...                      FISTE                 I'll kill him!He hurls the Prosecutor aside, and moves towards STERNN withthundering footsteps.                      FISTE                 KII - ILLL!!!Still growing, he rips apart the Judge's bench as he passesit.  Finally  he stands towering in rage over the terrifiedSTERNN.                      STERNN                    (to Fiste)                 H-h-hey, Hanover ...                 n-now take it easy, Hanover,                 I'm sure we can talk this ov ...Instinctively, STERNN leaps back as FISTE'S giant hands comesmashing down in the spot where STERNN stood.  The galleryscatters screaming as STERNN runs for the door.  Slavering,FISTE thunders after him.  STERNN runs through the exit,bolting the door behind him.  FISTE follows, tearing thedoor apart, and bringing the entire courtroom wall down inthe process.                                             CUT TOSTERNNRunning down a hallway, STERNN passes a group of Regoliancops, who raise their weapons in an attempt to block therampaging FISTE.                      REGOLIAN #1                 Halt, clik, in the name of the                 Federation, clik.  Where is your                 corridor pass?                 (to other Regolians)                 Unco-operative humanoid, clik,                 blast him.They open fire, but FISTE is unstoppable.  Still growing,he grabs the Regolians's weapons, crunches them up and eatsthem.                      REGOLIAN #1                 You are now in violation of Code                 103-N-17, clik, paragraph A-64 ...                 unauthorized consumption of Federation                 property.  Please come quietly, clik,                 ... thenk yew.With a single clap of his enormous hands, FISTE crushes theRegolian's metal skulls together into an accordian the thicknessof a dime.                                             CUT TOSTERNNHe races through a metallic hallway, and ducks into a boilerroom, then down a long dark tunnel.  At the end of the tunnel,STERNN comes to a dead-end, and stops to rest.                      STERNN                 Oh, this looks good.                      FISTE                 (growls)                      STERNN                 Oh, duck under here ...                      FISTE                 I'll get you!!                      STERNN                 I think I'll turn here!                 (runs, gasping)                 Come on feet, don't fail me now!                      FISTE                 Sternn!!!                      STERNN                 Uh oh ...                 (runs)                 Ah, gasp, ah whew, lost him!                      FISTE                 STERNN!!                      STERNN                 Okay, Hanover, you've had this                 coming!Taking a deep breath, STERNN reaches into his pocket, pullsout a wad of bills, and counts them out as he hands them toFISTE.                      STERNN                 Let's see, thirty-three, thirty-                 four, thirty-five thousand zuleks.                 Thanks Hanover.                      FISTE                    (taking money)                 S'nothin, boss.Counting his money, FISTE starts shrinking back to hisnormal size.                      STERNN                 And Hanover ...                      FISTE                 Yes?                      STERNN                 Goodbye.STERNN pulls a lever, which opens up the floor below FISTE,who screams, falling out into space.  As FISTE slides out,STERNN grabs the money from FISTE'S hand and smiles.                                             CUT TOTHE OUTLANDSAll is quiet across this vast expanse of rusted pipes andbarren desert.  The silence is broken by a whistling sound whichgets louder and louder.  Then, thud!A green ball lands in the dirt in front of us.  Fluttering downaround it are HANOVER FISTE'S tattered clothes.  Then theburnt ashes of Hanover's body land in a small pile beside hisclothes.  Panning up we see TAARNA flying on her bird in thedistance.                                             CUT TOTAARNAShe swoops down and flies through a maze of rusting pipes andcables which look like the ramnants of an ancient power station.Then she steers her bird through a hidden opening in the rottingfloor, and enters a magnificent  secret hideaway cut deep intothe rock.                                             CUT TOINSIDE TAARNA'S HIDEAWAYLanding her bird on a circular slab of gleaming marble, TAARNAdismounts and walks over to a shimmering pool.  Here she disrobes,and picking up a small gold pitcher, she pours an ancient oilover herself.  It shines and sparkles as it touches her skin.Then she steps into the water, where her body seems to sparkleeven brighter.Finishing her sacred bath, she steps out and walks to a stonewall.  When she touches it, a rock panel slides away to reveala gold chest.  TAARNA opens it.Inside the chest lies a glistening set of armoured garments,so bright that TAARNA must shield her eyes for a moment.  Then,as she looks down at the armour, the voice of TAARAK THEDEFENDER comes into her head.                      TAARAK                    (V.O.)                 To defend - this is the Pact.                 but when life loses its value,                 and it taken for nought, then                 the Pact is ... to avenge!!Through a series of dissolves we see TAARNA'S hands sensuouslyfitting the various metallic pieces over her firm body.  Finallywe pull back to see her fully.Standing before us, glistening in the torch-light, she looksmagnificent.  Reaching once more into the chest, TAARNA pullsout a golden sword.  As she holds it, it seems to vibrate,almost buzzing in her hands.  Suddenly she swings it, slicingcleanly through one of the stone torches on the rock wall.  Asthe burning torch falls to the ground, TAARNA leaves.                                             CUT TOTHE SKYFrom over our heads, TAARNA comes soaring past, her armourgleaming in the rays of the setting sun.  Below her, shesees a metallic holiday-town filled with barbarian soldiers.Drunken blue men fight in the streets, strange animals runaround loose, and dead or drunken bodies lie in the gutters.Looking down, amidst the melee, she sees three winged creaturestied up in front of a bar.  The camera zooms in on one of thecreature's saddlebags.  It has a silver medallion set into theleather, identical to the one which TAARNA pried from theElder's fingers.                                             CUT TOINSIDE THE BARROOMBarbarian honky-tonk music fills the crowded room, asvarious barbarian soldiers sit drinking and fondling thebar-girls who are dressed in cheap, flashy metal outfits.Three of the blue barbarians are particularly drunk androwdy as they push a non-barbarian down, dump a drink on hishead, laugh and kick him.                                             CUT TOTHE BARROOM DOORTAARNA walks in through the swinging silver and plexiglassdoors, past the three soldiers kicking their victim.  She sitsdown at the bar.The three brutish blue soldiers finish stomping the man andwalk over to the bar, crowding close around TAARNA.                      BARBARIAN #1                 Hey, look.  A new one.                 (to Taarna)                 Where you from, baby?TAARNA ignores him.                      BARBARIAN #2                 Doesn't talk much, does she ?                      BARBARIAN #3                 She doesn't have to talk for what                 I want to do with her.                                             CUT TOTAARNA'S HANDIt slowly moves down to her sword, and unclips the safety strap.                                             CUT BACK TOTHE BARBARIANS                      BARBARIAN #3                 (running his hand across her breastplate)                 C'mon baby, let's see what's under there.                      BARBARIAN #1                 (starting to undo her breastplate)                 Yeah, let's have a look.Taarna slowly stands up, pushing their hands away, and takesa step back.                      BARBARIAN #2                 Heey, she's tough.                      BARBARIAN #3                 Maybe she wants to fight?They all laugh.                      BARBARIAN #1                 ... or maybe she wants to take                 us all on?Still laughing, they move towards her.In a blinding flash, TAARNA draws her golden sword, and wieldingit like a Samurai master, slices off all three of their heads.In an instant, the sword is back in its sheath.The barbarian's heads stop laughing as they fall to the ground.The music stops, and everyone in the bar stares at TAARNA.Stepping over the bodies, TAARNA walks up to the bartender,pulls out the parchment picture of the glowing mountains, andshows it to him.  The bartender looks at it carefully, thenpoints out the window.                      BARTENDER                 Beyond the oasis.TAARNA nods and leaves.                                             CUT BACK TOTHE BARTENDERHis eyes start to turn green.  The camera gets closer andcloser to his glowing eyes, until the green glow turns intothe image of a ball, lying in the ground, in AUSTIN'S holograph.                                             CUT TOAUSTINAUSTIN is crouched over the machine turning several knobs,trying to make the ball move.  Nothing happens.                      AUSTIN                    (to himself)                 Hmmm ... must be jammed.Frustrated, AUSTIN picks up a flashlight, opens up a compartmentunderneath the control knobs, and takes a look inside.  WhileAUSTIN fiddles inside the machine, we see two hands appear onthe holograph screen and pick up the green ball.  AUSTIN looksover to the holograph and notices.                      AUSTIN                 Where'd it go?                                             CUT TOTHE HANDSAs the hands cradle the green ball, the camera pulls backto reveal a skinny, unco-ordinated boy wearing thick eyeglasses,carrying the sphere across his backyard.  This is DAN.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 It all started when I found the green                 meteorite.  I read in Farraday's "Life                 of the Planets" that smaller ones like                 this are supposed to burn up when they                 enter the atmosphere, but for some reason                 this one didn't ...DAN carries the ball into a typical small-town house.                                             DISSOLVE TOT.V. ANTENNA ON ROOF - STORMY NIGHTAs the narration continues, we follow two red wires downfrom the T.V. antenna, along the roof, and into DAN'S atticwindow.  The wires run through a bucket of water and are hookedup to some electronic parts on DAN'S desk.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 ... so I brought it up to my room,                 stuck it in my rock collection and                 forgot about it.  I was experimenting                 with natural electricity ...The camera pans around the room to show various displays ofDAN'S scientific tinkering - blue-ribbon science projects,transparent models of a man and a woman showing all internalorgans, and many books.In the corner, the green ball sits in DAN'S rock collection.At his desk, DAN impatiently shuffles through the dusty pagesof an old scientific journal.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 ... and with the storm warnings up,                 I figured maybe tonight I'd hit the                 jackpot.  All I needed was a little                 juice.He looks out the window at the gathering storm.                                             CUT TOTHE STORMCrackling from the sky, a bolt of lightning strikes thetelevision antenna and surges along the wires into the attic.                                             CUT TODAN'S ATTIC ROOMThe lightning flashes into DAN'S apparatus, lighting it upbrightly.                      DAN                 It works!Suddenly, an electric arc jumps from the bucket of waterand crosses the room to join with thw ball on his shelf.Caught in the middle, DAN begins to glow green.                      DAN                    (looking at his                     green arms)                 Oh Jesus!The electrical field opens up a shimmering gateway into anotheruniverse and DAN de-materializes.                                             CUT TOTHE TRANSFORMATIONWe float in darkness for a moment as black shapeless imageszoom past.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 I felt like I was nothing                 - just atoms floating in the                 darkness ...Then, tiny beams of light join to form a glow in the cornerof the screen. The glow gets brighter and starts moving slowlyaround the screen.  Now, we can make out some of the imageswhipping past - a half-formed hand, pages of a book, a crumblingpyramid, a green ball.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Then, a body started to re-form                 around me.  Only it wasn't my                 body - this one had muscles.Sturdy muscular parts begin to materialize around the movinglight.  They join up with each other to form a powerfully builthuman figure.Finally a man's face takes shape, and as it forms, eveythinggets brighter and clearer.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 It was a great body, but I                 wasn't too crazy about the                 face.The powerful figure, DEN, turns slowly as he floats and beginsto look at his hands and arms.  Moving his mouth, he speaks ina new voice - deep and powerful.                      DEN                    (feeling head)                 Hmmm ... no hair.Suddenly, the background explodes into fields of radiant coloursas the body accelerates away from us and passes through a secondshimmering gateway.                                             CUT TOTHE NEVERWHERE PYRAMIDDEN, strong, masculine and hairless, materializes cradled inthe hand of a huge stone idol.  He is naked and unconsciousAbove him, the glowing green ball is held in the idol's otherhand.The camera pulls back to show that the idol is standing on thedeck, stop a huge, truncated pyramid.  The deck forms a walkwayaround a swirling pool of green water.Kneeling all around the seething pool, are lizard-men, wearingpriest's robes.  Two of them stand beside a glass coffin.  Insidethe coffin, lies a naked girl, bound and gagged.                      PRIESTS                    (chanting softly)                 Uluhtec, Ulutec ...Directly in fron of the idol, a regal-looking QUEEN, wearinga revealing velvet cloak, is praying to the raging water.                      QUEEN                 By the powers of the glowing                 Loc-Nar placed in your idol's                 hand, I demand you come forth,                 Uluhtec!The waters of the sacrifical pool rage more violently anda low rumble is heard far below.                                             CUT TOTHE IDOL'S HANDSThe green ball, (Loc-Nar), glows brightly as DEN opens his eyes,looks down and notices his enormous genitals.                      DEN                 Hmmm ... big!Seeing an animal-skin hanging from the idol, he rips off apiece and wraps it around himself.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 There was no way I was gonna                 walk around this place with                 my dork hangin' out!Suitably covered, he surveys the ritual taking place below him.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Wow!  This looked like something                 right out of the Ten Commandments.                                             CUT TOEDGE OF RAGING POOLThe QUEEN is kneeling before the seething water.                      QUEEN                 Grant me your strength in return                 for a living mortal sacrifice!  It                 has been ordained.  Come forth Uluhtec!                 I demand it!Two lizard priests remove the terrified girl from the glasscase and hold her out over the swirling water.  The QUEENnods and the two priests drop her in.                                             CUT TOTHE IDOL'S WATERSeeing the girl struggle in the water, DEN'S eyes grow wide.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 What'd they do that for?He stands and dives into the raging pool, swimming powerfullytowards the drowning girl.                                             CUT TOUNDER WATERReaching her, DEN grabs the girl's  bound ankles, hooks themover his head and drags her through a decayed hole in theunderwater wall.  Inside a stone tunnel, they are swept alongby the current.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Normally, I'd be dead by now.  I                 kept thinking I was going to run                 out of air, but my new body worked                 great.  I just hoped her body was                 working as good as mine.                                             CUT TOEXT. FIELD OF LILIES - DAYDEN and the girl are washed out into a pond at the center ofa beautiful field of lilies.  He pulls her out of the water,unconscious.  As he unties her, she begins to stir.                      GIRL                 Thank you.She takes DEN'S hand and lies back in the flower, herbeautiful breasts exposed in the sunlight.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 She had the most beautiful eyes.                 I wanted to make some conversation                 but I found my new self asking the                 same old stupid questions.                      DEN                 Are you from around here?                      GIRL                 Well, you may not believe this, but                 I'm from another world - from a place                 called Earth.                      DEN                 Earth?  I too am from Earth.                 How did you get here?                      GIRL                 My name is Katherine Wells, and                 I'm from the British colony of                 Gibraltar.  Time makes no diff-                 erence here, but there it was                 the summer of 1892.  It was                 evening - I'd gone for a walk on                 the cliffs when suddenly a sphere                 fell from the sky.  Following its                 glow, I came to a shining gate made                 out of light.  Unable to resist, I                 stepped through it and awoke in                 this world.  There I was thin and                 weakly, fit only to stay indoors.                 (she stands up)                 But here, somehow I am stronger,                 more alive,                 (she stretches seductively)                 ... more fully a woman.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 You're not kidding.                      DEN                    (standing)                 I, too seem better equipped on                 this world.                 (he holds out his arm)                 My arms are more powerful.                 (strecthes his fingers)                 Even my fingers seem to hold                 great strength.KATHERINE walks up close to DEN, takes his hand and touchesthe fingers to her breast.                      KATHERINE                 You saved my life.  I have no                 reward to give you, but if any                 part of me pleases your senses                 - I would give it willingly.She circles her nipple with his baby finger.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Wow!  This was great!  There was                 no way I'd get a chick like this                 back on Earth.  I mean, look at                 her!!Taking KATHERINE in his arms, DEN lays her down on a bed offlowers and begins to tenderly make love to her.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 There was only one problem ...A spiked boot appears in the frame.  The camera pans up toshow a large, ugly hairy beast-man standing over DEN andKATHERINE.The camera then pulls back to reveal the entwined couple,completely surrounded by a horde of grim, bestial warriors.                      DAN                    (V.O.                 I don't know who these jerks                 were, but they sure picked a                 bad time to show up ...The ugly beast-men grab DEN and KATHERINE as we;                                             DISSOLVE TOARD'S THRONE ROOMThe beast-Captain keeps his machine gun trained on DEN asthe soldiers lead him into the cavernous room.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 They split us up and took me to                 this weird castle-type place.                 I wanted to find out where they'd                 taken Katherine, but none of these                 guys seemed to speak English.In the middle of the room there is a round stone pedestalwith a throne carved into it.  On the throne sits ARD, achild-like ruler with a sadistic glint in his eye.                      ARD                 They tell me you are Den of Earth,                 the one who dared to steal the                 female sacrifice from the Queen.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 This guy was a shrimp so I figured                 I'd play it tough.                      DEN                 Where is the girl?                      ARD                 I am Ard - supreme leader of                 the revolution and the next                 ruler of the world.                      DEN                    (tougher)                 The girl!!                      ARD                 Well, aren't we fierce?                 If you are truly as tough as                 you seem, then you will serve                 me well.  But first, a test.                 Guards!  Castrate him!                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Uh oh.Two bestial guards approach from behind, brandishing curvedshort-swords.  DEN turns instinctively, dodges the first thrustand delivers a bone-shattering elbow to the beast's head,crushing his skull.Spinning with his own momentum, DEN throws a rock-hard fistinto the second guard's chest, snapping his rib-cage andsending him flying across the room.Without pausing, the bald muscleman grabs the nearby beast-Captain and lifts him into the air by his machine-gun.  TheCaptain hangs on as DEN twists the gun, butts it into thecreature's groin and then drives the weapon through theCaptain's jaw.The creature crumples, leaving DEN with the gun.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Boy!  I was pretty good at this                 stuff.                      ARD                 Excellent.  You are worthy to                 serve me.                      DEN                    (aiming machine-gun at him)                 Give me the girl or die.                      ARD                    (taking it lightly)                 Well, if I have a choice, I'll                 take death.                      DEN                 So be it.DEN fires, spraying a row of bullets across ARD'S body.  Thebullets blast big yellow holes in ARD'S chest, but there isno blood.  ARD looks up and laughs.                      ARD                 Ha ha ha!  You'll have to                 do better than that.As DEN looks on, ARD'S wounds miraculously close up and healthemselves over.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 I could see why they made this                 guy their leader.                      ARD                    (standing up)                 ... but if you're really interested                 in the girl; I've had her encased in                 glass.ARD pulls the velvet covering off of a glass box to revealKATHERINE, unconscious, sealed inside.                      DEN                 She's dead.                      ARD                 Actually no.  She's sleeping,                 but only I can awaken her.                      DEN                 What do you want of me?                      ARD                 I want you to steal the sacred                 Loc-Nar.                      DEN                 What is this Loc-Nar?                      ARD                 The Queen's glowing sphere, you                 fool.  The sacrifice to Uluhtec                 can only be performed by the                 possessor of the sacret Loc-Nar.                 (calling out)                 Norl!NORL, a huge gorilla-man, in a purple cloak, steps forward.                      ARD                    (to Den)                 This is Norl, my bravest warrior.                 You will go with him to the Queen's                 castle and steal the Loc-Nar.  Then                 I will give you the girl.                      DEN                 And if I refuse?                      ARD                 If you refuse, you die, she dies,                 everybody dies.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Sounded reasonable to me.DEN looks down at KATHERINE'S motionless body.                                             DISSOLVE TORIVER BANKS NEAR THE QUEEN'S CASTLEIn the moonlight, DEN and NORL lead a squad of beast-warriors,armed with automatic weapons, along the river towards the Queen'scastle.                      NORL                    (to Den)                 Ssh.  Guard post ahead.  We                 must go underground.NORL lifts a rock to reveal an underground passageway.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 This guy Norl seemed to know what                 he was doing.  And, for a gorilla,                 his English wasn't half bad.DEN and the warriors enter the underground passage.                                             CUT TOUNDERGROUND TUNNELThe group, carrying torches, moves along the dark tunnel.  Theypass a bubble-window with shark-faced eels swimming on the otherside.                      NORL                    (to Den)                 We're underneath the castle moat.DEN nods.  An ugly growl echoes through the tunnel up ahead.the warriors freeze and murmur to each other in their ownlanguages.                      DEN                    (to Norl)                 What are they saying?                      NORL                 They talk of the savage beast who                 prowls these catacombs with a fierce                 hunger and sharp teeth ...                 (gestures)                 six inches long.A dog-faced warrior shakes his head and says something to NORL.                      NORL                 Sorry ...                 (indicating)                 ... sixteen inches long.Suddenly, a savage beast appears and chomps his long, razor-sharpteeth into one of the warriors at the end of the line.  DEN, NORL,and the remaining warriors run on through the tunnel as, behindthem, the monster pulls his victim apart.                                             CUT TODOORWAY IN CATACOMBSDEN, NORL, and the remaining warriors arrive at a door in therock wall.                      NORL                    (to Den)                 Now we separate.  You and Korg                 take this door into the Queen's                 quarters.    The rest of us will                 move through the walls and enter                 her chamber from the other side.                 Whoever gets the Loc-Nar first will                 return it to Ard.  Good luck, Den.DEN nods, puts out his torch and carefully opens the door asNORL moves off.                                             CUT TODARK ROOMDEN and KORG silently enter.  Across the dark room, theglow of the green ball casts a pale light.                      KORG                    (whispers and points)                 Loc-Nar.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Wow!  It was just like the                 ball I dug up in my back yard.They tip-toe towards it.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 As I saw the Loc-Nar's glow I                 had this real funny feeling.  All                 by themselves, my hands reached                 forward to touch it.  But the                 Loc-Nar moved out of the way.                 Instead, my hands felt something                 else - warm flesh.  Then the lights                 came on.In the brightly lit room, DEN is standing before the beautifulsemi-clad QUEEN, and holding her firm, naked breasts in his hands.Looking around, he sees that he and KONG are surrounded by abrigade of the Queen's ugly guards, swords raised.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Talk about embarassing!                      QUEEN                    (smiling)                 Kill them.The Queen's guards attack with battle-axes, clubs and swords.As DEN knees one in the groin and swings his gun into another'sface, four of the guards surround KORG and club his brains out.But DEN, still going strong, throws two guards into the walland heaves a third out the window.  As the QUEEN watches withglee, more guards rush into the room and DEN is finally over-powered and held down.  The Captain of the guards places a longknife against Den's throat.                      CAPTAIN                 Can I slit his throat, your                 Majesty?The QUEEN, eyeing Den's magnificent body, sighs.                      QUEEN                 Yes, slit his throat.                      CAPTAIN                 Thank you, your Majesty.As the Captain presses his knife against Den's flesh, theQUEEN suddenly raises her hand.                      QUEEN                    (smiling)                 Stop!  I have, ah, something better                 in mind.She takes Den's hand and leads him into an adjoining room, asthe guards grumble to one another.                      GUARD #1                 Jeez, not again.                      GUARD #2                 This always happens.                      CAPTAIN                 Look, she's the Queen.  She                 can do whatever she wants.                      GUARD #2                 Yeah, sure.                      GUARD #1                 Sure.                                             CUT TOTHE QUEEN'S BOUDOIRThe QUEEN stands before DEN, hands on her hips and a funny lookin her eye.                      QUEEN                 If you please me, I may let                 you live.She smiles, and approaches DEN.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Uh oh.                      DEN                 What must I do?                      QUEEN                 Satisfy my appetites.The QUEEN lets her cloak drop to the floor as she gets closer.She is naked underneath.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Wow!  Eighteen years of nuthin'                 and now, twice in one day.  What                 a place!                      QUEEN                 Come with me.                      DEN                 Mmmm.She steps forward and takes his hand, leading him towards thebed.                                             DISSOLVE TOTHE QUEEN'S BEDDEN and the QUEEN are lying undressed on the enormous bed.The QUEEN has a very contented look on her face.  DEN looksexhausted.  As the Neverwhere moon rises outside the chamberwindow, the QUEEN slowly runs her hand over DEN'S bulgingmuscles.                      QUEEN                    (softly)                 The rising moon climaxes our                 love, Den.  Is is a sign, a                 new beginning.                      DEN                 Yes, a sign.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 I had no idea what she was                 talking about.                      QUEEN                    (stroking him)                 Neverwhere is a troubled land,                 but together we could calm it.                 We could rule side by side.                 Your strength has brought great                 peace to my restless body.  It                 could bring great peace to all                 the troubled people of this land.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 I knew I was good, but I didn't know                 I was that good.Suddenly the Captain and his guards burst through the door.                      CAPTAIN                 Your Majesty!  The Loc-Nar is missing                 - stolen!The QUEEN jumps to her feet in a rage and points to DEN.                      QUEEN                    (screaming)                 Fiend!  You make love to me while                 your accomplices steal the magic                 sphere!  Guards!  Take him!The guards grab DEN as the  QUEEN snatches one of their bigspiked clubs.                      QUEEN                    (to guards)                 Hold him still!  I will kill                 him myself!                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 Boy, was she pissed off!Heaving the guards aside, DEN breaks free and jumps out thechamber window.                                             CUT TOTHE CASTLE WALLDEN falls down, down into the swirling waters of the castlemoat.                                             (CUT TO)THE QUEENShe is livid.                      QUEEN                 Prepare the flying lizards.                 I want his head!                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE THE CASTLEPulling himself out of the moat, DEN knocks a guard off hisleopard/horse and rides off.                                             CUT TOTHE NEVERWHERE PYRAMIDARD is kneeling at the edge of the sacrificial pool.  Besidehim sits a long glass case wrapped in chains.  Through thechains we see KATHERINE trapped inside - fully conscious andterrified.  Ard's bestial warriors stand all around carryingtorches and spears.Above them, the Loc-Nar sits glowing in the stone idol's hand.                      ARD                 By the power of the magic Loc-Nar                 placed in your idol's hands, I                 command you - come forth Uluhtec!The green water in the pool immediately begins to churnviolently and leap into the air.  A bolt of lightningcrackles in the sky.                                             CUT TOTHE NEVERWHERE DESERTDEN is racing across the barren desert on his leopard/horse.Visible in the distance is the outline of the huge, truncatedpyramid where he first saved KATHERINE.As he rides, he sees the green glow of the Loc-Nar, sparklingin the glass surfaces of the coffin in front of it.                      DEN                    (to himself)                 Katherine!He spurs his leopard/horse on into the night.                                             CUT TOANOTHER PART OF THE NEVERWHERE DESERTThe QUEEN, riding a flying lizard, leads her army in pursuitof DEN.                      SOLDIER                    (pointing)                 There he is, your Majesty!                                             CUT TOQUEEN'S P.O.V.Up ahead, silhouetted in the moonlight, she sees DEN, riding upthe steps of the pyramid.  The camera pans to the green glowatop the torch-lit pyramid.                      QUEEN                    (V.O.)                 The Loc-Nar!                                             CUT TOTHE QUEEN                      QUEEN                    (shouting to her men)                 Faster!  To the pyramid!She whips her lizard harder.                                             CUT TOTHE NEVERWHERE PYRAMIDARD is incanting to the raging water while two hooded monksstand beside him, holding the struggling KATHERINE out overthe pool.                      ARD                 Here is your sacrifice, Uluhtec.                 Now, give me your power!                 (to monks)                 Throw her in.Chanting the name "Uluhtec", the two monks start to throwthe girl in when suddenly a third monk leaps forward andgrabs her, kicking the other two monks into the water.The intruder's hood falls away and his bald head gleams in themoonlight.                      DEN                 Katherine!                      KATHERINE                 Den!                      ARD                 No!  You'll ruin everything!ARD jumps up and runs toward the Loc-Nar, perched in the stoneidol's hand.  Grabbing it, ARD holds the glowing ball above him.                      ARD                    (to his guards)                 Kill them!  Kill them both!Suddenly, a hand leaps out of the darkness, gripping theLoc-Nar just above Ard's hand - it is the QUEEN.                      QUEEN                 The Loc-Nar is mine!                      ARD                    (struggling)                 Stupid bitch!  Get away from me!As ARD and the QUEEN fight over the Loc-Nar, the Queen's troopspour in and battle with Ard's soldiers.  Thunder roars overhead.                                             CUT TODENHolding KATHERINE in one arm, DEN smashes a nearby soldier andgrabs the beast's spear.  With the battle raging all aroundhim, DEN looks up at the sky.                                             CUT TOTHE SKYLightning crackles, illuminating the night with electricity.                                             CUT BACK TODENDEN reaches down, picks up the long chain that was wrapped aroundthe glass case and attaches one end to his spear.  He kicks theother end into the raging water, then heaves the spearwith all his might into the head of the stone idol.In the same instant, a bolt of lightning fires down from the sky,striking the idol full force.  The lightning bolt travels throughthe spear and down the chain, into the water.  Suddenly, theelectrical energy arcs across to join with the Loc-Nar.Holding onto the Loc-Nar, ARD and the QUEEN begin to glow green,then de-materialize into a shimmering dimensional warp.  Thetroops stop fighting and look on in amazement, until allthat remains is the glowing Loc-Nar, hanging in mid-air.                      KATHERINE                    (to Den)                 Where did they go?                      DEN                 They are gone.  That is all                 that matters.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 They probably went back to Earth.                 Boy, will Mom be surprised.Suddenly, the Loc-Nar falls to the ground at Den's feet.                      KATHERINE                    (looking down)                 The Loc-Nar ... you could have the                 power of Uluhtec.  You could be                 ruler over all these people.                      DEN                    (looking over the throng)                 Forget it.In a single powerful leap, DEN, carrying KATHERINE, bounds uponto the Queen's flying lizard and they fly off.  The amazed troopswatch for a moment, then shrug and resume fighting.                                             CUT TODEN'S FLYING LIZARDKATHERINE clings to DEN as they fly.                      KATHERINE                 Oh, but Den, with the Loc-Nar                 you could have returned to Earth.                      DEN                 I like it better here.The lizard banks sharply away from us and carries them into thedistance.                      DAN                    (V.O.)                 On Earth, I'm nobody.  But here,                 I am DEN.                                             CUT TOTHE NEVERWHERE PYRAMIDThe camera pans down the stone statue to the glowing sphere,which lies abandoned on the ground.  The soldiers are gone.  Aswe watch, time begins to accelerate and the Neverwhere Pyramidages and crumbles all around the green ball.  The earth heavesand shifts, and dense vegetarian grows up through the cracks inthe ground.A prehistoric man walks up and sees the glowing ball under a fern.Fascinated, he picks it up and looks at it, as the foot of aTyrannosaurus Rex comes down, crushing him.Time advances again as the dinosaur becomes a skeleton, anda Biblical tent-community grows up around the ball.  In thefire-light, the Nomadic tribesmen are watering their animals,when one of the camels paws at the ground, uncovering the glowingball.  Scared, the camel struggles and trys to break its ropes.Out of nowhere a Roman Legion attacks, slaughtering the tribesmen.Time accelerates again, and the conquering Romans build a temple,placing the green ball in the head of a golden idol.  Then theRomans grow fat and debauched, while slave-girls feed them grapes.As the ball glows, the temple crashes down around the debauchedRomans, covering them and the green ball in rubble.Over the ruins of the temple, a succession of primitive mud andclay huts evolve into the thatched-roof cottages of a Medievalvillage.A Medieval stone-cutter finds the ball, and mortars it in withhis stones as he builds a water well in the centre of the village.Satisfied with his work, he lowers the bucket to draw himselfa drink.  Behind him, an  ox-cart comes roaring around a corner.The axle breaks and a heavy wooden wheel careens along, strikingthe stone-cutter in the back and knocking him into the well.Time advances once more as the Medieval village grows andtransforms into a Victorian-style town.  It is evening, andthe stone well now sits under a gazebo at the centre of a gas-lit village green.A fancy carriage carrying a Victorian gentleman passes by andcircles the green.Moving in through a window across the street, we see a seductive-looking woman dressing herself in black garters and lace.  Thisis intercut with the carriage circling the green, until thewoman, who looks like a high-class harlot, finishes dressing andleaves her room.  Crossing the street, she walks up to the gazeboand leans provocatively up against the well.The gentleman gets out of his carriage, approaches the womanand propositions her.  She smiles, touches, and teases him. Wepan down their legs to the green ball glowing in the well-wall.Suddenly red blood begins to drip over the ball, and the woman'sbody falls to the ground.  The camera pans up to the well-bucket,where the gentleman is washing the blood from his hands.As time begins to move forward again, the man ages and hobblesaway, as the well crumbles and cheap turn-of-the-century row-housing grows up, covering the green ball.  The town becomesdirtier and blacker, and smokestacks blow soot into the morningsky.  Almost on cue, the doors of the houses open, and grimcoal-miners emerge, shuffling through the filthy streets ontheir way to work.The camera pans down to a drain in the gutter.  A rat appears.Panning back up, the street is now empty.  A bell is heardringing, and a horse-drawn Red Cross cart pulls around a cornerand into view.  Masked workers follow the cart.  One ringsthe bell, while the others pull corpses from the doorways andload them into the cart.  The gutters and windowsills are nowfull of rats.  Time advances again and the buildings becomedeserted derelicts.  Their decaying timbers groan under theweight.A support snaps, and one of the buildings starts to collapse.Falling amidst the crumbling plaster and rotting wood is theglowing green ball.  As the ball hits the ground, it is coveredover by rubble.The rubble becomes bleached by the hot sun and the landscapegrows drier.  Sand blows all around, covering over everything.As the sandstorm clears, the entire terrain is nothing butdesert.  In the distance we can see a group of people walking.                                             CUT TOPEOPLEThe people appears to be a band of aboriginal workmen, carryingfuturistic laser-shovels over their shoulders.  They are led bya goateed archaeologist with an elaborate metal detector.  Ashe walks, his detector starts bleeping.  He points to a spoton the ground, and the natives start digging with their laser-shovels.One of the workers finds something.                      WORKER                 Kuma!  Kuma!  Kuma!The archaeologist waves the workers away and directs a tread-driven shovel-sifter up to the spot.  The shovel-sifter digsin and pulls up a large chunk of desert.  When the sand hassifted out, we see the tarnished Loc-Nar in the machine's grip.It is not glowing.  The machine swivels, and a native foremanplucks the Loc-Nar from the shovel-sifter's teeth.As the foreman touches it, the Loc-Nar starts glowing brightly.The foreman's hands turn green.  He looks at his green hands,then he looks over to the archaeologist.  Suddenly the foreman'sentire body glows green, and crumbles into dust.The archaeologist and the natives stare in horror at theglowing Loc-Nar, lying in the pile of green dust.                                             DISSOLVE TONEW YORK - AERIAL SHOT - DAYThe camera comes down from high above the city.  The generalshape and outline of New York looks familiar, but as we getcloser we sense that something is different.  Fires areburning in various locations below us, and intermittentgunshots become audible as the narration begins.                      HARRY                    (V.O.)                 Yeah, New York, big deal.  Scum-centre                 of the world.Moving down through the skyscrapers, the city gets dirtier andslummier.  We pass a dead man hanging from a tenement clothesline.Below us, scruffy children dodge traffic as they play gyro-ballin the garbage-filled street.                      HARRY                    (V.O.)                 ... and now they're talking about                 letting in low-lifes from other planets,                 too.Under the narration, the camera turns a corner and zooms downthrough the roof of a parked taxicab.  It stops full frame onthe newspaper held in the cabdriver's hands.  A slow pan acrossthe front page reveals that the paper is the New York Times,July 6, 2031One headline reads: "400,000 Traffic Deaths Over Holiday Weekend".Another reads: "Venus Declared 73rd State".The camera stops on a headline reading: "Professor DiscoversAncient Relic --- to be shown in N.Y. Museum".There is an accompanying photo of the goateed archaeologist andhis beautiful daughter standing beside a glass and metal casecontaining the Loc-Nar.A knocking is heard on the cab's window, and the driver throwsdown the newspaper.                      YOUNG MAN                    (from outside)                 You free?                      HARRY                 Yeah.  Get in.                 (V.O.)                 My name's Harry Canyon.  I drive                 a cab.He flips a switch which unlocks the rear door.                                             CUT TOOUTSIDE CABThe young man climbs into the back seat and closes the door.Harry's yellow Checker cab pulls out into traffic.  Thevehicle looks pretty normal except for some vaguely futuristicchrome panels cut into the sides, and thicker, deeper bumpers.                                             CUT TOINSIDE CABHarry slides open the plexiglass shields separating him fromhis passenger.                      HARRY                 Where to, pal?                      YOUNG MAN                 The U.N. Building.                      HARRY                 The U.N. Building.  What a joke.                 Used to be a nice place until they                 turned it into low rent housing.                 Now it's a dump.  I wouldn't live                 there if you paid me.He switches on the car radio.  The music plays as Harry'scab passes various time-altered New York landmarks; a graffiti-covered Empire State Building - windows all boarded up, adecrepit Lincoln Centre, the marquis reading "Continuous LiveSex Show, Also Inter-Planetary Mud-Wrestling", new ultra-techbuildings crammed between half-destroyed Wall Street officebuildings, garbage everywhere.Inside the cab, the YOUNG MAN pulls a gun out of his jacket,sticks his arm through the opening in the plexi-glass shield,and holds the gun to Harry's head.                      YOUNG MAN                 Okay sucker, hand over your cash,                 now!                      HARRY                    (V.O.)                 This city is really going to the                 dogs.Harry's foot stretches forward and pushes a footswitch.A buzzing is heard, and the young man's body suddenlydematerializes.  The gun which he held at Harry's headfalls to the seat beside HARRY, who picks it up and tosses itinto the glove compartment, beside all sorts of other futuristicguns and weapons.                      HARRY                    (V.O.)                 Stupid asshole.  Nobody touches                 me unless I want 'em to.CUT TOEXT.  METROPOLITIAN MUSEUM - NIGHTThe camera is close-up on the illustrated banner over the mainentrance.  The banner reads; "Treasures of the Loc-Nar - ComingJuly 8th".We pan down to the museum doors, as a man's body comes crashingthrough the plate glass and sprawls forward, cut and bleeding.It is the goateed professor from the desert.  His daughterruns out behind him, ripping her clothes on the broken glass.GIRLFather!PROFESSORRun!The girl takes off down the museum stairs as men with laserguns come out and start firing.  A fat, evil-looking man (RUDNICK)bends down and grabs the professor's head, jerking it up.RUDNICK(to henchmen)He's dead.  Get the girl!The girl, clothes torn, runs out into the street, just asHarry's cab comes cruising by.  She runs alongside, poundingon the window.GIRL(to Harry)Help me, please!!A laser shot narrowly misses her and blasts Harry's side-mirror.HARRY flips the switch, unlocking the passenger door, and wavesher in.HARRY(V.O.)Normally my rule is "Don'tget involved", but somethingabout this dame got to me.She dives in the back and HARRY floors it.  The cab screamsaway as Laser-shots land all around.GIRL(in shock, breathless)The Loc-Nar ... they wantedit ... but my father wouldn'ttell them ... now I'm the onlyone ...CUT TOHARRYHARRY(interupting)Relax sister.  There's a copstation up here.  You can ...HARRY looks at her in the rear-view mirror.  The girl has fainted.HARRY(V.O.)Just what I needed ... guessI'm a sucker for a pretty face.CUT TOPOLICE STATIONThe police station is an all-metal building with no windows.A plaque on thr front reads "N.Y. POLICE - 52nd DIVISION".Harry's cab pulls up.  He gets out, carries the unconsciousGIRL up to the front door, and pushes a buzzer.VOICE(over intercom)Police.  Whaddya want?HARRYI wanna report a murder.VOICE(over intercom)So what else is new?HARRYYou gonna let me in or what?A buzzer sounds and the door slides open.  HARRY carries theGIRL in and heads across the room toward the main desk.  Ashe walks he passes cops using a strange metal detector/vaccuumcleaner to suck dangerous weapons from a pair of suspects.  Pilesof weapons can be seen in the machine's transparent belly.COP #1Okay, this guy's clean - next.HARRY comes up to the front desk and starts to lay the girldown in a chair.DESK SERGEANT(to Harry)Before you go any further pal, Igotta tell you, it's cash up front.  Athousand bucks a day for a full investigation.Another thousand if the assailant is caught.Got it?HARRYYeah thanks ...He picks up the girl and turns to leave.HARRY... for nuthin'!DESK SERGEANT(shouting after Harry)You think you can do better?Join one of the vigilante groups.There's a list of 'em outside.CUT TOEXT. POLICE STATIONHARRY, carrying the GIRL, comes out of the police station, asa patrol car screeches to a halt in front of him.  Two copsemerge, dragging a green alien with four arms.GREEN ALIENI tell you I'm an American citizen.I just lost my papers.COP(to himself)Goddamn illegal aliens.HARRY heads toward his cab.HARRY(V.O.)So here I was, stuck with this beautifulgirl.  I knew she was gonna be nuthin'but trouble ...He looks around at the sleazy neighbourhood.  Every doorwayand alley seems to have a rapist or thug lurking.HARRY(V.O.)... but I didn't feel right justleaving her for the sickos.  Idunno, maybe I'm gettin' sentimentalor something ...DISSOLVE TOINT. HARRY'S APARTMENTThis futuristic bachelor pad is constructed entirely of brightlycoloured molden plastic.  Bowling trophies sit on a shelfunderneath a neon "Buweiser" clock.  The place is a mess.HARRY carries the GIRL in, pushes the light button to "On",and lays her down on the sofa.  As he takes off his jackethe looks down at the unconscious figure - her clothes tornin all the right places.  She moans and starts to come to.GIRLWhere am I?HARRYMy place ...Walking over to a hi-tech plastic bar, HARRY pushes a buttonand a machine pours and mixes a drink.  He hands the GIRL theglass.  She sits up and drinks.GIRL(looking at Harry)They'd have killed me if itwasn't for you.HARRYWhat'd they want to snuff youfor?- - -[Page 99/120.]
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+                                 HENRY'S CRIME                                                                                   Written by                                Sacha Gervasi          INT. TOLL BOOTH - DAWN          A LONE TOLL BOOTH ATTENDANT sits inside his glass box on          an empty stretch of interstate.          This is HENRY.          He looks out at the horizon. It's starting to get light          out. There's snow on the ground.          He's neither asleep nor awake.                                   INT. TOLL BOOTH - MOMENTS LATER          HENRY'S PLASTIC GLOVES unscrew a THERMOS, pour coffee          into a Styrofoam cup. There are only a few drops left.                         A CAR          Approaches. Henry straightens, slides open his window.          But the CAR veers over to the automated EZ-PASS LANE...          Henry closes the window, watches the car disappear. He          downs the last of his coffee, looks back out at the          horizon again.          It's cloudy out there.                         A CLOCK          flips to 6:00.                                   INT. TOLL BOOTH - LATER          Henry packs up his thermos, puts on his coat and steps          out into the icy morning.          He walks toward his truck. The traffic is beginning to          build.                                   EXT. BUFFALO STREET - MORNING          Henry's old FORD PICK-UP drives past the enormous,          abandoned CENTRAL TRAIN TERMINAL.                                   EXT. BUFFALO STREET - MORNING          The pick-up turns down toward a neighborhood of modest          salt-box houses.                                   EXT. HENRY'S HOUSE - MORNING          Henry's truck rolls into his driveway.           2.                                                                                     INT. HENRY'S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER          Henry enters. Hangs up his down jacket on a row of hooks.          It's clean and ordinary in here.          His wife, DEBBIE, is in the kitchen. She's wearing a          NURSES uniform. Henry notices the dining room table set          for one for breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage. He's a          little surprised. Debbie appears. Lays down the toast.                          HENRY           Smells good.                          DEBBIE           Sit down.          He sits. She smiles. Starts buttering the toast.                          HENRY           Wow. Thanks.          He digs in.                          DEBBIE           How was your night?                          HENRY           Good. How was yours?          She's still buttering the toast. Carefully.                          DEBBIE           Good.          She sets it down.                          HENRY           This is great.          She sits down next to him. Watches him eat.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           Your shift's at eight thirty?          She nods.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           You not eating?                          DEBBIE           I already did.          He takes another bite.                          HENRY           You okay?           3.                                                            Pause.                          DEBBIE           Are you coming with me to Cindy and           Bill's on Saturday?                          HENRY           Sure. What time?          Pause.                          DEBBIE           For the baby shower.                          HENRY           Right.          She just stares at him...                          DEBBIE           Well, I don't want to go to Cindy and           Bill's.                          HENRY           What?                          DEBBIE           I mean I want Cindy and Bill to come           here.                          HENRY           Cindy and Bill are welcome here anytime.          Pause.                          DEBBIE           Henry. Isn't it time...isn't it time for us?          Henry stops eating.                          HENRY           You're talking about kids.                          DEBBIE           Of course I am.                          HENRY           Okay.                          DEBBIE           'Okay' you want kids?          Pause.                          HENRY           I love kids.          He looks down, resumes eating. A beat.           4.                                                                            DEBBIE           Henry?          He looks up again.                          DEBBIE (CONT'D)           Do you still love me?          He's still as a stone.                          HENRY           Of course I do.          She looks at him.                          DEBBIE           Because I know you did once.          A very long pause. Henry doesn't do anything now.          She's crestfallen.                          DEBBIE (CONT'D)           What happened, Henry?          He just sits.          THE FRONT DOORBELL RINGS          Henry gets up, heads to the door.          Debbie watches him go...                                   EXT. HENRY'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS          Outside on the step there are TWO MEN in SOFTBALL          UNIFORMS. One of them is puking. Behind them TWO more          GUYS sit in the back of the car.          Henry recognizes the smiling, pock-marked face of EDDIE          VIBES. Two parts charm, one part menace. His puking          friend is JOE.                          EDDIE           Henry Torne.                          HENRY           Eddie Vibes.                          EDDIE           So how you doin', man?                          HENRY           I'm okay. What's going on?                          EDDIE           Listen, I got a man down here.           5.                                                            Eddie glances up and down the street.                          EDDIE (CONT'D)           Mind if we come in for a second?                                   INT. HENRY'S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER          Eddie and Henry watch while Debbie attends to the sick          JOE, bits of puke still clinging to his softball uniform.          She touches his forehead.                          DEBBIE           He's hot.          He starts to retch.                          JOE           (holding it in)           I'm sorry.                          DEBBIE           You better come with me.          Eddie glances at Henry as Debbie leads him expertly          toward the bathroom.                          EDDIE           Goddamn sausage at Pinwheels.                          HENRY           Yeah.                          EDDIE           So we're in a little bind, Henry. Got           league playoffs in a half-hour and Joe's           our first baseman. And he's not exactly           game-ready as you can see...                          HENRY           Yeah.          Eddie stares at him. Smiles.                          EDDIE           So, what do you say?                          HENRY           What do I say what?                          EDDIE           You feel like playing a little ball?           Filling in for Joe?                          HENRY           It's November.           6.                                                                            EDDIE           Yeah. They keep the field in perfect           shape.                          HENRY           Oh.          Beat.                          EDDIE           So what do you say?          Henry looks around the room. For a moment he watches          Debbie with Joe in the bathroom, the door half open.          She's tending to him, caring for him...          Debbie looks up. Sees Henry staring at her.                          EDDIE (CONT'D)           Henry?                                   INT. IMPALA - LATER          Henry drives. He wears Joe's too small softball uniform.          Eddie rides shotgun, the other two in the back. They          grimly stare out the windows.                          EDDIE           Appreciate you driving, man.                          HENRY           So where's this game?                          EDDIE           Near Kaisertown. Like fifteen minutes.                          CUT TO :                                   EXT. MAIN ST - DAY          The car turns a corner on to Main Street.                          EDDIE           Pull up right over here. We gotta grab           some beer money at that ATM.          The car pulls up to a row of stores including the FIRST          BUFFALO BANK.          Eddie pats Henry's shoulder.                          EDDIE (CONT'D)           Just hang tight. We'll be right back.          Eddie and the guys get out. Henry notes this is strange.           7.                                                            After a moment Henry realizes something stinks. He sniffs          his sleeve.                         BEHIND HIM          In the rearview, Henry doesn't notice Eddie and the two          guys slipping on SKI MASKS...                         HENRY'S POV          A PET STORE OWNER rolls up the security gates of his          store and enters. He says good morning to all the          animals. It's a strange one man show.          LOUD ALARMS BLARE --          Henry startles, looks back to where the sound's coming                         FROM :          THREE GUYS IN SKI MASKS          Fly out of the bank on the corner and scatter in various          directions. They're all wearing softball uniforms. A BANK          GUARD chases them.          ON HENRY, confused.          A second bank guard FRANK (50s, African-American) is          crossing the street toward the bank with two coffees. He          sees what's going on, drops the coffees, and pulls his gun :           FRANK (O.S.)           You!          Henry turns forward again.                         A GUN          Is pointing at him through the windshield.                          FRANK (CONT'D)           Freeze!          Henry slowly raises his hands off the wheel.          Frank sucks his teeth, his gun trained on Henry as the          distant sound of BLARING SIRENS grows louder.          Holding on Henry's stunned expression...                                   INT. POLICE STATION, INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT          Henry sits at a small table as a DETECTIVE, whose face we          never see, paces back and forth.                          DETECTIVE           Henry, we know this wasn't your deal.           8.                                                            Henry just listens.                          DETECTIVE (CONT'D)           All you have to do is give me those           names. And you can go home. It's that           simple.          Henry's still silent.                          DETECTIVE (CONT'D)           Come on. Why are you sticking up for           these people? They're not your friends.           You've got a wife. You've got a job...           don't you care?                          (THEN)           All you have to do is say something.          Henry looks up at him, making eye contact for the first          time.           JUDGE (V.O.)           ...in light of the fact that this is a           first offence...                                   INT. BUFFALO COURTROOM - DAY          Henry stands in a suit, flanked by his state-appointed          ATTORNEY. Debbie sits in the gallery.          A JUDGE stares at Henry.                          JUDGE           ...the court sentences Henry Torne to           four years in prison for the crime of           Felony 1st Degree Armed Robbery.          WHACK!          The gavel goes down.          Henry blinks. He looks at his lawyer who is pleased with          the sentence. He pats Henry, well done.          Henry looks back at Debbie. She's just staring at him...          CLANK!          A CELL DOOR is SLAMMED SHUT...                                   INT. PRISON CELL - DAY          Henry, wearing a prison jumpsuit, watches as the guard          locks the door in front of him.           MAX (O.S.)           So. What're you in for?           9.                                                            Henry turns.                          HENRY           Huh.                          MAX           I said what are you in for?          A beat.                          HENRY           Bank robbery.          MAX (60s) pulls up his pants, flushes the TOILET.                          MAX           Good. Clean. Simple. I like it.          Henry just watches.                          HENRY           But I didn't do it.          Max smiles. Goes to the sink. Washes his hands.                          MAX           Ah. Mistaken identity. A perennial           favorite. Identities are just constructs,           anyway. They're mistaken all the time.          He dries his hands. Presents one of them to Henry.                          MAX (CONT'D)           I'm Max.                          HENRY           Henry.                          MAX           Go on. Make yourself at home.          Henry sits down on his bed.                          HENRY           So...what are you in for?                          MAX           Life.          A beat. It's starting to hit Henry...                          MAX (CONT'D)           Don't worry, you'll get used to it.           10.                                                                                     INT. PRISON CELL - MORNING          All the cell doors SLAM open. Henry startles awake. Max          is already dressed.                          MAX           Hurry up. We gotta go.          Henry's disoriented.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Breakfast.          A GUARD, seeing Henry still in his bunk, bangs his baton          against the bars of the cell.                                   INT. DINING ROOM - DAY          Max and Henry move along a line of convicts waiting for          their food.                          MAX           `Monday is whole wheat bun-day.'          Henry's lost in thought...                          MAX (CONT'D)           What are you thinking about?                          HENRY           Nothing.                          MAX           You're thinking something. Let me guess.           You're thinking, `How did I get here?'          Henry puts out his tray.                          MAX (CONT'D)           How do you think any of us got here?                          HENRY           I'm not sure.                          MAX           I'll tell you how. Because we committed           crimes. But we committed to the wrong           thing. You see that was our mistake. We           didn't fulfill our potential, we got           angry and we took it out on other people.          A bald, TATTOOED GANG-BANGER walks right past them to a table.                          MAX (CONT'D)           See him?           11.                                                            Henry nods.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Hector. He wanted to be a doctor. He           could've been, but he chose not to fulfil           his potential, he chose not to commit to           his dream. And now look at him.                          (THEN)           Bad choices, see.          Henry does.                          MAX (CONT'D)           By the way, I recommend the potatoes.                                   INT. DINING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER          Max and Henry sit down at one of the long tables.                          MAX           That's the real crime, Henry. Not           committing to your dream.          They begin to eat.                          MAX (CONT'D)           So what's yours?                          HENRY           My what?                          MAX           Your dream.                          HENRY           Not sure I ever had one.                          MAX           Never had a dream? What kind of a life is           that?                          HENRY           I don't know. A pretty good one?                          MAX           Henry, you're in jail.          Henry thinks about that. Puts a piece of potato in his mouth.                                   EXT. YARD - DAY          Max and Henry walk through the crowded prison yard.                          MAX           But here's the good news. We got all this           time to do. And time is a medium of           exchange. You can buy things with it.                          (MORE)           12.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Knowledge. Self respect. Forgiveness. And           in your case, you can figure out what           your dream is.          Max takes his arm :                          MAX (CONT'D)           Your dream is your truth is your destiny.          Henry looks at him.                          HENRY           I told you. I'm here by mistake.          Max shoots a look back at him.                          MAX           There are no mistakes.          Max suddenly glimpses some activity over Henry's shoulder.                          HENRY           What?          Several convicts are making their way towards them...          He pulls Henry close, his tone suddenly intense :                          MAX           But you're going to have to fight for           that dream, Henry.                          HENRY           I am.                          MAX           You're at a crossroads now. There are           going to be tests!                          HENRY           What tests?          CRAACK!          Henry's punched in the side of the head. The inmates grab          him, throw him to the ground next to Max.                          MAX           This is your moment. Whatever you do now           defines you. Go get em!          Henry gets up : CHARGES the inmates, arms swinging,          taking several down. He gives it everything he's got.          They pile into him, pummeling him. Henry just keeps          fighting...but it's hopeless.          GUARDS rush in. Max watches.           13.                                                                                     INT. MAX AND HENRY'S CELL - NIGHT          Henry lies on his bunk, his face battered and bruised.                          MAX           You did good, Henry.                          HENRY           I don't feel good.                          MAX           You're doing better than you feel.          Henry touches his swollen eye. It stings.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Go to sleep, Henry.                          (BEAT)           Sleep is for the blessed.                                   INT. PRISON TIER - NIGHT          One by one we see lights blinking off across the vast          string of cells.                          FADE OUT :                                   INT. VISITING AREA - DAY          Henry's wife Debbie sits at one of the metal visiting          tables. She's dressed up. She's really made an effort.          A door opens, Henry appears. He looks different. Some          time has passed. He smiles, walks over. Then sits.                          DEBBIE           Hi.                          HENRY           Hi. You look beautiful.                          DEBBIE           Thank you. How are you doing?                          HENRY           I'm okay. How about you?                          DEBBIE           I'm good.          A beat.                          DEBBIE (CONT'D)           Listen, Henry. I have something I need to           talk to you about.           14.                                                                            HENRY           Okay.                          DEBBIE           I fell in love.          Henry takes that in.                          HENRY           Oh.          Pause.                          DEBBIE           I just...I mean it just happened.          Pause.                          HENRY           Okay. Wow...                          DEBBIE           I'm sorry, Henry.                          HENRY           It's alright.                          DEBBIE           You're not mad?          He thinks.                          HENRY           No.          He looks at her.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           I want you to be happy.                          DEBBIE           You too, Henry.          No one moves.                                   EXT. PRISON YARD - LATER THAT DAY          Henry sits on a bench alone, processing what just          happened. He looks up at the sky. Gray and empty.          Max arrives, sits down next to Henry, carefully puts a          hand around his shoulder.                          MAX           I ever tell you I was married?          Henry turns to him.           15.                                                                            MAX (CONT'D)           I mean nearly. I had a lovely           correspondence going with Jocelyn           Steinberg in Utica. Problem was when she           finally came on visitor's day she said I           was too short.          Henry thinks.                          HENRY           Books and covers.                          MAX           Right. Books and covers.                          CUT TO:          TWO YEARS LATER                                   INT. MAX AND HENRY'S CELL - DAY          There's music on a radio. Pull back to reveal Henry          sitting on his bunk. He's grown a beard.          Their cell has temporarily been converted into a          makeshift BARBERSHOP.          CONVICTS of various races wait to get their hair cut by          Max the Barber.          Max holds up a mirror to his customer, FINK.                          MAX           Clean as a whistle.                          FINK           (checking himself out)           Max, I think you missed your calling.                          MAX           Thank you.                          (THEN)           Who do we got next, Henry?          Henry checks the schedule by his side, calls out a name.                          HENRY           Hector. You're up.          Standing just outside, A GUARD watches the make-shift          barbershop carefully.          Hector takes his seat. Max wraps a sheet around his neck.                          HECTOR           Hey, Max. When are you up for parole?           16.                                                                            MAX           October.                          HECTOR           Show us what you did for the board last           time.                          MAX           I'm working.          The other INMATES egg him on.                          OTHER INMATES           Show us!                          MAX           Leave me alone.                          INMATES           Come on! Show us.          Max finally puts his clippers down.                          MAX           All right, so I'm sitting there, and the           head of the board asks me what I'm going           to do if they let me out this time. And,           so...          Max's face starts to shudder...his shoulders jerking back          a little bit...                          MAX (CONT'D)           I get this twitch! and then I give him my           answer: "I'm gonna break in your house, set           your dog on fire, eat all your food, go on           a naked rampage through your garden, dance           in the streets of your l'il hometown like a           crazed harpee, hurl myself headlong flaming           through the ethereal sky like God's blackest           angel and explode like a goddamn heavenly           fireball!          Eyes ablaze and face beetroot red and twitching like a          mad man...                          MAX (CONT'D)           Oh, yeah. You don't want ME. You don't           want THIS. Not out THERE.          The inmates look slightly scared. Max casually picks up          his clippers and smiles :                          MAX (CONT'D)           Believe me, I'm not going anywhere.          They crack up. A beat.           17.                                                                            HECTOR           Hey, White Shadow. When's your review           coming up?                          HENRY           Next month.                          HECTOR           You gonna do the twitch like your cellie?                          HENRY           Nope.                          HECTOR           What, you don't like it around here?                          MAX           Everyone knows Henry's innocent.          Laughter.                          HECTOR                          (TO HENRY)           The board don't like it when you deny the           crime.                          HENRY           I didn't do the crime.                          HECTOR           Hey, but you got the time...so you may as           well have done it.          Everyone laughs.                          MAX           I like it! `You got the time, so you may           as well have done the crime!'          Everyone laughs again.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Now that's funny, Henry.                          HENRY           Yeah, you're right.          Henry ponders.                                   INT. SHOWERS - DAY          INMATES shower. Alot of noise and steam. Henry and Max at          the end of a row.                          HENRY           You know you never did tell me what your           dream was, Max.           18.                                                                            MAX           I'm living it.                          HENRY           Really?                          MAX           Sure! It's easier to live in here. You           don't have to do anything. You just show           up. In fact they even do that for you.           I'm living the life.                          HENRY           This place is horrible, Max.          Max thinks, lathering his hair...                          MAX           So why didn't you just say something?                          HENRY           When?                          MAX           Back then. When you had the chance. When           you were still innocent.                          HENRY           I thought maybe this was my way out.                          MAX           And was it?                          HENRY           Yeah.                          MAX           See. There are no mistakes.                                   INT. MAX AND HENRY'S CELL - MORNING          It's early morning. Henry's clean shaven, dressed in          street clothes. He packs the last of his things into a          sports bag, zips it up.          Looks over at Max whose eyes are closed. Max looks          vulnerable, like a child, the coverlet pulled right up to          his neck.                          MAX           You got everything, kid?                          HENRY           Yeah.          Henry, silent for a moment.           19.                                                                            HENRY (CONT'D)           Maybe you should think about getting out           of here sometime. I'll buy you a cup of           coffee on the outside.                          MAX           The only thing I've ever missed in twenty           three years is a hot bath. And that ain't           worth walking out of here for.          The cell door slides open.           PRISON GUARD (O.S.)           Torne! Let's go!          Henry starts to leave.                          MAX           Don't forget. Your dream is your myth is           your truth.          Pause.                          HENRY           I thought it was my dream is my truth is           my destiny.                          MAX           Just testing.          Henry continues...stops at the door.                          HENRY           I'm going to miss you.                          MAX           Yeah, well. I hope I never see you again.          Henry smiles.                          HENRY           I'm still gonna miss you.                          MAX           Get out of here, Henry.                                   EXT. PRISON - DAY          It's cloudy. Henry walks through the front GATE of the          prison. He takes a long deep breath of free air. It's          cold. We see his exhale.          He starts to walk.           20.                                                                                     INT. GREYHOUND BUS - DAY          Henry sits in the back of the bus, the New York          countryside streaking past him in a blur...                                   EXT. BUFFALO STREET - DAY          Henry turns onto his old street.                                   EXT. HENRY'S HOUSE - DAY          Henry walks up to his doorway. He hesitates before          ringing the bell. A beat.          The door opens. It's --                         JOE          The guy who got sick several years before. He's wearing a          suit and tie now.                          JOE           Henry. How you doing?                          HENRY           Hey.                          JOE                          (CALLING OUT)           Debbie! Henry's here.                          (TO HENRY)           Come on in. Make yourself at home.                          HENRY           Thanks.                                   INT. HENRY'S OLD HOUSE - CONTINUOUS          Henry enters. His old house looks more or less the same.          Joe heads over to small display of KITCHENWARE SAMPLES in          the living room.                          JOE           Don't mind me. I'm just getting set up           for my meeting. You want a beer?                          HENRY           Sure.                          JOE                          (CALLING OUT)           Honey, do mind getting Henry a beer?           21.                                                            As Joe clips several FLOW CHARTS onto an easel -- they          look like they were done by a kid -- Debbie appears with          a Bud Lite. She hands it to Henry. She smiles.                          DEBBIE           Hi.                          HENRY           Hi.          It's not so awkward.                                   INT. GARAGE - MINUTES LATER          Debbie leads Henry to a NAVY BAG and a BOX with Henry's          name on it.                          DEBBIE           I think that's everything you wanted.                          HENRY           Thanks.          A beat. They just stand there for a moment.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           Are you happy?                          DEBBIE           I am, Henry.                          HENRY           I'm glad.          He means it.          Henry picks up the box, shoulders the bag.                          DEBBIE           So what are you going to do now?                          HENRY           I don't know yet.          Joe enters.                          JOE           Honey, they're starting to arrive.          Joe grabs a DISPLAY STAND featuring kitchen products.                          DEBBIE                          (TO HENRY)           We're having a meeting. It's his new           business.           22.                                                                            JOE           Hey, maybe you'd be interested, Henry.           You could become a distributor for Jin           Chi.          They all head out of the garage.                          JOE (CONT'D)           It's Korean kitchenware. The future of           food storage. Plus, if you recruit           distributors, you get paid even more.          Passing through the living room arriving GUESTS notice          Henry walking out carrying his box.                          HENRY           You mean like a pyramid scheme?                          JOE           No! God, no. It's a multi-layered           marketing paradigm.                          (HENRY'S LOOK)           Anyway, why don't you give it some           thought?          Henry nods, starts to head out.                          JOE (CONT'D)           Henry.                          HENRY           Yeah?                          JOE           Listen, I just wanted to thank you. For           not giving up my name.          A beat.                          HENRY           I don't know your name.                          JOE           Sure you do. It's Joe.          A beat.                          HENRY           Right. You're welcome Joe.                          (TO DEB)           I'll see you Deb.                          DEBBIE           Take care of yourself, Henry.          He leaves.           23.                                                                                     EXT. STREET NEAR HENRY'S OLD HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER          Henry walks down the street with his box.          A NEIGHBOR approaches, recognizes him.                          NEIGHBOR           Henry! How are you?          Henry looks over.                          HENRY           I'm good. How are you?                          NEIGHBOR           Great. How was Greece?                          HENRY           Greece?                          NEIGHBOR           Debbie told us all about your trip.          A beat.                          HENRY           I was in prison.                          NEIGHBOR           In Greece?                                   INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT          A shitty apartment. Tiny. A bed. A desk.          The TV is on low.          Henry sits on a chair by the bed, the box between his          legs, its contents spread out over the bed.          Photographs of a long-forgotten vacation in Puerto Rico          with Debbie. A Baseball glove.          A high-school year book. Inside, a page of senior photos.          He finds his own picture smiling at the thresh-hold of          adulthood. Underneath his name it reads : "MOST NICEST                         GUY"          He studies the image a moment, flips to the inner cover,          graffitied with hand-written messages from classmates          including : "Henry don't be such a fag, Eddie Vibes"          Henry puts the yearbook back in the box. Next to it are a          pile of photographs spread out...images from Henry's          childhood...of him and Debbie...of different times. He          finishes putting everything back.           24.                                                            A distinctive JINGLE! on the TV. Henry looks over.          An ad for the local Buffalo lottery, a PRETTY YOUNG          BLONDE in a sequinned dress speaks to the camera.                          PRETTY BLOND                          (ON TV)           Take a chance on life, take a chance on           Buffalotto!          Henry closes the lid of the box, regards it.                                   INT. PAROLE OFFICE, BUFFALO - DAY          Henry sits at a desk. He's handed a cup of coffee by his          FEMALE PAROLE OFFICER -- whose face we never actually          see.           PAROLE OFFICER (O.S.)           (re: the coffee)           Is it okay?          Henry takes a sip.                          HENRY           Good. Thank you.           PAROLE OFFICER (O.S.)           So what do you think?                          HENRY           About what?           PAROLE OFFICER (O.S.)           About building your life from the ground up.                          HENRY           Sure. Sounds good.                                   EXT. FIELD - DAY          A grass field. It's raining.          Henry steps into frame with a SHOVEL. Behind him an OLDER          MAN in a cap pushes a wheelbarrow.          IN THE DITCH - LATER          From a low-angle we watch as Henry digs. He's a few feet          down. The wheelbarrowman still watches silently.           25.                                                                                     INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT          Henry lies on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His          mind turns. He's starting to think...O.S. the sound of          the `BuffaLotto' jingle on the TV.                                   EXT. DITCH - DAY          It's snowing. The Wheelbarrowman watches silently as          Henry digs another small ditch.                                   INT. BUFFALO SIX MOVIE THEATRE - NIGHT          Henry sits in the back row. We watch him as he eats          popcorn. The movie flashes across his face. There are          guns involved...                                   EXT. FIELD - DUSK          A cloudy spring day. Henry climbs out of the ditch.          Throws down his shovel and shakes the wheelbarrowman's          hand.          He walks away past ROWS OF GRAVES. He notices a flower          poking through the dirt.                                   INT. PAROLE OFFICE - DAY          The female PAROLE OFFICER sets down a cup of coffee.          Henry drinks. We still don't see her face.                          HENRY           Thanks.          She sits down at her desk.           FEMALE PAROLE OFFICER           Seems like yesterday you walked through           that door.                          HENRY           It does?           FEMALE PAROLE OFFICER           Henry, You've done your time. You are now           a free free man.                          (THEN)           How does it feel?          Henry takes a breath.                          HENRY           Good.           26.                                                            She signs a document and hands it to him.           FEMALE PAROLE OFFICER           So, What's next?          Henry doesn't answer.          The SOUND of boots, move in on HENRY'S EXPRESSION,          staring, as we                          CUT TO :                                                            HENRY'S DIRTY BOOTS march along the street with          purpose...          We follow them.          After a while, the boots stop.                                   EXT. MAIN ST. BUFFALO - DAY          HENRY looks up : we travel around him, see what he sees :          THE FIRST BUFFALO BANK          Directly across the street. Holding on Henry as he          contemplates the place...          Henry takes a deep breath. Focuses in.          There's something happening, he's not sure what it          is...an idea perhaps, an instinct that somehow with each          passing moment becomes more like a knowing....          A moment of revelation.          He starts across the street toward the bank, moving now,          heading right toward the front door, transfixed, as the          SOUND DROPS out and he begins to smile --          SCREEEECH!          A car HITS Henry in the side. He's knocked down.          A GIRL (30s)          Rushes out of the car.                          JULIE           What are you doing? What the fuck are you           doing? Are you okay?           (into cell phone)           Stan. I gotta call you back! I just ran           someone over. No, he looks okay.           27.                                                            She hangs up.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           You idiot, you weren't even looking where           you were going! Are you okay?          Henry's a little delirious.                          HENRY           I think I'm okay.          He grabs his thigh. Winces with pain. Tries to get up.                          JULIE           No. Stay on the ground.          The bank Guard FRANK rushes over.                          FRANK           Is he alright? Don't get up. I'll call an           ambulance.                          HENRY           No, don't.           (Starts to stand)           I think I'm okay.                          FRANK                          (RECOGNIZING HIM)           You!                          HENRY                          (RECOGNIZING HIM)           Yeah. Me.                          JULIE           (to Frank, confused)           Is he alright?                          FRANK           Are you alright?                          HENRY           Yeah. Fine.                          JULIE           He just walked right out into the street.           He came out of nowhere.                          FRANK           I saw the whole thing. You were on the           phone. You weren't even paying attention.                          JULIE           Yes. I was. I know how to drive.          Cars are honking now as Henry limps his way over to the          sidewalk.           28.                                                                            JULIE (CONT'D)           What are you doing? Get back on the           ground!                          FRANK           Park your car. I'm going to take him into           that cafe.          She jumps back in her car and pulls it over to the side.          Frank comes over to Henry, takes his arm.                          FRANK (CONT'D)           They let you out, huh.                          HENRY           Yeah.                          FRANK           Let's get you a seat in here.                                   INT. ORPHEUM CAFE - CONTINUOUS          Frank sets Henry down in a chair at one of the tables by          the door.                          FRANK           Pierre! Une Verre d'eau.                          HENRY           Thanks.          Julie comes in.                          JULIE           Did you call an ambulance? I'm calling an           ambulance.                          HENRY           It's okay. I really am fine.                          FRANK           Yeah. He's alright for a guy who just got           run over.           (sucks his teeth)           Lucky I guess.          Frank leaves.                          JULIE           I think we should call a doctor.          Henry just stares at her. For a long moment.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           What? Are you okay?          He keeps staring...           29.                                                                            JULIE (CONT'D)           Hello, guy? Are you okay? Do you need a           doctor?          A beat.                          HENRY           No. You look familiar.                          JULIE           What?          It takes Julie a moment.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           Oh. That.                          HENRY           What?                          JULIE                          (SINGS)           'Take a chance on life, take a chance on           Buffa-lotto'?          A beat.                          HENRY           Oh, that's why.          An awkward moment.                          JULIE           Well, I guess you seem to be okay.                          HENRY           Yeah. I'm okay.                          JULIE           Okay. So you're okay?                          HENRY           Yeah.                          JULIE           Great.                          (THEN)           So I can go now?                          HENRY           Sure.                          JULIE           Bye.                          (THEN)           And be more careful.                          HENRY           Thanks.           30.                                                            She leaves. He watches her go.                          WAITRESS           Anything else I can get you?                          HENRY           A bathroom?                         HENRY          Hobbles down the hallway. He notices the photos on the          wall. A series of HISTORICAL SHOTS of OLD BUFFALO.                                   INT. BATHROOM - MOMENTS LATER          Henry peeing. His eyes drift to the photos on the wall to          his right.          He zeroes in on a prohibition-era newspaper framed FRONT          PAGE.          A photo of COPS IN TRENCH COATS posing in front of THE          FIRST BUFFALO BANK WITH CRATES OF SEIZED BOOZE.          `WHISKY IN THE VAULT!'          ON HENRY'S FACE          The sound of Henry's Pee STOPS.          He takes a step closer to the next urinal over. Reads the          rest of it...          A COP IN A TUNNEL, smiling as he points up to a HOLE :                         `TUNNEL DISCOVERED'          After a moment Henry starts peeing again. Thinking about          what he's just read...                                   EXT. ORPHEUM CAFE - DAY          Henry comes out. Stares at the bank across the street.          Looks both ways and then crosses the road.                                   EXT. BACK ALLEY - DAY          Henry stands in the back alley behind the bank, feeling          the place out...his head turns between the back door of          the bank and the back of the building opposite...then          looks down at his feet.          He looks up again, notices the :                         `BACKSTAGE DOOR'           31.                                                            He goes over to it. It's locked.                                   INT. HENRY'S APARTMENT - DAWN          Henry's still in his clothes, lying on his bed, his mind          reeling, the TV on low....          He gets out of bed. Puts his foot in his boot.           PRISON GUARD (V.O.)           Max! You've got a visitor.                                   INT. VISITOR'S AREA - DAY          Henry sits at a visitor's table, waiting. A moment          passes, a DOOR CLANKS open and --                         MAX          Emerges with a guard.                          MAX           I thought I told you I didn't want to see           your face again.          Henry smiles.                          HENRY           Nice to see you too.          He goes to hug him.                          GUARD           No contact.          They sit. They look at each other a moment.                          HENRY           I figured it out.                          MAX           What?                          HENRY           My destiny.                          MAX           Good. What is it?          A beat. Henry leans in.                          HENRY           The bank.                          MAX           The bank is your destiny?           32.                                                                            HENRY           Yeah.                          MAX           What bank?                          HENRY           The one I didn't rob.          Pause.                          MAX           But you went to jail for it.                          HENRY           Exactly.                          MAX           What are you talking about Henry?          Henry looks around. Closer --                          HENRY           I did the time, I may as well have done           the crime.                          MAX           Ah, that. Time. Crime. Right.                          (THEN)           I still don't get it.          Pause.                          HENRY           I need your help.                          MAX           What for?                          HENRY                          (A WHISPER)           To rob the bank.          Pause.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           So what do you say?                          MAX           I'm in Jail. That's what I say.                          HENRY           You've got your review coming up --                          MAX           -- So?                          HENRY           So you can get of here. If you want to.           33.                                                                            MAX           No. It's not as simple as that.                          HENRY           Yes, it is.                          MAX           No, it's not.                          HENRY           Yes. It is.                          MAX           No, it's not.                          HENRY                          MAX --                          MAX           I'm happy here. This is my home.                          HENRY           This is not a home. This is a prison.                          MAX           Whatever you want to call it, I'm happy           here.          A beat. Henry looks at Max now. He looks frail.                          HENRY           Max. You can't die in this place.                          MAX           I can die wherever I want.                          HENRY           You really want to die here?                          MAX           What do you want, Henry?                          HENRY           I'm asking for your help.                          MAX           To rob that bank?!                          HENRY           I've thought about it. It's the right thing.                          (THEN)           For both of us.          A long beat. Max gets up :                          MAX           Henry. I got cards.           34.                                                                            HENRY                          MAX --                          MAX           Great to see you, kid.                          HENRY           Max!          Max exits.                                   EXT. BUFFALO STREET - DAY          Henry stares at the bank again...then walks down Mecca          Road glimpses the marquee of `THE ORPHEUM' theatre.          DAREK MILLODRAGOVIC's `THE CHERRY ORCHARD' by Anton                         CHEKHOV                         OPENS NOVEMBER 23          Henry approaches, takes in the large photo of Darek and          the PLAY POSTER, featuring a TREE, for the upcoming                         PRODUCTION:          Each `tree branch' of this poster dangles a small cherry-          shaped PHOTO of the various ACTORS starring in it,          including JULIE IVANOVA, the girl who ran Henry over, as          Madame Ranevsky.          A black and white American flag wrapped around the trunk          of the cherry tree with bloody roots.          Henry regards this with some interest, tries the theatre          door.          This one's open.                                   INT. ORPHEUM THEATRE - DAY          Henry enters the lobby. The light is low. There's          something almost magical about this place.          Henry hears VOICES drifting in from the main theatre as          he continues to walk, heading toward the sounds..           JULIE (O.S.)           (As Madame Ranevsky)           Is it really me sitting here? I want to           dance and clap my hands!          INT. MAIN THEATRE - CONTINUOUS          Henry enters the back of the theatre...sees the girl on                         STAGE :           35.                                                                           JULIE          The girl who hit him with her car. She's in mid-speech :                          JULIE (CONT'D)           (as Madame Ranevsky)           I think I must be dreaming. God Knows I           love my country. I love it deeply. I           couldn't see out the train window I was           crying so much.                          (SHE'S TEARFUL)           But...I must drink my coffee...thank you           Firs, thank you, you dear old man. I'm so           glad to find you still alive.          Henry's transfixed. She's good. ARNOLD, regional actor          extraordinaire, plays Lophakin :           ARNOLD AS LOPHAKIN (O.S.)           Your brother Leonid Andreyevich says I'm           an upstart. A Money grubber!           (marching to and fro)           He can say whatever he likes. I don't           care a bit.          He chews up the scenery.           ARNOLD AS LOPHAKIN                          (CONT'D)           I just want you to believe in me like the           old days. I just want your wonderful           tender eyes to look at me like they did                          THEN --                          DAREK           Stop! Stop!          DAREK, the CZECH DIRECTOR -- greasy-haired, balding and          smoking -- stands up in his seat in the stalls.                          DAREK (CONT'D)           Too small, too safe! Stop showing me your           `safe face' --                          ARNOLD           -- But I was --                          DAREK           Not you. You're doing the best you can.           You.          He points to JULIE.                          DAREK (CONT'D)           What are you doing?                          JULIE           I'm...listening.           36.                                                                            DAREK           Listening? You look like you're hearing.           To hear is to be weak. To listen is to be           strong. To listen is an action.          Julie cocks her ear, mockingly. Darek marches up to her.                          DAREK (CONT'D)           What is that?                          JULIE           An action. I'm listening. Is this what           you mean, Darek? Is this what you want?                          DAREK           No, Djula.                          JULIE           Then what do you want?          They stare each other down.                          DAREK           I want you to be more. I want you to be           better than that.          He snatches the cup from her hand.                          DAREK (CONT'D)           Now go drink coffee. And don't think           about what I want, think about what you           want!                          JULIE           Fine. I'll go drink coffee.          Julie marches off stage...                          DAREK           I'll go drink coffee too! Let's all `go           drink coffee'.                          (SHOUTS)           Ten minutes everyone!           (to his Eastern European                          ASSISTANT)           Olga! Coffee. Coffee for everyone. We'll           all have coffee Djula! Every single one           of us! And think about what we want!                         HENRY          Watches as Julie comes up the aisle. She notices him.                          JULIE           What are you doing here?          She doesn't wait, just walks right past...          Henry follows.           37.                                                                            JULIE (CONT'D)           Are you here to sue me?                          HENRY           No.                          JULIE           Then what are you doing here?                          HENRY           I saw your picture outside. The door was           open. I came in.          She exits.                                   EXT. ORPHEUM THEATRE - OUTSIDE          Henry catches up. She crosses the street, ignoring the          traffic. Henry follows.                          HENRY           Is it always like that?                          JULIE           What?                          HENRY           (gesturing back to the                          THEATRE)           That.                          JULIE           You mean rehearsal?                          HENRY           Yeah.                          JULIE           It's a process.                          HENRY           Looks complicated.                          JULIE           It's all pain.                          (THEN)           Chekhov, right?          They reach the Cafe. He opens the door for her :                          HENRY           I thought you were listening.          She looks at him, curiously.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           I'm Henry by the way.           38.                                                                            JULIE           Julie.                                   INT. CAFE ORPHEUM - DAY          They enter. It's busy.                          PIERRE           Madame Julie!                          JULIE           Coffee, Pierre.          She points at Henry.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           You want one?                          HENRY           Sure.                         SHE SIGNALS :                          JULIE           Two.          They stand right there at the bar. Silence.          Henry notices the play poster on the wall over her          shoulder. Looks at it. Then back at her. Comparing her          photo to the live person.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           What?          She turns to see what he's looking at. A beat.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           So what do you think?                          HENRY           Doesn't look like you.                          JULIE           No, I meant the poster.                          HENRY           Oh. It's funny.                          JULIE           Actors on a tree is funny?                          HENRY           Yeah.          She smiles. Pierre puts the coffees down on the bar.           39.                                                                            JULIE           That's the director's joke.          She starts dropping cubes of sugar in her cup.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           He's making a comment on the American           culture. Actors faces as falling fruit.           Birth, death, the consumption of the ID.          Henry's interested.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           To him, the American dream has become the           world's nightmare. "You are the country           of apocalypse."                          (THEN )           That's what he told us on the first day           of rehearsal, anyway.                          HENRY           Oh.                          JULIE           The irony is, he loves the American           dream. I mean that's why he's here,           right?                          (WHISPERS)           But I know for a fact he hates himself           for loving it. It's always an inside job,           isn't it?                          HENRY           Yeah. I guess.          Pause.                          JULIE           But the truth is I wasn't listening. I           was playing it safe.                          (THEN)           He was right. The jerk. About that,           anyway...          She drinks her coffee.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           You know the Cherry Orchard was Chekhov's           last play. He was dying when he wrote it.          She thinks. He listens.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           It's perfect.                          HENRY           Why?           40.                                                                            JULIE (CONT'D           It's my last play too. Here in Buffalo.                          HENRY           You're leaving?          She downs the last of her coffee.                          JULIE           Right after we're done.                          (THEN)           I'm glad you came by. Thanks for not           suing me. I'll see ya.          She leaves.          He watches her through the glass as she walks across the          street...right past the bank on her way back to the          theatre.                                   INT. PRISON - MORNING          MAX's cell door opens. He walks, happy and confident this          morning.                          INMATE                          (CALLING OUT)           Hey Barber, tomorrow lunch, right?                          MAX           Right.                          ANOTHER CONVICT           Give `em hell!                          MAX           I always do, Felipe!          As Max reaches the end of the walkway, an OLD GUARD opens          the next steel door for him.                          GUARD           Morning, Max. Here we are again.                          MAX           How's your grandson?                          GUARD           Just started first grade.                          MAX           That's great. The socialization begins!          The Guard smiles as he leads him toward the PAROLE BOARD          ROOM at the end of another long corridor.          They stop at the door.           41.                                                                            GUARD           How many more of these you think you got           in you, Max?          Pause.                          MAX           As many as it takes.          The Guard shakes his head, opens the door for him.                                   INT. PAROLE REVIEW ROOM, PRISON - DAY          A PAROLE BOARD OFFICER is reading Max's file as he enters.           HEAD PAROLE REVIEWER           Good afternoon, Mr. Saltzman. Take a           seat.          The OFFICER gestures to the chair. The other members of          the Board stare at Max.          The head Parole officer leafs through page after page of          denied applications. Max watches the pages turning, the          years of his life going by, taking it in...           HEAD PAROLE REVIEWER                          (CONT'D)           Mr. Saltzman. Could you please tell the           board why you believe we should grant you           parole?          They all wait for Max's answer. He's silent.           HEAD PAROLE REVIEWER                          (CONT'D)                          (HALF AMUSED)           Come on, Mr. Saltzman, what have you got           for us this time?          Closer on Max. He looks like he might start to twitch at          any moment....           HEAD PAROLE REVIEWER                          (CONT'D)           (o.s.)           Mr. Saltzman?                          MAX           Well...                                   EXT. PRISON GATE - DAY          The gigantic PRISON GATES clank open. Max emerges, a tiny          figure against the imposing facade. He's holding a small          black valise. Looks like it was made in the 40s.           42.                                                            Max looks a little less sure of himself.                         HENRY          Appears. Smiling.                          HENRY           I knew you could do it.          Max looks around nervously.                          MAX           Where's the car?                          HENRY           I don't have a car.                          MAX           You don't have a car? What's wrong with           you? You came to pick me up without a           car. That's not picking a person up.                          HENRY           Yes, it is. I'm here. I'm picking you up.                          MAX           I don't know about this. Maybe this is a           mistake.          Max turns....walks back towards the gates. Starts to          POUND on them.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Dave! Carl!                          HENRY           Max, it's okay. You're free.                          MAX           Open up! DAVE!          No response.          Henry approaches. Takes Max's bag.                          HENRY           Come on, Max.                          MAX           I don't like this.                          HENRY           Take it easy. There's nothing to be           frightened of. I promise. You're okay.           The bus station's just a short walk.          Max starts to hyperventilate :           43.                                                                            MAX           I can't breathe. I -- can't breathe...          Henry hesitates a moment, puts an arm around him...                          HENRY           You're going to be alright.                          MAX           (nearly on his knees)           I'm going to die right here. I told you!                          HENRY           Come on, Max, we're going to miss that bus.          Henry helps Max back up again.                                   EXT. BUS - DAY          A GREYHOUND BUS rumbles through the countryside.                                   INT. BUS - DAY          Henry and Max sit up front right next to the driver. Max          has his eyes closed. He still looks woozy.                          HENRY           You hungry?          He opens his bag and pulls out a sandwich. Offers it to          him.          Max doesn't say anything.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           It's pastrami. On rye.          A beat. Max opens one eye...          A KEY GOING INTO A LOCK...                                   INT. HENRY'S APARTMENT - DAY          Henry opens the door for Max. They enter.                          HENRY           Here we are.          Henry indicates the tiny bed in the corner of the living          room. There are some second hand books on the bedside          table like `Future Shock' by Alvin Toffler and          Dostoyevsky.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           That one's yours.           44.                                                            Max goes over, looks at the books. Sits down on the bed.                          MAX           Thanks.                          HENRY           Anything else you need?          A beat.                          MAX           Yeah.                                   INT. HENRY'S BATHROOM - LATER          Max reclines in the steaming TUB, luxuriating in the warm          water. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and          relaxes.          After a moment he notices a fancy-looking bottle on the side.                          MAX           (reads the label)           Ah. The land of milk and honey.          Pours it into his bath.                                   EXT. BUFFALO STREET - DAY          As they cross a street, Max notices a coffee shop on the          other side.                          MAX           What is this obsession with coffee,           Henry? When did that happen?                          HENRY           I'm not sure, Max. But it seems to give           people a lot of purpose.          They walk into the Cafe Orpheum.                                   INT. CAFE ORPHEUM, BATHROOM -- DAY          THE PROHIBITION-ERA PHOTO          Henry looked at earlier when he was pissing.          Max is staring at the thing now too...                          MAX           Oh my God. Are you kidding? This was           eighty years ago. It's ridiculous. Oh my           God. That tunnel's probably not even           there anymore! Are you dreaming, Henry?           45.                                                                            HENRY           It's a start.                          MAX           A start? This was your plan? An old           cartoon in a pissoir?                          HENRY           It's an article.                          MAX           Whatever, Henry. Why don't we just go in           with guns and do it the old-fashioned           way?                          HENRY           No. No guns.                          MAX           What?                          HENRY           Someone could get hurt.          Pause.                          MAX           That's sweet, kid.                          HENRY           (the tunnel photo)           Maybe it's still there, Max.          A beat.                          MAX                          (SURE)           Uh-huh.                          HENRY           Maybe it is.          Max looks at him.                          MAX           Right. Okay. Yes. First things first. Why           don't we go take a look at this bank of           yours?                          (THEN)           At least we know that's still there.          Henry looks at him.                                   INT. FIRST BUFFALO BANK - DAY          Max and Henry walk in to the grand banking hall.           46.                                                                            MAX           Money is a mistress with a hard heart.          FRANK THE GUARD          observes Max and Henry. Henry glances over at him too.          Doesn't react.          Frank watches them as they walk toward the CASHIER.                          MAX (CONT'D)           I'd like to speak to your manager please.           I'm interested in opening an account.                          CUT TO :          A NAME-PLACARD : `HOWARD TUTTLE, Assistant Manager'.           MR. TUTTLE (O.S.)           And which kind of account would you like           to open?          ON MAX AND HENRY          Sitting in front of his desk.                          MAX           What kind do you have?           MR. TUTTLE           Savings. Interest only. Commercial --                          MAX                          (INTERRUPTING)           You know my uncle put all his money in           that vault when I was a kid, after we           came from Europe, before the war...the           Brownshirts. He said that vault will be           there for three hundred years!           MR. TUTTLE           We hope he's right!                          MAX           He was never wrong. How long's it been           there already Mr. Tuttle?           MR. TUTTLE           Since 1891.                          MAX           And in the very same spot, correct?           MR. TUTTLE           That's right. On the very same spot.           47.                                                             MAX.                          (TO HENRY)           See, my boy!. History. It's all about           history.           MR. TUTTLE           Now. As I was saying. We have savings.           Interest only. Commercial --                          MAX                          (INTERRUPTING)           You'll have to give us some time to think           about which one.          Max gets up.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Thank you. You've been very helpful.           MR. TUTTLE                          (CONFUSED)           No. Thank you.          Henry and Max walk out past Frank. He watches them          leave...                          FRANK           Have a nice day, gentlemen.                                   EXT. ALLEY, BEHIND THE ORPHEUM - A MINUTE LATER          MAX AND HENRY stand in the alley. Henry touches the back          of the bank wall.                          HENRY           The vault is here.          He walks across the alley...                          HENRY (CONT'D)           The tunnel runs under here...          He follows it toward the back door of the theatre.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           And ends up somewhere in there.          He turns to Max.                          MAX           It's virtually robbing itself!          Henry laughs. THE DOOR HITS the back of his head as it          SWINGS open.                          JULIE           Jesus...goddamn! Goddamn Czech Chekhov           shit!           48.                                                            She storms out, punches the air, screams :                          JULIE (CONT'D)           AHHHH!!          Suddenly notices Max and Henry standing there.                          HENRY           (rubbing his head)           Hi.                          JULIE           Jesus. Henry?          She looks at Max.                          HENRY           Julie, Max. Max, Julie.                          MAX           Hiya.                          JULIE           What are you doing here?                          HENRY           Oh, we were, you know --                          MAX           I was just showing Henry the place I used           to perform.          Henry shoots Max a look.                          JULIE           Oh. What?          The door opens. SIMON, the Stage Manager, pokes his head out.                          SIMON           That's lunch, Julie.                          JULIE           Thank God.                          MAX           Chekov's tough stuff. It takes a steel           stomach.                          JULIE           You know Chekhov?                          MAX           Of course. Apart from Gorbachev he's my           favorite Russian.          She laughs. Max approaches her.           49.                                                                            MAX (CONT'D)           Would you mind if we took a look around?           It's been over thirty years since I've           been inside.          She considers the request.                          JULIE           Sure.          She gestures them inside.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           Sure. Yeah. Come on in.                          MAX           Thank you.          As Henry passes :                          HENRY           How you doing?                          JULIE           Great. I'm in hell.                                   INT. THEATRE - SAME TIME          Max walks to centre stage front like he's been there          before. He looks out at the auditorium, a little          emotional all of a sudden.                          MAX           Home again.                          JULIE           So what productions were you in?                          MAX           Oh. Shakespeare, Ibsen, Mahoney, the           greats.                          (A SMILE)           And the not-so-greats!          Simon arrives.                          SIMON                          (TO JULIE)           Mary wants to fit your wig at four. Darek           says to stay hungry.                          JULIE           Fuck him.                          SIMON           Got it.          Max and Henry exchange a glance.           50.                                                                            MAX           Would it be a tremendous imposition to           have a little tour for old time's sake?                          JULIE           He used to perform here.                          SIMON           I don't see why not. We're on a break.                          MAX           That okay, Henry?                          HENRY           Sure. Go ahead.          Julie and Henry watch them go.                          JULIE           Is that your dad?                          HENRY           No. He's a friend.                          JULIE           He seems like your dad.          Henry walks out onto the stage where Max was standing,          getting the feel of it.                          HENRY           It's peaceful out here.          Beat.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           Is it fun?                          JULIE           What?                          HENRY           Pretending to be other people.          She thinks.                          JULIE           It's not really like that. I don't           pretend to be someone else. I find some           part of me, and reveal it in a new           way...just inside of a character.                          HENRY           So, in a way, you're still playing `you'.                          JULIE           Yes. Exactly. In a way.           51.                                                                            HENRY           So what part of `you' are you playing           now?                          JULIE           That's the question you always have to           ask yourself.                                   INT. THEATRE BACKSTAGE, DOWNSTAIRS - SAME TIME          Max follows Simon through a tight hallway of DRESSING          ROOMS.          They pass ACTORS eating lunch or playing cards. Nothing          very glamorous.                          MAX           Ah, the inner sanctum. The magic before           the magic! I remember it like it was           yesterday.          They enter the Green Room where ARNOLD is holding court.                                   INT. GREEN ROOM - CONTINUOUS                          ARNOLD           People often make the mistake in Chekhov           of going down...but you must always           always go up...          Other ACTORS look at him with blank faces.          Max gestures Simon closer. With a conspiratorial whisper -                          MAX           Simon, did you know there used to be a           speakeasy down here during prohibition           days?                          SIMON           Yes. And they hid the booze in the bank!                          MAX           I know.                          SIMON           And there was a tunnel too!                          MAX           I know!                          (THEN)           I forget. Where was it?           52.                                                                                     INT. THEATRE - SAME TIME          Henry examines the fake bookshelves on the drawing room          set. Julie sits in an armchair eating the sandwich she's          pulled out of her bag.          She watches him a moment.                          JULIE           So what's your story, Henry?                          HENRY           My story?                          JULIE           I mean, like...what do you do?          Henry crosses the stage, goes to sit in the chair          opposite her.                          HENRY           I'm figuring that out.                          JULIE           Does that mean you don't have a job?          A beat.                          HENRY           I just got out of jail.          ON JULIE. She wasn't expecting that.                          JULIE           Jail!                          HENRY           Sounds worse than it is.                          JULIE           Really? Jail sounds bad.                          (THEN)           Why were you in there?          She takes a big bite of her sandwich.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           Are you a murderer or something?                          HENRY           No. Do I look like one?          She studies him.                          JULIE           No.           53.                                                                            HENRY           What do I look like?          She studies him some more.                          JULIE           I don't know. A criminal.          He laughs.                          HENRY           I do?          She laughs. Then stops. Dead serious :                          JULIE           Yeah.                                   EXT. DRESSING ROOM - SAME TIME          A taped paper sign on the door reads `LOPHAKIN please          knock'. Simon opens it for Max, shows him inside.                          SIMON           We got to be quick. Arnold doesn't like           people in his dressing room.                                   INT. DRESSING ROOM - CONTINUOUS          A costume on hangers. A wig and beard in front of the          mirror.          Simon walks into the room. Places his hand on the far wall.                          SIMON                          (ENTHUSIASTICALLY)           It was right here.          Max comes up. Feels it now too.                          MAX           Booze, broads and lucre. The good old           days. I like it.                          SIMON           They filled it in, in 1931 when they           built the theatre.          Max pads the wall like it's a good old friend, testing          it...searching...                          SIMON (CONT'D)           Times have changed.           54.                                                                            MAX           All good things must come to...           (he hits a hollow spot)           ...an end.          Max stops. Turns to Simon, and with a broad smile :                          MAX (CONT'D)           Do you need volunteers?                                   INT. STAGE - SAME TIME          Henry picks up a marked-up text of the Cherry Orchard          that's on one of the chairs.                          HENRY           The Cherry Orchard.           (leafing through it)           So what happens? What's it about? Is it           funny?          Julie gets up out of her chair.                          JULIE           A woman returns to her family estate in           the Russian countryside and realizes she           has no choice but to sell her beloved           Cherry Orchard, the magical place of her           youth, the only place she ever felt safe.                          HENRY           I guess it's not funny.          She looks at him.                          JULIE           It's about being forced to let go of the           past and create a new life in order to           survive.          Max's voice booms :           MAX (O.S.)           That was great! This place is full of           treasures.          Max comes right up to them.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Thank you, Julie. And thank you, Simon.           I'll see you tomorrow.                          JULIE           Tomorrow?                          SIMON           Max has very kindly offered to volunteer           at the theatre!           55.                                                                            JULIE           Oh.                          MAX           Henry, let's get out of these people's way!          Henry turns to Julie.                          HENRY                          (TO JULIE)           What are you doing after rehearsal?                          JULIE           Why?                          HENRY           Do you like Chinese?                          JULIE           Yeah.                          HENRY           Golden Dragon?                          JULIE           It's okay.                          HENRY           Eight o'clock?                         SHE DECIDES :                          JULIE           Sure.          They look at each other as ACTORS return to the stage.          DAREK moves towards his place in the front seats.                          DAREK           Work. Work! It's time to work Americans!                          (SEES HER)           Even you Djula...          Max grabs Henry --                          MAX           Let's go.                          HENRY           See you, Julie.                          JULIE           Stay out of jail.          Henry waves.           56.                                                                                     EXT. ALLEY - MOMENTS LATER          Max and Henry exit the back stage doors.                          MAX           You were right, Henry. You got a nose           like a bloodhound!                          HENRY           You found it?                          MAX           Yeah. Right there. In Lophakin's dressing           room.                          HENRY           Who?                          MAX           Lophakin. We find a way to get into his           dressing room and we're right as rain!          Henry and Max notice FRANK standing at the corner of the          alley having a cigarette.          He glares at them as they pass...                                   INT. APARTMENT, BATHROOM - LATER          Henry gets ready for his date. Max keeps talking, sitting          on the side of the tub as he draws the bath...                          MAX           I can see it, Henry. It's all in front of           me. The vault. The bank. The tunnel. The           pieces of the puzzle are on the table.           All we got to do is put them in the right           order!                          (THEN)           The only thing is the dirt...where does           the dirt from the tunnel go?                          HENRY           What about the vault?                          MAX           First things first. I'm on the dirt.                          HENRY           Okay. How do I look?                          MAX           Like Henry.                          (THEN)           We had a good day, Kid. It's good to be           back in the soup.                          (MORE)           57.                          MAX (CONT'D)           (he starts to take off his                          CLOTHES)           Go have a nice supper.                         A CHOPSTICK          Henry places it between a PLATE and a NAPKIN, linking          them together like...a tunnel...                                   INT. GOLDEN DRAGON - RESTAURANT - NIGHT          Henry waits for Julie. He's all cleaned up. Fresh shirt.                          JULIE           Sorry I'm late. I'm starving.          She sits. Looks at the menu. A GUY who's leaving, sees her :                          GUY           Julie.                          JULIE           Bruce.          The guy glances at Henry. Leaves.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           That guy's a total dick. Hi, Henry.          She studies the menu.                          HENRY           Hi. How was rehearsal?          She puts it down. No answer.                          JULIE           I feel like duck.                                   INT. RESTAURANT - LATER          PLATES ARE CLEARED          It's the end of the meal. Henry listens.                          JULIE           I don't just want to be good, I want to           be great. And I don't just want to be           great in Buffalo.                          HENRY           Where then?                          JULIE           Don't laugh.                          (THEN)           Hollywood.           58.                                                            He doesn't.                          HENRY           I guess that's where people go.                          JULIE           I don't want my legacy to be a Buffalotto           commercial. And it's not going to be.           Soon as this thing is done I'm out of           here.                          (THEN)           Before it's too late.                          HENRY           Sounds like a plan.          The waitress brings over the check and the fortune          cookies.                          JULIE           I hate fortune cookies.                                   INT. JULIE'S CAR - LATER          Julie sings along to the radio, smoking half a joint from          the ashtray.          Henry watches her. Julie knows she's being watched. She's          enjoying herself.                          HENRY           We going anywhere in particular?                          JULIE           (hits the joint)           Want some?          Henry shakes his head no. She turns the radio up.                          CUT TO :          HENRY AND JULIE          Walk along a precipice near some railings. They move          closer to the ROAR.          They look out at the flood-lit NIAGARA FALLS. Stand there          a moment...                          JULIE (CONT'D)           You know there's a whole bunch of bodies           down there churning around. Just caught           in the current.                          (BEAT)           They all took the risk and look what           happened to them. Same in death as they           were in life. Imagine that. You kill           yourself and nothing changes.           59.                                                            They both stare down into the roaring water.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           All those dreams churning around down           there. It makes you sick.                          (THEN)           I got to get out of here.                          HENRY           I get it.          They start to walk...                          JULIE           So what did you do before jail, Henry?                          HENRY           I worked at a toll booth.                          JULIE           Which one?                          HENRY           Rainbow bridge.                          JULIE           No!                          HENRY           Yes.                          JULIE           I had family that used to live on the           other side. I took that bridge all the           time. We must of met a hundred times!          He nods. She's probably right.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           Wow. So you were one of the guys in the           tollbooth with those weird rubber gloves?                          HENRY           Yeah.          She laughs.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           What's so funny?                          JULIE           You were watching everyone go somewhere           and you were going nowhere.                          HENRY           That's funny?                          JULIE           Yeah. Funny sad, not funny funny.           60.                                                                            HENRY           I worked nights. It gave me time to           think.                          JULIE           About what?                          HENRY           About where I wasn't going.                          JULIE           See, that's funny.                          (THEN)           What about now? Where you going now?                          HENRY           I'm working on it.                          JULIE           What'd they send you to jail for Henry?                          HENRY           For trying to rob the First Buffalo Bank.                          JULIE           What!                          HENRY           I thought I was on my way to a softball           game. It was a mistake.          Pause.                          JULIE           Sounds like it.          He looks at her. Decides :                          HENRY           But now I'm going to rob it for real.                          JULIE           You're going to rob the bank you already           went to jail for robbing?                          HENRY           Yeah.                          JULIE           Ha!                          HENRY           There's a tunnel.                          JULIE           What tunnel?                          HENRY           Runs from the bank to the theatre.           61.                                                                            JULIE           My theatre?                          HENRY           Yeah.                          JULIE           Ha!          She looks out the falls.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           You're fucking hilarious, Henry.                          HENRY                          (SERIOUSLY)           Thank you.          A beat. We can't tell what she's thinking...                          JULIE           You know what?                          HENRY           What?                          JULIE           I'm hungry.                          HENRY           What for?                          JULIE           (as the thought occurs)           Ice cream.                                   INT. JULIE'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - NIGHT          Henry leans against the sink watching Julie at the table          eating Ice Cream. There's music on in the b.g.          They watch one another for a moment. She takes a big          spoonful.                          JULIE           I can't believe I'm sitting here.                          HENRY           Neither can I.          She gets up.                          JULIE           I want to dance and clap my hands.          She moves through into the lounge. Henry follows.           62.                                                                            JULIE (CONT'D)           I think I must be dreaming!          She starts moving around the room, dancing to the music.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           God knows I love my country. I love it           deeply.          She sits down.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           I couldn't see out the train window I was           crying so much.          Henry's not sure what she's talking about.          She gestures to her copy of `THE CHERRY ORCHARD' on the          coffee table.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           Page twenty one.          Henry opens it.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           I couldn't see out the train window I was           crying so much. But I must drink my           coffee.                          (THEN)           Read Lophakin.          She points to the right place. Henry, awkwardly :                          HENRY           `I have to go to Kharkov on the five           o'clock train. Such a bother, I wanted to           stay and look at you and talk to you.                          (TO HER)           You're as wonderful as ever....'          He stops, looks at her :                          JULIE           Read the next line!                          HENRY           `Even more beautiful, and dressed like a           Parisian...you could blow me down.'                          JULIE           Say it like you feel it. Like it's real.           Say it to me.          Henry takes a beat.          This time he makes it his.           63.                                                                            `HENRY           Even more beautiful, and dressed like a           Parisian...you could blow me down.'          She laughs like a little girl.                          JULIE           You're good. Keep reading! And get up.           Walk around!                          HENRY           `Your brother says I'm an upstart, a           money-grubber.'                          JULIE           Yes, you are. You're a bank robber,           Henry!          He laughs.                          HENRY           (the text again)           `I don't care a bit. I just want you to           believe in me like the old days!'                          JULIE           (pulling him around the room)           Don't stop --                          HENRY           `I just want your wonderful tender eyes           to look at me like they did then.'                          JULIE           Again!          Henry's getting into it.                          HENRY           `I just want your wonderful tender eyes           to look at me like they did then.'          She laughs some more. Comes closer.                          JULIE           I'm glad I ran you over.          Henry puts the book down.                          HENRY           Me too.          They kiss...           64.                                                                                     INT. JULIE'S APARTMENT -- MORNING          Henry and Julie asleep in the bed. She opens her eyes.          Realizes he's there with her...as if sensing her, he          opens his eyes too.          They look at one another.                          JULIE                          (SOFTLY)           Good morning.                          HENRY           Good morning.          She climbs on top of him. Henry smiles.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           Good morning.                                   INT. HENRY'S APARTMENT - MORNING          Sun streams in through the window. Tchaikovsky plays on a          tiny transistor radio. Max humming to the music, reading          `Future Shock' on the toilet.          The sound of the front door of the apartment opening --                          MAX           Henry!           HENRY (O.S.)           Max.                          MAX           (pulling up his boxers)           I figured it out! Once we're in that           dressing room the dirt from the tunnel           goes out through the roof!                          HENRY                          MAX --                          MAX           (rushing out into the front                          ROOM)           That bank doesn't stand a chance.          HENRY is standing right there, holding a bag of          groceries, JULIE is right next to him. Max goes white.          He's in his underwear.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Ah. Company.                          JULIE           Good morning, Max.           65.                                                            Max is frozen.                          HENRY           It's alright. She knows.                          MAX           She does?                          JULIE           I didn't know the dirt from the tunnel           goes out through the roof.          She laughs a little. Max looks at Henry like `what the          fuck?'                          HENRY           We brought breakfast. How do you like           your eggs?          Henry enters the kitchen...leaving Max and Julie there.                          JULIE           It's okay. I'm not going to tell anyone.                          MAX           Hold on.          Max follows Henry into the kitchen.                                   INT. KITCHEN - SAME TIME          Henry unpacks the groceries.                          MAX           You told her?                          (A WHISPER)           About what we're doing?                          HENRY           Yeah. I did.                          MAX           It's a crime. You're supposed to keep           crimes a secret.                          HENRY           It's okay, Max.                          MAX           No. It's not kosher.          Pause.                          HENRY           How do you like your bacon?           66.                                                                            MAX                          (PISSED)           Crispy.          Max leaves the kitchen for the front room where Julie's          waiting, amused by the whole thing.          Max just stands there in his underwear a moment, sizing          her up.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Okay. I'll get dressed.                                   INT. APARTMENT - LATER          They eat.                          JULIE           So what were you in prison for, Max?          Max slurps his coffee.                          MAX           I'm a confidence man.                          JULIE           You mean a `con' man?                          MAX           I never liked that word. It's only half           of what it is. The word confidence comes           from the latin. Fides. With Faith.           Belief.                          (THEN)           That's what I'm about.          She considers this.                          JULIE           You mean you make people feel good...and           then you rip them off?                          MAX           Yes.          He glances at Henry.                          MAX (CONT'D)           But I was always much better at the           feeling good part than the ripping off           part.                          (THEN)           Hence, the prison.                          JULIE           Aren't you guys worried about getting           caught?           67.                                                                            MAX           Not really. For me it's a win-win           situation.                          JULIE           How?                          MAX           I like jail. Three hots and a cot.          Julie looks at Henry now...                          JULIE           You too, Henry? You like jail?                          HENRY           No. I like it out here.                          JULIE           So why would you take the risk? Is it the           money?          Henry doesn't answer, starts to collect the plates.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           It must be the money.          Henry smiles.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           You are a criminal. A greedy little           criminal.                          HENRY           (washing the plates)           `Your brother Leonid says I'm an upstart,           a money grubber...                          (THEN)           ...but I don't care a bit'.          He turns to her.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           `I just want you to believe in me like           the old days.'                          JULIE           You remember!                          MAX           What is that?                          JULIE           It's Chekhov!                          MAX           Chekhov?!           68.                                                                            HENRY           We read it last night.                          JULIE                          (TO HENRY)           You really are good.                          (TO MAX)           He's a natural.                          MAX           I thought you were on a date.                          HENRY           We were.                          MAX           Reading Chekhov's a date?          Beat.                          HENRY           Yeah.          She downs her coffee. Stands.                          JULIE           I got to get to the theatre --                          MAX           Can you give me a ride there?                          JULIE           Why?                          MAX           I'm a volunteer!          She regards him a moment.                          JULIE           You weren't in any of those plays, were you?                          MAX           No.                          (THEN)           But can you give me a ride?                                   INT. ORPHEUM THEATRE - DAY          Julie as Madame Ranevsky. Her brother GAYEV and her          daughter VARYA are also on stage.                          JULIE           All white! All White! Oh, my Cherry           Orchard. After the dark, stormy autumn           and the winter frosts you are young again           and full of happiness; the heavenly           angels have never abandoned you...                          (MORE)           69.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           Oh, if only I could be free of the stone           that weighs me down! If only I could           forget my past!                         REVEAL HENRY          Watching from the back of the theatre in the semi-          darkness.          He's transfixed.          Max watches too. He wears his volunteer badge.                          GAYEV           Yes and now the orchard will be sold to           pay our debts, which seems impossible...                          JULIE           Look! It's mamma walking in the           orchard...in a white dress!           (laughing with joy)           There she is.                          GAYEV           Where?                          VARYA           Momma, don't!          A PROJECTION OF THE MOTHER FLOATS ACROSS THE SCREEN and          dissolves into one of the Cherry Trees...          Henry and Max speak in hushed voices :                          MAX           This is driving me crazy.                          HENRY           What?                          MAX           We could be digging right now!                          HENRY           We could?                          MAX           If we were in that dressing room.                          HENRY           It's rehearsal. There are people           everywhere.                          MAX           This is pissing me off.          Max leaves....after a moment he stops where he          is...freezes...          ...then turns back to Henry...           70.                                                                            HENRY           What?                          MAX           I got an idea.                          HENRY           What?                          MAX           You have to be Lophakin!                          HENRY           What?                          MAX           If you did we'd be able to get into that           tunnel whenever we want.                          HENRY           I'm not an actor.                          MAX           You're not a bank robber either! And           you're doing that.                          HENRY           Max. Come on.                          MAX           She said you were a natural. That means           you can do it.                          HENRY           No, it doesn't.                          MAX           Yes, it does Henry.                          (SHAKES HIM)           You ARE Lophakin! A man who came from           nothing. A man who's not afraid to create           a new life.                          (POINTS)           A man who's in love with her!          Henry stares at Julie, mid performance, on the stage.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Your dream is your truth is your destiny!          Henry thinks...                          HENRY           I can't be Lophakin. They have a           Lophakin.          Max thinks...           71.                                                                            MAX           What if they didn't?                          HENRY           There has to be another way.          Max, frustrated :                          MAX           Kid, You forced me out of jail to help           you. And I'm going to goddamn help you.           But you got to help me help you. Now I           need to know...           (a fierce stare)           ...do you want this bank or not?          On Henry...                          HENRY           Yes. I want it.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           Then you're gonna be Lophakin!                          CUT TO :                                                  ARNOLD          Walks down the street. It's snowing. He approaches the          theatre.                                   INT. THEATRE, BACKSTAGE - MORNING          Arnold enters, shivering, shaking the snow off his          coat...                          ARNOLD           Good morning, everyone!          None of the actors pay him much attention. He pours          himself a cup of coffee, makes his way toward his          dressing room.                                   EXT. DRESSING ROOM - MORNING          Arnold opens the door with his key.                                   INT. THEATRE DRESSING ROOM - CONTINUOUS          Arnold enters, hangs up his coat. There is a FORMAL          ENVELOPE leaning against his make-up mirror.          He approaches. Opens it. Starts to read...           72.                                                            As he absorbs the words he lets out a small gasp..          and...falls into his chair.          After a moment he puts down the letter and stares at          himself in the mirror.                          ARNOLD           You knew this day would come. You deserve           this, lubya.          He closes his eyes. Bows his head. Starts to weep...                                   INT. THEATRE - MORNING          CLOSE ON DAREK : the veins on the side of his forehead          pulsate with rage...                          DAREK           Unprofessional shit!                          ARNOLD           Mr. Millodragovich --                          DAREK                          (HISSING)           Shit!                                   INT. THEATRE - MORNING          Julie stands in the wings. Max joins her.                          MAX           What's happening?                          JULIE           Arnold's leaving the production.                          MAX           Oh. Gosh.          DAREK AND ARNOLD          on the stage. Simon behind them. Darek is right in                         ARNOLD'S FACE :                          ARNOLD           But I have no choice it's Willie Lohman           we're talking about!           (brandishing the letter)           A Ken Waterstone production!                          DAREK           OOOH-LA-LA! A Ken Waterstone production.           The heaven's have opened. You lucky boy.                          (MORE)           73.                          DAREK (CONT'D)           Run, run, to that pandering, populist,           piece-of-shit-Waterstone and his           spineless productions! You're perfect for           it.                          ARNOLD           Good-bye, Darek.                          (THEN)           I'm sorry.          Arnold marches off the stage with his case.                          DAREK           Simone! I need a new Lopakhin. Now.                          (CALLING OUT)           I'm dying, Olga! Cigarettes! Cigarettes           NOW! And COFFEE!                          SIMON           We'll hold auditions this afternoon,           Darek! I'll get the list --          Darek ingests caffeine and nicotine at an alarming rate :                          DAREK           I've seen that shit-list! It's a           disaster.                          SIMON           What do we do?                          DAREK           I must think.          He moves stage left past Julie...                          DAREK (CONT'D)           Djula! Your orchard cannot be felled           before she has a chance to grow.          And with that he disappears with Olga out the door.                          JULIE           Perfect.          Beat.                          MAX                          (A SHRUG)           It is Ken Waterstone.          She shoots him a look, picks up her stuff and goes...                                   EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY          Julie, on the phone, searches for her keys in the bag as          she approaches her car.           74.                                                                            JULIE           Yes, Stan, yes! I know it's bullshit but           that's what's happening...                          (SHE LISTENS)           I don't know, he's `thinking'...          She gets in the car. Tries to find a roach in the          ashtray. A KNOCK at the passenger window.          She looks up. It's MAX.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           What?          He gestures, `Can I come in?'. Max gets in.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           Sorry, I can't give you a ride --                          MAX           You said he was a natural.                          JULIE           Stan. Let me call you back.           (she hangs up, to Max)           What?                          MAX           Henry.                          JULIE           Henry what?                          MAX           Henry would be perfect for it.                          JULIE           Perfect for what?                          MAX           For Lophakin.          It takes a moment till her mind gets a hold of the idea.                          JULIE           You mean Henry should play Lophakin?                          MAX           Yes.          She laughs.                          JULIE           He's not even an actor!                          MAX           Exactly. He'd be playing himself.           (off her shocked look)           Think about it Julie! He is Lophakin.                          (MORE)           75.                          MAX (CONT'D)           A man who came from nothing. A man who's           not afraid to create a new life and put           his past behind him. A man who's in love           with you...Madame Ranevsky.          A beat. She does think about it.                          JULIE           Why do I feel like the earth is suddenly           shifting under my feet?                          MAX           Fact is you need a Lophakin and Lophakin           needs a dressing room.                          (BEAT)           Can you get him in to see Darek?          She hesitates...                          JULIE           What's going on here, Max? What are you           doing?                          MAX           Nothing.          She regards him. Suspiciously.                          JULIE           You made this happen, didn't you?                          MAX           Sometimes a good guy needs a less good           guy to help the good guy be good.          He smiles. A beat :          She SLAPS him hard across the cheek.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Fair enough.          They just sit there for a moment...                          JULIE           What am I supposed to do now?                          MAX           He just needs a shot. One audition. Let           the chips fall where they may.                          JULIE           What if it doesn't work?                          MAX           They'll get someone else.          She thinks...           76.                                                                            MAX (CONT'D)           Give him a shot. One shot. That's all I'm           asking, Julie.          She thinks some more...                          JULIE           Okay, confidence man.                                   INT. DAREK'S APARTMENT - NIGHT          Julie sits, looking at Henry who stands in the middle of          the living room of Darek's apartment...                         DAREK          Circles HENRY...walking around him...an animal tracking          its pray...he's chain-smoking...                          DAREK           ...you've never had any training...you've           never been in a production...you don't           even know the play...                          HENRY           I read it. I think I know the scene.                          DAREK           Think.          He glances at Julie. Then back at Henry.                          DAREK (CONT'D)           Start.                          HENRY                          (READING)           `Your brother , Leonid Andrevich...'                          DAREK           How can you perform Chekhov and not be           able to say AND-REY-E-VICH! Now say it!                          HENRY           ANDREYEVICH.          Darek nods, continue :                          HENRY (CONT'D)           Your brother, Leonid ANDREYEVICH says I'm           an upstart, a money grubber --                          DAREK           A what?                          HENRY           A money-grubber!           77.                                                                            DAREK           Are you?                          HENRY           NO!                          DAREK           Convince her.          Darek pushes Henry closer to Julie. She stands :                          HENRY           Your brother, Leonid Andreyevich says I'm           an upstart, a money grubber. He can say           whatever he likes. I don't care a bit --                          DAREK           (into his ear)           NEITHER DO I.          Henry ignores him and with twice the passion --                          HENRY           I just want you to believe in me like in           the old days.                         JULIE WHISPERS :                          JULIE           Show me, tell me.          Darek laughs, circling...          Henry takes her hand now...his voice drops...                          HENRY           Good God in Heaven. My father was one of           your father's serfs, and your           grandfather's serf before that.           But you, you did so much for me in the           old days that I've forgotten all that...          His yearning is suddenly palpable. Intense. Tender.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           I love you...like a sister...more than a           sister.          Henry drops to his knees, supplicates.                          DAREK           You piece of shit! Yes!          Henry just breathes. He's unbreakable.          A beat.                          DAREK (CONT'D)           Good.           78.                                                            Henry looks up.                          HENRY           Good?                          DAREK           Yes.          Darek considers him.                          DAREK (CONT'D)           Tomorrow. Be more good.          Henry and Julie share a look. He actually did it.                                   INT. JULIE'S CAR -- NIGHT - MOVING          She drives. Henry rides shotgun. They both look at the          road ahead. In silence.          After a while...                          JULIE           Does this make me an accessory?                          HENRY           I think so.          A beat.                          JULIE           Things have certainly gotten a lot more           interesting since you showed up.                          HENRY           You mean since you ran me over...          She smiles.                                   INT. JULIE'S APARTMENT -- NIGHT          They make love. It's more intense than before. They          climax.          They lie there, breathless, looking at each other...                                   INT. KITCHEN TABLE - LATE AT NIGHT          She makes tea. Henry sits at the table watching her.                          JULIE           So why are you robbing the bank, Henry?          He doesn't answer.           79.                                                                            JULIE (CONT'D)           It's not just about the money, is it?                          HENRY           No.                          JULIE           So why are you doing it?          It takes a moment for him to answer.                          HENRY           I used to sit in that toll booth and           think about just getting in one of those           cars, going wherever they went. Just           joining someone else's life.                          JULIE           You were asleep at the wheel.          Henry smiles.                          HENRY           Yeah, I was.                          (THEN)           It was easier for me to go to jail than           tell my wife the truth.                          JULIE           Which was?                          HENRY           That I was going along with everything. I           didn't know I could change it.                          (THEN)           So now I'm changing it.                          JULIE           Robbing the bank is changing it?                          HENRY           It already has.          She gets the honey out of the cupboard. Pours some in her          tea.                          JULIE           What was your wife like?                          HENRY           Nice.          A beat.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           Are you sure you're okay with this? I           know it's a lot.          She turns to him.           80.                                                                            JULIE           Not for a girl like me, Henry.                                   INT. ORPHEUM THEATRE STAGE - MORNING          Darek addresses the full cast. Henry by his side.                          DAREK           This is Mr. Henry Smith. He will be           taking over the role of Lophakin. If you           please.          He leads a light round of applause. Henry acknowledges                         IT:                          HENRY           Thanks. Thank you. Looking forward.                          DAREK           Top of act three. Twenty minutes. Olga,           cigarettes!          Henry walks briskly away. Julie watches him...                                   INT. ORPHEUM THEATRE - MORNING          Henry enters his dressing room, locking the door behind          him. Max is already waiting. He turns the music on.          They move the GIANT ARMOIRE that's against the wall          aside.          Max spreads a blanket on the floor to catch the falling          rubble and holds another against the wall to muffle the          sound.          Henry pulls a sledgehammer out of a bag :          WHACK!          He POUNDS the wall AGAIN and AGAIN...                                   INT. TUNNEL - LATER          The blanket is pulled aside to reveal MAX AND HENRY on          the other side looking in. Max shines his flashlight                         REVEALING :          THE EMPTY OLD TUNNEL BEYOND          It's dusty. Max climbs through the hole, disappears down          the tunnel. Henry follows, counting his steps...           81.                                                                                     INT. OLD TUNNEL - DAY          Max and Henry, stooped over, make their way down the          dank, dark passage.          Max's flashlight combs the floor. A glint of light now as          something FLASHES.                          MAX           Tracks! Trolley tracks!          The beam scours the blackness ahead looking for the          end....and there it is. A soot-covered WALL maybe ten          feet ahead.          They reach it. Henry touches the damp, decrepit brick,          turns to Max.                          HENRY           There's still twenty feet to go.          He turns back to him :                          HENRY (CONT'D)           We're going to need another pair of           hands.                                   EXT. `GAMETIME' SPORTS BAR, BUFFALLO OLD TOWN - NIGHT          It's cold out. Max and Henry walk inside.                                   INT. `GAMETIME' SPORTS BAR, BUFFALLO OLD TOWN - NIGHT          A giant screen showing the game. Henry and Max arrive at          the bar.           LOUD VOICE (0.S.)           No! No! NO! You got to be kidding me! You           suck! You SUCK! Could you possibly SUCK           anymore?                          HENRY           That's him.                          MAX           That's him?          Henry and Max watch as JOE grabs his head, flops into a chair.          Max looks concerned.                                   INT. BOOTH - LATER          Henry and Max sit with the guy -- JOE who's drunk.           82.                                                                            HENRY           Thanks for meeting us.                          JOE           Sure.          Joe is looking worse for wear.                          HENRY           How's your pyramid scheme?                          JOE           It wasn't a pyramid scheme.                          HENRY           Okay.          Joe hits his Schooner Longneck.                          JOE           It all fell apart.                          (THEN)           We were banking on that money, Henry. And           now all I've got is a garage full of dumb           Korean plastic.                          MAX           What's he talking about?                          HENRY           Kitchenware.                          MAX           Oh.                          JOE           See what happens when a person tries to           go `legit'?                          (THEN)           It's killing me.          Joe drains his beer. The WAITRESS arrives with a bucket          of steaming wings.                          HENRY           So how's Debbie?                          JOE           She's worried, Henry. The baby's due in a           couple months.          He grabs a wing. Rips off the meat.                          HENRY           She's pregnant?                          JOE           Yeah, she's pregnant.           83.                                                            Henry takes it in.                          HENRY           Congratulations.                          JOE           Thanks, Henry.                          (THEN)           It's okay if you want to punch me out.           Tonight would be a good night. In fact I           could use it.                          HENRY           Come on. This is great news.           (off Joe's hopeless look)           It's going to be okay.                          JOE           Really? It is? You know how much diapers           cost? You know how much it costs to send           a kid to college?                          MAX           You want to send your baby to college?          Joe keeps going on the wings. He's making a meal of it...                          JOE           Of course not. I'm just saying. The kid           needs stuff. Stuff that's expensive.           Stuff it deserves.                          (THEN)           These things are hot! I'm on fire.                          HENRY           Listen, Joe, maybe we can help.          A beat.                          JOE                          (WIPING OFF)           How?                          HENRY           We might have a job for you.          Max shoots a look at Henry. Joe chugs a glass of water,          looking at both of them now.                          JOE           No foolin'?                                   INT. TUNNEL - DAY          Henry, Max and Joe stand hunched over at the end of the          tunnel.           84.                                                                            HENRY           There's maybe twenty feet till the bottom           of that vault.                          JOE           That's a lot of dirt, Henry.          Max studies Joe.                          HENRY           So what do you think?                          JOE           I think we should get some guns and go           get the money through the front door!                          HENRY           No guns. People could get hurt.                          JOE           What about fake ones?                          HENRY           They're still guns.                          MAX           Listen Joseph, guns are dangerous and           we're not doing a simple hold-up. Tellers           and tears and chump change. We're doing           an old fashioned heist. We're going right           into the belly of the beast.                          (THEN)           Are you in or are you in?                         ON JOE          Considering it...          He picks up a shovel and CRUNCHES into the wall of dirt.                          JOE           I hope we don't get caught.                                   INT. JULIE'S APARTMENT, BEDROOM -- NIGHT          Henry and Julie are in bed. He memorizes his lines. The          TV's on low. Julie's Buffaloto commercial comes on. Julie          snaps it off.                          JULIE           I hate that commercial.                          HENRY           I like it.          She looks at him.           85.                                                                            JULIE           So what's your plan?                          HENRY           For what?                          JULIE           For when it's done. After.           (making light of it)           Am I going to see your picture in the           post office or something?                          HENRY           I hope not.                          JULIE           But have you thought about what happens           after?                          HENRY           Not really, no.          He thinks carefully before he says it :                          HENRY (CONT'D)           I don't know. Maybe I could meet you out           west...                          JULIE           Out west?                          HENRY           Yeah. Maybe you could meet me there.                          JULIE                          (SHE LAUGHS)           When did you think of that?                          HENRY           Just now.                          (THEN)           So what about it?                          JULIE           What about what?                          HENRY           Meeting me --                          JULIE           -- I'm not going anywhere, Henry --                          HENRY           You're not?                          JULIE           No.           86.                                                                            HENRY           I thought that was your plan. Do the play                          AND --                          JULIE           Plans change, Henry. Okay?          She gets out of bed. Throws on her robe.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           I think I ran out of maple syrup.                                   INT. APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS          We follow Henry as he walks through her apartment and          finds Julie in the kitchen, standing at the sink, not          moving.                          HENRY           Is there a reason you didn't leave           before?                          JULIE           Because life is fucked. It never works           out the way you want it to.          Silence...                          HENRY           Yeah. Well. Maybe...                          (THEN)           But you could still meet me.                          JULIE           Right! On the lam? You're dreaming.                          HENRY           It was just an idea. Why not --                          JULIE           This isn't going to work out, Henry.          She turns to face him.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           Didn't we both know that?          On Henry.                          HENRY           I didn't.                          JULIE           I did.          Silence.           87.                                                                            JULIE (CONT'D)           I think you should leave.          Henry just stands there...stunned.                                   EXT. BUFFALO STREET - NIGHT          Henry leaves Julie's apartment. There's snow on the          ground. It's freezing out here.          He starts to walk.           MAX (O.S.)           It's going to be incredible. I'm talking,           Florida...                                   INT. HENRY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT          Max hungrily munches his cheerios at the table.                          MAX           Palm trees. Sandy beaches. All you can           eat sunshine. Grapefruits as big as your           head!          Henry sits across from him.                          HENRY           Why couldn't I have met her after?                                                   MAX           Who?                          HENRY           Julie. I asked her to meet me. After           we're done.                          MAX           Oh yeah? What'd she say?                          HENRY           She said no.                          MAX           Of course she said no.                          HENRY           Why of course?                          MAX           Because life ain't like that. There's           always a cost. That's why they call it           life. You got to pay somewhere. The piper           must be paid to pipe.           88.                                                                            HENRY           I paid already, Max.                          (THEN)           I don't want to leave her.          Max looks at him. About to say something --          A KNOCK at the door.                          MAX           Who's that?                          HENRY           I'll check.          Henry walks to the door.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           Who is it?           JOE (O.S.)           It's me. Joe.          Henry opens it. JOE stands there. He's drunk. And a          little sheepish. Now we see why : EDDIE VIBES is standing          right beside him. He walks right on in.                          JOE (CONT'D)           Sorry, Henry.                          EDDIE           The same bank. Shit, Henry. Now that's           poetry! I like it.                          MAX           Who is this guy?          Eddie beams at Max.                          EDDIE           Your new partner.          Max looks at Henry : `huh?'                          MAX           What do you mean?                          EDDIE           I'm in. Or you're out.                          JOE           I screwed up. Sorry, Max.          Joe lies down on the floor. He's drunk as a skunk.                          EDDIE           (amused by the whole thing)           Joe tells me you guys might need a little           help with that vault. I know the whole story.           89.                                                            He sits.                          EDDIE (CONT'D)           And I don't dig. Dig?                          (THEN)           Got any cold ones?                          MAX           Joe doesn't know what he's talking about.           He's a drunk. He made a mistake. Get out           of that chair.          Eddie laughs. Leans back on it.                          EDDIE           Relax, old man. Henry and I go way back.           We've known each other since high school,           isn't that right?                          HENRY           Yeah. I know you.                          EDDIE           Appreciate you keeping your mouth shut,           Henry. One thing I admire in a man is the           quality of loyalty.                          HENRY           What do you want, Eddie?                          EDDIE           Nothing. Just the American dream.                          CUT TO :          MAX AND HENRY          At the window. Looking down as EDDIE gets into his car.          He senses them watching him. Turns around. Gives them the          thumbs up.                                   INT. APARTMENT - SAME TIME          Max and Henry watch Eddie leave.                          MAX           I'm gonna kill him. With a knife.                          HENRY           You can't kill him.                          JOE           (slurred, on the floor)           Yeah. You can't kill him, Max. He's got           the vault --                          MAX           Shut up, Joe.           90.                                                            He looks over at Joe on the floor. Thinks about how easy          it would be to just kick him in the head.                          JOE           Deb says we can't have sex till the kid's           born. Says the kid'll know about it.                          MAX           Go home. Please. Before it's too late.                          CUT TO :                                   INT. STAGE - DAY          Henry in period costume. He has a beard. He watches from          the stalls as they run a dress rehearsal.                          TROFIMOV           I'm sorry to be blunt, but, for God's           sake, the man has robbed you.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           (stopping her ears)           No! No! No! Don't say that!                          TROFIMOV           He's a scoundrel: everybody knows it but           you. He's a petty scoundrel, a user...          ON HENRY, feeling like the accused. From the stage Julie          sees him.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           You are twenty six or twenty seven, and           you're still in the lower grades!                          TROFIMOV           Who cares?          She locks eyes with Henry now :                          MADAME RANEVSKY           You ought to be grown up by now. At your           age, you ought to understand about love --                          DAREK           Where are you, Djula? Where?!                          MADAME RANEVSKY           (with double the fire)           You ought to love someone yourself! You           ought to have an affair. Yes! Yes!                          DAREK           Yes. Yes. Good Djula! Scene.                          (THEN)           Carlotta and the girls.                          (MORE)           91.                          DAREK (CONT'D)                          (A CLAP)           Let's run the magic scene!          Julie walks off the stage. She knows Henry is waiting for          her.                          HENRY           What happened last night?                          JULIE           I came to my senses.                          (THEN)           And you should too.          She walks on. He follows...                          HENRY           We should talk about it.          She turns.                          JULIE           I don't want to, Henry.                                   INT. DRESSING ROOM - LATER          Henry arrives to find Max attaching one of the bags of          dirt to a pulley. Above them, Joe begins to hoist it up          through the open skylight.          Henry looks up.                          MAX           (tugging the pulley)           Three feet of it so far today. We'll make it.          Henry goes to the open doors of the Armoire. The tunnel          is deeper now and all lit up...                                   EXT. PARKING LOT BEHIND THE THEATRE - LATER          Henry, Max and Joe make their way toward Joe's car.                          JOE           What do you think guys? If it's a boy do           I cut him or not?                          MAX           Well, you know what they say, cleanliness           is next to Godliness.                          JOE           What do you say, Henry?          Before he can answer :           92.                                                             VOICE (O.S.)           I see you guys in the bank. I see you           guys in the alley next to the bank.          They turn. FRANK, the bank guard, is standing right          there. He's in his street clothes.                          FRANK           Now I see you coming out of the theatre           behind the bank.          Frank sucks his teeth.                          FRANK (CONT'D)           I know what you're up to Gentlemen.          Henry, Max and Joe look at each other. Frank moves          closer. Checks around to make sure no one can hear them.                          FRANK (CONT'D)           And I want in.                          MAX           In on what?          Frank snickers.                          FRANK           We can't talk here. Let's drive.          Max looks at Henry.                                   INT. JOE'S CAR - DRIVING          Joe's driving. Max is in the passenger seat. Henry in the          back next to Frank.                          HENRY           What's on your mind, Frank?                          FRANK           The I.C.R.E. Indigenous Currency           Retrieval and Exchange.          They exchange glances.                          FRANK (CONT'D)           Once a month a truck goes to all our           partner banks across the border in           Canada, picks up all the currency and           brings it back home.          They're listening...           93.                                                                            FRANK (CONT'D)           I'd say on average eight to twelve           million, held in our vault at First           Buffalo for just a few hours before it's           picked up for redistribution.          Now they're paying attention.                          FRANK (CONT'D)           Only a bunch of fools would rob that bank           any other time.          A beat. He leans closer...                          FRANK (CONT'D)           I can give you that date. I can help with           alarms. I can be your guy on the inside.                          MAX           Hypothetically say you were right about           what we're up to...which you're not. But           just say...why would you help us rob your           bank?                          FRANK           I got my reasons.                          JOE           This sounds like a set-up, man --          Frank grabs Joe. Glares into his eyes.                          FRANK           I don't fuck around, kid. I told you. I           got my reasons.                          MAX           Well, forgive us, Frank. But we're going           to need to hear them.          A beat.                          FRANK           The wife got sick a few years ago.           Insurance wouldn't pick up all the costs.           So I went to the bank. They wouldn't help           cover the difference. We were going to           retire to the Loire valley.                          (DARKLY)           We had to use all our savings to cover           the bills.                          JOE                          (GETTING IT)           The man gave it to you, huh.           94.                                                                            FRANK           I spent everything we had -- then she           died...thirty years I've been at that           bank.                          HENRY           What was her name?                          FRANK           Annie. Her name was Annie.                          HENRY           I'm Sorry.          The moment just hangs there...                          FRANK           November 23rd. The money's delivered at           eight and picked up at midnight.          He turns to Henry.                          FRANK (CONT'D)           I retire in two weeks. This is it.                          (THEN)           You set up the table. I make sure dinner           arrives hot.                                   EXT. THEATRE - MORNING          MAX and HENRY walk up to the theatre. They've got          coffees. It's drizzling.          They both look up.                          HENRY           Shit.          ON THE MARQUEE : "Chekhov's `The Cherry Orchard'...Opens          NOVEMBER 23rd, 8 PM"                          HENRY (CONT'D)           Opening night.                          MAX           And?                          HENRY           That's soon.                          MAX           We're going to have pull some nights.          Henry thinks...                          HENRY           Maybe we should wait. Do it closing           night.           95.                                                            Max turns.                          MAX           We can't. He's retiring. This is a one           time deal.                          (THEN)           I told you there were going to be tests,           Henry.          Henry absorbs that. Looks at Max.                          MAX (CONT'D)           You're going to have to leave her.                          (BEAT)           No looking back.                          CUT TO :                                   EXT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT          AN AMBULANCE Peels into the drive. A PATIENT is wheeled          inside.                                   INT. HOSPITAL, EMERGENCY ROOM - NIGHT                         REVEAL HENRY          Walking down a corridor toward a NURSE'S STATION at the          far end.          The doors open for him...he hesitates                         HENRY'S POV          DEBBIE in profile, smiling and talking to a seated          receptionist who touches her very pregnant belly.          Henry takes a step back, the doors close. He watches          through the glass a moment...          Debbie looks radiant. Peaceful. Happy.                         HENRY          Walks back outside again. It's as if he got all the          answers he needed...                                   INT. TUNNEL - NIGHT          Max and Joe are digging. Looks like they've been at it          for hours - covered in dirt and sweat. Henry enters the          tunnel.                          MAX           There he is!           96.                                                            Henry picks up his shovel. Starts to dig. He goes at it          hard.          Max catches his mood.                          MAX (CONT'D)           You okay, Henry?                          HENRY           No.          He turns to Max.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           I'm not leaving her.                          JOE           Who?                          MAX           The girl --          He throws down his shovel.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Now listen, Henry. You're digging this           tunnel. And you're gonna rob that bank.           You're gonna take the money and you're           gonna put it in the car and we're gonna           drive away.                          (THEN)           This is one thing. Julie is another           thing. This is not that. That is not           this. Understand?                         ON HENRY                          JOE           Hey! I think I got something...          Joe furiously digs his shovel into the caked-in dirt          above his head. Suddenly the ceiling of dirt comes free          burying Joe who struggles to get out.          Above, from where the dirt once was, is the smooth          surface of concrete. The bottom of the vault.                          MAX           We have arrived! Look at that.          Joe gets to his feet - he looks dazed.                                   INT. HENRY'S APARTMENT - DAY          Henry and Max are finished packing up the apartment.          Henry looks out the window. A beautiful clear blue sky.           97.                                                                            HENRY           Not a cloud in the sky.                          MAX           So clear you can see tomorrow.                          (THEN)           You're a good man, Henry. Thank you.                          HENRY           You too, Max. Let's go.                          CUT TO:                                   EXT. ORPHEUM THEATRE - NIGHT          A line at the box office. THEATERGOERS mill around,          waiting for friends or chatting, everyone anticipating a          great evening of theatre.                                   INT. ORPHEUM THEATRE, GREEN ROOM - SAME TIME          The cast, dressed for stage, is gathered in the green          room, chatting nervously to one another.          HENRY AND JULIE          Standing on opposite sides of the room.          Hush descends as DAREK walks in.                          DAREK           In this `American dream' of ours,           everyone is happy and smiling, they have           achieved their objectives...and yet in           life there is only change, upheaval, the           birth of the new...and that birth is           painful.                         ON JULIE          avoiding Henry's gaze.                          DAREK (CONT'D)           Our play is about misery, disconnection,           a future that we don't see hitting us           like a train...but tonight, my players,           we show them...that this not a future to           fear!          He leaves. The players applaud --                          GAYEV                          (THRILLED)           Off the cushion in the corner ; double           into the centre pocket!          Everyone laughs.           98.                                                                            SIMON           Ten minutes people!                                   INT. JULIE'S DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT          Julie sits by her vanity finishing her make-up. A knock          on the door.                          JULIE           Come in.          Henry appears. She's surprised.                          HENRY           I want you to meet me in California.                          JULIE           Henry, we've been over this --                          HENRY           We're doing it tonight.          She sits there...                          JULIE           What?                          HENRY           It's the only time we can get in the                          VAULT --                          JULIE           Of course! Opening night. What else? Like           I said, everything always fucks up --                          HENRY           Nothing's fucked up. If it's tonight or a           month from now, what's the difference? I           still want you to meet me.                          JULIE           Nothing's fucked up? Have you looked           around recently? You're leaving. What           about the goddamn play?                          HENRY           Arnold's coming back. Max arranged it           already.                          JULIE           I'm sure he did.          He approaches her...                          HENRY           I want us to be together.          She laughs. That's so ridiculous to her.           99.                                                                            JULIE           We screwed a couple of times, Henry! So           what?                          HENRY           You know that's not true --                          JULIE           No, really. A couple of times.                          (THEN)           Don't you get it? I don't want to be with           you.          That cuts him dead.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           You're a thief. Go rob your bank.          A beat. He leaves.                                   INT. THEATRE - NIGHT          Max helps seat some elderly people.                          MAX           Enjoy the show, folks!          He checks his watch...it's two minutes to eight. He walks          briskly up the aisle...                                   INT. FIRST BUFFALO BANK - NIGHT          Frank watches through the glass doors out onto the empty          street.          He looks at his watch, sucks his teeth.          INT. THEATER - SAME TIME                         SIMON          On a headset. Points to Henry.                          SIMON           Curtain!          ON HENRY, watching the curtain start to rise...          THE CURTAIN COMES UP TO REVEAL :                         THE NURSERY          a long white post-modern room. Sounds of wind. It's may          but frosty.           100.                                                            Through the windows. CHERRY TREES in full bloom which          contrast with the stark modernity of the nursery set.          They're BIG SCREEN projections on real tree trunks :          LOPHAKIN enters with DUNYASHA, holding a candelabra.                          LOPHAKIN           Well, thank god the train is in. What           time is it?                          DUNYASHA           (checks his watch)           Almost two.           (blowing out the candle)           It's light already.          Henry yawns and stretches.                          LOPHAKIN           The train's late. At least two hours.          AN ARMORED BANK TRUCK          Rounds a corner into view...                                   EXT. STREET - NIGHT          ...pulls up right in front of the First Buffalo Bank.          BERNIE and STAN jump out. Bernie knocks on the glass door.                          BERNIE           How you doin', Frank?          He un-holsters his weapon, covers as Stan opens the back          of the truck.          Through the glass, Frank smiles.                          FRANK           Doin' good, Bernie. Real good.          He sucks his teeth.                                   EXT. BACK DOOR - THEATRE          Max bursts out the back door of the theatre, his walk          turning into a run...                                   INT. THEATRE - SAME TIME          Julie as Madame Ranevksy enters the nursery in rapt          delight.           101.                                                                            MADAME RANEVSKY           My nursery, my dear, beautiful, sweet           nursery! This is where I used to sleep           when I was a little girl!          Henry as Lophakin turns to face her, waiting for her to          say hello...instead she breezes past him.           MADAME RANEVSKY (CONT'D)           I'm still like a little girl...          She kisses Gayev and Varya and then Gayev again. She          kisses everyone in fact, except Lophakin.                          GAYEV           Your train was two hours late. How do you           explain that? Is that good management?                                   INT. BANK - SAME TIME          Bernie breaks the seal of an envelope, hands it to Stan.          Frank unlocks the plastic casing to the VAULT KEYPAD for          Stan who punches in the CODES on the slip of paper that          was inside the envelope.          Frank reaches into his pocket. We glimpse his phone. He          presses `SEND'...                                   EXT. POWER POLE - SAME TIME          Max struggles to the top of a telephone pole by an open          electrical box. His cell phone vibrates. He pulls it out,          reads it.                         "YOU"          He unzips a fanny pack, pulls out a WIRE CUTTER, but his          hands are trembling and he drops it...          Thirty feet to the ground.          CRACK!                          MAX           Shit.                                   INT. STAGE - SAME TIME          Standing next to Simon, Henry watches Julie perform from          the side of the stage.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           Oh, my childhood, my innocent childhood!           I used to sleep in this nursery.                          (MORE)           102.           MADAME RANEVSKY (CONT'D)           I looked out from here into the garden. I           woke up happy every morning.                          HENRY           Isn't she beautiful?                          SIMON           Yes.          She looks out toward the window through which there is          now a projection of the ORCHARD, this time in autumnal          decay...                          MADAME RANEVSKY           Oh, my cherry orchard...                                   INT. BANK - SAME TIME                         ON FRANK          Waiting...as he and Bernie watch Stan load the money into          the vault.                          BERNIE           You ever think what you could do with all           that money, Frank?                          STAN           I know what you'd do. Buy the Bills and           put them in first place.                          BERNIE           You'd need a lot more money than that.           But I guarantee you I'd have them back in           the Super Bowl within two seasons.                          STAN           Perfect. Another chance to lose.          Frank laughs nervously.                                   EXT. ALLEY - SAME TIME          Max picks up the wire cutters off the ground, checks his          watch. His heart jumps. He starts up the pole again.          Finally reaches the top. Struggles to find the right wire.                          MAX           Oh god, oh god. Where are you, you little           pischer?          He finally finds the right one and CUTS IT :           103.                                                                                     INT. BANK - SAME TIME          Bernie and Stan place the last of the money in the vault.                          BERNIE           We're good.          Bernie closes the vault.                                   INT. BANK - SAME TIME          Stan returns to the keypad. Begins pecking in the re-          arming code --                                   EXT. POWER POLE - SAME TIME          AS Max quickly attaches the CIRCUIT BYPASS WIRE...                                   INT. BANK - SAME TIME          Stan completes the code. Just as he's about to hit the          `Enter' button --                                   EXT. POWER POLE - SAME TIME          Max CLIPS the bypass onto the other side of the wire and          the NUMBERS START TO COME UP.                                   INT. BANK - SAME TIME          Stan hits `enter' -- the vault CLANKS again. Locked. A          RED LIGHT indicates the alarm is on.                                   EXT. POWER POLE - SAME TIME          Max looks at the screen. ALL THE NUMBERS MATCH. The red          light turns GREEN.          He sighs, relieved.           LOPHAKIN (O.S.)           I saw this excellent piece of theatre           yesterday. Really very funny.           104.                                                                                     INT. STAGE - NIGHT -- SAME TIME                          MADAME RANEVSKY           I'm sure it wasn't in the least funny. I           believe people like you should examine           their own lives instead of going to the           theatre to observe other peoples!                          LOPHAKIN           True enough. To be honest. We live a           stupid life.                                   EXT. STREET IN FRONT OF BANK - SAME TIME          Frank, Stan and Bernie are by the truck.                          STAN           Well this is it, Frank.                          BERNIE           We got you something.                          STAN           A little retirement gift.          Bernie produces a neatly wrapped gift.                          STAN (CONT'D)           Go ahead. Open it.          Frank does. It's a bag of coffee.                          FRANK           Thanks guys.                          BERNIE           We wanted to get you something from           France.                          STAN           You like French Roast, right?                          FRANK           Thanks.                          (THEN)           You know this isn't from France.                          BERNIE           What are you talking about? It's French           roast.                          FRANK           Right. But over there they call it coffee.                          STAN           (slightly baffled, at Bernie)           But this is French roast...           105.                                                                                     INT. TUNNEL - SAME TIME          Joe and Eddie in the tunnel, waiting. Eddie looks at his          watch.                          EDDIE           Where is he? Where's that old man?                                   EXT. BACKSTAGE DOOR - SAME TIME          Max pulls open the door, sweating, runs inside...          straight into Julie.                          MAX           Julie -- Break a leg!                          JULIE           Play's already started, Max.          She walks past him.                          JULIE (CONT'D)           Good-bye confidence man.                          MAX           Good-bye, Julie.                                   INT. HENRY'S DRESSING ROOM AREA - SAME TIME          Max hurries down the stairs, rushes into Henry's dressing          room.                                   INT. TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS          Max opens the armoire, looks inside to a waiting Joe and                         EDDIE --                          MAX           Go! Go! Go!                          EDDIE           About time, old man.                          MAX           Do your job.          Joe leans over and pukes on the ground.                          EDDIE           Jesus! Not again! What is it with you?                          JOE           Sorry.           106.                                                            Eddie looks at him.                          EDDIE           You're a pussy, Joe, you know that?          Eddie grabs the drill. Starts to make a hole. Joe starts          to prepare the charges...                                   INT. THEATRE - NIGHT          Lophakin and Madame Ranevsky perform.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           Well, what should we do? Tell us what to do?                          LOPHAKIN           I tell you every day. Every day I say the           same thing over and over. You must rent           out the Cherry Orchard and the rest of           the Estate for villas. At once, right           this second, the auction is coming up           very soon --          A muffled BOOM (o.s.)          Henry freezes. Julie looks at him.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           It's all so vulgar!          Another muffled BOOM (o.s.) this time the audience looks          around. Julie glares at him.                                   INT. TUNNEL ROOM - NIGHT          Henry rushes in to the tunnel to find Joe and Max staring          at the underside of the steel bank vault. It's like a          gleaming jewel.                          MAX           That was good, kid. Good acting.                          JOE           (a little giddy)           There she is.          Henry reaches up, touches the steel vault bottom, rubs          it.                          EDDIE           Get out of there!          Eddie arrives in his protection suit, holding a thermite          burning tool.                          EDDIE (CONT'D)           This shit comes straight from hell.           107.                                                            They scramble out. He puts his protective helmet on.          Lights it. It's like an inferno                                   INT. TUNNEL - SAME TIME          WHITE HEAT AND SPARKS          EDDIE's manic face behind the mask, a man possessed,          screaming, a river of molten steel dripping down right in          front of him.          KRUUUNK! The bottom of the vault drops onto the ground.                                   INT. TUNNEL - A MINUTE LATER          Smoke clears to reveal EDDIE. He pulls off his hood.                          EDDIE           Welcome to my world, bitches.          They all look up at THE HOLE.                          JOE           Fuck, yeah.                         ON HENRY                                   INT. VAULT - A FEW MINUTES LATER          as his head rises into view through the newly cut hole.          He climbs in and touches the saran-wrapped STACK OF CASH,          subdivided into bricks.          He sits on it. Thinking...          It's dead quiet in here.          Max pops his head up. Stares at the cash :                          MAX                          (SMILING)           You're on, Henry!           MADAME RANEVSKY (O.S.)           Is the cherry orchard sold?                                   INT. STAGE - CONTINUOUS          Audience's POV as Madame Ranevsky faces Lophakin on the          other side of the stage. It's like a showdown.                          LOPHAKIN           Yes.           108.                                                                            MADAME RANEVSKY           Who bought it?          Pause.                          LOPHAKIN           I did.          Madame Ranevsky is overwhelmed by the news. Varya takes          her keys and throws them on the floor. Exits in a rage.                          LOPHAKIN (CONT'D)           I bought it. Wait a minute ; don't rush           me. I'm all dizzy. I can't talk...                                   INT. VAULT -- SAME TIME          EDDIE, JOE AND MAX          Stuff duffel bags full of cash.                          JOE           Deb's gonna freak.                                   INT. STAGE - NIGHT          Lophakin swirls on stage...                          LOPHAKIN           ...and now the Cherry Orchard is mine.           Mine!                          (LAUGHING)           God! God in heaven. The Cherry Orchard is           mine! Tell me I'm drunk, tell me I'm out           of my mind, tell me I'm dreaming!                                   INT. TUNNEL ROOM - A FEW MINUTES LATER          EDDIE, JOE AND MAX          Finish lining up the duffels of cash by the door.                          MAX           That's everything.                          EDDIE           Yes, it is.          Max freezes, suddenly notices Eddie is standing there          with A GUN pointed at him and Joe.                          MAX           What's that, Eddie?           109.                                                                            EDDIE           It's a gun, Max.          Max doesn't seem so surprised.                          EDDIE (CONT'D)           (with the gun)           Joe! Take the money out back to my car.          Joe doesn't move. Eddie waves the gun.                          EDDIE (CONT'D)           Joe!          Max boldly steps right in front of the gun.                          MAX           Stay right where you are, Joe.          Eddie puts the gun to Max's stomach.                          EDDIE           Don't be stupid, Max.                          MAX           You're not going to do this, Eddie.          Eddie smiles.                          MAX (CONT'D)           You can shoot me dead if you want, but           you're going to have to shoot me dead.          Eddie PUNCHES Max in the gut, then pops him in the head          as he throws him back.                          EDDIE           I'm not playing with you, old man.                          JOE           What are you doing, Eddie?          The door swings open -- HENRY -- walks in on the scene...                          EDDIE           Welcome to the party, Brando.          Seeing the gun, Henry freezes at the door. Eddie's in the          middle, Max and Joe by the mouth of the tunnel, Max on          the floor, a gash on his forehead from Eddie's blow.                          HENRY           What are you doing, Eddie?          Eddie turns at him.                          EDDIE           It's money, Henry. Money.           110.                                                                            MAX           This was your chance you idiot. You           could've been a better man but you did it           again. You messed up. And now you're back           with the maggots. Just one big missed           opportunity.          Eddie kicks him again.                          JOE           Yeah. Come on, Eddie. We're here. We're           done. He's right. Come on, man.                          EDDIE           Shut up, Joe. Get the money. Put it in           the car. Shut up.          He turns back to Henry.                          EDDIE (CONT'D)           Now move, Torne. No happy ending for you.          He gestures to the tunnel.          Joe suddenly turns back, grabs Eddie's gun hand from          behind. THE GUN GOES OFF. They wrestle. Joe bites Eddie's          hand.                          EDDIE (CONT'D)           You animal!          Max, straddling Eddie, grabs his head, bangs it on the                         GROUND :                          MAX           Famach deh mohl! Gey lig mitt'n vahntzin           son of a bitch!          Henry, a little dazed, picks up the gun.                          JOE                          (TO HENRY)           Get the extension chord.          He does. They roll Eddie over, start to hog tie his hands          then his legs.          Eddie starts to freak out.                          EDDIE           You couldn't have done this without me.                          MAX           Our new partner. Huh.          Max stuffs a glove into Eddie's mouth but Eddie still          kicks like crazy.          Max notices Henry's thigh.           111.                                                                            MAX (CONT'D)           You ok?          Henry sees it now too. It's a graze.                          HENRY           I got shot.          Henry hears the tannoy. It's his cue. He's late.                          HENRY (CONT'D)           I gotta get on stage.          He rushes out...                                   INT. STAGE - CONTINUOUS          On stage, the lights come up revealing a LINE OF HOODED          FACELESS FIGURES standing behind the scrim, axes by their          side.          They walk out onto the stage...                          GAYEV           Thank you, my friends, thank you.          Lophakin rushes on stage. He's late. Yasha, holding a          tray with small tumblers of champagne, shoots him a look.          Madame Ranevsky enters from the other side, hands out          cash to the line of hooded figures.                          YASHA           The peasants have come to say good-bye.                          (THEN)           They're good fellows, Yermolai           Aleksayovich but in my opinion a little           stupid...                          GAYEV           (to Madame Ranevsky)           You gave them everything in your purse,           Lyuba. Wrong, quite wrong!                          MADAME RANEVSKY           I couldn't help it. I couldn't help it.          Gayev and Madame Ranevsky walk past Lophakin, ignoring          him on their way out.                          LOPHAKIN           (still a little out of                          BREATH)           Won't you please come here and drink a           glass as a good-bye?           112.                                                                                     INT. TUNNEL - SAME TIME          Eddie, gagged and bound, lies in the middle of the tunnel          as Max closes the door to the dressing room.                          MAX           Old man, huh.          Eddie tries to scream but he can't. As Max shuts the door          all light is blotted out.          THE PEASANTS/HOODED FIGURES          positioned now by the cherry trees behind the scrim and          back-lit.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           We're going and not a soul will be here           until after we're gone.                          LOPHAKIN           Until spring.          She notices he's clutching his thigh...                                   EXT. THEATRE - SAME TIME          Max and Joe load the last of the duffels filled with cash          into the back of Joe's car...          They get inside. Joe starts the engine...                          JOE           Where is he?                          MAX           Any minute now.                                   INT. STAGE - SAME TIME                          ANYA           Goodbye, home! Goodbye to the old life!                          TROFIMOV           Hello to the new life!          Trofimov exits with Anya. Varya looks around the room and          exits. Yasha and Carlotta exit with the dog.          Lophakin to Madame Ranevsky and Gayev :                          LOPHAKIN           Until the spring, then. Goodbye my           friends, until we meet again!           113.                                                                           ON HENRY          As he and Julie exchange a final look. She watches him          go...it's as if he's moving in slow motion...                          GAYEV           My sister! My sister!                          MADAME RANEVSKY           Oh, my dear, sweet, lovely orchard! My           life, my youth, my happiness, farewell!           Farewell!           ANYA (O.S.)           Mamma!           TROFIMOV (O.S.)           Aa-oo!                                   EXT. THEATRE - MOMENTS LATER          Henry comes out the back door. Gets in the car.                          MAX           How's the leg?                          HENRY           It's fine. Go.          Joe guns it.                         ON HENRY          Sitting in the back.                          CUT TO :                                   INT. STAGE -- SAME TIME          The Peasants/hooded figures raise their axes. They          suddenly have the manner of executioners...          They stand ready to fell Madame Ranevsky's beloved          orchard.                          JULIE           (as Madame Ranevsky)           One last look at these walls, these           windows...Dear mother used to love to           walk about in this room.                          GAYEV           My sister! My sister!           ANYA (O.S.)           Mamma!           114.                                                             TROFIMOV (V.O.)           Aa-oo!                          JULIE           (as Madame Ranevsky)           We're coming.          The sound of the HOODED FIGURES as they chop the trees          behind her. It's horrific.          Madame Ranevsky holds her hands over her ears and falls          to the ground...and begins to weep...                                   INT. CAR - SAME TIME                          HENRY           Stop the car!                          MAX           Henry!                          HENRY           Joe, stop the car.                          MAX           He can't stop the car, it's the getaway!                          JOE           Yeah, you can't --                          HENRY           STOP THE FUCKING CAR!          Joe screeches to a halt. Henry gets out of the car.                          MAX           What the hell are you doing?          Henry starts to run back toward the theatre as best he          can...          Max sticks his head out the window.                          MAX (CONT'D)           Henry!          But he's already gone...                                   INT. STAGE - SAME TIME          The HOODED FIGURES finish destroying the orchard. TREES          litter the stage...          Madame Ranevsky still holds her hands over her ears on          the ground...           115.                                                            As the cacophony ends, she gets up slowly and turns to          walk off the stage...                         SHE FREEZES :          RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER          Coming down the aisle is          HENRY as LOPHAKIN          Pause.          He comes closer. He's limping slightly....                          LOPHAKIN           I had to come back. I couldn't get on the           train. The moment I stepped on the           platform, the blood drained from my           heart.          ON JULIE, in shock.                          LOPHAKIN (CONT'D)           I knew I might never see you again.          He steps up on the stage...                         ON DAREK                          DAREK           What is he doing? Why is Lophakin back?!                         ON HENRY                          LOPHAKIN           I had to come back.                          MADAME RANEVSKY                          (A WHISPER)           Henry, what is this? What are you doing?                          LOPHAKIN           This is the only way you'll listen to me.          She looks out to the audience. EAGER FACES awaiting          Madame Ranevsky's response...                          MADAME RANEVSKY           You should have gotten on that stupid           train. You made a mistake.                          LOPHAKIN           The mistake would have been getting on that           train without telling you how I feel.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           Ha! Don't pretend you care about me. All           you care about is money.           116.                                                            She tries to get past him. He blocks her.                          LOPHAKIN           You think this is about money?                          MADAME RANEVSKY           Yes.          He grabs her.                          HENRY           It's never been about money. You know           that.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           Let go of me!                          LOPHAKIN           No.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           Damn it! Just leave, Henry!           (under her breath)           Get off the fucking stage --                          HENRY           Take a chance. Meet me in Moscow.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           No, I'm perfectly happy here.                          HENRY           That's not true. Meet me in Moscow.          She tries to get away again...                          MADAME RANEVSKY           Let me go!                          HENRY           I can't.          Pause.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           Why are you doing this?                          LOPHAKIN           You're just afraid.                          MADAME RANEVSKY           I'm not afraid of anything --          She kicks out at him.           MADAME RANEVSKY (CONT'D)           What am I afraid of Henry? Tell me!           117.                                                                            LOPHAKIN           You're afraid because I love you.          That hits her. Pause. She breaks away from him, stepping          back...                         SHOCKED ACTORS          On the side of the stage.                         ON JULIE                          MADAME RANEVSKY           ...what?          She searches his expression now...                          HENRY           Meet me in Moscow.          She can't move. The audience is rapt.                          HENRY (CONT'D)                          (SOFTLY)           Tell me you'll meet me in Moscow.          There are tears in her eyes now...                          AUDIENCE MEMBER           Go with him!           ANOTHER AUDIENCE MEMBER           Meet him in Moscow!                         DAREK          at the back of the theatre. Stunned :                          DAREK                          (TO SIMON)           He loves her.          JULIE AND HENRY          She whispers softly. Looks down at his leg.                          JULIE           Henry. You're bleeding.                          HENRY           I know.          IN THE BACK          Darek is alive once more...           118.                                                                            DAREK           (whisper to Simon)           Lights down ten. Down ten more. Slowly...          Julie and Henry in silhouette now.                          JULIE           Oh, fuck, Henry...          The lights fade, as an image of WHITE CHERRY BLOSSOMS          appears on the projection screen...                          FADE DOWN :                                   FADE UP ON :                                   EXT. THE LOIRE VALLEY, FRANCE - DAY          ...which become REAL BLOSSOMS on a CHERRY TREE, widening          to reveal an orchard, the most beautiful you've ever          seen.          A STONE FARM HOUSE          Frank sits at a table outside in the garden. He pours          himself a Pernod. He looks happy as a clam.          A CAT jumps in his lap, purring.                          FRANK           Hello miou-miou.          He looks out at the lush valley below. Smiles.                          CUT TO :          THE SOUND OF A CRYING BABY                                   INT. PRIVATE DELIVERY ROOM, SOMEWHERE IN NEW MEXICO -                         DAWN          A state of the art hospital room. No expense has been          spared. A shaky image of DEB's face as JOE frames the          video camera.          THE BABY comes into view now. It's beautiful. And          screaming its little lungs out.           JOE (O.S.)           It's a girl!!!                          DEBBIE           A girl.           119.                                                            A NURSE hands the baby to Debbie. Joe looks on, tears          stream down his face.                          CUT TO :                                   EXT. FORT LAUDERDALE - DAY          We follow A MAILMAN past a row of palm trees as he enters          a traditional-looking BARBER SHOP : "MAX'S - A PLACE FOR                         GROOMING"                                   INT. MAX'S BARBER SHOP - CONTINUOUS          The Mailman hands a few letters to the pretty front desk          GIRL. Max, his back to us, finishes a shave, talking his          customer's ear off.                          MAX           Time is a medium of exchange. You can buy           things with it. Education. Self-respect.           You can even figure out your dream.          The Guy nods. Max turns. We see him now. He's super tan.          He pulls the sheet off his client.                          MAX (CONT'D)           You're done. Next!          Another YOUNG CUSTOMER sits down. There's a few of them          waiting their turn, enjoying Max's schtick.          The front desk girl hands Max the mail.          CLOSE ON A POSTCARD : `Our dream is our truth is our          destiny...Love H... xx'          Max smiles. Flips over the postcard and only now when he          pins it above the mirror do we finally see what it is --          an image of THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN.                          MAX (CONT'D)           So tell me, Javier. What's your dream?          THE SOUND OF BREATHING          Fade up on : what looks like the AFRICAN BUSH.          It's hot. There are insects buzzing around and it doesn't          look like rain's landed anywhere near here in years.          A HAND reaches out for another HAND, helping someone over          the final step.          REVEAL HENRY AND JULIE          Sitting right below the Hollywood sign now...           120.                                                            Looking down on the whole basin of Los Angeles. She hands          him a bottle of water. He drinks.                          JULIE           Look. You can see the ocean.          He puts his arm around her.                          HENRY           `Your brother says I'm an upstart, a           money grubber...but I don't care a bit.'          She laughs...they kiss in the sun for a while...                                   FADE TO BLACK          CREDITS START TO ROLL...                                   INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - BUFFALO - DAY          EDDIE VIBES is being questioned by the unseen DETECTIVE.           DETECTIVE (O.S.)           I'm only going to ask you one more time,           Eddie. Who was it? Who helped you?                          EDDIE           I told you before. Dopey. Sleepy. Happy           and Doc --          WHAACK! The slap knocks Eddie to the ground. He's under          the table now, his face crushed by the Detective's BOOT :           DETECTIVE (O.S.)           You know what you are Vibes? A liar, a           cheat, a thief and a loser.          He presses his boot down harder ON EDDIE'S FACE :                          EDDIE           I may be all those things but one thing           I'm not...is a rat.          Eddie smiles. His face squashed sideways like that, it's          a pretty strange kind of smile...
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+                                HIGHLANDER                                    by                               Gregory Widen1  EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                               1   Garish purple light spills out of side-street porno houses,   illuminating a silhouette, and little else, of a MAN leaning   against an alley wall.   He is waiting.   Another silhouetted FIGURE appears and approaches the first.   They size each other up as best they can.                                FIRST MAN                          MacLeod.   The second nods.   The first without hesitation raises a sword, the intended   thrust interrupted by his own death as the second with a flash   of metal severs the agressor's head.2  INT. HUTCH - MORNING                                              2   A 15th century Scottish home.   A haggard WOMAN, her small CHILD clinging to a tattered apron,   stands hunched over a glowing hearth.  Her veined hands drag   a wooden spoon around and around through a soot-covered pot   of grey soup.   From an adjoining room CONOR MACLEOD, a young man dressed up   in his best traditional Celtic tartan, enters.                                MOTHER                          My, but are you the                          picture.                                CONOR                          (surveying himself)                          It's a bit tight.   His FATHER enters with a pail of milk.                                FATHER                          Ah, Conor, how you look                          a man.                                MOTHER                          Have you time for some-                          thing to eat?                                CONOR                          No, Mother.  They'll be                          here shortly.   Conor's father looks him over with pride.                                FATHER                          Your grandfather wore                          that in his service to                          the King, and I to fight                          for the Duke.                                MOTHER                          Must he go?                                FATHER                          Aye.  It is his duty.  All                          of ours.                                MOTHER                          But Ian, he's still but a boy.                                FATHER                          He's a MacLeod.                                CONOR                          I'll be fine Mother.3  EXT. HUTCH - MORNING                                              3   Several HORSEMEN gallop up through the early morning fog to   the cottage door.   Conor's father steps out to meet them.4  EXT. HILLTOP - MORNING                                            4   A massive KNIGHT sits astride his horse, moorish dew cling-   ing to his helmet and breastplate.  A CLANSMAN hikes up the   heather-carpeted slope to him.                                CLANSMAN                          They march.                                KNIGHT                          Is the boy among them?                                CLANSMAN                          Aye.5  EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT                                                5   The second kneels to examine the headless body of the first.   With a CLACK a window, high on the alley wall, closes.6  EXT. HIGHLAND PLAIN - MORNING                                     6   The DUKE is leading a brigade of CLANSMEN out onto the plain.   Mounted VASSALS ride back and forth inspecting the line.  The   low fog makes it impossible to see beyond a few yards.  There   is an erie, smothering silence.                                VASSAL #1                          Is a bad day for this.                                VASSAL #2                          The Duke has been compro-                          mised.  He will have his due.                                VASSAL #1                          By day's end he will have                          our heads.                                VASSAL #2                          We ride against the Suther-                          lands.  That is all that                          matters.                                VASSAL #1                          This makes no sense to me.   CONOR   And a friend are marching through the moist heather.                                FRIEND                          The fog is bad.  We cannot                          even see the sides of our                          own ranks.   Conor's nervousness is showing.                                FRIEND                          Is this your first?                                CONOR                          Aye.  SHOUTING is heard on the plain.                                FRIEND                          It's begun.7  EXT. HILLTOP - MORNING                                            7   The Knight, above the fog, hears the battle commence below.   He spurs his horse and starts down into the mist.8  EXT. PLAIN - MORNING                                              8   The two opposing clans are now one confused mass of tartan   and clashing swords.  The air is charged with SHOUTS of ex-   citement, agony, and the SHRILL of bag pipes.   The fog has made each man's battle his own, each isolated with   his opponent.   THE KNIGHT   Rides calmly through the fracas.  He strikes and kills those   that assault him, but appears disinterested in battle.   He is looking.   CONOR   Is standing above the twitching body of his friend.   Alone and confused, Conor has become seperated from the clan.   He stumbles through the fog, seeking help.   Suddenly he is alone with the Knight.   The face of iron locks its gaze onto the boy.  His fear turned   to panic, Conor turns and flees.   The Knight, his resolve steeled in a raised sword, kicks his   horse into persuit.   Conor is easily overtaken and on his first pass the Knight   brings his blade down hard into Conor's shoulder, slicing   open most of the boy's back and knocking him face-first into   the heather.   As Conor watches his own blood spew forth, he rolls over in   time to see the Knight dismount and start for him.   THE KNIGHT   Leans down next to Conor, his metal face nearly against the   boy's.  His voice slithers out of the iron in almost a whisper.                                KNIGHT                          There can be but one.   A CLANSMAN   Charges out of the fog and attacks the Knight, who cuts him   nearly in half.  ANOTHER wanders in and meets the same fate.   The battle is shifting to where they are.   Not finished yet with Conor, the Knight is finding himself   forced into retreat from an ever increasing number of assail-   ants.   A VASSAL   Sees his men being hacked apart trying to stop the now-mounted   Knight.                                VASSAL #1                          Leave him!   The clansmen obey.   With the slap of an armored gauntlet against his steed, the   Knight disappears into the fog.   The Vassal surveys the carnage before him.  His eyes fall a   moment on the moaning, gurgling Conor.   The Vassal turns and leaves the boy for dead.9  EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT                                                9   A patrol car pauses at the mouth of the alley.   The figure considers his situation, then quickly shoves his   sword into a near-by drain.  He straightens up and waits.   AN OFFICER   Steps out of his unit and cautiously walks forward.  His PARTNER   switches on the patrol car's side lamps, bathing the alley   in a harsh glare.   MAN IN ALLEY   For the first time we can see his face.  RICHARD TAUPIN, clad   in a well-cut business suit, looks exactly like Conor.   The police officer, upon seeing the body, grabs instinctively   for his pistol.  He yells to his partner now coming into the   alley.                                OFFICER #1                          Kevin!  Get is a backup.                                TAUPIN                          I was merely walking by                          when-                                OFFICER #1                          Don't move.   The officer has his pistol out and leveled.   His partner runs up, shotgun in hand.                                OFFICER #2                          They're on their way.   His voice cuts short as the blood flows against his shoe.                                OFFICER #2                          Christ.10  INT. HUTCH - NIGHT                                              10    Conor lies moaning on a cot.  Makeshift bandages wrap his    body, stained and pasted by thick, dried blood.    The family surrounds their dying son.    A PRIEST is delivering the last rites.                                PRIEST                          ...Libera Domine Animan                          servi tui sicut libertasi                          David de manu regis Saul...    His sobbing mother holds a compress to Conor's forehead.                                PRIEST                          ...In mamus tuas domine                          commendo spiritum meum...11  EXT. HUTCH - NIGHT                                              11    A Vassal rides up to the hutch, dismounts, and approaches a    CLANSMAN standing in the open doorway.                                VASSAL #1                          Has the boy died?                                CLANSMAN                          He is having the last rites                          now.  It should be over by                          morning.                                VASSAL #1                          Never seen anybody cut as                          bad live so long.  He should                          have died on the field.                                CLANSMAN                          Tonight or tomorrow, it's                          all the same.    The Vassal peers inside at the priest administering the    sacraments.                                PRIEST                          ...Auditorium nostrum in                          nomine domini...                                VASSAL #1                          This has been a dark day.                                PRIEST                          ...Requiescant in pace...12  EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT                                              12    There is a bustle of activity.  Setting up barricades, uni-    formed OFFICERS are trying to keep NEW CREWS and curious    ONLOOKERS at a distance.    DETECTIVE LT. MORAN    Lean, fortyish, and comfortable with the gore in front of him,    is inspecting the corpse with a MEDICAL EXAMINER.                                EXAMINER                             (studying body)                          Real clean.  No sawing                          action at all.  Whatever                          it was did it in one                          swipe.                           (looks up at Moran)                          Like the other one.    Moran gestures to a sword, wrapped in plastic, lying nearby.                                MORAN                          What about that?                                EXAMINER                          Hasn't any blood on it.                                MORAN                             (looking around)                          About the only thing                          that doesn't.                                EXAMINER                          I'll give it a closer                          look when I get back.    BRENNA CARTWRIGHT    Pretty but not beautiful, thirtyish, she exudes a sort of    insolent intelligence.    An OFFICER sees her duck under a police barricade.                                OFFICER #3                          Come on Brenna, you know                          better than that.                                BRENNA                          I'm invited.    She walks to where the medical examiner is organizing his    equipment.                                BRENNA                              (greeting)                          Mr. Levine...    The examiner turns and smiles.                                EXAMINER                          Hope this isn't past your                          bedtime.    Brenna looks to the now-sheeted corpse, blood flowing from    where the head should be.                                BRENNA                          Doesn't have a head,                          does he?                                EXAMINER                          This one came unassembled.    Lt. Moran is standing near.                                MORAN                             (no warmth)                          Just show her what she came                          for, Tom.                                EXAMINER                        (stands, taps Brenna's arm)                          Come on, this is more                          your line of work.    Brenna and the examiner walk the few yards from the corpse    to the sword.                                EXAMINER                          How's your uncle?  I hardly                          ever see him anymore.                                BRENNA                          Fine.    The examiner stops and gestures to the weapon clothed in    forensic plastic.                                EXAMINER                          There you go.    Brenna's expression changes to interest as she kneels down    beside it.                                EXAMINER                          Didn't look like it came from                          "Toys-Are-Us", that's why I                          called you.                                BRENNA                        (looks up in Moran's direction)                          Didn't think it was my                          buddy over there.                                EXAMINER                          Figured you knew more about                          swords than I did.                                BRENNA                          Claymore.                                EXAMINER                          Huh?                                BRENNA                          Scottish claymore.  Take                          a French epee, add twenty                          pounds of ballast so it                          means business, and you've                          got a claymore.                                EXAMINER                          You're the expert.                                BRENNA                        (runs hand along hilt, slightly                               confused)                          It's in good condition.    RICHARD TAUPIN    Is being put in the rear of a patrol car.  Brenna studies his    face in the half-gloom.  There's something different about him.    A steadiness.13  INT. POLICE INTERROGATION ROOM                                  13    Richard Taupin is seated at a graffitti scrawled table in a    room otherwise bare of furnishings.  He seems unphased by his    surroundings.    The door opens and Moran enters with bag and notebook.  He    picks up Taupin's wallet on the table top and checks the    driver's license.                                MORAN                          This your present address?                                TAUPIN                          Yes.                                MORAN                          Mr.-                          (looks at license)                          Taupin, what were you                          doing in that alley?                                TAUPIN                          I was walking by when I                          heard a shout.  Your men                          came right after.                                MORAN                          Did you know the victim?                                TAUPIN                          No.                                MORAN                          His name was Iman Fasil                          if that jogs your memory.                                TAUPIN                          It doesn't.                                MORAN                          He was carrying a Syrian                          passport and had been in                          the country less than a week.    Taupin's face is stoic and controlled.                                MORAN                          Two days ago a Bulgarian                          national was murdered the                          same way.  He'd also been                          in the country less than a                          week.                                (beat)                          What is your citizenship?                                TAUPIN                          American.    Moran paces to a corner of the room.                                MORAN                          Do you make a habit of                          hanging out in that neigh-                          borhood at night?                                TAUPIN                          What are you getting at?                                MORAN                          Let's just say that in my                          years with this department                          I've seen more than one well                          dressed business man look for                          a hand job on 14th Street.    Moran places both hands on the table and leans across it.                                MORAN                          What were _you_ looking for?                                TAUPIN                          That's none of your business.                                MORAN                          You're wrong.    Moran reaches into a bag on the table and removes a large    broad sword; old, but in mint condition.                                MORAN                          Do you know what this is?                                TAUPIN                          I presume it's a sword.                                MORAN                          A claymore to be exact.  You                          wouldn't know anything about                          it would you?                                TAUPIN                          Your murder weapon?                                MORAN                          It was covered with Mr.                          Fasil's fingerprints, but                          none of his blood.                                TAUPIN                          A mystery.                                MORAN                          For the moment.    Moran turns the sword over in his hand then sets it down.    He rises and opens the door.                                MORAN                          All right Mr. Taupin, we'll be in                          touch.    Taupin passes through the doorway without comment.14  EXT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                     14    Taupin out into the crisp night air.  His eyes search out the    darkness.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:15  EXT. CONOR'S FAMILY HUTCH - DAY                                 15    A medieval sun beats down on an OLD TRAVELER making his way up    the MacLeod home.  Conor's mother, scrubbing clothes in a    bucket, smiles in recognition.                                MOTHER                          Ah Steven, it is good to see you.                                TRAVELLER                          I only just heard of Conor.  I came                          up from Catroch as soon as I could.                                MOTHER                          You're a kind man to be sure.                                TRAVELLER                          I thought it only proper to pay                          me last respects to the family.                                MOTHER                          Steven, Conor didn't die.                                TRAVELLER                          But I had heard his wounds were                          mortal.                                MOTHER                          They were Steven, they were.  It's                          been a miracle it has.  He lasted                          right through and healed.  No one                          in the village has ever seen anything                          like it.  Ever.16  EXT. MEADOW - DAY                                               16    Perched on a heather-carpeted rise above the village a young    woman, MARA, sits contemplating the intricaces of a daffodil.    Balancing on a shepard's staff, Conor limps over and puts    his lips to her ear.                                CONOR                          You're pretty today.    Mara is silent.  Distant.                                CONOR                          I'm your future husband, remember?                                MARA                          I have no future husband.                                CONOR                          I don't understand.  Not a week                          ago your father gave us his blessing.    This is difficult for her.  Tears well in her eyes.                                MARA                          My future husband died in battle                          against the Sutherlands.                                CONOR                          What are you saying?  I'm standing                          here as real as you.                                MARA                          You cannot be real, Conor.  You had                          the last rites.  No man has been cut                          half as bad and lived.                                CONOR                          But I did live.                                MARA                          Live?  In less than a week you're                          prancing about the country like a                          squirrel.                                CONOR                          So why the crazy talk?  It's a                          miracle it is.  Saint Andrew has                          smiled on me.  On us.                                MARA                          Some think not.                                CONOR                          Who?                                MARA                          There's rumor in the village.                          Some call it magic.                                CONOR                          That's mad.  Surely you don't                          take their word?                                MARA                          I don't know, Conor.  It's not                          natural.  Maybe something has                          touched you.                                CONOR                          You're sounding like that mad                          woman, Widow Baggins.                                MARA                          Me father has taken back my                          hand.    He puts a hand to her cheek.                                CONOR                          Ah, Lassie...    She steps back.                                MARA                          Please not be touching me, Conor.                                CONOR                          I'll not take that kind of talk                          from you.  From those others                          below, maybe.  But not from you.                                MARA                          Leave me alone, Conor.  Please.                                CONOR                          You're not talking sense, Mara!    Anger tumbles into exasperation.                                CONOR                          I'm sorry.    He steps for her.  She moves away.  Conor's face hardens with    resentment.                                CONOR                          If you send me away now, Mara,                          I'll not come looking for you.                                MARA                             (crying)                          Do what you must.    Resigned, Conor turns and limps away.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:17  INT. ANTIQUE SHOP - DAY                                         17    Classy antiques.  Unusual.  Clocks, tables, chests.  Small and    personal.    Richard Taupin enters and sheds his overcoat.                                RECEPTIONIST                          Mrs. Thompson agreed to settle for                          fifteen, Melvin's wants to make a                          pick-up at three o'clock, the coffee                          machine's broken, and there's a                          Miss Cartwright from the Smithsonian                          in your office.    Taupin is hardly in the mood.18  INT. TAUPIN'S OFFICE                                            18    Brenna Cartwright stands in Taupin's cluttered surroundings    admiring a bagpipe set neatly on a shelf.                                BRENNA                          Do you play?                                TAUPIN                          Yes.                                BRENNA                          Very traditional.    Taupin sits down and begins sorting through a stack of papers    on his desk.                                TAUPIN                             (impatient)                          Miss Cartwright, what is it I can                          do for you?                                BRENNA                          I'd like to ask you about the                          claymore.                                TAUPIN                          It's not mine.                                BRENNA                          It's quite rare you know, some-                          thing so common in its time so                          well looked after all these years.                                TAUPIN                          Miss Cartwright, unless you have                          come here to sell the sword,                          there's very little I can help                          you with.  Now if you will excuse                          me, I have a great deal of work                          to do.    Brenna has taken a carving from the shelf.                                BRENNA                          Byzantine?                                TAUPIN                          Basil the II.                                BRENNA                          Charming guy, Basil.  Once after                          beating an army of Serbians he                          blinded all but-                                TAUPIN                          -All but one out of a hundred, I                          know.  All left to be led like                          donkeys back home.  Now if you will                          please-    Brenna suddenly tosses the carving at him.  Taupin snatches it    out of the air with lightning precision.                                BRENNA                          Good reflexes.                                TAUPIN                          Good day, Miss Cartwright.19  INT. SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM DEPARTMENT OFFICE                       19    A lonely, ancient room full of equal parts dust and oaken    study tables.    The department SUPERVISOR sits at his desk surrounded by a    handful of his staff RESEARCHERS - Brenna included.  A faded,    stern portrait of some forgotten curator presides over propped    up feet, cold coffee, and half eaten sack lunches.                                BRENNA                          I don't believe him.                                SUPERVISOR                          Why?                                BRENNA                          He's too cool.  Too sharp.  I                          think he's got something to                          do with it.                                RESEARCHER #1                          Oh, has your penetrating research                          on 9th Century Lithuanian dildos                          suddenly made you an expert on the                          criminal mentality?                                BRENNA                          Screw off, Larry.    The men, LAUGH.  They delight in baiting her.    Researcher #2 opens a Budweiser and pours the beer into a medieval    mug he's borrowed from the collection.                                RESEARCHER #2                          The cops bought it.  They let him                          go.                                BRENNA                          What could they hold him for?  I                          think they're just waiting for                          something concrete before they                          haul him in for real.  We should                          look into it.  He had to have                          gotten that sword from somewhere.                                SUPERVISOR                          Hang on a sec, you did your little                          favor for the boys downtown, I'm                          sure your uncle and the rest are                          perfectly capable of taking it                          from here.                                BRENNA                          I've seen nobleman swords that                          weren't as well preserved.  It's                          just a hunk of peasant iron.  Why                          would he be carrying it around                          in an alley?                                RESEARCHER #1                          Here we go.  Everytime there's a                          murder in town we have to put up                          with junior D.A.                                RESEARCHER #2                          Must be genetic.                                BRENNA                          Someone should check him out.                          Maybe a collection somewhere                          got knocked over.  He has one,                          he might have two.                                SUPERVISOR                          You see that desk?  _Your_ desk?  You see                          the crap piled up on it?                                BRENNA                          Give it a rest Ned, huh?                                RESEARCHER #2                          Might be interesting to see what                          his family connections are.  That's                          a hell of a piece to be just chuck-                          ing around in an alley.                                SUPERVISOR                                  (sighs)                          I swear to God Brenna, between you                          and Thompson's novels I'm going to                          get a bloody ulcer.    Researcher #2 lifts the mug of beer to his mouth.                                                                CUT TO:20  INT. TAVERN                                                     20    An empty mug is set on the counter of a medieval drinking    establishment.    CLANSMEN, their faces and clothes smudged with a day's work in    the fields, relax and enjoy the company of their fellow VILLAGERS.    No longer requiring the use of a cane, Conor enters.                                CONOR                              (to owner)                          Evening, Douglas.                                DOUGLAS                          Conor.    The tavern goes silent.  Wary.  The attention is on Conor.                                CONOR                          Ale suits me.    The owner unenthusiastically fills Conor a mug.  Conor takes    it and walks to where four other VILLAGERS sit.                                TAVERN MAN #1                          We rather you not be sitting with                          us, Conor.    Conor looks to the next table.                                TAVERN MAN #2                          We be drinking alone as well.    The entire tavern spells the same sentiments.                                CONOR                          What's wrong with you all?    Silence.    Angered, Conor approaches the second man.  As he looms above    his chair the man in genuine fear pulls out a cross and thrusts    it forward.                                TAVERN MAN #2                          Requiem acer'nam donaei-                                CONOR                          What are you doing man?                                TAVERN MAN #2                          -Et lux perpetua-                                CONOR                          You'll not be bringing the church                          into this.                                TAVERN MAN #2                          -Luceat ei-    The weird display frightens Conor.                                CONOR                          Be quiet.                                TAVERN MAN #2                          -Auditorium nostrum-                                CONOR                          Stop.                                TAVERN MAN #2                          -In nomine sanctus esperitu-                                CONOR                          Stop!    Conor HURLES his mug against the wall.    His nerves shattered, he rushes out.21  INT. MACLEOD HUTCH                                              21    Conor packs a satchel with his few clothes and belongings.    He walks to the doorway where his mother and father wait.    His mother, tears on her cheek, hugs him tightly.                                MOTHER                          Please take care of yourself.                                CONOR                          Aye.    Conor turns to his father.                                FATHER                          I wish there was some other way.    They clasp hands.                                FATHER                          Goodbye, Conor.                                CONOR                          Goodbye.    Without looking back he passes through the doorway and down the    empty path, his figure quickly fading in the moorish fog.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:22  INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT                                          22    The NOISY business-as-usual confusion at the Washington P.D.    processing center.    Amongst the dinge of CLANGING phones and CLACKING typewriters,    a uniformed OFFICER enters something into a computer terminal.    Brenna sits perched on a desk nearby.                                DESK OFFICER                          This is against the rules.                                BRENNA                          So's playing choo-choo with two                          high school cheerleaders in the                          middle of-                                DESK OFFICER                          -Okay okay.                                BRENNA                          You owe me.  Besides, I'm cute.    The computer returns a reply onto a printer.                                DESK OFFICER                             (tears off sheet)                          Taupin, Richard Marshall.  Born                          March 16, 1945 in Church Hill,                          Maryland.  Received first driver                          permit 1967 in Philadelphia.                                BRENNA                          Church Hill, that's pretty close,                          isn't it?                                DESK OFFICER                          Anything in Maryland is close.23  EXT. GEORGETOWN STREET - DAY                                    23    Taupin steps out of a Metro station and walks the few blocks    to his brick townhouse.  Climbing the front stairs, he fishes    his keys out of a coat pocket.  About to insert the key he stops,    sensing something.    Backing down the steps, Taupin slips around to the rear of the    building.24  INT. TAUPIN HOME                                                24    Like a spider Taupin pries open a window and slips silently    inside.    The home is dark and still.    Taupin creeps down the hallway and peers into the entryway.    There a MAN, dressed in a tuxedo jacket and nearly imperceptible    in the dim light, is crouched at the front door.    He is holding a sword.    Taupin removes a knife from his pocket and JUMPS the intruder.    The two STRUGGLE fiercely.    Taupin pins the intruder against the carpet and shoves his    knife firmly against the man's throat.                                TAUPIN                          Where is he?    Bulging eyes stare at him.                                TAUPIN                          Where!                                INTRUDER                          I don't know.                                TAUPIN                          What name is he using?    Taupin presses the blade.  A trickle of blood rolls down the    throat.                                INTRUDER                          Smith.  Carl Smith.                                TAUPIN                          How many came?                                INTRUDER                          The last four.                                TAUPIN                          And the Bulgarian?                                INTRUDER                          He got him.                             (hoarse chuckle)                          He always does.  Eventually.                                TAUPIN                          He knows I'm here.  How?                                INTRUDER                          None of this would be happening                          if you hadn't run...    The knife is pressed deeper.                                TAUPIN                          _Answer_ me.                                INTRUDER                               (gasping)                          We learned he'd found the immigration                          notaries in Liverpool and traced them                          to New York.  Then he figured out the                          birth records in Church Hill...25  EXT. RURAL HIGHWAY - DAY                                        25    A city limit sign announcing the small community of Church    Hill is overtaken by Brenna's sedan.26  EXT. ROADSIDE CAFE TELEPHONE BOOTH - DAY                        26    Brenna looks through a telephone book.                                BRENNA                          Taupin...Taupin...    Nothing.  She closes the book and drums her fingers on the cover.27  EXT. COUNTY RECORDS OFFICE - DAY                                27    An 1860s stone columned affair, far more impressive than the    low-lying town that surrounds it.    Brenna enters.28  INT. COUNTY RECORDS OFFICE                                      28    Brenna sits sifting through a large cloth-bound book entitled    _Certificates of Birth: 1941-1948_.                                BRENNA                              (reading)                          Tarmin...Tatum...Taupin, Richard                          Marshall.  Born to William and                          Karen Taupin, no address.  Attend-                          ing physician, Dr. Willis Kidell.29  INT. DR. KIDELL'S HOME                                          29    Dr. Kidell stands at his bookcase leafing through a binder.                                KIDELL                          1945, that strains the memory.                               (after a fashion)                          Here we are, Richard Taupin.    He carries the binder to the table where Brenna sits.                                KIDELL                          Would you like more tea?                                BRENNA                          No thank you, I'm fine.    Kidell sips his own and looks over the binder page.                                KIDELL                          He was unsual.                                BRENNA                          Why?                                KIDELL                          Well, this is a small town, and                          it was even smaller then.  Most                          all the babies I delivered were                          from local families.  Richard's                          parents were just passing through                          when his mother's time came.  I                          did it right here at the house.                                BRENNA                          Then you didn't know Richard                          later on.                                KIDELL                          No.                                BRENNA                          I've been trying to find somebody                          who knew him and any connections                          his family might have had with                          museums or historical societies.                                KIDELL                          Don't know about any of that.                          Suppose nobody does.                                BRENNA                          I don't follow you.                                KIDELL                          Poor little tyke didn't have a                          chance.  Hopelessly premature.  He                          died a few days after he was born.                                BRENNA                          The boy _died_?                                KIDELL                          Mother too.  Sad case it was.  The                          young lady just couldn't make it                          through labor.  Never even saw her                          son.    Dr. Kidell removes from the binder a tattered newspaper clipping.                                KIDELL                          My brother worked for the town                          paper at the time.  He took this                          picture of the funeral.    Something in the clipping sparks Brenna's interest.                                BRENNA                          Have you spoken to anyone else                          about this?                                KIDELL                          There was this one fella.  Asked                          a lot of questions.  I was out                          of town but I heard he spent near                          a full day in the records office.                                BRENNA                          Would you remember his name?                                KIDELL                               (thinks)                          Carl Smith.30  INT. POLICE STATION                                             30    A police line-up.    Seven MEN, all dressed in Santa Claus outfits with bare legs,    are paraded for a small, old LADY.                                OFFICER                          Just tell us when you see the one.    Several rows back in the dark sits Brenna's UNCLE JOE, the    district attorney, and another man, his ASSISTANT.                                UNCLE JOE                          Forget it.                                BRENNA                          I'm just curious.                                UNCLE JOE                          You're never "just curious".                               (to assistant)                          You've met my neice, Brenna.                                ASSISTANT                          Hi Brenna.                                OFFICER                              (to line-up)                          Number 5, lift your coat up more.                                UNCLE JOE                          Aren't you getting a little old for                          this?  You flunked out of law school.                                BRENNA                             (rolls her eyes)                          Now there's a new topic.                                UNCLE JOE                          Don't they have enough for you to                          do at the castle?    Brenna puts on her best little-girl angelic smile, a smile her    uncle can never refuse.                                UNCLE JOE                                  (sighs)                          Forgers do it all the time.  They                          take the birth certificate of some-                          one who died young and use it to                          get legit I.D.  Usually they carry                          it long enough to pass some bad                          checks then dump it.                                BRENNA                          Thanks.                                UNCLE JOE                          Call your mother.  You never call her.                                OFFICER                              (to old lady)                          Well?                                OLD LADY                          I don't know.  I'd have to see his                          thing.31  INT. BRENNA'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                                   31    A swath of moonlight shines in across a carafe-turned-vase,    a New England college diploma, and a police uniform hanging    from the bedpost where Brenna lies with another man, DENNIS.                                BRENNA                          I can't figure out why he's doing it.                          He's been Richard Taupin at least                          since 1967.  And the guys rich.  You                          should see the stuff he has in that shop.                                DENNIS                          Maybe he's hiding from something.                                BRENNA                          Some guy named Smith was asking                          about him in Church Hill.  I passed                          his name around with your buddies                          downtown but they drew a blank.  So                          he isn't a cop.  District anyway.    Dennis gets out of bed and begins putting on his uniform.                                DENNIS                          Probably just some exec ducking                          an ex-wife.                                BRENNA                          Dr. Kidell had a picture in his                          file of the funeral.  The father                          looked just like Richard.  Even had                          a mark on his cheek.                                DENNIS                          How old is Richard?                                BRENNA                          P.D. says 41, but he barely looks                          30.                                DENNIS                          Find the father.  That should clear                          things up.    He buttons his shirt.  Something occurs to him.                                DENNIS                          Taupin, isn't that the guy Moran                          picked up the other night?                                BRENNA                          Yeah.                                DENNIS                          He'd want to know about all this.                                BRENNA                          Mr. Congeniality?  Let him find his                          own clues.  There's a journal article                          in this somewhere.                                DENNIS                              (shakes head)                          Uncle Joey's little girl.  Can't                          get the taste out of her mouth.    Dennis puts on his police cap.                                DENNIS                          Well, the cream of society awaits.                              (cocks hat to one side)                          If you're ever in the neighborhood...                                BRENNA                          Sure.32  EXT. RIVER EMBANKMENT - NIGHT                                   32    POLICE OFFICERS, their flashlights cutting the darkness, search    the mud shores of a Potomac tidal basin.  The glowing Jefferson    Memorial can be seen in the distance.    DETECTIVE MORAN    Is supervising.  An OFFICER climbs up the embankment to him.                                OFFICER                          They found it.    The officer leads him down to the river where a headless BODY    wearing a tuxedo jacket is being put into a plastic bag.                                OFFICER                          It was about fifty yards down-                          stream from the head.    Moran looks down at the body bag, its dark plastic reflecting    the rythmic rotation of squad car beacons.                                OFFICER                          Both were cut real clean.  Like the                          other ones...33  EXT. EQUESTRIAN RIDING GROUNDS - DAY                            33    A steeple-chase course lies shrouded in an Arlington fog.    Across the damp grass a lone horse, heaving clouds of warm    breath, leaps gracefully over a hurdle.  Driving the steed    hard through the course, Taupin pulls firm on the reins,    bringing horse and rider to a shuddering stop where Detective    Moran waits.                                MORAN                          There's been another murder.    Taupin lifts his eyes to the suburban treeline.                                TAUPIN                          My condolences.                                MORAN                          Where were you Tuesday night?                                TAUPIN                          Home.                                MORAN                          A neighbor saw your car leave.                                TAUPIN                          He's mistaken.    Taupin climbs down from his horse.  Moran moves close.                                MORAN                          Look, I don't know what the hell                          you're up to, but I think I've got                          a pretty good idea.                                TAUPIN                          Do you?                                MORAN                          All I need is time.                                TAUPIN                          I've got all the time in the world.                             (looks at watch)                          Except right now.  If you will excuse                          me, Lieutenant.    In no hurry, Taupin leads his horse away.34  INT. MUSEUM RESEARCH DEPARTMENT                                 34    Brenna sits surrounded by books of old English law, colorful    family banner plates, and a medieval caltrap sitting on her    desk corner.    Boring quickly, she shuts the book and sighs.  From another    folder she pulls out a computer sheet.    INSERT COMPUTER SHEET    The police sheet has Taupin's name and motor vehicle record.    Below are listed four WILLIAM TAUPINS, their hometowns and    driving records.  Richard Taupin's first driver permit was in    1967.    Brenna looks down the list to a WILLIAM TAUPIN of Felton,    Delaware, who stopped filling for driver permits in 1967, the    year Richard started.35  EXT. GAS STATION - DAY                                          35    Dropping a couple of quarters into a vending machine, Brenna    removes and opens up a map of the State of Delaware.36  EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY                                            36    Brenna steps out of her car at a small town cemetary.    Holding a slip of paper, she weaves her way through the shade    covered tombs of revolutionary heroes and their descendants.    On a small rise fresh dirt lies in careless piles around an    open grave.    Richard Taupin stands at the mouth of the pit.    A coffin has been brutally pulled from the dirt and lies open    and propped diagonally beside a marker that reads: "WILLIAM    MICHAEL TAUPIN".    The casket is empty.                                BRENNA                          Someone beat you.                                TAUPIN                          Have you taken to touring small                          town cemetaries, Miss Cartwright?                                BRENNA                          Grave robbers?                                TAUPIN                          Probably.                                BRENNA                          Who?                                TAUPIN                          People like that rarely leave                          business cards.                                BRENNA                          Does Carl Smith?    A flash of interest, quickly suppressed.                                TAUPIN                          I don't know what you're talking                          about.                                BRENNA                          I think you do.  Better yet, I don't                          think anything was stolen because                          nothing was there in the first place.                          And I think Mr. Smith, whoever he is,                          now knows that.                                TAUPIN                          You have an active imagination.                                BRENNA                          I've been to Church Hill.                                TAUPIN                          Miss Cartwright, you are                          involving yourself in                          matters that do not concern                          you.  I strongly suggest you                          return to Washington and stay                          out of small town cemetaries.    He starts for the gate.                                BRENNA                          I could find him.    Taupin stops.                                BRENNA                          I have friends.                                TAUPIN                          I doubt that.                                 (beat)                          Good day, Miss Cartwright.    He walks on.    After only a few paces Taupin suddenly shudders to an abrupt    stop.                                BRENNA                          What's wrong?    He holds up an open palm to silence her.                                TAUPIN                          Your help may be unneccessary.    The air is still.    Taupin's face is expressionless.  He listens intently.  Sensing.    An unseen voice rides seemingly on the wind.                                VOICE                                (o.s.)                          Good afternoon, "Mr. Taupin".    Taupin whirls around to see a large man standing with broad    sword in hand.  We have never seen the knight out of his armor    before, but this man certainly seems to fit the bill.  Wearing    Levis and leather jacket in contrast to Taupin's expensive    business suit, he speaks with icy evenness from a face of stone.    Taupin, naked without his own sword, is trapped against a    marble wall.                                KNIGHT                          Long time.                                TAUPIN                          Not so long.    The Knight is closing in on him, sword gripped in both hands.                                TAUPIN                          You've been here from the                          start.                                KNIGHT                          My quarry grows clever with                          age.  And the others, incompetent.    The Knight throws Brenna a glance.                                KNIGHT                          Friend of yours?                                TAUPIN                          Of sorts.                                KNIGHT                          I do hope she enjoys a good                          show.    The Knight leans his whole body into a two-fisted swing,    clanging out a chunk of marble as Taupin ducks.    A second swipe also imbeds itself in stone.                                KNIGHT                          So now it ends.    A thrust cuts only air.                                KNIGHT                          Generation upon generation.                          Tens of thousands of miles.    Taupin leaps behind a tree.  The Knight cuts it nearly in half.                                KNIGHT                          You're the last, MacLeod.                          Romirez, Lacroux, Neuvich,                          those fools that followed                          me, their heads all line my                          shelf.  All but yours.    Taupin drops to the ground in a shoulder roll to avoid a swipe.                                KNIGHT                          Can you feel it, MacLeod?                          Can you _feel_ it!    Taupin grabs a tree branch and raps the Knight on the knee,    knocking him over.    The Knight quickly rights himself and cuts the branch from    Taupin.                                KNIGHT                          There can be but one.    He raises his blade.    An elderly WATCHMAN, shotgun cradled in his arms, stands in    the clearing.                                WATCHMAN                          Hey!  What's going on here?    The Knight pauses a split second then with decision launches    his sword spear-style firmly into the watchman's chest.    Taupin pushes past him to Brenna.                                TAUPIN                          Run!    Brenna is frozen in shock.    Taupin shoves her roughly toward the gate.                                TAUPIN                          Run!                                KNIGHT                          MACLEOD!    The Knight retrieves his sword from the watchman's body and    lumbers after them.    Taupin and Brenna bolt from the cemetary and into the surround-    ing residential area.37  EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - DAY                                   37    Taupin leads an exhausted Brenna in a gallop down the side-    walk.    They have apparently lost the Knight.  Taupin pauses at a    corner.  He sees a church across the street.38  INT. CHURCH                                                     38    Brenna enters and collapses into a pew, her labored breathing    echoing off the high ceiling.    Taupin walks the length of an aisle to see that they are alone.    Satisfied, he leans against a banister and considers his sit-    uation.    Trying to recover her wind, Brenna has her eyes closed and    head against the back of the pew.                                BRENNA                          Jesus Christ.                                TAUPIN                          You'll be safe here.  He won't                          kill in a church.                                BRENNA                          Why not?                                TAUPIN                              (distracted)                          Tradition.                                BRENNA                          What the hell is going on?    Taupin stares out the window, stained glass shining orange on    his face.  He looks at Brenna briefly, then passes through the    Church's doorway without a word.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:39  INT. MEDIEVAL BLACKSMITH SHOP                                   39    A glowing horseshoe HISSES wildly as it slips into a wooden    cooling bucket.  Pulling it out with iron tongs, Conor lays    it on a counter and pounds it even with a mallet.    Sweaty and streaked with dirt, he tosses the mallet aside    and walks out into the late afternoon sunshine.40  EXT. SHOP FRONTAGE - DAY                                        40    Conor leans over a water barrel and dunks his head and arms,    cleaning off a day's worth of sweat and grime.    JUAN ROMIREZ    Stirring up dust with his travelling boots, this Spanish acc-    ented man stops at Conor's shop.  He wears a large broad sword    strapped to his waist.                                CONOR                          Afternoon.                                ROMIREZ                          Your name is Conor?                                CONOR                          Aye.                                ROMIREZ                             (bows slightly)                          Juan Cid Romirez.  Chief                          surveyor and alchemist.                                CONOR                             (notices accent)                          You're not from these                          parts.                                ROMIREZ                          I am from Spain.  And I                          would like a moment of                          your time.41  INT. CONOR'S HOME                                               41    Romirez is seated at a table.  His back to the Spaniard,    Conor is preparing some food.                                CONOR                          I haven't much to offer,                          Mr. Romirez from Spain,                          but you're welcome to what's                          here.                                ROMIREZ                          Please go to no trouble.    Romirez is looking at the faint, pale hint of a scar that    runs from Conor's shoulder blade to his waist.                                ROMIREZ                          Your back, it would seem                          perhaps you were injured                          in battle?                                CONOR                          Five years past me clan                          fought another over some-                          thing I cannot even re-                          member.                                ROMIREZ                          Your marks would suggest                          great injury.                                CONOR                          I was nearly killed.                                ROMIREZ                          But you lived.    Conor looks up from his work in pained memory.                                CONOR                          I did at that.                                ROMIREZ                          And but for a mark you are                          well as any man, no?                                CONOR                          Aye.                                ROMIREZ                          I should imagine that your                          recovery must have alarmed                          your fellow villagers, perhaps                          giving them reason to invent                          an explanation.  And a solution.    Something isn't right.    Conor turns and faces him.                                CONOR                          I was driven out.                                ROMIREZ                          And now you live in a small                          village miles away from all                          you knew.                                CONOR                          How can you know this?                                ROMIREZ                             (tone lightens)                          First food, no?  A good meal                          makes conversation so much                          easier.    Stunned with the implications of what Romirez has said, like    a robot Conor serves the meal.  His eyes never leave Romirez,    who digs hungrily into the food.                                ROMIREZ                          Hmm, que rico.  What is it you                          call this?                                CONOR                          Pheasant.                                ROMIREZ                          You Scots have a way with                          game.  It still has life in it.                          Spirit.  Back home the food                          is so...domestic.                                CONOR                          Why are you here?                                ROMIREZ                          I was sent by his majesty of                          Spain to Inverness as a con-                          sultant on matters of metal.                                CONOR                          You're a long way from Inverness.                                ROMIREZ                          In my travels I heard the story of                          the MacLeod boy struck down and                          brought from the hand of                          death by powers not of this Earth.                                CONOR                          You know me home.  Me name.                                ROMIREZ                          It was time for our paths to cross.    Romirez pulls back the sleeve on his cloak.                                ROMIREZ                          You see this?    He traces some discoloration on his arm.                                ROMIREZ                          When I was a boy a cart driven                          by a drunken fool crushed me.  All                          thought I would die or be maimed                          for life.  But I healed quickly.                          And like you I paid the price                          for being different.                                CONOR                          You are the same?                                ROMIREZ                          Do you ever feel a flow, as if some-                          thing were pushing against you?                                CONOR                          Yes.  Always.                                ROMIREZ                          Does it change with me in the room?                                CONOR                          It is less.                                ROMIREZ                          You feel you know me.                                CONOR                          I don't know why.                                ROMIREZ                          We are brothers.42  EXT. VILLAGE - NIGHT    Romirez and Conor walk alone amongst torch-lit hutches.                                CONOR                          He told me there could be only                          one.                                ROMIREZ                          Some cling to sanity through time                          with the one continuity and trad0                          ition their lives have known: The                          Game.                               (Conor confused)                          You and I Conor, we are different                          from all others around us.  You                          know this, you can feel it.  We are                          flesh and bone like any man, but                          unlike our neighbors we are rather                          difficult to injure,                               (looks away)                          permanently.                                CONOR                          I don't understand.                                ROMIREZ                          You are still so very young.                                CONOR                          I'm twenty-two.                                ROMIREZ                              (shakes head)                          Not even a single lifetime.    Romirez chooses his words very carefully.                                ROMIREZ                          Conor, you and I, we cannot be                          killed.                                CONOR                          What?                                ROMIREZ                          We are immortal.    Stunned, Conor backs away from Romirez.                                CONOR                          No, that can't be.    Romirez grasps Conor's shoulder.                                ROMIREZ                          It is as you are.                                CONOR                             (pushes away)                          No!    This is all too much for Conor.                                ROMIREZ                          Listen to me.  Hear the words.                                CONOR                          This is madness!                                ROMIREZ                          It is the truth.                                CONOR                          No!    Romirez suddenly draws his sword and thrusts it into Conor's    heart.  The boy's mouth drops open in shocked terror as his    eyes roll up into his head.    A shudder, then Conor slides off the blade and crashes to the    ground.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:43  EXT. POLICE STATION - DAY                                       43    Brenna stops her car in front of the Washington Police Depart-    ment.  Getting out of her car she climbs the stairs but stops.    After a moment of indecision she changes her mind and returns    to her car.44  INT. BRENNA'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   44    Brenna lowers herself wearily into a chair, rubs her eyes,    and stares absently out the window.    Reaching across to an end table, she plays back her answering    machine.    Beep.                                MALE VOICE                          This is Dr. Wickland at GWU.  Your                          test came back today.  You can call                          me here at the med center if you                          have any questions.    Click.    Beep.                                SUPERVISOR'S VOICE                          Brenna, where the hell are you?                          The place is full of cops asking                          weird questions.  What's going on?                          I've got work stacking up.  Get                          in here right away.    Brenna stands and goes to the kitchen, returning with a glass    of wine.    Click.    Beep.                                KNIGHT'S VOICE                          Brenna.    She freezes in her tracks.                                KNIGHT'S VOICE                          My quarrel is not with you.  Meet                          me.    Brenna's eyes are glued on the machine.                                KNIGHT'S VOICE                          We have much to talk of, you and                          I.  Answers for the young historian.                                   (beat)                          O'Reily's.  Tonight.  I've grown to                          like taverns.    Click.    Beep.                                SEVERAL LITTLE GIRLS                                   (singing)                          Happy birthday to you, happy birth-                          day to you, happy birthday dear                          Brenna, happy birthday to you.    Brenna is still upset from the last call.                                MOTHER'S VOICE                          Hi Brenna, it's mom.  Me and your neices                          just wanted to call and wish you a                          happy birthday.  Crissy made a real cute                          card for you, be sure to call her.  Will                          you be home for Easter?  Call when you                          can.  Love you.    Click.    Hiss.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:45.  INT. CONOR'S HOME - DAY                                        45     This HISS of Brenna's answering machine becomes the HISS of     cooking.  Bandaged about the chest, Conor asleep on his     cot.     Suddenly he sits up.  Sweating.  He looks about the room in     confusion as Romirez enters with a plate of food.                                ROMIREZ                          Three days you've laid there.                          It's time you ate.                                CONOR                               (dazed)                          This can't be.                                ROMIREZ                          You are not dead, boy.  Accept it.                                CONOR                          This is monstrous.  I'll burn in                          hell for all eternity.                                ROMIREZ                          You'd have to die first.                              (extends forkful of food)                          Aqui.    Conor starts CRYING.                                CONOR                          What is to become of me?  Am I to                          wander the Earth forever like a                          ghost?                                ROMIREZ                          You will live.  Survive.                                CONOR                          Then they were right.  I am evil.                          This is God's punishment.                                ROMIREZ                          You have done nothing wrong Conor                          MacLeod.                                CONOR                          Oh my God.  Oh my God I'm lost.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:46  EXT. CONOR'S VILLAGE - DAY                                      46    Two days later.    Nearly healed, Conor and Romirez stand near a quietly moving    stream.                                CONOR                          Why does he want to kill me?                                ROMIREZ                          You recall how I spoke of the push                          you feel and how I make it less?                                CONOR                          Aye.                                ROMIREZ                          It is always less with my living.                          Far or near.  But if I were to die                          the push would become stronger                          than ever before.  There is power                          in this.  And as long as you and I                          live, The Knight can never have                          it all.                                CONOR                          But we cannot be killed.                                ROMIREZ                          There is an imperfection.  For all                          your healing, if your head ever                          leaves your neck, you are dead.                          You can survive anything but steel                          against your threat.  Then it is                          over.  The end.                                CONOR                          How can I stop such a man?                                ROMIREZ                          Hide.  Run to the ends of the Earth                          till you learn.  You must learn to                          defend yourself.  In this I can help.                                CONOR                          Why?                                ROMIREZ                          We are brothers.  And you are a                          defense-                                 (beat)                          -of sorts.47  EXT. PENNSYLVANIA FARMHOUSE - DAY                               47    An old man, MR. NORTH, leads Taupin up the drive of a rural    farmhouse somewhere in the hinterland of Pennsylvania.                                MR. NORTH                          When your father died I saw to                          it that the grounds were kept up.                                TAUPIN                          The money in the estate was                          enough to cover your costs?                                MR. NORTH                          Oh yes, more than enough.48  INT. FARMHOUSE                                                  48    Furniture clad in white sheets.  Dust everywhere.                                MR. NORTH                          Most of the furniture was put                          into protective storage.  I'll                          have some boys come up and clean                          the place out for you.    Taupin drags a finger across a dusty window pane.                                MR. NORTH                               (fascinated)                          You're one of William's kids,                          huh?                                TAUPIN                          His only kid.                                MR. NORTH                          Sure take after him.  Never seen                          a father and son look more alike.                                TAUPIN                          We were very close.                                MR. NORTH                          The resemblance is amazing.                                TAUPIN                          When may I expect the cleaners?                                MR. NORTH                          I'll send them right up.49  INT. "O'REILY'S" - NIGHT                                        49    Coupled strangers gyrate under colored lights and recorded music.    Brenna sits alone.  Whatever nervousness she brought through the    door with her has been turned into a comfortable cynicism by    the three empty glasses in front of her.    A MAN    With something less than perfect coordination, sits down beside    her.                                MAN                          That stuff'll put you away if                          you're not careful.                                BRENNA                          There was a Count.  Count Dusan.  He                          would invite the local peasants to                          his chateau, fill them full of wine,                          then slice their bellies so he                          could reuse it.                                (smiles)                          The symmetry of that somehow always                          appealed to me.                                MAN                          You're very macabre.                                BRENNA                          It's my birthday.                                MAN                          Happy birthday.                                BRENNA                          Thanks.    Brenna drains her glass and sets it down with a sigh.                                BRENNA                          Buy a birthday girl a drink?50  INT. PUB - NIGHT                                                50    A small neighborhood tavern.  Regulars chat amicably with the    BARTENDER-OWNER.    TAUPIN    Sits alone at a corner table.  A WAITRESS hovers over him.                                TAUPIN                          Lager and lime.    LATER    Taupin's lager is drained.  Lost in thought, he drags a finger    around and around the lip of the mug.    He hand stops.  It twitches.  Shakes.    Taupin pulls his hand from the glass and watches it shake slightly    out of control.  A warning.    He WHIRLS around suddenly to see LING KAHN, Asian, standing    over him.                                KAHN                          MacLeod.    Taupin is anxious, poised for attack.    Kahn breaks into a broad smile.                                KAHN                          Spare a chair?                                TAUPIN                          Kahn?                                KAHN                          Are you going to offer me a chair                          or leave me standing here all night?                                TAUPIN                          Sit.    Kahn takes his place across the table.                                TAUPIN                               (unsure)                          How are you?                                KAHN                          Head still secure to the neck.                                TAUPIN                          How did you find me?                                KAHN                          How many places this side of the                          Atlantic serve lager and lime?    Taupin looks to his own glass.                                KAHN                          Old habits die hard.                              (to waitress)                          Waitress!  A round of Nitzhic!                                 (beat)                          Peasant drool, I know.  But it's the                          closest thing they stock to my side                          of the fence.                                TAUPIN                          What are you doing here?                                KAHN                          It is the gathering, my friend.  The                          settling of old scores.    Taupin tenses.                                TAUPIN                          And have you something to settle                          with me?                                KAHN                               (smiles)                          Not tonight.  Tonight I have a drink                          with an old friend.                                TAUPIN                          It's good to see you, Kahn.    The waitress sets down two glasses.                                KAHN                          Come, toast with me the past.                              (raises glass)                          To old conquests, old loves, and to a                          time when we cared about either.    Kahn drains his glass.                                KAHN                          Waitress!51  EXT. THE WASHINGTON MALL - NIGHT                                51    Kahn and Taupin sit drunkedly on the marble steps of a closed    government building.                                KAHN                          I'll never forget the look on that                          Papal commander's face when his                          "heretic stronghold" turned out to                          be a rock full of whores climbing                          all over Neuvich.                                TAUPIN                          Neuvich, the clown of the crusades.                                KAHN                          But then rides up Pope Pius who                          calmly brushes the dust from his                          papal cross, climbs off his papal                          horse, draws his papal sword and                          asks just what the hell is going                          on.  And what did Neuvich, dear                          dear drunken Neuvich do?                                TAUPIN                          Offered the Pope one of his whores.    They LAUGH.    A JOGGER stops on the gravel and listens to the strange conversation.                                TAUPIN                          Had a great swing with his blade.                          For a Pope.                                KAHN                                (sighs)                          Good times then.  A man could                          stretch his legs without bring-                          ing half the world down around                          his ears.  Not like now.    The jogger shakes his head and runs on.                                TAUPIN                               (serious)                          He found us even there.                                KAHN                          He always did.52  EXT. ZOO - NIGHT                                                52    A CLINKING of chain link as Taupin and Kahn climb a fence and    tumble into the Washington Zoo.                                TAUPIN                          I haven't drunk this much since-                                KAHN                          -Since you last saw me.    Kahn chucks an empty wine bottle.  An unspecified animal GROWLS    sleepily somewhere in the darkness.                                KAHN                          Come on.53  EXT. DISPLAY AREA - NIGHT                                       53    Taupin and Kahn stumble through an open-air display of Asian    animals.  Their VOICES seem to echo everywhere.                                KAHN                          I love zoos.  Ever since I was                          a kid.                                TAUPIN                          You were never a kid.    Kahn leans on the wall of a water buffalo pen.                                KAHN                             (points at one)                          I knew his great-grandfather.                                TAUPIN                          You're insane.                                KAHN                          No, seriously.  We used to shoot pool                          together in Rangoon.                                TAUPIN                          How do you do it, Kahn?  How do you                          live so full of life for so long?                                KAHN                          Tasting and enjoying life is the                          only thing of value we have.  All                          else is just marking time.                               (beat)                          You're marking time.                                TAUPIN                          I've had a few more concerns.    Kahn jams his hands into his overcoat and starts down the footpath.                                KAHN                          The pressure only comes when you                          let the taste slip into your mouth.                                TAUPIN                          You're wrong.                                KAHN                          You don't run as hard, MacLeod.                          You just don't run as hard anymore.54  INT. O'REILY'S - NIGHT                                          54    Late.  The bar is nearly empty.    No sign of the Knight.  Brenna looks at her watch, sighs, and    drops a bill onto the counter.55  EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                             55    Brenna has left the bar and is now walking down a dimly lit    street.    She hears something and turns.    -Nothing.  A breeze rustles the trees above.    After only a few more paces she hears something again.    Brenna abruptly turns.    -Right into the face of THE KNIGHT.    Brenna SCREAMS.  The Knight reaches into his leather carrying bag.    A GROUP OF NOISY TEENAGERS    Exit a facing townhouse.  The Knight removes his hand from the    bag as they spill onto the sidewalk LAUGHING and YELLING.    Brenna moves close to the group as they walk to the corner.    The Knight follows at a measured distance.    At the corner the teenagers climb into a pickup and drive off.    Brenna bolts into the intersection.  Weaving through SCREECHING    brakes, she disappears into a pair of lighted glass doors.56  INT. BUILDING                                                   56    40 well dressed PATRONS, numbered cards pinned to their lapels,    sit in velvetly plush surroundings.  At the front of the room    stands a thin moustached art AUCTIONEER.    Brenna BUSTLES in from outside.                                AUCTIONEER                          I apoligize for the lateness of the                          hour, but I'm sure you will all agree                          the quality of this year's collection                          is well worth the time.    The Knight BURSTS in with his leather carrying bag.  Brenna    slides along the draped back wall to avoid him.                                AUCTIONEER                             (holding statuette)                          For this fine example of medieval                          religious art, let us open the bid                          at 4,000 dollars.    The Knight closes in on Brenna casually, without hurry.                                AUCTIONEER                          10,500 once, 10,500 twice...    Brenna raises her arm to attract the attention of a SECURITY    GUARD..                                AUCTIONEER                             (points at Brenna)                          11,000.  A bid at 11,000.                                BRENNA                          No, I-    The guard notices she has no lapel number and starts for her    very officially.    Being closed in on from both sides, Brenna suddenly runs across    the room to a fire exit, setting off an ALARM as she flies open    the door.    The Knight leaps after her, knocking over an OLD WOMAN in the    front row.57  EXT. BUILDING - NIGHT                                           57    Brenna runs the sidewalk and disappears into a Metro station.58  INT. METRO STATION                                              58    Brenna runs down the platform and jumps into a subway car    just as the doors shut.    THE KNIGHT    is also now on the platform but can only watch Brenna through    a window as the train pulls away.59  EXT. TAUPIN'S TOWNHOUSE - DAY                                   59    Brenna KNOCKS at the front door.  No answer.    She KNOCKS harder.  The unlatched door pushes open.60  INT. TOWNHOUSE                                                  60    Brenna stands in the doorway.    Before her is a disaster.  Furniture has been smashed like    matchsticks.  A desk drawer's contents lie strewn in piles on    the floor.    Brenna enters slowly.                                BRENNA                          Mr. Taupin?  I have to talk to                          you.    Nothing has been left unturned or unbroken.    Brenna kneels and sifts through a pile of crumpled papers.    She comes across an old black and white photograph.  Badly    streaked and faded, it shows Taupin standing beside a farm-    house.  Written in the corner is "Worstick, 1928".    Brenna slips the photo into her pocket.  Standing, she turns    smack into Taupin.                                TAUPIN                          Finished?    He looks past her to the destruction of his living room.  It    doesn't seem to surprise him.                                BRENNA                          He tried to kill me last night.                                TAUPIN                          Where?                                BRENNA                          Dupont Circle.    Taupin sifts through the debris, selecting articles from it.                                BRENNA                          Who is he?                                TAUPIN                          At the moment?  Carl Smith.                                BRENNA                          And you?    He ignores the question.                                BRENNA                          What will you do now?                                TAUPIN                          You needn't worry Miss Cartwright.                          I've been at this a very long time.                                BRENNA                          He called you "MacLeod".                                TAUPIN                          Not your concern.                                BRENNA                          I left a man dead in                          Felton.  But you don't                          really care, do you?                                TAUPIN                          That bothers you?                                BRENNA                          He was innocent.                                TAUPIN                          He's dead.  Whatever I may                          or may not feel means                          exceedingly little to him                          now.                                BRENNA                          What about me?                                TAUPIN                          You?                                BRENNA                          I'm a witness to a murder.  That                          seems to put me pretty high                          on your friend's chop list.                                TAUPIN                          Have you gone to the                          police?                                BRENNA                          No.                                TAUPIN                          Why not?  I'm sure they'd                          love to hear your story.                                BRENNA                          I'd rather hear yours.                                TAUPIN                                (beat)                          You are being foolish.                                BRENNA                          I'm a historian, Mr. Taupin.                          Only once in a lifetime do you                          stare history in the face.                                TAUPIN                          Go home.    He walks to the doorway.                                BRENNA                          Why does he want to kill you?    Taupin stops, his back to her.                                TAUPIN                          He sees me as a threat.                                BRENNA                          Are you?    Taupin walks out the door.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:61  EXT. GRASSY KNOLL - DAY                                         61    On a clear rise above the village Romirez and Conor spar with    swords covered in heavy cloth.  Conor is having difficulty.                                ROMIREZ                          Concentrate!    Conor thrusts.  Romirez blocks.                                ROMIREZ                          Harder.  Concentrate harder.                                CONOR                          Me arm hurts.                                ROMIREZ                          Again.  Try again.    Conor strikes.  Romirez easily blocks.                                ROMIREZ                          Harder!  You swing like an impotent                          cow!                                CONOR                          Go to hell.                                ROMIREZ                          Oh, the boy has a mouth,                          now if only he had an arm.    Ticked off, Conor leans himself into a two-fisted swing.    Romirez knocks it aside, but Conor recovers faster than he,    knocking Romirez flat on his back.                                CONOR                          Impotent cow.                                ROMIREZ                          Muy Bien!    Conor drops the sword and wipes the sweat from his face.    Romirez pours wine from a leather bag into a goblet pulled    from his belt.  He offers it to Conor.                                ROMIREZ                          Here my boy, from vineyards                          as sweet and smooth as a young                          girl's thigh.    Conor accepts the cup.  Romirez pulls himself to his feet.                                ROMIREZ                          It will take less effort                          as you learn.                                CONOR                          It's like to kill me first.    Romirez puts his arm around Conor and refills his cup.                                ROMIREZ                          You have a gift.  One you                          must protect.                                CONOR                          And what is this great                          gift that cannot be seen                          or smelt?                                ROMIREZ                          The Fabric of life.  The spark                          that allows the passing of                          existence from one generation                          to another.                                CONOR                              (shakes head)                          If that was meant to be an ex-                          planation Mr. Romirez from Spain,                          I'm afraid you've failed.    Romirez put his arm around Conor and leads him away.                                ROMIREZ                          Come.  Enough sword play for an                          afternoon.62  EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY                                          62    A friendly horse race.  Their reflections bouncing off a clear    glen, Conor and Romirez dodge moss-laiden ruts and leap fallen    tree trunks.    Beaming, Conor pushes through a last turn and stops to wait    for Romirez, several lengths behind.                                CONOR                           (as Romirez rides up)                          You're no match for Scot, Mr.                          Romirez.  We're raised as riders.                                ROMIREZ                          Point conceeded, Mr. MacLeod.    Both their eyes turn to the beauty in view.  Romirez pulls a    leaf from a tree and studies it closely.                                CONOR                          What is the fascinatioon?  It is only                          a leaf.                                ROMIREZ                          All living things pay dues,                          Conor.  They must be respected                          for that.    He pulls the leaf's points from the stalk, one by one.                                ROMIREZ                          As they age they contribute to a                          sum that is the kindling from which                          all future life comes.  To feel it,                          to know it, is to be in touch with                          the will of every living thing.                                CONOR                          I do not think I like the sound                          of that.                                ROMIREZ                          It does not feel nearly as frightening                          as it sounds.  But the consequences of                          such feelings can be very frightening.                          For it gives you great strength.  The                          strength of _knowledge_.  The ability                          to stand between the giving of what                          has always been to what will always                          be.                                CONOR                          I feel hardly nothing.                                ROMIREZ                          You have not been fully trained.                          But you will learn.  And you will be                          good, I can feel that.  You have apt-                          itude.  This is why our friend is                          so concerned.                                CONOR                          But why be so concerned about me?                                ROMIREZ                          This power is divided amongst you,                          me, and others like cuts in a pie.                          But the cuts are not equal.  Some,                          like you and he, have more.  Much                          more.                                CONOR                          And you?                                ROMIREZ                          I am a small player.  But if by                          helping you I can keep that monster                          from being the last, then perhaps                          my life has meant something.                                CONOR                          I am not ready for this.                                ROMIREZ                          You must be.  You have responsibilities.                          You must learn the rules.  You can never                          attract attention to yourself, never                          show the side that will draw others to                          you.  You will always know when you are                          in the presence of another.  Beware.                          But more importantly Conor MacLeod, will                          be your battle against time.  In the                          coming years you will see kingdoms rise                          then rot like wheat.  People will                          become a transitory, pathetic lot.  The                          only constant you will know will be                          the others and the tradition their                          greed and quest represent.  But life                          without morality, without the ability                          to truly taste the sweetness of wine                          and love, is no life at all.  That is                          how the others exist.  Nothing more                          than walking corpses living only to                          slaughter each other in an insane quest                          to be the last.  Keep your soul sewed                          to the earth.  Do not become one of them.                                CONOR                          Of course.                                ROMIREZ                          You are young, inexperienced.  You                          do not know what time can do.  How                          it can sap all pity, all love.                                CONOR                          That is not me.                                ROMIREZ                          With the proper tools, Conor, a                          naive man can be much more dangerous                          than an evil one.                                VILLAGER                          Conor!    A VILLAGER approaches from across the pasture.                                CONOR                          Yes, Darin.                                VILLAGER                          Hate to be bothering you like this,                          but me mare threw a shoe.    Conor looks to Romirez.                                ROMIREZ                          Go ahead, Senor.                              (gestures to wine)                          I have my friend to keep me company.                                CONOR                          I'll be back when I can.    Conor sets off across the pasture.64  INT. CONOR'S HOME                                               64    Romirez enters and flops onto a cot.    Settling down for a nap, he sets his sword beneath the bed    and closes his eyes to the distant sound of CHILDREN playing.    The room is still.    Romirez begins to drowse.    Suddenly his eyes leap open with full alertness.    His hand moves under the cot.    With an EXPLOSION the front door is lifted from its hinges    and splintered into fragments.  Passing through a cloud of    sawdust enters the Knight.  Without pause he topples a kitchen    shelf onto a supine Romirez.                                KNIGHT                          Romirez.  What a surprise.    Romirez is struggling under the debris.    The Knight thrusts hard onto an exposed leg.    The limb is severed.                                ROMIREZ                          Madonna!    The Knight begins casting aside the shelving.    With lightning speed Romirez pulls the sword from beneath the    bed and hammers it deep into the Knight's side.                                KNIGHT                          Bastard!    He crashes back against the wall.    Romirez tries to lift himself from the bed using his sword    as a crutch.    The Knight has regained a meager balance on his knees.    Blood pours from the slice in his stomach,    Romirez pushes himself across the bed, plants his sword into    the floor and hobbles a few paces before collapsing.                                ROMIREZ                          Oh, Santa Maria!    The Knight crawls across the bed and drops to his knees    beside Romirez.                                KNIGHT                          Why run?                                ROMIREZ                          Demonio!    The Knight's trembling hands raise his shaking sword high.                                KNIGHT                          To hell with you.65  EXT. BARNYARD - DAY                                             65    Conor pounds at a horseshoe.    The hammer slips from his grasp as he slumps forward as if    pushed.66  EXT. CONOR'S HOME - DAY                                         66    Badly wounded, the Knight staggers through the shattered    doorway and tumbles into the street.    A CHILD SCREAMS.    Pulling himself up, the Knight hobbles away.67  EXT. - DAY                                                      67    Conor is running through the village.67  INT. CONOR'S HOME                                               67    Conor rushes in and shudders to a stop.    An entire wall is showered with blood.    Conor walks slowly forward.  Dazed.    As he looks down something takes his attention.    It is Romirez's severed head.    Conor moans in anguish and drops to his knees on the blood-    stained floor.    His head sinks to his chest as he begins sobbing.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:68  INT. MUSEUM RESEARCH LIBRARY                                    68    Somewhere in the bowels of the museum, the RESEARCH    LIBRARIAN, a wiry young man, sits at his cluttered desk.    Brenna looms above him.                                LIBRARIAN                          Come on Brenna, your ass                          is already in a sling, don't                          drag me into it.                                BRENNA                          All I need is for you                          to check the name.                                LIBRARIAN                          You talked to your supervisor                          lately?  He's burning up the                          place about you just dropping                          out of sight.  That on top of                          the cops bugging him.                                BRENNA                          I'll take care of that                          Corey, but I need this now.    The librarian looks her over skeptically.                                BRENNA                          Corey, you _owe_ me.                                LIBRARIAN                          It's that important?                                BRENNA                          Yeah.    The librarian reluctantly reaches for his keys.69  INT. STORAGE AREA                                               69    Holding Brenna's photograph, the research librarian is comb-    ing through stained binders.  The room is old, disorganized,    and gives the impression that every fact worth knowing must    be in it somewhere.                                RESEARCHER                          Wilson know about this?                                BRENNA                          I'm doing it on my own.                                LIBRARIAN                          Good way to lose your job.                                BRENNA                          Some job.  Card filing and                          cabinet dusting.  Four years                          in this dump and I haven't                          written anything for Wilson                          that a wounded yak couldn't                          do.                                LIBRARIAN                          I liked the bit you did                          about Baltic chastity belts.                          Too bad no one else did.                                BRENNA                          It's bullshit.  Everything.                          My job, the people I get                          involved with, I'm up to here                          with it.                                LIBRARIAN                          You always were hard to                          impress.    The librarian pulls a binder and opens it.                                BRENNA                          Who is it?                                LIBRARIAN                          Not who.  What.  Worstick's                          a town in Pennsylvania.70  INT. MUSEUM RESEARCH OFFICE                                     70    Brenna enters and sits at her desk.  She is looking for    something.                                BRENNA                              (confused)                          Chris, have you seen my                          notebook?    Chris is seated at the desk next to her.  He points at the    supervisor's door.                                BRENNA                          Why, that son of a bitch.71  INT. MUSEUM SUPERVISOR'S OFFICE                                 71    The high backed office chair is spun away from an angry,    entering Brenna.                                BRENNA                          What's wrong Wilson, huh?  Not enough                          excitement in your own desk?  What the                          hell were you looking for in mine?    The chair turns.  Detective Moran, not her supervisor, leafs    through her notebook.                                MORAN                          A murder.                                BRENNA                          You better have a warrant.  That's                          my notebook, you've got no right                          to be sticking your fingers into it.                                MORAN                          I've got a morgue filling up with                          bodies.  That's my right.                                BRENNA                          What do you want from me?                                MORAN                          Well, the man of the hour that we                          all would like to talk to about now                          has apparently skipped town.                             (looks at notebook)                          And all of a sudden the Smithsonian's                          ambulence chaser is an expert on                          missing persons.    Brenna lifts the telephone receiver.                                BRENNA                          I'm calling an attorney.                                MORAN                          You and I should talk first.                                BRENNA                          We've got nothing to say.    Moran presses the post on the phone.                                MORAN                          What are you going to tell them?  That                          you're protecting a man who's                          killed four people?                                BRENNA                          Four?                                MORAN                          All fashionably without heads.                                BRENNA                          Spare me the details.                                MORAN                          But there's more.  Wednesday someone                          played javelin with the cemetary                          curator in Felton, Delaware.  Some                          locals spotted two cars with D.C.                          plates and surprise surprise, they                          turn out to be registered to our                          own Brenna Cartwright and the ever                          popular Richard Taupin.                                BRENNA                          What are you getting at, Moran?                                MORAN                          You've been a busy little beaver.                          Especially with that records mess                          up in Church Hill.                             (looks at notebook)                          Your notes are very complete.                          Naturally my feelings were crushed                          when you didn't rush right over                          and tell us what you knew.                             (looks up)                          In fact, we're considering book-                          ing the ambulence chaser as an                          accessory to murder.                                BRENNA                          It'll never stick.                                MORAN                          But we might just give it the                          'ole college try.  What with the                          court back ups, it could be days                          before you got an arraignment.                          But then, I'm sure the flunk-out                          neice of the D.A. knows all about                          that.                                BRENNA                          You're an asshole, Moran.                                MORAN                          I want Taupin.                                BRENNA                          What makes you so sure he's                          the one?                                MORAN                          Just for laughs we raided wonder                          boy's house.  There was a gallon                          of one of the corpse's blood in                          his carpet.  I think it was about                          then I withdrew his name for                          humanitarian of the year.                                BRENNA                          What's all of this got to do                          with me?                                MORAN                          What were you doing in Felton?                                BRENNA                          Research.  If your pal was there                          I never saw him.                                MORAN                          I have witnesses that can put                          the two of you together.                                BRENNA                            (knows he's bluffing)                          Never take up poker, Detective.                                MORAN                          Don't be stupid, lady.  Your neck                          can be sliced as fast as anyone                          else's.    Brenna reaches across and lifts her notebook.                                BRENNA                          Why don't you wait until it comes                          out in paperback?    Moran watches her leave.  He lifts the telephone receiver.    RESEARCH OFFICE    Striding out into the corridor, Brenna passes Dennis, the cop    from her bedroom, leaning against the doorway.                                DENNIS                          I warned you.                                BRENNA                          Go to hell.72  INT. CHURCH (WASHINGTON D.C.)                                   72    A PRIEST celebrates mass in a present-day cathedral.    In the rear of the church apart from the other PARISHIONERS    sits the Knight.  As the priest leads the parishioners through    the procession of faith, the Knight alone repeats it quietly    to himself in Latin, the ancient language of the church.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:73  EXT. ABANDONED GRAVEYARD - DAY                                  73    Crooked tombstones strewn across the bleached ground of a place    not beloning to reality.    In full medieval tartan, Conor stands against a forceful wind.    CRACKS    Run the length plain, spewing forth steam and staggering    SKELETONS.  There are dozens of them, all carrying their skulls    under one arm.    The skeletons press forward and trap Conor against the trunk    of a dead oak.  The heads break into harsh, demonic LAUGHTER.    Conor puts his hands over his ears in pain as the bodies push    forward.    SCREAMING, he disappears under a mass of gleaming bones.                                                        CUT TO:74  INT. TAUPIN'S WORSTICK HOME                                     74    Taupin wakes from the dream with a SHOUT.    He has fallen asleep in a desk chair.    Taupin walks to a window and looks out to the green hills.  To    the distance.75  EXT. RURAL ROAD - DAY                                           75    Brenna's sedan shoots down a country highway.76  INT. SEDAN - DAY                                                76    Checking her rear view mirror, Brenna notices two suspicious    FIGURES in a car behind her.77  EXT. RURAL ROAD - DAY                                           77    Brenna pulls to the side.  The car from behind passes without    incident.78  INT. SEDAN - DAY                                                78    Brenna is driving again.  Listening now to the RADIO, she    casts a glance in the mirror.  The same car is behind her.79  EXT. RURAL ROAD - DAY                                           79    Passing over a rise in the highway, Brenna turns abruptly    onto a service road and behind a group of trees.    THE OTHER CAR    Pauses a moment at the intersection, then drives on.80  EXT. STOREFRONT - DAY                                           80    Brenna shows the PROPRIETOR the photograph.  He explains    something to her.    Brenna steps outside the store onto the Main Street of the    very small community of Worstick.    AT A STREET CORNER    Brenna passes a small monument settled in a flower bed.  It has    a plaque memorializing five locals murdered in 1931.81  INT. SEDAN                                                      81    A mile out of town Brenna stops at a farmhouse.  She checks    it against the photo she found at Taupin's townhouse.  They    match.82  EXT. FARMHOUSE DOOR - DAY                                       82    Brenna KNOCKS.                                TAUPIN                          You shouldn't have come.    Brenna whirls around and sees Taupin behind her.                                TAUPIN                          We're you followed?    He looks to the road.                                BRENNA                          No.                                TAUPIN                          No one knows you're here?                                BRENNA                          No.  I had to talk to you.                                TAUPIN                          You had to do _nothing_!                                BRENNA                          You're wrong.                                TAUPIN                          You're a fool.                                BRENNA                          Maybe.    Pause.  Taupin strides through the doorway.                                TAUPIN                          Come inside.83  INT. FARMHOUSE                                                  83    Brenna and Taupin enter.  A heavy broad sword sits on the    coffee table.                                BRENNA                          Is this what you killed them with?                                TAUPIN                          You've been listening to rumors.                                BRENNA                          Our cars were seen together in                          Felton.  They're calling me an                          accessory to murder.                                TAUPIN                          You are.  Now.    Beat.  They're stuck with each other.                                TAUPIN                          There's several bedrooms down the                          hall.  Take your pick.84  INT. BEDROOM                                                    84    The room is a strange decor.  18th century paintings hang    beside grotesque medieval carvings.    Brenna's face softens with worry.  What is she doing?85  EXT. RURAL PAY PHONE - DAY                                      85    A plain-clothed POLICE OFFICER is in mid conversation.                                OFFICER                          No, that's the last place we saw                          her.  Okay, will do.    He hangs up.                                PARTNER                          Well?                                OFFICER                                (shrugs)                          We keep looking.                                PARTNER                          Wonderful.86  INT. FARMHOUSE - DAY                                            86    Taupin sits at his desk.  Before him is spread out blank birth    certificates, driver licenses and title deeds.  His eyes lift    to the corridor where Brenna is.  An idea has come to him.    Brenna enters.                                BRENNA                          What's all that?                                TAUPIN                          Richard Taupin has become                          cumbersome.  It would be best                          if he just disappeared.    Brenna walks to the window.                                BRENNA                          You did kill those men.                                TAUPIN                          Not all of them.                                BRENNA                          When you finish, what then?                                TAUPIN                          I go my way and you can write                          all you want about the big bad                          Mr. Taupin.                                BRENNA                          You make it all sound so simple.                                TAUPIN                          The only real difficulty comes                          in changing over the ownership                          of property I've aquired.  That                          requires certain records and                          most importantly a personal                          appearance at the county seat in                          Gettysburg.  But that's where                          you come in.                                BRENNA                          You want me to front for you.                                TAUPIN                          The less exposure I recieve                          around government buildings the                          better.  You, as Mrs. Taupin,                          will attract considerably less                          attention than I.    Brenna is unsure.                                TAUPIN                          Not such a bad trade.  The story                          of a lifetime for a few days                          work?87  INT. TAUPIN'S WASHINGTON TOWNHOUSE                              87    Detective Moran looks through the broken remains of the living    room.    An INSPECTOR enters.                                INSPECTOR                          They lost her outside of Thurmont.    Moran sighs and tosses a piece of wood on the pile of debris.                                MORAN                          I want people in here to check                          over every piece of this stuff.                                INSPECTOR                          Figure she's with him?                                MORAN                          Yeah.                                INSPECTOR                          We ran down that Church Hill info.                          She's right.  There is no Richard                          Taupin.                                MORAN                          Any other I.D.s come up?                                INSPECTOR                          Not yet.  Called FBI yesterday.                          Thompson's going to try CIA                          this afternoon.                                 (shrugs)                          Y'never know.    Moran rises and dons his coat.                                MORAN                          Should have seen him the first                          night.  Son of a bitch stood there                          with a quart of blood on his                          pant leg and didn't even blink.                                INSPECTOR                          You'd think he'd had practice.    Moran walks to the door.                                MORAN                          I think he has.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:88  EXT. FRENCE MILITARY CAMP - DAY                                 88    Conor, now MAJOR DUPONT of the French infantry, pours over    battle plans.    An AIDE, dressed as Conor-Dupont in 18th century European    military garb, enters the command area.                                AIDE                          The men are assembled, Major.    A GENERAL stands beside the major.                                GENERAL                          See that they are indeed ready,                          Dupont.                                DUPONT (CONOR)                          Yes General.89  EXT. PARADE GROUND - DAY                                        89    A regiment of INFANTRYMEN, pale blue coat tails tossing in    the light breeze, stand at attention.    A STAFF SARGEANT presents the men to Dupont.                                STAFF SARGEANT                          Regiment ready for review, sir.    Dupont walks past the sargeant to the line.                                DUPONT                              (to soldier)                          Stand straight, you are a soldier                          of the King.                                SOLDIER #1                          Yes sir.    Dupont continues down the line.  Another soldier's infantry    jacket is almost hilariously mis-buttoned, one collar sticking    up four inches higher than the other.    Dupont with both hands rips open the soldier's coat, spraying    brass buttons onto the ground.    He moves on.                                DUPONT                              (to soldier)                          Where is your bayonet?                                SOLIDER #3                          Lost it sir.                                DUPONT                          Where?    The soldier hedges.                                STAFF SARGEANT                          You heard the Major!  Where!                                SOLDIER #3                          Whorehouse sir.    Dupont's face softens in exasperation, then toughens.                                DUPONT                          Your rifle.  Hand it to me.    The soldier obeys.  Dupont inspects the firing mechanism.                                DUPONT                          The flint is cracked.  No spark                          will reach your powder.  You will                          die tomorrow.    He throws the rifle roughly back into the soldier's hands.                                DUPONT                          Tomorrow you go to _battle_!  And                          you look like children!                                (beat)                          The General has charged me with                          seeing that you are prepared, and                          prepared you will be!  If necessary                          you stand here all night!  Sargeant!    The sargeant leaps to attention.                                SARGEANT                          Yes sir.                                DUPONT                          See to it.                                SARGEANT                          Yes sir.    Dupont turns briskly, then stops abruptly as if alerted by some-    thing.  He whirls around and faces the young infantrymen.    His expression is quizzical as he walks the line, checking    each face carefully.    One PRIVATE seizes his attention.  The private is cautious.                                DUPONT                          Your name?                                MULET                          Mulet.    It is as if Dupont knows him.  The two stare at each other.    Dupont turns and leaves.90  INT. COTTAGE - EVENING                                          90    Inside a small farmhouse commandeered for officer's quarters,    Dupont (Conor) and several others eat their evening meal.    A CAPTAIN finishes his story.                                CAPTAIN                                (amused)                          ...And what a sight!  That old                          mare just kept falling over her                          own guts till someone finally                          shot her.    The OFFICERS LAUGH.  All but Dupont.                                MAJOR                              (beside Dupont)                          Complete your inspection?                                DUPONT                          They're nothing but boys.  It                          will be a slaughter tomorrow.                                MAJOR                                (laughs)                          I doubt much can change that.                          The enemy has five brigades                          waiting for us.                                DUPONT                          We need more time.                                MAJOR                          Won't get it.                               (shrugs)                          We are a sacrifice.  A diversion.    Dupont pokes unenthusiastically at his plate.                                MAJOR                          Eat up Dupont.  It will probably                          be your last.                                DUPONT                                (rises)                          Not likely.    Dupont goes to the window.  Dusk shines orange on his face.    In the foreground the man Dupont encountered at the line-up,    Mulet, is chopping firewood.91  EXT. COTTAGE - NIGHT                                            91    Several hours later.    Most are asleep.  Mulet continues his wood splitting.    From out of the dark cottage steps Dupont.                                DUPONT (CONOR)                          I thought I gave orders the                          regiment was to drill.                                MULET                          Staff sargeant detailed me to                          prepare firewood for the break-                          fast cooking.                                DUPONT                          What is your position?                                MULET                          Second musketeer.                                DUPONT                          I understand you joined up in                          Bremen.                                MULET                          You seem to understand a great                          deal.                                DUPONT                          I am a Major, Private.  You would                          do well remembering that when                          addressing me.                                MULET                          Excuse me, "sir".  I thought we                          spoke as equals.                                DUPONT                          Equals?                                MULET                               (shrugs)                          If you wish to play games, Major.    Mulet returns to his chore.                                DUPONT                          Wait.  I think we understand each                          other.                                MULET                          We have no understanding.                                DUPONT                          Then it is time two of us did.                          You are very young.  I was once                          young.  I can help.    Mulet LAUGHS.                                MULET                          Help?  I've seen others "help".                          Somehow a head always ended up                          on the counter.                                DUPONT                          It can be different.  It must be.                                MULET                          It never changes, Major.    Mulet turns to his chore.  Dupont grabs his arm.                                DUPONT                          We must talk.                                MULET                             (shakes him off)                          Stay out of it.                                DUPONT                                (angry)                          Don't threaten me, Private.                                MULET                                (disgust)                          Who do you think I am?  One of your                          freckle faced children waiting to                          die tomorrow?  "Threaten you"?  You                          and I just living will always be a                          threat.  Forever.  Look at your life,                          Major.  Look at mine.  Nothing there                          but threat.  Threats and nothingness.                          It's what we live for.    Mulet turns his back on Dupont.    Dupont draws his cutlass.                                DUPONT                          Do not turn your back on me.                                MULET                          You are really going to force this,                          aren't you?                                DUPONT                          Either you are with me or against me.    Mulet turns slowly, axe in hand.                                MULET                          Have I a choice?    The two stare into eyes empty of emotion.    Mulet's hand flinches.  An attack?    Dupont CUTS quickly, slicing open both of Mulet's arms.    The axe drops to the ground.    Mulet seems strangely calm.                                MULET                          You see Major?  You are not so                          different.    Dupont cuts off Mulet's head where he stands.92  EXT. CLEARING - NIGHT                                           92    Dupont drags the corpse across the meadow and dumps it into    a swamp.93  INT. CATHEDRAL - NIGHT                                          93    It is very late.  Only a few OFFICERS are seated in the pews.    Dupont tries to concentrate on prayer, but is distracted.                                MULET                             (voice flashback)                          You see Major?  You are not so                          different...                                DUPONT                          I had no choice.    Dupont sighs and looks to the altar.                                DUPONT                          Who am I deceiving?                                KNIGHT                          Certainly not me.    Dupont whirls around to see the Knight, dressed as he in uniform,    sitting one row behind.    Dupont leaps to his feet.                                KNIGHT                          You needn't look so flushed,                          Major.  You are quite safe in                          church.    Dupont eases his breathing.                                KNIGHT                          State of grace and all that.                                DUPONT                          Tradition.                                KNIGHT                          It's all we have.    Dupont has backed up a few paces.                                KNIGHT                          All this time and still a scared                          little boy.    Dupont sits down.                                DUPONT                          Not so scared.                                KNIGHT                          Perhaps not.                               (smiles)                          You seem to have misplaced a                          private.  No doubt by now his                          head is stranger to his neck.                                DUPONT                          No doubt.                                KNIGHT                          You surprise me.  Eliminating a                          rival like that.  Such are the                          actions of a man of conquest.  I                          was mistaken.  300 years have                          turned the boy's fear into ambit-                          ion.                                DUPONT                          You're wrong.                                KNIGHT                          I know you very well, Conor MacLeod.                          And I can see the truth beginning                          to make itself clear to you.  Mulet,                          Romirez, they were fools without                          vision.  It was destined that the                          board would be cleared for the real                          players.    The Knight almost seems proud of Dupont.                                DUPONT                          Romirez understood.  Not you.                                KNIGHT                          Romirez is dust.    The Knight looks to the altar.                                KNIGHT                          Finish your prayers?                                DUPONT                          Finish yours?                                KNIGHT                                (smiles)                          Our common heritage.                                (beat)                          I am your only real friend, you                          know.  The only one who truly                          understands you.                                (rises)                          I look forward to the day we                          meet again.  And I kill you.                                DUPONT                          So sure?    The Knight leans forward and puts his face very near.                                KNIGHT                          You can't stay in church forever.    The Knight moves into the aisle.                                KNIGHT                          Good night, Major.    He exits.    Conor sits in the dim church alone.  Very alone.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:94  EXT. WORSTICK CHURCH (PRESENT DAY)                              94    Richard Taupin sits against the stone of an old Catholic church.    Taupin sighs.  A long, weary sigh.95  INT. TAUPIN'S FARMHOUSE                                         95    Taupin and Brenna sit at a table working on forms.    Taupin looks up from his work and studies Brenna's face without    malice.95  EXT. CREEK - DAY                                                95    Brenna and Taupin are taking a walk along the township's    outskirts.    Crossing a small bridge over a smaller creek, they encounter    the elderly caretaker Mr. North and his eight year old GRANDSON.    Both with fishing poles.                                MR. NORTH                          Morning Mr. North                                TAUPIN                          Same.                                MR. NORTH                          Such a pretty day.  If I live                          to be 90 I'll never tire of                          mornings like this.  Mind you                          I'm 74 now.                                TAUPIN                          No.                                MR. NORTH                          Yes sir.  When you get older your                          priorities change.  It's the simple                          things that count.  Without them                          growing old can be a very lonely                          thing.                                TAUPIN                          I'm sure that's true.    The grandson is having difficulty baiting his line.  Taupin bends    down beside the young fisherman.                                TAUPIN                              (takes worm)                          Here.  The hook should go just below                          the head, where the meat is toughest.                                GRANDSON                          Thanks.    Taupin's show of affection surprises Brenna.                                TAUPIN                          Show you a trick.    Taupin takes a clump of leaves from the bridge and winds them    around the hook.                                TAUPIN                          Fish are creatures of habit.  They                          like their food where they're used                          to it.  At the top, hiding in old                          leaves.                                GRANDSON                          Where did you learn that?                                TAUPIN                          My father taught me.                                GRANDSON                          Your father must be smart.                                TAUPIN                          Yes, he was.    Brenna is touched.96  INT. TAUPIN'S FARMHOUSE - NIGHT                                 96    Brenna lies on her bed thinking.  She puts on a robe and walks    into the living room.    LIVING ROOM    Taupin sits before the fireplace, its flames reflecting on his    brandy glass.  Brenna moves quietly to a seat beside him.                                TAUPIN                            (eyes on the fireplace)                          There was a man once.  Just a simple                          woodcarver.  But he understood.  More                          than anyone he could see to the heart                          of it.                                (beat)                          It never ends.  Today is the same as                          the first.  Tomorrow will be the                          same as today.  So much time.  And all                          of it wasted.                                (beat)                          You love history?                                BRENNA                          Yes.                                TAUPIN                          I wish I could.97  INT. CITY HALL                                                  97    Brenna looks through a property zoning book.98  EXT. WORSTICK MAIN STREET - DAY                                 98    Walking past small town stores, Brenna allows herself a moment    to window shop.    IN A SHOP WINDOW    Is a small poster advertising a community get-together.  Brenna    peels it off the glass and slips it into her notebook.99  INT. TAUPIN'S FARMHOUSE                                         99    Brenna and Taupin go over various forms and documents.                                BRENNA                          The estate stuff is pretty straight                          forward.  Just lots of forms and an                          appearance at the county seat.                                TAUPIN                          It will take some time for the                          forms to clear before you go to                          Gettysburg.    Brenna is silent.                                TAUPIN                          Second thoughts?    Pause.                                BRENNA                          No.                                (beat)                          So what now?  We just wait?                                TAUPIN                          Yes.                                BRENNA                          Well, as long as we're stuck here.    She hands him the poster from earlier.                                BRENNA                          It's some sort of party the                          town is throwing.                                TAUPIN                          They do it each year.                                BRENNA                          I thought it might be a nice break                          from all of this.    Taupin stacks the documents into a folder.                                TAUPIN                          Maybe it would do us both good.                                BRENNA                          There's a catch.  You're supposed                          to wear 19th century clothing.100  INT. FARMHOUSE CELLAR                                         100     Taupin is going through an old trunk.                                TAUPIN                          My father was something of a                          junk collector.     He comes across a long period dress and offers it to Brenna.                                TAUPIN                          Here, try this.  I suppose they're                          still making women the same as back                          then.                                BRENNA                          It's beautiful.                                TAUPIN                          A little dusty.     Taupin fishes through the trunk and comes up with an old top     hat.  He turns it over in his hand with stoic memory.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:101  EXT. COLONIAL STYLE HOME - DUSK                               101     Conor and a beautiful young woman, KATHERINE, sit on the porch     steps in 1800s period dress.  Other young COUPLES relax nearby     enjoying the warm summer's twilight.  Katherine's MOTHER shuffles     between the couples offering lemonade, cakes, and the like.                                KATHERINE                          Do it again.     She is thoroughly charmed by Conor.                                CONOR                          All right.     Conor wraps a length of yarn about his fingers.  By turning his     hand over and bending his knuckles just so, the web becomes the     outline of a lion..                                CONOR                          A lion.                                (growls)     Katherine is delighted.     Conor starts to remove the yarn.  Katherine touches his arm.                                KATHERINE                          Oh please.  Another one.                                CONOR                          What would you like?                                KATHERINE                          Something pretty.                                CONOR                          Like you.     Conor cups his hands, bends his fingers, and comes up with a     four leaf clover.                                KATHERINE                          That's wonderful.  Where did you                          ever learn it?                                CONOR                          Far away.                                KATHERINE                          Kiss me.     Conor shoots a glance for the mother, then kisses Katherine     softly.                                YOUNG MAN                                (o.s.)                          You'll be leaving the girl alone.     A YOUNG MAN stands a few yards from the stairs.                                KATHERINE                          David.                                CONOR                          Do you have cause to bothering                          us?                                YOUNG MAN                          That's my girl.                                KATHERINE                          David, we've already spoken of this.                                YOUNG MAN                          He's not what he pretends to be.     Conor climbs to his feet.                                CONOR                          You best leave, son.                                YOUNG MAN                          You think you're so high and                          mighty, coming into town and                          taking a man's woman.  Well I                          know about you.  I know about                          the things you do.                                CONOR                             (moving closer)                          I said you best leave.                                YOUNG MAN                          You'd like that, wouldn't you?                              (to Katherine)                          Ask him about his friends.  The                          ones he meets in the town square.                          Ask him about the blade he keeps                          beneath his bed.     Conor grabs the youth's collar and pulls him close.                                CONOR                             (like ice)                          Leave.  While you still can.     The youth pushes away from the grasp.                                YOUNG MAN                          You don't frighten me.                                CONOR                          I should.     The young man throws a fist at Conor.  It is easily blocked.     Conor returns with a savage blow to the chest that knocks     the young man gasping onto the ground.     Katherine runs up behind and grabs Conor's outstretched arm.                                KATHERINE                          No!  Leave him.  Please don't hurt him.                          Please.     COUGHING painfully, the youth climbs to his feet and staggers     away.                                YOUNG MAN                          He's not what you think.     He turns and runs down the road.                                YOUNG MAN                          He's not what you think!     Katherine turns to Conor, his face still locked in ice.                                KATHERINE                          I don't care who you are or where                          you come from.     She hugs him tightly.                                KATHERINE                          I love you.     Conor's face softens as he brings up an arm to hold her.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:102  INT. WORSTICK TOWN HALL (PRESENT DAY)                         102     An auditorium has been transformed with colored lights and     strung paper into a small town party.     TEENAGERS in period dress control the floor, dancing to a     decidedly un-period ROCK BAND.     The OLDER GUESTS are gathered around the punch bowl talking     crops or Pennsylvania politics.     BRENNA     Fitted as well as can be expected in her lace dress, enters     with Taupin, himself dressed in a formal suit complete with cape.     His clothes fit perfectly.     Mr. North, comically dressed as a pirate, greets them.                                MR. NORTH                          Mr. Taupin!  Glad you could make it.                          Best get some punch before it's                          gone.  Near the whole valley showed                          up.     They go to the table.     Taupin pours a glass of punch.  An ELDERLY WOMAN approaches him.                                WOMAN                          If I didn't know better I'd say                          William Taupin.                                TAUPIN                          His son.  Richard.                                MR. NORTH                          Mr. Taupin is up from Washington                          to look over his father's estate.                                WOMAN                          Your father died some years ago.                          This is your first visit?     The tone is snide.                                TAUPIN                          Of sorts.                                WOMAN                          I suppose a Taupin had to show                          up eventually.                               (walks away)                                TAUPIN                          Good evening, Mrs. Butler.     She turns in surprise at his knowing her name, then walks on.                                BRENNA                          What was all that about?                                MR. NORTH                          Sorry Mr. Taupin.  That's not meant                          for you.  Just some didn't take                          much to your father.                                BRENNA                          Why?                                TAUPIN                          My father was never one for social                          whirls.                                MR. TAUPIN                          Kept to himself for sure.  Then with                          all that business in '31.                                BRENNA                          What business?                                MR. NORTH                          Family down the road from the                          Taupin place was murdered.  All                          cut up they were.  Horrible.  Two                          strangers were also found with                          the bodies.  No one ever accused                          William, but with his reputation                          as a loner and the rumors about                          him and some of the wives in town,                          folks just never forgot.  Most                          were relieved when they heard he'd                          died.  Sorry Mr. Taupin.                                TAUPIN                          Nothing to be sorry about.                                MR. NORTH                          Just your pappy scared some.     The rock band finished as a PORTLY MAN in a union soldier's     uniform takes the microphone.                                PORTLY                          All right, the kids have had their                          fun.  Now it's time for a little                          more traditional dancing.     The rock band gives ground to a group of older MUSICIANS.  With     a nod from the union soldier they begin a folk tune with fiddles     and hammer dulcimer.     The costumed guests take to the floor.                                BRENNA                          I don't know any of these.  I'll                          make a fool of myself.                                TAUPIN                          Follow me.     Taupin starts into it with perfect grace.  A faltering Brenna     tries to keep up.                                BRENNA                          William Taupin seems to have left                          his mark.                                TAUPIN                          Yes.                                BRENNA                          And you are William                          Taupin, aren't you?                                TAUPIN                          Yes.     They do a final turn and finish.  The other DANCERS applaud.                                BRENNA                          You're using your son's                          name.                                TAUPIN                          No.  Just the child of                          some lonely girl I gave                          a ride to.  When they                          died I put them in a                          grave with my name on it.                          Twenty years later I                          became the son.     Brenna is staring at him.                                TAUPIN                          More punch?     He leads her to a table.                                BRENNA                          Then you must be at least                          70 years old.                                TAUPIN                          At least.                                BRENNA                          That's impossible.     Several of the ELDERLY WOMEN are watching Taupin from across     the room.103  EXT. BUS STATION - NIGHT                                      103     A bus with "Gettysburg" across the front pulls to a stop at     a dark terminal.  A lone passenger steps off into the mist.     It is the Knight, bound up in a leather jacket and carrying     only a long, narrow case.104  EXT. - NIGHT                                                  104     Brenna and Taupin walk alone in the night outside the hall.                                BRENNA                          It's frightening sometimes the                          way you talk about other people's                          lives.                                TAUPIN                          A factor of age.                                BRENNA                          I hope I never get that old.                                TAUPIN                          You won't.     Brenna pulls away.                                BRENNA                          I must be insane.  Leaving work,                          ditching cops.  All to follow a                          murderer.  A very old murderer,                          but a murderer just the same.                                TAUPIN                          Why are you here?                                BRENNA                          I've been telling myself it's the                          award winning journal article I'm                          going to write.  But it's not.                              (looks at him squarely)                          It's you.                                TAUPIN                          I see.                                BRENNA                          I'm not even sure why.                                TAUPIN                          Hardly a reason to run off with                          a murderer.                                BRENNA                          My life has been chock full of                          people with complications and weak-                          nesses.  I can't stand it.  But                          you're different.  It's in your                          hands.  A clarity.                                TAUPIN                          You are a very perceptive young                          woman.                                BRENNA                          Just a little crazy.     A thoughtful pause.                                TAUPIN                          Miss Cartwright, it's time I                          showed you something.105  INT. FARMHOUSE CELLAR                                         105     Taupin and Brenna descend the stairs to a seemingly flush wall.     Taupin reaches behind a bookcase and pulls something.  A press     from his hand and the wall becomes a doorway.                                TAUPIN                              (gestures to interior)                          Miss Cartwright?     Brenna steps uneasily into the darkness.  Taupin follows and     switches on the light.106  INT. HIDDEN ROOM                                              106     Brenna's expression changes to awe.     The room is massive, a cross between a museum and an old attic.     Suits of armor, Italian statuettes, Czech ironworks, Persian     fetishes and a thousand other oddities from a hundred eras     crowd the shelving and floor space.     The room has the look of ownership, as if civilization had     taken the time to keep a scrapbook.                                BRENNA                          My God.     The sight is overwhelming.                                TAUPIN                          I had this room built some                          time ago.     Brenna picks up a Carolingian tapestry and runs her hand along     its intricate weaving.                                BRENNA                          Who are you?                                TAUPIN                          That would be difficult to explain.                                BRENNA                          I'd like you to try.     Taupin picks up a Byzantine icon, brushing the dust from its     shoulders.                                TAUPIN                          I was born Conor MacLeod in the                          village of Ardvrek on the High-                          land plain of Strathnaver in the                          clan of MacLeod under the King                          of Scotland.  On the eleventh of                          December, 1408.     He replaces the icon.                                TAUPIN                          I have served in the armies of                          twelve nations, married nine                          women, fathered thirty-eight                          children and buried them all.     Taupin walks along the cases.                                TAUPIN                          I carried that rifle in World                          War I.  This book is a 16th Century                          policy report for the King of                          Austria.  The diploma is my con-                          ference of degree in Latin from                          Trinity College.  Class of 1672.                                 (beat)                          It goes on.                                BRENNA                          That's why Smith called you                          MacLeod.                                TAUPIN                          Yes.                                BRENNA                          He knows about you.                                TAUPIN                          He is older than I.                                BRENNA                          What could possibly be worth all                          this murder and distruction.                                TAUPIN                          Sometimes I think it's just for                          something to do.  A conquest to                          be the last.  Something to hold                          onto while everything else around                          you withers and blows away.  Some-                          thing to replace the love that can                          never work.                                BRENNA                          That's insane.                                TAUPIN                          Perhaps.  There is something more.                          An inheritance.                                BRENNA                          Of bodies.                                TAUPIN                          I didn't kill the watchman.                                BRENNA                          You killed those other two.                                TAUPIN                          Not the same.                                BRENNA                          What about that family in '31?                                TAUPIN                          Sometimes innocents become involved.                                BRENNA                          You and your buddy make a real                          team, don't you?  Exchanging                          eloquent threats in iambic pen-                          tameter while hacking up all                          the innocents in between.                                TAUPIN                          There are differences.                                BRENNA                          You kill with your left hand?                                TAUPIN                          I haven't killed _you_.                                BRENNA                          Is that a threat?     Taupin moves very close.                                TAUPIN                          No.     Brenna's face softens.  She turns away.                                BRENNA                          Don't.                                TAUPIN                          Come here, Brenna.                                BRENNA                          Damn you.     He kisses her.                                                        DISSOLVE TO:107  EXT. TURN OF THE CENTURY CEMETARY - DAY                       107     RELATIVES in period dress watch as a family member is lowered     into the ground.     A very OLD WOMAN stands stoically, supported on both sides by     her middle aged SONS.                                MINISTER                          May God commend into his kingdom                          the soul of our dear departed                          Jason, son of Katherine-     The old woman.                                MINISTER                          And brother to Howard and James-     The two middle aged sons.     CONOR     Watches the funeral quietly at a distance.     THE OLD WOMAN     As the minister continues allows her gaze to wander.  She sees     Conor standing at the treeline.  Her eyes crinkle in disbelief.     Releasing herself from her sons, she hobbles toward Conor.     Confused, the brothers watch their mother leave the ceremony.     CONOR     Watches the woman approach but decides against moving.     She stops a few paces away and looks over him.                                OLD WOMAN                          You.                                CONOR                          Katherine.                                OLD WOMAN                          What are you doing here?                                CONOR                          I owe him this.                                OLD WOMAN                          He never knew you.     The two sons come up behind.  The three stand there: an old     woman who could be 60 years Conor's senior and her two sons     old enough to be his father.                                SON #1                          Is something wrong, Mother?                                OLD WOMAN                          Howard.  James.  This is your                          father...                                                        DISSOLVE TO:108  INT. BEDROOM                                                  108     Taupin and Brenna lie together.     Running her hands along the contours of his body she sees the     countless faint scars of bullet and sword wounds.     Taupin strokes her softly.                                TAUPIN                          "Brenna".  In Celtic is means                          "woman with raven hair".  Only                          chieftan's daughters were allowed                          it.     Brenna is lost in Taupin's scars.                                BRENNA                          What is it like?  Being you?                                TAUPIN                          Empty.  And fear.  Fear of those that                          would kill you and fear of those that                          would love you.  It can never last, and                          in the end you always end up destroying                          both.                                BRENNA                          But you're known so much.                          History I'll only read about.                                TAUPIN                          It's all the same.  Half lives that                          never go away.                                BRENNA                          What is it you want?                                TAUPIN                          All of it finished.109  EXT. FARMHOUSE - MORNING                                      109     Taupin and Brenna stand beside her car.  She has an armload     of documents.                                TAUPIN                          Gettysburg's an hour's drive                          at most.  You should be back                          by nightfall.                                BRENNA                          Will I see you again?                                TAUPIN                          Be careful.  Don't stay any                          longer than you have to.     Pause.  Brenna considers touching him but instead climbs briskly     into the car.                                TAUPIN                          Good luck.110  EXT. POLICE DEPARTMENT PARKING LOT - DAY                      110     Detective Moran and his Inspector walk among parked squad cars.                                MORAN                          Are you sure?                                INSPECTOR                          Won't know till the                          records department comes                          back with it this after-                          noon.  Looks good though.                          They found the receipt                          in his townhouse.  It was                          pretty smeared but had                          Taupin's father listed                          as a signatory.                                MORAN                          Round up who you can                          and put them on standby.                                INSPECTOR                          Think we should call the                          local P.D. out there                          first?                                MORAN                          No.  I want this to be                          all ours.111  INT. COUNTY RECORDS OFFICE                                    111     Brenna is standing at a counter signing the last of a stack.                                CLERK                          O.K. Mrs. Taupin, that's                          all I need.     The clerk fills out a small sheet and hands it to her.                                CLERK                          Just take this down                          the hall to the regis-                          trar.  Hurry up though,                          it's near closing time.                          Most everyone's gone                          home already.     A pair of Levis follow Brenna at a distance down the corridor.112  INT. REGISTRAR'S OFFICE                                       112     Sealed from the corridor by a pair of doors, two CLERKS     sit in an office mostly cleared of employees.     Brenna hands the slip to a clerk.                                CLERK #2                          I'll be right back.     She disappears into the rear area.                                BRENNA                             (to other clerk)                          Do you have a drinking                          fountain?                                CLERK #3                          Around the corner.     Brenna steps around and takes a drink.  She looks into her     reflection on the stainless steel and spends a moment fiddling     with her hair.     THE CLERK     Still hasn't returned.  Brenna drums her fingers on the     counter top and looks around the office.     The second clerk is also gone.     Brenna sees something unfamiliar on the second clerk's desk.     She steps over to it.     It is a large blood stain.     Brenna shoots a glance to the double doors.     They're closed.     Brenna rushes to the doors.  Someone's locked them.     She struggles with the handles, then turns to see the Knight     walking to her with his stained sword.     With a SCREAM she kicks a rolling office chair into him and     runs down an opposite corridor.     THE KNIGHT     Flings the chair aside and knocks open the door with a SLAM     of his palm.     BRENNA     Has run out of corridor.  She looks back at the Knight closing     the distance.  CRYING in fear, she frantically searches for     a way out.     The Knight is nearly upon her.     In desperation she runs into a janitorial closet, closing     its heavy door.     THE CLOSET     Is dark and full of old paint cans and mops.  Her BREATHING     is at a PANIC.     THE KNIGHT     Tries the door handle.     Stepping back, he lifts his sword and HAMMERS it deep into     the wood.                                BRENNA                                (crying)                          Oh God...     He STRIKES again.  And again.  Splinters smack against surround-     ing walls.                                BRENNA                          Go away!  Oh God, go                          away!     CRYING hysterically, Brenna presses herself against the far     wall, sliding to the floor in a crouch.     THE KNIGHT     Steps back and gives the door a last two-fisted swing.     Brenna SCREAMS.     The door collapses.113  EXT. HIGHWAY - EVENING                                        113     A group of unmarked police cars race by with the last light     of day.114  INT. CAR                                                      114     At the wheel is Moran's assistant, the inspector.114  INT. HOME - NIGHT                                             114     Taupin stands at his fireplace, the only light in the room,     poking at it with a tong.     His gaze goes to a mantle clock.     It is 10:30 PM.     The phone RINGS.     He looks to it.     It RINGS again.     He picks up the receiver slowly and places it against his ear.                                KNIGHT'S VOICE                          We have some unfinished                          business.                                TAUPIN                          Are you here?                                KNIGHT'S VOICE                          I want you to come to                          me.                                TAUPIN                          And if I refuse?                                KNIGHT'S VOICE                          Give me an address where                          I can forward Miss Cart-                          wright's head.     This affects him.                                KNIGHT'S VOICE                          Yes laddie, I have her.                                TAUPIN                          Should I care?                                KNIGHT                          You have three hours.115  EXT. RURAL ROAD - NIGHT                                       115     The unmarked cars shoot by.116  INT. HOME                                                     116     Taupin hangs up the phone.     He looks to the sword on the table, reflecting the firelight.117  EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT                                        117     POLICE OFFICERS, placed around Taupin's house, are COCKING     shotguns and CHAMBERING pistols.     Two officers take positions on either side of the door.  A     third, after getting the signal, kicks the door open.118  INT. FARMHOUSE                                                118     The officers drop to firing positions in the doorway.  The     room is empty.119  INT. FARMHOUSE BEDROOM                                        119     An officer BURSTS in.  It's empty.120  INT. MAIN ROOM                                                120     The Inspector is on the phone.                                INSPECTOR                          He's not here.121  EXT. THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL - NIGHT                           121     Spotlights seperate the whitemarble from the surrounding     blackness.     Taupin's face moves into frame.122  EXT. MONUMENT STAIRS - NIGHT                                  122     Sword firmly in one hand, Taupin climb's the monument's steps.123  INT. JEFFERSON MEMORIAL - NIGHT                               123     A twenty-five foot bronze of Thomas Jefferson flanked by his     quotations.     A sword in one hand and Brenna in the other, the Knight stands     at the statue's base.                                KNIGHT                          Welcome.     Taupin stands at the entrance.                                KNIGHT                          Kahn sends his best.     In a corner the Asian's head lies on its side, the horror of     death still pressed into the face.  Taupin's eyes return slowly     to the Knight and Brenna.                                TAUPIN                          Let her go.    The Knight throws Brenna roughly against a wall.                                KNIGHT                          You disappoint me.                             (looks at Brenna)                          I thought you'd finally gotten over                          that sort of thing.                                TAUPIN                          Leave her out of this.                                KNIGHT                          As you wish.    The Knight holds his sword out at a ceremonial angle.  Taupin    does the same.  The weapons are CLANKED together twice, then    pulled back into battle position.    The two begin walking a circle, poised swords waiting for an    opening.    The Knight leaps first, his clash of steel RINGING off the high    walls.    Another ATTACK without result.                                KNIGHT                          You can do better than that.    Taupin swings.  The Knight jumps back.  Sweat gleams from their    brows.124 EXT. JEFFERSON MEMORIAL - NIGHT                                124    Two LOVERS enjoy a late night walk along the tidal basin.    There is a distant CLANKING of metal.                                BOY                          It's from over near the memorial.    He jumps up on a rock.  Several yards away can be seen two figures    attacking each other.                                BOY                          Shit.125 INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - NIGHT                                 125    Standing at a map of the city, Moran nurses a cup of coffee.    The phone RINGS.                                MORAN                          Moran.  All right, get a patrol                          unit out there right away.  I'll                          meet them.126 INT. JEFFERSON MEMORIAL - NIGHT                                126    The Knight and Taupin are PANTING heavily.    The Knight goes low.  Taupin blocks.  The Knight comes overhead    quickly.  Taupin misjudges and the blade slices deep into his    shoulder and chest.  The impact knocks him flat on his back.    The Knight looks down on his wounded prey.    A SCREECH of brakes from outside the monument.  Two OFFICERS    are coming up the steps.                                KNIGHT                          No.  Not now.127 EXT. MEMORIAL - NIGHT                                          127    The officers reach the top and enter.    INSIDE    One of the officers is Dennis, who sees only a CRYING Brenna    and Taupin lying wounded on the floor.                                DENNIS                          Brenna?    The Knight rushes up from behind, his sword in full swing.128 EXT. INTERSECTION - NIGHT                                      128    Moran's car blows through a cross street.129 INT. CAR                                                       129    Moran is at the wheel.130 INT. MEMORIAL - NIGHT                                          130    The Knight walks from the two officers spread out like rag    dolls on the floor.                                KNIGHT                              (to Taupin)                          Get up.    Taupin looks at Brenna and the dead policemen.  A resignation    sweeps over him.                                TAUPIN                          What's the point?                                KNIGHT                          This isn't done.  Get up.                                TAUPIN                          What's the point!  You have me,                          finish it!                                KNIGHT                          I have waited forever for this.                          You will not cheapen it, little                          boy.                                TAUPIN                                (irony)                          Tradition.                                KNIGHT                          It's all we have.                                TAUPIN                          Go to hell.    The Knight looks to Brenna.                                KNIGHT                          Perhaps Miss Cartwright would like                          to play.                                TAUPIN                          Leave her alone.                                KNIGHT                          Get up.    Taupin struggles to his feet.  Blood pouring from his shirt, he    stands uneasily with his sword at ready.    The Knight swings.  Taupin blocks.131 EXT. MEMORIAL - NIGHT                                          131    Moran drives up.  There is an empty police car, the door still    ajar.132 INT. MEMORIAL - NIGHT                                          132    Taupin is badly outclassed.    He feebly fends off an attack, but the Knight returns quickly    with a savage SLICE that rips open Taupin's stomach and throws    him again to the floor.                                BRENNA                          You bastard!                                KNIGHT                          Be silent.                                BRENNA                          Leave him alone.                                KNIGHT                          You will be silent!!    The voice is THUNDERING.    Taupin kneels with his forehead pressed against the floor.  His    teeth grind in pain.    The Knight smiles.                                KNIGHT                          I do hope you're enjoying this                          as much as me.    MORAN    Stands in the entryway.  The Knight sees him.                                KNIGHT                          Get out.    Moran draws his pistol.    The Knight walks toward him,                                KNIGHT                          This is nothing that concerns you.    Moran levels his gun.    The Knight raises his sword.                                KNIGHT                          You will leave!    Two EXPLOSIONS as Moran FIRES.  The slugs slam into the Knight,    blowing him off his feet.    He lies still.    Moran looks to Brenna.  To Taupin.  Then he walks closer to the    Knight.                                TAUPIN                               (hoarse)                          Don't.    Taupin curls in a spasm of pain.    Moran moves closer.    The Knight lies face down, blood oozing from exit wounds over    his heart.  He isn't breathing.    Moran bends over slowly to see the Knight's face.                                TAUPIN                          Stop.  You don't understand.    The Knight suddenly rolls over and plants his sword into Moran's    chest.  The pistol DISCHARGES against a far wall.    Taupin crawls for the Knight.    Moran's mouth opens but no sound escapes.  The Knight, blood    pouring from his mouth and nose, thrusts deeper then retracts    quickly.    Moran slides off the sword dead.    Taupin CUTS hard against the Knight's chest.  The Knight GAGS    in surprise and crumples.  Taupin CUTS again, then puts the    blade against the Knight's GURGLING throat.                                TAUPIN                          In mamus tuas Domine commendo                          spiritum meum.  Auditorium nostrum                          in nomine Domine.    He raises the sword.                                TAUPIN                          Requiescant in pace.    And CUTS the Knight's head off.    Taupin drops his sword.    His breathing quickens.    A sensation sweeps over him.    Taupin drops to the floor WHIMPERING.  He sucks in painful gulps    of air.                                BRENNA                          My God.    Taupin bolts up and looks at her without seeing.                                BRENNA                          Conor.    Taupin is looking past her.    A blood-stained hand suddenly GRABS Brenna's shoulder.  She    SCREAMS.  The headless body of the Knight stands beside her.    THE KNIGHT'S HEAD    Lies on the floor.    The eyes open.  The face pulls into a smile.                                KNIGHT                          And now you know.    The eyes roll up into the skull.  The face slackens.    The hulking mass standing beside Brenna sways, the collapses    to the ground.    TAUPIN    Is CRYING.  Not from wounds he no longer feels, but from something    else.                                BRENNA                          What's wrong?                                TAUPIN                          I can't stand it.  Oh God, I can't                          stand it!    Brenna kneels beside him.                                TAUPIN                          The scream of your blood.  The                          shriek of trees.  Stop it!  Stop it!    Brenna SOBS.                                BRENNA                          What is it?                                TAUPIN                          I'm the last.  Oh Christ, I'm the                          _last one_!    Taupin doubles over in pain.  The pain of the whole world trying    to force itself into him.    Brenna tries to hold him.  He pushes her savagely away.                                TAUPIN                          Get out.                                BRENNA                          No!                                TAUPIN                          I'll destroy you.  I've destroyed                          everything I've ever touched!  Oh                          God...    He doubles over in pain.                                BRENNA                          Conor...    He grabs his sword and threatens her.                                TAUPIN                          _Get out_!    SOBBING, Brenna runs from the memorial.  Taupin is alone.    Bleeding.  Crying.  In agony.    FADE OUT    FADE UP:133 INT. SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM                                        133    Brenna at work in the research area.  She's silent.  Distant.    Something is missing from her.134 EXT. GEORGETOWN STREET - DAY                                   134    Brenna stands in the street before Taupin's townhouse.    A boarded up window.  A for-sale sign.  Taupin is gone forever.    As if he never was.135 INT. BRENNA'S APARTMENT                                        135    A desk.  A single light.  A cup of coffee.    A typewriter.    Brenna tries to force thoughts to the surface.  CLACK-CLACK.    It is at last her journal article.  She types a line, then rips    it from the carriage and tears it to pieces.    The thoughts won't come.136 EXT. WASHINGTON MALL - DAY                                     136    Brenna sits on the expanse of grass throwing scraps to a group    of wild park cats.    A shadow covers her face.  She looks up.    It is Taupin.    Something has changed him.  His face is less cynical.  More    vulnerable.  More human.    He sits down on the grass beside her.                                BRENNA                             (after a moment)                          What are we supposed to say?    The cat's eyes are all fixed in Taupin.  They cautiously shrink    away, frightened.                                TAUPIN                          The emptyness.  The years and years                          of void.  Nothingness.  Bordered only                          by the quest for ultimate nothingness.                          Who would have guessed?                                BRENNA                          The inheritance.                                TAUPIN                          Not power.  Not control.    Taupin holds a blade of grass as if it was speaking to him.                                TAUPIN                          Life.  It is the gift and the under-                          standing of life.                                BRENNA                          You have lived forever.                                TAUPIN                          Life is only life when it is bounded                          by death.  The inheritance is death.                          The gift is the finality of life.                          To be part of the fabric.  The inside.                              (turns to Brenna)                          I love you Brenna.    Brenna's chin quivers.                                TAUPIN                          It will be horrible.  The future.  I                          may die tomorrow or 10,000 tomorrows.                          I can promise you nothing.  Nothing                          but a moment.  Maybe two.  But a moment                          of love, is that not worth a lifetime?                                BRENNA                               (crying)                          Yes.    He holds her.  They hold each other.                                TAUPIN                          It's taken me so long.  So very                          long.    A jogger runs by, unaware of any life but his own.    FADE OUT    _END_	
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+The Horse Whisperer Screenplay by Eric Roth Revised by Richard LaGravenese Screenplay by Erich Roth Based on the Novel by Nicholas Evans Revised by Richard LaGravenese Second Draft 1/21/97 FADE IN: A DREAM: INT. STABLES; PILGRIM'S STALL - MORNING Sunlit illuminates the darkened stable, highlighting the contours of a magnificent HORSE (PILGRIM) in surreal, dream- like imagery: his legs, his muscles, his sheen, his mane... his eyes. He shakes his head and stamps his feet. He seems confined. Eager to run. INT. STABLES - MORNING Pilgrim bursts through the stall and runs out the stables into a blinding white morning. EXT. AN OPEN FIELD LEADING TO WOODS - BRIGHT MORNING Whiteness. Snow and sky without any discernible line between. Camera is POV, as if on the horse, riding through the whiteness. Snow kicks up from the side. We hear the breathing of the horse. As we travel on hills, through trees, we experience of sense of wild, exhilarating freedom. We hear the giggles of a GIRL (GRACE) on the horse. An occasional line; GRACE (O.S.) Yeah, fly boy... that's it... go... go... go... END OF DREAM as we CUT TO: INT. GRACE'S BEDROOM - MORNING Grace awakens, calmly. Takes a breath. Slides out of bed and stands before a window, overlooking a beautiful Connecticut country house. We see a snow-covered field and distant woods. Grace presses her faces against the cold, frosted window eager to get out. INT. MACLEAN NEW YORK APARTMENT - MORNING Alarm rings, ANNIE MACLEAN awakens. She shuts the alarm and scoots up in bed. She waits. Seconds later the television across the foot of her bed turns on from a timer -- to a CNN 24 NEWS channel. INT. HALLWAY/ANNIE & ROBERT'S BEDROOM - MORNING Grace, fully dressed except for her boots, tiptoes past a partially opened bedroom door. Her father ROBERT is asleep, alone, on his huge king size bed. INT. MACLEAN FARMHOUSE KITCHEN - MORNING Grace is putting on her boots on a bench beside a back door. She is wearing her mother's outfit. As she slides the boot on, we see behind her a row of framed photos -- Robert, Grace and Annie in happy times. She slaps a note on the refrigerator, with a magnet -- "Gone riding. Back around 10. Love, G." EXT. MACLEAN FARMHOUSE, BACK ENTRANCE - MORNING Grace slips on her jacket and hat as she comes down the steps, her feet hitting the walk... EXT. CENTRAL PARK - MORNING Annie's feet hit the ground, running -- her breath showing in the cold air. She passes other joggers with ease. She crosses the street and heads for an elegant CPW building. INT. MACLEAN'S NEW YORK APARTMENT - MORNING Dressed in running clothes, Annie opens the door and picks up several newspapers that were delivered. She carries them into the kitchen and sets them beside a huge stack of publications, magazines, papers, etc... Knowing she must read all of them at some point, she breathes a disgusted sign. She thumbs through the POST as she pours herself a cup of coffee. Something catches her eyes and she snarls: ANNIE That little shit! She dials a portable phone and moves through the apartment as she talks: ANNIE Hi Lucy?... Did I wake you?... Have you read the Post?... They've got a little item about me and Fiske. He's saying I fired him and that I faked the new circulation figures.. Ha, ha... Oh, please... It's the last act of a desperate gnome... Set up a phone call with Don Farlow for 9:30... Throughout the phone call, Annie is selecting clothes, turning on the shower, undressing... EXT. DYER HORSE FARM - MORNING The snow has stopped falling. Grace walks along a hill, hands in pocket. Spread out on the landscape are horses, on a horse farm, standing like statues in the white covered fields. As Grace comes along the hill, we see another GIRL (JUDITH) coming from the opposite direction. She doesn't have Grace's lean elegance but her warm, friendly smile brightens her face. Upon reaching her, Grace returns the smile with a hug. JUDITH It's warmer than I thought. GRACE You want to go to a movie tonight? JUDITH I thought your mom's coming up? GRACE (prickly) So? Judith immediately senses a problem so she continues casually, as they begin walking away from Camera... JUDITH My parents are having friends from college over. They're really nice... They have this gorgeous son who wants to be a forest ranger. GRACE Can I come? I'll start a fire... Judith laughs as they continue talking, their voices trailing off, as the girls head for the stables. INT. STABLES, THE DYER HORSE FARM - MORNING There are several horses in their stalls. Grace and Judith enter, talking, carrying their English saddles. Judith stops at a stall, disappearing into it as she says "Hello?"..., Grace continues to the end stall. Pilgrim (the horse from the dream) stands looking at her. GRACE Hello, beautiful boy. He's a massive figure beside her but she shows no inhibition. She enters, touching his muzzle. He plays with her by nudging her back. GRACE Stop... Will you stop! EXT. DYER HORSE FARM - MORNING They lead their horses, now saddled and ready, from the barn. Pilgrim tosses his head, prancing, playing with the snow. GRACE Show-off. The girls mount the horses and ride off together. INT. ANNIE'S MAGAZINE OFFICE - MID-MORNING Annie, casually dressed, enters the empty offices of her magazine. She turns on the light, revealing a large row of stalls and glassed in private offices. Everywhere we look, we see indications of the kind of magazine she edits. She strolls to her office -- the largest -- surrounded by windows. The office walls are covered with photos, most of which are COVER STORIES ON ANNIE. (One photo is of Annie's father MARTIN. A BRITISH AMBASSADOR with his young daughter on his lap, her arms affectionately around his neck. Her mother stands right behind them, posing like a member of the royal family.) Annie sits and takes a breath. The only photo on her desk is a family portrait, taken when Annie was given the Crystal Award -- Robert, Grace, herself and the Award. She checks her watch -- it is almost 9:30. INT. MACLEAN FARMHOUSE, MASTER BEDROOM/CLOSET - MID-MORNING A WALK-IN CLOSET of the master bedroom; one side is Annie's, one side is Robert's. Robert stands before his bureau in the closet -- he has just showered and is putting on his watch and ring which lay beside his cologne assortment. A FRAMED PHOTO OF HE AND ANNIE in India -- younger, vibrant, in love... when they first met. THE PHONE RINGS. Robert enters into the bedroom to pick up. ROBERT Hello? INSERT ANNIE: They speak in dulled, emotionless voices: ANNIE It's me. ROBERT Hi. ANNIE Hi. Awkward pause. ROBERT So, what, uh, what train are you taking? ANNIE I should be in by two. ROBERT Okay. You want me to pick you up? ANNIE Sure... What's Grace up to? ROBERT Riding with Judith. Beat. ANNIE I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have brought it up over the phone. ROBERT That's okay. We have to talk about it and we're not always in the same place ... so... I just have to get used to it. (beat) What do you want to do about dinner? ANNIE I don't know. We'll figure it out. Pause. There is a lot unspoken but understood between them. Annie's other phone line rings. Robert hears it as well. ROBERT Okay. We'll see you later then. ANNIE Yeah. Bye. Annie picks up the other line and her manner brightens, her energy boosts... ANNIE DON! My love, how are you? Did you hear about Fiske?... No, suing is too civilized. Can't we get your friend at Le Cirque to serve him a fatal piece of poached salmon?... Ha, ha... That's even better... EXT. CONNECTICUT COUNTRYSIDE - MORNING Long Shot of the girls riding at an easy pacing, talking all the time. Grace is an elegant rider, quite self-assured for a 13-year-old... We come into the scene at the moment the girls have just shared a secret or a fantasy. Judith is giggling uncontrollably. Grace laughs as she says: GRACE ...Oh, come on! You think the same thing! JUDITH I just could never say it! They stop at the end of the field, facing the woods. GRACE Do you want to go around by the old road? JUDITH Why don't we just cut through the woods? Grace nods. They ride into the woods, continuing their talk. EXT. WOODS - MORNING The girls ride down, along a stand of hickories and poplars to a RIVER. They stop the horses and their conversation, to listen to the sound of the water. Below them, off in the distance, they can just make out a two-lane country road. GRACE You want to go down or stay along the river? JUDITH We already did the river. Let's go down and across the old bridge. We can circle back. They begin to make their way. INT. ANNIE'S OFFICE - MORNING Annie's office is now crowded with a dozen or so employees; sitting on the couch, on the window sills, on the arms of chairs, against the walls... Paper bag emptied of bagels, cream cheese, orange juice, paper plates... Hand Held Camera captures the energy of the room as it follows overlapping lines, laughter, etc... yet, no matter how casual it all seems, Annie is very much at the center of control... We enter the scene of LAUGHTER, as Annie asks KEVIN, a feature writer: ANNIE ... So what did you say to her? KEVIN I said, thank you very much... (LAUGHTER, AD LIBS) I really should do the interview... But perhaps if you'd like to have dinner... LAUGHTER... Everyone starts Ad Libbing... VARIOUS CHARACTERS Dinner!!... He's so cute.... Why don't I get those kind of interviews?... Look, he has husband number eight written on his forehead... ANNIE All right, all right, all right... Kevin, good job. Write the interview. If I don't like it, you may have to sleep with her for a follow-up! (laughter) Now... I'm thinking about another fashion designer spread... Who's news out there? Characters shout out designer names and comments as the phone rings and LUCY picks up... speaking amdist the talking... LUCY Hold on. (presses hold) Gottschalk. The room goes dead quiet, instantly. Then erupts in laughter as everyone realizes it. Annie, however, waves her hand as she takes the phone... ANNIE Quiet... Quiet! Everyone obeys. Annie presses SPEAKER PHONE. ANNIE David? DAVID GOTTSCHALK (VO) Who's there? ANNIE Everyone. Working overtime. Just for you. DAVID GOTTSCHALK (VO) Did you speak to Farlow? ANNIE Yes. We're suing. DAVID GOTTSCHALK (VO) Is that absolutely necessary? It'll just make it a bigger story. ANNIE David, he signed an agreement that he wouldn't talk to the press and he's libeled me by saying I faked the figures. You're not going soft on me, are you? Silence. Gottschalk doesn't immediately respond. Everyone waits. Covert looks between characters suggest this is interesting -- has Annie over-stepped her bounds with the magazine's owner? Annie waits without a shred of anxiety -- even though she might have some. Finally: DAVID GOTTSCHALK (VO) Well, I suppose we could use another good public feud... ANNIE Exactly... Everyone silently acknowledges Annie guts and influence. EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - MORNING It's perfectly still. We are looking down an empty TWO-LANE ROAD covered with fresh snow. We see the girls slowly riding out of the woods, talking. They cross the road and start up into the woods on the other side... They are trying to sing a LIZ PHAIR song, "CHOPSTICKS" GRACE/JUDITH (singing) "I met him at a party and he told me how he like to drive me home... He said he liked to do it backwards..." GRACE (singing) "... I said it--" JUDITH (singing) "... and I said that"... GRACE (stops singing) No, wait, it just goes... "he said he liked to do-"... Suddenly there's the SOUND OF THE METAL OF JUDITH'S HORSE scraping on some sheer ice hidden under the soft snow. Judith notices first... JUDITH What was -- The horse staggers... Judith looks to Grace -- JUDITH Grace! The horse tries to find tracing with his hindfeet, kicking up sprays of snow and ice shards. The horse suddenly falls on the ice and goes down hard on its knees... GRACE JUDITH! The horse stumbles to get back on its feet, slipping again. Frightened, it rears and Judith, caught off balance, is thrown, her foot catching in the stirrup... JUDITH GRAAACE! Her horse, unable to find its balance, starts to slide backward down the incline. GRACE PILGRIM, COME ON! MOVE! Grace, directly behind Judith, tries to turn Pilgrim to avoid being hit by the errant horse. What follows, we see from Grace's perspective. The details that form the images and sounds of Grace's mind are fast, disembodies, almost surreal as -- Judith's horse bulldozes into Pilgrim, taking his legs out from under him, sending both horses careening down the icy slope. Grace hangs onto Pilgrim's neck. Judith, her leg helplessly tangled in the stirrup, is dragged, her head bouncing on the frozen ground. They slide all the way back down to the COUNTRY ROAD. Pilgrim is the first to find his legs and stand. Grace manages to sit up in the saddle. She sees Judith's horse stumbling back onto its feet, one of his legs broken at the ankles, walking in confused circles, dragging Judith -- her face bleeding, her leg hanging from the stirrup. GRACE (frightened) Jude, you okay? JUDITH (softly, crying) I'm okay... I'm okay. She tries to extricate her leg from the stirrup. Grace sees it before she hears it. A GLINT off of steel. We then hear the rumbling SOUND of a TRUCK coming around the bend... The Girls on their horses in the middle of the road... The Truck, an 18 wheeler carrying logging equipment, comes around the turn... Grace grabs the bridle, trying to get Judith's horse out of the road... The driver, seeing them, lays on the air horn. The Horses bolt at the sound, the bridle slipping out of Grace's hand... GRACE JUUDE!!! ... The horses turn apart. The Driver starts furiously downshifting, trying to brake... He seems to get it under control when suddenly THE TRUCK SKIDS on some ice. It begins to slide, out of control, the truck bed and the cab jack- knifing. The truck literally plows over the helpless Judith and her horse -- the horse going down on the pavement, Judith disappearing under him. The truck's cab, like a mythic monster, heads right for Grace and Pilgrim... Grace looks right into the Driver's helpless, frightened eyes... Suddenly, Pilgrim rears up at the truck, sending Grace flying, bouncing her off the pavement and under the wheel of the truck. Pilgrim instinctively jumps onto the hood of the truck, his hooves caught between the rear-view mirrors like some grotesque ornament. His head and chest slams into the window, shattering through the glass. And then it is still. The truck has stopped halfway in the road. Judith's horse lies in the road, motionless. Pilgrim, on the truck's hood, his legs splayed, stuck, his head and chest, bleeding. He shrieks, struggling to get to his feet. He manages to free his legs and, stepping off the cab onto the road, walks off, wounded, in pain, into the sanctuary of the woods... The Driver stumbles out of the cab, his head bleeding, in shock. He sits on the ground. All we hear is the sound of the river and the wind in the trees. Grace, halfway under the truck, frozen, stares up at the beautiful morning sky. WE HEAR THE SOUND OF A HELICOPTER... INT. MACLEAN FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - LATER MORNING ANGLE ON GRACE'S NOTE on the refrigerator as Robert enters from the outside with two bags of groceries. He places them on the counter near the PHONE MACHINE. He sees ONE MESSAGE is there. He presses PLAY as he puts away the groceries. A BEAT LATER the PHONE RINGS and he picks up, with the machine still playing... ROBERT (on phone) Hello? Paul, hi -- are you guys back? How was it? Oh that sounds great. Oh Paul.. hold on... LIZ (on machine) Robert! Are you there?... Robert! It's Liz!... Look, there's... there's been an accident... Uh... Jesus... uh... As Robert listens, the voice of Liz's on the machine from inside, pulls his attention. On hearing "accident," Robert lowers the receiver, frozen, as he listens to Liz... LIZ (on machine) Robert, just call me on my call phone... 1-917-449-7805... EXT. THE WOODS - LATE MORNING Pilgrim is hiding in the shadows under an old railroad bridge, standing up to his knees in the river. His chest is cut open, bleeding. His face cut, contorted and swollen. LIZ HAMMOND, the local veterinarian, hides a hypodermic needle in her jacket, quietly walking into the water. A Policeman is going into the water downstream from Pilgrim, whose chest is heaving, blood drips into the water. He watches Liz. She is almost to him when suddenly he bolts, running upstream. The Policeman behind him shouts and waves his arm. Frightened, Pilgrim wheels back toward Liz, who manages to stick the hypo in his neck. He rears, knocking her down, then runs out of the river, the hypo still in his neck. He runs for the sanctuary of the woods. INT. TRAIN - LATE MORNING Annie sits on a train -- her laptop out, notes beside her, her cellular phone, ever-ready. The train passes through beautiful countryside but Annie is focused on an editorial she's writing. The train pulls into a station and stops, causing Annie to take a break and stretch her arms and neck. She looks out the window for the first time and sees: A MAN, his hands in his pockets, waiting on the platform. She watches as the Man holds out his arms to his two young children, who are getting off the train. He picks them up as his wife enters the scene, kissing him and wrapping her arm around his waist. The children talk a mile a minute and the father listens to every word. Annie doesn't even realize she is staring. As they leave the platform, she turns back to her laptop. As the train begins to move again, Annie returns to work. HER CELLULAR PHONE RINGS. She answers. ANNIE Yeah?... Hi. I made the 1:00 so... The expression on her face sinks into a stunned panic. INT. HOSPITAL, CONNECTICUT - DAY Annie is running through the corridors, her bags in tow. She sees Robert standing in the corridor talking to a DOCTOR. She runs for them. When she appears, Robert and the Doctor stop their conversation. Robert looks to Annie, who is waiting for news. ANNIE WHAT!? Robert is teary eyed, beaten down. ROBERT Judith's dead. Annie's horrified, waiting for news of Grace. ANNIE What about Grace? ROBERT She was in pretty bad shape. They've done a C.A.T. Scan -- she has some hemorrhaging... DOCTOR But nothing we can't handle... ANNIE (impatient) Where is she now? DOCTOR Surgery. ANNIE Surgery! For what-? ROBERT (interrupting) Annie, her leg was shattered -- what they call the distal epi.. epi.. DOCTOR Distal epicondyle of the femur... ROBERT (quietly, crying) They have to take the leg off. Annie responds without tears and cries but with a quiet shock. We can tell her mind is racing, trying to process the information, until finally she asks: ANNIE Which leg? The Doctor and Robert are surprised by the question. ROBERT What difference does it make? Annie stares for a beat, then nods apologetically. EXT. WOODS - DAY Pilgrim is sedated, lying in his own blood in the snow, surrounded by Police and trackers. He is being attended to by LIZ HAMMOND, who is dictating to her assistant: LIZ ... His skull, cheek, and nose are severely fractured. He has a deep chest wound. I'm not even sure it can be closed. LOCAL TRACKER (deadpan, local accent) Animal should be put down -- anybody can see that. Liz looks up to him, resentfully, but knows he's right. INT. GRACE'S HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY Camera moves from Grace's face down her body to Robert's hand, which rubs her good leg. He looks at her lovingly, pushing the hair from her forehead. Annie, needing to do something, tenderly straightens Grace's blankets. It is plain to see where her leg had once been. Robert can't look. Annie, one to face her fears, bravely looks at it head on. She notices the I.V. Bag and rises on: ANNIE That bag's almost empty. ROBERT (looking) No, it's got a little left. They'll be in to change it. ANNIE (as she exits) Robert, you leave it up these people...! Robert is about to respond but Annie is already out the door. We hear the O.S. DIALOGUE as Robert listens. ANNIE (O.S.) Excuse me, my daughter needs a new I.V. NURSE (O.S.) We have her down, we'll be right in. ANNIE (O.S.) I'd like it taken care of now please. Annie enters first. ANNIE You have to keep on top of these people or else they just sit on their -- But Robert is ignoring her. Facing Grace, smoothing away her hair. He's giving her the silent treatment. Annie knows this means Robert doesn't approve of her dictatorial behavior. Annoyed, she turns away as well. The Nurse enters with a new bag and begins to replace the old one as Robert backs away. ROBERT I'm sorry. ANNIE Tch. What are you -- Annie, about to respond to his inappropriate politeness, is stopped by Robert, who finally looks at her. It's a powerful look that tells her to calm down and shut up. It's a look that, for all of Robert's sensitivity, affects Annie. She gets the message and stays calm. As the nurse leaves, Annie is about to say thank you, but Robert beats her to it. ROBERT Thank you. Annie and Robert stand facing each other, when the PHONE RINGS. Annie picks up. INTERCUT EXT. WOODS - DAY LIZ HAMMOND on a cellular, walking away from the crowd. LIZ Annie, it's Liz. How's Grace? ANNIE (journalistic) Her leg was shattered so they had to, uh... remove it. She had some bleeding but it's under control. LIZ Oh God, Annie, I'm so sorry. I... I know you're being hit with a low now, I don't want to take too much of your time but I have to talk to you about Pilgrim. Annie hears the name as if it's some distant echo she can't quite identify; Liz speaks quickly as Annie watches Grace breathing in her sleep -- LIZ It's not good. I've never seen an animal with these injuries still breathing. I know this is difficult to hear right now I'd like your permission to put him down. It's the really best thing we can do for -- That was too much information for Annie; ANNIE Wait, uh, I, I don't understand. Start again -- He's alive... LIZ Yes, but he's in a tremendous pain... ANNIE Well, of course, right... ROBERT What is it? LIZ (overlapping) We really shouldn't wait... ANNIE (overlapping) Hold on, Liz... (to Robert) Something about Pilgrim... The Doctor pokes his head in. DOCTOR (overlapping) Mr. and Mrs. MacLean... ANNIE (overlapping) -- put him down. She says... ROBERT (overlapping, to Doctor) Yes. Hi. (to Annie) Tell her you'll call her back. He exits with the Doctor. ANNIE Liz, listen, the Doctor's here and I just can't, uh... talk now... so -- LIZ (interrupting) I understand, but Annie, please... ANNIE (overlapping) - See, what you can do for him --... LIZ (overlapping) Annie, no matter what I do, this horse will never be the same. ANNIE ... I just don't know right now! Do whatever you can and when Grace is -- LIZ It isn't right to make him suffer... ANNIE And I can say the same thing about my daughter! But she is suffering! Can you solve that problem! (Liz is quiet) I can't deal with this now, Liz! If you need a yes or no right now, then no -- don't do it! Not until I know Grace is all right. Now, please! Just do what you can. Okay? (softer) Please. Liz is stopped by Annie's almost pleading tone. LIZ All right... They hang up. Annie takes a breath. Robert re-enters. ANNIE What did he say? ROBERT Nothing new. He's just going off duty. Beat. Silence. ANNIE I'm going to get all the nurses' names... It's good to know all their names. Robert nods. But neither of them moves. They stand motionless for a beat, then Annie begins to break down and eases herself into Robert's arms. Robert embraces her, kissing her head, with an almost fatherly comfort. His expression tells us it's the moment he's been expecting... and wanting. Now she'll be all right, in his arms. Whatever distance between them, whatever problems felt insurmountable last night on the phone, are now, for the moment -- for Robert -- gone. But Annie's expression tells us something different. Her instinct to hold him was honest... but the effect isn't the same anymore. Something doesn't feel right. Something isn't working anymore about his comforting embrace. ANNIE I should go get some of her things. ROBERT No, let me go. ANNIE (gently pushing away) No, I'll go. You stay... In case she wakes up. INT. THE UNIVERSITY ANIMAL HOSPITAL, RECOVERY STALLS - NIGHT A line of recovery stalls with various sick and hurt animals. Liz, exhausted asleep, on a chair outside a stall. There's a slight scratching sound. A hoof against the stall. It gets louder, awakening Liz. She gets up and looks inside the paddled stall: Pilgrim is lying in the stall, heavily bandaged. He is waking up. His first instinct is to kick at the paddled stall walls. He looks at Liz, his eyes filled with madness -- enraged to still be alive. INT. GRACE'S BEDROOM IN FARMHOUSE - NIGHT Annie opens the door and enters, flicking on the light. Camera is on her back, as she places a small suitcase on the bed and opens it. She begins her task with cool efficiency. Opening drawers and closets, assessing what should be taken, what isn't necessary. Suddenly, she stops. She feels disoriented for a moment. She can't remember the last time she was inside this room. She takes a moment to pause and actually look around. In the light, we now see more of Grace's inner sanctum. Horse riding prize ribbons in various colors adorn the walls. Books. A girl's bureau cluttered with teenage possession ranging from childhood toys to items that suggest a reaching towards adulthood. Annie examines some items, affectionately. A GOOD LUCK CHARM from India sits among her things. Annie takes it to pack in the suitcase. She notices a framed 8X10 of Grace sitting proudly atop Pilgrim with Judith at her heel. She then notices the edge of another picture behind this one, in the frame. She pulls the Pilgrim photo out to reveal: An old 8X10 of Annie hugging Grace as a toddler. With her back to Camera, Annie remembers: MEMORY: INT. GRACE'S ROOM - A DAY REMEMBERED Annie is playing with toddler Grace. Chasing her around the room. Picking her and tossing her onto a small, toddler bed. Blowing into her stomach. Grace is laughing uncontrollably. END OF MEMORY Annie slides the Pilgrim picture back into the frame, then returns to her task of packing. INT. GRACE'S HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT Annie enters. No one else is there. She places the suitcase on a chair and opens it. She takes out the INDIAN LUCKY CHARM and some horse books, and places them on her bedside table. She takes care to prop up the Lucky Charm. She wets a cloth with some water from a pitcher and gently wipes Grace's sweaty brow... INSERT VISUAL FLASHBACK HERE, instead of in Country House. Annie then continues unpacking the suitcase. She opens Grace's closet and sees a hospital bag filled with Grace's clothes at the time of the accident. Annie examines them and discovers they are hers. Annie shoves the clothes into a bag and starts unpacking. INT. HOSPITAL CAFETERIA - PRE-DAWN The Clock is ticking on the wall. The cafeteria is empty except for one tired Intern, drinking coffee on a break. Robert and Annie are having a cup of coffee. In the silence, they search for things to say. Until: ROBERT I saw Judith's parents while you were at the apartment... (Annie listens) I wanted to say something... (beat) But I... I was so relieved that Grace was still... that it wasn't our daughter. ANNIE We're very lucky. ROBERT (nods) The funeral's on Friday. He rises and crosses to the self-help coffee dispenser as he continues... ROBERT Oh, uh, I meant to tell you... Alex brought that fabric over... ANNIE Okay. ROBERT It's on the table by the phone. I didn't know what to tell him... (returns to table, sits) ... Whether or not we were... (beat) ... if we still we're thinking of redoing the couch. Annie just nods. She senses Robert is looking for some kind of reassurance, but she can't give it to him. He continues; ROBERT ... And uh... Mario called about moving the wisteria? ANNIE Oh. Right. I'll call him. Pause. Annie looks at her husband as he stares off to the side, deep in his thoughts. She can sense he's sinking as he fidgets with the napkins. She remembers: MEMORY: INT. A SMALLER APARTMENT, KITCHEN - A NIGHT REMEMBERED A younger Annie stands in a bathrobe, noticeably pregnant, cooking at a stove -- reading instructions from a propped up cookbook. FRANK SINATRA IS BLASTING as she sings along, in full voice, without inhibitions; ANNIE "SHE'S LOVES THE THEATRE BUT NEVER COMES LATE... SHE NEVER BOTHERS WITH PEOPLE SHE HATES... THAT'S WHY THE LADY IS A TRAMP!..." A younger Robert, wearing a suit, arrives home from work. Seeing her, he smiles affectionately. He puts down his briefcase and bursts into his own playful Sinatra impersonation: ROBERT "She loves the free..." Startled, Annie turns around and smiles: ROBERT (sexily undoing his tie) "... FRESH, WIND IN HER HAIR... LIFE WITHOUT CARE... SHE'S BROKE... BUT IT'S 'OK'... ANNIE (a la fan) Sing it to me, Frankie! ROBERT (a la Sinatra cool) How's my pregnant chick! She moves to him and they embrace... He wraps his arms around her. They kiss. Annie laughs. ANNIE You can hardly get your arms around me. How depressing. You're so early. ROBERT I had to excuse myself from a meeting. It's ridiculous. I kept thinking about the baby... you... and, I swear, I was going to start bawling right into my briefs. ANNIE (loving it) Aw... that's so sweet. ROBERT I love you. ANNIE Do you? Do you really? They turn to each other and kiss. END OF MEMORY. INT. HOSPITAL CAFETERIA - PRE-DAWN Annie and Robert sit silently at the table in an empty hospital cafeteria, a lifetime later. INT. GRACE'S HOSPITAL ROOM - DAYBREAK The room's lights are dimmed. Dawn is being to break through. Grace, slowly, opens her eyes coming out of sedation. She takes a moment to figure out where she is... to remember. She uses her hands to hoist herself up, but she's unsteady and knocks into her bedside table -- knocking the Good Luck Charm from India off the table. It rolls under the bed, with a water tumbler. Grace never sees the Charm. Grace looks where her leg once was. She feels the blanket, the empty space where her leg once was... just like her mother did (did her father couldn't). Instead of self-pity, she's oddly fascinated. DISSOLVE TO: INT. GRACE'S HOSPITAL ROOM - LATER THAT DAY Daylight pours in. Robert and Annie enter. Robert, loaded with gifts, immediately crosses to Grace, on the side of her good leg. Annie takes her position beside the lost leg. Robert kisses his daughter; ROBERT Hi, sweetheart... Annie's hand finds Grace's hand, and holds one of her fingers tightly. Grace responds by wrapping her hand around her mother's. They exchange a look of respect and gratitude. GRACE Have you heard from Judith's parents? ROBERT No, not yet. GRACE How's Pilgrim doing? ANNIE Liz is taking care of him. (to change the subject) The doctor said the sooner you start therapy the better the chances are you can -- GRACE I can't even get out of bed yet! You're already putting me in therapy!! Annie, slightly hurt, drops it as Robert takes over: ROBERT The doctor said whenever you're ready. Take your time. You tell us... But he thinks it'll only be a few months, then -- As Robert continues talking, Annie drifts to the Nurse. Needing to manage something, she asks: ANNIE Did you get her fresh towels? SOME TIME LATER: EXT. CENTRAL PARK WEST APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY A limousine drives up as the Doorman gets the car door. The weather is slightly warmer. People's clothing looks as if spring is coming nearer. Annie exits first, carrying a jacket for Grace. She is followed by Robert, who immediately turns to help Grace. We hear her O.S. GRACE (O.S.) Dad! I can do it, OK?! ROBERT OK, OK. Annie shoots him a disapproving look. We see Grace's good leg exit first... then two crutches, followed by... a PROSTHETIC LEG. Grace scoots into view, and takes a breath. GRACE You all go ahead. I'll be up by Christmas. INT. CENTRAL PARK WEST APARTMENT - NIGHT The three sit at a dinner table, eating dinner. Grace picks at her food. Robert can't help staring at her. Annie eats, watching them both. ROBERT Do you want something else, honey? We order something else? GRACE No, I'm just not that hungry. ANNIE Why don't you go lie down? GRACE I don't want to lie down. I've been lying down enough. ROBERT You want to watch some television? GRACE (edgy) Maybe... look -- just... Robert and Annie wait. She doesn't continue. She rises, reaching for her crutches. Robert moves to help. GRACE I got it! I got it! She exits into her room. Annie looks at him disapprovingly. INT. ANNIE AND ROBERT'S BATHROOM/BEDROOM - NIGHT Annie and Robert stand before their separate sinks, talking to each other through their separate mirrors, as they wash up for bed. ANNIE You've got to stop doing that? ROBERT Doing what? ANNIE Helping all the time! Running to her every time she trips or falls... Anticipating her all the time. Robert shuts off his sink and dries his face, without a word. He exits into the bedroom, and gets into bed. For a beat, he stares up at the ceiling -- then says quite plainly. ROBERT You know, Annie, this didn't just happen to you. Annie is applying moisturizer when she hears this. As it sinks in, she doesn't like it. INT. GRACE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Grace stands by her door and can hear her parents muffled, tense voices. Annie is angry at his complacency. Robert just wants what's best for Grace. She closes the door. Silence. She puts her crutches against the wall and tries to walk towards her bureau without them. It is a struggle, but she does... almost falling, but grabbing the bureau just in time. The 8X10 of her and Pilgrim, falls face down. She props it up and looks at it -- focusing on her horse, then on Judith. Suddenly, she lashes out, knocking the photograph onto the floor... ROBERT (O.S.) Honey, you all right? Did something fall? GRACE (angrily shouts) NO! EXT. GRACE'S PRIVATE SCHOOL - MORNING Annie pulls up in a Range Rover and stops. Grace moves for the door. Annie asks respectfully; ANNIE Do you want any help? Grace doesn't even bother to answer. She manages to get onto the pavements, then turns for her bag... Annie notices other kids looking at Grace from behind, as they enter the school. ANNIE Dad'll pick you up today, all right? GRACE Okay. Grace looks up to her mother. What is unspoken between them is the understanding that today will be difficult and there's nothing either one can do about it. ANNIE You'll be fine. Grace nods and turns to the school. Annie watches her go. INT. GRACE'S SCHOOL - MORNING Grace makes her way through the hall. It is the first time she has had to maneuver through a crowd. Some of the younger children are especially unconscious. Grace sweats her way through, trying to maintain her balance and her sanity. As Grace slowly moves along, whatever small faith she had that she could get through this day, begins to diminish. INT. ANNIE'S OFFICE - DAY Annie moves about the office, hands in pocket, in front of her wall of windows. LUCY and her staff sitting around the office. Annie is speaking to a YOUNG WOMAN staff member; ANNIE I don't care what he told you! The man's a liar! The man's an actor, for Christ's sake. They're all liars! They'll say anything to get a cover... The Young Woman looks insulted. AN ASSISTANT comes in to give Annie a note; EXT. GRACE'S SCHOOL - DAY Annie is crossing an empty school yard. Grace is sitting on the ground, her back against a wall, her "legs" in front of her. She has been crying. She looks up to her mother. GRACE It's too hard. Annie kneels before her sympathetically brushing her hair away: ANNIE Oh, honey... What happened? GRACE Doesn't matter. I... I don't want to come back, that's all. ANNIE (softly) Oh. Well, what are you going to do? You have to go to school, honey. I mean, what -- GRACE (snaps) I'm not coming back! That's it! I want to go home! ANNIE Grace, listen to me. Your body is just healing. You have to give the rest of you time as well... GRACE Is that your version of a pep talk? ANNIE You are not staying home all day feeling sorry for yourself. You're going to get up and you're going to figure this out. GRACE (snotty) Fine! ANNIE It's still early. What's your next class? With secret delight, Grace viciously utters the word: GRACE Gym! INT. ANNIE AND ROBERT'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Annie is at her desk studying Grace's book on Horse Whisperers. Robert is on his bed with briefs laid out before him. INT. GRACE'S BEDROOM - SAME NIGHT The door is closed. A SONG blares on her stereo. Grace is in her bed watching a video of her and Pilgrim... riding at a horse show. There's a shot of Annie standing proudly, watching her ride. Another shot of her and Judith, both of them on their horses, waving to camera. INT. BEDROOM - SAME NIGHT Grace enters. GRACE Dad? Both Robert and Annie look up. ROBERT What, sweetheart? GRACE (beat) I want to see Pilgrim. Robert and Annie exchange an anxious look. EXT. DYER HORSE FARM, CONNECTICUT - DAY It's raining. The MacLean car is parked by the barn. They are walking towards the stables under their umbrellas as Liz runs to greet them. LIZ Hello... (to Grace) It's so good to see you. How ya doing? ROBERT She's doing just grea. Aren't you kiddo? GRACE I'm fine. LIZ Well, come on. He's out back now... (leads them) Mind how you go. It's pretty muddy back there. GRACE Why is he in the back? Why isn't he in the barn with the other horses? Liz stops, causing everyone to stop. She turns to face Grace, realizing she doesn't know. She looks at Robert and Annie, accusingly. She tries to explain: LIZ Well, Grace, you see... Pilgrim just... isn't the same horse he used to be. (to the parents) As a matter of fact, maybe now's not the best time to -- GRACE I really want to see him. Liz looks at Annie. Annie nods. Liz leads them on. They reach a row of empty old stalls. They cross to one of the stalls -- its doors are closed. Liz draws back the bolt on top half of the door. There is an immediate explosion of sound inside the stall, the sound of fear, startling them. Then it's still. Liz slowly opens the door. Grace, with the aide of her cane, walks to the stall. She hesitates, then looks in. It takes a moment for her eyes to grow accustomed to the dark. She sees Pilgrim with his head down in the shadows... GRACE Hello, beautiful boy... He lifts his head at the sound of her voice. Grace, and the audience, see him for the first time -- His mad eyes, his terrible disfigurement... Grace cries out, stepping backwards, nearly stumbling in the mud... What is left of her horse are gone. Annie realizes what's happened and, together with Robert, rush to her... They too see the monster Pilgrim has become and are horrified. Grace angrily pushes away from them and "runs" off. Robert goes after her. Annie is standing in the rain with Liz -- her eyes unable to move away from the sight of Pilgrim. LIZ (O.S.) You should have told her, Annie. I tried to explain to you how bad it was... I guess you had to see it. But, there's nothing to be done. This animal's beyond help. Annie, can I have your permission now to put him down? Annie stands in the rain, hands in pocket, fixed on Pilgrim and more determined than ever; ANNIE No. EXT. CENTRAL PARK WEST APARTMENT - NIGHT Alone in her study, Annie sits before her computer searching the Internet for information on HORSES -- Veterinarian Journals, Therapies, Accidents, Eistories... We sense she's been at it a while... She locates an ITEM TITLE -- HORSE WHISPERERS. Interested, she brings it up on the screen. INT. NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY - NIGHT Annie sits in the huge reading room, books spread out before her, under a green reading lamp. Her voice tells us what she's reading: ANNIE (V.O.) "It was in America that horses first roamed..." In the books, we see pictures, lithographs, paintings and drawings... ANNIE (V.O.) "A million years before the birth of man, they grazed the vast empty plains of grass and crossed to other continents over bridges of rocks... They first knew man as the hunted knows the hunter, for long before man saw horses as a means to killing other beasts, man killed them for meat..." ANNIE'S V.O. CONTINUES OVER; INT. PILGRIM'S STALL - NIGHT ANNIE (V.O.) "...The alliance with man would forever be fragile -- for the fear he'd struck into their hearts was too deep to be dislodged... Since that Neolithic moment when a horse was first haltered, there were those among men who understood this..." INT. GRACE'S ROOM - NIGHT Grace sits alone in her darkened room, staring out the window but not looking at anything. There's a discomforting distance in her expression. ANNIE (V.O.) "... They could see into the creature's soul and soothe the wounds they found there..." DISSOLVE TO: EXT. A FAIRGROUNDS PARKING LOT, CALIFORNIA - DAY A hot, dusty fairgrounds horse arena. The worn wooden bleachers, crowded. Lines of cars and pick-up trucks. ANNIE (V.O.) "...For secrets uttered softly into troubled ears, these men were known as The Whisperers..." One particular pick-up truck has its back door opened. A MAN'S LEG is sticking out, putting on a pair of boots. A moment later the Man gets out of the car. Holding a cowboy hat, he has a certain quality, a self-respect, that men who know themselves seem to have. TOM BOOKER. A weathered redheaded woman named RONA -- late forties, strong, wiry horsewoman's build -- is walking towards him. RONA Hey, darlin'. TOM Hey, Rona. Sorry I'm late. RONA I wouldn't know what to do if you were on time. They walk together towards the fairgrounds. TOM You're looking fit. RONA Fit? You want to check my teeth. (Tom laughs) Good crowd today. I think you'll have some fun. You going to stay for dinner? TOM If it's not too much trouble, I thought I might. RONA (playful) Kind of trouble I'm in the mood for. TOM Oh-oh... Maybe I better get back in the truck. Rona lets out a hearty laugh as they enter the horse arena. EXT. HORSE ARENA, CALIFORNIA - DAY Inside the corral, a small black thoroughbred is being worked by Tom. As he rides and narrates into a radio microphone to the crowd, we sense this is a man of good humor and great skill -- guileless, sensible, of the earth. TOM ... It's always kind of interesting to hear the horse's side of the story... The crowd laughs warmly. He directs his comments to a WOMAN wearing an expensive Ralph Lauren western outfit, standing outside the corral... TOM Now if he was cranky or lazy, like you say he is, we'd be seeing his tail twitching there and his ears back, maybe. But this isn't a cranky horse, it's a scared horse. You see how braced he is up around the neck back there. He just doesn't know which way to turn... The Woman nods. Tom turns the horse on a dime so that he always stays facing the circling thoroughbred... TOM You see how he keeps pointing his hindquarters in at me? Well, I'd guess the reason he seems reluctant to move out is because when he does, he gets in trouble for it. THE WOMAN He's not good at transitions, you know? When I want him to move from a trot to a lope, say... TOM (smiles) Well, I'm sure that's what you think but that's not what I'm seeing. You may think you're asking for a lope, but your body may be saying something else altogether. You might be putting too many conditions on him. For instance, you might be saying "GO, but, hey, don't go too fast." He can tell that from the way you feel. Your body can't lie. You ever give him a kick to make him move out? THE WOMAN He won't go unless I do. TOM And then he goes and you feel like he's going too fast, so you yank him back? (she nods) And next thing you know, he's bucking. (she nods again) Well, if someone told you to go, stop, go, stop -- you'd buck too. The people laugh. The Woman smiles self-consciously. TOM It's a dance, see... Somebody has to lead and somebody has to follow. Tom gracefully moves his horse around the ring, "dancing". He then takes up a long coiled rope and throws it so that the coils slap against the black horse's flank, making it burst into a lope. And again... Making the animal go from a trot to a lope, letting it slow, then up to a lope again. TOM I want him to get so he can leave real soft. He's getting the idea now. He's not all braced up and tense like he was at the start. He's finding out it's okay. He throws the rope again and this time the transition to the lope is a smooth one. TOM You see that? He's getting better already. Pretty soon, if you work at it, you'll be able to make all these transitions easy on a loose rein. (sotto voce, wry) Yeah, and pigs'll fly. (to Woman) He's going to be okay -- so long as you don't go yanking on him. She nods, but he can see she's upset, feeling foolish. He walks the horse over to her, turns off the microphone and speaks sympathetically: TOM Look, the truth is it's all about self- preservation. These animals. (with great affection) ... well, they just have such big hearts, you know? There's nothing they want more than to do what you want them to do. But when the messages get all confused, the only thing they know to do is try and save themselves... Now, why don't you go saddle up and see what happens. Feeling better, and not a little attracted to his heartfelt man's man, the Woman smiles and reaches for his hand to climb over the rail. Her horse lets her come right up to him and stroke his neck. Tom comments; TOM They won't ever hold a thing against you. They're the most forgiving creatures God ever made. Turning on his mike and turning back to the crowd, he says: TOM Okay, who's next? A Young Boy leads a mule into the ring. Tom smiles: TOM Now God has another idea entirely with the mule. EXT. THE FAIRGROUNDS - LATER THAT DAY Tom has finished his "show." People are shaking his hand, thanking him, as he walks away from the corral, towards a trailer. The Woman in the Ralph Lauren approaches: WOMAN Excuse me. He faces the Woman: WOMAN Hi. I'm Dale. I just wanted to -- I can't get over the way he felt under me after you'd finish with him. Everything had just, I don't know, freed up or something. The Woman is flirting. Tom shrugs, uncomfortably; TOM Well, that'll happen. WOMAN Where did you learn all this stuff? TOM What stuff is that? WOMAN About horses? I'd love to learn more about it myself. Do you offer any private lessons for riders? TOM (getting the message) Well... Dale... you know, a lot of this stuff... it just... nuts and bolts. WOMAN What do you mean? TOM Well, if the rider's nuts, the horse bolts. (smiles) That's the whole lesson right there. You have a good day now... Just... keep on freeing yourself up. He leaves her, entering the trailer. INT. RONA'S TRAILER - NIGHT A small, well-used trailer. Tom and Rona are finishing dinner like comfortable old friends. Rona rises, taking the plates into the kitchen and starts rinsing them: RONA Oh I clear forget. You had a call from some woman in New York. She sounded pretty wound up. TOM I don't any woman in New York. But from what I hear, most of them are wound up. RONA The number's by the phone. He nods but doesn't move. He just looks at Rona and smiles. She's a good woman. But Tom hopes she doesn't want anymore than what they have together. Rona notices him looking and smiles: RONA What are you looking at, young man? TOM How long were you married? RONA Long enough. TOM You ever miss it? RONA Does a horse miss a saddle? TOM Sometimes. She chuckles, shuts the water off and crosses back to him, sitting beside him. RONA Well as a matter of fact, I don't... most of the time. She starts unbuttoning his shirt. TOM You know, Rona, we weren't all that good together even when we were good together. RONA Honey... I was always good. Tom smiles as Rona leans in. They kiss. INT. ANNIE'S OFFICE, N.Y.C. - MORNING Annie is looking over a magazine cover with Lucy and her staffers. She is unhappy. ANNIE You know it's perfectly shot, it's perfectly cropped, it's perfectly laid out and I'm so bloody bored, I'd rather buy a Motor Racing magazine -- Start over. Some general whines and groans as her assistant hands her a note. ANNIE Uh, would you all excuse me a moment? She waits for them to leave as she sits before the phone. One of her lines is lit: EXT. A ROADSIDE SERVICE STATION SOMEWHERE IN UTAH - DAY An endless sky. An empty ribbon of two-lane highway in Utah. A small roadside station. Tom's pick-up truck, his horse trailer hitched to it, getting gas. Tom is on the pay phone. We hear Annie's voice: ANNIE (O.S.) This is Annie MacLean. TOM Yeah. Hello. This is Tom Booker. I got a message you called. INTERCUT ANNIE in her office: ANNIE (efficient, expeditiously) Oh! Yes. Thank you for calling back. Uh, all right, let me try to explain my situation as briefly as possible... You see, my daughter had an accident with her horse... They were both injured and she, my daughter, she hasn't been able to... fully... uh... It was an extremely traumatic experience... and uh... Tom, sensing her turmoil, listening compassionately. ANNIE I went on the Internet and found this article about you... It says you're a Horse Whisperer, that you... you help people with horse problems. And you have quite a success rate when it comes to traumatized -- TOM Well, see, truth is, ma'am, I help horses with people's problems. ANNIE Well, you know, however you want to put it -- I got your information from the publisher of the article. I called Montana and your sister-in-law, I think, gave me this number. (trying to be charming) I'm been hot on your trail you could say because I was hoping you'd consider coming to New York and taking a look at my daughter's horse and possibly -- TOM Ma'am, I'm very sorry about your problems and I appreciate what your daughter must be going through, but I'm afraid you've misunderstood whatever it is you read. I don't do that sort of thing. ANNIE Well, if you could just come for the day. New York's only a few hours by plane, I'd have you home by dinner... TOM Look, even if it was nearer, that's just not what I do. I give clinics. And I'm not even doing them for a while. I'm heading back to Montana right now. I got a ranch to take care of... ANNIE (interrupts, abruptly) I'll pay you for your fare. I'll send you to Montana first class. TOM (getting impatient) Ma'am, first class to Montana is a waste of good money. Now, am I being too polite here or when I say NO in Utah, does that mean YES in New York City? Annie is taken aback. Tom feels badly. TOM I, I don't mean to sound insensitive. I understand your situation. But there's nothing I can do. You just called the wrong person, that's all. I hear there are a bunch of therapists in New York. Maybe you should call one of them. ANNIE Mr. Booker, if I could just ex -- TOM I am very sorry, ma'am. Goodbye now. He hangs up before Annie can continue. INT. GRACE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Annie reaches for Grace's bedroom door, then pauses. She realizes she should knock. She does and whispers: ANNIE Grace? (knocks again) Grace, it's mom. Annie slowly opens the door. She finds Grace's bed empty. She looks over to the window to find Grace sitting in a chair, in the dark, looking out the window. ANNIE Grace. What are you doing? Not looking up, Grace speaks in a hollow voice. GRACE I can't find that charm Daddy gave me from India. ANNIE I brought it to you in the hospital. GRACE No, you didn't. ANNIE Grace, I put it on the table near your -- GRACE (apathetic) Doesn't matter. Beat. ANNIE Have you decided about Pilgrim? GRACE What about him? ANNIE Well... how you feel all right about telling Liz to put him down... GRACE I think we should. It's not fair to let him suffer. He's not much use anymore. He'd hate living like that. ANNIE I think that's... very compassionate and... mature way of looking at it. GRACE Mom? ANNIE Yeah? GRACE Maybe they should put me down too. ANNIE What? GRACE I mean, I'm not much use anymore. Why can't they be compassionate to me? What frightens Annie most is the calm and apathy in Grace's voice. She's surrendering... Annie, for the first time in a long time, feels she's losing control. INT. CENTRAL PARK WEST APARTMENT - NIGHT Annie sits alone at the kitchen table, nursing a glass of wine. Robert enters and sits opposite her, wearing a tuxedo -- his tie and collar undone. ANNIE How was the dinner? ROBERT (wry) All our "favorite" people were there saying all their "favorite" things about their "favorite" subjects. I thought to myself, we've been friends with these people almost twenty years and nobody knows anybody. We're so afraid we won't like each other and have nobody go to dinners with. ANNIE Why did you go? ROBERT (surprised) They're still our friends, Annie. It's nothing serious. You kid about them all the time... And I could tell Paul really appreciated me being there. He drinks Annie's wine as she looks at him. ROBERT Did you get a hold of that horse guy? ANNIE Yeah. ROBERT What did he say? ANNIE No. Robert nods. Accepting. Silence. Annie sips her wine. Then: ROBERT I was thinking... Maybe we should think about the three of us going someplace warm... Remember that house we rented in Bermuda... The pink one with the -- His arm accidentally spills the wine. ROBERT Shit. As he bends down to wipe it up with a napkin, Annie watches Robert clean the spill. Something about his movements, his posture -- a sense of weakness, of surrendering, of not having the inclination to fight, of just accepting and smoothing over the rough sports -- strikes her hard. Annie realizes the love she feels for Robert isn't fading. It's gone. He finishes cleaning and sits. ROBERT What was I saying? ANNIE About us going someplace warm... Someplace Grace'll have to wear shorts or bathing suits or summer dresses... Robert looks at her and realizes it's a bad idea. He nods, again, getting the message. Silence. In that silence, Annie looks at him... and makes a decision: ANNIE Robert, I want to take Pilgrim out to Mr. Booker. Drive him out to Montana... With Grace. Robert is confused... and a little worried. ROBERT I don't understand. You just said he said no. ANNIE He did, but... I think I can change his mind. ROBERT That's the craziest thing I ever heard. Absolutely not. ANNIE Robert, Grace isn't adjusting to school. And she can't sit in this apartment all day... I think it would be good for her. ROBERT (at a loss) NO! What are you -- you're serious about this? ANNIE I've called Liz. They can set me up with a trailer for Pilgrim. I thought we'd stay at motels along the way... ROBERT (overlapping) You've already made arrangements!? ANNIE No. I was just researching. Calm down. ROBERT I come home and you tell me we're going to drive a psychotic horse to Montana! I can't just pick up and leave... ANNIE I'm not asking you to. I'll do it. ROBERT You want to do this by yourself? How? You can't take care of Pilgrim all the -- ANNIE He'll be sedated. I know horses, Robert. I'm the one who taught Grace how to ride. ROBERT (overlapping) What... Bo-... What about the magazine? ANNIE I'm in charge. I went back very soon after the accident. They didn't expect me for a couple of months. I'll just take that time now... I can still oversee things from Montana... Take my fax... My computer... Beat. Robert fears this is about the marriage. Yet -- ROBERT No. It's, uh... No, I really don't think it's a good idea ANNIE Why?! ROBERT (searching) Her psychiatrist... said... she needs security now... stability... ANNIE I can't say he's been all that effective with her. ROBERT Are you a psychiatrist? He said it takes time. ANNIE I don't care what he says! We have to do something, Robert! I can't sit here and trust everything's going to work out just by pretending it will. ROBERT I'm not pretending anything! Beat. Robert just stares at her. He looks concerned... almost worried. Annie gets uncomfortable. ANNIE What? It is very difficult for Robert to say; ROBERT I thought... well, ever since the accident, I just thought we... He stops. Annie knows where he headed and prays to God he doesn't continue. He doesn't. A thick silence hangs between them. ROBERT I really wish I could understand why you think this is so necessary. ANNIE (frustrated) Robert, we're losing her. We're losing her. (he listens) I don't care what the doctors say. The truth is, they don't know anymore than we do -- less, when it comes to Grace... This may not sound sensible or... logical, but nobody's suggesting anything better. I can't explain it, Robert. I just have this feeling... this annoying... bloody feeling that if... if, somehow, Pilgrim can be made all right... then so can Grace. I just know it! Robert can feel the strength of her will. He can find no way around it. ROBERT What if she doesn't want to go? ANNIE She will if you think she should. ROBERT And you think it's best if I don't come. ANNIE (hesitates) No, that's not what I said. I'm not a dictator. If you feel you should come, then come. Just do whatever you think is right. At some moment, they realize Grace is standing at the entrance to the kitchen. They are surprised. GRACE I'm not going! I don't care what she says! Annie lowers her head. Robert stares at Grace as she walks to him. GRACE Daddy?... I don't want to go. Grace stands next to Robert. He holds her hands. Annie looks at him, without sympathy. Robert looks back. In his face is the total acceptance of what must be. As well as the sadness of it's inevitability. He looks back at his daughter, whose eyes have never left him. EXT. JOAN DYER STABLE - DAY Pilgrim is being loaded into the trailer by four strong stable men, violently kicking and pulling all the way. Annie watches with anxiety -- an almost giddy Liz by her side. ANNIE Maybe we should give him another sedative. LIZ Problem is, there aren't many volunteers. He's already had enough to sink a battleship. You have a pin, just in case? ANNIE Of course not. LIZ Probably best. You may want to shoot yourself half way to Ohio. In the back seat of ANNIE'S SUBURBAN sits Grace -- her back to the action. Hearing Pilgrim's struggle. Putting her walkman on her ears and raising the volume... We hear -- GRACE'S MUSIC, ON THE SOUNDTRACK, bringing us to: EXT. A HIGHWAY, IN PENNSYLVANIA - DAY Annie's Suburban drives along Route 80, pulling the horse trailer behind. INT. SUBURBAN - DAY Grace, in the back seat, wearing her headphones, listening to her music (maybe LIZ PHAIR OR HOLLY COLE). Detached. Non- committal. As trucks pass by, their time slapping the pavement, she reacts and turns to the other window. Annie, in sunglasses, shifts her attention between the road and her rear-view mirror -- checking on Grace. EXT. HIGHWAY IN - EARLY MORNING The Suburban drives as the sun begins to set. EXT. MOTEL IN OHIO - NIGHT The Suburban and Horse Trailer are parked in the lot. INT. MOTEL ROOM, OHIO - NIGHT A small furnished motel room with two twin beds. Grace sits up in bed watching TV, with no expression. A sitcom with canned laughter serves as a hypnotic drug. Annie enters from the bathroom, after showering, drying her hair. Grace doesn't bother to look up. ANNIE You want to take your bath? (Grace shakes her head) We have to get up early tomorrow. You may not have enough time to -- GRACE Fine -- I'll take my bath. She begins moving off the bed. ANNIE No, I don't mean you have to. It's just that we may not have enough -- GRACE -- enough time tomorrow. I know. ANNIE Look, if you want to take it in the morning, that's fine. GRACE (interrupts on "fine") I don't care. Annie realizes she may have pushed too hard, but she also realizes there's no talking to Grace now. So, she achieves her goal -- JANNIE Take it now. Grace hobbles off the bed, enters the bathroom and shuts the door. INT. MOTEL ROOM IN OHIO - NIGHT The lights are off. Annie lays in bed, wide awake. It is the middle of the night. Grace, asleep in the other bed, begins whimpering. She's having a bad dream. Annie rises -- considering whether or not to intercede... Finally, Grace begins to cry out... softly at first, but with increasing intensity until she awakens in fear... Annie appears right by her side. ANNIE What, sweetheart? What? Shaken, Grace cannot fight how much she needs her mother at that moment. She wraps her arms around her, tightly, and tries to catch her breath. ANNIE It's sleeping in a strange bed, that's all. Happens sometimes. It's Ok. It's OK. EXT. ANOTHER ROAD, MID-WEST - DAY The Suburban continues its journey. Once again -- Annie, in the front, and Grace, in the rear, drive without a word between them. INT. SUBURBAN - DAY Grace and Annie occupy their same positions. Annie is on the car phone with her office. ANNIE Okay, listen -- let's do this. When I get to the next motel, I'll see if they have a fax. If not, I'll call you tomorrow to -- Annie continues O.S. when we hear a shifting, a rocking in the trailer behind them. As if Pilgrim made a sudden move. Grace quickly turns her head. Annie looks in the rear view at Grace. ANNIE Uh Lucy, look, I have to go. OK... Later. Annie hangs up and smiles at Grace through the mirror. Grace reaches for her walkman and headphones. Annie offers; ANNIE Grace! GRACE! Grace lowers one side of her headphones; ANNIE Would you like to put your music on up here? Grace shrugs. Annie shrugs it off as well. Grace replaces the headphone. Annie turns on the radio -- nothing but country or gospel or religious talk shows... She shuts it off. Frustrated, Annie looks up ahead and sees: A TRUCK STOP DINER Annie yells to be heard through the headphones; ANNIE IT'S ALMOST LUNCHTIME. ARE YOU HUNGRY!? GRACE (shrugs) Whatever you want. ANNIE Fine! GRACE Fine. Annoyed, Annie pulls onto the gravel and stops, talking to herself -- ANNIE Fine! She exits the car, banging the door. As she walks acrund the car to help Grace, she talks to herself in a sarcastic whisper: ANNIE "Whatever you want!" Well, this is what I want. I want to eat lunch and I want to smoke a cigarette and I want to keep talking to myself for the next two thousand fucking miles..."! She opens Grace's door. Grace senses her mother's anger. INT. TRUCK STOP DINER - DAY Annie and Grace enter. They look around: Formica floors, truckers in caps and beer bellies stuffed into booths or at the counter. There is not a single space available. Annie and Grace stand near the entrance. Another Trucker enters and they step aside, huddled together in this foreign land. INT. MOTEL IN IOWA - NIGHT Grace and Annie enter the room to find A DOUBLE BED instead of two twins. Neither comments. Annie exits O.S., carrying the bags inside, as she says: DISSOLVE TO: ANNIE You should call your dad before it gets too late. GRACE I already did. (Annie's surprised) This morning. When you went running. ANNIE Oh. You didn't tell me. GRACE I didn't know I had to. ANNIE (stares angrily, speaks softly) You don't. Silence. Annie exits past her to the car. DISSOLVE TO: LATER Grace is asleep in her twin bed. Once again, Annie is wide awake. The clock reads: 4:55 AM. But Annie can not sleep. Camera moves away from Annie, past her side of the bed, to the other side of the room. WE SEE THE SHADOW OF A WOMAN coming towards the bed. She comes in camera angle and we follow to her back to the bed, which has now transformed into -- A BED FROM THE PAST, IN WHICH A TEN-YEAR-OLD ANNIE IS SLEEPING WITH HER YOUNGER BROTHER GEORGE. WE ARE IN MEMORY. The Woman gently shakes little Annie awaken. WOMAN Annie... Annie, sweetheart... wake up. The little girl, with sleep in her eyes, turns and sees her. WOMAN Bad news I'm afraid. Your Daddy's gone. END OF MEMORY. Annie, in present time next to Grace, thinks of this as she stays awake. Putting her jogging parka on over her nightgown, she goes outside. EXT. IOWA MOTEL - NIGHT She crosses the motel parking lot to the horse trailer. She looks in through the siding at Pilgrim, checking on him. She sees he is caught his halter on the side of the van. She crosses to the trailer door, hesitates, then opens it. Pilgrim looks at her. Gathering her courage, she climbs inside. He is still, looking at her. She carefully frees his halter. And suddenly he bares his teeth, biting at her. She stumbles back out of the trailer, slamming the door shut. She stands leaning against the trailer -- wondering if she's out of her mind for attempting this. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. IOWA MOTEL - LATER THAT SAME MORNING Annie is returning from her jog, sweating. As she crosses to her motel room, she stops by the window, looking in to see: Grace, on the floor, straining to do her exercises. Annie fills with compassion for her girl -- reminded of the struggle she faces everyday. EXT. THE BADLANDS - DAY In the distance, the Suburban and horse trailer look like a dot on the horizon, moving across the Badlands. INT. THE SUBURBAN - ANOTHER TIME, DUSK Grace leans against the window in the back, in one of her darker moods. Annie switches radio stations, from Bible thumping to Farm reports. She shuts it off. Silence. She sees a ROAD SIGH: "LITTLE BIGHORN NATIONAL MONUMENT". ANNIE Grace, look! Grace reads the sign. ANNIE Would you like to see that? GRACE I don't care. ANNIE (overlapping) I don't care. Annie's comic mimicking, throws Grace off center. Annie turns off onto the exit. They drive by a massive casino -- it's neon sign flickering. They drive up a hill past a cafe, two Indians in high crowned Cowboy hats standing outside of the cafe. She drives up a hill towards the parking lot of the Monument... ANNIE This'll be nice. We haven't seen any of the sights yet. It's history. When I was thirteen I used to love seeing things like this. GRACE You were never thirteen, Mom. Annie laughs, taking it as a joke. Grace almost smiles. But, Annie drives up to sign only to find a CLOSED SIGN. The park was closed at six. Annie stops the car. She's hit a brick wall once more. Silence. Finally, Grace speaks with her usual sarcasm; GRACE Great idea. So now what? Beat. Annie's patience snaps; ANNIE How long is this going to go on? GRACE What? ANNIE You know what I mean? (turns to the back seat) Is this it now? Is this the way we're going to be from now on? Ignoring her, Grace edges to the passenger side and exits the car. Annie gets out of the driver's side and walks around as she speaks: ANNIE Do you want us to turn around and go back home? Do you? GRACE What are you asking me for? You didn't ask me if I wanted to come in the first place -- now I get to decide? Forget it! She begins to turn away. Annie grabs her arm. ANNIE Who do you think I'm doing this for? I'm doing this for you! GRACE Bullshit! It's about you! About you deciding! About you always being right! You always getting everything your way, controlling everybody -- like we work for you or something! ANNIE I don't believe this! GRACE You just want to get away from Daddy and you're using me to do it! ANNIE That's not true! Whatever problems your father and I are having, have nothing to do with this. GRACE You're amazing! You act like I don't live in that house! Don't you think I hear the two of you!? Don't you think I can tell what's going on? I'm not five years old, Mom! (Annie is stopped) You want to divorce Daddy and Daddy doesn't want to. ANNIE Did he tell you that? GRACE He doesn't have to! It's, like, so obvious you can't stand him. ANNIE That's not true! GRACE Then why do you want to leave? ANNIE It's... it's not that simple to explain. I know you think it is, but it's not. The truth is, I don't really know what I want to do. I don't have all the answers. GRACE No, you just act like you do. Annie is choked with fury. She doesn't know whether to scream, cry or strangle Grace. She turns away and begins walking quickly, blindly, up past a grove of trees. She comes to a CEMETERY enclosed by a black railing. At the crest of the hill there's a stone monument "The Little Bighorn Cemetery." In the growing darkness, she sees, scattered on the hillsides below her, white tombstones. A place of sorrow. A cool breeze ruffles her coat and she sticks her hands in her pockets. Frustrated, alone, at a complete loss as to what to do, what action to take -- Annie, for the first time in frozen, standing still -- and with her, comes a rush of emotion. She sits with her back against the monument and begins to weep. For Grace, for Robert, herself, for the tombstones, for everyone. A FLASHLIGHT shines on her face. It is a PARK RANGER. PARK RANGER You okay, ma'am? ANNIE (wipes face) Yes. Fine. PARK RANGER That young lady is getting a little worried. Annie realizes she left Grace alone as it got darker. ANNIE I'm sorry. I'm sorry... Annie rises and is escorted back to the Suburban by the Ranger. She sees: Grace is sitting in the front seat now, waiting for her -- like a little girl lost. INT. SUBURBAN - CONTINUOUS Annie gets into the driver's seat. Buckles up. Grace holds back tears. ANNIE You buckled up? (Grace nods) You cold? GRACE Little. Annie reaches into the back seat and pulls a blanket out, handing it to Grace, making sure it covers her. Grace turns towards the window and closes her eyes. Annie starts the car. EXT. MONTANA, BACK ROAD - MORNING C.U. on Pilgrim's head in the trailer as we PULL BACK to reveal the Suburban coming down an empty, seemingly infinite stretch of two-lane road in Montana. INT. SUBURBAN - MORNING Annie and Grace, both in front seats, eating doughnuts and coffee. They stop. POV -- Through the windshield is an endless sky and a rolling sea of land. GRACE Gee, this looks like a fun place. ANNIE Don't they believe in signs here? GRACE What would they say? "Ten miles to big rock." "Twenty miles to bigger rock." ANNIE There was supposed to be a turn off. Did I miss it? GRACE I didn't see it. Their Suburban is the only vehicle on what seems like miles of road. Annie sighs and puts the Suburban in drive. EXT. PETERSON'S MOTEL & STABLES, RED FORK MONTANA - DAY The Suburban and the horse trailer, pulls into Peterson's -- a collection of motel cottage adjacent to an expanse of land that includes stable, corral, a main house and various riding trails into the mountains. Mr. Peterson runs out from the main house to greet Annie as she gets out of the car. INT. SUBURBAN, ON ANOTHER MONTANA BACK ROAD - LATER THAT DAY Annie, showered and changed, is trying to follow Mr. Peterson's directions to Tom's ranch -- written on Peterson motel stationary. She is lost once again. ANNIE (reading) ... after left, stay on main road until rise, then... (frustrated) What bloody rise?!? What main road!? She stops the Suburban (no longer carrying the trailer). EXT. ANOTHER MONTANA BACK ROAD - CONTINUOUS From outside the Suburban, we see, but cannot hear, Annie hitting the steering and cursing in frustration. INT. SUBURBAN - CONTINUOUS Annie, panting, looks ahead and sees nothing but empty space, above and below -- as if the earth and sky met with nothing in between. She sighs and starts the car again. As she moves forward, she senses an almost indistinguishable rise in the road -- as we follow her POV up the road through the windshield to reveal: POV -- A BREATHTAKING VALLEY just beyond the rise, hidden from view only a few yards before. THE DOUBLE DIVIDE RANCH sits nestled in the valley, a few miles away. Annie is impressed. EXT. THE DOUBLE DIVIDE RANGE - DAY Men are working in the corral, saddle horses standing nearby, trying to get a sick calf to suckle a cow. One of the men is Tom Booker, working along side his brother FRANK, and his nephew, JOE. Frank is a good man -- solid work ethic, Christian fearing, wry sense of humor. With the build of a football player, his strength never overwhelms his boyish, good-natured heart. Joe is eleven, wearing his cowboy hat like a badge of honor. The three men seem as inseparable to each other, as they are to the land. As they work: JOE Can we take a look at Bronty's foal when we're done here, Dad? FRANK Sure. As long as she don't mind. JOE There's a kid at school says we should've imprint-trained him. Tom and Frank don't say anything. Just nod, knowingly. JOE He says if you do it soon as they're born, it makes them real easy to handle later on. FRANK That's what some folks say. JOE There was this thing on the TV about a guy who does it with geese. He has this airplane and these baby geese all grow up thinking it's their mom, and he flies it and they just follow. (to Tom) You hear 'bout that, Uncle T? TOM Yeah, I hear about that. JOE Well, what do you think about that stuff? TOM Well, Joe, I'll tell ya -- I don't know a whole lot about geese. Maybe it's okay for them to grow up thinking they're airplanes. But horses, as far as I can tell, can't fly. Frank laughs. Joe smirks as Tom messes his hat up. There's the sound of a car. They turn. The Suburban is coming over the ridge, heading down the driveway in a cloud of dust. JOE We expecting company? Frank shakes his head. As the Suburban slows down, Tom recognizes the driver. TOM I don't believe it. FRANK You know her? Annie, out of her element, hiding behind sunglasses, gets out as Tom approaches her by himself. Annie girds herself for the confrontation. ANNIE Hello, Mr. Booker. Annie MacLean. From New York. We talked on the phone. She extends her hand. TOM shakes it, nodding, staring at her curiously. ANNIE It's, uh... beautiful country. I had a little bit of a hard time finding the place. There are no signs. TOM Plenty of signs -- just none of them printed. Who do I get the idea you're not just passing through! ANNIE Well... OK... here it is... Uh... I'd like you to take a look at my horse. Now -- it won't take long and if, after that, you still don't feel... TOM Were you thinking of personally driving me back East? ANNIE Oh no. She's here. I brought him along. And my daughter, too. We're staying at Peterson's... TOM You mean you hauled him all the way out here? Just like that? ANNIE (slightly taken aback) Well... yes... I had a trailer. It's not like I made him run along side of the car. TOM All by yourself? She nods. Tom cannot help be impressed by her guts and fortitude. Camera cuts away for a moment to a window in the ranch house, through which DIANE -- Frank's fiery, loyal pioneer wife -- looks at the duo with suspicion. TOM I uh... ha, ha... I don't think I ever met a lady quite like yourself and I appreciate all the pains you've gone through to -- ANNIE Look! Please! Don't do the "shucks, ma'am" thing again! (Tom, surprised, listens) I've driven a few thousand miles for a few minutes of your time. I've brought him here -- to your neck of the... (seeing no woods) -- mountains. Just take a look at him. If you still feel the same way, I'll be on the road by morning and you'll never see me again. OK? Deal? Tom tries to hide a smile of respect. Annie, thinking she may have him, starts backing away towards her car -- as one would a dangerous animal they think they might have tamed... ANNIE We're at Peterson's. Whenever you're free. You don't even have to call. She gets into the Suburban. Tom watches her drive off. EXT. ANNIE AND GRACE'S COTTAGE - DAY Tom walks up some wooden steps to a door and knocks. He hears a TV on inside. And Grace's Voice: GRACE (O.S.) MOM! The door! He hears Annie's muffled reply from O.S. He hears some banging as Grace fumbles for her crutch and comes to the door. She opens it only so far as to reveal her upper body: GRACE Yeah? TOM Uh, I'm Tom Booker. Your mother around? Grace hops to the side as Tom walks by her, into the room. Grace is closing the door as he turns to see, for the first time, that Grace is one leg. GRACE She'll be right out. She's on the phone. Grace hops back to the bed in front of the TV. Tom nods and puts his hat down -- noticing the prosthetic leaning against the window, near her bed. He hears Annie on the phone and looks to the other room, the door ajar -- seeing only her legs, seated on the edge of her bed, as she talks. Her foot taps impatiently. TOM First time in Montana? Grace, rudely nods, still looking at the TV. Beat. Tom doesn't like her manner, but can easily see through it. He sits. TOM She gonna be long? GRACE Probably. She's on the phone twenty- three hours a day. TOM What does she do? GRACE She's an editor. TOM Mmm. An editor. GRACE Not like books or literature or anything. Just a magazine... Just in case she hasn't told you -- which I'm sure she hasn't -- I don't want to be a part of this, OK? Tom just sort of nods. A beat or two later, Annie enters. ANNIE Sorry about that. Hi. Grace, this is Mr. Booker... Have you looked at Pilgrim? Tom sees Grace turn away, just as Annie enters. He takes a moment. He could say no right there, but something stops him. TOM Uh, no. I was gonna take a look now. ANNIE You want us to come with you? I just have to run to the main house and give Mr. Peterson a check. TOM Doesn't matter. ANNIE Grace?... Grace, you want to come with us, take a look at Pilgrim? Grace keeps looking at the TV. No reply. Tom is half way out the door when he says to Annie -- making sure Grace can hear -- TOM Probably best she stays behind, anyway. He disappears. Annie gives Grace a final look and exits, closing the door. Alone, Grace flings her body across the bed, reaching for her prosthetic -- putting it on feverishly. She is completely intrigued by Tom. EXT. PETERSON'S STABLES - DAY Tom stands alone at the stable. Opening the bottom door, ducking under the stall, he goes inside. TOM Okay now... Okay now... Walking towards him, Tom raises his hand, showing Pilgrim a sign of respect, of trust... He quietly makes his way along Pilgrim's side, along his flank, prompting Pilgrim to move out from the shadows, into the light. Tom moves to look at him. And Pilgrim suddenly kicks out at him. Tom, not cowed, stands his ground. He bends, looking at Pilgrim's withered legs. He looks up at his scarred head. He looks into the pools of the horse's tortured eyes. Pilgrim stands still -- allowing Tom this brief intimacy. As Grace walks towards the stable, she realizes that the door is open and Tom must be inside. She is amazed. Annie, appearing behind her, is also impressed. Tom exits the stable and sees them, as he closes the doors. ANNIE Well... You're closest anyone's gotten. He walks straight towards them -- veering more to Grace. He stops in front of her and they look into each other's eyes -- in a way that reminds us of how Tom looked at Pilgrim. Except, Grace is made even more uncomfortable by the intimacy. She turns away and walks to the corral, to lean on a post -- as if she doesn't care. Tom turns to Annie. TOM I have to be honest. I still feel you made a long trip for nothing. He looks at Annie. Annie has no more words -- just an ever- present pleading in her face. Tom watches as Grace makes a small, naked movement -- putting her hand on her cheek, like a hurt child. He can't help but see these three being connected by one wound. TOM But before I even think about it, I need to know something here and now. It's a question for Grace here. Grace stiffens. TOM When I work with a horse, it's no good just me doing it. It doesn't work that way. The owner needs to be involved too. ANNIE Well, that'll be a little complicated -- TOM You can make it as complicated or as easy as you like. But she's the one who's gonna be riding him, am I right? So here's the deal. I'm not sure I can do anything, but I'm prepared to give it a go -- (to Grace) -- if you'll help. (Grace gives a bitter laugh) You have a problem with that? GRACE Isn't it like, obvious? TOM Not to me. Either you want to or you don't. ANNIE Look, I'll talk to Grace and call you later-- TOM Excuse me, with all due respect, but this is her decision, not yours. And I don't want to waste anybody's time -- mostly mine. Grace reacts anew to Tom's remark. She likes her mother being dis-empowered. Annie keenly understands the importance of Tom putting it this way to Grace. Grace has all eyes on her -- just what she wants. All waiting for her response. She turns away, flicks her head and says: GRACE Well, there's nothing else to do around here. Annie smiles in relief. But Tom isn't satisfied. TOM Not good enough. I can't help you. He starts walking away. Annie doesn't know what to do. Grace mumbles. GRACE What do I have to do? Tom keeps walking out... Grace says it louder. GRACE I said, what do I have to do?! Tom stops and looks at her. Annie holds her breath. INT. THE RANCH HOUSE, DOUBLE DIVIDE - NIGHT Frank, Tom, Joe and TOM TWIN BOYS, 6 years old, sit at a dining table eating dinner, as Diane serves. We parachute into the middle of the conversation: DIANE ... well, I just think she's got a lot of nerve showing up here. Draggin' that child and that poor animal all the way... (TO ONE OF THE TWINS) You eat with those fingers again and you know what'll happen! (the boy cowers) Frank, don't you think she's got a nerve? FRANK Oh hell, I don't know... According to Tom, she's a pretty determined woman. Must've thought it was worth it. DIANE (sits down) I guess they'll want feeding and all, out here all day long. TOM I don't believe they'll expect that. DIANE What, they ain't going forty miles into Choteau everytime they want a hamburger. FRANK Mixed salad. DIANE What? FRANK (slyly) I believe women from New York eat mixed salads. Ain't that right, Tom? Tom hides a grin -- he knows Frank into teasing her now. TOM I believe so. Saw it on a television show, once. DIANE Well, that's just what we need on a cattle ranch -- a vegetarian from New York. Everyone eats. Beat. JOE When you figure on branding? FRANK Weekend after next... TOM If the weather holds. Frank nods. Silence again. Everyone eats. Beat. JOE What's an editor do anyway? DIANE (playing) We're not sure, sweetheart, but they eat like rabbits. Tom and Frank chuckle. Diane smiles -- in on the joke with them. The children are curiously confused. INT. ANNIE AND GRACE'S MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Camera moves to reveal Annie on the phone in front of her computer and fax... plugging in extension cords as she talks: ANNIE ... the phone company's putting in extra lines. I'll call back with the numbers. Oh, and I want you to get in touch with this lady in town here -- they say she's sort of a physical therapist for the rodeo boys but keep the one at the hospital we already contacted on call... Grace sits alone in the living room. Watching TV, but anxious and disturbed about what she's committed herself to. INT. DOUBLE DIVIDE KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS - NIGHT Diane is in her bathrobe doing bills at the kitchen table, as she listens to a BOOK OF TAPE. Her hand on her forehead, her other hand writing. Tom enters to take his hat off the sideboard. He moves to the table and reaches over for a cookie from a plate of cookies. Without looking up, Diane slaps his hand. Tom then pours himself a cup of coffee... then swiftly sneaks his hand back and grabs a cookie. Diane smiles. Tom exits. It is only then that Diane looks up after him. INT. UPPER FLOOR OF RANCH HOUSE - NIGHT Camera follows Tom towards his bedroom -- passing the others. Perhaps we see Frank sprawled out asleep already in his underwear. We might see the Twins in their bunks. One of the Twins' lower torso is laying outside of the blanket. He casually flips the blanket over the kid's bare feet and continues to his room. INT. TOM'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Tom enters and closes the door. Turns on a stereo which plays a cello piece by Yo-Yo Ma. Books fills his room. He sits at his desk, puts on eye glasses and looks through some paperwork. Suddenly he stops, looking over the paperwork, into space. A thought passes by. We don't know what. FADE OUT: EXT. THE RANCH, A CORRAL - DAYBREAK First light of day. Pilgrim stands stock still in the middle of the corral. Tom, motionless, is crouched on his haunches in the corral -- watching him. TOM'S POV: As Pilgrim moves, he can see that the horse is stove up. He softly tosses a handful of dirt at Pilgrim's withered legs... Pilgrim, sensitive to the slightest provocation, bucks, wheeling away from him. Then stops. Tom sits on his haunches again... and watches him. Frank appears, exiting from the barn (perhaps). FRANK Tom? TOM Yeah. Tom leaves Pilgrim, hooking up with Frank -- the two brothers go off, discussing the ranch work that is ahead of them. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE RANCH - ANOTHER DAY Annie and Grace arrive in the Suburban. They exit. As they head towards the ranch, they see in the distance: Pilgrim standing along the fence of a round pen. Tom stands in the pen, holding a rope, looking at Pilgrim. EXT. THE ROUND PEN - DAY Tom stands in the pen with Pilgrim. He looks to see Annie and Grace approaching but makes no acknowledgement. He turns his focus back to Pilgrim. Annie and Grace appear. Grace takes a position (that is to become her regular spot) a distance away from the pen. Annie moves in closer, beside SMOKEY (a ranch hand) with one leg up on the pen fence. SMOKEY Howdy... (sees Grace) Howdy. He and Annie watch as Tom stands before Pilgrim -- turning sideways... then standing... ANNIE What's he doing? SMOKEY Trying to get his eye. ANNIE How's it going? Smokey doesn't respond -- how it's going is exactly how it looks. Tom takes a few steps, stops and stands still again. We sense the process is long and requires great patience. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. ROUND PEN - DAY Two hours later. Grace is in the same spot. Smokey is gone, doing his work. Annie has taken a different position, looking over SEVERAL PAGES OF FAXES on her lap. Tom is still standing in the pen trying to get Pilgrim's eyes. Joe has joined the proceedings, sitting on the pen rail. Tom deftly throws a hoolihan, gently lassoing Pilgrim around the neck. And Pilgrim, at the touch of the rope, crazed, resists, pulling back, striking at the rope... The rope cutting into Tom's hands. Tom gives him some slack, giving his head, letting him relax... then gently heads him by the rope, walking him around the pen, getting his feet to moving. Grace's eyes never leave Tom. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DOUBLE DIVIDE - DAY Tom, off in the distance -- against a sky that seems to be touching the land -- is riding along a creek. Closer up, we see he's rustling the bushes with a stick. Some stray cows run out of the bushes. Tom races after them. His horse shepherds the cow across the creek and up a hillside. At the top of the hill, with the ranch spread out endlessly before him, Tom sees Frank on his horse, chasing strays. Tom whistles. Frank waves back. In the near distance, a pickup truck is parked on the range. Joe and the TWINS are throwing food pellets out of the back of the truck. Cattle come from across the range for the food. What begins as a handful of cows becomes dozens, then hundreds -- the truck virtually disappearing among them. Tom stops for a moment to look out at his ranch. Far off in the distance, he sees Annie's Suburban coming along the road to the ranch. He watches as Annie's distant figure gets out of the car with Grace. Annie instinctively turns and looks across the land. Even though there is such a distance, there's a sense Tom and Annie are looking at each other. Tom senses Joe driving Frank's truck, slowly moving off the range -- the Twins in the back, the cattle following. Tom sits on his horse atop the hill. EXT. THE DOUBLE DIVIDE - ANOTHER DAY Pilgrim, his scarred head above water, legs moving in odd sycopation, swimming. We discover he is in a pond, tethered to a pole... Except for the sound of his legs in the water, everything is quiet and focused on Pilgrim. SMOKEY, holds the pole, walking on the outside of the pond, leading Pilgrim back and forth as he swims. Tom, crouched by the pond, silently concentrating on Pilgrim... Grace watches, off by herself... Annie stands beside Joe. She can't help but be intrigued by the sight. She asks Joe; ANNIE I though horses were afraid of water? Joe doesn't answer her. Grace likes that. Annie, frustrated, feels she has the right to simple shout out to Tom. ANNIE Is that to get his strength back? Tom pays her no mind -- concentrating on Pilgrim. Suddenly, Annie's CELL PHONE rings, jarring the proceedings. Tom turns to Annie. She hides her embarrassment by answering it, walking away. Tom gives her a look. Grace is loving this. Tom turns back to Pilgrim. After a few moments -- Tom, taking the rope tether, unhooks it from the pole. He starts to lead Pilgrim out of the water. Pilgrim, fearful, fights him. He rears, splashing Tom, not wanting to come out of the water. Grace is worried. She looks to Joe and sees he is concerned too, though he stands quietly. Annie hears the commotion from where she stands and finishes her call to return to the pond. Tom enters the pond, waist deep in water, trying to grab Pilgrim's rope. Pilgrim rises up, rearing at him. Joe and Smokey, sensing danger, come closer to the pond. Annie appears beside Grace and watches as Tom reaches for the rope again. Pilgrim rears again. Tom stumbles backwards from his hooves. Annie gasps. Grace turns to walk away from the pond. She can't watch -- it brings back too much. But as she does, she is stopped by the sight of -- Tom, righting himself, unphased, calmly walks back to Pilgrim. The horse, baffled by this man's lack of fear, lets him take the rope and walk him out of the pond. Grace can't help but be impressed. Joe nods. Annie is shaken. ANNIE Mr. Booker, I'm not at all comfortable with you taking those kinds of chances... As Tom leads Pilgrim out, the horse suddenly whirls, bolting, knocking Tom down... ANNIE Oh, God! Pilgrim runs off, pulling the wet rope behind him. Joe runs over and grabs for the rope. TOM NO... LET HIM GO! Joe obeys. Pilgrim runs past the corral and down into a hill out onto a pasture, He keeps on running into the distance -- running across the pasture, not knowing where he is going... Tom, arms folded across his chest, watches him run. A concerned Annie approaches. ANNIE She's running away! How are you going to get him back? Tom doesn't respond. He walks off down the hill out onto the pasture, stops, arms folded and watches Pilgrim. Annie turns when she hears Smokey, who appears behind her: SMOKEY He don't really want to run. Don't know where he's going. All this open space scares the daylight out of him. Confused, Pilgrim stops running and walks, in no particular direction. SMOKEY My guess is he's spent his life in a six-by-eight stall... He's forgot what it's like to be a horse... Smokey ambles off and she turns back to see Tom crouching on his haunches, sitting in the grass, just waiting. Pilgrim walks back towards the ranch, stops a distance from Tom, looks at him... Annie, needing to know exactly what's going on, crosses down the hill to him. ANNIE So what now? Should we leave? Tom continues watching Pilgrim. Annie looks at him, sitting there motionless and feels like an idiot. Clearly she doesn't understand all this and clearly no one thinks this is the time to explain to her. ANNIE Well, we're going to go then... Without looking at her, Tom just nods. Annie, awkwardly, walks back up the hill to where Grace is... ON THE GRASSY HILLSIDE, Grace is watching the scene by herself as Joe appears, staring at her leg... It makes her uncomfortable. She turns to him with a curt, impatient tone; GRACE What? Their eyes meet. Joe is so guileless, Grace is taken off guard when he asks in such a compassionate voice; JOE Does that hurt you? Grace tries to think of an answer -- and of how to say it: GRACE Only when I kick somebody. Her gentle delivery makes him smile. She smiles, then: GRACE Don't you go to school? JOE Twice a month they give you a day off to work on the ranch. He tips his hat down as he looks out to Pilgrim with respect; JOE Look at him out in the pasture -- Yeah, he must've been a big, beautiful looking horse. How was he to ride? Grace is uncomfortable again. She looks away, just struggling. Joe senses she's done talking; JOE Excuse me. I got chores to look after. He tips his hat and walks off, passing Annie as she arrives. ANNIE You ready to go? Grace hesitates. Then mother and daughter take one more look -- POV -- Pilgrim standing in the pasture with Tom crouching in the grass waiting for him. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. PASTURE - LATER THAT DAY Tom is still sitting in the grass, just where we left him -- waiting patiently. Pilgrim is still out in the pasture. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. PASTURE - STILL LATER THAT DAY Afternoon shadows cross the ranch. Tom is in the exact same spot and position. Pilgrim is somewhat closer -- but still at a distance -- watching him. Frank rides back from work. As he passes Tom, the two nod as if nothing usually is going on. Frank rides up to the barn. INT. PETERSON'S MOTEL - Grace is flicking the television -- repeating the only three channels over and over... Annie works at her computer, surrounded by work. She notices the time, gets a thought and dials the phone... ANNIE Hello, Mr. Booker... Oh, hello, Frank. This is Annie MacLean... I was wondering, has-... (listens) Uh-huh... And Pilgrim?... (listens) Still?... Uh-huh... (politely cheery) Okay then. Thank you. She hangs up, pauses, then speaks to the window out loud enough for Grace to hear -- ANNIE He's still sitting in that damn field. GRACE (w/o looking at her) I think they call it a pasture. Annie looks at her as if to say the last thing I need to know is a lesson on the local lingo... ANNIE Let's go see what's going on, then get something to eat. EXT. DOUBLE DIVIDE RANCH - DUSK The sky is changing colors, the temperature has dropped. Tom is still sitting in the grass, although someone has brought him a blanket for his shoulders. Pilgrim is in the pasture, but now -- he too is motionless, looking back at Tom. The sound of a car makes Tom turn to see Annie driving up. She gets out, stands by the car with a proprietary air, watching Tom and Pilgrim. Grace remains in the car. There's a sound. She turns to see Diane coming out of the house... DIANE There's coffee inside... I was just bringing this to Tom. ANNIE Would you mind if I did? I'd like to talk to him. Diane, knowing full well Tom ain't in a talking mood, hands her a cup... DIANE Sure. (seeing Grace in car) Does your daughter want to come inside? ANNIE Uh, no, we're going to dinner... Is this the way to the pasture? DIANE Pasture? Oh, that stretch of field near the hill? Yeah. She's gone. Annie grimaces, then crosses the hillside to where Tom is squatting down. She appears to his side and, without speaking, tries to indicates she has his coffee by leaning it toward him. Tom sees her and accepts it with a grateful nod. Annie waits. Nothing happens. Feeling foolish, she begins to walk back. At some point, she turns to see Pilgrim moving across the pasture toward Tom. He stops in front of him, just a few feet away. Tom says something to him. Annie is intrigued -- and she knows enough to stay quiet now. She watches Pilgrim walk over to him. She watches as Tom gets up and pats Pilgrim's scarred head. In spite of herself, Annie is somewhat moved by this act. Only we see Grace, peering out from the car, seeing this act of communion as well. Only we see her reaction to it. As Tom turns and walks back to the ranch, Pilgrim follows him. As he passes Annie, all he says is... TOM From now on, leave your phone somewhere else... As he moves past her, Annie responds; ANNIE But I have business calls I have to -- Tom keeps heading for the barn as he suggests, without turning back; TOM Then drop off Grace in the morning, go on back and do your business. Come pick her up around dinner. Standing there, Annie has the impulse to respond to this suggestion, but has no idea what to say and saying it wouldn't make much sense since Tom is already out of ear shot. Diane appears from the house and calls out: DIANE Mrs. MacLean -- why don't you and daughter stay for dinner? ANNIE Oh uh, thank you. No, we don't want to impose. DIANE No imposition. Plenty of food. Gonna get pretty dark soon. Hard to find a place. Annie looks up to the alien sky and realizes she's right. She looks to Grace, who doesn't seem to oppose the idea. INT. RANCH HOUSE/KITCHEN - NIGHT Everyone sits around the kitchen table. Joe, still wearing his hat, eyes Annie and Grace with acute curiosity. DIANE Joe, take off the hat -- I'm not going to say it again. Joe obeys. Diane puts the last of the serving plates on the table -- pork chops, potatoes, gravy, peas, bread... And a big bowl of mixed salad. The boy can't help eyeing how the "vegetarians" will act. Annie and Grace eye the food. Annie reaches out for a serving ladle, picking up Grace's plate to serve her as Grace reaches for a piece of bread, when: FRANK Dear Lord, we are humbly thankful for... Annie and Grace freeze as Frank continues his prayer -- they notice everyone's head bowed slightly. FRANK (continues) these gifts. For the blessings on our home, our family and our guests. Bless those that aren't as fortunate. Bless all God's creatures. EVERYONE Amen. Everyone begins eating. Annie and Grace breath a sigh of relief. Silence. Utensils hitting plates, the only sound. FRANK Bank out us a couple more men to run the cattle. TOM We should be fine, then. Beat. Annie and Grace listen... JOE Teacher asked me why we raise Black Angus-Herefords 'stead of Pure Herefords. FRANK Tell her they suit the weather better. Their udders are black, 'stead of pink. TOM They don't get burned by the sun bouncing off the snow. And they're good mother. FRANK Our daddy raised Pure Herefords. Silence... Eating... Annie tries her hand at conversation: ANNIE You know, that's interesting. I always wondered when I went into a restaurant what was the difference between a regular steak or a Black Angus steak. I couldn't taste any difference although I could swear one was more tender. I didn't know there was that big a difference between cows... (silence) I've never been on a cow farm before. I must say, the bulls seem to have the best time of it. Just laying around the fields all day until they're asked to... (uncomfortable) do their... work. FRANK Well, get born a bull, got a ninety percent chance of getting castrated and served up as hamburger. On a balance I reckon I'd choose being a cow. (to Grace) Would you mind passing that salad young lady? DIANE How's Peterson's holding up for you? ANNIE (lying) It's fine. Comfortable. I still can't get used to how dark it gets around here, though. When we leave the ranch, I always hold my breath until I can see the motel. FRANK (innocently) You know, Tom, while you're working on that horse of theirs, Annie and Grace should move into the old Creek house. Diane and Tom react accordingly; Diane hiding her annoyance, Tom hiding his surprise and pleasure. FRANK Nobody's using it. Silly for her to be driving back and forth when she don't know her way around that well... ANNIE Oh, I don't know... FRANK Well, I know Peterson's. Old place is as good as falling down around your ears. DIANE (overlapping) They're already all settled in, Frank. Anyway, I'm sure Annie wants her privacy. FRANK It's got doors, Diane. Private as can be. Tom? TOM I don't have a problem with that. It's up to Annie. ANNIE Well, it's worth it, really? I mean, how much longer do you think you need to work with Pilgrim? TOM That's up to Pilgrim. Everyone waits on Annie's answer as she considers this. INT. MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Grace is on the phone with Robert. Annie is packing things up. Grace is telling him about the day; GRACE (listens) I know. Me, too. Why don't you come one weekend? Annie reacts to this. GRACE We'll have more room because we're moving onto the ranch. They have this empty house near this creek. It's actually pretty... OK... I love you. (to Annie) Dad wants to talk to you. ANNIE (takes the phone) Hi. INTERCUT INT. CENTRAL PARK WEST APARTMENT - NIGHT Robert is burning the midnight oil in the study with files all around him. ROBERT Hey... She sounds like she's doing all right. How is she? Grace exits into the bathroom. Annie talks softly; ANNIE (cautious) Yeah. She seems to be getting more comfortable on the ranch, which is why I said yes to this move. But, whenever it's just the two of us, I don't know... Anyway... what's happening with the Delco lawsuit? ROBERT Taking forever. I just got an additional list of sixty-two employees to interview before Monday. I don't know how I'm going to do it. ANNIE Well, it's good that you're there. Robert didn't mean to validate his separation from them. ROBERT So, how are you doing in Marlboro country? Is the magazine complaining at all? ANNIE Yeah, but nothing I can't handle. Lucy tells me she thinks Gottchalks's plotting, but what else is new. ROBERT When are you coming home? ANNIE You know, I just asked that myself tonight. He doesn't know. ROBERT Well then... maybe I will take some time... come visit. ANNIE Okay. Beat. Annie knows Robert needed an invitation from her. But she can't do it. Robert tries again. ROBERT I miss you, Annie. ANNIE I know. We miss you too. ROBERT Good night. ANNIE Night. Awkwardly, they hang up. Grace exits the bathroom. GRACE Did you ask him to come visit? ANNIE You already did. GRACE Did he mention it? ANNIE (resumes packing) Yeah, he's going to think about it. You want me to pack for you? Grace looks at her disapprovingly as she passes to go to the bathroom. Annie registers this. INT. RANCH HOUSE - LATE DAY Diane is washing windows while listening to an audio book on her tape player. Through the windows, she sees: Joe and the Twins helping Annie and Grace move into the Creek House. Diane has conflicting feelings about this. She continues her work. INT. CREEK HOUSE - LATE DAY VARIOUS SHOTS of ANNIE CONNECTING HERSELF BACK TO THE REST OF THE WORLD, BY PLUGGING IN HER COMPUTER, FAX, ETC... Grace is in the other room, as she was in the motel. Alone. With no television, she is just listening to her music laying on the couch. The two women remain separate no matter where they are. But we see a small difference. Grace rises and walks to the window. She looks out; POV: She sees people working about the ranch. Maybe Joe is among them -- riding his horse as he works. Or maybe it's just a vision of people with tasks to complete -- who do so with pride, discipline and clarity. Grace looks out the window longingly. EXT. THE RANCH - ANOTHER DAY A cloud of dust. A dozen or so horses are running in an arena by the stables. Tom is riding among them, holding a long stick with an orange flag at the end of it, waving it at the young horses, making them run away from him. The colts stay close together. One of the horses, PILGRIM, stays at a distance, off to himself. Grace watches from along the railing. She alternates her attention from the horses... to Tom. TOM What we're doing here, Grace, is trying to get him to learn how to be a horse again. He cracks the flag, the horses move together... TOM The others already know, see. That's how they are in the wild -- herd animals... (cracks the flag) ...When they've got a problem, like they have now with me and this flag, they look to each other. But old Pilgrim there has forgotten. I'm the rock and they're the hard place. He thinks he hasn't got a friend in the whole wild world... C.U. on GRACE, who clearly feels the same way... but wants desperately not to. She watches him ride off towards Pilgrim who has stopped like all the others at the far end of the ring. He stands by himself, tossing his head, snorting, not wanting to be around other horses. Tom cracks the flag, keeping them moving. Pilgrim does his own private dance. Tom rides by Grace and hands her the stick; TOM Hold this for a minute... Grace stiffens. She doesn't want to, but she's afraid to say "No" to Tom. He just insists by tossing it to her... TOM Hold onto it, go on... She's forced to catch it. He turns and rides away, chasing down Pilgrim, trying to edge him toward the herd. For a moment, he has him breaking to the left with the horses. But as soon as he's clear of Tom, he separates himself and comes to stop on his own. Tom rides back to Grace, taking back the flag. TOM We'll get there, Grace. As he says this, he flashes a small, reassuring smile and a little wink. Grace melts just a little. As he rides away. Annie appears, having come from the Creek House. She calls: ANNIE Grace? The clinic just called... They had to change your physical therapy appointment. We have to leave now. Grace frowns a little -- her mother's "perfect timing." Annie approaches the arena, watching Tom riding. As he passes her; TOM Hello, Annie... Annie notices how he says her name. ANNIE Mr. Booker... He flashes a smile in her direction and Annie's expression comically matches her daughter's reaction. She quickly covers it, however. Her eyes follow him as he glides around the arena. It's like watching a great ballet -- his control of the horses, his effortlessness, his grace, his strength... She smiles to herself in appreciation. Then catches herself: ANNIE (to Grace) You got everything you need? GRACE If I had everything I need, I wouldn't be going to physical therapy. Tom approaches as he overhears Grace respond; ANNIE (trying to cheer her) Honey, come on. Would you like to stay in town for dinner? Maybe see what movie's playing tonight? GRACE Why? There's no food in the house? ANNIE No. I just thought... forget it. He's getting a clearer view of their relationship. TOM You know, we're branding here tomorrow. If you two want to come by to watch or give a hand, you're welcome. ANNIE (laughs) Branding? (sarcastic) I haven't branded in years. Tom chuckles. GRACE I'll come. ANNIE Uh, I don't, honey. Branding? Oooh... I think we'd just be in Mr. Booker's way. TOM As long as you don't get in the way of the branding iron, it doesn't matter too much. Annie smiles. She turns to Grace, questioningly. Grace says matter-of-factly, to prove her point. GRACE I watched Margo Neuberger get a tattoo. Tom squints. Annie shrugs and nods. ANNIE Okay. As Grace and Annie walk to the car, Tom says: TOM Hey, Grace -- maybe we can get your mom to put me and you branding on the cover of her magazine. Start a whole new fashion craze. They continue walking as Grace smiles, enjoying being singled out for his joke. Annie responds, almost flirtatiously. ANNIE Try not to fall off your high horse, Mr. Booker. Tom tips his hat and rides away... Annie smiles and nods... Grace doesn't like their sudden familiarity. Or her mother's coy manner. As they enter the Suburban, Grace asks point blank; GRACE Did you call Dad today? Annie is caught off guard. Tom, riding in the arena, catches himself looking after them... then goes riding after Pilgrim. EXT. DOUBLE DIVIDE - DAY The air smells of scorched flesh. There is nothing but NOISE. Calves, separated from their mothers, "cry." They are moved out through a series of connected pens into a narrow chute, and then one by one into a holding pen. They're clamped and lowered sideways onto a table and given a shot, a yellow insect tag in one ear, branded, then sent back to their mother's. The bulls, in a pen by themselves, stand haughty, paying no attention. Frank helps "doctor" the calves. Joe brands. Annie and Grace are standing by the railing, watching with a mixture of fascination and disgust. Tom moves in the feeder pen, waist deep in calves, moving them through the chute. He looks to Annie. TOM Hey, over there, you want to make yourself useful? It isn't a question. TOM Hank, I got you a volunteer! Annie and Grace realize they have no choice. -- WHAT FOLLOWS IS A SEQUENCE OF SCENES SHOWING ANNIE AND GRACE PARTICIPATING IN THE BRANDING. AND HOW THEY GRADUALLY COME TO LOSE THEMSELVES IN THE EXPERIENCE. SEQUENCES WILL INCLUDE: -- HANK, A RANCH HEAD, HELPING ANNIE INTO THE CHUTE... ANNIE GETTING KICKED BY A CALF. -- GRACE BEING SHOWN HOW TO HOLD THE BRANDING IRON. -- HANK TEACHING ANNIE HOW TO SAY "HYAH!!"... -- TOM IN THE HOLDING PEN WITH HIS ARMS AROUND GRACE, SHOWING HER HOW TO APPLY THE BRAND... GRACE, A LITTLE FRIGHTENED OF THE BRAND, IS IN HEAVEN IN TOM'S ARMS... -- ANNIE IS STILL TRYING TO SAY "HYAH"!! WITH THE PROPER FORCE. SHE CLAPS HER HANDS, PUSHING THE CALVES ALONG, KNEE DEEP IN COW SHIT. -- GRACE CLOSES HER EYES AND THE IRON TOUCHES THE CALF'S HIDE. TOM That's good... firm but gentle... (Grace opens her eyes) It hurts but he'll get over it. Grace smiles proudly. TOM You handled that pretty well. Think it's time you earn your keep around here. So, when we're not working and when you don't have your therapy, I'd like you to help out with the horses... Rubbing them, cleaning up the stalls... You think you can handle that? Grace knows him well enough to know; GRACE That's not a question, is it? TOM You're catching on. Grace smiles. -- Annie turns and, not looking where she's doing, trips over a calf, falling down. And calves, coming down the chute, start to run towards her. Suddenly, Tom grabs her by the leg and pulls her to safety. He helps her up and dusts her off. TOM (not wanting to smile, but...) You okay? ANNIE It is cocktail hour yet? Tom laughs. She takes a big breath. EXT. THE RANCH - LATE AFTERNOON The ranch is colored in amber light. Near the house, two long tables pushed together to make one long one... A gentle breeze ruffles the tablecloth. Everyone is seated for a meal. We hear laughter and conversation... We parachute into the middle of the moments; -- Hank helping with his wife get to their three children to sit still for dinner... -- Diane organizing the women and their various plates of side dishes... -- The Ranch Hand piling up their plates and kidding each other... -- Joe is instructing Grace on the various sauces for the ribs. The Twins are making fun of him behind his back. -- Tom and Smokey are barbecuing, the last one to sit. -- Frank assists his frail mother, ELLEN BOOKER, at the table, filling her plate with all the things she can't reach for. DISSOLVE TO: The faces are beautiful. Laughing. Eating. Everyone is tanned and exhausted after a long day, but filled with life and eager to live it. The tables are covered with heavy food. The communion at this table is as much a part of the ritual as the branding itself... Annie and Grace look different to us. Tanned from the sun, their bodies sore -- they feel softened, yet more vital. As if the artifice had been worn off... the armor of urban life. As the table thrives with conversations, we focus on: Annie and Ellen Booker. Annie looks calmer than we've seen her -- and more naturally beautiful. She is seated beside Ellen Booker. We sense they have been talking for a while. Annie is so sincerely interested in listening to her, she's hardly touched her own plate... ELLEN BOOKER ... he was a blacksmith by trade, my father. My grandson Joe was named for him. But he always dreamed of having his own place and raising horses... We see Tom a few places down and across from Annie and his mother -- but fully aware of their conversation. ELLEN BOOKER He'd heard of some land. What's Stockett now. Rode out there. Got off his horse and walked about as far as he could in one way. Then he walked as far as he could another way and another until he got back to where he started and that's where he put his roots down... That's where my husband and I ranched and raised Frank and Tommy... She motions proudly to Tom who looks up. Annie smiles to him. He looks to her with gratitude for the respect she's showing his mother. ELLEN BOOKER Quite a different life from what you know, I expect. Which place to you call home? ANNIE Well, I was born in London, but my father was an ambassador and we moved constantly. I've lived in a lot of places but I don't really know what I'd call home. Tom listens to this. ELLEN BOOKER An ambassador! My! That's very important. ANNIE He was a wonderful man. She looks to Tom and he can sense a sadness around this in her eyes. DIANE (to Grace) I sure hope you're gonna eat more than that, young lady. You're a growing girl. GRACE I've never eaten this much in my life. DIANE Probably never worked so hard, neither. Those arms of yours are gonna be pretty sore tomorrow. I'll give you a little bit of ointment I make. It's a magic recipe my Mama gave me. FRANK We used to call Diane's mother Medicine Woman. None of us never went to the doctor when she was alive. Annie and Grace listen in... HANK Too bad she wasn't here for old Henry Vanoker... FRANK Not much would have helped him. DIANE I never got that whole story, what happened? HANK Old Henry was changing a flat tire on his truck over on 118 when that... (laughs) ... two-hundred-year-old jack he has gives way and the side of that truck come slamming down on that rock he calls head... There's laughter -- everyone knows Old Henry. Except: ANNIE What happened? HANK Knocked him out for a while. He woke up, finished putting on the tire and drove himself to the hospital. DIANE Old Fool... Darling, pass down those peas for me, thank you. Annie and Grace don't know how to respond... But everyone else takes it their stride as they continue eating... Grace notices Joe is whispering something to Frank, who nods his head and speaks to the table. FRANK Huh, Joe here has something to say. Joe stands, somewhat formally, with his hat on. JOE I wrote this for you Grandma... Mrs. Booker, and Diane, beam. Annie and Grace don't know what to expect. Joe stands straight as an arrow and recites a poem from memory... At first, Annie and Grace appear to be embarrassed for the boy but soon they can't help but be won over by his guilessness. He finishes and everyone applauds. Hank's wife asks: HANK'S WIFE That was lovely. Who wrote that, Joe? JOE I wrote it myself, ma'am. FRANK Now son, you tell 'em when it came from. JOE Be honest, I can't say I did it all myself. My grandma helped me get the words right. OOoo's and aah's and smiles and conversations erupting over each other. Only we see, Grace looking over to Joe who gives her kickass, shy grin... TOM (raising his beer) Well, I'd like to welcome Annie and Grace to their first branding... FRANK And next time, Miss Annie, you can run down the calves... ANNIE I'll drink to that... Everyone toasts and drinks. Annie and Tom exchange a look. She smiles, but not in a alluring way -- rather, in a grateful way. Grateful for this brief moment of community and good feeling. And somehow, Tom knows what she's feeling. No one notices this silent exchange -- except for Diane, who sees everything that's going on. INT. RANCH HOUSE, DINING ROOM - NIGHTFALL The Women are bringing in dishes and plates and food from the tables through the house and into the kitchen. Annie is among them, feeling apart of the group. She enters carrying a large bowl, that held the corn. Diane is replacing newly-cleaned forks and knives in her dining room drawers, above which are several FAMILY PICTURES. ANNIE (referring to clean bowl) Where does this go, Diane? DIANE Oh, you can just set up on the dining table. I have to rearrange my shelves tomorrow. Annie complies. She notices the framed pictures on the wall in the dining room. ANNIE Is this Mr. Booker? Tom's grandfather? Diane looks at a faded photo circa late 1800's. DIANE Mm-mm. I never knew him. He died before Frank and I met. This here's... (another photo) Frank and Tom's mother and father... there's little Frank and Tom... ANNIE She calls him Tommy... DIANE Always did. I think she favored him a little. You tend to when you have more than one, even though you love 'em all the same. She studies the old faces of Tom's Parents -- although 20th Century people, there is still a pioneering strength in their visage... a stoicism and power. DIANE (putting away forks) Ha, she loves telling this story about how when he was two years old, he ran off. They found him in the barn, sleeping between two giant hooves of a Percheron stallion. She said that horse was protecting him and nobody could convince her otherwise. ANNIE I got a little confused though. The ranch Ellen was talking about -- that's not this one? Diane is sorting silverware throughout the following: DIANE No. See, Frank and Tom were raised near the Clark's Fork River, right between the Pryor and Beartooth Mountains. Beautiful piece of land. But they had this uncle Ned -- useless man, never interested in ranching. And when the grandparents died, he left for the city and sent word through lawyers he wanted his claim to the land so he could sell it. Three years of legation broke their father. Frank took it all in stride, but Tom... Tom loved that land. I don't think he ever got over it -- His home being sold out from under him. Seeing his father like that. Once he and Frank got their folks set up in a new place, Tom left... went off. We didn't see him for years... Annie is intrigued by what she's learning about Tom. Something outside the window catches her eyes. She watches: POV; Tom and Frank, on either side to Ellen, are escorting her to a car that will drive her home. EXT. RANCH HOUSE - NIGHT Annie wanders out, passing Grace and Joe on her way out. The two are sitting in a glider. As Annie exits O.C., we hear them; GRACE Why do you always wear that hat? JOE Because it fits my head. You want to try it on? Grace doesn't know if she should. Annie continues towards Tom who's sitting in a rocker playing with the twins. TWINS Show us again! Come on! One more time! It's my turn now! TOM All right, al right. Hold out your finger. Annie takes a seat nearby and watches as Tom holds out the first finger of his right hand. The Twins holds out his. Tom splits his focus between Annie and the Twins as he takes a small piece of rope out of his back pocket. He ties the ends together making a loop. He puts the loop over the Twin's finger. And holding the other end of the loop taut with his left hand, he draws one side of the cord over the other with the middle finger of his right hand. Then he rolls his hand over so it's under the loop, and back over it again, so that his finger is tip to tip with the Twin's. The loop seemingly knotted around their touching fingertips, and can only be removed if their touch is broken. TOM The loop's knotted, right. (Twins nod) Looks like the only way to take it off, is if we break our touch... (they nod) Watch now... Annie and the Twins look down at the touching fingers as Tom gently pulls the rope away, revealing they are still knotted, and without even breaking their touch... TWINS Again! Again. One more time! TOM Oh, no. No, no. I only fall for that once. Go inside now before your mother starts hunting you down. Go on. The Twins exit. Annie and Tom make eye contact. TOM (smiles, relaxes back) So how was your first and last day of branding? ANNIE Don't be so sure it's my last. There are a few people back home I'd like to put under a red hot iron. Tom looks at her with a sly expression, and notices she's shivering. TOM You got too much sun today... Here... He takes his jacket and puts it around her shoulders. ANNIE Thank you. He sits back down. Annie crosses her arms over her chest, looks around, unconsciously swinging her foot. Tom watches her leg. Annie notices him watching; ANNIE What? TOM You ever just stand still for a minute? ANNIE You stand still too long in New York you get hit by a bicycle messenger. (smiles wryly) You know, sometimes, I get the feeling, Mr. Booker, that you're laughing at me. Why is that? Tom shrugs. Annie waits a beat, then: ANNIE That's your cue to say you're not laughing at me. TOM Oh, I see, you write both sides of the conversation? ANNIE It's a man's world, Mr. Booker. Most women have to. TOM Well, maybe I am laughing a bit... I just thought, as long as you're here, it would be nice for you to relax into the place a little. ANNIE (understanding) Well... It's beautiful country, I'll give you that. And I could see having some kind of vacation place. Retreat. But I don't know how you do it full time. Don't you miss the rest of the world? TOM What's that to miss? ANNIE Ha... if you've never lived in a city with museums, theater, music, restaurants, uh... god, a million things, then it's something I can't explain. TOM (thinks, teasing a bit) Does Chicago count? ANNIE (surprised) You lived in Chicago? TOM When I was first married. ANNIE (stunned) You were married to a woman in Chicago? Tom likes disturbing her picture of him as the predictable cowboy. He smiles; TOM I once heard Itzhak Perlman guest star with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He played Rachmaninov's Vocalize Opus 34. No. 14. It was one of the most beautiful pieces of music I ever heard. I actually forgot where I was for a time. (Annie is floored) You seem surprised? ANNIE (not wanting to insult) Well, I, uh... you didn't... TOM Just who's been laughing at who here? Tom says this with a wry smile. Annie returns with a smile -- as an understanding is reached between them: they've both stereotyped the other. They are both pleased -- and attracted -- by what they don't know. INT. CREEK HOUSE - NIGHT Grace is fast asleep, exhausted. She does not stir when the phone rings. Annie picks up from her own bed, awakened, still dressed in her branding clothes, having just passed out on the bed. ANNIE Hello? INT. CENTRAL PARK WENT APARTMENT - NIGHT INTERCUT: Robert, alone, in the vast apartment. ROBERT I thought you guys were going to call me. ANNIE Oh, Robert, I'm sorry. We were so tired from the branding. Grace barely made it to her bed and I didn't have the energy to take my clothes off. ROBERT Oh well... branding will do that to you. ANNIE Everything all right. ROBERT Huh-huh. You? ANNIE Fine. Actually, today was a good day. You should have seen her. ROBERT I wish I did. The sound of self-pity was so obvious for both of them, so Robert quickly re-groups, resorting to something he knows is important to her; ROBERT Well, uh the real reason I called, actually, was to tell you I saw Lucy at Jo-Jo's tonight and she seems very worried. ANNIE About what? ROBERT Apparently, Gottschalk's been seen around town lunching with some very prominent magazine editors. Lucy said she tried to call you, but no one answered so she faxed you the list of names. She said one of them have contracts up fairly soon. ANNIE Oh. I didn't look at my faxes today. We left before sunrise. ROBERT Honey, I hope you're not endangering your position. Listen, if you need to come back and you want me to come take over, for a while, I'll work it out. I mean, the firm's got other lawyers, but the magazine's got only one of you. After a day of hard work and simple pleasures, Annie begins to succumb to old anxieties and pressures. INT. CREEK HOUSE - NIGHT Annie is awake reading the faxes Lucy sent. One after other. As she flips through them, one falls to the floor near the bed. She gets down on all fours to retrieve and sees something under the bed. AN OLD, BATTERED CELLO CASE. She pulls it out to find the initials R.B. carved on the top. She opens it to find papers, receipts, bills -- all from Tom's married life. EXT. THE DOUBLE DIVIDE - EARLY MORNING Tom rides a young colt along the creek. He hears footsteps. He turns and sees Annie running along the creek on the other side. He stops to watch. When his horse SNORTS, Annie looks up to see him. She stops. He tips his hat to her. ANNIE I've decided it's impossible to properly say hello in this place without a hat. TOM A jogger, huh? ANNIE I don't jog, Mr. Booker. I run. TOM Lucky for you. The grizzlies around here only go for joggers. ANNIE If I can survive rush hour, I figure I can handle grizzlies... TOM (smiles) You sleeping all right in that house? ANNIE I don't sleep all right anywhere. But the house is fine. Tom walks his horse across the creek to her, comfortable in the silence. Annie moves about, uncomfortable in the waiting. ANNIE Who's R.B.? Tom is finding Annie's blunt curiosity more endearing. ANNIE I found this old cello case filled with bills and receipts. TOM Sorry about that. I thought everything got cleared out. R.B. is my wife... ex-wife... Rachel. We used to live in that house together. ANNIE I thought you lived in Chicago? TOM I thought you were an editor, not a reporter? Annie smiles and nods, realizing she's asking too many questions. She tries to casually reach out to touch the horse's head, but it's too abrupt and the horse tosses his head away, taking a couple of steps back. Annie is embarrassed. ANNIE I have a way with animals. TOM It's all right. He's young. Just hold out your hand a little lower so he can get the smell of you. ANNIE Oh yes. I forgot. She does and the horse sniffs at her hand. ANNIE He's beautiful. TOM Why don't you ride anymore? Grace told me you used to ride when she was younger. ANNIE She did? Annie is somewhat moved by her daughter telling him that. ANNIE I don't know, really. No time mostly. A cold wind blows. She folds her arms across her breasts. ANNIE I thought it was supposed to be spring. Tom can't help but notice her nipples are hard from the cold. He looks away. She laughs. ANNIE Are you shy, Mr. Booker? TOM Just polite. Well, maybe you'd like to try riding again, some time before you go home. Annie is struck by the words "before you go home." Tom ambles off on his horse. TOM Enjoy the day. ANNIE You too. Annie steps across the rocks at the ford, crossing the creek. Her foot slips, one of her shoes goes into the water. ANNIE Shit. TOM Need a lift? ANNIE I can handle it! She crosses the creek. She turns, giving him a small wave. He touches his hat. She runs off. Tom watches her go, head down, concentrating... INT. CREEK HOUSE - DAY A tense Annie is having a difficult phone with DAVID GOTTSCHALK; ANNIE ... David, we've been behind a day or two before. But Lucy just Fedexed me all the material and it'll be approved by the end of the day. DAVID GOTTSCHALL (V.O.) If nothing goes wrong. If the faxes don't go down. If the phone lines are opened. I can't have this magazine hitting the streets by the skin of its ass, Annie. During David's lines, Diane has entered, carrying fresh towels -- she crosses into the bathroom. ANNIE Oh, come on! This is such bullshit! The work is getting done, David. Lucky keeps me on top of everything. DAVID GOTTSCHALK (V.O.) Lucy isn't you. We're losing something without you being here. Now, I know this is a rough time for you, but I think we should make another arrangement. Without Annie's awareness, Diane re-enters and takes her time leaving, so she can take in all of Annie's things; her business "office," books, etc... ANNIE What the hell does that mean? How much more do I have to do to prove how important this magazine is to me? DAVID GOTTSCHALK (V.O.) If this magazine is so important to you Annie, why are you in Montana? Diane can't help but notice a slight vulnerability in Annie. DAVID GOTTSCHALK (V.O.) Look, this is what we're going to do. Finish up this issue. I'll set up a conference call in a few weeks. Just you, me and your lawyer and we'll just work this out so that everyone will be taken care of. Fair enough? Annie is now aware of Diane's presence and chooses to play it cool. It's not the moment. ANNIE Uh, yes... Sure, David. DAVID GOTTSCHALK (V.O.) All right. Speak to you then. He hangs up. Annie forces a smile to Diane. ANNIE Thank you. You're all doing too much. DIANE Oh, it's... I wanted to tell you that, if you'd like, you being so busy, I could take Grace to her therapy exercises for you. I have to go in once a week for shopping anyway. Annie doesn't know whether or not to accept. ANNIE Oh... Well... thank you very much. I don't -- Before she finishes her line, the Phone Rings again. ANNIE Sorry. (to phone) Hello? Hi, yeah, I just spoke to him. Oh, you know David, Mr. Strong Arm... Diane feels out of place and exits. Annie doesn't notice until she hears the door close. She pushes back her hair and takes a deep breath. She looks out through the side window and sees: Grace and Joe doing chores. Grace looks involved and not at all self-conscious. A moment of gratitude and calm for Annie. EXT. THE DOUBLE DIVIDE - DAY Pilgrim bursts out of a chute and into the riding arena. He runs to the far end and abruptly stops. Tom is holding the orange flagstick, and coiled rope, coming through a gate into the arena, crossing to the middle of the ring. Something in his demeanor tells us that fun and game are over. Pilgrim and Tom stand there, motionless, eyeing each other. Pilgrim snorts and takes a few, small steps backward. Tom takes a beat, then starts slowly towards Pilgrim, lifting the flag and "cracking" it. At the sound, Pilgrim whirls away from him and runs, around the arena. He starts to slow, looking at Tom. Again, Tom cracks the flag and Pilgrim runs, round and round the arena... like a ringmaster, Tom keeps Pilgrim moving, cracking the flag. Something about Tom's demeanor tells us it isn't going well. EXT. THE RANCH - DAY Tom, carrying a saddle, comes around the side of the barn. Through the slats, he sees Grace working in the barn, watering a horse. She has stopped and is looking through the cracks of Pilgrim's stall at him. She turns and sees Tom through the slats. She goes back to work as Tom comes to the barn door. TOM Come and take a ride with me. EXT. THE RANCH - DAY They walk towards his pick-up truck. TOM Can you drive? GRACE Drive? I'm not old enough yet. TOM It's never too soon to start. He enters the passenger side. GRACE I can't... TOM I don't have all day. She hesitates and gets into the truck. INT. PICK-UP TRUCK - DAY Grace doesn't know what to do. TOM Put the key in and turn it. (Grace obeys) The right pedal is gas, the other one's the brake. GRACE I don't know if I can with my leg. TOM Well, there's only one way to find out. (puts truck in gear) Give it a little gas. She awkwardly puts her prosthetic foot on the gas pedal. Too much. It lurches forward. She takes her foot off. TOM Well, we know you can. Now you just got to feel how much. Try it again. She does. They slowly, very slowly, move along the dirt road. TOM Nice, real nice. There's a little road down at the end here, turn onto it. Grace badly oversteers, but makes the turn. She drives along the road, across a pasture, heading toward distant mountains. TOM Just follow this. Nothing to it. I'm going to shut my eyes here for a little while. Just keep going till you run out of road. GRACE (afraid) I don't know if I can. TOM Not a question of if you can -- you are. Just keep your eyes on the road and your foot on the pedal and the rest will take care of yourself. Folding his arms over his chest, shutting his eyes, Tom relaxes back. Grace locks her hand on the steering wheel and her eyes straight ahead... EXT. DOUBLE DIVIDE - DAY The truck is parked at the foot of a mountain. Grace, very pleased with herself, sits beside Tom on the cab's roof, looking around them at the great Montana. After a beat; TOM Where did you get Pilgrim from? GRACE We bought him in Kentucky. My mother and I took a trip down there to see him. TOM That must have been pretty special. Grace nods. It is a pleasant memory. He motions for her to be quiet. An old ELK with a prodigious rack of antlers, has come down out of the mountains. Seeing them, he stops in his tracks, dead still. They watch each other. Then the elk turns and runs back up into the mountains. Tom smiles at Grace who smiles back -- partly because of the elk, partly because she's alone with Tom. GRACE Are you afraid of anything? TOM (thinks) Getting old. Not being of much use, I guess. (beat) What went on out there, Grace? With Pilgrim? Grace doesn't say anything. Tom nods then; TOM You see, Grace, I've got a problem. When I'm working with a horse, I like to know its history. Now, most times, the horse can tell you pretty much the whole story, but sometimes he can be so messed up in his head that you need more to go on. You need to know exactly what went wrong. Often times, it's the obvious thing, but something that went wrong just before that, maybe even some little thing... Grace is quiet. She doesn't want to think about that. TOM It's like if I'm driving and run into a tree. When somebody asks me, "Well, what happened?", I don't say, "Well, I plowed into a tree." I'd say, "The sun was in my eyes." or "I skidded." or "I took my mind off the road for a second." See what I mean? (Grace nods) I don't know how you feel about talking about it and I can understand you might not want to. But if I'm going to figure out what's going on in his head, it'd sure help if I knew exactly what happened that day. Grace looks away. Tom smiles and gently puts his arm around her shoulders, which has a soothing effect on Grace -- making her feel safe... TOM Not today -- whenever you feel like it. I leave it up to you. Grace looks into Tom's eyes, wanting so much to unburden herself to him and have him make everything all right. She nods. EXT. RANCH HOUSE - LATE AT NIGHT Tom is making his way to the house at the end of the day, when he stops and looks over to the Creek house -- POV -- the lights are on. And he can see Annie, exhausted... approving pages, talking on the phone and faxing all simultaneously. He gets an idea. EXT. CREEK HOUSE - MORNING Annie sits on the porch of the creek house, with a guilt over herself, sipping coffee and deep in thought. She looks up to see: Tom riding towards the house on his horse, leading another horse behind him. He looks to her and smiles. ANNIE (murmurs) Oh-oh. Tom reaches the house as Annie rises. ANNIE The answer's no. TOM You haven't heard the question yet. Truth is, you'd be doing me a favor. I got all these eager young colts need riding and poor old Rimrock here is feeling kind of left out... ANNIE Poor thing. TOM He'd be grateful, he'd take real good care with you. ANNIE Is this how you're going to make me pay my phone bill? TOM No, ma'am, I'm afraid that's extra. She gives him a crooked smile. EXT. THE RANCH, PASTURE - DAY Annie, in Levis and a jacket, rides Rimrock beside Tom across the pasture. We overhear them in the midst of talking. TOM Relax our center... It's just sitting in a bucket. ANNIE Yeah, it's been a while, but I... I remember the basic ideas... TOM OK. I'll stop talking then. He rides a few steps ahead as Annie realizes she doesn't remember. She just went into automatic "I don't have to be told anything" mode. ANNIE Actually, I never rode Western. I'm sorry. Go ahead. TOM Well, he don't know that. Just sit the horse. (watches her ride) Good... You have a nice seat. ANNIE Thanks. TOM Feel good? ANNIE Yeah. TOM You look all right. You want to pick it up a little? ANNIE OK. Tom urges his horse into a center. Annie canters alongside. TOM Watch your reins, he'll go with you, give him some room, let him do the work. Relax, don't grab him with your thighs, just so long as he can feel your body. Annie responds to every suggestion without resistance. And she experiences this sense of pleasure -- this great animal beneath her, the physicality and the surrender of letting someone else lead... TOM You want to let it go some more? She begins to let herself go, losing herself in the experience. She just nods... Tom breaks into a full gallop... Annie follows suit... She lets everything go -- her job, her marriage, motherhood, guilt, anxiety... all of it. Her only focus is the horse beneath her, and the man on the horse leading her... DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DOUBLE DIVIDE - DAY They ride along the creek, crossing at a ford. They ride up towards the mountains. LAP DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE MOUNTAINS - DAY They ride through a narrow pass with sheer rock walls, riding by a waterfall... LAP DISSOLVE TO: They ride across a meadow, cattle stepping lazily aside to let them pass. And as they ride alongside each other, appreciating the silence... LAP DISSOLVE TO: They ride up along a sloping ridge covered with pine trees. They come to the rim of a high bluff. They stop. They look out at the twin valleys that gave the ranch its name. And they can just see the old CREEK HOUSE hidden in the shade of some trees along the creek... Tom looks over at Annie, who is looking out over this beautiful vista. ANNIE It's a whole other world you have going on here. It just goes along, doing what it has to. And you're a part of it, you just wake up and, and there you are... And everything that seems like life or death some place else -- doesn't affect any of this one bit. Tom is impressed by her feelings. He sees her saddle cinch needs fixing and gets off his horse. TOM Lift your leg. Annie complies once she realizes what he's doing. ANNIE How long did you live here with your wife? TOM Five years. My son was born here. ANNIE (opens her eyes) Son? TOM Yeah. I haven't seen him in a while. He used to come to the ranch over summers, but then he started having friends and was going off to college, so... Good boy. Hal. Lives in New York near his mom. ANNIE How did you meet her? TOM College. In Illinois. She was playing the cello. I hadn't heard cello music growing up. She had the reddest hair, the bluest eyes. When she played, it was... Tom can't find a beautiful enough word. But Annie understands. TOM She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Annie sees Tom as if with new eyes -- his love for this woman he lost. ANNIE Why didn't it work out? TOM She was never really happy here. She did the best she could. Annie looks at him and for the first time senses a kinship -- an understanding they both have of being torn between two worlds... a desire for home... TOM Grace told me you have a country house in Connecticut. Sounds like a beautiful place. ANNIE It is. It's lovely. TOM Ever think of moving there full time? ANNIE We did at one point. When we thought we'd have more children. And we after tried. We tried everything, but... wasn't meant to be. There is an awkward silent beat for a moment. Annie is momentarily self-conscious. Tom helps by speaking of himself; TOM I hear that! See, I knew she was never going to be a ranchest, but I wanted to try -- I thought maybe she'd give music lessons to the kids in town or at the school, maybe even recitals. My son would grow up here. Maybe have one or two more. I'd teach 'em what I could. They'd play with my brother's kids. All grow up together. And even if they all decided to go out into the world, they'd always know where home was -- cause we'd keep it for 'em... ANNIE That's very important to you, isn't it? Home. TOM Yeah, I think it is. And I don't mean everybody's got to be married, have kids -- It's more like, knowing where you're from, where you belong, what feeds you, where you can go no matter what happens... Knowing what you're supposed to be doing while you're here. ANNIE How did you find out all that? Tom looks right into her eyes and confesses without a shred of self-consciousness. TOM I got lost. They smiles. EXT. CREEK HOUSE - NIGHT The world is in silhouette. Off in the distance, we see Tom standing by his horse, offering his hand to Annie, helping her off. There's an awkward moment, neither of them wanting the day, or the moment, to end. INT. CREEK HOUSE - NIGHT Grace is standing by the window, looking out at them. Their movements indicate an intimacy that upsets her. EXT. CREEK HOUSE - NIGHT After a beat; Tom gets back on his colt. He takes Rimrock's reins and leads him off. Annie stops for a moment, watching him ride away... She watches her mother walk towards the house; INT. CREEK HOUSE - MOMENT'S LATER Grace watches her mother stand there a moment, then turn and walk towards the house. Grace moves away from the window, her emotions churning -- jealousy, anger -- and enters her bedroom, shutting the door. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE PASTURE - EARLY MORNING Joe, hat tipped low, is riding his horse, leading some young horses, exercising them in the morning pasture. He sees Grace, walking with her cane, coming across the pasture. JOE (shy) Hi... She stops. After a beat; GRACE Would you let me ride your horse? JOE (hesitates) Have you talked to Tom about it? GRACE Of course I have. JOE (beat, then:) I don't know... You sure Tom said it's all right? She nods. He hesitates. GRACE Are you going to give me a hand or aren't you? He gets off his horse and holds it. She puts down her cane, then puts her hand on the saddle horn. She puts her prosthetic leg into a stirrup. Frightened, she starts to shake; JOE You sure? Angry, determined, Grace tries to swing her leg onto the horse. She can't do it. Tears of frustration on her face. She tries again. She manages to pull herself halfway on, her prosthetic leg buckles and she falls. Frightened, Joe runs to her. JOE You okay? She gasps to catch her breath. He reaches to help her up. She pulls her hand away. Embarrassed, she "runs" off. Joe remains still. He hears a little VOICES. He turns and sees the TWINS having been watching the whole thing from a small hill. As they run off, he yells, threateningly. JOE You better not say anything!!! EXT. CREEK HOUSE - NIGHT We follow Joe running towards the creek house, fastening a good shirt. He's dressed and cleaned for dinner. He's late. INT. CREEK HOUSE - NIGHT Annie is in the midst of making a spaghetti dinner. She's a little frazzled but she's on top of it. Grace enters wearing a lovely dress -- it is the first time we have seen her in a dress. Annie hears her enter before she sees her, asking; ANNIE Honey, would you see if anybody wants -- Annie notices Grace standing there, in her dress. She stops. ANNIE You look really pretty. Grace is a little self-conscious but grateful. She begins taking forks out of her dress pocket. GRACE I thought there were too many forks on the table. ANNIE Well, one was for salad... GRACE Mom, they don't mind eating with one fork. ANNIE (thinks, then;) You're right. Good. Grace puts them away. ANNIE Does anybody out there want something to drink? GRACE I'll take care of it. ANNIE Thanks, honey. Grace nods and exits to the living room. LIVING ROOM: The room is silent because every Booker is READING A DIFFERENT COPY OF ANNIE'S MAGAZINE. Frank covertly glimpses at the scantily-clad models... The Twins sharing a magazine, doing the same thing as their father, but keeping an eye out for mom... Diane is looking at pictorial exposes on the kind of lives she only hears about on audio tapes... Tom sits off to the side, amused by the sight. Grace enters as Joe enters. They nod across the room to each other with a little smile. GRACE Would anyone like something to drink? We hear a CRASH in the kitchen, then: ANNIE (O.S.) SHIT! Everybody looks up for a minute. The Twins giggle. Diane gives them a dirty look. TOM I'll give your mom a hand. Diane watches him enter the kitchen, then returns to her magazine. INT. KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS Annie has dropped a hot pot into the sink, after pouring the tomato out of it, and into a terrine. TOM Everything under control? ANNIE (laughs) Not really. I'd forgotten how long it's been since I've done this. And I couldn't get any Parmesan cheese. TOM Just make yourself comfortable. ANNIE I am comfortable. TOM Ha, ha... all right, well, uh I guess you can bring out the pasta. She undoes her apron and crosses towards the bowl. Tom's eyes never leave her. It's the first time he's seen her in her dress, sans apron. As she lifts the bowl to hand to him, she realizes he's been looking at her. There's a silent moment, then; ANNIE You missed a button. TOM Huh? She looks for it. Tom crosses to her and buttons it, then takes the bowl. ANNIE Thank you. They're quiet for a beat as they exchange a look. Suddenly, Grace enters -- she clearly doesn't like the two of them being alone, Annie quickly covers; ANNIE Oh, good, Grace, would you bring in the bread... I'll get the salad and then we're all set. Tom has already exited by the time Annie finishes, and Grace grabs the bread basket. INT. CREEK HOUSE - LATER THAT NIGHT We parachute into the middle of the meal. The spaghetti is a hit... We cut to different conversations and reactions around the table. Frank is in the middle of saying; FRANK It'd be a whole lot easier to pay the feed end of the month... TOM I don't think Warren would go for that. Grace is talking to Joe and the Twins. GRACE ... like, for instance, you can go on the Internet and access this thing called The Visible Man -- who was this murderer they caught in Texas that was executed and donated his body to science and you can call him up on the screen and dissect him, like in Three-D... Grace eats as she talks. Joe and the Twins are fascinated. Annie asks Tom, Frank and Diane; ANNIE Well, did you ever think about hiring a business manager? FRANK We have a business manager. The best around. DIANE Ha... TOM Diane takes care of the books. I don't know how, but at the end of every month, everything adds up to the penny. DIANE Ain't brain surgery. ANNIE It's pretty impressive. Where I come from, you'd be a gold mine. Diane doesn't know how to accept that, but inside she's bursting with pride. She focuses on the Twins who fight; TWINS This is MY fork. That's YOUR fork, ya idiot! DIANE Hey. You stop that kind of talk at the table. FRANK I'll have another round of that spaghetti if may? ANNIE Absolutely. I made enough for an army. DIANE I uh... I like the sauce very much. Maybe I get the recipe. Annie is so pleased and is about to reply, but Grace, noticing Tom smiling at Annie: GRACE It's from a jar. There's an odd silence as a deflated Annie serves Frank. FRANK Thank you. Finally, Diane saves it. DIANE Well, I tried jar sauce once -- wasn't this good. Ya gotta know which brand to buy. I'd like to get the name of this one. Annie is grateful. Grace feels foolish. TWIN (SCOTT) Can we see the dead body on the screen? DIANE What? GRACE It's just my computer. DIANE Oh, I don't -- ANNIE It's okay. Grace, show them. I'm going to put the coffee on. I made an apple tart for dessert. The Twins excitedly move to the computer. Joe waits for Grace. DIANE I'll help you with the coffee. ANNIE Well... I know I should reject that offer, but I'm not going to. DIANE (jovial) No reason you should, no reason you should. They exit into the kitchen. Frank continues eating. Tom looks around -- Grace showing the boys the computer. Annie and Diane in the kitchen. For a second, we see Tom realize an image of the life he once thought he could. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT As Diane and Annie prepare coffee and dessert; DIANE I was looking in one of your magazines and saw that picture of the couple getting married at the Pyramids. Were you ever in Egypt? ANNIE I was there for that shot, actually. DIANE What was it like? ANNIE Oh, God -- I think it was the fourth or fifth time I'd been there, so all I remember was the heat and how incompetent the photographer was... She laughs as she directs this last line to Diane, who just smiles. And Annie realizes that's not what she meant at all. This woman is starving for glimpses into this other life. ANNIE But, uh, Egypt is, well, it's like nothing else. It's like going back in time. (Diane listens) I remember as a kid trying to imagine what a kid my age, centuries ago, walking over that same ground, was wondering about or, if they had the same problems as me... and I felt, connected to... to time itself, almost. Ha, I never realized how hard it was to describe. DIANE I'd love to go there one time... ANNIE You and Frank ever take a vacation? DIANE Soon. We're going to Branson, Missouri to see my cousin Emma married. Frank loves in there. Annie can sense the disappointment in her voice, and at the same time, the comfortable resignation. Suddenly, from inside, they hear LOUD OVERLAPPING VOICES as the children fight. TWIN (SCOTT) IT WAS MY TURN! JOE YA JUST HAD A TURN. IT WAS NOT. TWIN (SCOTT) WAS SO! LIVING ROOM: Diane and Annie enter to find Joe and Scott fighting, as Tom tries to break them up... TOM Boys! Settle down! TWIN (SCOTT) You never let me have a turn! JOE Don't be such a baby! TWIN (SCOTT) You just showing off for her! JOE You shut up, stupid! TWIN (SCOTT) You're the one who's stupid -- letting her go and fall off your horse!! Everyone goes quiet, except for the computer screen. JOE You little shit! DIANE JOE! TWIN (SCOTT) I saw 'em. In the pasture. Her trying to get on Gonzo! I saw 'em. ANNIE What does he mean? GRACE Nothing. ANNIE Did you go riding? JOE Little shit! Joe lunges for Scott and the two start rolling in a fight. Frank and Tom work to pull them apart as Diane yells. DIANE Annie, I'm so sorry, but they're just tired. We'll have dessert another time. Frank, get them out of here. (to other Twin) Come on. Say good night and thank you... Voices everywhere. Yelling. "Thank you's!!" During which, Grace quickly turns and exits. Annie eyes follow her out of the room, but with her guests and the chaos, she doesn't know whether or not to leave. FRANK Dinner was delicious. Thank you. (to Twins) Say thank you!! Diane and Frank usher the kids out. Tom holds onto Joe until they're gone, then lets him go. JOE Sorry, ma'am, I thank you for dinner. It was very good. ANNIE Did Grace try to ride, Joe? JOE (hesitates) I expect you should talk to Grace about that, ma'am. And if I did anything wrong, then I am sorry. Ever the gentlemen, Joe exits. Annie looks to Tom. He's about to leave, when he stops and says: TOM Don't let her turn you away. Tom exits. Annie stands and faces Grace's closed door. Slowly, she lowers herself to her knees and sits on them, thinking... reminiscent of Tom, waiting for his moment with Pilgrim, in the field. INT. CREEK HOUSE, GRACE'S ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT We don't know how long Annie waited, but she knocks gently, then enters to find Grace, in her nightgown, on her bed, with the night stand light on. Her prosthesis is against the wall. ANNIE Grace? Is everything all right? (no answer) Can we talk? GRACE About what? ANNIE Well... (nervous) So you tried riding again? GRACE (snotty) Yeah. Does that mean I'm cured?! ANNIE Honey, nobody's trying to cure you -- GRACE ... You worried everything all right now and we'll have to go home? ANNIE What are you talking about? GRACE You... not wanting to go home because you hate daddy so much. ANNIE Grace, I don't hate your father. GRACE I can't remember the last time you made him dinner. ANNIE I was just trying to say thank you to Diane and Frank and -- GRACE Tom? Annie sits by the bed, Grace moves away a little. ANNIE Look, I just wanted to say, I think it's great you're riding again. And... and I think I know why you, you needed to do it alone... without anyone knowing... GRACE Yeah, you know everything!! ANNIE STOP IT! Why can't I talk to you!! GRACE NO, YOU STOP IT! Stop pretending like you care! Like this really isn't about you and Tom. ANNIE (angry) WHAT?! How can you -- (at a loss) I'm sorry if my friendship with Tom bothers you so much, but I happen to value having someone to talk to, especially when my own daughter ignores me night and day because no matter what I say, it's wrong and no matter what I do, it's wrong... I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment to you. GRACE Well, now you know what it feels like. Beat. ANNIE I don't deserve that. I have never looked at you as a disappointment. If I'm on your back to do better, if I push you to try harder it's because I want you to be the best you can be. GRACE FOR YOU! Because I'm your daughter which means you're the best mother! Isn't that what you're always talking about in interviews -- having it all, the great career, the great family... Proving everybody wrong. Wanting everybody to think you're this perfect woman! Beat. They're both exhausted. ANNIE Listen, if... if there's a part of you as parent that... that takes pride in your child -- that, you can look at them and see something you've accomplished as well... if that's wrong, then I'm sorry. (no answer) But it wasn't my intention. I don't push for me. I do it for you... So you don't waste half your life feeling like you don't know where you belong. GRACE Yeah, well, you've done a great job. Beat. Annie feels deeply hurt. ANNIE Well, then I do apologize... But what I'm most sorry for is turning you into a spoiled brat who can only think about what she's feeling... who can't admit when she's wrong and who can't forgive when she's not. GRACE LEAVE ME ALONE!! Annie stops to exit as Grace says something under her breath. Annie stops. ANNIE What did you say? GRACE I said... I started. Grace starts to sob. Annie doesn't understand. ANNIE Started what? GRACE My period. ANNIE (softer) When? Tonight? GRACE (nods) I felt it happen downstairs and when I went into the bathroom. Annie reaches down to touch Grace's shoulder. Grace turns -- there is no anger in her face. Annie sits and takes her in her arms. Grace clings to her and sobs like a little girl. Annie sees tears run -- gratefully, lovingly. GRACE Who's going to want me now? ANNIE What?... Oh baby... GRACE Who's ever going to want me? Nobody will. ANNIE That's not true. GRACE Why should they? ANNIE Because you are... one of the most... incredible, bravest, most beautiful woman I have ever met. The efforts you make. Your courage and your dignity. (laughs thru tears) I don't know where you got it? I honestly don't know how I would have handled all this if I were you. Grace is so grateful, they cling to each other even harder. As the tears subside, Grace manages to admit... GRACE I'm sorry... about what I said. It's just that -- all those times you and Daddy were trying for another kid, I... I used to pray at night that it would work. And not because of you guys or that I wanted a brother or sister... but... just so I wouldn't have to be... ANNIE What? GRACE So special. Because I was the only one. You both wanted me to be so good at everything, so perfect and I wasn't. I was just me. And now I've completely ruined everything, anyway... They both start crying again as Annie rocks her gently. ANNIE Sshhh... Ssshhhh... They hold each other as if for dear life... LATER -- CAMERA PANS to discover mother and daughter, fast asleep, in each other's arms. INT. TOM'S ROOM, RANCH HOUSE - NIGHT Tom sits alone, writing at his desk. His music is playing. He stops to look out the window overlooking the Creek House. Annie and Grace fell asleep with the lights still on in the living room. Tom is thinking of Grace and Annie -- wondering what happened after he left... conflicted by what he feels for Annie... And remembering why they're here in the first place... DISSOLVE TO: INT. CREEK HOUSE - NEXT MORNING The phone rings, awakening Annie first, then Grace. ANNIE Hello? OPERATOR (V.O.) Hello, this is ATT Conference Service. Is this Annie MacLean? ANNIE Yes. OPERATOR (V.O.) I have a conference call scheduled for you with Mr. Gottschalk and Mr. Farlow. ANNIE (remembering) Oh. Oh, yes. One moment, please. GRACE Who is it? ANNIE Uh, nothing. I'm going to pick it up in the other room -- would you hang this up for me? GRACE Sure. Annie moves to the other room, sits down at her office space, takes a breath, then picks up, yelling to Grace; ANNIE Okay, Grace... (click) Operator?... I'm ready. EXT. RIDING ARENA - LATER THAT MORNING Annie and Grace are standing by the arena fence. Frank, Joe and the Twins are sitting on the fence rail. Joe is holding a saddle and a bridle, standing in some shadows in an empty arena. Pilgrim comes running into the ring. Out of habit, he starts circling the ring. He sees Tom holding a saddle. Pilgrim walks towards him. Curious, he stops, looking at him. Tom puts the saddle down, sitting crossways on it. Pilgrim walks towards him again. He stops, looking at Tom again. Tom just sits there, playing with the bridle. Pilgrim walks around him. Tom doesn't show him any interest. Pilgrim comes closer. He looks at the saddle. He runs off. He stops, looking back. Tom just sits. Pilgrim walks back over. Tom stands and shows him the bridle. Pilgrim comes closer, sniffing it. He rubs his nose against the leather. Tom pats his head. Then, in one quick, but deft motion, he puts the bridle on him. Pilgrim tosses his head, but it doesn't seem to bother him. Grace and Annie watch intently. Tom takes the reins, walking Pilgrim around the ring. He walks him to the saddle. Pilgrim paws at it with his hoof. He turns and runs off. Tom lets him go. Pilgrim runs around the ring, slows down, looks over at Tom. Tom picks up the saddle. Pilgrim, cautiously, comes back over. Tom, with the saddle, walks away from him. Pilgrim, again curious, follows him. He nudges Tom. Tom stops. Pilgrim comes around to take a good look at the saddle. Tom rubs his back. And gently, like laying down a sheet, puts the saddle on his back. Pilgrim shuffles slightly at the touch. Tom quickly cinches it. Taking up the reins, he walks Pilgrim around the ring again. He starts to jog. Pilgrim jogs with him. And in the middle of the jog, Tom grabs onto the saddle horn, and without breaking his stride, pulls himself back up onto his back. He lays across the saddle, letting Pilgrim feel his weight. He sits up, and without letting him break his stride, he urges Pilgrim with his thighs, keeping him in the jog, riding around the ring. Grace and Annie cheer. Tom tips his hat to them... INT. THE BARN - DAY Grace is cleaning stalls, etc... She exits one of the stalls with a pail and stops -- looking down the barn to where she knows Pilgrim is. She places the pail down and gathers her courage. She walks to Pilgrim's stall. She stands motionless for some moments before she opens the doors and enters... Pilgrim steps back a bit. He looks at her. He pins his ears back. Stomps his feet. Grace is about to turn and leave, but she stops herself and remains still. Slowly, she reaches out to touch Pilgrim's head... and he lets her. We see in Grace a maturity of character, a willingness to face what she must face... the beginning of a compassion, not only for Pilgrim, but perhaps for herself as well. EXT. DOUBLE DIVIDE - NIGHT A full moon lights the ranch. Tom pulls up to the ranch house in his truck, parks and gets out. As he walks towards the house, he hears: Grace exits the Creek House and coming towards him, a coat over her nightgown. Tom waits until she reaches him. GRACE I was waiting for you to come back. Tom instinctively knows what she wants. TOM You hungry? INT. RANCH HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Grace sits at the table. Tom is cooking at the stove. It feels as if they are the only two people on earth. Grace gets up her nerve... and begins: GRACE Judith was telling me about this boy she really liked. She never even had a chance to tell me his name... She starts to quietly cry, but it doesn't stop her. GRACE We were going to go around by the railroad bridge... And we see the accident all over again... But this time, a movie -- as clear as reality -- but in deathly silence. Just the sound of Grace's voice, and her heartbeat... EXT. THE WOODS, CONNECTICUT - EARLY MORNING The horses are going up the icy path... GRACE (V.O.) We were laughing about something, I don't remember what. Her horse fell... Judith's horse suddenly stumbles on the ice, going down, throwing Judith, her foot helplessly caught in the stirrup. Her horse sliding back down the hill. Grace tries to move Pilgrim to avoid the errant horse, but it's too late, the horse plows into them, the horses sliding back down the hillside onto the empty COUNTRY ROAD... EXT. COUNTRY ROAD, CT. - EARLY MORNING Pilgrim is first to find his legs. Judith's horse, its leg broken at the ankle, walks in a confused state. Judith's foot is helplessly caught in the stirrup... GRACE (V.O.) ... Judith's foot was caught in the stirrup... she couldn't get up, she was so scared... (cries) I saw this truck, coming around the turn... She sees the glint of the steel. The Truck suddenly appears from around the bend. GRACE (V.O.) ...He was honking, trying to get us to move... I tried to grab the reins to get Judith's horse out of the way... Grace grabs the reins of Judith's horse. The horses are spooking... GRACE (V.O.) ...And the truck started skidding... The truck skidded on the icy road, going out of control, jack- knifing, heading right for them... GRACE (V.O.) ...It was coming right at us... There wasn't any time to do anything... It ran right into Judith's horse... The truck bed plows into Judith's horse... GRACE (V.O.) ...Judith just disappeared... And it came right at Pilgrim and me... We see this... GRACE (V.O.) ...And Pilgrim reared up at the truck and I fell off... Grace falls onto the road, the truck running over her. INT. RANCH HOUSE, KITCHEN - NIGHT Grace sobs uncontrollably now. GRACE Judith... Oh God, Judith. I'm sorry... Tom is near and holds her as she puts her head on his chest. TOM I won't tell you it'll stop feeling this bad... But I can tell you, you didn't do anything wrong... The same thing would have happened to me... or Frank... or Joe... And there's no sense in looking for a reason why things happen... (self-reflective) I used to try and... always came up short. I don't think the why so's important as... what we do with what we get. I remember this boy I'd see up on the Blackfeet Reservation. He was sixteen. Great kid. Strong. He'd gone swimming and dived headfirst into a rock. Snapped his neck, paralyzed him... After the accident, I'd look in on him from time to time... and he wasn't there anymore. His mind, his spirit, whatever you want to call it, it just disappeared. And what was left was nothing but anger... It's like the boy I knew just went away somewhere... GRACE I know where he goes. TOM I know you do. Don't you disappear. (holds her tighter) You do whatever you have to, to hold on... (thinks) I'll tell you one more thing... When Pilgrim reared up to face that truck... you know what I think?... I think that damn horse loved you so much, he was trying to protect you... That's what I think. Grace listens to this. As Tom holds her in silence, it's almost as if they were father and daughter... EXT. THE CORRAL - PRE-DAWN Tom stands with Grace in the corral. Tom's horse, Rimrock, is saddled nearby. Tom takes Grace's cane. TOM Let me hold that... Grace stands, looking at the horse... GRACE I can't... not yet... TOM There's no hurry. Take you time. She's trying so hard to be brave. After a moment, she reaches for the saddle horn. She puts her prosthetic leg in the stirrup, takes a breath and swings her leg up -- slipping, falling to the ground. Tom doesn't say anything. She pulls herself back up. She repeats the action... determinedly. She swings her leg over again and sits squarely on the horse. Tom remains still, but proud. As the day breaks, we leave them in silence -- Tom standing, hands in pocket... Grace sitting up on the horse, proudly. EXT. DOUBLE DIVIDE, THE PASTURE - EARLY MORNING Endless sky. Annie is jogging off in the distance when she looks up and stops to see: Tom and Grace, both on horses, stopped on a rolling hill. They do not see her. Annie is filled with emotion... pride for her daughter, gratitude for this amazing man. As the two ride off into the distance we do a slow: FADE OUT: SHOCK CUT: BRIGHT SUNSHINE... CATTLE DRIVE... EXT. THE MOUNTAINS - DAY Frank and Diane, with the Twins, dogs at their heels, ride in front of the herd. Behind them, Joe riding alongside Grace. Smokey and some Hands ride among the herd, keeping them moving. And riding behind the herd are Annie and Tom... MONTAGE OF VARIOUS MOMENTS THROUGHOUT THE DAY DURING THE CATTLE DRIVE... Highlighting, in particular, those in which the rising sexual tension between Tom and Annie is apparent. EXT. THE MOUNTAINS - NIGHT The cattle stands in silhouette. We hear singing. Everyone is sitting around a campfire. Frank's playing the guitar, singing along with Tom. They laugh when a lyric or a note goes wrong. Everyone is enjoying it. Annie, her arms around her knees, sits off by herself. The song ends and people applaud. Frank hands the guitar to Hank; FRANK Play that sweet one you know. The one makes my wife here so friendly. DIANE (slaps his shoulder) You! Hank begins to play and sing a painfully pretty song. His sweet voice is stark contrast to his gruff, strongman appearance. Frank offers his hand to Diane, she slaps it away and laughs, he helps her up and they start to dance. As everyone watches... Joe stands and offers his hand to Grace; JOE You wouldn't want to dance with me, would you? GRACE I don't thinks you'd want me tripping all over you in front of everybody. JOE (sweetly) I wouldn't let happen. GRACE (affectionately) You know, you're a good kid. Joe smiles and helps her up. They come together and start dancing. Annie is watching, holding her breath with gratitude. Tom notices Annie off by herself and crosses to her. He extends his hand. She hesitates, looks again to Grace with Joe, then accepts... His hand slide to her back. Her hand to his shoulder. They dance. Their bodies closer than they've ever been. Slowly, she leans her head against his body. And surrenders, for the moment... Diane sees them. She holds her husband fast, and buries her head on his neck. EXT. THE MOUNTAINS - DAY MORE CATTLE DRIVE MANTAGE -- Taking Tom and Annie a bit further in their intimacy; perhaps Tom takes extra special care to explain things to Annie, or fix her saddle cinch, or make her laugh... EXT. THE MOUNTAINS - EVENING The cows stands in the pasture, grazing. Annie and Diane are cleaning some pots and pans in the stream. DIANE Must be nice for you to take a few days off from your work, huh? ANNIE Well, I have more than a few days, ha, ha... I uh... I'm sort of... not an editor anymore... right now... First time I've said it out loud. DIANE They fired you? ANNIE No, it's more like a leave of- (stops) Ha, ha, ha. Yeah, they fired me. DIANE You don't seem to upset? ANNIE Delayed shock. Or maybe not. I know I could talk my way back if I wanted or... go to another magazine, someplace... Just not sure if I want to. DIANE Guess you don't have to figure it out until you go home. This phrase "go home" stings Annie -- though Diane said it innocently. ANNIE Did you always know this was the life you wanted? DIANE I fell in love. After that, I never thought about being anything but a rancher's wife. I never saw it like I was losing some other life, just felt like I was gaining one. I know that's not a popular opinion nowadays and I ain't saying it's the right one. We all have to find the life meant for us. ANNIE Frank's a good man. DIANE They don't come better. But I don't deny there are times I wonder about things I won't have. Maybe one day I'll get to see Egypt. Maybe not. But I know if you try too many different lives, you can wind up with no life at all... ANNIE Sounds like something Tom would say. DIANE Yes, it does. Annie and Diane resume washing the dishes in silence. Annie deep in thought. Until Diane stops. After a beat, Annie notices. ANNIE What? DIANE Annie, I'm not good at this kind of talk -- goes round and round a thing but never comes to it -- so let's just say what it is. When you first came here, I didn't like you and I was worried. Tom means a lot to me and this family. Don't go looking here for whatever you looking for. Don't make that man go through something it took him a long time to see his way clear out of the first time. ANNIE I don't think anybody can make Tom do anything he didn't want. DIANE He's a good man, Tom is. He's got a gift, come from heaven above, I swear. But he's still a man. And a woman can lead a man into the middle of a mountain lake -- and still make him think he's on dry land. Diane's words ring in Annie's head. EXT. THE MOUNTAINS - DEAD OF NIGHT Dead in stillness. The cattle dark and motionless. Everyone asleep in bedrolls around the pasture. Annie awakens, looks up at the moon, watching it go in and out of the clouds. She looks over to sleeping Grace... Then looks to where Tom is -- and sees his sleeping bag is empty. Quietly, she rises and looks for him. She starts across the grass and sees him crossing on his haunches, wearing a slicker, sitting in the grass by the stream, drinking some water. She watches him. Tom senses something and turns. For a moment, they just look at each other -- half disbelieving the inevitable is so close at hand. Annie approaches as Tom rises. They meet. They kiss. Tentative at first, but more, just to make that very, precious first moment of discovery last as long as it can. The kiss grows more passionate. They begin to lose themselves in each other. Until, suddenly, aware of their surroundings, they part. No words. Their expressions to each other tell all. Annie separates herself and goes back to her bedroll... Tom stands in the grass, by the stream... the moving water, the night's only sound. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DOUBLE DIVIDE - DAY The cattle drive returns. Tom, Annie, Grace, et al... are on their horses, heading back towards the ranch when Grace sees in the distance; GRACE Dad? Annie looks up and sees: POV -- ROBERT has come to the ranch. He is waiting for them with his luggage beside a rental car... standing out like an Like The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit in the middle of Wyeth's "Christina's World." EXT. RANCH HOUSE - DAY Everyone is being introduced to Robert, as Grace hugs him from the side, never letting go of him. Frank, Diane -- who introduce their kids, then Tom and Robert shake hands... ANNIE This is Mr. Booker, Robert. TOM (extends hand) Tom. ROBERT Hi. It's a pleasure. I'm very grateful for the way you took in my girls here. I bet you were surprised when they just showed up out of nowhere. TOM Oh yeah... Laugh. Awkward silence... ROBERT Well I uh... I can already see a change. (hugging Grace) And I'm very grateful to you. Robert is so sincere -- in that openly, modern, "express your feelings" kind of way. Tom just nods. GRACE Did you notice -- no cane? ROBERT I know. Amazing. GRACE Can we show him Pilgrim, Tom? TOM Oh, we're gonna show your dad plenty. Why don't you all get settled in and we'll do the tour. Excuse me. As Tom walks away, a nervous Robert feels compelled to say: ROBERT See you later! Tom just nods and keeps walking. Annie and Robert face each other for a beat. ANNIE Let's bring your bags inside. GRACE Wait till you see this -- we have the whole house to ourselves... The MacLean walk to the Creek House. EXT. DOUBLE DIVIDE - DAY In the distance, we see the pick-up truck parked out in the pasture. Tom is standing with Robert -- in jeans, now -- and Grace, telling Robert about the ranch. Robert has his arms around Grace, asking questions, interested in everything... Grace is loving being with her two favorite men... EXT. RANCH - DAY Grace waits in the truck as Tom leads Robert through the cows and cowshit, climbs up and hops over a wood fence. Robert follows suit -- not as gracefully -- and gets a splinter... INT. RANCH KITCHEN - DAY Diane is busy in the kitchen when Annie enters. ANNIE Is there anything you need? I'm going food-shopping. DIANE Well, I am going to go after lunch. ANNIE No, no, I'll go -- just give me a list. Annie is determined. She needs to be by herself for a bit. EXT. ANOTHER PART OF THE RANCH - DAY Tom continues his tour as the dogs run about them. Tom pays the dogs no attention, except to bark an order. Robert, however, engages with them -- picking up a stick and throws it. A dog returns and gives it back. Robert kneels and begins rubbing the dog's fur, talking to it, looking like an anachronism in his baggy jeans with designer cowboy belt and spanking new designer cowboy boots. Tom waits patiently for Robert, who... and carries on with the dog a bit too long. When Robert gets up, he habitually brushes the dirt off his jeans, maybe even his boots, and makes sure his outfit is hanging properly. INT. BARN - DAY Grace is in the stall with Pilgrim. Once again, close enough to touch him, which he allows. Outside the stall, stand Robert and Tom. Robert squeezes his splinter... ROBERT I can't believe it's the same horse. TOM We still have a way to go. ROBERT How much longer do you think? Tom understands this man wants his family back. TOM Well, like I told your wife, it's really up to Pilgrim. ROBERT I understand... DISSOLVE TO: INT. KITCHEN - EARLY MORNING Everyone is seated around the table, eating, talking, laughing. Grace is right by her father's side. Frank's in the middle of telling Robert: FRANK We thought we lost him in the snow storm... Told the kids. Had a funeral for the damn thing. Finally, snow stops. Staring to warm up. I go out and start cleaning the truck... Goddamn if that dog doesn't jump out from the back seat covered in snow... I nearly stained myself. TOM He thought it was a ghost. JOE A dog ghost! Laughter all around. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. RANCH HOUSE - NIGHT Everyone is outside enjoying the night after a long day. Diane and Annie are on the porch. Diane is showing Annie how she does her needlepoint. Annie is genuinely interested. Tom and Frank and Robert are sitting out front. Grace is at Robert's feet. Joe sits on the ground in front of his father, opposite Grace. TOM Is the poverty worse, now, you think? ROBERT I haven't been back in over twenty years, but I wouldn't be surprised. The population's larger. FRANK What were you doing over in India? ROBERT Uh, this was right after college. I was in the Peace Corps. FRANK That right? Back on Diane and Annie, who hear the laughter O.S. and look. Diane smiles, seeing how much Grace is enjoying her dad. DIANE She sure loves her daddy, huh? Annie smiles and looks herself. Yes, she does, she thinks. Why can't I? Back to the others. Everyone is very interested in Robert's stories... especially Tom. ROBERT ... and I thought before I settled into law school -- everybody knew that was the plan -- I'd take this time for myself. Grace rises to go to the Creek House. ROBERT And I tell you, Frank, it was one of the -- As Grace passes by, she stumbles a bit and Robert habitually rises to help, but Grace ignores him and rights herself, continuing. Robert quickly sits back down, continuing. ROBERT ... one of the uh... greatest times of my life... I had experiences that, I think, changed my outlook forever. I came back a different person, literally. Tom listens with great interest and respect. Back to Diane and Annie, who watch as Joe follows Grace. DIANE I think I'm going to have my hands full with the son of mine when you leave. Just might be his first broken heart. ANNIE Oh, how sweet. A burst of laughter pulls their attention to the group -- Robert is now standing, acting out a story. ROBERT ... and I have no idea what he's saying because I don't understand Hindu... Everyone is listening, with big expectant smiles. Annie watches -- having heard this story before. Her eyes gradually shift to Tom, who is enjoying the story. ROBERT ... So, finally I'm trying to explain to him that I'm allergic to wool and would he please get his sheep out of my car -- Laughter. Robert continues, giving a quick look to Annie -- who is looking at Tom... Robert lets it go, continuing his story. INT. CREEK HOUSE - NIGHT Grace is asleep. Robert sits by her bed, lit by the moon through a window. He stares at this creature he loves so much. He rises and enters Annie's room. ROBERT Tired? Annie shrugs. Robert looks at the bed. He teases. ROBERT Small bed. Maybe I should sleep in the barn. ANNIE (teases back) You're allergic to hay. ROBERT (smiles) I apologize for the surprise, but the days only opened yesterday and I figured... ANNIE You don't have to explain. You have every right to come. ROBERT I can see why you put your faith in him. He's a genuine... good guy... Good at what he does. That's rare. Annie nods. She tries to hide her discomfort. Robert sits on the bed before her. ROBERT You were right about coming here. I'm sorry for not thinking... ANNIE No, it's okay. Believe me, there were plenty of times I didn't know what the hell was right. ROBERT How are you feeling about work? ANNIE Let's not talk about that now. And they're quiet. He moves to kiss her. It's awkward. They look to each other -- as they try to remember how to make love together... ROBERT I feel like I'm on a first date. Annie smiles sympathetically. EXT. BARN DANCE, HANK'S RANCH - DUSK Cars and pick-up trucks haphazardly parked along a dirt road... Smoking open grill barbecues. Ranchers and families move about the ranch, sit and eat at picnic tables with gingham tablecloths... Some teenagers hanging around the corral, talking. Diane and some other women, eating and talking... Frank with a group of men, drinking beer, telling stories. A BAND has been set up by the barn. People are dancing under the harvest moon. Grace is dancing with Joe... Tom is dancing with a local woman... Annie with a rancher... Everyone is having a good time... Robert is enjoying a smoke with some men. He looks over to the dance floor and smiles when he sees Grace and Joe. Joe and the Rancher trade place... Joe dances with Annie, the Rancher with Grace... But Tom sees his chance and switches with the Rancher so that he can dance with Grace... She is thrilled and he guides her effortlessly across the floor. Joe and Annie are interrupted by another couple. Joe switches partners, but Annie smiles and excuses herself -- she wants to rest. Robert continues talking with some of the men. He puts out his smoke and looks over to the dance floor. He sees Grace now dancing with Tom... His eyes search for Annie. He moves away from the men until he sees, from a distance; Annie, sitting by herself, amidst the crowd... No one would notice her unless they were looking for her... But Robert does -- and what he sees is Annie looking at Grace and Tom... then, only looking at Tom... Smiling to herself gently... Watching his every move. Suddenly, she rises and exits out of the barn to get some air. EXT. HANK'S RANCH - NIGHT Annie finds an isolated spot, behind the main house, to be by herself and catch her breath. INT. BARN - NIGHT Tom and Grace continue dancing. She's in heaven. Robert approaches and Tom quickly allows him to take over. Grace loves the attention from both men. As they dance off, Tom crosses the dance floor and is met by Hank's wife; HANK'S WIFE Oh Tom, would you check the shed and see if there's anymore chairs. TOM Sure. EXT. HANK'S RANCH - NIGHT Tom is walking along when he turns the corner of Hank's house and finds; Annie sitting alone, staring up at the night. They see each other. From behind the house, no one else can see them. It is as if the fates brought them face to face and alone. Without any will to stop it, they embrace and kiss passionately. But when they look into each other's eyes, there is no joy in the kiss. Tom releases her and walks away, heading for the shed. Annie quickly pulls herself together and enters the main house through the back door. INT. DOUBLE DIVIDE RANCH, KITCHEN - NIGHT Diane is once more sitting at the kitchen table, looking over some bills before bed. Her tape player is on softly. Tom enters and crosses to the sink to get a glass of water. Diane looks up, seeing Tom with his back to her -- standing at the sink, filling his glass -- staring out the window over the sink. She looks to the dish of brownies on the table. DIANE I have some brownies left over. Want one? TOM (w/o turning around) No thanks. Diane senses an uneasiness in Tom. She looks as he drinks his water. MEDIUM CLOSE-UP ON TOM'S BACK, as if from Diane's POV. But when we pull back we find ourselves; INT. BARN - NIGHT Tom is standing in front of Pilgrim's stall. He opens the door. They look at each other. He strokes him and begins to whisper; TOM There's something you have to do tomorrow, boy... Camera gently moves away... and Tom whispers to Pilgrim what must be done... EXT. THE RIDING ARENA - DAY There's a stillness. A sense of import. Annie, Robert, Frank, Diane, Joe and Smokey, are all at various spots along the fence. Grace stands inside the ring. Tom is standing beside Pilgrim in the middle of the ring. Pilgrim is bridled and saddled. Tom adjusts he stirrup. He walks over to Grace... TOM All set? Grace swallows hard, nodding. She's worried... TOM Sure? GRACE (softly) Sure. Tom puts his arms around her shoulders and walks out to Pilgrim. The horse pricks up his ears as they approach. Tom motions Grace to stop a short distance from Pilgrim so as not to crowd him. Tom walks over alone, reaching to gently take hold of him. Holding him by the bridle, he puts his head beside Pilgrim's, quietly speaking to him, soothing Pilgrim's neck with his other hand... Annie and Robert are fascinated. Anxious. Pilgrim never takes his eyes off Grace. Tom tries to ease him forward. Pilgrim resists, lifting his head and looking at Grace so you can see the white at the top of his eye. Tom turns him away, walking him in circles, trying to calm him. He leads him back to Grace. Pilgrim tosses his head and stomps his feet. Robert grows more anxious. Annie is calmer, more focused. Tom climbs up on him, riding him around the arena in an easy lope. Grace watches them go round the ring. She looks at her parents and tries to smile. They try as well. Tom dismounts and leads Pilgrim back to Grace. Pilgrim balks again, violently throwing his head, kicking... Grace's shoulders slump, she presses her hands in her pockets, fighting not to cry... TOM Smokey... Smokey climbs over the rail into the ring as Tom says something to him. Meanwhile Frank reassures Grace: FRANK He'll be okay, Grace. Just you hang on there a minute or two. Tom'll get him, okay, you'll see... Smokey jogs over to the gate, climbing it, and disappearing into the barn. Tom crosses to Grace. TOM There's still something going on inside of him I can't reach. So me and Smokey here, we're going to try laying him down. Okay? GRACE What does that mean? TOM It's more or less how it sounds. Sometimes it's not pretty to watch. Some horses fight it real hard. Your fella's already shown us he likes a good fight. So if you don't want to watch, I'll call you when it's done. GRACE I want to watch. Smokey re-enters the ring, carrying some rope. He talks briefly to Tom. Pilgrim, sensing something, turns and runs to the far side of the ring. Tom, his arms spread, walks over to him, keeping him by the fence. Tom takes him by the bridle. Smokey comes beside him. Tom unhitches the bridle and in its place slips a rope halter Smokey passes to him. Smokey then hands him two long ropes, one at a time. Tom fastens one under the halter and ties the other to the saddle horn. Tom asks Smokey. TOM You got that soft rope? Smokey hands it to him. Tom quietly talks to Pilgrim, runs his hand down Pilgrim's left foreleg and lifts his hoof. Pilgrim slightly shifts. And when he's still, Tom slips the loop at the end of the soft rope over the hoof making sure it's snug. And taking the other end of the rope, he hoists the weight of Pilgrim's raised hoof and ties the rope to the saddle horn. Pilgrim stands on three legs -- an explosion waiting to happen. Tom moves away from Pilgrim, taking the halter line from Smokey. Pilgrim, trying to move, finds he's crippled. Scared, he lurches, hopping on his right foreleg. Seeing he can't walk, panicked, he tries to run. Tom and Smokey, brace themselves, lean back on their ropes and force him around them in a tight circle. He goes around and around like a crazed rocking horse with a broken leg. Tom looks over and sees Annie has left Robert outside the ring to stand by an anguished Grace -- her hands on her shoulders, gripping her. Robert watches, feeling too much a foreigner... GRACE What is he doing this? FRANK It'll be OK, Grace. But even Frank isn't so sure. Pilgrim, covered in sweat, still circles. As he runs, his hobbled foot jabs at the air, trying to find peace. He runs and runs as Tom and Smokey lean on the ropes -- until he can't run any more and stops. Tom and Smokey let the lines go slack. Pilgrim, stands there, his wet sides heaving, panting like an asthmatic, making loud rasping sounds. Tom and Smokey speak. Smokey hands him his rope. Turning, he gets a coiled lasso out of the sand. He swings the rope in a wide loop and makes it fall over Pilgrim's saddle horn. He pulls it tight. And he takes the other end of the rope to the far side of the fence and ties it in a quick release knot to the bottom rung. Coming back he takes the other two lines from Tom. Tom crosses to the rail. He starts putting pressure on the rope. Pilgrim feeing it, braces himself. The pressure tilts the saddle hold downward. FRANK (to Grace and Annie) He's trying to get him to go down on his knees... Pilgrim fights. Tom pulls on the rope. Pilgrim, slowly, begrudgingly, gives ground. Tom, brings him to his knees, but it is short lived. Pilgrim is muscling his way back to his feet. Tom pulls him down to his knees again. Pilgrim, fighting with every bit of strength, slowly gets to his feet again. But the pressure Tom is putting on the saddle is too strong and relentless and finally Pilgrim goes down on his knees and stays down. Yet Tom keeps the pressure on... Tom shouts to Smokey. TOM Drop the lines and come help me... Smokey, dropping the line, runs over. They both pull on the saddle rope. GRACE That's enough! Stop it! Pilgrim snorts and foams at the mouth, fighting. But slowly, like a wounded bird, she starts giving in. He rolls over on his side and lays his head in the sand and is still. It seems like a total, humiliating surrender. Grace starts to sob, burying her face in Annie's chest. Robert feels impotent to help. TOM GRACE! Tom and Smokey stand over the fallen horse like two big game hunters at the carcass of a kill. TOM GRACE! Will you come here, please! Grace shakes her head "NO." Frank motions to Annie for her to let Grace go... to let stand alone... We see that it's not easy for Annie to trust this, but she does. And she steps back to where Robert stands... Tom, his face set, walks toward Grace... TOM Grace, I need you to come with me. Grace violently shakes her head "NO"... Robert gets up the courage to say aloud: ROBERT Well maybe she shouldn't be here... Annie quickly turns to him and says with quick intensity: ANNIE Robert! Let him handle it! Please! Robert can't watch this. He turns and takes a few steps. Just stops... standing behind and apart from Annie, to just watch... slowly becoming transfixed, like someone who can't stop staring at an accident. Tom reaches Grace and puts his hand tenderly on her shoulder... TOM Grace, I need you to come with me. GRACE No, you're only going to hurt him some more. TOM He's not hurt. He's okay. Look at him. GRACE (turned away) No! TOM Grace, Listen... you've got to do this. Just trust me one more time. Grace looks into his eyes and is reminded of all this man has done for her... and she remembers her trust. GRACE Do what? Tom, prouder of her now than ever before. TOM I'll show you. Tom leads her across the ring, with his arm around her shoulder. Annie tries to maintain her composure. Robert remains still and focused. Tom and Grace come to Pilgrim, lying in the dirt, his breathing plaintive. Tom speaks gently; TOM I want you to lay down with him. I want you to stroke him. I want to start with his hindquarters and rub him, feel him all over. Grace is shaking her head "NO." He speaks more firmly. TOM Grace, you've got to do what I say. Grace knows there's no way out. She takes a breath and slowly kneels in the dirt beside him, with Tom's help. She lays on him, rubbing him, his hindquarters, his legs, his side, softly rubbing his neck and the wet silky side of his head. TOM Now, listen. I want you to stand on him. ANNIE What?! Tom responds to their voice without looking at them: TOM PLEASE! (they stop) Grace, do what I'm telling you. Stand on him... now! Grace obeys him through her tears. She lets Tom take her hand and guide her up onto the curve of Pilgrim's belly. Then he lets go. Grace stands there with teas steaming down her face -- standing on the animal she loved most in the world. ANNIE It's so cruel. FRANK No. He had the choice. ANNIE What choice!!? FRANK Either fight the way things are or accept it. Robert, however, is hypnotized by the event. He is having a private epiphany of sorts. Grace sits in the dirt by Pilgrim and strokes him quietly -- she begins talking to him, the way Tom does. Tom watches, as he cautiously steps further away. Pilgrim looks up at Grace out of the dark pool of his one sad eye. They look at each other. And we understand there's a connection once more. A moment of understanding... and forgiveness. Grace starts to untie his ropes. Smokey is about to stop her but Tom shakes "NO"... Pilgrim, like an infant coming out of the water, breathing life for the first time, gets to his feet. Grace and him look to each other. And all is still. Grace grabs the saddle horn. Pilgrim shuffles as if he's going to bolt. Grace quietly reassures him... She then carefully puts her prosthetic leg in the stirrup. Pilgrim shifts slightly. Annie covers her mouth so as not to scream out her fear. Robert breaths heavily. They watch as Grace swings her leg, determined, and pulls herself into the saddle. Sitting on his back, Pilgrim tosses his head and looks as he's going to run off. But Grace puts her arms around his neck, and once again, quietly reassures him. She starts to ride him, slowly, her arms around his neck, talking all the while, around the ring. Annie laughs as she cries -- emotion overwhelming her. Robert feels almost numb with fascination, gratitude, confusion... The slow ride turns into a trot... then a lope... then a canter... round and round the ring. Frank and Diane smile. Diane looks to Tom and knows what he's feeling... Tom watches as any father would -- his heart pounding with pride for the miracle of his child. But he doesn't let on for a second. Grace brings Pilgrim to a stop, lifts her arms to the heavens, victorious. Everyone cheers. Smokey helps her off the horse. She stops to look at Tom, who busies himself with picking up the ropes... So she re-focuses on her parents. They run to each other and embrace... First, she and Annie... then, she and her father... But, as Robert and Grace hold each other and begins to exit, Annie manages to make eye contact with Tom... and tell him with one look, how grateful she is... and how much she loves him. And he receives it... EXT. DOUBLE DIVIDE - DAY WE FOLLOW THE DAYS AFTER THIS EVENT... Work on the ranch goes on as usual while Tom and Grace keep nurturing Pilgrim back to life. EXT. PASTURE - ANOTHER DAY Grace and Annie go riding... EXT. MOUNTAIN TRAIL - DAY Robert takes an isolated hike up the mountain until he comes upon a ridge overlooking an inspiring vista. We can tell Robert is moved by the sight. Sweaty, tired, he find a place to sit... to be still... and to consider his life. EXT. THE RANCH HOUSE - DAY Frank's car is parked up for the trip to the airport that will take the Bookers to Branton, Missouri for Diane's cousin's wedding... Grace, Annie and Robert are outside saying goodbye to the Bookers; Diane, the Twins... and Joe... Joe awkwardly shakes her hand... then removes his hat and puts it on her head. Everyone laughs. They want to hug each other, but don't know if they would... Frank and Tom are packing the car... DIANE Oh Frank, don't forget the wedding present -- it's behind the door in the laundry room. (to Robert and Annie) I got her a pasta maker from the catalogue... Not that they'll know what to do with it in Branton, Missouri... Probably use it as a planter. FRANK Diane! DIANE (whispers) Frank's touchy about his cousins. (they laugh) Well, it was nice to meet you, Mr. MacLean. ROBERT Same here, Mrs. Booker. Thank you again for all your kindness. DIANE Ah... Diane turns to Annie. Robert instinctively steps away, saying goodbye to Joe and the boys... The two women look at each other with respect and concern. DIANE Now, are you sure you want to drive that horse back yourself? There are plenty of people 'round here who do that sort of thing. ANNIE I already know the way... and it's not like I have a job I have to rush home for. (Diane nods) Between you and me, I could use the time alone. Diane understands. DIANE And you'll be all right by yourself here, (referring to Robert and Grace) after they've gone? Tom hears this bit of info as he passes by with the wedding present and puts it in the truck. Annie makes sure to avert her look. ANNIE It's just one night. If I get uncomfortable, I'll go over to Hanks. DIANE (double meaning) Promise? ANNIE Promise. Diane just nods, knowingly. She extends her hand. The women shake. DIANE Good luck to you, Annie. ANNIE You too, Diane. They part. Diane starts giving order as she gets in the car: DIANE All right, everybody in. Frank, we all set... Camera wides as we hear the voices of departure... see the MacLeans waving... See Tom off by himself, waving... but thinking of something else... INT. CREEK HOUSE - NIGHT In the midst of packing, Annie has made dinner for Grace and Robert. In the midst of eating, Robert asks: ROBERT Shouldn't we have invited Tom over? GRACE I did. He said he had work to do until late. Annie remains silent. EXT. RANCH HOUSE -- NIGHT Tom exits with a small, leather satchel. He crosses to his truck, tosses in the satchel, gets in and drives off. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. BARN - MORNING Grace enters the barn to say goodbye to Pilgrim. INT. BARN - CONTINUOUS She moves to his stall and opens the doors. He stands there, without any fear of her. She smiles and enters. She wraps her arm around his neck, pets him and whispers. GRACE I'll see you home... OK? INT. CREEK HOUSE - DAY Everything is being packed up. Robert is dressed for travel. Annie is taping up the boxes containing her computer equipment. ANNIE Are you going to stay in the city or go up to Connecticut? ROBERT Connecticut. I told the office I'd work out of there next week. When are you planning to start back? ANNIE Probably first thing in the morning. It's too late to start now. I'm going to try not to do too much driving in the dark. ROBERT May I have a suggestion? ANNIE Yeah, what? ROBERT Take your time. ANNIE (innocently) What do you mean? Annie looks up from the box to see Robert is calmly staring at her. His demeanor is different. Something's going on. ANNIE You look like something's wrong. This is Robert's moment. He knows it. He takes a breath and hopes it comes out right: ROBERT I'll tell you something, Annie -- I stood there looking at what was happening to that horse... And, I swear, it felt like the same thing was happening to me. ANNIE I don't understa- ROBERT (continues) And I have two choices. I can either fight the way things are, or accept them. (Annie waits; he smiles) See, I always knew I loved you more. Didn't bother me. I always felt lucky... a little amazed... that such a vibrant, beautiful woman would want to be with a man like me... And I guess I thought as long as I did everything right -- if I was the best husband I could be, the best father... even being a good lawyer only mattered to me because of what it meant for us... if I could do all that, it wouldn't make any difference if we loved each other the same or not... I wasn't asking for more. I told myself I didn't need more. (smiles) But you don't know how you feel about me. You don't know... if you want a life with me anymore... (bravely) And I don't want you to come home until you do know... (the hard part) ... one way or the other. Annie cannot remember a time when she ever loved her husband more than in this moment -- knowing what it took for him to say this. She would not disrespect it with denials. Her throat is choked with tears, she swallows down. She nods. Robert nods, feeling both pride and heartbreak in the same moment. He picks up his bag, kisses her goodbye and exits. EXT. RANCH HOUSE - DAY Annie and Robert walk towards the car to find Grace, leaning against it -- looking depressed. ANNIE What's the matter, honey? Gonna miss Pilgrim? GRACE Tom's gone. Both Robert and Annie are surprised. GRACE Smokey told me he left last night to look at some horses in Sheriden. He won't be back for three days. I can't believe he didn't want to say goodbye. ANNIE (hiding her own distress) Well... honey... you know... that's just not his way. Maybe you can write him a letter or something. Say thank you... Don't think about it... You take care and I'll see you home. She embraces Grace and, over her shoulder, watches Robert enter the car. Grace follows suit. The car drives off leaving Annie alone at the Double Divide. EXT. CREEK HOUSE - DUSK The ranch is still. Annie stands on the porch, her arms folded, vulnerable, looking at the ranch. All her boxes are packed and stacked in the room. She looks over to the Ranch House... to Tom's window. INT. TOM'S ROOM - DUSK A light goes on. Annie enters, cautiously. She's never been in this room. She crosses to the desk, touches it. She notices a tape player and pushes it on. MUSIC PLAYS... She sees a small framed photo -- of Tom's son, years ago. Suddenly, she feels like an intruder. She shuts the music off and exits... INT. BARN - DUSK Annie faces Pilgrim... she gently lifts her hand and caresses his face. He returns her gentleness. Annie is remembering Robert's words, her heart is heavy with conflict. She jokes: ANNIE Why do I get the feeling you know what I should do, but you're not telling me? She hears a truck pull up... Then, a door open and close. Her heart races... EXT. BARN - DUSK Annie exits the barn and sees: Tom, walking away from the truck with the headlights left on... is walking right towards her. Annie begins moving towards him, When they meet: TOM I won't apologize for this. And I won't hide it. Not for anybody. ANNIE I won't ask you to. He takes her in his arms and they kiss. EXT. RANCH HOUSE - NIGHT Tom leads Annie to the front door. She waits as he unlocks it. INT. RANCH HOUSE, SECOND FLOOR, TOM'S ROOM - NIGHT Tom leads her to his room. Annie cups his grasp on her with both hands. He opens the door for her, ushers her in, then closes the door. He hangs his hat. She turns to him. They embrace, surrendering to each other's passions. DISSOLVE TO: INT. RANCH - DAWN Camera pas from Tom's window, bright with dawn, past his desk upon which his classical music is playing, over to the two lovers in bed, kissing and embracing. Then: ANNIE Oh, God, what are we going to do? I'm supposed to -- TOM Ssshhh... (she stops) Stand still, Annie. Takes what we've got, just for now. Can you do that? Beat. She nods. The permission Tom is giving her acts like a great burden being lifted, and for the time being, she surrenders and accepts the gift of what they feel. They kiss. EXT. THE RANCH - DAY Since the ranch must continue, Tom and Annie move through a day of ranch chores -- -- TOM AND ANNIE CLEANING STALLS AND FEEDING THE HORSES. -- TOM IS TRYING TO SHOW ANNIE HOW HE HAS TO FIX SOMETHING. ANNIE INTERRUPTING WITH HER OWN IDEAS... TOM TRIES TO EXPLAIN BUT ANNIE KEEPS TALKING, EXCITED BY HER PLAN... TOM LAUGHS. INT. CREEK HOUSE - DAY ANNIE HAS UNPACKED HER COMPUTER AND HOOKED IT UP, SHOWING TOM HOW TO USE IT. HE PUSHES THE THRONG BUTTON AND MAKES A FRIGHTENED FACE... ANNIE SCREAMS, THEN LAUGHS AND HUGS HIM. DISSOLVE TO: THEY ARE MAKING LOVE ON A BLANKET AMIDST OF THE MOVING BOXES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. INT. KITCHEN, RANCH HOUSE - DAY -- ANNIE COOKING LUNCH IN THE KITCHEN, SEEING TOM WORKING WITH SMOKEY... EXT. PASTURE - DAY -- THE TWO ARE EATING LUNCH IN THE PASTURE. THEY ARE TALKING SERIOUSLY ABOUT SOMETHING... PERHAPS EVEN DISAGREEING... ANNIE SHAKES HER HEAD, NOT WANTING TO LISTEN. THEY EAT IN SILENCE. DISSOLVE TO: -- THEY ARE WALKING AND DISCUSSING, HOLDING HANDS... UNTIL TOM WRAPS HIS ARM AROUND HER AND HOLDS HER CLOSER... ANNIE, BURYING HER HEAD IN HIS BODY. EXT. THE MOUNTAINS - DAY Tom and Annie, their horses packed with gear, ride across the high mountain pasture through the grazing cattle... EXT. THE MOUNTAINS - DAY Annie and Tom sit overlooking a breathtaking view. Tom is showing her the rope trick... She looks down at their touching fingers and he gently pulls the rope away, still knotted, and without ever breaking their touch... Annie looks into his eyes, understanding what this means, raises his hand to her mouth and kisses it. She looks up at him with a curious expression; ANNIE Show me again. TOM Annie! ANNIE One more time. EXT. THE MOUNTAINS - DUSK Annie lays asleep in Tom's arms, under a blanket. He picks up another blanket with his free hand and shimmies it under her head, laying her down. She snuggles with the blanket and keeps sleeping. Tom takes a moment to look at her as she sleeps, gently brushing her hair away from her eyes. He's deeply in love with this woman and wants to keep her with him. But there is a sad resignation in his look. A confusion. He rises and walks to a stream nearby. He bends down to take some water when he hears something. He looks up and sees on the other side: A WILD HORSE giving birth to a foal in the tall grass. And a WHITE STALLION steps in between Tom and the mare, as if protecting her. Tom rises slowly to his feet. Then stands stock still. He and the Stallion penetrate each other. Suddenly this beautiful, powerful Stallion rears -- violently. Tom remains still, but clearly the horse is treating him as an invader... It's as if the Whisperer is now being guided by the Horse towards understanding. As Tom receives it, he remembers; TOM (V.O.) Summers are short here, Annie. There isn't much of a fall. Before you know it, the roads are closed... the nights get long. WE BEGIN TO FADE OUT ON TOM ANNIE (V.O.) I don't care! We'd be together. TOM (V.O.) Two people can't just be alone together in the world. At least not us... ANNIE (V.O.) I can't do this. I can't leave you... Voice-Overs have carried over into a... DISSOLVE TO: INT. CREEK HOUSE - NIGHT Tom and Annie make love... ANNIE (V.O.) I won't. But there is a difference in their lovemaking. There's a slowness, a reverence... a sense of two people so bounded, that they are outside of time... Their love is so strong it almost feels like despair -- their need to connect has gone beyond their bodies and into their spirits, for which there is no earthly satisfaction. EXT. CREEK HOUSE - MORNING The sun has risen. INT. CREEK HOUSE - MORNING Annie awakens in bed and discovers she is alone. She looks around for Tom. She rises and enters the other room to discover: All her boxes and all her luggage have been removed. Her heart sinks. Tom re-enters, fully dressed, to get the last box. He sees on her face a look of confusion and hurt. TOM I figured, whenever you decided to go, you'd be all set. ANNIE (curt) How thoughtful of you. And what if I decide not to go? Tom doesn't know how to respond. He looks away and bends down to reach for the box when Annie commands: ANNIE Leave me alone! Beat. They stand awkwardly for a moment, until; TOM (pleadingly) Annie, please... Tom reaches to embrace her, but Annie attacks him. Punching his chest... pulling at his shirt as Tom tries to put his arms around her... ANNIE NO!... NO!... YOU DON'T DECIDE THIS!... NO!... Tom's heart is breaking as he manages to get his arms around her and hold her... as she breaks down and softly, the rage passes... Annie speaks softly. TOM (struggling) I don't know any other way, Annie. ANNIE (more adamant) Why? Suddenly; TOM You think this is easy for me!? Annie is struck by the powerful sincerity of his words; TOM It's just happened this way sometimes. I can't explain it. But I look at you and see Grace and I see Robert, and no matter what you decide about him, I just know this is right. Your life isn't here and you know it. Annie looks into his eyes and asks, softly defiant; ANNIE Then what have we been doing? I mean what was the point? TOM (confused by her question) The point was to love each other. ANNIE Why? As if there has to be a result... Tom looks at her and says with an almost innocent conviction: TOM Because we had to... And I'll never stop loving you, Annie. Here. Where my life is. The simplicity, and truth, of it hits Annie strongly. Annie releases herself from him and turns away... despondent. Realizing the utter truth and inevitability of what he says. She starts shaking her head. Tom can't hear it... He reaches for her; TOM Annie... She turns back into his arms and they kiss passionately... holding each other... as if for the last time. EXT. RANCH HOUSE - DAY Tom is escorting Pilgrim into the trailer attached to the Suburban. He looks across the ranch to see the figure of Annie, standing alone, perfectly still, in the pasture, looking out to the horizon... (reminiscent of Tom earlier in the film) EXT. THE PASTURE - DAY Tom approaches Annie from behind, stopping a few feet away. TOM Annie? She doesn't answer... as if she has found her own private place within her, at last... A place of strength. She looks as if she knows what must be done... She hears him about to walk away when she asks: ANNIE Can we go for one more ride? Tom stops. Considers this. Then: TOM Sure. I'll saddle them up. He exits. Not seeing the tears in Annie's eyes. INT. BARN - DAY Tom enters the barn slowly. He crosses to Rimrock's stall... then stops. As if he is waiting. As if he knows... Then... he hears the sound of Annie's Suburban starting up. He looks up and knows she's leaving. He waits. EXT. DOUBLE DIVIDE - CONTINUOUS Wide angle of Annie driving away in the Suburban with the trailer. INT. SUBURBAN - CONTINUOUS Annie doesn't look back -- her eyes wet with tears -- but no sobs. INT. BARN - CONTINUOUS Tom lowers his head. It is not his way to say goodbye. And he is moved by Annie's knowing. EXT. HIGHWAYS & ROADS ACROSS AMERICA - DAYS & NIGHTS A MONTAGE of images of Annie traveling home... Across different terrains, we see Annie driving -- missing Tom... thinking of what she will decide by the time she gets home. Remembering IMAGES OF TOM: -- Riding on Rimrock and tipping his hat to her... -- Sitting in the pasture, staring at Pilgrim. Ignoring her. -- Seeing her arrive at the ranch for the very first time. EXT. A DIFFERENT HIGHWAY OR COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Annie drives, she continues remembering... -- She and Tom in the branding... -- She and Tom dancing around the camp fire at the cattle drive. -- She and Tom kissing in secrecy behind Hank's house the night of the barn dance... EXT. ANOTHER HIGHWAY OR COUNTRY ROAD - DAY Annie continues driving and remembering; -- Annie and Tom coming towards each other that first night after everyone had left the ranch... -- Tom opening the front door to the ranch house... SUDDENLY WE; CUT TO: INT. ROBERT'S HOUSE IN INDIA - A DAY REMEMBERED A much younger Annie waits, surrounded by luggage, as A DOOR OPENS revealing a much younger, more vital, very handsome Robert: ROBERT Yes? ANNIE Hi. Um, there doesn't seem to be any hotel room available and someone told me to come here and ask for "Tubab" who might to have a place for me to stay. Are you "Tubab"? ROBERT No. I am a "tubab." ANNIE What do you mean? ROBERT Tubab means white man. Annie is first surprised, then embarrassed but Robert seems so charming and his smile breaks into a laugh, that she just nods and laughs herself. INT. ROBERT'S HOME IN INDIA - A NIGHT REMEMBERED Over a meal, Robert talks excitedly of his experiences. Annie is captivated. INT. ROBERT'S BEDROOM IN INDIA - A NIGHT REMEMBERED After Annie and Robert have made love, Robert sleeps with his arms wrapped around Annie. She lies awake, feeling safe and loved. FADE OUT: EXT. LITTLE BIGHORN NATIONAL MONUMENT - TWILIGHT Annie stands where she stood when she and Grace stopped here on their way to Montana... She removes from her pocket the KNOTTED LOOP he made for her, and looks at it. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MACLEAN CONNECTICUT HOME - DAY A car is driving up the driveway to the house. It stops. Robert and Grace get out as Annie exits from the front door. She looks beautiful -- but in a completely different way than ever before. There is a calm center to her. A softness and a strength. She smiles and walks to meet them. ANNIE Oh, I miss you. You look beautiful. GRACE So do you. ANNIE How's everything? GRACE Good. ANNIE (to Robert) Hi. ROBERT Hi. They kiss as Grace watches. ROBERT Was the trip okay? ANNIE Mmm. I made good time. (to Grace) Pilgrim's in the back. I found a new stable, but they can't take him until tomorrow. GRACE Great! ANNIE Go ahead... Grace exits excitedly O.C. Annie and Robert face each other. Robert doesn't know what to expect... but he softens when Annie smiles: ANNIE I have so much to tell you. ROBERT You want to take a walk with me? ANNIE (a little nervous) Where to? ROBERT (smiles) I don't know. Let's just go and... we'll see... Annie nods. He reaches for her hand, and Annie gives it willingly... They begin to walk away from Camera... together. Annie begins to speak, telling him what we already know. How he will react or what will happen, is unknown. But these two people will no longer avoid their life together... somehow, they will make the effort to face it together. As Camera Widens, we see included in the frame, Grace and Pilgrim... as she strokes him and whispers in his ear... and leads him for a walk... THE END
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+                     HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2                             Written by                            Dean DeBlois                      Inspired by the novels by                           Cressida Cowell                                                   Final Draft                                                 May 5th, 2014                                    EXT. OPEN SEA - DAY                                    Hiccup and Toothless BLUR PAST, leaving a wake that leads...                                                             EXT. BERK - DAY           (Sequence 0200 - New Berk)           To the island village of Berk, festively adorned with flags           and banners. Major new additions alter its familiar skyline.           HICCUP (V.O.)           This... is Berk. The best kept           secret this side of, well,           anywhere. Granted, it may not look           like much, but this wet heap of           rock packs more than a few           surprises.          ON A CLUSTER OF SHEEP, hiding nervously between buildings as          shadows of passing dragons race by. The group moves as one,          receding into a shadowy alley, pushing one sheep out into the          light. It's suddenly snatched and carried into the air!                                    HICCUP (V.O.)           Life here is amazing, just not for           the faint of heart. See, where most           folks enjoy hobbies like whittling           or needlepoint, we Berkians prefer           a little something we like to call--          WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH! A wash of VIBRANT COLORS blurs by.          DRAGONS BARREL PAST at a dizzying speed. Their RIDERS SWIPE,          KICK, and ROLL into one another while they WEAVE neck in neck          between the houses, docks, and revamped structures of Berk.           HICCUP (V.O.)           DRAGON RACING!          It's like an aerial version of the Monte Carlo race.          Spectators ROAR from wooden bleachers, fastened to cliff          faces and perched over the sea.                                   FISHLEGS, now 20 and even larger, rides his gronkle, MEATLUG,          who carries the sheep in her claws, until...                                   SNOTLOUT, also 20, but every bit as juvenile, and his          Monstrous Nightmare, HOOKFANG, steal the sheep from them.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 2.                                                                            SNOTLOUT           Oh, I'm sorry, Fishlegs! Did you           want that?                                                   FISHLEGS           Snotlout! That's mine!          Snotlout FALLS BACK toward RUFFNUT and TUFFNUT, who lag on          their two-headed Zippleback, BARF & BELCH.                          SNOTLOUT           Here ya go, babe.          With a chivalrous grin, Snotlout tosses the sheep to Ruffnut.          She SNATCHES it with a sneer and a GRUMBLE.                          SNOTLOUT (CONT'D)           Did I tell you that you look           amazing today? `Cause you do.                          RUFFNUT           Come on, Barf. It's starting to           stink around here.          Barf starts to peel off, spewing gas. Tuffnut mocks Snotlout          with a mugging grin.                          TUFFNUT           Nope. Still hates you. Let's blow           this place, Belch!          Belch ignites the gas, sparking a flashy explosion, and          leaving Snotlout behind in the smoke.          As they rush past the main bleachers, Ruffnut DROPS her sheep          into one of five baskets suspended over a chasm at the lap          crossing. Each backboard bears an image of its corresponding          dragon. The Barf/Belch basket filled to the brim with sheep.          Presiding over the game, STOICK turns to the frenzied crowd.                          STOICK           That's nine for the Twins, Astrid           lags with three, Fishlegs and           Snotlout trail with NONE!          Stoick eyes an empty basket at the far end, its backboard          painted with an image of Toothless.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           And Hiccup is... nowhere to be           found. Hmmm.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 3.                                                                            GOBBER           Scared him off with the big talk,           didn't ya, Stoick?          WHACK! Snotlout, still smoldering from the blast, gets          CLIPPED from behind. ASTRID, rolls in, astride STORMFLY --          spirited and competitive as ever, and beautiful despite          herself.                          ASTRID           What are you doing, Snotlout?!           They're going to win now!                          SNOTLOUT           She's my princess! Whatever she           wants, she gets.                          ASTRID           Ruffnut?! Didn't she try to bury           you alive?!                                                   SNOTLOUT           Only for a few hours!          BACK TO THE RACERS, as they peel away, pouring on the speed.           HICCUP (V.O.)           Dragons used to be a bit of a           problem here. But that was five           years ago. Now they've all moved           in. And, really, why wouldn't they?          The racers chase each other through a sprawling hangar and          into a vast cave, teeming with colorfully painted dragon          stables. They exit through the far side and circle back          through the village, blasting past many of its dragon-          friendly additions.           HICCUP (V.O.)           We have custom stables... all-you-           can-eat feeding stations... a full           service dragon wash...                                   In the village, a baby Gronkle sneezes, accidentally setting          one of the Viking houses aflame.           HICCUP (V.O.)           Even top-of-the-line fire           prevention, if I do say so myself.          Astrid rolls her eyes, peels away from the other dragon          racers, and yanks open a spout on the overhead network of          aqueducts, dousing the flames with a surge of water.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 4.                                                            BACK TO STOICK, amused as he watches the racers round the          island, searching for sheep. He turns to Gobber and nods.                                                   STOICK           It's time, Gobber.                                                   GOBBER           Righty-ho!           (aloud, to the crowd)           Last lap!          A HORN sounds. The racers all turn to each other, excited.                          ASTRID           The black sheep! Come on, Stormfly!           We can still win this thing!                                                   RUFFNUT           Come on, Barf!                                                   TUFFNUT           Let's go!                                                   FISHLEGS           Go, Meatlug!          GOBBER loads the BLACK SHEEP onto a catapult.                                                   GOBBER           This is your big moment. Have a           nice flight!                                   He pulls the trigger, LAUNCHING the black sheep into the air.          Astrid spots it and steers Stormfly into a steep climb toward          it.                                                   ASTRID           Up, up, up!          In a flash, Fishlegs and Meatlug blur past, NABBING the          sheep.                          ASTRID (CONT'D)           No!                          FISHLEGS           Good job, Meatlug!          Fishlegs tosses his captured prize to Ruffnut.                          FISHLEGS (CONT'D)           Here you go, darling. Mine's worth           ten!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 5.                                                                            RUFFNUT           Yeah! The Black Sheep!          Snotlout sighs, frustrated.                          ASTRID           You guys are fighting for Ruffnut?!                          RUFFNUT           I'm totally winning!                                   Fishlegs hovers up nest to Ruffnut with a starry-eyed smile.                                                   FISHLEGS           We're winning together!          She RAMS BARF into Meatlug, sending Fishlegs into an          uncontrolled SPIN. He SLAMS into Snotlout, sending their          dragons TUMBLING head over tail. The crowd goes wild.                          RUFFNUT           No one can stop me now!                          TUFFNUT           Except for me. We're attached,           genius!                                   He GRABS at the sheep. Ruffnut fights back, inciting a tug-of-          war.                          TUFFNUT (CONT'D)           Quit trying to steal all my glory!          And while they're distracted, Astrid steers Stormfly toward          them, CLOSING IN.                                                   STOICK           Get `em, Astrid!                                                   TUFFNUT RUFFNUT          It's MY glory! No sheep, no You're always ruining          glory! EVERYTHING!          Astrid leaps off of Stormfly, runs up Belch's spindly neck,          and PLUCKS the black sheep from the Twins' hands.                          ASTRID           Gotcha!                                   She tumbles through the air onto Stormfly, sticking a perfect          landing, black sheep in hand.                                                   RUFFNUT           Astrid!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 6.                                                                                     BACK TO STOICK, beside himself. The crowd ROARS.                                                   STOICK           Well played! Hahaha!           (gloating, to the crowd)           That's my future daughter-in-law!          BACK TO ASTRID ON STORMFLY          eyeing the fast-approaching FINISH LINE, unaware as...          FISHLEGS suddenly RAMS Meatlug into Stormfly, sending Astrid          off-course. She recovers and sees Snotlout flying headlong          toward her, war hammer cocked, aiming at Astrid.                          SNOTLOUT           Uh, excuse me.                          ASTRID           Stormfly!          Snotlout HURLS his hammer. Astrid ducks and rolls Stormfly          out of the way. The hammer catches Fishlegs in the face with          a CLANG. The crowd collectively winces.                                   Astrid and Stormfly recover from their roll, loop over the          water, and they BLAST past the finish line, DUNKING the black          sheep into their basket!                                                   STOICK           That's thirteen! Astrid takes the           game!          The crowd COMES UNHINGED. Astrid flies over the crowd,          basking in her victory.           HICCUP (V.O.)           Yep. Berk is pretty much perfect.           All of my hard work has paid off.           And it's a good thing, too, because           with Vikings on the backs of           dragons, the world just got a whole           lot bigger.                                   EXT. OPEN SKY/ISLAND COASTLINE - DAY          (Scene 0300 - AWOL Part One)          A boundless sky. Vast. Clear. Crisp. And from it, a BLACK          SPECK rockets across the horizon. The image of unbridled          freedom.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 7.                                                            Tucked into his riding position, HICCUP appears to be part of          TOOTHLESS. They dip, roll and dive, over a sea teeming with          Thunderdrums, pulling off daring maneuvers with honed          refinement, making them seem effortless.                          HICCUP           Yeah!          They jackknife, heading skyward, rolling and tumbling through          the ethereal cloud-scapes and joining high-flying Timberjacks          as they soar in formation.          Hiccup is bound head-to-toe in a snug, aerodynamic flight          suit -- an asymmetrical, functional design of leather and          articulated plates. It has an air of Viking bike leather.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           What do you think, bud? Wanna give           this another shot?                                   Toothless grumbles in protest.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Toothless! It'll be fine.          With a click of a lever, he LOCKS the pedals in the flared          tail position. Hiccup then unhooks himself from the saddle.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Ready?          Toothless SNORTS unenthusiastically.          Suddenly, Hiccup SLIDES OFF of Toothless, peeling away from          him like a skydiver from a plane, YELLING as he plummets.                                   Toothless dives after him. They spiral through the air, face-          to-face. Toothless is having fun, despite himself.          Hiccup slips his forearms through a pair of tucked leather          flaps... and YANKS, unfurling SHEETS OF LEATHER as he extends          his arms. They catch the wind, SNAPPING OPEN like WINGS...          and sending him GLIDING -- out of control, at first, then          stabilizing. The turbulence buffets his flight suit heavily.          But he's flying!          Toothless unfolds his wings, too, catching up with Hiccup.          The freedom is palpable. Hiccup and Toothless are, for the          moment, the same. Feeling the same rush of adrenaline.          Independently together.          They PLUNGE past cloud formations, splitting apart then          crossing paths again.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 8.                                                            Impressive as it is, Hiccup is gliding at a steep angle.          Toothless launches fireballs ahead of Hiccup, boosting him          higher with the expanding heat bursts.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           This is amazing!          A cloud layer washes past, exposing a towering ROCK          FORMATION, dead ahead.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           No longer amazing! Toothless!          Hiccup tries to steer himself away, to no avail.          Toothless POURS ON THE SPEED, trying to catch Hiccup as he          HURTLES toward collision. His locked tail makes maneuvering          difficult. He's UNABLE TO PULL UP at a steep enough angle.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Oh, no!          At the last second, Toothless BLASTS the jagged rocks just          ahead of Hiccup, then WRAPS Hiccup in his wings as they fly          through it. The obliterated peak rains down around them.          Toothless emerges through the cloud of debris and HURTLES          into the trees of a neighboring peak. They tumble down the          uneven terrain, coming to rest on a small plateau.          Hiccup emerges from the cocoon of Toothless' wings. He          switches his prosthetic riding foot to his walking foot and          stows his leather wings.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           That really came out of nowhere.          The blown up sea stack collapses.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           We gotta work on your solo gliding           there, bud. That locked-up tail           makes for some pretty sloppy rescue           maneuvers, eh?          Hiccup reels in his dorsal fin and removes his helmet,          revealing a 20 year old Hiccup framed by wild hair, complete          with a Viking braid.          He walks to the edge of the cliff, taking in the NEW LAND          stretching off into the horizon, its tall cliffs and sea-          stacks adorned with swaying gold birch trees basking in the          dappled afternoon sunlight.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 9.                                                                            HICCUP (CONT'D)           Looks like we found another one,           bud.          Toothless FUSSES and SNORTS, not amused, shaking off dust and          pebbles like a wet dog.          Hiccup flinches as a pebble WHACKS him on the back of the          head. He looks back to Toothless, who averts his eyes.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           Oh, what? Do you want an apology?           Is that why you're pouting, big           baby boo? Well... try this on!          Hiccup TACKLES Toothless and tries to put him in a headlock.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           Ya feeling it yet? Huh? Picking up           on all my heartfelt remorse?          Toothless simply stands on his hind legs, lifting Hiccup off          of his flailing feet and dangling him over the cliff's edge.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           Oh, come on. You wouldn't hurt a                          ONE-LEGGED--                                   Hiccup looks down, seeing the precipitous drop below.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           You're right! You're right! You           win! You win!          WHAM! Toothless flips him over, pinning him to the ground.          Hiccup squirms, throwing mock punches. Toothless playfully          retaliates with feline taps to Hiccup's head.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           He's down! And it's ugly! Dragons           and Vikings, enemies again, locked           in combat to the bitter -- URFFF!          Toothless rests his head on Hiccup -- SQUEEZING THE AIR out          of him. Toothless then suddenly starts grooming Hiccup,          lapping at his face and covering him in slobber.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Gaaaaagh!                                   Hiccup fights to get free, finally springing to his feet and          shaking off the viscous saliva.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 10.                                                                            HICCUP (CONT'D)           You KNOW that doesn't wash out.                                   Toothless LAUGHS, pleased with himself.                                   Shifting his attention back to the new land stretched out          before them, Hiccup reaches beneath his chest plate and          produces a leather-bound book.                                   He unfurls it to reveal an EXPLORERS MAP, modified with added          strips in every direction to accommodate their ever-expanding          world. Drawings indicate new lands, new tribes, and many new          dragons.          Hiccup peels a fresh strip of paper from a hidden fold in his          flight suit and holds it out for Toothless to lick.          Hiccup affixes the moistened strip to the map's outer edge,          then whittles a pencil and consults a compass affixed to his          forearm.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           So what should we name it?          Toothless GURGLES as he gnaws under his wing, preoccupied.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           "Itchy Armpit" it is.          Hiccup carefully draws the new island's outline.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           Whaddya reckon, bud? Think we might           find a few Timberjacks in those           woods? The odd Whispering Death or           two in the rocks? Who knows...           maybe we'll finally track down           another Night Fury.                          (BEAT)           Wouldn't that be something?                          (BURDENED)           So, whaddya say? Just keep going?          Toothless' ear plates suddenly SHOOT UP. He ROARS, and his          call is answered by a familiar SCREECH. Hiccup turns to          see...                                   EXT. SEA STACK/ISLAND COASTLINE - DAY          (Scene 0325 - AWOL Part Two)                                   ASTRID rising into view, astride Stormfly. Stormfly grabs          talon-fulls of rock to slow her landing.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 11.                                                                            HICCUP           `Afternoon m'lady. Where have you           been?                                   Astrid dismounts and throws back her fur hood as Toothless          rushes up to greet them.                                                   ASTRID           Winning races. What else? The real           question is... where have YOU been?                                                   HICCUP           Avoiding my dad.                                                   ASTRID           Oh, no. What happened now?                                   Astrid sits beside Hiccup, inspecting his latest addition to          the map. Behind them, Toothless greets Stormfly, inciting a          play fight.                                                   HICCUP           Oh, you're gonna love this. I wake           up. The sun's shining. Terrible           Terrors are singing on the rooftop.           I saunter down to breakfast,           thinking all is right with the           world, and I get...                                   He gets to his feet and puffs out his chest.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)                          (APING STOICK)           ... Son, we need to talk.                                   Astrid smiles and adopts Hiccup's sloppy slouch.                          ASTRID                          (APING HICCUP)           Not now, Dad. I've got a whole day           of goofing off to get started.                                   Hiccup breaks character, grimacing at her impression of him.                                                   HICCUP           Okay, first of all, I don't sound           like that. What is this character?           And second... what is that thing           you're doing with my shoulders?                                   Astrid laughs, jostling her shoulders in an awkward way.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 12.                                                                            HICCUP (CONT'D)           A truly flattering impersonation.           Anyway, he goes...           (resuming Stoick's brogue)           You're the pride of Berk, son, and           I couldn't be prouder...                                                   ASTRID           (continuing her impression                          OF HICCUP)           Aw, thanks, Dad. I'm pretty           impressed with myself, too.                                                   HICCUP           WHEN have I ever done that with my           hands?                                                   ASTRID           You just did.                                   She laughs, playfully.                                                   HICCUP           Okay... just...           (holding her arms, mock-                          STERN)           Hold still. It's very serious.                                   She giggles, trying to hold a straight face.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           (resuming Stoick's brogue)           You're all grown up, and since no           chief could ask for a better           successor, I've decided--                                   Astrid straightens, her face brightening.                          ASTRID           --TO MAKE YOU CHIEF! Oh, my gods!                                   She jumps to her feet, beaming...                                                   ASTRID (CONT'D)           Hiccup, that's amazing!                                   And socks Hiccup in congratulations, deliberately hitting the          dorsal fin release button and triggering it to pop up. She          laughs as Hiccup reels it back in, self-consciously.                                                   HICCUP           You're gonna wear out the spring           coil. The calibration is very           sensitive!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 13.                                                            They're suddenly BOWLED OVER by Toothless and Stormfly.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Yeah, so... this is what I'm           dealing with.                                   Astrid helps him up and dusts him off.                                                   ASTRID                          (EXCITED)           What did you tell him?                                                   HICCUP           I didn't. By the time he turned           around, I was gone.                                   Astrid picks up the map, folding it as she paces around him,          processing it all.                                                   ASTRID           Well, it's a lot of responsibility.           The map will have to wait for sure,           and I'll need to fly Toothless,           since you'll be too busy...                                   She pauses, wincing in sympathy. She turns to Hiccup. He nods          knowingly, taking the map from her.                                                   HICCUP           It's not me, Astrid. All those           speeches, and planning, and running           the village... that's his thing.                                                   ASTRID           I think you're missing the point. I           mean, chief. What an honor. I'd be           pretty excited.          Hiccup shakes his head.                                                   HICCUP           I'm not like you. You know exactly           who you are. You always have.           But...                                   He shuffles to the cliff's edge, gazing out at the new land.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           I'm still looking. I know that I'm           not my father... and I never met my           mother... so, what does that make           me?           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 14.                                                            He sits at the edge, looking burdened, restless. Astrid          approaches and settles beside him, joining him in looking out          at the distant horizon. She weaves another braid into his          hair as she speaks.                                                   ASTRID           What you're searching for... isn't           out there, Hiccup.                                   She places a hand on his chest.                                                   ASTRID (CONT'D)           It's in here.                          (BEAT)           Maybe you just don't see it yet.                                   She kisses his cheek, but gets a mouthful of Toothless'          slobber. She grimaces, wiping it off.                                   Distracted, Hiccup eyes the horizon keenly.                                                   HICCUP           Maybe. But, y'know... there is           something out there.                                                   ASTRID                          (EXASPERATED)           Hiccup...                                   He turns her face to the horizon. A distant smoke plume rises          from a misty valley.                                                            EXT. LAPLAND WOODS/TRAPPER'S FORT - MOMENTS LATER                                   (Scene 0400 - Shot Down!)          Hiccup and Toothless fly over the fjord, winding deep through          undulating crimson and gold forests.                                   Astrid and Stormfly catch up as the autumn colors suddenly          give way to charred timbers. They fly deeper, through ash and          wafting smoke. Ahead, in a sheltered harbor, an explosion of          ice stands as an eerie marker of what used to be a TRAPPER'S          FORT.                                                   HICCUP           Stay close.                                   They fly through the suspended remains of the buildings,          splintered, and frozen in mid-destruction.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           What happened here?           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 15.                                                            It's at once harrowing and puzzling. Toothless spots an          enormous DRAGON FOOTPRINT in the muddy shoreline below,          leaving him uneasy.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Easy, bud.                                   As they crest the ice formations, Astrid spots a CREW OF MEN          at the stern of a moored ship below.                                                   ASTRID           Hiccup!                                    ERET (O.S.)           Fire!                                   The men fire a stern-mounted cannon. The projectile unfurls          into a NET. Hiccup and Toothless dart out of its way.                                                   HICCUP           Astrid! Look out!                                   It HITS Stormfly, TANGLING her wings and causing her to spin          uncontrolled. Astrid struggles to free her as they HURTLE          toward a collision.                                                   ASTRID           HICCUP!                                   Astrid falls off of Stormfly, but Toothless SNATCHES her at          the last second.                                   Stormfly hits the ground, tangled in the net. Trappers rush          out of hiding, piling onto her with ropes and weapons. She          whips her tail, sending spikes flying.                                                   ERET           Watch the tail!                                   A large, raven-haired trapper lunges over the spray of spikes          and lands upon Stormfly's head, twisting it and taking her          down like a rodeo cowboy.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           Tie those legs up!                                   Eret deftly ties her gnashing jaws shut, wrangling her into          submission -- clearly a pro among pros. He looks up,          revealing a handsome face and gleaming, intelligent eyes that          search the sky as Toothless' tell-tale BANSHEE scream rings          out.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           Is that what I think it is?           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 16.                                                            Toothless suddenly streaks across the sky, banking and          landing with a FEROCIOUS ROAR.                                                   HICCUP           STOP!                                                   ASTRID           STORMFLY!           (to the trappers)           What are you doing?                                   Astrid and Hiccup leap off of Toothless, rushing toward          Stormfly.                                   Eret's men immediately draw weapons. Hiccup extends and          ignites his DRAGON BLADE -- a telescoping fiery sword --          impressive enough to wow Eret's men.                                                   ERET           Back again?                                   Eret steps forward, focused only on Toothless.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           Soil my britches... that is a Night           Fury. Thought they were all gone           for good.           (to his fellow trappers)           Looks like our luck's had a turn           for the better, lads! Don't think           Drago has one of those in his           dragon army.                                   His men sound out in agreement. Hiccup eyes Astrid, confused.                                                   ASTRID           Dragon army?                          HICCUP           Look, we don't want any trouble.                                                   ERET           Ha! You should've thought of that           before you stole all of our dragons           and blasted our fort to bits!                                                   HICCUP           Wait...                                                   ASTRID           What are you talking about?                                   Astrid and Hiccup take in the icy destruction, putting it          together.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 17.                                                                            HICCUP           You think we did this?                                                   ERET           Dragon trapping is hard enough work           as it is, without do-gooder dragon           riders sneaking in to rescue them.                                                   HICCUP           What do-gooder -- there are other           dragon riders?                                                   ERET           You mean, other than your thieving           friend from last night? You tell           me.                                   Eret approaches. Toothless snarls, protectively.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           You may have an ice-spitting dragon           on your side, but we still have a           quota to fill. How do you suppose           we explain this mess to Drago           Bludvist?                                                   HICCUP           Drago what-fist? Does anything you           say make sense?                                                   TEENY           He's expecting a new shipment of           dragons for his army by tomorrow.                                                   NO-NAME           And Drago don't take well to           excuses.          Eret parts his tunic, revealing a large branding-iron scar on          his torso, in the shape of a dragon skull, split by a sword.                                                   ERET           This is what he gave me last time I           showed up empty-handed. He promised           to be far less understanding in the           future.                                                   HICCUP                          (EXASPERATED)           Look, we don't know anything about           a dragon thief, or an ice-spitting           dragon, or your lunatic boss and           his dragon army, okay?                          (MORE)           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 18.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           Just give us back our dragon, and           we'll go, strange, hostile person           whom we've never met.                                   Eret bows playfully.                                                   ERET           Oh, where are my manners? I'm Eret.           Son of Eret. Finest dragon trapper           alive.                                   He pulls a dagger from behind his back, waving it cockily.          His men ready their weapons and net cannons.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           After all, it's not just anyone who           can capture a Night Fury.                                   Toothless ROARS a warning.                                                   HICCUP           And this is Toothless. He says           we're going. Now.                                                   ERET           Heh. They all say that.                          (BEAT)           RUSH `EM, LADS!                                   Eret lunges toward them. Toothless BLASTS, bringing down a          massive spire of ice. It shatters as it hits the ground,          forcing Eret and his men to dive out of the way.                                   Making quick use of the distraction, Hiccup re-ignites his          dragon blade and slashes through the ropes binding Stormfly.                                                   ASTRID           Stormfly! C'mon, go! Go!                                   Eret gets to his feet in time to see Toothless and Stormfly          take to the air, carrying Hiccup and Astrid out of reach of          the volley of arrows.                                                   ERET           YOU WILL NEVER HOLD ON TO THOSE           DRAGONS, YOU HEAR ME?! DRAGO IS           COMING FOR THEM ALL!                                                            I/E. BERK/BLACKSMITH STALL - SUNSET                                   (Sequence 0500 - Lock-Down!)           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 19.                                                            The GANG joyrides past GOTHI'S house, scattering her          assortment of terrible terrors. She waves a fist at them as          they sweep past, WHOOPING AND CHORTLING, leading us down          to...                                   THE UPPER PLAZA, where a GATHERED CROWD of Vikings and their          dragons are cued up outside of Gobber's BLACKSMITH STALL,          awaiting their turns. Stoick maneuvers through the crowd,          spouting JOVIAL GREETINGS in passing.                                   He makes a bee-line for GOBBER, who is busily grinding a          metal dragon tooth into shape. A Zippleback waits patiently,          his head cocked open like a car hood while the other head          watches, sympathetically.                                                   STOICK           Any sign of him?                                   Gobber flips up his welding guard, revealing a matching area          of unsoiled skin.                                                   GOBBER           Ah, he's probably flown off the           edge of the world by now. You sure           you want that kid running the           village? You can still delay your           retirement.                                                   STOICK           Oh, he's ready. You'll see.                                   A SUDDEN EXCITEMENT in the crowd heralds Hiccup and Astrid's          return. They touch down on Toothless and Stormfly.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           Haha! There he is!           (to Gobber, proving his                          POINT)           Huh? The pride of Berk!                                   Hiccup stows his helmet and heads toward Stoick with urgency.                                                   GOBBER           Who finally decided to show up for           work. Yay.                                                   HICCUP           Sorry. Got held up.           (privately, to Stoick)           Hey, Dad, could I have a word?                                                   STOICK           Something you're itching to tell           me?           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 20.                                                                            HICCUP           Not quite the itch you're thinking           of, but yes.                                   Stoick hands him an apron and guides him to the front desk.                                                   STOICK           Good man! Now, lesson one. A           chief's first duty is to his           people. So...                                   Stoick changes the rune on the "being served" placard.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           Forty one? Forty --                                                   HICCUP           Could we just talk in private for--                                                   STARKARD           --That's me! That's me! I'm next!           (pushing his way through)           I was ahead of you! Excuse me, I've           been here all day!                                   STARKARD reaches the counter, giddy with excitement.                                                   STARKARD (CONT'D)           Okay, I want one of those high           seaters, with lots of spikes and a           big stowage compartment.                                                   STOICK           Absolutely! You got it, sir!                                   Stoick spins Hiccup around, steering him back into the shop.                          HICCUP           Dad, this is actually a little more           important than building saddles.                                                   STOICK           Ah-ah! Lesson two. No task is too           small when it comes to serving your           people. Excuse us, Grump.                                   They step over the tail of a large, snoring oaf of a dragon,          stirring him awake with a fussy start.                                                   GOBBER           Grump! You let the forge die down           again!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 21.                                                            Grump coughs a slug of molten lava into the forge. It          splatters everywhere, igniting a rash of fires. Hiccup side-          steps them as he gathers materials in the back of the stall.          Gobber pulls the fire extinguisher, dumping water everywhere.                                                   GOBBER (CONT'D)           That's it, Grump. You're going up           for adoption!                                   Stoick fills a toolbox with tools from Hiccup's workbench.                                                   STOICK           One of these. And this...                                                   HICCUP                          DAD --                                                   STOICK           -- There you go! Go on. Have away.                                                   HICCUP           But, seriously, I really need to           tell you about this new land we           came across.                                                   GOBBER           Another one?!                                   Fishlegs walks in, followed by the Twins and Snotlout.                                                   FISHLEGS           Any new dragons?                                   Stoick slaps a sheet of leather onto a dragon mold, and hands          Hiccup pencil. Exasperated, Hiccup begins tracing an outline          as he speaks.                          HICCUP           We didn't stick around to find out.           These folks weren't particularly           friendly.                                                   GOBBER           Oh, really? Your Night Fury and           Deadly Nadder didn't bring them           cheering to the rooftops?                                   Gobber spins his prosthetic arm dispenser.                                                   HICCUP           No, this was different. Not the           standard run-for-the-hills hoo-ha           I've come to enjoy. These guys were           trappers. Dragon trappers.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 22.                                                                            ASTRID           You should've seen their fort. All           blown apart and stuck in giant           spikes of ice. It was weird.                                                   HICCUP           I've never seen anything like it.           And worst of all, they thought we           did it!                                   Gobber pops off his prosthetic tongs and selects a wire brush          from his dispenser...                                                   GOBBER           Y'know, you two are gonna get           yourselves in SERIOUS trouble one           of these days. Not everyone           appreciates this way of life.                                   Which he uses to brush his mustache and eyebrows.                                   Stoick takes the sheet of leather to the table saw...                                                   STOICK           Gobber's right, son. Best we keep           to our own. Besides, you'll have           more important uses for your time --                                   And pulls a lever, starting it up.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           (sing-songy, under his                          BREATH)           Once we make the big announcement!                                   Hiccup pulls the lever, shutting the saw down.                          HICCUP           They are building a dragon army.                                   Silence fills the stall. Vikings exchange worried glances.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Or at least the guy they work for           is. Dargo Bloody Fist or something.                                   Stoick's eyes widen. He turns to Gobber, with growing alarm.                                                   TUFFNUT           I'll bloody his fist with my face           if he tries to take my dragon!                                                   RUFFNUT           Or mine.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 23.                                                                            TUFFNUT           You're such a moron.                                                   FISHLEGS           A beautiful moron.                                                   SNOTLOUT           Yeah...                                   Ruffnut grumbles, revolted by their advances.                                   Stoick grabs Hiccup by the shoulders, wide-eyed and intense.                                                   STOICK           Bludvist? Drago Bludvist?                                                   HICCUP           Uh, yeah. Wait. You know him?                                                            INT. BERK - DRAGON STABLES - MOMENTS LATER                                   Stoick rushes down a circular stone staircase into the vast,          bustling cave that houses the dragon stables.                                                   STOICK           GROUND ALL DRAGONS!                                                   HICCUP           What? Why?!                                   Hiccup, Astrid, Gobber, and Toothless chase after Stoick.                                                   STOICK           SEAL THE GATES! LOWER THE STORM           DOORS!                          HICCUP           Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait! What is           happening?                                                   GOBBER           You heard the man! Lock it down!                                   Behind him, the massive storm doors rattle as they're          lowered.                                                   STOICK           No DRAGON or VIKING sets foot off           this island until I give the word!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 24.                                                                            HICCUP           Because some guy you knew is           stirring up trouble in some faraway           land?                                   Stoick turns to Hiccup, gravely serious.                                                   STOICK           Because Drago Bludvist is a madman.           Without conscience or mercy. And if           he's built a dragon army... gods           help us all.                                   Stoick continues on shouting orders, leaving Hiccup stewing.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           Get them into their pens! Quickly!                                   Hiccup chases around to confront Stoick.                                                   HICCUP           Then let's ride back out there.           We'll follow those trappers to           Drago and talk some sense into him.                                                   STOICK           No. We fortify the island.                                                   HICCUP           It's our duty to keep the peace!                                                   STOICK           Peace is over, Hiccup. I must           prepare you for war.                                                   HICCUP           War? Dad, if Drago's coming for our           dragons, we can't wait around for           him to get here. Let's go find him           and change his mind.                                                   STOICK           Some minds won't be changed,           Hiccup. Berk is what you need to           worry about.                          (BEAT)           A chief protects his own.                                   Stoick heads off, calling out more orders...                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           SECURE THE STABLES! LATCH EVERY           STALL!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 25.                                                            ... leaving Hiccup eyeing Toothless as the storm doors close.          Astrid approaches him, seeing the determination on his face.                                                   ASTRID           Hiccup, don't.                                                   HICCUP           I have to.                                   He gives her a quick peck on the cheek.                                                   STOICK           THIS WAY! QUICKLY!                                   Hiccup and Toothless BLAST PAST, heading for the exit.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           HICCUP!                                   They try to fly through one door, but it seals shut.                                                   HICCUP           Come on!                                   Toothless spins around and DIVES through the gap in the          second lowering storm door.                                                   STOICK           Hiccup!                                   Astrid and Stormfly blow past Stoick and slip through the          storm door before it shuts, leaving Stoick fuming.                                                            EXT. OPEN SEA - MIDDAY                                   (Scene 0700 - Eret's Lesson)          Eret's ship carves a defiant path North, leaving the last          glimpses of Lapland in its wake.                                   Eret stands on the bowsprit, eyeing the waves intently,          searching the surface. He turns toward the deck, where his          crewmen man the gunwale cannons, sights trained to the sky.                                                   ERET           Keep your eyes peeled, lads! With           this wind, we'll reach Drago by           daybreak, so best we fill this ship           up with dragons and quick! It's no           time to be picky. Not if we want to           keep our --           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 26.                                                                            UG           Uh... Eret?                                   Eret turns in the direction Ug is pointing to see a pair of          dragons flapping toward them.                                                   ERET           HEADS! OFF THE PORT QUARTER!                                   The crewmen swing the net cannons toward the back-lit,          silhouetted dragons, drawing ever closer.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           Net `em, lads! Take `em down!                                   Eret loads a cannon and takes aim. He spots Hiccup and Astrid          riding the dragons. His eyes narrow, determined.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           You're not getting away this time.                                   Nets fly through the air. Hiccup and Astrid outmaneuver them          and dive toward the ship, landing on the deck with a clatter.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           And here I was worried we might           turn up empty-handed.                                   Astrid brandishes her axe in invitation. Hiccup indicates for          her to lower it, then holds up his hands in surrender.                                                   HICCUP           Nope. It's your lucky day. We give           up.                                   Eret's crew exchange confused stares. As does Astrid.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           That's one Night Fury, one Deadly           Nadder, and...                                   He dismounts Toothless and tosses a net over Astrid.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           ... two of the finest dragon riders           west of Luk Tuk. That oughtta make           the boss happy, right?                                   Astrid grumbles. He takes her axe, hands it to Eret, and          escorts Astrid past the men to the open live well.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Excuse us.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 27.                                                            He leads Astrid down the ladder. She glares at him, plainly          hating the plan.                                                   ASTRID           What are you doing?                                   Toothless tries to follow them, but Hiccup holds him back.                                                   HICCUP           Toothless, stay.                                   Hiccup flips the latch, lowering the grate as Eret watches,          confounded.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           The dragons don't really care for           cramped spaces, so they'll just           hang out with you. They won't be           any trouble.                                   Eret's men nervously direct their swords and spears toward          Toothless. HE SNARLS.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Unless you do that. Wooden boat,           big ocean. How's your swimming?                                                   NO-NAME           Not good.                                   A burst of flame erupts from the live well, causing the          crewmen to jump back. Hiccup thrusts his Dragon Blade through          the grate.                                                   HICCUP           Oops. Almost forgot. Can't have           armed prisoners!                          ASTRID           How is this a plan?                                   He retracts the blade and offers it up. A crewman cautiously          takes it, looking it over. The pommel of the hilt is          expelling green gas.                                                   HICCUP           Just what every dragon trapper           needs. One end coats the blade in           Monstrous Nightmare saliva. The           other sprays Hideous Zippleback           gas. All it takes is a spark and...                                   A curious crewman clicks the lighter, igniting the gas.          Hiccup ducks as the sudden explosion sweeps over the deck.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 28.                                                                            HICCUP (CONT'D)           Oh, yeah, there you go!                                   Toothless paws at the embers.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Once they see you as one of their           own, even the testiest dragons can           be trained, right, bud?                                   Toothless gurgles and falls over.                                                   ERET           Give me that!                                   Eret snatches the dragon blade and HURLS it overboard.          Stormfly bolts after it...                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           What game are you playing?                                                   HICCUP           No game. We just want to meet           Drago.                                   And returns in a flash, dropping it at Eret's feet like a          fetching dog, tongue wagging. Eret throws it again,          frustrated. Stormfly returns with it just as quickly.                                                   ERET           Why?                                                   HICCUP           Because I'm going to change his           mind about dragons.                                   Eret and his crew LAUGH. Astrid pokes out of the well.                          ASTRID           He can be really persuasive.                                   Hiccup pets Toothless, thoughtfully.                                                   HICCUP           Once you've earned his loyalty,           there is nothing a dragon won't do           for you.                                                   ERET           Puh! You won't be changing any           minds around here.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 29.                                                                            HICCUP           I can change yours. Right here.           Right now.                                   Hiccup sets Toothless' tail in the locked, splayed position.          Eret sneers, suspicious.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           May I?                                   Suddenly, Hiccup is snatched into the air! Dragons blur past.                                                            I/E. OPEN SEA - SHIP - SUNSET                                   (Scene 1000 - Botched Rescue)                                   The crewmen SCRAMBLE to the NET CANNONS as a FLURRY OF WINGS          streak past, GASHING holes in the sails and SLICING through          rigging.                                                   ERET           Dragon riders!                                   Toothless SHRIEKS and bounds up the mast, spotting Hiccup in          the talons of a Monstrous Nightmare. Toothless relaxes,          realizing that it's Hookfang.                                                   HICCUP           Put me down! Snotlout! What are you           doing?                                   Snotlout looks back to see if Ruffnut witnessed the save.                                                   SNOTLOUT           See how well I protect and provide?          Ruffnut GRUMBLES at the incessant courting. A FLYING NET          whizzes past her head.                                                   TUFFNUT           Aggh! What is with all the nets?!                                                   RUFFNUT           Hey watch it! That was close...                                   Ruffnut spots Eret, FIRING nets from the deck of the ship.                                                   TRANSITION TO:                                   A SLOW MOTION, sexy POV of Eret's glistening biceps,          shuddering as he BLASTS the net cannon, aimed directly at          her.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 30.                                                                            RUFFNUT (CONT'D)           Oh, my.                                   The net unravels in SLOW MOTION...                                                   RUFFNUT (CONT'D)           Me likey.                                   ... enveloping Ruffnut as she yields to it, blissfully.                                                   RUFFNUT (CONT'D)           Take me.                                   BACK TO REAL TIME                                   As Hiccup FLIPS upside-down in the Hookfang's talons and          KICKS off, pulling his wing-suit flaps.                                   Eret takes aim, but Astrid SHOVES him, throwing off the shot.                                                   ASTRID           HOLD YOUR FIRE!                                   Hiccup glides unsteadily towards the ship and collides with          its sail. He slides down the canvas and drops to the deck.          Toothless lands behind him.                                                   HICCUP           WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE?!                                   Gobber and Grump land on the deck, scattering Eret's crew.                                                   GOBBER           We're here to RESCUE you!                                                   HICCUP           I DON'T NEED to be rescued!           STOICK (O.S.)           ENOUGH!                                   The bow dips heavily as Stoick touches down on SKULLCRUSHER.          He dismounts, fuming.                                   Eret blocks Stoick, cocky and confident.                                                   ERET           Well, didn't you just pick the           wrong ship, eh? I am Eret, son of --                                   Stoick shoves his face aside, sending Eret SLAMMING into          Grump. Before he can react, Gobber CLUBS Eret on the head,          sending him collapsing to the deck. Grump then sits on him,          smothering him into submission.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 31.                                                                            ERET (CONT'D)           (panting, suffocated)           Get... this... thing... off... me!                                   Gobber turns to the other crewmen, with a smile.                                                   GOBBER           Anyone else?                                   Eret's men eye the Vikings, armed and flanked by their          dragons. They set down their swords.                                                   GOBBER (CONT'D)           That's what I figured.                                                   STOICK                          (TO HICCUP)           You. Saddle up. We're going home.                                                   HICCUP           No.                                                   STOICK           Of all the irresponsible --                                                   HICCUP           -- I'm trying to protect our           dragons and stop a war! How is that           irresponsible?                                                   STOICK           BECAUSE WAR IS WHAT HE WANTS, SON!                                   Hiccup glares, frustrated.                                   Stoick SIGHS, realizing that he has to explain.                          STOICK (CONT'D)           Years ago, there was a great           gathering of chieftains to discuss           the dragon scourge we all faced.                                                            INT. VIKING HALL - NIGHT                                                  FLASHBACK                                   A hulking, cloaked figure strides confidently into fire-lit          hall, interrupting a council meeting of Viking chieftains.          His face is masked in silhouette.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 32.                                                             STOICK (V.O.)           Into our midst came a stranger from           a strange land, covered in scars           and draped in a cloak of dragon           skin. He carried no weapon and           spoke softly, saying that he, Drago           Bludvist, was a man of the people,           devoted to freeing mankind from the           tyranny of dragons.                                   ON STOICK, some twenty years younger, seated in a throne,          studying the impudent stranger with suspicion.                                    STOICK (V.O.)           He claimed that he alone could           control the dragons and that he           alone could keep us safe, if we           chose to bow down and follow him.                                   The Viking council erupts in mocking laughter.                                   BACK TO PRESENT                                   Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins snicker.                                                   RUFFNUT           Stupid.                                                   TUFFNUT           Good one.                                                   STOICK           Aye. We laughed, too...                                   BACK TO FLASHBACK                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           Until he wrapped himself in his           cloak and cried out, "Then see how           well you do without me!"                                   Drago Bludvist pulls the dragon skin cloak over himself and          marches toward the door. Above, dragon fire rips through the          ceiling, bringing down flaming timbers, followed by dragons          covered in heavy metallic armor. They BLAST FIRE as panic          ensues.                                    STOICK (V.O.)           The rooftop suddenly burst into           flames, and from it, armored           dragons descended, burning the hall           to the ground.                                   BACK TO PRESENT           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 33.                                                                            STOICK                          (STINGING REGRET)           I... was to only one to escape.                                   The Twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs exchange spooked glances.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)                          (TO HICCUP)           Men who kill without reason cannot           be reasoned with.                                                   HICCUP           Maybe.                                   Hiccup turns and stomps toward Toothless, determined. Eret          watches intently.                                                   STOICK           Hiccup...                                                   HICCUP           I'm still going to try.                                   Hiccup jumps onto Toothless and locks eyes with Stoick.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           This is what I'm good at. And if I           could change your mind... I can           change his, too.                          (TO TOOTHLESS)           Come on.                                   Toothless and Hiccup TAKE TO THE AIR, leaving everyone          stirring in awkward silence.                                   Astrid mounts Stormfly, about to go after him.                          ASTRID           Let's go.                                                   STOICK           NO! Lead the others back to Berk.           I've had enough mutiny for one day.                                   Astrid stirs, conflicted, as Stoick stomps toward          Skullcrusher, fuming. He passes Ruffnut, who's busily          fondling Eret's biceps as he lays crushed under Grump.                                                   RUFFNUT           Ooh, I like that.                                                   STOICK           Ruffnut!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 34.                                                                            RUFFNUT                          (PETULANT)           Ugh! Okay!                                                            EXT. SKY - NIGHT          (Scene 1100 - Ambushed!)          Hiccup stares ahead, frustrated, as Toothless glides over a          bed of clouds, glowing in the low, Arctic sun.          Hiccup YELLS, then slumps back onto the saddle.          Toothless recoils, sensitive to Hiccup's upset. The steam          from their breath mixes in the frigid air.                          HICCUP           Don't worry, bud. I'm not gonna let           anything happen to you. I promise.          Toothless' ear plates perk up. He glances over his shoulder          to see a disturbance in the blanket of clouds.          A strange and arresting MASKED WARRIOR rises from the clouds,          standing upon something unseen. Its armor and cape flap in          the buffeting turbulence.          The warrior eyes Toothless and Hiccup, pulling up alongside          them. Hiccup senses the approaching figure in his periphery          and sits up, flustered.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           AW, COME ON, DAD! REALLY?!          He whirls around expectantly then FREEZES, mouth agape.          The warrior stares blankly, tilting his head in curiosity          while cutting a menacing silhouette.          Then, just as gradually as he rose, the warrior dips back          beneath the clouds, disappearing.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)                          (ALARMED)           Okay.                          (TO TOOTHLESS)           No sudden moves.          Suddenly, the warrior EXPLODES out of the clouds before them,          standing atop a large dragon. They circle Hiccup and          Toothless, forcing them to TREAD AIR.                                   The warrior points a staff toward Hiccup, unnervingly, as he          returns to face them.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 35.                                                                            HICCUP (CONT'D)           Hold on, hold on.          Toothless GROWLS a warning.          Suddenly, they're ambushed from behind. Hiccup is plucked off          of Toothless by another DRAGON and carried off.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           Toothless!          With the tail unmanned, Toothless PLUMMETS helplessly. He          FLAPS wildly then CRASHES through the ice into the black,          frigid water. FLAILING and CRYING OUT, he struggles to stay          afloat as he watches...          Hiccup disappear into the night sky, carried off in the          talons of the strange dragon -- one of TENS that accompany          the warrior in a cavalcade.          Toothless BELLOWS in distress, desperately trying to take to          the air. As he LEAPS and CRASHES, time and again...          A group of SPINY DORSAL FINS split the ice, carving a path          toward Toothless.          Beneath the ice, a pod of SEASHOCKERS approach, two-headed,          with Manta Ray like wings GLIDING silently in the gloom.          Fixated on Hiccup, Toothless is caught by surprise as the          Seashockers surface and DRAG HIM UNDER.          Hiccup's helmet bobs to the surface, marking all that          remains.                                                            EXT. ARCTIC SKY/ARCHIPELAGO - NIGHT (MIDNIGHT SUN)          (Scene 1300 - Dragon Lady)                                   Hiccup shivers in the claws of the dragon, surrounded by the          strange flock full of breeds he's never seen. He looks back          for Toothless, now long gone.                                                   HICCUP           HEY! YOU LEFT MY DRAGON BACK THERE!           HE CAN'T FLY ON HIS OWN! HE'LL           DROWN!                                   The warrior offers no response, seemingly immune to the cold          as he leads the dragon flock across the polar night -- an          alien landscape, harsh and foreboding.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 36.                                                            Out of the fog looms an EPIC ICE FORMATION -- jagged, spiked,          and similar to the icy aftermath of Eret's fort, but many          times its size.                                   The DRAGON ESCORT dives into its jagged folds.                                                            INT. DRAGON MOUNTAIN - CONTINUOUS                                   The WILD RIDE suddenly gives way to a MULTILEVEL, CAVERNOUS          CHAMBER made of ice and columns of basalt rock. It's heavily          populated with dragons of all kinds, looming in the shadows.                                   Hiccup is dropped in the center. He scrambles to his feet,          calling out into the darkness.                                                   HICCUP           We have to head back for my dragon!                                   A HISSING dragon CLOSES IN, sniffing, leering, aggressive.                                   Hiccup extends and lights his telescoping dragon blade,          waving a swirl of fire around himself. The dragon pauses,          intrigued, and then watches hypnotically as Hiccup pacifies          him with calculated sweeps of the fiery blade.                                   The warrior watches keenly from the shadows.                                   Several aggressive dragons close in behind Hiccup. Hearing          their hisses, he quickly stows the blade, replaces a          cartridge in its hilt, then flips it around and sprays a          perimeter of Zippleback gas around himself. He clicks the          lighter, igniting a flash ring. The testy dragons recoil.                                   He then reaches through the smoke, offering his open hand.          The dragons re-approach, sniffing him with calmed curiosity.          ON THE WARRIOR                                   ... tilting his masked head, curious. He dismounts his dragon          and approaches Hiccup.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Who are you? The Dragon Thief?           Drago Bludvist?                                   The warrior circles Hiccup in silence, taking in his gear,          his dragon blade, his face.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Do you even understand what I'm           saying?           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 37.                                                            The warrior whirls and HAMMERS his staff. In response, a          large dragon ASCENDS from the depths, carrying...                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Toothless!                                   Toothless is dumped on the ground next to Hiccup, sopping          wet. Hiccup rushes to him, petting him reassuringly.          Toothless coos in relief.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           It's okay. I'm glad to see you,           too, bud. You really had me worried           there.                                   The warrior rattles his staff at a nearby dragon. In          response, it and the surrounding dragons produce firelight          from their throats, spotlighting Hiccup and Toothless.                                   The warrior sets down his staff and shield, then approaches          Hiccup, cautiously and animal-like.                                   Toothless SNARLS and circles Hiccup defensively, but then          instantly yields to the stranger's outstretched hand. With a          quick, disarming gesture, the warrior lays Toothless down in          a state of bliss. Hiccup is astounded.                                   The warrior's hand continues toward Hiccup's face. He          recoils, but the warrior persists, finding the faint scar on          Hiccup's chin, glinting in the firelight.                                   The warrior GASPS and retreats a few steps.                                                   WARRIOR           (whispered, shaken)           Hiccup?                          (BEAT)           Could it be? After all these years?           How is this possible?                                   The voice is surprisingly female.                                                   HICCUP           Uh, should I... should I know you?                                                   WARRIOR           No. You were only a babe...                                   The warrior slowly removes the strange mask, revealing VALKA,          40, beneath. Her eyes meet his, equally wide-eyed and aghast.                                                   VALKA           ... but a mother never forgets.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 38.                                                            Hiccup stammers, tongue-tied, aghast.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           Come...                                                            EXT. ARCTIC SKY - NIGHT (MIDNIGHT SUN)                                   (Sequence 1325 - Searching)                                   Stoick and Gobber search over the frigid waves that lap          against the pack ice.                                                   STOICK           Boar-headed! Just like his mother!           She could never stay put either.                                   Gobber glances over at Stoick, who's hunched over, brow          furrowed and solemn.                                                   GOBBER           Ah, he's just twenty. And a Viking.           I mean, could there be a worse           combination? Ha! When I think of           how stubborn and senseless YOU were           back in the day... well, not much           has changed, actually.                                                   STOICK           You know what he's like. He won't           give up, Gobber. And if Hiccup           finds Drago, before we find him...                                                   GOBBER           Bah! NOTHING can hurt Hiccup so           long as that Night Fury's around.           It's a Night Fury!          Framed by a hole in the ice, a glistening object bobs on the          surface below. Stoick squints and CIRCLES BACK, leading          Skullcrusher in a DIVE toward it. Stoick SNAGS it out of the          water. It's Hiccup's helmet.                                   Gobber pulls alongside Stoick, seeing his look of dread.          Stoick holds the helmet out for his dragon to SMELL.                                                   STOICK           Find him, Skullcrusher. Find him.                                   Skullcrusher SNIFFS the helmet like a bloodhound, ROARS, and          suddenly CHANGES HEADING.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 39.                                                            INT. DRAGON MOUNTAIN - TUNNEL - DAWN                                   (Scene 1400 - A New Family)                                   CLOSE ON Hiccup, flustered, winded, chasing VALKA through          tightly winding corridors.                                                   HICCUP           Hold on! Wait just a minute! Come           back here!                                                   VALKA           This way. Come.                                                   HICCUP           You can't just say something like           that and run off! You're my           mother?! I mean, what the -- do you           grasp how INSANE it sounds?!                          (BEAT)           I have questions!                                                   VALKA           Come. Quickly!                                   Hiccup follows her over the difficult terrain. He tries to          clamber over a tall rock, unsuccessfully.                                                   HICCUP           Where have you been all this time?                                   Toothless boosts him over. Hiccup lands on the other side.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           What've you been doing?! They said           you were dead! Everyone thinks you           were eaten by...          Hiccup trails off as he enters...                                                            INT. DRAGON MOUNTAIN - OASIS - CONTINUOUS                                   ... a stadium-sized chamber teeming with ferns, waterfalls,          hot springs and THOUSANDS of new DRAGONS.                                   Hiccup wanders in, basking in the in the amazing sight: a          dome of sweating ice capping a geothermal micro climate,          filled with dragons of every shape and kind.                                   He spots Valka clinging to a basalt overhang, watching him.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 40.                                                                            HICCUP           This is where you've been for           twenty years?                                   She nods from her perch.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           You've been rescuing them.                                   She nods again, this time with a smile.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Unbelievable.                                                   VALKA           You're not upset?                                                   HICCUP           What? No. I don't know. It's a bit           much to get my head around, to be           frank. It's not every day you find           out your mother is some kind of           crazy, feral, vigilante dragon           lady.                                   Valka chuckles, and using her dragon's wing, lowers herself          to the ground like a skilled acrobat.                                                   VALKA           At least I'm not boring... right?                                                   HICCUP           I suppose there is that...           (feeble, trailing off)           ... one... specific... thing...                                   Excited dragons rush up to greet Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup          pets a few, marveling at the vast dragon utopia before him.                                                   VALKA           Do you like it?                                                   HICCUP           I don't have the words.                                   Toothless SNARLS in annoyance as the curious, smothering          dragons SNIFF every part of him.                                                   VALKA           Can I... ? He's beautiful!                                   She reaches out to stroke Toothless, who PURRS at her touch.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 41.                                                                            VALKA (CONT'D)           Incredible. He might very well be           the last of his kind.                                   She inspects his talons as Toothless rolls onto his back,          nuzzling her.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           And look, he's your age! No wonder           you get along so well.                                   Hiccup smiles, astounded by Toothless' affection for Valka.          She checks his teeth. They recede into the gums at her touch.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           And retractable teeth? Ah!           How did you manage to--                                                   HICCUP           --I found him in the woods. He was           shot down and wounded.                                   She winces and offers a sympathetic nod as she stands to          caress a few of her own rescued dragons.                                                   VALKA           This Snafflefang lost his leg to           one of Drago Bludvist's iron traps.           This Raincutter had her wing sliced           by razor netting. And this poor           Hobblegrunt was blinded by a tree           snare... then left to die alone and           scared.           (re: Toothless' tail)           And what of this? Did Drago or his           trappers do this, too?                          HICCUP           Heh. Well, crazy thing is... I'm           actually the one who shot him down.                                   She glares, confused.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           It's okay though. He got me back.           (playfully, to Toothless)           Right, bud? You couldn't save all           of me, could you? You just had to           make it even. So... peg leg!                                   Hiccup rattles his prosthetic leg with a smirk. Valka          observes their playful rapport with curiosity.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 42.                                                                            VALKA           What did your father think of your           Night Fury friend?                                                   HICCUP           He didn't take it all that well.                                   She mutters in agreement.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           But then... he changed. They all           did. Pretty soon everyone back home           had dragons of their own.                                   She smiles at Toothless, dismissive.                                                   VALKA           If only it were possible.                                                   HICCUP           No, really, I --                                                   VALKA           -- Believe me, I tried, as well.           But people are not capable of           change, Hiccup. Some of us... were           just born different.                                                            EXT. BERK VILLAGE - NIGHT                                                  FLASHBACK                                   Dragons sweep from the sky, blowing FIRE, carrying off sheep          and dried fish. Vikings chase them down, hurling weapons.                                    VALKA (V.O.)           Berk was a land of kill or be           killed, but I believed peace was           possible.                                   A Viking is about to finish off a felled dragon, but Valka          chases up to him and tugs at his arm.                                                   VALKA           Stop! You'll only make it worse!                                   The dragon takes wing, escaping to safety... leaving the          Viking warrior glaring at Valka.                                    VALKA (V.O.)           It was a very unpopular opinion.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 43.                                                            As he rushes off, Valka hears a clatter and whirls around to          see a DRAGON (Cloudjumper) clawing its way through the roof          of a house.                                                   VALKA           Hiccup!                                                            INT. STOICK'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS                                                  FLASHBACK CONTINUED                                   Cloudjumper enters the house through the hole in the roof,          sniffing out a baby's cradle in the corner.                                   Valka rushes in, panicked.                                    VALKA (V.O.)           One night, a dragon broke into our           house, finding you in the cradle.                                   Valka draws a sword quietly, slipping up to the dragon, only          to find it huddled protectively over the cradle as BABY          HICCUP innocently plays with one of its talons.                                    VALKA (V.O.)           I rushed to protect you, but what I           saw... was proof of everything I           believed.                                   Valka's careful approach causes a floorboard to squeak.          Spooked, Cloudjumper whips around to face her, accidentally          SCRATCHING baby Hiccup's chin.                                   Their eyes meet. Valka lowers her sword, transfixed.                                    VALKA (V.O.)           This wasn't a vicious beast, but an           intelligent, gentle creature, whose           soul reflected my own.                                   Stoick's AXE spins through the air between them, barely          missing Cloudjumper and planting into a pillar.                                                   STOICK           Valka, run!                                   Alarmed, Cloudjumper WHIRLS around at Stoick and BLASTS!                                   Stoick DIVES out of the way as the FIRE SPLATTERS against the          wall, burning a hole and setting the room ablaze.                                   The dragon moves toward Stoick, but Valka grabs hold.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 44.                                                                            VALKA           Don't!                                   It turns to face her again, locking eyes, agitated.                                                   STOICK           Hold on!                                   Stoick dashes through the fire toward Hiccup and pulls him          out of the cradle. He pulls his axe from the pillar...                                    VALKA (O.S.)           No! Stoick!                                   ... but in a WHOOSH of smoke and embers, the dragon and Valka          are GONE.                                                   STOICK           VALKA!                                                   VALKA                          (DISTANT)           Stoick!                                   Stoick and baby Hiccup watch helplessly as the dragon spirits          Valka away into the night sky.                                                   STOICK           Valka...                                   ON BABY HICCUP'S FACE, with the fresh nick on his chin...                                    MATCH CUT TO:                                                            INT. DRAGON MOUNTAIN - DAWN                         PRESENT DAY                                   HICCUP'S FACE, with the matching scar.                                                   VALKA           You and your father nearly died           that night, all because I couldn't           kill a dragon.                                                   HICCUP           Yeah, it runs in the family.                                                   VALKA           It broke my heart to stay away, but           I believed you'd be safer if I did.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 45.                                                            Hiccup considers this, then raises his eyes to hers, seeing          the sting of remorse.                                                   HICCUP           How did you survive?                                                   VALKA           Oh, Cloudjumper never meant to harm           me. He must've thought I belonged           here...                                   She leads him to the edge of raised natural terrace,          overlooking the steamy oasis with its flowing hot spring          waterfalls. Half-submerged in the warm lake below, a massive          white dragon with pronounced, mammoth-like tusks rests          benevolently on the banks, his stately countenance like that          of a lion surrounded by his pride.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           In the home of the great           Bewilderbeast. The alpha species.           One of very few that still exist.                          (BEAT)           Every nest has its queen, but this           is king of all dragons.                                   Dragons land and bow reverentially to the Bewilderbeast.          Valka gestures to the spiked ice ceiling that acts as a          sweating greenhouse.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           With his icy breath, this graceful           giant built our nest. A safe haven           for dragons everywhere.                                   On HICCUP, putting it together.                          HICCUP           Wait, that's the ice-spitter? He's           responsible for all that           destruction?                                                   VALKA           He protects us. We all live under           his care. And his command.                                   They pass an eggshell-littered NURSERY. HATCHLINGS dart out          of it, greeting them excitedly and inciting chaos. Toothless          is overwhelmed by their manic picking and scratching.          Cloudjumper balks and sends them scattering.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           All but the babies, of course...           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 46.                                                            The hatchlings clamber on top of the Bewilderbeast and play          on his massive tusks, despite his authority. Valka laughs.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           ... who listen to no one.                                   The Bewilderbeast lets out a frosty SNORT, sending off the          youngsters to spread more mischief.                                   Now awakened, The Bewilderbeast raises his gargantuan head to          take a closer look at Hiccup, coming eye to massive eye.          Valka bows in his presence. As does Toothless.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           I've lived among them for twenty           years, Hiccup, learning their ways,           discovering their secrets...                                   He acknowledges Hiccup with another icy snort, slicking back          Hiccup's hair in a frosty veneer. Valka laughs.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           He likes you.                                                   HICCUP           Wow.                                   She chuckles, delighting in his awe.                                                   VALKA           You must be hungry.                                                   HICCUP           Uh, yeah. I could eat.                                                   VALKA           Good. It's feeding time.          Toothless tucks himself beneath Cloudjumper's wing, trying to          befriend him, but Cloudjumper isn't having any of it. He          grimaces and follows Valka out.                                                            EXT. OPEN SEA - NIGHT                                   (Scene 1200 - Astrid Takes Charge)                                   Astrid and Stormfly circle a lone iceberg, being used as a          rest stop for the Gang and their dragons. She lands with a          frown, eyeing the distance.                                                   ASTRID           I don't like it. They should've           been back with Hiccup by now.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 47.                                                                            RUFFNUT           I don't like it either. Eret son of           Eret was the man of my dreams. My           everything!                                                   SNOTLOUT           But, baby, I grew facial hair for           you.                                   Fishlegs strokes his peach fuzz beard, meek and dejected.                                                   FISHLEGS           Me, too.                                                   ASTRID           What if Drago shot them down? What           if they need our help?                          (RESOLUTE)           We have to find them.                                                   FISHLEGS                          (NERVOUSLY)           What? But Stoick said...                                                   ASTRID           It doesn't matter what he said, if           they've all been captured. Come on!                                   She flies off, determined.                                                            EXT. ICE FLOES - NIGHT                                   Eret's ship is beset by ice floes. The crew stirs on deck as          he paces, grumbling, while nursing his head with a large          chunk of ice.                          NO-NAME           Do we go back?                                                   ERET           We've nowhere to go! Nothing to           sell! And no heads to call our own,           if we don't turn up with dragons           and fast --                                   He's suddenly scooped up in Stormfly's talons.                                                   ASTRID           Careful what you wish for!                                    UG (O.S.)           ERET SON OF ERET!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 48.                                                            Nets whiz past as Astrid and the Gang rocket out of range.                                                                            ERET           What is this?!                                                   ASTRID           A kidnapping.                                   Ruffnut grabs his leg, clutching him possessively.                                                   RUFFNUT           Yay! Can he ride with me? Can he?           Can he?                                   Both Eret and Tuffnut groan in protest.                                                   ASTRID           You're gonna show us the way to           Drago.                                                   ERET           And help dragon riders sneak into           Drago's camp? Just kill me now.                                                   ASTRID           That can be arranged. Stormfly,           drop it.                                   In enthusiastic response, Stormfly pops open her talons,          sending Eret plummeting. He wails and flails as he hurtles          toward the ice far below.                                                   ASTRID (CONT'D)           Good girl! Stormfly, fetch.                                   She dives after him, just as enthusiastically.          ON ERET, terrified, as the ground rushes up at him.                                                   ERET           ALL RIGHT! OKAY! I'LL TAKE YOU TO           DRAGO!                                   Stormfly suddenly SNATCHES him out of his free-fall just          before hitting the ice. Astrid giggles and cracks her          knuckles.                                                   ASTRID           Works every time.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 49.                                                            EXT. SKY - EARLY MORNING                                   (Scene 1600 - Momma's Boy)                                                  BEGIN MONTAGE                                   Hiccup and Toothless follow Valka and Cloudjumper over a          majestic fjord in the long rays of the low Arctic sun.                                   Hiccup peers over his shoulder to see that a thick flock of          dragons -- nearly all of Valka's rescues -- are close on          their tail. He turns back to his mother, confused.                                                   HICCUP           Hey, I thought we were going to           eat?                                                   VALKA           (with a mischievous grin)           Oh, we are.                                   She directs his gaze below, where in the choppy water of the          fjord, a group of Seashocker dragons are corralling a dense          shoal of fish near the surface.                                   Suddenly, the Bewilderbeast rises from deep below, scooping          the fish up in its vast mouth as its tusks break the surface.          It breaches just below Hiccup and Toothless, giving them a          fright before spitting the fish into the air and crashing          back down into the sea.                                   Valka laughs at Hiccup's surprise as the hungry dragons race          for the flailing fish, scooping them out of the air. Hiccup          gestures to Toothless to join in and he gladly scoops up a          mouth full.                                   EXT. SNOWY SHORELINE - LATER                                   MONTAGE CONTINUES...                                   Hiccup has his map spread out in the snow, explaining the          various lands he's discovered during his explorations.                                                   HICCUP           And from Dragon Island, I found           this archipelago...                                   He looks up to see that Valka is no longer next to him, but          she has sketched out the rest of the northern land masses in          the snow, wowing Hiccup with just how far and wide she has          explored.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 50.                                                            She returned to Hiccup's side with a smile. But his amazement          is interrupted by Toothless joining in, drawing all over          Valka's map with a giant icicle.                                   Hiccup simply shrugs as his mother giggles, and Cloudjumper          sneers.                                                            EXT. WINDSWEPT CLIFF - LATER                                   Valka and Hiccup rise on their dragons, carried skyward by a          strong coastal wind that thrusts vertical up shoreline cliff.                                   One by one, dragons leap from the cliff and catch the strong          updraft, popping their wings open like kites. They ride the          wind and orbit around each other in a colorful, mesmeric          dance. It's clearly a form of dragon play.                                   Hiccup, lifted off of his saddle by the force of the wind,          laughs giddily as he watches Valka walk across Cloudjumper's          wing and onto several others, dragon-hopping from one to          another, until she gracefully crosses Toothless from wing tip          to wing tip. She then drops out of sight, reappearing a          moment later standing atop Cloudjumper. Hiccup is in utter          awe of her.                                   Valka breathes in the frigid air. Lets it out blissfully.                                                   VALKA           When I'm up here, I don't even feel           the cold. I just feel...                                                   HICCUP           Free.                                   She smiles at Hiccup. He gleams back.                          VALKA           This is what it is to be a dragon,           Hiccup.                                   Hiccup LOCKS the pedals in the flared tail position and          unbuckles himself. Valka watches, curious.                                                   HICCUP           It's all well and good to call           yourself a dragon.                                   Hiccup RUNS OFF of Toothless, pulling his stowed wings.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           But can you fly?                                   They catch the air, SNAPPING OPEN... and sending him GLIDING.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 51.                                                            Valka GASPS, astonished. She flies her dragon alongside him,          marvelling, as...                                   ... Hiccup SOARS, riding the wild air currents like an eagle,          the image of freedom. Toothless descends steadily with him,          hovering protectively.                                   Hiccup grins, pleased at having impressed Valka... until he          realizes that he is once again racing toward a collision with          a fast approaching mountain top.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Oh no. Toothless!                                   But, with his tail locked, Toothless can't make the tight          jackknife turn skyward to rescue Hiccup.                                   Realizing that they're in trouble, Valka and Cloudjumper pour          on the speed. All four of them collide just as they reach the          mountain top, sending them crash-landing in an explosion of          snow.                                   They all TOPPLE head over tail to a messy landing on the wind-          swept ridge and pop up LAUGHING.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Man! Almost! We just about had it           that time!                                   Toothless raises his snow-packed face, glowering. He tail-          swipes Hiccup off of his feet and back into the powder.                                   Valka inspects Hiccup's wing suit with utter fascination.                                                   VALKA           Incredible.                          HICCUP           Well, not bad yourself.                                   She caresses his cheek, staring deep into his eyes. Hiccup          doesn't recoil this time.                                                   VALKA           All this time, you took after me.           And where was I?                          (REMORSEFUL)           I'm so sorry, Hiccup. Can we start           over? Will you give me another           chance?                                   Hiccup smiles, a simple acknowledgement that all is forgiven.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 52.                                                                            VALKA (CONT'D)           I can teach you all I've learned,           these past twenty years. Like...                                   Valka finds a spot at the top of Toothless' neck and rubs in          a circular pattern. In response, his dorsal blades slowly          crack, split and extend, forming a pronounced, aerodynamic          `V' down the length of his back and tail.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           Now you can make those tight turns.                                   Toothless shudders, as if experiencing a much-needed          chiropractic adjustment. He bounds over to Hiccup, giddily          retracting and splaying his dorsal blades like a kid with a          new toy.                                                   HICCUP           Did YOU know about this?                                   Valka smiles, delighting in their mutual amazement.                                                   VALKA           Every dragon has its secrets.                                   Toothless pounces around, showing off to Cloudjumper, who          seems thoroughly unimpressed.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           And I'll show them all to you.           We'll unlock every mystery, find           every last species, together, as           mother and son.                          (BEAT)           This gift we share, Hiccup... it           bonds us. This is who you are, son.           Who we are. We will change the           world for all dragons! We will make           it a better, safer place!                                                   HICCUP           That sounds... amazing.                                   She pulls him into a hug -- forceful, bursting with emotion.          Hiccup hugs Valka back. They share a cathartic moment, before          Hiccup peels away from her.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           This is so great! Now you and I can           go talk to Drago -- together!                                   She chuckles, incredulous.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 53.                                                                            VALKA           What? There's no talking to Drago.                                                   HICCUP           But we have to --                                                   VALKA           -- No. We must protect our own.                                   Hiccup stares, exasperated by the familiar line. Cloudjumper          lumbers over, eager to be rid of Toothless' puppy-like          energy. Valka pets him.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           Now come on, we should be getting           back.                                   Before Hiccup can say anymore, he hear heavy breathing next          to him, and looks over to see Toothless with a gaping grin,          clapping his dorsal blades.                                                            EXT. ICE CAVE - DAY                                   (Scene 1350 - Meet Drago)                                   Astrid and the gang stealthily approach a cluster of tabular          icebergs, collapsed against each other at the mouth of a          maze. Stormfly drops Eret to the snow, but before he can          flee, she lands atop him and nests like a hen with her egg.                                                   ERET           Agghh! Okay! I got you here, now           get this thing off me!                                                   ASTRID           Never take a toy from a dragon.           Don't you know anything?                                   Stormfly crushes him in place under her weight.                                                   ERET                          (STRAINED)           Gah! Why does this keep happening           to me?                                   Astrid crawls up the rising ridge to reveal...                                   A MASSIVE FLOTILLA, moored together like a floating camp in          the deep water between collided icebergs.                                   Thick chains run deep into the water, where great blasts of          bubbles erupt on the surface. The unseen creature rocks the          ships. Its effect alone describes it as gargantuan.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 54.                                                                            ASTRID           What's down there?                                   Fishlegs rifles through his note cards contained in his belt          pouch.                                                   FISHLEGS           Large diameter bubbles, massive           lungs, cold water deep dweller, I'm           thinking class five leviathan,           maybe six.                                   Suddenly, Stormfly is alerted to an encroaching menace and          takes wing. BLOW DARTS whiz through the air, hitting the          other dragons. The effect is immediate -- they fall to the          ground, unconscious. Drugged.                                                   HICCUP           Meatlug! What's wrong, girl?                                   Eret spring to his feet and draws his blades. Astrid and the          Gang find themselves surrounded by soldiers, camouflaged in          polar bear furs, and poised to fire darts. They're          outnumbered. Fishlegs raises his hands, dropping the cards.                                                            EXT. DRAGO'S SHIP - DECK - MOMENTS LATER                                   DRAGO BLUDVIST, a hulking figure draped in a dragon skin          cloak, crouches over the prow of the fleet's grisly flagship,          adorned in massive dragon bones and skulls. His scarred face          is masked by thick, grizzled dreadlocks.                                    ERET (O.S.)           DRAGO!                                   Drago turns to see Astrid, Eret, and the Gang being forcibly          escorted onto the deck. Eret SHAKES HIMSELF FREE.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           Get off me!                                   In the background, a sledge, loaded with Hookfang, Meatlug,          Belch and Barf -- all unconscious -- is dragged onto the deck          by armored dragons.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           Always great to see you, my friend!           Keeping warm up here?                                   The soldiers disarm him, pushing him forward as Drago          approaches.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 55.                                                                            ERET (CONT'D)           Well, as you can see, I'm right on           time with a new batch of dragons,           just like I promised.                                   Hookfang awakens, groggily shaking off the effect of the blow-          dart. He rears as soldiers struggle to reign him in.                                                   SOLDIER #1           Watch out! He's waking up! Keep him           steady!                                                   SOLDIER #2           Give me some backup here!                                                   DRAGO           Drop the ropes.                                   They do so. Hookfang bucks and roars, chasing off the          soldiers, then focusing on Drago as he closes in. The armored          dragons avert their eyes and cower as Drago passes.                                   Hookfang HISSES a warning, but Drago approaches, undaunted.                                   Hookfang BLASTS. In a blur, Drago wraps himself in his dragon          skin cloak. The sticky, napalm-like fire splatters against          the fireproof scales, enveloping Drago in dripping flames as          he persists forward without missing a step.                                   As the blast ends, Drago drops the cloak, closing in and          holding a cold stare. Hookfang lets out a ferocious ROAR.                                   Drago YELLS back with a fierce, savage scream, interrupting          Hookfang and causing him to recoil. Drago whirls his bull-          hook overhead and STABS it into the deck planks.                                   Hookfang stirs, his aggression fading in the face of Drago's          unflinching show of dominance.                                   After a moment, Hookfang averts his eyes and lowers his head          in submission. Drago places his boot upon Hookfang's snout,          pressing it into the deck planks.                                                   SNOTLOUT           Hookfang!                                                   RUFFNUT           Hey!                                                   ASTRID           What are you doing?           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 56.                                                                            DRAGO           (quiet, to the dragon)           You belong to me now.                                                   ERET           And as an added bonus, I also           caught you their riders. No extra           charge.                                   Drago notices the saddle on Hookfang's back. His eyes wander          to the saddle on Meatlug. Alarm flashes in Drago's eyes.                                                   ASTRID           What?! Are you kidding me?!                                                   RUFFNUT           But you were so perfect!                                                   ERET           Turns out, there's a whole bunch of           them out there. They --                                   In a flash, Drago stops toward Eret and seizes him by the          throat.                                                   DRAGO           How many?                                   As Eret chokes, stammering, Astrid whispers to the gang.                                                   ASTRID           Drago doesn't have them after all.                                                   DRAGO           HOW MANY?!                                                   ASTRID           Hundreds! A whole island full!                                   His grip tightens around Eret's neck as he turns to Astrid.                                                   ERET           I wouldn't worry about it. My men           are hunting them down as we speak.           They won't know where you're           hiding. I promise you that.                                   Astrid nods a covert signal to the Gang -- she has a plan.                                                   ASTRID           Oh, yes they will!                                   Drago drops Eret as Astrid advances, staring Drago down. Eret          tries to signal her to stop, but it's no use.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 57.                                                                            ASTRID (CONT'D)           They know we're missing and they           have tracking dragons. If you so           much as touch us, Hiccup is gonna                          KICK --                                                   DRAGO           -- Hiccup?                                                   ERET           He's not a problem. Really. Trust           me.                                                   ASTRID           He's only the son of Stoick the           Vast...                                   Drago's eyes narrow upon hearing Stoick's name.                                                   ASTRID (CONT'D)           ... his heir to the throne of           Berk... and the greatest dragon           master this world has ever seen!                                                   DRAGO           Dragon master? I ALONE control the           dragons!                                                   TUFFNUT           Nope.                                                   FISHLEGS           Sorry!                                                   ASTRID           And unless you let us go, right           now, he will blast through here on           his Night Fury and blow your entire           fleet of ships to splinters!                                   Eret slips away, trying to distance himself from the tension.                                                   RUFFNUT           Then they'll be crying like babies!                                                   SNOTLOUT           Funny and beautiful.                                                   FISHLEGS           Good one, babe!                                   Ruffnut groans, exasperated by their smarmy advances.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 58.                                                                            TUFFNUT           Yeah. Like babies. They always cry.           Real tiny ones...                                   Drago grabs Eret by the face and bears down on him.                                                   DRAGO           First there was one rider. And now           all of Berk.                          (TO ERET)           And YOU led them to me.                                   He THROWS Eret across the deck.                                                   ERET           Drago!                                                   DRAGO           CEASE ALL PREPARATIONS! WE MUST           ATTACK THE DRAGONS RIDER'S NEST AT           ONCE!                          (SAVORING IT)           WE WILL TAKE DOWN THEIR ALPHA...           AND THEN WE WILL TAKE BERK!                                   Soldiers CHEER in the thousands.                                                   ERET           You're overreacting!                                                   DRAGO           And get rid of him.                                                   ERET           Drago, please...                                   The soldiers HURL throwing knives at Eret...          But Stormfly lands in a blur of wings, shielding Eret from          the flurry of blades. She whips her tail, throwing spikes in          all directions.                                                   ASTRID           STORMFLY!                                   Stormfly ROARS protectively, hiding Eret within her wings,          until a well-blown dart sinks into her neck, bringing her          down...                                                   ASTRID (CONT'D)           NO!                                   Revealing Eret, gawking in shock.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 59.                                                            INT. DRAGON MOUNTAIN - OASIS - MORNING                                   (Scene 1800 - Family Reunion)                                   Hiccup reattaches his flight suit while standing on a ledge          overlooking the utopian nest, teeming with dragons. Several          babies race in to hassle Toothless as he naps.                                                   HICCUP                          (DETERMINED)           Well, bud, we can't wait around for           Drago to attack this place. We've           gotta find him first. Let's go.                                   Suddenly, a thick hand clamps down over Hiccup's face --          muffling his scream!                                   Toothless whirls around to find STOICK, towering over Hiccup.          He calms Toothless with a touch and releases Hiccup.                                                   STOICK           Easy now.                                                   HICCUP           Are you kidding me? How'd you get           in here?                                                   STOICK           The same way we're getting you out.                                                   HICCUP           We?                                   Gobber appears in the arch of a tunnel.                                                   GOBBER           All clear!                          STOICK           Toothless. Come.                                   They hurry back into the winding corridor.                                                   HICCUP           Dad! There's something you need to           know!                                                   STOICK           Yeah, yeah, tell me on the way.                                                   HICCUP           This isn't an on-the-way kind of           update, actually...           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 60.                                                                            STOICK           I've heard ENOUGH, Hiccup.                                                   HICCUP           ... more of the earth-shattering           development variety.                                                   STOICK           Yeah, just add it to the pile.                                                   HICCUP           Dad, unlike most surprises I spring           on you, this is one you'll like. I           promise! You just have to handle it           delicately, so...                                   They round a tight bend in the corridor to find Gobber          staring blankly at something unseen in the next chamber. He          shuffles past Stoick and Hiccup, dazed.                                                   GOBBER           Uh, you might want to take this           one. Oh, boy.                                   Stoick draws his SWORD, then braves into the chamber ahead.                                                   HICCUP           Dad, can you put the sword away...           please?                                   Stoick GASPS as if seeing a ghost... and drops his sword with          a clatter.                                   Valka stands some twenty paces ahead of him, blocking the          path. She lets out an audible SHUDDER upon seeing him.                                   He removes his helmet slowly as Hiccup, Gobber, and Toothless          appear at Stoick's side.                                                   VALKA                          (RATTLED)           I know what you're going to say,           Stoick. How could I have done this?           Stayed away all of these years. And           why didn't I come back to you? To           our son.                                   Stoick steps towards her, wide-eyed and speechless. Dragons          emerge from the recesses behind Valka, hissing protectively.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           Well, what sign did I have that you           could change, Stoick? That anyone           on Berk could?                          (MORE)           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 61.                          VALKA (CONT'D)           I pleaded so many times to stop the           fighting, to find another answer,           but did any of you listen?                                                   GOBBER           This is why I never married.                          (BEAT)           This and one other reason.                                   Stoick continues to close the gap, mesmerized. With every          step, Valka becomes increasingly flustered. She backs into an          ice wall, with nowhere to go, and Stoick just a few paces          away.                                                   VALKA                          (TEARFUL)           I know that I left you to raise           Hiccup alone... but I thought he'd           be better off without me. And I was           wrong, I see that now, but...                                   Stoick gently reaches a hand toward her face.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           Oh stop being so stoic, Stoick. Go           on... SHOUT, SCREAM, SAY SOMETHING!                                                   STOICK           You're as beautiful as the day I           lost you.                                   His words snuff her retort, rendering her speechless. She          softens despite herself, yielding her cheek to his palm. He          caresses her skin as a reluctant tear runs through his          fingers. He PULLS her into a KISS. She resists briefly, then          gives in. The surrounding dragons softly RETREAT in kind.          Hiccup gapes, warmed by the sight of his parents reunited.                                                            EXT. ICE CHANNEL - DAY                                   (Scene 1750 - Eret's Turn)                                   Drago's massive flagship leads the flotilla, pulled along          forcefully by whatever's at the other end of the enormous          chain.                                   Drago WHACKS the chain with his bullhook, spurring it          forward.                                   ON DRAGO'S SHIP           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 62.                                                            Eret, Astrid, and the Gang are escorted to the stern,          surrounded by several of Drago's soldiers. Wrists bound.          Spear tips pressed into their backs.                                                   SNOTLOUT           Could this day get any worse?                                                   TUFFNUT           Uh, let me see. You'll jump into           freezing cold water and then die           from drowning.                                   They reach the gang plank. Eret peers overboard at the deep,          icy water below.                                                   ERET           Looks refreshing.                                   He turns to Astrid, meeting her glare with mock chivalry.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           Please, ladies first.                                   A pair of soldiers GRAB Astrid by the arms.                                                   ASTRID           You are a steaming heap of dragon --                                                   ERET           -- Duck.                                   Eret WHIRLS around, ROUND-HOUSING both soldiers. They GO          DOWN, heavily.                                   He catches one of their spears with his bound hands and          slices his ropes free. They fall away as he catches the other          spear, twirling both in invitation.                          SOLDIER           Warn the others!                                   One soldier runs to send up the alarm... while the last two          raise BLOW DART TUBES.                                   Eret SWIPES the first off of his legs, sending the dart into          the neck of the second.                                                   RUFFNUT           Get `em, you son of an Eret!                                   As the downed soldiers SCRAMBLE to their feet, Fishlegs FALLS          OVER, CRUSHING them under his weight.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 63.                                                            Eret CATCHES the falling tube from the second soldier and          BLOWS the dart at the fleeing third. The soldier DROPS,          unconscious -- just shy of the Captain's Quarters.                                                   RUFFNUT (CONT'D)           Okay, I love you again.                                   Ruffnut skips past Snotlout on her way to Eret. Snotlout          watches, crestfallen.                                                   TUFFNUT           Ugh. Pathetic. You can still jump.                                   Eret avoids Ruffnut and turns to Astrid.                                                   ERET           So? Are we going to save your           dragons and get out of here or not?                                   Astrid narrows her eyes, not knowing what to make of him. He          reclaims his sword and dagger from the unconscious soldier          who took them and cuts Tuffnut free.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           Check every trap. They're here           somewhere.                                                            EXT. DRAGO'S SHIP - MOMENTS LATER                                   Astrid slips under a tarp and cranks open a metal trap. She          peers between its massive iron teeth, discovering Meatlug          within, bound and chained to its base as bait.                                                   ASTRID           Meatlug?                         ON ERET                                   Carefully cranking another trap, wincing at the sound. The          iron jaws of the trap open wider with every CLICK.                                                   ERET           Anyone coming?                                   Ruffnut "stands guard," fixated on Eret's rippling biceps.                                                   RUFFNUT           I don't know. You just keep doing           what you're doing. Keep crankin'...                                   Eret squeezes between the cocked teeth, finding Stormfly          within, muzzled and chained. She looks up at Eret, calming          immediately. He pauses, then approaches slowly.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 64.                                                            Eret carefully reaches out and strokes Stormfly's muzzle.                                                   ERET           Thank you for saving my life.                          (BEAT)           Now let me return the favor.                                                            INT. DRAGON MOUNTAIN - VALKA'S LIVING QUARTERS - LATE                         AFTERNOON                                   (Scene 1850 - The Last Dance)                                   As Toothless and Cloudjumper hover for scraps, Stoick and          Valka prepare skewers of fish. She's overwhelmed, lost in her          thoughts, and covering it up poorly.                                                   HICCUP           Mom, you'd never recognize it!           Where we used to make weapons, we           now build saddles, wing slings --           we even fix dragon teeth! You           wouldn't believe how much           everything's changed!                                   Valka offers a skittish half-smile and hands him a plate.                                                   STOICK           Our son's changed Berk for the           better. I think we did well with           this one, Val.                                                   HICCUP           Thanks, Dad.                                   Stoick places his hands on Valka's shoulders. She flinches,          dropping the plate.          Cloudjumper steals the fish before Toothless can get to it.          Toothless whimpers, and as a sign of acceptance, Cloudjumper          regurgitates the fish so Toothless can have some.                                                   VALKA           I'm... a little out of practice.                                                   STOICK                          (SWEETLY)           Well, y'know... I didn't marry you           for your cooking.                                                   GOBBER           (to Hiccup and Grump)           I hope not. Her meatballs could           kill more beasts than a battle axe.                          (MORE)           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 65.                          GOBBER (CONT'D)           I've still got a few knocking           around in here. Ha ha!                                   Gobber takes a bite, gags, and dump the entire plate of fish          skewers into Grump's mouth like a trash can.                                                   HICCUP           And once you move back in, with all           of your dragons, Drago won't even           stand a chance. Everything will be           okay!                                   Stoick can see that Valka is overwhelmed. He lays a hand upon          Hiccup's shoulder, calming him.                                                   STOICK           Slow down, son. It's a lot to take           in.                                                   HICCUP           Oh. Gotcha.                                   Valka crosses the room to fill a flask with water, back          turned to the group, as Stoick eyes her sympathetically. He          decides on a different approach... and whistles a familiar          tune.                                   ON VALKA, as her eyes widen, stirred, recognizing the melody.          She turns away from Stoick, as the water overflows from the          flask.                                                   GOBBER           Oh, I love this one!                                   Stoick approaches her delicately.                                                   STOICK                          (WHISPERED)           Remember our song, Val?                                   Hiccup watches him, curious, as Stoick FUMBLES THROUGH THE          FIRST VERSE of an old Viking courting song:                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)                          (SINGING SOFTLY)           I'll swim and sail on savage seas,           with ne'er a fear of drowning. And           gladly ride the waves of life, if           you will marry me.                                   Valka avoids his gaze, wallowing in a mess of emotions.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 66.                                                                            STOICK (CONT'D)                          (SINGING)           No scorching sun, nor freezing cold                          WILL --                                                   GOBBER                          (SINGING)           -- will stop me on my journey!           (catching himself,                          EMBARRASSED)           Sorry.                                   Stoick scowls at him, then returns his attention to Valka.                                                   STOICK                          (SINGING)           If you will promise me your           heart...                                   Stoick pauses, setting Valka up for her part of the duet.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           And love...                                   Stoick hangs eagerly, awaiting her words, but Valka closes          her eyes, rejecting his invitation. He lets out a heavy-          hearted sigh. But nostalgia gets the better of Valka. She          softly SINGS HER PART:                                                   VALKA                          (SINGING)           And love me for eternity.                                   Stoick beams. She brushes past him, setting into the center          of the chamber and holding her forearm aloft in invitation.          Stoick crosses his forearm against hers, initiating a          beautiful dance to accompany the song.                          VALKA (CONT'D)                          (SINGING)           My dearest one, my darling dear,           you mighty words astound me. But           I've no need of mighty deeds, when           I feel your arms around me.                                   The dance is full of charming missteps as Stoick and Valka          recreate a moment from their past, before Hiccup's wonder-          struck eyes.                                                   STOICK                          (SINGING)           But I would bring you rings of           gold. I'd even sing you poetry.                          (MORE)           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 67.                          STOICK (CONT'D)           And I would keep you from all harm,           if you'd stay here beside me.                                                   VALKA                          (SINGING)           I have no use for rings of gold. I           care not for your poetry. I only           want your hand to hold. I only want           you near me.                                   Gobber can't help himself. He drags Hiccup onto his feet so          that he can join in the dancing, too.                                                   GOBBER           C'mon, Hiccup!                                    VALKA, STOICK, & GOBBER                          (SINGING)           To love and kiss, to sweetly hold.           For the dancing and the dreaming.           Through all life's sorrows and           delights, I'll keep your love           inside me.                                   Hiccup is amazed by the sight of his giddy parents, spinning          and laughing in each others' arms, reunited.                                    VALKA, STOICK, & GOBBER (CONT'D)                          (SINGING)           I'll swim and sail through savage           seas, with ne'er a fear of           drowning. And gladly ride the waves           of life, if you will marry me!                                   Gobber carries the last note...                                                   GOBBER                          (SINGING)           I'm still going...                                   Hiccup taps him.                                                   HICCUP           Gobber!                                                   GOBBER           I'm done.                                   Valka and Stoick slow to a stop, WINDED and LAUGHING.                                                   STOICK           Ah... I thought I'd have to die           before we'd have that dance again.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 68.                                                                            VALKA           No need for drastic measures.                                                   STOICK           For you, my dear... anything.                                   She smiles sweetly. Stoick's eyes well with tears. He goes          down on one knee, proposing to her anew.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           Will you come home, Val? Will you           be my wife once again?                                   Toothless nudges Valka closer to Stoick. They laugh as Hiccup          joins them. Stoick throws his arm around him.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           We can be a family! What do you           say?                                   Valka, between tears and laughter, turns to Hiccup.                                                   VALKA           Yes!                                   Gobber pops his head in.                                                   GOBBER           Great! I'll do the cooking!                                   They laugh.                                                   STOICK           Thank Odin you didn't listen to me,           son. We never would have found each           other.          Suddenly, Toothless and Cloudjumper suddenly perk up, sensing          something unheard. Hiccup notices.                                                   HICCUP           Toothless?                                   Dragons SWARM past Valka's chamber, racing toward some          unknown disturbance.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           What's happening?                                   They're answered by subsequent HEAVY BOOMS that reverberate          through the fortress.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 69.                                                            EXT. DRAGON MOUNTAIN - MOMENTS LATER                                   (Scene 1900 - Surprise Guests)                                   Valka rushes out to find...                                   DRAGO'S ARMADA in the lagoon below and his forces of          thousands now landed upon the beach.                                   They launch catapults and ballistas into the icy spires,          gaining entrance into the mountain's tunnels.                                   Hiccup, Stoick, and Gobber catch up to Valka.                                                   HICCUP           Oh, no...                                   Valka tries to hurry off, fuming. Stoick stops her.                                                   STOICK           Val! It's all right, it's all           right. We're a team now.                          (BEAT)           Now what do you want to do?                                   She glances from Hiccup to Stoick.                                                   VALKA           We have to save the dragons.                                                   STOICK                          (DETERMINED)           Aye. You got it!                                   He throws an arm around Hiccup.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           Come on, son.                                   ON THE BATTLEFIELD                                   VALKA'S DRAGONS SWOOP down to engage the attackers, picking          up soldiers and carrying them off while Drago stands in the          line of fire, unflinching.                                   The catapults continue to bring down the icy defenses of          dragon mountain. Drago's men pour into the tunnels.                                                    DRAGO           Whatever comes, keep hitting the           mountain! We need to draw the alpha           out.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 70.                                                            Drago's armored DRAGON ARMY takes wing, clashing with Valka's          dragons in the skies.                                                   DRAGO (CONT'D)           Ready the traps!                                   Iron jaws are opened like bear traps, revealing screeching          `bait' dragons within. Valka's dragons swoop down to rescue          them, only to be SNAPPED UP in the fearsome jaws.                                   A second set of traps are cocked open, but instead of dragon          cries, ZIPPLEBACK GAS seeps out... followed by an EXPLOSION.          The TWINS rocket out of the trap, riding BARF and BELCH.                                                   TUFFNUT           Surprise! Yeah!                                                   DRAGO           WHAT?!                                   They're joined by Astrid and the rest of the GANG, bursting          out of the traps atop Meatlug and Hookfang.                                   Eret comes flying out last, WAILING aboard Stormfly. He          struggles to hold on, as she rejoins Astrid (riding Meatlug,          along with Fishlegs). He gives them a sheepish shrug.                                                   ASTRID           You really are full of surprises.                                   She leaps onto Stormfly, steadying them.                                                   ASTRID (CONT'D)           Let's go!                                   Together they rocket across the sky...                          TUFFNUT           Dragon Riders coming through!                                   And DIVE-BOMB the traps, setting them aflame. The yokes and          leather bindings restraining the bait dragons are          incinerated, freeing them to fly away, unharmed.                                                   DRAGO           CUT THEM DOWN!                                   Projectiles are launched, one of which KNOCKS Ruffnut off her          dragon. She PLUMMETS past Eret toward the rocky shore below.                                                   RUFFNUT           Eret, son of Eret!                                   She suddenly grabbed by both arms before hitting the rocks.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 71.                                                            RUFFNUT'S POV: of Snotlout on one side... and Fishlegs on the          other. SOFT and ROMANTICIZED as her epiphany dawns.                                   Above them, more catapults fire, bringing down massive spires          of ice, directly over Astrid and Eret.                                                   ASTRID           Up, girl! To the left, Eret! That's           it! Look out!                                   It's about to crush them when... it's BLOWN TO PIECES by          Toothless' fireball. Hiccup, Stoick, and Gobber come bursting          through the flames on their dragons.                                   Hiccup and Toothless arc across the sky triumphantly and set          their sights on a downed dragon surrounded by soldiers.                                   Toothless BLASTS one of Drago's net launchers, knocking it          onto its side. Stoick then CHOPS the trigger line, FIRING the          catapult and NETTING the throng of soldiers, freeing the          dragon.                                   Drago's ARCHERS target Stoick with their arrows.                                                   ARCHER           Take `em down!                                                   GOBBER           Heads up!                                   Gobber flies up from behind, KNOCKING the archers out with          Grump's tail. Gobber chuckles.                                   DRAGO hears Toothless' tell-tale BANSHEE scream and turns to          see him streaking across the sky.                                                   DRAGO           Dragon Master.                                   Hiccup catches up to Astrid and Eret on Stormfly.                                                   HICCUP           Welcome aboard, dragon rider!                                                   ERET           Thanks. I think.                                   Astrid glares, both relieved and annoyed to see Hiccup.                                                   ASTRID           Where have you been?                                                   HICCUP           Oh, y'know. Catching up with Mom.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 72.                                                            Astrid shoots him a confused glare. He nods skyward. Astrid          and Eret look up to see...                                   VALKA, in full warrior garb, rising from the towering ice          spikes, atop Cloudjumper.                                                   ERET           Whoa...                                   An earth-trembling roar follows as the Bewilderbeast rises          behind Valka.                                                   ASTRID           That's your mother?!                                                   HICCUP           Well, now you know where I get my           dramatic flair.                                   ON DRAGO, gawking in awe as the great BEWILDERBEAST BLASTS          an epic explosion of ice upon the attackers.                                                   DRAGO           The alpha! Now we have a fight!                                   Valka blasts overhead on Cloudjumper, commanding swarms of          dragons to swoop down and attack Drago's army. A swarm of          Zipplebacks set themselves aflame and roll like fiery wagon          wheels through the battlefield, scattering soldiers and          destroying war machines.                                   One of them gets CAUGHT under a Dragon Swatter, but Hiccup          and Toothless double-back for a rescue.                                                   HICCUP           There! Come on, Toothless! Show           them what you got, bud.          Toothless dive-bombs the swatter and DESTROYS it with a          plasma bolt, freeing the dragon.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Thatta boy!                                   BACK TO VALKA, on Cloudjumper as they pry Drago's armored          dragons off of the flailing wild ones. A net suddenly          envelops Cloudjumper. They CRASH heavily, but Valka cuts          herself free, sliding to a stop just paces away from Drago.                                                   DRAGO           I've waited a long time for this!                                   Drago cocks his bull hook, ready to strike, but Valka          deflects Drago's hit and attacks him.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 73.                                                                            VALKA           You cannot take our dragons! They           are controlled by the alpha!                                                   DRAGO                          (SMUG)           Then it's a good thing I brought a           challenger.                                   He turns to the flagship and YELLS savagely, whirling his          bullhook overhead.                                   The heavy chains are released. The underwater creature, now          freed, breaks the surface in an epic cascade of seawater. It          rises toward the shoreline, revealing itself to be...                                   A SECOND BEWILDERBEAST -- bigger, meaner, and covered in          scars that indicate years of training and abuse. The chains          fall away from iron cuffs fastened to its massive tusks.                                   Valka GASPS.                                                   HICCUP                          (HORRIFIED)           Another one?                                                   FISHLEGS           I WAS WAY OFF! THAT IS A CLASS TEN!           CLASS TEN!                                   Drago's challenger lumbers onto the beach, focused on Valka's          Bewilderbeast.                                                   VALKA           No. No.                                                   DRAGO           Come on! Take down the alpha!                                   Valka attacks Drago with her bullhook, trying to stop his          commands, but Drago strikes back, knocking her forcefully          onto her back. He pins her as she struggles, removing her          mask and staff. He's about to finish her off, when WHAM! He's          knocked to the ground. He looks up, fuming, to see Stoick          helping Valka to her feet.                                                   VALKA           Thank you.                                                   STOICK           For you, my dear... anything.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 74.                                                            As Drago gathers his weapon and drops his heavy cloak,          circling Stoick, Drago's Bewilderbeast confronts Valka's in a          threat display.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           Val, do you think you can stop           them?                                                   VALKA           I'll do my best! Come on,           Cloudjumper!                                   Valka cuts the nets away and hops onto Cloudjumper, flying          off toward the Bewilderbeasts as they charge each other,          CLASHING TUSKS.                                   Drago LUNGES at Stoick, SWIPING his bullhook.                                                   DRAGO           You... I watched you burn!                                   The two imposing warriors CLASH WEAPONS, SLASHING and LANDING          PUNCHES.                                                   STOICK           It takes more than a little fire to           kill me!                                   Valka flies between the Bewilderbeasts, waving her staff          commandingly, but to no effect.                                   BACK TO STOICK AND DRAGO                                   As Drago hooks and yanks the axe out of Stoick's hands.          Gobber flies by and HURLS his mace attachment.                                                   GOBBER           Stoick!                                   Stoick catches it and lands a direct hit on Drago.                                   But, with a devastating SWIPE, DRAGO's Bewilderbeast takes          down Valka's, plunging in its tusks and burying its          opponent's lifeless body under an avalanche.                                                   VALKA           No!                                   Hiccup and the others watch in horror as dragons everywhere          land and bow their heads in acknowledgement of the new alpha -          - DRAGO'S ALPHA.                                                   DRAGO           We've won.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 75.                                                            Drago points his bullhook toward Valka and Cloudjumper.                                                   DRAGO (CONT'D)           Now finish her!                                   Stoick whirls around, spotting Valka and Cloudjumper in the          alpha's sights.                                                   STOICK           No!                                   Drago's Bewilderbeast INHALES... and BLASTS! Valka steers          Cloudjumper out of the way, but ice HITS his tail, causing          them to SPIRAL out of control toward the icy spires.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           Hold on!                                   He LEAPS onto Skullcrusher, spurring him into the air.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           Skullcrusher, go! Come on, Gobber!                                   Stoick tosses the mace back to Gobber in passing, who follows          brazenly, waving it aloft.                                                   GOBBER           Right behind ya, Stoick!                                                            EXT. DRAGON MOUNTAIN - CONTINUOUS                                   (Scene 2000 - Stoick's Sacrifice)                                   With his tail impaired, Cloudjumper struggles against a          throng of oncoming dragons. Valka is knocked off, but manages          to cling to her dragon's neck.          As she loses her grip and FALLS...                                   Stoick LEAPS from Skullcrusher and CATCHES Valka. He sinks          his axe into an icy column, and they slide to a safe landing.          Drago's Bewilderbeast presses closer, sniffing them out.                                   BACK TO HICCUP, spotting Drago on the battlefield, commanding          the Bewilderbeast to finish the job.                                                   HICCUP           STOP! Stop!                                   Hiccup lands Toothless a few paces from Drago and brazenly          removes his helmet. Drago eyes him, incredulous, then begins          to CHUCKLE.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 76.                                                                            DRAGO           This... is the great dragon master?           The son of Stoick the Vast? What           shame he must feel.                                   Toothless snarls, ready to blast, but Hiccup calms him with a          hand gesture.                                                   HICCUP           All of this loss, and for what? To           become unstoppable? To rule the           world?                                   Drago smirks and turns away from Hiccup.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Dragons are kind, amazing creatures           that can bring people together.                                                   DRAGO           Or tear them apart.                                   Drago LAUGHS mockingly, then removes his FALSE ARM, revealing          a stump at his shoulder. Hiccup is taken aback.                                                   DRAGO (CONT'D)           You see, I know what it is to live           in fear. To see my village burned,           my family taken.                                   He reattaches the prosthesis, circling Hiccup menacingly.                                                   DRAGO (CONT'D)           But even as a boy, left with           nothing, I vowed to rise above the           fear of dragons and liberate the           people of this world.                          HICCUP           Then why a dragon army?                                                   DRAGO           (grinning, smug)           Well, you need dragons to conquer           other dragons.                                                   HICCUP           Or maybe you need dragons to           conquer people.                          (BEAT)           To control those who follow you...           and to get rid of those who won't.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 77.                                                                            DRAGO           Clever boy.                                   Drago grabs his bullhook and re-approaches Hiccup. Toothless          readies himself.                                                   HICCUP           The world wants peace. And we have           the answer, back on Berk. Just let           me show you.                                                   DRAGO           NO! Let ME show YOU.                                   Drago SHRIEKS madly, summoning the Bewilderbeast. Toothless          circles Hiccup, protectively.                                   ON THE BEWILDERBEAST, about to blast Stoick and Valka. It          hears Drago's distant wails, and approaches obediently.                                                   STOICK           What...?                                   Stoick follows its stare to the distant battlefield below. He          spots Hiccup and Toothless a few paces from Drago.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)                          (PANICKED)           Hiccup!                                   He rushes off. Valka follows, racing past Gobber as he          finally joins them, winded from having run up the mountain.                                                   STOICK (CONT'D)           Come on, Gobber!                                                   GOBBER           Okay, change of plans.                                   He hurries back down the mountain after them.                                   BACK TO DRAGO                                   jabbing his bullhook into the ground commandingly. The          Bewilderbeast flinches and stops, submissive.                                                   DRAGO           No dragon can resist the alpha's           command. So he who controls the           alpha, controls them all.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 78.                                                            Drago points to Toothless. The Bewilderbeast stares and          HISSES, forcing Toothless to cower under a hypnotic          ultrasonic broadcast. Toothless struggles against the alpha's          command, writhing and grinding his head against the ground.                                                   HICCUP           Toothless? You okay, bud? What's           going on?                                   Toothless fights the command, shaking his head in protest.          The Bewilderbeast insists, with a mesmerizing glare and a          low, throaty grumble... until Toothless finally succumbs to          its control. He raises his head, his stare vacant and          robotic, as his pupils turn to slits.                                   Drago then points to Hiccup. The Bewilderbeast responds,          HISSING again at Toothless.                                                   DRAGO           Witness true strength. The strength           of will over others. In the face of           it, you are nothing.                                   Toothless slowly turns to face Hiccup. Advancing.                                                   HICCUP           Uh, what did he just tell you?                                                  ON STOICK                                   Bounding across the ice, pushing himself to make it to Hiccup          in time.                                   BACK ON HICCUP                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Toothless, what's the matter with           you? What're you doing?                                   Hiccup is backed against fallen ice, with Toothless advancing          mindlessly, and nowhere to run.                                   Toothless opens his yawning mouth. Gas seeps from his throat.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Knock it off! Stop! Snap out of it!                                   Stoick barrels through ice formations and over war machines,          racing against time.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Toothless! No! Toothless! Don't!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 79.                                                                            STOICK           Hiccup!                                                   HICCUP           STOP!                                                   STOICK           SON!                                   Hiccup sees Stoick about to run into the fray.                                                   HICCUP           DAD! NO!                                   Toothless BLASTS.                                   Stoick leaps in front of it, shoving Hiccup out of the way          and absorbing the blast in the process. He's thrown against          the ice with great impact.                                   ON VALKA, hearing the blast, horrified.                                   Drago glances back, seeing Stoick laying lifeless in the          aftermath, pleased by the sudden turn of events. He shuffles          off, satisfied.                                   Stunned, Hiccup comes to and sees Stoick in the rubble. He          rushes past the still-entranced Toothless, straining to          scatter the ice boulders on top of Stoick's body.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Dad!                                   Valka arrives, winded and aghast.                                                   VALKA           Stoick...          She helps Hiccup to turn Stoick's body over. Valka presses          her ear to Stoick's heart, confirming his death with a mere          glance to Hiccup. He tears up, overwhelmed.                                                   HICCUP           No... you...                                   Gobber, Astrid, Eret, and the Gang arrive, slack-jawed.                                   Satisfied, the Bewilderbeast turns away, releasing Toothless          of the trance-like state. Toothless blinks, coming to and          confused. He approaches the group, sniffing Stoick's hand.          Hiccup SHOVES him.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           No! Get away from him!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 80.                                                            Toothless recoils, innocently.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           GO ON! GET OUT OF HERE! GET AWAY!                                   Toothless retreats like a scolded dog, ear plates back and          head hung low. Valka watches, broken-hearted, as Hiccup falls          upon Stoick, inconsolable.                                                   VALKA           It's not his fault. You know that.                                   On the battlefield, the alpha BELLOWS, calling all of the          dragons to gather. Meatlug, Stormfly, Hookfang and the others          all follow the command as the Gang calls after them.                                    VALKA (O.S.) (CONT'D)           Good dragons under the control of           bad people do bad things.                                   Drago notices Toothless tumble down a snow-bank, once again          slit-eyed and entranced, but unable to fly to the alpha          without a rider. Drago pins him down, eyeing the saddle,          pedals, and prosthetic tail.                                   ON HICCUP and VALKA                                   In tears as Toothless rises into view, with Drago in the          saddle.                                                   DRAGO           GATHER THE MEN AND MEET AT BERK!                                   His soldiers cheer in the thousands.                                                   HICCUP           Toothless!          Hiccup tries to go after Toothless, but Valka holds him back.                                                   VALKA           No, don't!                                   Drago JABS his bull hook and points toward the horizon. The          alpha BELLOWS, commanding an exodus as it leads the way.                                                   DRAGO           Move out!                                   Hiccup watches, powerless as all dragons TAKE WING and          follow.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 81.                                                            EXT. DRAGON MOUNTAIN - LAGOON - DUSK                                   (Scene 2100 - Viking Funeral)                                   A KEEL grinds against the shoreline pebbles as a listing,          battered ship is pushed into the still iceberg-filled lagoon.                                    GOBBER (V.O.)           May the Valkyries welcome you, and           lead you through Odin's great           battlefield. May they sing your           name with love and fury, so that we           might hear it rise from the heights           of Valhalla... and know that you've           taken your rightful place at the           table of kings.                                   Bows and pitch-dipped arrows are gathered from the          battlefield. Gobber hands a set to Hiccup, meeting his eyes          with sympathetic glance.                                    GOBBER (V.O.)           For a great man has fallen. A           warrior. A chieftain. A father. A           friend.                                   Hiccup dips his arrowhead in a smoldering chunk of wreckage,          igniting the pitch that coats the tip.                                   He releases his arrow, which sails through the air and lands          on the deck of the ship, where Stoick is laid out on a pyre,          covered by a sail, his axe upon his chest.                                   The others follow Hiccup's lead. They DRAW BACK in unison and          LOOSE their arrows, filling the sky with crisscrossing,          flaming streaks. They arc over the lagoon and set the ship          alight.          ON HICCUP, fighting back emotion and losing the battle.                                                   HICCUP           I'm sorry, Dad.                                   He eyes the engulfed ship.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           I'm not the chief that you wanted           me to be. And I'm not peacekeeper I           thought I was. I don't know...                                   Valka watches him, her heart breaking. She steps forward.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 82.                                                                            VALKA           You came early into this world. You           were such a wee thing. So frail, so           fragile. I feared you wouldn't make           it.                                   Hiccup lowers his eyes, but Valka lifts his chin.                                                   VALKA (CONT'D)           But your father... he never           doubted. He always said you'd           become the strongest of them all.                          (BEAT)           And he was right.                          (BEAT)           You have the heart of a chief and           the soul of a dragon. Only you can           bring our worlds together. That is           who you are, son.                                   Hiccup meets her bolstering stare. He turns to the ship and          watches it in silence, silhouetted in its glow.                                                   HICCUP           I was so afraid of becoming my dad.           Mostly because I thought I never           could. How do you become someone           that great? That brave? That           selfless?                          (BEAT)           I guess you can only try.           (to the others)           A chief protects his own. We're           going back.                                                   TUFFNUT           Uh, with what?                          RUFFNUT           He took all the dragons.                                                   HICCUP           Not all of them.                                                            EXT. ICE CHANNELS - MOMENTS LATER                                   (Scene 2200 - Hatchlings to the Rescue)                                   WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! JUVENILES BLUR past, like flying          raptors, ZIGZAGGING wildly.                                   Riding bareback, Hiccup & Co. HURTLE through the narrow ICE          CHANNELS -- created by massive splits in the iceberg shelves.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 83.                                                                            RUFFNUT           Fly straight!                                                   FISHLEGS           I don't want to die!                                                   TUFFNUT           We can't fly these things!                                                   FISHLEGS           Yeah, no kidding!                                   Fishlegs barrels into a snow bank, sending several chunks          right into Eret's face as rides inverted and HOLLERING.                                                   ASTRID           But won't that Bewilderbeast just           take control of these guys, too?                                                   HICCUP           They're babies. They don't listen           to anyone!                                                   TUFFNUT           Yeah, just like us!                                   Gobber follows up the rear clumsily, STRUGGLING for control.                                                   GOBBER           This... is... very dangerous!                                   He PULLS ALONGSIDE Hiccup and Valka.                                                   GOBBER (CONT'D)           Some might suggest this is poorly           conceived.                          HICCUP           Well, it's a good thing that I           never listen.                                   A SHARP RIDGE RUSHES up at them. They're going to CRASH.          Hiccup ROUNDS one side of it, and Gobber flies down the other          side. They shout through gaps in the iceberg.                                                   GOBBER           So what IS your plan?!                                                   HICCUP           Get Toothless back and kick Drago's-                                   He's interrupted by another closure in the gaps of ice. They          blast out of the other side.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 84.                                                                            GOBBER           Heads up!                                   They SPLIT to avoid another peak and then reconvene, only to          find another icy outcropping directly in their path.                                                   HICCUP           And that thing.                                   Gobber HITS it, with a THUD and a YELP.                                                            EXT. BERK - NIGHT                                   (Scene 2450 - Hiccup Vs. Toothless)                                   Torches burn in their braziers as Berk slumbers... until the          Bewilderbeast approaches, STOMPING down on the monolithic          Viking statues that guard the harbor.                                                            INT. GOTHI'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS                                   The sound of destruction rouses a flock of Terrible Terrors          and Gothi, who was sleeping under the dragons. Their pupils          turn to slits, and heeding the ultrasonic call, they fly off.                                   Gothi shuffles onto her deck, confused, then GASPS at          horrifying sight.                                                            INT. VIKING HUT - CONTINUOUS                                   A Gronckle lounges peacefully by the fire, as his Viking          owner lavishes him with scratches.                                                   HOARK           Ah, that's a good boy!                                   The Gronckle's eyes suddenly turn to slits and it, too, takes          wing, knocking over a chair and table as it heads for the          door.                                                   HOARK (CONT'D)           Watch the furniture! Where are you           going?                                   It barrels out of the hut and into the night sky as the          Viking rushes to the doorway, spotting the same arresting          sight with a gasp.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 85.                                                            EXT. GREAT HALL - CONTINUOUS                                   Vikings pour out of the Great Hall as all of Berk's dragons          fill the night sky and join the ranks of Drago's growing          DRAGON ARMY.                                   The Bewilderbeast rises out of the sea, bearing down on the          people of Berk as Drago hovers on Toothless, leading the          charge. The Vikings stare, aghast.                                                   DRAGO           Your chief is dead.                                   Waves of shock and whispers of "Stoick?" spread through the          crowd.                                                   DRAGO (CONT'D)           No one can protect you now.                                   He thrusts his bull-hook, commanding the Bewilderbeast to          fire. The Vikings watch in horror as the Bewilderbeast opens          its yawning jaws and BLASTS.                                                            EXT. SKIES/BERK - NIGHT                                   Dragon roars grow louder as Hiccup & Co. approach through          clouds, racing against time.                                   They collectively GASP at the sight of Drago's Bewilderbeast          having now covered most of the village in explosions of ice.          Berk's now commandeered dragons circle in a huddle behind          him, joining Valka's flock, and corralled by Drago's armored          dragons.                                                   HICCUP           No...                          FISHLEGS           He took all the dragons!                                                   HICCUP                          (FUMING)           Distract the alpha. Try to keep his           focus off of Toothless.                                                   TUFFNUT           Uh... how?                                                   ERET           Have you forgotten who you're           riding with?                                   He brazenly aims his baby dragon toward the Bewilderbeast.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 86.                                                                            ERET (CONT'D)           There isn't a dragon alive that I           can't wrangle!                                   His baby dragon dives toward the sea instead.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           Except for this one!                                                   SNOTLOUT           Amateur.                                   The others shrug and follow. As they get closer, the          Bewilderbeast looms bigger and BIGGER.                                   Berk's Vikings in hiding notice Hiccup and the others as they          approach.                                                   VIKING #1           Look, it's Hiccup!                                   The Vikings CHEER.                                   ON DRAGO, surprised to see Hiccup and the others approaching.                                                   DRAGO           What?                                   With an irate HUFF, the Bewilderbeast focuses on Hiccup,          gaining ever closer to Toothless.                                   Suddenly, a SHEEP appears in its sight, rising and falling          out of view. The Bewilderbeast blinks, confused.                                   It looks down to see Eret catching the falling sheep and          reloading it into the game launcher, as Tuffnut cocks the          mechanism and Ruffnut pulls the trigger.                          RUFFNUT           Keep `em coming!                                   Snotlout tosses the black sheep to Tuffnut.                                                   SNOTLOUT           Black sheep, baby!                                   Exasperated, the alpha inhales, about to blast, when... HONK!          The game horn blares, breaking his concentration.                                   He turns, finding the horn unmanned. The Bewilderbeast then          returns his focus to the sheep launcher, until the BLACK          SHEEP LANDS on the his face, bouncing down his facial spines          and becoming lodged.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 87.                                                                            SNOTLOUT (CONT'D)           Ten points!                                   The Bewilderbeast shakes the black sheep off and prepares to          blast again.                                                   SNOTLOUT (CONT'D)           Uh-oh...                                   HONK! The alpha whips around -- still no one at the horn.                                   ON FISHLEGS, giggling and hiding behind the game horn.                                   The Bewilderbeast finally lets loose the ice blast, covering          the entire horn in jagged spikes... as Fishlegs leaps from          the platform.                                                   FISHLEGS           I'm okay!                                   BACK TO HICCUP                                   as he reaches Drago, hovering directly in Toothless' sights.                                                   DRAGO           You certainly are hard to get rid           of. I'll say that.                                   Hiccup ignored him and focuses on Toothless' slitted pupils.                                                   HICCUP           Toothless? It's me, bud. It's me.           I'm right here. Come back to me.                                   TOOTHLESS' POV: Hiccup appears as an unfamiliar red blur,          still firmly under the control of the Bewilderbeast.                          DRAGO           He is not yours anymore. He belongs           to the alpha!                                   Drago smugly sits back in the saddle, his arms open in          invitation.                                                   DRAGO (CONT'D)           But, please, oh great dragon           master, try to take him. He will           not miss a second time.                                   Hiccup holds strong, maintaining eye contact with Toothless.          He reaches out to touch him.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 88.                                                                            HICCUP           It wasn't your fault, bud. They           made you do it.                                   Drago's amusement fades as Toothless stirs. His pupils          DILATE, then NARROW again.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           You'd never hurt him.                          (BEAT)           You'd never hurt me.                                   Drago watches, amazed, as Toothless fights the control.                                                   DRAGO           How are you doing that?                                   Hiccup holds the stare, tears in his eyes.                                                   HICCUP           Please. You are my best friend,           bud.                                   Bewilderbeast ROARS a forceful command.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           My best friend.                                   Toothless' pupils jitter, then DILATE fully. He coos          sympathetically.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Thatta boy! That's it! I'm here!                                   Toothless' eyes finally dilate fully and resolve on Hiccup's          familiar face.          Drago goes from astounded to alarmed. Drago STRIKES Toothless          with the bull hook in a vain attempt to regain control.                                                   DRAGO           No!                                   Toothless ROARS defiantly, snatches the bull hook in his          jaws, and PULLS... yanking Drago off of his back and sending          him both PLUMMETING to the sea.                                                   HICCUP           Yeah!                                   But without a rider, Toothless drops out of the sky as well.          Hiccup leaps from the baby dragon, diving after him.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 89.                                                                            HICCUP (CONT'D)           Hang on!                                   Drago breaks his fall, landing heavily upon the          Bewilderbeast's tusk...                                   As Hiccup tucks in his arms, trying to close the gap between          he and Toothless before they both make impact with the ocean.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Almost there, buddy. Almost there!                                   Hiccup reaches Toothless. They pair up, mid-air, and          skyrocket past Drago as he hobbles to the top of the alpha's          head.                                                            EXT. BERK - VILLAGE - MOMENTS LATER                                   (Scene 2500 - One True Alpha)                                   Hiccup looks back at Drago, now issuing commands from the top          of the Bewilderbeast's head.                                                   DRAGO           Do something!                                                   HICCUP           We need to get those two apart.                                   Hiccup flies Toothless past a flag pole tears a strip of the          flag.                                   The Bewilderbeast BLASTS in their direction, barely missing          them as they disappear around the back of a mountain.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           We gotta block him out, Toothless.           Do you trust me, bud?                                   Toothless coos, allowing Hiccup to BLINDFOLD him with the          flag. Hiccup calms him with a touch.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           We can do this. You and me. As one.                                   Hiccup SPLAYS Toothless' mechanical tail. Toothless responds,          MATCHING the move with the natural half.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           That's it. Now let's try this one           more time!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 90.                                                            They PEEL around the other side of the mountain, heading          back toward Drago and Bewilderbeast, passing Astrid and the          cheering Vikings on the ground.                                                   ASTRID           Take them down, babe!                                   The Viking roar in support as Hiccup and Toothless race past.                                   Valka watches with pride as her son hurtles towards Drago and          the alpha.                                                   VALKA           Go get `em.                                                   DRAGO           Take control of it!                                   The Bewilderbeast's HISS becomes a furious ROAR, but to no          avail. Hiccup clamps his hands over Toothless' ear plates,          muffling the alpha's commands.                                                   HICCUP           Shut it out, Toothless!                                                   DRAGO           STOP THEM!                                   The Bewilderbeast BLASTS!                                                   HICCUP           NOW!                                   Toothless suddenly PULLS UP, ARCING over Drago's head! Drago          LAUGHS, victorious, then pauses in shock.                                   DRAGO'S POV: as Toothless climbs inverted through the sky,          the blindfold falls free, revealing an EMPTY SADDLE.                                   Drago WHIRLS around, wide-eyed, to see...                                   HICCUP ZOOMING TOWARD HIM, his wing-suit deployed, and his          Dragon Blade trailing Zippleback gas. Drago SWIPES but misses          him. Hiccup clicks the lighter and ignites the gas, blasting          Drago off his Bewilderbeast with a SCREAM.                                   Drago PLUMMETS, BREAKING HIS FALL against the massive          dragon's spines and landing hard on the ground, his bullhook          landing just out of reach.                                   The Bewilderbeast WHIPS its tail, trying to SWAT down Hiccup.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 91.                                                                            HICCUP (CONT'D)           Not again.                          (BEAT)           TOOTHLESS! IT'S NOW OR NEVER!                                   Toothless pops open his dorsal blades, arcs skyward, and          rejoins Hiccup just before colliding with the alpha's tail.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Come on, bud!                                   Together again, they speed along the length of the thrashing          tail...                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Hold on!                                   And shoot past the tip of the tail, narrowly making it!                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Yeah! We did it!                                   They arc through the sky and LAND a few paces from Drago,          kicking up a trail of dust.                                   Battered and weary, Drago reaches for his bullhook. Hiccup          extends and fires up his Dragon Blade, hurling it like a          javelin, and sticking it in the ground between Drago and his          weapon, singeing his outstretched hand.                                                   DRAGO           Agghh!                                                   HICCUP           Hold him there Toothless!                                   Toothless SNARLS a warning, ready to blast.                          HICCUP (CONT'D)           It's all over now.                                   But the cloud of dust settles, revealing the Bewilderbeast,          rising behind Hiccup, ready to blast him instead.                                                   DRAGO                          (GRINNING KNOWINGLY)           Or is it?                                   Hiccup spins around, alarmed, as a RUSH of water THUNDERS up          the Bewilderbeast's throat.                                                   HICCUP           Oh, no!           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 92.                                                            It BLASTS, but Toothless leaps into the way, shielding Hiccup          beneath him. The freezing explosion envelops them both.                                   Drago laughs to himself as Valka lands her baby dragon and          rushes to the icy explosion, hammering away at it          desperately.                                                   VALKA           No! No...                                   ON ASTRID and GOBBER, watching from a distance, horrified. As          Valka POUNDS at the ice, a GLOWS forms from deep within. She          realizes what is about to happen and backs away.                                   A BLAST thunders from inside the ice, SHATTERING it.          Toothless emerges from the debris, revealing Hiccup curled          safely under his wings.                                   Toothless is steaming, his black skin glowing blue with rage,          his split dorsal blades searing with blue heat, a glow          emanating from his flared nostrils.                                   He turns back to Hiccup, to check if he's unharmed, then          turns his full attention back to the Bewilderbeast. He leaps          out of the crater and lands upon an ice spire, roaring          ferociously.                                   The Bewilderbeast bellows back at this affront. Toothless          unleashes a salvo of plasma into the Bewilderbeast's face,          not letting up.                                                   HICCUP           He's challenging the alpha!                                                   VALKA           To protect you.          The Bewilderbeast ROARS at this act of insubordination.          Toothless fires back, time and again, fully in control.                                   The alpha thrashes his tusks through the ice, trying to smash          Toothless, but he deftly spring from spire to spire,          continuing his unrelenting attack.                                   In the midst of the mayhem, the horde of commandeered dragons          -- both Berk's and Valka's -- break free from the control to          witness Toothless' retaliation.                                   Toothless lands protectively by Hiccup and Valka, commanding          the dragons to shift sides. The follow, amassing behind          Toothless.                                   Seeing this, Drago panics and rushes toward the          Bewilderbeast.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 93.                                                                            DRAGO           No, no, no, no! Fight back! Fight!           FIGHT!                                   Drago clambers up the Bewilderbeast's tusk, totally unhinged.                                                   DRAGO (CONT'D)           (to the defecting dragons)           What's the matter with you?                                   The Berkians swell in to show their unified support. Drago          fumes as Hiccup and Toothless fly up together onto an ice          spire.                                                   HICCUP           Now do you get it? This is what it           is to earn a dragon's loyalty.                          (BEAT)           Let this end now.                                                   DRAGO           Never! Come on!                                   He hammers the Bewilderbeast, spurring it into a charge.                                   Toothless calls over his shoulder, commanding the dragons to          ready themselves. He then BLASTS the Bewilderbeast, mid-          charge. Suddenly, Skullcrusher fires. Followed by another,          and another.                                   Hiccup looks around, amazed to see the flock of dragons          opening fire on Drago and his Bewilderbeast. They've started          a rebellion.                                   Drago is forced to hide from the fiery barrage by taking          cover in the tall spines of the giant's crown.                          DRAGO (CONT'D)           FIGHT! BLAST THEM!                                   His prosthetic arm is blasted clean off by one of his own          armored dragons.                                   The Bewilderbeast rears back to cover them all in ice, but          Toothless lets loose a powerful shot. The Bewilderbeast's          head is KNOCKED backward by a blue-flame fireball.                                   As the smoke clears, one of its massive TUSKS FALLS to the          ground, sheared clean off. Drago glares at Toothless.                                   Toothless ROARS commandingly, calling an end to the fight.                                                   HICCUP           The alpha protects them all.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 94.                                                            Overwhelmed and overpowered, the Bewilderbeast yields to the          new alpha and heeds Toothless' command, retreating into the          sea in an explosive splash.                                   The Berkians CHEER in victory!                                   As the smoke clears, Hiccup and Toothless see nothing but          bubbles on the waves to mark their disappearance. No sign of          the Bewilderbeast... or Drago.                                   Toothless hops down from the spire, cooling off, as people          celebrate all around them.                                   All of the dragons -- Berk's, Valka's, even Drago's -- land          around Toothless. Cloudjumper bows to Toothless, starting a          wave of bows, acknowledging their new alpha.                                   Toothless looks around, surprised, then lets out a majestic          ROAR. The assembled dragons join in, roaring in tribute.                                   Toothless turns to Hiccup as he approaches.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           You never cease to amaze me, bud.           Thank you.                                   Toothless GURGLES and licks Hiccup's face. Hiccups squeals,          trying to get away.                                                   HICCUP (CONT'D)           Toothless! You know that doesn't           wash out.                                   The crowd laughs. All around them, Berk's dragons reunite          with their Vikings.                                                   ASTRID           Stormfly!                                   Stormfly bounds into Astrid.                                                   GOBBER           Oh, give me a cuddle, Grumpy!                                   Grump lands ON TOP of Gobber, flattening him.                                   Relieved to the point of tears, Snotlout and Fishlegs race          towards the expectant Ruffnut...                                                   FISHLEGS           Who's my little princess?                                   ... and then right PAST her to embrace their dragons.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 95.                                                                            FISHLEGS (CONT'D)           I missed you so much!                                                   SNOTLOUT           Don't you ever leave again,           Hookfang!                                   Ruffnut GRUMBLES, dejected. Barf dips his head in to console          her.                                                   RUFFNUT           Oh Barf!                                   She hugs him. Belch looms in for some affection, but Ruffnut          pushes him away...                                                   RUFFNUT (CONT'D)           Not you.                                   And into Tuffnut who glowers back at her.                                   Hiccup smiles, taking in the happy reunions. Skullcrusher          approaches him, without an owner to reunite with. Hiccup pets          him, as Eret approaches.                                                   ERET           That was some pretty fine dragon           wrangling back there. You'd make a           good trapper.                                   Before Hiccup can respond, Skullcrusher nuzzles Eret          affectionately. Eret chuckles and gently strokes him.                                                   HICCUP           Y'know, Skullcrusher's gonna need           somebody to look after him now.                          ERET           Me?                                   Hiccup nods reassuringly. Eret looks at Skullcrusher, pausing          to consider it.                                                   ERET (CONT'D)           I'd be honored.                                   Valka walks up to her son, bursting with pride.                                                   VALKA           Your father... he'd be every bit as           proud as I am.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 96.                                                                            HICCUP           Thank you. I'm really glad you're           here, Mom.                                                   VALKA           And here I'll stay.                                   Toothless arrives, purring at Valka's touch as Astrid strides          toward Hiccup, beaming proudly.                                                   ASTRID           See? I told you it was in here.                                   She places her hand upon his chest, then quickly pokes the          dorsal fin button, popping it open. She GIGGLES.                                                   HICCUP           Ha, ha. Still doing that one?           That's hilarious.                          (THEN)           Come here, you.                                   He scoops Astrid close and pulls her into a kiss. Gobber          covers a gawking boy's eyes.                                                   GOBBER           Ooh.                                   Gothi, the elder, taps Hiccup's shoulder, interrupting the          romantic moment. She gestures for Hiccup to kneel. He does          so, respectfully.                                   Using ash from a heap of burnt wreckage, Gothi traces a          Viking symbol onto Hiccup's forehead. She bows.                                   Hiccup stands, meeting Gobber's proud, smiling eyes. Gobber          turns to the silent crowd and throws up his arms.                          GOBBER (CONT'D)           The chief has come home!                                   The Berkians erupt with cheers and applause as Hiccup takes          in the moment, acknowledging the weight of responsibility now          upon him.                                   Toothless throws back his head and BLASTS in celebration,          spurring all other dragons to follow suit, lighting up the          sky in a spectacular display.                                                            EXT. BERK VILLAGE - DAY                                   (Scene 2700 - A New Beginning)           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 97.                                                            A sheep grazes lazily on the grass as a Terrible Terror          struggles in vain to carry him off. Suddenly, both are          snatched up by a passing dragon.                                                            IN THE AIR                                   Ruffnut and Tuffnut wrestle over the sheep atop Barf & Belch.          Ruffnut send the sheep flying toward Fishlegs. Snotlout nabs          it instead, blowing a kiss mockingly.                                    HICCUP (V.O.)           This... is Berk. A bit trampled and           busted and covered in ice, but it's           home. It's our home.                                   They swoop past a gathered crowd on the battered bleachers as          Snotlout dunks the sheep in his basket. Eret joins the race          atop Skullcrusher.                                   They fly past Hiccup and Toothless, who are steadily hoisting          a palette of timber and supplies onto a rooftop where workers          are rebuilding the damaged houses.                                   Hiccup then turns his attention to a massive statue of          Stoick, presently under construction. He grins with pride.                                    HICCUP (V.O.)           Those who attacked us are           relentless and crazy. But those who           stopped them? Oh, even more so!                                   He looks to the horizon, scanning it from east to west to          ensure that no trouble is approaching.                                   Astrid and Stormfly buzz past him playfully, coaxing him to          join the game. He smiles.           HICCUP (V.O.)           We may be small in numbers, but we           stand for something bigger than           anything the world can pit against           us.                                   Astrid soars past the blacksmith stall, waving to Valka and          Gobber as they remove the armor from Drago's freed battle          dragons.                                    HICCUP (V.O.)           We are the voice of peace. And bit           by bit, we will change this world.           HTTYD 2 (D. DeBlois) - FINAL DRAFT - 05/05/14 98.                                                            Realizing that he's late, Gobber hurries over to the sheep          launcher and pulls the trigger, sending the black sheep          hurtling into the air.                                   Astrid and Stormfly close in on the black sheep, about to          snatch it out of the air, when suddenly, Hiccup and Toothless          dart past, beating them to it. Toothless looks back with a          gummy smile.                                    HICCUP (V.O.)           You see, we have something they           don't. Oh sure, they have armies           and they have armadas...                                   Toothless and Hiccup dive toward the line of baskets. As they          approach, Toothless bounces Hiccup into the air, allowing him          to dunk the black sheep into Astrid's basket. They reunite on          the other side. The crowd cheers!                                    HICCUP (V.O.)           But we... we have...                                   Hiccup and Toothless land upon the chief's dais, joined by          Astrid, Stormfly, and the other dragon riders.                                    HICCUP (V.O.)           OUR DRAGONS!                                   Toothless lets out a proud roar as Hiccup look out over Berk,          gleaming with pride.                                                   CUT TO:                                                             END TITLE: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2                          
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+                              I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE                                   Written by                                  Adam Rockoff           FADE IN:                         1 OMITTED 1           EXT. CITY STREET - DAY           JENNIFER HILLS races down from a stoop, a suitcase rolling          along behind her. Even dressed down, this city girl can't          hide her natural beauty and panache.          She makes her way across the street and to an SUV. she opens          the trunk and tosses in the suitcase among several other          bags.          She closes it, and walks to the driver's side. We see that          the entire cargo bay of the SUV is filled with boxes and          personal affects.          Al INT. SUV, CITY STREET - DAY Al          Jennifer gets in and slams the door shut. she takes a moment          to think, to breathe. Something is weighing heavily on her          mind.          After a beat, she glances up to the rearview mirror and looks          at herself. She take a long, deep, cleansing breath, and          then she turns the key in the ignition and starts the car.          B1 EXT. SUV, CITY STREET - DAY Bl          The SUV drives off down the city street.          C1 EXT. CITY OVERPASS - DAY C1           The SUV carves its way through traffic as the city looms in          the background, growing more distant by the second.          2 INT. CAR, RURAL ROAD - DAY 2           The midday sun bakes the landscape as Jennifer drives through          a country road. A stark contrast from the city, and          absolutely breathtaking.                         GPS SYSTEM          Turn right up ahead.          Jennifer squints out the front windshield. The streets are          all unpaved and none of them are marked with street signs.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 2.          Finally, Jennifer pulls into the driveway of a small house.          She picks up a piece of paper from the passenger seat, checks          the address on the house, and gets out of the car.          3 EXT. EARL'S PLACE - DAY 3          Jennifer walks up the crumbling steps of the house. On the          screen door, a wire holds a wooden sign that reads; OPEN.          The screen door SQUEAKS loudly as Jennifer pulls it open.                         JENNIFER          Hello?          Jennifer cautiously steps inside.          4 INT. EARL'S PLACE - DAY 4          The sunlight shines through the dirty curtains. Dust clouds          hang motionless in the air, as if suspended in a solution.          Scattered across the floor are a variety of electronics in          various stages of disrepair. A handful of old, picture tube          TVs with their plastic casings cracked.                         JENNIFER          Hello?          Jennifer walks in further, trying to not step on anything.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Hello?          EARL (O.S.)          I'm a coming, I'm a coming.          From out of the back walks the proprietor, EARL (late-50's),          takes a double take at Jennifer, surely the prettiest thing          he's seen in a long while. He sees her standing in the          middle of the mess, suddenly aware of it. He bends down to          pick something up in a futile attempt to clean.                         EARL (CONT'D)          Sorry about the mess.                         JENNIFER          It's fine, really. I'm Jennifer          Hills. We spoke last week.                         (NO RECOGNITION)          I'm the one who's renting the cabin          on...                         (MORE)                                                                                                               ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 3.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          (Jennifer holds a piece of paper)          .on Mockingbird Trail.          Earl's surprised.                         EARL          Oh, you're Miss Hills.          Earl walks over to a cabinet against the wall, opens a small          drawer and takes out a key.                         EARL (CONT'D)          Don't suppose you know how to get          out there?                         JENNIFER          Afraid not.          Earl hands her the key. Earl pulls a map with some hand-drawn          arrows already on it.                         EARL          Alright, listen up 'cause it's a bit          tricky.                         (BEAT)          These here arrows will get you          through town. Over here, it's more          dirt road and woods so it can get          kind of dicey. We're a tad short          on street signs.                         JENNIFER          Well if I get lost I'll just ask          for directions.                         EARL          To who? Lady, the cabin is a real          beaut, but heck if there ain't          nothin' out there for a good          country mile.                         JENNIFER                         (JOKING)          Well, I guess I don't have to worry          about bothering the neighbors.                         EARL          Not planning on throwing a party,          are ya? The security deposit...                         JENNIFER          No, no. I'm looking forward to the          peace and quiet. I'm a novelist.          I'm starting my next book.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 4.          Earl just looks at her.                         EARL          Alright, well, if that's what          you're aimin' for, just follow that          there map.          Jennifer looks at the map.          5 EXT. RURAL ROAD - DAY 5          Jennifer drives down the two lane road, barely passable by          two cars. She swerves as she glances down at map.          Then, up ahead she spots a small SERVICE STATION with a          single gas pump. She pulls up to the pump.          EXT. SERVICE STATION - DAY 6           Jennifer gets out of the car and fumbles to fold back the map          as she twists the knob off her gas tank and reaches for the          pump. A HAND comes down on top of her own.          Jennifer spins around.           Standing there, smiling, is JOHNNY. He takes the pump from          Jennifer and inserts it into her gas tank.                         JOHNNY          Didn't mean to frighten you.          Johnny is good-looking in a rugged sort of way. He's sinewy,          but athletic and strong. Jennifer regains her composure.                         JENNIFER          No, it's fine. I'm sort of lost          anyway. Looking for Mockingbird          Trail?                         JOHNNY          You are definitely lost.                          JENNIFER          Really? I thought--                         JOHNNY          Nah, you sure missed it. It's a           good ten miles back, left turn           after the big red mailbox.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 4A.                         JENNIFER          Oh, okay, I think I saw that.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 5.          Johnny flashes his smile, picking his teeth with a toothpick.          Jennifer stands there uncomfortably.                         JOHNNY          You, uh... staying at the cabin?          Jennifer hesitates for a second. Just as Jennifer opens her          mouth to respond, the shrill notes of a HARMONICA shatter the          silence. Jennifer turns quickly to the garage.          In the garage, ANDY, one of Johnny's employees, sits on the          fender of a broken down car. He holds a harmonica to his          lips. He's in his mid-30's with shaggy hair and arms that          look like they could bend steel.          STANLEY, one of Johnny and Andy's buddies, walks up behind          Andy. He's balding and overweight, and digs into a bag of          pork rinds.                         STANLEY           Howdy ma'am.           He leans into Andy who continues playing his harp.                          ANDY          I'd sop that up with a biscuit real          good.          Jennifer turns away from the garage and looks back at Johnny,          who is still awaiting her answer.                         JENNIFER          Uh... no. I mean yes.          As she glances to the gas pump, Johnny looks her up and down.          She is definitely something to look at.          Johnny places his hand on the hood of the car. Glances to          the guys, then back to her.                         JOHNNY          You know, you're running a little          hot. Want me to uh... maybe I          should check under your hood?          Jennifer almost laughs at the way that sounded.                         JENNIFER          How's that line working for you?          The gas pump clicks off interrupting. But Johnny just stands          there looking at her.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 5A.                         JOHNNY          I don't know, how's it working for          you?          Johnny saunters over to the pump and in a phallic manner,          pulls the pump out. It gets laughs from the peanut gallery.          Jennifer looks away, a line has been crossed. She looks to          the pump again. $19.78.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 6.                         JENNIFER          Let me just...          Jennifer fumbles into her purse when the map falls from her          hands.                         JOHNNY          I'll get that.                         JENNIFER          No I got it--          Johnny gets uncomfortably close to Jennifer at the rear door          of the car when--          HONK -- HONK -- HONK - The SUV's deafening alarm blares out.          Johnny's startled, stumbles backwards, trips and goes          sprawling to the ground.          Jennifer, controlling laughter, holds up her keys and clicks          the alarm off.          Johnny is covered in dust and oil, struggling to get to his          feet while maintaining a shred of dignity. Jennifer          chuckles.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Sorry. I accidentally hit the          panic button. Are you okay?                         JOHNNY          I'm fine.          Johnny looks away, angry. He's certainly not the type of guy          who can laugh at himself easily, if at all. From the garage,          Stanley and Andy point at him and guffaw.                         ANDY          (from the garage)          Hey! You better check your          underwear, Johnny.          Stanley smiles and elbows Andy, but his mouth is too full          with pork rinds to actually laugh.                         STANLEY          Yea... Check um' for skidmarks...          Johnny shoots him a harsh look.           Jennifer hands Johnny a twenty. Trying to contain her          laughter.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 6A.                         JENNIFER          Sure you okay?          Johnny's eyes are cold, his face red.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 7.                         JOHNNY          I said I was fine.          Suddenly, Jennifer grows uneasy. She smiles uncomfortably,          gets in the car and drives away.          Johnny takes a bandana from his pocket and wipes his brow.          He watches Jennifer's car disappear and spits on the ground          as the laughter escalates in her absence. Johnny spins.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          What the hell are you two dipshits          laughing at?!          7 EXT. CABIN - DAY 7          Jennifer arrives at the cabin. She gets out of her car and          stands there, looking up at it. In slight disrepair and in          need of a paint job but the quaint charm makes you quickly          forget its shortcomings.          8 TNT. CABIN - DAY 8            Jennifer walks in with her bags, looks around the cabin.           It's rustic, but she's hardly roughing it.          9 INT. CABIN, THE KITCHEN - DAY 9            She starts unpacking. A few cardboard boxes with non-          perishable food items sit on the counter next to cases of          bottled water. Also, there's a large wine case with          different liquor bottles in the sections. Jennifer takes out          a bottle of top shelf vodka and puts it in the freezer.          Then she begins to grab the wine bottles, taking an extra          second to look at one, the hell with it, she grabs an opener.          A9 TNT. CABIN - DAY A9           Jennifer sets up her laptop at a make-shift workstation.          Throws some freshly cut flowers in a small vase, a few lucky          figurines from her travels... it all feels very ritualistic.          10 EXT. CABIN - DAY 10           Jennifer site at the end of the boat dock. Laptop and glass          of wine writing away. She couldn't be more content.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 8.          She takes a deep, replenishing breath, and then goes back to                         WRITING--          A10 INT. CABIN - DAY A10          CLOSE ON: Words fly across the screen as Jennifer types at a          furious pace. Blocks of text keep scrolling away.          Her fingers effortlessly swipe away at key after key, a          writer's high if you will.          Finally an exclamation point is stabbed with emphasis. Then           she hears a sound off in the trees.           She looks out and hears a very distant few notes of a           harmonica. Then a few even more distant "heeeeeeweeeee".           After a beat she innocently smiles figuring it's just some           boys off in the distance having a party or something.           Jennifer leans back, smiles briefly and pour herself a glass          of wine.          11 EXT. CABIN, FRONT PORCH - DUSK 11           Jennifer sits at the table, her laptop propped open in front          of her. She's talking away on the phone as she stops for a          moment to take a sip from a glass of red wine.                         JENNIFER                         (INTO PHONE)          .Lonely? Are you kidding? I          should've come out here on my first          book...          The wind kicks up and a in the distance a door is slammed          shut. It startles jennifer. She looks in the direction of the          sound.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Sorry, something just...          Another slam, and again.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)                         (INTO PHONE)          Barb, hold on a minute...                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 8A.          Jennifer sets down her lap top and puts the glass of wine on          the arm of the chair. She gets up and looks off into the          dusky woods. Then back to the house.          A light breeze kicks up and SLAM. Again.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)                         (INTO PHONE)          Let me call you back.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 9.          Jennifer snaps the phone shut, and walks down the steps of          the front porch.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Hello?          In response, she gets the frantic CHIRPING of crickets as          night encroaches.          Jennifer walks down a path and in the near distance she see a          SHED. SLAM!          The SHED DOOR is kicking open and closed in the breeze.          She makes her way towards the shed.          All EXT. CABIN, SHED - DUSK All          Jennifer gets to the shed. The door is wide open. She steps          inside.          B11 INT. CABIN, SHED - DUSK B11          Inside there is an array of old gardening tools. Pots,          garbage cans. Some different chemical bottles including a jug          of LYE.          Jennifer thinks she hears something from deep inside the          shed. She moves in further as--          SLAM!          The door shuts behind her -                         JENNIFER          Shit!          C11 EXT. CABIN, SHED - DUSK C11          Jennifer exits, and securely closes the shed door. After a          beat she smirks at the thought that she thought this was more          than just a door blowing in the wind, then heads back to the          cabin.          D12 EXT. CABIN, FRONT PORCH -DUSK D12           Jennifer walks up to the chair, moves her laptop, sits and          then as she grabs her phone she knocks the glass of wine off          the arm of the chair into her lap.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 10.                         JENNIFER          Ohhhhh... You gotta be kidding.          She get up, looks at the red wine stain all over her lap, and          picks up her things to heads in the cabin.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Way to go Jennifer...          The last of the days light is disappearing.          12 INT. CABIN - NIGHT 12          Jennifer stands at the sink, in panties and tank top - pre-          soaking her sweater and pants.          13 EXT. CABIN - NIGHT 13           POV THROUGH KITCHEN WINDOW:          Jennifer continues at the sink, her beautiful, partially nude          body is framed perfectly in the window for all to see... but          no one's around for miles...          14 EXT. WOODS - DAY 14           Jennifer jogs through the trees. She wears a tight pair of          running shorts and a out off T-shirt.          Jennifer stops in a small clearing. With her hands on her          knees, she struggles to catch her breath.          She stands and walks in a circle, looks around. Checks her          watch.          Then notices something in the distance hidden behind the          trees.          ANGLE ON: A dilapidated shack, rotted from decay and neglect.          Jennifer's curiosity gets the best of her.          15 EXT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY 15           She walks up to the shack, looks around. She then enters          through what is left of the front door.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 11.          A15 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY A15          The place hasn't been occupied in quite a while, but it was          once. An old, dirty mattress in the corner... a sawhorse-for-          a-counter with old cans and bottles... even a rusty old          garden tool or two.          Near the window she sees an old, mold covered BIBLE propped          open.          Jennifer suddenly gets the chills, she shakes it off and then          gets the hell out of there.          16 EXT. CABIN - DAY 16           Jennifer finishes her jog and returns to the cabin, leans            over on the porch and catches her breath.           17 INT. CABIN, BATHROOM - DAY 17           Jennifer stands in front of the mirror. She looks at her          reflection and pulls out the band that was holding up her          ponytail. Her sweat-soaked hair falls across her shoulders.          She turns on the faucet and is met with a dirty spray.                         JENNIFER          Eww!          The spray only lasts a few seconds before sputtering out.          However, then the toilet starts to GURGLE. Jennifer lifts          the lid up with her foot. The toilet water bubbles up and          then disappears down the drain.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)                         (SHUDDERS)          Gross.          Again, Jennifer tries the sink, but now nothing comes out.          18 INT. CABIN, KITCHEN - DAY 18          Jennifer picks up her cellphone from the counter. She takes          a small piece of paper out of her purse and punches in some          numbers on the cell. After a few rings, voicemail picks up.          EARL MESSAGE(V.O.)          You've reached the answering machine          of Earl Wooderson.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 12.          EARL MESSAGE(V.O.) (CONT'D)          The office is closed, please leave a          message and someone will call you          back on Monday. If you're calling          about buying or selling an exotic          animal, please leave your name --          Jennifer snaps the phone shut in frustration, when her eye          catches the water-damaged remnants of a service sticker          hanging to the refrigerator door.          Amazingly, the phone number is still visible. She shrugs to          herself and dials the number.          19 INT. CABIN, BATHROOM -- DAY 19          She lifts the lid and looks inside - dry - and flushes a few          more times to no avail - then dirty water begins to gurgle          up.                         JENNIFER                         (LISTENS INTENTLY)          No, it won't flush... I did that          already... yes... look, I'm really          in a spot... okay... thank you...          I'm not going anywhere.          As Jennifer snaps her phone shut, the handset gets caught on          her chin, and tumbles into the toilet. PLOP!                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Oh shit!          Jennifer reaches down into the toilet and immediately fishes          it out. She shakes it off vigorously.          20 INT. CABIN, KITCHEN - DAY 20           Jennifer stands next to the kitchen counter. She holds her          hair dryer which is going at full blast. Her cell phone is          propped open on the counter in front of her. She's doing her          best to dry it out.          Suddenly, a hand reaches out and taps her on the shoulder.          Jennifer SCREAMS and spins around, turning the hair dryer on          her assailant.          An equally frightened MATTHEW throws his hands up in front of          his face and SCREAMS just as loudly. He has several think          colored rubber bands on his wrist.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 12A.                         MATTHEW          P1... please! I... I came to fix          the plumbing.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 13.          Jennifer turns off the hair dryer.                         MATTHEW (CONT'D)          I... I was knocking on the d...door          a...a... while.          Jennifer breathes a sigh of relief, especially after she gets          a look at Matthew. He's in his mid-30's, but could pass for          a good ten years younger. Awkward and shy, he can barely          make eye contact with her.                         JENNIFER                         (FRIENDLY)          I think you may have taken a few           years off my life.           Matthew doesn't get the joke.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Uh... thanks for coming on such          short notice.                         (NO RESPONSE)          You need to see the bathroom,          right?          21 INT. CABIN, BATHROOM - DAY 21          Matthew works away underneath the sink. Jennifer watches him          from the bedroom sitting on the end of the bed, trying to          make small talk.                         JENNIFER          Is this gonna take much longer?                         MATTHEW          (muffled, under the sink)          N...not much.                         JENNIFER          So what's wrong with it?                         MATTHEW          Uh... it's just older pipes.          Matthew continues his work, you can tell he is uncomfortable          with the conversation.                         JENNIFER          So do you live around here?                         MATTHEW          No...no one lives around here.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 14.                         JENNIFER          Yeah, I kind of get that. I meant          in town?          Matthew comes out from under the sink. He snaps nerviously          at one of the rubber bands on his wrist.                         MATTHEW          My... my whole life...          Jennifer looks to his wrist. It's all red.          Matthew turns on the faucet. Out comes a hard stream of          cold, clear water. He flushes the toilet and then turns on          the shower to the same result.                         MATTHEW (CONT'D)          All fixed.          Jennifer squeals with excitement. She wraps her arms around          Matthew and plants a kiss on his cheek.                         JENNIFER          Thank you!          Matthew blushes furiously and fumbles his tools as he packs          up. For him, the kiss was more embarrassing than enjoyable.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          I'm sorry. I just... you saved me          from having to bathe in the pond.           Once his tools are all packed away, Matthew dashes out of the          cabin. Jennifer follows him to the front door.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Hey. Hey! I didn't even pay you!          But Matthew is long gone.          22 EXT. FISHING HOLE - DAY 22          ON MINIDV CAN LCD          A wooden bat crashes down on a fish. It goes still.          Stanley takes a MINIDV CAMCORDER away from his eye. He looks          at Andy who's holding the bloody bat, and takes a large gulp          from his beer, then--                         STANLEY          Ground rule double.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 15.                         ANDY                         (ANGRILY)          A double! Look at its head. I          knocked the eye clear out.          Andy has, in fact, knocked the fish's eye clear out. It lays          next to the creature, all weird and googly-looking.                         STANLEY          Fine. Maybe a triple. But that's          it. You got to knock the guts out          its mouth to score a run.                         ANDY          Would you turn that thing off?          Gonna get us in trouble with that          human society.                         JOHNNY          Humane you dipshit.          Johnny site in a chair holding his fishing rod between his          knees. A cigarette dangles from his mouth and a beer is          perpetually glued to his hand.                         ANDY          Whatever.                         STANLEY          I told you. This thing is going to          make me a fortune. All you got to          do is film something crazy, then          you send it into the internet, make          a killing.                         ANDY          No one's gonna pay you for that          crap.                         STANLEY          It's the hits, Andy. You just          gotta get the hits.                         JOHNNY          Hits my ass, now you two retards          gonna fish or what?          Matthew comes crashing out of the foliage, knocks over the          cooler spilling ice and beer all over.                         ANDY          Speaking of retards.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 16.                         MATTHEW          Q..Quit it Andy.                         JOHNNY          Alright. Now we're all here,          what's the big show, Stanley?                         STANELY          The big show is this--          Stanley holds up the video camera like a trophy.                         ANDY          Are you kidding me? That shit?          What'd you do? Film yourself          lighting a fart?                         STANELY          Better.          Johnny just shakes his head.                         JOHNNY                         (TO HIMSELF)          I don't know why I bother.                         STANLEY          I got Matthew's girlfriend in a          private moment.                          ANDY          What do you mean like on the toilet           or something?           Stanley pulls a tape out of his pocket and loads it.                         ANDY (CONT'D)          Matthew hasn't had a girl since he          was sucking his mama's titties.                         STANLEY          Not true, my friends. And the          evidence is right here.                         MATTHEW          What are you ta... talking 'bout          Stanley?                         ANDY          Yeah, what are you talking about?                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 16A.                         STANLEY          He had that babe from the city all          alone and he didn't even try to          nail her.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 17.          This gets Johnny's attention. Matthew is snapping on of the          rubber bands. It's a bit loud. Johnny looks to him as if it          is annoying him.                         JOHNNY          What babe from the city?                         STANLEY          You know, the one who stopped for          gas the other day. The one who          dumped you on your can. She had          Matty here fixing her pipes.                         JOHNNY          Bullshit.          Matthew snaps the rubber band more. Johnny turns quickly to          him.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Cut that shit homo! How many times          I gotta tell you.          Stanley gets the camera ready.                         STANLEY          She even gave him a kiss for          "servicing her." Look, here's          Matthew running from the cabin like          a schoolgirl.          They all gather around.          POV CAMERA: Matthew runs from the cabin, dropping tools as          he goes. Jennifer stands in the doorway calling after him.          The camera goes closer on Jennifer --          The guys break up. Johnny is a bit more serious.                         ANDY          Now that's some fine camera work,          even better than the time you          filmed yo' self hangin' your nana's          cat.                         JOHNNY          What's this about a kiss?                          STANLEY          Matthew here says she gave him a          kiss right on the cheek.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 17A.                         JOHNNY          Bullshit.                         MATTHEW          No, she did Johnny. She kissed me.                         JOHNNY          Don't lie to me dipshit.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 18.                         STANELY          If you all don't shut the hell up          you'll miss the encore.          All eyes turn to Stanley as Stanley pushes some buttons on          the MINIDV cam. Andy comes over and looks at the LCD screen.                         STANLEY          Get ready for it.          ON MINIDV: The footage that Stanley shot is obviously the          previous night through Jennifer's kitchen window.                         ANDY          I'll be. Look at the rack on that          pony.          Andy punches Stanley in the arm. Johnny just stares at the          screen.                         ANDY (CONT'D)          You dirty dog. Where the hell'd          you get that?                         STANLEY          I've been working nights.                         ANDY          Sure is something to look at.          Matthew is clearly uncomfortable, but he desperately needs to          be one of the guys.                         MATTHEW          Yeah, and she likes me... she was          nice to me.          Stretching a rubber band.                         ANDY          Nice? To her, you're nothing but a          shitter fixer. Hell, she wouldn't          even give Johnny the time of day.          Johnny snaps his head up and looks at Stanley.                         JOHNNY          Bullshit. I could tame that ass if          I wanted to.                         ANDY          You saw her Johnny... stuck up city          bitch.                                                                                                               ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 18A.                         STANLEY          Yea, girls like that think you're          hardly good enough to pump their          gas.          Johnny lights up another cigarette. He points at Andy.                                                                                                                                         ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 19.                         JOHNNY          Let me tell you something. I had          her creaming in her panties.                         ANDY          And she had you shitting yours.          Least her car alarm did.          The guys yuck it up.                         JOHNNY                         (SEETHING)          You don't think I could have her          anytime I want?          Andy looks away and begins to reel in his line. Stanley          stuffs his face with some crap so he doesn't have to answer.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Bitch like that comes up here for          one reason. Sitting in that          window, tits flapping in the wind          for all to see. You know?                         MATTHEW          Nah... She's not like that, Johnny.          Johnny snorts, condescendingly.                         JOHNNY          How do you know, ya fuckin' virgin?          Let me tell you something. They're          all like that! Fucking big city          cock-teasing whore is all she is.          He flicks his cigarette and it sizzles out in the water. Then          he gets right up in Matthew's face.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          You'd have no idea what to do with          a piece of ass like that. But          luckily I'm your friend.          Johnny hands him a beer and pats him on the back firmly.          23 INT. CABIN - NIGHT 23          Jennifer writes away at the dining room table. She's on a          tear. A "writer's zone" where everything she types is gold.          She hits the "return" key hard, as if to punctuate a          particularly good sentence. She picks up some lip gloss and          puts it on.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 20.          She leans back to take a break when her eye catches the cell          phone sitting on the table. She picks the phone up, flips it          open - It's still completely dead.          In frustration, she throws the phone across the room. It          hits the couch right next to the duffle bag. She smiles          mischievously to herself.          Jennifer reaches inside and withdraws a sandwich bag filled          with pot and rolling papers. She expertly rolls herself a          joint and lights it up. She closes her eyes. Bliss.          24 EXT. CABIN - NIGHT -- LATER 24          From a distance, the cabin looks like a star twinkling in the          night sky. Trees sway in the breeze, dappling the light.          25 INT. CABIN - NIGHT 25          Jennifer's head is slouched over her desk. She passed out.          Suddenly, A SCRATCHING NOISE at the front door.          CLOSE ON: Jennifer's eyes flit open as -          Jennifer jumps awake and walks over to check the door,          glancing at the clock as she goes. 4:14 am.          Jennifer gets to the door and listens, Nothing. She tries          to look out... nothing.          She turns to walk back when the scratching returns -          Jennifer takes a few steps back toward the door. Again, the          noise stops.                         JENNIFER          Hello?          Silence. Jennifer rises up on her toes and looks out the          glass window of the front door. The porch is deserted.          Jennifer opens the door slowly.          26 EXT. CABIN - NIGHT 26          Jennifer looks outside but nothing is there. Just a gentle          breeze and the sway of the trees. Satisfied, she walks out          onto the front porch, then down the steps. She hugs herself          and shivers, then she returns inside.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 21.          27 INT. CABIN, FRONT DOOR - NIGHT 27          Jennifer shuts the front door and locks it. Then she yanks          on the door, just to make sure.          28 INT. CABIN - NIGHT 28          She walks back in grabbing her glass and bottle when --          29 INT. CABIN - NIGHT 29          The SCRAPING sound again, but this time, from UPSTAIRS.          Jennifer looks up, hoping that she imagined it. But there it          is again. She sets the bottle and glass down on the end table          next to the couch and then grabs a can of MACE from her purse          on the couch.          30 INT. CABIN, STAIRCASE - NIGHT 30           She walks slowly, holding the mace directly in front of her.          Eventually, Jennifer gets to the top of the stairs.          At the far end of the hallway is an open window. A branch          from outside scrapes against the windowsill.          Jennifer lets out a sigh of relief. She closes the window          and heads back downstairs.          31 INT. CABIN, KITCHEN - NIGHT 31           She puts the mace back in her purse, and then picks up her          drink walking to the kitchen when--          BANG! Something smashes into the sliding glass door--          Jennifer SCREAMS dropping the glass. It SHATTERS.          With more than a hint of trepidation, Jennifer heads towards          THE SIDE DOOR.          With all the courage she can muster up, Jennifer unlocks the          door and steps outside.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 22.          32 EXT. CABIN, BACK PORCH - NIGHT 32          The side porch light acts as a spotlight, illuminating the          culprit -- a lone bird lies motionless on the ground.          Jennifer bends down and picks up a small branch from the          porch. She gives the bird a small poke... nothing. But her          uneasiness is growing. Suddenly... SLAM!          She jumps and looks to the shed, the door is open again and          swinging. She looks to it thinking, "I shut that already..."          She moves off the porch and toward the shed.          33 EXT. CABIN, SHED - NIGHT 33          Jennifer walks to the shed, it feels longer in the dark. She          looks around to the tree line, could be something out there,          an animal, who knows.          She reaches the shed and shuts the door again. She searches          the ground and sees a large stone.          She picks up the stone and shoves it against the door.          Satisfied, she heads back.          34 INT. CABIN - NIGHT 34          Jennifer immediately goes over to her table where the laptop          is set up. She shuffles some papers around when-          Something on her laptop screen catches her attention. She          leans forward, brow furrowed.          ON LAPTOP SCREEN: A picture of Johnny, Stanley, and Andy          leering into the laptop's camera. Like a nightmarish photo          booth snapshot.                         JOHNNY          Nice shot huh?          Jennifer shrieks and spins around only to find --          Standing there, right inside the front door, is Johnny. He          smiles.          Johnny shrugs calmly and continues milling about the room.          Jennifer spins around, looking for a way out.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 22A.          But Stanley has slipped in through the back door, video          camera obnoxiously filming the scene (which will be out to          throughout).                         STANLEY          Smile real pretty for the camera.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 23.                         JENNIFER          (her voice cracking)          Get out of here. Get out of here          right now!                         JOHNNY          Now that's not very hospitable, is          it?          Then, the wooden stairs creak under Andy's steps as he walks          down -- around his chest is one of Jennifer's bra stretched          to the limit. He's twirling a thong panty on his finger. The          guys get a good laugh at Andy.                         JENNIFER          All of you better get out of here.          I called the police.          Johnny nods. He looks at her, his gaze mocking.                         JOHNNY          You called the police? Or you will          call the police?                         JENNIFER          I... I called them already.          They're on their way right now!                         JOHNNY          With what phone? Matthew said you          dropped it in the drink.          Jennifer doesn't answer.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          (looks at Stanley)          Speaking of.. .where the hell is he?          Stanley takes a few steps toward the back door.                         STANLEY          Matthew, get your boney ass in          here!          Shortly after, Matthew shuffles inside. He can't even bring          himself to look at Jennifer.                         JOHNNY                         (TO JENNIFER)          Matthew here said you didn't pay          him for fixity' your sink?                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 24.                         JENNIFER          That is just not true! I tried to.          He ran out... (to Matthew) Is that          what you said?          Matthew winces and starts to snap a rubber band on his wrist.          as Jennifer walks over to her purse.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          I'll take care of it--          Johnny cuts her off.                         JOHNNY          --Let's not worry about that right          now.          Johnny hops up on the kitchen counter, cutting her off with          his leg. He then picks up the bottle of vodka, takes a swig.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Now what's a pretty little thing          like you doing out here all alone?                         JENNIFER          I'm writing. I'm a Writer... But          my boyfriend is coming up. He'll          actually be here any minute--                         JOHNNY          That right?          The guys give a good chuckle-                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Well, I didn't realize you had a          boyfriend coming down. We'd better          get on outta here. Don't want to          ruin date night.                         STANLEY          Yeah, yeah. Date night.                         ANDY                         (CHUCKLING)          Date night...                         JOHNNY          You know what I think. I think          you're lying. There's no          boyfriend. No man in his right          mind would leave a girl like you          all up here on your own.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 24A.                         JENNIFER                         (EMPHATIC)          No he's coming. He had to work. I          told you he'll be here soon.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 25.          Johnny turns to her.                         JOHNNY          Yeah, well so will Santi Clause.          Andy and Stanley are loving every minute of this. Matthew          leans against the wall, his eyes on the floor.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Come here. Have a drink with me.                         JENNIFER          No, look. I have the money--          Andy slingshots the thong right at Jennifer. It lands at her          feet.                         JOHNNY          What's a matter? Too good to drink          with us?                         JENNIFER          Please, I don't want to.          Johnny raises his eyebrows. The bottle is partially empty.                         JOHNNY                         (TO JENNIFER)          Uh, what's this? It's already been          opened.                         (TO OTHERS)          See, she don't want to drink with          us. What are we, dirt?                         JENNIFER          I didn't say that.          Andy walks over and sits down at her desk, clicks around the          screen, begins reading aloud from the text...                         ANDY                         (READING)          .No one wants a phone call at 2          o'clock in the morning. When          you're fifteen it's a prank call,          when your twenty it's a drunk          boyfriend call, but after twenty          five, it's usually real bad news.          That's how I found out my father          died...                         (THEN)          Whose daddy died?                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 26.                         JENNIFER          Can you all please leave me alone?!          Meanwhile, Stanley putters around the kitchen, opening and          closing the cabinet doors, knocking stuff around. He finds a          pack of rice cakes. He shoves one in his mouth, winces,          spits it out.                         STANLEY          Damned cardboard. You eat this          shit?                         ANDY          You should! Do you some good.          Andy turns from the desk, strikes a match and flicks it at          Jennifer,                         JENNIFER          Look, can you just tell me what you          want? What do you want? I offered          you money.          Johnny stubbornly holds out the bottle of vodka. Andy          giggles. He finds this quite funny.                         JOHNNY                         (EXTENDING BOTTLE)          Here.                         JENNIFER          Fine, if you'll leave I'll take a          drink.          Jennifer studies the bottle and finally accepts it. Drinks a          small sip. They all start booing.                         JOHNNY          Come on. You can do better than          that. I bet when you're out there          with your city friends you can throw          'em back with the best of them.                         JENNIFER          I took the drink, now you--                         JOHNNY          I said drink it!          Jennifer grows increasingly nervous and reluctantly takes a          nice swig. Then chokes and gags. They all cheer.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 27.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          See? Now was that so bad?          Johnny takes the bottle back and takes a swig himself.                         JENNIFER          Look, I'm sorry if I embarrassed          you the other day, but we're even          now, right? Okay. Please. Leave.          Andy and Stanley plop themselves down on the couch and prop          their feet up on the wood and glass coffee table.                         JOHNNY          Oh... that's not what this is          about.                         JENNIFER          Then what is this about?          Johnny jumps down from the counter. He stands in front of          Jennifer, towering over her.                         JOHNNY          I want to see your teeth.          As if the air is sucked out of the room. Jennifer stares at          him, not even sure she heard him correctly.          Matthew snaps the rubber band harder. He moves to the far          corner of the room and tucks himself against the wall.                         JENNIFER          Wha... what?                         JOHNNY          You heard me, show Horse. Show me          your teeth.                         JENNIFER          That's... I'm not going to...          please leave.                         JOHNNY          (quiet, but firm)          Show the teeth...          Andy walks over and hands Johnny the small wooden bat he used          to kill the fish. Johnny smacks it against his palm.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          .or lose the teeth.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 27A.          Andy walks back to the couch and flicks another match at          Jennifer. She recoils with fear as she reluctantly gives a          half-smile, her teeth clenched together.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 28.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          No. Put two fingers in the side of          your mouth. Then two fingers in          the other side... and pull.          Jennifer looks at Johnny like he's seriously disturbed as          Johnny slaps the bat against his hand punctuating his point.          Jennifer puts her fingers in her mouth. She pulls her lips          away from the gums, spreading them grotesquely. It's          completely humiliating. Jennifer stops.                         JENNIFER          Now please... I'm begging you...          Johnny slides off the counter.                         JOHNNY          Uh, uh. Again.          Jennifer reinserts her fingers and pulls. Johnny reaches          into her mouth and grabs a hold of her two front teeth with          his thumb and forefinger.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Alright. Good girl, Show Horse.          Johnny pulls down on Jennifer's teeth, forcing her to the          floor. Jennifer looks as if she's about to cry, near her on          the ground is the broken glass.          Stanley and Andy needle each other like schoolboys. Matthew          shuffles nervously, clearly uncomfortable at being there.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          I'll tell you something          sweetheart... know why you ain't          got no boyfriend?... 'Cause all          them city guys are faggots.          Johnny turns to her.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          But uh... since he isn't here.          Johnny pulls out his revolver.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          This is your man.          He moves closer to her, rubbing the gun against her cheek,          her chin. The blood drains from her face as -                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 29.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Why don't you give him a kiss-          With terror in her eyes, Jennifer quickly kisses the gun-                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Nah, not like the peck you gave          Matthew... let's see a real kiss.          He slides the barrel into Jennifer's mouth. Jennifer gags          instinctively. Johnny holds the back of her head, not          allowing her to pull away, and offers some "encouragement."                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Breathe through your nose. Breathe          through your nose like it was your          first time.          Johnny pulls the gun out just a tiny bit and pushes it back          into her cheek, causing it to bulge out.          Naturally, Stanley and Andy both find this hysterical.          Especially once Jennifer begins to cry.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)                         (TO JENNIFER)          On your knees.          Jennifer complies. Johnny holds the gun in front of his          crotch and again forces it into Jennifer's mouth.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          if I don't like your enthusiasm, I          may cum early.          (cocks the gun)          And that's something you really          don't want.          Jennifer has no choice. She begins to fellate the gun, as          deep as she can take it without gagging.          Johnny closes his eyes and feigns pleasure. Finally, he's          had enough. He retracts the gun as Jennifer recoils, gags.          Her eyes begin to scan the cabin for any way out of this hell          as Andy stands up from the couch.                         ANDY          My turn.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 29A.                         STANLEY          Come on, let Matthew have a go.          It's his girlfriend and he hasn't          even wet his whistle yet.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 30.                         MATTHEW          I...I ddd...don't want to.          Johnny walks up to Matthew, angrily, and slaps him across the          face. He points to Jennifer.                         JOHNNY          What do you mean you don't want to?                         (TEASING)          sh...she likes me... she kissed me.          Now shut up and prove it.          Matthew holds his fist against his face.                         ANDY          Aw, fuck it. I ain't waiting.          Andy grabs the VODKA BOTTLE. He walks over to Jennifer,          still on her knees, and positions the bottle right in front          of his crotch.                         ANDY (CONT'D)          Suck it, bitch.          Jennifer opens her mouth and moves her head toward the          bottle. As she maneuvers the bottle-neck into her mouth, her          eye catches a large shard of glass next to Andy's boot.          As soon as Andy turns around to smile at his friends,          Jennifer grabs the bottle and cracks it upside his kneecap.          Andy immediately grabs his leg and falls to the floor.          The guys start laughing as--          Jennifer leaps up from the floor and rushes over to her          purse. She quickly pulls out a canister of mace -          Before the guys even register what is happening Jennifer is          racing at Stanley --          As he brings the camera down he's met with a spray of mace.          He clutches his face, screaming in pain --          And like that - Jennifer is out the back door.          35 EXT. CABIN - DAWN 35          Jennifer leaps over the porch steps and sprints across the          backyard as the first light creeps through the trees. Within          seconds, she's in the woods.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 31.          36 EXT. WOODS - DAWN 36          Jennifer runs for all she's worth. Every few yards, she          looks behind her, just to make sure that no one is chasing          her. The morning light now fully visible. Then, just as she          turns back around, Jennifer smacks right into something and          goes sprawling.          When her vision comes into focus she sees the side of a shiny          black boot. Next to it, the long slim barrel of a shotgun.          Jennifer looks up at the figure.                         FIGURE          Whoa, whoa, whoa there. Easy          darlin'.          The Figure extends his hand. As Jennifer reaches for it, she          sees his jacket pull away from his chest, revealing a silver          badge. She's found SHERIFF STORCH, a small town sheriff with          a small town charm that can easily be confused as smarmy.                         JENNIFER          Help me. Please!          Standing next to the Sheriff, also holding a hunting rifle,          is Earl. Earl looks over at the Sheriff.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Okay, okay, I gotcha.          The Sheriff helps Jennifer to her feet.                         EARL          I know this one. She rented the          place down on Mockingbird Trail.                         JENNIFER          I was assaulted! They broke into          the cabin! They had a gun-          Jennifer breaks down again.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Ma'am, please, you have to calm          down.          But Jennifer is hysterical, desperately holding back tears.                         JENNIFER          In my mouth! He put a gun in my          mouth! You don't understand...                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 32.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Ma'am, It's okay. I'm the Sheriff.          You need to take a deep breath and          tell me what happened.          Jennifer forces herself to take a deep breath and manages to          pull herself together.                         JENNIFER          Four men. It was four of them.          They broke into my cabin... They          assaulted me!          Earl just watches not knowing what to do.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Are you hurt? Do you need a          hospital?          Jennifer shakes her head.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Okay, good. That's good. Did you          get a good look at them? Can you          ID 'em?                         JENNIFER          Yes, I'd seen them before.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Around here?                         JENNIFER          At the service station right          outside of town. They work there.                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (TO EARL)          John Miller no doubt.                         JENNIFER          Yes. They called him Johnny.          There was a heavy set guy too--                         AND --          Sheriff Storch shakes his head and rolls his eyes.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 33.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Sounds like them boys been up to no          good. Alright Earl. You best head          on back. Me and Miss...                         JENNIFER          Hills. Jennifer Hills.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Me and Miss Hills are gonna head on          over to the cabin and straighten          'em out.          37 BRT. CABIN - DAY 37          Sheriff Storch and Jennifer pull up to the cabin. They both          get out of the cruiser. With his double barrel shotgun in          hand, Sheriff Storch begins walking up toward the porch.          38 INT. CABIN - DAY 38           Sheriff Storch and Jennifer enter the cabin. It appears          empty.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Hello?                         (BEAT)          Miller? Miller, this is the          Sheriff. if you and your boys are          still in there, you come on out          right now.          Sheriff Storch disappears into the kitchen for a second...          then back out as he makes his way over to the foot of the          stairs. He looks up the staircase.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Miller, if you're up there, you'll          be leaving by the window.          No answer. Sheriff Storch looks at Jennifer.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Stay here.          Sheriff Storch heads up the stairs. Jennifer, uncomfortable          at being left alone, backs away to the wall. Every noise,          every foot step makes her shiver.          After a few seconds, the Sheriff comes back to the top of the          stairs.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 34.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          It's empty.          He walks back down.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          No sign of 'em. If they were here,          they're gone now.          Sheriff Storch makes his way through and walks back into--          39 INT. CABIN, KITCHEN - DAY 39          Jennifer follows him and watches as he inspects it closely.          His eyes fall on the box of liquor bottles.                         SHERIFF STORCH          You here alone?                          JENNIFER          Yes.                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (RE: LIQUOR)          With all this?                         JENNIFER          I wasn't going to drink it all this          weekend. I... I planned on being          here for a couple of months.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Drink some tonight?                         JENNIFER          Yes, well, they were. They forced          me to.          He moves away and walks back through the cabin.          As he does, he spots the glass shattered on the floor... and          the nearby THONG and BRA that Andy flung at her.          Takes a long hard look at them, then looks back up to          Jennifer.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          One of them, he was up there, went          through everything.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 35.          Sheriff Storch taps the broken glass with his thick boot.                         SHERIFF STORCH          (pointing to the glass)          They do this, too?                         JENNIFER          Please, I don't care about those          things. They shoved a gun in my          mouth...          Jennifer breaks down again as the Sheriff moves toward her.                          SHERIFF STORCH          Okay, okay Ma'am. It's okay now.          Them boys are gone. You're safe          now.          Jennifer nods to him, still shaken. Storch looks to the lock           on the back door.           He walks toward the back door and turns the dead bolt back           and forth.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)           (re: back door)          Was this locked?                         JENNIFER          Yes. Of course.          40 EXT. CABIN - DAY 40           Sheriff Storch steps onto the porch. Jennifer follows.          Sheriff Storch looks down and sees the dead bird at his feet.          He pokes it with the barrel of his shotgun.                         SHERIFF STORCH          How long you been here?                         JENNIFER          Just a few days.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Anything strange happen before          this? You have a run in with any          of these guys?                         JENNIFER          No. Not really. I stopped for gas          and directions.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 36.          41 INT. CABIN - DAY 41          Back inside, Sheriff Storch hooks his fingers into his belt          and continues to look around.          His eyes casually fall upon the roach sitting in the ashtray.          He picks it up and smells it.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Ma'am, is this your marijuana          cigarette?            Suddenly, Jennifer realizes that simple possession might not          go over in this small town like it does in Manhattan.                         JENNIFER          Uh... n...no. The men probably          left it.          Sheriff Storch walks over to Jennifer until he's standing          directly in front of her.                         SHERIFF STORCH          You mean to tell me that one of          these guys was wearing lipstick?          Storch holds up the roach. Jennifer notices the lipstick          smear on the rolling paper. She casts her eyes downward.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          This ain't the big city.          Sheriff Storch stands uncomfortably close. Slowly, he walks          closer up to Jennifer's face, stares into her eyelids. Pulls          down one of them. Then the other. Then his gaze falls down          to her chest... her ample cleavage. His stare lingers a bit          too long.                         JENNIFER          Please, I swear. I didn't make it          up. I may have smoked a joint, but-          Sheriff Storch lifts his walkie-talkie to his mouth.                         SHERIFF STORCH          (into the walkie-talkie)          This is Sheriff Storch. I'm at the          Mockingbird Cabin. I gonna need          some backup.          The words out of the Sheriff's mouth seem almost surreal.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 37.                         JENNIFER                         (BECOMING FRANTIC)          Backup? What could you possibly          need back up for? I'm the victim.          Sheriff Storch holds up his hand, cutting her off.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Ma'am. You've been drinking and          smoking marijuana, and you got          enough alcohol here to put our          whole town three sheets to the          wind. You're running around in          your nighty at the crack of dawn...          You need to see this from my point          of view.                         JENNIFER          What?! They were here! They          assaulted me! You've got to          believe me!                         SHERIFF STORCH          I just want to get to the bottom of          it. You're making serious          accusations bout' boys I've know          since they was kids, and you           haven't been all together truthful          now have you?                         (BEAT)          Now please, against the wall.          Angry and ashamed, Jennifer walks over and places her palms          against the wall, her legs pressed tightly together.          Sheriff Storch inches up behind her. He taps the inside of          her thigh with his shotgun.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Shoulder width apart, face to the          wall.          Jennifer has no choice but to comply.          He pats up and down Jennifer's side. When he gets to the          swell of her breast, he slides his hand to the front ever so          slightly. Jennifer reflexively turns--          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Face to the wall!          Sheriff Storch puts his hand to the side of her face and puts          it to the wall. Jennifer cringes.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 37A.          Then he kicks her leg out wide with a firm Boot as he starts          to frisk her entire body, creeping his hands ever so close to          her crotch.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 38.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          I want the whole story, now. The          whole thing.                         (SLOWLY)          Start with telling me what those          boys did.          A long, dreadful beat hangs in the air as--          JOHNNY (O.S.)          Yeah, and tell the truth, show          Horse.          Jennifer snaps her head around again to see Johnny enter the          cabin as Andy and Stanely push Matthew in front of them.          Johnny walks over to Jennifer. He stands next to the          Sheriff.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Better yet, let's show him. As I          recall, those pretty little lips          couldn't get enough.                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (MOCK SURPIRSE)          Really?          Sheriff Storch then takes the barrel of his shotgun and          pushes down the top of Jennifer's blouse.          Jennifer's paralyzed as he runs the shotgun across her          nipple.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)                         (TO JENNIFER)          They do this to you?          Jennifer is too terrified to speak. Sheriff Storch then          slips the shotgun down between her legs.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          I asked you a question.          Jennifer trembles with fear.                         JENNIFER          Please...                         JOHNNY          Show him those teeth, Show Horse.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 38A.          Sheriff Storch brings the gun back up to her mouth - slides          it under Jennifer's top lip and pushes it up.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 39.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Whinny.          With her top lip forced up by the barrel of the shotgun,          Jennifer can only make a GRUNTING noise. Sheriff Storch          takes the shotgun out of Jennifer's mouth and places it flush          against the side of her head. He pushes her to the floor.          Jennifer lets out a YELP as she falls.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          I said, whinny.          Jennifer makes a pathetic SOUND. Not really a whinny, but          more of a half-cry, half-snort. Naturally, this amuses Andy          and Stanley -- who is, of course, filming it -- to no end.                         STANLEY          Oh, man. Oh, man.                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (TO JENNIFER)          On your knees. And keep going.          Jennifer gets to her knees. As instructed, she whinnies,          interspersed with sobs. Johnny slaps her ass viciously.                         JOHNNY          Keep whinnying!          Jennifer looks up at Sheriff Storch with pleading eyes.          Sheriff Storch picks her up by her hair but--          Jennifer comes up swinging -- connecting with the Sheriff's          face. The slightest scratch across his lip.          Sheriff Storch turns beet red. He backhands her across the          face sending her back down to the floor. A thin line of          blood flows from her nose. The Sheriff looks over to Johnny,          licks his lip and nods his head.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Think you outta tame this little          mare of yours.          Johnny takes the Sheriff's lead.                         JOHNNY          Alright, come on, Show Horse. Get          up. Or you won't get a sugar cube.          Jennifer struggles to her feet. She stands in front of them,          defenseless. Johnny grabs her hair and pulls her head far          back. She lets out a half-moan.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 40.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)                         (TO MATTHEW)          Take off your clothes. We're about          to pop your cherry.          Matthew shakes his head. His wrist is not beat red from the          rubber bands. Snap!                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          I'm not asking, now cut that rubber          band shit faggot.                         STANLEY          Come on, Matthew. You want to talk          the talk, then walk the walk, you          virgin.          Johnny flicks open a pocket knife. He tickles Jennifer's          bottom lip with the blade, then gently runs it down her chin,          past her neck, and between her breasts, just before stopping          at the waistband, then he slices the waistband of her pants -          her pants drop to the floor.                         JOHNNY                         (TO MATTHEW)          Do it now. Or else I slice her          chin to cunt.          This gets Matthew moving. A few seconds later, he's in his          boxer shorts, with his hands crossed in front of his crotch.          Johnny grabs him and throws him up against the wall. He then          yanks his boxers down. Matthew immediately covers up his          crotch.                         STANLEY          Matthew, what the hell? It's not          even hard!          Matthew sweats profusely.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Well, maybe it's not totally his          fault. After all, she's not doing          much to get his motor running.          Sheriff Storch looks back to Jennifer.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Dance.          Jennifer begins to cry again.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 41.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Stop it. Or else I'll really give          you something to cry about. Now          dance for the boy...          Jennifer starts to dance in the middle of the room. It is          sad, pathetic, and downright frightening.                         JOHNNY          Come on. Move that rear of your's          Show Horse. Prance for us.          Sheriff Storch stalks around her, taking it all in, then he          walks back in closer to her, in her face.                         SHERIFF STORCH          You dance like that in those city          clubs?          Jennifer closes her eyes. Tears stream down her face.                         STANLEY          She dance like that they'd throw          her butt to the curb.                         JOHNNY          Prance like you mean it. Like you          do when you want to get laid.          With a swift, hard backhand, Sheriff Storch smacks her ass          and hard.                         ANDY          That'll get her moving.          The guys hoot and holler. Except for Matthew, who looks as          if he too is about to cry.                         MATTHEW          Ok..kkay, I'll d...do it.          Matthew walks slowly over to Jennifer. With no warning,          Matthew takes Jennifer's face in his hands and kisses her.          The men HOWL with sadistic glee. Jennifer slaps him right          across the face, then she tries to run but--          Sheriff Storch forces her to the ground. He walks up to          Matthew.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Don't waste my time you thickheaded          prick.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 42.          Johnny pushes Matthew down on top of her.          Jennifer instinctively swings and connects with Matthew's          face - He recoils in pain - but the guys cheer him on as they          decide to help him out. Andy tears open her shirt, Johnny          yanks down her panties. Jennifer claws and kicks at all of          them as she desperately tries to fight him off.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Get her legs!          Sheriff Storch kneels down and holds Jennifer's arms above          her head. Johnny takes one leg; Andy takes the other.          Matthew moves on top of her. Jennifer lets out an inhuman          SCREAM, the vocal culmination of it all.          ON JENNIFER'S FACE: Her eyes are tightly shut as she goes in          and out of focus.          Suddenly, a cell phone RINGS. Sheriff Storch looks down at          his pocket, then over to Stanley.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Put that thing down and hold her          arms, keep her quiet.          Stanley places the CAM on top of the table - it's still          getting everything.          Sheriff Storch walks a few paces away from the rape. He          looks down at the screen of his phone.          On the PHONE is a photo of an angelic little girl with the          banner of CHASTITY. Storch presses a button.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)                         (INTO PHONE)          Hello, Angel.          CHASTITY (V.0.)          Hi, Daddy. You at the station?          Jennifer SCREAMS out. Sheriff Storch keeps his attention on          the phone call.                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (INTO PHONE)          No, Angel. Out on a call.          WIDESHOT: In the foreground, Sheriff Storch speaks casually          to his daughter. In the background, Jennifer's legs are the          only visual cues of the struggle that goes on right behind.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 43.          CHASTITY (V.0.)          Oh, sorry.                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (INTO PHONE)          It's okay. You need something?          CHASTITY (V.0.)          Daddy it's Sunday. You always make          breakfast before church.                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (INTO PHONE)          Yeah, yeah... well, Daddy's busy,          Angel. Tell mother I'm running a          little late.          Sheriff Storch stares at the phone for a second, then slides          the phone back into his pocket. As he turns back around          Jennifer, with all her strength, bucks Matthew off.          The guys start laughing hysterically.          She finally gets her hands free and lands a barrage of          punches in Matthew's face.                         JOHNNY          Jesus, Matthew. You're getting          your ass whooped by a girl!          Matthew snaps: He wraps his hands around her neck and begins          pumping away like a lunatic. For some reason, the anger          allows him to perform.          Jennifer struggles to breathe. Luckily, before all oxygen to          her brain is cut off, Matthew stops. He SCREAMS as he          finishes. His hands fall from her neck as he collapses on          top of her.          The MEN all cheer as Matthew staggers to his feet -- weak.          He looks like he could throw up -- and he does - right off to          the side as the others just lose it!          Jennifer curls herself into a ball and SOBS.                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (TO MATTHEW)          You can thank us later.          Matthew recovers, gets up and runs to the bathroom. Johnny          points to the vomit.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 44.                         JOHNNY                         (TO STANLEY)          Clean this shit up.                         STANLEY          Make her do it.                         JOHNNY                         (ANGRILY)          Just do it you piece of shit!          Jennifer grabs the end of the coffee table and forces herself          up. She steadies herself, keeping one hand on the wall, and          stumbles to the back door. Surprisingly, none of the men          attempt to stop her. They don't even look in her direction.          Jennifer staggers out the back door, trying to catch her          breath as she fearfully stumbles off into the woods.          42 EXT. WOODS - DAY 42           Like a zombie, Jennifer shuffles through the woods, oblivious          to the cold air, rocks, thorns, mud, as her bare feet move          her along.          She desperately continues on through, looking for a way out.          But in her state, she has no sense of navigation. She          continues to lose herself further and further into the          forest.          As she finally steps into the clearing, the melancholy notes          of a harmonica shatter the stillness... She's made her way to-          43 EXT. FISHING HOLE - DAY 43          Andy sits on a log blowing softly into the harmonica as the          rest of the guys lounge around casually as if they          instinctively knew she'd end up here. Jennifer is too          shocked to move, too tired to cry.          Jennifer tries to escape but Johnny stops her. He grabs her          by the shoulders and throws her to Andy who smacks her down          in the shallow water. Andy pounces down on her back.          Stanley kneels down right in front of Jennifer's face. He          places the MiniDV cam only a few feet in front of her. He          then turns the LCD so it's facing Jennifer -- so she can          actually watch herself being abused.          Andy pulls her eyelids wide open and holds them there.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 44A.                         STANLEY          You ever get mace in your eyes,          bitch? It smarts.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 45.          Andy shoves her face down into the water - then pulls her up.          ON MINIDV CAM: Eyes pried wide open, Jennifer gags as the          dirty water pours from her nose - mouth - she desperately          tries to breathe --          Andy shoves her face down again and again as Stanley films.                         STANLEY (CONT'D)           Hold her head down! Hold it down!!                          JOHNNY          Alright. This filly's got a few          more races to run--          Sheriff Storch approaches Jennifer. Although she can't even           turn around, she senses their presence.          Storch gets down into her face.                         SHERIFF STORCH          I hope you got some fight left in          you. I like it rough.                         JENNIFER                         (BARELY AUDIBLE)          Please. Please. I'm... so hurt...          Sheriff Storch spits onto the ground.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Not to worry Darlin'. I'm an ass          man.          Sheriff Storch takes off his belt and unbuckles his pants.          He kneels down behind her..          Jennifer SHRIEKS as her face contorts with a completely new          level of pain as her head is thrust back down.          Then, out of the corner of her eye, Jennifer catches a          glimpse of the Sheriff's GUN, still sitting in its holster.          Her eyes immediately go to Stanley who's busy swapping out          the MINI-DV tape and replacing it with a new one--          Then she sees Matthew leaning against a tree, a vacant look          in his eye twisting a rubber band through his fingers.          Andy site on is ass, playing his harmonica... Her eyes          continue to scan the area for Johnny who's nowhere in sight.          Then immediately her eyes dart back to the GUN.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 45A.           As Jennifer's body is being jerked back and forth, she          reaches - and reaches - closer with each stretch when--                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 46.          A heavy work boot comes down on her hand, crushing it.          Jennifer looks up.          Johnny glares down at her, then unzips his pants as he moves          in closer to her face.                         JOHNNY          No teeth Show Horse. No teeth.          Her vision grows hazy. The sky, water, and ground all seem          to meld together.                         TO BLACK:          BACK IN ON:          44 EXT. FISHING HOLE - LATER 44           Cruel laughter brings Jennifer back to. Somehow she manages           to lift her head to see Stanley pulling up his pants.                          ANDY           Wow, Stanley, 30 seconds. Must be           a record for you.                         JOHNNY          Don't you know you should wait for          the lady?                         STANLEY          Bitch was too tight, even after          ya'll... Sides, she's all bloody...          I wanted to finish up.                         ANDY          Right and we thought Matthew here          was gonna be the pussy.                          JOHNNY          Don't be so proud of yourself Andy.          I clocked you at just over two          minutes.          Jennifer musters up her last ounce of strength and gets to          her feet. The men all stare, impressed at her resolve.          Jennifer's torn clothes hang loosely off her body as she          staggers away and wanders aimlessly away from them. It's a          miracle she can even walk.          She continues until the forest ends and she comes upon a--                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 46A.          45 EXT. WOODS - DAY 45           She staggers up to the edge of the woods and comes to a           clearing, she leans on a tree and sobs hysterically, breaking           down.           AA45 EXT. BRIDGE, TREES - DAY AA45           Ahead of her a dirt road leads to a small bridge and an open           area.          Painfully she staggers towards the bridge, her beaten and          bruised body pained with each step.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 47.          The others appear behind her. They laugh at her as she          continues further down the bridge.          A45 EXT. BRIDGE - DAY A45          Jennifer doesn't bother to turn around. She continues down          the bridge, looking at the rushing water on both sides.          She moves to one of the railings.          The Sheriff looks at her and cocks the shotgun.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Sorry. it was fun while it lasted.                         JOHNNY          Yeah, too bad we have to put you          down, Show Horse.          in a final act of defiance, Jennifer falls back off the          bridge and into the murky, moving water.          immediately, the men rush to the edge of the bridge.          The Sheriff's gun cocked and ready-- Tracking down the water -          Not a sign.          They all look down, waiting, still nothing.                         STANLEY          Where'd she go?                         ANDY          She's gotta come up for air          sometime.                         STANLEY           Current's got her. Shit, in her           condition she's already drowned.          Johnny looks to the Sheriff who's gun is trained on the water          waiting for something... anything.                         JOHNNY          Sheriff?          Sheriff Storch pulls back his gun, and adjusts his hat, deep          in thought.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 47A.                         SHERIFF STORCH          All you get your butts down there,          check under the bridge, both banks,          in the trees right now.          They all look at him.                          ANDY           I ain't got my waders...                          SHERIFF STORCH           I said right fuekin' now before I           throw you over!           46 EXT. BRIDGE -- DAY 46            The guys have returned. They are all muddy and wet. Storch            stands stoic still looking down at the water. He turns to            them.                           JOHNNY            Nothin'...                           SHERIFF STORCH            Listen up. 'Bout six miles            downstream the creek ends in           Hendersonville. somewhere between            here and there we're gonna find           her. We split up. We check the            banks, in the timber, under a rock,           hell if you see a hole big enough          for a rat I want it checked out.          And don't stop 'til you find me a          body.                         (BEAT)          Don't just stand there, get!                          STANLEY                         (EXASPERATED)          Six miles, Sheriff? She's at the          bottom of the river. She's gator          bait. I think we should just let          it go.          A single vein pulses in Sheriff Storch's temple. He grabs          Stanley by the collar.                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (PURE RAGE)          YOU think? You don't have a          fucking thought.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 47B.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          You just shut your trap and do          every goddamned thing I say. I got          a wife a kid and one in the oven.          There is no way that I'm going to           let anything happen to them because          you're too stupid and too sloppy to          clean up your fuckin' mess.          The weight of the Sheriff's words register on all of them...          except Matthew who oddly enough has started to come around --          as if he just woke up in the middle of this nightmare.                         MATTHEW          She slipped and fell!          Matthew stands up, nervous, jittery, coming unglued.                         MATTHEW (CONT'D)          None of us touched her. I saw it.          She was just... it was an accident.          Johnny rolls his eyes and shakes his head.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Can someone get this dipshit outta          my face! I don't need none of you          screwing the pooch on this, least          of all numbnuts over there.          Sheriff Storch lets go of Stanley's collar and gives it a          quick pat, almost like an imperceptible apology for his          behavior.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Now let's move... find me a body!                         46 OMITTED 46                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 48.          47 EXT. HENDERSONVILLE RIVER - DAY 47            The reservoir is much calmer at these parts. Sheriff stands           on watch as-           Stanley and Andy come from the water in waders having just            searched the water.          Matthew stands where they just came from. He stays, staring          at the swamp like water as if Jennifer was somewhere in           there.          Johnny finishes off a cigarette and flicks it.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 49.                         ANDY          Nothing. Not a damn thing.                         JOHNNY          Well, what now?          Storch takes another look down the river, scanning it.                         SHERIFF STORCH          The body'll turn up. One way or          another. Every day we check the          ravine, from the bridge, straight           through down here, then back. Two          shifts a day until we find           something. 'Cause with no body,           you're all as fucked as she is.                         STANLEY          For how long?                         SHERIFF STORCH          'Til I say! Okay?! Andy, you go          back to the cabin and get rid of her          shit. All of it! Burn it. And we          need to sanitize that place          something good. I don't want so          much as a stray hair left.                         (TO JOHNNY)          Get her car to the shop. Strip it          down to its last damn nut.                         JOHNNY          I'll buff out the serial numbers          too. Sell the parts at salvage.          Storch nods in approval as his eyes wander to the camera.                         SHERIFF STORCH          .and give me that.          Sheriff Storch rips the camera from Stanley's hands. He          pulls out the tape.          He throws the tape to the ground and stomps on it, smashing          it to bits. Stanley opens his mouth to say something, thinks          better of it, and closes it quickly.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          The fuck were you saving that for          moron?                         (BEAT)          Swear to Christ.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 50.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          I need all you on point. I mean,          on fuckin' point. We clear?                         (BEAT)          Now let's go, we got shit to do.          Matthew continues to stare off into the distance, waist deep           in the water.           48 ER's. WOODS - DUSK 48           CLOSE UP on a match. Dirty fingers pull the match across the          flint on the side of a matchbox. The match explodes to life.          A hand drops the match on top of Jennifer's belongings: her          clothes, laptop, the dry goods she purchased at the store.          It's all piled up on the grass.          Johnny, Stanley, and Andy watch quietly as the flames and          smoke from the fire reach into the sky. Andy throws a metal          container of gasoline onto the ground.                         ANDY          So that's everything. Right down          to her little tit sling.                         JOHNNY          And there was no trace at all?          Nothing in the woods? In the          shallows?          Andy shakes his head. Stanley rubs his eyes hard.                         STANLEY          I'm starving, man.                         JOHNNY          Well ain't that the headline. Soon           as we finish this and haul her car          into the garage, you can stuff your          face 'til you puke.                         (TO ANDY)          What the hell happened to Matthew?                         ANDY          Idiot wanted to stay there. He was          walking around in the water,          looking for her like some crazed          dog after a bone.                         JOHNNY          Jesus Christ. He's not playing          with a full deck as it is.                         (MORE)                                                                                                               ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 50A.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          The last thing we need is him          getting squirrelly on us.          (looks at the two of them)                         (MORE)                                                                                                               ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 51.                         JOHNNY (CONT-D)          We all got to make sure he keeps it          together, okay?                         (THEY NOD)          Least until all this shit blows          over.          The flames rise up and engulf her remaining personal items.          49 EXT. SHERIFF STORCH'S HOUSE - NIGHT 49           Sheriff Storch pulls up to his house. He parks in the          driveway and gets out of his car.          He walks slowly up to his front door. Just as he reaches out          to grab the door handle, the front door opens. MRS. STORCH          is there to greet him.          MRS. STORCH          Gone all day. I got nervous.          Anything worth telling?          50 INT. SHERIFF STORCH'S HOUSE - NIGHT 50          Mrs. Storch closes the door behind them. Chastity races from          her room holding a piece of paper.                         CHASTITY          Daddy! Daddy!          Sheriff Storch picks up his daughter and kisses her head.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Just the usual, domestic dispute          out near Clifton. Took forever.                         (BEAT)          Got anything on the stove?          MRS. STORCH          Sure. I'll reheat it.                         (RE: CHASTITY)          You'll be proud.          Chastity brings forth the piece of paper. Sheriff turns to          her.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Oh yeah, what am I gonna be proud          of?                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 52.                         CHASTITY          I was accepted to the honors          program, daddy. can you believe          it?          Sheriff puts her down. Proud.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Of course I can. I expect nothing          less from my Angel.                         (BEAT)          Mommy and I are proud of you. Real          proud.                         (BEAT)          Alright. I'm gonna shower up.          Sheriff walks of as Mrs. Storch watches for a second and          then heads into the kitchen.          51 EXT. EARL'S PLACE - DAY 51           Sheriff Storch's cruiser pulls up to Earl's house and comes          to a stop in a cloud of dust.          52 EXT. EARL'S PLACE - DAY 52           Sheriff Storch stands on Earl's porch, pounds on the door.          EARL (O.S.)          It's open.          Sheriff Storch pushes open the screen door.          53 INT. EARL'S PLACE - DAY 53           He enters. Immediately, he brings his hand to his mouth and          coughs violently.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Every time I come in here this          place gets worse.          Earl's bent over one of the tanks, elbow-deep in fetid water.                         EARL          Yeah, but business gets better.          That's the trade off.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 53.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Yeah, well, you're lucky I don't          cite you for being a public health          hazard.          Sheriff Storch reaches into his pocket and pulls out a set of          keys. He holds them in the air and JINGLES them. Earl          finally looks up, confused.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Mockingbird Trail.                         EARL          Mockingbird Trail, what? -- Oh,          right, Miss Hills. What happened?          She left?                         SHERIFF STORCH          Yeah, I couldn't make heads or          tails of it. Found marijuana          cigarettes, case of booze, looked           to me like she was a party girl...          a very wild one.                         EARL          Yeah, yeah. I had her pegged from          minute one. She wreck the place?                         SHERIFF STORCH          Nah, place is fine. She packed up          and split.                         EARL          My lucky day.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Why's that?                         EARL          No refund policy.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Christmas come early. Enjoy it.                         EARL          (changes the subject)          Speaking of early, only a month          'til quail season. Don't know           about you but I'm getting tired of          shooting squirrels.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Me too.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 54.          Earl nods. Sheriff tips his hat and walks out.                         DISSOLVE TO:          54 EXT. HENDERSONVILLE RIVER - DAY 54           THE CAMERA tilts down from the treeline and falls back on          Hendersonville. It's serene, peaceful and lonely.           Matthew sits in a small boat. He's been patrolling for          Jennifer's body, but now the boat just sits in the middle of          the swamp where the river runs out.          He stares out into the water as we slowly creep closer, and          closer until we're extremely close on his face, his eyes          unmoving.          A55 EXT. SERVICE STATION - DAY A55          POV: A car with two women pulls up to the gas pump. Johnny          comes out of the garage and saunters over to them.          Johnny playfully harasses the women. To a casual observer,          it would seem harmless. But we know it could be the prelude          to something unspeakable.          Finally, the women pull away. Johnny walks back into the          garage, a smug, self-satisfied smile on his face.          55 INT. SERVICE STATION, GARAGE - DAY 55           Andy is bent over Jennifer's car, or at least what's left of          it. At this point, it's nothing more than a shell. He wears          a welding helmet and is hard at work with a blowtorch.                         ANDY          (from under the car)          Round up some tail out there?                         JOHNNY          Maybe. Guarantee you they'll be          back.          Johnny looks up as Stanley stumbles into the garage, holding          a six pack of beer.                         STANLEY          It's happy hour.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 55.          Johnny opens his hands, signaling Stanley to toss him a can.          Andy shuts off the blowtorch and lifts up the helmet.                         ANDY          Fucking A.          Johnny cracks open the beer and takes a gulp. He wipes the          back of his hand across his mouth.                         JOHNNY                         (TO STANLEY)          You bought beer? What'd your          mother put you back on an          allowance?          They all laugh.                         STANLEY          Just figured we deserved a break.          Andy holds up his beer in a mock toast.                         ANDY          To your moma.          Johnny points to Andy, his beer still in his hand.                         JOHNNY          Just one, you hear me? Don't need          you passing out on your watch you          lightweight.          Andy takes a large sip.                         ANDY          Heck, just let Matthew take all the          shifts. He's been down there          everyday anyway. Even when it's          not his turn.           They all look to one another.                         JOHNNY          The fuck's he doing down there?                         ANDY          I don't know. Last time I saw him,          he wasn't lookin' too good.          Maybe we should give him a break.          Pull him off all together.                                                                                                               ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 56.                         STANLEY           Bullshit. It's been over two          weeks. I'm tired of searching. If          she didn't turn up yet, she ain't          gonna.                         JOHNNY          You'll keep lookin' till I tell ya'          to stop.           As he turns away there is a bag of Stanley's pork rinds, he            grabs it and throws it at Stanley.                          JOHNNY (CONT'D)            Here's your supplies.            Andy starts to laugh as Johnny exits.           56 EXT. SERVICE STATION - DAY 56           From a distance we see Andy laughing and Johnny walking off.                          57 OMITTED 57          A57 INT. CABIN - DAY (FORMERLY SCENE 62) A57           Matthew stands in the main room staring at the floor - the          exact place where he raped Jennifer. After a long, drawn out          moment, he turns and walks to--          B57 INT. CABIN, BATHROOM - DAY (FORHERLY SCENE 62) B57           He looks down to the toilet, then the bathtub. He turns          around accidentally catches his reflection in the mirror.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 57.          His greasy, unkempt hair hangs in front of his eyes. He          pushes it to the side and stares at himself for a long time.          Finally, Matthew reaches to the light switch, he flicks it          off. Immediately, the room goes dark. But the second it          does...          JENNIFER is sitting on the bed just like when they first met.          DEAD, DRENCHED, BEATEN, BATTERED, AND DECAYED, BUT IT'S                         JENNIFER --          Matthew is paralyzed with fear, he tries to turn as a          grizzly, decayed hand grabs his forehead. Another grabs hold          of his throat.          A mouth caked with dirt and dried blood begins to kiss up his          neck, his face-          Matthew screams wildly          58 EXT. SHERIFF STORCH'S HOUSE - NIGHT 58          The Sheriff's car sits in the driveway. It's dark, but for          the light from a TV strobing against the drapes.          59 INT. SHERIFF STORCH'S HOUSE - NIGHT 59           All is quiet. Sheriff Storch reclines in his lazyboy. Mrs.          Storch is on the sofa rifling through a TV journal.          The phone RINGS. Sheriff Storch lifts his head up. Mrs.          Storch reaches over and answers.          MRS. STORCH                         (INTO PHONE)          Hello?          (hands it to him)          It's Earl.          Storch takes the phone from her.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Earl?          60 INT. EARL'S PLACE -- NIGHT 60          Earl fidgets with his tanks, cleaning, scraping algae. But          you can tell he's nervous about something.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 58.                         EARL          Yeah, so, this woman leaves a          message on the machine. Barbara          something or other.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Yeah, so...                         EARL          She was looking for that Miss          Hills. Says no one's seen her in          over a month. Ain't that about when          she split?                         SHERIFF STORCH          Yeah, and... you know the story.                         EARL          I don't know. I wasn't there. I          think you should call her back. I          mean heck, sheriff, you may have          been the last person to see her.          The Sheriff's blood starts to boil, he wants to say more, but          looks to his wife... then controls himself.                         EARL (CONT'D)          Sheriff?                         SHERIFF STORCH          Okay. I'll give her a call.                         EARL          Good. You want the number?                         SHERIFF STORCH          Nah, It's late. I'll pick it up          from you in the am. We're still on          for tomorrow, right?                         EARL          Yeah, of course.          Sheriff Storch hangs up. Mrs. Storch looks up.          MRS. STORCH          Is everything okay?                         SHERIFF STORCH          Just fine.                                                                                                              19 L5 V MON - I IWO 29          IV99 60/6Z/OX HKld OAOSI                                                                                                               ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 59.          62 OMITTED - NOW 857 62          63 EXT. WOODS - DAY 63          BLAM: A SHOTGUN blasts as smoke billows from the barrel. In          the distance, the shapes of Sheriff Storch and Earl come into          focus.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Can you believe there used to be a          limit on quail? Goddamn things are           like locust now.                         EARL          Much to our good fortune.          Earl points to a nearby log.                         EARL (CONT'D)          Let's take a break. My dogs are          barking something fierce.          Earl plops down on the log.                         SHERIFF STORCH          You're getting old, Earl. I          remember back when you and my old           man chased that buck out of the           hollows on Stickler's Farm before          bagging it.                         EARL                         (LAUGHS)          Those were the good of days.          Sheriff Storch joins Earl on the log. He reaches into his          hunting bag and pulls out a bottle of really good whiskey.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Here's to the good of days.          Earl looks at him, surprised.                         EARL                         (RE: BOTTLE)          Wow, fan-cy. To what do I owe?          Sheriff Storch smiles, screws off the top, and passes the          bottle to Earl. Earl takes a swig.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 60.                         EARL (CONT'D)          Some damn fine whiskey. Usually          don't have that 'cept at baptisms          and weddings.                         SHERIFF STORCH          And funerals.          BLAM: -- Earl's chest erupts in a geyser of blood.          Earl drops to the ground like a rag doll. The bottle falls          from his grasp. The whisky flows into the dirt.          Sheriff Storch stands up, clutching his smoking shotgun.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Loose ends, Earl. Loose ends...          Sheriff Storch hovers over his prey. Suddenly, Earl's body          spasms. His eyes flicker and a nauseating gurgle sounds from          deep in his throat.          BLAM: -- Sheriff Storch crosses himself -- touching his          forehead and both shoulders -- turns away from the corpse.                         64 OMITTED 64          65 EXT. JOHNNY'S HOUSE, PORCH - DAY 65           Johnny and Andy are sitting on the porch in lawn chairs          drinking beer.          Both of them turn to see Stanley bounding up to the station          in a tizzy.                         ANDY          Jeez look at this.                         JOHNNY          Something's spooked the cattle.                         STANLEY          It's gone! It's fucking gone]          Stanley storms into the garage.                         ANDY          Jesus, Stanley. Calm down.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 61.                         JOHNNY          What the hell's got your nuts tied          in a sling?          Stanley is completely out of breath.                         STANLEY          It's gone. My camera. It's gone!          Andy looks at him, visibly annoyed.                         ANDY          Maybe you accidentally ate it?                         STANLEY          Fuck off, this is serious!          Johnny shakes his head.                         STANLEY (CONT'D)          it had the tape in it.                         JOHNNY          The hell you talking about?                         STANLEY          The tape, Johnny. The goddamn          tape!                         JOHNNY          Wait a minute. You mean the one          Storch smashed to bits. That tape?                         STANLEY          He didn't smash shit. I put in a          new one... Sheriff stomped the one           with nothing on it.                         JOHNNY          You stupid retard piece of shit.          You tellin' me you kept the tape?          Johnny grabs Stanley by the neck and slams him up against a          car, and begins to Strangle the life out of him.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Where is it?!                         STANLEY          (struggling to breathe)          I... don't... please--                                                                                                              i Aaq 'caH           'VT9 60/6Z/OT XXId J2OSI                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 62.          Finally, Andy intercedes prying Johnny's hands off Stanley's          neck. Stanley falls to the ground, gasping for breath.          Johnny kicks him in the ribcage.                         JOHNNY          You're too dumb to know how dumb          you are. Where's the fuckin'          tape?!                         STANLEY          (struggling to breathe)          I had it. Now it's gone.                         ANDY          Was ya robbed? Or did you leave it          somewhere?                         STANLEY          It was in my place... I swear it.                         JOHNNY          Who else knew about it?          A beat of silence hangs in theair.                         STANLEY          Matthew. I showed it to him.          Off all their incredulous looks.                         STANLEY (CONT'D)          Was trying to cheer him up.                         JOHNNY          The kid's barely got one oar in the          water and you just took it and          shoved it up his ass.          Andy walks by Stanley and slaps him in the head for good          measure.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Unfreakin' real. Do you understand          the world of shit we are all in          right now.Do you?!                         (BEAT)          You think Earl was some hunting          accident?Either of you?          Bullshit.Storch is coming          unglued. We're all in his          crosshairs.All of us!                         (BEAT)                         (MORE)                                                                                                               - -s of 94TT 4TUs           pTdn4s atuos op pua ob noc pua•••           (a,INOO) XNNHOP          •VZ9 60/6Z/0t INIL OXOSI                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 63.          Stanley is still on the ground, making disgusting noises. A          combination of sobbing, puking, and wheezing.                         STANLEY          You can't tell him Johnny. You          can't.          Johnny ponders for a second.                         ANDY          Shit for brains here's right. We          gotta stick together now.                         STANLEY          Please, Johnny. He finds out about          this... that I had the tape---                         JOHNNY          No... no. We don't breathe a word          of this.          (points to them both)          Not a damn word. Sheriff gets wind          of this, we'll all be having          "hunting accidents": We clear?          Johnny slaps Stanley in the head again for good measure.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          in the meantime, find that little          shitwhit Matthew. Me and him are          gonna have a talk.          66 INT. JOHNNY'S HOUSE - NIGHT 66           Johnny reclines on his couch, watching TV. One hand is down          his pants and the other holds a bottle of whisky.          Suddenly, there's a CRASH at his front door. Johnny looks up          and puts down the bottle, not overly concerned.                         JOHNNY          Hello?          No answer at the door. Johnny groans and gets off the couch,          annoyed at being disturbed. He walks over to the front door          and yanks it open.          The front porch is empty. Just as he's about to close the          door, he glances down. There's a dead bird on the stoop.          Johnny narrows his eyes and looks out into the night. Then          he closes the door and returns to the couch.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 64.          But as soon as he picks up the bottle, there's another CRASH          at the front door. Johnny, now pissed, races to the front          door and swings it open.          A second dead bird has joined the first. Without closing the          door, Johnny backs up into his house.          A few seconds later, he returns to the front door, pistol in          hand. He steps out onto the porch.          67 EXT. JOHNNY'S HOUSE, BACK PORCH - NIGHT 67          Johnny holds the gun in front of him. He pivots slowly from          side to side, scanning the entire property. No more birds.          In fact, nothing at all. Dead silence.                         JOHNNY                         (THREATENING)          Who's out there?!          No answer.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Shit ain't funny fuckers!!! See          how funny a bullet in your ass is!          When there's still no response -- Johnny finally backs up          into the house and closes the door.          68 INT. JOHNNY'S HOUSE - NIGHT 68          Again, back to the couch. And again, the second his ass hits          the cushion, another CRASH.                         JOHNNY          Got dammit!          This time, Johnny races to the door and yanks it open,          cocking the gun on the way and fires into the night.          69 EXT. JOHNNY'S HOUSE, BACK PORCH - NIGHT 69          Johnny causally looks down - but this time it's not a bird.          It's a shoe... Jennifer's shoe.          Johnny bends down and picks it up. He studies it. Frowns.          Someone's gone too far. Then he hears something scurry off          in-the distance.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 64A.          Quickly Johnny gives chase - leaping off his porch and racing          in the direction of the sound.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 65.          Johnny stops, listens, and waits. Nothing but silence. He          turns around in all directions.          Johnny spits and turns around to walk back and as he does, he          notices one of Matthew's colored RUBBER BANDS lying in the          mud.                         JOHNNY                         (UNDER BREATH)          Son of a bitch.          70 INT. SHERIFF STARCH'S HOUSE - DAY 70          Sheriff Storch enters, holding a bouquet of flowers. He          closes the door behind him and walks in.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Helen?          Within seconds, Mrs. Storch materializes, apron on and wiping          her hands on a dish towel.          MRS. STORCH          Oh, they're beautiful...          Sheriff Storch walks over and gives her a kiss on the cheek.                         SHERIFF STORCH          I've been --          MRS. STORCH          No need to explain. You just          buried your close friend. And you          haven't taken a single day off.          You're only human.                         SHERIFF STORCH          I guess.          MRS. STORCH          Hey, maybe you can help me while I          put these in water.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Help with what?          MRS. STORCH          We got this tape delivered it don't          fit our machine.                          SHERIFF STORCH          What tape?                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 66.          Mrs. Storch scurries over to the coffee table, grabs the          MINIDV tape and hands it to him.          MRS. STORCH          it came this morning...          But as Storch looks over the tape, the color, the markings...          no, it couldn't be, he smashed that tape.          MRS. STORCH (CONT'D)          I think it might be Chastity's          recital.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Did Chastity see this?          MRS. STORCH          No, like I said, we couldn't get it          to play.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Where is she?          MRS. STORCH          Sleeping, why?          Storch wipes his face with his hand, then shoves the tape          into his shirt pocket.                         SHERIFF STORCH          I'll... I'll be back...          Sheriff Storch quickly turns away from his wife and hurries          out the door.          Mrs. Storch stands at the door and watches with growing          curiosity as the cruiser peels out of the driveway, a cloud          of dust in its wake.          71 EXT. JOHNNY'S HOUSE - DAY 71          Andy and Stanley pull up and get out of the truck as Johnny's          been pacing.                         ANDY          So what's all this about, Johnny?          Johnny takes out Jennifer's shoe and throws it at them. They          both dodge a hit and look at the shoe on the ground.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 66A.                         STANLEY                         (TERRIFIED)          Where'd you get that?                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 67.                         JOHNNY          Somebody threw it at my fuckin'          door.          Then snaps Matthew's rubber band at them it hits Stanley who          winces.                         STANLEY          Jees, Matthew? Come on--                         JOHNNY          Did either of you find that little          prick?                         ANDY          No. No one knows where he is--          Suddenly, a car SCREECHES up - it's Storch and it looks as if          he is going to drive his cruiser straight through the fence.                         STANLEY          Ah shit. This ain't good.          Johnny picks the shoe up.          Storch blasts out of his car, shotgun in hand. He cocks his          shotgun and levels it directly at Stanley as he backs him up,          planting the shotgun into his cheek.                         STANLEY (CONT'D)                         (CRYING)          Please, Sheriff! I didn't do          anything.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Then you want to tell me why this          was dropped off at my house?! To          my WIFE!          Storch shoves the TAPE in Stanley's mouth - gagging him.          Then turns to Johnny.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          What's on that tape?! Is this some          kind of fucked up joke? I smashed          the damn thing myself!                         JOHNNY          Nah, genius over here reloaded.          Tape you smashed had nothing on it.          Storch looks to Johnny - then snaps his gun towards him.                                                                                                              Lstu4 4noq Maui nox                         HOIOSS 33I'DSHS          '1L9 6O/6Z/O1 )Nld 9XOSI                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 68.                         JOHNNY          Hey, I just found out myself.          Storch swings the gun back to Stanley.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Eat that tape fatboy.          Andy starts to laugh as Starch trains the gun back on them-                         STORCH          Shut your pie hole. Think this is          funny?! I'll have him shit it down          your throat when's he done eating          it. Got that boy?          .LAM; The Sheriff fires a shot into the air. They all jump,          Stanley covers his ears like it hurt.                         SHERIFF STORCH          See, there's two kinds of crazy          people. One likes to get buck          naked and howl at the moon. The          other kind does the exact same          thing, only in my backyard. The          first kind'I don't have to deal          with, you know?          The Sheriff walks right into Stanley's face as he continues          to chew the plastic.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          The second kind, well... you're in          my yard.                          JOHNNY          It's Matthew, Sheriff. Stanley kept           the souvenir, but Matthew's the          one that took it.          The Sheriff backs off a beat, sizes up the situation.          Johnny brings forth the shoe. Sheriff's eyes seethe with          rage.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          The crazy bastard left me a          present.                         ANDY          Fucking retard is obsessed with          her. I think he actually feels          guilty.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 6$A.                         SHERIFF STORCH          You dipshits bring him to me! I'm          gonna cut his little pecker off and          use it as a goddamn hood ornament.                         (TO STANLEY)                         (MORE)                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 69.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          And that's after I'm done shoving          it up your dirt hole. Now where is          he?!          Storch takes a deep breath. He looks at all of them, fuming.                         ANDY          We don't know. Isn't coming around          much.                         JOHNNY          Much? At all. Kid's fucked three          ways to Sunday. We can't find him          and trust me, we been looking.                         SHERIFF STORCH          You losers couldn't find your own          asses with both hands and a map.                         (BEAT)          You got 24 hours. You understand?          I will not hesitate. Not for one          second.          He fixes them all with a steely gaze and loads the shotgun          again.          72 EXT. CABIN - DAY 72           Matthew, disheveled and weary, stumbles up the steps of the          cabin. We get the feeling that this is almost a daily          pilgrimage, as if he returns here to assuage his guilt.          He rests his head on the wooden railing of the porch, for a          moment it looks as if he's about to cry.          VOICE (O.S.)          (from inside the cabin;          creepy and ethereal)          Matthew...          Matthew's head snaps up. He's almost certain he imagined it,          just like he's been imagining many things these days.          VOICE (O.S.) (CONT'D)          Math...ewwww...                         MATTHEW          Who's there?          Matthew walks cautiously into the cabin.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 70.          73 INT. CABIN - DAY 73           But there is no one in sight. Matthew looks around from side           to side, his eyes wide, filled with madness... . and then, he           hears it again.           VOICE (O.S.)           Math...eeeeeee... . you...           It's coming from upstairs - Matthew sprints up.          74 INT. CABIN, UPSTAIRS - DAY 74          Matthew, wild-eyed and panicked, gets to the top of the          steps. He takes a heavy breath and then moves into the lone          bedroom. seconds later he comes out, obviously empty.                         MATTHEW                         (SCREAMS)          Where are you?!          Barely a second later, he receives his answer.          VOICE (O.S.)          Matthew...          This time, it's definitely coming from downstairs. Matthew          glances down the staircase. When he sees that nobody is          waiting at the bottom, he heads down there.          But once his foot touches the third step, the board gives out          as Matthew crashes down the steps, ass-over-tea kettle.          75 INT. CABIN - DAY 75          MATTHEW'S POV: His vision is completely blurry. He          struggles to get his bearings as he lays at the bottom of the          stairs; the side of his head rests on the floor. A thin          line of blood has already started to run down his cheek.          Matthew's vision starts to come back into focus as a BLURRY          IMAGE starts to move away from him. As the IMAGE gets          further away - it comes into focus - JENNIFER          We see her now, wounds healed, only the faintest hint of the           beating and trauma she went through.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 71.          Matthew grunts and groans as he tries to get up--                         MATTHEW                         (STAMMERS)          I... I knew you were alive. I knew it.          Jennifer turns to him now.                         JENNIFER          How do you know, Matthew?          Matthew props himself up with his hands and manages to get          into a sitting position.                         MATTHEW          Huh?                         JENNIFER          How do you know I'm alive? Are you          sure you're'not dreaming again?           Matthew shakes his head quickly from side to side. He's not          sure of anything any more.                         MATTHEW          I...am I dreaming?          Jennifer pats the couch next to her.                         JENNIFER          Come here. Come sit down.          Matthew staggers to his feet. He's overcome with emotion.                         MATTHEW          I... I... need to tell...          Jennifer holds a single finger to her lips.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 72.                         JENNIFER          Shh... it's all okay, Matthew. I          know that none of this was your          fault. You tried to help me.                         MATTHEW          I did... I really did.                         JENNIFER          I know that, Matthew. Now come.          Matthew sits down next to Jennifer. It's almost as if some          force is controlling him. Matthew looks into her eyes.          He leans forwards and rests his head in Jennifer's lap. He           finally lets himself go, like a child having a meltdown.                         MATTHEW                         (SOBBING)          I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.                         JENNIFER          (stroking his head)          Shh...I know. I know you are.          Matthew's so caught up in the moment, that he fails to notice          A ROPE from the tool shed with a good SLIT KNOT being snaked          around his neck.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          But tell me again, Matthew. I want          to hear how sorry you are.          Matthew's eyes fly open. Jennifer's hands jerk backwards.          The rope digs into his flesh. He tries to speak but his          windpipe can't produce any sound.          Matthew rolls to the floor, Jennifer never loses her grasp.          She stands over Matthew, twisting the rope as hard as she          can. His eyes bulge, the veins in his face protrude--          Realizing he's about to slip away forever, Matthew displays          one last burst of strength but Jennifer uses her leverage to          get her foot on his chest and pulls harder.          Frightened and furious, Matthew whips Jennifer around again.          But she refuses to let go.                                                                                                              ISOXG PINK 10/29/09 73.          Finally, Matthew's body has had enough. He feet stop kicking          and just twitch. Then he just gasps like a fish dying out of          water.          Jennifer bends over Matthew. She's only inches from his          face. He's alive, but in terrible shape.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          (whispers in his ear)          Tell me again...          CLOSE ON: Matthew's mouth. He can't actually speak; his          voice box shattered. But he mouths the words.                         MATTHEW                         (STRUGGLING)          I'm sorry.                         JENNIFER          I'm sorry? That's just not good          enough.          She pulls the slip knot around his neck again and begins to                         CHOKE HIM--                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Now I want you to cry like a little          girl for me.          Matthew begins to wail.          A75 EXT. CABIN, DAY A75           Matthews screams echoes out through woods, but his, much like           Jennifer, go unheard.                          DISSOLVE TO:          B75 EXT. WOODS. NIGHT B75           Silence. A full moon hangs low in the night sky, casting an           eerie glow over the entire area. A sense of calm restored.                          DISSOLVE TO:          C75 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - NIGHT C75           Jennifer walks into focus -           We see her now, wounds healed, only the faintest hint of the          beating and trauma she went through.                                                                                                               ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 73A.          But in her eyes --- her eyes still tell the whole story. This            is no longer the Jennifer we've known. She looks down.            ANGLE ON: A BIBLE, the old moldy one from the dilapidated            shack. It rests on the windowsill - opened to a passage.           CZrO$E ON: Exodus 21:23-25: .And if any mischief follow,            than thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for            tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning,            wound for wound, stripe for stripe..           Jennifer looks up.                           JENNIFER            Forgive me father, for I will sin.           76 EST. HENDERSONVILLE RIVER - DAY 76          Andy and Stanley make their way to the falls. They carry          flashlights, but they're turned off as day has broken.          Stanley shovels pork rinds into his mouth, and offers some to          Andy. They are tired, weary, and you get the sense they have          been looking all night.                         STANLEY          You want some? My last bag.                         ANDY          No, get that shit out of my face.                         STANLEY          What's your problem?                         ANDY          I'm tired, I'm hungry--                         STANLEY          I offered you--                         ANDY          I don't want that shit. I want          real food, I want my bed, I want          this bullshit to be over.                         STANLEY          Well the sooner we find Matthew...                          ANDY          Yeah, that's right. The sooner we          find Matthew what?                                                                                                              Zgeum uPau1 noA op q 'qM                         XSUNVIS          'SEL 60/6Z/01 XNId JXOSI                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 74.                         ANDY          Ain't it obvious? We drag that homo           back to the sheriff, he's a dead          man.                         STANLEY          So what? Better him than me.                         ANDY                         (ANGRILY)          You kept the tape! We're all          getting heat for your stupidity!                         (BEAT)          Now let's just split up and get          this over with.          They both separate. Stanley heads around into the woods,          Andy heads the other way.          77 EXT. HENDERSONVILLE RIVER, WOODS - DAY 77          We're with Stanley as he walks further into the woods, his          eyes scan in all directions... but there is nothing there.          78 EXT. HENDERSONVILLE RIVER, WATERLINE - DAY 78          We're with Andy as he walks the waterline.                         ANDY          Matthew?!          Then, Andy notices an uneven ripple in the water. He thinks          nothing of it... until it happens again.          This catches his eye. Slowly he makes his way over. The          water has calmed now, but still, Andy has a sense that          something is not right.                         ANDY (CONT'D)          Matthew!          As he gets close to the water - he now sees his reflection...          He squints his eyes trying to get a better look at what is          beneath the surface --          WHOOSH! SOMETHING runs right behind his back - the entire          reflection caught in the water --          Andy spins around - as he staggers into the water - no one is          there... nothing.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 74A.          just the calm breeze through the trees -- but then a small          outcrop of bushes rustle as if something just moved through.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 75.          Andy calms - then makes his way over with purpose-                         ANDY (CONT'D)          Only making it worse for yourself,          Matt.          Andy picks up his pace as he nears the tree line - right          where he saw the movement.          Out of the corner of his eye, he sees another branch swinging          unnaturally. He races over--          CLOSER: He can actually hear breathing - it's getting louder-                         ANDY (CONT'D)          Matthew?-          STANLEY JUMPS OUT--                         STANLEY          Boo!                         ANDY          Jesus! You bastard!          Stanley laughs so hard he starts to cough -- Just as they're          about to continue on - the sound of a harmonica breaks          through. The same eerie tune.                         ANDY (CONT'D)          What the--?                         STANLEY          Prick's playing your song.          He looks at Stanley.                         ANDY          The hell with the Sheriff, I'm          gonna kill him myself... MATTHEW!!          79 EXT. WOODS - DAY 79          Andy and Stanley run through the woods, trying to find the          source of the sound.                         ANDY          You're ass is grass Matthew!!           Branches and leaves fly by as Andy barrels through the          foliage. Stanley tries to keep up, but it's no use.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 76.          The SOUND changes direction - they look off to see SOMEONE          flash through the trees.                         ANDY (CONT'D)          There he is. That way!                         STANLEY          Matthew! You're a dead man!          They race off after the sound.          80 EXT. WOODS - DAY 80           They continue on - Stanley doesn't look too good.                         ANDY          Don't you pass out on me. I ain't          dragging your ass back.          Suddenly, the tune stops. Andy stops in his tracks, trying          to figure out which way to proceed. Suddenly, Stanley hears          another sound. Crying.                         STANLEY          Hear that?          They're off again. About fifty yards away, hidden behind the          trees, is the SHACK. Something slips around the side of the          structure. Stanley immediately spots what he thinks is          Matthew.                         STANLEY (CONT'D)          Matthew!                         ANDY          He's in there all right.                         STANLEY          Good, cause he's coming out in pieces.          Andy races ahead leaving Stanley trying to catch his breath          behind him.          81 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY 81          Andy enters. The shack appears as we first saw it, only now          there are remnants of recent life.                         ANDY          Matthew! Where the fuck are you!                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 77.          Under the table is a pile of filthy old clothes. It almost          looks like... a makeshift pillow.          He picks up a moldy tin can which once contained some          preserved meal. He tosses it to the ground.          82 EXT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY 82           Stanley waddles out the back of the shack. He stops. About          twenty yards away and sees JENNIFER leaning against a tree.                         STANLEY          Why you little bitch...          Stanley races over - Just as Stanley gets close - SNAP!! A          hidden BEAR TRAP clamps down on Stanley's leg - the pain is          intense as he screams out - He staggers backwards and falls          to the ground in agony                         STANLEY (CONT'D)          Oh, God! Oh, my fucking God!          ON ANDY: As he exits the Shack to see Stanley on the ground          writhing in pain.                         STANLEY (CONT'D)          Please! Andy! My fucking leg!          Andy races over to assist him. As he offers Stanley his          hand, he notices Stanley's eyes catching a glimpse of someone          behind him. But as soon as he turns, the wooden BAT, the one          from the fishing hole, catches him flush across the face!          He's down and before Stanley knows it she cracks him in the          back of the head.                         TO BLACK:          BACK IN ON:          83 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY 83           Andy's eyes flicker open. He sees a hand wrapping a rusty            wire around the contact of an old car battery. Then he looks            up and sees a bare light bulb flicker on.           He's draped lengthwise over a horse trough so his torso is          completely over the basin. His arms and legs are secured          with ropes.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 77A.          Suddenly, the sound of RUSHING WATER from inside the trough.          Andy looks down. A dirty hose hangs over the mouth of the          trough. Brown water flows from it... Filling it.                         ANDY                         (PAINED SCREAMS)          Help! Somebody! Help me!                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 78.          His nose and face are busted - it hurts to scream.          With the trough filling up quickly, Andy realizes it won't be          long until the water is above his head.          He cranes his neck upwards. After all, were he to stay face          down, he would drown -- just like Jennifer would've.          84 EXT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE DAY 84          STANLEY'S POV: It's Jennifer and in her hand is his video          camera.                         JENNIFER          I know. You like to watch. Don't          you. Don't you worry, I'll give           you quite a show.          She sets the camera on top of a tri-pod right in front of his          face, frames up and hits record. She looks up to him.          Stanley's arms are tied behind a tree, his head is held in          position, duct tapped back against the tree.          His legs are anchored to the ground. The bloody mangled one          still in the bear trap that bites and gnaws at his leg with          every move.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Since you like to watch.          She flips the monitor of the camera toward him just like he          did to her.          She stands in front of Stanley's face. Stanley wants to say          something but his pain is too intense.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)           Can't talk, can you? Well, maybe          it's because you're hungry.          Jennifer goes to grabs something behind her.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          You know, you have to eat some real          nasty shit out here to stay alive.                         STANLEY          Bbbb... bitch! Let me go!          She grabs his nose and pulls open his mouth shoving a MAGGOT          INFESTED RODENT into his mouth.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 79.                         JENNIFER          What's wrong, you don't like it? I          prefer the maggots to the meat.          Jennifer site down next to Stanley. She glances over to the          monitor to see what he is looking at. Then she reaches over          and into a burlap sack.          Stanley stares straight ahead, at the monitor in front of          him.          Jennifer reaches into the burlap bag and takes out a roll of          fishing line. Then she takes out a pack of fish hooks.          Stanley's eyes go wide.          Jennifer removes the hooks from their package. She holds one          between her thumb and forefinger and studies the barbed tip.          Smiling to herself, she threads the hooks with fishing line.                         STANLEY          Wh...what are you doing with that?                         JENNIFER                         (LAUGHS)          Oh... just some fishing. I know          how much you guys like to fish.          Finally, when she's finished, she scurries behind Stanley's          head. From behind him, she grabs his eyelid and pulls it          away from the eyeball itself.                         STANLEY          What are you.. Please don't...          Then she pops the hook through the lid and pulls the fishing          line back over his head.          Stanley screams something fierce as she continues to thread          his eyelid open, slowly, methodically, delivering as much          pain with every pull of the line, from one eye to the next.          His eyeballs bulge unnaturally, twitching wildly--          All Stanley can do is stare ahead and watch himself on the          monitor.                         JENNIFER          I'll be back before you have a          chance to blink.          Jennifer stands up and brushes herself off and walks to--          WITH ANDY: Jennifer comes over and slaps him in the head.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 80.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          How ya' doing sport?                         ANDY          Please... please... I can't...                         JENNIFER          Please? I thought, no, I'm pretty          sure you said something like          this...          Jennifer grabs a wad of his HAIR and SMASHES his face into                         THE WATER-                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Suck it bitch.          She pulls his head back up.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Does that ring any bells?          Jennifer gets real close to his ear--                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)                         SUCK--          She slams his head back down and holds it - then up--                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)                         IT--          She slams his head back down again and holds it then up--                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Bi tch.          She holds his head down for a very long time as his body          struggles - then up.           Andy gasps for breath as Stanley's screams get louder--                          JENNIFER (CONT'D)           I think Stanley's calling me. I'll           be right back. If you need me-           She walks off--                                                                                                               ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 81.          BACK TO STANLEY: Both eyelids hooked open, blood and tears          stream down his face, a gruesome sight.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Like the show so far?                         (BEAT)          Wait, it gets better.                         STANLEY          Please... Please... My eyes... I          can't take it anymore... please...                         JENNIFER          Let me help you.          Jennifer takes a slender knife from the bag. Working          quickly, Jennifer guts a FISH.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Here, this might feel better.          She leans in and smears the bloody fish guts onto Stanley's          eyeballs.                         STANLEY          85 TNT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY 85          The water has filled up the trough and is overflowing. Andy          struggles to lift his head up to draw a few quick breaths.          Jennifer climbs onto his back and GRABS his hair pulling his          head up.                         JENNIFER          Don't drown too soon.          Andy tries to buck her off, gasping for breath, buckling          under her added weight. Jennifer slams his head back into the          water, and then up again... then down as she holds it.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Hold it... hold it... hold it...          Then she pulls his head back up as Andy spits water all over.                         ANDY                         (CHOKING)          Fuck you... fuck you...                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 82.                         JENNIFER          Now is that any way to talk to a          lady?          And back down with his head - it is exhausting to watch.          WITH STANLEY: As a single CROW shows up by his head.          He tries to look at the bird to see what it is doing, but he          can't move.          ON THE MONITOR: The CROW has jumped onto Stanley's head -          looking at his eyes -- It begins to peck at them. Stanley          SCREAMS!                         ON ANDY:          Andy continues to struggle. A few seconds later, Jennifer          returns, carrying a large bucket.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          I'm impressed. You got a lot of          fight in you. Let's see how you do          now.          Jennifer brings forth the bucket.                         ANDY          Wha-- what is that?                         JENNIFER          oh, just some lye I found laying          around.                         ANDY          Jesus, please, what the - no!          Jennifer pours the lye into the bucket - the fumes make Andy          gag. But he holds his neck up as long as he can - he does          not want to put his face down.          Jennifer come around in front of him.                         JENNIFER          Let's see how long you can keep          that pretty little face of yours.          Andy strains to keep his head faced at her.                         ANDY          Fuck you.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 83.                         JENNIFER          You already did that. I didn't          enjoy it much. Now it's my turn to          fuck you.          Andy's neck is straining to keep his head out.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          That's an awfully big head you got.          Your neck must be getting tired.          Every vein in his neck now bulges. Andy's eyes start to          water with tears.                         ANDY                         (STRAINED)          Please...                         JENNIFER          Andy?                         ANDY          Wh--what...                         JENNIFER          Fuck you.          Andy's neck gives out dunking his head in the lye bath. He          writhes with pain as he lifts it back out - BEET RED and                         BURNING--                         ANDY          Ahhhhhhh!!!          Jennifer laughs and walks out of the shack as Andy gasps,          chokes and spits for his life as-          STANLEY'S head is covered in crows.          86 EXT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DUSK 86          The crows jump all over pecking at Stanley's eyes, his cheeks          - he is a bloody mess as he lets out a final guttural scream!          A86 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DUSK A86          Andy's body continues to writhe in pain. With yet another          burst of strength he lifts his head out of the lye-bath          revealing a face burnt red, puffy, oozing puss, skin flaking          off and his eyes are a ghastly, milky white, pussy, and          bloody.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 83A.          Finally his body stops convulsing. His head and midsection          drop into the water. Blood seeps up the surface from his          mouth.          B86 EXT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY B86          Stanley is dead. His one eye stares straight ahead. Where the          other one should be, blood has poured all the way to the          ground.          C86 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY C86          Andy is dead.          EXT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - NIGHT          The house is quiet now. A light bulb flickers from inside.          B87 INT. SERVICE STATION - MORNING B87          Johnny site at his desk, a phone planted to his ear.                         JOHNNY          .since when? Since last night...          No Sheriff, I ain't heard from 'em.          Johnny notices something in his small surveillance TV.          ANGLE ON TV: A truck pulls up to the station, a hot woman in          a skimpy outfit gets out of the truck. She pops the hood          obscuring her once she does.          Johnny sits up in his seat.                         JOHNNY (CONT'D)          Look, like I said, as soon as          dipshit or fuckface show up or call          in, I'll let you know. ASAP. Now I          got a customer.          Johnny hangs up and walks out of the station.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 84.          87 EXT. SERVICE STATION - MORNING 87          A truck is parked at the pump. Its hood is up and a woman          leans over the engine. Her ass is perfectly framed in a          tight miniskirt, from which two, long flawless legs descend          into a pair of blood-red high heels.          Johnny walks over to her, wiping his hands on his bandana as          the woman shimmies her hips, almost inviting him to approach          her. And Johnny, being Johnny, doesn't need much.          Johnny is close enough to touch her. He snickers a bit,          never taking his eyes off her ass.                         JOHNNY          Can I fill it up for you, ma'am?          The woman wears sunglasses and slowly turns to Johnny.          Johnny takes a long look from bottom to top - and when he          gets to her face - it registers - but before he can do          anything, Jennifer swings a tire iron and catches him right          across the jaw.          A handful of teeth, ejected by a spurt of fresh blood as          Johnny falls face-first into the ground.          88 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY 88          Johnny is buck-naked. His hands are tied tightly together          and pulled above his head, running through an eye hook that          has been screwed into one of the shack's wooden beams. His          eyes flicker.          Jennifer walks up to him, right to his face.          JENNIFER (O.S.)          It's date night.          Johnny cranes his neck and twists his body to see who's there          as Jennifer walks out of the shadows. She saunters up to          Johnny.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Your mouth doesn't look so good.          Maybe you should--          With a massive TUG she pulls back on the bridle that bites          into his raw, bloody mouth.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 84A.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)                         (SEDUCTIVELY)          --Show me your teeth.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 85.                         JOHNNY                         FTHUCKKK YOU--          He grunts out a hellacious scream as his body bucks wildly.                         JENNIFER          Oooh, you're an ornery stallion,          aren't you?          Jennifer tilts her head and looks at him, as you would a          fascinating piece of art.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Guess I'm gonna have to tame you.                         JOHNNY          Bithh...          With a bunch of teeth missing, Johnny's lisp is pronounced.          Jennifer saunters around him seductively. She removes          something from behind her back and brings forth a rusty pair          of pliers.          Jennifer steps closer.                         JENNIFER          Oh, that's the problem. You still          have some teeth left. We're gonna          have to fix that.          Jennifer clamps the.pliers down tightly on Johnny's tooth.          He tries to move but between the bridle cutting into his          mouth and the pressure on the tooth, it's sheer agony.          Jennifer jerks her hand from side to side, squeezing the          tooth as hard as she can in the pliers. Finally, the root          breaks free of the pulp and Johnny's tooth is extracted.          Johnny flails around in severe agony.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Save your strength. You got a few          more races to run.          Johnny screams something unholy. Jennifer holds the tooth up          in the air and inspects it.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          I have to admit, I didn't think it          went that far down.          Jennifer sticks the pliers in again, latching it onto another          tooth.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 86.          Johnny's eyes bulge with fear as he kicks and screams pulling          his shackles taut --          Jennifer rips down on the pliers - her face is splattered          with blood as the tooth comes free.          Jennifer discards the tooth and goes right back--                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)                         PLEATH--          As Jennifer begins to extract yet another tooth, Johnny's          weary body convulses in so much pain that he actually pisses          himself.                         JOHNNY          Pleath...for the loth oth thod,                         JENNIFER          That's disgusting. Even your boys          didn't piss themselves. Be a man,          will you?!          Jennifer takes the bridle and yanks Johnny's around, the pain          is so bad he can hardly fight. He grimaces and spits out a          mouthful of blood at her.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Now that's not gonna get you a          sugar cube.                         (BEAT)          Aw... what's the matter Show Horse?          I thought that's how you liked it?          No teeth... right?                         JOHNNY          Justh kill me. Kill me you bith.                         JENNIFER          We'll get to that.          Jennifer pulls out a gun.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)                         (SING SONG)          Look who's here. My boyfriend.          Remember him?          She takes the gun and caresses it across his face, his chin,          and then she SHOVES it in and out of his mouth.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 87.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Give him a kiss.                         (BEAT)          Like you really mean it.          Johnny finds renewed strength and starts to buck and writhe.          ABOVE: The eye hook is starting to pull loose.          With every touch of motion, white-hot pain courses through          Johnny's body.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Breathe through your nose. It          helps. You know, like it was your          first time.          Johnny's body flails with all his might as-          ABOVE: The eye hook loosens a bit more--                         JOHNNY                         (SPITTING BLOOD)                         WHORE--                         JENNIFER          I hear sometimes a stallion can get          a little headstrong. They don't          want to be trained... refuse to be          broken...                         (BEAT)          But everyone has their breaking          point, don't they?                         (BEAT)          You just have to find it. There's          a way to break any animal. Do you          know how they do that with horses?          Do you, Johnny? I do.          She walks away from Johnny and picks up the rusted old          gardening sheer.          She walks back to Johnny, menacingly slicing the sheer          open... closed.. And again...                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          You slice off every ounce of their          foul manhood.          She slices it closed again.          As Jennifer closes in, the look in Johnny's face says it all.          But there is simply nothing he can do about it.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 88.          Jennifer gets even closer, looking at Johnny's eyes as she          reaches down towards his penis--                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          You geld them.          SLICE! - Johnny's eyes rolls back as he SCREAMS!!!!          She holds the piece of limp, pink flesh in her hand.          Despite everything he's been through, this brings forth an          entirely new level of pain. He screams and bucks as the          EYEHOOK continues to loosen.          Jennifer bends down for a moment, bringing something up from          the floor. She comes back to a screaming Johnny as she--          SHOVES HIS CASTRATED PENIS INTO HIS MOUTH.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          No teeth show horse... no teeth.          Johnny flails with all his might, screaming, spitting as--          ABOVE: The eye hook finally gives way. Johnny's tied hands          come crashing down directly on top of Jennifer.          Jennifer goes flying with a bloody enraged Johnny now free as          he grabs and claws after her.          Jennifer desperately kicks and scratches to get away from          this hideous, blood-soaked monster - but Johnny grabs hold          onto her leg - he drags her closer as she loses her grip--          With one solid kick, Jennifer connects with Johnny in the          face - he sprawls out from pain - as she gets up and races          out the door - Slamming it closed as she exits. She leans up          against it holding it closed.          89 EXT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY 89          Within seconds the door is kicked at, banged at, punched at -          Johnny screams wildly from inside as-- Jennifer holds it shut          with all her strength.          Slowly the cries and banging fade until there is nothing but          silence.          Slowly she slides down on her bottom... exhausted, spent and          completely devoid of all emotion.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 89.          90 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY 90           HIGH ANGLE on Johnny. His lifeless body lays on the floor           surrounded by a pool of blood.          91 INT. SQUAD CAR - DAY 91           Sheriff Storch drives through town. He scans each side of           the street. His phone rings.          He picks it up and answers it.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Hi, honey.          MRS. STORCH          What's wrong?                         SHERIFF STORCH          Nothing, why?          92 INT. SHERIFF STORCH'S HOUSE - DAY(INTERCUT W/ABOVE) 92          MRS. STORCH          Why? Because I can hear it in your          voice, that's why.          Sheriff Storch laughs. She knows him too well.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Long day, that's all.          MRS. STORCH (ON SCREEN)          Well, perk up. Chastity's new          teacher is here.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Mrs. Novick?          MRS. STORCH          No, for the honors program. Do you          remember anything?                         SHERIFF STORCH          Oh yeah, okay.          MRS. STORCH          Yeah, just moved here from the          city.                         (MORE)                                                                                                               ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 89A.          MRS. STARCH (CONT'D)          Said she's going around meeting all          her students' families. I think          it's nice.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 90.          Sheriff Storch GRUNTS. He doesn't find it so nice.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Well, I'll be home when I can.          Busy today. if I don't make it,          send her my regards.          Sheriff Storch ends the call.          Two seconds later the phone rings again. He looks at it,          annoyed, answers.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          I said I'd be there as soon as --                         CHASTITY          Hey daddy! Where are you?                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (ANNOYED)          I already told your mother,          Chastity. I'm working. I'll do my          best to get home.                         CHASTITY          But I really want you to meet my          new teacher. She is way cool.          Sheriff Storch rolls his eyes.                         CHASTITY (CONT'D)           Here, just say hi.           Chastity hands the phone over to - JENNIFER HILLS - who is          sitting comfortably on the sofa next to Chastity, her hand          embracing the little girl.                                                    JENNIFER          Howdy, Sheriff.                          SHERIFF STORCH          Hi. It's truly an honor to speak          with you Miss...                         JENNIFER          Hills. Jennifer Hills.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 91.          Sheriff Storch's face contorts upon hearing the name.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Excuse me?                         JENNIFER          I have to tell you, it's really          been a pleasure meeting your          family. You have a wonderful          daughter with a bright and          promising future.                         SHERIFF STORCH          What the fuck do you think you're          doing!--                         JENNIFER          We'll see you soon, Sheriff.                         SHERIFF STORCH          No - wait--          But the call ends.          SHERIFF STORCH (CONT'D)          Chastity! ... Chastity!          Sheriff Storch throws the phone to the ground and slams on          the gas.          93 EXT. SHERIFF STORCH'S HOUSE - DAY 93          The squad car screeches to a stop right in front of Sheriff          Storch's house.          Hearing the commotion, Mrs. Storch walks out onto the porch.          She's almost knocked to the ground as her husband comes          barreling up the steps.          MRS. STORCH          What is --          Sheriff Storch grabs his wife's shoulders.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Chastity, where is she?!          Mrs. Storch has absolutely no idea what is going on. In her          mind, their daughter couldn't be in better hands.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 91A.          MRS. STORCH          What -- she... she went to Hansen          Park with Miss Hills.                         (MORE)                                                                                                               ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 92.          MRS. STORCH (CONT'D)          She wanted to get to know her          students in the program before the          year started.          Sheriff Storch lets go of his wife.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Goddamnit!          MRS. STORCH                         (GROWING CONCERN)          Who is she? Who is this woman?          He turns and runs back to his squad car, gets inside, and          pulls away even faster than he came.          94 EXT. PARK - DAY 94          The squad car skids to a stop on the grass of the park. It's          a modest recreation area that has seen better days.          Sheriff Storch jumps out of the car, still leaving it          running, and sprints into the park.          A few feet away, an empty swing blows gently in the breeze.          The metal brackets screech loudly with every movement.          Sheriff Storch spins around in circles, a maelstrom of          confusion. He looks around frantically for anything that          will give him a clue as to the whereabouts of his daughter.          95 INT. SQUAD CAR - DAY 95           Sheriff Storch gets back inside. He immediately picks up the          CB. But just as he opens his mouth to speak, lie glances in          the rearview mirror. His eyes meet Jennifer's.          Before he can turn, Jennifer pistol whips him in the temple.          He falls forward, his head smacking into the steering wheel.          The HONKING of the horn echoes throughout the empty park.          96 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DUSK 96          Sheriff Storch comes to. Blood trickles down from the side of          his head.          He's bent over the table, pants at his ankles. His SHOTGUN          propped up behind him with the barrel inserted into his ass.          With every move, a scorching pain courses through his body.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 93.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Ahhhhhh!          Jennifer walks over to the table and rests her elbow on it.          Sheriff Storch speaks through gritted teeth.                         JENNIFER          Does that hurt? Come on, I thought          you were an ass man, Sheriff.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Where is she, you bitch?          Jennifer slams the gun deeper. The Sheriff's body goes stiff.          The Sheriff screams again.                         JENNIFER          I'd be careful how you speak to me          at the moment, Sheriff. (BEAT)          By "she," I assume you mean your          daughter?                         SHERIFF STORCH          What'd you do to her?                         JENNIFER          She really is lovely, Sheriff. So          young. So sweet. I mean, can you          imagine?                         SHERIFF STORCH          Imagine what?                         JENNIFER          Imagine if someone had done this to          her.          Jennifer walks behind the Sheriff. She wraps her fingers          around the barrel of the gun and shoves it in, deeper.          The Sheriff's expression is one of unbridled agony. Jennifer          continues to sodomize him with the shotgun.                         JENNIFER (CONT'D)          Someone like Andy?                         (HARDER)          Or Stanley?                         (AND HARDER)          Or Johnny?          (and even harder)          Or more likely you, you sick perverted          fuck.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 94.          97 EXT. TOWN ROAD - DUSK 97          Two squad cars, SIRENS BLARING, speed down the road.          98 TNT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DUSK 98          Jennifer as she takes a spool of fishing line and walks          straight across the room.                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (FRANTIC)          Please, she's just an innocent girl.                         JENNIFER          So was I.          She gets to the corner of the room where a hulking figure          site tied up in a burlap sack. Jennifer removes it revealing          a dead MATTHEW... or is he?          She ties the line to Matthews wrist. The other end is tied          onto the shotgun's trigger.                         SHERIFF STORCH                         (DESPERATE)          You're not going to get away.                         JENNIFER          Neither are you.          99 EXT. DIRT ROAD - DUSK 99          The SQUAD CARS pull off and park as the DEPUTIES grab guns          and race off into the woods.          100 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DUSK 100          Matthew stirs a bit as he starts to come to.                         JENNIFER          He'll be waking up soon. If I were          you, I'd tell him not to move.                         SHERIFF STORCH          (pained to talk)          I'm begging you. Don't do this.          We can figure something out.          Matthew stirs again.                                                                                                               ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 95.                         JENNIFER          Sorry, Sheriff...          She leans in close to his face.                          JENNIFER (CONT'D)            "It was fun while it lasted".           101 EXT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DUSK 101          The Deputies converge on the SHACK, guns drawn.          102 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DUSK 102          Sheriff Storch tries to wriggle free - but every move he          makes is the most painful experience imaginable.          Matthew continues to stir awake, his eyes flutter open.                         SHERIFF STORCH          Matthew don't!--          But it's too late - a startled Matthew jumps back--                         MATTHEW          --Sheriff!          BANQ/// Matthew is splattered with blood, and body parts.          103 EXT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DUSK 103          The Deputies react as the gun shot rings out through the          area. They KICK the door in to see--          104 INT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DUSK 104          Matthew's crouched in a ball on the floor, covered in blood,          the Sheriff, blood sprayed across the table, eyes wide open,          DEAD.          105 EXT. WOODS - DUSK 105          Jennifer walks off as the sounds of the last remnants of the          echoing gunshot fade into nothing. Jennifer doesn't miss a          beat. She continues to walk off.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 95A.          106 EXT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DUSK 106          The cops drag a blood soaked Matthew out of the cabin. He is          a disturbed, psychotic, babbling mess.                                                                                                              ISOYG PINK 10/29/09 96.          A106 EXT. WOODS - DUSK A106          Jennifer turns to the dilapidated shack. in the distance she          sees the officers escorting a handcuffed Matthew out.          SLOW MOTION: As Matthew is wildly kicking and screaming in a          furious panic. The Officers try to subdue him.          Jennifer just stares, devoid of emotion. Then, after a          minute, she turns and continues to walk off into the woods.          ON JENNIFER: As she continues to walk away - and then - as          she continue closer to CAMERA - the smallest hint of a wry          smile - nearly imperceptible, but it's there, creeps across          her face.                         SMASH OUT:
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+                     I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER                                   Written by                                 Trey Callaway	FADE IN:	TITLE SEQUENCE:1	INT. BOSTON - OLD NORTH CHURCH - DAY	The setting sun backlights a series of abstract colored images. Holy	images of STAINED GLASS and lead.	FOOTSTEPS ECHO across the marble floor.	REVEAL - JULIE JAMES	A little older, a little wiser, yet still very pretty, no doubt. But	she's all alone in the house of the Lord.	And those doleful eyes of hers clearly telegraph a very heavy burden	still rests upon her soul.	She reluctantly walks past the rows of empty pews toward a curtained	CONFESSIONAL BOOTH.2	INT. CONFESSIONAL BOOTH - DAY	Julie slides the drapes shut behind her as she enters, kneeling before	the CLOSED SCREEN. A beat -- and the SCREEN SLIDES OPEN.	A PRIEST	enters the adjacent booth -- barely visible through the WICKER MESH.	Julie looks down, crosses herself, and begins.					JULIE			Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.				(a beat)			It's been a year since my last			confession...	Julie swallows hard. This is difficult for her.					JULIE (cont'd)			I've never told anyone this. Not my			mom, not the poice, not even my			friends -- except for the ones who			were there and they...well they're			not around anymore. You see I...I...					PRIEST			Yes?					JULIE			I killed a man. Well, I thought I			had...then...	She balks at the memory of it. The priest bows his head in the shadows	of the other side.					JULIE (cont'd)				(emotional)			You've got to understand...It was			all an accident. A terrible accident.			It's been a whole year. I've tried to			get past this, but I just can't.					PRIEST			Go on...					JULIE			I have these dreams...horrible			dreams. And this man is always there			with me.					PRIEST				(reassuring)			I know...					JULIE			You see, he was a killer. He			murdered Helen and Barry, and he			would have killed me too, if I			hadn't...gotten away with it.				(regathering)			I don't know, I guess I just need to			deal with the fear, the guilt...to			finally say his name. Ben Willis. His			name was Ben Willis...	The confession is cathartic for Julie. She looks relieved until,					PRIEST			I know...	Julie stops. Looks through the screen. A chill shoots through her	body.					JULIE			You know? But how could you...	Clouds of icy steam shoot through the partition. Julie moves closer to	the screen, trying to get a better look.					PRIEST				(growls)			I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER!!!	A STEEL HOOK	smashes through the screen right in Julie's face! She SCREAMS!									SMASH CUT TO:3	INT. COLLEDGE LECTURE HALL - DAY	Still screaming -- Julie jumps back, seemingly knocked out of her	chair. She fights the unseen demon.	Sitting beside her, Julie's friend WILL BENSON reacts. He's a good-	looking kid in a shy, humble kind of way. And he tries to help her,	but she's too busy turning ten shades of red.	The PROFESSOR lowers his glasses, makes it even worse.					PROFESSOR			Nice to see you find Political			Science so stimulating --	The lecture hall erupts with laughter.					JULIE			I'm sorry --	Julie grabs her stuff and bolts.									CUT TO:4	EXT. CAMPUS - DAY	Julie explodes out of the building. Hurries down a sidewalk. Will	finally catches up.					WILL			Julie! Wait! You okay?					JULIE			I'm fine.					WILL			You sure?					JULIE			I'm fine.					WILL			You don't seem fine.	Julie realizes this is true.					JULIE			I had another dream, Will.	Will takes this seriously.					WILL			The shower again?					JULIE			It was in a church...it was so real.			I mean, I could feel his breath on me.					WILL				(caring)			I'm sorry.					JULIE			I thought I was over the dreams for			good. I really did. I hadn't had one			for months.					WILL			It just takes time, Julie. It's gonna			get better.					JULIE			It can't get worse. I mean, it's not			like this was the first time I			freaked out in class. I hardly ever			get a full night's sleep, my grades			suck, I'm this close from being thrown			out of school.	BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! EXPLOSIONS. Julie jumps out of her skin. It's just	STUDENTS letting off FIRECRACKERS as they fly past on bicycles.	Will and Julie are now thinking the same thing.					JULIE				(cont'd)			It was one year ago...					WILL			It's...the anniversary. That's what's			going on...Take it easy on yourself.					JULIE				(weary)			I'm trying. I really am...Sometimes I			don't even know why I came up here in			the first place.					WILL				(cheering her up)			To get out of Southport?					JULIE				(softens)			Right. Now I remember.	He smiles at her. She smiles back. They stop in front of her apartment	building.					JULIE (cont'd)			Are you getting out of town on the			fourth?					WILL			Nah. I'll probably just be here			studying for finals. The joys of			summer school...				(beat)			Are you okay?					JULIE			I'm okay.					WILL			Are you sure?	She touches his face affectionately.					JULIE			Thanks for the talk, Will. You're			good to me.	Will stands there akwardly --					WILL			Um...Okay. Bye.	Will walks away. Julie watches him a beat, then turns down her walk --	RAY	steps out of the shadows. Julie practically faints.					JULIE			Oh, my god, Ray. You scared me.	Recovering, she hugs Ray, genuinely glad to see him. He's a bit cold.					RAY			I got in early. I was excited...				(re: the receding Will)			Who was that guy?					JULIE			Oh, that's Will. He's a friend.			You'd like him.					RAY			Yeah.					JULIE			Ray, we're just friend.					RAY			Every guy in history who tried to			pick up a girl did the good-friend			thing first.					JULIE			Why are you being like this?	It should be obvious Ray feels insecure in the college environs, but	they're miscommunicating.					RAY			Hey, I'm sorry. You're right. Are			you ready to go? I've got the old			truck. You know the drill...Crab			boil at Ollie's. Croaker Queen			Pageant...It's only small-town fun,			but it's still nice. People really			miss you. I miss you.	She looks at Ray, his compassionate demeanor. This is hard to say --					JULIE				(softly, but resolved)			Ray, I can't...					RAY			Can't what?					JULIE			I just feel like some part of me			hasn't healed up enough to go back.			Like some critical piece is missing.			Please understand...	Ray is cold. This is what he's expected all along.					RAY			I understand something.					JULIE			It's not like that. It's not you.			It's me. My head. I want to go back.			I want to be with you. I want to be			fine. I want everything to be like			it used to be.				(beat)			It just isn't.	Ray is hurt and confused.					JULIE (cont'd)			Hey, why don't you stay up here?			They have fireworks over the river.			And...there's a million things to do.					RAY			I have to work, Julie. My boat's in			Southport, remember? But, I get it.			You need your space from Craokerland.			And maybe from me, too.	Ray starts walking away.					RAY (cont'd)			You know where to find me.					JULIE			Ray? Ray? At least come up for a			while.	Ray keeps on walking.					RAY			It's okay. I'm just gonna go.	Julie follows him out to the road. A group of LAUGHING STUDENTS block	her way.					JULIE			Ray, I'm sorry. I didn't mean...				(to herself)			I'm just scared...that's all.	But Ray is already gone. Julie stares after him a beat, then turns	quickly to her door. She clearly feels uncomfortable, exposed on the	walk alone. She nervously pulls her keys. A can of mace dangles from	the keychain.									CUT TO:5	EXT. JULIE'S APARTMENT - DAY	Students throw FRISBEE in the street. Ray walks to his old truck,	which is wedged between a new Sport Utility and a BMW.	He clambers into the front seat. He thinks. Then, digs into his pocket	and pulls out the unmistakable shape of an ENGAGEMENT RING BOX. He	throws it in the glove box, starts the truck and drives away.									CUT TO:6	INT. JULIE'S APARTMENT DOORWAY - DAY	Julie opens the door and steps inside. She locks three deadbolts. She	stands there, alone, listening to the SILENCE. She doesn't even have a	cat. A faucet DRIPS in the kitchen.6A	INT. JULIE'S KITCHEN - DAY	The faucet DRIPS. Julie turns the handle. No success. She checks the	lock on each window. She stands for a moment.	She picks up a bag of chips and eats a handful. She opens the fridge	and takes out a can of nacho cheese sauce. She grabs a soft drink and	a jar of bread-and-butter pickles. She gets some cookies from a shelf.	She thinks. Opens the freezer, pulls out some fat-free sorbet.	She takes the whole mess toward her bedroom.6B	INT. JULIE'S BEDROOM - DAY	She hits the light switch. A bedside light goes on. It's a sparsely	furnished room. The bed is pilled high with pillows. She checks the	windows, then climbs into bed with the food.	On the bedside table are pictures of family and friends. She looks at	one of Helen and Barry. She looks around the room. It's depressing.	Outside we hear young people having fun, slamming car doors, going	places. She picks at the food, then puts it on the table. She turns	off the bedside light and enjoys the golden late afternoon glow in the	room.									DISSOVE TO:6C	INT. JULIE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT	Julie, sound asleep, is curled into fetal position on the bed.	There's a CLICK in the front hall. And ANOTHER.	Julie's eyes shoot open. She listens. Another SOUND, almost like the	front door being CLOSED.	Her arm reaches for the bedside light. She hits the switch. The bulb	POPS.					JULIE				(whispers)			Okay. Okay. Face your fears...	She gets off the bed and stands still.					JULIE (cont'd)				(whisper)			There's nothing...	There's another NOISE down the hall.					JULIE (cont'd)				(whisper)			Quiet.	Julie silently scoots out of her bedroom toward the kitchen.6D	INT. JULIE'S KITCHEN - NIGHT	She gets a large KNIFE. She listens. It sounds like somone's in the	living room. She steps through the kitchen door.	As she moves we see a shadow pass the other way down the hallway	toward her bedroom.6E	INT. JULIE'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT	There's NO ONE there.					JULIE (cont'd)			Okay, calm down, imagination.	She relaxes until she sees that her front door is slightly AJAR, light	from the hallway slanting through.					JULIE (cont'd)			I can't take this anymore. I can't.	Holding the knife in front of her, she tiptoes to the hallway. There's	a soft RUSTLING coning from her bedroom. She gets a flashlight out of	a drawer and starts down the hallway.					JULIE (cont'd)				(fatalistic)			Let's just do it.	She moves faster toward her bedroom. she listens outside the doorway.	It sounds like someone's in the closet. She moves into the room.6F	INT. JULIE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT	There's a noise in the darkened closet. Julie moves into position.	She turns the flashlight ON and lunges for the closet.	INT THE CLOSET	KARLA WILSON, 19, all grace and attitude, is on tiptoes reaching for a	box of shoes. She SCREAMS.	Julie SCREAMS. They both SCREAM together. Julie drops the knife and	flashlight.					KARLA			I thought you were out of town!					JULIE			What are you doing in my closet?	They hug, jumping up and down with relief.					KARLA			I thought you were out of town!					JULIE			What are you doing in my closet?					KARLA			i just wanted your black pants, but			I'm not ready to die for them!	Julie turns on the light in the hallway. Karla has her shoes in her	hand and black pants draped over her arm.					JULIE			That was heart attack time, Karla.					KARLA			No. When I put these skinny pants on			my body...Now, that's heart attack			time.	Karla looks down and sees the knife. She picks it up with two	fingers --					KARLA (cont'd)			And we're going to put away the			utensils and you're coming with me.	Julie flops down on her bed.					JULIE			I'm not going anywhere. I'm fat,			ugly, and depressed.					KARLA			Yeah, right -- whatever.					JULIE			I think I just really hurt Ray's			feelings.					KARLA				(keeping it upbeat)			Listen to me, Julie. Ray's a great			guy, nothing against old Ray, but			he's so...Ray. I mean, he lives in			Southport. Will's a nice guy, too,			and he lives right down the street.	Karla picks up the flashlight and goes into the closet.					JULIE			There's nothing between Will and me.					KARLA (V.O.)			Yet. Nothing yet.	She emerges with clothes for Julie. Holds up one outfit.					KARLA (cont'd)			What we gotta do is keep moving. No			time to mope. I'm working at the			club tonight. And you, dancing queen,			are coming with me.					JULIE			No I'm not.	Karla holds up another dress for Julie -- strapless, sexy, the one.					KARLA			Fine, then be fat, ugly, and			depressed.	Karla is dancing around. Julie laughs at her friend and takes the	dress when Karla hands it to her.									CUT TO:7	INT. THE CLUB - NIGHT	It's a hopping college joint: crowded, loud MUSIC, a dance floor, and	rivers of cheap booze.	AT THE BAR	Julie sits next to Karla as she waits for her drink order.	A handsome young man slides in front of them. This is TYRELL MARTIN,	23, handsome, no pretention, a little dangerous, with a killer smile.					TYRELL			You know what I want to do to you			...right now, don't you? There's			gotta be somewhere we can be alone.					KARLA				(playful)			I don't think so. It's pretty			crowded.					TYRELL			Just for a minute, baby. I got			something I wanna tell you.	He's looking for a dark corner or a storeroom or something.					KARLA				(teasing)			If you can say all you gotta say			in a minute then I don't wanna hear			it.					TYRELL			I'll talk real slow.	He's kissing her ear. She starts to giggle.	The bartender sets down drinks on Karla's tray.					KARLA				(re: Julie)			Ask her to dance.	Tyrell hesitates.					KARLA (cont'd)			Go on.	Karla cuts away through the crowd, delivering drinks. Tyrell turns to	Julie.					TYRELL			You're the most beautiful woman			in the bar tonight, Jules.					JULIE			Tyrell, you are an unstoppable			force of nature.					TYRELL			That's right. It's how the species			survives. You'll never convince me			otherwise.				(beat)			Wanna dance?	Karla passes by --					KARLA			Say yes.					JULIE			No.					KARLA			No means yes.					JULIE			Tyrell, I appreciate it, but have			you seen my people dance? We make			the mouth face, we move the			fingers --					TYRELL				(heading for the floor)			Worse comes to worse, you can stand			there and watch me.					KARLA			Come on, I'll take a break and			we'll all dance.7A	INT. THE CLUB - DANCE FLOOR - NIGHT	is packed and thumping. Karla is dancing her way through the crowd.	Tyrell and Julie follow behind her.	Karla sees Will. He's dressed up and nervous. She smiles.					KARLA (cont'd)			Whaddayou know? Will Benson lookin'			fine.					JULIE				(suspicious, but				having fun)			Karla! Did you tell him I'd be here?					KARLA			Nope. I told him that you			absolutely, positively would not be			here at this bar between ten o'clock			and eleven o'clock tonight. And then			he came anyway.					WILL				(shy to a fault)			This was not my idea.					JULIE			What?					WILL			I said, this...Do you want a drink?	Will looks down at his feet. He and Julie stand there not quite	knowing what to do.					TYRELL			Where I come from, you want to			snatch the goodies, you got to at			least talk to them first.	Tyrell and Karla go for it on the dance floor, leaving Will and Julie	alone. They look at each other. They look at everyone dancing.					WILL			How about a drink?	Will is a few steps ahead as they move for the bar. Julie seems to be	relaxing, having a good time. Then, she looks up into the balcony and	sees, in a strobe light's FLASH --	SOMEONE IN A SLICKER	watching her intently. She squints for a better look, but he's gone.					WILL				(yelling over the din)			You okay?	She's chalk white and crestfallen. Her whole affect is "Will I ever	have a normal time?" She drifts amay toward the stairs to the balcony.					WILL (cont'd)			Hey Julie?	Will catches Karla and Tyrell's eyes. They're worried.7B	INT. THE CLUB - STAIRCASE - NIGHT	Julie catches another glimps of THE SLICKER.	She pushes her way through the crowd up the stairs.7C	INT. THE CLUB - BALCONY - NIGHT	Julie looks all around -- finally spotting the MAN IN THE SLICKER from	behind, making his way to the other side.	He slices through a crowd of students, and Julie keeps following. He	turns down a service corridor.	Julie follows, frightened, but unable to resist.	She catches him at the end of the corridor. She reaches out and grabs	the stranger's arm.					JULIE			Ben...	The stranger turns around. It's only a club kid in a tacky vinyl	raincoat and hat. She's shaken.					SLICKER GUY			Hye, baby. You following me up			here?				(a come-on)			Well, all right.	Julie turns away and hurries down the hallway. Todd follows, but his	figure quickly fades.									CUT TO:8	INT. JULIE'S APARTMENT - DAY	With morning sun filtering through her blinds, Julie wakes up to the	strange sound of THUMPING. She gets out of bed and slowly exits the	room.8A	INT. JULIE'S HALLWAY TO KITCHEN - DAY	The noise gets louder as she heads down the hall.	ANGLE ON A CLOSET	The noise is at its loudest -- Julie reaches for a doorknob -- and	yanks open the door.	ANGLE ON A CLOTHES DRYER	rocking and banging inside the closet. Julie frowns.	Julie spins, once again startled by Karla, who crosses to the dryer,	flipping open the lid and then jumping back to catch the shoes as they	pop out on the fly.					JULIE				(still sleepy)			That could break the machine.					KARLA			Julie, people who end up making			rules like that end up beating			their kids with wire hangers. It's			a fact.	The phone RINGS. Karla looks at her watch.					KARLA (cont'd)			It's Tyrell.					JULIE				(resigned)			The number's unlisted...					KARLA			Would you relax? We've been dating			three months. He ain't stalking			your butt.					JULIE			Okay, okay. You're right.					KARLA			I know it, and it feels good.				(answering the phone)			Hi, Ty.	A DJ for a local radio station BOOMS from the phone.					MARK (V.O.)			This is Mark in the Morning for			Magic 96.7 Radio Station! Who am I			speaking with?	Julie watches her friend get excited.					KARLA			Mark in the Morning! Magic 96.7! Oh			my God! I'm Karla. Karla Wilson.				(to Julie)			Jules, it's Mark in the Morning.					MARK (V.O.)			Well, Karla, what're you doin' at			home over the long fourth weekend?					KARLA			Well, I'm in school and --					MARK (V.O.)			How'd you like to win a Magic 96.7			Quicky Getaway?					KARLA			Yes!	Julie hits the SPEAKERPHONE BUTTON and Karla hangs up. The DJ's voice	echos through the appartment.					MARK (V.O.)			Good, then I hope you remember your			geography, Karla, because all you			have to do to win is tell me the			capital of Brazil.	Karla's smile abruptly fades.					KARLA				(into phone)			Brazil? Um...	She looks to Julie, whose face is as blank as hers.					KARLA (cont'd)			You don't know?! You have to know.			You know everything...					MARK			C'mon, Karla, one easy question,			one great getaway!					JULIE				(shrugs)			...South America...Carnival...					MARK (V.O.)			Karla, we need an answer. No			looking it up.					KARLA			Still here...thinking...				(stalling)			You mean Brazil, the country?					MARK (V.O.)			Okay, Karla, five seconds.				(counting down)			Five...Four...	Julie has an idea. She scramles for the kitchen. Grabs a BAG OF FRESH-	GROUND COFFEE from the FREEZER.					MARK (cont'd, V.O.)			Three...Two...	Julie tosses the bag across the room to Karla. Karla reads the label:	RIO BLEND -- 100% BRAZILIAN COFFEE.					KARLA				(blurting)			Rio de Janeiro!					MARK (V.O.)			Oh, no...Did you say Rio?					KARLA				(wincing)			No. Yes?	BELLS and WHISTLES and triumphant MUSIC.					MARK (V.O.)			You just won Magic 96.7's Quickie			Getaway...a trip for four to Tower			Bay Island in the fabulous Bahamas.	Karla and Julie jump up and down ecstatically.					KARLA			Waaaaahhhhhhhhhh!					MARK (V.O.)			We'll call you back with all the			details...So what's your favorite			radio station?					KARLA AND JULIE			Magic 96.7!	Julie hangs up and joins Karla dancing on the couch.					KARLA			I won. I won...I won, I won, I won.				(teasing)			Now, let's see...There's Tyrell,			that's one. And, there's my parents			...And I got some cousins.				(beat)			Okay, Julie, you can come, but Mark			said four tickets. That means you			gotta get yourself a date.	Julie thinks, she seems torn.									CUT TO:9	EXT. SOUTHPORT DOCKS - DAY	A SMALL MOUND OF RED SNAPPER is DUMPED -- wiggling and suffocating its	way across the deck of a fishing boat.	WE PULL AWAY TO REVEAL it's RAY who's just done the dumping. A	coworker, DAVE, friendly, playful, and down-to-earth, calls out from	the dock --					DAVE			Hey, Ray...phone!	Ray takes the phone.	WE INTERCUT.					JULIE			Hi.	Ray is happy to hear her voice, but cautious.					RAY				(beat)			Hey. I'm really glad you called...			I'm sorry.					JULIE				(compassoinate)			No, you don't have to be sorry. I'm			the one --					RAY			No, I shouldn't have left so fast...			I was just...					JULIE			It's okay.	Dave holds up two wriggling snappers. He dances them toward each other	in a puppetlike mating ritual, making KISSING SOUNDS and narrating --					DAVE				(as the fish)			Julie, I love you. I know I'm only a			humble fish, but if you really look			at it, you're a fish, too.				(girl voice)			Oh, Ray, you're right...Do me like a			snapper.				(mashing the fish together)			Hey, something smells like fish...	Ray waves him away, concentrating on his call.					JULIE			Ray, Karla won a trip to the Bahamas!			An island called Tower Bay. And she			wants us to come with her.					RAY			What? The Bahamas? You're kidding.	Dave's interest is piqued.					JULIE			We'd have a long weekend just to sit			in the sun, drink fruity drinks, and			swim, and...				(sexy)			You know...					RAY			This weekend?	Dave is watching Ray closely. Ray's expression hardens.					RAY				(hurt)			You'll go away with you're college			friends, but you won't go away with			me?					DAVE			Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.	Karla is watching Julie.					JULIE			It's not you, it's Southport. And			it's the Bahamas! And it's free!	Karla is watching Julie.					KARLA			You gotta sell his butt on the			Bahamas?					JULIE			Ray, come on. I want us to be			together.	Ray thinks. Dave looks at him like he's crazy.					RAY				(can't give in)			Julie, we're working a big run up			here. It's been crazy. We probably			have to go out again tonight. I			don't think I can do it.					JULIE			Will you try...for me, please?	Dave moves one of the fish like it's been shot through the heart.					RAY			Okay, I'll try. But, listen...				(martyrlike)			If I don't make it up, then you go			ahead and have a great time.					JULIE			Ray...please try. I really miss you.				(beat)			Okay. Bye.	She hangs up and Karla sits next to her.					KARLA			That boy has got fish on the brain.				(sensitive)			Hey, cheer up, Charlie.				(singing a rumba)			We're going to the Bahamas. Bahama			Mama, yeah...10	EXT. SOUTHPORT DOCKS - DAY	Ray is staring unhappily at the little pile of snapper. Dave is	staring at him in disbelief.					DAVE			Man, what is your problem? We			haven't caught anything for days.			Pull the big ugly stick out of			your butt. She asked you to go to			the Bahamas! Man, you gotta go.			We'll both drive up. I got friends			I can see up there.	Ray realizes how right he is.					RAY			Stupid. Stupid.					DAVE			Stupid. What were you thinkng?	Ray looks at Dave a contemplative beat, then walks over to his truck.	He leans in the passenger side and pulls out the engagement ring box.	Dave walks over.					RAY			You wanna see what I've been			thinking?	He holds up the box and slowly opens it. Dave is stunned.					DAVE			Jeez, Ray, fourth and forty, throw			the bomb.					RAY			I should go up there. I should call			her back, tell her I'm coming.					DAVE			No way, man. Surprise her. She'll be			psyched.	Ray is excited by the plan and Dave's right there with him.									DISSOLVE TO:11	EXT. COUNTRY HIGHWAY - NIGHT	We stare out at a rain-soaked stretch of road.	A PICKUP ROARS past, cruising along with its RADIO loud and windows	rolled down.12	INT. RAY'S PICKUP - NIGHT	The music's even LOUDER in here. The mood is high...Two buddies going	to propose to a girl. Dave adjusts the radio to another AM station --					DAVE			Man, I love AM radio. You got			right-wing conspiracy, tips for			pregnant womem, Single-A baseball			games, and real country music...			None of that new crap...	He adjusts the dial again, tuning in a country song, "MAMAS, DON'T LET	YOUR BABIES GROW UP TO BE COWBOYS," by Waylon Jennings and Willie	Nelson.	Dave starts singing along, extra LOUD and out of tune.					DAVE (cont'd)				(singing)			"...Mamas, don't let your babies grow			up to be cowboys, don't let 'em pick			guitars and drive them old trucks. Let			'em be doctors and lawyers and such."	Ray looks at his goofy friend singing and starts to get a little happy	himself...	Then, Ray sees something in the road ahead. He turns down the radio.	They both stare --	RAY'S POV: A CAR TURNED SIDEWAYS	its HAZARDS blinking.	Ray slows and creeps past the car. The driver's door is open. It	appears EMPTY.	A BODY	is sprawled out in the road away from the car. Ray pulls over to the	shoulder and stops.					DAVE				(nervous)			I don't know, man. Maybe we should			keep going, find a phone --					RAY			No.					DAVE			The guy looks dead.	Ray has seen this before --					RAY			Maybe not.	He throws open his door.12A	EXT. ROADWAY - NIGHT	Ray steps from his truck. Looks back at the empty car, then turns	toward the body.					RAY				(nervous)			Hey! Buddy, what's up?	The body doesn't move.	BEHIND RAY	and behind Dave, in the other car, a FIGURE IN A SLICKER sits up in	the back seat and gets out of the car.	Ray continues toward the body.	RAYS POV - BODY	FACE DOWN -- WEARING A BLACK RAIN SLICKER.	Ray moves closer to the all to familiar image.	BEHIND RAY	SLICKER FIGURE moves toward the unsuspecting Dave.12B	INT. RAY'S PICKUP - NIGHT	Dave watches Ray in the road. He leans across the seat and rolls up	Ray's window.	Behind him, the SLICKER FIGURE gets closer, moving to the passenger	side of the truck.12C	EXT. MEDIAN - NIGHT	Ray nears the body. He kneels down.					RAY			Hey, can you hear me?	Ray reaches toward the body...12D	INT. RAY'S PICKUP - NIGHT	Something FLASHES IN THE SIDE-VIEW MIRROR.12E	EXT. ROAD - NIGHT	Ray turns over the body. Something isn't right. Ray jumps back --	CLOSE - SLICKER MANNEQUIN	Its eerie smile mocking Ray who turns for the truck.					RAY			DAVE!12F	EXT. TRUCK - NIGHT	Dave hears something. He turns to late. SPLLAATTT!!! THE FISHERMAN	jams his hook through Dave's jaw and skull and YANKS DAVE OUT OF THE	CAR WINDOW.					RAY			...Dave?	There's no answer from dead Dave. Ray tries to see around the	headlights. He moves slowly toward the truck.	The BRIGHTS and FOGS come on, blinding Ray. The truck's engine REVS.	The truck rolls a few inches, adjusting a bead on Ray.	Then, tires spinning, the truck launches straight at Ray.	Ray runs at the truck. AT THE LAST MINUTE, he ducks behind the parked	car.	HIS TRUCK goes SCREAMING past.	Ray backs around the car --	AN EIGHTEEN-WHEELER	goes barreling by in the other direction. Ray dives out of the way.	IN THE ROAD	Ray is exposed. He sees his truck closing fast. He's got nowhere to	go. Then, at the very last second,	RAY	jumps off the edge of the road. His TRUCK SLAMS INTO THE BARRIER RIGHT	WHERE RAY WAS STANDING. SPARKS FLY! METAL BUCKLES!	Ray falls through the air. Lands hard on his leg. Tumbles down the	hill, finally stopping with a crash. He lies motionless at the bottom	of a ravine.									FADE OUT:13	EXT. JULIE'S APARTMENT - DAY	Karla exits the building. She watches Julie sitting on the curb.	A truck turns onto the street. Julie looks hopeful, but -- it's not	Ray.	Karla approaches her friend.					KARLA			Girl, it's gettin' down to the wire.	Julie turns.					JULIE			He's not coming. I thought he was			just...					KARLA			Julie, you left four messages...			Four.					JULIE			But, he said he'd try.					KARLA			He said he'd try. Try is like maybe.			Try is nothing!					JULIE				(appoligizing for him)			He does work hard.					KARLA			Work hard, huh? He's breaking your			heart just because he can.				(hesitant)			And I don't want to have to say I			told you so...					JULIE			Then, don't.	A Jeep Cherokee stops, and an ebullient Tyrell steps out wearing	shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.					TYRELL			Hey, baby, we gonna get tropical or			we gonna get tropical?	The passenger door opens and Will Benson steps hesitantly around the	Jeep.					JULIE			Oh!					KARLA				(re: Will)			Hey, sorry...				(quick, playing it off)			He's my friend, too. And that ticket			is not going to waste.	Will reads Julie's expression.					WILL			Julie, is everything cool? Karla			said...					KARLA			I said we start having fun. And that			means now.	Julie takes a last look up the street. She stands.					TYRELL			Is there a problem here?					KARLA			Where there's a Will, there's a			way. Come on.					JULIE				(deciding)			You know what? This rocks. We're			going to the Bahamas!	Will is relieved.					KARLA				(getting into the spirit)			We goin' Bahamas, I'm Ty's Bahama			Mama. We goin' Bahamas...	She bops over to Tyrell.									CUT TO:14	EXT. MIDAIR - DAY	A wide-body jet SCREAMS through the clouds.15	INT. PLANE - DAY	A nearly empty jet. Karla has her head on Tyrell's shoulder. Julie is	reading a book.	Will's knuckles are white from gripping the armrests in fear, and his	eyes are clenched shut. Julie looks on with concern.					JULIE			Just take deep breaths and think of			something happy from childhood.					WILL			What if I don't have anything happy			from childhood...Sorry, I can't relax			going five hundred miles an hour, or			four thousand, four hundred feet a			minute...				(calculating)			Which is over seven hundred feet a			second. Imagine hitting something at			seven hundred feet a second.					JULIE			Deep breaths --					WILL				(no deep breaths)			Fumes build up in the fuel tanks.			You can by surface-to-air missiles			over the internet. Planes use			O-rings...which freeze in tap water.			Planes fall from the sky for			practically no reason at all.					JULIE			You've got a better chance of			getting hit by lightning.					WILL			Right. Planes get hit by lightning.			They get hit by meteors. They hit			other planes.	Tyrell shakes his head.					TYRELL				(exasperated)			Something is gonna hit your butt if			you don't quit complaining.					KARLA				(sypathetic)			Honey, some folks just can't fly.	Will doesn't move, frozen with fear of flying, but more closely bonded	with the concerned Julie.									CUT TO:16	EXT. OCEAN VISTA - DAY	Establishing. A Board of Tourism kind of shot. Blue water. Green	islands. Golden sun. Puffy clouds.	A BOAT CHUGS by with the words "Tower Bay" painted on the side.	Tyrell THROWS UP over the side.17	EXT. FERRY - DAY	More of a small tub than a ferry. Julie, Karla, Will, and Tyrell are	the only passengers.	At the bow, Julie and Karla laugh and play "King of the World." Julie	in the prow, Karla behind her.					JULIE				(deadpan)			I'm the King of the World.					KARLA				(deadpan)			No, I'm the King of the World.	They switch places. They look at each other and crack up laughing.	Karla takes in the surroundings, the salt spray, the day --					KARLA			Remind me to study real hard so			someday this is normal and all that			back there is somethin' I do for a			weekend once every ten years.					JULIE				(sharing the moment)			I will, and you remind me of the same			thing.	They throws their arms around each other and stare into the horizon.	AT THE STERN	Will talks to a very green Tyrell.					WILL			You just gotta breathe.	Tyrell is trying to keep from puking --					TYRELL			Can't talk right now.					WILL				(slightly malicious)			See, it's not a macho thing. It's			about equilibrium in your inner ear.			You could've used a patch, but it's			too late now. Get used to it.				(then)			Some folks just can't sail.	PAULSEN, the BOAT CAPTAIN, overhears as he passes --					PAULSEN			That's too bad, too, because it's the			only way on or off the island.				(slightly ominous)			Unless you have an accident. And then			they call the Coast Guard.	Julie and Karla have rejoined the men.					JULIE			It's pretty remote here.					PAULSEN				(smiles)			Yep. That's what the tourists pay for			-- sun, sea, and solitude.					TYRELL			Are we there yet?					PAULSEN			Few more minutes.	We move off the boat and REVEAL the island. The intrepid vacationers	excitedly take in the island.									CUT TO:18	EXT. TOWER BAY - DAY	Establishing. An isolated tropical paradise with jungle growing to the	beach.19	EXT. RESORT DOCK - DAY	The ferry pulls in to a canopied dock. A white-sand beach stretches in	every direction. Beautiful tourists stroll about without a care in the	world.	Tyrell stamps his feet on the dock.					TYRELL			I feel like I'm still on that thing.	A dockhand, DERRICK, glides past him toward the ladies.					DERRICK			That way for a complimentary Planter's			Punch to get you readjusted.					TYRELL				(mile-wide smile)			I can get used to this.	Derrick reaches for Julie's hand, clearly checking her out in the	process.					DERRICK			Welcome, Fair Princess, to Tower Bay.				(a wink)			I'm Derrick. At your service for the			duration of your stay.	Julie smiles politely. Will gently nudges her on. They walk away.					PAULSEN				(to Derrick, mocking)			I'm at your service, Princess.					DERRICK				(shrugs)			Season's over old man. So I gotta			work fast.					PAULSEN			If Marine Radio's right about the			weather, you're already out of time.	He hangs a SIGN at the end of the gangplank. It reads: LAST DEPARTING	FERRY -- LINE FORMS HERE.	Our guys are already at the end of the dock.									CUT TO:20	EXT. TOWER BAY HOTEL - DAY	Establishing. An opulent, Carribean-style hacienda resort with all the	accoutrements.	The main building is two stories high with a tiled roof. A bell tower	rises from one side. And, of course, it is surounded on all sides by	suffocating fooliage.	Julie and Karla take in the beauty of the resort.					KARLA			Check it out.	TOW BIKINI GIRLS	catch the eyes of Tyrell and Will.					TYRELL			Yes, ma'am.	Karla THWACKS him on the back of the head, but they're all having fun.	The path widens. The trees part. It's even nicer up close. They walk	across a tiled plaza.	Behind them, THREE YOUNG GUYS carry their GIRLFRIENDS piggyback,	racing each other toward the departure dock.	Our two arriving couples move on toward the entrace, passing a FENCED	TENNIS COURT on the left. A GLASS-PANED ORCHID HOUSE straight ahead.	And, on the right,	A LUSH POOL with a built-in JACUZZI in the shallow end. An outdoor	THATCHED ROOF BAR stands nearby -- and just beyonk it, a small POOL	HOUSE.	A guy's unintelligible RASTA VOICE calls out --					RASTA VOICE			Anybudorsomethin'?	They turn to see TITUS, white guy, dreads, full-Rasta demeanor. He's a	phony, but sincere about it.	Titus approaches Tyrell --					TITUS			My brother, can I interest you in the			islands finest ganja?					WILL				(teasing)			Hey, Tyrell, we found you brother.					TYRELL				(wry)			Not possible.					TITUS				(undetered)			Who be wantin' the kind, the uber-			sticky, the Bwana, The depth-charge,			the Up-All-Night-Laughing-With-Your-			Friends? Who wants it? 'Cause Titus got			it.					WILL			No, thanks.					TITUS			Come on, man. Everybody wants something.	Will and Tyrell walk on. Undetered, Titus goes up to Karla and Julie.					TITUS (cont'd)			How 'bout you, ladies? Lovely ladies.	Titus moves his hips.					TITUS (cont'd)				(lascivious)			Something I can do for you?	Karla looks him up and down, wrinkles her nose --					KARLA			Take a bath, maybe.					TITUS			That's cold, but if that's how you			want it.	The group moves on. Titus watches them go --					TITUS (cont'd)				(yelling after them)			Anybudorsomethin' you come and see me.	OMIT SCENE 21 & SCENE 22									CUT TO:A23	EXT. MAIN ENTRANCE - DAY	Around TWENTY TO THIRTY GUESTS ARE ON THEIR WAY OUT as Julie and the	others walk in. Julie smiles at an old PORTER helping the departing	guests with their bags. He doesn't smile back.23	INT. HOTEL LOBBY - DAY	The hotel is tastefully appointed with island decor. AN ORNATE METAL	STAIRCASE leads UP to the ROOMS -- and DOWN (AS THE SIGN SAYS) TO A	FITNESS CENTER.	In one direction, the foyer meets the entrance to a tropical	RESTAURANT/BAR. And in the other, A LOOBY LOUNGE is visible --	surrounded by four walls of BOOKS and HOTEL MEMORABILIA.	In a dark corner of the room, a uniformed MAID named OLGA dusts off a	massive WOODEN GLOBE.	Julie smiles at the woman on their way through the lobby, but Olga	shyly looks away.	Arriving at the FRONT DESK, the four of them find it deserted. They	wait patiently, then impatiently.	ANGLE ON A DESK BELL	as Karla slaps it with her palm. The bell RINGS for a long time then	fades into SILENCE.					KARLA			Hello? Hello?					JULIE			Where is everyone? I'll ask --	Julie turns to consult the maid.	ANGLE ON THE GLOBE	The big ball is spinning. But Olga is no longer in sight.	Tyrell heads toward a DOOR beside the counter with a sign which reads:	PRIVATE OFFICE.					TYRELL			I'll scare somebody up.	He grabs the knob and pulls the door open to...	RROWWWR? A PIT BULL ON A CHAIN JUMPS UP INTO HIS FACE -- its toothy	maw snapping shut about a half inch from his nose.					TYRELL (cont'd)			Whoa!	Julie and Karla laugh. Karla goes to hit the bell once more -- ONLY TO	HAVE HER HAND GRABBED IN THE PROCESS.	Karla gasps. Pulls away. We see the hand belongs to the hotel manager	-- BROOKS, balding, 40s, talks slowly, and seems to have secrets he	won't share with guests.					BROOKS			What can I do for you?					KARLA			Checking in...Karla Wilson.	Will saunters away to look at the books in the lobby.					BROOKS				(condescending)			Ah, yes. Roll out the red carpet.			Our contest winners are here at			last.	He scans a sheet as Tyrell stares at the pit bull.					TYRELL			Nice dog.					BROOKS			Not really. I've found peices of			guys like you in his stool.	Tyrell is put off by this aggressive comment.					TYRELL			What's your problem, buddy?					BROOKS				(innocent)			I don't have a problem in the world.					JULIE				(covering)			It sure is a beautiful old hotel.					BROOKS				(proud)			Built in 1948 for a member of the			Rockefeller clan. The tile work was			imported from Spain. A lot of history			in these walls...Judy Garland stayed			here...Hemmingway fished for marlin			right off that dock --					TYRELL			Okay, we get it...It's old.					BROOKS			It'll outlive you, I'm sure.	Creepy thing to say. Slides a registration form.					BROOKS (cont'd)			Wilson comma Karla...				(sees something on				the form)			Oh --					KARLA			Oh, what?	Brooks covers --					BROOKS			You're in 201 and 202.					KARLA				(expecting this)			Is that bad?					BROOKS				(lying)			Not at all. Those are our honeymoon			suites.	Tyrell wraps his arms around Karla. Julie looks uncomfortably towards	Will.					JULIE			Your what?					BROOKS			Honeymoon suites. I take it you kids			haven't exchanged vows, yet?					JULIE			We haven't exchanged anything.					KARLA			Julie, we're talkin' suites!				(excited)			That'll be just fine with us.					BROOKS			And, while you're here, our marginally			trained, off-season staff of five will			attend to your every need.					KARLA			Wait...Did you say off-season?					BROOKS			July fourth weekend. Storm season			starts today. The clouds roll in like			clockwork.					JULIE			Storm season?					BROOKS			It's our version of winter.				(hands over the keys)			201 and 202. There's Scrabble and			Parcheesi in the lobby. Enjoy.	And Brooks turns away through the office door. They walk toward their	rooms. Will catches up with them.									CUT TO:24	INT. HOTEL HALLWAY - DAY	They walk down the hallway. Karla seems annoyed.					KARLA			Ain't nothin' free in this world.			Everybody says it, and it's true.				(dissapointed)			I wanted you all to have a good trip.					TYRELL			We will, baby...All this means is we			got the whole island to ourselves.					WILL			And it's been blue skies all day. It			might be perfect all weekend.					JULIE			It beets being on the mainland.					KARLA			Oooh, the mainland --					TYRELL			Somebody's gone tropical on us, baby.			Tropical!	The mood is improving. A SQUEEKING NOISE interupts.	A BRASS LUGGAGE CART has appeared behind them. And ESTES, 60s, the	weary Haitian porter, steps from behind it.					ESTES				(a Carribean accent)			201 and 202...Who put you in...?				(hesitant)			Don't use these much --					JULIE				(suspicious)			Why's that?	He sees their happy, expectant faces and changes the subject.					ESTES			No real reason.				(then)			Pretty fancy rooms for kids your age.					KARLA			We won a competition.					ESTES			Oh, yeah? What you have to do?					TYRELL			Guess the capital of Brazil --					KARLA			Rio, baby!					ESTES			Ahh, good for you, girl.				(waiting for a cue)			...And, where would you like me to			put the bags?	A beat as Julie and Karla exchange a look. Then, Karla tosses one of	the keys to Julie.					KARLA				(to Estes)			Their stuff in there...				(grabbing Tyrell)			...and ours in here.					JULIE			Karla! You promised.					KARLA				(looking at Tyrell)			I also promised Tyrell.					TYRELL			Promised me what, baby?				(joking around)			I made all my promises to William.	Tyrell makes fake goo-goo eyes at Will. Estes looks away.					TYRELL (cont'd)			Sweetie, you brought your nightie,			didn't you?					WILL			Forward! A girl needs time to make up			his mind.				(to Julie, thoughtful)			Julie, look, if it's cool, I'll sleep			on the couch and they can have their			own room to practice for that real			honeymoon.	But Tyrell grabs Karla and drags her into the room. We here GIGGLES.					WILL			I'll take those.					ESTES			No, I've been doing this since before			you were a dream in your father's eye.	Estes grabs the bags and takes them into the room. Julie and Will are	left staring at each other.					WILL			You sure it's okay with you?					JULIE				(noting his sweetness)			Sure. It's fine. As long as you don't			snore.					WILL			You can toss a shoe at me if it gets			out of hand.	She laughs and they go into the room.									CUT TO:25	INT. HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM - NIGHT	BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. Ray is hooked up to a heart monitor. Although he's	asleep, we can tell he's bruised and generally beaten up.	WE RACK to a DOCTOR checking on him through the glass.25A	INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT	We see a COP next to the doctor.					COP			He's beaten up pretty bad --					DOCTOR			Yes, but he seemed certain his friend			was killed out on the highway by			somebody named Ben Willis.				(hisitant)			He said he has a hook on his hand. He			said he was driving a BMW.	As the cop stares at him deadpan, the doctor realizes how rediculous	this must sound.25B	INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT	CLOSE UP: Ray's eyes pop open. He's listening.26	INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT	The cop explains things to the doctor.					COP			There's no body. And there was no			other vehical involved.				(beat)			He fell asleep at the wheel...and ran			his old truck into a guardrail. He got			thrown way the hell down into a ditch.			He's damn lucky.	They walk back down the ICU.					DOCTOR				(nodding)			He suffered a severe head trauma --					COP			Probably once he rests up, it'll all			come back to him.	The doctor and cop approach the nurse's station. The NURSE is reading	a magazine. She folds it away.	Suddenly, the monitoring equpment goes OFF with a series of LOUD	WARNINGS.					NURSE				(already moving)			That's your number twelve --	The doctor, nurse, and country cop hurry back toward Ray's room.					NURSE (cont'd)				(yelling)			Get me some help down here. We got a			flatline, room twelve.	THEIR POV - THROUGHT THE DOOR	The wires and monitors are unhooked and Ray is GONE.									CUT TO:27	INT. HOTEL BAR - NIGHT	A resort bar on the beach. Ocean breezes and surf SOUNDS come through	the window.	It's tiki galore, complete with a bamboo bar and fishing gear hanging	from decorative nets from the ceiling. There's a KARAOKE STAGE in the	corner.	Will and Tyrell enter and head straight to the bar. A bored bar	tender, NANCY, looks just like Jennifer Esposito, doesn't look up from	her paperback.					NANCY			You guys lost?					TYRELL				(re: the emptiness)			Tell me this ain't the bar scene.					NANCY			Wanna drink?					WILL			We didn't get all dressed up for			nothing.					TYRELL			Planter's Punch, Singapore Sling, or			how about a Mai-Tai?					NANCY			How about some ID?	They freeze.					NANCY (cont'd)			Kidding.	They nod.					WILL			The guy at the desk said the place would			be quiet, not dead.					NANCY			Didn't anyone tell you this is --					TYRELL			The last day of the season. Yeah, we			heard.					WILL			So why are you still here?					NANCY			That's none of your business.	Tyrell sizes her up quickly.					TYRELL			What's the matter, boy trouble?					NANCY			Not anymore.					TYRELL			He leave you?					NANCY			No. I shot him.	Will and Tyrell exchange a danger-Will-Robinson glance.					NANCY (cont'd)			What you want is a Dark and Stormy:			Vernon's rum, ginger beer, and a touch			of Tabasco. Sailors drink it for luck			in the hurricane season, trust me.	ACROSS THE BAR	Karla and Julie walk in talking quietly to one another.					JULIE			Am I bad? I mean, he's really great,			and he's cute --					KARLA			He's cute...And he's got a crush on			you...				(off Julie's look)			But...					JULIE				(appologetic)			I miss Ray...I tried to call him.	Karla looks at her. She's sincere, but firm.					KARLA			Ray made up his own mind...so, you're			free to make up yours.	Joining the men, but continuing her thought --					KARLA (cont'd)			For the next foury-eight hours...				(joking)			Your smile is a frown...turned upside			down.	She illustrates with her own big smile.					TYRELL			Pretty cool bar.					KARLA			They all start to look the same once			you've worked in one.				(to Nancy)			Am I right, sister?	Nancy reaches out a hand and they touch just the tips of their	fingers.					JULIE				(to Nancy)			I'm Julie. This is Karla.					NANCY			Nancy.				(sarcastic)			Welcome to Tower Bay's most happenin'			hotspot.	Nancy continues making their cocktails.	JULIE	backs into something, turns and gasps -- it's a statue of an OLD	WHALER, complete with HARPOON, WHITE BEARD, and YELLOW SLICKER.	She doesn't let Karla see that it upset her.	Nancy puts their drinks down in front of them.					NANCY			Four Dark and Stormies...	They all pick up their drinks.					KARLA				(toasting)			To a great weekend --					WILL			Yeah, a great weekend. Forget the			weather!					KARLA & JULIE			I'll drink to that!	They drink and toast again.					KARLA				(to Nancy)			So what do you do around here for fun?	Nancy looks straight at Will --					NANCY			Make fun of tourists mainly.				(beat)			Or let them make fun of themselves...	She flips a switch that lights the Karaoke stage.					KARLA			Karaoke -- perfect.					JULIE			Don't even think about it.					KARLA			Okay, I won't.	She's already heading for the stage.					TYRELL			Go baby! Go!	AT THE STAGE	CLOSE ON the karaoke machine. Karla flips through a binder full of	songs.					KARLA			Oh, this ain't for me, baby, this is			for somebody who really needs it.				(finds one)			Ah-hah! One single with extra cheese!					NANCY				(it's true)			Everyone thinks their a singer.					JULIE			No way.					KARLA			Yes.					JULIE			No.					KARLA			Yes.					JULIE			Not me...no way...					WILL			Come on, it'll be fun.					KARLA			Ladies and gentlemen, please put your			hands together for my friend, my very			best friend, Julie James.	But there will be no mercy.					KARLA, TYRELL, & WILL				(chanting in unison)			Ju-lie! Ju-lie! Ju-lie!	Reluctantly she goes to the song book. She sees something	particularily awful.					JULIE			You asked for it.				(to Tyrell)			Song number thirty-nine.	Tyrell nods and punches a few buttons. Julie takes the stage as sappy	strings begin to swell. She looks at the MONITOR, then	melodramatically at the crowd, and begins to sing -- no, BELT --	Gloria Gaynor's "I WILL SURVIVE."					JULIE (cont'd)				(singing)			First I was afraid...I was petrified...				(continues singing under)	Will stands, clapping. Tyrell pounds his chest. Karla flips up her	LIGHTER, swaying like a hard-core fan. And Julie continues, crooning	out the chorus as the beat kicks in and the gang begins to dance.					JULIE (cont'd)				(singing)			I will survive...I will survive...	ANGLE ON THE KARAOKE MONITOR	The schmaltzy lyrics keep scrolling by -- white against black. But	then...in the middle of the song...the color changes. RED CAPITAL\	LETTERS BEGIN TO FILL THE SCREEN.					JULIE (cont'd)				(singing --				then trailing off)			And I still know...what you did...			last summer...	Her voice trails. Her smile abruptly fades.	MICROPHONE	falls to the floor. The room echoes with an electronic WHUMP. Everyone	stops dancing, confused.	CLOSE - JULIE	trembling, shaking, a mess. Will jumps onstage.					WILL			Julie? What's wrong?					JULIE			It's...him.					WILL			What do you mean, Julie?					JULIE			He did something to the screen...it,			it, said...	Julie loos at the screen -- the normal lyrics are still scrolling. She	suddenly feels their eyes upon her. They're looking at her like she's	having a nervous breakdown.					JULIE (cont'd)			Nothing. Nothing, I'm sorry...	Stung, she rushes off the stage.					KARLA			Julie...	But it's to late. She's bolted from the bar.									CUT TO:28	INT. HOTEL - JULIE'S ROOM - NIGHT	Julie steps into her room. Closes the door behind her. She falls back	against it, trying to calm herself down.					JULIE			There's no way...just stop it right			now...	She looks around the cozy room.					JULIE (cont'd)			Closet. Bed. Bathroom. No need to panic.	Julie starts to undress, get ready for bed, the day of travel finally	catching up with her. She grabs something to sleep in. Tosses it on	the bed. And that's when she sees it,	CLOSE - ENVELOPE	propped on the pillows. Her name written across. She is frozen	momentarily.	Almost against her will, she moves toward the envelope. She reaches	down and picks it up.	She hesitates, then opens the envelope. She pulls out a SINGLE WHITE	CARD.	ANGLE ON THE CARD	In bold print it reads: SURPRISE!	DARKFIGURE	appears over Julie's shoulder. Julie can feel the presence. She spins,	scaring --	WILL	who YELLS and drops the flowers and champagne he was holding. The	bottle bursts and covers them with spray.					JULIE				(realizing)			Oh, Will! I'm sorry.					WILL			It's my fault. I shouldn't have...I			didn't think...	She grabs a TOWEL off the bathroom door, trying to help him clean up	the mess.					JULIE			No, no, no. This was really sweet...					WILL			I scared you -- I crossed the line --					JULIE			No -- it's not that. It's...I'm just a			little on edge. I'm really sorry.					WILL			Hey, you don't have to appologize to me.			I'm the one. I understand.				(covering the awkwardness)			I'm going to take a walk and dry off.					JULIE			Are you sure? I really appreciate it.	He picks up a rose. Most of its petals on the floor.					WILL			I just really like you and I want you to			feel good about everything...You know? I			want you to be happy.	He hands the rose to her. There's a moment between them. He	reluctantly heads for the door.									CUT TO:28A	EXT. HOTEL HALLWAY - NIGHT	Will looks down at his wet pants.					WILL				(soto)			Dork.	Passing Karla and Tyrell's room on his way down the hall, Will spots	the DO NOT DISTURB SIGN.	He hears an INCREDIBLE POUNDING from inside. He shakes his head and	mopes down the hall.									CUT TO:29	INT. HOTEL - KARLA AND TYRELL'S ROOM - NIGHT	Karla bounces playfully on their big bed as Tyrell crosses toward the	windows.					KARLA			Tha's it.				(bounce)			I've decided.				(bounce)			I'm changing my major to finance.				(bounce)			And going to Wall Street.					TYRELL			Why?					KARLA			'Cause that's the only way I'm ever			gonna be able to afford a big bed like			this.	She falls back against the plush comforter, looking up at herself in a	long MIRROR HANGING RIGHT OVER THE BED. Tyrell loves this and quickly	moves beside her in the bed. She lets him get real close, then she	jumps up --					KARLA (cont'd)			Jacuzzi.	Tyrell reaches for her, but she bounces off the bed.					TYRELL			Ah, baby, let's stay right here.	Karla pulls her suit out of a bag and models it seductively and	flirtatiously for Tyrell.					KARLA			I spent a hundred bucks on it...even if			it's just so you can pull it off.	Tyrell gets off the bed --					TYRELL			I like the sound of this.									CUT TO:30	EXT. HOTEL DOCKS - NIGHT	Derrick, the dockhand, whistles in the darkness as he coils the bow	rope of a service boat around a cleat on the dock.	Ominous shadows play all along the dock. Out on the water there's a	big SPLASH.	The dockhand rises, looking out at the water with a sigh.					DERRICK			Damn. I should've brought my pole.	He turns away. As he does, we see	THE END OF THE DOCK	where a sinister SLICKER FIGURE stands perfectly still, silhouetted by	moonlight.	Derrick paces down the dock the other way past a handfull of other	tied-off staff and service boats.	He picks up a hose and begins spraying down the hull of a Sunfish	sailboat.	He turns the hose off and begins coiling it, backing toward an	EQUIPMENT SHACK. Suddenly, a HAND touches him on the back. He jumps	and turns to see --	TITUS	standing there smoking a spliff.					DERRICK			Get lost, you scared me.					TITUS			Fish are all over the water...Come on,			let us take a boat out.					DERRICK			Titus, you're so stoned, you'd end up			in Spain.					TITUS			That's why you'll come with Titus, mon.	Derrick throws the hose in its place.					DERRICK			There's a storm comin', Titus. No boats			are going out.					TITUS			Storm is what makes it interesting.			Thass why all the fish are up. Less			hook us a couple big ones.	Derrick is now ignoring Titus.					DERRICK			I got work to do. Take the bake			elsewhere.					TITUS			Up-tighteous and self-righteous.	Titus glides away into the dark. Derrick watches him go. There's	another SPLASH in the water near the dock.	Derrick walks to where the splash was. He kneels down by the edge --	watching BUBBLES RISE from the dark water below.					DERRICK				(to the fish)			Hello, little sea bass. You're lucky			I'm busy or I'd hook you myself.	WE PUSH IN AS HIS FACE GETS CLOSER TO THE WATER --	AND THEN -- RISING SLOWLY FROM THE DARK WATER DIRECTLY BEHIND THE	DOCKHAND -- A SINISTER SLICKER.	Derrick hears A SPLASH -- and just in time for...	SPLAT! THE OLD HOOK IN THE EYE. THE FISHERMAN PULLS HIM DOWN. HE	SCREAMS -- BEN YANKS ON THE HOOK -- AND DERRICK'S CRUMPLED BODY FALLS	INTO THE WATER.	ANGLE ON THE WATER	as poor Derrick's BLOOD MIXES WITH BUBBLES...									CUT TO:31	EXT. POOL/JACUZZI - NIGHT	Bubbles of a different kind. The JACUZZI sits in an enclosure at the	shallow end of the SWIMMING POOL.	And enjoying its warmth, Karla and Tyrell are liplocked in the	churning tub. MUSIC plays on the boombox beside them.	The tempurature rises and Ty's hands begin to wander. Still clad in	her cute bikini, Karla pulls away --					KARLA			You sure you didn't pick up my hair			tie?					TYRELL				(rubbing his bald head)			Hello?					KARLA			Okay, I just didn't wanna get my			hair wet.					TYRELL			Baby, I finally got you alone in this			Jacuzzi and I don't wanna be discussin'			hair care.	She splashes him.					KARLA			Don't you get feisty...	Tyrell moves in for the kill. He won't take no for an answer.					TYRELL			Too late for that. We're miles from			anywhere, baby. No one's gonna hear			you scream.	He goes in for a serious kiss. Things start to heat up --					KARLA			I used to be a lifeguard...I'd hate to			have to blow my whistle.					TYRELL				(playful)			I'd hate for you to have to blow...your			whistle.	Tyrell is done talking. He pulls her over to him and the moment	becomes more passionate.	Karla opens her eyes in time to see --	TITUS	surface in the pool next to them.	Karla SCREAMS. And not just because it was a surprise. Titus looks	even uglier when he's wet.	Titus opens his mouth, reveals a smoking PHILLY BLUNT on the end of	his tounge.					TITUS			No water sports after midnight. Hotel			policy.	Titus eyes Karla in the Jacuzzi. Tyrell moves protectively in front of	her.					TYRELL			What's the policy on burnin' herb?					TITUS			We got one for that, too. It's don't			try until you buy.				(beat)			You don't buy any, you don't get any.	Titus blows a cloud of smoke on them both, rolls the joint back into	his mouth, and swims off. Tyrell is angry, but Karla pulls him back.	A dejected Will appears in his bathing suit, a towel over his arm.	Tyrell sees him coming.					TYRELL			There's ten people on this whole island			and they're all gonna end up in this			Jacuzzi with us.					WILL				(getting in)			How's the water?					TYRELL			Crowded.					KARLA			Ty!	Will slips into the water ignoring Tyrell's look.					WILL			Ahh, that feels great.					KARLA				(considerate)			How's Julie?					WILL			Alone. In the room.				(to Karla)			Got any advise?					TYRELL				(annoyed)			Yeah. Find another Jacuzzi.	Karla shoots Tyrell a look.					KARLA				(to Will)			Your not out yet, slugger. You gotta			just get back up there and keep			swingin'.									CUT TO:31A	EXT. JULIE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT	Ray is at a telephone booth up the street from Julie's apartment.	He looks exausted. Blood seeps through his shirt. He's in pain.					RAY			I need an international operator.									CUT TO:31B	INT. HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT	In the empty night lobby, behind the desk	THE TELEPHONE	RINGS and RINGS. We push in on the phone RINGING unanswered in the	night. Nobody is around to answer it.									CUT TO:32	INT. HOTEL - JULIE'S ROOM - NIGHT	The DOOR CREAKS OPEN once again to her room. And from a STRANGER'S POV	-- WE SLOWLY CREEP INSIDE.	A CLOUD OF STEAM billows from the open BATHROOM. THE SOUND OF A SHOWER	is heard. We MOVE TOWARD IT.	INT. SHOWER	Eyes closed, Julie stands with her face right under the showerhead,	trying to relax. Something softly goes THUMP.	Julie opens her eyes. Turns off the shower. Stands there, frozen,	listening.					JULIE				(calling out)			Will...?	No reply.	AT THE BATHROOM DOORWAY	In a robe with a towel on her head, Julie peeks into her room. Nobody	there. She sighs, and crosses back to the bathroom sink.	AT THE SINK	Julie looks to a spot where her toothbrush should be. She frowns.	Looks around. Some of her things are missing. She peers into the	fogged-up bathroom mirror.	She whips the TOWEL off her head and WIPES IT ACROSS THE MIRROR,	MAKING THE BEDROOM BEHIND HER VISIBLE.	Ready to spit, she looks down. AND IN THAT INSTANT -- WE SEE A SHADOWY	FIGURE PASS BEHIND HER IN THE BEDROOM. She looks back up...and HE'S	GONE. Julie turns on the water to rinse.	ANGLE ON THE BEDROOM DOOR	as it SLOWLY CREAKS SHUT, the SOUND DROWNED OUT by the SINK.	INT. BATHROOM	Julie turns off the water -- and KLUNK-KLUNK -- and NOISE at her door.	The sound STOPS.	INT. JULIE'S BEDROOM	She steps out of the bathroom, crossing toward the door.					JULIE			Will?	No answer. She peers through the PEEPHOLE.					JULIE (cont'd)			Is that you?	She unlocks and opens it. Nobody there.	Julie quickly closes the door and relocks it, her heart rate just	begining to rise again as...	KLUNK-KLUNK. She hears it again. Then, the sound STOPS. But standing	at the door -- she realizes that's not where it came from. Her eyes	immediately go to...	THE CLOSET	Damn. That's where it came from. She slowy pads across the room in her	slippers toward the door. Trembling...she reaches for the handle...AND	TUGS IT OPEN!	There's NOTHING. She stares a beat. DRIP DRIP DRIP.	She sees something on the floor of the closet. She touches a finger to	it.	IT'S BLOOD.	She looks up.	THE DOCKHAND	comes dropping down at her, dangling, enmeshed in barbed wire. He's	dying before our eyes. Blood bubbling from his mouth. His body	twitching.	Julie stares at the body. She's almost catatonic. She blinks. She	blinks again.	Suddenly, in DEATH CONVULSIONS, his arms fly toward her --	She SCREAMS --									CUT TO:33	EXT. POOL - JACUZZI - NIGHT	Karla and Tyrell are drying off beside Will as their hysterical friend	comes racing across the pool plaza.					JULIE			It's happening again! There's a body!	Will cathes her in his arms and she sobs uncontrollably.					WILL			What? What are you talking about?			Where?					JULIE			It's in my room!	They can see she's not fooling around.									BACK TO:34	INT. HOTEL - JULIE'S ROOM - NIGHT	Everyone is gathered in the center of Julie's room. Julie is held	tight by Will. Brooks, the hotel manager, conducts the investigation.	Brooks approaches the closet door. Julie holds her breath. He throws	it open. A long beat.					BROOKS			I don't find this at all funny.	Julie steps in -- stares into the empty closet. She can't believe her	eyes.	She searches their faces, looking for someone to believe her.					JULIE			There was a body! I swear it!					WILL				(delicately)			Julie, you said you were tired. Waybe			you were dreaming.					JULIE				(sharp)			I wasn't dreaming.					BROOKS			I knew you people were goining to be			trouble. I knew from the first time I			laid eyes on you.	Julie grabs Brooks by his robe.					JULIE			Listen to me. He's here.					BROOKS			Who? Who is here?	She doesn't know where to start. Nancy pokes her head around the door.					NANCY			What's going on?					TYRELL			Julie thinks there's a dead guy in the			closet.					NANCY			Cool.					TYRELL			The rest of us see bathrobes.					JULIE				(sharp)			I am not crazy, Tyrell. He was right			there.					TYRELL				(not taking it seriously)			Fine. Show me the body.	Will wanders over to the closet and checks it out.					KARLA			Think about this, Julie. What did you			actually see?					JULIE			The dockhand guy. Hanging by his neck			from up there.					BROOKS				(case closed)			In the morning we'll talk to Derrick, the			"dockhand guy," and put the whole thing			to rest.				(looks to Nancy)			Now, let's slow down on the Dark and			Stormies and get some sleep.					NANCY			Don't look at me --					JULIE			I want off this island.					BROOKS				(tired)			Not possible, I'm afraid. The last ferry			left hours ago. And we got a storm			coming. There won't be another one for			days.					TYRELL			There's a storm coming?					BROOKS			'Tis the season, like I told you. It's a			big one.	Julie goes for the phone.					JULIE			Then I'll call the mainland for a			charter.					BROOKS			Phones went down a few minutes ago.	She picks up the phone, listens, then dangles it from her hand.					JULIE			It's dead.	An exasperated Brooks heads for the door.					BROOKS			Duh. The next couple of days is gonna			be rough, but we'll make it.					KARLA			What about a radio?					BROOKS			Sorry. Emergencies only.					KARLA			What the hell would you call this?					BROOKS			I'd call this four spoiled city kids who			wouldn't know a hurricane if it blew up			their butts.				(beat)			All we can do now is batten down and ride			it out. If things get really bad, there's			a storm shelter.	And Brooks is gone. Outside the window, it starts to rain. There's a	CLAP of thunder.	JULIE	looks out the window with glazed-over eyes.35	EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT	And we PULL AWAY from Julie's face through the glass -- SLOWLY TILTING	above her room to another	TINY WINDOW	in the bell tower. A candle burns, and lighning flashes illuminate the	haggard face of Estes, the porter.									CUT TO:36	INT. HOTEL TOWER ROOM - NIGHT	It's a claustrophobic room. Estes turns away from the window,	shirtless in his uniform pants. A beaded cord hangs around his neck,	small fishhook dangling from it.	Beside the candle, he picks up a leather bag and dumps out a handful	of voodoo icons: roots, coins, sea glass, chicken's foot. He sets them	on a divination tray.	He opens vials and sprinkles powder and assorted liquids into a small	wooden bowl. He opens a drawer and extracts a toothbrush. He dips the	brush in the bowl -- covering its bristles with a sticky goo. He holds	the brush over the candle's flame. The old man watches it SIZZLE.	ESTES picks up	A STRAW FIGURE	and impales it on his fishhook necklace.	His eyes roll back in his head. He enters a trance.									DISSOLVE TO:37	INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR - NIGHT	Olga, the maid, pushes her laundry cart toward the end of a long,	dimly lit hall. She sees a pile of dirty linens outside of a room --	ROOM 228.	She stops, perplexed. There's nobody staying in this room. She picks	them up and stuff them in her cart. Then she knocks on the door.					OLGA			Housekeeping.				(beat)			Housekeeping.	She knocks again and notices her hand leaving bloody marks on the	door. She looks at her other hand. Her arms and hands are covered in	blood.	She turns back to the linens. Something bloody is wrapped inside of	them. She paws at the sheets, trying to unravel the mystery --	The door the Room 228 slowly cracks open. A STEEL HOOK reaches out and	slices into her apron. It tugs. She turns, and she starts to SCREAM,	she is yanked into the room.	A DO NOT DISTURB sign flips over the handle and the door SLAMS shut.	We hear her SCREAMS from inside.									CUT TO:38	EXT. PAWN SHOP - NIGHT	Establishing. Bars on the windows. Neon PAWN fickering. Hand-painted	sign reads: Se Habla Ingles.39	INT. PAWN SHOP - NIGHT	CLOSE ON AN ENGAGEMENT RING	Ray's engagement ring. The pawn shop owner, MAC, cowboy hat, knows his	job, holds it up to the viewing loop next to his eye.					MAC			Jeez, that's a full carat --					RAY			How much?					MAC			Well, there's some flaws in her...					RAY			How much?	Mac looks around his shop at the usual jumble of crap: vacuum	cleaners, golf clubs, guitar amps...					MAC			Don't really have the market for			something like this...				(like it hurts him)			I can go two...two-fifty.					RAY			Make it three hundred. And throw			that in, too.	REVEAL - .38 REVOLVER	encased in a glass cabinet.					MAC			Hell, that's worth three, easy. And			you got your waiting period.					RAY			I'm not waiting...So give me the gun			and keep the ring.	Mac barely hasitates, he knows he's getting a steal --					MAC			Fine, buddy.	THE GUN AND THE RING	go down on the counter next to each other. Mac pulls out some forms.					MAC (cont'd)			Fill these out. Leave the dates blank.	Ray starts writing. Mac is overcome by a moment of humanity.					MAC (cont'd)			Buddy, are you sure this is the way			you want to go?	Ray gives him a steely stare --					RAY			Is it loaded?	Mac shakes his head.					RAY (cont'd)			Load it.	Off Mac's sadness at young people today.									CUT TO:40	INT. HOTEL - KARLA AND TYRELL'S ROOM - DAY	We move into the hotel room and gradually reveal FOUR SETS OF FEET at	the end of one bed. They are crammed into a king-size bed together.	Julie is awake. She gets out of bed and moves toward the window.	It's raining outside. The wind is blowing. The storm has arrived.	Karla pulls a sleeping hand off her chest. The hand belongs to Will.	She pinches the hand. Will starts.	Tyrell kicks his feet around, trying to get some room.					TYRELL			This ain't the romantic weekend I			had in mind.	Karla kisses Tyrell on the cheek.					KARLA				(to Julie)			You get any sleep at all?					JULIE			Some.	Tyrell glares at Julie by the window. Sees the incredible rain.					TYRELL			Oh, look. Another day in paradise			with Julie-your-tour-director...Miss			Psychotic Episode.					KARLA			Hey --					TYRELL				(calling to Julie)			See any dead bodies out there? Any			fresh kill? How 'bout Freddy, Jason?	Julie ignores him, staring out the window.					WILL			Leave her alone.	Angry at her boyfriend, Karla gets out of bed and joins Julie.					TYRELL			I'm just saying what all of you are			thinking. It's bad enough gettin'			rained out without having to hold			her hand the whole time.					WILL			You don't have to be a jerk.	Karla pulls Julie close in a show of support for her friend whose mind	everyone believes has been inventing dead bodies.					JULIE			It's okay...He doesn't believe me.			That's his right. I'm starting to			think I'm crazy, too.					KARLA			Hey, slow down, turn off the little			motor up in there...What do you say			we go to the gym and work off a			little stress?	Julie doesn't look to enthusiastic.									CUT TO:41	INT. HOTEL FITNESS ROOM - DAY	Karla and Julie enter the gym. It has Nautilus machines, treadmills,	Life-cycles, free weights, tanning beds, speed and heavy bags.	Karla walks over and does a full roundhouse -- spinning and planting	her foot dead center of the heavy bag.					JULIE			Nice move.					KARLA			I'll be givin' your fisherman some of			that and see how he likes it.	Julie smiles at her friend bravado. She steps over to a stairmaster	and starts her workout.									CUT TO:42	INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR - DAY	Will and Tyrell step out of the room into the long, empty corridor.	They cross to a balcony overlooking the lobby. The whole place seems	deserted.					TYRELL			Where is everybody?					WILL				(gallows humor)			They're all dead...Dead, I tell you.				(ghostly)			Ahhhh, we're all deaaaddddd. Tyrellll,			joinnnn usss.	Will's voice echoes across the lobby. Tyrell is maybe a little	nervous, but hiding it.					TYRELL			Shut up.	They walk down the steps to the lobby.43	INT. HOTEL LOBBY - DAY	They cross the lobby.					WILL				(calling out)			Hello?				(worried)			There's nobody here, Tyrell.	Tyrell's already out the front entrance.44	EXT. HOTEL - DAY	Will and Tyrell exit the hotel and make their way down the steps	outside and go splashing across the flooded grounds. Debris from the	storm is scattered all around them.					TYRELL			They're around...They just don't			care about us 'cause we're the			contest winners.				(beat)			Let's go find Stoner Boy...Make his			lazy butt hook us up with fishing			poles or Ping-Pong paddles or			something.					WILL				(nervous)			You know, the greenhouse effect has			caused the gulf stream to shift and			almost every meteorological expert			expects a dramatic increase in			tropical depression --					TYRELL			Hey -- shut up, okay?	Tyrell keeps walking. Will looks around at the wind-and-water-swept	vista. Not much of a day for activities.					WILL				(sotto)			I don't like to fish.	Tyrell moves across the grounds. He looks back. Will is stopped in his	tracks, looking up at --	IN THE WINDOW OF THE BELL TOWER --	ESTES, staring down at them.					TYRELL				(calling to Will)			You coming?	Will trots after him, but he takes a glance back at the window...Estes	is gone.									CUT TO:45	INT. HOTEL FITNESS ROOM - DAY	Julie has finished on the stairmaster. Both she and Karla are sweaty	after a good workout. Their moods have improved.					KARLA			Come on, Vampira. I got just the			thing for you.	Karla leads Julie over to the tanning beds.					JULIE			Cancer in a box.					KARLA			No, this is the safe sun.				(joking)			It's better than a day at the beach.	Julie is reluctant.					KARLA (cont'd)			Come on, a little photosynthesis and			you'll feel like a new --					JULIE			Houseplant.	Karla opens the canopy of the tanning bed.					KARLA			Exactly.	Julie peels off her sweats. Lies down in her underwear. Straps on a	small pair of GOGGLES.	Karla lowers the canopy over Julie.	ANGLE ON A WALL TIMER	Karla sets the DIAL.					KARLA (cont'd)			Set to three seventy-five, bake for			one hour...					JULIE			Karla!					KARLA			Just kidding.	ULTRA-VIOLET TUBES	come to life -- Julie is bathed in purple light.									CUT TO:46	EXT. HOTEL GROUNDS - DAY	Tyrell looks across the grounds and sees, at the far end of the tennis	court,	TITUS'S POOL SUPPLY CART	half-obscured by the heavy fooliage surrounding the court.	Tyrell walks away from Will toward the cart. He hears the jam-box on	the cart playing "TRENCHTOWN ROCK" by Bob Marley..."One good thing	about music...when it hits you feel no pain..."46A	EXT. HOTEL TENNIS COURT - DAY	The open door of the entrance CLANGS against the fence in the wind.	Tyrell decides to cut through the court to the far entrance and the	cart.46B	INT. HOTEL TENNIS COURT - DAY	Tyrell walks across the court to the sagging net.	There is a RUSTLING in the foliage around the court. SOMETHING moving	fast and quietly.					TYRELL				(calling out)			Hey, Bong Marley. Come here.	The door SLAMS shut behind him.	Tyrell looks back at the door. The latch seems to have stuck and it's	no longer swinging.	Tyrell turns back toward the other door and sees	The PIT BULL	standing in the doorway. Tyrell stares at the dog. The dog GROWLS at	Tyrell, low and menacing.					TYRELL			I'm gonna kill you, Bong Boy.	Simultaneously, Tyrell turns and the dog lunges forward.	Tyrell sprints to the door -- it's LOCKED by a length of metal slipped	into the coupling.	He turns to see the dog bounding at him --	Tyrell leaps up the fence just as the pit bull lunges for him. The dog	catches his pant leg. Tyrell kicks him away and frantically scrambles	up.	The dog relentlessly barks and snaps as Tyrell climbs the fence.	WILL	looks in at the dog angrily charging the chain-link. He looks up at	Tyrell.					WILL			Come on. Jump. I've got you.	He reaches out to try and catch Tyrell.	ON THE FENCE	Tyrell finally looses his grip and falls back, landing on top of Will.	He rolls quickly to his feet.					TYRELL			Thanks.				(furious)			I gotta find me a pool boy.									CUT TO:47	INT. HOTEL FITNESS ROOM - DAY	Karla hammers the bag with a series of quick punches. She finally	stops to catch her breath and hears a THUMPING from the other room.48	INT. BASEMENT HALLWAY - DAY	Karla sticks her head out the door to the gym, listening. At the end	of the hall	AN OPEN DOOR	is visible, a single BARE BULB lighting the room. Karla moves	curiously toward it.49	INT. BASEMENT ROOM - DAY	Karla slowly sticks her head around the corner just as the THUMPING	NOISE SOUNDS LOUNDLY. She reacts --	A THUMPING DRYER	in a small laundry room. Karla relaxes.					KARLA				(doing Julie)			Gee, Karla...That'll break the			machine...	She approaches the MACHINE, which is rocking with the noise.					KARLA (cont'd)			Damn. How many pairs you got in			there?	She opens the dryer door and jumps back.	A BLOODY SHOE	flies out and into her arms. She looks down a beat, and SCREAMS bloody	murder.	A hot spray of blood gushes from the machine.	REVEAL - OLGA'S DISMEMBERED BODY	tumbling inside the dryer. Karla SCREAMS again. Then she hears the	SOUND of heavy boots coming down the hall. She runs to the door and	locks it.	She's trapped in a bloody basement cell. Suddenly somebody POUNDS on	the door. Karla SCREAMS.	She runs across the room, shoving a folding table toward a row of	BASEMENT WINDOWS.	The door is hit again and again. Somebody is throwing their shoulder	against it.	Karla bangs hysterically on the windows, leaving bloody handprints on	the panes.									CUT TO:50	INT. TANNING ROOM - DAY	Julie's eyes suddenly open through the GOGGLES. She thumbs off her	WALKMAN.					JULIE			You say something?	Nothing. And just as Julie lies down again, Karla's frantic SCREAMS	echo down the hall.	Julie goes to push open the canopy. As she does, the CANOPY LID is	JAMMED DOWN ON TOP OF HER. A CHAIN shoots through the handles. Julie	is locked on the grill.					JULIE (cont'd)			Karla! Somebody? Hey, this isn't			funny.	Suddenly the lights go off. Julie thrashes around, trying to free	herself.	JULIE'S POV - THROUGH THE PURPLE LIGHT	She sees someone walking around in the room. The person steps closer.	Julie could almost reach out and touch him.	She begins to SCREAM!51	EXT. HOTEL POOL - DAY	Tyrell angrily makes his way past the outdoor pool bar as Will	follows. Tyrell spots a tray of empty bottles. He picks one up and	smashes it in half on the ground. He holds out the jagged bottle to	Will.					TYRELL			Take this.					WILL			And do what with it?	Tyrell breaks another bottle in half.					TYRELL			Julienne of pool boy.	They move toward the nearby POOL HOUSE.52	EXT. POOL HOUSE - DAY	Tyrell and Will stop outside the door. There's MUSIC from inside. More	Bob Marley -- "Lively Up Yourself..."					TYRELL (cont'd)			I'm gonna throw the door. Get ready.	Tyrell opens the door and charges in. Will's right behind him.53	INT. HOTEL POOL HOUSE - DAY	They spill into the room. A light fog hangs in the air. The two of	them begin to COUGH and CHOKE.	Titus sits on the floor facing away from them, facing a window through	which gray light pierces the gloom.	Titus doesn't move. He's too still. In front of him is a large BONG	that still SMOKES SLIGHTLY.					TYRELL			Hey, pool boy.	Tyrell closes the distance and kicks Titus in the back.	Titus falls over like a block of wood, rictus already setting in.	His hands are bound behind him. The cord is tied off to some pipes	against the wall.	HIS FINGERNAILS SCRATHCED GROOVES	into the floor, scrabbling for the window and fresh air.	Will points out two empty one-gallon PLASTIC BOTTLES.	ANGLE ON THE BOTTLES	One is labeled CHLORINE, the other MURIATIC ACID.	Will pulls Tyrell from the pool house.54	EXT. HOTEL POOL HOUSE - DAY	The two of them collapse, COUGHING and CHOKING.					TYRELL			What the -- ?	Will splashes a puddle of rainwater on his face --					WILL			That's chlorine and muriatic acid.			Put the two together and you get			cyanide.	Tyrell rolls over on his back next to Will, practically coughing up a	lung.					TYRELL			Cyanide? Like poison gas?				(reality dawning)			You mean, somebody really killed			him...Omigod. Think...Think...	Suddenly, they both hear KARLA SCREAMING. They sprint for the main	building.									CUT TO:55	EXT. BASEMENT WINDOW - DAY	Tyrell and Will follow Karla's CRIES to a narrow srip of basement	window which runs along the side of the hotel. Her palms have bloodied	one of the windows.					TYRELL			Get back --56	INT. HOTEL LAUNDRY ROOM - DAY	Karla ducks down on the table just as the window EXPLODES inward.	Tyrell kicks in the pane and looks in.					TYRELL (cont'd)			Give me your hand!	She reaches for him. He pulls her up and out through the window.57	EXT. BASEMENT WINDOW - DAY	Karla tumbles to the ground with only one thing to say.					KARLA				(screaming)			Julie!									SMASH CUT TO:58	INT. TANNING ROOM - DAY	Tyrell and Will suddenly burst through the door.	ANGLE ON THE TANNING BED	Where Julie is just visible, her fingers madly groping for a way out.					JULIE			Oh, God, get me out. Get me out.	Will struggles to open the bed, but the chain holds strong.	Tyrell grabs a nearby dumbbell.					TYRELL			Hang on...	ANGLE ON THE CHAIN	Tyrell slams the barbell down, shattering the fiberglass handles.	A few of the ultraviolet tubes POP as Will yanks up on the cover.	They help Julie up, her eyes adjusting to non-purple light.					JULIE				(almost relieved)			I'm not crazy...I'm not crazy. He's			here...				(already moving				for the door)			We've got to get to the radio and			call for help.					KARLA			I think we can classify this as an			emergency situation.	They head for the manager's office.									CUT TO:59	INT. HOTEL - BROOKS'S OFFICE - DAY	They burst into the middle of the room before seeing that Brooks's	head has a machete sticking out of it.					TYRELL			Yo, Brooks, listen up --				(reacting)			Whoa --	Tyrell, Will, and Karla look at the radio, which is smashed on the	floor next to Brooks.	Julie stares in shock at the reverse wall, at	A STUFFED MARLIN	with the words "I STILL KNOW" written on it in blood.	Karla SCREAMS --					TYRELL			Somebody...is a sick, fingerpainting			psycho.					KARLA			We gotta get out of here. Now.	THE POWER CUTS OUT and the hotel plunges into darkness.	Julie SCREAMS and runs from the hotel.					WILL			Julie!60	EXT. HOTEL - DAY	Julie runs down the steps and cuts through the blowing palms.									CUT TO:61	EXT. HOTEL DOCKS - DAY	Julie is at the end of the dock. Tears are streaming down her face,	her chest heaving.	The others catch up with her. Karla realizes the boats are gone.	Everyone is freaking out.					KARLA			There were boats here? Refresh my			memory, there were boats...	Tyrell picks up the end of a cut mooring line --					TYRELL			They were cut loose.					WILL			Julie? Wanna tell us what is			going on here?	They look at Julie. Their escape is cut off by water. They're scared.					JULIE				(freaking out)			We're all going to die. He's going			to kill us one by one.					TYRELL			Who?					JULIE			Ben Willis.					KARLA				(not this again)			Oh, stop it! He's dead. You killed			him. Now, get over it. We gotta			think here.					JULIE			They never found the body.	Her voice is low and urgent, an impromptu confessional.					JULIE (cont'd)			Two summers ago. We lied to the			authorities. We hit Ben Willis with			our car. Ray, me, Barry, and Helen			...We threw the body in the water to			cover it up --					KARLA			Julie...					JULIE			Only he wasn't dead. He killed Barry			and Helen last July Fourth.	Tyrell begins backing away from Julie. He picks up a piece of	driftwood from the dock.					JULIE (cont'd)			I thought Ray and I killed him on the			boat, but we didn't and now he's back			to finish up the job.	Tyrell holds up the log as a weapon. He's angry and afraid --					TYRELL			We're on an island, miles from			anywhere. I don't give a crap about			you're fisherman. There's dead bodies			pilling up everywhere and there's one			guy missing --	Will moves closer to Tyrell --					WILL			The porter...what's his name? Old			Asbestos --					TYRELL			Estes! That's exactly who it is. That			old guy knows something. We can sit			here and wait for him to pick us off			or we can go find him first.	Tyrell turns and heads down the dock. Will goes with him. Karla takes	a few hesitant steps after them, then turns back toward Julie, who	hasn't moved.					KARLA			Julie, we have to do something.	Julie sees her friend caught in the middle, sees her suffering. She	reluctantly starts for Karla --					JULIE				(sotto)			It's not him.									CUT TO:62	INT. GREYHOUND BUS - NIGHT	Standard bus folks: old people in Panama hats, buzz-cut military geeks	on holiday.	Ray sits in a seat. He's in pain and does not look good.	He pops a handful of pills into his mouth and washes them down with an	Orange Crush --	A dignified OLD LADY has been watching him --					OLD LADY			People live healthy in Miami.				(sincere, but unsettling)			It's the future down there every day			of the week...The future.	Ray slumps back, waiting for the pills to work.					RAY			I'll keep that in mind.									CUT TO:63	INT. HOTEL TOWER ROOM - DUSK	The door to Estes's room BANGS inward. Tyrell, Will, Karla, and Julie	charge into the room.					TYRELL			Yo, Freak Boy --	The cluttered room is empty.					WILL			He's not here.	Tyrell and Will begin roughly searching through Estes's possessions.					TYRELL			We're gonna find some weird crap			in here.	In the corner there is a curtain used as a partition. Julie pulls the	curtain back and discovers	A SMALL, HEAVY CABINET	sitting in the corner. It seems to glow from inside while casting an	evil pall over the room.	Julie moves toward it and hesitates before opening the doors.	Inside -- is a small voodoo shrine. A candle has burned low before it.	Hanging before the altar is	THE LITTLE STRAW MAN	impaled on a fishhook.					JULIE			Voodoo.					TYRELL			I told you.	Julie looks closer. She sees her toothbrush, a hair tie, assorted	other knickknacks belonging to her friends.					TYRELL				(to Karla)			Missing a hair tie?	Karla looks in. Tyrell snatches the straw man up.					TYRELL			We found our guy.	THUNDER rumbles across the sky like the judgement of God.									CUT TO:64	INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR - NIGHT	Julie, Karla, Tyrell, and Will walk quickly down the corridor. They	have grabbed some of their things.					TYRELL			We gotta find flashlights, torches,			guns if they got 'em, anything			that'll help.	Will and Tyrell eye the stairs leading down to the lobby.					TYRELL			Wait. Maybe he's down there			collecting the body parts.	Will and Tyrell exchange a glance, an "are you man enough?" kind of	glance.					WILL			Let's go.65	INT. HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT	The men head into the kitchen and bar area.					WILL			We'll only be a second, okay?					TYRELL			Yeah, wait right here, it's the			safest place.	Karla is terrified and waits by the stairs, but something catches	Julie's eye. She walks across the lobby.					KARLA			Julie, where are you going?	Julie keeps walking. She sees historical pictures of the hotel: work	crews during construction; the first limbo contest; fishermen standing	next to sailfish and marlin.	Near the pictures, Julie sees the globe. It's spinning slowly.	Julie hesitates, then walks toward the globe. It stops spinning. She	looks down at it.	CLOSE ON - THE GLOBE	and Julie's hand finding Brazil. We see the capital is not Rio, but	Brazilia. This is dawning on Julie when we hear --					ESTES (v.o.)			Brasilia.	She jumps out of her skin. Estes was standing right there in the	shadows.					ESTES (cont'd)			That's the capital of Brazil, not			Rio.	Karla SCREAMS.	Tyrell comes flying across the lobby past Karla. He dives on Estes,	tackling him to the floor. Will is right behind him.					WILL/ESTES/TYRELL			Let go. I got him. That's me. It's			him. We got you...					JULIE			Leave him alone.	Tyrell holds up battered Estes --					TYRELL			Here's youre killer --					ESTES			No --					WILL			We found your voodoo crap --					ESTES			No --	They shake Estes, finally giving him a chance to speak.					ESTES (cont'd)			I found the bodies this morning...I			tried to use the radio, but he			already destroyed it.					JULIE			Let him go. I believe him.					KARLA			Come on, Julie. You saw his room.					ESTES			I haven't hurt anyone...I stole			those things to help you. To			protect you.					JULIE			He's telling the truth. He could've			easily killed me. He didn't.				(beat while				this sinks in)			Look, we didn't even answer the			radio question right...This whole			thing was a setup.					KARLA			What do you mean?					JULIE			Rio isn't the capital of Brazil. It			was the wrong answer. Sorry, we lose.					TYRELL				(starting to lose it)			You've got all these theories but			where is he? Where? Where's your			fisherman killer?					JULIE			I don't know.					TYRELL				(losing it)			You never do...The guy at the			nightclub, the body in your room last			night. Little notes that only mean			something to you. How do we even know			you're not the one behind this --	Estes steps forward --					JULIE				(to Tyrell)			How do we know you're not?					ESTES				(to Julie)			I know who you're talking about. He			used to work here at the hotel.				(beat)			And I've seen him around again. Out			in the woods by the orchard.	They look at Estes...Is he telling the truth?					ESTES			I can't remeber his name, but I			don't forget a face.				(beseeching)			I can show you...	They stare a beat --					WILL			How do we know you're not setting			us up?					ESTES			Where else you gonna go, son?	They look to the office, the gym...The sense of death surrounding	them.					KARLA			I know I don't want to stay in			here.					JULIE			We'll be better off in the open. If			we stick together, maybe we can kill			this creep for good.					TYRELL			Show us.	They begin moving for the door.									CUT TO:66	EXT. FERRY DOCKS - NIGHT	Establish. The rain pounds a fleet of fishing boats. The boats are	securely battened down in the weather.	Ray limps past, heading for a small building at the end of the dock.	Its sign reads: Island Ferry, Jack Paulsen -- proprieter.									CUT TO:67	INT. PAULSEN'S BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT	A gear-strewn office. Paulsen watches an episode of Party of Five.	There is a loud KNOCKING at the door.					PAULSEN			What the...	Paulsen slowly gets up. He cracks the door open. Ray stands	silhouetted against the rain.					RAY			I need to get to Tower Bay Island.	Paulsen senses something isn't right.					PAULSEN			We're closed.	Ray pushes his way in --					RAY			I need to get there, now.	Paulsen looks at him standing there drenched.					PAULSEN			Did you happen to notice what's			going on outside?	Ray pulls out the gun and points it at Paulsen --					RAY			I'm not looking for a weather			report, I'm looking for a boat. So			which one's yours?									CUT TO:68	EXT. WOODS TRAIL - NIGHT	Estes, Will, Tyrell, Julie, and Karla walk along a trail through the	heart of the island. The storm has abated for a few minutes.	It's windy, dark, and spooky. The kind of place you'd take people if	you wanted to scare them with a classic ghost story. That is just what	Estes is doing.					ESTES			He worked here for many years. He			had a nice family. A pretty wife			and two little ones. A boy and a			girl. They'd be about your age, now.	They continue along the path.	Estes looks at them in the dark, slowing for just a second.					ESTES (cont'd)			One day his wife went missing. Maid			found blood all over the honeymoon			suite -- Room 201.	There are strange NOISES out in the woods.					ESTES (cont'd)			Eventually, they found her body.			Pieces. A leg in the swamp. An arm			washed up on Three Mile Beach.				(beat)			And the head they found much later.	A huge branch is blown from a tree and comes crashing down through the	underbrush, scaring them. Estes calmly steps around it.					ESTES (cont'd)			Careful --					JULIE				(softly)			Did he do it?					ESTES			People say she was running around on			him. People say he caught her in bed			with other men. People say a lot of			things.				(beat)			He disappeared, taking the two small			ones with him. At least they were			never found.	The winding path leads to a small orchard. They hang on his every	word.					ESTES (cont'd)			We're here.	In the center of the orchard is a cemetery.	They move off the path into the safety of the woods. There seems to be	activity around the place. It's silent and eerie.	Julie stares, fascinated. She is slowly drawn toward the house. Karla	grabs for her arm.					KARLA			Be careful, Julie.					JULIE			I've got to see.	She leads, they follow, circling the house. Julie rounds a corner of	the shack and stops. She sees --	TWO TOMBSTONES	The first stone reads: SARAH WILLIS (birth/death)	The second stone reads: SUSIE WILLIS (birth/death)	Beyond them	A FRESHLY DUG GRAVE	and the group moves slowly toward it. The headstone, partially	obscured by the mound of dirt, comes into view.	The third headstone reads:					JULIE JAMES				born September 6, 1979				died July 4, 1998					"A Lying Whore"	"A Lying Whore" is scratched with a knife.					KARLA				(realizing)			...Today's July fourth.	Will goes to comfort Julie --					JULIE			I'm not dying on this island,			Will.				(louder)			Do you hear me?	Julie shouts into the darkness.					JULIE (cont'd)			You want me, Ben Willis? Come and			get me. I'm right here.	She kicks over her headstone --					JULIE (cont'd)			My grave stays empty!	She looks defiantly down the path.					KARLA			Julie, the boats are gone, the			phones are down. There's no way off			this place.					JULIE			Then, we fight --	Will looks around. Estes is gone.					WILL			Where'd Estes go?					TYRELL			What is up with that weirdo?					WILL			I'll go find him.					KARLA			Why? He can't help us.					WILL			He's probably the only one who			can help us.					TYRELL			I'll come with you.					KARLA			Are you crazy? We're not staying			here on our own.					WILL			It's okay. He couldn't have gone			far. I'll catch up with you later.	Will disappears into the darkness.					KARLA			Maybe we should just wait here?			Hide in a tree?					TYRELL			I'm not hiding up no tree.				(to Julie)			I'm with her. Let's arm ourselves			to the teeth and kick this psycho's			butt.									CUT TO:69	INT. HOTEL KITCHEN - NIGHT	They move cautiously into the kitchen. Blue emergency lights flicker	above them. It's a big room with plenty of nooks and crannies for	somebody to be hiding in.	Tyrell picks up a couple of different knives. He hefts them in his	hand.					TYRELL			What I need is a gun. Not a steak			knife.	Karla grabs a paring knife --					TYRELL (cont'd)			You gonna clean vegetables? You			gonna stir-fry? You need something			that'll get his attention.	He picks up a huge butcher's knife and cuts the air with it. He then	roughly empties other drawers looking for more weapons.	Karla looks to Julie, something on her mind. Julie catches the look.					KARLA				(hurt)			I'm your best friend...You could			have told me the truth about what			happened. I would've understood.					JULIE				(sad)			Karla, I just wanted the whole thing			to be over. I didn't want to involve			anybody else.					KARLA			It's too late for that.	Julie steps over to Karla.					JULIE			I'm so sorry. I brought this on			everyone. It's my fault.	Tyrell picks up on the mood swing. He moves closer to them. He's	sympathetic.					TYRELL			Forget that. You didn't do nothing.			This fisherman's a piece of scum.				(hard for him to admit)			I should've been listening to you...			I'm sorry.	Julie smiles for a second.					TYRELL (cont'd)			Now, let's take a look at the			pantry.					KARLA			You think that's a good place to			hide?					TYRELL			I don't know, but I'm starving.									CUT TO:70	EXT. BEACH - NIGHT	Will runs from the trees and finds himself by an old house. He sees	Estes by the ocean, near a boat.					WILL			Hey Estes.				(beat)			Estes? Where'd you go?	Estes doesn't answer right away -- he keeps his back to Will.					WILL (cont'd)			You abandoning us? How come you			didn't tell us you had a boat?	Estes picks up the boat's oar. He speaks low, almost inaudibly.					ESTES			This has to end. Now.					WILL			What -- ?	Estes swings the oar, cracking Will's head hard.									SMASH CUT TO:71	INT. HOTEL KITCHEN - NIGHT	Tyrell, Julie, and Karla approach the pantry -- a huge steel door.72	INT. HOTEL KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS	Tyrell steps inside.					TYRELL			Steel door...Food...Perfect.	He starts looking for something to eat --	CLANK. There's a soft CLATTERING from somewhere in the room. Everyone	freezes, staring into the darkness.	Tyrell puts a finger to his lips, then creeps down an aisle,	listening. There's nothing but SILENCE.	He moves toward the first aisle...He jumps out. The aisle is empty.	JULIE AND KARLA	move down an aisle behind him.	Tyrell ducks around to the second aisle. He slices the air, ready to	pounce. This aisle is empty.	JULIE AND KARLA	nervously move another aisle down.	Tyrell moves stealthily toward the third aisle...This is it. He lunges	forward into the row...Empty, also.	There's a small SOUND...A MOUSE scampers off under the shelves. Tyrell	turns and smiles at Karla and Julie --					TYRELL			It's just a --	A ROLLING PIN	bashes him on the back of the head. Tyrell hits the floor,	unconscious.	JULIE AND KARLA SCREAM					KARLA			Ty!	A DARK FIGURE jumps down from the shelves. Tyrell puts his arms up --					TYRELL				(yelling for mercy)			Don't kill me --					JULIE			Wait, it's Nancy --	Nancy, the bartender steps out of the shadows brandishing her rolling	pin.									CUT TO:73	INT. HOTEL KITCHEN - NIGHT	Tyrell stands at the sink, where Karla holds a towel full of ice to	his head. Nancy, the bartender, looks on apologetically.					NANCY			I'm sorry, but you could've been			the one doing all of this --					TYRELL			And so could you -- crazy fool.					NANCY			You stumbled into my hiding place.					TYRELL			Must have missed the sign.					NANCY			Excuse me, but this island didn't			have a murder rate until you people			showed up.				(chilled)			I've never seen a dead body before.					JULIE			Get used to it.					NANCY			Who's doing this?					TYRELL				(friendly)			Don't even get her started...It's a			long, long story and you probably			wouldn't believe a word of it.	Tyrell moves as he talks, fed up and exhasted. He crosses past the	stove and under a huge hanging rack of pots and pans.					TYRELL (cont'd)			I mean, all I know for sure is this			is the worst vacation of my life...			I'm tired, and I'm hungry, and I			personally haven't seen one damn			psycho killer...	THWACK! A STEEL HOOK	sinks deep into the base of Tyrell's shaved skull, a look of abject	surprise on his face.	The women freeze as Tyrell dances like a marionette before being	hoisted up and hung on the rack like a used saucepan.	THE FISHERMAN	is in the vent above the stove. He stares out at them from the hood of	his slicker.	Ben jumps from the range onto the floor. Karla is in shock. Julie	yanks her and they flee.	As she goes, Julie picks up	A LOOSE KNIFE	and hides it in her back pocket.									CUT TO:74	EXT. OFFSHORE ON FERRY - NIGHT	Ray pilots the boat through the dark, choppy water. He's navigating by	compass, maps spread before him. He sees something off the bow --	A BOAT	drifting on the fast sea. The words "Tower Bay" are painted on the	side. Ray pulls alongside and discovers the boat is empty.	He reaches for the radio.					RAY				(into radio)			Come in...This is Summer Breeze			requesting emergency assistance for			Tower Bay island. I repeat...This			is Summer Breeze...	Ray guns the boat away.									SMASH CUT TO:75	INT. HOTEL FOYER - NIGHT	Julie, Karla, and Nancy run into the lobby. The storm is WAILING	outside the front doors.	They pause for a second. Behind them we hear the rapid THUD-THUD-THUD	of Ben's boots.	Nancy goes straight to a desk and pulls out a flashlight. She points	to the main staircase.					NANCY			I know where we can hide.76	INT. HOTEL STAIRCASE - CONTINUOUS	The women run up the stairs. Behind them, we hear Ben's FOOTFALLS	echoing.77	INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS	On the top floor, they race toward the end of a dark hallway.	At the far end of the hall, Nancy illuminates a section of the	ceiling.					NANCY			Give me a boost up --	Julie helps Nancy reach a pull cord in the ceiling.	A WOODEN LADDER	pulls down. Nancy quickly climbs up.	BEN WILLIS	enters the hallway and continues toward them.	ON THE LADDER	Karla slips, nearly knocking Julie to the floor. They both scramble	upwards --	Ben hits the ladder --	Just as Julie reaches the top rung she SCREAMS --	BEN'S HOOK IS ON HER FOOT!	Nancy appears in the opening and throws a brick down at Ben. It hits	him in the chest and knocks him back.	Julie makes it into the attic. They pull the ladder up behind them	like a drawbridge.78	INT. HOTEL ATTIC - NIGHT	Julie, Karla, and Nancy surround the hatch they've just shut. They	fumble with it --					JULIE			There's no way to lock it.					KARLA			What do we do?	From below comes LAUGHTER. There's a tug on the hatch, cracking it	open. The girls pull it back shut, but it's hard to get a grip.	There's more tugging, the hatch bending down; they can see Ben. Then,	the rope SNAPS. The hatch slams shut.					NANCY			There's no way to grip this thing.	Suddenly the STEEL TIP of the HOOK pokes through the crack...It	wriggles around...Turning...And begins to pull the hatch down.	They try to hold it...But it's no use. They let go and jump away.	The attic is lit by a cathedral window. It's crosshatched with wooden	beams and pink insulation.					NANCY			Watch your step...	THUNK! Karla's foot goes through a gap between two beams.									SMASH CUT TO:79	INT. HOTEL - KARLA AND TYRELL'S ROOM - NIGHT	KARLA'S FOOT	dangles through the ceiling.									SMASH BACK TO:80	INT. HOTEL ATTIC - NIGHT	Julie helps Karla back up onto a beam.					NANCY (cont'd)			Stay on the beams!	Karla and Julie follow her precarious progress.	Ben climbs off the ladder to a beam. He watches them leap from beam to	beam. His hook glints in the light.	Julie, Karla, and Nancy move toward the cathedral window. They turn.	They are cut off. They spread out against the wall looking for an	opening to get back to the hatch.	Ben feints toward Nancy then swipes at Julie --	He misses. She leaps away. She looks down. Instead of insulation, she	sees a	WINDOW INTO THE HONEYMOON SUITE	She sees her bed through a one-way mirror. Julie stares, momentarily	transfixed. Karla is edging her way around the side of Ben.					BEN				(re: the mirror)			You'd be amazed by what you'd see.			My wife with every man on the			island, for example.				(to Julie)			And you, sexy...I loved watching you.					JULIE			You sick freak.	Ben suddenly whirls and lunges at Karla. He grabs her, but they both	lose their balance, teetering for a moment on one of the beams, before	falling --	They CRASH through the mirror --81	INT. HOTEL - KARLA AND TYRELL'S ROOM - NIGHT	Karla and Ben hit the bed in a rain of glass.	Karla bounces to her feet and dives out of the way as Ben swings his	hook.82	EXT. ROOM BALCONY - NIGHT	Karla backs onto the porch. She backs up against the railing.									CUT TO:83	EXT. ATTIC WINDOW - NIGHT	Julie and Nancy reach the CATHEDRAL WINDOW. They open it and look out.84	EXT. ROOM BALCONY - JULIE'S POV - NIGHT	and Ben advancing toward Karla, whose back is against the railing.	Karla looks behind her, sees	THE GLASS ROOF OF THE ORCHID HOUSE	which doesn't look nealy strong enough to suppor her.	Ben advances, swining the hook. Karla leaps over the railing and onto	the glass.85	EXT. GREENHOUSE ROOF - NIGHT	Karla keeps a wary eye on Ben as she gingerly backs up on the glass.	The GLASS begins CRACKING, subtle crack lines splintering out from her	footsteps.	Ben lunges and swipes at her with his hook.	Karla leans away from the attack and loses her balance, slipping onto	her back on the glass.	She lifts her head. Starts to move...CRACK. The glass is fracuring	beneath her. She looks through the glass.	KARLA'S POV - THE ORCHIDS BELOW	She tries to slide toward a support...The glass CREAKS and MOANS as	she moves across the room.					KARLA				(to herself)			Oh, god, no --	She's almost to the support when	THE ROOF EXPLODES	taking Karla down into the orchid house.86	INT. ORCHID HOUSE - NIGHT	The roof shatters in an explosion of flying glass.	Karla land on her back.	She's unconsious --									CUT TO:87	INT. ATTIC WINDOW - NIGHT	Julie and Nancy look at the empty space which once was a roof	supporting Karla --					JULIE				(screaming)			Karla!	Ben turns and looks up at Nancy and Julie. Then, he sprints from the	balcony.	Julie and Nancy duck back into the attic.									CUT TO:88	INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR - NIGHT	Julie and Nancy climb down into the hallway. They are cautious,	expecting Ben at every turn.89	INT. HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT	They hurry across the lobby.									CUT TO:90	INT. ORCHID HOUSE - NIGHT	A sprawling, steam-filled room, dense with vegetation of all sorts and	shelf after shelf of beautiful orchids.	Karla lies unconscious. Slowly, she opens her eyes.	There's a rustling in the flowers. She tries to get up, but can't yet.	She waits in terror as	BIRDS	fly up and out of the hole she's made in the roof.	Karla tries to stand and her leg gives way. She tests her knee --					KARLA			Oww...	Karla starts hobbling. She reaches the door -- it's locked from the	other side.	There is a thick glass window set in the middle of the door.	The cranes startle again, something upsetting them. Karla spins to	look. Nothing.									CUT TO:91	INT. HOTEL/ORCHID HOUSE - NIGHT	Julie and Nancy arrive at the door. Karla pounds on the other side --	points to the lock.					KARLA			It's locked!	Nancy sees a KEY RING by the door.					NANCY			It's gotta be one of these.	Nancy tries the first of many keys. Something catches Julie's eye. She	moves in for a closer look. Her eyes go wide --	ORCHID HOUSE - JULIE'S POV	A powerful BOLT OF LIGHTNING cracks. Fills the room with a pulse of	bright light. BEN IS STANDING INSIDE AND HE'S HEADING STRAIGHT FOR	KARLA.					JULIE				(terrified)			He's inside.	Karla spins. Sees him. Her terrified scream blends with the cranes,	now SHRIEKING VIOLENTLY.					KARLA			Please! Hurry!92	INT. HOTEL/ORCHID HOUSE - NIGHT	Nancy fumbles with the keys. Drops them. Julie tries to keep calm.					JULIE			Come on...93	INT. HOTEL/ORCHID HOUSE - NIGHT	Ben closes fast, slicing the tops off orchids as he goes. He skewers a	bud on the tip of his hook.	Karla pounds on the door.					KARLA				(frantic)			Hurry!	Nancy fumbles for the right key but the lock is old.					JULIE			Nancy...					NANCY				(crying)			It's jammed!	The key is stuck.					KARLA				(through glass)			Come on!!	She's running out of time. Julie sees a FIRE AXE encased in the glass	safety box.					JULIE				(determined)			No way!!	Julie smashes the glass with her elbow. Grabs the axe.					JULIE				(to Nancy)			Move!	Julie hammers the door with the axe. Wood splinters. Glass cracks.	Ben is almost on top of Karla now.	Julie swings. The axe breaks the glass, pulls the frame out. Julie	drops the axe. They grab Karla. Pull her through.	Ben swings. The hook rips Karla's shoe, but Julie and Nancy pull her	through.	Julie and Ben are face to face. Julie has the axe in her hands. She	stares him down.					JULIE			Come on, gimme a shot --	Ben rips off his hook, eyeing Julie.					KARLA				(shouting)			Julie, come on.	They flee. Ben tries the door, realizes it had locked behind him. He	can't fit through the circular window. He throws his shoulder against	the door. And again. And again.	The door frame starts to give --									CUT TO:94	EXT. STORM SHELTER - NIGHT	Julie, Karla, and Nancy approach the iron door to the underground	storm cellar. Julie carries the axe.					NANCY			It's over there.	They struggle together to open the heavy door.95	INT. STORM SHELTER - NIGHT	Stairs lead down into darkness. Karla hesitates --					KARLA			I don't know...					JULIE			Come on, you can make it.	Julie gets in, pulling Karla in behind her. They pull the door closed	behind them.					NANCY			There's a light somewhere.96	INT. STORM SHELTER - NIGHT	The darkness is complete. We hear MOVEMENT.					KARLA			Julie?					JULIE			I'm right here. Grab my hand.					NANCY			This place has emergency power.			Just ease you way down the stairs			and I'll find the light.					JULIE			Okay. I'm at the bottom. Karla,			just get my hand.					KARLA			I'm holding your hand!					JULIE			No, you're not.					KARLA			...Nancy?	Nancy pulls the chain on an overhead bulb. The lights go on,	illuminating	THE DEAD CORPSES	of Brooks, Derrick, Olga, and Titus -- whose hand Karla is holding.	The women SCREAM!	They muddle together, trying to collect themselves.	Suddenly, there is a POUNDING on the iron door. They SCREAM.	Then, Julie remembers the axe. She motions the others to stay back --					JULIE			All right --	The iron hatch is slowly opening. Julie gets the axe into possition --	WILL	pokes his head through. He's clutching a piece of wood as a weapon.					WILL			It's you guys, thank god. Is			everyone okay?	They are ecstatic to see him. They bound up the concrete stairs --					KARLA			Help's here. Help's here.97	EXT. HOTEL WALKWAY - NIGHT	Will is already on the move toward the hotel.					WILL			Come on. We're gonna be okay.					JULIE			Did you get help?	Will shakes his head. He's walking woozily.					JULIE (cont'd)			What happened?					WILL			Estes came after me with a gaffing			hook.					JULIE			He's in it with Willis?					WILL			I guess so.	Julie points out that his chest and stomach are covered in blood, too.					JULIE			Your stomach, you're hurt --	Will looks down, clutches himself, and keeps moving.					WILL			When I was coming back I saw your			slicker friend looking for you guys			down by the water.				(beat)			Let's hurry and get inside...									CUT TO:98	EXT. BEACH - NIGHT	Ray guns the boat straight up onto the beach. He leaps from the boat.									CUT TO:99	INT. HOTEL BAR - NIGHT	Will slumps down on the bar floor. He's floating in and out of	consciousness. Julie leans over him, concerned.					JULIE			Oh, my god, you're bleeding to			death.	She looks back towards Nancy --					JULIE (cont'd)			We need a first-aid kit.					NANCY				(already moving)			I saw one in the lobby.	Karla starts, then hesitates. Will moans, looks at her.					NANCY (cont'd)			I'll come with you.					WILL			You'll be okay. It's over.	Karla and Nancy rush from the bar. Julie looks tenderly at Will. He	looks back at her. She pulls some hair off his forehead. He smiles	weakly.					JULIE			Will, just hold on. We'll get you			fixed up.									CUT TO:100	INT. HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT	Karla and Nancy go to the area near the check-in and behind the desk.					NANCY			Look up there. I'll look over here.	Karla looks behind the desk. Nancy is searching the shelves.									CUT TO:101	INT. HOTEL BAR - NIGHT	Julie tenderly searches the area around Will's stomach. She's fussing	with the clothes, looking for the wound.					JULIE			You've got blood everywhere, but I			can't find the wound.	Will takes her head in his hands, looks her in the eye.					WILL			That's because it's not my blood.	The slow change in Julie as she realizes...	She starts to run. Will roughly grabs her.					WILL (cont'd)			It's time you woke up, Julie.	His voice switches to that of a familiar radio disk jockey.					WILL (cont'd)				(as Mark in the Morning)			AND START CONTEMPLATING THE ULTIMATE			MAGIC GETAWAY!	He drags her out of the bar.									CUT TO:102	INT. HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT	Nancy sees a white metal box sitting on a shelf. She reaches for it...	It's a first aid kit.	ANOTHER HAND	reaches over and lands on top of her hand. She jumps and sees Estes	right behind her. Karla SCREAMS.					ESTES			Will...He's in on it. He's --	Suddenly Estes's expression changes to surprise, and	A SPEAR TIP	appears in the front of his chest.	Nancy screams and looks over Estes's shoulder to see	BEN WILLIS	standing there holding a spear gun.	Estes topples over on top of Nancy, pinning her underneath his dying,	convulsing body. Nancy struggles to get loose.					NANCY			Help me.	Karla rushes to Nancy. She tugs on her arm, trying to pull her free.	The fisherman strides toward them. He raises his hook. He swings at	Karla's head.	THE HOOK CATCHES	on a beam. Karla struggle with Nancy.					KARLA			Come on, come on.	Ben tries to free his hook hand. Karla looks up at him. He calmly puts	his foot onto Estes's back and steps down with all of his weight,	driving	THE SPEAR TIP	deep into Nancy who expires with a sigh.					KARLA (cont'd)			Damn you.	Karla, blind with rage, attacks the fisherman. He kicks out with a	boot and sends Karla fying onto	A GLASS TABLE	in the lobby area. The table explodes. Karla is finished.	The fisherman works his hook free from the post. Karla is unmoving and	looks quite dead.									CUT TO:103	EXT. WOOD TRAIL - NIGHT	Will pulls Julie along a muddy path in the rain. He's got her by the	hair. She's slipping and falling.					WILL			Look at the bright side, Jules. We			finally get to spend some quality			time together.	Julie's trying to get to the knife she's stashed in her back pocket.					JULIE			Why are you doing this to me?					WILL			Me, me, me. It's always about you.			I'm having bad dreams. I can't			sleep. I'm not doing well in school.			I'm having trouble with my boyfriend.					JULIE			I trusted you.					WILL			We had a connection, didn't we? I			can tell you one thing, though. Ray			didn't trust me. He was right. He's			dead, but he was right.	They come into the orchard. They are covered in mud. Julie stumbles	again. Goes to her knees. Works the knife free and slashes up at Will.	She slices him across the face.	He steps back, feels the blood.					WILL (cont'd)			What'd you have to do that for?	There is a creepy pause. Will stares at his own blood. She catches her	breath...	Then suddenly, Will knocks the knife from her hand. He lifts her by	the hair. Enraged, he puches her in the face. She goes down.									CUT TO:104	EXT. ORCHARD - NIGHT	Will has Julie in a choke hold. He drags her toward the open graves.	Julie is losing energy, slowly giving up.					JULIE			...Why?					WILL			Why? Come on, Julie. Think. You'll			get it. Will Benson -- Ben's son.	He shoves her. She falls backward into the arms of Ben Willis.					WILL (cont'd)			Hi, Dad.	Julie WAILS, struggling wildly in Ben's grasp.					JULIE			OMIGOD --					BEN			That's my boy.	Ben holds her back to look at her. He throws back the hood of his	slicker. We see his face clearly for the first time.					JULIE			No, no, no --	Ben pulls off his hook and strokes Julie's cheek with his stump.					BEN			Shush, now. No more screaming...No			more running. Time to die.					RAY (v.o.)			Let go of her! Now!	Ben and Will spin to see	RAY	like the hero from a western, step out from behind a tree.	Ben starts to laugh. Will joins him.					WILL			You gotta be kiddin' me.					BEN			What're you gonna do, boy? Call			us names?					RAY			Let her go. Now.	Ray raises the .38 caliber handgun. He COCKS the hammer.	Ben doesn't let go of Julie. Lightning fast, he slaps his hook back on	and gets the point to Julie's neck.					BEN			Think about it, boy. You're no			killer.				(beat)			That's my job.	Ray hesitates, his finger on the trigger. He does look scared.	Ben takes a step toward Ray. Then another, pushing Julie in front of	him. Will moves closer, too.					RAY			Stop right there.	Ray's finger squeezing down the trigger.					BEN			You don't have it in you.	Suddenly, Will dives for Ray. Ray gets a shot off, tagging Ben in the	shoulder. The gun goes flying.	Julie spins and hits Ben in the face. He knocks her into her own	grave...Mud begins to slide in on her. She tries to scramble out.	Will and Ray wrestle, punching each other repeatedly in the face.	Will has Ray down and his hands around his kneck. He looks him in the	eye.					WILL			We haven't missed you down here,			Ray boy. I got to know Julie real			well.	Will gets the better of Ray. He's stronger. He yanks him up -- choking	him. Ray is begging to check out.					WILL (cont'd)			Think of all the things I'm gonna			do to her.				(beat)			Dad, finish him.	Ben charges toward Ray's back. He pulls back the hook for a roundhouse	slashing --	At the last second, Ray dips, elbows Will.	THE HOOK	goes straight into Will's chest.	The fisherman has hooked his own son.	Father and son make final eye contact, the son's eyes go blank.	Ben stares in shock as Will expires, falling back into the mud.	Ben SCREAMS in rage. Ray is tired.	THWACK. Ben begins beating Ray. He puches him. He straight-arms him	with the hook. He knocks him again and again and Ray is beaten, giving	up...	Ben has Ray against a tombstone. The hook slowly inches toward his	eye.					BEN			Gonna blind you first.	The hook is touching the eyelid --	A GUNSHOT	rings out. A look of wonder crosses Ben's face. He slowly turns away	from Ray.	JULIE	stands behind him holding the gun.					JULIE			Just...Die.	BLAM. BLAM. BLAM. She empties the gun into Ben, who flies backward	into Julie's grave.	As he tumbles, Ben releases the dirt stacked beside the grave...	A MUDDY LANDSLIDE	slowly covers Ben up.	Ben's face is covering over. His mouth starting to fill with dirt --					BEN			You can't kill me.	His face is completely covered. His mouth still moving.					BEN (cont'd)			I'll always be with you.	The dirt covers him. It continues to fill, until just the	GLEAMING METAL HOOK	waves futilely out of the dirt. Then, is stops wiggling.	Julie goes to Ray.									CUT TO:105	EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT	Ray and Julie limp across the grounds of the hotel. They are moving	past some shrubbery when	A DARK FIGURE	jumps out. Julie yells. She and Ray jump back.	KARLA	stops in the middle of her kamikaze attack, knife held out.					KARLA			Oh, god, it's you --					JULIE			You're okay. Thank god.					KARLA			Is he?	They nod. They go to her -- jubilant group hug time. They compose	themselves.					KARLA (cont'd)			You know, it's true what they say			about package vacations...You get			what you pay for.				(beat)			Now, how about we get off this piece			of crap island.	The first rays of the morning sun appear. Ray looks adoringly at Julie	as the beautific light catches her face.	Ray kisses her. She kisses him back. They are silhouetted against a	beautiful orange sunrise.					JULIE				(smiling)			We don't have to tell anyone it			rained the whole time. It can just			be our little secret.	The three of them throw their arms around each other's shoulders and	they start walking for the beach as...	A COAST GUARD HELICOPTER	rises into view.									MATCH CUT TO:106	EXT. HOUSE - DAY	Establish. The sun setting over a quaint street in a college town.	SUPERTITLE:			FOUR MONTHS LATER	Julie pedals her bicycle down the street. She has a book bag over her	shoulder. It feels like one of the first days of school.	She rides the bike up to a small house on the perfect street. She	rolls the bike right up to the front door.									CUT TO:107	INT. HOUSE - DAY	Julie lets herself into the house. She leans her bike against another	bike in the hallway.	It's a perfect day. Birds CHIRPING. WIND in the willows. There's	another NOISE...from inside her house.	She goes perfectly still. And listens. Behind her, by the kitchen, the	shadow of a FIGURE moves. She whirls.	NOTHING	She creeps down the hallway toward her kitchen. She pauses --	The dark figure almost knocks into her. She SCREAMS.	It's Ray. He's holding a disemboweled toaster.					JULIE			Ray...what are you doing?					RAY				(toaster)			Oh...it's not working right.			You're home early.				(sees she's shaken)			Did I scare you?					JULIE			Never do that again.					RAY				(tender)			Hey -- I didn't know you were here.			It's okay.				(beat)			We got the refrigerator in. Come			see.	She sees the love in his eyes. She hugs him.					JULIE			I love it here.					RAY			It's gonna be great.									DISSOLVE TO:107A	INT. STAIRWAY - NIGHT	Julie climbs to the top of the stairs. She passes Ray in the bathroom.	She pauses in the doorway --107B	INT. BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS	Ray is at the sink in boxer shorts. He's using an electric Waterpic	devicice that has just been opened, a gift from the party. It makes a	low WHIRRING sound.					RAY				(seeing her)			Checking the locks again?					JULIE			You know me to well.	Julie smile and walks to the bedroom.									CUT TO:107C	INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS	Julie climbs into bed with a book. The bedroom is clean and orderly.	The windows are closed. The closet door is shut.	The room is decorated simply: a high antique bed; unopened boxes; a	highboy; an antique mirror leaning against the wall. A stuffed bear	sits in a chair.	There is a CLATTER from another room. Julie freezes. She waits. She	hears it again. She climbs out of bed.									CUT TO:107D	INT. SECOND BEDROOM - NIGHT	Julie walks into the dark spare bedroom. The CLATTERING SOUND comes	from the open window. The wind is blowing the blinds.	Julie relaxes. She shuts the window. As she leaves the room, we notice	the dirty imprint of a boot below the window.107E	INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT	Julie passes Ray who is still absorbed with the new toy.	Behind him, the door softly closes. The lock twists. Ray is oblivious,	happy being the dental-hygene pacesetter of the household.107F	INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT	Julie enters the room. She looks at the closet door. It is open a	crack. She hesitates, trying to remember if it was open before -- it	wasn't.	Julie approaches the closet. She catches her refelction in the mirror	next to the closet. She peers into the crack of the closet. She can't	see anything. She throws open the closet door.	NOTHING	She looks around the room.					JULIE			What is my problem?	She sits down on the bed.	We see her bare feet from under the bed.	She smiles, relaxes. She looks in the mirror leaning against the wall.	Something has caught her eye. She freezes. She turns slowly back to	the reflection in the mirror. She sees the glint of steel --	A HOOK -- CRASH ZOOM INTO REFLECTION --	THE FISHERMAN CROUCHING UNDER HER BED	Julie turns too late --	The fisherman lunges out and grabs her legs. Julie screams. She goes	down --	Her nails scrape into the wooden floor as she is dragged under the	bed.									CUT TO BLACK:					THE END
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+=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-                          L A B Y R I N T H                                  by                            Laura Phillips                                 and                             Terry Jones                                Story                                  by                              Dennis Lee     Early movie script scanned in by Cruiser One on Dec 28, 1996      Reformatted by Zelos, 16-Apr. 2004=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-FADE IN ON:1	EXT: SKY - DAYA WHITE BIRD soaring. The sky is a glorious explosion of blue andmauve and lavender. The setting sun washes the clouds with a delicatepink tint. The bird swoops and spirals and we are right there withhim. Then suddenly, below us, an extraordinary sight appears.2	EXT: LABYRINTH - DAYIt is the labyrinth, an enormous maze of incredible mandala likeintricacy. From our magnificent vantage point, WE ARE BARELY ABLE TOMAKE OUT its details: the twisting walls interrupted here and thereby lush forest, the complex web of waterways, the forbidding castleat the core. It is vast and magical, frightening and compelling atthe same time. We would love to linger, perhaps fly lower and get abetter look at this wondrous place, but the bird flies on3	EXT: GLADE - DAYIt is an idyllic setting, warm and inviting. The late afternoon sunwashes everything with a pink glow. Between the water and a line oflush fruit trees is a flower-strewn glade. A FIGURE emerges from thetrees and walks toward the water. It is a YOUNG WOMAN dressed in aflowing white dress that swirls around her in the breeze. The pinklight burnishes her hair and causes a gold circlet she wears on herhead to glow. She is breathtaking, a vision of innocence and grace.She stops to pick a flower and then turns suddenly as if she hasheard something.GIRL: Is it you?She takes a few hurried steps and then stops, smiling shylyGIRL: Your Highness!The GIRL curtsies deeply and then looks up through lowered lashes,the shy smile still dancing on her lips. And then WE PULL BACK TOREVEAL a crown perched on a head of tight curls. WE ARE LOOKINGTHROUGH the crown at the girl as she rises slowly, then looks boldlyat the PRINCE.GIRL: Do not be swayed by my pleasure at the sight of you, my lord.For though my father, the Duke, has promised you my hand, I cannotconsent to be yours until the evil that stalks our land from highesthill to deepest dale is ...Suddenly the GIRL stops speaking, a look of stunned confusion on herface.GIRL: ... from highest hill to deepest dale ... (her brow furrows inconcentration and then) Damn!She burrows one hand into the deep sleeve of her gown and pulls out arolled-up soft-cover book. She rifles through the pages.The PRINCE is not a prince at all, but a SHEEPDOG wearing a tin foilcrown. He thinks his work is over and it's time to play and he lungeshappily towards the GIRL who isn't a princess or even a duchess, but15-year-old SARAH.SARAH is knocked over by the playful DOG. Beneath the gown which WECAN NOW SEE is homemade and not very grand at all, WE SEE faded jeansand running shoes.SARAH: Get off me, you monster!!The DOG grabs the book out of her hand and runs away with it, hopingto be chased. SARAH doesn't follow, she just sits up and pulls thegrass out of her tangled hair and sighs with frustration. The DOGcomes back over to SARAH, its tail wagging hopefully.SARAH: If you value your mangy life, Merlin, you'll hand it over.The DOG obediently drops the book.THE BOOKOn the cover it says, _MEANDER'S QUEEN a play in three acts by RobinZakar_. SARAH reaches for it and we hear a clock tower begin to chime.SARAH leaps to her feet.SARAH: Oh no, Merlin! We're really late! Why does everything have tohappen to me!!!?MERLIN prances around her happily, his foil crown in his mouth. SARAHpulls it out of his mouth and throws it in a nearby trash basket. Herushes after it and peers into the basket, wanting to fetch.SARAH: It's all your fault, you miserable mutt!!She hikes up her dress and runs into the trees. MERLIN whimpers andtags along behind her.4	EXT: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TREES - DAYSARAH comes bursting through the trees and runs down a hill towardthe street. WE PULL BACK and WE CAN SEE an enormous steel mill on theother side of the river. And now WE NOTICE that the light isn't pinkany more but sort of dull and hazy, and the idyllic glade is barely asuburban park, and this is just an ordinary day in a very ordinaryplace.5	EXT: AN OLD RAMBLING HOUSE - DUSKSARAH runs up a path to an older, rambling house. She goes throughthe front door, MERLIN hot on her heels, and neither one of them seesthe beautiful SNOW-WHITE BIRD that lands in a tree beside the path.6	INT: INSIDE THE ROUSE - EVENINGSARAH bursts through the front door and makes a beeline for thestairs. She almost makes it. SARAH'S MOTHER appears in the hallway.MOTHER: _Sarah_, where have you been?!!!SARAH abruptly stops and changes to an elegantly graceful ascensionof the stairs.SARAH (in an affected voice): I can't talk to you now. I'm inrehearsal.She continues grandly on and heads for her room.MOTHER: You were supposed to be home an hour ago to baby-sit forFreddie! Don't we at least deserve an explanation?SARAH stops and leans over the railing. She speaks with amelodramatic solemnity.SARAH: As Meander's Queen, I've been ... meandering. Dither me notabout explanations.With that she turns and heads for her room. On the door is a signthat says: "Admittance by Invitation Only." SARAH'S FATHER comes intothe hall.FATHER: What's that all about?MOTHER: It's a part in a play, (raising her voice) but that's noreason to...SARAH turns in her doorway. She calls down.SARAH: Chasten not your Queen, _Peasant_!She dramatically sweeps into her room.7	INT: SARAH'S ROOM - NIGHTSARAH slams the door and leans against it, playing the scene.FATHER (VO): _Sarah_, that's no way to talk to your mother!SARAH (mumbles to herself): She's not my mother.SARAH takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She can hear footstepsand SOMEONE comes to the other side of the door.SARAH ignores her STEPMOTHER and kicks off her running shoes.With a practiced gesture SARAH removes her jeans while leaving hergown in place.STEPMOTHER (VO): _Sarah_, when I tell you to be home at five, Iexpect you to be home at five.SARAH quickly shifts to her STEPMOTHER's attitude -- hands on hips,and silently mimes her words.SARAH: Yes, Madame!7A	INT: UPSTAIRS HALLWAYSTEPMOTHER: And don't "Yes Madame" me!FATHER: Is she all right?STEPMOTHER (frustrated): Of course she's all right! I left theBernsteins' number on the kitchen table ... Freddie might be comingdown with a cold so call us if he seems even the least bituncomfortable ...SARAH (VO) (sighs): Yes, Mother.STEPMOTHER: Oh! I give up!She hurries down the stairs.FATHER: We'll see you later, baby. And remember ...7B	INT: SARAH'S ROOM - NIGHTSARAH speaks along with him, mimicking.SARAH & FATHER (VO): Don't open the door to strangers.We hear him leave. SARAH waits a beat and then turns and opens herbedroom door.SARAH: And don't call me baby! (she slams the door shut; mimickingher parents) Precious little Freddie might be coming down with a cold...She sighs and looks around. This is really her world, her retreat,and she knows and controls every inch of it. The shelves are filledwith an orderly array of childhood dolls and toys. The books arelined up neatly in the bookcase and if we could see them up close wewould see that they were placed in alphabetical order -- andaccording to the year they were acquired. She walks over to herdresser. She checks herself out in the mirror above the chest ofdrawers and adjusts the golden circlet which has been knocked askewby her run. She then stops for a moment and looks at the photographson the dresser. One of her FATHER, her MOTHER and herself as a LITTLEGIRL. Another picture of her MOTHER in a newspaper clipping is tapedto the mirror. The headline says, "Linda Williams a Smash in NewPlay." A cover of a Playbill is also tacked on to the mirror. It says_Best of Both Worlds_ starring Linda Williams. SARAH then reverentlyopens a music box -- the kind with a twirling dancer inside -- and tothe strains of an unbearably tinny version of "Greensleeves" shebegins to rehearse.SARAH: Do not be swayed by my pleasure at the sight of you, my Lord...Suddenly, something stops her cold.SARAH (yelling angrily): Someone has been in my room!Through the mirror WE SEE what she sees: an empty space on one of theshelves. She swirls around and rushes out the door.8	INT: THE HALLWAY - NIGHTSARAH bursts out of her room.SARAH: Where's Lancelot?She stomps down the hallway.SARAH: Where's my bear?!!9	INT: NURSERY - NIGHTSARAH enters FREDDIE's room. She searches the nursery.SARAH: Nobody listens to a thing I say.She opens a toy box and rifles through it.SARAH: How many times have I told them to stay out of my room ...She gets to the crib and looks down. FREDDIE is wide awake, gurglingat Lancelot, SARAH's tattered old teddy bear.SARAH: And you, you can just give me back my bear!She yanks it out of the crib and leaves. FREDDIE looks hurt and hisface starts to cloud up.10	INT: SARAH 'S ROOM - NIGHTSARAH is curled up on her bed, cuddling her bear. MERLIN sits besideher. She looks at the DOG.SARAH: You're the only one who understands me, Merlin.He licks her face. She gets up and holds the bear out in front of her.SARAH: Do not be swayed by my pleasure at the sight of you, my lord...She is interrupted by FREDDIE's cries.SARAH: Go to sleep, Freddie!The cries get louder. SARAH sighs and repeats her favorite litany.SARAH: Why does everything have to happen to me?11	INT: NURSERY - NIGHTSARAH enters and approaches the howling INFANT.SARAH: I don't need this.She pulls the blanket up over him and attempts to tuck him in.SARAH: There, isn't that nice ...But FREDDIE doesn't think so. He pushes the blanket off and howlseven louder. SARAH sees one of his toys on the floor and picks it upand gives it to him. She speaks through gritted teeth.SARAH: Want your nice toy?But FREDDIE doesn't. He flings the toy across the room. SARAH bendsover the crib and speaks softly.SARAH: You know, Freddie, I heard that the only thing to do with ababy who won't stop crying is to get some goblins to come over andteach him a lesson ...FREDDIE lowers his screams to a whimper, but a loud whimper.SARAH: How would you like that, kid? A nasty evil goblin ...FREDDIE is quiet for a moment, almost as if he is considering. Thenhe really howls. SARAH sighs and picks him up. She begins to paceback and forth, and starts to hum. FREDDIE goes back to a merewhimper.SARAH: Oh, you like that, do you?She begins to hum even louder and more melodically as she places theBABY back into the crib. She then begins one of the moat macabrelullabies you could ever imagine. She sings of how scary the dark is,how "the shadows on the wall like to eat you when you're small" andhow "a baby doesn't stand a chance when the Goblins start theirdance." She throws herself into her performance; adding to it a wilddance that has her whirling around the room, leaping into the air,making strange shadows on the wall. Finally, the dance ends when toomany crazed pirouettes result in her stumbling against FREDDIE'sdresser. She staggers a bit and then the lights blink as a crack ofthunder is heard, followed by a flash of lightning.ANOTHER ANGLELittle FREDDIE is wailing. He hasn't understood a thing that SARAHhas sung but he can sense that something is wrong.SARAH: Ah, c'mon, Freddie. It was just a song.They are interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. SARAH reacts witha gasp of surprise. FREDDIE, for some inexplicable reason, issuddenly quiet.12	INT: FOYER - NIGHTSARAH approaches the front door with some trepidation. She starts toopen it, then realizes what she is doing. She fastens the chain andonly then opens the door.13	EXT: HOUSE - NIGHTSARAH'S POVThrough the door opening SARAH can see a very elegantly dressed,quite good-looking MAN of an indeterminate age. He has a worldly air,or is it other-worldly? Before he can speak a flash of lightningilluminates his face. He is a mesmerizing sight and SARAH can't helpbut gawk.MAN: Excuse me, is this the home of Sarah Williams ... SarahWilliams, the actress?SARAH's jaw drops.SARAH: That's me.MAN: Allow me to introduce myself ... (he holds out his hand) I'mRobin Zaker.SARAH squeals with delight.SARAH: You wrote the play!He smiles.SARAH: Just a second.14	INT: FOYER - NIGHTSARAH's hand hesitates over the chain for just a moment, and then sheunfastens it and opens the door. ZAKAR enters and extends his hand.ZAKAR: It is an honour, Miss Williams. I understand you make adelightful Queen Meander.SARAH: Well, we've just started rehearsal, but how did you know?ZAKAR: I was passing through this part of the country and heard thatit was going to be done here. This is the first amateur production ofthe play, which of course is delightful for me.SARAH: You know we were supposed to open tonight, but we got delayed.The firemen had to use the hall.ZAKAR: Yes, I know, that's why I wanted to stop by to see you.They are interrupted by a particularly loud crash from upstairs. Andthen FREDDIE begins to howl.SARAH: That's my brother ...There is another crash and SARAH starts up the stairs.SARAH: I'll be right back!ZAKAR watches her run up the stairs. He glances around and then walksright to the liquor cabinet and takes out a bottle.15	INT: NURSERY - NIGHTFREDDIE in standing in his crib crying his eyes out. SARAH rushes inand sees that the storm has blown open the basement window and it iscrashing against the wall. She rushes to close it. FREDDIE's screamsare piteous.SARAH: Oh, Freddie ...There is more thunder, and then lightning flashes across the darkenedroom.ZAKAR (VO): Perhaps I can soothe him ...SARAH gasps and whirls around. ZAKAR is framed in the doorway. He hasa drink in his hand. SARAH holds the BABY close.SARAH: You shouldn't be up here!ZAKAR (smoothly): I just wanted to help ...SARAH rushes by him, still clutching the BABY.16	INT: HALLWAY - NIGHTSARAH comes out of the nursery and hurries down the stairs. ZAKARfollows. FREDDIE is still crying.SARAH: Maybe you'd better leave ...She gets to the bottom of the stairs. FREDDIE whimpers. ZAKAR ismaking her very nervous.SARAH: ... I, uh, don't think I care to talk to you about the play.He is right behind her, almost too close.ZAKAR: Neither do I.SARAH is shocked and disturbed by this.SARAH: What!ZAKAR reaches over and smoothes FREDDIE's hair.ZAKAR: I'm more concerned about the baby, of course.SARAH pulls FREDDIE out of his reach.SARAH: Freddie's just fine.But he isn't. He's still crying. ZAKAR reaches into his pocket andpulls out a coin. Be runs it over his fingers right in front ofFREDDIE's face. The BABY stops crying.ZAKAR: There, isn't that better?SARAH (nervously): Uh, sure ... but you really have to leave ...ZAKAR ignores her and heads into the living room.ZAKAR: I'm not just a playwright, as you can see ... bring him inhere and I'll do some other tricks for him ...SARAH: No! You've got to ...But he is already in the living room. She follows, still holding theBABY.17	INT: LIVING ROOM - NIGHTZAKAR is sitting on the sofa, looking very comfortable. SARAH standsin the doorway, not sure what to do. Reluctantly, she goes and sitsdown across from him.ZAKAR: Now watch this, Freddie ...He reaches into his breast pocket and tugs on the handkerchief there.It comes out followed by many others, all different colours. SARAHrolls her eyes. This is not that exciting a trick. FREDDIE isn'timpressed, either. In fact he starts to cry again.ZAKAR: So you're going to be like that, are you, Freddie? Well, youknow what that means?He leans across the table and SARAH pulls the BABY closer.ZAKAR: It's time to call the goblins!SARAH: What?!!SARAH is surprised to hear this, to say the least. It echoes hersilly threat to FREDDIE earlier.ZAKAR: Yes. That's what we do with bad babies ... we send for thegoblins!!And with that he reaches into yet another pocket and pulls out apoorly made, very silly-looking goblin hand puppet. SARAH laughswith relief. ZAKAR, his hand in the puppet, talks in a high-pitched,unconvincing goblin voice.ZAKAR: You like goblins, don't'cha, Freddie? (singsong) but I betyour sister doesn't ...SARAH rolls her eyes at this, and then gasps. Because for one verystrange moment, the puppet keeps bouncing, but both of ZAKAR's handsare visible! And then the puppet seems to move away from the table,and disappear! FREDDIE claps his hands with delight. SARAH jumps outof her chair.SARAH: Where is it?!!!ZAKAR points to a large cabinet against the wall.ZAKAR: It's in there.SARAH: Impossible!ZAKAR: See for yourself.SARAH hesitates for a moment, and then places FREDDIE carefully onthe rug. She then marches over to the cabinet and throws open thedoor.ANOTHER ANGLEthe puppet, grinning wildly from inside the cabinet.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH gasps and involuntarily slams the door. She whirls around toface ZAKAR.SARAH: How did you do that?!!ZAKAR leans back into the sofa.ZAKAR: Magic.SARAH: Oh sure ...She nods, skeptically. She can't see -- but WE CAN DEFINITELY SEE --the cabinet door slowly open behind her, and out of it comes a tiny,fierce-looking GOBLIN! This is not a puppet, but a living creaturethat moves quickly out of sight with an exaggerated tiptoe. SARAH isbusy with another problem. She doesn't see FREDDIE!SARAH: Where's Freddie?!!ZAKAR shrugs. In a panic, SARAH begins to look around this room. Shecalls for FREDDIE and, as she passes in front of the living roomdoorway, WE CAN SEE something scurry across the hallway. SARAH stopsand listens.SARAH: Freddie?But it wasn't a BABY she heard. Behind her there is more scurrying asCREATURES begin to appear from various parts of the room. We hearfaint snickering. She turns to ZAKAR, terrified.SARAH: Where is he?!!ZAKAR points to the chair SARAH was sitting in. She is behind thechair and can't see anything. But when she comes around in front ofit she sees FREDDIE comfortably ensconced in the cushions. And he'splaying with the goblin puppet! SARAH reaches over and grabs thepuppet out of his hands. She flings it across the room and scoops upthe BABY.SARAH: Who are you?!!!ZAKAR throws back his head and laughs, then suddenly leaps off thesofa and lands very close to her.ZAKAR: I've been known by many names ... but the one I prefer is_Jareth, King of the Goblins_!!!SARAH holds FREDDIE close and backs away.SARAH: I don't believe this!Amidst thunder and lightning JARETH flings his arms up into the air,and he is suddenly dressed in strange, medieval garb, a cloakswirling around him. And what's worse, much, much worse, is thatsuddenly GOBLINS are everywhere! Popping out of drawers, from underchairs, swinging off the chandeliers. SARAH turns and runs out of theroom.18	INT: FOYER - NIGHTIt's worse in here! The GOBLINS are pouring down the stairs, SOMEslide down the bannister! SARAH tries running into another room, butis soon back, followed by a DOZEN MORE! She barely makes it to thefront door and struggles to open it with the BABY in her arms. TheGOBLINS pull her back and laugh wildly. They fling her right intoJARETH's arms. He scoops FREDDIE up and whirls away from her. SARAHtries to grab the BABY back but the GOBLINS get between them.SARAH (hysterical): Give him back, you monster! Give him back!JARETH only laughs and starts to swirl gracefully. FREDDIE laughswith delight and SARAH struggles to reach him. With a superhumaneffort she pushes through the MASS OF CREATURES and grabs ontoJARETH's fluttering cloak. It's like being caught up in a whirlwindof incredible force.SARAH (screaming): I ... won't ... let ... you ... take ... him!But it's too late. SARAH's feet leave the ground and she is pulledwith them and the whole MASS OF GOBLINS. JARETH and FREDDIE swirl upthrough where the ceiling would have been, up into the blackness.There's a QUICK MONTAGE OF SHOTS: JARETH's laughing face; SARAH,desperate as her fingers are losing their grip; FREDDIE, who's havinga great time; GOBLINS, ALL gleeful; then -- JARETH's garment pullsout of SARAH's grip. She falls OUT OF FRAME, a silent scream on herface.19	EXT: LABYRINTH - DAYA WIDE PEACEFUL SHOTThe sky is pink, and the WHITE BIRD swoops by us as WE TILT DOWN TOSEE the exterior wall of the labyrinth. It is a high masonry wallthat extends off in either direction. Along the wall are variousornamental bushes and there is a small figure of a dwarf, his back tous, peeing into a tiny pond. It looks for all the world like one ofthose ornamental garden sculptures. But it isn't. This is HOGGLE. Ina CLOSER SHOT, which is quite discreet, HOGGLE finishes peeing, andgoes over to a particularly lush shrub. A few butterfly-likecreatures, flower fairies, flit around the bushes.HOGGLE: An' how's me pride an' joy!He leans forward to sniff one of the magnificent blossoms, sighingwith pleasure as he does. But before he can indulge he is stopped bythe whistling sound of a falling object. SARAH falls from the sky andlands right on his prize shrub! Incensed, he screams with fury.HOGGLE: What is this? Look what you done! You murderer!SARAH struggles out of the broken shrub.SARAH: What are you saying, you horrible little man?!HOGGLE: I ain't horrible, I'm _Hoggle_. And just look! You'vedestroyed me prize blossoms!He realizes the extent of the damage to his prize specimen.HOGGLE: I'll get ya for it, you big oaf!And he picks up a spray can and goes after SARAH. But she's hadenough. After the nightmarish kidnapping of FREDDIE and a drop fromthe deepest space, this guy is child's play. She reaches out andpulls the can from HOGGLE's hands. She then grabs him by theshirt-front and practically lifts him off the ground.SARAH: Oh no you don't! If anyone's getting anything around here,it's me ... now where' my brother?!!HOGGLE: I ain't sayin' nothin' 'til ye let me go!SARAH sighs and lets go.SARAH: I'm sorry. But this just hasn't been my day.HOGGLE looks at his crushed shrub again.HOGGLE: Ye ain't the only one.SARAH ignores him and stares at the massive wall behind them.SARAH: And I don't understand any of this!HOGGLE shakes his head and sighs.HOGGLE: Now where have I heard that before.SARAH: What do you mean?HOGGLE: I mean, everyone who comes here thinkin' they can make itthrough the labyrinth says sumthin' like (mimicking Sarah in a whiny,high pitch) ... I don't understand this, whatever am I doing here,how will I ever get home ...SARAH: What makes you think I'm here to get through a labyrinth?HOGGLE shakes his head again.HOGGLE: Can't think of any reason why you'd be standin' here in fronto' this gate if you weren't.SARAH doesn't understand what he is talking about but when she looksup she can't believe her eyes.ANOTHER ANGLEA huge gate where just a moment ago there nothing but smooth, endlesswall. SARAH gulps in disbelief. Then the huge wooden doors fly openand a terrified CREATURE runs out, full speed, screaming for hislife. Right behind him come TWO MENACING GOBLINS riding on strangeBEASTS. They are armed and dangerous looking. They quickly catch upwith the CREATURE and drag him, screaming piteously, back through thegate. Before the gates close SARAH can see MORE GOBLINS, what seemslike hundreds of them. SOME are mounted, MOST of them are armed. Andbeyond them a walled passageway seems to go on forever. Then thewooden doors slam shut.SARAH: Oh, no! Not more goblins!HOGGLE: That's Jareth's goblin army, and that other poor fool mustabeen caught meanderin' where he had no business.SARAH: What will they do to him?HOGGLE: I don't like to think about things like that.SARAH shudders.SARAH: I wonder if things can get any worse?HOGGLE sighs knowingly.HOGGLE: He's taken sumthin' o' yours, ain't he?SARAH is clearly surprised.HOGGLE: Jareth, our high an' mighty king ...SARAH nods, excited that someone has a grasp of the situation.HOGGLE: Bet he's gone and taken sumthin' you love.SARAH (shrugging): Close. He's got my baby brother.HOGGLE laughs derisively.HOGGLE: Baby snatchin'! That's low.SARAH: So I've just got to do something!HOGGLE: Like what?SARAH: Get Freddie back, of course!HOGGLE: Then ya'd have ta make it through the labyrinth, 'causeJareth's castle is at its very center.SARAH looks at the gates and gulps.SARAH: Is it difficult?HOGGLE snorts with derision.HOGGLE: Is me prize shrub crushed into oblivion?SARAH is reaching the breaking point.SARAH: Look, I'm sorry about your bush! But it's not like I asked tohave some weirdo come and take my baby brother and then drop me outof the sky!HOGGLE: Well, I didn't ask for some overgrown flower fairy to drop onme prized possession, neither!SARAH: Oh, this is ridiculous!And she stalks off to the gate, mumbling all the way.SARAH (to herself): ... standing here wasting time talking to someweird guy who should be living under a bridge ...She is almost at the gate when she freezes with fear. Through thegate she can hear the cheers and jeers of the GOBLINS, and what mightbe the wailing of their poor CAPTIVE. There's no way she wants torisk facing that horrific CREW. HOGGLE has come up behind her and asshe backs away from the gate she bumps into him. She shrieks andwhirls around.HOGGLE: That ain't the only way in, ya know!SARAH is very relieved to hear this.SARAH: It's not?!HOGGLE: Course it ain't. There's many a route in ... just only oneway out.SARAH: Well show me one! I've got to find my brother!HOGGLE sighs impatiently. Be fingers a belt that he wears, rattlingit in an obvious manner. It in hung with every kind of watch andbracelet and ring you can imagine.HOGGLE: Information like that has a price ...SARAH, taken aback by the amount of loot he's acquired.SARAH: I could give you this ...She takes the gold circlet off her head. HOGGLE isn't interested.HOGGLE: I had sumthin' o' this caliber in mind ...He takes her hand and WE SEE that she is wearing a beautiful rubyring. SARAH shakes her head vehemently.SARAH: No. My mother gave me that.HOGGLE eyes it greedily.HOGGLE: She could give ya another ...SARAH: No, she couldn't. (sadness crosses her face suddenly) Shelives real far away ...The sadness disappears just as suddenly. She holds out the circlet.SARAH: This is all you get.He grabs the circlet and bites it.HOGGLE: Bah! It's paste!Something catches SARAH's eye. It is one of the tiny FLOWER FAIRIES.She leans over for a better look.SARAH: No it's not, it's plastic.HOGGLE's eyes light up at that and he grunts with satisfaction as hestrings the circlet onto his belt. SARAH reaches out her hand to theFAIRY.SARAH: What a beautiful little thing ...HOGGLE reaches for the spray can.HOGGLE: Let me at it!SARAH is enraged.SARAH: You murderer! How can you kill such beautiful creatures?!!Just then the FAIRY gives SARAH a vicious bite. She shakes it off herhand and cries out in pain.SARAH: It bit me!HOGGLE quickly sprays the offending FAIRY and it falls to the earth,screaming all the way.HOGGLE: Of course it bit ya! There's nuthin' more vicious than aflower fairy. Any fool knows that!SARAH sucks on her wounded hand and tries not to cry.HOGGLE (sighs): But you don't know nuthin', do ya?A tear trickles down SARAH's cheek. HOGGLE sighs.HOGGLE: I got a feelin' I'm gonna regret this. (he stalks off) Comewith me an' I'll show ya a way in.SARAH hurries after him. As they walk along the endless wall HOGGLElooks at the circlet and polishes it on his sleeve.HOGGLE (thrilled): Plastic!20	EXT: LABYRINTH - DAYAnother part of the wall. HOGGLE pushes a bush aside and shows SARAHa tiny door. She looks at it dubiously.HOGGLE: This'll take ya into the maze, that's the first part of thelabyrinth ...SARAH: The first part! What comes after that?HOGGLE gets down on his knees and starts to crawl through the door.HOGGLE: Then there's the Garden Maze, then the Forbidden Forest ...SARAH: That sounds inviting ...He is through the door. He is still talking but SARAH can't hear him.She quickly tries to follow.SARAH: Wait! Wait! I can't hear you ...21	INT: LABYRINTH - DAYHOGGLE is through the door.HOGGLE: ... then comes the castle ...SARAH's head appears.HOGGLE: ... that's surely where Jareth's keepin' the babe ...He looks down at SARAH, she is through the door to her waist andstraining to get the rest of herself through. HOGGLE sighs and grabsher hand. With a groan he tugs on her and pulls her through thedoorway. She lands flat on her face.HOGGLE: Ya don't seem ta be able ta do nuthin' without my help, do ya?He chuckles and SARAH gives him a look that could kill as she gets upand dusts herself off. She looks around and the environment seemsrather benign. The brick walls are open to the sky, here and there aflower peeks through a crack.SARAH: Oh, I think I can handle it. In fact, this place doesn't seemso bad at all.And with that, she jauntily heads down the nearest corridor.22	INT: CORRIDOR 1 - DAYSARAH turns a corner and comes face to face with a FACE. It is hugeand grotesque and protrudes out of the wall.FACE: Go back! Go back before it's too late!SARAH screams and backs away from it, moving further down thecorridor. She backs into something and whirls around. It is ANOTHERFACE.FACE 2: Turn back while you still can!!SARAH turns and runs back the way she came.SARAH: Hoggle!23	INT: LABYRINTH - DAYHOGGLE is still standing by the door, an amused smile on his face.SARAH comes rushing toward him.SARAH: Oh, I'm so glad you're still here! They were horrible ...HOGGLE: You don't mean the False Alarms, do ya?He shakes his head and goes off in the direction that SARAH just camefrom.HOGGLE: If ya gonna let a little thing like them scare ya, Missy, yahaven't a hope o' makin' it to the castle.SARAH quickly follows.SARAH: False Alarms?24	INT: CORRIDOR 1 - DAYThe corridor of faces. HOGGLE enters and the FACES start in on theirroutine. SARAH comes up behind him, shuddering at the ghastly sight.FACE 1: This is the path of no return!FACE 2: Beware! Beware!HOGGLE: Just ignore 'em.SARAH: Are you sure?HOGGLE sighs and turns to the NEXT FACE.FACE 3: Abandon all hope ...HOGGLE: Oh, shut up, will ya?SARAH is wide-eyed at HOGGLE's defiance.FACE 3: But I was just getting to the best part!HOGGLE: All right. But don't expect us to pay any attention.FACE 3 (winks at Sarah): You're going to love this ... Abandon allhope ye who enter here, for this is the road to destruction!!!HOGGLE (bored): Very nice ...SARAH is dumbstruck. HOGGLE takes her hand and yanks her along.FACE 3: Come back any time ... I mean, you're doomed, doomed!25	INT: CORRIDOR 2 - DAYHOGGLE and SARAH continuing down a similar corridor.HOGGLE: Ya see, things aren't always what they appear to be aroundhere, Missy ...SARAH (shrugging): Whatever. All I'm interested in is getting mybrother back from that creep.She starts to look around for something.HOGGLE: I admire yer determination, but it takes more'n that to beatJareth.SARAH picks up a rock.SARAH: Well, maybe I'm beginning to get the hang of this labyrinthbusiness.She takes the rock and uses it to mark an X on the floor.SARAH: See, now I'll know which way we came in case I get lost.HOGGLE (sighs): Missy, goin' back the way ya came is par fer thecourse around here, what ya want to do is go forward.SARAH: Look, Hoggle! I've got to find Freddie and I don't need you todiscourage me!HOGGLE: And I don't need to be wastin' me time goin' around incircles with you!SARAH: That's fine with me! (she starts off) I know you're only aftermy ring, anyway!She turns a corner and HOGGLE looks after her, hurt and pity crossinghis face. He takes a few steps in her direction and an officiouslittle creature, a BRICKKEEPER, emerges from the brickwork of thefloor, takes out the cobblestone that SARAH marked, and replaces itwith the marked side hidden. It looks up at HOGGLE.BRICKKEEPER: Some people got no respect for property!HOGGLE sticks his tongue out at the CREATURE just as it goes backinto its hole.26	EXT: AERIAL SHOT - DAYThe WHITE BIRD flies over the maze and WE SEE SARAH marching along.She thinks she's going forward but she's heading right for HOGGLE.27	INT: CORRIDOR 2 - DAYSARAH emerges into the corridor and comes face to face with HOGGLE.SARAH: But ...She whirls around to look behind her, then back at HOGGLE again.SARAH: ... but you were just behind me! I'm sure of it!HOGGLE shakes his head as she runs by him and looks down at the floor.SARAH: My mark! It was right here!HOGGLE comes up beside her.HOGGLE: I told ya, Missy. Things aren't what they appear to be aroundhere ...JARETH (VO): Except when they are.ANOTHER ANGLEJARETH, in all his glory. SARAH and HOGGLE whirl around and BOTH gaspwith surprise and fear.JARETH: We meet again ... Sarah.SARAH: Where's Freddie?!! What have you done with him!?She starts to rush toward JARETH but HOGGLE holds her back.JARETH: Nothing ... yet.He walks toward them and they automatically step backwards. He looksdown at HOGGLE.JARETH: And what have we here ... Hoghead, isn't it?HOGGLE is humiliated.HOGGLE: Me name's Hoggle.JARETH: Ah, yes. Now I remember. (he moves closer to Hoggle) You'rethe greedy little coward who lives outside the gate. Shouldn't you beback there minding your own business ... Hedgehog?He chucks HOGGLE under the chin, and is quite rough about it. HOGGLEfumes silently. SARAH doesn't like this.SARAH: Why, why don't you pick on someone your own size?He looks her up and down.JARETH: Whom did you have in mind?SARAH tries to brazen it out.SARAH: I don't have time for any games. I want Freddie, and I wanthim now!JARETH throws back his head and laughs.JARETH: Ah, Freddie. An adorable little imp. I'm really growingrather fond of him.SARAH: Where is he?!!JARETH: He's in my castle, and seems to be enjoying himself immensely.He ambles toward them and they can't help themselves, they BOTH stepbackwards.JARETH: In fact, he likes being with goblins so much, I'm consideringturning him into one.SARAH thinks this is crazy.SARAH: You can't do that!JARETH (grinning): Oh yes I can.SARAH looks down at HOGGLE and speaks under her breath.SARAH: Can he?HOGGLE nods glumly.JARETH: But let's make it interesting. I won't do it for ... thirteenhours. If you make it to the castle before then you might be able tosave him. If not, well, I think little Freddie will mike an adorablegoblin prince, don't you?He laughs and holds up both hands and WE SEE that they are empty. Hethen closes them and when he opens them again there is a gold watchin one hand. He throws it to SARAH, but HOGGLE intercepts it and eyesit greedily. Annoyed, SARAH snatches it out of his hand. She looks atit and sees that it has 13 hours marked on it. When she looks upagain, JARETH is gone.WORM (VO): Well, good riddance to bad rubbish!SARAH and HOGGLE BOTH jump and then look at where the voice is comingfrom. It is a little WORM, poking its head out of a hole in thebrickwork.WORM: That's what the missus always says, she does. Why the last timeshe found that one around here she sent him packing.SARAH: Jareth?!WORM: She don't take to his kind of nonsense, that's for sure. Now,how about a nice cup of tea? The missus has a kettle on.SARAH looks down at HOGGLE, who shrugs. She then looks up at the WORMand gives him a beaming smile.28	INT: CORRIDOR 2 - DAYSARAH and HOGGLE are sitting on the floor.SARAH: Do you think Jareth will give Freddie back if I make it ontime?HOGGLE: It's hard to say, Missy. But if I were you, I'd worry 'boutfirst things first.SARAH: What do you mean?HOGGLE: I means ya got ta find the castle before ya can go savin' thebabe and I mean ta see that ya do!SARAH is thrilled and leans over and gives him a kiss on the cheek.SARAH: Oh, Hoggle! Thank you, thank you so much!HOGGLE gets all flustered and tries to act gruff.HOGGLE: Seems to me I could be gettin' that ring from ya after all ifI plays me cards right.SARAH regards him affectionately.SARAH: I know you don't mean that. You're helping me because you'rereally nice.HOGGLE: I ain't nice! I just likes the way ya stood up ta him is all.(he is thoughtful for a moment; almost to himself) Too bad more've ushaven't had the guts to do the same.The WORM reappears.WORM: How about a biscuit? The missus just took a fresh batch out ofthe oven.SARAH: Thanks, but we really don't have any time. We've got to get tothe castle.HOGGLE: Ya wouldn't happen to know a shortcut, would ya?WORM: Well, you might try taking that first left.SARAH and HOGGLE look down the corridor.SARAH: But there isn't any left turn.Just then a strange FIGURE seems to come through the left wall andwalks toward them. He is dressed in long flowing robes and wears ahat shaped like a bird.WORM: See, there's a left turn right there, where that Wise One justcame in.SARAH: A Wise One! Maybe he knows the best way to the castle!HOGGLE: I wouldn't bet on it.But SARAH is excited about the possibility of getting more help.SARAH: Excuse me, Sir. Could you tell us the best way to get to thecastle?WISE ONE: The best way to the castle, hmmm. I'm glad you asked thatquestion.To SARAH's and HOGGLE's surprise, the HAT joins into the conversation.HAT: Now you've done it, gone and asked him a question. We'll be hereall day!WISE ONE: A castle, or fortress, or as it is sometimes known, astronghold or citadel -- or, that which has a turret and barbican,but usually not a portcullis ...HAT: What did I tell you? There's no stopping him now.WISE ONE: ... often there is a rampart or bulwark, and then a parapet-- perchance an actual vallum or counterscarp ...HAT: Shut up down there!WISE ONE: ... and for entrenchment; a moat, drawbridge and sally-port...SARAH looks at HOGGLE.SARAH: This was not one of my better ideas.HAT: Well, I told you that, didn't I? But nobody ever listens to me!He looks down at the still mumbling WISE ONE.HAT: Enough! Nobody cares!!The WISE ONE blinks and looks at SARAH and HOGGLE.WISE ONE: Did one of you say something?SARAH thinks quickly.SARAH: Oh, no. We never talk to strangers.WISE ONE: That's very wise. An idea worth savoring.HOGGLE nudges him.HOGGLE: Yeah, but keep it under your hat!HOGGLE thinks this is hilarious. The HAT doesn't.HAT: Ve-ry funny!The WISE ONE continues on his way.WISE ONE: The stranger, hmm. I'm glad you brought that up. Thestranger; one not indigenous, also known as the alien, or one frombeyond the sea ...HAT (hysterical): I quit! I can't take it anymore!And then they are gone, passing through the righthand wall as if itwasn't there. SARAH watches after them, stunned.SARAH: How did he do that?!!HOGGLE: And how can we make sure he doesn't come back?SARAH gives him a look and turns to the WORM.WORM: Just go over to that bit of wall there and walk right throughit. The important thing is to forget what you think you know. Itdoesn't apply around here.SARAH and HOGGLE walk down to the part of the wall where the WISE ONEentered. Once there, they can see that a section of the wall isactually a passageway-width behind the rest of the wall. SARAH yellsback to the WORM.SARAH: Thank you! And tell the missus we're sorry we missed herbiscuits!And then they walk through the wall and are gone.29	INT: CORRIDOR 3 - DAYSARAH and HOGGLE appear through the wall and SARAH laughs withdelight. HOGGLE wasn't as pleased with the experience and feels thewall as if testing to see if it really happened. SARAH sees that theyare in a corridor where the walls are crumbling and she climbs up tothe top of one and looks over.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH'S POV - THE TURRETS OF THE CASTLESARAH (excited): I can see the castle! It doesn't look far at all!HOGGLE is still feeling around the wall, trying to figure out howthey got there. SARAH jumps down and starts to run down the corridor.SARAH: Come on, Hoggle. Let's go!HOGGLE sees her retreating figure and hurries after her.30	INT: CASTLE - DAYJARETH's great hall. He stands by a window and looks out over thelabyrinth -- from this vantage point he can see clear across it: thehovels that surround the castle walls, the arid plain that leads tothe dense forest, encircling that, the complex maze. He seems lost inthought. The WHITE BIRD enters the window and lands on his shoulder.Behind him FREDDIE is having a grand time. His slippery crawl is toomuch for the GOBLINS that scurry about, trying to mind him.Meanwhile, a particularly stupid looking GOBLIN begins to approachJARETH. He saunters across the room and is stopped short by a FEMALEGOBLIN. She grabs hold of his shirt and hisses a warning.FEMALE GOBLIN: Remember! It's bow and scrape ... bow and scrape ...The STUPID GOBLIN nods and she lets him go. He then continues hisapproach to JARETH, only this time he does a little bow and thenscrapes his foot across the floor, then repeats the action.STUPID GOBLIN (to himself): Bow 'n scrape ... bow 'n scrape ...JARETH turns and sees the GOBLIN.JARETH: Well, what is it?The GOBLIN can't answer and do his bow-and-scrape at the same time socontinues his painfully slow approach.STUPID GOBLIN: ... bow 'n scrape ... bow 'n scrape ...Annoyed, JARETH walks over to the GOBLIN and lifts him up by hisshirt front. The GOBLIN is still bowing.JARETH: I said, what is it?!!!STUPID GOBLIN: Th ... the girl and Hoggle, sire. Th ... they'rehalfway th .... through th ... the maze.JARETH drops the GOBLIN hard on the floor. FREDDIE sees this andlaughs with delight. JARETH walks over and scoops the BABY up in hisarms. He then carries him over to the window. He calls over to anARMED GOBLIN by the door.JARETH: I think it's time they had some company.ARMED GOBLIN: Yes, Sir!Be then salutes, causing his visor to close on his face, thenstumbles around looking for the door. JARETH shakes his head.JARETH: You'll make a much better goblin than that, won't you,Freddie!FREDDIE's response is to clap his sticky baby's hand on to JARETH'sface. JARETH, pretending he doesn't mind, carefully removes it. Hethen looks down to the courtyard below.31	EXT: CASTLE - DAYJARETH'S POVARMED GOBLINS are pouring out of the castle.32	EXT: CORRIDOR 4 - DAYSARAH and HOGGLE are striding down a corridor. They are about to cometo a corner.SARAH: Are you sure Jareth can turn Freddie into a goblin? I mean,that's really weird ...They turn the corner and HOGGLE stops short. SARAH becomes alarmed.SARAH: What is it?HOGGLE gestures for her to be quiet and then we can hear what hehears -- marching. They look back the way they came.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH'S AND HOGGLE'S POV - A BATTALION OF ARMED GOBLINS, marchingright towards them!ANOTHER ANGLEThey look at each other, then turn and run. HOGGLE tries to getthrough the wall the way the WORM showed them.HOGGLE (quoting the worm): Just forget what you think you know and ...He smacks headlong into the wall. He stops to rub his nose and SARAHflies by him.SARAH: Come on!33	INT: CASTLE - DAYFREDDIE is now sitting on the lap of a GOBLIN, happily bopping it onthe nose. JARETH snaps his fingers and a GROUP of sleepy MUSICIANS inthe corner stumble over themselves to pick up their instruments. Theybegin to play and JARETH looks out the window and begins a song. Hesings about the labyrinth; what it is -- his domain, and what it isto OTHERS -- a test, a proving-ground, not for the faint of heart.34	INT: MAZE MONTAGE - DAYWhile JARETH sings, SARAH and HOGGLE try to escape from the GOBLINS.They get a lead on them for a while and come to another corridor withcrumbling walls. They scamper up to get a look at their position andsee dust rising from several parts of the maze. The GOBLINS areeverywhere.In another corridor, they are stopped in their tracks by DOZENS OFLITTLE FUZZY CREATURES who scurry towards them out of the way of theoncoming GOBLINS. They turn and run back the way they came and asthey do WALL CREATURES chatter nervously and then disappear into thecracks between the bricks.In a corridor with very short walls they are able to see the tips ofspears on either side of them, going in the opposite direction.They enter a corridor with several arches curving over it, formingsmall, intermittent bridges. Thinking they are safe, they stop for abreath, and soon realize that a BATTALION is right behind them. Theyscurry up the walls, and as the song comes to an end, they each lieacross an arch hopefully out of sight of the GOBLINS below.35	INT: ARCHED CORRIDOR - DAYSARAH and HOGGLE huddle above the corridor on their arches as TWOGOBLINS bring up the rear.GOBLIN 1: I can kill better than you can.GOBLIN 2: But I'm better at maiming. Everybody says so.And they are gone. Shaken, SARAH and HOGGLE slide down from theirhiding places.SARAH: Do you think they're gone?HOGGLE: Sure they are. Goblins ain't known fer their intelligence, yaknow. They has as much trouble findin' their way through the maze asyou do.He folds his arms and leans against the wall.SARAH: I'm not sure, but I think you just called me stupid ...Suddenly HOGGLE yells and disappears. He has accidentally leaned onanother secret wall opening. SARAH quickly follows.36	INT: CORRIDOR 5 - DAYHOGGLE and SARAH are now in the long circular corridor that dividesthe maze from the beginning of the second ring of the labyrinth --the Garden Maze.HOGGLE (excited): I think I know where we are!SARAH: That'll be a nice change.He ignores her and looks around excitedly.HOGGLE: This place is the end o' the maze! That means we're near theentrance ta the second ring o' the labyrinth.SARAH: The second ring? What's that?HOGGLE starts down the corridor.HOGGLE (happily): The Garden Maze!SARAH (gloomy): Sounds like a great place ... what's it like?HOGGLE: Don't know, I ain't never made it this far before.He is skipping happily down the corridor when SARAH hears something.It is a strange clanking sound.SARAH (frightened): Hoggle! What's that sound?!!HOGGLE stops skipping and sighs.HOGGLE: Now don't go gettin' all girly on me, Missy, now that we'sfinally safe ...SARAH: So you think we're safe, do you?HOGGLE (annoyed): Didn't I just say so?!!SARAH: Then tell me what you think of that.SARAH points behind them where the clanking noise is coming from. Itis now much louder. HOGGLE comes over to her and takes a better look.He screams.ANOTHER ANGLETHEIR POV - A SLASHING MACHINE is coming right towards them. (Aslashing wall is made up of rows of furiously spinning knives, andchopping cleavers, and has brushes along the bottom to clean upwhatever it encounters in its path.) And there is no way around itbecause it completely fills the corridor.ANOTHER ANGLEHOGGLE desperately tries to walk through the wall the way they camein, but it is to no avail. He just keeps smashing his face. SARAHstarts to run for it.SARAH: Come on!HOGGLE follows, every so often trying, and failing, to get throughthe wall.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH, who is far ahead of HOGGLE, comes to a door! And hanging on ahook next to it is a bunch of keys. She looks back at HOGGLE.SARAH: Hoggle, hurry!ANOTHER ANGLESARAH'S POV - HOGGLE running toward her, and making slow but steadyprogress toward them BOTH -- the slashing machine.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH fumbles with the keys, furiously trying key after key in thedoor but to no avail. She is terrified.SARAH: None of the keys work!Desperate, she starts banging on the door. HOGGLE is just a few yardsaway from her.HOGGLE: Why don't you just try it?He then tries once more to walk through the wall. SARAH tries theknob and sure enough, it opens. She is delighted. What she doesn'tsee is HOGGLE suddenly disappearing through the floor.SARAH: It's open! Hog ...She turns around and he is gone! And the slashing machine is just afew yards away! She screams and, in her terror, falls backwardsthrough the door. It slams shut just as the slashing machine reachesit WE CAN SEE that FOUR GOBLINS in sanitation workers' uniforms havebeen pushing the machine all along. They grunt and strain, crankingthe wheels that turn the knives and pushing all at the same time.37	INT: PICTURE GALLERY - DAYSARAH emerges into a large room. The walls are covered with largepaintings in ornate gilt frames. She is a bit stunned by the clonecall with the slashing machine as she approaches the first painting.SARAH (to herself): What in the world ...She stops short in front of the first painting and cannot believe hereyes. It is a painting of the watch with 13 hours on it. The hourhand is on the 9. SARAH fumbles into her pocket and finds the watchthat Jareth gave her. It also has the hour hand on the 9.SARAH: Only 9 hours left!The next picture is of a BABY surrounded by gruesome GOBLINS. Oncloser inspection, the BABY is obviously FREDDIE. She chokes back asob and runs over to the next one, it is a picture of a rotunda withstaircases going off in all different directions on different planesof gravity. It is an Escher room, and a closer look shows a GOBLINhappily standing on the ceiling. She shakes her head and goes by thenext painting and gasps involuntarily. It is a compelling portrait ofJARETH, and she moves even closer. Then she shakes herself out of it.ANOTHER ANGLETHE PORTRAIT'S POV - SARAH wills herself away and moves on, and wehear the sound of JARETH's breathing.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH is nervous and eagerly looks for a way out. She rushes byanother painting, giving it merely a glance. But something makes hergo back for a better look. It is of a lovely, manicured hedge maze.In the distance WE CAN SEE the turrets of JARETH's castle. And in thesky nearby flies a beautiful WHITE BIRD. And then SARAH is amazed bywhat she sees. A closer look at the painting reveals that the WHITEBIRD is flying! It moves over the hedges and WE SEE a FIGURE waving.SARAH: Hoggle!SARAH, disturbed, backs away from the painting. And then, because itreally is as wonderful as it is scary, she goes back for another lookand over her shoulder WE CAN SEE HOGGLE waving and we hear his tinyvoice.HOGGLE: Missy! Over here! This is the way to the castle!And SARAH strains to hear, and leans toward the painting, stretchingher hand out and touching the painting, which makes it turn into ashimmering wall that her hand goes right through. And then shedisappears right through the painting.ANOTHER ANGLETHE GALLERY. And JARETH's portrait is now blank.38	EXT: HEDGE MAZE - DAYSARAH rushes up to HOGGLE and throws her arms around him.SARAH: What happened to you? I was afraid I'd never see you again!HOGGLE: Ya know that trick with the wall? Damn, if it don't work withthe floor, as well!SARAH laughs and hugs him again.39	INT : HEDGE MAZE - DAYSARAH and HOGGLE have been walking through the maze a long time. Theyare tired and bedraggled. SARAH pulls the watch out of her pocket andsighs.SARAH: An hour's gone by and I don't think we're more than four feetfrom where we started.HOGGLE: That's 'cause ya won't do what I tells ya. It's clear as daywe should be goin' this way ...He turns a corner and walks smack into a hedge dead end. He howls inpain and SARAH sighs and follows him.ANOTHER ANGLEHOGGLE disentangling himself from the hedge.SARAH: Got any more suggestions?Before HOGGLE can answer they are interrupted by a terriblegut-wrenching scream. It is positively unearthly. SARAH whirls around.SARAH: It sounds like it came from over there!HOGGLE points in the opposite direction.HOGGLE: Then let's go this way.SARAH frowns at him as the scream begins again.SARAH: Hoggle! It sounds like someone's being hurt!HOGGLE: Exactly why we should be headin' in the othermost direction!SARAH shakes her head in disgust and runs off as the screams becomemore unbearable.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH, running through the hedge maze. Driven by the sound of thescreams, she has an unconscious ability to find her way through.HOGGLE, trying to keep up with her, keeps running into dead ends.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH emerging from the maze. She is stopped in her tracks by whatshe sees and quickly covers her mouth to prevent herself fromscreaming. HOGGLE emerges a moment later, barely pauses before heheads right back into the maze.40	EXT: CLEARING - DAYSARAH'S POV - FOUR GOBLINS are torturing a huge creature (LUDO) thatthey have hung by his ankle from a tree limb. They have also takenpains to bind the CREATURE, who it is obvious could take an most ofthem and win in a fairer fight. He is about nine feet tall,powerfully built, and his screams of frustrated agony are trulyunbearable. The GOBLINS have devised a unique method of harassinghim. They ALL carry long sticks which have small, fierce, bitingCREATURES on the end of them. The GOBLINS bat their sticks at LUDO,who bellows and tries to swat back. Since he is tied, the NIPPERS arefree to bite him whenever they get near.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH, distraught, peeking out from behind a hedge.SARAH: The poor thing!HOGGLE peeks out from behind SARAH, then quickly ducks back. SARAHlooks for a way to stop the torture. She picks up a rock andcarefully aims it at the nearest GOBLIN. It hits his head and knockshis helmet visor over his eyes. Blinded, the GOBLIN lurches around,swinging his nipper stick at the OTHER THREE.BLINDED GOBLIN: Hey! Who turned out the lights?The OTHER GOBLINS see a new target and poke their nipper stickstowards him. He takes off and runs blindly into the hedge maze. TheOTHER THREE chase him, carrying the nipper sticks upright no that WECAN SEE their progress in the BG.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH desperately tries to untie the huge knot that holds LUDOsuspended upside down. She can't undo it and yells for HOGGLESARAH: Get out here, you coward!HOGGLE appears from behind his hedge. He hesitates, then pulls adagger from his belt and joins SARAH. He cuts through the rope in onehack, and LUDO falls to the ground with a thud.ANOTHER ANGLEThe nipper sticks start yammering away as they see SARAH and HOGGLEfreeing LUDO over the top of the hedge. The GOBLIN chase stops andthey head back to the clearing. HOGGLE dives for the bushes but adetermined SARAH stays and pulls off the ropes. When LUDO is free, hepicks up a huge log. As the FOUR GOBLINS come roaring back into theclearing, LUDO waves the log over his head. The GOBLIN chargeimmediately shifts into a GOBLIN retreat, the nipper sticks yippingin fear.ANOTHER ANGLELUDO puts down the log and sits, his big shaggy head hanging down. Hetaken one hand and wipes away a tear.LUDO: Ludo ... hurt.SARAH's heart breaks. This thing is the ultimate stuffed animal.SARAH: Is that your name? Ludo?He nods and wipes away another tear.LUDO: Goblins ... mean to Ludo.SARAH: Oh, I know! They were terribly mean to you. (she moves closerand pats his arm) But it's all right now.LUDO sniffs and then breaks into the most endearing big dumb smileyou have ever seen.LUDO: Friend!SARAH: That's right, Ludo! I'm your friend. I'm Sarah.LUDO: Sarah ... friend!HOGGLE has come out from hiding during this exchange. He finds thewhole scene a bit nauseating. And an unnecessary nuisance. If there'sone thing he doesn't want, it's competition for SARAH.HOGGLE: I think I'm about ta be sick.They ignore him and LUDO grins for all he's worth as SARAH beams upat him. HOGGLE pulls her over to one side.HOGGLE: I hope yer not thinkin' o' lettin' the beast traipse along,Missy. He'll just slow us up.SARAH: Are you kidding?! He'll be a great help! The goblins arescared of him because he's so fierce ...Just then LUDO shyly offers SARAH a flower that he has just pickedfor her. She takes it and smiles at him.HOGGLE (sarcastically): I sees what ya mean.SARAH shrugs and gives LUDO a pat. HOGGLE sighs with frustration.HOGGLE: I just thinks we was doin' fine on our own.SARAH: And we can do even better with Ludo. (turns to Ludo) You wantto help me save my baby brother, don't you, Ludo?LUDO: Save ... baby. Good!SARAH nods with satisfaction and strides into the hedge maze. LUDOright behind her. HOGGLE follows, clearly unhappy.41	EXT: FOREST GATE - DAYSARAH, HOGGLE and LUDO come out of the hedge maze and see a wall withtwo SARAH-sized doors in it.HOGGLE: This is it, the entrance ta the Forbidden Forest. All wegotta do is pick a door ...SARAH: What difference does it make? Let's just go!LUDO quickly steps between SARAH and the doors.LUDO: One door ... good. One door ... bad.HOGGLE: Well, that's great news. (to Ludo) Don't suppose ya knowwhich is which?SARAH skirts around LUDO and goes up to the doors for a closer lookat them.LUDO: One door ... good. One door ...HOGGLE: All right, ya walkin' mountain! Ya made ya point.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH ignores the bickering behind her and examines the doors. Eachone has a door knocker on it. Both knockers are carved into faces,except one has the ring going through its ears and the other has itstuck in its mouth.SARAH (to herself): I guess once you choose a door ... all you haveto do is knock.The KNOCKER with the ring through its ears speaks.KNOCKER 1: Are you addressing me?SARAH jumps back, stunned.SARAH: You can talk!KNOCKER 1: What? What? You'll have to speak up!!KNOCKER 2: mmffn ... grnth ... sminvl ...SARAH turns to the OTHER KNOCKER.SARAH: You too!KNOCKER 2: ... gmft ... bmble ...SARAH shakes her head in amazement.ANOTHER ANGLEThe BOYS are still at it.HOGGLE: If yer so smart why not show us another way inta the forest?LUDO: Ludo ... not ... know.HOGGLE: That figures, don't it? (he turns his back on Ludo, fuming)Why the Missy wants an overgrown hill o' hair fer a friend is beyondme.LUDO tries to make HOGGLE feel better and pats him on the shoulder.HOGGLE shakes his hand off with a growl.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH is excited.SARAH: I love it! Talking doors!! (to Knocker 1) Are you the rightdoor to the forest?KNOCKER 1: It doesn't do to ask me. For some reason I can't hear athing.SARAH turns to KNOCKER 1.KNOCKER 1: No use asking him, either. All he does is mumble.KNOCKER 2 gets very excited.KNOCKER 2: thgt ... vrnf ... lcl ...SARAH: I get it! You can't talk with that ring in your mouth!She removes the ring and looks at the FACE triumphantly.SARAH: Now, tell me which one of you is the right door to the forest.KNOCKER 2: Oh, I am. No question about it.SARAH: Great! How do we get you to open up?KNOCKER 2: One merely has to knock.SARAH: Of course, why didn't I think of that.She tries to get the ring back in its mouth.KNOCKER 2: Oh no you don't, young lady! I've had just about enough ofthat awful thing, thank you very much!SARAH: But how are we supposed to get through this door if you won'tlet me knock on it?KNOCKER 2: Well, I really couldn't say now, could I?SARAH throws up her hands in disgust.KNOCKER 1: Oh do speak up, both of you? I can't hear a thing!ANOTHER ANGLEHOGGLE and LUDO are still at it.HOGGLE (conspiratorially): Ya know ... even if she does get the dooropen, ya won't be able ta fit through. Why not make it easy on us alland take a hike?LUDO: Ludo ... Stay!HOGGLE is disgusted.HOGGLE: Yer quite the speechifier, ain't ya?ANOTHER ANGLESARAH suddenly gives KNOCKER 2 an evil grin.SARAH: Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to change your mind?KNOCKER 2: Absolutely not! My lips are sealed!SARAH: That's what I thought!The KNOCKER presses its lips firmly together. SARAH deftly squeezesits nose shut. It sputters for air and finally has to open its mouthbefore it suffocates. SARAH shoves the ring in with a gleeful cry oftriumph. She knocks, and the door swings open.SARAH: Let's go!She goes through the door and HOGGLE and LUDO race to follow. TheyBOTH try to get through the door at the same time and get into such atangle that the door closes before they can straighten themselves out.HOGGLE: Now you've done it!In a frenzy, HOGGLE starts banging on both doors.HOGGLE: Missy! Missy, wait!42	EXT: FORBIDDEN FOREST - DAYSARAH on the other side of the door. Except on this side, there is nodoor, just a long expanse of wall. The forest is very dark, and asits name suggests, very forbidding. SARAH can hear HOGGLE calling,but it is very faint.SARAH (scared): Hoggle?43	EXT: FOREST GATE - DAYHOGGLE is beating on the doors with such a frenzy that the other doorswings open.HOGGLE: I'm coming ...He rushes through the door and disappears. We can tell from his voicethat he is falling down a deep hole.HOGGLE (echoed): ... Miiiiiiiiissy!We hear a huge splash. Then that door shuts and LUDO is all alone.LUDO: Sarah ... gone. Hoggle ... gone.He is sad and confused. A FIGURE emerges from the hedge maze andbegins to walk along the wall, away from LUDO. It is the WISE ONE.LUDO brightens and chases after them.LUDO: Wait!The WISE ONE stops and the HAT looks LUDO up and down.HAT: This ought to be a good one!LUDO: Ludo ... need ... door!WISE ONE: You have need of a door, do you? Ah, yes. A very usefulthing, the door; also known as a portal or threshold -- and thatwhich gives access, a gate or gangway ...He continues walking and LUDO walks with him, listening intently.WISE ONE: ... also an entrance or entry, often accompanied by apropylaeum ...HAT (sighs): If only I had hands I could cover my ears ... that is,if I had ears ...WISE ONE: ... not to be confused with a window, or fenestration ...44	EXT: FOREST - DAYSARAH has waited long enough.SARAH: Hoggle, Ludo ... where are you?She reaches into her pocket and looks at the watch. The hour hand ison the 7.SARAH: (whispers) Oh, Freddie! (she shoves the watch back into herpocket) Well, you guys are going to have to catch up with me 'cause Ican't wait.Then determined, she strides off.45.	INT: HOLE - DAYHOGGLE is in a pool at the bottom of a deep hole in the ground. Thereis a ledge just above him and he splashes violently trying to reach it.HOGGLE: Somebody help me! I can't swim!46	EXT: FOREST - DAYSARAH is in a very thick, creepy part of the woods. She is clearlylost. She gets herself tangled in a thorn bush, and struggles with itto get herself free. Finally she does, and then, frustrated, sitsdown on the ground.SARAH: Why does everything have to happen to me?But there's no time to think about that because she hears the soundof a driving drum rhythm and then a wild-looking, spindly, leeringLITTLE CREATURE comes scampering through the trees and into theclearing; and then ANOTHER, and ANOTHER and ANOTHER. SARAH isterrified as they approach her, but then not so terrified because theCREATURES aren't doing anything except dancing; wild, loose-limbed,frenzied dancing. SARAH laughs, and can't help but be taken in by thewild spectacle. And then they begin to encircle her, still moving tothe wild rhythm.SARAH (laughing, moving): What are you?WILD THING 1: We're Wild Things, baby! Wild!WILD THING 2: Wild and free!WILD THING 3: Get down!And then more WILD THINGS appear, and these produce instruments. Asand turn the drum rhythm into a frenzied upbeat number.WILD THING 1: You call that wild! I'll show you wild!And then he does an amazing thing, to say the least. He takes hishead off and rolls it along his arms from hand to hand like ajuggler, then tosses it high in the air and deftly catches it on hisshoulders. SARAH gasps and tries to get sway but another WILD THINGpushes her back into the middle of the melee.WILD THING 2: Cut me some slack and move on back!And they do, and, moving to the pounding rhythm, he takes his eyesout of his head and waves them at SARAH. He then tosses them on theground as if they were a pair of dice. They land at SARAH's feetlooking straight up.WILD THING 2: Snake eyes!SARAH is fascinated and repelled. And the beat gets hotter and thefrenzy more frenzied and she can't help getting a little wildherself. She begins to really dance.WILD THING 3: That's it, baby, get wild and free! But you'll never beas wild as me!And to prove it he takes his head off and begins to dribble it like abasketball. WILD THING 1 leans over to SARAH and whispersconspiratorily.WILD THING 1: I wouldn't call that really _wild_, would you?SARAH: Well, it's ... uh ... sort of ...WILD THING 1: I'd call _this_ wild ...And he takes off his head, puts it on the ground as if it were a golfball, and then removes a leg and uses it as a golf club. The headgoes flying, right to SARAH. SARAH catches the head, then tries toget it back to its body but the body dances into the middle of allthe other WILD THINGS and she can't find it. So there's SARAH,running around like a chicken with two heads when suddenly the earsstart to flap and the head flies out of her hand. A WILD THING grabsher hand and turns her around.WILD THING 2: That was _wild_, baby. (he starts to dance) Now how'bout gettin' wild with me?But SARAH has had enough.SARAH: I think I'll sit this one out ...WILD THING 1: Not with us you don't ...WILD THING 2: 'Cause we're _wild_!And then they're all over her, like a bunch of hyper puppies, andit's really too much.SARAH: Enough! I've got to find the castle!WILD THING 2: Well, why didn't you say so, baby!WILD THING 3: That's a _wild_ idea!And then his head flies off and he has to quickly grab it and put itback and meanwhile the OTHERS start pushing and pulling on SARAH andpropel her into the woods.WILD THING 1: They got some wild goings on at the castle, baby!47	INT: HOLE - DAYHOGGLE is holding on to the ledge with his fingertips. He doesn'thave the strength to hold on much longer and he looks down at thewater in mortal terror. He begins to slip just as a door opens in thesheer rock and JARETH enters, accompanied by GOBLINS.JARETH: Well, what have we here ... if it isn't little _Piggle_!HOGGLE screams and slips into the water. He tries to struggle back tothe ledge but the GOBLINS push at him with poles, laughing maniacally.JARETH: Did the girl decide she doesn't need you, now that she hasthat beast?HOGGLE (angry): She wouldn't do nuthin' like that!JARETH leans over the water, laughing.JARETH: Don't you know she could never care for a repulsive thinglike you!HOGGLE splashes and tries to stay afloat.HOGGLE: She does care! Me 'n Sarah is friends!JARETH: Only until something better comes along ... and I'vedefinitely got something better in mind!HOGGLE: Don't you hurt her!HOGGLE grabs on to the ledge and the gleeful GOBLINS push him backdown into the water.JARETH: What I do to her is my business ... and it is _inevitable_.He grabs HOGGLE by the shirt front and lifts him out of the water.JARETH: You can be with me or against me.HOGGLE (terrified): Wh ... what do I gotta do?JARETH: I doubt if she can make it to the castle in time ...He leans down and speaks directly into HOGGLE's face.JARETH: But just in case, I want you to deliver her to me.HOGGLE: Never! I'd rather die!JARETH sneers scornfully.JARETH: Then so you shall.He drops HOGGLE back into the water. The GOBLINS shriek with delight.HOGGLE goes under and comes up sputtering.HOGGLE: Wait!JARETH was about to leave. He turns back to HOGGLE, a look ofamusement on his face.HOGGLE: I gotta know what ... what you'll do to her!He splashes pathetically in a desperate attempt to stay above water.JARETH: I will do what ever amuses me ...He reaches into his cloak and brings out a perfect peach.JARETH: All _you_ have to do is give her this.He tosses HOGGLE the peach. HOGGLE catches it and immediately thewater starts to recede.JARETH: You've made a very wise decision.He leaves, followed by the GOBLINS.HOGGLE: I didn't decide nuthin'!HOGGLE stares forlornly at the peach, and soon the water is gone andhe is sitting on cold, damp ground.48	EXT: FOREST - DAYThe WILD THINGS are leading SARAH on a rocky path. She stumbles alongbut they couldn't care less.SARAH: Are you sure this is the way to the castle?WILD THING 1: Oh, did you say "the castle"?WILD THING 2: I thought she said hassle!WILD THING 3: I thought she said rassle!WILD THING 1: Rassle! That's a _wild_ idea!He leaps on SARAH and she flings him off.SARAH: OK, guys, fun's over.She starts to leave and they pull her back.WILD THING 2: Over! It's just begun!And then the musicians are back and the dancing gets wilder thanever. The WILD THINGS totally surround SARAH, and though they aren'thurting her, they are definitely not letting her out. What they do isstart throwing their heads at each other and switching them.WILD THINGS 1, 2 & 3: Now this is _really_ wild!ANOTHER ANGLEA door opens in a nearby boulder and LUDO appears. In the backgroundWE CAN SEE and hear the WISE ONE as he wanders off.WISE ONE: ... very often preceded by a porch, or portico, alsoverandah, and followed by a vestibule, otherwise known as anantechamber or foyer ...HAT: Why me?!!The door closes. LUDO sees SARAH in the middle of this weirdness andis just a bit confused. SARAH sees him amidst the flying heads andcries out in relief.SARAH: Ludo!LUDO: Sarah ... not ... want ... castle?SARAH: Are you kidding?!! Get me out of here!!!LUDO approaches the WILD THINGS and grabs a head before it reachesits target and calmly tosses it into the trees.WILD THING 3: Hey, big fella! That's a little _too_ wild ...But there's no time to talk because LUDO calmly catches the otherheads and tosses them away. The bodies go scurrying after theirheads, followed by the MUSICIANS. SARAH is free.SARAH: Oh, Ludo! I'm so glad you're here!She gives him a kiss and he beams.SARAH: Where's Hoggle?LUDO: Hoggle ... in ... bad ... door.SARAH: We've got to find him! Do you think we can?LUDO is very confident. He spent a lot of time with the WISE ONE.LUDO: Ludo ... knows ... doors ...He ambles off with SARAH following.LUDO: also ... portal ... or entrance ...49	INT: HOLE - DAYHOGGLE is more depressed than ever. The peach is nowhere to be seen.Suddenly LUDO's head appears above.LUDO: Hoggle ... all ... wet.HOGGLE almost jumps out of his skin and then is totally outraged.HOGGLE: Ain't that the clever observation, ya feeble excuse fer athinkin' creature!SARAH appears from behind LUDO.SARAH: Be nice, Hoggle. Or we won't get you out.HOGGLE's face lights up and all thoughts of anger are forgotten.HOGGLE: Missy!50	INT: FOREST - DAYSARAH, HOGGLE and LUDO march through thick, overgrown forest. They donot know that they are being spied on by JARETH'S GOBLINS.51	INT: CLEARING - DAYThe THREESOME emerge into a clearing and see that they have come to awide fissure that goes off in either direction as far as the eye cansee. It is spanned by a rickety bridge held by two thick wooden postson either side of the gap. SARAH eyes the bridge warily.SARAH: It doesn't look too strong but we don't have much choice ...Suddenly they are interrupted by a high-pitched, but powerful voice.VOICE (VO): Halt! Halt or be slain forthwith!At first they don't see a thing and look around for the source of thevoice. Then, the imposing 18 inch high figure of DIDYMUS, resplendentin rakish hat and swashbuckling sword, emerges from behind one of theposts and stands in front of the bridge. LUDO and SARAH aredumbstruck. HOGGLE, however, is not at a loss for words.HOGGLE: Out of our way, ya wretched little rodent ...DIDYMUS looks directly at HOGGLE.DIDYMUS: You, sir, shall be the first to feel the point of my sword!HOGGLE snorts with derision and SARAH tries a more sensible approach.SARAH: Please, we really have to cross this bridge. It's a matter oflife and death!DIDYMUS shrugs elegantly.DIDYMUS: Under any other circumstances I would hasten to oblige you,fair damsel, for your mission sounds a worthy one.SARAH: Oh, it is!DIDYMUS: But I am sworn. Without my permission, none may pass.SARAH throws up her hands and HOGGLE mumbles under his breath. Itappears to be up to LUDO to break the deadlock. He lifts DIDYMUS upinto the air and moves him to one side. They then start to walktoward the bridge and DIDYMUS chases them, brandishing his sword.DIDYMUS: You dishonor me, varlets! En garde!To his chagrin they ignore him and keep walking.DIDYMUS: Rapscallions! Duel ... or _die_!This gets their attention and they turn to look at him, annoyed.HOGGLE: What _is_ this weasel babblin' about?It is too much for DIDYMUS. He flings himself at HOGGLE with a mightywar cry. HOGGLE tries to run for it but DIDYMUS is right behind him,administering more than a few pinpricks in embarrassing places.HOGGLE dives behind a bush and DIDYMUS sniffs at his cowardice. Hecomes back and faces LUDO.DIDYMUS: It is you I want, rogue of rogues. You who dealt me thegravest affront!And with that he jabs LUDO in the foot! LUDO is stunned, and howling,begins to hop on his good foot. DIDYMUS, his head thrown back for atriumphant yell, goes after LUDO with his sword flashing and there isnothing for LUDO to do but pick up a branch and defend himself. It isthe most mismatched duel in the history of chivalrous absurdityDIDYMUS moving at an incredible speed, parrying the mighty swipes ofLUDO's branch with great skill -- and no small amount of difficulty.And LUDO fending off the incessant pinpricks of the little sword,leaping about with surprising agility -- and at a rate that exhaustshim totally. Finally, the two of them, breathing heavily, lower theirweapons. And, to everyone's surprise, DIDYMUS throws down his sword.DIDYMUS: I no longer wish to slay you, for you are a truly nobleknight.Then DIDYMUS strides up to him and, craning his neck, attempts tolook LUDO in the eyes.DIDYMUS: Destroy me if you will.LUDO quickly drops his branch in response. The whole thing has upsethis gentle nature terribly. DIDYMUS then holds out a tiny paw.DIDYMUS: Never have I met my match in battle, yet you, noble knight,have fought me to a standstill.LUDO kneels and tentatively takes DIDYMUS' paw into his own huge hand.DIDYMUS: Let us be brothers henceforth, and fight for the right asone!SARAH cheers and HOGGLE, unimpressed, rubs his sore rear. LUDOsmiles from ear to ear.LUDO: Ludo ... get ... brother!Then he and DIDYMUS exchange the ritual kiss on each cheek, which intheir case is not easily accomplished. SARAH then turns practical.SARAH: Well, now that that's settled let's get going.She heads for the bridge but DIDYMUS blocks her way.DIDYMUS: You forget my sacred vow, my lady. I cannot let you pass.SARAH is incensed.SARAH: But you said Ludo was your brother! How can you refuse him?!!DIDYMUS: I have taken an oath. I must defend it to the death.HOGGLE, enraged, turns on LUDO.HOGGLE: Some brother he turned out ta be!LUDO: Brother ... good!HOGGLE: Well, if he's so good, why won't he let us get on with ourbusiness?LUDO scratches his head. He has no idea. SARAH sits down beside thecrestfallen DIDYMUS.SARAH: OK, let's handle this thing logically. What exactly have yousworn?DIDYMUS brandishes his sword.DIDYMUS: I have sworn with my life-blood, no one shall pass this waywithout my permission.SARAH: Then may we ... _have your permission_?DIDYMUS is stunned. HOGGLE and LUDO barely breathe. Slowly DIDYMUSlooks all around and then, with a courage greater than any he hasever had to call on before, he says it.DIDYMUS: Yes.And the sky doesn't fall, and the earth doesn't heave, and everythingis exactly as it should be.SARAH: Thank you.DIDYMUS breathes a sigh of relief and steps aside to let them pass.LUDO is the first one to go over and that is unfortunate. Because therickety bridge collapses under his weight. SARAH and HOGGLE jump backon the ground near DIDYMUS just in time and poor LUDO swings over thedeep fissure, hanging on to one of the ropes that held the bridge.With a mighty effort he hoists himself up on to the opposite side andlooks forlornly over at the others.SARAH: Oh no!SARAH crumples to the ground, and stares miserably at the brokenbridge.HOGGLE: Now see what ya done, ya mush-brained mammoth!DIDYMUS: I, Sir Didymus, take responsibility for the actions of mybrother, my lady. Lash out at me if you must.SARAH: I'm not mad at Ludo, Sir Didymus. I'm just upset because timeis running out and I have to rescue my baby brother.DIDYMUS is struck to the very roots of his chivalry.DIDYMUS: You mean to rescue _a child_?!!SARAH: The goblin king took him, and I've only got ...She takes out the watch. The hour hand is on the 5.SARAH: ... five hours to get him back.DIDYMUS yells across to LUDO.DIDYMUS: Is this your quest, too, my brother?LUDO: Save ... baby.DIDYMUS is overwhelmed.DIDYMUS: Then I shall join you, lady. I am at your service, upon mysword.He bows low before SARAH and she smiles.SARAH: I happily accept your fealty, Sir Didymus.HOGGLE frowns with displeasure at this latest development.HOGGLE: This is all well an' good, Missy. But we still got one littleproblem.They all look across the fissure at LUDO.LUDO: Ludo ... friends.HOGGLE: Yes, yes. We're friends. Very nice. What's that got ta dowith us gettin' over there without a bridge?LUDO: Rocks ... friends.HOGGLE: We're wastin' our time, Missy. Let's you an' me go findanother ...He is interrupted by LUDO bellowing, which is followed by asympathetic rumbling. Suddenly rocks pile in from both directionsuntil there is a pile in the fissure high enough for them to walkacross.LUDO: Rocks ... friends!SARAH (laughing): They sure are, Ludo!She skips happily across followed by a sullen HOGGLE. DIDYMUSwhistles and is quickly joined by a tail-wagging SHEEPDOG. SARAHgasps, he is the spitting image of her own MERLIN.SARAH: It's ...DIDYMUS: Ambrosius! My noble steed.SARAH laughs and shrugs. Nothing surprises her in the labyrinth.52	EXT: FOREST - NIGHTThe edge of the forest. From here you can see the castle in thedistance, just across the dry, cracked plain. The sky is full ofstars. SARAH, HOGGLE, LUDO and DIDYMUS are sitting around a fire.DIDYMUS: What will you do after we save the child, my lady?SARAH: Take him home, of course! That is, if I can figure out how.DIDYMUS: What is your kingdom like? Do you have many knights todefend your honor?SARAH: Not even one.DIDYMUS: It cannot be! What bitter place is this that does suchdishonor to my lady?SARAH: It's a place where ... where nobody really sees me.LUDO: Ludo ... see ... Sarah!SARAH: (laughs) I know you do, Ludo. (she turns to Didymus) Andthanks to you, Sir Didymus, I finally have a knight.He bows graciously. HOGGLE, who has been watching this scene, feelsrejected and miserable. He gets up and wanders away from the fire.After a moment, SARAH follows him.SARAH: Don't you feel like resting?HOGGLE: I ain't tired.SARAH: Me neither. What I am is hungry.HOGGLE winces but SARAH doesn't notice. SARAH looks back at LUDO andDIDYMUS. LUDO lies on his back snoring loudly. DIDYMUS dozes againstAMBROSIUS' side.SARAH: They're both wonderful, aren't they?HOGGLE: They're alright.SARAH: They're more than that! They're loyal and strong ... and withtheir help I'm going to beat Jareth!HOGGLE shakes his head sadly. SARAH speaks as an afterthought.SARAH: And yours, too, of course.HOGGLE: I ain't no fighter ...She shrugs that off and wanders away to look out at the castle.HOGGLE goes through agony for a moment, and then makes a decision.HOGGLE: Missy ... if you're hungry ...He holds out the peach that JARETH gave him: the world's mostdelicious looking peach.SARAH: Oh, great!She happily taken the peach and bites. It takes everything HOGGLE hasto not put his hands over his ears. She takes another bite and thenstumbles.SARAH (laughing): Everything's dancing ...She looks up at the sky, exhilarated.SARAH: Even the stars are dancing!HOGGLE turns and walks back to the fire. SARAH stumbles about as shegazes happily at the sky.53	INT: CASTLE - NIGHTFREDDIE is leading the GOBLINS on a merry chase. He crawls around theroom, pulling things off shelves. A GOBLIN is on his hands and kneesin front of JARETH polishing his boots. JARETH kicks the GOBLIN andsends him flying across the room. This makes FREDDIE laugh and hepulls a book off the shelf and throws it. It hits a GOBLIN on thehead. JARETH scoops up FREDDIE and puts him in his cradle. He sitsdown next to him.JARETH: Little goblin-to-be, I have something to amuse you.He waves his hands in front of FREDDIE and suddenly beautifulcrystalline balls appear in them. He runs them over his fingers likeso many coins, their molten light so dazzling that FREDDIE kicks uphis legs with excitement. And WE CAN SEE that at the end of hispajamas are two wizened goblin feet! JARETH laughs and flings theballs into the air and they turn into bubbles, beautiful, mesmerizingbubbles.JARETH: Soon, little one. Very, very soon ...And they both watch the bubbles as they fly out the window and overthe labyrinth, coldly beautiful against the darkening sky.54	EXT: FOREST - NIGHTSARAH's hand opens slowly and the half-eaten peach falls to theground. She stares out into the sky, mesmerized. The bubbles areapproaching; dazzling, dancing bubbles. And then she hears music,haunting, spell-casting music. The bubbles come closer and WE CAN SEEthat each one contains a TWIRLING DANCER, a DANCER just like the onein SARAH's music box. She gets up and follows them.ANOTHER ANGLEHOGGLE watching from the woods.HOGGLE: Damn you, Jareth! (He turns and begins to walk away) And damnme too!ANOTHER ANGLEA bubble, with SARAH inside it, floating through the sky. She appearsenchanted, and she begins to twirl, just like the OTHER DANCERS.55	EXT: BALLROOM - NIGHTA giant bubble, with a magnificent ballroom inside it. Tiny bubblesrush to join it. In one of them is SARAH.56	INT: BALLROOM - NIGHTThe music changes and now SARAH is inside the ballroom. It is amagnificent spectacle with all the beauty and decadence of an 18thCentury Venetian ball. Magnificently dressed DANCERS swirl to themusic in an incredibly opulent setting. But when you look closer yousense decay just beneath the surface; things are threadbare, faded.The GUESTS wear masks that are elegant parodies of goblin faces,giving them all a slightly sinister look. And there is something veryprovocative about all of them; the WOMEN have bare shoulders anddaring decolletage, many of the MEN have their shirts open to thewaist. Some of them lounge against the wall indolently and there isthe feeling that the party has been going on all night. In thissetting SARAH is the picture of innocence. TWO WOMEN snickeringbehind their fans as SARAH approaches, and she is suddenly terriblyself-conscious. How plain She feels amidst all this! She looks intoone of the many mirrors that line the ballroom and sighs at herimage. Then suddenly she sees something in the mirror that makes hergasp.ANOTHER ANGLEThe mirror, and in it the reflection of a resplendent JARETH dancingwith a particularly exotic-looking WOMAN. SARAH whirls around, tryingto get another glimpse of JARETH. She is so intent on trying to seehim that she doesn't notice that she is being stared at brazenly by aYOUNG MAN leaning against the wall. He moves next to her and whisperssomething into her ear. She hurries away, shocked; and the YOUNG MANthrows back his head and laughs. And JARETH sees the whole thing.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH is approached by a MIDDLE-AGED MAN who has a box hanging atwaist height from a ribbon around his neck. It looks like SARAH'smusic box. She looks down at it with interest and he throws open thecover. But there is no dancer inside, instead there is a stick carvedlike a snake. It shoots out at SARAH and she cries out and backsaway. ALL THE PEOPLE around her laugh and she moves hurriedly on.JARETH, who is dancing with an even more beautiful WOMAN than before,watches SARAH.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH is looking for JARETH. She spots him and sees him whispersomething to his partner who smiles knowingly from beneath her maskand licks her lips. SARAH blushes and turns away and finds herselflooking into another mirror. But in the reflection, JARETH isn't witha partner. He is standing alone, the DANCERS a whirling blur aroundhim, and he is looking straight at her. SARAH, whirling around toface the crowd and she sees JARETH with yet a third BEAUTY. And thenshe realizes that it is herself! In a trance-like state she movesthrough the CROWD to get a better look.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH'S POV - She is whirling in JARETH's arms, and she is the mostbeautiful woman at the ball. JARETH smiles down at her and theattraction between them is palpable.JARETH: You look like a queen.SARAH looks up at him, thrilled by his words.SARAH: I ... I feel like ... I ... don't know what I feel ...JARETH (smiling): Don't you?And he whirls her around dizzyingly, so dizzyingly that she swoons inhis arms. He catches her before she can fall very far, tightening hisgrip around her waist.SARAH: Are we ... are we in a bubble?JARETH: Yes, we are. A dream bubble ... where your dreams can cometrue.ANOTHER ANGLEOUR SARAH is being jostled by the crowd. She stumbles and almostfalls on top of a COUPLE on a bench. The WOMAN is sprawled across thelap of the MAN who wears a mask with a very phallic nose. SARAH backsaway from them, frightened.ANOTHER ANGLEJARETH and SARAH, dancing. She is smiling up at him, he has neverlooked more handsome. There is something more open about him, as ifhe, too, is caught up in the moment. He nuzzles her hair with hislips and whispers in her ear.JARETH (whispering): My Queen!Then he begins a song. A song that tells SARAH he will give hereverything she wants, even things she doesn't know she wants. A songthat says forget it all; all the restrictions, all the powerlessness.Forget and stay in the dream.ANOTHER ANGLEOUR SARAH watches, mesmerized. But every time she tries to get closerto JARETH and SARAH she in jostled by a lascivious ADMIRER, pushedout of the way by WOMEN laughingly being chased by MEN. She stumblesagainst a wall and a door opens. Inside, pillow feathers are flyingand she can't make out what the SEVERAL PEOPLE are doing. A WOMANcomes up to the doorway, winks at SARAH, and closes the door.ANOTHER ANGLEJARETH finishes the song and SARAH looks up at him, smiling. He moveshis face closer to hers and she closes her eyes. His face comescloser, and closer.ANOTHER ANGLEOUR SARAH shrinks back from what she is seeing. She turns and runs,pushing herself though the languid CROWD, right into the bubbleitself.57	EXT: BALL - NIGHTSARAH comes crashing through the bubble and the whole ballroomcrumbles. In seconds it resembles nothing so much as a junkyard.58	EXT JUNK CITY - NIGHTSARAH runs through the streets of a part-market, part-junkyard. Thereare piles of rubble and junk everywhere, and between them are tentsfrom which PEOPLE hawk objects of all kinds. Some of them approachSARAH and she pushes them away, sobbing.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH'S POV - A RED TENT, and standing in front of it is an OLD WOMANstooped over from the objects piled high on her back. She beckons toSARAH and pulls the tent flap aside.JUNK WOMAN: 'Ere it is, Dearie. All the fings you want, all the fingsyou need.ANOTHER ANGLEThe flap opens wider and inside the tent WE CAN SEE SARAH's room!ANOTHER ANGLESARAH gasps at the sight and runs headlong into the tent. She tripsover the threshold and lands face down on her bed.59	INT: SARAH'S ROOM - NIGHTSARAH sits up on the bed and looks around the room. She shakes herhead and laughs.SARAH: What a dream!She gets up and stretches, then walks over to the mirror. She smilesat her reflection.SARAH: Yep, you've got quite an imagination, kid, Just what a greatactress needs.She walks over to the bed and picks up Lancelot the bear.SARAH: How about a midnight snack, Sir Lance ...She goes over to the door and opens it.60	EXT: JUNK CITY - NIGHTSARAH'S POV - THE MARKET/JUNKYARD TEEMING WITH ACTIVITY.The JUNK WOMAN peers in.JUNK WOMAN: 'Aven't you got everythin' you need, Dearie?61	INT: SARAH'S ROOM - NIGHTSARAH screams and slams the door. She buries her face in the bear.SARAH: It _is_ just a dream!She takes a deep breath and goes to the door again. She opens it veryslowly.62	EXT: JUNK CITY - NIGHTSARAH'S POV - THE SAME TEEMING ACTIVITY. The JUNK WOMAN peers inagain.JUNK WOMAN: Best to stay in there, where it's safe, Dearie. Don'tknow what might 'appen to you out 'ere.63	INT: SARAH'S ROOM - NIGHTSARAH clams the door again and rushes over to the window. A GROUP OFREVELLERS peer in at her and laugh. She quickly pulls the curtainsclosed and walks back to the center of the room. She stands clutchingthe bear, then looks up at her reflection in the mirror.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH'S reflection. Herself as a very old woman, clutching a teddybear.OLD SARAH: Best to stay in here where it's safe. Don't know whatmight happen to you out there.SARAH steps back from the mirror and suddenly the floor becomes a seaof mud and all the objects in the room come falling down on her. Asshe tries to rise out of the muck more objects land on and around herand pull her down.SARAH: Help! Somebody help me!64	EXT: JUNK CITY - NIGHTLUDO and DIDYMUS desperately searching for SARAH, DIDYMUS riding hisDOG.65	INT: TAVERN TENT - NIGHTHOGGLE sits at a bar, drowning his sorrows. A JUNK MAN/BARTENDERworks behind the bar. HOGGLE slams his cup down.HOGGLE: Another!The BARTENDER holds out his hand greedily. HOGGLE pulls a treasureoff his belt and slams it on the bar. The BARTENDER pours.66	EXT: JUNK CITY - NIGHTDIDYMUS and LUDO approach the red tent. They spy the JUNK WOMAN.DIDYMUS: Did you see a noble maiden pass this way?JUNK WOMAN: A noble maiden, eh? What would she be doin' in a placelike this?DIDYMUS: She's on a rescue mission ...The JUNK WOMAN finds this hilarious.JUNK WOMAN: A rescue mission, ha! You're in the wrong place, forsure! The only fings we cares about rescuin' around 'ere is ourworldly goods!She takes an oil lamp off her back and shines it on her sleeve foremphasis.67	INT: SARAH'S ROOM - NIGHTSARAH is drowning in a sea of junk. She hears DIDYMUS and cries outhopefully.SARAH: Didymus, in here! Help me!The door opens and the JUNK WOMAN peers inside.JUNK WOMAN: Don't worry, Dearie. I sent 'im away!SARAH groans.JUNK WOMAN: Knew you wouldn't want to be leavin' your nice fings forno rescue mission.SARAH: Oh my god! Freddie!JUNK WOMAN: Freddie? Is that one of them dolls over there ... or thatnice teddy?SARAH struggles for the door in the sea of junk.SARAH: No! He's my brother! And I've got to save him!She continues pushing through the junk.JUNK WOMAN: No you don't, Dearie. You can stay right 'ere with allyour pretty fings ...SARAH knows what her choice has to be.SARAH: I know I can. (joyous) But I don't want to!She lifts herself out of the junk with a mighty heave and stands inthe doorway. She looks down at the JUNK WOMAN triumphantly.SARAH: Now get out of my way!68	EXT: JUNK CITY - NIGHTSARAH runs out of the tent, a look of triumph on her face.The JUNK WOMAN pulls something off her own pile and holds it out toSARAH.JUNK WOMAN: Wait, Dearie! Look at this!She holds out SARAH's music box, opens it, and the little DANCERtwirls inside.SARAH (grinning): Keep it!And she is off. As SARAH goes the CAMERA LINGERS on the JUNK WOMAN.And we begin to move around to her other side and even though we hadjust seen her from all sides, we now see something very, verydifferent. Where the other side of the woman should be WE SEE across-section of her, with JARETH inside. His head is beneath thepile of junk and his hand is inside her head making it laugh. He isthe puppeteer operating the JUNK LADY, as indeed, she has beenoperated. JARETH is mad.JARETH: Damn.69	EXT: CASTLE GATE - NIGHTLUDO and DIDYMUS sit forlornly at the gate. SARAH appears out of thenight.DIDYMUS: My lady!LUDO leaps to his feet.LUDO: Sarah ... safe!SARAH rushes into his arms.DIDYMUS: Is Hoggle not with you?SARAH pulls away from LUDO.SARAH: Hoggle made his choice, he's ... not part of the missionanymore.DIDYMUS (angry): The coward!LUDO: Hoggle ... good!SARAH shrugs, and smiles at him.SARAH: Maybe. But there's no time to discuss it. We've got a baby torescue, remember!She leads them through the gates.70	EXT: GOBLIN TOWN - NIGHTStreets full of hovels encircle the castle. This is where the GOBLINSlive. As SARAH, LUDO and HOGGLE walk through the dark, eerie streetsthey are met by the slamming of shutters and the extinguishing oflights.DIDYMUS: Methinks they are expecting us, my lady.A CHILD GOBLIN peers at them from an open doorway. A FEMALE GOBLINsees him and drags him inside and slams the door.SARAH (grimly): Methinks you're right!71	INT: TAVERN - NIGHTHOGGLE is still at it. He pulls his belt off his body and WE SEE thatthe only treasure left is SARAH's plastic circlet. He slowly pulls itoff and stares at it. The BARTENDER approaches, his eyes lighting upat the eight of this treasure.BARTENDER: Another?HOGGLE hesitates, then hands the circlet over. The BARTENDER bites itand his face lights up with glee.BARTENDER: Plastic!He goes to get the drink and HOGGLE puts his face down on the bar andsobs.ANOTHER ANGLEAt the other end of the bar sits the WISE ONE. The HAT looks over atHOGGLE and shakes his head knowingly.HAT: Drinkin' to forget, eh, buddy?HOGGLE looks up.WISE ONE: To forget, ah yes. To suffer a mental lapse, to obliteratefrom one's consciousness, to suffer amnesia, a blank or fugue, todrink the waters of Lethe ...HOGGLE (drunkenly): What's Lethe ...WISE ONE: The waters of forgetfulness. They remove from our mindswhat is too painful to remember ...HOGGLE looks thoughtfully at the drink in his hand.WISE ONE: ... but with the memory goes our wisdom, or knowledge, thatwhich brings us understanding, also enlightenment ...But there is no one to continue benefitting from the WISE ONE'spearls. HOGGLE is gone.HAT: You can cool it down there ... he's gone ...WISE ONE: ... a grasp of things, a depth or profundity of thought ...The HAT sighs and looks over at the BARTENDER who is still admiringhis plastic treasure.HAT: Another one over here ... and make it a double ...72	EXT: GOBLIN TOWN - NIGHTSARAH, LUDO and DIDYMUS emerge into the vast courtyard outside thecastle. It in eerily quiet. Too quiet.SARAH: We're going to make it!DIDYMUS sniffs the air.DIDYMUS: I am less than sure ...They are interrupted by a high-pitched shriek as a GOBLIN jumps onLUDO's back. Then the courtyard is filled with GOBLINS, what seemslike the whole army, coming right at them. DIDYMUS fends off theVANGUARD PARTY with his sword and LUDO punches out the ones that getby him. DIDYMUS unswords a GOBLIN and his weapon goes flying. SARAHpicks it up and does some parrying of her own. But there are too manyof them. The threesome turn and run.73	INT: CASTLE - NIGHTJARETH stands by the window, watching the battle. The WHITE BIRD sitson his shoulder. JARETH looks over at FREDDIE who stands holding onto the side of the cradle. JARETH smiles and turns back to the meleebelow. The BIRD flies out the window.74	EXT: GOBLIN TOWN - NIGHTSARAH, LUDO and DIDYMUS race down the streets. The GOBLINS are in hotpursuit.75	EXT: STREET - NIGHTThey come careening around a corner and it seems that they haveescaped their pursuers. The sound of the GOBLINS seems to be gettingfarther away.SARAH: I think we lost them.They turn and see that, unfortunately they have come full circle andare right back in the courtyard. LUDO climbs part way up a wall andlooks over the streets.DIDYMUS: What do you see, my brother?LUDO gulps. What he sees is the GOBLIN ARMY coming down every streetright towards them.LUDO: Ludo ... see ... trouble!And then the trouble arrives and SARAH and DIDYMUS are heavily intoswordplay. LUDO tries clumsily to get down and is tormented byGOBLINS who prick at him with their spears. SARAH looks up and seeshis predicament. She gets an idea.SARAH: Call the rocks, Ludo! Call the rocks!LUDO makes a heroic effort and gets to the top of the wall.He then throws his head back and bellows.76	EXT: GOBLIN TOWN - NIGHTAn enormous rumbling is heard and soon the streets are filled withboulders, all careening towards LUDO. They knock GOBLINS out of theirpath like so many bowling pins.77	EXT: COURTYARD - NIGHTSARAH and DIDYMUS fight bravely. LUDO keeps bellowing and throwingoff the occasional GOBLIN that is stupid enough to jump on him. Soonthe rocks reach the courtyard and form a barrier between theTHREESOME and their ATTACKERS. LUDO reaches down and lifts SARAH andDIDYMUS on to the wall. They jump and disappear into the castleenclave.78	INT: CASTLE - NIGHTA door opens in a dark part of the castle. LUDO, SARAH and DIDYMUSenter. They look around and quickly tip-toe down a dark corridor.They turn a corner and see some GOBLINS marching their way. They duckout of sight.79	EXT: CASTLE - NIGHTThe main entrance to the castle. TWO-GOBLIN GUARDS stand outside thelarge wooden doors. The results of the THREESOME's escape can beheard in the distance. A FIGURE staggers out of the dark, singingdrunkenly. It is HOGGLE.HOGGLE: " ... it's so cold in the night with no gold to keep me warm... "He trips over his feet as he approaches the GUARD.GUARD: Who goes there?HOGGLE " ... so cold, oh so cold ... "GUARD 2: Don't worry about him. He's on Jareth's payroll now.HOGGLE falls to the ground, then picks himself up.HOGGLE: Thash right. Jareth owes me sumthin' ... an' I'm here tacollect ...They laugh at him, then step aside and let him enter.80	INT: CASTLE - NIGHTA GROUP OF GOBLINS stand in a circle in a corridor. They torment atiny, fuzzy yapping CREATURE with their nipper sticks. The CREATUREgets away from them and goes scurrying down the corridor. The GOBLINSlaugh. It turns a corner and starts yapping for all it's worth.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH, LUDO and DIDYMUS pressed against the wall, trying to not benoticed. Unfortunately the little CREATURE has no sympathy for theirplight. It stands at their feet, making a ruckus.SARAH (whispering): Shut up, you little monster!LUDO bends down to pet it in the hopes of quieting it.LUDO: Nice ... thing ...But the CREATURE doesn't want a pet. It sinks its teeth into LUDO'shand. LUDO howls.DIDYMUS: I fear that this means trouble.The GOBLINS yell and start running down the corridor.SARAH: Run for it!They are off, the CREATURE and the GOBLINS at their heels.81	INT: CORRIDOR - NIGHTThe THREE are running for all they're worth. SARAH pulls the watchout of her pocket. It is on the 12:30.SARAH: Only a half hour left! We've got to find Freddie!ANOTHER ANGLEYet another GROUP OF GOBLINS running right toward them. They stop intheir tracks and start running in the opposite direction.82	INT: INNER COURTYARD - NIGHTThe THREE come careening into the long narrow inner courtyard.Balconies look down on it from the floor above. Opposite them is alarge ornate door. They have a lead on the GOBLINS chasing them, butnot for long.ANOTHER ANGLEOn one of the balconies a particularly repulsive little GOBLIN laughssadistically. The THREE look up and see the GOBLIN with his hands ona huge lever. He pushes it down gleefully and the floor opens up infront of the THREESOME. It appears to be a bottomless pit, too wideto leap across. Horrified they look behind them and see the GOBLINSgaining on them. And they're throwing spears! Suddenly there is atriumphant yell from the balcony opposite the repulsive GOBLIN, andthen a FIGURE leaps off it swinging on a rope.SARAH: Hoggle!It certainly is! He wrestles with the hideous GOBLIN and in thestruggle it falls screaming into the pit. HOGGLE then grabs the leverand it is not a second too soon. The pursuing GOBLINS are enteringthe courtyard.ANOTHER ANGLEThe floor closes and the THREE run to the door. An enraged PURSUERaims a spear at HOGGLE. He is hit. SARAH screams as LUDO struggleswith the door. It won't budge and he begins to smash his body againstit.ANOTHER ANGLEA seemingly half-dead HOGGLE staggers to his feet and throws his bodyon the lever. He appears to faint from the strain but the weight ofhis body pushes the lever and the floor opens again.ANOTHER ANGLEThe enraged GOBLINS are stopped in their tracks by the yawning pit.They hurl spears at the THREESOME but it is to no avail. LUDO smashesdown the door and they run in.83	INT: JARETH'S QUARTERS - NIGHTSARAH, DIDYMUS, and LUDO carrying HOGGLE enter the room where we haveseen JARETH and FREDDIE. They lock the door behind them. No one isthere and FREDDIE's cradle is rocking, as if someone had removed himonly moments before. LUDO places HOGGLE down and SARAH looksfeverishly around the room. She spots a door.SARAH: That's the only way he could have gone!She runs to the door and LUDO and DIDYMUS follow.SARAH: No. I have to face him alone!DIDYMUS: But, my lady ...He is interrupted by the sound of GOBLINS in pursuit. They starttrying to smash down the door. LUDO runs to it and presses his bodyagainst it. HOGGLE moans and DIDYMUS and SARAH run to his side.HOGGLE: I don't expect ya to fergive me, Missy, but ...She puts her finger to his lips.SARAH: Forgive you for what? Saving our lives?HOGGLE: But, I betrayed ya, I gave ya that damned peach ...SARAH: Ssh! You did the only thing you could do ...She looks down at his empty belt.SARAH: ... and I see you lost all your treasures in the process.HOGGLE: I don't care if I never sees another treasure again!SARAH (smiles): Here. Just in case you change your mind.She slips off her mother's ring and presses it into HOGGLE's hand. Heis overwhelmed and SARAH smiles at his pleasure.HOGGLE: And Jareth said ya could never love me.SARAH: Jareth doesn't know everything.She leaps to her feet and HOGGLE moans.SARAH: Take care of him, Didymus.DIDYMUS: I'll guard the valiant Hoggle with my life!The GOBLINS give the door a particularly loud smash and LUDO pressesagainst the door even harder.LUDO: Ludo ... too!She runs to the other door and stops to look back at them.SARAH: No maiden could have wished for nobler knights.And she is gone.84	ESCHER ROTUNDA - NIGHTSARAH enters an overwhelming room with many staircases, balconies anddoorways at different heights and at all kinds of strange angles thatobviously have no relation to what we know as gravity. Her kneesbuckling from vertigo. Then she gasps.ANOTHER ANGLEJARETH is sitting on the wall with all the ease of a fly.JARETH: I've been expecting you.SARAH stumbles and falls into the room, ending up on the ceiling. Shetries to adjust to being upside down.SARAH: Where's Freddie?!!!She has to look down and sideways to see JARETH and it is clearlygrueling.JARETH: He's right there.And he points to one of the stairways that juts out at a right anglefrom the wall. FREDDIE is climbing up the stairs happily, but fromSARAH's point of view it looks like he will fall when he gets to thetop.SARAH (screaming): Freddie! No!!!FREDDIE gets to the top but doesn't fall, instead he ends up crawlingup the wall. SARAH sighs with relief and closes her eyes. This sendsher reeling and she ends up in one of the archways. She tries toorient herself but there is no up, no down, no sideways. And the BABYis about to crawl off a balcony! SARAH screams and JARETH laughs. Hebegins a song that tells SARAH she never really understood what wasgain on. Nothing is what it appears to be, not even things like "up"and "down."ANOTHER ANGLEFREDDIE in the most precarious-looking situation yet, at the top of astaircase. He hesitates to crawl down, and to lure him, JARETHcreates a ball out of thin air and throws it to the BABY. Of course,it bounces up. And all the while his song is taunting SARAH. Sheturns away from him and looks into the large mirror framed in thearchway. She sees endless SARAHS. And while she's looking, the firstreflection runs to the left, the reflection behind that to the right,and so on all the way down the line. And SARAH's still standingthere! She falls backwards and ends up standing on the floor,watching FREDDIE chase his ball across the ceiling. JARETH dances onthe wall now as he is about to finish his song. And there is FREDDIEon one of the balconies facing out of the rotunda. If he falls offthat, he'll really fall! SARAH runs up the opposite wall and findsthat there is sheer space between her and the BABY. The only way toreach him is to jump. She looks at JARETH who grins at her, then atFREDDIE who is teetering on the edge. As JARETH comes to the end ofthe song there is nothing to do but jump. She looks at JARETH andcan't repress a grin of her own.SARAH: Like the man said, "nothing is what it appears to be!"She jumps.85	INT: JARETH'S CHAMBERS - NIGHTSARAH falls right on to a magnificent huge bed. Opposite her JARETHsits in a chair. FREDDIE, wrapped in a blanket, is gurgling on hislap. SARAH reaches into her pocket and pulls out the watch. It is afew minutes before 13. JARETH stands up.JARETH: There's still time.He gestures to a clock on the wall that shows the same time as herwatch. He places FREDDIE into a cradle and comes over to the bed. Helooks down at her.JARETH: Besides, I'm no longer interested in having a little goblinprince. I've decided I'd much rather have a queen.He looks into her eyes for a moment. SARAH doesn't look away.Instead, she slowly eases herself off the bed and stands facing him.SARAH (archly): A queen? Have you chosen anyone I know.She glides by him and walks to the window. JARETH chucklesappreciatively.JARETH: You've come a long way, little girl.SARAH looks out at the labyrinth.SARAH: I certainly have.She turns to face him.JARETH: Yes, I can see it in your eyes. (he moves closer to her) Noone else has ever made it this far in the labyrinth, no one else hasever been worthy ...He takes her hand and brings it to his lips. She smilesdown at him.SARAH: What's your offer.JARETH stands quickly and looks at her. She certainly has come a longway!JARETH: Why, everything ... you'll rule by my side.SARAH: Everything? The chance to spend my life surrounded byrepulsive goblins ... the chance to torment innocent creatures ...JARETH (shaking his head): ... the chance to never have a care in theworld, to never have to do anything that you don't want to do.SARAH looks at him.SARAH: Anything else?JARETH (smiling): Why, me. Of course.SARAH surreptitiously eyes the clock. There is about a minute left.She glides away from the window and tries to position herself closerto FREDDIE.SARAH: And what if I'm not interested?JARETH reacts with surprise for a moment, then shakes his head.JARETH: Impossible. I know you, I know what you want ...SARAH: Well, I've got news for you, Jareth.She makes a beeline for the cradle.SARAH: I don't want _you_!She's almost at the cradle but JARETH grabs her arm and stops her.SARAH (shocked, enraged): Why, you miserable creep!JARETH has hold of her arms but she breaks away and hauls off andpunches him in the jaw. JARETH steps back, stunned. SARAH scoops upthe screaming FREDDIE.SARAH: How could you do this to an innocent baby?!!JARETH stands rubbing his jaw, snivelling, stunned.JARETH: You hit me!SARAH, FREDDIE in her arms, goes right up to him.SARAH: And I'd like to do more ... you, you ... !She is furious and wants to hit him again badly. Since she has theBABY in her arms she makes do with kicking him hard in the shin.JARETH howls and grabs his leg.SARAH: I wouldn't want you if you were the last ... _goblin_ on earth!The WHITE BIRD flies through the window and lands on SARAH'sshoulder. JARETH puts his hands on his ears.JARETH: Don't say that!But it is too late, he starts shrinking.JARETH: Look at me! (whining) How could you do this to me!Before SARAH's eyes JARETH turns into an undersized, ineffective,snivelling little GOBLIN. The features are those of a goblin, butstill recognizably JARETH.86	INT: CASTLE - NIGHTJARETH's quarters, where DIDYMUS tends HOGGLE and LUDO still blocksthe door.JARETH (VO) (whiney scream): Why does everything have to happen to me!They look at each other and suddenly LUDO realizes that the GOBLINSare no longer trying to break down the door. The THREE start to laugh.HOGGLE (proudly): She did it!They cheer.87	INT: JARETH'S CHAMBERS - NIGHTJARETH, the bratty little GOBLIN, is throwing a tantrum.JARETH: Nobody ever cares about what I want!The walls and floor shake so from his pounding fists and feet that acrack opens up right in front of SARAH's feet. She looks at the clockand the minute hand moves to the 13. She looks at FREDDIE. There'snothing to do but jump into the void. The clock begins to strike.SARAH: OK, Freddie. Time to go bye-bye!She jumps.88	EXT: SKY - NIGHTSARAH and FREDDIE spinning through the dark, starry sky. The strikingof the clock continues.ANOTHER ANGLECLOSE ON SARAH AND FREDDIE. SARAH pulls him closer, lovingly. Andthey go on spinning.89	INT: NURSERY - NIGHTSARAH is lying face down on the floor. She comes to slowly and triesto sit up. Groaning, she rubs her head where it bumped on the cornerof the open drawer. She tries to focus, blinking her eyes.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH'S POV - Her eyes slowly focus on FREDDIE's crib. When she cansee, she gasps. FREDDIE's not there! The side of the crib is down andthe BABY is nowhere to be seen.SARAH: Freddie!She leaps to her feet woozily. Still rubbing her head she staggersout into the hallway.90	INT: RAILWAY - NIGHTSARAH looks down the hallway and suddenly her face breaks out into adelighted grin.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH'S POV - LITTLE FREDDIE is crawling slowly, but determinedly,into SARAH's room. When he gets to her bed he uses all his strengthto pull himself up on to his feet by holding on to the bedspread. Bethen holds his hand out, trying to reach something.ANOTHER ANGLESARAH makes her way toward her room, delight and wonder on her face.91	INT: SARAH'S ROOM - NIGHTSARAH stands in the doorway looking down at FREDDIE.SARAH (softly): That's quite a journey you took, Freddie.FREDDIE looks up at her and makes a sound. He continues straining,and WE SEE that what he is reaching for is Lancelot, SARAH's bear.SARAH smiles, and lifts FREDDIE up. She sits on the bed, FREDDIE onher lap, and hands him the bear.SARAH: Here. It's yours.FREDDIE takes it happily.SARAH (smiling): You earned it.She kisses his head and rocks him gently. Then she gazes out thewindow at the stars.92	EXT: HOUSE - NIGHTThe light shines from SARAH's window. The WHITE BIRD flutters downfrom the starry sky. It perches in the tree beside the path.THE END=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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+FADE IN: EXT. SUBURBIA - NIGHT A beautiful late summer night. Crickets chirping, sprinklers sprinkling. We PAN across one particular lawn, up one particular tree, where we see THE PEEPER (Jon Lovitz) sitting on a limb. He has a bottle of wine, some sandwiches, a Walkman. Suddenly the lights turn on. PEEPER (whispering) Showtime! We see a young mother walk into the room outside the Peeper's window. She is wearing business attire. PEEPER (CONT'D) Rough day at the office Mrs. Dunleavy? (takes bite of sandwich) Well you'll feel better once you slip off those work clothes and get into some sweats. The mother sits on the bed and pulls off her shoes, rubbing her feet. PEEPER (CONT'D) Oh my G-D, yes! I wish you would let me rub those feet. Of course I wouldn't use my hands. Heh heh heh heh... He sips some wine. The mother starts to unbutton her blouse. She takes it off, revealing a nice bra. PEEPER (CONT'D) Looks like Victoria just told me her secret. The peeper frantically writes in a dirty notebook. Mouthing the words as he goes. PEEPER (CONT'D) Thursday the ninth, eight-thirty p.m., first brassiere sighting... (stops writing) I will pleasure myself to this image for months. MONTHS I TELL YOU! The mother starts to unbutton her pants. Her young son walks in wearing a scouts uniform. PEEPER (CONT'D) Young Scottie Dunleavy. What unfortunate timing. You mother was just getting comfy. The son talks to his mother excitedly. PEEPER (CONT'D) Yes, yes, I'm sure you tied many great knots today or whatever. Now get out. The son, not going anywhere, sits in a chair. PEEPER (CONT'D) Now what. This simply won't do. The peeper takes out a cell phone and dials. The son answers. SCOTTIE Hello? PEEPER Hello, Scottie. Why don't you go downstairs like a good boy and let your mother freshen up. SCOTTIE Who is this? PEEPER Just a little birdie. A birdie who wants to see if your mother's panties match her bra. MOTHER Oh my G-D Scottie. Is there a man up our tree? The peeper gets nervous. PEEPER Tell her no. Tell her it's just a big bird. The peeper starts flapping his arms and making bird noises. We SEE Scottie with his sling shot. The mother nods yes. He shoots it. It hits the peeper square in the head. He falls to the ground with a thud. PEEPER (CONT'D) Mrs. Dunleavy, please come help me. And wear your bikini. The peeper looks up. He sees Scottie pushing a television out the window. It lands on top of the peeper. He's dead. HARD CUT: INT. HOLE - DAY The peeper is zooming down a hole, walls of dirt racing by on all sides. The peeper is falling down, down, down. The whole way screaming like a five-year old girl. PEEPER'S POV We see the tunnel turn into more of a slide now and the peeper races towards the opening which is lit by fire. He SCREAMS. EXT. FIRE GATES OF HELL We see the GATE/WALL OF FLAMES. We hear screaming. Wham! We see the peeper come flying through the flames and land in a heap in a shallow pit of coals. Dazed, he stands and we see other people shooting through the fire wall at different levels. (NOTE: All the arrivals clothes are now burned & shredded). GATEKEEPER (O.S.) Welcome! The peeper looks left to see the GATEKEEPER standing at his station greeting the new SOULS with mock cheer. PEEPER Am I in hell? GATEKEEPER What do you think? A GIANT BIRD appears and bites the peeper's crotch area. We leave the peeper in the pit and tilt up to... MATTE PAINTING HELL MUSIC UP: "RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL" BY VAN HALEN The VAST and insane kingdom of Hell. A road leads toward it like the yellow brick road only with fire and coals. We see the black castle in the distance. The camera zooms into the castle, to one particular window. INT. NICKY'S ROOM - DAY Looks like an American teenager's room - models, a dresser, heavy metal posters (tons of OZZY stuff) everywhere (but no bed - Devils don't sleep). Nicky is air guitaring to the song. Over at the stereo, we see the cassette playing titled "NICKY'S MONSTER METAL MIX." The head demon, JIMMY THE DEMON, opens the door, scaring NICKY who falls backward into the table, breaking it. NICKY (embarrassed) Hey... JIMMY THE DEMON Your father wants to see you and your brothers in the throne room. NICKY Okay, but Jimmy, when the house is rockin', don't forget the knockin'! INT. BLACK PALACE THRONE ROOM - DAY ADRIAN and CASSIUS are playing darts. They're aiming for people's faces that are coming through the wall. CASSIUS I knew it. He's finally retiring. ADRIAN I've been waiting on this day for ten thousand years. He throws a dart that hits one of the heads in the forehead. HUMAN DARTBOARD Aaaah! CASSIUS If the old man picks me to take over Hell, I'll keep the torture going twenty four seven. No breaks. ADRIAN Well Dad says it's the breaks that make the torture. You have to let people feel a sense of relief. Cassius whips a dart which hits one of the HUMAN DARTBOARDS in the eye. HUMAN DARTBOARD Aaaaaaaaaaaah! ADRIAN Then again, the beauty of Dad retiring is what he says doesn't matter anymore. Cassius pulls out the dart. The eye comes with it. CASSIUS I'll take that. Cassius throws the eye on the ground and stomps it. THWACK! It splatters like a grape. HUMAN DARTBOARD Was that really necessary? Nicky enters sheepishly. CASSIUS Hey, how's Daddy's little girl doing today? NICKY Good, thanks. Cassius snaps his fingers in Nicky's face. CASSIUS Hey. Hey. Hey. Wanna mind wrestle? Cassius' eyes start glowing red. NICKY Actually, I'll take a rain check on0 Nicky is slammed into a nearby desk as if by an invisible force. CASSIUS Got ya! NICKY (picking up his head) Yes, you got me... Nicky's head slams back down again. CASSIUS Got ya, again! NICKY (picking head up) Got me for sure, yes... He grabs a lamp off the desk and cracks himself over the head. CASSIUS Got ya! Now here's the big finish... Nicky frowns as he finds his own right hand heading for his own crotch. NICKY Oh no. Please Cassius... Nicky's hand is being possessed. It gets closer and closer until it latches on to Nicky's crotch. NICKY (CONT'D) Aaaaah. Cassius concentrates even harder, making Nicky twist his own hand. Nicky screams even louder. Adrian smiles. They don't notice that DAD, wearing a sweatsuit (and with very small devil horns), enters behind them. DAD What are you boys doing? Cassius releases Nicky's hand. NICKY Nothing, Dad. Just re-arranging the furniture. DAD Cassius, didn't I tell you to stay out of your brother's mind? CASSIUS I forgot. DAD Maybe this will help you remember. Dad's eyes flash red and Cassius punches himself hard in the nose, sending him back against the wall and down to the floor. Dad gives Nicky a wink. Nicky smiles. Dad has an air of confidence and power. DAD (CONT'D) Now everybody sit down. NICKY Hey, Dad, I'm almost finished laying down my monsters of metal compilation tape. I really think it's a masterpiece. DAD Okay, kid, we'll listen to it later. He leads the boys to the throne area. We see outside the window the peeper staring in sexily. Dad looks, shakes his head. Just then, THE BIRD appears and attacks him. Dad closes the curtains. Nicky, Adrian and Cassius sit on little stools at the foot of his throne. Dad lights a cigarette with his finger, the tip of which glows red like a cigarette lighter and looks down at his three sons. DAD (CONT'D) My dad, your granddad, Lucifer, was thrown out of Heaven by G-d and rules here in hell for ten thousand years. And after this ten thousand years had passed, he decided to abdicate his throne... Confused, Nicky sheepishly raises his hand. DAD (CONT'D) ...to step aside. (Nicky lowers his hand) ...and let me become the ruler of hell. This, as some of you might know, is my ten thousandth year as Prince of Darkness. So I think the time has come to discuss who will succeed me. Jimmy the Demon walks in. JIMMY THE DEMON Knock, knock. DAD Yes, Jimmy. He whispers in Dad's ear. DAD (CONT'D) No, no, that's not what I said. He can keep his thumbs, but the fingers gotta go. JIMMY THE DEMON (turning to leave) Oh, and don't forget, you're shoving a pineapple up Hitler's ass at four o'clock. Dad nods, and Jimmy shuffles out. Dad turns his attention back to his sons. DAD This was a very difficult decision, because I have three wonderful sons. I mean, Adrian, so smart, so ruthless. And Cassius, so strong, so tough. And Nicky, so...so... NICKY Don't worry about coming up with anything. It's cool. DAD Such a sweet boy. But after much thought and careful consideration, I've decided that the ruler for the next ten thousand years is going to have to be...me. CASSIUS AND ADRIAN (dumbfounded) What!? NICKY Hallelujah. They all look at Nicky. NICKY (CONT'D) I mean...tough break. DAD The important thing for the stability of our rule is to maintain the balance between good and evil. And I don't think any of you are ready for that responsibility yet. You need the wisdom that comes only with the passage of time. CASSIUS Dad! This is Hoyashit. Dad glares. Cassius goes FLYING BACK. One of the Human Dartboards laughs. Cassius whips a dart and hits him in the tongue. Jimmy enters and points at his watch. DAD Right. Right. Send him in. (to the boys) I'm sorry, boys. I've got to get back to work. Nicky, Cassius and Adrian start filing out. Adrian stops. ADRIAN You sure about this decision, Dad? DAD I'm telling you, pal, it's the right thing to do. HITLER (in a French maid's outfit), is being brought in by Jimmy. They head towards the closet. Inside the closet is a crate of pineapples. Hitler picks out a relatively small one. Dad shakes his head "no." Dad walks over to the closet. Hitler picks out a really big pineapple. Dad nods "yes." Hitler sadly hands it to Dad. Jimmy bends Hitler over and as Dad raises the fruit... CLOSE ON HITLER'S EYES As the pineapple's jammed up his ass. HITLER Holy schnit!! EXT. HIGHWAY TO HELL - DAY Cassius and Adrian are standing by the road still flowing with souls. Both are pissed. There's a big, ugly, Bigfoot looking MONSTER hanging out with them, kind of nodding along. CASSIUS You work your ass off for ten thousand years, hurting people, helping others hurt people, then you get a decision like that. ADRIAN And he's dead serious. CASSIUS It's just such a slap in the face. Adrian turns to the Monster. ADRIAN Um, excuse me, we're having a private conversation here. CASSIUS Yeah, get out of here! Beat it! Cassius insanely snaps his fingers in the Monster's face. The Monster shrugs and walks off. ADRIAN Twenty-thousand years ago, Grandpa Lucifer said, "It is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven." Well, I'm getting tired of serving in Hell. We need a place where we can rule. Cassius throws a rock at the Monster. He yelps, then turns around, motioning like he's thinking about coming back. Cassius sees this and gets enraged. CASSIUS Oh you wanna be a big man? Bring it on!! Let's see what you got! The Monster, upon further reflection, throws his hands up in an "aw phooey" gesture and continues walking away. CASSIUS (CONT'D) That's what I thought! ADRIAN (to Cassius) Could you concentrate for five seconds? CASSIUS I am concentrating. Where can we rule? ADRIAN What do you think about...Earth? Cassius seems to think this isn't a bad idea. ADRIAN (CONT'D) We could create our own hell there. CASSIUS You saying we go up there and kill everyone? ADRIAN Eventually, Cassius. But first we corrupt as many as we can so that when we do destroy them... CASSIUS ...their damned souls will be ours. ADRIAN It's our time, brother. The two look at each other. They start running toward the fire wall. Knocking souls out of their way. GATEKEEPER Hey, what are you doing?!? They get closer to the fire. GATEKEEPER (CONT'D) You can't go through there. The fire flows in, not out. They dive through the fire wall. It FREEZES. GATEKEEPER (CONT'D) You know something? You guys suck! You really suck! Sirens go off. Dogs start barking. Lights flash. And we hear the sound of DAMNED SOULS hitting the back of the firewall hard. INT. THRONE ROOM - SHORTLY AFTER Dad and Nicky are listening to one of Nicky's metal mix tapes. We hear the end of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb." Pause. Dad exhales. DAD Now that was an experience. "You are only coming through in waves." That line blows my mind every time. NICKY Definitely. DAD I don't care what kind of mood you're in at the start of that song. When it's over, that mood has been altered. Wow. Great shit. What's next? NICKY Well, I thought that after messing with your head, I'd give you a little kick in the keester. Hits the tape player. "Enter Sandman" blasts. DAD Who is this, Metal-lick-a? NICKY Metallica, Dad. Come on. DAD I was just playing with you. Dad and Nicky dance to the song. INT. THRONE ROOM - LATER CLOSE ON DAD. DAD I'm sorry. After careful consideration, I regretfully have to decline. ON PERSON HE'S TALKING TO: DAN MARINO. DAN C'mon, man, I'm just asking for one Superbowl ring. DAD In exchange for eternal damnation of your soul? You're too nice of a guy for me to want to do that to you, Mr. Marino. DAN You did it for Namath. DAD Yeah, but Joe was coming here anyways. Just go back to Earth and enjoy your records and the Hall of Fame and the beautiful family and all that. DAN This is bullshit, man. (gets up to leave) I'm gonna win the Superbowl this year, with or without you! DAD Now you're talking. Dan exits. NICKY You're a good devil, Dad. DAD And I also happen to be a Jets fan. Nicky and Dad share a laugh which is interrupted by faint sirens. The Gatekeeper enters in a hurry and falls to his knees. GATEKEEPER Your highness, Cassius and Adrian have escaped from hell. They went through the fire, and they broke it. I think they took the New York tunnel. I tried to stop them, but they overpowered me, sir. DAD Oh, boy. Oh boy. Calm down. Get off your knees. The Gatekeeper stands up. GATEKEEPER Thanks for being so understanding, your worship. You're the man. You've always been the man. Dad's EYES GLOW RED as the Gatekeeper stands up. Two huge boobs grow out of either side of the Gatekeeper's head. We only see them from the front for a second. From behind the gatekeeper, we see the boobs but not the nipples as he talks to Nicky. GATEKEEPER (CONT'D) (to Nicky) I'm lucky to get away with just the head boobs, right? NICKY Coulda been much worse. GATEKEEPER That's what I'm thinkin'... Dad is staring off. He looks shaken. DAD This is bad, Nicky. NICKY How bad? DAD I'm gonna die, Nicky. If the gates are broken, no new souls can get in, which means I'll start to deteriorate into nothing. GRANDPA LUCIFER enters. LUCIFER What's with all the whoo-whoo noises? DAD Everything's fine, pop. LUCIFER Last time you said that the renaissance happened. DAD Please, pop, just go back to your room. LUCIFER (regarding gateskeeper) Can I take him with me and have sex with his head? DAD Sure, pop. Whatever you want. The gatekeeper walks towards Lucifer. GATEKEEPER Oh, this is gonna be a whole new lifestyle for me, isn't it. EXT. GATES OF HELL - SHORTLY AFTER We see the coals are cooling down on the road and the DAMNED SOULS in hell are sneaking off. The DEMONS are baffled and don't quite know what to do. Dad, Jimmy and Nicky walk to the frozen fire. DAMNED SOULS (O.S.) What's going on? Where are we? We keep HEARING people hit behind the frozen fire with loud thuds. JIMMY THE DEMON Nothing's getting through that. The fire is solid as a rock. NICKY We gotta get this bad boy burning again. Ideas? DAD To do that Cassius and Adrian have to come back through the other way. NICKY So go get 'em, Dad! DAD I'm too weak. The process has already begun. Dad holds up his hand. His pink is hanging by a thread. We see the bigfoot MONSTER grunt disgusted by the sight. NICKY So go get 'em, Jimmy! JIMMY THE DEMON I'm just a demon, Nicky. I don't got devil blood in me. I'd last two minutes up there with your brothers. NICKY You're not saying it's up to me? The MONSTER puts his hands over his eyes shaking his head as if to say, "oh no." NICKY (CONT'D) I've never been to Earth. I've never even slept over at some other dude's house! JIMMY THE DEMON You're the spawn of Satan. You got it in you. DAD Nicky, the worst thing that could happen on Earth is you get killed, in which case, boom, you end up back here. NICKY Are you telling me I have to go to Earth and kill my brothers? JIMMY THE DEMON Not go. They left together at the exact same time. They gotta come back together at the exact same time. Dad takes an ornate flask from his robe. DAD Here. Get them drunk from this. One sip and they'll be trapped inside. Once you've got both of them, you bring the flask back through the gate. Dad's pinky is hanging. Jimmy pulls it off and examines it. The Monster gags. JIMMY THE DEMON Your ol' man's got less than a week. Nicky looks petrified. NICKY No. This can't be happening. DAD Son, just do your best. Nicky looks teary eyed. The moment is broken by the Monster, who runs in and pushes Nicky through the fire. Nicky goes through the solid fire wall. PAUSE. The Monster taps his own wrist and looks at Dad as if to say, "gotta get a move on." INT. GRAND CENTRAL STATION PLATFORM - DAY A SIGN: 42ND ST. GRAND CENTRAL PAN DOWN to the darkened bowels of the old station, between two tracks, to a putrid puddle. Nicky breaks through the surface, sputtering. We hear a rumbling in the near distance. NICKY Okay. Earth. The Blue Marble. This doesn't look too bad. Nicky sees a fast approaching light, furrows his brow and WHAMMM! EXT. GATES OF HELL - MOMENTS LATER Nicky comes shooting through the solid fire wall and lands in the coal pit. His Dad limps back to him. JIMMY THE DEMON You were gone ten seconds. What happened? NICKY I got hit by a big light that was attached to a lot of metal. DAD That's a train, son. Don't stand in front of them. NICKY Well, I guess I'm going to have to take a mulligan on this one. DAD Please, Nicky, get back up there. (his ear falls off) Try to hurry. Nicky climbs up and heads back toward the fire wall. INT. GRAND CENTRAL STATION PLATFORM - DAY Nicky makes it back through the hole. Looks both ways and hops out of the hole. He carefully crosses the tracks and is stopped by the sight of a bulldog, BEEFY, on the other side. In his mouth is one of those signs car service drivers use to identify their passengers at the airport. On the sign is scrawled "NICKY." Nicky and Beefy stare at each other a beat. NICKY I'm Nicky. Beefy drops the sign from his mouth. BEEFY (voice of Sandy Wernick) Hey, terrific!! Now get off the track and come with me, shitstains. INT. GRAND CENTRAL STATION - PAVILLION - DAY The throng of commuters making their way through the terminal are giving a wide berth to the filthy man who's looking around suspiciously, talking to the dog. BEEFY My name's Beefy. I'm an old friend of your father's. He's asked me to help you out. NICKY I just need to find my brothers and be on my way, Beefy. BEEFY It's not gonna be easy. Your brothers can possess people. So they probably won't look like themselves. You have to be suspicious of everyone. Nicky looks at Beefy warily for a beat. NICKY Okay, "bro," this jig is up... (pulling out the flask) Just get in the bottle. Just slide right on in there. BEEFY It's not me, moron. NICKY Oh. Sorry. EXT. GRAND CENTRAL STATION - DAY A BLIND PREACHER rants outside the entrance. People put money in his pot. PREACHER Oh how the Lord loves you. All his children. (passerby puts in money) He thanks you for your kindness. (another woman puts in money) God bless, Ma'am. The Lord loves you... The Lord loves you... We see Nicky and Beefy walk up from behind. The PREACHER sniffs. PREACHER (CONT'D) The Lord does not love you. I sense...pure evil. (thrusts his cross in Nicky's face) You make the Lord very nervous. (feeling hot) I'm burning...ahhh. (running away) The Devil walks among us! He runs off screaming, wildly bumping into people. PREACHER (CONT'D) Oh Lord, save us from Hell's beast! He gets off course and runs right into a subway entrance. He disappears. Beefy turns to Nicky. BEEFY Makin' friends already. NICKY (shivering a little) It's freezing up here, Beefy. BEEFY You're on Earth now, kid. Gonna have the same physical needs and limitations a human has. We'll stop by K-mart. Get you some warm clothes. NICKY I also have this odd pain in my mid section. Kind of a hollow feeling... BEEFY That pain is hunger. EXT. BENCH - DAY K-mart bag is next to a bench. PAN UP to see Nicky wearing an extra warm SKI OUTFIT. Sitting next to him on the bench is Beefy. Between them is a big bucket of POPEYE'S FRIED CHICKEN. Nicky takes out a drumstick. NICKY So far, so good. Now what? BEEFY Put it in your mouth. Nicky puts it in his mouth. Holds it there. BEEFY (CONT'D) Move your teeth up and down. Nicky does. He chews for a long time. BEEFY (CONT'D) Now you gotta swallow it. Tilt your head back and let the meat slide down your throat-hole. Nicky does. He gets a looks of complete joy on his face. NICKY Hey...Popeye's chicken is ass kickin'! BEEFY It sure is. Now eat it up. You're gonna need your energy. NICKY I got energy up the ying-ying. Let's get cracking! NICKY stands with a drumstick and jogs off the curb right into the path of a moving bus. INT. GATES OF HELL - MOMENTS LATER The Monster is rubbing the gatekeeper's boobs. The gatekeeper is wearing a modified bra. He seems to be enjoying it. We hear a THUD. They look down to see Nicky on the ground. (We didn't see him flying through this time.) The Monster and Gatekeeper immediately stop. Kind of embarrassed. GATEKEEPER Hey. NICKY That's a pretty brassiere. GATEKEEPER Thanks. NICKY Could you maybe not tell anyone about this? GATEKEEPER You got it. Could you maybe not tell anyone about this? NICKY You got it. Nicky turns and walks toward the firewall. As soon as his back is turned, the monster pantomimes to the Gatekeeper, "I love your boobs." The Gatekeeper gives a flirtatious laugh (we don't see him morph back through the wall here.). EXT. VILLAGE STREET - DAY Beefy is walking with him down the street. Nicky is crazy cautious. NICKY From now on. I'm just going to avoid all moving metal objects. BEEFY Great. Now your father gave me some deposit money for a nice pad on the Upper East Side. But I misplaced it. FLASHBACK DISSOLVE TO: INT. STRIP CLUB - NIGHT Beefy is sitting on a bench/booth at a strip club. Champagne is on the table. Bills in his mouth. We see THREE DANCERS dancing for him. FLASHBACK DISSOLVE TO: EXT. VILLAGE STREET Nicky and Beefy. BEEFY So I found this other joint for you. But you're gonna have a roommate. INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT A scruffy, thirtyish buy, TODD (Allen Covert), is on the phone in his small, bohemian apartment in the Village. TODD (on phone) I know exactly how you feel... The night Reagan was elected, I said to my mother, "Is this man going to blow up the world, Mommy?" Then we both cried for like an hour. (knock at the door) Somebody's here. Call you later. Todd gets up and opens the door. It's Nicky, with Beefy by his side. Nicky is nervous, and his speech sounds practiced. NICKY Hello, friend, my name is Nicky. I understand you're seeking a roommate, as per your advertisement in the Village Voice. Would it be possible for me to fill the slot? TODD Uh, don't you want to know what the rent is? Nicky looks down at Beefy. Beefy looks up at Nicky. Both nod imperceptibly. NICKY Yes. What is rent? TODD Eight-hundred, split down the middle. Tuesdays and Thursdays I rehearse with my scene partner so the living room will be off limits. NICKY Off limits. TODD Right. And as far as household items: we can share the soap, but we'll split the cost 60/40. Cause the person who physically goes out and buys the soap shouldn't have to pay as much as the other guy. (looks at Nicky) Aren't you boiling in that outfit? NICKY No. TODD It's like eighty degrees in this hallway. You from the South? NICKY Yeah. The deep South. Nicky laughs a little too hard. TODD Why is that funny? NICKY I don't know. TODD And sorry, man, but no dogs allowed. Todd turns and goes into the apartment. BEEFY You'll be alright. Go on. Big day tomorrow. Don't forget to do that sleep thing I told you about. NICKY Got ya. (to Todd) Is it okay if I do the sleep thing? TODD Yeah, your bedroom is right over there. The door closes. Beefy looks down at the welcome mat. It reads: I "heart" METHOD ACTING. Beefy raises his leg over it. INT. NICKY'S ROOM Nicky is sleeping on top of the hissing radiator, fully clothed. When he inhales through his nose, we hear that familiar snoring/snorting sound. But when he exhales, we hear disturbing "speaking-in-tongues", Exorcist-style voices. SLOW PAN across the room to the doorway where Todd stands, looking concerned. EXT. CATHEDRAL - MORNING We HEAR the bells toll. We see the beautiful exterior of a large church. INT. CATHEDRAL CLOSE ON an ELDERLY, kind looking CARDINAL. He ascends the steps to the pulpit and looks out on his large congregation. We see that TV cameras are covering the SUNDAY service. He gins his homily. CARDINAL In today's gospel, the Lord tells us who we are to live if we wish to attain the splendor of Heaven... or something like that. Jesus sure says a lot of stuff in the Bible. Moses this. Moses that. Abraham hit me with a whiffle ball bat. The crowd stares dumbfounded. We see that the Cardinal is standing on a steaming hot pizza which is still in the box with the top open. CARDINAL (CONT'D) Yep, the Lord sure did say a bunch of hibbity-jibbity. But has he ever really done anything for us? Has he ever put a Jaguar XJR in my driveway? Has he ever given any of my enemies the herpes? No. He hasn't done a damn thing for any of us. A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN stands up. MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN The Lord gave my son the strength to get off drugs. CARDINAL Ma'am, I know your son, and believe me, he was better off on drugs. He's a bore. At least when he was smoking hashish, he made me laugh occasionally. A YOUNG MAN and his PREGNANT WIFE stand up. YOUNG MAN After we tried for many years, the Lord finally helped my wife conceive a baby. CARDINAL No, your best friend Fitzie helped your wife conceive a baby. He helped her conceive it all night long. Fitzie, who's sitting on the other side of the Wife, starts to "raise the roof." Then thinks better of it. The Cardinal points to a well-dressed man in the front pew. CARDINAL (CONT'D) How about you, Mr. Mayor? The Lord ever do anything for you? The Mayor has tinfoil on his feet. MAYOR (standing) Well, I wish I could think of something, Cardinal, but to be honest with you, I can't. Kind of makes you wonder if there even is a Lord. If there is any ultimate punishment for our so-called "sins." Maybe we should all just have fun and do whatever the hell we want. A hubbub is raised by the crowd. Fitzie raises the roof again, this time energetically. CARDINAL Amen to that. Let the sin begin! The hubbub grows to a roar. Several PEOPLE start fighting over the money in the collection plate. The Cardinal smiles knowingly at the Mayor. We hear the Cardinal's thoughts - in Adrian's voice. ADRIAN (O.S.) Oh, this is delicious. ON MAYOR He's smirking. WE HEAR his telepathic response. CASSIUS (O.S.) (laughing) "Let the sin begins" - that was a good one. ADRIAN (O.S.) Well, we must get people sinning if we want to fill up our New Hell. How are things going down at City Hall? CASSIUS (O.S.) I lowered the drinking age to ten. ADRIAN (O.S.) Brilliant. This is so much fun. I never want it to end. CASSIUS (O.S.) Why should it end? Who's gonna stop us? The Mayor/Cassius laughs. As he does, his eyes slowly cross. EXT. STREET - DAY Beefy is taking a dump on the sidewalk. PAN OVER TO: Nicky, his pants around his ankles. He's trying to do the same. NICKY This is intense! And it happens every day? Sometimes twice? I gotta tip my hat to you people! BEEFY Look, it's okay for me to shit the street. But you gotta use a toilet. NICKY (pulling up pants) Okay, just point me in the right direction next time. BEEFY Come on, there's like ten million people in this city and the clock is ticking. NICKY Well, let's rock and roll. Nicky looks at the next person walking by. It's a CHINESE DELIVERY GUY on a bicycle. Nicky clotheslines him, taking him off the bike in a sleeperhold/headlock. NICKY (CONT'D) Get in the bottle. Dad's falling apart. You froze the gate and you're killing him. Drink! Nicky puts the flask to the Chinese Guy's lips. CHINESE DELIVERY GUY I'm not thirsty! I'm not thirsty! NICKY just get in the flask! The Chinese Guy breaks loose, gives Nicky a roundhouse kick to the head and runs away. Nicky gets up. NICKY (CONT'D) Adrian and Cassius! You think a kick to the head is gonna make me throw in the towel? Well, in the immortal words of Judas Priest, "You got another thing comin'." Beefy shakes his dog head and sighs as we see Nicky hold the bottle up to a few more PEDESTRIANS. EXT. STREET - DAY Nicky approaches various people as they pass. (To be shot long lense, real people, real reactions.) INT. POPEYE'S - DAY Nicky gets to the front of the line and tries to get the Cashier to drink. The Cashier yanks his head away and gives Nicky a dirty look. Nicky shrugs and points to the menu, ordering some chicken. EXT. STREET - DAY nicky walks up to a homeless man. He thrusts the bottle in his face. To Nicky's surprise, the homeless man gladly takes it and drinks. Nothing happens. Nicky is baffled. He tries to take the flask back, but the man won't let go. Finally he grabs it away from him. The man starts throwing garbage at Nicky as he walks away. INT. CENTRAL PARK ZOO - DAY Beefy is looking around for Nicky. He spots him - inside the polar bear cage. Nicky approaches the bear holding the flask. INT. HELL - MOMENTS LATER Nicky shoots through the firewall, having been killed again. The Gatekeeper is wearing tassels on his boobs. GATEKEEPER Bus? NICKY Beast. The Monster laughs. GATEKEEPER (to Monster) You like that? You think that's funny? The Gatekeeper swirls his tassels. GATEKEEPER (CONT'D) How about that? You like that? The Monster howls with delight. EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY Nicky sits on the rocks, beaten and exhausted, eating a Popeye's drumstick. NICKY All that running and chasing is making the sleep thing want to come early. BEEFY I think we have to work on narrowing down our list of suspects. Now I'm going to go check in with some of my contacts uptown. Beefy hears Nicky's strange terrible snores. He's asleep. Beefy sighs. BEEFY (CONT'D) Kid's got a lot of evil in him, just begging to come out... Beefy walks away. EXT. VARIOUS CENTRAL PARK LOCATIONS - DAY Nicky snores. Masses of birds fly out of the trees. Nicky snores. Squirrels run out of trees. Nicky snores. ON WORRIED PEOPLE Staring at Nicky who continues to snore. Two HEAVY-METAL GUYS, JOHN AND PETER, are listening to Danzig and doing a goofy dance. They hear something and turn the music down: it's the distant sound of Nicky's snore. PETER Sounds like our devil dance actually worked this time. JOHN 'Bout time... Nicky snores. It sounds like "I will eat your hearts." The worried people run away. Nicky snores. Children on the Carousel, going real fast, upset. Nicky snores. Peter and John walk over to a position near Nicky's bench. JOHN (CONT'D) There's our man. PETER Mr. Sleepyhead must have some major ties to the dark side. A sleazy STREET VENDOR shuffles over towards Nicky. He eyes the flask which is half hanging out of Nicky's pocket. JOHN What's with that guy? PETER Gotta be one of his disciples or something. Suddenly, the Vendor grabs the flask (and Nicky's half-eaten drumstick) and runs off. JOHN Yo, man, I think that devil guy just got ripped off. PETER Should we wake him up? JOHN Yeah. You do it. Peter gets up and shakes Nicky who comes to with a loud SNORT. PETER Rise and shine, devil guy. Some dude just stole your shit. Nicky feels for the flask. It's gone. NICKY Oh nooooo.... Fire shoots out of Nicky's mouth. NICKY (CONT'D) Which way did he go? JOHN That way. Nicky is about to run off. Looks at John's shirt. NICKY Iron Maiden live double disc is simply phenomenal. He runs off. PETER Did you check out the dragon mouth? JOHN The Dark Prince is here. EXT. SIDE STREET - DAY Nicky is searching the street for his flask. He walks past several STREET VENDORS who have set up their wares on the sidewalk. PAUSE. Nicky comes walking back into frame as he sees his flask (and half-eaten drumstick) laying on the blanket of the VENDOR. NICKY Hey... STREET VENDOR See something you like, my man? NICKY Yes. I would like my flask back. The street vendor stands, very angry. STREET VENDOR You callin' me a thief, my man? NICKY No, I'm just calling you... a guy who has my flask. STREET VENDOR And if that is your so-called "flask," how would I have it unless I was, in fact, a thief? NICKY (not sure what the answer is) I don't know? A YUPPIE JOGGER is checking out the flask. MAN Yeah, how much for the silver flask there? STREET VENDOR Well, that's a very special item. The cap itself is one hundred percent plappium. It's a value is over three thousand dollars. MAN Really. Where's it from? NICKY It was handcrafted in hell by Satan himself and is only to be used for the capture and containment of my blood brothers so that the firefall of Hades will burn brightly once again. MAN Really. I think we'll let you keep it then. He walks away. STREET VENDOR Okay, now you gone and done it. You done messed with my business bitch! NICKY Sir, I would prefer if you didn't raise your voice. It's making my muscles tighten. We see that Nicky's eyes are starting to glow red. STREET VENDOR Oh, you gonna go all crazy eyes on me? I'll show you some crazy eyes. Let's get busy. The vendor makes an even crazier face at Nicky and starts swinging his fists around. Nearby, VALERIE, an unsure, sweetly unstylish young woman, is selling clothes off a spread out blanket. She notices what's going on. Nicky's eyes widen in panic. Just then, Valerie steps in. VALERIE Excuse me, does that flask belong to this man? STREET VENDOR (frustrated) Now you callin' me a thief? Damn. VALERIE Look, I know you come out here and sell stolen stuff all the time. But today, the guy you stole from just happened to walk by and bust you. So why don't you admit today's not your day and give him his flask back? STREET VENDOR Or what're you gonna do about it? Ugly me to death? VALERIE No, but maybe that cop over there might have something to say. Valerie points to a cop across the street. The Street Vendor ponders this for a second, then... STREET VENDOR Aw, take your dumb-ass canteen, goofy. (looking at Valerie) And you, take your raggedy-ass clothes and find a new corner. Before I show you what real crazy is. The vendor does crazy eyes again. VALERIE Fine. I will. Nicky picks up the flask and the drumstick. NICKY Hey, mister. I'll be seeing you in a few years. Valerie gathers her blanket, starts walking away and Nicky follows her. NICKY (CONT'D) That was amazing. Thanks so much. You didn't have to do that. VALERIE That's okay. I get messed with all the time and when I saw him doing that to you I just lost it. I hate when people take advantage of tourists. It ruins it for the rest of us. NICKY You think I'm a tourist? VALERIE I'm sorry. I just assumed. Your accent maybe. Where are you from? NICKY The South. VALERIE Really? NICKY Yeah. Deep south. (laughs hard) She laughs along with him, not sure why. VALERIE Why are you laughing? NICKY I don't know, but I like it. Say. Your glasses are nice. They make your eyes look sparkly and big. It's fun to look at them. VALERIE My dad's an optometrist. NICKY My dad's in hell, and he's falling apart. VALERIE I'm sorry. It's really tough when your parents get older. NICKY If I don't save him, I don't know what I'm gonna do. VALERIE Well, I'm sure a nice southern boy like you will figure something out. Nicky is experiencing new sensations as he looks at her. He hands her the half-eaten drumstick. NICKY Here, have a Popeye's. This drumstick ain't for beatin' it's for eatin'. VALERIE That's alright. I already ate lunch. I actually wouldn't mind getting a Gelati. NICKY Could I come with you to getting a Gelati? VALERIE If you want to. NICKY Want to? A million angry octopus people couldn't hold me back! VALERIE "Octopus people?" NICKY Uh, it's a deep south expression. Nicky laughs. EXT. STREET - MOMENTS LATER They exit the ice cream store, eating Gelati. NICKY It's freezing my hands. VALERIE It's not that cold. Here, let me wrap it. Valerie takes a few napkins and wraps it for Nicky. Just then the PREACHER walks by. He quickly turns his head, sensing Nicky. PREACHER Why do you taunt me with your darkness?! Your evil is stinking up our streets! We're all gonna die! He takes off running right into a lamp post. VALERIE This town is really going to hell lately. (Nicky nods) So what part of the city do you live in? NICKY I have an apartment. I don't remember exactly where. My dog knows, though. VALERIE (laughs) You have a dog? What kind? NICKY I'm not sure. I'd ask him, but he's uptown talking to his contacts. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET - DAY Beefy is screwing a female dog from behind. BEEFY Remember, it's not the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean. GIRL DOG Just finish. EXT. STREET - VALERIE & NICKY CONTINUOUS - DAY VALERIE I'd love to have a dog. But I go to school full time. It wouldn't be fair to the dog. NICKY School? VALERIE Parsons School of Design. I knew growing up I wasn't much to look at, so I put my energy into making things that are pretty. NICKY What's that pleasant smell coming from, your skin? VALERIE My perfume? He takes her wrist to his nose. He stares at it, licks it. VALERIE (CONT'D) (laughs) It's called "Comptoir Sud Pacific." Which I think is the French word for coconuts. Nicky stops and looks at her. NICKY Valerie, it feels like there's a bunch of butterflies flapping around in my stomach. Is that normal? VALERIE Sometimes, sure. NICKY Good. I was concerned. EXT. GATES OF HELL - DAY The Gatekeeper is near the frozen fall. We hear loud wailing, moaning, etc., coming from the other side. GATEKEEPER Doesn't sound very good behind there. I hope Nicky's kicking some ass on Earth. The Monster is smoking a cigarette and wearing a leather biker's hat. He nods along in agreement. PAN TO LUCIFER Who's sitting over by a rock fishing in a small pool of fire/pond. LUCIFER You know, I was the one who created Hell. GATEKEEPER I know, your wickedness. LUCIFER I started slow, though. For years, I was just giving people hot foots. Actually, you can give all the credit for Hell to my first wife; she was the inspiration. She was an ugly one, too. One day, she asked me if I wanted super sex. I said I'll take the soup. The Monster laughs really hard. LUCIFER (CONT'D) Take it easy there, Chewbacca. In fact, you look like her mother, except she had more hair. The Monster laughs even harder. LUCIFER (CONT'D) You know what was in Hell when I came down here, Cassius? GATEKEEPER It's Stanley, sir. LUCIFER Nothing. No mountains. No castles. Looked like a giant parking lot. It wasn't even called Hell. GATEKEEPER What was it called, sir. LUCIFER Boogerland! GATEKEEPER That's nice, Grandpa. Why don't you just enjoy the fishing? LUCIFER I can't enjoy anything. I go fishing. I catch nothing. I go to orgies, I catch everything... We hear the Monster laughing again as we PAN DOWN Grandpa's fishing line to: EXT. UNDERWATER - DAY We SEE a MINIATURE PEEPER squirming on the fish hook. A giant fanged fish engulfs the Peeper's body. Only his head is sticking out. PEEPER I deserve this! EXT. BAR - DOWN THE STREET - DAY Several ELEVEN YEAR-OLDS stumble out, drunk. KID I just stole twenty-five bucks off the bar. KID #2 How many beers did you have? KID # 3 Eight sips. KID I had five! I'm so wasted. They both high five, throw up and fall. PAN over to ADRIAN sitting on top of a mailbox laughing as he sips from a bottle of PEPPERMINT SCHNAPPS. ADRIAN When an adult goes to Hell, that's terrific. But when a child goes... that's why I'm in this business. Adrian looks across the street and sees Nicky walking with Valerie. He's shocked. Valerie is holding up a pair of drawstring pants from her collection. NICKY So you're saying, make all pants with a drawstring, then heavier set gals don't have to feel humiliated by telling their waist size in front of the whole store? VALERIE Basically, yeah. NICKY Wow. Maybe you should make drawstring socks for gals with fat ankles. Valerie laughs. VALERIE You know what's nice about you? You just seem happy being yourself. You don't try to act cool. NICKY Thanks much. You know what's nice about you, Valerie? VALERIE What? Up the street, Adrian's eyes redden. NICKY looks like he's been stunned by something. NICKY Your juicy, heart-shaped ass. VALERIE What was that? NICKY (shocked and confused) I...I don't know why I just said that. I meant to say that... QUICK CUT TO: Adrian's eyes flashing. NICKY (CONT'D) ...I've always wanted to have sex with a gross pig. What do you say we go behind that dumpster, pull our pants down and see what happens? Valerie's very hurt. VALERIE You're a jerk. She turns and walks away. Nicky looks over and sees Adrian. His inner voice speaks to him. NICKY (O.S.) ADRIAN! ADRIAN (O.S.) You shouldn't have come here. NICKY (O.S.) Please, get out of my mind! Adrian's eyes flash. NICKY (CONT'D) Hey, Valerie! She stops and turns. Nicky RAISES his fist to resist Adrian's force. It's too much. His middle finger comes up, giving her the "finger." VALERIE What the hell's your problem? She runs away crying. Nicky turns to Adrian who's still across the street. NICKY (O.S.) Adrian, you gotta come back to Hell. Dad's sick. ADRIAN (O.S.) He's sick? NICKY (O.S.) Yeah, he needs souls to live. When you guys left, you broke the gates. We gotta get the gates burning again before he dies. Adrian processes this. ADRIAN (O.S.) He should have thought of that before he denied me my birthright. NICKY (O.S.) Well maybe you should go back and talk it over with him. ADRIAN (O.S.) How about this? I stay here enjoying my Schnapps and you go back. Nicky's body jerks around. NICKY (O.S.) Adrian, please... Nicky, fighting control over his body, walks slowly and crazily into the middle of the street where he sees a large truck bearing down on him. JOHN and PETER get blood splattered on them. Peter looks down to see the "666" forms in blood on their clothes. PETER Check this out. The number of the beast. They laugh and hi-five. ON THE TV - DAY INT. CBS EVENING NEWS PROGRAM Dan Rather speaks to the camera. Over his shoulder we see a graphic of the Arch-Decon's face. NOTE (Arch-Decon is a made up religious figure that appeared earlier in the script.) DAN RATHER Reverberations from Arch-Decon Donnelly's shocking speech are still being felt throughout the city. Today, some disgruntled cast members of the play CATS broke the fourth wall in a most hostile manner. VIDEO FOOTAGE A few CATS are down in the aisle physically pushing around shocked audience members. BACK ON DAN RATHER DAN RATHER ...But even that does not come close to what happened today on Live with Regis and Kathy Lee. VIDEO FOOTAGE The set of Regis and Kathy Lee. REGIS So I was driving to work today, and some bozo in a Cadillac cut me off... KATHY LEE Oh, that's terrible, Reege... REGIS So I followed him... KATHY LEE You followed him? REGIS I followed him all the way downtown, and when he gets out of the car, I reach under my seat and pull out an aluminum bat. KATHY LEE You keep a bat under your seat? REGIS Recently, yes! So I run up behind this guy, and start bashing his brains in with this bat, and it made me feel happy! Did you ever see THE UNTOUCHABLES? KATHY LEE Yes, great movie... REGIS I was DeNiro! The blue haired lady AUDIENCE is crying. The TV turns off. We PULL BACK to see that we are in. INT. TODD'S APARTMENT - DAY Beefy turns to Nicky. BEEFY Your brothers are upsetting the balance of good and evil. NICKY What can I do about it? BEEFY You can't do jack shit... unless you learn your evil powers. NICKY Nobody's as evil as my brothers. Those dudes put the wick in wicked. BEEFY Go get a soda out of the fridge. NICKY But those are my roommate's sodas... BEEFY (high-pitched mocking) "But those are my roommate's sodas..." Does that sound like a statement the son of the devil would make? Nicky, ashamed, gets a Coke out of the fridge and places it on the coffee table. He and Beefy sit on the couch and stare at the Coke. BEEFY (CONT'D) You have the power to change the cola in that can into any other liquid - engine oil, bat's blood, moose piss. You just have to release the evil within you. NICKY Release the evil? BEEFY I'm just saying, there's wickedness in you... I can tell from your snores. Nicky stares at the can. BEEFY (CONT'D) Release your evil... Nicky frowns and bites his lip. The can rattles a little. TODD What are you doing? Todd is standing in the doorway. Beefy runs to the fire escape. ******************* TODD (CONT'D) I know it's your living room night. But can I finish watching the Globetrotters' game out here? To me it's classic Comedia Dellarte. CUT TO: INT. TODD'S APARTMENT - MOMENTS LATER The TV clicks on. We see TODD sit down and look at the TV. Nicky's behind him. ON TV INT. BASKETBALL ARENA - DAY BILL WALTON What an odd game, folks. The powerhouse 85-0 Harlem Globetrotters, who normal run circles around the 0-85 Nationals, seem to be struggling to find their groove in front of their hometown fans. A Globetrotter makes a fancy pass to another player, who makes a fancy pass to CORNROWS who starts doing some VINTAGE GLOBETROTTERS FANCY DRIBBLING. The REF blows the whistle and makes the travelling signal. REF He's walking, get him a bus! BILL WALTON Oh, another awful call. There is no way that was travelling. Ref takes ball from Cornrows, who gets in the Ref's face. CORNROWS What's with all these crazy calls? You gotta watch that shit, we haven't lost a game in 53 years. REF Technical foul! Ref snaps just like Cassius in the players' face. ON TODD AND NICKY NICKY That guy in the striped shirt snaps his fingers like someone I know... ON TV The ref mind wrestles four globetrotters to simultaneously slam their heads on the scorers table again and again. ON TODD AND NICKY NICKY (CONT'D) It looks like the work of a brother... TODD A black guy? NICKY If it's Cassius, yes. Nicky races for the door. INT. BASKETBALL ARENA - DAY As the ref taunts the crowd, a fan wearing a Globetrotter's shirt yells out. GLOBETROTTER FAN Get your head out your ass, ref! The kids came to see the Globetrotters win. REF Oh, so you wanna lip off to me? Unsportsmanlike conduct on the big mouth in the Globetrotter's shirt. Take ten points off for the Globetrotters. The Globetrotter's score on the board goes from 46 to 36. ON STANDS The KIDS are crying. ON COURT The halftime buzzer sounds. The Globetrotters walk off the court. The crowd BOOS. BILL WALTON In all my years of basketball, I was never so happy to hear a halftime buzzer. Folk, I'm afraid if the second half doesn't get any better, I expect a full scale riot. A spotlight points to an announcer at mid-court. COURT ANNOUNCER It's time for the Globetrotter's halftime half-court heave throw, where one lucky fan will have a shot at ten thousand dollars! A brick lands at the announcer's feet. COURT ANNOUNCER (CONT'D) And if he makes it, everyone in attendance today will receive a free pizza. INT. ARENA TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS MIGUEL, wearing a big basketball jersey, looks nervous. He has a pass on. MIGUEL I ain't goin' out there and taking the shot. These people have gone crazy. NICKY I'll take the shot. INT. BASKETBALL ARENA STANDS - CONTINUOUS As Nicky runs out on the court, Peter turns to John. PETER Look who's back from the dead. JOHN Six, six, six, pick up sticks. They high-five. The only happy fans in their section. INT. TODD'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS Todd's baffled, looking at his roommate on TV. Beefy is watching from the fire escape. TODD What's Nicky doing down there? BEEFY Trying to capture his brother in a flask and preserve the balance of good and evil on Earth. Todd looks over, suspicious. TODD Did you just talk? BEEFY No. INT. BASKETBALL ARENA - CONTINUOUS The court announcer covers his mic and whispers to Nicky. COURT ANNOUNCER You better win these people some free pizza. Looks like they're about to start killing each other. STANDS A BUSINESSMAN pushes a very old SODA GUY down an aisle of stairs. COURTSIDE The court announcer hands Nicky the ball. He looks at it. NICKY Release the evil. His eyes get red. Staring at the ball, it explodes. NICKY (CONT'D) Okay, too much evil.. Bill Walton's hair is on fire. BILL WALTON I think that ball just blew up. And yes, my hair is aflame. NICKY (turning to sideline) Could I get another ball? The court announcer throws out another ball. Nicky stares at it again with red eyes. NICKY (CONT'D) I command you not to blow up and go into that metal circle. Nicky throws an underhand shot. The ball arcs through the air and is about to go in when the ref comes out of nowhere and swats it away. REF Get that crap outta here! The crowd BOOS! Nicky and the ref stare at each other. NICKY (O.S.) I know you're having fun, Cassius, but you gotta come back to Hell. CASSIUS (O.S.) Look around you, Nicky. We're in Hell. The New Hell. STANDS We see FITZIE, sitting between TWO PREGNANT WOMEN, raising the roof. COURTSIDE As the crowd BOOS, Nicky runs over and grabs the microphone. NICKY Listen up, New York. Your souls are in great danger... Nicky gets hit by a hot dog. NICKY (CONT'D) Alright, how about this? I get one more shot. The ref will cover me. I miss it, the Globetrotters forfeit the game. I make it, he doesn't ref the second half and we all start conducting ourselves like decent human beings again. The crowd is silent. NICKY (CONT'D) And we get free pizza. The crowd roars. INT. ANNOUNCING BOOTH - CONTINUOUS Bill Walton's hair is now burnt looking. BILL WALTON I think it's safe to say we're all rooting for this bizarre and hideous looking man. Bill Walton reaches over to an old lady sitting near him. He takes off her wig, leaving behind her bald head, and puts her wig on his head in order to cover his burnt hair. The crowd starts YELLING. CROWD Nicky! Nicky! Nicky! STANDS John and Peter are yelling the loudest. COURTSIDE The ref walks to half-court and hands Nicky the ball. NICKY You know, Dad got very sick when you left. REF I heard. I'm glad he's dying. It's my turn now. Nicky's eyes get red, he starts dribbling. INT. TODD'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS Beefy is watching, transfixed. BEEFY Take him to the hole, Nicky. (Todd stares) I mean, woof! Woof! Todd looks at Beefy, terrified. INT. TUNNEL We see CORNROWS and some other Globetrotters are coming back from the locker room. They stop to watch. INT. BASKETBALL COURT - MIDCOURT - CONTINUOUS Nicky pushes the ball up the court while the ref plays extremely tight defense. Nicky fakes one way, then heads toward the basket. The ref stays tight. Nicky's eyes are redder than ever. He fakes left, he fakes right. He dribbles behind the back, dribbles between the legs, then takes his momentum up toward the basket. He jumps from the foul line and flies through the air. He emits a crazy, blood curdling, devil yell. CUT AWAY DURING DEVIL YELL TO: SHOT CLOCK It reads: 666. Popcorn and sodas EXPLODE. Cornrow's cornrows POP open into a GIANT AFRO. BACK ON NICKY Nicky's head starts turning and does a 360 (like the Exorcist). He ends his flight by slamming down a thunderous dunk, cracking the backboard's glass into pieces. He hits the ref on the way down. The crowd CHEERS, finally happy again. NICKY Never doubt my skills. INT. TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS CORNROWS Damn, I gotta learn how to do that. MID-COURT Nicky sees the ref is lying on the basketball arena floor, covered in glass. He gets up slowly REF That's nuts. When'd you learn that shit? NICKY Sorry, Cassius. Maybe it was the super devil juice Dad gave me. HE thought I might need it for just such an occasion. REGIS Super devil juice? Give it over. Let's go best two out of three. NICKY (pulls out the flask) No. No way. Dad said it was only for me. The ref rips the flask from Nicky and drinks. Cassius screams like bloody hell as he is sucked out of the ref's mouth and into the bottle. WHOOSH! The ref slumps to the floor. STANDS Still quiet until John and Peter rush to Nicky and bow. COURTSIDE Nicky peers into the flask. CASSIUS (O.S.) Damn you, Nicky! There ain't no super devil juice in here! Nicky caps the flask. Nicky waves to the stunned, but appreciative crowd. INT. TODD'S APARTMENT - NIGHT A homemade cake is laid out. It reads: CONGRATULATIONS, NICKY. JOHN, TODD, PETER AND BEEFY are there. TODD So your father's the devil, you're a talking dog sent from Hell, and you guys are who? PEEPER Just a couple of big fans of Nicky and the work his Dad does. JOHN By the way, Nicky. Check this out. He spins his Black Sabbath backwards. JOHN (CONT'D) What's Ozzy trying to say there? NICKY Absolutely nothing. The Blizzard always came straight with his messages. But wrap your minds around this one. Nicky gets up and we see his is sitting on a hibachi. He pus on a James Taylor album and plays it backwards. VOICE I command you in the name of the Lucifer to spread the blood of the innocent. John and Peter look at each other, shocked. JOHN No wonder your uncle's so weird... TODD I gotta say this cake tastes a little funny. PETER Oh, I dumped a fat sack of reefer in the mix. Tried to spice up the bash. Nicky takes a big bite of cake. NICKY What's reefer? DISSOLVE TO: INT. APARTMENT - LATER PAN UP from Popeye's laying everywhere. Everyone's laughing hard. JOHN Come on. One more time. NICKY Not again, fellas. It kind of hurts. PETER Please. You got to. NICKY (resigned) All right... Nicky loosens up his neck and makes his head go around 360 degrees. Everyone cracks up, high fives. Even Todd LAUGHS. PAN OVER to Beefy, who has bloodshot eyes. BEEFY I used to get baked like this with my first girlfriend, Heather. We'd get so stoned she would forget I was a dog. JOHN She was human? BEEFY Actually, she was a sewer rat. Man, that pissed my parents off. JOHN I dated a Japanese girl once. My parents disapproved. Not cause she's Japanese, but cause she was only fifteen. NICKY I'm only fifteen...thousand years old. Everyone cracks up. TODD I was in love one time but she said I wasn't financially reliable enough. And she needed that. JOHN By she, do you mean he? TODD No. BEEFY Busted. (laughs) PETER How you feelin' over there, Satan Abdul Jabar? NICKY A little strange. I can't stop thinking about this girl, Valerie. TODD Why? Did she hurt you? Do you miss her? Need a shoulder to cry on? JOHN Easy, Liberace. TODD Oh, would you grow up. NICKY We had the greatest afternoon of my life until Adrian made me tell her she had a heart-shaped ass. BEEFY Maybe you love her. But what do I know? I'm baked out of my mind. PETER Me, too. We're gonna get going. TODD You guys want to stay? I have a futon in my bedroom. JOHN That's a big pass, Elton John. PETER We're going to see Ozzy play at the Meadowlands, right now. Wanna come, Nicky? NICKY No thanks. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to give Ozzy the focus he deserves. JOHN Whoa, that chick must be the real deal, then. Later on. NICKY See ya, fellas. They leave. BEEFY (O.S.) You better snap out of it soon, kid. Cause we're going after Adrian tomorrow. Seven AM. Nighty, night. He falls asleep and starts snoring. We hear the SOUND of THREE LITTLE GIRLS singing "Ring Around The Rosie" as he exhales. TODD That is the most frightening thing I have ever seen. Nicky stands and moves to the window. He looks out longingly over the sleeping city... achingly. RACK FOCUS behind him, we see Todd nodding encouragingly in the reflection. NICKY Todd. Which way to the Parson's School of Design? EXT. PARSON'S SCHOOL OF DESIGN - NIGHT Nicky walks around the corner. SIGN READS: "Parson's School - Student Housing" Nicky is standing in front of the dorm rooms. He looks up. Scanning the windows, he picks up a scent. NICKY (he sniffs) Coconuts... Nicky goes to the fire escape and starts to climb. His nose leads him. He reaches the window, sniffing heavily. INT. DORM ROOM WINDOW - CONTINUOUS A STUDENT is standing in the window draped in silks, feeling his nipples with his legs crossed like the guy in "Silence of the Lambs." The student is startled. STUDENT Hello. NICKY You smell like coconuts. STUDENT It's "Comptoir Sud Pacific." Makes me feel like a hula girl. Which is kinda what I'm going for. Wanna come in? NICKY No thanks. I'm looking for a girl named Valerie who also smells like coconuts. STUDENT Valerie Doran? Two floors up, one window over. NICKY Thanks, much. Good luck with the genital tucking. STUDENT I don't need luck. I'm good. Nicky floats away. A few seconds later, he floats back, holding up the flask. NICKY Adrian? STUDENT Andrew. Nicky nods and floats off. EXT. VALERIE'S WINDOW - MOMENTS LATER Nicky crouches outside her window and peers in. INT. VALERIE'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS Cool music. She is up late. Working by candlelight on a fantastic design. Something's not working. She drapes a beautiful fabric over another. She smiles at the combination. She is happy being creative. Nicky feels his heart swell as he watches her. ON NICKY He's so enraptured he leans forward trying to kiss her. His head bumps the window. She turns, startled. She sees the beaming Nicky. NICKY Hey. VALERIE Nicky? Oh my G-d. Stay right there. Pause. Valerie opens the window and sprays a can of mace right in Nicky's face. NICKY Oh that stings! My eyes are on fire! Nicky stands up and stumbles around. VALERIE What were you thinking coming here? NICKY I'm not sure, but it didn't involve getting blinded with poison. He bounces off the front rail, stumbles backward and goes flying over the back rail. EXT. VALERIE'S STREET - NIGHT We see Nicky hurtling toward the street. Holding his eyes. VALERIE Oh my G-d, I'm so sorry! Suddenly he stops. Suspended above ground. Valerie doesn't hear the expected thud. VALERIE (CONT'D) Nicky? He floats up, but he can't see. NICKY Valerie? VALERIE Are you dead? NICKY No. VALERIE What are you doing? NICKY I think I'm floating. VALERIE Why would you be floating? NICKY I don't know. Maybe it's because of your sweet voice. VALERIE Am I supposed to not be freaked out right now? Because I am. He's floating up. He slows down. NICKY I can't see you but I can smell you. And you make me feel alive in a way I've never felt before. CUT TO REVEAL he's floating outside the student's window. The student's dripping candle wax on his belly. STUDENT You got the wrong window again, man. NICKY Oh. Sorry, Andrew. Valerie? Nicky resumes floating up. VALERIE I'm over here, Nicky! To the left. Nicky is parallel with her. He hovers in front of her, eyes still watering. She punches Nicky in the face, and he flies back ten feet. VALERIE (CONT'D) Look, just because you're floating doesn't mean I'm gonna forget about you giving me the finger. NICKY That wasn't me. I was being possessed by my brother, Adrian. He's the one who call you a gross pig. VALERIE What do you mean, "possessed?" NICKY Remember when I told you my Dad was in Hell? VALERIE Yes... NICKY Well, that's because he's the Devil. And he wants to keep his throne for another ten-thousand years. Which is fine with me, but not with my brothers, so they broke out of Hell, causing my dad... VALERIE ... "The Devil?"... NICKY ...to decompose. And I love my Dad very much. So I came to Earth to save him but then crazy eyes stole my flask and I met you and...well, my dog tells me I just might be in love with you. His vision is clearing and he can start to see her. She is totally in shock but still here. VALERIE Okay, now I get that "deep south" joke. Nicky laughs. Valerie joins in. VALERIE (CONT'D) I don't know if I should believe you. Nicky starts to drop. NICKY You gotta believe me. You gotta believe in the butterflies. VALERIE Okay, I do. Get back up here. He floats up to her holding out his hand. Nervously, she takes his hand and suddenly she is lifting off and they are flying. EXT. MANHATTAN - SKY - NIGHT They fly past the EMPIRE STATE BUILDING. VALERIE This is amazing. They soar past some more buildings. EXT. STREET - NIGHT The preacher sense something. He looks to the sky, then holds the cross from around his neck as high as he can. PREACHER The hellbeast is above us. He's invading our skies! We're all gonna die! We're all gonna die! EXT. SKY - NIGHT VALERIE He's kind of ruining the mood. NICKY Let me take care of that. EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS The preacher is still angrily shouting towards the sky. PREACHER We're all gonna die! A fire hydrant cap turns and comes off. A powerful blast of water shoots out and hits the preacher, KNOCKING him across the street into a plate glass window. EXT. NYC SKY - CONTINUOUS VALERIE Can we go fly over Central Park? NICKY Next time. Tonight, I want to share the most beautiful thing I could possibly imagine. EXT. OVER THE HUDSON RIVER - NIGHT They fly over it, away from NYC. VALERIE We're going to Jersey? NICKY East Rutherford. EXT. MEADOWLANDS - NIGHT They float high above the Meadowlands. There is an outdoor concert going on. OZZFEST. We hear the Ozz on stage in his encore. He is singing "Mr. Crowley." Nicky turns to Valerie. NICKY I never thought I'd ever see Ozzy live until he was dead. (he looks at her) Please tell me you like metal. VALERIE (sings along to song) "Mister Crowley, what's inside of your head..." Nicky's jaw drops as he stares at her. NICKY My dog was right. I'm in love with you. They slow dance tighter. The music swells. John and Peter look up from their seats far below. Nicky sees them while he's holding her tight. They give thumbs up. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. CITY STREET - MORNING Feeling great. Spring in his step, we see Nicky walking down the street. He stops and smells some flowers at a Korean Tommet. The KOREANS point and seem agitated by him. Nicky gives them a friendly wave. NICKY (in Korean) Moo ya san jie bay! The Koreans just glare. Nicky's confused. MUSIC CUE: A dissonant, nervous score accompanies the rest of the sequence. EXT. STREET - DAY A NUT VENDOR leaves his cart and starts following. Nicky looks back a little, unnerved. A TAXI screeches in front of him. The DRIVER gets out and goes after him. EXT. STREET - DAY A group of school girls in uniform break loose from their teacher and start chasing Nicky. EXT. BROWNSTONE STOOP - DAY A gigantically fat guy sees Nicky run by. He thinks about going after him but decides not to and takes a big bite of a candy bar instead. EXT. BASKETBALL COURT - DAY Ten guys playing wheelchair basketball see Nicky. They point and start wheeling after him. EXT. HILLY STREET - DAY Nicky is putting some distance between him and the mob. NICKY What's going on here? But when he heads downhill, the GUYS IN WHEELCHAIRS start to catch up. They get closer and closer until... Nicky makes a last second right turn into an alley. The wheelchairs can't slow down and crash into a double decker tourist BUS at the bottom of the street. The TOURIST on the top level look over the edge to see the crash. EXT. ALLEY - DAY Nicky is panicking, out of breath. A BUM (RADIOMAN) rises up out of his cardboard box. The bum raises his bottle and thunks Nicky on the head. It doesn't break. NICKY Ow...what was that for? BUM Fifty million dollars. The bum holds up a NEW YORK POST. It reads "MONSTER WANTED!" And has a picture of Nicky. Nicky is shocked. Nicky turns to run out of the alley, but the mob is there blocking the entrance. He's trapped. They start running right at him. He closes his eyes. NICKY Release the evil. Nicky's body splits into about five-hundred horrifying insects, all with a miniature NICKY HEAD. The Nickysects run right at the crowd, and the crows immediately starts running the other way, completely freaked out. INT. TODD'S APARTMENT - DAY Beefy and Todd are watching TV. They look over to see the insects scurry under the front door and morph back into one exhausted Nicky. NICKY I seem to be in trouble, Beefy. BEEFY The shit has hit the fan, kid. Take a look. TODD Been breaking all morning. ON THE TV - DAY We see Dan Rather addressing the camera. DAN RATHER At a news conference earlier today, Chief of Police Andy Shaifer gave this beleaguered city its latest dose of bad news. He revealed that the man who caused a sensation at basketball arena last night is no hero... he is, in fact, a mass murderer. We see the chief of police behind a bunch of mics. He's holding up a picture of Nicky taken at the Basketball arena. INT. TODD'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS Nicky's outraged. NICKY I didn't murder anybody BEEFY Look. You were really high. Things happen. NICKY I was with Valerie, I swear. This is Adrian's work. I've got to find him. BEEFY I think you're looking at him. ON THE TV - DAY We reveal that the chief is standing on a grilled-cheese press to keep him warm. CHIEF OF POLICE (on TV) This video shows what he did after he left the basketball arena yesterday... ON THE VIDEOTAPE - DAY Scarface shooting his AK-47. Nicky's face has been crudely superimposed over his. GUY (Adrian's voice) My name's Nicky, and I'm gonna kill all you suckers for no reason! CUT TO FOOTAGE on "SCARFACE" ON TV - DAY The Chief shakes his head. CHIEF OF POLICE Difficult to watch, I know. In response to this vicious crime, I am authorizing the largest reward in law enforcement history: fifty million dollars to the person or persons who bring this man to me. INT. TODD'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS Nicky stands outraged. NICKY This is baloney! BEEFY He superimposed your head onto "Scarface." TODD ...which is by far DePalma's best work... A LOUD KNOCKING AT THE DOOR The pounding increases. NICKY I'm not Nicky. I'm not home! I don't live here! PETER Dude, it's us. Let us in. Nicky opens the door. Peter and John stumble in. JOHN There's like a total mob scene coming this way. We hear VOICES of an approaching crowd coming outside. NICKY I thought for sure I gave 'em the slip. Todd i s looking out the window. TODD Looks like they're following a giant trail of bug shit. PETER What'll we do now, Beefy? BEEFY I don't know, this is a little out of my league. VOICES GROW LOUDER. VOICES (O.S.) Come on. Let's get 'em. JOHN What would your dad do, Nicky? NICKY Good idea...kill me. PETER Dude. Seriously? NICKY Yes. I'll meet you at Grand Central at noon. Okay. Do me. I command you. JOHN AND PETER (psyched) Alright! John takes Nicky's head and slams it hard into the kitchen counter. Nicky is dazed. NICKY That just hurt a lot. TODD I've always wanted to kill someone. Can I do it? JOHN Look at Queen Latifah steppin' up. INT. BATHROOM - DAY Nicky is in the bathtub being angrily drowned by Todd. John and Peter watch happily. TODD Die, Grandma, die! Nicky's arm comes out with a thumbs up. Pause. The hand drops back in. He's dead. INT. THRONE ROOM - LATER Start on a CLOSE UP of Lucifer. He's holding cards, looking at his hand. LUCIFER Royal flush, you lose. Off with the bra. The Demons and Gatekeeper are sitting around playing strip poker. The Gatekeeper takes off his bra. From behind, we see his breasts flop out. LUCIFER (CONT'D) Last time I saw a pair of jugs that big, two hillbillies were blowing on them. The Gatekeeper throws his hand down and storms out. The Monster laughs uproariously. Nicky enters and moves to what's left of his dad. Arms, torso, and a head (with one ear). NICKY Dad, Adrian's got the whole city after me. He's always a step ahead. What am I gonna do? DAD What are you gonna do? Look at me, Nicky! I got no legs, I got no hips, I got one ear... Dad's remaining ear falls out. DAD (CONT'D) I got no ears! I can't hear! JIMMY THE DEMON Now he's got no ears! You happy, Nicky? Your father's got no ears! NICKY Uh, I'll do my best, Dad. Do you have any advice at all for me? DAD I can't hear you, Nicky. I can't hear anything! Jimmy picks up the ear. Jimmy speaks into it. JIMMY THE DEMON Check one-two. Check one-two. DAD Put it back on my head. I'm falling apart here. JIMMY THE DEMON He's got 'til midnight tonight, Nicky. (putting ear back on Dad) You get your ass back up there. You save your father! Nicky looks very upset. EXT. POLICE STATION - DAY We see John and Peter enter frame. Looking very nervous. PETER You sure you're down with this? JOHN Little nervous. Wanna puke. They approach the cops guarding the door. JOHN (CONT'D) Looking for the chief. PETER We know where to find Nicky. COPS grab John & Peter and drag them inside. INT. CHIEF'S OFFICE - DAY Surrounded by prostitutes and criminals in a very hot room, the chief of police puts down his bottle of PEPPERMINT SCHNAPPS, stands up and looks at the two idiots. CHIEF OF POLICE You have what I want? JOHN Sure do. You got what we want? PETER Fifty million bones, bro. He nods to a DEPUTY who gives them a briefcase of money. CHIEF OF POLICE That's half of it. You get the rest when I get Nicky. PETER Excellent. But I gotta warn you, man. He's not human. CHIEF OF POLICE Really? JOHN We think he's the son of Satan. PAUSE. The chief LAUGHS, then everyone else does. He walks over and picks them up by their throats. CHIEF OF POLICE Well, then I guess I'll have to be extra careful. Now where is he? INT. GRAND CENTRAL STATION - DAY We see the BIG CLOCK on the wall. FIVE minutes til NOON. We see JOHN and PETER (with the briefcase) walking into GRAND CENTRAL with the chief and twenty-five NYC cops. The chief bumps into a filthy bag lady drinking out of paper sack. BAG LADY Hey, watch it! Who do you think you are? CHIEF OF POLICE (never stopping) Emperor of the New Hell. They march through onto the platform for Track 33. INT. GRAND CENTRAL STATION PLATFORM - DAY We see Beefy and Todd waiting by the place where Nicky usually comes up. It is hot down there. Steam and smoke comes out of the tunnels. Todd is nervous. TODD Where is he? He's late. BEEFY He'll be here. Just keep your cool, kid. They hear FOOTSTEPS. They turn and see the chief of police backed up by the huge police force. BEEFY (CONT'D) We've been ratted out. Beefy and Todd turn to see John and Peter looking sheepish. TODD You guys. That was so uncool. PETER We thought the son of Satan would understand a move like this. Peter and John high-five. CHIEF OF POLICE Okay, take these two outside. I can handle this. The police grab Todd and put a leash on Beefy. The cops lead their prisoners away down the tunnel, leaving John and Peter alone with the chief. CHIEF OF POLICE (CONT'D) Wanna see something cool? The chief inserts a finger into his nostril. Then he fits his hand up there. Soon his whole arm is up his nostril as he searches for something. John and Peter are impressed. The chief grabs something and starts to pull. Then out of his nose comes Adrian, who fully forms as the shell of the chief's body slumps to the ground. ADRIAN Ta-da. So what time is my brother expected back? JOHN Noon... They look at the clock. It's noon. JOHN (CONT'D) ...ish. Peter is sweating, kinda nervous. PETER So even though you're not really the chief, we still get the rest of the cash, right bro? ADRIAN You know what you'll get? An indescribably horrific torture administered by demons for the rest of eternity. JOHN But what about the cash? Can we keep it or what? ADRIAN Sure, why not? They high five. Adrian smiles and waits. It is real hot down there. We hear a train coming in the distance. A fan circles slowly. They all wait for him. LADY (mumbling to herself) Food stamps? They should call 'em "dude stamps." Cause ever time I get one, some dude takes it away... We see the HOMELESS LADY down the platform stumbling her way towards them, drunk. Adrian scowls at her. LADY (CONT'D) Hey, studs. I'll let you make out with me for a dollar! JOHN No thanks...but we'll take that bottle of booze. (grabs the bottle, laughs) LADY Hey...that's mine. Peter pushes her away. PETER Beat it, ya freak. John and Peter high five and John swigs from the bag. JOHN Schnapps... PETER (takes the bag, swigs) Peppermint...alright. Adrian raises his eyebrows. We see that the homeless lady is actually VALERIE in disguise. She looks back, tense. John offers Adrian the flask. JOHN Wanna hit? Hands it to him. He takes it. PETER Drink up. Here's to fifty million clams. ADRIAN To the defilement of Earth and the corruption of its people. PETER Whatever. Knock it back, grab Nicky and let's get outta this hell-hole. Adrian smiles at John, then raises the bag. He stops just before it hits his lips. He looks at John curiously. ADRIAN It is awfully hot down here. How do you manage to stay so cool? JOHN Weed lowers the body temperature. (stuttering) I read that...in, uh...er, science magazine. Adrian stares at John. He raises the bag again. ADRIAN This liquid will probably quench my thirst. Cool me off. PETER Definitely. JOHN And give you a good buzz. ADRIAN Or maybe it will trap me inside for all eternity. JOHN Uh. No it won't? John starts to tremble a bit. ADRIAN Oh, Nicky, I've missed you. Come on out and say hello... JOHN Urr...uggg...errr... ADRIAN (eyes getting red) I'm calling you out, brother... Adrian is mentally pulling Nicky out of John. Nicky/John wages an epic battle with himself as Adrian smiles. JOHN/NICKY Urrr...uggh... (as Nicky) Oww. Adrian, this is very painful. Nicky comes flying out. John's body slumps to the floor next to the chief's. Adrian looks in the "Schnapps bottle" to see the flask wrapped in paper. He peeks inside. ADRIAN Hello, Cassius. CASSIUS (O.S.) All right. Let me out. ADRIAN You know, New Hell really only needs one new Satan. CASSIUS (O.S.) You mother... Adrian hands Nicky the flask. ADRIAN But Cassius could use some company for the rest of eternity. So get in the flask. He puts the Flask in Nicky's hands. INT. GRAND CENTRAL STATION - PAVILLION - MOMENTS LATER The police are escorting Beefy and Todd through the terminal. Beefy starts whining and stops. The cops look down. Beefy raises his leg. COP Oh, he's gotta pee. A thick, yellow smoke shoots out of Beefy, enveloping the group. Beefy escapes and bolts back down stairs. TODD Run, Beefy! Run! INT. GRAND CENTRAL STATION PLATFORM - CONTINUOUS Adrian stares down Nicky. NICKY I won't drink. You can't make me. Adrian looks over at Valerie. Suddenly she comes flying over to him. He grabs her by the throat. We hear a train coming in the distance. ADRIAN Of course I can. Drink or she dies. (Nicky is scared) Unlike you, she won't come back from where she's going. NICKY Let her go. ADRIAN I hear a train coming. Drink. The train sound is coming CLOSER. Valerie looks at Nicky. Nicky raises the flash to drink. VALERIE Don't do it. NICKY I have to, Valerie. We see Beefy skid to a stop, raise his leg and a full size archery arrow shoots out of his penis and tracks right into ADRIAN'S LEG. ADRIAN Ahhh! BEEFY Now that hurt the both of us. Valerie is able to escape momentarily. Adrian reaches for her, grabbing her. They both spin and fall down onto the tracks. Right into the oncoming train. NICKY Valerie!!! Nicky leaps down onto the tracks, wrestles Valerie away from Adrian and tosses her off the tracks. Adrian looks at Nicky. ADRIAN See you in Hell! WHAMM! The train comes by, hitting both Adrian and Nicky. INT. HELL GATES - CONTINUOUS Adrian comes flying through the solid firefall into Hell. He looks around. Confused, there's no Nicky. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. BEAUTIFUL FIELD - DAY Nicky is lying in a huge field of tall, very green grass. He sits up, and feels his face to make sure it's all there. Nicky looks around, alarmed. He seems to be in a mountain vale, maybe in the foothills of the Alps. It's gorgeous. Off in the distance, floating in the air, is a giant birthday cake. Nicky stands up and the cottage seems to be floating down to him. EXT. BIRTHDAY CAKE - DAY The cake lands softly in front of him, the door ajar. After a moment's hesitation, Nicky goes in. INT. BIRTHDAY CAKE - CONTINUOUS Nicky enters the cake to find ANGEL and two friends: JENNA and CHRISTA. They are doing arts and crafts sort of things on a glass table in front of them. They stare at him. Angel rises. ANGEL Oh. My. G-d. I can't believe you're here. Welcome. Can I just tell you, I am so excited right now. CHRISTA So excited. JENNA She really is. NICKY That's terrific. Now could you ladies point me to the Black Palace? I should check in with my dad... Nicky trails off as he sees the Angels laughing at him. ANGEL I'm sorry, you're just so cute. JENNA Do you have any idea where you are right now? NICKY The home of eternal damnation, house of Hades, H.E. double toothpicks... ANGEL Maybe try the opposite of that. The Angel and two friends laugh and high-five. Nicky's confused. ANGEL (CONT'D) Okay, can I just ask you something? What do you know about your mom? NICKY My brothers told me my mother was a mountain goat. Which would explain my chronic halitosis. ANGEL (annoyed) A mountain goat? That's really sweet. NICKY My mom wasn't a goat? ANGEL Try an angel. NICKY An angel? ANGEL Unh-huh. Which would make you half angel. Nicky is floored. NICKY Wow. What...what did she look like? ANGEL Well, she was about six-three, only spoke Portuguese and had really long grey hair. The GIRLS start laughing. ANGEL (CONT'D) I'm sorry, I'm totally busting on you. I'm your mom. Nicky is even more floored. FLASH. Jenna has taken a picture of Nicky. JENNA I'm sorry, but you just had the sweetest look on your face. CHRISTA You're gonna be so happy she did that. NICKY (stunned) How come you're not older? ANGEL Angels don't get any older, son. JENNA I can't believe you just called him "son." ANGEL Oh my G-d. This is so wild. They laugh. Nicky is quite baffled. INT. THRONE ROOM - DAY Dad is just a pair of lips, with ears on either side held up by two forearms with hands attached, lying on the throne. Gatekeeper, Lucifer, Jimmy and a few other demons stand around. DAD I can't see shit. You're all still here, right? Adrian enters. They all cheer. JIMMY THE DEMON Adrian's here. You'll be back to normal in a jiffy, sir. DAD LIPS Yea! I can't believe little Nicky came through. ADRIAN Where's Nicky? JIMMY THE DEMON He came with you and Cassius, right? ADRIAN I came through that gate alone. JIMMY THE DEMON Sorry, sir, false alarm. DAD Boooo. ADRIAN Somebody explain what's going on. Puts the Gatekeeper in a headlock. GATEKEEPER You'll get nothing out of me. ADRIAN Perhaps a titty twister will loosen your lips. He twists a breast. The Gatekeeper babbles out the information immediately. GATEKEEPER The only way to save your dad is for you and your brothers to pass through the gates at the same time before he deteriorates completely. ADRIAN How much time does Dad have before that happens? Adrian twists hard. GATEKEEPER Thirty minutes. And then whoever claims his throne will have unimaginable power. Adrian throws him down. LUCIFER All boobs and no balls. ADRIAN Thirty minutes. Hmmm. I hope you don't mind if I take a seat while I wait for you. He moves to the throne and throws the lips off. DAD LIPS Ahhh! He pushes Lucifer out of the way. LUCIFER I don't get no respect. ADRIAN Ten thousand years. And I never once got to sit here. He sits on the throne and it starts to shake a little. He grins as two horns grow out of his forehead. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Wow. And this is just a little taste of my power. DAD Hell's gonna bust wide open. Demons, get him out of the chair! The demons approach. ADRIAN Ah-ah. Not so fast, demons. There are a couple of million evil souls on Earth ready to be harvested. Anyone interested? The demons stop. Now loyal to Adrian. All except Jimmy. INT. BIRTHDAY CAKE - DAY Everyone is sitting around drinking Diet Cokes. NICKY Are you Adrian and Cassius' mom, too? CHRISTA No, their mother's weren't angels. ANGEL I think they were hookers or strippers or something really porno like... There's a knock on the door. It opens and in comes Carl Weathers dressed as Chubbs from Happy Gilmore. CHUBBS Holly, Jenna, Christa. Time for your Mambo lesson. ANGEL Oh, Chubbs. I totally spaced. I'm so sorry. I have company. It's my son, Nicky. My son. Can you believe it? CHUBBS Wow, that's terrific. ANGEL Nicky, this is Chubbs. He used to be a golf pro, but up here he's the dopest dance instructor. CHUBBS You mambo? NICKY I don't think so. CHUBBS Remember, it's all in the hips. It's all in the hips. Chubbs dances as he leaves. NICKY Where did you meet my father? ANGEL It was a long time ago, at some Heaven and Hell mixer. CHRISTA I remember that night, you had like four daiquiris. ANGEL Try four and a half. At first I totally didn't like him. JENNA He was really conceited. ANGEL But I don't know, he was funny, he made me laugh, and I hate to say it but he had a really nice body. NICKY And that made you want to make a baby with him? The Angels laugh. ANGEL Well, I really wasn't thinking about making a baby at the time! Her cell-phone rings. She answers it. ANGEL (CONT'D) Hello....yes, he's here with me now... I don't know if he's hot, he's my son, you perv! I'll call you back... (laughs) Oh my G-d, I will call you back, goodbye. (hangs up) That was my friend, Michelle, she says "hi." NICKY Well tell her I said "hi" back. Angel makes a motion towards the phone, then stops. ANGEL I'll call her later. CHRISTA You know, we saw you save your girlfriend's life. JENNA That was so cool. ANGEL That's why you came up to Heaven instead of Hell. Self-sacrifice automatically gets you here. NICKY How did you see me? ANGEL We can see what's going on anywhere on Earth. Look. Angel and the girls clear the junk from the glass table in front of them. Angel touches the glass and it turns into a reflection of Earth below. EXT. TIME'S SQUARE - NIGHT People are rioting in the streets. Looting appliance stores... ANGEL (O.S.) All these good people have totally been led astray. CHRISTA (O.S.) Show him Central Park. EXT. CENTRAL PARK LAWN - NIGHT People are drinking and smoking and burning things. A large circle has formed around two old ladies who are fist fighting. One old lady knocks the other to the ground, then jumps on her and starts wailing away. The spectators exchange money. ANGEL (O.S.) There's like a three day rave goin' on down there. No on is going to work anymore. Then suddenly we see the ground start to break up and Adrian on his throne start to be thrust upwards. Demons swarm around him. ADRIAN Welcome to the party. It's so nice to see all of you here. NICKY (O.S.) Hey, that's Dad's throne! How did Adrian get that? Is Dad okay? ANGEL (O.S.) Let's see... RIPPLE DISSOLVE TO: INT. THRONE ROOM - CONTINUOUS DAD LIPS are morosely talking to the Gatekeeper and Jimmy. DAD LIPS I was a good Devil, wasn't I? JIMMY THE DEMON You were the best Devil, boss, the best Devil! GATEKEEPER Absolutely. DAD LIPS I tried to do some interesting stuff... JIMMY THE DEMON You did amazing stuff! GATEKEEPER I don't know how you came up with some of it. DAD LIPS Really? That means a lot to me. JENNA (O.S.) Oh my G-d. He looks gross. ANGEL (O.S.) I can't believe I did it with him. She touches the pool again and the reflection changes to: EXT. NEW HELL THRONE - NIGHT Adrian steps off his throne onto a small stage flanked by SIX HERO DEMONS. He begins addressing the crowd. ADRIAN I'm very proud of you. You've taken to sin with minimal prompting. The crowd cheers. ADRIAN (CONT'D) You're acting as if there is no Heaven or Hell. The crowd cheers. EXT. NEW HELL STAGE - NIGHT We see John, Peter, Beefy, Valerie and Todd hanging on flagpoles by their underwear. Beefy is in a special fitted harness that looks like underwear. ADRIAN Well, I have some news. Adrian morphs into the Cardinal from earlier. CARDINAL There is most definitely a Hell! And you're all going there when you die! Which will happen in about fifteen minutes. EXT. NEW HELL RALLY - NIGHT The BAD PEOPLE realize they've been tricked into being bad and they get scared. The Preacher, who is now more battered from his fall through the plate glass window (ask Steve), yells out. PREACHER We really are gonna die! This kicks off a frenzy of the Scared Bad People trying to run away. But they are stopped and herded back by DEMONS. EXT. FLAGPOLES - CONTINUOUS PETER This don't look good. JOHN Can't Beefy use his penis powers to get us out of this? TODD They castrated him. He can't shoot arrows, he can't piss smoke. BEEFY I can't screw. (whimpers) I can't screw. Valerie's crying. INT. REFLECTION POOL - CONTINUOUS Nicky is shocked. NICKY Valerie's crying! ANGEL She's so nice. CHRISTA She goes to Parson's, right? ANGEL I would totally love to go there. But I hear it's really hard to get in. NICKY I gotta help her. I gotta help Dad. I gotta help everybody. ANGEL Yeah, you do... INT. REFLECTION POOL - CONTINUOUS Adrian is looking at a clock tower that reads 11:45. ADRIAN (V.O.) At the stroke of midnight, my father will be completely deteriorated. And all of your souls will be mine. EXT. NEW HELL STAGE - CONTINUOUS ADRIAN Soon you will see things more horrible than you can even imagine. Adrian scans the crowd. He sees... EXT. NEW HELL RALLY - CONTINUOUS The Parsons STUDENT in the kimono dancing sexily. Adrian is thrown. EXT. NEW HELL STAGE - CONTINUOUS ADRIAN Not that horrible, but still pretty bad. Adrian motions to some of his guards. They nod. ADRIAN (CONT'D) So while we wait, for your enjoyment, I bring you a dear sweet man and an international icon...Henry Winkler! A frightened HENRY WINKLER is lead onto the stage prodded by two DEMONS. EXT. NEW HELL RALLY - CONTINUOUS The scared bad people finally smile. EXT. NEW HELL STAGE - CONTINUOUS ADRIAN Covered in bees! We see Henry Winkler is suddenly covered head to in a swarm of bees. EXT. NEW HELL RALLY - CONTINUOUS The crowd gasps. INT. REFLECTION POOL - CONTINUOUS Nicky is starting to panic. NICKY But how can I win? Adrian is stronger and smarter than me. ANGEL Stronger, yes. Smarter, definitely. But you have something he doesn't have. NICKY A speech impediment? The girls laugh. ANGEL No, you have the inner light. You can totally use it. It's the best power of all. (he smiles) And in case you get in real bad trouble, G-d told me to give you this. She gives him an ornate, jewelled ball. NICKY What is it? ANGEL I'm not a hundred percent on that. G-d said when the time comes, you'll know what to do. CHRISTA G-d's so smart. JENNA The smartest. ANGEL Well, goodbye...for now. (looks at his face) Can I just do this? She licks her finger and wipes some dirt off his forehead. ANGEL (CONT'D) That was such a Mom thing, wasn't it? FRIEND Totally. NICKY Well, nice meeting you, Jenna, Christa. (to Angel) Would it be okay if I called you Mommy? ANGEL It would be so okay. Nicky hugs his Mom. NICKY Well, Mommy, get me to the big apple cause I'm gonna rock that town like a hurricane. ANGEL (O.S.) You're already there... EXT. CENTRAL PARK POND SHORE - NIGHT Nicky dissolves into walking. He checks his pocket to see the ball. He looks up to see fifteen Demons marching towards him, ready to attack. Nicky closes his eyes and concentrates. NICKY Release...the good. When he opens them, BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES are floating around the head of five of the DEMONS. They stop approaching. THEIR EYES TURN FROM WHITE BACK TO NORMAL. And their facial expression changes to happiness. They wave at the butterflies. ANGLE ON MORE DEMONS keep closing. NICKY (CONT'D) Release the good... Five more are stopped by something. They look down and see fluffy white BUNNY RABBITS at their feet. They start petting them. The REMAINING DEMONS advance on Nicky. NICKY (CONT'D) Release the awesome. ...then stop, their path blocked by a very large bucket of POPEYE'S FRIED CHICKEN. The Demons consider the bucket of chicken. One Demon takes out a piece. NICKY (CONT'D) Put it in your mouth and let it slide down your throat-hole. The Demon bites into it. He can't help but grin a little. DEMON Popeye's chicken is ass kickin'! The OTHER SOULS dig into the bucket. EXT. CLOCK TOWER - CONTINUOUS Only ten minutes left. EXT. FLAGPOLES - CONTINUOUS The dudes on the flagpoles are chatting nervously. TODD One thing I really regret is never having experimented sexually. PETER You mean, like, experiment with a Bunsen Burner? What are you talking about? JOHN He means getting it on with someone like that freak. ANGLE ON: The student dancing for a mesmerized Demon. BACK ON PETER, TODD and JOHN TODD His name is Andrew. I know that guy. JOHN Of course you do, Tommy Tune. EXT. CENTRAL PARK PATH - NIGHT Nicky leads his small army of reformed Demons (followed by butterflies & bunnies and carrying the chicken bucket) down the path toward the rally. We see they have a golden light/haze of good around them. EXT. FLAGPOLES - CONTINUOUS Adrian is underneath Valerie. ADRIAN You know, from this angle, you're kind of cute. VALERIE You think so? Why don't you come a little closer and I'll show you a better angle. He moves a little closer, and she spits on him. He smiles. Opens his mouth and catches her spit. He swallows. ADRIAN Yummy. Everyone is grossed out. TODD Oh my G-d, he just opened his mouth and swallowed that spit. BEEFY That turn you on there, RuPaul? ADRIAN Keep it up and I just might make you my Queen for a night or two. JOHN You want a queen? Got one right here. John points at Todd. They laugh. Adrian gets closer to Valerie. Just then a big butterfly appears on his shoulder. He looks down to see: Nicky standing there with his army. ADRIAN (O.S.) Little Nicky. NICKY Adrian, I'm asking you nicely, in the name of all that is good: release my friends and get in the flask. ADRIAN Is this a joke? NICKY No. It's the inner light. And with it we can defeat anything you've got. REFORMED DEMON (eating Popeye's chicken) It's true! Adrian glares down at the REFORMED DEMON. His eyes shoot out an evil ray. The Reformed Demon explodes into a million pieces. His golden insides splatter on the crowd. The Army of Good is shaken. Another Demon lowers his chicken. ANOTHER REFORMED DEMON It's not true? The BUCKET OF CHICKEN sprouts legs and runs away. Nicky steps forward bravely. NICKY Okay, Adrian, you've left me with no choice. Nicky leaves frame and he flies up towards Adrian. EXT. NEW HELL STAGE - CONTINUOUS Nicky lands on both feet standing before Adrian. NICKY Love lifts me up where I belong. ANGLE ON Crowd reacts. ON HELL STAGE Demons are ready to attack. Adrian waves them off. ADRIAN Not bad, little brother. Let's see what you've got. Nicky thinks, holds out his hands. A rainbow shoots out onto the stage between them. PAUSE. We see that a cute little chipmunk is standing on it's hindlegs eating a nut. ON CROWD The army of good and scared bad people applaud as they see this. BACK ON HELL STAGE Adrian nods, holds out his arms and a red stream shoots out. He has made a terrible PYTHON that comes over and eats the baffled chipmunk in one bite. Nicky raises his hand and: turns the snake into a row of flowers. Adrian raises his hand and a crazed MEXICAN GARDNER with a lawn mower comes by and mows them down. Nicky turns the Gardner and his lawn mower into a MOTHER pushing a NEW BORN BABY in a carriage. Adrian turns the baby in the carriage into an EVIL DWARF who leaps out and starts beating up on the mother. Nicky turns the Mother into a HOT GIRL DWARF. The evil Dwarf stops beating her up and holds her hand. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Enough. I'm going to kill you with my bare hands. Adrian punches Nicky hard in the jaw. He goes flying off the platform. Nicky's body falls towards the ground. It's about to hit, when a soft bed of posts and fluffy pillows break his fall. INT. HEAVEN - CONTINUOUS We now see Angel, Jenna, Christa and SEVEN OTHER GIRLS watching the action on the table. ANGEL I totally had to do that. ALL THE GIRLS Yah you did. CHUBBS is there, too. EXT. NEW HELL RALLY - NIGHT Nicky looks up to see Adrian flying down towards him. Nicky rolls away at the last second. Adrian hits the bed hard and bounces up. Nicky grabs him mid-bounce and slams him back down into the golden/brass headboard of the bed. Nicky holds out the flask. NICKY Now I'm asking you nicely, get in the flas... Adrian grabs a pillow and hits Nicky hard in the face, sending him flying off the bed. NICKY (CONT'D) Oh, you wanna a pillow fight, do you?! Nicky is an expert pillow fighter. He lands a series of awesome, almost Matrix-like pillow moves. Adrian is dazed. Nicky finishes him off by tossing the pillow high in the air to him. Adrian looks up to catch it and just before it lands, Nicky steps up and pops him in the face. Adrian goes down hard. Nicky towers over him. NICKY (CONT'D) Now will you get in the flask? ADRIAN Absolutely not. Adrian turns to his demons. ADRIAN (CONT'D) A little help over here. A bunch of Demons advance. ON FLAGPOLE We see Henry Winkler, swollen with bee stings, valiantly run over and lowers the five from the flagpoles. ON ADRIAN He looks up and glares at Henry. ADRIAN (CONT'D) Henry! ON FLAGPOLE Henry's eyes widen. HENRY WINKLER Oh no. He is covered in bees again. BACK ON ADRIAN He turns his attention back to Nicky who is grabbed by demons. Adrian brings the flask to his lips, but he won't open his mouth. Adrian pinches Nicky's nose closed so he has to open his mouth. ADRIAN Goodbye, Nicky. We hear CASSIUS banging against the walls. CASSIUS (O.S.) Come on in, bro. Nicky can't hold his breath and opens his mouth. Adrian jams the flask in his mouth and Nicky starts to get sucked in. Adrian smiles. But just before Nicky is gone, he manages to grab Adrian's coat tail and yank him into the flask with him. As the flask hits the ground, we HEAR: CASSIUS (O.S.) (CONT'D) Thank you, Nicky. Cause now I'm gonna bust Adrian's head wide open. ADRIAN (O.S.) I was going to let you out, eventually, Cassius. I swear. NICKY (O.S.) Sole ruler of Hell and Earth is what I heard him keep saying. We HEAR the sounds of a struggle. All the Demons and all the people of NEW YORK form a large circle around the flask. Valerie and the gang make it down off the stage. We HEAR crazy sounds as the FLASK starts to jump. The crowd REACTS. A big dent pops out from the inside, followed by a horrible thud. VALERIE Nicky! NICKY (O.S.) That was Cassius! The FLASK starts rolling over and over on the road. People get out of the way as if it were real people fighting in the street. They root for their side. DEMON Kill him, Adrian. John and Peter start beating up the Demon. INT. REFLECTION POOL - CONTINUOUS The Angel and the Friend are praying. EXT. NEW HELL RALLY - CONTINUOUS We HEAR banging and beating and yelling from inside and then the flask stops bouncing. SILENCE. Everybody outside holds their breath. Slowly out of the spout crawls NICKY. HOORAY. Valerie, John, Todd and Beefy and all the living people CHEER. The student, very happy, opens his kimono. The people and demons near him are grossed out. Valerie goes tot he very beaten up Nicky and hugs him. VALERIE Where'd a sweet Southern boy learn to fight like that? NICKY From my dad's side of the family. She laughs and kisses him on the mouth. The crowd CHEERS. But Nicky won't stop kissing her. She starts to struggle for air. Nicky presses harder and starts to laugh. The crowd stops CHEERING. Valerie is waving her arms for help. Nicky turns into Adrian during the kiss. Adrian lets her go. And we hear ADRIAN'S familiar laugh. ADRIAN What? No tongue? Adrian pulls his head back, his tongue is huge and he turns into a GIANT BAT. He lets out a huge roar, then flies around, laughing, scaring people. Valerie runs over and picks up the flask. She looks inside. VALERIE (whispering) Nicky. Nicky. No response. VALERIE (CONT'D) You gotta fly out...I know you can do it. (still no response) Do it for the butterflies. A long beat, then: NICKY (O.S.) Butterflies... And Nicky shoots right out of the top of the flask and lands on his feet. Adrian lands and stares down Nicky. The clock is one minute from midnight. Adrian swoops down. Nicky thinks quick and pulls out the BALL his Mom gave him and smashes it on the ground. Out of it forms metal G-d: OZZY OSBORNE. OZZY Hello, New York. JOHN AND PETER Ozzy. They faint. The Bat's eyes go wide in fear. Ozzy grabs the bat, his mouth grows big, and he bites the bat's head off. Valerie hands Ozzy the flask. VALERIE Put him in, Ozzy. Ozzy spits the bat head into the flask. EXT. CLOCK TOWER The clock reads: 00:23 seconds left. INT. THRONE ROOM - CONTINUOUS Dad is just a very thin pair of lips and one finger. The FINGER is going up and down on the lips, making silly sounds. The Gatekeeper, the Monster, Jimmy the Demon and Lucifer are on their backs crying like babies. EXT. NEW HELL RALLY - NIGHT VALERIE Grand Central, Nicky. Start running. JOHN He'll never make it. PETER You gotta kill yourself. NICKY I'll just go to Heaven. BEEFY No if you do something bad right before you die. PAUSE. Everyone looks around. Nicky spots Henry Winkler. HENRY WINKLER Aw, man, not again. NICKY Sorry, Henry. (focuses) Release the Evil. Henry is covered in bees once again. ON NICKY AND VALERIE Nicky picks up a big rock and hands it to Valerie. NICKY (CONT'D) Do me. VALERIE I love you. NICKY I love you. Valerie smashes the rock on Nicky's head, killing him. ON CLOCK TOWER Six seconds left. INT. THRONE ROOM - CONTINUOUS The lips and finger are slowing down. INT. GATES OF HELL - DAY Nicky triumphantly passes through the wall of fire and it starts burning again behind him. And now all the BACKED UP SOULS fall out on top of Nicky. The Gatekeeper APPLAUDS. EXT. NEW HELL RALLY - NIGHT The STAGE, the DEMONS and everything that raised from Hell now descends quickly into the ground. INT. THRONE ROOM - NIGHT Dad's lips form a body around it. Dad FILLS IN. EXT. NEW HELL RALLY - NIGHT The good people of New York cheer. We see John, Peter, Todd, Valerie, Beefy and the Student, who of course is dancing seductively. EXT. REFLECTION POOL - CONTINUOUS Angel is so proud. ANGEL Okay, you just saw my son save the universe. Right?! Everyone cheers. INT. THRONE ROOM - SHORTLY AFTER Dad and Nicky are hugging. DAD You came through, Nicky. NICKY I came through for you, Mom and the butterflies, Dad. DAD You're back in Hell now, kid. There's no butterflies here. If you want butterflies, you need to be on Earth. NICKY What about you and Grandpa and everyone in Hell? DAD Nicky, I let my butterflies die once upon a time and it's never stopped hurting. (Dad looks up) That's right, you heard me, Holly. I'm still in love with you. INT. BIRTHDAY CAKE - CONTINUOUS Angel is shocked. ANGEL Oh my G-d. He's totally talking about me. INT. THRONE ROOM - CONTINUOUS DAD And don't think I forgot about how crazy you get after a few daiquiris. INT. BIRTHDAY CAKE - CONTINUOUS FRIEND That guy is still a horn dog. INT. THRONE ROOM - CONTINUOUS Dad turns to Nicky. DAD Listen, I got down low. Your mom's got up high. You take care of the middle. NICKY I will, Dad. But in the words of Motley Crue, this will always be my...home sweet home... He pats him on the back. JIMMY THE DEMON Sorry to interrupt guys, but it's time for Hitler's punishment. LUCIFER Let me handle that. Lucifer walks over to the closet. LUCIFER (CONT'D) And I'm not using a pineapple this time. He pulls out the flask. ADRIAN (O.S.) No! CASSIUS (O.S.) Don't do it! He shoves the flask up Hitler's ass. Hitler's face tightens. HITLER Holy Schnit! FREEZE FRAME, then: DISSOLVE TO: ONE YEAR LATER Over the skyline of Manhattan. EXT. STREET - CENTRAL PARK WEST PAN UP from a moving baby stroller to reveal Nicky and Valerie both pushing it. We see Beefy walking with them. Unbelievably happy. A nice OLD LADY bends down to the stroller. LADY Oh...what an uncommonly beautiful baby. VALERIE Thank yo. LADY Such a little angel. BEEFY Only a quarter, ma'am. She tickles the baby. It giggles and a small stream of fire shoots out of his mouth and singes the Old Lady's eyebrows. NICKY Zachariah, say you're sorry. BABY ZACHARIAH (sounds like Nicky) Sorry. The Lady scurries away. Nicky and Valerie laugh and continue walking in absolute bliss. They pass the Preacher who runs towards us. PREACHER He has spilled his seed! He is multiplying! Beware the progeny of the unholy union! We're all gonna die! The Preacher runs straight into the camera. BLACK. THE END.
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+BLACK SCREENSUPER: New Line Cinema PresentsSUPER: A Wingnut Films ProductionBLACK CONTINUES... ELVISH SINGING....A WOMAN'S VOICE ISwhispering, tinged with SADNESS and REGRET:                    GALADRIEL (V.O.)              (Elvish: subtitled)          "I amar prestar sen: han mathon ne nen,          han mathon ne chae...a han noston ned          wilith."              (English:)          The world is changed: I feel it in the          water, I feel it in the earth, I smell it          in the air...Much that once was is lost,          for none now live who remember it.SUPER: THE LORD OF THE RINGSEXT. PROLOGUE -- DAYIMAGE: FLICKERING FIRELIGHT. The NOLDORIN FORGE in EREGION.MOLTEN GOLD POURS from the lip of an IRON LADLE.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.)          It began with the forging of the Great          Rings.IMAGE: THREE RINGS, each set with a single GEM, are receivedby the HIGH ELVES-GALADRIEL, GIL-GALAD and CIRDAN.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          Three were given to the Elves, immortal,          wisest...fairest of all beings.IMAGE: SEVEN RINGS held aloft in triumph by the DWARF LORDS.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          Seven to the Dwarf Lords, great miners          and craftsmen of the mountain halls.IMAGE: NINE RINGS clutched tightly by the KINGS OF MEN...asif holding-close a precious secret.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          And Nine...nine rings were gifted to the          race of Men who, above all else, desire          power.                    (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              2.CONTINUED:                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          For within these rings was bound the          strength and will to govern each race.                                                   FADE TO BLACK                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          But they were all of them deceived.FADE UP: An ancient PARCHMENT MAP of MIDDLE EARTH...movingslowly across the MAP as if drawn by an unseen force theCAMERA closes in on a PLACE NAME...MORDOR.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          ...for another ring was made.TEASING SHOTS: SAURON forging the ONE RING in the CHAMBERS ofSAMMATH NAUR.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          In the land of Mordor, in the fires of          Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged          in secret a Master Ring to control all          others.IMAGE: The ONE RING reflecting FIERY LAVA!   FIRE WRITINGemerges on the plain BAND OF GOLD.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          ...and into this Ring he poured his          cruelty, his malice and his will to          dominate all life.IMAGE: THE ONE RING falls through SPACE and into flames...                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          One Ring to rule them all...IMAGE: A GREAT SHADOW falls across the MAP...closing inaround the realm of GONDOR...IMAGE: SCREAMING VILLAGERS, MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN, RUNfrom their homes, pursued by ARMIES OF HIDEOUS ORCS.                    GALADRIEL          One by one the Free lands of Middle earth          fell to the power of the ring.                                                   FADE TO BLACK                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          But there were some...who resisted.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              3.CONTINUED:FADE UP: ISILDUR, son of the KING OF GONDOR, leads an ARMYACROSS the PLAINS OF DAGORLAD...                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          A last alliance of Men and Elves marched          against the armies of Mordor.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          On the slopes of Mount Doom they fought          for the freedom of Middle- Earth.TEASING SHOTS: THE BATTLE OF DAGORLAD...THE ELF LORD, ELROND,commands rank after rank of ELVEN ARCHERS...ORCS RETREATINGbefore the ARMY of the LAST ALLIANCE...ELENDIL holds aloftthe great sword....NARSIL!                    GALADRIEL          Victory was near!IMAGES: THE HUGE, DARK FIGURE OF SARURON, bearing the ONERING on his finger, looms over the field of battle...                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          But the power of the Ring could not be          undone.IMAGE: SAURON lays waste to the armies of the LAST ALLIANCE.With desperate courage, ELENDIL leads a charge...THE BLACKMACE OF SAURON LASHES OUT!! IMAGE: ELENDIL'S body falls likea crumpled rag doll... IMAGE: ISILDUR cradles the body of hisfather in his arms. The SHADOW OF SAURON falls over him...                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          It was in this moment..when all hope had          faded, that Isildur, son of the king,          took up his father's sword.ISILDUR snatches up the BROKEN BLADE OF NARSIL..The BLADEsevers SAURON'S FINGERS... AND THE ONE RING FLIES from hisbody.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          Sauron, the enemy of the Free Peoples of          Middle Earth, was defeated. SAURON'S          ARMOR clatters to the ground. His bodyGONE....VAPORIZED! CLOSE ON: ISILDUR picks up the SEVEREDFINGER and removes the ONE RING...transfixed!                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          The Ring passed to Isildur...who had this          one chance to destroy evil forever.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                 4.CONTINUED:IMAGE: GLADDEN FIELD...ISILDUR leads a small column of menthrough DARKENING WOODS...the ONE RING glinting on a CHAINaround his neck.                      GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)            But the hearts of Men are easily            corrupted. And the Ring of Power has a            will of its own.SUDDENLY!    ARROWS FLY!   They are ambushed by ORCS...ISILDURSCREAMS!                                                     FADE TO BLACKFADE UP: ISILDUR MATERIALIZES UNDER WATER...as THE RING slipsslowly from his finger. Ripples of LIGHT play acrossISILDUR'S PALE FACE...he is DEAD.                      GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)            It betrayed Isildur to his death.IMAGE: THE RING falls through the MURKY WATERS of the RIVERANDUIN.                      GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)            And some things that should not have been            forgotten...were lost.                                                     FADE TO BLACK                      GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)            History became legend...legend became            myth.FADE UP: The waters of the ANDUIN RIVER lie dark andundisturbed.                      GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)            And for two and a half thousand years the            Ring passed out of all knowledge.IMAGE: SILT SWIRLS...A THIN WHITE HAND reachesdown...grasping the RING...                      GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)            Until, when chance came, it ensnared a            new bearer!IMAGE: THE THIN WHITE HAND opens to reveal one ring.                      GOLLUM (V.O.)            My Precious...                                                                5.IMAGE: MIST SHROUDED MOUNTAINS...                    GALADRIEL (V.O.)          The Ring came to the creature Gollum, who          took it deep into the tunnels of the          Misty Mountains.IMAGE: THE GLOOM of a MOUNTAIN CAVERN..a MURKY POOL ofWATER...in the DARKNESS the SHADOWY OUTLINE of an EMACIATEDFIGURE.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          And there, it consumed him. A RASPY VOICE          mutters in the half light...                    GOLLUM          It came to me. My own.     My love...              (ecstatic whisper)          My preciousness.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.)          The Ring brought to Gollum unnatural long          life. For five hundred years it poisoned          his mind. And in the gloom of Gollum's          cave...                                                     FADE TO BLACK                       GALADRIEL (V.O.)   (CONT'D)          It waited.FADE UP: Bathed in COLD MOONLIGHT, the WORLD lies DARK andSTILL...the unsettled quiet before the storm...                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          Darkness crept back into the forests of          the world. Rumor grew of a Shadow in the          East...whispers of a nameless fear. And          the Ring of Power perceived...its time          had now come. It abandoned Gollum.SLOW MOTION: unseen by its KEEPER..THE RING falls to theMUDDY FLOOR of a MOUNTAIN TUNNEL...                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          But something happened then the Ring did          not intend...                                                     FADE TO BLACKIMAGE: FUMBLING in the dark, a SMALL HAND closes over the                                                                 6.RING.                      GALADRIEL            It was picked up by the most unlikely            creature imaginable...                      BILBO                (to himself)            What's this?A YOUNGISH LOOKING BILBO BAGGINS peers down at what lies inhis hand...PERPLEXED by what he has found.                      GALADRIEL (V.O.)            A Hobbit....Bilbo Baggins of the Shire.                      BILBO                (surprised)            A Ring.SUDDENLY!   A VOICE SCREAMS...ITS ANGUISH RINGING through theCOLD, DANK TUNNELS...                       GOLLUM (V.O.)            Lost!   Lost! My Precious is lost!!Frightened Bilbo quickly POCKETS the ONE RING and hurries on.                                                      DISSOLVE TO:WIDE ON: THE CAMERA SOARS AWAY FROM THE MOUNTAINS.      MOVINGFASTER AND FASTER...THEIR DARK GREEN FORESTS AND JAGGEDWHITE PEAKS RECEDING INTO THE SHROUD OF MIST                      GALADRIEL (V.O.)            For the time will soon come when Hobbits            will shape the fortunes of all.                                                    FADE TO BLACK                                                          FADE IN:EXT. HOBBITON WOODS -- DAYANGLE ON: TWO HOBBIT FEETresting on a small rock...rising out of the LONG, OVERGROWNGRASSES SUPER: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING SUPER: THESHIRE....60 YEARS LATER CAMERA TRACKS TO: a Figure liesbeneath the dappled sunlight of an old tree.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              7.CONTINUED:White flowers are scattered among the Well seeded grasses.An idyllic setting at the end of a long hot summer... thefigure is reading a book. ON THE SOUNDTRACK: In the distance,growing louder..over the Gentle clip clop of an approachingcart and horse can be heard the HUMMING OF A DEEP VOICE tothe tune of "The Road Goes Ever On and On..."SUDDENLY! The figure in the grass sits up...looking straightat camera is a handsome young HOBBIT, with dark curly hairand deep blue eyes. This is FRODO BAGGINS...his EYES alightwith EXCITEMENT! Tossing away the long stem of grass in hismouth, Frodo runs off.                                                         CUT TO:EXT. SHIRE LANE -- DAYThe cart rattles along a leafy lane, driven by a stoopedfigure in Grey.INTERCUT WITH; SHOTS OF FRODO RUNNING... CAREERING DOWN AHILL. . .JUMPING OVER LOGS... DODGING TREE BRANCHES.                                                       ANGLE ON:The shambling OLD PONY snorts and rears as... SUDDENLY FRODOappears on a bank above the cart.                    FRODO          You're late.CLOSE ON: GANDALF glowers at the young Hobbit...                    GANDALF          A Wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins,          nor is he early. He arrives precisely          when he means to.They look at each other a moment..then both start laughing asFRODO'S face breaks into a smile and he leaps on to the frontseat of the cart.                    FRODO          It's wonderful to see you, Gandalf!Next to Gandalf, we see how small Hobbits are...Frodo is 3foot 6 inches tall.                    GANDALF          You didn't think I'd miss your Uncle          Bilbo's birthday?                                                         CUT TO:                                                              8.EXT. HOBBITON FIELDS -- DAYWide on: The cart rattles past a FIELD LUPIN being tended byHOBBITS.                     FRODO           What news of the outside world? Tell me           everything!                                                       ANGLE ON:Gandalf looks down at Frodo, a twinkle in his eye.                     GANDALF           What, everything? Far too eager and           curious for a Hobbit. Most unnatural...Wide on: The cart rattles over a Stone bridge towards a BusyHobbit Marketplace.                      GANDALF (V.O.) (CONT'D)           Well, what can I tell you? Life in the           wide world goes on much as if it has past           age. Full of its own comings and goings,           scarcely even aware of the existence of           Hobbits...Close on: Gandalf as he surveys the peaceful scene beforehim.                     GANDALF (CONT'D)           ...for which I am very thankful.                                                       ANGLE ON:Hobbits look up exclaiming in wonder and excitement as thecart bearing Gandalf and Frodo rolls past the Green DragonInn...towards... Wide on: The party field. Where scOrcs ofHobbits are busy preparing for the big night.                     GANDALF (CONT'D)           Ah, the long expected party. So, how is           the old rascal? I hear it's going to be           a Party of Special Magnificence.                     FRODO           You know Bilbo...he's got he whole place           in an uproar.                     GANDALF           Oh, well...that should please him.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                              9.CONTINUED:                    FRODO          Half the Shire's been invited...                    GANDALF          Good gracious, me.                    FRODO          He's up to something.                    GANDALF          Oh, really?Frodo shoots a knowing look, as Gandalf averts his eyes.                    FRODO          Alright then..keep your secrets. Before          you came along we Bagginses were very          well thought of.                       GANDALF          Indeed?                    FRODO          Never had any adventures or did anything          unexpected.                    GANDALF          If you're referring to the incident with          the Dragon...I was barely involved...all          I did was give your Uncle a little nudge          out the door.                    FRODO          Whatever you did...you've been officially          labelled as a Disturber of the Peace.                    GANDALF          Oh, really?                                                       ANGLE ON:ODO PROUDFOOT looks up as the Cart passes by, deeplysuspicious.                                                         CUT TO:EXT. HOBBITON -- DAY                                                       CRANE UP:As the cart rattles into the small village of Hobbiton...aquaint rustic settlement, nestled amongst rolling green hillsand large trees.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                           10.CONTINUED:The Hobbits live in Hobbit Holes: neat burrows dug into thegrassy hillside, with round doors and cute front gardens.                                                     ANGLE ON:Excited children, chasing after the cart.                                                     CLOSE ON:Gandalf ignOrcs the children's cries. The children standdeflated, watching Gandalf disappear up the lane. At thatmoment: spinning balls of bright color suddenly leap out ofthe cart, fizzing over the heads of the delighted children.                                                     ANGLE ON:Gandalf smiling to himself, well pleased with his joke. ODOPROUDFOOT is unable to suppress a chuckle. Frodo stands up inthe cart as Gandalf reigns in the horse.                    FRODO          Gandalf... I'm glad you're back. Frodo          leaps expertly from the cart. Gandalf          smiles.                    GANDALF          So am I, dear boy...so am I                                                       CUT TO:EXT. BAG END -- DAYWide on: GANDALF'S CART pulls up outside the gate to BAGEND...a particularly fine example of a Hobbit hole, with alarge round front door set into a grassy hillside. There isa sign on the gate which reads: "NO ADMITTANCE EXCEPT ONPARTY BUSINESS." Gandalf strides up to the garden path of BagEnd. He raises his staff and raps on the front door...avoice calls out:                     BILBO (O.S.)          No, thank you! We don't want any more          visitors, well wishers, or distant          relations.                    GANDALF          And what about very old friends?Suddenly the door opens and BILBO BAGGINS stands before him.He is a HOBBIT OF INDERTIMINATE AGE, with a mischievousTwinkle in his eye. Wearing a dashing brocade waist coat, helooks every inch the eccentric gentleman.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            11.CONTINUED:                     BILBO          Gandalf?                    GANDALF          Bilbo Baggins!                    BILBO          My dear Gandalf!Gandalf drops to his knee to embrace his old friend.                    GANDALF          It's good to see you. One hundred and          eleven years old, who would believe it!Gandalf looks at him more keenly.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          You haven't aged a day! Gandalf and Bilbo          laugh together and enter Bag End.                    BILBO          Come on, come in!   Welcome, welcome!!                                                        CUT TO:INT. BAG END LIVING ROOM -- DAYBilbo leads Gandalf into Bag End...cozy and cluttered withsouvenirs of Bilbo's travels. Gandalf has to stoop to avoidhitting his head on the low ceiling. Bilbo hangs up Gandalf'shat on a peg and trots off down the hall.                    BILBO              (Calling)          Tea? Or maybe something stronger... I've          a few bottles of the Old Winyard left,          1296...a very good year, almost as old as          I am. It was laid down by my father. What          say we open one, eh?Bilbo disappears into the kitchen as Gandalf looksaround..enjoying the familiarity of Bag End...he turns,knocking his head on the light and then walking into thewooden beam. He groans.                    BILBO (O.S.) (CONT'D)          I was expecting you some time last week.          Not that it matters, you come and go as          you please, always have done, always          will.                    (MORE)                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             12.CONTINUED:                    BILBO (O.S.) (CONT'D)          You've caught me a bit unprepared, I'm          afraid...we've only got cold chicken, bit          of pickle, some cheese here...ooh, no,          that might be a little risky...Gandalf stops in front of a framed map, charred in onecorner...it is Thorin's map of the Lonely Mountain, Gandalfsmiles to himself.                    BILBO (CONT'D)          Er, we've got raspberry jam and apple          tart...got some custard somewhere. Not          much for Afters, I'm afraid. Oh          no...we're alright...I've just found some          sponge cake. Nice little snack. Hope          it's enough.              (comes into view)          I could do you some eggs if you like?Bilbo jumps, a half eaten pork pie in his hand, as Gandalfmysteriously appears behind him.                    GANDALF          Just tea, thank you.                       BILBO          Oh..right.     You don't mind if...?                    GANDALF          No, not at all. Go ahead. A sudden loud          knock on the front door.MRS. SACKVILLE BAGGINS (O.S.)Bilbo Baggins, you open this door..I know you're in there.                    BILBO          I'm not home.Gandalf watches, amused as Bilbo tries to hide.                    BILBO (CONT'D)          I've got to get away from these          confounded relatives, hanging on the bell          all day, never giving me a moment's          peace. I want to see mountains          again...mountains, Gandalf... and then          find somewhere quiet where I can finish          my book...Oh, Tea!                    GANDALF          So, you mean to go through with your          plan, then?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                           13.CONTINUED:                    BILBO          Yes, yes...it's all inhand.   All the          arrangements are made.                    GANDALF          Frodo suspects something.                    BILBO          'Course he does, he's a Baggins...not          some block headed Bracegirdle from          Hardbottle!                    GANDALF          You will tell him, won't you?                      BILBO          Yes, yes.                    GANDALF          He's very fond of you.                    BILBO          I know. He'd probably come with me if I          asked him. I think, in his heart,          Frodo's still in love with the Shire, the          woods and the fields... little rivers.          Bilbo stands gazing out of the kitchen          window.                    BILBO (CONT'D)          I am old, Gandalf... Bilbo looks at          Gandalf sadly...                    BILBO (CONT'D)          I know I don't look it, but I'm beginning          to feel it in my heart.                                                      CLOSE ON:Bilbo's fingers close around his waistcoat pocket...grippinga small, unseen object.                    BILBO (CONT'D)          I feel thin...sort of stretched, like          butter scraped over too much bread. I          need a holiday...a very long holiday and          I don't expect I shall return...in fact,          I mean not to.                                                        CUT TO:                                                          14.INT. BAG END -- EVENINGGandalf and Bilbo are sitting on the Bag End porch. Belowthem, final preparations are being made on the Party field.Bilbo strikes a match and lights his pipe.                    BILBO          Old Toby, the finest weed in          Southfarthing!Bilbo blows a perfect smoke ring and watches it rise into theair. A tiny sailing ship with masts and sails glides throughthe Center of Bilbo's smoke ring.                    BILBO (CONT'D)          Ohhhh,              (smiles)          Gandalf my old friend...this will be a          night to remember!                                                      CUT TO:EXT. PARTY FIELD, HOBBITON -- NIGHTBOOM! A FIREWORK explodes into the night sky high aboveHobbiton...in the shape of a great green tree with unfoldingbranches. TILT DOWN: with glowing flowers as they rain downfrom the branches...evaporating just above the up turnedfaces of the delighted party-goers 144 Hobbits, feasting anddrinking Carts of beer and wine are scattered about, and thetables are piled high with steaming scones and savories.Gandalf hurries about, lighting fireworks with a blue sparkthat dances magically from his staff... Bilbo is greetingvisitors. Frodo and SAM sit at a table drinking ale...Frodonotices Sam's eyes keep flicking to another pretty Hobbit,Rosie Cotton, sitting some distance away.                    FRODO          Go on, Sam, ask Rosie for a dance.                     SAM               (horrified)          I think I'll just have myself another          ale.                    FRODO          Oh, no you don't. Go on.Sam goes to drain his glass... suddenly it is snatched out ofhis hands as Frodo thrusts him into the middle of a passingthrong of dancers.                                                            15.ANGLE ON: SAM'S HORRIFIED FACEas he is Swept away.   Frodo laughs and finishes Sam's beer.                                                      ANGLE ON:Gandalf as he sets alight a particularly spectacular fireworkthat draws gasps of admiration from the party guests.Close on: Bilbo is relating stories of his adventure to agroup of young hobbit children.                    BILBO              (melodramatic)          So, there I was...at the mercy of three          monstrous trolls...Have you ever heard of          a troll? Do you know what a Troll is?          Great big nasty twenty foot high smelly          things..and they're arguing...arguing          about how they were going to cook us!ANGLE ON: A LITTLE HOBBIT GIRL'Supturned face...her eyes growing larger and larger.                    BILBO          Whether it be turned on a spit or minced          in a pie or whether they were going to          sit on us one by one and squash us into          jelly! But they spent so long arguing          the whether-to's and why-for's that the          sun's first light crept over the top of          the trees...and turned them all to stone!STUNNED GASPS from his young Audience greet his astonishingfeat! Close on: MERRY AND PIPPIN, two mischievous YoungHobbits in their late teens. Pippin scrambles on to the backof Gandalf's wagon, snatching up a small firework                    MERRY              (urgent whisper)          No, no..the big one...the big one! Pippin          grabs a huge rocket. CLOSE ON: FIREWORK          FUSE crackles with flame!Merry is holding out the big rocket...he looks aghast at thefizzing fuse that Pippin has just lit.                    MERRY (CONT'D)              (worried whisper)          You're supposed to stick it in the          ground!                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                           16.CONTINUED:                    PIPPIN          It is in the ground.Merry fearfully tosses the Rocket to Pippin!    The fusesizzles angrily.                     MERRY          Outside!                    PIPPIN          It was your idea.Pippin attempts to throw the fizzing rocket back to Merry.WHOOSH! The two hobbits are suddenly blown off their feet ina shower of sparks as the rocket blasts off with frighteningpower. The ROCKET ZOOMS over the Party..It suddenly burstsapart, forming the shape of a great red golden Dragon! Firegushes from its nostrils as it turns back and Flies lowtowards the startled crowd. Close on: Frodo watches theFireworks Dragon with alarm...but Bilbo is oblivious to thePanicking crowd and impending danger!                     FRODO          Bilbo!   Watch out for the dragon!!                    BILBO          Dragon? Nonsense...hasn1t been a dragon          in these parts for a thousand years!ANGLE ON: FRODOAs he hurriedly pulls Bilbo to the ground, just as the dragonroars a few feet above their heads like a flaming expresstrain! Hobbits dive to the ground, tables overturn, tentscollapse, food flies everywhere. The fireworks dragon turns asomersault and explodes over the hills with a deafening bang!This gets the biggest Cheer of the night.ANGLE ON: MERRY AND PIPPIN,clothes and hair smoking.                    MERRY          That was good!                    PIPPIN          Let's get another one!LARGE HANDS suddenly clamp down on Merry and Pippin's ears.Low angle: Gandalf looking DOWN STERNLY!                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            17.CONTINUED:                    GANDALF          Meridoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took...I          might have known!                                                        CUT TO:MERRY AND PIPPINAre leaning over a barrel, washing dishes in soapywater...with Gandalf sitting nearby, smoking his pipe andsipping an ale. Cries of "SPEECH! SPEECH" erupt from theparty.                                                      ANGLE ON:Bilbo stepping on a stool...he bows in gratitude at theapplause.                       FRODO          Speech!                    BILBO              (clearing throat)          My dear Bagginses, and Boffins, tooks and          Brandybucks...Grubbs, Chubbs,          Hornblowers, Bolgers, Bracegirdles and          Proudfoots...ANGLE ON: A HOBBIT WITH PARTICULARLY BIG FEET                       ODO PROUDFOOT          Proudfeet!                    BILBO          Today is my one hundred and eleventh          birthday. Yes, and alas...Eleventy- one          years is far too short a time to live          among such excellent and admirable          Hobbits! Tremendous outburst of approval!                    BILBO (CONT'D)          I don't know half of you half as well as          I should like; and I like less than half          of you as well as well as you deserve.SCATTERED CLAPPING as the guests try to work out if that wasa compliment or not. CLOSE ON: FRODO AND GANDALF smiling tothemselves. CLOSE ON: Bilbo...a strange hum seems to fill hishead. A bead of sweat rolls down his brow.Bilbo's hand pulls something out of his waistcoat pocket andholds it behind his back.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                           18.CONTINUED:                    BILBO (CONT'D)          I have..things to do and I have put this          off for far too long... CLOSE ON: BILBO'S          knuckles turn white as he tightens his          grip on the small object behind his back.                    BILBO (CONT'D)          I regret to announce, this is the end. I          am going now. I bid you all a very fond          farewell!! Bilbo looks across at Frodo,          hesitates... then...                    BILBO (CONT'D)              (whisper)          Goodbye.Bilbo instantly vanishes. The party explodes into anuproar... the crowd leaps to its feet.ANGLE ON: FRODOstaring at the empty stool in disbelief.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. BAG END -- NIGHTThe party is still in an excited uproar... some 50 yards awayas we pan across a moonlit lane to the front door of Bag End.Door opens, pulled by an invisible hand.INT. BAG END -- NIGHTThe door quietly closes...Bilbo materializes as he pulls aplain gold ring off his finger. Bilbo laughs as he tosses thering in the air, then places it in his pocket.                                                      ANGLE ON:Bilbo emerges from the passage, carrying a walking stick. Hefinds Gandalf looming over him.                    GANDALF          I suppose you think that was terribly          clever?                    BILBO          Come on, Gandalf!   Did you see their          faces?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             19.CONTINUED:                    GANDALF          There are many magic rings in the world,          Bilbo Baggins, and none of them should be          used lightly.                    BILBO          It was just a bit of fun.   Oh, you're          probably right as usual.                    GANDALF          You will keep an eye on Frodo, won't you?                    BILBO          I'm leaving everything to him.                    GANDALF          What about this ring of yours?   Is that          staying too?Close on: Bilbo...he gives Gandalf a look and nods toward themantelpiece.                    BILBO          Yes, yes, it's in an envelope...over          there on the mantelpiece. Gandalf frowns          at the empty mantelpiece...Bilbo suddenly          feels his waistcoat with a look of guilty          surprise.                    BILBO (CONT'D)          No, wait. It's here in my pocket. Isn't          that...isn't' that odd now? Yet, after          all, why not? Why shouldn't I keep it?                    GANDALF          I think you should leave the Ring behind,          Bilbo. Is that so hard?                    BILBO          Well, no...and yes. Now it comes to it,          I don't feel like parting with it. It's          mine. I found it. It came to me!ANGLE ON: GANDALF LOOKS DOWN AT BILBO WITH RISING CONCERN.                    GANDALF          There's no need to get angry.                    BILBO          Well, if I'm angry, it's your fault! It's          mine. My own, my precious.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                            20.CONTINUED:                    GANDALF          Precious? It's been called that before,          but not by you.                    BILBO          So? What business is it of yours what I          do with my own things? Bilbo's voice,          shape and manner have suddenly changed.                    GANDALF          I think you've had that ring quite long          enough.                    BILBO          You want it for yourself!Gandalf rises to his full height, his eyes flash, his shadowsuddenly seems to fill the room                    GANDALF          Bilbo Baggins do not take me for some          conjurer of cheap tricks! Bilbo cowers          from Gandalf, disarmed by his power...a          frightened Hobbit. Gandalf's expression          softens.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          I am not trying to rob you. I am trying          to help you. Sobbing, Bilbo runs to          Gandalf and hugs him.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          All you long years we've been          friends...trust me as you once did. Let          it go!                    BILBO          You're right, Gandalf...the ring must go          to Frodo.Bilbo lifts his knapsack and heads for the front door.                    BILBO (CONT'D)          It's late, the road is long... yes, it is          time.                    GANDALF          Bilbo?                    BILBO          Hmmm?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            21.CONTINUED: (2)                    GANDALF          The ring is still in your pocket.Bilbo hesitates...reaches into his pocket.                     BILBO          Oh, yes.CLOSE ON: Bilbo pulls out the ring...he stares at it in hispalm. With all his will power, Bilbo allows the ring toslowly slide off his palm and drop to the floor. CLOSE ON:The tiny ring lands with a heavy thud on the wooden floor.EXT. BAG END -- NIGHT                                                      ANGLE ON:Bilbo staggering out of Bag end...he braces himself in thenight air, Pale and Trembling, as if his loss of the ring hasweakened him. Gandalf steps up behind.                    BILBO          I've thought up and ending for my          book..."And he lived happily ever after          to the end of his days."                    GANDALF          I'm sure you will, my dear friend.                    BILBO          Goodbye, Gandalf.                    GANDALF          Goodbye Bilbo.Bilbo walks away from Bag End, disappearing into the night,softly singing: "The Road goes on and on."                    GANDALF (CONT'D)              (softly)          Until our next meeting.                                                        CUT TO:INT. BAG END LIVING ROOM -- NIGHTCLOSE ON: THE RING...Glinting on the floor...Gandalf circlesaround it, a Puzzled look on his face. Gandalf slowly reachesfor the ring. His fingers barely touch the ring...the creepyHum rises on the soundtrack. Gandalf is sitting in front ofthe fire, with his pipe...staring into the flickering flames.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             22.CONTINUED:                    BILBO (V.O.)          It's mine, my own, my precious.                    GANDALF              (to himself)          Riddles in the dark.                    FRODO (O.S.)          Bilbo! Bilbo!Frodo rushes into Bag End...he stops and picks up the ring athis feet. Gandalf continues staring into the fire, as iflocked in thought.                    GANDALF              (to himself)          My precious...precious..                    FRODO              (quietly)          He's gone, hasn't he? Frodo steps into          the living room.                    FRODO (CONT'D)          He talked for so long about leaving...I          didn't think he'd really do it.                     GANDALF              (mutters to himself)          ...my own.                     FRODO          Gandalf?Gandalf turns...his eyes locking onto the ring in Frodo'sfingers.                    GANDALF          Bilbo's ring.Gandalf sorts hurriedly through Bilbo's papers...                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          He's gone to stay with the Elves. He's          left you Bag End...Gandalf holds out the envelope...Frodo drops the ring intoit.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          ...along with all his possessions.Gandolf seals the envelope with wax.   He hands it to Frodo.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            23.CONTINUED: (2)                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          The ring is yours now. But it somewhere          out of sight. Gandalf rises hurriedly and          starts to gather his things.                    FRODO          Where are you going?                    GANDALF          I have some things I must see to.                    FRODO          What things?                       GANDALF          Questions.     Questions that need          answering.                    FRODO          You've only just arrived!    I don't          understand...Gandalf is already at the door, he turns to Frodo.                    GANDALF          Neither do I. Keep it secret, keep it          safe.Gandalf hurries out the door...leaving FRODO standing alonein the Bag End.ANGLE ON: THE ENVELOPEThe camera pushes in...the hum of the ring comes up on thesoundtrack. The camera pushes through the white paper to thering...beneath the hum the whispered murmur of BLACK SPEECHcan be heard.                                                      CUT TO:EXT. BARAD-DUR -- NIGHTThe jagged ruins of" BARAD-DUR. THE DARK TOWER! TEASINGIMAGES: THE HUGE DARK TOWER OF BARAD-DUR is being rebuilt!Thousands of ORCS crawl over the surface, hauling stone andiron up the towering heights.WIDE ON: MOUNT DOOM...A HUGE, BILLOWING CLOUD OF BLACK FILTHgrows and spreads across the red streaked sky...casting ashadowy pall over the nightmarish landscape.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                           24.CONTINUED:                      GOLLUM (O.S.)          Baggins!    Shire!!                                                        CUT TO:EXT. MINAS MORGUL -- NIGHTNINE BLACK RIDERS burst out of Minas Morgul and charge towardCamera.EXT. THE WEST ROAD, GONDOR -- DAYWIDE ON: A LONE HORSEMAN gallops to the crest of a hill onthe west road. The main highway south to Minas Tirith...helooks toward the saw toothed mountains of Mordor......seeping out across the blood red sky, his face grave. Hespurs his horse on.                                                        CUT TO:INT. CITADEL, MINAS TIRITH -- NIGHTANGLE ON: GANDALFmaking is way down into the lower depths of the Citidel.                                                        CUT TO:INT. CITADEL CHAMBER, MINAS TIRITH -- NIGHTCLOSE ON: Pages flipping as Gandalf searches ancient scrollsand books placed high on a wooden table. His eyes settle onone old parchment. He murmurs hurriedly to himself, reading.                    GANDALF              (reading)          The year 3434 of the Second Age...here          follows the account of Isildur, High King          of Gondor, and the finding of the ring of          power.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:CLOSE ON: ISILDUR, TRIUMPHANT, REACHES FOR THE ONE RING, HISEYES FIXATED ON IT.                    GANDALF              (reading)          It has come to me...the ring of power!                    (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             25.CONTINUED:                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          It shall be an heirloom of my          Kingdom...all those who follow in my          bloodline shall be bound to its fate, for          I will risk no hurt to the                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          ring...it is precious to me, though I buy          it with great pain...CLOSE ON: ELVISH LETTERING MARKS ON THE FADED OLD DOCUMENTIN GANDALF'S HAND.                    GANDALF              (reading)          The marking upon the band begin to          fade...the writing which at first was as          clear as red flame, has all but          disappeared...a secret now that only fire          can tell...                                                      CUT TO:EXT. HOBBIT FARMHOUSE -- EVENINGFARMER MAGGOT is chopping wood in his garden CLOSE ON:SNORTING HORSE NOSTRILS...as the shadow of a black riderlooms over a Hobbit House. Terrified, FARMER MAGGOT cowers inhis doorway...FANG, his dog, Whimpers and backs away.                    BLACK RIDER              (hissing)          Shire? Baggins?                    FARMER MAGGOT              (terrified)          There's no Bagginses around here! They          are all up in Hobbiton...that way.The BLACK RIDER GALLOPS AWAY AT SPEED                                                      CUT TO:INT. GREEN DRAGON INN -- NIGHTANGLE ON: ROSIE COTTONbids the last of the Patron's "Goodnight"...Sam meets hereyes for a moment as he and Frodo leave the inn.                                                            26.EXT. BAG END -- NIGHTWIDE ON: FRODO FAREWELLS SAM outside Bag End, and headstowards the front door. Creepy POV from inside Bag end: Frodocoming up the path.                                                        CUT TO:INT. BAG END HALLWAY -- NIGHT                                                      ANGLE ON:FRODO enters Bag End...he immediately Pauses, sensing thatsomething is amiss. All is quiet...Frodo peers uneasily intothe darkened living room. SUDDENLY! A large figure looms outof the shadows, reaching for Frodo. Frodo lets out astartled cry, pulls himself free and spins around to face hisAssailant. Gandalf steps into a shaft of moonlight. Paranoiablazes in his eyes. His clothes are dirty and ragged frommuch traveling. Hair and beard much longer an unkempt.                    GANDALF              (urgent whisper)          Is it secret? Is it safe?                                                        CUT TO:INT. BAG END LIVING ROOM -- NIGHTFrodo pulls the envelope out of an old chest. Gandalf,suspicious, Alert. Without a word, Gandalf takes the envelopeand tosses it into the fireplace!                    FRODO              (bewildered)          What are you doing?Flames instantly consume the envelope...revealing the ring,as it sinks into the red hot embers. Gandalf reaches into thefire with a pair of tongs...he lifts the ring out.                    GANDALF          Hold out your hand, Frodo...it is quite          cool.Gandalf drops the ring into Frodo's hand...he reacts to itsweight.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          What can you see? Can you see anything?                    FRODO          Nothing...there's nothing.   Wait...                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            27.CONTINUED:CLOSE ON: The Gold Band of the ring as fiery letters begin toappear...a tiny inscription glows red...as if burning fromwithin.                    GANDALF          ...these are markings.CLOSE ON: GANDALF...STILL...TENSE                    FRO DO          It's some form of Elvish...I can't read          it.                    GANDALF              (ominous)          There are few who can...the language is          that of Mordor, which I will not utter          here.Mordor?                    FRODO          GANDALFIn the common tongue it says, "One ring to rule them all, Onering to find them, One ring to bring them all, and in thedarkness bind them."                                                        CUT TO:INT. BAG END KITCHEN -- NIGHTCLOSE ON: The ring lies on Frodo's simple kitchen table.                    GANDALF          This is the one ring forged by the dark          lord, Sauron, in the fires of Mt          Doom...taken by Isildur from the hand of          Sauron himself.CLOSE ON: FRODO...STUNNED                    FRODO              (quiet realization)          Bilbo found it...in Gollom's cave.                    GANDALF          For sixty years the ring lay quiet in          Bilbo's keeping, prolonging his life,          delaying old age...but no longer, Frodo.          Evil is stirring in Mordor. The ring has          awoken. It has heard its master's call.                    (MORE)                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            28.CONTINUED:                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          AT THAT MOMENT: A FLEETING, LOW WHISPER          of BLACK SPEECHemanates from the Ring.   Frodo looks at Gandalf, each knowingthe other has heard it.                     FRODO          But he was destroyed...Sauron was          destroyed.ANGLE ON: THE RINGlies between them on the table.                    GANDALF          No, Frodo. The spirit of Sauron has          endured. His life force is bound to the          ring and the ring survived. Sauron has          returned. His Orcs have multiplied...his          fortress of Barad- dur is rebuilt in the          land of Mordor. Sauron needs only this          ring to cover all the lands in the second          darkness. He is seeking it, seeking it,          all his thought is bent on it. For the          ring yearns, above all else, to return to          the hand of its master: they are one, the          ring and the dark lord. Frodo, he must          never find out. SUDDENLY Frodo scoops up          the Ring.                     FRODO          Alright!                                                        CUT TO:INT. BAG END LIVING ROOM -- NIGHTANGLE ON: FRODOhurriedly entering the living room.                    FRODO              (thinking fast)          We put it away, we keep it hidden! We          never speak of it again. No one know          it's here, do they? Gandalf shifts          uncomfortably.                    FRODO (CONT'D)          Do they, Gandalf?Gandalf looks at Frodo, sadly...                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            29.CONTINUED:                     GANDALF          There is one other who knew that Bilbo          had the Ring. I looked everywhere for          the creature Gollum, but the enemy found          him first.                                                        CUT TO:INT. BARAD-DUR -- NIGHTCLOSE ON: A teasing Glimpse of Gollum being tortured by theOrcs. The wretched creature screams in pain.                    GANDALF (V.O.)          I don't know how long they tortured          him...but amidst the endless screams and          inane babble, they discerned two words.                    GOLLUM              (screaming)          S...Shire! Baggins!                                                        CUT TO:INT. BAG END LIVING ROOM -- NIGHTCLOSE ON: FRODO'S HORRIFIED FACE!                     FRODO          Shire!   Baggins!   That will lead them          here!                                                        CUT TO:EXT. SHIRE LANE, SOUTH FARTHING -- NIGHTIMAGE: On a dark country lane, a Hobbit bounder lifts hiswatch lantern in alarm.                      HOBBIT BOUNDER          Halt!    Who goes there?Out of the darkness thunder two BLACK RIDERS...A LETHAL SWORDswings down at the small Hobbit bounder.                                                        CUT TO:INT. BAG END LIVING ROOM -- NIGHTFRODO thrusts the ring at Gandalf.                     FRODO          Take it!   Take it!                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                           30.CONTINUED:                    GANDALF          No, Frodo...                    FRODO          You must take it.                    GANDALF          You cannot offer me this ring.                    FRODO          I'm giving it to you!                    GANDALF          Don't tempt me, Frodo. I dare not take          it, not even to keep it safe.CLOSE ON: THE RING IN FRODO'S HAND...                    GANDALF          Understand, Frodo...I would use this Ring          from a desire to do good...but through          me, it would wield a power too great and          terrible to imagine.                    FRODO          But it cannot stay in the Shire!                    GANDALF          No, no it can't.CLOSE ON: THE RING IN FRODO'S CLENCHED HAND.                    FRODO          What must I do?                                                       CUT TO:INT. FRODO'S BEDROOM -- NIGHTANGLE ON: FRODOthrowing clothes into a knapsack...Gandalf watches him,making plans...                    GANDALF          You must leave, and leave quickly. Get          out of the Shire.                     FRODO          Where?   Where shall I go?                    GANDALF          Make for the village of Bree.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              31.CONTINUED:                       FRODO            Bree?   What about you?                      GANDALF            I will, be waiting for you at the Inn of            the Prancing Pony. Frodo packs his food            into his knapsack.                      FRODO            And the ring will be safe there?                      GANDALF            I don't know, Frodo. I don't have any            answers. I must see the Head of my            Order. He is both wise and powerful.            Trust me, Frodo. He'll know what to go.                                                          CUT TO:INT. BAG END LIVING ROOM -- NIGHTFrodo is preparing to leave.                      GANDALF            You'll have to leave the name of Baggins            behind you...for that name is not safe            outside the Shire. GANDALF helps FRODO            into his coat.                      GANDALF (CONT'D)            Travel only by day and stay off the road.                      FRODO                (thinking)            I can cut across country easily enough.Gandalf looks at the young Hobbit, moved by his courage.                      GANDALF            My dear Frodo, Hobbits really are amazing            creatures. You can learn all that there            is to know about their ways in a month,            and yet, after a hundred years, they can            still surprise you.SUDDENLY!    A SOUND from outside.                        GANDALF (CONT'D)            Get down!GANDALF FREEZES... he moves quietly towards the window, eyeswide with tension. He raises his staff above the window, andslams it down on the intruder. THERE IS A YELP OF PAIN!                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                             32.CONTINUED:Gandalf hauls a small figure into the room...SAM GAMGEEsprawls across the floor! He looks up in terror as Gandalflooms over him.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)              (angry)          Confound it all! Samwise Gamgee, have          you been eavesdropping?                    SAM          I ain't been dropping no eaves, sir!          Honest. I was just cutting the grass          under the window there, if you follow          me...                    GANDALF          It's a little late for trimming the          hedges, don't you think?                    SAM          I heard raised voices...                    GANDALF          What did you hear?   Speak!                     SAM              (panicked)          Nothing important...that is, I heard a          good deal about a ring...and a Dark Lord.          And something about the end of the world,          but...Please, Mr. Gandalf, sir, don't          hurt me! Don't turn me into anything          unnatural!                    GANDALF          No?FRODO SMILES                    GANDALF          Perhaps not. I've thought of a better          use for you.                                                      CUT TO:EXT. HOBBITON FIELDS -- PRE DAWNWide on: HOBBITON...shrouded in a white veil of MIST. WIDER:To reveal Gandalf, Frodo and Sam hurrying across a ploughedfield, away from Hobbiton! Gandalf leads his Horse...Frodoand Sam are carrying knapsacks.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             33.CONTINUED:                    GANDALF (V.O.)          Come along, Samwise...keep up...                                                        CUT TO:EXT. HOBBITON WOODS -- DAYGandalf leads Frodo and Sam under the cover of Woods.                    GANDALF (V.O.)          Be careful, both of you. The Enemy has          many spies in his service, many ways of          hearing...birds, beasts...Gandalf takes Frodo to one side...                    GANDALF (CONT'D)              (low voice)          Is it safe?FRODO NODS...he pats his pocket.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          Never put it on, for then the agents of          the Dark Lord will be drawn to its          power...Always remember, Frodo, the ring          is trying to get back to its master...it          wants to be found. Gandalf wheels his          horse and gallops away.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. GREEN HILL COUNTRY -- DAYMONTAGE: FRODO AND SAM hiking over the gentle ShireCountryside...wading through a shallow stream...heating akettle over a small fire...clambering over stone walls.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. GREEN HILL COUNTRY -- AFTERNOONSam stops short...taking stock of his surroundings.    Samlooks back from where they came.                    SAM          This is it.                    FRODO          This is what?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             34.CONTINUED:                    SAM          If I take one more step it'll be the          farthest away from home I've ever been.FRODO gives Sam a pat on the shoulder.                    FRODO          Come on, Sam.Sam takes a deep breath and steps forward. CLOSE ON: SAM'Sbrown, furry foot hits the ground.FRODO IS SMILING.                    FRODO          Remember what Bilbo used to say...it's a          dangerous business...Frodo and Sam continue their journey.                    BILBO (V.O.)          ... it's a dangerous business, Frodo,          going out your door...you step onto the          road, and if you don't keep your feet,          there's not knowing where you might be          swept off to.                                                      CUT TO:EXT. ISENGARD VALLEY -- DAYGandalf is galloping along the outskirts of the ancientforest of Fangorn. Nestled in a basin at the foot of thedistant Misty Mountains, the tall black tower of Orthanc isclearly visibleEXT. ISENGARD VALLEY -- DAYGandalf gallops through the gate, into the fortress ofISENGARD...a great ring-wall of stone, a mile from rim torim, encloses beautiful trees and gardens, watered by streamsthat flow down from the mountains.                    SARUMAN (V.O.)          Smoke rises once more from the mountain          of doom...the shadow takes shape in the          darkness of Mordor; the hour grows          late...and Gandalf the Grey rides to          Isengard seeking my counsel...The strange tower of Orthanc...hewn from a solid pillar ofblack obsidian...rises up in the center of the IsengardCircle. Gandalf arrives at the foot of the Orthanc Stairs.                                                            35.ANGLE ON: SARUMAN, THE WHITE WIZARDhe sweeps down the Orthanc stairs.                    SARUMAN          For that is why you have come, is it not,          my old friend?Gandalf moves quickly towards him, grimy and weary from hislong ride.                     GANDALF          Saruman!                                                        CUT TO:EXT. ISENGARD GARDENS -- DAYGandalf and Saruman walk slowly between the beautiful treesof Isengard, Saruman's clean, white robe contrasts withGandalf's dusty grey robes.                    SARUMAN          Are you sure of this?                    GANDALF          Beyond any doubt.                    SARUMAN          So the ring of power has been found?                    GANDALF          All these long years it was in the Shire,          under my very nose.                    SARUMAN          And yet you did not have the wit to see          it! Your love of the Halfling's leaf has          clearly slowed your mind.                    GANDALF          We still have time...time enough to          counter Sauron...if we act quickly.                     SARUMAN          Time?   What time do you think we have?                                                        CUT TO:INT. ORTHANC ANTE-CHAMBER -- DAYSaruman and Gandalf are seated in a small, cluttered room tothe side of the cavernous central chamber.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            36.CONTINUED:                    SARUMAN          Sauron has regained much of his former          strength. He cannot yet take physical          form...but his spirit has lost none of          its potency. Concealed within his          fortress, the lord of Mordor sees all.          His gaze pierces cloud, shadow, earth,          and flesh. You know of what I speak,          Gandalf...a great Eye, lidless, wreathed          in flame.                    GANDALF              (softly)          The eye of Sauron.                    SARUMAN          He is gathering all evil to him.                    SARUMAN (CONT'D)          Very soon he will have summoned an army          great enough to launch an assault upon          Middle earth.                    GANDALF          You know this? How?                    SARUMAN          I have seen it.Gandalf and Saruman stride through Orthanc toward a stoneplinth on which a sphere like shape is draped with a cloth...                    GANDALF          A palantir is a dangerous tool, Saruman.Saruman lifts the cloth to reveal the Palantir.                     SARUMAN          Why?   Why should we fear to use it?                    GANDALF          They are not all accounted for, the lost          seeing-stones...we do not know who else          may be watching. Gandalf throws the cloth          back over the Palantir.FLASH IMAGE: A FIERY EYE!Saruman sits upon his throne.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            37.CONTINUED:                    SARUMAN          The hour is later than you think.          Sauron's forces are already moving...the          Nine have left Minas Morgul.                    GANDALF              (shocked)          The nine!                    SARUMAN          They crossed the river Isen in          Midsummer's eve, disguised as riders in          black.                    GANDALF              (alarmed)          They have reached the Shire? Saruman          shrugs...                    SARUMAN          They will find the ring...and kill the          one who carries it.Gandalf backs away and turns to run to the door...horrifiedas the doors suddenly slam shut.                    SARUMAN (CONT'D)          You did not seriously think a Hobbit          could contend with the will of Sauron?          There are none who can.Gandalf slowly turns to Saruman...a look of dawning horror.                    SARUMAN (CONT'D)          Against the power of Mordor, there can be          no victory. We must join with him,          Gandalf. We must join with Sauron. It          would be wise, my friend.                    GANDALF              (deadly)          Tell me, friend, when did Saruman the          wise abandon reason for madness?At that moment: Gandalf is suddenly blasted across the room!He slams against the wall...pinned there by some unseenforce. With sudden effort, Gandalf wrenches himself off thewall and swings his staff on Saruman...blasting him off hisfeet! Gandalf and Saruman battle, powerful blasts throwingthem across the room. SARUMAN SCREAMS, EYES BLAZING!Gandalf's staff is suddenly wrenched from his grasp...itflies across the chamber into Saruman's hand! Gandalf isflung to the floor.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            38.CONTINUED: (2)                    SARUMAN          I gave you the chance of aiding me          willingly, but you have elected the way          of pain.Gandalf is breathing hard on the floor, his eyes look intothe madness of Saruman... Commanding two staffs, Sarumansends Gandalf into a sickening spin. Gandalf tumbles towardsthe top of the chamber...as if falling in reverse. RushingPOV: the roof of Orthanc rockets toward camera.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. FARMER'S FIELDS -- DAYWide on: Frodo and Sam walking along a country lane whichborders Farmer Maggot's Fields. Sam is looking up...Frodo hasdisappeared around a corner in the lane.                     SAM               (panicked)          Mr. Frodo. Mr. Frodo! Frodo turns,          surprised as Sam comes running towards          him.                    SAM (CONT'D)              (worried)          I thought I lost you. Frodo looks at Sam          suspiciously. Sam glances down,          embarrassed.                    FRODO              (teasing)          What are you talking about?                    SAM              (mumbling)          It's just something Gandalf said...                    FRODO          What did he say?                    SAM          He said..."Don't you leave him, Samwise          Gamgee."              (looks at Frodo intently)          And I don't mean to.                    FRODO              (laughing)          Sam...we're still in the Shire...what          could possibly happen?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                               39.CONTINUED:SUDDENLY! A figure comes crashing out of a hedgerow sendingFrodo flying. Frodo picks himself up, only to be knocked backdown again by Pippin.                     PIPPIN          Frodo!   Merry, it's Frodo Baggins.                    MERRY          Hello FrodoMerry, Pippin, and Frodo picking themselves up... a varietyof vegetables have scattered everywhere.                    SAM          What's the meaning of this!                    MERRY          Sam, hold this...Merry gives Sam a large cabbage.                    SAM              (accusing)          You've been into Farmer Maggot's crop!A large pitchfork can be seen racing towards them along theHedgerow...angry shouts from Farmer Maggot.                    FARMER MAGGOT    (O.S.)          Who's that in my field!     Get out of it!          Get out of my field, you    young varmits!          I'll show you...get out    of my corn.Merry and Pippin hurriedly gather their booty and raceaway...with Frodo and Sam on their heels.                    MERRY              (looking behind him)          I don't know why he's so upset, it's only          a couple of carrots.                    PIPPIN          And some cabbages...and those three bags          of potatoes that we lifted last week.          And then the mushrooms the week before.                    MERRY          Yes, Pippin, my point is, he's clearly          over reacting.The BAYING OF LARGE DOGS sounds!                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                             40.CONTINUED: (2)                    PIPPIN          Run!                                                      CUT TO:EXT. WOODED ROAD -- DAYFrodo, Sam, and Merry and Pippin tumble head over heels downa bank, onto a dark, wooded road. CLOSE ON: A winded Pippin,his face inches away from a large pile of Horse droppings...                    PIPPIN          That was close.Frodo picks himself up and looks around quickly.                    MERRY              (groaning)          Ow...I think I've broken something.Pulls a LARGE CARROT, almost broken through in the middle,out from his back pocket.                    MERRY (CONT'D)          Oh.                    SAM              (turning on Merry and Pippin)          Trust a Brandybuck and a Took.                    MERRY          What? That was just a detour...a          shortcut.                    SAM          A shortcut to what?Pippin has spied something under the trees on the far side ofthe road.                     PIPPIN              (excited)          Mushrooms!CLOSE ON: SMALL, brown mushrooms growing amongst the Loamyundergrowth. Sam, Merry, and Pippin race toward themushrooms! Frodo is tense and watchful. He realizes they areon a wooded road. Scattered leaves rise into the air Whirlingdown the road as if blown by an invisible wind...                                                             41.SUDDENLY... THE SOUND OF HORSES HOOVES...                      FRODO            I think we should get off the road.A long drawn WAIL comes down the wind, like the cry of someevil and lonely creature.                      FRODO (CONT'D)                (more urgency)            Get off the road!Sam grabs Merry and Pippin as the Hobbits quickly scrambledown the bank, hiding under a mossy log. THE SOUND OF HOOVESis close... A sinister MOUNTED RINGWRATH steps intoview...hooded and faceless, mounted on a huge snarling blackhorse with insane eyes ! Frodo freezes in terror. TheRINGWRAITH pauses right beside their hiding place...he sitsvery still with his head bowed, listening. From inside thehood comes a sniffing noise as if he is trying to catch anelusive scent; his head turning from side to side.CLOSE ON: FRODOBeads of sweat gather on his brow. The ringwraith suddenlyslides off his horse, leaning over the mossy log, peeringsuspiciously into the woods.CLOSE ON: FRODOHe is drawing the ring out of his pocket, with tremblinghands...his face fevered and sweating as if in the grip ofsome terrible INTERNAL STRUGGLE. The SOUND OF SNIFFINGintensifies as the ringwraith darts his head from side toside like a bird of party.CLOSE ON: FRODO SQUEEZING HIS EYES SHUT...QUICK PSYCHIC BLASTS!   AND EVIL DARK TOWER...A GREAT EYE...ABURST OF FLAME.ANGLE ON:   SAM LOOKING AT FRODO WITH CONCERN                      SAM            Frodo?Merry desperately hurls the mushrooms across the road...theringwraith spins around at the sound, and darts to the farside of the road with frightening speed. Frodo instantlyslumps...as if a PSYCHIC LINK had been broken                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             42.CONTINUED:                    MERRY          What was that?Frodo is staring, a look of shock on his face at the ringlying in the palm of his hand.EXT. FERRY LANE -- NIGHTFrodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin hurry through thetrees...slipping and sliding on the muddy ground.                      SAM          Anything?                      FRODO          Nothing.                    PIPPIN          What is going on?Merry moves past pippin, toward Frodo, watchingintently...Sam keeps looking around nervously.                    MERRY          The Black rider was looking for          something...or someone...Frodo?                      SAM          Get down!The SILHOUETTE OF A BLACK RIDER looms against the skyline.The Four Hobbits... sprawled on the ground, holding theirbreath. The BLACK RIDER turns and departs.                    FRODO          I have to leave the Shire...Sam and I          must get to Bree.Merry looks at his friend...realizing Frodo is in deeptrouble.                    MERRY          Right...Buckleberry Ferry...follow me !The Hobbits break cover. SUDDENLY, A RINGWRAITH bursts out ofthe forest TOWARD THEM!                    MERRY (CONT'D)          There's another one!! Frodo, this way! !The Hobbits run   THE RINGWRAITH SHRIEKS!                                                    QUICK CUTS:                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            43.CONTINUED:Black horse hooves... snarling horse mouths...a fleetingblack cowl.                    MERRY (CONT'D)          Frodo, follow me!                                                         CUT TO:EXT. BUCKLEBERRY FERRY -- NIGHTFRODO, SAM, MERRY AND PIPPIN, are running towards the wide,placid Brandywine river...and the FERRY.                    MERRY          Get the ropes, Sam.QUICK ANGLES: STOMPING HOOVES...SNARLING HORSES...Four RINGWRAITHS are speeding through the Fog...converging onthe FERRY CROSSING. The HOBBITS stampede across the Wharf andTumble onto the Ferry.                    SAM              (screaming)          Frodo!Frodo races across the Wooden Wharf, followed by theringwraiths. He leaps into the Ferry.CLOSE ON: HOOVES THUNDER DOWN THE WOODEN WHARF!Sam and Merry shove off with the poles...the ferry slides outinto the river, just as the ringwraiths arrive. They pull upon the end of the wharf... shrieking with rage! The Hobbitscover their ears. The Ringwraiths wheel their horses towardsthe north and Gallop away along the river bank, quicklydisappearing into the fog.                    FRODO          How far to the nearest crossing?                    MERRY          The brandwine bridge...twenty miles.                                                         CUT TO:EXT. BREE GATE -- NIGHT                                                       ANGLE ON:Lights of Bree...a small village of stone and half timberedhouses nestled against a low wooded hill.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             44.CONTINUED:A thick hedge surrounds the village...a great gate bars thewestern entrance.                                                      CLOSE ON:FRODO, SAM, MERRY AND PIPPIN approaching the gatehouse...wildeyes, ragged, and out of breath.                     FRODO          Come on.A SURLY GATEKEEPER glances down at them.                    GATEKEEPER          What do you want?                    FRODO          We're headed for the prancing pony.The gatekeeper swings his lantern onto the hobbits, bathingthem in an uncomfortable yellow spotlight.                    GATEKEEPER          Hobbits! Four Hobbits, and what's more,          out of the Shire by your talk. What          business brings you to Bree?                    FRODO          We wish to stay at the inn...our business          is our own. To Frodo's relief, the          Gatekeeper unlocks the gate.                    GATEKEEPER          All right, young sir, I meant no offense.The Hobbits gratefully enter Bree...the gatekeeper eyeingthem curiously in the lantern light.                    GATEKEEPER (CONT'D)          It's my job to ask questions after          nightfall. There's talk of strange fold          abroad...can't be too careful.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. BREE STREETS -- NIGHTThe tall BREE FOLK loom over the nervous little hobbits asFrodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin make their way through theNarrow Streets. Tall buildings tower above them...lightsglow dimly from behind thick curtains.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                            45.CONTINUED:Close on: The sign of the "PRANCING PONY INN"...Frodo, Sam,Merry, and Pippin hurry toward it.                                                        CUT TO:INT. "PRANCING PONY" RECEPTION -- NIGHTFrodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin come rushing in.   Frodo attractsthe INN KEEPERS'S attention.                       FRODO          Excuse me.                     BUTTERBUR          Good evening, little masters. If you're          seeking accommodation, we've got some          nice, cozy Hobbit sized rooms available,          Mr...ah...                    FRODO          Underhill...my name's Underbill.                       BUTTERBUR          Underhill?     Hmmmm.                    FRODO          We're friends of Gandalf the Grey...can          you tell him we've arrived? BUTTERBUR          frowns...                    BUTTERBUR              (Puzzled)          Gandalf...Gandalf...Oh...              (recognition)          Oh yes! I remember...elderly chap...big          grey beard...pointy hat? Frodo nods with          relief...Butterbur shakes his head.                    BUTTERBUR (CONT'D)          Not seen him for six months. Frodo is          shocked.                    SAM              (worried whisper)          What do we do now?INT. PRANCING PONY INN -- NIGHTWide on: the noise, smokey Inn. It is dimly lit, cheiflyfrom a blazing log fire...and crowded with a mixture of BIGFOLK, LOCAL HOBBITS, and a couple of dwarfs. Frodo, Sam,Merry and Pippin are sitting at a table against the wall...clearly trying to remain Quiet and inconspicuous... Sam can'thelp himself...he keeps casting nervous glances around.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             46.CONTINUED:                    FRODO          Sam, he'll be here.    He'll come.Merry ploinks himself down at a table, carrying a very largemug of beer.                    PIPPIN          What's that?                    MERRY          This, my friend, is a pint.                    PIPPIN          It comes in pints?    I'm getting one!Sam watches Pippin rise unsteadily to his feet and head tothe bar.                    SAM          You've had a whole half already. Merry          watches Pippin go.A COUPLE OF SWARTHY MEN leaning against the bar glance atFrodo, then quickly look away.                    SAM (CONT'D)              (tense)          That fellow's done nothing but stare at          you since we've arrived.Sam indicates a BROODING STRANGER who sits alone at a tablein the far corner, smoking a curiously carved long stemmedpipe, peering from beneath a travel stained cowl withgleaming eyes. Frodo gestures to Butterbur...                    FRODO          Excuse me, that man in the corner, who is          he?                    BUTTERBUR          He's one of them Rangers; they're          dangerous folk they are, wandering the          wilds. What his right name is, I never          heard, but round here he's known as          Strider.                    FRODO              (to himself)          Strider.BENEATH TABLE: FRODO'S fingers are nervously TOYING WITH THERING.                                                            47.CLOSE ON: FRODOSweat runs down his brow.   The Strange hum of the Ring spillsinto the Soundtrack."Baggins...Baggins..." a creepy whisper seems to fill Frodo'shead...sound that dissolves into Pippin's loud voice:                    PIPPIN          Baggins? Sure, I know a Baggins...he's          over there...ANGLE ON: PIPPINsitting at the bar, chatting with Locals.   Frodo leaps to hisfeet and pushes his way towards the bar.                    PIPPIN              (loudly)          Frodo Baggins. He's my second cousin          once removed, on his mother's side and my          third cousin twice removed on his          father's side...if you follow me.Frodo grabs Pippin's sleeve, spilling his beer.                    FRODO          Pippin!                    PIPPIN          Steady on, Frodo!Pippin pushes Frodo away...he stumbles backwards, and fallsto the floor. At that instant, the Inn goes silent and allthe attention turns to Frodo...                                                      CLOSE ON:The ring...in agonizing Slow motion we watch as it seems tohang in the air for a split second...then crashes down ontohis out stretched finger. FRODO VANISHES! There is a sharpintake of breath...followed by total silence.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. BREE COUNTRYSIDE -- NIGHTThe RINGWRAITHS turn sharply in their saddles...Instantlyaware that the ring is being worn. They spur their horsestowards the distant lights of Bree.                                                            48.INT. "PRANCING PONY" INN -- NIGHTSam looks sick; Pippin instantly sobers, realizing his folly;the brooding stranger frowns...and the inn erupts intoexcited babble.                                        IN THE TWILIGHT WORLD:                                                      ANGLE ON:FRODO: as he finds himself in the TWILIGHT WORLD of the ring:THE EXCITED CROWD ARE suddenly moving in slowmotion...distorted voices...a weird photographic negativequality. FRODO is moving in real time; against the slowmotion background. He suddenly clutches his head as he ishit with quick images...of a GREAT EYE! AN EVIL CAT-LIKEEYE, wreathed in flames.VOICE OF SAURONThere is no life here in the void...only cold...only death...FRODO is terrified! He rolls under a table, desperatelypulling the ring from his finger. FRODO MATERIALIZES into thereal world. AT THAT MOMENT: A LARGE HAND reaches under thetable and Grabs Frodo by the collar, and DRAGS HIM AWAY!                                                        CUT TO:INT. PRANCING PONY--CORRIDOR -- NIGHTFrodo is roughly pushed against the wall.    The Broodingstranger looms over him.                    STRIDER          You draw far too much attention to          yourself...Mr. Underhill                                                        CUT TO:INT. HOBBIT'S ROOM, PRANCING PONY -- NIGHTFrodo is pushed into the Hobbit's room by Strider.                    FRODO          What do you want?                    STRIDER          A little more caution from you...that is          no trinket you carry.                    FRODO          I carry nothing.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                           49.CONTINUED:                    STRIDER          Indeed? I can usually avoid being seen          if I wish, but to disappear entirely...          that is a rare gift.                    FRODO          Who are you?                    STRIDER          Are you frightened?                    FRODO          Yes.                    STRIDER          Not nearly frightened enough. I know          what hunts you. Frodo jumps at the sound          of a noise in the corridor. Strider          deftly draws his sword.The door bursts open and Sam, Merry and Pippin appear on thedoorway. Sam is Squaring off with is fists, Merry brandishesa candlestick, and Pippin a chair.                    SAM              (angry)          Let him go or I'll have you, Longshanks!STRIDER SHEATHS his sword, a slight smile playing on hislips.                    STRIDER          You have a stout heart, little Hobbit,          but that alone won't save you...You can          no longer wait for the Wizard, Frodo.          They're coming.                                                      CUT TO:EXT. GATEHOUSE, BREE -- NIGHTThe gate keeper comes out of his Lodgings with a lantern...alook of fear on his face. He approaches the closed gate withgreat apprehension. CLOSE ON: The Gatekeeper peers out of hisPeephole.CRASH!!The gate crashed down on the gatekeeper...as four RINGWRAITHSride into Bree!                                                             50.EXT. BREE STREETS -- NIGHTThe four RINGWRAITHS fly done the empty streets, likehorsemen of the apocalypse.INT. PRANCING PONY INN -- NIGHTLOW ANGLE: the front door FLIES OPEN. The FOUR RINGWRAITHSrush into the PRANCING PONY with WICKED SWORDS DRAWN. CLOSEON: BUTTERBUR hiding behind his bar... trembling and sweatingin TERROR.INT. HOBBIT'S ROOM, PRANCING PONY -- NIGHTINSERT: MERRY SNORING SOFTLY ON HIS PILLOW.INSERT: PIPPIN stirs slightly, then settles back to sleep.WIDE ON: the door creaks open...THE FOUR RINGWRAITHS silentlyslide into the Hobbit's room. The LOOM above each bed,raising their SHINING SWORDS ABOVE THE SLEEPING HOBBITS.QUICK INSERT: Sam's eyes open wide. In unison, the RINGWRAITSSTAB THE HOBBITS, in a Slashing, hacking frenzy.INT. STRIDER'S ROOM -- NIGHTStrider is grimly listening to the sounds from his room.INT. HOBBIT'S ROOM, PRANCING PONY -- NIGHTWide on: the RINGWRAITHS step back from the slashed beds intriumph. CLOSE ON: a hacked blanket is pulled back to revealnothing but a shredded pillow. The RINGWRAITHS SHRIEK WITHRAGE!! INSERTS: Sam sits up with a start! Close on: Anothershredded pillow is revealed! More Shrieks of rage. INSERT:PIPPIN AND MERRY wake with a start.                                                        CUT TO:INT. STRIDER'S ROOM -- NIGHTWIDE ON: Sam, Merry, and Pippin have been sleeping onStrider's bed. Frodo stands next to Strider by the window,peering out nervously as furious Ringwraith screeches echoacross the courtyard from the Hobbits room.                    FRODO          Where are they?                    STRIDER          They were once men. Strider glances          quickly at Frodo, then looks away...                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                           51.CONTINUED:                    STRIDER (V.O.) (CONT'D)              (quietly)          Great Kings of men. Then Sauron the          deceiver gave to them Nine Rings of          Power. Blinded by their greed they took          them without question, one by one falling          into darkness and now they are slaves to          his will.Strider looks from the window as the Ringwraiths gallop downthe Bree Streets. CLOSE ON: Strider turns back to theHobbits, his face lit faintly by the Glowing Embers of theFire.                    STRIDER (CONT'D)          They are the Nazgul, Ringwraiths, neither          living or dead. At all times they feel          the presence of the ring...drawn to the          power of the one..they will never stop          hunting you.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. CHETWOOD FOREST -- DAY                                                      ANGLE ON:STRIDER, MERRY, PIPPIN, AND FRODO march through a gloomy,overgrown forest. Sam follows at the read leading "Bill", ascrawny pony, who is laden with supplies.                    FRODO          Where are you taking us?                    STRIDER          Into the wild.Frodo watches uneasily as Strider moves off into the cover ofthe trees...                    MERRY              (whispered aside)          How do, we know this Strider is a friend          of Gandalf?                    FRODO          We have no choice but to trust him.                    STRIDER          But where is he leading us?                                                      ANGLE ON:                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                             52.CONTINUED:Strider stops, casts a glance back at Sam.                    STRIDER (CONT'D)          To Rivendell, Master Gamgee...to the          house of Elrond.SAM looks excited.                    SAM          Did you hear that, Bill? Rivendell!          We're going to see the Elves!Strider leads the Hobbits through the gloom of the forest.                                                       CUT TO:EXT. MIDGEWATER MOORS -- DAYAerial on: Strider leading Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippinacross the windswept moors. The hobbits suddenly stop andunstrap their knapsacks.                     STRIDER          Gentlemen, we do not stop until          nightfall.                    PIPPIN          What about breakfast?                    STRIDER          You've already had it.                    PIPPIN          We've had one, yes...but what about          Second Breakfast?Strider stares at Pippin blankly, then turns away, shakinghis head.                    MERRY          I don't think he knows about second          breakfast, Pip.                    PIPPIN          What about Elvenses, Luncheon, Afternoon          Tea, dinner...he knows about them,          doesn't he?                    MERRY          I wouldn't count on it.An apple is thrown to Merry, who deftly catches it.   Another,aimed at Pippin, catches him on the forehead.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                            53.CONTINUED:                    MERRY (CONT'D)              (exasperated)          Pippin!The hobbits trudge through rain, looking tired, hungry, andmiserable.                                                        CUT TO:INT. ORTHANC ANTE-CHAMBER -- NIGHTSaruman stands over the Palantir, his hands cupping themassive eye.                    SARUMAN              (whisper)          The power of Isengard is at your command,          Sauron, Lord of the Earth.ON THE SOUNDTRACK: BLACK SPEECH FILLS THE ROOM...ADMIST THEHARSH, GUTTURAL WORDS THE VOICE OF SARUMAN EMERGES.                    SARUMAN          Build me an army worth of Mordor.INT. ORTHANC ANTE-CHAMBER -- NIGHTSaruman is seated as his ORC OVERSEER approaches.                    ORC OVERSEER          What orders from Mordor, my Lord. What          does the eye command?                    SARUMAN          We have work to do.                                                        CUT TO:INT. ISENGARD -- NIGHTCLOSE ON: GANDALF...lying unconscious on a cold obsidianfloor. He wakes to the sound of ripping and tearing...risingonto his knees...lifting his head... Gandalf stands as thecamera pulls back to reveal him stranded on the summit ofOrthanc. He is marooned on the tiny, flat peak, surroundedon all sides by a sheer 500 FOOT DROP. Another whisperingwail rends the air. Gandalf crosses quickly to the edge andpeers down: POV: One of the beautiful Isengard trees is beingripped from the ground by the ORCS. Gandalf looks on inHorror as ORCS hack into the trunk with axes.                                                      ANGLE ON:                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             54.CONTINUED:SARUMAN stands in Rain looking out into the dark night...theORC overseer sidles up to him, axe in hand, sweating withexertion.                    ORC OVERSEER          The trees are strong, my Lord.   Their          roots go deep.                    SARUMAN          Rip them all down.CAMERA CIRCLES SUMMIT: MORE AND MORE TREES are hauled downand killed...as Gandalf looks on in helpless despair.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:EXT. WEATHERHILLS -- DAYWide on: The rugged countryside as the hobbits journey on,lead by Strider. Strider stops before a distant hill, toppedby an Ancient Ruin.                    SARUMAN          This was once the great Watchtower of          Amon Sul. We shall rest here tonight.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. WEATHERTOP HOLLOW -- DUSK                                                     ANGLE ON:FRODO, MERRY, AND PIPPIN collapse into a small hollow,halfway up Weathertop...they are muddy and exhausted. Stiderdrops 4 small swords at the Hobbits feet.                    SARUMAN          There are for you. Keep them close. I'm          going to have a look around. Stay here.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. WEATHERTOP HOLLOW -- NIGHTClose on: Frodo...eyes flickering open. He suddenly sits up,sniffing the air. Sam, Merry, and Pippin huddled over a smallfire... Sausages and bacon sizzle in a hot frying pan.                    FRODO          What are you doing?                    MERRY          Tomatoes, sausages, and crispy bacon.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            55.CONTINUED:                    SAM          We saved some for you, Mr. Frodo.                    FRODO          Put it out, you fools! Put it out! Frodo          desperately kicks dirt on the fire!                    PIPPIN          Oh, that's nice...ash on my tomatoes!A SUDDEN SHREIK!                                                       ANGLE ON:FIVE RINGWRAITHS ON FOOT, running up the steep slopeunnaturally fast.                    FRODO          Go! !Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin clamber desperately towards thesummit, clutching their swords.                                                         CUT TO:EXT. WEATHERTOP SUMMIT -- NIGHTFrodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin race into a RING OF BROKENSTONES on the summit or Weathertop...the ruined base of anancient tower. The hobbits stand back-to-back in the centreof the Ring, waiting for the first assault... One by one, the5 Ringwraiths appear...brandishing Gleaming swords, they moveslowly towards the hobbits. In the center is theirleader...the WITCH KING!                    SAM          Back, you devils!Sam rushes forward with a cry. He swings his sword at theWitch King, who blocks the blow with his own sword. Sam'sblade shatters...the WITCH KING lashes out with his fist,sending Sam flying. Merry and Pippin, overcome with terror,throw themselves flat on the ground. THE RINGWRAITHS close inon Frodo...a Venomous whisper dances in his head...Frodo shuts his eyes and staggers back, desperately resistingthe WRAITH'S WHISPERINGS... slow motion as his hand goes intohis pocket and pulls out the ring. The 5 Ringwraiths utter achilling SCREECH OF EXCITEMENT. Frodo is unable to resist anylonger, falls to his knees and slips on the ring. Hedisappears.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                          56.CONTINUED:                    SAM (CONT'D)          No!                                       IN THE TWILIGHT WORLD:                                                     ANGLE ON:Frodo finds himself in the weird twilight world...he looksupon the Ringwraiths, now visible in their TRUE APPEARANCE:Five Ghouls dressed in long Grey robes, with white hair, andPallid, ruthless faces. THE WITCH KING extends a haggard handtowards Frodo, reaching for the ring on his finger. Frodo'strembling hand extends forward as if by the pull of thering...he slides to the ground, unable to pull his hand away.The witch king snarls and springs forward. He stabs at Frodowith a wicked dagger! Frodo winces as the tip of the daggersinks into his shoulder. Suddenly, Strider charges at theRINGWRAITHS, wielding his sword in one hand, a flaming torchin the other. He moves in slow motion, visible through a seaof mist. Frodo sinks to the ground. Behind him is a faintimage of a Ringwraith fleeing, his head engulfed in flames.With draining strength, Frodo manages to pull the ring offhis finger...                                           IN THE REAL WORLD:...Appearing back in the real world, Sam rushes over to him.                    SAM (CONT'D)              (horrified)          Frodo!Another Ringwraith is burning and screaming...others screechfearfully at the flames, turn and flee form the Weathertopsummit.                    SAM (CONT'D)              (panicked)          Mr. Frodo!!Strider kneels before Frodo. He snatches up the Witch King'sDagger from the ground, staring gravely at the long, thin,blade.                    SAM (CONT'D)          Help him, Strider!                     STRIDER              (grim)          He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade. The          Morgul Blade suddenly melts...vanishing          into the air like smoke. Strider throws          the hilt down in disgust...                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                             57.CONTINUED: (2)                    SAM          Do something.                    STRIDER          This is beyond my skill to heal.              (urgently)          He needs Elvish medicine. Strider lifts          Frodo onto his shoulders.EXT. WEATHERHILLS -- NIGHTStrider is jogging grimly, carrying an ailing Frodo on hisback. Sam, Merry, and Pippin are running to keep up. Thehobbits are carrying Flaming torches for protection.                    STRIDER          Hurry!                    SAM          We are six days from Rivendell. Frodo          groans.                    STRIDER          Hold on, Frodo.                     SAM          He'll never make it! Close on:          Frodo...head lolling about, barely          conscious.                    FRODO              (fevered calling)          Gandalf...Gandalf?EXT. ISENGARD -- NIGHTLow angle...looking up at ORTHANC...the tower of Isengard,gleaming in the moonlight. The camera rises to reveal theonce beautiful gardens are not a pitted wasteland...withsmoke and fire billowing outof numerous tunnels and vent holes that litter the forecourtof ORTHANC. Strange guttural chants echo up from deepunderground. The camera is rising...a small moth fluttersinto shot...and leads the camera towards the summit orOrthanc. Gandalf lies slumped against the wall at the verytop of Orthanc, surrounded by a sheer 500 foot drop. Helooks Weak and Frail...and is seemingly asleep. The MOTHflutters close to Gandalf. His hand suddenly moves atlighting speed and SNATCHES THE MOTH. Gandalf brings his handclose to his face and opens it. The moth sits on the palm ofhis hand as Gandalf mutter strange words in a foreign tongue.Close on: THE MOTH'S face... seemingly listening.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            58.CONTINUED:It suddenly flutters away. CAMERA FOLLOWS the moth off theOrthanc summit, but drops past the moth...falling down, down,towards the pitted wasteland, straight into a fiery redtunnel!INT. CAVERNS BELOW ISENGARD -- NIGHTThe dead trees of Isengard are fed into roaringfurnaces...molten metal pours into casts...red hot metal,beaten my sweating orc blacksmiths...armor and weapons areforged from the great furnaces. Saruman strides among theORCS and stands looking on a new born uruk-hai as it escapesits birthing membrane...this is LURTZ, who rises up to standbefore his master.                                                         CUT TO:EXT. TROLLSHAW FOREST CLEARING -- NIGHTClose on: Frodo...his eyes flicker open...clouded, red-rimmed...his brow, beaded with sweat.                    PIPPIN          Is he going to die? Frodo's breathing is          getting shallow. Strider looks out into          the darkness.                    STRIDER          No. He is passing into the shadow world,          he will soon become a wraith like them.A DISTANT CRY of a RINGWRAITH carries through the air.                    MERRY              (nervous)          They're close.Frodo gasps in sudden pain.                    STRIDER              (thinking hard)          Sam, do you know the Athelas plant? Sam          looks blank.                       SAM          Athelas?                       STRIDER          Kingsfoil.                       SAM          Kingsfoil.     Aye.    It's a weed.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             59.CONTINUED:                      STRIDER            It may help to slow the poison. Hurry!                                                        CUT TO:EXT. TROLLSHAW FOREST -- NIGHTSam and Strider desperately search the dark forest floor forthe Athelas plant. Close on: A small, white flowered plant!Strider drops to one knee, carefully pulling it from theground.SUDDENLY!    STRIDER FREEZES AS A SWORD BLADE TOUCHES HIS NECK.                      ARWEN (O.S.)            What is this? A Ranger caught off his            guard?Strider slowly looks up.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. TROLLSHAW FOREST CLEARING -- NIGHTFrodo is breathing hard, desperately ill. Frodo's half-conscious POV: Surreal impression...a SHIMMERING FIGURE INWHITE leaps off a horse.FLASH INSERT: An ethereal vision of ARWEN, as she appears onthe other side...                      ARWEN                (ELVISH: with sub titles)            Frodo, Im Arwen...telin let thaed. I am            Arwen, I have come here to help you.                (urgent)            Lasto Beth nin, tolo Dan na ngalad. Hear            my voice, come back to the light. Frodo's            eyes close.                      PIPPIN            Who is she?                      ARWEN                (worried)            Frodo?                      SAM            She's an elf.                                                            60.ANGLE ON: ARWENWho now appears in her earth bound form, a young Elven womanwith tousled hair, dressed in mud-splattered riding clothes.                    ARWEN          He's fading...he's not gong to last. We          must get him to my father. Strider          quickly lifts Frodo...placing him on the          horse.                    ARWEN (CONT'D)          I have been looking for you for two days.                    PIPPIN          Where are you taking him?                    ARWEN          There are five Wraiths behind you, where          the other four are, I do not know.                    STRIDER              (ELVISH: with subtitles)          Dartho guin Berian...rych le ad          tolthathon. Stay with the hobbits...I'11          send horses for you. Close on: Arwen          grabbing the Reins of the horse.                    ARWEN              (ELVISH: w/subtitles)          Hon mabathon. Rochoh ellint im. I'll          take him. I'm the faster rider. Strider          clamps his hand over Arwen's.                    STRIDER              (elvish:subtitles)          Andelu I ven. The road is too dangerous.                    ARWEN              (Elvish: subtitles)          Frodo Fir. Ae anthradon I hir, tur          gwaith nin beriatha hon. If I can cross          the river, the power of my people can          protect him.                    PIPPIN          What are they saying?CLOSE ON: Arwen reaches for Strider's hand...looking deepinto his eyes.                    ARWEN          I do not fear them.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                             61.CONTINUED:CLOSE ON: Strider...we see that it is hard for him to let hergo.                                                     ANGLE ON:Arwen mounts her horse, ALSFORTH...                    STRIDER          Arwen...ride hard, don't look back.                                                     ANGLE ON:Arwen looks down at Strider as she supports Frodo with onehand.                    ARWEN              (elvish)          Noro Lim, Asfaloth, Noro Lim!                    SAM          What are you doing!    Those Wraiths are          still out there!                                                     ANGLE ON:Asfaloth springs away, bearing Arwen and Frodo into thenight.                                                       CUT TO:EXT. TROLLSHAW FOREST -- NIGHTSPEEDING POV: through the forest from the back of the WhiteHorse.ANGLE ON: FRODO, BOUNCING IN THE SADDLE,he lifts his head weakly. SURREAL SLOW MOTION POV: THE HORSESHEAD BOBBING...trees sliding by...moonlight flickers throughthe trees.                                                       CUT TO:EXT. AERIAL OF ETTENMOORS ~ MORNINGAERIAL: of Arwen's white horse emerging from the trees...andgalloping across the open land as the sun rises.                                                       CUT TO:                                                             62.EXT. PINE FOREST -- DAYThe white horse charges through a Pine Forest. Suddenly 2Galloping Ringwraiths emerge from the trees behind! 2 moreRingwraiths slide in from different directions to join thechase. Arwen grits her teeth...urges the white horse togreater speed.                                                      CUT TO:EXT. THE EAST ROAD -- DAYThe white horse speeds out of the pine trees...the 4ringwraiths close behind PAN ONTO: 2 more ringwraithsgalloping down the hillside! AERIAL SHOT: 3 MORE RINGWRAITHSenter frame from different directions...a total of 9RINGWRAITHS now pursuing Frodo and Arwen! CLOSE ON: Pantinghead of the WHITE ELVEN HORSE.                    ARWEN          Noro lim, Asfaloth!                                                      CUT TO:EXT. FORD OF BRUINEN -- DAYCRANE DOWN: As the White Horse races towards Camera, toReveal the wide river Bruinen in the foreground.Without hesitation, the white horse leaps into the shallowwater and thunders across the Ford. The 9 Ringwraiths pull upshort of the Ford, clearly nervous of the water. The whitehorse reaches the other side...Arwen pulls up and turns todefiantly face the Ringwraiths from across the Ford.                    WITCH KING          Give up the Halfling, she-elf! She draws          her sword and yells at the Witch King.                    ARWEN              (yelling)          If you want him, come and claim him.THE WITCH KING SCREECHES ANGRILY, draws his sword, and leadsthe Ringwraiths across the Ford. The water starts flowingfaster...a distant rumble can be heard. Arwen waits untilthey are halfway across: she suddenly stands in the saddlearms raised!                    ARWEN (CONT'D)              (Elvish)          Non o Chithaeglir, lasto Beth daer: Rimmo          nin Briunen Dan in Ulaer!                    (MORE)                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             63.CONTINUED:                    ARWEN (CONT'D)          Nin o Chitaeglir, lasto Beth daer: Rimmo          nin Bruinen Dan in Ulaer!THE GROUND SUDDENLY TREMBLES...A MIGHTY ROAR FILLS THE AIR!Frodo looks up weakly...to see a vast torrent of Waterflooding down the river towards the ford...as if a dam hadburst! The Foaming water seems to form the shape of Dancingwhite horses with frothing manes! The Ringwraiths scream interror as they are swallowed up in the deluge. Their Piercingcries are drowned in the roaring of the river as it carriesthem away! CLOSE ON: FRODO as he loses consciousness...                    ARWEN              (upset)          No, no...Frodo, no!     Frodo, don't give          in...not now!Arwen gathers the small Hobbit in her arms, feeling his lifeslip away.INT. FRODO'S DELIRIUM -- DAYDELIRIOUS IMAGES AND SOUNDS....                    ARWEN (V.O.)          What grace is given me, let it pass to          him. Let him be spared. Save him.IMAGE: A BRIGHT LIGHT suddenly flares...Frodo squeezes hiseyes shut, gasping.                    FRODO              (frightened)          Where am I?A FAMILIAR VOICE cuts through the swirl of sound.                    GANDALF (O.S.)          You are in the House of Elrond, and it is          ten o'clock in the morning on October the          twenty-fourth, if you want to know.INT. FRODO'S BEDROOM -- DAYFrodo's eyes flicker Open He is lying in bed next to an OpenWindow...Dappled sunlight plays on richly carvedtimbers...the sound of a nearby waterfall drifts through theVista of Fir Trees.                    FRODO              (weak relief)          Gandalf!                                                           64.ANGLE ON: GANDALF IS SITTING NEXT TO FRODO'S BED...softly puffing on his pipe.    He smiles at Frodo.                    GANDALF          Yes, I'm here and you're lucky to be          here, too. A few more hours and you          would have been beyond our aid. You have          some strength in you, my dear Hobbit.Frodo sits up, looking at Gandalf questioningly...                    FRODO          What happened, Gandalf?    Why didn't you          meet us?                    GANDALF          I'm sorry Frodo.Close on: Gandalf... troubled.   His eyes drift away.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          I was delayed.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. ORTHANC SUMMIT -- NIGHTSARUMAN stands over Gandalf, gloating...                    SARUMAN          Get up! So much for the power of the          Ring or embrace your own destruction!With the power of his staff, Saruman raises Gandalf from theground, then sends him crashing to the floor.                    GANDALF          There is only one Lord of the Ring. Only          one who can bend it to his will...and he          does not share power.SUDDENLY! GANDALF lurches to his feet and Throws himself offthe Tower! Saruman watches Gandalf fly away fromIsengard...on the Back of a GIANT EAGLE.                    SARUMAN              (chilling)          So you have chosen death!                                                        CUT TO:                                                           65.EXT. SKIES OVER MOUNTAINS--DAWNGwaihir the Eagle soars majestically over the mountains,carrying Gandalf towards the dawn.                                                        CUT TO:INT. FRODO'S BEDROOM--RIVENDELLFrodo raises himself up and looks at Gandalf.                    FRODO          Gandalf! What is it? Gandalf returns his          attention to Frodo.                    GANDALF          Nothing, Frodo...Sam runs to Frodo's bedside.   He is overjoyed to find Frodoawake.                     SAM          Frodo!   Frodo!   Bless you, you're awake!!                    GANDALF          Sam has hardly left your side.                    SAM          We were worried about you--weren't we,          Mr. Gandalf?                    GANDALF          By the skills of Lord Elrond, you're          beginning to mend. ELROND, LORD OF THE          HIGH ELVES, steps up to Frodo'sbedside...his face is neither old nor young, though in it iswritten the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful.                    ELROND          Welcome to Rivendell, Frodo Baggins.          Frodo sits up, looking at Elrond with          awe.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. RIVENDELL VALLEY -- DAYWIDE ON: RIVENDELL... a small cluster of elegant ElvenBuildings sitting in a Shangri-la like Valley below toweringcliffs and snow capped mountains.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            66.CONTINUED:                    ELROND (V.O.)          You have found your way to the last          homely house east of the sea. The elves          of Imladris have dwelt within this valley          for three thousand years through few of          my kin now remain. Frodo looks out from          his balcony.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. RIVENDELL GARDENS -- DAYFrodo and Sam walk together. Suddenly, the voices of Merryand Pippin can be heard as they bound up to Frodo and throwtheir arms around him.                     MERRY          Frodo!   Frodo!Sam looks past Frodo smiling... a bent figure sits alone on abench, in the Sun. Close on: Frodo turning, following Sam'sgaze...                     FRODO          Bilbo!                                                        CUT TO:EXT. RIVENDELL TERRACE -- DAYClose on: BILBO BAGGINS! He breaks in to a broad grin asFrodo rushes forward to embrace him. Bilbo has agedsignificantly since we last saw him.                    BILBO          Hello, Frodo, my lad!                     FRODO          Bilbo!LATER... Frodo is turning the neatly inscribed title page ofa red leather bound journal:                    FRODO (CONT'D)              (reading)          "There and back again: A Hobbit's tale"          by Bilbo Baggins.Bilbo smiles Proudly. He is sitting with Frodo on a terraceoverlooking a Waterfall. Frodo looks at Page after page ofbeautiful Handwriting, with intricate Maps and Drawings.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            67.CONTINUED:                    FRODO (CONT'D)          This is wonderful.                    BILBO          I meant to go back...wander the paths of          Mirkwood, visit Laketown, see the Lonely          Mountain again...but age, it seems, has          finally caught up with me.Frodo turns a page...there before him, is a map of the Shire.                    FRODO              (quietly)          I miss the Shire...I spent all my          childhood pretending I was off somewhere          else...off with you, on one of your          adventures...              (Looks at Bilbo)          But my own adventure, turned out to be          quite different...I'm not like you,          Bilbo.                    BILBO          My dear boy...                                                        CUT TO:EXT. RIVENDELL TERRACE -- EVENINGSam busily tries to stuff more and more things into hisalready full pack...pots and pans, blankets, cookingutensils, provisions, clothes.                    SAM          No, what have I forgotten? Pull back to          reveal Frodo, hands in his pocket,          watching Sam.                    FRODO          Packed already?Sam looks up, startled.                    SAM              (slightly embarrassed)          No harm in being prepared. Frodo strolls          to the edge of the Balcony.                    FRODO          I thought you wanted to see the Elves,          Sam?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                           68.CONTINUED:                    SAM          I do...                    FRODO          More than anything.                    SAM          I did. It's just...we did what Gandalf          wanted, didn't we? We got the Ring this          far, to Rivendell...and I thought...          seeing as how you're on the mend, we'd be          off soon. Off home.                    FRODO          You're right, Sam. Frodo looks at Sam...                    FRODO (CONT'D)          ...we did what we set out to do. Frodo          opens his hand, the Ring sits in his          Palm.                    FRODO (CONT'D)          The ring will be safe in Rivendell. I am          ready to go home.                                                       CUT TO:EXT. ELROND'S CHAMBER, RIVENDELL -- DAYGandalf and Elrond watch Frodo and Sam from Elrond's balcony,                    ELROND          His strength returns.                    GANDALF          That wound will never fully heal. He will          carry it the rest of his life.                    ELROND          And yet to have come so far still bearing          the Ring...the hobbit has shown          extraordinary resilience to its evil.                    GANDALF          It is a burden he should never have to          had to bear. We can ask no more of Frodo.                    ELROND          Gandalf, the enemy is moving. Sauron's          forces are massing in the east. His eye          is fixed on Rivendell. And Saruman, you          tell me, has betrayed us. Our list of          allies grows thin.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                          69.CONTINUED:                    GANDALF          His treachery runs deeper than you know.          By foul craft, Saruman has crossed Orc          with Goblin Men...he is breeding an army          in the caverns of Isengard. An army that          can move in Sunlight and cover great          distance at speed. Saruman is coming for          the Ring.Elrond turns and walks away...                    ELROND          This evil cannot be concealed by the          power of the Elves...We do not have the          strength to fight both Mordor and          Isengard...Gandalf...the ring cannot stay          here.Gandalf turns and looks out the window.Sounds of arrivals...Gandalf watches as Boromir rides throughRivendell gate, followed by Legolas and Gimli.                    ELROND (V.O.) (CONT'D)          This peril belongs to all Middle earth.          They must decide how to end it. Not just          for themselves but for those who come          after. Elrond approaches Gandalf.                    ELROND (CONT'D)          The time of the Elves is over. My people          are leaving these shores. Who will you          look to when we have gone? The dwarves?          They hide in their mountains seeking          riches. They care nothing for the          troubles of others.                    GANDALF          It is in Men that we must place our hope.                    ELROND          Men? Men are weak.      The race of Men is          failing. The blood     of Numenor is all but          spent, its pride and    dignity forgotten.          It is because of men    the Ring survives.FLASH INSERT: With the broken sword, Isildur slices offSauron's finger. Elrond reacts.                    ELROND (V.O.) (CONT'D)          I was there, Gandalf...I was there three          thousand years ago when Isildur took the          ring.                                                               70.FLASH INSERT: ISILDUR PICKS UP THE RING AND STARES AT IT,ENTRANCED.                       ELROND             I was there the day the strength of Men             failed.                                                           CUT TO:INT. CRACK OF DOOM -- DAY                       ELROND             Isildur...hurry...follow me! IMAGES:             ELROND leads Isildur into the steaming             volcano.                       ELROND (V.O.) (CONT'D)             I let Isildur into the heart of Mount             Doom, where the ring was forged: the one             place it could be destroyed.FLASH INSERT: ELROND AND ISILDUR STAND BEFORE THE FIRES OFMT. DOOM.                       ELROND             Cast it into the fire...destroy it!CLOSE ON: ISILDUR...CAPTIVATED BY THE RING.                         ISILDUR             No.Isildur turns and walks away                         ELROND             Isildur!!INT. ENROND'S CHAMBER, RIVERDELL -- DAYElrond turns to Gandalf.                       ELROND             It should have ended that day, but evil             was allowed to endure. Isildur kept the             Ring...and the line of Kings was broken.             There's no strength left in the world of             Men. They're scattered, divided,             leaderless.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                           71.CONTINUED:                    GANDALF          There is one who could unite them, one          who could re claim the thrown of Gondor.                    ELROND          He turned from that path a long time ago.          He has chosen exile.                                                       CUT TO:INT. ELROND'S CHAMBER, RIVENDELL -- NIGHTStrider watches from the shadows...as Boromir strolls throughthe darkened gallery. Boromir's eyes are drawn to an oldFresco on the wall...depicting Isildur defeating Sauron.Boromir looks with Wonderment at Narsil, the Broken Blade ofElendil, which lies on a cloth-covered plinth.                    BOROMIR              (quiet awe)          The shards of Narsil...the blade that cut          the Ring from Sauron's hand. Boromir          picks up the sword and gently touches the          Blade. Close on: a small bloom of blood          appears on Boromir's finger...                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          Still sharp.Boromir senses Strider's presence...he looks from the bladeto Strider, as if sensing a connection.                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          But no more than a broken heirloom.                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          replaces the Broken blade, but it          clatters to the floor. Boromir walks          away, leaving Strider sitting alone.Close on: Strider picks up the broken hilt, as Arwen appearsbehind him.                    ARWEN          Why do you fear the past? You are          Isildur's heir...not Isildur himself. You          are not bound to his fate.                    STRIDER          The same blood flows in my veins...the          same weakness...                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            72.CONTINUED:                    ARWEN          Your time will come. You will face the          same evil...and you will defeat it.              (Elvish: w/subtitles)          A si i-duath u-orthor, Aragorn...u or le          a u or nin. The shadow does not hold          sway yet...not over you and not over me.                                                       CUT TO:EXT. RIVENDELL VALLEY -- NIGHTNight falls upon the beautiful valley of Rivendell... stilland quiet.EXT. RIVENDELL WATERFALL -- NIGHTStrider and Arwen stand upon a stone bridge...the Evenstar atArwen's breast shines in the moonlight.                    ARWEN              (Elvish: with subtitles)          Renech I lu I erui govannem?   Do you          remember when we first met?                    STRIDER              (Elvish: with subtitles)          Nauthannim I ned ol reniannen.   I thought          I had strayed into a dream.Arwen reaches up and gently touches the Grey at Strider'stemples.                    ARWEN              (Elvish: with subtitles)          Gwenin in enniath...u-arnech in naeth I          se celich. Long years have passed...you          did not have the care you carry now.Arwen looks into Strider's eyes.                    ARWEN (CONT'D)              (Elvish: with subtitles)          Renech I Beth I pennen? Do you remember          what I told you? Arwen reaches for          Strider's hand...                    STRIDER              (quietly)          You said you'd bind yourself to me,          forsaking the immortal life of your          people.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                            73.CONTINUED:                    ARWEN              (whisper)          And to that I hold. I would rather share          one lifetime with you than face all the          ages of this world alone. Strider looks          down. In his hand lies the Evenstar.                    ARWEN (CONT'D)          I choose a mortal live.                    STRIDER          You cannot give me this.                    ARWEN          It is mine to give to whom I will, like          my heart.Arwen closes Strider's fingers around the jewel.Arwen leans towards Strider, gently kissing him.                                                        CUT TO:INT. COUNCIL CHAMBER, RIVENDELL -- DAYElrond addresses the council...                    ELROND          Strangers from distant lands ... friends          of old. You have been summoned here to          answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-earth          stands upon the brink of destruction.          None can escape it. You will unite...or          you will fall. Each race is bound to this          fate...this one doom...Frodo sits amongst a council of free-peoples of Middle earth,Elrond stands before them, addressing Gandalf, Strider,Legolas, and 20 other elves, Dwarves, and men.                    ELROND (CONT'D)          Bring forth the ring, Frodo.Frodo steps forward and moves towards a stone Plinth. Heplaces the ring on the plinth and returns to his seat.                    BOROMIR              (shocked)          So it is true!                    LEGOLAS              (disbelief)          Sauron's Ring! The ring of power!                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            74.CONTINUED:                     GIMLI              (grim)          The doom of man!                    BOROMIR          It is a gift...a gift to the foes of          Mordor! Why not use this Ring? Long has          my father, the Steward of Gondor, held          the forces of Mordor at bay...by the          blood of our people are your lands kept          safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the          enemy...let us use it against him!                    STRIDER          You cannot wield it. None of us can.          The one ring answers to Sauron alone...it          has no other master. Boromir turns and          looks at Strider, coolly.                    BOROMIR          And what would a ranger know of this          matter?Strider says nothing and Boromir turns away dismissively.LEGOLAS stands...                    LEGOLAS          This is no mere Ranger. He is Aragorn,          son of Arathorn. You owe him your          allegiance.Frodo looks at Strider questioningly...Boromir turns sharply.                    BOROMIR              (quiet disbelief)          Aragorn? This is Isildur's heir?                    LEGOLAS          And heir to the throne of Gondor.                    ARAGORN              (Elvish: with subtitles)          Havo dad, Legolas...Sit down, Legolas..                    BOROMIR          Gondor needs no king.                    GANDALF          Aragorn is right...we cannot use it.                    ELROND          You have only one choice..the ring must          be destroyed.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            75.CONTINUED: (2)The HUM OF THE RING seems to grow louder in Frodo's ears.Gimli suddenly stands, excited.                    GIMLI          Then...what are we waiting for?Gimli suddenly rushes forward! He swings his axe down on thering. The axe shatters with a deafening crack! Gimli fallsbackwards, staring in disbelief at the ring...unharmed! Frodowinces as an angry image of the fiery eye hits him! He slumpsin this chair, clutching his forehead. Gandalf looks at himwith concern.                    ELROND          The ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son          of Gloin, by any craft that we                    ELROND (CONT'D)          here possess. The ring was made in the          fires of Mount Doom...only there can it          be unmade. It must be taken deep into          Mordor, and cast back into the fiery          chasm from whence it came. One of you          must do this.Stunned silence...the council sits with downcast eyes, as ifa great dread has descended on them. Boromir addresses thecouncil in a quiet voice                    BOROMIR          One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its          black gates are guarded by more than just          Orcs. There is evil there that does not          sleep and the Great Eye is ever watchful.          It is a barren wasteland, riddled with          fire and ash and dust...the very air you          breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with          ten thousand men could you do this. It          is folly.                    LEGOLAS          Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has          said? The ring must be destroyed.                    GIMLI          And I suppose you think you're the one to          do it?                    BOROMIR          And if we fail, what then? What happens          when Sauron takes back what is his?Gimli leaps to his feet!                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              76.CONTINUED: (3)                    GIMLI          I will be dead before I see the Ring in          the hands of an Elf! A STORM OF ARGUMENT          erupts around the room. CLOSE ON:          FRODO...sound disappears as he watches in          slowmotion...the angry faces, the shaking fists, the accusatoryfingers, his eyes move across to the ring...the hum growslouder in his head.                    GIMLI (CONT'D)              (shouting)          Never trust an Elf!CLOSE ON: THE RING fills the screen...streams of blood flowacross the surface... flames flicker within the Gold Band.                    GANDALF          Do you not understand? While we    bicker          among ourselves, Sauron's power   grows!          No one will escape it. You will   all be          destroyed, your homes burnt and   your          families put to the sword!CLOSE ON: FRODO...breathing rapidly, Caught in the grip ofhis hideous vision. With a huge effort or will, Frodo tearshis gaze upon the ring. Frodo suddenly stands...he speaks ina strong, clear voice.                    FRODO          I will take it...I will take it...I will          take the Ring to Mordor.Sudden silence...Frodo looks around the room at the astoundedfaces.                    FRODO (CONT'D)              (quietly)          Though...I do not know the way. Gandalf          rises to his feet.                    GANDALF          I will help you bear this burden, Frodo          Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear.                    ARAGORN          If, by my life or death, I can protect          you, I will.              (kneels before Frodo)          ...you have my sword. Aragorn steps          forward...followed by Legolas and Gimli.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                          77.CONTINUED: (4)                    LEGOLAS          And you have my bow.                    GIMLI          And my axe.Boromir looks at them all then walks towards Frodo.                    BOROMIR          You carry the fate of us all, little one.Boromir looks towards Elrond and Gandalf.                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          If this is indeed the will of the          Council, then Gondor will see it done.Frodo stares in wonder as the Greatest Fighters in all Middleearth stand at his side.                    SAM              (unseen)          Here!A Sudden Noise...Sam pops up from behind a Bush!                    SAM (CONT'D)          Mr. Frodo's not gong anywhere without me.                    ELROND          No, Indeed...it is hardly possible to          separate you...even when he is summoned          to a secret council and you are not.Merry and Pippin jump up from behind another bush!                    MERRY          Oi! We're coming too! You'll have to          send us home tied up in a sack to stop          us.                    PIPPIN          Anyway...you need people of intelligence          on this sort of          mission...quest...thing...                    MERRY          Well, that rules you out, Pip.                                                             78.ELROND SURVEYS THE GROUP                    ELROND              (thoughtfully)          Nine companions ... so be it.              (announcing)          You shall be the "Fellowship of the ring"                     PIPPIN          Great.   Where are we going?                                                       CUT TO:INT. FRODO'S BEDROOM, RIVERDELL---DAWNClose on: An old sword sliding out of a shabby leatherScabbard...its polished, well tendered Blade glitters coldand bright.                    BILBO          My old sword "Sting"...here, take it!Bilbo offers Sting to Frodo.                    FRODO          It's so light!                    BILBO          Yes, yes, made by the Elves, you know.          The blade glows blue when Orcs are          close...and it's times like that, my lad,          when you have to be extra careful.Bilbo unwraps a small shirt of close woven Mail.                    BILBO (CONT'D)          Here's a pretty thing. Mithril, as light          as a feather, and as hard as dragon          scales. Let me see you put it on. Come          on.CLOSE ON: Frodo peels off his shirt... revealing The Ring onthe Chain around his neck.                    BILBO (CONT'D)              (entranced)          Oh! My old Ring... Frodo frowns as Bilbo          moves toward him.                    BILBO (CONT'D)          I should very much like to hold it again,          one last time. Bilbo reaches forward,          eyes locked on the ring.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             79.CONTINUED:Suddenly! A shadow passes across Bilbo...for a split secondhe becomes a wrinkled creature with a hungry face and Bony,groping hands. Frodo pulls away, shocked...the shadow passes.Bilbo slumps into a chair, his head in his hands. Bilbofalters...his eyes filling with tears.                    BILBO (CONT'D)          Oh!                    BILBO (CONT'D)              (sad)          I'm sorry, that I brought this upon you,          my boy...I'm sorry that you must carry          this burden. I'm sorry for everything.Bilbo sobs and Frodo moves to comfort him.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. RIVENDELL VALLEY -- MORNING                                                      ANGLE ON:The Fellowship climb the long steep path out of the clovenvale of Rivendell.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. ROUGH COUNTRY, SOUTH OF RIVENDELL -- DAY                                                      ANGLE ON:The fellowship trekking through a land of Deep Valleys andturbulent waters...the misty mountains rise sharply to theirleft.                    GANDALF (V.O.)          We must hold to his course west of the          misty Mountains for forty days. If our          luck holds, the Gap of Rohan will still          be open to us. From there, our road          turns east, to Mordor.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. EREGION HILLS--DAWNCLOSE ON: Sam at the campfire. The sound of clashing swords!Wider: Aragorn and Boromir are giving Pippin Sword tuition...                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            80.CONTINUED:                    BOROMIR          Get away from the blade, Pippin...on your          toes...good, very good...I want you to          react, not think.                    SAM          Should not be too hard...                    BOROMIR          Move your feet.                    MERRY          Quite good, Pippin.                    PIPPIN          Thanks.CLOSE ON: GIMLI has managed to corner Gandalf....                    GIMLI          If anyone were to ask for my opinion,          which I note they have not, I would say          we are taking the long way round.          Gandalf, we can pass through the Mines of          Moria. My cousin, Balin, would give us a          royal welcome. Gandalf clearly thinks          that is a bad idea.                    GANDALF          No, Gimli. I would not take the road          through Moria unless I had no other          choice.Boromir thrusts, catching Pippin on the hand. Pippin throwsdown his sword, kicks and lunges at Boromir, tackling him tothe ground. Much laughter. Legolas' eyes are fixed on adistant Dark Patch which darts about the sky, like flyingsmoke in the wind.                    SAM          What is that?                    GIMLI          Nothing...it's just a wisp of a cloud.                    BOROMIR              (worried)          It's moving fast...against the wind.                    LEGOLAS          Crebain from Dunland!                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              81.CONTINUED: (2)                    ARAGORN              (urgently)          Hide!                    BOROMIR          Merry..Pippin...Sam...take cover! WIDE          ON: THE FELLOWSHIP scramble under what          little coverthere is...as a regiment of Large crows fly low overhead atGreat speed, wheeling and circling above. As their darkshadow passes over the fellowship, a single harsh croak isheard...and the crows suddenly wheel away, back towards thesouth. Gandalf staggers to his feet.                    GANDALF              (worried)          Spies of Saruman.    The passage South is          being watched.Gandalf looks at Aragorn, turns to the others...gesturingtowards a high mountain pass.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          We must take the pass of Caradhras!                                                          CUT TO:EXT. SNOWY MOUNTAINSIDE -- DAY                                                        ANGLE ON:The Fellowship clamber through Rock and Snow. CLOSE ON: Frodoslips on some shale...as he scrambles to his feet, the Ringfalls on the ground... CLOSE ON: the ring gleaming in thesnow! Boromir's Hand picks it up by the chain...he stands,the ring dangling before his eyes. He seems to grow instature, as if absorbing its power. Aragorn warily approachesBoromir...Boromir is motionless...he stares at the ring, asif transfixed.                     ARAGORN          Boromir?                    BOROMIR          It is a strange fate that we should          suffer so much fear and doubt over so          small a thing...such a little thing.                    ARAGORN              (quietly)          Boromir...give the ring to Frodo.          ARAGORN'S HAND moves to his sword hilt.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                            82.CONTINUED:Ring's POV...looking up at Boromir's face. The strange humvibrates on the soundtrack. CLOSE ON: a Weird beatific smilelights up Boromir's face...The HUM grows to a Deafening roar!Boromir suddenly snaps out of his trance and hands the ringback to Frodo.                    BOROMIR              (lightly)          As you wish. I care not.Boromir smiles at Frodo, ruffling his hair. CLOSE ON: ARAGONunhands his sword.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. ISENGARD -- DAYFollowing the crows as they race deeper and deeper, passing avista of Industry, Hundreds of Orcs and writhingBirthsacks...flying past Saruman, who stands upon a woodenGantry. CLOSE ON: Saruman, listening to the Cries of thecrows.                    SARUMAN          So, Gandalf...you try to lead them over          Caradhras. And if that fails...where          then will you go? THE FELLOWSHIP          struggles through the snow.                    SARUMAN (V.O.) (CONT'D)          If the mountain defeats you, will you          risk a more dangerous road?                                                        CUT TO:EXT. PASS OF CARADHRAS -- DAYTHE FELLOWSHIP are struggling through a blinding blizzard, uptowards the PASS OF CARADHRAS. Legolas the Elf moves lightlyacross the top of the snow...he suddenly pauses. Saruman'svoice sweeps by in the wind.                    LEGOLAS              (urgent)          There is a fell voice in the air.                    GANDALF          It's Saruman.THUNDER RUMBLES...ROCK and Shale fall from above.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            83.CONTINUED:                    ARAGORN              (urgently)          He's trying to bring down the mountain.          Gandalf! We must turn back!                       GANDALF          No!GANDALF RAISES HIS STAFF...HE CHANTS INTO THE WIND.                    GANDALF              (YELLING)          Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho I          ruith. Sleep Caradhras, be still, lie          still, hold your wrath.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. ISENGARD -- DAYCAMERA SWEEPS PAST SARUMAN...he stands on the summit ofOrthanc, Chanting. CLOUDS ARE FLOWING FROM ALL DIRECTIONS...converging on the distant mountains in a stormy Malestrom.EXT. PASS OF CARADHRAS -- DAYSaruman's voice strengthens...rolling past the fellowshiplike thunder. A LIGHTNING CRACK explodes on the mountainsideabove them. Frodo looks up in horror as a huge snow avalanchethunders down towards them! The Fellowship throw themselvesagainst the cliff face as snow crashes onto the narrow ledge.LEGOLAS pulls Gandalf to safety. Aragorn shields Frodo andSam as snow piles around them. Within moments, the pass isblocked and the fellowship are enveloped in snow. Boromirand Aragorn frantically dig for the hobbits...who are pulledout Shivering and Fearful.                    BOROMIR              (urgent)          We must get off the mountain! Make for          the gap of Rohan and take the West road          to my city.                    ARAGORN          The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to          Isengard.                    GIMLI          We cannot pass over the mountain. Let us          go under it. Let us go through the mines          of Moria. Gandalf has a concerned look on          his face.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             84.CONTINUED:                    SARUMAN (V.O.)          Moria. You fear to go into those mines,          don't you? The dwarves delved too          greedily and too deep.                    SARUMAN (V.O.) (CONT'D)          You know what they awoke in, the darkness          of Khazad-dum. Shadow and flame.                    GANDALF          Let the ringbearer decide.CLOSE ON: FRODO, the weight of the decision weighing heavilyupon him. CLOSE ON: MERRY and PIPPIN shivering in Boromir'sarms.                      GANDALF (CONT'D)          Frodo?Frodo meets Gandalf's eye.                    FRODO          We will go through the mines. Gandalf          slowly nods.                      GANDALF          So be it.                                                         CUT TO:EXT. MORIA GATE -- NIGHTThe Fellowship are walking along the far shore of darklake...directly below great looming cliffs.                    GIMLI              (in awe)          The walls of Moria!Footing is treacherous on the narrow strip of green andgreasy stones. Gandalf touches the smooth rock wall betweenthe trees... slowly, faint lines appear like slender veins ofluminous silver running through the stone.                     GANDALF          Itidin...it mirrors only starlight and          moonlight.A large moon rises over the mountains... The lines growBroader and Clearer, forming a glowing arch of interlacingancient letters and symbols.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            85.CONTINUED:                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          It reads, "The door of Durin, Lord of          Moria. Speak, friend, and enter."                    MERRY          What do you suppose that means?                    GANDALF              (confident)          It's quite simple. If you are a friend,          speak the password and the doors will          open.Gandalf raises his arms...                    GANDALF (CONT'D)              (incanting)          Annon edhellen, edro hi ammen!The cliff towers into the night, the wind blows cold, Frodoshivers... and the door stands fast!                                                         LATER:GANDALF CONTINUES...Mumbling spells in his efforts to open the door. Sam packspots and pans at his feet...watching sadly as Aragorn un-saddles Bill the pony. CLOSE ON: ARAGORN whispering to Billthe Pony.                    ARAGORN              (whispering)          Mines are no place for a Pony, even one          so brave as Bill.                       SAM          Bye, Bill.                    ARAGORN          Go on, Bill, go on..don't worry, Sam...he          knows his way home. Aragorn slaps Bill on          the rump...Bill goes trotting off. CLOSE          ON: Sam watching Bill disappear into the          darkness.                    SAM          Goodbye, Bill.SPLASH! Merry and Pippin are tossing stones into the lake.Black Rippling rings slowly fan out. Pippin is about tothrow another stone, but Aragorn grabs his arm.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             86.CONTINUED:                    ARAGORN              (ominous)          Do not disturb the water.Aragorn watches anxiously as the Ripples appear to grow....heexchanges a look with Boromir.Aragorn's hand creeps towards his sword. Gandalf gives up indespair...he sits down beside Frodo. Close on: Frodo peers atthe Elvish inscription...his face breaks into a smile ofcomprehension.                    FRODO              (quietly)          It's a riddle...Gandalf raises his eyebrows...                    FRODO (CONT'D)              (explaining)          Speak, friend, and enter.   What's the          Elvish for friend?                    GANDALF          Oh...mellon.With that, the rock face silently divides in the middle andtwo great Doors swing outwards... revealing a blacknessdeeper than the night. As the Fellowship enter the Blackness,something in the water stirs....INT. MORIA GATE -- NIGHTThe Fellowship step warily into the darkness of Moria...aDank cavern, with winding steps leading deeper into themountain.                    GIMLI          So, master elf, you will enjoy the fabled          hospitality of the dwarves; roaring          fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone.          This, my friend, is the home of my          cousin, Balin...and they call this a          Mine...              (snorting)          A mine!A Glow from Gandalf's Staff suddenly lights    the chamber...The Fellowship recoil in Horror! Many dwarf    Skeletons arestrewn about, clearly the dead of some old    battle...therusting armor and shields are peppered with    arrows and axes.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                           87.CONTINUED:                    BOROMIR              (grimly)          This is no mine...it's a tomb!                    GIMLI              (in horror)          Oh...no...no..no... ! Legolas pulls a          crude arrow out of a skeleton.                     LEGOLAS          Goblins!The Fellowship draw swords and back away, towards theEntrance.                    BOROMIR          We make for the Gap of Rohan.    We should          never have come here.EXT. MORIA GATE -- NIGHTFrodo is suddenly PULLED TO THE GROUND. A long sinuousTentacle is wrapped around Frodo's ankle and is dragging himtowards the lake. FRODO CRIES OUT as Aragorn and Boromir rushforward! Aragorn severs the Tentacle holding Frodo, and pullshim to safety...Boromir hacks at the other Writhing Limbs. 20more tentacles ripple out of the Lake! The dark water Boilsas the hideous beast lashes out at the FELLOWSHIP! Again thecreature grabs Frodo and pulls him to the lake, Frodo isflung in the air as the Fellowship battle the creature.Aragorn hacks at a tentacle...Frodo is released, falling intoBoromir's arms.                    GANDALF          Into the mines!                     BOROMIR          Legolas!Legolas shoots an Arrow into the creature's head, gaining afew vital seconds for Aragorn and Boromir as they race out ofthe water with Frodo. The FELLOWSHIP hurriedly back away fromthe Creature... retreating into the Moria Chamber as manyCoiling arms seize the large doors.INT. MORIA GATE -- NIGHTWith a shattering echo, the creature rips the doors away,creating a rock slide that crashes down the Cliff Face.Within seconds, tons of rock seal the doorway... throwing theFellowship into Pitch Blackness.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             88.CONTINUED:A faint light rises from Gandalf's staff, throwing a CreepyGlow across the old wizards face.                    GANDALF              (ominous)          We now have but one choice...we must face          the long dark of Moria. Be on your          guard...there are older and fouler things          than the Orcs in the deep places of the          world.                                                      CUT TO:INT. NEW CHAMBER, MORIA -- NIGHTWIDE ON: the Fellowship crossing a precarious bridge abovedeep mine workings.                    GANDALF          Quietly, now. It's a four day journey to          the other side. Let us hope that our          presence will go unnoticed.INT. MORIA CEMETERY CAVERN -- NIGHTThey continue up a steep stair, passing through a dwarfcemetery. The graves are despoiled...dwarf skeletons arestrewn about and Goblin Graffiti is scrawled on monuments indried Dwarf blood. The Atmosphere is very sinister.                                                      CUT TO:INT. MORIA TUNNEL FORK -- NIGHTThe path splits into three passages...each disappearing intodark tunnels. Gandalf pauses, frowning.                    GANDALF          I have no memory of this place.LATER... The Fellowship are nervously waiting...while Gandalfsits, staring intently at the 3 tunnel mouths in front ofhim. He appears to be in some kind of trance.CLOSE ON: FRODOHe turns at the sound of a faint noise down the tunnel behindthem.                    PIPPIN          Are we lost?                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                             89.CONTINUED:                    MERRY          No. I don't think we are.   Shhhh,          Gandalf's thinking.                    PIPPIN          Merry!                    MERRY          What?                    PIPPIN          I'm hungry.Frodo's POV: a sudden glimpse of a creature darting in thedarkness. Frodo is nervous...he approaches Gandalf.                    FRO DO              (whispers)          There's something down there.                    GANDALF              (quietly)          It's Gollum.                    FRODO          Gollum!                    GANDALF          He's been following us for three days.TEASING SHOT: and emaciated, leering creature.                    FRODO              (disbelieving)          He escaped the dungeons of Barad- dur?                    GANDALF          Escaped...or was set loose. And now the          Ring has drawn him here...he will never          be rid of his need for it. He hates and          loves the ring, as he hates and loves          himself. Smeagol's life is a sad story.          Gandalf catches Frodo's look of surprise.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          Yes...Smeagol he was once called...Before          the ring came to him, before it drove him          mad.Gollum's withered fingers are gripping the cave wall...he islarge, Luminous eyes blinking with malice.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                     90.CONTINUED: (2)                    FRODO             (grim)         It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he         had the chance.                   GANDALF         Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's         hand. Many that live deserve death, and         some that die deserve life. Can you give         it to them, Frodo? Frodo frowns.                   GANDALF (CONT'D)         Do not be too eager to deal out death in         judgment...even the very wise cannot see         all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum         has some part to play yet, for good or         ill, before this is over. The pity of         Bilbo may rule the fate of many.                   FRODO         I wish the ring had never come to me...I         wish none of this had happened.                   GANDALF         So do all who live to see such times, but         that is not for them to decide. All we         have to decide is what to do with the         time that is given to us. There is a note         of finality in Gandalf's voice.                   GANDALF (CONT'D)         There are other forces at work in this         world, Frodo, besides the will of evil.         Bilbo was meant to find the ring. In         which case, you also were meant to have         it...and that is an encouraging thought,             (sudden brightness)         Ah! That it's that way! Gandalf points         at the right hand tunnel...the Fellowship         scramble to their feet.                   MERRY             (relieved)         He's remembered!                   GANDALF         No, but the air doesn't smell so foul         down there. If in doubt, Meriadoc,         always follow your nose!             (laughs)         Ye s...                                                               91.INT. DWAROWDELF CHAMBER, MORIA -- DAYThe Fellowship pass under an arched doorway into a black andempty space. Gandalf pauses...                    GALADRIEL          Let me risk a little more light. Gandalf          taps his staff...for a brief moment a          lightblazes... like a silent Flash of Lightning.    Great shadowsspring up and flee...                    GANDALF          Behold! The great realm and Dwarf city          of Dwarrowdelf! Frodo gasps at the brief          sight of a vast roof, far abovetheir heads, upheld by many mighty pillars hewn of stone.Before them stretches a huge empty hall, with black walls,polished and smooth as glass.                    SAM          Well, there's an eye opener and no          mistake!Ahead of them, a wooden door has been smashed. Black arrowsare embedded in the timbers. Two goblin skeletons lie in thedoorway. Gimli rushes ahead...                    GANDALF          Gimli!!                                                        CUT TO:INT. BALIN'S TOMB, MORIA -- DAYGimli rushes into another vast empty chamber... lit with anarrow shaft of sunlight, beaming in from a small hole nearthe roof. Dwarf and Goblin skeletons are piled high. In thefar corner sits a stone walled Well. A shaft of light fallsdirectly onto a stone table in the middle of the room: asingle oblong block, about 4 feet high, topped with a greatslab of white stone. Gimli falls to his knees...                    GIMLI          No...no...oh, no!Gimli sobs.Gandalf quietly reads an inscription of runes, carved ontothe white stone slab.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             92.CONTINUED:                      GANDALF            "Here lies Balin, son of Fudin, Lord of            Moria." He is dead, then. It's as I had            feared.Gandalf carefully lifts the rotting remains of a book fromthe white stone slab. It has been slashed and stabbed...andappears to be covered in Dried Blood. The pages crack andbreak as he opens it...                      LEGOLAS                (urgent whisper to Argorn)            We must move on, we cannot linger.                      GANDALF                (reading)            "They have taken the Bridge and the            second hall: we have barred the            gates...but cannot hold them for            long...the ground shakes...drums in the            deep...we cannot get out. A shadow moves            in the dark. Will no- one save us? They            are coming."Unnerved, Pippin backs away nervously...He stumbles againstthe well, sending a precariously balanced Armored skeletontumbling in! Merry reaches out, Grabbing hold of Pippinbefore he falls. The Fellowship freeze in stunned silence asthe armored skeleton clatters down the deep well...echoingloudly!INT. MORIA CAVERNS -- DAYGandalf turns angrily on Pippin.                      GANDALF                (angry)            Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next            time and rid us of your stupidity!ANGLE ON:    PIPPIN, CHASTENED.They fall silent. A low rolling boom rises from the depthsbelow...growing louder...BOOM...BOOM...as if the caverns ofMoria were turned into a vast drum. A great horn blastsnearby...Answering horns ... running feet...harsh cries...Sam's eyes glance at Frodo's belt...                       SAM                (worried)            Mr. Frodo!                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                            93.CONTINUED:Frodo looks down. A cold blue glow is emanating from Sting'sScabbard! Frodo draws the Sword...and stares at its glowingblade!                     LEGOLAS          Orcs !                    ARAGORN              (to the hobbits)          Get back! Stay close to Gandalf.Aragorn and Boromir slam and wedge the doors. Boromircatches sight of something; he turns to Aragorn with shock inhis eyes.                    BOROMIR          They have a cave troll!Gimli snatches up two rusty dwarf axes and leaps onto thetomb.                    GIMLI              (yelling)          Let them come! There is one Dwarf yet in          Moria who still draws breath!BOOM! The Door bursts open in a shower of wood fragments,and 20 Goblins charge into the tomb, followed by a huge cavetroll! Gimli ducks a blow and immediately buries his Axes in2 Goblin helmets. Aragorn and Boromir wade into the mass ofGoblins with their swords. Legolas fires deadly arrows intoGoblin throats, desperately trying to Shield the Hobbits!Gandalf is clutching his sword and joins in the battle! Thecave troll is sweeping his club at Aragorn...who stumblesbackwards...the huge club descends for the killingblow...suddenly, in a flash of steel, Boromir's long swordslices into the Scaly arm of the troll; it rears back,spewing green blood! Sam is backing up against a wall...asword in one hand, a saucepan in the other. In desperationhe swings wildly at a Goblin with a saucepan! It keelsover...Sam looks surprised. He wallops another Goblin and ittoo, drops.                    SAM          I think I'm getting the hang of this.The Cave Troll lunges forward, thrusting at Frodo's chestwith his spear.                     FRODO          Aragorn!   Aragorn!                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                            94.CONTINUED: (2)Sam screams as Frodo is lifted off his feet by the spear tipand slammed against the wall.                    ARAGORN              (shocked yell)          Frodo!!The hobbits go crazy. Sam slashes at the cave troll's knee,bringing him down...Merry and Pippin jump on him...Legolasfires an arrow...and the cave troll topples, dead. Aragornrushes to Frodo's side as he slumps to the floor...Frodoappears to be dead. Close on: Gandalf, Aragorn, Hobbitslooking horrified... Suddenly Frodo coughs...takes a hugebreath.                    SAM          He's alive!                    FRODO          I'm alright. I'm not hurt.                    ARAGORN          You should be dead. That spear would've          skewered a wild boar!                    GANDALF          I think there's more to this hobbit than          meets the eye.Frodo open his shirt to reveal the Mithril Vest.   The TrollSpear did not pierce the mithril."                    GIMLI          Mithril! You are full of surprises,          Master Baggins.BOOM. BOOM. BOOM     the sound of the drums rings out again!Gandalf turns to the others.                    GANDALF          To the bridge of Khazad-dum!                                                         CUT TO:INT. DWAROWDELF CHAMBER, MORIA -- DAYGandalf leads the fellowship into the huge DwarrowdelfChamber.                      GANDALF          This way!                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            95.CONTINUED:They hurry towards a distant door...as Goblins startscuttling down the Pillars behind them, like cockroaches!Frodo looks with horror at the overwhelming Goblin armythat's rushing toward them! SUDDENLY! A deafening roar fillsthe air! A fiery light dances down the hallway... thepillars casting eerie shadows. The Goblins freeze. They backFearfully away from the approaching beast...melting into thedarkness.                    BOROMIR          What is this new devilry?A HUGE SHADOW, surrounded by flame, falls across thehall..the ground shakes...an unearthly sound rumbles...                    GANDALF              (quietly)          A Balrog..a demon of the ancient world!          This foe is beyond any of you!              (urgent yell)          Run! Quickly!                                                        CUT TO:INT. STAIRWAY OF KHASAD-DUM, MORIA -- DAYThe BALROG, a massive creature rises from a chasm, a great40 foot man-beast, with a mane of flames! In one hand is ablade...like a stabbing tongue of fire; in the other, a WHIPof many thongs. Aragorn leads the fellowship to the top of adizzying stairway...Gandalf follows, leaning heavily on hisstaff. Close on: Aragorn looks at Gandalf, concerned.                    GANDALF          Lead them on, Aragorn.   The bridge is          near.Aragorn hesitates...Gandalf looks at him.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          Do as I say; swords are no more use here.THE FELLOWSHIP race down the stairway, Aragorn picks upFrodo..leaping across a gaping chasm. A NARROW BRIDGE,spanning a bottomless pit...Gandalf yells to the others:Aragorn makes to throw Gimli across the Chasm.                    GIMLI          Nobody tosses a dwarf! The BALROG smashes          through the wall and spreads its vast          wings.                    (MORE)                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            96.CONTINUED:                    GIMLI (CONT'D)          It swoops down past the Fellowship,          disappearing into a flaming pit!                                                        CUT TO:INT. BRIDGE OF KHAZAD-DUM, MORIA -- DAYThe Fellowship run into a hall...the floor is split withfissures that spit flame.                    GANDALF              (yelling)          Over the bridge! Fly!They race towards the slender bridge of stone...without kerbor rail...at the far end of the hall. The Fellowshiprecklessly hurry over the dizzying bridge..but Gandalf... thelast..pauses in the middle of the span...he faces theBalrog...staff in one hand...Sword in the other! Frodo looksback in horror:                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          You cannot pass!                    FRODO              (alarmed yell)          Gandalf!                    GANDALF              (yelling)          I am a servant of the Secret Fire,          wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark          fire will not avail you, flame of Udun.Frodo watches as the Balrog puts one foot on the bridge anddraws up to Full Height, wings spreading from wall-to-wall.Gandalf is a tiny figure, balanced precariously on the narrowbridge.                    GANDALF (CONT'D)          Go back to the shadow! The BALROG slashes          at Gandalf with its Sword offlame...Gandalf blocks with his sword...a ringing clash andthe Balrog's sword shatters into molten fragments!                    GANDALF (CONT'D)              (booming)          You shall not pass!! The Balrog places          one foot onto the bridge. Aragorn and          Boromir race forward, swords drawn.GANDALF CRIES ALOUD as he summons up his LAST RESERVES OFSTRENGTH!                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                          97.CONTINUED:He thumps the bridge with his staff...a blinding sheet ofwhite flame springs up... the staff shatters...the bridgebreaks... right at Balrog's feet. The stone bridge drops awayinto the gulf...from under the Balrog. For a moment, thegreat Beast remains poised in the air...then it plunges down:in slow motion Relief floods Frodo's face..Gandalf remainstrembling on the lip of the broken bridge. Slow motion: Asthe Balrog falls, he lashes out with his whip of fire... Slowmotion: The thongs of the whip lash and curl around Gandalf'sknees, dragging him over the brink! Gandalf just manages tohand on by his fingertips                    FRODO              (screaming)          Gandalf!                    GANDALF              (fierce)          Fly, you fools!CLOSE ON: Gandalf lets go his grip and falls away...following the Balrog into the bottomless Abyss! Frodo criesout! Boromir scoops him up and carries him away.                     FRODO          No!                     ARAGORN          Gandalf!They rush towards an archway.                                                      CUT TO:EXT. DIMROLL DALE DOOR -- DAYThe Fellowship tumble out of the Great Eastern Gate on to agrassy sunlit hillside. Sam, Merry, and Pippin fall slowly tothe ground, Sobbing...Aragorn turns to Legolas and Gimli.                    ARAGORN              (urgent)          Legolas, get them up!                    BOROMIR          Give them a moment...for pity's sake!                    ARAGORN          By nightfall these hills will be swarming          with Orcs! We must reach the woods of          Lothlorien. Come, Boromir, Legolas,          Gimli, get them up. On your feet, Sam.                    (MORE)                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             98.CONTINUED:                     ARAGORN (CONT'D)          Boromir glances towards Frodo, then back          at Aragorn. Frodo is walking away, as if          in a daze.                     ARAGORN (CONT'D)          Frodo?   Frodo!CLOSE ON: FRODO SLOWLY TURNS...a look of numb shock on hisdevastated face. The Fellowship marches on.                                                        CUT TO:EXT. DIMRILL DALE HILLSIDE--DUSKAragorn scours ahead of the company, as they stumble on inthe fading light...in the distance the shimmer of a largeforest can be seen...Lothlorien!EXT. EDGE OF LOTHLORIEN--DUSKWIDE ON: The fellowship run across a forest floor strewn withyellow flowers..above is a roof of golden leaves, held up bysilver pillars...the trunks of huge, grey trees. Gimli looksnervously around...                    GIMLI          Stay close, young hobbits..they say a          Sorceress lives in these woods. An elf-          witch of terrible power. All who look          upon her fall under her spell...Frodo hesitates...a STRANGE VOICE whispers in his head...                       GALADRIEL (V.O.)          Frodo...                    GIMLI          And are never seen again!                    GALADRIEL (V.O.)          ...your coming to us is as the footsteps          of doom. You bring great evil here,          Ringbearer.                       SAM          Mr. Frodo?                    GIMLI          Well, here's one dwarf she won't ensnare          so easily. I have the eyes of a hawk and          the ears of a fox!                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                           99.CONTINUED:The FELLOWSHIP are suddenly surrounded by ARMED ELVES.Deadly arrows aimed at their heads. HALDIR, the Elvishcaptain steps forward... he looks at Gimli with disdain.                    HALDIR          The dwarf breathes so loud we could have          shot him in the dark.                    ARAGORN              (Elvish: with subtitles)          Haldir of Lorien, we come here for your          help. We need your protection.                    GIMLI          Aragorn! These woods are perilous. We          should go back.                    HALDIR          You have entered the realm of the Lady of          the Wood. You cannot go back.Haldir's eyes lock onto Frodo.                    HALDIR (CONT'D)          Come, she is waiting.                                                       CUT TO:EXT. LOTHLORIEN HILLTOP -- DAYHaldir leads the Fellowship onto a Hill Top.   They look withwonderment at the vista spread before them.Several miles towards the South, a Large Hill rises out ofthe woods. Upon the hill rise many mighty Mallorn Trees,taller than any others...Nestled high in the crown of themallorns is a Beautiful City. It Gleams in the low rays ofthe late afternoon sun..green, gold, and silver. To the eastof Caras Galadhon, the Woods of Lorien run down the palegleam of Anduin, the great river. Beyond the River, the landappears flat and empty, formless and vague, until far away,it rises again like a dark and dreary wall. The Sun that lieson Lothlorien has not power to enlighten the shadows that liebeyond.                                                       CUT TO:INT. CELEBORN'S CHAMBER, CARAS GALADHON -- NIGHT                                                          100.ANGLE ON: THE FELLOWSHIPstep onto a wide fleet filled with a soft light. The wallsare green and silver, the roof gold and in its midst is thetrunk of the might Mallorn tree, now tapering toward itscrown. Celeborn steps forward to greet the guests. His hairis long and silver, his face grave and beautiful, with nosign of age upon it. Next to him stands Galadriel, the Ladyof the Elves. She has hair of deep gold and timeless,unsurpassed beauty. Celeborn looks hard at Aragorn...                    CELEBORN          Eight there are, yet nine there were set          out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is          Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with          him.Frodo looks at Galadriel, standing silently beside Celeborn.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.)              (softly aloud)          ...he has fallen into shadow. Galadriel          looks to Aragorn.                    GALADRIEL (CONT'D)          The Quest stands upon the edge of a          knife. Stray but a little and it will          fail, to the ruin of all...Yet hope          remains while the company is true.Galadriel's eyes settle on Sam.                    GALADRIEL (CONT'D)          Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go          now and rest for you are weary with          sorrow and much toil. Galadriel's eyes          turn to Frodo...her voice fades.                    GALADRIEL (CONT'D)          Tonight you will sleep in peace.              (whispered v/o)          Welcome, Frodo of the Shire... CLOSE ON:          FRODO looks at GALADRIEL. SUDDEN INSERT:          GALADRIEL as she is on the otherside... Powerful, divine...no longer of this world..aPiercing white light surrounds her.                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          ...one who has seen the eye.                                                        CUT TO:                                                          101.EXT. CARAS GALADHON LAWN -- NIGHTGimli, Legolas, Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam are in apavilion set among the trees near the fountain. They lie onsoft couches as Elves leave food and wine for them. MOURNFULSINGING drifts down from the trees above.                    LEGOLAS              (sadly)          A lament for Gandalf...                    MERRY          What do they say about him?                    LEGOLAS          I have not the heart to tell you. For me,          the grief is still too near. Boromir is          sitting alone...Aragorn approaches him.                     ARAGORN          Take some rest..these borders are well          protected.Moonlight catches the trace of tears on Boromir's face.Aragorn kneels down beside him.                    BOROMIR          I will find no rest here. I heard her          voice inside my head...she spoke of my          father and the fall of Gondor, and she          said to me: "Even now, there                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          is hope left. But I cannot see it...it          is long since we had any hope.CLOSE ON: BOROMIR looks at ARAGORN in despair.                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          My father is a noble man, but his rule is          failing and our..our people lose faith.          He looks to me to make things right...and          I would do it, I would see the glory of          Gondor restored. Have you ever seen it,          Aragorn? The White Tower of Ecthelion,          glimmering like a spike of pearl and          silver, its banners caught high in the          morning breeze...have you ever been          called home by the clear ringing of          silver trumpets?                    ARAGORN          I have seen the white city..long ago.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             102.CONTINUED:Boromir feels Aragorn's love for Minas Tirith and takesheart,                      BOROMIR            One day our paths will lead us there, and            the tower guards shall take up the call             "the Lords of Gondor have returned."Aragorn returns Boromir's smile...betraying his disquietsadness only when Boromir looks away.                                                          CUT TO:LATER....The Fellowship are asleep on their beds. Gimli is snoringloudly. CLOSE ON: BARE FEET tread soundlessly across thelawn. CLOSE ON: Frodo's eyes flicker open...as if byinstinct. GALADRIEL, her White dress glowing in themoonlight, glances at him. Frodo follows her...as if drawn byan invisible force.                                                          CUT TO:EXT. GALADRIELS GLADE, LORTHLORIEN -- NIGHTUpon a low stone pedestal, carved like a branching tree, sitsa shallow Silver Basin. Galadriel leads Frodo into the smallGlade.                      GALADRIEL            Will you look into the mirror? Frodo            looks with apprehension at the silver            basin.                      FRODO                (warily)            What will I see?Galadriel pours water into the basin from a silver jug...aglow rises from the water.                      GALADRIEL            Even the wisest cannot tell for the            mirror shows many things...things that            were ..things that are...and some things            that have not yet come to pass.Frodo slowly steps up to the pedestal...he peers     into theglossy surface. The night sky is reflected into     the water...suddenly a figure takes form...the bowed figure     of an oldman, clad in white robes. He walks down a long      road. Frodoleans closer to the mirror's surface...                                                          103.CLOSE ON: GANDALF LIFTS HIS HEAD AND LOOKS DIRECTLY AT FRODO!FRODO gasps, his face lighting up with hope.                    FRODO              (joyous)          Gandalf!Gandalf looks at Frodo with a fierce intensity. Frodoreaches out his hand toward the surface of the mirror.Suddenly the image flares, burning out to white. The visionshifts...Frodo gasps in horror! The Shire is in ruins! Theimage suddenly widens to fill the screen...buildingsburning...bodies strewn about...Dark Shapes of ORCS lootingand destroying...Bag End, billowing in flames! The Partytree is hacked down. Frodo reels back as the mirror seems togrow...the nightmarish image sweeps past his head, engulfinghim entirely.IMAGE: Hobbiton...now an Industrial wasteland! The fieldsand trees destroyed...replaced with Brick factories belchingsmoke! IMAGE: ORCS brutally herd manacled Hobbits into theFactories! We see Sam...Merry... and Rosie Cotton. Soot-stained and sobbing, they disappear into the factory hell-hole! Suddenly, the mirror goes dark...and out of the blackabyss a single eye grows. CLOSE ON: FRODO IS FROZEN. Unableto move or cry out. The ring dangles from his neck, inchesabove the water...not shimmering with curls of steam. Fireerupts around the eye... With a Yell, Frodo pushes himselfaway from the pedestal and collapses on the ground. Lightinstantly fades from the mirror. Frodo comes to hissenses...he is shocked. Galadriel stands still as a statue,unmoved, untouched by the horror.                    GALADRIEL          I know what it is you saw...for it is          also in my mind. It is the future,          Frodo. It is what will come to pass if          you should fail.Galadriel looks at Frodo intensely...Frodo looks down...inhis hand he is clutching the ring. Frodo looks up atGaladriel.                    GALADRIEL (CONT'D)          The fellowship is breaking. It has          already begun. He will try to take the          ring. You know of whom I speak. One by          one, it will destroy them all.                    FRODO (V.O.)          If you ask it of me, I will give you the          One Ring.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                         104.CONTINUED:                    GALADRIEL          You offer it to me freely...I do not deny          that my heart has greatly desired this.Galadriel suddenly seems to rise in stature before Frodo'seyes. Frodo is suddenly afraid of her.                    GALADRIEL (CONT'D)          In place of the Dark Lord, you would have          a Queen, not dark, but beautiful and          terrible as the Dawn. Treacherous as the          Sea! Stronger than the foundations of          the earth...all shall love me and          despair! Frodo takes a step away from          Galadriel...Galadriel suddenly laughs...a slender Elf-woman once more,clad in simple white, her voice soft and sad.                    GALADRIEL (CONT'D)              (gently)          I pass the test.              (laughs)          I will diminish and go into the west and          remain Galadriel. Frodo's confidence          drains away.                    FRODO          I cannot do this alone...                    GALADRIEL          You are the ring-bearer, Frodo...to bear          a ring of power is to be alone. This task          was appointed to you, and if you do not          find a way, no one will.Frodo realizes what her message is.                    FRODO          Then I know what I must do. It's          just...I'm afraid to do it. Galadriel          kneels down to Frodo's height, staring at          him intently.                    GALADRIEL          Even the smallest person can change the          course of the future.The Ring lies in the palm of Frodo's hand...his fingers closeover it.                                                      CUT TO:                                                         105.INT. ORTHANC CHAMBER -- DAYNaked, Lurtz's eyes follow Saruman, alight with a meanintelligence.                    SARUMAN (V.O.)              (smiles)          They were Elves once. Taken by the Dark          Powers ... tortured and mutilated...a          ruined and terrible form of life. And          now...perfected. My fighting Uruk-Hai.          Whom do you serve?                    LURTZ              (gutteral rasp)          Saruman.INT. CAVERNS BELOW ISENGARD -- DAYQUICK CUTS: LURTZ is quickly armored...Breastplate...Legguards, Helmet...a sword is thrust in Lurtz's hand. The URUK-HAI are smearing themselves in white paint...a creepyritualistic ceremony...the white hand of Isengard is smearedon bodies, faces, and armor. SARUMAN address a crowd of 200fully armed URUK-HAI.                    SARUMAN          Hunt them down. Do not stop until they          are found. You do not know pain. You do          not know fear. You will taste man-flesh.          Saruman turns to Lurtz.                    SARUMAN (CONT'D)              (coldly)          One of the Halflings carries something of          great value...bring him to me...alive and          unspoiled...kill the others.EXT. ISENGARD -- DAYLurtz is leading 200 URUK-HAI out of Isengard..they run fast,their powerful legs carrying them at speed.EXT. SILVERLODE RIVER BANK--DAWNThe Fellowship are in small elven boats. They row away fromthe Lothlorien Shore into the Silverlode river. Elvesquietly watch them depart. Galadriel gives Frodo a smallCrystal Phial.                    GALADRIEL          Farewell, Frodo Baggins. I give you the          light of Earendil, our most beloved star.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                            106.CONTINUED:As the Fellowship's boats drift past, Galadriel stands alone,watching from the banks of the river. In his head, Frodostill hears her voice...                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          May it be a light for you in dark places,          when all other lights go out.EXT. RIVER ANDUIN -- DAYThe boats pass into the great river Anduin. The Three Elvenboats carry the Fellowship steadily southward. Green treesslowly give way to a brown and withered land.EXT. FOREST -- DAYThe Uruk forces are running through the trees with deadlypurpose.EXT. RIVER ANDUIN -- DAYA flock of birds circle high above, Black against the palesky. Aragorn watches them with concern.EXT. PILLARS OF THE KINGS, RIVER ANDUIN--DAWNThe Three Elven boats drift slowly through the steep rockygorge in the Pre-dawn light. CLOSE ON: ARAGORN, slowlypaddling in the stern.                    ARAGORN              (quietly)          Frodo.Frodo slowly looks up, his eyes widening with amazement. Wideon: Two enormous rock statues, towering like 300 footpinnacles on either side of the river...carved images ofGondorian kings of old. They loom over the boats with powerand majesty.                    ARAGORN (CONT'D)          The Argonath...Close on: Aragorn...strangely moved by the beauty of thesilent sentinels. He speaks, almost as if to himself.                    ARAGORN (CONT'D)              (deeply moved)          Long have I desired to look upon the          kings of old...my kin.The fellowship stare in stunned silence as the current takesthem through the narrow gap between the Statues' feet.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                            107.CONTINUED:Wide on: Craning up past the statues vast crumbling heads, toreveal a large lake only a mile down river...EXT. SHORE OF NEN HITHOEL -- DAYANGLE ON: THE FELLOWSHIPAs they leap out of the boats and clamber onto the woodedshore.                    ARAGORN          We cross the lake at nightfall, hide the          boats and continue on foot..we approach          Mordor from the North.                    GIMLI              (gloomy)          Oh, yes, just a simple matter of finding          our way through Emyn Muil, an impassable          labyrinth of razor sharp rocks. And          after that gets even better...a          festering, stinking marshland, far as the          eye can see.                    ARAGORN          That is our Road...I suggest you take          some rest and recover your strength,          Master Dwarf.                    GIMLI              (indignant)          Recover my...Legolas turns to Aragorn with urgency.                    LEGOLAS          We should leave now.                    ARAGORN          No. Orcs patrol the Eastern shore. We          must wait for cover of darkness.                    LEGOLAS          It is not the Eastern shore that worries          me.Legolas casts a glance around into the Parth Galen forest...                    LEGOLAS (CONT'D)          A shadow and a threat has been growing in          my mind. Something draws near, I can          feel it.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                           108.CONTINUED:Aragorn looks at Legolas, knowing full well what he means.Sam has slumped asleep...Merry dumps a small pile of kindlingat Gimli's feet...                    MERRY          Where's Frodo?Sam sits up with a start...Aragorn's head snaps round..hiseyes fly to Boromir's shield which lies abandoned by his campbed. CLOSE ON: ARAGORN.... as he realizes Boromir has gone!EXT. SLOPES OF AMON HEN -- DAYFrodo is walking beneath the trees...lost in thought. Hisfeet hit the rough edge of an ancient stone slab...his eyesfollow an overgrown path towards stone stairs leading to thesummit of Amon Hen...the seeing seat. A CRACKLING SOUND!Frodo freezes....                    BOROMIR              (quietly)          None of us should wander alone; you least          of all. So much depends on you...Frodo?Frodo turns slowly...he stares at Boromir, tense, cautious.                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          I know why you seek solitude. You          suffer, I see it day by day. Are you          sure you do not suffer needlessly?Frodo stands silent for a moment..the murmur of the Wind inthe trees and the distant roar of the falls of Rauros can beheard                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          Let me help you. There are other ways,          Frodo..other paths that we might take.                    FRODO          I know what you would say, and it would          seem like wisdom but for the warning of          my heart.                     BOROMIR          Warning?   Against what?Boromir has started forward towards Frodo, he pulls himselfup.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                         109.CONTINUED:                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          We are all afraid, Frodo. But to let that          fear drive us to destroy what hope we          have...don't you see that is madness?                    FRODO          There is no other way.                    BOROMIR          I ask only for the strength to defend my          people.              (angrily drops the wood he has               collected)          If you would but lend me the ring...                    FRODO          No. . .Frodo steps hurriedly away from Boromir.                    BOROMIR          Why do you recoil?   I am no thief.                     FRODO              (wary)          You are not yourself.                    BOROMIR          What chance do you think you have? They          will find you, they will take the ring          and you will beg for death before the          end.Frodo turns to leave.                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          You fool! It is not yours save by          unhappy chance...it might have been mine.          It should be mine. Give it to me! Give          me the ring.Boromir leaps on top of Frodo, grasping for the ring! Frodohas only moments to act. Frodo rips the ring from around hisneck..and rams it on his finger.                    FRODO DISAPPEARS          Boromir spins wildly around, yelling into          thin air!                    BOROMIR          I see your mind...you will take the ring          to Sauron. You will betray us! You go to          your death and the death of us all.                    (MORE)                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                           110.CONTINUED: (2)                      BOROMIR (CONT'D)            Curse you! Curse you and your Halflings!            Boromir stumbles and falls. His body            shakes as if in the Throes of a            fit...slowly he comes to.                      BOROMIR (CONT'D)                (Disoriented)            Frodo! Frodo! What have I done. Please,            Frodo...EXT. SEEING SEAT -- DAY                                          IN THE TWILIGHT WORLD:FRODO races through the misty twilight world, past the foggyshapes of twisted trees. Somewhere behind him, Boromir'sdistraught voice carries from another dimension:                      BOROMIR (O.S.)            I'm sorry, Frodo...Frodo...Frodo suddenly finds himself on the stone steps...he clambersup the stairs, onto a high seat, perched on four stonepillars. Frodo cowers on the seat, like a lost child upon thethrone of mountain kings. The world of mist swirls aroundhim. Frodo peers out from the seat...the world seems toshrink. In all directions, Views of far off lands telescopetowards him through the mist. IMAGES: ORCS spilling out ofholes in the misty mountains... flames rising fromMirkwood...grim faced easterlings march to war...black shipssailing into the south. All the power of the Dark Lord is inmotion. Frodo moves his gaze towards the east...fire explodesagainst the smoke, as a huge mass of black battlements fillsFrodo's vision. A mountain of iron, immeasurably strong,tower of adamant: Barad-dur, FORTRESS OF SAURON!SUDDENLY!   SAURON'S EYE LEAPS TOWARD FRODO LIKE A FINGER OFLIGHT.SAURON (V.O.)(IN BLACK SPEECH)They will fall! Frodo leaps off the seat, and tumbles downthe stairs! The eye sweeps Amon Hen like a searchlight,seeking its ring! With a huge effort, Frodo wrenches the ringoff his finger...EXT. SUMMIT OF AMON HEN -- DAYFrodo lies gasping on the summit of Amon Hen...below theancient ruins of the seeing seat.                                                            111.AT THAT MOMENT: A BLACK BOOT STEPS INTO SHOT!Frodo looks up as Aragorn towers over him.                       ARAGORN          Frodo?                     FRODO              (numb)          It has taken Boromir. ARAGORN moves          towards Frodo...                    ARAGORN              (urgent)          Where is the ring?Frodo backs away from Aragorn...Aragorn is shocked by themovement.                       FRODO          Stay away!                    ARAGORN          Frodo...I swore to protect you.                    FRODO          Can you protect me from yourself?Frodo uncurls his fist...in is palm lies the ring! Itglints, gold and beautiful in the afternoon sun...Aragorn'seyes are drawn to it.                    FRODO (CONT'D)          Would you destroy it?                    ARAGORN              (kneeling to Frodo)          I would have gone with you to the end...          into the very fires of Mordor.                    FRODO          I know...Look after the others,          especially Sam...he will not understand.Aragorn freezes!   He draws his sword.                     ARAGORN              (urgent)          Go, Frodo!Frodo hesitates.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                           112.CONTINUED:                    ARAGORN (CONT'D)              (yells)          Run! Run!!Frodo backs away into the trees...as 200 URUK-HAI SWARM ontoAmon Hen behind Aragorn!Aragorn attacks the leading URUK-HAI like a madman... hebrings two down with his sword...leaping into the ruins asothers close in on him. Frodo scrambles down the hillside,away from the fight. Aragorn battles the URUK-HAI, amongstthe pillars and blocks of Amon Hen. Despite his bravery, heis quickly surrounded... SUDDENLY: ELVEN ARROWS smash intothe URUK-HAI. Legolas races out of the woods, firing his bow.Gimli leaps into the battle, wielding his might axe.EXT. PARTH GALEN HILLSIDE -- DAYFrodo is darting down the steep hillside as heave feetthunder down behind him.                       SAM          Mr. Frodo!Sam looks around for Frodo. CLOSE ON: LURTZ ordering hisURUKS.                     LURTZ          Find the Halflings ... find the          halflings!Frodo stumbles and falls...quickly he crawls behind atree...above him the sound of Uruk-Hai crashing through theforest rings out.                    MERRY (O.S.)              (urgent whisper)          Frodo!Frodo turns to see Merry and Pippin hidden in a hollow, a fewfeet away.                    MERRY (CONT'D)          Hide here, quick!                       PIPPIN          Come on...Frodo looks at his friends... slowly shakes his head, a greatsadness in his eyes...                    PIPPIN (CONT'D)          What's he doing?                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                          113.CONTINUED:Merry's eyes meet Frodo's.        Understanding.                    MERRY              (softly)          He's leaving.                        PIPPIN          No!Pippin stands and makes a move toward Frodo...Merry grabs athis arm.                        MERRY          Pippin!THE ECHO OF BOROMIR'S HORN reaches Aragorn, Legolas, andGimli...they are battling their way down the Slopes towardsthe lake.                    LEGOLAS          The horn of Gondor!                        ARAGORN          Boromir!Aragorn desperately slashes his way towards Boromir, fellingURUK-HAI in his path...while Legolas and Gimli fight a rearguard action. MANY URUK-HAI fall to Boromir's sword as hetries to protect Merry and Pippin...                        BOROMIR          Run!   Run!Lurtz takes aim. A black arrow suddenly thuds into Boromir'schest. Amazingly, Boromir continues fighting, but anotherarrow...and another, brings him to his knees. Merry andPippin are scooped off their feet by URUK-HAI.                        MERRY & PIPPIN          Aaaaagh!      Boromir! Boromir!Lurtz aims his bow at Boromir's heart... suddenly Aragorncharges at him, smashing the Bow with his sword. They lockinto a deadly battle. Aragorn cuts Lurtz down and racestowards Boromir, who lies slumped against a tree...URUK-HAIarrows sticking out of his chest. At least 20 dead URUK-HAIlie heaped around Boromir. His horn lies at his feet...Clovenin two.                    BOROMIR              (painful gasp)          They took the little ones...                    (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            114.CONTINUED: (2)                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          Aragorn quickly tries to staunch the flow          of Blood from Boromir's shoulder.                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)              (panicked)          Frodo...where is Frodo?                    ARAGORN          I let Frodo go.Boromir holds Aragorn's gaze.                    BOROMIR          Then you did what I could not.   I tried          to take the ring from him.                    ARAGORN          The ring is beyond our reach now.                    BOROMIR          Forgive me, I did not see..I have failed          you all.                    ARAGORN          No, Boromir. You fought bravely. You          have kept your honor. Aragorn tries to          bind Boromir's wound.                    BOROMIR          Leave it! It is over...the world of Men          will fall and all will come to darkness          and my city to ruin..Aragorn..                    ARAGORN          I do not know what strength is in my          blood, but I swear to you... I will not          let the White City fall, nor your people          fail...                    BOROMIR          Our people...our people...Aragorn places Boromir's sword in his hand.   Boromir'sfingers tighten around the hilt.                    BOROMIR (CONT'D)          I would have followed you, my          brother...my captain, my King. Aragorn          lays Boromir down. He is dead.                    ARAGORN          Be at peace, son of Gondor. Aragorn bends          and Kisses Boromir's forehead.                    (MORE)                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                            115.CONTINUED: (3)                     ARAGORN (CONT'D)           Legolas and Gimli appear behind           him...Aragorn stands.                     ARAGORN (CONT'D)           They will look for his coming from the           white tower...but he will not return.EXT. SHORE OF NEN HITHOEL -- DAYOn the lakeshore Frodo stands in front of one of the ElvishBoats, the ring in his palm. A distraught Sam...running ashard as he can through the forest...                        SAM           Mr. Frodo!Close on: Frodo looks to the far side of the river...thecamera moves in on the ring.                     FRODO (V.O.)           I wish the ring had never come to me..I           wish none of this had happened...Tears fall down Frodo's face...                     GANDALF (V.O.)           So do all who lie to see such times...but           that is not for them to decide. All we           have to decide is what to do with the           time that is given us.With renewed determination, Frodo tucks the ring inside hisvest pocket. The small figure of Frodo pushing the Elvishboat into the water... Sam bursts through the trees and runstoward the lake...Frodo is already paddling away.                     SAM               (anguished)           Not alone, Frodo. Mr. Frodo! Frodo, in           the boat, paddling steadfastly away from           theshore..tears in his eyes..the voice of Sam carried on thewind. Frodo whispers to himself                        FRODO           No, Sam.Sam looks at the water...then at the boat.SPLASH!   FRODO turns to see Sam launching himself into thewater.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                            116.CONTINUED:                    FRODO (CONT'D)          Go back,Sam. I'm going to Mordor alone.Sam splashes hopelessly toward the boat.                    SAM          Of course you are...and I'm coming with          you!                    FRODO          You can't swim.Sam starts to go under, spluttering and coughing...Frododrops his paddle and scrambles backwards in the boat...                       FRODO (CONT'D)                 (frightened)          Sam!Sam is underwater...hands flailing helplessly as he sinks.Close on: Frodo's hand grasping Sam's... Frodo pulls abedraggled and half drowned Sam into the boat. Frodo and Samlook at each other, out of breath, tears and water streamingdown both their faces.                     SAM          I made a promise, Mr. Frodo...a promise.              (fierce passion)          "Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee."              (sobs)          And I don't mean to...I don't mean to.                    FRODO              (crying)          Oh, Sam!Frodo starts to laugh through his tears...the two friendshug.                    FRODO (CONT'D)          Come on then..The two Hobbits row through the water...EXT. FALLS OF RAUROS AERIAL -- DAYSlow motion: Looking down on swiftly flowingwater...Boromir's body slides under camera.He is lying in one of the boats, his arms across hischest..his broken horn at his side. Suddenly... the boatdrops away from camera...as it plunges over the massive fallsof Rauros, disappearing into the vapor below.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                           117.CONTINUED:                    LEGOLAS          If we are quick, we will catch Frodo and          Sam before nightfall.Aragorn looks towards the far shore; Frodo and Sam's smallBoat can be seen lying on the distant Riverbank as Frodo andSam make off into the forest beyond. He doesn't react.Legolas turns and looks at Aragorn.                    LEGOLAS (CONT'D)          You mean not to follow them...                    ARAGORN          Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands.                    GIMLI          Then it has all been in vain...the          fellowship has failed.                    ARAGORN          Not if we hold true to each other. We          will not abandon Merry and Pippin to          torment and death, not while we have          strength left.Aragorn pulls a HUNTING KNIFE out of his pack and straps iton.                    ARAGORN (CONT'D)          Leave all that can be spared behind...          CLOSE ON: ARAGORN..a steely light in his          eye.                    ARAGORN (CONT'D)              (grimly)          We travel light. Let's hunt some Orc.                       GIMLI          Yes!   Ha!Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli disappear into the Woods,following the URUK-HAI trail.EXT. EMYN MUIL HILLTOP -- DAYFrodo and Sam scramble onto a high ridge.A distant line of Saw toothed mountains below a dark,oppressive sky. Black volcanic smoke rises behind themountains....MORDOR!                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            118.CONTINUED:                     FRODO          Mordor!   I hope the others find a safer          road.                    SAM              (simply)          Strider'll look after them.                    FRODO          I don't suppose we'll ever see them          again.                    SAM          We may yet, Mr. Frodo.   We may.                     FRODO          Sam?Frodo looks at Sam with great affection..despite the grimoutlook, Sam is undeterred...                    FRODO (CONT'D)          I'm glad you're with me.WIDE ON: THE TWO HOBBITS SETTING OFF TOWARD MORDOR.THE END
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+                                                                         LOST HORIZON                                                              Written by Robert previous hit Riskin                                                                                          based on the novel by James Hilton                                                                                        FADE IN[1]                                                              Over the titles we see SUPERIMPOSED                          the snow-capped mountains leading to                          Shangri-La.                                                               CLOSE-UP of an impressive-looking book.                          The covers open and the pages turn.                          The first page reads:                                                               In these days of wars and rumors of                          wars - haven't you ever dreamed of a                          place where there was peace and security,                          where living was not a struggle but                          a lasting delight?                                                               The second page reads:                                                              Of course you have. So has every man                          since Time began. Always the same dream.                          Sometimes he calls it Utopia - sometimes                          the Fountain of Youth - sometimes merely                          "that little chicken farm."                                                               The third page reads:                                                              One man had such a dream and saw it                          come true. He was Robert Conway - England's                          "Man of the East" - soldier, diplomat,                          public heroó                                                               The fourth page reads:                                                              Our story starts in the war-torn Chinese                          city of Baskul, where Robert Conway                          has been sent to evacuate ninety white                          people before they are butchered in                          a local revolution.                                                               The fifth and final page reads:                                                              Baskul - the night of March 10, 1935.                                                                                        DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. BASKUL FLYING FIELD - NIGHT                                                              1. LONG SHOT                                                              The field is aflare with floodlights                          - on one side is an office building                          - on the other are hangars. The whole                          field is filled with Chinese refugees                          running around wildly. An Army transport                          is in front of the office building,                          motors going.                                                               2. REVERSE SHOT                                                              Showing in the distance, probably several                          miles away, the effect of a burning                          city, which is Baskul. Over the shot                          we hear the steady boom-boom of gunfire.                          In the f.g., we see the silhouetted                          figures of Chinese running away from                          Baskul and toward the Camera, their                          personal packs on their backs.                                                               3. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Toward office building. Conway comes                          out of the building, followed by a small                          group of white people with frightened                          faces. They have to fight their way                          through a horde of milling Chinese.                                                                                        4. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As Conway and group finally reach the                          plane where Conway forces the white                          people in. In this he is aided by his                          brother, George, a young and vigorous                          Englishman. The pilot sticks his head                          out of the cockpit.                                                               ? 472 ?                                                              PILOT                                                              Conway, we can't take more than seven!                                                                                        Conway pulls a passenger out and gives                          the pilot a signal to start.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (to passenger)                                                              All right. I'm sorry. There will be                          another plane in a minute. All right                          - go on.                                                               5. LONG SHOT                                                              Motors roar, and the plane starts to                          move, scattering those of the Chinese                          who were unfortunately too close to                          the ship. Conway and George rush back                          into the office building.                                                               INT. LARGE OFFICE ROOM                                                              6. FULL SHOT                                                              There are about thirty white refugees,                          men, women and several children. They                          all lift their panicky faces to Conway                          and George as they enter. A barrage                          of questions are flung at them.                                                               AD-LIB                                                              Are there any more planes? Do you think                          the bandits will come here? Please take                          my wife next, Mr. Conway!                                                               CONWAY                                                              Wait, wait! Everybody, wait! There are                          plenty of planes coming. Now everybody                          have patience. Everything will be all                          right.                                                               He crosses to a back room.                                                              GEORGE                                                              You have nothing to worry about. Leave                          everything to my brother.                                                               INT. RADIO ROOM                                                              7. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As Conway enters to speak to operator.                                                                                        RADIO OPERATOR                                                              Yes, sir - with seven passengers aboard.                                                                                        RADIO SPEAKER                                                              Seven passengers? Good.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Get me Shanghai.                                                              OPERATOR                                                              I'm talking to them now, sir.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Hello? Hello?                                                              RADIO SPEAKER                                                              Hello. Hello.                                                              CONWAY                                                              (into mike)                                                              Conway speaking. Is Colonel Marsh there?                                                                                        ? 473 ?                                                              COLONEL'S VOICE                                                              Right here, Conway. Go ahead.                                                              8. CLOSE SHOT                                                              As Conway continues into mike.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Colonel, I need more planes. I've still                          about twenty people to get out. Where                          are those planes you promised us?                                                                                        COLONEL'S VOICE                                                              We sent everything we could find, Conway.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              They better get here soon or I can't                          be responsibleó                                                               9. WIDER ANGLE                                                              As George rushes in.                                                              GEORGE                                                              Bob! I think I hear motors!                                                              CONWAY                                                              (listening - then into mike)                                                              Colonel, wait a minute, they may be                          here now!                                                               (to George)                                                              Say George, get down on that field and                          guide those planes in when they get                          here.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Yes.                                                              He starts for the door.                                                              CONWAY                                                              And be sure that none of the natives                          get in.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (exiting)                                                              Yes.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Hello? Colonel?                                                              COLONEL'S VOICE                                                              Hello, Conway. Yes?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Thanks - and take care of that liver                          of yours.                                                               COLONEL'S VOICE                                                              Oh, ho - my word!                                                              INT. OFFICE ROOM                                                              10. FULL SHOT                                                              As Conway enters.                                                              CONWAY                                                              All right, get ready everybody. The                          planes are here.                                                               The people crowd around him pleading                          for priority.                                                               ? 474 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              One at a time. Children first. Where                          are they? Come on now, and stand over                          here.                                                               A woman pushes some children forward.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Where's the mother?                                                              PRIEST                                                              (standing nearby)                                                              They're orphans, Mr. Conway.                                                              CONWAY                                                              I see. All right.                                                              (directing people aside - pulling out                          an old lady)                                                               Well, you come - right over here - and                          you, and youó                                                               (looking off scene)                                                              ócome onó                                                              OLD MAN                                                              What about us, Mr. Conway?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Gentlemen, please wait your turn.                                                              11. CLOSE SHOT                                                              A girl slouched in a corner. We meet                          Gloria Stone, a surly, wan-looking prostitute.                                                                                        GLORIA                                                              You'd better take some of those squealing                          men with you first. They might faint                          on you. I'll wait.                                                               12. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              Something of a smile crosses his face.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Just as you say!                                                              Just then, a terrific explosion is heard                          in the distance.                                                               13. FULL SHOT                                                              All the lights go out. Everybody starts                          screaming.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (sharply)                                                              Whoa! Don't lose your heads now - I'll                          see what it is.                                                               He dashes out.                                                              EXT. OFFICE BUILDING                                                              14. CLOSE SHOT AT DOOR                                                              Conway rushing out, meets George coming                          back.                                                               GEORGE                                                              The power house - they've blown it up!                          The planes can't land without lights.                                                                                        ? 475 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              (thinking fast)                                                              Come on! We'll burn the hangar. That                          will make light for them!                                                               He grabs a lantern and dashes off.                                                                                        15. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As they run through the screaming mob                          toward the hangar.                                                               INTERIOR HANGAR                                                              16. FULL SHOT                                                              It is filled with Chinese refugees clinging                          to their household goods. Conway and                          George enter. Conway speaks to them                          in Chinese, ordering them out. Some                          hesitate, and they have to push the                          terror-stricken waiting coolies out.                          When they have all left, Conway opens                          the spigots of several gasoline tanks,                          waits for the fuel to spill on the ground,                          then tosses a lantern on the fuel, igniting                          a blaze. At the same moment, he and                          George dash for the door.                                                               EXTERIOR FIELD                                                              17. LONG SHOT                                                              Conway and George rush out of hangar.                          When they are at a fairly safe distance,                          the building bursts into flames.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              18. LONG SHOT                                                              Against a background of the burning                          hangar, a plane is just leaving the                          ground, as another one is landing.                                                                                        19. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Of Conway, signalling.                                                              CONWAY                                                              All right, go ahead!                                                              (to George)                                                              We go on to the next plane. Bring out                          any people that are left.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Right, Bob.                                                              20. REVERSE ANGLE - LONG SHOT                                                              Shooting toward the burning city of                          Baskul in the distance. We see the bandits                          coming, flashing bayonets, in pursuit                          of screaming refugees.                                                               21. MED. SHOT FRONT OF OFFICE BUILDING                                                                                        Conway emerges, followed by Gloria,                          and an American, Barnard. CAMERA FOLLOWS                          THEM to the ship just as the pilot,                          Fenner, is climbing down from cockpit.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Hello, Fenner.                                                              FENNER                                                              (broad grin)                                                              Hello, Conway. Having a little trouble?                                                                                        ? 476 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              You never mind me. Get this gadget off                          the ground.                                                               George is pushing off Chinese.                                                              GEORGE                                                              Bob, these are all that are left.                                                              CONWAY                                                              (to George)                                                              Come on! Quick! This way.                                                              22. MED. SHOT AT PLANE                                                              When Conway and others approach, George                          helps Gloria Stone up, while Conway                          faces the mob, punching at those who                          try to wedge their way forward. Finally                          one of them manages to get his foot                          on the step, and Conway pushes him violently.                                                                                        23. CLOSE SHOT - MAN                                                              Who staggers back and falls, sprawling.                          As he hits the ground, he yells:                                                               MAN                                                              You can't leave me here, you blighter.[2]                          I'm a British subject!                                                               We meet Alexander P. Lovett.                                                              24. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway looks his surprise and lifts                          him off the ground.                                                               25. CLOSE SHOT - A CHINAMAN                                                              Glaring off toward Conway, picks up                          a board and starts toward Conway.                                                                                        26. MED. CLOSE SHOT ENTRANCE TO SHIP                                                                                        George emerges in time to see the Chinese                          lift the board and about to clout Conway                          on the head. George moves quickly, puts                          out his left hand, wards off the blow                          and with his right he punches the Chinese,                          who reels out of the scene.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Look out, Bob!                                                              27. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              A shadowy figure materializes in the                          cockpit, and clubs Fenner from behind.                          He shoves Fenner aside and takes his                          place.                                                               28. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway pushes George up and starts to                          mount himself. He looks off - and what                          he sees startles him.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (yells off)                                                              All right, Fenner! Go ahead!                                                              ? 477 ?                                                              29. LONG SHOT                                                              Of what Conway sees. Several trucks                          loaded with bandits - in makeshift uniforms                          - come tearing up the road - come to                          a stop. Some fire toward plane - others                          are setting up machine guns. Droves                          of refugees scramble to cover.                                                               INT. PLANE                                                              30. FULL SHOT                                                              Already present are Barnard, an American;                          Gloria Stone, the prostitute; and Lovett,                          whom we saw dressed as a Chinese. Conway                          slams the door shut - looks off - then                          cries:                                                               CONWAY                                                              Get down on the floor, everybody. Go                          ahead, Fenner!                                                               They all fall on their faces.                                                              GEORGE                                                              Fenner, let's go!                                                              31. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Of the new pilot setting the controls                          and lifting the plane into flight.                                                                                        EXT. FIELD                                                              32. LONG SHOT                                                              As the plane swings around - taxies                          crazily - and leaves the ground, accompanied                          by gunfire of the bandits.                                                               INT. PLANE                                                              33. FULL SHOT                                                              The occupants are still on the floor.                          Conway rises and glances out of a window,                          warily.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (mumbling)                                                              Well, I guess we're out of range.                                                              (to others)                                                              Everybody all right?                                                              There are murmurs of "Yes" - "I'm all                          right" - as they raise themselves.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              Whew! That was close.                                                              34. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway starts for the back seat and                          suddenly sees Lovett.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Where did you come from?                                                              LOVETT                                                              I'm Alexander P. Lovett, sir.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Why aren't you registered through our                          office?                                                               ? 478 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              (chiming in)                                                              It would serve you right if you were                          left behind.                                                               LOVETT                                                              (high-pitched voice)                                                              How could I know that a war was going                          to break out right over my head!                                                               (a grave injustice)                                                              Right over my head. Oh, my word! I tell                          you, those Chinese were pouncing on                          me from every direction. I had to get                          into these ridiculous clothes in order                          to escape.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Where were you hiding?                                                              LOVETT                                                              Hiding? Oh, no. Hunting - I was in the                          interior - hunting fossils. This morning                          I looked up suddenlyó                                                               CONWAY                                                              I know - and a war broke out right over                          your head.                                                               GEORGE                                                              The next time you're in wild country                          like this, keep in touch with the British                          Consul.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Aha - very good, Freshie.[3] Very good.                          You'd better put his name on the list                          and make out a report later.                                                               He proceeds to the back seat. Barnard,                          the American, who is in front of Lovett,                          leans over toward him.                                                               35. MED. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO                                                              Barnard and Lovett.                                                              BARNARD                                                              I beg your pardon, brother. What did                          you say you were hunting?                                                               LOVETT                                                              Fossils.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Fossils, huh?                                                              LOVETT                                                              I'm a paleontologist.                                                              BARNARD                                                              (blankly)                                                              A what?                                                              LOVETT                                                              A paleontologist.                                                              ? 479 ?                                                              BARNARD                                                              Oh, I see.                                                              Lovett produces a small box clutched                          under his arm.                                                               LOVETT                                                              I have here a discovery that will startle                          the world. It's the vertebrae from the                          lumbar of a Megatherium,[4] found in                          Asia.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Well, what do you know about that!                                                                                        LOVETT                                                              Found in Asia!                                                              BARNARD                                                              Uh-huh.                                                              LOVETT                                                              When I get home I shall probably be                          knighted for it.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Knighted! You don't say. Do you mind                          if I take a look at it?                                                               LOVETT                                                              (proudly)                                                              Not at all.                                                              He lifts the lid and Barnard peeks inside.                                                                                        INSERT: OF BOX                                                              Wrapped carefully in absorbent cotton                          is something that resembles a dry chicken                          bone.                                                               BACK TO SCENE:                                                              Barnard reaches for the box, but Lovett                          pulls it away from him.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Sorry.                                                              LOVETT                                                              This is the only thing I was able to                          save when those heathens surrounded                          me.                                                               BARNARD                                                              (he is allowed to take it out and examine                          it - unimpressed)                                                               Uh-huh.                                                              LOVETT                                                              You see, from this vertebrae I shall                          be able to reconstruct the entire skeleton.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Wait a minute, you expect to be knighted                          for finding that soupbone?                                                               LOVETT                                                              It was the vertebrae of a Megatherium                          - found in Asia.                                                               ? 480 ?                                                              BARNARD                                                              Yeah, I remember. You said that before.                                                                                        LOVETT                                                              Sir Henry Derwent was knighted, and                          he never got beyond the mesozoic era.                                                                                        Barnard stares at Lovett unbelievingly.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Ah, poor fellow.                                                              Lovett glares at him resentfully, and                          snaps the lid shut on his box.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Yes, it just showsó                                                              (taking offense)                                                              I don't know why I'm talking to you.                          I don't know you. Who are you?                                                               BARNARD                                                              (turns away)                                                              Okay, brother.                                                              LOVETT                                                              Don't call me brother.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Okay, sister.                                                              (chuckles to himself)                                                              No offense. No offense!                                                              36. CLOSE SHOT - GLORIA AND BARNARD                                                                                        Gloria sits slumped in her seat, looking                          glumly out. Barnard glances at her curiously.                          Finally he makes a friendly overture.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Cigarette?                                                              Gloria turns her head, surveys Barnard                          coldly, and without responding, turns                          back.                                                               BARNARD                                                              I say, will you have a cigarette?                                                              GLORIA                                                              No.                                                              BARNARD                                                              (unabashed)                                                              Say, you're an American, aren't you?                                                                                        GLORIA                                                              (irascibly)                                                              Say, listen - will you go and annoy                          the rest of your playmates? Let me alone!                                                                                        He shrugs his shoulders and slides back                          into his seat.                                                               ? 481 ?                                                              37. FULL SHOT                                                              All is silent for a moment. Conway is                          writing on a small pad - which he rests                          on an uplifted knee. George is rummaging                          through a closet - rear of the cabin.                                                                                        38. MED. SHOT - GEORGE AND CONWAY                                                              Conway still writes, undisturbed. George                          reaches into the closet and emerges                          with a bottle of whiskey. His face lights                          up.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (holds up bottle)                                                              Hello! Look what I found!                                                              He crosses to Conway.                                                              GEORGE                                                              Just what I needed too.                                                              CONWAY                                                              (looks up - smiling)                                                              You?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Just this once, Bob. I feel like celebrating.                          Just think of it, Bob - a cruiser sent                          to Shanghai just to take you back to                          England. You know what it means.                                                               (hands him cup)                                                              Here you are. Don't bother about those                          cables now. I want you to drink with                          me.                                                               (holds his cup up)                                                              Gentlemen, I give you Robert Conway                          - England's new Foreign Secretary.                                                                                        Conway watches him, amused. George gulps                          down his drink.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (after a slight hesitation - downing                          his drink)                                                               Hurray!                                                              GEORGE                                                              How I'm going to bask in reflected glory!                                                                                        (dreamily)                                                              People are going to point to me and                          say, "There goes George Conway - brother                          of the Foreign Secretary."                                                               CONWAY                                                              Don't talk nonsense. Give me the bottle.                                                                                        Conway takes the bottle from him and                          pours himself a second drink.                                                               GEORGE                                                              That's why they're sending for you,                          Bob. With all these foreign entanglements,                          it was bound to happen. They need you.                                                                                        Conway, with a poured drink in hand,                          laughs.                                                               GEORGE                                                              All right, you can laugh if you want                          to. But who else can they get? Who else                          is there in all of England half the                          fighter, half the diplomat, who                                                               ? 482 ?                                                              has half your knowledge of the foreign                          situation? They can't stop you now,                          Bob.                                                               Conway moodily pours himself a third.                          He downs the drink as we                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              INT. PLANE                                                              39. CLOSE SHOT OF CONWAY                                                              We find Conway, asleep in his seat,                          his head on his hands. George approaches                          and tenderly spreads a jacket over his                          shoulders. Conway stirs, opens an eye.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              (drunkenly)                                                              Hello, Freshie. Did you make that report                          out yet?                                                               GEORGE                                                              Yes, Bob.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Did you say we saved ninety white people?                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              Yes.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Hurray for us. Did you say that we left                          ten thousand natives down there to be                          annihilated? No, you wouldn't say that.                          They don't count.                                                               GEORGE                                                              You'd better try to get some sleep,                          Bob.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Just you wait until I'm Foreign Secretary.                          Can't you just see me, Freshie, with                          all those other shrewd, little Foreign                          Secretaries?                                                               (confidentially - screws up face)                                                              You see, the trick is to see who can                          out-talk the other. Everybody wants                          something for nothing, and if you can't                          get it with smooth talk, you send an                          army in. I'm going to fool them, Freshie.                          I'm not going to have an army. I'm going                          to disband mine. I'm going to sink my                          battleships - I'm going to destroy every                          piece of warcraft. Then when the enemy                          approaches we'll say, "Come in, gentlemen                          - what can we do for you?" So then the                          poor enemy soldiers will stop and think.                          And what will they think, Freshie? They'll                          think to themselves - "Something's wrong                          here. We've been duped. This is not                          according to form. These people seem                          to be quite friendly, and why should                          we shoot them?" Then they'll lay down                          their arms. You see how simple the whole                          thing is? Centuries of tradition kicked                          right in the pantsó                                                               (pause - drily)                                                              óand I'll be slapped straight into the                          nearest insane asylum.                                                               He starts to pour himself another drink.                                                                                        ? 483 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              You'd better not drink any more, Bob.                          You're not talking sense.                                                               Conway downs the drink, and then chuckles                          cynically.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Don't worry, George. Nothing's going                          to happen. I'll fall right into line.                          I'll be the good little boy that everybody                          wants me to be. I'll be the best little                          Foreign Secretary we ever had, just                          because I haven't the nerve to be anything                          else.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Do try to sleep, Bob.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Huh? Oh, sure, Freshie. Good thing,                          sleep.                                                               He grunts and squirms. George tucks                          him in.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Did you ever notice the sunrise in China,                          George? Ah, you should. It's beautiful.                                                                                        He gets settled. George relaxes and,                          leaning back, shuts his eyes.                                                               40. LONG SHOT OF CABIN                                                              It is quiet. All are asleep. CAMERA                          MOVES FORWARD SLOWLY until it reaches                          the glass panel leading to the cockpit.                          The pilot's face turns. Instead of Fenner                          we see a strange, Mongolian face - with                          sharp, piercing eyes. A half-smile plays                          across his mouth.                                                               EXT. SHOT OF PLANE                                                              41. LONG SHOT OF PLANE                                                              Flying at high speed against a moonlit                          sky. We stay on the shot until it vanishes,                          a mere speck, over the horizon.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. SHOT - DAWN                                                              42. LONG SHOT                                                              The morning sun peeks over a mountain                          top. From the same direction, as if                          arriving with the sun, the ship looms                          up, and comes roaring toward us.                                                               INT. PLANE                                                              43. FULL SHOT                                                              All are asleep except Lovett, who fidgets                          on his seat. Then Barnard stirs - opens                          his eyes - and stretches. As he does                          so, he sees that Lovett is awake.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Good morning, Lovey.                                                              LOVETT                                                              I beg your pardon.                                                              BARNARD                                                              I say, good morning, Lovey.                                                              ? 484 ?                                                              LOVETT                                                              Good morningó                                                              (catches himself)                                                              Look here, young man.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Eh?                                                              LOVETT                                                              I didn't care for 'sister' last night,                          and I don't like 'Lovey' this morning.                          My name is Lovett - Alexander, P.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              I see.                                                              LOVETT                                                              I see.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Well, it's a good morning, anyway.                                                                                        LOVETT                                                              I'm never conversational before I coffee.                                                                                        Barnard glances out of the window, looks                          around outside thoughtfully.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Wait a minute. Is it a good morning?                          Say, we're supposed to be travelling                          east, aren't we?                                                               LOVETT                                                              Why, of course. Yes.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Well, it looks to me as if we're travelling                          west.                                                               LOVETT                                                              That's ridiculous.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Is it?                                                              LOVETT                                                              It certainly is.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Look hereó                                                              LOVETT                                                              Any child knows how to tell direction.                          Any child. I don't care where the child                          is - in the air, on the earth, or in                          the sea. If you face the rising sun,                          your right hand is the north, and your                          left hand is the southó                                                               BARNARD                                                              I always get it twisted because I'm                          left-handed.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Oh, really?                                                              ? 485 ?                                                              BARNARD                                                              Yes.                                                              LOVETT                                                              Well, you just reverse it. Your left                          hand isó                                                               (tries to explain - gets confused and                          irritated)                                                               What difference does it make what 'hand'                          you are? The north is the north!                                                               BARNARD                                                              Uh-huh. All I know is - the sun rises                          in the east, and we're going away from                          it.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Now you're irritating and absurd!                                                              44. CLOSE SHOT - LOVETT                                                              As he sulks by himself, looks around                          - locates the sun in back of him - smiles                          - satisfied he's right, throws a condescending                          glance over at Barnard - then suddenly                          his face clouds - the whole thing dawns                          on him.                                                               LOVETT                                                              (jumps up shrieking)                                                              Oh, my word - of course - yes. Boy!                          Boy, we're travelling in the wrong direction!                          Wake up! We're going in the wrong direction!                                                                                        45. FULL SHOT                                                              Conway is still asleep.                                                              GEORGE                                                              (concerned for Conway)                                                              Couldn't you arrange to make a little                          less noise?                                                               LOVETT                                                              I tell you, we're going west, and Shanghai                          is east of here!                                                               GEORGE                                                              Be quiet! Fenner's the best pilot in                          China. He knows what he's doing.                                                               LOVETT                                                              (not quite reassured)                                                              It's Fenner.                                                              BARNARD                                                              He might have lost his way.                                                              LOVETT                                                              Of course. That's what I told them last                          night. You can't expect a man to sail                          around in the dark.[5]                                                               During this George has been looking                          around - he rises.                                                               GEORGE                                                              All right, all right. Calm yourself.                          I'll talk to Fenner.                                                               ? 486 ?                                                              He crosses to panel leading to cockpit,                          CAMERA FOLLOWING HIM. When he gets there                          he knocks on the window.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Fenner! I - I sayó                                                              George knocks again. From the cockpit                          side - the small shade suddenly snaps                          up - and George finds himself staring                          into the face of the mysterious pilot.                          He takes an instinctive step backward.                          The pilot turns his head. CAMERA ANGLE                          WIDENS as George keeps backing up until                          he gets to Conway. George turns to Conway                          and shakes his shoulder.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Bob! Bob!                                                              Conway stirs in his sleep, slowly opens                          his eyes, yawns and stretches. Throughout                          it, George speaks.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Wake up! Something's happened! It isn't                          Fenner in the cockpit!                                                               Conway looks at him, glances off toward                          the others, and back at George.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (dismissing him with a gesture)                                                              Oh, stop it!                                                              GEORGE                                                              The bloke up there looks a Chinese,                          or a Mongolian, or something.                                                               BARNARD                                                              We're nowhere near Shanghai. We're going                          in the opposite direction.                                                               This interests Conway and he looks out                          of the window.                                                               CONWAY                                                              We're over the desert. That's funny.                                                                                        Then rising, he crosses to cockpit.                          The others watch him expectantly.                                                                                        46. GROUP SHOT - AROUND COCKPIT                                                              Conway pounds on the panel. The face                          of the pilot appears in sight. Conway                          tries to ask him something in Chinese.                          The pilot glares at them for a second,                          then a gun is shoved out at them. Instinctively                          they back away.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Charming chap.                                                              BARNARD                                                              (not being funny)                                                              Nice puss to meet in a dark alley.                                                                                        The ship lurches - and they are thrown                          off balance. The panel has been snapped                          shut.                                                               ? 487 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Well, that's that, I guess.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Wonder what's happened to Fenner.                                                              LOVETT                                                              Yes. And who is he ? How'd he get there?                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Do you suppose we stopped someplace                          during the night and changed pilots?                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              No. That's not possible! If we had landed,                          we all would have been awakened.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Of course. We never left the air. I                          know - I didn't sleep the whole night                          long.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (with finality)                                                              That fellow got on at Baskul.                                                              LOVETT                                                              What's he doing? Where's he taking us?                          He may be a maniac for all we know.                                                                                        George, who has disappeared during the                          above, now returns, with a monkey wrench                          in his hand. Conway stops him.                                                               CONWAY                                                              George, what are you going to do?                                                              GEORGE                                                              I'm going to drag him out and force                          him to tell us what his game is.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Good.                                                              CONWAY                                                              What if he refuses?                                                              LOVETT                                                              We'll smash his face in. That's what                          we'll do.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Brilliant!                                                              (a sweeping gesture)                                                              Can anyone here fly a plane?                                                              There is a general chorus of "noónot                          I," etc.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (takes wrench from George's hand)                                                              Well, George, that's no good.                                                              Conway throws the monkey wrench into                          a corner.                                                               ? 488 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              I guess we're in for it.                                                              LOVETT                                                              In for what?                                                              CONWAY                                                              I don't know. He must have had some                          purpose in taking the plane away from                          Fenner.                                                               (starts for his seat)                                                              When he lands, we'll find out.                                                              LOVETT                                                              You mean to tell me you're not going                          to do anything until we land?                                                               CONWAY                                                              What do you suggest?                                                              LOVETT                                                              Why, you - youó Look here - he may dash                          us to pieces!                                                               CONWAY                                                              It might afford you a great deal of                          relief.                                                               (sitting)                                                              Now gentlemen, I'm going back to sleep.                          Oh, and I was having such a peaceful                          dream.                                                               (curling up)                                                              As soon as he lands, let me know.                                                              He shuts his eyes and leans back. The                          others watch him for a second - and                          wander back to their seats.                                                               47. CLOSE SHOT - GLORIA AND BARNARD                                                                                        Gloria is apparently indifferent to                          their predicament. As Barnard watches                          her, a little bitter smile plays around                          her mouth.                                                               48. CLOSE SHOT - GEORGE                                                              He stares out of the window and is suddenly                          startled.                                                               EXT. SHOT OF PLANE                                                              49. LONG SHOT                                                              Of the plane with its nose turned downward                          in a sharp descent.                                                               INT. CABIN OF PLANE                                                              50. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              George is on his feet.                                                              GEORGE                                                              (excited)                                                              We're heading down! We're going to land!                                                                                        Everyone looks out. George rushes to                          Conway and nudges him.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (breathlessly)                                                              Bob, we're landing!                                                              (pointing out)                                                              Bob, we're coming to a village!                                                              Conway sits up and looks out.                                                              ? 489 ?                                                              EXT. SHOT OF PLANE                                                              51. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Plane starting toward ground. All we                          can see are mountain tops.                                                               INT. PLANE                                                              52. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              They all stare out of the windows. Conway                          peers intently.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. SHOT FROM AIRPLANE                                                              53. LONG SHOT                                                              From angle in cabin of plane. Through                          the window, directly below we see a                          large open space at the foot of the                          hills. The plane is headed for it.                                                                                        54. LONG SHOT                                                              We see a swarm of strange-looking natives,                          scantily attired, but bearing bayonets,                          running toward the plane.                                                               INT. PLANE                                                              55. MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT                                                              Of George and Conway, as the ship hits                          the ground, bouncing and swaying perilously.                                                                                        EXT. MOUNTAINOUS COUNTRY                                                              56. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As the plane taxies across the uninhabited                          space.                                                               INTERIOR PLANE                                                              57. MED. CLOSE SHOT AT DOOR                                                              Conway and George ready to get out.                          As Conway turns to open the door, he                          looks off and is startled by something                          he sees. George follows his gaze, and                          a bewildered expression comes into his                          eyes, too.                                                               EXTERIOR OF PLANE                                                              58. LONG SHOT                                                              Shooting through door. The strange-looking                          natives have surrounded the plane and                          are closing in.                                                               INTERIOR PLANE                                                              59. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway and George both instinctively                          wheel around toward the opposite side.                          But from that direction too, a horde                          of natives dash toward them. Conway                          hesitates a second, and like a flash                          springs for the door. But he stops again,                          as he opens the door.                                                               EXTERIOR OF PLANE                                                              60. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              To include door of plane. Conway finds                          himself staring into the threatening                          mouths of half a dozen rifles, and quickly                          shuts the door.                                                               GEORGE                                                              What are these people?                                                              CONWAY                                                              I don't know. I can't get the dialect.                                                                                        ? 490 ?                                                              EXTERIOR OF PLANE                                                              61. MEDIUM SHOT THROUGH WINDOW                                                              We see the pilot and several natives                          in single file as they come toward the                          plane, buckets in hand. In b.g., one                          of them lowers a bucket into a well                          in the ground.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Look - they're loading up with gasoline.                                                                                        EXTERIOR OF PLANE                                                              62. SEVERAL SHOTS                                                              The gas is being loaded. Natives on                          horseback dash back and forth shouting                          and signalling. Camels can be glimpsed                          among the horses. There is tremendous                          disorder and commotion.                                                               63. LONG SHOT                                                              The ship leaves the ground. The natives                          stand around, curiously watching.                                                                                        INTERIOR PLANE                                                              64. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway is pacing. The occupants sit                          by their open windows.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Imagine having all that fuel there,                          waiting for us!                                                               (he sits down)                                                              George, something tells me our journey                          is just beginning.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Where are we going? Huh?                                                              BARNARD                                                              (pointing)                                                              If you ask me, we're heading straight                          for those mountains.                                                               EXTERIOR SHOT                                                              65. LONG SHOT                                                              We see the plane against the sky. In                          the b.g., there is nothing but snow-covered                          mountains.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              INSERT: A sign reading "Shanghai Municipal                          Airport."                                                               INT. AIRPORT                                                              66. MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT                                                              A Chinese officer is on the phone.                                                                                        CHINESE OFFICER                                                              A Douglas plane[6] from Baskul with                          Conway and four others aboard are missing.                          Unreported between here and Baskul.                                                                                        QUICK SHOTS of:                                                              A switchboard operator besieged by calls.                                                                                        A telegraph secretary furiously typing.                                                                                        Newspapers being run off a press.                                                              ? 491 ?                                                              INT. FOREIGN OFFICE                                                              67. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Of a high official of the British Foreign                          Office.                                                               HIGH OFFICIAL                                                              (holding forth to his secretary)                                                              Make it very emphatic that His Majesty's                          Government will hold the Chinese government                          and all Chinese governors of Chinese                          provinces responsible for the complete                          safety of Robert Conway.                                                               THE CAMERA PULLS BACK to reveal other                          foreign department officials and functionaries                          arriving in the midst of his speech.                                                                                        HIGH OFFICIAL                                                              Good morning, gentlemen.                                                              FUNCTIONARIES                                                              (ad-libbing)                                                              Good morning, etc.                                                              OFFICIAL                                                              No news yet, sir?                                                              HIGH OFFICIAL                                                              It's fantastic. The plane couldn't disappear                          into thin air.                                                               (turning to secretary of the group)                                                                                        And cable Lord Gainsford at Shanghai.                          Leave no stone unturned to find Conway.                                                                                        (turning back to foreign officials)                                                                                        And Robertson?                                                              ROBERTSON                                                              Yes, sir?                                                              HIGH OFFICIAL                                                              Better get a postponement of the Far                          East conference. We can't afford to                          meet those nations without Conway.                                                                                        INT. PLANE                                                              68. MED. SHOT                                                              The occupants are hunched up in the                          corner of their seats. What little clothes                          they have, and what few blankets, are                          bundled around them. All the windows                          are shut.                                                               INSERT: ALTOMETER                                                              Registering a height of 10,000 feet.                                                                                        69. FULL SHOT                                                              There is silence for a moment before                          Barnard speaks.                                                               BARNARD                                                              It can't be kidnapping. They wouldn't                          be taking us so far on such a dangerous                          trip. No sense to it.                                                               No one responds to his speculation and                          he lapses into silence.                                                               ? 492 ?                                                              70. MED. SHOT                                                              To include George, Conway and Lovett.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              What do you make of it, Bob? You must                          have some idea?                                                               Conway shrugs.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Huh? I give it up. But this not knowing                          where you're going is exciting anyway.                                                                                        LOVETT                                                              Well, Mr. Conway, for a man who is supposed                          to be a leader, your do-nothing attitude                          is very disappointing.                                                               GEORGE                                                              What do you want him to do?                                                              LOVETT                                                              I don't know. I'm a paleontologist,                          not a Foreign Secretary.                                                               Lovett slips back into his corner and                          pulls his coat over his face.                                                               INSERT: OF ALTOMETER                                                              Registering above 10,000 feet. We STAY                          on it as it climbs and climbs to 15,000                          feet.                                                               EXT. MOUNTAINOUS COUNTRY                                                              71. Showing the plane high over mountain                          peaks.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. SHOT OF PLANE - NIGHT                                                              72. LONG SHOT                                                              Against a moonlit sky, we see a lone                          speck - the plane as it flies high above                          the mountains. It appears to be traveling                          through endless space.                                                               INT. PLANE                                                              73. MED. SHOT                                                              The atmosphere is pervaded with a feeling                          of utter futility. The occupants are                          still slumped in the corners of their                          seats.                                                               74. CLOSE SHOT - GLORIA AND BARNARD                                                                                        Gloria has a fit of coughing. She grabs                          her throat - as she gasps for breath.                          Barnard, himself feeble and exhausted,                          glances over at her sympathetically.                                                                                        75. WIDER SHOT                                                              Including Lovett, George, and Conway.                          Lovett sits with his chin helplessly                          on his chest, his mouth ludicrously                          open, his eyes popping. George, his                          teeth clenched, struggles against a                          desire to sob. Conway looks at him feelingly.                                                                                        76. CLOSE SHOT - GEORGE AND CONWAY                                                                                        Conway's eyes never leave George, who                          finally unable to control himself, emits                          a sob - and rather ashamed, slaps his                          hand over his mouth and turns away.                                                                                        ? 493 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Oh George, come on.                                                              GEORGE                                                              (suddenly - tensely)                                                              It's not knowing that's so awful, Bob.                          Not knowing where you're going, or why,                          or what's waiting when you get there.                                                                                        George, with an effort, stifles another                          outbreak.                                                               CONWAY                                                              We got above that storm.                                                              INSERT: OF ALTOMETER                                                              At 20,000 feet - and while we stay on                          it - keeps mounting.                                                               INTERIOR CABIN                                                              77. FULL SHOT                                                              Deathly silence. Gloria has her hands                          to her ears, rocking in pain. Suddenly                          her voice rents the air.                                                               GLORIA                                                              Oh! Oh! I can't stand it any longer!                                                                                        She jumps up and moves about frantically.                                                                                        GLORIA                                                              (screaming)                                                              Take us down! I can't stand this pain                          any longer! Let me out of here I say!                          I can't stand it any longer!                                                               She runs to one of the ship's doors                          and pounds on it with her fist, then                          tries to shove it open. A blast of frigid                          air throws her back. George and Conway                          manage to pry her off and pull her away.                          Sobbing pitifully, she lets Conway steer                          her back to her seat, where she bundles                          up in torturous pain. For a moment nothing                          is heard but her stifled moans.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Take it easy, sister.                                                              Unexpectedly the cockpit panel opens,                          and the pilot tosses something out in                          Gloria's direction.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (grabbing for it)                                                              It's oxygen!                                                              (he rigs it up for her)                                                              Now take it with your teeth. That's                          right - bite.                                                               GLORIA                                                              (struggling)                                                              Let me alone.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Now, now. Come on now. That's right.                          Now, bite.                                                               She resumes her sobbing quietly.                                                              ? 494 ?                                                              DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. PLANE                                                              78. LONG SHOT                                                              Of the plane at twilight, fading into                          deepest night.                                                               INT. PLANE                                                              79. FULL SHOT                                                              Of the cabin at night, everyone frozen                          in despair. All of a sudden there is                          a loud, sputtering noise from the outside.                          They all react - listen for a moment                          - until the noise dies completely. Now                          nothing is heard - not even the motor.                                                                                        AD-LIB                                                              (breaking the silence)                                                              What's that! What's happening?                                                              CONWAY                                                              (immediately on his feet)                                                              He must have run out of fuel.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Look! Look down there!                                                              EXT. PLANE                                                              80. LONG SHOT                                                              The plane gradually tilting downward.                                                                                        INT. PLANE                                                              81. FULL SHOT                                                              The ship sways several seconds and finally                          rights itself.                                                               EXT. PLANE                                                              82. LONG SHOT                                                              Of what they see from plane. Vast snow-covered                          mountain peaks, with no sign of a stretch                          big enough to land.                                                               83. LONG SHOT                                                              The plane sways perilously in the cross                          wind.                                                               INTERIOR PLANE                                                              84. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              They are all silent - waiting prayerfully.                          Conway turns to the others - his voice                          electric with authority.                                                               CONWAY                                                              George - everybody - better get back                          towards the tail! He may nose her over.                          Into the corner, quick! George - cushions,                          blankets!                                                               They obey his command.                                                              EXTERIOR SHOT OF PLANE                                                              85. LONG SHOT                                                              We see the plane nearing the ground,                          sailing over some smaller hills.                                                               INTERIOR PLANE                                                              86. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              With Conway in front of them, the others                          are crouching in the corner. There are                          ad-libs of fearful assurances while                          they hand around cushions and blankets.                                                                                        ? 495 ?                                                              EXTERIOR SHOT OF PLANE                                                              87. LONG SHOT                                                              Just as the ship hits the ground for                          the first time.                                                               INTERIOR PLANE                                                              88. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              The occupants brace themselves for the                          jolt. The ship hits and bounces several                          times and finally stops. Its nose seems                          to bury itself in the ground. The people                          are lifted high into the air where they                          remain, suspended for a few seconds,                          terror-stricken. Then, accompanied by                          grinding, crackling sounds, the ship                          flops back and falls on its side. For                          a moment there is stark silence - while                          the people do not stir. A look of relief                          spreads over their faces.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Everybody all right?                                                              The passengers offer dazed replies:                          "Okay - yeah - I think so." Meanwhile,                          Conway has opened the door. A swirling                          mass of snow greets them, so that they                          have to force their way out.                                                               EXTERIOR OF PLANE                                                              89. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              George and Conway fight their way down                          from the plane in the blinding snow.                          George quickly runs around to the other                          side. Conway crosses to the cockpit,                          and clambers aboard.                                                               90. CLOSE SHOT IN THE COCKPIT                                                              Lit only by the dashboard light. Conway                          sticks his head in from the outside.                          His eyes which have been flashing with                          determination suddenly sober. CAMERA                          PANS OVER to pilot, who is slumped over,                          his chin resting on his chest.                                                               91. MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT                                                              George pops into view on the opposite                          side, just as Conway has found the pilot's                          gun beside him on the seat.                                                               GEORGE                                                              What is it? Has he fainted?                                                              CONWAY                                                              It looks like it.                                                              (sniffing)                                                              Smell those fumes?                                                              Conway hops up beside the pilot. George                          follows suit.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (handing gun to George)                                                              Here George, take the gun. Hold the                          lights. I'm going to search him before                          he comes to.                                                               (while searching)                                                              We might find something interesting.                                                                                        (finds something)                                                              Hello - what's this? A map!                                                              (hands it to George)                                                              He resumes his search enthusiastically.                          Suddenly he stops. The utter limpness                          of the pilot's body gives him pause.                          He lifts up his chin, stares into his                          face - pulls up his eyelid and then                          places a hand over his heart. He turns                          slowly toward George, who has been watching                          his brother intently.                                                               ? 496 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              He's dead.                                                              GEORGE                                                              Dead?                                                              George stares unbelievingly.                                                              CONWAY                                                              It must have happened the moment he                          hit the ground.                                                               (a pause)                                                              Let's take a look at this map.                                                              Conway holds the map under the dashboard                          light. He studies it painstakingly,                          and his tense expression changes to                          one of deep concern. George's eyes are                          glued on him.                                                               GEORGE                                                              What is it?                                                              CONWAY                                                              See that spot?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Yes.                                                              CONWAY                                                              That's where we were this morning. He                          had it marked. Right on the border of                          Tibet. Here's where civilization ends.                          We must be a thousand miles beyond it                          - just a blank on the map.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (afraid to ask)                                                              What's it mean?                                                              CONWAY                                                              It means we're in unexplored country                          - country nobody ever reached.                                                               George stares at him, wide-eyed, the                          gravity of their situation slowly penetrating                          his terrorized mind. Conway's thoughts                          are interrupted by a knock on the panel,                          and he looks up.                                                               92. MED. CLOSE SHOT THROUGH GLASS PANEL                                                                                        We see the faces of Barnard and the                          others. We hear their voices inquiring                          - "Hey, Conway, what's happening?" -                          "What's up?" - "Where are we?" - "What'd                          you find out?"                                                               93. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY AND GEORGE                                                                                        Conway turns to George.                                                              CONWAY                                                              George, our chances of getting out of                          this are pretty slim. But it's up to                          us.                                                               (a nod toward cabin)                                                              We can't have three hysterical people                          on our hands.                                                               He enters the cabin through the cockpit.                                                                                        ? 497 ?                                                              INT. CABIN OF PLANE                                                              94. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As Conway enters, he is met by a volley                          of questions.                                                               AD-LIB                                                              What do you say? What'd you find out?                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              (interrupting - cheerily)                                                              Everything's all right. The pilot won't                          trouble us any more. He's - he's dead.                                                                                        This is met by a series of exclamations.                                                                                        AD-LIB                                                              Dead? How did it happen?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Probably a heart attack.                                                              BARNARD                                                              What are we going to do?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Well, there's nothing we can do until                          the morning.                                                               95. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Taking in George as he enters from cockpit.                          His terror-stricken eyes look dully                          before him. He stops in the doorway.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              The storm will probably die down by                          then. My suggestion is that we better                          all try and get a good night's rest.                                                                                        96. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Over the shoulders of Gloria, Barnard                          and Lovett as they face Conway, who                          sits down.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (fiercely)                                                              Why don't you tell them the truth?                                                                                        97. FULL SHOT                                                              They all wheel around and face George.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              Why don't you tell them we're a million                          miles from civilization, without a chance                          of getting out of here alive? It's slow                          starvation - that's what it is. It's                          a slow, horrible death!                                                               When the significance of this outburst                          finally sinks into the chaotic minds                          of his listeners, they turn to Conway                          hopefully, certain he will refute it.                          But Conway looks beyond them at George.                          From his noncommittal silence, they                          realize that George's statement is the                          truth. They slip into their seats. The                          place is heavy with a fatalistic silence.                          George slowly crosses to his seat near                          Conway, avoiding his accusing eyes.                          Suddenly the air is rent with harsh,                          bitter laughter from Gloria. They all                          look up.                                                               ? 498 ?                                                              GLORIA                                                              Well, that's perfect! Just perfect!                          What a kick I'm going to get out of                          this!                                                               She emits another outburst of semi-hysterical                          laughter.                                                               98. CLOSE SHOT - GROUP                                                              Favoring Gloria. The bitterness of a                          lifetime in her voice.                                                               GLORIA                                                              (grimly satisfied)                                                              A year ago a doctor gave me six months                          to live. That was a year ago! I'm already                          six months to the good. I'm on velvet.[7]                          I haven't got a thing to loseó                                                               (semi-hysterical)                                                              But you! - you, the noble animals of                          the human race, what a kick I'm going                          to get out of watching you squirm for                          a change.                                                               (her voice cracks completely)                                                              What a kick!                                                              She flops into her seat and buries her                          head in her hands. For quite a while                          all we hear are her stifled sobs.                                                                                        99. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY AND GEORGE                                                                                        George throws sidelong glances at his                          brother, feeling his guilt.                                                               100. FULL SHOT                                                              Shooting from front of plane, taking                          in entire cabin. The only sound that                          comes in on the tragic quiet is the                          low moaning of the wind outside. A feeling                          of doom has descended upon the five                          people.                                                               FADE OUT:                                                              FADE IN                                                              101. LONG SHOT                                                              Shooting toward the mountains which                          seem to imprison the valley below. The                          snowstorm, treacherous in its fury,                          seems to threaten the valley with complete                          obliteration.                                                               102. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Of the plane, tilted over on its side.                          It is fully covered with snow. CAMERA                          PANS UP TO LOVETT AND BARNARD, shivering                          in their blankets as they pace worriedly.                                                                                        INTERIOR OF PLANE                                                              103. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              George and Conway are missing. Lovett                          turns from the window.                                                               LOVETT                                                              They've been gone for three hours.                                                                                        The others appear disinterested in this                          observation.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Left us here to rot. That's what they've                          done. Heroes of the newspapers!                                                               BARNARD                                                              All right, all right. Keep quiet.                                                              Lovett sees something through the window.                                                                                        ? 499 ?                                                              EXTERIOR OF PLANE                                                              104. MEDIUM SHOT - THROUGH WINDOW OF                          PLANE                                                               George and Conway are seen walking briskly                          toward the plane, their few clothes                          a scant protection against the biting                          wind.                                                               INTERIOR PLANE                                                              105. FULL SHOT                                                              LOVETT                                                              Here they come!                                                              The others quickly glance up, just as                          Conway and George clamber aboard. Conway                          has a serious mien, but George is full                          of vigor and enthusiasm.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Hello, everybody.                                                              He holds out his hat which he has been                          carrying, bottom side up.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Well, we found some food.                                                              Barnard and Lovett rush to him.                                                              GEORGE                                                              No chance of our starving now.                                                              When they see the contents of his hat,                          their faces fall.                                                               LOVETT                                                              What is it?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Mountain grass. It's good, too. Here,                          have some. I've read of people lasting                          thirty days on this stuff.                                                               They grab handfuls. He goes on:                                                              GEORGE                                                              Listen, my brother and I have worked                          out a plan. If we use our heads, we                          should be able to keep alive for weeks,                          until he gets back.                                                               LOVETT & BARNARD                                                              Gets back? Where's he going?                                                              GEORGE                                                              He doesn't know. But he's starting out                          right away in the direction of India.                          Sooner or later he's bound to run into                          somebody - a tribe or something.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Yeah?                                                              106. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              Throughout the previous scene he has                          been busily occupied making preparations.                          Out of the baggage hold he has brought                          some blankets and rope and has been                          wrapping his feet in them. As George                          speaks, he looks up and smiles.                                                               ? 500 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Now here's the idea. We found a cave                          over by that small hill. After we bury                          the pilot, we're moving in. We can have                          a fire there. I shouldn't be surprised                          to see Bob back within a week.                                                               Conway's smile dies on his face. We                          get a feeling he is attempting a futile                          journey, and is fully aware of it. He                          resumes the roping of his feet - his                          movements mechanical.                                                               107. MED. CLOSE SHOT - GROUP                                                              Barnard and Lovett all attention as                          George speaks. Gloria, off to one side,                          has her eyes peeled on Conway intently.                                                                                        108. CLOSE SHOT - GLORIA AND CONWAY                                                                                        GLORIA                                                              You haven't got a Chinaman's chance[8]                          of getting out of this country alive,                          and you know it.                                                               Conway stares at her blankly.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Cave, eh? Where?                                                              GEORGE                                                              (pointing)                                                              Over by that hill.                                                              Barnard peers out the plane window.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Hey - look!                                                              GEORGE                                                              Look, Bob!                                                              109. FULL SHOT                                                              They all look up and glance out.                                                              EXTERIOR OF PLANE                                                              110. LONG SHOT THROUGH WINDOW                                                              From their angle. In the distance, just                          appearing over the top of a hill, we                          see a caravan of natives approaching.                          They are not close enough to distinguish                          who or what they are, but that they                          are human beings is apparent.                                                               INTERIOR PLANE                                                              111. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway takes in the unbelievable sight.                          We hear the exultant exclamations of                          the others. Barnard and Lovett start                          out of the plane.                                                               LOVETT                                                              (looking around)                                                              Where are they? Do you see them?                                                              BARNARD                                                              Yes!                                                              LOVETT                                                              Do you think they're cannibals?                                                              ? 501 ?                                                              EXTERIOR OF PLANE                                                              112. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Where George, Lovett and Barnard wait,                          a trifle awe-stricken. Conway joins                          them. Gloria has stayed inside.                                                               113. MED. LONG SHOT                                                              The approach of the caravan from the                          viewpoint of the group. It comprises                          some twenty Tibetans, attired in sheepskins,                          fur, hats and boots. Somewhere in the                          middle of the single file is Chang,                          an elderly Chinese. Chang steps forward                          as their leader.                                                               114. MED. SHOT (MOVING)                                                              As Conway leaves his group and meets                          the oncoming party. He approaches Chang                          and bowing courteously, greets him in                          Chinese. Chang turns his head slowly                          and speaks in perfect Oxfordian English.                                                                                        CHANG                                                              I am from a nearby Lamasery.                                                              (holding out his hand)                                                              My name is Chang.                                                              115. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              George, Barnard and Lovett.                                                              GEORGE                                                              Why, he's speaking English.                                                              LOVETT                                                              English!                                                              CONWAY                                                              (shaking hands)                                                              And mine's Conway.                                                              CHANG                                                              How do you do?                                                              CONWAY                                                              You've no idea, sir, how unexpected                          and very welcome you are. My friends                          and I - and the lady in the plane -                          left Baskul night before last for Shanghai,                          but we suddenly found ourselves travelling                          in the opposite directionó                                                               LOVETT                                                              At the mercy of a mad pilot.                                                              CONWAY                                                              We'd be eternally grateful if youó                                                                                        CHANG                                                              (interrupting)                                                              Where is your mad pilot?                                                              CONWAY                                                              He must have had a heart attack, or                          perhaps the fumes. When the plane landed                          he was dead.                                                               GEORGE                                                              We were just going to bury him when                          you came along.                                                               ? 502 ?                                                              CHANG                                                              (preoccupied)                                                              Pardon meó                                                              Chang turns to some of his men and issues                          an order in a foreign tongue, obviously                          instructions to take care of the pilot.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              (when Chang is through)                                                              So, if you will be good enough to direct                          us to your Lamaseryó                                                               116. MED. CLOSE SHOT - GROUP                                                              Favoring Chang.                                                              CHANG                                                              I shall consider it an honor to accompany                          you and your friends.                                                               He issues a command to his men and turns                          to Conway.                                                               CHANG                                                              You will need suitable clothes for the                          journey. It is not particularly far,                          but quite difficult.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Thank you.                                                              Several men have hopped into the scene                          while he has been speaking. They come                          forward with boots - sheepskins - fur                          caps, etc. As they start to get into                          these new clothes:                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              117. LONG SHOT                                                              As the caravan starts its journey back                          up the hill. All five people are now                          attired in their newly acquired outfit.                                                                                        118. SERIES OF SHOTS                                                              Showing the party on various stages                          of what looks like a humanly impossible                          journey. We see them first climbing                          - then across long vastnesses of flat                          land. Each succeeding time we see them,                          their feet drag more wearily. Their                          breathing becomes more difficult. These                          pictures finally                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. NARROW TABLELAND                                                              119. MED. LONG SHOT                                                              Halfway up a mountainside. The procession                          is just starting around a hairpin curve.                          They are forced to travel on a narrow                          ledge overlooking a deep ravine.                                                               120. CLOSE SHOT - LOVETT, BARNARD AND                          GLORIA                                                               As they cling against the rocky sides                          and glance apprehensively down into                          the abyss below.                                                               121. CLOSE SHOT - GLORIA                                                              Close by to Barnard. Gloria's face is                          wan and haggard. Every upward move seems                          to require a Herculean effort. She stops                          and has a fit of coughing.                                                               ? 503 ?                                                              DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. MOUNTAIN TRAIL                                                              122. LONG SHOT                                                              Of the snake-like moving party. They                          have reached quite a height although                          the peak of the mountain they are ascending                          towers high above them. The cutting                          wind moans treacherously as it caroms                          off the mountainside. A heavy mist envelops                          them.                                                               123. SERIES OF SHOTS                                                              As the snake-like line approaches a                          narrow, treacherous footbridge and makes                          a slow, difficult crossing in heavy                          weather.                                                               EXT. MOUNTAIN TOP                                                              124. MED. SHOT                                                              Of the group. They round a curve and                          come upon a narrow crevice which opens                          up into a passageway. One by one they                          step through, assisted by the natives.                          On the other side, they sigh relievedly.                          Oddly, the wind has stopped, the chill                          has lessened. They look up to inspect                          their surroundings and a startled look                          comes into their eyes.                                                               124. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Of Conway as he glances casually around.                          What he sees leaves him transfixed.                          He stares unbelievingly before him for                          a long time.                                                               EXT. SHOT OF SHANGRI-LA                                                              125. LONG SHOT                                                              From angle at mountain top.                                                              A sight that is both magnificent and                          incredible. The eye-filling horizon                          before them throws out a softness and                          a warmth that is breathless. On the                          left is a group of colored pavilions                          that seem as if suspended on the mountainside.                          Down below, in the hazy distance, is                          a valley which gives one the impression                          of a huge tapestry, superb in its blending                          of soft colors. In every direction,                          wherever one might gaze, there is a                          feast of strange and heavenly beauty.                                                                                        126. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              As Chang approaches Conway.                                                              CHANG                                                              Welcome to Shangri-La.                                                              EXT. MOUNTAIN TOP                                                              127. MED. SHOT - GROUP                                                              Conway's group and Chang. Chang smiles                          as he watches their astonished faces.                          Conway turns from the rare magnificence                          of Shangri-La, unhampered by the wind                          and storm they had just encountered,                          and looks backward, in the direction                          from which they came to assure himself                          he is the victim of a nightmare. Chang,                          watching him, answers him before he                          can express his astonishment.                                                               CHANG                                                              (a wave of his hand)                                                              You see, we are sheltered by mountains                          on every side. A strange phenomena for                          which we are very grateful.                                                               ? 504 ?                                                              DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. A GARDEN                                                              128. SERIES OF SHOTS                                                              As the group approaches the beautiful                          and peaceful Shangri-La.                                                               129. MED. SHOT                                                              At the foot of a wide marble stairway                          as the caravan stops.                                                               LOVETT                                                              It's magic!                                                              130. CLOSER SHOT                                                              On the group, as they look around and                          feast their eyes on the grandeur of                          the place.                                                               131. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              Glancing around at his picturesque surroundings.                                                                                        132. PANNING SHOT                                                              Following Conway's gaze. In an upper                          window of a tower, their faces glued                          to the pane, are two robed Lamas who                          stare down curiously. CAMERA PANS OVER                          to a very narrow terrace covered almost                          completely by a floral arbor. In it                          stands a statuesque woman of rare beauty.                          She looks down at Conway intently.                                                                                        133. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              As he returns her gaze, impressed by                          her beauty.                                                               GEORGE'S VOICE                                                              Come along, Bob. Coming, Bob?                                                              134. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              His eyes still on the girl above. He                          starts up the steps, staring at her,                          then stumbles.                                                               135. CLOSE SHOT - THE GIRL                                                              Laughing at his embarrassment.                                                              136. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              He smiles up at her.                                                              DISSOLVE TO:                                                              INT. A DINING ROOM                                                              137. FULL SHOT                                                              It suggests nothing we might expect                          to see in this forsaken place. The motif                          is neither Oriental nor religious -                          but rather a delicately appointed room,                          subdued in tones. At the moment, no                          one is present except servants who silently                          set the table.                                                               INT. A CORRIDOR                                                              138. MED. TRUCKING SHOT                                                              Of Lovett peering worriedly toward dining                          room door. He sees two servants who                          flank the entrance and steps back hesitantly.                          Barnard emerges from a room across the                          hall, and Lovett beckons to him. Both                          are attired in flowing robes not unlike                          the one worn by Chang.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Mr. Barnard, I do not like this place.                          I definitely do not like this place.                                                                                        ? 505 ?                                                              BARNARD                                                              Will you stop squawking!                                                              LOVETT                                                              Look at me. Look at what they gave me                          to wear.                                                               BARNARD                                                              You never looked better in your life.                          As soon as our clothes are cleaned,                          they're going to give them back to us,                          Lovey.                                                               They have reached the doorway of the                          dining room and halt. Two servants bow                          and scrape and lead them in.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Something tells me this means food.                          Come on!                                                               LOVETT                                                              I just feel as though I'm being made                          ready for the executioner.                                                               INT. DINING ROOM                                                              139. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As the servants show Lovett and Barnard                          to their places.                                                               BARNARD                                                              (taking in the food)                                                              Yeah? If this be execution, lead me                          to it.                                                               LOVETT                                                              That's what they do with cattle just                          before the slaughter. Fatten them.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Uh-huh. You're a scream, Lovey.                                                              LOVETT                                                              Please don't call me Lovey.                                                              At this moment Conway and George enter.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              That was refreshing! Oh, ho - the food                          looks good!                                                               He takes something off the table and                          nibbles at it.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Some layout they got here. Did you get                          a load of the rooms? You couldn't do                          better at the Ritz.                                                               LOVETT                                                              All the conveniences for the condemned,                          if you ask me.                                                               Conway looks at him and smiles.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Don't mind Lovey. He's got the misery.                                                                                        LOVETT                                                              Mr. Conway, I don't like this place.                          I don't like it. It's too mysterious.                                                                                        ? 506 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              It's better than freezing to death down                          below, isn't it?                                                               BARNARD                                                              I'll say.                                                              INT. GLORIA'S ROOM[ 9]                                                              140. FULL SHOT                                                              It is in semi-darkness. The moon sends                          a stream of light through the windows.                          Outside we see the outline of towering                          mountains. Spread across the bed - her                          clothes unchanged - is the body of Gloria                          - her face sunk deep in the pillows.                                                                                        141. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Gloria emits wracking coughs. After                          a few moments - she sits up. Her cheeks                          are wet - her hair disheveled - her                          eyes bloodshot. We get an impression                          of someone who has suffered for hours.                          Finally, her coughing begins again -                          and unable to stand it, she rises and                          paces the floor - then she crosses to                          the window and looks down, CAMERA PANNING                          WITH HER - and into her eyes has come                          a grim, determined expression.                                                               142. LONG SHOT                                                              From Gloria's point of view.                                                              She is staring at the chasm below her.                                                                                        CONTINUATION SCENE 141                                                              Gloria continues to peer below - and                          her coughing resumes.                                                               INT. CORRIDOR                                                              143. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As Chang comes down the corridor - hears                          the coughing and stops.                                                               INT. GLORIA'S ROOM                                                              144. FULL SHOT                                                              Chang enters and watches Gloria for                          a moment before speaking.                                                               CHANG                                                              Is there something I can do for you?                                                                                        Gloria wheels around and glares at him.                                                                                        GLORIA                                                              What do you want?                                                              CHANG                                                              I've offered you some warm broth. I                          thought perhaps-                                                               GLORIA                                                              You get out of here! If any of you men                          think you can come busting in here-                                                                                        She cannot finish as she is attacked                          by a fit of coughing.                                                               CHANG                                                              Please calm yourself. You'll soon be                          well if you do.                                                               GLORIA                                                              (through fits of coughing)                                                              I don't need any advice from you! Get                          me a doctor!                                                               ? 507 ?                                                              CHANG                                                              I'm sorry, but we have no doctors here.                                                                                        GLORIA                                                              (looks up quickly)                                                              No doctors?                                                              (bitterly)                                                              That's fine. That's just fine.                                                              CHANG                                                              Please let me help you.                                                              GLORIA                                                              Sure, you can help me! You can help                          me jump over that cliff! I've been looking                          and looking at the bottom of that mountain,                          but I haven't got the nerve to jump!                                                                                        CHANG                                                              (quietly)                                                              You shouldn't be looking at the bottom                          of the mountain. Why don't you try looking                          up at the top sometimes?                                                               GLORIA                                                              (her voice cracking)                                                              Don't preach that cheap, second-hand                          stuff to me!                                                               (a sob escapes)                                                              Go on, beat it. Beat it!                                                              She flings herself across the bed, coughing                          uncontrollably. Chang watches her sympathetically                          for a few seconds.                                                               CHANG                                                              (before turning away)                                                              Peace be with you, my child.                                                              INT. DINING ROOM                                                              145. FULL SHOT                                                              They all look up as Chang enters. He                          is escorted to his place at the head                          of the table by two servants who stand                          on either side of his chair.                                                               CHANG                                                              (jovially)                                                              Good evening. Good evening, my friends.                          Oh no, no, no, please sit down. I hope                          you found everything satisfactory.                                                                                        BARNARD & CONWAY                                                              Swell. Excellent.                                                              CHANG                                                              (sees that no one has started)                                                              You shouldn't have waited for me.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Where's the girl? Miss Stone.                                                              ? 508 ?                                                              CHANG                                                              She's remaining in her room. She isn't                          feeling very well.                                                               (to others)                                                              Now please go on without me. I eat very                          little.                                                               146. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Shooting down the long table toward                          Chang. He sits up straight - studying                          them - as the others bend over their                          food.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              INT. DINING ROOM                                                              147. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              The meal is over. Conway sips from a                          wine glass.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Well, there's certainly nothing wrong                          with that meal!                                                               CHANG                                                              Thank you.                                                              CONWAY                                                              And the wine - excellent.                                                              CHANG                                                              I'm glad you like it. It's made right                          here in the valley.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Now that dinner is over, if you'll excuse                          us, we're very anxious to discuss ways                          and means of getting back home.                                                               GEORGE                                                              The first thing we want to do is to                          cable the Foreign Office. All of England                          is waiting to hear about my brother.                          There's a cruiser at Shanghai ready                          to take him back.                                                               CHANG                                                              Really? Well, as regards cabling, I'm                          afraid I can't help. Unfortunately,                          we have no wireless here. As a matter                          of fact, we have no means of communication                          with the outside world.                                                               George stares at him suspiciously -                          and then turns to Conway for his reaction                          - but Conway is apparently disinterested                          in the whole conversation.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Not even a radio?                                                              CHANG                                                              It's always been a source of deep regret,                          but the mountains surrounding us have                          made reception almost impossible.                                                                                        ? 509 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              In that event, we better make arrangements                          to get some porters immediately. Some                          means to get us back to civilization.                                                                                        CHANG                                                              Are you so certain you are away from                          it?                                                               GEORGE                                                              As far away as I ever want to be.                                                              CHANG                                                              Oh, dear.                                                              LOVETT                                                              Of course, the porters will be very                          well paid - that is, within reason.                                                                                        CHANG                                                              I'm afraid that wouldn't help. You see,                          we have no porters here.                                                               LOVETT                                                              No porters here!!                                                              CHANG                                                              No.                                                              BARNARD                                                              What about those men we met this morning?                                                                                        CHANG                                                              Yes. Those are our own people. They                          never venture beyond the point where                          you were met this morning. It is much                          too hazardous.                                                               148. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              To intercut with above speech.                                                              He has remained quiet throughout the                          scene, apparently interested only in                          a paper in front of him, upon which                          he has been writing.                                                               INSERT: What has been occupying Conway's                          interest. It is a picture of Chang which                          he has been listlessly drawing.                                                               BARNARD                                                              How do you account for all this? Who                          brought it in?                                                               149. FULL SHOT                                                              They all turn to Chang expectantly.                                                                                        CHANG                                                              Oh, yes. There is a tribe of porters                          some five hundred miles from here. That                          is our only contact with the outside                          world. Every now and again, depending                          upon favorable weather of course, they                          make the journey.                                                               GEORGE                                                              How can we get in touch with them?                                                                                        ? 510 ?                                                              CHANG                                                              In that respect, you are exceedingly                          fortunate. We are expecting a shipment                          from them almost any time nowó                                                               LOVETT                                                              What exactly do you mean by "almost                          any time now"?                                                               CHANG                                                              Well, we've been expecting this particular                          shipment for the past two years.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Two years!?                                                              CHANG                                                              Yes.                                                              Barnard and Lovett look shocked. George                          starts to say something, but the words                          choke in his throat.                                                               CHANG                                                              But I can assure you, gentlemen, if                          there is a prolonged delay, Shangri-La                          will endeavor to make your stay as pleasant                          as possible.                                                               (rising)                                                              And now if you will excuse me, it is                          getting late. I do hope you all sleep                          well. Good night.                                                               The servants move his chair back. Before                          he goes, however, he turns to Conway.                                                                                        CHANG                                                              Good night, Mr. Conway.                                                              Conway, a little surprised at the distinction                          in his behalf, nods.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Good night, sir.                                                              Chang exits. There is a hushed silence                          following Chang's departure.                                                               LOVETT                                                              That's what I mean - mysterious. Mr.                          Conway, I don't like that man. He's                          too vague.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (concerned)                                                              We didn't get much information out of                          him, did we Bob?                                                               CONWAY                                                              It seems to me we should be grateful.                          We were in a bad mess this morning.                                                                                        (a wave of his hand)                                                              After all, this is quite pleasant. Why                          not make ourselves comfortable until                          the porters do arrive?                                                               While he was speaking, the muted strains                          of a violin float into the room. Conway                          rises.                                                               ? 511 ?                                                              150. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As Conway crosses to a balcony door.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              That's what I say. What do you say to                          a rubber of bridge? I saw some cards                          in the other room.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Not for me, thanks. No, I'm too weary.                                                                                        He disappears onto the balcony. George                          watches him go.                                                               BARNARD                                                              (slightly effeminate)                                                              How about you Lovey? Come on. Let's                          you and I play a game of honeymoon bridge.                                                                                        LOVETT                                                              (distractedly)                                                              I'm thinking.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Thinking? What about some double solitaire?                                                                                        LOVETT                                                              As a matter of fact, I'm very good at                          double solitaire.                                                               BARNARD                                                              No kidding?                                                              LOVETT                                                              Yes.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Then I'm your man.                                                              (starts away)                                                              Come on, Toots.                                                              Lovett detests the pet names, but follows.                          George thinks a moment - and crosses                          to balcony.                                                               EXT. BALCONY                                                              151. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway is listening moodily to the soulful                          music. George wanders in beside him.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Hello, George.                                                              (looking out)                                                              Cigarette?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Thanks.                                                              (lights the cigarette - after a pause)                                                                                        I suppose all this comes under the heading                          of adventure.                                                               CONWAY                                                              We've had plenty of it the last few                          days.                                                               ? 512 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              It's far from over, from what I can                          see. This place gives me the creeps,                          hidden away like this - no contact with                          civilization. Bob, you don't seem concerned                          at all.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Oh, I'm feeling far too peaceful to                          be concerned about anything.                                                               (moodily)                                                              I think I'm going to like it here.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              You talk as though you intend on staying.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              (turns to him)                                                              Something happened to me, when we arrived                          here, George, that - well - did you                          ever go to a totally strange place,                          and feel certain that you've been there                          before?                                                               GEORGE                                                              What are you talking about?                                                              CONWAY                                                              (back to earth)                                                              I don't know.                                                              GEORGE                                                              You're a strange bird. No wonder Gainsford                          calls you the man who always wanted                          to see what was on the other side of                          the hill.                                                               152. TWO SHOT - CONWAY AND GEORGE                                                              Conway's point of view, studying George.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Don't you ever want to see what's on                          the other side of the hill?                                                               GEORGE                                                              What could there be except just another                          hill? In any event, I'm not curious.                          At the moment, it seems to me we should                          be concerned about getting home. I'd                          give anything to be in London right                          now.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Of course you would. If ever we get                          out of this place, the thing for you                          to do is to take that job with Helen's                          father.                                                               GEORGE                                                              What do you mean if we should get out?                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              (evasively)                                                              Did I say "if"?                                                              ? 513 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              (interrupting)                                                              That's what you said.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Well - I meanó                                                              GEORGE                                                              What's on your mind, Bob? You talk as                          though we're going to have trouble getting                          out of here.                                                               153. CLOSE TWO SHOT - FAVORING CONWAY                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              George, I've been putting things together.                          Do you notice the resemblance between                          those natives and the pilot? And why                          did those clothes materialize so conveniently                          when they met us at the plane? Chang                          himself just said that they never venture                          beyond that point. What brought them                          there? Unless it was to meet us?                                                               GEORGE                                                              (catching on)                                                              Chang's first question was about the                          pilot.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Uh-huh.                                                              GEORGE                                                              There must be some connection between                          the plane and this place. They must                          have deliberately brought us here. Why,                          Bob? What reason could they have for                          doing a thing like that?                                                               CONWAY                                                              That's what's on the other side of the                          hill.                                                               FADE OUT:                                                              FADE IN                                                              EXT. OF VALLEY - DAY                                                              154. LONG SHOT FROM A TOWER ROOM                                                              Shooting over shoulders of two men in                          f.g.                                                               We see a beautiful picture of the valley                          below. There is a tranquility here that                          is beatific. CAMERA PULLS BACK. The                          two men are revealed as Conway and Chang.                          They stand on a terrace of one of the                          tower rooms.                                                               CHANG                                                              It's three thousand feet, practically                          straight down to the floor of the valley.                          The Valley of the Blue Moon, as we call                          it. There are over two thousand people                          in the Valley besides those here in                          Shangri-La.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Who and what is Shangri-La? You?                                                              CHANG                                                              Goodness, no!                                                              CHANG                                                              So there are others?                                                              ? 514 ?                                                              CHANG                                                              Oh, yes.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Who, for instance?                                                              CHANG                                                              In time you will meet them all.                                                              155. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO - FAVORING                          CONWAY                                                               He watches Chang's face searchingly,                          then smiles.                                                               CONWAY                                                              For a man who talks a great deal, it's                          amazing how unenlightening you can be.                                                                                        CHANG                                                              (laughs)                                                              There are some things, my dear Conway,                          I deeply regret I may not discuss.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              You know, that's the fourth time you've                          said that today. You should have a record                          made of it.                                                               CHANG                                                              (evasively)                                                              Shall we go inside? I should so like                          to show you some of our rare treasures.                                                                                        INT. A TOWER                                                              156. FOLLOW SHOT WITH GEORGE                                                              On a spiral staircase. Looking surreptitiously                          around, he backs his way up. CAMERA                          FOLLOWS HIM as he reaches the top of                          the landing. Here he stops and glances                          around the corner down a corridor.                                                                                        INT. CORRIDOR                                                              157. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              CAMERA FOLLOWS GEORGE as he peers into                          several rooms searchingly. He finally                          arrives at one and enters.                                                               INT. A ROOM                                                              158. FULL SHOT                                                              George enters and looks around. It is                          dimly lit and apparently unoccupied.                          He crosses to a desk and picks up several                          objects, scrutinizing them closely.                                                                                        159. CLOSE SHOT OF THE GIRL, MARIA -                          IN ALCOVE                                                               She sits, a tapestry board on her lap,                          watching George with keen interest.                                                                                        160. CLOSE SHOT - GEORGE                                                              He opens a book and glances at its contents.                                                                                        161. MED. SHOT TO INCLUDE BOTH                                                              Maria surveys his back appraisingly.                                                                                        MARIA                                                              Good afternoon.                                                              George wheels around, startled, and                          stares at her intently.                                                               ? 515 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              (starts backing out)                                                              Excuse meñ                                                              MARIA                                                              (appealingly)                                                              Please don't go.                                                              George hesitates at door.                                                              MARIA                                                              Tea will be served any moment.                                                              162. CLOSE SHOT - GEORGE                                                              He watches her with grave speculation                          for a long moment, then slowly moves                          toward her.                                                               MARIA                                                              (a winning smile)                                                              Won't you come in?                                                              George still maintains a serious mien,                          as their eyes meet.                                                               MARIA                                                              My name is Maria. Won't you sit down?                                                                                        INT. LIBRARY                                                              163. FULL SHOT                                                              It is a huge room. The walls are lined                          with impressive tomes. Chang is showing                          Conway around.                                                               164. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway has just finished browsing through                          one of the books.                                                               CONWAY                                                              By the way, what religion do you follow                          here?                                                               CHANG                                                              We follow many.                                                              A look of surprise spreads over Conway's                          face.                                                               CHANG                                                              (thoughtfully)                                                              To put it simply, I should say that                          our general belief was in moderation.                          We preach the virtue of avoiding excesses                          of every kind, even includingó                                                               (he smiles)                                                              óthe excess of virtue itself.                                                              165. CLOSER SHOT - THE TWO                                                              CONWAY                                                              That's intelligent.                                                              CHANG                                                              We find, in the Valley, it makes for                          better happiness among the natives.                          We rule with moderate strictness and                          in return we are satisfied with moderate                          obedience. As a result, our people are                          moderately honest and moderately chaste                          and somewhat more than moderately happy.                                                                                        ? 516 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              How about law and order? You have no                          soldiers or police?                                                               CHANG                                                              Oh, good heavens, no!                                                              CONWAY                                                              How do you deal with incorrigibles?                          Criminals?                                                               CHANG                                                              Why, we have no crime here. What makes                          a criminal? Lack, usually. Avariciousness,                          envy, the desire to possess something                          owned by another. There can be no crime                          where there is a sufficiency of everything.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              You have no disputes over women?                                                              CHANG                                                              Only very rarely. You see, it would                          not be considered good manners to take                          a woman that another man wanted.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Suppose somebody wanted her so badly                          that he didn't give a hang if it was                          good manners or not?                                                               CHANG                                                              (smiling)                                                              Well, in that event, it would be good                          manners on the part of the other man                          to let him have her.                                                               166. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO - FAVORING                          CONWAY                                                               CONWAY                                                              That's very convenient. I think I'd                          like that.                                                               CHANG                                                              You'd be surprised, my dear Conway,                          how a little courtesy all around helps                          to smooth out the most complicated problems.                                                                                        167. MED. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO                                                              Chang smiles. Conway scarcely hears                          the last speech, for his attention has                          been caught by the playing of a piano.                          He stops to listen. Chang has walked                          out of scene.                                                               168. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway locates the direction whence                          the music comes, goes to a doorway where                          he stops.                                                               169. CLOSE SHOT - CHANG                                                              He realizes Conway did not follow him                          and turns. When he sees Conway, his                          face clouds - and he starts toward him.                                                                                        170. CLOSE SHOT AT DOOR                                                              Conway watches someone through door                          with grave interest. Chang enters scene                          and follows his gaze.                                                               ? 517 ?                                                              INT. MUSIC ROOM                                                              171. FULL SHOT                                                              From doorway. It is a spacious, high-ceilinged                          room, oddly shaped, and except for a                          piano, a harp and several chairs, is                          otherwise sparsely furnished. At the                          extreme end, the room is set off by                          an alcove of stained glass extending                          from the ceiling to the floor, where                          it finishes with a deep window seat.                          At the piano we see an old man - and                          by his side is the girl Conway saw last                          night. They finish playing and both                          laugh heartily.                                                               172. CLOSE SHOT AT DOORWAY                                                              Conway finds her laughter infectious                          - and smiles.                                                               173. CLOSE SHOT - GIRL AND MAN AT PIANO                                                                                        In the midst of her laughter, the girl                          sees Conway, off scene, and her face                          sobers - self-consciously.                                                               174. CLOSE SHOT AT DOORWAY                                                              Chang quickly takes Conway by the arm.                                                                                        CHANG                                                              At some time in the future you will                          have the pleasure of meeting her.                                                                                        Conway turns for one last glimpse of                          the girl, and then turns to Chang, looking                          up at his face, puzzled and amused.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Some man had better get ready to be                          very courteous to me.                                                               175. CLOSEUP - THE GIRL                                                              She continues to stare off toward the                          door, her eyes alight with a keen interest.                                                                                        DISSOLVE TO:                                                              INT. CORRIDOR                                                              176. FOLLOW SHOT WITH CONWAY AND CHANG                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              But Mr. Chang, all these things - books,                          instruments, sculpture - do you mean                          to say they were all brought in over                          those mountains by porters?                                                               CHANG                                                              They were.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Well, it must have takenñ                                                              CHANG                                                              Centuries.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Centuries! Where did you get the money                          to pay for all those treasures?                                                               CHANG                                                              Of course we have no money as you know                          it. We do not buy or sell or seek personal                          fortunes because, well, because there                          is no uncertain future here for which                          to accumulate it.                                                               ? 518 ?                                                              INT. A ROOM                                                              177. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO                                                              They have arrived in a small room, where                          they pause. Chang reaches into a bowl                          of large nuts, cracks one, and hands                          the nut to Conway. Then he does the                          same for himself. During the following                          scene, both are eating nuts from the                          bowl.                                                               CONWAY                                                              That would suit me perfectly. I'm always                          broke. How did you pay for them?                                                               CHANG                                                              Our Valley is very rich in a metal called                          gold, which fortunately for us is valued                          very highly in the outside world. So                          we merely . . .                                                               CONWAY                                                              óbuy and sell?                                                              CHANG                                                              Buy and - sell? No, no, pardon me, exchange                          .                                                               CONWAY                                                              (chuckling)                                                              I see. Gold for ideas. You know Mr.                          Chang, there's something so simple and                          naive about all of this that I suspect                          there has been a shrewd, guiding intelligence                          somewhere. Whose idea was it? How did                          it all start?                                                               CHANG                                                              That, my dear Conway, is the story of                          a remarkable man.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Who?                                                              CHANG                                                              A Belgian priest by the name of Father                          Perrault, the first European to find                          this place, and a very great man indeed.                          He is responsible for everything you                          see here. He built Shangri-La, taught                          our natives, and began our collection                          of art. In fact, Shangri-La is Father                          Perrault.                                                               CONWAY                                                              When was all this?                                                              CHANG                                                              Oh, let me see - way back in 1713, I                          think it was, that Father Perrault stumbled                          into the Valley, half frozen to death.                          It was typical of the man that, one                          leg being frozen, and of course there                          being no doctors here, he amputated                          the leg himself.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (shocked)                                                              He amputated his own leg?                                                              ? 519 ?                                                              CHANG                                                              Yes. Oddly enough, later, when he had                          learned to understand their language,                          the natives told him he could have saved                          his leg. It would have healed without                          amputation.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Well, they didn't actually mean that.                                                                                        CHANG                                                              Yes, yes. They were very sincere about                          it too. You see, a perfect body in perfect                          health is the rule here. They've never                          known anything different. So what was                          true for them they thought would naturally                          be true for anyone else living here.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Well, is it?                                                              CHANG                                                              Rather astonishingly so, yes. And particularly                          so in the case of Father Perrault himself.                          Do you know when he and the natives                          were finished building Shangri-La, he                          was 108 years old and still very active,                          in spite of only having one leg?                                                               CONWAY                                                              108 and still active?                                                              CHANG                                                              You're startled?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Oh, no. Just a little bowled over, that's                          all.                                                               CHANG                                                              Forgive me. I should have told you it                          is quite common here to live to a very                          ripe old age. Climate, diet, mountain                          water, you might say. But we like to                          believe it is the absence of struggle                          in the way we live. In your countries,                          on the other hand, how often do you                          hear the expression, "He worried himself                          to death?" or, "This thing or that killed                          him?"                                                               CONWAY                                                              Very often.                                                              CHANG                                                              And very true. Your lives are therefore,                          as a rule, shorter, not so much by natural                          death as by indirect suicide.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (after a pause)                                                              That's all very fine if it works out.                          A little amazing, of course.                                                               ? 520 ?                                                              CHANG                                                              Why, Mr. Conway, you surprise me!                                                              CONWAY                                                              I surprise you? Now that's news.                                                              CHANG                                                              I mean, your amazement. I could have                          understood it in any of your companions,                          but you - who have dreamed and written                          so much about better worlds. Or is it                          that you fail to recognize one of your                          own dreams when you see it?                                                               CONWAY                                                              Mr. Chang, if you don't mind, I think                          I'll go on being amazed - in moderation,                          of course.                                                               CHANG                                                              (chuckles)                                                              Then everything is quite all right,                          isn't it?                                                               They exit scene together.                                                              EXT. GARDEN[10]                                                              178. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              On a garden bench Gloria slumps languidly.                          Suddenly we hear Barnard's voice, yelling.                          Gloria quickly turns her back. Barnard                          runs into scene.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Honey, it's terrific! Terrific! I just                          saw something that will make your hair                          stand on end. You see those hills over                          there? Gold! Gold! Popping right out                          of them! Tons of it!                                                               (conspiratorially)                                                              Now look, you keep this under your hat,                          because if those other monkeys hear                          about it, they'll declare themselves                          in. But if I can mine that stuff, I'll                          throw a bombshell into Wall Street.                          Now look, I've got a plan - and if Ió                                                                                        Gloria begins coughing heavily. Barnard                          notices how pale and haggard she looks.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Aw say, honey, you aren't feeling well,                          are you? Look, don't pay too much attention                          to what those doctors tell you. I've                          seen an awful lot of people fool them,                          and I've got a hunch that this place                          is going to be good for you. Honest,                          I have.                                                               (waits for her reaction - receives none)                                                                                        Come on now. Come on. You be a good                          kid, and snap out of it, and I'll cut                          you in on the gold deal. Look, I'm going                          up and make a deal with Chang - right                          now.                                                               He enthusiastically exits scene.                                                              INT. LOVETT'S ROOM                                                              179. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Lovett enters warily, sits down at his                          desk and begins to write in his journal.                                                                                        ? 521 ?                                                              INSERT OF WHAT HE WRITES:                                                              THE DIARY OF ALEXANDER P. LOVETT                                                              2nd Day at Shangri-La                                                              "This place is too mysterious!"                                                              He looks up, sees himself in a mirror                          and gives a start. Then, chuckling to                          himself reassuringly, he looks around                          warily and continues to write.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. SOMEWHERE IN SHANGRI-LA                                                              180. FULL SHOT                                                              It is a bright, cheery morning. Conway                          is drinking in the beauty of his surroundings.                          He comes into the area where the horses                          are stabled. Two men are busily grooming                          the horses.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (cheerily)                                                              Good morning!                                                              MEN                                                              Good morning, Mr. Conway!                                                              CONWAY                                                              Oh, you speak English, do you?                                                              MEN                                                              Yes, sir.                                                              ONE OF THE MEN                                                              Would you like to take a ride, Mr. Conway?                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              No, thanks. Not just now.                                                              Suddenly, Conway is startled by the                          sound of hoof-beats and, looking up,                          is in time to see 'the girl' of the                          previous sequence (Sondra) fly by him                          on a horse - screaming delightedly.                          As she passes him, she waves.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (instantly changing his mind)                                                              Well, I think I will take that ride!                                                                                        181. MED. SHOT - CONWAY                                                              As he rides off in pursuit of her.                                                                                        182. SEVERAL SHOTS OF THE CHASE                                                              Showing Sondra successfully eluding                          him - as he closes in on her.                                                               183. MED. LONG SHOT - BOTTOM OF A HILL                                                                                        Sondra whizzes by. As we stay on the                          shot - Conway rides through in exciting                          pursuit.                                                               184. ANOTHER ANGLE                                                              Showing Sondra disappearing behind a                          mountain waterfall. Conway dashes up,                          but she is lost from sight. He wheels                          around several times - and unable to                          find her, looks puzzled. Finally, giving                          up, he starts slowly back. After a few                          moments he is startled by her laughter,                          and glances around.                                                               ? 522 ?                                                              185. LONG SHOT                                                              From his view - shooting upward. High                          up - near the summit of the hill - we                          see Sondra - waving and laughing. Then                          she swings her horse around and disappears.                                                                                        186. CLOSEUP - CONWAY                                                              As he smiles - amused and interested.                                                                                        DISSOLVE TO:                                                              187. LONG SHOT - SONDRA                                                              As she swims in a mountain stream, apparently                          in the buff. From a distance, we see                          her climb onto a rock to dry off.                                                                                        188. CLOSEUP - SONDRA                                                              As she shakes her shimmering hair.                                                                                        189. MEDIUM SHOT - CONWAY                                                              He has caught up to her tethered horse                          and is skulking around trying to find                          out where she is.                                                               190. CLOSE SHOT - A SQUIRREL                                                              A squirrel, near to Sondra, chatters                          excitedly.                                                               191. CLOSE SHOT - SONDRA                                                              She can apparently understand the squirrel's                          warning. She hurries to dive back into                          the water and swim to the other side.                          She comes up, spots Conway and watches                          him from hiding, behind some bushes.                                                                                        192. MEDIUM SHOT - CONWAY                                                              Conway has discovered her clothing and                          is constructing a kind of scarecrow                          on a bush out of them. As a crowning                          touch, he adds a flower to the effigy,                          his eyes twinkling at his little joke.                          With one final glance over his shoulder,                          he turns to leave.                                                               193. CLOSE SHOT - SONDRA                                                              She stifles her laughter as he vanishes                          from view.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT                                                              194. FULL SHOT                                                              Lovett and Barnard are at the table                          waiting for the others. Several servants                          are in the b.g. George paces nervously                          in front of the door.                                                               195. MED. SHOT AT TABLE                                                              Lovett and Barnard. Barnard nibbles                          at something.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Bah! Fossils! Why? What for? Running                          around digging up a lot of old bones!                          You didn't dig yourself out of one of                          those holes by any chance, did you?                                                                                        Lovett is about to reply, when he realizes                          he is being made fun of, and gives a                          tentative chuckle.                                                               INT. CORRIDOR                                                              196. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway is coming down the corridor.                          George comes out of door to dining room                          and starts forward. Conway walks along                          in a cheerful mood, singing as he goes,                          a Cockney song.                                                               ? 523 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              (forces a smile)                                                              You seem gay. Did you find out anything?                                                                                        197. CLOSE TRUCKING SHOT WITH THEM                                                                                        As they walk back toward dining room                          door.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Well - I heard that if you want a man's                          wife, she's yours, if he's got any manners.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              Nothing about the porters yet?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Porters?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Good heavens, Bob, we've been here two                          weeks and we haven't found out a thing.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Well, we haven't been murdered in our                          beds yet, George, have we?                                                               GEORGE                                                              I'm afraid the porters are just a myth.                                                                                        (tensely)                                                              I guess we never will know why we're                          here, or how long we're going to be                          held prisoners.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Shhh!                                                              They have reached the door and start                          into dining room.                                                               INT. DINING ROOM                                                              198. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As Conway and George enter, Barnard                          calls to them:                                                               BARNARD                                                              Hey, hurry up, you slow-pokes - I'm                          starved!                                                               CONWAY                                                              (imitating Chang as he takes his chair)                                                                                        Please! Please! Do not wait for me!                          I eat so very little.                                                               Barnard laughs heartily. George, surily                          silent, enters and drops in his seat.                          At the same moment, Gloria comes into                          the room.                                                               GLORIA                                                              Good evening.                                                              The men greet her, all rising.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Well, I'm certainly glad to see that                          it's all finally organized.                                                               (to servant)                                                              Okay, handsome. Dish it out, and make                          it snappy.                                                               As he sits, he looks over at Gloria                          and something in her face arrests him.                                                                                        ? 524 ?                                                              BARNARD                                                              Hey, what's happened to you?                                                              GLORIA                                                              (self-consciously)                                                              Nothing. Why?                                                              BARNARD                                                              Why, you look beautiful.                                                              CONWAY                                                              That's unkind. Doesn't Miss Stone always                          look beautiful?                                                               199. MED. CLOSE SHOT AT TABLE                                                              Featuring Gloria, Barnard and Conway.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              (suddenly)                                                              I got it! It's your make-up. You've                          got none on.                                                               Gloria busies herself with her soup,                          self-consciously.                                                               BARNARD                                                              And say, honey, you look a million per                          cent better. Wholesome, kind of - and                          clean. You take a tip from me, and don't                          you ever put that stuff on your face                          again. Why, it's like hiding behind                          a mask.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Ha, ha - who are you to be talking about                          a mask? What do you mean? You've been                          wearing a mask ever since we met you.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Have I?                                                              LOVETT                                                              It's very strange, you know. You've                          never told us anything about yourself.                          Who are you, anyway? Why don't you take                          your mask off for once!                                                               CONWAY                                                              (lightly)                                                              Yes. Unbosom yourself, Mr. Hyde.[11]                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              (his face has become serious)                                                              All right, I will! I'll let my hair                          down! Why not? It can't make any real                          difference now.                                                               (after a pause)                                                              Hey Lovey, were you ever chased by the                          police?                                                               Lovett is halted in his tracks - soup                          spoon halfway up to his mouth.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Certainly not.                                                              ? 525 ?                                                              200. CLOSE SHOT - BARNARD                                                              BARNARD                                                              Believe me, it's no fun. When you fellas                          picked me up at Baskul, they'd been                          on my tail for a year.                                                               LOVETT                                                              (skeptical)                                                              The police?                                                              BARNARD                                                              Uh-huh.                                                              (after another pause)                                                              Did you ever hear of Chalmers Bryant?                                                                                        CAMERA PULLS BACK to include the others.                          They look shocked.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (the first one to make the connection)                                                                                        Chalmers Bryant!                                                              BARNARD                                                              Bryant's Utilities - that's me.                                                              George is the only one unconcerned.                          He is deeply absorbed in thought - his                          food has remained untouched. Lovett                          suddenly explodes.                                                               LOVETT                                                              I knew it. I knew I had a reason for                          hating you! Sir, you're a thief.                                                               GLORIA                                                              He never stole anything from you , did                          he?                                                               LOVETT                                                              I have 500 shares of Bryant Utilities                          that I bought with money that I saved                          for 20 years teaching school, and now                          I couldn't sell it for postage stamps.                                                                                        201. MED. SHOT - GROUP                                                              Featuring Barnard.                                                              BARNARD                                                              That's too bad. I got a half million                          shares. My whole foundation! And now                          look at me!                                                               LOVETT                                                              A colossal nerve you have sitting there                          and talking about it so calmly - you,                          the swindler of thousands of peopleó                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              You know, that's what makes the whole                          thing so funny. A guy like me starts                          out in life as a plumber - an ordinary,                          everyday, slew-footed[12] plumber -                          and by the use of a little brains, mind                          you, he builds up a gigantic institution,                          employs thousands of people, becomes                          a great civic leader. And then the crash                          comes - and overnight he's the biggest                          crook the country ever had.                                                               ? 526 ?                                                              LOVETT                                                              You are a thief, sir, and a swindler,                          and I, for one, will be only too glad                          to turn you over to the police when                          we get back.                                                               George can't stand it any longer.                                                              GEORGE                                                              (suddenly - hoarsely)                                                              What do you mean - "when we get back"?                                                                                        The sharpness of his voice startles                          the others.                                                               GEORGE                                                              What makes you think we're ever going                          to get back? You may not know it, but                          you're all prisoners here. We were deliberately                          kidnapped and brought here - and nobody                          knows whyó                                                               He rises to his feet.                                                              GEORGE                                                              Well, I'm not content to be a prisoner.                          I'm going to find out when we're going                          to get out of this place.                                                               (whips out a revolver; grimly)                                                              I'll make that Chinese talk if it's                          the last thing I do!                                                               He starts out.                                                              202. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Before anybody can realize what his                          intentions are, he has bolted out of                          the room.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (calling)                                                              George!                                                              Starts after him.                                                              INT. CORRIDOR                                                              203. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As George strides determinedly out into                          the hall, yelling.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Chang! Chang!                                                              Suddenly he sees a native servant and                          his eyes pop insanely. CAMERA PANS WITH                          HIM as he strides across to the servant                          and grabs him by the shirt-front.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              (shaking servant violently)                                                              Where is he? Where's Chang? Where is                          he? Where's Chang, or I'll blow your                          brains out!                                                               Conway has caught up with him and wrestles                          him away from the servant, who stumbles                          off in fright.                                                               CONWAY                                                              George, what do you think you're doing?                                                                                        ? 527 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Let me go, Bob!                                                              George pushes Conway away from him and                          starts down the corridor.                                                               CONWAY                                                              George, come back!                                                              GEORGE                                                              Chang! Chang! Chang!                                                              George spies another servant.                                                              GEORGE                                                              Come here, you! Come here!                                                              The servant, frightened by his voice,                          turns suddenly and starts running. George                          levels his revolver and sends a stream                          of bullets after the fleeing servant,                          who miraculously manages to skate around                          a corner, unharmed. Conway runs into                          scene, reaching George, and with a quick                          flip of his left hand he smacks him                          over his revolver arm - and with his                          right, he punches him flush on the jaw.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              George, you idiot!                                                              George reels for a moment and slumps                          to the floor.                                                               204. CLOSE SHOT                                                              As the others trail in.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Had to sock him, eh?                                                              Conway pockets the gun and, bending                          over George, a pained expression on                          his face, starts to lift him.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              INT. CONWAY'S ROOM                                                              205. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Conway brings George in, followed by                          the others. He drapes him across his                          bed. Conway stands by his side, looking                          down at him, deeply concerned. After                          a moment, Conway shakes him and George                          awakens with a start.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Let me up! Let me up!                                                              CONWAY                                                              All right. Sorry, George.                                                              George groans and turns away.                                                              206. MED. SHOT TOWARD DOOR                                                              On Barnard, Lovett and Gloria. Barnard                          wanders over to Conway, who appears                          lost in thought.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Say Conway, is it true about us being                          kidnapped?                                                               Conway shrugs.                                                              ? 528 ?                                                              BARNARD                                                              (louder)                                                              I say, is it true about us being kidnapped?                                                                                        Conway suddenly is aroused from his                          reverie by someone he sees off scene.                          He looks up alertly.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Mr. Chang!                                                              Chang enters scene, beaming charmingly.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Do you mind stepping in here for a moment?                                                                                        207. FULL SHOT                                                              As Chang enters. He bows courteously                          to the others, who stand in front of                          George's bed. Conway shuts the door                          and turns the key. He crosses to a door                          leading to another room - and locks                          this one, also. Chang watches him curiously.                          The others, including George, who is                          now alert, are puzzled and somewhat                          impressed. Then Conway comes to Chang.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Won't you sit down?                                                              Chang sits, his placidity unchanged.                          Conway pulls up a chair in front of                          him.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (very quietly)                                                              Mr. Chang, you have been very kind to                          us - and we appreciate it. But for some                          reason we are being held prisoners here,                          and we want to know why.                                                               208. CLOSE SHOT - BARNARD, LOVETT AND                          GLORIA                                                               As Conway's voice continues, talking                          to Chang:                                                               CONWAY                                                              Personally, I don't mind at all. I'm                          enjoying every minute of it.                                                               (dead serious)                                                              But my brother is not of the same opinion,                          nor are the others.                                                               (after a pause)                                                              It's time we were told what it's all                          about.                                                               209. MED. SHOT - GROUP                                                              Conway still continuing:                                                              CONWAY                                                              We want to know why we were kidnapped,                          why we are being kept here, but most                          important of all - do we get the porters,                          and when?                                                               (much too suavely)                                                              Until we get this information, my dear                          Mr. Chang, I am very much afraid we                          cannot permit you to leave this room.                                                                                        There is a pause while the eyes of all                          are centered on Chang's face.                                                               ? 529 ?                                                              CHANG                                                              (after a pause)                                                              You know, it's very, very strange, but                          when you saw me in the corridor, I was                          actually on my way to you. I bring the                          most amazing news.                                                               (impressively)                                                              The High Lama wishes to see you, Mr.                          Conway.                                                               LOVETT                                                              The High Lama! Who in blazes is he?!                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Yeah. I though you ran this joint.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Mr. Chang - High Lamas or Low Lamas,                          do we get the porters?                                                               CHANG                                                              The High Lama is the only one from whom                          any information can come.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Don't believe him, Bob. He's just trying                          to get out.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Yes.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Sounds like a stall to me.                                                              CONWAY                                                              One moment. You say the High Lama is                          the only one who can give us any information?                                                                                        CHANG                                                              The only one.                                                              CONWAY                                                              And he can arrange for the porters to                          take us back?                                                               CHANG                                                              The High Lama arranges everything, Mr.                          Conway.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Well, then he's the man I want to see.                                                                                        (to Chang)                                                              Will you come along?                                                              Conway unlocks the door. When he has                          opened it, he turns.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Better wait here until I get back. We'll                          soon know where we stand.                                                               INT. CORRIDOR IN HIGH LAMA'S QUARTERS                                                                                        210. MED. TRUCKING SHOT                                                              With Conway and Chang. Chang walks in                          a high state of expectancy. Conway is                          grim. They climb a narrow spiral staircase.                                                                                        ? 530 ?                                                              211. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              They proceed up the stairs until they                          arrive at a large, impressively ornate                          double door which seems to open automatically                          the moment they approach. Chang remains                          without. The moment Conway steps over                          the threshold, the doors swing closed.                                                                                        INT. HIGH LAMA'S CHAMBER[ 13]                                                              212. MED. SHOT                                                              As the doors swing shut. Conway turns                          and realizes Chang is no longer with                          him.                                                               213. CLOSE SHOT AT DOOR                                                              Conway stands still, glancing around                          the room, which is lit so dimly that                          nothing definite is distinguishable.                                                                                        214. FULL SHOT                                                              To show what Conway sees. For the moment,                          practically nothing. As his eyes become                          adjusted to the darkness, he begins                          to sense the architecture and furnishings                          of the room. But as yet no sign of life.                          SLOW PAN SHOT reveals it to be a dark-curtained                          and low-ceilinged room, furnished rather                          simply. Very sombre, indistinct tapestries                          drape the back walls. While the CAMERA                          FOLLOWS CONWAY'S GAZE, MOVING SLOWLY                          AROUND, a voice is heard.                                                               HIGH LAMA'S VOICE                                                              (soft and friendly)                                                              Good evening, Mr. Conway.                                                              CAMERA QUICKLY SWINGS OVER to the nethermost                          corner of the room where, scarcely visible,                          sits an old man of indeterminate age.                          In the gloom only the outlines of his                          pale and wrinkled face can be seen.                          It yields an effect of a fading antique                          portrait.                                                               215. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              He stares, motionless, at the eerie                          vision.                                                               216. MED. SHOT OF ROOM                                                              HIGH LAMA                                                              Please come in.                                                              Conway comes forward warily until he                          stands within a few feet of the old                          man, his eyes riveted upon him.                                                               HIGH LAMA                                                              Sit here, near me. I am an old man and                          can do no one any harm.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Are you the High Lama?                                                              HIGH LAMA                                                              Yes.                                                              217. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO                                                              As Conway, expressionless, sits down                          opposite the High Lama.                                                               HIGH LAMA                                                              I trust you have been comfortable at                          Shangri-La, since your arrival.                                                               ? 531 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Personally, I've enjoyed your community                          very much. But my friends do not care                          for this mystery. They are determined                          to leave as soon asó                                                               While he has been speaking, his eyes                          have been gradually taking in the details                          of the old man. The CAMERA QUICKLY FOLLOWS                          HIS GAZE - to crutches leaning against                          the man's throne - then, looking down,                          to his legs, one of which appears to                          have been amputated.                                                               218. CLOSEUP - CONWAY                                                              CONWAY                                                              (awe and amazement)                                                              It's astonishing - and incredible, butó                                                                                        219. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO                                                              HIGH LAMA                                                              What is it, my son?                                                              CONWAY                                                              You're the man Chang told me about!                          You're the first - who - two hundred                          years agoó                                                               (reverently)                                                              óyou're still alive, Father Perrault!                                                                                        HIGH LAMA                                                              Sit down, my son.                                                              (pause)                                                              You may not know it, but I've been an                          admirer of yours for a great many years.                                                                                        Conway evinces surprise.                                                              HIGH LAMA                                                              Oh, not of Conway the empire-builder                          and public hero. I wanted to meet the                          Conway who in one of his books, said,                          "There are moments in every man's life                          when he glimpses the eternal."                                                               The quotation captures Conway's interest                          - and his eyes widen.                                                               HIGH LAMA                                                              That Conway seemed to belong here. In                          fact, it was suggested that someone                          be sent to bring him here.                                                               CONWAY                                                              That I be brought here? Who had that                          brilliant idea?                                                               HIGH LAMA                                                              Sondra Bizet.                                                              CONWAY                                                              (secretly pleased)                                                              Oh, the girl at the piano?                                                              HIGH LAMA                                                              Yes. She has read your books and has                          a profound admiration for you, as have                          we all.                                                               ? 532 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Of course I have suspected that our                          being here is no accident. Furthermore,                          I have a feeling that we're never supposed                          to leave. But that, for the moment,                          doesn't concern me greatly. I'll meet                          that when it comes. What particularly                          interests me at present is, why was                          I brought here? What possible use can                          I be to an already thriving community?                                                                                        HIGH LAMA                                                              We need men like you here, to be sure                          that our community will continue to                          thrive. In return for which, Shangri-La                          has much to give you. You are still,                          by the world's standards, a youngish                          man. Yet in the normal course of existence,                          you can expect twenty or thirty years                          of gradually diminishing activity. Here,                          however, in Shangri-La, by our standards                          your life has just begun, and may go                          on and on.                                                               CONWAY                                                              But to be candid, Father, a prolonged                          future doesn't excite me. It would have                          to have a point. I've sometimes doubted                          whether life itself has any. And if                          that is so, then long life must be even                          more pointless. No, I'd need a much                          more definite reason for going on and                          on.                                                               HIGH LAMA                                                              We have reason. It is the entire meaning                          and purpose of Shangri-La. It came to                          me in a vision, long, long, ago. I saw                          all the nations strengthening, not in                          wisdom, but in the vulgar passions and                          the will to destroy. I saw their machine                          power multiply until a single weaponed                          man might match a whole army. I foresaw                          a time when man, exulting in the technique                          of murder, would rage so hotly over                          the world that every book, every treasure,                          would be doomed to destruction. This                          vision was so vivid and so moving that                          I determined to gather together all                          the things of beauty and culture that                          I could and preserve them here against                          the doom toward which the world is rushing.                                                                                        (pause)                                                              Look at the world today! Is there anything                          more pitiful? What madness there is,                          what blindness, what unintelligent leadership!                          A scurrying mass of bewildered humanity                          crashing headlong against each other,                          propelled by an orgy of greed and brutality.                          The time must come, my friend, when                          this orgy will spend itself, when brutality                          and the lust for power must perish by                          its own sword. Against that time is                          why I avoided death and am here, and                          why you were brought here. For when                          that day comes, the world must begin                          to look for a new life. And it is our                          hope that they may find it here. For                          here we shall be with their books                                                                                        ? 533 ?                                                              and their music and a way of life based                          on one simple rule: Be Kind.                                                               (pause)                                                              When that day comes, it is our hope                          that the brotherly love of Shangri-La                          will spread throughout the world.                                                                                        (pause)                                                              Yes, my son, when the strong have devoured                          each other, the Christian ethic may                          at last be fulfilled, and the meek shall                          inherit the earth.                                                               A long silence ensues during which Conway,                          so engrossed is he in all he has just                          heard, scarcely notices the Lama, who                          has risen slowly and now stands before                          him. The Lama reaches down and gently                          touches him on the shoulder.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (scarcely audible)                                                              I understand you, Father.                                                              Conway kisses the High Lama's hand.                                                                                        HIGH LAMA                                                              You must come again, my son. Good night.                                                                                        Conway slowly rises to his feet and                          turns to leave scene.                                                               INT. UPPER CHAMBER                                                              220. MED. CLOSE SHOT AT DOOR TO LAMA'S                          CHAMBERS                                                               Conway comes through. He walks as if                          in a trance. CAMERA PULLS BACK as he                          continues on his way - bearing an expression                          of deep absorption.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              INT. LOWER CORRIDOR                                                              221. MED. SHOT                                                              As Conway walks toward an open door                          at the end of corridor leading to the                          garden. Lovett emerges from one of the                          rooms and sees him. He beckons to those                          inside and almost immediately they come                          out and start toward Conway.                                                               222. MED. CLOSE SHOT NEAR GARDEN DOOR                                                                                        Conway, just about to exit, when the                          others catch up to him.                                                               AD-LIB                                                              We thought you were never coming back!                                                                                        What'd you find out?                                                              When do we leave?                                                              Conway stares at them blankly.                                                              GEORGE                                                              What about the porters?                                                              CONWAY                                                              (vaguely)                                                              Porters?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Didn't you find out anything about the                          porters?                                                               ? 534 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Why - I'm sorry - but Ió                                                              He starts away from them, but they crowd                          around him.                                                               AD-LIB                                                              What were you doing all this time?                                                                                        You've been gone for hours.                                                              GEORGE                                                              For heaven's sake, Bob, what's the matter                          with you? You went out there for the                          purpose ofó                                                               CONWAY                                                              George. George - do you mind? I'm sorry,                          but I can't talk about it tonight.                                                                                        He leaves them.                                                              EXT. GARDEN - NIGHT                                                              223. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Shooting toward garden through open                          doorway. Conway walks away from the                          crowd in f.g., all staring at him, nonplussed.                          We see Conway walk through the garden                          in b.g. and disappear.                                                               224. CLOSEUP - GEORGE IN DOORWAY                                                              He stares at his brother, off, fearfully.                                                                                        EXT. SOMEWHERE IN THE VALLEY                                                              225. FULL SHOT                                                              Of a pleasant and peaceful place. Conway                          is walking along moodily, drinking in                          the pastoral beauty.                                                               226. MED. TRUCKING SHOT WITH CONWAY                                                                                        As he walks along. He comes to a spot                          where a man and a woman are tilling                          the soil, and stops to watch them. The                          man looks up and, seeing Conway, makes                          a friendly bow and doffs his hat. Conway                          also bows. The woman curtsies prettily                          and smiles. Conway doffs his hat in                          acknowledgement.                                                               He is in a cheerful frame of mind and                          continues his walk - CAMERA CONTINUING                          WITH HIM. He greets several other people.                          Upon seeing him, they also bow and doff                          their hats. Conway does likewise.                                                                                        EXT. SOMEWHERE IN THE VALLEY - DAY                                                                                        227. FULL SHOT                                                              Conway is walking along a street in                          the valley. It is a quaint thoroughfare,                          unlike anything we have ever seen before.                          The small, one-story huts along its                          very narrow sidewalk are of singularly                          varied architecture - giving the impression                          of being "homemade." As a result of                          this, no two are alike. Only one characteristic                          about them is similar - their cleanliness.                          Something about the atmosphere is fresh                          and wholesome and peaceful. In front                          of several of the huts native women                          sit - some weaving on a tapestry board,                          some nursing babies, some asleep, and                          some just sitting. The keynote is contentment.                                                                                        228. MED. TRUCKING SHOT                                                              With Conway, walking along. As he passes,                          the women smile at him in the most friendly                          fashion. From inside these homes, soft                          and soothing music emanates. At the                          end of the street, Conway finally arrives                          at a garden spot. The suddenness of                          this is startling, too - because of                          its beauty. Sighing contentedly, Conway                          throws himself at the foot of an overhanging                          tree, and leans against the trunk.                                                                                        ? 535 ?                                                              229. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              He throws his head back, shuts his eyes                          - in a restful and contemplative mood.                          He remains this way quietly for a few                          seconds, when he is attracted by the                          singing of a chorus of children's voices.                          He glances around.                                                               230. LONG SHOT                                                              From Conway's angle. In the shadow of                          a row of overhanging trees which form                          an arch, a group of fifteen or twenty                          children sing a hymn, or nursery song                          - in English. Sondra (the violin girl                          of previous scenes) stands in front                          of them, a baton in hand, conducting                          them.                                                               231. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              He smiles at the sight - and springing                          to his feet starts in their direction.                                                                                        232. MED. SHOT                                                              Of Sondra and the children, as Conway                          saunters into the scene behind her.                          He finds himself a comfortable place                          under a tree and sits down. The children,                          still singing, have seen his approach                          and crane their necks curiously.                                                               233. CLOSE SHOT - SONDRA                                                              She waves her baton and sings with the                          children. Then she notices they are                          being distracted and casually turns                          her head. She is somewhat startled at                          seeing Conway, but quickly recovers                          her composure, and smiles wanly.                                                               234. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              He smiles also.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Do you mind?                                                              235. WIDER ANGLE                                                              To include Sondra, Conway and some of                          the children. They finish the song,                          and Conway applauds. Sondra curtsies                          prettily. She turns to the children.                                                                                        SONDRA                                                              This is Mr. Conway, children.                                                              236. MED. SHOT                                                              In unison the twenty children curtsey.                                                                                        CHILDREN                                                              (all together - sing-song)                                                              Good morning, Mr. Conway.                                                              CONWAY                                                              How do you do?                                                              CHILDREN                                                              Very well, thank you.                                                              Conway scrambles to his feet and does                          an exaggerated bow. Sondra laughs delightedly.                                                                                        SONDRA                                                              All right, children. We will now singñ                                                                                        She lifts her baton and the thin, piping                          voices fill the air.                                                               ? 536 ?                                                              237. CLOSEUP - CONWAY                                                              He lights a cigarette and, leaning against                          a tree, studies Sondra's face - impressed                          by her beauty.                                                               238. CLOSEUP - SONDRA                                                              She slyly glances backward, and a self-conscious                          smile covers her face.                                                               239. MED. SHOT                                                              As a child from the ranks breaks and                          comes to Sondra, who leans down to listen                          to the child - who whispers in her ear.                          Sondra, murmuring, "Of course, dear"                          and still waving her baton is, for the                          moment, uncertain what to do. Then turning                          to Conway, holds out the baton to him.                                                                                        SONDRA                                                              Do you mind?                                                              Conway snaps out of his reverie and                          jumps forward.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Not at all.                                                              He takes the baton from her.                                                              SONDRA                                                              Thank you.                                                              And, taking the child by the hand, she                          exits.                                                               240. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              Conducting the chorus in all seriousness                          - albeit a trifle awkwardly. He turns                          his head to watch Sondra, and when he                          looks forward again, finds himself off-beat.                          To cover his embarrassment, he smiles                          foolishly.                                                               241. MED. SHOT                                                              They come to the end of the song, but                          Conway, whose eyes are searching for                          Sondra, is oblivious of this and continues                          to conduct mechanically. The children                          break into laughter.                                                               242. MED. CLOSE TRUCKING SHOT                                                              With Sondra as she returns with the                          child clinging to her. As she turns                          a bend, she looks up, surprised.                                                               243. CLOSE SHOT - SONDRA                                                              As she laughs heartily.                                                              244. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY                                                              CONWAY                                                              All right, children. Now teacher is                          going to be very busy this afternoon,                          so school's dismissed!                                                               The children break into squeals and                          race off. THE CAMERA FOLLOWS THEM as                          they cross a footbridge, gleefully doff                          their clothes and with yelps and cries                          leap into a stream.                                                               245. MED. SHOT - CONWAY AND SONDRA                                                                                        Favoring Conway.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Oh, please. I hope you're not going                          to run away this time.                                                               ? 537 ?                                                              SONDRA                                                              (extending her hand)                                                              My name's Sondra.                                                              CONWAY                                                              I hope you'll forgive me foró                                                              He hears curious, fluttering music coming                          from somewhere.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (looking around)                                                              You know, each time I see you, I hear                          that music. What is it?                                                               SONDRA                                                              Oh, you mean my pigeons.                                                              THE CAMERA SHOWS PIGEONS swirling overhead.                                                                                        Sondra pulls a miniature flute from                          one of her pocket.                                                               SONDRA                                                              (showing him)                                                              It's these little flutes that I attached                          to their tails. See? Come along with                          me, and I'll show you how I put them                          on.                                                               They exit scene.                                                              INT. PIGEON HOUSE                                                              246. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Of a large coop where pigeons are bred                          and raised. The pigeons flutter around,                          landing on Sondra and Conway, as she                          shows him her collection with pride.                          She grabs one pigeon and ties one of                          the miniature flutes to its legs.                                                                                        SONDRA                                                              You see, this is how we tie them on.                          And by varying the size of the flutes,                          I can get any notes I wish. The wind                          does the rest. Here's a little fellow                          who lost his!                                                               She grabs another pigeon, ties a flute                          to its legs.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (wonderingly)                                                              Was this your idea?                                                              SONDRA                                                              Yes. Hold this pigeon.                                                              CONWAY                                                              You suggested my being brought here,                          didn't you? What gave you the idea I'd                          fit in?                                                               SONDRA                                                              That was easy. I read your books.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Oh, you've read my books. You do more                          things! What have my books got to do                          with it?                                                               SONDRA                                                              I saw a man whose life was empty.                                                              ? 538 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              A man whose life was empty!                                                              SONDRA                                                              Oh, I know. It was full of this and                          full of that. But you were accomplishing                          nothing. You were going nowhere, and                          you knew it.                                                               Conway scrutinizes her face intently.                                                                                        SONDRA                                                              As a matter of fact, all I saw was a                          little boy whistling in the dark.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              A little boy whistling in the dark!?                          Do you realize that there is a British                          cruiser waiting at Shanghai, smoke pouring                          out of its funnels, tugging at its moorings,                          waiting to take Mr. Conway back to London?                          Do you know that at this minute there                          are headlines shrieking all over the                          world the news that Conway is missing?                          Does that look like a man whose life                          is empty?                                                               SONDRA                                                              (after a pause)                                                              Yes.                                                              CONWAY                                                              (good-naturedly)                                                              You're absolutely right. And I had to                          come all the way to a pigeon house in                          Shangri-La to find the only other person                          in the world who knew it. May I congratulate                          you?                                                               She laughs merrily and shakes his hand.                                                                                        SONDRA                                                              I really only brought you here to show                          you my pigeons!                                                               CONWAY                                                              Don't worry about the pigeons. From                          now on, you can put flutes on my tail                          and bells on my feet!                                                               She turns to leave, and he follows,                          exiting scene.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. SOMEWHERE ON TOP OF A HILL                                                              247. MEDIUM TRUCKING SHOT                                                              Sondra and Conway, walking. This spot                          is on top of a hill overlooking the                          splendor of the valley below.                                                               248. CLOSER TRUCKING SHOT                                                              They walk along silently for a few seconds,                          while Conway studies her face speculatively.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              There are so many questions I'd like                          to ask you, I hardly know where to begin.                                                                                        ? 539 ?                                                              SONDRA                                                              I'll help you. To begin with, you'd                          like to know what I'm doing here. Whether                          I was born here.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Thank you.                                                              SONDRA                                                              Well, I was almost born here. It took                          place in that wild country beyond the                          pass. My father and mother were in a                          party of explorers who got lost and                          wandered around for a year. When Chang                          found us, only Father and I were alive.                          But he was too weak to climb the pass.                          He died on the way. I was brought up                          here by Father Perrault himself.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Father Perrault! I envy you. I talked                          to him last night.                                                               SONDRA                                                              Yes, I know.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Father Perrault. Of course I can't quite                          get used to this age thing.                                                               He steals a sideways glance at her.                          She is greatly amused.                                                               SONDRA                                                              (satisfying his obvious curiosity)                                                                                        I'm thirty.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Oh, you're going to make life very simple.                                                                                        249. MED. SHOT                                                              As they arrive at a scenic overlook.                          It is getting toward dusk.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (wonderingly)                                                              It's inconceivable.                                                              SONDRA                                                              What is?                                                              CONWAY                                                              All of it. Father Perrault and his magnificent                          history. This place, hidden away from                          the rest of the world, with its glorious                          concepts, and now you come along and                          confuse me entirely.                                                               SONDRA                                                              I'm sorry. I thought I was to be the                          light. But why do I confuse you? Am                          I so strange?                                                               CONWAY                                                              On the contrary, you're not strange.                          And that in itself is confusing. I have                          the same idea about Shangri-La. The                          sense that I've been here before, that                          I belong here.                                                               SONDRA                                                              I'm so glad.                                                              ? 540 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              I can't quite explain it, but everything                          is somehow familiar. The very air that                          I breathe. The Lamasery, with its feet                          rooted in the good earth of this fertile                          valley, while its head explores the                          eternal. All the beautiful things I                          see, these cherry blossoms, you - all                          somehow familiar.                                                               (chuckles to himself)                                                              I've been kidnapped and brought here                          against my will. A crime, a great crime,                          yet I accept it amiably, with the same                          warm amiability one tolerates only from                          a very dear and close friend. Why? Can                          you tell me why?                                                               SONDRA                                                              Perhaps because you've always been a                          part of Shangri-La without knowing it.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              I wonder.                                                              SONDRA                                                              I'm sure of it. Just as I'm sure there's                          a wish for Shangri-La in everyone's                          heart. I have never seen the outside                          world. But I understand there are millions                          and millions of people who are supposed                          to be mean and greedy. Yet I just know                          that secretly they are all hoping to                          find a garden spot where there is peace                          and security, where there's beauty and                          comfort, where they wouldn't have to                          be mean and greedy. Oh, I just wish                          the whole world might come to this valley.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Then it wouldn't be a garden spot for                          long.                                                               She laughs as they exit scene.                                                              EXT. SOMEWHERE IN SHANGRI-LA[14]                                                              250. TRUCKING SHOT                                                              Barnard is bringing a reluctant Lovett                          along on an excursion into the Valley.                          They pass friendly natives and farmers                          at work.                                                               LOVETT                                                              I don't know why I associate with you,                          Mr. Barnard - or Mr. Chalmers Bryant                          - or Mr. Embezzler - or whatever your                          name may be.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Just call me Barney.                                                              LOVETT                                                              Barney? Why should I? Never! We have                          nothing in common. Hmmpf, Barney! What                          effrontery!                                                               BARNARD                                                              Okay, Lovey.                                                              ? 541 ?                                                              LOVETT                                                              And this trip to the valley. I can't                          imagine why I'd allow you to drag me                          down here. Why, we don't know anything                          about these people. We're not even armed!                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              They're very nice people - except that                          they've got horns.                                                               LOVETT                                                              (alarmed at first)                                                              Horns?                                                              Barnard points to sheepherders with                          their long horns.                                                               BARNARD                                                              (chuckles)                                                              Yeah. You know.                                                              LOVETT                                                              Horns? What kind of horns?                                                              Lovett sees his point, starts to chuckle,                          but still looks wary.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Here, here! Come on. They won't hurt                          you.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. A WATERFALL                                                              251. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Barnard has encountered some beautiful                          native girls, and they have surrounded                          him with their hospitality - plying                          him with wine and food. Lovett is off                          scene.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Okay, honey, all I want is a glass of                          wine! Thanks very much.                                                               NATIVE GIRL                                                              Please sit down.                                                              BARNARD                                                              This is fine. This is swell. No, just                          a drink. I've been walking and I'm a                          little thirsty, you see? That's all                          right. I don't just happen to be very                          hungry. Say look, all I asked for was                          a glass of water. Look here, I've got                          to have some help with this.                                                               (looking around anxiously)                                                              Now, Lovey! Where is Lovey?                                                              252. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Of Lovett, lagging behind and missing                          out on all the fun.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Mr. Barnard?                                                              253. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Favoring Barnard as Lovett comes into                          view.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Hey Lovey, come here! Lovey, I asked                          for a glass of wine and look what I                          got. Come on, sit down.                                                               ? 542 ?                                                              LOVETT                                                              So that's where you are. I might of                          known it. No wonder you couldn't hear                          me.                                                               BARNARD                                                              You were asked to have a glass of wine.                          Sit down!                                                               LOVETT                                                              And be poisoned out here in the open?                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Certainly not!                                                              NATIVE GIRL                                                              (to Lovett)                                                              For me, won't you please have a glass                          of wine?                                                               LOVETT                                                              I never drink wine in the daytime.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              (as he is poured a glass anyway)                                                              There you are!                                                              LOVETT                                                              (raising the glass to his lips)                                                              This doesn't obligate me in any way.                                                                                        NATIVE GIRL                                                              No.                                                              DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. A CLEARING                                                              254. FULL SHOT                                                              A merry Lovett has had too much to drink.                          Now he is entertaining a group of native                          children, who are huddled at his feet.                          Other natives watch the entertainment.                          Bernard, watching from one side, is                          losing patience.                                                               LOVETT                                                              óthen the bears came right into the                          bedroom and the little baby bear said,                          "Oh, somebody's been sleeping in my                          bed." And then the mama bear said, "Oh                          dear, somebody's been sleeping in my                          bed!" And then the big papa bear, he                          roared, "And somebody's been sleeping                          in my bed!" Well, you have to admit                          the poor little bears were in a quandary!                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              I'm going to sleep in my bed. Come on,                          Lovey!                                                               LOVETT                                                              (continuing)                                                              They were in a quandary, andó                                                              BARNARD                                                              Come on, Lovey.                                                              ? 543 ?                                                              LOVETT                                                              Why? Why 'come on' all the time? What's                          the matter? Are you going to be a fuss                          budget all your life? Here, drink it                          up! Aren't you having any fun? Where                          was I?                                                               BARNARD                                                              In a quandary.                                                              They all laugh.                                                              LOVETT                                                              I'm telling this story! I'm telling                          it.                                                               (continuing)                                                              Yes, the poor little bears didn't know                          what to do, you see, because somebody                          had been sleeping in their bed.                                                               A CHILD IN THE AUDIENCE                                                              Who slept in their beds?                                                              NATIVE GIRL                                                              (the one who poured him a drink of wineó                          alluringly)                                                               Who was it, Lovey?                                                              LOVETT                                                              (smitten)                                                              Oh, you call me Lovey, eh?                                                              (to Barnard)                                                              Look at those eyes? There's the devil                          in those eyes!                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              INT. LOVETT'S BEDROOM                                                              255. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Following Lovett as he enters, unusually                          chipper, singing "Here we go gathering                          nuts in May . . . " He is in such a                          good mood that he improvises the lyrics,                          putting Shangri-La in with his la-la-las.                          After glancing out the window, Lovett                          sits down and pulls out his journal.                          He writes:                                                               INSERT:                                                              APRIL 4TH                                                              24TH DAY AT SHANGRI-LA. FEEL SO GOOD                          I COULD SOW A WILD OATó                                                               He pauses, looks up, opens the compact                          box at his side and looks at himself                          confidently and admiringly in the mirror.                          Returning to his journal, he adds:                                                                                        INSERT:                                                              óOR TWO.                                                              EXT. GARDEN - DAY                                                              256. MED. SHOT (MOVING)                                                              With George as he disconsolately walks.                          He is startled by the sound of Maria's                          voice calling him. CAMERA PANS with                          him as he crosses to a sheltered spot                          where Maria sits on a garden bench.                                                                                        ? 544 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Hello, Maria.                                                              He fumbles for a cigarette.                                                              257. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              MARIA                                                              (a little hurt)                                                              You promised to come for tea yesterday.                          I waited for so long.                                                               GEORGE                                                              I'm sorry.                                                              (chagrined to discover he has no cigarettes                          left)                                                               I haven't even got any cigarettes left!                                                                                        MARIA                                                              I'll make some for you!                                                              (pleading)                                                              You will come today?                                                              GEORGE                                                              (after a pause)                                                              Perhaps.                                                              MARIA                                                              (tenderly)                                                              Please say you will. The days are so                          very long and lonely without you.                                                                                        (a whisper)                                                              Please . . .                                                              GEORGE                                                              All right, I'll be there.                                                              MARIA                                                              (happily)                                                              Thank you.                                                              GEORGE                                                              (suddenly)                                                              You'll tell me some of the things I                          want to know, won't you? You'll tell                          me who runs this place. And why we were                          kidnapped. And what they're going to                          do with us!                                                               258. CLOSEUP - MARIA                                                              From the moment he starts to speak,                          her face clouds. George's voice continues                          without interruption.                                                               GEORGE'S VOICE                                                              Chang's been lying about those porters,                          hasn't he?                                                               She runs off, frightened.                                                              INT. ELSEWHERE IN THE GARDEN                                                              259. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Following Conway and Sondra as they                          stroll peacefully hand in hand amongst                          the sculpted shrubbery and rows of flowers.                          There is a sudden pealing of bells.                          The two of them look off and pause,                          their gaze momentarily captured by picturesque                          snowcapped peaks in the distance.                                                                                        ? 545 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              (moved)                                                              Beautiful! I'm waiting for the bump.                                                                                        SONDRA                                                              Bump?                                                              CONWAY                                                              When the plane lands at Shangri-La and                          wakes us all up.                                                               She gives him a pinch.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Ouch!                                                              SONDRA                                                              (chuckling)                                                              You see, it's not a dream.                                                              CONWAY                                                              You know, sometimes I think that it's                          the other that's the dream. The outside                          world. Have you never wanted to go there?                                                                                        SONDRA                                                              Goodness, no. From what you tell me                          about it, it certainly doesn't sound                          very attractive.                                                               CONWAY                                                              It's not so bad, really. Some phases                          are a little sordid, of course. That's                          only to be expected.                                                               SONDRA                                                              Why?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Oh, the usual reasons. A world full                          of people struggling for existence.                                                                                        SONDRA                                                              Struggling, why?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Well, everybody naturally wants to make                          a place for himself, accumulate a nest                          egg, and so on.                                                               SONDRA                                                              Why?                                                              CONWAY                                                              You know, if you keep on asking that,                          we're not going to get anywhere. And                          don't ask me why.                                                               SONDRA                                                              I was just going to.                                                              CONWAY                                                              It's the most annoying word in the English                          language. Did you ever hear a child                          torture his parent with it?                                                               ? 546 ?                                                              (mimicking)                                                              Mother's little darling musn't stick                          her fingers in the salad bowl. Why?                          Because it isn't lady-like to do that.                          Why? Because that's what forks are made                          for, darling.                                                               SONDRA                                                              (joining in)                                                              Why, mother?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Because mother read it in a book somewhere,                          and if mother's little darling doesn't                          take her fingers out of the salad bowl                          this instant, mother's going to wring                          her little neck.                                                               Sondra laughs heartily.                                                              SONDRA                                                              (teasingly)                                                              Would you like to wring my little neck?                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              I'd love it!                                                              SONDRA                                                              Why?                                                              Conway makes a grab for her and she                          spurts away. He chases her across part                          of the garden, and past the fountain                          catches up with her. He reaches to place                          his hands around her neck.                                                               SONDRA                                                              (laughing)                                                              I'm sorry. I'm very sorry.                                                              He hesitates, studying her intently.                                                                                        260. CLOSE-UP                                                              They kiss.                                                              SONDRA                                                              (when they break)                                                              I've thought about it for years.                                                              (softly)                                                              I knew you'd come. And I knew if you                          did - you'd never leave.                                                               (a whisper)                                                              Am I forgiven for sending for you?                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Forgiven.                                                              (a pause)                                                              You know, when we were on that plane,                          I was fascinated by the way its shadow                          followed it. That silly shadow racing                          along over mountains and valleys, covering                          ten times the distance of the plane.                          It was always there to greet us with                          outstretched arms when we landed. And                          I've been thinking that somehow you're                          that plane, and I'm that silly shadow.                          That all my life I've been rushing up                          and down hills, leaping rivers, crashing                          over obstacles, never dreaming that                          one day that beautiful thing in flight                          would land on this earth and into my                          arms.                                                               ? 547 ?                                                              They kiss again.                                                              DISSOLVE TO:                                                              INT. LIVING ROOM                                                              261. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Chang is being visited by Lovett, who                          has lost his petrified manner.                                                               LOVETT                                                              Amazing, Mr. Chang. This place is amazing!                          And that marble quarry in the valley                          is simply magnificent. Oh, I've looked                          around. I've seen everything. Your woodworkers                          and your cloth-weavers - they all seem                          so very, very happy.                                                               CHANG                                                              Yes.                                                              LOVETT                                                              You may not know it, Mr. Chang, but                          right here you have Utopia.[15]                                                               CHANG                                                              You've very kind Mr. Lovett.                                                              262. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO                                                              LOVETT                                                              I don't mean it in that sense. I only                          give credit where credit is due.                                                               (pauses - sincerely)                                                              Er, Mr. Chang, I'm very anxious to have                          you realize that I never for a moment                          believed that ridiculous kidnapping                          story.                                                               CHANG                                                              Oh, I'm so glad.                                                              LOVETT                                                              Simply preposterous. Do you know what                          I did last night? Last night, Mr. Chang,                          I held a sort of a self-inventory. I                          said to myself last night, Mr. Chang,                          I said, "Lovey"ó                                                               (catches himself - looks around)                                                              Mr. Lovett! "Mr. Lovett," I said, "you                          are an ungrateful fool . . . "                                                               CHANG                                                              Why, no.                                                              LOVETT                                                              "Ungrateful fool . . . !" Those were                          my very words to myself last night.                          "Here are these people in Shangri-La                          doing everything in their power to make                          our stay comfortable and happy and I                          haven't done one single thing to show                          my appreciation."                                                               CHANG                                                              Now, what would you like to do?                                                              ? 548 ?                                                              LOVETT                                                              Well, Mr. Chang, I thought, with your                          permission of course, and while I'm                          waiting for these porters, I would like                          to organize classes for those children                          in the valley and teach them something                          practical and something useful. Geology.                                                                                        CHANG                                                              Splendid!                                                              LOVETT                                                              Isn't it? Isn't it! You know I was a                          professor for twenty years? - and a                          very good one.                                                               CHANG                                                              I'm sure you were. When would you like                          to start?                                                               LOVETT                                                              Oh, immediately.                                                              CHANG                                                              (offering his handshake)                                                              Then it's done.                                                              LOVETT                                                              Oh, thank you. Thank you!                                                              CHANG                                                              Thank you.                                                              EXTERIOR GARDEN                                                              263. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway sits on a bench - Barnard leans                          over him, showing him a map - a-twitter                          with an idea.                                                               BARNARD                                                              You see? You get the idea? From this                          reservoir here I can pipe in the whole                          works. Oh, I'm going to get a great                          kick out of this. Of course it's just                          to keep my hand in, but with the equipment                          we have here, I can put a plumbing system                          in for the whole village down there.                          Can rig it up in no time.                                                               (aghast)                                                              Do you realize those poor people are                          still going to the well for water?                                                                                        264. CLOSER SHOT - THE TWO                                                              CONWAY                                                              (a twinkle in his eye)                                                              It's unbelievable.                                                              BARNARD                                                              Think of it! In times like these.                                                              CONWAY                                                              Say, what about that gold deal?                                                              BARNARD                                                              Huh?                                                              ? 549 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Gold. You were going toó                                                              BARNARD                                                              (interrupting)                                                              Oh - that! That can wait. Nobody's going                          to run off with it.                                                               (full of business)                                                              Say, I've got to get busy. I want to                          show this whole layout to Chang.                                                               (exiting)                                                              So long. Don't you take any wooden nickels.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              All right.                                                              He disappears. We hear him whistling,                          something joyous. Probably "The Old                          Gray Mare Ain't What She Usta Be"ó                                                                                        265. CLOSEUP - CONWAY                                                              As he watches Barnard go, pleased at                          the metamorphosis that's taking place                          in him. Suddenly he sees George and                          jumps up.                                                               CONWAY                                                              George.                                                              266. MED. LONG SHOT                                                              From Conway's angle. George has just                          made his appearance.                                                               CONWAY                                                              George!                                                              George keeps on going and Conway runs                          toward him.                                                               267. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              As Conway catches up to Georgeóand takes                          him by the arm.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (sincerely)                                                              George - you're behaving like a child.                          You haven't opened your mouth in two                          weeks.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (coldly)                                                              I don't see that there's anything to                          say.                                                               And releasing his arm, he leaves Conway                          abruptly.                                                               268. CLOSEUP - CONWAY                                                              As a look of deep pain comes into his                          face. He stands for several seconds                          - looking helplessly - and despairingly                          in George's direction.                                                               FADE OUT:                                                              FADE IN                                                              INT. LIVING ROOM                                                              269. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Chang and Conway playing chess. Conway                          leans over the board, a faraway expression                          on his face. Chang leans over - moves                          a 'man' into position.                                                               ? 550 ?                                                              CHANG                                                              I'm afraid that does it.                                                              Conway looks up - aroused from his reverie.                          He glances over the board.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Yes. I'm afraid it does.                                                              CHANG                                                              Shall we have another?                                                              CONWAY                                                              (rises)                                                              No thanks. Not tonight if you don't                          mind.                                                               He crosses to a window and glances out.                          Chang looks up and sees Maria in doorway.                                                                                        CHANG                                                              Come in, my dear.                                                              270. CLOSE SHOT - MARIA                                                              In doorway. She seems slightly embarrassed.                                                                                        MARIA                                                              Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.                                                                                        (self-consciously)                                                              I thought Mr. Conway's brother was here.                          Excuse me.                                                               She leaves.                                                              271. CLOSE SHOT - CONWAY AND CHANG                                                                                        CHANG                                                              Charming, isn't she?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Yes, charming.                                                              CHANG                                                              Your brother seems quite fascinated                          by her.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Why not? She's an attractive young woman.                                                                                        CHANG                                                              Young? She arrived here in 1888. She                          was 20 at the time. She was on her way                          to join her betrothed - when her carriers                          lost their way in the mountains. The                          whole party would have perished but                          for meeting some of our people.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (hands in the air)                                                              Amazing! She still doesn't look over                          20. When is she likely to grow old in                          appearance?                                                               CHANG                                                              Not for years. Shangri-La will keep                          her youthful indefinitely.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Suppose she should leave it?                                                              ? 551 ?                                                              CHANG                                                              Leave Shangri-La! That's not likely.                          You couldn't drive her out.                                                               CONWAY                                                              No, I mean about her appearance. If                          she should leave the valley - what would                          happen?                                                               CHANG                                                              Oh, she'd quickly revert in her appearance                          to her actual age.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (shaking his head)                                                              It's weird.                                                              (a pause)                                                              Chang, how old are you?                                                              CHANG                                                              Age is a limit we impose upon ourselves.                          You know, each time you Westerners celebrate                          your birthday, you build another fence                          around your minds.                                                               They are interrupted by the entrance                          of George.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (stridently)                                                              Oh, there you are! You're just the man                          I'm looking for.                                                               272. WIDER ANGLE                                                              As George comes up to them. He is livid                          with rage. He crosses directly to in                          front of Chang.                                                               GEORGE                                                              A fine trick! Smart, aren't you? What                          a pack of lies you told us about those                          porters! Of course the minute they arrive,                          we can make arrangements to leave. If                          they take us. But you knew very well                          you'd tell them not to!                                                               273. THREE SHOT - FAVORING GEORGE                                                              CHANG                                                              Now, my dear boy. You shouldn'tó                                                              GEORGE                                                              (snapping at him)                                                              You've been lying to us ever since we                          got here! Apparently it's worked with                          some people. Perhaps it's because they                          lack the courage to do anything about                          it. But not me, Chang. You're up against                          the wrong man. I'll get out of here,                          if I have to blow this fantastic place                          into the valley! I'll get outóporters                          or no porters!                                                               And with this threat, he storms out                          of the room.                                                               CHANG                                                              You must prevail upon him not to attempt                          the journey. He could never get through                          that country alive.                                                               ? 552 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              (tensely)                                                              I can't let him go alone. It's suicide!                                                                                        He exits abruptly. Chang watches him                          depart, deeply upset.                                                               INT. HIGH LAMA'S CHAMBER                                                              274. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Conway sits in the same place before                          the Lama.                                                               LAMA                                                              Yes, of course, your brother is a problem.                          It was to be expected.                                                               CONWAY                                                              I knew you'd understand. That's why                          I came to you for help.                                                               LAMA                                                              You must not look to me for help. Your                          brother is no longer my problem. He                          is now your problem, Conway.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Mine?                                                              LAMA                                                              Because, my son, I am placing in your                          hands the future and destiny of Shangri-La.                                                                                        (pause)                                                              For I am going to die.                                                              There is a pause during which Conway                          cannot conceal his amazement at this                          simple statement.                                                               LAMA                                                              I knew my work was done when I first                          set eyes upon you.                                                               275. CLOSEUP - CONWAY AND LAMA                                                              Conway is too awed and impressed to                          utter a sound. The High Lama finally                          resumes.                                                               LAMA                                                              I have waited for you, my son, for a                          long time. I have sat in this room and                          seen the faces of newcomers. I have                          looked into their eyes and heard their                          voices - always in hope that I might                          find you . My friend, it is not an arduous                          task that I bequeath, for our order                          knows only silken bonds. To be gentle                          and patient, to care for the riches                          of the mind, to preside in wisdom, while                          the storm rages without.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Do you think this will come in my time?                                                                                        ? 553 ?                                                              276. MED. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO                                                              HIGH LAMA                                                              You, my son, will live through the storm.                          You will preserve the fragrance of our                          history, and add to it a touch of your                          own mind. Beyond that, my vision weakens.                                                                                        (pause - magisterially)                                                              But I see in the great distance a new                          world starting in the ruins - stirring                          clumsily - but in hopefulness, seeking                          its vast and legendary treasures. And                          they will all be here, my son, hidden                          behind the mountains in the Valley of                          the Blue Moon, preserved as if by a                          miracle.                                                               The voice of the Lama, toward the last,                          seems to fade out. Conway, thoroughly                          engrossed, half-consciously waits for                          it to continue. Following a protracted                          silence, he slowly turns toward the                          Lama. A breeze blows through the room,                          ruffling curtains on the window.                                                               277. CLOSE SHOT - THE HIGH LAMA                                                              From whose face the glow has faded.                          There is nothing left but a dark-shadowed                          mask.                                                               278. CLOSEUP - CONWAY                                                              He stares, uncertainly, for a long while,                          with a slow realization that the High                          Lama is dead. Quite unaware that he                          is being moved emotionally, tears well                          up in his eyes. While still sitting                          this way, unable to stir, he becomes                          conscious of activity around him.                                                                                        279. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As two servants, unbeckoned, arrive                          - only to peer, solemn-faced, at the                          Lama. Then, in intervals of seconds,                          groups of Lamas, hitherto unseen, enter                          softly and silently, and gather around                          the High Lama. We hear indistinguishable                          murmurs that might or might not be prayers.                          Conway is only vaguely aware of their                          presence - and after a few moments,                          scarcely conscious of what is actuating                          his movements, he drifts away from the                          murmuring Lamas, and walks in the direction                          of the door.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              INT. BARNARD'S ROOM                                                              280. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              Barnard and Gloria are on their knees                          on the floor. Before them they have                          spread a large map or chart. Barnard                          is enthusiastically out - lining his                          plans.                                                               BARNARD                                                              Look, honey. We run the pipes through                          here, and we connect with the main water                          line here.                                                               GLORIA                                                              Pipes? Where are you going to get pipes?                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Oh, that's a cinch. I'll show them how                          to cast pipes out of clay.                                                               This is as far as they get for George                          at this moment barges in.                                                               ? 554 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              There you are! Barnard, you'd better                          get your things together. We're leaving.                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Leaving?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Yes. I've just been talking with the                          porters. They're going to take us. We've                          got clothing, food, everything. Come                          on!                                                               BARNARD                                                              When are you going to start?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Right this very minute! The porters                          are waiting for us on the plateau. And                          that Chinaman thought he could stop                          me. Come along.                                                               BARNARD                                                              I think I'll stick around. I'll leave                          with the porters on their next trip.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              You mean you don't want to go?                                                              BARNARD                                                              Well - I'mó                                                              GEORGE                                                              I see. You're afraid of going to jail,                          eh?                                                               BARNARD                                                              Well, no. You see, I got this plumbing                          businessó                                                               GEORGE                                                              All right! If you insist on being an                          idiot, I'm not going to waste time coaxing                          you.                                                               (to Gloria)                                                              How about you?                                                              BARNARD                                                              Oh, no - you don't want to go yet, honey.                                                                                        (before she can answer)                                                              She'll stick around too.                                                              (to Gloria)                                                              Is that right?                                                              GLORIA                                                              (beaming)                                                              If you want me to!                                                              BARNARD                                                              Sure - sure. Don't you worry. I'll take                          care of you.                                                               GEORGE                                                              All right, suit yourself. But just remember                          you had your chance.                                                               ? 555 ?                                                              As he starts out, Lovett enters.                                                              GEORGE                                                              How about you? Do you want to go?                                                              LOVETT                                                              Go? Where?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Home. Away from here. I've got porters                          to take us back.                                                               281. CLOSE TWO SHOT - GEORGE AND LOVETT                                                                                        LOVETT                                                              Oh, my dear boy, I'm sorry. That's impossible.                          Why, I have my classes all started.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              (irritably)                                                              I don't care what you've got started.                          Do you want to go?                                                               LOVETT                                                              Well - no - I think I'd better wait.                          Yes, yes. I will. I'll wait.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (grumbling as he goes)                                                              You'll wait till you rot!                                                              LOVETT                                                              (glowering after him)                                                              Yes.                                                              (does a double-take)                                                              Barney!                                                              BARNARD                                                              Lovey!                                                              Lovett immediately dismisses George                          from his mind and his face brightening,                          he starts toward Barnard and Gloria.                                                                                        282. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              As Lovett joins the two on the floor.                                                                                        LOVETT                                                              Hello, Gloria.                                                              GLORIA                                                              Hello.                                                              LOVETT                                                              Barney, I've just finished translating                          one of the most interesting old tablets                          you can imagine. It told me all about                          the origin of the Masonic symbols andó                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              That's swell, Lovey. I want to show                          you something. Look!                                                               He proudly displays his map.                                                              ? 556 ?                                                              LOVETT                                                              Oh my, isn't that pretty! What is it?                                                                                        BARNARD                                                              Plumbing. Everything modern. I'm going                          to run pipes all through the villageó                                                                                        As all three heads go into a huddle.                                                                                        INT. CONWAY'S ROOM                                                              283. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Conway stands in front of a window -                          his arms extended across - peering out                          moodily. He is watching a solemn and                          slow-moving procession of torchlight-bearers                          - the funeral rites of the High Lama                          - accompanied by cermonial music and                          drum-beating.                                                               284. LONG SHOT                                                              Shooting over his shoulder.                                                              Getting his view of the magisterial                          procession.                                                               285. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Conway, as he thoughtfully surveys the                          surroundings of which he has just become                          master.                                                               286. CLOSE SHOT - AT DOOR                                                              George appears in the doorway. He looks                          around and espies Conway. For a moment                          he stands uncertainly, and finally enters.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              (softly)                                                              Bobó                                                              287. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As Conway turns - and seeing him, evinces                          no emotion whatsoever.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (a murmur)                                                              Hello, George.                                                              George looks at him peculiarly. Conway's                          behavior is odd in view of their strained                          relationship.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Well, you can stop worrying about everything                          now, Bob. I've made arrangements to                          leave. If you'll let me close that window,                          I can talk to you. That noise is driving                          me crazy.                                                               He closes the window.                                                              GEORGE                                                              I said we're getting out of here. Back                          to civilization. I made a deal with                          the porters. They brought in a load                          of books or something, and they're leaving                          tomorrow at dawn. They're waiting for                          us five miles outside the valley. Come                          on, get your things together. Where's                          your top coat?                                                               288. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO                                                              CONWAY                                                              You can't leave, George.                                                              ? 557 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Why not? What's going to stop me?                                                              CONWAY                                                              (pleading)                                                              You mustn't. You've got to stay here                          now.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (sharply)                                                              Stay here?!                                                              (more softly)                                                              What's the matter with you, Bob? You've                          been acting strangely ever since we                          came here.                                                               (no response from Conway)                                                              I've never seen you like this. Why can't                          we leave? What's stopping us?                                                               Conway combats an impulse to tell him                          the whole story.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (impulsively)                                                              Something grand and beautiful, George.                          Something I've been searching for all                          my life. The answer to the confusion                          and bewilderment of a lifetime. I've                          found it, George, and I can't leave                          it. You mustn't either.                                                               GEORGE                                                              I don't know what you're talking about.                          You're carrying around a secret that                          seems to be eating you up. If you'll                          only tell me about it.                                                               CONWAY                                                              I will, George. I want to tell you.                          I'll burst with it if I don't. It's                          weird and fantastical and sometimes                          unbelievable, but so beautiful!                                                               (pause)                                                              Well, as you know, we were kidnapped                          and brought here . . .                                                               While he is speaking, we slowly                                                              DISSOLVE TO:                                                              289. SAME SCENE:                                                              As Conway is concluding his story.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                               . . . And that's the whole story, George.                          He died as peacefully as the passing                          of a cloud's shadow. His last words                          to me were, "I place in your hands,                          my son, the future and destiny of Shangri-La."                          Now you know why I can't leave.                                                               George listens to him intently, his                          face a mask of apprehension. He stares                          at his brother for some time and finally                          rises and walks around for a few moments.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              (running his hand through his hair)                                                                                        Well, I - I really don't know what to                          say. Except that you must be completely                          mad.                                                               ? 558 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              So you think I'm mad?                                                              GEORGE                                                              What else can I think after a tale like                          that? Good heavens, Bob, things like                          that don't happen today. We're living                          in the twentieth century.                                                               CONWAY                                                              So you think it's all nonsense, huh?                                                                                        290. MED. SHOT - THE TWO                                                              GEORGE                                                              I think you've been hypnotized by a                          lot of loose-brained fanatics. Why,                          I wouldn't believe it if I heard it                          in an English monastery. Why should                          I swallow it here in Tibet? How do you                          know the things they told you are true?                          Did they show you any proof?                                                               CONWAY                                                              I don't need any proof.                                                              GEORGE                                                              (contemptuously)                                                              I knew there was a reason I hated this                          place. I'd give half my life to fly                          over it with a load of bombs just for                          what they've done to you. How do you                          know the things they told you are true?                          Did they show you any proof? All this                          talk about the Lamas being hundreds                          of years old. How do you know? Did you                          see their birth certificates?                                                               (some more pacing)                                                              I can't believe it, Bob. A bunch of                          decrepit old men sit around and dream                          about reforming the world. And you,                          Bob Conway - two-feet-on-the-ground                          Conway - want to join them. It's horrible.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              Is that all my story meant to you?                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              What else could it mean to me? It's                          obviously a lot of bunk.                                                               CONWAY                                                              Then you'd better go, George. This is                          no place for you.                                                               GEORGE                                                              It's no place for you, Bob. Think of                          what's waiting for you. Do you want                          to stay here until you're half dead?                          Until your mind starts corroding like                          the rest of them?                                                               CONWAY                                                              Please, George. I don't want to talk                          about it anymore.                                                               ? 559 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              You've got to talk about it. What about                          me? You said they stole that plane to                          bring you here. I didn't want to come.                          You owe me some responsibility.                                                               CONWAY                                                              I'm tired of owing you things. You're                          free to go. Go ahead.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (suddenly)                                                              It's that girl - that girl has twisted                          and turnedó                                                               CONWAY                                                              Enough! Never mind the girl!                                                              (a tense moment of silence)                                                              Well, why don't you go?                                                              Conway has sunk into a chair. George                          kneels before him, pleading.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Look here, Bob, Ever since I can remember,                          you've looked after me. Now I think                          you're the one that needs looking after.                          I'm your brother, Bob. If there's something                          wrong with you, let me help you.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (a murmur)                                                              Oh, George . . .                                                              GEORGE                                                              Besides, I - I don't feel like making                          that trip alone, Bob.                                                               CONWAY                                                              George, you couldn't possibly stay here,                          could you?                                                               GEORGE                                                              I'd go mad!                                                              CONWAY                                                              (after a moment's hesitation)                                                              George, I may be wrong, I may be a maniac.                          But I believe in this, and I'm not going                          to lose it.                                                               (warmly)                                                              You know how much I want to help you,                          but this is bigger, stronger if you                          like than brotherly love. I'm sorry,                          George. I'm staying.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (after a long pause)                                                              Well, I can't think of anything more                          to say. Goodbye, Bob.                                                               They shake hands warmly. George turns                          to leave.                                                               ? 560 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              (just as George reaches the door)                                                              George, are you sure of the porters?                          About their taking care of you, I mean?                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              (turning back)                                                              Oh yes. It's all set. Maria made the                          arrangements.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (glances up - surprised)                                                              Maria?                                                              GEORGE                                                              Yes, the little Russian girl.                                                              CONWAY                                                              What's she got to do with it?                                                              GEORGE                                                              She's going with me.                                                              Conway looks his extreme amazement.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              (suddenly - wild)                                                              George, you're crazy!                                                              As he says this he jumps to his feet.                          George is startled by his tone and manner.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              (wheeling)                                                              You can't take her away from here!                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              (confidently)                                                              Why not?                                                              CONWAY                                                              (strongly)                                                              Because you can't. Do you know what                          will happen to her if she leaves Shangri-La?                          She's a fragile thing that can only                          live where fragile things are loved.                          Take her out of this valley and she'll                          fade away like an echo.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (slowly)                                                              What do you mean - "fade away like an                          echo"?                                                               CONWAY                                                              She came here in 1888!                                                              291. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO                                                              Favoring George. He laughs hollowly.                          He runs his hand through his hair. He                          stares unbelievingly at Conway.                                                               GEORGE                                                              This would be funny - if it wasn't so                          pathetic. Why, she isn't a day over                          twenty!                                                               ? 561 ?                                                              CONWAY                                                              You're wrong, George.                                                              GEORGE                                                              I'm not wrong. She told me so. Besides,                          she wouldn't have to tell me. I'd know                          anyway.                                                               (significantly)                                                              I found out a lot of things last night.                                                                                        (quickly)                                                              I'm not ashamed of it either. It's probably                          one of the few decent things that's                          ever happened in this hellish place.                                                                                        292. MED. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO                                                              Conway stares at him.                                                              GEORGE                                                              (cynically)                                                              So everyone is serenely happy in Shangri-La?                          Nobody would ever think of leaving?                                                                                        (vehemently)                                                              It's all just so much rot! She's pleaded                          with me ever since I came here to take                          her away from this awful place. She's                          cried in my arms for hours, for fear                          I'd leave her behind. And what's more,                          she's made two trips to the plateau                          to bribe the porters - for me!                                                               CONWAY                                                              (doesn't want to believe it)                                                              I don't believe it! I don't believe                          a word of it!                                                               GEORGE                                                              All right. I'll prove it to you! You                          believe everything they've told you                          - without proof! I'll prove my story!                                                                                        As he speaks he has crossed to door                          leading to adjoining room. Conway's                          eyes are glued on him.                                                               GEORGE                                                              Come in a minute.                                                              After a few seconds Maria appears in                          the doorway and stands there timidly.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              Come in.                                                              She steps forward.                                                              293. MED. SHOT - THE THREE                                                              GEORGE                                                              (shrewdly)                                                              I've got some bad news for you, Maria.                          My brother and I have decided we can't                          take you along.                                                               Maria's face collapses.                                                              ? 562 ?                                                              MARIA                                                              (small, frightened voice)                                                              You can't take me?                                                              She rushes to George and throws her                          arms around him.                                                               MARIA                                                              But you promised me! You promised to                          take me with you!                                                               Over her shoulder George looks victoriously                          at Conway, who cannot believe his ears.                          Suddenly Maria wheels on Conway.                                                               MARIA                                                              It's all your fault! It was all arranged                          until he spoke to you! Why can't you                          leave us alone?                                                               CONWAY                                                              Do you mean to tell me you want to leave                          Shangri-La?                                                               MARIA                                                              I'll die if I have to stay here another                          minute! I've waited a long time for                          this chance to go, and you're not going                          to stop me now. If I have to, I'll go                          alone. It was I who bribed the porters.                          If it weren't for me, you'd never get                          out!                                                               CONWAY                                                              I thought the porters had instructions                          from the High Lama not to take anyone.                                                                                        MARIA                                                              The High Lama? Who pays any attention                          to him? The porters laugh at the High                          Lama. All they want to know is how much                          gold he will give them. Well, I gave                          them more gold. I've been stealing it                          for a year. I'd do anything to get out                          of this place. To get away from that                          High Lama - the one who calls himself                          Father Perrault! Why, he's been insane                          for years!                                                               CONWAY                                                              Father Perrault is dead.                                                              MARIA                                                              He's dead? That's fine. You won't see                          me shedding any tears over him!                                                               (pleading)                                                              Oh George, you must take me with you!                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              (quietly)                                                              Aren't you afraid to leave? You don't                          want to look like an old woman, do you?                                                                                        MARIA                                                              Old woman? Chang told you that, didn't                          he?                                                               CONWAY                                                              Yes.                                                              ? 563 ?                                                              MARIA                                                              I thought so! He tells everyone I'm                          old. He wants them to stay away from                          me. He can't stand it when anyone comes                          near. He's punished me for every minute                          I've spent with George. If it weren't                          for him, I would have been out of here                          long ago, but he always stops me. Six                          months ago, I tried to escape and he                          locked me in a dark room. I nearly went                          crazy.                                                               (pause)                                                              Look at me, Mr. Conway, do I look like                          an old woman? Is this the skin of an                          old woman? Look into my eyes and see                          if these are the eyes of an old woman?                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              She was kidnapped and brought here two                          years ago just as we were, Bob.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (thrown)                                                              I don't believe it! I can't believe                          it. She's lying.                                                               (wildly)                                                              You're lying. You're lying! Every word                          you've been saying is a lie! Come on,                          say it!                                                               He has backed her into a corner and                          is nearly throttling her.                                                               CONWAY                                                              You're lying, aren't you?                                                              MARIA                                                              No, Mr. Conway, I'm not lying. What                          reason could I have for lying? The chances                          are that we'll never come out of that                          horrible trip alive, but I'd rather                          die out there in a snowstorm and be                          buried alive, than to stay here one                          more minute now.                                                               Thoroughly disillusioned, Conway emits                          a few cynical chuckles - shakes his                          head - stares blankly for a moment.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              (dead voice)                                                              You say the porters are waiting for                          us?                                                               GEORGE                                                              Yes.                                                              CONWAY                                                              The clothes?                                                              GEORGE                                                              (alertly)                                                              Yes, everything!                                                              CONWAY                                                              What about the others?                                                              ? 564 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              I've already asked them. They're afraid                          to make the trip. We'll have to send                          an expedition back after them.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (business-like)                                                              Come on! We're wasting time!                                                              Conway dashes around and collects his                          things.                                                               MARIA                                                              Are you taking me?                                                              CONWAY                                                              Yes, of course. Certainly. Come on!                                                                                        They start out the door and we . . .                                                                                        DISSOLVE TO:                                                              EXT. IN THE GARDEN                                                              294. MED. CLOSE TRUCKING SHOT                                                              Conway, George and Maria on their way                          out of the main building. The funeral                          procession continues around them. The                          two men walk together, Maria behind.                          George is cheerful and buoyant.                                                               GEORGE                                                              It won't be long now before we're in                          London. Can't you just see everyone                          when we pop out of the blue!                                                               Conway's jaw is set grimly.                                                              295. MED. SHOT                                                              As Conway, George and Maria continue.                                                                                        GEORGE                                                              We'll have them breathless when they                          hear our story.                                                               While he speaks, Conway turns his head                          around, looking for a glimpse of Sondra.                                                                                        296. MEDIUM SHOT - CHANG                                                              As he hurries out of the building and                          looks out at them from a roof terrace.                                                                                        297. CLOSE SHOT - MOVING WITH CONWAY                                                                                        As he continues to look back in Sondra's                          direction, although he keeps in step                          with George.                                                               GEORGE'S VOICE                                                              You had me worried for a while. I thought                          you were gone completely.                                                               Conway turns his head away.                                                              298. THREE SHOT (MOVING)                                                              Conway, George and Maria. George glances                          up at Conway.                                                               ? 565 ?                                                              GEORGE                                                              (sincerely - grinning)                                                              Lucky thing for me you snapped out of                          it, too. You saved my life. I never                          could have made it alone.                                                               CONWAY                                                              What was that?                                                              GEORGE                                                              I was sayingó                                                              CONWAY                                                              Can't you shut up? Must you go on babbling                          like an idiot?                                                               George looks up, startled.                                                              299. LONG SHOT                                                              Sondra has come running out to stand                          anxiously beside Chang.                                                               300. MED. CLOSE SHOT                                                              Sondra and Chang.                                                              SONDRA                                                              What's happened? Where's Bob?                                                              CHANG                                                              He's going, my child.                                                              SONDRA                                                              Going?                                                              CHANG                                                              But he will return.                                                              SONDRA                                                              Oh no! No! Bob!                                                              Shouting, she rushes off and the CAMERA                          FOLLOWS HER as she races down a long                          flight of stairs, calling out Conway's                          name.                                                               301. TRUCKING CLOSEUP - SONDRA                                                              As she runs, calling out Conway's name                          and weeping.                                                               302. A SERIES OF SHOTS                                                              Showing Conway, George and Maria - accompanied                          by a dozen or more porters - as they                          approach the mountain opening where                          they first entered Shangri-La.                                                               303. CLOSEUP - CONWAY                                                              He hesitates at the opening, looks back                          one more time. His eyes show confusion                          and defeat. George, ahead, calls out                          to him to hurry.                                                               304. TRUCKING MEDIUM SHOT - SONDRA                                                                                        As she stumbles up the trail to the                          opening, minutes behind. The wind howls                          on the other side. She cries and weeps,                          calling out Conway's name, but he can                          no longer be seen.                                                               ? 566 ?                                                              DISSOLVE TO:                                                              305. A SERIES OF SHOTS                                                              Which should be a group of portraits                          - showing the group's seemingly impossible                          journey back to civilization. These                          pictures should be accompanied by music                          in the appropriate mood.                                                               306. NIGHT SHOT                                                              Accompanied by the porters, they trudge                          laboriously through snow-ridden plains.                                                                                        DISSOLVE TO:                                                              307. DAY                                                              The whole caravan are seen in the distance,                          clambering up a mountain-side - hoisted                          by ropes.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              308. NIGHT                                                              In the middle of a vast plain. They                          attempt to put up tents, which proves                          futile, as a raging snowstorm rips the                          canvas from its moorings.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              309. DAY                                                              The large group are seen lowering themselves                          in single file down a ledge alongside                          a ravine. The wind howls.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              310. DAY                                                              A mountain pass somewhere with a hailstorm                          swiping viciously across their faces.                          They edge their way pre-cautiously across                          a narrow ledge. Suddenly the girl loses                          her bearings - slips - screams - and                          is caught by Conway just in time to                          save her from falling down the side                          of the jagged mountain.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              311. MED. SHOT - NIGHT                                                              Maria has one arm around George and                          the other around Conway - limping. She                          has her head down. They trudge silently.                          The porters are off in the distance,                          leaving them behind.                                                               MARIA                                                              (collapsing)                                                              I can't stand it. I can't go on anymore!                          I've got to rest.                                                               She stumbles and they help her up. George                          looks off toward the porters helplessly.                                                                                        MARIA                                                              (hysterical)                                                              How long is this going to go on? I can't                          stand it, I say.                                                               312. MED. SHOT                                                              Of the porters, laughing at their distress.                                                                                        ? 567 ?                                                              313. MED. SHOT - THE THREE                                                              GEORGE                                                              Bob, can't you get them to wait for                          us? They're leaving us farther behind                          every day.                                                               CONWAY                                                              There's nothing that would suit them                          better than to lose us, but we must                          go on.                                                               (to Maria - gently)                                                              Come on.                                                              MARIA                                                              No, I can't! I can't! You've got to                          let me rest! You've got to let me rest!                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              (calling out to the porters)                                                              Hey!                                                              314. MED. SHOT                                                              Of the porters, still laughing. The                          lead porter whips out a gun and fires                          at them for sport.                                                               315. MED. SHOT - THE THREE                                                              They are in no danger. The porters are                          too far off.                                                               GEORGE                                                              (contemptuously)                                                              Target practice again! One of these                          days they're going to hit us.                                                               CONWAY                                                              (wryly)                                                              As long as they keep on aiming at us,                          we're safe.                                                               (to Maria)                                                              Come now, child.                                                              They start to move again.                                                              316. MED. SHOT                                                              Of the porters. They are still laughing,                          and now others have drawn out their                          guns. Firing off wildly, they trigger                          an ominous thunder overhead.                                                               317. MED. SHOT - THE THREE                                                              Looking up, they see an avalanche beginning.                                                                                        318. A SERIES OF SHOTS                                                              Of the avalanche, picking up strength                          and fury as it crashes downhill, sweeping                          over the porters and crushing them to                          death.                                                               319. CLOSE SHOT - THE THREE                                                              An immense silence comes over them.                          Conway and George can only stare, dazed                          and frightened. The only sound is Maria,                          sobbing.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              320. MEDIUM SHOT - DAY                                                              A scene in which Conway carries the                          girl on his back. George walks behind.                          The wind continues to howl.                                                               ? 568 ?                                                              321. CLOSEUP - GEORGE                                                              Staring at the girl's face as it hangs                          over Conway's back. Suddenly, his eyes                          widen.                                                               322. CLOSEUP - MARIA                                                              A distorted view of her. Youth and beauty                          seem to be vanishing.                                                               323. CLOSEUP - GEORGE                                                              His eyes are glued on her.                                                              GEORGE                                                              (a frightened whisper)                                                              Bob! Bob! Look at her face, Bob! Her                          face! Look at her face!                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              324. MEDIUM SHOT - NIGHT                                                              On the backs of the two men, who bend                          over Maria. CAMERA DRAWS BACK as they                          straighten up. Both stare down aghast                          at the girl, whom we do not see.                                                               325. ANOTHER ANGLE                                                              To include the girl.                                                              326. MED. SHOT OF THE THREE                                                              The only illumination comes from the                          moon. We cannot get a clear view of                          her face. But what we see seems to us                          to be small, withered and aged. She                          is dead. The men stare at her intently.                                                                                        327. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO MEN                                                              Who watch her, immobile. George looks                          despairing. Slowly his head turns toward                          the cliff behind him - and his eyes                          become alert with an idea. His face                          lights up with great determination.                          He lets out a piteous howl, and breaks                          away, racing out of scene.                                                               Conway turns sharply and is horrified.                                                                                        CONWAY                                                              George! George!                                                              328. A SERIES OF SHOTS                                                              George stumbling toward the cliff, Conway                          chasing him. George, falling head over                          heels, rocking on the edge - then plummeting                          over, falling down, down into the darkness.                                                                                        329. WIDER SHOT                                                              Conway, at the end of the cliff, peering                          starkly downward.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              330. A SERIES OF SHOTS                                                              As Conway soldiers on, alone, through                          howling wind and snow.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              331. MED. SHOT - NIGHT                                                              On Conway, struggling against a cyclonic                          wind. He tops a rise, stumbles, falls                          over, and rolls down the mountainside,                          until finally he comes to a stop, mounded                          by snow. Slowly, he begins to rise and                          start again.                                                               ? 569 ?                                                              DISSOLVE TO:                                                              332. DAWN                                                              As the sun comes up, Conway emerges                          from the whiteness, feeling his way                          forward with a walking stick. He walks                          with the pain and effort of a blind                          man, and just as he manages to cross                          a bridge spanning a great chasm, the                          bridge collapses. He stumbles on.                                                                                        DISSOLVE TO:                                                              333. DAY                                                              Conway, looking haggard and more dead                          than alive, stumbles out onto more dry                          and level terrain. He collapses to the                          ground.                                                               EXT. NATIVE VILLAGE - DAY                                                              334. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              A group of Chinese in front of huts.                          They look up, see something off and                          commence shouting excitedly in their                          native tongue.                                                               335. MEDIUM LONG SHOT                                                              Conway's body from their angle.                                                              DISSOLVE TO:                                                              336. A SERIES OF SHOTS                                                              Newspaper headlines:                                                              "Conway Found Alive in Chinese Mission"                                                                                        Similar headlines follow. Newsboys hawk                          bulletin editions to milling crowds.                          Top-level government dignitaries confer.                                                                                        FADE OUT:                                                              FADE IN                                                              INT. FOREIGN OFFICE                                                              337. FULL SHOT - OUTER SECTION                                                              CAMERA MOVES FORWARD passing a series                          of desks and clerks until it reaches                          a clerk who is opening several cablegrams.                          Finally he comes to one which causes                          his eyes to pop. Muttering something                          under his breath which sounds like "Good                          heavens!" - and without taking his eyes                          off the cablegram, he rises and starts                          away.                                                               338. MED. TRUCKING SHOT - CLERK                                                              As he strides across to the end of the                          outer office - to a glass-panelled door                          upon which we read "ASSISTANT TO THE                          FOREIGN SECRETARY" - through which he                          disappears.                                                               INT. OFFICE OF ASSISTANT                                                              339. FULL SHOT                                                              As the clerk enters, full of excitement.                                                                                        CLERK                                                              Cable from Gainsford.                                                              ASSISTANT SECRETARY                                                              Oh, read it!                                                              ? 570 ?                                                              CLERK                                                              (reading)                                                              "Leaving today for London with Conway                          aboard S.S. Manchuria. Conway can tell                          nothing of his experiences. Is suffering                          from complete loss of memory. Signed,                          Gainsford."                                                               ONE OF THE OTHERS IN THE ROOM                                                              Loss of memory?                                                              ASSISTANT SECRETARY                                                              All right, give it to the press.                                                              CLERK                                                              All of it?                                                              ASSISTANT SECRETARY                                                              Yes. Might as well - all of it.                                                              CLERK                                                              Yes, sir.                                                              ASSISTANT SECRETARY                                                              I'll dispatch a convoy to meet him.                                                                                        340. A SERIES OF SHOTS                                                              More newspaper headlines reporting that                          Conway has amnesia and other details                          of his homeward journey.                                                               FADE OUT:                                                              FADE IN                                                              INT. OFFICE OF ASSISTANT                                                              341. FULL SHOT                                                              Another clerk enters with haste, bearing                          another cablegram.                                                               CLERK                                                              Conway's gone again! Run out! Listen                          to this! From Gainsford.                                                               ASSISTANT SECRETARY                                                              Let me have it.                                                              (takes it and reads aloud)                                                              "Aboard the S.S. Manchuria. Last night                          Conway seemed to recover his memory.                          Kept talking about Shangri-La, telling                          a fantastic story about a place in Tibet.                          Insisted upon returning there at once.                          Locked him in room but he escaped us                          and jumped ship during night at Singapore.                          Am leaving ship myself to overtake him,                          as fearful of his condition. Wrote down                          details of Conway's story about Shangri-La                          which I am forwarding. Lord Gainsford."                                                                                        342. A SERIES OF SHOTS                                                              More newspaper headlines indicating                          Gainsford has abandoned his pursuit                          of Conway and returned to London.                                                                                        ? 571 ?                                                              FADE OUT:                                                              FADE IN                                                              INT. A GRILL ROOM OF A FASHIONABLE CLUB                                                                                        343. FULL SHOT                                                              A scattering of men are present - some                          at the bar - others at tables.                                                               344. MED. SHOT IN A BOOTH                                                              Several men are seated.                                                              CARSTAIRS                                                              (looking off)                                                              Here's Gainsford now.                                                              They all look off.                                                              345. LONG SHOT                                                              From their view. We see Gainsford standing                          in the doorway, looking around. He spies                          them and starts forward.                                                               346. MEDIUM SHOT                                                              As Gainsford arrives at the booth. The                          men rise with extended hands.                                                               AD-LIB                                                              Well, it's good to see you back, Lord                          Gainsford! Thought you were never coming.                                                                                        MEEKER                                                              Will you have a drink? Sit down.                                                              347. MED. CLOSE SHOT AT TABLE                                                              As Gainsford shakes hands with them,                          and sits down.                                                               GAINSFORD                                                              Yes. Scotch and soda. I'm parched.                                                                                        ROBERTSON                                                              Here you are, ready and waiting.                                                              He pushes on in front of him.                                                              CARSTAIRS                                                              We're most eager to know what you've                          discovered.                                                               AD-LIB                                                              Any news of Conway?                                                              Where is he?                                                              Did you bring him back?                                                              All this is said as Gainsford drains                          his glass.                                                               GAINSFORD                                                              (setting glass down)                                                              Gentlemen, you see before you a very                          weary old man, who has just ended a                          chase that lasted nearly ten months.                                                                                        MEEKER                                                              Do you mean to tell me you never caught                          up with him?                                                               ? 572 ?                                                              GAINSFORD                                                              Since that night that he jumped off                          the ship until two weeks ago, I've been                          missing him by inches.                                                               WYNANT                                                              You don't mean it!                                                              AD-LIB                                                              Think of it!                                                              ROBERTSON                                                              He was as determined as that to get                          back?                                                               GAINSFORD                                                              Determined! Gentlemen, in the whole                          course of my life, I have never encountered                          anything so grim. During these last                          ten months, that man has done the most                          astounding things. He learned how to                          fly, stole an army plane and got caught,                          put into jail, escaped . . . all in                          an amazingly short space of time. But                          this was only the beginning of his adventures.                                                                                        (leaning forward)                                                              He begged, cajoled, fought, always pushing                          forward to the Tibetan frontier. Everywhere                          I went, I heard the most amazing stories                          of the man's adventures. Positively                          astounding. Until eventually, I trailed                          him to the most extreme outpost in Tibet.                                                                                        348. CLOSE GROUP SHOT                                                              Favoring the other men, as Gainsford                          continues.                                                               GAINSFORD                                                              Of course he had already gone. But his                          memory - ah - his memory will live with                          those natives for the rest of their                          lives. The Man Who Was Not Human, they                          called him. They'll never forget the                          devil-eyed stranger who six times tried                          to go over a mountain pass where no                          other human being dared to travel, and                          six times was forced back by the severest                          storms. They'll never forget the madman                          who stole their food and clothing -                          whom they locked up in their barracks                          - but who fought six of their guards                          to escape.                                                               349. MED. CLOSE GROUP SHOT                                                              Gainsford still continues.                                                              GAINSFORD                                                              Why, their soldiers are still talking                          about their pursuit to overtake him,                          and shuddering at the memory. He led                          them the wildest chase through their                          own country, and finally he disappeared                          over that very mountain pass that they                          themselves dared not travel.                                                               (takes a drink)                                                              And that, gentlemen, was the last that                          any known human being saw of Robert                          Conway.                                                               ? 573 ?                                                              WYNANT                                                              Think of it!                                                              CARSTAIRS                                                              By jove, that's what I call fortitude!                                                                                        ROBERTSON                                                              Tell me something, Gainsford. What do                          you think of his talk about Shangri-La?                          Do you believe it?                                                               GAINSFORD                                                              (thinks a moment)                                                              Yes - yes, I believe it.                                                              (sincerely)                                                              I believe it, because I want to believe                          it.                                                               They all watch his face, impressed by                          his tone.                                                               350. CLOSE SHOT - GAINSFORD                                                              As he lifts his glass.                                                              GAINSFORD                                                              Gentlemen, I give you a toast. Here                          is my hope that Robert Conway will find                          his Shangri-La!                                                               351. CLOSE GROUP SHOT                                                              They all raise their glasses.                                                              GAINSFORD                                                              (softly)                                                              Here is my hope that we all find our                          Shangri-La.                                                               They are all impressed by the sincerity                          in his voice - and as their glasses                          come together - CAMERA MOVES UP TO A                          CLOSEUP OF THEM - and as the music starts                          - the picture                                                               DISSOLVES TO:                                                              EXT. SOMEWHERE IN TIBET - NIGHT                                                              352. CLOSEUP                                                              MOVING IN FRONT OF CONWAY - as he walks                          forward with a steady step - his head                          held high - his eyes sparkling - snow                          pelting his face.                                                               353. LONG SHOT                                                              Over his silhouetted back.                                                              As he walks away from the CAMERA, and                          we STAY WITH HIM a long time as he approaches                          a hill.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                                              354. ANOTHER LONG SHOT                                                              He has now ascended to the middle of                          the steep hill - his gait unchanged.                          THE CAMERA PANS UP to the summit of                          the incline - and we see that beyond                          it the horizon is filled with a strange                          warm light. Conway's figure - in silhouette                          - disappears over the hill - bells ring                          - and as the music begins to swell[16]                                                                                        FADE OUT.                                                              THE END
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+                      L O S T   I N   S P A C E                                  by                            Akiva GoldsmanCHAPTER 1: Earth 2058---------------------FADE IN ON:EXT.-SPACEPULL BACK slowly as MARS fills THE FRAME, a sphere of red desert andfast rushing crimson clouds.A triangular CARGO SHIP descends from the dark of space.                      PILOT (OVER)          Mars mining base, this is Grissom One,          Request final descent vector.REVERSE ANGLEEXT.-MARSA row of giant red mountains and beneath, on the planet's surface, thespires of A MINING BASE. Illuminated landing crosshairs alight alanding pad, beckoning the ship.                      CONTROLLER (OVER)          Roger, Grissom One, this is Mars          Mining, You are cleared to land. Hope          you got some Partagas in that rust          bucket, Sal.EXT.-EDGE OF SPACETHE CARGO SHIP changes attitude, landing thrusters FIRING as thevessel begins to penetrate the atmosphere.                      PILOT          I brought you the most amazing...Amazing, what, we'll never know. The CARGO SHIP begins to EXPLODE, thebubble bridge BLOWING out into space in a ball of fire.EXT.- MARSLOW ANGLE from the planet's surface-. Two shapes BLAST through FRAME,BUBBLE FIGHTERS, single pilot, transparent globes, racing up towardsthe sudden star of the cargo ship at impossible speed.INT.-BUBBLE FIGHTERPOV of the burning Cargo Ship, coming towards us incredibly fast.Speed, trajectory and tactical readouts flash.EXT.-CARGO SHIPThe pulse lasers are still hammering the ravaged hull.WIDERTwo sinister ATTACK SHIPS, their lasers locked onto the Cargo Ship,FIRE away as they BLAST overhead. The nuclear core of the Cargo Shipoverloads, the craft finally EXPLODING in a storm of fire.A BUBBLE FIGHTER ROARS through the hurling world of flame. PUSH IN.INT.-BUBBLE FIGHTERA lone FIGURE stands in a gyroscopic harness, working a heads-upholographic display, command controls spinning 360 degrees with thepilot's Comas the fighter SCREAMS after the fleeing raider.The harness spins, the pilot coming clearly into view. Handsome,intense, reckless eyes. MAJOR DON WEST.                      WEST          Sino-Jordanian Raiders. They're          claiming the cargo ship violated          their air-space.INT.-SECOND BUBBLE FIGHTERAnother pilot (JEB WALKER) commands an identical craft, ROCKETINGtowards the assault craft just below West's.                      JEB          This cold war's heating up. Where did          they come from?INT.-WEST'S BUBBLE FIGHTER                      WEST          Hell. And we're going to send them          back screaming.West activates his targeting computer.                      WEST          Last one to kill a bad guy buys the          beer.TARGETING DISPLAY-CLOSE. The fleeing Attack Ship jogs in and out ofthe crosshairs on West's holographic array. West fires.EXT.-SPACEThe Attack Ship SHOOTS straight up, dodging West's laser BLASTS.INT.-WEST'S BUBBLE FIGHTERWest closes on the fleeing craft, as Jeb engages the other AttackShip, lasers FIRING in the b.g., visible through the transparentsurface of the bubble glass under West's feet.                      WEST          What's that sound? must be the fat lady          warming up.EXT.-SPACEThe fleeing Attack Ship loops in mid-space, reversing direction,heading straight towards West's Bubble Fighter. A game of chicken.INT.-WEST'S BUBBLE FIGHTERWest doesn't flinch. Bears down, FIRING madly, the two space shipsheading straight for each other.                      WEST          That's right. Come on, come on, you wanna          play, I wanna play.EXT.-SPACEThe two ships are ROCKETING towards each other, locked in collisionvectors, lasers FIRING wildly.              asdasdINT.-WEST'S FIGHTER                      WEST          I can hear her. Oh, yes, oh yes. She's          gonna sing.TARGETING:DISPLAY-CLOSE. The Attack Ship flashes, captured in thetargeting hatchmarks. The display expands into a tactical grid.                      COMPUTER          Target lock.EXT.-SPACEImminent collision.INT.-WEST'S FIGHTERThe hull of the Attack Ship fills his bubble glass.                      WEST          The lights are dimming. The curtain's          coming down. Sing you fat, old bag,          sing!West hits the firing stud.EXT.-DEEP SPACEWest's pulse lasers converge on the Attack Ship barely meters ahead,the ROARING craft EXPLODING directly before him.INT.-WEST'S BUBBLE FIGHTER(OVER) WEST SCREAMS as he shoots through the sudden conflagration offlame and debris, everywhere and then gone, giving way to theblackness of space and the starfield beyond.                      WEST          Show's over.Below, the second Attack Ship ROARS past, lasers FIRING, locked in apinwheel battle with Jeb's Bubble Fighter.EXT.-SPACEJEB'S BUBBLE FIGHTER banks, avoiding the high energy volley. Almost. Alaser BURST grazes his Bubble Fighter, the surface of his craftsparking, suddenly scored with flames.INT.-JEB'S CRAFTThe Attack ship is right behind him.                      JEB          Weapons are off line. Jettisoning main          drive core.EXT.-SPACEThe thruster core of Jeb's Bubble Fighter BLOWS off in a bolus offlame, soaring back into the pursuit craft. The Raider EXPLODES.INT.-JEB'S CRAFTControls are sparking. Displays flicker. (OVER) An ALARM sounds.                      COMPUTER          Warning. Failure in redundant drive systems.JEB-POV. The surface of Mars is rushing up fast.                      COMPUTER          Impact on in 90 seconds.                      JEB          Mars Control. . .EXT.-SPACEJeb's ship is barreling toward the planet.                      JEB (OVER)          . . .this is Ranger One.INT.-WEST'S FIGHTER                      JEB (ON RADIO)          ...Engines will not respond. Require          assistance. Repeat...                      BASE (ON RADIO)          Ranger One this is Grissom Base.          Rescue craft have been dispatched.EXT.- MARS MINING COLONYThree small rescue craft race skyward.INT.-JEB'S CRAFT                      COMPUTER          Impact in 60 seconds.Mars fills the view screen.INT.-WEST'S CRAFTThe rescue craft are speeding toward Jeb's fighter below.                      WEST          Grissom, this is Eagle One. Those Pugs          Will never reach him in time.                      BASE (ON RADIO)          Eagle one clear this frequency and          return to base.DON takes a beat. Then he spins his chair towards Mars, begins workingthe controls.                      WEST          This is Eagle One. I'm going after          him.                      BASE (OVER)          Negative Eagle one, your craft is not          equippedWest hits his thrusters.EXT.-SPACEWest's craft dives toward Jeb's ship and Mars below.INT.-JEB'S FIGHTERMars is coming up fast.                      COMPUTER          Impact in 30 seconds.                      WEST (OVER)          Jeb, do you have navigational          thrusters?                      JEB          Don?                      WEST (OVER)          It's a yes or no question.Mars fills the windscreen. Jeb checks his status display.                      JEB          Marginal. But in the green.                      COMPUTER          Impact in 15 seconds.                      WEST (OVER)          Head towards the canals.                      JEB          What are you doing?                      WEST (OVER)          Saving your ass. Read towards the          canals. Now!The canal streaked face of the Mars is all Jeb can see. He grabs histhrottle, engages his navigational thrusters and pulls.EXT.-JEB'S SHIPA tiny directional thruster FIRES, angling Jeb's craft so that itscrapes the surface of Mars and dives into a giant canal, rocky wallsrushing up fast.INT.-WEST'S SHIPWest is accelerating toward Jeb.                      BASE (OVER)          Major West, your ship is not equipped          for rescue. You are not authorized to          jeopardize this asset. That is          a direct order. Acknowledge!West slams a switch, deactivating his radio.                      WEST          Never liked that station, anyway.He BLASTS into the canal, walls rushing up on either side of him.EXT.-MARTIAN CANALJeb's tiny craft is plunging toward the rocky crater floor below.Overhead West's fighter appears, under full thrusters, roaring towardsthe crater floor faster and at a sharper angle.INT.-3EB'S FIGHTERThe canal floor is rushing up fast.                      COMPUTER          Impact in five seconds.INT.-WEST'S FIGHTERDon is blasting toward the canal floor, almost as if trying to beatJeb's ship to a fiery impact below.                      COMPUTER          Warning. Proximity alert.                      WEST          Jeb, I'm going to give you a little          kiss. Don't take it the wrong way.EXT.-MARTIAN CANALWest angles his ship directly under Jeb.INT.-JEB'S FIGHTERThe expanding surface of Mars, visible beneath his feet, is suddenlyobscured by Don's fighter, swooping under his ship.                      JEB          Don, abort. Abort.INT.-WEST'S FIGHTERJeb's fighter is visible overhead.West going up. Don angles the throttle.EXT.-MARTIAN CANALDon's ship, sandwiched between the surface of Mars and Jeb's fighter,angles up and, like a cue ball hitting it's target, Knocks Jeb's shipspinning toward the safety of space beyond. West's ship actuallyscrapes the surface of the planet, sending up a plume of Martian dust.INT.-WEST'S FIGHTER                      JEB (OVER)          Does this mean we're going steady?West pulls his throttle all the way back.EXT.-MARTIAN CANALWest shoots up and out towards the dark of space.                      WEST (OVER)          You weren't getting out of buying          those beers that easy.The rescue craft converge on Jeb's ship as Don heads for base.                                                               CUT TO:CHAPTER 2: Mission Objectives-----------------------------IMAGES-CLOSE. A Sallow field. (OVER) a heroic, stringy anthem.                     VO          Imagine an end to world hunger. What          if ample food and clean drinking water          were the birthright of all our          planet's children?INSERT IMAGE-A dashing hero, wind in his hair. JOHN ROBINSON.                     VO          This man, professor John Robinson,          inventor of the faster than light          hyperdrive can make that timeless          dream a reality.INSERT IMAGES -Airbrushed faces of a perfect family. THE ROBINSONS.                     VO          John Robinson and his family have been          extensively trained to take a ten year          journey across the galaxy in the          world's most advanced spacecraft,          The Jupiter.INSERT IMAGE-A towering launch dome glints in the morning sun.                     VO          From a distant world, the Robinsons,          Will bring back a miracle...INSERT IMAGE-A satellite photo of a planet. Closer on continentalpatches, enhanced to show deposits of a diamond like powder.                     VO          Dimondium can turn even worthless sand          to fertile soil. Earth WILL be a          garden. What kind of - future can our          children look forward to?INSERT IMAGES - Sun dappled, swaying wheat. (OVER) Music crescendos.                     V0          A future without hunger. A future          without suffering. Heaven on Earth.INSERT CORPORATE LOGO.-A Coke bottle hurling towards the stars.                     V0          This mission sponsored by the US Army          and the Coca-Cola corporation.PULL BACK TO REVEALWILL ROBINSON (10) hides in a small space, watching the commercial ona jury-rigged, palm-sized computer. He mimics the Naylrator.                     WILL          Coke. Saving the world for our          children.          (a beat)          Give me a hi-test break.WILL-POV. Spying through the open slats of his biding place into...INT:-LIVING ROOM-AFTERNOONBasic twenty first century modern. MAUREEN ROBINSON stands, talkingwith a PRINCIPAL who in less than happy.                     PRINCIPAL          He hacked our main power grid to run          his experiment. The school was in          chaos. We didn't even have lights.The room lights suddenly dim. The Principal flickers, revealed as aholograph, her head now sitting on Schwartzenegger body.Maureen LAUGHS, then realizes the Principal has no idea her image isbeing distorted. Maureen begins moving about the room, surreptitiouslyglancing behind couches, into cabinets.                     PRINCIPAL (OVER)          This is no laughing matter, Mrs.          Robinson. Will is terribly gifted. His          little time machines, though pure          fancy, are the products of a truly          brilliant mind.The Principal's body has become Twiggy's. Now that of an ape. Maureenpulls open a closet. Will sits inside. Grins.                     WILL          The changing shape of education.                     MAUREEN          No more monkey business.Will shrugs, adjusts his deck. The Principal returns to normal.                     PRINCIPAL          The boy is starved for attention. Was          there no way his father could have          attended the science fair?EXT.-HOUSTON - DAYProbably Austin and Dallas too. Texas has become a giant urban sprawlspreading into Mexico and beyond. Immense industrial air purifiershang in a dark, wet sky.EXT.-HOUSTON SPACE COMMAND-ESTABLISHINGA giant dome topped pedestal towers ever the skyline.INT.-SPACE COMMAND-MISSION CONTROL-DAYA MAN stands before a large viewscreen facing the throng of PRESS.He's a little uncomfortable with all the media attention. This isPROFESSOR JOHN ROBINSON.                     JOHN          Once we have landed on Alpha Prime our          on board robot will begin construction          of a hypergate.ON SCREEN a hi-tech orbital gate is highlighted and expanded.                     JOHN          By then, technicians here on Earth          will have completed a companion          hypergate in our planet's orbit.ON SCREEN an image of an orbital gate now under construction.                     JOHN          Once both gates are complete, ships          will be able to pass instantaneously          between them. The Jupiter can bring          the Dimondium back to Earth without          the ten year delay of a return trip.                     REPORTER          Why can't you just use the Jupiter's          hyperengine to zap straight to Alpha          Prime?                     JOHN          As you know, hyperspace exists beneath          normal space. If you try to enter          hyperspace without a gateON SCREEN a graphic spaceship appears randomly in the corner of aturning schematic of the galaxy.                     JOHN          Your exit vector is random. There's no          telling where you'd come out.                     REPORTER          Professor, how is Captain Daniels          recovering from the flu? Will we still          be able to pilot the mission?John glances to the doorway where a uniformed GENERAL stands.                     GENERAL          Ladies and Gentlemen, you came to get          a look at the Jupiter One. Don't you          think you've waited long enough?John hits a button and the room darkens. A giant monitor reveals...INT.-LAUNCH DOMEA giant saucer sits connected to its launch pad by loading belts,steaming fuel tubes and spindled gantries.                     REPORTER (OVER)          Professor, how does your family feel          about leaving the Earth behind....                     JOHN (OVER)          They couldn't be more excited.CHAPTER 3: Goodbye!-------------------EXT.-ROBINSON HOUSE-ESTABLISHINGA suburban colonial, the launch dome towering in the distance.                      PENNY (OVER)          This whole mission sucks!INT.-ROBINSON HOME HALLWAY-SUNSETPENNY ROBINSON (14) furious, turns, looks downstairs at Maureen.                      PENNY          I Don't want to stay home for dinner.          I want to see my friends for the last          time.She takes a beat, blinking away the tears. Lifts her wrist and turnson a video camera watch. She begins down the hall.VIDEO-POV. Penny's face in the monitor screen.                      PENNY          ... On the eve before she is torn from          her friends, kidnapped, hurled into          deep space against her will, what          thoughts fill the mind of the young          Space Captive....INT.-WILL'S ROOM-SUNSETPenny enters a strewn, boy' a world. Will is trying to select items toplace in a single packing canister marked: PERSONAL CARGO.                      WILL          Will there be boys on Alpha Centuri?          What will I wear?                      PENNY          When we wake up in ten years the video          journals of Penny Robinson, Space          Captive, will be devoured by millions.          I will be world famous. You on the          other hand, will have been totally          forgotten.Penny shows the camera her arm, covered by strings of ribbons.                      PENNY          The Space Captive has decided to wear          ribbons of support for fellow          sufferers as she is dragged into deep          space, green for the ecological          issues, white for human rights                      WILL          You'd probably gag if I described the          secondary infections loss of          circulation can cause.Penny seems about to speak, instead just smiles, goes to his bed andpulls off the sheets, begins knotting them together.                      WILL          What are you grinning at?                      PENNY          I just found an upside to this          mission. The thought of jettisoning          your body into deep space.Penny knots the sheets into a rope, ties it to the bed-post. Willlifts several palm-sized gold-plated stars. Each reads: 1st prize.                      WILL          Dad says Don't bring them. Like          anything I do matters to him.                      PENNY          He never showed, huh?                      WILL          Maybe if I had actually broken the          time barrier he would have paid          attention.                      PENNY          Don't let him get to you, kiddo. He          just gets busy with work is all.Penny tosses the rope out the window, prepares to climb.                      WILL          So, that's a no to family dinner?                      PENNY          Let's see, do I spend my last night on          Earth watching Mom and Dad pretend not          to be fighting again or get in ten          years of making-out at the mall ...          you do the math.                      WILL          Mom's gonna go thermal.                      PENNY          What's she gonna do. Ground me?CHAPTER 4: Major West---------------------INT.-SPACE COMMAND-CORRIDORJohn and the General walk the metal passageway.                      JOHN          We're lucky they didn't press on          Daniels, condition.                      GENERAL          I figured a chance to look at the ship          would keep the dogs at bay.                      JOHN          Ben, I'm worried about jamming in a          replacement pilot at the last second.          My family' a on this mission. I need          someone who's more than just spit and          polish.                      GENERAL          I've got your man. He just doesn't          know it yet.The General palms an access panel. A door hisses open to reveal...INT.-SPACE COMMAND- CONFERENCE ROOM-CONTINUOUSA figure stands staring silently out the window. Don West. He offers asalute. By his eyes, West is clearly agitated.                      GENERAL          At ease, Major.                      WEST          Sir, why was I pulled off active duty?          I salvaged my craft and Jeb's. I'll          fight a court martial, General.                      GENERAL          Do you know Professor Robinson?                      WEST          By reputation only.          (to John)          Your father's battle strategies were          required reading at the Academy.                      GENERAL          How much do you know about the Jupiter          Mission, Major?                      WEST          The Jupiter is fully automated. The          pilot flies the ship out of the solar          system and lands on Alpha Prime. It's          a baby sitting job, sir.                      GENERAL          Major, you are aware Earth's resources          are severely limited.                      WEST          Every schoolchild knows our recycling          technologies will save the          environment. Sending a family across          the galaxy is a publicity stunt to          sell soda to people of all ages.                      GENERAL          What I am about to tell you is          classified. Every schoolchild          has been lied to. The recycling          technologies have failed. In          less than two decades Earth will be          unable to support human life.                      GENERAL          We spun the ad campaign to give the          mission a friendly face, keep people          from panicking in the streets. We          partnered with Coke because the 900          billion this mission cost would have          bankrupted the government. The          SinoJordanian Alliance knows the truth          as well as we do. They hope to reach          Alpha Prime first - And if they do,          I guarantee you, they will not share          the Dimondium with Western Demons like          us. our crops will wither. We will be          left to die.                      WEST          ...Captain Daniels doesn't have the          flu, does he sir?                      GENERAL          Daniels was murdered in his apartment          last night. The flu story is a cover          we fed the press.                      WEST          Dan was a good pilot. A good man.                      GENERAL          Your rescue stunt over Mars was          foolhardy. Explain yourself, Major.                      WEST          I had a friend in trouble.                      GENERAL          You endangered a one billion dollar          spacecraft, disobeyed a direct order          because of a friend?                      WEST          Yes sir. And I'd do it again. Sir.                      JOHN          He'll do.          (stepping forward)                      GENERAL          Congratulations Major, you're the new          pilot of the Jupiter mission.CHAPTER 5: Dr. Smith--------------------EXT.-DESERT-DAYSun beats hard on a MAN who stands on a windswept sand dune, talkingto a smartly dressed BUSINESSMAN.                      MAN          Perhaps a brief jaunt down memory          lane is required. I was contracted          to provide Daniels, apartment code.          My work is done.                      BUSINESSMAN          They found a replacement pilot, the          mission is going ahead on schedule.                      MAN          How tragic. For you.                      BUSINESSMAN          We require more direct intervention.                      MAN          I see. Well, that will cost you. And,          I'm afraid my price has just become          ... astronomical.(OVER) a KNOCK. The man reaches forward and presses a button. Thebusinessman, the desert disappear, only holographs.Room lights.Lights come up to reveal...INT.-MISSION CONTROL-MEDICAL LABSThe man turns, revealing a face as clever an his eyes are evil. Thisis DR. ZACHARY SMITH. He walks to the door, palms a panel, and theportal hiss open. A TECHNICIAN ENTERS.                      TECHNICIAN          Control hasn't received the results          of your final pre-flight exams,          Doctor Smith.The Doctor moves to a circular overhead light board around which aredisplayed the faces of the crew of the Jupiter craft. Removes themicro-files, hands them to the technician.                      SMITH          The Robinsons are checked out at one          hundred percent. They are in perfect          condition and ready to fly.He smiles, so sweet you can barely see the malevolence behind it.                      SMITH          Wish them good luck for me.CHAPTER 6: Welcome Aboard!--------------------------INT.-SPACE COMMAND-WALKINGThree small figures walk through a gantry towards the ship.                      GENERAL (OVER)          The mission protocols are simple.          Professor Robinson is in command          unless you encounter a military          emergency. In that case, Major West,          you will assume command.The figures have come to the saucer entry-port.                      JOHN (OVER)          Welcome aboard, Major.INT.-JUPITER BRIDGE - CONTINUOUSDon, John, and the General ENTER. Don's eyes widen.West looks like somebody sprung for the full extras package on thisbaby.REVERSE ANGLEHi-tech heaven. Two pilots, chairs face a giant windscreen. Don walksto the consoles that stretch toward the back walls.                      JOHN          Some of this technology might be new          to you. I'll be happy to explain.                      WEST          (off the com)          Cold fusion drive          (off the size consoles)          Rambler-Krey Life Sciences stations.Don strides to a pedestal in the center of the bridge. Flicks a switchand a holographic Jupiter craft appears on the launch pad.                      WEST          Holographic navigational interface.Don points to a row of man-sized glass cylinders on the back wall.                      WEST          Cryosleep array. Fully monitored.He approaches the blast doors that lead off the back of the bridge.                      WEST          Sick bay, remote Ops, engineering and          living quarters are below decks.          Hyperengine should be in here.Don hits a wall panel which opens to reveal an immense ENGINE ROOM.                      JOHN          If you have to baby sit, it's not          such a bad nursery, wouldn't you          agree, Major?Just then the ELEVATOR rises from the lower decks. On its circularplatform stands a DOCTOR in a lab coat. She walks to the General.                      DOCTOR          The cryosleep systems are running at          ninety five percent.                      GENERAL          Doctor Smith approved the specs-                      DOCTOR          Doctor Smith is base physician. I am          responsible once this ship is in          flight. These tubes have to keep the          crew in suspended animation for ten          years. They will be perfect or this          ship will not launch. Is that clear?                      GENERAL          Absolutely, Doctor.                      JOHN          Judy, I'd like you to meet Major          West. He's taking Mike's place.                      DOCTOR          He's heavier than Mike. We'll have to          re-calibrate.                      WEST          I'd be more than happy to discuss my          dimensions perhaps over dinner?                      DOCTOR          West - I've read about you. Something          of a war hero, aren't you?                      WEST          (preening )          Well, yes, actually.                      DOCTOR          Those who can't think, fight.          (a freezing smile)          Well, nice to have met you.She heads toward the readouts. West turns to John.                      WEST          That's one cold fish I'd love to          thaw.                      JUDY          (turning)          I'm not going to make it home for          dinner, Dad.West turns to John. Dad?                      WEST          It's going to be a long flight.EXT.-ROBINSON HOME-NIGHTLights burn in the windows.INT.-ROBINSON HOME-DINING ROOM-NIGHTJohn ENTERS to find the remains of an elegant dinner on the table,candles never lit, food never eaten.John crosses to a small scale model sitting on the table. Around ithangs another gold plated 1st prize star. He smiles.                      MAUREEN (OVER)          He won first prize again. He          practically brought down his entire          school. But he won first prize.Maureen descends the steps in a bathrobe. Joins John.                      JOHN          A non-working prototype for his time          machine. Sharp stuff for a midget.Maureen is silent.                      JOHN          I'm sorry about dinner. I had to work          late. The new pilot-.                      MAUREEN          What you had to do was prioritize          your family over the mission                      JOHN          Maureen. This mission is about our          family. So we can stay together                      MAUREEN          The perfect nuclear family. The most          stable social unit, ideally suited          for the isolation of a long journey          into space. It's all just PR, John.          You're never home. Judy is          becoming a ghost just like you. Penny          can't see past her own navel and Will          has to black out-his school, just to          get his father's attention. The          perfect nuclear family in ruin.John stares at his wife. Then he reaches forward, touches her hair.                      JOHN          I know, Maureen. I'm scared too.A beat. Then she moves to him. And he holds her close.INT.-ROBINSON HOME-WILL'S ROOM-NIGHTJohn stands in the yellow wedge of hall light. He touches somethinghanging around his own neck. A pair of metal dog tags.WIDERWill lies in his bed, eyes closed. Asleep. A beat. John turns, headingout into the hall.EXT.-ROBINSON HOME-NIGHTThe bedroom lights go out, a normal home against the backdrop of thelaunch dome towering in the distance.INT.-SPACE COMMAND-LAUNCH DOME-NIGHTThe Jupiter one stands amidst loading gantries, final supplies rollinginto theship on automated conveyer belts and lifts.CHAPTER 7: Primary Directives-----------------------------PAN DOWNTWO TECHNICIANS stand checking off supplies on a lightpad.                      LOADING TECHNICIAN          Anything else?                      LOADING TECHNICIAN #2          I'm showing a late shipment from          Mission Medical. Smith's          authorization. Here it is now.HOLD on a canister that reads: BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS: Do Not Open, asit passes on the loading belt. FOLLOW THE DRUM as it winds along theconveyer, up a gantry towards the Jupiter One. PUSH IN...INT. -CARGO DRUMSmith sits crouched inside, cleaning his nails.INT.-JUPITER ONE-LOWER DECKSA giant robot stands attached to its service bay. Still. Silent.A SERVICE DRAWER slides open and a shadowy infiltrator emerges, hisface visible in the dim service light. Smith.Smith approaches the docked Robot, places a small keypad device on theRobot's dormant CPU panel. Smith activates the device.                      SMITH          You'll forgive me if I forgo the          kiss, my sleeping behemoth.Smith hits a switch on the panel and the Robot's system indicatorslight into life. Smith types several keys on the keypad.                      SMITH          But the time has come to awake.                      ROBOT          Robot is on-line. Reviewing primary          directives. One, preserve the          Robinson Family. Two, Maintain ship          systems. Three                      SMITH          Spare me the chatter.Smith taps the keypad. The Robot is silenced. Smith types again.                      SMITH          What noble charges my steely          centurion. Sadly I fear you have far          more dire deeds in store for you.Smith completes his re-programming. Hits a switch.                      ROBOT          Robot is on-line. Reviewing primary          directives. Two hours into mission          destroy Robinson family. Destroy all          systems.Smith smiles. Removes the re-programming module.                      SMITH          Now that's more like it. Farewell my          tin-plated pal. Give my regards to          oblivion.Smith climbs into a chute marked WASTE DISPOSAL.INT.-WASTE DISPOSAL CHUTESmith begins crawling down the chute. His tiny reprogramming moduleBEEPS. Smith activates a tiny, built in com-link.From the mic, the familiar visage of the Businessman is projected intothe crawlspace over Smith's face.                      SMITH          I told you never to call me here.                      BUSINESSMAN          I see you have completed your mission          on schedule Good work, Doctor. And          goodbye.The Businessman smiles. SMITH-CLOSE. Puzzled.Suddenly the tiny module in his hand OVERLOADS, the flesh on his palmsmoking as Smith is engulfed in an electrical charge. He goes out, hisbody perfectly still.CHAPTER 8: Launch!------------------EXT.-SPACE COMMAND-MORNINGThe giant dome shines in the early sun.INT-JUPITER ONE  John and Maureen face will and Penny who stand now intheir freezing tubes. All  wear silver flight suits. Maureen movesPenny's hair from in front of her face.                      PENNY          Don't, mom. Vogue says this will be          the style in ten years.                      WILL          Will she wake up less annoying?                      PENNY          Does he have to wake up at all?                      MAUREEN          Alright you two, enough.Maureen kisses her children. John moves to will who reaches to shakeat the same moment John tries to hug him. A beat. Then John tries to ashake as Will goes for the hug. A total miss. Will backs into histube.                      MAUREEN          You get a C in paternal expression,          Professor. But an A for effort.John kisses his wife, already in her tube.                      MAUREEN          You always get an A in that.                      JUDY          Don't let me shatter this unbridled          display of affection, but we are          running behind.                      JOHN          (entering his tube)          Major, she's all yours.                      WEST          I'll try to give you a smooth ride.Judy walks the row, checking their bio-monitors. Enters her tube.                      JUDY          Mission control this is Dr. Robinson.          We are in the green.                      MISSION CONTROL (OVER)          Roger, Doctor, you are go to initiate          cryostasis.Don walks to Judy's tube.                      WEST          One question, Doctor. in there room          in these tubes for two?                      JUDY          Barely enough for you and your ego,          Major. Drive carefully.              (touches her com-link)          initializing cryostasis tubes.The tubes rotate closed around the Robinsons. Suddenly each crewmember is surrounded by a shimmering blue glow, brightening like astar and then subsiding. All stand fixed in suspended animation.Don stares at the family a beat. He goes to the main console. Strapshimself in.                      WEST          Mission Control, this is Jupiter One.          The Robinsons are asleep. We are          ready to fly.INT.-SPACE COMMAND-MISSION CONTROLWelcome to the future. Banks of monitors manned by gum-chewing, pinkhaired technicians. A giant monitor shows the Jupiter on the launchpad. The CONTROLLER (NOAH FREEMAN) pulls in to his console.                      NOAH          Jupiter Two this is Mission Control.          You are at T-minus two minutes and          counting. We're opening the dome.MONITOR-CLOSE. The dome begins to part.EXT.-JUPITER ONEGiant gantries retract. Fueling lines disengage.INT.-JUPITER ONE                      WEST          External fuel pressure to zero.          Powering main drive systems.EXT.-JUPITER ONEThe nuclear drive at the base of the saucer EXPLODES, the giant craftTREMBLING, straining towards the sky.INT.-MiSSION CONTROL                      NOAH          Jupiter One you are at ninety five          percent.INT.-JUPITER ONE                      WEST          Houston, main drive systems to on          line status. It's showtime.EXT.-JUPITER ONENuclear ENGINES ROAR. The ship begins to rise in a bolus of flame.INT.- MISSION CONTROL                      NOAH          We have lift off.INT.-JUPITER ONE                      WEST          Requesting escape trajectory.INT.-MISSION CONTROL                      NOAH          Major, your escape vector in clear of          all military and commercial traffic.          Op in go on your command.INT.-JUPITER ONE                      WEST          Roger, Houston.West reaches for a glowing panel.                      WEST          We're outta here.EXT. JUPITER ONEThe atomic power source fires a focused BLAST, shooting the Jupiterthrough cloud and sky towards the black edge of space.INT:-MISSION CONTROLThe main screen shows a graphic of the Jupiter's trajectory as theship arcs toward the outer edge of the atmosphere.                      NOAH          Jupiter One, you are clear Earth's          atmosphere.A CHEER goes up in the control room.EXT.-JUPITER ONEThe giant saucer shell EXPLODES, revealing the inner ship, theglittering high tech shape of the JUPITER TWO.INT.-JUPITER TWODon watches as the Earth recedes into a blue marble, flickeringorbital billboards growing distant. Smiles at the familiar sight.                      WEST          Jupiter One booster disengaged.          Proceeding towards Mercury.EXT.-JUPITER TWONuclear diodes at the ship's base spin into life, glowing with atomicfire, the ship now heading towards Mercury and beyond.INT.-JUPITER TWO-LOWER DECKSThe Robot stands dormant in his service bay. HOLD on the closedservice drawer in the b.g. PUSH IN.INT.-SERVICE DRAWERSmith lies still, unconscious in the dark compartment.INT-JUPITER TWO BRIDGEMercury hangs like a red moon in the front viewscreen.WIDERDon presses a button and two giant blast shields close over theJupiter Two's main viewscreen.                      WEST          Houston, diverting all spacecraft          controls to the main computer.          (off mic)          Eight years of flight training.He walks to the center of the bridge and activates the navigationalholograph, images forming in mid-air over the pedestal.HOLOGRAPH- CLOSE. The Jupiter Two is visible, backed by the planets ofour solar system.                      WEST          Navigational holographics on line.          (off mic)          Fifty combat missions.Don touches buttons and a highlight indicates the ship's trajectorypast mercury, around the Sun in a slingshot and into space beyond.                      WEST          Course confirmed for slingshot exit          of the solar system.          (off mic)          Just so I can take the family camper          on an interstellar picnic.Don walks to the freezing tubes. He zips up his silver flight suit.                      WEST          Ten world series. My, nephews' high          school and college graduations. A          decade's worth of Sports Illustrated          swimsuit editions.          (a beat)          Noah, ten years in a lifetime.West climbs into his tube.INT.-MISSION CONTROL                      NOAH          Sleep well, old friend.INT.-JUPITER TWODon hits a switch and his tube closes. A beat then he is engulfed bythe blueglow, frozen in space. The tubes rise into the craft.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe ship flies on into the endless night.                                                          DISSOLVE TO:CHAPTER 9: Destroy!-------------------INT.-JUPITER TWO-WASTE DISPOSAL CHUTE-LATERSmith lies still. He starts from a nightmare into...-a nightmareINT.-JUPITER TWO-LOWER DECKSSmith scrambles out of the chute, stares at his hand, the impressionof the overloaded communicator seared into his palm.He spins around disoriented. Stumbles to a closed view screen and hitsa stud. The blast shield opens. Space.SMITH-CLOSE. Shock. No words.THE ROBOT-CLOSE. In his docking bay. Suddenly the automaton powers up,lights activating as his CPU comes on line.                      SMITH          No.Smith turns, slaps the burned out programming module on the Robot.                      SMITH          Disable program.No response. The Robot continues to power up.Smith engage interface. Initiate system shut-down.                      ROBOT          Robot is on line. Implementing prime          command directives.The Robot disengages from the service bay, begins rolling forward.                      ROBOT          Robinson family, destroy.                      SMITH          No. Cease. Desist.The Robot rolls towards the bridge.                      ROBOT          All operating Systems, destroy.Smith grabs a wrench from a tool bracket, leaps for the Robot. TheRobot swings once, sending Smith flying into a flaring console.                      ROBOT          Jupiter Two, destroy.INT.-MISSION CONTROL-NIGHTDark. A single Techie (ANNIE) mans the watch, playing holo-games witha stylus over her desk. SCREENS flicker into life.                      ANNIE          What the-?          (into a mic)          Somebody wake up the chief.INT.-JUPITER TWO-BRIDGEStill. The bridge doors open and the ambient lights come on.The Robot rolls onto the bridge, faces the cryosleep array. He extendshis arms, an electrical charge arcing between his claws.                      ROBOT          Robinson Family, destroy.He fires, a blast of electricity hitting the cryosleep controls.(OVER) ALARMS sound as the tubes begin to descend, electricitysparking across the sleeping Robinsons.                      SMITH (OVER)          Mechanical moron. You'll kill us all.Smith, wrench in hand, rushes the Robot, is again hurled across theroom. The Robot turns towards the navigational computer.INT.-MISSION CONTROLFully lit. All the monitors are manned by sleepy Techies. Noah ENTERS,taking a coffee from Annie without breaking stride. , ALARMS flasheverywhere.                      NOAH          This mission's over. Wake them up.The Techies begins working the controls.                      ANNIE          No response, sir. I'm sorry.INT.-JUPITER TWOThe Robot is facing the navigational holograph in the center of thebridge. The electricity arcs between his claws once again.                      ROBOT          Operating systems, Destroy.Smith is slumped against the bulkhead. He shakes off his fall in timeto see the Robot fire at the navigational array, the holographdisappearing in the flames of the exploding pedestal.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe ship begins to veer off course, falling towards the sun.INT.JUPITER TWOThe Robot is rolling toward the com.THE FREEZING TUBES are quickly being engulfed in flames. Smithstumbles toward their control station. Begins typing madly.                      SMITH          Wake up, damn you. I can't stop this          infernal contraption on my own.He SMASHES a glass panel that reads EMERGENCY DEACTIVATE. The figuresinside the lowering tubes glow. All except Judy.The Robot is before the Com, electricity arcing between his claws.                      SMITH          (off the tubes)          Hurry up. Hurry up.The Robot FIRES at the main Com, controls EXPLODING everywhere. Thefreezing tubes begin to open, the Robot spinning to face them.John blinks to life first. Emerges, ducking a BLAST of electricalenergy from the Robot, hitting the deck and rolling.                      JOHN          Maureen. The children.Maureen grabs Will and Penny, pulls them down just as the Robot blowsaway their tubes.John pulls a laser pistol from a wall mount.                      JOHN          Disengage safety.                      GUN          Voiceprint confirmed.The Robot spins towards John, FIRES an electrical charge - John dodgesat the last instant, the grazing blast burning his silvery suit,singeing his side, sending into the wall, his gun flying.                      WILL          Dad!Will ducks under his mother's arm, scrambles across the bridge.                      MAUREEN          Will, wait.The Robot FIRES at the scrambling boy but misses, Will disappearingdown the gunny hatch leading to the lower decks.DON leaps from his tube atop the Robot's back, trying to grab theRobot's power source. The mechanical monster electrifies his shell,sending the Major flying.The Robot turns to Penny and Maureen. Extends his arms toward them.Electricity arcing between his claws. The two are done for. Maureenputs her hand over Penny's eyes.                      MAUREEN          Look away, baby.The Robot is about to fire. Suddenly the Robot freezes, his clawsdeactivate, his power lights go to stand-by and he stands immobile.WIDER. Will stands in the b.g., his tiny hacking deck in his hands.                      WILL          Robot. Return to your docking bay and          power down.                      ROBOT          Command accepted.The Robot turns and begins heading for the elevator. All watch inamazement. Will grins, a familiar mischievous gleam in his eyes.                      WILL          If the family won't come to the          science fair, bring the science fair          to the family.An EXPLOSION rocks the ship.                      PENNY (OVER)          Mom, look, it's Doctor Smith.Penny stands over Smith who lays crumpled in the corner. Maureen grabsan emergency medi-kit from a wall clamp, tosses it to Penny.                      MAUREEN          Pulse, respiration and bleeding-                      PENNY          Basic triage, lock down and          stabilize. I know the drill.John is standing, helps Don to his feet.                      WEST          NEXT picnic, no robots.Don moves fast to the helm. The main view screen is still closed,covered by giant metal blast shields.                      WEST          Communications links are down.Maureen is at the life sciences console.                      MAUREEN          Life support is at ten percent.          Trying to bring secondary systems on          line. It's not working.VIDEO MONITOR-POV. Penny is bandaging Smith's head, her bravado barelymasking her fathoml4ss terror.                      PENNY          Explosions rock the ship. Danger is          everywhere, 'Yet the Space Captive is          fearless as she...A console FLARES. Penny fights back tears, terrified.                      PENNY          I want to go home now.Don is at the navigational system.                      WEST          Rerouting power from the secondary          couplings. Try it again.                      MAUREEN          Finding a power tap....Suddenly the lights go on, the air compressors begin to Hiss.                      MAUREEN          Life support is back on line.                      WEST          I can't get the blast shields open.          We're flying blind.Penny in working ever Smith, bandaging his head. She runs stimulatorunder his nose. Smith begins to stir, COUGHING.                      PENNY          I've got life signs.          (wincing)          Boy, somebody could use a breath          mint.West turns, spots Smith for the first time.                      WEST          (to John)          Try the emergency back-ups.Don moves to the fallen figure, lifts him up against the bulkhead.                      WEST          Smith, what the hell-                      SMITH          I was making a last minute check ...          someone hit me from behind.Don almost buys it. Then he notices Smith's hand, grabs it.BURN-CLOSE. The reprogramming module's distinctive, foreign signatureseared into his flesh.                      WEST          Sino-Jordanian technology. You're a          Goddamned spy.          (realizing)          You did this.Don slams him against the bulkhead, begins dragging him towards theairlock. The pilot hits a switch. The inner hatch opens.                      SMITH          Stop. What are you doing?                      WEST          Dropping some extra weight.                      MAUREEN (OVER)          Help, somebody. Please.REVERSE ANGLEMaureen stands at Judy's freezing tube. The young doctor's cryofieldis sparking on and off.                      MAUREEN          The thawing engine in broken. can't          get her out. She's dying.Smith uses the distraction to palm-slam Don in the chin, knocking himbackwards. Don staggers, goes again for Smith.                      SMITH          Touch me and the girl dies.Don freezes in his tracks.                      SMITH          Your mission physician is indisposed.          I can save her life. But only if you          spare mine.                      WEST          I Don't deal with dead men.                      SMITH          Kill me, I kill the girl. How much is          your revenge worth, Major? I will, of          course, need your word as an officer          that you will let me live.Don's decision is lighting fast.                      WEST          Help her.                      JOHN          I've got a com signal.Suddenly the radio SQUAWKS into life.                      RADIO          ...Is Mission Control. Do you read?          Jupiter Two this is                      JOHN          Emergency power's on line. I think I          can get these blast shields open.VIEWSCREEN CLOSE. The blast shields part to reveal a giant fiery orbin their path. They are heading directly for the sun.                      WEST          Uh-oh.INT.-MISSION CONTROLNoah stands over the Com. The room is a madhouse.                      NOAH          Give me a telemetry projection.Noah looks up at the main monitor. The graphic of the Jupiter Two isheading towards the graphic of the sun.INT.-JUPITER TWOJohn and Don stand over the Com.                      NOAH (OVER)          You're way off course. We show you in          the sun's gravitational pull.                      WEST          How long do we have?                      NOAH (OVER)          We count seven minutes before your          outer hull begins to melt.DON straps himself into the pilot's chair.                      WEST          I'm going to try for the Mercury          Mines.SMITH stands at the freezing tube, Penny and Maureen assisting him.                      SMITH          I will need Dr. Robinson's portable          gurney. I believe it is stored in-                      PENNY          I'm on it.Penny races off. Smith begins working the controls to Judy's freezingtube.                      MAUREEN          We trusted you.          (sinking in)          You tried to kill us all.                      SMITH          Existence offers us nothing if not          the opportunity for an endless series          of betrayals.          (off her stunned expression)          There's a world behind the world,          Professor Robinson. Lie once, cheat          twice and everything becomes clear.          Do not mistake my deception for a          character flaw. It is philosophical          choice, a profound understanding of          the universe. It is a way of life.                      MAUREEN          You're a monster.                      SMITH          Perhaps. But I am also the only one          who can save your daughter's life.Penny reappears, a case in hand. She presses a button and the caseunfolds into a hovering, gyroscopicaly-leveled gurney.                      MAUREEN          Where's Will?                      PENNY          He's futzing with that Robot.                      SMITH          Alright, Penny dear, I need you to          short the power on my command.                      PENNY          Does he have to call me dear?                      SMITH          Professor, if you will assist me in          lowering the body.Smith hands Penny a wrench.                      SMITH          Penny, dear. Now.Maureen nods. Penny SLAMS the wrench into the power circuit. Thefreezing field FLARES and deactivates, the tube swinging open.LIFESIGN MONITOR-CLOSE. Flatline.                      MAUREEN          She's dying.Smith and Maureen lower her onto the gurney.                      SMITH          Sickbay. Move.Penny, Maureen and Smith rush the gurney out the blast doors towardsSickbay just as the ship tilts madly.AT THE HELMWINDSCREEN-CLOSE. The sun is growing ever larger.                      WEST          Unable to re-route to Mercury. The          sun's pull is too strong.          (a beat)          Noah, I need options.INT.-MISSION CONTROL                      NOAH          Major West we are unable to provide          contingencies.          (a beat)          I'm sorry, Don.ON SCREEN-THE JUPITER TWO is heading towards the sun.INT.-JUPITER TWO-SICKBAYPenny, Smith and Maureen have transferred Judy onto a hi-techscanning-bed. A hovering holographic schematic of Judy's physiognomyappears over her, descends onto her body.                      SMITHNo cardio-pulmonary or respiratory functions.                      MAUREEN          Body temp at 68 Fahrenheit.                      SMITH          Get her flight suit off.Penny unzips the silver material as Smith works the console,highlighting her holographic heart.                      SMITH          Clear.The holographic image of her heart beats once, then is still.                      SMITH          Again. Clear.The lights flicker on the bio-console, the holograph winks out.                      SMITH          Power's down.                      MAUREEN          We're losing her.CHAPTER 10: Initiate Hyperdrive-------------------------------INT. -JUPITER TWODON and John man the Com. The sun is a raging fireball dead ahead.                      JOHN          I've re-routed all secondary systems          to the main drive.                      WEST          She won't budge. Shortest baby sitting          mission I've ever done.                      JOHN          My family's not going die in space.                      WEST          I'm open to suggestions.                      COMPUTER          Outer hull breach in 30 seconds.INT.-SICKBAYSmith begins pumping Judy's chest by hand.                      SMITH          Come on, child. Fight. Put a little          heart in it.Smith steps back, begins precise, staccato blows to Judy's chest.                      SMITH          The life.. .          (hit )          I save ...          (hit)          may be          (hit)          my own.Smith stops, presses his ear to her chest - Takes her pulse. Smiles.                      MAUREEN          Judy? Baby?A beat. Then Judy opens her eyes, manages a weak smile.                      JUDY          You should try to look less worried.          It has a tendency to spook the          patients.                      MAUREEN          (to Smith)          Thank you.Smith holds her gaze, his eyes almost snake-like.                      SMITH          You are a good woman, Maureen. Any man          could see that. I hope I have proven          the well-being of your family is of          great importance to me. Perhaps, if          you convinced your husband to trust          me...Maureen stares at him. A beat. She pulls a laser from the wall. Pointsit at his forehead.                      MAUREEN          Stabilize her, Smith. Because you only          breathe as long as she does.INT.-JUPITER TWO BRIDGEThe ship is shaking in the mighty pull of the sun. Don is strugglingto keep the ship stable.                      COMPUTER          Heat seal breach in 20 seconds.                      JOHN          There's got to be some way to get          through this.DON stares at him.                      WEST          That's it.                      JOHN          What's it?                      WEST          We can't get away from the sun. So we          have to go through it.          The hyperdrive -                      JOHN          Engage the hyperdrive without a gate,          we could be thrown anywhere in the          galaxy                      WEST          Anywhere but here.INT.-MISSION CONTROL                      ANNIE          We're getting resident radiation          distortions from the space craft. She          must be breaking up.                      NOAH          Let me see those numbers, Annie.The Techie hands him a sheet. Noah looks for a beat.                      NOAH          Son of a bitch. He's powering up the          hyperdrive.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe saucer is elongating slightly, changing its shape as it preparesto enter hyperspace.INT.-JUPITER TWOBRIDGEWill scrambles onto the bridge, heads towards John who is working themain control panel.                      WEST          Hyperengines coming on line.                      COMPUTER          Warning. Heat shield breach.The sun covers the entire windscreen, a furious landscape of flame.                      JOHN          Hyperdrive at 100 percent. Major, you          have the Com.                      WEST          Zero to 20 million miles a second in          under a minute. Let's see what this          baby can do.John takes Will's hand as West engages the hyperdrive.West, John and Will, are hurled backwards from the suddenacceleration, sticking to the walls and ceiling respectively.INT.-SICKBAYMaureen and Penny watch as Smith swaddles Judy in thermal blanket.Suddenly, Maureen, Penny, and Smith fly against the walls. Judy isheld in place by the gurney straps.INT.-MISSION CONTROLThe graphic of the space craft is beginning to flicker as it mergeswith the graphic of the sun.                      ANNIE          We can't keep a fix on her, sir. She's          starting to disappear.Noah stares at the screen.                      NOAH          Godspeed.EXT.-SPACEThe Jupiter Two flies into the mighty ball of the sun. And just as itreaches the tallest of the gaseous mountains, the ship becomestranslucent, falling through the orb, elongating and then vanishing ina sudden star of hyperspace.INT.-JUPITER TWOTHE WINDSCREEN. The sky breaks apart giving way to a starfield.EXT.-DEEP SPACEQuiet. Empty. Suddenly space distorts and, in a sudden flash, a shipappears, hurling into the darkness. The Jupiter Two.The Jupiter Two comes to rest at the edge of an alien, twin starredsolar system, near a giant crimson planet.CHAPTER 11: Lost in Space-------------------------INT.-JUPITER TWO-INFIRMARYMaureen kneels before Penny and Will, making sure they're okay. Smithstands silently in the b.g. Judy's gurney is empty. John ENTERS, hisface wrought with fatherly concern.                      JOHN          Is everyone okay?                      MAUREEN          All in one piece. Although Major West          has the most puzzling definition of a          smooth ride.                      JOHN          Judy? Where's Judy?Just then Judy emerges through a door, zipping up her flight suit.                      JUDY          Boy either I cut down on the coffee          or sew in a flap. It's hell getting          in and out of this thing.                      JOHN          Are you-                      JUDY          Vitals are normal. Pulse and          respiration seem to be-                      JOHN          Baby, are you okay?                      JUDY          I'm fine Daddy really.John holds her close, spared a father's worst fear.                      SMITH          Will every disaster be an excuse for          familial sentiment? Please tell me          now so I may gather up a liberal          supply of space sickness bags.Don turns towards Smith. Maureen steps between them.                      MAUREEN          What happened, John? Where are we?INT.-JUPITER TWO-BRIDGEDon in at the navigational holograph, patching sparking wires. Therest of the crew emerge onto the bridge.                      WEST          You had me worried, Doc. Nice to see          you thawed.                      JUDY          Smart maneuver with the hyper-drive.                      WEST          A fighter who thinks, what do you          know? You're just in time for the          show.Don makes a connection. The pedestal powers up, a holograph of theJupiter Two appearing over its surface.                      WEST          Computer, map our current location.HOLOGRAPHIC PEDESTAL-CLOSE. The area around the Jupiter Two is nowfilled with a holographic representation of the alien solar system.                      JOHN          See anything familiar?Don just shakes his head.                      COMPUTER          Searching for recognizable          constellations.          (a beat)          Unable to locate.                      JOHN          This computer has star maps of the          entire known galaxy.                      PENNY          We're lost, aren't we?Judy wraps her arm around her sister.                      WEST          What the hell is that?VIEWSCREEN- CLOSE. The nearest planet is starting to glow. Suddenly adistortion field begins to emanate from the alien world. The edges ofspace seem to sear away, leaving a glowing portal.                      JOHN          Any effect on the ship?                      WEST          No.VIEWSCREEN -CLOSE. All the planets and constellations beyond theportal appear to be in different places.                      JOHN          (off the navigational hologram)          All the planets have moved.                      WEST          And where did that come from?CHAPTER 12: The Proteus-----------------------EXT.-SPACEBreaking the inner edge of the portal, a long silver space needlecatches the light from the dual suns.INT.-JUPITER TWOThe crew man their stations. Only Will is absent as they the shipmaneuver around the portal.VIEWSCREEN -CLOSE. As they, move behind the portal it seems todisappear, showing only the blackness of space. No ship beyond.                      WEST          It's gone.                      JOHN          No. Go back in front of it.EXT.-JUPITER TWOAs the ship moves back in front of the portal, the hole in space isvisible again, the giant probe ship revealed once more within...                      JOHN          It's a hole in space. A doorway.                      WEST          A doorway to where?                      JOHN          If we want to reach that ship, we're          going to have to find out.EXT.-SPACEThe Jupiter Two flies through the pulsing hole in space.INT.-JUPITER TWOThe giant, silver ship looms in the windscreen.                      MAUREEN          No apparent effects on the ship.                      WEST          I'm hailing on all frequencies. No          response.                      JOHN          There are some markings on the          starboard side. Can you throw some          light on her?                      WEST          Don't know if the exterior spots are          working.- There we go.THE WINDSCREEN-CLOSE. Powerful spotlights hit the ship.WEST AND JOHN-CLOSE. And really surprised.                      WEST          If this in all a dream, why can't          there be more girls?THE SPACESHIP-CLOSE. Essentially a needle covered with metal scallops.On its hull, under the legend PROTEUS, an American flag.                      WEST          I've never seen a design like this.          what are those scales on her hull?                      JOHN          How could Earth launch a ship this          massive and neither of us know about          it? ... It just doesn't make sense.                      WEST          These scanners are damaged, I'm          getting inconsistent life signs but          they may be sensor ghosts.                      JOHN          Maybe her computer's still up. I'm          trying standard remote access codes.ON SCREEN-A docking ring on the giant ship comes to life, giant floodscoming to life, the docking aperture rotating open.                      WEST          What do you know?EXT.-SPACEThe Jupiter Two heads towards the giant ship.INT.-JUPITER TWO                      JOHN          Can you give me some light on the          secondary docking ring?A smaller docking ring is illuminated on the viewscreen.                      WEST          What do you make of that?Attached to the starboard docking ring is another, smaller craft. Itssnaking anthropomorphic lines are not of human design.                      MAUREEN          Boys, I think we're having a close          encounter.EXT.-SPACEThe Jupiter moves into the docking ring of the giant ship.INT.-JUPITER TWO(OVER) a giant THUD as the Jupiter Two docks with the probe.                      ROBOT (OVER)          Crush.REVERSE ANGLE. The Robot in rolling in through the doorway, armswaving wildly before him.                      ROBOT          Crush! Kill! Destroy!Don and John are up fast. But the Robot just rolls to a stop. Willsteps from behind the automaton, his hacker's deck in his hand.He pulls a tiny mic from his deck. Lifts it to his lips.                      WILL          Crush. Kill. Destroy.                      ROBOT          Crush! Kill! Destroy!Will points to several jury-rigged modifications.                      WILL          I hacked into his CPU, bypassed his          main operating system and accessed          his sub-routines. He's basically          running on remote control.All stare at him. Penny finally speaks.                      PENNY          Show off.INT.-JUPITER TWO-CREW QUARTERS-LATERPenny stands guard, a rifle in her hand, talking into her recorder.                      PENNY          And so the Space Captive finds          herself helping the Robinsons by          guarding the traitor. And she finds-Penny's VOICE trails off. Stares out the porthole. Endless space.                      PENNY          She finds that out here, in the dark          and cold, she's scared, and she's          kind of glad they're all together.Just then Don approaches, a silver bundle under his arm.                      PENNY          Identify yourself, soldier.                      WEST          West, Major, United Space Force,          requesting permission to see the          prisoner.Penny steps aside.                      PENNY          Proceed Major West.Don smiles, winks at her, going through the door.                      PENNY          Ouch. Could he be cuter? I don't          think so.INT.-SMITH'S CELLActually a med-lab. Smith turns to face Don an he ENTERS.                      SMITH          These quarters are totally          unacceptable. I demand-Don tosses his bundle on the seat. A silver flight suit.                      WEST          We're going to check out the probe          ship. Maybe we can figure out how          they got here. And how to get home.                      SMITH          Ta-ta. Have a wonderful trip.                      WEST          You're coming with us.                      SMITH          Out of the question. I'm a doctor not          a space explorer. You and-But Don is in his face in a heartbeat.                      WEST          What you are is a murderous saboteur          and I am not leaving you on this ship          so you can do more harm than you've          already caused.                      SMITH          I absolutely refuse-                      WEST          (closer)          Give me an excuse to kill you.          Please.Smith stares at him a beat. Then he smiles, looks to the flight suit.                      SMITH          Silver always was my color.INT.-JUPITER TWO-LOWER DECKSWill stands in front of the Robot, polishing a blast mark clean.                      WILL          When boarding a mysterious          spacecraft, it always pays to look          your best.John enters, removes a gun from the weapons locker.                      JOHN          Deactivate safety.                      GUN          Voiceprint confirmed. Rifle is          active.GUN-CLOSE. A small light goes from red to green.                      JOHN          You did a good job up there son. You          saved us all.                      WILL          Thanks.An awkward silence hangs between them.                      JOHN          I know I haven't around much these          days.That we haven't had time to-                      WEST (OVER)          Professor, we're ready.John looks at his boy Will in silent.                      JOHN          Will, you're the most important thing          in the world to me. I hope one day          you'll be able to see that.With that, John walks out. Will stares after him. Faces the Robot.                      WILL          Take care of my dad, okay Robot?Will works his remote, sending the Robot towards the bridge.INT.-PROBE SHIPA long dark corridor. Slowly the ambient lights come up. A door opensto reveal Smith, John, Don, Judy and the Robot, stepping out of thedocking chamber, the airlock closing in the b.g.                      JUDY          The air is stale. Old.                      SMITH          That's the smell of ghosts.Don walks to a computer panel set into the wall. Begins typing.                      WEST          I'm interfacing with the on board          computer... Odd.                      JOHN          Not working?                      WEST          No, it's just, I don't know, too          fast. Most of the systems are down.The Robot rolls deeper into the alien ship. The others follow. Morelights flicker into life, illuminating the long corridor ahead.                      JUDY          Motion sensors are still working.                      WEST (OVER)          What do you make of this?Smith, John and Judy join Don at one of the bulkhead walls.                      JOHN          Some kind of hieroglyphics.WALL-CLOSE. A series of hieroglyphics are scrawled on the hull wall.The sketches tell a story.HIEROGLYPH-CLOSE. The alien craft docks with the giant ship.SECOND HIEROGLYPH-CLOSE-A trio of inhuman bipedal stick figures enterthe giant ship.THIRD HIEROGLYPH-CLOSE. The shape of a sun or a disc, from which jutsmany legs. This final hieroglyph is circled in a clotted redsubstance. Don touches the stain.CHAPTER 13: Exploration-----------------------                      JUDY          If I didn't know better I'd say this          is blood.                      SMITH          I know an omen when I see one. I          suggest a hasty retreat.                      WEST          Just imagine we're retreating in the          opposite direction. Now, move it.Don shoves Smith forward with the butt of his laser rifle, the groupheading deeper into the quiet ship.INT.-JUPITER TWOWill watches through the Robot's POV, toggling to move the automatonforward. A readout marked AUDIO flashes. Will turns up a volumecontrol. (OVER) the sound of a slow, steady DRIP.                      WILL          Dad, do you....INT.-PROBE SHIP                      ROBOT          ... Hear something?The Robot turns, begins heading further down the corridor. (OVER) nowDRIPPING can be heard by all.                      SMITH          Like the drip, drip, drip of blood..                      WEST          You really need to shut up.                      JOHN          (pointing)          Here.THE CEILING shows a jagged hole, covered with some kind of viscousmembrane, leading to the dark of a service tunnel above. The membraneDRIPS steadily onto the floor below.                      JUDY          That material appears biological.                      SMITH          Nothing good will come of this.                      WEST          What makes you such an expert?                      SMITH          Trust me, Major. Evil knows evil.                      JOHN          Let's find the bridge. Maybe we can          get some answers.They head off. HOLD on the dripping membrane.INT.-JUPITER TWOMaureen is at the main sensor console working an instrument panel.Penny is hanging upside down in a harness overhead, using a laserwelder on a giant mass of exposed ceiling circuitry.                      PENNY          Try it now, Mom.Maureen throws a switch. The panel lights up, then goes dead.                      PENNY          Damn.INT.-SHIP-WALKINGThe boarding party stand at the end of the corridor. Don presses awall panel. The giant doors hiss open to REVEAL...INT.-MAIN BRIDGEImmense. Empty. And battle torn. Sections of the controls have beenblown away. Blast scoring mars the walls.                      JUDY          What the hell happened in here?                      WEST          Some kind of fire fight. Look at this          technology. I've seen some of this          before. On the drawing boards.Smith has moved off slightly, wandered over to a STORAGE ALCOVE.Within, a row of docked Robots, larger and sleeker then ours.John and Don are powering up the Com, console lights coming on.                      JOHN          Can you bring up the Captain's log?                      WEST          The data has degraded. I'm going try          and gather any fragments I can. There          isn't much, but ... here we go.MAIN SCREEN-CLOSE. Fills with snow. Then a figure can be seen. It'sJab. But his hair is grey.                      WEST          Jeb.                      JEB          The hyperspace tracker seems to be          functioning...          (static)          No sign of the Jupiter Two...                      JEB          (static)          Have exceeded our mission timetable          by two...          (static)          I'm not willing to give up. Don would          keep looking for me.                      WEST          That's it. The rest of the data is          totally corrupted.IN THE ALCOVE, Smith frees a power pack from one of the robots. Slipsit into the sleeve cuff of his field suit.                      WEST          This doesn't make sense. How could          they launch a rescue mission for us          when we've only been lost a day?Judy stands by the life sciences panel.                      JUDY          I've got something here.A turning holograph appears over the console panel. A degraded imageof a trembling, viscous pouch. Tiny shapes move within.                      JUDY          They brought it up from the planet's          surface. It's seems to be some sort          of egg sack.Don notices Smith's standing in the storage alcove.                      WEST          Smith, step away from there.                      SMITH          Happy to oblige, Major. Although I          don't think it's me you should be          worrying about. But rather this.In the corner of the ceiling, another membrane covered hole.INT.-JUPITER TWOWill is at his station, watching Don and John via the Robot's POV.                      WILL          I'm detecting motion. Behind you...INT.-PROBE SHIP BRIDGEA towering SHADOW shoots past the open doorway.                      JOHN          After it. Move.          (to the Robot)          Bring Smith.INT.-PROBE SHIP-CORRIDORDon races down the corridor. The walls are matted with floweringplants. Vines twist into a carpet covering the metallic floor.THE SCURRYING SHAPE, about the size of a small dog, shoots out frombehind a bulkhead, disappearing into the lush greenery.Don pushes forward through the ever deepening brush until he comes toa door. A plaque reads HYDROPONICS LAB. He races inside.INT.-HYDROPONICS LABA jungle. John and Judy arrive behind Don.                      WEST          This explains where all the plants          came from.                      JUDY          Growth like this would take decades.The Robot arrives through the lab door, carrying Smith in one claw.                      SMITH          Unhand me, you mechanical moron.Don's eyes fix behind Smith's head.                      WEST          Don't move.                      SMITH          I am sick of your terrorism. If you          are going to kill me, be done with          it. Otherwise I will insist you treat          me with the respect and-                      WEST          (like steel)          I said don't move.Smith is suddenly silent. Don's hand shoots out, just missing Smith'shead, disappearing into the brush behind him, leaves flying, as-hepulls from its hiding place a small creature.About the size of a large stuffed bear, spiny skin going from leafcolor to red, shaped like a rhesus monkey but covered with the scalesof a tiny dragon and bright yellow cat's eyes.INT.-JUPITER TWOWill is watching through the Robot's eyes.                      WILL          Neat.INT.-PROBE SHIP-HYDROPONICS GARDENWest stares down at the creature in his hand, now a calmer and morefriendly blue. Judy approaches.                      JUDY          Well, who do we have here?As the beast struggles in Don's hand it changes color, chameleon like,trying to hide. No luck. Don holds fast.                      WEST          Easy there, little buddy. No one's          going to hurt you.                      SMITH          How do you know it won't hurt us?Don has begun stroking the creature's head. After a beat, the smallbeast begins to COO and emit small BLIPPING sounds.                      JUDY          Looks like you've made a friend. You          have a good bedside manner, Major.                      WEST          I'm going to let that one go.                      SMITH          How charming. Doctor Dolittle of          outer space.                      JUDY          Where do you think it came from?                      JOHN          It's possible this is one of the          creatures represented in the          hieroglyphs we saw on the wall. It          must have been their ship attached to          the other docking ring.The beast has moved onto Don's shoulder, is now clutching there,burying its tiny face into his neck. Don can't help but LAUGH.                      WEST          It looks like a child.                      SMITH          If so, my dear Major, what do you          suppose happened to its parents?                      JOHN          Let's get back to the bridge.As they leave, a dark shape skitters across the ceiling in thebackground. Ominous. Unseen.CHAPTER 14: Giant Spiders!--------------------------INT.-JUPITER TWOPenny is still hanging overhead.                      PENNY          I think I've got it.The sensor console comes back to life, displays lighting, statuslights going green. Maureen stares at the monitor.                      MAUREEN          That's strange.SCREEN-CLOSE. Revealed in the sensor scan, the scallops pulse withambient heat. Penny lands beside her.                      PENNY          Those scales are giving off heat.INT.-PROBE SHIP-BRIDGEJohn is at the Com.                      JOHN          I've tapped into the internal sensor          array. Besides us, this ship is          totally deserted.                      SMITH          A ghost ship.Don is sitting with the tiny creature. He pulls a ration pack from hispocket. Turns it over in his hand.                      WEST          And the flavor of the day is ...          banana/beef. Who thinks up these          combinations?The creature stares at him intently as he tears open the foil lip,sucks a bit LOUDLY. Judy can't help but smile at him.                      WEST          MM. Good.                      SMITH          Major West, I highly recommend you          never breed. That by the way is my          medical opinion.Don glares at him, hands the tiny creature the pouch. The creaturelooks at it, emits a small BLIP, takes a tentative suck. Its eyeswiden in delight as it begins to suck the ration pack.                      WEST          Little thing was hungry.                      SMITH          Good Lord, who will - spare us the          tyranny of the sentimental?(OVER) a distant, high pitched WHINE.                      PENNY          Do you hear something?Suddenly the creature begins to SCREAM, leaping on Smith's back,clinging to his neck for dear life.                      SMITH          Get this infernal creature off me.The WHINE is growing louder. it seems to be coming from above.THE CEILING-CLOSE. There, in the corner, the membrane covering thehole seems to be trembling.                      WEST          This can't be good.                      SMITH          You have a remarkably keen sense          of the obvious.INT.-JUPITER TWOMaureen stands with Penny at the main sensor station.                      MAUREEN          John, get the hell out of there.ON SCREEN. The silver disks on the hull of the probe ship arebeginning to move, rising to stand now on spindraled legs.EXT.-PROBE SHIPHeads and legs emerging, the disks reveal themselves to be armorplated spiders. The monsters find viscous holes in the outer hull andpush through, vanishing into the probe ship.INT.-JUPITER TWO(OVER) a THUD. The Jupiter Two shakes, as if struck.                      MAUREEN          Give me an external view.Penny works the console.ON SCREEN. Spiders are leaping from the probe onto the Jupiter Two.INT.-PROBE SHIP-BRIDGEThe lizard monkey's SCREAMING has reached new heights of hysteria. Ashape begins to push through the viscous bole in the ceiling.What bursts in is a monster out of nightmare. Nearly half the size ofa human, shiny metallic body from which wet, spider-like limbs extend.A fang covered vAw opens below ravenous, green eyes.Don draws his laser and FIRES, but the blast only reflects off themetallic surface of its torso, forcing the creature to retract itslimbs and eyes, hiding within its protective shell.                      JOHN          Evacuate. Now!The team races for the door as several more spiders drop through thehole in the ceiling, landing in the bridge and scampering fast towardsour fleeing heros.INT.-PROBE SHIP-TUNNELSThe boarding party race down the corridor. The spiders are boundingafter them, using walls, floor, and ceiling with equal facility.INT.-JUPITER TWOWill is madly working his keyboard, controlling the fleeing Robot.                      WILL          This joy stick is too slow. Activate          holographic interface.A holographic robot appears on the bridge. Will steps inside, theimage now moving with his body. He spins, facing backwards, firing.INT.-PROBE SHIPThe Robot is holding up the rear, its torso swiveled backwards so itcan retreat and FIRE simultaneously.The Robot's plasma BLASTS have more effect than-the lasers, blowingthe spiders into tiny pieces of inhuman flesh and metal.But more monsters are pouring through the holes in the corridorceiling, some giving chasing, others swarming injured comrades.Judy watches as several spiders devour their fallen brethren.                      JUDY          They eat their wounded.Our heroes race to a nexus, corridors leading off in all directions.Spiders are dropping from the ceiling around them.                      JOHN          Which way?INT. -JUPITER TWOWILL-POV. A graphic map flashes within the holograph.                      WILL          Turn left.INT.-PROBE SHIP-CORRIdOR                      ROBOT          Now right.The spiders are swarming, closing fast.                      JOHN          Got to seal the bulkhead.                      WEST          The door control is at the other and          of the corridor.                      JUDY          The fire sensor.Judy pulls her gun, FIRES, hitting a ceiling sensor at the end of thecorridor. Blast doors SLAM, sealing out most of the spiders.DON-CLOSE. Impressed.BLAST DOORS-CLOSE. Metal teeth begin tearing through the steel.Our group has made it to the door to the docking bay. They rush in,the Robot coming through the open doorway last and holding there.INT.-PROBE SHIP-DOCKING BAYDon activates the airlock to the Jupiter, the batch slowly opening.The Robot stands in the doorway to the docking bay, FIRING at thespiders as they come down the hall, blowing them away. More pourthrough the now rending blast doors. There are just too many, rollingtowards them now like a single, shifting mass of death.                      SMITH          Open, damn you.                      WEST          It's cycling a vacuum check. There is          no way to speed up the protocols.                      SMITH          Fools. I warned you not to come          aboard this cursed craft. You've          killed us. You've killed us all.Judy throws him, hard, into the wall.                      JUDY          Shut up.                      WEST          Now that's a bedside manner.The first spiders reach the Robot, leaping onto its metal bull.INT.-JUPITER TWOMaureen and Penny are at the Com, powering up the engines. Will iswithin the holograph, fighting off the spiders.                      WILL          Charge.INT.-PROBE SHIP-DOCKING BAYThe Robot's shell electrifies, the spiders recoiling.The airlock has opened enough for our heroes to duck inside.                      JOHN          Will, get the Robot in here.The Robot stands in the open portal, covered by spiders, their fangsshredding his hull, his electrical charge beginning to SHORT.INT.-JUPITER TWOWill is throwing off the monsters, Extending the Robot's antennaspikes and scanner dishes to skewer spiders that are squeezing by.                      WILL          I can't move him without letting the          spiders into the ship.INT.-PROBE SHIP-DOCKING BAY                      JOHN          Leave him behind.INT.-JUPITER TWO                      WILL          I'm sorry, Robot.INT.-JUPITER TWO-DOCKING BAYA spider pushes past the Robot, head slipping around his metallicbody, bent on reaching the airlock and the crew within.INT.-JUPITER TWO-AIRLOCK                      JOHN          Seal it. Now!Don hits a switch just as a spider breaks free, rushing towards thedropping airlock door. Smith recoils from the swiping talon.SMITH'S BACK-CLOSE. A tiny rand and beneath, a razor thin incision.THE DOOR drops, the spider's arm, still twitching, severed inside theairlock.INT.-JUPITER TWOThe inner airlock door Opens. The crew tumble in.                      JOHN          Get us out of here.Don is already powering up the ship's engines as Smith triesseparating himself from the tiny lizard monkey.                      SMITH          Get this cloying gargoyle off of me.He throws the beast hard across the bridge. The creature hits thewall, SCREECHING, begins racing across consoles.John has strapped in beside Don.                      JOHN          Get me an external view.A MONITOR shows the hull of the Jupiter Two. More spiders are leapingonto the ship, attaching themselves to the hull.                      JOHN          Prepare to disengage.THE LIZARD MONKEY skitters up the back of Penny's chair, over herhead, getting tangled in her hair before jumping into her lap.                      PENNY          Get it off me. Get it off.Penny in frantically wiping the hair from her face. The tiny creatureon her lap begins a perfect imitation of Penny.Don releases the docking ring, glances at the Monitor. The hull of theship is now entirely covered with spiders.                      WEST          Initiating separation.LIZARD MONKEY'S EYES widen in terror as the ship SHAKES, burying itshead in Penny's chest. A beat. Then Penny hugs the tiny beast.                      PENNY          It's okay. Everything's going to be          alright.But she sounds anything but sure.                      WEST          We're clear. Everybody hang on.INT.-JUPITER TWOThe Jupiter Two's engines BLOW, peeling into the endless night.INT.-JUPITER TWO(OVER) ALARMS sound.                      JUDY          I think those things were using the          probe ship as a way to trap food.                      WEST          That I s probably what happened to          the monkey's parents. We were going          to be desert.                      MAUREEN          But what happened to the crew?                      JOHN          Nothing good.                      WEST          We're not out of the woods yet.ON SCREEN. The hull of the Jupiter Two is covered with the giantspiders, their teeth cutting through the outer hull.                      WEST          Let's see how these monsters like a          hundred thousand volts.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe hull glows with electricity. The spiders fly off into space, theirlimbs and heads retracting.                      WEST          And the crowd goes wild.                      SMITH          Recall your nightmares from          childhood, Major. Monsters are rarely          so easily dissuaded.(OVER) a THUNK. Then another. A third.ON SCREEN-The spiders shoot webs from their bellies, attaching to theJupiter, land on the hull again, re-extending their limbs, starting toburrow once more.                      WEST          Persistent bastards.                      JOHN          Can you hit them again?                      WEST          Every time I electrify the hull, I'm          draining our systems. Once or twice          more and we're going to be dead in          space.                      SMITH          A fate I fear may be inevitable one          way or another.Maureen emerges from the airlock holding the spider's severed limb inmetal tongs. Carries it to her life sciences analyzer.                      JOHN          That's the same expression you had          when my mother came to stay with us.MAUREEN'S MONITOR-CLOSE. A graphic of the severed spider leg. A smallline begins to extrapolate to the rest of the figure. Musculature andflesh are drawn in on the screen.                      MAUREEN          DNA extrapolation - coming up.          Silicone based. Admantium shell and          lack of respiratory system suggest an          ability to live in deep space. Tiny          front brain implies communal          relationships. More like bees.VIEWS CREEN -CLOSE. More and more spider are spiraling from the probeship, all heading toward the Jupiter Two.                      WEST          There are thousands of those thingsMaureen is working the COMPUTER.                      MAUREEN          They may be attracted to heat and          light.Don begins typing.                      WEST          With the right command codes, I can          light up the probe ship from here.MONITOR-CLOSE. More spiders are hitting the bull.                      WEST          Damn. No response.                      JOHN          Command codes are sequenced. Try the next series.                      WEST          But they won't work until the next          fleet of ships are built. That's at          least two years away.                      JOHN          Just do it.Don begins entering command codes.The mighty probe ship begins to power up, engines glowing red as theybegin their initial BURN.                      WEST          How did you know?                      JOHN          Think about it, Don. The ships's          advanced technology. Your friend          looking old. What if that ship is          from our future?                      COMPUTER          Warning. Outer hull has been          compromised.SCREEN-CLOSE. Spiders are eating through the outer hull.                      MAUREEN          It's not working.                      JOHN          Can you get the fusion drive on line?EXT.-SPACETHE PROBE SHIP'S fusion drives FIRE. A few of the spiders divert backtoward the probe ship. But most still head for the Jupiter.INT.-JUPITER TWO                      WEST          Let's turn up the heat.Don engages the THRUSTERS, grabs the throttle.EXT.-SPACEThe Jupiter Two banks toward the probe ship, heading directly for thewake of the fusion drives.INT.-JUPITER TWO                      COMPUTER (OVER)          Warning. Inner hull breach in twenty          seconds.                      JOHN          Give them a little encouragement.                      WEST          Electrifying outer hull ... now.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe outer bull flashes with electricity, the spiders jumping off. Donpilots the craft directly through the wake of the fusion drive.The spiders jump off, begin attaching themselves to the nacelles ofthe giant probe ship.INT.-JUPITER TWOON SCREEN the giant spiral of spiders in now heading back towards thegiant probe ship.                      JOHN          Get us out of here. Fast.Don looks at John a beat, then he begins working the controls.                      JOHN          What are you doing?                      WEST          Never leave an enemy stronghold          intact. One of your father's first          rules of engagement.Don hits a button. On the remote control console a readout begins toflash. The message is simple: FUSION DRIVE-OVERLOAD.                      JOHN          Don, stop. That's a direct order. We          might need to salvage-                      WEST          This is a military emergency. That          means I'm in command.                      JOHN          Don, no. I'm ordering you-                      WEST          I hate spiders.Don hits a button. The panel light flashes: OVERLOAD.                      WEST          Hang on, it I a gonna be a bumpy          ride.Don angles the ship away, punching the thrusters as the probe ship'sengines begins to glow.EXT.-SPACEThe probe ship's nuclear core overloads. The engines begin to glow,venting plasma and then EXPLODE like a nascent star.THE BLAST WAVE spreads across space, vaporizing the spiders.THE BLAST WAVE hits the Jupiter Two.INT.-JUPITER TWOThe ship is buffeted by the shock wave.                      WEST          I can't hold her.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe ship is knocked into the atmosphere of the giant planet below.INT.-JUPITER TWODon is struggling to keep control.                      WEST          We're going down.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe ship is hurling toward the planet's cloud obscured surface.INT.-JUPITER TWOThe windscreen is filled with a RUSHING BLIZZARD.                      WEST          Can't get the stabilizers on line.                      JOHN          Pull up. Pull up.                      WEST          Really? No kidding? Thanks.WINDSCREEN- CLOSE. The storm clouds suddenly PART TO REVEAL ... AGIANT SNOW COVERED MOUNTAIN RANGE.Don banks the controls.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe ship tilts on its side, passing between two snowy peaks, stillplunging towards the planet's wintry surface below.INT.-JUPITER TWO                      WEST          I'm reading a clearing ahead. I'm          going to try and make it.EXT.-PLANET'S SURFACEThe Jupiter Two BLOWS over a carpet of snowy treetops, the canopy ofleaves bursting into flames from the friction of the hull.INT.-JUPITER TWOThe surface is coming up fast.                      WEST          Got to slow us down.EXT.-PLANET'S SURFACEThe Jupiter Two hits the surf ace of the water and skips, once twice,three times across the alien sea.INT.-JUPITER TWO                      WEST          Brace for impact!The ship SMASHES into a crater miles long, PLOWING through rock andvegetation, finally coming to rest near one of the crater walls.INT.-JUPITER TWOStill. Automatic fire systems spray gas everywhere. only the dimmestemergency lights cast any glow.                      JOHN          Everybody, by the numbers.Maureen straightens, rubs her neck.                      MAUREEN          Life Sciences, still breathing.                      JUDY          Mission medical, I'm alive.                      WILL          Me too. Robotics, I mean.                      PENNY          Video Mechanics, okay.                      SMITH          I'm alive, Major West's poor excuse          for piloting skills not withstanding.                      WEST          Let's take a look.Don hits a switch, the windshield de-icing, becoming clear.                      PENNY          I don't think we're in Kansas          anymore.REVERSE ANGLEBefore them lies the crater, snow covered floor spreading out towardsa distant horizon stained red by two hanging crimson suns.CHAPTER 15: Follow Orders!--------------------------EXT. -ALIEN LANDSCAPE-NIGHTThe moonless sky is filled with an utterly alien starfield. TheJupiter Two sits near the wall of the crater, its tiny lights fightingthe otherworldly darkness.                      JOHN (OVER)          You violated a direct order.INT.-ENGINE ROOMCavernous. John and Don stand by the giant drive engines. Don isholding a cylinder containing a mixture of power chips, some glowingwith radioactive fire, others dull and charred as coal.                      WEST          About half the core material is          burned out. We'll never generate          enough power to break orbit.                      JOHN          I told you not to blow that ship's          reactors and you did it anyway.                      WEST          Come on, Professor, give it a rest. I          was technically still in command.                      JOHN          Don't hand me that. I'm commander of          this mission.                      WEST          Look, no offense, but you're an          egghead with an honorary rank. No one          ever intended you to handle combat          situations. You're spouting some          nonsense about- time travel while          those spiders posed a continuing          threat. I made a judgement call and          if I have to I'll make it again.          Hell, you of all people should          understand that. If your father were          here-                      JOHN          My father is not here. My father is          dead, killed in one of his combat          missions you so admire. My family is          on this ship And you're going to          follow my orders. Whether you agree          with them or not. Is that clear,          Major?Don's face is right up in John's.                      WEST          Save the speeches. I like you. But          the fate of the Earth is at stake          here. I'm going to do whatever I          think it takes to ensure the success          of this mission. With or without your          help. Is that clear, Professor?The two are too close to do anything but kiss or fight. Kissing seemsless than likely.                      MAUREEN (OVER)          Am I interrupting something?WIDER. Maureen stands in the doorway.                      MAUREEN          No. Really. I think you two should go          ahead and slug it out. I mean, here          we are stranded on an alien world and          you boys want to get into a pissing          contest. So please, go for it. I'll          have Judy down here in a heartbeat to          declare you both unfit and I'll take          over this mission. Now I don't want          to hear another word from you two          until you can play nice. Is that          clear?                      JOHN WEST          Maureen- Listen-                      MAUREEN          Not another word.          (a beat)          Better. Now if you've finished hosing          down the decks with testosterone, I          suggest you come with me. I may have          found a way to get us off this          planet.Maureen turns on her heal and EXITS. The two men exchange a look.                      WEST          Wow.                      JOHN          Tell me about it.They head after her.CHAPTER 18: Danger Will! (Out of Sequence in screenplay.)------------------------INT:-WILL'S CABINWill sits working over his hacker's deck. (OVER) STATIC.                      WILL          Can you hear me? Robot?Will tunes the deck. More STATIC. Then...                      ROBOT          Systems error. Robot unable to          register neural net outputs. Unable          to locate motor controls. Unable-                      WILL          Calm down. Your body was destroyed in          the conflict with the space spiders.          Do you remember?                      ROBOT          Affirmative.                      WILL          But I downloaded your neural net.                      ROBOT          Robot tried to destroy the Robinson          family. Why would Will Robinson save          Robot's personality? Your actions do          not compute.                      WILL          I guess sometimes friendship means          acting with your heart, not your          head.                      ROBOT          Logic error. Friendship does not          compute.                      WILL          Don't worry, Robot. Im going to build          you a new body. I promise.Will turns to face a pile of pirated components from various par ofthe ship. He lifts a circular bubble of diodes. Smiles.                      WILL          Mom always said I should try to make          new friends.CHAPTER 15: Follow Orders! * return to CHAPTER--------------------------INT.-BRIDGEMaureen stands at her life sciences station with John and Don.                      MAUREEN          The atmosphere here can sustain human          life. I've located 500 Rads          radioactive material a mile north.                      JOHN          That's at least what we'd need to get          the core functioning again.John looks out the viewscreen at the alien night. Turns to Don.                      JOHN          We'll set off at daybreak. it'll be          safer. Those are my orders, Major.                      WEST          I agree with your recommendation,          Professor.                      MAUREEN          Détente is a beautiful thing.INT.-SICK BAYJudy examines the lizard monkey. Penny strokes the tiny creature,producing a string of BLIPS.                      PENNY          What's the diagnosis, Doc? Is it          cowboy or ballerina on Halloween?                      JUDY          Right now she's a girl. But I think          your little pal here is from a          self-replicating species. At          different stages of life she, or he,          probably alternates sexes.                      PENNY          Imagine the savings on dating outfits          alone.The tiny creature has begun playing with an aural scanner.                      PENNY          Can I keep her?                      JUDY          Penny, you've never taken care of a          thing in your life besides yourself.                      PENNY          Please. She's all alone. I promise          I'll look after her. She needs me.                      JUDY          ...The moment you misplace her, or          forget to feed her, we leave her on          this planet where she can live in the          wild. I'm not kidding Penny.And with that Judy EXITS. Penny sits, stroking the tiny creature.                      PENNY          We're both a long way from home,          aren't we little one?The creature makes a tiny BLIP.                      PENNY          That's what we'll call you. Blip.Blip reaches out, touches a green ribbon around Penny's wrist.                      PENNY          You like that?Penny takes the ribbon off, ties it around Blip's wrist. Blip looksup, eyes glowing. Penny caresses the tiny creature's cheek.                      PENNY          Nice girl. Pretty girl. Nice.The creature reaches up, touches Penny's cheek. Her tiny tongue tryingto imitate Penny's words of comfort.PULL BACK TO REVEALJudy stands, just out of sight, watching her sister, smiling.CHAPTER 16: Alien World-----------------------INT.-JUPITER TWO-MED LABDon shoves an indignant Smith into the room, adjusts a newly installedsecurity panel in the wall.                      SMITH          Remove that lock this instant. I          shall not be caged like some animal                      WEST          (lethal)          I gave my word I'd let you live. I          never said for how long.                      SMITH          These quarters will be fine.Smith stares at him a beat.                      SMITH          Tell me, Major West. Are you really          confident in Robinson's ability to          guide us? If I were set free, I would          support your right to command. With          minimal force, we could take this          ship and assure this mission          continues under your leadership.                      WEST          ...My God Smith, you're right. How          could I have been so blind? I'll just          run and get you a gun so we can          hijack the ship. Okay?                      SMITH          Sarcasm is the recourse of a weak          mind.                      WEST          I'm hiding the pain. Really.And with that West leaves.Smith tries the door. Locked. Then, from one cuff of his field suit,be removes the control belt he stole from the probe ship.                      SMITH          I assure you, Major West. Your pain          has just begun.Smith moves about the room, lifting small bits of metal, creating animpromptu set of tools with which to alter the control bolt.PAN DOWN. HOLD on SMITH'S BACK. Beneath the rend in his suit, the tinytear in his flesh is now covered with tiny, alien scales.INT. -BRIDGE-NIGHTJudy sits in one of the command chairs over a the remains of a meal,sipping water, staring out into the alien night.                      WEST (OVER)          Star light, star bright...                      JUDY          A million strange stars and only one          wish. I wish we were home.Don comes and sits in the co-pilot's chair beside her.                      JUDY          I never thought a sky could look so          alien. ...We really are lost.                      WEST          When the first sailors circled the          globe and saw a brand new sky, they          thought they had sailed off the edge          of the earth. But they were really          just around the corner.                      JUDY          (smiles)          We just billow our sails and let the          wind blow us home, Is that it Major?                      WEST          So those sailors found familiar          shapes in the stars to make the skies          more friendly, to help them find          their way.Don turns on a monitor below the viewscreen. MONITOR-CLOSE. It showsthe star-field above. He lifts a light-tipped stylus.                      WEST          That's how constellations were born.Don begins to draw on the screen, connecting the stars like dots in achildren's book. Slowly, a familiar porcine face takes form.                      WEST          Porky the wise and mighty Pig.Judy LAUGHS. She takes the stylus. Begins to draw.                      JUDY          The great bucktoothed Bunny... Bugs.Don smiles. Judy can't help but smile back. Their faces are close.                      WEST          So, my quarters or yours?                      JUDY          Excuse me?                      WEST          We are the only single man and woman          of consenting age in the galaxy. How          much more of a set up do you need?                      JUDY          So you figure just dispense with the          pleasantries, get down to business?                      WEST          You have a way with words, Doctor.                      JUDY          (provocative)          Right here? On this console?Don moves his face to hers, only a breath apart.                      WEST          Here would be fine.Judy smiles sweetly.DON-CLOSE. Lips parting. Suddenly water begins to pour down over hishead. His eyes open wide. Judy holds her empty glass in hand.                      JUDY          Next time, fly slower.She rises, walks off, leaving Don mopping his brow.INT.-JOHN & MAUREEN'S QUARTERSMaureen sits on the edge of her bed brushing her hair as Johnactivates the automated security systems.                      JOHN          What was I thinking, bringing us all          out here into space?                      MAUREEN          The world needed saving. You were the          right man for the job.                      JOHN          But solving the world's problems          doesn't leave much time for the          people you love, does it?                      MAUREEN          Did you get any time with Will?                      JOHN          Now he's decided he can rebuild the          robot. Wants to show me his designs.          I've got too much to do-                      MAUREEN          Funny creatures, men. You try so hard          not to be your fathers, end up making          the same mistakes. Will adores you.          He needs your attention.                      JOHN          We can't get off this planet much          less back on course. I don't have          time to...                      MAUREEN          John, just listen to him. it doesn't          matter what he's saying. Just listen.          Sometimes, at least in the eyes of          their fathers, little boys have to          come first.                      JOHN          As soon as we get back into space,          we're going to spend some real time          together. I promise.Maureen looks out the window. A long beat. Then she smiles.                      JOHN          What?                      MAUREEN          It's nice to have our family under          one roof. Even if we had to go half          way across the galaxy to manage it.John presses a button, the blast shield opening to reveal the stackedorbs of three glowing moons. Maureen smiles.                      JOHN          How would you feel about a little          late night tutorial, Professor?John moves to her, begins pulling her down, out of FRAME.                      MAUREEN          Mm. That's new. What are you doing?                      JOHN          Going for extra credit.EXT.-JUPITER TWO-NIGHTThe ship sits on the alien landscape.                      MAUREEN (OVER)          Good night John.                      JOHN (OVER)          Good night Maureen.                      WILL (OVER)          Good night Judy.                      PENNY (OVER)          Good night Will.                      JUDY (OVER)          Good night Penny.                      WEST (OVER)          You guys have got to be kidding.CHAPTER 17: The Core--------------------INT.-JUPITER TWO-BRIDGE-MORNINGWill comes up on the elevator, rubbing his eyes, first awake in themorning. He stumbles to the viewscreen.WILL-CLOSE. His eyes widen with shock.                      WILL          Oh man.REVERSE ANGLEA giant portal shimmers at snow's edge about 100 yards from the ship.Beyond it, a sun-stained field of towering plants and trees.INT.-BRIEFING ROOMThe crew gathers at the table. (OVER) a RUMBLING. The ship shakes.                      PENNY          What are those rumblings? They've          been happening all morning.                      JUDY          How can half the landscape have grown          up overnight?                      JOHN          Okay, let's get settled. Maureen?MAUREEN'S MONITOR-CLOSE. A geothermal analysis shows the giant platesthat make up this world appear mismatched.                      MAUREEN          It's impossible. But this planet's          geothermic plates don't match up.                      JOHN          I was afraid of this.Al1 eyes turn to John.                      JOHN          I think these tremors are the result          of opening and closing doorways.                      PENNY          Doorways to where?                      JOHN          The future.                      SMITH          Perhaps the Professor was hit on the          head when we landed.                      JOHN          Remember the portal that lead us to          the probe ship? What if we crossed a          into a time years after Earth sent a          rescue mission.                      WEST          You're not serious? Time travel is          impossible.                      WILL          No it's not. It's just improbable.          Like hyperdrive was a hundred years          ago. Nothing's really impossible.                      JOHN          This world could be riddled with          doorways to the future.                      WILL          So if we walk into that forest          outside, we're really just walking          into this crater years from now.                      MAUREEN          Geological plates from different          times wouldn't fit together. That          would explain the tectonic mismatch.          But doorways in time, John?                      JOHN          If these portals are opening and          closing, part of some cascading,          natural phenomenon, they could be          tearing this planet apart                      WILL          These portals are exactly what I          predicted my time machine would do.          What if the doorways aren't natural?          A machine that bends space, like our          hyperdrive, could be modified to bend          time as well. What if someone on this          world has built a device?                      JOHN          Son, I appreciate your input but now          isn't the time for flights of fancy.                      WILL          You never listen to me. Not ever.And with that Will storms out. John stares after him a beat, sorelywanting to follow. (OVER) another RUMBLE.                      JOHN          There's no telling how long before          this planet breaks up entirely.          (rising).          Don and I are going to locate the          radioactive material for the core.          Get the ship ready to go. We may have          very little time.INT. -BRIDGEJohn, suited up, heads for the open front hatch when he spots Willsitting alone in the Com chair, tinkering with his deck.                      JOHN          Aren't you coming out to say goodbye?Will just shakes his head.                      WILL          You're always leaving. What if...Will looks away, finally giving voice to his worst fear.                      WILL          What if one time you don't come          home...John stares at his son, unsure what to say, the boy's anguish so deepand apparent. He reaches into his shirt, takes off his dog tags.                      JOHN          Whenever your grandfather went away          on a mission, held leave these with          me. For safe keeping. And when he got          home I d always be waiting to give          them back.He lifts the chain and places it around the boy's neck.                      JOHN          I'm coming back Will. I promise.Will is silent. John touches the boy's hair, then walks out. A beat.Will looks up after his father, fingering the dog tags.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe Robinsons, all except Will, stand-gathered around the front of theship. Don has a small tracking device in his hand.                      WEST          I've got a fix on the radioactive          material. It's through the portal.                      JOHN          We'll just have to hope the doorways          remain stable.                      JUDY          These crater walls are disabling the          com-links. You won't be able to          communicate with the ship.(OVER) the ground shakes again.                      Maureen          Come home to me, Professor.                      JOHN          I love you, wife.John kisses her. Don looks at Judy.                      JUDY          I'm going to regret saying this, But          try to get back in one piece.                      WEST          This is kind of a kiss for luck          occasion, wouldn't you agree, Doc?                      JUDY          See. I'm regretting it already.          (coy)          Kisses have to be earned. Say          goodbye, Blip.Blip reaches up and touches John's face. Then her CHIRPS form a roughapproximation of the words Penny taught her.                      BLIP          Nice girl. Pretty girl. Nice.                      JOHN          You take care of her, Penny.          (kisses her head)          Take care of you too, baby.Then the two men bead off, towards the portal and forest beyond.PULL BACK TO REVEALSmith stares out the cabin window. PUSH IN asINT.-SMITH'S CELL                      SMITH          Yes, enjoy your moments of trite          familial bonding.He turns, heads back to his table, transformed now, into a makeshiftlab, the stolen control bolt in mid-modification.                      SMITH          Because they will be your last.INT.-WILL'S CABINThe beginnings of Will's home-made robot sits on the table. WILL is inthe f.g. riffling his PERSONAL CARGO container.Penny ENTERS, an assortment of small electronic devices, hairclips,and other metal and electronic objects. Dumps them on the table.                      PENNY          That's everything even close to          nonessential. Even my bellybutton          ring.                      WILL          Thanks, Pen.                      PENNY          You want to come on a land survey?But Will just shakes his head, sulky.                      PENNY          Look, what does dad know? Maybe          someone did build a time machine.She ruffles his hair. Disappears. Will activates a CPU speaker.                      ROBOT          Robot is on line.(OVER) a KNOCKING has begun. WILL looks up, puzzled.                      WILL          It sounds like old morse code.Chapter 18: Danger Will!------------------------INT.-CORRIDORWill walks down the corridor. (OVER) The KNOCKING continues. Willfollows the SOUND until he comes to the door of Smith's prison.Smith is visible through the door window, sitting at a table,hammering out the code with his boot. He beckons Will inside.Will shakes his head. Smith begins TAPPING again.                      WILL          (sounding out the code)          Danger.INT.-SMITH'S CELLThe door slides open and Will ENTERS, a laser pistol in hand.                      WILL          You said someone is in danger.                      SMITH          We all are. You are wise to arm          yourself.Smith eyes the weapon, moving towards the boy.                      WILL          This gun is set to fire for me only          so don't try anything funny.Smith barely misses a beat as he adjusts, passing the child, goinginstead to the window and opening the blast shield.                      SMITH          William, you misjudge me. I only want          to help you.                      WILL          Help us? You tried to kill us all.                      SMITH          But now our fates are intertwined. if          your father and that idiot West fail,          I will have no chance of getting          home. It is in my best interests they          succeed. And I always follow my best          interests.Smith gazes out at the exotic terrain. (OVER) an inhuman WAIL.                      SMITH          What monsters roam these alien wilds?          Fools. To set off blindly across this          savage land. Much as I hate to admit          it, it will be harder to manage          without them.                      WILL          What are you talking about? They'll          be back. They'll be okay.Smith is silent. A long, lethal beat.                      WILL          Someone should go after them.                      SMITH          Will, I forbid it. You're a boy. A          clever one, certainly, but a child          nonetheless. This planet is likely          full of predators. Even if you found          them, what if they're hurt, ravaged,          dying, what good could you do?                      WILL          But you're a doctor.Smith turns away, hiding his smile.EXT.-JUPITER TWO-DAYJudy and Maureen are hanging on repelling lines before the craterwall, shipping away ore that glitters like diamonds.                      JUDY          It's impossible.                      MAUREEN          Not really. Geologists have          speculated that Dimondium might be          naturally occurring in many older          worlds. Part of a biosphere's way of          rejuvenating itself.                      JUDY          This one is ten times more powerful          then that on Alpha Prime. There's          enough here to save Earth.Penny stands in the f.g. with Blip on her arm, taking plant samples,talking into her video recorder.                      PENNY          After much deliberation, the Space          Captive has decided to accept her new          role as member of the crew. The          Robinsons, after all, can  obviously          use her help...Blip jumps up on Penny's arm, knocking her recorder to the ground.                      PENNY          (flaring)          Now look what you've done. Stop          hanging all over me.Blip stares at her, frightened by her tone, begins backing away to theedge of the forest. She looks at Penny, then disappears into the thickbrush..                      PENNY          Blip. Wait. I'm sorry. Damn.Penny heads after the creature. HOLD on her recorder. Forgotten.CHAPTER 19: A Different Future------------------------------EXT.-PLANET'S SURFACE-DAYWill and Smith are walking down a forest path. The boy has a radiationtracker in his hand.                      WILL          I've got a fix on Dad's suit beacon.Dead ahead is a field of beautiful, alien flowers, their purple leavesmoving in the wind like an azure sea.                      WILL          Wow, that's Mom's favorite color.                      SMITH          How droll.(OVER) a tremendous RUMBLING. The WIND ROARS. Suddenly, the air in thedistance begins to twist, a rushing distortion sweeping towards them,flowers growing, landscape aging rapidly within.                      SMITH          Run, child, run.Smith turns, begins to flee, pulling Will with him, away from therushing warp. Smith trips, falls, closes his eyes, waiting for thedistortion to overtake him. A beat. He opens his eyes.SMITH-POV. A glowing, stationary portal shimmers behind him, revealingbeyond a forest ever older, darker, more overgrown.                      SMITH          Will? Will?No sign of the boy. Then, from behind a tree, Will appears.                      WILL          Wow!The field across the portal has is now a mass of giant plants, theflowers a deep red. Will rushes across the rip in space.                      SMITH          William, wait!                      WILL          See, over here I'm in the future.(steps back towards Smith)          Here I'm in the past. Don't worry.          If my theories are correct, these          doorways should remain stable, for          a while anyway.                      SMITH          I can barely contain my glee. Why          aren't you aging like the plants?                      WILL          That's just an effect of the portals          forming. Once they stabilize you can          cross from one time to another          just like stepping between two          rooms.          (off his tracker)          Dad's signal is this way. Come on,          Doctor Smith.Will takes Smith's hand, pulls him across the threshold.SMITH-POV. Where he stands is now lush, the sky overhead a glowingcrimson. Yet behind him, the path in as it originally appeared.Younger. The sky, bright. Will has run deeper into the brush.Smith notices something by his feet. He clears away the brush,revealing shapes beneath the foliage. His expression darkens.                      WILL (OVER)          What did you find?Will has returned.                      SMITH          Come, come, son, no time for          distractions. Let's move on.Smith shoves Will on, the boy unable to see what Smith saw.PAN DOWN. Headstones. Each bears a marking, the names still legible.Maureen, Penny and Judy Robinson.EXT.-PLANET'S SURFACE-DAY-PRESJohn and Don emerge from the brush. They have come to one of thecrater walls. John looks from the rock face to his tracker.                      JOHN          Damn.                      WEST          Damn? Damn is not good.                      JOHN          The radiation signature we've been          tracking. it's a  ghost. A          reflection from the Jupiter Two          bouncing off the ore in these walls.          There's no core material here.(OVER) a sudden RUMBLING. The ground shakes. The ROAR of WIND. A timeportal rushes towards them like a glittering maw, the side of thecrater aging and crumbling in it's wake.John and Don race away from the distortion, ducking falling trees,roll clear as the portal stabilizes, now a fixed doorway to a darker,more deserted future.                      JOHN          The ship's back that way. we have to          go through.EXT.-BRUSH-DAY-PRESENTPenny is pushing through the forest.                      PENNY          Blip? I'm sorry. Blip?She spots the tiny creature ahead in the distance. Blip SNIFFS theground, runs a few steps. SNIFFS again. Looks up. There, before Blipis another glittering hole in time. The forest beyond is far thicker,the sky red. Blip steps through the portal.                      PENNY          Blip, wait.Penny goes to the edge of the portal, stares at the monstrously talltrees beyond. A beat. Then she steps through, following.EXT.-CRATER CAVES-FUTUREPenny pushes through dwindling brush to a series of rocky overhangsand caverns cut into the crater wall.BLIP is standing over a large circular stone, hopping up and down,CHIRPING and BLIPPING madly.                      PENNY          Blip, you can't run off like that.(closing on the stone)          What the-?THE STONE-CLOSE. A series of hieroglyphs are painted on the giantrock, their images the same style as those on the probe ship.HIEROGLYPH ONE-CLOSE. A mighty battle in space is depicted.                      PENNY (OVER)          Some kind of fight, in space. It          almost looks like the probe ship          Major West blew up.HIEROGLYPH TWO-CLOSE. A fiery star falls to the planet's surface.                      PENNY          That could be the Jupiter Two crash          landing.HIEROGLYPH THREE-CLOSE. Here a dark haired beauty holds a singlelizard monkey aloft, her face remarkably like Penny's.Suddenly BLIP begins to SHRIEK. (OVER) RUSTLING leaves.SHAPES are moving in the trees, the vague outline of camouflaged formsdropping to the ground. Five figures suddenly de-camouflage. Lizardmonkeys, two large, two smaller.Directly in front of Penny, the largest monkey de-camouflages. Fullygrown, the beast is nearly twice Penny's height. Around the creature'swrist is something odd. An old, tattered green ribbon.BLIP begins to SCREAM and SHRIEK.                      PENNY          Blip, no!Too late. Blip leaps on the giant creature, grabs the ribbon. Thebeast could slap Blip away like a fly. But the creature doesn'tresist, just stares down at Blip with something akin to tenderness.Blip looks at the ribbon in his hand. Then at the one around herwrist. Save for their age difference., the ribbons are identical.The giant monkey moves forward, closing on a petrified Penny, pawreaching out, touching her face. The beast begins stroking Penny'scheek in a familiar gesture of comfort.                      GIANT BLIP          Nice girl. Pretty girl. Nice.Penny stares up in stunned wonder.EXT.-PLANET'S SURFACE-EVENING-FUTUREDon and John are crossing the brush. The terrain in growing ever moredesolate, desert like. The double suns hang on the horizon.                      JOHN          We should be able to see the ship.Something catches the light on the ground beside them. Don reachesdown and lifts a small metal fragment in his hand.METAL-CLOSE. On it is the familiar logo of the United Space Agency.                      WEST          Could these be from the probe?                      JOHN          Corroded. This metal is decades old.Don finds another piece of wreckage, turns it over in his hand.                      WEST          It's not possible.WRECKAGE-CLOSE. The fragment bears a simple legend: Jupiter Two.                      WEST          What kind of nightmare is this?          Where the hell are we?                      JOHN          No, Major, when the hell are we?Suddenly Don is hit in the chest with a plasma charge, goes flying.John ducks and rolls, FIRING his laser from behind the cover of arocky mound. John goes up to take another SHOT, is bit with a powerfulelectrical blast, falling hard. Still.REVERSE ANGLERolling out from behind him, claws extended in attack Position andapparently many years old, is a rebuilt Robot.EXT.-PLANET'S SURFACE-EVENING-FUTUREWill and Smith are crossing the alien terrain. The plants have givenway to desert. The suns hang low in the crimson sky.                      WILL          I feel like we got turned around.                      SMITH          Just follow your father's signal,          young William.                      WILL          Oh shit.                      SMITH          A boy of your intelligence shouldn't          swear.                      WILL          (pointing)          Look.                      SMITH          Oh. Shit, indeed.REVERSE ANGLE. At the edge of the crater wall sits the wrecked hull ofthe Jupiter Two. The lower sections are gone, the hull scarred, opento the sun.                                                               CUT TO:JOHN-CLOSE. Stirring to consciousness.WIDERINT.-JUPITER TWO BRIDGE-FUTUREOr what is left of it. Dark. The occasional COMPUTER panel flickersShattered monitors. An awful history-told in torn metal. John isslumped in a corner, Don still on the floor beside him.                      VOICE (OVER)          Well, well. All things really do          come to he who waits.A FIGURE sits in the command chair, visage obscured by shadow.                      JOHN          What is this place?                      FIGURE          Why Professor, the shock must have          scrambled your brain. Look around          you. Don't you recognize the spot?          You've come home.                      JOHN          This can't be...But even as the words cross his lips, he knows it is.                      JOHN          What have you done to the ship.          ...Where's my family?                      FIGURE          Your family is dead. Dead and in the          ground.                      JOHN          No!                      FIGURE          What fickle consort in memory. Time          dims certain images while others          shine clear and bright as yesterday.The figure stands, light hitting his face. Late thirties. Long blondhair, a shaggy beard and moustache. Eerily familiar.                      FIGURE          I'll never forget that morning.          Twenty years ago. What was it you          said? I'll be back. I promise. But I          knew better. You never came home.The figure walks to one of the burned out panels.                      FIGURE          Without you, your family never had a          chance. A few spidersv survived the          destruction of the probe ship. They          reached the planet and attacked. I          can still hear the women scream.                      JOHN          Who are you?The figure walks forward, into the light. Stands there a moment. Thenhe lifts something hanging around his neck. Tarnished metal, old butfamiliar. John's father's dog tags.                      FIGURE          Don't you recognize me, Dad? It's          me. I'm your son. Will.EXT.-CRATER CAVES-DAYMaureen and Judy, lasers drawn, are pushing through the brush.                      JUDY          Penny? Penny?The four lizard monkeys are kneeling in a circle around Penny.                      MAUREEN          Penny? Baby, are you alright?Penny rises, steps forward, carrying Blip. The other beasts hang back,their faces genuflecting, almost reverential.                      PENNY          It's okay, Mom. They're not going to          hurt us. it's like  they think I'm          their princess or something.                                                               CUT TO:EXT.-CRATER CAVES -EVENING-FLITUREJudy is examining the palm of the largest beast as Maureen scrutinizesthe images graven into the giant stone.                      JUDY          Best as I can tell this whole clan          was spawned by this single creature.          (to the beast)          We've been a busy girl haven't we?          But...                      MAUREEN          Speak, doctor.                      JUDY          Each creature seems to have unique          corpuscular patterns on their palms.          As individual an fingerprints, no          two alike. Except...                      MAUREEN          Except the prints on this giant          creature and our little Blip          match exactly. Don't they?                      JUDY          How did you know?                      MAUREEN          Because, I think Blip and our friend          here are actually one and the same.Penny and Judy stare at her in wonder.INT.-JUPITER TWO-ENGINE ROOM-FUTUREThe Robot, shoving John with one claw, carrying Don in the other,follows Older Will into the giant room.                      OLDER WILL          Father, I give you ... eternity.                      WIDERWar torn and pirated. A pit of molten lava bursts through the floorabove which floats a giant ball of silvery liquid held suspended bythe pulsing field of the hyper-drive. Tendrils of fire strain towardsthe bubble. As they EXPLODE into the silver liquid, images form withinthe sphere, nearly coherent, then gone.A tracked gantry stretches from the floor, leading out over thebubble. At the end of the track a crow's-nest of COMPUTERS SHOOTS asingle laser down into the center of the bubble.                      WEST          (coming to)          . . .ouch. Who ordered me that last          drink? What the hell is going on?                      JOHN          I think we crossed into our own          future. We've come back to the          Jupiter Two decades after we left.                      OLDER WILL          Look father, what my flights of          fancy have wrought. I used your          hypergate to build my time machine.Will moves to a control console at the base of the giant gantry.                      OLDER WILL          Over the years I have struggled in          vain to harness the awesome power of          time. All my experiments at creating          a stable doorway have been futile.          Until now. Today you will witness my          ultimate triumph.Will hits a button. A generator opens, revealing a glowing cylinder ofcore material incrementally descending into the console.                      WEST          The core material. if we could get          that back to our Jupiter Two...                      JOHN          The doorways in time that led us          here must be a side effect of his          machine coming on line. Like streams          running into the ocean....                      OLDER WILL          Once this core material in fully          introduced into the control console,          I will open a doorway stable enough          for one person to take one trip          through time and space as well.          Today, I will change history.Will turns a switch on the control console. (OVER) More TREMORS. Thelaser beam's intensity grown, and in the corridor cut by the beam intothe bubble images begins to stabilize. Images of Earth.                      OLDER WILL          I will return home, to the very day          you took us on this cursed mission.          I'll stop us from taking off. I'll          do what you never could. I'll save          the family. I'll save us all.                      JOHN          Look around. Your machine is ripping           this planetapart. What if the force          wave you ride home has the same          effect on Earth? What if, in getting          home, you destroy Earth in the          process?A beat. Then Will turns away, goes back to work.                      OLDER WILL          I'm going home. I'm going to save          the family.                      JOHN          Will, I'm your father. You've got to          listen to me-.                      OLDER WILL          Let me tell you about my father. My          father was a walking ghost. Never          there when I needed him. He dragged          his family into deep dark space and          lost them there. My father is not          coming to the rescue.CHAPTER 20: Spiders Sting-------------------------EXT.-ALIEN PLAnet-EVENING-FUTUREWill and Smith are closing on the battered ship. Smith puts his handon the boy's arm, holding him back.                      WILL          We've got to go inside.                      SMITH          Slow down, now. We can't know what          waits inside that ravaged craft. But          we can be confidant it is nothing          good. And I for one am frightened.                      WILL          But Dad's in there.                      SMITH          Will, listen to me. I have crossed          this world with you, found your          father as promised. But I can't let          you go in there unarmed.                      WILL          But I've got a gun.                      SMITH          If we go forward, the barer of that          weapon must be ready to kill. Murder          is a skill, one which I have          developed and, luckily dear boy, you          have not. Look inside your heart,          Will. Are you truly capable of          taking a life? If not, then I ask          you now, put your faith in me. Give          me your trust. Give me that gun.Will stares him. Pulls free the pistol. Thumbs the lock pad.                      WILL          Enable gun for all users.                      GUN          Voiceprint confirmed.Will hands Smith the gun.                      SMITH          Finally.Smith grabs Will by the neck, pressing the barrel to his temple.                      SMITH          A brief lesson in survival on this          world or any other. Never trust          anyone. Remember it into your old          age, should you have one.          (shoving him forward)          Now move!INT.-JUPITER TWO-ENGINE ROOM-FUTUREJohn stands facing older Will. Don is in the b.g., edging towards thecontrol panel and the descending core material.                      JOHN          We can go back across the portals to          the past, to the functioning Jupiter          Two, where your mother and sisters          are still alive. We can use this          core material to escape together.                      OLDER WILL          And then what? All of us lost in          space. Don't you see? I can do what          you never could. I can save us all.Don has edged his way to the descending core material.                      SMITH (OVER)          I'm afraid not.          Through the doorway comes young          Will, Smith walking behind him, hand          on his shoulder, gun to his head.                      SMITH          Never fear. Smith is here.                      JOHN          Will, I. . .                      SMITH          Don't move, Professor Robinson or          this rather peculiar family reunion          will be tragically brief.          (off Don)          I'll ask you to step away from that          console, Major.Don stares at him a beat. Then obliges, walking over to join John.Smith approaches the Robot.                      SMITH          Well, well, some of us just don't          know when to stay dead.Smith goes into his tunic and removes his modified control bolt.                      SMITH          I borrowed this from the probe ship          in hopes of taking over the helm          once we were in flight. But I seem          to have found a better use instead.Smith slaps the bolt on the Robot's CPU. The automaton's arms go up,then fall limp. Docile.                      SMITH          Let's try this dance again. You are          the puppet. I am the puppeteer. Do          get it right this time.Smith activates the bolt. The Robot powers up once again.                      SMITH          Robot, enable electric disrupters.The Robot's claws begin to glow with electricity. Smith smiles.                      SMITH          Now that's a good gargantuan.Smith walks to Older Will, puts the gun to his head.                      SMITH          Say goodbye to your past. You're          future lies with me. I'm going home          in your place.Smith starts to pull Older Will away when Will comes forward, staringat the time machine, eyes wide with awe.                      WILL          You did it. Just like I imagined.          Re-routed the hypercore. But the          natural power source, the delivery          system. I never thought of those.Older Will's smile is bittersweet as he places his hand on his youngerself. Touches his hair.                      OLDER WILL          You will. The future is never what          it looks like when you're ten.                      SMITH          Heartwarming. Nauseatingly          sentimental but heartwarming.Smith shoves the boy back to his father, turns to Older Will.                      SMITH          We certainly could have aged better,          I must say Now, show me how your          little time machine works.But Will just smiles.                      SMITH          An odd moment for mirth, don't you          think? What are you grinning at?                      OLDER WILL          Look around you, Doctor. At this          hostile world. Do you really think a          boy could have survived all alone?SMITH-CLOSE. Puzzled. Unseen, the boulder behind him seems to bemoving, shifting. A VOICE comes, alien, yet terrifyingly familiar.                      VOICE (OVER)          Never fear, Smith is here.The shape behind him unfolds, coming up now, long spindled arms andlegs, ten feet tall, a hybrid monster, half spider, half Smith.                      SPIDER SMITH          Hello, Doctor, how nice to see me          again after all these years.Smith stands petrified as the creature approaches him on spindledlegs, goes down on its second knee joints, coming eye to eye.                      SPIDER SMITH          The spider's sting had some          unexpected side effects.Spider Smith flexes his three jointed arm.                      SPIDER SMITH          But my unique gifts gave me an          advantage in this quarrelsome world.Spider Smith reaches out and caresses Will's cheek. Turns  to John.                      SPIDER SMITH          After the women were savaged, I          became the father Will never had.He grabs Smith's arms and begins to move him about like a marionette,engaging in a bizarre dance with himself.                      SPIDER SMITH          (bending him)          But you, Doctor. Your crude ambition          fills me with self-loathing.          (twisting him)          You see I have looked within me and          what I see is you.With that Spider Smith lifts Smith over his head and hurls him liketorpedo through a torn hole in the hull, towards the rocks beyond.                      SPIDER SMITH          I never liked me, anyway.Spider Smith turns to face the Robot.                      SPIDER SMITH          Kill them all.                      OLDER WILL          No.                      SPIDER SMITH          But my dear boy, once the doorway in          time stabilizes, this planet is          going to come apart at the seams.Smith throws the back of one hand over his forehead in a parody of atwenties starlet.                      SPIDER SMITH          I am willing to perish here on this          world for the sake of your most          noble mission. But your selfish          father will only try to stop you.His head comes forward, neck elongating so he faces WILL.                      SPIDER SMITH          Once your mission is complete, none          of this will have happened anyway.          So why not just dispose of them?But Will's gaze is impassive. Spider Smith actually SIGHS.                      SPIDER SMITH          Very well. Robot, take them inside          the ship and keep them there. If          they move, then kill them.ECT.-CRATER CAVES-FUTUREMaureen and Judy are examining the heiroglyph stone. The groundshakes. Birds SCREAM. (OVER) RUMBLING.                      MAUREEN          We've got to get to the ship. Penny?She turns. The clearing is empty. No Blips. No Penny. Blip runs cutbefore them, grabs Maureen's hand, trying to pull her forward.                      MAUREEN          Where is she, girl?In Blip's hand, a mass of colored ribbons from Penny's wrists. Blipwaves them in the air, then races off. A beat. The women follow.INT.-JUPITER TWO-ENGINE ROOM-FUTUREThe pulse laser is increasing its intensity, the corridor of images inthe bubble stabilizing. The TREMORS are increasing in frequency.PAN DOWNSpider Smith stands with Will, watching as the Robot shepherds thecrew towards the body of the ship.                      SPIDER SMITH          Well, it would seem the time is upon          us. Off we go, William.Spider Smith starts climbing the gantry, truly like a spider, uptowards the bridge and crows nest hanging over the bubble.Will walks to the control console platform, the platform now beginningto rise on the gantry, towards the bridge above.JOHN-POV. Something hangs from below the climbing Spider Smith's back.It's an egg pouch of the kind they saw on the probe ship log.                      JOHN          (shouting)          Will, it's a trick. Smith's carrying          an egg sack. If he's willing to stay          on this world and die, why is he          about to spawn? He's going through          the portal himself.The Robot FIRES a charge between its claws.                      ROBOT          Proceed to the ship or be destroyed.ON THE RISING CONTROL PLATFORM.OLDER WILL-CLOSE. Frowns.Suddenly, Smith's head drops INTO FRAME. The creature is hangingupside-down. He smiles.                      SPIDER SMITH          Hurry, boy. Time waits for no man.EXT.-GANTRY SYSTEM-WIDE SHOTThe platform bearing Will reaches the top of the gantry and beginsmoving out across the bridge towards the crows-nest.INT.-JUPITER TWO-ENGINE ROOM CONTROL PLATFORM-FUTURESpider Smith drops into place beside Older Will as the controlplatform comes to a stop on the crow's-nest.The core cylinder continues sinking into the console. Smith looks outover the platform. Beneath them, imagine of infinity flicker.                      SPIDER SMITH          It's almost time. I really am a          word-smith.                      OLDER WILL          Once the core cylinder is fully          injected, the planet will begin to          come apart and the time doorway will          stabilize. Then I jump in.                      SPIDER SMITH          A leap of faith. How fitting.TIME BUBBLE-CLOSE. In the circle made by the laser, the images are notyet stable, but discernable. Earth the day before the launch.                      OLDER WILL          Tell me again, old monster, how did          the girls die?                      SPIDER SMITH          We've been over this before, son.          The spiders attacked the ship                      OLDER WILL          In all the years since, the spiders          have never re-surfaced. Why?Smith stares at him. Then he smiles. A horrible sight.                      SPIDER SMITH          Let's forget the past.Will turns a switch. The laser generated aperture narrows.                      SPIDER SMITH          What are you doing?                      OLDER WILL          Focusing the aperture. Remember, the          energy around the portal will rip a          man to pieces.                      SPIDER SMITH          Isn't the doorway too small?                      OLDER WILL          Not for me.          (a beat)          But then I'm not going, am I? The          spiders didn't kill the girls. It          was you. I just never let myself see          it. You kept me alive because you          needed me. Because I could build          this for you. You killed my family.          Destroyed this world. And I helped.          You became mad as the spiders.          ...And I became you.                      SPIDER SMITH          Poor, poor boy. Did you really think          I would let you go home? Let all          that I have become vanish? Look at          me. I am no mere man. I am a God.Spider Smith opens his pouch, revealing a thousand tiny spiders.                      SPIDER SMITH          Your father was right. Within me          roil the growing needs of a master          race. We WILL descend upon helpless          Earth. An entire planet to rule.His arm whips out, grabbing Will, bringing him close, opens his mouth,bearing venomous fangs.                      SPIDER SMITH          An entire planet on which to feed.INT.-MODIFIED JUPITER TWO-FUTUREJohn and Don talk in the holding area. The Robot stands guard. (OVER)the TREMORS are increasing in frequency.                      WEST          I'll run, draw his fire. You may          have time to get away with Will.                      ROBOT (OVER)          Halt or Robot will destroy.The men look up. In the b.g., Will has approached the Robot.                      WILL          Do you remember what I taught you. A          long time ago. About friendship?                      ROBOT          Friendship means acting with your          heart not your head.                      WILL          That's why I rebuilt you. Because I          wanted us to be friends.                      ROBOT          Logic error. Friendship does not          compute.                      WILL          Forget logic. Act with your heart.                      ROBOT          Robot has no heart. Robot is powered          by a fusion pulse generator                      WILL          Every living thing has a heart.The Robot stares at him a beat.                      ROBOT          Any attempts to override command          protocols may result in fused          processors in my neural net.The floor trembles again. The planet is coming apart at the seams.                      WILL          Please, Robot, if you don't let us          go, we're all going to die. I'm          asking you now, will you help us?          Will you be my friend?The Robot stands still a beat. Then he reaches towards Smith's controlbolt attached firmly on his CPU.                      ROBOT          Robot attempting to deactivate          control bolt-commands          overriddenattempting to          reroute-dangercircuitry          overloadattempting to escape-kill          them, kill them...The Robot's claws lift into attack position, an electrical chargebuilding with dangerous intensity. He is about to fire.At the last minute, the Robot jerks his hand upward, BLOWING away apiece of the ceiling. He rips off the control bolt.                      WILL          You did it.                      ROBOT          Robot will save ... I will save Will          Robinson. I will save my friend.CHAPTER 21: Time to Die!------------------------EXT.-FOREST-DAY-PRESENTPenny and Maureen chase a frantic Blip through the portal back intothe daylight of the present. Here, too, the world RUMBLES.                      MAUREEN          (shouting )          Penny? Penny?Penny stands in front of the Jupiter Two, beckoning them urgently.                      MAUREEN          Where did you go?                      PENNY          I came through the forest. I had a          promise I had to keep.Before Maureen can respond the ground RUMBLES, begins crumbling.                      JUDY          Inside. Fast.INT.-JUPITER TWO BRIDGE-FUTUREDon, John, Will and the Robot stand at the open hatch. Outside, theground RUMBLES.                      JOHN          You've got find your way back to the          ship. The portals may still be          stable. I'll try to meet you there.                      WEST          What do you mean?                      JOHN          I'm going to get that core material.          It's our only chance to escape.                      WEST          I'll stay. The family needs their          father                      JOHN          The crew needs their pilot. No          matter what happens, when the planet          starts to break up you take off.                      WEST          Without the core we'll never have          enough power to make orbit.                      JOHN          You've got to try. Promise me, Don.A beat. Then Don extends his hand.                      WEST          Good luck. Commander.Just then Will and the Robot arrive.                      JOHN          Will. Son. I want you to know-                      WILL          (fighting tears)          You'll tell me when you get back to          the ship. Now there just isn't time.John bites back a bittersweet smile. (OVER) another RUMBLING.                      JOHN          I could use a weapon.The Robot extends his claw. A panel opens on his arm and he tears outa hand-made component. A conduit made from Will's golden first prizemedals, joined together to make a jagged star.                      ROBOT          Professor, I have a plan.INT.-JUPITER TWO-ENGINE ROOM CONTROL PLATFORM-FuTURESpider Smith has Will against the rail.                      SPIDER SMITH          Time to die, son.                      OLDER WILL          I'm not your son.And with that Will SMASHES Spider Smith in the face with two closedlists. Smith recoils, lifts the boy aver his head.                      SPIDER SMITH          Goodbye.Smith hurls Will over the rail towards the time pool below.The creature walks to the end of the arm, stares at the formingaperture into the past below him.PORTAL-CLOSE. Images of the day before the mission launch swirl in thelaser-generated opening, growing ever more stable.WIDERWill is hanging over the time bubble, unconscious and unseen, danglingfrom the gantry by a flashing chain around his neck.CHAPTER 22: Time Travel-----------------------EXT:-PLANET'S SURFACE-EVENING-FUTUREDon and the Robot, Will riding his back, navigate the terrainalongside the ravaged hull of the Jupiter Two.                      WILL          Look.On the ground, crumpled in a heap, is Smith. Don checks his pulse.                      WEST          (disappointed)          Damn. He's still breathing.(OVER) the rushing WIND. RUMBLING. A portal opens before them to a faryounger world. Then another portal, to a world far older. A thirdportal RIPS across the sky overhead.                      WILL          The time machine must be near full          power. The portals are collapsing.                      WEST          Which one leads us home?More portals are opening around them, others winking shut.                      WILL          There.Through a new rip in time, the intact Jupiter Two can be seen inrelief of the battered future craft. The ground beneath their feet isbeginning to give way.                      WILL          We can't just leave him here.                      WEST          Sure we can.          (off WILL's stare)          Damn it.          (slapping the Doctor)          Smith. Wake up. Smith.                      SMITH          (coming to)          Oh, the pain, the pain.                      ROBOT          Danger. Will Robinson. Danger.The PORTAL is beginning to shimmer. The ground starts to fall away.                      WEST          Jump!Don hurls Smith through, Will, the Robot and West darting across thethreshold just as the portal winks closed.EXT. -FOREST- PRESENTThe trees are bursting into flames an Will, Don, the Robot and Smithemerge from the woods. Race forwards towards...PULL BACK TO REVEALINT.-JUPITER TWO-BRIDGE-PRESENTThe women are powering up the ship. The men are visible through thewindscreen. Outside, the ground in beginning to crumble.                      PENNY          Mom, the forest.Penny opens the air lock. Maureen holds close her son. Steps back.                      MAUREEN          Where's John?                      WEST          The portal closed behind us. It was          his only way back.MEE GROUND-CLOSE. A geyser of fire BLOWS into the air.                      WEST          We've got to try and lift off.                      MAUREEN          We've already begun the pre-flight          countdown. You have the Com.          (off Don's expression)          I'm going to save as many lives as I          can, Major. Now strap in.INT.-JUPITER TWO-ENGINE ROOM CONTROL PLATFoRm-FUTURE(OVER) TREMORS. More lava is rushing up towards the mercury, the wallsthemselves beginning to crack.SMITH opens a gate at the end of the crow's-nest and a gang plankunfolds above the doorway in time.                      JOHN (OVER)          Not so fast.WIDERJohn stands on the platform behind Smith, fighting star in hand,slashes for his face. Smith moves fast, knocking the star to thegantry bridge with his arm. John leaps on Smith, using his fists.                      JOHN          You sabotaged our mission.          (hook)          You killed my family          (jab)          You stole my son. It's payback time.Smith's head moves from each impact, but the punches have no effect.It smiles. Grabs John and hurls him across the platform.                      SPIDER SMITH          Spare me the fury of the righteous.The monster leans down over John. Opens its jaw.                      SPIDER SMITH          I think there's time for a snack          before my trip.John's hand is reaching towards the fallen fighting star. At the lastmoment John grabs the metal weapon from the catwalk, slashes Smithacross the face, silver-red blood pouring down his cheek.                      SPIDER SMITH          (sarcastic)          Oh, the pain. The pain.                      JOHN          You ain't seen nothing yet.John feints towards Smith's head and then slashes low, cutting theviscous membrane of the monster's egg pouch.SPIDER SMITH-CLOSE. Surprised.                      JOHN          Remember the probe ship? These          monsters eat their wounded.SMITH'S EGG SACK-CLOSE. Scores of the tiny spiders are pouring out ofthe sack, rushing up towards Smith's face, tiny jaws chomping.                      SPIDER SMITH          No. Stop. No!Spider Smith tumbles backwards, falling against the rail on the sideof the platform. John rises and rushes him, SHOULDER-SLAMMING him,sending Smith hurling over towards the bubble below.Spider Smith hits the bubble, missing the doorway formed by the redlaser and is swept up by the tides of time.                      JOHN          Take all the time you want to die.Spider Smith SCREAMS as he disappears and reappears in the varioushalf-formed images within the bubble before vanishing altogether.John turns. The core cylinder has descended almost entirely into themain console. only seconds before it's too late to retrieve it.EXT.-JUPITER TWO-DAY-PRESENTThe landscape is a sudden inferno.INT.-JUPITER TWO-PRESENTDon is at the Com. Maureen strapped into the co-pilot's chair.                      MAUREEN          I kept hoping somehow he'd appear.Maureen stares a beat out the window.                      MAUREEN          Let's go, Major.Don hits the engine switch. The.mighty generators WHINE into life.                      MAUREEN          (quiet)          Goodbye, my love.CHAPTER 23: Escape Velocity---------------------------The ship rocks as land masses on all sides begin to give way.                      WEST          Engaging primary thrusters. Now!EXT. -JUPITER TWO-DAY-PRESENTThe power drive begins to glow, diodes spinning. The landing strutsretract. The Jupiter Two begins to rise.INT.-JUPITER TWO-ENGINE ROOM-INSERTION ARM-FUTURECONTROL CONSOLE-CLOSE. The core material in sinking fast. John movestowards it when something on the gantry catches his eye.GANTRY-CLOSE. Wedged into the grill work is a shiny scrap of metalreflecting the setting sunlight. John's father's dog tags.John rushes to the rail. There, still unconscious and hanging by thedog-tag chain is Older Will.CHAIN-CLOSE. The metal links are pulling apart. Will is seconds awayfrom falling into the pool.JOHN-POV. The cylinder has completely sunken into the machine. It'sWill or the core material. No time for both.John stands a beat, immobile. Then he drops to his knees, reachingdown as the chain breaks, grabbing Will's wrist at the last second.The dog tags tumble into the pool below as John hoists Older Will uponto the safety of the gangplank.                      JOHN          Come on, son. Wake up.Will is still. Then, finally, his eyes open.                      OLDER WILL          Dad?                      JOHN          I thought I lost you.                      OLDER WILL          The core.Will turns in time to see the core cylinder sink into the controlpanel, the laser exploding in intensity below them as it drains thecylinder's radioactive power. The world begins to EXPLODE.                      OLDER WILL          You could have taken the core and          left before it was too late. You          saved me instead.John stares at him.                      JOHN          There wasn't any choice. I couldn't          let you fall.You're my boy.THE LASER-CLOSE. Reaches full power. The image in the time poolstabilizes, becoming clear.TIME POOL-CLOSE. Mission Control the day before the launch.Father and Son stare into the past, eyes filled with wonder.                      OLDER WILL          Look. They made it.PAN UP. Through a torn hole in the hull and a glowing rip in space,the Jupiter Two is rising into the flame ravaged sky.INT.JUPITER TWO-PRESENTThe ship is shaking madly.                      WEST          We're not getting any altitude.EXT.-JUPITER TWO-DAY-PRESENTThe fire GEYSERS are legion, giant chunks of the planet's surface nowfalling away beneath them. A huge spew of flame rages from thefire-pocked surface, hitting the bull of the tiny craft.INT.-JUPITER TWO-PRESENTJudy is at navigation, frantically enhance the stabilizers.                      JUDY          I'm reading a power build up.          Markers in the red-Suddenly the panel EXPLODES, sending Judy flying across the bridge.Penny races to her sister. Kneels. Judy's eyes are wide, still.                      PENNY          She's dead.INT.-JUPITER TWO-PRESENTThe ground is breaking, falling into an endless fiery abyss below.                      WEST          Not enough power to make orbit.EXT.-JUPITER TWO-DAY-PRES ENTAnother firestorm. A flame geyser hits the ship. Then another.INT.-JUPITER TWO-PRESENTControl panels all around the ship begin to SLOW. The main screen ishit by a flying chunk of rock. The giant glass begins to crack.                      WEST          (to Maureen)          I'm sorry.The windshield EXPLODES, sucking them both out into space.EXT.-JUPITER TWO-DAY-PRESENTThe ship is hit by another fire geyser. The Jupiter Two EXPLODES.PULL BACK TO REVEALINT.-JUPITER TWO-ENGINE ROOM-FUTUREJohn and Will kneel on the crow's nest as the Jupiter Two dodges thefire geysers in the sky through the torn hull. The ship is struckonce, again, finally EXPLODING in a ROARING ball of fire.JOHN-CLOSE. A man who has lost everything he ever loved.                      JOHN          I couldn't save them.Will stares at his father and beyond him. There, in the time doorway,a young Will walks towards the entrance to Mission Control in themorning sun, innocent with no knowledge of the future.                      OLDER WILL (OVER)          So many years ago and I can still          feel it. Our sun. Our Earth. It's          all I've thought about. Going home.Will reaches forward and touches the control console. The images inthe laser generated doorway begin to change.                      OLDER WILL          A long time ago, you told a small          boy that one day he'd understand how          precious he was, how much his father          loved him. Today is that day.TIME BUBBLE-CLOSE. Instead of Earth we now see this planet's surface,the Jupiter Two rising as it did just moments ago.                      OLDER WILL          All I could see was your need to go          forward at any cost. What you never          showed me was your love. I lost          that. Robbed by time. I could never          see how much you cared. Until now.TIME BUBBLE-CLOSE. The Jupiter Two tries in vain to dodge the firegeysers, then EXPLODING all over again. Will enters some commands.TIME BUBBLE-CLOSE. The image in the portal begins to run backwards,the Jupiter Two reconstituting from a ball of flame, receding pastdiminishing flame geysers, beginning to land again.                      OLDER WILL          Father, take my hand.INT.-CUPITER TWOWe are back in the ship just before take off. DON mans the Cam.Maureen straps herself into the co-pilot's chair.                      MAUREEN          I kept hoping somehow he'd appear.Maureen stares a beat out the window.                      MAUREEN          Let's go, Major.Don hits the engine switch. The mighty generators WHINE into life.                      MAUREEN          (quiet)          Goodbye my love.                      PENNY          Look.The roof of the hull is beginning to swirl, becoming translucent, likewater. There, standing above them, John and Older WILL.2NT.-JUPITER TWO-ENGINE ROOM-CROW'S NEST-FUTUREThe bridge of the Jupiter Two is visible in the laser generateddoorway. Older WILL looks to his father.                      OLDER WILL          DON'T make me wait another lifetime          to know how you feel.And with that he pushes John over the edge, the Professor falling downthrough space and into the bubble and the doorway below.INT.-JUPITER TWOThe ceiling becomes water an John drops into the ship. Maureen cradlesher husband. Then she looks up. Will is still visible through thewatery hull.                      JOHN          Come with us.But the passage through time and space is already breaking up as theworld of the engine room EXPLODES in the b.g.                      OLDER WILL          I can't. There was only enough power          for one person, one trip, remember?                      MAUREEN          Will?                      OLDER WILL          It's good to see you again, Mom.          It's good to see you alive.          (fading)          Sorry about all the monkey business.Maureen reaches up towards her son, reaching down, the two handsalmost touching before Will is gone, the portal closed forever.                      JOHN          He sacrificed everything for his          family.                      MAUREEN          (fighting tears)          He had a good example.Maureen holds him close. A small figure walks up beside them. Will.                      WILL          Dad?A beat, then Will reaches up, hands him his dog tags.                      WILL          I'm glad you came back.                      JOHN          I just want you to know I love you          son. I love you very much.John takes the boy in his arms, father and son finally holding close.(OVER) more RUMBLING as the ground continues to give way.                      WEST (OVER)          The planet is breaking up around us.John moves fast to the Com.                      WEST          Nice of you to drop in.John smiles a beat, then he's all business.                      JOHN          Status?(OVER) A tremendous CRASH.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe land masses are falling away beneath them, plummeting intogiant caverns of fire.INT.-JUPITER TWO                      SMITH          We're doomed. We're doomed.West turns, hauls off and PUNCHES Smith, knocking him out cold.                      WEST          Boy, that felt good.                      JOHN          Get us airborne.Don throws the power switches to full.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe landing struts retract. The power drive begins to spin. TheJupiter Two rises above the ground just as the firmament collapsesupon itself. Fire geysers ERUPT. History in about to repeat itself.INT.-JUPITER TWO                      WEST          I'm going to try to reach escape          velocity. Maybe we can break the          gravitational pull.                      JOHN          No. We don't have the core material.          The gravity wells will drag us down.                      WEST          We might-                      JOHN          We won't make it. Trust me. I know.          We've got to go down.                      WEST          What?                      JOHN          Through the planet as she breaks up.                      WEST          That's insane.                      JOHN          I don't have time to argue. I'm          giving you a direct order, Major.Don and John stare at each other a beat. Then Don smiles.                      WEST          Yes Sir.VIEWSCREEN- CLOSE. The world is breaking up beneath them, revealing afiery maw. DON GUNS the engines, heading straight for the chasm.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe tiny ship flies into the giant expanding crevice.INT.-JUPITER TWODON is flying into the shattering center of the planet. Masses ofcontinents, some bearing forests, others oceans, all soar past.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe tiny ship flies deeper toward the molten center of the planet.INT.-JUPITER TWO                      JOHN          There.A window out the windscreen a portion of the planet has torn awayrevealing the black of space and the starfield beyond.                      WEST          I see it.Don banks the ship toward the opening, flying past exploding fragmentsof this shattering world.EXT.-JUPITER TWOThe ship clears the planet as the world EXPLODES in the b.g.CHAPTER 24: Alpha Prime-----------------------INT.-JUPITER TWODON guides the ship out into space. Judy comes up behind him.                      JUDY          Nice work, flyboy.                      WEST          So, I earn that kiss yet?                      JUDY          (a peck on the cheek)          You earned that.DON shrugs, begins to turn away. Judy grabs him.                      JUDY          This one is on credit.She gives him a long, passionate kiss. She lets him go, stunned.                      JUDY          Cold fish, huh?Penny holds Blip in her arms, who has begun to BLIP madly.                      MAUREEN          Poor thing. She's lost her whole          family.          (off Penny)          Penny, why are you looking at me          like that. Penny?Penny presses a button. Blast doors open on a storage hold.                      PENNY          I promised Judy I'd take care of          her. I couldn't leave her all alone.(all stare at her)          Well I am their princess, after all.          (turning)          You can come out mow.Forms in the cargo hold de-camouflage. The other lizard monkeys,standing amidst glittering canisters of Dimondium.                      JOHN          Dimondium. Now if we could only find          our way back to Earth.                      ROBOT          If I may, Professor.The Robot projects a holographic schematic of the galaxy. The JupiterTwo is highlighted. Earth blinks at the other and.                      ROBOT          Your son's star charts.                      WILL          It's a map home.(OVER) ALARMS. The shattered planet's core is turning bright red, asudden ROARING blast wave heading towards the ship.                      WEST          The planet's gravity field in          collapsing.                      MAUREEN          We'll be sucked in.                      JOHN          There's no way to get clear in time.                      JUDY          The hyperdrive.                      MAUREEN          Everybody hang on.                      PENNY          Here we go again.                      WILL          Cool.Don throws the switch.EXT. -JUPITER TWOThe planet's core EXPLODES as the Jupiter Two vanishes intohyperspace, a sudden star and then gone.FINAL FADE TO BLACK
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+                                   MEAN STREETS                                                                                                                                       Written by                                         Martin Scorsese, Mardik Martin & Ethan Edwards                                                                                                               Ah, get born, keep warm           Short pants, romance, learn to dance           Get dressed, get blessed           Try to be a success           Please her, please him, buy gifts           Don't steal, don't lift           Twenty years of schoolin'           And they put you on the day shift                                                   BOB DYLAN           Subterranean Homesick Blues                                   (SUPERED OVER BOTTOM OF SCREEN LIKE A TV NEWS BULLETIN)                                   (THE FILM IS IN COLOR UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.)                                   A darkened diffused image of a man lying on the ground. A          tree is above him. The image is more diffused on the edges.          It is black and white, and appears to be coming from a          television. The body of the man is practically totally in          shadow.                                                   ANNOUNCERS VOICE           Ladies and gentlemen, on the new           tonight, the first actual motion           pictures of death.                                   A small orange fire appears in the breast of the man.                                                   ANNOUNCERS VOICE           Watch closely, at the moment of           death.                                   The small orange fire fades away.                                                  COLOR          CHARLES CAPPA JR. (CHARLIE) is 25 of Sicilain origin. He          was educated in Roman Catholic Parochial schools with one          year and a half at a Jesuit college. CHARLIE was raised          sternly in the Roman Catholic tradition but now has rejected          many of the religion's tenets. He is very intelligent and          has a sharp sense of humor. He is always well dressed. His          favorite authors are Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Hardy, and          Theodore Dreiser. He likes reading but enjoys films more.          He is very fond of the New Testament and often exchanges          quotes from it with his friend TONY.                                   INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT                                   CHARLIE has been dreaming. The dream frightened him. A          TITLE APPEARS on the bottom of the frame: CHARLIE. He gets          up to look at his face in the mirror. His room is lit by          moonlight. It is a small tenement bedroom with a fire-          escape outside.                                    2.                                                            He returns to bed and as his head hits the pillow, we hear          the RONETTES singing "BE MY BABY."                                                   CUT TO:                                   An 8-mm. projector whirring away.                                   INT. PARTY - HOME MOVIES - DAY                                   Opening TITLES appear over 8mm. HOME MOVIES in which          CHARLIE is shown along with his friends and family in a          celebration...a sense of "one big unending party."                                   During this opening segment WE SEE some of the characters          that will later appear in the story: JOHNNY BOY, MICHAEL,          TONY, TERESA, CHARLIE'S UNCLE GIOVANNI, and others. They          are all Sicilian and are members of the same Italian-          American neighborhood in New York City. (WE SENSE, from          these HOME MOVIES, that the neighborhood forces its people          to be strongly tied together in a way of life - Family,          Church, Friendship.) These HOME MOVIES were taken during          some formal and casual gatherings in which CHARLIE          participated.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. BATHROOM IN A NEIGHBORHOOD BAR                                   A longhaired "freak" is about to shoot-up. Suddenly the          door opens and TONY (ANTHONY DEVENZIANO) comes in. TONY is          totally different in appearance and dress from the "freak."          He is 25, and a part time student studying liberal arts.          His father is a very powerful racketeer in a different part          of the city and owns several night club type discotheques          and strip houses on the west side of town. One of these is          operated by TONY - "TONY'S PLACE." CHARLIE is one of his          closest friends. TONY is well dressed, flippant and reckless.          He is a big drinker, liquor, wine, and even cough medicine.                                                   TONY           What the fuck...hey!                                   TONY rushes over to the "freak", who is too strung out to          defend himself, smashes the needle, and slaps him around.                                                   TONY           Not in my fuckin' place... get           out... get out!                                   INT. BAR AREA                                   TONY pushes him out the door and into the bar area. There          are a few people in the bar...mainly neighborhood guys like          TONY. A few "freaks" are in the BG.                                    3.                                                            TONY pushes him out the front door.                                                   TONY           And keep the fuck out-a-here. I           know your face.                                   TONY crosses over to one of the neighborhood guys by the bar          and slaps him in the back of the head knocking off his hat.                                                   TONY           And you scumbag...what did I tell           you 'bout passin' that shit in my                          PLACE                          (HITS AGAIN)           ...huh?                                                   BOY           Hey I didn't do nothin'...cut it           out...                                   TONY pushes the BOY out of the bar also. TITLE APPEARS on          the bottom of the frame: TONY                                   EXT. WEST SIDE DOCKS - LATE AFTERNOON                                   The area is totally deserted except for two trucks parked          side by side. Two men are tossing boxes from one truck to          another and looking around furtively. MICHAEL stands nearby.          MICHAEL LONGO is 26 years old. He lives in a different          neighborhood but comes from the same type of background as          CHARLIE and the others. He runs an illegitimate bar and          dabbles in the yearly sale of firecrackers which he smuggles          in from Maryland. He also deals in contraband cigarettes          and runs a small-time "loan shark" business. He has a knack          for business but he is otherwise unintelligent.                                   Michael crosses over to a '58 black Oldsmobile.                                                   MICHAEL           Hey, hurry up with that shit will ya.                                   MICHAEL gets in the car. Another MAN is sitting in the back.          He is also well dressed. MICHAEL takes a small lens out of          his pocket and tosses it to the MAN.                                                   MAN           What's this? More shit...?                                                   MICHAEL           Naw...that ain't shit...that's a           German lens.                                   The MAN looks at it carefully.                                    4.                                                                            MICHAEL           A good buy...good two shipments of           them.                                                   MAN           Can't use it...                                                   MICHAEL           Why...? That's a telescopic one...           it's good.                                                   MAN           First, it ain't German...it's           Japanese...and second, this ain't           no lens...it's like a...a...an           adaptor...so you got two shipments           of Jap adaptors with no lenses.                          (HE LAUGHS)                                                            MAN hands adaptor back to MICHAEL.                                                   MICHAEL                          (DISAPPOINTED)           A Jap adaptor?                                   TITLE APPEARS on bottom of screen: MICHAEL.                                   EXT. STREET - DAY                                   A deserted warehouse area in lower Manhattan. Prominent in          the frame is a brightly painted red white and blue mailbox,          contrasting with the drab hues of the neighborhood.                                   JOHNNY BOY walks down the street toward camera. JOHN          CIVELLO (JOHNNY BOY) is 23 years old. He is an only child          and lives with his mother, a divorcee. He is clean cut          looking, yet slightly radical in dress. He was expelled          from high school for vandalism and consequently spent          several months in reform school. He is reckless,          unambitious, nihilistic, and was classified a psychiatric 4-          F. He is first cousin of TERESA RONCHALI who lives next          door to CHARLIE. He has adopted TERESA'S family as his own          and spends more time with them than he does with his mother.                                   JOHNNY is carrying a package wrapped in plain brown paper          under his arm, and he is smiling. He drops the package into          the mailbox and keeps walking. But he is moving a little          faster now and smiling a little more.                                   Suddenly the mailbox explodes. Dozens of red, white and          blue fragments shower down on the street. The impact of the          blast knocks JOHNNY down. TITLE APPEARS on bottom of frame:          JOHNNY BOY.                                    5.                                                            He is up in a moment. The CAMERA TRACKS with him as he          starts running. WE SEE that he is grinning - quite          literally - like crazy.                                   INT. CHURCH                                   WE SEE CHARLIE full face. Behind him is a Confessional          Booth. The church is very old, quiet, and dark. The CAMERA          ZOOMS OUT to reveal rows of Holy Candles lit in the          foreground. CHARLIE suddenly begins to speak softly and          confidentially to an unseen entity that is OFF SCREEN.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONFESSION)           A...As you know, I've just come out           of Confession. And as a penance           they gave me ten 'Hail Marys' and           ten 'Our Fathers'...                                   THE CAMERA BEGINS TO TRUCK OUT. IT MOVES AROUND CHARLIE AND          AWAY FROM THE HOLY CANDLES REVEALING CHARLIE'S PROFILE.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONTINUED)           ...Now, between you and me... You           know how I feel about such things...           'Hail Marys'...'Our Fathers'...No           imagination...                                   THE CAMERA HAS NOW TRUCKED BEHIND CHARLIE AND WE SEE over          his head he has been addressing a life sized statue of the          crucified body of Christ, eyes closed reclining in his          sepluchure.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONTINUING)           ...If I'm going to do penance at           all, I'll do it the way I think it           would be done...by me, that           is...according to my own trespasses.           You know what I mean.                                   This conversation of Confession will occur from time to time          in other parts of the story as CHARLIE will periodically try          very casually to justify his thoughts and actions to his          "God." The images accompanying these monologues are to be of          free association almost documentary in nature.                                   INT. TONY'S PLACE - NIGHT                                   The club is dark and noisy and smokey when CHARLIE enters.          He greets TONY who is sitting on a bar-stool. TONY directs          CHARLIE to a corner of the club where the rest of the group          is now getting boisterously drunk.                                    6.                                                            CHARLIE joins in, immediately taking on the mood of the group.                                   The rest of the club is filled with many different types of          customers: teenagers, adults pretending to be teenagers,          sailors, male and female gays, and "the boys from the          neighborhood." The music is loud and the lights are flashing          but the strippers have not yet appeared.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:                                   TONY is at the bar. He is approached by GEORGE one of the          bouncers. He seems upset about the noise that CHARLIE and          his friends are creating. TONY doesn't take GEORGE very          seriously.                                                   GEORGE           It's ten o'clock and they're like           this. And they're just starting?                                   TONY smiles.                                                   GEORGE                          (CONTINUING)           Smile...What are you smiling at?           This is a business night.                                                   TONY                          (INTERRUPTING)           George...did I ever tell you the           story about the three chickens?                                                   GEORGE                          (GENUINELY)           No...                                                   TONY           Too bad.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:                                   CHARLIE's zany behavior as frenetically as it occurs. There          is no particular logical sequence except that events are          suited to the rythmic pattern of the music.                                   1. CHARLIE and his friends dance and sing along with the           music.                                   2. CHARLIE picks up a billiard stick. He attempts to hit a           filled shot glass towards TONY at the other end of the           bar. He fails.                                   3. CHARLIE tries to pull a tablecloth off of a stranger's           table without moving the glasses or bottles. This also           fails.                                    7.                                                            4. A punch is thrown at someone. A lit cigarette in the           puncher's fist creates a swift arc of light in the           darkness.                                   5. The Strippers finally appear on stage. CHARLIE becomes           obsessed with the Negro stripper DIANE. He shouts to           her, tosses things, and calls her names. She tries, half           amusedly to ignore him but she can't.                                   6. TONY drinks from a bottle of Southern Comfort, and as a           chaser swigs down Aqua Velva.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:                                   CHARLIE sitting at an empty table watching DIANE, the          stripper, perform again. He stares glassy-eyed and then          begins to speak softly, continuing his Confession.                                                   CHARLIE           Y'know...she's really good-looking...           really good-looking. I've gotta           say that again. She's really good-           looking...but she's black... You           can see that real plain.           (as an afterthought)           When you get down to it though...           there's not much of a difference,           is there?           (He waits for an answer)           Well...is there?           (He smiles and begins           chewing on an ice           cube from his half                          EMPTY GLASS)                                                            Suddenly MICHAEL appears and sits down at CHARLIE's table.          He hands CHARLIE two cartons of cigarettes.                                                   CHARLIE           Oh great...hey - Winstons?                                                   MICHAEL           For these prices don't be particular.           That's all they had - but next week           we'll see...                                   CHARLIE gives him the money.                                                   CHARLIE           OK, ok...                                                   MICHAEL           Sell 'em if you can't smoke them.                                    8.                                                                            CHARLIE           No...I'll be ok for a week.                                                   MICHAEL           You seen Johnny Boy tonight?                                                   CHARLIE                          (DISINTERESTED)           Nope...                                                   MICHAEL           Isn't he supposed to be here           tonight...I mean...                                                   CHARLIE           Look...I don't know. What am I           supposed to be, his keeper or           something? Yeah, he's supposed to           be here but who knows what goes on           in his head. Right?                                                   MICHAEL           I'd like to know Charlie, it looks           like your little friend is trying           to duck me...                                   CHARLIE remains silent.                                                   MICHAEL                          (CONTINUING)           ...Charlie, don't you think you           should be interested in Johnny's           payments to me? I think you should           be, you know that.                                                   CHARLIE                          (QUIETLY)           Michael, nobody's out to screw you,           I guarrantee that.                                                   MICHAEL           I know that Charlie but look at my           side. You undersigned the loans.           You vouched for him. What happens           if this kid don't pay me? I gotta           collect from you? I don't want to           do that. I made a deal with him           not you, right?                                                   CHARLIE                          (PATRONIZING)           You're right. You're right. Look,           I'm not gonna wind up paying his           debts. You know that.                                    9.                                                                            MICHAEL           I don't know that. That's what I'm           telling you.                                                   CHARLIE           Michael, believe me. You know the           kid's a little crazy sometimes. I           vouched for him and he'll come           through. I promise. I'll talk to           him and straighten him out. Don't           worry, OK?                                                   MICHAEL                          (SATISFIED)           OK.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:                                   JOHNNY BOY enters the night club with two friends. He has          been drinking. JOHNNY BOY'S face shows fresh cuts and          bruises. His friends approach the hat check girl and give          her their coats. JOHNNY BOY approaches her giving her his          pants instead. His friends laugh hysterically.                                   CHARLIE is now alone at the end of the bar. JOHNNY BOY now          completely dressed enters the bar area. CHARLIE watches          JOHNNY BOY approaching and continues his Confession. JOHNNY          BOY greets people as he passes them, and as CHARLIE speaks,          he appears to be moving in slow motion.                                                   CHARLIE           What do you think? 'If a man have           a hundred sheep, and one of them           stray, will he not leave the           ninety-nine in the mountains, and           go in search of the one that has           strayed? And if he happen to find           it, amen I say to you, he rejoices           over it more than over the ninety-           nine that did not go astray. Even           so, it is not the will of your           Father in Heaven that a single one           of these little ones should           perish.'... Ok that's very nce but...                                   TONY is now behind the bar near CHARLIE. JOHNNY BOY has          reached them.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Drinks for everybody Tony...                                                   CHARLIE                          (INTERRUPTING)           Giovanino! Where have you been?                                    10.                                                                            JOHNNY BOY                          (CONTINUING)           and a double for you and Charlie           here.           (quietly to TONY)           And put it on my tab, willya?                                                   TONY           Which one, the big tab or the           little tab?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Put it on the little tab so that it           balances with the big one.                                                   TONY                          (SARCASTICALLY)           Yeah, so things'll be even.                                   CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY grimace. MICHAEL appears.                                                   MICHAEL           How about me? I don't get a drink           John?                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (FEIGNING SURPRISE)           Of course! A double for Michael,           Tony.                                   TONY mumbles.                                   JOHNNY BOY interrupts MICHAEL who is about to speak.                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (CONTINUING)           I know what you're going to say but           don't say it. These drinks are all           on the tab. I'm gonna see you this           Tuesday payday, I promise. I give           you my word.                                                   MICHAEL           You what?                                   The drinks arrive. They all smile and salute each other          with their drinks.                                                   CHARLIE                          (SALUTING)           The queen!                                    11.                                                                            ALL                          (DRINKING)           The queen!                                                   CUT TO:                                   CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY are sitting alone at a table.                                                   CHARLIE           (refering to JOHNNY                          BOY'S FACE)           What happened to you Flash?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Charlie, I swear on my mother,           you're not going to believe this.                                                   CHARLIE           I know but let's hear it anyway.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I swear to God Charlie, it's the           truth.                                                   CUT TO:                                                  FLASHBACK                                   EXT. STREET - LATE AFTERNOON                                   JOHNNY BOY is walking along the street. It is rush hour and          the traffic is heavy. A shiny, late model car stops parallel          to JOHNNY BOY. The young boy (SAL) signals him by blowing          the horn. (Note that in the FLASHBACK, JOHNNY BOY'S face is          not bruised.)                                                   SAL           Hey Johnny, where're you goin'?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Sal!... fourteen street.                                                   SAL           Come on.                                   INT. INSIDE CAR - LATE AFTERNOON                                                   JOHNNY BOY           This is some boat. Your father's?                                                   SAL           Yeah...just had it delivered...                                    12.                                                                            JOHNNY BOY           Hey... you got stereo.                                                   SAL           Yeah, I think so.                                   As JOHNNY BOY admires the gadgets in the car he notices that          SAL is becoming very nervous.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           You got a speaker back there?                                   He turns to look for the speaker and sees a police car not          far behind.                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (CONTINUING)           Ah...there's a funny lookin' cab           behind us.                                                   SAL                          (NERVOUSLY)           I know...I know.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           What'sa matter...forget your           registration?                                                   SAL           No...no. Nooo...it's just that           I...I...uh... this ain't my car.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Yeah, it's your father's.                                                   SAL           Well...no.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           You mean it's heisted.                                                   SAL           You could say that.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           (announcing it loudly)           This is a heisted car!                                   SAL smiles sheepishly. JOHNNY BOY panics.                                   EXT. STREET - LATE AFTERNOON                                   The police switch on their flashing red light and try to get          closer to them but the traffic is too heavy.                                    13.                                                            SAL manages to turn the next corner at about twenty miles          per hour.                                   INT. INSIDE CAR - LATE AFTERNOON                                   JOHNNY BOY frightened now, underestimates the speed of the          car and quickly opens the door.                                   EXT. STREET - LATE AFTERNOON                                   JOHNNY BOY tumbles from the car only to smack into a lamp-          post. He has seriously banged his head and blood is running          down his face. But because of the near proximity of the          police car he is desperately trying to maintain an air of          dignity as he calmly tries to walk down the street.                                                  END FLASHBACK                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. TONY'S PLACE - NIGHT                                   TONY has now joined the group sitting at the table...          CHARLIE and TONY nod in disbelief.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           It's the truth, I swear.                                                   CHARLIE           All right, forget it. Tony, you           got anything we can put on his face?                                                   TONY           Yeah, in the back.                                   They all get up.                                                   TONY                          (CONTINUING)           C'mon, I got something to show you           anyway.                                   INT. TONY'S PLACE - BACK HALL - NIGHT                                   They push their way through the crowd and enter a narrow          dimly lit hallway on both sides.                                   INT. BACK ROOM - TONY'S PLACE - NIGHT                                   A boy and girl are necking on a make-shift couch in the          darkened room.                                    14.                                                                            GIRL                          (WHISPERING)           Jimmy, I tell you there's something           in this room.                                                   JIMMY                          (MURMURS)           Ahhh come on baby...willya'...cut           it out.                                   Suddenly the light is turned on. TONY, CHARLIE, and JOHNNY          BOY enter the room. The GIRL is startled and jumps up.          JIMMY appears bewildered.                                                   TONY           Excuse us Jimmy, we'll only be a           moment.                                                   TONY           S'alright Tony.                                   The GIRL and JIMMY sit self-consciously as TONY goes to the          medicine cabinet, takes out a few items and gives them to          CHARLIE. TONY then crosses to the other side of the room          where he removes the blanket which has been covering a large          cage. He reveals a live, young beautiful PANTHER stalking          to and fro.                                   The GIRL screams.                                                   GIRL           I told you there was something in           this room.                                   The GIRL runs out.                                   Everyone else except TONY, is backed up against the wall,          frightened. The BOYS laugh nervously.                                                   TONY           Keep quiet about this. I don't           have any license for him yet. I've           only had him a couple of days.           Nobody can feed him except me. I'm           the only one he trusts. Watch.                                                   CHARLIE           Don't go to any trouble. We           believe you... We believe you.                                   TONY begins to open the cage. The BOYS are now standing on          top of the nearest pieces of furniture.                                    15.                                                                            TONY                          (ENTERING CAGE)           Really wanted to get a little tiger           Charlie, y'know...a little William           Blake and all that...                                                   CHARLIE           Be careful.                                   TONY ignores CHARLIE's warning as he crouches and allows the          animal to wander onto his lap where upon he strokes the          panther gently murmuring to him.                                   The BOYS watch in silence.                                   INT. TONY'S PLACE - CORNER TABLE - NIGHT                                   The Italian song "Malafemina" (a tango-like rythmn) is heard          coming from the juke-box. It is near closing time and there          are only a few customers left in the club, including MICHAEL          and two gays, BENTON and SAMMY, who is getting very drunk.                                   CHARLIE is at the corner table with TONY and JOHNNY BOY.          CHARLIE is washing JOHNNY BOY'S face with cold water from a          basin. Some of JOHNNY'S blood has mingled with the water.                                                   CHARLIE           I'm surprised at you Tone. I mean           you've had the place for over a           year now. Nothing different...same           old place...ordinary...flat...no           imagination.                                   TONY ignores CHARLIE's half-joking, drunken remarks.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONTINUES)           For instance, the difference           between me and you is this...you           take that panther back there. I'd           put him right up here above the           bar...nice cage, you know? Nothing           ordinary in my place. What good is           it? You get robot customers. They           come in, drink beer, go to the           bathroom, and go home. No sir.                                   One of the BOYS more casual acquaintances is lying on the          bar, drunk. He begins to sing along with the Italian          music - but very badly.                                    16.                                                                            CHARLIE           See what I mean?                          (PAUSE)           A question please...'Is this what           you call living?'                                                   TONY                          (WEARILY)           'Take a little tip from Mack the           Knife...'                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (INTERRUPTS)           Tony, break down and open another           bottle willya'?                                   A well dressed young boy enters the club. GEORGE, the          bouncer, approaches him.                                                   GEORGE           We're closed.                                                   BOY           I'm just waiting for Joey.                                   The BOY walks over to a bar stool and sits down. Nobody          acknowledges his presence.                                   Suddenly the DRUNK on the bar stops singing and sits up,          dazed. His sudden silence causes CHARLIE and the others to          look up at him. The DRUNK stares ahead for a minute.                                                   DRUNK                          (MUTTERS)           I...I gotta go to the bathroom.                                   EVERYONE laughs.                                                   CHARLIE           Well, go ahead, whaddaya want?           Someone to hold it for you?                                   More laughter. Even the BOY at the bar laughs. The DRUNK          rises, still smiling and stumbles off to the mens room.                                   The Big Bopper - "Chantilly Lace" in playing on the          soundtrack. CHARLIE is playing with a deck of cards.                                                   CHARLIE           (continuing previous conversation)           This place is dead. If I had a           place...every night...lively.                                   JOHNNY BOY is sipping his drink and ignoring the conversation.                                    17.                                                                            CHARLIE                          (CONTINUING)           And I wouldn't call it TONY'S PLACE           or CHARLIE'S PLACE...                          (MORE CONFIDENTIALLY)           I'd call it something like SEASON           OF THE WITCH... get it?                                                   TONY                          (QUIETLY)           You are with out a doubt the           biggest, most pretentious bullshit           thrower I know. Like to see what           kind of business you'd do.                                                   CHARLIE           Look who's talking. Pretentious           bullshit. Who's the guy with           William Blake and the tigers, eh?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Will you guys shut up with the           witches and tigers. Tony, you           gonna close the place, we get out           of here, get something to eat, or           what?                                                   TONY           We'll close up as soon as everybody           leaves.                                                   CHARLIE           Don't forget what's-his-name there           in the bathroom.                                   EVERYONE laughs. JIMMY is drawing on a table top. CHARLIE          wanders over.                                                   JIMMY           Wanna see your picture?                                   CHARLIE leans over. OVERHEAD VIEW shows large crude swastika.                                                   JIMMY           Waddaya think?                                                   CHARLIE           Not quite...but keep trying.                                   CHARLIE picks up the cards again.                                                   CHARLIE           Let's have a game after we close.                                    18.                                                                            JOHNNY BOY           Nah.                                                   CHARLIE           C'mon Tony, waddaya say?                                                   TONY           No.                                                   CHARLIE                          (ADDRESSING THE                          ENTIRE BAR)           Anybody wanna have a game?                                   The people in the bar do not respond. CHARLIE shrugs. The          BOY casually leaves the bar and walks to the men's room.                                   INT. MENS ROOM - TONY'S PLACE - NIGHT                                   The BOY slowly swings the door open and stares at the DRUNK          leaning over the urinal, half asleep. He takes out his          pistol and calmly shoots the DRUNK three times in the back.          To the BOY's surprise the DRUNK does not immediately fall          dead. Instead, he turns and grabs the BOY by the throat.          They struggle in the open doorway.                                   INT. BAR AREA - NIGHT                                   The Italian music is still playing. Everyone in the bar has          frozen in position as they watch the scene.                                   In his astonishment CHARLIE allows the cards to fall from          his hands.                                   The YOUNG BOY breaks away from the DRUNK and runs towards          the exit.                                   The DRUNK, running only on sheet determination, stumbles          along after the boy.                                   The people in the bar, including CHARLIE, dash behind tables          and jump behind the bar for cover.                                   INT. TONY'S PLACE - STAIRWAY EXIT                                   The BOY reaches the exit and fires at the DRUNK from the top          of the stairs. The DRUNK still follows.                                   EXT. STREET - NIGHT BLACK & WHITE                                   The BOY runs down the street and disappears into the darkness.          The DRUNK staggers out into hte cobblestone street. His          mind is gone, it is now just a physical matter of the body          being stopped by the presence of a stationary object.                                    19.                                                            He staggers straight across the street at tremendous speed          smashing directly into a parked car.                                   EXT. TONY'S PLACE - BACK ENTRANCE - NIGHT BLACK & WHITE                                   Everyone (including the two GAYS at the bar) is running out          the back way.                                                   TONY           Don't run...don't run. Everyone           split up.                                   EXT. STREET - NIGHT BLACK & WHITE                                   MICHAEL and JIMMY turn the corner and calmly walk to his          parked car. As they get into the car CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY          turn the corner.                                                   CHARLIE           Michael, give us a lift.                                                   MICHAEL           OK, get in.                                   As they are getting into the car the two GAYS turn the          corner. One of them, SAMMY, is very drunk and is crying          hysterically. His companion BENTON is trying to calm him          down when he notices MICHAEL.                                                   BENTON           Michael...wait.                                   It is obvious that MICHAEL does not want to take them but he          is also afraid of attracting any attention so he quickly          ushers them into the car.                                                   MICHAEL           Get in, get in.                                   INT. MICHAEL'S CAR - NIGHT BLACK & WHITE                                   CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY are in the back seat. SAMMY crawls          over CHARLIE into the back seat making apologies. BENTON is          forced into the front seat with MICHAEL and JIMMY. They          drive off, with SAMMY crying.                                                   CHARLIE           Oh Jesus Christ...what's this.                                                   BENTON           Sammy get control of yourself.                                    20.                                                                            JOHNNY BOY           Yes, you're gettin' it all over my           tie.                                                   CHARLIE           Should I slap him?                                                   SAMMY           (suddenly in control)           You wouldn't dare.                                                   BENTON           I'm terribly sorry guys...It's just           that he was terribly frightened.                                                   MICHAEL           Just keep him quiet.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Friends of yours Michael.                                                   MICHAEL           Shut up.                                                   BENTON           (sensing the hostility)           Oh...ah...I'm Benton and this is           Sammy.                                                   CHARLIE           I can't get over the way he just           kept going at him.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Must have been all the liquor in him.                                                   MICHAEL                          (IN ITALIAN)           Quiet please.                                   He returns to English.                                                   MICHAEL           Where should I drop you Charlie?                                                   SAMMY           (interrupting the conversation)           Yes Charlie, your place or mine.                                                   BENTON           Sammy.                                                   CHARLIE           Away from the neighborhood.                                    21.                                                                            SAMMY           Oh Benton...look!                                   SAMMY leans over JOHNNY and CHARLIE to see out the window.          He begins to shout at a young boy on the street.                                                   SAMMY                          (CONTINUING)           Hi beautiful!!! I love you.                                   CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY hide their faces.                                                   MICHAEL           Hey, shut up.                                                   CHARLIE           Get him in.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           What...are you kidding.                                                   BENTON           Sammy, get in here this minute.                                                   SAMMY           I won't...I won't! They're all           beautiful.                          (SHOUTING)           I'll suck them all...I'll suck them           all!                                   CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY groan. They are still hiding their          faces.                                                   CHARLIE           Disgraceful.                                                   MICHAEL           Ok...that's it.                                   He pulls the car over to the nearest corner.                                                   MICHAEL           Out!!!!                                                   CHARLIE           C'mon Johnny.                                                   MICHAEL           You getting out too?                                                   CHARLIE           Yeah, thanks, it's ok.                                    22.                                                            EXT. STREET - NIGHT BLACK & WHITE                                   CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY get out of the car first so that by          the time BENTON and SAMMY are out they are already on their          way down the street. MICHAEL drives away.                                                   SAMMY                          (SHOUTING)           Going our way?                                                   CHARLIE           (to JOHNNY BOY)           Don't answer.                                   BENTON guides SAMMY the opposite way.                                   EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD STREET - DAWN                                   CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY are walking down the street on their          way home.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I don't think I should go home           looking like this. You think I           could stay at your place tonight?           Your mother's not there is she?                                                   CHARLIE           No, she isn't.                                                   CUT TO:                                                  FLASHBACK                                   INT. CHARLIE'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   CHARLIE lives in a typical lower east side tenement apartment.          Each room is painted a different pastel color. It is          furnished in miscellaneous styles and from the pictures on          the wall and various knick-knacks around the rooms it is          evident that this is a family apartment rather than a          bachelors pad.                                   CHARLIE is helping his mother pack a suitcase. Through out          the scene he is addressing her but she is never seen on          CAMERA. The CAMERA PANS following his movements and CHARLIE          directs his conversation always towards but above and beyond          it.                                    23.                                                                            CHARLIE           Listen, I'll be ok...it's the best           thing. You're not going to be able           to take care of Grandma out here           and still get to work, you know           that...                          (PAUSE)           Yes the place will be here, I'll           take care of it.                          (PAUSE)           Yeah don't worry about me, I'll           take care of myself.                          (PAUSE)                                                            He moves into the bedroom taking more items out of the          drawers. The room is ver small. The paint if peeling.          Over the double bed there is a large crucifix.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONTINUED)           No...no parties.                          (PAUSE)           I'll eat.                          (PAUSE)           Mom, look, just don't worry...ok?                                                  END FLASHBACK                                   INT. CHARLIE'S MOTHER'S BEDROOM - MORNING                                   CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY are lying on CHARLIE'S MOTHER'S bed          in their underwear.                                                   CHARLIE           You'd better make a move kid. He           thinks you're trying to screw him.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Wouldn't bother me.                                                   CHARLIE           Yeah, big man...get yourself in           more trouble. You make a fool out           of him, you're doing the same to me.           I signed for you don't forget.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Don't worry. I can handle it.                                    24.                                                                            CHARLIE           You couldn't handle shit. You just           better come through with some kind           of payment on Tuesday...anything.           Understand? Hold onto your pay-           check this week.                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (LAUGHS)           There won't be any this week.                                                   CHARLIE           What do you mean?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Didn't show up.                                                   CHARLIE           You sick or what? You forget what           we had to do to get you on the           trucks, stupid?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I don't like loading crates.                                                   CHARLIE           You're not supposed to like it.           What gets me is your attitude.           Listen... tomorrow you show up.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           What about your attitude...Where's           your job...eh? You talk and talk           and I go to work...what do you do?                                                   CHARLIE           I'll tell you what I don't do... I           don't owe anybody 2,000 clams plus           interest, stupid. Show up or I           break both your arms, we understand           each other?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Ok, ok...take it easy. I'll show.           Tuesday I'll give Michael something.           I promise.                                                   CHARLIE           Don't promise...just deliver.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Ok, now that that's over with...what           are you gonna make me for breakfast?                                    25.                                                                            CHARLIE           I won't wait until Tuesday. I'll           break your arms right now.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           (rising from bed)           Listen...I'm a guest here.                                   CHARLIE reaches out to grab him.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           OK...ok...I'm going.                                   INT. KITCHEN - CHARLIE'S APARTMENT                                   JOHNNY is raiding the icebox.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Hey...you got nothing here.                                                   CHARLIE           (from the other room)           I could have told you that.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           We'll get some food from my aunt's.           I'll get in through the fire escape.           She's always got something.                                   JOHNNY BOY leaves the kitchen and walks towards the bedroom.                                   INT. CHARLIE'S MOTHER'S BEDROOM - MORNING                                                   CHARLIE           Don't do that. You'll scare Teresa           if you try to sneak in.                                   JOHNNY BOY is now by the window looking out at the fire          escape mischieviously.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Yeah...you're right. Maybe she'll           have a seizure and we can watch.                                   He laughs. CHARLIE hits JOHNNY BOY on the back of the head.                                                   CHARLIE           That's not funny. You gonna be a           jerk-off all your life. Grow up.           You want something to eat from your           aunt's house you go knock on her           door, understand?                                    26.                                                                            JOHNNY BOY           I'm not hungry anymore. I'm going           to bed.                                   JOHNNY BOY gets into bed. CHARLIE goes into the kitchen to          get a glass of milk.                                   INT. KITCHEN - DAYBREAK                                   CHARLIE takes a glass of milk from the icebox. He listens          to the sounds of the neighborhood waking up and getting          ready to go to work. He leaves the kitchen.                                   INT. BEDROOM - CHARLIE'S APARTMENT - DAYBREAK                                   CHARLIE returns to the bedroom. JOHNNY BOY appears to be          asleep. CHARLIE goes to the window and peers through the          blinds. He sees in the window across the fire escape.                                   A SERIES OF DISSOLVES. TERESA is going through the various          stages of getting dressed.                                   TERESA RONCHALI is 30 years, well built, attractive and          intelligent. She is well read and quiet. The salary she          makes as a secretary in a book publishing firm practically          supports her family. She has epilepsy which has prevented          her (in her own mind) from entering into any serious          relationships with men. She has however, been having an          affair with CHARLIE for the past year. It is a well kept          secret from both families because the families regard each          other as blood relations.                                   CHARLIE is startled by JOHNNY BOY who is now awake and has          begun to dial the telephone.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           (pretending to be angry)           Hello...fifth precinct? Yeah...I           want to report a disturbance. Yeah           this man and woman next door are           disturbing the peace. They're           keeping me awake all night now.           What the hell is this. What?           Well... yelling, fighting, throwing           things. Uh-huh. If they don't           kill each other soon I'm goin' over           there and do the job myself. Yes -           the address is 270 Mott street. I           think it's apartment 2-r. Yeah,           right... thanks. Look, I demand           immediate action. Never mind my           name I don't like getting involved           in things like this.                                    27.                                                            He hangs up roughly and returns to his position in bed.          CHARLIE shakes his head with an exasperated smile as if this          was a common occurance. CHARLIE turns back to look at          TERESA but she is no longer in her room.                                   INT. TERESA'S BEDROOM                                   CHARLIE is dreaming this sequence. He and TERESA are both          nude. She is lying face down on the bed. He approached and          ejaculates prematurely - However, he doesn't ejaculate          sperm - instead blood. They are shocked. The blood is on          the bed, her legs, back, and his hands. Charlie cries out          in pain.                                   INT. HOTEL ROOM - MID-DAY                                   CHARLIE and TERESA are in the hotel room making love. The          sounds of traffic can be heard from the street below.                                                   CUT TO:                                   They are getting dressed.                                                   TERESA           I'd like to eat something before I           go back to work.                                                   CHARLIE           Ok, we'll go for lunch.                                                   TERESA           Do you have enough?                                   CHARLIE checks his wallet.                                                   CHARLIE           Well...with the hotel that's ten...           fifteen...                                                   TERESA           Here.                                   She hands him a few bills. He hesitates.                                                   TERESA           Please take it.                                                   CHARLIE           Well...                                                   TERESA           I don't mind.                                   She puts the money into his hand.                                    28.                                                                            CHARLIE           Sure...it's not that...I mean...                                                   TERESA           (touching his face)           It's all right.                                                   CHARLIE           Well, if things go the way I hope           they'll go, this money business           will take care of itself.                          (ASIDE)           God willing.                                                   TERESA           An apartment uptown? Downtown?                                                   CHARLIE           Maybe, who knows.                                                   TERESA                          (SEARCHINGLY)           Charlie...?                                                   CHARLIE           Nobody knows anything, believe me.                                   She kisses him gently.                                                   CUT TO:                                   TERESA is putting on her stockings. A few minutes have          passed.                                                   CHARLIE           See if you can get your hands on           some pamphlets on laws or by           laws...or proprietorship...you           know...at your place.                                                   TERESA           Anything specific?                                                   CHARLIE           You know...like restaurants, night           clubs...                                                   TERESA                          (AFFECTIONATELY)           What is it now?                                                   CHARLIE           Don't ask.                                    29.                                                            He gives her a quick kiss on the tip of her nose.                                                   TERESA           Alright... Hey, did you hear any           more about what happened last night?                                                   CHARLIE           Did you?                                                   TERESA           No.                                                   CHARLIE           CHRIST, you should have seen it.           Unbelievable. The kid would turn           around and fire and he would just           keep coming at him like Rasputin.           That kid was scared. Not half as           much as we were though.                                                   TERESA           It doesn't make any sense. He           wouldn't shoot him just because he           insulted a racket guy...not unless           it was personal.                                                   CHARLIE           You missed the point. The kid's a           climber...not very bright...but if           you get down to his level to look           at it his way; he kills a guy who           insulted a big man - he gets a           reputation. He thinks he's in good           standing.                                                   TERESA           It's still sick.                                                   CHARLIE           Not sick...just stupid. Speaking           of stupid, your cousin last night           was feeling so good he decided to           break into your mother's house...to           get some food.                                   TERESA laughs at this story but her mood changes suddenly.                                                   TERESA           You're sure he doesn't know.                                   He takes her in his arms.                                                   CHARLIE           Don't worry.                                    30.                                                            INT. HOTEL - BATHROOM - MID-DAY                                   CHARLIE enters the bathroom to clean-up. He stares at his          image in the mirror for a moment, then makes a face. He          checks the whiteness of his teeth, pulls back his hair, and          checks his complexion. The mirror image begins to speak.          The CAMERA PANS BACK to CHARLIE'S FACE. His mouth is not          moving.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONFESSION)           Don't look at me like that, I can           see this is not going to get us           anywhere. She's a good kid, what           am I supposed to do. In a way I'm           doing her a favor...no??? How many           guys you know feel this way about           an epileptic? Don't get me wrong,           I'm no saint...not yet.                                   The image of CHARLIE in the bathroom intercuts with stills          from Catholic School text books - vulgar color illustrations          of parables - emphasis on Christ expelling the devils from          the posessed women.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONTINUING)           But I'm not like the Pharisee who           said "Oh God I thank thee that I am           not like the rest of them."...no...I           like to think of myself as the           Publican...                                   He strikes his breast penitently as he delivers the next line.                                                   CHARLIE           ...'Oh God be merciful to me the           sinner!' I'm not taking advantage           of her. I swear to you that if she           meets someone she'd like to marry...                                   Back to CHARLIE in sync.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONTINUED)           ...I'll cut out. "If Thy eye is an           occasion of sin to thee...                                                   CUT TO:                                   Stills of girls, sexy pornographic nude magazine spreads.                                    31.                                                                            CHARLIE           ...pluck it out and cast it from           thee." "Woe to the man through whom           scandal does come." I'm sure you'd           agree this is no time to get tied           down. Like the priesthood...                                                   CUT TO:                                   Textbook illustration of vocations.                                                   CHARLIE           ...they don't get tied down do they?           "Have I not a right to do what I           chose? Even so the last shall be           first and the...                                                   CUT TO:                                   CHARLIE in sync.                                                   CHARLIE           ...first last. For many are called           but few are chosen."                                   INT. RESTAURANT - MID-DAY                                   CHARLIE is sitting in a quiet corner of the restaurant.          This restaurant was considered an above average business          with quality and prices to match when it was first opened          three years ago. The quality has diminished but the prices          remain the same. As a result the place is dying. CHARLIE          is scrutinizing the restaurant from his corner. He picks up          a water goblet and critically examines the water spots on it.          He calls a waitress to show her the dirt on the glass. She          apologizes, cleans it with her apron, and places it back on          the table. He takes a menu.                                   A chubby, middle-aged man, OSCAR, approaches the table. He          is half owner of the decaying restaurant. He is in his          shirt sleeves which, along with the side of his face, are          smeared with grease and dirt. He is tired and disgusted.                                                   OSCAR           (with a slight Jewish accent)           Hey...you're here. They told me           you're here...and you're here. How           are you?                                                   CHARLIE           Ok, how's everything going?                                   OSCAR sits down next to CHARLIE.                                    32.                                                                            OSCAR           Don't ask...do you have any idea           what I've been doing all           morning...eh?                                                   CHARLIE           No.                                                   OSCAR           I was in the basement fixing the           pipes. Would you believe that?                                                   CHARLIE                          (LAUGHING)           What pipes?                                                   OSCAR                          (MIMICKING)           What pipes...the ones from last           year...those pipes.                                   CHARLIE shakes his head in sympathy.                                                   OSCAR           Look Charlie, you're a good boy.           Will you just tell your uncle that           I have nothing. There is nothing           to give him. No envelopes with           cash inside, no checks, nothing.                                                   CHARLIE           That bad, huh?                                                   OSCAR           I can't make this week's payment           and if this keeps up not next           week's either.                                                   CHARLIE           Not next week's either...listen...you           tell that to Giovanni, not me.                                                   OSCAR           Listen, I should wrap up this place           in a ribbon and hand it to him, you           know that. I don't need this           aggravation. I'm getting old.                                                   CHARLIE           He'd rather have the loan payed,           you know that.                                    33.                                                                            OSCAR           Your Uncle's a good man...I won't           stick him. Either he gets the           money or the place and right now           he's getting the place. And tell           me why should I care? I got a           partner who's a bum, who doesn't           help out...who disappears and           leaves me with all the problems. I           should go back to Florida...I don't           need this.                                                   CHARLIE           I don't understand, where's Groppi?                                                   OSCAR           I should know? His wife don't even           know. Probably off with one of his           little girls...I don't know. I           tell you, if he don't give a damn,           then I don't give a damn...Why           should I kill myself?                                                   CHARLIE           My uncle figured that this week was           bad...but about next week...I dunno.           Maybe you should speak to him           yourself.                                                   OSCAR           What can I say?                                   EXT. STREET - DAY                                   CHARLIE is walking down the street on the lower east side.          A noisy religious street festival is being held on the block.                                   INT. SMALL ITALIAN CAFE - DAY                                   CHARLIE enters a small Italian cafe and nods greetings to          some of the people as he makes his way to the back of the          room. This cafe is a strange hybred of coffee house, candy          store, luncheonette, and meeting place for CHARLIE'S uncle          GIOVANNI and his associates.                                   GIOVANNI De STEFANO is sixty. He is well respected and          powerful both in and out of the neighborhood. He became a          head figure not by being introduced formally as was the          custom, but rather by fighting and killing his way into the          organization. GIOVANNI is well dressed but not a stereotype          of an old Mafioso, rather a kindly and intelligent old man.                                   GIOVANNI converses intermittently in Italian.                                    34.                                                            A man is putting new records into the jukebox which is in          the corner of the room in the luncheonette area.                                                   CHARLIE           (to repair man)           Is my uncle back there?                                   CHARLIE points in the direction of a doorway.                                                   REPAIR MAN           Yeah, but I think he's busy now.           Hey Charlie play 463 today - for           sure.                                                   CHARLIE           Thanks!                                   CHARLIE walks through the luncheonette area, past the dining          room where his uncle is in conference, to the bathroom at          the very back of the cafe. MARIO is seated with his uncle.                                   MARIO is forty five years old. He is GIOVANNI'S closest          associate, brought into the organization in the traditional          manner, making his early reputation through hits (murders).          He is not very intelligent but has an undying loyalty to          GIOVANNI, and is very fond of CHARLIE.                                   MARIO and GIOVANNI are seated with a very old man. They are          deep in their private conversation. CHARLIE passes by          unnoticed and walks into the bathroom.                                   CHARLIE begins to wash his hands but changes his mind. He          shuts off the faucet in order to eavesdrop on the          conversation.                                   INT. DINING ROOM - DAY                                   GIOVANNI and MARIO are calmly sipping their coffee as they          listen to the old man's nervous talk.                                                   OLD MAN           (in Italian with                          ENGLISH TITLES)           What I'm telling you is that he did           it for Mario's honor.                                                   MARIO           But you don't understand. I knew           the kid. He was drunk. He made of           fool of himself...not me.                                    35.                                                                            OLD MAN           (in Italian with                          ENGLISH TITLES)           Giovanni - an insult to Mario is an           insult to you.                                                   MARIO           There was no insult.                                                   OLD MAN           (in Italian with                          ENGLISH TITLES)           The boy only did what was right.                                                   GIOVANNI           Your son only did what was stupid.           We have enough down here without           something like that. And what for?           ...Nothing...no reason. Protect           him? Why? I didn't tell him to do           anything for me. He's going to           Miami? Good...keep him in Miami           for six months...a year...a good           long time. After everything's           forgotten then I see what I can do           for him. Right now...keep him away.                                   INT. LUNCHEONETTE AREA - DAY                                   CHARLIE is seated at a table. The waitress, MARIE,          approaches and gives him his cup of coffee... The following          scene is reminiscent of a TELEVISION COMMERCIAL.                                                   CHARLIE           Marie, are there Columbian coffee           beans in this coffee?                                                   MARIE           I dunno.                                                   CHARLIE           Just a second. Let me taste it.                                   He pauses to sip the coffee, then shakes his head.                                                   CHARLIE           Yes, I'd say there are some           Columbian coffee beans in this           coffee, but only about 39%.                                   MARIE is disinterested. CHARLIE continues.                                    36.                                                                            CHARLIE           You see. You probably don't notice           this Marie, but Colombian coffee           beans are rich coffee beans.           Bursting with that good, deep           coffee flavor. Picked when they           are ripe to the point of perfection.           The beans of course, are protected           by the tall South American Guama           trees.                                   MARIE chews her gum for a moment and leaves the table.          CHARLIE'S monologue continues and gradually he falls back          into his CONFESSION. As he talks, the CAMERA PICKS UP          DETAILS of the cafe and the people in it.                                                   CHARLIE           Then the bean pickers come down and           pick each bean by hand. Bean by           bean, all heavy with flavor. And           they load them into boxes, one box           at a time, box by box.                                   From time to time CHARLIE is casually glancing at MARIE who          is busy with her work.                                   BLACK & WHITE & COLOR                                   The images now move out of the cafe and the CAMERA REVEALS          aspects of the neighborhood - LIVE ACTION and STILLS:          stores, people, streets, buildings, in short; a concise          vision of the neighborhood. All this is intercut with          CHARLIE mentally stripping MARIE's clothes off with his eyes.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONTINUED)           Like, looking at my uncle back           there. One way is the obvious;           ...man outside the law. On the           other hand, instead of a breakdown           of order there is a creation of           order and instead of the breakdown           of law, there is the creation of           law...In this society which needs           new law because 'What's a crowbar           compared to a share of stock.           What's the robbing of a bank           compared to the founding of one and           what's the murder of a man to the           gainful employment of that man.'           'Do not think that I have come to           destroy the Law or the Prophets. I           have not come to destroy but to           fulfill.' ...Amen.                                    37.                                                            The image culminate in aerial shots of downtown New York          City. (STOCK FOOTAGE)                                   CHARLIE now sees MARIE totally naked as she serves the          customers.                                   INT. DINING ROOM - DAY                                   GIOVANNI and CHARLIE are standing and talking.                                                   CHARLIE           Uncle, how are you feeling?                                                   GIOVANNI           Fine. Did you have a good time           last night?                                                   CHARLIE                          (QUIETLY)           About that shooting last night...I           was there and...                                                   GIOVANNI           No you weren't.                                   CHARLIE is struck silent for a moment. He listens.                                                   CHARLIE                          (EMBARRASSED)           You're right uncle. I must have           gotten it confused with something           else.                                                   GIOVANNI           Yes, you did.                                                   CUT TO:                                   CHARLIE and GIOVANNI are now sitting at a table.                                                   CHARLIE           About Oscar...I think he put on           this act...about the restaurant           being in bad shape and all that.           He can't make the payments...I           don't know what to make of it. He           says Groppi's run off with a girl.           I could help if you want.                                                   GIOVANNI           No...his business is bad. But I'll           decide what to do and you...and you           just keep out of anything that           might...might...er draw attention           to you.                                    38.                                                                            CHARLIE           Yes...I understand...I'll be careful.                                   EXT. BEACH - HAMPTONS - DAY                                   CHARLIE and TERESA are sitting on the beach which is fairly          deserted. There are rented cottages behind them. TERESA          has a book and some papers from which she is supposed to          write a term paper for CHARLIE'S English class.                                                   TERESA           C'mon Charlie...one more day. I'll           call in sick for work.                                                   CHARLIE           No...we can come back in a couple           of weeks. Besides, if we're both           gone for three days it wouldn't           look right.                                                   TERESA           Ok.                                   CHARLIE picks up a copy of Henry James' Portrait of a Lady          and tries to read it. He tosses it aside.                                                   CHARLIE           Bore.                                                   TERESA           A paper on that one too?                                                   CHARLIE           Yeah...but don't worry about that           now. The Hemmingway one is first.                                                   TERESA           It was nothing. I'm almost finished.                                                   CHARLIE           Take your time. I don't care.                                                   TERESA           I know you don't. You've been very           preoccupied lately.                                                   CHARLIE           That's the word...preoccupied.                                   CHARLIE turns towards TERESA and tries to kiss her. She          playfully turns away. But CHARLIE quickly gets bored with          that and doesn't pursue her. She is confused by his actions.                                    39.                                                                            CHARLIE           Let's go back inside.                                                   CUT TO:                                   CHARLIE and TERESA already farther up the beach, walking.          They notice a very beautiful house with limousines parked in          front of it.                                                   CHARLIE           See that...know who lives there?           The name George Earhardt mean           anything to you?                                                   TERESA           Sure...He lives there?                                                   CHARLIE           No. Of course he lives there.           Would I point it out to you if he           didn't?                                   The house is seen from a great distance. CHARLIE'S VIEWPOINT.          There is great activity...all with a very businesslike air.                                                   CHARLIE           That W.A.S.P. bastard.                                                   TERESA           You're intolerable today.                                                   CHARLIE           Watch your language.                                   They arrive at the cottage.                                   INT. HAMPTONS COTTAGE - DAY                                   CHARLIE and TERESA are coming in, putting down the books and          papers.                                                   TERESA           I like it here...alone.                                   She caresses CHARLIE. He is still preoccupied.                                                   TERESA           I'm going to take that apartment           uptown.                                                   CHARLIE           Uhuh...probably a good idea. Why           don't you do it this time?                                    40.                                                                            TERESA           You know why...with my parents.                                                   CHARLIE           Well you can't blame them in a way.                                                   TERESA           (pulling away from him)           I can take care of myself. You           know that.                                                   CHARLIE           I know...I know.                                   They embrace.                                                  FLASHBACK                                   INT. HOSPITAL ROOM                                   CHARLIE'S father is the patient in the bed. The visitors          surrounding the bed are CHARLIE'S mother, TERESA, and          TERESA'S mother. The CAMERA MOVES IN CLOSER AS WE HEAR the          sounds of mechanical voices coming from the T.V. sets in the          lobby.                                   TERESA'S mother leans over and whispers into CHARLIE'S          father's ear.                                                   TERESA'S MOTHER           Turridu...that's your boy Charles.           Don't you know him. Isn't that           Charles?                                   There is no answer. CHARLIE is embarrassed. TERESA'S          MOTHER asks again.                                                   TERESA'S MOTHER                          (CONTINUED)           Who is that?                                                   CHARLIE'S FATHER           Che Guevara.                                   CHARLIE doesn't know how to react. TERESA'S MOTHER looks up          with a half smile in disbelief. The other Visitors give off          a small ripple of nervous laughter, repeating it...in          whispers.                                   CHARLIE looks about nervously. Through the door of the          hospital room can be seen several of the older patients          gathered around a T.V. in the hallway. They are watching          the races, the announcer's voice is blaring almost          incomprehensibly.                                    41.                                                            INT. HAMPTONS COTTAGE - DAY                                   TERESA and CHARLIE make love.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:                                   CHARLIE is getting dressed. TERESA is wrapped warmly in the          sheets - still in bed.                                                   CHARLIE           ...He must have heard the name from           those T.V.'s in the hall that were           blaring all the time. I remember           GUEVARA was in town at the time.           Must've heard it from there I           guess...but that's funny, isn't it?                                                   TERESA           Ummmmmmmmmmmmm.                                                   CHARLIE           Of all people. Now say the truth.           Do I look like Che Guevara. C'mon.                                   They laugh. He crosses to TERESA and they kiss.                                                   TERESA           I'm sleepy.                                                   CHARLIE           You've been running round too much.           Bet you've been forgetting your           medicine.                                                   TERESA           The green capsules in the top drawer.                                   CHARLIE gets her the pills and heads out of the cottage for          a walk.                                   EXT. ROADWAY - HAMPTONS - DAY                                   CHARLIE is walking along the roadway and looking at the          different cottages. He is carrying a notebook to which he          periodically refers. He stops in front of a luxurious          cottage and checks the address on the signpost with the one          in his notebook beside which is listed the name GROPPI. He          remains standing at a safe distance from the cottage staring          at it. It looks deserted.                                                  FANTASY                                    42.                                                            EXT. ROADWAY IN FRONT OF COTTAGE - DAY                                   CHARLIE walks directly to the front door of the cottage and          rings the bell confidently. The door is opened immediately          which startles him. From inside the house we see GROPPI'S          back as he holds the door open. He is in a satin robe. We          can see CHARLIE'S startled face through the partially opened          door.                                                   GROPPI           What do you want kid?                                   At that moment a nude girl, her back to the CAMERA appears          in the FOREGROUND. This startles CHARLIE even more.                                                   GROPPI           What do you want?.......well?                                                   CHARLIE           I...I'm selling encyclopedias...er           a magazines...newspapers...I'm           conducting a survey...I...                                                   GROPPI           We don't want no fuckin' books!                                   GROPPI slams the door in CHARLIE'S face.                                                  REALITY                                   EXT. ROADWAY IN FRONT OF COTTAGE - DAY                                   CHARLIE is still standing in front of the cottage. Suddenly          a little boy of about nine appears.                                                   BOY           There's nobody here mister.                                   CHARLIE turns in surprise.                                                   CHARLIE           Isn't this Jack Groppi's place?                                                   BOY           Yeah. But he ain't here now.                                                   CHARLIE           Know where he is?                                                   BOY           Follow me.                                   The BOY leads him towards a heavily overgrown treed area.                                    43.                                                                            CHARLIE           How much farther?                                   CHARLIE repeats this question periodically as he follows the          BOY. Finally CHARLIE finds himself alone in the middle of a          dense forest with the BOY nowhere in sight. He calls out          but there is no answer. He realizes he's been had.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONFESSION)           Now, don't get excited.                                   CHARLIE is trying to find his way out of the forest.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONTINUED)           'The stone which the builders'           reject will become the           cornerstone'...I think.                                   INT. ITALIAN CAFE - DAY                                   A loud brass band is playing "Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, How You          Can Love" inside the cafe. They are part of a religious          festival and GIOVANNI has invited them in for drinks. In          return they are playing for him. GIOVANNI has been drinking.          The song ends.                                                   GIOVANNI           Play it again!!!                                   Everyone laughs and joins in.                                                   EVERYONE           One more time...play it again...                                   The band begins the song for the second time. CHARLIE          enters the cafe and goes directly to his uncle who embraces          him.                                                   GIOVANNI                          (SHOUTING BOISTEROUSLY           over the music)           Take a drink!                                                   CHARLIE                          (SHOUTING)           Ok.                                   CHARLIE sits next to his uncle and looks around at the crowd          in the cafe which is now singing along with the band.          GIOVANNI is smiling broadly. Loud applause follow the end          of the song and the band tries clumsily to make its way          through the crowd and out of the cafe.                                    44.                                                                            GIOVANNI           Hey, where you been?                                                   CHARLIE                          (SMILING NERVOUSLY)           Oh...around...why?                                                   GIOVANNI                          (LEANING CLOSER)           You heard what happened to GROPPI,           eh?                                   CHARLIE gets very nervous at the mention of GROPPI'S name.                                                   CHARLIE                          (INNOCENTLY)           Who me? ...No, I don't know, not           me...all I know is...                                                   GIOVANNI           (cuts CHARLIE off           with a gesture of his forefinger)           Our friend, Groppi, went to his           mother's house. And when he was           there...at night...                                                   CUT TO:                                   DARKENED ROOM - NIGHT                                   An old woman is sitting in front of the television watching          JOHNNY CARSON'S TONIGHT SHOW.                                                   GIOVANNI           (continues in voice over)           ...he walks into his mother's room           where she's watching           television...and he says to her...                                   GROPPI has entered the room with his back to the camera.                                                   GIOVANNI           ...that he's sorry.                                   GROPPI leaves the frame. The old woman looks up from the          television.                                                   OLD WOMAN           It's all right.                                   WE SEE GROPPI walking towards the bathroom.                                    45.                                                                            GIOVANNI           (voice over continued)           ...he goes in the next room...                                   GROPPI TURNS ON the bathroom light.                                                   GIOVANNI           (voice over continued)           ...he takes a gun and puts it in           his mouth and...                                   GROPPI stands with the gun in his hand. He lifts it to his          head. He puts the barrel into his mouth. He pulls the          trigger.                                    FAST FADE TO WHITE                                   INT. ITALIAN CAFE - DAY                                                   GIOVANNI           (with an Italian hand gesture)           ...so...                                   CHARLIE is visibly shocked.                                                   GIOVANNI                          (SMILING)           How do you like that, eh? He was           always a little crazy, y'know...           Groppi... a little crazy.                                   CHARLIE looks up to see MICHAEL, standing at the entrance of          the cafe. He waves to CHARLIE in a friendly manner. CHARLIE          waves back and GIOVANNI looks up, squinting to see who it is.          MICHAEL does not approach the table. In respect to GIOVANNI          he signals to CHARLIE that he would like to see him outside.                                                   CHARLIE                          (GRUDGINGLY)           Not now...in a few minutes...ok?                                   MICHAEL is surprised at being spoken to in such a curt          manner, especially in GIOVANNI'S presence because he feels          he has lost status. CHARLIE and GIOVANNI continue their          conversation.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. STREET CORNER - NEAR CAFE - DAY                                                   MICHAEL           I gave him all the breaks I can give.                                    46.                                                                            CHARLIE           Oh Michael, look...                                                   MICHAEL           Nevamind 'look'...This punk           bastard...I call him at work...I           say 'Johnny Boy there?'...He           doesn't even show up for work           anymore...                                                   CHARLIE           Look...I've talked to him and I've           talked to him...what more can I           do...? Tonight at the party all           three of us get together and we           knock some sense into his head...ok?                                                   MICHAEL           All right...but understand, I don't           like being taken advantage of. I           mean you're in there talking with           your uncle and all...This is           embarassing.                                                   CHARLIE           We'll settle it tonight.                                   Two YOUNG BOYS about 15 years old walk up to CHARLIE.                                                   BOY #1           Hey, you sell firecrackers?                                                   CHARLIE           Firecrackers! No...no.                                                   BOY #1           You know where we can get some?                                                   CHARLIE           Sure, see that guy over there...                                   He points to MICHAEL.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONTINUING)           ...him. He's got the best.                                   The BOYS go over to MICHAEL.                                                   BOY #1           Hey - fella...you sell firecrackers?                                    47.                                                                            MICHAEL           Sssh! Quiet.           (He looks around)           Y'know that's illegal.                                                   BOY #2           Well the guy over there said...                                                   MICHAEL                          (INTERRUPTING)           Yeah, yeah, never mind. You gotta           be careful.                                                   BOY #1           We went down to Chinatown but they           don't have any.                                                   MICHAEL           Yeah, well, keep away from those           Chinx. They don't have shit.                                                   BOY #2           Well, we got $40, and we wanna buy...                                                   MICHAEL                          (INTERRUPTING)           All right! Quiet! For $40 I could           give you...                                                   BOY #1           Well, I don't know if we want to           buy all $40 worth...                                                   MICHAEL           Hey! You want good stuff, or you           want shit?                                                   BOY #2           Well, we want good stuff.                                                   MICHAEL           Well, my stuff comes from Maryland...           you know what that means?                                                   BOY #1           No.                                                   MICHAEL           That means it's good.                                                   BOY #1           You got sparklers?                                    48.                                                                            MICHAEL           Yeah.                                                   BOY #2           And cherry bombs...ash cans...and           rockets?                                                   MICHAEL           Ok. For another $5.00 a special on           the packs.                                                   BOY #1           No, all we got is $40.                                                   MICHAEL           You sure?                                                   BOYS           Yeah.                                                   MICHAEL           Ok. Wait here.                                   MICHAEL goes to TONY, who has been standing in front of the          cafe with a group of boys. They talk for a minute, and go          back to the waiting boys.                                                   MICHAEL           (to the boys)           C'mon. Get in the car.                                   The four of them get into TONY'S car. They drive to          CHINATOWN.                                   EXT. CHINATOWN - DAY IN TONY'S CAR                                                   MICHAEL           Ok, you guys get out, and wait here           for me.                                                   BOYS           Why?                                                   MICHAEL           I gotta get the stuff.                                                   BOYS           Can't we come with you?                                                   MICHAEL           Nobody sees where I get the stuff.           That's good business. I'll be back           in thirty minutes.                                    49.                                                            They start to get out.                                                   MICHAEL           Hey hold it! Gimmie the cash.                                                   BOYS           Uh...can we give you a check?                                                   MICHAEL           A check? What the...hey, where you           kids from?                                                   BOY #1           Riverdale.                                                   MICHAEL                          (CONTEMPTUOSLY)           Well, maybe they do that in           Riverdale, but down here we take           cash. Now, you got it or not?                                   They give him the money.                                                   MICHAEL           Ok. Now wait here...and keep your           mouths shut!                                   The car pulls away.                                                   TONY           How much?                                                   MICHAEL           Not bad. $20. Here, $5.                                                   TONY           Can you spare it?                                                   MICHAEL           Sure.                                                   TONY                          (SARCASTICALLY)           Thanks.                                   EXT. LOWER EAST SIDE - DAY                                   The car pulls up at TONY'S PLACE. TONY yells to CHARLIE,          who is standing outside.                                                   TONY           Hey Charlie. Get in.                                   CHARLIE gets in.                                    50.                                                                            CHARLIE           What's a'matter?                                                   MICHAEL           Nothin'. Just stiffed those kids.           Don't want'em comin' back and           findin' you...start asking you           questions.                                                   CHARLIE           How much?                                                   MICHAEL           $20.                                                   CHARLIE           Let's go to the movies...on you.                                                   TONY           Yeah.                                                   MICHAEL           Ok guys...have a heart. This is my           business.                                                  BLACK & WHITE                                   EXT. NIGHT - IN FRONT OF MOVIE THEATER                                   The boys are paying for their tickets.                                   INT. MOVIE THEATER - NIGHT                                   DONOVAN'S REEF is showing. We see a brief scene from the          film which has JOHN WAYNE fighting LEE MARVIN in a big bar-          room brawl.                                                   CUT TO:                                   The boys smile and watch.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. CHINATOWN - NIGHT BLACK & WHITE                                   The two boys from Riverdale are still watching on the          corner, in the dark.                                   INT. CHARLIE'S APARTMENT - DAY                                   CHARLIE is at home shaving.                                    51.                                                                            CHARLIE                          (CONFESSION)           You know damn well what's going to           happen tonight. I'll probably get           drunk at that party...it isn't           every day you send one of your best           friends off to war for God and           country... gotta have a party. I           mean, he's a nice kid.                                                   CUT TO:                                   CHARLIE is gluing on a fake beard.                                                   CHARLIE                          (VOICE OVER)           I don't know what You think of him           but that's between You and him           anyway...I can't help feeling sorry           for him though. Has a talent but           doesn't use it...His brain. An           'Unprofitable servant who shall be           cast forth into the darkness           outside, where there will be...                                                   CUT TO:                                   Television image of old women mourning their dead in India.          The images are slow motion. The news continues with more          trivial news images...(Washington investigations,          demonstrations, etc.)                                                   CHARLIE           (continued voice over)           ...the weeping and the gnashing of           teeth'...or something like that.           My talent's my brain too but I use           my talent...I'm not saying that I'm           a genius...You'll probably be the           first one to agree on that, but I           can tell the difference between the           intelligent and the stupid. Take           the army for example...                                                   CUT TO:                                   CHARLIE grabbing a white robe off his bed. We don't see his          face.                                                   CHARLIE           (continued voice over)           That's there and I'm here and           that's the way it's going to stay!                                    52.                                                            INT. WEST SIDE TENEMENT APARTMENT BATHROOM - NIGHT                                   TONY enters the bathroom, turns on the light and locks the          door. Party noises can be heard in the background TONY is          wearing an overcoat and is dressed as a World War I "dough          boy". Atop his head is a mask, the features of which can't          be seen. He opens the coat to reveal twenty packets of red          Jello. He turns on the hot water in the bathtub and slowly          begins to empty each packet of Jello into the tub of steaming          water.                                                   CUT TO:                                   LIVING ROOM & KITCHENETTE - PARTY - NIGHT                                   Most of the characters that were at the club the other night          are present at the party. Many of them are dressed in semi-          masquerade outfits. Some are wearing soldiers' uniforms.          One wears a sheet made up to be a Roman Toga. The girls are          in costumes also. All of the costumes are makeshift.          MICHAEL is made up as Dracula, sporting a large cape, semi          tuxedo-type suit, and a drop of blood on the corner of his          mouth. His hair is slicked back to give him a "Bela Lugosi"          look. He is showing a picture of a girl to one of the boys,          proudly proclaiming that she is his latest conquest. TONY          comes out of the bathroom and passes by. He takes the photo          from MICHAEL. Group attention focuses on TONY now. He          stares at the picture, holds it away from him, then closer          to his face, then sideways and finally upside-down.                                                   TERESA           Oh sure! I know her Michael...In           fact, I saw her a few days ago           under a bridge in Jersey, making           out with a nigger.                                   MICHAEL grimaces in shock. He spits.                                                   MICHAEL           You sure?...a nigger...Uh!...and I           kissed her.                                   He wipes his lips with his cape.                                   The guest of honor, the young soldier is very drunk. He is          attempting to open his going away presents, one of which          turns out to be a carefully folded American flag. He          attempts to open it with one great flourish. He fails          however, knocking over the glasses on the table. The group          applauds.                                    53.                                                            Suddenly, the doorbell rings and everyone looks up. The          door opens and CHARLIE appears, arms outstretched, dressed          as the ressurected Christ - with white robes, fake beard and          hair, and artificial wounds. His arms stretch out wider.          The initial shock wears off and TONY greets him.                                                   TONY                          (SMILING)           Hallelujah!!                                   CHARLIE enters in mock holiness.                                                   CHARLIE           I have come to create order...           Scotch and water please.                                   They all laugh. The rock music blares as CHARLIE walks to          and fro blessing all in the room. TONY is delighted with          the scene. CHARLIE sits at the kitchen table, TONY opposite          him, and the others gather around. The party is getting          noisier. TONY gives CHARLIE a glass of ice cubes. CHARLIE          plays the part of a priest, during the Mass when the chalice          is filled with wine and water, TONY pours the scotch over          his fingers first.                                   CHARLIE lifts his hands to touch the bottle as a priest          would. He signifies that there is enough in the glass.          TONY then repeats the same ritual with a bottle of soda-water.                                                   CHARLIE           May God be with you.                                                   TONY           'And with your spirit.'                                                   CHARLIE           (gesturing with his drink)           Salute!!!                                   Everyone drinks after repeating the toast. The crowd around          them begins to break up as CHARLIE and TONY begin to have          fun with each other. TONY pulls down his mask, revealing a          skeleton death face which covers his own face except for his          mouth. It completes the Dough-boy uniform quite well.                                                   TONY           (taking on the guise           of an interviewer)           'Art thou the King of the Jews'?                                                   CHARLIE           'Dost thou say this of thyself, or           have others told thee of me?'                                    54.                                                                            TONY           'Am I a Jew? Thy own people and           the chief priests have delivered           thee to me. What hast thou done?'                                   MICHAEL and a few of the others gather around again as they          continue.                                                   CHARLIE           'My kingdom is not of this world.           If my kingdom were of this world my           followers would have fought that I           might not be delivered to the Jews.           But, as it is my kingdom is not           from here.'                                                   TONY           'Thou art then a king?'                                                   CHARLIE           'Thou sayest it; I am a king. This           is why I was born and why I have           come into this world, to bear           witness to the truth. Everyone who           is of the truth hears my voice.'                                   TONY leans over towards CHARLIE.                                                   TONY           'What is the truth?'                                   The others around them give mock applause. TONY smiles and          nods his head to them. CHARLIE laughs. They drink. Someone          hits CHARLIE on the back of the head. CHARLIE startled,          looks up.                                                   TONY           Prophesy to us, oh Christ! Who is           it that struck thee?                                                   CHARLIE           I don't know, but God help him if           he does it again!                                   They all laugh.                                   INT. SAME APARTMENT - NEXT ROOM - NIGHT                                   CHARLIE is talking to MICHAEL. The conversation is serious.          CHARLIE has not lost his sense of humor.                                                   CHARLIE           He said he'd be here.                                    55.                                                                            MICHAEL           Well, he isn't. Nice...real nice.                                                   CHARLIE           He'll be here. Look, take this for           now.                                   He hands MICHAEL a twenty dollar bill from under his robe.                                                   MICHAEL           You kiddin. The way it is now this           isn't even interest for two hours.                                                   CHARLIE           (putting the bill           back into his pocket)           How much was the original loan again?                                                   MICHAEL           $500. He borrowed that because he           wanted to pay off his other loans...           now, counting the interest...it's           almost $3,000.                                                   CHARLIE           $3,000. Shit! Can we hold it at           $3,000?                                                   MICHAEL           Charlie, this is business.                                                   CHARLIE           (avoiding the issue)           'But I say to you, love your           enemies, do good to those who hate           you, and pray for those who           persecute...'                                                   MICHAEL           I'll tell you who you can pray           for... Next payday, I'll be at           Tony's Place...Johnny better show           or I find him and break his           legs...and I mean it.                                                   CHARLIE           (in the same manner)           'But I say to you not to resist the           evildoer; on the contrary, if           someone takes thy tunic, let him           take thy cloak as well...to him who           asks of thee, give; and from him           who would borrow of thee do not           turn away!                                    56.                                                                            MICHAEL                          (EXASPERATED)           He could at least show some respect           and show his face, even if he           doesn't have the money...                                                   CHARLIE           (more serious now)           'Amen I say to thee, thou wilt not           come out from it until thou hast           paid the last penny.'                                                   MICHAEL           You said it.                                   A loud scream is heard from the bathroom.                                                   CUT TO:                                   APARTMENT - BATHROOM - NIGHT                                   Someone shoved a nude girl into the bathtub which is now          filled with congealed red jello. The boys are laughing and          shoving each other about roughly. CHARLIE comes out of the          next room and walks along in a Christ like manner through          the madness, his arms outstretched. One boy kneels and          kisses the hem of his robe and CHARLIE blesses him. There          is a great deal of pushing and shoving going on inside the          bathroom and near the doorway. CHARLIE promises to save the          sinner as he pushes his way through. He helps the girl          remove the jello from her body and helps her out of the          bathtub. It is obvious that she is quite stoned. She          caresses him and they find themselves kissing. The others          storm into the bathroom and grab CHARLIE.                                                   EVERYONE           Blasphemy!...The anti-Christ!           Crucify him!!                                   They drag CHARLIE into the next room where, amidst all the          shouting and laughing, the other members of the party are          placing firecrackers on model airplanes, simulating their          own "dog fight". They are flying the planes out the open          window.                                   CHARLIE takes everything in stride trying to shout a few          lines over their laughter.                                                   CHARLIE           'Father...forgive them...for they           know not...what they do...'                                   The doorbell rings and TONY answers it. It is TERESA and          she looks very worried.                                    57.                                                                            TERESA           Charlie...? Charlie here...?                                                   CUT TO:                                                  BLACK & WHITE                                   EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                   CHARLIE and TERESA dash from a tenement doorway. CHARLIE is          still in beard and wig but his robes are open so they give          the effect of being a bulky overcoat.                                                   TERESA                          (FRANTICALLY)           The building on the corner. That           one! He's been on the roof a half           hour now!                                                   CHARLIE           Now don't get excited. Don't get           excited!!                                   It is very late and the streets are deserted. At the corner          of the building in question, a few of JOHNNY BOY'S friends          cling to the wall for safety. When they see CHARLIE and          TERESA they call out.                                                   FRIENDS           Charlie, stay there...He's crazy...           He's got a 22.                                   TERESA gets up against a wall. CHARLIE sends her down the          block and she leaves reluctantly.                                                   CHARLIE           Johnny it's me, Charlie.                                   JOHNNY BOY can now be seen silhouetted against the moonlight          on the tenement roof. He has a gun in his hand.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Don't come any closer!!!                                                   CHARLIE           Cut it out stupid. It's me.                                   JOHNNY BOY fires a shot into the air. CHARLIE clings to the          wall with the others. A moment later he makes a quick run          for the doorway of the building across the street. He          enters the building that leads to the roof.                                                  BLACK & WHITE                                    58.                                                            EXT. TENEMENT ROOF - NIGHT                                   CHARLIE has reached the roof.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Charlie...pssst. Over here.                                   He laughs with glee.                                                   CHARLIE           What are you...crazy?                                   He slaps JOHNNY BOY on the back of the head.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Hey...don't do that...I'm only           scaring them.                                                   CHARLIE           Stupid bastard...you get your           cousin half-sick over this.                                   The boys below are still clinging to the walls of the          building. JOHNNY is oblivious to CHARLIE'S statement.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Watch this.                                   He takes out a home made firecracker consisting of glass          cigar tubing filled with gunpowder and a waxed fuse stick          through the top layer of cork. He lights it.                                                   CHARLIE           What the fuck...                                   JOHNNY BOY tosses it over the building and it blows up in          mid-air. The boys below rush madly away. Lights go on in          the tenements around them. The explosion was quite loud.                                                   CHARLIE           Let's get out of here.                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (LAUGHING)           Did you see them run!                                                  BLACK & WHITE                                   EXT. CEMETARY - NIGHT                                   CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY are sneaking over a fence in an old          cemetary which is part of their neighborhood. It surrounds          their church and dates back to the beginning of the 19th          century. No one is buried there any longer.                                    59.                                                            It is very quiet and dark. They sit and rest. CHARLIE is          still in his makeup.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I swear to God Charlie...my arm           still hurts from the car           accident...that's why I didn't go           to work. I swear it.                                                   CHARLIE                          (ANGRY)           That's not going to help.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I'm going to work this week...I           mean it.                                                   CHARLIE           It's impossible for you to catch up           on the loan now...the interest is           going up...$3,000...do you realize           that, flash?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I'm sorry Charlie...I didn't mean it.                                                   CHARLIE           Big deal...in the meantime, it's           done...I'll still try to help you           out...You know that...but you gotta           show some effort...some respect...           understand?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Charlie, you know the best way to           take care of this whole mess.                                                   CHARLIE           How?                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (COAXING)           If you had a little talk with your           uncle...if anybody can do it, he can.                                                   CHARLIE           That'll help you out fine. That's           the best way for you, not for me!           I swear to God, I'll rip you open           if my uncle ever hears a word about           this. You understand? I don't           care what happens, he doesn't find           out.                          (MORE)                                    60.                                                                            CHARLIE (CONT'D)           I don't get involved with anything,           you understand that? Nothing! I'm           clean as far as you know...right?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Yeah, take it easy. Will you relax.                                                   CHARLIE           That's what I get for getting           involved. Look, on pay-day at           least show up at Tony's Place to           meet him, ok? This way he doesn't           think that you're trying to screw           him. If you show good faith and           save his face maybe we can talk and           he'll take off the interest or make           different payment arrangements or           something... understand? I'm not           asking I'm telling you!!                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I understand.                                   JOHNNY BOY closes his eyes. CHARLIE looks at JOHNNY BOY and          then looks at the cemetary in the moonlight. It seems          totally apart from the city with the sirens and cars far in          the distance.                                   CHARLIE stands and unravels his robes, preparing to take          them off. He projects the image of Christ delivering a          sermon. Music and laughter in the distance catches his          attention. The lights and the music are coming from the top          floor of a tenement building where a Puerto Rican family is          having a party. The sound echoes through the streets.          Decorations are hanging and blowing away through the open          windows. As CHARLIE watches a fight break out over one of          the girls. Screams are heard. People run up and down the          fire escape.                                   CHARLIE has pulled off the robe. He now removes the beard          and wig and has become himself again. He leans over to find          JOHNNY BOY fast asleep on a tomb.                                                   CHARLIE           'Could you not, then, watch one           hour with me?'                                   He wakes JOHNNY BOY up.                                                   CHARLIE           'The spirit is willing but the           flesh is weak.'                                    61.                                                            They leave.                                   INT. OSCAR'S RESTAURANT - NIGHT                                   CHARLIE is sitting in the corner. The restaurant is in the          same condition that it was the last time he was there.          While CHARLIE waits for his uncle in his semi-private          corner, a handful of old Mafiosi, invited by GIOVANNI, sit          at another table. GIOVANNI enters with MARIO. The old          Mafiosi are greeted first. They rise and kiss GIOVANNI on          the cheek. CHARLIE is very impressed at their respectful          showing. The waitresses and everyone else in the club treat          them all like royalty.                                                   CUT TO:                                   OSCAR approaches the table where CHARLIE, GIOVANNI, and          MARIO are seated and greets them warmly.                                                   OSCAR           Put the menus away. I, personally           do the cooking tonight.                                                   GIOVANNI           Fine...that's why I'm here.                                                   MARIO           Calamari?                                                   OSCAR           Capozelle, Calamari...anything you           want...                                                   GIOVANNI                          (POURING WINE)           Drink.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:                                   INT. OSCAR'S RESTAURANT - LATER IN THE MEAL                                   OSCAR sits.                                                   OSCAR           Giovanni...er...can I talk?                                   Refering to CHARLIE.                                   GIOVANNI nods his head yes.                                                   OSCAR           About the place, Giovanni...                                    62.                                                                            GIOVANNI           ...I know all about it. We'll           discuss it later.                                                   OSCAR                          (CONTINUING)           Our arrangements about the place           haven't changed, have they? I           mean...                                                   GIOVANNI                          (GOOD-NATUREDLY)           No, no, not at all...look, we leave           it the way it is for now, we talk           later, understand?                                                   OSCAR                          (SOMEWHAT RELIEVED)           Sure, Giovanni...I understand.           I'll bring the clams now.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:                                   INT. OSCAR'S RESTAURANT - DURING DINNER                                   CHARLIE is visible awed by GIOVANNI and MARIO'S confidence          and power. He is behaving as if he were at a job          interview...very formally. CHARLIE had often had dinner          with his uncle but this time the conversation is more          pointed. Their conversation is mostly in ITALIAN WITH          ENGLISH TITLES. They are discusssing GROPPI'S suicide.                                                   CHARLIE           I really couldn't believe it when           you told me, you know that?                                                   GIOVANNI           Well, he was always a little           crazy... he puts a gun in his           mouth...                          (HE SMILES)           ...like your friend...comme si           chiama...Henning? Heming?                                                   CHARLIE           Hemmingway. Killed himself. I was           more upset about that than about           Groppi, that's for sure.                                                   GIOVANNI           (laughing to MARIO)           You know, this boy over here, once,           long time ago, tried to enrich my           mind...so he gives me a book by           this Hemin fella...to read, so I           read it.                                    63.                                                                            CHARLIE           Wasn't a book...was a short story.                                                   MARIO           What was it?                                                   CHARLIE                          (EMBARRASSED)           Nothing.                                                   MARIO           No, c'mon...Y'know, I read.                                                   CHARLIE                          (MUTTERING)           "Francis Macomber."                                                   MARIO           Wha?                                   THE CONVERSATION IS NOW ENGLISH.                                                   CHARLIE                          (SOFTLY)           "Short Happy Life of Francis           Macomber."                                                   MARIO           Oh yeah...didn't read it but I saw           the movie...Gregory Peck...pretty           good.                                                   GIOVANNI           Yeh, Mario over here, he reads a lot.                                   IN ITALIAN.                                                   GIOVANNI           Surprised?                                                   MARIO           I like this Harold Robbins...                                                   CHARLIE                          (POLITELY)           Oh yes, he's pretty good.                                                   GIOVANNI           What I don't understand is why you           have to go to college to read these           books that you're gonna read anyway.                                    64.                                                                            CHARLIE           It's only a couple of courses...just           for the draft.                                                   MARIO           Charlie, couple of courses isn't           enough to get you student deferred...           I mean if they wanted to draft you,           you would've been drafted by now.                                   CHARLIE feels that it would be better not to pursue the point.                                                   GIOVANNI           What Mario's trying to tell you,           Charlie, is that you're wasting           your time with those "couple of           courses" ...you don't need them.           There are a lot of things that can           be taken care of...you know what I           mean?                                   They all laugh.                                                   DISSOLVE TO:                                   They become aware of the T.V. set which is on in the rear of          the back room where they are dining. The news is          on...politics, society, and war.                                                   GIOVANNI           These politicians...they talk nice.                                   CHARLIE listen attentively, but obviously has heard          GIOVANNI'S philosophy before.                                                   GIOVANNI                          (CONTINUING)           ...but it's the same thing, all the           same...they're in there by having           something on somebody...and when           that doesn't work...they fight...Our           life has honor...we have no show to           put on because we do what we have           to do. They know where to come           when they need us. I realize this           during the war...World War II...Vito           Genovese... during WWII he worked           with the government, taking care of           the docks...                                                   CHARLIE           What did he do?                                    65.                                                                            GIOVANNI           What did he do? He was there...           that's what he did.                                                   MARIO           In the fifties when the communists           started in with this country and           they tried to clean them out, we           offered to do it for them...but           they didn't want us to...so we kept           out of it.                                   CHARLIE nods.                                                   GIOVANNI                          (TO CHARLIE)           I told this...the same thing to           your father thirty years ago...I           told him what to do...but he didn't           listen.                                   INT. OSCAR'S RESTAURANT - COFFEE                                   The conversation turns to more direct topics while they have          their coffee and ainsette.                                                   GIOVANNI           You're still around with that kid           Johnny Boy...last night with that           gun...Don't get mixed up with them.           This Johnny Boy, you know, he's           named after me...                          (SARCASTIC)           nice, eh? This Johnny Boy is like           your mister Groppi...a little crazy.           It's nice you should help him out           because of his family and our           family but watch yourself...Don't           spoil anything.                                   CHARLIE nods, feeling very uneasy.                                                   GIOVANNI                          (CONFIDENTIALLY)           His whole family has problems...his           cousin, the girl who lives next           door to you...                                                   CHARLIE           Teresa.                                                   GIOVANNI           ...The one who's sick, right? In           the head.                                    66.                                                                            CHARLIE           No, she's got epilepsy.                                                   GIOVANNI           Yeah. That's what I said, sick in           the head.                                   CHARLIE nods.                                                   GIOVANNI           Her mother and father come to me           and ask advice...she wants to           leave...get her own           apartment...worries them sick...what           am I gonna tell them? Lock her up?                                                   CHARLIE           What do they expect you to say?                                                   GIOVANNI           Who knows? It's not hard to figure           out what she'll wind up like. When           the respect for parents breaks           down, that's bad...you know I'm           "cumpari" with them...so I take an           interest. You live next door, keep           an eye open...but don't get involved.                                                   CHARLIE           All right.                                                   MARIO           Why don't you take a look around           the place if you want?                                                   CHARLIE           Oh, that's ok...I've been in and           out of this place fifty times.                                                   GIOVANNI           Well, maybe you missed something?                                                   CHARLIE                          (CATCHING ON)           Oh yeah, that's a possibility.                                   CHARLIE heads for the kitchen.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONFESSION)           ...looks good...things look good,           if I may say so myself. Don't you           agree? Unless there's something           You know that I don't know?                                                   CUT TO:                                    67.                                                            INT. OSCAR'S RESTAURANT KITCHEN - NIGHT                                   CHARLIE is examining the kitchen closely. A black cook is          working hard, taking a piece of meat off the grill. He          carefully prepares a dish.                                                   COOK           Hi Charlie.                                   CHARLIE smiles and moves in closer to the grill. The cook          is sweating and mopping his brow.                                                   COOK                          (CONTINUING)           Man, it's hot as Hell in here,           every day like going through Hell           in here.                                   CHARLIE moves in closer and the COOK continues preparing the          food.                                                   CHARLIE                          (SMILING)           Hot as hell...You're not the only           one going through Hell kid.                                                   COOK           Maybe so...but at this pay it ain't           worth it...that much I can tell you.                                   CHARLIE hasn't been listening to the COOK. He has become          fascinated with the flames on the grill. They remind him of          an old device from his Catholic School days. CHARLIE brings          his hand forward and closer to the fire, testing the pain of          the "Fires of Hell."                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONFESSION)           'If thy hand is an occasion of sin           to thee, cut it off. It is better           for thee to enter into life maimed           than having two hands to go into           hell, into the unquenchable fire.           'Where their worm dies not and the           fire is not quenched.'                                   CHARLIE'S hand touches the flame. He winces. Music in.                                   INT. TONY'S CAR (NEW CADILLAC CONVERTIBLE-TOP UP) - DAY                                   CHARLIE, JOHNNY, TONY and JIMMY are driving along in TONY'S          car. As they talk, a derelict takes advantage of a red          light to wipe their windshield.                                    68.                                                            TONY rolls up the window and rolls the car forward a bit to          force the derelict out of the way.                                                   TONY           Is it near Sullivan Street?                                                   JIMMY           No - by Bedford.                                                   TONY           Oh - you gotta show me. I always           get lost in the village.                                                   CHARLIE           Next time, bet with your own kind.                                                   JIMMY           The number was 235 - I bet it           combination.                                                   CHARLIE           It'll be OK - I know those guys.           They won't stiff you.                                                   JIMMY           I bet 235. Because I dreamt of my           grandfather - and when he died, the           number of the funeral parlour was           235 - so when I dreamt...                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Yeah, yeah - enough.                                   They arrive at the bar.                                                   JOEY           Hello Charlie, you canonized yet?                                                   CHARLIE           No - not yet - just blessed.                                                   CUT TO:                                   Boys are in mid-discussion.                                                   JIMMY           On Friday, the 25th--I placed it                          WITH SALLY--                                                   JOEY                          (BEING DISTRACT)           I never heard of it.                                    69.                                                                            CHARLIE           Oh Joey, really...we're all friends           here--let's cut the bullshit.                                                   JOEY           (begins to chuckle)           ...Well...                          (TO JIMMY)           you got a good friend here--come to           think of it, I do remember now.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           (under his breath)                          SCUMBAG--                                                   TONY           (nudging JOHNNY BOY)           (under his breath)           Shut up.                                                   JOEY                          (MAKING EXCUSE)           Well, Friday's are busy--a mistake           can be made y'know. Have another           drink.                                                   CHARLIE           Whatever, just lets settle this and           it's all forgotten.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I don't forget nothin.                                   JOEY looks at JOHNNY BOY but decides to let it pass. CHARLIE          gives JOHNNY BOY a dirty look. Music is playing on a juke          box. Several girls stand nearby listening to both the music          and the discussion. JOHNNY BOY looks over at them and then          at JOEY.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Lower the fuckin music--I can't           hear nothin.                                                   JOEY           The girls like it loud.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Girls? You call those skanks girls?!                                   JOEY, his friends, and the girls all look up. JOEY'S          attitude changes.                                    70.                                                                            JOEY                          (TO CHARLIE)           What's the matter with this kid?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I feel fine--nothing wrong with me.                                                   CHARLIE           Keep your mouth shut.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           You tell me that in front of these           creeps?                                                   JOEY           We won't pay...                                                   JIMMY           Why? We just said...                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (INTERRUPTING)           We won't pay...because this guy           (pointing to JIMMY)           is a...mook.                                                   JIMMY           But I didn't say nothin.                                   The fellows look at each other bewildered.                                                   JOEY                          (TO JIMMY)           We don't pay mooks!                                   Nobody knows what a mook is. JIMMY'S attitude now changes.                                                   JIMMY                          (ANGRILY)           A mook...I'm a mook...                          (PAUSES)           What's a mook?                                   CHARLIE can no longer control the situation as tempers rise.                                                   JIMMY           You can't call me a mook!                                   JIMMY swings at JOEY. A fight breaks out. JIMMY, CHARLIE,          TONY and JOHNNY BOY are beaten. CHARLIE, not badly hurt          manages to calm everything down. The police arrive to break          up the fight. People look iin as the two cops walk into the          bar. The boys stop fighting immediately as they see the          cops.                                    71.                                                            In fact, they treat CHARLIE and the others as friends--          helping them up off the floor, dusting off the clothes, etc.          The police search everyone. When they ask who started it--          what happened, etc. everybody including CHARLIE and the          others cover for everyone else. "It was a joke officer"          "He's my cousin" "We were just kidding," etc.                                   The cops nod. "Play nice now" and leave.                                   Everyone apologizes to each other. They drink again.          JOHNNY BOY doesn't say a word--just stares.                                                   JOEY           We were gonna pay you Jimmy, we           just don't like being moved in on.                                                   CHARLIE           C'mon -- I'm movin' in on you?           Let's have another drink and forget           about it.                                   They drink again. JOEY gives JIMMY the money, JIMMY goes to          count it.                                                   JOEY           Don't count it...it's all there.                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (SARCASTIC)           Count it.                                                   JOEY           Hey, c'mon - no bullshit - friends.                                   JOEY extends his hand. JIMMY and CHARLIE shake. JOEY          extends his hand to JOHNNY.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Don't fuckin' touch me - scumbag.                                   CHARLIE and the others "Oh no."                                                   CHARLIE           Shut up stupid.                                   He is interrupted by a flying fist. The fight breaks out          anew. They barely make it to the door. JIMMY is out first,          with his cash. They run down the street. The west side          boys don't chase them but stand by their bar shouting after          them.                                   JOHNNY is laughing as he runs. CHARLIE yells at him.                                    72.                                                                            CHARLIE           You got some mouth!                                                   JIMMY           Johnny, you're a real jerk-off.                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (LAUGHING)           What're ya hollering? You got your           money.                                   They reach the car. TONY heads in first behind the wheel.                                                   TONY           (about to take off)           Fuck youse all.                                   The others jump in.                                                   CHARLIE           You got no honor Tony. Charge!                                   The car starts off.                                   Garbage and garbage pails are tosses after them as the boys          take off.                                   INT. TONY'S PLACE                                                   CUT TO:                                   A LONG-HAIRED ROCK GROUP                                   The lead guitarist holds his guitar out like a machine gun          and strums frantically on it swinging it back and forth at          the audience and then at the rest of the group. As he does          so, the rest of the group falls "dead" over their instruments.          The number is over and they all get up. The place is empty          except for CHARLIE, TONY, and a few others, all of whom have          been listening to the band. They applaude.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. TONY'S PLACE                                   CHARLIE is talking to the leader of the group.                                                   CHARLIE           No, really, I liked it...thought it           was great.                                                   BOY           Thanks.                                    73.                                                                            CHARLIE           What are your plans?                                                   BOY           Well, we're here for about two           weeks, then whatever else comes           along... we're still working on our           album and...                                                   CHARLIE           Great...great...listen, I'm very           interested in you guys because I'll           be opening a new club myself soon...           uptown...and maybe we can work           something out...                                                   BOY           Sounds good.                                                   CHARLIE           Of course, 'The Season of the           Witch' won't be ready for a while           yet but we have to keep in touch.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. TONY'S PLACE - PHONE BOOTH                                   CHARLIE is calling TERESA. The rock group is taking a break          before their evening performance and they can be heard          breaking up the session in the background. TONY and the          others are getting the tables ready.                                                   CHARLIE           Teresa?...Yeah, Charlie. Listen,           I'm looking for your cousin. Yeah,           well today's Tuesday, payday. I           haven't seen him all           day...no...well, have you got any           idea where he is? I know it's           early yet but I'm just getting           worried that's all...                                                   TERESA           Charlie...I've got to see you. I           want to talk...                                                   CHARLIE           Honey, I can't talk now...I've           gotta run, bye.                                                   TERESA           But...                                    74.                                                                            CHARLIE           I'll see you later.                                   He hangs up.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. TONY'S PLACE - DRESSING ROOM                                   CHARLIE can see the Negro stripper, DIANE, down the hall, in          her dressing room. She is putting on her makeup. CHARLIE          is still very attracted to her. He enters her room.                                                   CHARLIE           Diane, how are you feeling?                                                   DIANE                          (COLDLY)           Fine.                                   As CHARLIE continues to talk to her she undresses and begins          to get into her first costume. CHARLIE feels slightly          uncomfortable.                                                   CHARLIE           You know Diane...I've been wanting           to talk to you for a while           now...er... a...           (she is undressing)           aside from all that joking around           we do out there...when you're           on...I... a...I really...think that           you're a terrific performer...                                                   DIANE           Fine.                                                   CHARLIE           No, I'm serious...You're really good.                                                   DIANE           I know.                                                   CHARLIE           In a little while...I'm gonna have           the opportunity of opening my own           place...not here...much nicer than           this...uptown...sort of nite-club           and restaurant and everything.                                                   DIANE           That's nice.                                    75.                                                                            CHARLIE           I was thinking maybe you'd do very           nicely for the place.                                                   DIANE           Stripper?                                                   CHARLIE           No...no stripping...as the hostess.                                                   DIANE           Hostess?                                                   CHARLIE           Yeah, you know...you greet the           people...see them to their tables...           well...it'll be different though...           Listen...why don't we get together           and talk after your show tonight.                                                   DIANE           Chinese food?                                                   CHARLIE           Ok. Chinese. We'll meet on the           corner of 6th Avenue and Waverly           Place after you finish.                                                   DIANE           Why not here...Ok nevermind...6th           Avenue and Waverly.                                                   CHARLIE           Bye.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. TONY'S PLACE - NEAR ENTRANCE                                   CHARLIE bumps into MICHAEL and a friend as he is leaving.                                                   MICHAEL           Be seeing you and Johnny tonight...           here...right?                                                   CHARLIE           We'll be here.                                   MICHAEL is sarcastic. He points to the parked car in front          of him.                                                   MICHAEL           I tell you, Charlie. If that kid           doesn't show up tonight...                                    76.                                                            MICHAEL'S plan is seen on the screen as he speaks.                                                   MICHAEL           ...I'm gonna find him, drag him           down here, tie one of his legs to           that Ford bumper over here...                                   JOHNNY BOY is dragged to the car and MICHAEL'S friend ties          his leg to the car.                                                   MICHAEL           ...and his other leg to that           Chrysler over there.                                   JOHNNY BOY'S other leg is tied to the Chrysler.                                                   MICHAEL           ...and bam!!!                                   We see a close-up of a foot slamming down on the gas pedal,          twice. One car heads for the West Side--the other to the          East Side. Tires screech and exhaust fumes fill the air.                                   All three laugh.                                                   CHARLIE           Look, Michael, I'll get him here.           What do you want me to do, kill him?                                                   MICHAEL           Whatever.                                   CHARLIE leaves.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. CHARLIE'S APARTMENT                                   CHARLIE is on the phone trying to locate JOHNNY BOY. TERESA          is pacing back and forth nervously in the background.          CHARLIE hangs up.                                                   CHARLIE           Are you sure he didn't say anything           to you about tonight?                                                   TERESA           For God's Sakes...I told you           before...nothing.           (she moves closer)           Charlie, I can't stay in here too           long at this hour...will you please           listen to me?                                    77.                                                            CHARLIE turns and smiles at her. He kisses her because he          doesn't feel like listening. TERESA is too preoccupied to          respond. CHARLIE turns.                                                   CHARLIE                          (MUTTERING)           ...that sonofabitch.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. NIGHT - BLACK AND WHITE                                   JOHNNY BOY walking through Greenwich Village looking around          as if being chased.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. CHARLIE'S APARTMENT                                   CHARLIE is kissing TERESA who is still very upset.                                                   TERESA           But Charlie...it's uptown and it's           perfect. It's big enough for two           people...she's going to get out by           the end of the month. If you don't           act right away, it'll go in no time.           What do you think?                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. STREET - NIGHT - BLACK AND WHITE                                   JOHNNY BOY is making his way back to the apartment by          sneaking along the sides of the buildings in the darkened          street.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. CHARLIE'S APARTMENT                                   CHARLIE tries to make love to TERESA out of his nervous          energy and impatience at waiting so long for JOHNNY BOY.          TERESA is rejecting his attempts.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. STREET - NIGHT - BLACK AND WHITE                                   JOHNNY BOY imagines he is being followed and dashes into the          door of a nearby building and up the stairs.                                                   CUT TO:                                    78.                                                            INT. CHARLIE'S APARTMENT                                   CHARLIE is doubly frustrated by TERESA'S rejection of his          attempts at lovemaking because of his concern for JOHNNY BOY.          He becomes sarcastic and abrupt.                                                   TERESA           Don't you realize what that           apartment means?                                   CHARLIE doesn't answer. TERESA continues.                                                   TERESA           Do you? For both of us. Think...           after a while you might even be           able to move in yourself.                                   CHARLIE laughs. TERESA is visibly shaken but CHARLIE cannot          be bothered.                                                   CHARLIE           Are you serious? Me move in with           you. You crazy?                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. ROOFTOP - NIGHT - BLACK AND WHITE                                   JOHNNY BOY is silhouetted against the moonlight. He makes          his way quietly over the roofs of the tenements and climbs          down CHARLIE'S fire escape.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. CHARLIE'S APARTMENT                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONTINUES)           Teresa, get these ideas out of your           head...I've got enough on my hands           right now...with that bastard           cousin of yours. You wanna move?           Go ahead. By all means! But keep           me out of it...I've got nothing to           do with it...you           understand...nothing.                                                   CUT TO:                                                  CHARLIE'S WINDOW                                   JOHNNY BOY is at CHARLIE's window. Through it he can see          TERESA lying on the bed in tears and CHARLIE pacing back and          forth across the room.                                    79.                                                            He is still talking loudly, JOHNNY BOY doesn't seem to pay          any attention to the fact that TERESA is in CHARLIE'S          bedroom. He opens the window and jumps in, smiling          sarcastically. TERESA and CHARLIE are startled. CHARLIE          grabs JOHNNY BOY by his coat collar.                                                   CHARLIE           Where were you? Answer me, you           sonofabitch! Where were you?                                   TERESA is frightened and rushes towards CHARLIE. JOHNNY BOY          reacts to the scene with uncontrolled laughter. CHARLIE is          outraged and slaps him across the face but JOHNNY continues          to laugh. TERESA screams.                                                   CHARLIE                          (TO TERESA)           Shut up!                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (TO TERESA)           Yeah, Teresa, shut up! We don't           wanna get Charlie here in trouble,           do we?...We love Charlie.                                   CHARLIE flings JOHNNY BOY against a wardrobe, letting go of          his collar.                                                   CHARLIE           You had me going crazy!                                   TERESA is crying. JOHNNY goes into the kitchen and CHARLIE          follows. TERESA stays in the doorway.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. KITCHEN - CHARLIE'S APARTMENT                                   JOHNNY BOY takes a drink of water from the sink as he talks.          CHARLIE is calmer now; calm enough to realize that JOHNNY          has figured out his true relationship to TERESA. He tries          to protect himself.                                                   CHARLIE           Your cousin here was getting sick,           worrying about you. We've been in           here calling...                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Oh, that's too bad, Teresa...                                   CHARLIE is embarrassed and TERESA is afraid.                                    80.                                                                            JOHNNY BOY                          (CONTINUES)           Well kids...have the bans been           announced yet?                                                   CHARLIE           Don't be smart.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I'm not smart...I'm stupid, remember.           I'm so stupid that you have to look           out for me, remember?                                   TERESA is crying.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Don't be upset Teresa. You have to           understand Charlie, here...he gives           of himself to help others...                                                   TERESA           I'm going to go home.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           No, you stay.                                                   CHARLIE           Johnny, I swear to God, if you open           your mouth about any of this...                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (ANGRY)           Me? I wouldn't say a word to my           aunt and uncle...or even your           uncle, Charlie...                                   TERESA makes it to the door and opens it quickly. JOHNNY          BOY grabs her to keep her from leaving. CHARLIE rushes          towards them and pulls JOHNNY BOY away. By now, they are          halfway down the hall.                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (SHOUTING)           Charlie...I always wondered about           her...what happens when she comes?           Does she get one of those fits? Eh?           That would be something to see...                                   JOHNNY BOY is interrupted by CHARLIE'S fist as it lands a          solid punch on the right side of his hand. TERESA screams          and rushes to separate them.                                    81.                                                                            JOHNNY BOY           You rat bastard!! Don't hit me           again!!                                   CHARLIE stops.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I think I will fuckin go see your           uncle right now...he'd be interested.                                   CHARLIE rushes JOHNNY BOY towards the stairs. They bump          into TERESA, slamming her against the wall.                                                   CHARLIE           Go ahead! Go on! And we'll see           what happens to you without me.                                   TERESA is terrified that JOHNNY BOY will really go to          CHARLIE'S uncle.                                                   TERESA           No...no...don't.                                   TERESA falls, hitting the stairs with a thud. She lies          there moaning and tossing her head. CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY          go to help her.                                                   CHARLIE           What do I do? You know anything           about this?                                   JOHNNY BOY steps over TERESA to go down the stairs. He turns.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I don't know...she's your girl...I           gotta go.                                   CHARLIE is furious. JOHNNY BOY points to TERESA who is          getting worse.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Hate to miss the floor show, though.                                   CHARLIE lunges out at JOHNNY BOY shoving him halfway down          the stairs. He has gotten hold of his coat so that JOHNNY          BOY can't leave. Neighbors from downstairs open their doors          and come up the stairs. CHARLIE, in complete panic, tries          to put something into TERESA'S mouth while holding JOHNNY          BOY at the same time. He shoves his hand into her mouth          trying to pry it open but she bites into it. CHARLIE          screams as the blood streams out. He lets go of JOHNNY BOY.                                    82.                                                            The neighbors take over. One woman appears to know how to          administer aid to TERESA.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. CHARLIE'S BUILDING - STAIRS                                   JOHNNY BOY is halfway down the stairs by now. The neighbor          takes care of TERESA. While CHARLIE dashes down the stairs,          CHARLIE grabs JOHNNY in the ground floor hallway.                                   EXT. STREET - NIGHT - BLACK AND WHITE                                   In the deserted factory section of Manhattan, JOHNNY BOY and          CHARLIE stand next to a corregated metal garage door.          CHARLIE smashes JOHNNY BOY against the door sending          resounding echoes into the street.                                                   CHARLIE           You crazy bastard! What are you           trying to do, ruin me?                                   JOHNNY BOY is not fighting back anymore. He is on the verge          of tears. CHARLIE smashes him against the door again--again          the crashing sound reverberates in the empty street.                                                   CHARLIE           You...                                   Again, JOHNNY BOY is thrown up against the door.                                                   CHARLIE           You threaten me with my uncle?           After what I'm doing for you?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           What you're doing for me isn't           worth it...believe me!                                   CHARLIE slaps JOHNNY BOY and pushes him against the door          again.                                                   CHARLIE           Then don't show up tonight and see           what happens.                                   CHARLIE stops. He digs his hands into JOHNNY'S pockets but          he can't find anything.                                                   CHARLIE           How much have you got for Michael           tonight?                                    83.                                                                            JOHNNY BOY           I only got eight bucks on me.                                   CHARLIE stares at JOHNNY BOY for a moment then puts his hand          into his own pocket and pulls out three ten dollar bills and          three ones.                                                   CHARLIE           Here, take twenty bucks. With your           eight that makes twenty-eight bucks           you give Michael. I keep the           thirteen for the weekend. Maybe           we'll eat some Chinese food later.                                   JOHNNY BOY doesn't take it. CHARLIE forces it into his hand.                                                   CHARLIE           Take it. I'm doing it for you,           stupid!                                                   JOHNNY BOY           No you're not...                                   CHARLIE, calmer now, is feeling ashamed.                                                   CHARLIE           Oh, cut it out, will ya?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Charlie, twenty-eight bucks is           nothing. The only way to do it is           through your uncle...think about it           will you?                                                   CHARLIE           NO!!! What do you think I am,           crazy???                                                   JOHNNY BOY           No, I just want to help myself,           that's all.                                                   CHARLIE           Come on.                                   He tugs JOHNNY BOY along.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. TONY'S PLACE - BAR                                                   TONY           You're over an hour late. Michael           said he'll be back later, though...                                    84.                                                            CHARLIE takes a drink. JOHNNY BOY sits at the bar. The          place is beginning to empty and the show is over. CHARLIE          takes TONY aside.                                                   CHARLIE           Watch this kid for me. I have to           go someplace but I'll be back soon           to get Michael and him together.           Don't even let him go to the           bathroom.                                   He turns to JOHNNY BOY.                                                   CHARLIE           Don't you move!!!                                                   JOHNNY BOY                          (SULKING)           I'll be here. Don't worry.                                   JOHNNY orders a drink.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. CAB - NIGHT - BLACK AND WHITE                                   CHARLIE gets into the cab.                                                   CHARLIE           6th Avenue and Waverly Place, fast           please.                                   The cab takes off. They soon arrive at their destination.                                                   CAB DRIVER           Where do you want me to stop?                                   CHARLIE leans back into the seat and peeks out the window.                                                   CHARLIE           No...don't stop...just pass real           slow, OK?                                   CHARLIE looks out the window and sees DIANE, the negro          stripper. She is standing on the corner waiting for him.          CHARLIE nods his head for the driver to stop.                                                   CHARLIE           Stop here.                          (HE HESITATES)           No...what am I...crazy??? Take me           back to where you picked me up.                                    85.                                                                            CAB DRIVER                          (SIGHING)           Ok.                                   The car drives away, passing DIANE who is on the corner.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. TONY'S PLACE                                   CHARLIE is back inside the club.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Back so soon.                                                   CHARLIE           Mind your own business.                                   TONY sets up drinks for them and pours them into shot glasses.                                   CHARLIE strikes a match and lights each glass... little blue          flames dance along the rims of the glasses.                                                   TERESA           Hey, cut it out. Will ya?                                   He blows out the flames. CHARLIE moves to the other and of          the room with his drink.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONFESSION)           You can see things aren't going too           well for me at the moment. My           willpower and powers of persuasion           are not what they usually are today.           My ability to control events and           situations are wanting. I know. I           know...what can I say...I offer           this as part of my penance.                                   A young couple, two of the few people left in the place, are          having a hushed quarrel at the end of the bar. The boy          leaves for the men's room.                                                   CHARLIE                          (TO TONY)           Who's the girl?                                                   TONY           Jewish...                                                   CHARLIE           How do you know?                                    86.                                                                            TONY           Look at her.                                                   CHARLIE           She don't look Jewish.                                                   TONY           Sure she is. She's always in here           with some different guy. You know           the way they are.                                   CHARLIE approaches the girl.                                                   CHARLIE           I love you.                                   The girl looks at him, first embarrassed, then annoyed.                                                   CHARLIE                          (SMILING)           Ever since that first day I saw you           at the convent with the nuns,           playing volleyball, I couldn't help           myself.                                                   GIRL           You Italian?                                                   CHARLIE           Yeah why?                                                   GIRL           You don't look it.                                   The girl laughs. Her boyfriend comes out of the men's room.          He has her coat in his hand.                                                   GIRL           (to the Boy)           Fuck off.                                                   BOY                          (STUNNED)           What do you mean?           (he looks at CHARLIE)           ...let's go.                                                   GIRL           You go...I'm staying.                                                   BOY           Let's go!                                    87.                                                            CHARLIE reaches over and grabs the GIRL'S arm tightly. She          looks up, startled, and the boy appears to be frightened.                                                   CHARLIE           It's obvious that the girl doesn't           want to accompany you, isn't it?                                                   BOY           Look fella...this is private...                                                   CHARLIE           Nothing's private...                                   The GIRL is really scared now.                                                   GIRL           I'd like to leave.                                   CHARLIE won't let go of her arm. She tries to pull away but          his grip tightens.                                                   CHARLIE           Whether she wants to or not...she's           not going.                                                   BOY           Let go of her.                                   The GIRL is in tears.                                                   GIRL           Stop it...you're hurting me.                                                   CHARLIE           Take her away from me...I mean           physically take her away from me.                                   He is holding her so tightly that she is doubling over in          pain. The BOY, although he is scared, lunges at CHARLIE.          There is a brief scuffle which TONY breaks up.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. TONY'S PLACE - BACK ALLEY - BLACK AND WHITE - NIGHT                                   JOHNNY BOY is lifting the lid of a garbage pail. He takes          out a brown paper bag and opens it. He takes a small .22          pistol from it and puts it inside his jacket, then replaces          the bag in the garbage pail.                                                   CUT TO:                                    88.                                                            INT. TONY'S PLACE - BAR AREA                                   MICHAEL has entered the club. The BOY and GIRL are gone.          TONY is with CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY, whose return went          unnoticed.                                                   MICHAEL           What's it gonna be? I was here           tonight...you kept me waiting for           over an hour.                                   MICHAEL has two friends with him.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           Hello, Michael. I've got something           for you...not much...but...                                                   CHARLIE           He has about twenty-eight bucks...           it's all he has on him.                                                   MICHAEL           Better than nothing.                                   JOHNNY BOY takes out a ten dollar bill and hands it to him.                                                   MICHAEL           Where's the rest?                                                   CHARLIE           Yeah, where's the rest?                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I bought a few rounds of drinks           while waiting.                                   CHARLIE is stunned.                                                   MICHAEL                          (ANGRY)           Twenty-eight bucks is enough of an           insult...I was gonna take the           twenty-eight bucks because of           Charlie here...but ten bucks!                                   MICHAEL takes the ten dollars, crumples it and flings it          into JOHNNY BOY'S face. JOHNNY BOY picks it up and slowly          smooths it out. He sets it on fire as he talks.                                    89.                                                                            JOHNNY BOY           You make me laugh, Michael...you           know that? I've borrowed money all           over the neighborhood and never           paid it back...so I couldn't borrow           anymore from them...so who's the           only jerk off left that I can           borrow from without paying           back...YOU. Because that's what I           think of you...Jerk off. I fuck           you where you breathe!                                   MICHAEL lashes out at JOHNNY BOY with the back of his hand.          JOHNNY BOY tosses the flaming bill at MICHAEL and quickly          pulls out his .22 pistol. Everyone is shocked.                                                   CHARLIE                          (MUTTERING)           You're really crazy.                                                   MICHAEL           You're not going to use that gun,           Johnny.                                   JOHNNY BOY doesn't answer but holds the gun straight at          MICHAEL'S face. MICHAEL turns to go, defying JOHNNY BOY.          His friends follow. When he reaches the doorway, he turns.                                                   MICHAEL           You don't have the guts to use           that...be seeing you Charlie, Tony,           and of course you John...be seeing           you.                                   They leave.                                   JOHNNY BOY is still frozen with the gun in his hand, pointing          it at mid-air. CHARLIE slams JOHNNY BOY across the face          with his fist. TONY takes the gun from his hand.                                                   CHARLIE           You stupid bastard! Never pull a           gun unless you intend to use it.                                   He hits JOHNNY BOY again.                                                   TONY                          (HOLDING GUN)           ...No bullets in it.                                   CHARLIE hits JOHNNY BOY again.                                    90.                                                                            TONY           Get out of here before this really           goes up.                                                   CHARLIE           Hide the gun. Throw it away.           Anything. Listen, I gotta borrow           your car...I think we should take a           ride...away from here for the           night...you know what I mean?                                                   TONY                          (RELUCTANTLY)           Ok...but go to a movie first or           something...not good to be driving           around right away. You know you           can't do much for him now...it's           out of your hands.                                                   CUT TO:                                   SCENE FROM "TOMB OF LIGEIA"                                   A young girl is in her room with her maid. The maid is          helping her dress. Eerie music creates a frightening          atmosphere. CHARLIE and JOHNNY BOY watch nervously affected          by the film's mood. The theatre is a 42nd street one with          lots of sleeping drunks.                                   Suddenly, the maid's face begins to contort as if she's          seeing something horrible. The audience is on edge. The          young girl sees the maid and shouts "What is it?" - but the          maid only sneezes.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. NIGHT - TONY'S CONVERTIBLE - BLACK AND WHITE                                   CHARLIE is driving. JOHNNY BOY is beside him in the front          seat. The top od the car is down and CHARLIE is driving          with no particular destination in mind.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           I think we should see your uncle.                                                   CHARLIE           No.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           This can't be settled any other way           now...I'll take full blame.                                                   CHARLIE           Forget it.                                    91.                                                                            JOHNNY BOY           What are you going to do? Hide me?                                                   CHARLIE           Good idea.                                   JOHNNY BOY turns away and tunes in the radio to a loud rock          song.                                                   CHARLIE                          (CONFESSION)           I guess you could safely say that           this evening has been so far very           unimpressive as far as my efforts           are concerned...more unproductive.           Now, I'd like to know what you do,           for an encore, Lord? I know           penance is penance but this is           something else.                                   JOHNNY BOY opens his eyes.                                                   JOHNNY BOY           What are you talking to yourself???                                   He turns up the radio.                                                   CHARLIE                          (SARCASTIC)           Go ahead! Play the radio...play           music...you're going to a party...           louder! Go ahead. Louder. A           party. Lots of fun.                                   A black sedan has been driving along parallel to CHARLIE'S          car, unnoticed by CHARLIE. Otherwise the street is deserted.          The car begins to drive CHARLIE off the road.                                                   CHARLIE           Hey, what is this guy, crazy?                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. NIGHT - BLACK AND WHITE                                   BLACK SEDAN - MICHAEL AND ANOTHER BOY.                                                   VOICE           Now, now's the time!                                   CHARLIE turns his head to look. JOHNNY BOY looks up. They          fire the gun.                                                   CUT TO:                                    92.                                                            FULL COLOR SHOTS                                   A barage of bullets (5 gunshots) hit CHARLIE'S car. CHARLIE          is hit in the hand. JOHNNY BOY has been hit in the throat.          He stands up and leans over the windshield of the car,          spewing blood onto it and into the wind. He is screaming.          The black sedan turns onto another street.                                                   CUT TO:                                                  TONY'S CONVERTIBLE                                   CHARLIE is so shocked that the car is completely out of          control. It goes screeching along the street, swerves, and          slams into a fire hydrant, breaking it off and causing water          to shoot out onto the sidewalk, car and street. CHARLIE has          been thrown from the car. He kneels in the street holding          his wrist. He is on the yellow letters "FIRE LANE." JOHNNY          BOY lies against the side of a building--still. CHARLIE          goes to the curb and sits there holding his bleeding hand.          The police arrive with their guns drawn.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD STREET                                   Back in the neighborhood, the religious fiesta is ending.          The singers on the bandstand are singing the last song of          the evening, "Vincino Amare." A crowd of elderly Italian-          Americans stand below the bandstand and listen. There are          four singers, their voices projected through a PA system.                                                   MUSIC:                                   CONTINUES THROUGH ALL CUTS.                                                   CUT TO:                                                  TERESA'S ROOM                                   TERESA is in bed, asleep. The music can be heard echoing in          the background.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. STREET CORNER                                   CHARLIE is still sitting on the curb holding his injured          wrist. The ambulance and the police are going about their          business. A crowd has gathered.                                                   CUT TO:                                   GIOVANNI'S LIVING ROOM                                    93.                                                            GIOVANNI is watching the Late Late Show on T.V. (Car          explosion scene from "The Big Heat"). Aside from the light          of the screen, the room is darkened.                                                   CUT TO:                                   ALL NIGHT VILLAGE LUNCHEONETTE                                   DIANE is alone, sipping coffee.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. STREET CORNER                                   The police are standing around CHARLIE with open notebooks,          questioning him. He doesn't answer. JOHNNY BOY'S body is          being taken into the ambulance.                                                   CUT TO:                                   TONY'S PLACE - MEN'S ROOM                                   TONY is relieving himself. He washes his hands.                                                   CUT TO:                                                  NEIGHBORHOOD STREET                                   The last song of the festival is ending now. As the singers          come to a stirring climax they wave and shout in Italian.                                                   SINGERS           Good night...Good night...thank           you...good night!                                   The band plays a few bars of "Home Sweet Home." The singers          throw kisses to the dispursing crowd. People who have been          watching the festival pull down the blinds of shades and go          in.                                                   CUT TO:                                   MICHAEL'S CAR - PARKED                                   MICHAEL'S car is parked in a deserted area on the docks. He          has his head in his hands. The BOY with him says nothing.                                                   CUT TO:                                                  STREET CORNER                                   CHARLIE is still in shock, sitting on the curb.                                   The police are still walking around in a businesslike manner.                                    94.                                                            CHARLIE stares down at his feet. The wrecked car is being          pulled away.                                   CHARLIE is being put into an ambulance. He is muttering to          himself and seems shocked and bewildered.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. POLICE STATION - DAY                                   Early morning. A door in the far corner of the room opens.          CHARLIE is motioned through by a cop, who shuts the door          immediately behind him. There is an unnaturally loud          clanging sound that echoes in the room. CHARLIE looks          around, still a little dazed, and spots MARIO standing over          by the door. MARIO has made no move to greet him. He just          stands there watching. CHARLIE walks over to him, sensing          something a little ominous.                                                   CHARLIE           My uncle didn't come?                                   MARIO says nothing, just nods at him to step outside.          CHARLIE goes out into the street. MARIO follows.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. STREET - DAY                                   There is practically no one on the street. The early          morning light makes everything a clammy grey. CHARLIE waits          at the bottom of the steps.                                                   MARIO           (pauses for a moment)           Giovanni says now he done enough.           He got you outta jail. Now...           (reaching in pocket)           he wants you outta the way.                                   MARIO hands CHARLIE an envelope containing an airline ticket.                                                   MARIO           He says use it. Don't sell it. He           says he'll see you. Someday. Maybe.                                   CHARLIE stares at the ticket in his hand. MARIO is obviously          uncomfortable.                                                   MARIO                          (ABRUPTLY)           Things worked out rotten kid. Sorry.                                                   CUT TO:                                    95.                                                            INT. CAR - DAY                                   TONY'S car. He is driving CHARLIE to the airport. A          suitcase can be seen in the back seat.                                                   TONY           Where to?                                                   CHARLIE                          (PREOCCUPIED)           Kennedy.                                                   TONY           (trying to be jolly)           I know, I know, stupid. I mean           where you goin'?                                                   CHARLIE           It's an open ticket. I can go           anywhere up to $350.                                                   TONY           So?                                                   CHARLIE                          (EDGY)           So I'll send you a postcard from           wherever. If I get there.                                                   TONY           Nervous?                                                   CHARLIE           Yeah.                                                   TONY           You flew before?                                                   CHARLIE           No.                                                   CUT TO:                                   CHARLIE'S face - slightly upset.                                   CHARLIE snapping seat belt in car.                                                   CUT TO:                                   STOCK SHOT: airplane exploding BLACK AND WHITE (FANTASY)                                    CUT BACK TO:                                   CHARLIE in car - more upset.                                    96.                                                                            CHARLIE                          (IRRITATED)           Hey, come on...                                                   TONY           Take it easy. I only asked because           maybe I could, you know, let you           have a little something.                                                   CHARLIE           Yeah, well thanks, but I got enough           to hold me. My mother can send me           some. I don't know.                                                   TONY           How about Teresa? I could talk...                                                   CHARLIE           (trying not to be impatient)           Listen, I appreciate it, but I'll           handle it myself. I'll write.                                                   TONY           And say what?                                                   CHARLIE           I'll say that I'm travelling.                                                   CUT TO:                                   EXT. AIRPORT - DAY                                   The TWA terminal at Kennedy. TONY'S car pulls up to the          curb, CHARLIE gets out, waves away help from an idle porter,          and pulls his suitcases out of the back seat. TONY leans          across the seat toward him.                                                   TONY           Listen, try a place with some sun.           Swimming pools. Palm trees. Girls           in little French bathing suits.                                                   CHARLIE                          (SMILES)           Thanks for the ride.                                   CHARLIE breaks away from the handshake and grabs TONY          affectionately behind the neck.                                                   CHARLIE           Take care of that tiger.                                    97.                                                                            TONY                          (CORRECTING HIM)           Panther...                                                   CHARLIE           Panther! Same thing...                                                   TONY           Hey...no more good times like           before. Until you come back.                                                   CHARLIE           Sure. And you're gonna take the           vows next Tuesday, right.                                                   TONY                          (LAUGHS)           Yeah, I'm gonna worry about you, too.                                   TONY gives CHARLIE'S hand a last slap, then gets back behind          the wheel.                                                   TONY           See you.                                   CHARLIE nods and watches the car pull away. Then he picks          up his bag from the sidewalk and walks into the terminal.                                                   CUT TO:                                   INT. TERMINAL - DAY                                   The place is huge and there is a lot of bustle and excitement.          CHARLIE is noticeable because he is the only member of the          crowd who walks slowly, without any apparent mission or          destination. He makes his way toward the large flight board          that looms over the whole room. Loudspeakers announce          planes to and from every part of the world. On the flight          board, the origins and destinations of the days flight spin          and change every moment. He passes the insurance machines          and almost stops - more upset than before. A businessman          calmly pays for insurance. (Muzak is heard) CHARLIE          continues on past a novelty shop where some plastic crosses          and St. Christopher medals hang alongside the stuffed toy          dogs and flight bags. He looks at the cross.                                                   CHARLIE           I don't know what to say to you...                                   The ticket desk is under the flight board. CHARLIE eventually          works his way over to the desk, drops his bag on the floor          and stands staring at the board. He sees the names of          dozens of cities flashing before him. As he watches, a          pretty ticket clerk speaks to him from behind the desk.                                    98.                                                                            CLERK           May I help you?                                   CHARLIE stares at the flight board in dismay and indecision.          He apparently does not hear her.                                                   CLERK           Sir, may I help you?                                   CHARLIE hears her this time. He reaches into his jacket          pocket and pulls out the ticket which he passes across to          her. The clerk starts to open it to check the destination.                                                   CHARLIE           (questioning, challenging)           Where can I go?                                   The question is unusual. The clerk looks up. CHARLIE stare          back at her with a quality that is almost defiance.                                                   CUT TO:                                   QUICKLY TO BLACK - MUSIC IN 
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+                     MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: THE MOVIE                   REVISIONS BY ARNE OLSEN                   DIRECTED BY BRYAN SPICER                 REVISED DRAFT OCTOBER 31 1994  FADE IN:  BLACK SCREEN  Words SCRAWL UP ON SCREEN and we hear a RESOUNDING VOICE.                              VOICE               In a time of great strife, a               legendary interdimensional being               known as Zordon, came to the city               of Angel Grove to establish a               vanguard in the never ending               struggle against evil.  with the               aid of his trusted assistant,               Alpha 5, the noble master sought               out six extraordinary teenagers               and gave them the power to               transform into an unstoppable               fighting force.  In time of great               need, the young heroes could now               call upon colossal assault               vehicles known as "Zords".  while               the identity of the six remained               a guarded secret, their               courageous exploits soon became               the stuff of Legend, earning them               the title...  The Mighty Morphin               Power Rangers.We hear PUMPING ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC as the POWER RANGER'S LOGOBURST'S ONTO THE SCREEN.  Now the logo EXPLODES, revealing1   EXT.  PROP PLANE / FLYING - DAY                             1A prop plane whisking across the deep blue sky.                              ROCKY               YeeeoowwWWWWW!!!2   INT.  PROP PLANE / FLYING - DAY                             2The six Power Rangers, TOMMY, KIMBERLY, BILLY, AISHA, ADAM andROCKY sport sleek sky diving suits, parachute packs and helmets.  Tommy is strapped into a high-tech airboard.                              ROCKY               We're OUTTA here!!                              KIMBERLY               Easy, Rock.                                      TOMMY               Once we hit the target zone we've               got fifteen seconds to make the               drop.                              BULK  (0 . S .)               Step aside, pinheads.BULK and SKULL push their way through the Rangers, deckedin bizarre skydiving regalia, topped off by World War IIleather caps and aviator goggles.                                   BULK               The Stealth Eagle is about to               fly.                              SKULL               Ditto for the Swooping Swallow.The Rangers exchange amused looks.  Aisha gestures to them                              AISHA               Lead on, flyboys.Bulk and Skull swagger to the door and open it - the groundis a dizzying distance below.  They swallow hard.                              SKULL               Bulk... where'd the earth go?                                             BILLY               Five seconds to the target zone!                              TOMMY               Aisha  you' re  on !Bulk and Skull step aside, Aisha LAUNCHES herself.The others follow through the opening with flair.                             ROCKY               Stylin!                             ADAM               On your tail!                                           BILLY               All systemsTommy and Kimberly share an infectious glance, Kimberlya hand, indicating Tommy should go first.                             TOMMY               Surf's up!He's gone.  Kimberly stands backwards in the doorway.                             KIMBERLY               Catch you on the flipside.Bulk and Skull watch wide-eyed as she BACK-FLIPSout of the plane.3   EXT. SKY  -  DAYROCK AND ROLL fills the track as the Rangers plunge towardsearth, executing a series of MIND-BOGGLING MANEUVERS: SPINS,FISHTAILS, POWER DIVES, BACK FLIPS, you name it.4   INT. PROP PLANE  -  DAY                          4Bulk and Skull psyche themselves up.                              BULK               Be the eagle.  Be the eagle.                              SKULL               Be the swallow.  Be the               swallow...They take deep breaths then CHARGE THE DOOR.                              BULK AND SKULL               Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!Naturally, they get STUCK, wedged shoulder to shoulder.THE PILOT glances back, CHUCKLES and BANKS THE PLANE.5   EXT. PROP PLANE - BARREL-ROLLING - DAYBulk and Skull rotate into frame.  Now, facing straight down --they FALL INTO CAMERA, CLINGING TO EACH OTHER DESPERATELY                              BULK AND SKULL               YEAAAAAAHHHHHH!!6   EXT.  SKY  -  DAYThe Rangers pull off more SPECTACULAR MANEUVERSthen swoop TOGETHER, interlocking hands and forming aPERFECT CIRCLEThey look to one another and a moment of pure magic passesbetween them.  It's not  usual the exhilaration of flight they'resharing, it s the exhilaration of togetherness, of being partof a team.                              TOMMY               Let's BREAK!!They disperse and yank their rip-cords.  The sky BURSTS TO LIFEWITH SIX BLOSSOMING PARACHUTES -- white, pink, blue, yellow ,red and black in color.7   EXT.  ANGEL GROVE PARK  -  DAY                               7FAMILIES eat hot dogs and cotton candy at a huge fundraiser .A large banner proclaims "SAVE THE OBSERVATORY."  We seediving teams with labeled uniforms -- the BOWLING TEAM, ANGELGROVE P.D.  and the FIRE DEPARTMENT.  There s a large white"BULLSEYE" spray-painted on the grass.  The city'sspectacular large skyline rises out of the b.g.A SPUNKY MR. KELMAN stands at a podium, speaking into a mic.                              MR. KELMAN               Okay, so the firemen landed four               out of six inside the target --A BOWLER shouts out playfully.                              BOWLER               How `bout a show tune?!Mr. Kelman feigns seriousness.                              MR. KELMAN               Somebody wanna keep chose bowlers               in line.A hip thirteen year old, FRED KELMAN, yells out as he pointsto the sky.                              FRED               Hey dad, get with the program!                              MR. KELMAN               Ladies and gentlemen, it's Angel               Grove HighANGEL ON TARGET - AS AISHA touches down flawlessly.                                                     MR. KELMAN               And that's one!  A perfect               landing!Aisha clears, then Billy and Adam land toqether.                              MR. KELMAN               Three for three.  Look at `em go! Billy and Adam clear and now Rocky and Kimberly come in.                                        MR. KELMAN               That's five perfect landings!               Now it's all up to Tommy Oliver.Everybody watches with dumbfounded expressions as Tommy SAILSIN ON HIS AIR BOARD AND SLIDES INTO DEAD CENTER.  He spreadshis arms wide.                             TOMMY               Touch down.The families CHEER and APPLAUD as they surge forward tocongratulate the Rangers.Mr. Kelman and Fred approach Tommy -  Fred and Tommy exchangestylish hand slaps.                              FRED               Looking good up there.                              TOMMY               Thanks, man.                              MR. KELMAN               Congratulations - the               Observatory's got a new lease on               life.                              FRED               Awesome!   Ryan's Comet is passing               over in two days!The other Rangers approach.                              AISHA               Who's up for lunch?                              ROCKY               You read my mind.                              KIMBERLY               Last one to Ernies buys.                              ADAM               Let's roll!8   EXT.  ANGEL GROVE PARK  -  DAY                              8We hear a VOCIFEROUS SISSING SOUND, but we can't see where  it'scoming from. - Suddenly the six Rangers come SCREAMING AROUND ACORNER ON STATE-OF-THE-ART ROLLERBLADES.  These kids are FLYING!! We hear FULL-THROTTLED MUSIC as the kids WEAVE, DUCK and SWERVElike blading virtuosos.  Tommy LEAPS in the air, does a 180 andSKATES BACKWARD.THE HIGH BRANCHES.past a large tree as Bulk and Skull DROP INTOFRAME                              SKULL               Stealth Eagle, huh?  The Lame               Duck is more like it!9   EXT.  CITY STREET - DAY                                     9The Rangers GLIDE around another corner -- there's buildings onone side of them and a construction site on the other.                              TOMMY               Let's take the shortcut!Tommy leads them up a plywood ramp -- they LAUNCH TEN FEETTHROUGH THE AIR, PULLING OFF HAIR-RAISING FREE STYLE MOVES THENMAKE SPECTACULAR LANDINGS on the construction site parkingstructure.As they shoot across the concrete, the CAMERA PUSHES IN on:10   EXT.  INNER CITY CONSTtZUCTION SITE - DAY                   10... WORKERS operating heavy machinery -- cranes, bulldozer ,etc., Construction Worker  jackhammers solid rock.  Drillmakes a CLANGING SOUND as it HITS METAL!  A baffled look comesover him as he stops the jackhammer, brushes away debris..uncovering an ANCIENT IRON PLATE.  He gapes at it, too stunnedto speak.11   EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE - SHORT TIME LATER                  11        A large hook has been fastened to the iron plate -- a craneENGINE ROARS as it HOISTS THE PLATE UP, revealing a CAVERNOUSOPENING.    TWO MORE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS have joined the first, all ofthem look on in amazement.                              CONSTRUCTION WORKER #2               Whadda you figure it is?!                              CONSTRUCTION WORKER #1               Hey, ya got me.Suddenly a PURPLE STEAM POURS from the opening.  And nowsomething really amazing happens.   ..A menacing STONE CLAW RISES UP, CRADLING A HUGE STONE                              CONSTRUCTION  WORKER  # 1               ... I'll be damned.As though drawn by it's power, he moves to touch it.KZAAAAAAP?!!  APURPLE BEAM OF LIGHT BLASTS HIM -- SENDS HIMFLYING TEN FEET THROUGH THE AIR!                                CONSTRUCTION WORKER #1               AHHHHHHHHH!11A   EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY                                11AA T.V.  REPORTER is talking into camera.                              REPORTER               We're here at the World Center               Construction Site, where a               mysterious object was just               uncovered in a freak accident in               which one workman suffered minor               injuries...                                                                    1212                                               thru    OMITTED13                                                                  1313A  INT.  ERNIE'S WATERFRONT CAFE - DAY                           13ACLOSE ON - T.V.  SCREENWe see the reporter then a few cuts of GEOLOGISTS combing thesite with scanning equipment and COPS sealing off the area withyellow tape.                              REPORTER               ... Angel Grove Police have               cordoned off the area until it               can be determined whether or not               the unidentified object poses any               threat.  The injured workman was               quoted as saying...PULL BACK TO REVEAL A CAFE.The Rangers are at a table -- Tommy is teaching Fred martial artsmoves.                              TOMMY               It's one smooth move and then               you've gotta explode off the top.Tommy executes a wicked JUMPING ROUNDHOUSE KICK.  Fred iswowed.  He drops into position.                              TOMMY               Nice and easy.The jovial proprietor, ERNIE, approaches the Rangers' tablewith a loaded tray.  Fred pulls off a dazzling JUMPINGROUNDHOUSE KICK and almost knocks Ernie's tray over.                              ERNIE               Hey, no Karate on the patio!                              FRED               Actually, Ernie, it's Tae-Kwan               Doe.                              ERNIE               Well Tae-Kwan-Do-it some place               else.Fred moves off as Ernie serves the desserts.                                   ERNIE               So, what're the plans for the               weekend?                              KIMBERLY               Aisha and.I are checking out a               new dance spot.                              AISHA               I heard that!                              BILLY               I'll be at the Observatory               Sunday.                                   ERNIE               That's right - Ryan's Comet.                              ROCKY               We should throw a little comet               shindig.                              ADAM               Any excuse for a party.Aisha reacts to something off screen.                              AISHA               The Eagle has landed.Bulk and Skull swagger past followed by a GROUP OF KIDS.                              BULK               The earth was hurtling toward us               at seven hundred miles per hour,               and we knew at that moment that               we were facing death straight in               the eye.                              SKULL               We could smell it's breath.Ernie moves off after Bulk and Skull.  Tommy's wristcommunicator BEEPS.  The kids exchange glances than look for aprivate area.                              ROCKY               There's a spot over there. They move out of everybody's sight.                              TOMMY (into  communicator)               What's up, Alpha?                              ALPHA 5 (V.O.)               Rangers, we need you at the               Command  Center,  L.R.N. !Aisha gives Kimberly a puzzled look.                              KIMBERLY               'Like Right Now.'                              TOMMY               We're on our way.They hit their wrist-communicators and instantly TRANSFORMINTO SIX IRIDESCENT COLUMNS OF COLOR.  The columns SHOOT UPTHROUGH a giant oak tree, KNOCKING LEAVES LOOSE.14   EXT. COMMAND CENTER  -  SUNSET                               14Zordon's remote headquarters protrudes from a craggymountain top -- silhouetted by a glorious sunset.  The SIX STREAK OF COLOR slice downward into the roof.15   INT.  CONIMAND CENTER  -  NIGHT                              15Everything's gone haywire   buttons BLINK, emergencylights FLASH, there's a CACOPHONY OF ELECTRONIC SOUNDS.ALPHA 5 works frantically amidst the array of computerbanks while ZORDON looks on from his COLUMN OF LIGHT.The six Rangers MATERIALIZE, Tommy turns to Zordon.                              TOMMY               What's happening?                              ALPHA 5               Ay,  yi,  yi,  yi,  yi !  Our               thermionic-sensors have been hit               by a CATACLYSMIC surge of evil!                              ZORDON               Rangers, you must act swiftly.               The planet is in GRAVE danger!                              KIMBERLY               Danger from what?                              ZORDON               Six thousand years ago a               morphological being known as Ivan               Ooze, ruled the world with a               reign of unparalleled terror.               Finally, a rebel factor known as               the "Order of the Meledon" lured               him into a hyperlock chamber and               buried him deep underground.                              ALPHA 5               In a place that came to be known               as Angel Grove.                              ZORDON               The chamber has been accidently               UNCOVERED!  You must return it to               the depths. or  anyone should               open it and Ivan is released!                              ALPHA 5               To assist you I have retro-fitted               your helmets with new Opti-Scan               devices.                              ZORDON               Use extreme caution, Rangers.               You are dealing with an evil here               that is beyond ALL comprehension.16   EXT.  INNER CITY CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT            Barricades and police tape surround the egg.  A  SECURITY GUARDpasses his sleeping CO-WORKER, drops into a chair, sips hiscoffee.                   BZZWAPP -- ZEDD, RITA, GOLDAR and a short, fat, furry creaturenamed MORDANT appear.                              RITA               Another Saturday night and I'm               traipsing around the galaxy with               the THREE LITTLE PIGS!  My mother               warned me this would happen!               Rita, she said, after 89               marriages you might wanna think               about throwing in the towel.  Why               didn't I listen to her?!Zedd grumbles to himself.                              ZEDD               That's a good question.The stunned guard stirs his sleeping buddy.                              FIRST SECURITY GUARD               Uh... Kurt...  you might wanna               take a look at this.Kurt looks up groggily.                              ZEDD               No need to wake him.  In fact,               why don't you take a little nap               yourself.Zedd ZAPS THE GUYS with a bolt from his staff -- they areknocked out.Goldar steps back from the blast and accidentally steps orMordant's foot.  Mordant KNOCKS on Goldar's metallic leg.                              MORDANT               Hey bonehead, get off my hoof!Goldar is oblivious.  Zedd, stands reverently before theglowing egg shape.                              ZEDD               After two thousand years of               searching...  I have finally               found you.Mordant BANGS on Goldar's leg again.                              MORDANT               Yo, earth to Bigfoot!Goldar SWATS Mordant.                              GOLDAR               Watch your mouth, fuzz-ball!                              ZEDD               SILENCE!                              RITA (to  Goldar)               Where did you FIND this rabid               little rodent, anyway?!                              GOLDAR               Mordant's my second cousin three               times removed on my mother's               side.  He`s just visiting for the               summer.                              RITA               Well put a muzzle on him!Mordant GRUMBLES under his breath.  Meanwhile, Zedd aims  isstaff at the chamber and BURSTS a blast of energy.  The eggopens up with a wHOOSH of decompressing air.  webs ofELECTRICITY BRANCH OUT, followed by a SWIRL OF BLACK SMOKE.When the smoke clears we see a BUBBLING, PURPLE, PHOSPHOSCENTOOZE.  The group gathers around -- Rita sticks a finger in  othe sticky substance.                              RITA               What... you spent two thousand               years looking for this tub of               SNOT!As if in response, the ooze BOILS AND FROTHS.  Zedd and Ritaare too busy arguing to notice this.                              ZEDD               Don't you ever have anything nice               to say?!                              RITA               Well, if I did I certainly               wouldn't say it to you!We hear a SLITHERING SLURPING SOUND as the substance RISES UPAND TAKES ON THE GHASTLY SHAPE OF IVAN OOZE.  Mordant tugs at Zedd.                              MORDANT               Boss.                              ZEDD               For your information this is not               just your average, run-of-the-               mill tub of snot !                               RITA               You're trying to tell me there`re               different levels of snot?!                              MORDANT               Boss.                                                      ZEDD               WHAT!Zedd and Rita finally notice Ivan, standing with his lipsapart, revealing jagged teeth, one of which is made ofGLISTENING SILVER.He stretches his sinewy arms, releases an enormous YAWN, putshis hands on his head, CRACKS it.                              IVAN               Ahhhhhhhh.Now he SMACKS his lips together, opens his arms theatricallyand gives his trademark stance.                              IVAN               Ladies and Gentlemen... the OOZE               is back!!Rita blushes.                                   RITA               He's so cute.Zedd flashes her an angry look, turns back to Ivan.                              ZEDD               I am Lord Zedd, sworn enemy of               all that is good and decent.  It               is a supreme honor to finally               meet you.Ivan gives a slight bow.                              IVAN               How can I ever repay you?                              ZEDD               Do you recall the name...  Zordon               of Eltare?Ivan's face goes dark, THUNDER RUMBLES and the site LIGHTS UPWITH A FLASH OF LIGHTNING.  Mordant turns to Goldar.                              MORDANT               Seems to ring a bell.                              ZEDD               I want you to destroy Zordon, so               that my evil may once again reign               SUPREME.                              IVAN (hissing)               I will not only destroy him, I               will OBLITERATE his entire being.               It will be like Zordon               of Eltare never EXISTED!                              RITA               Finally, a real man.Goldar hands Ivan a scrap of paper.                              GOLDAR               Here's his address.                              IVAN (reading)               "... left off Interstate 12?!"                     (puzzled)               What's an "interstate"?                              MORDANT               It's like a freeway.  How long               have  you  been  locked  up? !                              ZEDD               We shall leave you to weave your               wicked ways.                              RITA               Now we go out on the town.  First               dinner, then dancing, then --BZZWAPP!!  The foursome DE-MATERIALIZE.                              IVAN               What is that odious stench?His eyes come alive.                              IVAN               Smell's like...   TEENAGERS!17   OMITTED18   EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT                             On cue, the Power Rangers TELEPORT into the construction site.They're surrounded by rock piles, pools of water and a plethoraof building supplies.  Billy looks down at the mud puddle he'sstanding in.                              BILLY               Remind me to have a word with               Alpha about his teleporting               calculations.They survey the construction site for a moment.                              AISHA               Anybody see anything?                              TOMMY               ... Let's take a look over there.They advance up a slope -- the egg comes into view.                              ROCKY (alarmed)               It looks like it's been opened!The kids get close to the egg, looking it over withfascination.  Suddenly a hand falls on Aisha.                              SECURITY GUARD (O.S.}               Hey!They all whirl around and see the first Security Guard.  Hehalf smiles, shaking his head.                              SECURITY GUARD               You had me scared there.                              AISHA               Makes two of us.                              KIMBERLY               You haven't by any chance seen               a ... morphological being lurking               around?                              SECURITY GUARD               The only thing I've seen is you               teenagers.                              (beat)               And you know... if there's one               thing in the world I reeeeally               hate....CLOSE ON HIS FACE as it SHAPE-SHIFTS INTO THE+ HIDEOUS VISAGE OFIVAN OOZE.                              IVAN               It's TEENAGERS                              KIMBERLY               GroSS!                              IVAN               You're too kind.  Allow me to               introduce myself.  I am the               infamous, world-reviled,               universally despised, IVAN OOZE!                              ROCKY               Well, pack your bags cause we're               sending you back where you came               from!                              IVAN               Gee, a teenager with a big mouth.               Not much has changed in six               thousand years.                              KIMBERLY               we're not just teenagers, raisin-               head.                              TOMMY               We're the Mighty Morphin Power               Rangers!Ivan puts his hands to his face in mock fear.                              IVAN               Ooooh, where's my autoqraph               book?.He looks them over reproachfully.                              IVAN               Power Rangers, huh?  So Zordon is               still using a bunch of rug-rats               to do his dirty work.  And               speaking of rats...Ivan raises both hands -- ELECTRICITY SHOOTS OUT HIS FINGERSand the kids DIVE CLEAR as the bolt ZAPS A THRONG OF RATS.Now, incredibly, the RATS GROWN INTO GRUNTING, SNARLING MANSIZED RAT-BEASTS.                              IVAN               From this moment forth, the world               as you know it SHALL CEASE TO               EXIST!Ivan raises his arms -- thunder CRACKLES and LIGHTNING RIPSACROSS THE SKY.                              IVAN               WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE!An EXPLOSION OF PURPLE SMOKE CONSUMES IVAN.                              ROCKY               He's  gone. The RATS ATTACK!                              ADAM               Let's take these beasts!!Tommy gets off a stellar CROSS-HOCK TAKEDOWN, Kimberly deliversa world class HEEL STOMP, Billy executes a lethal REVERSEHANDSWORD.  Despite their valiant efforts, the Rangers arbeing overwhelmed by the fierce combatants.19   INT.  COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT                               SMOKE POURS from various circuit boards, numerous controlpanels VIBRATE.                              ZORDON               Alpha, my sensors tell me the               Rangers were too late!  Ivan is               on his way here!                                             ALPHA 5               Hey, NOBODY enters the Command               Center without a power coin!There's a BLEET, BLEET -- emergency lights start FLASHING nearthe entrance.  Alpha watches, forlorn, as OOZE SEEPS throughthe hairline cracks in the door.                              ALPHA 5               Well...  ALMOST nobody.The ooze SLITHERS AND GURGLES ACROSS THE FLOOR, once againIVAN RISES UP.  He takes in the state-of-the-art surroundings.                              IVAN               Gee... pretty fancy-shmancy.  I               guess if you invest your money               well over SIXTY centuries you can               buy something pretty nice.Alpha drops into a Karate stance, makes some BRUCE LEE NOISESthen LUNGES.                              ALPHA 5               HI ,  YAH !             Ivan holds his arm out, ZAPS Alpha with an electrical chargeAlpha starts spinning.                              ALPHA  5               Welcome to Wiener World.  May I               take your order, please?                                   ZORDON               You haven't changed, Ooze.               You're still picking on creatures               smaller than yourself.Ivan slowly circles Zordan's column of light, Zordon turnswith him.                              IVAN               Put a cork in it "Z" .  Ten               minutes out of the egg and I'm               already listening to one of your               lectures.                                          (he explodes furiously)                                     You robbed me of my PRIME!  I was               the Supreme Ruler of the most               foul Empire in the Universe.  I               was the King of Calamity.  The               Duke of Destruction.  The big man               on campus!                              (beat)               And then you came along.  You               locked me into your stuffy little               hyperlock-chamber and tossed me               into the depths like yesterdays               TRASH!                              ZORDON               It worked for six thousand years.                              IVAN               Don't remind me!                              IVAN               Do you have any idea what it's               like to be cooped up in a rotten               egg for six thousand years?  It's               BORING!  Not to mention I've had               a Charlie horse since the               Renaissance!  But now the tables               are turned.  Now...     IVAN raises his hands - he  is holding  a flute and he PLAYS A FEWNOTES                              IVAN                   ... it's time to pay the PIPER!He uses the flute like a lightning rod --  A BOLT OF LIGHTNINGBLASTS A PANEL TO SMITHEREENS.                              IVAN               Oh, the things that I have               missed.  The BLACK PLAGUE!He blows up another PANEL.                              IVAN               The SPANISH INQUISITION!                         (another bolt)                            The  70's!HE BLOWS UP ANOTHER PANEL.  Ivan CASTS ANOTHER LIGHTNING BOLT,DEMOLISHING AN ENERGY PILLAR.                              IVAN               And now, finally, I have the               strength to DESTROY your pathetic               powers FOREVER!!                              ZORDON               YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!                              IVAN               I've got a NEWS flash for you               LIGHT-BRIGHT -- I ALREADY HAVE!Now Ivan begins to THROW LIGHTNING EVERYWHERE, LAYINGTHE  COMMAND CENTER TO WASTE.Ivan laughs in the b.g.  as Alpha continues to spin,moving  his arms in and out.                              ALPHA 5               You put your left probe in, you               put your left probe out, you put               your left probe in and you shake               it all about.  You do the hokey-               pokey and you turn yourself               around...20   EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT                         Two rats charge Aisha and she LEAPS UPWARD - the pair SMASHinto each other.Rocky picks up a two-by-four and starts SPARRING with anotherrat.Billy SHOVES A HUGE WOODEN-SPOOL down a slope and itROLLS INTO A COUPLE OF RATS, BOWLING THEM OVER.One rat CRACKS IT'S TAIL like a whip, KNOCKING Adam tothe ground.Another rat gets Kimberly in a bear hug and she makes aface.                              KIMBERLY               RAT breath!!She grabs a handful of his whiskers.                              KIMBERLY               Somebody needs a shave.She YANKS THEM OUT, the rat SQUEALS and releases her.  Thefight well, but the rats start to get the upperhand.                              TOMMY               IT'S MORPHIN TIME!The Rangers click their power coins into their power morphers.                              KIMBERLY               PTERODACTYL!                              BILLY               TRICERATOPS!                              ROCKY               TYRANNOSAURUS!                              ADAM               MASTODON!                              AISHA               SABER TOOTH TIGER!                              TOMMY               WHITE TIGER!                              RANGERS               MORPHENOMENAL!They JUMP INTO THE AIR and they're ENGULFED IN A DAZZLINGGOLDEN LIGHT as we do a 3D MOVIE VERSION OF THEIRTRANSFORMATION INTO COSTUME.They all LAND and there's a WHIRRING SOUND as all six of theface pieces POLARIZE so we can see their faces.  The ratsimmediately scurry off.                                             TOMMY               Let's teach these vermin a few               manners.                              AISHA                 Activating Power Beam!A YELLOW BEAM SLICES THROUGH THE DARKNESS.  Aisha leads thegroup through the site.                              KIMBERLY               Everybody stay alert.(CONTINUED) - NEXT FILE PAGES 21 ONWARDS20   CONTINUED:  (2)                                           20They pass a bulldozer, some scaffolding                              ADAM               Hold it...They come to a stop.                              ADAM (pointing)               I heard something over there.                              BILLY               Activating Audio Enhancer!AN AUTO-PHONIC RECEIVER POPS OUT of the side of Billy'shelmet.  As he turns his head, the receivers ROTATE.SOUND EFFECT:  We hear silence and then... a RASPYBREATHING, followed by a GUTTURAL SNARL.                              BILLY               They're on the other side of that               wall.The Rangers advance along a cement wall, slowly round acorner.  Aisha's light PANS THROUGH THE GLOOM.                              TOMMY               Anybody see them?                              ROCKY               Activating Power Scope!A SCOPE SNAPS into place over Rocky's left eye.P.O.V.  - THROUGH POWER TRACKERWe see HEAT SENSOR OUTLINES, PULSATING WITH COLOR.  COMMANDGRAPHIC:  SEARCH MODE.Lines VECTOR and SCAN as Rocky searches the area.  Eventuallyhe looks up and the lines LOCK ON TO THE PULSATING FORMS  OFTHE RATS.                              ROCKY               THEY'RE ABOVE US!!The creatures LEAP DOWN and we see the Rangers pull off  KICKS, SUCKER PUNCHES, SPINBACK-ROUNDHOUSES, you name it.One of the beasts TACKLES Tommy and the pair go TUMBLING OWN A TWENTY FOOT ROCK PILE.  Aisha picks up a handful of dirt                              AISHA               Hey, handsome!A beast turns -- Aisha FLINGS dirt in his eyes.                              AISHA               My mistake.She follows through with an OVER SHOULDER THROW --the beast CRASHES INTO A JOHNNY-ON-THE-SPOT.Rocky fights another beast and the creature SWINGSUP THROUGH SCAFFOLDING with phenomenal dexterity.  Rocky goesafter him.                              TOMMY               SABA SABER?The talking Saber appears in Tommy's hand.                              SABA (yawning)               What a DREAM I was having!                              TOMMY               We've got company.Saba sees the rats.                              SABA               Rats!  I hate rats!We hear a PRIMITIVE CRY as a beast SLAMS INTO ADAM,SENDS HIM CATAPULTING.  Adam rises, speaks in a low growl.                              ADAM               Bad move, Willard!              He holds his hand in the air.                              ADAM               STEGA-STINGER!The STEGA-STINGER appears in Adam`s hand.  He aimsit toward an overhang, FIRES.  A thin wire SHOOTS OUT -- theStinger at the end PIERCES the overhang.                              ADAM               Coming through!Adam leaps off a platform, SWINGS THROUGH THE AIR like Tarzan,SLAMS into the rat and sends him CATAPULTING.                              ADAM               Target Neutralized?                              KIMBERLY               Raptor-Ribbon!A contraption APPEARS in Kimberly's hand and she throws her armout -- a LONG RIBBON SWIRLS out and tangles itself around therat.                              KIMBERLY               Now you see `em.She yanks the ribbon pulling the rat into an opening -- heDISAPPEARS.                              KIMBERLY               Now you don't.Billy takes a hit, ROLLS across the ground.  He stops inchesaway from a twenty foot drop-off.The beast CHARGES HIM, he ducks and the beast GOES FLYINGTHROUGH THE AIR AND SPLASHES DOWN IN ONE OF THE MUDDY POOLSOF WATER.                              BILLY               Not the brightest of beasts.Rocky is now up in the scaffolding.  He DROPS TEN FEET throughthe air, LANDS ON ONE END OF A BOARD.There's a beast at the other end and he goes FLIPPING THROUGHTHE AIR.Tommy throws Saba Saber and the knife SWOOPS THROUGH THE AIRand zings around the beasts as they try to knock him down.                              SABA               Na na na na na!The rats chase after Saba as he heads into a water-slickedarea.  There's a large power cable running across it.  Once all the rats are in the water, Saba kamikaze dives into thecable, SLICING IT OPEN WITH AN ERUPTION OF SPARKS.  The waterSIZZLES WITH ELECTRICITY and the rats GO UP IN A PUFF OF SMOKE.                              SABA               Fried mice, anyone?We see the six original small rats scurry away, SQUEAKING.Suddenly, there's an EXPLOSION OF ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY and theRangers watch, stunned, as their COSTUMES DE-MATERIALIZE andthey appear back in civilian clothes.                                   KIMBERLY               What's going on?!Billy tries his wrist communicator.                              BILLY               Alpha, come in!There's no response.                              TOMMY               We'd better get back.They all hit their communicators and nothing happens.                              AISHA (worried)               Something's wrong!                              TOMMY               Come on, guys...They hurry off.21   EXT.  COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT                         21The Rangers climb a mountain path, all of them looking alarmed.Up ahead, there's a PILLAR OF BLACK SMOKE rising from theCommand Center.22   INT.  COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT                          22The place is trashed -- there's SMOKING debris, ravaged  panels,exposed wires and mechanisms.  The kids move through thewreckage in numb silence.                              TOMMY (barely audible)               ... what happened here?...Adam spots Alpha's arm protruding from a mound of rubble.                              ADAM               Guys!The kids quickly uncover the battered robot.                              BILLY               Alpha, are you okay?!                              ALPHA 5               I'll GET you my pretty, and your               little DOG toa!!                              BILLY               He must've blown an anitromic               demodulator!                              KIMBERLY (stunned)               Oh, no...Everybody follows Kimberly's gaze, thunderstruck expressionscoming over them.Laying on a destroyed bed of crystals is Zordon.  He is still aSHIMMERING SPECTRAL being, only now he s aged a good fiftyyears.The kids stand over him, forlorn.                              AISHA               ... What's happening to him?'                                            BILLY               Outside of his time warp he's               aging at a vastly acellerated               rate!                              KIMBERLY               We have to help him!Zordon opens his eyes.                              ZORDON               ...  Rangers... thank goodness               you're safe.The kids drop down beside him.                                             TOMMY               We have to get you back inside               your time warp.                               ZORDON               I'm afraid that's impossible...               The power has been destroyed.               It's gone... The Zords, the               weapons...  all of it.                              (beat)               The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers               are no more.The kids are stunned.  Kimberly gently takes Zordon's hand.                              KIMBERLY               Zordon... you can't leave us.               Ever since you came into our               lives... you've been like another               father `to  us  all.-                              ZORDON               ... You must be strong... Ivan               almost overthrew the planet               once...  and now I'm afraid he               has the strength to see his               scheme through.Zordon closes his eyes.  Tommy puts a hand on Kimberly'sshoulder.  The kids slowly rise, all of them looking utterlydespondent.  Billy turns to Alpha.                              BILLY               what're we going to do?                              ALPHA 5               I do not LIKE Green Eggs and Ham!               I do not like them, Sam-I-am!Billy opens a panel on Alpha's back, makes an adjustment.Alpha's head rolls back like he's going to sneeze.                              ALPHA 5               Ah-Ah-Ahhhh-CHOO!!SPARKS BURST from where his nose should be.  He SNIFFS.                              ALPHA 5               Thanks, Billy.Rocky hands Alpha a hanky, Alpha wipes his nose area.                              ADAM               There has to be something we can               do.                              TOMMY               Come on, guys, think!Aisha turns to Alpha.                              AISHA               Alpha.  Is there any way we can               defeat this  monster?  Any way at               all?                             ALPHA 5               ... Perhaps there is a way... I               have heard tales of another               power.                             ADAM               What?!                             ALPHA 5               ... They say that somewhere               beyond the Hyperion Constellation               there exists a mythological power               that is beyond all comprehension.                             TOMMY               How can we get to it?                             ALPHA 5                   As the legend goes, the power is               impossible to obtain.                             ROCKY               We have to try, Alpha.  It's our               only hope.Alpha shakes his head.                             ALPHA 5               It's far too dangerous.  Zordon               would never allow it.                             AISHA               If we don't try, Zordon won't               survive!                             ADAM               If Ivan  Ooze  isn't  stopped,               nobody will survive.Alpha heaves a sigh.                             ALPHA 5               Ay, yi, yi, yi.                              (beat)               The legend speaks of a Master               Warrior who lives on the planet               Phaedos... This is the only               person who knows the secrets of               the power.                              AISHA               How can we reach Phaedos?Alpha heaves a SIGH.                              ALPHA 5               Zordon's going to have my               orbicular spheroids when he hears               out about this!The kids exchange curious looks as Alpha opens a compartmentand removes a vile filled with RADIOLUMINESCENT ENERGY.                              ALPHA 5               This is an emergency reserve of               morphonic emissions.  It should               be enough to get -you there.He approaches a damaged panel, loads in the vile.                              ALPHA 5               There is one problem.  I only               have enough reserve to send you               Phaedos...  I can't bring you               back.                              ADAM               So how do we get back?Alpha gives them a grim look.                              ALPHA 5               ... You'll have to pray that the               legends are true.Alpha keys in coordinates.                              ALPHA 5               You're sure you want to do this?!               The Rangers share purposeful looks.                              TOMMY               It's our only hope.Alpha shakes his head, punches in the final codes.                              ALPHA               Safe journey, Rangers!He pulls a lever.                              ALPHA  5               BE CAREFUL!!  The kids TRANSFORM INTO SIX STREAKS OF COLOR AND BLAST 0FFTHROUGH THE CEILING.  Alpha shakes his head in despair.                              ALPHA 5               Ay, yi, yi, yi.  They're DOOMED!!23 thru 27        OMITTED28    EXT.  EARTH - NIGHT                                  28We see the SIX COLORED STREAKS BLAST away from earth and SHOOTPAST the moon.The CAMERA MOVES IN on Zedd's ominous palace which rises up outof the tortured landscape.  Zedd, Rita, Mordant and Goldar arestanding on the balcony.29   INT.  ZEDD'S PALACE - NIGHT                           29Zedd, Rita and their minions are inside Zedd's dark palaceGoldar looks through Rita's telescope as Rita rants.                              RITA (outraged)               How could he let them slip               through his hands?!  He's no               better than the rest of the hired               help around here!Goldar looks up from the telescope.                              GOLDAR               According to the TX Tracker,               they're headed for Phaedos.                              ZEDD               I'm gonna fire that slimeball so               fast his not gonna know what hit               him!Ivan sweeps regally into the room.                              IVAN               Hi, honey, I'm home !                              RITA               You garlic-sucking DINGLEBRAIN!               The Rangers are going after the               Great Power                              (to  Zedd)               I thought you said this guy was               the Master of Disaster?                              (to  Ivan)               He's nothing but a slime-               infested, jelly-bellied blob of --Ivan SNAPS his hand -- a WAD OF OOZE FLIES OUT, SPLATS RITAacross the mouth, muffling her.                              RITA               Rrgh mmffpprr brghuh!!                              ZEDD               How dare you?!  Nobody shuts up               Rita but me!                              IVAN               Sorry, slick, there's been a               slight'change of plans.                              (arms out in trademark stance)               The "booger man" is taking over.Ivan drops regally into Zedd's chair.                              ZEDD               Nobody double-crosses Lord Zedd               and lives!Mordant slips behind Goldar, using him as a shield.                              MORDANT               Zedd's gonna kick this snotball               into next week!Zedd SHOOTS A BLAST from his staff -- Ivan is COVERED IN SPARKS.                              IVAN               Ooooh, that tickles!Ivan raises his hands and the sparks DISAPPEAR.                              IVAN               My turn.He ZAPS Rita and Zedd, and with a BRILLIANT FLASH, THEY'RE GONE.Mordant moves to a snow-globe on the table, his mouth falling    open.  Zedd and Rita are INSIDE IT!!Rita wipes the ooze off her mouth, RANTS IN A MUNCHKIN VOICE.                              RITA               This is all your fault!  If you'd               taken me out tonight like you               were suposed to, none of this               would've happened.Ivan turns menacingly to Goldar and Mordant.                              IVAN               Now you have a choice, either               serve me, or join those               insufferable cheesedongs.Mordant and Goldar exchange a look, then turn back to Ivan.                              GOLDAR               We never liked the cheesedongs in               the first place.                              MORDANT               Couldn''t stand them -- low-class               all the way.  And did you catch               a whiff of their BREATH?!  It's               like having a conversation with               a couple of ONIONS!  Not to               mention...Goldar throws a hand over Mordant's mouth, MUFFLING him.                              GOLDAR (apologetic)               He's just visiting for the               summer.                              (beat)               Now what about,the Rangers, oh               hideous one?                              IVAN               Ah yes, the RANGERS!!!He makes a HOARKING SOUND then SPITS OOZE ONTO THE FLOOR,                              MORDANT               Gasunteidt.Now the OOZE GROWS INTO TEN TENGU WARRIORS -- BIRD-LIKE     CREATURES WITH LONG BEAKS AND ENORMOUS WINGS.THEY GOBBLE, SQUAWK AND CHIRP like newborn chickens, theCACOPHONY GROWING LOUDER AND LOUDER until...                              IVAN               SHUT YOUR BEAKS !!The Tengu fall dead silent.                              IVAN               Tengu Warriors, you will fly to               Phaedos, find the Power               Rangers...  and TEAR THEM APART!The creatures make HORRENDOUS SQUAWKING SOUNDS AS THEY SPREADTHEIR REPTILIAN WINGS.                              IVAN               Mordant, go with them and report               back to me!                              MORDANT               You know boss, I'd really like to               help out but I've got this               gastronomic condition which rules               out all space trave--One of the Tengu grabs hold of Mordant and the FLOCK WINGS OFFLIKE COLOSSAL BATS.                              MORDANT               IIIIIII!!!      ANGLE ON - SNOW GLOBEZedd waves his arms around in outrage.                              ZEDD               Isn't this just TYPICAL!  We               finally do somebody a good turn               and just look what happens!                              RITA               From now on it's E-V-I-L, NO               exceptions!                              RITA (optional line)               It just goes to show, ya never go               into business with a booger.29A   EXT.  OUTER SPACE - NIGHT                        29AThe Tengu warriors sweep toward us -- we see Mordant danglingfrom one of the Tengu's talons.                              MORDANT               Watch the HAIRRRRRRRR!!He SWINGS PAST CAMERA and out of sight.30  thru  32A  OMITTED                                           32B   EXT.  SPACE                                       32BThe COLORED STREAKS OF LIGHT SHOOT THROUGH THE COSMOS,heading down toward the planet, PHAEDOS.  It's emeraldgreen with two radiant golden circles around it.32C   EXT. JUNGLE CLEARING / PHAEDOS - DAY              32CThe STREAKS OF COLOR hit the jungle floor and only FIVE  RANGERSMATERIALIZE.                              TOMMY               Everybody okay?                              KIMBERLY               Where' s  BILLY? !The kids search the sky in a panic.32D   OMITTED32E   INT.  COMMAND CENTER - DAYAlpha works frantically hitting buttons and levers.                              ALPHA 5               Ay, yi, yi, yi!  The filamentary               transistors have malfunctioned!SPARKS erupt from the panel, SINGING ALPHA.  He snarls.                              ALPHA  5               Why you low-frequency, battery               operated --Alpha winds up and DELIVERS A MIGHTY KICK to the panel.suddenly comes to life with BLEEPS and BLIPS.32F   EXT.  JUNGLE CLEARING / PHAEDOS - DAY  (OLD SC.  32C)The Rangers continue scouring the sky as BILLY COMES FLYING.                              BILLY               WHOAAAAAAHHHH!!!He SPLASHES DOWN in a puddle.                              AISHA               BILLY!!The others quickly gather around him.                              KIMBERLY               You okay?                              BILLY               I think so.Billy looks down at the puddle.                              BILLY               This puddle thing is really               getting on my nerves.They help Billy up then take in the exotic jungle environment.They hear all sorts of EXOTIC ANIMAL SOUNDS.                              AISHA               Welcome to beautiful downtown               Phaedos.                              ROCKY               ... Incredible...Tommy gives them all an invigorating look.                              TOMMY               Let's see if we can find this               Master warrior.He leads the team down a narrow path.32G   EXT.  CHEMICAL PLANT - DAY (OLD SC 32D)                32GEstablishing.33   INT.  CHEMICAL PLANT - DAY                              33Ivan is walking through a giant chemical plant with Goldar                              IVAN               Taking over the world is one               thing.  It's finding good help to               run it for you that's the killer.                              GOLDAR               You want me to place a few calls?Ivan shakes his head.                              IVAN               No need.   I'm going to use the               young minds of Angel Grove.GOLDAR digs for buried treasure deep in his nose.                              GOLDAR               No offense, boss, but they might               find you a little disgusting.                              IVAN               Yes, well, I suppose you'd know               a little something about that.                              (beat)               Not to worry.  I'll ever so               gently lure them in and mold them               into an army of devils!  And what               better way to entice them ...               than with a little Ivan's Ooze?!Ivan approaches an enormous vat, turns a tap -- it BURPS andGLOPS as PURPLE OOZE pours out.                              GOLDAR               But boss, what about their               parents?                              IVAN               Ah, the old and doddering.  I'm               going to SCOURGE their puny               minds, reducing them to ZOMBIE'S.               And then I'll put them to work               rebuilding my empire.Bulk and Skull enter waving a "help wanted" flier.  Boththem are wearing their garish blazers and dark sunglasses.                              SKULL               I understand you're looking for               a few new assistants.Bulk does a G.Q. stance.                              BULK               Well put your mind to rest `cause               now you've got the best.Ivan doesn't look too pleased.                              IVAN               What is this?!  I advertised for               brilliant and good looking               assistants!Skull extends his hand.                              SKULL               Hi, I'm brilliant.                              BULK (hand extended)               And I'm good looking.Ivan steps forward.                              IVAN               And I'm Little-Bo-Peep.Bulk and Skull lower the sunglasses and take a good lookIvan.  Both of them swallow hard.                              SKULL               Bulk... why don't we give Mr.               Peep here a chance to think it               over?                              BULK                  A stellar idea, Skull.They start to back away.                              IVAN               Not so fast, greaseballs.Goldar blocks their way.                              IVAN               You'll have to do.34   thru   38   OMITTED                                          39   EXT.  PHAEDOS JUNGLE - DAY                          39   The Rangers move through foreboding jungle terrain, their earsalert to all the UNEARTHLY SOUNDS around them.  Tommy watchesKimberly, who seems to be lost in thought.                              TOMMY               Hey.Kimberly glances up.                              TOMMY               You okay?Kimberly takes a moment to answer.                               KIMBERLY               I was just thinking about               Zordon...  everything we've been               through together.                              AISHA               You know, meeting Zordon...               teaming up with you guys, it's               the best thing that's ever               happened to me.                              ROCKY               It's the best thing that's ever               happened to all of us.                              ADAM               ... He's gonna make it, guys.The others nod in agreement.                              TOMMY               We'll get this warrior...  save               Zordon...  and send that               SLIMEBALL Ivan Ooze back to the               SEWER he crawled out of.Tommy's words sink in.  He stops suddenly, sensing something.ANGLE ON - MORDANT hiding behind a tree, watching the Ranger'spass.There's a HORRIFIC SCREECH -- the kids look up as the TENGUWARRIORS COME SWEEPING OUT OF THE SKY                              ROCKY               TAKE COVER!It's too late.  The Tengu attack with unbelievable ferocityThey SLASH with their claws, STAB with their beaks and BATTERwith their wings.                              KIMBERLY               THEY'RE T00 STRONG??                              ADAM               WE NEED OUR POWERS!!Rocky is hurtled into some bushes, Aisha is knocked against atree, Adam splashes down in a small creek.  Mordant watchesof this from the sidelines.  He gets so excited that he startsthrowing punches and kicks.                              MORDANT               WHAM!  KAPOW!  BOOM!He accidently punches a tree.                              MORDANT               #0!@!#!One of the Tengu gets Kimberly in a choke-hold,                              TOMMY               HANG ON, KIMBERLY.Tommy rushes to help her and another Tengu trips him -- heTUMBLES HEAD OVER HEELS DOWN A SLOPE.  We hear an OTHERWORDLYCRY as a small, hunched figure wearing a tattered robe SWINGSIN ON A VINE.He proceeds to pull off what is nothing short of a miracle.       He uses the STICKS for weapons as he executes a ROUNDHOUSEKICK, a SCISSOR-KICK TAKEDOWN, a SITTING SIDE KICK, aROUNDHOUSE DROP SPIN BACK KICK, a PARALLEL BLOCK FROM THEOUTSIDE, a REVERSE HANDSWORD and so on.The creature punctuates the hits with an exotic variation ofBRUCE LEE NOISES.                              MORDANT               What's the matter with you               woodpeckers!  Take this guy out!The Tengu SQUAWK and SQUEAL as the little dynamo WAILS ON THEM.                              MORDANT               The Tengu Warriors my butt!  The               Tengu TURKEYS is more like it!Finally the Tengu retreat, WINGING UP THROUGH THE TREES.                              MORDANT               Hey, aren't you bird-brains               forgetting something?!One of the Tengu SWOOPS IN AND SNATCHES Mordant up.                              MORDANT               Watch the meathooks!!The Rangers recover and exchange expressions of utter disbelief                                         KIMBERLY               Wow!  That was amazing for such               a little dude!The figure speaks in a HOARSE WHISPER.                              FIGURE               You're trespassing.                              (beat)               Now state your business.                              TOMMY               We're looking for the Master               Warrior.  Do you know where we               can find him?                              FIGURE               The Master Warrior doesn't               entertain visitors  -                              KIMBERLY               But we have to find him.  Our               leader Zordon is dying.                              FIGURE               Zordon?Now the most amazing thing happens.  The figure RISES TO FULLHEIGHT OF SIX FEET, while simultaneously shedding it's robe.Underneath is a SCANTILY CLAD, STUNNING AMAZONIAN WOMAN.  We'retalking B-U-I-L-T.  Meet the Master warrior, DULCEA.The Rangers stand there with stunned expressions.  Dulcea looksto Tommy.                              DULCEA               How did this happen?!Tommy just gapes.  Kimberly gives him a cold glance and THUNKShim one with her elbow.                              KIMBERLY               The lady asked you a question.                              TOMMY               Huh ... Oh, uh, we re, ah...Kimberly intervenes.                              KIMBERLY               He was attacked by this horrific               being -- Ivan Ooze.                              DULCEA               Ivan Ooze is free?!  We are all               in mortal danger!She moves off - the Rangers just stand there staring at eachother.                              DULCEA               Let' s go.The Rangers quickly follow her through the brush Aisha turnsto Kimberly, speaks under her breath.                              AISHA               Kind of bossy, isn't she?39A.. EXT.  ANGEL GROVE PARK - DAY      (OLD SC 38)         39ACLOSE UP - OOZE CONTAINERThere's a label with a picture of Ivan -- he's wearing make-upto make him a little more presentable.DOZENS OF KIDS Ranging in age from eight to seventeen, are swarmingBulk and Skull, who have set up a booth with a large bannerthat reads:      "FREE OOZE!"Some kids STRETCH the ooze, others MOLD it, others THROW it ateach other.  It's an ooze free-for-all.                              IVAN               Boys and girls, girls and boys,               gather round and feast your eyes.               This ain't sludge and this ain't               guck... this is the one and only               Ivan's Ooze!  Yesireebob.  It's               ooey, gooey and even kind of               chewy.  But best of all it's               FREE!Bulk and Skull run a booth.   A banner screams "OOZE RULES".      Kids crowd around.                              BULK               Here you go!  No pushing!                              SKULL               There's enough for everybody!Fred approaches.                              FRED               So where'd this guy come from?Bulk and Skull exchange apprehensive looks.                              SKULL               Uh... that's classified, top               secret, confidential, undercover               information.                              BULK               If we told you -- we'd have to               kill you.Fred looks at the container in his hand but he doesn't open it.Skull sees a kid HURL some ooze at him.                              SKULL               INCOMING!Skull ducks and Bulk gets SPLATTERED in the face.  Bulk glares atSkull, wipes some goop off, FLICKS it at Skull.                              WIZARD               Come on, come all -- it's an COZE               FREE FOR ALL!He smiles, revealing a glistening silver tooth.40   thru   42   OMITTED42A   EXT.  DULCEA'S MOUNTAINSIDE COMPLEX - DAY            42AAn oriental garden set against a stunning hillside vista.43    EXT.  DULCEA'S CAMP / PHAEDOS - DAY                  43The kids are seated on rocks by a lakeside, all of themdrinking from clay mugs.  Dulcea finishes handing out bowls.Aisha stares into hers with a grim expression.                              AISHA               Is this... food!                              DULCEA               They're called squirbs.Kimberly lifts out an EEL-LIKE CREATURE, and watches it SQUIRMbetween her fingers.                              KIMBERLY               Mine seems to be a little               undercooked.Dulcea sprinkles hers with brown flakes.                              DULCEA               Add a few dried weevils and               you'll never know the difference.The other Rangers watch as Billy holds one of the squirbs overhis mouth and drops it in.  He chews a few times, lets out  aBURP.                              BILLY               ... Not bad.                                            TOMMY               Listen, we appreciate your               hospitality, but we really don't               have much time.Dulcea looks to Tommy.                              DULCEA               What do you know of the Great               Power?                              KIMBERLY               Only that we need it to defeat               Ivan Ooze.Dulcea's eyes move from Ranger to Ranger.                              DULCEA               It is said that to those who               possess the Power... all things               are possible.                              BILLY               Where did it originate?                              DULCEA               In another time, another               dimension.  It was brought here               long ago by the "Nathadians", a               people who are now all but               extinct.               They built an impenetrable stone               Monolith to store the power and               keep it from their enemies.                              (ominous)               For thousands of years, beings               from all over the Universe have               tried to obtain it... ALL have               perished.Dulcea's words hang heavily in the air.                              AISHA               So how can we get to it?                              DULCEA               The only way to obtain the power               is to achieve the highest state               of being...                              TOMMY               And how do we do that?                              DULCEA               By learning the ancient art of               Ninjetti.  It is the Genesis of               what you on earth have come to               know as the Ninja.                              (beat)               It is the perfect union of mind,               body and spirit.                              ROCKY               Look, Zordon doesn't have much               longer to live.  And for all we               know, Angel Grove could already               be under attack.  We don't have               TIME for this.As Rocky is talking, a flubbery looking SNOUT works it's wayover Kimberly's shoulder.  She hasn't noticed it yet.                              DULCEA               You don't understand.  If you do                not have the Ninjetti, the power               will destroy  you.                              (beat)               To reach the Monolith we must               traverse the Neola jungle.  We               will train today, and set out on               foot tomorrow.The snout works it's way underneath Kimberly's chin -- sheSCREAMS FOR ALL SHE'S WORTH.INCLUDE - A TERRIFIED SNOGGLE. This is Dulcea's ant-eater like assistant.   He jumps up anddown, YAMMERING and GESTICULATING.                              SNOGGLE               HNUGLHLU PHUNGLUMP BUGHLSMRPH               GBUJIPHN HUPHLGMPNORU!!!                              DULCEA               Snoggle, you watch your language!Snoggle now re-fills Aisha's tea-cup.                              SNOGGLE               Slnughyu buglhugrmrph?                              AISHA               Excuse me?                              SNOGGLE               Slnughyu buglhugrmrph?                              DULCEA               He wants to know if you'd like a               cube of sugar in your tea.                              AISHA               Ah... sure.We hear a PHOOT as Snoggle BLOWS A CUBE OF SUGAR OUT HIS SNOUTAND IT SPLASHES INTO AISHA'S TEA.  Aisha stares at the cube amoment.                              AISHA               Ah... thanks.The other Rangers watch as Billy holds one of the squibs abovehis mouth and drops it in.  He chews a few times, lets out aBURP.                              BILLY               ... Not bad.43A   EXT.  ANGEL GROVE LANE - DAY   (OLD SC 40)                43ANight has fallen on Angel Grove.  We PAN ACROSS a quiet, middle-class neighborhood, settle on a two story house.43B   INT.  LIVING ROOM / KELMAN-RESIDENCE - DAY   (OLD SC 41)  43BCLOSE ON - OOZE CONTAINERWe PULL BACK to reveal it's sitting on a table.Mr Kelman enters, looks it over curiously.  He picks it up,opens it and sticks his finger inside.Suddenly a CRACKLING ELECTRICAL CURRENT RUNS OVER HIS ENTIREBODY.  His face goes blank and his eyes momentarily GLOWS     PURPLE.  Now he strides purposefully out the door.43C   thru   47   OMITTED                                         48   EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY                   48Dulcea and the Rangers are gathered around a bird-bath standwith FLAMES leaping out of it.                              DULCEA               In the language of the               Nathadians, "Nin" stands for               "man", "jetti" stands for               "animal".  Ninjetti  - man and               animal, together as one.                              (beat)               Now, put your hands inside the               flame.                              AISHA               Yeah, right.                              DULCEA               It will not harm you.The kids hesitate a moment, then reluctantly put their handsinside the flame.  Aisha makes a horrific expression...                              AISHA               Just kidding.They remove their hands -- they're filled with sand.                              AISHA               Wow.  Sand.                              DULCEA               Now tell me... what do you see?Aisha studies the sand for a moment -- it MAGICALLY TAKE ONTHE SHAPE OF A BEAR.                              AISHA (bedazzled)               I see... a bear                              DULCEA               Aisha, you are the Bear, stalwart               and bold.                              AISHA               Stylin'!Dulcea turns to Rocky.  His sand MAGICALLY TAKES ON THE SHAPEOF AN APE.                              ROCKY               I see... an Ape.                              DULCEA               Rocky, you are the Mighty Ape.We see each of them DISCOVER THEIR ANIMAL.                              BILLY               I see... a fox                              DULCEA               Close.  Billy, you are the Wolf,               cunning and swift.And now Kimberly.  She studies hers for a moment.  It lookslike a bird.                              KIMBERLY               I think its some kind of bird.                              DULCEA               Kimberly, you are the Crane,               agile and sublime.Now Adam.                              ADAM               That's gotta be a frog.                              DULCEA               Adam, you are the Frog, quick as               lightning.And finally, Tommy.                              TOMMY               It's... an eagle?                              DULCEA               Look closer.                               TOMMY               ... A falcon?                              DULCEA               Tommy, you are the Falcon, Winged               Lord of the Sky.  Kimberly regards Dulcea with true admiration.                              KIMBERLY               How do you know so much about the               Ninjetti?Dulcea stands tall and proud.                              DULCEA               I... am the sole living               descendant of the "Nathadians".                              (beat)               Now prepare yourselves for the               most intense physical and mental               training known to man and animal.48A   INT.  KELMAN HOUSE / LIVING ROOM  -  DAY   (OLD SC 44)    48AFred enters the living room and searches for his Dad.                              FRED               Dad... ??!He heaves a frustrated sigh.48B   INT.  KELMAN HOUSE / MASTER BEDROOM  -  DAY   (OLD SC 45) 48BFred enters the empty master bedroom, a look of concern comingover him.                              FRED               DAD?!48C   EXT.  KELMAN HOUSE  -  DAY    (OLD SC 46)                 48CFred comes outside as several KIDS approach, all of themlooking forlorn.                              KID #1               You seen my parents?                              FRED               I can't find my dad either.                              KID #2               What's going on?!Suddenly a WILD KID wearing grunge clothes runs by HOWLING LIKEA BANSHEE.  He's holding a container of ooze in one hand and abaseball bat in the other.  He SMASHES a couple of trash  canswith his bat.                              WILD KID               Ooze, ooze, ooze rules!!The kid BASHES IN a mailbox then runs off.  Fred looksstartled.                              FRED               That guy was the student body               President49   thru   50   OMITTED51   EXT.  DULGEA'S GARDEN - DAY                            51Kimberly and Snoggle observe as Dulcea walks ON HER HANDSacross a narrow bamboo log that spans a pond.  A waterfallchurns in the b.g.                              DULCEA               The crane maintains it's agility               through the perfect harmony of               mind, body and spirit.She leaps into the air, does a ROUND-HOUSE KICK, landsperfectly on the narrow span.                              KIMBERLY               Awesome!Dulcea reaches the end of the log, flips through the air lands    flawlessly on the ground.Kimberly heaves a sigh, climbs onto the bamboo and startwalking across, balancing precariously on her hands.She gets about a quarter of the way, loses her balance, andfalls into the shallow pond.Snoggle laughs, making a loud HONKING SOUND.  Kimberlyrecovers, shoots him a look.                              KIMBERLY               Let's see you do it .                              SNOGGLE (indignant)               Ghun Phnug Gnouphl.He marches to the pole, Dulcea holds him back.                              DULCEA               Snoggle, we don't have time for               you to show off52   thru   53   OMITTED53A   EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY                  53ADulcea and Rocky are standing at the bottom of a twenty foot polewith an exotic oriental carving                              DULCEA               The ape is strong, but more               importantly it is flexible and               free.Dulcea now SCRAMBLES UP THE POLE WITH THE NIMBLENESS OF ASPIDER.  In less than ten seconds she reaches the top.  Rockyshakes his head in disbelief.                              ROCKY               Who is this lady?Now she SLIDES DOWN like a firewoman, drops beside Rocky.  Hetakes hold of the pole, focuses for a moment.                              ROCKY               Here goes!It starts SCURRYING UPWARD.  He gets about fifteen feet in theair, loses his grip, PLUMMETS AND SLAMS TO THE GROUND.54A   EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY   (OLD SC 53)       54ADulcea and Billy circle one another, fighting with spinning      WHISTLING sticks.Dulcea is blindfolded, Billy isn't.                                                  DULCEA               The wolf relies on it's enhanced               senses to guide it...  He can               hear what we cannot hear, he can               smell what we cannot smell.Billy takes SWING after SWING -- Dulcea easily DEFLECTS everyblow.Now Dulcea takes numerous SWINGS, THWACKING Billy repeatedlyand finally KNOCKING him INTO THE WATER.54B   EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY                    54BDulcea, Adam and Snoggle stand in an area filled with FLYINGINSECTS.                              DULCEA               The frog remains still and silent               while it assesses its target...               then strikes out in the blink of               an eye.We hear a TRILLING SOUND as Dulcea watches some kind of insectdart around her.THWAP!  The TRILLING SOUND is gone.  Dulcea has literallycaught the insect in the blink of an eye.  Adam shakes his headin disbelief.He waits a moment, hears a TAT-TAT-TAT sound and watches ainsect zip around him.  He lashes out numerous times,missing the insect completely.THWUMP!  With lightning speed Snoggle VACUUMS the fly into hissnout.  CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH.Adam speaks under his breath.                              ADAM               Show off.54C   EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY   (OLD SC 52)    54CAisha watches as Dulcea goes into a bear stance.                           DULCEA               The bear is sturdy as a towering               tree.  Nothing can uproot it.Snoggle CHARGES Dulcea, SLAMS INTO HER.  She remains as rootedas a tree.  Snoggle meanwhile suffers some serious bodilydamage.                              AISHA               Girl, you've got to be kidding               me.Snoggle recovers and faces Aisha.  Aisha shrugs, goes into abear stance.  Snoggle charges, SLAMS INTO HER and sends HERFLYING!54D   thru   54E   OMITTED                                        54F   EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - DAY                  54FDulcea and Tommy are standing on a towering rock rising out ofa dark lake.                              DULCEA               The falcon never struggles with               the air, but rather becomes one               with it.Now Dulcea does the impossible.  She LEAPS OFF THE ROCK, SOARSFIFTY FEET through the air, AND LANDS on another protrudingrock.  Tommy is stunned.                              DULCEA (calling out)               JOIN WITH THE FORCES OF NATURE!Tommy psyches himself up.                              TOMMY               You can do this.  You can do               this.  You can do this...He spreads his arms out, LEAPS... and DROPS LIKE A ROCKexploding into THE BLACK WATER.54G   INT.  COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT      (OLD SC 54E)     54GAlpha fusses over Zordon, who is looking a good ten years older.                              ZORDON               ... Alpha, I am deeply concerned               about the Rangers...                              ALPHA 5               I told them it was too dangerous,               but they wouldn't listen.                              ZORDON               ... We must try to communicate               with them.Alpha looks out over the decimated Command Center.                              ALPHA 5               Perhaps if I could locate a               vertical-deflector then I could               assemble a holographic-comlink.Zordon shudders in pain, closes his eyes.  Alpha watches overhis mentor, shakes his head in anguish.                              ALPHA               Ay, yi, yi, yi, yi .55   OMITTED55A   EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - NIGHT                  55ADulcea leads the kids through a circular opening in onewall, all of them look completely wiped out.  She reaches anornate doorway, faces the Rangers.                              DULCEA               Each of you must reach deep               within and draw upon your natural               instincts...  Only then will you               know the way of the Ninjetti.                              (beat)               Rest for a few hours.  We will               continue at daybreak.She heads through the door.                              KIMBERLY               So where are we supposed to               sleep?Snoggle points to the campfire.                              SNOGGLE               Buhph nghujr.He pushes Kimberly toward it making a "Na na na na na" soundthrough his snout.  He then hurries inside and SLAMS the door.                              KIMBERLY               That guy's cruisin' for a               bruisin'.The kids approach the dying fire, all of them limping a little.                              BILLY               I can hardly walk...                              AISHA               I've never been this sore in my               life.They drop around the fire, a few of them GROANING.  They stareinto the orange coals for a long moment, all of them lookingdisillusioned.                              BILLY               Do you guys really think we can               pull this off?It takes a moment to get a response.                              ADAM               Maybe if we had more time.                              TOMMY                 ... I wonder... We've been               relying on our Morphin Powers for               so long... maybe we've forgotten               how to rely on ourselves.There's a somber silence.                              TOMMY               We should get some rest.They all settle in for the night.55B   EXT.  INNER CITY CONSTRUCTION SITE  -  NIGHT  (OLD SC 47) 55BA PURPLE HAZE OF SMOKE has settled on the construction site.Suddenly, mysteriously, SWARMS OF ZOMBIFIED PARENTS emerge fromthe vapors - We see Mr. Kelman amongst them.Ivan steps forward, followed by Goldar.                              IVAN               Ladies and gentlemen, Simon               says...  STOP!All the parents stop.                              IVAN               Simon says... stand on one foot!All the parents stand on one foot.  Ivan seems to be taking aperverse glee in all this.                              IVAN               Simon says...                              GOLDAR               Quack like a'duck!All the parents start QUACKING LIKE DUCKS.   Ivan slowly turnsto Goldar, gives him an icy stare.                              GOLDAR               It just slipped out.Ivan turns back to the QUACKING parents.                                   IVAN               SHUT UP!!The parents keep quacking.                              GOLDAR               You didn't say "Simon says".                              IVAN (irritated)               Simon says SHUT UP!!! (they shut up)               Now, as soon as I give the word                   I want all of you to start               digging.                              (beat)               Do I make myself perfectly --The zombie parents have already started going to work.  Ivanshakes his head in exasperation.                              IVAN               This is the Iast time I use               parents for anything!55C   EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - NIGHT             55CThe Rangers are fast asleep.  A night wind WHISTLES through thetrees, causing the branches to shiver.After a moment, there's movement in the bushes.  Suddenly,amazingly, a WOLF emerges -- his mane glistening in themoonlight, his eyes GLOWING LIKE FIRE.He surveys the sleeping clan, moves straight toward Billy.  Hestands inches away from him, watches him with an intense gaze.Billy stirs slightly.The embers cast an orange glow on Kimberly's sleeping face      A SHADOW moves over her and two CRANE LEGS step into frame.There's a FLURRY OF FLAPPING WINGS as a FALCON SWOOPS DOWN andlands on a rock directly above Tommy.  The bird fixes on Tommywith its piercing eyes.We hear a GRUNTING SOUND as the SILHOUETTE OF AN APE APPEARS:Now a FROG HOPS through the air and lands inches away fromAdam.  The frog sits there a moment, it's THROAT THROBBINGNow we hear a DEEP GROWL and a tree SHAKES.  Aisha fidgets inher sleep as an ENORMOUS BEAR SHADOW FALLS OVER HER.Now, all at once, the six animals VANISH INTO THIN AIR LIKESPIRITS OF THE NIGHT.55D    EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT  (PART OLD SC 55B)     55DIvan and Goldar patrol the parents who are busy digging.                              IVAN               Let's pick it up here!  I've got               a schedule to keep.  In twenty               four hours the ooze is gonna hit               the fan!Goldar suddenly point to the sky.                              GOLDAR               Hey, boss!THE TENGU DROPS INTO THE SCENE, SQUEALING                              MORDANT               What kind of landing was that?!               These clowns are a menace to the               sky                              IVAN               How did you fare?Mordant waves Ivan off.                              MORDANT               Oh, it couldn't've gone better.               The Power Rangers didn't know               what hit them .The Tengu appear, one of them SQUAWKS and makes grand gestures.                              MORDANT               That's right.  And then we threw               one of them off a mountain and               another one into a raqing river!                              IVAN               So they've been destroyed?The Tengu SQUAWKS some more.                              MORDANT               "Basically".                              IVAN               What do you mean "basically"?                              MORDANT               Well... we were about to finish               them off... when this huge               monster came out of nowhere!                              MORDANT               Okay, maybe he wasn't so huge.               But you should've seen the size               of his STICKSA pensive look comes over Ivan...                              IVAN               Did these sticks make a whistling               sound?                              MORDANT               How'd you know?                              IVAN               Dulcea!                              (beat)               That miserable, manipulating               loathsome she-devil of a WITCH!!To help make the point Mordant SPITS on the ground.                              IVAN               How could you let them get away?!               If Dulcea leads them to the Great               Power, everything will be ruined!               They must be OBLITERATED!One of the Tengu SCREECHES again.                              MORDANT               What're you talking about?!  It               wasn't my fault!  You're the               featherbrains that let them get               away!Ivan looks up to the sky.                              IVAN               I call upon the Powers of               Darkness to enrich the evil of my               creatures by tenfold!LIGHTNING RIPS from the sky and ZAPS THE TENGU, CAUSING THEM TOGLOW RADIANTLY.                              IVAN               And now the coup de grace, to               lead my tribe to victorious               battle!He shoots a BOLT OF ENERGY AND CREATES THE OUEEN TENGU!  She isa different color than the rest and her eyes GLOW RED.  Mordantshakes his head in wonder.                              MORDANT               Where does he come up with this               stuff?The Queen spreads her wings and makes the most HORRENDOUSSCREECH imaginable.                              IVAN               Queen Tengu, lead-your warriors               to Phaedos, FEAST YOURSELVES UPON               THE POWER RANGERS AND BRING ME               DULCEA!Once again, the Tengu take to the sky like GIANT BATS.55E   EXT.  LONG SHOT OF DULCEA'S COMPOUND - SUNRISE (MATTE) 55EThe morning sun bathes Dulcea's compound in a shimmering goldenlight.55F   EXT.  DULCEA'S COMPOUND - SUNRISE   (OLD SC 55D)         55FCLOSE ON KIMBERLYSnoggle's snout works it's way toward her making SNORTINGSOUNDS.Kimberly bolts awake and SLAMS his snout with her fist.  SheYELPS LIKE A CHILD as he grips the protrusion and JUMPSUP AND DOWN.                              SNOGGLE               BUGHU PHUNGL MURHPUGNU!!!All the Rangers spring awake.  As they get out from under theirblankets they're shocked to discover that they're all wearingNinjetti costumes with animal symbols on their chest.                              TOMMY               How the heck?!...                              ROCKY               What's going on?!                              KIMBERLY               I don't believe it!Dulcea approaches, a wondrous expression on her face.                              DULCEA               You have been visited by the               animal spirits... they have given               you their blessing.The Rangers continue to admire their symbols in silent wonder.55G   EXT.  DULCEA'S GARDEN / PHAEDOS - MORNING  (OLD SC 55E)   55GMONTAGEHARD DRIVING MUSIC KICKS IN.1.  We see Aisha standing on a rock, her whole body flowing in    a martial art exercise.2.  Billy and Dulcea continue to fight with whistling sticks.    Billy is starting to get the hang of it.  He hits Dulcea a few    times, then she CLOBBERS him.3.  Kimberly balances along the bamboo log again.  She does a    FLIP and lands it, however one foot slips off and she struggles    to maintain her balance.4.  Tommy stands on the protruding rock again, spreads high    like a falcon, SOARS THROUGH THE AIR.  He gets about ten feet    then DROPS INTO THE WATER.5.  Rocky climbs up the oriental pole -- this time he makes it    up about FIFTEEN FEET before he slips.  He only drops five    feet.6.  Adam stands amidst overhanging trees and goes into his frog    animal stance, his entire being focused on his actions.7.  Billy stands off alone practicing with the whistling    sticks.  The weapons are now a BLURR in his hands.8.  Kimberly balances along the log, executes a FLIP, lands it    perfectly, throws her arms up triumphantly.9.  Adam stands on the lakeshore, cncentrating on a buzzing    insect.  He strikes out at it, but  just misses it.10.  Aisha also does something appropriate.55H   EXT.  ANGEL GROVE PARK - DAY   (OLD SC 55F)       55HHUNDREDS OF KIDS AND TEENAGERS fill the park, all of themwearing PURPLE CLOTHES.  They're all dirty and grunged outThey jump around, breaking stuff, sparring with each otherIt's total pandemonium.Suddenly, an ERUPTION OF SMOKE -- and Ivan, disguised as thewizard, MAGICALLY APPEARS.  The crowd CHEERS, Nuremburg style,fists raised.                              CROWD               OOZE!  OOZE!  OOZE!  OOZE!                              IVAN               Thank you!  Please!  You're too               kind.                              (sotto voce)               Finally. a little appreciation               where it's deserved.                              VOICE               We love you Ivan!                              IVAN               Right back at ya!-                              (he smiles)               Now, WHO MISSES SCHOOL?!                              CROWD               NOT US!                              IVAN               AND WHO MISSES RULES?!                              CROWD               NOT US!                              IVAN               AND WHO WANTS TO JOIN ME IN               RAISING HELL ACROSS  THE               UNIVERSE?!                              CROWD               WE DO!At the edge, Fred discreetly approaches Bulk and Skull.                              FRED               Can I have a word with you guys?                              (he pulls them aside)               What's really going on here?!               Where are everybody's parents?Bulk and Skull exchange a look.                              SKULL               Like we said before, that's               classified, top secret...Fred decides to be tricky.                              FRED               Look, Ivan wants me to go dump a               load of garbage all over them.                              BULK               Well, why didn't you say so?!                              SKULL               They're at the World Center               Construction Site.Fred nods.                              FRED               Uh.   OOZE RULES!He does a ridiculous mock salute.  Bulk and Skull repeat it.                              BULK AND SKULL               OOZE  RULES !                Fred rolls his eyes and hurries away. 56   thru   57A   OMITTED 58    EXT.  JUNGLE / PHAEDOS - MORNING                         58Dulcea leads Snoggle and the Rangers up a stone path.  Theyapproach a bush filled with exotic berries.  All of them starteating the berries.                              TOMMY               Dulcea... how do you and Zordon               know each other?Dulcea reminisces.                              DULCEA               We belonged to an interstellar               Peace Keeping Force known as the               "Order of the Meledan".                              (beat)               Zordon was widely regarded as the               finest Commander in the Galaxy.               He was a true Legend... If it               wasn't for him, the Universe               would be a very different place                                from what it is today.The kids are overwhelmed by what they're hearing.                              ROCKY               So...  what happened?                               DULCEA               Over time our enemies were               defeated...  I returned to               Phaedos, Zordon moved on to               continue the struggle elsewhere.                              (beat)               Until you kids showed up, I               hadn't heard from him for               centuries.The Rangers are silent for a moment.                              DULCEA               He was always an inspiration...Dulcea speaks with grim-visaged intensity.                              DULCEA               This is why I'm taking you to the               Nathadian Monolith.  That is why               I'm teaching you the Ninjetti.                              (beat)               If Zordon dies... then a piece of               all of us dies... and the force               of good within the Universe will               be dealt an irreparable blow.These words strike deep in the kids.59   EXT.  INNER CITY CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY                    59The bulldozers and earth movers have dug out a twenty foot pit.IVAN leads Goldar and Mordant through the site, passing dozensof laboring parents.                              MORDANT               As soon as we've taken over the               world I'm gonna change my name to               Sir Mordant.  Or how about MAJOR               Mordant?!                              GOLDAR               How about Major Moron?                              IVAN               How about the two of you shut Up               and pay attention!!The entourage comes to a stop, Goldar and Mordant can't believewhat's before them.                              MORDANT               What is THAT!INCLUDE - A HUGE MECHANICAL ARM AND LEG EXTRUDING FROM THE DIRT.                              IVAN               Feast your eyes upon the               exoskeleton of the barbaric               HORNITOR!                              (to parents)               KEEP DIGGING.  THE DREADFUL               SCORPITRON SHOULD BE CLOSE BY.                              (beat)               ONCE I HAVE MY ECTO-MORPHICON               MACHINES UP AND RUNNING, I SHALL               ANNIHILATE ANGEL GROVE... AND               THEN... THE WORLDANGLE ON FRED as he darts through the construction site, takingcare not to be seen.  He hunkers down behind a stack oftwo-by-fours, searches the area.  He spots his dad, speaks underhis breath.                              FRED               Dad...?!He glances around to make sure the coast is clear, then sprintsoff to where his dad is digging, grabs his hand.                              FRED               We have to get out of here!                              MR. KELMAN               Dig... dig... dig...                               FRED               Dad?!... It's me, Fred!Mr. Kelman just gives Fred a blank stare.                              MR. KELMAN               Dig... dig... dig...Suddenly an ARM FALLS ON FRED'S SHOULDER.                              MORDANT (O.S.)               Gotchya!Fred whips araund, finds Mordant standing behind him.     HeSPRINGS TO ACTION pulling off a lightning quick IRON HAMMERFIST STRIKE, a PALM HEEL BLOCK, A FRONT KICK WITH JUMPINGKICK.Mordant is getting pummeled.  The last kick sends him FLYINGBACK INTO THE DIRT.  Fred takes off as Goldar stands overMordant.                              MORDANT               Just shut your gap!                              GOLDAR               Did I say anything?60   OMITTED                                                 6061   INT.  COMMAND CENTER - DAY                              61Zordon is looking more decrepit than ever.  Alpha insertstube into a make-shift electronic contraption.                              ALPHA 5               By bouncing ultra-high               frequencies off one of the               network satellites, I can send a               long-range pulsar signal to               within TWO FEET of the Rangers               coordinates.                                   ZORDON                              (with difficulty)               ... I just pray we're not too               late.Alpha continues making adjustments.                              ALPHA 5               Let's give it a whirl.      He flicks a switch and the screen LIGHTS UP WITH STATIC.  Thethe same reporter we saw at the opening of the movie appears.                              REPORTER               Angel Grove Police have been               fielding hundreds of calls from               concerned citizens as the number               of missing gersons continues to               grow There's more STATIC, then IVAN APPEARS AS THE WIZARD.                              IVAN               Hi, folks, Ivan Ooze here.                              ALPHA 5               Ai,  yi,  yi,  yi,  yi As Ivan speaks we see Mordant behind him waving into camera.                              IVAN               Are you bored with your work?               Are you bored with your family               Are you bored with your 1ife               Well, come on down to Ooze City               and LET'S GET STICKY!62    OMITTED                                               6263    EXT. ROCKY TERRAIN  -  DAY                            63The group reaches the crest of a ridge -- off in the backgroundwe can see the outline of the Nathadian Monolith.                              DULCEA               The Monolith is there in the               distance.The kids strain to get a better look.                              DULCEA               This is as far as I can take you.The kids are thrown by this.                              KIMBERLY               You're leaving us?!                              DULCEA               I have taught you all that I               know.   Now you must achieve the               Ninjetti on your own.The kids share glances, not quite knowing what to say.                              DULCEA               It is said that once you've               reached the power... you have               only ten triacs to release it.                              BILLY               What's a Triac?                              DULCEA               About twenty seconds in your               time.                              TOMMY               And how do we release the power?                              DULCEA               The legend goes that you release               the power with the power.                              ADAM               What does that mean!                              DULCEA               That is a question that even I               cannot answer.                              (beat)               Remember, ten triacs.  After that               something bad will happen.                              KIMBERLY               Like...how bad?Dulcea gives them a grim look.                              DULCEA               They say the power will throw off               a super-heated, radioactive               fireball, instantly reducing you               to ash and bits of charred bone.Aisha nods.                              AISHA               That's pretty bad.                              TOMMY               Thank you, Dulcea.  For               everything.      Dulcea catches her hand and six Rangers put their hands on topof hers.                              DULCEA               Ka'Alabas tor nartu En'Kata-Tay.                              (beat)               May your animals watch over you.64   OMITTED                                                6465   EXT.  CHEMICAL PLANT - DAY                             65The sky above the chemical plant is BOILING WITH DARK CLOUDS.     56   INT.  CHEMICAL PLANT - DAY                             66The parents have finished assembling the STEEL TOWER -- thickcables run from the base to the skeletal heads of Hornitor and    Scorpitron.We see a group of parents fastening clear plastic pipes to theskeletal feet -- the pipes are attached to the vat of ooze.Mordant videotapes Ivan as he struts past a giant mechanicalfoot.                              IVAN               Finally, after centuries of               waiting, my Ecto-Morphicon               machines are ready to take on the               world!Mordant gets the camera a little too close to Ivan.                              IVAN               GET THAT THING OUT OF MY FACE!Ivan SWATS Mordant and the camera FLIES up through the air andSMASHES against a wall.                              MORDANT               Oh, man, that was a rental!ANGLE ON - FRED watching from behind a generator, an alarmed lookon his face.  Ivan steps up onto a platform.                              IVAN               Mordant... let the ooze flow!Mordant pulls a lever and the OOZE SLITHERS THROUGH THE PIPES AND STARTS FILLING OUT THE GIANT EXOSKELETONS.                              IVAN               Goldar... the roof!Goldar presses a button and the roof of the plant ROLLS OPEN,REVEALING THE TUMULTUOUS SKIES ABOVE.                              IVAN               Looks like a fine day for raising               HELL!Ivan holds his arms up to the heavens.                              IVAN               HECALE MENNIPUS LIBRI MAGUS!THE SKY CRACKLES WITH THUNDER AND A JAGGED BOLT OF LIGHTNINGSTREAKS DOWN, ZAPS THE METAL TOWER SENDING UP AN ENORMOUSERUPTION OF SPARKS!                              IVAN               Bullseye!ELECTROMAGNETIC CHARGES TRAVEL THE LENGTH OF THE CABLES AND HITHORNITOR AND SCORPITRON WITH SEARING BLASTS OF ENERGY.                              IVAN               LIFE!!  Give my creatures LIFE!Mordant admires Ivan.                              MORDANT               This guy is the King!Now the most amazing thing of all happens...The SCINTILLATING BEHEMOTHS AWAKE FROM THE DEAD, THEIR EYES ANDMOUTHS OPENING, THEIR ARMS REACHING UPWARD.  The beasts ROAR    OUT IN THUNDEROUS RAGE.Mordant's HAIR LITERALLY STANDS ON END -- he quickly retreatsbehind a drum.FRED looks on in horror.                              IVAN               PARENTS OF ANGEL GROVE.All of them turn their attention to Ivan.                              IVAN               YOU HAVE SERVED YOUR PURPOSE.               NOW YOU WILL RETURN TO THE               CONSTRUCTION SITE AND LEAP TO               YOUR DEMISE!      The parents just stand there with blank expressions.                              IVAN               What're you waiting for??...Goldar taps him on the shoulder and he spins around.                              IVAN               What!                              GOLDAR               You forgot to say 'Simon says."Ivan shakes his head dismally.67   EXT.  ROPE BRIDGE -  DAY                              67The Rangers crest a hill and Adam, who's in the lead, suddenlydrops down - the others following suit.They peer over the ridge -- their eyes wide.Before them, a tenuous rope bridge leads to a vast rock landing.The ocean RAGES BELOW.On top of the island is the Nathadian Monolith.  It's a  mind-boggling wonder from another time and place.Between the Rangers and the bridge, the Tengu Warriors are onpatrol.                              KIMBERLY               Man, these are the last guys I               wanted to see.                              AISHA               Whadda we do now?Kimberly surveys the area.                              BILLY               That's the only way to the               Monolith...                              ROCKY               We can take these guys!Tommy pulls all of them into a huddle.68   EXT.  ROPE BRIDGE -  DAY                                  68The Tengu are on full alert.  One of them hears something,snaps around, there's nothing there.Another Tengu looks down as a frog hops between his leg.  HeSCREECHES and STOMPS down his taloned foot, missing the     creature by inches.We hear a CAW and the Queen Tengu squints as she spots a falconcircling in the sky above.  The Queen is perched on top of a 20foot rock face. She looks around hesitantly.Now the Rangers ATTACK, some of them LUNGING OFF ROCKS, othersBURSTING out of crevices, others coming over the walls.Billy wields his WHISTLING sticks -- misses several times, thenstarts BASHING and THWACKING the feathered beasts.The Queen SHOOTS A LASER BLAST from her eyes -- it EXPLODESbefore Tommy.Kimberly battles another Tengu and the creature forces her backon to the rickety bridge.The Queen FIRES ANOTHER BLAST.                              ROCKY               LOOK OUT!Rocky DIVES, knocking Aisha away from the bolt.Adam and one of the Tengu circle each other warily.                              ADAM               The frog silently assesses its               target, then strikes out...Suddenly the Tengu is HURTLED BACKWARD TEN FEET THROUGH THEAIR.  We didn't even see Adam move.                              ADAM               ... in the blink of an eye.Tommy steps up behind a Tengu.                              TOMMY               Yo, Tweety!The Tengu turns around and Tommy WHALLOPS HIM WITH A SPINNING-HEEL KICK.  A Tengu faces down Aisha and she goes into a bearstance.                              AISHA               The bear is sturdy as a towering               tree.  Nothing can uproot it.The Tengu CHARGES LIKE A BULL, SLAMS INTO AISHA.  She holdsfast and the bird EXPLODES INTO A CLOUD OF FEATHERS.                              AISHA               Bye, bye birdy.Kimberly continues balancing precariously on the bridge as sheEXCHANGES BLOWS with her foe.She finally drops into a crane stance... then just like Dulceashe LEAPS THROUGH THE AIR, EXECUTES A BRUTAL SPINNING HELL KICKand sends the birdman TUMBLING OFF THE BRIDGE.In a movement that seems to defy gravity, she lands perfcctlyback on the swinging bridge.                              KIMBERLY               Hasta la Pasta, Bigbird!Billy swings his sticks, BASHES one of the Tengu in the beak --the creature EXPLODES INTO A CLOUD OF FEATHERS!                              BILLY               AIM FOR THEIR BEAKS!Tommy reaches the top of a rack.  He sees a Tengu making aKAMIKAZE DIVE TOWARD KIMBERLY.  TOMMY DIVES, SOARING THIRTYFEET THROUGH THE AIR -- HE INTERCEPTS THE TENGU AND THEY SPINTOWARD EARTH TOGETHER.  They HIT the ground and EXCHANGE BLOWSAS THEY FALL OVER ONE ANOTHER.Rocky SLAMS another Tengu in the beak, KABLAM  -- the creatureis OBLITERATED.Tommy LEAPS INTO THE AIR, NAILS two Tengu in the beaks.  TheyBOTH BURST IN AN EXPLOSION OF FEATHERS.The Queen shoots another BOLT OF ENERGY --  a rock EXPLODES,SHOWERING THE KIDS WITH SHRAPNEL.  Aisha turns to Rocky.                              AISHA               It's up to you.Rocky takes a deep breath, goes into a crouch position.Incredibly he SCALES THE WALL IN THE SAME WAY HE WENT UP THEPOLE.  HE FLIPS OVER THE TOP and lands right before the QueenTengu.  He looks her dead in the eye.                              ROCKY               Polly wanna cracker?With that, he executes a devastating SPINNING-HEEL KICK and theQueen BURSTS INTO OBLIVION.                              KIMBERLY               ALL RIGHT, ROCKY!Instantly, the remaining Tengu retreat, SQUAWKING and CAWWING  inrage.  The kids turn to eaeh other, sharing in a moment of triumph.                              ADAM               WE DID IT!!72   EXT.  ANGEL GROVE TOWER - DAY                               72We're on top of a high tower overlooking the entire cityThere's a BURST OF PURPLE SMOKE -- Ivan, Mordant and Goldarappear.  Ivan looks out on the city, holds up his armstheatrically.                              IVAN               ANGEL GROVE... I'D LIKE TO               INTRODUCE YOU TO A COUPLE OF MY               NEAREST AND DEAREST FRIENDS...               HORNITOR!HORNITOR APPEARS on the street ROARING like a fiend.  Hisenormous foot DROPS DOWN AND CRUSHES A CAR INTO OBLIVION.                              IVAN               And his trimetallic partner in               crime... SCORPITRON!!SCORPITRON APPEARS on the street and BASHES IN THE SIDE OF ABUILDING, SENDING GLASS AND DEBRIS EVERYWHERE.                              IVAN               THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN!!!                              GOLDAR               GO IVAN!!Mordant turns to Ivan and throws his arms up in jubilation.                              MORDANT               LONG LIVE THE BOOGER MAN!73   INT. COMMAND CENTER - DAY                                   73Zordon, now barely alive, watches as Alpha makes moreadjustments to his contraption.                              ALPHA 5               That should do it.  we won't be               able to hear them, but they               SHOULD be able to hear us.                              (beat)               Here goes.             There's STATIC and then we see the reporter again.                              NEWS REPORTER               ... the Mayor has declared a               state of emergency and asked that               the city be immediately               evacuated.  He has reiterated the               need for everyone to remain calm.We see images of PEOPLE SCREAMING THEIR GUTS out as theyCLAMBER PAST CAMERA.                              NEWS REPORTER               Angel Grove has never before               known such a crisis and we can               now only pray for the swift               arrival of the Power Rangers!                              ALPHA 5               Ay, yi, yi, yi!Zordon speaks in a whisper.                              ZORDON               ... Alpha, keep trying!74                                                               74thru   OMITTED                                                   thru75                                                               7575A    EXT.  MONOLITH - DAY                                      75AThe kids climb up on top of the rock bluff -- before them is ahuge black Monolith.  There's all sorts of charred bones andskeletons strewn around it, some of them human, some of themalien.They approach the massive block, stand before it in awe strucksilence.  In the middle of the Monolith there's a large circlewith the six animals of the Ninjetti carved into it.                              ROCKY               ... The Nathadian Monolith...Kimberly looks at all the bones -- instinctively puts her handon her animal symbol.                              KIMBERLY               I guess these guys weren't so               lucky.A few of the kids walk around the Monolith, examining it moreclosely.                              AISHA               We've come all this way for a               rock wall?!                              BILLY               There should be a way to open it.Billy &;Tommy latch their hands over the block, searching foran opening.                              BILLY               ... Nothing.                              ROCKY               Release the power with the power.Rocky steps back, THROWS HIS SHOULDER into the Monolith with aTHUMP, winces in pain.                              AISHA               Not that kind of power.The kids exchange discouraged looks.                              BILLY               ... There has to be something               we're missing.The kids look crestfallen.                              ROCKY               It can't end like this...Suddenly a SIZZLE OF ELECTRICITY forms in front of them.                              KIMBERLY               What NOW!The kids mouth's fall open as... a HOLOGRAPHIC IMAGE OFZORDON'S WITHERED FACE APPEARS.  He speaks in a barelyaudible voice.                              ZORDON               Rangers... Ivan has invaded the               city... time is running out...Zordon's image FLICKERS a few times then STABILIZES again.                              ZORDON               Each of you are now in possession               of miraculous skills... but only               when the six become one will you               have the strength to harness the               Great Power.His IMAGE FLICKERS then FADES AWAY.                              KIMBERLY               ZORDON!!Billy studies the circle with zealous eyes.                              TOMMY               Six become one... the combined               forces of the Ninjetti.                              ROCKY               Strength in numbers!!They silently assemble in a line, all of them interlock:hands.  They face the Monolith with fire in their eyes.                              BILLY               I am the wolf, cunning and swift!                              KIMBERLY               I am the crane, agile and               sublime!                              AISHA               I am the bear, stalwart and bold!                              ADAM               I am the frog, quick as               lightning!                              ROCKY               I am the mighty ape!                              TOMMY               And I am the Falcon, Winged Lord               of the Sky!                              RANGERS               WE... ARE THE NINJETTI!!!A mysterious HALO OF LIGHT SHROUDS the Rangers and they dissapearINTO THIN AIR.75B   OMITTED                                                    75B75C   INT.  MONOLITH - DAY                                       75CThe kids BURST THROUGH A WALL OF LIGHT and come down togetherinside a vast cavern.  There's a pyramid shaped steel object inthe center of the room, a RADIANT LIGHT SHINING FROM IT.                              AISHA               What HAPPENED?!                              ADAM                   Where are we?!                              BILLY               Of course!  The power is of               another world.  Another               dimension.                              KIMBERLY               WE'VE GOT TEN TRIACS BEFORE WE'RE               TOAST!!                              ROCKY               That's twenty seconds!!The kids advance toward the pyramid.                              TOMMY               Release the power WITH the power.                              AISHA               What does that mean?!Adam notices their symbols are glowing.                              BILLY               Our SYMBOLS.The kids ogle the radiant emblems.  Kimberly takes hold of hersand it COMES OFF in her hand -- there's a mirror on the otherside.                              ROCKY               Ten seconds and counting!!                              KIMBERLY               It's some kind of mirror!Kimberly looks at her reflection and primps her hair.  Theother's remove their symbols.                              AISHA               Release the power with the               power.                              BILLY               I've got it!  We use the mirrors               to reflect the light back into               itself!!                              ROCKY               THREE SECONDS!!                              TOMMY               LET'S DO IT!?All of them turn their mirrors toward the pyramid.  A BEAM OFLIGHT SHOOT FROM THE POWER; INTO THE MIRRORS AND BACK IN TO THEPOWER. We hear a RUMBLING SOUND as the earth starts to SHAKE.  TheRangers look to each other, horrified.Then everything falls still and silent... and then a miraclehappens.We hear a HARMONIOUS, OTHERWORLDLY CHORUS as the pyramid OPENSUP, REVEALING THE MOST GLORIOUS SOURCE OF LIGHT IN THEUNIVERSE.The kids shield their eyes from the brilliance, all of themwearing wonder-struck expressions.SIX BEAMS OF COLORED LIGHT SHOOT OUT AND HIT EACH OF THERANGERS...  AND THEIR POWER RANGERS UNIFORMS MATERIALIZE ONTHEM!  Their visors are clear so we can see their faces.                              TOMMY               WE HAVE THE GREAT POWER!!Now the symbols in their hands TRANSFORM INTO...                              ROCKY               NEW POWER COINS!!                              BILLY               OUR MORPHERS ARE ON LINE!                              AISHA.               WE DID IT!!                              ADAM               HANG ON, ANGEL GROVE.                              KIMBERLY               WE'RE ON OUR WAY!They hit their communicators -- they instantly TRANSFORM INTOSIX IRIDESCENT COLUMNS OF COLOR AND BLAST OFF.75D   EXT.  MOUNTAIN SIDE / PHAEDOS - DAY                        75DDulcea and Snoggle watch as the COLUMNS OF COLOR streak awayfrom the planet, leaving behind a RAINBOW with the six colorsof the Power Rangers.                              SNOGGLE               Spherhlegnu.                              DULCEA               Yes, Snoggle... they now have the               Great Power of the Ninjetti!76   EXT. GEORGE STREET  -  NIGHT     (OLD SC 75B)               76We see the mass of parents as they march intently down a darkcity street.76A   EXT.  ANGEL GROVE PARK - ERNIE'S  -  NIGHT  (OLD SC 64)    76AErnie's is packed with crazed kids and teenagers who areripping the place apart.Bulk and Skull watch while gorging themselves on pizza.                              BULK               There goes the neighborhood.                              SKULL               A real shame.Suddenly Fred appears and shouts out.                              FRED               EVERYBODY, LISTEN UP!The place falls silent.                              FRED               You've been brainwashed!  This               Ivan is no Wizard.  He's some               kind of DEMON!                              KID #4               Shut up, squirt.                              KID #3               You can't talk that way about our               leader.Enraged, they move in on Fred.                              FRED               You gotta believe me -- he's               EVIL!The crowd gets angrier.  They move closer... Fred gulps withfear... glancing around for help, he notices a HOSE.  He lungesfor it, cranks on the water, and TURNS IT ON THE CROWD!SPLASH!  They get SPRAYED DOWN!Suddenly -- they stop in their tracks, slowly blinking,confused.  The spell is broken.  We hear: "What's going on ?!""What am I doing here?!", etc.                              FRED               Listen to me!  Our parents are in               danger!  If we don't help them               they're going to be killed!He hurries off.  A few follow him, then a few more... untilpretty soon everybody joins him.  Bulk and Skull share a look.                              SKULL               What about the pizza?Bulk considers the dilemma.                              BULK               We could take it with us.Skull nods, relieved.  They gather up the pizza and move offafter the others.77    OMITTED                                                    7778    INT.  COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT                               78The Rangers MATERIALIZE in the Command Center with theirhelmets off.                              AISHA               ALPHA?!Alpha approaches, speaks in an anguished voice.                              ALPHA 5               Rangers...  I'm afraid you're too               late.                              AISHA               What?!                              ALPHA 5               Zordon...  he's gone.The Rangers are too stunned to speak.  They approach Zordon'slifeless form looking absolutely devastated.                              KIMBERLY               ... This can't be...They stare at Zordon with gut-wrenching expressions.  They'reutterly defeated.Eventually, Tommy looks to the others and speaks in a ferventvoice.                              TOMMY               "To those who possess the Great               Power...   all things are               possible."The kids gradually exchange zealous looks.  They form a circlearound Zordon and interlock hands.They close their eyes, bow their heads...After a long moment, a SHIMMERING ENERGY BEGINS TO FLOW DOWNFROM THE RANGERS, INTO ZORDON'S ASTRAL FORM.Zordon grows BRIGHTER and BRIGHTER and then there's a DAZZLING,STROBOSCOPIC EXPLOSION.When the LIGHT FADES WE SEE THE COMMAND CENTER BACK IN ITSORIGINAL, PRISTINE FORM.Zordon's youthful face once again looks down from within hispillar of light, his eyes filled with a fierce pride.                              RANGERS               ZORDON!!                              ZORDON               Welcome back, kids.                              ADAM               It's good to be back.Alpha jumps up and down like a child.                              ALPHA 5               HE'S ALIVE!  HE'S ALIVE!                              KIMBERLY               We thought you...                              ZORDON               It's good to see you again, too.Alpha sees the Ecto-Morphicon machines on the VIEWING GLOBE.                              ALPHA  5               AI, YI, YI, YI, YI   Ivan s Ecto-               Morphicon machines are leveling               the city!                              ROCKY               We've got news for you, Ivan...                              TOMMY               The Power Rangers are BACK IN               BUSINESS!!They TELEPORT out.79   EXT.   ANGEL GROVE TOWER - NIGHT                            79CLOSE ON IVAN as he TURNS INTO CAMERA, a startled look on his face.                              IVAN               I... SMELL...He looks down on the street as the COLUMNS OF LIGHT SHOOT DOWNAND THE POWER RANGERS APPEAR.                              IVAN                              (outraged)               POWER RANGERS!80   EXT.  CITY STREETS                                          80The Rangers watch as Hornitor and Scorpitron come THUNDERINGdown the street toward them.                              KIMBERLY               What're THOSE?!We hear Alpha on Tommy's wrist communicator.                              ALPHA 5  (V. 0.)               Rangers, call for your new animal               Zords!                              TOMMY               Let's DO it!One after another they click their new coins into theirmorphers and go into their stances.                              KIMBERLY               NINJA CRANE ZORD!                              BILLY               NINJA WOLF ZORD!                              AISHA               NINJA BEAR ZORD!                              ADAM               NINJA FROG ZORD!                              ROCKY               NINJA APE ZORD!                              TOMMY               NINJA FALCON ZORD!From the sky, the six new ANIMAL ZORDS BURST FORTH LIKETHUNDERING, MECHANICAL GODS.  The Rangers look up at theTOWERING ASSAULT VEHICLES in awe.81   INT.   COCKPITS                                             81We see VARIOUS SHOTS of the Rangers DROPPING INTO theirrespective cockpits.81A   EXT.  MONORAIL STATION - NIGHT   (OLD SC 69)               81AFred, Bulk and Skull watch a sleek monorail pulling in.  Skulltalks with a mouth full of pizza.                              SKULL               Look, kid, I don't think you               realize who you're dealing with.                              FRED               I don't think he realizes who               HE'S dealing with.The train glides to a complete stop and the doors SLIDE OPEN .                              FRED               EVERYBODY ON BOARD!The youngsters pile through the doors, quickly filling up theentire monorail.81B   EXT.  CITY STREET                                          81BThe parents round a corner, advance down the street like machines.82    EXT.   THE ECTO-MORPHICON MACHINES                         82ATTACK WITH A RELENTLESS FEROCITY.  There's all kinds ofCRASHING and BASHING and EXPLOSIONS!There's a BLAM, BLAM, BLAM as Scorpitron REPEATEDLY FIRES hiscannon arm at the Bear Zord, who in turn DEFLECTS THE VOLLEYS.Hornitor shoots a BLAST from it's stinger, the Crane Zorddodges the FIERY ERUPTION.                              KIMBERLY (V. O.)               Nice try,  Pinhead!Scorpitron repeatedly KICKS at the Frog Zord with it's BLADEDFEET, SENDING UP OSCILLATORY DISCHARGES, at the same timeSLASHING WITH IT'S LETHAL CLAWS.                              ADAM  (V. O.)               Somebody back me up, here!Hornitor BORES IT'S DRILL ARM INTO THE APE ZORD, SENDINGEXPLOSIONS OF SPARKS.                              ROCKY  (V. O.)               These things are FEROCIOUS!The Bear Zord CHARGES HORNITOR and the two Mastodons goCRASHING BACKWARD.                              AISHA  (V.O.)               The bear kicks butt!Hornitor SEARS the Wolf Zord with it's needle-nose.  Inretaliation, the Wolf Zord POUNCES, KNOCKING HORNITOR INTO THESTREET.  Now the Falcon Zord SWOOPS THROUGH THE AIR.                              TOMMY  (V.O.)               Heads up!He FIRES BOOSTER ROCKETS, STRAFING SCORPITRON WITH AN INTENSEFUSILLADE.Hornitor gets back up -- the Ape Zord SWINGS DOWN FROMBILLBOARD, RAMS HIM FEET FIRST, SENDS HIM CATAPULTING BACK.                              ROCKY  (V.O.)               Hope you've got a good mechanic.Scorpitron FIRES A VOLLEY at the Frog Zord -- the Zord BOUNDSTHROUGH THE AIR, AVOIDING THE BLAST, COMES CRASHING DOW ON TOPOF SCORPITRON.The Falcon Zord swoops in and blasts Scorpitron who BLOWS UPINTO A BILLION FLAMING PARTICLES!                              KIMBERLY (V.O.)               WE GOT HIM!!                              IVAN                              (outraged)               These brats are ruining               EVERYTHING!Mordant and Goldar watch popeyed as IVAN'S BODY STRETCHES OUTLIKE A HUGE PIECE OF GUM.He STRETCHES and STRETCHES until his head BURSTS THROUGH THESTOMACH OF SCORPITRON.We hear a resounding SNAP AS IVAN'S FEET ARE RELEASED FROM THEROOFTOP AND HIS ENTIRE BEING SPURTS INSIDE THE GIANT'S BELLY.Now there's all sorts of GURGLING and SLURPING sounds as themonster's face SHAPE-SHIFTS INTO IVAN'S FACE!He grins, revealing his silver tooth.                              IVAN               Let's TANGO!                              TOMMY  (V.O.)               We need Ninja MEGAZORD POWER,               NOW!There's amazing PYROTECHNICS AS FIVE ANIMAL ZORDS MERGETOGETHER AND TRANSFORM INTO THE NINJA MEGAZORD.82A   INT.  COMMAND CENTER                                       82AAs Alpha watches the battle on the viewing globe, he doeslittle jig.                              ALPHA 5                GO, Rangers!  GO, Rangers!  GO,                Rangers!  GO!83   INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT                                      83The Rangers are side by side, each of them handling differentcontrols.                              BILLY               ACTIVATING NINJA MEGAZORD BATTLE               MODE!84   EXT.  MAIN STREET                                           84There's plenty of GRINDING and SCRAPING as the MEGAZORD RISESUP TO ITS FULL, TOWERING HEIGHT.                              BILLY  (V.O.)               All systems go!                              KIMBERLY (V.O.)               This guy is messing with the               wrong teenagers!The behemoths CHARGE each other and the mother of all battlesbegins.85   EXT.  GREENWAY STREET - NIGHT                               85The parents continue to advance through the city like robots.86   OMITTED                                                     8687   EXT.  MAIN STREET - NIGHT                                   87The battle continues.  Remarkably, these enormous machines pulloff DOUBLE PUNCHES, DROP KICKS, ROUNDHOUSE HOOKS, SPINBACKKICKS -- YOU NAME IT!                              KIMBERLY  (V.O.)               ENGAGING KNUCKLE ROCKETS!BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM -- The Megazord STRAFES Ivan/Scorpitronwith EXPLODING MISSILES.                              IVAN/COLOSSUS               Don't make me LAUGH!Ivan/Scorpitron SINGES the Megazord with a DEVASTATING LASERBLAST, SENDING IT TUMBLING BACKWARD.                              RANGERS  (V.O.)               WHOOOAAAHH!!The Falcon Zord SWOOPS IN, STRAFING Ivan/Scorpitron withgunfire.  Ivan/Scorpitron now turns to Angel Grove Tower andgrabs hold of it.88   EXT.   TOWER                                                88Mordant grabs on to Goldar.                              GOLDAR               I'm outta here.                              MORDANT               Wait for me!Goldar TAKES FLIGHT with Mordant CLINGING DESPERATELY TO ONE OFHIS LEGS.                              GOLDAR               GET OFF ME!                              MORDANT               BUT I'M YOUR COUSIN!                              GOLDAR               SECOND COUSIN, THREE TIMES               REMOVED.  NOW  GET OFF ME!89   EXT.  MAIN STREET                                           89Ivan/Scorpitron RIPS THE TOWER OUT AND USES IT AS A SWORD TOBATTLE THE MEGAZORD.                              IVAN/SCORPITRON               UN GARDE!The giant SWINGS THE TOWER, BATTERING THE MEGAZORD MERCILESSLY.                              ROCKY  (V.O.)               POWER SWORD, NOW!The POWER SWORD DROPS FROM THE HEAVENS, PIERCES THE GROUND.Megazord grips the handle, raises it to the sky.                              ADAM (V.O.)               HIGH POWER ENGAGE!The sword is STRUCK BY THUNDERBOLTS and now the behemoths SLASHand PARRY WITH CATACLYSMIC BURSTS OF SPARKS.Ivan/Scorpitron takes a swing and the TOWER SMASHES INTOMONORAIL, SHATTERING A TWENTY FOOT SECTION OF AN OVERPASSIvan/Scorpitron continues backing the Megazord toward anenormous power station.                              IVAN/SCORPITRON               Time to recharge your batteries,               FLOWER Rangers!He takes a final, DEVASTATING BLOW, SENDS MEGAZORD HURTLINGTHROUGH THE AIR AND DOWN INTO GIANT GENERATORS.There's an APOCALYPTIC FIREWORKS DISPLAY AS TEN MILLION VOLTSCOURSE THROUGH MEGAZORD.90   INT. COCKPIT                                                90            The kids are SHOWERED WITH SPARKS  - ELECTRICAL TENTACLES SPLAYTHROUGHOUT THE COCKPIT.                              RANGERS               WHOOAAAAAHHH!!!90A   OMITTED                                                    90A91    EXT.  MEGAZORD                                             91Rolls clear, SMOKE AND SPARKS SPITTING FROM ITS JOINTS.                              BILLY  (V.O.)               SYSTEM MALFUNCTION!                              AISHA  (V.O.)               OUR SEMI-CONDUCTORS ARE DOWN!IVAN PICKS UP THE PROSTRATE MEGAZORD, RAISES IT OVER HIS HEAD AND THROWSIT.                             IVAN/COLOSSUS               NEXT STOP, ANGEL GROVE FIRST               NATIONAL!He HURTLES THE MEGAZORD INTO A BUILDING with a sign that"Angel Grove First National Bank".  The ENTIRE SIDE OF THEBUILDING IS DEMOLISHED.                              TOMMY (V.O.)               One more blow like that and we're               HISTORY!92   EXT.  THE MONORAIL                                          92Speeds around a bend.93   INT.  FRED                                                  93Looks on in shock at the huge rupture in the tracks ahead.                              FRED               EVERYBODY HANG ON!!He YANKS the emergency cord.  It doesn't work!94   EXT.  THE TRAIN                                             94       The train heads for the jagged edge of the broken track.95   INT.  FALCON ZORD COCKPITTommy throws his collective forward.                              TOMMY               The monorail is in trouble! I'm               going in!98   EXT.  THE MONORAIL                                          98has almost reached the rupture.  Suddenly the Falcon ZordSWOOPS IN AND FILLS THE RIFT.The monorail miraculously SLIDES across the back of the zordand continues down the tracks.99   INT.  MONORAIL                                              99Fred, Bulk, Skull and the hundreds of kids CHEER WILDLY.We hear: "Right on!", "All right Power Rangers!", "Awesome!"100   EXT.  IVAN/COLOSSUS                                        100climbs up a ten story building like a mechanical King Kong.101   INT.  COCKPIT                                              101The kids watch as Ivan reaches the top of the building, gazesup at the stormy skies.                              ROCKY               What's he doing?!There's more SLURPING and BUBBLING AS HIDEOUS, BAT-LIKE WINGSERUPT FROM HIS BACK.           The wings FAN OUT and Ivan/Colossus DIVES INTO THE AIR ANDSOARS UP INTO THE HEAVENS.                              BILLY               Let's go after him!!102   INT.  FALCON ZORD COCKPIT                                  102                              TOMMY               Ultra Ninja Megazord complete!103   EXT.  MEGAZORD                                             103The Falcon Zord SWOOPS down and latches on to the back of theMegazord.  Now the Megazord GLOWS WITH A TRANSCENDENTALLUMINESCENCE and GLORIOUS WINGS SPREAD OUT FROM IT'S BACK.104   INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT                                     104Tommy DROPS INTO a seat beside the other Rangers.                              TOMMY               I'm in!                              BILLY               LET'S FLY!Billy throws a switch.105   EXT.  MEGAZORD                                             105The Megazord TAKES TO THE AIR with the grace of an Eagle.106   EXT.  CITY STREET                                          106Fred, Bulk, Skull and the entourage of kids come rushing towardthe construction site.  They can see the parents heading towardthe drop off.                              FRED               There they are!                              BULK               They're heading for the cliff!                              SKULL               That's gotta be an eighty foot               drop!                                                        KID #3               Whadda we do?!Fred thinks for a moment, his eyes settling on a large tankertruck.                              FRED               FOLLOW ME!!107   INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT                                     107Billy fixes on a screen.                              ADAM               We've got him locked!                              BILLY               Speed?                              AISHA               1600 m.p.h.  and increasing!                              TOMMY               Everybody hold on tight.  We're               gonna send this sucker into               OBLIVION!108   EXT.  SKY                                                  108KAPAOW!!!SPARKS EXPLODE AND METAL CRUNCHES AS THE TWO GIANTS GOCATAPULTING OFF INTO OUTER SPACE.109   INT.  SNOW GLOBE / ZEDD'S PALACE                           109Zedd and Rita are now half-buried in snow, both of them blue inthe face.  As usual, Rita is ranting away.                              RITA               You call yourself a hell-hound?!               A basset hound is more like it.               If you were a real outlaw you               would've gotten me out of this               blizzard HOURS ago!Zedd shakes his head in misery.                              ZEDD               This is the last time I marry a               witch.Zedd and Rita react as they see Ivan/Colossus and Megazordshooting out into the stars.                              RITA               It's Ivan and the Megazord!!110   EXT.  OUTER SPACE                                          110The two behemoths HURTLE THROUGH SPACE while POUNDING, SLASHINGand RIPPING at each other.                              IVAN/COLOSSUS               NOTHING can defeat the Powers of               Darkness!Now Ivan/Colossus goes to town on Megazord.  WHOMP!  THWACK!CRUNCH!  He SMASHES the machine mercilessly.111   INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT                                     111The cockpit fills with smoke, SPARKS erupt from panels,EMERGENCY LIGHTS FLASH.                              BILLY               WE'RE BREAKING UP!112   EXT.  OUTER SPACE                                          112Ivan/Colossus BASHES the Megazord so hard that the machine doesMULTIPLE CARTWHEELS through the cosmos.Ivan/Colossus makes a KAMIKAZE-DIVE straight for Megazord                              IVAN/COLOSSUS               SLAM DANCE, ANYONE?!He BASHES the Megazord, SENDS IT SPIRALING.113   INT.  MEGAZORDFLAMES ERUPT in the cockpit  - everything SHAKES and RATTLES                              ADAM               He's on us!!                              BILLY               Wait a second...  What time is               it?                              ROCKY               Two thirty three a.m.                              BILLY               Ryan's Comet!!                              KIMBERLY               What about it?Biily punches information into a keyboard.                              BILLY               It's passing over earth as we               speak!                              (reading screen)               Trajectory coordinates are               009843.                              ADAM               Billy, that's BRILLIANT!                              KIMBERLY                              BILLY               We get Ivan into the Comets PATH--                              AISHA               -- and KABOOOM -- he's space               dust!113A   EXT.  CONSTRUCTION SITE                                   113AFred is standing beside the water truck holding a large hoseBulk and Skull are in the truck cabin trying to start theengine.  It turns over but it won't catch.                              FRED               Come on!  Come on!The parents are now five feet from the drop off.Bulk turns the key again and the engine starts up.                              FRED               All right!He LETS IT RIP -- A POWERFUL JET OF WATER ARCS THROUGH THE AIRAND SHOWERS DOWN ON THE PARENTS.They're about a foot away from the drop when they come to astandstill, all of them sharing confused looks.There's all sorts of CHEERS as parents and kids are reunited.Fred runs into his father's arms.                              FRED               DAD!!Bulk turns to Skull, holds out his arms.                              BULK               SKULL!!                              SKULL               BULK!!They embrace -- Skull practically gets crushed by his burlyfriend.114    OMITTED                                                   114115    INT.  SNOW GLOBE / ZEDD'S PALACE                          115Zedd and Rita continue watching the battle from the snow globe.                              RITA               I hope those Rangers put that               lousy lowlife out of his misery!                              ZEDD               GO POWER RANGERS!116  EXT.  OUTER SPACE                                           116                                                                 Ivan/Colossus SLAMS into Megazord again and the pair goTWISTING THROUGH THE STARS.Ivan/Colossus gets the Megazord into a lethal bear hug.                              IVAN/COLOSSUS               Have you hugged your Zord today?117    INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT                                    117                              KIMBERLY               R.G.P. PRESSURE IS HEADING INTO THE RED!                              TOMMY               WE'RE GOING TO IMPLODE!                              BILLY               THREE DEGREES OFF THE COMETS               TRAJECTORY!                              ROCKY               GIVE IT EVERYTHING WE'VE GOT!All the Rangers go to work.118                                                              118thru   OMITTED                                                   thru118A                                                             118A119   EXT.  OUTER SPACE                                          119Ivan/Colossus continues to SQUEEZE Megazord.  We hear           SCREECHING METAL and BURSTING VALVES.120   INT.  COMMAND CENTER                                       120Alpha and Zordon watch as Ivan/Colossus bear hugs Megazord.                              ALPHA 5               Ay, yi, yi!  The Rangers are               going to be CRUSHED!                              ZORDON               Don't lose hope yet, Alpha!121   INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT                                     121                              BILLY               009843... 42... 41!  WE'RE IN               ALIGNMENT!                              ROCKY               THERE'S THE COMET!We see a BRILLIANT COMET BLAZING straight toward us!                              BILLY               IMPACT IN FIFTEEN SECONDS!                              TOMMY               WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!!122   EXT.  OUTER SPACE                                          122Ivan/Colossus continues to SQUEEZE Megazord, oblivious to theCOMET BOMBING TOWARD HIM.  Megazord struggles fiercely to breakfree.123   INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT                                     123                              ADAM               WE CAN'T BREAK FREE!                              BILLY               IMPACT IN EIGHT SECONDS!                              AISHA               Desperate times call for               desperate measures.Aisha opens a metal switch cover.                              KIMBERLY               What're you doing?!Inside is a red switch with a sign: "FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY"                              AISHA               Taking care of business.She flicks the switch.124   EXT.  OUTER SPACE                                          124Ivan/Colossus is about to CRUSH Megazord into oblivion whEnMegazord's KNEE SUDDENLY RISES WITH LIGHTNING SPEED AND KICKSIVAN/COLOSSUS RIGHT IN THE GROIN.Ivan/Colossus releases Megazord and DOUBLES OVER IN PAIN.                              IVAN/COLOSSUS               YEEOOOOOWWW!!!!125   INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT                                     125                              AISHA               Bull's eye!                              BILLY               FOUR SECONDS TO IMPACT!                              TOMMY               WE'RE OUTTA HERE!126   EXT.  OUTER SPACE                                          126Megazord WINGS OUT OF THE WAY as the COMET BLASTS STRAIGHT TOWARDIVAN/COLOSSUS.In the last second, he see the HURTLING ORB.                              IVAN/COLOSSUS               NOOOOOOOOOOOOUOOOO!!!!Now we witness the EXPLOSION TO END ALL EXPLOSIONS asIvan/Colossus is TRANSFORMED INTO A BILLION FLAMING PARTSHURTLING THROUGH OUTER SPACE.127   INT.  MEGAZORD COCKPIT                                     127The Rangers all throw their hands up in triumph.                              RANGERS               MORPHENOMENAL!!128   INT.  COMMAND CENTER                                       128Alpha LEAPS for joy.                              ALPHA 5               HOORAY, POWER RANGERS!!129   INT.  SNOW GLOBE / ZEDD'S PALACE                           129Rita and Zedd both look immensely pleased.                              ZEDD               That was a CHEAP shot!                              RITA               We couldn't have done it better               ourselves.KAPOW -- Zedd and Rita APPEAR BACK IN ZEDD'S PALACE IN ORIGINALSIZE, both of them still covered in snow.130   INT.  COMMAND CENTER - DAY                                 130The Rangers are gathered around Zordon, holding their helmetsin their hands.                              ZORDON               Rangers, by going after the Great               Power, all of you knowingly put               your lives at extreme risk... and               in so doing you not only saved my               life, you saved all of Angel               Grove and the world from a reign               of unthinkable terror.The Rangers literally beam.  Alpha holds up a camera.                              ALPHA 5               Everybody say cheese.The kids share amused looks and all together they LEAP IN THEAIR, PUMPING THEIR FISTS UP VICTORIOUSLY.                              RANGERS               POWER RANGERS!!!WE FREEZE FRAME.  BEGIN CLOSING CREDITS.131   INT.  ZEDD'S PALACE - DAY - OVER CLOSING CREDITS           131Rita and Zedd chase Mordant and Goldar around the palacBLASTING them with their staffs.                              GOLDAR               What'd we do?!                              ZEDD               It's not what you DID, it's what               you DIDN'T do!                              MORDANT               We tried to rescue you every               chance we had!                              RITA               LIARS!She WHACKS Goldar.                              GOLDAR               Ouch!!                              RITA               Do you know what it's like to be               stuck in a BLIZZARD FOR TWO               DAYS?!                              MORDANT               ... Cold?                              ZEDD               Are you trying to be funny?!Zedd BLASTS Mordant, SINGING his hairy behind.                              MORDANT               Hey, watch the hair!!!FADE OUT.
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+"MISERY" by William Goldman Based on the Novel by Stephen King FADE IN ON: A SINGLE CIGARETTE. A MATCH. A HOTEL ICE BUCKET that holds a bottle of champagne. The cigarette is unlit. The match is of the kitchen variety. The champagne, unopened, is Dom Perignon. There is only one sound at first: a strong WIND-- --now another sound, sharper--a sudden burst of TYPING as we PULL BACK TO REVEAL PAUL SHELDON typing at a table in his hotel suite. It's really a cabin that's part of a lodge. Not an ornate place. Western themed. He is framed by a window looking out at some gorgeous mountains. It's afternoon. The sky is grey. Snow is scattered along the ground. We're out west somewhere. The WIND grows stronger--there could be a storm. PAUL pays no attention to what's going on outside as he continues to type. He's the hero of what follows. Forty-two, he's got a good face, one with a certain mileage to it. We are not, in other words, looking at a virgin. He's been a novelist for eighteen years and for half that time, the most recent half, a remarkably successful one. He pauses for a moment, intently, as if trying to stare a hole in the paper. Now his fingers fly, and there's another burst of TYPING. He studies what he's written, then-- CUT TO: THE PAPER, as he rolls it out of the machine, puts it on the table, prints, in almost childlike letters, these words: THE END CUT TO: A PILE OF MANUSCRIPT at the rear of the table. He puts this last page on, gets it straight and in order, hoists it up, folds it to his chest, the entire manuscript--hundreds of pages. CUT TO: PAUL, as he holds his book to him. He is, just for a brief moment, moved. CUT TO: A SUITCASE across the room. PAUL goes to it, opens it and pulls something out from inside: a battered red leather briefcase. Now he takes his manuscript, carefully opens the briefcase, gently puts the manuscript inside. He closes it, and the way he handles it, he might almost be handling a child. Now he crosses over, opens the champagne, pours himself a single glass, lights the one cigarette with the lone match-- there is a distinct feeling of ritual about this. He inhales deeply, makes a toasting gesture, then drinks, smokes, smiles. HOLD BRIEFLY, then-- CUT TO: LODGE - DAY PAUL--exiting his cabin. He stops, makes a snowball, throws it, hitting a sign. PAUL Still got it. He throws a suitcase into the trunk of his '65 MUSTANG and, holding his leather case, he hops into the car and drives away. CUT TO: A SIGN that reads "Silver Creek Lodge." Behind the sign is the hotel itself--old, desolate. Now the '65 Mustang comes out of the garage, guns ahead toward the sign. As "Shotgun" by Jr. Walker and the Allstars starts, he heads off into the mountains. CUT TO: THE SKY. Gun-metal grey. The clouds seem pregnant with snow. CUT TO: PAUL, driving the Mustang, the battered briefcase on the seat beside him. CUT TO: THE ROAD AHEAD. Little dainty flakes of snow are suddenly visible. CUT TO: THE CAR, going into a curve and CUT TO: PAUL, driving, and as he comes out of the curve, a stunned look hits his face as we CUT TO: THE ROAD AHEAD--and here it comes--a mountain storm; it's as if the top has been pulled off the sky and with no warning whatsoever, we're into a blizzard and CUT TO: THE MUSTANG, slowing, driving deeper into the mountains. CUT TO: PAUL, squinting ahead, windshield wipers on now. CUT TO: THE MUSTANG, rounding another curve, losing traction-- CUT TO: PAUL, a skilled driver, bringing the car easily under control. CUT TO: THE ROAD Snow is piling up. CUT TO: PAUL driving confidently, carefully. Now he reaches out, ejects the tape, expertly turns it over, pushes it in and, as the MUSIC continues, he hums along with it. CUT TO: THE SKY. Only you can't see it. There's nothing to see but the unending snow, nothing to hear but the wind which keeps getting wilder. CUT TO: THE ROAD. Inches of snow on the ground now. This is desolate and dangerous. CUT TO: PAUL, driving. CUT TO: THE SNOW. Worse. CUT TO: THE ROAD, curving sharply, drop ping. A sign reads: "Curved Road, Next 13 Miles." CUT TO: THE MUSTANG, coming into view, hitting the curve--no problem-- no problem at all--and then suddenly, there is a very serious problem and as the car skids out of control-- CUT TO: PAUL, doing his best, fighting the conditions and just as it looks like he's got things going his way-- CUT TO: THE ROAD, swerving down and CUT TO: THE MUSTANG, all traction gone and CUT TO: PAUL, helpless and CUT TO: THE MUSTANG, skidding, skidding and CUT TO: THE ROAD as it drops more steeply away and the wind whips the snow across and CUT TO: THE MUSTANG starting to spin and CUT TO: THE MOUNTAINSIDE as the car skids off the road, careens down, slams into a tree, bounces off, flips, lands upside down, skids, stops finally, dead. HOLD ON THE CAR A MOMENT There is still the sound of the WIND, and there is still the music coming from the tape, perhaps the only part of the car left undamaged. Nothing moves inside. There is only the WIND and the TAPE. The wind gets louder. CUT TO: THE WRECK looked at from a distance. The MUSIC sounds are only faintly heard. CUT TO: THE AREA WHERE THE WRECK IS--AS SEEN FROM THE ROAD. The car is barely visible as the snow begins to cover it. CUT TO: THE WRECK from outside, and we're close to it now, with the snow coming down ever harder--already bits of the car are covered in white. CAMERA MOVES IN TO PAUL. He's inside and doing his best to fight is, but his consciousness is going. He tries to keep his eyes open but they're slits. Slowly, he manages to reach out with his left arm for his briefcase-- --and he clutches it to his battered body. The MUSIC continues on. But PAUL is far from listening. His eyes flutter, flutter again. Now they're starting to close. The man is dying. Motionless, he still clutches the battered briefcase. HOLD ON THE CASE. Then-- DISSOLVE TO: The BRIEFCASE in Paul's hands as he sits at a desk. SINDELL (O.S.) What's that? PULL BACK TO REVEAL We are in New York City in the office of Paul's literary agent, MARCIA SINDELL. The walls of the large room are absolutely crammed with book and movie posters, in English and all other kinds of other languages, all of them featuring the character of MISERY CHASTAIN, a perfectly beautiful woman. Misery's Challenge, Misery's Triumph--eight of them. All written by Paul Sheldon. CUT TO: PAUL, lifting up the battered briefcase--maybe when new it cost two bucks, but he treats it like gold. PAUL An old friend. I was rummaging through a closet and it was just sitting there. Like it was waiting for me. CUT TO: SINDELL (searching for a compliment) It's... it's nice, Paul. It's got... character. CUT TO: THE TWO OF THEM PAUL When I wrote my first book, I used to carry it around in this while I was looking for a publisher. That was a good book, Marcia. I was a writer then. SINDELL You're still a writer. PAUL I haven't been a writer since I got into the Misery business-- SINDELL (holding up the cover art of MISERY'S CHILD) Not a bad business. This thing would still be growing, too. The first printing order on Misery's Child was the most ever--over a million. PAUL Marcia, please. SINDELL No, no. Misery Chastain put braces on your daughter's teeth and is putting her through college, bought you two houses and floor seats to the Knick games and what thanks does she get? You go and kill her. PAUL Marcia, you know I started "Misery" on a lark. Do I look like a guy who writes romance novels? Do I sound like Danielle Steel? It was a one- time shot and we got lucky. I never meant it to become my life. And if I hadn't gotten rid of her now, I'd have ended up writing her forever. (touches his briefcase) For the first time in fifteen years, I think I'm really onto something here. SINDELL I'm glad to hear that, Paul, I really am. But you have to know--when your fans find out that you killed off their favorite heroine, they're not going to say, "Ooh, good, Paul Sheldon can finally write what we've always wanted: An esoteric, semi- autobiographical character study. PAUL (passionately) Marcia, why are you doing this to me? Don't you know I'm scared enough? Don't you think I remember how nobody gave a shit about my first books? You think I'm dying to go back to shouting in the wilderness? (beat) I'm doing this because I have to. (Marcia is stopped) Now, I'm leaving for Colorado to try to finish this and I want your good thoughts--because if I can make it work ... (beat) I might just have something that I want on my tombstone. On the word "tombstone" CUT TO: PAUL'S TOMBSTONE--the upside down car with the blizzard coming gale-force and his motionless body trapped inside the car. The WIND screams. PAUL'S EYES flutter, then close. Hold Keep holding as-- Suddenly there's a new sound as a crowbar SCRATCHES at the door-- -- nd now the door is ripped open as we PULL BACK TO REVEAL A BUNDLED-UP FIGURE gently beginning to pull PAUL and the case from the car. For a moment, it's hard to tell if it's a man or woman-- --not to let the cat out of the bag or anything, but it is, very much, a woman. Her name is ANNIE WILKES and she is close to Paul's age. She is in many ways a remarkable creature. Strong, self-sufficient, passionate in her likes and dislikes, loves and hates. CUT TO: PAUL AND ANNIE as she cradles him in her arms. Once he's clear of the car, she lays him carefully in the snow CUT TO: PAUL AND ANNIE: CLOSE UP. She slowly brings her mouth down close to his. Then their lips touch as she forces air inside him. ANNIE (Their lips touch again. Then--) You hear me--Breathe! I said breathe!!! CUT TO: PAUL, as he starts to breathe-- --in a moment his eyes suddenly open wide, but he's in shock, the eyes see nothing-- CUT TO: ANNIE--the moment she sees him come to life, she goes into action, lifting PAUL in a fireman's carry, starting the difficult climb back up the steep hill. As she moves away, she and Paul are obliterated by the white falling snow. DISSOLVE TO: THE WHITE OF WHAT SEEMS LIKE A HOSPITAL. Everything is bled of color. It's all vague-- --we are looking at this from Paul's blurred vision. And throughout this next sequence, there are these SOUNDS, words really, but they make no sense. "...no... worry... ...be... fine... ...good care... you... ...I'm your number one fan..." The first thing we see during this is something all white. It takes a moment before we realize it's a ceiling. Now, a white wall. An I.V. bottle is next, the medicine dripping down a tube into PAUL'S LEFT ARM. The other arm is bandaged and in a sling. ANNIE is standing beside the bed. She wears off-white and seems very much like a nurse. A good nurse. She has pills in her hands. CUT TO: PAUL. Motionless, dead pale. He has a little beard now. Eyes barely open, he's shaking with fever. PAUL (hardly able to whisper) ...where... am I...? ANNIE is quickly by his side. ANNIE (so gently) Shhh... we're just outside Silver Creek. PAUL How long...? ANNIE You've been here two days. You're gonna be okay. (relieved) My name is Annie Wilkes and I'm-- PAUL --my number one fan. And now the gibberish words make sense. ANNIE That's right. I'm also a nurse. Here. (Now, as she brings the pills close) Take these. She helps him to swallow, as Paul's eyes close. DISSOLVE TO: AN EXTERIOR OF THE PLACE. It's a farmhouse--we 're in a desolate area with mountains in the background. THE HOUSE is set on a knoll so that Paul's room, although on the first floor, is ten feet off the ground. CUT TO: PAUL, in the room. He's not on the I.V. anymore. His fever has broken. Annie enters, pills in her hand. ANNIE Here. PAUL What are they...? ANNIE They're called Novril--they're for your pain. (helps him take them) ANNIE applies a cool rag to his forehead. PAUL Shouldn't I be in a hospital? ANNIE The blizzard was too strong. I couldn't risk trying to get you there. I tried calling, but the phone lines are down. PAUL tries to test his left arm. ANNIE (Gently, her fingers go to his eyelids, close them) Now you mustn't tire yourself. You've got to rest, you almost died. CUT TO: ANNIE: CLOSE UP. Sometimes her face shows the most remarkable compassion. It does now. HOLD ON IT briefly. DISSOLVE TO: CLOSE UP ON PILLS IN ANNIE'S HAND ANNIE (O.S.) Open wide. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM He lies in bed. His fever is gone, but he's terribly weak. CUT TO: ANNIE. As she lays the pills on PAUL'S TONGUE, she gives him a glass of water from the nearby bed table. CUT TO: PAUL, swallowing eagerly. CUT TO: ANNIE, watching him, sympathetically. ANNIE Your legs just sing grand opera when you move, don't they? (Paul says nothing, but his pain is clear) It's not going to hurt forever, Paul, I promise you. PAUL Will I be able to walk? ANNIE Of course you will. And your arm will be fine, too. Your shoulder was dislocated pretty badly, but I finally popped it back in there. (proudly) But what I'm most proud of is the work I did on those legs. Considering what I had around the house, I don't think there's a doctor who could have done any better. And now suddenly she flicks off the blankets, uncovering his body. CUT TO: PAUL, staring, stunned at the bottom half of his body as we CUT TO: PAUL'S LEGS. From the knees down he resembles an Egyptian mummy--she's splinted them with slim steel rods that look like the hacksawed remains of aluminum crutches and there's taping circling around. From the kness up they're all swollen and throbbing and horribly bruised and discolored. CUT TO: PAUL, lying back, stunned with disbelief. ANNIE It's not nearly as bad as it looks. You have a compound fracture of the tibia in both legs, and the fibula in the left leg is fractured too. I could hear the bones moving, so it's best for your legs to remain immobile. And as soon as the roads open, I'll take you to a hospital. CUT TO: ANNIE: CLOSE UP ANNIE In the meantime, you've got a lot of recovering to do, and I consider it an honor that you'll do it in my home. HOLD on her ecstatic face. Then-- CUT TO: MISERY'S PERFECT FACE. We're back in SINDELL's office in New York. The office looks just the same, posters and manuscripts all over. But she doesn't. She holds the phone and she is fidgety, insecure. SINDELL This is Marcia Sindell calling from New York City. I'd like to speak to the Silver Creek Chief of Police or the Sheriff. MALE VOICE (O.S.) Which one do you want? SINDELL Whichever one's not busy. CUT TO: SMALL OFFICE IN SILVER CREEK ...with a view of the mountains. A MARVELOUS LOOKING MAN sits at a desk, by himself, holding the phone. In his sixties, he's still as bright, fast and sassy as he was half-a-lifetime ago. Never mind what his name is, everyone calls him BUSTER. BUSTER I'm pretty sure they 're both not busy, Ms. Sindell, since they're both me. I also happen to be President of the Policeman's Benefit Association, Chairman of the Patrolman's Retirement Fund, and if you need a good fishing guide, you could do a lot worse; call me Buster, everybody does, what can I do for you? CUT TO: SINDELL in her office. She pushes the speakerphone, gets up, paces; she's very hesitant when she speaks about Paul. Almost embarrassed-- SINDELL I'm a literary agent, and I feel like a fool calling you, but I think one of my clients, Paul Sheldon, might be in some kind of trouble. BUSTER Paul Sheldon? You mean Paul Sheldon the writer? SINDELL Yes. BUSTER He's your client, huh? SINDELL Yes, he is. CUT TO: BUSTER'S OFFICE He rolls a penny across the back of one hand--he's very good at it, doesn't even look while he does it. BUSTER People sure like those Misery books. SINDELL I'm sure you know Paul's been going to the Silver Creek Lodge for years to finish his books. BUSTER Yeah, I understand he's been up here the last six weeks. SINDELL Not quite. I just called, and they said he checked out five days ago. Isn't that a little strange? BUSTER I don't know. Does he always phone you when he checks out of hotels? CUT TO: SINDELL, really embarrassed now. SINDELL No, no, of course not. It's just that his daughter hasn't heard from him, and when he's got a book coming out, he usually keeps in touch. So when there was no word from him... BUSTER You think he might be missing? SINDELL (shakes her head) I hate that I made this call--tell me I'm being silly. CUT TO: BUSTER. He nods as a WOMAN enters, carrying lunch. It's his wife, VIRGINIA. She begins putting the food down on a table for the both of them. BUSTER Just a little over-protective, maybe. (beat) Tell you what--nothing's been reported out here-- (he puts Paul Sheldon's name with a ? on a 3 x 5 CARD) --but I'll put his name through our system. (he tacks the card to a bulletin board) And if anything turns up, I'll call you right away. CUT TO: SINDELL. She smiles, a genuine sense of relief. SINDELL I appreciate that. Thanks a lot. CUT TO: BUSTER BUSTER G'bye, Ms. Sindell. As he hangs up-- VIRGINIA We actually got a phone call. Busy morning. BUSTER (smiles) Work, work, work. (gives her a hug) Virginia? When was that blizzard? VIRGINIA Four or five days ago. Why? CUT TO: BUSTER. The penny flies across the back of his hand. He doesn't look at it, stares instead out the window at the mountains. BUSTER (a beat) ...no reason... HOLD ON BUSTER for a moment. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM PAUL'S VOICE (soft) I guess it was kind of a miracle... you finding me... ANNIE's soft, sweet laughter is heard. She stands over him, finishing shaving him with a very sharp straight razor. She wears what we will come to know as her regular costume--plain wool skirts, grey cardigan sweaters. ANNIE No, it wasn't a miracle at all... in a way, I was following you. PAUL Following me? ANNIE concentrates on shaving him with great care; she has wonderful, strong hands. ANNIE (explaining, normally) Well, it wasn't any secret to me that you were staying at the Silver Creek, seeing as how I'm your number- one fan and all. Some nights I'd just tool on down there, sit outside and look up at the light in your cabin-- (gently moves his head back, exposing his neck; this next is said with total sincerity, almost awe) and I'd try to imagine what was going on in the room of the world's greatest writer. PAUL Say that last part again, I didn't quite hear-- ANNIE (smiles) Don't move now--wouldn't want to hurt this neck-- (shaving away) Well, the other afternoon I was on my way home, and there you were, leaving the Lodge, and I wondered why a literary genius would go for a drive when there was a big storm coming. PAUL I didn't know it was going to be a big storm. ANNIE Lucky for you, I did. (pauses) Lucky for me too. Because now you're alive and you can write more books. Oh, Paul, I've read everything of Yours, but the Misery novels... CUT TO: ANNIE: CLOSE UP ANNIE I know them all by heart, Paul, all eight of them. I love them so. CUT TO: PAUL, looking at her. There's something terribly touching about her now. PAUL You're very kind... ANNIE And you're very brilliant, and you must be a good man, or you could never have created such a wondrous, loving creature as Misery Chastain. (runs her fingers over his cheek) Like a baby. (smiles) All done. (starts to dab away the last bits of soap) ANNIE starts cleaning up. PAUL When do you think the phone lines'll be back up? I have to call my daughter, and I should call New York and let my agent know I'm breathing. ANNIE It shouldn't be too much longer. (gently) Once the roads are open, the lines'll be up in no time. If you give me their numbers, I'll keep trying them for you. (suddenly almost embarrassed) Could I ask you a favor? (Paul nods) I noticed in your case there was a new Paul Sheldon book and... (hesitant) and I wondered if maybe... (her voice trails off) PAUL You want to read it? ANNIE (quietly) If you wouldn't mind. PAUL I have a hard and fast rule about who can read my stuff at this early stage--only my editor, my agent, and anyone who saves me from freezing to death in a car wreck. ANNIE (genuinely thrilled) You'll never realize what a rare treat you've given me. CUT TO: PAUL. His eyes close briefly, he grimaces. CUT TO: ANNIE, watching him, concerned. She glances at her watch. ANNIE Boy, it's like clockwork, the way your pain comes--I'll get you your Novril, Paul. Forgive me for prattling away and making you feel all oogy. She turns and goes out of the room. CUT TO: PAUL, watching her. ANNIE What's your new book called? PAUL I don't have a title yet. ANNIE What's it about? PAUL (fast) It's crazy, but I don't really know, I mean I haven't written anything but "Misery" for so long that--you read it you can tell me what you think it's about. Maybe you can come up with a title. ANNIE (in the doorway) Oh, like I could do that? CUT TO: THE MANAGER'S OFFICE AT THE SILVER CREEK LODGE Small, neat, one window--outside, snow covers all. BUSTER AND LIBBY, THE MANAGER, are going over books and records. Libby is an old guy, walks with a cane. LIBBY Nothing unusual about Mr. Sheldon's leaving, Buster--you can tell by the champagne. BUSTER Maybe you can, Libby. LIBBY No, see, he always ordered a bottle of Dom Perignon when he was ready to go. Then he'd pay up and be out the door. BUSTER No long-distance phone calls, Federal Express packages--anything at all out of the ordinary? LIBBY (head shake) I don't think Mr. Sheldon likes for things to be out of the ordinary. Considering who he is and all, famous and all, he doesn't have airs. Drives the same car out from New York each time--'65 Mustang--said it helps him think. He was always a good guest, never made a noise, never bothered a soul. Sure hope nothing happened to him. BUSTER So do I... LIBBY I'll bet that old Mustang's pulling into New York right now. BUSTER I'm sure you're right. But you can tell he's not sure at all as we CUT TO: A SPOON FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH BEEF BARLEY SOUP CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. He lies in bed. Sun comes in the lone window. ANNIE sits on the bed, a large bowl of soup in her hands, feeding him. ANNIE (almost shy about this) I know I'm only forty pages into your book, but... She stops, fills the spoon up again. PAUL But what? ANNIE Nothing. PAUL No, what is it? ANNIE Oh, it's ridiculous, who am I to make a criticism to someone like you? PAUL I can take it, go ahead. ANNIE Well, it's brilliantly written, but then everything you write is brilliant. PAUL Pretty rough so far. ANNIE (a burst) The swearing, Paul. (beat) There, I said it. PAUL The profanity bothers you? ANNIE It has no nobility. PAUL Well, these are slum kids, I was a slum kid, everybody talks like that. CUT TO: ANNIE. She holds the soup bowl in one hand, the muddy-colored beef barley soup close to spilling. ANNIE They do not. What do you think I say when I go to the feed store in town? "Now, Wally, give me a bag of that effing pigfeed and ten pounds of that bitchly cow-corn"-- PAUL is amused by this. CUT TO: THE SOUP, almost spilling as she gets more agitated. ANNIE --and in the bank do I tell Mrs. Bollinger, "Here's one big bastard of a check, give me some of your Christing money." CUT TO: PAUL, almost laughing as some soup hits the coverlet. ANNIE (seeing the spill, suddenly upset) There! Look there! See what you made me do! CUT TO: PAUL--his smile disappears. CUT TO: ANNIE, and she is just totally embarrassed. ANNIE Oh, Paul, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Sometimes I get so worked up. Can you ever forgive me? Here... She hands him his pills and starts to clean the soup off the coverlet. Then she makes the sweetest smile. ANNIE I love you, Paul. (more embarrassed than ever) Your mind. Your creativity--that's all I meant. Flustered, she turns away as we-- CUT TO: A ROAD IN THE MOUNTAINS. Piles of snow all around but it's been ploughed enough so it's driveable. CUT TO: A CAR coming into view. Up ahead is the sign we've already seen: "Curved Road, Next 13 Miles." CUT TO: INSIDE THE CAR BUSTER AND HIS WIFE VIRGINIA: Virginia is driving while Buster intently studies the terrain. He reaches for a large thermos, pours some coffee, offers it to her. She shakes her head. He begins to sip it. VIRGINIA This sure is fun. She puts her hand on his leg. BUSTER (removing it) Virginia, when you're in this car, you're not my wife, you're my deputy. VIRGINIA Well, this deputy would rather be home under the covers with the Sheriff. CUT TO: THE CAR. Suddenly, it goes into a little icy spin--she fights it back under control. CUT TO: INSIDE THE CAR BUSTER (suddenly) Stop--stop right here. VIRGINIA What? What is it? CUT TO: THE CAR, skidding, slowing, stopping. BOTH OF THEM get out, go to the edge of the road. Mountains of snow. Nothing much else visible. Then Buster points. BUSTER Look at that broken branch there... CUT TO: VIRGINIA, seeing it, unconvinced. VIRGINIA Could be the weight of the snow. BUSTER Could be--or a rotten branch or a mountain lion could have landed on it. Could be a lot of things. He steps off the road, starts down. CUT TO: VIRGINIA, watching him, worried--it's very slippery. CUT TO: BUSTER, graceful, in great shape, navigating down easily. CUT TO: THE TREE that the car ran into. BUSTER reaches it, studies it. CUT TO: VIRGINIA, staring out after him--she can't see him because the drop is both too steep and covered with trees and mounds of snow. VIRGINIA Anything down there? BUSTER'S VOICE (O.S.) Yeah. An enormous amount of snow. CUT TO: BUSTER. He's moved away from the tree now, going toward where the Mustang is buried. CUT TO: THE MOUND OF SNOW with the Mustang inside. CUT TO: BUSTER, making his way closer to it, closer, staring around. CUT TO: THE AREA. Nothing to be seen--everything is covered with mountains of snow. You could have a house down there and not be able to see it. Just glaring white. CUT TO: BUSTER, angry, frustrated, turning around and around and CUT TO: BUSTER from another angle, from behind the mound with the Mustang inside--and out of his sight, glistening in the sun, a bit of the door protrudes. But, of course, Buster can't see it. HOLD ON BUSTER, in a sour mood, staring around as the edge of the door continues to glisten. CUT TO: VIRGINIA, on the road as Buster makes his way back up, still ticked. VIRGINIA (they move to the car) You really think Sheldon's out there? BUSTER Hope not--if he is, he's dead. Let's go to the newspaper office. As they get in the car-- ANOTHER CAR DRIVING BY--it's Annie in her Jeep--neither she nor Buster notice each other. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM The door opens and ANNIE enters. ANNIE Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. PAUL It's fine. PULL BACK TO REVEAL Paul's eyes fluttering awake to see the hardback copy of his novel, Misery's Child, in Annie's hands. She's never been more excited-- ANNIE They had it at the store, Paul, there was a whole batch of them there. As soon as I saw it, I slammed my money down. I got the first copy. PAUL Then the roads are open... ANNIE The one to town is, but that's about it. I called the hospital and talked to the head orthopedic surgeon. I told him who you were and what had happened. He said as long as there's no infection, you're not in any danger, and as soon as the road to the hospital is open, they'll send an ambulance for you. PAUL The phones are working? ANNIE Well, mine's still out. But the ones in town were working just fine. I called that agent of yours. (soft now) Oh, Paul, I peeked at the very beginning. (looks at him) What a wonderful first page--just to read the name Misery Chastain... PAUL My daughter must be going nuts. ANNIE ...it's like a visit from my oldest, dearest friend. PAUL I was supposed to be home for her birthday three days ago. ANNIE Your agent said she would tell her you were okay. But I'm afraid you'll have to wait until tomorrow if you want to speak to her yourself. She starts to leave, stops at the door. ANNIE (She looks at him now with almost a look of amazement) Oh, Paul, what a poet you are... As she leaves-- DISSOLVE TO: PAUL, watching as she enters, moves to him, carrying a tray. ANNIE I made you my speciality--scrambled eggs a la Wilkes. And I'm on page 75. PAUL I guess that means it's okay. ANNIE No. No, it isn't, it's-- (halts) --oh pooh, I can't think of any words. Would "great" be insulting? PAUL I can live with "great." He starts, with effort, to eat. ANNIE (as she turns, goes) No, it's not just great, it's perfect, a perfect, perfect thing. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. MID-AFTERNOON ANNIE is clearing Paul's tray. She hands him his Novril; he quickly swallows them. ANNIE I'm up to page 185. I always get sad when I pass the halfway point. Will you do me a favor? I'd love it if you would autograph my copy. I already have your autograph on a picture, but it would mean so much to me to get it in person. I know you're right- handed, so don't worry if it's not so legible. I'll cherish it anyway. As PAUL signs the book: ANNIE I don't mean to pry, but I've read in two magazines now where you were seeing this model who does those disgusting jeans commercials. And I said it can't be true. Paul Sheldon would never waste his time with a trampy woman like that. PAUL Well, you can't believe everything you read in magazines. ANNIE I knew it. I knew it wasn't true. Boy, how do they get away with printing stuff like that? PAUL You'd be amazed at what some people will believe. He finishes the autograph, hands the book back to her. ANNIE Thank you so much. PAUL My pleasure. DISSOLVE TO: THE WINDOW - LATE - AFTERNOON SUNLIGHT CUT TO: THE DOOR. IT opens and guess what--a sow lumbers in. CUT TO: PAUL, kind of stunned as this female pig skitters its way around the room, excited, confused, slipping and sliding. CUT TO: ANNIE, all smiles and happiness, laughing in the doorway. ANNIE I thought it was time you two should meet. Paul, say hello to my favorite beast in all the world, my sow, Misery. PAUL Misery? CUT TO: THE PIG, snorting around the room. CUT TO: PAUL AND ANNIE, watching it. ANNIE Yes. I told you I was your number- one fan. PAUL I'm getting to believe you. ANNIE This farm was getting kind of dreary, what with just the few cows and chickens and me-- (happy) But when I got Misery here, everything Changed--she just makes me smile so. PAUL She's a fine... uh... pig is what she is... ANNIE (scooping up the pig, holding it tight as she stands by Paul) I'm on page three-hundred now, Paul, and it's better than perfect--it's divine. What's the ceiling that dago painted? PAUL The Sistine Chapel? ANNIE Yeah, that and Misery's Child--those are the only two divine things ever in this world... PAUL watches as the pig skitters out of the room with ANNIE in pursuit, happily imitating the pig. ANNIE Woink! Whoink! Whuh-Whuh-WHOINK! CUT TO: PAUL staring after them--what the hell was that? CUT TO: THE WINDOW. DUSK. ANNIE'S VOICE is heard softly. ANNIE When my husband left me... I wasn't prepared, it wasn't an easy time... PULL BACK TO REVEAL ANNIE, standing at the window, her back to the room. In bed, PAUL is dealing with a bedpan, peeing. ANNIE For a while I thought I might go crazy. PAUL I know how that can be. ANNIE I don't know about you, but what I did to get through it was I dove into work--days, nights--night shifts can be lonely at a hospital. I did a lot of reading. That was hen I first discovered Misery. She made me so happy. She made me forget all my problems. (She smiles now) 'Course, I suppose you had a little something to do with that too. There is a peeing sound. PAUL Yeah, well... He is embarrassed. ANNIE (She isn't) I just kept reading them over and over. I know when I finish this one-- and I've only got two chapters to go-- I'll just turn right to the front page and start reading it again. PAUL I'm... ANNIE (She turns around, moves to the bed) Done? PAUL Yeah, thanks. ANNIE No problem. As she takes the bedpan... ANNIE Don't get me wrong. I'm not against marriage per se. But it would take a pretty special guy to make me want to go down the aisle again. PAUL Well, it's not something you should enter into lightly. ANNIE It boils down to respect. People just don't respect the institution of marriage any more. They have no sense of real commitment. CUT TO: PAUL, attempting to smile. There is not much he can say to this. ANNIE I'd love to stay here and chat, but I'm right at the end and I gotta find out what happens. PAUL Well, I hope you like it. ANNIE Of course I'll like it. Misery's about to have her child. What's it gonna be, a boy or a girl? Ooh, don't tell me. With that, she exits. CUT TO: THE WINDOW. MOONLIGHT. CUT TO: PAUL. He's been dozing but now his eyes flutter awake as we CUT TO: THE DOOR. It opens and ANNIE enters, comes to his bedside. CUT TO: PAUL. Hard to see. He squints up as we CUT TO: ANNIE. CLOSE UP: her face is ashen pale. ANNIE You...you dirty bird. She can't be dead. Misery Chastain cannot be dead! How could you? PAUL Annie, in 1871, women often died in childbirth, but her spirit is the important thing, and Misery's spirit is still alive-- ANNIE (screaming) I DON'T WANT HER SPIRIT! I want HER! And you MURDERED her! PAUL I DIDN'T... ANNIE Then who did? PAUL No one--she just died--she slipped away, that's all. ANNIE (screaming) She slipped away? She slipped away? She didn't just slip away. You did it. You did it. You did it. You did it. You murdered my Misery. And now she has lifted a chair--it's heavy but she's very strong--and she raises it and turns on Paul, and it's high above her head, and PAUL realizes that this might be it, she might shatter him with it, crunch his skull--and that's just what she seems she's about to do--and then she swings it, not against him but against the wall, and it shatters and she's panting from the effort as she turns on him again, her voice surprisingly soft. ANNIE I thought you were good, Paul, but you're not good, you're just another lying old dirty birdie and I don't think I better be around you for awhile. (she crosses to the door, then stops) And don't even think about anybody coming for you, not the doctors, not your agent, not your family--because I never called them. Nobody knows you're here. And you better hope nothing happens to me because if I die, you die. CUT TO: PAUL, watching as she closes the door behind her. Then there is a RATTLE OF A KEY and the sound of the door to his room LOCKING. CUT TO: ANNIE, getting in her Cherokee and gunning away. CUT TO: THE ROOM PAUL lies still. He looks around the room and listens for sounds. All he hears are the SOUNDS OF A WINTER NIGHT in the mountains. After a few beats, he takes a deep breath and then begins his greatest effort of all: to force his body out of bed, to make it move. He's still weak from what he's endured, but that's not the main thing: it's the pain. Any attempt at movement and his legs scream. He sags back, lies there still a moment. Slowly he tries to maneuver his body off the bed. He rolls over onto his stomach, then tries to lower himself onto the floor by moving down head first. His good arm hits the floor, and he is able to hold himself up but, realizing there is no way to get out of bed without causing tremendous pain, he girds himself and flings himself out of bed and comes crashing to the floor. The pain is excruciating. After he regains his composure, he slowly crawls toward the door. He reaches up and tries the handle. It is, in fact, locked. He awkwardly tries to slam up against the door, but it is much too painful and to no avail. He crawls back over to the bed, realizes there's no way to climb back in, then grabs the blanket from the bed, wraps it around himself, and closes his eyes. DISSOLVE TO: BUSTER'S OFFICE. DAY. He sits alone at his desk on the telephone, staring at the Rocky Mountain Gazette spread in front of him. CUT TO: THE NEWSPAPER'S FRONT PAGE In a prominent spot on the top is what is most likely a book- jacket photo of Paul. Above the picture is the following: "HAVE YOU SEEN PAUL SHELDON?" BUSTER is on the phone with Marcia Sindell. BUSTER No, Ms. Sindell, there's no point in coming up here now. Everything that can be done is... Yes, we're working closely with the state police, and the FBI has been informed. Right... Right... As soon as we know anything we'll let you know. No, it's no bother. Call anytime. Bye, Ms. Sindell. VIRGINIA enters, carrying some files. VIRGINIA Here's the list of all Sheldon's credit charges. Nothing after the Silver Creek. (With a glance at his dour face, she indicates the photo) Any calls? BUSTER Just from his agent. CUT TO: BUSTER. His eyes flick up to her. An almost imperceptible shake of the head. HOLD FOR A MOMENT, then-- FACES. They are distorted, and they come into view but briefly, then change into the next distorted face. All kinds-- there is no order to them --young, Oriental, female, male, pretty, sad, black, not so pretty, happy, white, old--what we HEAR is this: "...You've changed my life..." "...I'm your number one fan..." "...I'm a really big fan of yours..." "...I'm your biggest fan..." "...Don't ever stop writing those Misery books..." "...I've read all your books, but the Misery's... well..." "...I'm your number one fan..." "...You've given me such pleasure..." "...I feel like you're writing just for me..." And now, it gets kicked up in speed and all goes faster, many times overlapping. "...I love you... I'm your number one fan... I'm your biggest fan... We love you... number one... love you... biggest... love you... number one... number one... you poor dear thing..." This last was said by Annie, out of focus, and for a moment, she stays that way-- CUT TO: THE ROOM, AS IT SNAPS BACK INTO FOCUS--ANNIE is standing by the bed. It is dusk. She wears a dark blue dress and a hat with a sprig of flowers. Her eyes are bright and vivacious--the fact is, this is the prettiest ANNIE WILKES has ever looked. ANNIE What are you doing on the floor? (crossing to the bed) It's my fault. If I'd had a proper hospital bed, this never would have happened. Here, let me help you back in. (She lifts him back into the bed, which causes considerable pain) I know this hurts, but it'll only take a few seconds. There you go. Comfy? PAUL (in pain) Perfect. ANNIE You're such a kidder. I have a big surprise for you. But first there's something you must do. PAUL I don't suppose I could have a little snack while I wait for the surprise? ANNIE I'll get you everything you want, but you must listen first. Sometimes my thinking is a little muddy, I accept that. It's why I couldn't remember all those things they were asking me on the witness stand in Denver. Now she turns, goes to the doorway, keeping on talking. She is never out of sight. ANNIE But this time I thought clearly. I asked God about you and God said "I delivered him unto you so that you may show him the way." PAUL Show me the way? ANNIE Yes. She exits and re-enters wheeling something toward his bed. It's a charcoal barbecue, the kind you use in summer for cooking hamburgers. She holds several items in her arms: a box of Diamond Blue Tip wooden matches, a can of lighter fluid. And most noticeably, Paul's manuscript. CUT TO: ANNIE AND PAUL. He watches, mute, as she takes off the grill, puts the manuscript into the barbecue itself where the charcoal goes, spritzes it with lighter fluid. The grill is close enough to the bed for him to reach out and drop a match. PAUL When I mentioned a snack, I was thinking more along the lines of a cheese and crackers kind of thing. CUT TO: ANNIE, looking at him. ANNIE Paul, this is no time for jokes. You must rid the world of this filth. She hands him the box of kitchen matches. PAUL You want me to burn my book? ANNIE (she nods) Yes. PAUL You want me to burn my book? ANNIE I know this may be difficult for you, but it's for the best. PAUL This isn't difficult, my agent's made dozens of copies. There's gonna be an auction on this, and every publishing house in New York is reading it now. So if you want me to burn it, fine. You're not ridding the world of anything. CUT TO: ANNIE, watching him. ANNIE (quietly) Then light the match, Paul. PAUL No big deal. ANNIE So you've indicated. Do it. CUT TO: THE MATCHES. PAUL'S HANDS are starting to tremble now. He can't do it. ANNIE I know this is the only copy, Paul. When you were twenty-four you wrote your first book and you didn't make a copy, because you didn't think anybody would take it seriously. But they did. And ever since you've never made any copies because you're superstitious--it's why you always come back to the Silver Creek Lodge. You told that story to Merv Griffin eleven years ago. PAUL You know, Annie, this book never would have survived without you. When it gets to new York, there will be a big auction, and whatever it brings we can split. (pause) God knows you're entitled to it. ANNIE Oh, Paul. This isn't about money. It's about decency and purity. It's about God's values. PAUL You're right. You're right. I don't know what I was thinking. I'll tell you what. It doesn't have to be published. Nobody ever has to see it. I'll just keep it for myself. No one will ever have to know it exists. ANNIE As long as it does exist, your mind won't ever be free. I think you should light the match, Paul. There is a long silence. PAUL doesn't move. ANNIE Can't you see it's what God wants? She's holding the can of lighter fluid in her hand as she speaks and absentmindedly flicks a few drops of the fluid on the bed. ANNIE You're so brilliant. I would think you'd certainly be able to see that. (More drops fall on the bed) We're put on this earth to help people, Paul. Like I'm trying to help you. PAUL watches as the fluid continues to drop on the bed. ANNIE Please let me help you. CUT TO: PAUL. His hands shaking. Almost robot-like, he strikes one. It flames. ANNIE You're doing the right thing, Paul. CUT TO: THE BARBECUE, as Paul's hand appears, drops the match on the fluid-soaked manuscript. For a moment--nothing-- --and then, KABOOM, the goddamn thing practically explodes and CUT TO: PAUL, staring, dazed, and as the flames leap higher, CUT TO: ANNIE, suddenly scared and startled at the heat and the size of the flames and the full baking heat and ANNIE (crying out) Goodness! CUT TO: THE BARBECUE. The sound is LOUDER as the flames leap up and now charred bits of paper begin floating upward and CUT TO: ANNIE, watching, as more bits of paper rise. ANNIE Goodness--Goodness--Oh, my gracious-- And she starts trying to catch them. CUT TO: A PIECE OF BURNING PAPER in midair, floating against the gauzy curtain, and for a moment it looks like the curtain will catch fire and CUT TO: ANNIE, panicked, racing out of the room, going "Goodness, heavens to Betsy"-- CUT TO: THE BARBECUE, and what's left of the book. CUT TO: PAUL, and he cannot take his eyes off the disaster. CUT TO: ANNIE, hurrying back in, carrying a big bucket, slopping water as she lifts the bucket. CUT TO: THE LAST of the manuscript as the bucket of water is tossed onto it--there's hissing and steam and as the steam clears it all looks now like a log in a brackish pond. ANNIE Well, isn't that an oogy mess? As she starts to wheel the barbecue out, suddenly there is a new and different sound as we CUT TO: PAUL, head turning toward the window. CUT TO: ANNIE taking a step toward the window, stopping for a moment. The sound we're hearing is a motor. A HELICOPTER MOTOR. And it's getting louder. Annie goes to the window now, looks toward the sky as we CUT TO: A HELICOPTER flying along. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HELICOPTER BUSTER and a PILOT are in the machine. Buster has a pair of binoculars looped around his neck, a map rumpled in his lap. BUSTER (pointing out) That's the Steadman place up there. (The pilot nods. Buster points again) The only other place up here is the Wilkes farm. Another nod. The PILOT points down. BUSTER stares through the binoculars. WHAT HE SEES: ANNIE'S JEEP parked in front of her house. CUT TO: INSIDE THE HELICOPTER BUSTER That's no '65 Mustang. There's nothing else out this way--circle on back. As the pilot starts to change direction CUT TO: ANNIE at the window, watching, as the helicopter turns, starts off. CUT TO: PAUL, listening as the MOTOR sound recedes. CUT TO: ANNIE, staring out the window. ANNIE I do believe the winters are getting shorter and shorter every year. People say it has something to do with the ozone layer. What do you think? PAUL I don't know. ANNIE Yeah, well, it's a theory. Here's your Novril. (she wheels the barbecue to the door; stops) How does tuna casserole sound for dinner? PAUL Great. She exits. PAUL takes the two Novril, stares at them, then deliberately tucks them under his mattress. DISSOLVE TO: PAUL'S ROOM. NIGHT. As PAUL is finishing the last of his tuna casserole. There are two Novrils on his tray. We hear strains of TV GAME SHOW THEME MUSIC. These sounds are not surprising. Paul has heard them before. CUT TO: ANNIE'S ROOM. NIGHT. It is much smaller than Paul's and filled with religious bric-a-brac, pictures of Paul Sheldon, and a TV on a portable stand. Annie lies in bed, with an open bag of Cheetos resting on her stomach and a big quart-sized plastic bottle of Coke on the nightstand. As she munches away, she is heavily engrossed in her favorite TV show, "The Love Connection." As Chuck Woolery extracts the embarrassing details of a couple's romantic interlude, we CUT TO: Paul faintly hearing the sounds of the TV. He has now finished eating. He takes the two Novril from under the mattress. He then undoes the sheet, takes his fork and delicately pokes a hole in the mattress, then stuffs all four pills back into the hole. DISSOLVE TO: FARMHOUSE Coming up to dawn. CUT TO: PAUL'S DOOR slowly opening. CUT TO: PAUL, staring at the door. CUT TO: WHEELS, seen from underneath the bed, being rolled around the foot of the bed. We realize PAUL is in a wheelchair with ANNIE pushing him. ANNIE See, isn't this nice? PAUL Great. I've always wanted to visit the other side of the room. ANNIE And look what I've got for you. An electric razor so you can shave yourself now. PAUL If I knew this was gonna be the surprise, you could've gotten me to burn all my books. ANNIE (She hands him some Novril) Now don't josh. This is a very big day for you, Paul. Here. You just sit tight, and I'll set everything up. ANNIE exits. CUT TO: PAUL, quickly shoving the Novril into the mattress. PAUL Set what up? ANNIE That's the big surprise. Your new studio--after all, writers do need a place to work. PAUL Work? You mean write? What in the world do you think I'd write? ANNIE Oh, but Paul! (flushed) I don't think, I know! Now that you've gotten rid of that nasty manuscript, you can go back to doing what you're great at-- (beat) --you're going to write a new novel-- your greatest achievement ever-- Misery's Return. CUT TO: PAUL. Stunned. PAUL (after a beat) Misery's Return? ANNIE I know you didn't mean it when you killed her, and now you'll make it right. CUT TO: ANNIE: CLOSE UP. In an almost religious fervor. ANNIE Yes. It will be a book in my honor. For saving your life and nursing you back to health. I'll be the first one to read it. (beat) Oh, Paul, you're going to make me the envy of the whole world... CUT TO: PAUL PAUL You just expect me to whip something off, that it? ANNIE (nods) I expect nothing less than your masterpiece. PAUL You do understand that this isn't the ordinary way books get written-- I mean, some people might actually consider this an oddball situation. She rolls him over to a table she has set up by the window. ANNIE I have total confidence in your brilliance--besides, the view will inspire you. CUT TO: THE WINDOW, as the wheelchair approaches it. The sky is innocent of clouds. There's a green forest climbing the flank of the nearest mountain. A plot of open ground between the house and the mountain. A neat red barn where the livestock stay. A Jeep Cherokee, maybe five years old. A Fisher plow. And no neighbors in sight. This is a desolate place. ANNIE You just inhale that. I'll be right back. CUT TO: PAUL, staring out the window. PAUL (calling out) I guess you don't get bothered by neighbors much. ANNIE Don't worry about that. You'll have total solitude so you can concentrate on your work. PAUL Great. CUT TO: ANNIE in the doorway, carrying reams of typing paper, pencils, pens and sharpener. CUT TO: PAUL, watching her--it's all kind of amazing. She hands him a box of typing paper. ANNIE I got you this expensive paper to type on. CUT TO: PAUL, looking at the paper. It's Corrasable Bond. An idea hits him; he masks it as best he can. ANNIE (putting the rest of the paper on the table) And I got a great deal on this fifty- pound clunker--on account of it's missing an "n." I told the saleslady "n" was one of the letters in my favorite writer's name. PAUL It's two of the letters in my favorite nurse's name, Annie. ANNIE (embarrassed, blushing) You--fooler...! (turns, grabs up pens, pencils, paper) Did I do good? PAUL (gesturing to the box of paper) You did great, except there's just one little thing--I can't work with this paper. It's Corrasable Bond, it smudges. Maybe you could go back into town and bring me some white, long-grained mimeo. ANNIE But mine cost the most so I don't see how it could smudge. PAUL (quickly taking a sheet of paper, making a pencil mark on it) C'mere, I'll show you. As she approaches, he rubs his thumb over the pencil mark. ANNIE (looking at it) Well, it does smudge after all--isn't that fascinating? PAUL I thought you'd be interested. I'd like you to be in on everything, Annie. Not just the finished book, but how it's written. ANNIE Thank you for thinking of me. (She can be so charming when she wants) Anything else I can get while I'm in town? Any other crucial requirements that need satisfying? Would you like a tiny tape recorder? Or maybe a handmade set of writing slippers? PAUL No, just the paper will be fine. ANNIE (suddenly very agitated) Are you sure? 'Cause if you want, I'll bring back the whole store for you. PAUL Annie, what's the matter? ANNIE What's the matter? I'll tell you what's the matter. I go out of my way for you. I do everything to try and make you happy. I feed you, I clean you, I dress you. And what thanks do I get? "You bought the wrong paper, Annie. I can't write on this paper, Annie." Well, I'll get your stupid paper, but you just better start showing me a little more appreciation around here, Mister Man. With that, she throws the ream of paper in PAUL'S LAP, causing considerable pain. CUT TO: THE DOOR as she slams it shut, locks it, stomps off and CUT TO: THE WINDOW. Annie, in a parka, can be seen storming out in the direction where her Cherokee was parked. She gets in and drives off. CUT TO: PAUL. He heaves a sigh, reaches out toward his tortured knees, then drops his head. He sees something. CUT TO: BOBBY PIN on the floor. CUT TO: PAUL, as he moves toward the bobby pin. Or tries to. It's brutally hard for him. The chair moves half a foot. Stops. Paul strains again. Another half foot. Another. CUT TO: The BOBBY PIN. The wheelchair is beside it now. PAUL reaches down for it. Can't make it. Tries again. Can't. He takes a deep breath, forces himself to bend, ignoring the pain. The bobby pin is in his hands. CUT TO: PAUL, inserting the bobby pin into the keyhole, beginning to jimmy the lock. CUT TO: THE LOCK--it makes a SOUND--something has caught. CUT TO: PAUL, excited, trying to force the bobby pin and he's doing great--until it slips from his hands, falls to the floor again. PAUL (furious) Shit... CUT TO: THE BOBBY PIN. Paul reaches for it. The pain has him. He reaches again, involuntarily cries out. But he grabs it, clutches it tight. CUT TO: THE KEYHOLE. Paul is trying to jimmy the lock a second time. No luck. CUT TO: PAUL. In wild frustration. PAUL You've written how to do this--now do it! CUT TO: THE KEYHOLE. There is a loud CLICKING sound. CUT TO: THE DOOR as Paul turns the knob. The door opens a crack. PAUL (amazed) What do you know, it actually works. CUT TO: PAUL, trying to get out of the room--but it's a bitch because in order to get to the lock he had to move the wheelchair up to the door and in order to get out, he's got to maneuver it out of the way of the door and every turn of the chair's wheels is an effort for him. He works at it and works at it, but his energy is failing him. He's pale, perspiring. Finally he succeeds, barely forces his way into the hall. CUT TO: PAUL, in the hallway outside. He looks around for a phone. Doesn't see one. He wheels himself over to the front door, tries it. It's locked from the outside. PAUL What a surprise. He looks off into the living room, and... CUT TO: THE TELEPHONE CUT TO: PAUL, wheeling into the living room. Dark red predominates. It's a musty room. Over the mantel, a photograph of a six- year-old ANNIE, with her mother and father in front of the family car--a new 1952 Buick. These were happier times. The windows have bars on them. As PAUL begins to wheel as fast as he can toward the phone-- CUT TO: THE PHONE as PAUL at last grabs for it, gets it, punches the "operator" button-- PAUL Operator... (nothing) ...OPERATOR... (wildly frustrated) ...Shit! He shakes the phone. It's terribly light. He picks it up, turns it over--it's hollow, just a shell of a telephone. He stares at it for a long moment, shaking his head, the disappointment plain. PAUL You crazy bitch... He puts the phone back on the table. CUT TO: THE GENERAL STORE. DAY. Annie exits the store, carrying new paper, hops into her Cherokee and drives off. CUT TO: THE STUDY, as PAUL enters. He looks around. It's stuffed with heavy, graceless furniture as well as lots of coffee tables covered with knickknacks. As he, with effort, wheels across it-- CUT TO: A shelf of BOOKS. PAUL SHELDON books. EVERY Paul Sheldon book. CUT TO: PAUL, pausing, looking at her collection. The only book on the shelf that isn't his is a large scrapbook. The title on the back reads "My Life." He glances back at the shelf as he forces his wheelchair across the study, and we CUT TO: A SMALL TABLE with little ceramic doodads on top. The wheelchair his it, one of the doodads topples--it's a penguin, fragile looking, and as it's about to fall to the floor and shatter-- CUT TO: PAUL, grabbing for it, catching it, putting it back where it was. He continues his slow way across the room and CUT TO: THE HALLWAY. Out in the hallway, on his way toward the kitchen, PAUL notices a door to his right. He wheels over and surprisingly it opens. However, this is not a door to the outside of the house, only a storage pantry. He looks around--nothing but canned goods, potato chips, cereals and large plastic Coke containers, etc. Just as he is about to close the door, he notices an open cardboard box. He opens the flap and sees all kinds of prescription drugs. Among them are a couple of strips of Novril encapsulated in blisters. He grabs them and stuffs them into his sweatpants. Now he closes the pantry door and heads to the kitchen. CUT TO: THE KITCHEN As PAUL approaches it. He starts to wheel his way in, but he has trouble. He backs up slightly, wheels forward again-- --but the door is too narrow for the chair to fit through. He pounds his fists on the chair arm, staring as we CUT TO: THE BACK DOOR. It's at the far end of the kitchen leading to the outside. It seems somehow less formidable than the front door did. The windows around the kitchen are barred. CUT TO: PAUL, staring at the kitchen door-- --then without warning, he makes his move, starting to lower himself out of the chair gently to the floor-- --only it doesn't work that way. It's too awkward, he doesn't have the strength to maneuver properly-- --and his body tilts awkwardly out of the chair, slams hard against the hard floor. CUT TO: PAUL, crying out in pain as he lands. He lies there for a moment. Little droplets of sweat are on his forehead now. He is hurting. He closes his eyes, gathering strength-- --and then slowly, very slowly, inch by inch, he moves his body across the floor toward the kitchen door. CUT TO: THE KITCHEN DOOR. It's still a long way away. CUT TO: PAUL, ignoring his pain, his awkwardness, making his body move. CUT TO: THE KITCHEN DOOR. Closer now. CUT TO: PAUL, growing pale, but he won't stop, and now the door is just ahead of him, and with his good arm he reaches out and up and grabs the doorknob-- CUT TO: THE KITCHEN DOOR. Locked solid. CUT TO: PAUL: CLOSE UP. The disappointment and anger is plain on his face. His arm drops. He lies still for a moment, panting from his effort. Then-- CUT TO: PAUL, and his eyes are wide for a moment. You can feel his wild excitement, as we PULL BACK TO REVEAL Sitting on the counter: A SET OF CARVING KNIVES sticking out of a slotted wooden block. They seem to be out of reach, but that doesn't stop him. He starts to crawl over to the counter. CUT TO: THE ROAD ANNIE is driving along in her Cherokee. She is heading home. CUT TO: THE KITCHEN Now at the counter, PAUL tries to pull himself up with his one good arm, but even though he is able to chin himself up to the top of the counter, he is still unable to reach the knives. He makes a desperate attempt which sends him crashing to the floor. As he starts to force his way up again--from outside there comes a sound--the motor of a car. CUT TO: OUTSIDE ANNIE'S ANNIE, driving up to the house. CUT TO: THE KITCHEN PAUL, throwing himself back to the floor, starting a wild crawl back across the kitchen toward the wheelchair and CUT TO: OUTSIDE ANNIE'S ANNIE, getting out of her Jeep and CUT TO: KITCHEN PAUL, crawling, crawling and CUT TO: OUTSIDE ANNIE'S ANNIE, walking around to the back of the Jeep and CUT TO: KITCHEN PAUL, scrambling wildly up into his wheelchair, starting to get it turned and CUT TO: ANNIE'S ANNIE, opening the back of the Jeep and lifting out several rectangular boxes of paper and CUT TO: PAUL, straightened out now, forcing the wheelchair to move, and now we're into a race, a crazed life-and-death race and the cuts go fast-- --and ANNIE closes the door of the car-- --and PAUL is suddenly stuck, there's no traction on the rug-- -- ow ANNIE, purchases in hand, starts away from the car for the house-- --and now PAUL is finally moving toward the bedroom. --and ANNIE is moving swiftly toward the front door. -- he drops one of the packages of paper. CUT TO: PAUL, still biting down, churning his arms with all the strength he has left. PAUL'S ARMS, aching, start to turn to rubber. CUT TO: ANNIE'S FEET, walking quickly across the snow-covered area in front of the house and CUT TO: THE BEDROOM DOOR as Paul gets through it, shuts it, and attacks the bedroom lock with the bobby pin and CUT TO: ANNIE, unlocking the front door of the house and CUT TO: THE BEDROOM DOOR, as it locks and CUT TO: THE FRONT DOOR, unlocking and CUT TO: ANNIE balancing the bundles under her chin as she jiggles the key out of the front door lock and CUT TO: PAUL, soaked. ANNIE (V.O.) (her voice from the hallway, close and growing closer) Paul, I've got your paper. CUT TO: PAUL. He wheels to exactly where he was when she left him. He at last allows himself a sigh of relief. CUT TO: THE DOOR as the sound of a lock CLICKING is heard. ANNIE Just the kind you asked for. And as the door opens-- CUT TO: PAUL--looking down. Paul's waistband--a half a dozen strips of Novril ominously stick out. As the door swings open, he quickly covers the Novril with this hands. CUT TO: ANNIE, in the doorway, a strange look on her face. ANNIE Paul, you're dripping with perspiration, your color is very hectic--what have you been doing? PAUL You know goddamn well what I've been doing--I'VE BEEN SITTING HERE SUFFERING. I need my pills. ANNIE (tenderly, as she starts toward him) Poor dear... Let's get you back in bed and I'll get them for you. PAUL (exploding--a real child's tantrum) I want my pills NOW! ANNIE It'll only take a second. PAUL I want my pain to go 'way, Annie-- make it go 'way, please Annie-- (She looks at him-- you can't tell if she's buying it or not) --please... CUT TO: ANNIE. She stares a moment more, then turns, starts for the door. ANNIE (upset) It just breaks my heart to see you like this... CUT TO: PAUL watching, and the instant she is out the door in the hallway, he stuffs the Novril into his pants. ANNIE (O.S.) (coming closer) I've done a lot of thinking on the drive... CUT TO: ANNIE, entering the room, the Novril in her hand. She is genuinely contrite. ANNIE ...and I'm absolutely convinced that the main reason I've never been more popular is because of my temper. You must be so mad at me. The truth now. She hands him the pills. And rolls him over to the bed. PAUL Well, I don't hold grudges. After all, who doesn't let off a little steam once in a while. CUT TO: PAUL putting the pills in his mouth, as she picks him up from the chair and puts him gently down in bed. ANNIE My genius needs his rest before he writes. She hands him a pad and pencil. ANNIE Here, in case you think of any ideas. PAUL Yeah, well I wouldn't expect too much. ANNIE Don't be silly. You'll be brilliant. Think of me as your inspiration. CUT TO: THE DOORWAY, as ANNIE starts to it. ANNIE I have faith in you... (beat) ...my darling... On that she turns--for the first time, a coquettish look comes to her face. ANNIE Catch this-- (she throws him a kiss--it's grotesque) --ummmm-wahhhh. CUT TO: PAUL, summoning up all his courage, as he mimes catching it and forces a smile on. She waves, closes the door. HOLD ON PAUL. The smile dies. He reaches in and pulls the two Novril capsules out of his mouth. Now-- CUT TO: THE SOUND OF A HELICOPTER CUT TO: INSIDE THE HELICOPTER BUSTER AND PILOT flying along. Buster is all bundled up as he stares out, using the binoculars... CUT TO: SOMETHING SHINY reflecting the sun. HOLD AS IT ALMOST BLINDS US--we're looking at the part of Paul's Mustang that was revealed by the snow when Buster almost found the car. BUSTER (to Pilot) Walter, we could be skipping lunch today. CUT TO: CRASH SITE Paul's car being hoisted by chains from the ground and, as it starts to rise up into the afternoon air... PULL BACK TO REVEAL THE AREA BY THE CAR--BUSTER is there and a bunch of STATE POLICEMEN and various MEDIA PEOPLE are there--Buster stands with the STATE POLICE CHIEF watching as the car is hoisted via derrick; the sound of the powerful MOTOR lifting the car is enormous and as the car keeps rising higher and higher and PEOPLE take pictures and stare and CUT TO: THE STATE POLICE CHIEF is addressing maybe a dozen REPORTERS. It's very cold. BUSTER stands slightly away from the group. STATE POLICE CHIEF The presumption must now be that Paul Sheldon is dead. We know he somehow crawled out of his car. But we have been unable to locate his body in the vicinity of the crash. We also know if anyone had found him, they would have taken him to an area hospital. His body is undoubtedly out there buried somewhere in the snow. We'll find him after the first thaw--unless the animals have gotten to him first. (beat) I'll take questions. After the first sentence, a very cold and very unhappy BUSTER leaves the gathering. CUT TO: PAUL'S CAR as Buster studies it, especially the area by the driver's side where there are still dents visible from Annie's crowbar. VIRGINIA moves to him now. They exchange a glance, start walking together toward their car. CUT TO: THE CHIEF, surrounded--people are asking questions, raising hands for attention, and as he answers them-- CUT TO: BUSTER AND VIRGINIA, close together, walking toward their car. VIRGINIA You don't think he's dead, do you? BUSTER He might well be. But not the way they say. He didn't crawl out of that car by himself. You saw those dents on the door--someone pulled him out. VIRGINIA It was an old car--those dents could have been there forever. BUSTER There's two kinds of people that drive around in old cars: the ones that can't afford new ones, and the ones who wouldn't give 'em up for anything in the world. That second bunch don't drive around with twenty- five-year-old dents. As they drive off... CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. NIGHT. PAUL lies in bed listening to the strains of "The Love Connection," coming from upstairs. As Chuck Woolery drones on, Paul is intently involved in folding a piece of paper from his pad. He is making a container of some sort. He finishes, then reaches down and grabs the Novril capsules that he has been stashing in the mattress. Carefully, he opens one and pours it into the palm of his hand. First he smells it--no odor--then he takes a tiny bit on a finger and tastes it--no taste. Then, he takes his paper container and empties the contents of all the pills into it, then places it under the mattress. Now, what to do with the empty capsules. He thinks for a second, then--what the hell--he swallows them. He then places the packet back in the mattress. CUT TO: THE TYPEWRITER. DAY. The window is visible behind it. From this angle, it almost seems to be staring at PAUL, broken "n" and all. PAUL tests his wounded arm. He's able to raise it a few inches, but that's it. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE WINDOW ANNIE is visible heading for the barn, followed by MISERY, the pig. For a moment, she stops, turns to look back. ANNIE (calling out) Don't be nervous-- (beat) --just remember, I'll treasure whatever you do. Now, as she turns again, moves quickly away-- CUT TO: THE TYPEWRITER CUT TO: PAUL. He rolls in a piece of paper, types briefly. CUT TO: WHAT HE'S WRITTEN, AND IT'S THIS: "Misery's Retur ." By Paul Sheldo for A ie Wilkes. CUT TO: PAUL, studying the paper. He takes it out, starts to roll in a new sheet. CUT TO: THE MACHINE as the new sheet is rolled in. CUT TO: PAUL, staring at the blank page. He takes a deep breath, glances outside, then back to the paper. CUT TO: THE BLANK PAGE CUT TO: PAUL, and now there's a brief light behind his eyes and suddenly he types a burst, stares at what he's written. CUT TO: THE PAPER and these words: "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck." CUT TO: PAUL. He closes his eyes briefly, mutters something, kind of nods, opens his eyes, grabs for another piece of paper, rolls it in and starts mechanically to type. DISSOLVE TO: A NEW PIECE OF PAPER with the words "Chapter Two" and a half paragraph of writing as we PULL BACK TO REVEAL PAUL WORKING in his room. ANNIE enters, the first pages of manuscript in her hands. It's dusk. ANNIE I'm sorry, Paul. This is all wrong, you'll have to do it over again. PAUL (totally stunned) What? What happened to "I'll treasure whatever you do?" ANNIE Paul, it's not worthy of you. Throw it all out except for the part of naming that gravedigger after me. You can leave that in. PAUL I really value your criticism, but maybe you're being a little hasty here. ANNIE Paul, what you've written just isn't fair. PAUL --not fair? ANNIE That's right--when I was growing up in Bakersfield, my favorite thing in all the world was to go to the movies on Saturday afternoons for the chapter plays... PAUL (it just comes out) --cliff-hangers-- ANNIE (suddenly angry) I know that, Mister Man--they also call them serials. I'm not stupid, you know. (and she's a child again) Anyway, my favorite was Rocket Man, and once it was a no-brakes chapter, the bad guys stuck him in a car on a mountain road and knocked him out and welded the doors shut and tore out the brakes and started him to his death and he woke up and tried to steer and tried to get out, but the car went off a cliff before he could escape and it crashed and burned and--I was so upset and excited and the next week you better believe I was first in line and they always start with the end of the last week and there was Rocket Man trying to get out, and here came the cliff and JUST BEFORE the car went off he jumped free and all the kids cheered-- (standing up now) --but I didn't cheer, I stood right up and started shouting, "This isn't what happened last week--have you all got amnesia?--THEY JUST CHEATED US--THIS WASN'T FAIR--" ANNIE: CLOSE UP. Still in her childhood reverie. Shouting: ANNIE "HE DIDN'T GET OUT OF THE COCKADOODIE CAR!" PAUL They always cheated like that in cliff-- (stops himself) --chapter plays. ANNIE But not you. Not with my Misery. Remember, Ian did ride for Dr. Cleary at the end of the last book, but his horse fell jumping that fence and Ian broke his shoulder and his ribs and lay there all night in the ditch so he never reached the doctor, so there couldn't have been any "experimental blood transfusion" that saved her life. Misery was buried in the ground at the end, Paul, so you'll have to start there. As she goes-- PAUL Look at this, I've got Lizzie Borden for an editor, here. PAUL slumps, staring barefully at the typewriter. DISSOLVE TO: OUTSIDE THE FARMHOUSE. NIGHT. DISSOLVE TO: OUTSIDE THE FARMHOUSE. NEXT MORNING. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. DAY. PAUL is at the table. He takes the Novril off his breakfast tray, wheels over to the bed, and stuffs them into the mattress. He hears FOOTSTEPS coming down the hall. He smoothly wheels back to the table. A pause. ANNIE enters to remove the tray. ANNIE What's the matter, Paul? You haven't written a word. PAUL I can't write this anymore. ANNIE Don't be silly. Of course you can. PAUL I'm telling you, I can't. ANNIE You can--you have the "gotta"-- PAUL The what? ANNIE The "gotta." Remember, you talked about it in Playboy magazine. You said there's a million things you can't do in this world; you can't hit a curve ball, you can't fix a leaky faucet or make a marriage work-- but there's one thing you always have, and that's the power of the "gotta." PAUL I said that? ANNIE You said you can make it so they gotta turn the page. You know, "I 'gotta' know will she live," "I 'gotta' know will he catch the killer." "I gotta see how this chapter ends." You said it. I don't usually buy that magazine. I only got it, 'cause they were interviewing you. CUT TO: PAUL: CLOSE UP. Blinking. PAUL (quietly) What about a bee...? ANNIE What? PAUL Nothing. CUT TO: THE KEYBOARD as the piece of paper slides in and the keys start to move. Annie stands there for a moment, then quietly backs out of the room. DISSOLVE TO: THE WINDOW. It's late afternoon. PULL BACK TO REVEAL PAUL in the wheelchair watching as ANNIE finishes reading. PAUL Well, is it fair? Should I keep going? ANNIE You better. Oh, Paul, when Ian realized that the reason they'd buried Misery alive was because the bee sting had put her in that temporary coma-- CUT TO: ANNIE, in a fervor. ANNIE --and when Gravedigger Wilkes remembered how thirty years earlier, the same thing had happened to Lady Evelyn-Hyde-- (hands clasped) --and then old Dr. Cleary deduced that Misery must be Lady Evelyn-Hyde's long-lost daughter because of the rarity of deadly bee-stings--my heart just leapt. CUT TO: PAUL, watching her. It's as if he had nothing to do with anything she's read as she goes on. ANNIE I've known from the very first book that Misery had to be born of nobility and I was right! PAUL (mumbling to himself) Yeah, yeah... CUT TO: THE TWO OF THEM; she touches the pages as if they were gold, rubbing gently with the tips of her fingers. ANNIE Oh, Paul, can I read each chapter when you finish? I can fill in the "n"s. (Paul nods, and she's off again) Will she be her old self, now that Ian has dug her out, or will she have amnesia...? PAUL ...have to wait. ANNIE Will she still love him with that special perfect love? PAUL Have to wait. ANNIE (plead ing) Not even a hint? Paul shakes his head. CUT TO: ANNIE, spinning around the room like a happy child. ANNIE Misery's alive! Misery's alive. Oh, it's so romantic--this whole house is going to be filled with romance. I'm going to put on my Liberace records-- (Stops, looks at Paul) --you do like Liberace, don't you? PAUL (quickly) Whenever he played Radio City, who do you think was right there in the front row? ANNIE I'm going to play my records all day LONG --to inspire you--he's my all-time favorite. And with that, she starts to leave. PAUL Annie? She stops at the door. PAUL Would you have dinner with me tonight? She can't speak. PAUL To celebrate Misery's return. I couldn't have done it without you. ANNIE Oh, Paul. It would be an honor. ANNIE dashes excitedly out of the room. PAUL wheels over to the bed, pulls the packet of Novril powder out from the mattress and stuffs it in his pants. The sound of Liberace playing "Tammy" with orchestra and chorus booms in from beyond the door. PAUL Jesus Christ. CUT TO: BUSTER'S OFFICE. DUSK. VIRGINIA is on the phone. VIRGINIA (into phone) No, he's not here. I don't know where he went. He never tells me anything anymore. He's probably out having an affair somewhere. Wait a minute. I think I hear him coming. BUSTER enters carrying a bagful of books. VIRGINIA (to Buster) It's Jim Taylor. He wants to know who you've been having an affair with. CUT TO: BUSTER. He puts the bag down, shoots Virginia a look and grabs the phone. VIRGINIA looks in the bag. BUSTER Hey, Jim, what's doing? Uh-huh... uh- huh... Jim, we've been over this. If you're gonna have benches in front of your store, people are gonna sit on them. I don't like him either, but I'm not going to come over there and tell him to move. Give my best to Denise. Bye. VIRGINIA (looking through the books; all paperback Misery novels) Well, whoever she is, she sure likes to read a lot. BUSTER Virginia, I'm flattered you think I got that much energy. I just figured if I can't find Paul Sheldon, at least I can find out what he wrote about. VIRGINIA What do you expect to find? A story about a guy who drove his car off a cliff in a snowstorm? BUSTER Now, you see, it's that kind of sarcasm that's given our marriage real spice. CUT TO: STUDY. NIGHT. PAUL is sitting at a table that Annie has set up with her best china and silverware. It is as romantic as Annie Wilkes gets. ANNIE enters, carrying a basket of rolls. She sits and serves Paul. ANNIE I hope you like it. PAUL It looks wonderful. And so do you. ANNIE Oh... They eat in awkward silence. Finally: PAUL I've never had meatloaf this good, what do you do to it? ANNIE My secret is I only use fresh tomatoes, never canned. And to give it that little extra zip, I mix in some Spam with the ground beef. PAUL Oh. (pause) You can't get this in a restaurant in New York. After another pause: PAUL Annie, I think we should have a toast. ANNIE A toast? PAUL Yes, to Misery. Let me pour you some more wine. Paul pours more of the Gallo wine, then raises his glass. ANNIE To Misery. PAUL Wait, let's do this right. Do you have any candles? ANNIE Oh, I don't know. I think so. I'll go look. She exits into the kitchen. PAUL quickly pulls the packet filled with Novril powder from his pants. He empties it into her glass of wine, stuffs the empty packet back into his pants, talking the whole time: PAUL Did you study decorating, or do you just have a flair? ANNIE Oh, you. I just picked things up over the years. PAUL Well, it certainly says you. ANNIE You really think so? PAUL Absolutely. Listen, if you can't find any, it's okay. I just thought it might be nice. ANNIE re-enters with a candle. ANNIE Are you kidding? If anyone ever told me that one day I'd be having a candlelit dinner with Paul Sheldon in my own house, I woulda checked both legs to see which one was being pulled. Will this do? PAUL It's perfect. She places the candle on the table. With a slight tremor in her hand, she lights the candle. PAUL raises his glass. PAUL To Misery and Annie Wilkes, who brought her back to life. ANNIE raises her glass. ANNIE Oh, Paul, every time I think about it, I get goosebumps. They clink glasses. And with that, her emotions having gotten the best of her, she knocks over the candle. In trying to right the situation, she places her glass back down, and as she reaches for the candle, she knocks over her glass, spilling the wine. ANNIE (wiping up the spilled wine with her napkin) Oh, God, what have I done? I'm so sorry, Paul. I ruined your beautiful toast. Will you ever forgive me? Here, let me pour another one. (she does) Can we pretend this never happened? To Misery? PAUL To Misery. So they drink their wine. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE FARMHOUSE. DAY. The snow, although still present, has melted somewhat. And starting now and continuing throughout is this: the sound of typing. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM PAUL, working at his typewriter. CUT TO: THE MANUSCRIPT. Growing. CUT TO: ANNIE'S BEDROOM. DUSK. ANNIE, in her room. Reading and loving it. CUT TO: BUSTER'S DEN. NIGHT. BUSTER sitting in his den reading a Misery novel by the fire. VIRGINIA brings him a cup of tea. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. DAY. PAUL, the sling off, moving his injured arm. It's more mobile than before. Testing his strength, he uses his arm to remove the page and place it on the pile. He puts in another page and continues to type. CUT TO: ANNIE, entering Paul's room, carrying a chapter. Handing him a cup of tea. ANNIE Paul, this is positively the best Misery you've ever written. PAUL I think you're right. CUT TO: THE PILE OF PAPER. Bigger. CUT TO: OUTSIDE THE BARN ANNIE, out by the barn. She stares in at the house. Framed in the window is PAUL, working. She smiles, enters the barn. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. NIGHT. He stretches but only briefly, then back to his typing. CUT TO: THE KITCHEN ANNIE, cooking happily away, reading a chapter. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM PAUL, arm out of the sling. He manages to lift the typewriter once, sets it back down, puts the sling back on. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. LATER. ANNIE, bringing a tray of food. ANNIE I think it's so wonderful that Misery would sacrifice her title to take up the cause of her people. That's true nobility. Paul hands her some new pages. As she exits, CUT TO: BUSTER'S OFFICE BUSTER, in his office reading. He is alone. CUT TO: ANNIE'S LIVING ROOM. NIGHT. Annie is reading by the fire. Her pig Misery sits beside her, staring at the pages. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. DAY. His fingers just fly, faster than he's ever typed and CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. NIGHT. Paul, staring and CUT TO: THE PILE, growing, growing and CUT TO: PAUL'S FINGERS CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM PAUL, ripping open a new ream of paper... CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. DUSK. His lips move silently. He's not even aware of it as he nods and... CUT TO: THE PAPER IN THE TYPEWRITER, line after line being written. INTERCUT WITH: Paul's face at DAY, NIGHT, and DUSK in rapid succession, ending with CUT TO: ANNIE'S FARMHOUSE. NIGHT. Lightning! Giant deep rolls of THUNDER as RAIN begins... CUT TO: TYPEWRITER being lifted out of frame, then back in, then out again. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. NIGHT. The pile of manuscript has doubled. Maybe two hundred pages. PAUL, with some effort, is pumping the typewriter up and down. Finally, he places it back down and puts his arm back in the sling. CUT TO: PAUL, looking outside breifly. CUT TO: THE RAIN. Worse. The SOUND hit s the roof of the house, hits the window. CUT TO: ANNIE, lumbering in--she's never looked like this: She's wearing her slippers and her pink quilted housecoat. Her eyes are without life. Her hair, loose and straggly, hangs around her face. Slowly, like a robot, she goes to PAUL, who looks silently up at her. ANNIE Here's your pills. She drops them on the table. CUT TO: PAUL, as the pills hit his chest and bounce into his lap. PAUL Annie, what is it? CUT TO: ANNIE ANNIE (half turns away, turns back, gestures outside) The rain... sometimes it gives me the blues. CUT TO: ANNIE: CLOSE UP. And suddenly it's as if she's been turned off, gone lifeless. CUT TO: PAUL, staring at her. No sound but the rain. CUT TO: ANNIE, seen straight on. No light in her eyes. ANNIE When you first came here, I only loved the writer part of Paul Sheldon. But now I know I love the rest of him too. As much as Misery loves Ian. (beat) I know you don't love me--don't say you do--you're a beautiful, brilliant, famous man of the world; and I'm...not a movie star type. You'll never know the fear of losing someone like you if you're someone like me. PAUL Why would you lose me? ANNIE The book is almost finished. Your legs are getting better. Soon you'll be able to walk. You'll be wanting to leave. PAUL Why would I want to leave? I like it here. ANNIE That's very kind of you, but I'll bet it's not altogether true. PAUL It is. She slowly reaches into the pocket of her bathrobe and pulls out a .38 Special. ANNIE I have this gun, and sometimes I think about using it. She is absentmindedly clicking the empty gun. ANNIE I better go now. I might put bullets in it. Robot-like, she crosses to the door and leaves. As she closes and locks the door-- CUT TO: PAUL, stunned, listening, waiting-- --here is the sound of the front door closing-- --then footsteps on the outside walk-- --the sound of a car door opening and slamming shut. Now comes the GUNNING of the motor. CUT TO: THE WINDOW as ANNIE drives by, hunched over the wheel. The MOTOR sound grows fainter, faint... CUT TO: BUSTER AND VIRGINIA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT. BUSTER AND VIRGINIA are lying in bed. Buster is reading yet another Misery novel, Misery's Trial. Virginia is also reading. BUSTER "There is a justice higher than that of man. I will be judged by Him." VIRGINIA What? BUSTER They're hauling Misery into court. VIRGINIA That's nice. BUSTER (mutters under his breath) "There is a justice higher than that of man--I will be judged by Him." CUT TO: ANNIE'S KITCHEN. The kitchen KNIVES on the counter. CUT TO: PAUL, now using both arms, forcing his body up toward them. This isn't easy, it was a bitch the first time he tried it, but nothing's going to stop him now. He's leaning against the cupboard, using it for balance-- --his balance starts to go but he won't let it as we CUT TO: THE KNIVES, AS HIS HAND grabs the largest one, a fat-handled sharp beauty and CUT TO: PAUL, and you can sense the relief as he begins to lower himself to the floor. CUT TO: THE STUDY PAUL, back in his wheelchair, knife in his lap, carefully opening drawers of little tables, looking inside. He closes them, moves on, unmindful of the rain. Now-- CUT TO: THE SHELF OF PAUL SHELDON BOOKS. As before-- --except the "My Life" scrapbook is gone. CUT TO: PAUL, glancing around-- --and there it is, on a coffee table in the living room. Also on the table are a roll of Scotch tape, a pair of scissors, and a copy of Newsweek. Paul wheels toward the table and the book, which is as big as a folio Shakespeare play and as thick as a family Bible. CUT TO: THE LIVING ROOM PAUL, opening the book. CUT TO: THE FIRST PAGE OF THE BOOK, as Paul opens it. It's a newspaper clipping as is almost all of what follows. A small article: simply a birth announcement for Anne Marie Wilkes. PAUL turns the page. This headline reads: "Investment Banker Carl Wilkes Dies in Freak Fall." "USC Nursing Student Dies in Freak Fall." That's the headline on the next page. Now: "Miss Wilkes is Nursing School Honors Graduate." Paul turns the page. Manchester, New Hampshire, Union Leader: "Ernest Gonyar, 79, Dies After Long Illness." Now that phrase seems to be what catches our eye--"after long illness" is from the next article. "Long illness" from the one after that. Then, on the next page, a variation: "Short Illness." Now we're in Pennsylvania: "New Hospital Staff Announced." And here come those phrases again on page after page--"After Long Illness." "After Long Illness." "After Long Illness." CUT TO: PAUL, transfixed; he keeps on turning the pages--the states keep changing, moving west. Pennsylvania to Minnesota, Minnesota to North Dakota. And always the clippings reporting deaths and deaths and-- --and now we're in Colorado. "NEW HEAD MATERNITY NURSE NAMED." And now the dead are young and helpless; babies. More and more of them. PAUL (stunned) Holy shit. Then a headline which reads: "HEAD MATERNITY NURSE QUESTIONED ON INFANT DEATHS" Next page: "MISS WILKES RELEASED." Next page: "THREE MORE INFANTS DIE." Next page, at last: "DRAGON LADY ARRESTED." Then a photo: the front page of the Rocky Mountain Gazette. Annie on the courthouse steps. "DRAGON LADY CLAIMS INNOCENCE," under which there is a statement by Annie Wilkes. Paul turns quickly to the next page and a very large headline: "DRAGON LADY FOUND NOT GUILTY" PAUL just sits there, shaking his head in bewilderment. CUT TO: THE BOOK, as Paul turns the LAST page. CUT TO: PAUL, stunned and now we find out why, as we CUT TO: THE PAGE IN THE BOOK. It's an article from Newsweek magazine, a picture of Paul's car being hauled up out of the snow. Above it this caption: "Presumed Dead--Paul Sheldon." CUT TO: PAUL. Slamming the book shut, putting it back on the coffee table, then quickly turning his wheelchair as we CUT TO: PAUL, steering his wheelchair toward the front door. He tries to position himself for a surprise attack of ANNIE, but he can't find a way to get close enough. The wheelchair is too cumbersome. He looks around and decides to head back to his room. He is faced with the same problem there--so he struggles into bed and, lying on his back, he rests the knife on his chest and stares up at the ceiling. DISSOLVE TO: PAUL'S WINDOW, hours later. The rain has stopped. CUT TO: PAUL--trying to stay awake. After a few beats, he hears something. It's the sound of a CAR PULLING UP. HEADLIGHTS can be seen flashing through the window. PAUL grips the knife and hides it under the covers. The sound of a CAR DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING, then FOOTSTEPS. As the FRONT DOOR OPENS, PAUL girds himself for attack. THE FRONT DOOR CLOSES, then a couple of FOOTSTEPS. Then silence. Then the FOOTSTEPS continue down the hall and up the stairs. After a beat, we hear the TELEVISION. Someone is explaining how you can buy millions of dollars of prime real estate with no money down. PAUL, allowing himself to relax, slips the knife under the mattress. As the TV DRONES ON, Paul lies staring up at the ceiling. DISSOLVE TO: OUTSIDE THE FARMHOUSE. NIGHT. We hear a clap of THUNDER and once again the rain pours down. CUT TO: CLOSE UP: PAUL--eyes closed. There is another loud THUNDERCLAP which causes Paul to stir and open his eyes. He turns his head and another CLAP OF THUNDER is heard, LIGHTNING flashes and reveals ANNIE standing over his bed. Before he can react, she jabs a needle into his arm, pulls it out and starts out of the room. PAUL tries to raise himself, but the power of the drug causes him to collapse, unconscious. CUT TO: THE ROOM. EARLY MORNING. It's stopped raining, PAUL lies asleep. Now, surprisingly, we hear a VOICE we've never heard in the movie before--loud-- for an instant we don't recognize the voice, then we do: It's LIBERACE talking to his audience on a record going, "Thank you, thank you, what a wonderful thing it is for me to be back with you in Paris..." PAUL stirs and awakens to discover that he is strapped to his bed. He can move his arms, but that's it. CUT TO: ANNIE, standing in the room, and she looks very together; her eyes are bright. Too bright. Way too bright. She comes to the foot of his bed. CUT TO: PAUL, groggy from being drugged, tries to clear the cobwebs. ANNIE (in a soft voice) Paul, I know you've been out. PAUL What? ANNIE You've been out of your room. PAUL No, I haven't. ANNIE Paul, my little ceramic penguin in the study always faces due south. PAUL I don't know what you're talking about. PAUL looks up at her--he is totally honest and sincere. As he talks, his hand surreptitiously begins moving toward the mattress edge. CUT TO: ANNIE, as she brings the fat-hand led knife out of her skirt pocket. ANNIE Is this what you're looking for? I know you've been out twice, Paul. At first, I couldn't figure out how you did it, but last night I found your key. (She holds up the bobby pin) I know I left my scrapbook out, and I can imagine what you might be thinking of me. But you see, Paul, it's all okay. CUT TO: ANNIE, as she walks slowly back to the foot of the bed. And now a THUMP comes from the foot of the bed. Something is out of sight. CUT TO: PAUL, staring at her; waiting. ANNIE Last night it came so clear. I realize you just need more time. Eventually, you'll come to accept the idea of being here. Paul, do you know about the early days at the Kimberly Diamond Mine? Do you know what they did to the native workers who stole diamonds? Don't worry, they didn't kill them. That would be like junking a Mercedes just because it had a broken spring-- no, if they caught them they had to make sure they could go on working, but they also had to make sure they could never run away. The operation was called hobbling. And with that, she reaches down out of sight and comes up holding a 16-inch piece of 4 x 4 wood. PAUL Annie, whatever you're thinking about, don't do it. CUT TO: ANNIE. She wedges the 4 x 4 firmly between his legs, just above the ankles, secures it and adjusts his feet. ANNIE Now don't fuss, Paul. PAUL Why would I run away? I'm a writer, Annie--it's all I am--and I've never written this well--even you said that this is my best, didn't you? ANNIE picks up a sledgehammer. PAUL Didn't you? Why would I leave a place where I'm doing my best work? It doesn't make any sense. CUT TO: ANNIE, positioning herself to the side of his right ankle. ANNIE Shh, darling, trust me-- (taking aim at his ankle) It's for the best. She takes the sledgehammer back. PAUL Annie, for God's sake, please. As ANNIE swings, the sledgehammer makes contact with the ankle. It breaks with a sharp CRACK. CUT TO: PAUL: CLOSE UP, shrieking. CUT TO: ANNIE, moving to the other side of the bed. ANNIE Almost done, just one more. And as she breaks the other ankle, PAUL shrieks even louder. CUT TO: ANNIE: CLOSE UP. ANNIE God, I love you... CUT TO: PAUL'S FACE. He is beyond agony. FADE TO BLACK: For a long moment, nothing. Then... a FAINT SOUND. After a moment, it begins to become more intrusive and we can tell what it is: a car horn HONKING. FADE IN ON: SILVER CREEK and ANNIE in her Cherokee, HONKING for another car to get a move on. CUT TO: A HAND AND A COIN MOVING ACROSS IT, from finger to finger. PULL BACK TO REVEAL BUSTER, sitting by the front window of his office, reading The Rocky Mountain Gazette. He watches idly as ANNIE yells out the window to the car in front of her. THE DRIVER of the car yells back. Annie yells louder. The Driver guns off, and Annie pulls into the parking space next to the General Store. CUT TO: ANNIE, getting out, shaking a fist at the other car, calling out, "You poop!" She enters the store. CUT TO: BUSTER, staring straight ahead. Something is gnawing at him. CUT TO: VIRGINIA, in his office, tidying the desk. BUSTER enters, looks angry. BUSTER Just leave it, all right? VIRGINIA Oh, I like that tone. BUSTER How many times do I have to tell you-- I have a system here. (rooting through a pile of papers) Where the hell is that thing? VIRGINIA What thing? BUSTER That thing. (finding what he's looking for, a 3 x 5 card) Here it is. Right where it's supposed to be. VIRGINIA What is it? BUSTER I'm not sure. Maybe nothing. VIRGINIA It's good you found it. BUSTER There's that spice again. As BUSTER leaves, VIRGINIA goes back to tidying the desk. CUT TO: A LARGE LIBRARY as Buster leaves his car, hurries inside and CUT TO: LIBRARY STACKS BUSTER, wearing bifocals, sits poring over bound volumes of The Rocky Mountain Gazette. CUT TO: BUSTER, frustrated, puts one set of volumes down, picks up another, starts through it, as we CUT TO: THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN GAZETTE, as the pages turn. --only now they stop moving. CUT TO: BUSTER, tense, adjusting his bifocals. CUT TO: A SERIES OF HEADLINES pertaining to Annie Wilkes' murder trial. CUT TO: A HEADLINE which reads, "DRAGON LADY CLAIMS INNOCENCE." Under a PICTURE OF ANNIE on the courthouse steps, we see a CAPTION: "Wilkes told reporters on the courthouse steps, 'There is a higher justice than that of man; I will be judged by Him.'" CUT TO: BUSTER. He takes the 3 x 5 card out of his pocket. CUT TO: The CARD--on it is printed the exact quote we just saw in the paper. CUT TO: BUSTER, sitting there, staring at the quote. BUSTER Interesting. HOLD ON HIS FACE, then-- CUT TO: ANNIE, carrying a bag of feed, followed by MISERY, the sow, comes into view. She slows, smiles, waves-- ANNIE Hi, Punkin. CUT TO: PAUL, staring out at her. ANNIE Give us a smile? (Paul gives her the finger. She laughs) Such a kidder. As she exits our view-- CUT TO: PAUL, lifting the typewriter and repeatedly raising it over his head, this time without any difficulty. CUT TO: THE GENERAL STORE IN SILVER CREEK. EARLY AFTERNOON. BUSTER enters. The place is empty. It's one of those wonderful spots that stocks pretty much everything in what seems like complete disarray. Buster goes to the coffee urn behind the counter, helps himself. He speaks to the guy who sits behind the counter nearby; these two have known each other forever. BUSTER Hey, Pete. PETE Buster. BUSTER Answer me a couple things? PETE If I can. BUSTER Do you have any of those new Paul Sheldon books? PETE We had a batch. Sold 'em all in three days. BUSTER You wouldn't happen to remember if Miz Wilkes bought one, would you? PETE Are you kidding? Every time that fella writes a book, she makes me set aside the first copy. BUSTER opens the cash register, drops his coffee money inside, closes the register. BUSTER Has she been buying any odd things lately? PETE Miz Wilkes? Same old stuff. (beat) --Lest you call paper odd. BUSTER Newspapers? PETE (mimes typing) No, the typing kind. CUT TO: BUSTER: CLOSE UP BUSTER Oh. That kind. Nothing odd about that. He cannot hide his excitement now as we-- CUT TO: ANNIE, entering Paul's room. He lies back in the wheelchair, eyes closed. Liberace music playing in the background. From the start, PAUL'S TONE is different--strong, he's in control. ANNIE Paul, don't you think it's time for you to start writing again? It's been over a week. PAUL I don't know, it's weird, but a couple of broken bones hasn't done a lot for my creative juices. Get the fuck out of here. ANNIE Don't talk to me like that. PAUL (staring at her now) Why, what are you going to do? (spreading his arms wide) Kill me? Take your best shot. ANNIE (taken aback) Why are you so mean, Mister you'd-be- dead-in-the-snow-if-it-wasn't-for- me? PAUL Oh, no reason, you keep me prisoner, you make me burn my book, you drive a sledgehammer into my ankles... ANNIE I'll drive a sledgehammer into your man-gland if you're not nicer-- PAUL (He spreads his legs) Be my guest. ANNIE (after a beat) That's disgusting. As she exits. CUT TO: A ROAD. Empty. Hold for a moment--now a car appears around a curve. CUT TO: THE CAR. BUSTER is driving fast. CUT TO: PAUL in his room. He sits as before, by the window. He doesn't move. Now he closes his eyes, stretches, sighs as we CUT TO: THE KITCHEN ANNIE, busily making cocoa. CUT TO: BUSTER IN HIS CAR. He stops at a mailbox. The name on the box is WILKES. Buster turns his car slowly into the driveway by the mailbox. CUT TO: PAUL. He yawns, opens his eyes briefly. Closes them. In the distance now, growing more and more visible is Buster's car-- --and now PAUL'S EYES go open wide, and he's staring out the window at the car as it keeps on coming, closer, closer and CUT TO: BUSTER, looking around. He's driving very slowly, carefully. CUT TO: PAUL. Fixating on the window and now it's all going to be all right, everything's going to be all right-- --and then ANNIE is on him, hypodermic needle in hand, jabbing it into his arm. He desperately tries to fight her off, but the drug starts to take hold. He tries to grab her by the neck, but she fights him off as she wheels him out of the room, down the hall and towards the cellar door. ANNIE I don't think I'll ever understand you. I cook your meals, I tend to you practically twenty-four hours a day, and you continue to fight me. When are we going to develop a sense of trust? ANNIE opens the cellar door. PAUL is all but limp by now. As she picks him up and starts to carry him down the steps-- CUT TO: BUSTER pulling up in front of the house. As he gets out of his car-- CUT TO: ANNIE placing Paul on the cellar floor and heading up the stairs. PAUL is out. CUT TO: BUSTER heading up the steps to the front door. CUT TO: ANNIE stashing the wheelchair in the hall closet. She crosses to the front door, opens it, revealing BUSTER. ANNIE (Gasping) Oh, my! BUSTER Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. You didn't give me a chance to knock. ANNIE (all charm) Guess you can tell from my reaction, I'm not all that used to visitors out here. What can I do for you? BUSTER I was just wondering if you happen to know anything about Paul Sheldon. ANNIE (stammering) What do you want to know? BUSTER Anything you can tell me might help. CUT TO: ANNIE. The words pour out-- ANNIE Well, he was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, forty-two years ago, the only child of Franklin and Helene Sheldon, mediocre student, majored in history... CUT TO: BUSTER, watching her, surprised. BUSTER (cutting in) Excuse me, that's not exactly the kind of information I was after. You see, he's been missing for quite some time now, and... ANNIE I know. It's so upsetting. I'm his number-one fan...I've got all his books, every sentence he ever put down. I'm so proud of my Paul Sheldon collection... (stops suddenly, almost embarrassed) ...here I am, prattling on and my manners have just flown away. I haven't invited you in. Please. BUSTER Thank you. ANNIE lets BUSTER in, closes the door. They linger in front of Paul's door. Buster idly checks out the hallway. ANNIE 'Course you must know about that horrible accident. BUSTER nods and wanders into the living room. ANNIE follows. He crosses into the study and checks out a bookcase that contains the complete works of Paul Sheldon. One shelf below contains Annie's infamous scrapbook. ANNIE Almost killed me, too. I prayed when I heard the news. I got down on my knees and begged for it not to be true. CUT TO: ANNIE. She's so moved. Buster wanders into the kitchen. ANNIE You're going to laugh at what I'm about to say, but go ahead, I don't care... (beat) ...when I was praying, God told me to get ready. CUT TO: BUSTER, watching her. This isn't at all what he expected. BUSTER Get ready for what? CUT TO: PAUL, trying to fight the drug; just his eyes flutter. CUT TO: ANNIE and BUSTER heading back down the hallway toward Paul's room. ANNIE To try and be his replacement--he gave so much pleasure to so many people and there's a shortage of pleasure on this planet these days, in case you hadn't noticed. BUSTER enters Paul's room. ANNIE follows. ANNIE God told me, since I was his number- one fan, that I should make up new stories as if I was Paul Sheldon. So, went to town. And I bought a typewriter. And paper to type on. The same kind Paul Sheldon used. And I turned the guest bedroom into a writing studio. Would you like to see it? BUSTER Sure. ANNIE It's right this way. BUSTER takes a look in the bathroom. ANNIE waits for him. ANNIE It's right here. I knew how he wrote, the kinds of words he used, the wonderful stories he told-- (moved) --I've spent the last four weeks trying to write like Paul Sheldon. (sad shake of the head) But I can't do it right. I try and I try and I know all the words-- (eyes closed in despair) --but it's just not the same. CUT TO: BUSTER. He just stands there, watches her. BUSTER Well... (long pause) ...maybe it takes time to get the hang of it. ANNIE (holding up pages from the manuscript) I could give you a couple of hundred pages of mine, and you could tell me what you think. BUSTER I'm not much of a critic. ANNIE Well, I just thought--oh, look at me. You'd think I'd never had a house guest before. Would you like something to drink? BUSTER Sure. ANNIE How does a nice cup of cocoa sound? BUSTER Sounds good. As she exits into the kitchen. ANNIE There's some already made. BUSTER lingers in Paul's room for a beat, then goes into the hallway. BUSTER Must get lonely, living out here all by yourself. ANNIE I always say if you can't enjoy your own company, you're not fit company for anyone else. BUSTER You got a point there... As Buster moves up the stairs-- CUT TO: PAUL, still fighting the drug. His arm twitches almost involuntarily, grazing the barbecue. CUT TO: BUSTER opening the door to Annie's room. He looks around and just as he is about to turn to leave-- CUT TO: ANNIE, standing right in front of him. ANNIE Here you are. BUSTER heads down the stairs, ANNIE follows. BUSTER Thanks, Miz Wilkes, but I don't want to take up any more of your time. I best be going. ANNIE But you didn't even taste your cocoa. They cross to the front door. BUSTER I'm sure it's wonderful, but really should be getting back. BUSTER opens the door. CUT TO: PAUL stirring. CUT TO: BUSTER and ANNIE at the door. BUSTER If you don't mind, perhaps I could pay you another visit sometime. ANNIE I'd be delighted. Now that you know the way... With that, she closes the door. We stay with BUSTER. He stands on the front porch for a beat, thinking, then starts heading down the porch steps. Just as he reaches about halfway down, we HEAR A LOUD CRASH coming from inside the house. CUT TO: PAUL--he has managed to partially fight his way through the drug, and in waking has accidentally knocked over the barbecue. He fights to clear the cobwebs. CUT TO: BUSTER Miz Wilkes, are you all right? There is no answer. He quietly moves into the house. BUSTER Miz Wilkes? Again, no answer. CUT TO: PAUL, still fighting to gain complete consciousness. PAUL (weakly) Here. I'm down here. Down here. CUT TO: BUSTER. Hearing Paul's muffled call for help, he tracks the sound to the cellar door. As PAUL continues to call out, Buster looks around, sees no one, and opens the cellar door. The shaft of light from the open door pours down on Paul, who is still lying on the floor. BUSTER Mr. Sheldon? But before Paul can answer, there's the sound of a LOUD EXPLOSION. Seemingly from nowhere a hole is ripped through Buster's chest, knocking him out of frame, revealing Annie, smoking shotgun in hand, standing at the top of the cellar steps. ANNIE Don't feel bad, Paul. It had to happen. I've been waiting for this sign. ANNIE walks toward BUSTER'S BODY and very casually takes his gun out of its holster. ANNIE I've known for some time why I was chosen to save you. You and I were meant to be together forever. But now our time in this world must end. But don't worry, Paul. I've already prepared for what must be done. I put two bullets in my gun, one for you and one for me. Oh, darling, it will be so beautiful. With that, ANNIE turns and exits the cellar. Paul's mind races desperately. He looks at the barbecue again. Next to it is a messy table with a dozen jars and cans on it. CUT TO: THE TABLE. One of the cans is LIGHTER FLUID. CUT TO: PAUL. He stares at it for a moment. An idea hits him-- --now, PAUL struggles and crawls over to the table. He grabs the lighter fluid in his hands, jams it into the rear of his pants and scrambles back to where ANNIE left him. CUT TO: ANNIE returning with her .38 Special and a hypodermic needle. She stops at the top of the stairs. ANNIE Now don't be afraid. I love you. She starts toward him. PAUL I know you do. I love you too, Annie. (this stops her) And you're right. We are meant to be together. And I know we must die. But it must be so that Misery can live. We have the power to give Misery eternal life. We must finish the book. ANNIE But the time is now. Soon others will come. PAUL It's almost done. By dawn we'll be able to give Misery back to the world. ANNIE stares at Paul. She could go either way on this. Then, without a word, she turns and goes back up the stairs. ANNIE Here, Paul. I'll fix you something to eat. She exits. PAUL hesitates for a moment, then realizes he has no choice. He starts dragging himself over BUSTER and up the stairs. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. NIGHT. PAUL working. Typing like a madman, totally concentrated on the white paper. His lips move but he's not even aware of it. ANNIE enters quietly, holding a few pages. ANNIE Oh, Paul. It's beautiful. PAUL Three more chapters to go. She looks at him now, enthralled. ANNIE The stranger staying at the Inn, is he someone from Misery's past? PAUL Maybe. ANNIE This is so exciting. It's Windthorne, her first love, right? PAUL Maybe. Are you ready for the next chapter? He taunts her with it. ANNIE (brimming with enthusiasm) Oh you! She takes the pages and goes. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. LATER. PAUL types a moment then rips out the page and starts over. CUT TO: ANNIE, putting the coffee down for him, putting the pages back on the main pile. ANNIE (more excited now than the last time) It WAS Windthorne. I knew it--what does that do to her love for Ian?-- (thinks) --of course, if she hadn't thought Windthorne was murdered she never would have fallen in love with Ian in the first place. (Paul glares at her, she turns to the door) Sorry, it's just that this is so wonderful. PAUL I'm glad you like it. ANNIE Paul, this will be our legacy. PAUL It will. He hands her a few more pages, she starts reading as she exits. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM. MUCH LATER. PAUL rubs his eyes. For a moment, he sags, but he fights it. He puts a clean page into the typewriter. ANNIE bursts in. ANNIE Oh, Paul. I'm dying. Does she wind up with Ian or Windthorne? You have to tell me. PAUL You'll know very soon. I'm starting the last chapter. And when I finish, I want everything to be perfect. I'll require three things. ANNIE What things? PAUL You don't know? ANNIE (smiling) I was fooling, silly. (ticking them off) You need a cigarette, because you used to smoke but you quit except when you finish a book, and you just have one, and the match is to light it. And you need one glass of champagne. (thinks) Dome Pear-igg-non. PAUL Dome Pear-igg-non it is. AS ANNIE exits. CUT TO: THE WINDOW The first light of morning is starting to break through. CUT TO: PAUL, stretching. He makes sure everything is set. PAUL (calling out) Annie! Annie! With that, she enters. ANNIE Yes, Paul. PAUL I'm almost done. ANNIE Oh, Paul, this is so romantic. Ian and Windthorne dueling for the right to Misery's hand. Does Ian win? Oh, don't me. It's Windthorne, right? PAUL You'll know everything in a minute. Get the champagne. ANNIE (dying from the suspense) Ahh!!! She exits; PAUL adjusts the manuscript on the table and then types the last line. CUT TO: ANNIE IN THE KITCHEN. She takes the bottle of Dom Perignon out of the icebox, places it on a tray with two glasses-- opens a drawer--takes out the gun--places it in her pocket-- then takes out the hypodermic needle and places it on the tray. CUT TO: PAUL'S ROOM ANNIE enters with the tray. She sets it down on the table. ANNIE Did I do good? PAUL You did perfect. Except for one thing. This time we need two glasses. He takes the last page out of the typewriter. ANNIE Oh, Paul. As soon as she exits, PAUL drops the manuscript to the floor, pulls the lighter fluid from his pants, and starts dousing the manuscript with lighter fluid. He grabs the last chapter and twists the last few pages together torch style. He douses it with the fluid and holds the match out of sight. He smiles as we CUT TO: ANNIE entering with the second glass... PAUL It's all right here, Annie. Remember how for all those years no one ever knew who Misery's real father was, or if they'd ever be reunited? It's all right here. Will Misery finally lead her countrymen to freedom? Does she finally marry Ian or will it be Windthorne? It's all right here. CUT TO: THE MATCH, as he strikes it and CUT TO: ANNIE screaming-- ANNIE Paul, you can't. And as her hands fly out beseechingly-- CUT TO: THE CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE--it falls to the floor, explodes like a torpedo, shards of glass all over, curds of foam everywhere-- PAUL Why not? I learned it from you... And on that-- CUT TO: THE LAST CHAPTER as Paul brings the match close to it and it bursts into flame. And Paul, holding it like the torch it is. Annie starts moving forward now. ANNIE No, no, NOT MISERY--NOT MY MISERY...! He drops the last chapter into the soaked manuscript and CUT TO: THE MANUSCRIPT, as KABOOM!, it bursts into flame and-- CUT TO: ANNIE, transfixed by the sight for a moment, --and then she charges. CUT TO: THE FIRE as ANNIE rushes to the book, stoops down, grabs it with both hands, brings the burning mass up to her body, both arms across it, trying to smother the flames-- CUT TO: PAUL, grabbing the typewriter, raising it high above his head, then throwing it down on her with all his power and CUT TO: THE TYPEWRITER, crashing into the back of her head. CUT TO: ANNIE, screaming, driven to the floor by the blow, the book beneath her, and the flames fly up, her sweater is starting to burn and she's covered with shards of glass from the shattered bottle of champagne and some of the manuscript is hissing from the liquid, but she is able to struggle to her knees-- ANNIE I'm going to kill you, you lying cocksucker... As she struggles to her feet, she pulls out the gun and shoots at Paul, hitting him in the shoulder. Just as she's about to shoot again, Paul quickly wheels the chair up to her, throws himself out of the chair, and tackles her. The gun flies out of her hand and lands in the hallway, going off as it lands. They wrestle on the floor. Flames still around them, PAUL gets on top of her, grabs some burning pages, stuffs them into her mouth, shouting -- PAUL Here. Here. You want it? You want it? You can eat it--eat it--eat it till you fucking CHOKE--you sick, twisted fuck. And as he forces more paper into her mouth-- CUT TO: ANNIE, and she's hideous--blistered, her hands claw at her throat. She makes horrible sounds, spitting the charred chunks of manuscript out of her mouth. Shards of glass are in her hair. Now a shriek and a tremendous jerk of her body and CUT TO: PAUL, falling away -- CUT TO: ANNIE, still making the sounds as she gets to her feet, and CUT TO: PAUL, trying to crawl away after her. CUT TO: ANNIE--heading for the door, she takes a step away from Paul, then another, then CUT TO: PAUL, suddenly kicking out with his shattered leg, screaming in pain as it crashes into her ankle and CUT TO: ANNIE, trying to keep her balance, not doing well, her arms windmilling as she fights for balance one last moment, fights and loses, and now, as she topples over-- CUT TO: THE TYPEWRITER as she falls and her head slams into it, collides with the sharp metal and a great wound opens in her head. There is one final cry. Blood pours. It's over. All over. We are looking at a dead body. CUT TO: PAUL, exhausted, panting, lying there, trying to gather his energy. He starts to crawl for the door. Just as he reaches the doorjamb, an arm grabs his leg, and CUT TO: PAUL, shrieking, and CUT TO: ANNIE, pulling herself up his body and CUT TO: PAUL, trying to buck her off, but he can't and CUT TO: ANNIE, the stronger, relentless, moving up on him, and CUT TO: PAUL, his grip broken as he turns and CUT TO: ANNIE, all-powerful, looming over him and CUT TO: PAUL, hitting up at her and CUT TO: ANNIE, swelling, and the blood pours down and if she feels his blows she doesn't show it and CUT TO: PAUL, whatever energy he has left he uses now, trying to twist and strike and as his body moves-- CUT TO: METAL BASED FLOOR LAMP and CUT TO: PAUL, grabbing the thing, suddenly bringing it across his body, clobbering Annie in the face and CUT TO: ANNIE, startled by the power of the blow and for a moment she is stopped and CUT TO: PAUL, as with everything he has left, he crunches her forehead with the sharp heavy metal base, just creams her as the air is forced out of her-- CUT TO: ANNIE. Her eyes roll up into her head. For a moment all we see are the whites-- --then she collapses on PAUL, a motionless mountain of slack flesh. CUT TO: PAUL, scrambling free, pushing her off him, crawling for the door-- CUT TO: --outside the door, as PAUL crawls into view, makes it to the corridor, reaches back, closes the door, locks it. Safe, he collapses, exhausted against the wall opposite the door. DISSOLVE TO: PAUL. HOURS LATER. It is dawn. He is awakened by a loud smashing at the front door. After a couple of heart-stopping pounds, CUT TO: THE FRONT DOOR smashes open, revealing two cops with guns drawn. THE POLICEMEN, hurrying to PAUL. The YOUNGER COP kneels beside Paul. YOUNGER COP It's the writer--the dead one-- PAUL (trying to keep himself together) --right! I'm the dead one-- OLDER COP Where's Sheriff McCain? PAUL He's in the cellar. She killed him. OLDER COP Annie Wilkes? PAUL Yeah. She's in there. CUT TO: The OLDER COP, taking the key to the room, unlocks the door, throws it open, and as he steps inside-- CUT TO: INSIDE THE BEDROOM The OLDER COP has his gun ready to fire, but even with it tight in his hand, he's edgy as hell. He looks around-- --glass and bloodstains on the floor. The charred remains of a manuscript. He kneels quickly, glances under the bed--nothing. He looks at the window--wide open. CUT TO: PAUL and the YOUNGER COP. Pause. The OLDER COP is in the doorway now. OLDER COP Mr. Sheldon? There's no one in there. CUT TO: PAUL: CLOSE UP. In shock. DISSOLVE TO: PALM COURT, PLAZA HOTEL This legend appears: ONE YEAR LATER MARCIA SINDELL is seated at a table. PAUL enters, walking briskly, and he's never looked this good before. He's gained his weight back, his color is normal again. He appears to be, for the first time in the movie, a jaunty, happy figure. PAUL Sorry I'm late. Jenny's basketball game went into overtime. If anybody ever told me I'd have a daughter who'd get a triple double, I'd... SINDELL Did they win? PAUL Yeah. They're in the semis. SINDELL Here it is. (big moment) Very first copy. And she hands him a wrapped package. PAUL sits, begins unwrapping it. It's a book. A new one by Paul Sheldon. The Higher Education of J. Phillip Stone. Paul turns it over gently in his hands. CUT TO: SINDELL SINDELL The word I'm getting is the Times review is gonna be a love letter. PAUL That'd be a first. SINDELL And my contacts at Time and Newsweek tell me they're both raves. And don't laugh--for the first time, I think you've got a shot at some prizes. PAUL (flatly) Great. SINDELL I thought you'd be thrilled. You're being taken seriously. PAUL I'm delighted the critics are liking it, and I hope the people like it, too. But it's not why I wrote the book. CUT TO: PAUL: CLOSE UP. There is a genuine sense of peace about him. He has been through the fire and survived. PAUL I like it. Remember how you once said I live my whole life as if I'm in danger of being found out? Well, I believe I've managed to get that guy down on paper. (He touches the book. Beat.) Don't think I'm completely nuts, but in some way, Annie Wilkes, that whole experience, helped me. SINDELL Paul, since you brought her up, I have to ask you this, or I'd be drummed out of the agents' union-- what about a non-fiction book? The truth about what went on in that house. PAUL Gee, Marcia, if I didn't know you better, I'd think you were suggesting I dredge up the worst horror of my life just so we could make a few bucks. SINDELL Now you've hurt me, Paul. As Paul glances around... CUT TO: PAUL, looking past MARCIA. CUT TO: DESSERT TROLLEY, some distance away, being pushed by a waitress. It is ANNIE. CUT TO: PAUL AND SINDELL SINDELL I thought you were over it. PAUL I am. Well, maybe not completely-- He glances toward the trolley. CUT TO: THE DESSERT TROLLEY, moving inexorably closer to PAUL. ANNIE reaches down and pulls out a very sharp knife. CUT TO: PAUL AND SINDELL PAUL I don't know if you can ever be totally over something like that--I just don't think about it as much anymore, and when I do, it's not so terrifying. CUT TO: ANNIE, with the knife raised. CUT TO: PAUL, staring up at ANNIE. PAUL I mean, once they found her body, my nightmares stopped. CUT TO: PAUL AND ANNIE--only it isn't Annie, just a WAITRESS. She stands by the trolley, the knife in her hand, ready to slice whatever anyone wants. WAITRESS Would you care for anything? PAUL (smiles) Cut me something sinful... CUT TO: PAUL. The smile holds. In the background now, soft music: someone might be playing "Liberace." HOLD ON PAUL FINAL FADE OUT: THE END 
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+                                MOONRISE KINGDOM                                                                                                                                      Written by                         Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola                                                                                    May 1, 2011          INT. BISHOP'S HOUSE. DAY                                   A landing at the top of a crooked, wooden staircase. There is          a threadbare, braided rug on the floor. There is a long, wide          corridor decorated with faded paintings of sailboats and          battleships. The wallpapers are sun-bleached and peeling at          the corners except for a few newly-hung strips which are          clean and bright. A small easel sits stored in the corner.                                   Outside, a hard rain falls, drumming the roof and rattling          the gutters.                                   A ten-year-old boy in pajamas comes up the steps carefully          eating a bowl of cereal as he walks. He is Lionel. Lionel          slides open the door to a low cabinet under the window. He          takes out a portable record player, puts a disc on the          turntable, and sets the needle into the spinning groove.                                   A child's voice says over the speaker:                                    RECORD PLAYER (V.O.)           In order to show you how a big symphony           orchestra is put together, Benjamin           Britten has written a big piece of music,           which is made up of smaller pieces that           show you all the separate parts of the           orchestra.                                   As Lionel listens, three other children wander out of their          bedrooms and down to the landing.                                   The first is an eight-year-old boy in a bathrobe. He is          Murray. The second is a nine-year-old boy in white boxer          shorts and a white undershirt. He is Rudy. The third is a          twelve-year-old girl in a cardigan sweater with knee-high          socks and brightly polished, patent-leather shoes. She is          Suzy. She carries a one-month-old striped kitten.                                   The boys drop down to the floor next to their brother. They          lie on their stomachs with their chins propped up on their          fists, listening.                                   Suzy sits in the windowsill. She opens a book called Shelly          and the Secret Universe. There is an illustration on the          cover of a young gymnast with a glowing amulet around her          neck.                                   Suzy starts to read -- then pauses. She lowers her book. She          raises a pair of junior binoculars to her eyes. She looks out          into the rain.           2.                                                            EXT. BISHOP'S HOUSE. DAY                                   A rickety, three-story, stone-and-shingle house on a hillside          with turrets and a widow's walk. A weather vane swings          creaking on the roof. Tree tops sway in a cluster below. The          sea is almost invisible in the misting rain, and the mainland          is a shadow across the sound. Suzy sits in the high window,          watching.                                                  TITLES OVER:                                   The family stuck indoors all day out of the rain.                                   In bedrooms, bathrooms, and corridors, we see the boys. They          shoot marbles. They throw jacks. They play cards. They eat          grilled cheese sandwiches together in the kitchen.                                   In half-open doorways, we see the parents. Mr. Bishop is a          tall, fifty-year-old man in Madras trousers and horn-rimmed          glasses. He reads the newspaper and drinks coffee. Mrs.          Bishop is a tan, forty-five-year-old woman in a Lilly          Pulitzer-type wrap-around skirt. She washes her hair,          topless, in the kitchen sink.                                   In windows, we see Suzy with her binoculars. She watches wet          branches shaking in the woods. She watches a man in a slicker          fishing from a row-boat. She watches a white colt in a field.          She eats a bowl of tomato soup alone in the pantry.                                   In the distance, a seaplane flies by below the clouds.                                                  CUT TO:                                   The edge of a cliff above a white beach. A rocky peninsula          curls into the background. Brisk wind rustles the tall grass.          A fifty-year-old man, bald on top with long hair on the          sides, stands next to a surveyor's levelling instrument on a          tripod. He wears rubber boots and a parka. He is the          narrator. He speaks to the camera:                                                   NARRATOR           This is the island of New Penzance.           Sixteen miles long. Forested with old-           growth pine and maple. Criss-crossed by           shallow tidal creeks. An important           seabird habitat. There are no paved roads           but instead many miles of intersecting           foot paths and dirt trails and a ferry           that runs twice daily from Stone Cove.           The year is 1965. We are on the far edge           of Black Beacon Sound, famous for the           ferocious and well-documented storm which           will strike from the east on the fifth of           September -- in three day's time.           3.                                                            EXT. SCOUT CAMP. DAY                                   A clearing in the woods with ten small, khaki tents pitched          in a row. A banner on a flag-pole ripples in the wind. It          reads Camp Ivanhoe. A bugler in a khaki uniform with a yellow          neckerchief plays a staccato tattoo. He has a gauze patch          over one eye. He is Lazy-Eye.                                   A thirty-five-year-old man in the same uniform emerges          through the flaps of a larger tent. He is Scout Master Ward.          He puts on a wide-brimmed felt hat. A badge on the crown          reads Khaki Scouts, Troop 55. He lights a cigarette. A thin          scout with curly hair and sunglasses joins him at his side.          He is Gadge.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Morning, Gadge.                                                   GADGE           Morning, sir.                                   Gadge flips open a small, spiral-bound note-book. Scout          Master Ward goes over to a latrine made from thick sticks and          rope. A tall, stooped scout digs a trench next to it with an          army-shovel. He is Deluca.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Deluca. Latrine inspection.                                   Deluca stops digging. He pulls on a rope and water runs down          a chute. It bursts through a valve, spins a little door, and          a small, red flag flips up. Scout Master Ward nods.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Good.                                   Gadge makes a note. Scout Master Ward strides away. He stops          in front of a scout with long hair over his eyes sitting on a          stump twisting something in his fingers. He is Roosevelt.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Roosevelt. How's that lanyard coming?                                                   ROOSEVELT                          (FRUSTRATED)           I don't know. I think I skipped a stitch.                                                  INSERT:                                   A small, woven, multi-colored cord with a rabbit's foot          attached to the end of it. It has been braided exceedingly          badly and is brutally twisted and misshapen.           4.                                                            Scout Master Ward studies the lanyard briefly. He looks          perplexed. He pats Roosevelt on the back gently and does a          secret handshake with him. Gadge makes a note. Scout Master          Ward strides away.                                   An off-road motorcycle races by in the background behind the          tents. It jumps a mound of dirt, kicks sideways in the air,          and revs away riding a wheelie. Scout Master Ward frowns.                                   Scout Master Ward stops in front of a pile of boards and logs          stacked six feet high. A thick-set scout with black hair and          a crooked tooth approaches with more logs in his arms. He is          Skotak.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Skotak. What's all this lumber for?                                                   SKOTAK                          (CHEERILY)           We're building a tree house.                                   Skotak points up. Scout Master Ward squints. There is a small          platform under construction about sixty feet above them. Two          scouts are sawing something in half on it. Scout Master Ward          looks astonished.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           That's not a safe altitude.                                   Scout Master Ward circles around the trunk while looking up          at the tree house. He stammers:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Why's it up so high? If somebody falls --           it's a guaranteed death.                                                   SKOTAK           Well, where would you've built it?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (PAUSE)           Lower!                                   Gadge makes a note. Skotak looks sheepish. Scout Master Ward          strides away. He stops in front of a very small scout with          tiny eyes poking at an anthill with a stick. He appears to be          contemplating pouring lighter fluid on it. He is Nickleby.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Nickleby. Spot check.                                   Nickleby stands up. He looks extremely disheveled.           5.                                                             SCOUT MASTER WARD           Your socks are down. Your shirt-tails are           untucked. Your trousers are not properly           pressed. You are reported for uniform           violation!                                   Gadge makes a note. Nickleby slouches. Scout Master Ward          strides away. He stops in front of a work-bench covered with          newspaper where one scout sifts green powder through a funnel          into cardboard tubes and another makes wax stoppers with a          metal press. They are Panagle and Izod. A sign on the side of          the table reads No Smoking. Scout Master Ward hands his          cigarette to Gadge, who holds it away at arm's length.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           How many rockets you up to, Panagle?                                                   PANAGLE           Sixteen and a half.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (TO GADGE)           That enough for the Jubilee?                                   Gadge shakes his head. Scout Master Ward turns to Izod.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Izod, go fetch another pint of gun-powder           from the armory shed.                                   Izod dashes around the corner. Scout Master Ward strides          away. He shouts:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Redford! Halt!                                   The motorcycle skids to a stop in front of Scout Master Ward,          engulfing him in a thick cloud of dust. He coughs and waves          his arms in the air. As the smoke clears, we see that the          rider is a bronze, all-American-looking boy with blond hair.          He is Redford. His motorcycle has flames painted on the gas          tank. He tries to cover for himself:                                                   REDFORD           Safety-test, sir.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (BRISTLING)           Come again?                                                   REDFORD           The vehicle appears to be in good working           order. I'm just checking if --           6.                                                             SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (ANGRILY)           Reckless cycling. Second warning. Next           time, I take away the keys.                                   Gadge makes a note. Redford scowls. Scout Master Ward strides          away. He walks past a scout in a white apron cooking bacon          over a charcoal grill. He is Chef.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Morning, Chef.                                   Chef rings a bell hanging on a post. Scout Master Ward          arrives at a long picnic table. He sits down and opens a          magazine called Indian Corn. There is a picture on the cover          of a scout troop crossing a bridge in Indonesia.                                                  INSERT:                                   The first page. A caption across the top reads Scout Master-          in-Chief. There is a drawing of a seventy-year-old man on          horseback. He has silver hair and a moustache. A signature          below reads Commander Pierce. There is a quotation in large          text: "An eagle was never hatched from a goose's egg."                                   As Scout Master Ward reads, all the scouts begin to join him          one-by-one. They range in age from twelve to fifteen. They          unscrew the tops of tin mess-kits and assemble folding          utensils. The chef brings a tray of scrambled eggs to the          table. The scouts serve themselves noisily.                                   Scout Master Ward starts to take a sip of coffee from a metal          cup -- then stops. He looks up from his magazine.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Who's missing?                                   Scout Master Ward silently reels off a list of names,          scanning the troop. He turns and shouts across the camp:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Shakusky! Breakfast!                                   Silence. Scout Master Ward calls to Lazy-Eye:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Lazy-Eye.                                   Lazy-Eye plays another tattoo. Silence.                                   Scout Master Ward closes his magazine. He flicks his          cigarette into a red bucket labelled Fire. He picks up a          strip of bacon and chews on it as he rises to his feet and          walks down the row of smaller tents. The last one is sealed           7.                                                            at the front. Scout Master Ward stands with his hands on his          hips and says:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Shakusky? You in there?                                   Scout Master Ward tugs on the tent's flaps. He frowns. He          says to Gadge:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           It's zipped from the inside.                                   The other scouts begin to gather with their tin breakfast          plates in their hands, watching curiously while they eat.          Scout Master Ward's voice softens:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Sam?                                   Scout Master Ward looks concerned. He produces a wooden-          handled scout pocket-knife. He unfolds a few blades and          gadgets and decides quickly on a thin tool with a hook on the          end. He crouches down and slips the hook through a small gap          at the base of the flap, twists left and right, then pulls up          briskly, unzipping the tent.                                   INT. SCOUT TENT. DAY                                   The lining of the tent is printed with images of trees and          pine cones, and a plaid rug covers the floor. There is a foot          locker, a gas lamp, a chair with a folded blanket over it,          and an empty cot. Scout Master Ward steps inside slowly, bent          over, examining the space. He lifts the lid of the foot          locker. He looks under the corner of the mattress. He picks          up a piece of folded yellow notebook paper sticking out from          under a pillow. He opens it and stares at it. He turns          suddenly to the chair against the wall of the tent and slides          it aside.                                   There is neat but slightly jagged hole the size of a          basketball cut through the fabric in the back corner. Scout          Master Ward looks to his staring troop.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Jiminy Cricket. He flew the coop.                                   EXT. POLICE STATION. DAY                                   A one-room bungalow with a sign on the door that reads Island          Police. There is a wood-panelled station wagon parked          alongside it with roller-lights on the roof and a sheriff's          office insignia on the door. (This is the only car on the          island.) A dock stretches from the cottage into a small           8.                                                            harbor. There is a launch moored at the end of it which bobs          in the rough tide.                                   A silver Airstream trailer is parked under a tree nearby.                                   A six-foot tall, forty-five-year-old man sits on a stool          fishing from the side of the dock. He wears a short-sleeved          police uniform with a black necktie and a baseball cap. His          glasses have clear, plastic frames and a strap. He is Captain          Sharp.                                   Two grouchy, leathery, very old men in plaid flannel and          hunting caps fish alongside Captain Sharp. A speaker on a          post emits an electric buzz. Captain Sharp turns. He stands          up briskly and says to one of the old men:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Watch my line, Edgar.                                   INT. POLICE STATION. DAY                                   A small office with a desk, a file cabinet, and a two-way          radio. Captain Sharp comes inside, sits down, grabs a          microphone, and presses a red button on the side of it with          his thumb.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Hello? This is Captain Sharp. Over.                                   Scout Master Ward's voice comes over a crackly speaker:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD (V.O.)           Captain Sharp, this is Randall Ward over           at Camp Ivanhoe. Over.                                   Captain Sharp pours himself a cup of coffee from a pot on a          hot-plate as he answers distractedly:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Morning, Randy. What can I do for you?           Over.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD (V.O.)           I'm not sure, exactly. I've got an           escaped Khaki Scout. Over.                                   Silence. Captain Sharp frowns slightly.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           What does that mean? Over.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD (V.O.)           One of my boys seems to have stolen a dug-           out and some fishing tackle, ten pounds                          (MORE)           9.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD (V.O.) (cont'd)           of sundries, two bedrolls, plus an air           rifle -- and disappeared. Over.                                   Captain Sharp slowly stirs sugar into his coffee as he          contemplates this. He says finally:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Any idea why? Over.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD (V.O.)           No. He left me a letter of resignation.           Over.                                                  INSERT:                                   A sheet of wide-ruled yellow paper which reads in a boy's                         PENCILED SCRAWL:                                    Dear Scout Master Ward, I am very sad           to inform you I can no longer be involved           with the Khaki Scouts of North America.           The rest of the troop will probably be           glad to hear this. It is not your fault.           Best wishes, Sam Shakusky.                                   Captain Sharp scratches his head. He checks his watch. Pause.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           I guess we better notify his folks. Over.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD (V.O.)           OK. Over and out.                                   EXT. POST OFFICE. DAY                                   A clapboard cottage surrounded by a white, picket fence. A          sign on the door reads U.S. Mail. Captain's Sharp station          wagon is parked in the background.                                   INT. POST OFFICE. DAY                                   A young woman with her hair in a bun sits at an operator's          switchboard eating a sandwich wrapped in wax-paper. She is          Becky. She wears bulky head-phones with a microphone          attached. Captain Sharp paces behind her. Scout Master Ward          flips through a stack of letters and post cards.                                   A bell rings on the switchboard. Becky plugs cords into          sockets.                                                   BECKY           Hello, Diane.           10.                                                             OPERATOR (V.O.)           Becky, I have your person-to-person from           Chesterfield.                                                   BECKY           Hold the line, please.                                   Becky signals to Captain Sharp and Scout Master Ward. They          sit down quickly and put on their own sets of operator head-          phones.                                                   BECKY           Go ahead, Chesterfield.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Split-screen. On one side of the frame, we see Captain Sharp,          Scout Master Ward, and Becky. On the other side, we see a          seventy-five-year-old man with a grizzled face sitting at a          kitchen table drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette while a          white-haired woman ices a cake in the background. They are          Mr. and Mrs. Billingsley. Mr. Billingsley says into his                         TELEPHONE:                                    MR. BILLINGSLEY           Hello?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Hello, sir. This is Captain Sharp.                                    MR. BILLINGSLEY           Yes, sir. I received your message. Thank           you very much. In fact, we've come to a           decision, as a family, because this is           only the most recent incident involving           Sam's troubles, and it's just not fair to           the others, so, unfortunately -- we can't           invite him back, at this time.                                   Captain Sharp, Scout Master Ward, and Becky all look puzzled.          Captain Sharp says evenly:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           There's no cause for alarm, sir. We'll           find him. We're just notifying you as a           matter of protocol and so on.                                    MR. BILLINGSLEY           I understand that. I'm notifying you of           the situation on my end.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           I'm confused by that statement. You can't           invite him back?           11.                                                             MR. BILLINGSLEY           I'm afraid not. He's a good boy, he's got           a good heart, but it's just not fair to           the others, you see? He's emotionally           disturbed.                                   Long pause. No one moves except Mrs. Billingsley icing her          cake. Captain Sharp says finally:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Am I speaking to Sam's father?                                   Mr. Billingsley frowns. He says, surprised:                                    MR. BILLINGSLEY           No, sir. Sam's parents passed away a           number of years ago. We're Mr. and Mrs.           Billingsley. We're foster parents. Sam's           been with us since last June.                                   Mrs. Billingsley has stopped icing her cake. She watches Mr.          Billingsley. Scout Master Ward interjects:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Excuse me, sir. This is Scout Master Ward           speaking. Are you implying Sam's an           orphan?                                    MR. BILLINGSLEY           Well, it's a known fact. Of course, he           is.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Why the hell doesn't it say that in the           register? Excuse my language.                                   Scout Master Ward holds up a manila file-card. Mr.          Billingsley shrugs.                                    MR. BILLINGSLEY           I don't know. What register?                                                  INSERT:                                   The manila file-card. It is labelled Khaki Scout Register.          Sam Shakusky is typed across the top line. There is an          address, health information, and a small, faded snap-shot          stapled to the corner of it of a twelve-year-old boy standing          in a sunny tobacco field. He wears his scout uniform with a          Davy Crockett-style coon-skin cap.                                    MR. BILLINGSLEY           We sent him a letter. It should reach you           presently.           12.                                                            Scout Master Ward looks quickly through his stack of letters.          He stops and pulls out an air-mail envelope. He stares at it.          Captain Sharp says forcefully but highly agitated:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Mr. Billingsley, I've got an escaped           Khaki Scout. We're notifying you as a           matter of protocol. You say you can't           invite him back? You say he's an orphan?           Well, I don't understand how that works.                          (TOTALLY CONFUSED)           What am I supposed to do with him?                                    MR. BILLINGSLEY           That's up to Social Services. They'll be           in touch with you. They'll look after           Sam. Good luck to you.                                   Mr. Billingsley hangs up the telephone. Becky pulls the cords          out of their sockets. Captain Sharp looks to Scout Master          Ward. Silence.                                   Becky opens a tin of home-made chocolate chip cookies.          Captain Sharp declines one. Scout Master Ward tries one. He          looks very impressed.                                   EXT. SCOUT CAMP. DAY                                   Scout Master Ward stands on a bench addressing his assembled          troop. The scouts are equipped for hiking with back-packs and          walking-sticks.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           You have your orders. Use the           orienteering and path-finding skills           you've been practicing all summer. Let's           find our man and bring him safely back to           camp. Remember: this isn't just a search           party, it's a chance to do some first-           class scouting. Any questions?                                   Lazy-Eye raises his hand. Scout Master Ward points to him.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Lazy-Eye.                                                   LAZY-EYE           What's your real job, sir?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (CAUGHT OFF-GUARD)           I'm a math teacher.           13.                                                                            LAZY-EYE           What grade?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (STIFFENING)           Eighth. Why?                                   Lazy-Eye shrugs. Scout Master Ward frowns.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           You know, we're, actually, kind of, in           the middle of something, if you didn't           notice. This is a crisis. Anybody else?                                   Redford raises his hand. Scout Master Ward points to him.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Redford.                                                   REDFORD           What if he resists?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (HESITATES)           Who?                                                   REDFORD           Shakusky. Are we allowed to use force on           him?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (IRRITATED)           No, you're not. This is a non-violent           rescue effort. Your instructions are to           find him, not to hurt him. Under any           circumstances. Do I make myself           understood?                                   The scouts murmur their understanding. Scout Master Ward          nods.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Good.                                   Pause. Scout Master Ward wheels back to Lazy-Eye:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           I'm going to change my answer, in fact.           This is my real job. Scout Master, Troop           55. That's us. I'm proud of that.                                   The scouts look impressed but slightly lost. Scout Master          Ward says finally:           14.                                                             SCOUT MASTER WARD           Be leery out there. OK, let's get           started. Where's Snoopy?                                                   SKOTAK           Right here.                                   Skotak holds up a leash attached to a wire-haired terrier.          Scout Master Ward takes a sock with a fleur-de-lis on it out          of a paper sack.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Give him the scent.                                   Scout Master Ward hands the sock to Skotak.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Redford, Deluca, Nickleby, Lazy-Eye, and Gadge at the back of          the group talking under their breath while Skotak waves the          sock under the dog's nose:                                                   LAZY-EYE           I heard he ran away because his family           died.                                                   GADGE           I heard he never had any family in the           first place.                                                   DELUCA           That's probably why he's crazy.                                                   REDFORD           I'll tell you one thing: if we find him,           I'm not going to be the one who forgot to           bring a weapon.                                                   NICKLEBY           Me, neither.                                                  MONTAGE:                                   The troop moves in a wide line searching through a thicket of          skinny trees. Redford carries a net and a giant tomahawk in a          sling. Deluca has a large hunting knife tucked under his          belt. Panagle holds a walking stick with a cluster of nails          sticking out on the end of it. Nickleby, Izod, and Lazy-Eye          all wear bows and quivers of arrows strapped to their backs.          The wire-haired terrier strains at the end of a leash,          sniffing down a foot-path.           15.                                                            Scout Master Ward speeds up the river in a small boat with an          out-board motor. He gives orders over a walkie-talkie. Gadge          steers.                                   Captain Sharp stands on the doorsteps of various big houses          showing the snap-shot of the missing scout to: an elderly          woman, a house-keeper, a group of children, a priest. They          all shake their heads.                                   Captain Sharp drives his station wagon down a beach, through          a field, and over a bridge.                                   EXT. BISHOP'S HOUSE. DAY                                   Captain Sharp stands at the front door talking with Mr. and          Mrs. Bishop. Mr. Bishop holds a glass of red wine in one hand          and an open bottle in the other. Mrs. Bishop looks slightly          uneasy. They both study the snap-shot.                                    MR. BISHOP           Camp Ivanhoe? That's all the way across           the other side of the island. You really           think a twelve-year-old boy could row           this far in a canoe?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Most likely not.                                    MRS. BISHOP           (with a shrug)           It's possible, Counsellor.                                    MR. BISHOP                          (SLIGHTLY IRRITATED)           I disagree, Counsellor. It'd take him           three days, at least.                                    MRS. BISHOP           I don't think so. Two days, maximum.                                    MR. BISHOP           Well, I'm not going to argue about it.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Be that as it may, will you let me know           if you see anything unusual?                                                  CUT TO:                                   A binocular shot of Captain Sharp from overhead as he walks          away down the front steps. He passes Lionel, Murray, and Rudy          on their way up the path. They wear wet bathing suits and          towels around their shoulders. Captain Sharp pats Rudy on the          top of his head. He dries his hand on the leg of his           16.                                                            trousers. He gets into his station wagon, backs out of the          driveway, circles through the woods, and drives around to a          small dirt road a hundred yards behind the house. He stops          the car. He gets out, sits on the hood, and lights a          cigarette.                                   Suzy watches from the widow's walk with her binoculars. She          lowers them. She looks curious. She raises them back to her          eyes and sees:                                   Mrs. Bishop from overhead as she comes out the back door of          the house carrying a basket of damp laundry. She pauses at a          clothesline, looks left and right, then walks quickly into          the trees. She crosses a foot-bridge and arrives at the dirt          road. Captain Sharp stands up. They talk briefly but          intensely. Mrs. Bishop leans against the car and stares into          space. Captain Sharp touches her hair. Mrs. Bishop makes a          gesture with her fingers. Captain Sharp hands her his          cigarette. Mrs. Bishop takes a puff, hands it back, and          strides away again through the woods. Captain Sharp gets into          his station wagon and drives off.                                                  INSERT:                                   A portable night stand. There is a reel-to-reel tape recorder          recording on it. A framed photograph next to it shows the          Scout-Master-in-Chief posing with a troop in front of the          Matterhorn.                                   INT. SCOUT MASTER WARD'S TENT. NIGHT                                   The front flaps are tied-open, and a mosquito net is drawn. A          hanging lantern flickers on a hook. A bugle plays a variation          of taps in the distance. Scout Master Ward sits on a cot          dressed in pajamas. He smokes a cigarette and drinks a glass          of brandy while he speaks tensely into a microphone:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Scout Master's log. September second.           First day of search party for Sam           Shakusky. Morale is extremely low, in           part, I suppose, because Sam is,           unfortunately, the least popular scout in           the troop, by a significant margin. I'm           worried, and I'm confused. Please, let us           find him tomorrow. Please, don't let him           fall off a cliff or drown in the goddamn           lake or something. A terrible day at Camp           Ivanhoe. Let's hope tomorrow's better. In           fact, I'm going to say a prayer.                                   Scout Master Ward presses stop. He kneels down on the floor,          closes his eyes, presses his palms together, and whispers.           17.                                                            EXT. SCOUT CAMP. NIGHT                                   Scout Master Ward zips up his tent and turns off the light.          Crickets chirp. Bats circle. The wire-haired terrier digs          carefully through a pile of trash.                                   EXT. NARROW STREAM. DAY                                   The next morning. A fast current runs along a shallow ravine          deep in the forest. The boy from the snap-shot rows a mini-          canoe painted with Native American tribal symbols and          severely over-loaded with boxes, bags, and blankets. He wears          a pellet gun slung on a strap over his shoulder and his coon-          skin cap. He smokes a pipe. A sash across his chest is          decorated with numerous small, embroidered patches. There is          a woman's enamelled brooch pinned to his shirt. It is a          jeweled, black scorpion. He whistles to himself quietly as he          steers under a fallen tree-trunk and winds through gentle          rapids. He is Sam.                                   EXT. RIVER BANK. DAY                                   An eddy under a willow tree. The end of the canoe is tied to          a branch, and the cargo is stacked on the shore. Sam covers          the boat with a camouflage net and dresses the top with pine-          needles.                                   EXT. ROCKY GORGE. DAY                                   Sam hikes through a pass wearing an extremely large back-pack          with stakes, metal poles, and two bed-rolls strapped to the          bottom. He wears a compass on a string around his neck.                                                  CUT TO:                                   A binocular shot of Sam emerging from the woods into a wide          meadow. The grass comes up to his chest and flows in waves.          He pauses to check his compass. He spins slowly one direction          and then back the other while he stares at the dial. He looks          up again. He walks onward. He stops.                                   EXT. WIDE MEADOW. DAY                                   Suzy lowers her binoculars. She stands at the end of a path          cut through the high grass. She has a leather folder in one          hand, the portable record player in the other, plus a small          suitcase and her kitten in a basket at her side. Sam takes          his coon-skin hat slowly off his head. He strides across the          meadow. Suzy watches him approach. She swallows. Her lips          part. Sam comes onto the path. He stops ten feet away from          Suzy.                                   Sam and Suzy stare at each other. Silence. (NOTE: Suzy is          slightly taller than Sam.)           18.                                                                           INSERT:                                   A poster box with St. Jack's Church across the top. A purple-          ink mimeographed page is stapled to a bulletin board inside          under the heading Summer Pageant, 1964. It reads:                                                   BENJAMIN BRITTEN'S                          "NOYE'S FLUDDE"           Performed by the           Choristers of St. Jack Wood and New Penzance                                                  CUT TO:                                   Dusk. A brick church at the top of a bluff overlooking the          bay. It is overgrown with ivy and wisteria. There is a          cemetery with a low wrought-iron fence. An organ plays          inside.                                                  TITLE:                                    One Year Earlier                                   INT. EPISCOPAL CHURCH. EVENING                                   A play is in progress. The set includes a long ark with a          sail built on a platform behind the altar. Two teenagers          crouched in the wings ripple a narrow, blue sheet across the          foot of the stage. (This is meant to be water.) The rest of          the room is dim, with tall candles flickering along the          center aisle. The beams are draped with garlands. A large          congregation fills every pew plus folding chairs against the          walls. More people sit and stand on the steps to the choir          loft at the back and in nooks and corners. The members of a          brass ensemble seated beside the organist wait for their next          cue, following their sheet music with instruments poised.                                   Khaki Scouts and scout masters occupy the rear section of the          church. A very young troop in a slightly different version of          the uniform fills a row near the exit. Sam sits on the aisle.          He looks bored.                                   A baritone built like a linebacker in robes and a fake beard          sings ominously on the stage. Cymbals crash. Sam stands up          and discreetly wanders toward the side door with his hands in          his pockets. A slight, forty-year-old man in the same uniform          watches him from the end of the pew, frowning.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Sam quietly entering the lobby. The sound of the music          deadens as he gently shuts the door behind him. He turns          around and puts on a yellow scout cap with Junior Khaki          stitched on the bill. The room is jammed with children          dressed as animals, waiting nervously in a long line that           19.                                                            winds all around the space. They whisper and shuffle. A large          woman stares through a small window into the church with her          hand on a doorknob. She is Mrs. Lynn. She snaps her fingers          suddenly without looking to the children. They fall silent.          Pause.                                   Mrs. Lynn swings open the center doors. Music fills the room          again. The first twenty of the children begin to sing. They          march out of the lobby, two by two. The woman closes the          doors behind them, and the next group takes their place to          wait.                                   Sam walks slowly among otters, monkeys, squirrels, and          skunks, examining their costumes, periodically touching          horns, tusks, and teeth. No one pays attention to him. He          drinks a sip from a water fountain. He picks up a mint from a          bowl and sucks on it. He slips out through a swinging door.                                   INT. DRESSING ROOM. EVENING                                   Sam moves down a dark corridor. Voices murmur. He pokes his          head around a corner. A rack of choir robes and cassocks          blocks his path. He slides two of them apart and looks                         THROUGH AT:                                   Five eleven-year-old girls in black leotards sitting on a          bench in front of a mirror framed with light bulbs. They talk          quietly and fix their make-up. They all wear wings on their          arms and beaks on their heads. Suzy sits among them in black          feathers. Sam stares at her. He steps into the light          silently. Suzy sees him in the reflection. The other girls          turn around quickly, covering themselves.                                   Sam removes his cap and takes another step forward. His eyes          dart briefly among the other girls. He says to Suzy:                                                   SAM           What kind of bird are you?                                   Suzy hesitates. She looks to the girl next to her, who says          in a bossy voice:                                                   BOSSY GIRL           I'm a sparrow, she's a dove, and --                                   Sam does not look away from Suzy as he interrupts, pointing:                                                   SAM           No, I said, "What kind of bird are you?"                                   The other girls all look to Suzy. Pause.                                                   SUZY           I'm a raven.           20.                                                            Suzy lifts her beak slightly higher on her forehead. The          other girls look annoyed but transfixed. The bossy girl          frowns.                                                   BOSSY GIRL           Boy's aren't allowed in here.                                   Sam does not look away from Suzy as he answers quietly:                                                   SAM           I'll be leaving soon.                                   Sam points down at Suzy's lap. One of her hands is wrapped in          a bandage.                                                   SAM           What happened to your hand?                                                   SUZY                          (PAUSE)           I got hit in the mirror.                                                   SAM                          (TAKEN ABACK)           Really. How'd that happen?                                                   SUZY                          (SHRUGS)           I lost my temper at myself.                                   Sam is deeply intrigued by this. The other girls look          puzzled. Suzy presses her hair back off her face. She watches          Sam nervously.                                                   SUZY           What's your name?                                                   SAM           Sam. What's yours?                                                   SUZY           I'm Suzy.                                   Sam nods with his eyes still glued to Suzy's. Suzy bites her          fingernails. The bossy girl rolls her eyes.                                                   BOSSY GIRL           It's not polite to stare.                                   Sam holds up his hand for the bossy girl to stop talking.          Mrs. Lynn steps into the doorway.                                    MRS. LYNN           Birds! Ready?           21.                                                            Mrs. Lynn does a double-take. She snaps at Sam:                                    MRS. LYNN           Who are you? Where'd you come from? Go           back to your seat.                                   Sam hesitates. He spits the mint into a trash can, ducks out          through the clothing rack, and is gone. A skinny girl dressed          as an owl watches Suzy while the other girls hurry to their          feet. She says quietly:                                                   SKINNY GIRL           He likes you.                                   EXT. CHURCH YARD. EVENING                                   Troops flood out from one side of the church while children          in animal costumes flood out from the other. They criss-cross          among grave-markers and head-stones. Sam stops abruptly, face          to face with the skinny owl. She whispers something, points          behind her, and thrusts a folded scrap of paper into Sam's          hand.                                   INT. SCHOOL BUS. NIGHT                                   A vehicle crowded with scouts. Sam sits alone in the back          row. He stares into space, entranced.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Suzy on-stage at the top of a pedestal with her arms in the          air, spreading her wings. She is surrounded by the entire          cast of singing animals. The music soars.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Sam as he looks down at the piece of paper in his hand.                                                  INSERT:                                   A sheet of pink stationary with an address in a girl's red          felt-tip cursive and the words:                                    Write to me.                                                  CUT TO:                                   The present. Sam and Suzy face each other in the wide meadow.          Sam says carefully:                                                   SAM           Were you followed?           22.                                                                            SUZY                          (LOOKING AROUND)           I doubt it.                                                   SAM           Good.                                   Sam frowns and squints. He points.                                                   SAM           Did you bring a cat?                                   Suzy nods. Sam smiles. Suzy smiles. Sam takes a folded map          out of his pocket. He signals for Suzy to come closer.                                                   SAM           Can you read a map?                                                   SUZY           Uh-huh.                                                   SAM           I do cartography.                                   Sam points to one of the patches on his sash. It has a          protractor embroidered on it. He unfolds the map.                                                   SAM           I feel we should go halfway today and           halfway tomorrow, since you're a less           experienced hiker, and you're wearing           Sunday-school shoes.                                                   SUZY           OK.                                                   SAM           (pointing on the map)           Here's where we are right now. I'd like           to pitch camp here by sixteen-hundred           (which means four o'clock). How does that           sound?                                                   SUZY           Fine.                                                   SAM           You want some beef jerky?                                                   SUZY           OK.                                   Sam tears a strip of dried meat in two and gives half to          Suzy. She tries to chew on it. Sam nods:           23.                                                                            SAM           Let's go.                                                  MONTAGE:                                   Sam and Suzy walk together down a hill, across a field, and          through a wooded path eating beef jerky. They both smile          continuously.                                                   SAM           Are you thirsty?                                                   SUZY           No.                                                   SAM           Well, if your throat gets parched, stick           a pebble in your mouth and suck on it.           You can quench your thirst with the spit,           supposedly.                                   Sam shows Suzy some bits of green and yellow sticking out          from under his coonskin cap.                                                   SAM           Sometimes I stick leaves under my hat. It           cools your head down.                                                   SUZY           That's a good idea. It might help also if           you didn't wear fur.                                                   SAM                          (HESITATES)           True, but this adds camouflage.                                   Sam stands in a clearing and pulls a handful of dry grass. He          holds it in his fist.                                                   SAM           Here's a trick. Throw grass in the air,           and you can see which direction the           wind's blowing.                                   Sam throws up the grass. It swirls and drifts vaguely. Suzy          squints.                                                   SUZY           Which way?                                                   SAM           Unknown. I guess it doesn't really           matter, as long as we cover our tracks.           24.                                                            Sam and Suzy stop to investigate and discuss: a patch of          mushrooms, moss on a stump, ferns, poison ivy, and a low bush          with purple fruit. Sam looks skeptical.                                                   SAM           These might be poisonous.                                                   SUZY                          (STUDYING THEM)           No, they're huckleberries, in fact. Try           one.                                   Suzy brushes off some dirt and eats a berry. Sam puts one          into his mouth and nods.                                                   SAM           Not bad. Anyway, they're good for           survival.                                   Sam and Suzy look through Suzy's binoculars at a deer          drinking from a stream. Suzy whispers:                                                   SUZY           He knows someone's watching him.                                                   SAM           I agree. Why do you say that?                                                   SUZY                          (SQUINTING)           I don't know. I just think he can feel           us.                                   Sam and Suzy walk across a fallen tree over a stream. A snake          swims on the surface below them. Sam assists Suzy onto the          far bank.                                                   SAM           You smell like perfume.                                                   SUZY           It's my mother's.                                   Sam picks up two pebbles. He and Suzy both put them in their          mouths. They click against their teeth.                                                   SAM           I brought water, too.                                   Sam and Suzy watch a small, green worm wriggling in the air,          swaying from a silk thread. They stare, wide-eyed. Suzy cups          her hand a few inches below it and moves it around in a          circle. Sam shrugs.           25.                                                                            SAM           Should we catch him?                                                   SUZY                          (HESITATES)           What for?                                                   SAM           Trout bait. We need worms.                                                   SUZY                          (SHARPLY)           No.                                   Pause. The worm curls and uncurls itself gently. Sam nods.                                                   SAM           You're right. We'll let him live. Maybe           I've got a licorice whip.                                   EXT. LAKE SHORE. DAY                                   The banks of a large pond. All of Sam's and Suzy's bags,          boxes, and suitcases are arranged around a small tent          decorated with more tribal symbols. The kitten is asleep. Sam          and Suzy stand at the water's edge as he removes the          camouflage net from the canoe and says gravely:                                                   SAM           How strong of a swimmer are you?                                                   SUZY           Pretty good. I broke our school record           for the back-stroke.                                                   SAM                          (MILDLY SURPRISED)           OK. Well, I'm not that strong of a           swimmer, so I wear a life-preserver. I           think it's a good policy to get in the           habit, anyway.                                                   SUZY           OK.                                   Sam and Suzy both strap on vests belted with cork blocks.                                                  INSERT:                                   A strip of bright red licorice on a hook under water.                                                  CUT TO:           26.                                                            Sam and Suzy in the middle of the lake. Suzy sits at one end          of the canoe fishing with a bamboo pole. Sam drapes his          fingers off the side and stirs the water.                                                   SAM           Watch out for turtles. They'll bite you,           if you put your fingers in their mouths.           Let me see if I can catch this one.                                   Sam dips a net into the lake and brings it up with a small          turtle in it. He lifts it out of the net. It has red and          yellow markings and a slightly damaged shell. Sam flips it          over. The word Albert is written on the underside of the          turtle in magic marker. Sam says blankly:                                                   SAM           Somebody wrote on him.                                   The fishing pole jerks in Suzy's hands. She yells:                                                   SUZY           The stick's moving!                                                   SAM                          (ALERTED)           You got one!                                   Sam jumps to his feet and heaves the turtle with two hands.          It sails through the air across the pond and splashes down          with a whack. Sam yells an announcement:                                                   SAM           Fish on hook!                          (TO SUZY)           Reel him in! Slowly.                                   The canoe rocks violently. Suzy snaps:                                                   SUZY           Sit down!                                   Sam sits back down. Suzy winds the reel carefully. Sam says,                         GENTLY ENCOURAGING:                                                   SAM           You're doing good.                                   Sam points to one of the patches on his sash. It has a rod          and reel embroidered on it.                                                   SAM           This is for fishing.           27.                                                            EXT. LAKE SHORE. DUSK                                   Sam twists a stick with a shoelace in kindling and builds a          small camp-fire circled with rocks. He cooks two fish with          bologna in a frying pan over a camp-fire. He throws in a dash          of salt, grinds some pepper, and flips the fish in the air.          He holds out a bite on a spatula to Suzy sitting on a log          next to him. She tastes it. She looks surprised and nods                         ENTHUSIASTICALLY:                                                   SUZY           Very good. You know a lot about camping,           don't you?                                                   SAM                          (STIFFENING)           I'm a Khaki Scout. It's what I'm trained           for.                                   Sam points to one of the patches on his sash. It has fried          eggs and bacon on it.                                                   SAM           Anyway, I used to be.                                   Sam serves the fish onto two tin plates. He says as they eat          with folding forks:                                                   SAM           We can feed your cat the guts and           eyeballs.                                   Sam points to a pile of bloody organs and bones on a page of          newspaper. Suzy frowns.                                                   SUZY           That's OK. He only eats cat food.                                   Suzy points to a cardboard box. Sam looks inside. It is          filled with ten cans of cat food. Sam raises an eyebrow.                                                   SAM           What else did you bring? We should make           an inventory.                                                   SUZY           OK.                                   Sam flips open a small, spiral-bound note-book.                                                   SAM           Go ahead.           28.                                                            Suzy opens the top of her portable record player. She          displays it like a salesman.                                                   SUZY           This is my record player. It works with           batteries. Actually, it belongs to my           little brother Lionel. I left him a note.           Do you like music?                                   Sam nods and makes a note. Suzy opens her leather folder.          There are three L.P. records in it. She takes out one by a          French singer.                                                   SUZY           This is my favorite record album. My           godmother gave it to me for my birthday.           She lives in France.                                   Sam nods and makes another note. Suzy opens her suitcase. It          is filled to the brim with hard-back copies of fantasy books.          It contains no other items of any kind (including clothing).                                                   SUZY           These are my books. I like stories with           magic powers in them. Either in kingdoms           on earth or on foreign planets. Also,           time-travel, if they make it realistic.           Usually, I prefer a girl hero, but not           always. I couldn't bring all of them           because it got too heavy. You can borrow           any you want.                                   Sam nods and makes another note. Suzy produces a few more                         ITEMS:                                                   SUZY           I also brought my lefty scissors because           I'm left-handed, my toothbrush, some           rubber bands, extra batteries, and my           binoculars, as you know. I forgot my           comb.                                   Sam surveys the entire collection of articles. He scratches          his head.                                                   SAM           That's it? No mess-kit? No flashlight? No           canteen? No waterproof matches? Didn't           you get the packing list I sent you in my           last letter?           29.                                                                            SUZY                          (FROWNS)           I thought that's what you're supposed to           bring. I don't own a canteen.                                   Pause. Sam shrugs. He smiles.                                                   SAM           That's OK. We can share.                                   Sam picks up one of the books. It is called The Girl from          Jupiter. There is an illustration on the cover of a young,          alien princess with glittering tears on her cheeks. Sam          examines the other books in the suitcase. He looks slightly          puzzled.                                                   SAM           These are all library books. In my school           you're only allowed to check-out one at a           time. Some of these are going to be           overdue.                                   Sam hesitates. He suddenly realizes something. He asks                         BLUNTLY:                                                   SAM           Do you steal?                                   Silence. Suzy nods reluctantly. Sam looks confused.                                                   SAM           Why? You're not poor.                                   Suzy stares at the books. She absently brushes some dust off          them. She rearranges them slightly. She says finally:                                                   SUZY           I might turn some of them back in one           day. I haven't decided yet. I know it's           bad. I think I just took them to have a           secret to keep. Anyway, for some reason,           it makes me feel in a better mood           sometimes.                                   Sam thinks about this. He leans his chin against his fist. He                         SAYS SERIOUSLY:                                                   SAM           Are you depressed?                                   Suzy bites her fingernails. She shrugs.                                                   SAM           How come?           30.                                                            Pause. Suzy says philosophically:                                                   SUZY           Well, I can show you an example, if you           want -- but it doesn't make me feel very           good. I found this on top of our           refrigerator.                                   Suzy looks into her leather folder and shuffles through some          pages. She withdraws a small pamphlet.                                                  INSERT:                                   The cover of the pamphlet. There is a drawing of a broken tea-          cup and the title "Coping with the Very Troubled Child".                                   Sam frowns. His eyes widen.                                                   SAM           Does that mean you?                                   Suzy nods. Sam explodes with laughter.                                                   SUZY           It's not funny.                                                   SAM           To me, it is.                                   Sam slaps his knee and shakes his head. Pause. Suzy dumps her          fish into the campfire and throws her metal plate like a          frisbee into a tree trunk. It bounces off with a ding. She          stands up and says coolly:                                                   SUZY           You really know how to make friends.                                   Suzy walks away. She goes behind a bush and sits down on a          rock. She starts to cry. Sam looks stricken and confused. He          is very still. He gets up slowly. He tentatively approaches          the bush. He looks behind it. He takes two steps closer. He          stands above Suzy. He unties his neckerchief, crouches down,          and holds it out.                                                   SAM           I'm sorry.                                   Suzy looks to Sam. She hesitates. She takes the neckerchief.                                                   SUZY           That's OK.                                                   SAM           I'm on your side.           31.                                                                            SUZY           I know.                                   Suzy dries her eyes. She unfolds the neckerchief and studies          its design. It is a brave shooting an arrow while leaning off          the side of a galloping horse. Sam motions to the books:                                                   SAM           Which one's the best?                                                  CUT TO:                                   Dusk. Sam lies on his back on one of the bedrolls smoking his          pipe while Suzy sits Indian-style next to him. She reads          aloud from a book called The Francine Odyssies. There is an          illustration on the cover of an enormous panther with a          bloody sword walking behind a small girl in a nightgown.                                                   SUZY           His eyes downcast, his kingdom in ruins,           Mynar pressed his heavy paw through the           rippling surface of the cool shallows and           down to its stone floor. "My people once           were lead by a great and noble beast --           and I no longer see his face in this           reflection."                                   Suzy looks to Sam. He is asleep. She takes the pipe out of          his mouth and tips the ashes into the camp-fire. She draws a          blanket over his chest. She continues:                                                   SUZY           Meanwhile, on the Plains of Tabitha,           Francine rested. There would be another           time for war.                                   INT. BISHOP'S HOUSE. NIGHT                                   The dining room. There is a long, wide, empty table with          sixteen chairs around it. Tucked in the corner, Lionel,          Murray, and Rudy sit at a folding card table. They have          plates on place-mats and forks and knives. There is one extra          seat. Mrs. Bishop's voice booms, amplified, from the next                         ROOM:                                    MRS. BISHOP (O.S.)           Suzy! Dinner! I'm not going to say it           again!                                   Pause. Mrs. Bishop charges into the room with a steaming          casserole. She wears an oven mitt on one hand and carries an          electric megaphone in the other. She sets the casserole on          the card table and looks out the window. Through the thicket           32.                                                            of trees behind the house, a pair of headlights blinks. Mrs.          Bishop checks her watch. She says sharply:                                    MRS. BISHOP           Where's your sister?                                                   LIONEL           I don't know, but she borrowed my record           player for ten days without asking.                                    MRS. BISHOP                          (CONFUSED)           What does that mean?                                   Lionel holds up a small, folded-up piece of pink stationary.          Mrs. Bishop snaps it out of his hand and opens it.                                                  INSERT:                                   A short note on pink stationary in a girl's red felt-tip          cursive. It reads:                                    Dear Lionel, I need to use your           record player. I will give it back in           ten days or less. Do not tell Mom.           (Or Dad.) I will replace the batteries           when I return. Signed, Suzy Bishop                                   Mrs. Bishop frowns. She bolts back out of the room. Her voice                         BOOMS AGAIN:                                    MRS. BISHOP (O.S.)           Walt! Where the hell are you?                                   There is a loud thump upstairs. Mr. Bishop shouts from                         OUTSIDE:                                    MR. BISHOP (O.S.)           Right here! Why are you cursing at me?                                                  CUT TO:                                   Exterior. Mr. Bishop leans out of an upstairs window. Mrs.          Bishop appears in one below. She yells up through the                         MEGAPHONE:                                    MRS. BISHOP           Does it concern you that your daughter's           just run away from home?                                    MR. BISHOP                          (PAUSE)           That's a loaded question.           33.                                                            Mrs. Bishop brandishes the note with her free hand.                                    MRS. BISHOP           Come down and read this.                                   A radio squawks in the woods behind the house. Mr. and Mrs.          Bishop turn quickly toward the sound. Mrs. Bishop looks          tense. Becky's garbled voice says over a tinny speaker:                                    BECKY (V.O.)           Scout Master Ward confirms they've had no           luck. They're going home for the --                                   There is a rustling and the sound of a car door opening --          then the radio cuts off. Mr. Bishop frowns. He shouts:                                    MR. BISHOP           Who's there?                                   Captain Sharp emerges slowly from the dark, tangled in a          bramble, hopping slowly on one foot as he unwinds a root from          around his ankle. He smiles awkwardly and says:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Good evening. Sorry to startle you. I was                          JUST --                                    MR. BISHOP                          (ANGRILY)           What are you doing here? Nobody called           the police.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           I know, that's what I'm saying. The           search party's not over yet. In other                          WORDS --                                    MRS. BISHOP           Suzy's missing, too! Go find her.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (HESITATES)           OK. Where'd she --                                    MR. BISHOP           Wait for me.                                   Mr. Bishop disappears into the house. Captain Sharp and Mrs.          Bishop exchange an uncertain look.                                   INT. STATION WAGON. NIGHT                                   Captain Sharp pans a spot-light back and forth in the          darkness while he steers the car. The lamp has a short in it           34.                                                            and flickers with each bump. Mr. Bishop rides in the          passenger seat. He stares ahead down the road and says to                         HIMSELF:                                    MR. BISHOP           How can we help her? She's got so many           problems. It's getting worse.                                   Mr. Bishop looks strangely to Captain Sharp. He asks:                                    MR. BISHOP           Whose fault is it?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (HESITATES)           I don't know, but just for the record:           ninety-five percent of all runaways           return home within six hours. That           doesn't do you any good right now. It's           just a statistic -- but in all likelihood           Suzy's probably hiding in the closet at           her best friend's house playing Chinese           Checkers at this very moment, as we           speak.                                    MR. BISHOP           She doesn't have any friends.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (LONG PAUSE)           How's Laura?                                    MR. BISHOP                          (IRRITATED)           How's Laura?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Mrs. Bishop, I mean.                                    MR. BISHOP           I don't understand.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Is she upset?                                   Mr. Bishop looks baffled and disgusted. He throws his hands          into the air. He looks away and shakes his head. Silence.          Captain Sharp wiggles some wires.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           I got to get this spot-light fixed.           35.                                                            EXT. BISHOP'S HOUSE. NIGHT                                   Captain Sharp and Mr. Bishop come to a stop and get out of          the station wagon. They look dejected. The screen door bangs          open, and Mrs. Bishop quickly descends the front steps with a          open shoebox full of letters in her hands. She says          breathlessly, shouting:                                    MRS. BISHOP           She has a pen pal! It's very intimate!           They planned this together!                                   Captain Sharp takes one of the letters and studies it. He          says to himself:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Sam Shakusky. That's my escaped Khaki           Scout. His family died.                                   Mr. Bishop takes a handful of the letters and flips through          them. He stops suddenly. He looks horrified.                                    MR. BISHOP           Holy Christ. What am I looking at?                                                  INSERT:                                   A small painting on construction paper of a naked girl          stepping into a bathtub. She wears a flower in her hair.                                   Mrs. Bishop continues to shout as she explains:                                    MRS. BISHOP           He does watercolors! Mostly landscapes,           but a few nudes!                                   Lionel, Murray, and Rudy watch from a downstairs window.          Lionel takes a bite from a bowl of melting ice cream. Mr.          Bishop stares at the painting. He squints at it and asks                         INCREDULOUSLY:                                    MR. BISHOP           She sit for this?                                   Captain Sharp and Mrs. Bishop look over Mr. Bishop's          shoulder. Captain Sharp says calmly:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           What does he say?                                                  MONTAGE:                                   The history of Sam and Suzy's correspondence.           36.                                                            Sam, dressed in a greasy jump-suit, writes at a work bench in          a garage while six teenagers take apart carburetors behind          him. They are his foster brothers. Sam reads in voice-over:                                    SAM (V.O.)           Dear Suzy, You have a superb voice. You           were my favorite animal in the program,           by far. Please, find enclosed --                                   Suzy writes at a small desk on the upstairs landing while          Lionel and Murray play a loud duet on a red piano behind her.          (Rudy turns the pages of the sheet music.) Suzy reads in                         VOICE-OVER:                                    SUZY (V.O.)           Dear Sam, Thank you very much. I got           replaced as the raven because I yelled at           Mrs. Lynn. After that I was only a blue           jay, but --                                   Sam works in an alley emptying garbage from several small          trash cans into a larger one. Mr. Billingsley watches          television in a window, smoking a cigarette. He points to a          crumpled wrapper on the ground. Sam picks it up.                                    SAM (V.O.)           Dear Suzy, I am sorry your brothers are           so selfish. Maybe they will grow out of           it. Sometimes people do things without           knowing the reasons for --                                   Suzy reads a book called Disappearance of the 6th Grade.          There is an illustration on the cover of a school-teacher          levitating at the front of her classroom. There are several          watercolor pictures taped to the wall behind her. Most are          landscapes of small-town vacant lots. One is a swimming girl          in a bikini.                                    SUZY (V.O.)           Dear Sam, You are an excellent painter,           especially trees and telephone poles. Is           the girl in the water supposed to be me?           My favorite color is --                                   Sam stands in pajamas staring blankly, eyes wide, at a dog          house in flames next to a rusty swing-set. A dachsund sits          next to him, also watching. Mrs. Billingsley comes running          out of the house with a fire extinguisher.                                    SAM (V.O.)           Dear Suzy, I accidentally built a fire           while I was sleep-walking. I have no           memory of this, but my foster parents           think I am lying. Unfortunately, it is --           37.                                                            Suzy stands in the kitchen looking out through a pane of          glass with a hole smashed in the middle of it. Mrs. Bishop is          next to her with her hair hanging over the sink while the two          of them carefully pick bits of glass out of it.                                    SUZY (V.O.)           Dear Sam, I am in trouble again because I           threw a rock through the window. My mother           still has glass in her hair. Also --                                   Five of Sam's foster brothers watch calmly as the sixth          throws Sam against the wall then jumps on top of him, pinning          his arms to the floor while Sam struggles crazily.                                    SAM (V.O.)           Dear Suzy, I have been trying very hard           to make friends, but I feel people do not           like my personality. In fact, I can           understand why they might --                                   A classroom of sixth graders watches in a panic as Suzy          throttles one of her classmates. The classmate flails and          grimaces as she is strangled.                                    SUZY (V.O.)           Dear Sam, Now I am getting suspended           because I got in a fight with Molly. She           says I go berserk. Our principal is           against me. Why do --                                   Sam does sit-ups on a hard mattress in a basement room lined          with bunks. He counts out the repetitions under his breath.          There is a small, black and white photograph of a man and          woman at their wedding tacked to the wall above him.                                    SAM (V.O.)           Dear Suzy, I know your parents hurt your           feelings, but they still love you. That           is more important. If they --                                   Suzy stands in a doorway screaming at her family while they          watch wearily from the dinner table with forks and knives in          their hands.                                    SUZY (V.O.)           Dear Sam, I do think you should think of           their faces every day, even if it makes           you sad. It is too bad they did not leave           you more pictures of themselves. Can you --                                   Sam writes in his bunk crouched beneath a blanket with a          Khaki Scout flashlight pointed at his paper.           38.                                                             SAM (V.O.)           Dear Suzy, Here is my plan.                                   Suzy writes in her bed crouched beneath a quilt with a          plastic lantern glowing beside her.                                    SUZY (V.O.)           Dear Sam, My answer is yes.                                                  INSERT:                                   A sheet of wide-ruled yellow paper which reads in a boy's                         PENCILED SCRAWL:                                    SAM (V.O.)           Dear Suzy, When?                                                  INSERT:                                   A sheet of pink stationary which reads in a girl's red felt-                         TIP CURSIVE:                                    SUZY (V.O.)           Dear Sam, Where?                                                  CUT TO:                                   Suzy kneeling in the dark, crouched in front of an upper          window with the shoebox of letters beside her. Outside, the          woods are black beyond a moonlit field.                                    SAM (V.O.)           Dear Suzy, Walk four hundred yards due           north from your house to the dirt path           which has not got any name on it. Turn           right and follow to the end.                                   Suzy raises her binoculars to her eyes.                                    SAM (V.O.)           I will meet you in the meadow.                                   EXT. WIDE MEADOW. DAY                                   The next morning. The end of the path cut through the high          grass where Sam and Suzy met the day before. Captain Sharp,          Scout Master Ward, Mrs. Bishop, and Becky stand in two groups          talking. Gadge and Skotak stretch a string with ribbons tied          to it from stake to stake marking a perimeter. Lazy-Eye walks          with the wire-haired terrier pulling at its leash. Other          scouts search the field and scan the horizon.                                   Captain Sharp's station wagon and Redford's motorcycle are          parked in the dirt.           39.                                                            Mr. Bishop stands off to the side by himself poking at the          ground with a stick. He has two black eyes, and half his face          is swollen and purple. Scout Master Ward asks Becky quietly:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           What happened to him?                                                   BECKY           I'm not sure. I think he went searching           in the dark.                                   Mr. Bishop says loudly without looking up from the ground:                                    MR. BISHOP           She stole the batteries out of my           flashlight.                                   Scout Master Ward looks at Becky and grimaces. Becky raises          an eyebrow. Mrs. Bishop stands next to Captain Sharp. They          move slightly away from the others. Captain Sharp whispers          quickly, almost inaudibly:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           I think he's onto us.                                    MRS. BISHOP                          (INSTANTLY)           Of course, he is.                                   Captain Sharp looks surprised and defensive. He whispers                         BACK:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Of course, he is?                                    MRS. BISHOP           Of course, he is.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (CONFUSED)           Why aren't we worried about that, then?                                    MRS. BISHOP           I am.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (ASTONISHED)           Well, I didn't know. Or, anyway, I           thought I was wrong. Did you hit him?                                    MRS. BISHOP           No. He fell in a ditch.           40.                                                            Nickleby pops up from below the tall grass and thrusts an          empty can of cat food into the air. He shouts excitedly:                                                   NICKLEBY           Cat food! I think it's a clue.                                   The group quickly gathers around Nickleby. Mr. Bishop          snatches the can out of his hand and examines it. He says                         BLANKLY:                                    MR. BISHOP           That's her.                                   Mr. Bishop throws the can away over his shoulder and walks          off with his hands in his pockets. Nickleby runs after the          can and picks it up again. Mr. Bishop continues down the          hill. Scout Master Ward watches him. He asks Mrs. Bishop,                         UNEASY:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Where's he going?                                    MRS. BISHOP           I don't know.                                   Mrs. Bishop follows Mr. Bishop. Captain Sharp turns to the          rest of the group and says briskly:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           All right. We know they're together. We           know they're within a certain radius of           this spot. I'm declaring the case with           the county right now. Until help arrives:                                   Captain Sharp looks to Scout Master Ward as he points to          various scouts and divides the group into teams:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           I'm deputizing the little guy, the skinny           one, and the kid with the curly hair to           come with me in the station wagon. Randy,           you drop-in and head up-river with the           rest of your troop, then split-up on           foot. Becky, call Jed and tell him to           circle over this end of the island and           fly low.                                                  CUT TO:                                   A binocular shot of the seaplane flying in a pattern. It          banks sharply. The binocular shot tilts down. Far below, in          the distance, Captain Sharp's station wagon rumbles along a          dirt road through the woods. The binocular shot pans wide. On          the side of the river, Scout Master Ward's motorboat stops.           41.                                                            Two scouts, tiny figures, pull the camouflage net off the          hidden canoe.                                   EXT. HIGH RIDGE. DAY                                   Suzy watches through her binoculars while Sam crouches beside          her. They are hidden behind a pile of rocks. Suzy says                         OMINOUSLY:                                                   SUZY           They found the canoe.                                                   SAM           (angry at himself)           Rats! I should've put more pine needles           on it. Let's go. We're almost there.                                   Sam lifts his backpack onto his back and slings his air-rifle          over his arm. Suzy picks up her suitcases and puts the kitten          on her shoulder. They walk down a narrow path through a          thicket. They emerge into a small clearing.                                   Sam and Suzy stop in their tracks.                                   Deluca, Nickleby, Panagle, Izod, and Lazy-Eye stand in a row          along the edge of the woods ahead of them. Deluca brandishes          his hunting knife. Nickleby, Izod, and Lazy-Eye point their          bows and arrows. Panagle holds his walking stick weapon. The          wire-haired terrier strains growling at the end of his leash.          Deluca jerks him back. The kitten cowers. The sound of a          motorcycle guns, and Redford bursts through the trees, pops a          wheelie, and skids to a stop. He lifts his goggles.                                   The motor idles. Sam says finally:                                                   SAM           What do you creeps want?                                   Redford shrugs and answers with a callous smile:                                                   REDFORD           We're looking for you.                                                   SAM           Why?                                                   REDFORD           Because you're a fugitive.                                                   SAM           No, I'm not. Didn't you get my letter of           resignation? I quit the Khaki Scouts.           42.                                                                            REDFORD           You're still in uniform.                                   Pause. Sam quickly takes off his shirt and throws it aside.                                                   REDFORD           Well, it doesn't matter, anyway. You           don't have that authority. We've been           deputized. Now are you going to come           along peacefully or not?                                   Sam takes a deep breath. He pleads:                                                   SAM           Listen to some reason: I don't like you.           You don't like me. Why don't you stupid           idiots just let us disappear?                                                   REDFORD                          (PAUSE)           It's tempting, but I can't allow it.                                   Deluca spits on the ground. He says to Suzy:                                                   DELUCA           You shouldn't be friends with him.                                                   SUZY                          (OFFENDED)           Why not?                                                   DELUCA           Because he's crazy.                                                   SUZY                          (COLDLY)           Maybe you just don't know him.                                                   REDFORD           We know him a lot better than you. He's           emotionally disturbed because his family           died. Nickleby, tie him up.                                   Nickleby takes a step forward with his bow and arrow pointed          and ready. Suzy looks furious. Sam flips his air-rifle off          his shoulder with a twirl. He points it at Redford and          Nickleby. Nickleby hesitates. Sam says darkly:                                                   SAM           Do not cross this stick.                                   Sam motions to a twig on the ground in front of him. Silence.           43.                                                                            REDFORD           You're doomed, Shakusky.                                   Redford revs the motor, pops the clutch, and races across the          clearing toward Sam and Suzy. The rest of the troop          converges, yelling crazily.                                                  CUT TO:                                   The wide canyon echoing with shouts, screams, and a small          explosion. One by one, Deluca, Nickleby, Panagle, Izod, and          Lazy-Eye come running out of the trees and down the hill.          Finally, Redford hobbles after them, limping and groaning and          clutching his side.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Redford's charred, partially demolished motorcycle smoldering          in the branches of a tree.                                   Suzy stands on the edge of the ravine staring at the pair of          bloody scissors in her hand. She looks shaken. Sam takes the          scissors, cleans them with his fingers, and hands them back          to Suzy. He says gently:                                                   SAM           It was him or us.                                   Suzy nods. She turns slowly away. Her eyes widen.                                                   SUZY           Oh, no.                                   Suzy points. The wire-haired terrier lies on his back on the          ground with an arrow sticking out between his shoulder          blades. The kitten licks at the wound. Sam and Suzy run over          to the wounded dog. Sam crouches down, gently presses the          kitten away, and says bleakly:                                                   SAM           They got Snoopy through the neck.                                   Suzy has tears in her eyes. She slides her hands under the          wire-haired terrier's body. She begins to hyperventilate as                         SHE SAYS:                                                   SUZY           He needs a doctor.                                   Sam puts his finger to the wire-haired terrier's neck. He                         SAYS SADLY:                                                   SAM           No, he doesn't. He needs a morgue.           44.                                                                            SUZY           (trying to catch her breath)           He's losing blood. Hurry. Where do we go?                                   Suzy lifts the bleeding dog into her arms. Sam grabs her by          the shoulders. He locks eyes with her and says with grit and                         MELODRAMA:                                                   SAM           Suzy. Look at me. Snoopy's not going to           make it.                                                   SUZY           (starting to cry)           Don't say that.                                                   SAM           They're after us. We got to move.                                                   SUZY           (raising her voice)           He's dying! We can't just leave him!                                                   SAM                          (SHOUTING)           It's too late! He's already gone!                                                   SUZY                          (SCREAMING)           Stop yelling at me!                                   Sam slaps Suzy in the face. She falls silent. He says slowly:                                                   SAM           I'm sorry I had to do that, but you're           panicking. The first rule in any           emergency is you never --                                   Suzy drops the wire-haired terrier which hits the ground with          a thud. She slaps Sam back with a huge, roundhouse smack. Sam          falls over sideways. Suzy stands over him.                                                   SUZY           Don't ever do that again. No one's           allowed to slap me.                                   Sam stands up and dusts himself off. He and Suzy stare down          at the lifeless animal. Suzy says quietly:                                                   SUZY           You're right. He's dead.                                   Sam reaches into a side-picket of his back-pack and takes out          an army-shovel. He assembles it. Suzy says hopefully:           45.                                                                            SUZY           Was he a good dog?                                   Pause. Sam shrugs. He says distantly, even cosmically:                                                   SAM           Who's to say -- but he didn't deserve to           die.                                   Suzy slowly wraps her arm around Sam's shoulder. They squeeze          each other tightly. Sam sighs. He begins to dig.                                   INT. STATION WAGON. DAY                                   Captain Sharp speeds bouncing down a winding dirt road. Lazy-          Eye, Deluca, and Gadge sit next to him crowded into the          passenger seat. Lazy-Eye yells into the hand-set of the                         POLICE RADIO:                                                   LAZY-EYE           She stabbed Redford in the back with           lefty scissors!                                   A voice responds over the speaker:                                    JED (V.O.)           Repeat that, please? Over.                                   Captain Sharp grabs the hand-set out of Lazy-Eye's hand. He          shouts into it:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Puncture wound. Lower lumbar. Make room           for a stretcher in the cockpit!                                   Redford is lying on his stomach on a towel in the rear of the          vehicle. Scout Master Ward kneels next to him pressing his          hand firmly into the middle of his back. There is significant          blood. Redford moans loudly. Scout Master Ward reassures him:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           You're going to be OK. Thank goodness,           she missed the artery. Bite on this.                                   Scout Master Ward puts a pencil in Redford's teeth. Redford          grimaces, crunching it. In the back seat, the rest of the          troop excitedly re-cap:                                                   NICKLEBY           I tried to chop him, but he dodged my           tomahawk.                                                   PANAGLE           Who else got hit?           46.                                                                            IZOD           Not me. I ran away when the girl went           berserk.                                                   SKOTAK           He's got great marksmanship. He shot           Deluca in both arms.                                   Skotak points to the front seat. Deluca sits glumly in          silence. He has numerous small welts all over his arms. Gadge                         SAYS SUDDENLY:                                                   GADGE           Where's Snoopy?                                   EXT. POLICE STATION. DAY                                   Captain Sharp's station wagon skids to a stop next to his          office while the seaplane pulls up to the dock as Mr. and          Mrs. Bishop approach pedalling furiously on bicycles. Mr.          Bishop wears boating shoes. Captain Sharp and Scout Master          Ward jump out of the car. Skotak and Gadge help them remove          Redford on a stretcher from the back of the station wagon.          Mr. Bishop struggles with his kick-stand. He shouts:                                    MR. BISHOP           What happened? Who's that? Why's he           bleeding?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Clear the dock, Edgar!                                   Captain Sharp motions for the two old fishermen to get out of          the way. He and Scout Master Ward run with the stretcher onto          the dock. Mrs. Bishop is frantic:                                    MRS. BISHOP           Is Suzy with you?                                                   GADGE           No, she's in the woods with Shakusky.                                   Gadge points toward the hills. A man wearing a jumpsuit and          aviator sunglasses stands next to the seaplane. He is Jed. He          shouts as the stretcher approaches:                                                   JED           Where'm I going?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           The infirmary at Fort Lebanon. We'll be           right behind you.           47.                                                            Captain Sharp motions for Skotak, Gadge, and Lazy-eye to help          Jed load the stretcher into the small cockpit. He tosses a          set of keys to Scout Master Ward and says:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Warm up the motor. I'll be right back.                                   Scout Master Ward takes the keys and starts untying the          police launch. Captain Sharp heads toward his office. Mr.          Bishop says firmly:                                    MR. BISHOP           Hold it right there. You're not leaving           this island. Our daughter's been abducted           by one these beige lunatics.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Walt, it's very clear: the two of them           conspired in this together.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Don't worry, Mr. Bishop. She'll be safe.           Sam's got excellent wilderness skills.                                   Mr. Bishop wheels on Scout Master Ward. He explodes:                                    MR. BISHOP           Why can't you control your scouts?                                   Scout Master Ward recoils. He says quietly, troubled:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           I'm trying.                                   Mr. Bishop takes off his shoe and throws it at Scout Master          Ward. Scout Master Ward ducks, and the shoe bounces off his          back. Captain Sharp blocks Mr. Bishop.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Stop.                                   Mr. Bishop scuffles with Captain Sharp. Mrs. Bishop jerks him          backwards and shouts:                                    MRS. BISHOP           Stop it, Walt!                                   Mr. Bishop faces Mrs. Bishop and Captain Sharp, breathing          heavily. Scout Master Ward looks depressed. Jed, Gadge,          Skotak, and Redford watch frozen from a gangplank alongside          the seaplane.           48.                                                                            CAPTAIN SHARP           I do blame him --           (pointing to Scout Master Ward)           -- but I also blame myself and both of           you. With all due respect: you can't let           your children stab people.                                    MRS. BISHOP                          (HESITATES)           What are you talking about?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           She's violent, Mrs. Bishop. Look.                                   Scout Master Ward shows Mrs. Bishop the blood all over his          hands and uniform. Mrs. Bishop looks confused.                                    MRS. BISHOP           I don't get it. Were there witnesses?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Of course. It's assault.                                    MRS. BISHOP           I beg your pardon. Are you a lawyer?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           No, ma'am, but --                                    MRS. BISHOP                          (FURIOUS)           Well, I am!                                   Captain Sharp gently draws Mrs. Bishop away by the shoulder.          He links arms with her as he tries to placate the group:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Easy does it. Calm down, Laura.                                    MR. BISHOP           Stay away from my wife.                                   Mr. Bishop pushes Captain Sharp away from Mrs. Bishop into          Scout Master Ward. Scout Master Ward lunges at Mr. Bishop but          is intercepted by Captain Sharp and Mrs. Bishop. They shout                         REPEATEDLY:                                    CAPTAIN SHARP/MR. BISHOP SCOUT MASTER WARD/MRS. BISHOP          Dammit! Christ! Shit! Jesus!                                   At this moment, a voice interjects from the shore:           49.                                                             NARRATOR (O.S.)           Excuse me! Excuse me! Excuse me, Captain           Sharp?                                   Captain Sharp, Scout Master Ward, and Mr. and Mrs. Bishop          stop fighting and turn around at once. They see: the          narrator. He stands at the foot of the dock holding a journal          with rubber bands wrapped around it. They all stare at him          blankly. He continues:                                                   NARRATOR           As some of you know, I taught Sam for the           cartography Accomplishment Patch. He's a           smart boy, and he expressed a keen           interest in the history of the island's           indigenous peoples. In particular, I           recall his fascination with the idea of           retracing the original path of the old           Chickchaw harvest migration.                                   Long pause. Everyone looks utterly perplexed. The propeller          of the seaplane starts up, and they all shield their eyes          from the blast of wind and dust. The narrator hesitates. He          yells over the noise:                                                   NARRATOR           What I'm getting at is this: I think I           know where they're going.                                   The narrator removes the rubber bands from his journal.                                                  INSERT:                                   A carefully hand-drafted nautical chart. A cove is marked          with a red arrow and the caption Mile 3.25 Tidal Inlet.                                                  INSERT:                                   The portable record player. Suzy's fingers place the needle          onto a spinning disc.                                   EXT. TIDAL LAGOON. DAY                                   A small cove enclosed by a low, rocky cliff. It forms an          almost complete circle and is overgrown with vines, flowers,          and branches. A thin channel leads out to the ocean. The sand          on the shore is white, and the water is perfectly clear and          crowded with shells at the bottom. Birds echo and fly from          tree to tree.                                   Sam's and Suzy's luggage is piled on the beach. The kitten          wanders, exploring. The lid of the portable record player is          open. The voice of Leonard Bernstein says over the speaker:           50.                                                             RECORD PLAYER (V.O.)           Onto the bird-house, where every kind of           bird imaginable is whirling and wheeling           around. This is a real acrobatic act for           our gifted young flute player, Paula           Robeson.                                   As they listen, Sam and Suzy take off their shoes and socks          and run in opposite directions around the edge of the cove.          They each climb up a rock over the water. They look at each          other across the lagoon. They both laugh. Suzy shouts,                         SMILING:                                                   SUZY           This is weird.                                                   SAM           I know!                                   Sam takes off his coon-skin cap and throws it aside. Suzy          removes her cardigan and drops it on the ground. Sam strips          off his uniform down to his white briefs. Suzy take off          everything except her underwear and a training bra. They          throw their clothes into the water. Sam yells:                                                   SAM           On three!                                   Suzy immediately counts very quickly. They both scream as          they leap into the water. They swim toward each other,          laughing and shouting.                                                  CUT TO:                                   A clothesline hung with Sam's and Suzy's wet clothes swaying          like flags and snapping in the wind. The tent has been          pitched on a low, sandy plateau close to the water. Two lines          of shells mark a path to the entrance. A long stick is jammed          into the ground with a flickering safety-candle stuck into          the Y at the top. The kitten is asleep.                                   Sam sits on a folding stool in front of a portable easel. He          dips his brush into a tin cup and paints. Suzy poses          stretched out and propped up on one arm. She adjusts herself          slightly.                                                   SUZY           I like it here, but I don't like the           name.                                                   SAM           Me, neither.           51.                                                                            SUZY           Mile 3.25 Tidal Inlet. It's got no ring           to it.                                                   SAM           Let's change it. What should it be?                                                   SUZY           Let me think for a minute.                                   Sam continues to paint while Suzy thinks.                                                  CUT TO:                                   A binocular shot of a deep blue, star-filled sky.                                   Suzy lies on her back on a flat rock in the middle of the          cove looking up into the night. Sam wades out to her and          climbs up beside her.                                                   SAM           I made you some jewelry.                                   Sam holds up two dead, shimmering, opalescent beetles with          fish-hooks threaded into their shells. Suzy looks enchanted.                                                   SAM           Are your ears pierced?                                                  CUT TO:                                   Inside the tent, lit by a lantern. Sam clenches his teeth as          he forces one of the fish-hooks through Suzy's earlobe. Suzy          screams murderously. Sam releases her. The beetle dangles          neatly. A line of blood runs down the side of Suzy's neck.          Sam holds up a little mirror. Suzy nods.                                                   SUZY           It's pretty. Do the other one.                                   Sam switches to Suzy's other earlobe. She resumes her          screaming.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Sam and Suzy standing on the beach listening to the French          singer's record. They face each other, bobbing their heads          and tilting awkwardly to the music. Suzy eventually begins to          dance. Sam does something vaguely like the Twist. They press          against each other and kiss. Suzy says quietly:                                                   SUZY           It feels hard.           52.                                                                            SAM                          (EMBARRASSED)           Do you mind?                                                   SUZY           I like it.                                                   SAM                          (PAUSE)           Tilt your head sideways.                                   Sam and Suzy kiss again. Sam pushes his hands through Suzy's          hair and draws it back behind her ears. Suzy whispers:                                                   SUZY           You can touch my chest.                                   Sam slides his hand up under the training bra and presses it          onto Suzy's breast.                                                   SUZY           They're going to grow more.                                   Sam nods. He looks to be in a trance.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Sam and Suzy sitting on a tree branch over the water eating          raisins from Sam's hand. Suzy has flowers in her hair. She          looks down into the water with her binoculars.                                                   SAM           Why do you always use binoculars?                                   Suzy thinks for minute. She says finally:                                                   SUZY           It helps me see things closer. Even if           they're not very far away. I pretend it's           my magic power.                                                   SAM                          (IMPRESSED)           That sounds like poetry. Poems don't           always have to rhyme, you know. They're           just supposed to be creative.                                   Suzy gives Sam the binoculars. He points them at her and          stares.                                                   SAM           What do you want to be? When you grow up.           53.                                                                            SUZY           I don't know. I want to go on adventures,           I think. Not get stuck in one place. How           about you?                                                   SAM                          (PAUSE)           Go on adventures, too. Not get stuck,           too. I guess that sounds almost like I'm           just repeating what you just said, but I           couldn't think of anything as good as it.           On the other hand, maybe we'll get blown           up by an atom bomb. You can't predict the           exact future.                                                   SUZY           That's true.                                                   SAM           It's possible I may wet the bed, by the           way. Later, I mean.                                                   SUZY                          (SURPRISED)           OK.                                                   SAM                          (RELUCTANTLY)           I wish I didn't have to mention it, but           just in case. I don't want to make you be           offended.                                                   SUZY                          (SOFTLY)           Of course, I won't.                                                   SAM           Some people frown on these problems.                                   Suzy nods. She holds Sam's hand. She points to the scorpion          brooch pinned to Sam's shirt.                                                   SUZY           What's that one for?                                   Sam looks at the brooch. He shakes his head.                                                   SAM           It's not an accomplishment. I inherited           it from my mother. It's actually not           meant for a male to wear -- but I don't           give a damn.                                   Suzy nods thoughtfully. Pause.           54.                                                                            SUZY           Are your foster parents still mad at you?           For getting in trouble so much.                                                   SAM           I don't think so. We're getting to know           each other better. I feel like I'm in a           family now. Not like yours, but similar           to one.                                                   SUZY           I always wished I was an orphan. Most of           my favorite characters are. I think your           lives are more special.                                   Sam frowns. Tears suddenly well-up in his eyes. He shakes his          head.                                                   SAM           I love you, but you don't know what           you're talking about.                                   Long pause. Suzy says genuinely:                                                   SUZY           I love you, too.                                                  CUT TO:                                   A campfire burns in front of the tent. Sam lies on his back          on one of the bedrolls smoking his pipe while Suzy sits          Indian-style next to him. She reads aloud from a book called          The Light of Seven Matchsticks. There is an illustration on          the cover of a child's hand extinguishing a little flame. A          ribbon of smoke curls between its fingers.                                                   SUZY           The flashlight's beam drew a moon through           the black across the attic and settled on           a gap in the base-board. A mouse-hole, no           bigger than a pocket-watch. Eric crouched           on his flat feet and placed his hand in           front of the tiny opening. "It's windy,"           he said. "Like someone in there's blowing           on my fingers." Christy rolled her eyes           and sighed a sigh. He's right again, she           thought. Little brothers drive people           crazy.                                   Suzy looks to Sam to see if he is still awake. Sam nods and          signals for Suzy to continue. Suzy turns the page and reads                         ON:           55.                                                                            SUZY           Part Two.                                                  OMIT                                                  CUT TO:                                   The next morning. Sam and Suzy are asleep with their arms          wrapped around each other inside the tent. They wear only          their underwear. The sound of an airplane approaches. Sam's          eyes open. The noise buzzes by loudly overhead. Suzy sits up.          Sam scrambles to his feet, unzips the flaps of the tent, and          looks out. Suzy crouches beside him, holding onto his leg.                         THEY SEE:                                   Captain Sharp standing on the beach fifteen feet away. Scout          Master Ward waits behind him with Gadge, Skotak, and Lazy-          Eye. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop stride up out of the water. Mr.          Bishop looks incensed. They are wet to the waist. The police          launch is moored in the lagoon. Two larger boats with St.          Jack Wood Fire Brigade printed on their hulls float further          away. Men in red caps stand on their decks.                                   Suzy pulls Sam back inside. She zips up the tent again. She          kisses Sam. Mr. Bishop hollers:                                    MR. BISHOP           Suzy! Get out here!                                   Mr. Bishop grabs hold of the entire tent by the top and rips          it up out of the ground, uprooting the stakes which go          flying. This reveals:                                   Sam and Suzy, half-naked, entwined, kissing.                                   Mr. and Mrs. Bishop both freeze. Sam and Suzy look up to          them. Mr. Bishop growls and roars at them ferociously like a          monster. Sam and Suzy look horrified. Mr. Bishop's face          suddenly drains of all emotion. Pause. Mrs. Bishop commands          Sam and Suzy:                                    MRS. BISHOP           Put your clothes on. Both of you.                                   Sam and Suzy remain perfectly still. Mrs. Bishop grabs Suzy          by the arm and jerks her to her feet. Sam and Suzy hang onto          each other. Mrs. Bishop slaps Suzy with a whack. Sam lets go,          and Suzy is gone.                                   Scout Master Ward comes over to Sam sadly and hands him his          uniform. Sam takes it. Scout Master Ward turns to the other          scouts, claps his hands twice, and says:           56.                                                             SCOUT MASTER WARD           Strike this camp.                                   Sam starts putting on his socks. Captain Sharp watches him.                                   EXT. POLICE LAUNCH. DAY                                   Captain Sharp drives his boat along the coast with a grim          look on his face. Suzy rides in the back with Mr. and Mrs.          Bishop. Sam rides in the front with the other scouts. An          interrogation is in progress:                                                   SKOTAK           How long were you planning to stay there?                                                   SAM           I don't know.                                                   MURRAY           You said ten days or less.                                                   SUZY           That was a lie.                                                   GADGE           Didn't you ever think about what would           happen next?                                                   SAM           Not to my recollection.                                                   LIONEL           You're a traitor to our family.                                                   SUZY           Good. I want to be.                                   Scout Master Ward sits next to Captain Sharp. He shows him          the air-mail envelope.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           What do I do about this?                                   Captain Sharp shrugs. He says, resigned:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Give him his mail.                                   Scout Master Ward turns to Sam. He holds out the envelope.          Sam takes it. He opens it. He reads. Suzy watches him from          across the boat. She calls out anxiously:                                                   SUZY           What does it say?           57.                                                                            SAM                          (PUZZLED)           They can't invite me back.                                                   SUZY                          (OUTRAGED)           Why not?                                                   SAM                          (UPSET)           I gave them too much aggravation.                                   Suzy stands up. She says as she starts across the boat:                                                   SUZY           Let me read it.                                   Sam holds out the note. Mr. Bishop pulls Suzy back down to          her seat. He stands up, himself, and walks over to Sam. He          takes him by the wrist and leads him to a small cabin. He          opens the door and presses him forward. Sam stumbles down the          steps and looks back. Mr. Bishop shuts the door. Captain          Sharp glares at him. Suzy says icily:                                                   SUZY           That's child abuse.                                   Mr. Bishop returns to the back of the boat and sits down          again. He gives Suzy a direct order:                                    MR. BISHOP           Be advised: the two of you will never see           each other again. Those were your last           words. Do you understand?                                                   SUZY                          (DARKLY)           I'd be careful if I were you. One of           these days somebody's going to be pushed           too far, and who knows what they're           capable of.                                    MR. BISHOP                          (HESITATES)           Is that a threat?                                                   SUZY                          (SIMPLY)           It's a warning.                                   Suzy looks from Captain Sharp to Mrs. Bishop and back to Mr.          Bishop. Mr. Bishop falls silent.           58.                                                                            SUZY           I wish I knew what makes you tick.                                    MR. BISHOP                          (HESITATES)           I beg your pardon?                                    MRS. BISHOP           Please, terminate this conversation.                                    MR. BISHOP                          (TO LIONEL)           She's saying that to me?                                   Lionel shakes his head bitterly. Suzy stares out to sea.          Scout Master Ward walks over to the cabin, opens the door,          and goes inside.                                   INT. POLICE LAUNCH. DAY                                   A small room with two bunks, two portholes, and a pile of          ropes. Sam sits hunched over with his hands in his lap. He          stares at the envelope. Scout Master Ward sits down across          from him. He motions to the envelope and says quietly,          pausing between each sentence:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           I'm sorry about this. I didn't know your           situation. It's not on the register.           How'd you lose your parents? I shouldn't           ask that. Never mind. I wish we had time           for an inspection back there. On the           beach. I would've given you a           "commendable". That was one of the best-           pitched camp-sites I've ever seen.           Honestly.                                   Sam does not respond. Scout Master Ward asks in a wounded                         VOICE:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           You don't want to be a Khaki Scout           anymore?                                   Sam shakes his head.                                   INT. POST OFFICE. DAY                                   Becky sits at the switchboard with her head-phones on.          Captain Sharp and Scout Master Ward sit behind her wearing          their own sets of head-phones. There is a click on the other          end of the line.           59.                                                             OPERATOR (V.O.)           Hello, Becky.                                                   BECKY           Judy, I have your person-to-person from           New Penzance.                                    OPERATOR (V.O.)           Go ahead, New Penzance.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Split-screen. On one side of the frame, we see Captain Sharp,          Scout Master Ward, and Becky. On the other side, we see a          fifty-year-old woman in a blue and white uniform pants-suit          with a Salvation Army officer-style hat and a red ribbon tied          in a bow around her neck. She is Social Services. She sits at          a desk in a cinder block office. Guards and orderlies criss-          cross in a bullet-proof window to a long, grey corridor          behind her.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Hello? This is Captain Sharp.                                   Social Services flips open a file-folder and picks up a ball-          point pen. (She takes notes throughout the conversation.) She          says into her telephone:                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           Hello, Captain Sharp. This is Social           Services. I'm calling in reference to Sam           Shakusky, Ward of the State. I understand           he's in your custody.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           That's correct.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           What's his condition? Has he suffered any           injury or trauma of any kind?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           He's OK.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           Very good. How do I get to you?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           The fastest way is by seaplane. Jed can           bring you in with the mail.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           I'll come tomorrow morning, if that's           acceptable to you. Is someone able to                          (MORE)           60.                                    SOCIAL SERVICES (cont'd)           provide reasonable care and nourishment           for the boy until that time?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Uh-huh.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           Is that a yes?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Uh-huh.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           Very good. I'll contact you again before           the end of the day.                                   Social Services starts to hang up the telephone. Captain          Sharp says abruptly:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Wait a second.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES                          (HESITATES)           Yes?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Social Services?                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES                          (EVENLY)           Captain Sharp.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (ANXIOUS)           What's going to happen to him?                                   Pause. Social Services puts down her pen. She clasps her          hands together in front of her. She says finally:                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           Well, normally, we'd try to place him in           another foster home, but that option is           no longer available to us, in my opinion,           with his case history -- which means           he'll go to Juvenile Refuge.                                   Captain Sharp exchanges a look with Scout Master Ward. Scout          Master Ward interjects:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           What's that? An orphanage?                                   Social Services frowns. She asks calmly:           61.                                                                            SOCIAL SERVICES           Who's speaking?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           This is Scout Master Ward.                                   Social Services refers to a document in her file-folder. She          nods.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           Right. An orphanage -- but the first step           is the admissions panel requires a           psychological evaluation to determine           whether or not the boy's a candidate for           institutional treatment or electroshock           therapy. Beyond that --                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (INTERRUPTING)           Excuse me. Shock therapy? Why would that           be necessary? He's not violent.                                   Social Services picks up the document. She points to it.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           The report describes an assault with           scissors.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (OBJECTING)           That was the girl! Who did that.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES                          (PAUSE)           Well, maybe she needs help, too -- but           that's not our job. OK?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (LONG PAUSE)           OK.                                   Social Service hangs up the telephone. Becky pulls the cords          out of their sockets. Scout Master Ward looks to Captain          Sharp. Silence.                                   Becky opens a tin of home-made lemon bars. Captain Sharp          declines one. Scout Master Ward tries one. He looks          completely enchanted.                                   INT. BISHOP'S HOUSE. NIGHT                                   The living room. There is a wicker rocking chair, a vase          filled with wilted wildflowers, and a portrait of some           62.                                                            Pilgrims hanging over a stone fireplace. Lionel, Murray, and          Rudy sit together on the floor playing Parchesi.                                   Mr. Bishop lurches into the doorway, shirtless. He carries an          open bottle of red wine with a glass in one hand and a long-          handled woodsman's axe in the other.                                    MR. BISHOP           I'll be out back.                                   Lionel, Murray, and Lionel look up from their game. Mr.          Bishop hesitates. He seems slightly disoriented.                                    MR. BISHOP           I'm going to find a tree to chop down.                                   Mr. Bishop exits. Pause. Lionel rolls a pair of dice.                                   INT. SUZY'S BATHROOM. NIGHT                                   Old linoleum floor. Dark curtainless window. One bare light          bulb. Suzy sits erect in the bathtub staring blankly into          space. Mrs. Bishop washes her with a soapy sponge. Suzy's          clothes and leather folder are in the corner with the kitten          scratching at them.                                    MRS. BISHOP           I do know what you're feeling, Suzy-bean.           I've had moments myself where I say: what           am I doing here? Who made this decision?           How could I allow myself to do something           so stupid --                          (WITH FEELING)           -- and why is it still happening? We           women are more emotional. You have to                          REMEMBER --                                   Suzy turns to Mrs. Bishop and interrupts:                                                   SUZY           I hate you.                                    MRS. BISHOP                          (HESITATES)           Don't say "hate".                                                   SUZY           Why not? I mean it.                                    MRS. BISHOP           You think you mean it. In this moment.           You're trying to hurt me.           63.                                                                            SUZY           Exactly.                          (PAUSE)           I know what you do with that sad, dumb           police man. You go to bed with him.                                   Mrs. Bishop looks stunned. She says quietly:                                    MRS. BISHOP           He's not dumb, but I guess he is kind of           sad. Anyway, we shouldn't discuss that.           It's not appropriate for me to even           acknowledge what I already just said.                                   Mrs. Bishop sees something sticking out of the leather          folder. She pulls it out and stares at it. It is the "Coping          with the Very Troubled Child" pamphlet. She looks to Suzy.          Suzy looks away. Mrs. Bishop sighs deeply and says, on the          verge of tears:                                    MRS. BISHOP           Poor Suzy. Why is everything so hard for           you?                                   Suzy starts to cry. She covers her face. Her voice breaks as                         SHE SAYS:                                                   SUZY           We're in love. We just want to be           together. What's wrong with that?                                   Mrs. Bishop puts her arms around Suzy. Suzy shakes, silently          sobbing. Mrs. Bishop pulls some twigs and stems out of Suzy's          hair. She studies the beetle earrings. She says wearily:                                    MRS. BISHOP           Oh, my God. How are we going to get these           fish-hooks out?                                   INT. AIRSTREAM TRAILER. NIGHT                                   Captain Sharp cooks sausages on a skillet in a kitchenette.          He has a bottle of beer in his hand. Sam sits waiting at a          fold-out table with a glass of milk in front of him. He says          without looking up:                                                   SAM           I admit we knew we'd get in trouble. That           part's true. We knew people would be           worried, and we still ran away, anyway --           but something also happened which we           didn't do on purpose. When we first met           each other. Something happened to us.           64.                                                            Captain Sharp stirs the sausages in the pan. He nods. He says                         SERIOUSLY:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           I agree with you. That's eloquent. I           can't argue against anything you're           saying -- but I don't have to, because           you're twelve years old.                                   Captain Sharp brings the skillet to the table and serves          three links onto one plate and three onto another. He sits          down.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Look, let's face it, you're probably a           much more intelligent person than I am.           In fact, I guarantee it -- but even smart           kids sometimes stick their fingers in           electrical sockets, if you see what I           mean. It takes time to figure things out.           It's been proven by history: all mankind           makes mistakes. It's our job to try to           protect you from the dangerous ones. If           we can.                                   Captain Sharp pours an inch of beer into a glass and slides          it over to Sam.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           You want a slug?                                   Sam nods. He and Captain Sharp both drink sips. Captain Sharp          asks gently and sincerely:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           What's the rush? You've got your whole           life in front of yourself. Ahead of you,           I mean.                                                   SAM                          (SHRUGS)           Maybe so. Anyway, you're a bachelor.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (DEFENSIVE)           What does that have to do with it? So are           you.                                                   SAM                          (SADLY)           That's true. Did you love someone ever?           65.                                                                            CAPTAIN SHARP                          (PAUSE)           Yes, I did.                                                   SAM           What happened?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           She didn't love me back.                                                   SAM           Ah.                                   Sam considers this. Captain Sharp looks depressed. They start          eating their sausages. Captain Sharp says quietly:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           I'm sorry for your loss. Anyway, that's           what people say.                                                   SAM           Thanks.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           What happened?                                                   SAM           A drunk truck driver smashed into them.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (PAINED)           Good grief.                                   Silence. Captain Sharp refills both their beer glasses.                                   INT. SCOUT MASTER WARD'S TENT. NIGHT                                   Scout Master Ward sits on his cot in his pajamas again with a          cigarette in his mouth. His tape recorder is recording. He          says into the microphone:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Scout Master's Log. September fourth.                                   Scout Master Ward hesitates. He thinks for a minute. He takes          a deep breath. He closes his eyes. He opens them again. He          looks desperate. He looks up at the ceiling. He shakes his          head. He presses stop. He kneels on the floor with his palms          together and smokes.                                   There is a slight commotion outside. Scout Master Ward                         SHOUTS:           66.                                                             SCOUT MASTER WARD           Stow it, out there! I want to hear some           Z's!                                   INT. TREE HOUSE. NIGHT                                   The fort sixty feet above the camp. It is still under          construction. The entire troop (with the exceptions of          Redford and Sam) has gathered for a clandestine meeting. They          all wear pajamas. Skotak stands on a balcony with his back to          the group and his hands on a wooden railing.                                                   GADGE           I heard he's going to reform school.                                                   DELUCA           I heard they're going to take out a piece           of his brain and send him to an insane           asylum.                                                   ROOSEVELT           I like his girl.                                                   PANAGLE           She's too scruffy for me.                                                   NICKLEBY           Supposedly, they got to third base.                                                   LAZY-EYE           That's not true. He just felt her up.                                                   ROOSEVELT                          (DEEPLY INTRIGUED)           Over-shirt or under-shirt?                                   Skotak slams his fist on the railing. Everyone looks          startled. Skotak turns around to face the group. He says                         ANGRILY:                                                   SKOTAK           Damn us.                                   The railing collapses behind Skotak, ripping part of a wall          and a row of shingles off the structure as it falls away.          There is a moment of silence before it hits the ground with a          splintering thud. Skotak hesitates. He moves a half-step away          from the edge. He continues:                                                   SKOTAK           This troop has been very shabby to Field           Mate Sam Shakusky. In fact, we've been a           bunch of mean jerks. Why's he so           unpopular? I admit, supposedly, he's                          (MORE)           67.                                                   SKOTAK (CONT'D)           emotionally disturbed -- but he's also a           disadvantaged orphan. How would you feel?                                   Skotak moves among the group, looking from face to face, as                         HE ASKS:                                                   SKOTAK           Nickleby? Deluca? Lazy-Eye?           (from the heart)           Gadge?                                   Skotak circles around the edge of the tree house. He says                         WITH FEELING:                                                   SKOTAK           He's a fellow Khaki Scout, and he needs           our help. Are we man enough to give that?           So part of his brain doesn't get removed           out of him.                                   Skotak stands still. He says mysteriously:                                                   SKOTAK           They were prepared to die for each other           out there.                                   Silence. The other scouts begin to murmur to each other,          shaking their heads, shrugging, whispering, and gesturing.          Finally, Deluca looks up to Skotak.                                                   DELUCA           What do you need?                                                   SKOTAK                          (EXCITED)           For starters? Three yards of chicken           wire, some ripped-up newspapers, and a           bucket of wheatpaste.                                   EXT. BISHOP'S HOUSE. NIGHT                                   A thick tree has been chopped almost completely through its          trunk. For some reason, it remains standing. Mr. Bishop sits          on the ground leaning against it. He breathes heavily. The          axe rests across his lap.                                   A twig snaps. Mr. Bishop looks up, listening. Pause. He          drinks a sip of wine.                                   In the background, on the other side of the lawn, five small          silhouettes run silently in a row away from the house into          the trees on the left. A moment later, one taller silhouette          rides a bicycle silently away from the house into the trees          on the right.           68.                                                            EXT. DIRT ROAD. NIGHT                                   Captain Sharp sits on the hood of his station wagon. Mrs.          Bishop leans against it with her bicycle in front of her.          They smoke cigarettes. Captain Sharp says sadly:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           In other words, it's over.                                    MRS. BISHOP           I guess so. For the moment.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Until further notice.                                    MRS. BISHOP           That's right.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           I understand.                                    MRS. BISHOP           I've got to do better. For everybody.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Except me.                                    MRS. BISHOP           Except you.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (SINCERELY)           Well, I hope you can. I think you will.           You're doing the right thing.                                   Pause. Captain Sharp suddenly slides his hand inside Mrs.          Bishop's shirt onto her breast and simultaneously kisses her          -- then just as suddenly gets into his car and starts the          engine. Mrs. Bishop hesitates. She reaches inside the window          and puts her hand on the top of Captain Sharp's head. She          says, worried:                                    MRS. BISHOP           Who know what's going to happen, Duffy?           I'll probably see you tomorrow.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (CALMLY)           No, you won't.                                   Silence. The motor idles. Captain Sharp says distantly:           69.                                                                            CAPTAIN SHARP           I admire them, you know? There's a purity           to it. I only feel bad because they both           seem like such unhappy, lonely, miserable           people -- but maybe that's romantic.                                    MRS. BISHOP                          (PUZZLED)           I don't see it that way.                                   Captain Sharp puts the car into gear and drives off. Mrs.          Bishop finishes her cigarette. She gets on her bicycle and          rides away.                                   INT. AIRSTREAM TRAILER. NIGHT                                   A burning match drops down into the fireplace near the foot          of a bunk where Sam lies sleeping. He has the sheet pulled up          to his chin, but his toes stick out. He opens one eye. Dust          descends and settles. Something scrapes and scratches. The          flame burns out.                                   Sam slides slowly off the mattress and creeps across the          floor. He crouches in front of the fireplace. He flicks on a          scout flashlight and sees:                                   The end of a hanging rope.                                   Sam leans quickly into the fireplace and looks straight up,          shining his flashlight. Skotak is looking down at him from          the top of the chimney. He puts his finger to his lips. Sam                         WHISPERS SHARPLY:                                                   SAM           Get out of my chimney.                                                   SKOTAK           Listen to me. We're here for friendship.           We're going to get you off this island.                                                   SAM                          (LONG PAUSE)           No, thanks.                                                   SKOTAK           Yes, thanks. This is an emergency rescue.                                                   SAM           It's worthless to me. There's no point.           Not without Suzy.                                   Skotak gestures for Sam to wait. He disappears from view. A          moment later, Suzy's face appears at the top of the chimney,          smiling toothily. Sam looks ecstatic.           70.                                                                            SAM           How'd you get here?                                                   SUZY           They snuck me down the laundry chute and           left a paper-machÈ dummy in my bed.                                                   SAM                          (IMPRESSED)           Diversion tactics. Good thinking.                                                  CUT TO:                                   The next room. Captain Sharp sleeps in boxer shorts on the          floor of the kitchenette in the dark. He snores quietly.                                   EXT. ROUGH CHANNEL. NIGHT                                   Five mini-canoes race across a wide, choppy strait close to          the open sea. Skotak, Deluca, Nickleby, Gadge, Lazy-Eye,          Panagle, Roosevelt, Chef, and Izod paddle aggressively. We          hear in voice-over:                                    SAM (V.O.)           Where we going?                                    SKOTAK (V.O.)           Fort Lebanon. My cousin Ben runs the           Supply and Resources outpost for the           Jubilee. He's a Falcon Scout,           Legionnaire. Cousin Ben'll know what to           do.                                    SAM (V.O.)           Can we trust him?                                    SKOTAK (V.O.)           Normally, I'd say no.                                   Sam and Suzy ride in the back of the canoe that Skotak rows.          Sam has his arms around Suzy's waist. The kitten is on her          shoulder. Sam sees the portable record player among Suzy's          things.                                                   SAM           Did you leave another note for Lionel?                                                   SUZY           Not this time. He can't keep his trap           shut. Besides, I'll probably never see           him again.           71.                                                                            SAM           That's true.                                                  CUT TO:                                   A pebble beach below high dunes. Large waves sweep into the          shore. Spray blows through the air. There is a black          lighthouse on a rocky point in the distance. The narrator          stands at the water's edge holding a meteorologist's          measuring stick. He braces himself against the gusting winds.          He speaks to the camera:                                                   NARRATOR           This is the island of St. Jack Wood,           extending far north from Land's End along           the deep-water channel that leads to           Broken Rock. A low flood-plain separates           the beach from the town-ship above. A           small but prosperous community.                                   The narrator takes out a pocket barometer. He reads it. He                         SAYS GRAVELY:                                                   NARRATOR           The barometer reads twenty-seven inches           and dropping. Strong winds, as you can           see, already at twenty-two knots.           (checks his watch)           The time is now four thirty-five A.M.                                   The narrator walks quickly out of the shot. The five canoes          land on the beach with the tide. Sam, Suzy, Skotak, and the          rest of the troop quickly jump out and drag the boats up the          shore.                                   INT. BISHOP'S HOUSE. NIGHT                                   The room is black. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop lie in separate single          beds side-by-side. They both stare at the ceiling. The          windows rattle, the walls creak, and trees sway outside.                                   Long pause. Mrs. Bishop whispers:                                    MRS. BISHOP           Did you file the motion for continuance?           Peabody vs. Henderson.                                    MR. BISHOP           It was sustained.                                    MRS. BISHOP           Good.           72.                                                             MR. BISHOP                          (PAUSE)           Did the judge consider your application           for leniency? Rogers vs. Yentob.                                    MRS. BISHOP           He granted it.                                    MR. BISHOP           Great.                                   Silence. Mrs. Bishop's voice breaks as she says quietly:                                    MRS. BISHOP           I'm sorry, Walt.                                    MR. BISHOP           It's not your fault. Which injuries are           you apologizing for? Specifically.                                    MRS. BISHOP           Specifically? Whichever ones still hurt.                                    MR. BISHOP                          (WISTFULLY)           Half of those were self-inflicted.                                   Mrs. Bishop shakes her head and smiles with tears on her          face. A powerful blast of wind shakes the room. A night-light          blinks. Mr. Bishop has a lump in his throat as he says:                                    MR. BISHOP           I hope the roof flies off, and I get           sucked up into space. You'll be better           off without me.                                    MRS. BISHOP                          (SADLY)           Stop feeling sorry for yourself.                                    MR. BISHOP                          (PAINED)           Why?                                   Mr. and Mrs. Bishop look across at each other in the dark.          Mrs. Bishop says desperately:                                    MRS. BISHOP           We're all they've got, Walt.                                   Mr. Bishop takes a deep breath. He says finally, with a                         DAWNING REALIZATION:           73.                                                             MR. BISHOP           It's not enough.                                   INT. STONE CAVE. NIGHT                                   Flashlight and lantern flames flicker over the jagged walls.          Skotak is curled in a blanket on a high rock. Gadge is tucked          into a sleeping bag under a ledge. The troop nestle on rocks          and ledges in bedrolls and sleeping bags all around the deep          cavern.                                   Sam lies on his back on one of the bedrolls smoking his pipe          while Suzy sits Indian-style next to him. She reads aloud          from a book called Annabelle's Midnight. There is an          illustration on the cover of a blonde girl climbing out a          window onto a trellis with fireflies circling around her.                                                   SUZY           "-- but I'm not going," said Barnaby           Jack. "I'm running away tonight for good,           and this time I won't get caught."           Annabelle whispered: "I'm coming with           you." Her yellow hair, now brown at the           roots, caught up in the wind and danced.           Barnaby Jack took Annabelle's hand and           pressed something into it the size of a           jellybean. "Hide this in your socks, and           be ready at midnight."                                   Suzy looks to Sam to see if he is still awake. Sam looks to          the rest of the troop to see if they are still awake. They          all nod and signal for Suzy to continue. Suzy turns the page          and reads on:                                                   SUZY           He leapt out the window and landed in the           fresh-fallen snow.                                   EXT. SCOUT CAMP. DAY                                   The next morning. Camp Ivanhoe. Scout Master Ward emerges          from his tent. He puts on his hat. The wind whips it off his          head. He chases it, catches it, and puts it back on with the          chin-strap tight. He frowns. He shouts:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           No bugle? No reveille? Lazy-eye, Gadge,           Deluca, Izod? Where's my troop? Let's go!           You're late!                                   Scout Master Ward tries to light a cigarette, but the match          blows out. He walks past the latrine, the workbench, the row          of smaller tents, and the charcoal grill. He throws his hands          into the air.           74.                                                             SCOUT MASTER WARD           Chef? Breakfast?                                   Scout Master Ward shakes his head. He arrives at the picnic          table and rings his bell. He sits down. He opens a new issue          of Indian Corn. There is a picture on the cover of a scout          troop rappelling in Tasmania. He struggles to keep the          rippling pages from turning by themselves.                                                  INSERT:                                   The first page. There is another drawing of the Scout Master-          in-Chief. This time he is behind the wheel of a ship. His          signature below, once again, reads Commander Pierce. There is          a quotation in large text: "Anyone can hold the helm when the          sea is calm."                                   Pause. Scout Master Ward lowers his magazine. He looks          around, confused. Something dawns on him.                                   INT. COMMAND TENT. DAY                                   A small entourage of teenage scouts studies maps, charts, and          documents at folding tables. One of them sits at a telegraph          machine. He wears headphones and taps Morse code on a paddle          as he listens to a transmission. He looks puzzled. He swivels          his chair to a steno-machine and begins typing rapidly.                                   EXT. COMMAND TENT. DAY                                   A triple-sized tent with a canopy in front and a large totem          pole looming over it. It stands on five-foot stilts. There is          a school bus parked next to it with letters painted across          its side which read Regional Jubilee.                                   A forty-five-year-old scout master with several medals on his          chest is sharpening a straight razor. He is Secretary          McIntire. He adjusts a hot towel on the face of a man in a          barber's chair.                                   The young telegraph operator hurries out of the tent carrying          a strip of paper. He hands it to Secretary McIntire.          Secretary McIntire stares at it. He says to the man under the                         TOWEL:                                                   SECRETARY MCINTIRE           You're not going to believe this one,           sir. That Scout Master on New Penzance?           Has now lost his entire troop.                                   The seated man whips the towel off his face and rises to his          feet. He is Commander Pierce himself. He has silver hair, a          moustache, and a much greater number of medals. He says in          disbelief as he snatches the slip of paper:           75.                                                                            COMMANDER PIERCE           Well, I'll be damned. Who is this bimbo?                                                   SECRETARY MCINTIRE                          (VAGUELY)           I couldn't say.                                   Commander Pierce shakes his head. He continues to study the          document as he sits back down. Secretary McIntire begins to          lather his cheeks with a brush.                                                  CUT TO:                                   A vast archway of wood, straw, and rope construction. Fort          Lebanon is spelled out across the top with bound sticks. A          large flag waving madly on a pole reads Khaki Scouts of North          America. A bugler on a platform plays the familiar staccato          tattoo. It echoes for miles.                                   Sam and Suzy wait inside the gates crouched behind a row of          trash cans with the rest of the troop except Skotak. They          shiver. Sam has on his back-pack. Suzy carries her suitcase.          Gadge holds a tennis ball can.                                   A scout master in an Indian chief's headdress stops as he          walks by. He looks curiously at Sam and especially Suzy. He          says to Nickleby:                                                   GUARD SCOUT           Who's your unit leader?                                   Pause. Nickleby points to a fat man in an apron cooking          hamburgers on a grill.                                                   NICKLEBY           That guy.                                   The scout master shrugs. Skotak comes over and says                         FURTIVELY:                                                   SKOTAK           There's a broken gum-ball machine behind           the snack tent.                                   Skotak distributes a handful of gum-balls among Sam, Suzy,          and the rest of the troop. They all put them in their mouths.          Skotak motions for everyone to follow him.                                   A footbridge across a stream leads to a Quonset hut with an          awning in front labelled Supply Tent. A crowd of very young          scouts waits at a wide counter bartering over boxes of food,          drink, and equipment. A team of helpers collects money and          packages goods. At the center, there is a twenty-year-old           76.                                                            scout with a pencil behind his ear. He is Cousin Ben. He says          to a nine-year-old Junior Khaki:                                                   COUSIN BEN           I don't care how they do it where you           come from. You want pop? You want candy?           You want a snake-bite kit? Get some           money.                                   Skotak appears and whispers something to Cousin Ben. Cousin          Ben nods. He says to his customers:                                                   COUSIN BEN           Come back in five minutes.                                   Cousin Ben pulls a curtain shut behind the counter.                                   EXT. WOODEN PROMENADE. DAY                                   Sam, Suzy, Skotak and the rest of the troop follow Cousin Ben          briskly out a door and onto a cat-walk that runs along the          top of a wall made from tall, pointed logs. As they talk,          they walk past dozens of rows and clusters of tents grouped          by color in the fields below. They walk past towers, huts,          ladders, latrines, and a catapult under construction. They          walk past a white infirmary with a red cross on it and a          doctor taking a boy's blood pressure. They walk past a fleet          of small, antique sailboats flying assorted troop banners.          Five hundred scouts and fifty scout masters work, eat, talk,          cook, and play sports and games all around the compound in          spite of the fierce winds. One group rides motorcycles,          another fires model rockets, another flies by overhead on a          cable-trolley.                                   Cousin Ben points to Sam and asks Skotak over the sound of                         THE WIND:                                                   COUSIN BEN           Is this him?                                                   SAM           Field Mate Sam Shakusky, Troop 55,           resigned.                                                   COUSIN BEN           He's hot. Almost too hot. What's in the           can?                                                   SKOTAK           Seventy-six dollars -- but it's mostly in           nickels.                                                   COUSIN BEN           Give it to me.           77.                                                            Skotak motions for Gadge to hand Cousin Ben the tennis ball          can. It appears to be very heavy and jingles as it moves.          Cousin Ben takes it. He says to Sam:                                                   COUSIN BEN           You badge in seamanship?                                                   SAM           Yes, sir.                                   Sam points to one of the patches on his sash. It has an          anchor embroidered on it.                                                   COUSIN BEN           Good. There's cold-water crabber moored           off Broken Rock. The skipper owes me an           I.O.U. We'll see if he can take you on as           a claw cracker. It won't be an easy life,           but it's better than shock therapy.                                                   SAM           Thank you, sir. By the way, where's the           chapel tent?                                   Cousin Ben hesitates. He points behind them with his thumb:                                                   COUSIN BEN           Back there, but the padre's home with the           mumps. Why do you ask?                                                   SAM           I want to bring my wife.                                   Cousin Ben stops walking. He looks Sam up and down. Suzy says                         BEHIND HIM:                                                   SUZY           But we're not married yet.                                   Cousin Ben turns to Suzy. He looks back to Sam and back to          Suzy again.                                                   COUSIN BEN           You his girl?                                   Suzy nods. Cousin Ben looks intrigued. He says tentatively:                                                   COUSIN BEN           Technically, I'm a civil-law scrivener.           I'm authorized to declare births, deaths,           and marriages. You're kind of young. You           got a license?           78.                                                            Sam and Suzy shake their heads. Cousin Ben nods. He speaks          more gently now:                                                   COUSIN BEN           I can't offer you a legally binding           union. It won't hold up in the state, the           county, or, frankly, any courtroom in the           world due to your age, lack of a license,           and failure to get parental consent --           but the ritual does carry a very           important moral weight within yourselves.           You can't enter into this lightly. Do you           love each other?                                   Sam and Suzy immediately nod. Cousin Ben continues:                                                   COUSIN BEN           Are you sure you're ready for this?                                   Sam and Suzy immediately nod. Cousin Ben looks perturbed.                                                   COUSIN BEN           Let me rephrase it.                                                   SUZY                          (INTERRUPTING)           We're in a hurry.                                                   COUSIN BEN                          (SNAPPING)           Spit out the gum, sister. In fact,           everybody.                                   Cousin Ben puts out his hand. Suzy spits her gum into his          palm. He throws it away over his shoulder. Sam and the rest          of the troop spit their gum out on the ground. Cousin Ben                         SAYS STERNLY:                                                   COUSIN BEN           I don't like the snappy attitude. This is           the most important decision you've made           in your lives. Now go over by that           trampoline and talk it through before you           give me another quick answer.                                   Cousin Ben watches as Sam and Suzy walk away and stand next          to a large trampoline. A small scout jumps from a high          ladder, bounces, and does a back-flip.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Sam and Suzy uncertain how to begin the conversation. Sam          shrugs.           79.                                                                            SAM           I guess we better try to pretend we're           struggling over our decision for a minute           before we go back over there and tell him --                                                   SUZY           Maybe he's right. It could be a mistake.                                   Sam looks stunned. He is speechless. He stammers:                                                   SAM           What? Why? How?                                                   SUZY           Being married. Sometimes it seems sad to           me. It might be better to just go steady           permanently.                                   Sam shakes his head. He looks off into the distance. He says                         QUIETLY:                                                   SAM           I don't know what to say.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Cousin Ben counting nickels in the tennis ball can. He jerks          his thumb toward Sam and Suzy and says dismissively:                                                   COUSIN BEN           I guess they're probably just trying to           pretend they're struggling over their           decision, but at least --                                                   SKOTAK           Woah!                                   Cousin Ben looks. Suzy has her hands around Sam's throat and          is throttling him. Sam squirms loose and calms her down. The          troop watches transfixed. Sam takes a snapshot out of his          pocket and shows it to Suzy, explaining. Suzy nods. They come          back over to the group. There are tears on Suzy's cheeks. She          says to Cousin Ben:                                                   SUZY           We're sure.                                                   COUSIN BEN           OK. Let's do a blood test.                                   INT. CHAPEL TENT. DAY                                   Cousin Ben stands at a collapsible altar. He wears a purple,          silk stole around his neck with crosses stitched into it. Sam           80.                                                            and Suzy hold a Bible with their hands on it. Skotak and the          rest of troop listen solemnly as Cousin Ben reads from a                         MANUAL:                                                   COUSIN BEN           -- which we hereby consecrate on this           day, the fifth of September, 1965.                          (LOOKING UP)           That's the end of the short-form. Do any           of the witnesses have objections or           remarks? Usually, they don't.                                   Skotak raises his hand. Cousin Ben reluctantly calls on him:                                                   COUSIN BEN           Skotak.                                                   SKOTAK           Can we loan them the nickels? I'm worried           about their future.                                                   COUSIN BEN                          (OFFENDED)           That's my fee.                                   Skotak and the rest of the troop look very concerned. They          murmur to each other:                                                   NICKLEBY           What's going to happen to them?                                                   GADGE           Nobody knows.                                                   DELUCA           Let's take a vote.                                                   SKOTAK           All in favor --                                                   COUSIN BEN                          (LOUDLY)           That's my fee.                                   Skotak and the rest of the troop look to Cousin Ben. Cousin          Ben glares at them. He sighs. He points to Skotak.                                                   COUSIN BEN           You're just like your brothers. OK, give           them the tennis ball can.                                   Cousin Ben points to the tennis ball can on the floor next to          his feet. Skotak takes it and zips it into a side-pocket of           81.                                                            Sam's back-pack. Cousin Ben hands Sam and Suzy a receipt on a          clipboard.                                                   COUSIN BEN           Sign here -- and initial here and here.                                   Sam and Suzy sign and initial. Cousin Ben tears out a copy.                                                   COUSIN BEN           Take the carbon. Leave the Bible. Let's           go.                                   Sam and Suzy turn and walk out of the chapel tent holding          hands. They do not smile. Cousin Ben, Skotak, and the rest of          the troop follow them with grave expressions on their faces.          Sam touches Suzy's hair. Suzy kisses Sam's hand. They walk as          a group through the camp.                                                  OMIT                                   EXT. CAMP MARINA. DAY                                   Sam, Suzy, Skotak, and the rest of the troop wait at the end          of a narrow dock. Cousin Ben stands below them in a small          sailboat. He reaches up to Suzy and lifts her onboard. He          reaches up to Sam and lifts him onboard, too. He rigs the          sail.                                   Sam smiles sadly. He and Skotak do the secret handshake. The          others quickly join in. Suzy blows them a kiss. Everyone          looks choked up.                                   Cousin Ben unloops a line. The sails quickly catch the strong          wind, and the boat sails away into the harbor. Skotak and the          rest of troop wave and salute. They watch, bittersweet.          Pause.                                                   NICKLEBY           Where they going again?                                                   GADGE           He's going to work on a shrimper, if I           understand correctly.                                                   SKOTAK                          (WISTFULLY)           I wish them well.                                                   LAZY-EYE           Me, too. Me, too.                                   Skotak sighs. He turns and starts up the dock. The others          follow him. Roosevelt hesitates. He points.           82.                                                                            ROOSEVELT           I think they're coming back.                                   Skotak and the rest of the troop stop and turn around. The          sailboat glides back in. Sam leaps onto the dock with the          tennis ball can. Suzy looks worried. Cousin Ben yells:                                                   COUSIN BEN           Be quick, sailor!                                                   SKOTAK                          (PUZZLED)           What happened?                                                   SAM                          (QUICKLY)           She left her binoculars on a hook in the           chapel tent.                                                   DELUCA                          (SHRUGS)           Just leave them.                                   Sam sprints up the dock. He yells back over his shoulder:                                                   SAM           We can't. It's her magic power!                                                  CUT TO:                                   A binocular shot of Sam running full-speed through the          compound. He approaches quickly -- then skids to a stop.                                   EXT. CHAPEL TENT. DAY                                   Redford blocks the entrance. He is dressed in white hospital          pajamas with a red cross on the breast pocket. His side is          heavily bandaged and his arm is attached to an I/V drip. He          lowers Suzy's binoculars.                                   Sam stands frozen in front of Redford. Redford stares at him          icily. Sam starts to say something -- then pauses. He says,                         INSTEAD:                                                   SAM           You killed your dog, by the way.                                                   REDFORD                          (HESITATES)           Snoopy?                          (SHRUGS)           Well, it couldn't be helped.                                   Sam nods. He asks quietly:           83.                                                                            SAM           Why do you consider me your enemy?                                   Redford frowns. He says in disbelief:                                                   REDFORD           Because your girlfriend stabbed me in the           back with lefty scissors.                                                   SAM           She's my wife now.                                                   REDFORD           Congratulations.                                                   SAM           I'm saying before that. Six weeks ago.           From day one. What'd I do wrong? I'm           trying to understand.                          (IN SUMMATION)           Why don't you like me?                                                   REDFORD                          (LONG PAUSE)           Why should I? Nobody else does.                                   Sam runs up to Redford and pokes him as hard as he can in the          scissor cut with his finger. Redford screams.                                   Scouts and scout masters everywhere stop what they are doing          and look to the chapel tent. Across the compound, Commander          Pierce comes out of his tent, alerted.                                   Sam whips the binoculars out of Redford's hands, turns away,          and sprints. No one moves anywhere except Sam dashing toward          the marina. Redford shouts at the top of his lungs:                                                   REDFORD           He's here! The fugitive! Stop him!                                   An emergency alarm sounds. The entire camp swings into          action. Two teams of scouts playing capture-the-flag descend          from both sides and cut Sam off from the dock. They wear red          and yellow jerseys over their uniforms.                                   Suzy jumps out of the boat onto the dock. Sam sees her beyond          the blockade of scouts. She waves her arms. Sam throws up his          hands. He sprints in a new direction, onto a wide field.          There is a small, pink flag on a thin stick stuck in the          ground at the center of a plastic ring. Sam grabs it as he          runs past. He looks back and sees:           84.                                                            A mob of fifty scouts chasing him. He circles in a giant          figure eight trailed by the huge group. He races up a hill          and stops at the top.                                   Sam looks down at the approaching scouts and hundreds of          others watching. A dark cloud rolls in casting a giant shadow          over the entire camp. Sam throws the little flag down at his          pursuers like a javelin. It sails in an arc and pokes down          into the grass. There is a thunderclap. Sam looks up into the          sky.                                   A bolt of lightning strikes him.                                   Sam is thrown ten feet through the air and lands on his back.          The tennis ball can explodes nickels. The mob of scouts stops          with a jolt. They look terrified. Sam sits up. He is covered          in black soot. His shoes are on fire. He shakes them off his          feet.                                   Suzy runs through the crowd of scouts and drops down on her          knees in front of Sam. She looks astonished. Sam says                         QUICKLY:                                                   SAM           I'm OK.                                   Suzy helps Sam to his feet. Sam raises Suzy's smoldering          binoculars to his eyes. Skotak and the rest of the troop join          them.                                                  CUT TO:                                   A binocular shot of a ladder leaning against a high fence.                         SAM SHOUTS:                                                   SAM           Follow me!                                   Sam leads Suzy, Skotak, and the rest of the troop fly at a          sprint to the fence, climb the ladder, and pull it up after          them. A bugle plays a cavalry charge. The mob bolts after          them.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Split-screen. On one side of the frame, we see Captain Sharp,          Scout Master Ward, and Becky wearing their operator head-          phones. On the other side, we see Commander Pierce, Secretary          McIntire, and the commander's entourage inside the command          tent. Commander Pierce says into his field-telephone:                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           Captain Sharp, we've located the missing           troop. They just fled camp. We're in                          (MORE)           85.                                    COMMANDER PIERCE (cont'd)           pursuit. They're accompanied by a twelve-           year-old girl in knee-socks and Sunday-           school shoes.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Stand by, Commander Pierce.                                   Captain Sharp spins around in his chair and flips a switch on          a two-way radio. He says into a microphone:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Jed, re-route to St. Jack Wood. Tell           Social Services the boy's been spotted at           Fort Lebanon.                                    JED (V.O.)           Roger that. Will comply.                                   Captain Sharp sets down the microphone. He turns to Becky.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Becky, notify the Bishops: Suzy's there.                                   Becky nods. Captain Sharp turns to Scout Master Ward.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Randy? You monitoring?                                   Scout Master Ward is already on his feet. He peels off his          head-phones.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Affirmative. I'm on my way.                                   Becky plugs a cord into a socket and says:                                                   BECKY           Hello! Mr. Bishop?                                   Captain Sharp looks out the window with a sense of dread.                                   INT. BISHOP HOUSE. DAY                                   Mr. Bishop listens on the telephone with a strained look on          his face. Mrs. Bishop watches him intently.                                    MR. BISHOP           Oh, dear God.                                   Mr. Bishop grabs Mrs. Bishop by the wrist. He says grimly:                                    MR. BISHOP           Get the boys.           86.                                                            Mrs. Bishop raises her megaphone to her mouth. She shouts:                                    MRS. BISHOP           Let's go! Right now!                                   INT. SEAPLANE. DAY                                   A deHavilland Beaver in heavy rain and turbulence. Jed speaks          into his radio while piloting the aircraft. Social Services          sits beside him in the passenger's seat. She looks queasy but          determined.                                                   JED           Tower control, this is Jed. Confirm co-           ordinates for new destination: alpha-two-           two-seven-one-fiver. Looking pretty soupy           up here. Wouldn't mind setting down           before the pot boils over.           (to Social Services)           Hang on, Social Services.                                   Jed presses the yoke forward, and the plane dips hard. Social          Services braces against the dash.                                   EXT. MOTORBOAT. DAY                                   Scout Master Ward steers his outboard through the open          channel. The boat crests high over deep swells, flooding over          in waves. Scout Master Ward is drenched. He does not flinch          or even appear to notice.                                   EXT. FOREST PATH. DAY                                   Sam, Suzy, Skotak, and the rest of the troop scramble through          the woods as fast as they can. There are flashes of lightning          and pounding thunder. Suzy trips on a root, and Sam pulls her          to her feet. Sam trips on a rock, and Suzy pulls him to his          feet.                                   INT. COMMAND TENT. DAY                                   The commander's entourage is frantically packing up their          portable telephones, P.A. system, folding tables, collapsible          chairs, etc. One of them wraps a tarp around boxes labelled          Fireworks.                                                  INSERT:                                   A transistor radio. The announcer says urgently:                                    WEATHER MAN (V.O.)           Once again: storm waters have just           breached the dam at Black Beacon                          (MORE)           87.                                    WEATHER MAN (V.O.) (cont'd)           Reservoir. A flash flood alert is in           effect. Take immediate precautions.                                   Commander Pierce and Secretary McIntire listen to the report.          Secretary McIntire says gravely:                                                   SECRETARY MCINTIRE           That's coming our way.                                   Captain Pierce nods, worried. The capture-the-flag scouts in          soaking jerseys gather, winded, outside the tent. One of the          team captains stands in the entrance breathing heavily.          Commander Pierce points to him:                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           You find them?                                                   TEAM CAPTAIN           No, sir.                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           (to the entourage)           Prepare to mobilize to higher ground.                                   Secretary McIntire hands Commander Pierce an envelope with          red-and-white stripes on it. Commander Pierce rips it open.                         HE READS:                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           St. Jack Church is the designated storm           shelter.           (to Secretary McIntire)           Notify all scouts to muster outside my           tent on the double.                                                  INSERT:                                   The St. Jack's Church poster box. Another mimeographed page          is stapled to the bulletin board. The heading is now Summer          Pageant, 1965. It reads:                                                   BENJAMIN BRITTEN'S                          "NOYE'S FLUDDE"           Performed by the           Choristers of St. Jack Wood and New Penzance                          8PM TONIGHT                          PERFORMANCE CANCELLED                                                  OMIT                                   INT. EPISCOPAL CHURCH. DAY                                   The set for the ark stands on the platform behind the altar.          There are candles and garlands in place, but also stacks of           88.                                                            cardboard boxes and gallons of distilled-water. Numerous          animal costumes hang from a rolling garment rack. An old nun          crosses the aisle carrying a large, metal coffee dispenser.          Two young priests cross in the opposite direction carrying          folding cots. Voices shout urgently off-screen:                                    VOICES (O.S.)           More sandbags! We need dry blankets! Wake           up the Deacon!                                   Sam, Suzy, Skotak, and the rest of the troop slowly poke          their heads in from the side door and creep up the stairs to          the choir loft.                                   EXT. SCOUT FESTIVAL. DAY                                   The entire brigade of scouts stands assembled in formation in          the rain. The last two stragglers come running and hurry into          their positions. They all wear rain slickers or canvas          ponchos. Commander Pierce, Secretary McIntire, and the          commander's entourage emerge quickly from the command tent.          Commander Pierce shouts:                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           Attention, company! Prepare for --                                   Commander Pierce hesitates. He points down to the marina and          says to Secretary McIntire:                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           Who's that?                                   Secretary McIntire and the commander's entourage turn to see:                                   Scout Master Ward speeding toward the dock in his motorboat.          He leaps to shore, throws a line over a post, and sprints up          to the assembly. He salutes Commander Pierce. Commander          Pierce frowns and asks with quiet ferocity:                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           You call yourself a Khaki Scout?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (HESITATES)           I'm sorry, sir?                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE                          (ENRAGED)           Where's your goddamn troop? They could           get killed out there!                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (SURPRISED)           You don't have them?           89.                                                                            COMMANDER PIERCE                          (DISGUSTED)           You're a liability to us.                                                   SECRETARY MCINTIRE                          (IN EXPLANATION)           The incident may affect our insurance           premiums.                                   Commander Pierce looks at Scout Master Ward's breast pocket.                                                  INSERT:                                   A name-tag that reads Scout Master Ward next to a patch with          a picture of a snow-capped mountain. It says K.S.N.A.          Leadership underneath.                                   Commander Pierce says bitterly:                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           I'm field-stripping you of your command.                                   Commander Pierce rips the patch off Scout Master Ward's          uniform and throws it aside. He holds out his hand, palm up.          Scout Master Ward looks stricken. He reaches into his pocket,          takes out his scout pocket-knife, and hands it Commander          Pierce. Commander Pierce puts it into his own pocket. He                         SHOUTS:                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           Attention, company! Prepare for emergency           evacuation!                                   Secretary McIntire leans close to Commander Pierce. He                         WHISPERS DISCREETLY:                                                   SECRETARY MCINTIRE           Sir, do you have your medicine?                                   Commander Pierce hesitates. He holds up a finger.                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           I'll be right back.                                   Commander Pierce strides back into the command tent.          Secretary McIntire looks to Scout Master Ward, uneasy. Scout          Master Ward stares down at the ground.                                   The flash-flood explodes out from the woods.                                   Gushing water pours down the hillside, cuts a swath through          the center of the camp, and tears down everything in its          narrow path. The command tent suddenly becomes a tiny island          at the center of a rushing river.           90.                                                            The company is taken aback. Scout Master Ward stiffens,          watchful. The totem pole creaks and sways, then falls cleanly          onto the command tent, splitting it down the middle. Inside,          something sparks, pops, then blows up. The tent bursts into          flames.                                   Secretary McIntire does not react. He stands perfectly still,          watching the fire. Scout Master Ward taps him, grabs him, and          shakes him. Secretary McIntire looks at him blankly. Scout          Master Ward makes a snap decision. He turns to the company                         AND SHOUTS:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Hold your position!                                   Scout Master Ward runs ahead, splashes into the raging flood,          wades through it against the current, dodging branches and          debris, then pulls himself up onto the fallen totem pole and          walks balancing on it to the burning tent. He disappears          inside.                                   Secretary McIntire and the vast company watch, riveted.                                   Scout Master Ward comes out the opposite side of the tent          onto the other end of the fallen totem pole carrying          Commander Pierce over his shoulders. He descends back into          the water, trudges through it, and steps up onto the          embankment. The company looks deeply, permanently impressed.          Scout Master Ward hollers:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Company Secretary! Status report, sir!                                   Secretary McIntire hesitates. He stirs to attention and says                         ENTHUSIASTICALLY:                                                   SECRETARY MCINTIRE           All accounted for, Scout Master!                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Supply and Resources! Call it out!                                   Cousin Ben gives an A-OK sign near the front of the assembly.                         HE SHOUTS:                                                   COUSIN BEN           Affirmative, sir!                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Fall in! We're going to run for it, boys!           Let's move!                                   The entire company follows Scout Master Ward with Commander          Pierce over his shoulders at a fast jog out of the camp.           91.                                                            INT. EPISCOPAL CHURCH. DAY                                   The room has now been converted into a full-fledged refugee          center. Families from the town-ship huddle in pews with bags          and piles of their wet belongings. Priests and nuns          distribute towels and sandwiches to frightened children. Dogs          and cats prowl nervously. Sandbags are stacked in low walls          outside the doors and windows. The rain beats on the roof,          and lightning continues to flash through the stained glass.                                   A side door opens. Captain Sharp comes in from the storm with          Mr. and Mrs. Bishop. Lionel, Murray, Rudy, and the two old          fishermen follow closely behind them. They slam the door.          Captain Sharp looks around frantically.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Who's in charge here?                                   Another side door opens. Scout Master Ward jogs in with          Commander Pierce still over his shoulders and the entire          company behind him flooding into the room. Captain Sharp          yells to him:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Randy! What happened?                                   Scout Master Ward goes over to Captain Sharp and turns his          back to him, jogging in place.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Take the commander off of me.                                   Captain Sharp helps Commander Pierce down off Scout Master          Ward's back and into a pew to rest. Secretary McIntire          assists them. Mr. Bishop strides up the aisle yelling to the          left and right:                                    MR. BISHOP           Suzy? Sam?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           (shaking his head)           They ran away again.                                   Mr. and Mrs. Bishop grimace, unbelievably frustrated. Scout          Master Ward addresses the scouts:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           We're going back out. I need volunteers.                                   Hands raise. Scout Master Ward passes out walkie-talkies as          he chooses his squad:           92.                                                             SCOUT MASTER WARD           You, you, you, you --                                   Becky steps in front of Scout Master Ward with her hand          raised. Scout Master Ward hesitates.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           -- and you?                                   Becky takes a walkie-talkie. She looks at Scout Master Ward          with admiration and asks, concerned:                                                   BECKY           Are you all right?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (WARMLY)           Of course, I am. Come on.                                   Scout Master Ward leads Becky by the arm through the crowded          church as they begin to gather supplies: extra flashlights, a          flare gun, coils of rope.                                   Captain Sharp looks up to the choir loft. Eleven children          dressed in animal masks sit quietly in a row. Captain Sharp          does a double-take. One of the animals is an otter wearing          Sunday-school shoes and binoculars around its neck. Next to          her is the male of the species in a sash with numerous small,          embroidered patches on it.                                   The front doors open. There is lightning, thunder, wind, and          rain. Social Services enters. She takes off a wet cape with a          red lining and hands it to an acolyte in a robe. Jed presses          the doors shut behind them. Social Services asks immediately:                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           Where's the boy?                                   Captain Sharp hesitates. He says reluctantly:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           We don't know yet.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           That's not acceptable.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           (pretending to be irritated)           What do you want me to say, lady?           (to no one in particular)           Somebody get Jed a cup of coffee.                                   The acolyte runs to the coffee dispenser with a cardboard          cup. Social Services charges over to Captain Sharp.           93.                                                                            SOCIAL SERVICES           You're Captain Sharp?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           That's right.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           I'm Social Services. I remanded the boy           to your personal custody. You're           responsible for his safety. I'm told he           was just struck by lightning.                                   Captain Sharp frowns. He looks to Scout Master Ward and says                         SKEPTICALLY:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           That's the first I heard of it.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (UNFORTUNATELY)           It's true.                                   Captain Sharp tries to process this. Social Services now          moves in on Scout Master Ward. She says aggressively:                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           Scout Master Ward, I presume?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Yes, ma'am.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES                          (BITINGLY)           Your reputation precedes you.                                   Captain Sharp and Scout Master Ward stand side-by-side in          front of Social Services. She berates them:                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           You two are the most appallingly           incompetent custodial guardians Social           Services has ever had the misfortune to                          ENCOUNTER --                          (SHOUTING)           -- in a twenty-seven year career!                                   Captain Sharp and Scout Master Ward look sheepish. Social          Services says bitterly:                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           What do you have to say for yourselves?                                   Captain Sharp hesitates. He says strangely:           94.                                                                            CAPTAIN SHARP           You can't do this. They'll eat him alive           in there.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES                          (HESITATES)           Where?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           (aside, to Scout Master Ward)           What's the name of the place again?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (HESITATES)           Juvenile refuge?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (HORRIFIED)           Juvenile refuge. That sounds like jail.                                   Silence. In the background, the acolyte picks up Panagle's          walking stick weapon off the floor. He stares at it, puzzled.          Social Services says carefully:                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           Just find the boy -- and deliver him --           (motioning to herself)           -- to Social Services. Nothing else is in           your power.                                    MR. BISHOP                          (SHARPLY)           I'm sorry.                                   Social Services, Captain Sharp, and Scout Master Ward turn to          Mr. and Mrs. Bishop. Mr. Bishop looks tense.                                    MR. BISHOP           Can we get back to the rescue now?                                    MRS. BISHOP                          (URGENTLY)           Suzy's still out there.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES                          (FROWNING)           Who are you?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Walt and Laura Bishop. Their daughter's           the missing girl.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           The parents of the stabber?           95.                                                             MRS. BISHOP           I object to that description. She was           attacked.                                   Commander Pierce appears with an oxygen mask over his face.          He pulls it aside briefly and says to Secretary McIntire:                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           I want the details. Where's the scout she           knifed?                                                   SECRETARY MCINTIRE           Right here.                                   Secretary McIntire snaps his fingers and gives a signal.          Redford appears.                                                   REDFORD           Field Mate Redford, sir.                                                   COMMANDER PIERCE           (through the oxygen mask)           What's his condition?                                                   SECRETARY MCINTIRE           He may suffer some limited chronic kidney           insufficiency. Here's the report.                                   Secretary McIntire hands Commander Pierce a doctor's report.          Mrs. Bishop snatches it and throws it over her shoulder.                                    MRS. BISHOP           We don't have time for this!                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           She's right!                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           Let's go!                                   Social Services turns and starts up the aisle. She stops          suddenly. Captain Sharp is standing in their path brandishing          Panagle's walking stick weapon.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Nobody's going anywhere.                                   Everyone stops. Captain Sharp locks eyes with Social          Services. He says in a steely voice:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           He's not getting shock therapy.           96.                                                            Social Services looks furious. Her jaw sets. She reaches          inside her jacket and withdraws a small pad labelled Citation          Book.                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES           That's it! I'm citing you for gross           misconduct! You are hereby summoned to           appear before the board of --                                   Captain Sharp looks enraged. He grits his teeth. He reaches          into his back pocket and withdraws a similar pad labelled          Boating Violations.                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           I'm writing you up back! Be notified that           you stand accused of the mistreatment and                          IMPROPER --                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES                          (SCREAMING)           What are you talking about?                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (SCREAMING)           I won't let you do it!                                                   REDFORD                          (SCREAMING)           Look!                                   Everyone looks. Redford is standing on a pew with his arm          stretched out pointing up at the choir loft in amazement. The          troop is there, but Sam's and Suzy's seats are empty.                                   There is a flash, a bang, and all the lights in the room go          out at once. People gasp. Candles flicker alight on          candlesticks. A back-up generator kicks into gear, humming,          and the room fills with a new, different light.                                   Captain Sharp says to himself:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           They're gone.                                    MR. BISHOP                          (CONFUSED)           Who?                                    MRS. BISHOP                          (UNCERTAIN)           Suzy?           97.                                                                            CAPTAIN SHARP                          (YELLING)           Sam?                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (SHOUTING)           Gadge! Lazy-eye! Skotak!                                                   SOCIAL SERVICES                          (REALIZING)           They're here?                                   Captain Sharp strides down the aisle. He shouts up to Skotak:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Where'd they go? Answer me!                                   Skotak hesitates. He and the rest of the troop all look up to          a small, rickety, attic door. It is slightly ajar above a          long, narrow ladder behind the pipes of the organ.                                   Captain Sharp bolts up the steps. Everyone follows him,          running.                                   EXT. CHURCH ROOF. NIGHT                                   The storm rages. Captain Sharp opens a trap door onto the          high eaves. Faces appear in numerous windows below, looking          up. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop poke their heads out behind Captain          Sharp. On the far end of the rooftop, Sam and Suzy huddle          together at the base of the high steeple.                                   Captain Sharp stares up at Sam and Suzy, dumbstruck.                                   Sam and Suzy quickly start climbing a rusty gutter up the          side of the steeple. Captain Sharp looks astonished. He                         HOLLERS:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Halt! Stop!                                   Sam and Suzy continue to climb. Captain Sharp shouts back to          Mr. and Mrs. Bishop over the roaring wind:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Stay there!                                   Scout Master Ward appears and thrusts out the coil of rope.          He yells to Captain Sharp:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Take this!           98.                                                            Captain Sharp throws the rope over his shoulder and advances.          Mr. and Mrs. Bishop both crawl out after him, but Scout          Master Ward pulls them back. Mr. Bishop looks to Mrs. Bishop.          They are both terrified and helpless. They hold on to each          other tightly.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Captain Sharp tight-rope-walking along the edge of the          slippery roof with his arms stretched out sideways,          balancing. He army-crawls up steep slate shingles and reaches          the bottom of the steeple. He looks up. Sam and Suzy have          arrived at the top. They inch away sideways around a ledge          and disappear to the other side. Captain Sharp's voice                         STRAINS:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Where you going? What are you doing? Come           down!                                   Captain Sharp rubs his eyes. He knots one end of the rope          around his waist and ties the other to a pipe at the foot of          the gutter. He pulls the rope tight, presses his foot on the          wall, and gets ready to start climbing -- then stops          suddenly. He hesitates. He pulls the walkie-talkie off his          belt and yells into it:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Social Services? Do you read me? Over!                                                  CUT TO:                                   Sam and Suzy at the top of the steeple standing with their          backs against a painted cross. They look out.                                   The entire church has become an island. The cemetery is under          water, and the circling streets are fast rivers. Suzy turns          to Sam. They both appear relatively calm.                                                   SUZY           We might have to swim for it.                                                   SAM           How deep is it? I didn't bring my life           jacket.                                                   SUZY           I don't know, but if it's too shallow,           we'll break our necks, anyway. Hang onto           me.                                                   SAM           OK.           99.                                                            Sam and Suzy link arms.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Captain Sharp climbing the steeple as Social Services yells          at him over the speaker of his walkie-talkie:                                    SOCIAL SERVICES (V.O.)           Application denied! I'm sorry! Over!                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP                          (FRUSTRATED)           Counsellors? What's the legal           perspective? Over!                                                  CUT TO:                                   Mr. and Mrs. Bishop watching from the trap door with Scout          Master Ward. Mr. Bishop's eyes widen. He turns quickly to          Mrs. Bishop. She nods, energized. Mr. Bishop grabs Scout          Master Ward's walkie-talkie and shouts forcefully:                                    MR. BISHOP           In this state? I would litigate with           extreme confidence.                                    MRS. BISHOP                          (ABSOLUTELY)           I concur.                                    MRS. BISHOP                          (INSPIRED)           Open with article fifteen of the Codes of           Civic Jurisdiction.                                    MR. BISHOP                          (FROM MEMORY)           No party, under any circumstance, shall           be denied due and proper consideration...                                                  CUT TO:                                   Social Services' face, inscrutable, as she listens.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Sam and Suzy preparing to jump. They each take a deep breath.                                                   SUZY           On three again.                                                   SAM                          (SUDDENLY)           Wait. Just in case this is a suicide, or                          (MORE)           100.                                                   SAM (CONT'D)           they capture us, and we never see each           other again anymore -- thank you for           marrying me. I'm glad I got to know you,           Suzy.                                   Suzy looks deeply moved. She kisses Sam. A little electric          zap crackles at their lips. Suzy's eyes widen.                                                   SUZY           I think you've still got lightning in           you.                                                   SAM           Let's jump.                                   Sam and Suzy look down at the water again. Captain Sharp's          voice screams from off-screen:                                    CAPTAIN SHARP (O.S.)           No!                                   Sam and Suzy recoil. Captain Sharp appears, clinging to the          corner of the ledge. He shouts:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Goddammit!                                   Sam and Suzy retreat slightly. Captain Sharps waves his hands          in surrender. He yells into the walkie-talkie:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Tell him! Over!                                   Captain Sharp holds out the walkie-talkie. Social Services          voice comes over the scratchy speaker once more. She shouts:                                    SOCIAL SERVICES (V.O.)           Captain Sharp is offering to assume the           responsibility of foster parenthood!                                                  CUT TO:                                   Scout Master Ward watching from the trap door with Mr. and          Mrs. Bishop. He says excitedly into his walkie-talkie:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           He wants you to live with him!                                                  CUT TO:                                   Social Services watching from an attic window. She says          softly into her own walkie-talkie:           101.                                                                            SOCIAL SERVICES           Is this acceptable to you, Mr. Shakusky?                                                  CUT TO:                                   Sam staring at Captain Sharp. Captain Sharp says hopefully:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           What do you think, pal?                                   Tears stream down Sam's cheeks in the rain. He looks to Suzy.          She nods. She holds Sam's hand, and Sam reaches out to take          Captain Sharp's. Captain Sharp says into the walkie-talkie:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           We're coming down! Over and out.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Inside the church. The congregation listens on another walkie-          talkie. They are all just about to burst into a cheer -- when          there is a second, brighter flash followed by a much louder          bang and then a terrible, thunderous, ripping explosion. The          lights go out again. Everyone screams.                                   EXT. CHURCH ROOF. NIGHT                                   Scout Master Ward, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop, and Social Services          stare with their mouths open in frozen horror. The entire          steeple has disappeared. Only a twisted stump remains. Off          the edge of the roof, at the end of the rope, dangling in the          rain, Captain Sharp hangs swinging with Sam's hand in his          fist and Suzy's in Sam's. Voices shout in a panic above. Sam          and Suzy look up at Captain Sharp. He says to them evenly,          swaying above the rushing water:                                                   CAPTAIN SHARP           Don't let go.                                                  CUT TO:                                   Three days later. The detached steeple of the church lies on          its side on the roof of a smashed Volkswagen. The ground is          covered with strewn branches and trash. Sandbags still          surround the building. The narrator stands in front of the          wreckage and addresses the camera:                                                   NARRATOR           The Black Beacon storm was considered by           the U.S. Department of Inclement Weather           to be the region's most destructive                          (MORE)           102.                                                   NARRATOR (CONT'D)           meteorological event of the second half           of the twentieth century.                                   EXT. SCHOOL YARD. DAY                                   A basketball backboard sticks up out of nine feet of standing          water. The net grazes the surface. The narrator sits in a          rowboat floating alongside it.                                                   NARRATOR           It lingered through six high-tides and           inundated the islands with punishing           winds and extreme high waters.                                   EXT. PUBLIC BEACH. DAY                                   An enormous neon ace-of-spades with the word Open spelled in          broken light-bulbs above it is jammed sideways into a sandy          beach. Brightly painted wooden planks are littered          everywhere. The black lighthouse remains intact in the          background. The narrator, now tiny in the frame, continues:                                                   NARRATOR           On St. Jack Wood, powerful surges broke           the arcade boardwalk and demolished the           village bandstand and casino.                                   EXT. SCOUT CAMP. DAY                                   One week later. A repaired Camp Ivanhoe sign is being hoisted          up into place above the entrance. Scouts throughout the camp          hammer, chop, nail, and saw.                                                  INSERT:                                   Scout Master Ward's portable night stand. The reel-to-reel          tape recorder is recording. The photograph of the Scout          Master-in-Chief at the Matterhorn has been replaced by a          picture of Becky operating her switchboard.                                   INT. SCOUT MASTER WARD'S TENT. DAY                                   Scout Master Ward says into the microphone:                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           Scout Master's log. October tenth.           Reconstruction continues increasingly           ahead of schedule, which I attribute to a           particularly robust esprit de corps among           the troop. The latrine, however,           continues to present --                                   Scout Master Ward notices Skotak and a young boy with glasses          standing in the doorway. He says, off-mic:           103.                                                             SCOUT MASTER WARD           Is this the new recruit?                                                   SKOTAK           Yes, sir.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD           What's his rank?                                                   SKOTAK           He doesn't have one.                                    SCOUT MASTER WARD                          (ENTHUSIASTICALLY)           Pigeon Scout! Let's get you a patch.                                   Scout Master Ward presses stop on his tape recorder and leads          Skotak and the young boy out of the tent. The narrator                         CONTINUES:                                                   NARRATOR           The coastal areas of New Penzance were           battered and changed forever.                                                  INSERT:                                   The narrator's nautical chart. The cove is no longer          identified.                                    NARRATOR (V.O.)           Mile 3.25 Tidal Inlet was erased from the           map.                                   EXT. WIDE MEADOW. DAY                                   One year later. The sky is blue. Wildflowers grow in the tall          grass. The narrator, now in shirtsleeves, concludes:                                                   NARRATOR           But harvest yields the following autumn           far exceeded any previously recorded, and           the quality of the crops was said to be           extraordinary.                                   The narrator lingers for a moment, looking into the camera --          then turns away and walks down the hillside.                                   INT. BISHOP'S HOUSE. DAY                                   The landing at the top of the staircase. The portable record          player sits on the braided rug with the turntable spinning. A          child's voice says over the speaker:           104.                                                             RECORD PLAYER (V.O.)           So you see, the composer Benjamin Britten           has taken the whole orchestra apart. Now           he puts it back together again in a           fugue.                                   Lionel, Murray, and Rudy lie on the floor on their stomachs,          propped up with their chins on their fists. They listen.                                   Suzy sits in a small armchair reading a book called The          Return of Auntie Lorraine. There is an illustration on the          cover of a leathery, old woman and a girl with a pony-tail          looking together into a crystal ball. The kitten scratches at          Suzy's feet.                                   Sam sits on a stool painting a picture at the small easel. He          wears a miniature version of Captain Sharp's short-sleeved          uniform with a black necktie and a baseball cap.                                   Mrs. Bishop's amplified voice booms from the bottom of the                         STAIRS:                                    MRS. BISHOP (O.S.)           Suzy? Lionel, Murray, Rudy! Dinner!                                   Sam starts. Lionel, Murray, and Rudy look up from the record          player. Suzy is impassive. Mr. Bishop's voice takes over the                         MEGAPHONE:                                    MR. BISHOP (O.S.)           Don't make us ask twice!                                   Lionel, Murray, and Rudy jump to their feet and race down the          stairs. Sam dashes to the window. He opens it, climbs out,          and disappears. Suzy closes her book and rises to her feet.          Sam's head pokes back up from below. He and Suzy lock eyes.                                   Sam smiles. He whispers to Suzy urgently:                                                   SAM           See you tomorrow.                                   Suzy smiles back. Sam ducks away. Suzy goes over to the          window and looks out with her binoculars.                                                  CUT TO:                                   A binocular shot of Sam dropping to the ground and running          across the back lawn, into the trees. He comes out on the          dirt road where Captain Sharp waits, sitting on the hood of          his station wagon, smoking a cigarette. They both get into          the car and drive off.           105.                                                            Suzy lowers the binoculars. She pauses in front of the easel          and looks at the picture. She walks quietly away down the          stairs. The kitten follows her. The record continues to play          on the empty landing.                                   The camera moves in toward Sam's painting on the easel. It is          a watercolor landscape of Mile 3.25 Tidal Inlet. The tent is          pitched on the beach, and Sam's and Suzy's clothes hang on          the clothesline. Written in the sand with seashells just at          the water's edge are the words:                                                                            MOONRISE KINGDOM
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+                                                  NIGHTBREED                                                           Written by                                                Clive Barker                   Fade In:                    Scene 1. TITLE SEQUENCE                    Darkness. Then, a burst of sparks from a bowl held in a scaly hand.          The light shows us a mural. We start to move along the wall. First we          see stars and planets, painted in a primitive, stylized fashion on          bare rock. A voice on the track speaks softly to us.                    VOICE: We did not always live in hiding.                    We have come to the image of a huge family tree, which springs from          a single seed but divides into two separate halves. On the left,          ruled by the moon, the branches blossom into extraordinary creatures.          On the right, by sunlight, the branches end in ordinary human beings.                    Upon the word Nightbreed the title comes up on the screen, against          the image of a moon painted on the wall.                    SCENES 2-2K Deleted                    2L. EXT. REEDS NIGHT                    Cut to a real moon. Then cut wide to a moonlit landscape, through          which the camera careens madly. The soundtrack, which was lush and          almost sacred in the mural chamber, erupts into a tribal rhythm. We          glimpse creatures in the darkness, moving through the reeds. They are          barely more than silhouettes. We see teeth, and gleaming eyes;          glimpses of naked, patterned flesh. Only glimpses.                    2M. INT. MURAL CHAMBER                    Cut back to the mural chamber. Now we have moved away from the tree          to a more brutal scene. A symbolic representation of a great          apocalyptic war between Naturals and Breed. Terrible scenes of          destruction.                    VOICE: But the Naturals made war on us. They feared us for our          strength. They envied our powers. They called us monsters, killing us          by whatever means their malice could invent, finding in each of us          our particular vulnerability.                     We are scanning scenes of that war. A breed being staked like a          vampire. Another being shot like a werewolf. Another exposed to          sunlight.                    VOICE: None of us was safe. The tribes of the moon dwindled. Our          gods were slaughtered, our homes destroyed. It was the Apocalypse.                    2N. EXT. NECROPOLIS WALL AND GATES                    Cut back to the landscape. The clouds roil above the heads of the          creatures heading through the reeds. We see their destination now. A          huge wall, with gates.                    2P. INT. MURAL CHAMBER                    And back to the mural chamber, and a final scene. The gates we've          just seen are in the painting. Looking over them, calling the Breed          in, is a vast indistinct form: that of Baphomet. His eyes burn; his          arms are open in welcome.                    VOICE: Only one of our Gods survived the holocaust. Baphomet.          Wounded and near death, he summoned us, the last of the last, into          hiding. Into Midian, where we wait now. The battle is over but not          the war. There will come a saviour.                    Now we've moved beyond the image of the gate into a new patch of          wall on which the pictures are only vague sketches. We can interpret          some of the images nevertheless: a man with a bloody hole in the          middle of his chest. A man wearing a mask like a skull. We linger on          a faceless figure.                    VOICE: His name is Cabal. He will lead and give us back the Night.          We are the tribes of the moon. We are the Nightbreed.                    The titles end.                    2Q. EXT. NECROPOLIS WALL AND GATES                    Cut back to the landscape. Now we are at the gates, and the          creatures slip through and away into the mist. Only one, a beautiful,          ferocious female called Shuna Sassi remains, turning to look at us.          She beckons.                    SHUNA: Come...                    The camera retreats from her.                    SHUNA: Will you not come?                    Now the last of the creatures, the Drummer, takes her by the arm,          snatching her away through the gates. As she disappears, the camera          follows again, stopping at the gates themselves, which close with an          unearthly din.                              CUT TO:                     2R. INT. LORI'S APARTMENT NIGHT                    C.U. on Boone, closed eyes. He is dreaming. His gaze roves beneath          his lids.                    Lori's lips come into shot kissing first his eyes and then traveling          down his face to his mouth.                    LORI: Boone...wake up.                    Boone's eyes flicker open.                    LORI: Hi. You OK?                    Boone: Yep.                    Now Boone's eyes are fully open. He sits up. Looks towards the open          window. Night beyond. She kisses him, distracting him from the sight          of the window.                    LORI: You want something to eat?                    BOONE: Sure. What time is it?                    LORI: Nine-thirty. I was letting you doze.                    BOONE: Thought you'd worn me out, huh?                    Lori smiles, and kisses him, then crosses the room to the kitchen          area, picks up some fruit, and a knife, carrying both back to where          Boone is lying on the bed. It is unmade. Both Lori and Boone are          lightly dressed, clothes casually thrown on after an afternoon          lovemaking.                    Lori: You know what?                    BOONE: What?                    LORI: We should get out of Calgary for a few days. Just take off.                    BOONE: Anywhere special?                    LORI: Somewhere we can be alone together.                    BOONE: More alone than this?                    LORI: Yeah. Just you and me. No work. No telephone calls. No...                    BOONE: Bad dreams.                    LORI: No bad dreams.                    BOONE: How did you know?                    LORI: I know. I always know. It's no big deal.                    BOONE: I'm going around in some crazy loop in my head.                    LORI: You're not crazy.                    BOONE: No.                    LORI: Say it like you mean it.                    BOONE: I believe it. I'm not crazy. But I want this damn dream out          of my head.                     He gets up and goes to the window.                    BOONE: Decker's started calling me again.                    LORI: When?                    BOONE: All last week. Every day.                    LORI: What does he want?                    BOONE: I don't know. I haven't called him back.                    LORI: If he can help, see him. Tell him it's all gone but the bad          dreams.                    BOONE: They're not bad. That's what's weird. The more I have them          the more I like them. Now I do sound like a crazy, right?                    LORI: No. You sound like the man I love. A little haunted, maybe,          but the sanest man I ever met.                    BOONE: Keep going.                    LORI: Will you see Decker?                    BOONE: You think I should?                    LORI: Where's the harm? You tell him from me, I'm the only thing you          should be dreaming about.                    BOONE: I don't think he'd get it. He never had a wet dream in his          life.                    LORI: I don't want to be competing with things I can't see, Boone.          Can't share I don't want to be always feeling that something's          pulling at you.                    BOONE: I'm not going anywhere, Lori. Except with you.                    LORI: I can't hear that often enough.                    BOONE: I'll never leave you. Not ever. I swear.                    He kisses her, passionately.                    BOONE: Can't remember a time when I didn't love you.                    LORI: How about before we met?                    BOONE: Even then.                    They kiss again. We move past them into the darkness outside the          window.                    Dissolve to the moon, clearing cloud.                    SCENES 3-15 DELETED                    16. EXT. RICKMAN HOUSE NIGHT                    A pleasant house in a pleasant neighborhood. Lights burn inside.                    17. INT. RICKMAN HOUSE NIGHT                    Melissa Rickman emerges from the lounge, with a Dagwood sandwich, a          work in progress. She is thirty-five, and going to seed in a gentle          way. Her husband, Lou Rickman, a similar type, is planted in front of          the television.                    MELISSA: Okay, you want ham, cheese, pickle, mustard?                    LOU: All of the above and a brewski, thank you.                    MELISSA: You're getting porky, Lou.                    LOU [amiable - tried to grab her]: I'm comfortable. I like myself          fat. I like you fat too...                    MELISSA [secretly amused - she hushes him]: Keep it down, Lou,          you'll wake the munchkins.                    She hears something upstairs, goes to the foot of the stairs, looks          up. Her eldest son, Lou Two, waddles into view. He's five.                    LOU TWO: Mommy...                    MELISSA: Sweetie, you're supposed to be beddy-bye.                    LOU TWO: I heard something.                    MELISSA: What did you hear?                    LOU TWO: Bad man.                    MELISSA: No, everything's okay. You go back to bed, munchkin, I'll          be up to see you in a minute.                    LOU [V.O.]: How's that sandwich coming?                    MELISSA: Coming...                    Melissa disappears from the bottom of the stairs.                    18. INT. RICKMAN KITCHEN NIGHT                    Melissa enters, moves out of sight. We stay at the door. A figure          appears dressed in black, knives in both hands, and crosses to leave          the screen again. We do not see his face. But we hear his labours:          the sound of the blades slicing Melissa. She staggers into view,          grabbing hold of her slit throat. Blood bubbles between her fingers.          The figure appears behind her. She turns, as the knife descends.                    19. INT. RICKMAN LOUNGE NIGHT                    Lou hears a sound, rises and moves towards the kitchen door.                    LOU: Melissa?                    At the top of the stairs, Lou Two watches wide-eyed.                    20. INT. RICKMAN STAIRS NIGHT                    Lou Two's P.O.V. - We see blood running along the highway.                    21. INT. RICKMAN KITCHEN NIGHT                    Lou reaches the kitchen door and sees Melissa laid out, dead, on the          kitchen table                    LOU: Oh God - GOD!                    Lou enters, the figure emerges from behind him. While we remain at          the door watching, detached, Lou fights back, throwing himself back          and forth around the kitchen. But the figure is much stronger. We          glimpse its face now, it is a mask, with a zipper for a mouth and          buttons for eyes, blank. Devoid of compassion, hatred or regret. A          death's head, made by a mad child.                    Atop the stairs, Lou Two listens. His baby sister cries in her cot.          He looks her way then back downstairs. The sounds cease. Silence.          Terror on his face. Then the child's perfect nightmare appears at the          bottom of the stairs. The figure, heavy knife in hand, starts to          climb, dragging Lou's bloody body after him by the hair.          DISSOLVE TO:                    22. SCENE DELETED                    22A. INT. BOONE'S APARTMENT NIGHT                    Empty. The phone rings. We move towards the answering machine, which          clicks on.                    BOONE [on tape]: Hi. Please leave a message.                    LORI [thru phone]: Boone, pick up will you? Boone? Are you there?          Boone? Okay, so don't answer. See you tomorrow...G'night.                    23. SCENE DELETED                    24. EXT. RICKMAN HOUSE NIGHT                    Three patrol cars, an ambulance, policeman restraining a small crowd          gathered outside. A n.d. sedan roars up, red bubble light flashing,          and Inspector Joyce gets out and moves towards the house. He's          greeted by the Medical Examiner, Dr Burton, just exiting, carrying a          medical bag.                    BURTON [bitter]: Brace yourself, Inspector.                    JOYCE: Same profile?                    BURTON: Unmistakable. Doesn't miss a trick.                    JOYCE [anguished]: Kids? Two kids?                    BURTON: If it's any comfort, they went quickly.                    JOYCE: Yeah. Makes me feel a whole lot better about the sick fuck.                    BURTON: Find this guy, Joyce. They say these guys want to be caught.          I think this one likes it too much.                    A rookie patrolman stands on the doorstep, on the verge of tears.                    JOYCE [gently]: Let's get these tourists back, Officer.                    POLICEMAN: Yes sir.                    JOYCE [to Burton]: If we can't protect the kids, what the hell use          are we?                    25. SCENE DELETED                    26. EXT. SUNRISE                    The sun climbs above the horizon, behind the cityscape of Calgary.          Another day begins.                    27. SCENE DELETED                    28. SCENE DELETED                    29. INT. DR DECKER'S OFFICE DAY                    Close on a pile of tapes, marked with dates over a period of two          years. They're on Decker's desk.                    DECKER: I've been listening to the tapes of our sessions. All two          years' worth...                    We move from the tapes to Decker, who gets up from his desk and          moves around to the other side. Boone is sitting on the other side of          the desk, his posture far from relaxed. He hates this room. As Decker          moves, we take in the various pictures on the walls. Dance pictures,          photographs of Decker with civic dignitaries, crippled children etc.                    BOONE: Why?                    DECKER: Most of my colleagues would have walked away from a case          like yours. The most they would have done was drug you. But you...you          intrigued me. All the talk of monsters. And Midian. Remember Midian?                    BOONE: That wasn't me. I heard about Midian from other people.                    DECKER: But you made it part of your private mythology.                    BOONE: I suppose I did. It was a place of refuge.                    DECKER: When you imagined yourself being taken off to this invented          city, to Midian, what crimes were you going to be forgiven?                    Boone's looking uneasy now. He wipes sweat from his upper lip.                    BOONE: You know what I used to dream.                    DECKER: Yes. There's a remarkable consistency in the images you see.          Great detail. Almost as though the violence was real.                    BOONE: They were just bad dreams. Midian doesn't exist. Monsters          don't exist.                     DECKER: But murder does, Boone. Murder's very real. It may start in          the mind, but it ends up changing to flesh and blood.                    He picks up the envelope we saw in his previous scene, and takes the          photographs out.                    DECKER [cont.]: Two days ago the police brought me some          photographs. They wanted to know if I had any patients who might be          capable of what's in these photographs. I'm going to show you them.          Are you ready for that?                    Boone nods.                    Decker lays the photographs on the table. Boone picks them up. We          get glimpses of what they contain. Domestic horrors. Bloody scenes of          corpses caught by the camera in grotesque positions, sliced up and          bleeding. Boone's breath quickens.                    DECKER [cont.]: When you talk about murder on the tapes, I thought          it was invention. Now I'm not so sure.                    Boone keeps staring at the pictures. The glassy eyes stare hard at          him. His breathing is now rapid and shallow. One or two of the images          seem to move. Bodies twitch. He drops the photographs.                    BOONE: I didn't...                    DECKER: Didn't what?                    BOONE: They were bad dreams.                    DECKER: What you describe in your sessions is very specific. Houses;          faces...                    BOONE: I don't remember.                    DECKER: You want to hear?                    BOONE: No!                    Decker picks up the photographs. Boone, highly agitated, gets up and          paces the room.                    BOONE[cont.]: You think I did this?                    DECKER: Six families killed over a two year period. All within          driving distance of Calgary...                    BOONE [fury]: Do you think I did this?                    DECKER: I hope to God you didn't, for both our sakes. We've come a          long way together. I don't want to believe this any more than you do.                    BOONE: But you do.                    DECKER: I wouldn't put us through this pain if I didn't...if I          wasn't...afraid you had.                    BOONE [desperate; helpless]: What do I do? God, tell me what to do.                    DECKER: I can only go so far on your behalf. Patient          confidentiality's one thing. Protecting a killer is another.                    BOONE [breaking down]: Jesus...Jesus...Jesus...                    Decker returns to his desk. Puts the photographs down and picks up a          vial of prescription pills. He crosses to boone.                    DECKER: Listen to me. Take these, they'll help. Go home, and          consider what we've talked about. I'm going to give you twenty-four          hours to go to the police and answer their questions of your own          accord. That's as long as I can give you. if you haven't complied by          then, I'm afraid I'll have to tell them what I know.                    Boone grabs the pills.                    DECKER [cont.]: I can't tell you how sorry I am...                    30. SCENE DELETED                    31. SCENE DELETED                    SCENES 32, 33 DELETED                    34. INT. DECKER'S BUILDING HALLWAY DAY                    Boone exits into the hall, forces open the vial of pills, swallows a          couple, shaking, trying to control his terror.                    35. INT. DECKER'S OFFICE DAY                    Decker sits at his desk, lifts his briefcase, opens it, tosses the          folder of photographs into the case. Looking into the case he seems          on the verge of some powerful emotion. Rage? Revulsion? He snaps shut          the briefcase. The emotion passes.                    36. INT. BOONE'S APARTMENT DAY                    Boone enters the apartment, his eyes wild. He slams the door and          closes his eyes.                    SHOCK CUT TO:                    36A. MURDER PHOTOGRAPHS/BOONE'S HALLUCINATION                    Boone studies the photographs in his hand, and they come to life.                    37. SCENE DELETED                    38. SCENE DELETED                    38A INT. BOONE'S APARTMENT DAY                    Boone opens his eyes.                    39. SCENE DELETED                    39A. INT. BOONE'S BATHROOM DAY                    Boone chews the pills. He is now sweating and shaking violently.          Boone strips off his clothes.                     40. SCENE DELETED                    40A. INT. BOONE'S APARTMENT AFTERNOON                    Boone opens his drawers and pulls out photographs, his passport etc          and starts to make a pile with them. He pours lighter fuel on the          pictures, and watches them burn. Sitting against the wall still          sweating he takes some more pills.                    We see Lori's love letters burn and hear her voice speaking the          words as they are consumed.                    Boone cries. Then he hears Lori's voice say:                    LORI: Boone...                    Lori is sitting on the edge of the bed. Boone looks round, sees          himself against the wall and moves forward past the real Boone towards          the bed...                    Boone watches as he and Lori make love on the bed. We close in on          the love-making. Lori leans to kiss him.                    BOONE: I'll never leave you...                    Cut back to boone, his face all grief.                    BOONE: Stupid.                     CUT TO:                    40B. INT. BOONE'S BATHROOM AFTERNOON                    Boone's hand pulls the shower curtain aside and turns on the water.          The water pours on him.                    41. HALLUCINATION                    Another of the murder scenes comes to life. Corpses pulse with          hideous animation.                    42. INT. BOONE'S BATHROOM AFTERNOON                    With a cry Boone slides to the shower floor, panting, haunted,          destroyed.                    BOONE [faintly]: ...I did it...I did it all...                    43. INT. BOONE'S APARTMENT EVENING                    Behind him, the last of the fire flickers. He looks through the          blinds at the sunset. Takes another pill. Puts on his leather jacket.          Exits. The door slams.                    44. SCENE DELETED                    45. INT. NIGHTCLUB NIGHT                    Lori is on stage, sexy, vivacious, fronting a tight C & W band in a          hip rendition of 'Johnny Be Angry'.                    46. INT. NIGHTCLUB NIGHT                    Lori's P.O.V. looking though the crowd in front of the stage. Lori          spots Boone standing near the entrance, his face in shadow.                    Her eyes light up with joy as the song builds to climax. It ends.          Applause, cat whistles, foot stomping. Lori's in heaven. She looks          out again.                     Boone is gone.                    47. EXT. HIGHWAY NIGHT                    Boone steps into view by the side of the road, watches the traffic.                    INTERCUT:                    48. INT. NIGHTCLUB CORRIDOR NIGHT                    Confused and worried, Lori stands in the empty corridor, a note          Boone has left for her in her hand.                    Boone edges out closer to the road. Spots a huge semi with a fully          loaded trailer barrelling down towards him.                    Lori opens the note and reads: 'Keep this. Burn the rest. All          wrong.' Tears burst from Lori's eyes.                    Boone flings himself in front of the oncoming truck.                    CUT TO BLACK:                    FADE IN:                    49. INT. HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM NIGHT                    A blaze of light. A bustling emergency receiving area. A stern nurse          goes through the pockets of Boone's jackets, which is lying beside          him on a gurney. His eyes are closed, face and T-shirt bloody. She          fishes out the vial of pills.                    Boone moans, opens his eyes.                    NURSE Lucky you're in one piece, fella.                    BOONE [realizing where he is]: ...can't even kill myself...                    NURSE: There's a cheerful thought. [to an approaching doctor] I          don't know what kind of fuel he's using, but this guy's cruising at          about 35,000 feet.                    The doctor takes the vial of pills, checks the label. Opens Boone's          eyes, shines a penlight flash on the pupils. Boone recoils. Doctor          takes his pulse.                    DOCTOR: You don't hit that altitude on lithium carbonate. Let's get          the prescribing doctor on the line... [finally - to Boone] Okay,          we're doing all right, aren't we? Tell me, what've you been taking          tonight, partner?                    BOONE: Lithium...                    The doctor opens the vial, looks at a handful of the pills.                    DOCTOR: Lithium? This isn't lithium, my friend. [to the nurse] Let's          move him. Observation, let's get an IV, valium/saline, 200 milligrams          percodan for pain, as needed...[quietly - hands the pills to the          nurse] We'll have to call this in.                    She nods. With considerable effort, Boone sits up urgently and grabs          the doctor's hand, holding the pills.                    BOONE: What was I taking?                    DOCTOR [patronizing]: Easy. We don't know until we run some tests.          Looks like some kind of lab quality psychotropic hallucinogen. You're          on what we used to call a 'bad trip' there, buddy. You relax now,          you're gonna be fine.                    The doctor and nurse ease Boone back down onto the gurney. The          doctor moves away. The nurse pulls back the curtain and rolls Boone          across the hall into a semi-private room                    50. INT. SEMI-PRIVATE HOSPITAL ROOM NIGHT                    From emergency behind them, a warning buzzer sounds.                    VOICE [thru loudspeaker]: Code blue! Code blue!                    In an emergency room cubicle, a patient is having a seizure. The          nurse rushes off, leaving Boone. Interns roll the cardiac cart          towards the cubicle and curtains close around the scene.                    The door to Boone's room swings closed, shutting out the sounds.          Boone exhales heavily. Closes his eyes.                    NARCISSE [V.O.] [muttering - half mumbled ranting]: Shit! Shit! Take          me, why don't you take me?                    Boone opens his eyes. Looks across the room at Narcisse, a wild man,          half-derelict, half-punk, bloodied, his hand bandaged, pacing back          and forth like a caged cat, staring out of a large picture window at          the night.                    51. EXT. HOSPITAL WINDOW NIGHT                    Looking in at the brightly lit window framed in the dark building,          as Narcisse restlessly moves across it, peering outside.                    52. INT. SEMI-PRIVATE HOSPITAL ROOM NIGHT                    NARCISSE [low and anxious]: They've gone, they've gone, they were          here, they were coming for me, where'd they go? Shit!                    BOONE: Hey...                    NARCISSE [turns on him - viciously]: Shut up, shut up! They saw you,          they won't come while you're here, they won't show themselves to the          likes of you, don't you see that?                    BOONE [placating - knows the type]: Sure, okay.                    NARCISSE: Shit! I've missed them, I've missed them! You scared them          off, you kept them from me!                    Narcisse paces again, starting to sob and sniffle. Boone leans back.                    NARCISSE [cont.] [barely audible - between cries]:          ...Midian...Midian...                    Boone's eyes open like a shot.                    BOONE: What did you say?                    NARCISSE: I said shut up, you want to ruin everything?                    Boone leaps to his feet, grabs and easily overpowers the smaller man.                    BOONE: What did you say, just now?                    NARCISSE [suddenly friendly]: What did you say, just now?                    BOONE: You said Midian.                    NARICSSE [coyly]: Did I? Maybe...                    BOONE [hurting him - desperate]: What do you know about it?                    NARCISSE: It's where the monsters go. It takes away the pain...                    Narcisse reaches his hands into his pockets, then comes out with          long, silver, razor-sharp artificial nails, curved like hooks,          attached to his thumbs. He holds them right at Boone's throat, ready          to cut. He smiles.                    NARCISSE [cont.]: ...what do you know about it?                    BOONE [pause; cautiously]: They forgive you there.                    NARCISSE: Uh-huh. Ever kill anybody?                    BOONE: Yes.                    NARCISSE: See, they only take you if you're worthy. You know what          they do to those that aren't worthy?                    Boone shakes his head. Narcisse draws one razor-nail lightly across          his own throat. A thin trickle of blood runs down his neck. He          chuckles.                    BOONE: It's real. Midian's real. [Narcisse nods; carefully] And you          know...where it is. Don't you? We could go there...                    NARCISSE: They sent you. They sent you to take me.                    BOONE: That's right. But first I need to know...you have to tell          me...where it is.                    NARCISSE: It's a test? [Boone nods; Narcisse leans in to him -          whispers] No maps.                    BOONE: But you do know. Don't you?                    NARCISSE [looks around; leans in again]: North of Athabasca. East of          Peace River. Near Shere Neck, north of Dwyer.                    Satisfied, Boone releases him, go back to the bed, collects his          jacket.                    NARCISSE [cont.] [ exhilarated]: You'll take me with you, I'm          worthy, you ask anyone, I knew you'd come, they sent you to take me,          I was waiting. I know, I know, first I have to show you, that's how          it works.                    Boone is looking out of the window in the door, sizing up his escape.                    BOONE: Show me what?                    NARCISSE: My true face. That's what there are for. [he raises his          bladed thumbs] So you can see. I'm not a natural man. Underneath I'm          a monster, that's how it works; I show you, then you take me with          you...                    He puts the blade to either side of his face. We hear the skin pop.                    BOONE: NO!                    Blood pours from Narcisse's face, as he traces the outline of his          face.                    53. INT. EMERGENCY ROOM NIGHT                    Dr Decker, who's just arrived with Lieutenant Joyce and two          policemen, is speaking with the doctor that examined Boone.                    DECKER [urgent - showing Boone's file]: ...he was an abandoned          child, raised by the state, first diagnosis of incipient          schizophrenia at thirteen, juvenile delinquency, periodically          institutionalized through early adulthood...some violent episodes,          never criminally charged as an adult, he's been in my care for less          than a year...                    A bloodcurdling scream from the semi-private room rivets the          attention of the emergency room                    54. EXT. SEMI-PRIVATE ROOM NIGHT                    Following the nurse and an intern as they burst into the room and          are greeted with the sight of Narcisse, blood running freely,          ripping the least of his scalp off his bare skull, laughing and          crying maniacally.                    Boone stands near the door, horrified.                    NARCISSE [variously]: TAKE ME! TAKE ME! I'M A MONSTER!                    Nurse [over - to Boone] What the hell have you done?                    Boone: Nothing!                    INTERN: Fucking junkies! [at the door - yelling into the corridor]          Doctor!                    As the door swings open, Boone looks out into the corridor and at          the far end of the emergency room he sees Decker and the cops looking          his way. Medical support move towards the room, as the nurse and          intern try to contain the ranting Narcisse.                    Boone grabs a loose doctor's coat off the back of the door, slips it          on and backs out of the room.                    BOONE: Let's get some help in here!                    Pandemonium. Narcisse screams, as a half-dozen people struggle to          subdue him. As help continues to rush into the room, Boone slowly          backs away, out and around a corner. He stops beside a swinging door,          sensing something.                    55. EXT. SEMI-PRIVATE ROOM NIGHT                    Dr Decker moving through emergency towards the mÍlÈe, stops on the          other side of the swinging door, his senses lit up with alarm. He          slowly turns to the door. Pushes it open. Empty.                    56. EXT. HOSPITAL NIGHT                    Boone moves rapidly away from the exit into the parking lot, tossing          off the white coat, breaking into a run. He tries several car doors,          finds one open, gets in.                    57. INT. CAR NIGHT                    With a rush of adrenal intensity, Boone expertly rips open an under          panel of the dash, locates and patches together the correct ignition          wires and hot-starts the car. Closes the door. Puts it in gear.                    58. EXT. HOSPITAL PARKING LOT                    INT. CAR NIGHT                    Boone slowly drives out of the lot trying not to attract the          attention of the fleet of patrol cars sirens wailing, pouring into          the area.                    DISSOLVE TO:                    59. EXT. FREEWAY NIGHT                    Boone drives up an entrance ramp and onto the highway, past a sign          that reads:                    'HIGHWAY 2/NORTH'                    DISSOLVE TO:                    60. INT. HOSPITAL EMERGENCY WARD NIGHT                    Dr Decker, a few policeman and medical personnel wait outside the          door leading to the semi-private room. Lieutenant Joyce exits and a          surgeon follows a moment later.                    DECKER: What's he saying?                    JOYCE: He's talking but he's not making any sense. Something about a          place called Midian.                    SURGEON: He's dying. I think he wants to die.                    Pause. The surgeon moves on.                    DECKER [unobtrusively - to Joyce]: Lieutenant, I know Boone, I know          how he talks, how he manipulates. Perhaps if the right thing is said          to this man it'll trigger something...                    JOYCE [consider]: No harm in trying.                    DECKER: I'll do my best. But I'll need privacy.                    Decker enters the room.                    61. EXT. SEMI-PRIVATE ROOM NIGHT                     Looking in through the room, we see Decker cross the room to the bed          where Narcisse is lying. Decker says something to the nurse. She          exits. Decker moves closer to the bed. He reaches into his pocket for          something and moves out of our sight.                              DISSOLVE TO:          62. EXT. HIGHWAY/INT. CAB NIGHT/DAY                    Montage - Boone drives through the night, and the following day,          through a landscape which becomes increasingly more desolate.                    DISSOLVE TO:                    63. EXT. ROAD SIGN LATE AFTERNOON                    The road sign reads:                    'DWYER - 56 MILES'                    Boone's car speeds past.                    DISSOLVE TO:                    64. EXT. DIRT ROAD OUTSIDE MIDIAN DAY                    Boone's car rolls to a stop. Boone steps out and looks at something          in the dust. A battered sign. It reads:                    'MIDIAN/POPULATION 63'                    There is no sign of life.                    BOONE: No....oh no...[in despair] No!                    His shout echos. The wind blows up a cloud of dust around him. He          walks through the dust, on the verge of tears. And then...the dust          clears, and he sees...                    INTERCUT:                    65. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    Necropolis, lying on the other side of a thick expanse of reeds.                    Puzzlement overtakes despair. He squints to see more clearly...                    The Necropolis is vast. High walls, surrounded by reeds, with the          tops of mausoleums, showing above it. ALmost a fortressed town.                    Boone starts towards it.                    66. EXT. NECROPOLIS GATES DAY                    The sun is low in the sky, the light golden glinting off the gates.          The reeds sigh. Boone pushes one of the gates open and steps inside.          His footsteps echo, unnaturally loud in this city of the dead. To          either side of him, elegant and elaborate mausoleums, running away          into the distance, with numerous smalls tombs set around and between          them.                              The sun finally sinks out of sight. Its final glow dies on the tops          of the mausoleums. There are already stars overhead.                    Boone walks on a little way, as the night sounds begin. Exhausted,          he sits down on a tomb and leans back against the stone.                    BOONE [softly - a bitter irony]: Dead ... all of the dead ...                    He rummages for a cigarette in his jacket pocket. Pulls one out.          Lights it. The flame seems to excite sounds around him. He looks up.          The walkways are empty in both directions.                    There's a guttural sound at his back. He stands, drops the          cigarette, backs away. From the darkness behind him steps a huge          form. A knife is put to his lower belly. Its wielder, Kinski, is a          massive man, face distorted, his features grotesquely bifurcated.                    KINSKI [whispers]: Move and I gut you.                    Boone stays still. The growling from between the tombs becomes words.                    VOICE [from the darkness]: You got him?                    KINSKI: I got him.                    A reptilian hand reaches out and picks up Boone's dropped cigarette.                    BOONE: Midian? Are you from Midian?                    KINSKI: We should take him below, Peloquin.                    The silhouette of Peloquin, a were-creature, moves between the          tombs. He draws on the cigarette. By its brightening point we glimpse          an extraordinary face: more animal than human, but no recognizable          species.                    PELOQUIN: He's not Nightbreed. He's Natural.                    BOONE: No! I've killed people, I'm like you, that's why I'm here...                    PELOQUIN: Shut the fuck up. You're meat.                    KINSKI: If we eat him we break the Law.                    BOONE: My God...my God, it's true ...                    PELOQUIN: Of course it's true. Everything's true ... [he starts to          emerge from the shadows] God's an astronaut. Oz is over the rainbow.          And Midian's where the monsters live. And you came to die.                    BOONE: I didn't...didn't come to die. I came to be with you, I'm one          of you.                    Peloquin reaches out and touches Boone's chest.                    PELOQUIN: No. Sorry. I can smell innocence at fifty yards.                    BOONE: I've killed people. Fifteen people.                    PELOQUIN: Who told you that?                    BOONE: What do you mean?                    PELOQUIN: He lied, asshole. He lied. You're a Natural. And that          means...you're meat for the Beast.                    Peloquin growls, throwing his head back and forth with a strange          grace, the image flickering as he does so. Boone watches, amazed. In          the blur of Peloquin's motion he transforms, the tentacles on his          head lengthening and thickening, thrashing around as though they have          a life of their own.                    He moves towards Boone, taking hold of him and tearing his T-shirt          open.                    KINSKI: We mustn't. It's the Law. They'll exile us...                    PELOQUIN: Fuck the Law! I want meat!                    He bites Boone's neck, tearing at his flesh.                    KINSKI: Peloquin, no!                    Kinski takes the knife from Boone's belly and pushes Peloquin aside.          Boone slips away from them.                    PELOQUIN: Damn you!                    He races after Boone, who runs blindly, his hand pressed to the          wound on his neck.                    66A. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    The Breed listen. We track running feet past the grille, and move          close into grille, dropping through a dark rock face.                    67. SCENE DELETED                    67A. INT. BELOW MIDIAN                    In the deep darkness faces look up. The faces are strange and          freakish. There is a woman locked in the embrace of a dark monster. A          monstrous baby cries.                    68. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Boone takes refuge against a mausoleum wall. He takes his hand from          the wound on his neck. It is throbbing like a living thing, spreading          across his muscle. He stares down at the wound, then touches it          lightly. It gives him pleasure.                    A sound above him. He looks up. Peloquin is climbing down the          mausoleum wall, mouth opened wide to take off Boone's head.          Boone throws himself forward as the jaws snap shut, missing him by          inches. He runs. Kinski appears in his path. For an instant Boone          thinks the game's up...                    KINSKI: That way! The gate's that way!                    Boone sprints.                    69. INT. BELOW MIDIAN                    The monsters watch and listen.                    70. EXT. NECROPOLIS GATES NIGHT                    Peloquin pushes Kinski aside and pelts after Boone, who is at the          gate. He flings himself through, and slams it behind him. Peloquin is          at the gate, when Kinski comes up behind and restrains him.                    KINSKI: He's gone, give it up! You don't dare go out there!                    Peloquin stares at Boone through the gate. Panting, sweating, Boone          stares back. Snorting with frustration, Peloquin recedes, he and          Kinski disappear into shadow.                    Boone heaves a sigh of relief, turns from the gate and trudges away          into the darkness, when suddenly . . .                    71. EXT. OUTSIDE NECROPOLIS GATES NIGHT                    Harsh lights hit Boone from every side; police cars in the reeds all          around, their searchlights focused on him. Two dozen cops, all          levelling firearms.                    JOYCE: Freeze! Right there!                    Boone squints against the glare.                    JOYCE [cont.]: Aaron Boone, you're under arrest. Hands on your head!          NOW!                    Boone takes a step back. The wound on his neck throbs and swells. At          the edge of the light, Decker appears, stepping towards him.                     DECKER: Boone, listen to him, it's no use!                    JOYCE [to Decker]: Stay back!                    DECKER [lowers his voice]: Lieutenant, I can bring him out. He'll          listen to me.                    Joyce ponders, then signals him forward. Decker advances toward Boone.                    DECKER [cont.]: Boone, it's all right, I've explained everything to          them.                    Rifles are cocked on every side. Decker stops a safe distance from          Boone.                    DECKER [cont.]: They won't harm you, I give you my word.                    BOONE [hanging back]: I didn't do it. I didn't hurt anyone...                    DECKER [lowering his voice]: Of course you didn't.                    BOONE: You...you believe me?                    DECKER: You wouldn't hurt a fly. [extends a hand] Come on, Boone.          It's safe, I've seen to that.                    BOONE [taking a tentative step forward]: What, what about the pills?                    DECKER [pause; whispers]: What about them, Boone?                    BOONE: They weren't tranquillizers...                    A look of alarm crosses Decker's face. Boone reads it. He gets the          picture.                    BOONE [cont.]: You set me up...you bastard, you set me up!                    He lunges for Decker, who turns and throws himself to the ground as          he yells.                    DECKER: He's got a gun!                    JOYCE: FIRE!                    The bullets fly. Boone is about to pounce on Decker when he's hit by          a barrage, thrown back, riddled with bullets. On the ground, Decker          covers his head. Boone goes down. The volley ends.                    72. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    The sound of gunfire echoes through the walkways.                    73. INT. BELOW MIDIAN                    In the shadows, a baby held in the arms of a woman with monstrous          but beautiful features, begins to cry.                    74. EXT. OUTSIDE MIDIAN NIGHT                    Joyce hears the sound of crying and looks up. Boone's body lies on          the ground. Decker rises, hearing the distant sobs on the wind.                    75. INT. BELOW MIDIAN                    The mother hushes the child, her arms, which are tentacles, wrapping          around it.                    76. EXT. OUTSIDE MIDIAN NIGHT                    The sound of crying is lost. Joyce moves forward, towards Decker and          Boone.                    JOYCE [trying to convince himself]: ...just the wind. He reaches          Decker, looks down at Boone's body. Looks around.                    JOYCE [cont.]: Where's the gun?                    DECKER [seemingly dismayed]: He reached into his jacket...I thought          I saw it, I swear...oh God, Boone...                    JOYCE [quietly, to some cops, meaning Boone]: Get him outta here.                    77. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    We track towards a tomb, on which the epitaph reads: 'GOD IS MERCIFUL'                    FADE OUT:                    FADE IN:                    78. INT. MORGUE/VIEWING ROOM NIGHT                    Moving with Lori, flanked by Dr Burton the pathologist, and a grim          Joyce. They enter a smaller room. Burton flips a switch. Curtains          part in front of a thick glass panel, revealing a small, sterile          viewing chamber.                    In the chamber are a morgue attendant and, lying on a stainless          steel table, Boone's body. Lori looks at the body with heartbreaking          sadness. She nods. Burton closes the curtains. Lori and Joyce exit.          On the other side of the glass, the attendant rolls Boone on the          table towards a door marked 'Pathology'.                    79. INT. INTERVIEW ROOM NIGHT                    Dr Decker sits alone, looking into his briefcase. The door opens,          Lori and Joyce enter. Decker closes the briefcase, rises, aggrieved,          takes both of Lori's hands in his, speaks soothingly.                    DECKER: Lori, I'm Dr Decker. Boone was my patient.                    LORI: Yes. Hello.                    DECKER: I'm so sorry for your loss. I must tell you, you meant the          world to Aaron. He spoke of you constantly ...                    LORI [withdrawing her hand - has the creeps]: Thank you, Doctor.                    Lori sits across a table from Joyce. Decker sits against the wall.                    JOYCE: Miss Winston, are you sure you wouldn't rather postpone...                    LORI: No. Let's get it over with.                    Joyce turns on a tape recorder on the table.                    JOYCE [starting at the beginning]: What was your relationship with          Aaron Boone?                    LORI [pause]: We were lovers.                    We move in on the revolving reels of the tape recorder.                    JOYCE: How long had you known Aaron Boone?                    LORI: Two months.                    80. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM NIGHT                    Burton and the attendant, instruments laid out, Boone's body on a          brightly lit steel table, ready for the autopsy. Burton activates an          overhead microphone.                    BURTON: Deceased is a white Caucasian male, late twenties. Suspected          cause of death, multiple gunshot wounds to the thoracic cavity and          extremities.                    The attendant lifts up Boone's jacket. Light streams through many          bullet holes.                    ASSISTANT: Jesus. They weren't takin' any chances.                    Burton picks up a small digging tool and zeroes in on one of the          chest wounds.                    BURTON: Wound number one: entered between the fourth and fifth left          ribs, impacted the lower rib, lodging in ligaments adjacent to the          left lung ...                    He digs.                    81. INT. INTERVIEW ROOM NIGHT                    JOYCE: So he never gave any indication ...                    LORI: No ...                    JOYCE: Surely there must have been something ...                    LORI [firm, angry]; Look, you can say whatever you want to about          him. I don't believe it. He never raised a hand to me, he          never harmed anyone in his life.                    A strained silence. Decker drums his fingers on his briefcase.                    DECKER: Miss Winston, everyone has their secret faces ...                    LORI: Drop dead.                    Annoyed at Decker, Joyce turns off the tape recorder.                    JOYCE: We'll continue this some other time.                    Lori stands and heads for the door.                    82. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM NIGHT                    A pair of callipers drop a distended bullet into a steel bowl,          containing at least ten other similarly maimed bullets. Fatigued with          effort, Burton wipes his forehead, turns off the microphone.                    BURTON: Coffee break.                    The attendant turns off the bright overheads, he and Burton move          into an adjoining lounge.                    83. INT. MORGUE ENTRY WAY NIGHT                    Lori is putting on her coat. A contrite Decker approaches her.                    DECKER: Miss Winston, I hope you didn't misinterpret what I said.          Boone meant a great deal to me ...                    LORI: Where did he die? [pause] What was the name of the town?                    DECKER: A place called Midian.                    84. SCENE DELETED                    85. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM NIGHT                    The bowl wobbles on the ground. The bullets roll off in different          directions. Sound of glass breaking.                    86. INT. MORGUE ENTRY WAY NIGHT                    Hearing the breaking glass, Lori and Decker turn back towards the          autopsy room.                    LORI: Boone?                    She runs towards the sound, Decker follows.                    87. EXT. MORGUE NIGHT                    In slow motion, a large first-floor window shatters out towards us.                    88. INT. AUTOPSY ROOM NIGHT                    As Lori, then Decker enter, moments after Burton, Joyce and the          attendant. The autopsy table is empty.                    BURTON: Someone's taken him...                    DECKER: My God...                    ATTENDANT [looking around]: Where's his coat?                    89. EXT. MORGUE NIGHT                    Slow motion ó distorting time, we see the rest of the shattering          window and a dim figure crosses the moon.                    FADE OUT:                    FADE IN:                    90. INT. LORI'S APARTMENT DAY                    Lori hurriedly throws some belongings into a suitcase. We see some          newspaper clippings beside the suitcase. A headline reads: 'SLASHER          SUSPECT SLAIN'                    Another features a map, showing the location of Midian.                    91. EXT. ROAD DAY                    Montage - Lori drives, at high speed, down the same roads Boone took          previously.                    92. EXT. SHERE NECK ROAD EVENING                    At sunset, Lori enters the town, past a sign that reads: 'WELCOME TO          SHERE NECK/WELCOME BUFFALO DAYS RODEO'                    93. EXT. SHERE NECK MOTEL EVENING                    Lori pulls into the parking lot of the motel. A neon sign reads:          'THE SWEETGRASS INN'                    Above it, the moon. From the motel itself, sounds of revelry.                    94. INT. MOTEL BAR NIGHT                    A wood-panelled, Western Frontier-themed bar. Country music. A          banner welcomes rodeo participants. A number of rough types          clustered at tables, many of them wearing baseball caps adorned with          buffalo horns. Lori enters, looks around. A cowboy lassoes a          waitress, ropes her in to general applause. Lori takes a seat at the          bar and is approached by a bartender.                    BARTENDER: What'll it be, darlin'?                    LORI: A draft and some information please.                    BARTENDER [taps a stein of draft]: There's the draft.                    LORI [lays down a bill]: I'm looking for a town called Midian.                    BARTENDER: You're not the first.                    LORI: No?                    BARTENDER: Had a bunch of TV news folks passin' through, since they          nailed that baby-slasher up there.                    LORI: Baby-slasher?                    BARTENDER: Yeah, hell of a week for us. The rodeo this weekend. That          scumbag gets blown away. I hear it took thirty slugs to bag that          sucker. Just goes to show you, don't it? People love a spectacle.                    Lori's hit with a burst of emotion. She doesn't want the bartender          to see her cry.                    LORI: Where's the bathroom?                    BARTENDER: Right around the corner there, darlin'.                    Lori rises, exits.                    95. INT. MOTEL BATHROOM DAY                    Lori enters and leans on the sink as the grief hits her. She sobs. A          stall door opens behind her: Sheryl, a girl in her early twenties,          exits.                    Lori pulls a tissue from her bag and tries to compose herself,          standing back to allow Sheryl access to the mirror, where she studied          herself before starting to tease her hair.                    SHERYL: Which is it, hon', men or money? [Lori looks at her] It's          usually one or the other, ain't it?                    LORI: Oh...[a tiny smile]...A man.                    SHERYL: Uh-huh. What'd he do, leave?                    LORI: Not exactly.                    SHERYL: Jesus, did he come back? That's even worse.                    In spite of herself, Lori's brightened by the girl's good humor.                    SHERYL [cont.]: Some loser takes a shine to ya, you could toss          'em in the river tied to a piano he'll come back faster than a dog          with a bone. Thing is, why go to all this trouble to look so good if          there's nobody to admire the end product, am I right?                    LORI: Can't argue with that, [likes her, feeling lonely] Can I buy          you a drink?                    SHERYL: Hell, yes you can. Better than gettin' hit on by some          damn buffalo.                    DISSOLVE TO:                    186. INT. MOTEL BAR NIGHT                    Lori and Sheryl at the bar. Lori's nursing a beer. Sheryl's into her          fourth Black Russian and is getting friendlier by the moment.                    SHERYL [pause - just heard the story]: Lord. I have seen men go to          great lengths to walk out on a girl. But, I must say, I have never          heard tell of a fella doin' it while deceased.                    LORI: They think some sick bastard's stole the body.                    SHERYL: So you want to go check out the place in which he checked out?                    LORI: Yeah. Guess it's a way to say goodbye, you know? He was always          a mystery to me. I loved him...[she looks away]                    SHERYL: Tell you what, Lori, why don't I drive up there to this          Medium place with you tomorrow and keep you company?                    LORI: You don't have to do that.                    SHERYL: Yeah, but I'm goin' to and I don't want no argument from you.                    LORI [smiles, grateful]: Okay. Thanks.                    SHERYL: That's all right.                    LORI [finishes her beer]: Guess I'll head up to my room.                    SHERYL: You get some rest, sugar. I'm gonna stay down here and close          this damn bar. Maybe one of these lunkheads'll win the           lottery.                    Lori smiles, squeezes her hand, exits the bar. Sheryl looks around,          finishes her drink. The bartender sets another drink down in front of          her.                    BARTENDER: Courtesy of that gent in the suit at the end of the          bar.                    Sheryl looks down the bar, sees the man, seems impressed, waves.                    SHERYL [low, to the bartender]: Isn't he just the picture of          sophistication though?                    96A. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    We Cut to a wide shot of the Necropolis by night. A shooting star          falls.                    Now we move in on one of the mausoleums, and from the ground below          we hear a ritualistic chanting.                    Once within the darkness of the mausoleum the camera slides down          over the rock face into the depths of Midian. The volume of the          chanting increases as we come close to its source.                    96B. INT. MURAL CHAMBER                    We come into the mural chamber, the camera passing down over the          family tree of Naturals and Nightbreed and round to see Rachel and          Kinski approaching and entering the door of the initiation chamber.                    Cut to Narcisse and Boone, also approaching the chamber.                    NARCISSE: You'll like this. No, really. It's just their way of          welcoming you to the club.                    BOONE: I'm not sure I want to be a member.                    NARCISSE: You made your way back here for the same reasons I did. We          belong here now. There's nowhere else on earth would          take us in.                    CUT TO:                    96C. INT. INITIATION CHAMBER                    In the middle of the chamber is a kind of font, on which stands a          bowl of Baphomet's blood, steaming and bubbling. Standing in front of          it is Lylesburg. To his side Peloquin. Beside him, Rachel.                    On Lylesburg's other side, Ohnaka. Standing around the walls as          witnesses to the ceremony, are a variety of Breed.                    Boone enters. The Breed all look his way. Boone sees Shuna Sassi.                    BOONE [to Narcisse in a whisper]: Who is she?                    NARCISSE: Shuna Sassi. Why?                    BOONE: I dreamt her.                    Shuna leans towards Peloquin.                    SHUNA SASSI: I've dreamt him.                    Narcisse nudges Boone forward.                    LYLESBURG: Who is your advocate?                    NARCISSE: I am.                    LYLESBURG: Have you tutored him in the Law?                    BOONE: Yes he has.                    LYLESBURG: Let the advocate answer.                    NARCISSE: Yes I have.                    LYLESBURG: You understand what you do, becoming one of us? With this          night you turn your back on the Natural World. The          life you lived will after this be as a dream.                    BOONE: I know.                    Lylesburg takes the glove off his right hand. The flesh beneath is          cauterized.                    LYLESBURG: The blood of the God tells all truths. It can harm as          easily as heal. Are you prepared to be judged?                    BOONE: I'm ready.                    Lylesburg nods, and puts his hand into the bowl of the blood. The          blood bubbles around his wrist.                    We cut to Peloquin and Shuna Sassi, who are watching Boone intently.                    Boone's eyes are now on Lylesburg's smoking hand as it approaches          Boone's chest, still marked by his wounds.                    LYLESBURG: Be judged.                    He puts his hand on the bullet wounds. Boone stiffens. But there's          no pain. When Lylesburg's hand is removed, the wounds have gone.          There's a visible release of tension on the faces of all those          watching.                    LYLESBURG: Aaron Boone, in the name of Baphomet, Lord of the tribes          of the moon, I bid you welcome...                    The camera moves out of the chamber, and towards the mural.                    97. INT. MOTEL BEDROOM NIGHT                    Lori lies awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. Outside, and next          door, the noise of laughter and partying.                    LORI [quietly, a tear in her eye]: I still love you, Boone...                    DISSOLVE TO:                    98. INT. MOTEL BAR DAY                    Sheryl is sitting at the empty bar, obviously hung over. She is          wearing dark glasses and a horned Buffalo Days hat. The bartender          pours her an eye-opener.                    BARTENDER: Hair of the dog.                    Lori enters.                    SHERYL: Hi.                    LORI: How's your head?                    SHERYL: My momma always used to say, 'Sheryl Ann, there's a man out          walking around with your name on his mind, all you got to do is run          into him.'                    LORI: And he just happened to be checked in here at the crossroads          of the world.                    SHERYL: Isn't that something? His name is Curtis, he is a banker,          recently divorced and recently relocated in Edmonton, up for the          rodeo and better yet, he thinks I am the Queen-bee's knees.                    LORI: Sheryl, you sure you want to come along?                    SHERYL: Wouldn't miss it. Besides, Curtis has to do business today,          we've got an engagement for this evening and if I sit          around all day with this head on I'm gonna feel like the hind end          of a dog sled.                    LORI: I'm glad for your company.                    SHERYL: Now if we could just make a quick stop for some Alka-Seltzer.                    DISSOLVE TO:                    99. SCENE DELETED                    100. EXT. MIDIAN/INT. LORI'S CAR DAY                    Lori's car comes to a stop near the edge of the reeds outside the          Necropolis.                    SHERYL: Jesus. Looks like the gold rush is over.                    Lori parks the car. She gets out, looks around.                    LORI [quiet - reflective]: Why? Why would Boone come here?                    SHERYL: To get away from it all? [Lori gives her a look] Shut up,          Sheryl Ann. You go do what you have to do. I'll stay here and...do          somethin' else.                    Lori nods and heads away down the street, leaving Sheryl beside the          car. She leans against the car, surveys the emptiness, without          enthusiasm.                    SHERYL [cont.]: My luck, I'll end up buying some real estate.                    101. EXT. MIDIAN DAY                    Lori - as she leaves the reeds and sees the outer walls of the          Necropolis.                    LORI: Good God...                    102. EXT. MIDIAN DAY                    Sheryl - wandering from the car into the reeds. She lights a          cigarette, tunelessly humming to ward off the willies. She stops,          shivers, suddenly feeling very isolated. The atmosphere's got to her.          She starts back to the car.                    She catches some movement out of the corner of her eye. Stops.          Slowly walks away from the movement, fighting off panic. She          turns a corner, and realizes she's lost in the reeds.                    She hears movement behind her, turns, startled, then, oddly, she          smiles.                    SHERYL: Curtis ... what are you doing here?                    It's Decker, looking like a commuter, hair slicked back, wearing an          overcoat, carrying his briefcase.                    DECKER [big smile]: Hello, Sheryl Ann.                    103. EXT. NECROPOLIS GATES DAY                    Lori reaches the gates, slightly breathless. She pushes one of them          open. The sun is hot and bright, transforming the Necropolis from the          dark, dangerous place it was when Boone was here. Now, with its          gothic tombs and burgeoning plant life, it's almost welcoming.                    104. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    Lori wanders the walkways, enchanted by the splendor of the place.          There are strange, bittersweet sights along the way: statues of dogs          sleeping on their masters' graves; of mourning mothers; of children,          sitting at their graves. And grotesque images too: gargoyles          protecting the doorways of mausoleums; a tiger, roaring in stone. It          is another world, solemn and silent.                    Except...suddenly, the sound of an animal in pain. Lori stops and          looks around. Her gaze comes to rest on a spreading laurel tree          beneath which the shadows are pitch black. From here, the sobbing          comes. She approaches. There is an animal beneath the tree, barely          discernible. She can see its flanks panting, its head moving in pain.                    LORI: Jesus...                    It doesn't look like a recognizable species, an amalgam of wild cat          and deer. She approaches. It raises its head, weakly. Its eyes are          huge and black.                    LORI [cont.]: ...It's okay, I won't hurt you...it's okay...                    The creature shudders.                    LORI [cont.]: ...What's happened to you?...Let me see.                    She reaches beneath the branches and tentatively strokes the animal.          It responds by dropping its head back on to the grass.                    LORI [cont.]: Oh God...you poor thing...don't die, please don't die.                    She pushes beneath the tree, puts her arms beneath the creature and          picks it up. It is heavy, a dead weight in her arms. She backs out          from beneath the tree. As she steps back into the sun, the creature          snarls and starts to wither in her arms. She realizes what's causing          it pain and steps back into shadow.                    LORI [cont.]: You don't like the sun? Is that it?                    The sound of sobbing, off to her left, draws her attention. One of          the mausoleum doors is open, and a woman, Rachel, dressed in black,          stands in the shadows, weeping. Lori's astonished.                    LORI [cont.]: I'm sorry...is, is it yours?                    RACHEL: Bring her. Bring her, please.                    Shading the creature from the sun, Lori moves to the door and steps          into the gloom.                    105. INT. MAUSOLEUM DAY                    The interior is marble, the air murky. Rachel, a fine-boned, pre-          Raphaelite beauty in her thirties, moves back against the far wall,          nursing a wounded arm.                    Lori looks down at the creature she's carrying, utterly limp in her          arms.                    LORI: ...I'm afraid it's too late.                    RACHEL: No...she can't die. Bring her to me, please.                    Rachel reaches out. Lori's reluctant to move further into the          darkness.                    RACHEL: Hurry!                    As Lori crosses the floor, she hears whispering from a stairway that          leads down into the earth. She stops, frightened.                    RACHEL: Pay no attention. Please, bring me my Babette.                    As the creature is named it starts to move in Lori's arms. Not only          move, but change. Its claws grab at Lori's breast as it writhes.                    RACHEL [cont.]: Babette, no!                    LORI: What's happening?                    RACHEL: Don't look! Don't look!                    But Lori can't help but look. Appalled, she tries to pull the          transforming creature off her, but its hold is firm.                    LORI: Jesus! Jesus!                    With effort, she detaches the creature's claws from her, almost          throwing it at Rachel, who cradles the changing creature in her arms.                    RACHEL: Babette...                    Lori leans against the wall, trying to wipe the sticky fluids the          creature's exuded onto her hands. When she looks up she sees the          creature in Rachel's arms has transformed into a pale, beautiful girl          of seven or eight. Lori's dumbstruck.                    LORI: What...what...what the...?                    RACHEL: She likes to play outside. I tell her: you mustn't play in          the sun. The sun will hurt you. But she's just a child. She doesn't          understand.                    Lori looks back towards the open door, and the sun-drenched walkway          outside. Then back at Babette.                    LORI: This is too weird.                    RACHEL [an urgent whisper]: You saved her. I owe you          something...listen; I know why you came here.                    LORI: You do?                    RACHEL: You must go, this place is not for you. Midian is a home for          the Nightbreed. Only for the Nightbreed.                    LORI: Is Boone here? Did somebody bring him here?                    A deep baritone voice rises up from the shadows of the stairwell.                    LYLESBURG: Rachel...you have said too much already.                    Lylesburg appears, a commanding, magisterial man with a vast grey          beard and three slits on each cheek that look like gills. Loping          along beside him, his fool, a muscular man with an innocently          beautiful face: Ohnaka.                    RACHEL: My Lylesburg, she brought me Babette, she saved her . . .                    LYLESBURG: We know. But you cannot help her.                    LORI [her spunk surfacing]: Look, I saved the child's life, don't I          deserve something for that?                    LYLESBURG: The child has no life to save, [he looks at her - sizes          her up] But what she has is yours, if you want it. That's the Law. Do          you want her?                    LORI: No! I just want some answers.                    LYLESBURG: You weren't meant to see this.                    LORI: I kind of got that impression.                    LYLESBURG: Then you also understand that to speak of this to anyone          will bring dire consequences . . .                    LORI: Hey, pal, don't threaten me.                    LYLESBURG: Not for you. For us.                    His words take the edge off Lori's anger. She notices that inscribed          in the marble arch above the doorway are the words:          'WHAT'S BELOW REMAINS BELOW'                    LYLESBURG [cont.]: What's below remains below. This is the Law.                    Rachel is carrying Babette down the steps. Lylesburg turns to follow          her.                    LORI: Wait! Wait a minute! Boone, Aaron Boone, just tell me, is he          here? You took him, you took his body, didn't you? Hey!                    Lori crosses to the stairs. Lylesburg's disappeared down into the          darkness.                    LORI [cont.]: Talk to me, damn it, I have to know - come back!                    105A. INT. MAUSOLEUM STAIRWELL                    Lori heads down the stairs.                    LORI: Come back!                    Lylesburg, Ohnaka, Rachel and Babette have gone, however. Lori          continues her descent. There are sounds in the darkness below her.          She stops, and looks back towards the top of the stairs. It's a long          way off.                    LORI [to herself]: How deep does this go?                    She heads on down, turning a corner. In front of her, Peloquin. He          starts towards her. She backs away, into a second creature, and          starts up the stairs. As she does so a third creature swings down          from the darkness above her head. She shrieks, and runs like hell.                    PELOQUIN [calls after her]: Come back soon, y'hear?                    106. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    Lori emerges, squinting against the blinding sun, trying to calm          herself.                    LORI: Okay. Walk away, Lori. Don't panic. There's got to be a          perfectly reasonable explanation, [can't sustain it] And hell if I          know what it is.                    She sprints back towards the gate.                    DISSOLVE TO:                    107. EXT. MIDIAN DAY                    Out of breath, Lori reaches the car, parked where she left it. No          sign of Sheryl.                    LORI: Sheryl! Sheryl! Let's get the hell out of here! [no reply]          Sheryl?                    Lori looks around. Sees Sheryl's purse in the dirt near the reeds.                    LORI [cont.]: Sheryl?                    She moves towards the reeds. Picks up the purse. Peers inside the          house. She hears a gurgling laugh from inside. It could be Sheryl.                    LORI [cont.]: Sheryl, come on ...                    108. EXT. REEDS DAY                    The undergrowth is dark and empty. Lori advances cautiously through          the paths.                    LORI: Sheryl, we have to go, uh, something's kind of come up and...                    She sees a splash of blood on the reeds.                    LORI [cont.]: Oh shit. . .                    Something moves across our field of vision in the gloom behind her.          She turns.                    LORI [cont.]: Sheryl?                    She turns back and follows the trail of blood around the corner,          Lying on the floor is Sheryl. Mouth cut away. Tongue cut off.                    LORI [cont.]: Jesus! God!                    She turns to run, but Decker steps into her path. He wears a mask of          repulsive simplicity: a linen face with two buttons for eyes and a          zipper [open at present] for a mouth. In his hands are two large          carving knives, both blood-stained.                    DECKER: Let's get it over with, shall we?                    LORI [mind racing, a survivor]: Take it easy, let's talk about this.                    DECKER [advancing]: Don't try and reason with me, Lori. I'm a          lunatic. You don't reason with lunatics.                    LORI: How do you know my name?                    DECKER: Good question. No reason why you shouldn't have an answer.          [he pulls off the mask] Wish I had a camera. Oh, the look a your face.                    LORI: Why? Why did you kill her?                    DECKER: Why did I kill all the others? For the fun of it, of course.          For pleasure. Everyone ought to have a hobby, don't you agree?                    LORI: Boone was innocent.                    DECKER: Is innocent, wherever he's hiding. After all the trouble I          went to to find him a home for his guilt.                    LORI: You sick motherfucker...                    DECKER: Boone's alive, Lori. And your death is going to bring him          out of hiding.                    He comes at her suddenly, but his heel slides in Sheryl's blood. He          falls in front of Lori, and stabs at her feet. She avoids the stab by          an inch. He rises suddenly, throws one of his knives aside and grabs          the blade Lori holds, with a glove which strikes sparks. It is          chainmail. Lori lets go, propelling herself through the reeds.                    109. SCENE DELETED                    110. INT. NECROPOLIS LATE AFTERNOON                    The light is diminishing behind the Necropolis walls. Lori's screams          are distant. We track towards the gate as she runs down the hill.                    LORI: Somebody help me!                    She flings the gate open and enters. Decker emerges from the reeds          behind her.                    111. SCENE DELETED                    111A. INT. THE TEMPLE OF BAPHOMET                    The temple is an impressive chamber, at the centre of which is a          dais, ringed with representatives of the six failed saviours of Breed.                    In the middle of the ring, a statue of Baphomet. There are benches          along the walls. Sitting in them, reciting in soft, sibilant voices          the Laws of Midian, are Breed.                    Lylesburg, accompanied by Ohnaka, is also in the chamber, as is          Boone, being held by the Breed.                    BOONE: I have to help her!                    LYLESBURG: You can't go.                    BOONE: I'll kill him. No-one will ever know.                    LYLESBURG: What's below remains below.                    BOONE: I can't let her die.                    LYLESBURG: When we took you in you made an oath to obey the Law.                    BOONE: I won't listen to him butcher her. I love her.                    LYLESBURG: She's a Natural. She couldn't love you back. Not now.                    BOONE: Wrong!                    He starts to struggle against his captors, fighting them off.                    BOONE: You're wrong!                    Throwing one back, and punching the other, Boone breaks for the door.                    LYLESBURG: Boone! Boone!                    Lylesburg's shout is ignored, as Boone heads up to the surface.                    112. EXT. NECROPOLIS LATE AFTERNOON                    Lori runs down the walkways pursued by Decker, her breath coming in          gasps, close to collapse.                    LORI: Help me! Oh please, God, somebody.                    113. SCENE DELETED                    114. EXT. NECROPOLIS LATE AFTERNOON                    Lori collapses. Decker reaches her and pulls on his mask.                    DECKER: That's good. Be still. It's quicker that way.                    He pulls a particularly nasty blade from his jacket interior and          advances. She rises and tries to duck the cut. He strikes her with          the back of his hand. She falls, striking her head on a tomb.                    DECKER [cont.] [sudden fury]: I said, be still!                    Lori is semi-conscious, blood running from her wounded head. Looking          past Decker, she sees something...                    LORI: Boone...                    Decker laughs. Then he realizes she's reacting to the appearance of          Boone, standing in the shadows behind him, in jeans and leather          jacket.                    Lori slips into unconsciousness.                    DECKER: You? Here again?                    BOONE: Isn't this where the dead are supposed to go?                    DECKER: You're not dead.                    BOONE [advancing]: You're wrong. We're both dead, Decker.                    DECKER: I'm not Decker!                    BOONE: No? Isn't that you, Dr Decker, hiding behind that child's mask?                    DECKER: I'm not hiding...                    BOONE [still advancing, taunting him]: Decker, Decker. Doctor Decker.                    Enraged, Decker throws the knife; it buries in the middle of Boone's          chest. Decker laughs, then stops, as Boone pulls the knife out and          tosses it aside.                    BOONE [cont.]: Blades are no better than bullets, Decker, don't you          get it? I'm dead. The walking dead.                    DECKER: That's not possible.                    Decker turns to run, but Boone races to him, catches, turns him          and pulls Decker closer, until they're nose to nose.                    BOONE: Not just dead...changed. A monster. Want me to show you?                    DECKER [whimpering]: No, please ...                    BOONE: Not your kind of monster. Not the soulless kind. I've got          Midian in my veins.                    He tears off the mask, uncovering Decker's sweaty, terrified face.                    DECKER: Please, please, it's, it's not my fault, it's the mask, it          makes me do things I don't want to...[Boone pulls him closer] Boone,          it was the mask and they were going to find me, punish me, I needed a          scapegoat...                    BOONE: You chose the wrong man.                    NARCISSE [V.O.]: Man? You call yourself a man?                    Boone looks round; Narcisse is squatting on a tomb, his face a mass          of scar tissue.                    NARCISSE [cont.]: You're no more man than I am.                    BOONE: Monster, then.                    NARCISSE: That's more like it. [he jumps off the tomb, moves towards          them] Well, go on, are you going to kill him or not? Only I want his          balls. And his eyes. That is, if you don't want them.                    BOONE: I'll pass.                    NARCISSE: Remember me, Doctor? I was dying when you had your way          with me. You made me tell my secrets when I was feeling particularly          vulnerable. Now was that a nice thing for a doctor to do?                    DECKER [to Boone, craven]: Oh God, Boone, don't let him touch me,          anything, keep him off me, full confession...sweet Jesus, mercy,          mercy, please, I'm begging you!                    Narcisse raises his thumbs, still bearing their silver hooks.                    NARCISSE: Let's start with his eyes ...                    BOONE: No!                    Boone pushes Narcisse back, but as he does so Decker slips his          grasp. Boone roars and starts to twitch and stamp as Peloquin did and          we watch as...                    Boone transforms into something part man, part carnivore...and gives          chase.                    Decker nears the gate, but Boone is after him at great speed,          leaping over tombs like a high-jumper.                    115. EXT. NECROPOLIS LATE AFTERNOON                    Left behind, Narcisse turns his eyes upon the recumbent Lori.                    NARCISSE [filled with hunger, greatly consoled): Well...you'll do.                    As he advances on her, Lori's eyes flicker open. She screams.                    116. EXT. NECROPOLIS LATE AFTERNOON                    Boone right on Decker's tail; he hears Lori's screams and stops.          Decker runs out through the gate. Boone starts back towards Lori.                    INTERCUT:                    117. EXT. NECROPOLIS LATE AFTERNOON                    Lori struggling in Narcisse's arms. He tries to muffle her.                    Boone leaps tombs, nearing their location. He bounds into the          clearing, sees Lori unconscious in Narcisse's embrace.                                BOONE: Let her go!                                Narcisse, all sheepish co-operation, gently lets her go onto the          ground.                    NARCISSE: Just...keeping her warm.                              Boone is almost human now. He reaches Lori.                    NARCISSE [cont.]: I wouldn't have touched her.                    Boone breathes in the last of his monstrous condition, and bends to          tenderly stroke Lori's face. Then, very lightly, he kisses her, and          gathers her in his arms.                    FADE OUT:                    FADE IN:                    118. SCENE DELETED                    118A. INT. LYLESBURG'S CHAMBER                    BOONE: I had no choice.                    LYLESBURG: You've put us all in danger for your love of this woman.                    BOONE: Decker can't tell anyone. What's he going to say? That          he tried to kill a girl and a dead man stopped him?                    LYLESBURG: He can still lead our enemies here. If he goes - if          Midian's unearthed ó you're responsible.                    BOONE: So let me make amends.                    LYLESBURG: Just take the girl and go on your way amongst the          Naturals. That's the Law.                    BOONE: Who made this Law?                    LYLESBURG: Baphomet. The God in Obsidian. Who made Midian.                    BOONE: So maybe I should speak to this guy.                    LYLESBURG: Baphomet is a spirit in stone. He doesn't speak, or move.          His wounds are too great...                    BOONE: What are you afraid of?                    LYLESBURG: What Baphomet made he has the power to unmake. His blood          is volatile. He mustn't be angered.                    BOONE: Then I'll make nice.                    119. SCENE DELETED                    120. INT. CORRIDOR BY LYLESBURG'S CHAMBER NIGHT                    Boone heads down the corridor. He slows as he passes an entrance to          one side chamber and looks in...                    Inside the chamber, a dog-faced man is working on a vast elaborate          mosaic mural that extends into shadow in both directions. He looks up          and locks eyes with Boone.                    Boone breaks off the contact and continues down the corridor.                    The dog-faced man turns back to his palette; a multi-coloured          collection of small tiles. He carefully selects a few, then turns to          the mosaic and we see...                    121. INT. MURAL CHAMBER NIGHT                    The mosaic mural. Prominent in what appears to be a panoramic visual          history of the Nightbreed race, is a heroic figure who closely          resembles...Boone. The dog-faced man applies the tiles he's selected,          filling in the irises of the Boone-figure's eyes.                    122. INT. RACHEL'S CHAMBER                    Lori sits up.                    LORI: Boone...?                    Her head aches. She winces. Babette goes to her aid.                    BABETTE: Be still. It was a bad hurt he did us.                    LORI: Us? What do you mean 'us'?                    RACHEL [moving to them]: You held Babette while she transformed.          She's made quite a bond with you.                    BABETTE: I felt your hurt. I still feel it.                    RACHEL: She even knew you were coming here. She saw it all, through          your eyes.                    BABETTE: And you can see through mine.                    LORI [pause - she tries to read Rachel]: You're not kidding.                    RACHEL: It's true.                    Lori rises unsteadily to her feet. Babette takes her hand, but          Rachel moves her away from Lori.                    RACHEL [cont.]: She doesn't want you to touch her, sweet. She's          afraid.                    LORI: You got that right. One minute I'm about to get carved like a          Christmas turkey, the next I'm...I'm...[a surfacing memory breaks her          train]...God...it was Boone...Boone saved me.                    RACHEL: Yes.                    LORI: But he's dead, I saw him in the morgue...                    RACHEL: You still don't understand, do you?                    LORI: Wait a second, back up...                    RACHEL: You're below now. With the Nightbreed. The last survivors of          the great tribes.                     LORI: Tribes of who? What?                    RACHEL: We're shapeshifters; freaks; remains of races your species          have almost driven to extinction.                    LORI: So you're not immortal?                    RACHEL: Far from it. The sun can kill some of us. Like Babette. She          follows her father in that. Some of us could be shot down; others          would survive that because they've got beyond death.                    LORI: Horrible. It's all horrible.                    RACHEL: To be able to fly? To be smoke, or a wolf; to know the          night, and live in it forever? That's not so bad. You call us          monsters, but when you dream, it's of flying and changing, and          living without death. You envy us. And what you envy...                    LORI [softly; understanding]: ...We destroy...                    RACHEL [to Babette]: Show her. Show her the past...                    Babette touches Lori's arm.                    BABETTE: Be with me.                    The skulls in front of Lori fill her sight. We fly through one of          the eye sockets into...                    123. SCENE DELETED                    123A. LORI/BABETTE'S VISION [TORTURE SEQUENCE]                    Fade through from the skull chamber into grinning people running          towards partially constructed bonfires...The people throw tinder onto          the fires...We track off the fire-building to a wall, behind where          frightened monsters hide...The shadow of a cross falls on them.                    CUT TO:                    123B. LORI/BABETTE'S VISION [TORTURE SEQUENCE]                    Inquisitors in black robes part to reveal the Head Inquisitor in          purple robes...                    He reads the charges...                    HEAD INQUISITOR: Thou shalt not suffer a monster to live...                    CUT TO:                    123C. LORI/BABETTE'S VISION [TORTURE SEQUENCE]                    Frightened monsters pulled away from the wall.                    CUT TO:                    123D. LORI/BABETTE'S VISION [TORTURE SEQUENCE]                    Inquisitors step aside to show torture scenes. We track through the          tortures: racks, crucifixion, floggings, a hanging. The camera moves          off gallows, past a wall to flags. We cut close on the flag which          reads FREAK SHOW, track past the flag to a cage, containing freakish          Breed.                    Well-dressed ordinary men and women applaud and laugh.                    One of the freaks is dragged from the cages. He looks back at the          family he's left behind.                    The inquisitor reads their charges, as the bonfire awaits.                    The Victim is thrown onto the bonfire. A tinder flares, and the          inquisitors and audience light cigarettes and cigars from the tinder.                    The bonfire then flares up.                    An inquisitor lasciviously strokes the naked buttocks of a beautiful          girl. She turns towards us in despair; we see her head is bestial.                    124. INT. RACHEL'S CHAMBER                    Overwhelmed with horror, Lori opens her eyes, breaking her          connection with Babette.                    RACHEL: We are all that remain.                    LORI: And...and you're saying...Boone's like you?                    RACHEL: He is Nightbreed. Or he was, until he broke the Law.                    LORI [moving towards the door]: No, no, that's not possible -          I've got to find him, there's been some kind of mistake...                    BABETTE: Don't go...                    LORI: But he didn't kill anybody, it wasn't him, he's innocent...                    RACHEL: That no longer matters...                    LORI: Where is he? Where'd he go?                    RACHEL: Down to the Tabernacle, to Baphomet.                    LORI: Who?                    RACHEL: The Baptiser. Who made Midian. Who called us here          and saved us from our enemies...                    LORI: Take me there, I've got to find Boone...                    RACHEL: It's forbidden.                    LORI: We'll see about that.                    125. INT. EIGERMAN'S OFFICE                    Decker is drinking coffee. A cop strides by. Joyce enters.                    JOYCE: Decker? This better be good.                    DECKER: I found Boone.                    JOYCE: Someone brought the corpse down here?                    DECKER: He's not dead.                    JOYCE: I saw him pumped full of bullets.                    DECKER: So did I. But he's alive. He killed again...                    JOYCE: In Shere Neck?                    DECKER: No, out at Midian.                    JOYCE: Why'd he go back there?                    Eigerman enters.                    EIGERMAN: What are you doing in my office?                    KANE: This is Inspector Joyce. Calgary Police Department.                    EIGERMAN: We don't need any city boys on the case. Midian's under my          jurisdiction.                    JOYCE: We can work together.                    EIGERMAN: No we don't. I'll bring him in myself. This is my town.                    DECKER: He's not alone anymore.                    JOYCE: What?                    EIGERMAN: Yeah. I heard that talk. That's nuthouse talk.                    JOYCE: Talk about what?                    DECKER: Midian's not empty. There's something breeding there. Below          the cemetery.                    EIGERMAN: Bullshit.                    JOYCE [to Decker]: Do you believe that?                    DECKER: Yes I do. And if you don't stop them there's going to be          more bloodshed. I promise.                    126. SCENE DELETED                    127. INT. MIDIAN CENTRAL CORE                    Lori finds herself in a cavernous space, lined with chambers          connected by walkways and ladders, which don't look particularly          secure. She moves out on to a walkway. It leads her into the central          core of Midian, which offers a view of dizzying descent into the          earth. She scans the scene, amazed by the sheer scale of the place.                    LORI: My God...                    As she descends into the bowels of Midian, creatures in various          doorways watch her with curiosity. One creature seems to have light          running from wounds on its body. Another tumbles past her, a slow          acrobat, defying gravity. She sees only a few of these but hears far          more, chattering and murmuring in the shadows.                    127A. INT. MIDIAN CORE                    As Lori moves through the chambers toward Peloquin we see the devil          creature Lude feeding snakes to his pet, a horned, many legged beast          which squats on the floor. He gets up and goes to look at her. Leroy,          a grinning grotesque, appears from the back of the chamber, snatches          the snake from the maw of the pet, and comes to watch as well.                    LEROY [eating the snake]: There goes the neighbourhood.                    128. SCENE DELETED                    128A. INT. MIDIAN CENTRAL CORE                    Lori looks into a chamber. A dark, winged figure moves aside to          reveal...                    A ceremony, with the bowls of white blood later seen in Baphomet's          chamber, is in progress.                    128B. INT. MIDIAN CENTRAL CORE                    As Lori crosses the bridge something watches from the deep          shadows...the tone darkens. She steps off the bridge and scorpions          scuttle away. Lori is now a little nervous. She finds herself in a          corner with several doors...Through one door she sees a man with a          white T-shirt. She calls after him.                    LORI: Boone?                    Lori enters through the door.                    128C. INT. MIDIAN CHAMBER                    In a corner a ghastly meal is underway. The Boone figure is heading          away through another door. Lori follows the figure, and the diners          get up as if to attack. In the next chamber is a tangle of bright red          glistening bodies with no heads...Lori glances round. The diners          pursue her.                    128D. INT. MIDIAN CHAMBER                    Up ahead of Lori is the Boone figure. She approaches it as it steps          out of the shadows...                    It is not Boone!!                    She steps away...                    128E. INT. MIDIAN CHAMBER                    The red beast is rising behind her. Lori turns and exits the          chamber, flattening herself against the rock. She advances. Crouched          in a niche above where she's walking, we see a small lizard-like          creature, Barabas, eating a dead rat.                    128F. INT. MIDIAN CHAMBER                    Lori enters the final chamber, following the figure she thinks is          Boone.                    On the far side, crouching at a door, a figure.                    LORI: Boone?                    The figure turns. It's Peloquin.                    PELOQUIN: No-one here of that name.                    She turns. The Boone figure is in the doorway behind her. He has the          face of a snake.                    PELOQUIN: Told you!                    He approaches Lori.                    PELOQUIN: I know you. He talks about you. Lori.                    He snatches a broach from her.                    PELOQUIN: Nice. You're still a Natural. Want to join the family? [he          goes to bite her]                    LORI: No!                    Peloquin follows her to the door.                    PELOQUIN [at door]: You will. Sooner or later you'll want to live          forever.                    He laughs maniacally, returning into his room.                    129. INT. MIDIAN CENTRAL CORE                    Lori continues her descent. As she nears the cavern floor, Lylesburg          steps into her path, beside him his fool, Ohnaka.                    LYLESBURG: You may go no further.                    LORI: I want Boone!                    LYLESBURG: You're not to blame, but you must understand: what          Boone's done has put us in jeopardy...                    LORI: No problem, you tell me where he is and we're outta here...                    LYLESBURG: Boone has gone to Baphomet. He is beyond recall.                    A low rumbling issues from somewhere deep inside the passage          Lylesburg stands before. Underneath the rumble is an animal          moaning with pain.                    LORI: Where is he? He's down here isn't he? You want to stop me          you're gonna have to kill me.                    Impressed by her resolve, Lylesburg stands aside. She moves past him          and heads down into the chamber, towards a distant light. Lylesburg          gestures after her. Ohnaka nods and follows.                    129A. INT. BERSERKERS' CORRIDOR ANTECHAMBER                    Lori heads through a room which leads towards the Berserkers.                    The reassuring sounds of the Core fade behind her. She slows her          advance. Suddenly, Narcisse steps from the shadows.                    NARCISSE: Up and about already?                    LORI: Keep away from me.                    NARCISSE: I'm sorry about upstairs. I see a pretty face and I want          to kiss it. [Lori moves on past] Don't go down there.                    LORI: Why not?                    NARCISSE [instant change of subject]: Don't you just love this          place? Shangri-La on dope. I love it.                    LORI: What's that smell?                    NARCISSE [sniffs his armpits]: Not me. They keep the Berserkers down          there. Mad bastards. They'll rip your head off and shit down your          neck.                    LORI: Boone went this way, right?                    NARCISSE: And won't be coming back.                    LORI: I'll bring him.                    NARCISSE: You think love can raise the dead?                    LORI: He's not dead.                    NARCISSE: He's that and more. If you don't believe me, you wait 'til          he gets to sniff a little blood. That'll bring out the beast in him.          I'm telling you, don't go...                    LORI: I have to. Nothing makes any sense without him.                    NARCISSE: Sense? Who needs it?                    Lori moves off down the corridor. Ohnaka follows her.                    NARCISSE [to Ohnaka]: Love those tattoos.                    130. SCENE DELETED                    131. SCENE DELETED                    132. INT. BERSERKERS' CORRIDOR                    Lori starts down the corridor, the walls of which are cracked wide          in places, the gaps covered with chains. From the other side she          hears grunts and growls. Then, to her shock, one of the Berserkers'          arms reaches up from a grille in the floor and snatches at her leg.          She steps aside to avoid it, and another of the Berserkers' arms          reaches through the mesh of chains, taking hold of her by the neck.          It starts to choke her. She shouts for help.                    Ohnaka, Lylesburg's fool, appears from down the corridor. He starts          to rattle the chains further along the wall.                    OHNAKA: Hey, Ghost! Hey, Slaughter! Come and get me! Come          and get me!                    The arm around Lori's neck releases its hold, and we hear the sound          of the creatures moving along the walls in Ohnaka's direction.                    OHNAKA: Fat-asses!                    Suddenly, arms reach for him through the chains. He steps away just          in time.                    OHNAKA: Missed!                    He grins at Lori, proud of himself.                    LORI: Where's Boone?                    OHNAKA: This way!                    He starts to lead her towards Baphomet's chamber.                    133. INT. OUTSIDE BAPHOMET'S CHAMBER                    Ohnaka and Lori reach the next to last chamber; a roaring from          below, down a slope in front of them, walls vibrating with the din          from Baphomet's chamber. Ohnaka withdraws. Blindingly bright light,          out of which Lori spots a figure climbing towards them.                    LORI: Boone? Boone!                    She moves down to Boone, scrambling up the slope towards her,          drenched in sweat, half-mad with terror.                    BOONE: Don't...don't look...                    He reaches for her, then collapses. She starts down the slope to          him. Dust falls from the roof, the din makes her reel. But she          reaches him, starts to haul him to his feet. Then, she looks up and          we get a glimpse of...                    134. INT. BAPHOMET'S CHAMBER                    Out of the blinding light, and seemingly the source of it, a huge,          black figure turns towards her, twelve feet high, severed limbs          connected by sinews of hot, white energy and extruded spines, the          face terrible, wise and beautiful.                    Lori's stunned, she averts her eyes. Boone collects himself enough          to pull her away and they help each other frantically scrabble up the          slope, out of the chamber.                    135. INT. OUTSIDE BAPHOMET'S CHAMBER                    As Lori and Boone emerge, Ohnaka appears and beckons them to follow.          Too exhausted and frightened to speak, Boone and Lori          follow.                              136. INT. MIDIAN CENTRAL CORE                    Ominous rumblings urge them on, as Boone and Lori make a stumbling          ascent through the core, trailing Ohnaka's urgent lead, watched from          the doorways by a variety of creatures. We cut to the ledge, and move          to a chamber, where Peloquin and Shuna Sassi are making love.          Peloquin hears Lori urging Boone on as they struggle across the          bridge, and looks away from Shuna, out through the door.                    PELOQUIN: Well, well...                    He goes to the door.                    PELOQUIN [cont.]: Guess he couldn't take the heat.                    SHUNA SASSI: I dreamt him. He's strong.                    PELOQUIN: That's only because the bite was mine.                    SHUNA SASSI: No, don't you see? He's the one from the prophesies.          Cabal. The seventh saviour.                    PELOQUIN: So why's he leaving?                    SHUNA SASSI: Everything has its purpose. Maybe he hasn't learned to          hate his tribe enough. He'll be back.                    Peloquin kisses her.                    PELOQUIN: Why die waiting?                    137. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    The sun climbs over the horizon, sunlight penetrates the graveyard.          A mausoleum door creaks open, Lori and Boone rush out into the open          air. Lori tries to lead Boone away, he squints painfully against the          early light.                    BOONE: No, no, I belong here...                    LORI [grabs him]: Bullshit! Boone, Boone, listen to me - you belong          with me, that's why you lived, that's why we survived,          because we belong together...                    Ohnaka swings the door shut behind them. Boone sees Lori, as if for          the first time. She takes his hand, presses it to her face, her          breast.                    LORI [cont.]: This is me. This is why I followed you, this is what          we're living for.                    His eyes clear. A part of him seems to return. He embraces her.                    BOONE: Lori...                    LORI: They don't need you. Nobody needs you but me. We'll go away,          far away, where no-one will ever find us. I love you.                    They hold each other.                    138. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    LONG ANGLE:                    Boone and Lori - two small figures, alone among the sepulchres. They          move towards the gate together.                    FADE OUT:                    FADE IN:                    139. EXT. SWEETGRASS INN DAY                    Empty streets. No activity. Lori's car pulls into the parking lot.                    140. INT. LORI'S CAR DAY                    Lori turns to Boone, slumped down in the passenger seat, out of          sight, wearing sunglasses.                    LORI: I'll get my stuff, I'll be back in two minutes...                    BOONE: Don't leave me alone.                    LORI: Boone...                    BOONE [fiercely]: No!                    LORI [calmly ó trying to hide her alarm]: Okay. We'll go in together.                    She hands him the Buffalo Days hat and opens the door.                    141. EXT. PHONE BOOTH DAY                    From a phone booth across the street we see Lori and Boone move          towards the motel entrance. In foreground, a chain-mailed hand picks          up the phone and dials.                    142. INT. SWEETGRASS INN DAY                    Boone and Lori enter the corridor that leads to her room. Eerie          silence, save for a dog yapping somewhere. Boone stops. Alarmed, she          turns to him.                    LORI [whispers]: What's wrong?                    BOONE: Why is it so empty?                    LORI: They must be at the rodeo.                    She hurries on, Boone follows, clearly disturbed. Lori unlocks her          door, glancing back at Boone, who has taken off his sunglasses. There          is something strange about the light in his eyes. A subtle wave of          colour passes across his face.                    BOONE: I smell blood.                    LORI: What?                    BOONE: So much blood...                    She swings the door open. We expect a horror. Nothing. An ordinary          room.                    LORI: It's okay.                    INTERCUT:                    113. INT. MOTEL LORI'S ROOM DAY                    Lori enters and quickly gathers her belongings together.                    Boone, sweating with terror, slides down the wall into a squatting          position.                    As Lori packs, she looks down, sees a hole in the wall, the result          of some massive violence from the other side. She cautiously leans          down, peers through the hole and quickly retreats, hand over mouth,          horrified by what she's seen.                    LORI: Boone?                    Boone appears at the door.                    LORI[cont.]: Next door.                    Boone goes next door and turns the handle.                    144. SCENE DELETED                    145. INT. MOTEL MURDER ROOM DAY                    Boone pushes the door open. Inside, a massacre: five dead card          players, propped up around a poker table in a sick parody of a poker          game tableau; throats slit, Buffalo Hats on their heads. Sitting in          the middle of the table, a tall, elaborate house of cards.                    Boone moves into the middle of the room. On his face we can see the          hunger he feels. Ripples of color begin to move over his features. He          moves towards the corpses...as he does so, we hear a nearly deafening          sound from outside...the vibrations knock over the house of cards          and...                    146. EXT. SWEETGRASS INN DAY                    Into the empty street, a helicopter descends, discharging Lieutenant          Joyce and a platoon of heavily armed Swat Team cops. Local police          cars pour in.                    Captain Eigerman climbs out of his cruiser to survey the siege.          Decker introduces him to Joyce. Sharpshooters take up positions,          training their weapons on the motel, as the Swat Team moves in.                    147. INT. MOTEL CORRIDOR DAY                    Lori moves to the door of the murder room. Boone is inside, his back          to her.                    LORI: It was Decker...Decker did this...                    In foreground, Boone's face begins to transform, which Lori can't          see. She hears the cops outside.                    LORI [cont.]: Boone, we have to get out of here.                    BOONE: Stay away from me...                    LORI: Boone, what is it?                    BOONE: I don't want you to see...                    LORI: See what?                    BOONE: Get out! Do as I say!                    LORI: I won't leave you...                    As she crosses towards him, he turns. His face is in mid-          transformation.                    148. EXT. SWEETGRASS INN DAY                    Lori's scream echoes outside the motel. Joyce orders in the Swat          Team. They charge, entering the motel.                    149. INT. MOTEL CORRIDOR DAY                    Lori backs out of the room in horror.                    LORI: Oh my God...oh my God...                    She hears cops charging up the stairs.                    LORI [cont.]: Boone! They're coming!                    INTERCUT:                    150. MOTEL MURDER ROOM DAY                    The transformed Boone covers his face, slams the room door shut and          moves towards the bodies.                    Lori hides at the end of the corridor as the Swat cops appear at the          far end.                    On his knees, in the middle of some frenzied action we can't quite          see, Boone stops and looks down at his blood-stained hands.                    BOONE: No...No...                    Out of sight, Lori watches the cops prepare to storm the room.                    150A. INT. MOTEL BATHROOM DAY                    Boone enters the bathroom with the sound of the Swat Team's entry to          the motel on the track. He slams the door. There is blood on his face          and hands. He goes to the sink and turns on the tap. Then he sees          himself in the mirror, his transformed face is a shock, He looks at          himself, appalled. Then a wave of nausea overtakes him. He throws up          into the sink; a splash of blood and flesh he's just eaten. Wiping          his mouth with the back of his hands he starts to breathe out his          condition. His face transforms back to his normal state. He makes a          sob of horror.                    SWAT LEADER (V.O.): In here!                    Boone looks towards the door, sinking down against the tiles as he          does so. The door is flung open. We see him cowering as the Swat Team          come for him.                    151. SCENE DELETED                    152. EXT. SWEETGRASS INN DAY                    Under cover of the trees and cars around the motel, Lori hides in a          place where she can view the front of the building.                    She sees Eigerman talking with Joyce, Decker behind them. They look          up as the Swat cops manhandle a hand-cuffed Boone out of the          building. He has totally reverted to human form, the blood-stains          seemingly a sure proof of guilt. Lori watches as he's thrown into a          police car and driven off.                    FADE OUT:                    FADE IN:                    153. INT. SHERE NECK POLICE STATION DAY                    A clank of keys opening locks. A steel door swings open. Three cops          rough-house Boone down the corridor, Eigerman right behind, passing          other cells holding prisoners watching them go by. We hold on one, a          young fundamentalist Baptist preacher, Reverend Ashberry. He has          haunted, maniacally repressed eyes and the ragged look of a habitual          drunk.                    154. INT. POLICE STATION CELL DAY                    Boone is thrown into the cell. Eigerman and the three cops,          Labowitz, Sergeant Pettine and Gibbs, all practised hard guys, enter          the cell after him.                    EIGERMAN: Fuckin' freak! Fuckin' cannibal! [to his men] Stand him up!                    They haul Boone to his feet. Eigerman hits Boone with a wicked          blackjack.                    EIGERMAN [cont.]: You picked the wrong town, boy. We believe in real          justice here, [a blow is delivered] They're gonna take you back to          the city...[another blow]...but we're gonna leave you          with something...[another blow]...to remember...[another]...us...by!                    Boone sags to the ground, unconscious.                    154A. INT. ASHBERRY'S CELL DAY                    As the sound of Boone being beaten up filters through the wall,          Ashberry sits in his cell, Bible in hand. He flicks the pages over,          attempting to distance himself from the violence he hears with study.          He halts at a page with an illustration. It is something from          Revelations: monsters and demons doing battle with angels. He puts          the book down, and turns over his palm. It is a mass of tiny scars.          He closes his hand into a white-knuckled fist, retreating into the          shadows in the corner of his cell.                    We cutback to his hand. Blood seeps between the fingers, as his          nails dig into the meat of his palm.                    155. INT. EIGERMAN'S OFFICE DAY                    Eigerman enters. Decker is standing looking at Eigerman's collection          of photographs.                    EIGERMAN: You still here?                    DECKER: I'm going back to Midian with you.                    EIGERMAN: I'm not going anywhere. We got press folks and          photographers coming in from all over. Wouldn't be polite to keep 'em          waiting.                    Eigerman starts to exit again. Joyce is in the doorway.                    EIGERMAN: Tell him. We got our man under lock and key.                    DECKER: Don't trust him. He...he...changes. I've seen him.                    EIGERMAN: I'll keep an eye out.                    JOYCE: He was right about the motel.                    EIGERMAN: So?                    JOYCE: So maybe there are more of them...                    EIGERMAN: Monsters?                    JOYCE: Killers. A cult. I don't know.                    EIGERMAN: You want to take some of the boys, take 'em Pettine?                    PETTINE: Yes, Sir -                    EIGERMAN: You, Tommy and Gibbs, take the Inspector out to the          cemetery. Dig around. If you find anything with more two eyes,          holler. I got photographers wanting me...                    He exits.                    156. INT. BOONE'S CELL DAY                    Badly beaten, Boone lies in the corner, stirring when he hears the          door unlocked. Labowitz ushers in a middle-aged, small-town          physician, Doctor Rose.                    LABOWITZ: Doctor's here to examine you, freak. Just so nobody can          say we laid a finger on you...[he winks at Rose] Looks okay to me,          what do you think, Doc?                    Boone painfully pulls himself upright. Looks up at Dr Rose, who          slips on his stethoscope, listens to Boone's chest. He moves it,          listens, moves it again, alarmed. He takes Boone's wrist, feels          around. Boone stares at him. Dr Rose clears his throat, rises, moves          to Labowitz at the door and speaks quietly.                    DR ROSE: No pulse.                    LABOWITZ: What's that?                    DR ROSE: No...pulse.                    157. EXT. POLICE STATION DAY                    A crowd of journalists and on-lookers mill outside the station. We          find Lori, following her through the crowd as she tries to get a view          of the building.                    As she watches, Joyce and his three-cop escort climb into two police          cars and drive off.                    158. INT. POLICE STATION DAY                    An impromptu press conference, with Eigerman centre stage, standing          at a table laced with tape recorders and microphones.          Behind him, a map of the town, with coloured pins and a blackboard          drawing of the Sweetgrass Inn, including a diagram of where the          bodies were found. Eigerman adores the attention.                    EIGERMAN: Yes he may have had accomplices but I can't reveal the          precise source of my information on that...                    1ST REPORTER: Local source, Captain?                    EIGERMAN [a glance at Decker in the crowd]: Not so's you'd notice.                    2ND REPORTER: Has Boone made a confession?                    EIGERMAN: We found him with a piece of human flesh in his mouth.          How's that for guilty?                    Cameras flash furiously. We see Labowitz leading Dr Rose through the          crowd to the podium. Labowitz reaches Eigerman and whispers in his          ear. Eigerman makes him repeat it. His brow knits in puzzlement. He          turns to the press and smiles.                    EIGERMAN [cont.]: 'Scuse me, folks, won't be a second.                    Eigerman points a beckoning finger at Decker, who follows him into          his office, along with Labowitz and Dr Rose.                    159. INT. EIGERMAN'S OFFICE DAY                    Eigerman closes the door and turns to Decker.                    EIGERMAN: Just exactly how many bullets did they put into this geek          up at Midian?                    DECKER: Why?                    DR ROSE [severely shaken]: Half of them are still in him. In fact,          he's riddled with them.                    DECKER: As I told you, these aren't ordinary people. You're saying          he should be dead?                    DR ROSE: No, I'm saying he is dead.                    DECKER: When?                    EIGERMAN: Not lying down dead, friend. Walkin' around in my fucking          cell dead. Now what about that?                    Decker's shaken. He grips his briefcase tightly.                    160. INT. BOONE'S CELL DAY                    Boone sits in his cell, head down, expression masked, eyes moving          restlessly.                    160A. INT. ASHBERRY'S CELL DAY                    Ashberry is sitting half in shadow and half in light. His eyes carry          the half-buried mania that we'll see erupt later on. He puts his head          against the wall and speaks softly to Boone, his tone intensifying as          his feelings take stronger hold.                    ASHBERRY: Can you hear me? They'll find a way to kill you, you know          that? Can't fight the darkness. Not when it's inside          you. Are you listening? You're an abomination, Boone. You have to          die. There's lots of ways. I've read about them. Seen them when I          sleep. Horrible. HEAR ME?                    He suddenly slams his bloody hand against the wall.                    ASHBERRY: Have you got a God, Boone? Any God'll do. I had one,          but...he doesn't listen any more. I ask him to take the          dreams away but they keep coming. Blood and fire. Like the end of          the world...                    We move from Ashberry's stricken face to the bloody mark his hand          left in the wall. It vaguely resembles something we recognize:          Baphomet's head.                    FADE OUT:                    FADE IN:                    161. EXT. SHERE NECK STREET DAY                    Lori emerges from a supermarket with food to eat. She walks into a          small square, finds a seat and sits down to eat. As she reaches into          the bag:                    BABETTE[V.O.]:Lori?                    She looks round. The voice sounded real. No sign of Babette.                    BABETTE [V.O. - cont.]: Lori...close your eyes.                    LORI [frightened]: Where are you?                    BABETTE [V.O.]: Please, do as I say.                    Lori closes her eyes.                    162. INT. SKULL CHAMBER CENTRE CORE                    Lori and Babette's P.O.V. - darkness.                    BABETTE [V.O.]: Be with me...be with me...                    Dim light. We're in the Midian skull chamber, seeing it through          Babette's eyes. Their voices merge into one.                    LORI/BABETTE [V.O.]: ...where am I? What's happening to me?                    Rachel steps into view, and looks directly down at the camera.                    RACHEL: What is it, child?                    163. EXT. SHERE NECK STREET DAY                    Lori's eyes spring open. She's terrified.                    BABETTE [V.O.]: Lori! Comeback!                    Lori closes her eyes again and we click back into...                    164. EXT. SHERE NECK STREET DAY                    Lori and Babette's P.O.V. - we see Babette's view of Rachel.                    LORI/BABETTE [V.O.]: Is this real?                    RACHEL [whispers]: What are you talking about? Babette? [grips          Babette] What have you done?                    LORI/BABETTE [V.O.]: I've brought her, to see. She's in me. Babette          breaks away, Rachel tries to catch hold, Babette runs.          P.O.V. camera veers around and down through the maze of Midian.                    165. EXT. SHERE NECK STREET DAY                    Eyes closed on the bench, Lori gasps as the journey snatches her up.                    166. INT. CENTRAL CORE                    Lori and Babette's P.O.V. - Babette races over a rope-bridge. We see          it all through her eyes, her hands coming occasionally into view. We          head down a narrow tunnel and into a small chamber, which is          Babette's hidehole. We scan the treasures she keeps there: a doll          made of grasses; birds' skulls; pretty stones. We hear voices from          above and we look up at a steel grille, facing out on the surface.                    166A. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    Pushing closer to the grille we see...Joyce, Pettine, Tommy and          Gibbs, wandering through the Necropolis, armed to the hilt. Only          Joyce carries no weapon.                    PETTINE: Christ, you could hide a fuckin' army in here.                    TOMMY: What egg-zactly are we lookin' for, Sarge?                    TOMMY [spits some tobacco juice on a tomb]: We're here to kick some          major-league butt.                    JOYCE [distrusts these throwbacks]: We're here to scout, not engage                    TOMMY: Well what if they engage us? What about that?                    PETTINE: There's people down there, I can feel it.                    Lori/Babette gasps, Pettine hears the sound and walks over to the          grille.                              TOMMY: Why don't we just shoot 'em in their graves? Save us          diggin' new ones, [giggles - fires at one of the tombs]                    JOYCE [angry]: Hold your fire!                    PETTINE: We want prisoners, Tommy.                    Pettine goes down on his haunches beside the grille, runs the muzzle          of his gun along it. P.O.V. camera withdraws into the          shadows. He shakes his head and...                    167. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    We cut out of the P.O.V. as Pettine stands.                    PETTINE: There's something down there all right.                    JOYCE: If that's the case we'll call for back-up...                    Pettine spots a movement in the shadows of a half-open mausoleum          door. He catches Gibbs' eye, nods in the direction of the door, Gibbs          gets the idea and starts to back towards the tomb.                    PETTINE [a performance]: I don't know. Maybe we're just spooked.          Hell, who'd live in a graveyard, anyway? [crossing towards Gibbs]          What do you say, Lieutenant? Maybe we oughta just pack it in...head          for home...                    He and Gibbs rush the door of the tomb; there's a cry of surprise          from inside.                    168. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    Lori and Babette's P.O.V. - Camera glides back up to the grille in          time to see Gibbs and Pettine drag Ohnaka out of darkness and into          the sunlight where he lacks the strength to resist.                    TOMMY: Well, lookee what we got here...                    Tommy strikes Ohnaka with a rifle butt, knocking him to his knees.                    169. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    As the cops circle around Ohnaka, he moans, puts his head down and          covers his face with his hands.                    GIBBS: Shit. Don't look so tough to me.                    PETTINE: Want we should interrogate it, Lieutenant?                    JOYCE [amazed]: Give it some room.                    In the sunlight, Ohnaka's naked back begins to smoke and blister.                    GIBBS: What the hell for?                    JOYCE: God damn it! There's something wrong with him...                    TOMMY [disgusted]: Shit...                    PETTINE: What the fuck is this?                    Gibbs, unfazed, steps up to Ohnaka and kicks the creature over.                    GIBBS: We want answers, asshole!                    JOYCE: Back off, Gibbs!                    Gibbs ignores him, trying to drag Ohnaka's hands away from his face.                    170. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    Lori and Babette's P.O.V. - Watching the knot of men around the          defenceless Ohnaka.                    LORI/BABETTE [V.O.]: The light...                    171. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    Gibbs rifle-butts Ohnaka's hands, then pulls them away from his          face; the features are horribly disfigured, blood running from his          eyes, scorched by the sun. Now even Gibbs tries to back away, but          Ohnaka grabs hold of his shirt.                    GIBBS: Shit! Shit! Get it off me! Tommy!                    TOMMY: No way, man!                    Pettine fires his piece at Ohnaka, hitting him in the belly and arm,          but he still holds on, throwing back his head and howling. Smoke          rises from his entire body, dust pours from his veins. The howl          becomes a high-pitched whine and he explodes, in a burst of dust and          black blood.                    172. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    Lori and Babette's P.O.V. - They see Ohnaka die.                    173. EXT. SHERE NECK STREET DAY                    Lori opens her eyes, which are running with tears.                    LORI: Oh my God...oh my God...                    She stands up, her hand to her mouth.                    174. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    Lori and Babette's P.O.V. - Babette's trembling hands hold onto the          grille as she watches.                    BABETTE [V.O.]: Lori, don't leave, please don't leave me.                    175. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    The cops stare in disbelief at Ohnaka's dusty remains.                    PETTINE: Jesus...d'you see that fucker's face?                    JOYCE: It was the sun. The sun did it.                    GIBBS: Christ on a crutch...                    JOYCE: Man, that tears it, I'm calling the fuckin' chief.                    Gibbs raises a trembling match to his cigarette as Tommy heads back          to the cars.                    GIBBS: Couldn't have been just...just the sun...                    JOYCE: Believe it, shithead.                    PETTINE [grinning]: So if all it takes is the sun, we got the          perfect weapon, right over our heads.                    JOYCE: Until it goes down.                    Pettine's smile fades. Then a cry of alarm from the distance.                    TOMMY [V.O.]: Oh no! Shit! Pettine! Goddamn it!                    The men rush to the gate.                    176. EXT. NECROPOLIS GATES DAY                    The two police cars are on fire. The other cops reach them, Pettine          reaches into the one less involved in flame and pulls out the radio          microphone.                    JOYCE: Who did it, did you see anyone?                     Tommy shakes his head. They all look up, hearing a distant car engine.                    177. EXT./INT. BEAT-UP CAR DAY                    Wearing a hat and dark glasses, laughing, Narcisse drives this old          clunker like a maniac, takes a large cigar out of his mouth.                    He strikes a match off a thumb hook and lights up. In the back,          protected from sunlight by shades on the windows, is Rachel.                    178. INT. POLICE STATION TOILET DAY                    The door opens, a panicked Labowitz enters.                    LABOWITZ: Chief, come quick...                    EIGERMAN [from inside a stall]: This better be good...                    LABOWITZ: Pettine's on the radio, they're under attack.                    EIGERMAN: Hot damn, we got contact!                    He bursts out of the stall, hitching his trousers.                    179. INT. EIGERMAN'S OFFICE DAY                    Eigerman enters, takes the two-way receiver. Behind him, Decker,          Labowitz and Kane enter the office.                    EIGERMAN: Pettine, what's your situation.                    INTERCUT:                    180. EXT. NECROPOLIS                     INT. EIGERMAN'S OFFICE DAY                    Pettine on the radio, as the others try to keep back the flames.                    PETTINE [into radio]: The place is crawling with 'em...they torched          our cars...fuckin' freaks!...                    The transmission breaks up. Eigerman turns to the others in the room.                    EIGERMAN [joyfully]: ...Sound the call, boys, let the bells of          freedom ring, we got to mobilize.                    Decker affectionately runs his hand over his briefcase.                    181. EXT. SHERENECK STREET DAY                    Lori moves down the street, blinking through tears.                    BABETTE [V.O.]: I'm afraid ...                    LORI: I have to go, Babette, I have to get help. I'll be back, I          promise. You hide somewhere.                    The connection fades. Lori wipes the tears from her cheeks.                    182. INT. POLICE STATION DAY                    The crowd and journalists still hanging around; Eigerman throws the          door open.                    EIGERMAN: Listen up! We got officers under attack, I need volunteers          for a posse! Y'all sign up with Officer Labowitz here!                    He moves back towards the office, as Labowitz, clipboard in hand, is          besieged with offers.                    183. INT. EIGERMAN'S OFFICE DAY                    Decker is sitting with his briefcase open on his lap, gazing          AFFECTIONATELY           at the button head mask inside. He snaps the case shut as Eigerman           re-enters, followed by the silent Kane. Eigerman digs a key          out of his desk.                    EIGERMAN: If you're gonna make an omelette you have to break eggs,          isn't that right, Professor?                    DECKER [doesn't follow]: Sorry?                    EIGERMAN: Christmas comes early this year.                    184. INT. POLICE STATION STORAGE ROOM DAY                              Eigerman leads Decker, Kane and another cop down into the bowels of          the station. He unlocks a door and switches on a light. Warehoused          inside is a virtual arsenal in a number of packing crates stencilled          with a martial insignia and the name:          SONS OF THE FREE: SHERE NECK BRIGADE'                    The crates are also stamped with their countries of origin: South          Africa and the Soviet Union.                    EIGERMAN: Ounce a' prevention is worth a pound a' cure. Save for a          rainy day, one day that day will come. Don't matter if it's Commies,          homos, freaks or Japs, we are ready. World class ordnance, Doc: the          best private sector money can buy.                    Kane, with a clipboard, goes over supplies with the other cop.                    KANE [over above ó in his element): Okay. We got your spankin' new          G3 thirty-odd-six Springfield semi-auto with roller-lock          action and retractable stock. For standard carbine firepower, you          can't beat this match-accurate Galil AR 7.62 NATO assault rifle and          for the sportsman in the crowd we carry this handy, double-pump,          Mossberg Persuader, sling swivels double extractors, which also comes          in a light-weight single-barrel size for ladies and juniors -                    DECKER: Marvelous, really, but -                    KANE: Now over here we're talkin' Damascus, high-carbon Spetnatz          shootin' knives, and for that tough up-close-and-          personal work, you can always count on your razor-wire/fishing-line          garotte when nuthin' else will do ó                    DECKER [over Kane]: Captain, have you considered the possibility          that knives and bullets won't be adequate to the task?                    EIGERMAN: Show him, Kane.                    KANE [pulling off a shroud to unveil]: That's why we bought these          cherry Israeli Army high-octane linear-field flame throwers.                    EIGERMAN: Now I know what you're thinkin', Doc; maybe there's some          sort'a spiritual angle to all this. Well, we got that          covered, too.                    185. INT. POLICE STATION CELLS NIGHT                    A cell door swings open. Decker and Eigerman look in on the Baptist          preacher, Reverend Ashberry.                    EIGERMAN: Reverend Ashberry, your services are required.                    DECKER: He looks like a drunk.                    EIGERMAN: He is; lost his way, poor bastard, [hauling Ashberry to          his feet] You wouldn't wanna miss the Day of Judgment, now would you?                    ASHBERRY [seems he's been waiting for this]: The Apocalypse? It's          here?                    EIGERMAN: They're warming up for it over in Midian. [leading him          out] Padre, you get your pious butt over to church and load up on          some Holy Water and crucifixes...we're goin' in there with God on our          side.                    DISSOLVE TO:                    186. EXT. POLICE STATION DAY                    Boone looks out the window of his cell as a large, unruly posse          musters outside in a variety of vehicles. A mix of survivalist          fanatics in Sons of the Free-labelled camouflage, Marlboro Men with          six-shooters, red-neck bozos with their diesel-dyke mamas and heavily          made-up bimbos out for a good time. The atmosphere is one of near          carnival.                    Accoutred for combat, Kane and some other cops distribute the weapons.                    Boone slumps away from the window, his worst fears realized.                    Reverend Ashberry arrives, lugging six full canteens and an arm-load          of crucifixes. He loads into the back of an enclosed, high-tech          camper with Eigerman and Decker. Eigerman blows an air-horn, claiming          the crowd's attention.                    EIGERMAN: You are all hereby deputized in the name of the law. Now          let's kick some ass!                    Eigerman's truck leads the caravan, which drives off, horns honking,          war whoops and liquor-fuelled courage. As the dust clears now, left          more or less alone, Lori looks at the police station.                    A beat-up car squeals to a halt in front of her and the front door          opens.                    NARCISSE: Hey, chickie, want a ride?                    LORI: No...                    RACHEL: Please.                    Lori sees Rachel and gets in the car.                    187. INT. BEAT-UP CAR DAY                    Narcisse drives around the block, smoking his cigar.                    NARCISSE: We have to get Boone out, Midian needs him...                    LORI: What could he do?                    RACHEL: He went into Baphomet's chamber. He spoke with the Baptiser...                    NARCISSE: And survived; nobody ever did that before.                    RACHEL: Perhaps Baphomet told him something, something that could          save Midian.                    NARCISSE: Where they keeping him?                    LORI: Inside somewhere. He'll be guarded.                    RACHEL: He has powers of his own.                    LORI: Tell me about it; what's happened to him?                    NARCISSE: He was bitten by a Nightbreed, see, the taint's in his          system...                    RACHEL: Boone has been turned, he's one of us...                    LORI: Okay. So what you're saying is, you're saying he's dead.                    NARCISSE: Hey, some of my best friends are dead.                    LORI [horrified]: ...I'm going out of my mind.                    NARCISSE [to Rachel]: See? I told you she'd take it well.                    188. EXT. HIGHWAY DAY                    The posse heads down the road, whoops and hollers emerging from the          dust cloud it kicks up.                    189. INT. CAB OF EIGERMAN'S TRUCK DAY                    Eigerman cleans his silver-plate Magnum .45, Decker sits beside him          holding his briefcase, across from Ashberry, who's frantically paging          through an ancient Bible.                    EIGERMAN: Ever performed an exorcism, Father?                    ASHBERRY: No.                    EIGERMAN: Ever seen one?                    ASHBERRY: No.                    EIGERMAN: Well I'd start rehearsin' if I was you. [hands a gun          towards Decker] Why don't you hang on to that, Doc?                    DECKER [a little prim]: Oh no, I wouldn't know how to use it...                    ASHBERRY [finds something in the book, reads]: Listen! 'So Moses          spoke to the people, saying "Arm yourselves for war and let them go          and take vengeance for the Lord on Midian..." and so they burned with          fire all the cities where they dwelt and          killed the kings of Midian, both man and beast!'                    EIGERMAN [with a wink]: Hey, how 'bout that, Doc? Sounds like we're          on a crusade against the Devil himself.                    ASHBERRY [not terribly convincing]: I don't believe in the Devil.                    DECKER: Oh...you will.                    Ashberry looks at Decker; no trace of irony in his expression.          Ashberry sorts through the canteens, finds the one that doesn't have          a white cross on it, opens it and knocks back two fingers of bourbon.                    DISSOLVE TO:                    190. EXT. SHERE NECK POLICE STATION DAY                    The sun sinking low in the sky. The shadows are long.                    191. INT. POLICE STATION CELL CORRIDOR DAY                    The station is eerily quiet. Labowitz and an Irish cop, Connie          Cormack, guard the cells. Two other cops patrol the end of the          corridor. All heavily armed. Labowitz moves to the door of Boone's          cell.                    192. INT. BOONE'S CELL DAY                    The spy-hole cover is open. Boone looks up.                    LABOWITZ [from other side of door]: Hey, freak-face, we found your          pals. They're gonna fry, just like you. Give us a smile now.                    Boone stares at the floor, depressed, defeated.                    193. INT. CELL CORRIDOR/OFFICE DAY                    Labowitz chuckles and closes the spy-hole. He walks back down to the          coffee station near Eigerman's office, where Cormack is pouring two          cups. He takes out a flask, spikes his mug and offers some to          Labowitz.                    CORMACK: Little Irish in your joe, Constable Labowitz?                    LABOWITZ [a bad brogue]: Don't mind if I do, Constable Cormack.                     There is a knock on the station door. They look at each other.          Cormack picks up his gun and crosses to the door.                    CORMACK: Who's there?                    RACHEL [O.S.]: Help me, please.                    CORMACK: What's wrong?                    RACHEL [O.S.]: Accident. We need help.                    Cormack decides to unbolt the door. On the step stands Rachel,          shrouded in black veils. Only her eyes are visible. They fix          Cormack.                    CORMACK: What's the problem, lady?                    She drops the veil. The other half of her face has disappeared into          smoke.                    CORMACK [cont.]: What the blazes?                    Her costume falls to the ground. Her eyes dissolve. As smoke, Rachel          blows into the station. Cormack fires through the smoke, yelling as          he does so.                    LABOWITZ [running towards the cell]: Hold 'em, Connie!                    194. INT. CELL CORRIDOR DAY                    The two other cops hear the shot and run towards the station.          Labowitz runs back in with them before they get there, slams and          bolts the door.                    LABOWITZ [to the other cops]: Hold your ground! [yells through the          door] Cormack? You all right?                    195. INT. POLICE STATION DAY                    Cormack turns back towards the door, sees Narcisse, screams and          fires twice. Narcisse flips one of the bullets out of his chest with          a thumb-nail, then leaps onto Cormack, who manages to shoot himself          in the foot. Lori enters, slams the door and locks it. Narcisse          squats over Cormack, holds his razor-nails under his chin.                    NARCISSE: Where is he? Where's Boone?                    CORMACK: Cell f-f-f-five...through the door...                    NARCISSE [grins at Lori]: I love a coward.                    196. INT. CELL CORRIDOR DOOR DAY                    Labowitz and the other cops confidently prepare for a siege.                    LABOWITZ [calling back to Boone]: Don't think you're getting sprung,          freak. No way they get through that door; solid steel,          armour-piercing shells wouldn't even make a dent...                    Smoke seeps through the key-hole, and from beneath the connecting          door.                    LABOWITZ [cont.]: You hear me, freak? No fuckin' way!                    The smoke from the key-hole begins to form into a face, which floats          on a cord of smoke/flesh from the key-hole. The smoke from beneath          the door forms into breasts and rib cage, in which a heart beats.          Labowitz turns and sees it.                    LABOWITZ [cont.]: Jesus Christ...                    He empties his gun through the smoke; the two cops on the other side          of the smoke are hit and go down.                    An arm moves towards Labowitz; so does Rachel's face. Her beauty          mesmerizes him. Her naked breasts, which float beneath          the head, barely connected to it as yet, enchant him even more.                    RACHEL: Come closer...I don't want to kill you...                    Her hand presses Labowitz's rifle aside. Rachel's lips touch him. He          doesn't resist, but once his mouth is sealed against hers he can't          breathe. He tries to raise the rifle, but she dashes it from his          hand. Then she snatches the keys from his belt and breaks the kiss.          He falls to his knees, gasping. Her body completed and naked, Rachel          unlocks the connecting door, then starts looking for Boone. Behind          her, as Labowitz reaches for his gun, Narcisse's hand reaches in and          grabs his throat.                    NARCISSE: Naughty, naughty.                    Labowitz looks up into Narcisse's scarred face and faints. Lori          steps past Labowitz to the cell Rachel directs her towards.                    RACHEL: We don't have much time.                    LORI: I know.                    Lori unlocks the door.                    197. INT. BOONE'S CELL DAY                    LORI [nervous]: Boone?                    BOONE [wakes]: Stay away from me. I'll hurt you.                    LORI: I don't think so.                    BOONE: You know what I did in that room? I'm a goddamn cannibal.          Stay away!                    LORI: They're going to come for you.                    BOONE: Let them. Let them find some way to kill me.                    LORI: You can't die. Midian needs you.                    BOONE: Midian's just a hole in the ground. It's full of things that          should lie down and stay dead.                    LORI: All right. If not for the Breed, then for me. You can't give          up on us.                    BOONE: You talk like you're one of them.                    LORI: Maybe I wish I was. Some little part of me. [she puts her hand          on his face] All I know is, I'm not afraid of you. I know I should          be, but I'm not. I still want you, whatever you are. And I'm not          going to leave you. If they come for you, then they'll have to kill          me too.                    BOONE: No!                    LORI: So fight. For both of us. For all of us. I don't want to be          dust. I want us flesh and blood. Kiss me. I love you.                    He kisses her. First tentatively, then with great passion.                    198. INT. CELL CORRIDOR DAY                    Narcisse knocks, calls through the door.                    NARCISSE: What the hell are you doing in there?                    INTERCUT:                    199. INT. BOONE'S CELL DAY                    Fucking, is the answer. They are wound around each other: licking,          biting, gasping. Boone thrusts up into her.                    LORI: Yes...yes!                    NARCISSE [to himself]: Jesus. Bastard does better dead than I did          alive.                    200. INT. POLICE STATION DAY                    The connecting door flies open, a rejuvenated Boone and Lori move          into the office where Narcisse and Rachel are waiting. Narcisse toys          with the unconscious Cormack.                    RACHEL: Are we going?                    NARCISSE: About time.                    BOONE: Midian.                    NARCISSE: All right.                    BOONE: It's about time they saw the truth.                    201. SCENE DELETED                    202. EXT. NECROPOLIS GATES LATE AFTERNOON                    Gibbs, Joyce, Tommy and Pettine wait outside the gates. Pettine          paces. Joyce looks at his watch, moves over to Pettine and speaks          quietly.                    JOYCE: How long until dark?                    PETTINE: Two hours. Two and a half. I told 'em to bring gasoline.          We'll burn the bastards out.                    JOYCE: Has it occurred to you maybe we've got this all wrong? We          could be destroying...I don't know, a whole new species.                    PETTINE: You saw that fucker below, Lieutenant, same as me. That          damn thing was just too weird to live.                    JOYCE: Maybe they're just different.                    PETTINE: Isn't that enough reason?                    Joyce stares at him. In background, Tommy starts to holler. Pettine          calls.                    PETTINE [cont.]: What is it?                    Tommy is pointing frantically at a dust cloud in the distance.                    203. EXT. ROAD TO MIDIAN LATE AFTERNOON                    A violent cut to the roar of engines as we track with the fast-          moving posse. Eigerman stands up out of a skylight in the cab of his          truck, eggs on the other vehicles with a rebel war cry.                    EIGERMAN: Yee-hah!                    204. EXT. NECROPOLIS GATES LATE AFTERNOON                    As the caravan appears. Ecstasy. Tommy and Gibbs dance a jig together.                    GIBBS: It's the fuckin' cavalry!                    The posse speeds down towards the Necropolis gates.                    205. EXT. ROAD TO MIDIAN                     INT. CAR DUSK                    Narcisse's beat-up car speeds down the highway towards Midian.                    BOONE: How much further?                    NARCISSE: A mile, maybe two...                    We close in on Rachel, who stares ahead of her, as if in a trance.                    RACHEL: We're too late.                    NARCISSE: Hang on!                    Steering hard, he veers the car off the road and into thick woods.          Branches thrash against the windshield.                    NARCISSE [cont.]: This is a shortcut!                    206. EXT. NECROPOLIS DUSK                    The posse is busily at work around the Necropolis, Eigerman and Kane          supervising. Some are laying trails of gasoline through the pathways.          Others are simply patrolling, guns in hand. There is an air of          nervous anticipation.                    Ashberry comes round a tomb and we follow him down a walkway,          staring in awe at the mausoleums and statuary.                    Looking at a particularly large tomb, Ashberry's eye is captivated          by a large, fantastically rendered marble winged angel. He approaches          it, reaches up to touch it. The angel, a monster, turns to look at          him with sad, impassive gravity. Then we see its shadow on Ashberry's          face and hear the slow, thick beating of its wings as it flies off.                    Ashberry's stunned. He fumbles the top of his bourbon canteen off,          takes a long drink, then stops when he sees a load of dynamite taped          to the side of the tomb. He follows the wire that leads off it to          another dynamite pack on an adjacent tomb and then another. He's          panicked.                    207. EXT. NECROPOLIS DUSK                    Kane is escorting Eigerman and Pettine down a pathway, pointing out          the posse's handiwork.                    KANE: ...packets of plastique at every intersection, trip wires          outside the biggest tombs, we figure those'll be the major escape          routes...                    EIGERMAN: How much longer?                    KANE: Five minutes.                    EIGERMAN [into walkie-talkie]: Let's pull back to the perimeter          before we lose the light. We've got movement underground;          they're hearing it round the walls.                    ASHBERRY [approaching them from the side]: Captain!                    KANE: Jesus, not there, STOP. [Ashberry freezes] We got Claymores          planted in the rosebushes, Reverend, cut your nuts off           faster'n a hedge clipper.                    ASHBERRY: We've made a mistake, there are Angels here, a heavenly          host...                    EIGERMAN: You're drunk, asshole.                    Ashberry dumps the bourbon out of his canteen.                    ASHBERRY: No. Listen to me, it's wrong, it's sacrilege, this is holy          ground...                    EIGERMAN: Get the hell up that hill, you pinhead.                    ASHBERRY: You brought me here because I'm a man of God.                    EIGERMAN: That's right; hang round here a couple more minutes,          Padre, and you'll be sitting at his left hand. Now get your sorry ass          out of the fuckin' way...                    Eigerman backhands him. Ashberry falls. Eigerman, Kane, Pettine and          the other cops begin to pull back.                    Ashberry looks up, as he hears grindings and growls in the earth.          Boone is lifting off the top of a nearby tomb. Ashberry is about to          shoot when Narcisse grabs him around the throat, puts a finger to his          lips and signals him to be quiet. Narcisse follows Boone into the          tomb. The tomb-lid scrapes as it's pushed back into place from          beneath. Ashberry starts to pray.                    207A. INT. BELOW MIDIAN                    Boone and Narcisse move through the panicking underground, creatures          fleeing in every direction. Boone sees Lylesburg, trying to keep the          panic down, moves towards him.                    LYLESBURG: Stay down! Stay where you are, they're waiting for us          above...                    BOONE [intercepting him]: No! if you stay here you'll be          slaughtered...                    LYLESBURG: This is our home.                    BOONE: Not anymore...                    LYLESBURG: We belong here...                    BOONE: Listen to me, old man, the rules change; if you want to live          it won't be here and it won't be by your laws...                    Other creatures have stopped, watching the confrontation. Boone          speaks to them as well.                    BOONE [cont.]: If you'want to survive we've got to fight back, we          can't hide anymore! [to Lylesburg] What's it gonna be?                    Lylesburg slumps, acquiescing, unable to refuse Boone's assertions.                    BOONE [cont.] [to Narcisse]: Get the children above ground, find a          hiding place...[to the others] Get ready to fight! [to Lylesburg]          What about Baphomet? Can he be moved?                    LYLESBURG: Yes. It could be done.                    BOONE: It must be done. Brothers and sisters, it's time to fight!                    207A. INT. CHAMBERS                    Leroy and Lude listen to Boone on the bridge.                    LEROY: You hear what he said?                    LUDE: What chance have we got? They're armed.                    LEROY [opens jacket]: So am I.                    Two one-eyed snakes, nesting in Leroy's belly, slide up from his          innards and wrap around his neck.                    LEROY: They call us monsters, remember? They're afraid of us. Let's          give 'em reason.                    LUDE: It's a long time since I spilled blood.                    LEROY: You never lose the knack.                    208. EXT. HILL ABOVE THE NECROPOLIS DUSK                    From this high vantage point, Decker watches the preparations below          through binoculars, with the glee of a pyromaniac at a fire-storm.          The sun is setting. He stares up at it, squinting into its brightness.                    THE MASK [V.O.]: ...I'm waiting...Philip?...                    Decker looks towards the patrol car parked nearby. The front door is          open. On the passenger seat sits his briefcase. Decker quickly          crosses to the car.                    DECKER: Be quiet.                    THE MASK [V.O.]: Let me out, Philip. There's going to be bloodshed.          I want to see.                    Decker opens the briefcase. The mask and his knives are laid out          inside.                    THE MASK: Ah, that's better.                    DECKER: We can't let anyone see us...                    THE MASK: I want to be free!                    JOYCE [V.O.]: Decker?                    Decker swings round, slamming the case shut, as Joyce approaches.                    DECKER: Lieutenant...[covering flawlessly] You gave me such a start.                    JOYCE: Eigerman's invited you to watch from the command post.                    DECKER: Oh, I don't think I'm up to it, really.                    JOYCE: ...I've got a bad feeling about this.                    DECKER: Believe me, Lieutenant, whoever or whatever's living down          there deserves what's coming.                    JOYCE: Monsters, you mean?                    DECKER: Unnatural, misbegotten creatures.                    JOYCE: I don't know. The only monsters I've ever seen had a human          face.                    As Joyce looks down at the Necropolis, Decker sneaks an anxious side-          long glance at his briefcase.                    209. INT. NECROPOLIS GATES DUSK                    The final explosives-layers exit, their backs covered by          flamethrower and machine-gun-carrying mob members. A distraught          Ashberry is the last out.                    Midian is now completely deserted. Dandelion seeds drift down the          walkways, caught in shafts of sunlight.                    210. EXT. NECROPOLIS GATES/COMMAND POST DUSK                    Eigerman, Pettine and Kane, looking at their watches.                    KANE [a pause ó then]: ...T-minus fifteen seconds...ten, nine,eight,          seven, six, five, four, three, two, one ...                    EIGERMAN: Go.                    Kane depresses the detonator. There are two large explosions,          followed by several smaller ones. Part of the Necropolis wall is          blasted out. Several members of the posse retreat. Eigerman pulls his          pistol.                    EIGERMAN [cont.]: You there, stand your ground! [fires a warning          shot] Stand your ground, damn you!                    The defectors stop. Several more chain explosions in Necropolis.                    211. SCENE DELETED                    212. SCENE DELETED                    213. INT. BELOW MIDIAN                    Narcisse is leading a group of child monsters, as the explosions          bring earth plunging down from the ceiling. Babies cry. Monsters          scream. We see several creatures howling in bestial terror.                    Babette is separated from Narcisse's group by falling earth, nearly          trampled in the chaos. She is picked up by the dog-faced man.                    BABETTE: I want my mother.                    MAN: We'll find her.                    213A. INT. PELOQUIN'S CHAMBER NIGHT                    Peloquin squats on the step overlooking the fire-pit, listening to          the sound of invasion from above. There is a mixture of fear and rage          on his face. In the darkness opposite, Kinski.                    KINSKI: We began this.                    PELOQUIN: I just wanted meat. I didn't know he was going to cause          this.                    KINSKI: There were prophesies. The seventh saviour.                    PELOQUIN: I didn't believe the prophesies and I didn't obey the Law.          You want to see me bleed for it? All right, I'll bleed.                    He exits the chamber.                    214. EXT. NECROPOLIS GATES/COMMAND POST NIGHT                    Smoke billows over the walls. Eigerman moves closer to the gates,          listening to the wild cries from inside. He grabs Ashberry by the          collar.                    EIGERMAN: That sound like a heavenly choir to you, Padre?                    ASHBERRY: I have to see!                    Ashberry shakes himself free and heads through the gates, into the          Necropolis. Eigerman turns to the others, lights a cigar.                    EIGERMAN: Pettine!                    PETTINE: Chief?                    EIGERMAN: We're moving in.                    PETTINE [locks and loads his machine-gun]: Yes, sir! [turns -          addresses the posse] We're movin' in!                    Car engines are revved, headlights turned on, piercing the smoke.                    215. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Ashberry wanders through the Necropolis as the Breed begin to emerge          on every side.                    The air is full of sad, melodious sounds, like whale-song. Ghostly          forms appear from the smoke and drift towards him.                    ASHBERRY [in awe]: Dear Lord...                    Some of the creatures brush him as they drift by: their strange          beauty entrances him.                    ASHBERRY: Dear Lord ...Forgive me...                    There are images here which have the flavour of Christian          iconography. Mother and child. A man bleeding from his brow. A          creature with a halo of smoke. He wanders on.                    216. SCENE DELETED                    217. EXT. OUTSIDE NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Decker watches impassively. Joyce moves towards the gate. As he          reaches it an extraordinary creature appears.                    JOYCE: My God.                    It means no harm. Joyce steps aside and the creature moves off into          the night.                    We cut back to Decker.                    THE MASK [V.O.]: Don't deny me Philip...                    DECKER: Soon. I promise.                    Decker hears shouts to his flank, steps back, out of sight and sees          Lori and Rachel emerge from a hiding place, Lori trying to restrain          Rachel from going in.                    RACHEL: Babette!                    LORI: Rachel, no!                    Rachel breaks away and runs towards the Necropolis. Lori is alone.                    THE MASK [V.O.]: Now, perfect, finish her. She's the only one who          knows about us.                    DECKER: What about Boone?                    THE MASK [V.O.]: Boone's a monster. They all die tonight.                    DECKER [smiles]: All right.                    THE MASK [V.O.]: Quickly, Philip, we'll lose her.                    The briefcase is opened. The light of distant fires flicker on the          mask.                    218. SCENE DELETED                    218A. INT. NECROPOLIS                    Boone and Narcisse lead the column of Breed, children and babies up          from underground into the Necropolis itself.                    BOONE: Hurry up.                    NARCISSE: Is this wise? Coming above ground?                    BOONE: If we stay below they'll slaughter us.                    NARCISSE: This is their territory.                    BOONE: No. The night's ours. Now get the rest of the children up          here, I'm going to find a clear way through!                    He heads away, leaving a frightened group of Breed and children.                    218B. EXT. GATES OF NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Peloquin appears overground, scanning the destruction before racing          off.                    219. EXT. GATES OF NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Eigerman addresses the assembled posse.                    EIGERMAN: They're coming out, and they're armed, so watch          yourselves. It's a fucking freak-show in there! We're not taking          prisoners! It's us or them! Let's clean up!                    The engines rev, and the posse charges the gates. The lead vehicle,          driven by a manic, grinning Kane, rams the gates, and crashes through.                    KANE: Us or them! Us or them!                    On the other side of the gates, Peloquin appears in Kane's headlights.                    KANE: Shit!                    Peloquin jumps up into the air as the car careers towards him.                    We see him somersault in the air. Kane hears him land on the car          roof. We see Peloquin on the roof, bend over the windshield.                    His face appears in front of a panicking Kane, the mouth suddenly          opening grotesquely wide.                    Kane slams the breaks on. Peloquin is thrown off.                    KANE: Eat dirt, fucker!                    Peloquin is thrown to the ground, his face caught in the blaze of          headlights as Kane's vehicle revs and drives at him.                    KANE [ecstatic]: Yeah!                    His momentum carries the car towards the crater blown in the ground.          Kane's pleasure turns to horror.                    KANE: Oh shit! Shit!                    He turns to swerve, but too late, the car heads over the edge.          Wounded, Peloquin crawls off.                    219A. INT. MIDIAN CORE                    Dirt falls from the roof. Headlights appear.                    219B. INT. KANE'S CAR NIGHT                    The car slides into the earth. The guns stacked behind him fall          forward.                    KANE: Oh my Jesus!                    219C. INT. MIDIAN CORE                    Kane's car drops through the roof of Midian, falling through the          core, breaking bridges as it falls. Breed are thrown off walkways to          their deaths. The car strikes the top of Baphomet's chamber and a          plume of fire, followed by several small explosions, marks Kane's          death.                    219D. INT. BAPHOMET'S CHAMBER                    The explosions rock the chamber. Dirt falls. Baphomet looks towards          the roof, with great sadness on his face.                    219E. INT. INITIATION CHAMBER                    Boone enters the initiation chamber. Lylesburg is standing beside          the bowl of Baphomet's blood, which is bubbling furiously.                    BOONE: What the hell are you doing down here? We need help!                    LYLESBURG: This was intended.                    BOONE: Fuck that! We're not going to lie down and die.                    LYLESBURG: It's Baphomet's will. He's going to destroy the Naturals,          and us. Everything, in one last fire.                    BOONE: How do you know?                    LYLESBURG: Look for yourself.                    He points to the bowl.                    BOONE: It's going to blow?                    LYLESBURG: Yes.                    BOONE: He'll destroy his own people?                    LYLESBURG: Better it ends quickly. We can't escape them. We remind          them of the darkness in themselves. They hate that.                    BOONE: So did I. I learned better. We can make it out. But I need          fighters.                    LYLESBURG: We're not warriors...                    BOONE: What about the Berserkers?                    LYLESBURG: They're uncontrollable.                    BOONE: All the better. Let them out. Don't just stand there!                    We're the tribes of the moon, remember?                    Doubt and fear mingle in Lylesburg's look, but he finally nods his          head.                    LYLESBURG: I'll release the Berserkers.                    BOONE: Be quick. We haven't got forever. Yet.                    Lylesburg smiles. Boone leaves. The Drummer is at the door.                    BOONE: You come with me. The rest of you get out of here.                    He exits with the Drummer.                    219F. EXT. GATES NIGHT                    The posse enter in large numbers, firing to left and right. We see          Breed shot down.                    219G. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Boone races to the entrance, to see Eigerman's posse moving towards          the Necropolis. One of the posse has a flame thrower. He burns up the          foliage. From Boone's P.O.V. we view the enemy: grinning sweating          monsters. There's no way out in this direction.                    219H. EXT. GATES NIGHT                    Lori looks towards the conflagration.                    LORI: Oh Jesus, Boone.                    Behind her, we see a familiar, masked figure approaching: Decker.          She doesn't hear him over the shouts and screams.                    219I. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    One of the posse fires a rocket into a giant Breed who explodes.          Boone reacts with horror at the destruction. When he turns back he          sees Breed watching too, defenceless.                    BOONE: Arm yourselves! Defend yourselves! You're not cattle, for          Christ's sake. They don't have any right to kill you!                    He races back the way he came, and pulls coffins from the walls,          tearing their lids off with supernatural strength. He breaks the wood          into clubs. The Breed watch him.                    BOONE: Weapons! You need weapons or it's over!                    One or two understand, and do as he's doing.                    BOONE: All of you!                    They do as he orders.                    BOONE: Stop them getting in! They'll kill the children!                    219J. EXT. GATES NIGHT                    Lori turns to see Decker appearing from the darkness. He attacks          her, cutting her arm. She backs away before he can strike a second          time, retreating towards the gates. Then she turns and walks through          the reeds; Decker on her heels.                    219K. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    The posse led by Pettine invade the entrances to the Necropolis,          engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the Breed.                    219L. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Boone races through the Necropolis, finding that other posse          members are breaking in from other sides.                    BOONE: They're everywhere!                    219M. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    The Nightbreed children hear the sound of slaughter approaching. One          of the Breed with enormous, dark eyes, speaks.                    LEOPARDO: We can't stay here.                    NARCISSE: He told us to.                    LEOPARDO: He can't help us. He's too late.                    219N. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    We see the posse shooting Breed as they move towards the children.          Several are entering doorways that lead underground.                    2190. INT. MIDIAN CORE                    Posse enter the core, firing at anything that moves.                    219P. INT. BERSERKERS' CORRIDOR                    Lylesburg, his leg broken, is hobbling towards the Berserkers'          chamber, as the sound of gunfire gets nearer.                    219Q. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Narcisse still keeps an increasingly panicked group of Breed and          children from scattering.                    Pettine and two bloodied, grinning posse appear through the smoke.                    PETTINE: Look what we got here! A freak-show nursery school.                    The group back away, but two more posse members appear, one with a          flame-thrower, another with grenades.                    PETTINE: Say goodnight.                    BOONE [from above]: Goodnight.                    Pettine looks up. Framed against the stars, Boone. He drops on          Pettine breaking the man's neck. Then he and Narcisse lead the attack          against the posse, dispatching them all.                    NARCISSE: What way's safe?                    BOONE: The west wall! But be quick! I'm going after Eigerman.                    219R. EXT. NECROPOLIS                    Leroy and Lude hide around the corner of a mausoleum. Two posse          members are beating a Breed up with their rifle butts. Leroy heads          out to help.                    LUDE: What's the plan?                    LEROY: The usual. You take the big guy. [he yells to the Naturals]          Hey!                    They turn. Leroy raises his hands in surrender.                    LEROY: I wouldn't do that if I were you.                    1ST POSSE: Give me a good reason why not.                    LEROY: I'll give you two!                    The snakes emerge from his body.                    1ST POSSE: Shit!                    He raises his gun, but Lude flips over his head, landing behind him          and in front of the 2nd posse member. Lude's eyes blaze.                    LUDE: Pretty gun.                    The 2nd posse member looks down at his hands. The gun is covered in          snakes. He drops the gun. When he looks up Lude has gone. He turns          again, backing off towards a monument. Lude is there, a living devil          hidden amongst the carved variety. He takes hold of the man, turning          him round and driving his horns into the man's neck. He staggers          back, blood pouring from the opened wounds.                    Leroy, meanwhile, draws the 1st into an embrace. The snakes strike.          Poisoned, the man dies.                    LEROY: Look at this mess.                    LUDE: Just like the old days.                    219S. EXT. NECROPOLIS                    Kane leads two cops through the mayhem, firing to right and left. He          shoots a Breed against one of the mausoleums. Blood is spattered on          his face.                    KANE: Look at these bastards. Fucking freaks.                    He wipes the blood from his face. Then he takes off his spectacles,          and wipes the blood off them. As he does so 1st cop yelps.                    1ST COP: Yow!                    KANE: What?                    1st cop pulls a quill from the back of his neck.                    1ST COP: Where the fuck did that come from?                    Kane puts his spectacles back on, and sees Shuna Sassi in one of the          mausoleums. She moves sexily in the shadows. Kane grins and starts to          approach.                    2ND COP: Wait...                    KANE: It's just a girl...                    1st cop is still rubbing the back of his neck. He is looking sick now.                    1ST COP: I don't...feel...so...good...                    Kane pushes the mausoleum grille open, as the 1st cop kneels over,          face down. The 2nd cop kneels to help him. Meanwhile,          Kane has stepped into the mausoleum. Shuna is in the corner, her          spines covered with the swaths of red cloth.                    KANE: It's OK, Baby.                    He lowers his gun. Outside the 2nd cop turns the 1st over. He is          frothing at the mouth, his face blotchy and sweating.                    2ND COP: Oh shit! Kane!                    Inside again, Shuna drops her cloth and leaps at Kane. 2nd cop now          approaches the mausoleum.                    2ND COP: Kane?                    As he reaches the threshold, Kane staggers out, his body and face          pierced in dozens of places with Shuna's spines. He reaches for 2nd          cop.                    2ND COP: Keep away from me!                    In panic, he fires at Kane, who falls to the ground. As the smoke          clears a hand appears and strokes his cheek. He turns. It's Shuna. He          screams, and falls to the ground at her feet, his arm covered in          spines. He twitches, and dies. She drops her swath of red cloth over          the faces of the three dead men.                    SCENES 220-224 DELETED                    225. EXT. NECROPOLIS GATES NIGHT                    Cut to Eigerman's leering, grinning face as he fires at Breed.          Ashberry emerges from the shadows and grabs him.                    ASHBERRY:. Please, you've got to stop...[takes out a pistol - points          it) There's children down there, you're killing children!                    EIGERMAN: Go ahead, faggot, [pauses contemptuously] You haven't got          the balls to pull the trigger.                    Eigerman snatches the gun away and pistol-whips him to the ground.          Eigerman draws a bead on Ashberry's forehead.                    EIGERMAN [cont.]: Lemme show you how it's done...                    Nearby, Joyce sees them, draws his weapon, ready to fire at           Eigerman when a shadow passes over him. He ducks, his expression           changing from horror to wonder.                    ASHBERRY [eyes closed-hands clasped fervently]: Father, I am          heartily sorry for having offended thee...                    EIGERMAN: Sorry, Padre. Nobody's listening...[prepares to shoot]                    BOONE [V.O.]: I hear you.                    Eigerman turns, looks and fires as Boone leaps at him. He roars,          effortlessly picks Eigerman up and body-slams him against the wall of          Midian.                    BOONE [cont.] [to Ashberry]: Get up!                    ASHBERRY: Don't kill me!                    BOONE: Run, go on! We don't like priests here.                    Ashberry pulls at his collar, tears it off, clings to Boone.                    ASHBERRY: No, no, take me, I have to see.                    Boone gets a sense of his commitment. He heads off. Ashberry          follows. And, at a distance, so does Joyce.                    226. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Boone races through the walkways, Ashberry following. There is          pitched hand-to-hand battle on every side. Nightbreed are prevailing          in some; in others the mob repeats scenes from the history we          witnessed earlier: Breed being beaten or burned to death, impaled on          stakes. Boone assists some along the way, pulling off their          assailants.                    227. EXT. NECROPOLIS GATES NIGHT                    Lori enters the Necropolis, running through the smoke. Decker follows.                    LORI: Boone! Boone!                    228A. SCENE DELETED                    229. INT. BERSERKERS' CORRIDOR                    Lylesburg has reached the door of the Berserkers' chamber. He puts          the key in the lock. A shout stops him turning it. He looks towards a          man with a laser-sight rifle.                    MAN: Yo!                    The light from the rifle plays on Lylesburg's robes.                    MAN: Watch the pretty light.                    It moves up towards Lylesburg's face, until it's centred on his          forehead. The man fires, killing his victim. Lylesburg falls, hanging          from the door by the key chain around his neck. His many eyes have          opened. The man grins. Then hears a noise behind him. He turns to see          the Ferreol Vees, creatures like Manta Rays that glide through the          air, appearing around the corner. They swoop towards him, separating.          The middle one opens its mouth as it strikes his face. He is          eclipsed. When the Vees pass on down the corridor, the man's face is          a bloody wreck. He falls to the floor, just out of reach          of the Berserkers, who roar their frustration.                     230. INT. MIDIAN CORE                    Boone and Ashberry are on one of the walkways, which are swinging          violently. Boone hears the Berserkers' roar, and heads towards the          door that leads into their corridor, leaving Ashberry on the bridge,          tears pouring down his face. Then he follows Boone. As he reaches the          ledge he looks back to see a fabulous beast, the Mezzick-Muul, and          its beautiful rider, Diadaria, appear. He watches, awestruck.                    230A. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Lori races through the smoke and horror of the Necropolis, as Decker          follows.                    231. INT. BERSERKERS' CHAMBER                    Boone reaches the door. Lylesburg is dead. Boone pulls the key from          off Lylesburg's neck, and pulls the corpse aside. Then he turns the          key in the lock. The door opens. A rush of filthy wind emerges from          the chamber beyond. Then the Berserkers appear: lethal brutes, all          teeth, armour and muscle. One of them, Ghost, takes hold of Boone,          and there's a beat when it seems certain to dispatch him.                    Then a burst of light from Baphomet's chamber spills over them, and          there's a roar from their unseen God. They let Boone go, and they're          away. Boone looks towards the chamber, then heads back towards the          surface.                    SCENES 232-235 DELETED                    236. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Tommy leads a line of five posse members who have cornered a number          of wounded Breed against one of the walls. One of the          creatures attempts to scramble away. Tommy guns him down. He turns          to the other gunmen.                    TOMMY: Watch this!                    The two posse members prepare to kill the Breed. The ground around          them begins to shudder, and a fist bursts out of the ground and grabs          the leg of a posse member and drags him down.                    Another fist then bursts out of the ground.                    Then in silhouette the Berserkers climb out of the earth beside the          posse. Two of the posse turn, and fire at the Berserkers, who advance          through the hail of the bullets, and quickly dispatch the two gunmen.          Tommy has begun to fire at the feet of the cornered Breed, obliging          them to dance.                    TOMMY [laughs]: Dance, fuckers!                    The display gets appreciative hoots and laughter from the three          surviving posse members, who - like Tommy - are as yet unaware that          the Berserkers are advancing on them. Tommy continues to fire at the          ground around the Breed, as one by one his three companions are          dispatched by the Berserkers. We close in on Tommy, whose face is          suddenly spattered with blood. He stops firing. He looks round to          find himself surrounded by Berserkers. The shadows fall over him.          Their hands take hold of him.                    We see the shadow of what they do to him on the walls: his body is          torn apart.                    We cut to the Berserkers. Ghost has Tommy's gun, with the hand still          attached. He tosses it aside, roaring like King Kong. The wounded          Breed hurry away as the Berserkers head off in search of          new mischief.                    237. EXT. NECROPOLIS NEAR THE GATES NIGHT                    With the tide turning inside the Necropolis, a disorganized retreat          is underway. Eigerman is at the gate watching the remains of his          'army' staggering away. Joyce is watching the scene.                    EIGERMAN: Stand your ground! Stand your ground! They've got to come          this way. We can mow 'em down.                    He climbs up on a vehicle which is parked at the gates. In the          driving seat is Gibbs. Beside him, a woman, her face smoke-stained,          her expression near catatonic.                    EIGERMAN: Gibbs?                    GIBBS: Sir?                    EIGERMAN: Lights!                    Gibbs switches the lights on, to pierce the smoke. Bad move. The          illumination shows the Berserkers appearing. They approach the          vehicle.                    EIGERMAN: Shit!                    Eigerman jumps from the vehicle, as the retreating posse fire at the          Berserkers. It's a useless response. Bloodied but unbowed, the          Berserkers run at the vehicles. The woman throws herself out, but          Gibbs isn't quick enough. One of the Berserkers pushes the vehicle up          the wall of the Necropolis, and Blatz, a small, vicious creature,          stamps on the roof. Inside, Gibbs cowers as the roof is beaten in. He          is crushed.                    Joyce, who has been watching this entire scene, moves away from the          gate towards the Necropolis. The fires are dying down          somewhat, and an eerie half-light bathes the scene he moves through.          A few surviving posse hurry away, firing at every movement in the          shadows.                    Back at the gate we see one of the escaping Berserkers flip another          car over, while his brothers dispatch posse members. The survivors          simply drop their weapons and flee.                    237A. SCENE DELETED                    237B. SCENE DELETED                    238. INT. MAUSOLEUM NIGHT                    The dog-faced man lies dead at the door and beside him Babette, her          face subtly bestial. Joyce hears Babette weeping; her cries hit him          hard. He goes to her, gathers her up gently in his arms. Babette          clings to him; he sees her arms are partially transformed into claws,          but he keeps holding her.                     Boone emerges from the depths, into the wrecked mausoleum.                    BABETTE: Boone...[he goes to them] Lori. She's hurt.                    BOONE: Where?                    Babette points outside.                    239. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Lori runs, Decker follows, his steps steady, relentless and gaining.          Lori takes another stride and the ground gives way beneath her. She          slides down into the earth.                    240. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Boone is tracking them, Joyce following, carrying Babette, who has a          vision.                    BABETTE: Falling!                    241. EXT. BELOW MIDIAN                    Chaos, and collapse. Earth is falling all around. Lori picks herself          up and finds her way back up is blocked by debris. She has no choice          but to cross the swaying walkways, while the air thickens with dust          and smoke.                    There are only one or two Breed left alive down here, desperately          collecting their belongings. They exit the chamber leaving the          smoking bowls...We track towards the bowls, as the contents brighten          and bubble.                    241A. INT. BELOW MIDIAN                    Lori descends a flight of stairs, to find Peloquin badly wounded at          the bottom.                    PELOQUIN: It's all over. I didn't believe the prophesies and now          it's all over.                    LORI: What prophesies?                    Peloquin takes her arm.                    PELOQUIN: You want to see?                    241B. INT. ENTRANCE TO MURAL CHAMBER NIGHT                    Peloquin pushes Lori ahead of him.                    PELOQUIN: See?                    We track towards the mural. Lori can barely believe her eyes. Here,          laid out on the walls, is a whole history; and featured amongst its          more recent additions, the face of Boone.                    PELOQUIN: Yes, it's him.                    Boone squatting in front of his fire of love letters. Boone dead in          the reeds.                    PELOQUIN: All these years waiting for a saviour. But he hasn't saved          us. He's destroyed us. I made him, and he's destroyed us.                    LORI: Made him?                    PELOQUIN: The bite was mine. The bite that mocks death.                    LORI: That doesn't make him yours. I belong here on this wall, just          as much as you do. Why aren't I here?                    PELOQUIN: You're still a Natural. Go back while you've still got a          life. Join your tribe.                    LORI: That? My tribe? Not any longer.                    PELOQUIN: Then die with us. It's over.                    Peloquin exits. Lori looks back at the images on the walls once          more. Then she exits.                    242. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Boone, Joyce and Babette approach the hole where Lori fell.                    BABETTE: Let me down. I can't go any further.                    BOONE: Why not?                    BABETTE [looking down into the hole]: Baphomet.                    BOONE [to Joyce]: Take her. Run.                    Joyce nods and moves off with her into the smoke. As she disappears,          Decker steps forward from the smoke.                    DECKER: Quite a dance, huh? Death everywhere and you and me in the          middle. Catch!                    He throws the head of a Breed at Boone.                    DECKER: Even the dead can die!                    Then Decker strikes out at him, slashing at Boone's face. Boone          falls backwards. At the last moment he catches hold of Decker,          pulling him down into the hole and together they tumble into the          earth.                    243. SCENE DELETED                    244. INT. MIDIAN                    Boone and Decker land on one of the rope bridges. Boone heads across          it, pursued by Decker, who slashes at his neck, cutting him.                    DECKER: Almost!                    Boone falls back. Decker closes on him, the knives at his neck. The          force of his stabs, which miss Boone's neck, break the boards of the          bridge. Boone braces his feet beneath Decker and tosses him over.          Decker gets up and approaches him again, slashing the ropes of the          bridge with his blades as he comes. The fighters connect and          struggle, their violent motion carrying them over the edge of the          bridge, dropping them down another level. Decker lands very heavily,          and lies still. Boone gets up. His exit along the bridge in one          direction is blocked. He has to step past Decker who doesn't          move. Only when Boone has stepped beyond him does Decker get up,          pursuing Boone across the bridge, and flinging one of the          knives at his victim's back. The blade cuts straight through Boone,          sticking out from his chest a good six inches. He turns, his fury          transforming him into a more extreme creature. Decker comes at Boone          with a second blade, slashing at Boone's neck. The battle carries          them off the bridge onto the stairs. Decker takes hold of Boone's          hair, preparing to deliver the coup de grace. Boone reaches for a          weapon, finds a skull, and smashes it into the mask. Decker lets go.          Boone tumbles off the stairs, falling face down on a card table.                    Decker follows down the stairs. Boone pulls the table off his chest,          leaving the Ace of Hearts on the blade in his chest. Decker follows          through, driving Boone back into one of the Breed's rooms, where the          fight continues. Decker takes a whip from the wall and uses it to          disarm Boone, who has snatched up a bone to defend himself with.          Boone snatches up a second bone and retaliates, delivering blow after          blow against Decker, eventually knocking the knife from his hand and          driving him out on to the ledge once more. Decker teeters on the          edge, now defenceless. Boone approaches.                    BOONE: Want to dance?                    He snatches the mask off Decker's face and draws him close, impaling          Decker on his own blade. Decker screams.                    Then Boone pushes him off the blade, and over the edge of the ledge.          Decker falls.                    Boone stands on the ledge, and spits down at the corpse. As he does          so he hears the same roar from Baphomet that called the          Berserkers from harming him. Out of it, comes Baphomet's face.                    BAPHOMET [V.O.]: Boone!                    244A. INT. LYLESBURG'S CHAMBER                    The chamber is empty of life. There are two or three corpses on the          floor. We approach the central dais, on which is perched the statue          of Baphomet, surrounded by six white heads. Momentarily, lines of          light break from the statue's head and strike the white heads, which          in turn begin to glow...                    244B. INT. VARIOUS CHAMBERS                    In the chambers we've seen before we see copies of the six statues,          in front of which are bowls of Baphomet's fluid...They begin to glow,          the brightness building. Sparks rise from the fluid.                    245. INT. BERSERKERS' CORRIDOR                    Lori sits, exhausted, in the corridor. She looks up to see Boone,          with the knife still transfixing him.                    LORI: My God...                    BOONE: Decker's dead. Take the knife out.                    Lori pulls the knife from him, and throws it down.                    BAPHOMET [V.O.]: Boone!                    LORI: Don't go...                    BOONE: I'm. responsible. I have to.                    Lori and Boone head down the corridor, passing Ashberry, who is          standing in the shadows.                    Lori and Boone head down the stairs towards the chamber.                    246. INT. BAPHOMET'S CHAMBER                    Blinding light. As Boone descends into the chamber, he sees eight          Nightbreed, surviving members of a Senior Council, Rachel among them,          standing around Baphomet. They are wrapping severed limbs of          Baphomet, preparing to include him in the exodus. His head and          shoulders remain suspended in the light. Baphomet's lips move, making          a terrible, eloquent sound. Rachel translates, the deep voice we hear          coming from her lips.                    RACHEL/BAPHOMET: Come closer...                    Boone obeys. Baphomet's remaining arm reaches down and holds Boone,          as Baphomet's face stares down at him.                    RACHEL/BAPHOMET: ...You have destroyed our refuge...                    BOONE: I never meant...                    Baphomet silences him. Boone trembles but maintains eye contact.                    RACHEL/BAPHOMET: This was foretold. No refuge is forever. But you          are charged . . .                    BOONE: Yes...                    RACHEL/BAPHOMET: ...You must rebuild what you've destroyed.                    BOONE: Where?                    RACHEL/BAPHOMET: That you must find yourself. In the world above.                    BOONE: I don't...I don't know how...                    RACHEL/BAPHOMET: You shall not be alone. You will find me there and          heal me. [holds him close] You are not Boone...                    And now the words emerge from Baphomet himself, shaking the chamber.                    BAPHOMET: ...you are Cabal!                    Boone/Cabal is released. Baphomet is consumed in light. The Council          move towards him to finish their task.                    LORI [O.S.]: Boone?                    Boone/Cabal turns; Lori stands at the bottom of the slope, offering          a hand. He takes it, they start up the slope.                    Cowering in a niche inside the chamber, out of sight, watching in          wonder is Ashberry. Transfixed by Baphomet, he crosses himself.                    Boone/Cabal glances back. The Council receive pieces of Baphomet          from the light wrapping his smoking fragments in          shrouds. The light builds to its brightest level. Pieces of ceiling          begin to fall.                    246A. INT. VARIOUS CHAMBERS                    The bowls start to explode with sparks of white light.                    247. INT. BELOW MIDIAN                    Boone/Cabal and Lori race up towards the surface, as Midian          continues to collapse around them.                    248. INT. BAPHOMET'S CHAMBER                    Ashberry descends the stairs into the blaze of light. Tears pour          down his cheeks.                    He watches as the Council prepare to take down Baphomet's head.                    Near to him is one of the bowls of Baphomet's light. Ashberry          approaches it, hungry for a taste of this glory. He reaches to touch          the bowl. As he does so Baphomet's eyes fix on him. The bowl flips in          the air. The fluid it holds rains down on Ashberry like acid. He          falls back, his body smoking.                    249. EXT. NECROPOLIS NIGHT                    Boone/Cabal and Lori reach the surface and race through the ruined          Necropolis, flames all around them. And then, behind them ...                    250. INT. BAPHOMET'S CHAMBER                    The tentacles attached to Baphomet's head are detached.                    The blaze of light instantly begins to diminish...                    250A. INT. MIDIAN CORE                    The lights start to go out in the core, and earth begins to pour          from the tunnels.                    We see it flood the various corridors, with a shuddering roar.                    250B. INT. BAPHOMET'S CHAMBER                    We glimpse Baphomet's head being covered by the Council, as the          roars increase...                    CUT TO:                    251. EXT. OUTSIDE THE GATES NIGHT                    Boone/Cabal and Lori find Joyce, holding Babette, protecting her,          near the gates.                    Joyce steps back from the form of Rachel, who pulls her veils around          her and holds out her arms.                    RACHEL: Give me my child...                    Joyce looks at Lori, Boone/Cabal, at Babette and Rachel. He tenderly          hands the child over. Rachel holds Babette and they both disappear          into the darkness.                    JOYCE [to Boone/Cabal]: ...I never understood...nobody ever told me...                    He steps away from them and the night engulfs him.                    DISSOLVE TO:                    252. INT. MIDIAN CORE                    The earth has almost obliterated the core entirely.                    253. EXT. OUTSIDE THE GATES NIGHT                    The roar ceases. Silence.                    254. EXT. NECROPOLIS                    Lori and Boone stand in the reeds as the last, bright bloom of the          fires dies away on their faces. Figures move away through the smoke,          creatures we recognize. The drummer beats out a tattoo as they depart.                    Narcisse appears from the darkness. As he does so, a final explosion          roars up from the underground. In the smoke pillar above the site,          Baphomet's image momentarily appears before the wind disperses it.                    NARCISSE: Never piss off a God.                    Lori looks up into the sky.                    CUT TO:                    Lori's P.O.V. of the sky, with other Breed, spirits of smoke and          light, moving away into the night.                    LORI: Where are they going?                    NARCISSE: Any hiding place they can find. It'll be dawn soon.                    BOONE: When I need you where will I find you?                    NARCISSE: You'll find me. And you will need me.                    He reaches to shake Boone's hand.                    NARCISSE: Never touched a legend before.                    He laughs his manic laugh.                    NARCISSE [cont.] [to Lori]: Good night, pretty.                    He fades into the night, the laughter going with him.                    255. EXT. NEAR MIDIAN NIGHT                    In the distance, the burning ruins of Midian. The wind sighs in the          moonlit reeds. Cabal and Lori reach the top of the hill, turn and          look down, standing apart.                    CABAL: I'll have to start tonight.                    LORI: I'll go with you, Boone.                    CABAL: I'm not Boone, Lori. Do you understand? I belong to the Breed          now.                    LORI: Then make me belong too; they made you one of them, you can do          it to me...                    CABAL: I can't...                    LORI: I want to be with you.                    CABAL: I'll come back for you when I'm finished...                    LORI: And when's that gonna be, when I'm ninety and you're still the          way you are? I went through hell to find you and you          just, just walk away from me? [pause; broken-hearted] Well go on,          then, just go. Go on! What more do you want? Leave me some dignity,          for Christ's sake!                    Pause. She turns away, trying not to show him her pain. Cabal turns          to go. Lori turns back, sees him going. She can't bear it, looks          around, sees Decker's briefcase lying beside the police car. Runs to          it, finds a knife.                    LORI: Boone!                    He turns. She puts the blade to her belly and drives it in.                    CABAL: Lori, NO!                    She cries out and sinks to the ground in terrible pain. He reaches          her and holds her in his arms.                    LORI: I lied, I lied, you're all I want.                    CABAL: Don't die, God, Lori, don't die...                    LORI: Well why don't you do something about it, God damn it...          remember what you said...[fading]...quickly...                    He raises her neck to his mouth. Her eyes flicker closed. He bites.          A fatal, bloody kiss. He rises from her. Her eyes are closed.                    CABAL: ...too late?...Oh God, too late...                    Her eyes open. She's turned.                    LORI: You said you'd never leave me.                    She grins, presses up to kiss his bloodied mouth. Camera moves up          off them to find the moon and we:                    DISSOLVE TO:                    255A. EXT. NECROPOLIS DAY                    We track through the ruins of the Necropolis. The walls are          blackened by fires that are almost extinguished; corpses [human and          Breed] lie in barely distinguishable bundles, from which partially          cremated limbs jut. Smoke hangs in the air. From the distance we see          Eigerman, going amongst the corpses, reclaiming guns, bullets and          grenades. As we get closer we realize that he is a broken man, his          face dirty, his eyes lunatic. He's been crying, the tracks marking          the dirt.                    Suddenly, he hears a noise, and stands up to see a large figure          appearing from the smoke. He goes for his own gun, levelling it at          the figure as it approaches.                    EIGERMAN: Keep your distance!                    The figure keeps coming, emerging from the smoke. It's Ashberry. He          has been transformed by the confrontation with Baphomet. His hair has          been almost burned away entirely and there is a subtle          reconfiguration in the shape of his skull. His clothes are in          tatters. There are hints that his once broken body, poisoned by          alcohol, has taken on new strength. He looks as insane as Eigerman,          but stronger in his lunacy. There's a dangerous fervour in his eyes.                    ASHBERRY: I saw their God...I saw him...                    EIGERMAN: What the hell are you talking about?                    ASHBERRY: I can still smell him. He's out there...                    Ashberry walks past Eigerman towards the exit from Necropolis.                    EIGERMAN: You mean you can find them?                    ASHBERRY: Oh yes.                    EIGERMAN: We'll go together then. You can lead me to the bastards.          Then I'll wipe them all away.                    ASHBERRY: No. They're mine. Their God burned me. I want to burn him          back. All of them. Burn them all away.                    EIGERMAN: You can't, you don't have the wits ...                    Ashberry turns on him, his face wild. He takes hold of Eigerman by          the neck, his fingers digging into the muscle. Blood runs. Eigerman          tries to raise the gun but Ashberry takes hold of the man's hand, and          summarily snaps his wrist. The gun is dropped. Ashberry starts to          lift Eigerman up off the ground. The policeman's flailings stop          suddenly. The head lolls. Ashberry flings the body aside, and starts          out of the Necropolis. As he approaches the exit he looks up.          Sunlight falls on his face.                    CUT TO:                    256. EXT. MOON NIGHT                    Shining, full. We move down to find a derelict barn, standing alone          in a vast field.                    DISSOLVE TO:                    257. INT. BARN NIGHT                    We track through the darkness to find Rachel, Babette, Kinski and a          number of other refugees and children of Midian, staring out at the          night.                    BABETTE: ...who will come for us?                    KINSKI: His name is Cabal. He unmade Midian.                    BABETTE: How soon?                    RACHEL: On the next wind. If not tonight, then tomorrow.                    Babette gazes out over the cornfields.                    BABETTE: On the next wind...                    DISSOLVE TO:                    258. EXT. HILL NIGHT                    Cabal and Lori, standing on the hill, against a background of stars.                    BABETTE [V.O.]: ...if not tonight...tomorrow...                    DISSOLVE TO:                    259. INT. BELOW MIDIAN NIGHT                    Moving through the ruined chambers, illuminated by dying flickers of          flame, we find and track along the end of the heroic mosaic/mural. It          tells, in a rush of images, the story of the ruin of Midian.                    Camera comes to a stop on the final image: Cabal and Lori, as we          just saw them, on a hill, framed against the star-filled heavens.                    The sound of the wind...                    Fade to black. 
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+                                  OCEAN'S 11                     screenplay by                      Ted Griffin               based on a screenplay by           Harry Brown and Charles Lederer                         and                     a story by     George Clayton Johnson & Jack Golden Russell                               LATE PRODUCTION DRAFT                               Rev. 05/31/01 (Buff)    OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01    FADE IN:1   EMPTY ROOM WITH SINGLE CHAIR                                  1    We hear a DOOR OPEN and CLOSE, followed by APPROACHING    FOOTSTEPS. DANNY OCEAN, dressed in prison fatigues,    ENTERS FRAME and sits.                               VOICE (O.S.)               Good morning.                               DANNY               Good morning.                             VOICE (O.S.)               Please state your name for the               record.                               DANNY               Daniel Ocean.                             VOICE (O.S.)               Thank you. Mr. Ocean, the purpose               of this meeting is to determine               whether, if released, you are               likely to break the law again.               While this was your first               conviction, you have been               implicated, though never charged,               in over a dozen other confidence               schemes and frauds. What can you               tell us about this?                             DANNY               As you say, ma'am, I was never               charged.2   INT. PAROLE BOARD HEARING ROOM - WIDER VIEW - MORNING         2    Three PAROLE BOARD MEMBERS sit opposite Danny, behind a    table.                             BOARD MEMBER #2               Mr. Ocean, what we're trying to               find out is: was there a reason               you chose to commit this crime, or               was there a reason why you simply               got caught this time?                             DANNY               My wife left me. I was upset.    I               got into a self-destructive               pattern.                                                    (CONTINUED)    OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 2.2   CONTINUED:                                                     2                               BOARD MEMBER #3                 If released, is it likely you                 would fall back into a similar                 pattern?                               DANNY                 She already left me once. I don't                 think she'll do it again just for                 kicks.    Glances dart between the Board Members.                               BOARD MEMBER #1                 Mr. Ocean, what do you think you                 would do if released?    Danny considers.                               DANNY                        (deadpan)                 I don't know. How much do you                 guys make a year?3   INT. MINIMUM-SECURITY PRISON - CHECK-OUT STATION - DAY         3                                  GUARD #2                 Ocean, Daniel.    Danny steps forth, and GUARD #1 doles out his possessions    and a form certifying their return to Danny.                                  GUARD #2                 Sign.                        (adding a piece of                          mail to the pile)                 This came today for you. Rest'll                 be forwarded to your parole                 officer.                               GUARD #1                        (reading its return                         address over Danny's                         shoulder)                 Those your lawyers?                                  DANNY                 My wife's.    He opens the letter, and as his eyes gaze over the papers    within, he smirks just a little.                                  GUARD #1                 What's it say?                                                     (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 3.3    CONTINUED:                                                    3                                DANNY                  I'm a free man.4    INT. CHANGING CUBICLE                                         4     Danny pulls on civilian clothes and there's not a bare     thread among them. He tugs his cuffs and smiles: The     old skin feels good. One last item to don: a silver     wedding band. Danny considers it. Will he put it on?5    EXT. MINIMUM-SECURITY PRISON - FRONT GATE - AFTERNOON         5     A sign reads: "NEW JERSEY STATE MINIMUM-SECURITY     CORRECTIONAL FACILITY." Someone has graffitied below it:     "If you were in prison, you'd be home now."     The great metal door opens, and Danny stands within its     frame, ready for release. (If it matters -- and if you     notice -- he's wearing his wedding ring.)     He hovers   there for a moment, on the precipice of     freedom.    The WIND WHISTLES a little on the other side of     the gate,   and the view ahead is not pleasant (New     Jersey):    Life is hard out there.     But Danny musters his courage, then takes his first step     into free America...A6   EXT. ATLANTIC CITY BOARDWALK - DUSK                           A6     Any empty wintery boardwalk.6    INT. CASINO (ATLANTIC CITY) - NIGHT                           6     ... And his wingtip lands squarely on plush red     carpeting.     As we PULL UP TO Danny's face and SPIN AROUND him, we     hear, then see the BUZZ of a CASINO floor: the HUM of     CONVERSATION, the DING-DING-DING and THUNK-THUNK-THUNK     from the SLOTS, the brisk WHIR of SHUFFLED CARDS.     And to Danny, it's a hearth and fire and a comfy chair     and a snifter of brandy. He's home.     ON DANNY'S WALLET     As he pulls out several crisp one hundreds, sets them on     green felt, then sees them replaced by a neat pile of     chips.                                                             4.7   AT BLACKJACK TABLE                                            7    Danny cranes his neck about the casino, looking for    someone -- a friend, somebody who should be here -- but    without success. He turns his attention back to his    cards, and the cards of the dealer.    Nine-ten. Stay. Dealer -- seventeen. Danny wins.    King-four. Dealer shows a six. Stick. Dealer busts.    Queen-ace. Twenty-one. Danny wins again.    A second dealer relieves the first, and Danny recognizes    him with a smile -- this wasn't the friend he was    scouting for, but two hours out of the joint any familiar    face is welcome.                               DANNY              Hello, Frank.    The new dealer (FRANK CATTON) glances up at Danny, and    his eyes go wide, like a priest who's discovered he's    dealing communion wafers to the pontiff himself. He    quickly hides his astonishment.                            FRANK              I beg your pardon, sir. You must              have me confused with someone              else. My name is Ramon. See?    He taps the name embroidered on his vest, although he is    the most African-looking Ramon you've ever seen. A pit    boss circles close by and glares at them both.                            DANNY              My mistake...                     (collecting his chips,                      doubled)              Table's cold anyway.                            FRANK              You might try the lounge at the              Grand, sir. It gets busy around              one.                               DANNY                        (as he goes)              Thanks.8   INT. LOUNGE AT GRAND                                          8    Danny checks his watch -- 12:58 -- then the lounge around    him: prison had more nightlife. He nurses a bourbon,    folds back the New York Times and scans.                                                  (CONTINUED)    OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               5.8   CONTINUED:                                                     8    His eyes move down the page and stop at a header --    "Vegas' Paradiso to be Razed; Former Owner Denounces    Plans" -- accompanied by two photographs...    The first: Tan, well-coiffed developer and new owner of    the Paradiso, Terry Benedict, with a beautiful (if barely    visible) woman on his arm. The second: scowling former    owner, Reuben Tishkoff.                               FRANK (O.S.)                 Catching up on current events?    Danny lowers the paper; Frank is sitting across from him,    changed out of his dealer's threads.                               DANNY                 Ramon?                               FRANK                 Glad to meet you. Frank Catton                 wouldn't get by the gaming board.                        (beat)                 You just out?                               DANNY                 This afternoon.                               FRANK                        (re: Danny's drink                         and whereabouts)                 And already turning over a new                 leaf.    Frank signals a passing waitress; she ignores him.                               DANNY                        (directly, this is                         why he's here)                 You seen him?                               FRANK                 Last I heard he was in L.A.                 Teaching movie stars how to                 play cards.                        (beat)                 Why? You don't have something                 planned already?                                DANNY                 You kidding? I just became a                 citizen again.    Frank stares at Danny a moment, finally catches his eye,    and Danny can't help but grin: of course he has.                                                     (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 6.8    CONTINUED:    (2)                                              8     Frank turns his eyes to heaven...                                 FRANK                  Jesus...9    INT. SUB SHOP - NIGHT                                          9     MOVING WITH Danny and Frank.                                FRANK                  It's tough now, our line of work.                  Everybody so serious. Too many                  guns, too many computers. Whadda                  you gonna do? Steal from ordinary                  people?                                DANNY                  That would be criminal.                                FRANK                  So what's left? Banks? Hah.                  Banks got no money. It's all                  electronic. Only place that still                  takes cash is...                                 DANNY                  Casinos.                                FRANK                         (realizing)                  Oh, no...                                 DANNY                  Oh, yes...                                 FRANK                  When?                                 DANNY                  Soon.   Interested?     Frank smiles.    Danny has his answer.10   INT. SUB SHOP - FOYER - NIGHT                                  10     Danny pulls a business card from his jacket, picks up the     phone again, and dials the card's number.                                                      (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                    7.10    CONTINUED:                                                        10                                 DANNY                   Yes, Officer Brooks? My name is                   Danny Ocean. I'm just out, I'm                   supposed to check in with you                   within twenty-four hours.                          (listens)                   No, sir, I haven't gotten into                   any trouble. No drinking, no sir.                          (listens, finishes                           his bourbon)                   No, sir, I wouldn't even think of                   leaving the state.      OFF the sound of a JET fly-over we...                                                         CUT TO:A11   EXT. HOLLYWOOD CLUB (DEEP) - REAR ENTRANCE - NIGHT                A11      PULLING OFF the Capitol Building, we PICK UP Rusty      (tall, angular, ebony) leaning against his Ford Falcon.                                  TOPHER (O.S.)                   Hey!   Hey, Rusty!      Rusty turns to the voice and --                                                       CUT TO:      ANOTHER ANGLE      MOVING WITH him and Topher Grace, the actor, as they push      down a back alley.                                 TOPHER                   Hey, I don't know if you're, uh,                   you know, incorporated or anything,                   like Rusty Ryan. And, I don't know,                   incorporated, but you should think                   about it, really, 'cause I was                   talking to my manager yesterday --                                  RUSTY                   Bernie?                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                  8.A11   CONTINUED:                                                       A11                                 TOPHER                   No, not Bernie, I mean not, not                   that Bernie, my business manager,                   he's also Bernie, he was telling                   me that since this, what we do,                   could be considered research for,                   you know, a future gig, that I                   should be able to write it off as                   a business expense. So he suggested                   that it'd be better if I wrote you                   a check, and thereby --      Rusty looks at him:     are you stoned?                                 TOPHER                   Or, or we could keep it cash.      By this time, they should have entered --11    OMITTED                                                          11A12   INT. HOLLYWOOD CLUB (DEEP) - NIGHT                               A12      -- where they must weave through hordes of young      Hollywood nightclubbers.                                  RUSTY                   Alright.   Who's here?                                 TOPHER                   Josh is here. Seth is here.                   David couldn't make it. He's got                   two weeks of reshoots on Lusitania                   because somebody just figured out                   forty percent of the budget is                   coming from Germany.                                 RUSTY                   That's a problem.                                    TOPHER                   Barry is here.                                 RUSTY                   I thought they let him out to do                   that H.B.O. thing in Vancouver.                                 TOPHER                   Couldn't work the dates. Oh, and                   he brought his girlfriend.                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                 9.A12   CONTINUED:                                                      A12                                 RUSTY                   Not the one from --                                 TOPHER                   Uh-huh.                                 RUSTY                          (beat)                   I quit watching when Kate left Don                   after his accident.      They pass on, and into --12    OMITTED                                                         12A13   INT. BACK ROOM - NIGHT                                          A13      Small but stylish.     Rusty enters, Topher in tow.                                 RUSTY                   Good evening, guys. Let's play                   some cards...      A glance at the table reveals: the three waiting players      are all young TV stars (Josh Jackson, Seth Green, Barry      Watson) here for a group poker lesson with Rusty. (One      star, indeed, has brought his girlfriend, Katie, also      a known actress, to observe.)      A glance back at Rusty reveals:     he's in for a long      night.                                 RUSTY                   ... and let's play some cards.      AT TABLE - LATER      The group lesson has begun.                                 TOPHER                   A hundred bucks to me...                          (mulling it                           over)                   Ah, what the hell. Pocket                   change. Call.      Rusty leans into Topher's ear, whispering:                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                 10.A13   CONTINUED:                                                      A13                                 RUSTY                   Why you bet a certain way is your                   business. But you have to make                   them think you're betting for a                   reason. Understand?      SAME SCENE - LATER      To another player:                                 RUSTY                   Seth. You know what you have.                   Looking at them doesn't change                   them. Leave 'em where they are                   and make your bet.      SAME SCENE - LATER      To another player:                                 RUSTY                   You're showing. Yeah, I know she's                   your girlfriend, Barry, but you                   can't... Thank you.      SAME SCENE - LATER      To another:                                  RUSTY                   Josh.   Deal to your left.      SAME SCENE - LATER      A WAITRESS enters from the club, and DANCE MUSIC with      her. As she distributes a fresh round:                                 WAITRESS                   One McCallum neat. And four                   bottled waters.      Rusty takes in the sight -- bottled fucking water on a      poker table.                                 SETH                          (triumphantly)                   Two pair -- nines and twos.      Rusty checks his hand:     a full-house full of face cards.                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                 11.A13   CONTINUED:    (2)                                               A13                                 RUSTY                          (folding)                   You got me.                          (as Seth rakes in                           his winnings)                   Let's take a little break.13    OMITTED                                                         13A14   INT. HOLLYWOOD CLUB (DEEP) - NIGHT                              A14      At the bar, Rusty orders a double.     He needs it.                                 BARTENDER                          (shouting over music)                   How's the game going?!!                                 RUSTY                   It's been the longest hour of                   my life.                                 BARTENDER                   What?!                                 RUSTY                          (at the same volume)                   I'm running away with your wife.      The Bartender, not able to hear him, smiles and flashes      a thumbs-up before moving away.                                 BARTENDER                   Cool, man!      Behind the bar two go-go dancers writhe behind red-light-      district windows, and Rusty catches his own fatigued      expression in their reflection. Then, out the corner      of his eye, he catches sight of a man passing through      the pulsating crowd. Someone familiar to him. He      follows.14    OMITTED                                                         14A15   INT. HOLLYWOOD CLUB (DEEP) - BACK ROOM                          A15      Rusty returns.                                 TOPHER                   Hey, Rusty, we got another player,                   if that's alright.                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                    12.A15   CONTINUED:                                                         A15      Topher indicates the new arrival: Danny.       Rusty looks      as if there's a bad smell in the room.                                  RUSTY                   What's this?                                  DANNY                   The bouncer mentioned there was                   a game in progress. I hope I'm                   not intruding.                                 TOPHER                   No intrusion at all --                                 RUSTY                   What was his name, the bouncer's?                                 DANNY                   I don't remember.                                  RUSTY                   A card player with amnesia.    This                   should be fun.      AT TABLE - MOMENTS LATER      Rusty deals the next hand.                                 TOPHER                   What do you do for a living,                   Mr. Ocean? If you don't mind                   my asking.                                 DANNY                   Why should I mind? Two cards,                   please...                          (long beat)                   I just got out of prison.                                  TOPHER                   Really?                          (a glance among the                           other players)                   Really...                                 RUSTY                          (half to divert                           attention)                   Barry, you're showing again.                                  BARRY (O.S.)                   Sorry.                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                  12A.A15   CONTINUED:    (2)                                                 A15                                 JOSH                   What'd you, uh, go to prison for?                                 DANNY                   I stole things.                                 JOSH                   What, like jewels? Diamonds?      A beat, then:                                 RUSTY                   Incan matrimonial headmasks.      Looks are exchanged.      Everyone digests that.                                    JOSH                   From a museum?                                    DANNY                   Gallery.                                 SETH                   There a lot of money in those?                   Incan matrimonial...                                  DANNY                   Headmasks.   Some.                                 RUSTY                   Don't let him fool you, Seth.                   There's boatloads. If you can                   move the things...                          (finishing his deal)                   One card to me.                          (to Danny, pointedly)                   ... but you can't.                                 DANNY                   My fence seemed confident enough.                                 RUSTY                   If you're dealing with cash, you                   don't need a fence.                                 DANNY                   Some people just lack vision.                                 RUSTY                   Probably everybody in cell block E.                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                 12B.A15   CONTINUED:    (3)                                                A15      Now the other players realize. These guys have a      relationship. In fact, a criminal one. And, judging      from their steely glares across the table, not a happy      one.                                 DANNY                   Well, that's all behind us now.                                 RUSTY                   I should hope so.      Danny smiles, icily -- of course, it's not -- then pulls      out his wallet.                                 DANNY                   I raise you five hundred dollars.      A hush in the room. Danny has thrown down the gauntlet.      He and Rusty hold each other's stares.                                  RUSTY                   Guys: Day One: what's the first                   rule of poker?                BARRY                      TOPHER        Um, never bet on, uh, on           'Leave emotion at the        a --                               door.'                                  RUSTY                   That's right. My friend here just                   raised me out of pique.                          (beat)                   Today's lesson. How to draw out                   a bluff. This early in the game,                   that much money, I'm thinking he's                   holding nothing better than a pair                   of face cards.                          (beat)                   Seth, raise him.                                SETH                   Okay. Uh, your five hundred and...                   another two?      Rusty nods, and Seth pushes in his chips.                                  RUSTY                   Tophe...                                  TOPHER                   Seven to me.   Plus three.   What                   the hell.                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                 12C.A15   CONTINUED:    (4)                                                A15                                 RUSTY                   Indeed. But be careful you don't                   push him too high too fast. Want                   to keep him on the leash. I call.      It's Josh's turn.       He hesitates...                                 JOSH                   What's that to me? A thousand?                                 RUSTY                   All you have to do is call.                                 DANNY                          (off Josh's further                           hesitation)                   What? Your girlfriend holding                   your purse?      That does it. Josh is in. The bet's to Danny. He      checks his hand, and Seth starts to whisper to Topher.                                 DANNY                   Contrary to what Mr. Ryan may say,                   Seth, I always check my cards                   before I make a bet. But be                   cafeful. I could tell from your                   face you're holding three of a                   kind or better.                          (digging his wallet                           out)                   Five hundred to call. And two                   grand more.      Danny stares Rusty down.      The others look a little pale.                                 RUSTY                   Guys, you're free to do what you                   like. It's a lot of money. But                   I'm staying in. He's trying to                   buy his way out of his bluff.      Nobody looks too eager to call, but nobody wants to      leave a grand on the table, either. Finally, Seth      ponies up, and the others -- not be outdone -- do, too.                                   RUSTY                   We call.      Danny sets down his hand. Four nines. It's a winner.      The others, jaws dropped, throw in their cards. For the      first time tonight, Rusty blanches.                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                 12D.A15   CONTINUED:    (5)                                                A15                                 RUSTY                   Shit. Sorry, guys. I -- I was                   sure he was bluffing.      As Rusty plummets in the estimation of all the guys      around him, Danny rakes in his pot.                                 DANNY                   Thanks for the game, fellas.                          (then)                   Hey, I hate to ask this, but                   could you sign something for me?                   It's for the guys in the joint.                   They just love all your shows.15    OMITTED                                                          15A16   EXT. HOLLYWOOD CLUB (DEEP) - NIGHT                               A16      A queue of clubgoers erupt in a frenzy as Topher and      company exit, and they begin signing autographs. Danny      and Rusty exit, too, but of course nobody gives a shit      about them.16    INT. RUSTY'S FALCON - MOVING - NIGHT                             16      Danny and Rusty ride silently, staring out opposite      windows at Sunset Boulevard.                                 RUSTY                   That was, that was just...                                 DANNY                   Unprofessional.      Rusty agrees.                                 RUSTY                   How was the clink? You get the                   cookies I sent you?                                 DANNY                   Why do you think I came to see you                   first?      Danny pulls out a wad of bills from his jacket, peels off      half, and hands it to Rusty.                                  DANNY                   Ten grand.   Half of it's yours.                                                        (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                  12E.16   CONTINUED:                                                        16                                RUSTY                  You barge into my new workplace,                  ruin my professional reputation,                  least you could do is tell me                  you've got something better for                  me.                                DANNY                  I've got something better for                  you.17   INT. CANTER'S DELI - NIGHT                                        17     They're sitting in a booth over coffee.                                    RUSTY                  How's Tess?     Danny stares at him:       next subject, please.                                 RUSTY                  Alright.   Tell me.                               DANNY                  It's tricky. No one's ever done                  it before. Needs planning, a                  large crew.                                    RUSTY                  Guns?                                DANNY                  Not loaded ones. It has to be                  very precise. There's a lot of                  security. But the take...                                RUSTY                  What's the target?                                DANNY                  Eight figures each.                                    RUSTY                  What's.    The.    Target.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                              13.17   CONTINUED:                                                     17                                DANNY                         (deep breath, then)                  When's the last time you were in                  Vegas?                               RUSTY                  What? You wanna knock over a                  casino?     Danny puts down his coffee. And shakes his head. And     lifts three fingers: three casinos. Rusty must put down     his coffee, too.18   EXT. DOWNTOWN L.A. - NIGHT                                     18     It's after hours downtown.    Dark, empty, dead...19   INT. LIBRARY TOWER - 40TH FLOOR CORRIDOR - NIGHT               19     Lights out on the 40th. Engraved brass announces:     J.A.     KUEHN & ASSOCIATES, ARCHITECTS.     Two flashlight beams strafe wood-paneled, elegant     offices: Danny and Rusty on late-night reconnaissance.     As Danny prowls a cabinet full of blueprints, Rusty     passes the time switching papers from a desk's in box to     its out box.     At last, Danny finds the right set of blueprints and     drapes it across the desk; we, however, never see it.                                DANNY                  The vault at the Bellagio.     A beat as Rusty scans the document, then another     underneath it.                                RUSTY                  If I'm reading these right -- and                  I think that I am -- this is                  probably the least accessible                  vault ever designed.                         (beat)                  Oops. Actually, you know what,                  I'm wrong. It's definitely the                  least accessible vault ever                  designed.                                DANNY                  Yep.     Rusty's brow furrows just a little.                                                      (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                    14.19   CONTINUED:                                                        19                                RUSTY                  You said three casinos...                                DANNY                         (flips to next                          blueprint)                  These feed into the cages at both                  the Mirage and the M.G.M. Grand.                         (tapping vault)                  But every dime ends up here.                                RUSTY                  The Bellagio, Mirage, and... These                  are Terry Benedict's places.                                   DANNY                  Yes, they are.     Think he'll mind?                                RUSTY                  More than somewhat.20   AT 40TH FLOOR ELEVATOR BAY                                        20     No ding. The elevator just arrives. Its doors part to     reveal a SECURITY GUARD within, here to make his tour; a     large fellow, he has to duck to exit.21   BACK WITH DANNY AND RUSTY                                         21     As Danny rolls up the set of blueprints, Rusty considers     the plan (which, in our absence, Danny has pitched him).                                RUSTY                  You'd need at least a dozen guys,                  doing a combination of cons.                                DANNY                  Like what, you think?                                RUSTY                  Well, off the top of my head, I'd                  say you're looking at a Boesky, a                  Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two                  Jethros, and a Leon Spinks. Oh,                  and the biggest Ella Fitzgerald                  ever.                         (beat)                  Where do you think you're gonna get                  the money to back this?                                                         (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                  15.21   CONTINUED:                                                      21                                DANNY                  As long as we're hitting these                  three casinos, we'll get our                  bankroll. Terry Benedict has a                  list of enemies.                                RUSTY                  But does he have enemies with                  loose cash and nothing to lose...                         (smiles, realizing)                  Aha.                                   DANNY                            (smiles, too)                  Aha.                                   RUSTY                  Reuben.22   MOVING WITH SECURITY GUARD                                      22     as he approaches Danny's and Rusty's voices...23   BACK WITH DANNY AND RUSTY                                       23                                   DANNY                  So...                                RUSTY                  So, here's what I think: You                  should take this plan, kick it                  around for a week or two. Sleep                  on it. Turn it over in your head.                  Then: never bring it up to me                  again.                                  DANNY                  Uh-huh.    So what are you saying?                                RUSTY                  I'm saying: this is like trying                  to build a house of cards on the                  deck of a speeding boat.                                DANNY                  Really? I thought it was much                  harder than that --     Suddenly the Security Guard's flashlight beam hits them     square in the eyes. Danny and Rusty put their hands up     to block the light.                                DANNY                  Jesus, Oscar, lower it a little,                  will ya?                                                       (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                16.23   CONTINUED:                                                      23                                   SECURITY GUARD                  Sorry.                         (lowers beam)                  You two done up here?    Find what                  you wanted?                                DANNY                  Yeah, thanks. You mind if we                  borrow a couple drawings for the                  night? Make some copies.                                SECURITY GUARD                  Whatever you need.     Danny withdraws his money clip, peels off a couple     hundreds, and buries them in the Security Guard's hand.                                   DANNY                  'Preciate it.24   AT 40TH FLOOR ELEVATOR BAY                                      24     Danny and Rusty wait for an elevator. When its doors     open, Rusty stops Danny from boarding.                                RUSTY                  I need a reason. And don't say                  money.                         (beat)                  Why do this?                                   DANNY                  Why not do it?     Rusty stares at him:    enough bullshitting around.                                DANNY                  Because yesterday I walked out of                  the joint wearing my entire                  wardrobe and you're colddecking                  TeenBeat coverboys.                         (beat)                  Because the house always wins.                  You play long enough, never                  changing stakes, the house takes                  you. Unless, when that special                  hand comes around, you bet big.                  And then you take the house.     A beat.   Rusty smiles.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               17.24   CONTINUED:                                                      24                                RUSTY                  You're been practicing that                  speech, haven't you?                                DANNY                  A little. Did I rush it?   It felt                  like I rushed it.                                RUSTY                  No, it was good.     They step aboard the elevator.     As the door closes:                                RUSTY                  I wonder what Reuben will say?     Danny and Rusty look at each other.                                TISHKOFF (V.O.)                  You're out of your goddamn minds.25   EXT. TISHKOFF'S OPULENT BACK YARD (LAS VEGAS) - DAY             25     REUBEN TISHKOFF, the grimace of a man in mid-movement,     forever cemented on his face, scrutinizes his two lunch     guests (Danny and Rusty) at his poolside.                                 TISHKOFF                  Are you listening to me? You are,                  both of you, nuts. I know more                  about casino security than any man                  alive. I invented it, and it                  cannot be beaten. They got                  cameras, they got watchers, they                  got locks, they got timers, they                  got vaults. They got enough armed                  personnel to occupy Paris. Okay,                  bad example...                                DANNY                  It's never been tried.                                 TISHKOFF                  Oh, it's been tried. A few guys                  even came close. You know the                  three most successful robberies in                  Vegas history?26   FLASHBACK - INT. SANDS CASINO FLOOR (1965)                      26     An Adlai Stevenson-lookalike approaches a lockbox carrier     from behind and snatches the box.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               18.26   CONTINUED:                                                      26     He takes almost three steps before five security men leap     at him and -- FREEZE FRAME on his wide-eyed expression of     horror...                                TISHKOFF (V.O.)                  Number three. The bronze medal.                  Pencilneck grabs a lockbox at the                  Sands. He got two steps closer to                  the door than any living soul                  before him.     RESUME ACTION: Adlai Stevenson gets a taste of what NFL     quarterbacks experience every Sunday... five fold.27   INT. FLAMINGO CASINO FLOOR (1971)                               27     A hippie races toward the electronic sliding doors,     clutching a tray full of chips, and as the doors begin to     part for him -- FREEZE FRAME: A billy club appears out     of nowhere...                                TISHKOFF (V.O.)                  Second most successful robbery.                  The Flamingo '71. This guy                  actually smelled fresh oxygen                  before they got him.     RESUME ACTION: The billy club comes down -- whap! --     across the hippie's skull and it's Chicago '68 all over     again.                                TISHKOFF (V.O.)                  Course, he was breathing out of a                  hose the next three weeks, goddamn                  hippie.28   EXT. REUBEN TISHKOFF'S BACK YARD - DAY (PRESENT)                28                                TISHKOFF                  And the closest any man has gotten                  to robbing a Las Vegas casino...29   FLASHBACK - EXT. CAESAR'S PALACE ENTRANCE (1987)                29     Tourists and valets scatter as a Euro-thief (pastel     T-shirt beneath a white linen suit) bursts from the     casino and takes five steps before -- FREEZE FRAME:     GLASS EXPLODES from three different doors behind him and     he arches his back in agony...                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               19.29   CONTINUED:                                                      29                                TISHKOFF                  Outside of Caesar's in '87.   He                  came, he grabbed, he got                  conquered.     RESUME ACTION: BULLETS rip the man to shreds and he     collapses on Caesar's steps a bloody pulp.30   EXT. REUBEN TISHKOFF'S BACK YARD - DAY (PRESENT)                30                                TISHKOFF                  But what am I saying? You guys                  are pros, the best. I'm sure you                  can make it out of the casino. Of                  course, lest we forget, once                  you're out the front door, you're                  still in the middle of the fucking                  desert!     Both Danny and Rusty look chastened.                                RUSTY                  You're right.                         (to Danny)                  He's right.                                DANNY                  Reuben, you're right. Our eyes                  are bigger than our stomachs.                                RUSTY                  That's exactly it. Pure ego.                                TISHKOFF                  Yeah yeah blah blah.                                DANNY                  Thank you so much for setting us                  straight. Sorry we bothered you.     They both rise to go.                                TISHKOFF                  Look, we all go way back. I owe                  you from that thing with the guy                  in the place, and I'll never                  forget it.                                DANNY                  It was our pleasure.                                RUSTY                  I'd never been to Belize.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               20.30   CONTINUED:                                                      30                                TISHKOFF                  Give Dominic your addresses, I got                  some remaindered furniture I wanna                  send you.     Danny and Rusty begin to circle the pool to leave.     Tishkoff, of course, won't let them go that easily.                                TISHKOFF                  Just out of curiosity, which                  casinos did you geniuses pick to                  rob?     Danny stops, almost as if he's been waiting for this     question, which of course he has.                                DANNY                  The Bellagio, Mirage, and the                  M.G.M. Grand.                                 TISHKOFF                         (nostrils flared,                           smelling a rat)                  Those are Terry Benedict's                  casinos.                                RUSTY                  Say, you know, he's right.     Tishkoff waves them back, sipping on his umbrellaed     cocktail.                                TISHKOFF                  You guys... Whadda you got against                  Terry Benedict?                                DANNY                  What do you have against him?                  That's the real question.                                TISHKOFF                  He torpedoed my casino, muscled me                  out, now he's gonna blow it up                  next month to make way for another                  fuckin' eyesore. Don't think I                  don't see what you're doin'.                                RUSTY                  What are we doing, Reuben?                                                       (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 21.30   CONTINUED:    (2)                                              30                                TISHKOFF                  You gonna steal from Terry                  Benedict, you better goddamn know.                  This sorta thing used to be                  civilized. You'd hit a guy, he'd                  whack you. Done. But Benedict...                         (bristles)                  At the end of this he better not                  know you're involved, not know                  your names, or think you're dead.                  Because he'll kill you, and then                  he'll go to work on you.                                DANNY                  That's why we've got to be very                  careful. We have to be precise.                  We have to be well-funded.                                TISHKOFF                  Yeah, you gotta be nuts, too. And                  you're gonna need a crew as nuts                  as you are.                         (pregnant silence)                  Who do you have in mind?     Danny and Rusty both smile; they've hooked their fish.     And so it begins...                                 RUSTY (V.O.)                  Alright.   Who's in?                                DANNY (V.O.)                  Frank C. is in.31   INT. CASINO OFFICE (ATLANTIC CITY)                             31     Frank Catton coughs mightily into a handkerchief.   Across     a desk, his boss fills out paperwork.                                DANNY (V.O.)                  Frank C. has developed a bad case                  of bronchitis and is putting in                  for a transfer to warmer climates.32   EXT. LAS VEGAS AIRPORT - DAY                                   32     Frank carries his bag toward the taxi bay. He stops to     light a cigarette, inhales with deep satisfaction before     a banner: "WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS."                                DANNY (V.O.)                  What about drivers?     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                               22.33   EXT. VACANT, WEEDY DRAG RACETRACK - DAY                      33     CLOSE ON a souped-up tractor-wheeled monster truck, its     ENGINE ROARING before a starting line, itching to cross     it. Now take a step back...     That souped-up monster truck stands a foot-and-a-half off     the ground and sprouts an antenna from its back bumper.     It's a remote-controlled toy.     The ROARING ENGINE comes from the vehicle next to it: an     actual monster truck. Both vehicles peer down the track     at a finish line a hundred yards away. This is a race.     The drivers stare each other down: TURK (behind the     wheel of the truck) and VIRGIL (track-side, remote     control in hand) MALLOY. They're nice boys. Really.     Peckerwoods, sure, but nice.                             RUSTY (V.O.)               I talked to the Malloys yesterday.                             DANNY (V.O.)               The Mormon twins?                             RUSTY (V.O.)               They're both in Salt Lake City,               six months off the job. I got the               sense they're having trouble               filling the hours.     Lights flash red-to-yellow-to-green and while the TRUCK     COATS RUBBER on the track, Virgil's toy zips to a lead.     It's looking to be an embarrassment for Turk until he     jerks his wheel a little and -- ka-thunk -- flattens his     brother's vehicle.     Virgil pouts as he plucks up the wreckage of his entry.                                DANNY (V.O.)               Electronics?                             RUSTY (V.O.)               Livingston Dell.34   INT. SURVEILLANCE VAN - DAY                                  34     On a black and white monitor: Two mobsters, on a meet in     a public park, peer over their shoulders, making certain     no one is watching them. Little do they know...     ... LIVINGSTON DELL, audio-visual junkie, and victim of a     continual flop sweat, crouches before their image,     masterfully controlling his surveillance camera with a     joystick in his left hand. He is flanked by FBI MEN.                                                    (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                    23.34   CONTINUED:                                                        34                                RUSTY (V.O.)                  Livingston's been doing freelance                  surveillance work of late for the                  F.B.I. Mob Squad.                                DANNY (V.O.)                  How are his nerves?                                RUSTY (V.O.)                  Okay.                         (beat)                  Not so bad you'd notice.     As a FBI Man reaches to adjust a monitor...                                LIVINGSTON                  D-don't, don't-don't... touch... it.                                FBI MAN #1                  What?                                LIVINGSTON                  Do you see me pulling the gun out                  of your holster and firing it?                                FBI MAN #2                  Hey, Radio Shack: relax.35   EXT. SANTA MONICA BOARDWALK - LATER                               35     Livingston walks down the boardwalk. A rollerblader with a     dog on a leash approaches and Livingston gets caught     between the two. As he struggles to untangle himself from     the leash...36   INT. CAFE                                                         36     With a view of Livingston on the boardwalk...       Danny and     Rusty wait for him over espressos.                                RUSTY                         (next item on his                          list)                  Munitions.                                DANNY                  Phil Turentine.                                RUSTY                  Dead.                                                         (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                            23A.36   CONTINUED:                                                 36                                 DANNY                  No shit?   On the job?                                 RUSTY                  Sun cancer.                                DANNY                  You send flowers?                                RUSTY                  Dated his wife a while.                                DANNY                         (onto next candidate)                  Basher...                                                 (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               24.36   CONTINUED:    (2)                                              36                                RUSTY                         (checks his watch)                  We may be too late.37   INT. BANK - CLOSE ON BASHER TARR - NIGHT                       37     the explosives expert. A pair of goggles over his eyes     reflects a match being struck, then touched to a fuse.                                BASHER                  Sweet...     BANG! Wood shards and SPLINTERS of GLASS fly all around;     Basher merely ducks his head and whistles. As the dust     settles, three men move quickly past Basher and into     (what the settling fog now reveals to be) a dynamited     bank vault. ALARMS begin to sound: this is bad news.                                BASHER                         (to the rest of his                          gang, his temper                          flaring)                  You know, you guys had one job to                  do.38   EXT. BANK - ONE MINUTE LATER                                   38     The men exit through the front doors, their hands over     their heads, Basher trailing them. Policemen and SWAT     members encircle the group, weapons trained on them,     chock full of instructions.39   EXT. POLICE CAR - LATER                                        39     Basher sits in the rear, handcuffed behind his back, feet     on the pavement. An explosives COP kneels in front of     him.                                                      (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                    25.39   CONTINUED:                                                        39                                COP                  And that's all you used during the                  event? Nothing else?                                BASHER                  Are you accusing me of booby-                  trapping?                                COP                  Well, how 'bout it?                                VOICE (O.S.)                  Booby traps aren't Mr. Tarr's style.     The Cop turns; standing behind him, stone-faced, is     Rusty, in a dark suit and shades.                                RUSTY                  Isn't that right, Basher?                                  BASHER                  That's right.                                RUSTY                         (flashing badge,                          briefly)                  Peck, A.T.F. Let me venture a                  guess. A simple G4 mainliner,                  double-coil, backwound, quick                  fuse with a drag under 20 feet.                         (off Cop's reaction)                  That's our man. Tell me something                  else. Have you checked him for                  booby traps on his person? I mean                  really checked, not just for                  weapons...     The Cop looks bewildered. Rusty steps forward, yanks     Basher onto his feet, spins him around. He moves his     hands up and down Basher's legs, around his waist, under     his arms.                                RUSTY                  Will you go find Griggs and tell                  him I need to see him?                                  COP                  Who?                                                         (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                              26.39   CONTINUED:    (2)                                           39                                RUSTY                         (loud)                  Just go find him, will you?                         (as Cop stalks off;                          under his breath)                  How fast can you put something                  together with what I passed you?                                 BASHER                  Done.   Thirty seconds all right?                                 RUSTY                  From when?                                 BASHER                          (as we hear something                           SNAP from behind his                           back)                  Now.40   MOVING WITH RUSTY AND BASHER                                40     They're hurrying; ahead of them is a wall of squad cars,     a police cordon, and a crowd of onlookers.                                 RUSTY                  Ten seconds?                                 BASHER                  Not quite.   Is Danny here?                                RUSTY                  Around the corner.                                BASHER                  Be good working with professionals                  again.                         (beat)                  Okay: go.     And they both start running.                                RUSTY                  Everyone down! Get down!      There's                  a bomb in the...     And behind them the SQUAD CAR ERUPTS with a BANG! A     collective SCREAM rises from the crowd, everyone ducks,     cops hit the ground and cover their heads. Rusty and     Basher move briskly past them, dodging their splayed legs     like tires on an obstacle course. By the time the     Explosives Cop thinks to look around for Basher, they've     both disappeared.     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                              27.41   OMITTED                                                     4142   INT. UNDER BIG TOP - DAY                                    42     The Chinese National Circus, currently on tour in the     Western United States. Trapeze artists, gymnastic teams,     and trampoline daredevils fly, somersault, spin, and     swing through the air.     A full house applauds every feat. Danny and Rusty sit in     the bleachers, surrounded by parents and kids munching on     spindles of cotton candy. Tough guys in toyland.                             ANNOUNCER (V.O.)                      (in Chinese, then                       English)               Ladies and gentlemen: the amazing               Yen.     A funambulist (YEN) begins his high-wire act...                             DANNY               So he can walk on a rope.                             RUSTY               More than that.                             DANNY               So he can juggle. We need a               grease man, not an acrobat. Who               else is on the list?                             RUSTY               He is the list.                                                   (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                             28.42   CONTINUED:                                                   42                                  DANNY                  Who else?                                  RUSTY                  Watch.     Halfway across the wire, the funambulist sits. And very     slowly, but without hesitation, he contorts himself into     a ball, never losing his balance. Even Danny is     impressed.                                RUSTY                  There's your grease man.43   EXT. SANTA MONICA PIER PARKING LOT - DAY                     43     Danny and Rusty exit the circus tent, head for their car.                                  DANNY                  We need Saul.                                RUSTY                  He won't come. He swore off the                  game a year ago.                                DANNY                  He get religion?                                  RUSTY                  Ulcers.                                DANNY                  You can ask him.     Rusty stops, stares at Danny, sighs.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                               29.43   CONTINUED:                                                      43                                  RUSTY                  I can ask.44   EXT. DOG TRACK/BETTING WINDOW (MIAMI, FLA) - DAY                44     SAUL BLOOM, 50s, befuddled, wearing a corduroy jacket     patched at the elbows and a duffer's hat, counts out     money through the window, lists his bets. He checks his     tickets, plunges them into his pants pocket, and moves     off...45   THROUGH TRACK LOBBY                                             45     Rusty appears in the f.g. behind a pillar, as dapper as     Saul is down-at-heel, watching him go. When Saul     disappears into the tunnel, he moves.46   IN INFIELD                                                      46     Saul sits on one of the long, general admission steps     under the box seats. He produces an orange from his     pocket, starts to peel it. A pair of well-shined shoes     appears behind him. Saul senses their presence, but     doesn't turn around.                                SAUL                  I saw you in the paddock before                  the second race, outside the men's                  room, when I placed my bet. I saw                  you before you even got up this                  morning.                                RUSTY                  How ya been, Saul?                                  SAUL                  Never better.                                RUSTY                  What's with the orange?                                SAUL                  My doctor says I need vitamins.                                RUSTY                  So why don't you take vitamins?     For the first time, Saul cranes his neck and shoots a     look up at Rusty.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                              30.46   CONTINUED:                                                     46                                SAUL                  You come here to give me a                  physical?                                RUSTY                  I got a box seat. Come on.47   EXT. BOX SEATS - LATER                                         47     A waiter serves coffee to Rusty and Saul.                                RUSTY                  I thought you drank bloody Mary's                  at the track, Saul.                                SAUL                  A man shouldn't drink on the job.                                RUSTY                         (re: race)                  Who we rooting for here?                                 SAUL                  Number four.     There's the BELL; the electronic rabbit is released and     the dogs break out of the gate. From this point on     Saul's eyes never leave the race.                                SAUL                  You gonna ask me? Or should I                  just say no and get it over with?                                RUSTY                  Saul, you're the best there is.                  You're in Cooperstown. What do                  you want?                                SAUL                  Nothin'. I got a duplex now, I                  got wall-to-wall and a goldfish,                  I'm seeing a nice lady, she works                  the unmentionables counter at                  Macy's. I've changed.                                RUSTY                  Guys like us don't change, Saul.                  We stay sharp or we get sloppy,                  but we don't change.                                SAUL                  Quit connin' me.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                             31.47   CONTINUED:                                                    47     They watch the race.                                RUSTY                  That your hound way in the back                  there?                                SAUL                  He breaks late. Everyone knows                  this.     On the track: The dogs are now coming around the back     stretch, and the crowd on the bleachers rises, cheering.                                SAUL                  You gonna treat me like a grownup                  at least? Tell me what the scam                  is?     Under the noise: Rusty leans in and whispers in Saul's     ear. Saul's eyes widen, then glaze over as all around     him people are standing and shouting.     Rusty places an envelope in Saul's lap, then gets up and     walks out as, on the track, the #4 dog crosses the finish     line... last by several lengths.     Saul considers his options. In one hand: a fan of     losing tickets. In the other (courtesy of Rusty): a     ticket to Las Vegas.                                DANNY (V.O.)                  And Saul makes ten.48   INT. BAR - NIGHT                                              48     Danny and Rusty look weary from all this recruitment.   A     nearby TV with the sound off plays a promo for an     upcoming Tyson fight.                                DANNY                  Ten should do it, don't you think?                         (as Rusty shrugs)                  You think we need one more?                         (as Rusty shrugs)                  You think we need one more.                         (as Rusty shrugs)                  Okay. We'll get one more.49   INT. CROWDED SUBWAY CAR (CHICAGO)                             49     Native Chicagoans demonstrate their indigenous sixth     sense -- L-car balance -- as the TRAIN bends and SHAKES     at a corner.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              32.49   CONTINUED:                                                     49     One passenger in particular keeps his footing, a young     man in a frayed jacket: LINUS.     Two overgroomed STOCKBROKERS stand with their backs to     the young man, yammering about high interest yields, and     consequently they don't notice (and neither do we, not at     first) that Linus is slowly picking one of their pockets.     The thievery is glacier-paced: Linus, his face always     forward and inscrutable, gingerly raises one tail of his     target's Brooks Brothers jacket and then, with     incomparable dexterity, unbuttons his wallet pocket with     a flick of his thumb and forefinger.     From halfway down the train car, nothing appears amiss,     and no passenger looks the wiser. Or so it seems...     A copy of the Chicago Sun-Times, opened and upheld,     lowers just enough to allow its reader a peek at Linus.     It is Danny, smirk on his lips: He (and he alone) is     aware of the ongoing heist.     Back to Linus, his spoils (a Gucci wallet) now in sight,     but he waits for just the right moment, and then, when     the train hits another curve...     ... he stumbles forward, his left hand finding support on     the Stockbroker's shoulder as his right relieves the man     of his wallet.                                LINUS                  Sorry 'bout that.                                STOCKBROKER                  No problem, guy.     The Stockbroker resumes his yacketing, oblivious, as     Linus tucks his prize into his own jacket pocket, face     betraying nothing. Only Danny appreciates the artistry     performed here today. He folds the Sun-Times under his     arm as...50   INT. UNION STATION - SUBWAY STATION                            50     ... The SUBWAY SQUEALS to a stop. Linus jumps out,     leaving his prey aboard, and a few moments later, Danny     steps off, too.51   INT. UNION STATION - EVENING                                   51     The hurly-burly of rush hour in Union Station.                                                      (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                 33.51   CONTINUED:                                                       51     Commuters zig and zag, this way and that, all on furious     schedules, and Linus slips blithely through them, in no     hurry, a man who's pulled this job a thousand times     before.     He dodges and sidesteps crazed commuters, and except for     a brief brush with one well-dressed man (the Sun-Times     tucked under his arm), he escapes the station without     incident.52   EXT. UNION STATION - EVENING                                     52     Linus exits, casually reaching into his jacket to count     his winnings. And his face falls.     All he finds where the stolen wallet once resided is a     calling card. On one side, in engraved printing:     "DANIEL OCEAN." On the flip side, in handwriting: "Nice     pull. Murphy's Bar, Rush & Division."53   INT. MURPHY'S BAR - FIVE MINUTES LATER                           53     On a tabletop: the Gucci wallet beside a half-drunk     Guinness. Linus enters the front door, cases the joint,     spots the wallet on the table, and Danny behind it.                                 DANNY                  Hi, Linus.   Sit down.                                 LINUS                  Who are you?                                DANNY                  A friend of Bobby Caldwell's.   Sit                  down.     Linus balks, prideful, but sense finds a way, and he     sits.                                DANNY                  Bobby told me about you. Said you                  were the best set of hands he ever                  saw. Didn't expect to find you                  working wallets on the subway.                                LINUS                  That wasn't work, that was                  practice.     Danny reaches into his jacket and sets a plane ticket on     the table. He keeps his hand over it.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                               34.53   CONTINUED:                                                      53                                DANNY                  You're either in or out, right                  now.                                LINUS                  What is it?                                DANNY                  A plane ticket. A job offer.                                LINUS                  You're pretty trusting pretty                  fast.                                DANNY                  Bobby has every faith in you.                                LINUS                  Fathers are like that.                         (off Danny's reaction)                  He didn't tell you?                         (as Danny shakes                          his head)                  He doesn't like me trading on his                  name.                                DANNY                  You do this job, he'll be trading                  on yours.                                LINUS                  What if I say no?                                DANNY                  We'll get someone else who won't                  be quite as good. You can go back                  to feeling up stockbrokers.     Linus considers. He looks down at the ticket, then at     the wallet. It's one or the other.     A waitress passes, and Danny signals her for his bill.     When his attention returns to Linus, the wallet     remains... but the ticket beneath his hand is gone.     Linus is reading it.                                DANNY                  That's the best lift I've seen you                  make yet.                                LINUS                  Las Vegas, huh?                                                       (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                  35.53   CONTINUED:    (2)                                                 53                                DANNY                  America's playground.     And our MAIN THEME KICKS IN as we...                                                       CUT TO:54   LAS VEGAS - AERIAL VIEW - ESTABLISHING - DUSK                     54     The city looms out of the desert like an infernal     machine, lights flashing, skyline pulsing, a neon     fortress.     One thing in particular catches our eye: an enormous     billboard with an ad for the upcoming boxing match     between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. Below it, a     promoter hands out fliers for strip joints and call     girls.55   OMITTED                                                           5556   INT. REUBEN TISHKOFF'S MANSION (LAS VEGAS) - NIGHT                56     Frank Catton is already here, mixing a drink, when --     DING DONG -- the DOORBELL CHIMES. Tishkoff shuffles     toward the front (he's given the help the night off) and     opens his door to find...                                LIVINGSTON                  Trick or treat.     ... Livingston, Basher, Yen, the Malloys, Saul and Linus     crowding his doormat. A taxi-van pulls away behind them.                                TISHKOFF                  What, you guys get a group rate or                  something?57   INT. TISHKOFF'S LIVING ROOM - LATER                               57     Along one wall, a buffet table has been set up, and while     Virgil and Turk pile shrimp onto plates, Saul pockets an     orange for later.                                TURK                  You make it out to Utah much,                  Saul?                                                       (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                  36.57   CONTINUED:                                                        57                                SAUL                         (last man you'd see                          in the Tabernacle)                  Not as much as I'd like.                                 TURK                  You should.   You'd like it.   You'd                  like Provo.                                VIRGIL                         (scarfing a jumbo                          shrimp)                  Anybody see the salsa goes with                  this?     At the wet bar, Basher mixes a drink for Livingston; on a     couch, Yen balances coffee-table ornaments into a     skyscraper, to Frank's astonishment. In a corner, off on     his own, Linus watches the company, his eyes narrowing,     wary. Until...                                  DANNY (O.S.)                  Gentlemen:    welcome to Las Vegas.     Danny stands at the top of the stairs leading into the     room, flanked by Rusty and Tishkoff. He starts down...                                 DANNY                  Everybody eaten? Good. Everybody                  sober? Close enough. Most of you                  know each other already. You                  probably haven't met Linus                  Caldwell before, he's Bobby's kid                  outta Chicago.     Linus trades nods around the room.                                DANNY                  Okay. Before we start, nobody's                  on the line here yet. What I'm                  about to propose to you happens to                  be both highly lucrative and                  highly dangerous. If that doesn't                  sound like your particular brand                  of vodka, help yourself to as                  much food as you like and safe                  journey. No hard feelings.                         (pauses, soberly)                  Otherwise, come with me.     He turns and walks out of the living room, into another.     Rusty is close behind; he turns briefly, casts an eye     over the assembled and keeps going. The guys look each     other over, sizing things up.                                                         (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               37.57   CONTINUED:    (2)                                              57                                   BASHER                  What the hell.     And he follows, along with Frank and Livingston. Then     Virgil, Turk and Yen. Then Saul. That leaves Linus,     watching the line of men disappear. He turns to find     Tishkoff by his side, staring at him.                                   LINUS                  Hi.                                TISHKOFF                  You're Bobby Caldwell's kid, huh?                                   LINUS                  Yeah.                                   TISHKOFF                  From Chicago?                                   LINUS                  Yeah.                                TISHKOFF                  It's nice there. You like it?                                   LINUS                  Yeah.                                TISHKOFF                  That's wonderful. Get in the                  goddamn room.58   INT. GAME ROOM                                                 58     A tournament-level pool table holds center stage here.     Atop its green felt sits a raised, elaborate miniature of     Terry Benedict's Las Vegas: three casinos and hotels     with the Strip running between them.     As the eleven surround the table and the model...                                DANNY                  Gentlemen: the 14000 block of Las                  Vegas Boulevard. Otherwise known                  as the Bellagio, the Mirage,                  the M.G.M. Grand. Together,                  they're the three most profitable                  casinos in Las Vegas...                                                      (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               38.58   CONTINUED:                                                     58     Danny removes the Strip from the model. Revealed beneath     is a complex substructure, featuring three tunnels, each     leading from a casino to a single freight-sized elevator     shaft which descends into an enormous vault.                                DANNY                  Gentlemen: the Bellagio vault.                  Located below the Strip, beneath                  two hundred feet of solid earth.                  It safeguards every dime that                  comes through each of the three                  casinos above it.                         (beat)                  And we're going to rob it.     Everyone takes a breath, awed.                                LINUS                  Smash-and-grab job, huh?                                RUSTY                  It's a little more complicated                  than that.     Danny picks up a remote control and flips on a panel of     Tvs.                                DANNY                  Courtesy of Frank Catton, new                  blackjack dealer at the Bellagio,                  security tapes from the three                  casinos.     On the monitors: three montages of black-and-white     security tapes, starting within the three casinos' cages,     moving into the tunnels, then (as the TVs unite in their     images) pushing into the elevator and eventually the     vault.     As the group's glances shoot back and forth from the TV     to the corresponding section of the model, i.e. from a     POV of the tunnel to the miniature tunnel itself...                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                 39.58   CONTINUED:    (2)                                                 58                                  DANNY                  Okay.    Bad news first. This place                  houses   a security system which                  rivals   most nuclear missile silos.                  First:    we have to get within the                  casino   cages --                                RUSTY                         (indicating)                  -- here, here, and here --                                DANNY                  -- which anyone knows takes more                  than a smile. Next: through                  these doors, each of which                  requires a different six-digit                  code changed every twelve hours.                  Past those lies the elevator, and                  this is where it gets tricky: the                  elevator won't move without                  authorized fingerprint                  identifications --                                RUSTY                  -- which we can't fake --                                DANNY                  -- and vocal confirmations from                  both the security center within                  the Bellagio and the vault below - -                                RUSTY                  -- which we won't get.                                DANNY                  Furthermore, the elevator shaft is                  rigged with motion detectors --                                RUSTY                  -- meaning if we manually override                  the lift, the shaft's exit will                  lock down automatically and we'll                  be trapped.                                DANNY                  Once we've gotten down the shaft,                  though, then it's a walk in the                  park: just three more guards with                  Uzis and predilections toward not                  being robbed, and the most                  elaborate vault door conceived by                  man. Any questions?                                                         (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                40.58   CONTINUED:    (3)                                               58     Silence. For a moment, each man keeps his two dozen     questions or more to himself. At last, one speaks up...     The Amazing Yen.    In Cantonese.   Of course, no one     understands him.    Except Rusty.                                RUSTY                         (in response)                  No. Tunneling is out. There are                  Richter scales monitoring the                  ground for one hundred yards in                  every direction. If a groundhog                  tried to nest there, they'd know                  about it. Anyone else?     Another silence. Either the guys are too dumbfounded by     that bilingual exchange or too numbed by the task ahead     of them to speak.                                TURK                  You said something about good                  news...                                DANNY                         (smiles, happy                          someone asked)                  The Nevada Gaming Commission                  stipulates: a casino must hold in                  reserve enough cash to cover every                  chip at play on its floor. As I                  mentioned, this vault services                  each of the three casinos above                  it. That means: during the week,                  by law, it must hold anywhere from                  sixty to seventy million dollars                  in cash and coin. On a weekend,                  between eighty and ninety million.                  On a fight night, like the one two                  weeks from tonight, the night                  we're going to rob it, at least a                  hundred and fifty million. Without                  breaking a sweat.                         (gazing about room)                  Now there are eleven of us. Each                  with an equal share. You do the                  math.     MOVING AROUND the table ON ten faces, as everyone does     precisely that, in their heads, except for Virgil who     does it on his fingers. He whistles.                                RUSTY                  That's what I said.                                                       (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                41-43.58   CONTINUED:    (4)                                               58     Everyone seems suitably impressed by their share.                                 SAUL                  I have a question.                          (as Danny turns                           to him)                  Say we do get into the cage, and                  through the security doors there,                  and down the elevator we can't                  move, and past the guards with                  guns, and into the vault we can't                  open...                                RUSTY                  Without being seen by the cameras.                                DANNY                         (off everyone's                          astonishment)                  Oh, right. Sorry. I forgot to                  mention that.                                SAUL                  Say we do all that. We're just                  supposed to walk outta there with                  a hundred million dollars in cash                  on us without getting stopped?     Danny smiles, his broad, sure-of-himself grin, the one     Rusty couldn't deny earlier and these guys won't deny     now.                                 DANNY                  Yeah.     Saul looks panic-stricken; like that, his ulcer has     flared up, and he pops a Rolaid in his mouth.                                 DANNY                  Alright.   Here's how we'll begin.59   OMITTED                                                         5960   INT. MGM GRAND CASINO - DAY                                     60     MOVING WITH a cash cart as security guards push it past     tourists, past cocktail waitresses, past Linus sitting at     a blackjack table.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                             44.60   CONTINUED:                                                    60                                DANNY (V.O.)                  First task: reconnaissance. I                  want to know everything that's                  going on in all three casinos.                  From the rotation of the dealers                  to the path of every cash cart...61   INT. BELLAGIO - BREAK ROOM - DAY                              61     Two security TECHNICIANS on a smoke break grumble about     their sex lives. Across the room, Frank sits innocently     doing a crossword.                                DANNY (V.O.)                  I wanna know everything about                  every guard, every watcher, anyone                  with a security pass. I wanna                  know where they're from, what                  their nicknames are, how they take                  their coffee...     BETTER VIEW     REVEALS: On his crossword, Frank has scribbled a     transcript of the Technicians' conversation. As he     glances up at an electronic keycard clipped to one     Technician's belt...62   INT. MIRAGE CASINO - DAY                                      62     ... an identical keycard is swiped through a keypad, its     light flashing red to green, admitting a guard into an     "Employees Only" doorway.     The Malloys, who've shadowed the guard here, note a     sentry standing watch by the door as well as a security     camera embedded in the ceiling above: No one walks     through that portal unchecked.                                DANNY (V.O.)                  Most of all, I want you guys to                  know these casinos. They were                  built as labyrinths, to keep                  people in. I want you guys to                  know the quick routes out.     Their job done, the Malloys start toward the casino's     exit... in different directions. They begin to argue:     The exit's that way -- no, it's that way.                                                              45.63   EXT. LAS VEGAS BOULEVARD - OUTSIDE THREE CASINOS - DAY          63     With two dozen other tourists, Basher crosses the street     and when he meets a manhole cover he stops and,     extracting a small metal hook from his jacket, removes it     from its perch, so casual about the action that no     passerby looks twice at him.                             DANNY (V.O.)               Second task: power. On the night               of the fight, we're gonna throw               the switch on sin city. Basher,               it's your show.     Basher drops into the hole, pulling the cover over him,     as we PULL UP OVER the Bellagio and...                                                      DISSOLVE TO:64   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY                  64     Dozens of monitors manned by dozens of watchers canvas     dozens of casino tables; only NASA's control rooms house     more technology.     Apart from the fray, another bank of monitors manned by     two watchers (let's call them, for no particular reason,     FAT and SLIM) oversee a different section of the casino:     the cage, its tunnels, the elevator, and the vault it     leads to; everything, in fact, which our team saw in the     game room.                             DANNY (V.O.)               Third task: surveillance. Casino               security has an eye and ear on               everything, so we'll want an eye               and ear on them. Livingston...65   INT. BELLAGIO - LIVINGSTON'S ROOM - CLOSE ON SET OF             65     SCHEMATICS OF BELLAGIO - NIGHT     A page of the set Danny and Rusty "borrowed" from Kuehn &     Associates. Danny and Livingston study it.     WIDER                             LIVINGSTON               Well, it's not the least               accessible system I've seen, but               it's close. I don't suppose they               have a closed-circuit feed I could               tap into?                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              46.65   CONTINUED:                                                     65     Danny shakes his head:     no such luck.                                LIVINGSTON                  Then this is definitely a black                  bag job. Do they employ an in-                  house technician?     Danny looks to Rusty who, behind them, tampers with     Livingston's audio-video setup: several portable     monitors, a laptop and modem, telephone headset, etc.                                 RUSTY                  Two.   And one of them is lonely.     DANCE MUSIC overwhelms the SOUNDTRACK...66   INT. OLYMPIC GARDENS STRIP CLUB - NIGHT                        66     ... as we join a lap dance already in progress. A     security Technician (one of the two Frank eavesdropped on     in the break room) shells out twenty bucks every three     minutes for a DANCER to grind her pelvis against his     chest...     ... and while the Technician grins not-very-soberly and     ogles her perfect breasts and paws at her midriff, the     Dancer secretly removes the keycard from his belt.                                 DANCER                  I'll be right back, honey.    Don't                  move a muscle.                                TECHNICIAN                         (drunk and in                          love)                  Depends on the muscle.     She pouts, flirtingly, as she does for every idiot who     drops a line like that, then makes her way to...67   EXT. OLYMPIC GARDENS STRIP CLUB - NIGHT                        67     ... where Rusty waits for her, and when she slips him the     keycard, he slips her a c-note.                                RUSTY                  Thanks, Charmaine. I'll have it                  back within the hour.                         (as he goes)                  Say hello to your mom for me.                                DANCER                  Say it yourself. She'll be                  onstage in five minutes.                                                            47.68   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - NIGHT                                 68     FOLLOWING a bunch of balloons -- all congratulating     "Happy Anniversary!" -- as a delivery boy carries them     through the casino, and just as he's passing an     "Employees Only" door (complete with sentry and embedded     ceiling camera)...     ... he bumps into a TOURIST, and the balloons drift out     of his hand and into the camera...                             TOURIST               Hey, watch it, bud...69   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY               69     As the balloons fill the frame of one monitor...                             SLIM               433, we have visual impairment on               the east door camera.70   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - BY CAGE DOOR - NIGHT                  70     The SENTRY (#433) hears this and spots the balloons     covering the embedded camera and approaches the delivery     boy (who by freak accident happens to be Virgil     Malloy)...                             SENTRY               Excuse me, sir: You're going to               have to move your balloons.     ... but Virgil's too busy picking a fight with the     Tourist (surprise, surprise: Turk Malloy) to listen.                             VIRGIL               Who you calling 'bud,' pal?                             TURK (TOURIST)               Who you calling 'pal,' friend?                             VIRGIL               Who you calling 'friend'...                      (can't think of                       another)               ... bud...     And with the Sentry out of position...     ... Livingston (dressed now in a technician's uniform,     don't worry about how he got it) goes quickly to the door     and swipes the newly-acquired keycard and when it flashes     red-to-green, he enters...     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                            48.71   INT. CAGE - HALLWAY                                         71     He's in. Livingston takes a moment, his brow perspiring     (he's in the lions' den now), then checks his palm:     drawn there in ballpoint is a diagram of the cage     corridors.72   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY - ON         72     MONITOR NEXT TO BALLOON-CLOUDED ONE     Livingston appears and, as nonchalantly as he can, he     ambles down a hallway, then another, until he reaches...73   INT. CAGE - HALLWAY                                         73     ... an unmarked door next to the entrance to the security     center. Livingston swipes his keycard to enter...74   INT. CIRCUITRY ROOM                                         74     A giant walk-in closet/switchboard full of wires, plugs,     lights, etc. Livingston goes to work:     FLURRY OF SHOTS     He splices into all sorts of wires and lines and cables.     Meanwhile...75   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - BY CAGE DOOR - NIGHT                 75     ... Virgil and Turk argue, nose-to-nose, "accidentally"     blocking the Sentry from the balloons...                             VIRGIL               You hear about this new medical               discovery they made? It's called               a 'sense of direction.'               Apparently we're all supposed to               have one...                             TURK               Yeah yeah yeah, whatever, balloon               boy.                             SENTRY               Gentlemen, gentlemen...                                                               49.76   INT. CIRCUITRY ROOM                                             76     Livingston's work here is almost done: he clips a small     mechanism (known in his industry as a "spider" -- it's     small, black, antenna-less and hides in dark places) to a     main conduit, then verifies a tiny receiver he holds is     picking up the spider's feed.     One last click into place...77   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY                  77     ... causes a brief, unnoticed blip on Slim's monitors...78   INT. BELLAGIO - LIVINGSTON'S ROOM - NIGHT                       78     ... and transmits all the views of the cages onto the     monitors upstairs. Danny and Rusty witness their     appearance.                             DANNY               Why do they paint hallways that               color?                             RUSTY               They say taupe is very soothing.79   INT. CAGE - HALLWAY                                             79     Livingston steps outside. His job done, he exhales and     wipes the sweat from his brow and checks his palm for     directions and...     Whoops. His sweat just smeared the ballpoint. He's     flying blind. He looks left down a corridor, then right,     trying to remember which way he came from. No idea.80   INT. BELLAGIO - LIVINGSTON'S ROOM                               80                             DANNY               Uh-oh.81   INT. CAGE - HALLWAY                                             81     MOVING WITH Livingston as he tries to find his way out.     He takes a left...     Whoops again: here comes Fat, dead ahead.    Livingston     has no recourse but to march right by him.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                50.81   CONTINUED:                                                       81                                  FAT                  Hiya.                                  LIVINGSTON                  Fine, thanks.     Livingston continues on, and maybe for a second he thinks     he's in the clear, especially when he sees the exit     looming ahead, but then Fat turns behind him and hails     him back...                                  FAT                  Hey...82   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - BY CAGE DOOR - NIGHT                      82     At last, the Sentry outmaneuvers Virgil and Turk and     grabs the balloons himself. Virgil quickly snatches them     back...                                VIRGIL                  Hey... get your own balloons.83   INT. CAGE - HALLWAY                                              83     Livingston approaches the exit's keypad and swipes his     keycard: the light does not flash red-to-green.                                  FAT                           (on his tail)                  Hey...     Livingston looks: he swiped the wrong side of his     keycard. He tries again. Red flashes to green. He     pulls the door...     ... but Fat blocks it.       Livingston peers up, certain he's     had it.84   INT. BELLAGIO - LIVINGSTON'S ROOM                                84     Danny and Rusty simultaneously lean forward.85   INT. CAGE - HALLWAY                                              85                                FAT                  You dropped this.     Fat holds out Livingston's receiver and drops it in his     hand.                                                        (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                  51.85   CONTINUED:                                                      85                                  LIVINGSTON                  Thanks.     And he's out.86   INT. BELLAGIO - LIVINGSTON'S SUITE - NIGHT                      86     Danny and Rusty exhale.                                  DANNY                  Well...                                  RUSTY                  Yeah...                                  DANNY                  Fourth task:    construction...87   INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY                                            87     The gang hauls building materials -- lumber, tools,     paint, etc. -- and Yen hauls three times his share,     carrying objects on his head/shoulders/arms, a circus     act in a hardware store.                                DANNY (V.O.)                  We need to build an exact, working                  replica of the Bellagio vault.                                  RUSTY (V.O.)                  For practice.                                DANNY (V.O.)                  Something like that.     As Linus hauls in materials, Danny takes him aside.                                DANNY                  Fifth task: intelligence. We                  need those codes, Linus. From the                  only man who has all three.                                  LINUS                  Benedict.                                DANNY                  Learn to love his shadow.                         (back to the team)                  Sixth task: transport...                                                       (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                   52.87   CONTINUED:                                                       87                                LINUS                         (young and eager)                  Wait, wait, wait. All I get to do                  is watch him?                               DANNY                  For now. You gotta walk before                  you crawl.                                RUSTY                         (to Linus, correcting Danny)                  Reverse that.                                DANNY                         (toward the Malloys)                  Sixth task: transport...88   EXT. BILLY TIM'S VAN AND TRUCK DEALERSHIP - OFFICE - DAY         88     Outside a window: Turk and Virgil jump up and down on     opposite bumpers of a van, testing its durability.     Inside, Frank negotiates with BILLY TIM, a Cal-     Worthingtonesque redneck car dealer, who half-pays     attention to him, half-frets over the Malloys outside.                                BILLY TIM                  I'm sorry: eighteen-five each is                  the best offer I can make you.                                FRANK                         (playing a bit of                          a dandy)                  Oh, I understand perfectly. They                  are beautiful vans. Well, I thank                  you for your time, Mister...?                                 BILLY TIM                  Denham.   Billy Tim Denham.                                FRANK                  Yes, Denham, like a jean.                         (they shake)                  You know: you have lovely hands                  -- do you moisturize?                                 BILLY TIM                  I'm sorry?                                                        (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 53.88   CONTINUED:                                                     88     Frank's not letting go of the man's hand, the object now     is to force Billy Tim into lowering his price just to get     Frank out of his office.                                FRANK                  I swear by it. I try all sorts of                  lotions. I went through a                  fragrance-free period last year,                  but now I'm liking this new brand                  fortified with rose hip. My                  sister, you know, she uses the                  aloe vera with the sun screen                  built in...                                BILLY TIM                         (just can't get                          his hand back)                  Uh-huh. You said you'd be willing                  to pay in cash?                                FRANK                  I did. You know: they say                  cinnamon is wonderful for your                  pores. Read that on the internet.                  And that ideally you should be                  wearing gloves to bed, but I find                  that would interfere with my                  social agenda. Problem is: I get                  a reaction to camphor so I can't                  use traditional remedies...                                BILLY TIM                  If you could pay cash, I could                  probably drop the price a little.                  To, say, seventeen...                         (as Frank squeezes                          a little)                  ... sixteen each.                                FRANK                         (big smile)                  That would be lovely.89   INT. WAREHOUSE - BACK TO DANNY - DAY                           89     overseeing the construction, reviewing his list of tasks     on his fingers, suspecting he's missed one.                                DANNY                  ... Power, surveillance,                  transport...                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              54.89   CONTINUED:                                                     89                                TISHKOFF                  Anything I can do?     Danny's eyes flash from Tishkoff to Saul, behind him,     dressed in his usual frumpy attire: that's what he     missed.                                DANNY                  Get your wallet.90   INT. HABERDASHERY                                              90     A tailor fits Saul for the finest suits Tishkoff's money     can buy. As Saul smoothes out a coat sleeve...                                SAUL                  This is nice material.                                DANNY                  It's Armani, Saul.                                SAUL                  It's very nice.     Saul's not fooling anyone: he's scared, right down to     his Florsheims. Danny nods to the tailor: "Give us a     moment."                                DANNY                  Saul, you sure you're ready to do                  this?     Saul turns away, and when he faces Danny again, his     entire aspect has changed: His features stone, his eyes     icicles.                                SAUL                  If you ever question me again,                  Daniel, you won't wake up the                  following morning.     They exchange a long, fierce glance; Saul's eyes never     waver.                                  DANNY                  You're ready.     Danny signals Tishkoff: let's pay, and Saul immediately     slumps into his old self. To a mirror, he practices...                                SAUL                  Hello.  My name is Lyman Zerga...                         (this time a little                          deeper)                  My name is Lyman Zerga...                                                            55.91   INT. LIMOUSINE - DAY                                         91     Saul's dressed completely (and immaculately) now in     Armani, with his hair slicked back, a brief moustache on     his lip, and impenetrably dark glasses riding the bridge     of his nose. He continues to practice, his accent even     deeper now and specifying no geographic origin -- could     be Scottish, could be Israeli...                             SAUL               My name is Lyman Zerga... My name               is Lyman Zerga...     Danny passes him an envelope full of $100 bills.                             DANNY               There's a little over twenty grand               there, Saul. Try to make it last.     Saul pats down his pockets for something he can't find...                                SAUL               You seen my...                             DANNY                      (handing him Rolaids)               Bought you a fresh roll.     The limo pulls to a stop, and outside there is a flurry     of FOOTSTEPS before Saul's door swings open, and Turk and     Virgil (both costumed as bodyguards) stand waiting for     him.                             VIRGIL               Mr. Zerga, we're here.                             DANNY               Good luck, Lyman.                             SAUL                      (hesitates, then gets                       out)               Luck is for losers.92   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - DAY                                   92     Saul, as Lyman Zerga, makes as low-profile an entrance     into the Bellagio as he can with bodyguards preceding and     trailing him. He approaches a V.I.P CONCIERGE...                             V.I.P. CONCIERGE               Good afternoon, sir. How can I be               of service?                                                    (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                  56.92    CONTINUED:                                                      92                                 SAUL                   My name is Lyman Zerga.   I'd like                   a suite, please.                                 V.I.P. CONCIERGE                   Do you have a reservation with us?                                 SAUL                          (long glare at him)                   I don't make reservations.      A longer glance at Lyman's bodyguards tells the Concierge      this is not a man to be denied. As he jumps to it...A93   INT. OUTSIDE RESTAURANT'S ENTRANCE - DAY                        A93      Outside a restaurant's entrance, Rusty and Linus sit      before two slot machines, idly dropping in quarters as      they watch Saul receive the royal treatment.                                  RUSTY                   Okay.   Tell me about Benedict.                                 LINUS                   The guy is a machine.93    EXT. BELLAGIO CASINO - DAY (SUPER SLOW MOTION)                  93      TERRY BENEDICT emerges from a Town Car and, from his      haircut to his smile to his pant-cuffs, he is effortless      perfection. He is Vegas royalty, yet he denies eye      contact to no man. He strides into his casino and,      appearing behind a pillar, Linus follows him in.                                 LINUS (V.O.)                   He arrives at the Bellagio every                   day at two p.m. Same Town Car,                   same driver. Remembers every                   valet's name on the way in. Not                   bad for a guy worth three-quarters                   of a billion.94    INT. BELLAGIO - ELEVATOR BAY (SUPER SLOW MOTION)                94      The doors open, and Terry Benedict steps out.     Linus      watches from a craps table.                                 LINUS (V.O.)                   Offices are upstairs. He works                   hard, hits the lobby floor at                   seven on the nose.     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 57.95   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - NIGHT (SUPER SLOW MOTION)               95     From a balcony, Benedict stands overlooking the casino     floor. His CASINO MANAGER approaches and they confer.                             LINUS (V.O.)               Spends three minutes on the floor               with his casino manager.                             RUSTY (V.O.)               What do they talk about?                             LINUS (V.O.)               All business. Benedict likes to               know what's going on in his               casinos. There's rarely an               incident he doesn't know about               or handle personally.96   INT. HIGH ROLLERS' ROOM (SUPER SLOW MOTION)                    96     Benedict works the room. He speaks to a Japanese High     Roller in Japanese, to a Swiss in German, etc.                             LINUS (V.O.)               He spends a few minutes               gladhanding the high rollers.               He's fluent in Spanish, German and               Italian, and he's taking Japanese               lessons, getting pretty good at               it. He's out by seven-thirty,               when an assistant hands him a               black portfolio. Contents: the               day's take and new security codes.               Then he heads to the restaurant.     Indeed, as Benedict makes his exit, an assistant hands     him a black portfolio.97   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - OUTSIDE RESTAURANT                      97     Rusty and Linus watch the entrance:    No one enters.                             LINUS               Give him another ten seconds.     Around the corner comes Benedict, carrying his black     portfolio.                              LINUS               As I said:   a machine.                             RUSTY               And that portfolio contains the               codes to all the cage doors?                                                     (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 3/30/01                                 58.97   CONTINUED:                                                      97                                LINUS                  Two minutes after they've been                  changed, he's got 'em in hand.                         (beat)                  I'll tell you: you guys picked                  a helluva target. He is as smart                  and ruthless as they come. The                  last guy caught cheating here,                  Benedict not only sent him up for                  ten years, he got the bank to                  seize the guy's home and                  bankrupted --                                RUSTY                  -- his brother-in-law's tractor                  dealership, I heard.                                LINUS                  He doesn't just go after your                  knees, he goes after your                  livelihood. And everyone-you-                  ever-met's livelihood.                                  RUSTY                  You scared?                                  LINUS                  You suicidal?                                RUSTY                  Only in the morning.                         (beat)                  Now what?                                LINUS                  Now comes the girl... if she comes                  in after he does, that means                  they're in a snit.                                RUSTY                  Where's she come from?                                LINUS                  The museum downstairs. She's the                  curator there. Wait... here she                  is. You'll like this.     Rusty looks up as...     ... a beautiful woman (the one Danny saw on Benedict's     arm in the New York Times photo) appears. Elegantly     dressed, a knockout, she moves very much in her own     private space. And Rusty's face just about drops at the     sight of her.                                                       (CONTINUED)     OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 3/30/01                     58A.97   CONTINUED:    (2)                                    97                                LINUS                  I don't know if we can use her                  yet. I haven't even caught her                  name.                                RUSTY                  Tess.                                LINUS                  What?                                 RUSTY                         (looks very certain                          about this, very                          certain and very                          upset)                  Her name is Tess.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 59.98    EXT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT                                         98      Construction continues into the wee hours.99    INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT                                         99      A facsimile of the Bellagio vault sprouts into shape.      Livingston fixes a security camera in a corner, then      matches its image (of Frank staple-gunning floorboard      into place) to a security tape of the real McCoy.      On the other side of the garage, Turk and Virgil go to      work on their newly-purchased vans, with wrenches and      blow torches. Tishkoff recognizes a gasket Virgil      handles.                              TISHKOFF                This looks familiar. Where'd you                get this?                              VIRGIL                Off your Rolls.                               TISHKOFF                Danny!   Tell 'em not to touch the                Rolls!      Overlooking the whole enterprise is Danny, grinning from      ear to ear, happy in his work. He checks a stopwatch in      his hand as...      ... the false top to the cash cart before him flies open,      revealing Yen within, his arms, legs and torso folded      into a three-by-four foot space. He whips an air hose      from his mouth and inhales deeply. Danny checks his      watch.                               DANNY                29:47.   Everything okay in there?      Yen responds. Of course, Danny doesn't understand him.      But Rusty does, appearing behind him.                              RUSTY                But what doesn't beat the shit out                of being a circus performer?      Danny turns to Rusty:    he looks very, very serious.100   EXT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT                                         100      Danny and Rusty adjourn from the warehouse.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                 60.100   CONTINUED:                                                       100                                  DANNY                   What is it?                                 RUSTY                   Tell me this isn't about her. Or                   I'll walk off the job right now.                          (off Danny's reaction)                   Tess. She's with Terry Benedict                   now. Tell me this isn't about                   screwing the guy who's screwing                   your wife.                                  DANNY                   Ex-wife.                                  RUSTY                   Tell me.                                  DANNY                   It's not.   About that.   Entirely.      A beat.                                 DANNY                   You said you needed a reason.                   Well, this is mine.                          (beat)                   When we started in this business,                   we had three rules. We weren't                   gonna hurt anybody. We weren't                   gonna steal from anybody didn't                   have it coming. And we were gonna                   play the game like we had nothing                   to lose. Well, I lost something.                   Someone. That's why I'm here.      A beat.                                 RUSTY                   Here's the problem: we're                   stealing two things now. And when                   push comes to shove, if you can't                   have both, which are you gonna                   choose? And remember: Tess                   doesn't divide eleven ways.      A beat.                                 DANNY                   If things go to plan, I won't be                   the one who has to make that                   choice.      The two men stand quietly for a moment.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                               61.100   CONTINUED:    (2)                                              100                                 DANNY                   How'd she look by the way?                   Tess...                                 RUSTY                   I've seen her happier.      CLOSE ON PICASSO'S WOMAN WITH GUITAR                                 TESS (V.O.)                   'Radiant' is the word. Absolutely                   radiant.101   INT. BELLAGIO ART GALLERY - DAY                                101      The painting hangs under a portrait lamp on a wall      between a van Gogh and a Monet.      At a distance, admiring it, are Tess, the SELLER and the      seller's AIDE-DE-CAMP. A staff photographer and other      personnel mill nearby.      Off to the side, in a sharp blazer, Tess stands      transfixed by the painting.                                 TESS                   He painted it in the summer of                   1912, after the break-up with                   Fernande Olivier.                                 SELLER                   She must have put him through                   hell.                                 TESS                   You can see the conflict. He                   makes her both erotic and                   grotesque. He's hopelessly drawn                   to her, and yet she drives him                   crazy.                                 AIDE-DE-CAMP                          (checking his watch)                   Mr. Santaniello has an early                   flight. Do you think Mr. Benedict                   will be late?                                 TESS                   Mr. Benedict is never late.      Just then the double doors to the gallery swing open, and      Terry Benedict enters, right on time.                                                       (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 5/31/01                                62.101   CONTINUED:                                                     101      He is elegant, beaming, commanding.    All that's missing      is a blare of trumpets.                                  BENEDICT                   Am I late?                                 TESS                   Not at all, Mr. Benedict.                          (greeting him)                   Allow me to introduce to you Mr.                   Jean Santaniello.                                 BENEDICT                          (to Seller)                   Mr. Santaniello, I apologize if I                   kept you. I had to iron out a few                   issues with my fight promoter. I                   gave him an unlimited budget, and                   he exceeded it.                                 SELLER                   I understand it's going to be a                   hell of a fight.                                  BENEDICT                   We hope.      Tess angles Benedict toward the painting.                                  TESS                   Here it is.      Benedict moves toward the painting, and as he does he      catches Tess in his glance, and his smile deepens. Then:                                 BENEDICT                   Magnificent! I've been following                   her for fifteen years now. At                   last I've made her a home.                          (to Tess)                   All the arrangements and so                   forth...                                  SELLER                   Done.   She's yours.                                 BENEDICT                   Not mine. She belongs to everyone                   who comes into my hotel. Isn't                   that right, Ms. Ocean?                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               63.101   CONTINUED:    (2)                                              101                                 TESS                   Yes, Mr. Benedict.                                 BENEDICT                   She's lovely, isn't she?                          (as the Seller is                           confused; Benedict                           specifies painting)                   I can't be the only one who was                   after her.                                 SELLER                   You're the only one who met my                   price.                                 BENEDICT                   Ah, but this... You can't put a                   price on beauty. But I shouldn't                   philosophize. I own casinos,                   after all.                                 AIDE-DE-CAMP                   Can we get a quick shot? Mr.                   Santaniello has a plane to catch.                                 BENEDICT                   Of course, of course.      Tess understands: she is not to be part of the photo.      Benedict and the Seller pose together and...      Flash!102   INT. BELLAGIO ART GALLERY - LATER                              102      The Seller exits with the Aide-De-Camp in tow. Benedict      remains, enthralled by the painting. Tess appears beside      him.                                  TESS                   You like it?                                 BENEDICT                   I like that you like it.                          (beat)                   I have some bad news from the                   world of high fashion. It seems                   Mike Tyson will be wearing red on                   Saturday night. Red trunks with a                   white stripe.                                  TESS                   Oh?                                                       (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                     64.102   CONTINUED:                                                         102                                 BENEDICT                   And you, as I recall, will be                   wearing a red Donna Karan? And                   when the TV cameras pick us up in                   the front row, that red dress...                                   TESS                   I see.                                 BENEDICT                   He's a charming man, but no one's                   going to be watching him when they                   can make a study of you. I've                   asked Paolo to find three or four                   things for you to try. I hope                   you're not too disappointed.      She is, but she buries it.                                   BENEDICT                   Are you sure?      She nods, smiles faintly.                                 BENEDICT                   I'll see you tonight.      Instinctively she leans in to kiss him.        He recoils ever      so slightly.                                   TESS                   What?    We're alone.      He lets his eyes wander along the length of the ceiling,      over all the eye-in-the-sky cameras hidden there. She      follows his look.                                 BENEDICT                   In my hotels, there's always                   someone watching.      But he kisses her anyway.                                 TESS                   I'll see you tonight.      He glances once more on the Picasso as he moves away.                                 BENEDICT                   Actually, I do like it.      And Tess remains, thinking:         he's rich, he's handsome and      wooing, but is she happy?       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                            65.103    OMITTED                                                     103thru                                                               thru105                                                                105106    INT. HIGH ROLLERS' ROOM - NIGHT                             106       Quiet, elegant, tense. One table is operating only, in       the corner, and at it Saul, as Lyman Zerga, furtively       peels at the roll of Rolaids and slips one in his mouth.                               HIGH ROLLER #1                 Weak stomach, Mr. Zerga?                               SAUL                 I don't believe in weakness. It                 costs too much. I don't believe                 in questions, either.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                                 66.106   CONTINUED:                                                       106      This shuts the High Roller up fast. Saul looks up from      the table, just perceptibly, to spot Terry Benedict, on      his way in, right on schedule. He approaches the PIT      BOSS by the entrance.                                   BENEDICT                   Eddie.    Anything for me?                                 PIT BOSS                   Mr. Zerga, sir. Lyman Zerga. In                   the third position. Wishes to                   speak with you privately.                                   BENEDICT                   Who is he?                                 PIT BOSS                   Businessman of some kind, working                   mostly in Europe. He's very                   vague, but I asked around. Word                   is he deals primarily in arms.                   One of the biggest.                                   BENEDICT                   Zerga?    Never heard of him.                                   PIT BOSS                   Yessir.    That's why I don't doubt                   it.                                 BENEDICT                   He's staying here?                                 PIT BOSS                   Checked in two nights ago, sir.                   He's in the Mirador suite.                                 BENEDICT                   How's he doing?                                  PIT BOSS                   Up.   Almost forty grand.                                 BENEDICT                          (knowing he can't                           duck this)                   Good for him...107   INT. BELLAGIO - RESTAURANT - SAME TIME                           107      Tess Ocean sits in a booth and sips at a glass of wine      and checks her watch: Benedict is late or very close to      being so...                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               67.107   CONTINUED:                                                     107      ... when a pair of hands slips over her shoulders and      starts to caress her arms.                                  TESS                          (without looking                            at him)                   You're thirty seconds late. I was                   about to send out a search                   party...                          (recognizing the hands,                            she turns, stunned)                   Danny...                                 DANNY                          (standing over her,                           grinning)                   Hello, Tess.                                 TESS                          (thrilled and petrified                           and stunned to see                           him, but outraged                           mostly)                   What are you doing here?                                 DANNY                   I'm out.                                 TESS                   You're out.                                 DANNY                   Of prison. You remember. The day                   I went for cigarettes and never                   came back. You must have noticed.                                  TESS                   I don't smoke.                          (as he sits)                   Don't sit --                                 DANNY                          (but he does)                   They said I'd paid my debt to                   society.                                 TESS                   Funny, I never got a check.      Danny smiles.    Tess stares daggers.                TESS                      DANNY        You can't stay.                   It's good to see you.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                  68.107   CONTINUED:    (2)                                                 107                                 DANNY                   You're not wearing your ring.      A beat.                                TESS                   I sold it. And I don't have a                   husband. Or didn't you get the                   papers?                                 DANNY                   My last day inside.                                 TESS                   I told you I'd write.      Danny reaches his hand (ringed) for hers (ringless), but      she removes it from the table.                                   TESS                   Danny.   Go.   Now. Before...                                   DANNY                   Benedict?      She freezes: Danny knows.       He smiles:   it's okay.   Then,      to a passing waiter:                                  DANNY                          (his fingers two                           inches apart)                   Whiskey and --                          (then one inch                           apart)                   -- whiskey.                                   TESS                   Danny...                                 DANNY                   You're doing a great job curating                   the museum.      She sighs, exasperated.                                 DANNY                   The Vermeer is quite good. Simple                   but vibrant. Although his work                   definitely fell off as he got                   older.                                 TESS                   Remind you of anyone?                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                   69.107   CONTINUED:    (3)                                                107                                 DANNY                   And I still get Monet and Manet                   confused. Which one married his                   mistress?                                  TESS                   Monet.                                  DANNY                   Right.   Manet had syphilis.                                 TESS                   They also painted occasionally.      A beat.                                 DANNY                   You don't know how many times I                   played this conversation out in my                   head the last two years.                                 TESS                   Did it always go this poorly?                                  DANNY                   Yes.                                 TESS                   Sounds frustrating.                                 DANNY                   You were never easy.                          (as she shrugs)                   Okay. I'll make this quick. I came                   here for you. I'm gonna get on with                   my life, and I want you with me.                                 TESS                   You're a thief and a liar.                                 DANNY                   I only lied about being a thief.                   But I don't do that anymore.                                  TESS                   Steal?                                  DANNY                   Lie.                                 TESS                   I'm with someone now who doesn't                   have to make that kind of                   distinction.                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 03/20/01                                  70.107   CONTINUED:    (4)                                                 107                                 DANNY                   No, he's very clear on both.                                  TESS                   Nice.   Work on that for two years, too?                                 DANNY                   Year and a half.      A light smile from Tess.                                 TESS                   Do you know what your problem is?                                 DANNY                   I only have one?                                 TESS                   You've met too many people like you.                          (then)                   I'm with Terry now.                                 DANNY                   Does he make you laugh?                                 TESS                   He doesn't make me cry.108   INT. HIGH ROLLERS' ROOM - SAME TIME                               108      At the table, Saul bets heavily for the bank. Benedict      approaches, stands off to the right, watching.                                 HIGH ROLLER                          (to Saul, noticing his                           heavy bet)                   You don't want to get in the hole                   too heavy to this Benedict. A                   friend of mine once borrowed a                   hundred g's from the guy. Two                   months went by, Benedict hadn't                   heard from him, he calls my friend                   up, asks 'Where's my money?' I'll                   get to it when I get to it,' my                   friend says. Half hour later                   Benedict's in my friend's hotel                   room, dangling him off his 10th                   floor balcony by his feet. 'You                   gonna get to it now?'      High Roller turns over a nine.     Saul wins.                                                          (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 03/20/01                                  70A.108   CONTINUED:    (A1)                                                 108                                 FRANK                   Bank wins -- natural nine.      Benedict steps forward.                                    HIGH ROLLER                   Hiya, Terry.                                    BENEDICT                   Mr. Weintraub.     How's everything?                                 HIGH ROLLER                   Eh. They put too much grenadine                   in my Shirley Temple.                                 BENEDICT                   And here I thought you were                   drinking vodka.                          (turning attention to                           Saul)                   Mr. Zerga.                                 SAUL                   Mr. Benedict. I recognize you                   from the TV. You know, nine                   casinos out of ten, owner comes                   up in the middle of the hand to                   ask me what I want. I respect                   your waiting.                                                          (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/01                               71.108   CONTINUED:                                                     108                                 BENEDICT                   You're the guest, sir.                                 SAUL                   And I have to impose on your                   hospitality. Can you sit in for a                   hand?                                 BENEDICT                   I'd love to, Mr. Zerga, but the                   gaming board would feed me to my                   white tigers.                                 SAUL                   That's a shame. You're the king                   of Vegas and you have to play                   craps in the alley.                                 BENEDICT                   No shame at all. Reminds me of my                   youth.      CORNER - MOMENT LATER      Benedict and Saul are huddled in a corner.                                 SAUL                   The fight is Saturday, is it not?                                  BENEDICT                   Yes.   I can get you seats...                                 SAUL                   No, no. Hand-to-hand combat                   doesn't interest me. I have a                   package arriving here Saturday                   evening. A black briefcase,                   standard size, the contents of                   which are very valuable to me.                                 BENEDICT                   I'd be happy to put it in the                   house safe for you.                                 SAUL                   The house safe is for brandy and                   grandmother's pearls. I'm afraid                   I need something more secure.                                 BENEDICT                   I can assure you, the house safe                   is utterly...                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                72.108   CONTINUED:    (2)                                               108                                 SAUL                          (his looks stops                           Benedict)                   I can assure you, Mr. Benedict,                   your generosity in this matter                   will not go overlooked. Now:                   what can you offer me besides the                   safe?      Saul's eyes are pure steel: he is not a man familiar      with being denied. And Benedict recognizes that fact.109   INT. BELLAGIO - RESTAURANT - SAME TIME                          109                                 TESS                   See, the kind of people you steal                   things from, they have insurance                   to compensate them. They get made                   whole again. I had to leave New                   York to get away from what                   happened. How do I get my five                   years back, Danny?                                 DANNY                   You can't. But what you can do is                   not throw away another five years.                                 TESS                   You don't know anything about --                                 DANNY                          (leaning in)                   Listen, you don't love me anymore,                   you want to make a life with                   someone else? Fine, I'll have to                   live with that. But not him.                                 TESS                   Spoken like a true ex-husband.                                 DANNY                   I'm not joking, Tess.                                 TESS                   I'm not laughing.                          (beat)                   You have to admit there's a                   conflict of interest when you give                   me advice about my love life.      Danny exhales and leans back.                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                  73.109   CONTINUED:                                                      109                                DANNY                   Yes. But that doesn't mean I'm                   wrong.      She looks at him, and maybe part of her knows that he      isn't. She looks down at his ring, somewhat wistful.      He sees her looking at it.                                 TESS                   Do you remember what I said to you                   when we first met?                                 DANNY                   You said: you better know what                   you're doing.                                 TESS                   Do you? Now? Because -- truly --                   you should walk out the door if                   you don't.                                 DANNY                   I know what I'm doing.                                 BENEDICT                   What are you doing?      Terry Benedict is hovering over them, fresh from his      meeting with Saul.                                    DANNY                   Catching up.                                 TESS                   Terry, meet my ex-husband...                                 DANNY                          (extending his hand)                   Danny Ocean.                                 BENEDICT                          (taking it)                   Mr. Ocean.                          (to Tess)                   Forgive me for being late. A                   guest required my attention.                                 TESS                   Danny was just walking through the                   restaurant and spotted me.                                    BENEDICT                   Is that right?                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                  74.109   CONTINUED:    (2)                                               109                                 DANNY                   I was shocked myself.   Imagine the odds.                                 BENEDICT                   'Of all the gin joints in all the                   world...'                          (beat)                   You've been in prison until                   recently, isn't that right? How                   does it feel to be out?                                 DANNY                   About the same. Everything you                   want is still on the other side.                                 BENEDICT                   There's the human condition for                   you.                                 TESS                   Terry, Danny was just about to...                                 DANNY                   I just wanted to say hello.   For                   old time's sake.                                 BENEDICT                   Stay for a drink, if you like.                                 TESS                   He can't --                                 DANNY                          (simultaneously)                   -- I can't.      An awkward silence.    Benedict takes Tess's hand in his.                                 BENEDICT                   Well, then I don't imagine we'll                   be seeing you again, Mr. Ocean.                                 DANNY                   You never know.                                 BENEDICT                   I know everything that happens in                   my hotels.                                 DANNY                   So I should put those towels back.                                 BENEDICT                   The towels you can keep.                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               75.109   CONTINUED:    (3)                                              109                                 DANNY                          (smiles, rises)                   Good seeing you, Tess.                                 TESS                   Take care, Danny.      Danny goes.    When he's out the door...                                  TESS                   I'm sorry --                                 BENEDICT                          (like lightning)                   Don't be.110   OUTSIDE RESTAURANT                                             110      MOVING WITH Danny as he exits, his fingers snapping, he      saw the mist in Tess's eyes just now, he knows he's got a      fighting chance with her, but what he does not know is...      ... Linus is tailing him, ten steps back. He stops,      glances back at the restaurant quizzically, then      continues following Danny.111   INT. BASHER TARR'S HOTEL ROOM - DAY                            111      Nobody lights a match, this place is a powder keg.      Basher sits on his bed, surrounded by combustibles,      whittling and polishing a plastic explosive into an      emerald shape. There's a KNOCK at the door...                                 MAID (O.S.)                   House cleaning.                                 BASHER                          (eyes never leave                           his work)                   Just jumping into the shower, can                   you come back later?      The maid moves on, on TV:     A Reporter broadcasts live...                                 REPORTER (V.O.)                   We're here at the historic                   Paradiso Hotel and Casino, once                   the prize resort of Las Vegas, now                   seconds away from demolition...      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                            76.112   EXT. PARADISO HOTEL (ON STRIP) - DAY                        112      Just down the block from the Terry Benedict Trinity      stands (for a few remaining moments) the edifice of the      Paradiso, Reuben Tishkoff's bankrupted hotel-casino.      A crowd has gathered to witness its destruction: Terry      Benedict, for one, his finger on the button and his face      in the spotlight; Tess another, standing (near)by her      man; Danny, too, hidden within the masses, eyes fixed on      his ex; and Linus, who keeps a steady bead on Danny.                              REPORTER                ... and here's Reuben Tishkoff,                former owner of the Paradiso, come                to bid farewell to his fabled                resort and wish Terry Benedict all                the best with his future plans for                the property...      Terry greets Reuben before the TV cameras and newspaper      reporters, and everyone's smiling and shaking hands, but      behind those smiles and under their breaths...                              BENEDICT                Good to see you.                              REUBEN                Go shit in your mouth.      Tess, her eyes roaming the crowd, finds a pair staring      back at her: Danny's. She holds his glance a moment --      long enough for both Linus and Benedict to notice --      before turning away, to...      ... Benedict, who puts his public smile back on and steps      up to a podium alongside MIKE TYSON and LENNOX LEWIS, and      together they all put their hands on "the plunger" and      Benedict leans into a microphone...                              BENEDICT                I hope there's as much dynamite in                the Paradiso as there will be in                this Saturday's fight.      ... and -- WHOOMPH -- the PLUNGER comes down and -- write      your own onomatopoeia here -- the PARADISO IMPLODES.      Reuben wipes a tear from his eye.                              REUBEN                G'bye, honey...113   INT. BASHER TARR'S HOTEL ROOM - SAME TIME                   113      As the Paradiso crumbles outside his window, the lights      and TV in his room flicker and go out.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                77.113   CONTINUED:                                                       113                                 BASHER                   Shit.      As he scrambles out the door, making sure to post a "Do      Not Disturb" sign...                                 RUSTY (V.O.)                   Saturday day is yours. Do                   whatever you like with it.114   INT. TISHKOFF'S - GAME ROOM - NIGHT                              114      FROM ABOVE, SLOWLY DESCENDING: Ten of our eleven (Basher      is missing) surround the model of the three casinos.      Rusty leads everyone in a run-down of the heist...                                 RUSTY                   Call is at five-thirty. Makeup                   and costume. Saul's package                   arrives at seven-fifteen, and                   Linus grabs our codes. All goes                   well there and we're a go. Seven-                   thirty Virgil and Turk deliver Yen                   and we're committed. From that                   point, we have thirty minutes to                   blow the power or he suffocates.      We DESCEND ONTO the miniature of the vault, then --                                                        DISSOLVE TO:115   INT. BELLAGIO VAULT - NIGHT                                      115      FROM ABOVE, DESCENDING STILL: This is the Real Deal.      The Bellagio vault. A clock reads: 8:03.                                 RUSTY (V.O.)                   Once the electricity goes, all                   entry points to the vault and its                   elevator will automatically lock                   down for two minutes. That's when                   we make our move...      Two guards wheel in a cash cart and leave it in the      vault's center and march out again, closing the thick      metal door behind them. When the vault LOCKS CLICK...      ... We STOP DESCENDING, just above the cash cart. There      is silence for a spell, the lights flicker out, then...      ... the false top of the cart springs open, revealing Yen      within, folded neatly.                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 78.115   CONTINUED:                                                     115      He inhales deeply, then slowly unspools himself from the      cash cart until, at last, he crouches atop it. He takes      in the room: vacant and silent.      Except for Rusty, who walks right by him, incongruously.                                 RUSTY                   Okay: they've put you in the                   middle of the room, far from                   everything. You have to get from                   here to the door without touching                   the floor. What do you do?      A WIDER ANGLE reveals we're...116   INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT                                         116      The Bellagio vault has been fully reproduced here, and      what we've been watching has been a trial run. Ten of      the eleven (Turk and Virgil in guard costumes, Basher is      still missing) watch from offstage, like a film crew      watching a dress rehearsal.                                 FRANK                   Fin says he shorts it.                                 LIVINGSTON                   Make it a sawbuck.      From a dead squat, Yen leaps, hands first, from the cash      cart to a ledge five yards away, and grips it safely with      both hands without touching the floor. From this      position, he'll inch his way to a counter, then, to the      door...      Frank pays up. Behind him, a DOOR SLAMS, and he turns to      see Basher, at last. Sniffing the air, he double-takes      -- Basher's covered head-to-toe in sewage.                                 BASHER                          (and he's not happy)                   We're in deep shit.117   EXT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT                                         117      Linus hoses Basher off, his accent angry and thick as he      spits out water and the story of his afternoon and if      nobody understands a word he's saying, that's okay...                                                       (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                79.117   CONTINUED:                                                      117                                 BASHER                   The damn demo crew didn't use a                   coaxial lynch to back the                   mainline! Onioned the mainframe                   couplet!      Reuben leans into Livingston...                                 REUBEN                   You understand any of this?                                 LIVINGSTON                   I'll explain later.                                  BASHER                   Blew the backup grid one by one!                   Like dominoes!                                 DANNY                          (as he hardly                           understands                           this either)                   Basher. What happened?118   FLASHBACK - INT. VEGAS SEWERS - THAT AFTERNOON                  118      A cabal of city engineers investigates subterranean fuse      boxes, and Basher tails them, hiding near a waterfall of      effluent.                                 BASHER (V.O.)                   They did exactly what I planned to                   do. Only they did it by accident.                   Now they know their weakness. And                   they're fixing it.      An ECHOING FOOTSTEP draws the attention of the city      engineers, and Basher retreats into the waterfall.119   INT. TISHKOFF'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT (PRESENT)                   119      Basher towels off his hair...                                 DANNY                   So...                                 BASHER                   So unless we decide to do this job                   in Reno, we're screwed.      Danny rises and paces, frustrated.      He's come too far for      things to go awry now.                                                        (CONTINUED)       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                80.119    CONTINUED:                                                      119                                    RUSTY                    We could --                                    DANNY                    By tomorrow?       Danny keeps pacing; Rusty hangs his head and thinks;       Basher dries his hair.                                  BASHER                           (an idea occurs                            to him)                    We could use a pinch.       Danny stops; Rusty looks up.                                  DANNY                    What -- is a pinch?120    INT. LAB - DAY                                                  120       Scientists demonstrate the pinch, a lithium wire in a       glass vacuum tube the size of a small refrigerator.                                  BASHER (V.O.)                    A pinch is the equivalent of a                    cardiac arrest for any broad-band                    electrical circuitry. Or better                    yet: A pinch is a bomb... but                    without the bomb. Every time a                    nuclear weapon detonates, it                    unleashes an electromagnetic pulse                    which shuts down any power source                    within its vicinity. That tends                    not to matter in most cases                    because the nuclear weapon                    destroys everything you might need                    power for anyway. Now a pinch                    creates a similar electromagnetic                    pulse, but without the headache of                    mass destruction and death. So                    instead of Hiroshima, you get the                    Seventeenth Century.A121   INT. TISHKOFF'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT                             A121                                    RUSTY                    For how long?                                  BASHER                    About ten seconds.                                                         (CONTINUED)       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                       81.A121   CONTINUED:                                                           A121                                  DANNY                    Could a pinch take out the power                    of an entire city? Like, I                    don't...                                  BASHER                    Las Vegas?                           (beat)                    But there's only one pinch in the                    world big enough to handle it.       Danny and Rusty trade a look:        They have their answer.                                    DANNY                    Where?                                  BASHER                           (a beat, then balefully)                    Pasadena.B121   EXT. CAL TECH CAMPUS - NIGHT                                         B121       Headlights hit a sign: "Cal Tech. HIGH-SECURITY AREA.       KEEP OUT." A white VAN SHOOTS PAST it.121    OMITTED                                                              121122    INT. WHITE VAN - NIGHT                                               122       Turk and Virgil man the front seats as Danny, Basher, Yen       and Linus huddle in the back. Basher and Yen both       prepare equipment for their raid: hooks and a rope for       Yen, a small blowtorch and a drill for Basher.                                   DANNY                           (to Basher and Yen)                    You two ready?       They nod and, with Danny, start out the van's rear door.       Linus starts to follow but...                                  DANNY                    What are you doing?                                  LINUS                    Coming with you.       Danny smiles and shakes his head.                                    LINUS                             (furious)                    But...                                                           (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                  82.122   CONTINUED:                                                      122      The van door slams in his face.123   EXT. LABORATORY - AT PERIMETER DOOR - NIGHT                     123      Danny picks a lock, then he, Yen, and Basher disappear      into the lab's interior.124   INT. WHITE VAN                                                  124      Linus twiddles his thumbs, tired of being seated at the      kids' table. Meanwhile, up front, another Mensa meeting      has been called to order...                                    VIRGIL                   Are you a man?                                   TURK                   Yes.    Nineteen.                                    VIRGIL                   Are you alive?                                   TURK                   Yes.    Eighteen.                                    VIRGIL                   Evel Knievel.                                  TURK                   Shit!   Okay, your turn...      SAME SCENE - LATER                                 VIRGIL                   Co-sign squared over .0455.                                   TURK                   No.    Co-sign squared over .0415.                                    VIRGIL                   .04-five-five.                                    TURK                   One-five.                                 VIRGIL                   You're so wrong.                                 TURK                   You don't know your string theory,                   bitch.                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 83.124   CONTINUED:                                                     124      SAME SCENE - LATER      After a spell of silence...                                 VIRGIL                   Mom told me she loves me more.                                 TURK                   She told me she was going to tell                   you that.      ON LINUS                                  TURK (O.S.)                   Stop it.                                  VIRGIL (O.S.)                   Make me.                                  TURK (O.S.)                   Stop it.                                  VIRGIL (O.S.)                   Make me.      They can be heard WRESTLING. Linus has had enough.     He      sneaks out the van's back door without the Malloys      hearing him.125   AT PERIMETER DOOR                                              125      Linus sulks along the laboratory's perimeter, finds the      door Danny pick-locked, and disappears inside.      A moment passes.      A moment passes.      And the next door opens, and Danny, Basher, and Yen      appear, pinch in hand -- they've succeeded. They weave a      path to the van...126   INT. VAN                                                       126      Turk and Virgil are still wrestling as the trio appears.      Danny, Basher and Yen pile in the back...                                  DANNY                   We got it.   Let's go.      Turk floors it, and they're off.                                                       (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                    84.126   CONTINUED:                                                        126                                    DANNY                   Wait a minute.      Turk brakes, and they're not.                                    DANNY                   Where's Linus?      Everyone realizes:    he's not here.   Just then:      SIRENS and ALARMS and lights come to life.      Uh-oh.      Danny spins to look out the back of the van, Basher by      his side. His eyes scan the compound, then:                                    DANNY                   There he is.      DANNY'S POV      of the lab, and its beveled-glass stairwell. Linus      scrambles up its steps, a flight ahead of a duo of chasing      guards. As he ascends out of sight...      Danny shifts his focus to -      DANNY'S POV      The other side of the building, and two more guards      arriving on the roof and moving toward the staircase:      Linus will be trapped.      BACK TO SCENE      Danny, Basher, and Yen squat side-by-side-by-side,      watching all this. Yen makes a colorful observation about      Linus's predicament; of course, no one understands it.                                 VIRGIL (O.S.)                   One of us should help him.                                 BASHER                          (who speaks Danny's mind)                   Then there'll be two of us who                   need saving.                                 DANNY                   He knows where we are.                                                          (CONTINUED)       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 85.126    CONTINUED:    (2)                                              126       DANNY'S POV       Both sets of guards appear on the rooftop, and find no       Linus between them -- he's disappeared.                                     TURK (O.S.)                    Where'd he go?       BACK TO SCENE       Danny and Basher slowly turn: Turk and Virgil crouch       inches behind them, wanting to spectate as well.                                   TURK                            (off Danny's look)                    What?                           (then, realizing their                            goof, to his brother,                            remonstratively)                    Would you -- shouldn't someone be                    behind the wheel?       CRASH!127    OMITTED                                                        127&                                                                     &128                                                                   128129    EXT. LABORATORY - NIGHT                                        129       A second-story WINDOW EXPLODES as a desk chair flies       through it, followed shortly by Linus who leaps onto a       steel-mesh overhang running alongside the building.130    OMITTED                                                        130A131   INT. VAN                                                       A131                                  DANNY                    Alright, back it up, back it up!       Virgil leaps into the driver's seat, shifts into reverse.B131   EXT. VAN                                                       B131       Linus runs along the overhang, then leaps down, onto the       reversing van, and rolls along its roof and down its       windshield.                                                        (CONTINUED)       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                  86.B131   CONTINUED:                                                      B131       THROUGH the windshield: Virgil jabs his thumb over his       shoulder: get in the back.                                  DANNY                           (appearing from                            the rear doors)                    C'mon, c'mon...       Linus scrambles back over the van, and Danny and Yen pull       him in. Virgil hits the gas for a quick getaway, but he       does so before the rear doors are closed, and one of them       slams shut right on Yen's hand -- CRUNCH!                                  YEN                    Ahhh!131    INT. WHITE VAN                                                  131       as it hurtles away. Basher tends to Yen, cradling his       hand, and Danny stares down Linus, breathless.                                  DANNY                    I say stay in the van, you stay in                    the van, got it? 'Cause you lose                    focus for one second in this game,                    and someone gets hurt.                                  LINUS                           (he's had just                            about enough of                            Danny's shit)                    I got it.       They continue staring daggers at one another as...A132   EXT. VAN                                                        A132       The van pulls away into the night...                                  JIM LAMPLEY (V.O.)                    It's fight night in Las Vegas...132    EXT. LAS VEGAS - DAY                                            132       Incoming lanes of the I-15 reflect bumper-to-bumper       steel; planes in the air are stacked for five miles over       the desert; even Gila monsters below seem Vegas-bound.                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                           87.132   CONTINUED:                                               132                                    JIM LAMPLEY (V.O.)                   ...   people are flooding in from                   all   over the country to see what                   has   been dubbed the 'Fight to End                   All   Fights'...133   EXT. LAS VEGAS - DAY                                     133      JIM LAMPLEY broadcasts live from a mobbed Strip.                                 JIM LAMPLEY                   ... and even though it's still                   five hours 'til the opening bell,                   the energy here is fever-pitched.134   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO                                     134      Every table is in play, every seat filled.                                                               88.135   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - THE EYE IN THE SKY             135      The Bellagio's CASINO MANAGER (the one Linus spied with      Benedict before) checks in with his watchers.                                 MANAGER                How we doing?136   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - DAY                                       136      Livingston has moved A/V operations into Lyman Zerga's      suite. As he scours the same images the watchers      downstairs do, he eavesdrops on their communications      through his headset.                              WATCHER (V.O.)                       (over Livingston's                        headset)                Cotton couldn't be taller.137   IN MIRADOR SUITE BATHROOM                                      137      Lost in the luxury his role dictates, Saul floats in a      full-sized Jacuzzi and chews on a hundred dollar cigar;      Reuben, meanwhile, paces the floor, nervously.                              TISHKOFF                Where are they? That's what I                want to know. Where are they?                              SAUL                       (as Lyman)                They'll be here.                              TISHKOFF                       (to himself, mocking                        "Lyman")                'They'll be here.' Thanks a lot,                Fidel.138   AT LIVINGSTON'S CONSOLE                                        138      Punching up a new set of views from the Eye In The Sky,      Livingston thrusts forward, alarmed by one.                                 LIVINGSTON                Yikes.139   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - LOBBY - DAY                             139      Rusty keeps watch on the hotel's side entrance.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                               89.139   CONTINUED:                                                     139      He glances at his watch, then outside again as the white      van arrives, dropping off only Linus and Danny, who slaps      the van's roof before it pulls away.      As Danny and Linus enter the lobby, Rusty falls into step      with them, exchanging a smile with Danny but not Linus,      he still looks chastised from the car-trailer.140   INT. ELEVATOR                                                  140      Riding up...                                 RUSTY                   You boys have a nice trip?      Rusty, smiling, looks to Linus, glowering, then to Danny.      Before Danny can explain the doors part at the Mirador      Suite, where Livingston greets them urgently.                                 LIVINGSTON                   We have a problem.141   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - ON LIVINGSTON'S LAPTOP - DAY              141      A mug-shot of Danny, complete with vital information:      height, weight, criminal history.                                 LIVINGSTON                   You've been red-flagged. It means                   the moment you step on the casino                   floor, they'll be watching you.                   Like hawks. Hawks with video                   cameras.                                 DANNY                   This is a problem.      A pall falls over the room: this is more than a problem,      this is disastrous. Only SAUL dares make a noise,      HUMMING and SPLASHING in the next room.                                  RUSTY                   Saul:   time to get out.                                 SAUL (O.S.)                          (as Lyman)                   It's time when I say it is.                                  RUSTY                   Now!      We hear HIM JUMP-TO-IT out of the tub...                                                       (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               90.141   CONTINUED:                                                     141                                 SAUL (O.S.)                          (himself again)                   I'm out.                                 RUSTY                          (back to Danny)                   You have any idea how this                   happened?      Before Danny can answer...                                 LINUS                   I do. He's been chasing                   Benedict's woman. Got into a real                   snarl with him two nights ago.                          (off Danny's look)                   I was tailing you.                                 DANNY                   Who told you to do that?      Before Linus can answer...                                 RUSTY                   I did.                          (he and Danny                           hold a stare)                   I knew you couldn't leave Tess                   alone.                                 TISHKOFF                   Who's Tess?                                 DANNY                   My wife.                                 RUSTY                   Ex-wife.                                 SAUL                          (appearing in a                           bathrobe)                   Tess is here?                                  RUSTY                          (eyes still on                           Danny)                   I'm sorry. I didn't know if it                   would sting you, but it did.                          (the most difficult                           words he's ever                           had to say)                   You're out, Danny.                                                       (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                91.141   CONTINUED:    (2)                                               141                                  TISHKOFF                   He's out?!                                 RUSTY                   It's that or we shut down right                   now. His involvement puts us all                   at risk.      Danny and Rusty face off, furious with each other.                                 DANNY                   This isn't your call.                                 RUSTY                   You made it my call. When you put                   her ahead of us. You made it mine.                                 DANNY                   This is my job.                                  RUSTY                   Not anymore.      Danny stares daggers at Rusty. But he can see: everyone      in the room is on Rusty's side. Defeated, he stalks out      of the room, onto a balcony, but not without staring down      Linus.                                 TISHKOFF                   But, but... he can't just be out.                   Who's gonna take his place?      Rusty turns to Linus.                                 RUSTY                   Kid, you up for it?      Linus's eyes drift to Danny outside -- whatever acrimony      he felt before, he never meant to kick Danny off the job.      He nods, half-cocksure/half-scared-pissless: he's up for      it.                                 RUSTY                          (to Livingston)                   Find everyone else. Let 'em know                   the change in plan. Curtain goes                   up at seven.      Livingston exits. Everyone else in the room staggers      about, like witnesses after an execution. Rusty steps      out onto the balcony, perhaps to console Danny, but (as      Linus watches them from inside) their words cannot be      heard.                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               92.141   CONTINUED:    (3)                                              141                                 SAUL                   Tess is with Benedict now?                          (as nobody responds)                   She's too tall for him.142   OMITTED                                                        142&                                                                    &143                                                                  143144   INT. BENEDICT'S SUITE - DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT                  144      Tess, readying herself for the big evening, meets her own      glance in a dressing mirror, then spots Benedict in its      reflection, pacing the bedroom behind her.                                 BENEDICT                          (on phone)                   Yes. Yes. No. Very much no.                          (beat)                   Then inform Mr. Levin he'll find a                   better view of the fight in front                   of his television. Surely he must                   have H.B.O.      Hanging up, Benedict approaches her, puts his hands on      her shoulders...                                 BENEDICT                   What are you thinking about?                                 TESS                   You.      She smiles at him in the mirror.    His glance in it,      turns from her to himself.145   INT. EXECUTIVE ELEVATOR                                        145      Riding down, Terry Benedict checks his watch.     The      elevator doors open and...146   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - ELEVATOR BAY                            146      ... he steps onto his casino's floor, the king of Las      Vegas.      The time is 7:00.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                              93.147   ON BALCONY OVERLOOKING CASINO FLOOR                           147      Benedict meets his casino Manager, according to schedule.                              BENEDICT                Any sign of Ocean?                                MANAGER (WALSH)                Not   in a couple hours. You want                him   out? I can bounce him from                the   state for parole violation if                you   like.                              BENEDICT                       (shakes his head)                Put a guy on him. He's here for a                reason. I'd like to know what it                is. But if he comes anywhere near                Tess, take it to the next level.                                MANAGER                Bruiser?      Benedict nods, goes on his way.148   AT CASINO ENTRANCE                                            148      Saul, as Lyman Zerga, stands ramrod straight, looking      through sliding glass doors out at the valet station.      From behind, Terry Benedict approaches, two security      guards walking half a pace behind him. Saul spots him in      the glass's reflection; he does not turn.                                SAUL                Mr. Benedict.                             BENEDICT                Mr. Zerga. It's a very busy night                for me. Are we on schedule?                              SAUL                I have no reason to suspect                otherwise. My couriers should be                here momentarily.      A beat as Benedict studies Saul.                              BENEDICT                It's a nice evening. Shall we                wait outside?      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                              94.149   POV THROUGH BINOCULARS - ON BELLAGIO VALET AREA               149      Benedict and Saul emerge, guards positioned around them.                              TURK (V.O.)                They're in position.                               LIVINGSTON (V.O.)                        (over STATIC)                Okay.   We're a go.150   EXT. BELLAGIO CASINO - VALET AREA - SUNSET                    150      A white, unmarked van pulls in from the street and races      up to the curb where Saul and Benedict wait.      Turk Malloy gets out the passenger's side, a briefcase      handcuffed to his wrist, as Virgil comes around from the      driver's side, both of them dressed in their bodyguard      suits.                               TURK                Mr. Zerga.   A gift from Mr. Hesse.      Turk extends the briefcase to Saul, so that they both      clasp the handle, as Virgil produces a key, unlocks the      cuff on Turk's wrist, transfers it to Saul's, clamps it      shut, and hands Saul the key.                              SAUL                Thank you, Friedrich, Gunther.      He turns, nods to Benedict, and they retreat into the      hotel, the security guards and Malloys flanking them.151   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO                                          151      Frank deals blackjack to a full table. His eyes gaze      past his players to Saul, the guards and Benedict passing      by.                              FRANK                       (as he busts)                Lookin' like a bad night for the                house.      MOVING WITH Benedict as he spies out of the corner of his      eye Danny, lurking at a slot machine. To one of his      guards...                              BENEDICT                Find Mr. Walsh. Tell him Mr.                Ocean's in the west slots.                                                      (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                              95.151   CONTINUED:                                                    151      The guard goes, and Benedict continues with Saul...                                 BENEDICT                   I'm afraid I can't allow my                   private security personnel                   inside the casino cages. I hope                   you don't mind...                                    SAUL                   Of course not.      Saul turns to dismiss Virgil and Turk when...      ... passing by, on his way to a sports betting window, an      old RACETRACK DENIZEN happens past this cabal and, worse      yet, happens to recognize Saul.                                  RACETRACK DENIZEN                   Saul?   Saul Bloom, is that you?      Saul does his best to ignore the man. But even Benedict      notices: this guy seems to know Lyman Zerga.                                 RACETRACK DENIZEN                   Saul, it's me. Bucky Buchanan,                   remember? From Saratoga.      At last Saul turns to face this man, with shark's eyes.                                 SAUL                   Friedrich, Gunther.      An order: dispose of this man. Virgil and Turk pick up      the Denizen by his elbows and haul him away.                                 SAUL                   Mr. Benedict...                          (gesturing to the                           cage; re: his                           briefcase-cuff)                   Please: I have never enjoyed the                   touch of steel to my skin.      They proceed.152   AT SLOTS                                                      152      Danny sits in a row of octogenarians, all vacantly      dropping $1 coins and pulling levers. As he watches Saul      and Benedict disappear into the cage...                                                      (CONTINUED)       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                96.152    CONTINUED:                                                      152       DING! DING! DING! DING! Four cherries. Danny smiles,       a big winner, but he's got bigger pots to win tonight.       He steers a neighboring senior citizen (blind as a bat)       to his slot machine...                                     DANNY                    Pops, you won.       ... then slips away.A153   INT. MIRADOR SUITE                                              A153       Linus stands dressed in a sharp, conservative suit -- a       far cry from the threadbare thief in Chicago. Rusty       circles him, inspecting.                                  RUSTY                    Where you gonna put your hands?       Linus clasps them.                                     RUSTY                    No...       Linus goes for his pockets.                                  RUSTY                    Not the pockets, either. And                    don't touch your tie. Look at                    me...       Linus does.                                  RUSTY                    That how you gonna stand?       Linus shifts his balance.                                  RUSTY                    Wrong again. I ask you a                    question, you have to think of the                    answer, where you gonna look?       Linus looks down.                                  RUSTY                    Death. You look down, they know                    you're lying --       Linus looks up.                                                         (CONTINUED)       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                  97.A153   CONTINUED:                                                      A153                                  RUSTY                    -- and up they know you don't know                    the truth. Don't use three words                    when one will do, don't shift your                    eyes, look always at your mark but                    don't stare, be specific but not                    memorable, funny but don't make                    him laugh, he's gotta like you                    then forget you the moment you've                    left his sight, and for God's                    sakes whatever you do, don't under                    any circumstances --                                  LIVINGSTON (O.S.)                    Rust, can you come here a sec?                                  RUSTY                           (wandering off)                    Sure thing.       Linus is left utterly bewildered, a thousand commandments       to remember and fifteen minutes to remember them in.153    EXT. ALLEY - DUSK                                               153       Turk and Virgil's white van whips around a corner and       shoots inside...154    INT. WAREHOUSE - SECOND VAN POV                                 154       Of which, importantly, we never see the exterior, just an       air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror...       The white VAN SCREECHES to a halt inches from Basher who       stands ready beside the pinch (and the now-gutted and       dismantled mockup of the Bellagio vault) and faster than       a NASCAR pit crew Basher, Turk and Virgil load the pinch       into the white van's rear and before you can say       "electromagnetic pulse" the VAN SCREECHES back out of the       warehouse fully loaded.       The time is 7:16.155    INT. BELLAGIO CAGES - EMPTY COUNT ROOM                          155       The room is empty save for a large table. Saul places       his briefcase on it, adjusts its numbered combination       locks, and opens it.       Inside the case:    five rows of glittering emeralds.                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               98.155   CONTINUED:                                                     155                                 BENEDICT                   They're very beautiful.   A gift.      Saul stares at him:     none of your fucking business.                                 BENEDICT                   Can you lift them out, please?      Saul lifts the velvet tray out of the case, and Benedict      pats down the case's interior. Saul replaces the tray.                                 BENEDICT                   Alright, Mr. Zerga. I acknowledge                   that the case does not contain any                   dangerous or illicit material. I                   further agree to take custody of                   your case for a twenty-four hour                   period to store in our secured                   vault. While I cannot permit you                   to accompany the case to the                   vault...                                 SAUL                   Why not?                                 BENEDICT                   Insurance, for one. Security,                   another. And I don't trust you.      There is a KNOCK at the door, and Walsh the casino      manager enters. He speaks low in Benedict's ear.                                 WALSH (MANAGER)                   I put two plainclothes on Ocean.                   He's at the keno bar now.      Walsh nods, and Benedict turns back to Saul.                                 BENEDICT                   Mr. Zerga, this is Mr. Walsh, my                   casino manager. If you will allow,                   he will arrange for your briefcase                   to be stored inside our vault while                   you watch on a security monitor.                          (beat)                   Those are my terms. Yes or no?      Saul and Benedict eyeball each other.                                 SAUL                   You leave me no choice.      Saul unlocks the cuff from his wrist.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               98A.156   EXT. BELLAGIO CASINO - KITCHEN ENTRANCE - NIGHT                 156      The white van slows enough to unload Virgil and Turk,      changed into waiter uniforms, and they hurry a table-      clothed room service cart inside as Basher pulls away.157   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - BY CAGE DOOR - NIGHT                     157      RISING FROM a spotless pair of wingtips shifting side-to-      side, OVER hands flexing and stretching, UP TO Linus      Caldwell. He keeps an eye on the cage door, waiting for      Benedict to appear, as he tries anything to shake out his      nerves. Then, from a discreet earpiece he wears, comes:                                 LIVINGSTON (V.O.)                Deep breaths.     You'll do fine.                                 LINUS                          (breathes deep)                Thanks.                              LIVINGSTON (V.O.)                No sweat, kid. You're a rock.                       (as Linus smiles,                        feeling good about                        himself)                Now don't fuck up.158   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - ON LIVINGSTON'S MONITOR - NIGHT            158      Linus's smile disappears as he continues to bounce.      There's a KNOCK at the door.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                                99.158   CONTINUED:                                                      158                                   VOICE (O.S.)                   Room service.      Rusty checks through the peephole, then ushers in Turk      and Virgil in costume with their room service cart.                                 TURK                   Who ordered the penne?      Livingston raises a hand, and as Turk serves him his      plate, Virgil whips off the cart's tablecloth:      underneath it's the false-lid cash cart. Rusty turns to      a corner.                                   RUSTY                   You ready?      In it, Yen finishes bandaging his busted hand and nods.159   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - THE EYE IN THE SKY              159      Fat and Slim sit before their monitors, feet kicked up,      as behind them Walsh, Benedict, and Saul enter.                                 WALSH                   This is our security center, where                   we oversee all gaming in the                   casino as well as our vault.                   You'll be able to monitor your                   briefcase from here.      Walsh, finding Fat and Slim as they are, coughs; the two      watchers leap immediately to their feet. Benedict checks      his watch.                                 SAUL                   Don't let me keep you.                                   BENEDICT                   Mr. Zerga...      And Benedict takes his leave...160   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - NIGHT                                      160                                 RUSTY                   Linus... you're up.161   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - BY CAGE DOOR - NIGHT                     161      Linus nods, shakes out his hands some more...                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                            100.161   CONTINUED:                                                   161                                 LINUS                   Deep breaths, deep breaths.      ... and here comes Benedict, exiting the cage just as his      assistant arrives with his portfolio. As he turns toward      the restaurant...                                 LINUS                   Mr. Benedict...                                  BENEDICT                   Yes?                                 LINUS                          (presents proper                           identification)                   Sheldon Wills. Nevada Gaming                   Commission. Could I have two                   minutes of your time?      Benedict sighs -- his evening's been sidetracked enough      already -- but...                                  BENEDICT                   Of course.   Anything for the                   N.G.C.162   AT KENO BAR                                                  162      Danny watches Benedict escort Linus toward the blackjack      tables, unaware that TWO PLAINCLOTHES SECURITY GOONS      watch him from across the bar, and when he turns in their      direction, they look away, acting incognito, but it's not      them he's turning toward...      ... it's Tess, rounding a corner toward the restaurant.      Danny jumps to his feet, throws a tip on the bar, and      goes.163   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - NIGHT                                   163      The time is 7:27.      Yen tucks himself into the cash cart's hidden compartment      with a slim oxygen tank for company. Meanwhile, Rusty      drills Virgil and Turk...                                RUSTY                   Okay: when do you make the                   deposit?                                                    (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                101.163   CONTINUED:                                                       163                                 TURK                   Not until we get your signal.                                 VIRGIL                   Hey. What do we look like: a                   couple of peckerwood jackasses or                   something?      No one responds.                                  RUSTY                          (turning his attention                            to Yen, squeezed into                            the cart)                   Amazing: how's it feel? You                   alright?                          (as Yen nods)                   Want something to read? Magazine?      From the tangle of limbs, a middle finger protrudes to      show Rusty what he can do with a magazine.                                  RUSTY                   Okay. I'm counting down.    Thirty                   minutes of breathing time                   starts... now.      On "now" a RUNNING CLOCK APPEARS ON-SCREEN, descending      from 29:59. It will REMAIN there for the duration of the      pre-pinch heist, jumping at times BETWEEN SCENES.      Rusty seals Yen inside the cash cart, then gives the top      a tug: it's shut tight. As Virgil redresses it with the      tablecloth, Turk snatches back Livingston's penne on the      way to the door.                                 LIVINGSTON                   You get no tip.164   INT. CASINO FLOOR - 28:37                                        164      and counting. MOVING WITH Benedict and Linus into the      Pit Boss's station.                              LINUS                It only came to our attention this                morning, Mr. Benedict. Apparently                he has a record longer than my                arm.                                 BENEDICT                   If he is who you say he is.                          (hailing a PIT BOSS)                   Charlie. Call over Ramon                   Escalante.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                              102.164   CONTINUED:                                                     164                                 PIT BOSS                   Certainly, Mr. Benedict.      Benedict and Linus wait, side-by-side. While Linus does      his best to play it cool, Benedict dips into his      portfolio.165   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - ON LIVINGSTON'S MONITOR - NIGHT           165      An overhead view of Benedict as he pulls out the      combination to the vault, reads it, then buries it in his      jacket pocket.                                 RUSTY                   Did you make it out?                                 LIVINGSTON                   His head blocked the last two                   numbers.                          (into his microphone)                   We missed it, Linus. You gotta                   grab the combination yourself.166   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - NIGHT                                   166      Linus half-nods in response, and Benedict notices.      Suspicious of the young man, he decides to test him.                                 BENEDICT                   You new at the commission?                                 LINUS                   Been there about two years.                                 BENEDICT                   I know Hal Lindley over there.                   You work with him at all?                                  LINUS                          (a pause; will he                           pass?)                   Not since he died last year.      He passes.    The Pit Boss returns with Frank in tow.                                 BENEDICT                   Mr. Escalante. Would you come                   with us, please?                                 FRANK                   What's this about?                                                      (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                    103.166   CONTINUED:                                                           166                                  BENEDICT                   I think it's better if we talked                   off the floor.      Linus and Benedict lead Frank away.       As they pass an      elevator...      ... its doors open, revealing Turk and Virgil, dressed      now as security guards, pushing out the false-lid cash      cart. They leave behind a pile of dishes, waiter      uniforms, a tablecloth.167   INT. RESTAURANT - 24:26                                              167      and counting. A MAITRE D' scours his reservations list,      then peers up to find Reuben Tishkoff approaching, on      either side of him two gorgeous young women, all blonde      hair and breasts and legs, women who wouldn't give Hefner      the time of day.                                 MAITRE D'                   Good evening, Mr. Tishkoff.                                 TISHKOFF                   Good evening, Marcel. My nieces                   and I would like a table.                   Something quiet before the fight.                                 MAITRE D'                   I can put you at 19 in just a                   couple minutes.                                 TISHKOFF                   Quick as you can.                          (re: the girls)                   The meter's running here.      The Maitre d' turns to his next customer:         Tess.   She, of      course, merits a table instantly.                                 MAITRE D'                   Good evening, Miss Ocean.    Right                   this way...      Reuben can't help but stare as Tess passes by. His eyes      linger a little too long and a little too low...                                 VOICE (O.S.)                   Hey...      Reuben pivots; it's Danny, and he strolls past Reuben and      his lady friends and into the restaurant...                                                           (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                 104.167   CONTINUED:                                                        167                                 DANNY                   Try to keep your tongue in your                   mouth.                                 TISHKOFF                          (shocked to see Danny;                           thinks he's off the                           job, but covering)                   Yeah, pal, well only if you take                   your thumb out of your...      ... Reuben gets brushed from behind by the two      Plainclothes Goons following Danny.                                 TISHKOFF                          (outraged)                   Hey: you have any idea who I                   think I am?168   AT TESS'S USUAL TABLE                                             168      Just as she's sitting, Danny approaches.       She goes      straight at him, apoplectic.                                   TESS                   Danny:    No.                                 DANNY                   I'll just be a moment.                                 TESS                   I'm having you thrown out of                   here.      She starts past him; he grabs her arm to keep her, and      she wheels on him.                                 TESS                   You're up to something, Danny.                   What? And don't say you came here                   for me. You're pulling a job,                   aren't you?                                   DANNY                   Tess...                                 TESS                   Well, know this: no matter what                   it is, you won't win me back. I                   can't afford it.                                 DANNY                   I just came to say good-bye.                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                105.168   CONTINUED:                                                       168      This surprises Tess, and, truth be told, saddens her; she      studies him a moment, unsure of what to say.                                 TESS                   Oh... then... good-bye.                                   DANNY                   Good-bye.      Danny starts for her cheek, stops to see if it's alright      with her -- she, sad-eyed, does not recoil -- and then      gently kisses it...                                   DANNY                   Be good.      Danny leaves her.       Tess watches him go.                                 TESS                          (already missing him)                   Good-bye, Danny.169   AT RESTAURANT'S ENTRANCE                                         169      Danny runs smack into the Plainclothes Goons.                                 PLAINCLOTHES GOON #1                   Mr. Ocean. Mr. Benedict would                   like to see you.                                 DANNY                          (resignedly, these men                           are much too big to                           tangle with)                   I thought he might.      The Plainclothes Goons escort Danny away, right past      Reuben who frowns, concerned.170   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO MANAGER'S OFFICE - 18:25                    170      Frank stands at attention before Linus and Benedict.      Linus, straddling a desk, takes a beeper off his belt      when it pinches him. Benedict checks his watch: the      fight's opening bell is growing closer and closer.                                  LINUS                   Thank you for your cooperation,                   Mr. Escalante.                          (as Frank nods,                           not at all)                   Or should I call you Mr. Catton?                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                105A.170   CONTINUED:                                                     170      Frank bristles, tries not to let it show.   Linus pulls      out a Xeroxed mug shot and bio of him.                                 LINUS                   You are Frank Catton? Formerly of                   the Tropicana, the Desert Inn and                   the New York State penitentiary                   system?                                 (MORE)                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                106.170   CONTINUED:                                                       170                                  LINUS (CONT'D)                          (as Frank remains                           quiet)                   Your silence suggests you don't                   refute that.                          (to Benedict)                   Mr. Benedict, I'm afraid you've                   been employing an ex-convict. As                   you know, the N.G.C. strictly                   forbids...                                 FRANK                          (under his breath)                   Goddamn cracker...                                 LINUS                          (a pause; he can't                           believe he just                           heard that)                   Pardon me.                                 FRANK                          (leering at Linus,                           simmering)                   You heard me. Just 'cause a black                   man tries to earn a decent wage in                   this state...                                 LINUS                   That has nothing to do with...                                 FRANK                          (over him, ranting)                   ... some cracker cowboy like you's                   gotta kick him out on the street.                   Want me to jump down, turn around,                   pick a bale of cotton, won't let                   me deal cards, might as well call                   it whitejack.                                 LINUS                          (a beat, then)                   I resent your implication that                   race has anything to do with this.                          (to Benedict)                   Now, as I was saying, the Nevada                   Gaming Commission strictly forbids                   the employment of the colored...                          (whoops)                   ... I mean...      That does it: Frank attacks Linus, lunging at the man,      and as Benedict steps in to separate the two...                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 3/30/01                                107.170   CONTINUED:    (2)                                               170      ... Linus's hand dips into his tuxedo jacket and      withdraws the vault combination.                                 FRANK                   Okay, okay, I'm cool.                                 BENEDICT                          (to Linus)                   You alright?                                  LINUS                           (a beat, then)                   Yeah.171   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - NIGHT                                      171                                 RUSTY                          (hearing this)                   He's got it.                          (into his mike)                   Virgil, Turk: deliver your                   package.172   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - BY CAGE DOOR - 14:05                     172      Two guards stand sentry outside the cage door. Virgil      and Turk move up with their cash cart, and when Virgil      reaches for his keycard... it's gone.                                 VIRGIL                   Aw, I think... Jesus.    I lost my                   card.      The guards frown at him.     A SECURITY OFFICER approaches.                                 SECURITY OFFICER                   What's going on here?                                 VIRGIL                   I think... Jesus! I lost my                   keycard.                                  SECURITY OFFICER                           (and this, he knows, will                            get this guard fired)                   Okay.   Leave the cart. Go find                   it.                          (to one of the                           sentries)                   Take this cart inside.      The sentry nods, swipes his keycard, and enters with the      cash cart. Turk and Virgil hesitate a moment to watch it      enter, then hurry off.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 108.173   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY                  173      On a monitor: The sentry pushes the cart down a cage      corridor. On another: Saul's briefcase is escorted by      another guard to the vault elevator. On another: Danny      is escorted inside the cage by the Plainclothes Goons.                              WALSH                There it is now.                              SAUL                       (beginning to sweat                        this a bit, nerves                        overtaking him)                Wonderful.      ON MONITORS      The yen-filled cash cart joins Saul's briefcase on the      elevator. PULL OUT to...174   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - 11:19                                      174                               RUSTY                That's my cue.                       (as he exits)                Give Basher the go.                              LIVINGSTON                       (into mike)                Bash, what's your status?175   EXT. BELLAGIO PARKING LOT - MOVING WITH BASHER - NIGHT          175      driving the white van, listening to a books-on-tape of      Jane Eyre.                                 LIVINGSTON (V.O.)                Bash!                              BASHER                       (turning Bronte down)                No need to yell.                              LIVINGSTON (V.O.)                What's your status?                                 BASHER                I'm there.      And he SCREECHES to a halt on the parking structure's      top level. Vegas can be seen in every direction.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                109.176   INT. CAGE/HALLWAY - 08:36                                        176      and counting. Benedict exits the casino Manager's office      with Linus and Frank. Benedict hails two GUARDS...                              BENEDICT                Please show this man off the                premises.                       (to Frank)                Don't step foot in my casino                again.                               FRANK                       (as he's led away,                         over his shoulder,                         to Linus)                Cracker.      Benedict checks his watch again:    he's really running      late.                              BENEDICT                Mr. Wills, if you don't mind...                       (as Linus forgets                        to respond)                Mr. Wills?                               LINUS                Of course.      They start toward the exit.   But halfway there...                               LINUS                My beeper.   I'm sorry.   I forgot                it.      Benedict hesitates: He's in an enormous hurry now, he's      behind schedule -- he hates being behind schedule -- but      leaving even a member of the Gaming Commission alone in      his cage is a security risk. One glace at the cameras      all about and he decides to risk it.                              BENEDICT                You know how to get back out?                               LINUS                Of course.   Enjoy the fight.                              BENEDICT                       (shaking his hand,                        then hurrying away)                Thank you.      Linus smiles after him, withdrawing the page of      combinations he lifted off the man.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                 110.177   EXT. BELLAGIO CASINO - 06:47                                      177      and counting. The Guards show Frank out.     Frank tries      to tip them...                              FRANK                Thanks, fellas.      ... but they snarl at him before returning inside.   Frank      smiles and goes on his way, his job complete.178   INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - 06:36                                   178      Danny sits opposite two Plainclothes Goons in absolute      silence, waiting.                              DANNY                How much longer do you think Mr.                Benedict will be?                              GOON #1                Just a few minutes more.      He scans the room.                              DANNY                No cameras in this room, huh?                Don't want anyone seeing what                happens here?      The Goons say nothing.   Danny checks his watch.                              DANNY                He's not coming, is he?      The Goons look at each other; Danny has called their      bluff.                               DANNY                Who is?      There's a KNOCK at the door, and the Goons smile:      Danny's about to find out who. One Goon rises to usher      in...      ... the BRUISER, come to beat the shit out of Danny      Ocean. The guy's at least six-six, three hundred pounds,      but it's not his size that draws attention, it's his      teeth...                                                      (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                            111.178   CONTINUED:                                                   178      ... or the lack thereof; the Bruiser doesn't hold a      single incisor, molar or bicuspid in his mouth. Gum      city. And there's something really terrifying about the      sight.                                 DANNY                   I guess Mr. Benedict didn't like                   me talking to his girl.      The Goons shake their heads. Danny smiles at the      Bruiser, and the Bruiser snarls back, showing off those      gums. He rolls up his shirtsleeves, itching to tear a      hole in this man. The Goons head for the door.                                 GOON #1                   We're gonna step outside now.                   Leave you two alone to talk things                   over.      The Goons exit. Danny and the Bruiser face off. And as      Danny opens his mouth to speak, Bruiser's fist flashes      out and knocks him down. Danny rises, wiping a little      blood from his lip.                                 DANNY                   Jesus, Bruiser, not 'til later.                                   BRUISER                   Sorry, Danny.    I -- I forgot.                                   DANNY                   S'okay.                          (shaking it off)                   How's the wife?                                 BRUISER                   Pregnant again.                                 DANNY                   Then we better get to work.179   OUTSIDE INTERROGATION ROOM                                   179      Standing guard outside, the Goons hear PUNCHES and GROANS      from inside as...180   INT. INTERROGATION ROOM                                      180      ... Danny climbs onto Bruiser's shoulders and pushes      through the ceiling rafters, groaning every time Bruiser      slaps his fist into his hand.       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 112.A181   INT. VAULT                                                      A181       A guard wheels in the Yen-filled cash cart, parks it in       a station next to its twin, then -- as an afterthought --       plants Saul's briefcase right on top if it -- clunk -- an       unforeseen obstacle to Yen's escape.B181   INT. MIRADOR SUITE                                              B181                                  LIVINGSTON                    Oh shit...181    INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - 04:30                           181       Saul witnesses this, too, and stifles a reaction.                                  WALSH                    Does that satisfy you, Mr. Zerga?                                  SAUL                    Yes, I'm very satisfied.                                  WALSH                           (to Slim)                    Close it up.       On the monitor, the vault door closes, but Saul looks       anything but satisfied. He's sweaty, his mouth's so dry       he can't swallow, and he keeps patting down his pockets       for his Rolaids, without finding them.                                  FAT                    You alright, sir?182    INT. CAGE/HALLWAY - MOVING WITH LINUS - 04:02                   182       as he circumspectly approaches the vault-elevator door,       checking up and down hallways for guards.183    INT. MIRADOR SUITE - NIGHT                                      183       On a monitor, Linus comes into view...                                  LIVINGSTON                    Almost there, kid.184    INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY                  184       ... and Saul spots him, but so does Fat...                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                              112A.184   CONTINUED:                                                184                                 FAT                   Who's that?      ... and Saul can't handle the suspense: He grips his arm      and groans and this is no ulcer problem, this is a full- fledged      cardiac, and Walsh, Fat, and Slim all attend to      him, their backs turned as...185   INT. CAGE/HALLWAY - 03:42                                 185      ... Linus hurries to the elevator, punching Benedict's      combination into a keypad. The elevator doors open for      him.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                              113.186   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - NIGHT                                     186      Livingston punches a few keys...                              LIVINGSTON                Going to video now.187   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY                 187      As Saul and his heart attack hold the spotlight, a      security monitor flips from a shot of Linus entering the      elevator to a Livingston-fed videotape of an empty lift.                              WALSH                       (as Saul passes out)                Call for a doctor.188   INT. ELEVATOR - 03:15                                          188      Linus immediately reaches up to the elevator's ceiling,      rips down its panel to reveal a trap door. As he starts      to push it open...      ... a hand yanks it free from above.    It's Danny.                              DANNY                You didn't really think I was                gonna sit this one out, did you?                              LINUS                What, didn't you trust me?                              DANNY                I do now.      He reaches down and pulls Linus, wide-eyed, up to the      roof of the elevator.189   INT. MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA - 3:00                             189      The boxers enter the ring before a full, cheering house.      Benedict and Tess find their ringside seats, a row in      front of Reuben and his "nieces."                              RING ANNOUNCER                Ladies and gentlemen!!190   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - BY CAGE DOOR - 02:56                    190      Rusty approaches the sentry on duty at the cage door.                              RUSTY                Someone called for a doctor?       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               114.191    INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT - ABOVE ELEVATOR - 02:21                    191       Danny rips off his jacket and shirt to expose a rappelling       line wrapped around his torso. Linus does the same.                               LINUS                 How'd you get here?                               DANNY                 Crawlspace. And I had to give                 away a couple mil.                               LINUS                 But what about -- I mean, that                 whole thing with Rusty...       Danny just smiles at him.A192   FLASHBACK - EXT. MIRADOR SUITE - BALCONY                        A192       Earlier that night, just after Rusty kicked Danny off       the job. As Linus watches from inside, deaf to their       conversation, blind to their expressions, Danny and       Rusty confer.                               DANNY                 You think the kid bought it?                                RUSTY                 Hell, I think Reuben bought it,                 and he knew we were screwing                 around.                         (beat)                 You sure about this?                               DANNY                        (nods)                 Bobby Caldwell threw me into the                 pool first time. Least I could do                 is give his kid a push.B192   INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT - ABOVE ELEVATOR (PRESENT)                  B192                               LINUS                 Why'd you make me go through all                 this? Why not just tell me?                               DANNY                 Well, where's the fun in that?                        (starting toward                         elevator shaft                         ladder)                 C'mon: Yen's got about three                 minutes of air left.                                                        (CONTINUED)       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                  115.B192   CONTINUED:                                                         B192       Danny leads Linus down and around the elevator and side-       by-side they crawl onto the bottom of the elevator,       gripping the undercarriage of the lift to keep from       falling. Meanwhile, we DESCEND QUICKLY DOWN the shaft,       just to illustrate how very high up they are.192    INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - 00:53                              192       Rusty, playing doctor, inspects Saul. At the same time,       he inspects a monitor: the vault door closing with the       Yen-filled cash cart and Saul's briefcase inside.       Rusty stops, listens to Saul's chest, then drops his       head...                                  RUSTY                    He's gone.       Walsh, Fat and Slim all bow their heads.     At the door,       two paramedics arrive with a stretcher.                                  WALSH                    You're too late, guys.   He's dead.       The first paramedic turns to his partner and admonishes       him:                                  VIRGIL                           (to Turk)                    I told you to hurry.193    INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT - BELOW ELEVATOR - 00:42                       193       As Danny and Linus work, affixing suction-cupped anchors       to their rappelling lines...                                  DANNY                    Who do you like tonight?                                  LINUS                    Huh?                                  DANNY                    Tyson or Lewis.                                                          (CONTINUED)       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                116.193    CONTINUED:                                                       193                                  LINUS                    The fight...?                           (as Danny nods)                    Lewis.                           (as Danny shoots him                            a look)                    You like Tyson?                           (as Danny nods)                    How strongly do you feel about it?                                  DANNY                    You looking for action?                                  LINUS                           (shrugs)                    I'd go in for a buck.                                    DANNY                    A buck it is.       And they're ready, poised at the top, looking into the       abyss of an elevator shaft scattered with infrared       sensors.                                  DANNY                           (into his mike)                    Livingston, we're set.A194   INT. CASINO FLOOR - OUTSIDE CAGES                                A194       Rusty leads the "paramedics" out, with "dead" Saul on       their gurney.                                  RUSTY                           (into his mike)                    Livingston, we're set.194    INT. MIRADOR SUITE - 00:21                                       194                                  LIVINGSTON                           (hearing this, into                            his mike)                    Basher, we're set.195    EXT. BELLAGIO PARKING LOT - TOP LEVEL - 00:17                    195                                  BASHER                           (fixing the pinch atop                            his van)                    Just give me a minute.                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                              117.195   CONTINUED:                                                     195                                 LIVINGSTON (V.O.)                   We don't have a minute. Yen's                   gonna pass out in thirteen                   seconds.                                 BASHER                   Then give me thirteen seconds.      And Basher leaps down to hook up the pinch's wires to his      van's engine.196   INT. MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA - 00:10                            196      The opening BELL RINGS -- round one. The fighters break      from their corners, feinting, jabbing...      Sitting ringside: Benedict looks at Tess and smiles as      she winces at the first sharp blow.197   INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT - BELOW ELEVATOR - 00:05                   197      Peering down into blackness, Danny and Linus prepare to      let go any moment...                                 LINUS                   You ever rappelled before?                                   DANNY                   Never.   You?                                   LINUS                   Nope.198   EXT. BELLAGIO PARKING LOT - TOP LEVEL - 00:01                  198      Basher finishes preparations.                                   BASHER                            (into his mike)                   Ready.                                 LIVINGSTON (V.O.)                          (over earpiece)                   Then hit it.      Basher flips the switch. BOOM! A quick TREMOR, then      stillness. He picks a point on the horizon, like Babe      Ruth, and suddenly...                                   BASHER                   ... One...      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                             118.199   HIGH ABOVE LAS VEGAS                                          199      whole blocks of lights disappear.   Casinos vanishing one-      by-one.      FLAMINGO      Every pink light vanishes.      BELLAGIO      The fountain goes flaccid.                               BASHER (V.O.)                 ... two, three...      NEW YORK, NEW YORK      The roller coaster stops dead; its passengers keep their      arms raised, not sure what to do.200   MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA                                        200      Both fighters move in simultaneously, sweat flying, both      reach back, both going for the lights-out power cut to      the jaw, when... lights out.                               BASHER (V.O.)                 ... four, five...201   OMITTED                                                       201202   INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT                                           202      Blip -- out go the infrared sensors.                                 DANNY                 Now!      And he and Linus lean forward and fall...203   HURTLING WITH DANNY AND LINUS                                 203      DOWN the elevator shaft.      Upside down, heads curled, and all we hear is the WHOOSH      of their bodies in motion and the WHIRL of their CORDS      UNCOILING.                                                     (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               119.203   CONTINUED:                                                      203                                 BASHER (V.O.)                   ... six, seven.....      And now, looking STRAIGHT DOWN, the ground is rising up      fast to meet them, a flat slab of gray concrete -- fifty      feet, forty feet, thirty feet, twenty...                                 BASHER                   ... eight, nine...      And SNAP -- the CORDS reach their full extension, and      Danny and Linus bounce up, watching the floor recede.                                 LINUS                   Aaaaahhhhh!204   EXT. BELLAGIO PARKING LOT - TOP LEVEL - NIGHT                   204                                 BASHER                   ... ten...      In the distance, lights come up again, first at the      Mirage, then the MGM, gradually approaching...205   INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT - BOTTOM                                    205      Coming to a rest about ten feet from the floor, Danny      quickly pulls a slim blade and slashes the two coils      straight across. He and Linus go tumbling to the floor      as their drop lines recoil lightning fast to their      elevator anchors, just before...      ... the infrared lights go back on-line.206   INT. MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA                                     206      The lights suddenly flash back on, revealing...      ... both fighters standing, and Tyson takes advantage of      Lewis's disorientation and throws a sucker punch to his      jaw. Down goes Lewis, and up goes the crowd, roaring.                                 REF                   ... One, two, three...      Benedict makes a quick survey; the arena is apoplectic      from the blackout-knockout.                                 BENEDICT                   What the hell was that?                                                      (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                120.206   CONTINUED:                                                     206      He cranes his neck, looking around the room, surveying      his empire: he smells a rat. His eyes fall on Reuben      behind him, but Reuben just shrugs: "I didn't pull the      plug."                                 BENEDICT                          (to himself)                   The first goddamn round.207   EXT. BELLAGIO PARKING LOT - TOP LEVEL - NIGHT                  207      All the lights are back on, and Basher observes his      achievement with great pride, his job complete.                                 BASHER                   Viva Las Vegas.208   INT. ELEVATOR SHAFT - BOTTOM                                   208      Linus and Danny arise from where they've fallen,      clutching their heads and rubbing bruises. Danny doesn't      recover as quickly.                                  LINUS                   You alright?                                 DANNY                   No, but you're sweet to ask.209   INT. BELLAGIO VAULT                                            209      Lights are just flickering on here when...      ... the false lid of the cash cart thrust upward      slightly. It's Yen trying to get out, out of air and      only now alert to Saul's heavy case resting atop him.210   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - NIGHT                                     210      Livingston watches this on his monitors, just coming      back on, his finger poised on a play button, as Frank      comes in the door.                                  FRANK                   Are they in?                                 LIVINGSTON                   One second.                          (a look at him)                   I thought you got kicked out?                                                      (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                              121.210   CONTINUED:                                                   210      Frank shrugs. Suddenly one of the monitors aligns itself,      and Livingston presses play.      ON MONITOR A      Overhead security-cam view of the vault corridor: the      three Uzi guards stand idly, on duty. And of the vault      itself: Yen trying to get out of the cash cart.      ON MONITOR B      Overhead security-cam view of the vault corridor: the      three Uzi guards stand idly, on duty... and in totally      different positions. Of the vault: no cash cart, but no      Zerga briefcase, no Yen.      LIVINGSTON                                 LIVINGSTON                   This tape's from last night.   Same                   guards, same...      His eyes fixing on Saul's briefcase pushing closer to the      edge of the cash cart as Yen tries to free himself.                                 LIVINGSTON                   ... shift.211   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY               211      The room is abuzz with activity. The monitors here      flicker back on, too, displaying the images from monitor      B, but every watcher in the place is watching a table      because...212   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - NIGHT                                 212      ... the floor is going nuts. After the ten seconds of      darkness, all bets are off. Some players doubled-down      during the blackout, others miraculously halved their      bets. Consequently, Livingston's video feed switch goes      unnoticed.213   OMITTED                                                      213       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 122.214    INT. CORRIDOR/OUTSIDE VAULT                                     214       Danny and Linus pry open the elevator doors and squeeze       out. Just beyond the next doorway stand...       ... three UZI-CARRYING GUARDS, hovering outside the vault       door and wondering what the hell just happened to the       lights.A215   INT. VAULT                                                      A215       Yen continues to push up on the cash cart lid, and the       more he pushes, the more Saul's briefcase slides off.       Yen stretches his hand out to grab it, but it's slid       beyond his reach, to the edge of falling.B215   INT. CORRIDOR/OUTSIDE VAULT                                     B215       The Uzi-Carrying Guards turn their backs to the elevator       shaft...       ... and Linus and Danny appear in the doorway; they both       snap gas pellets and slide them into the corridor.                                  UZI-CARRYING GUARD #1                           (sniffing something)                    Jesus, Ron, was that you?215    OUTSIDE VAULT CORRIDOR                                          215       Linus and Danny wait, Danny silently mouthing a three-       count before... THUD, THUD, THUD. They peer around the       corridor to find...       All three Uzi-carrying guards lie unconscious on the       ground. Linus starts in, Danny holds him back...                                   DANNY                    Not yet.                           (a beat; another                             beat; then)                    Okay.216    INT. VAULT CORRIDOR                                             216       Danny and Linus enter, waving the faint remnants of the       gas from their noses, tiptoeing past the guards' bodies.                                  LINUS                    You think Yen made it out okay?                                  DANNY                    I'm sure he's fine.       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                              122A.A217   INT. VAULT                                                  A217       Saul's briefcase inches closer to falling off the cash cart,       which of course would trigger the floor sensor and terminate       this heist here and now. Yen's hand stretches farther out to       grab it, pushing up just a little more on the false lid       until...       ... the briefcase tumbles toward the floor...       ... but not before Yen snags the handcuff chain attached to       it and swings it round. He's got it. That threat over, he       throws open the cash cart lid and takes the biggest breath       of his life.B217   INT. VAULT CORRIDOR                                         B217       Linus punches in the code for the door to the vault       anteroom (the one he stole from Benedict). He steps back       as it slides open, revealing --       -- the vault door:     it is sleek and immense and       impregnable.                                  LINUS                           (jaw dropping)                    Jesus...                                  DANNY                    There's a Chinese man with a                    hundred sixty million dollars                    behind that door. Let's get him                    out.       Danny takes a flat hand and slaps the door hard.217    INT. VAULT                                                  217       Yen now sits perched atop the cash cart, Saul's briefcase       opened beside him (he has removed half of Lyman's       "emeralds"). He hears the muffled Danny's slaps and he       knows: it's time for his leap. It's the same distance       as the leap he made in the practice session, but this       time he's only got one good hand.218    INT. MIRADOR SUITE                                          218       Frank and Livingston watch nervously.                                  FRANK                    Fin says he shorts it.                                  LIVINGSTON                    No bet.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                              123.219   INT. VAULT                                                   219      Yen prepares for his leap, then springs...      ... across the room, to the ledge he must grab...      ... and he grabs it, but with only one hand he's slipping      right away, and in a second he'll hit the sensored      floor...      ... but, in a flash, he spins and splits his legs,      propping himself up between two walls, inches above the      floor. An acrobatic wonder.220   INT. MIRADOR SUITE                                           220      Frank and Livingston exhale.                                  LIVINGSTON                           (wishing he had bet)                   Shit.221   OUTSIDE VAULT                                                221      Danny, oblivious to this close call, slaps the door      again. A moment passes, then: Yen responds with a slap,      too.                                  DANNY                   Okay.222   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - NIGHT                                   222      As Basher enters, Livingston and Frank watch on a monitor      Linus punching in the combination he stole from Benedict      as Danny unravels a thin electrical wire connected to a      detonator.                                  FRANK                   That's it?                                 LIVINGSTON                   There's still the five pins and                   the floor sensor. Not much we can                   do about that from this side of                   the door. But from this side...      He punches up the image of Yen in the vault.                                 BASHER                   ... a little bit of Semtex should                   do the trick.       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                124.223    INT. VAULT                                                     223       Yen sets the last of Lyman's emeralds against the vault       door like a plastic explosive... which, of course, it is.       He affixes a detonator receiver (the size of a golf ball       pencil) to it, then slaps the door twice: all set.A224   OUTSIDE VAULT                                                  A224       Danny responds with two slaps of his own. He steps       back, detonator in hand, its wires attached to the vault       door.                                   DANNY                    Counting down from twenty --                            (checking watch)                    -- now.B224   INT. VAULT                                                     B224       Yen starts his retreat from the door, but gets yanked       back.       His hand's bandage is caught on the door.C224   OUTSIDE VAULT                                                  C224                                  DANNY                    -- seventeen, sixteen, fifteen --D224   INT. VAULT                                                     D224       Yen tries to free himself, but he can't use his other       hand lest he drop to the floor. He tries gnawing at       his bandage, which brings his face within inches of a       plastic explosive.E224   OUTSIDE VAULT                                                  E224                                  DANNY                    -- eleven, ten, nine --F224   INT. MIRADOR SUITE                                             F224       Livingston et al. are alert to the danger.                                  LIVINGSTON                           (into his mike)                    Linus, can you read me? Linus,                    do not blow the door, you're                    about to kill Yen.        OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                   124A.G224    OUTSIDE VAULT                                                  G224        Linus hears nothing through his earpiece.                                   LINUS                     -- five, four, three --H224    INT. VAULT                                                     H224        Yen finally frees himself just as --        -- ZOOMING INTO a plastic explosive --I-224   OUTSIDE VAULT                                                  I-224                                     DANNY                     -- one --        He presses his detonator.        Nothing.J224    INT. VAULT                                                     J224        Yen, still on the door, remains frozen.       Trembling.        A beat.        Then, he starts to creep back, leaping onto a money        shelf, then another, as far from the explosives as he        can get.K224    OUTSIDE VAULT                                                  K224        Danny presses it again.      Still nothing.                                     LINUS                     What's wrong?                                     DANNY                     I don't know.        Linus comes over to look.                                   LINUS                     You check the batteries?        Danny blanches.    Linus shoots him a look.       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                    124B.224    INT. MIRADOR SUITE - NIGHT                                       224       Livingston, Frank, and Basher watch the monitors in       disbelief...       Saul enters, alive and dressed as himself again.      His       job is complete.                                  SAUL                    Everything going okay?225    INT. VAULT CORRIDOR - OUTSIDE VAULT                              225       As Danny checks his batteries (the types with built-in       power meters: both at zero percent), Linus ransacks the       Uzi-carrying Guards' gear for replacements. He finds       AA's in their flashlights.                                  LINUS                    You know, you lose focus for one                    second in this game --                                  DANNY                    -- and someone gets hurt, yeah                    yeah. I don't hear Yen complaining.       He takes the batteries, inserts them in his detonator,       then slaps the door twice more.A226   INT. VAULT                                                       A226       Yen catches his breath on the far end of the room. He       hears the slap, rolls his eyes, and ducks out of the       line of fire.B226   OUTSIDE VAULT                                                    B226       Danny presses the detonator.C226   INT. VAULT                                                       C226       The "EMERALDS" EXPLODE.D226   OUTSIDE VAULT                                                    D226       Several MUTED but powerful BLASTS.       Linus inches forward, almost dreading this moment,       pauses...                                                          (CONTINUED)       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                               124C.D226   CONTINUED:                                                  D226                                  DANNY                    Do it.       Linus pulls... and the door opens.226    INT. VAULT                                                  226       Danny and Linus enter. Silence. The cash carts have       crumpled, and the vault gratings, blackened, have held.                                  DANNY                    Amazing?       Linus goes to one of the racks and tentatively opens       it...       Yen pops up from within, his hair on end, looking like he       just dropped out of a cyclone.                                  YEN                           (his only English)                    Where the fuck you been?227    INT. MIRADOR SUITE - NIGHT                                  227       Livingston, Frank, Saul, and Basher watch as the first       wave of bills gets tossed onto the vault floor. Smiles       all around.                                  SAUL                    Ever been in love?                                  FRANK                           (considers it for                            a moment)                    No, I guess not. Not really.                                  SAUL                    This is better.                                                              125.228   INT. CASINO - OUTSIDE FIGHT ARENA                              228      Rusty steps forward as people stream past him out of the      fight arena. He dials his cell phone, listens...229   INT. MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA                                    229      MOVING WITH Benedict and Tess, pushing their way out      through the crowd. A PHONE is RINGING nearby... again      and again...                               BENEDICT                 You gonna answer it?                               TESS                 I don't have a cell phone.      They keep moving, but the RING pursues them. Finally,      Benedict stops, pulls Tess's purse from her shoulder and      opens it: inside, he finds a CELL PHONE, RINGING.                                  TESS                 It isn't mine.                               BENEDICT                 See who's on the other end.      She takes the phone, activates it.                                  TESS                 Hello?                               RUSTY (V.O.)                 May I have a word with Mr.                 Benedict, please?      Tess looks up, confused.                                  TESS                 It's for you.      Benedict takes the phone.                               BENEDICT                 Who the hell is this?      ON RUSTY      in the distance, at the arena's exit, unseen by Benedict      or Tess, on the phone...                               RUSTY                 The man who's robbing you.                                                            126.230   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY               230      Benedict enters, and fear enters with him. And, of      course, Tess. As the room buzzes with activity, he keeps      the cell phone pressed to his ear.                              BENEDICT                What the hell is going on down                there in the vault?                                FAT                Nothing, sir.    All normal.                                BENEDICT                Show me.      Fat points to the security-cam view of the vault corridor      and vault -- Livingston's tape.                                FAT                All quiet.                              BENEDICT                       (on phone,                        venomously)                I'm afraid you're mistaken.231   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - NIGHT                                   231      Frank, Basher and Saul watch over Livingston's shoulder      as this phone conversation is broadcast over a small      speaker.                              RUSTY (V.O.)                You're watching your monitor?                Okay, keep watching.      Livingston punches in numbers...232   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY -             232      ON FAT'S MONITOR      New images suddenly appear. Three masked men in the      vault throw stacks of money onto the floor; the three Uzi      Guards lie bound and unconscious in the corridor.      The security center, understandably, erupts in activity.                              BENEDICT                Jesus Christ...       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                              127.233    INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - NIGHT                                   233       Rusty strolls so casually there's no reason anyone       passing would suspect he was doing more than ordering a       pizza.                               RUSTY (V.O.)                 In this town, your luck can change                 just that quickly.234    INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER                                  234                               BENEDICT                        (close to apoplectic,                         takes a breath and                         cups the phone, then                         barks at Walsh)                 Find out how much money we have                 down there.       Tess, amid all this chaos, is still curious: how did       that cell phone get into her handbag? And suddenly it       hits her...A235   FLASHBACK - INT. RESTAURANT - EARLIER THAT EVENING             A235                               DANNY                 Good-bye.       Danny starts for her cheek, stops to see if it's alright       with her -- she, sad-eyed, does not recoil -- and then       gently kisses it...       ... as he slips the cell phone into her handbag,       unnoticed.                               BENEDICT                        (on phone)                 Alright. You've proved your                 point. You've broken into my                 vault. Congratulations: you're a                 dead man.       Tess leaves.                               RUSTY (V.O.)                 Maybe.                               BENEDICT                 May I ask: how do you expect to                 leave here, hmm?       INTERCUT WITH:235    INT. CASINO FLOOR                                              235                        BENEDICT          Do you believe I'll simply allow          you to parade bags full of my          money out my casino doors?A distance beyond Rusty, Tess exits the cages. Shestops, puzzling over what to do, happens to spot him.                         RUSTY          No.   You're gonna carry it out for          us.                        BENEDICT                 (has to laugh)          And why would I do that?                        RUSTY          Take a closer look at your          monitor...      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                              128A.236   INT. SECURITY CENTER                                         236      Benedict does. As the three masked men stuff money into      large canvas bags and mark the bags with X's, another      portion of cash remains untouched, booby-trapped.                              RUSTY (V.O.)                As your manager's probably                reporting to you by now, you have                a little over a hundred sixty                million in your vault tonight.      And, as if Rusty was in the room watching, Walsh      approaches with the night's cash count: $163,156,759.                              RUSTY (V.O.)                You may notice: we're only                packing up about half that. The                other half we're leaving in your                vault, booby-trapped, as a                hostage.237   INT. CASINO FLOOR                                            237                              RUSTY                You let our eighty million go, and                you get to keep your eighty.                That's the deal. You try and stop                us, we'll blow both cash loads.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                              129.237   CONTINUED:                                                     237      He spins and -- gasp -- comes face-to-face with Tess.      She stares at him directly: she knows.                                  RUSTY                          (holding her glance)                   Mr. Benedict: you can lose eighty                   million dollars secretly tonight                   or you can lose a hundred sixty                   million dollars publicly. It's                   your decision.      He cups the phone.                                   RUSTY                   Hi.238   INT. SECURITY CENTER                                           238      Benedict cups his phone, too, and vents his rage. He      knows what he should do -- let the money go -- and he      knows what he wants to do -- stop these sonsabitches.   He      makes his choice...                                  BENEDICT                          (to Walsh)                   Make the call.      Walsh grabs a phone, punches numbers...                                   VOICE (V.O.)                   911.    Emergency response...239   INT. MIRADOR SUITE - NIGHT                                     239      Livingston listens in on the call...                                 WALSH (V.O.)                   Hello, this is Mr. Walsh at the                   Bellagio.240   INT. SECURITY CENTER                                           240                                 WALSH                   We have an incident here...                                   BENEDICT                           (uncupping his                            phone)                   Okay.   You have a deal.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                              130.241   INT. CASINO FLOOR                                              241      Tess and Rusty hold a stare as Rusty holds the phone.                                 TESS                Where's Danny?                              RUSTY                He's fine. He wants you to go                upstairs, and watch TV.                              TESS                       (a little pissed)                He does?                              BENEDICT (V.O.)                You have a deal.                              RUSTY                It's alright, Tess. I promise.                       (back on phone)                Good. Here's what you do. Five                minutes from now, the men in the                vault are going to deposit six                bags in the vault elevator.      Tess isn't sure what to do. As Rusty continues on the      phone, she backs off, debating: can she blow the whistle      on her ex?242   INT. VAULT ELEVATOR - CLOSE ON SIX CANVAS BAGS                 242      each sealed tight, each marked with an X, loaded onto      the vault elevator.                              RUSTY (V.O.)                If they meet anyone, we'll blow                the money in the bags and the                money in the vault.243   INT. CAGE - OUTSIDE VAULT ELEVATOR                             243      A small cadre of guards await the arrival of the vault      elevator. Its doors open to reveal the six large canvas      bags, each sealed tight, marked with an X.                              RUSTY (V.O.)                One minute after that, the                elevator will rise to your cages.                Six of your guards will pick up                the bags and carry them out into                the casino.      Six guards do precisely that.                                                               131.244   INT. CASINO - NIGHT                                             244      MOVING WITH Rusty PAST slot machines...                              RUSTY                If they take more than twenty                seconds to reach the casino floor                or if there's any indication a                switch has been made, we'll blow                the money in the vault and the                money in the bags.      A SLOT MACHINE RINGS behind him...245   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY                  245      ... and Benedict hears it.                              BENEDICT                       (to Walsh)                He's in the casino right now.                              RUSTY (V.O.)                Of course, I'm in the casino. In                fact, I'm staying in your hotel.                And I have two words for you:                mini-bar.                       (back to business)                Now as soon as your guards hit the                casino floor...246   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - NIGHT                                    246      The six guards appear from the cage door, carrying six      canvas bags marked with X's; Bellagio security escorts      them from the building.                              RUSTY (V.O.)                ... a white unmarked van is going                to pull up in your valet station.247   EXT. BELLAGIO CASINO - NIGHT                                    247      The white VAN (now clean of the "Nevada Telecom" sign)      IDLES before the Bellagio, its windows tinted, the      driver's identity inscrutable. It is swarmed by      security, but they maintain a wide perimeter.                              RUSTY (V.O.)                Your guards will load the bags                into the van's rear. If anyone so                much as approaches the driver's                door, we blow everything.                                                       (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                            132.247   CONTINUED:                                                   247      The guards carry out the money and load it into the van's      rear. There, they find a video camera mounted within the      back seat of the van monitoring them. Still they cannot      catch a glimpse of the driver. They close the van doors.248   BELLAGIO - FROM HIGH ABOVE                                   248      The white van departs the valet station in front,      clandestinely shadowed by five sedans. Meanwhile, behind      the casino, a SWAT van arrives and unloads its squad.                                  BENEDICT (V.O.)                   Now what?                                 RUSTY (V.O.)                   Now, when I get word that the van                   hasn't been followed, that the                   money is secure, my men will exit                   the building, and once their                   safety is confirmed, you'll get                   your vault back.249   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY               249      Walsh mouths to Benedict: "SWAT team is here."   Benedict      nods and throws him a thumbs-up.                                 BENEDICT                   Sir, I have complied with your                   every request, would you agree?                                  RUSTY (V.O.)                   I would.                                  BENEDICT                   Good.   Now I have one of my own.                                  RUSTY (V.O.)                   Yes?                                 BENEDICT                          (at last, his venom                           released)                   Run and hide. If you get picked                   up next week buying a $100,000                   sports car in Newport Beach, I'll                   be supremely disappointed.                   Because I want my people to find                   you. And rest assured: when they                   do, they won't hand you over to                   the police.                          (beat)                   Run and hide. That's all I ask.      And during the above rant by Benedict, we view...       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               133.250    MIRADOR SUITE                                                   250       now empty, Livingston's monitors still displaying the       masked men in the vault.251    WHITE VAN                                                       251       navigating the streets of Las Vegas.252    FIVE SEDANS                                                     252       tailing the van, security goons piled into each, and       maybe we NOTICE (or maybe not) the Rolls-Royce tailing       them.253    TESS                                                            253       pacing in Benedict's suite, biting her nails, debating       whether to blow the whistle on Danny. ON TV: a newscast       of the contentious aftermath of the prize fight.A254   UZI GUARDS,                                                     A254       bound and unarmed, unconscious to the activity within the       vault.254    RUSTY'S CELL PHONE                                              254       opened and unmanned.A255   BENEDICT                                                        A255       listens -- the line has gone dead.   He hangs up.                                 WALSH                   Our guys say the van is headed                   toward McCarren Airport.                                 BENEDICT                   Get everyone in position. I want                   my vault back before that van hits                   the tarmac.       LONGER MONTAGE now, CUTTING BETWEEN:255    SWAT TEAM                                                       255       (six in all) hustling through the cage corridors, armed       to the teeth, with body armor and helmets and vision       guards: they're as faceless as storm troopers.       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                              134.256    WHITE VAN CONVOY                                               256       as it approaches McCarren Airport.257    MONITORS OF THE VAULT                                          257       The three masked men pace beside the booby-trapped money.A258   INT. SECURITY CENTER                                           A258                                  BENEDICT                          (on second                           inspection)                   Where's Zerga?                          (off Walsh's sheepish                           look)                   Mr. Zerga? With the briefcase?                                 WALSH                   He's -- he died.       Benedict shoots him a slow, sideways glance.258    SWAT TEAM                                                      258       rappelling down the elevator shaft -- its ultraviolet       sensors turned off by Walsh -- then moving into       position...259    INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY                 259                                 SWAT LEADER (V.O.)                          (over radio, on                           monitor)                   Night goggles on. Prepare to cut                   power.       Fat mans the power switch.                                 FAT                   Ready when you are.       Benedict scours the monitors: The masked men continue to       pace on one screen. The SWAT team prepares to invade on       another.                                    BENEDICT                   Do it.                                    SWAT LEADER (V.O.)                             (over radio)                   Cut it.       Fat flips the power switch.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               135.260   INT. MIRADOR SUITE                                              260      Livingston's monitors all go black.261   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY                  261      The monitors here go black as well.   Benedict listens      closely to the SWAT frequency.                              SWAT FREQUENCY (V.O.)                       (Leader's voice)                First wave, in! Second wave, now!                       (there is RUNNING,                        PANTING, then Linus's                        voice, distant and                        panicked)                Guys, someone's here!                       (Leader's voice)                Take him down! Now!      A brief SPURT of GUNFIRE, then... BARRROOOOOOM!      Dead silence in the Eye in the Sky. Slim stares deep      into a monitor's dark pitch. Then...                              SWAT FREQUENCY (V.O.)                       (Leader's voice)                Lights! We need power now!      Fat flips the power back on, and on the monitors...      ... visions of destruction down below... smoke fills the      vault as two SWAT members push through it... other SWAT      members help evacuate the unconscious guards...                              BENEDICT                       (into intercom)                What's the situation down there?                              SWAT LEADER (V.O.)                They blew it. They blew the...                Oh, Jesus... If there was anyone                in there, they're not in one piece                anymore.                               BENEDICT                       (to Walsh, soberly)                Tell them to take the van. I'm                going down there.                       (as an afterthought,                         to Slim)                Find out how they fiddled with our                cameras.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                              135A.262   EXT. McCARREN AIRPORT - NIGHT                               262      As the white van arrives at a charter airline's entrance,      the five sedans converge upon it, TIRES SCREECHING, Goons      emerging, weapons drawn.                              HEAD GOON                Get out of the van, now!   Now!      No response within the van. The Head Goon signals and      the others SHOOT the van's tires.                                                               136.263   INT. CIRCUITRY ROOM                                             263      Slim investigates the Eye in the Sky's wiring.    Reaching      deep into a mesh, he finds a foreign object:      Livingston's "spider."264   INT. VAULT CORRIDOR                                             264      The vault elevator doors open and Terry Benedict makes      his way into his smoke-filled vault corridor. He passes      the Uzi Guards, awake now and stumbling to the elevator      with SWAT members' assistance, then arrives before his      decimated vault: Anything within -- people, money, Lyman      Zerga's emeralds -- could only have been destroyed.      OVER SWAT LEADER'S SHOULDER      as he approaches Benedict.                              SWAT LEADER                Mr. Benedict...                              BENEDICT                Yes.                              SWAT LEADER                We couldn't find any survivors.                Or, I'm afraid, any of your money.                I'm sorry, sir.                              BENEDICT                       (doesn't want to hear                        anymore; the SWAT                        team failed him)                Take your men out now.      HOLD ON Benedict, seething, as the SWAT Leader steps      away...                              SWAT LEADER                Okay, guys, grab your gear and                clear out.                              BENEDICT                       (into walkie-talkie he                        has with him)                Walsh: How are we with the van?265   EXT. McCARREN AIRPORT - NIGHT                                   265      The stalemate with the van continues.    Still no movement      from inside.                                                       (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               137.265   CONTINUED:                                                      265                                 HEAD GOON                   Out of the van now! Hands up!      An EMPLOYEE from the charter airline sticks his head out      of his office door.                                 EMPLOYEE                          (innocently)                   Hey, what's going on here?      Half-a-dozen firearms turn and point in his direction.      The Employee disappears back inside his office.      The Head Goon cautiously approaches the van, reaches for      the driver's door, and yanks it open...      Inside: There is no driver. Just a video camera mounted      at eye-level. The Head Goon cranes back his head,      befuddled, when he notices for the first time (and maybe      we do, too) an enormous antenna sprouting from the van's      rear bumper.      The van suddenly lurches.266   SHORT DISTANCE AWAY - CLOSE ON REMOTE CONTROL                   266      complete with a tiny video monitor (displaying the van      driver's POV) and a steering mechanism -- it's a near-      replica of the one Virgil Malloy used in the monster      truck drag race against his brother.      And Virgil's using it now, too, as he sits next to Reuben      Tishkoff in one of Reuben's Rolls and watches the Goons      scramble back from the flat-tired van.                                 TISHKOFF                   Enough monkey business.      Virgil brings the van to a stop, then readies a      distinctive red button on his remote.267   BACK WITH VAN                                                   267      As the Head Goon reaches for the rear door, his hand      inches away when...      ... BARROOOOM!    The door EXPLODES open!      Knocked on his ass, the Head Goon watches as the canvas      "X" bags within burn to cinders. He does, however,      happen to notice one burning shred of paper dislodged      from a bag: It's a promotional flier for a call girl      service.      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                             138.268   INT. BELLAGIO VAULT - NIGHT                                   268      Benedict steps over the scattered remains of his vault.      He picks up a fragment of a cash cart, burnt to a crisp,      then lets it drop.                              WALSH (V.O.)                       (over walkie-talkie)                Mr. Benedict...                                BENEDICT                Yes?                              WALSH (V.O.)                They took the van.                                BENEDICT                And?                              WALSH (V.O.)                       (hesitantly, this is                        bad news)                And they blew up the bags, sir.                                BENEDICT                         (dropping his walkie-                          talkie to his side)                Shit.                                WALSH (V.O.)                Sir... sir...                                BENEDICT                What, Walsh?                              WALSH (V.O.)                They say it doesn't look like                there was any money in the bags,                sir.                                BENEDICT                What?!                              WALSH (V.O.)                They say the bags were filled with                fliers. For hookers.                              BENEDICT                What do you mean there was no                money in the bags?                              WALSH (V.O.)                That's what they said, sir. I                don't understand it: we both saw                them putting money inside those                bags.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                            139.268   CONTINUED:                                                   268      Benedict stops cold. He stares up at a wall where an      engraved sign reading "Bellagio" has been smoke-stained.                                 BENEDICT                   Walsh, cue up the tape of the                   robbery.269   INT. BELLAGIO SECURITY CENTER - EYE IN THE SKY               269      Walsh stands before several monitors as Slim cues up the      "masked men robbing the vault" image of a few minutes ago      beside the present image of Benedict staring at the vault      wall.                                 BENEDICT (V.O.)                   Does it say 'Bellagio' on the                   south wall of the vault?      In the masked-men image it does not, in fact, say      "Bellagio" there.                                 WALSH                          (on walkie-talkie)                   No, sir. It doesn't. I -- I                   don't understand...270   INT. VAULT                                                   270      Benedict exhales.                                 BENEDICT                   We had that installed on Tuesday.                   The image we saw of the men                   robbing us was a tape.                                  WALSH (V.O.)                   What?                                 BENEDICT                   Someone built a double of my                   vault, then made a tape of them                   robbing it. When we saw them                   putting money in those bags, that                   wasn't actually happening.271   INT. SECURITY CENTER                                         271      Walsh's jaw drops as he watches the tape again.                                  WALSH                   Then, sir...      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                              140.272   INT. BELLAGIO VAULT - NIGHT                                    272      Benedict is absolutely fucking furious.                              WALSH (V.O.)                ... what happened to all the                money?273   INT. BELLAGIO CASINO - CLOSE ON SWAT DUFFEL BAG - NIGHT        273      carried through the Bellagio casino, held by the SWAT      Leader leading his men out (now eight in all), and at      last we PULL UP to see his face for the first time...      It's Rusty, in full regalia, leading Livingston, Turk,      Saul, Frank, Basher, Yen and Linus out of the casino,      each dressed as a SWAT member, each carrying a duffel bag      with nearly $20 million dollars inside.      As we PASS each man, under the HUM OF the CASINO, we see:274   FLASHBACK - INT. MIRADOR SUITE - LIVINGSTON                    274      takes the call from Walsh in the Mirador suite as Basher,      Saul, and Frank dress behind him.                               LIVINGSTON                9-1-1.   Emergency response.275   TURK                                                           275      dressed as a SWAT member, hustles down a cage corridor.276   SAUL                                                           276      has trouble rappelling with the rest.277   BASHER                                                         277      takes position next to Rusty at the elevator shaft's      bottom. They're on-camera, but just a few feet away and      (off-camera) Danny sits smiling.                              RUSTY                       (hiding his voice)                Prepare to cut power!278   YEN                                                            278      lights a short fuse leading into the vault...      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 4/16/01                              141.279   LINUS                                                         279      feigns hysteria...                              LINUS                Guys, someone's here!280   RUSTY                                                         280      FIRES a SPURT of BLANKS.      BARRROOOOM! No one is hurt. Nor is the money, stacked      neatly in a corridor, ready to be packed into the phony      SWAT team bags, body armor, etc.281   EXT. BELLAGIO CASINO - NIGHT (PRESENT)                        281      The SWAT team exits and boards the second vehicle Turk      and Virgil have been working on all this time, the one in      the warehouse with an air freshener hanging from its      rearview mirror: it's a replica of a SWAT van.      Turk takes the wheel as the others jump in the back.      Rusty flips open another cell phone...                               RUSTY                Las Vegas P.D. This is Officer                Brooks, New Jersey Probation                Division. I have a violator in                your jurisdiction...                        (cupping phone)                Hit it.      Turk hits the gas and the VEHICLE PEELS away, carrying its      cadre of new multi-millionaires far away from the      Bellagio Hotel and Casino.282   INT. BELLAGIO VAULT                                           282      Benedict squats down to inspect a burnt scrap of paper on      the vault floor. It's a flier for a strip joint.                               BENEDICT                       (and it finally occurs                         to him)                Ocean...283   INT. CAGE/HALLWAY - MOVING WITH BENEDICT                      283      Heated, he approaches the interrogation room, where his      Plainclothes Goons keep watch.                                                    (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 4/16/01                                 141A.283   CONTINUED:    (A1)                                              283                                    BENEDICT                   Where's Ocean?                                 PLAINCLOTHES GOON #1                   Still inside, sir. With Bruiser.                                                        (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                                  142.283   CONTINUED:                                                         283      Benedict straightens his cuffs, cools himself, then:                                 BENEDICT                   Open that door.284   INT. INTERROGATION ROOM                                            284      Bruiser throws a mean left hook across Danny's face as      the door swings open and Benedict steps in. Bruiser sees      him and steps away, toweling off his bloodied knuckles.      Benedict studies Danny: the man is a bloody mess, head      rolling, eyes puffed up.                                  BENEDICT                   Wake him up.      The Goons step in, slap Danny alert.       At last, Danny      recognizes Benedict in the room.                                 DANNY                          (a little punchy)                   Heya, Benedict... How's the other                   fight going?      Benedict keeps his cool.                                 BENEDICT                   Did you have a hand in this?                          (beat)                   Did you?                                 DANNY                   Did I have a hand in what?      Benedict scrutinizes Danny: Is he bluffing?       He looks at      Bruiser, then Danny again, and decides: no.                                 BENEDICT                   Get him out of here.      As the Goons scoop him up and drag him out, Danny catches      Bruiser's eye for just a moment. And barely winks.285   INT. BENEDICT'S SUITE                                              285      The PHONE RINGS.      Tess plucks it up.                                  TESS                   Hello?                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 143.285   CONTINUED:                                                      285                                 VOICE (V.O.)                          (if you must know,                           it's Livingston's)                   Turn to Channel 88.      CLICK.   Tess does so.      On her TV: A security-angle of the cage hallway.   The      Goons appear, escorting bloodied Danny out.      As Tess gasps, we go live to...286   INT. CAGE/HALLWAY                                               286      Where Benedict follows the Goons and Danny out, brooding:      what's his next step? Walsh approaches.                                 DANNY                   You get robbed or something,                   Benedict? Geez, that's a shame.      Benedict looks up, suspicious.                                   BENEDICT                   Stop there.      The Goons stop, spin Danny around to face Benedict.                                   BENEDICT                   Where.   Is.   My. Money.      They hold each other's eye.                                 DANNY                   What would you say if I told you                   you could get your money back...                          (beat)                   ... if you gave up Tess?                          (beat)                   What would you say?                                 BENEDICT                   I would say yes.287   INT. BENEDICT'S SUITE                                           287      She's crestfallen.       OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                144.288    INT. CAGE/HALLWAY                                              288                                 DANNY                   Well, that's very interesting...                          (beat)                   ... but I didn't have anything to                   do with it.       He grins.   Benedict sinks.                                  BENEDICT                          (to his Goons)                   Escort Mr. Ocean to the exit. And                   contact the police. I would                   imagine Mr. Ocean is in violation                   of his parole.289    INT. BENEDICT'S SUITE - ON TV                                  289       The Goons haul Danny out. Tess has left, heartbeats ago:       the room's door is just closing.A290   INT. CAGE/HALLWAY                                              A290                                 WALSH                   Maybe we should have held him.                                  BENEDICT                   No.   Follow him. Everywhere.290    INT. CASINO FLOOR - OUTSIDE CAGES                              290       Benedict exits. Takes in his casino. It's been a bad       night: he's down a hundred fifty million. He starts       for...291    INT. CASINO FLOOR - ELEVATOR BAY                               291       As he arrives, the elevator doors open and Tess steps       out. She breezes right past him.                                    BENEDICT                   Tess...                             (as she doesn't                              stop)                   Tess?                                 TESS                   You of all people should know,                   Terry: in your hotel, there's                   always someone watching.                                                       (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                                 145.291   CONTINUED:                                                      291      She keeps going. Benedict, now down a hundred fifty      million and one woman, boards the elevator. Its doors      close on him.292   EXT. ALLEY/VACANT WAREHOUSE - EARLY MORNING                     292      The SWAT van rounds a corner and ducks inside the      warehouse.      Three-and-a-half seconds pass.      And the eight SWAT members reappear, now all in suits,      perfectly pressed, and with grins on their faces and      change in their pockets, they begin their victory stroll,      single-file and sloppy... right down the...293   STRIP - MOVING WITH THEM                                        293      Turk, Livingston, Frank, Basher, Yen, Saul, Linus and      Rusty march down the strip single-file, and when they      come to an intersection...      ... Virgil and Reuben, also in suits, fall into stride      for a victory lap in front of the Bellagio fountains.      Then, one-by-one, the group splinters off, strolling into      different hotels or grabbing cabs, until there are only      two left: Rusty and Linus.      They take each other in, shake hands, and part.294   EXT. BELLAGIO CASINO - NIGHT                                    294      Tess exits, searching for Danny.   She rounds the building      to...295   EXT. SERVICE ENTRANCE                                           295      Where a LVPD squad car has just arrived to take goon-held      Danny away. She runs toward it.                                 TESS                   Wait!      They do. As Danny is handcuffed and prepared for loading      in the back, he and Tess hold each other's glance.                                                     (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                        145A.295   CONTINUED:                                            295                                   TESS                   Danny...                          (beat)                   I'm sorry.                                 DANNY                   I knew what I was doing.      A beat.                                   TESS                   I didn't.                                              (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 10/24/00                               146.295   CONTINUED:                                                      295      A cop lowers Danny's head as he directs him into his      seat.                                 TESS                   How long will you be?                                  DANNY                          (shrug)                   Three to six months, I should                   think.      The squad car door closes him in and Tess stands vigil as      it pulls away.296   ACROSS STREET                                                   296      Rusty watches Danny being driven back to prison, too.                                                      DISSOLVE TO:297   EXT. FRONT GATE - MINIMUM-SECURITY PRISON - DAY                 297      SUPERIMPOSE:    THREE TO SIX MONTHS LATER.      The great metal gate opens once more, revealing Danny      Ocean in its frame again, ready for release.      He looks forward -- no one's there to greet him, and the      view of New Jersey looks no brighter than it did before.      He takes his first step into free America...      ... to discover Rusty leaning against the prison wall.      Beyond him sits his second-hand Mercedes from L.A.                                 RUSTY                   Looking for someone?                                  DANNY                   Thirteen million and you drive                   that piece of shit cross country                   to pick me up?                                 RUSTY                   Hello to you, too.      They shakes hands.    Rusty looks Danny over.                                 RUSTY                   Your hair's grayer.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                 147.297   CONTINUED:                                                        297                                 DANNY                   Your eyes got closer together.                          (beat)                   How's life?                                 RUSTY                   Life... is a roomful of pillows.                          (beat)                   C'mon...      MOVING WITH Danny and Rusty toward the Mercedes, together      again.                                 RUSTY                   Where do you want to go first?                                   DANNY                   To a phone.      Rusty had anticipated this.                                 RUSTY                   I stopped and picked up your                   personal effects, put them in the                   back seat.                                   DANNY                   My what?      Danny gets to the passenger door and looks in to see Tess      sitting in the back. She smiles at him.                                 DANNY                          (smiling back,                           then)                   I'm not sure these belong to me.                                   TESS                   Sure they do.      Danny and Rusty get in.      Danny kisses Tess.   Rusty STARTS      the CAR.                                 DANNY                   We need to find Rusty a girl.                                 RUSTY                   There's a women's prison just down                   the road...                                                         (CONTINUED)      OCEAN'S 11 - Rev. 1/8/01                               148.297   CONTINUED:    (2)                                             297      He drives off. In the back, Danny takes Tess's hand in      his. Notices a silver wedding band on it.                                 DANNY                   You said you sold this.                                 TESS                   That's what I said.                                 DANNY                   Liar.                                 TESS                   Thief.      As they drive away...      ... another car STARTS its ENGINE begins to follow.   At      the wheel: Benedict's goons.                                  THE END
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+"Out of Sight" Screenplay by Scott Frank from the novel by Elmore Leonard White Final: 08/05/97 Blue Revised: 09/17/97 Pink Revised: 11/11/97 Green Revised: 12/15/97 Goldenrod Revised: 12/16/97 Buff Revised: 03/17/98 Salmon Revised: 03/23/98 BLACK We hear TRAFFIC, some STREET NOISES, then... FADE IN: A MIAMI STREET - DAY The financial district. Lots of people in suits. A shaky, spasmodic ZOOM IN finds... JACK FOLEY -- forty, big, focused expression -- as he rips a tie from around his neck and throws it down in the gutter. He starts across the street, now peeling off his suitcoat and dropping that, too, right there on the asphalt as we then... WHIP PAN OVER TO REVEAL: A BANK ACROSS THE STREET As Foley goes inside, we then... CUT TO: A PRINTED BROCHURE THAT READS... LOOKING FOR MONEY? YOU'VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. We then PULL BACK TO REVEAL that we're now... INSIDE THE BANK as Foley stands at a counter holding the above CREDIT APPLICATION while he studies the bank layout. Foley watches a MAN IN A SUIT, carrying an attache-case, enter the bank and move through the gate into the fenced-off business area at the front. An EXECUTIVE rises from his desk, shakes hands with the man and they both sit down. Foley rosses the brochure in the trash, then crosses to a teller window where a nameplate on the counter tells us the young woman with the pile of dark hair smiling at him is LORETTA. TELLER/LORETTA How can I help you, sir? FOLEY Loretta, you see that guy talking to your manager, has his case open? Foley takes out a ZIPPO LIGHTER and casually, yet expertly, begins to fiddle with it as the teller looks across the bank. LORETTA That's Mr. Guindon, one of our assistant managers. Our manager is Mr. Schoen, but he's not in today. FOLEY But you see the guy with the attache case? LORETTA (looks again) Yes. FOLEY That's my partner. He has a gun in there. And if you don't do exactly what I tell you, or you give me any kind of a problem, I'll look over at my partner and he'll shoot your Mr. Guindon between the eyes. Loretta goes stiff, swallows, stares back at Foley. FOLEY (CONT'D) Now take one of those big envelopes and put as many hundreds, fifties and twenties as you can pack into it. Nothing with bank straps or rubber bands. I don't want any dye packs. I don't want any bait money. Start with the second drawer and then the one over there, under the computer. Come on, Loretta, the key's right there next to you. No bills off the bottom of the drawer. (as she works) First time being robbed? (she nods) You're doing great. Just smile, Loretta, so you won't look like you're being held up. (she smiles awkwardly) That's the way, you're doing fine. We hear a bit of thunder and Foley cuts a fast look out the front door. When he turns back, he sees that Loretta's having some trouble fitting all the bills into the envelope. FOLEY (CONT'D) Here, give me the twenties. I'll put 'em in my pocket. Okay, I haven't had to give my partner a sign; that's good. Now, he's gonna wait thirty seconds till after I'm out the door, make sure you haven't set off the alarm. If you have, he's gonna shoot Mr. Guindon between the eyes. Okay? I think that'll do it. Thank you, Loretta, and have a nice day. LORETTA You, too. Foley heads for the door. He pauses by Mr. Guindon's desk, looks back at Loretta. Foley smiles at her, then turns to the Man sitting with Mr. Guindon, indicates Loretta... FOLEY She's cute, isn't she? The man looks across the bank at Loretta. MAN Uh, yeah, I guess so. Foley winks at Loretta and walks out. MAN (CONT'D) (to Mr. Guindon) Who was that? EXT. BANK - SAME As Foley comes out, he calmly walks to a Honda Civic and gets in. INT. CAR - SAME As Foley tries to start the car. No go. He tries again. FOLEY Come on... But the car won't start. Foley bangs on the wheel... FOLEY (CONT'D) Fuck! Foley then stiffens as a cop sticks his gun through the open window into Foley's ear... COP I think you flooded it. Foley looks to the passenger window, where ANOTER COP, smiling, now has his gun pointing at him. SECOND COP Get out've the car, sir. FOLEY Wanna hear a funny story? SECOND COP Shut up and get out've the car. And as Foley obliges, we then... FADE TO WHITE. We hear a MAN GRUNT. Then see Foley in SLOW MOTION as he jumps through frame, now we see a basketball come up in his hand as we realize he's on his way to the rim when... ...ANOTHER GUY rams into him in mid-air, knocks him down. EXT. PRISON YARD - DAY A BASKETBALL GAME in progress. All of the men, Foley included, are dressed in blue coveralls and white T-shirts. The game is rough. Hair is pulled. Eyes are poked. Faces punched. A title reads: "GLADES CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION. BELLE GLADE, FLORIDA." Foley is the oldest player here. He's getting tired, starts to lose his breath. He finally walks off the court, breathing so hard he can't even talk. He simply motions to SOME YOUNG CONVICT to come in and take his place. Foley sits down on a bench, tries to catch his breath. He looks across the yard to where... A GROUP OF ELDERLY INMATES sitting around a wooden picnic table are playing cards. All of them are over sixty. One of them, a one-legged guy on crutches hops away from the table, spits out some tobacco as we... INTERCUT THE OLD TIMERS WITH FOLEY WATCHING THEM: As we see one old guy is making a picture frame out of old Pal Mal and Lucky Strike packs. Another tends to a tomato bush in a tiny patch of garden near the wall. Another one sits nearby painting a picture of a man and a boy fishing from a rowboat. Foley is about to get up off the bench when something catches his eye. He watches as... TWO LATINO MEN both little guys, jog past the game, slow to a walk, then stop and begin stretching out. One of them nods to Foley. Foley nods back, waits for the Latin guys to walk off, then walks over to a guard, PUPKO ("PUP"), heavy-set, dumb as dirt. PUP You want something, Foley? Foley keeps his eyes fixed on the basketball game. FOLEY Some people are going out of here. What if I told you where and when? PUP How many? FOLEY I expect you to look out for me, Pup, let me run off work details. PUP Okay. How many going out? FOLEY I hear six. PUP When? FOLEY Looks like tonight. PUP You know who they are? FOLEY I do, but I won't tell you just yet. Meet me in the chapel at eight-thirty, right before lock-down. INT. MESS HALL - LUNCH As Foley takes his tray up the centre aisle, he scans the sea of white T-shirts until he sees the two little Latins sitting at a table full of other little Latins. CHINO -- fifties, in shape -- shovels macaroni in his mouth. Chino's "wife", LULU, nineteen, looks up from his own neat tray of macaroni and jello and watches Foley walk past and sit down with a bunch of bikers. Foley watches as the guy across from Chino scrapes some macaroni off his plate and on to Chino's and Chino wolfs that down, too. EXT. MESS - DAY Chino steps outside and lights a cigarette. He puts an arm around Lulu, starts to walk off... FOLEY (OS) Today's the day, huh? Chino looks over, watches Foley approach, lets his arm slip down so he can hook his thumb into Lulu's belt... the next thing to having him on a leash. FOLEY You excited? CHINO I told you, man, Super Bowl Sunday. FOLEY Yeah, but I see you moved it up. CHINO (beat) Why you think is today? FOLEY You were out running this morning, sticking to your routine, anybody happened to notice. But you only did a couple of miles instead of your usual five. Saving yourself for the main event. Then I see you inside eating ten pounds of macaroni. Carbohydrates for endurance. Chino and Lulu exchange looks. CHINO You want, I tole you you can come. You all right, Foley. I like you. FOLEY You told me I can come 'cause I caught you digging the fuckin' tunnel, saw you and Lulu coming out of the bushes, thought maybe you two were making out. Foley smiles at Lulu, who glares back at him. FOLEY (CONT'D) So what, you finish ahead of schedule? Chino looks towards the fence along the front of the yard. CHINO You see what they doing, those posts out there? Putting up another fence, five metres on the other side of the one that's there. We wait until Super Bowl Sunday, they could have the second fence built and we have to dig another nine, ten days. So we going soon as it's dark. You want -- I mean it -- you can still come. FOLEY I appreciate the offer. And it's tempting. Foley looks off towards the visitors' parking area, the fence not twenty yards away. FOLEY (CONT'D) But, man, it's a long run to civilization. A hundred miles to Miami? I'm too old to start acting crazy, try a stunt like that. You make it out, send me a postcard. CUT TO: A NOTEPAD where we see someone has written "IT'S MAGIC!" then crossed out the "IT'S" and replaced it with the word "LIKE". We hear THE PHONE RING AND... REVEAL: INT. ADELE'S APARTMENT - DAY Miami Beach Moderne. ADELE -- mid-thirties, pretty, Foley's ex -- sits at her kitchen table writing on a pad. She grabs the phone. ADELE Hello? (then, sighs) Yeah, I accept. INT. PRISON HALLWAY - DAY Foley on the phone... FOLEY'S VOICE Hey, Adele, how you doing? INTERCUTTING FOLEY & ADELE: ADELE Hey, Bank Robber, want some advice? Next time, leave the engine running. FOLEY That's funny, Adele. How many more times you gonna gimme that one? ADELE Till it's not funny any more. What do you want, Jack? FOLEY You know that Super Bowl party? They changed the date. It's on tonight, eight-thirty. ADELE Didn't you tell me one-time calls aren't monitored? FOLEY I said not as a rule. ADELE So why don't you come right out and tell me what you're talking about? FOLEY Listen to Miss Smarty Mouth. Out there in the free world. ADELE What's free about it? I'm looking for work. FOLEY What happened to Mandrake the Magician? ADELE Emil the Amazing. The bastard fired me and hired another girl, a redhead. I'm working on a new business card, pass out to the cafes. How's this sound-- FOLEY (cuts her off) Listen, Adele, the reason I called, that party is today instead of Sunday. About eight-thirty, like only a few hours from now. So you'll have to get hold of Buddy, whatever he might be doing... ADELE And the one driving the other car? FOLEY What're you talking about? ADELE Well, seeing as you have so much luck with cars, Buddy thought it might be better to bring two. He got this guy he says you know from Lompoc, Glenn something. FOLEY Glenn Michaels. ADELE Yeah, that's him. Buddy says Glenn thinks you guys are real cool. FOLEY He did, huh. Well, tell Buddy I see Glenn wearing his sunglasses I'll step on 'em. I might not even take 'em off first. INT. RESTAURANT - DAY As MARSHALL SISCO -- fifty -- slides a small wrapped box across a table... MARSHALL Happy birthday. ...to where KAREN SISCO -- twenty-eight, black suit, long hair, a knockout -- sits. She picks up the box and shakes it. KAREN You fit another Chanel suit in here? MARSHALL Something better. Open it. Karen starts to carefully unwrap the present. Marshall watches, takes a sip of his drink, looks around the bar, sees how everyone's looking at the two of them... KAREN (opens the box) Oh my God... She pulls a gleaming automatic pistol from the box... KAREN (CONT'D) It's beautiful. MARSHALL It's a -- KAREN --Sig-Sauer .38. I love it. She leans across the table and kisses him. KAREN (CONT'D) Thanks, Dad. MARSHALL Happy birthday, kid. (then) You want another Coke? KAREN (checks her watch) Can't. I gotta drive out to Glades, then I'm meeting Ray Nicolet at ten. MARSHALL Which one is that? The ATF guy? KAREN He was. Ray's with the F.B.I. now, he switched over. MARSHALL He's still married though, huh? KAREN Technically. They're separated. MARSHALL Oh, he's moved out? KAREN He's about to. MARSHALL Then they're not separated, are they? KAREN Can we change the subject? MARSHALL What're you doing at Glades? KAREN Serving process, a Summons and Complaint. Some con doing mandatory life doesn't like macaroni and cheese. He files suit, says he has no choice in what they serve and it violates his civil rights. MARSHALL You know you can always step in, work with me full-time as one of my investigators. KAREN No thanks. MARSHALL You used to like it. KAREN Dad... MARSHALL You'd meet doctors, lawyers -- nothing wrong with them necessarily if they're divorced. Why settle for some cowboy cop who drinks too much and cheats on his wife? That's the way those hotshots are, all of 'em. KAREN I really gotta go. MARSHALL We don't get to talk much any more. KAREN How 'bout I come next Sunday and watch the Super Bowl with you? MARSHALL I'd like that. She gets up, kisses him again. KAREN Thanks for the gun, Dad. INT. FOLEY'S CELL - BELLE GLADE - DAY Foley comes in, lies down on the bunk. He looks about the cell. All he's got to show for himself. It's now quiet on the cellblock. Foley closes his eyes and we... CUT TO: EXT. PRISON AUDITORIUM A few hundred cons scream encouragement/insults as MAURICE "SNOOPY" MILLER, a lanky, scary, mean-looking black man in boxing trunks, hits a white guy with a ferocious hook. Title reads: LOMPOC FEDERAL PENITENTIARY. LOMPOC, CALIFORNIA. And then... TWO YEARS AGO. AT THE BACK OF THE AUDITORIUM Foley leans in a doorway watching with BUDDY BRAGG -- black, Foley's age, shaved head. The BELL SOUNDS and the white guy staggers to his corner, as does Maurice. GLENN MICHAELS -- surfer look, dark shades -- counts cash in Maurice's corner, whispers something into the fighter's ear. BUDDY Ref don't call it pretty soon, Snoopy's gonna send this guy out in a body bag. Foley watches a MAN -- fifties, out of place, not as hard-looking as those around him. The guy looks nervous, can feel the other cons' eyes on him as he tries to find a seat. The BELL SOUNDS and the white boxer staggers to his feet. Maurice steps in and resumes the bloody pummelling. Foley turns and watches the fight now... FOLEY Anyone ever tell you why they call him Snoopy? Buddy shakes his head. Maurice dances around the other guy now. Teases him. FOLEY (CONT'D) He was Maurice "Mad Dog" Miller back when he was pro. Now you pet him, he goes down. The white guy throws a tired, loping roundhouse that barely glances off Maurice's jaw. Sure enough, Maurice makes a big show out of snapping his head back, staggering, before he finally goes down. BUDDY I don't believe it. Foley watches the new inmate as fights erupt all around him and, anxious now, he tries to get out of there. EXT. PRISON YARD - DAY Foley and Buddy sit atop a cement picnic table watching as nearby, the "winning" BOXER -- still wearing last night's pummelling on his face -- gloats to a group of cons. He throws a fake punch at one of them as he demonstrates his winning technique... BUDDY Guy's braggin' he won a thrown fight. Fuckin' pathetic. Foley looks at the other side of the yard where Maurice now stands at the far side of the yard coldly watching the guy, one hand thrust into his pocket. Foley watches as Maurice stops the NEW INMATE -- the older guy who looked out of place at the fights -- as he comes out into the yard. FOLEY It's Richard Ripley. BUDDY (looking now) The Wall Street guy? Oh, yeah. I didn't recognize him without his rug. Foley watches as Maurice talks to the new inmate, the guy nodding, acquiescent, respectful. FOLEY Dick the Ripper they called him, on account of all the people he ripped off. Foley watches as Ripley now makes a note in a BLACK BOOK. BUDDY What's he doin' here? GLENN (OS) Three years. They look to where Glenn Michaels, the blond guy in dark shades we saw in Maurice's corner, works out on the bench press a few feet away. He's shirtless, tan, in shape. GLENN He got three years and fined fifty million dollars and wrote 'em a fucking check. Like that, fifty mil, signed his name. (struggles with the bar) Whoa-- little help here! FOLEY Who you talkin' to, Studs? Me, or Buddy. I can't tell, you got those shades on. GLENN You guys-- come on-- this is too heavy! FOLEY I guess the bright glare out here made it hard to see the numbers on the weights. GLENN I'll take the shades off. Just get this fuckin' thing off me. Foley helps him get the bar up. Glenn sits up. BUDDY How do you know he wrote a check? GLENN He told me. He works the laundry with me. The guy loves to talk. FOLEY Yeah, to the U.S. Attorney. I hear he rolled over on all the snitches he was doing business with and got 'em all brought up. He watches Snoopy talking to Ripley, one eye always on the swaggering boxer across the yard, one hand in his pocket. GLENN Hey, anybody that can write a check for fifty mil, he says anything I'm all fucking ears. Like the other day, he tells me how he's got all this money in foreign banks, plus around five mil in uncut diamonds at his house. He said, quote, "Where I can put my hands on it anytime." BUDDY Cool. Where's the guy live? Foley watches a few more of Maurice's friends surround Ripley. Again, Ripley takes out his black book, starts nodding, making notations... GLENN Detroit. Snoopy Miller told me uncut diamonds are as easy to move as cash. FOLEY Ever seen an uncut diamond, Studs? They look like plain old rocks. GLENN So. What's your point? FOLEY My point is, that's probably what you're gonna end up with. GLENN You think he's lying? FOLEY Use your head. The guys got five million lying around his house, you really think he's gonna tell some motormouth he just met in prison about it? A BELL SOUNDS. Everyone starts walking for the gate. Foley watches as the Boxer and his crew head for the gate, Maurice still standing there with his hand in his pocket. SLOW MOTION AS the boxer gets to the gate, sees Maurice who moves to him now, smiling like he's so glad to see him... his left hand clapping the guy on the back, saying something like congratulations as now his right hand comes out of his pocket and we see the long metal shiv-- BUDDY (watching Snoopy) Here it comes. Maurice wraps his left arm around the boxer's shoulder and hugs him tight for a moment, then quickly moves away. The Boxer stands there like a statue, doesn't move until he's at last jostled from behind and his legs fold and he drops to the cement. BUDDY (CONT'D) I guess the Snoop doesn't like to lose, even if it's on purpose. We hear a WHISTLE BLOW as a GUARD spots the body. And now everyone moves like hell for the gate... except for... Richard Ripley who stands there frozen, staring down at the body. Foley glances back at the approaching guards, casually takes Ripley by the arm as he passes, leads him away from there, talks to him as they walk into the block... FOLEY You don't wanna be standing there, the hacks start asking questions you don't wanna answer. RIPLEY Oh, uh, right, thanks... Foley then moves away. He sees Maurice looking back at him, giving him a hard stare just before he melts into the crowd. DISSOLVE TO: INT. FOLEY'S CELL - BELLE GLADE - DAY (NOW) He lies there another moment when... A PAIROF LEGS swings down over the side from the top bunk. Foley's CELLMATE jumps down, walks the three feet or so to the toilet, casually pulls down his pants and starts to go to the bathroom. Foley shakes his head and turns away... EXT. STRIP MALL - DAY As Buddy walks up to a Cadillac Sedan DeVille Concours pulling a slim-jim from the back of his pants, about to jimmy the door, when he sees... A WOMAN -- middle-aged, wearing pearls and high heels -- come out of the Winn Dixie pushing a grocery cart full of groceries. Buddy sticks the jimmy back in his pants, waits until the woman is opening her trunk before coming forward... BUDDY Here, lemme help you with those, ma'am. She doesn't seem too sure about it, but lets him load the groceries in the trunk and take the key out of the lock. WOMAN I didn't ask for your help, so don't expect a tip. Buddy smiles, waves her off. BUDDY That's okay, ma'am. I'll just take your car. She stands there stupidly as he gets in and drives off. INT. CHAPEL - DUSK In the midst of a remodel. As door opens and Pup comes in. Foley puts a finger to his lips... FOLEY They're right underneath you, Pup. They dug a tunnel. Foley watches Pup creep up the aisle towards the front of the chapel, eyes on the floor, listening... PUP I don't hear 'em. Where's the tunnel come out? Pup turns his back, walks up the aisle and across the front of the pews to a window. FOLEY Second fence post from the tower out there. Go on, take a look. As Pup stares out the window... PUP I don't see nothing there. Foley reaches down into a pew where's stashed a FOUR-FOOT CRUCIFIX. He picks it up, starts up the aisle... FOLEY You will directly. Keep watching. INT. KAREN SISCO'S CAR - DUSK As the high beams from her car show the prison parking area, then the fence strung with razor wire. Karen parks near the fence, lights a cigarette and dials her car phone. KAREN Hi. Karen Sisco again for Ray Nicolet. (beat) He's not? Could you tell him that... never mind. I'll call back. Headlights hit Karen's rear-view mirror, a car pulling in behind her. The lights go off, then come on again. She adjusts the mirror to deflect the glare. INT. THE CAR BEHIND HER - DUSK As Buddy sits watching the cons come in from the athletic field. He sees the mirror flash in the car in front of him as Karen checks her face out in the rear-view. INT. CHAPEL - DUSK As Foley moves up behind Pup, he lets his jacket fall to the floor, holds the crucifix down against his leg. PUP There some car headlights out there... (then) Jesus Christ... Now he pulls his radio from his belt, says into it... PUP (CONT'D) Man outside the fence! By tower six! (responds to radio) This is Officer Pupko... (then) I'm looking at him, for Christ's sake! Okay-- now Foley raises the metal cross, steps in and lays it smack against the side of Pup's head. Drops him clean with one swing, bouncing him off the window frame and down without a sound coming from him. INT. KAREN SISCO'S CAR - NIGHT As Karen grabs the court papers off the seat, opens her car door, glances at the fence and pauses as she sees A FIGURE there, crouching down. Karen turns on her headlights. No, not crouched. The guy is coming out of the ground. On this side of the fence. Head and shoulders appear and another guy comes out of the ground. Right in front of her. Karen leans on the horn, holds it down and sees the two guys by the fence -- Chino and Lulu -- look into her headlights, poised there for a moment before taking off into the dark. Karen gets out of the car... INT. BUDDY'S CAR - SAME As Buddy watches a spotlight from the tower come on and follow the two cons as we then hear the sound of RIFLE REPORTS before the men disappear into the dark. Then Buddy sees Karen in his headlights, whistles softly as he gets a good look at her long legs as she raises the lid to her trunk... BUDDY What's she doing? He watches her duck her head in the trunk and come out with a holstered pistol. BUDDY (CONT'D) Uh-oh. But then she throws the pistol in the trunk, ducks in there again and comes out this time racking a shotgun. BUDDY (CONT'D) Uh-oh. And now Buddy watches her hurry to the front of her car and raise the shotgun as we hear A WHISTLE BLOW IN THE COMPOUND. Buddy gets out of the car... EXT. PARKING AREA - SAME As Karen puts the shotgun on two more cons, both filthy dirty, standing by the hole they just crawled out of. KAREN Get your hands in the air! Buddy watches the two cons, both Latins, make up their minds, start edging away -- shit, they've come this far. They look out at the spotlight sweeping around in the dark, then look the other way, along the fence towards the main gate, to see armed hacks coming out on the run, and that decides it for the cons. They take off running... Now Buddy watches as Karen puts her pump gun on them, but doesn't fire... The hacks running from the gate with rifles beat her to it, open up all at once and keep firing until the two convicts are cut down as they run. The hacks glance at Karen, but don't bother with her, more interested in the hole the convicts had come out of. Now they're standing by it peering in, edging closer with their weapons ready, then they all step back at once, bump into each other as... A head appears wearing a guard's baseball cap, the guy now saying something to the guards, his face smeared with muck, excited, pointing towards the orange grove. They run off, pausing briefly to kick the convicts they shot to see if they're alive, then keep going. The man in the hole, Foley, climbs out. He takes his time, puts on a show, standing with his hands on his hips like an honest-to-God hack, that serious cap down on his eyes. Buddy waves to Foley to come on and Karen turns and puts the shotgun on Buddy. Buddy raises the palm of his hand. BUDDY It's okay, honey, we're good guys. KAREN What're you doing here? Not so much asking, but putting it to him the way cops do when they're already pretty sure what you're doing. She glances around to include Foley, now coming at her like some creature out of the swamp, giving Buddy time to take her around the neck. She fights him, jabs him in the gut with the butt end of the shotgun before Foley wrenches it from her grip. They drag her to the rear end of her car, the trunk lid still up, and crouch there as some hacks come running along the fence, past the dark gun tower and cross the road towards the orange grove. A moment later, they hear bursts of gunfire, then silence. FOLEY I bet that's all the hacks they send out. Otherwise nobody's left to mind the store. BUDDY Why don't we talk about it later? He turns to see Foley and Karen staring at each other in the headlights from Buddy's car; Karen not at all afraid. FOLEY Why you're just a girl. What do you do for a living you pack a shotgun? KAREN I'm a federal marshal and you're under arrest, both of you guys. Foley keeps staring at her like he's giving the situation serious thought, but what he says is... FOLEY I bet I smell, don't I? (then) Listen, you hop in the trunk and we'll get out of here. Karen looks at him, then gets up, climbs into the trunk. She's reaching around, trying to find her pistol, when... Foley gives her a shove and gets in with her, wedging her against the wall of the trunk, pressing against her back like they're cuddled up in bed. He holds her to him, giving her no room to turn and stick the gun in his face. Buddy reaches for the trunk lid and then everything goes... BLACK Total darkness, not a crack or a pinpoint of light showing. Then we hear the engine come to life, the car moving along. FOLEY (VO) You comfy? KAREN (VO) If I could have a little more room. FOLEY (VO) There isn't any. All this shit you got in here. What is all this stuff anyway? Handcuffs, chains... what's this can? KAREN (VO) For your breath. You could use it. Squirt some in your mouth. FOLEY (VO) You devil, it's mace, huh? What've you got here, a billy? Use it on poor unfortunate offenders. A BEAM OF LIGHT appears as he finds a flashlight and turns it on. He plays the beam along Karen's leg, calms down some as he looks at all of her now and finally says... FOLEY (VO) Where's your gun, your pistol? KAREN In my bag, in the car. They go over some bumps. We hear men's voices from somewhere far off, outside. KAREN (CONT'D) You know you don't have a chance of making it. Guards are out here already, they'll stop the car. He runs his hand down her thigh, looking for her gun, but also, just, well, looking. FOLEY They're off in the cane by now chasing Cubans. I timed it to slip between the cracks, you might say. EXT. CAR - NIGHT As Buddy floors it away from the prison, checks the rearview mirror... INT. TRUNK - SAME As Jack tries to wipe some of the mud off his face. FOLEY Boy, it stunk in there. KAREN I believe it. You've ruined a nine- hundred-dollar suit my dad gave me. FOLEY Yeah, went real nice with that twelve gauge, too. (then) Tell me, why in the world would someone like you ever become a federal marshall? KAREN The idea of going after guys like you appealed to me. FOLEY Guys like me, huh. Well, listen, even though I've been celibate lately, I'm not gonna force myself on you. I've never done that in my life. KAREN You wouldn't have time anyway. We come to a roadblock, they'll run the car, find out in five seconds who it belongs to. FOLEY If they get set up in time, which I doubt. And even if they do they'll be looking for a buncha little Latin fellas, not a big black guy driving a Ford. KAREN Must be quite a pal, risk his own ass like this. More bumps. Then picking up speed as the road smooths out. FOLEY Who, Buddy? Yeah. He's a good guy. Back when we jailed together, he'd call his sister every week without fail. She's a born-again Christian, does bookkeeping for a televangelist. Buddy calls her up, confesses his sins, tells her about whatever bank he happened to rob. KAREN Buddy. That's his given name? FOLEY (woops, beat) One I gave him, yeah. (mouths) Fuck... INT. CAR - SAME As Buddy rifles through Karen's bag while he drives. He looks up from her badge and ID case at the road. INT. TRUNK - SAME KAREN So, what's your name? It'll be in the paper tomorrow anyway. FOLEY Jack Foley. You've probably heard of me. KAREN Why, are you famous? FOLEY Time I was convicted in California? FBI told me I'd robbed more banks than anyone in the computer. KAREN How many was that? FOLEY Tell you the truth, I don't know. I started when I was eighteen, driving for my Uncle Cully and his partner, Gus. They go into a bank this one time in Slidell, Gus jumps the counter to get the tellers and breaks his leg. All three of us ended up in Angola. KAREN That's funny. FOLEY I thought so, too. KAREN It was me, I woulda left ol' Gus on the floor. FOLEY I believe you would have. Another fall, I did seven years at Lompoc. And I don't mean the place next door where some of Nixon's people went. KAREN I know the difference. You were in Lompoc USP, the federal penitentiary. I've delivered people there. So basically you've spent half your life in prison. FOLEY (beat) Basically. Yeah. If I go back now, I do a full thirty years, no time off. Can you imagine looking at that? KAREN I don't have to. I don't rob banks. He looks at her, then looks away as we... EXT. CAR - SAME As the car turns into a main highway now... INT. TRUNK - SAME As Foley plays the light down the length of her... FOLEY You don't seem all that scared. KAREN Of course I am. FOLEY You don't act like it. KAREN What do you want me to do? Scream? I don't think it would help much. (then) I'm just gonna sit back, take it easy, and wait for you to screw up. FOLEY Jesus, you sound like my ex-wife. KAREN You were married? All those falls, I'm surprised you had time. FOLEY It was just a year, give or take a few days. I mean, it's not like we didn't get along or anything. We had fun, we just didn't have that... that thing, you know? That spark, you know what I mean? You gotta have that. KAREN (thinking) Uh-huh. FOLEY We still talk, though. KAREN Sure. EXT. CAR - SAME As Buddy passes a sign that says "MIAMI, 74 MILES." INT. TRUNK - SAME As she tries to get a look at him... KAREN You know, this isn't gonna end well, these things never do. FOLEY Yeah, well, if it turns out I get shot like a dog, it'll be in the street, not off a goddamn fence. KAREN You must see yourself as some kind of Clyde Barrow. And for a few moments, all we hear is the sound of the car on the road. Then... FOLEY Oh, you mean of Bonnie and Clyde? Hm. You ever see pictures of him, the way he wore his hat? You could tell he had that don't-give-a-shit air about him. KAREN I don't recall his hat, but I've seen pictures of him lying dead, shot by Texas Rangers. Did you know he didn't have his shoes on? FOLEY Is that right? KAREN They put a hundred and eighty-seven bullet holes in Clyde, Bonnie Parker and the car they were driving. Bonnie was eating a sandwich. FOLEY You're full of interesting facts, aren't you? KAREN It was May, 1934, near Gibsland, Louisiana. EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT Quiet. Empty. A moment later the car flies past. INT. TRUNK - SAME FOLEY That part in the movie where they get shot? Warren Beatty and... I can't think of her name. KAREN Faye Dunaway. FOLEY Yeah, I liked her in that movie about TV... KAREN Network. Yeah, she was good. FOLEY And the guy saying he wasn't gonna take any more shit from anybody... KAREN Peter Finch. FOLEY Yeah, right. Anyway, that scene where Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway get shot? I remember thinking at the time it wouldn't be a bad way to go, if you have to. KAREN Bleeding on a country road. FOLEY It wasn't pretty after, no, but if you were in that car -- eating a sandwich -- you wouldn't have known what hit you. We HEAR FAINT SIRENS OS... INT. CAR - SAME TIME As Buddy sees FLASHING LIGHTS approach from the opposite direction. He stays cool as the green and whites get closer... closer... then fly right on past. INT. TRUNK - SAME As the SIRENS SCREAM AT US FOR A MOMENT, then FADE. FOLEY You're sure easy to talk to. I wonder -- say we met under different circumstances and got to talking, say you were in a bar and I came up to you -- I wonder what would happen. KAREN Nothing. FOLEY I mean if you didn't know who I was. KAREN You'd probably tell me. FOLEY I'm just saying I think if we met under different circumstances... KAREN You have to be kidding. Silence. Foley tries to get back to where it was working... FOLEY Another one Faye Dunaway was in I liked, Three Days of the Condor. KAREN With Robert Redford, when he was young. FOLEY Yeah... They lie there a moment, think about that as we hear THE CAR SLOWING DOWN, coasting, then bumping along the shoulder of the road to a stop. KAREN I never thought it made sense, though, the way they got together so quick. FOLEY Really. KAREN I mean, romantically. FOLEY Uh-huh. (then) Well, but if -- The trunk goes dark again as the car's turned off. BUDDY (OS) You still alive in there? And the trunk lid raises so that we see Karen and Foley lying in the back. Foley gets out. Karen doesn't move. FOLEY (OS) Where in the hell are we? BUDDY That's the turnpike up there. Glenn's waiting with the other car. FOLEY Okay, honey, come on out of there. Karen pushes off, rolls from her right side to her left, brings up her Sig Sauer in both hands to put it on them, both standing in the opening, in the dark, but right there. KAREN Get your hands up and turn around. Now. FOLEY Shit... Foley brings the lid down, he and Buddy moving in opposite directions as she begins firing from the inside... As Buddy and Foley hook up again in front of the car. We can see they're beneath an overpass. Foley stares at the trunk. BUDDY We may as well leave her, we're leaving the car and we gotta leave her some place anyway, what's the difference where? FOLEY She's coming with us. Foley walks to the passenger seat, reaches in the window. BUDDY Jesus Christ, what were you doing in there? FOLEY Get the shotgun. And her purse. I'd like to know who she is. Foley takes her wallet, looks at her driver's licence photo. BUDDY I already looked. Her name is Karen Sisco. Like the Cisco Kid only spelled different, S-i-s-c-o. A sheriff's green-and-white goes screaming past and they keep to the narrow space between the car and the concrete abutment of the overpass. When the road quiets down, Foley moves to the trunk and bangs on it once with his fist. FOLEY Karen? Be a good girl now, you hear? Now, I'm gonna open the-- Foley jumps at the sound of a pistol shot. FOLEY (CONT'D) You're putting holes in your car! He looks up to see Buddy holding her shotgun, staring at him. He settles down, then... FOLEY (CONT'D) We're not leaving you. I'm gonna open the trunk enough for you to throw the gun out. Okay? You shoot -- Buddy's got your shotgun, says he'll shoot back if you do and I can't stop him. So it's up to you. Foley puts his hand out and Buddy, still looking at him funny, gives him the keys. VOICE Hey! Coming from somewhere above them. VOICE (CONT'D) It's me, Glenn. Foley steps out into the open, Buddy close behind him. They look up to see a figure, head and shoulders against the evening sky, leaning on the concrete overpass rail. We can see his long blond hair falling beside his face, now half-concealed behind dark sunglasses. GLENN Hey, Jack, good to see you, man. The fuck're you guys shooting at? Foley looks at Buddy. FOLEY Do we need him? BUDDY The green-and-whites saw us. One of 'em starts thinking, what's that car doing there? Ties it to the break and turns around... Foley thinks about it, then looks up at the overpass again. FOLEY Oh, hey, Studs? We thought you were somebody else. GLENN Studs. Man, I haven't heard that since Lompoc. What's going on? FOLEY Oh, nuthin'. Foley shakes his head, then walks back to the Ford and bangs on the trunk. FOLEY (CONT'D) You coming out? Foley sticks the key in the lock as Buddy steps up to the trunk and racks the pump on the shotgun. Foley leans close to the metal. FOLEY (CONT'D) You hear that? He turns the key and raises the lid. Karen, bunched in there, extends her arm, her hand holding the Sig Sauer by the barrel. KAREN You win, Jack. "Jack." Buddy gives him another funny look. EXT. TOP OF OVERPASS - NIGHT As Glenn removes a note stuck in the side window of a stolen Audi that reads "GONE TO GET GAS." FOLEY Have your clothes cleaned and send me the bill. Glenn looks over as the three of them reach the top of the grade, move through the scrub. Glenn leans against the car, flashers blinking. KAREN I'll send it to you at Glades. GLENN Jesus, what'd you crawl through, a sewer? FOLEY Take your sunglasses off. GLENN I see better with them on. FOLEY You don't take 'em off, I'm gonna throw 'em off the overpass while they're still on your head. Glenn shrugs, takes them off and sticks them in his jeans. FOLEY (CONT'D) Wait in the car. GLENN You're in civilization now, man, ease up. FOLEY I'd like you to go wait in the car. How's that? Take her with you and put her in back. GLENN In the trunk? FOLEY The backseat. Foley stares at him, waiting. Glenn motions to Karen... GLENN Come on. I have to do what I'm told. She walks past Foley without looking at him. FOLEY Wait a minute. Let me have your raincoat. (looks at Buddy) Somebody forgot to bring me clean clothes. BUDDY I brought 'em, they're back at Glades in the Cadillac. You wanted to take her car. KAREN You can blame me if you want. I don't mind. He doesn't say anything as Glenn takes off the raincoat, folds it up, then throws it at Foley's feet. GLENN Here you are, sir. Foley watches as Glenn gets his sunglasses out, puts them back on and takes Karen by the arm. BUDDY What's wrong with you? Karen looks over at Foley, then ducks her head and gets in the backseat. FOLEY Why you brought Glenn into this, I'll never know. BUDDY How 'bout the score was his idea to begin with? FOLEY His idea? Gimme a break. Fuckin' guy's got a vacant lot for a head. Was you and me figured the whole thing out. Buddy watches Foley struggle with the buttons on the uniform, all of them caked with muck. BUDDY You're pulling at it. Here... He lays the shotgun in the grass and comes up, takes the guard shirt in his two hands and rips it open, popping buttons and tearing the shirt. FOLEY I don't know why, but every time he opens his mouth I want to punch him out. BUDDY He ain't the problem, Jack. Foley looks at him. BUDDY (CONT'D) You wanna pull your head outta your ass and tell me why we're bringing her with us? INT. CAR - SAME As Karen watches Glenn get into the car, sees him as the dome light comes on for a second or two before he closes the door. He half turns, laying his arm along the top of the seats, runs his hand through his hair... GLENN ...if he thinks he can talk to me like this. Shit, I don't even know what I need them for. Karen leans forward to have a look, sees Foley and Buddy against the dark foliage. GLENN (CONT'D) I got a big score lined up up north. They wouldn't even know about it, it wasn't for me. I could do it right now myself, except it's so fucking cold up there in January-- KAREN Glenn? His head turns so that we can see his designer shades. KAREN (CONT'D) You don't remember me, do you? GLENN (beat) It couldn't have been out at Glades, if that's what you're thinking. I was never out there. KAREN No, that's not what I'm thinking. He raises his hand, strokes his hair away from his face. GLENN But you're sure we've met, huh? KAREN Last fall, I drove you from the Palm Beach county jail to the federal courthouse, twice. You're Glenn Michaels. (then) I never forget anyone I've cuffed and shackled. He doesn't move or say a word, staring at her now like he's been turned to stone. KAREN (CONT'D) Let's think for a minute, Glenn, see if we can work this out... He turns away, all the way around to look straight ahead... KAREN (CONT'D) Do we have a gun in the car? GLENN I remember you now. Shit. KAREN Foley's not going to make it. And if he goes down, Glenn, you go with him. She touches his shoulder and he jumps. KAREN (CONT'D) Look, I can understand if you and Foley are close. GLENN We're not. I'm helping him, yeah-- KAREN Wait. Have you helped him, Glenn? At this point, technically, I doubt you could be charged with aiding a fugitive. So you still have a choice. You can help him and risk going down again, get cuffed and shackled, hope to God you pull a reasonable judge, not some hard-on. Or, if you want to play it another way... She pauses. He turns and looks at her. GLENN Like how? EXT. OVERPASS - SAME Foley watches a car pass on the highway. BUDDY You want to take her to my place and get cleaned up? You come out of the bathroom with your after-shave on and she goes, "Oh, I had you all wrong"? FOLEY I want to talk to her again, that's all. See what would happen under, you know, normal circumstances. BUDDY You're too late, Jack. Foley doesn't say anything. Just takes a deep breath as we HEAR THE CAR START and they both look over... BUDDY (CONT'D) He wants to get out of here and I don't blame him. They start towards the car. Then stop and watch as it takes off, tires squealing as the rubber hits pavement. Their backs to us, they stand there watching the tailights until they're out of sight down the turnpike, neither of them saying a word. We hear SQUEAKY FOOTSTEPS OVER... CUT TO: A CORRIDOR IN LOMPOC FPC As Maurice Miller and his "man" -- a big black bulk named HIMEY -- strut purposefully up the hall. They step into... THE PRISON LIBRARY Where Richard Ripley sits at one of the tables reading a big coffee-table book called "THE WARM WORLD OF TROPICAL FISH." MAURICE Dick. My man. Ripley looks up as Maurice and Himey come strolling into the library, sit down on either side of a now very anxious Ripley. MAURICE (CONT'D) I got your fishies for you. He sets a small Ziploc with two tiny fish inside down on the table. RIPLEY (reaches for them) Thank you... MAURICE (pulls them back) Not so fast, Dick. (off Ripley's look) Starting now, there's gonna be an across the board cost a living increase. RIPLEY What? MAURICE Year ago, I come in here on credit card fraud, but after I shanked that loudmouth pussy on the yard the other day, my Dunn & Broadstreet, has gone way the fuck up. RIPLEY I think it's Dunn & Bradstreet. But then, I could be wrong... MAURICE Whoever. The point is, prices are goin' up, too. Better get your little black book out, Richard. We got some business to talk about. Ripley sighs, takes out his black book and opens it. MAURICE (CONT'D) Let's start with the fish. They was two grand, but now they's three. Ripley looks at the two tiny fish in the bag. MAURICE (CONT'D) That Bausch & Lomb Saline shit you asked for is gonna be eighty bucks. RIPLEY (writing) Well, I need that... MAURICE ...and that extra pillow's gonna be an even three c's. VOICE Hey. They all look to where... JACK FOLEY Sits at the far end of the table, reading a thick manual of some kind. Himey gives him a mean stare. Foley points to a sign that says "QUIET PLEASE." FOLEY Sign says "Shut the fuck up." Or can't you guys read? MAURICE (beat) There a problem, Foley? FOLEY Yeah. Foley shuts the big book -- CHILTON'S AUTO REPAIR. FOLEY Yeah, I got a problem. This is the dumbest fucking shakedown in the history of dump shakedowns. Three hundred bucks for a pillow? MAURICE That's right. RIPLEY Sounds high, doesn't it? FOLEY Must be a real soft pillow. MAURICE Faux goose down. RIPLEY Still... FOLEY How much for your company at chow? MAURICE Company, shit. I watch the man's back. FOLEY I bet. How much? MAURICE Another C. Foley shakes his head, turns to Ripley. FOLEY You're smart, Ripley, you'll tell this guy to fuck off. RIPLEY Really? Well, I uhhh... FOLEY First of all, if he kills you, he's not gonna get any more money out of you. Ripley looks at Maurice: Good point. MAURICE Man doesn't have to get killed. He could accidentally fall on something sharp, like a shiv. Or my dick. Ripley turns back to Foley now: Also a good point. FOLEY You stick anything in this guy, Snoop, they transfer his ass outta here faster'n you can throw a fight, and you still end up with nothing. Ripley nods, takes this in. MAURICE This doesn't concern you, Foley. Why don't you go on out to the yard, have yourself a smoke? FOLEY I don't smoke. HIMEY (slowly rising) You heard the man. Go on outta here. Foley doesn't move, just gives the guy a bored once over. MAURICE Himey here's a pro-toh-jay of mine. He's ranked number thirty-two in the federal prison system. FOLEY (looking at Himey) Thirty-two outta what, twenty? Himey bulldozes forward, pulling his massive fist back to clock Foley in the head when... ...in one swift motion Foley brings his book up in one hand, like he's throwing a pie, and drives the hefty repair manual into Himey's face, snapping the big guy's head back, sending his feet flying out from under him so that he hits the floor back-first with a loud thud. Maurice goes for Foley who picks up the chair just as we hear A WHISTLE. They all freeze, look to... A PRISONER AT ANOTHER TABLE Who nods towards the door. We PAN OVER just as A GUARD APPEARS, takes in the scene as a dazed Himey slowly pulls himself up, covers his now bleeding nose. GUARD What's going on here? MAURICE Oh, you know, reading's funnamental an' shit, we just excited. GUARD Clear outta here. The guard exits. Maurice and Foley are still staring at each other. RIPLEY Excuse me. Snoopy? Did we settle the fish thing? MAURICE (looks at Foley) Yeah. Sure. It's all settled. He pours the water out of the bag and drops the fish into Ripley's open hand. Maurice then squeezes Ripley's hand into a fist, crushing the fish. He taps his fist to Ripley's. RIPLEY That's how you do it. Maurice gives Foley a last look, starts out of the room with Himey. Ripley looks at the crushed fish in his hand, then at Foley. RIPLEY Thanks for your help. FOLEY Any time. We hear a PHONE RING and then... CUT TO: MAURICE MILLER'S HOUSE - THE BEDROOM - (NOW) As Maurice lies in bed watching a boxing match on television. MAURICE Stick and jab, fool. Stick and jab. A frisbee whizzes past the television. We hear A DOG YELP OS. MAURICE (CONT'D) Hey! Watch that shit! Maurice's girlfriend MOSELLE - about thirty, sleepy-eyed, in a green bathrobe - picks the frisbee up off the floor as THE PHONE RINGS AWAY on the bedside table right next to Maurice. MOSELLE (calls OS) Tuffy. C'mere, boy... MAURICE You gonna answer the phone? MOSELLE What for? It's not for me. Maurice watches as Moselle now tries to throw the frisbee to a little wire-haired terrier, but it just bounces off the dog's head. MOSELLE (CONT'D) Bad dog. MAURICE (scoops up the dog) Moselle, the fuck are you doing to my little Tuffy? He lovingly nuzzles the dog like it's his child. MOSELLE I'm trainin' Tuffy, so he can be on a Kal Kan commercial, make us some extra money. He looks at her. MAURICE That's the dumbest thing I heard in my life. Everybody knows Kal Kan doesn't pay for shit. You gonna get a gig, it's gotta be for one of the big three: Science Diet, Iams or that Cycle shit for the fat dogs. Now answer the fuckin phone. She comes over, picks up the phone. MOSELLE Hello? (hands it to Maurice) For you. MAURICE (takes it) This is me. EXT. PHONE BOOTH - GAS STATION - NIGHT An antsy Glenn with his shades on talks on the phone. GLENN Snoopy. Glenn Michaels. INTERCUTTING GLENN & MAURICE: MAURICE Studs. Hey, son, you must be one a them psychic friends. I was just thinkin' about you. Glenn watches as some guy in a suit gets out of a black Lincoln Town Car and jogs to the john. GLENN Listen, Snoopy, I'm on my way up to Detroit and need a place to crash. MAURICE You crazy, come up here? It's fuckin one degree outside. GLENN I wanna talk to you about a job. MAURICE Uh-huh. GLENN I can't really go into it right now. I'll just tell you it's someone big. MAURICE Someone? Gimme a hint. GLENN It's a guy you know. MAURICE Gimme another hint. GLENN It's Richard Ripley. Maurice doesn't say a word. GLENN (CONT'D) You there? MAURICE Oh, I'm here, all right. I'm very here. Question is, why aren't you here? EXT. BUDDY'S APARTMENT - SOMEWHERE IN FLORIDA - NIGHT As Foley and Buddy hurry up the front steps. FOLEY I'm just saying she wasn't scared. BUDDY Cause she had her hand on her gun the whole time, waiting to make her move. Buddy opens the door, looks at Foley. FOLEY You're just jealous it was me in the trunk with her and not you. BUDDY You're right. INT. BUDDY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT A "hideout." Not much in the way of furnishings. Foley follows Buddy inside, watches as he bolts the door. FOLEY First thing I'm gonna do is get all this mud off me. Foley starts for the bathroom. FOLEY (CONT'D) I've been dreaming about a hot bath for the last six months. Soak the prison off me. BUDDY There's some lilac oil, you want some, a vanilla candle under the sink. FOLEY Oh, man. BUDDY There's something about a nice hot bath, transforms a person. It's not just about opening up your pores, know what I mean? There's just something about the heat and the wet that's calming you know? Settles me in a way that I really can't articulate. FOLEY I know exactly what you mean. It's just a feeling. (beat) You know, I could go for some wine tonight. BUDDY There's a store around the corner, I'll be right back. FOLEY Sounds great. Foley goes into the bathroom. A moment later WE HEAR THE BATH RUNNING. INT. APARTMENT HALLWAY - DAY As Buddy leaves the apartment, starts down the hall, KAREN STEPS INTO FRAME, watches as he disappears down the stairs. Gun drawn, she then moves towards the apartment. INT. BATHROOM - DAY As Foley undresses, picks up a candle off the sink and smells it. He notices his nude image in the mirror and checks himself out. INT. APARTMENT - DAY As Karen slips the door. She looks around, HEARS THE WATER RUNNING. She racks the slide on her gun, snicks off the safety and starts for the bathroom. Suddenly, the water is turned off. She stops where she is. She then moves a careful step at a time towards the open doorway. Gradually the tub comes into view, beginning with Foley's feet resting crossed on the other end, then the middle of the tub, then she's in the doorway, looking down at... Foley, lying there in the tub, his eyes closed. Karen cuts her eyes down the length of him, taking a moment here to check him out, long enough for Foley to open his eyes and grab her hand, the one holding the gun. FOLEY Hey. They look at each other a moment. He then pulls her down to him and kisses her. She kisses him back. He then pulls her into the tub with him as we now hear... MARSHALL SISCO (VO) Karen...? CUT TO: KAREN As she opens her eyes. KAREN What? REVEAL: A HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY Flowers everywhere. Karen -- bruises on her face -- lies in bed. Her father, Marshall, sits on the chair beside her. MARSHALL You were talking in your sleep. KAREN (beat) What'd I say? MARSHALL "Hey, yourself." KAREN Huh. We hear A KNOCK at the door. They look to where Special Agent DANIEL BURDON -- black, forties, expensive suit -- stands in the doorway, file in one hand. KAREN (CONT'D) Hello, Daniel. BURDON (to Marshall) Daniel Burdon, FBI. MARSHALL Marshall Sisco. Karen's dad. BURDON You mind please waiting outside. We have some business to do here. Marshall looks at him a moment. Then, to Karen... MARSHALL I need to go to the john anyway. Burdon waits for Marshall to walk out, then sits down. KAREN I wanna be on the task force, Daniel. BURDON That's nice of you to offer, Karen, but I got all the help I can use right now. Instead, let's talk about how you got the bump on your head. KAREN (indicates file) Isn't that my report you're holding onto? BURDON Yes, but I want to hear you tell it. Starting with when you tried to grab the wheel -- where was this? KAREN Coming to the Okeechobee exit... And now we see it... INSIDE THE CAR Going over a hundred miles per hour, blowing past cars... KAREN Take the next exit. GLENN What am I supposed to do now? KAREN Glenn, take the exit. GLENN No way, man, no fuckin' way am I gonna turn myself in. She reaches over and grabs the wheel. GLENN (CONT'D) The fuck are you doing?! He hits the brakes. The car goes off the road, down the grade, the abutment coming right at us as we go back to... THE HOSPITAL ROOM As Burdon sets the file down, sits back now. KAREN The next thing I knew, the paramedics were taking me out the car. Burdon looks at Karen a moment, then... BURDON There's a couple of points I keep wondering about have to do with the two guys that grabbed you. Buddy is it? And this fella Jack Foley. I swear the man must've robbed two hundred banks in his time. KAREN Really? Huh. He told me he didn't remember how many he robbed. BURDON You talked to him? KAREN In the trunk, yeah? BURDON What'd you talk about? KAREN Oh... different things, prison, movies. BURDON This fella holds you hostage, you talk about movies? KAREN It was an unusual experience. BURDON Foley made me think of that fella Carl Tillman, the one you were seeing, it turns out the same time he was doing banks. You recall that? KAREN When I was seeing Carl Tillman, I didn't know he robbed banks. BURDON Yeah, but I had enough reason to believe he did, and I told you. So you had to at least suspect him. KAREN And what happened to Carl? BURDON The time came, you shot him. But you didn't shoot Foley or the guy with him. They're unarmed, you had a shotgun and you let them throw you in the trunk. Okay, now you got your Sig in your hand. You say in the report you couldn't turn around, he had you pinned down. But when the trunk opened, how come you didn't cap the two guys then? KAREN Is that what you would've done? BURDON You say in the report Glenn didn't have a gun, but you let him get away, too. KAREN Daniel, what do you work on most of the time, fraud? Go after crooked bookkeepers. BURDON Karen, I've been with the Bureau fifteen years, on all kinds of investigations. KAREN Have you ever shot a man? How many times have you been primary through the door? BURDON I have to qualify, is that it? KAREN You have to know what you're talking about. We hear CHUCKLING OS. Burdon glances at the doorway where we see Marshall now standing, enjoying this. BURDON We'll talk another time, Karen. All right? I'd like to know why Foley put you in that second car when he didn't need you any more. KAREN You'll have to ask him. BURDON Sounds to me like he liked having you around. I'll see you, Karen. Mr. Sisco. MARSHALL Agent Burdon. Marshall waits for him to walk out... MARSHALL (CONT'D) The white man's Burdon. That's what everybody calls him in Miami. The Metro-Dade guys. He's got a knack for pissing people off. She's not listening. He sits down, takes her hand... MARSHALL (CONT'D) What are you thinking about? KAREN The Sig Sauer you got me for my birthday. MARSHALL Tell you what, you're a good girl, you might get another one for Christmas. She looks at him. KAREN I'll get it back when I get Foley. EXT. BUDDY'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY A dozen GERIATRIC RESIDENTS sit on chairs out front as Buddy climbs the steps carrying a bag of groceries under one arm, newspaper under the other. An old woman comes out the door as Buddy opens it and squints at him. OLD WOMAN Oh-- Are you delivering the oxygen? BUDDY Uh, no, ma'am. Sorry. INT. BUDDY'S APARTMENT - DAY Buddy's REAL apartment, not the one Karen pictured in her dream. This one's nicer, with a view of the beach. Jack stands on the balcony going through KAREN'S PURSE. He pulls out her wallet, checks out her driver's licence photo. He does the same with her gym I.D. card. He finds her address book and opens it up. A photo of her father slips out. Jack examines it a moment, then flips through the book. He stares at something in her bag a moment, then reaches in and comes up with her us Marshal I.D. He slips it open and studies the badge and the picture opposite. He holds on to it, looks out at the ocean, but really sees... THE OPEN TRUNK OF THE CAR - LAST NIGHT As Karen gets out, saying... KAREN You win, Jack. BACK IN THE APARTMENT Foley turns away from the view as Buddy walks in, sets the grocery bag down on the coffee table. BUDDY You made the front page. He holds up the newspaper so that Foley can see his picture on the front page: an unflattering mug shot that doesn't look all that much like him. BUDDY (CONT'D) They pass this picture around you can go anywhere you want, nobody'll know you. FOLEY I wasn't feeling my best that day. I'd just drawn thirty to life. BUDDY Maybe this'll make you feel better. Buddy reaches into the bag, tosses Foley a NEW ZIPPO. FOLEY Thanks. Foley catches the lighter, immediately begins playing with it. He looks at the paper on the coffee table as Buddy sits down, pulls some groceries and a sixpack from the bag. BUDDY Paper says there's ten grand each on you, Chino and Lulu. FOLEY Say anything in there about Karen Sisco? BUDDY Just that she got away. FOLEY Yeah, but what happened after she drove off with Glenn? BUDDY You'll have to ask Glenn. And most likely, he's on his way to Detroit, where we should be. Foley walks back out on to the balcony, looks at the contents of Karen's bag spread out on the table. BUDDY (CONT'D) You realize what you're doing? Worrying about a person that works in law enforcement. You want to sit down and have cocktails with a girl that tried to shoot you. You hear what I'm saying? Foley holds up the picture of Marshall Sisco. FOLEY Think this old guy is her boyfriend? It's the only picture she carries. BUDDY Am I going to Detroit by myself? Foley picks up her drivers licence photo. BUDDY (CONT'D) Longer we hang around down here, Jack, better chance there is either Glenn's gonna fuck up the whole score, or we gonna get busted, or both. FOLEY We'll leave first thing in the morning. EXT. MARSHALL SISCO'S CONDO - DAY Right on a marina. Boats bobbing on the water. MARSHALL (VO) Is this Foley? INT. MARSHALL SISCO'S CONDO - DAY Marshall sits in his chair holding up a newspaper as Karen hands him a drink. She stares at the photograph. KAREN He doesn't even look like that. MARSHALL No? KAREN No, he looks a lot... She realizes Marshall's watching her. KAREN (CONT'D) Different. The doorbell RINGS. She ignores his look, gets up. Walks to the door and opens it to reveal RAY NICOLET, boots, leather jacket, etc. Cowboy Cop. KAREN (CONT'D) Hi, Ray. RAY You look great. Your dad taking good care of you? KAREN He took the week off so we'd have time together. So far he's worked on his boat every day. Dad? Ray Nicolet. Marshall gets up, shakes his head. RAY I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Sisco. MARSHALL Likewise. KAREN Ray's with the F.B.I. Task Force, working on the prison break. MARSHALL (eyeing his T-shirt) I see that. Ray turns to Karen, holding his jacket open to show the task force inscription on his T-shirt in red, the guy's .357 tucked into his waistband. MARSHALL (CONT'D) In case no one knows what he does. Tell me, Ray, you ever wear one says, "Undercover"? RAY No. Course not. KAREN (changing the subject) How's it going? RAY Great. We got one of 'em. Karen looks at him. KAREN Was it Foley? MARSHALL (before he can answer) Off a tip? RAY Yeah, someone spotted two of 'em in this hobo camp out by the airport, called the number-- MARSHALL I knew it, soon as I saw they were offering a reward. She grabs Nicolet by the arm. KAREN Was it Foley? Marshall looks at her. RAY Foley? Oh. No, it was one of the Cubans. Linares. KAREN Oh... RAY We went out there, full SWAT, two choppers, the whole bit, but Linares started shooting anyway. We put him down, but somehow Chirino got away. MARSHALL Did you pay the guy the reward? RAY Yeah, as soon as we got back. KAREN Foley hadn't been there? Her father gives her a look. RAY This place was strictly Cuban. If Foley had a ride he must have his own agenda. He seems to be the only one knows what he's doing. THE PHONE RINGS. Marshall moves to it. MARSHALL Hello? (beat) Yeah, she is. Just a minute. (hands her the phone) For you. KAREN Hello? CUT TO: FOLEY ON THE PHONE - DAY On the balcony. Flipping through a copy of Vogue while Buddy watches television inside. FOLEY Hi. INTERCUTTING KAREN & FOLEY - DAY Karen just stands there, sees her father looking at her as Ray drones on. FOLEY You know who this is? KAREN Yes. She walks out to her father's balcony now. FOLEY I just wanted to see if you're okay, make sure Glenn didn't hurt you or, you know, anything. MARSHALL Something I've been wondering, Ray... Marshall picks up the newspaper... MARSHALL (CONT'D) It says in the headline, "I slept with a murderer, says shaken Miami woman." She lives in Little Havana, her husband's out of town working when one of the escapees shows up at her door... She closes the glass door, so that they won't hear her. KAREN How'd you get this number? FOLEY Who was it answered the phone? KAREN None of your business. FOLEY I'm just worried maybe I'm not old enough for you. KAREN That's my dad. FOLEY Really. He has a cop's face. KAREN How do you know? Wait-- you have my wallet. FOLEY And your gun. KAREN Think I could have them back? FOLEY How do we do that? KAREN Let's see. You could come on by my dad's place, drop 'em off. FOLEY Sure. I'll just leave 'em with the S.W.A.T. guy answers the door. Foley stops flipping through the magazine, stares at what he's been looking for: an ad for Defiance perfume. KAREN There's a guy here on the task force right now. Maybe I should put him on the phone, let you two work it out. FOLEY You won't do that. KAREN Why not? FOLEY Because you're having too much fun. She doesn't know what to say to that. Foley smells the ad. INSIDE THE HOUSE MARSHALL ...She fixes him pork chops and rice, the next thing you know they're making love on the sofa. She says he was very gentle. RAY I spoke to her. The guy told her he missed his little girl and she felt sorry for him. MARSHALL That's how you score now? ON THE PATIO: Karen looks inside at her father talking with Ray Nicolet. KAREN My dad's retired. He was a Private Investigator. Forty years. I used to work for him. FOLEY I can just picture that, a cute girl like you following slip-and-fall and whiplash cheaters. KAREN Something I've been wondering, what ever happened to your Uncle Cully? FOLEY Why? You think he might tell you where I am? KAREN Unless you wanna tell me. FOLEY He's dead. He did twenty-seven years before he came out and died not too long after in Charity Hospital, I think trying to make up for all the good times he'd missed. (then) That's not gonna be me. KAREN One last score, that the idea? Move to some island. FOLEY I'm partial to mountains myself. But if you like islands, we'll make it an island. KAREN Whatta you mean we'll make it an island? FOLEY I just thought maybe you and me could-- Buddy opens the door, sticks his head out, startles Foley. BUDDY Who you talking to? KAREN Is that Buddy? Foley's caught off guard, hangs up the phone. He looks at Buddy. FOLEY What?! BUDDY You better come see this. INT. MARSHALL'S CONDO - DAY As Karen stands on the balcony another moment, then hangs up, opens the sliding door and walks back into the living room. RAY The woman also said he stole her husband's gun, a twenty-two pistol, and some of his clothes. MARSHALL So the woman's married. She goes to bed with this prison escapee because he misses his little girl and then tells the world about it. But you don't reveal her name, you protect her. It sounds like you're saying it's okay as long as her husband doesn't find out about it. Like the guy who cheats on his wife, saying what she doesn't know won't hurt her. KAREN Dad. He looks over at her now. Gives her an innocent look. MARSHALL What? INT. BUDDY'S APARTMENT - DAY As Foley and Buddy watch a news report on the earlier events at the hobo camp. We catch a glimpse of RAY NICOLET, GUN IN HIS WAISTBAND, STICKING HIS CHEST OUT FOR THE CAMERA. Foley shakes his head as they show a shot of Lulu's body covered with a sheet. FOLEY Chino's gonna wanna talk to me. BUDDY He's running for his life, he doesn't give a shit about you. FOLEY He's gotta know by now that I gave him up back at Glades. He does, he's gonna try to find me. Maybe go see Adele, see what she knows. BUDDY He knows where she lives? Foley doesn't answer. Buddy mutes the set. Turns to Foley. BUDDY (CONT'D) Jack? FOLEY We were talking one time, drinking rum. I may've mentioned Adele, how she worked for a magician. Chino got interested. He's like, Yeah? How does he saw the woman in half? He wanted to meet her. Or get a look at her if she ever came to visit. BUDDY So call her up. Tell her don't talk to any Cubans. FOLEY Her phone's probably tapped. BUDDY And you know they're gonna have some people watching the hotel. FOLEY Shit. EXT. MARSHALL SISCO'S BOAT - DAY Karen stands there with her car keys and purse as Marshall paints the trim on the boat. MARSHALL Remember, pay attention to how she talks about Foley, her tone. Do it right, she'll tell you things she wouldn't tell Burdon. Tell her you think he's a nice guy. No, first tell her about being in the trunk with him, in the dark for half an hour, and see how she takes it. If she's in on it, what does she get for all the aggravation; cops breathing on her? I bet nothing. So she still likes him enough to stick her neck out. You think that's possible? What kind of guy is he? KAREN He's pretty laid back, confident. MARSHALL He remind you of that guy, Tillman? KAREN Not at all. MARSHALL But you know he's dirty and you still wanna see him again. KAREN I want to bust his ass, put him in shackles. MARSHALL Maybe. But you're also curious about the man. Twice last night you asked your married boyfriend Nicolet about him. You were concerned, but you didn't want to show it. KAREN My married boyfriend - setting him up with that news story so you could talk about infidelity. I couldn't believe it. MARSHALL You like the wild ones, don't you? Tillman, Nicolet and now Foley. You know, I've always said there's a thin line between the cowboy cops and the armed robbers, all those guys that love to pack. KAREN Foley kidnapped me. MARSHALL Yeah, but you talked all the way from GCI to the turnpike. It sounds more like a first date than a kidnapping. She gives him a look. He goes back to his painting. MARSHALL (CONT'D) Go talk to the ex-wife. INT. ADELE DELISI'S APARTMENT - DAY As Adele comes in, drops a stack of her cards on the glass-topped dining table and turns on the window air-conditioner when THE PHONE RINGS. She grabs it... ADELE Hi, this is Adele speaking. EXT. PAYPHONE - DAY Adele's neighbourhood. Near the beach. Chino on the phone. He wears a painter's cap and a white jumpsuit... CHINO Oh, is this Adele? ADELE (PHONE) Yes, it is. CHINO Uh-- sorry. Wrong number. He hangs up, glances about, then checks the little .22 stuck in one of his pockets. As he then starts off down the street, we can see the name "COLOR MY WORLD HOUSEPAINTING" on the back of the jumpsuit. INT. BUDDY'S CAR - DAY Buddy drives. Foley -- in a bright orange and ochre beach outfit -- is beside him. Buddy looks at him, shakes his head. BUDDY Nice disguise. FOLEY I'm a tourist. BUDDY You at least bring the gun? FOLEY (lifts straw bag) In here with my suntan lotion and beach towel. (points) That's her place. As they drive past, Buddy indicates a MAN on the steps out front, obviously FBI... BUDDY There. You see the guy sitting on the porch? The old ladies and one guy? You know they'll have a couple more in a car somewhere. FOLEY (watching something else) Uh-huh... Buddy follows Foley's gaze to... ACROSS THE STREET As a car door opens and Karen Sisco gets out, rifles her purse for change. She drops a quarter, Foley now watching as she bends down to grab it, her skirt hiking way up her thigh... BUDDY Oh, my. Foley watches, her hair in her face as she tries to reach under the car and grab it. BUDDY (CONT'D) Okay, you saw her. That's all you get. They watch as she walks to the Normandie and shows the YOUNG AGENT her ID... FOLEY I guess Adele's in good hands. BUDDY Sure looks that way. FOLEY (finally) Let's go to Detroit. BUDDY Now you're talkin'. INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE ADELE'S APARTMENT - DAY Adele has the chain on the door, talks to Karen through the narrow opening. ADELE You were both in the trunk? Together? KAREN From Glades to the turnpike. Then I left with Glenn. Karen watches Adele's face in the opening, freshly made up, heavy on the eye shadow and lip gloss. KAREN The FBI didn't tell you I was with them? ADELE They didn't tell me anything, they asked questions. KAREN But you know what I'm talking about, don't you? About Glenn, don't you, and the second car? ADELE I know a Glenn. She thinks a moment. The door closes and opens again, all the way. Adele stands there in a robe, hanging partly open, panties, but no bra. ADELE (CONT'D) I'm getting ready to go out. You can come in if you want, sit down for a minute. Would you like a Diet Coke? KAREN No, thanks. She comes in, checks out the place. She turns a chair from the glasstop table and sits down as Adele comes out of the kitchenette with a Diet Coke and packet of cigarettes. ADELE Those are cute shoes. The kind of jobs I get, I have to wear these killer spikes, they ruin your feet. She walks away, comes back with an ashtray. ADELE (CONT'D) When you were in the trunk with Jack... Karen waits, watches her light her cigarette. ADELE (CONT'D) He didn't hurt you or anything, did he? KAREN You mean, did he try to jump me? No, but he was kind of talkative. ADELE He gets that way when he's nervous sometimes. Adele sits down at the other end of the table. KAREN You didn't visit him in prison. ADELE He didn't want me to. KAREN Why not? ADELE I don't know. He was different after he was sentenced, looking at thirty years. Said it depressed him every time the younger cons called him an old timer. KAREN But you spoke to him on the phone. ADELE He'd call every once in a while. KAREN He called the day he escaped. ADELE He did? I don't remember. Did he say about me? In the trunk? KAREN (beat, lies) He said he wished the two of you could start over, live a normal life. ADELE Huh. Problem is, Jack's idea of a normal life is robbing banks. It's all he's ever done. KAREN Did you know that when you married him? ADELE He said he was a card player. I could live with that. I never knew he robbed banks till he got busted with that car that caught fire -- if you can imagine something like that happening, comes out of the bank and the car's on fire. I did go see him in jail to tell him I was filing for divorce. He said, "Okay." Jack's so easy going. (then) He was fun, but never what you'd call a real husband. Adele looks out the window. Karen waits, looks to an end table where she sees a photograph of Jack and Adele on a boat somewhere ten years back. ADELE (CONT'D) I'll say one thing for Jack, he was never ugly or mean, or drank too much. He was very considerate, lights on or off, if you know what I mean. KAREN Really. (looking at the picture) Hm. She realizes Adele is looking at her. KAREN (CONT'D) Adele, sooner or later, he's gonna get caught. I'd like to get him before he does something else, makes it worse on himself. ADELE Buddy'll take care of him. Keep him out've trouble. He's Jack's conscience. Always has been. (chuckles) He tell you how they met? Karen shakes her head. ADELE (CONT'D) Jack came out of a bank he just robbed in Pasadena, couldn't get his stolen car to start. Battery was dead. He looks over, sees Buddy sitting in a burgundy Bonneville, goes up, offers him a thousand dollars for a jump. Turns out, Buddy was casing the same bank and saw the whole thing. Buddy says, I'll take the thousand, but we're leaving in my car, not that piece of shit you come in. (then) They musta robbed fifty banks together. KAREN Till they got busted. ADELE That wasn't Jack's fault. No, that was on account of Buddy, for some reason, decided to call his sister and confess to a job before they'd done it instead of after. She called the FBI and they both went down, ended up at Lompoc. (then) I think Buddy felt kinda bad about that. KAREN Any idea where I could find Buddy? Or Glenn? Adele looks at Karen, then jumps at the sound of three quick raps on the door. CHINO'S VOICE Adele? You in there? ADELE Yes. CHINO I want to speak with you, please. ADELE Who is it? CHINO'S VOICE I talk to the guy you work for, Emil. He tole me your number and where you live. See, I'm looking for an assistant and would like to speak to you. ADELE Oh. Uh-huh. CHINO'S VOICE You did work for Emil, right? ADELE Yeah, I was Emil's box-jumper for almost four years. CHINO'S VOICE You were his what, his box? ADELE His assistant. Karen looks at the door. Something's wrong... through the glass bricks that line one side of the door, we see blurred movement on the other side, someone doing something... ADELE (CONT'D) You say you perform in the Miami area? CHINO'S VOICE Yes, around here. I was a mayishan in Cuba before I come here. Manuel the Mayishan was my name. And now Karen and Adele look at each other. CHINO'S VOICE (CONT'D) Can you open the door? Karen shakes her head "no." ADELE I'm not dressed. CHINO'S VOICE Listen to me. (lowers his voice) I'm a good friend of Jack Foley. Boom. Karen gets to her feet, brings her bag to the edge of the table, sees Adele staring at her. KAREN Ask him his name. ADELE Who are you? CHINO'S VOICE (beat) Jose Chirino. Karen brings her Beretta out of the bag. CHINO'S VOICE (CONT'D) Or maybe you hear Jack Foley call me Chino. I'm the same person. Karen moves along the table to Adele... KAREN (soft) Tell him to wait in the hall, you have to get dressed. Say it loud. As Adele speaks, Karen racks the slide on her 9mm. ADELE Wait in the hall! I have to get dressed! CHINO'S VOICE Tell me where is Jack Foley, I don't bother you no more. Karen motions for Adele to keep talking as she takes a position beside the door, where we now see Chino's silhouette in one of the three glass panels in the centre of the door. ADELE I don't know where he is. CHINO'S VOICE Listen, I'm the one help Jack escape from prison. He tole me, I can't find him to see you. So why don't you open this fucking door. Okay? So we can speak. ADELE (staring at Karen) Go away, or I'll call the police. CHINO'S VOICE Why you want to do that, to a frien'? Adele says nothing. Then... CHINO'S VOICE (CONT'D) Okay, you don't want to help me, I'm leaving. (then) I'm going now. I see you maybe some time, okay? Bye bye. KAREN (low) Go in the bedroom and -- Suddenly, Chino's fist -- wrapped in his shirt -- explodes through one of the glass panels. Adele and Karen both jump as Chino pushes his arm through, reaches for the door knob... ...but Karen grabs the knob first and, using all of her weight as leverage, pivots and flings the door open with Chino's arm still sticking through the glass... ...the force of which slingshots the man into the room where he bangs against a wall and falls to the floor. Dazed, Chino reaches for his .22 as he now tries to get to his feet. Karen brings up her Beretta in two hands, cocks it and puts the front sight on his chest. KAREN (CONT'D) Leave it where it is. CHINO (frowning) Wait. You not Adele? KAREN I'm a federal marshal and you're under arrest. Put the gun on the table. I mean, now. CHINO Oh. Then this must be Adele... He now aims the gun point-blank at Adele. KAREN Put it down or I'll shoot. CHINO You wouldn't shoot me, would you? KAREN What do you want to bet? CHINO (beat) I could walk out of here. KAREN If you move, if you look at her again, you're dead. Chino doesn't move. Keeps his gun on Adele. Karen starts walking towards him... KAREN (CONT'D) You can live or die, it's up to you. CHINO Oh, is that right? You going to shoot me? Nice girl like you? (smiles) I don't think so. KAREN You don't, huh? And with that, she kicks him in the knee. Chino buckles over and she hits him on the side of the head with her gun... ADELE (CONT'D) On your knees. He does as he's told. Karen raises his jacket, feels around his waist from behind. ADELE (CONT'D) Lie face down on the floor. CHINO (hurting) What?! She kicks him over onto his stomach and stays there. She puts her foot to his back as she reaches for the phone, dials. She sees Adele staring at her. CHINO (CONT'D) (to Adele) Excuse me... Karen looks at Adele a moment, then says into the phone... KAREN Daniel Burdon, please. Karen Sisco. CHINO Excuse me, Adele? ADELE Yes. CHINO You do the sawing of the box in half trick with you inside? ADELE (beat) Yes. CHINO Tell me, how do you do that? Adele looks at Karen, who shoves Chino's head to the floor with her foot. KAREN Shut up. BURDON (PHONE) Karen. Where are you? I been trying to get a hold of you. KAREN Daniel. Listen -- BURDON (PHONE) Where are you? I been trying to reach you. KAREN I'm at Adele Delisi's. BURDON (PHONE) What-- we already talked to her. That's a dead end. KAREN (looking at Chino) Yeah, I know. I was just leaving. Why were you trying to reach me? BURDON (PHONE) There was a Buddy Bragg at Lompoc around the same time Foley was there. We got an address for him at the Adams Hotel in Hallandale. I want you to go there, see if you can get the manager to i.d. him as the other guy. If he does, you call me right away... KAREN All right, but... BURDON (PHONE) But don't you do anything. You just have a seat, wait for me to get there. KAREN Sure, Daniel. BURDON (PHONE) Now. What is it you wanted to tell me? KAREN Oh, I was just wondering, if I were to bring in Chirino, would you put me on the task force? BURDON (PHONE) (impatient) What? Is that what you're calling me about? KAREN Yes or no, Daniel. If I get him, will you let me go after Foley? BURDON (PHONE) Yeah, sure, Karen. You bring in Chirino, you can be on the task force. KAREN That's all I wanted to know. BURDON (PHONE) Good. Now forget about the ex-wife and get over to the Adams Hotel. Karen hangs up, looks at Adele. Adele nods. ADELE You're good. KAREN Thank you. INT. BUDDY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT As Foley and Buddy quickly pack up their stuff. FOLEY First thing we do, we get to Detroit, we find Glenn, then we find a window to throw him out of. BUDDY I been thinkin', if I was Glenn, I was up there to take down the Ripper, where would I go? FOLEY Well, first off, if you were Glenn, you wouldn't be thinking. BUDDY Remember Snoopy Miller, his old pal from Lompoc? FOLEY Snoopy. Christ, I thought he'd be brain dead by now. BUDDY He isn't fighting no more. Glenn told me the Snoop's been managing some guys up there now, works out at the Kronk. INT. SHALAMAR APARTMENTS - LOBBY - NIGHT The ancient residents stop what they're doing as Burdon enters with eight guys in jackets and wool shirts hanging out, running shoes, half of them carrying what look like athletic bags. Karen meets them as they all walk to the elevator. BURDON You get the key? KAREN They're in 7D. She hands it to him as they wait for the elevator. BURDON I want two men outside, front and back. Conway and Jessup go on up to seven, cover both ends of the hall. Burdon, Karen and the remaining four SWAT team agents. Burden looks at them one at a time. BURDON (CONT'D) You're primary, you're secondary, you're point man. KAREN You're gonna use a ram? BURDON Yeah, why? KAREN The manager's door is metal. They all look at her. KAREN (CONT'D) You know what I mean? They might all be. And a ram on a metal door makes an awful lot of noise for what good it does. Burdon looks at her, not all that happy she spoke up. The fourth man raises the shotgun, a three-inch strip of metal taped to the muzzle. FOURTH MAN I got a shock-lock round in my shotgun oughta do the trick. BURDON Fine. Whatever. He sees the elevator still hasn't come down. BURDON (CONT'D) Fuck it. Let's take the stairs. Karen... Burdon pauses, looks at Karen, hands her a radio. BURDON (CONT'D) Take the radio, stay down here in the lobby, watch the elevator. KAREN What? Daniel, I wanna go upstairs. BURDON You can go wait out in the car, you want to. She doesn't say anything. BURDON (CONT'D) Now you see Foley and this guy Bragg come in behind us, whatta you do? KAREN (pissed) Call and tell you. BURDON And you let them come up. You don't try to make the bust yourself. You understand? Before she can answer, an old woman steps in, asks Burdon... OLD WOMAN Are you delivering the oxygen? Burdon looks at her, then nods for his men to start up the stairs. ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR - DAY Everyone's in position as Burdon eases the key into the lock, turns it. The door won't budge, a dead bolt holds it shut. The guy with the shotgun puts the strip of metal against the seam, where the lock enters the frame, the muzzle of the shotgun exactly three inches now from the dead bolt, and looks over his shoulder at Burdon. With the sound of the blast, we then... CUT TO: INSIDE THE ELEVATOR - DAY As Foley and Buddy ride down with an old lady. The doors open. The woman doesn't move. BUDDY Is this your floor, mother? OLD LADY Oh. Yes, it is. INT. THE LOBBY - SAME TIME - DAY As an old gent in a golf cap smiles at Karen sitting there on the couch in front of the elevator... OLD GENT Like to play some gin? KAREN No, thank you. He creeps off towards the elevator. INT. BUDDY'S APARTMENT - DAY As Burdon and his men fan out through the place... INT. LOBBY - DAY As we hear Burdon's voice. BURDON (RADIO) Karen. They're not up here. Keep your eyes open. Karen looks off towards the street entrance, then back at the elevator where the man is still waiting, leaning on his cane. The elevator door opens to reveal Buddy and Foley. OLD GENT Going up? Buddy and Foley don't answer. The old man starts to get on, feeling with his cane, taking forever. Karen and Foley are staring at each other. He doesn't move. Not until the elevator door begins to close. Buddy sees Karen, helps the old man aboard as... Karen picks up her radio, is about to speak into it when... Foley raises his hand. And waves as the door closes. INT. ELEVATOR - DAY As the elevator resumes going down. OLD GENT Shit, I wanted to go up. BUDDY Let's just hope there's no one in the garage. FOLEY She looked right at me. She didn't yell or get excited. She didn't move. INT. BUDDY'S CAR - DAY As they get in and Buddy starts the car... BUDDY They know where I live, I guess they know what I drive, so maybe we should pick up another car on the way. FOLEY She just sat there, looking right at me. Buddy gives him a look, shakes his head and then burns rubber out of the garage as we... CUT TO: A CLOSE-UP OF KAREN - DAY Staring straight ahead. BURDON (ON THE RADIO) Karen. Report. You see anything? Karen? You there? Karen...? INT. AIRPORT TERMINAL - DAY As Marshall walks Karen to the gate. MARSHALL He waved to you? KAREN I couldn't swear to it, but I'm pretty sure he did. MARSHALL You wave back? KAREN I didn't have time. MARSHALL I imagine you would've though. She shakes her head. KAREN Buddy's sister Regina Mary Bragg got two calls from Buddy up in Detroit this morning, called Burdon. She's also the one gave Burdon Buddy's address. MARSHALL So? KAREN So what I want to know is why Buddy still calls his sister every week even after she turned him in. MARSHALL He doesn't seem to hold a grudge. (then) What I want to know is why, they got such a big score up north, did Foley hang around Miami for so long? (looks at her) Any thoughts on that one? KAREN None I'd like to share. She gives him a kiss... KAREN (CONT'D) I'll call soon as I get in. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. BLOOMFIELD HILLS - DETROIT - DAY Snow. Everywhere. A black Lincoln Town Car creeps through the neighbourhood full of big, beautiful snow-covered homes. MAURICE (VO) I don't just manage fighters, or deal product any more... INT. CAR - SAME Glenn -- sunglasses -- sits in the back with Maurice, aka "Snoopy" -- wearing a purple bandanna and his own dark sunglasses. MAURICE I've diversified since the last time you saw me. I've vertically integrated and now I'm into home invasions and the occasional grand larceny. Glenn just nods, stares out the window. MAURICE (CONT'D) White Boy Bob's my all-around man, my bodyguard when I feel I need one, and my driver. Maurice indicates WHITE BOY BOB, a fucking huge, depraved- looking white guy now squeezed in behind the wheel. MAURICE (CONT'D) Watch the road, boy. (then) I like this Town Car. We can cruise the man's neighbourhood without getting the police or private security people on our ass. GLENN Sure, right, they see Bigfoot driving around a black guy wearing shades and a lavender fucking bandanna, no, they won't think anything of it. MAURICE It's lilac, man, the color, and the style's made known by Deion and other defensive backs in the pros. I could be one of them living out here with doctors of my race and basketball players. Okay, here comes Mr. Ripley's house up on the left. Yeah. The brick wall. There's his drive, right there. The car creeps past a huge Tudor-style country house. MAURICE (CONT'D) You sure Foley and his pal aren't coming up here, do this themself? GLENN If they're not busted now, they're gonna be. (then) It's wide open. EXT./INT. CAR - MAURICE NEIGHBORHOOD IN DETROIT - LATER People on the street with vacant expressions watch as the black Town Car moves past the broken-down homes, cars on blocks and snow-covered trash. GLENN So you still haven't said, how you wanna do it? MAURICE I'll show you, soon as I get one more guy I'm gonna need, Moselle's brother, Kenneth. Along with White Boy there. GLENN What? The car pulls to the kerb and KENNETH -- a wiry black man in a bright yellow T-shirt and red baseball cap backward, always seems to be high on some chemical or another - gets in. MAURICE You get everything? Kenneth tosses a gym bag into the back seat. Glenn stares at it. Something about the bag makes him uneasy. Maybe it's the HACKSAW that sticks partially out of the opening. MAURICE (CONT'D) Cool. Kenneth, this is the man I told you about, Glenn. KENNETH The one gonna help us rip off the rich guy? MAURICE That's right. GLENN Help you... White Boy Bob pulls out again. Glenn looks at the two psychos in front, then turns to Maurice. GLENN (CONT'D) Wait a minute. I'm letting you in on this, not all your friends. MAURICE You just ask me how we gonna do it. That's what I'm here for, tell you how. We the experts. Glenn can't believe this is happening. MAURICE (CONT'D) Thing I'm worried about is you. GLENN Me? MAURICE Yeah. If you can step up and actually do it. Understand? 'Stead of just talking the talk. GLENN Can I do what? MAURICE Walk in a house with me, do this cross- dressin' nigga named Eddie Solomon I used to sell to been dealin' on his own. GLENN What-- when? MAURICE Right now, son. GLENN I don't have to prove shit to you. The Ripley job is my job. You're either in or you're not. You wanna pop some crack dealer pissed you off, that's your problem, not mine. MAURICE Look, Glenn, I know you cool, but you don't have to give me no tone of voice, okay? You don't like what I'm saying, you can get out anywhere along here you want. GLENN I think you're forgetting, this is my car. I drove it up here. MAURICE Hey, shit, come on. I say I want this car, man, it's mine. You go get yourself another one. I say I'm in on Ripley? I'm in, with or without your ass. I say I want you to come along on another job, see if you for real or not, guess what you gonna do? Glenn looks at Maurice, now ice-cold behind the shades. WHITE BOY BOB We're here. Glenn looks out the window as they pull up in front of a decrepit- looking two-story house. Maurice opens the gym bag, passes the hack saw and a HAND AXE up to White Boy Bob, a SAWED-OFF SHOTGUN to Kenneth, and takes out a big .45 for himself. MAURICE Let's go see Eddie. Glenn hesitates, then slowly gets out of the car as we hear... RIPLEY (V.O.) Must take balls, do what you do. EXT. LOMPOC FPC - YARD - DAY As Foley walks with Ripley across the yard. RIPLEY Tell me something. What's it like, walk in a bank with a gun, stick it up? FOLEY I don't know. I never used a gun. RIPLEY Really? FOLEY You'd be surprised what all you can get, you ask for it the right way. RIPLEY (smiles) You're the reason, Jack, I don't keep all my money in banks. FOLEY No? Where do you keep it, Dick? (Ripley smiles) I'm talking about all those uncut diamonds you told Glenn about. RIPLEY (still smiling) I know what you're talking about. FOLEY You're the one with balls, Dick, say something like that to someone like Glenn. Or maybe you just forgot where you were for a minute. RIPLEY Yeah, but who's gonna believe Glenn? I mean, do you believe Glenn? FOLEY Of course not. RIPLEY Plus, even it was true, he'd still have to figure out where I keep 'em. FOLEY Doesn't have to figure out shit. You told him you keep 'em at your house. RIPLEY (shrugs, big smile) It's a big house. Ripley sits down on one of the picnic tables, looks around the yard. RIPLEY (CONT'D) Tell me something, Jack, how much longer you in here? FOLEY Twenty-two months, three days, two hours. Why? RIPLEY I was just thinking that I could use a guy like you, someone knows how to ask for things the right way. I'm talkin' about when you're outta here. I mean, you can't rob banks for ever. Foley looks at Ripley. FOLEY It's a little late for me. RIPLEY Hey, Jack? Bullshit. I didn't make my first million until I was forty- two. Forty-two. You really want to change, it's never too late. FOLEY I don't know. I'm not exactly the nine-to-five type. RIPLEY Who is? But then you gotta look at a job as more than just work. You gotta look at it as peace of mind. As security, you know what I mean? I got offices in Detroit, Miami, Boston, take your pick. FOLEY My ex-wife's in Miami. It's nice down there. RIPLEY No need to decide now. Be like the fish. Let whatever happens happen. FOLEY The fish? RIPLEY Yeah, fish live in the present. They don't dwell on yesterday and they don't worry about tomorrow. Even when a big fish attacks a little fish, there's no neurosis involved. No guilt afterward. No whining on some fish-shrink's couch. They just do it. They accept. FOLEY I can't say that I've paid that much attention to 'em before. RIPLEY The fish saved my life. Two years ago, I found out I had high blood pressure. So my doctor, he tells me to go get an aquarium, look at the fish every time I felt myself stressing out. FOLEY And the guy sent you a bill for this? RIPLEY It works. You should try it sometime. FOLEY The next time I walk into a bank. Ripley shakes his head, then gets up... RIPLEY Think about my offer, Jack. Foley watches him go. BUDDY (V.O.) Hey, Jack... CUT TO: CLOSE UP OF FOLEY As he turns to us. FOLEY What? PULL BACK TO REVEAL: WE'RE INSIDE A CAR Across the street from the KRONK RECREATION CENTER -- a red- brick building in a bleak, depressing neighbourhood. BUDDY You see this one... Buddy reads from a newspaper while Foley watches the gym. BUDDY (CONT'D) "Fight over tuna casserole may have spurred slaying." Seems this woman's live-in boyfriend, seventy years old, complained about her tuna noodle casserole and she shot him in the face with a twelve-gauge. Police found noodles in the woman's hair and think the guy dumped the casserole dish on her before she shot him. They'd been together ten years. FOLEY Love is funny. Buddy looks at him. Notices something over Foley's shoulder. BUDDY Hey-- And now Foley turns and looks over as the black Town Car pulls into the Kronk parking lot. INT. TOWN CAR - SAME Kenneth and White Boy Bob nod along to some rap tape in the front seat. Glenn sits in the back, looking pale, hugging himself, shaking. Maurice looks out the window... MAURICE Was a time you see a gold Mercedes over in the parking lot has a license plate on it say HITMAN? You know Tommy Hearns is inside. Seeing the car would get our juices flowing. Maurice looks at Glenn now and grins. MAURICE (CONT'D) You already got your juices flowing, huh? Pissed your pants back there at Eddie's house, didn't you? Glenn just looks at Maurice. MAURICE (CONT'D) That was some shit, huh? GLENN (indicates Kenneth) Why'd he have to do that to that girl? MAURICE Yeah, Kenneth, why you have to do that to that poor girl. KENNETH (smiles) Do what? Glenn says nothing, just looks at Kenneth. MAURICE Just wait till we get inside Ripley's house. And he and Whiteboy start laughing as they get out of the car. GLENN It's all right with you, I'll just hang in the car. MAURICE (beat) No. You gonna stay close to me from now on. So you don't disappear on me. GLENN Why would I do that? Maurice looks at him, starts laughing. White Boy Bob and Kenneth join in. Maurice leans over... Glenn flinches as Maurice opens Glenn's jacket so that we can see the BLOOD splattered on his T- shirt. MAURICE Was worse than you imagined, wasn't it? (then, smiles) Baby, you with the bad boys now. INT. FOLEY AND BUDDY'S CAR - SAME As they watch Glenn and Snoopy and White Boy Bob get out of the car. BUDDY Whatta you think? FOLEY I think Glenn opened his big mouth and now we got us another partner. BUDDY Or two. INT. BOXING GYM - DAY Glenn sits on a bench near the rear wall, facing the ring. Kenneth grabs a magazine, walks into the john. A shirtless White Boy Bob lifts weights while Maurice moves around the ring calling to the boxers inside. MAURICE Stick and jab! VOICE Hey, Studs, how you doing? He looks up, sees Buddy and Foley coming this way. GLENN Jesus Christ, what're you guys doing here? They sit down on either side of him, close. FOLEY Weren't you expecting us? GLENN That broad you picked up -- did you know she was a US Marshal, for Christ sake? Now he turns to Buddy as Buddy stands up, takes off his overcoat and sits down again. GLENN (CONT'D) She knew me from some bullshit dope bust. She drove me to court. Twice. You know what she said, we're in the car on the turnpike? "I never forget anybody I've cuffed and shackled." FOLEY Yeah? She said that to you? Glenn turns to see Foley with a mild expression on his face, almost smiling. FOLEY (CONT'D) What happened to your shades? Someone finally step on 'em? GLENN (touches his head) I don't know... Foley notices the blood on Glenn's shirt. FOLEY Whose blood you got all over you? GLENN These guys, man, they're crazy. (looks off) Shit. Foley follows his gaze, sees Maurice coming this way, White Boy Bob beside him, carrying his shirts. FOLEY Is that Snoopy? In the purple doo rag? BUDDY What's he do now, tell fortunes? Maurice stands at the edge of the ring apron, looks from Foley to Buddy and back again, pretty serious about it. WHITE BOY BOB We have a problem here? MAURICE (walking over) Jack Foley, famous bank robber. FOLEY Snoopy Miller, famous fight thrower. MAURICE It seems to me I been reading about you in the newspaper. Busted out of some joint in Florida, huh? FOLEY Low class of people there, Snoop. WHITE BOY BOB You call him that again I'll put your head through the wall. BUDDY What? You mean Snoop? MAURICE Nobody calls me Snoop no more or Snoopy, is what White Boy's trying to say. He's a little crude, you understand. No, I left that Snoopy shit behind me. BUDDY But you call this bozo White Boy? GLENN White Boy Bob. (baiting) White Boy used to be a fighter. BUDDY What's he do now outside of shoot his mouth off? White Boy Bob stares down Buddy who couldn't give a shit. FOLEY Like being back in the yard, huh? MAURICE Just like it. Nobody backing down. You back down, you pussy. Tell me what you and Buddy doing up here in the cold? FOLEY Glenn didn't tell you? GLENN I thought you guys were busted. FOLEY Why? Just because you left us standing on the side of the road? Foley looks at Glenn. Glenn shrugs, laughs nervously. Foley smiles, laughs with him, maybe a little too hard. Now Maurice starts laughing. Buddy, too. White Boy's lost, looking from one guy to the next as Foley gets up, faces Maurice, his smile going away as he says... FOLEY (CONT'D) Look, Snoop, I don't know what Glenn promised you or what you think you're gonna get, but the deal is me and Buddy get half of whatever we take from Ripley, understand? How you and Glenn cut up the rest is up to you. MAURICE Let's go outside and talk. FOLEY What's the matter with right here? It's nice and warm. MAURICE Warm? Man, it's ninety-five degrees in here, sometimes a hundred -- the way Emanuel always kep' it so his boys'd sweat, get lean and mean like Tommy Hearns. No, I ain't talking any business in here. To me this is holy ground, man. You understand? I got to be someplace anyway. Y'all want to talk, come to the fights tomorrow night, we'll sit down and look at it good. The State Theater. Foley nods then looks at Glenn as Buddy gets up. FOLEY We'll see you tomorrow then. Maurice then watches as they walk out. MAURICE White Boy, how much is the reward on the man again? WHITE BOY BOB Ten gees. MAURICE Uh-huh. (then) You recall, did it say dead or alive? EXT. CRIME SCENE - NIGHT The same decrepit two-storey place Maurice et al hit earlier. Now it's a CRIME SCENE. A SMALL CROWD of neighbourhood gawkers stand just behind the yellow tape. A HUGE SPOTLIGHT lights up the front yard. Karen pulls up in her rental car, gets out and badges the visibly- freezing COP at the tape, working crowd control. KAREN I'm looking for Ray Cruz. COP He's inside. (pissed) With everybody else. Karen ducks under the tape and starts up the walk. She pauses to watch as two CORONER'S ASSISTANTS cover with a sheet a DEAD BLACK WOMAN who lies just below a broken upstairs window. INT. HOUSE - SAME Hell. Karen has to step over a body minus a face that lies in the doorway. Straight ahead on the stairs is another body, A MAN ON HIS BACK, head down the stairs, shotgun blast to the chest. He wears a dress, now bunched up around his waist. Congealed blood runs down the stairs. COPS and CRIME SCENE TECHS are everywhere. Karen looks at the guy on the stairs. VOICE Called themselves the Youngboys. Karen looks over as RAYMOND CRUZ, a stocky, genial-looking detective comes out of the kitchen. CRUZ Ironic, isn't it? KAREN How are you, Raymond? CRUZ Freezing. But I'm getting warmer. He kisses her on the cheek. She indicates the body by the door. KAREN Quite a mess. CRUZ Yeah. And I thought everyone liked Eddie. KAREN Who? CRUZ Dude in the dress is Eddie Solomon, used to buy scag off a corner till he kicked it and found his happiness with crack and then started dealing himself. Word on the street was he was saving up for an operation. KAREN What is it with crack and transsexuals? CRUZ Yeah, Eddie was a real character. Had these girls cooked the rocks he called the Rockettes. KAREN Yeah. I saw one of 'em outside. CRUZ Yonelle. Looks like someone raped her, shot her, then threw her out the window. (shakes his head) Fuckin' animals. This shuts them both up. Cruz indicates the door. CRUZ (CONT'D) Let's get some air. She starts to follow him out, pauses as she sees something on the ground... A BROKEN PAIR OF SUNGLASSES Wrap-around... a lot like the ones she remembers Glenn wearing. Karen stares at them a moment, then walks out. EXT. CRIME SCENE - NIGHT As Cruz and Karen walk to his car, STROBES FLASH as press photographers struggle to shoot the crime scene. CRUZ Other than we had so much fun the last time we worked together. You gonna tell me why you're comin' to me instead of the FBI? KAREN I report to the FBI, first thing they're gonna do is ask me to go get some coffee. CRUZ You know, I'm not in homicide any more. KAREN No, I didn't know that. CRUZ Yeah, I'm crimes against persons and property now, also sex crimes and child abuse. KAREN Detroit, you must be pretty busy. CRUZ Yeah, and, as you can see, home invasions are big, too. KAREN Listen, Raymond, a year ago, DEA had this guy Glenn Michaels on possession with intent but couldn't make it stick. In his statement, Glenn said he went up to Detroit to visit a friend and look into job opportunities -- if you can believe that. CRUZ Who was the friend? KAREN Guy named Maurice Miller, also known as Snoopy, a former prizefighter. CRUZ Christ, I know Snoopy Miller. He's a fuckin' wackjob thinks he's Sugar Ray Leonard. Hangs out with a couple other Grade-A nutcases over on the West side. KAREN I'll need a last known address. CRUZ That's fine, but I don't want you to talk to Miller alone. KAREN Come on, Raymond, I'm a federal officer, I'm armed. He turns and looks at her. CRUZ Yes, you are. I'll call you tomorrow with the address. As he gets into his car, we then: CUT TO: A NEWSPAPER The crime scene from the night before. A shot of Karen and Ray Cruz as they exit the house. A headline reads "TRIPLE MURDER" blah-blah-blah... BUDDY (PHONE) You have the paper? REVEAL: FOLEY'S HOTEL ROOM - DAY Foley, wearing a suit now, no shoes, no tie, looks at the newspaper photograph of Karen. FOLEY It's a terrific shot of her. INT. BUDDY'S ROOM - SAME Buddy looking at the same shot... BUDDY Outside of that. INTERCUTTING FOLEY & BUDDY FOLEY Doesn't say what she's doing up here, but I don't think it has anything to do with us. BUDDY She came up here on her vacation, 'cause she likes shitty weather. Foley reaches in one of the bags from the Jewish Recycling Center and pulls out a tie. FOLEY I think she's after Glenn. The girl still with you? BUDDY They don't stay the night, Jack, 'less you pay for it. FOLEY You tell your sister about it? BUDDY Just hung up. FOLEY How long you talk to her? BUDDY Two hours. FOLEY How long were you with the girl? BUDDY Forty-five minutes. FOLEY You didn't tell your sister about Ripley, did you? 'Cause I don't wanna go through that again. BUDDY Forget about my sister. If Karen Sisco's tailing Glenn, we're fucked. Tomorrow night at the fights we all get picked up. FOLEY Let's drive by where we're meeting and have a look. Maybe take a look at Ripley's place while we're at it. Foley hangs up. He faces the mirror, starts to tie his tie. RIPLEY (V.O.) I guess next time I see you, you'll be wearing a suit and tie... INT. RIPLEY'S CELL - DAY Foley leans in the doorway watching as Ripley, dressed in a jogging suit, and under the watchful eye of A GUARD, gathers up his belongings. He's going home. FOLEY I still haven't made up my mind yet. RIPLEY What's to think about? FOLEY You goin' right back to work? RIPLEY First, I'm goin' to Israel for a year, study the Talmud, work on a Kibbutz... then come back, maybe take some tennis lessons. He tears a picture off the wall... RIPLEY (CONT'D) Here... (hands it to Foley) Something to remember me by. Foley stares at the photograph of sea life. RIPLEY (CONT'D) It's not the real thing, but it's still nice to look at. Foley looks at Ripley, who extends his hand. RIPLEY (CONT'D) See you on the outside, Jack. INT. FOLEY'S HOTEL ROOM - DAY Foley finishes tying his tie, stares into the mirror, takes in the overall effect. FOLEY (smiles) Hi! I just broke outta jail! His smile fades, he then sits down heavily on the bed, looks at the picture of Karen another moment, then sets the paper aside, grabs the Yellow Pages, flips to HOTELS, and dials the phone... VOICE (PHONE) Atheneum Hotel. FOLEY Karen Sisco, please. VOICE (pause, then) I'm sorry, but there's no one by that name registered. FOLEY Thank you. He dials the next number... VOICE Best Western... EXT. MAURICE "SNOOPY" MILLER'S HOUSE - DAY Red brick, showing its age. Karen rings the doorbell and then waits with her hands shoved into the pockets of her dark, navy coat. The door opens to reveal Moselle in her green silk robe holding her arms close against the cold. KAREN Moselle Miller? MOSELLE What do you want? KAREN I'm looking for Maurice. MOSELLE You find him, tell him the dog got run over and I'm out of grocery money. MALE VOICE Moselle. Who you talking to? MOSELLE Lady looking for Maurice. MALE VOICE What's she want? MOSELLE Hasn't said. KAREN That's not Maurice? MOSELLE That's Kenneth, my brother. He's talking on the phone. MALE VOICE Ask what she want with him? MOSELLE You ask her. Maurice's business is none of my business. Sounding tired or bored. She turns from the door and walks into the living room. Karen steps inside, pushes the door closed and steps into the foyer. MALE VOICE How do I know? Karen peers into a study, a small room with empty bookcases and sees Kenneth in his backward red baseball cap as he talks on the phone... KENNETH The State, huh. Who's fighting? Karen walks into the living room, where Moselle sits on the sofa lighting a cigarette. MOSELLE You like to sit down? KAREN Thanks. Karen takes a chair and looks around the room: dismal, gray daylight in the windows, dark wood and white stucco, the fireplace full of trash, plastic cups, wrappers, a pizza box. KAREN (CONT'D) I'm looking for a friend of mine I think Maurice knows. MOSELLE You not with probation, one of those? KAREN No. MOSELLE You a lawyer? KAREN (smiles) No, I'm not. Maybe you know him. Glenn Michaels? Moselle draws on her cigarette, blows out a stream of smoke. MOSELLE Glenn? No, I don't know any Glenn. KAREN He said he stayed here last November. MOSELLE Here? In this house? KAREN He said he stayed with Maurice. MOSELLE Well, he ain't even here that much. I like to know where he goes, but at the same time I don't want to know, you understand? KAREN (beat) Your dog was killed? MOSELLE Got run over by a car. KAREN What did you call it? Moselle looks at the couch, where a MANGLED FRISBEE sits. MOSELLE Was a she, name Tuffy. KAREN (nods, then) Where do you think I might find Maurice? MOSELLE I don't know -- the gym, the fights. I know he don't miss the fights. Having some tomorrow night at the State Theater. He use to take me. KAREN The State Theater? VOICE What you want with Maurice? Karen turns, sees Kenneth standing in the arched entrance from the foyer. MOSELLE She looking for a man name of Glenn. KENNETH Did I ask you? Go on out of here. Do something with yourself. He waits until Moselle gets up, not saying a word, walks away from them through the dining room. Karen watches him come toward her now in kind of an easy strut. She indicates the scar over his eye... KAREN You're a fighter? KENNETH How you know that? KAREN I can tell. KENNETH I was... He moves his head in what might be a feint. KENNETH (CONT'D) Till I got my retina detached two time. He's standing so close to her, Karen has to look up at him. KAREN What'd you fight, middleweight? KENNETH Light to super-middleweight, as my body developed. You go about what, bantam? KAREN Flyweight. KENNETH You know your divisions. You like the fights? Like the rough stuff? Yeah, I bet you do. (moves closer) Like to get down and tussle a little bit? Like me and Tuffy, before she got run over, we use to get down on the floor and tussle. I say to her, "You a good dog, Tuffy, here's a treat for you." And I give Tuffy what every dog love best. You know what that is? A bone. (real close) I can give you a bone, too, girl. KAREN You're not my type. KENNETH Don't matter. I let the monster out, you gonna do what it wants. KAREN Just a minute. Her hand goes into her bag next to the chair. KENNETH Bring your own rubbers with you? Her hand comes out of the bag holding what looks like the grip on a golf club. Kenneth grins at her... KENNETHN (CONT'D) What else you have in there, mace? Have a whistle, different kinds of female-protection shit? Karen pushes out of the chair to stand with him face-to-face. KAREN I have to go, Kenneth. She gives him a friendly poke with the black vinyl baton that's like a golf club grip. KAREN (CONT'D) Maybe we'll see each other again, okay? She steps aside and brushes past him. He grabs her left wrist... KENNETH We gonna tussle first. Karen flicks the baton and sixteen inches of chrome steel shoots out of the grip. She pulls an arm's length away from him and chops the rigid shaft at his head, Kenneth hunching, ducking away... KENNETH (CONT'D) God damn... He lets go of her and Karen gets the room she needs, so that when he comes at her, she whips the shaft across the side of his head and he howls, stops dead, presses a hand over his ear. KENNETH (CONT'D) What's wrong with you? KAREN You wanted to tussle, we tussled. And she walks out. She sees Moselle standing there in the foyer. Karen looks at her a moment, puts the baton in her purse and comes out with a business card. KAREN (CONT'D) I wrote my hotel number on there -- in case you run into Glenn. Moselle slips the card into the pocket of her robe. Karen smiles at her and walks out the door. EXT. RICHARD RIPLEY'S HOUSE - DAY It's snowing pretty hard when Foley and Buddy pull up out front. INT. BUDDY'S CAR - SAME Buddy wipes the condensation off his window, so they can see the house. BUDDY Now that's a really big house. FOLEY Jesus, look at that wall. Place almost looks like a prison. BUDDY No doubt the man's got some big-ass security system. FOLEY Time comes, we knock on the door. See if he wants to talk about old times. Go in the easy way. BUDDY Yeah? You think he'll let us in, we got Snoopy and the muscle-bound asshole with us? FOLEY Who says anybody's gonna be with us? I say we go to the fights tomorrow, find out what the Snoop's big plan is, then go in ahead of those guys -- alone. BUDDY Let Glenn deal with the Snoop, while we're off livin' the good life. FOLEY Tell me something, Buddy. You know anyone who's actually done one last big score and gone to live the good life? Cause it occurred to me that everyone talks about doing it, but I don't know anyone who's actually gone and done it. Do you? BUDDY (beat) What about that D.B. Cooper guy? Foley looks at him. BUDDY (CONT'D) I mean, they don't know for sure he's dead. (then) Look, there's always a chance we'll walk out've there with nothing. I say let fate decide. FOLEY Let fate decide? What're you, the fuckin' Dali Lama now? BUDDY My sister believes in fate, but not hell. That's why she stopped praying for the lost souls since you don't hear that much about purgatory anymore. But every day she asks her boss to pray I don't fuck up. Whatta you think, you think there's a hell, Jack? FOLEY Yeah, it's called Glades Correctional Institution and I'm sure as shit not going back there or any place like it. BUDDY You might not have a choice. Foley looks at him. BUDDY (CONT'D) They put a gun on you, you'll go back. FOLEY They put a gun on you, you still have a choice, don't you? Foley turns back to the house. And now we hear... MR. HEARN (VO) I think you're gonna fit right in... INT. RIPLEY ENTERPRISES PERSONNEL OFFICE - DAY The personnel guy, MR. HEARN, sits behind his desk, squeezing a grip exerciser and smiling warmly at Foley, who wears a shitty suit and tie. MR. HEARN Now Mr Ripley and I have had a long discussion about your role in the company and it was his feeling that you would be happiest working down here in Miami. How's that sound to you? FOLEY Great. Mr. Hearn pauses, looks down at Foley... MR. HEARN You're about a 42 long, right? FOLEY What? But Mr. Hearn walks out without answering. Foley looks at the desktop, where a spoon sticks out of a half-eaten fruit-on-the- bottom yogurt, which in turn sits beside a half-eaten Powerbar. Foley shakes his head, takes out his zippo, starts to play with it. MR. HEARN Okay. Let's see how she fits. Foley turns as Mr. Hearn bounces back into the room with what looks like a UNIFORM draped over one arm. FOLEY What is this? MR. HEARN Your uniform. FOLEY My what? Mr. Hearn shows him the yellow patch that reads SECURITY on one arm. Foley smiles... amused... angry... hurt... FOLEY (CONT'D) Are you kidding me? RICHARD RIPLEY'S OFFICE View. Wet bar. Huge fucking aquarium. RECEPTIONIST (OS) Sir, you can't go in there... Ripley looks up from his desk as Foley steps in, the receptionist right behind him now. RIPLEY Jack? Whoa-- what's the problem? Take it easy, let's talk... Meanwhile, Ripley pushes a PANIC BUTTON beneath his desk... FOLEY A security guard? Are you fucking kidding me? Ripley considers Foley a moment, then... RIPLEY You know, I wasn't sure you'd show up. But I was pretty sure that, if you did, you'd throw the job in my face. (then) Understand something, Jack. Up to this point, everything you've done with your life means absolutely nothing in the real world. Less than nothing. Foley says nothing. RIPLEY (CONT'D) You're a bank robber. This is not a marketable skill. There are no old bank robbers out in the world living on pensions. You know this. That's why you're here right now. Still Foley says nothing. RIPLEY (CONT'D) Today, I'm offering you a lousy job at a lousy wage. You think you're better than that? Fine. Show me. Show me that you're really willing to change and we'll talk about something better. A lot better. But first, Jack, you gotta earn it. FOLEY How, Dick? The way you earned it? By marrying some rich broad owns the company, selling it off a piece at a time, then divorcing her? What is this Knute Rockne, pull yourself up by the bootstraps bullshit? Back in prison, guy like you, place like that, you were ice cream for freaks. You were a goddamn dumpling. Maurice and a dozen other guys coulda bled you till you had nothing. Till you were nothing. I saved your ass. So you'll pardon me if I don't wanna sit on a fuckin stool all day saying "sign in here please" or "hey, pal, you can't park there." Okay, Dick? I can't do it. RIPLEY Jack, I'm disappointed. I guess I misjudged you. Two massive SECURITY GUARDS appear in the doorway... FOLEY Hey, what job he promise you guys? GUARD There's two ways we can do this. FOLEY Yeah? What are they? RIPLEY Gentlemen. I think we've calmed down now. Haven't we, Jack? FOLEY Oh, yeah, I'm calm. In fact, I'm totally "relaxed..." And with that he picks up a paperweight (A LEAD FISH) and wings it at the aquarium, shattering the glass. EXT. RIPLEY'S BUILDING - FLORIDA - DAY As Foley is physically thrown out of the building by the two guards. He picks himself up. He kicks at the guards, who wave him off, go back inside. Foley then starts down the steps, pauses as he sees... THE BANK ACROSS THE STREET The one from the opening. Foley looks at it a moment, then calmly starts to take off his tie, drops it in the gutter as he starts across the street... CUT TO: INT. BUDDY'S CAR - DAY As Buddy pulls away from the house, Foley pulls out the clipping of Karen he tore out of the morning paper. He's written the name "WESTIN" on it. FOLEY Listen, I gotta get some better shoes, few other things before tomorrow. Why don't you drop me off at the Ren Cen, we'll hook up later? BUDDY Yeah, and I better call my sister. CUT TO: THE SNOWSTORM It's really coming down. We then PULL BACK TO REVEAL we're looking out of a window inside the cocktail lounge at the top of the Westin. A table of three young EXECUTIVE-LOOKING GUYS in suits are laughing at something until Karen is ushered by a WAITRESS to an adjacent table. KAREN Jack Daniel's, please, water on the side. She turns, sees her reflection in the glass against the overcast sky, snow swirling, blowing in gusts, seven hundred feet above the city, down there somewhere. EXECUTIVE GUY'S VOICE Celeste, do us again, please, and put the lady's drink on our bill. She turns to see them raising snifter glasses to her, smiling, pleasant-looking guys in dark suits. KAREN Thanks anyway. WAITRESS (drifting over) They want to buy you a drink. KAREN I get that. Tell them I'd rather pay for my own. She then watches the three guys looking at the waitress delivering the message. Then they look at Karen. She gives them a shrug, turns to watch the snow. Her drink arrives. She takes a sip, looks up as one of the guys comes over... EXECUTIVE GUY Excuse me. My associates and I made a bet on what you do for a living. She glances at the table, the other two watching. EXECUTIVE GUY (CONT'D) And I won. Hi, I'm Philip. KAREN If it's okay with you, Philip, I'd like to just have a quiet drink and leave. Okay? PHILIP Don't you want to know what I guessed? How I know what you do for a living? KAREN Tell you the truth, I'm not even mildly curious. Really, I don't want to be rude, Philip, I'd just like to be left alone. She turns back to the snowstorm. She sees his reflection turn and leave. A moment later, the next one appears at the table. EXECUTIVE GUY #2 I think I know why you're depressed -- if I may offer an observation. She just looks at him. So sure of himself. EXECUTIVE GUY #2 (CONT'D) I have a hunch you're the new sales rep and your customer isn't exactly knocked out by the idea of a young lady, even one as stunning as you, handling the account. Am I close? Hi, I'm Andy. She says nothing to him. ANDY We're ad guys. We flew in from New York this morning to pitch Hiram Walker Distillery, present this test-market campaign for their new margarita mix. What we do, we show this guy who looks like a Mexican bandido, you know, with the big Chihuahua hat, the bullet belts-- KAREN Andy? Really. Who gives a shit? He gives her a sympathetic expression. ANDY Want to tell me what happened? KAREN Beat it, will you? She stares at the guy until he turns away. She sips her drink, stares once more out at the blizzard. After a few moments, another dark suit appears, reflected in the window. VOICE Can I buy you a drink? Boom. Not one of the executive guys. She stares at the reflection for a moment, then slowly turns, looks up at JACK FOLEY now standing there in his new navy blue suit. KAREN (beat) Yeah, I'd love one. (then) Would you like to sit down? He pulls the chair out, looking at her. The three guys at the other table now staring as he sits down. Foley offers his hand... FOLEY I'm Gary. She hesitates, then shakes his hand... KAREN I'm Celeste. She smiles with him. When she lowers her hand to the table, his hand comes down to cover hers. She watches his expression as she brings her hand out slowly, his eyes not leaving hers, and lays her hand on his. The tips of her fingers brush his knuckles, lightly back and forth. KAREN (CONT'D) It takes hours to get a drink around here. There's only one waitress. FOLEY I can go to the bar. KAREN Don't leave me. FOLEY Those guys bother you? KAREN No, they're all right. I meant, you just got here. She picks up her drink and places it in front of him. KAREN (CONT'D) Help yourself. She watches him take a sip, smack his lips. FOLEY You like bourbon? KAREN Love it. FOLEY (passes the glass back) Well, we got that out of the way. (then) Tell me, Celeste. What do you do for a living? KAREN I'm a sales rep. I came here to call on a customer and they gave me a hard time because I'm a girl. FOLEY Is that how you think of yourself? KAREN What, as a sales rep? FOLEY A girl. KAREN I don't have a problem with it. FOLEY I like your hair. And that suit. KAREN I had one just like it -- well, it was the same idea, but I had to get rid of it. FOLEY You did? KAREN It smelled. FOLEY Having it cleaned didn't help, huh? KAREN No. (then) What do you do for a living, Gary? FOLEY (beat) How far do we go with this? This stops her, throws her off balance. KAREN Not yet. Don't say anything yet. Okay? FOLEY I don't think it works if we're somebody else. You know what I mean? Gary and Celeste, Jesus, what do they know about anything? KAREN It's your game. I've never played this before. FOLEY It's not a game. Something you play. KAREN Well, does it make sense to you? FOLEY It doesn't have to, it's something that happens. It's like seeing a person you never saw before -- you could be passing on the street -- you look at each other and for a few seconds, there's a kind of recognition. Like you both know something. But then the next moment the person's gone, and it's too late to do anything about it, but you remember it because it was right there and you let it go, and you think, "What if I had stopped and said something?" It might happen only a few times in your life. KAREN Or once. They look at each other a moment, then... FOLEY Why don't we get out of here. They both get up. The ad guys at the table watch as she follows Foley to the elevator. Karen winks at them. INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT As they ride down to Karen's room. She looks at him, looks away. The doors open and they exit. INT. HER HOTEL SUITE As he follows her in. She walks to the bar, fixes them each a drink. He checks out the room, takes in her view. KAREN How'd you find me? He comes over to her, takes out the newspaper clipping with her picture and shows it to her. KAREN (CONT'D) Oh, God... FOLEY I called your room from downstairs. KAREN If I had answered, what were you gonna say? FOLEY Well, I'd say who I was and do you remember me and ask if you'd like to meet for a drink. KAREN If I remembered you. I came looking for you. I would've said sure, let's do it. But for all you knew I could show up with a SWAT team. Why would you trust me? FOLEY It would be worth the risk. She looks at him, touches his face with her hand... KAREN You like taking risks. FOLEY So do you. He kisses her now, puts his arms around her. KAREN What's the hurry, Jack? You have to be somewhere? She hands him his drink. They both drink, then... KAREN (CONT'D) Sooner or later... She stops and he looks at her over the rim of her glass. KAREN (CONT'D) You really wear that suit. FOLEY That's not what you were about to say. She shrugs, lets it go. He puts down his drink, kisses her. She lets him, then moves to the couch. KAREN Remember how talkative you were? In the trunk? Adele said you do that when you're nervous. FOLEY She did, huh. KAREN You kept touching me, feeling my thigh. FOLEY Yeah, but in a nice way. He sits down and they kiss again. This time she peels his jacket off. He does the same with hers. He's starting to unbutton her blouse when-- FOLEY (CONT'D) (unbuttoning) I might've smelled like a sewer, but you could tell I was a gentleman. They say John Dillinger was a pretty nice guy. KAREN He killed a police officer. He stops. Looks at her. FOLEY I hear he didn't mean to. The cop fell as Dillinger was aiming at his leg and got him through the heart. KAREN You believe that? FOLEY Why not? She looks at him, decides to get off this subject. Anyway he's finished unbuttoning her blouse and is now putting his hands inside her shirt. She closes her eyes. KAREN You know that Sig .380 you took was my favourite. My father gave it to me. As he kisses her on the neck. KAREN (CONT'D) What were you gonna do with me? FOLEY I don't know. I hadn't worked that part out yet. All I knew was that I liked you, and I didn't want to leave you there, never see you again. KAREN You waved to me in the elevator. She's loosening his tie, unbuttoning his shirt. FOLEY I wasn't sure you caught that. KAREN I couldn't believe it. I was thinking of you by then, a lot, wondering what it would be like if we did meet. Like if we could take a time-out... FOLEY Really? I was thinking the same thing. If we could call time and get together for a while. They look at each other a moment. FOLEY (CONT'D) You know I saw you on the street. KAREN Where? FOLEY Outside Adele's. He starts to kiss her again, but-- KAREN You were going to see her? FOLEY To warn her about Chino. KAREN So she did help you? FOLEY I don't think we should get into that. KAREN No, you're right. Or Buddy. I won't ask if he's with you or what you're doing here in Detroit. Or if you've run into Glenn Michaels yet. FOLEY Don't talk like that, okay? You scare me. And he moves to kiss her, but she stands up, holds out her hand. KAREN Come on. He gets up and she leads him across the room... INT. BEDROOM - SAME Jack sits on the bed to take off his shoes, stands up to take off his pants. KAREN Are you gonna leave your tie on? He looks at her, down to her bra and panties, watches as she gets out of the rest of her clothes and comes over to him, standing close to help him with the tie... FOLEY My God, look at you. When her clothes are off, she loops the tie around his neck again and then as she turns off the light... She kisses him. He sits down on the bed, drawing her back with him, the only light now coming from the sitting room. FOLEY (CONT'D) You having fun? She smiles and then they start to make love as we then... FADE OUT. CUT TO: KAREN Eyes open, serious now. REVEAL She's lying in Jack's arms. She looks at him a moment, then moves away from him to sit up and swing her legs off the bed. FOLEY You coming back? KAREN I'm just going to the bathroom. She gets up and crosses the room to the bathroom and closes the door. Foley picks up his Zippo off the night table. INT. BATHROOM - SAME She comes in. Looks at herself in the mirror. Suddenly feels self-conscious. She grabs a bathrobe off the door. INT. BEDROOM - SAME Foley lies there, fiddling with the Zippo, staring up at the ceiling. She comes out again and stands looking down at him. KAREN I want you to know something. I wasn't looking for just a fuck, if that's what you're thinking. FOLEY Why are you mad? KAREN Or I did it for some kind of kinky thrill. Score with a bank robber the way some women go for rough trade. FOLEY What about my motive? Now I can say I fucked a US Marshal. You think I will? KAREN I don't know. He raises the covers, but she just stands there. FOLEY I know of a guy he goes in the bank holding a bottle he says is nitroglycerin. He scores some cash off a teller, he's on his way out when he drops the bottle. It shatters on the tile floor, he slips in the stuff, cracks his head and they've got him. The nitro was canola oil. I know more fucked-up bank robbers than ones that know what they're doing. I doubt one in ten can tell a dye pack when he sees one. Most bank robbers are fucking morons. To go to bed with a bank robber for kinky thrills, as you say, you'd have to be as dumb as they are. I know you're not dumb, so why would I think that? Why would you think I might think that? She comes over and sits down on the bed. KAREN You're not dumb. FOLEY I don't know about that. You can't do three falls and think you have much of a brain. They lie there for a few moments, Karen watching him. He senses this, looks at her... FOLEY (CONT'D) You getting serious on me now? KAREN I'm trying not to. I just wanna know what's gonna happen. FOLEY (beat) You know. And he kisses her. EXT. DETROIT - DAY The sun is out. The snow has stopped falling. A white blanket covers everything. INT. KAREN'S HOTEL ROOM - SAME Karen opens her eyes, wakes up. She closes them again, lies on her side, but doesn't move for a moment. Then... KAREN Oh, for Christ sake, grow up. She opens her eyes and rolls on to her back. She turns her head: Foley's gone. She gets out of bed. INT. SITTING ROOM - SAME Karen comes into the room tying her robe. She looks at the coffee table where... Something wrapped in a napkin lies by the half-empty bottle and the ice bucket. She picks it up and slowly unfolds the "gift" from Foley: Her Sig-Sauer .38. INT. FOLEY'S HOTEL ROOM - DAY Buddy stands at the window looking out as Foley -- in his underwear -- sits at the table reading the newspaper, a room- service breakfast, a bottle of Jim Beam close by. BUDDY It took you, what, seven hours to buy a pair of shoes? FOLEY I saw Karen Sisco. Buddy turns to him. BUDDY And she saw you? FOLEY Yes, she did. BUDDY So how's that work, a wanted felon socializing with a U.S. Marshal? FOLEY You know how I felt about her. BUDDY Did you give her a jump? If you did I might begin to understand where your head's at. FOLEY It wasn't about getting laid. I just wanted to know what might've happened if things were different. BUDDY You find out? FOLEY Yeah, I did. Buddy watches Foley pour a shot of Jim Beam in his coffee. BUDDY So what's that mean? That you're disappointed by what you found or you're sorry you robbed all those banks? FOLEY I don't know. INT. KAREN'S HOTEL ROOM - DAY Karen sits there staring at a Wild Turkey bottle, a couple of glasses. She reaches for the phone, dials. A moment later, we hear MARSHALL SISCO'S ANSWERING MACHINE and she hangs up. INT. STATE THEATER - NIGHT A ring set up on stage. Men hang out on the side. Where movie seats used to be are rows of round nightclub tables; a row of them on each of four levels rising a step at a time up through the theatre to the bar. Rap music booms out of speakers as fighters are announced. Everyone in here is black except for Glenn and White Boy Bob who sit at a table in the front row while Maurice in a dude black felt cap set on his head just right and shades walks along the apron of the stage. MAURICE Stick and jab, stick and jab! White Boy Bob throws down a beer and gives Glenn's shoulder a jab. WHITE BOY BOB You drink like a girl. White Boy looks around to see if there are any other morons sitting nearby who think it's funny. Kenneth comes through for his pal and laughs. INT. THEATER - SAME As Karen walks through the bar, pauses as she sees Glenn sitting with White Boy and Kenneth. She steps back into the shadows as Glenn glances anxiously about. ON GLENN As he pushes his chair back. GLENN I got to go take a piss. He hesitates, sees the car keys on the table in front of White Boy Bob. But before he can grab them... WHITE BOY BOB What're you telling us for? You want somebody to hold your little pecker? Glenn gets up, sees his coat on the back of the chair, but knows he can't take it with him. He walks away from the table. EXT. STATE THEATER - PARKING LOT - SAME TIME Glenn exits the theater and crosses to the parking lot. Karen exits right after, watches him get into the Town Car. INT. TOWN CAR - SAME TIME Glenn behind the wheel, half lying on his right side as he tries to rip open the locked glove compartment. His head jerks around as Karen opens the door. He sits up straight as she gets in with him. KAREN Glenn, are you trying to steal this car? GLENN Jesus, I don't believe it. KAREN Another one of those days, huh, nothing seems to go right? He raises his empty hands. GLEN I don't have the keys. KAREN I see that. GLENN I mean I'm not stealing the fucking car. KAREN You're not? GLENN I already stole it. Last week or whenever it was, in West Palm. I can't be stealing it again, can I? KAREN The two guys you were with -- that one, that isn't Maurice Miller, is it? I've seen Snoopy's mug shot and that didn't look like him. GLENN Jesus. How'd you know about Snoopy? Karen looks at him, shakes her head. KAREN Glenn, I know your life history, who your friends are, where you've been and now, it looks like, where you're going. Put your hands on the wheel. GLENN You're gonna bust me for picking up a car? KAREN For the car, for aiding and abetting a prison escape, and conspiring to do whatever you came here for. GLENN Listen, these guys, they're gonna be out here any minute looking for me. They're fucking animals. KAREN What's going on, Glenn? GLENN Nothing. I just wanna get the fuck outta here. KAREN But I thought the whole thing was your idea? GLENN Rippin' off Ripley was my idea, but these guys, man, they're into shit I can't handle. KAREN Ripley? You mean the wall street guy? GLENN Yeah, the plan was to pick him up at his office tomorrow, take him out to his house in Bloomfield Hills. Now, I don't give a shit what they do. KAREN And is Foley a part of this? GLENN He's supposed to be, but he hasn't shown up yet, which is a good thing for him. KAREN Why's that? GLENN Maurice is gonna kill him, try and collect the reward. KAREN (beat) But you say he hasn't shown up, you think he backed out? GLENN I don't know-- he doesn't exactly confide in me. KAREN Gee, I wonder why not. GLENN I'm freezing my ass off. KAREN You want to get out of here, run, it'll warm you up. GLENN Really? KAREN But listen, Glenn. If you're lying to me... GLENN I know, you'll find me. Jesus, I believe it. I keep thinking if you hadn't driven me to federal court last summer, you wouldn't even know who I am. KAREN If I didn't know you, Glenn, by tomorrow you'd be in jail or dead. Look at it that way. Go on. And he takes off. She sits there another moment, then flicks her cigarette out the door, gets out the car. EXT. PARKING LOT - SAME Karen looks across the street at the theatre, sees people leaving. A few seconds later, she steps behind a car and watches as Buddy and Foley pull into the lot. INT. THEATER - SAME Maurice sits with White Boy and Kenneth as Foley and Buddy come down the aisle to their table. MAURICE Where you been? You miss the big boys, come in time for the walkout fights. Well, shit, you may as well pull up a chair. Foley and Buddy remain standing. MAURICE (CONT'D) Kenneth, this is Mr. Jack Foley and this is Mr. Buddy, famous bank robbers. Foley nods to the raincoat draped over the back of a chair. FOLEY Who's sitting here? MAURICE Your homie, Glenn. Only thing, he went to the men's about a while ago and never came back. Foley gives Buddy a look. White Boy Bob grins at them. WHITE BOY BOB I think he must've fell in. MAURICE I sent these two looking for him, they come back shaking their heads. FOLEY Well, if he left his coat and he's been gone a while. WHITE BOY BOB The car's still there. I looked. MAURICE (to the ring) Reggie, push off and hit, man. Push him off. FOLEY We're leaving. MAURICE The fuck you talking about? FOLEY Snoop, if you don't know where Glenn is... Maurice takes Foley by the arm, moves him away from the table. MAURICE Look, what you worried about Glenn for? What's he know? FOLEY I thought everything. Foley watches the fighters: one of them patient, moving in while the other one takes wild swings and misses... MAURICE Glenn knows everything we suppose to do tomorrow. Glenn could tell somebody that, yeah, but it don't mean shit. You understand? 'Cause Glenn don't know I changed the plan. (then) It's happening tonight. Foley looks at Maurice now. MAURICE (CONT'D) Soon as we leave here. Stop home and pick up what we need and go do it. FOLEY (beat) Give me a minute, talk to Buddy. MAURICE You got two minutes, that's all. Make up your mind. FOLEY I wasn't asking permission. Foley walks up to the bar with Buddy. FOLEY (CONT'D) They want to go tonight, before Glenn gets in any trouble, opens his big mouth. BUDDY Whatta you wanna do? Foley takes out his lighter, begins playing with it. BUDDY (CONT'D) You know they gonna set us up. FOLEY I get that feeling, yeah. BUDDY But you still think you can get the diamonds fore they do? Foley looks at him a moment, then... FOLEY I'll make you a deal. Get out of here. Right now. I'll do the job with the Snoop, meet you wherever you want and give you half. BUDDY Half for doing what? FOLEY Getting me out of Glades for starters. BUDDY And who watches your back? ON MAURICE As he sits down with White Boy Bob and Kenneth, watches as Buddy and Foley talk up at the bar. MAURICE Man has all that reward on his head and still talks like a con in the yard. You know what I'm saying? Like he's a man you don't mess with. Yeah, well, what I say to Jack Foley is buuullshit. EXT. MAURICE'S HOUSE - NIGHT It's snowing as Maurice, White Boy Bob, Kenneth, Buddy, and Foley pile into the back of a van, the name of some plumbing and heating company on the side. We PULL BACK TO REVEAL that we're watching from inside Karen's car. She waits for the van to pull away, then follows. INT. VAN - NIGHT Kenneth -- the fucking maniac -- at the wheel. Buddy and Foley piled into the back of the van full of plastic pipe and equipment. Maurice pulls on a pair of white coveralls. FOLEY That what they're wearing these days to break and enter? MAURICE Break and enter, shit. Take it and git, how it's done. Don't waste any time. That's how you do it. FOLEY So you've done this before, huh? MAURICE Shit, yeah. White Boy even got busted for it. (then) White Boy, tell these boys the reason you went down on that burglary that time. WHITE BOY BOB I left my wallet in the house I robbed. The guy grins at them. Foley can't believe it. MAURICE Takes the TV, the VCR, some other shit and leaves his wallet on the floor. FOLEY That's a wonderful story, Snoop. I'm very excited about tonight. MAURICE Hey. You learn from doing. Foley and Buddy exchange looks. Maurice turns around, a Beretta in his hand. Foley looks at him. Buddy tenses. MAURICE (CONT'D) You know how to use one a these? FOLEY I've seen 'em used on TV. Maurice hands Foley the Beretta. Then reaches into a bag, comes up with a .38 he hands to Buddy. INT. KAREN'S CAR - SAME As Karen tries to keep up with the van. But with the snow and the way Kenneth drives, she starts to lose them. She speeds up around a corner and loses control of the car. EXT. STREET - SAME As Karen's car does a 360 in the ice and snow. INT. VAN - NIGHT Buddy and Foley are jostled about the back from Kenneth's insane driving. BUDDY Slow down. Kenneth grins in the mirror, punches it more. Buddy gets out the .38 and touches it to the back of Kenneth's head. BUDDY (CONT'D) Get ready to grab the wheel when I shoot this asshole. Kenneth, his eyes freaked with speed, glares at Buddy in the mirror. MAURICE Do like he says, man. Slow down. EXT. KAREN'S CAR - NIGHT As a pissed-off Karen gets out of her car, watches the van disappear. KAREN Shit -- INT. KAREN'S CAR - SAME She takes out her cellphone, punches a number, re-orients her car at the same time. EXT. RICHARD RIPLEY'S HOUSE - NIGHT As the van creeps by one way, then the other, then pulls into the driveway. INT./EXT. VAN - RIPLEY'S HOUSE All five of them in the back end of the van now, bumping into each other until Maurice lets White Boy out the rear end, leaving the doors open enough so he can watch. He then racks the slide on a .45. MAURICE "An army .45 will stop all jive." Huey P. said that. BUDDY You think he was talking about walking into people's houses when he said it? Maurice looks at Buddy. Buddy holds his gaze. Then the coach lights on either side of the front entrance come on. MAURICE (pulls his mask down) Get ready to go skiing. Now the front door opens... MAURICE (CONT'D) Here we go. We catch a glimpse of a WOMAN in the doorway, arms folded over her bathrobe as White Boy gives her a push and steps inside the house with her. Maurice is out of the truck and Kenneth, with a shotgun, is scrambling to be next. Buddy catches him by his jacket collar and holds him squirming until Foley is out. The minute Kenneth's feet hit the driveway he turns the 12-gauge on Buddy, still in the truck. Foley takes the barrel in one hand and shoves it straight up in Kenneth's face. FOLEY Go on in the house before you get hurt. Kenneth puts his face up close to Foley's and stares at him good before going inside. Foley turns to Buddy... FOLEY (CONT'D) There's still time, take me up on my offer. BUDDY I'm not leaving you alone with these assholes. INT. HOUSE - FOYER - SAME Where Maurice has the woman backed against a table. She's in her forties, with thick red hair hanging free. She looks ready to take a swing at whoever approaches... WOMAN I work here. I'm the maid. Kenneth reaches out, opens her robe and we get a flash of flimsy bra and low-cut panties before she slaps him away. WOMAN/MAID Fuck off. KENNETH Hey, shit, we're gonna have a party. MAURICE Not yet. Where's Mr. Ripley? MAID I told you, he isn't here. MAURICE Out for the evening? MAID He's in Florida. Palm Beach. MAURICE (beat) When's he due back? FOLEY Jesus Christ, what difference does it make? You want to wait for him? MAID Mr. Ripley's down for the season. Christmas to Easter. MAURICE You here all by yourself? MAID (beat) That's right, just me. Foley catches the hesitation, glances at Buddy. MAURICE Where's Ripley's safe at, he keep his valuables in. MAID I don't have any idea. MAURICE Let's go upstairs, have a look at the man's bedroom. All right now, you and Mr. Buddy check the rooms down here. Look at the wall behind any pictures hanging on it. Look at the walls in the closets. The man has a safe, it's gonna be up there somewhere. FOLEY How about his place in Florida? If you'd called, we could've checked his walls down there before we left. That is, if you'd checked to see where he was. You follow me? Maurice gives him a look, pulls the maid up the stairs. Kenneth and White Boy Bob follow... MAURICE You set off any kind of alarm and you're a dead Hazel. Understand? Kenneth puts his arm around the maid. KENNETH What's you name, mama? He hooks a finger in the waist of her panties, pulls on the elastic, is about to look in there when Maurice backhands him across the face. MAURICE First money, then pussy. Alone with Buddy now, Foley rolls his mask up on his head. FOLEY You ever wear one of these? BUDDY I don't ski. FOLEY Stay with the maid. I'm gonna have a look around. INT. KAREN'S CAR - NIGHT Karen on the phone... snow falling all around her. RAYMOND CRUZ (PHONE) I'll send a unit over there, see if there's anything going on. KAREN Tell me where Ripley's house is. I'll meet them there. CRUZ (PHONE) Karen, you gonna promise me you're not gonna go in, do anything stupid till I get there... INT. BEDROOM - SAME TIME Full of fat, cushy chairs and a sofa, everything white or black, a wet bar, a big TV, CD player. Buddy moves into the doorway, peers inside. Kenneth is trying to find a radio station while Maurice and White Boy Bob ransack the place. White Boy Bob checks under the mattress... WHITE BOY BOB Hey-- Maurice and Kenneth look over expectantly. WHITE BOY BOB (CONT'D) I found a rubber. MAURICE White Boy, the man's not gonna hide no diamonds under the fuckin' mattress. Maurice looks out the door, sees Buddy in the doorway. MAURICE (CONT'D) Where's Foley? BUDDY Checkin' the other rooms, like you said. MAURICE (to White Boy) Go keep an eye on him. White Boy Bob slips out of the room. Maurice turns to Kenneth, who's still playing with the stereo. MAURICE (CONT'D) Kenneth, fuck the radio, put on a CD. KENNETH (looking them over) I don't recognize none of these bands. MAURICE Just pick one, put it on. INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - SAME White Boy Bob watches from the end of the hall as Foley peers into each of the bedrooms. Foley sees a back staircase and starts down. A moment later White Boy Bob follows. INT. DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY - SAME White Boy Bob comes down the stairs. No sign of Foley. White Boy starts down one hallway, then turns back. Now he's lost. He opens a door, starts to walk into a closet, then backs out. He goes down the hall, turns into... THE KITCHEN - SAME Where White Boy Bob enters, calls out tentatively. WHITE BOY BOB Uh, Foley? He takes in the huge room, the massive sub-zero refrigerator. He moves to the freezer, opens it, takes in the FROZEN STEAKS. WHITE BOY BOB (CONT'D) Cool. INT. HALLWAY (DOWNSTAIRS) - SAME As Foley quietly moves to the doorway, peers into the kitchen, watches White Boy Bob starts going through the freezer, taking out steaks and stacking them up on the counter. Foley shakes his head and moves on. INT. LIBRARY (DOWNSTAIRS) - SAME Dark. As Foley steps into the doorway, we BOOM DOWN to reveal a LIGHTED AQUARIUM in f.g. He comes into the room, sits down in an armchair beside the fish tank. He leans close to the glass, stares at the fish a moment. He sees a door reflected there and turns to look across the room, sees how the phone cord disappears underneath. FOLEY They cut the lines, Richard. Silence. The door opens and we see a terrified Richard Ripley sitting on top of a toilet, the phone in his lap. RIPLEY Foley? That you? FOLEY How are you, Richard? RIPLEY Jesus Christ, what the hell are you doing here? What's going on? Who's upstairs? FOLEY Maurice Miller, couple of his friends. RIPLEY Maurice? From Lompoc? Good God. Ripley moves to the doorway. RIPLEY (CONT'D) Have they got Midge up there? FOLEY What kinda man lets a woman answer the door, this time a night? RIPLEY We thought it might be her husband. Sometimes he comes and checks up on her. She told him I was down in Florida. FOLEY A minute or two, you're gonna wish you were. Ripley looks at him. Foley pats the back of a chair. FOLEY (CONT'D) Why don't you come on over here, sit down, Richard, have a look at your fish. EXT. BLOOMFIELD HILLS - ROAD - SAME As Karen slowly negotiates her way through the snowstorm. INT. RIPLEY'S BEDROOM - SAME The music ON LOUD (Herb Alpert -- Tijuana Taxi). Buddy stands in the doorway, watches Maurice, out of his coveralls, as he takes suits and sport coats from the walk-in closet to look them over. He tries on a coat, turns to the maid. MAURICE How do I look, mama? MAID Like a fag. Maurice smiles at her, goes back into the closet. Kenneth stares at the maid, nodding slowly. KENNETH I think she like to tussle with me. Get boned a way she gonna remember. She looks to the doorway, where Buddy now starts to take a step into the room, when Maurice comes out of the closet... MAURICE (OS) Motherfucker! He sticks his head out of the closet. MAURICE (CONT'D) I found the safe. Buddy backs out of the room. EXT. RICHARD RIPLEY'S HOUSE - SAME As Karen drives slowly past the house. White Boy Bob emerges with an armload of steaks and sets them on the front steps. MAURICE White Boy! Get your ass up here! White Boy Bob hurries back into the house. INT. RIPLEY'S LIBRARY - SAME Ripley sits on the couch across from Foley. He keeps looking up at the ceiling. RIPLEY What do you want from me, Jack? Name it. You want money? FOLEY You gonna write me a check? RIPLEY We'll go to my bank. I'll make a withdrawal. Foley just looks at him. Buddy sticks his head in the room. BUDDY They found the safe. FOLEY You remember Buddy, don't you, Richard? BUDDY Yeah, hi. Nice house. RIPLEY Thank you. INT. BEDROOM - CLOSET DOORWAY - SAME White Boy Bob comes in as Kenneth and Maurice are getting ready to blast the safe with the shotgun and pistol. MAURICE We gonna open up this fucker... Maurice and his boys open fire on the safe. The maid covers up as bullets begin ricocheting all over the room. MAURICE (CONT'D) Jesus...! EXT. HOUSE - SAME TIME Karen sees the muzzle flashes in the upstairs window and quickly gets out of the car. INT. STUDY - SAME As Buddy and Ripley look up. RIPLEY (gets up) Good God... they're shooting Midge! FOLEY (pushes him down) Siddown, Dick. They're trying to open the safe, not your maid. INT. BEDROOM As Maurice, Kenneth and White Boy Bob get ready to fire again. MAURICE A'ight, this time we gotta get the motherfuckin' trajectory right... (pause) Okay, on three: One... Two... MAID The combination is three-ten-forty-four. They all turn to look at her, guns still pointing at the safe. MAID (CONT'D) Richard's birthday. EXT. HOUSE - SAME As Karen cautiously makes her way towards the front door. INT. BEDROOM - SAME As Maurice finally gets the safe open. They all anxiously peer inside. Maurice narrows his eyes, reaches in, pulls out one of three toupees. He stares at it. MAURICE ...the fuck is this... WHITE BOY BOB Are they dead? He looks at White Boy Bob... MAURICE Go find Foley. NOW! INT. RIPLEY'S STUDY - SAME As Foley leans forward in the chair now... RIPLEY I can't believe you're still angry with me, Jack, after all this time. FOLEY I'm not angry, Richard. (staring at the tank) In fact, I'm completely relaxed. Thing is, I can't tell if it's the fish that're cooling me out or all those uncut diamonds on the bottom of the tank there. Ripley sags, closes his eyes. BUDDY Damn-- And now Buddy takes a closer look and now we, too, see that strewn about the bottom of the aquarium are dozens of uncut diamonds of various sizes. FOLEY Dumbfuck Glenn was right, there's about five million worth in there, wouldn't you say, Richard? RIPLEY Five point two. BUDDY They look like plain old rocks. FOLEY They sure do. He gets up, looks at Buddy. FOLEY (CONT'D) Go get a bag. Foley turns to Richard as Buddy comes back into the room with a plastic bag, starts reaching into the tank. FOLEY (CONT'D) I were you, I'd get up and run. RIPLEY I'm not leaving Midge. FOLEY Don't be an asshole, Richard. They're gonna kill you. RIPLEY If that's my fate, so be it. I'm not leaving. (then) I love her, Jack. Foley looks at Buddy. Now what? BUDDY C'mon. Foley just looks at Ripley, who doesn't move. FOLEY Good luck, Richard. MAURICE (OS) Someone down here? Buddy and Foley slip out the other door, down the hall, just as Maurice walks in, some of Ripley's clothes over his arm. MAURICE (CONT'D) Well, if it isn't the Ripper hisself. RIPLEY Are those my suits? MAURICE Where you been hiding, Dick? EXT. HOUSE - SAME A now-freezing Karen hugs a retaining wall, watches as Foley and Buddy emerge from the house. AT THE VAN As Buddy leans under the dash. Foley looks up at the house where we see shadows moving about in the upstairs window, hear the faint pumping of the music. We hear the VAN START. BUDDY Okay. Buddy straightens up, looks at Foley. BUDDY (CONT'D) Come on. FOLEY Shit. BUDDY What? FOLEY They're gonna rape the maid, aren't they. BUDDY From the looks of those boys, the Ripper too. FOLEY And then they'll kill 'em. BUDDY At least. Foley looks at the diamonds in the bag. FOLEY We made it, didn't we? BUDDY All you gotta do is get in. Again Foley looks at the diamonds, then... FOLEY I'm going back inside. BUDDY I'll go with you. Foley finally hands him the bag with the diamonds in it... FOLEY No, you dump the van, meet me at the airport. I'll take one of Ripley's cars. BUDDY Jack -- FOLEY Listen, Buddy, the shit that's about to go down, you'll be on the phone with your sister for a month. Let me do this part alone. Buddy just looks at him. FOLEY (CONT'D) I'm saying this isn't your problem. Far as I'm concerned, we're square. Foley turns to go. BUDDY Hey... Buddy hands him his gun. Foley takes it, stuffs it in the back of his pants, and then turns back to the house. FOLEY Now get outta here. KAREN As she watches Foley go back inside. A moment later, the van pulls out of the driveway. Karen makes a decision, starts for the side of the house... INT. RIPLEY'S HOUSE - THE FOYER - SAME Foley enters and we hear the maid scream. Foley starts up the stairs. INT. RIPLEY'S STUDY Maurice and White Boy Bob both have their guns to Ripley's head. RIPLEY (hears the scream) Midge. MAURICE Forget about her. Tell me where the money's at. RIPLEY Foley's got it. MAURICE Where the fuck is Foley? INT. UPSTAIRS HALL - SAME Foley comes up the stairs, heads for Ripley's bedroom. The door is closed now... FOLEY Midge? He steps to one side, is about to reach for the knob when suddenly the DOOR IS BLASTED OFF ITS HINGES. INT. KITCHEN (DOWNSTAIRS) - SAME TIME Karen comes through the door, hears the gunshot, stops cold. INT. HALLWAY (UPSTAIRS) - SAME As Foley steps into the doorway and we see Kenneth and the maid bare, both sitting up in bed, Kenneth racking the shotgun, the maid turning away from him, gathering the covers that hang off her side of the bed... ...and coming around to throw them like a net at Kenneth as the shotgun goes off and the covers catch fire as Foley pumps one two three shots into Kenneth somewhere under there. INT. RIPLEY'S STUDY - SAME As Ripley tries to get away... RIPLEY Midge! Maurice grabs him by the collar, spins him around and whips him across the face with his gun. He and White Boy Bob then both hit Ripley on the head until he goes down and stays down. MAURICE (to WBB) You take the front stairs, I'll take the back. INT. RIPLEY'S BEDROOM - SAME As the maid jumps up and drags the burning covers from the bed and sees Kenneth now, the bullet holes in his chest, staring blankly back at him. She then looks at Foley. MAID (cold) Where's Dick? FOLEY Downstairs. (then) But wait here. There's two more. INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - SAME As Foley starts out of the room and immediately hears... WHITE BOY BOB Hold it, asshole! Foley sees White Boy Bob at the bottom of the stairs. WHITE BOY BOB (CONT'D) Drop the gun. Nowhere to go, Foley has to comply. WHITE BOY BOB (CONT'D) Now stay right there. Don't move. White Boy Bob starts to jog up the stairs two at a time, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on Foley. WHITE BOY BOB (CONT'D) Maurice! I got Foley! INT. RIPLEY'S BACK STAIRCASE - SAME As Maurice starts up the backstairs... WHITE BOY BOB Maurice! Up here! ...and a moment later, Karen comes out of the kitchen into the downstairs hallway -- just missing each other. INT. STAIRCASE - SAME As White Boy Bob gets maybe half way up when he catches a toe on one of the risers and pitches forward. Stupidly, he tries to break his fall with the elbow of his gun hand and ends up jamming his chin down onto the muzzle of his gun which, unfortunately for him, goes off, firing a bullet through his head and killing him instantly. To say the least, Foley is stunned by this freak accident. He stands there looking at the dead bulk on the stairs. FOLEY (finally) You learn from doing. Foley bends down to pick up his gun and we see MAURICE COMING UP THE BACK STAIRCASE, his gun raised, and now firing away... Foley is forced to jump back behind a pillar as Maurice keeps firing at him, shots ricocheting off the pillar, the railing, the wall... INT. DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY - SAME As Karen hugs the wall at the sound of gunshots, sees Ripley lying on the floor of the study... INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - SAME As we hear CLICK as the breech opens on Maurice's now empty .45 And now Foley steps out from behind the pillar and calmly bends down, picks up his gun, Maurice still walking forward... MAURICE Jack, you don't use a gun, do you? FOLEY Not until recently. MAURICE (still coming) Nervous? FOLEY A little. MAURICE (getting close) This kind of setup, you don't have any idea what the fuck you're doing -- do you? FOLEY You're right. So why take a chance-- Foley pulls the trigger. CLICK. Maurice hesitates, surprised that Foley would pull the trigger, then the two of them at the same time rush each other, begin a messy mano a mano, now using their spent guns as bludgeons. INT. RIPLEY'S STUDY - SAME As Karen carefully comes into the room, Ripley lets out a low GROAN. She's bending down to check him when HER PHONE RINGS. INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - SAME As Foley and Maurice grapple on the floor near the head of the stairs. INT. STUDY - SAME As Karen answers her phone, checks Ripley... KAREN Hello? CRUZ (PHONE) We're a few minutes away. Just sit tight, stay outta the house till we get there, understand? KAREN Oh-kay... INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - SAME As Foley finally shoves Maurice down the stairs. Maurice rolls down a few steps, right over White Boy Bob, as... Foley gets up, runs back to the bedroom. INT. RIPLEY'S BEDROOM - SAME As Foley enters, goes straight to Kenneth's body, begins searching for the shotgun (lifting the covers, turning over the body, etc) with no success... FOLEY Shit... INT. STAIRWELL - SAME As Maurice attempts to prise the gun out from under the dead bulk of White Boy Bob. INT. RIPLEY'S BEDROOM - SAME As Foley, exasperated, stands back up... MIDGE (O.S.) This what you want? Foley looks to where Midge stands -- now back in her bathrobe, but more importantly, clutching the shotgun. Foley crosses and takes it from her, begins to stride out of the room, when -- MIDGE (CONT'D) It's empty. Foley just looks at her. INT. STAIRWELL - SAME As Maurice finally rolls White Boy Bob over, grabs the gun... INT. RIPLEY'S BEDROOM - SAME As Foley sticks his hand in Kenneth's coveralls, comes out with a shell, loads the gun, snaps it shut... INT. STAIRWELL - SAME As Maurice cocks the pistol, takes a step up the stairs... KAREN (OS) Maurice-- Maurice spins around, points his gun down at Karen, now standing in the foyer, her own gun pointing up at him... EXT. HOUSE - SAME TIME As Raymond Cruz and several green-and-whites arrive... INT. RIPLEY'S BEDROOM - SAME As Jack, about to exit, stops cold as he HEARS TWO GUNSHOTS, then a BODY FALL. He stands still. Not sure who was just shot. After a long moment, we then hear: KAREN (OS) Jack? He sees Midge looking at him, closes his eyes, sags against the wall. KAREN (OS) (CONT'D) I know you're up there. INT. FOYER - SAME As Foley steps into the hallway, his ski mask now pulled down over his face. He holds Kenneth's shotgun in one hand and his pistol in another. KAREN Come on, Jack -- don't. FOLEY Pretend I'm somebody else. KAREN You think I'd shoot you? Foley brings up the pistol and the shotgun. AND NOW WE HEAR THE SIRENS... FOLEY If you don't, one of those guys will. KAREN What're you now, a desperado? Put the guns down. FOLEY I told you, I'm not going back. He raises the guns hip-high and we hear sounds behind Karen, but she's quick to raise her hand, though she doesn't turn or look around. KAREN Don't do this. Please. They stand there staring at each other. FOLEY No more time outs. He raises the guns. She sadly shakes her head. KAREN You win, Jack. She fires and he falls to the staircase, dropping the guns, grabbing hold of his right thigh. And now Cruz and several other cops enter... Karen motions them to stop... CRUZ Karen, I told you not to-- KAREN Wait, I know him --okay? She goes up the staircase to where Foley is lying and gently lifts the ski mask and looks at his sad eyes. KAREN (CONT'D) I'm sorry, Jack, but I can't shoot you. FOLEY You just did, for Christ sake. KAREN You know what I mean. She glances about, makes sure no one can hear, then leans closer to him. KAREN (CONT'D) I wish things were different. I'm sorry, Jack. Foley looks like he's in pain. He watches as she walks back down the stairs. As a couple of uniform cops rush past her and pick up Foley, a shaky Ripley staggers into the foyer. MIDGE Richard! She comes running down the stairs into his arms. They embrace. He looks at Foley over her shoulder... RIPLEY (sympathetic) Listen, Jack... (but then) What'd you do with my diamonds? Foley just looks at him. EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT As Buddy pulls the van into an alley. He jumps out, jogs back to the street and hails a cab... INT. CAB - SAME Buddy suddenly gets in, bangs on the bulletproof glass. BUDDY The airport. The cab pulls away. Buddy glances up front, then pulls the Ziploc bag from his coat and holds it up. There's a bit of water in along with the diamonds. A tiny fish swims in the water. Something about this makes Buddy smile as we... DISSOLVE TO: EXT. KAREN'S HOTEL - MORNING The sun is out. The sky is clear. KAREN (VO) They don't know yet if they want to bring him up on the homicides. INT. KAREN'S HOTEL ROOM - MORNING Karen on the phone. Her suitcase on the bed. KAREN I doubt if they will. The Bureau's put a detainer on him, so when they're through with him here he'll go back to Florida. INT. MARSHALL SISCO'S SITTING ROOM - SAME Marshall on the phone... MARSHALL You gonna go get him? KAREN It's possible. Why? MARSHALL I was just thinking... you could have a nice time with him on the plane -- like picking up where your interlude, or whatever you call it, left off. And then throw him in the can. KAREN He knew what he was doing. Nobody forced him to rob banks. MARSHALL My little girl, the tough babe. Karen hangs up, stares thoughtfully out the window. INT. PRISON CELL - DAY Where Foley stands staring out of his window. VOICE Foley. As Foley turns around and faces a FEDERAL MARSHAL in the doorway, we see that Foley's hands and feet are shackled. INT/EXT. PRISON STATION GARAGE - DAY The Marshal leads Foley from the building to where a black government van waits. The Marshal helps Foley inside. FEDERAL MARSHAL Have a nice trip. (looks OS) I'll get the other one. INT/EXT. VAN - SAME As Foley sits down, stares at the floor. He looks depressed. We hear the front door open, then close. KAREN (OS) Jack? He looks to where Karen looks at him through a steel grate that separates the front from the back. KAREN I got you a present, something for the road. She pushes A ZIPPO THROUGH the grate. KAREN (CONT'D) I have to take it away, though, soon as the ride's over. Before Foley can say anything, the back door is opened once more and the Marshal helps ANOTHER PRISONER -- a black man with a shaved head -- into the back of the van. FEDERAL MARSHAL Jack Foley meet Hejira Henry. An annoyed Foley stares at the guy as the marshal shuts the door then gets in up front with Karen. FOLEY Hejira? What kinda name is that? HEJIRA Islamic. FOLEY What's it mean, "No Hair"? HEJIRA The Hejira was the flight of Mohammed from Mecca in 622. FOLEY The flight? HEJIRA The brothers in Leavenworth gave me the name. FOLEY You were at Leavenworth, huh? HEJIRA For a time. FOLEY Meaning? HEJIRA Meaning time came, I left. FOLEY You busted out? HEJIRA I prefer to call it an exodus from an undesirable place. FOLEY (interested now) And how long was it before they caught up with you? HEJIRA That time? FOLEY There were others. HEJIRA Yeah. That was the ninth. FOLEY (really interested) The ninth? HEJIRA Ten, you count the prison hospital in Ohio I walked away from. FOLEY You must be some kinda walker, Henry. HEJIRA Hejira. FOLEY And so now you're off to Glades. HEJIRA Apparently, yeah. I was supposed to leave last night with the lady marshal, but for some reason she wanted to wait. FOLEY (looks at Karen) She did, huh. HEJIRA Cheaper I guess, take us both down in one van. FOLEY Yeah, could be. Or maybe she thought we'd have a lot to talk about. HEJIRA Like what? FOLEY I don't know. (then) It's a long way down to Florida. Foley glances at her, then turns back to Heiira Henry and considers the guy; a smile on Foley's face, his spirits a little higher than when he first sat down, as we then... CUT TO BLACK. 
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+                                   PANDORUM                                 Written by                                Travis Milloy                                                                           DEEP SPACE          A darkness like no other, a silence that is unsettling.          Sharp pinholes of light show a sea of distant stars across          the void of outer space. Our own motion is only realized as          an enormous object slowly moves towards us, taking shape.          A SPACE SHIP of unimaginable size, a tubular freighter easily          ten times larger then any aircraft carrier. At first glance          it appears lifeless and adrift, but slowly the small glow of          cockpit windows come into view as we move closer.          Moonlight cuts across the hull, displaying the name; EDEN.          BOWER (V.0.)          Where were you... when Eden was lost?          Like every other kid on my block, I was          in the middle of a dream, envious of          those who were chosen to be part of          mankind's greatest quest. Dreaming of          the unknown and trying to imagine what          only the lucky few would encounter.           We PUSH IN towards the cockpit windows and...                          DISSOLVE THRU:          INT. COCKPIT (EDEN) - CONT.          Inside the flight deck it's ghostly vacant, rows of empty          flight chairs and numerous guidance computers gently          blinking. With half filled coffee-cups and jackets hung over          the seat backs... it appears the control deck has been          suddenly evacuated.          Muffled SCREAMS are heard somewhere deeper inside the ship.          BOWER.(V.0.)          As the entire world watched in wonder,          there were only a few, skeptical of the          journey's success.                         (BEAT)          Only a few... who would be right.          The further we move into the ship... signs of violence          appear, smears of dark blood sharply standing out on the          bright white paneling and several broken computer screens.          The muffled SCREAMS grow louder and clearer... an argument          between men, panicked rage over-lapping.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              2.                         CONTINUED:          CAMERA slowly moves past a corner to see the middle-of a          violent confrontation. One OFFICER is locked inside a sleep          chamber, banging on the glass and pleading with panic.          Another OFFICER is on the floor, mortally wounded, his body          still twitching with his head bashed in. The INSANE OFFICER,          a young corporal is moving from terminal to terminal, typing          in commands with a casual and emotionless nature.          Blood streams have run down his face from both ears and nose          as he continues to type commands into the flight computer...          heightening the trapped OFFICER'S muffled,. screams.                         TRAPPED OFFICER                         (IN FRENCH)          STOP IT! STOP FOR GOD'S SAKES! PLEASE!          GOD NO!          The INSANE OFFICER hits the final command key and warning          buzzers ignite with flashing lights. He closes his eyes,          taking a breath of relief.                         TRAPPED OFFCIER                         (IN FRENCH)          STOP IT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS WILL          DO TO- YOU'RE NOT- STOP! YOU'RE GOING          TO FUCKING KILL US ALL!          The trapped OFFICER begins pounding on the glass with a          crazed panic as the INSANE OFFICER calmly goes to his own          sleep-pod and climbs inside, sealing the hatch.          TRAPPED OFFCIER (CONT-D)                         (IN FRENCH)          PLEASE GOD! NO! NO GOD DAMMIT!          Control panels flash and hydraulics ignite. Like a row of          tumbling dominos, each of the sleep-chamber pods shift          positions with a SHUSH of hydraulics and then... they are          launched with a ROAR of micro-jets.                         CUT TO:          EXT. SHIP "EDEN" - CONT.          We're suddenly back into the unsettling silence as... like a          bee hive that's exploded, thousands of coffin-sized sleep          pods are ejected from the ship in unison. They are sent          tumbling into open space in every direction as the ship          slowly continues its unaffected course.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              3.                         CONTINUED:          The trapped OFFICER is seen SCREAMING in silence inside his          own pod.                         DISSOLVE TO:          EXT. OUTER SPACE          We slowly float towards an astroid field. As we grow closer          it's the sea of sleep pods slowly floating through space.          BOWER (P.O.)          Where was I... when I heard we'd lost          Eden? Just like every other kid on my          block... I was dreaming... of being one          who would be chosen to follow.          As we move closer to the asteroid field of sleep pods, it's          obvious that time has passed, a single skeleton inside each          of the pods, hands in a clawing position towards the glass.          We PUSH IN towards one pod, moving towards the SKULL, still          locked in a SCREAMING position, wide mouthed and...                         CUT TO:          M. HYPER-SLEEP CHAMBER          A RUMBLE passes... EYELIDS TWITCH... A GASP.          Inside a coffin-size chamber, a dim glow of light seeps          through a small glass porthole. A MAN is asleep, a mask          attached to his face, tubes of liquid feeding into his arms.          CORPORAL BOWER, military physique, chiseled features. His          chest lightly expanding, blood pulsating through his veins.          Lights FLICKER PAST and his body comes to life, muscles          flinching, breath quickening. He squirms with discomfort,          ripping away the mask. He gasps, trying to SCREAM.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER COMPARTMENT - CONT.          His scream is muffled under three inches of glass. The hatch          door is hit with a THUD and white gases erupt from the edges.          THUD, THUD... THUD! The door bursts open and BOWER scampers          out, struggling to rip away the feeding tubes. He HITS the          floor, naked and gasping. His pores ignite, dripping sweat.          He tries to get to his feet, but his legs wobble underneath          him, collapsing. He yells at the floor.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              4.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER          Burns are red! Bruises... blue-          His voice echoes into the dark, alone in a cavernous room as          he pauses, struggling for orientation. He gets to his feet,          muscles twitching. His short-cropped hair is... pure white.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Hey...? HEY!!? Someone?          A constant low RUMBLE is present, joined by the occasional          MOAN and CREAK of a large ship. A SHUDDER travels through          the room with a random FLICKER of LIGHTS to reveal...          A massive steel compartment, tangled with technology. It's          cold and institutional. High-tech computer terminals slope          out of the floor. The FLICKER passes, taking us into black.          We hear him: fumbling through the room, switches are thrown          with no result and compartments are pulled opened and...          SNAP! A glow stick comes to life.          He squints at his darkened surroundings with confusion. A          drip of liquid catches his eye and he staggers back to his          sleep pod. He grabs the dangling tubes that were ripped from          his arm and he sucks on the tube, pulling as much liquid into          his mouth as possible.          After a few heavy gulps, he suddenly heaves towards the          floor. He painfully forces himself to drink, gasping.          He looks up to notice two sleep chambers next to his own. He          leans closer with the glow stick to see the first one, the          name plate reading; 2nd Lt. Cooper. It's EMPTY.          The third pod's name plate reads; LT. PAYTON. Deep inside          there is the figure of a man, asleep under a mask.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Payton? Lieutenant... Payton?          He turns back to his own pod, seeing the name plate that          reads; CORPORAL BOWER. Even this name doesn't seem familiar.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Bower? Bower...?          The loss of memory heightens his fear even more as a shiver          travels through his body while he staggers towards a nearby          computer terminal. He taps the keys on a computer terminal.          Nothing. He frowns, leaning closer.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              5.                         CONTINUED: (2)          As he taps the keyboard, powder blooms out from under his          fingers. He wipes the surface of the panel to see a thick          layer of dust. Under the smear is...          Elysium - Flight Systems - Operation Terminal #87153-D.          He pulls focus to see... his FINGERS are trembling          uncontrollably, an odd vibration of nerves. He slowly makes          a fist with concern.                         CUT TO:          INT. STORAGE LOCKER ROOM - MOMENTS LATER          BOWER walks along a row of storage lockers reading each name          plate. He stops at the locker labelled; Corp. Bower. He          pauses, mumbling the name once again with no recognition.                         BOWER          Bower.          He opens the locker to see an assortment of personalized          belongings, uniform and gear, none of it seeming familiar.          He uses a towel to wipe off the layer of sweat and oily          substance coating his body, pausing to see an identification          tattoo on his forearm that reads: FLT>>005»015.          He pulls on a black flight suit, emblems and military          markings of rank on the chest. He pulls on shoes and a tool          belt with a high powered pen-lamp.          On the inside of the locker is a emergency manual card with          block figures displaying breathing and stretching exercises,          labelled; Hyper-Sleep Disorientation Recovery Procedures.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          (reading to himself)          .in the event of mild memory loss...          resulting from extended-          He freezes on... A PHOTO tucked inside the door. EVALON, a          beautiful young woman smiling towards camera. He stares at          the-photo, his frown deepening with confusion. He checks the          back for a name, but nothing. He tucks the photo into a          pocket and exits.          DISSOLVE THRU BLACK:                                                                                                              6.          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER COMPARTMENT - LATER          BOWER waves his hand over a sensor... no power. He steps in          front of a heavy set of steel doors, flipping several          switches and... nothing.                         CUT TO:          BOWER breaks open a storage bin, pulling out beverage packets          and a cup, taking a seat at the control desk. With Evalon's          photograph leaned against the console, he becomes lost in a          gaze as he gulps down nutrient pills and stirs an instant          coffee as we...                         PUSH IN          There is a conflict in his eyes, memories trying to return.                         FLASH CUT          An image FLASHES past, EVALON smiling as BOWER kneels next to          her, gripping her hands.          BOWER'S gaze remains hollow, frown deepening as he sips the          cup and... winces with disgust.                         BOWER          Faa-uck!          Distant THUMPS. He pans the pen-lamp across the ceiling and          toward the sounds... PAYTON'S sleep chamber.          THUMP, THUMP, THUMP: Muffled and desperate. CRACK! Bower          jumps back as someone kicks their way out from inside, the          hatch bursting open. Out climbs...          PAYTON, a man in his forties, but the rugged physique of a          man half his age, lean and agile. His military-style hair          cut is also pure white. Gasping for breath, he hits the          floor as BOWER tries to help him. PAYTON jerks with shock.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Whoa! Hey... easy! Lt. Payton? You're-          Sir... whoa!          PAYTON chokes and gasps, then glances up, giving Bower a once          over with a frown and a sobering tone.                         PAYTON          Who are you?                         BOWER          Bower. Corporal... Bower, sir. I'm the-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              7.                         CONTINUED :                         PAYTON                         (NOT FAMILIAR)          Bower?                         BOWER          That's right. You're waking from                         EXTENDED HYPER-SLEEP-                         PAYTON          Corporal?                         BOWER          Yes, sir. This is disorientation from-                         PAYTON          corporal... Bower.                         BOWER          Yes. That's right, I'm-                         PAYTON          Wanna get that fucking light out of my          eyes, pal?                         BOWER          Sorry... sir.          PAYTON rubs his face with a frown.                         PAYTON          Where... are we?                         BOWER          We're aboard the Elysium. From what I've                         GATHERED-                         PAYTON                         (NOT FAMILIAR)          Elysium...? Where are we?                         BOWER          I don't... really know. There's no power          in the com and I can't even-                         PAYTON          Where's the... rest of the crew? It's          our shift? Our rotation-                         BOWER          I believe so.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              B.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         PAYTON          Aren't they suppose to be here... to wake          us?                         BOWER          Sir... I don't know where anyone is.          PAYTON takes breaths, trying to regain his senses, glancing          around at their darkened surroundings.                         PAYTON          Hit the lights, will ya?                         BOWER          Ah... we're having some power problems-                         PAYTON          Who woke you up?                         BOWER          Umm, not sure. It had to have been the          flight computer. There's no one here...          (off his look)          .except us.                         PAYTON          Cold in here.          BOWER grabs him a towel and water container, turning back to          see PAYTON doesn't waste any time, stretching his limbs.                         BOWER          There's no power coming off the main          grid. Can't fire any of the...          (searching for word)          Dynos. Can't even open the doors.          PAYTON glances to the other empty sleep-chamber with a frown.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          (off his look)          Our 2nd Lieutenant? I don't know where          he is. It was empty when I woke up.          None of the systems are on-line.          Mainframe is down, so I don't know how or          why it engaged independently-                         PAYTON          Bower .                         BOWER          Yeah?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              9.                         CONTINUED: (3)                         PAYTON          Until I have two coffees you're just          gonna have to repeat all this shit, so          let's just idle here for a bit.                         BOWER          Sorry. I just- Just glad to see you          awake. i was... a little concerned. I          didn't know what to do if-          PAYTON gets to his feet, stumbling. BOWER catches him under          the arm as they stagger into the wall.          BOWER (CONT`D)          Easy... Lieutenant. Easy.                         PAYTON          Coffee?                         BOWER          I'm on it.                         PAYTON          Good man.          BOWER helps him to the locker room as LIGHTS FLICKER past.                         CUT TO:          INT. STORAGE LOCKER ROOM - MOMENTS LATER          PAYTON staggers along the row of storage lockers as BOWER          helps guide him with the flashlight beam. PAYTON pauses with          a frown as he glances across the name-plates, none of them          seeming familiar. BOWER gestures toward the locker, the name-          plate reads: LT. PAYTON.                         BOWER          This is you, sir.                         PAYTON          How do you know that?                         BOWER          1 It's... the name on your sleep pod, sir.          PAYTON opens the door to see his belongings inside, a photo          of WIFE (MARIANNE) inside the door. He stares at it with          utter confusion. BOWER takes this in, looking to the memory          recovery card inside the locker.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              10.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER (CONT'D)          it says that the memory loss is only          suppose to be a momentary loss that's-                         PAYTON          Very reassuring. I guess when you gamma          the brain into extended REM, sometimes it          can take a while to get it back.          PAYTON pulls on his flight uniform and squeezes his feet into          his shoes. BOWER notices the identification tattoo on his          forearm, partially obscured from view;          FLT>>00... (obscured by grime, hair and angle). Unlike his          own, PAYTON'S tattoo is faded with age.                         BOWER          I've been awake for at least an hour and          I still can't remember my... anything.                         PAYTON          Listen, the last time I crawled out of a          hyper bunk, it took me... quite a while          to get it all back.          BOWER holds his frown as PAYTON squeezes his finger into a          wedding ring.                         BOWER          What was... your last flight, sir?                         PAYTON                         (BEAT)          Don't recall. The Kuiper Belt odyssey?          Don't worry, it'll come back, eventually.          PAYTON kisses the photo of his wife.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          I've gone through this before. I just          can't remember why I would agree to do it          again.          PAYTON goes to close his locker and BOWER motions with a          serious tone.                         BOWER          Sir? I know this is going to sound          strange, but do you even know where we're          going? I can remember the training,          but... not the mission. Know the          procedures, not the... destination.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              11.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         PAYTON          I figured you'd tell me.                         BOWER          Didn't even know the ship's name until I          saw it-on the console. For all I know          this was another damn training exercise-                         PAYTON          Trust me, it's not. if this is a          simulation...          PAYTON notices both of their reflections off the mirrored          panel inside the locker... revealing their WHITE HAIR.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          Someone is taking the joke a little far.          He shuts the locker and they exit, the flashlight's beam          panning away, taking us into darkness.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER COMPARTMENT/CONTROL DESK - LATER          BOWER and PAYTON are standing at the control console, the          screens flickering with distortion. BOWER hands him a coffee          and PAYTON takes a sip... with a wince of disgust.                         BOWER          None of the activators are working.                         PAYTON          Figures. We can ride two hundred          thousand tons of space freighter across          the galaxy without a dent in the hood,          but can't get one good cup of coffee.          PAYTON flips a few switches with no result of power.                         BOWER          Without the mainframe, we can't connect.          I don't know how we'll ever be able to-          PAYTON is in his element at the control desk, flipping open          an emergency auxiliary-power panel. He snaps open a handle          and he forcefully gives it several rotations with a MOAN of          whirling magnetos. The hand-crank allows a dim glow of          electricity to the light panels.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Oh, I- didn't even think of that.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              12.                         CONTINUED:          PAYTON gives him a look with a grin and flips a switch.                         PAYTON          Payton on the con. Respond? This is Lt.          Payton of flight Team...? Shit-                         BOWER          Five.                         PAYTON          Five? How do you know that?          BOWER pulls up his sleeve, exposing his tattoo ID. PAYTON          nods, "good thinking."                         PAYTON (CONT-D)          Lt. Payton of Flight Team Five. Does          anyone copy? Anyone... respond? Anyone          awake up there?          Dead static.                         BOWER          Team Four suppose to be here for the          shift rotation. Where could they be?                         PAYTON          Fucking teamsters. Maybe they couldn't          get to us.          BOWER eyes the third empty sleep-chamber.                         BOWER          Where could he have gone?          PAYTON gazes off blankly. A RUMBLE of FLICKERING LIGHTS pass          and the computer screens slowly fade, going black.                         PAYTON          The power systems must be free-floating          off blown circuits or something. The          over-ride grid won't even lock in.                         BOWER          Whatta ya think?                         PAYTON          I think we need to find a deck of cards          and call the union.          Distant THUMPS are heard overhead and they freeze... watching          the ceiling with uncertainty.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              13.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         BOWER          Somebody... is up there.                         PAYTON          Hmm. Ventilation... maybe. Systems keep          re-booting after each surge. That could          be anything.          THUMPS fade as the ship eerily MOANS and CREAKS.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          I say we get out of here. I'd rather be          up and out then stuck in the trunk.          The room is blocked by the two heavy steel doors on either          end, security doors ten feet wide. PAYTON leads the way          towards one end, gesturing towards the doors.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          We're not far from the bridge but without          the circuits locked in... I don't know          how we could ever get this thing open.          As they approach, their flashlight beams pan across the door          to see jagged chips and scratches all along the edges. Tools          are scattered on the floor, the control panel ripped open.                         BOWER          Jesus. Somebody was trying to get out.                         PAYTON          Ironic. I think it was built to protect          us.                         BOWER          (gesturing to the third pod)          Well, he got out... some how.          A RUMBLE approaches... another SHUDDER that FLICKERS the          lights. They watch the ceiling as BOWER counts in his head          as it fades.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Cycle is broken.                         I                         PAYTON          What?                         BOWER          It's not circuitry. Reactor timing is          off-set in the core. Seems sporadic, but          it's not. Each revolution decreasing          before starting over from the beginning.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              14.                         CONTINUED: (3)                          BOWER (CONT'D)          It's trying to reconnect, but it won't          until it's reset.                         PAYTON          How the hell do you know that?                         BOWER          I dunno. I can't remember my own- but I          know everything there is to know about          that damn reactor.                         PAYTON          The training stuck.                         BOWER          And I know that...          Another SHUDDER approaches.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          That's twelve revolutions, before          recycling. And this one will only last-          As they watch the ceiling, their flashlight beams stop on a          small ventilation shaft that's been ripped open. They          exchange a look and...                         CUT TO:          INT. VENTILATION SHAFT - MOMENTS LATER          Their lights spill inside an endless steel shaft only a foot          and a half in diameter, leading into darkness.                         PAYTON          Now if we only had a monkey and a rope.          PAYTON climbs down as BOWER rotates his jaw with eagerness.                         BOWER          Our 2nd Lieutenant must have gone this          way. Don't you think?                         PAYTON          Must have.                         BOWER          It's the only way out.                         PAYTON          I think we're better off... waiting here-                         BOWER          For what? If the mainframe is off-line-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              15.                         CONTINUED :                         PAYTON          We're not going to be able to get to the          bridge or even be able to open that door          from the other side-                         BOWER          But we can at least find out what's                         HAPPENED-                         PAYTON          Do you remember just how big this ship          is, kid? We don't know where that will          come out, if at all-                         BOWER          But, we can at least try to-                         PAYTON                         (SOBERLY)          I can't do that.                         BOWER          Can't do... Sir?                         PAYTON          Listen, I have to take a handful of          Doxitol just to get in the hyper-bunk.                         BOWER          You're... claustrophobic?                         PAYTON          I can take a lot, that's not one of 'em.                         BOWER                         (BOLDLY)          I can take it.                         PAYTON                         (SIGH)          Real boy scout, is that it? You get lost          in there and you're a footnote in the                         FLIGHT REPORT-                         BOWER          You can guide me... over two-way.          PAYTON eyes him over with reluctance.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          You know there's something wrong. How          long can we wait in here before we have          to try something?                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              16.                         CONTINUED: (2)                          BOWER (CONT'D)          (gesturing to 2nd Lt pod)          How long did he wait?          Silent stare as a SHUDDER passes, flickering the lights.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          What if no one else is awake and there's          no one at the wheel?                         CUT TO:          INT. STORAGE LOCKER ROOM - MOMENTS LATER          They dig through compartments, collecting tools. BOWER puts          on a boom-mic, clips the radio on his belt and tests the          transmitter. PAYTON goes through a drawer of office          supplies, handing him an ENVELOPE OPENER.                         PAYTON          Just in case...          (off his look)          .there's mail you need to open quickly.          BOWER tucks it into a zipper pocket and his photograph falls          out. PAYTON watches as he tucks it back in and zips up.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          Wife...?                         BOWER          Yeah... I think so.                         PAYTON          Must be newlyweds. How can you forget          something like that?                         BOWER          What do-you remember? Anything yet?                         PAYTON          Some pieces.                         (EYES NARROWING)          Still a little fuzzy but you're the cocky          little shit who wanted the window seat?                         BOWER          And you're the cranky old bastard who          made me take the aisle.                         PAYTON          Give it some more time, pal.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              17.          INT. VENTILATION SHAFT - MOMENTS LATER          BOWER squeezes inside, pushing himself forward several feet          as PAYTON peeks inside behind him. With one last look, BOWER          holds the pen-lamp in his teeth and begins to crawl, pushing          himself forward on his stomach, only several inches at a time          in a rhythmic motion.          Grunt, slide, breath. Grunt, slide, breath.          PAYTON'S flashlight slowly fades from sight.          DISSOLVE THRU BLACK:          INT. VENTILATION SHAFT - LATER          Slowly the sound approaches...                         1          Grunt, slide, breath. Grunt, slide breath.          BOWER'S pen-lamp slowly emerges and he pauses to catch his          breath. With anxiety shown across his sweat coated face, he          squints down the endless shaft.                         BOWER                         (GASPING)          Dammit.          PAYTON'S voice crackles over the radio.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          How we doing?                         BOWER          Nothing yet. Christ, not a single vent          opening or- Nothing. How about on your          end?                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - CONT.          PAYTON is seated at the control desk, the light panel fading.          He hand-cranks the auxiliary handle and then continues          tapping the keys as they flicker with distortion.                         PAYTON          Power surges keep coming across in longer          increments, just like you said.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              18.                         CONTINUED:                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          I'm gonna keep trying to get inside and          run a dyno. Or at least try to get a          pizza delivered.                         CUT TO:          INT. VENTILATION SHAFT - CONT.          BOWER frowns as he squints down the shaft.                         BOWER          Hey?          BOWER quickly pushes himself forward reaching an intersection          in the shaft.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Got an intersection here.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          What are the choices?          The light pans to endless shafts in each direction. He SNAPS          a glow stick to life, letting it drop down the vertical          shaft... silently into nothing.                         BOWER          A whole lot of the same... nothing.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          If you're gonna take a turn let's keep          track. That way you can get back if          there's no way out.                         BOWER          Don't say that.          BOWER lowers his head, breathing heavily.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          If you haven't seen anything yet... maybe          you should head back now.          BOWER sets his jaw and suddenly spots a SPIDER, gently          dropping down from a string of web. It lands and quickly          scurries away.                         BOWER          (under his breath)          I'll be damned.          BOWER collects himself, a tightened jaw of determination.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              19.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER (CONT'D)          I'm taking a left. Make a note.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Left it is.          BOWER turns the corner to follow the spider's path, the glow          of the lamp slowly fading.                         DISSOLVE THRU:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          A wall of monitors FLICKER, only offering a quick glance of          surveillance cameras on the ship, images too quick and          distorted to recognize but resembling empty corridors and          vast cargo compartments.                         I          PAYTON looks to the name plate that reads Elysium and a small          emblem above it, a global shape with a spiral design.                         PUSH IN          As he stares at the emblem, it seems memories are returning,          a frown hardening on his face.          Distant THUMPS snap him from his trance and he pans his          flashlight towards the wall.          THUMP... SCRAPE... THUMP.          He nervously pans his light slowly up the wall and across the          ceiling. A shiver of uneasiness goes through him as he sits,          trapped within the room alone. He tries to divert his fears,          turning to the control screen, giving the hand-crank a whirl.                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. VENTILATION SHAFT - LATER          Pitch black. Grunt, slide, breath. Grunt, struggle, breath.          BOWER pauses, digging for his lamp. He's soaked with sweat,          eyes nearing desperation. Pipes are cutting through the          shaft on both sides, making his crawl space even smaller and          much more difficult.                         BOWER                         (GASPING)          Payton?          Nothing but STATIC.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              20.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Payton!? Do you copy!? HEY!?          Finally...          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          (filled with static)          I'm here. You alright?          BOWER rubs the sweat from his eyes, anxiety increasing with          his heavy breathing.                         BOWER          I dunno. I dunno if I can- I can't tell          if I'm going in circles or- There's          nothing to- Can't breath-                         PAYTON          Easy, pal. Breath easy. Listen to me-          BOWER squirms, pushing outward against the walls of the shaft          with an increasing panic.                         BOWER          I just want... to stand up for God's          sakes! Can't breath-          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Calm down. Listen, you gave it a shot.          Let's get you back here.                         BOWER          Back!? Are you kidding- I can't turn          around! I can't even- Do you know how          far I've gone!?          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Take it easy-          BOWER bangs the wall of the shaft with desperation.                         BOWER          I just want OUT of this FUCKING THING!                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          PAYTON is helpless, listening as BOWER is heard on the radio          starting to FREAK OUT.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              21.                         CONTINUED:                         PAYTON          Bower? BOWER!? Stop it. Stop it!          Just listen to me. Put it out of your          head. Stop moving and breath. Listen to                         MY VOICE-          BOWER (ON RADIO)          I can't... breath!                         PAYTON          Put your mind somewhere else-          BOWER (ON RADIO)          Like WHERE!?                         PAYTON          Well... this may not be the best time to          tell you, but I got the door open.                         I                         CUT TO:          INT. VENTILATION SHAFT          BOWER freezes in shock.                         BOWER          WHAT!? Are you fucking kidding me!?          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Yeah. I'm kidding you.          BOWER lowers his head with exhaustion and a chuckle.          PAYTON (ON RADIO) (CONT'D)          There ya go. Now just breath. Easy,          pal. Easy. We'll get you through this.          We'll figure this out together. Hear me?          I do remember something.                         BOWER          What's that?          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          My dream. On the way out. Real doozy.          There I was at the Rose Bowl game. Naked          and everyone was drunk but me. Spent two          years looking for clothes. Long fucking          Rose Bowl game.          BOWER chuckles, his breathing growing more steady.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              22.                         CONTINUED :                         BOWER          Dream like that, sounds like you've got          some... guilt issues.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Or just... clothing issues.                         BOWER          Two years?          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Huh?                         BOWER          You said two years. You think we've been          asleep for two years?          I PAYTON (ON RADIO)          I do remember that being our duty          rotation and... if we're team five that          means we've been out for...                         BOWER                         (HAUNTING REALIZATION)          .eight years.          BOWER pulls the photo from his sleeve pocket, shining the          flashlight onto Evalon's image.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          (under his breath)          That can't be right.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          What can't be?                         BOWER          Why would I-leave her? I can't even          remember saying good-bye. Why would I?                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - CONT.          PAYTON ponders the thought while gazing at the ship's emblem.                         PAYTON          Well, you aren't here on default. This          was a select pick. This flight was...          different.          BOWER (ON RADIO)          Different... how?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              23.                         CONTINUED:                         PAYTON          We're not just doing speed laps on the          belt. This was something... special.                         CLOSE UP          PAYTON gently rubs his hand across the emblem carved in the          steel, brushing away the layer of dust as his finger tips          TREMBLE. He pauses with a frown as a SHUDDER approaches...                         CUT TO:          INT. VENTILATION SHAFT - CONT.          The SHUDDER is felt inside the shaft, EVALON'S photo          trembling under the flashlight beam.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)                         1          I remember... being interviewed. My          mother seeing me on the news. This          flight was... like no other. We weren't          just pilots...          BOWER looks up, shining the light down the shaft as the          SHUDDER fades. He pauses to see small bolts protruding from          the wall, small pieces of ripped fabric and smears of blood.          PAYTON (ON RADIO) (CONT-D)          We were... heroes. We were-          BOWER (INTO RADIO)          Someone's been through here.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          What?          He pushes himself closer, squeezing between pipes for a          closer look..                         BOWER          Someone's been...          BOWER notices the droplets of sweat dripping off his chin are          rolling forward across the shaft floor with a frown.          BOWER (CONT" D )          Wait a second-                         PAYTON          What's wrong?                         BOWER          I'm... I'm at an angle! Shit!                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              24.                         CONTINUED:          BOWER panics as he begins to slide forward into a downward          sloping shaft, clawing at the walls. The flashlight falls,          rolling and sliding into the darkened abyss. He frantically          tries to grip a pipe, but his hand slips, picking up speed.          BOWER (CONT`D)          No, no... N00000!          He slides head first into a vertical drop, the shaft          tightening like a funnel, crushing his lungs and SLAM! He          crashes into a steel grate where his flashlight lays. It's a          nightmarish head stand, his neck twisted with all his weight          on top of himself, squirming with no where to squirm.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          BOWER!?          The flashlight falls through the grate and he watches in          horror as the light drops, fading from sight, taking him into          darkness.                         BOWER          Aaaaeirrrgh!                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          PAYTON quickly leans toward the console, gripping the radio.                         PAYTON          Bower!? What happened? Bower!?          All he can hear is the muffled, panicked struggle. The          RUMBLE of a power surge approaches.                         CUT TO:          INT. VENTILATION SHAFT          Pitch BLACK. BOWER squirms, twisting and heaving inside the          steel vise deathtrap. GASP, GASP, GASP! And then...          The RUMBLE approaches. A SHUDDER that sends a domino effect          of metallic CLANKS towards him from below. Small shafts of          light break through as small vents open in the side walls.          His fingers dig the envelope opener from his pocket as the          RUMBLE fades, CLANKING the vents shut just as...          He stabs the envelope opener into an open vent. Metal bends.          He begins to BANG his elbow against the vent, over and over.          BANG! BANG! BANG!                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              25.                         CONTINUED:          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Bower!? Answer me!          BANG, BANG... BASH! He breaks the vent and kicks until he's          able to push his legs through, into darkness, scrambling.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          PAYTON is on the edge of his chair, pressing the speaker to          his ear.                         PAYTON          Bower...!?          Through the static comes a HOWL of victory.                         BOWER          I'm... out! I'm-          PAYTON breathes a heavy sigh of relief.                         PAYTON          Jesus, don't scare me like that! Where          are you?                         CUT TO:          INT. STORAGE BIN          BOWER snaps a GLOW STICK to life to see himself inside a          small box-shaped bin, kneeling on top of dozens of BOOTS.                         BOWER          I'm- I'm inside a boot locker!          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          A what!?                         BOWER          I'm inside a God damn-          He shoves outward and the door SNAPS open. He falls out,          flips through the air and SLAMS to the floor, an IMPACT on          the radio sends...                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          A POP of static erupts over the speaker.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              26.                         CONTINUED:                         PAYTON          Bower...? You alright? BOWER!?                         CUT TO:          INT. STORAGE COMPARTMENT - CONT.          BOWER painfully gets to his feet to see rows of storage          compartments, looking up to the storage bin he fell out of.                         BOWER          Make that an overhead compartment. You          with me, Payton? I got out. Hear me?          He checks the transmitter, crackling with static.                         CUT TO:                         I          I INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - CONT.          PAYTON adjusts the frequency with concern.                         PAYTON          Bower? Do you hear me? Bower...?          Nothing but STATIC.                         CUT TO:          INT. STORAGE COMPARTMENT - CONT.          BOWER digs into a storage bin, finds another flashlight and          goes to a single paneled hatch. He flips the switch and          .nothing. His eyes quickly search for a solution.                         CUT TO:          INT. STORAGE COMPARTMENT/CORRIDOR -- MOMENTS LATER          A panel is BUSTED open and BOWER jabs a pipe into the gap,          forcing the door open. SHUSH... the hydraulic pistons ignite          and the hatch slides open with an echoing... THUD!          He cautiously steps out into...                         FOLLOW THRU:          INT. CORRIDOR - CONT.          His beam of light stabs into the darkness of the massive          corridor. This is our first sense of the enormity of the          ship, endless steel ribbed passageways that stretch in both          directions as far as the light will illuminate.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              27.                         CONTINUED:          BOWER (INTO RADIO)          Payton? You there...?          He cautiously ventures down the corridor as LIGHTS FLICKER          past, getting a quick glimpse of just how incredibly far the          corridors run. He steps up to an intersection of corridors,          adjusting the frequency on his radio.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Payton? Can you hear me!?          Dead static. He sighs, looking down each of the corridors,          all appearing identical and endless.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Which way is which?          I He examines the piping that runs along the ceiling, checking          the direction of the valves and guesses, picking a direction.          He walks to the edge of the next corridor and pauses with a          frown. Glancing down the side corridor, fifty yards away,          something is off. Within the symmetrical framing of steel,          there is a rounded shape that is out of place.          Be cautiously steps closer as the object takes the shape          of... a MAN, standing at the edge of a doorway, head slightly          cocked, peeking out.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Hey...!?          BOWER freezes, caught in a silent stand-off, the MAN'S          motionless stare is unsettling.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Hello...?          A low RUMBLE approaches as LIGHTS FLICKER past to reveal...          The MAN'S face, hauntingly contorted, swollen features. The          MAN is dead, hanging from a cable around his neck, naked and          gutted like an animal, his feet hanging an inch off the          floor. His face is brutally beaten.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Jesus... Christ. Jesus-          BOWER back pedals with fear and confusion as distant THUMPS          make him quickly click off his light and he backs away,          fading into the dark. His whisper fades.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              28.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         BOWER (CONT'D)                         (PANICKED)          Payton...? Are you there? Answer me.          FADE THRTJ BLACK :          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - LATER          PAYTON is pacing back and forth while switching his radio          transmitter through the channels, one at a time.                         PAYTON          Bower? You there?                         (CLICK)          Com'on, man. You there?                         (CLICK)          Bower:?          The familiar sound slowly returns overhead...          SCRAPE... THUMP... SCRAPE.          The "sounds" are heard, muffled and now closer then before.          With the flashlight leading the way he explores into a corner          of the room, tangled with pipes.          SCRAPE... THUMP!          Something is just beyond the wall, trying to get in. PAYTON          back pedals, searching for any form of a weapon. He SNAPS          the handle off a storage bin, wielding it like a baseball bat          as he slowly back pedals to the control desk.          He continues his search across the radio channels, keeping          his eyes toward the corner as... his FINGERS on the switch          seem to be TREMBLING with more intensity.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          Bower? Can you hear me?                         (CLICK)          Bower? Answer me, God dammit.          DISSOLVE THRU BLACK.          INT. MESS HALL - LATER          SHUSH... THUD! BOWER forces open a single paneled hatch door          and cautiously enters into an institutional style mess hall.          Hundreds of lunch tables and chairs. Random SPARKS of light          erupt from neon lights overhead.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              29.                         CONTINUED:          As he moves across the massive room, the neatly lined rows          gradually become more dishevelled, chairs knocked over and          unknown liquid dripping from the tables. Garbage litters the          floor, a dim glow of light emerging from the galley.          He crawls along the edge of the counter and peeks inside the          galley, horribly ran-sacked. In the midst of the wreckage, a          darkened FIGURE is seen scavenging through the cupboards,          angrily tossing empty containers aside.          The FIGURE pauses, sensing a presence and glances back as...          BOWER ducks. He contemplates, pulling out the envelope          opener and slowly peeks back out and...          POW! He's HIT in the face, blood spraying, slamming onto his          back. The pen-lamp and envelope opener spin across the          floor. BOWER tries to get up and he's grabbed by the hair, a          blade pressed against his neck.                         I          A woman's voice growls into his ear, in German.                         NADIA          Keine Bewegung!                         BOWER          What-!?          He tries to look up and... CRACK! Instant swelling over his          eye from a hit. She kicks the envelope opener away.                         NADIA                         (GERMAN ACCENT)          Don't move!                         BOWER                         (DAZED)          Wait a second-                         NADIA          Don't you move MOTHER FUCKER!          She quickly pats him down, stealing tools. All he can see is          her bare feet, blackened from oil. He frowns to see her toe-          nails painted with bright pink polish.          NADIA, a torn jump suit, snarled hair hiding her face, skin          smeared with oil. A beautiful woman underneath an          apocalyptic smear of grunge. Her hair is pure white, high-          lighted with smears of oil.                         BOWER          Wait- I'm part of the crew! I'm-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              30.                         CONTINUED: (2)          CRACK! A hit silences him and the forceful frisk continues.          She pauses to see Evalon's photograph, throwing it aside. He          grabs the photo and she shoves the blade deeper into his          neck.                         NADIA          DON'T FUCKING MOVE!                         BOWER          I won't! Please! Just listen- I'm not-                         NADIA          Take them off!                         BOWER          What!?                         NADIA          SHOES! I'll gut your ass-                         BOWER          Alright, alright! Take it easy!          He begins to remove his shoes and the radio on his belt          suddenly CRACKLES with activity.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Bower? You there-?          BOWER lunges and they go into a violent spin, crashing over a          table. Dishes clatter, gasps and grunts... only glimpses of          the fight through the flicker of light.          CRACK! BOWER'S hit, sent flying and he looks up to see her          silhouette approaching, edged weapon in her hand.                         BOWER          Stop! Stop it! Listen to me! Hold it!          she attacks and he frantically throws dishes and chairs to          fend her off. She throws the blade, the blunt end deflecting          off his forearm.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          You crazy fucking bitch-          He wields the only weapon he can find... his shoe. And her          attack abruptly halts, slowly back pedalling with fright.          BOWER is confused, realizing her eyes are looking past him.          A BLUISH GLOW seeps in from the doorway, approaching from the          corridor. He looks back to see NADIA is running for the          kitchen... gone.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              31.                         CONTINUED: (3)                         BOWER (CONT'D)                         SHIT-          He ducks below the tables as a FIGURE slowly enters the room,          carrying a long steel spear-like device with a splinter of          blinding BLUE FIRE on the tip, fueled with a chemical sprayer          like a welder's torch.          His obstructed view reveals the FIGURE as a tribal warrior,          scantily clad, elongated muscular frames, pale skin coated in          hydraulic fluid. Bald head with clumps of tangled hair. It          moves smoothly and silently, jabbing the tip of the flaming          device into each corner and crevasse, as if flushing out          anything hidden.                         BOWER (CONT-D)          (under his breath)          What the hell is-          The FIGURE quickly spins his direction and SNAPS a lever on          the spear-device, killing the blue flame and taking us          instantly into darkness.          BOWER holds his breath with fright, back pedalling on his          knees as his eyes try to adjust to the dark. He takes an          uneasy breath to realize... there is more then one.          Slowly moving out of the shadows, four more HUNTERS slowly          emerge, like a unified pack on the prowl. They carry an          assortment of crudely made weapons, spears and blades of          sharpened metal.          The apparent leader of the pack is HEFLIN, the largest and          strongest of the group and he directs the pack with an          assortment of odd vocal sounds, deep HISSES from the throat          and gargled CACKLES.          On command, the one HUNTER flips a lever and the BLUE FLAME          crackles back to life with a burst of flammable liquid. The          hunt continues, the pack weaving through the debris,          following NADIA'S path.          As the BLUISH GLOW fades, BOWER is left bewildered and          terrified. Suddenly, his radio sounds...          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Is that you!? Bower--          BOWER frantically flips it off as one of the HUNTERS suddenly          turns back.                         E          WEASEL, a small framed hunter searches the area like a          hunting dog, sniffing the spot.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              32.                         CONTINUED: (4)          On closer examination, WEASEL is coated with war paint and          decorative scars marking his skin.                         BOWER POV          The only clear view is off an overturned bowl that shows          WEASEL'S face, oddly contorted in the rounded reflection.          WEASEL is headed directly for BOWER until.., a HISS from          HEFLIN calls him back. WEASEL takes one last look before          turning back, the torch fades from view, taking us into          black.          We hear... BOWER'S breath, heightened gasps of fear as he          begins to crawl away.          DISSOLVE THRU BLACK:          I INT. OFFICER'S QUARTERS - LATER                         I          Pitch black. Sounds of the ship surround us along with the          occasional FLICKER of LIGHT. A whispered conversation          between BOWER and the radio slowly comes into ear-shot as we          find him, hidden beneath a console.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          (muffled with static)          .with that marking, she's got to be          part of the passenger manifest. Possibly          a glitch in the LFS support system, a          breakdown in the main grid must have          woken passengers, instead of the flight          crew.                         BOWER          But, why would she try to kill me!? She          was going to slit my throat! And why          would they look like that?          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Look like what?                         BOWER          You should have seen these guys. They          were... a very fucked up looking gang.          Why the hell would they be-- Payton,          they were hunting.          BOWER gives himself a shiver as he fearfully checks over his          shoulder, eyes shifting with fear.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Hunting!?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              33.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER          They sure-as-shit weren't a welcoming          party from the Promenade deck! These          guys were... looking to do some damage.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Take it easy-                         BOWER          We've got to try to contact the bridge.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          You're assuming there is someone on the          bridge.                         BOWER          You're not!? We're not the only ones          awake. Team Four wouldn't go back to          sleep without waking us for rotation.          Maybe they're on the main deck?                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - CONT.          PAYTON goes to the doors, coated with desperate scrapes and          dents.                         PAYTON          If they're in there... why haven't they          thrown the security hammer into lock          down? Seal and freeze it until the          emergency units wake?                         BOWER          Maybe they can't. With the systems          kicking on and off- Maybe they're flying          blind, with no control of the LFS?          PAYTON eyes the scattered tools across the floor and the          ripped open ventilation shaft.                         PAYTON          Either way we can't assume help will be          coming. On-board or off. Out here,          there is no rescue. There is no turning          around. This thing wasn't even built...          .to return.          He pauses off the involuntary memory relapse, looking to the          I computer screens, taking in the thought.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              34.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER          What are you talking about?          PAYTON glances across the control console, nodding with more          memories returning.                         PAYTON          This is no regular transport. We're not          out collecting data off the belt or          hauling cargo... we are the cargo. It          was a single launch trajectory for...          That's as far as his memory allows, his words trailing off.                         CUT TO:          INT. OFFICER'S QUARTERS - CONT.          BOWER completes his thought, in a daze.                         BOWER          .Tanis. Planetary processing and          population. We're a settler's vessel.                         (HAUNTING REALIZATION)          Elysium. This was a one-way ticket.          BOWER'S gaze goes distant as...                         FLASH IMAGE          Another place, another time, BOWER leans closer on a bed,          watching EVALON sleep. There is a a deep love in his eyes.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          (under his breath)          How could I have... left her? Why would          I have done that? I loved her...          BOWER snaps out of his trance.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Payton!? Where is your wife?                         PAYTON          What?                         BOWER          We didn't leave them behind. No one did.          They're on this flight! Remember the          recruitment.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              35.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER (CONT'D)          The fucking breeding tests- The wives,          the husbands- The- She's on this God          damn flight!                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL, DESK          PAYTON is remembering, eyes widening with the realization,          not completely at ease with the thought.          BOWER (ON RADIO)          They're here. Somewhere on board.                         CUT TO:          INT. OFFICERS QUARTERS          With a new energy of determination, BOWER crawls out of his          hiding place, panning the light to reveal the compartment, an                         I          officer's living quarters. The room is designed in a          circular shape, angling up the wall at a ninety degree angle.          He quickly begins to search for tools and weapons.                         BOWER          I've got to find her... before those          fucking animals do! I've got to-          BOWER ransacks the compartments, tossing aside items.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Try to think of where they would be? A          sleeping compartment for non-service                         PERSONNEL OR-                         PAYTON          Hold it, hold it! Think about this for a                         SECOND                         BOWER          What's there to think about!? I          remember! There was thousands of          passengers that weren't part of the          development team. Families that-                         PAYTON          No, listen to me! LISTEN! You know how          big this ship is and there's no way of          knowing exactly where- If you go on some          wild goose chase to try to find her-                         BOWER          I HAVE TO-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              36.                         CONTINUED:                         PAYTON          And then we would be no closer to getting          out of this situation with even less time          to regain control of the ship.          BOWER stews, wanting to retort, his mind is racing.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          Our job is to obtain control of this          ship. Once we've taken control of the          systems, finding them would be easy. Are          you hearing me? We save the ship... we          can save them all.                         BOWER          But... how do we-          I r PAYTON          Where are you?                         I                         BOWER          (panning the light)          I dunno. Officer's quarters, somewhere          above D-level, I think- I don't-                         PAYTON          I can guide you. Find out where you are.          Hatch marker. Over the door.          His flashlight finds one of the hatch doors and he climbs up          the slanted wall to read the marker.                         BOWER          D-71643-L.                         PAYTON          Take it.          Climbing up the angled furnishings, he searches for any          available weapon. He notices a mantel that displays several          antique astrological and navigation devices. He spots an          antique pistol. He breaks the glass, grabbing the gun, but          it crumbles under his grip, falling to pieces.          He sighs, but pauses to see... because the furniture is          angled, his light spots a hiding spot underneath the desk.          He pulls out a silver flask, bone dry. He reaches further,          pulling out an unusually shaped weapon, much like a sawed-off          shotgun with rounded edges. He snaps open the hand-crank          I lever and gives a forceful whirl. A slow MOAN of magnetos          causes the weapon's lights to dimly come to life.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              37.                         CONTINUED: (2)          He climbs upward to an open hatch in the ceiling as we...                         ANGLE ON          In the foreground, there is a small fish tank, completely dry          with a tiny fish skeleton laying on the bottom.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - CONT.          PAYTON spins the hand-crank, allowing the computer screen to          glow brighter. He quickly works the keyboard, pulling up a          diagram of the ship.          PAYTON (INTO RADIO)          Alright. I'll lay out a path for you and          see if we can by-pass the main security          doors.          BOWER (ON RADIO)          Guide me to where?                         PAYTON          Back toward the flight decks. Back to          me.          BOWER (ON RADIO)          I'm not coming back to you. What good          would that do? I can't open that door          from the other side--                         PAYTON          What chance have you got out there on          your own? We'll figure out a way to          breach the command bridge-          A power surge sends a SHUDDER and FLICKERING LIGHTS past...          FLICKER CUT TO:          INT. CORRIDOR - CONT.          The same shudder of FLICKERING LIGHTS passes BOWER as he          looks down the endless stretch of corridors, pondering.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Bower...?                         BOWER          Listen... if you can get me to the          reactor bay. I can... reset the          reactor's cycle.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              38.                         CONTINUED:          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          You know how to do that?                         BOWER                         (MASKING UNCERTAINTY)          Yes. If I can... we can take control of          the ship. Open the doors, lights, get on          the bridge. You got a better suggestion?                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - CONT.          PAYTON'S fingers slide across the blueprints, jotting down          hatch numbers and markers leading to the REACTOR BAY.          SOUNDS are heard in the walls... THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.          PAYTON is too focused on the job at hand to acknowledge them.                         CUT TO:          INT. CORRIDOR INTERSECTION - LATER          The flashlight emerges from the dark as BOWER reaches an          intersection, checking the marker and gasping for breath.                         I BOWER                         (GASPING)          Third crossing. Marker D-5381-X.                         PAYTON          Okay. Hold up. I don't want you to go          too far down that lane. Just catch your                         BREATH AND-                         BOWER                         (GASPING)          I don't need a rest. Which way?                         PAYTON          I don't know vet. Hold on-          BOWER backs to the wall, nervously scanning the corridor,          struggling for breath.          In the background a SHADOW moves at the end of the corridor.                         I          Feeling uneasy, BOWER slowly backs into a nearby compartment.          I FOLLOW THRU:                                                                                                              39.          INT. INFIRMARY - CONT.          BOWER looks across the wreckage of what was once an          infirmary, slash marks and battle scars from bladed weapons.          Through the wreckage he spots... what appears to be a WINDOW.          The haze of outer space and an odd-colored MOON are visible.                         BOWER          (under his breath)          Eden.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CH.A.MBER/CONTROL DESK          PAYTON suddenly leans forward in his chair, memory sparked.                         PAYTON          What did you say?                         I          BOWER (ON RADIO)          The Eden.          PAYTON nods, memories returning as he mumbles the name.                         PAYTON          Of all things to remember, why would you          pick that?                         CUT TO:          INT. INFIRMARY          BOWER climbs through the debris towards the apparent window,          but it's pretty far up a slanted wall and he begins to climb.                         BOWER          I'm just thinking, maybe there's          something we haven't considered. Eden          failed... because of ODS syndrome. The          one officer who was suffering from          Pandorum. Cabin Fever. Maybe there was          something similar with one of the earlier                         TEAMS-                         PAYTON          No, no, no. You're talking about- Eden          was lost because of a mechanical failure,                         I          simple as that. A systems malfunction.          BOWER pauses his climb, looking up towards the "apparent          window", inside what appears to be a bluish moon, dotted with          craters. He eagerly continues his climb, growing closer.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              40.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER          That was the report... but don't you          remember the story of the one flight          officer... the real story? They say he          went lunar, launched the entire ship,          five thousand people killed with the flip          of a switch. All from a bad case of          cabin fever-?                         PAYTON          spook story, along with a million others.          Eden was mechanical failure, not human          error. A. glitch... that was remedied way          before we ever-                         BOWER          And why did they switch the rotation          shifts from three years to two? And they          eliminated the manual over-ride-                         PAYTON          They did that for obvious reasons, not          because of Eden.          BOWER pauses... within reach of the window only to realize it          was an illusion. A glass compartment door left slightly ajar          was reflecting a circular light panel, smeared with oil to          give the illusion of craters. His shoulders drop in defeat.                         BOWER          Well, at least we didn't wake up...          floating away in a coffin.                         PAYTON          (under his breath)          Who says we didn't?          BOWER climbs down, peering out into the corridor.                         BOWER          Something happened to the other team?          Maybe there was... Pandorum.          BOWER looks to his own hand, cradling the weapon... his          FINGERS gently TREMBLING. He makes a fist and shakes his          hand, firmly grabbing the weapon.          I BOWER (CONT'D)          Which way?          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Left at the third marker. Two more          levels down and we're there.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              41.                         CONTINUUED : (2)          BOWER heads down the corridor, making a turn as...                         ANGLE ON          A shadowed FIGURE steps into view, slowly following his path          into darkness.                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          PAYTON is lost in thought as he watches the computer screens          slowly fade with power. He grabs the hand-crank lever, but          pauses to hear the sounds are returning, muffled and distant.          THUMP, SCRAPE... RATTLE.          He turns his light towards the ceiling and wall, which almost          seems to silence the sounds. The crackle of the radio snaps          him from his thoughts...          BOWER (ON RADIO)          This can't be right-                         PAYT ON          What's wrong?                         CUT TO:          INT. CORRIDOR          BOWER is crouched in the corridor, panning his light down the          corridor with shifting eyes of confusion.                         BOWER          Have I done a circle or am I doubling          back?          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Why do you say that?                         BOWER          I've seen this before. This-          We follow his flashlight to reveal... a BODY tangled in a          wire snare. It appears to be the same dead body he witnessed          before, but as he steps closer, it's different. This body          has ripped clothing and isn't gutted.          It's... SHEPARD, a thin-framed man in a torn crew uniform,          tangled in a wire snare wrapped tightly under his arm and          around his neck.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              42.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER (CONT'D)          a different one. There's booby-traps,          rigged to the-          SHEPARD'S eyes POP open wide with a terrified expression,          completely silent until BOWER sees him. BOWER jumps with          fright and SHEPARD wildly squirms, SCREAMING bloody-murder.                         SHEPARD          AAAAEEEE IH !          His SCREAMS echo down the corridor, desperately fighting          back, like an animal caught in a trap.                         BOWER          Stop it! Jesus, I'm not gonna- SHUT-UP!                         SHEPARD          NO! PLEASE!! AAAERRGH!          BOWER hits him in the gut, knocking the air from his lungs.          SHEPARD crumbles, wheezing for air, going silent.                         BOWER                         (ANGERED WHISPER)          I'm not gonna hurt ya! Just shut the          hell up! I'm gonna get you out of this          thing. But, you have to be quiet,          understand?          SHEPARD'S gaze is hollow and disturbed, deeply traumatized.          BOWER pulls on the wire that's rigged to the hydraulics of a          nearby doorway, SHEPARD moans.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Bower, you sure that's a good idea? He                         COULD BE-          SNAP! The wire snare snaps free and SHEPARD goes to the          floor gasping. BOWER kneels over him to help, but SHEPARD          erupts with a shriek, like a hyper-sensitive rape victim.          PAYTON (ON RADIO) (CONT'D)          Watch yourself!          BOWER hesitates, the flashlight reveals SHEPARD'S          identification tattoo through the ripped uniform and blood-          soaked bandages. It reads; FLT//006//017                         BOWER          He's... team six. The unit that's          suppose to follow us. He's-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              43.                         CONTINUED: (2)          As BOWER tries to wipe away blood, SHEPARD erupts again,          trying to scamper away from his touch.          BOWER (ON RADIO) (CONT'D)          Quiet! I'm not gonna hurt you!          SHEPA.RD begins to moan, mumbling and weeping as he rubs          circulation back into his limbs with nervous laughter.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Hey? You with me? You're gonna be          alright. Hear me?          Squinting past the glare of the flashlight, SHEPARD notices          BOWER'S clean uniform and the radio boom on his chin. He          begins to weep, tears of joy and agony.                         SHEPARD          Shepard, Thomas L. Team Six. Sector          Eight. I think I'm the only one, sir. I          knew it. I knew you'd be coming.                         BOWER          Huh?                         SHEPARD          Where's the rest of your squad?                         BOWER          Squad? My Lieutenant and I were the-                         SHEPARD          Where's the shuttle?                         BOWER          Shuttle? What are you talking about?          SHEPARD'S expression drops.                         SHEPARD          Aren't you the... retraction team? The                         RESCUE-                         BOWER          No, no. Hold on. I'm from this crew.          I'm from Team Five.          SHEPARD'S face goes pale, eyes going hollow. His demeanor          slowly begins to shift.                         SHEPARD          You... just woke up?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              44.                         CONTINUED: (3)                         BOWER          six... maybe eight hours ago. I had to          crawl all the way from the upper deck                         THROUGH THE-          SHEPARD seems bitterly impatient as he quickly begins          gathering his tool's off the floor. His eyes watch the end of          the corridor, now he's in a hurry.                         SHEPARD          So... you don't have a fucking clue to          what's happened? Is that it?                         BOWER          That's what we're trying to figure out!          Tell me- what happened!?                         I SHEPARD          (chuckle of disgust)          You know as much as I do.                         BOWER          I don't know anything.                         SHEPARD          You'll fit right in.          i SHEPARD feels along the pipes until he finds one leaking oil.          He vigorously begins to rub the oil onto his body.                         BOWER          What are you doing?                         SHEPARD          Get the scent off.                         BOWER          What ! ?          SHEPARD rubs oil across his neck and then goes to check the          corner, wrapping a strap around his fist to secure a          screwdriver into his hand.                         SHEPARD          I can't help you. I'm sorry.                         BOWER          Help.me? Wait a second-                         SHEPARD          They go off scent and sound as far as I          can tell and they're a lot fucking          stronger and faster they you'd think.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              45.                         CONTINUED : (4)                          SHEPARD (CONT'D)          When they come... run. Don't look back,          no matter what.                         BOWER          They- Who the hell are they!?                         SHEPARD          I can't wait for you.          BOWER is bewildered as SHEPARD poised like a sprinter,          preparing to run.          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Bower, you tell this asshole the chain of          command and a direct order to-                         BOWER          God dammit, WAIT! You're still an          officer of this ship and at present time,          your CO is ordering you to-                         SHEPARD                         (SCOFF)          ordering? For your information, there's          a new CO on board. So fuck you and your                         DRESS BLUE-          BOWER shoves him against the wall with force. Their struggle          i freezes as distant THUDS are heard down the corridor. They          both look to see... the GLOW of BLUE TORCFE'S growing.          SHEPARD begins to tremble, backing away. BOWER sets his jaw,          stepping out into the corridor and slowly cranks the power-          lever... with a WHINE of magnetos, raising the weapon.                         SHEPARD (CONT'D)                         (TERRIFIED WHISPER)          That's not going to help you.          SHEPARD runs as BOWER hesitates, holding the gun towards the          GLOW that grows brighter, HISSES and CACKLES approaching.                         PUSH IN          Fear over comes BOWER.                         BOWER          Payton...?                         1          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Get the hell out of there.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              46.                         I CONTINUED : (5)          BOWER turns and runs, trying to follow SHEPARD as SHADOWED          HUNTERS move past the end of the corridor.                         CUT TO:          INT. FILTRATION COMPARTMENT - MOMENTS LATER          BOWER has a difficult time trying to keep up as SHEPARD          weaves through a compartment filled with filtration units and          a maze of piping.          BOWER spots a clear path but BUMPS into glass. He realizes          the compartment is separated by thick glass dividers. He          changes directions and sees SHEPARD crawling through a vent.          He tries to follow as... a BLUE TORCH moves past the doorway,          bare feet running across steel. A collection of HISS and          CACKLES grow louder.          BOWER crawls under piping to hide. He notices the activation          lights on his weapon fading... and he quietly tries to give          the energy lever a few turns... but the WHINE seems too loud.          He spots SHEPARD twenty feet away, hidden behind a console.          I They exchange a look and SHEPARD angrily waves him away.                         SHEPARD                         (MOUTHING)          Don't follow me! I can't help you-          SHANK! A wire noose SNAPS tight around SHEPARD'S neck. Much          like a pole and wire rig used to wrangle alligators, the wire          is released from the rig and SHEPARD bursts into a wild          frenzy, trying to run while on a thirty foot long leash. The          wire loops and tangles around the piping as...          HUNTERS move in from every direction, blades whirling.          SHEPARD'S SCREAM intensifies as the HUNTERS huddle over him.          BOWER viciously cranks the energy lever on the weapon and          climbs out of his hiding place as... SCREAMS intensify          within the brutal attack as the HUNTERS begin to feed.          SEEPARD'S neck is twisted far enough to SNAP!                         BOWER                         FUCKING BASTARDS-          I BOWER raises the gun towards the back of the lead hunter,          only fifteen feet away. He pulls the trigger and rusted          metal SCREECHES! Jammed.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              47.                         CONTINUED:          He panics, grabbing the gun with both hands, checking for a          safety switch and... KA-WHAP! The weapon discharges a          tremendous BLAST of energy off to the side.          -The weapon is designed to destroy biological and organic          material, but for safety precautions, it's unable to          penetrate man-made materials like lead, glass or steel. It's          unable to puncture the ship's hull.          The energy blast is an electrical discharge that CRACKS like          lightening and echoes like thunder. The blast HITS the side          of the wall with a deafening RIPPLE of aftershocks,          shattering anything fragile and knocking over anything not          fastened down within a thirty foot radius. This little thing          packs a punch.          The HUNTERS turn towards BOWER, the lead hunter turning to          reveal itself as...          } HEFLIN, a muscular-frame larger then the rest, skin          glistening with a layer of hydraulic fluid along with tribal          I scars and distorted war paint. His eyes hidden under shadow.          He slowly lifts his shoulders while lowering his head, much          like the fluid motions of a reptilian predator.          BOWER frantically cranks the energy lever and raises it          toward HEFLIN, completely unaffected by the threat. He          squeezes the trigger and...          KA-WHAP! The gunshot is THUNDEROUS, HITTING the unseen glass          divider between them. The safety glass absorbs the blast,          sending a SHUDDER through the hull.          HEFLIN barely flinches, stepping closer with a HISS. Off his          command, the HUNTERS take chase, swarming in every direction,          searching for a route around the glass divider.          BOWER runs for his life.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - CONT.          PAYTON jumps to his feet, eyes darting across the flickering          monitors, gripping the radio.                         PAYTON          Bower!? BOWER!? Answer me God Dammit!          All that is heard is GARGLED STATIC and PANICKED BREATHING.                         I                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              48.          INT. CORRIDOR - CONT.          BOWER is running like a madman, ricochetting off doorways and          tripping over pipes in the darkness.                         BOWER          They got him! They fucking ripped him          apart! They're-          PAYTON (ON RADIO)          Don't look back! Hear me? Just go! GO!          BOWER finds an open corridor and sprints as...          Blades SCRAPE across metal, Blue.torches ROAR, HISSES echo.          BOWER gasps heavily, hyper-ventilating as he catches glimpses          of HUNTERS on his trail and running parallel in adjacent          corridors, closing in with unnatural agility and speed.                         BOWER                         (GASPING)          They're everywhere! They're-          I He runs through a doorway and a thin metal strip HITS him in          the legs... SHANK! Wires SNAP and HYDRAULICS MOAN. Hitting          the booby-trap at full speed causes the wire to rip out of          the door frame and...          BOWER tumbles as the wire loops around his leg and he FALLS          off the edge of a loading shaft, into an open elevator shaft          that drops into darkness.          The wire tightens and he's swung by the foot back into an          open corridor, two floors below, like a demented base-jumper.          He SLAMS into the ceiling and spins wildly over the open          shaft as his transmitter falls all the way to the bottom          exploding on IMPACT.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          The radio STATIC instantly changes to a HISS. PAYTON looks          to the meters... signal gone.                         CUT TO:          INT. CORRIDOR          BOWER grabs the wall to stop from spinning and frantically          pulls on the wire around his leg as it rips through his skin.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              49.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER          Aaaargh!          Footsteps are heard approaching overhead. On the floor below          him are his weapon and flashlight. He stretches for the          gun... too far from his reach.          The flashlight is "on", illuminating the area. He pushes off          the wall and reaches for it... fingers touching, but unable          to grab it.          The GLOW of torches grows in the loading shaft and BOWER          pushes off, reaching for the flashlight. Unable to retrieve          it, instead he pushes it... into the open loading shaft. It          drops all the way to the bottom as...                         ANGLE ON          HUNTERS step up to the edge of the shaft, looking down to see          the flashlight fall from sight...                         ANGLE ON          BOWER swings back, grabs the wall and freezes.                         ANGLE ON          The HUNTERS hear the flashlight HIT the bottom of the shaft          and then slowly double back. Torches fading.          ANGLE ON/CLOSE UP          BOWER'S face fills with blood as he hangs upside down, trying          to catch his breath. His grip is weakening as he looks up to          see... a shadowed FIGURE crouched with a spear in hand,          leering at him from the shadows, approaching. With no time          to defend himself and no where to go...          SCREECH!          The cable is violently tugged from above, jerking BOWER          upward, pulling him away from the wall. He spins wildly          trying to grab back onto the wall as...          SCREECH!          The cable yanks BOWER upwards with enough force to hit the          ceiling and swing toward the open shaft. His fingers claw at          the wall as he's literally being reeled in like a fish. He          sees the FIGURE charging with a bladed spear. He's knows          he's done for and...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              50.                         CONTINUED: (2)          SNAP! The wire is slashed, BOWER breaks free hitting the          floor as the cable is jerked up and out of sight.                         ANGLE ON          The silhouettes of the HUNTERS on the ledge, several levels          above, inspect the loose cable and after a HISS, they turn          back, fading into the shadows.          BOWER lays on his back, squirming in the tangled wire as the          FIGURE hovers over him, spinning a bladed weapon in his hand.          BOWER (CONT' D )          Please... don't- Please, listen-          The FIGURE slashes BOWER'S sleeve, rips away the fabric and          looks at his identification tattoo.          BOWER quits squirming as the FIGURE leans closer into the          light with a curious frown.          TANAKA, a Japanese man in ripped and modified clothing.          Unlike the awkward gauntness of the HUNTERS, he has a full-          framed, hard-edged physique and soft brown eyes.          TANA..KA          Japanese- No Subtitles                         BOWER          What...?                         TANAKA          Japanese- No Subtitles                         BOWER          I don't understand. I- I don't speak-          TANAKA jabs a finger into the emblems on BOWER'S uniform.                         TANAKA          Japanese - No Subtitles                         BOWER          I'm sorry. I don't- Do you... speak          English?                         TANAKA          Japanese- No Subtitles          They share a nod and an awkward silence, BOWER still eyeing          the razor sharp weapon in his hand and not wanting to move.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              51.                         CONTINUED: (3)                         BOWER          Thanks. Thanks for... that.          TANAKA is dead pan. BOWER flinches as TANAKA picks up the          energy gun and then... flips it over, handing it back to him.          BOWER cautiously accepts as he climbs to his feet.                         TANAKA          Japanese- No Subtitles                         BOWER          I'm sorry. I don't...                         TANAKA          Japanese- No Subtitles                         BOWER          I don't know what you-          TANAKA jabs the emblem on his uniform and presents his own                         F          identification tattoo that reads: AGR//812//673.                         TANAKA          (matter of factly)          Japanese - No Subtitles.                         BOWER          You're with... agriculture!? Jesus...          Listen, I'm not-          TANAKA jabs the emblem on BOWER'S chest, taps his tattoo.                         TANAKA                         (BLUNTLY)          Japanese- No Subtitles                         BOWER          Yes! I know! I'm with the flight crew!          But, I don't know what's happened! I                         CAN'T-          Another jab.                         BOWER (CONT'D)                         (BITTERLY)          I'M NOT IN CHARGE HERE!!                         I          Realizing louder doesn't mean clearer, BOWER sighs at his own          idiocy. TANAKA nods, but with obviously no clue what was          1 just said. They stare at one another in silence.          TANAKA hands him a flashlight. BOWER does his best charades,          gesturing to himself and pointing to the ship.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              52.                         CONTINUED: (4)                         BOWER (CONT-D)          Listen, I'm going to find out what went          wrong... with the ship.                         TAANAKA          Shee-ip?                         BOWER          Yes, I'm going to the reactor to try to-                         TANAKA          Ree-actoh?                         BOWER          Right. It doesn't really matter- You          should stay put. Or go back to your          compartment sector- Wait for the          security systems to engage. Okay? We're          gonna take care of this problem.          Dead pan.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Okay?          BOWER slowly backs away and TANAKA follows. BOWER stops,          I eyeing his numerous bladed weapons.                         I                         BOWER (CONT'D)          No. Listen, you should stay. Wait          here... for the systems to- Alright?          Stay!          TANAKA frowns as BOWER backs away, gesturing. BOWER reaches          the next intersection and looks back. TANAKA is gone. He          continues down the corridor as LIGHTS FLICKER past.                         FLICKER THRU:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - LATER          BANG! BANG! BANG!          PAYTON is coated with sweat, viciously pounding on the locked          doors with a heavy pipe. It's obviously having no effect and          he collapses with exhaustion and frustration.          !                         PAYTON          GOD DAMMIT!          He.lowers his head and slowly... the "SOUNDS" return.          RATTLE.. SCRAPE... THUMP.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              53.                         CONTINUED:          Like a dripping faucet of annoyance, PAYTON bitterly turns          his flashlight quickly towards the corner. Wielding the          heavy pipe, he cautiously approaches.          SCRAPE... RATTLE.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          WHO'S THERE!?          SCRAPE... THUMP.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          IDENTIFY YOURSELF!          His flashlight pans up the wall to the ventilation shaft.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          Dower...? That can't be... you-          The SOUNDS remain muffled, deeper within the wall, possibly          from inside the ventilation shaft.          PAYTON contemplates, eyes panicked. He climbs up the wall          and wedges the panel cover over the shaft opening, jamming it          closed with a screwdriver. He backs away, gripping the          weapon, ready for anything. He tries to control his          breathing as he sits... watches... and waits.          TRAP.          A blood droplet hits the floor by his feet and PAYTON wipes          blood off his nose with confusion and a nervous frown.          DISSOLVE THRU BLACK.          INT. REC ROOM - LATER          A pin-point of light appears at the end of a circular tunnel.          Slowly the light grows as BOWER approaches and cautiously          steps through a doorway and into...          A rec room with several rows of pool tables, video games and          a ran-sacked bar. The floor is heavily littered with broken          glass and BOWER wipes his finger across a wet surface on the          bar, tasting it with an eye brow raised.                         I BOWER                          (TO HIMSELF)           Open bar. Gotta be... E-deck?                         I          He climbs over the bar, checks numerous cabinets only to find          more broken glass and emptied containers. About to give up,          he pops open the last cabinet and...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              54.                         CONTINUED :          POW! A FIGURE lunges out, a direct HIT under his jaw sends          him backwards over a table. The FIGURE jumps on top of him,          jabbing a blade toward his neck. He grabs the wrist just as          the tip begins to dig into his throat.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          AAAAARRRRGF! !          A quick struggle ensues and just as BOWER is about to be          sliced open... CRACK! The ATTACKER is HIT and sent flying.          TANAKA has come to his rescue, twirling a pipe across his          palms. The ATTACKER rolls to her feet to reveal... NADIA.          She snatches a pool ball off the table and throws it directly          into TANAKA'S chest.                         TANAKA          UUUGH!          She rolls across the floor, grabbing her knife and... BOWER          BLINDS her with his flashlight, raising the gun with a quick          whirl of the energy lever, laser sights flaring brightly.                         BOWER          HOLD IT!          BOWER ducks as a broken bottle WHIZZES past his face,          smashing against the wall. He raises the gun and...          KA-RAAAACK! A deliberate warning shot goes past NADIA and          HITS the bar, SHATTERING every piece of glass that's near by          and NADIA and TANAKA are both blown off their feet.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Knock it off! Both of ya!          TANAKA and NADIA slowly recover, both quickly try to find          their weapons on the floor.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Listen... nobody needs to get hurt here.          Both of you just... cool out. And stop          throwing that shit.          Her eyes dart with uneasiness as she finds her knife.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Let's all just... go easy here. I          understand it's been every man for          himself around here lately, but if we're          going to get out of this- A little God          damn solidarity wouldn't hurt.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              55.                         CONTINUED: (2)                          BOWER (CONT'D)          We can work together here. We all want          the same thing... right?          NADIA remains poised, ready to fight, knife raised. Sighing          with defeat, BOWER gestures, hands raised as he motions for          TANAKA and they slowly back towards the door.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          (motioning to Tanaka)          Thanks... again.          TANAKA motions toward the emblem on his uniform and gestures          to himself.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Yeah, yeah. I get it. We can work          together on this, right?          TANAKA grins.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          As long as we understand each other.          They head out of the room as... NADIA watches from the          shadows with a curious frown.                         CUT TO:          INT. CORRIDOR - MOMENTS LATER          BOWER and TANAKA head down the corridor, both of them          checking their backs as they come to a sealed doorway.          TANAKA is still wincing, rubbing his chest with pain.                         TANAKA                         (BITTERLY)          Japanese- No Subtitles                         BOWER          Yeah... well no sympathy here. She left          me with a few sore spots too, pal.          They both go to work, attempting to wedge the door open with          pipes. BOWER looks back to see... NADIA. They back pedal          with weapons in hand and NADIA is unaffected, watching them          with a frown.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Listen, lady. We don't want any-                         NADIA                         (SOBERLY)          Who the hell are you?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              56.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER          Huh?                         NADIA          You're... part of the flight crew?                         BOWER          Yeah. I'm... a corporal, I'm-                         NADIA          I didn't think there was any flight crew          left. What's happened to us?                         BOWER          That's what I'm trying to figure out.          Malfunction of some sort-                         NADIA          Gee, you think? Where are you going?                         BOWER          I'm heading for the reactor bay.                         NADIA          You just wake up?                         BOWER          Just joining the program already in          progress, yeah.          She eyes him over and TANAKA keeps the pipe raised.                         NADIA          You'll never make it.                         BOWER          Oh yeah? And why is that?                         NADIA          You're going the wrong direction.          She grimaces and turns, heading back up the corridor. BOWER          and TANAKA exchange a look. BOWER chases after her.                         BOWER          Hey? Wait a second- HEY?                         NADIR          SSSSH! Keep it down-                         BOWER          Hold on. Who are you?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              57.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         NADIA          Nobody.                         BOWER          Wait- Can't join the team without a          name.                         NADIA          Team? Why would I want to join?                         BOWER          Because I need you to show me the way.                         NADIA          To the reactor? No thanks. Don't like          going that fax down. No one ever comes          back.          She continues up the corridor and BOWER grabs her arm. She          yanks away from his touch, squaring off, weapon in hand.                         BOWER          Hold on. Please- There's not much time          left before we lose everything onboard.          You understand what I'm trying to-                         I NADIA          Do you know where this ship is headed?                         BOWER          I'm working on it.                         NADIA          Can you fly it?                         BOWER          Huh?                         NADIA          Can you fly it... if you have to?                         BOWER                         (NOT SURE)          Sure.          NADIA eyes him over, sizing him up.                         NADIR          I'll get you as close to it as I can.          But, I won't wait for you.                         I          BOWER nods with a frown and she heads up the corridor. BOWER          and TANAXA watch on.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              58.                         CONTINUED: (3)                         TANAKA          Japanese- No Subtitles.                         BOWER          My thoughts exactly.                         CUT TO:          INT. CORRIDOR ATRIUM - LATER          LIGHTS FLICKER past as...          NADIA leads them down a long corridor that widens into an          atrium of shafts going into the darkness in every direction.          The further their lights pan across the shafts... a strange          assortment of odd colored algae and moss is revealed growing          up the walls of the shafts.          TANAKA keeps a watchful eye as BOWER frowns at the          surroundings.                         BOLTER          You know where you're going? This          doesn't... "feel" right.                         (NO RESPONSE)          How long have you been awake?                         NADIA          Don't know. There's no way to tell time          in here. Two... maybe three months.                         BOWER          MONTHS!?          His voice echoes across the cavernous atrium and she glares-                         NADIA          Quiet! You wanna get us killed!?                         BOWER                         (WHISPER)          How could you have- You telling me          people have been running around on board          for several months!?                         NADIA          Longer. I wasn't the first one up.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              59.                         CONTINUED:                         HIGH ANGLE          Their flashlight beams continue across the enormous room like          two small searchlights. She leads them down into a side          shaft, their lights fade from view.                         CUT TO:          INT. BIO-LAB VAULT DOOR ENTRANCE - LATER          NADIA stops at the foot of a large steel door, gesturing for          them to crouch in the shadows, watching the corridor.                         BOWER          Where are we going? What are we doing-                         NADIA          i Shush! We're waiting.                         BOWER          Waiting for what-?                         NADIA          Quiet!          At the far end of the corridor, a faint BLUISH GLOW grows          stronger. Shadows are moving, growing closer.                         BOWER                         SHIT-          NADIA gestures for them to stay put. TANAKA wants to leave,          but BOWER grabs his shoulder. They both grip weapons,          glancing to NADIA as the HUNTERS seem to be headed their way.                         BOWER (CONT-D)                         WE CAN'T-                         NADIA          Ssssht!          The HISS and CACKLES of the HUNTERS grow closer and it seems          they're shortly going to be cornered and done for until...          A SHUDDER is felt, a FLICKER of LIGHTS approaching. She goes          to a control panel, holds down a switch and presses her palm          F across a scanner.          As the power SURGE passes, the control panel activates,          scanning her hand and the steel door activates with a MOAN of          hydraulics. BOWER notices her ID tattoo; BIO-T>>218>>076.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              60.                         CONTINUED:          The SHUDDER passes, killing the power and the door stops...          open only a half foot. She squeezes through and BOWER and          TANAKA quickly follow. They help her push it shut, sealing          the lock with a CLANK.                         CUT TO:          INT. BIO-LAB VAULT - CONT.          NADIA secures the lock on the door and jams a pipe in the          handles, her own added insurance.                         BOWER          Who are they? What the hell are those          things?                         NADIA          (shaking her head)          Never quite felt like sticking around to          find out. Running... is always the best          option. Believe me.                         BOWER          They're not- They can't be from this          ship. They don't seem... human. Do you          think something got on board or maybe          I something...          He turns to follow her and pauses to see...          The BIO-VAULT. A large lab storage compartment that has been          "lived-in" for a long time. A bed has been created from          assorted chair cushions and there is a collection of          scavenged items. NADIA adds to the items, dumping the          belongings of her bag onto the floor.          BOWER is in awe as he approaches an entire wall of glass test          tubes, a maze of micro-biological containers, glimmering with          condensation.                         BOWER (CONT-D)          What is... all this?                         NADIA          Ecological Development, Embryonic          Charter. Livestock and wildlife re-          population.          The rows of glass tubes are labelled, ranging from mountain          goats to octopi, everything a new world would need.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              61.                         CONTINUED :          NADIA checks a few gauges on the wall of tubes and makes          adjustments on the monitoring system. He senses her          meticulous care for the material.                         BOWER          You've been living in here? You're...          protecting it?                         NADIR          It' seems to be the only living thing left          on this ship worth protecting.          Regardless of the situation, we still          have a mission. We've only lost about          thirty percent of the specimens, mostly          reptilian class. Never was big into          snakes anyway.          BOWER doesn't share the attempt at humor, wandering towards a          darkened digital screen on the wall, displaying a charted          graph of the new planet, TANIS.                         BOWER          (under his breath)          Tanis.                         NADIA          (off his look)          You couldn't remember?                         BOWER          No, I- I didn't remember just how far          away it is... until now. This was a          hundred and twenty-three year flight.          NADIA begins to gather a few items shoving them into a bag.          TANAKKA leans closer to the glass display with fascination,          tapping the tubes to see movement inside.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          How could I have forgotten that?                         NADIA          It comes only in pieces. Even after a          few months. I know everything about this          vault and its systems... but I still          can't remember where I grew up. Or my          brother's name. Only pieces... And the          training comes back first. For good          reason, I guess.          BOWER eyes the darkened computer terminals, portions of the          consoles coated in algae.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              62.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         BOWER          How could we have become like this... in          only eight years?          NADIA ponders the thought, rotating her jaw. She digs into          her supplies and tosses him a small block of orange material.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          What is this?                         NADIA          Dehydrated meatloaf. House special. I          save 'em for the weekends.          BOWER sniffs it with a sneer and tries to break off a          piece... hard as a rock.                         NADIA (CONT'D)          Do you know how long it would take to          turn dehydrated meatloaf into that?                         BOWER          How long?                         NADIA          I don't know, but it takes more then a          couple years to turn coal into fucking          diamonds.                         BOWER          You think we've over slept?                         NADIA          This ship was built to outlast our          children's children... and any engineer          could tell ya the warranty is running          out. I think we've been asleep longer          then you may think.          BOWER tosses the orange brick. to TANAKA and he sniffs it with          a grin, breaking off a piece. NADIA finishes gathering tools          and she slings the bag over her shoulder, "ready to go".                         BOWER          Do you have a radio?                         NADIA          (shaking her head)          Who the hell is there to call?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              63.                         CONTINUED: (3)                         BOWER          I'm not the only flight crew officer          awake. We're not in this alone.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - LATER          PAYTON is asleep, seated on the floor, back to the wall. He          is awoken by...          RATTLE... THUMP, THUMP!          He instantly grips the pipe and turns on the flashlight. The          "SOUNDS" are closer then ever before as something is heard          crawling towards the panel in the ventilation shaft.          ANGLE ON/CLOSE UP          A vent panel lightly RATTLES, the metal begins to bend.                         PAYTON          You want in? Come and get it you fu-          The screwdriver SNAPS and the panel hits the floor. PAYTON          raises the pipe, preparing to fight and... A desperate gasp          is heard from inside the shaft.          GALLO (O.S.)          Help... me!          PAYTON pauses, angling the light inside to see... GALLO, a          young flight officer, boyish innocence, short-cropped hair,          heavily coated in sweat, desperation in his eyes. His hair          is dark brown, the only person without pure white hair.                         PAYTON          Who the hell... are you!?          GALLO is tightly wedged inside the shaft, squirming to crawl          out, trembling with fear and exhaustion.                         GALLO          Help me- I'm part- of the flight crew!          I'm- Please- HELP ME!          PAYTON oddly hesitates... before lowering the weapon. He          digs into the shaft grabbing GALLO'S hand, pulling him out.          GALLO collapses onto the floor, crumbling into a fetal          position, naked. His hands are locked in claw-like grips,          trembling uncontrollably. His gasps are rapid and unsteady.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              64.                         CONTINUED:                         PAYTON          Easy... Easy. You're all right.          PAYTON runs to grab a towel and water. As he turns back he          notices GALLO'S hip and legs are sprayed with dried blood.          PAYTON kneels over him and GALLO spasms from his touch.                         GALLO          PAAARRRGH !                         PAYTON          EASY! I'm here to help you!          PAYTON lifts the bottle to his lips, but the water runs down          his face, GALLO is frozen in shock.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          Com'on. Try to drink a little. Here.          GALLO is unresponsive, wide eyes locked in a trance.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          What's your name? Huh? Can you hear me?                         GALLO                         (MUMBLING)          Gallo.                         PAYTON          What's that? Gallo...?          PAYTON frowns, mumbling the name with a hint of recognition.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          Corporal... Gallo?                         GALLO                         (TREMBLING)          Yes, sir.                         PAYTON          Where did you come from, Gallo?                         GALLO          The... bridge.          Saying the words seems to send him into a terrified trance.                         PAYTON          The bridge!? Where are we? What's          happened? Can you tell me-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              65.                         CONTINUED: (2)          The more PAYTON inquires, the more GALLO begins to unravel,          emotionally. His eyes widen with terror, breath quickening.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          Corporal?          GASP, GASP, GASP...                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          Tell me... what happened?          GALLO is hyper-ventilating, eyes wide with terror. A droplet          of blood slowly builds in his nostril, refusing to drip. A          low whine is heard in his throat as... LIGHTS FLICKER past.          FLICKER CUT TO:          INT. VENTILATION SHAFT -- LATER          A hatch is broken open and BOWER'S flashlight beam peers into          a ventilation shaft. Twenty feet inside the shaft the walls          are collapsed, blocking passage. NADIA sighs with dread.                         NADIA          We can't get through this way.                         BOWER          I'd prefer to stay on foot.                         NADIA          It's the safest way to travel. And          there's only one other way to get through          that I know of.                         BOWER          And what is that?                         CUT TO:          INT, PERSONNEL SLEEP CHAMBER/MAIN CORRIDOR - LATER          Light breaks through as our gang wedges open a door, all          sneering in unison when hit by an odor.                         BOWER          Where are we?                         NADIA          Main corridor. Hyper-sleep chamber,          Personnel. Keep your light down.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             I          66.                         CONTINUED:          She leads the way along the wall and into a compartment of          unimaginable size, fifty foot high steel walls that channel          through the room. The walls are lined with hundreds of sleep          chambers, stacked ten high on either side.          They round a corner into the main atrium to see dishevelled          equipment and smashed control consoles, scarred from battle.          Old blood stains are worn deeply into the floor.                         BOWER          Jesus...          As they venture deeper inside they see numerous sleep-          chambers, open hatches and empty. The further they move          along the wall, more and more empty pods, too many to count.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          My God. They're... empty. They're all-          Where the hell is everyone?                         NADIA          Keep quiet.                         I          As the dozens and dozens of nameplates move past his          flashlight, BOWER pauses.                         BOWER          Wait a second. My wife-                         NADIA          Keep moving.                         BOWER          No, wait. My wife could be in here.          BOWER'S focus completely shifts, turning towards the pods,          reading name plates.                         NADIA          What does she do? What's her specialty?                         BOWER          She's not part of the crew, but spouses          were brought with. I remember there were-                         NADIA          Then she's not in here. This is          development settlers. Engineers.          NADIA quickly continues as BOWER tries to keep up.                         BOWER          Do you know where the family members are-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              67.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         NADIA                         (GROWL)          Quiet!          They look to see TANAKA has fallen behind, crouched and          peering off towards the dark. He's poised like a dog on the          prowl that's caught a bad scent. They crouch and crawl to          the adjacent corner.                         BOWER          I don't see what he's looking at, do you?                         NADIA          We have to keep moving. We don't want to          stay out in the open for too long.          Especially in here.                         BOWER                         (TO TANAKA)          Hey...? Let's go!          Distant THUMPS are heard somewhere in the room and they          tighten up with their weapons, eyes scanning. TANAKA refuses          to look away, poised like a hunter.                         NADIA          We can't stay herel          NADIA heads across the main floor and BOWER tries to wave him          on, but TANAKA is locked onto something, refusing to waver.                         BOWER          Let's get out of here! Com'on-          The THUMPS grow louder and TANAKA heads into the shadows.          BOWER hesitates, turning to follow NADIA through a barricade          of dishevelled equipment, leaving TANAKA behind.                         CUT TO:          INT. PROCESSING DOCK -CONT.          BOWER emerges from the barricades into a processing center          for loading passengers, darkened and in shambles. NADIA is          scanning the corridors ahead, choosing her path as BOWER          rushes to catch her.                         BOWER          We can't just leave him. We have to wait-                         NADIA          Then you wait... and find your own way.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              56.                         CONTINUED:                         BOWER          We can't split up the team, it's all                         WE'VE GOT-                         NADIA          I told you I'm not going to wait. I'm          not gonna get myself killed for-                         BOWER          The guy saved my life twice already. I'm          not gonna leave him-                         NADIA          What do you think he's doing in there!?                         BOWER          How the hell should I know-                         NADIA          He's hunting! Bagging the next notch on          his belt. You wait for him! Good luck.          I NADIA quickly heads deeper into the room and down a darkened          and narrowing tunnel. BOWER hesitates with frustration.          Having to choose, he turns and chases after NADIA.          I They crawl through a maze of machinery and NADIA'S pace is          difficult for BOWER to keep up.                         BOWER          Wait! I'm coming-          There's a CRUNCH under his foot. He lowers his light,          picking up a small white object. He brings it closer to the          light to realize it's... A HUMAN FINGER BONE.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Jesus!          NADIA turns toward him to see...                         REVERSE ANGLE          Behind BOWER is a massive stack of human skeletons and          carcasses. They've just crawled into a pit of human remains.          They both back away with horror only to see a mountain of          carcasses on both sides. The only route is upward and they          begin to crawl up the slope on their bellies, over dead          remains.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              69.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         BOWER (CONT'D)                         (HORRIFIED)          My God! Wait- Where are we going!?          NADIA suddenly grabs him, a quick jerk to silence him. A          SHADOW passes with a CACKLING HISS. They freeze, laying on          top of the remains, the bones CRINKLING underneath them.          The HISS grows stronger... and they look up to see a          silhouetted HUNTER crouched over like a gargoyle on a rafter,          leering in their direction.                         NADIA                         (WHISPER)          Don't move.          They try to remain motionless, but the slope of the remains          i CRINKLES underneath them and the hill of remains begins to          slide. The HISS grows stronger.          They hold their position until... a SHUDDER approaches with          FLICKERING LIGHTS. The power surge is enough to ignite a          small landslide underneath them.                         BOWER                         SHIT-          NADIA grabs his arm as bones snap and they slide helplessly          to the bottom within a landslide of bones and flesh.          The finally slide to a stop at the bottom of the slope and          BOWER quickly raises his weapon towards the rafters to see...          the HUNTER is gone.                         NADIA                         (WHISPER)          Where... did it go-?          He pans the light and... ROAR! The HUNTER lunges at them          from five feet away. BOWER is STRUCK with enough force to          send him flying, CRASHING into a pile of bones.          NADIA spins around with a bladed pipe in her hands... but the          HUNTER is already gone. She spins back and... THWAP! She's          HIT from behind and sent with break-neck force into the          floor. The HUNTER pounces onto her back and a claw-like hand          grabs her hair... teeth opening towards her neck and...          POW! BOWER charges into the HUNTER, tackling it and they          spin into a brutal and distorted fight, seen under the          FLICKERING LIGHT. Even though the HUNTER is a smaller one,of          the pack, smaller then BOWER, its speed and strength is in-          human. It grabs BOWER by the head with a GROWL and...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              70.                         CONTINUED: (3)          THWACK! TANAKA lunges out of the shadows, delivering a blow          with his bladed pipe into the HUNTER'S face. It's a hit that          would normally kill anything, nearly taking its head off.          The HUNTER stumbles, staggers and... HIIIISSSSSST! It HITS          TANAKA, sending him airborne, nearly knocking him out.          Under the FLICKERING LIGHT, BOWER, NADIA and TANAKA all          attack the lone HUNTER, taking all three of them to bring it          to the floor. They viciously pound it with pipes and blades          until it finally stops flinching beneath them.          Its pale white skin seeps a thick black colored blood. The          three of them back away, gasping and coated in its blood.                         BOWER                         (GASPING)          Jesus... Christ- Jesus-          Its face is smashed beyond recognition, but its facial          features are horrifically distorted, no sign of eyes under          the shredded tissue.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          What the... what the hell is it!?          The HUNTER flinches and our gang back pedals with fright.          NADIA continues back pedalling, looking towards the rafters          to see... HEFLIN silhouetted, leering towards them.                         NADIA                         ANOTHER ONE-          BOWER quickly finds his weapon on the floor and HEFLIN slowly          begins to TAP his spear against the wall, echoing a continual          clank through the hull.                         BOWER          What is he... doing?          BOWER, NADIA and TANAKA quickly realize the effect as shadows          begin to move.., the room is filling with HUNTERS, alerted by          the tapping of metal.                         NADIA          Run.                         BOWER          They're... everywhere-                         NADIA          Run!                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              71.                         CONTINUED: (4)          A low gargled HISS is heard from HEFLIN'S throat.          NADIA is already gone. BOWER and TANAKA chase after her as          the walls come to life, HUNTERS swarming onto their path like          a pack of wild dogs.          Before diving through the barricade, BOWER looks back to see          HEFLIN and his pack have paused... to eat the fallen HUNTER.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/MAIN CORRIDOR - CONT.          It's a panicked and mad dash through the dark as they crawl          through the barricade and run back into the main corridor of          sleep chambers. HUNTERS can be heard closing on their trail.          They round a corner and NADIA jumps inside an empty sleep-          chamber, frantically trying to pull the hatch closed. TANAKA          follows suite, jumping inside another chamber and BOWER          scrambles, in search of an open door as footsteps are heard          quickly approaching.          In a frenzied panic, BOWER dives into the chamber with NADIA,          tugging the hatch closed.                         FOLLOW THRU:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER - CONT.          BOWER and NADIA are cheek to cheek in the cramped space, both          gasping for breath and dripping sweat with terror.          Through the porthole... silhouetted HUNTERS move past with          weapons in hand, search and destroy style. One HUNTER steps          up only a few feet from their porthole and they freeze,          holding their breath. Slowly the HUNTERS continue past, the          shadows slowly fading from sight.                         BOWER          What the hell happened to them!? What          the hell are those things!?                         NADIA          Shut-up!          They listen for a long moment... hearing nothing as BOWER          looks at his hand, finger tips trembling.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              72.          INT. SLEEPING CHAMBER/MAIN CORRIDOR -- MOMENTS LATER          The hatch door inches open and BOWER peeks out. He and NADIA          crawl out quietly to see TANAKA waiting for them.                         TANAKA          Japanese - No subtitles.                         BOWER          I second that. Let's get the fuck out of          here. Which way did we come from?                         NADIA          You want to go back?                         BOWER          No, I mean... let's just go!                         NADIA          We should go back. Find a different          path. I don't think we can get through          to the reactor bay from-                         BOWER          You said there was no other path.                         NADIA          I'm ready to explore other options-                         BOWER          Which way did they go-?                         NADIA          You really want to discuss it here!?          A RUMBLE is heard approaching and they all crouch in unison.          It's a power surge that sends FLICKERING LIGHTS across the          massive corridor and a BLINKING LIGHT is activated on a          nearby sleep-chamber. And then...          BANG! The hatch door is KICKED from the inside, white gas          erupting from the seam. Our gang quickly crawls toward the          shadows, crouching behind equipment to watch as...          Another KICK bursts open the hatch and a BIG PASSENGER crawls          out, slamming onto the floor with a shiver of agony, gasping          for breath, muscles twitching.                         BIG PASSENGER          AA.AAAA.RGH !                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              73.                         CONTINUED:          The BIG PASSENGER tries to get to his feet, gasping and          heaving, mumbling in Russian. BOWER tries to stand but NADIA          pulls him back.                         NADIA          What are you doing-!?                         BOWER          They'll hear him- They'll- We've got to                         HELP HIM-          Footsteps thunder across the floor and... WHACK! The BIG          PASSENGER is STRUCK by a single blow from HEFLIN. The          HUNTERS have returned in full force and they come out of the          shadows from every direction, bladed weapons spinning.          BOWER pulls away from NADIA'S grip and prepares to intervene,          but TANAKA suddenly grabs him, holding him back with force.          With the BIG PASSENGER wounded and moaning on the floor, the          HUNTERS gather in a circle in ceremonial fashion, praying          thanks for the feast the ship has presented.          They watch helplessly as the BIG PASSENGER is then brutally          attacked and eaten alive. WEASEL leads other HUNTERS under          the flickering light in a demented and twisted celebratory          dance, a frenzy of pure evil.          This attack is heard more then it is seen, under flickering          lights, obscured view and most of the camera angles on Bower          and the groups reactions.          Frozen in horror, BOWER is tugged by TANAKA, following NADIA          to the corner where she's lifted a grate in the floor. They          climb into a shaft under the floor and into the dark as...          The SCREAMS and HISSES echo through the hull.          FADE THRU BLACK:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - LATER          PAYTON is seated at the control desk, scrolling across radio          frequencies, talking softly into the boom mic.          PAYTON (INTO RADIO)          Bower? Do you copy? You out there?          Dead static. He sighs and glances toward GALLO, passed out          on a nearby bunk. He hesitates, holding the pipe as a          weapon, tucking it away and cautiously approached GALLO for a          closer inspection.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              74.                         CONTINUED:          He feels his neck for a pulse. He notices the dried blood          under his nose then gently pulls aside the blanket to see          GALLO'S identification tattoo, reading; FLT>>004>>012.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          (frowning to himself)          Team Four. Flight Team... Four?          He glances up to see GALLO is now awake, staring at him.                         GALLO          What are you doing?                         PAYTON          Just... checking you.          GALLO narrows his eyes, pulling the blanket tighter.                         GALLO          For what?                         PAYTON          To make sure you're... alright. You...          passed out. You-                         GALLO          Who the hell are you?                         PAYTON          Payton... Lieutenant Payton.                         GALLO          Lieutenant? You're... a lieutenant?                         PAYTON          That's right. You're Team Four? You're          suppose to be... my predecessor.          GALLO deepens his frown, glancing around with disorientation.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          You said... you came from the bridge?          GALLO shifts his eyes back on him, a bad topic.                         GALLO                         (LEERY)          Yeah. So...?                         PAYTON          Where are we? I can't get guidance off          this system and I have no idea where-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              75.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         GALLO          I don't know.                         PAYTON          Well, what did you see? How did--                         GALLO          Listen, I'm not a navigator. Stars all          look alike. I don't know! How the hell          would I know!?          Sensing GALLO is about to break down again, PAYTON tries a          calmer approach.                         PAYTON          Easy. I just want to make sure...          GALLO'S hands are trembling, uncontrollably.                         PAYTON (CONT'D)          .you're okay-          GALLO tucks his shaking hands under the blanket, defensively.                         GALLO          I'm fine.          PAYTON lowers his stare, hesitating, glancing across the          dried blood still splattered across his legs.                         PAYTON          Is this your blood... Corporal?                         GALLO          Some of it is... sir.                         PAYTON          Whose blood is it?          GALLOholds his stare, jaw muscles tightening.                         GALLO          They didn't give me any choice.                         PAYTON          Who didn't?                         GALLO          There was something wrong with them.                         PAYTON          i Something was wrong with who?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              ?6.                         CONTINUED: (3)          Off his stare, he understands the implication.          PAYTON (CONT' D )          Your crew?                         GALLO          It was... Pandorum.          (off his look)          Of the worst sort. They were- I          couldn't even- I had to defend myself.                         PAYTON          Pandorum. Both of them-?                         GALLO          You don't believe me?                         PAYTON                         (UNCONVINCED)          I believe you.          PAYTON goes to a nearby compartment, popping open a First-Aid          case; inside is a pistol-gripped syringe. He turns back and          GALLO squares off, clenched fists.                         GALLO          What are you doing? What is that?                         PAYTON          It's just a sedative. Help you relax-          GALLO lifts his fists with a threatening posture.                         GALLO          Then you take it... and relax.          PAYTON backs off, setting the syringe aside.                         PAYTON          Take it easy. We're on the same team          here. Alright?                         GALLO                         (FLATLY)          Sure, Lieutenant.          PAYTON turns back to the control console and continues his          search across the radio frequencies. He discreetly pulls the          pipe weapon closer to his seat.          GALLO holds a hollow stare on the back of his head.                         I                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             77-                         CONTINUED: (4)                         GALLO (CONT'D)          If you would have seen them... you would          have done the same thing... sir.          LIGHTS FLICKER past...          FLICKER CUT TO:          INT. SUB-LEVEL SHAFT - LATER          A FLICKER of LIGHT passes to reveal... BOWER crouched inside          a three-foot high, narrow passageway, a crawl space beneath a          steel grated floor. He follows the tunnel into a large silo          lined with octagonal filters.          TANAKA and NADIA are both looking for a way out, jabbing          pipes into the grate overhead, unable to budge it.                         BOWER          Didn't we come through here already?                         NADIA          We gotta find a way out.                         BOWER          Out? Why did we come iii-?                         NADIA          I was trying to get us out of there alive-                         BOWER          I thought you knew where you were going.                         NADIA          I was trying to save our asses-                         BOWER          Could've mentioned that after the first          mile. If I would have known we'd be          doing laps down here-          She angrily turns towards him, pipe in her hand.                         NADIA          I didn't need to help you at all! You          and the Hong-Kong Express would still be          playing ding-dong-ditch on level eight if          it weren't for me!          Their heightening confrontation is halted by...                         TANAKA          HIIISSST! ( .and whispered Japanese)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              78.                         CONTINUED:          They pause to hear... CLASSICAL MUSIC echoing from below.                         BOWER          What the hell is that?          They climb down the shaft, jumping from filter to filter. At          one level they follow the sound into a shaft opening and          towards the soft, warm GLOW of YELLOW LIGHT.          They reach an open hatch, peering inside to see...          Inside an empty storage tank, a comfortable living space has          been created; numerous chairs surround a make-shift dinner          table made from storage crates with hand-made candles and          various food containers. The tank appears empty.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          What is this!?          BOWER and TANAKA begin to climb through and NADIA hesitates          with uncertainty. They crawl through the hatch...                         FOLLOW THRU:          INT. TANK - CONT.          They climb into the empty tank, lined with valves and          filtration screens. The music is playing from crackling          speakers hidden in the darkened circular catwalk overhead.          TANAKA goes straight for the food and as soon as NADIA steps          through the hatch... a wire SNAPS! Levers clank and a mouse-          trap has triggered... SLAMMING the hatch closed. Trapped!          They instantly turn back to the door, yanking and tugging in          a panic. BOWER pans his light towards the catwalk only to          see a FIGURE (LELAND) scampering through the shadows.          Another lever is turned and... F00000SH! A stream of vapor          shoots out of several vents along the wall. The colorless          gas hits them and they instantly gag, choking for air.          With the slanted walls of the tank, there seems to be no          escape, but TANAKA runs up the wall, diving and grabbing onto          a pipe, climbing upward toward the catwalk.          The shadowed FIGURE (LELAND) quickly hobbles to the railing.                         LELAND          No, no, no. Back in der' big boy!                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              79.                         CONTINUED:          LELAND uses a spear to jab TANAKA'S hand. He loses his grip          and tumbles back to the bottom of the tank. BOWER pulls          NADIR out of the way of the hatch.                         BOWER          Get back! BACK!          BOWER whirls the magneto lever on the weapon and he raises          the barrel towards the hatch, nearly point blank.          KA-CRAAAACK! The energy blast from the weapon hits the hatch          like a lightening bolt sending a tremendous JOLT through the          entire tank. A spark IGNITES the chemical gas and there's a          BURST of flammable gas that rolls upward into the catwalks.          LELAND is knocked off his feet and he GASPS with shock.                         LELAND          Whoa... WHOA! What the hell was that!?          LELAND is exposed from his hiding place, waving the smoke          from his face, bewildered. He's an older man who's lost all          vanity over survival. A thin-framed, spidery little man with          assorted clothing and a clutter of tools on his belt.                         LELAND (CONT'D)          What did you do!?          BOWER whirls the lever on the weapon and points it at him.                         BOWER          Shut off the gas!                         LELAND          Where did you get that?          BOWER angles the barrel towards a vent blowing out the          chemical gas and LELAND jumps with fright.                         LELAND (CONT'D)          NO-NO! HO-HO!                         BOWER          SHUT IT OFF!          LELAND scampers across the catwalk and quickly lifts levers          and twists nozzles, shutting off the flow of chemical gas.          His frown transforms to a grin, raising an eye brow as he          stares into the barrel of BOWER'S weapon.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              80.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         LELAND          Fancy looking piece. Looking to trade?                         CUT TO:          INT. WATER PROCESSOR - MOMENTS LATER          CLICKITY-CLICKITY-CLANK? LELAND cranks an energy lever that          ignites a string of auxiliary lights around the tank,          widening their view of the unusual living space. Several          crates and an assortment of mechanical junk and supplies.                         LELAND          Com'in, com'in! Make yerselves at home.          Just throw the coats on the bed and don't          pet the rat, it's not mine. Just          watching it for a friend.          LELAND is excited to have guests as he runs along the          catwalks, lighting candles and sealing valves. They watch          him with leery suspicion, weapons still in hand.                         BOWER          You... live here?                         LELAND          Sublet. Got a roomier flat in the bow          for the off season, but from here, ya          just can't beat the commute.          He grins, expecting a laugh, but doesn't get one. LELAND          eyes BOWER over, admiring the uniform.                         LELAND (CONT'D)          You really a flyer, or did ya grab that          off the rack? i didn't think there was          any crew left.                         BOWER          Left? Have you seen any?                         LELAND          Well, only the captain. informally, mind          you.                         BOWER          Captain? Where!?                         LELAND          Umm, up on B-Deck. Some on C. A few          pieces on the promenade and I think his          nuts are in the foose-ball game in the          rec room.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              81.                         CONTINUED:          He smiles, revealing several missing teeth. No one laughs.                         LELAND (CONT'D)          Tough crowd. Com'in, com'in. Grab a          bunk. Three singles or will a queen do?          LELAND laughs to himself, digging through supplies. BOWER          scans the walls, seeing no way up to the catwalks.                         BOWER          Why don't you come on down so we can meet          properly?                         LELAND          Oh, no-no. No-can-do. I'm real touchy          to the dust bug and who knows where yawl          have been. No offense. There's          something funky going around. But don't          let that spoil the party. Here...          LELAND lowers down a bin filled with assorted food items,          using a wire to drop it to them. TANAKA sniffs it with          suspicion.          I LELAND (CONT'D)          It's Kosher.          BOWER peeks through one of the valves, turning to NADIA.                         BOWER          Where do you think we are?                         NADIA          I don't know. Gotta be somewhere below B-          deck.                         LELAND          Why, where you gotta be?                         BOWER          The reactor bay. Know where it is?                         LELAND          Reactor? Now why would you want to go          down there?                         (GRIN)          You just woke up, didn't cha?                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              82.          INT. WATER PROCESSOR - LATER          A small propane flame is lit. LELAND hovers over a make-          shift stove, heating a can of water. He pours in some powder          and stirs it up with the meticulous nature of a chef          preparing fine cuisine.                         LELAND          It's tough to properly season with a          motor oil base. But if you use your          imagination, kinda tastes like...                         (SIP)          Herb and garlic dog shit.          Below the catwalks, TANAKA has found a spot to rest, NADIR is          using water to clean a wound and BOWER is peering through a          slit in a vent.                         BOWER          How long have you been awake?                         LELAND          Mmmm. Lemme think. What's today,          Tuesday? That would be about, mmm...          He counts in his head and across his fingers, carefully          calculating, then a grin.                         LELAND (CONT'D)          No idea.          He turns back to his make-shift stove, chuckling to himself.                         LELAND (CONT-D)          I quit counting after the band broke up,          ooooh twenty... thirty years ago.          BOWER and NADIR exchange a look of uncertainty. The          classical music begins to SKIP and without even looking          LELAND kicks a piece of equipment, correcting the music.                         LELAND (CONT-D)          Then again, an hour in this place feels          more like... one-fifteen, one-twenty.          Know whatta I mean? HA-HP_W!                         (SOBERLY)          Not naming names but I'm writing a very          strongly worded letter to the airline.          LELAND chuckles, nodding to TANAKA. TANAKA glares.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              83.                         CONTINUED:                         LELAND (CONT-D)          But I just treat each day like it's          Christmas. Festive and violent. Let's          eat; Shall we? Who needs a bib?          LELAND sets several bowls of soup into the bin and lowers it          to them with the cable. T_ANAKA is the only one interested,          sniffing the soup with a glare. LELAND winks.          BOWER takes a seat, showing exhaustion and defeat.                         BOWER          Those things out there. Could it have          been something... that crawled out of          your lab? Something that-                         NADIA          No. That's... not possible.                         BOWER          Then something got on board. Some kind          of life form. Something that-                         NADIA          Or something that was already on board,          with us in the hyper-bunks.                         BOWER          What does that mean?                         NADIR          it could have been the accelerator.                         BOWER          What?                         NADIA          It's the only theory I can come up with.          The synthetic enzyme in our feeding          tubes. The accelerator that would help          our bodies adjust and adapt to the          environmental conditions on Tanis. From          what I've seen... these things have          adapted... to the ship instead.                         BOWER          But, why would- You're saying we'll          become like them? Why would they be          affected like that and we're not-                         NADIA          I don't know. Like I said, it's the only          theory I can think of- Unless...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              85.          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          GALLO'S gaze is hollow and translucent as he stares through          the glass porthole in the empty sleep chamber, his mind is          deeply pondering. Pupils dilated.                         ANGLE ON          GALLO is looking at the empty sleep chambers while PAYTON          remains at the control console, determined not to give up on          contacting BOWER.                         GALLO          Do you know the symptoms of Pandorum?                         PAYTON          What?                         GALLO          Orbital Dysfunctional Syndrome.          Pandorum. Ever witnessed the symptoms of          first-hand?                         PAYTON          I've seen it before. But nothing that-                         GALLO          It's not something you can easily detect.          Starts with a shiver. An itch. A slow          boil... and without being able to get off          the ship... there's no shutting off the          heat. It'll boil over, no matter what          you do.          GALLO is slowly pacing the room and PAYTON watches him with          uneasiness out of the corner of his eye.                         GALLO (CONT'D)          You don't believe me.                         PAYTON          I didn't say that-                         GALLO          How could they both have had it? The          odds are insurmountable.                         PAYTON          I wasn't about to question any of your                         ACTIONS-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              86.                         I CONTINUED:                         GALLO          But, we all know Pandorum is greatly          affected by any substantial psychological          It has an emotional trigger effect.                         PAYTON          (off his look)          That's what they say.          GALLO slowly rubs his temples, with hesitation.                         GALLO          How do you think you would react... if          you knew the truth?                         PAYTON          The truth... about what?                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. WATER PROCESSOR - CONT.          LELAND flips on dim flood lights, illuminating the upper          walls of the tank where... like ancient cave-drawings, a          I story has been crudely sketched out along the wall of the          tank. LELAND lurks through the shadows, telling the tale          with a campfire, spook story, flare of dramatics.                         LELAND          B0000OM! Oh, how the world cheered to          the thunder of it's mightiest creation.          Eylisium! The heaven for heroes, to          venture further and farther then any of          man's machine dared before it.          BOWER and NADIA watch intently as TANAKA lazily sips the          soup. The first image is off the ship's launch and LELAND          hobbles across to the crudely sketched image of three          figures, flight officers.                         LELAND (CONT'D)          Three of our bravest... atop the watch          tower as we slept. A slumber deeper then          any have dared... with only three little          Indians left to mind the store...                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - CONT.          GALLO slowly unravels his own tale as PAYTON watches on with          suspicion and caution.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              87.                         CONTINUED:                         GALLO          we were only into our second term. All          flight systems nominal. I'd picked up on          symptoms with my CO and 2nd Lieutenant.          Mild symptoms. Nothing I thought          would... become a problem. Until we got          the transmission.                         PAYTON          What transmission?          GALLO'S eyes are welling up, his lip begins to shiver.                         GALLO          The final transmission. The last          message... from home.                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. WATER PROCESSOR - CONT.          LELAND continues across his wall-drawings, the three pilots          pictured, receiving a radio call.                         I LELAND          .until the last cry from home. All of          God's creation... ending with mere words          of encouragement. Mother Earth's last          call. Boop! Leave a message, momma.          LELAND presses a switch on a Jerry-rigged piece of equipment,          a disc player... speakers crackling with static. A VOICE          plays, heavily distorted.                         RECORDER VOICE          Hoove arr awl dadz efft ah uz. Bood uck,          boogz guezz... ab hoobz deeb.          BOWER and NADIA are now completely engrossed in the story,          both getting to their feet and walking closer to hear.          TANAKA is asleep. LELAND is thrilled by their attention,          doing a dance as he plays the recording... over and over.          RECORDER VOICE (CONT'D)          Hoove err all wadz efft ah uz. Good          wuck, boogz guezz... abb hoobz deeb...                         BOWER          What is that... saying?          LELAND cranks a power lever, speeding up the play back with          eagerness, whispering along. The recording slowly grows less          distorted the more he cranks the lever.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              88.                         CONTINUED:                         RECORDER VOICE          Yoove are all watt efft of uz. Good uck,          gog besh... ab Gogz deez. You are all          whadz left of uz. Gog besh... and Gogs          sbeeb... God blezz... and Gogz speeb...          Slowly LELAND'S whisper and the recording come into unison,          eerily echoing through the tank.                         LELAND & RECORDER          You are all that's left of us. Good          luck, God bless... and God's speed.          LELAND and the recorder echo throughout the tank as...                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          GALLO matches the echo with...                         GALLO          You are that's left of us. Good luck,          God bless... and God's speed.                         E                         PAYTON          Earth... is gone?          GALLO puffs across his hand with twisted amusement.                         GALLO          Wiped away. We ran a full sweep off the          grid and they were... gone. One day          there, the next... nothing.                         PAYTON          In one day... it had to be nuclear or-?                         GALLO          Whatever it was, they knew it was coming.          Wished us well. We're all that's left.          PAYTON sits back in shock, shaking his head in disbelief.                         PAYTON          Oh my God...                         GALLO          You can see why I was hesitant... to tell          even you. My fellow crew members didn't          take the news too well. I wanted to wake          the primary crew... but my 2nd Lt was          already over the edge.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              89.                         CONTINUED :                         GALLO (CONT'D)          ODS came through with flying colors. No          logic, no reasoning left. No future, no          past, no hope. A dangerous mix when          you're stuck inside a tin can like this.          The blow was more then he could handle.          My lieutenant wasn't far behind.          Pandorum.                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. WATER PROCESSOR - CONT.          LELAND moves past a wall-drawing of Earth destroyed, moving          to the image of the three pilots.                         LELAND          Three little Indians, with the burden to          bare... no more law and nothing left to          care. Three poor souls, destiny undone.          Chop, chop, chop... now there's only one.          The sketches reveal violence between the three pilots, two of          them killed, one remaining alive.                         I                         DISSOLVE TO:                         I          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          GALLO'S hands are beginning to tremble as he struggles          through the story.                         GALLO          They were my commanding officers. Men          who had guided me through FT. I looked          up to these men. But... it wasn't them          anymore. They... were gone. They...          tried to... I had no choice. I-          With his body beginning to tremble, PAYTON tries to console          him, touching his arm. GALLO flinches.                         PAYTON          Easy...                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. WATER PROCESSOR - CONT.          LELAND continues across the wall-drawings, showing the one          remaining pilot all alone aboard the massive ship.                         LELAND          One little Indian left... all alone with          his doom.                         (MORE)                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              90.                         CONTINUED:          LELAND (CONT`D)          Refused to go to bed, stayed up to play          in his room. Oh, and what naughty little          games he would play with the slumbering          prey. Slayer, master, both God and the          Devil, some would say. The boy would grow          to manhood, a self-proclaimed King, ruler          of his vessel, home to his own sin.          The sketches show the lone pilot torturing and devouring          passengers from their sleep chambers as he grows old.                         LELAND (CONT-D)          And then one day the king cast out all          those who had behaved, exiled into the          barren cargo holds to fend for          themselves... scavenging against the          others within their own domain.          The sketches show tortured victims forced out into the          corridors of the ship, the King returns to his sleep chamber.          LELAND (CONT`D)          King Lonely no longer wanted to play...          he yearned to see the morning Sun on a          Tanis day. He returned to his bed of                         I          slumber, waiting for the day. But the          survivors lived on, as the King slept, a          whole new world of evil grew as we wept.          The seed driven beyond-                         BOWER          HOLD IT! HOLD IT!                         LELAND                         (SOBER FROWN)          you want me to back up?                         BOWER          Play that transmission again. I want-                         LELAND          Save yer questions til the end please.          We'll have a review.          LELAND continues his performance as NADIA leans toward BOWER          with concern.                         NADIA          Could that be real? You think that could-                         BOWER          I dunno. It can't be- It just-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              91.                         CONTINUED: (2)          BOWER is quickly growing drowsy, slurring his words as he          takes a seat with exhaustion and disbelief. NADIR rests her          chin on her knee... eyes growing heavy as LELAND continues          telling the tale, softly like a child's bedtime story.          LELAND takes a peace of chalk-like material, drawing a new          sketch.                         LELAND          And now the newest chapter comes to us...          three weary travelers, guided by the          light. The new brave flyer, woken by the          dying machine.          He sketches Bower and his journey towards the reactor.                         LELAND (CONT'D)          A gallant knight who will wake the fiery          beast, light the rockets torch that will          sail our mighty ship to port! A new king          to deliver us to paradise! Hail to the          new King... Hail!          LELAND looks to see... everyone is asleep. He adjusts a          nozzle that... is pumping a colorless gas out of the vents at          the bottom of the tank. With a slow forming grin, he blows          out a nearby candle, taking us into...          FADE THRU BLACK:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - LATER          PAYTON'S eyes scan across the dim flickering computer screen,          a radar scan across a chart of planets... with no Earth shown          on the screen.          PAYTON is silently in shock as... GALLO watches him closely          from across the console.                         PAYTON          How could they... how could they have          let this happen?          PAYTON slides his hands off the keyboard, his finger tips          i nearly twitching, an uncontrolled tremble. He tries to hide          his hands, sliding them under the console as...          GALLO watches him blankly before wandering away to let him          sit alone with the horrific realization. PAYTON shakes his          head, refusing to accept it.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              92.                         CONTINUED:          A low SHUDDER approaches, more powerful then felt before,          rattling the pipes as it passes with a FLICKER of LIGHTS          as...          FLICKER DISSOLVE TO:                         DREAM (FLASHBACK)          EVALON is smiling towards BOWER as he kneels in front of her,          gripping her hands. As he speaks, her smile fades, slowly          pulling her hands away and...          INT. WATER PROCESSOR -- CONT.          The powerful SHUDDER is felt, amplified in the tank. NADIA          shakes awake to see... LELAND is kneeling over her, eyes wide          with hunger, deliciously sniffing her body. They both jump          with fright and yell in unison.                         NADIA & LELAND          AAAAAEEIH !          NADIA jumps to her feet, choking and gasping, jabbing her          weapon toward LELAND, a small breathing tube clenched in his          teeth. BOWER and TANA.KA are woken by their exchange, dazed.                         BOWER          What are you doing!? What the-                         NADIA          He was- He was gonna fucking eat me!                         LELAND          (mouthful of tube)          Whaw!? I waddn't-                         NADIA          He gassed us! He was gonna- All of us!          LELAND is appalled, spitting out the breathing tube.                         LELAND          Gas! What gas!?          They see he's holding a fork and knife that he quickly tucks          behind his back. NP.DIA jabs the weapon and he shrieks.                         LELAND (CONT'D)          NEVER!          THE SHUDDER shakes the tank with more force then ever before          as they watch the ceiling. It's followed by two quick          SURGES, higher pitch. NADIA looks to BOWER.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              93.                         CONTINUED:                         NADIA          What is that?                         BOWER          It's gone... into the final cycle.                         NADIA          What does that mean?                         BOWER          it means we have less time then I          thought. The last phase... before          shutdown. It means we're... done.          BOWER is oddly defeated, taking a seat, hanging his head.                         NADIA          Done!? What do you mean done? What do          we do? Hey!?                         BOWER          What difference does it make?                         NADIA          What are you talking about? You said you          could reset the reactor- That we could-          That there's a chance to-                         BOWER          For what? They're gone. Everything is          gone. There's no Earth to go back to,                         THERE'S NO-                         NADIA          We weren't meant to go back! We were          meant to go on. And now it's more          important then ever! We're the last of-                         BOWER          And what is left of us? What's left,          worth saving? This flight's over.          NADIA is angered by his defeat, shoving LELAND aside and          squaring off in front of BOWER.                         NADIA          What about your duty? What about... your          wife!? There's still a chance she's-                         BOWER          She's dead.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              94.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         NADIA          You don't know that for sure!                         BOWER          I know...          NADIA grabs him with rage, glaring him in the eye.                         NADIA          DON'T DO THAT! DON'T GIVE UP ON ME!          Off her look, BOWER holds his stare, slowly seduced by her          will. They look is broken by... LELAND'S stereo system          CRACKLES with static, power slowly returning after the power          surge, music playing.          BOWER snaps out of his daze, turning to LELAND.                         BOWER          You got a radio?                         LELAND          Who the hell are you gonna call-?                         BOWER          DO YOU HAVE A RADIO!?                         LELAND                         (BEAT)          You promise to bring it back?                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          The radio speakers on the control console suddenly CRACKLE          with STATIC and PAYTON leaps forward in his chair, snapping          out of his daze. GALLO looks up with a frown.          BOWER (ON RADIO)          Payton? Do you copy? Can you hear me!?          He grabs the receiver.                         PAYTON          BOWER! I'm here! Where are you?                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              95.          INT. WATER PROCESSOR/CATWALK - CONT.          Our group is now crowded on the catwalk above the tank,          huddled around an assortment of patched together electronic          equipment. BOWER is speaking into a receiver, bound together          with wire while LELAND cranks the power lever.                         BOWER          Storage Tanks, just below B-level. Mid-          ship Sector twelve... we think.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          PAYTON vigorously cranks the power lever and slides his          finger across the screen of the ship's blueprint.                         I PAYTON           How the hell did you get all the way to          Y the other side of-          I BOWER (ON RADIO)          Payton, listen to me. Listen. The          I reactor is in its final stage. Its last          rotation. It's worse then we thought.          PAYTON looks to GALLO, who is silently watching with a hollow          glare from the corner.          BOWER (ON RADIO) (CONT`D)          The ship is dying and I think that's why          it finally woke us up. The entire system          is heading into permanent shutdown and          there will be no return. This entire          ship will float off into eternity with no          way of stopping it. We need to reset it.          Are you hearing me?          PAYTON and GALLO share a silent stare.                         PAYTON          I hear you. How do we get you in there?                         I BOWER          I need you to give me a path.          PAYTON and GALLO'S silent stare hangs in the air for a          moment, the tension between them unclear. PAYTON turns to          the console, quickly typing into the keyboard.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              96.          INT. LADDER SHAFT/CORRIDOR - LATER          A flashlight beams cut into a shaft. It appears as if the          gang is crawling backwards toward us, until our perspective          realizes they're crawling down a long ladder.          They reach the bottom level where a distant RUMBLE has grown          louder. They follow the sound through a field of debris to a          clear path leading to an open hatchway.          BOWER checks the marker over the door and leads them down the          corridor, preparing to step through and TANAKA grabs him,          pulling him back.                         BOWER          What?          TANAKA motions toward the hatchway, shaking his head. He          i gestures for them to follow and leads them over debris and          through a hole, hidden in the paneling.                         TANAKA          (Japanese - No Subtitles)                         LELAND          What did he say?                         BOWER          I dunno. But do what he says.          They follow TANAKA, crawling through the hole and into...                         CUT TO:          INT. LOADING PLATFORM          As they head across a loading dock, the room gradually grows          more disturbed and dishevelled. Battle scars and centuries          of wear and tear grow more and more evident as they cross.          The BLUE GLOW of light can be seen through the passageway and          a low RUMBLE grows louder as they approach. They crouch          behind a large industrial condensers to catch their breath.          I BOWER glances up to the surface of the condenser with a frown          and he touches it with his fingers to find an odd-colored          algae. He looks up to see it's grown all the way to...          Be freezes to see a small shadowed FIGURE in the rafters          above them, a smaller gargoyle-type silhouette, possibly some          type of guard outside the entrance to the reactor bay.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              97.                         CONTINUED:          They exchange silent gestures and TANAKA heads one direction          as BOWER heads the other... to corner it. The FIGURE begins          to move across the rafter as TANAKA flushes it out.          The FIGURE is forced to climb down, hopping to the floor,          BOWER waits with his gun raised. Out of the shadows steps...          A ten-year-old CHILD HUNTER.          BOWER flinches with shock. The CHILD is a younger version of          the hunters, awkward physique, pale skin coated with          hydraulic fluid, oblong shaped head, eyes hidden in shadow.          NADIR lowers her weapon.                         NADIA                         (DEVASTATED)          Oh... my... God...          The CHILD suddenly crouches in a fighting stance with a          i gargled HISS from its throat, the light catching its eyes to          reveal WHITE RETINAS deeply hidden under a thin membrane of          I skin. Everyone is too stunned to react except for TANAKA,           who instantly raises his weapon, preparing to kill it.                          NADIA (CONT-D)           stop it! STOP IT! Are you crazy? It's           just a child!                         BOWER          Child! ? That's no child! What the hell          is it!?          TANAKA lunges, but NADIA blocks his attack. The CHILD HUNTER          erupts with a horrific SCREECH, HISSING at them before          turning and leaping back up and over the rafters,          disappearing into the shadows. They are speechless.                         LELAND          Not as cute when they're little, are          they?          TANAKA runs after it. It takes a moment for the rest to          react, chasing after.                         CUT TO:          INT. CORRIDOR/NEIGHBORING COMPARTMENT          They run down the corridor and into the neighboring          compartment, stacked with broken and discarded equipment.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              98.                         CONTINUED:          The CHILD runs up a wall of tubing and ducks through a small          hole punctured in the vents. TANAKA sighs with defeat.                         NADIA          My God. They're... breeding.                         BOWER          What!? What do you mean they? How could          they- That's impossible.          It appears the CHILD has alerted his group as the BLUISH GLOW          of flame can be seen growing stronger in the corridor, the          sounds of CACKLES and HISSES approaching.                         LELAND          Little bastard rang the bell.          They all quickly turn back, running down a side corridor and          into...                         FOLLOW THRU:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER COMPARTMENT - CONT.          They crouch and hide inside a smaller compartment as... the          BLUISH GLOW passes outside the doorway. The CHILD appears to          be leading the group, silhouettes passing, more HUNTERS then          they've ever seen together before.          They silently share the horror of the possible numbers          they're up against.                         LELAND          This isn't going to work. Too many of          them. Have to turn back.                         NADIA          There's no where to turn back to. We          can't give up-                         LELAND          Told you this wouldn't fly.                         NADIA          You didn't tell us anything. You never          said that. You said you'd love to come-                         LELAND                         (PONDERING)          Oh... then I forgot. This won't work.                         BOWER          Why not?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              99.                         CONTINUED:                         LELAND          This is where they live. Reactor is the          Keeper's temple.          They watch and wait as the shadows move past the doorway with          the GLOW of BLUISH TORCHES and vocal CACKLES.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          PAYTON is pulling wires out from under the console and going          to the sealed doors where he's pulled apart the control          panel, preparing for a hot-wire.          GALLO watches him while slowly pacing the room.                         GALLO          What are you doing?                         PAYTON          I think the direct channels are fried.          I'm gonna run a patch so we can get this          door open as soon as we're back on-line.                         I                         GALLO          What's so important on the other side of          the door?                         PAYTON          The bridge. As soon as we're up we'll be          able to take control of guidance. But          only from on the bridge.          GALLO continues pacing, throwing glances toward the empty          sleep chambers.                         GALLO          This ship is not dying.          PAYTON refuses to look to GALLO, continuing his work.                         GALLO (CONT'D)          It's already dead. You really believe          that kid will be able to save this ship?                         PAYTON          He can do it.                         GALLO          Twelve hours ago, he didn't know his own          name. Now, you think he's ready to re-          configure a nuclear reactor?                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              100.                         CONTINUED:          PAYTON refuses to give him eye contact, continuing to work on          the computer as G_ALLO paces back and forth in front of the          sleep chambers, fingers rapidly twitching at his side.                         PAYTON          He's the only shot we have. Gotta have a          little faith.                         GALLO          Faith? After what you know now, you can          actually say that with a straight face?          A little faith?          THAP. A droplet of blood hits the floor at GALLO'S feet.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER COMPARTMENT - CONT.                         I          The GLOW of the HUNTERS slowly begins to fade from sight as          BOWER notices what he's hiding behind is an empty sleep          chamber, coated with dried blood and signs of violence. He          looks to the labelled name plates with a frown and wanders          deeper into the room.          NADIA follows him with a frown as LELAND and TANAKA remain          poised with weapons near the doorway.          BOWER'S walk slows as he moves past rows of sleep chambers,          nearly all of them have been opened and signs of violent          deaths left dried and splattered across the floor.                         NADIA          What are you doing? What is it?                         BOWER                         (DAZED)          These were... family members of flight          personnel.                         NADIA                         FAMILY OF-          She notices BOWER is holding EVALON'S photo and glances to          the row of empty chambers, slowly realizing his grief.                         NADIA (CONT'D)          You think she's... here?                         BOWER          She's not here. She's dead.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              101.                         CONTINUED:                         NADIA          How do you know for sure? She could be-                         BOWER          She's not on this flight. She wouldn't          come with me. She wouldn't marry me.          (sigh of disgust)          That's why I came. There was nothing          left for me there. She stayed on Earth.          Gone... with everyone else. And I left          because of her.          His gaze begins to gloss over, taking it all in.                         NADIA          Well, then... she saved your life.          BOWER frowns on the thought, slowly nodding in agreement.          His eyes look to the label of the chamber he was led to, the          label reads; M. PAYTON. He mumbles to himself, memory          returning.                         BOWER          Marianne.                         NADIA          you... knew her?                         BOWER          I remember her. Payton's wife.                         NADIA          Who's... Payton?                         BOWER          I remember her. I remember-          His eyes pull focus, coming out of his daze, memories          returning with confusion.                         NADIR          Are you alright?                         BOWER          Com'on.                         1          BOWER grips his weapon with a flexing jaw of determination,          heading back to where TANAKA and LELAND are waiting as we...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              102.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         ANGLE ON          M. PP_YTON'S name plate and the dried remains of her apparent          death lay in the foreground.                         DISSOLVE TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBERICONTROL DESK          THAP... THAP... THAP.          Droplets of blood hit the floor at GALLO'S feet as he paces          back and forth near the sleep chambers.                         GALLO          He's right about one thing. Once that          thing shuts down, we're as good as dead.          Nothing on this ship will ever turn on          again. Ever. Not the air, not the          lights, the heat... not even the pod's          escape launch systems.          PAYTON refuses to look up from the computer.                         3 PAYTON          What are you saying?                         GALLO          I'm�saying... once it's done. We're          done. But, we still have a way out of          this... before it's too late.                         PAYTON          What are you suggesting, Corporal?                         GALLO          We can still launch ourselves in the          pods. Before the ignition systems are          completely dead, sir.                         PAYTON          Launching ourselves... into deep space          when we don't even know where we are? We          wouldn't last more then a few days inside          those things. That's suicide-                         GALLO          A few days is better then what we have          left here. I'll take my chances. How          long do you think that reactor has been          sitting? That thing could melt-down when          he tries to fire the core. This ship          could be ripped in half-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              103.                         CONTINUED:                         PAYTON          Stand down, Corporal. We're not going to          abandon anything and we're not going to          leave them behind-                         GALLO          We can't stay on this ship. You know          that as well as I do-                         PAYTON          I said stand down, Corporal! That's an          order!          GALLO steps up behind PAYTON, his face revealed with a thin          stream of blood oozing from under his nose, dripping off his          chin, eyes hollow and pale. PAYTON refuses to look at him,          continuing to type.                         CUT TO:          INT. LOADING PLATFORM - CONT.          The HUNTING party has faded from sight in the opposite          direction, leaving the hatch open to the reactor bay.                         BOWER          This is our chance.          BOWER leads the way out of the hiding place, heading quickly          towards the open hatch where an eerie glow and rumble is          felt. They crawl through the hatch and enter into...                         FOLLOW THRU:          INT. REACTOR BAY - CONT.          They crawl out onto the top of a massive cylinder shaped          shaft, numerous catwalks lining the walls with nothing but an          abyss of darkness below them. An odor hits all of them in          unison.                         BOWER          This is it. We've got to get down there          before they come back.          BOWER looks for a path downward along the tangled metal of          catwalks, coated in algae. LELAND'S fear has instantly          surfaced, unable to move.                         LELAND                         I (HAUNTED)          I House of the Keepers. A descent to Hell          itself. We can't... go in here.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             I          104.                         I                         CONTINUED :          BOWER ignores his pleas, heading down a ladder into the          darkness, TANAKA and NADIA follow, pushing past him.                         LELAND (CONT'D)          You're crazy... You can't-                         NADLA          Shut-up! Move!          LELAND stays behind, watching as they begin a perilous          descent down the walls of the reactor bay wall. Clinging          onto the pipes and railings of the catwalks, the odd-colored          algae grows more and more dense... a dim glow slowly coming          into view from below.          With a gap in the catwalk, BOWER leaps across, nearly losing          his grip. He looks down to see an odd pattern of white          shapes near the bottom.          Squinting into the darkness, he's unable to make out what          he's looking at and he manages to crawl down further,          reaching a gangplank that crosses to the towering reactor.          He motions for NADIA and TANAKA to stay put and begins          crawling across... towards a darkened control panel.                         1          LELAND is nervously watching from above, leaning further over          the railing and... a pen-lamp slips free from his belt.          The pen-lamp CLANKS off one of the catwalks and tumbles past          BOWER... dropping to the bottom... hitting the floor and          illuminating the strange white objects covering the floor          as... DOZENS of HUNTERS, all sleeping. Their pale white          bodies are intertwined and over-lapped resembling an orgy of          the living dead.                         BOWER                         CHRIST ALMIGHTY-          The fall of the pen-lamp causes one HUNTER to instantly          spring to its feet, lifting its nose towards the air like a          guard dog checking the scent.          BOWER remains frozen, gripping the gangplank that hangs          twenty feet above the field of sleeping HUNTERS.          I Slowly the HUNTER returns to sleep, slithering its way back          into the folds of flesh and BOWER continues his crawl          across... reaching the control panel.          Upon seeing the sleeping HUNTERS, LELAND fearfully backs          away, exiting the room. NADIA and TANAKA grip the ladders,          watching BOWER, holding their breath in fright.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              105.                         CONTINUED: (2)          BOWER grabs a vine, but it breaks away and he dangles over          the side, losing his grip. NADIA jumps across the gap and          climbs down, extending her weapon for him to grab. Together          they cling to the side of the reactor and BOWER taps the          control panel switches and... nothing.          His eyes widen with horror, quickly searching for a solution.          He slowly pumps a primer switch and... the light panel          flickers gently under centuries of dust and vegetation...          MATCH CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          A light gently blinks on the control console and PAYTON spots          it with a frown, running back from the door.                         PAYTON          He's in! That's the reactor's activator          panel. We're going to make it out of                         I          this. Trust me.          No response. GALLO'S shadow moves behind him, his voice          taking on a slight raspier and "older" tone.                         I                         GALLO          Trust you? How can I trust someone who          isn't even honest with himself. Tell me?          PAYTON refuses to acknowledge him, continuing to monitor the          control panel. He discreetly slides his hand closer to the          pipe weapon as he senses GALLO'S presence behind him.                         PAYTON          Gallo... you have to listen to me...          Carefully. You don't have•to-          GALLO steps closer behind him, his shadowed outline showing          an imposing posture, his voice is forced and unsteady.                         GALLO          Don't do that.          TRAP... TRAP... THAP. Blood drops hit the floor heavily.                         PAYTON          Don't... do what?          PAYTON slides his hand further across the console, reaching          for the pipe weapon, eyes on the screen.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             I          ?06.          CONTINUED.                         GALLO          Don't talk to me like some child that          needs reassurance. Think I don't know          the risks? Think I don't know this ship?                         PAYTON          Take it easy-          GALLO'S presence is felt behind him, his voice seeming to          grow raspier and uneven with breath, anger simmering.                         GALLO          I know this ship and what she's capable          of better then anyone. I know her... and          I know what she can and can't do.                         PAYTON          Easy...                         GALLO          And this... she can't do! Why are we          even arguing. You know it-                         PAYTON          I'm giving you an order...                         GALLO          You wanna stay here to die, that's your          choice, not mine!                         PAYTON          .to stand-down... Corporal.                         GALLO          NOT MINE!          PAYTON shoves himself out of his chair, reaching for the pipe          weapon to find nothing! He spins to see GALLO holding the          pipe and the pistol-gripped syringe, glaring down at him.          The heavy streams of blood are oozing from his nose and ears,          insanity shown in his hollow gaze.          GALLO (CONT`D)          Who's being irrational here, Lieutenant?          Tell me? Who's being delusional!? Hmm?          PAYTON raises his hands, calmly submitting.                         PAYTON          Think about what you're doing...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              107.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         GALLO          I'm getting off this ship. My flight's          over. OVER!          Another panel on the console begins to gently blink as...                         CUT TO:          INT. REACTOR CONTROL TERMINAL - CONT.          BOWER and NADIA cling to the side of the reactor, quietly          flipping switches and entering codes as... the sea of HUNTERS          sleep below them.          BOWER unfolds the auxiliary power lever, each movement          creating a CREAK of rusted metal. He grips the handle and          slowly begins to turn the magneto crank. The CREAKS of          rusted metal and the low WHINE of magnetos grows louder.          HUNTERS begin to stir in their sleep as NADIA watches them          with fright.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL, DESK          GALLO is jabbing the pistol-gripped syringe towards PAYTON,          motioning him closer to the sleep pods. He motions and          PAYTON kneels at the panel... entering the code.                         PAYTON          This won't work...                         GALLO          Shut-up.          GALLO jabs the syringe gun towards the back of PAYTON'S head          while putting one foot inside the pod.                         PAYTON          just think about what you're doing-                         GALLO          SHUT-UP!          PAYTON continues entering the launch code as GALLO steps          inside with his other foot.                         PAYTON          It wasn't the crew that was sick, was it?                         GALLO          Finish the code...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              108.                         CONTINUED :                         PAYTON          What did you really do to them...?          GALLO slides into the pod and...                         GALLO          FINISH IT!          PAYTON hits a key and LIGHTS BLINK. GALLO looks away for a          second and PAYTON suddenly grabs the hatch lever... SLAMMING          it closed. He cranks the latch, locking GALLO inside.                         GALLO (CONT-D)          WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?          PAYTON wedges a pipe through the handle as GALLO violently          kicks the hatch.                         PAYTON          For your own good-                         GALLO          WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?                         PAYTON          You're not well, Corporal. You just need          the proper treatment-                         GALLO          LET ME OUT GOD DAMMIT! OPEN IT!! THAT'S          AN ORDER MOTHER FUCKER!                         PAYTON          This isn't your fault-                         GALLO          I'LL FUCKING CARVE YOU UP- HEAR ME!?          I'LL GUT YOU LIKE A FUCKING-                         PAYTON          Your mind... has turned against itself.          GALLO EXPLODES with RAGE... POUNDING on the hatch with a jack-          hammer of fists, bones shattering in his own hands. PAYTON          ignores his screams, going back to the console and typing          I into the keyboard.                         GALLO          OPEN THIS HATCH CORPORAL!          E CUT TO:                         I                                                                                                              109.          INT. REACTOR CONTROL TERMINAL          BOWER cranks the hand lever faster and faster, the MOAN of          magnetos growing louder and louder. He gives one last spin          and hits the primer switch. A split-second of nothing and          then the panels brightly come to life. The digital panel          reads: >> ROTATION SEQUENCE >> CODE INITIATE TO PROCEED >>          BOWER takes a sigh of relief and glances to see NADIA is          frozen with fright. He follows their eye-line to see the          entire floor of HUNTERS are awake, heads turned towards them.          HEFLIN steps closer in their direction with a HISS.          BOWER gasps and the entire pack of HUNTERS moves toward them          and... suddenly, TANAKA bangs his bladed weapon against the          railing with a heavy CLANK! The HUNTERS instantly turn          toward his direction and TANAKA throws his weapon, HITTING          one of the HUNTERS directly in the head.          TANAKA jumps to the neighboring catwalk and breaks through a          hatch, coated with vines and vegetation. HEFLIN screeches a          command and the HUNTERS ignite in a chain-reaction, grabbing          their weapons and taking chase like a swarm of attack dogs.          They climb the wall with inhuman speed and rush out the          hatch, following TANAKA.                         NADIA          Hurry! Go!          BOWER turns back to the panel, flipping more switches and          continuing the process as the reactor begins to HUM as...                         CUT TO:          INT. LOADING PLATFORM          TANAKA is running at full sprint, bounding over dishevelled          equipment and weaving through debris as the pack of enraged          HUNTERS emerge from every direction to follow his path.          One HUNTER gains quickly at a sprinter's pace and TANAKA runs          directly for the open hatchway. (The hatchway they detoured          earlier.) He dives through as the sprinting HUNTER is almost          upon him.          A booby-trap is sprung, hydraulic pistons SNAP a razor-wire          that "clotheslines" the HUNTER, nearly ripping him in half as          TANAKA hits the floor, rolls to his feet and keeps running.          HEFLIN and the HUNTERS slash the tangled snare with their          weapons, trying to break through.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              110.          INT. REACTOR BAY - CONT.          BOWER types quickly, flipping numerous switches and... a          SHUDDER is felt, the tower begins to TREMBLE with a low bass          MOAN, like an engine trying to turn over.                         BOWER          Com'on...          NADIA looks back to see there are still HUNTERS in the          reactor bay, ones who didn't join the chase, slowly coming          out of the shadows, crawling up the walls.                         NADIA          Bower...?                         BOWER          I'm going as fast as I can-                         NADIA                         (TERRIFIED)                         BOWER-                         BOWER                         WAIT-          He hits the final key as NADIA grabs his shoulder. He turns          to see... WEASEL and numerous HUNTERS have them surrounded,          waiting to pounce. With nowhere to go, they are done for as          WEASEL CACKLES a command, the HUNTERS moving in, just as...          SHIIIISSSSH! High pressure steam erupts from the reactor's          pressure relief valves. The HUNTERS back pedal in fear as          the ventilation system ignites... fresh oxygen hits the blue          torches... BURSTING into BRILLIANT ORANGE FIREBALLS..          The HUNTER'S scatter in a panic as the BRIGHT FLAMES are          blinding and a tremendous SHUDDER travels through the ship          like an earthquake...          MATCH CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - CONT.          The SHUDDER hits the control desk, rattling the monitors and          1 WARNING LIGHTS and BUZZERS ignite as the ship feels full          power after centuries of laying dormant.          I GALLO slows his POUNDING, blood coating his fists.                         PAYTON          I My God... he did it! He did it.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                                             CONTINUED:          The SCREENS FLICKER BRIGHTLY, all of the systems engaging.          GALLO is shocked, pressing his face against the glass,          peering across the computer terminals that are igniting.                         GALLO          Let me out. I can... help.          PAYTON ignores him, typing rapidly into the keyboard.                         GALLO (CONT'D)          I'll help you! Please- I can help!          PAYTON runs over to the security door and hits a switch on          the sensor. The door doesn't react.                         GALLO (CONT'D)          What are you doing? You can't- You're          trying to get on the bridge?          PAYTON runs back to the console, typing into the terminal.                         GALLO (CONT'D)          You don't want to go in there, Corporal.          PAYTON throws him a glare, continuing to type in commands as          the room erupts with activity.          GALLO (CONTT' D )          What are you going to tell them? Huh?          How are you going to explain that?                         PAYTON          shut-up.                         GALLO                         (DEVILISH GRIN)          They'll know what you did.                         PAYTON          SHUT-UP!                         CUT TO:          TNT. REACTOR BAY - CONT.          Other HUNTERS have retreated away from the reactor, cowering          in fear with the exception of WEASEL, enraged by the temple's          disturbance. He HISSES as he lunges for BOWER. Trying to          duck, they SLAM into the reactor wall and CRASH to the          catwalk below.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              112.                         CONTINUED:          WEASEL has incredibly quick reflexes as he springs back to          his feet just as BOWER charges into him, slamming into a wall          of burning algae. The fire quickly spreads across WEASEL'S          skin, igniting the oil that's been rubbed across his body.          With WEASEL SCREECHING wildly and engulfed in flame, BOWER          viciously continues pummeling him, throwing a rage of blows          until the body stops twitching. The flames begin to catch on          BOWER'S arms and NADIA pulls him back.          They look to see most of the HUNTERS fleeing the room, but          others have grabbed weapons. BOWER grabs her arm, pulling          her towards the hatch.                         CUT TO:          INT. LOADING DOCK - CONT.          As BOWER and NADIA run, the ship comes to life all around          them, every LIGHT FLASHING and every mechanism ENGAGING at          full power. A startling contrast of blinding white walls and          glowing floors as they run down the corridor.                         CUT TO:          INT. CORRIDOR ATRIUM - CONT.          STEAM ERUPTS from pipes and LIGHTS BLINDLY FLICKER as HUNTERS          scatter and run off in separate directions.          Slowly, TANAKA emerges from a hiding place, dropping down          from the rafters overhead. With a grin he turns to head back          the other direction to see...          HEFLIN waiting for him.          They stare one another down, both raising their bladed          weapons as LIGHTS shatter and implode around them from their          own intensity.          HEFLIN lunges with a HISS and blades CLASH!                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK          PAYTON rapidly pounds his fingers into the keyboard and...          LIGHTS activate... causing one of the security doors to          engage... sliding open. But, it's the wrong door, revealing          a corridor leading endlessly into the back of the ship.                         I                         PAYTON                         DAMMIT-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              113.                         CONTINUED:                         GALLO          Where do you think you're going?                         PAYTON                         QUIET-          PAYTON continues to work the control panels, looking to the          sealed door on the other end of the room.                         GALLO          Think about what you're doing, sir-                         PAYTON                         SHUT-UP-          GALLO pushes his knees against the hatch, the pipe beginning          to bend, the seal CRACKING open.                         GALLO          You don't want to see what's in there-                         PAYTON                         SHUT-UP;                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CRAMBER/MAIN CORRIDOR          The control panel on a sleep-chamber is FLASHING as a          passenger KICKS his hatch open from the inside. The haggard          and bewildered passenger crawls out to find himself in the          middle of CHAOS. Before he can get a breath he's attacked by          HUNTERS.          What was once a dark and haunting chamber of metal, is now a          disco tech from hell as lights FLASH across the corridor in          what appears to be a massive riot, PASSENGERS and HUNTERS          fighting.          ANGLE ON/CRANE UP          BOWER and NADIA run across the top of the sleep chamber wall,          thirty feet above the havoc that's ensuing below. A LIGHT          BULBS BURST as...          MATCH CUT TO:          INT_ ATRIUM - CONT.          Metal blades SPARK as they connect between HEFLIN and TANAKA.          The sword play is crude, but powerful and brutal. HEFLIN          can't match his skills and pile-drives him, ripping into him          with his own bare hands and a horrific SCREECH.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              114.                         CONTINUED:          TANAKA tries to grab a hold of him, but HEFLIN digs in with          his teeth, biting into his stomach. TANAKA screams, hitting          HEFLIN'S head with everything he's got, but he won't let go.          TANAKA lifts HEFLIN'S feet and ROARS as he charges himself          directly into the wall, neck bones SNAPPING! HEFLIN goes          limp, dropping to the floor dead as TANAKA gasps... looking          down to see the damage has been done, blood flowing heavily.          He takes a breath, turns to exit FREEZING to see... the CHILD          HUNTER standing alone, sensing the death of HEFLIN with          almost an expression of sorrow. TANAKA lowers his weapon          and... THWACK! The CHILD stabs TANAKA in the chest with a          small bladed weapon.          TANAKA gasps with shock, collapsing to his knees, eyes wide          before going to the floor. The CHILD begins to feed.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/MAIN CORRIDOR          BOWER and NADIA climb to a cat-walk only to see HUNTERS are          following their trail. They run to a ladder and spot LELAND          already climbing above them.                         BOWER          Go... GO! GO!          Half way up, LELAND looks back to see them coming with          HUNTERS close behind. He gives them a look before closing          the hatch and latching it.                         NADIA          You snake bastard- OPEN IT!                         CUT TO:          INT. CORRIDOR - CONT.          With the YELLS muffled under the hatch, LELAND runs towards          an open door at the far end of the long corridor.                         ANGLE ON          Inside the door at the far end... PAYTON is at the control          console, quickly typing into the keyboard. He hears the          E hatch CRACK open and he spins to see GALLO, out of the pod,          with a twisted grin, holding the pistol-gripped syringe.                         GALLO          We both know who needs this shot...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              115.                         CONTINUED:          PAYTON counters with the bladed weapon.                         PAYTON                         STAY BACK-                         GALLO          Who's the one suffering... sir-                         PAYTON          I MEAN IT!          PAYTON lunges with the weapon, RAGE in his EYES as... GALLO          jabs with the pistol-syringe, they lock hands, grabbing one          anothers wrists... slamming into the wall.          Upon IMPACT with the wall, GALLO suddenly appears slightly          older, his voice lowering in level.                         GALLO          Corporal...          PAYTON slams him against the wall, making him older.                         PAYTON                         (RAGE SIMMERING)          STOP IT!          PAYTON slams him again, a FLASH that reveals GALLO has aged          almost matching PAYTON, their voices sounding the same...                         GALLO          Your mind... has turned against itself,                         CORPORAL-                         PAYTON          I'll FUCKING CARVE YOU UP!          Within the struggle, hands grab at weapons, a wrist is          twisted... lining up both of their identification tattoos to          be identical... FLT>>004>>012>>.          The syringe is stabbed into skin. The trigger fires liquid,          injecting the chemical into someone's arm as their voices          converge, over-lapping at first and becoming one voice...                         GALLO & PAYTON          It's for the best... Corporal.                         I                         ANGLE ON          LELAND runs up the corridor, through the doors and into the          room, gasping for breath, pausing to see...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              116.                         CONTINUED: (2)          PAYTON is ALONE. He's just injected the syringe into his own          wrist. He's the only person in the room. Heavy blood          streams are running from his nose and ears.          Y77e will now refer to PAYTON by his real name, GALLO.          LELAND and GALLO exchange a look... GALLO seeming to snap out          of his trance. LELAND approaches, wheezing for air.                         LELAND          We made it! We- I'm with your boy. I          was the one helping with-          GALLO suddenly SLASHES his throat! LELAND reels back in          shock, throttling his own neck in horror, blood gushing.          GALLO casually turns back to the console, continuing to type          as LELAND tries to cry out, his voice gargled with blood as          he staggers, collapsing to the floor. GALLO hits a key and          LIGHTS IGNITE, the last door finally engaging.          GALLO sigh with relief as the doors slide open revealing a          corridor of stairs leading to the bridge. A warm and gentle          smile widens on his face.                         I PAYTON          Captain on the bridge.          He heads toward the bridge, while flipping another switch          that ignites the opposite doors just as...                         ANGLE ON          BOWER and NADIA angrily burst through the hatch in the floor,          jamming it behind them and run up the corridor. They see the          doors sliding shut.                         BOWER          That's it! GO! Go for it!          With HUNTERS hot on their trail... they run full sprint          towards the sliding doors. HUNTERS lunge out of side          corridors with SCREECHING HISSES as BOWER and NADIA dive          through the sliding doors...          One HUNTER is crushed by the doors., split nearly in half with          a heavy THUD of steel and a MOAN of hydraulics. The HUNTER          spasms wildly, kicking and clawing as BOWER and NADIA back          pedal into the room. HUNTERS gather at the gap, stabbing          weapons between the doors, trying to crawl through with          SCREECHES and HISSES of rage.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              117.                         CONTINUED: ( 3)          BOWER and NADIA back further away, turning to see the room.          The original room that BOWER woke up in now looks quite          different with all the systems engaged, BLINDING LIGHT coming          from the monitors and computer terminals.          They move through the room, passing the empty sleep chambers          and the control console, seeing the entire pathway of dripped          blood across the floor.                         NADIA          Where's... your lieutenant?                         BOWER          He's not my lieutenant.          She frowns off his look and turns to see... LELAND on the          floor in a pool of blood, throat slashed, dead.          BOWER pulls the gun and heads into the open doorway leading          towards the bridge as NADIA follows behind.                         FOLLOW THRU:          INT. COMMAND BRIDGE - CONT.          A tunneled stairwell widens out into the main flight bridge.          A stunning sight, a split-level glass control deck, rows of          blinking control panels and flight chairs. It appears          undisturbed, a thin layer of silt floats out from under their          footsteps.          BOWER leads the way, panning the weapon throughout the room          with no sign of GALLO. On the far wall; cockpit windows          coated with a black fungus that obscures the view, but hints          to the illusion of outer space, a haze of cosmic dust without          stars.                         NADIA                         (IN AWE)          What's happened... to us? Where are we?          BOWER goes to the nearest control console, tapping the          keyboard. The computer instantly responds, data scrolling          across the screen.                         BOWER          Flight log. It'll tell us how long we've          I been out... and how far we've gone.          BOWER types in a command and the computer begins to scroll          through the flight computer's time-code. Starting with the          launch date and time the numbers begin to roll faster and          faster. BLIP... BLIP... BLIP.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              118.                         CONTINUED:          NADIA walks towards the windows and suddenly jumps back with          fright to realize one of the flight control chairs has a          FIGURE sitting in it. GALLO, motionless and gazing toward          the windows.          Off her gasp, BOWER grabs his gun and approaches as the          computer time-code continues to roll even faster with no sign          of slowing... months becoming years.          BOWER approaches from behind GALLO... his identification          tatto now clearly visible... FLT>>004>>012>>. He cranks the          lever on the gun with a WHINE of magnetos and the laser          sights flare brightly onto GALLO'S back.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          Seems my little memory lapse has finally          worn off... "Lieutenant".          BOWER slowly approaches, moving closer to his profile, the          stream of blood from GALLO'S ear shown running down his neck.                         GALLO                         (DRYLY)          Mine too.                         BOWER          Who the hell are you?          GALLO keeps his gaze towards the windows, emotionless.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          You're team four. Why would you...          switch bunks? Pretend to be someone          else? What would you be wanting to hide?          Who the hell are you?                         GALLO          I was younger then you when I first came          on board. Funny, I can't even remember          what it was like... before this flight          began. It's all I know.                         BOWER          You were the one... who first received          the final transmission. Who refused to          go back to sleep. You stayed awake...          for all those years. What were you          doing... what crimes were you hiding from          when you took Payton's bunk?          The time-code display rolls faster, years rolling into          decades... BLIP, BLIP, BLIP.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              119.                         CONTINUED: (2)                         GALLO                         (IMPRESSED)          How the hell would you know all that?                         BOWER          Is it true? What have you done to us?          Where are we now?          GALLO lazily nods towards the windows.                         GALLO          Go ahead. Take a peek. You tell me.          BOWER hesitates, looking toward the darkened windows. He          stays with the weapon on GALLO as NADIA wanders toward the          front control console, towards the glass.          With the lights fading on the weapon, BOWER gives the lever a          quick whirl, motioning the barrel closer.          GALLO (CONT ' D )          What are. you gonna do, Bower? There's no          one left to hand out merit badges. No          one left at all.                         BOWER          And that makes it okay? To play God?                         GALLO          You think God survived? He's gone...          with the rest. There's no one left to          judge you, Bower.          NADIA approaches the glass, squinting towards the heavily          smudged glass. She frowns, trying to wipe away the layer of          sludge.                         BOWER          Judgement will come for you. You think          you could cover it? Your victims          survived. Evolved. That's your creation          out there. Your crime.          BOWER jabs the gun into his back with force.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          And you thought you'd be able to hide it?          Who would ever suspect that? Who would          ever remember? I remember.          NADIA rubs the glass with her hand, squinting into the          darkness. The time-code display rolls faster, decades into          centuries... BLIP, BLIP, BLIP.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              120.                         CONTINUED: (3)                         GALLO          No world left. No law. No order. Only          us. You the law now? You gonna be the          one that brings order to what's left?          Wanna take a shot at it? I did my best          with what I was given. Wanna be King for          a day? Give it a whirl, Corporal. I'd          like to see how you fare.          With the laser sights fading on the weapon, BOWER quickly          cranks the power lever, keeping the gun raised-          A slow grin spreads across GALLO'S face as he finally looks          to him, revealing the thick streams of blood that have          dripped from his nose, coating his chin and neck.          GALLO (CONT`D)          Try to imagine it. Imagine... yourself          for five minutes without morality. I'll          bet you'd surprise even yourself, kid-                         BOWER          Shut-up.                         (TO NADIA)          What's out there?          NADIA shakes her head, rubbing away the sludge from the          glass, squinting harder.                         GALLO          Imagine... us both. What's left to stop          you? I offer you the kingdom and you-                         BOWER                         SHUT-UP-                         GALLO          There's still quite a few sleeping          beauties down there... a thousand          flavors. You up for a little window          shopping?                         BOWER          Shut-up!                         GALLO          (licking his lips)          I wanna see it. I'll bet you'd be a                         REEEEAL TIGER-          BOWER suddenly shoves him out of the chair, slamming him to          the floor, jabbing the barrel into the back of his neck.                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              121.                         CONTINUED: (4)                         BOWER          There will be law... in whatever world we          create. And you'll pay for what you've          done. Believe me.          GALLO chuckles with his face pressed to the floor.                         GALLO          A real boy scout, is that it, kiddo?                         BOWER          HEAR ME ASSHOLE?!          NADIA suddenly GASPS... flinching away from the cockpit          windows, having just seen what's outside. Her expression is          ghostly as she back pedals.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          What is it?          GALLO looks up with a blood-soaked grin.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          What do you see!?                         I                         GALLO          You ready for the new world, corporal?          BOWER keeps the gun on him as he goes to the windows. NADIA          has a ghostly expression, unable to speak. BOWER leans          toward the glass, squinting into the darkness and...          SWISH! An object moves past the outside of the glass. He          leans closer, squinting to see... a school of ALIEN FISH dart          past. The shin is underwater.          BOWER staggers in shock, back pedalling as GALLO continues to          chuckle.                         BOWER                         (DISBELIEF)          We've... we've already crashed. We've          already... we're...          The time-code display rolls centuries past, more then a          thousand years accounted for as it finally slows to a stop.          BLIP... BLIP... BLIP.                         BOWER (CONT'D)          We've been... down here... all this          time!? All this... time-                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              122.                         CONTINUED: (5)          BOWER staggers against the console in shock,. the weapon          lowering to his side.                         GALLO          I guess this thing does land itself.          Just doesn't float too well.          BOWER lunges towards him and GALLO is ready for this one,          quickly countering his move and SLAMMING BOWER into the          console. He unleashes a vicious BLOW into BOWER'S throat.          BOWER collapses, choking for air and GALLO kicks the gun          away. He kneels over BOWER, slowly pulling out a blade.          G_ALLO (CONT'D)          And you thought you could be King!?          He slides the blade under BOWER'S neck and... there's a WHIRL          of magnetos.          He looks up to see NADIA cranking the lever on the energy          gun. She tries to turn the gun towards him and...                         I          GALLO lunges toward her just as she's able to FIRE! The          BLA..ST of energy goes into the console with a CRACK of          1 THUNDER, knocking everyone off their feet. Shattered glass          and metal HIT the cockpit window like a spray of shrapnel...                         CLOSE UP          .sending a thin crack across the surface of the glass.          She struggles to crank the lever again as GALLO charges,          hitting the gun away. He SLAMS her over the console.                         GALLO (CONT'D)          My apologies. Ladies first... of course.          ANGLE ON/CLOSE UP          The crack on the window begins to spiderweb across...                         ANGLE ON          GALLO grabs her hair to expose her neck and angles the blade          upward, forcing her to take a GASP as...          BOSSSH! Water explodes through the windows, hitting the room          like a hundred fire hoses. GALLO is hit directly and thrown          across the room as NADIA and BOWER are engulfed by the blast          of black water, sent tumbling.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              123.          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER/CONTROL DESK - CONT.          The tremendous ROAR of rushing water rolls them down the          stairwell and into the sleep chamber compartment in a raging          torrent, a tidal wave slams into the wall.          BOWER grabs onto NADIA and they claw themselves along the          wall as computer terminals SPARK and LIGHTS go black. He          pulls her to a sleep-chamber and he jumps inside the open          hatch, pulling her with.                         NADIA          NO!? Are you crazy-                         BOWER          GET IN!          He pulls her inside and turns to the control panel. He hits          the keypad to read: >>> DETACHMENT INITIATED >>>          BOWER struggles to close the hatch as water rushes in,          SLAMMING it shut on top of them.          GALLO struggles to keep his head above water as the fast          moving current SLAMS him into the edge of the doorway. His          I fingers claw at the manual lever for the door, tugging and          tugging with no effect as the water rises above his head.                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER          BOWER and NADIA are squeezed together inside the pod as water          quickly rises above the porthole.                         NADIA                         (GASPING)          Not like this! I can't- like this!                         BOWER          Hold on!          Under the roar of the rushing water, hydraulics ignite.          Micro-jets FIRE and WHOOSH! The pod launches, shooting down          a tunnel until they're HIT with a tremendous JOLT.          They are sent spinning into a wild tumble as bubbles and gas          erupt across the outer surface. BOWER and NADIA slam into          one another as the chamber turns end over end.          Its roll seems to slow for a brief moment and BOWER squints          toward the porthole to see...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              124.                         CONTINUED:                         POV          They are pulling away from the side of the ship. The          exterior hull of the massive space ship slides past at a high          rate of speed with a swirl of ocean water and bubbles.          BAM! The pod SLAMS into something as SPARKS fly and seals          are ruptured as WATER sprays in with a blinding BLAST. The          chamber is sent into another violent roll as NADIA and BOWER          tumble head over feet, as if caught within a washing machine.          The chamber finally steadies as water washes across the          control panel, one last burst of sparks knocks out the          lights, taking them into BLACK.          Only their gasps are heard as they squirm towards the upper          corner... only a foot of air remaining.          He grabs the mask connected to tubes in the side and pulls          the straps over her head.                         NADIA          I What are you doing!?                         BOWER          1 Put it on!                         NADIA          No! I can't- Not like this! I'm not          going to wake up and drowned-                         BOWER          PUT IT ON!          He pulls it over her face as the water rises with only          several inches of air inside the chamber. BOWER gasps          desperately into the corner.          NADIA gasps the air through the mask, making her eye-lids          droop, slowly going unconscious. BOWER gasps one last breath          and the water rises over his head.          BOWER watches her body go limp and squirms for air as... a          warm GLOW of WHITE LIGHT grows brighter through the porthole.          As sunlight dances through the porthole, he kicks at the          hatch and...                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              125.          EXT. OCEAN SURFACE - DAY          BOWER kicks open the hatch, gasping for breath. A gentle          breeze ripples across the water with a sunlight flickering          across the surface of an ocean.          He pulls NADIA out of the chamber, ripping the mask off her          face. Her eye-lids slowly begin to flicker back to          consciousness.                         BOWER          Hey...? Hey?          She chokes on the air and struggles to orientate herself,          looking up to see him gazing down at her, coated with bright          sunlight.                         NADIA                         (GASPING)          Where are we? What happened?                         BOWER                         (GRIN)          It's all right. It's safe to wake up          this time.                         I          With eyes of disbelief, they turn to see...                         WIDE ANGLE          They sit on the edge of the sleep chamber as it lightly bobs          within the ocean waves. They're just off shore from a          stretch of mountainous tropical islands with waves crashing          against the beaches. The unusual shape of the islands and          their geography are nothing like we've ever seen on Earth.          Several moons dot the sky and the sun is rising with a          brilliant glow on the horizon.          FADE TO BLACK:          INT. COMMAND DECK          Pitch black. A low CHURNING is heard, a motor that is          pumping as the water lowers, allowing us to see across the          dishevelled command platform, the walls dripping with water.          The water is being drained through the grates in the floor as          unseen bilge pumps are heard loudly WHIRLING. The pump          motors whine down and shut off as...                         CONTROL CONSOLE          A hand flips off the switch for the ventilation ducts. It's          GALLO...                         (CONTINUED)                                                                                                              126.                         CONTINUED:          standing at the console, having changed clothes and recovered          from the ordeal. He examines the empty tank where BOWER'S          sleep chamber once sat. He eyes the other sleep-chambers,          deeply contemplating.          He goes back to the control console, scanning across the          numerous surveillance monitors that reveal...          PASSENGERS and HUNTERS engaged in a variety of activities all          across the ship. Some are seen fighting, some searching for          food, some searching for a way out, some alone weeping. A          kingdom, for the taking.          He pulls out a coffee packet and slowly begins mixing himself          a cup, deeply contemplating as he looks across the screens.          He glances over to see... YOUNG GALLO, the younger version of          himself, who is seated nearby, watching with a grin. The          blood is gone from his face, appearing clean-cut, clean          uniform.                         YOUNG GALLO          Well, if you're gonna be captain... what          are we gonna do now?          Off his look...                         CUT TO:          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER COMPARTMENT - LATER          SHUSH... THUD. Doors open to another sleep chamber          compartment, completely undisturbed. Four undisturbed sleep-          chambers are lined against the wall.          GALLO enters, now wearing the CAPTAIN'S uniform, he          straightens his collar and kneels next to one of the pods,          typing into the panel. A grin appears as he removes the          wedding ring (PAYTON'S ring) he'd forgotten he's still          wearing.                         GALLO          What is a King... without his Queen.          He hits the control panel switch and...          INT. SLEEP CHAMBER          A FEMALE CREW MEMBER, a beautiful young woman, deep in hyper--          slumber suddenly twitches... her EYES opening wide with a          GASP as she stares into CAMERA.          CUT TO BLACK.                         THE END
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+PANIC ROOM by David Koepp February 23, 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------- This film is short. This film is fast. FADE IN: EXT. MANHATTAN - DAY The whole island, from the south. For a second. Literally. EXT. NEW YORK SKYLINE - DAY Closer, just the skyline. For another second. EXT. UPPER WEST SIDE - DAY Closer still, the Upper West Side. For another second. No time to waste admiring the scenery. EXT. WEST 83RD STREET - DAY Race across a field of PEDESTRIANS to pick up three women hurrying down the sidewalk. LYDIA LYNCH, a real estate broker, vaults down the sidewalk, she's got a hell of a stride. MEG ALTMAN, thirtyish, struggles to keep up with her, she's tall, wafer-thin, pale as a ghost. SARAH, a nine year old girl, flat out runs to keep up, dribbling a basketball as she goes. The kid's athletic, much tougher than Meg, who she resembles. Lydia reads from a sheet she carries in her bouncing hands. LYDIA -- seventeen feet wide, fifty-five feet deep, forty-two hundred square feet, four floors with a rentable basement apartment, so five altogether, courtyard in back -- MEG Could you slow down a little? (looking back over her shoulder) Or we could wait for the car... LYDIA No cars. Feet are faster. MEG How many more do we have after this? LYDIA None, there's nothing else, you know how tight the market is. MEG This is it? I told you on the phone, I have to be moved in in two weeks. Sarah, please don't bounce that here. SARAH Mom, it's the sidewalk. LYDIA Oh, that miserable little prick is already leaving. They approach a row of brownstones, narrow four story townhouses, nice looking buildings, a hundred years old or more. EVAN, a sour-looking man, has just locked the front door of number 26 and is coming down the steps. He sees them coming. EVAN One day you will learn to respect other people's time, Lydia, one day you -- LYDIA Evan, I am so sorry, you were a saint to wait for us! CUT TO: INT. TOWNHOUSE - FOYER - DAY Evan throws open the front door, revealing the airy foyer of the townhouse. The place is completely empty. He talks fast, races through the tour. The three of them come in, Sarah still bouncing her basketball. EVAN This is the middle of the house, the entry floor, living room's over there. The kitchen floor's below us and there's two bedroom floors above. The front door closes behind them, with a THUD so authoritative it seems to say no one's ever getting out. Meg tries to get her daughter's attention, to tell her to stop bouncing the ball in the house. EVAN It's an enormous amount of space for the money and I'll be perfectly honest, the family is in no hurry whatsoever. Meg whispers Sarah's name, but Sarah still ignores her, goes on bouncing the ball. EVAN I don't have to tell you there is an acute shortage of living space in Manhattan right now and this is a highly unique property. LYDIA No ball, kid. Sarah immediately stops bouncing. She wanders into the living room, peers through the big French doors, which look out over the courtyard area. There's another row of brownstones on the next block, and all the patios back up to one another. It looks tranquil out there, oasis in the city. Sarah leans up against the door, sighs, her breath fogs the window. There is a profound melancholy about her. Meg watches her, tries to catch eyes with her in the reflection. Can't. Evan flings open the door of an old-fashioned cage-style elevator. EVAN Working elevator. Mr. Pearlstine, the previous owner, was disabled the last ten years of his life. Highly unusual, the elevator, you will not find this in ninety percent of brownstones. MEG Will they take asking price? I need a two week escrow and I'm already approved for the loan. Lydia turns, gives Meg an "are you insane?" look. EVAN What say we see the house before we dicker, hmm? (starting up the stairs) I have to warn you, this is exactly the response we expected to get. It's a very emotional property. As he disappears upstairs, Lydia turns to Meg, lowers her voice. LYDIA Who taught you to negotiate? SARAH It's not like Saks', Mom, you don't have to pay the price on the tag. She gets in the elevator and RATTLES the door shut with a bang. That kid's got an attitude. Meg takes a deep breath, turns to Lydia. She brushes her hair behind an ear, we notice her thin hand is shaking. MEG I'm sorry. Apartments, and... money, and... this is more my husband's area. She digs in her purse for a prescription pill bottle and some water. MEG Was. His area. I'm not very good at... Lydia watches as she swallows a pill, waiting for Meg to finish her sentence. Not very good at what? MEG Things, and if I can't prove to my soon to-be ex-husband that I can provide a suitable place for our daughter to live in the next fourteen days, it's going to get ugly between us. Uglier. Lydia just looks at her, no idea what to say. These two are from different places. EVAN (O.S.) (from upstairs) It would be so lovely if I could shot the property before I leave! CUT TO: INT. TOP FLOOR BEDROOM - DAY Evan, Lydia, and Meg poke their heads in a series of rooms, one after the other, the tour flying by quickly. First, an upstairs bedroom. Nice, roomy, looks out on the courtyard. EVAN Top floor. Two bedrooms, one bathroom. INT. DEN - DAY Another floor, another empty room. The trio passes through. EVAN Third floor, spare bedroom, den, what have you. Mr. Pearlstine used it as an office. LYDIA (low voice, to Meg) He's talking about Bernard Pearlstine. Meg shrugs, who's that? EVAN (moving, through a bathroom) Master bath. LYDIA The hotel guy? It's been in the papers lately. His kids are all suing each other over his estate. He was a total recluse, paranoid, rich as hell, he was worth thirty million or something, now it turns out they can't find half of it. (singsong) Somebody took something didn't belong to them! EVAN I hardly see how family gossip is germane to showing the property. LYDIA (low, to Meg) Stop calling it the property, you sound ridiculous. EVAN (through a closet) Master closet. From the hallway, there is a GROANING METALLIC sound, the elevator, and the happy laughter of the little girl as she puts it through its paces. Evan winces, speaks as if his mouth hurts when he moves it. EVAN Could the child please stop that? LYDIA KID! NO ELEVATOR! She looks at Meg and winks. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - DAY EVAN And we emerge in the master bedroom. He checks his watch. Meg looks around, studying the dimensions of the room. She looks at the far wall, the one that borders the house next door. She looks at the wall that corners it, opposite the window wall. She takes two steps back from it. MEG Something's weird. LYDIA What? MEG I don't know, doesn't that corner seem funny to you? She points to the far end of the wall, near the entrance to the closet. There is a mirrored door that leads to the closet, and a mirror on the wall alongside it. If you look closely, you'll see that the mirrors are raked slightly toward one another, which causes an optical illusion in which the corner of the room appears much closer to the door than it is. EVAN I was waiting to see if you'd notice! On caravan, no one from our office had the slightest idea. He pushes on the top of the mirror on the wall. It makes a faint CLICK, then glides open a few inches off the wall. He pulls it toward him, opens it all the way, a hundred eighty degrees, and it fastens magnetically to the back of the closed door. There is smooth wall behind it, but if you look closely, there is a faint vertical crack in the wall. Meg looks at him -- what in the world? Even pushes again, twice this time, first at the top, then at the bottom, and the smooth wall CLICKS ajar. He pulls it wide open. Meg and Lydia step forward, fascinated. INT. PANIC ROOM - DAY From the opposite end of a lone, narrow, windowless space, we see the three of them standing in the open doorway, silhouetted by the sunlight streaming through the bedroom windows behind them. EVAN It's called a panic room. He hits a switch and a row of bulbs flick on overhead. MEG A what? EVAN A safe room. An inner sanctum. A castle keep, in medieval times. LYDIA Oh, I've seen these... EVAN It's quite in vogue in high end construction right now. One really can't be too careful about home invasion. The other two walk inside, but Meg lingers near the door, looking around, studying the neatly arrayed survival supplies -- water, food packs, batteries, flashlights, tools, rope, clothes, blankets -- you get the idea. LYDIA Hey, this is perfect for you... (Meg scoffs) Absolutely! You're a woman, you're living alone now. Your alarm goes off, or you head glass break, or for whatever reason you think someone's broken into your home in the middle of the night. What are you going to do? Call the police and wait until they get here on Tuesday? Traipse downstairs in your sexy little underthings and check it out? I think not! EVAN Reinforced steel core walls. Buried phone line, completely separate, not connected to the house's main line and never exposed throughout the house's infrastructure or outside the house -- you can call the police; nobody can cut you off. Your own ventilation system, complete with oxygen scrubber, so you've got plenty of fresh air for as long as you like. And a bank of video monitors -- He hits a switch next to a dozen tiny video monitors, revealing a dozen different views of the house. EVAN -- covering almost every corner of the house. Meg nods, starting to sweat. MEG Makes me nervous. LYDIA Why? MEG Ever read any Poe? LYDIA I don't think so, but I love her album. MEG No, Edgar Allen. LYDIA (thinks) The furniture guy? MEG (giving up) What's to keep them from prying open the door? Evan reaches past Meg and pushes a red button on the wall behind her. With a sudden WHANG of steel, a heavy metal door leaps out of a slot in the wall and SLAMS shut, like a submarine hatch. A series of metal latches CLICK into place inside it, from top to bottom, securing it into place. EVAN Steel, four inches thick. Meg takes a step back. They're now enclosed in the room. EVAN Everything's spring-loaded, even if the power's out it's fully functional. MEG Open it. LYDIA Old Bernie didn't miss a trick with this room, did he? MEG Open the door. LYDIA And with kids like he's got, no wonder he wanted a place to hide. EVAN That's highly inappropriate. MEG I said open the door. Evan hits a green button and the door GROANS slowly open, recoiling its massive spring, and revealing Sarah, the little girl, standing in the entryway, grinning widely. SARAH My room. Definitely my room. She bolts in, just as her mother bolts out. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - DAY Meg stands just outside the door to the panic room, regaining her composure. Not crazy about tight spaces. Which we already knew. LYDIA That door is a safely hazard. EVAN Not at all. He points. There's a tiny red beam that shines across the doorway, one at shoulder height -- EVAN Infrared. Like the beam in an elevator doorway. Won't let the door close if something's blocking it. -- and one at shin height. Even bend down, blocks the one at shin height with his hand. EVAN Watch. He reaches up, to push the close button, but with one hand anchored at the floor, he can't quite reach it. EVAN (to Lydia) Push that button for me, will you? MEG Don't! Lydia pushes the close button, nothing happens. Evan pulls his hand put of the beam, takes a step back. Lydia pushes the button again. WHANG! The metal door rockets shut, the metallic slang reverberating in the room. Almost immediately, the fake piece of wall HUMS shut, of its own accord, followed a moment later by the mirror, which detaches itself from the back of the closet door and HUMS silently back into place, closing over the hidden door, making the corner of the room look like a corner again. As the mirrored door closes, it shows Meg her own reflection. She looks at herself, still rattled. She wipes a trickle of sweat from the side of her face. CUT TO: INT. TOWNHOUSE - FOYER - DAY The same house, two weeks later. The entry floor is piled high with moving boxes. Sarah and Meg lie sprawled out in the middle of the black and white tile, arms and legs splayed wide, exhausted. They stare up at the ceiling, beat. SARAH Too many stairs. MEG Got us in here, didn't I? SARAH Shoulda got an apartment. MEG Well, I know that now. SARAH 478-0150. Meg raises her hand to her face, she's got her cell phone in her palm. MEG Battery's dead. CUT TO: INT. KITCHEN - DAY Meg picks up the wall phone in the kitchen, gets a dial tone. MEG The phone works. (to Sarah) Hey, I hooked up the phone. SARAH (sarcastic) The crowd goes wild. MEG (ignoring the slight) 478... SARAH 0150. Meg finishes dialing. It rings, someone answers. VOICE Perry's Pizza, please hold. CUT TO: INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Night has fallen. Meg and Sarah sit at a small table in the middle of the kitchen, surrounded by packing boxes. They eat pizza. They chew, silently. Sarah drinks a diet Dr. Pepper. Meg finishes a glass of wine. Meg's eyes are moist. Sarah notices. She notices her noticing, shrugs. I'm human, what do you want me to do, hide it? Sarah looks away, goes back to chewing. After a moment: SARAH Fuck him. MEG Don't. SARAH Fuck her too. Meg looks at her, not sure how to confront the open defiance. MEG I agree. But don't. Sarah stares at her for a moment, then goes back to eating. Meg picks up the bottle of wine. Sarah's eyes flick over and watch as wine GLUGS into her mother's glass. CUT TO: INT. SARAH'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Sarah's bedroom is full of unpacked boxes, but her twin bed has been set up and Sarah is in it, hair wet, pajamas on. She reads from a book ("Tom Swift and His Repelatron Skyway") while Meg, drowsy, lies next to her, listening. SARAH "Tom's throat felt so dry and tight that it was a moment before he could make any sound come out. "Dad!" He croaked. "I'm - inside - the - machine!" "Great Scott!" The elder scientist gasped. He dashed across the laboratory and switched off the repelatron's motor. "What happened, son?" "The Durafoam hardened, Dad. Get a solvent, quick -- you know the formula!" INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT In the master bathroom, Meg soaks in a bath. She is exhausted. She reaches for her wine glass, finishes the last of it. She stretches for the bottle, which is on the floor next to her. She refills the glass. Again. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Meg, dressed in an old Knicks T-shirt and boxer shorts, stands next to the alarm panel in the master bedroom, reading from an instruction manual. She's frustrated. She mutters, slurring, a bit drunk. MEG Bypass non-ready zones... shunt, enter, zone number... She tries it, pushing a few buttons, but the alarm panel BEEPS at her disapprovingly. She's doing something wrong. She sighs, sits on the floor, gets serious about figuring out the instructions. MEG Bypass non-ready zones... ah, shunt, enter, shunt again, zone number... wait... HER FINGERS dance over the alarm panel, some time later. She seems to have figured it out, and a small light on the panel lights up. SYSTEM ARMED The very moment the red light goes on, we cut sharply to -- INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT -- the darkened panic room, where the dozen small video screens all suddenly wink to life, showing a dozen views of the house. Whatever she pushed turned these on too, probably not what she meant to do, but at least she got the alarm on for the night. The door that leads from the panic room to the master bedroom hangs open. In the middle of the floor in here, somebody has made a small tent of blankets and couch cushions. Sarah must have been playing here before bed. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Meg puts sheets on her bed in the master bedroom. She fills a glass of water, puts it on a box she's using for a night table. She plugs in a battery charger for her cell phone, places the phone in the cradle. It BEEPS. "Charging." She sets the digital clock, puts it next to the glass of water. It's 12:26. She gets in bed, her side, the left side. She lies in the dark, half an acre of empty bed across from her. We drift off her, see the clock again. The time changes, the number one dissolves away, changing the time to -- DISSOLVE TO: INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT -- 2:26. Meg is in a hard, boozy sleep. We drift out the door of the master bedroom, into the third floor hallway, and down the open stairwell. We glide through the entry floor, still gently falling through the stairwell's airway, dropping even further, all the way down to the kitchen floor, the ground floor. We drift across the darkened kitchen, serpentine through the canyon of moving boxes, approach the window that looks out on the street. We move right up against the window, peer through the glass just as -- -- a van pulls up across the street and stops. Can't see through its windows. No movement for a moment, then the driver's door opens and a MAN climbs out. He wears dark clothes. The Man closes the door, looks both ways, and starts across the street towards us. He's carrying a bag of some kind. He goes to the door, and we drift down toward the doorknob. We hear a key slide into the door, rattle. But the lock doesn't turn. The key slides out, back in again, jiggles. Still won't open the door. The Man steps away from the door, goes to the kitchen window, which is heavily barred, and peers inside, right at us. Can't see anything, it's darker in here than it is out there. He turns, looks both ways on the street again, then steps up, onto the window ledge. Now we can only see his legs, can't tell what he's doing. He's reaching up, stretching for something. It drops into view with a metallic SCRAPE. The fire escape. The Man climbs, his feet disappearing from our field of vision. We turn around, facing the other way in the kitchen. We start back the way we came, through the canyon of boxes in the kitchen, toward the stairwell. INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT Back in the stairwell, the exact reverse of the shot we saw earlier. We're drifting up, off the kitchen floor, through the entry floor, and as we rise we notice something all the way up on the roof that we couldn't see before, when we were looking down. A skylight. We continue to rise, drawn toward it. We move up, through the master bedroom floor, creeping up alongside the stair banister, now reaching the top floor of the house, and just as we near the skylight -- -- a figure appears, visible through it. The Man in dark clothes, on the roof now. He stops, peers down through the skylight, looking at us without seeing us again. He steps across the skylight. This is not the way he intends to enter. We drift again, following his soft footsteps on the roof, which we can hear faintly through the ceiling. Here in the hall, just outside Sarah's bedroom, a closet door is ajar. We squeeze through the gap and into the closet. IN THE CLOSET, it's completely dark. Can't see a thing. But then a sliver of light appears, coming from above. We look up. There is a ladder that's bolted to the wall in this closet, it leads up to a square panel in the ceiling. Roof access. And that roof access panel is moving, ever so slightly, moonlight spilling in as it twists in its setting. A shiny silver something slides through the crack along the edges of the portal. It slithers along the edge of the hatchway, searching for something. It finds a small round nub in the crack. The silver something stops. It HUMS with electricity for a moment, then there is a bright spark and a soft CRACK. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT In the master bedroom, a message appears on the alarm panel: ZONE 19 DISABLED INT. CLOSET - NIGHT In the closet, the silver something withdraws and the roof access panel is removed. A million stars are visible in the night sky above. But we're inside. And in a moment, so is this intruder. The Man peers down, through the open hatchway, then slips through the opening and climbs silently down the ladder. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT In bed, Meg stirs. An alcohol sleep is a restless one, and she's suffering. She sits up groggily, chugs a glass of water. Lies down again. INT. FOURTH FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT One floor up, the Man steps into the hallway and starts for the stairs, moving quickly and confidently. Knows where he's going, knows what he wants. He starts down the stairs, happens to glance to the side as he does so. He freezes. He's looking in the open doorway of the top floor bathroom, staring hard at something that clearly disturbs him. A nightlight. Plugged into an outlet in the baseboard in the bathroom. (For the record, it's the Power Puff Girls.) The Man climbs the stairs again, concerned, goes to the door of the bathroom. He looks from the nightlight to the countertop. There's a moving box on the countertop. His eyes widen. This is news to him, bad news. He takes a step back and a breath. He turns, looks to the end of the hall. His eyes now adjusted to the darkness, he notices something he didn't see before, something coming from under the door to the fourth floor bedroom. Light. From inside. From another nightlight. INT. SARAH'S BEDROOM - NIGHT In the top floor bedroom, a nightlight burns in another outlet. Nearby, Sarah is asleep in bed, the covers kicked off. The door to Sarah's bedroom glides open, terribly slowly. The Man stands in the doorway, staring, aghast, at the mountain of moving boxes piled in the room. His gaze falls on Sarah in the bed. The Man just stares, beside himself. His lips mouth a word, soundlessly. Doesn't take a lip reader to guess it. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT In the master bedroom, Meg flops over in bed, facing away from the doorway, really having a rough go of it. She slept too hard before, now she's awake, her head is killing her, she's really paying the price of four glasses of wine. She lies still, on her side, facing us. Behind her, the bedroom door moves, silently. Opening. The Man stands there, one finger still on the door he's just pushed open. He stares at the sleeping form of Meg on the bed, whose back is to him. He has no idea she's awake. Meg lies in bed, eyes wide open, no idea a Man is standing in the doorway to her bedroom. Noiselessly, the Man moves away, down the hall. The moment his head disappears down the stairwell -- -- Meg flops over again, facing the doorway. She closes her eyes, gives sleep another try. CUT TO: INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT The Man walks across the kitchen, shaking his head in exasperation at the packing boxes all around him. He goes to the front window, peers outside. He reaches for a light switch on his right. Through the window, we can see the stoop light go on. Then off, then on and off again. Still through the window, we see the side panel door of the van slide open. TWO MORE MEN climb out. They are also dressed in dark clothes. They also carry satchels. They walks calmly across the street, grow large in the window as they approach us. The first intruder (who has a name, it's BURNHAM) steps over to the kitchen door, runs his silvery strip through the gap. Another HUM and spark. AN ALARM PANEL flashes again. ZONE 1 DISABLED IN THE KITCHEN, Burnham opens the kitchen door, letting the two other guys slip inside. RAOUL is a hulking figure whose back seems to rise up over the top of his slouching head; when he walks it looks like gravity does all the work, just pulling him forward. JUNIOR is much smaller, very high-strung, dresses like a homey, very street, but can't hide the fact that the street is Park Avenue. They all freeze, staring at the moving boxes. JUNIOR Fuck. BURNHAM I know. RAOUL What? BURNHAM A woman and a little girl, both asleep upstairs. JUNIOR Fuck! BURNHAM Keep your voice down. JUNIOR They're not supposed to be here! BURNHAM This was your department, Junior. JUNIOR They're not supposed to be here! BURNHAM That's why the key didn't work, they changed the locks. JUNIOR Fourteen day escrow, man, that's almost three weeks! They shouldn't be here for another week! They don't own this house yet! BURNHAM (pause) Exactly how is fourteen days almost three weeks? JUNIOR Fourteen business days. Escrow is always business days. Burnham sighs. JUNIOR I mean, right? Isn't it? BURNHAM You're an idiot. Raoul steps forward, shoves Burnham with both hands in the chest. RAOUL Watch your mouth. JUNIOR It's okay, Raoul. BURNHAM (to Junior) Who is this guy? JUNIOR Raoul is cool. That's all you need to know. BURNHAM This is insane. I'm outta here. He starts for the door. JUNIOR Wait a minute, wait a minute. We can still handle this. (to Raoul) Can we still handle this? RAOUL It's just the woman and the kid? BURNHAM Unless Daddy comes back later. JUNIOR Daddy's not coming back, she's in the middle of a divorce, it's just the two of them. We're okay, here. (to Raoul) We can do this, right? RAOUL You're fuckin' A we can do this. BURNHAM Not with me. Not with people. JUNIOR Forty-five minutes. That's all you said you need. That's like nothing. BURNHAM She'll call the cops, they'll be here before I get unpacked. JUNIOR So we keep an eye on her. Raoul can totally administrate that part. RAOUL No problem. BURNHAM I don't want Raoul to administrate that part. JUNIOR They won't get hurt. BURNHAM What about us? What if she has a gun? JUNIOR Raoul, what in God's name do we do if she has a gun? Raoul pulls up his sweatshirt, revealing a .38 tucked into his belt. BURNHAM Asshole. JUNIOR A guy shows you a gun, Burnham, and you insult him? Hey, who's the idiot? Huh? BURNHAM Where did you get this clown? JUNIOR I met him at the tables, same as you. And frankly, I'm grateful we have a little muscle right about now. BURNHAM What tables? I've never seen him before. JUNIOR Different tables. BURNHAM (to Raoul) The fuck did you bring a gun for? RAOUL You're welcome. BURNHAM Peace out. He moves for the door. Junior, trying desperately to hold this together, gets there first, blocks the door with his back. JUNIOR We can't do it without you, Burnham. Junior starts at Burnham. Raoul stares at Burnham. JUNIOR It's still a good plan. It's just... got a twist. BURNHAM Yeah. Kidnapping. JUNIOR Not if we keep 'em here. You can't kidnap somebody in their own house. It's just breaking and entering, unless we take 'em someplace. Or something like that, I'm pretty sure. BURNHAM Pure idiot. JUNIOR I am. I'm an idiot's son. An idiot's grandson. I'm third- generation idiot. But for once in my life I had a good idea, and I'm not giving up so easy. You are? Are you actually telling me that for the first time in your life you're gonna throw your cards on the table and go home early? I can't believe my eyes. (Burnham hesitates) Fourteen million dollars upstairs, Burnham. You'll be out of the hole. Baby, you'll be so far out of the hole you could draw bricks every night for the next twenty years and still shit green. (Burnham sways) Come on, Buddy. One more hand. CUT TO: INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Meg sits up in bed. She's bleary, her head feels like someone rested a manhole cover on it. She gets up, in the dark, and staggers off toward the bathroom door, feeling her way with her arms, her eyes not adjusted to the dark. She steps through the door. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT She walks into the bathroom and feels around for a light switch, but can't find it. She blinks, squints, tries to get her bearings. The only light is a harsh white glow that comes from along one wall, from a bank of tiny video monitors. She finds the light switch, flicks it on, it nearly blinds her. She's not in the bathroom. She's wandered into the panic room by mistake. She turns around, walks out, leaving the lights on behind her. We linger for a look at the video screens. If only she'd done the same, she'd see what we see. ON THE MONITORS, we see the three men, still in the kitchen, huddled in a group, silently debating what to do. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Using the light that spills from the open door to the panic room, Meg comes back into the master bedroom and finds the proper door to the bathroom. INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT Meg SNAPS the cap off a jug of Advil and dumps three into her palm. She pops them in her mouth, searches for a glass for water, finds none, bends to the spout for a gulp to wash them down. She turns to the toilet. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT On the monitor, we see the three men leave the kitchen and start up the stairs. INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT Meg stands, flushes the toilet. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT One floor down, Burnham, Raoul, and Junior freeze, just coming up the stairs from the kitchen. They look up, hearing the water rushing through the pipes in the ceiling directly above them. They stare at the ceiling, following with their eyes as a pair of feet pad across the CREAKY floor. Finally, they hear a SQUEAK of bedsprings as Meg climbs back into bed. They hold a moment longer, a silence grows. Raoul reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a ski mask. He pulls it over his head. They look at him. RAOUL (whispers) No face. Burnham rolls his eyes. Doesn't know this guy much, but hates him so far. They start across the foyer toward the stairs. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Meg rolls over, to go back to sleep. She sees she's left the lights on in the panic room. She TSKS, gets out of bed, and walks across the floor toward it. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg steps into the panic room, raises her hand to the light switch -- -- and stops, her hand frozen in mid-air. She cocks her head, looking at something she can't understand. She blinks. Takes a step, further into the room. She stares at the video monitors -- at the three men in dark clothes, stealing silently across the foyer. This can't be. These are just pictures, they have no relation to reality. She drops to her knees, her face inches from the screens, and reaches out to touch them, as if trying to make sure they're really there. INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT They reach the base of the stairs, Junior in the lead. As he reaches a bend at the base of the stairs, he places one foot short on an angled step and it slips off. He trips, falls forward. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Watching the video monitors, Meg stares in horror as the image of Junior slipping is verified by the SLAP of his hands on the stairs as he catches himself, audible through the open door to the panic room. She GASPS. It is real. INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT In the living room, Burnham's eyes are wide as saucers, staring at Junior as he turns and pulls himself to his feet. Junior points at Raoul, speaks in an urgent whisper. JUNIOR Top floor, get the little girl and keep her there. I'll bring the woman up. Gimme. He holds out his hand for the gun and Raoul gives it to him. JUNIOR (points to Burnham) Stay here. Nobody gets past you. He heads for the stairs. Raoul follows close behind him. Burnham stays, reluctant -- what the fuck has he gotten himself into? INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg moves. Leaps to her feet and dashes out of the room. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Meg races across her bedroom, flies out the door, and bolts up the carpeted stairs, headed for the top floor. INT. SARAH'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Meg races into Sarah's room, drops onto the bed, and grabs Sarah by the shoulders, trying to rouse her. MEG Wake up... wake up... But she's in a profound child's sleep and won't wake up. INT. THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT One floor down, Junior and Raoul reach the third floor landing. Still moving stealthily, Junior heads down the hall for the master bedroom, where he thinks Meg is sleeping. Raoul heads for the stairs that lead to the top floor. INT. SARAH'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Meg is desperate, still can't wake Sarah. MEG Wake up...come on, come on... She sees a plastic cup on her night table/box, half filled with water. She snatches it and tosses the water in her face. Now she's awake. And pissed off. She SPUTTERS, SHOUTS. SARAH WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?! INT. THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT Raoul, at the base of the stairs that lead to the top floor, hears the kid shouting. He starts up the stairs, quickly. INT. SARAH'S BEDROOM - NIGHT On the top floor, Meg is already dragging Sarah out of the room and into the hallway. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Meg and Sarah come out of Sarah's bedroom just as Raoul reaches the top of the stairs at the other end. They're cut off. Meg freezes, staring at the hulking ski-masked figure at the end of the hallway. She thinks, no idea what to do for a second. She looks frantically to her right -- the bathroom, dead end. She looks to her left. The elevator. She yanks open the elevator door, throws aside the gate, and races inside with Sarah. Raoul takes off down the hall, lunging for the elevator. INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT Meg SLAMS the gate shut and PUNCHES the button for the first floor. The elevator GROANS to life and starts down -- slowly. Sarah looks up at her, terrified. SARAH What's going on?! MEG People. In the house. As the elevator descends, they see Raoul, through the window in the door, as he drops to his knees, to get a good look at them. INT. TOP FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT Raoul turns from the elevator, SHOUTS to the open stairwell. RAOUL IN THE ELEVATOR! BOTH OF 'EM HEADED TOWARD YOU! INT. THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT Junior turns from the open doorway of the master bedroom and races back down the hall, toward the elevator. He reaches the door, peers through the window. He sees the bare feet of Meg and Sarah, dropping toward him. He grabs the door handle, pulls as hard as he can, but it stays locked, with the elevator moving beyond. He bangs on the button, hoping the elevator will stop. As Meg and Sarah drop fully into view, he stands there, eye to moving eye with her for a moment. But the elevator doesn't stop, it keeps going down. INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT Meg stands frozen, terrified, staring at Junior as they move past him. Junior has another go at the door, pulling as hard as he can, actually bending the door, but the elevator is still moving, the catch holds fast and the door won't open. As they pass, his face suddenly disappears, he takes off. INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT Junior flies down the stairs, to cut them off at the first floor. INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT MEG He's going down. SARAH That room! MEG What?! SARAH PANIC ROOM! Meg thinks, then punches the button for three, to go back up. But the elevator continues down. She jabs at it, futilely. SARAH No. you gotta... She reaches past her, pushes the STOP button. The elevator jerks to a halt. Then Sarah pushes three. Now the elevator starts to rise. Meg looks at her, impressed. Love that kid. INT. ENTRY FLOOR - NIGHT In the foyer, Junior freezes, hearing the elevator stop and start again. JUNIOR SHE'S COMING BACK UP TOWARD YOU!! He takes off up the stairs again. Burnham can't take it anymore, he takes off after Junior, following him upstairs. INT. FOURTH FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT Raoul, still on the top floor, heads for the stairs, fast. INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT Junior races back up the stairs. They have her caught in the middle. INT. THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT The door to the elevator BANGS open on three, the gate RATTLES aside, and Meg and Sarah leap out. They take off down the hall, toward the doorway to the master bedroom. Raoul flies down the stairs, not twenty feet behind them. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Meg and Sarah run through the master bedroom. As she passes the night table, Sarah swings an open hand to grab her cell phone from its cradle. But in her haste she starts to pull it out at an angle and the prongs at the bottom stick in the charger. The phone slips from her fingers, bounces off the corner of the table, caroms off her foot, and skitters under the bed. Sarah turns, looks to the head of the stairs just as Junior turns the corner and Raoul thunders down the steps from four. She abandons the phone, grabs Sarah, and they lunge through the open doorway to the panic room. Junior and Raoul burst through the doorway to the bedroom, just a few steps away. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg and Sarah trip over each other coming through the doorway, they tumble to the floor of the panic room, the door wide open behind them. Meg spins around, hurls herself at the red button on the wall -- -- Junior leaps, sailing through the air toward them -- -- Meg SLAMS her open palm on the red button, the massive coiled spring that holds the metal door open is released, the steel barrier leaps forward out of the wall -- -- and WHANGS shut in a split-second. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Junior SLAMS into the closing metal door, banging his shoulder into it, and slithers to the ground, too late. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg rolls over and pulls Sarah into her arms, both of them breathing hard, asking each other if they're okay, scared out of their minds. But safe. She spots the telephone, the one with the special buried phone line. She lunges for it, snatches it from its cradle, listens for a dial tone. Nothing there either. MEG Damn it! SARAH It doesn't work?! MEG Different phone line, I never hooked it up! She hurls it down, looks back at Sarah. She seems a bit pale, scared. She goes to her, holds her, reassures her. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Junior is slumped at the base of the door, livid, in pain, pounding on it with his fists, screaming "NO!" over and over again, crazy with rage. Raoul stands in the middle of the room, chest heaving, hands on his knees. Burnham finally walks into the room and stops in the doorway, looks from Raoul to Junior to the door to the panic room, figures out the situation. BURNHAM Tell me... tell me they're not in there... We rise up, above them, above the room, looking down on them, the rats-in-a-maze shot. We rise up further still, above where the ceiling ought to be, to look down on this room and the one beside it, the room behind the four inches of reinforced steel, the panic room in which Meg and Sarah kneel in the middle of the floor, holding each other tight. Standoff. CUT TO: INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Very close on the metal door, from inside the panic room. An ear moves slowly into frame, presses against the cold steel. Listens. Meg pulls away from the door, shaking her head. MEG Can't hear a thing. SARAH What do they want? MEG I don't know. Rob us. I don't know. She sits back against a wall, looks around, at the tiny room. She's trying not to show how freaked out she is. SARAH What do we do? MEG Wait. SARAH What if they get in here? MEG They can't. They can't get in here. No. They can't. SARAH I heard you. MEG Feel okay? SARAH Yeah. MEG Shaky? SARAH Nope. MEG Chills? SARAH Huh uh. She checks her wristwatch, for some reason. SARAH Don't worry about me. The implications being, worry about yourself. Sarah crawls over to the bank of video monitors, studies them. Meg crawls over to join her. They scan the screens. ON THE MONITORS, there are a dozen different views of the house. Front stoop. Kitchen. Dining room. Entry floor. Living room. Master bedroom. Den. Top floor bedrooms, both of them. Top two floor hallways. Even one with a shot of the inside of the elevator. The three intruders are gathered in the living room, standing in a tight circle, having a hell of an argument. Lots of gesturing, fingers jabbing in chests, but we can't hear a word. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg furrows her brow, noticing something interesting to the right of the video monitors. She slides over, studies a panel there with sixteen different buttons and a small grilled area. MEG Hey... Sarah joins her, looks at the buttons. Each one is labeled with a different room name -- den, kitchen, master bedroom, etc. Up in the corner there is a button that says "ALL PAGE," down in the opposite corner there's a button marked "TALK." Meg looks at Sarah. SARAH Go ahead. Meg is reluctant, frightened. Sarah is encouraging, for the first time. SARAH You can do it. Meg leans forward, clears her throat. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Burnham, Raoul, and Junior are standing in the half-darkened living room, in the middle of their argument, when a VOICE booms around them. MEG (O.S.) Excuse me. They practically jump out of their shoes, looking around for the source of the voice. MEG (O.S.) The police are on their way. Only Burnham has remained relatively calm. After he gets over the initial shock, he walks toward the tiny camera that's hidden in an upper corner of the living room wall and stares up at it. Raoul, who has taken off his ski mask, is careful to move out of the camera's range, and turn his back to it. MEG I suggest you leave. ON THE MONITORS, Burnham looks up at the camera and shakes his head, wagging a finger from side to side. He raises a hand, makes a gesture like a telephone, then wags his finger again. The message is clear -- you don't have a phone. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg is puzzled. MEG How'd he know that? She presses the talk button again. MEG (into speaker) Take what you want and get out. That sounded fairly tough. She looks at the monitor again. ON THE MONITORS, the three of them have an urgent, whispered conference, then they all start patting their pockets for some reason, turning in circles, looking for something. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg and Sarah watch them, confused. ON THE MONITORS, Burnham holds up a finger to the camera -- wait a second -- while Raoul and Junior rush off screen, looking for something. Junior returns a moment later holding something and the three of them hunch over a box, working on something. After a moment, they break apart and Junior steps up to the camera holding a pad of paper. He shows it to the camera. On the top page, in big block letters, they've written. WHAT WE WANT After a suitable pause for reading, he turns to the second page, where four more words are written. IS IN THAT ROOM. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Sarah GASPS, Meg sits back. MEG "What we want is in that room." SARAH They're coming in here, aren't they? MEG No, I told you, they can't. It's not a possibility. Angry, she sits forward and jabs the talk button. MEG (into speaker) What do you know about this room? ON THE MONITORS, there is more frenzied writing, more arguing, and a first draft of a response torn up. Finally, Junior steps forward with another sign: MORE THAN YOU. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg's confidence is ebbing, but she doesn't want to show it. She hits the talk button again. MEG (into speaker) We're not coming out. We're not letting you in. Get out of my house. (clicks off) SARAH Say fuck. MEG (into speaker) Fuck. SARAH "Get the fuck out of my house." MEG (into speaker) Get the fuck out of my house! She clicks off again, looks to Sarah for approval, and gets it, sort of, in Sarah's half-smile. But Sarah's eyes go back to the screen. SARAH Answer. Meg follows Sarah's eyes back to the screen, where another message is being held up for them. ON THE MONITORS, the notepad says: WE WILL LET YOU GO. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg and Sarah speak at the same time. MEG Oh, please. SARAH Give me a break. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT In the living room, her voice booms from the speaker. MEG (O.S.) Conversation's over. With an audible CLICK, she signs off. Burnham, Raoul, and Junior stand arrayed beneath the camera, staring up at it, dumbfounded. BURNHAM Got her right where you want her, Junior. JUNIOR Shut up. BURNHAM When you said you'd let 'em go I thought she'd come running right out for sure. JUNIOR Shut up and let me think. He opens a pack of cigarettes, takes out a joint and lights it. BURNHAM I'm afraid to let you think, Junior. Things get worse when you think. (sniffs) Oh, that's gonna help. JUNIOR (holding in a hit) Okay, fuckball, you think. What are we gonna do? RAOUL What if she called the cops? BURNHAM She didn't. JUNIOR She said she did. BURNHAM She lied. Cops woulda been here by now if she called 'em. Besides, Junior cut the phones. Burnham goes to the window and stares outside. He laughs, covers his face. RAOUL What the fuck is funny about this? BURNHAM God. RAOUL There is not one thing funny here. BURNHAM Who else but God could think this shit up? I spend ten years building those fucking rooms to keep people out, now I gotta figure out how to get in. God, man, He just loves the irony. JUNIOR Yes. Yes, it's all terrible ironic and amusing. You fuck. Now how are you gonna get us into that room? BURNHAM Can't. Whole point. Can't get in the room. RAOUL So what the fuck are we supposed to do?! BURNHAM Make her come out. And when she does, that's when we gotta be careful. She can't get out of this house. She can't even think she can get out of this house. We just keep them here and keep them quiet for forty-five minutes. And I don't want (Raoul) Joe Pesci here standing over them with his fat sweaty finger on the trigger. That's a sure way for us to end up with two dead bodies and little puffs of smoke burning out of our heads up in Greenhaven. So we're gonna seal the place up. They wanna hole up in here? Fine, we'll help 'em. Make it impossible for them to leave. Once they come out of that room. JUNIOR And why exactly would they want to come out? At the window, Burnham notices something sitting just outside the French doors, on the balcony. It's a large outdoor barbecue grill. He thinks, takes a step closer. He sees a white five gallon tank of some kind underneath the grill. BURNHAM Workin' on it. CUT TO: INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT In the panic room, Meg is sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning against a wall, but Sarah is in motion, sorting through shelves, opening drawers. Every drawer has something in it, sealed under plastic. She opens and closes, sorts and lifts finds the following: Waterproof matches and lighters. Flashlights. Unopened packages of batteries. Sealed water bags stamped "PURE FIVE YEARS FROM DATE." Tinned food. Flares. Pillows, fireproof blankets (we know because the bags are stamped FIREPROOF BLANKET). A complete tool kit. As Sarah explores, she discovers something in the far wall at the end of the room, down on the floor at eye level. It's a small round portal, about eight inches across, with a four-pronged cloverlike seal. The portal is closed tight, as Sarah pokes and scrapes at it idly with a finger or two, it resists her attempts to crank it open. Meg notices. MEG Hey. Relax, okay? But Sarah keeps at it, feels along the edges of the portal, then all along the wall, looking for some kind of hidden switch that controls it. MEG I mean it, lie down. You get your adrenaline up and you know what's gonna happen. Sarah stops, looks at her mother, who is pale and wan, huddled in the corner. SARAH Are you freaking out? MEG Little bit. Yeah. Sarah looks around the room. SARAH Small space? MEG (nods, fast) Don't though. (talk about it, that is) Sarah looks at her, thinks. It's not an unfamiliar situation, her needing to comfort her mother. SARAH Why did the chicken cross the road? MEG What am I, a five year old? SARAH Why did the chicken cross the road? MEG I don't know, why? SARAH To prove he wasn't chicken. Meg tries to push a smile across her face, but it's immediately dashes as she looks back at the video screens. Her eyes show alarm, staring at the kitchen. MEG What the hell are they doing? CUT TO: INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT The contents of one of the satchels is dumped out over the kitchen counter, every kind of tool imaginable, many that are unfamiliar to us. They sort through the pile, choosing things. INT. KITCHEN FLOOR - REAR DOORS - NIGHT At the French doors that lead to the garden, Burnham has a cordless screwdriver and a pile of long screws in his hand. He reaches up, drills a screw through the door, into the corner of the door frame. He does the same at the bottom of the door. He unlocks the doorknob, tries it. The screws hold the door fast. He moves on, to the next door. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT In the panic room, Meg stares at the video screens, eyes wide, terrified. She watches them. Can't take her eyes off them. MEG (barely audible) ... locking us in... INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT In the library, in the front of the house, Raoul screws shut a window, driving the long screws into its frame. He looks out at the street, at two CLUBGOERS walking home. He pulls the drape. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg's hands are over her mouth, she's trembling, shaking her head from side to side. This can't be happening. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT In the kitchen, Junior goes to the wall phone Meg used to call for pizza earlier. He cuts the phone wire with a knife. He stands there, staring at the phone, wiping the sweat from his palms on his pants. Not satisfied, he pulls the phone itself out of the wall, cuts the cord for the handset too. CUT TO: INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg pushes herself back into the corner of the panic room, horrified. Sweat has broken out on her forehead, her whole body seems to vibrate. Sarah comes over, leans in front of her. SARAH Mom? But Sarah's voice is hollow, seems far away. SARAH Are you okay? Meg looks at her. As she watches, Sarah floats away from her. In fact, the entire room is floating away from her, elongating. And narrowing. Meg looks to the sides, and the walls don't just seem like they're pushing in on her, they are pushing in on her. Meg opens her mouth, screams, but no sound comes out. Sarah stands up and bends over her, but now she's just a figure far away, all the way at the end of a long, impossibly narrow hall. SARAH (barely heard) MOM?! MOM!! Meg crawls out, into the middle of that hallway, to get away from the wall, but they both continue moving in on her. MEG Not here... not here... someplace else... someplace else... Her eyes roll back into her head, we see just the whites, and she loses her balance, falling over onto her back. We fall with her, move in tight on her face, and the dark hallway carpet beneath it turns to green, all green, grassy green. She sits up, looks around, and we realize she is in fact somewhere else, she's -- EXT. GREAT LAWN - DAY -- in the middle of the Great Lawn, in Central Park. She stands, turns in a circle, she's completely alone on the great green grassy plain in the middle of a beautiful spring day, tall buildings sparkling in the distance. Meg stretches her arms out, smiles, but far off in the distance, she hears a voice calling to her, dimly: SARAH (O.S.) Mom?! Mom!! Meg ignores the voice, she's so happy to be out here, out in the open, in the beautiful wide open, she could stay here forever, she spins around, throws her head back, but there's that voice again, insistent: SARAH (O.S.) Mom, please!! There is the sharp sound of a SLAP, and Meg's face abruptly jerks to the side. She touches her cheek, confused, as a hot red handprint rises up on it. What the hell was that? BAM! Now the perfect spring day is shattered suddenly by a deafening CRUNCH. The smile vanishes from Meg's face, she turns. Where did that come from? BAM! Another one, even louder. Meg's whole body winces at the sound. BAM! A third one, and on this one Meg falls to her knees, covering her ears, walls spring up around her, right there on the Great Lawn, we rush in on her, the walls close in, and she's right back -- INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT -- in the panic room, where she always was, and that pounding is real, it's right outside the door, it's like somebody's trying to smash their way right through the wall. Sarah is right over Meg, holding her by the arms, and that handprint on Meg's face is real, Sarah must have slapped her to try to bring her out of it. SARAH THEY'RE COMING IN! THEY'RE COMING IN! Meg looks to the wall, watches it seem to vibrate as another deafening BANG crunches into it from outside. BAM! BAM! BAM! The sound is deafening. Sarah throws both hands over her ears. Meg looks around, still disoriented. SARAH YOU CAN'T DO THAT! YOU CAN'T FREAK OUT LIKE THAT! YOU HAVE TO STAY HERE WITH ME! MEG I am. I'm here. SARAH YOU HAVE TO! MEG I'm here. I'm here. They huddle there, terrified. Meg blinks, wipes the sweat from her forehead, begins to come back around. She turns her head, sneaks a look at the funny wristwatch Sarah wears, tries to look without her daughter knowing. It's not an ordinary watch, it only has one number, a tall, flashing digital display: 120 Meg nods, as if reassuring herself. MEG We're fine. We're okay. She turns, looks at the video monitors to see what the hell they're doing out there. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT BAM! In the master bedroom, a claw hammer CRUNCHES into the sheetrock on the outer wall of the panic room. The intruders are in the master bedroom now, and Burnham is like a man possessed, tearing at the sheetrock with the sharp end of the tool while Junior shines a flashlight into the hole. As the sheetrock tears away, we see the skeleton of the wall behind it. There's a latticework of two by four studs, and beyond those the dull shine of the wall's metal core. But that's not what he's after. He continues tearing, reveals an air duct running through the wall, feeding into the panic room through a welded hole in the steel. Burnham tears away with the hammer, exposing a short section of the duct. CLANG! The claw hammer drops into an opened toolbox. Burnham drops to his knees, rips open another tool case. This one has a sophisticated looking power drill in it, along with a couple dozen specialized bits. He selects one, twists it into the drill. At the wall, Burnham puts drill to metal and hits the switch. A horrendous METAL SCREECH fills the air and the drill bit tears into the duct, opening up a jagged hole about the size of a quarter. Raoul hurries through the doorway of the bedroom, carrying a coiled garden hose. Burnham snaps his fingers for it, Raoul tosses it to him, holding one end, and the hose uncoils in the air as it snakes across the room. Burnham shoves the end of the garden hose into the hole he's just drilled in the air duct. RIP! He tears off a length of duct tape and seals the connection, makes it airtight. SLIT! Using a large hunting knife, Raoul hacks a ten foot section of the garden hose off the coil. He stretches it out, across the room, to the white five gallon tank we saw before, which is now sitting on the floor up here. We move in close as Burnham snugs the cut end of the garden hose over a spigot at the top of the tank. Red block letters are easy to read on the side of the tank. PROPANE CAUTION - FLAMMABLE Along with a number of other dire warnings. Burnham raises his hand to the knob, hesitates, doesn't really want to do this, but doesn't stop himself either. He spins it open. Halfway. JUNIOR Open it. BURNHAM I did. RAOUL He said open it. BURNHAM Just sending a message. She'll get the point. Gas HISSES through the spigot and into the hose. We follow along the length of the hose, across the floor of the room, through the hole in the sheetrock, into the hole that's been drilled in the air duct -- INSIDE THE WALL -- through the wall itself, where we see the horizontal lines of an air vent up ahead. We squeeze between two of the horizontal lines -- INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT -- and come out in the panic room. Three red streamers, tied to the air vent, flap to life as the gas HISSES into the panic room. Directly underneath the vent, Meg is hunched up against the wall, her arm around Sarah. She sniffs. Again. Sarah sniffs. They look at each other. She looks up. Sees the streamers floating above her. She leaps to her feet, steps up onto a shelf, and stretches her nose toward the streamers. Just as she does -- INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Near the tank, Raoul shoves Burnham out of the way. RAOUL We ain't playin', here. He cranks the valve handle of the grill open all the way. The gas pours into the hose with an audible WHOOSH. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg, at the vent, falls back, two lungfuls of propane, and drops to her knees on the floor. SARAH What, what, what is it?! MEG On the floor! Get on the floor! Now Sarah coughs. The gas is pouring into the room. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Raoul is standing guard over the tank, to make sure no one messes with the valve. BURNHAM Look, don't be stupid... Junior has his head pressed against the door to the panic room, trying to hear any sounds from within. JUNIOR Be quiet. BURNHAM We're trying to scare them, not kill them! JUNIOR They're coughing. BURNHAM They're gonna die in there! JUNIOR Nobody is gonna die, man, will you please have the balls to follow through with a good idea? Think about it, what would you do if you were them, stay in there and choke to death, or come out?! Huh? We're just getting them to come out for forty-five minutes, forty-five fucking minutes! The worst that's gonna happen is they pass out, we drag 'em out here into the fresh air, and they'll be fine. BURNHAM Junior, you gigantic idiot, how are we supposed to get into the room if they pass out? Pause. Junior turns to Raoul. JUNIOR Cut it back a little bit. RAOUL No fucking way. JUNIOR He's right, we can't get into the room if they're dead! INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg and Sarah are down on the floor, rags covering their mouths, trying like crazy to filter the air, but it's not working. Sarah is crawling around the base of the wall, near to where she was before, clawing at the strange portal thing again. Finally, she finds a small metal handle, folded back into the clover-leaf seal on the portal. She unfolds it, twists it. The portal cranks open, revealing it to be at the end of a tube, about a foot long, an emergency ventilation source directly through to the exterior of the house. She bends down and looks through it. It's covered by a metal mesh at the opposite end, but she can see and smell the outside through it. She sits up, gestures to her mother to bend down next to her. She does, and they both jam their mouths up near the end of the tube, gulping fresh air greedily. Meg looks at Sarah, good job, and they both drop to the floor at the portal and suck air. It's temporary, but it works. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT In the master bedroom, the debate has turned physical. Burnham lunges across the room at Raoul, to get his hands on the valve, to turn off the gas. But Raoul catches him and hurls him aside. Burnham SLAMS into the wall, bounces off and SCREAMS at Raoul, who SCREAMS right back. Junior leaps into the middle, trying to break it up, to get them to shut up, keep their voices down. It's bedlam. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT In the panic room, Meg knows this can't go on forever. She turns away from the portal, looks up at the vent, where the streamers still stream. She looks to the other side of the room, to where Sarah found the waterproof matches and lighters. She thinks. Takes a deep lungful of fresh air from the tube and crawls over to the lighters. She selects one, snatches up a screwdriver. Sarah looks at her, has a vague idea of what she's thinking, but can't believe it. She shakes her head vehemently. In response, Meg picks up two or three of the fireproof blankets and piles them over Sarah, right up to her disbelieving eyes. She bends down, takes another gulp of air. but she's getting woozy. This can't go on much longer. She staggers across the room, hoists herself back up onto the shelf she stood on before, and gets right up next to the vent. Holding her breath to avoid breathing the toxic gas, she unscrews the vent cover. The duct is wide enough to put your arm in. She reaches in, past a bundle of multicolored wires that run down through the wall. She reaches all the way in, lighter in hand. INSIDE THE DUCT, we see her hand crawl in, lighter clenched between her fingers. She raises a thumb to the flint wheel, cranks it once. Too slow. Not even a spark. Her hand shakes. She tries again. Still no spark. But with the effort and the angle, when she thumbs the lighter it makes her hand twitch, banging up against the sides of the duct with a hollow BOOM. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Burnham turns abruptly. He turns around. They all freeze, listening. He hears it again. The hollow BOOM, coming from inside the wall. Now a third time. He walks forward, slowly, toward the wall. BOOM. He moves closer, gets right up next to the wall. He leans into the wall, putting his ear right up next to the air duct. This close, he hears the sound in more detail, realizes it's two sounds. SCRATCH. BOOM. He arches an eyebrow. INSIDE THE DUCT, Meg's hand is trembling, tiring. She tries again, thumbs the flint wheel. It SCRATCHES as it rolls, her hand twitches, BOOMS against the side of the duct. Still, the gas HISSES through. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg's face is turning color, she's running out of air. Her feet tremble on the shelf, she's about to lose her footing. INSIDE THE DUCT, she tries again. SCRATCH. BOOM. IN THE BEDROOM, Burnham's eyes suddenly pop wide as he identifies the sound. BURNHAM Oh. He tears himself away from the wall -- INSIDE THE DUCT, -- Meg's thumb tenses for one good hard turn -- IN THE BEDROOM, -- Burnham leaps through the air, hurling himself toward the propane tank -- INSIDE THE DUCT, -- Meg cranks the wheel, a spark sparks, a flame flames, and a hot blue cloud shoots out in two directions, one toward the panic room, the other toward the bedroom. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg jumps off the shelf, throwing herself as far away from the vent as she can, her arm engulfed by licking blue flame. She drops to the floor of the room, covering her daughter's body just as the entire ceiling of the panic room turns into a lake of fire with a deafening WHOOMP. The fluorescent light tubes EXPLODE, showering glass everywhere. IN THE BEDROOM, the blue flame shoots out of the wall, into the hose, through the hose, backing up toward the tank. Burnham CRUNCHES to the floor next to the tank, knocking the other end of the hose away from the spigot just as the blue flame erupts from the end of the hose. The flame engulfs his entire body, his hair starts on fire, his chest, his arms. Raoul lunges forward, Junior tears the blankets from the bed and throws them over him, Burnham HOWLS and rolls on the floor in pain. IN THE PANIC ROOM, the blue cloud on the ceiling suddenly evaporates with another angry WHOOMP, leaving a few little pockets of flame that Meg extinguishes by swatting with a blanket. Only one of the fluorescent lights is left intact; it casts a flickering, uneven light on the room. She stands in the middle of the still-smoky panic room, breathing hard. She shouts, SCREAMS incomprehensibly, making no sense whatsoever. She stops, noticing the look Sarah is giving her. Wide-eyed admiring, frightened, you are an insane woman. Meg looks to herself. Her arm is signed, the hair burned off. The sleeve of her T-shirt is burned back to the shoulder. Her face is sooty, blackened. Meg GRUNTS, half frightened by herself. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Out in the bedroom, it's worse for Burnham, who has lost most of his hair and shirt. But his skin isn't badly burned, which is something, I guess. Still, he's in a rage. He POUNDS the metal door of the panic room. BURNHAM I'M COMING IN THERE, BITCH, I AM COMING IN THERE! I AM COMING IN THERE! INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg whirls, goes to the door herself, SCREAMS right back. We can hardly make out a word she's saying, but it sounds threatening. Suddenly, she stops, hearing something else. Outside the door, Burnham continues to rant, but there's a second sound, a sound coming from the long wall of the panic room, the wall that's shared with the brownstone next door. It's a faint -- very faint -- POUNDING sound, along with a high pitched, complaining voice, so faint it can hardly be heard. Sarah hears it too. SARAH Neighbor! Meg and Sarah leap as one, facing the common wall, SHOUTING at the tops of their lungs -- get help, call the police, please, call the police, that sort of thing. They shout and shout, but the soft pounding continues, and if their voices are as soft on the other side as the COMPLAINING VOICE is on this side, they have no hope. Their voices crack and they begin to cough, too irritated by the gas to shout for very long. Long after they stop, the soft POUNDING from next door continues. Their pleas are not heard. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT The Intruders have stopped their racket too, and are listening carefully at the common wall. Eventually, the soft POUNDING stops, the complaining voice complains no more. Burnham stands there, in pain. Things are falling apart. Raoul stands in the doorway, silhouetted by the hallway light. He draws himself up to his full, bulky height. He's big. RAOUL (to Junior) We're gonna talk. Downstairs. Junior nods and starts out. Raoul lets him pass, but when Burnham tries to follow him, Raoul puts a big hand on his chest stopping him. RAOUL You stay. Make sure she don't come out. Burnham swallows. But stays. Raoul turns, follows Junior downstairs. As he descends, he looks up, making eye contact with Burnham. And holding it. Something on his mind, that's for sure. CUT TO: INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT THUNK. Meg's head falls back against a wall; she sags to the floor, legs folded in front of her, completely drained. But Sarah's not drained, Sarah's full of nervous ingenuity, rustling around through the stuff in the panic room, an idea forming in her head. She finds a powerful-looking flashlight and loads it up with batteries. She tries it, flashing around the room. Halogen bulb, very powerful, hurts her mother's eyes as she flashes it past. Meg watches her. What's she up to? Sarah lays on the floor in front of the ventilation tube she discovered earlier. She squints through it. THROUGH THE TUBE, she can see out of the house, into the courtyard behind the brownstone. About thirty yards away she can see the backs of the brownstones on the next block, and directly across (because the tube doesn't leave much room for lateral vision) she can see straight into somebody's bedroom. There's a light on. A SLEEPING MAN is in bed, an open book on his chest. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Sarah sits back. She grabs the flashlight, looks for a little button on the top, the kind you can flick the flashlight on and off with. Shining it on the wall of the panic room, she flashes it at a wall, three times, on and off. Satisfied, she turns back to the tube. Meg, curious, crawls across the floor to join her. Sarah shoves the flashlight all the way into the tube, leaving enough room on either side of it for them to see through. Meg lays down flat, squints into the tube, Sarah alongside her. She looks at her daughter, curious -- your plan? Sarah reaches into the tube, finds the little flash button on the top of the flashlight. THROUGH THE TUBE, the piercing halogen beam begins to flash, across the courtyard and into the bedroom of the Man in the bedroom. The light flashes on the wall over his bed. The flashes are in a rhythm. Short. Short. Short. Long. Long. Long. Short. Short. Short. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg turns to Sarah, impressed. MEG Morse code? SARAH (nods) Dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot. MEG Where'd you learn S.O.S.? SARAH "Titanic." THROUGH THE TUBE, the flashes continue -- dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot. But the Man continues to sleep, the light on the wall behind him has no effect. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Sarah is frustrated. She adjusts the flashlight. THROUGH THE TUBE, the beam of light lowers jerkily from the wall until it is shining directly into the Sleeping Man's eyes. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Sarah strains to keep the light in that perfect spot. She's starting to sweat. Meg leans over, sneaks a peek at the watch Sarah wears on her left wrist. The readout: 114 THROUGH THE TUBE, the Sleeping Man stirs. Opens his eyes. Winces from the light, which is flashing directly in his eyes. IN THE PANIC ROOM, MEG Got him! SARAH Come on, come on... THROUGH THE TUBE, the Sleeping Man sits up. Raises a hand, trying to block the light, which keeps flashing on him. He gets up, out of bed. He comes to the window. IN THE PANIC ROOM, MEG Yes, yes, yes, yes... Sarah keeps it up, flashing faster. THROUGH THE TUBE, they see the Man come all the way to his window. He leans against it, cups his hands so he can see better. The flashes continue, right on top of him now. Clearly, the Man is reading the flashes! He takes a steps back from the window -- -- gives them the finger -- -- and angrily yanks shut his drapes. A moment later, the light goes out and the room is black. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg and Sarah drop their heads to the carpet, defeated. Sarah rolls over, knocks the flashlight away, stares up at the ceiling. Meg puts a hand in her hair. It was a good idea. SARAH We're never getting out of here. MEG Shhh... She looks at the wristwatch again. 103 She's concerned. CUT TO: INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Burnham is concerned as well. He's still in the master bedroom, but barely, he's standing in the doorway, straining like hell to hear a conversation that Junior and Raoul are having in the foyer, one floor one. They're trying to keep their voices down, but stray words float up through the open stairwell -- words like "him" and "warning" and "dangerous." Burnham chews a fingernail. If only he could get closer. He throws a look back at the door to the panic room. He looks back out the bedroom door. Listening. INT. FOYER - NIGHT Junior and Raoul are huddled together in the foyer. They're keeping their voices low, but their conversation is heated. JUNIOR We're not gonna do anything about him, he's fine. RAOUL If you think I'm gonna let my half of the fourteen million bucks slip away because of -- JUNIOR "Half?" What did you, take a nap in math class? Three people, three shares, one third. Four point six six six repeating. RAOUL I'm just saying, the man is a problem. And he's your problem. Wasn't me idea to bring him along. JUNIOR That's right, Raoul, it wasn't your idea, none of this was your idea, it was mine, it's my family we're ripping off, it's my prick grandfather who built that fucking room, it was my idea to get the plans, I found the floor safe, and it was my idea to ask a guy who builds these rooms to help break into one! Me, me, me, I, I, I, at no point did I say "you" or Raoul," got it? RAOUL He puts his hands on me again I'll bury a slug in his ear. JUNIOR No, you will not, because without Burnham there's no way in hell we're gonna get into that safe, so as far as I'm concerned he can paint your ass blue and run it up a flagpole and you won't lay a finger on him, you understand me? RAOUL Don't take no tone of voice with me, Homes. JUNIOR What is this shit you're talking all of a sudden? You're a bus driver, "Homes," you live in Flatbush, so please don't start spouting some Elmore Leonard shit you just heard because I saw that movie too, ON THE VIDEO MONITORS, Junior and Raoul are visible, still arguing in the foyer. On the next monitor over, Burnham is visible, standing in the master bedroom doorway, listening. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg is watching the monitors, thinking. She notices something, sits forward abruptly, looking at the monitor that covers the master bedroom. She squeezes right up close, staring at the screen. ON THE MONITOR, we peer closely at the box next to her bed, the one she was using for a night table. On top of the box, she sees the charger for her cellular phone, sitting empty. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg sits back, eyes alive with an idea. If only she could get to that phone, which must be still under the bed. She looks back at the monitors, at Burnham lingering in the doorway to the room. MEG Damn. She turns away from the monitors, to check on Sarah, who's settled into a corner of the room, looking pale. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT In the bedroom, Burnham is desperate. The argument downstairs is entering round two, and he's got to hear what they're saying. He takes a few steps out of the bedroom -- INT. THIRD FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT -- and comes into the hallway. He leans over the stairwell. Where he's standing, he is directly under the camera that covers the hallway -- ON THE MONITORS, -- and can't be seen on the monitor that covers the hallway. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg turns back from Sarah, to look at the monitors again. She see Burnham is no longer in the bedroom. And doesn't appear to be in the hallway, either. MEG Oh yes, yes... She looks at another monitor. ON THE MONITOR, she sees Junior and Raoul in the foyer. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg sits back. That leaves Burnham unaccounted for. MEG ... the hell is he? IN THE HALLWAY, Burnham is still lingering under the camera. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Sarah has come forward to the monitors as well. SARAH Do it. MEG Yeah, but where's the third guy? SARAH Not in the bedroom. Do it! Meg goes to the door, raises a hand to the green "open" button. Hesitates. IN THE MASTER BEDROOM, we see Burnham, lurking in the hallway, just about six feet from the door to the panic room. Don't open that door! IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg wipes sweat from her palm. MEG If it looks like I can't get back, just close the door. SARAH No. MEG Close it! Sarah nods, looks back to the button. IN THE HALLWAY, a shouted CURSE rises up from downstairs. Burnham takes a step toward the stairs. ON THE MONITORS, he suddenly appears, in the hallway. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Sarah sees it. SARAH WAIT! Meg freezes. She looks at the monitor, wide-eyed. Close one. IN THE HALLWAY, Burnham can't take it anymore. BURNHAM Oh, hell... He turns and takes off down the stairs. ON THE MONITORS, Burnham flies down the stairs and appears in the foyer, next to Junior and Raoul. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg and Sarah see all three men accounted for, downstairs. SARAH GO GO GO! Meg leaps up, runs to the door, and punches the green button. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT The door begins to crank open, Meg slips through the gap sideways before it's even all the way open. She darts across the room -- -- slides to the floor next to the bed -- -- and flattens herself, reaching underneath it to get the phone. Damn, that phone slid far, it's right in the middle, wouldn't you know it. IN THE FOYER, the three men hear her footsteps, as one, they take off for the stairs. IN THE MASTER BEDROOM, Meg continues to stretch, her fingers inches from the phone. ON THE STAIRWELL, feet race up toward her -- IN THE MASTER BEDROOM, Meg's fingernails paw the phone, pull it closer to her. She grabs it, stands -- IN THE HALLWAY, the three men come off the stairs and race toward her, they see her as she lunges across, toward the panic room, she hurls herself through the door -- IN THE PANIC ROOM, -- and Sarah SMACKS the red button. The steel door closes with a deafening WHANG. Safe. IN THE ENTRYWAY, the echo of the metallic WHANG reverberates through the house. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT In the panic room, Meg punches 9-1-1 on her cell phone with trembling fingers. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT The big empty charger cradle is in the foreground when the three men burst into the room. Burnham stops in the middle of the floor, turns in a frantic circle. BURNHAM What'd she get, what'd she get, what'd she get... His eyes fall on the empty charger. BURNHAM Cell phone. JUNIOR Shit! INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg raises the cell phone to her ear -- -- and gets a rapid busy signal. MEG Oh, no. No, no, no no no no no... She looks at the phone. It's showing just one signal bar, and even that one is flashing on and off. MEG Oh come on, come on, come on... She walks around the room, raises the phone high and low, trying crazily to find a signal. But can't. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT In the bedroom, Burnham stands just outside the door, fingertips lightly resting on it, the ghost of a smile on his face. BURNHAM (softly) I don't think we'll be talking on our cell phone from in there... INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Inside the room, Meg doesn't seem upset. Rather, she's staring at the cell phone in her hand, thinking. Remembering something. MEG Wires... INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT At the same moment, Burnham is having the same thought. He's still at the door, fingertips still resting there. BURNHAM Phone... INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT MEG ... wires. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Burnham looks down, at the baseboard below. What is he looking at? INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg steps up, onto the shelf she climbed earlier, and comes up next to the vent. SARAH What are you doing? MEG I saw something, I saw... In the vent, alongside the duct, she sees the bundle of multicolored wires she saw earlier. MEG ... phone wires! She jumps down off the shelf, goes to the tools, starts searching for something. MEG I may not have hooked up the phone in here, but I hooked up the main line, and there's a jack at the base of this wall outside, I saw it! INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Yes, that is correct, there is in fact a jack in the base of the wall outside the door to the panic room. Burnham bends down into frame, studying it, thinking the same thing she is. He clears his throat. BURNHAM Say, while we're on the subject of phones... He turns, looks up at Junior. BURNHAM When I said cut the line, did you cut the main line at the junction box in the basement like I said, and which I repeated, or did you just cut the cord on the phone in the kitchen? Pause. Swallow. JUNIOR I, uh, I... Shit. JUNIOR ... hit a little snag finding the one in the basement. Shit. Pause. Then, as if a starting gun has been fired, Burnham leaps to his feet and races out of the bedroom. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT That same starting gun has been fired in the panic room. With a strong RIP, Meg pulls the whole bundle of multi colored wires out of the wall and drops onto the floor with it. She trusts it at Sarah, finds a wire cutter in the assorted tools, and gives her that too. MEG Strip 'em, expose the ends, try blue first, blue is phones! SARAH Blue is phones? MEG Yes, no, I don't know, do 'em all! While Sarah goes to work on the wires, Meg turns to the phone itself, the one with the buried phone line that isn't working yet. She rips the phone out of its housing, tears free the wire on the end of it. INT. ENTRY FLOOR - NIGHT Burnham flies down the stairs from the third floor, races across the foyer, flies down the stairs to the kitchen floor. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Burnham races across the kitchen floor, whips open a door and heads down another, narrow, darkened stairway. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg and Sarah are like animals, clawing and tearing at the ends of their respective phone cables, foregoing tools and stripping the wires with fingers and teeth, it's faster. With the phone receiver cradled on her shoulder, Meg starts twisting the ends of wires onto the exposed ends of the wires from the phone unit. First wire -- nothing. She tries a second wire. INT. MECHANICAL ROOM - NIGHT Burnham SLAMS open the door to a dark room, pulls the string on a bare bulb. Burned out. BURNHAM God damn it! Without light, he can't see a thing. He SMACKS the bulb, it swings wildly, SMASHES on the cement wall. He turns and races out of the room. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg tries another wire. Still no dial tone. Sarah shoves another wire at her. She tries again. Nothing. She moves on. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Burnham slides to his knees, snatches a flashlight from his duffel, leaps up and takes off again. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Another wire. Nothing. Another wire. DIAL TONE! Meg SHRIEKS and punches 911. INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT Burnham flies down the stairs, flashlight beam bouncing crazily in front of him. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT The phone is ringing. An operator picks up. OPERATOR 911 emergency -- MEG I'm at 26 West -- OPERATOR -- please hold. It's a mechanical voice, which gives over to MUZAK. MEG NO! INT. MECHANICAL ROOM - NIGHT Burnham BANGS through the door again, starts searching the darkened mechanical room, shining harsh light around its dingy walls. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT MUZAK continues to play. MEG Damn it! No more time to hold. Meg hangs up the phone, dials another number, a seven digit one she knows by heart. SARAH Call Dad! MEG On it! INT. MECHANICAL ROOM - NIGHT In the mechanical room, the bouncing flashlight beam falls on a metal cabinet across the way. Burnham runs to it, flings it open. Circuit breakers. SLAMS it shut. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg listens as a phone rings on the other end. And rings. And rings again. This is torture. INT. MECHANICAL ROOM - NIGHT Burnham turns, sees another, smaller metal box, this one clearly labeled: PHONES INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT On the other end of the phone, a husky MALE VOICE answers; clearly he's been awakened. VOICE Hello? MEG Listen to me! There are three -- INT. MECHANICAL ROOM - NIGHT With a subhuman ROAR of anger, Burnham rips the entire phone panel off the wall with his bare hands. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT With an abrupt SHRIEK, the line goes dead. Meg pauses, can't believe it. MEG Hello? Don't... are... She looks up, see Sarah looking at her, her eyebrows arches, her face all hope. Meg keeps her cool, but it take a hell of an effort. Sarah reads her face. She turns away. She hangs up the phone. Sarah goes to a corner of the room, faces away from her. Meg doesn't know what to say. MEG He'll do something. SARAH Uh uh. MEG He'll know we're in trouble. He heard me, I said "There are three..." SARAH He won't even know who it was. MEG What would you think, in the middle of the night? I mean, three what, three bears? He'll call the police. SARAH Stop it. MEG He's just across the park, this is why we got places so close to each other, in case we needed each other, we're still a family, he'll help us... SARAH He -- MEG He WILL. She practically shouted. Sarah drop her head into her arms. MEG I'm sorry. SARAH I'm sorry. MEG Why? SARAH I was trying not to tell you... MEG What? SARAH I'm dizzy and thirsty. Meg blanches. This is very bad news. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Tired, Burnham drags himself back up the stairs and into the doorway of the master bedroom. Raoul and Junior stand there, staring at him. Long pause. JUNIOR She's never coming out. BURNHAM Hey. JUNIOR And we're never getting in. BURNHAM Do me a favor and don't talk. JUNIOR Jesus, what was I thinking? INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg has torn open one of the water packets and is trying to get Sarah to drink, but the little girl has gone completely pale and seems to have lost some of the strength in her neck, she's having trouble holding her head up. Most of the water runs down her chin. MEG Come on, come on... stay with me... you gotta drink... She takes Sarah's hand, checks her wristwatch thing. The readout is now 82 She swallows. She grabs Sarah by the face. MEG Okay, listen, honey, you went double digit here, you must have been shooting out adrenaline like crazy, we gotta bring your blood sugar back up, okay? Can you hear me? SARAH I'm dizzy, not deaf. MEG Hey, she's still a smart ass, excellent sign. Did you see any sugar in here? Any candy bars, anything sweet? SARAH Huh uh. MEG Okay, you just gotta calm yourself down, that's all, just stay calm and your adrenaline will go back to normal and you'll be fine. SARAH What if I keep dropping? MEG Not an option. SARAH What if I do? INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT In the bedroom, Junior has had enough. JUNIOR We're leaving. RAOUL The hell we are. BURNHAM Hey man, after all we went through I am not walking out when we're this close. JUNIOR Close? Are you insane? We're nowhere near close! Fuck this, I'll make an anonymous phone call on Monday, they'll find the floor safe, and I'll inherit the shit. Little piece of it, anyway, it's better than nothing. BURNHAM What about us? Junior thinks, then pulls out his wallet. He thrusts a fistful of bills at them. JUNIOR Here. For your time. They both just stare at him. JUNIOR Five hundred bucks here. Neither one of them moves to take it. Junior shurgs, drops it on the floor. JUNIOR Suit yourself. RAOUL Nobody leaves. JUNIOR Observe. He heads for the door, expecting Raoul to block him, but as he draws close -- -- Raoul just steps out of the way. Junior passes through and heads for the stairs. BURNHAM We're not leaving. I'm getting in that room, and I'm opening that safe. JUNIOR Lookin' doubtful there, Big Guy, but ten out of ten for attitude. And he disappears, down the stairs, Burnham still pleading with him. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg rifles the foodstuffs that are stored in the room. Sarah, in the corner, is starting to tremble. SARAH What if I spazz out? MEG (forced calm) No biggie, we've been through it a dozen times, I just jab you with the Glucogen. Pause. She keeps looking. SARAH Where is the Glucogen? MEG Oh, you know, it's uh... it's in the little fridge in your room. SARAH (pause) I'm sorry, Mom. MEG Hey, quit apologizing, you're starting to sound like Grandma. You're not gonna have an attack. Okay? SARAH Okay. She lays back, oddly passive, her lips changing color. She stares at the monitors. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Junior strides into the living room, purposefully. He tosses some tools into his duffel bag and heads for the stairs down to the kitchen. Burnham is behind him. BURNHAM Would you wait? Would you please just wait a minute? But Junior heads down. Burnham follows. Raoul is just coming down from upstairs. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Junior reaches the door of the kitchen, tries to open it, realizes it's screwed shut. He takes out a screwdriver and starts unscrewing the screws. Burnham stops at the stairway. BURNHAM You walk out that door and you lose your share of the money. JUNIOR Yeah, whatever. BURNHAM I mean it! JUNIOR Adios. He gets the last screw out, throws open the door, and BLAST of wind gusts in, it's a blustery night out there, he takes a step into the doorway -- -- and with a quiet PFFFT from right behind Burnham, a bullet whizzes across the kitchen and hits Junior in the back of the head. He crumples, right in the open kitchen doorway. Burnham SHOUTS incoherently and turns. Raoul is standing there, two steps up, a silencer twisted onto the barrel of his gun. RAOUL Nobody leaves. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Sarah is staring at the video monitors, eyes wide. She raises one trembling finger, points at the kitchen monitor, tries to mouth the words, can't. Meg looks up. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT Burnham is freaking out, but trying to stay calm. BURNHAM Oh God... oh, my God... Raoul walks past him calmly, grabs Junior by the ankles, and drags him back into the house. He turns, looks at Burnham, whose jaw is dropped in horror. RAOUL You should see the look on your face. BURNHAM The fuck did you do that for?! RAOUL Fuckin' asshole, thinks he knows me. Drives his German car up to 125th Street a couple of times, buys a few rounds, thinks he's a tough guy, thinks he knows me. (to the corpse) You don't know one thing about me! While Burnham stares down at the body in shock and Raoul stares at Burnham, his back to the outside, a small, thin VOICE comes from the still-open doorway. VOICE What the h -- They turn. A man, fiftyish, stands there in hastily thrown on clothes, staring down at the dead body in mute shock. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg, watching the monitors with Sarah, GASPS as she sees the man, whose name is HARRIS. While she and Sarah watch -- ON THE MONITORS, -- they see the silent image of Harris, set upon by Raoul, who grabs him roughly and drags him inside. Burnham hurries to the door -- INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT -- and SLAMS it shut. He puts his back to it, thinking, terrified, things are spinning out of control, fast. Raoul, in the middle of the kitchen floor, is venting some more of his rage on Harris, whom he has hurled to the floor. He lands a solid boot in the side of Harris's head, leaving him GROANING in pain, completely disoriented. Harris rolls groggily into the spreading pool of blood coming from underneath Junior. BURNHAM Stop it! Stop it! RAOUL (turning on him) Who's the clown now? Huh?! Who's the fucking clown now?! He pulls his gun, shoves it into Burnham's eye, hard, we can hear the faint SIZZLE of skin burning. BURNHAM Me. I am. RAOUL That's right. BURNHAM Burning me. It's burning my eye. RAOUL I have the gun. BURNHAM Yes. RAOUL Remember that. BURNHAM Please... Raoul pulls the gun back, just an inch. The skin around Burnham's eye is an angry red. His eyes dart, strain to look over at Harris, MOANING on the floor. And at Junior, dead. BURNHAM What? What do you want me to do? RAOUL What do you think? Get us into that room. BURNHAM I can't. Raoul pushes the gun barrel back into Burnham's eye socket. RAOUL You can. You're full of ideas. You just need to squeeze one out. BURNHAM I can't... RAOUL You got till the count of three. Then you end up like him. He tilts his head over to Junior, whose brains are spreading out on the kitchen floor. RAOUL One. Squeeze. BURNHAM This is ridiculous... RAOUL Two. Squeeze harder. BURNHAM I can't just... RAOUL Th -- BURNHAM Okay, okay! Okay. RAOUL You got an idea? BURNHAM Yeah. Yeah, I got an idea. I gotta check something. Raoul GRUNTS, satisfied. Pulls the gun back. Burnham slides away, shaking. He bends down, to the floor. He looks at Harris's left hand. At his index finger. He sees a white strip of skin, where Harris wore his wedding ring, until recently. CUT TO: INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Harris, still semi-conscious, is hurled against the metal door of the panic room. He collapses at its base. Burnham, bends down next to him. BURNHAM Okay, look. I know you can hear me. Your wife and kid are in there. You're gonna get 'em to come out. Or -- He looks up at Raoul, hulking overhead, gun in hand. BURNHAM Or I can't stop what he's gonna do. Do you understand? Harris, regaining some semblance of consciousness, nods feebly. BURNHAM Good. Burnham stands up, turns to the video camera, and SHOUTS. BURNHAM OPEN THE GOD DAMN DOOR! INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Sarah and Meg see the horrifying sight on the video monitors. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Burnham SHOUTS at the door to the room. BURNHAM OPEN UP! ON THE MONITORS, they see Burnham, standing over Harris; they faintly hear him call to them to open the door. And then they hear another VOICE, calling back to them. Sarah sits up, recognizes her father's voice. SARAH (O.S.) DADDY! INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Harris is SHOUTING against the closed door. HARRIS DON'T DO IT! NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, DON'T OPEN THE DOOR! DON'T O -- He's silenced by a vicious kick to the ribs. Raoul begins to beat him. Burnham stands by, powerless, horrifies, watching as Raoul savages Harris, who continues to call out, as long as he has strength, telling Meg not to open the door, no matter what. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg and Sarah SHOUT in horror, she covers her daughter's face, turn her away from the screen, SCREAMS in incoherent anger of her own. But she doesn't open the door. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Burnham SHOUTS at Raoul, pleading. BURNHAM STOP IT, MAN, STOP IT, THAT'S HIS KID IN THERE, HIS KID IS WATCHING THIS!! But Raoul whips the gun up, into Burnham's throat, backing him off, shutting him up. He resumes his pounding of Harris. Burnham turns, looks up at the camera in the corner of the room. He can't stand it anymore. He whips off his jacket, runs to the camera, and covers the lens. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT While Meg watches, the monitor that cover the master bedroom abruptly goes black, mercifully sparing them the sight of Harris's beating. She holds Sarah, who's sobbing, shaking. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Harris finally lapses into unconsciousness. Raoul stands over him, chest heaving. Burnham stand in the doorway, neither in nor out of the room, a silhouette, head hung. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Meg tries desperately to see something on the bedroom monitor, but it's hopeless, it's covered. On the hallway monitor, she can just see shadows, as two men in the bedroom lift a third off the floor and carry him across the room. A sudden BEEPING sound tears her attention away. Still holding Sarah, she pulls her back, off her shoulder. Her face is completely white, her lips blue, her eyes rolled back into her head. The BEEPING sound grows louder, she checks Sarah's wristwatch, the reading is dire: 57 Meg GASPS, horrifies. MEG Oh God, oh my God... Sarah begins to convulse, she bucks right out of Meg's arms and falls back onto the floor of the panic room. Meg clears everything away from her, tries to make room for her. The convulsion worsens. Meg searches through the piles of supplies, comes up with a plastic-handled screwdriver. She opens Sarah's jaws, wedges the plastic handle between her teeth. She helps Sarah ride out the convulsion. Finally, her eyes roll back into her head, she slowly re-orients herself. Sarah reaches over, turns off her still-BEEPING wristwatch/monitor herself. Sarah sighs, a shuddering sigh of relief, but she is nowhere near normal. Her skin has passed through white and is turning a sallow yellow color. She moves her lips, Meg can't hear her, she bends down: SARAH You gotta jab me, Mommy... Meg turns, looks back at the monitors. What she sees is good news -- ON THE MONITORS, the jacket has been removed from the bedroom camera. Burnham and Raoul are gone, the only person there is HARRIS, who lies slumped on the far side of the bed. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg looks quickly over at the monitor for the living room. ON THAT MONITOR, she sees Burnham and Raoul having an urgent conversation, Burnham sitting in a chair, Raoul pacing in front of him, ranting. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Meg's face lights up, she practically laughs, she's so overjoyed at this turn of events. She turns, looks back at Sarah, who is starting to tremble again. That does it. Meg leaps up, hits the button that controls the steel door, and it starts to crank open, almost impossibly slowly. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Meg steps out of the panic room, into the master bedroom. She looks at Harris, on the bed. With his back to her she can't even tell if he's alive or dead, but first things must be first, so she turns and races out of the room. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Meg flies up the stairs, bare feet on padded carpet. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT In the living room, Raoul looks up, hearing the pitter-pat of her feet on the stairs above. He smiles and pulls his ski mask back on, to cover his face. Coming around behind him, we see Burnham sitting in the chair. Except it isn't Burnham at all, it's Harris, unconscious, wearing Burnham's shirt. And if Harris is the person in the chair, that means -- INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT -- the person on the bed in the bedroom is Burnham, wearing Harris's shirt. His eyes pop open, he sits up, sees the wide open door to the panic room. INT. SARAH'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Meg races into Sarah's bedroom and tears open the door of a mini-fridge. Inside are dozens of little bottles of insulin and something called Glucogen. She grabs a bottle of Glucogen and a black leather pouch and takes off. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT As Meg nears the bottom of the stairs, she sees a horrifying sight. It's Raoul, ski mask over his face, standing in the doorway of the master bedroom. She SCREAMS, he SLAMS the door, she takes off down the hall, reaches the end, throws the door open -- INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT -- and races into the master bedroom, where Raoul is motoring, fast, headed for the panic room, where she can already see Burnham, standing in the middle of the open doorway, in front of Sarah, wearing Harris's shirt and a grim "tricked you" expression. Meg hurls herself at Raoul, lands clinging to his back. She claws and wrestles with him, gets one hand on his ski mask, tears it from his head. He reaches up to try to stop her from pulling it off -- -- his gun slips from his fingers, falls to the floor -- -- and caroms off his boot, spinning across the floor away from them. Raoul flips her off his back violently, she CRUNCHES to the floor, clutching his mask and getting a good long look at his face. He makes a move toward his gun, but she's faster, she's already pawing herself frantically across the hardwood toward it. Raoul measures the distance, knows he'll lose, and sprints for the panic room instead. Meg turns, looks down at the medicine in her hands, then at the door to the panic room, where Raoul is right now reaching up to push the button that controls the steel door. She makes a fast decision and lunges, hurling the plastic bottle of Glucogen and the black leather pouch through the gap just before -- -- the spring-loaded steel door SLAMS shut with tremendous ferocity. And then it's silent. Meg WAILS in agony, POUNDS on the door. She stands back, chest heaving, sobbing. A looooong moment goes by. Finally, a VOICE comes over the house's intercom system. RAOUL (O.S.) (calmly) If you leave the house, we'll kill her. Meg sobs. RAOUL (O.S.) If I see a uniform in the house, we'll kill her. MEG Oh... oh... RAOUL (O.S.) You understand? ON THE MONITORS, Meg looks up at the camera in the master bedroom. She nods, terrified. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Burnham pushes past Raoul, at the speaker button, and leans forward. He's approaching exhaustion. BURNHAM (into speaker) I just... I just need forty-five minutes. Raoul stands behind him, muttering to himself. RAOUL Saw my face, man. Saw my face. ON THE MONITORS, we see Meg's face, agonized, as she lunges toward the camera, SCREAMING something up at it, the same thing, over and over. But in here her voice is nearly muted, what bleeds through the walls isn't enough to be heard. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Raoul looks at her image on the monitor, irritated. RAOUL Shut up. IN THE MASTER BEDROOM, we abruptly hear her voice, full-throated. MEG (shouting into the camera) -- cine, she needs the MEDICINE! GIVE HER THE -- IN THE PANIC ROOM, Sarah shivers in a corner, knees pulled up to her chest, staring at the intruders, scared out of her wits, and looking very, very sick. Burnham looks at her, musters the most reassuring face he can come up with under the circumstances. BURNHAM It's gonna be cool, kid. Be outta here before you know it. No response from Sarah. Burnham cocks a head, really looking at her. BURNHAM Are you okay? RAOUL Hurry up, for Christ's sake! Burnham turns, grabs his satchel, and drops to his knees in the middle of the floor. Over his shoulder, we can see the face of Meg on one of the monitors, shouting into the camera, begging them to give Sarah her medicine. Using his hand, Burnham measures six lengths in from the wall, then digs his fingernails into the weave of the carpet, looking for a seam. He finds one, gets hold of it on one edge, and runs his other hand along the seam till he finds a place where it seems to turn a corner. He stands, hovering over the carpet, and pulls back evenly with both hands. The concealed carpet flap pulls back neatly, with the soft sound of tearing VELCRO. Underneath the flap -- -- is the smooth metal door of a floor safe. Burnham unsnaps his satchel and gives it a shove. It rolls out and opens up onto the floor, revealing a neat array of safecracking tools. He begins his delicate work, but is suddenly jarred by a POUNDING on the metal door. He turns, annoyed. Meg is still SCREAMING outside the door. BURNHAM The hell does she want? RAOUL I don't know, she keeps screamin' the same thing over and over. Burnham turns, looks at the monitors. ON THE MONITORS, Meg is staring up at the camera, miming the act of giving herself an injection in the arm. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Raoul laughs. RAOUL Drugs. She wants drugs. What the fuck? But Burnham thinks. His eyes fall on the bottle and the leather pouch she hurled through the door, then whip over to Sarah, who sags over into a fetal position on the floor. Her lips are moving. BURNHAM Oh, man... He crawls over to Sarah, puts his ear down next to Sarah's lips. BURNHAM What is it? Sarah tries to summon enough strength to speak, but her breath comes hard. SARAH I need... BURNHAM Yeah? SARAH ... 'jection... BURNHAM An injection? Sarah nods. Burnham points to the pouch and the Glucogen, on the floor nearby. BURNHAM That stuff? Sarah nods again. BURNHAM Can you do it yourself? Sarah shakes her head no. BURNHAM Well, I don't know how. Sarah looks at him, eyes pleading. Raoul stands behind Burnham. RAOUL I don't fucking believe this. (to Sarah) You gotta wait. Sarah just looks at Burnham. Please. BURNHAM Yeah, just like a half hour, maybe a little more, and your mom'll give it to you. You can wait a half hour, can't you? RAOUL Yeah. She can. She's fine, she's just like, tired, she's gotta rest. You rest, Kid. Half an hour. Sarah looks terrified, shaking her head no. RAOUL Come on. He starts to pull Burnham away, but Burnham shakes his hand off, violently. He bends down very close to Sarah's lips. BURNHAM Tell me the truth, okay? What's gonna happen if you don't get this? Sarah swallows, licks her cracking lips. When she speaks, it's breathy, almost inaudible. But the words are clear. SARAH Coma. Die. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Seen from overhead, Meg paces in the master bedroom, out of her mind with worry, no idea how to communicate to the people in the room the desperate situation. Suddenly, a VOICE comes over the intercom speaker. BURNHAM (O.S.) I understand. I'll give her the shot. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT A HAND comes down into frame and picks up the Glucogen and the leather pouch. Burnham stands, looking down at them. Raoul grabs him, pulls him to the far end of the room. RAOUL You're wasting your fucking time, man, you're wasting my time. You don't know how to do this, and the longer we stay in here, the more likely she's gonna lose it and call the cops! BURNHAM Are you gonna open the safe? Raoul looks at him. BURNHAM Then shut up and get out of my way. As Burnham crosses the room, Raoul makes eye contact with Sarah, who is staring at him. RAOUL Don't look at me. ACROSS THE ROOM, Burnham drops to his knees next to Sarah and unzips the pouch. BURNHAM Okay, kid, all I know about this is what I've seen on TV, you gotta talk me through it. Sarah tries to form words, but she's too weak. Burnham swallows. BURNHAM Okay. No talking. No problem. TV don't lie, right? He reaches into the pouch, take out a syringe, a sterile pad, and a length of rubber tubing. He takes Sarah's arm, stretches it out, exposing the underside of her forearm. BURNHAM You seem like a good kid. Your mom... only saw her for a second, but, woah. Beautiful, huh? No answer. Burnham ties the rubber tubing around Sarah's arm, pulls it tight. BURNHAM Hey, nod or something, show me you're still alive, will ya? Sarah nods. BURNHAM Attagirl. That too tight? Sarah shakes her head no. Burnham takes the syringe, starts to fill it from the Glucogen bottle. BURNHAM You guys are pretty rich, huh? Sarah shrugs. While Burnham goes through the process of finding an exposed vein and giving the injection itself, he goes on, as much to comfort Sarah as to comfort himself: BURNHAM Yeah, you don't think about that stuff. Good for you. He looks at her, sees her looking at him. Thinking about him. BURNHAM I know, I know. I really screwed the pooch this time. I never did anything like this before. Break into somebody's house? Not even close. Bad cards, Kid. I swear to God, I been on the wrong end of maybe six straight years of bad cards. House. Car. Wife. (snaps his fingers -- gone) Those are some seriously bad cards. And still, every time I pick up a fresh hand I swear to God, the rush comes so hot and prickly I feel it right down to my toes because this time, this one time, it might be there, this time it might be that hand, that perfect hand, that monster hand. (shakes his head) And you thought you were sick. The shot successfully given, he pulls Sarah's sleeve back down. BURNHAM Feel better? Sarah nods, and she seems better already. Burnham helps her to sit up, to lean against the wall. BURNHAM Woulda been a hell of a dad. CUT TO: INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT A VOICE comes over the intercom in the master bedroom. It's Raoul. RAOUL (O.S.) She's okay. Now sit down and wait. He CLICKS off. Meg is hugely relieved. And extremely pissed off. She goes to the corner of the room and picks up the gun, the one that Raoul dropped. She heads downstairs. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Sparks fly as Burnham goes to work on the floor safe with a small, specialized drill. Raoul bends down next to him. RAOUL Congratulations. You saved her life for ten minutes. Burnham looks up at him -- what? But Raoul turns and walks away. Burnham goes back to work. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Meg is in the living room, with Harris, who is still slouched in the chair. He's in awful shape, barely conscious. Out of the silence, a sudden, deafening sound. The DOORBELL. Her eyes go wide. She darts a look over to the door (the one that leads to the stoop, not the bloody kitchen door downstairs), then back at Harris. HARRIS Police. MEG (gasps) You called the police? He nods. HARRIS You... scared... Shit. This is exactly what she prayed for him to do, now it's the worst thing that could happen. She stands, thinking, desperate. She walks toward the door, stops, thinks some more. The doorbell RINGS again. She comes up with a plan. She goes back to where Harris is in the chair, pulls the chair back a few feet, out of view of the door. She puts the gun in his lap, puts his hand over it to steady it. She leans down, WHISPERS to him. MEG Don't. Say. A word. He nods. Meg takes a breath, walks across the foyer, tousling her hair as she goes. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Raoul is staring at the monitors, aghast. RAOUL Holy shit... holy shit... Burnham races over, looks over his shoulder. One monitor covers the front stoop, and on that monitor they can clearly see TWO UNIFORMED COPS. RAOUL She's fuckin' crazy, she killed the kid! She just killed her own kid! BURNHAM It's not her fault, it's not her fault, the guy must have called them. Look, look, look, she's telling us. He points to another monitor, the one in the foyer, where Meg is looking up at the camera, miming to them -- don't worry, I'll take care of this. BURNHAM She's gonna handle it. RAOUL She better. INT. ENTRY FLOOR - NIGHT Meg's shaking hand rises up to the doorknob and pulls open the big front door. On the stoop, the two Cops turn to look at her. She acts as if she's just been awakened. She looks it, too, still in T-shirt and boxer shorts. The wind is gusty and cold outside. MEG Yeah? COP 1 Everything okay? MEG Huh? COP 2 Are you all right? MEG What are you guys -- what time is it? COP 1 'Bout four o'clock. MEG I don't get it. COP 2 We got a call... Cop 1 looks at him. Cop 2 stops talking. MEG Somebody called you? COP 1 Can we come in? MEG What do you want? COP 1 We'd like to come in. MEG No, you can't come in. COP 2 Are you okay? MEG I'm fine. COP 1 Can we come in? MEG Stop asking me that. I'm fine. Who called you? COP 1 You don't look so good. MEG You wake me out of a sound sleep at four in the morning and then tell me I look like hell? Of course I look like hell, you don't look so hot yourself, Jack. I'm freezing here, thank you for checking, can I go? Cop 1 studies her, notices the burned sleeve of her T-shirt, the black smudges still on her face. COP 1 Your husband says you said "There are three..." right before you got cut off. MEG Oh, that phone call... Cop 1 takes a step forward and lowers his voice to just above a whisper, unconsciously making her lean forward in order to hear him. COP 1 Ma'am, if there's something you want to say to us right now that maybe you can't say to us right now, maybe you just want to make a signal, by blinking a few times, something like that. She just looks at him. Wow, this guy's intuitive. She is sorely tempted. But she can't. COP 1 That's something you could do. Safely. She thinks, thinks -- -- and burst out laughing. MEG Man, you are good! You mean, like, if somebody was in the house or something? That's great, they really train you guys these days, don't they? Cop 1 looks at her, not sure if he believes her or not. MEG No. I'm fine. Cross my heart. Cop 2 turns to go, but Cop 1 lingers. COP 1 May I ask what the rest of that sentence was going to be? MEG (stalling) Huh? COP 1 The sentence that started "There are three." What was the rest? Pause. She stares at him. MEG Okay, look. My husband and I just broke up. It's my first night in the new house, and I was feeling a little lonely and a little drunk. The sentence, if you insist on knowing, was going to be "There are three things I'll do for you if you come over right now and get in bed with me." Cop 2 stifles a laugh. MEG But thank God I came to my senses before I said all that and hung up instead, so nobody would ever know what I was thinking, unless, of course, two policemen showed up in the middle of the night to interrogate me about it. That was good. Cop 1 is embarrassed. Cop 2 thinks it's funny. COP 2 You want her to show you which three things, Rick, or should we just go? Cop 1 looks at Meg, a long look, he holds it for one last moment, trying to read her mind. ON THE MONITORS, we see the video image of the Cops as they turn and head away down the front steps. Meg closes the doors, looks up into a camera, right at us. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Burnham and Raoul breathe a sigh of relief. Burnham goes back to work on the safe. He's making progress. Raoul looks at Sarah. Stares actually. He's thinking too. Bad thoughts. He moves over, crouches down next to Burnham. RAOUL She saw my face. The kid too. Sarah overhears that. She raises her head, alarmed. Burnham turns, looks over at her, and she just gets her head back down in time. Burnham and Raoul close themselves off, for a private conversation. Sarah edges closer. She overhears a fragment. BURNHAM That's your problem. RAOUL That's their problem. Sarah is terrified. Doesn't know what to do. She looks to her immediate left, sees the intercom panel. She edges closer. BURNHAM Let me fucking finish this so we can get out of here. RAOUL You finish. Then we finish. Sarah sneaks up a hand and pushes a button -- "ALL PAGE." INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT In the living room, there is an audible CLICK as the speaker is activated. Meg looks up, hears Burnham's voice, in the middle of a sentence. BURNHAM (O.S.) -- posed to mean? RAOUL (O.S.) You're here with me, you're already on the hook for one. Buy one, you get the rest for the same price. You know that. BURNHAM (O.S.) Get the fuck away from me. RAOUL (O.S.) The kid in here. The other two when we come out. Meg listens, horrified. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT Sarah holds the intercom button down with a trembling finger. BURNHAM Bullshit. RAOUL You know how this gotta end. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Meg stares, in shock, as Raoul's voice echoes in the empty room. RAOUL (O.S.) They stay in the house. There in an abrupt CLICK, and the speaker turns off. Meg turns, goes to Harris, falls to her knees, no idea what to do. She holds him close, their foreheads touching. She's terrified, exhausted, wants to collapse in his arms. Instead, she starts to pull the gun from his fingers. He tightens his grip, what are you doing? He tries to hold onto the gun, but she pulls his fingers off it, takes it away from him. He is too weak to resist. CUT TO: INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT In the panic room, Sarah has her hands clamped over her ears, her mouth is wide open, and a hideous METAL SHRIEK seems to be coming out of it. But the SHRIEK is actually coming from the safe, where Burnham continues to work, another drill, a bigger bit. The noise is deafening. ON THE MONITORS, Sarah sees her mother approaching the monitor in the bedroom, carrying a jacket. Meg tosses the jacket, this time she doesn't want them to see what she's doing. The monitor goes black. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT In the master bedroom, Meg pulls on a pair of jeans that are hanging over a chair. She steps into a pair of boots. She shoves the gun into her belt. Here in the bedroom, she can hear the drill. From the house next door, she hears POUNDING again, more MUFFLED CURSES. Apparently the neighbor can hear the drill too. Meg looks from the walls of the bedroom to the walls of the panic room. Her eyes light up with an idea. She goes to the front wall of the bedroom, stands with her back against the exterior wall (street side), with her left shoulder against the common wall that's shared with the neighbor's brownstone. She begins to step off the distance, heel to toe, measuring with her feet until she reaches the metal door that is the entrance to the panic room. MEG Fourteen. She hurries out of the bedroom. What's she doing? INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT Meg comes into a small room full of empty bookshelves, a library. There is a window that looks out over the sidewalk, one floor up, same level as the stoop. She looks up, into the corners of the room. MEG No camera, no camera, no camera... They're bare, no video cameras. Good. She goes to the window, tries to open it. Screwed shut, of course. INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT The safe is almost cracked. Raoul is watching the monitors carefully. ON THE MONITORS, we see Meg as she searches through the tools in the living room, finds a screwdriver, a sledgehammer. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Raoul furrows his brow. Now what? INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT Meg is back in the library, hurriedly unscrewing the window. She gets the last screw out, shoves the window up. The wind BLASTS in, it's a hell of a spooky night out there. She leans out the window. We lean with her. The sidewalk is empty (we see it only from our vantage point inside the house). She's one floor up. To her right is the house's front stoop. She tosses the sledgehammer over, onto the stoop. Climbs up onto the window ledge, and slithers out herself. We lean further, watch her as she edges along the ledge, hops down onto the stoop, and freezes, staring in horror -- -- at the video camera that covers the front stoop. ON THE MONITORS, we see her staring straight up at the camera, clearly standing on the front stoop, outside the house, where she was specifically told not to go. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Sarah sees the image of her on the stoop. Raoul happens to be looking away at the moment, at the safe, but he starts to turn around, to look at the monitors again -- -- and Sarah kicks him, hard, in the ass. RAOUL Hey! He turns, away from the monitors. SARAH Sorry. Can't control it sometimes. Raoul scowls at her. Behind him -- ON THE MONITORS, Meg darts down the front steps and disappears from view on the monitor. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Sarah sees her mother go. SARAH (to Raoul) Won't happen again. INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT Still leaning out the window, we can see Meg from here as she reaches the sidewalk and runs up the front steps of the neighbor's house, which is contiguous. Straining to see (yet stay in the house), we see Meg all the way at the right edge of the frame, as she shifts the gun to the back of her pants and knocks on the neighbor's door, sledgehammer held slightly behind her leg. After a long moment, we hear the neighbor's front door open. The conversation begins. The wind is gusting right in our faces, we can't make out the details, but the gist is clear -- let me into your house, and don't as me a lot of questions. The NEIGHBOR -- and by the tone of the voice it sounds like an old woman -- is slow to respond, grumpy. Losing patience, Meg just pulls the Neighbor out of the way and shoves into the house. The Neighbor stumbles out onto her front stoop, and we were right, it's an old lady in a nightgown, but she's no shrinking violet. In fact, she's royally pissed off and not at all intimidated. NEIGHBOR What the hell do you think you're doing, young lady?! She storms back into her house, following Meg. As both of them disappear from the frame, we move out of the library, into the foyer, and move along the common wall, the one shared with the neighbor's brownstone. From the other side of the wall, we can hear muffled voices, arguing, Meg and the Neighbor shouting at each other. We drift up, up the stairs, and hear the THUNDERING of footsteps on the stairs next door. We keep pace with them, from inside this house. We pass right through the floor -- INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT -- and rise up out of the floor in the master bedroom, and now we can hear the conversation on the other side of the wall in here, the Neighbor's fearful, angry tones, Meg's firm, urgent declarations. We move with Meg, even though we can't see her, we know what she's doing, she's stepping off the paces on the other side of the wall. We drift down that wall, fourteen steps, until we reach the metal door to the panic room, then we pass through that door -- INT. PANIC ROOM - NIGHT -- and arrive inside the panic room, where Burnham is this close to getting the safe open, when all of a sudden -- WHOMP. CRUNCH. Burnham and Raoul freeze, alarmed. It's coming from the long wall, the shared wall. They look at each other. WHOMP. CRUNCH. They look at the wall. Somebody is on the other side, pounding like hell. RAOUL The walls are steel, right? BURNHAM Not that one. RAOUL NOT THAT ONE?! BURNHAM Hey man, it's the neighbor's house, who breaks in through the neighbor's house?! WHOMP! CRUNCH! Louder. Closer. Burnham turns, SCREAMS at the wall. BURNHAM WHO THE FUCK BREAKS IN THROUGH THE NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE?! RAOUL We've got the Kid! (shouting at the wall) WE'VE GOT YOUR KID!! What the fuck is she thinking?! WHOMP! CRUNCH! BURNHAM She's got your gun, that's what she's thinking! The FUCK you had to bring a gun for?! Burnham throws himself back on the floor, goes back to work on the safe. Fires up the drill again, it SCREAMS into the metal. BURNHAM Almost there... The POUNDING keeps up from next door. We hear sheetrock torn away on the far side. Bricks, SCRAPING out of place. Sarah, in the corner, is energized, excited. While Burnham and Raoul are distracted, she grabs the leather pouch, palms the three syringes that are left in there. BURNHAM ALMOST THERE... Finally, the door to the safe CRUNCHES in on one side, yielding to the drilling -- -- at the very moment that the head of a sledgehammer CRASHES through the wall of the panic room. Raoul grabs hold of Sarah, Burnham maintains his focus, throwing open the safe, revealing -- -- nothing. CRUNCH! The sledgehammer head strikes again, opening up a hole about a foot across. Light spills through from the other side, as well as the voice of the hysterical Neighbor. Raoul hurls Sarah against the far wall, leaps over to the side of the hole, and waits, poised above it. At the safe, Burnham doesn't lose his cool, just opens a false bottom in the safe, revealing a manila envelope. He snatches it up, RIPS it open, and his eyes dance as he holds up fourteen individual one million dollar U,S, Treasury Bearer Bonds. He fans them out, eyes drinking from his Grail. BANG! A gunshot whizzes right through one of the bonds, setting it aflame before it SLAMS into the far wall, sending up a little cloud of plaster dust. BURNHAM JESUS! He whirls, sees an arm poking through the hole in the wall, gun extended. But Raoul is standing just above the hole, and already has his boot raised, over the hand. He brings it down, a CRUNCHING blow that stomps right on Meg's wrist. Meg SCREAMS, loses her grip on the gun, and it CLATTERS into the space between the houses. BETWEEN THE WALLS, the gun falls into oblivion, the space between the walls, where no one can get to it. IN THE PANIC ROOM, Burnham shoves the loose bonds into his jacket. BURNHAM I GOT THE MONEY, LET'S GO!!! Raoul grabs Sarah and turns, jabs the green button to open the door. Behind them, Meg SCREAMS in anger and wriggles through the opening. Before she's even all the way through, she gets hold of Raoul's leg and pulls herself into the panic room, scraping and bloodying herself on the edges of the too-small hole. BURNHAM GO, LET'S GO, OUTTA HERE!! But Raoul is deep in a violent rage. Still holding Sarah with one hand, he bends down, grabs Meg by the hair, and drags her toward the doorway. RAOUL YOU KNOW HOW THIS IS GONNA GO! BURNHAM FUCK YOU, I'M GONE! He bolts out of the room, through the metal door, which is just finishing its slow crank open, its heavy spring coiling in the wall. Raoul drag Meg across the floor by the hair, right into the track of the open steel door. She looks up, sees the infrared safety beam over her head, and realizes with horror what his intention is. Still with one arm holding Sarah, who is kicking and struggling viciously, Raoul holds Meg's head down on the floor, below the safety beam that would prevent the door from closing. He reaches for the "close" button. Sarah raises her arm, stuffed with three syringes, and jabs them into Raoul's neck. Raoul SCREAMS in pain. Meg manages to raise her head, breaking the beam. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT On the stairwell, Burnham, stops, frozen, his face twitching with indecision. He hears the murder taking place just above him. He runs down three steps. Stops again. Runs down the rest of the stairs. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Raoul stretches to push the red "close" button for the door, but he has to hold Meg's head down, out of the lower beam with one hand, all with Sarah savagely attacking him at the same time, and three syringes hanging out of his neck. Finally, he gets Meg's head all the way down, onto the floor. Looking up, Meg sees the red beam become complete again. Raoul jabs the button -- -- just as Sarah throws her hand into the upper beam, the one at shoulder level. Sarah's hand turns red, the beam is broken, the door will not close. Raoul ROARS in anger and twists violently, sending Sarah flying across the room. Meg strains, gets her head off the floor again, breaking the beam. Raoul starts jamming the close button, over and over again, the beam completes, then breaks, completes, then breaks, never the button and the beam at the same time. But it can't go on forever. Meg's tiring, she can't keep it up, her head trembles -- -- and collapses onto the floor. The beam completes -- -- Raoul SMACKS the red button -- -- and Burnham appears on the other side of the door. He reaches in, grabs hold of Raoul, to pull him off her, but Raoul loses his balance, falls forward -- -- into the gap -- -- and his head is crushed by the spring-loaded steel door that SLAMS forward just as Meg draws herself back. Meg falls across the panic room, grabs Sarah, and holds on tight. The door detects the obstruction and opens again, slowly. Raoul's body slumps to the floor, dead. Burnham stands there, looking down at Meg and Sarah. They stare at each other, wordless, their first face to face contact. She sees the bonds protruding from his jacket. She just looks at him. There will be no understanding here. He zips his jacket, turns, and hurries away. INT. ENTRY FLOOR - NIGHT Burnham races down the steps, hurries to the entry door, throws it open -- -- and finds a gun barrel pointed directly into his nose. He blinks, tries to focus on whoever's on the other end of that gun. It's the Cop, the first Cop, the one who came to the door and was so suspicious of Meg. The Cop looks down, sees blood smeared all over Burnham's jacket, sees more than enough to know his suspicions were correct. COP 1 Put your hands up. Burnham freezes, silhouetted in the doorway. Wind and leaves blow into the house, a real gale outside. From behind Cop 1, MORE COPS SHOUT, all at once, must be a half dozen of 'em there, but Burnham can't see anything in the stinging light, and can't hear much either, over the ROARING wind. Burnham moves suddenly, flinging the door shut right in the Cop's face. The door SLAMS hard, Burnham turns to run but doesn't get more than a few paces before three sharp GUNSHOTS CRACK through the door behind him. Brilliant white light spills through the bulletholes in the door, but it's not the light that gets you, it's the chunks of lead. They rip through Burnham's back and come out his chest, a triangle pattern. Burnham stops, sags to his knees. He reaches into his jacket, pulls out the loose stack of bonds. He fans them out, stares down at them, holds them like playing cards. BURNHAM Monster hand. Behind him, the front door CRACKS open, half a dozen COPS appear and start SHOUTING, all at once. Burnham tosses the bonds to the floor, the same gesture as folding a hand of poker. He GROANS and collapses, slowly, falling through the bonds, twisting as he goes down. He SLAPS onto his back in the foyer as the wind gusts through the open door, scoops the bonds up off the floor, and blows them back into the house, as if they were never meant to leave. Burnham lies there on the floor, eyes open, staring up at the ceiling, looking at the bonds that swirl in the blast of air, suspended there, twisting and bucking and diving just over his head as he dies. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. CENTRAL PARK - GREAT LAWN - DAY The swirling bonds melt into swirling leaves, blowing in the air over Central Park on a crisp fall day. The leaves float down, over the Great Lawn, that massive expanse of grass we saw in Meg's hallucination. But on a day like this the Great Lawn's full of people, throwing frisbees, playing football, lying there doing nothing. The leaves land on the grass next to Meg and Sarah, stretched out on a blanket, a newspaper spread in front of them, open to the ads. Meg is on her back, arms folded behind her head, staring up at the clouds. Sarah is intent on the paper, circling the occasional ad. SARAH I mean, uptown is close to Dad's place, but somebody at school said the Village is really cool, so... I don't know, it's so great to be close to the park and everything... What do you think, I mean, give me a clue, here, where are we gonna live? Meg rolls over, props herself up on one elbow. She seems years younger. She looks at Sarah, reaches out, brushes her daughter's hair behind one ear. She smiles. She is calm. Behind her, a flock of pigeons takes off, leaping into the clear autumn sky. FADE OUT.
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+PET SEMATARY II An Original screenplay by Richard Outten Revised by David S. GoyerBased upon characters created by Stephen King THIRD DRAFTRevised 1/6/91"PET SEMATARY II"FADE IN:INT. LEMARCHE CASTLE, TOMB - NIGHT (1865)A storm is raging outside. We hear the clap and roll of THUNDER.TOMB STAIRWAY -RATS scurry away down the scum-covered steps as the GLOW OF A LANTERN and FOOTSTEPS herald someone's arrival...GENVIEVE LEMARCHEemerges around the bend. Mid-30s. Cultured beauty. Her dress and face are smeared with grime and... is that blood we see too? God only knows what's happened to her.Genvieve ducks under a monstrous cobweb as she passes an open window.WINDOWLIGHTNING streaks across the night sky outside. We catch a glimpse of the MOON disappearing behind the clouds.Genvieve reaches the bottom of the stairs. The tomb itself.Water trickles in through cracks in the lichen-covered walls, pooling on the tomb floor.Genvieve moves forward, her lantern throwing distorted shadows over everything...In front of her is Anton LeMarche's stone sarcophagus.Genvieve kneels in the water, one hand resting on the spiked iron railing which surrounds the tomb. She reaches the other hand towards a scum-covered plaque, brushing the grime away...THUNDER and LIGHTNING reach a crescendo as...A SKELETAL HAND rises out of the water, reaching for her.Genvieve SCREAMS. The lantern falls from her grasp, sputtering out. The hand reaches for her arm and inadvertently clutches her breast instead...Genvieve starts to laugh hysterically. DIRECTOR (O.S.) (exasperated) Cut! Thank you, Renee. Can we throw some light on the set? GENVIEVE I'm sorry...Suddenly it is lighter. Genvieve can't stop laughing. The groping monster hand disappears back beneath the water.WE PULL BACK, REVEALING -It's not 1865. The LeMarche Castle tomb is in fact, a 90s movie set. We are inside a soundstage, on a raised set, so the slugline should really read...INT. SOUNDSTAGE, LEMARCHE CASTLE TOMB SET -A FILM CREW scurries about. Everyone is LAUGHING now. The DIRECTOR sits to the right. He and the DP are already huddled over the video-assist monitor. We see the previous scene rewinding at high-speed.The FIRST A.D. moves in. FIRST A.D. Water in the pool's running low, fill her up!Crewmembers move towards the set.An SFX PUPPETEER (i.e., the skeletal arm) crawls out from under, followed by an ELECTRICIAN. PUPPETEER I can't see shit down there! I'm working blind!GENVIEVE/THE ACTRESSrises out of the water. Her name is actually RENEE HALLOW and her beauty is undeniable, even in such a disheveled state. RENEE This is great, I could've spent four months on a romantic comedy with Warren Beatty, and instead, I've got a horny zombie trying to cop a feel!The crew members LAUGH. She's well-liked on the set. Renee grins. Wardrobe and make-up personnel move in to adjust Renee's appearance. RENEE Uhgh, there's water everywhere... (beat) Can I get a cigarette?The MAKE-UP GIRL pulls a pack of cigarettes from her fanny-pack and offers Renee one. In a flash, a P.A. appears with a lighter. Renee mumbles "thanks" as she fires up. She squints her eyes, trying to see past the set lights. RENEE (calling out) Geoff? (beat) Anybody see my boy? GEOFF (O.S.) Right here, Mom...GEOFF MATTHEWS, Renee's 12 year-old son steps into view. Renee's face lights up when she sees him. RENEE How long have you been here? GEOFF Couple minutes. I saw the last shot. That was pretty cool.Renee grimaces as the make-up girl spritzes her face with a spray-bottle. RENEE (casually) How did it go with your father last night? GEOFF Good. He said he'd be over for dinner at eight... (awkward) I mean... he misses you, Mom... RENEE I miss him too... RENEE (continuing) I just don't want you to get your hopes up, okay? We're trying to work things out, but...Her voice trails off. GEOFF I know, Mom. RENEE (affectionate) You know everything, don't you?Renee and Geoff are interrupted by a CREWMEMBER who's spraying "atmosphere" about the set with a hand-held smoke machine. Renee coughs.Off-set, the FIRST A.D. is trying to get the show on the road. FIRST A.D. Okay, people! Quiet! We're going to try this another time! GEOFF Guess it's showtime. RENEE Yep.Renee kisses Geoff on the forehead. He takes the cigarette from her and moves off the set, standing near the camera.The director turns back toward Renee. DIRECTOR Alright, Renee. Last time. I promise. We nail this and you won't have to do this ever again. RENEE That's what you said the first time...Renee turns and heads back toward the stairs. A P.A. hands her a new lantern. As she reaches the stairs, the house lights dim, creating the proper atmosphere once again.UNDER THE SET -The puppeteer gets ready. It's cramped. The electrician checks a power box connection.The director nods to the camera operator. OPERATOR Rolling. Speed... SLATE BOY "Castle of Terror." Scene 69A. Take thirteen.The slate comes down. DIRECTOR Action!The scene replays itself as before, only now we're watching the action from multiple viewpoints.We start on the video assist monitor, then move up to...GEOFFHe grins as he watches the scene unfold.ON THE SETRenee has reached the sarcophagus. LIGHTNING flashes. The skeleton hand bursts up, grabbing Renee's arm. The scene continues past the original point of interruption.UNDER THE SET -We see an undetected LEAK. Water drips down. The puppeteer shifts position, struggling, and......knocks over the power box which SPARKS just as...ABOVE -Renee/Genvieve grabs the iron railing with both hands.Electricity surges through Renee. Her body jerks and writhes like some nightmarish marionette.UNDER THE SET -The electrician drags the puppeteer back. Sparks fly. ELECTRICIAN Jesus! We've crossed over into 220! Shut down the generator!ABOVE -Crewmembers SCREAM and scramble back...All the circuits are blowing, lights EXPLODING and showering sparks over the whole set. This is not part of the movie.RENEEIt's awful. She shakes, her SMOKING HANDS frozen to the iron railing by the electricity running through her...Suddenly, Renee falls forward against the iron. Her face begins to SMOKE AND SINGE...The lights CONTINUE TO BLOW, casting a strobic effect over the soundstage, adding to the chaos.ON GEOFFAs he witnesses the whole event. He tries to rush forward, but someone restrains him... GEOFF Mom!!!!Suddenly all the circuits in the stage are blown and the LIGHTS GO OUT. Renee slumps back into the water, smoke trailing up from her still form. And we... CUT TO:OMITTED (SCENES 2 THRU 2J)INT. OPERATING ROOM - DAYAn aged GOLDEN RETRIEVER is on the surgical table. CHASE MATTHEWS, D.V.M., gently strokes the dog's fur. He's good with the dog. He's kind. The retriever's owners: a MOTHER and her SON, look on. CHASE I think this is probably for the best. He's a very old dog. He has arthritis. He has cataracts in his eyes...Chase looks at the mother. He's always hated this part. CHASE He's had a good life... (to dog) ...haven't you, boy? INTERCOM Doctor Matthews, your son is on line one. He says it's an emergency...Chase breaks concentration, pulling his eyes away from the mother and son.INT. SOUNDSTAGE, LEMARCHE CASTLE TOMB SET -A blur of activity converges on the movie set. A TRIO OF PARAMEDICS. A FIRE OFFICIAL. A POLICE OFFICER. Medical equipment. Horrified crewmembers watch on, helpless.WE STAY ON Geoff, momentarily blocked out and then revealed again and again, amidst the commotion of paramedics scrambling to save Renee. The director has his hand on Geoff's shoulder.Geoff's eyes dart about, taking it all in. Things are happening very fast:--Renee's hand is lifted. Someone checking her pulse. --Her eyelids parted. A pen light flashing at her fixed pupils. PARAMEDIC #1 (O.S.) Run me down a line of normal saline.--An I.V. needle plunges into the inside of Renee's elbow. --A syringe injects into the I.V. post.--Hands hook up a life-pack monitor. Renee's dress is torn away. Electrodes press to bare skin. --The monitor screen blinks to life. PARAMEDIC (O.S.) We have a bradycardic rhythm at 30.--Another PARAMEDIC dials out on a cellular phone, to the consulting physician. PARAMEDIC #3 (O.S.) White female. Approximately thirty five years old. Electrocution...--A clear tube is inserted down her throat. --The monitor shows erratic heartbeat. PARAMEDIC #2 (O.S.) She's in V-fib.--There's a renewed urgency even amidst their rush.--Defibrillator paddles are pressed to her chest.Geoff looks to the monitor as...--It goes to flatline. PARAMEDIC (O.S.) Clear. GEOFF No...Geoff moves forward, pulling away from the director. The police officer moves in and intercepts Geoff, turning the boy away.Geoff's eyes fix on the monitor. An unbending flatline... GEOFF You have to bring her back...Chase rushes onto the set, pushing past crewmembers. He freezes at the sight of the horrific commotion around Renee's still form. CHASE Oh Jesus...Chase's gaze connects with his son. GEOFF (helpless) Dad...We pull back from Geoff, Chase, and the commotion around Renee. Farther and farther as the darkness around the set begins to close in... PARAMEDIC #1 (O.S.) (urgent) We're losing her...Darkness everywhere and we5 OMITTEDTHRU9G OMITTEDEXT. A DREAMLIKE FOGA form drifts forward, materializing out of the fog.It's a CASKET. Appearing as if it's floating among the clouds. PULLING BACK, WE SEE that it's moving along A CONVEYOR. AND NOW, WE CAN make out the faint form of A PLANE as the conveyor descends from the cargo compartment.The casket reaches the end of the conveyor. A tag marks its final destination: Bangor, Maine. HANDS reach in and lift the casket. FOUR BAGGAGE HANDLERS hoist the casket up onto their shoulders and carry it off. HANDLER #1 Is it true she grew up around here? HANDLER #2 Yeah. Over in Ludlow. HANDLER #1 Huh. Never met a movie star before. HANDLER #3 Well you're a little late for an autograph.The baggage handlers laugh as they walk off into the distance. The fog closes around them and we... DISSOLVE TO:EXT. PLEASANTVILLE CEMETERY - DAYWe drift down from the gray sky to the somber scene below. Off in the distance, a crowd of MOURNERS are gathered around a grave. PRIEST (V.O.) ...I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord...CLOSER -THE HEADSTONE is adorned with an iron plaque. It reads, simply: RENEE HALLOW MATTHEWS 1955-1991 PRIEST (V.O.) ...She that believeth in me, though she were dead, yet shall she live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die...THE CASKET is slowly lowered into the open grave. As it descends, WE SEE Geoff and his father, Chase, standing at the forefront of the crowd. Renee's grave is next to those of her parents.Among the mourners is MARJORIE HARGROVE, an attractive local girl in her early twenties.Further down the hillside, a wall of NEWS REPORTERS are gathered behind a roped-off media boundary. There is a blinding flurry of PHOTO FLASHES as the press records the scene before them.A SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT PATROL CAR cruises up the cemetery drive, pulling to a stop near the mob of reporters.Out of the car steps GUS GILBERT. Gus is nearly forty, with a Sheriff's uniform fitted to his solid, ageless frame. Gruff, maybe a little self-important: Gus likes being a big fish in a small pond. GUS (drawing near) Let's keep it back, folks. Try to show her a little respect...A REPORTER ducks under the media boundary, moving in for a closer shot.He doesn't make it two steps before he's intercepted by Gus. Gus grabs the reporter and shoves him back. GUS Hey! What did I just say?Gus means business. One look into his eyes reveals his intense, no nonsense approach. REPORTER Ass-hole...The reporter backs off.BACK AT THE GRAVESIDE -Beneath the gloomy, ominous skies, the lines on Chase's face shade him as a decade older than his thirty-five years. Chase gently places a comforting hand on Geoff's shoulder.Geoff inches forward, pulling free of Chase's touch. Drawn to his mother, drawn from his father. The only blemishes on his youthful, rosy cheeks are the tears, the endless tears. PRIEST (V.O.) I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.Geoff looks upon the casket, gazing into the abyss of despair.FOLLOWING THE CEREMONYThe crowd has dispersed.Geoff is standing at the base of Renee's grave. His eyes fixed. Unmoving. Unaccepting.Chase is nearby, watching, not wanting to intrude on Geoff's private moment.Gus quietly moves in at Chase's side. GUS Did she always have reporters following her around like this? CHASE Pretty much so.Gus glances at Geoff. GUS I hear you moved into town. CHASE I wanted to get Geoff out of L.A. Just start things over, you know?Gus nods. Now his eyes fall on Renee's headstone. GUS I remember when Renee left. She couldn't wait to get out of Ludlow. She used to say that life moved too slow here...Chase forces a smile. CHASE That's Renee alright. GUS I suppose so.The sky above seems heavy with imminent rain and we... CUT TO:12 OMITTEDTHRU15 OMITTEDEXT. HOUSE - DAYLazy oaks embrace a vintage, two-story Victorian home in the rural neighborhood of Ludlow, Maine. A commercial MOVING VAN is parked out front.Marjorie, the girl we saw at Renee's funeral, is coming down the sidewalk. She checks the address on the front of the house, then heads up the driveway.INT. DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAYMoving boxes clutter the downstairs.Chase is weaving through the maze, doing an inventory on the boxes.A sweaty PAIR OF MOVERS are climbing up the stairs. Each is hunched over, with a garment box balanced on his back. The side of each carton is boldly labeled: RENEE - ATTIC. MOVER (O.S.) We've got six more of these. You sure you want them all in the attic?Chase is contemplating a compromise when Geoff appears from the kitchen doorway. CHASE ...Geoff, what if we just give the clothes to Goodwill? We'll keep the rest. Just the clothes.Geoff shakes his head, firm and deliberate denial. GEOFF You're the one who wanted to move. Nobody would've touched them if you didn't want to move here...Chase weakens, giving in. CHASE All the 'Renee' boxes go in the attic. Sorry.Marjorie KNOCKS on the open frame of the front door.Geoff recognizes her from his mother's funeral. She flashes him a warm smile. MARJORIE Hi. I'm Marjorie Hargrove. Your new housekeeper.Marjorie has a naive, friendly quality about her. She's also blessed with eye-popping genetics. Standing there outside the door, looking more than a little nervous... we can't help but like her. Needless to say, she doesn't look like your typical housekeeper. MARJORIE (re: Chase's reaction) Is something wrong? CHASE Uh... no. You just... look different than you sounded on the phone. Please, come in.Marjorie enters. She grins at Geoff again. Yep. She's nervous alright. MARJORIE I'm real excited about working for you Mr. Matthews... CHASE Well we're glad to have you, Marjorie. You can call me Chase, by the way.Marjorie passes her curious eyes over one of Renee's garment containers. MARJORIE I've always admired Ms. Hallow. That scene she did in Blue Midnight, where her lover meets her at the train station... (she sighs) I must've watched that movie four times.Chase smiles. Marjorie's enthusiasm is endearing.Just then, one of the movers loses his grip. A garment box bounces down the slope of the stairs. When it reaches the bottom, dresses spill over the floor. MARJORIE Oh. I'll get that...Marjorie moves for the spill. The first dress she touches is a beaded peach evening gown. Her fingers linger on the fabric. MARJORIE This is gorgeous. She wore this at the Emmys, didn't she?Geoff moves forward, acting overly defensive. GEOFF Hey, don't touch her stuff. It made her crazy when people touched her stuff.Marjorie is taken aback by the oddity of Geoff's statement.Chase catches her eye, shrugging apologetically.17 OMITTEDTHRU19 OMITTEDEXT. DRIVEWAY - DAYA VAN is parked outside. The rear side panel is masked off with tape and a stencil. Chase grabs the corner of the tape and carefully peels it back, revealing a crisp, new business logo: ROUND THE CLOCK ANIMAL DOC MOBILE VETERINARY SERVICE CHASE MATTHEWS, D.V.M. Serving Aroostook CountyEXT. TOWN - DAYESTABLISHING. Shops and businesses situated around a lazy town square. QUiet. Relaxed. As rural as they come.WE pick up Chase's van as it cruises by.EXT. VETERINARY OFFICE - DAYChase pulls the van in front of an unassuming veterinary office.On the door is Chase's nameplate. And on the weathered wall is an outline of letters where the name and title "Quentin Yolander, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine" once was.Geoff is first out of the van.INT. EXAMINATION ROOM - DAYGeoff and Chase move inside. The offices look like they were built in the 40s. A dark corridor stretches down the center of the suite. Faded green walls are solid, with few exteriors. It's creepy in here.Heavy, grey plastic curtains absorb much of the light which does find its way in. Nothing looks like it's been updated in the past fifty years. CHASE This doesn't look so bad...Chase sweeps a curtain aside, revealing the interior to Geoff. Dust swirls in the air. GEOFF How long ago did this guy retire? CHASE It's been a few years.Geoff takes a look around, growing uncomfortable. GEOFF (skeptical) A few?Geoff moves on down the central corridor which seems to grow darker and more dismal with every step. He moves on into the boarding room...INT. BOARDING AREA - DAYRows of kennels are stacked along the walls, smothered with cobwebs. Ancient, rusted surgical equipment is scattered everywhere. The place is a mess. Windows are boarded up and shadows cloak the room.Over to the right, Geoff hears a RUSTLING.A CARDBOARD BOX on one of the shelves jiggles. Something is moving around inside it.Geoff's eyes widen. Still, morbid curiosity propels him forward.The box rustles again. He reaches for it and...A CREATURE LEAPS out at him, HOWLING. Geoff SCREAMS and jumps back. The box tumbles over and...A CAT crawls out. Behind the protective mother, are four of the cutest kittens we've ever seen, MEWING away.Geoff sighs just as Chase rushes into the room. CHASE What's wrong?! GEOFF (embarrassed) Nothing. I just got spooked by a bunch of furballs.Inside the box is a note. Chase reaches for it. It reads: "And a warm welcome to you." CHASE Great, now I've opened an orphanage too.One of the kittens pads out of the box and looks up at Geoff with sleepy eyes. Her fur is striped. GEOFF Well, I'll take one. If it's okay...Geoff lifts the fragile creature, cradling it in his arms. GEOFF She looks like a tiger.Chase spies an old broom resting in the corner. CHASE Tell you what, you do some sweeping up here, and she's yours.Geoff nods and Chase moves back out into the hallway.Geoff sets the box back upright and lowers Tiger in with the other kittens. He reaches for the broom and goes to work sweeping away the cobwebs.Just as soon as he turns his back, Tiger climbs the side of the box, spilling over onto the floor.INT. EXAMINATION ROOMChase is unpacking a shipment of medical supplies. When he places them in the cabinet, he stirs up a layer of dust.Tiger scampers by as Chase coughs his way out of the cloud of dust.INT. WAITING AREATiger sees the front door ajar. And as she approaches to explore what lies beyond--The door swings open...ZOWIE, A SIBERIAN HUSKY is staring back at her. He's black and white with blue eyes, with a mask that is at once menacing and majestic.A pudgy thirteen year old boy, DREW, has a hold of the dog's collar.Zowie's BARK sends Tiger scrambling.Drew loses his grip as Zowie yanks free. A strong, paternal command calls after Drew from outside. VOICE (O.S.) Drew, you get a handle on that dog, now!INT. EXAMINATION ROOMChase spins around at the commotion as Tiger darts across the floor with the barking dog in pursuit.Mayhem ensues as Zowie's big paws slip on the slick tile.Geoff rushes in from the boarding area.Tiger ducks beneath the back of a surgical gurney.Zowie's snoot wedges beneath the base, inches from Tiger's tiny, striking paw.Drew slides in on his knees, renewing his hold on Zowie's collar. He pulls the dog back.Geoff rescues Tiger from beneath the gurney.Drew shrugs sheepishly. DREW Sorry. He gets kinda hyper...Drew's stepfather, Gus Gilbert, enters. The dreaded, domineering voice of authority in Drew's life. WE know him as the sheriff at Renee's funeral. GUS Hell, he thought it was lunch. How ya doin', Chase? (a handshake) You haven't met my boy. (aside) Drew, where the hell are your manners.Drew steps forward and awkwardly offers his hand to Chase. Then Geoff. The boys shake. GEOFF He's a cool lookin' dog.Zowie lurches forward, eager to shower affection on Geoff. Geoff strokes the dog's soft mane. GEOFF What's his name? DREW Zowie.Drew puts his palm under Zowie's chin and turns him for Chase to see. There are several scabbed-over gashes on his left cheek. GUS Damn dog stuck his nose in on my rabbits and they ganged up on him. I swear that dog's an idiot. DREW Is he gonna be okay?With one eye on Zowie, Chase sprays some antiseptic on the examination table and wipes it clean. CHASE Let's have him hop up here.Drew prods Zowie. Zowie jumps up onto the table. Chase looks over the facial lacerations, then turns on a penlight and examines the dog's eyes.Gus passes a lingering look over Tiger. He reaches in to pet her, making sure it meets with Geoff's approval. GUS When I was young I thought cats were the girls and dogs were the boys. CHASE There are three more girls where that one came from looking for homes.Drew perks up at the thought, but Gus shoots it down. GUS Not our home.Chase takes the light out of Zowie's eyes. He looks to Gus. CHASE Thee facial lacerations should heal up pretty quickly. I'll give you som antibiotic cream-- GUS --Drew, he's your dog. Are you listening to this?Chase turns to Drew and continues... CHASE His left eye is scratched, corneal abrasion. Eyedrops will help, but it's going to take som time. Try to keep him away from those rabbits, huh?Drew nods, casting a glance aside at Gus. GUS (to Chase) I hear you've got Marjorie Hargrove working for you now. CHASE How'd you know that?Gus gives Chase a knowing grin. GUS It's a small town, Chase.Gus laughs and claps Chase on the shoulder. GUS Hey Geoff, did you know your mother and I used to be high- school sweethearts?Geoff is surprised at this. Surprised and annoyed. Tact isn't a quality that Gus possesses in abundance. GEOFF Really? GUS (nodding) Homecoming. Prom. Whole nine yards. (to Chase) Course that was a lifetime ago.EXT. SCHOOL - DAYJUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL KIDS are converging en masse for classes. Chase's van pulls up front.INT. VAN - DAYChase digs some cash out of his wallet. Geoff stares out at the school. He's dreading this. CHASE What's a lunch cost these days? You want ten? GEOFF (unenthused) Sure.Chase looks at his son. CHASE You nervous? New town, new school. I know it must be pretty hard for you... GEOFF (cutting him off) I'll be fine, Dad.Geoff reaches for the door, but Chase stops him. He's trying to reach his son. He really is. CHASE (awkward) Geoff... you have to help me out here a little..."MEOW!" Chase drops his eyes to the bulge squirming around in Geoff's jacket. He can't help but smile. CHASE Are you sure you don't want me to pick you up. It's a long ride.Geoff opens the side panel of the van and slips out his MOUNTAIN BIKE. GEOFF That's what my bike's for...Before Chase can say another word, Geoff is gone.EXT. VAN - DAYAs Chase pulls away, WE SEE the handmade sign taped in the back window: PRICELESS KITTENS FREE TO A GOOD HOMEEXT. SCHOOL - DAYDrew is among a small circle of BOYS. He recognizes Geoff walking his bike from the van. The largest of the boys, CLYDE, takes notice of the unfamiliar face.Clyde is fifteen, going on twenty. You know the type: local bully, held back a year or two. CLYDE Check it out. That's the new kid. The son of that movie star.Mischief gleams in Clyde's eyes as he watches Geoff's every move. The other boys follow suit. Clyde always takes the lead.Geoff fields their penetrating stares. For a second his eyes connect with Clyde's, then he moves on into the building.Among the boys, Drew is the reluctant participant.INT. CLASSROOM - DAYMRS. GORDON is addressing a room of SEVENTH GRADERS.Geoff is doodling in his notebook, feeling acutely out of place as he tries to avoid the curious glances the rest of his new classmates are giving him. MRS. GORDON People, this is Geoff Matthews. He'll be joining our class for the rest of the school year...As Mrs. Gordon points to him, Geoff drops his face even lower. This is the worst embarrassment a boy could ever suffer. He'd like to throttle Mrs. Gordon.A freckle-faced boy, DOUG, fires off a question. DOUG Hey, what's Hollywood like? Do you know Eddie Murphy? GEOFF (annoyed) No. MRS. GORDON Why don't we save that for later, Doug?A girl with braces, SUSAN, continues the interrogation. SUSAN What about Julia Roberts? MRS. GORDON Susan! That'll be enough.Susan shuts up. Geoff sinks even lower in his seat.The kids turn their eyes back to the front of the room.But one classmate's eyes are still on Geoff. It's Clyde.Clyde shifts his stare to the squirming lump in Geoff's jacket. Hecatches a glimpse of Tiger's bobbing nose popping out.INT. HALLWAY - DAYGeoff joins the stampede of kids as the BELL releases them for the day. Almost immediately, Clyde and his cronies, STEVIE AND BRAD, fall in step behind him. Drew hangs slightly off to the side, not really wanting to be a part of the intimidation. CLYDE What's the hurry, Junior? Where you off to?Clyde quickens his pace, pulling ahead of Geoff and stopping in front of him. Stevie and Brad move in on either side. Surrounded by peers, it's apparent how small Geoff is for his age.On the wall next to them is a bulletin board display. Clyde glances at it. Geoff follows his gaze.DISPLAYIt's one of those corny school affairs with construction paper letters spelling out: "WE REMEMBER RENEE HALLOW." Beneath that are pictures of Renee clipped from various magazines. Cloyingly tasteless. CLYDE (feigning remorse) Too bad about your Mom. Papers said it was pretty gross, getting fried like that. Guess you saw it, huh?Geoff nods. Clyde raises his eyebrows, pulling Geoff's jacket open. CLYDE So, what are you hiding there? STEVIE When you bring a friend to school you're supposed to introduce him.Geoff's arm tightens protectively around Tiger. GEOFF Her name's Tiger. CLYDE Tiger? Don't you think that's kind of a pussy name? (reaching out) Can I hold her? I promise I'll be real careful.Clyde has a convincing way about him. Geoff reluctantly hands the kitten over. Clyde is so gentle with the creature that one would never question his sincerity.Geoff is just beginning to feel at ease when something changes in Clyde's tone, something sinister. CLYDE Hey, Geoff. You ever seen a kitten run? GEOFF I've seen her run around the house.Clyde's eyes narrow. He takes a couple of steps back. Geoff's heart starts to sink. CLYDE No, I mean really run... (beat) Like this!Clyde backsteps and bolts off down the hallway with Tiger. Brad and Stevie fall in behind him, laughing.Drew shrugs apologetically. He's torn, but he tears off after them nonetheless. GEOFF Shit...Geoff runs off in pursuit of them.EXT. SCHOOL - DAYGeoff rushes from the building, searching the dispersing crowd. There they are, tearing from the bike racks, pedaling for the street.Clyde sees Geoff and mockingly holds the kitten out for display as they ride by.Geoff runs for the bike racks.EXT. ROAD - DAYClyde and his cohorts break from the outskirts of town, riding out onto the open road.Clyde glances back toward the center of town.Geoff is so far behind he's barely visible.Clyde returns his eyes to the road ahead, raising Tiger nose to nose with him. CLYDE Having fun yet?Clyde and his smirking buddies ride on, OUT OF FRAME.WITH GEOFFgiving the pedals all he can, struggling to keep pace with the boys.35 OMITTEDFURTHER ALONGScattered houses sprinkle the landscape ahead. Cochran Lake stretches into the distance beyond the housing.Clyde's clan cuts from the road and blazes a trail across a residential property. The two-story house is weathered and boarded up. It looks vaguely familiar. Creepy.And when WE FIND the mailbox post, we know why. The name is faded, but there's no question who once lived there. Five bold letters: "CREED."Geoff whips by in a blur, still in pursuit.EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAYClyde and his friends have abandoned their bikes. They've taken position on top of the slope of the hill, standing at the foot of THE PATH TO THE PET SEMATARY.38 OMITTEDEXT. PET SEMATARY PATH - DAYGeoff pulls his bike to a stop short of the boys. He dismounts and leans it up against a tree. GEOFF Just give me the cat, all right?A devilish grin creeps over Clyde. He strolls down the path toward Geoff. Clyde grabs Geoff's handlebars and, backing up, pulls Geoff and the bike with him. CLYDE I would but... there was a little accident... (feeding off Geoff's alarm) She was trying to get away. You know, running down my leg... and her head got too close to the spokes. Pretty gross. What's left of her is up in the Pet Sematary. A zip-lock bag might help... (shrugs) ...but I happen to be out of them at the moment.Drew shakes his head, disgusted he has to put up with Clyde's antics. DREW Come on, Clyde, just tell him where the cat is... CLYDE (turning on Drew) ...I TOLD HIM where the cat is! Now shut up, fuck-face!Clyde punches Drew in the arm. Drew shrinks back.Geoff flashes a hateful stare at Clyde.All of the boys but Clyde are uncomfortably silent. There's something frightening about Clyde... something that extends beyond the standard bully antics. We begin to get the feeling that this kid is genuinely deranged. CLYDE (relishing the moment) You heard about the Creed murders yet? And the place where the dead come back to life?He motions to the path behind him. CLYDE (continuing) It's just back there. Just down that path... DREW (meekly) Clyde... it's not funny anymore. CLYDE Oh? So you got a problem? What're you gonna do, fat-ass? You gonna sic big, bad, old Gus after me?Drew shuts up. Clyde turns back to Geoff, drawing closer. CLYDE What do you think, Geoff? Maybe you could dig up your Mom and take her back there. Maybe if you pray real hard, she'll come back.With this last remark Clyde has pushed too far. Geoff's face is red with anger. GEOFF (quietly) Just give me the cat, ass-hole.Clyde's grin falters a moment. CLYDE Excuse me, maybe I'm a little hard of hearing... but did you just call me an ass-hole?Clyde pokes Geoff in the shoulder. CLYDE You mad, Geoff? Cause if you are, you should take a shot at me...This time Clyde shoves Geoff back even harder. CLYDE Come on, you pussy! What's the matter with you?Clyde moves forward again and Geoff suddenly LASHES OUT, catching everyone off guard.For an instant, Drew marvels at Geoff's tenacity.Clyde LUNGES. He hammers Geoff with blows.Outsizing him by forty pounds, Clyde tosses Geoff to the ground. Geoff struggles, but Clyde's grip proves arresting.Clyde throws Geoff onto his stomach, forcing his face into the dirt. It looks as if he's ready to smother his opponent.Drew is the first to rush in. Brad and Stevie quickly follow. It takes all three of them to peel Clyde off Geoff.Clyde gets to his feet and backs away. There's great pleasure in his crazed eyes as he watches Geoff coughing and gasping. CLYDE Fuckin' ass-hole.Satisfied he's handed out enough ill will for the day, Clyde turns away.Drew's attentions remain on Geoff. As Clyde strolls by, he grabs Drew's arm and swings him around. CLYDE This way, fat-boy.Stevie and Brad follow. As the group passes Geoff's bike, Clyde gives it a kick, knocking it over. Then they're gone.Geoff pulls himself to his feet. Brushing off the mess, he heads up the path in search of Tiger.EXT. PET SEMATARY - DAYThe woods here have grown long with shadows. The air is still and the sound of birds is conspicuously absent.A WOODEN ARCHWAY frames the entrance to the primitive graveyard. Scrawled across the weatherstained boards is a child's barely legible attempt at "PET SEMATARY."Geoff trepidatiously enters the clearing of crude, crowded graves. Collars, leashes, bird cages and other accessories adorn the makeshift crosses and headstones.Geoff moves along the outer circle of markers, each crafted by a child's caring hands.As he searches, he can't help but notice the heartfelt epitaphs. On the outer circle, he sees a crate-board marker memorializing: SMUCKY THE CAT... HE WAS OBEDIANT.MOVING INWARD, the markers are older. The ones he can still read convey a sense of the perpetual cycle of life and death.Here is a wide, flat, upright board planted deep in the earth: "In Memory of MARTA our Pet Rabit Dyed March 1 1965."The next three rows are illegible, the inscriptions are weathered beyond recognition... And then, chiseled into sandstone: HANNAH THE BEST DOG THAT EVER LIVED 1929-1939.And now... "MEOW." Faint. But very much alive.Geoff picks up his pace, weaving quickly toward the center.There, he finds Tiger. Trapped in a rusted old birdcage, its base swallowed by the grave.Geoff opens the door and frees Tiger, stroking the trembling kitten.Geoff's eyes are drawn to the far perimeter... to the deadfall...THE DEADFALL looms on the outskirts of the clearing like a pile of skeletal remains. An abstract stairway to things beyond. A wind picks up just then, sending leaves skittering in waves across the ground.40 OMITTEDEXT. PET SEMATARY PATH - DAYWhen Geoff turns around, he finds Drew waiting for him under the archway. Drew smiles, full of respect for Geoff. DREW I've never seen anybody punch Clyde before. GEOFF (shrugs) He pissed me off. DREW (his smile fading) Sorry about your mom. (beat) I couldn't handle not having my mom around. Just having Gus...He grimaces at the thought. GEOFF My dad's not so bad.Drew glances around at all the makeshift grave markers. DREW I swear, sometimes I wish Gus was dead... GEOFF (serious) You shouldn't ever say that about your parents, not even your Dad. DREW Stepdad. Gus is my stepdad.Geoff nods knowingly. GEOFF What was all that stuff about dead people coming back to life? DREW Nothing. It's just an old ghost story. Let's get out of here...They head off, full of childhood.INT. KITCHEN - DUSKMarjorie is at the stove, fixing up dinner, while Chase scans the newspaper at the table.Geoff enters through the kitchen door. He moves past them without a word. CHASE (calling after him) Hey! How was your first day at school? GEOFF (over his shoulder) It sucked. MARJORIE Now is that any way to talk to your father?Geoff stops for a moment, turns... GEOFF You're not my mother....and exits through the opposite door.Chase looks to Marjorie and offers a sympathetic shrug. CHASE Sorry.EXT. DREW'S HOUSE - DUSKCRUDE CAGES HOUSE DOZENS OF RABBITS. Situated alongside the garage. A sign above the cages reads: PET RABBITS - $10.00. Bells positioned along the roof threaten to reveal foul play.Gus is rigging a wire along the base of the cage.Finishing it off, he hangs the plug next to an outside socket. Moving onto the next chore, he pours pressed alfalfa pellets into feeding slots for the hungry rabbits.Setting the feed aside, he takes a seat. Opening one of the cages, he grabs a rabbit and sets it on his lap, gently petting its soft fur.One of the cages starts to vibrate.Gus gives it a look: A PAIR OF RABBITS aren't interested in eating, they're joined in fast and furious passion.Gus gets a chuckle out of the sight. GUS Way to go, Romeo...Gus replaces the rabbit in the hutch. And before he goes, HE SINKS THE PLUG INTO THE SOCKET. An ELECTRICAL CHARGE dances along the base of the cage, a deterrent for intruders.INT. KITCHEN - NIGHTDrew's mother, AMANDA, withdraws a roast from the oven.Gus is at the sink, washing his hands. He turns to see Zowie laying at Drew's feet in the living room. Drew is watching a MUSIC VIDEO on TV. GUS Drew, I don't remember inviting Zowie in for dinner. DREW Just until he heals up?Gus is waggling his thumb toward the back door.Drew slumps in defeat.Gus reaches into the cabinet and pours himself a Bourbon.EXT. DREW'S HOUSE - NIGHTDrew walks Zowie from the house with a dish of dog food. As they pass the rabbit dens, Zowie alters his path. Drew gets a handful of his collar and pulls him back.Across the yard is an enclosed dog run. Twenty feet long by ten feet wide. Drew puts Zowie inside with the dog food.Drew strokes Zowie's mane affectionately, then backs away, closing the wood-framed door to the dog run.INT. DREW'S KITCHEN - NIGHTAmanda's about to put the roast on the table when Gus nuzzles up behind her, breathing down her backside. With his drink in hand, he sweeps her hair aside and zeros in for a kiss on the back of the neck.Gus eases his free hand around between Amanda and the counter and presses his palm firmly into her crotch, drawing her body tight to him.She stiffens at his intimate hold, uncomfortable with his timing. AMANDA Gus, please...At the back door, Drew is watching from beyond the screen, disgusted by the sight of Gus pawing his mother. Drew swings the door open as loud as he can to signal his return.Gus plants a last kiss on the back of Amanda's neck and backs off. But before he goes, he snatches a chunk of meat from the serving platter. Leveling his leering eyes at Amanda, he stuffs it into his mouth suggestively. GUS God damn, you're good.Drew rolls his eyes and takes his seat at the table, returning his attention to the TV, where another MUSIC VIDEO is on.Gus glances at the TV, annoyed by the MUSIC. He drops into his spot at the head of the table, blocking Drew's view. Drew leans to the side for a better look. Gus takes notice and leans to the same side to obstruct his view. GUS You're breaking the law here, Drew. AMANDA Really, Gus. It won't bother me.Gus ignores her, inching forward with a confidential, harsh whisper. GUS Your mom's spent the last hour cooking. Stop being a little jerk and show her some appreciation.Drew aims the remote control at Gus, as if to shut him up, and silences the TV.Amanda approaches with the roast. The moment it's on the table, Drew starts dishing up a hefty serving. Gus spears Drew's fork with the serving fork. GUS Not that much appreciation. I thought we were gonna tone down that flabby ass. DREW Hey, I'm so sorry I'm not the stud that you are. AMANDA Knock it off, guys...Gus throws back a sip of Bourbon. GUS (to Drew, quietly) You watch that mouth of yours, Drew buddy.46 OMITTEDEXT. ZOWIE'S DOG RUN - NIGHTMOVING THROUGH Zowie's enclosed pen, WE SEE no sign of the dog. REACHING the door, WE FIND that the wood around the bottom hinge has been chewed through. The base of the door is ajar, just enough for a dog to have slipped through.EXT. RABBIT CAGES - NIGHTIn the still of the night, Gus' rabbit pens sit unattended. And then WE HEAR the tinkling of dog tags. Snoozing rabbits awaken as Zowie lumbers INTO FRAME.Zowie rises on his hind legs, pressing his paws to a cage. Blue sparks fly as Zowie is jolted with the electrical charge.INT. GUS' ROOM - NIGHTThe ELECTRICAL ZING. The dog's whimpering CRY. And the RINGING OF BELLS reach Gus in rapid succession, rousting him from his sleep. He rolls out of bed and grabs his robe. GUS Damn it, Drew. That dog is history!Amanda stirs, groggily focusing on Gus' departing figure.INT. DREW'S ROOM - NIGHTDrew swings open the door to the hallway as Gus marches by, stuffing shells into a shotgun. Panicked, Drew takes off after him.EXT. RABBIT CAGES - NIGHTZowie swings his head in the direction of the house as Gus bursts through the back door. Drew is one step behind.Gus swings the gun up and fires off a SHOT.Zowie bolts for the shadows of the hillside.Drew rushes in and deflects the aim of the rifle. DREW Don't shoot him!Gus' eyes are wild with anger. GUS What, Drew? What did you say?!Gus throws Drew aside, brings the rifle back up and FIRES another random shot after the fleeing dog. All the while, his eyes remain on Drew, as if this were the boy's lesson to be learned.He squeezes off one more SHOT...A PAINED YELP echoes from the hillside. Zowie's yelp.Drew whips his head aside in sickened shock. Even Gus is sobered by the unexpected hit.All they can hear now are Zowie's WHIMPERING CRIES diminishing in the night.Drew shoots Gus a look of such unbridled hatred that Gus is speechless. He backs away from Gus and darts off toward the dark hillside.When Gus turns back for the house, Amanda is standing there. AMANDA Jesus, Gus, what have you done? GUS Ah, come on, Amanda, stop looking at me like that. He's had ample warning about that dog.Amanda glares at him, an outpouring of pent-up strain.Gus defiantly marches past Amanda, entering the house without ever meeting eyes with her.EXT. WOODS - NIGHTDrew pauses long enough to listen for Zowie...Nothing until a FAINT CRY drifts back at him.DEEPER IN THE WOODSZowie limps INTO FRAME. Blood is flowing from the bullet wound in his left hindquarter, trailing from his suspended leg. Every step is a strain.DREWcomes upon a break in the trees. The hanging moon outlines the knoll stretching beyond. And then, the strained breathing, the hushed WHIMPER.Drew hesitantly approaches the crest of the knoll.Zowie is just beyond, lying on his side at the end of the bloody trail. His chest rises and falls almost imperceptibly with every effort to survive.Drew drops to his knees at Zowie's side and cradles the dog in his lap, shaking his head in denial.Zowie's weak eyes shift, gazing longingly at Drew.Drew strokes the fur under Zowie's chin, hardly able to see the dog through his glaze of tears.Zowie's eyes drift off. His chest falls and doesn't rise again. He falls limp in Drew's arms. Drew hugs Zowie even tighter and he begins to weep.FROM A DISTANCEWE SEE the image of Drew with the dog cradled in his arms, silhouetted against the moonlit horizon. DISSOLVE TO:53 OMITTEDEXT. GEOFF'S HOUSE - MORNINGGeoff appears from the garage with his bike and takes off for the road. A WHISTLE catches his ear.Drew is at the edge of the woods, beckoning for Geoff.Geoff circles around and doubles back. GEOFF I was just going by your house. Where's your bike?The closer Geoff gets, the more he sees of Drew's despair. Then he sees the dried blood staining Drew's clothes. DREW Zowie's dead.Geoff's heart sinks. An unspoken moment of sympathy passes between the boys. Fighting the emotions, Drew finally speaks. DREW I have to bury him. I don't want to go out there alone.There's such grief in Drew's words that Geoff can't resist. He glances toward his house to make sure he hasn't been seen, then blends into the woods.EXT. PET SEMATARY - DAYDrew carries Zowie's relaxed form in his arms. Geoff is following, balancing a pickaxe and shovel.Arriving at the graveyard, Geoff searches the outer perimeter for a vacant stretch of soil. Finding one, he lets the heavy tools fall to the ground. GEOFF Is this a good spot? DREW I'm not burying him here... GEOFF Why not? DREW There's a better place...Drew heads for the base of the deadfall, with Zowie in his arms. DREW It's back here somewhere, through the Indian woods. I know we can find it...Drew continues up the deadfall, disappearing over the crest.Geoff gathers up the shovel and pickaxe and follows after him. GEOFF Hey, wait up!EXT. THE BOG - DAYGeoff climbs over the peak of the deadfall...Beyond is a dark swamp, A BOG, looking unlike anything one would expect in Maine. Tendrils of ground fog swirl about vegetation that looks almost prehistoric. Gnarled trees rise up from the murky earth, blocking the sun from view.Geoff hurries down the other side of the deadfall to catch up with Drew. Somewhere off in the distance we hear an UNEARTHLY SOUND. Not a bird. Not any animal known to man.Spectral shapes flicker at the edge of Geoff's vision, sinking back into the shadows as Geoff tries to focus on them. GEOFF (uneasy) Drew, where are we going?Drew doesn't respond. He continues on without another word, hell-bent on finding this "better place."FURTHER ALONG - DAYAt the boundary of the bog, A STAIRWAY OF HUGE, WIDE STONES rises from the blanket of ground fog. Bordered by fir trees. Leading up the hillside. The final leg of Drew and Geoff's journey. DREW This is it... I wasn't sure if it even really existed. GEOFF What did? DREW The old Indian burial ground.Geoff's eyes move to the stairway of stones. GEOFF Come on, that's just a bullshit story. You said so yourself... DREW What if it's not bullshit? If I bury Zowie there, and it works... (beat) ...he'll come back alive. GEOFF Drew, I know your dog died, but... get a grip, man, you're freaking me out. DREW Look, if there was even one chance in a million it'd work, wouldn't you want to try?Geoff feels for Drew. It's pointless to reason.Drew starts up the stone steps. Geoff has no choice but to follow.EXT. MICMAC BURIAL GROUND - DAYEven in broad daylight, the flat-topped mesa has a sense of foreboding isolation. There's an almost palpable sense of "wrongness" about this place. As if the darkness of a dying black hole was seeping out of the ground and spreading across the earth.Drew and Geoff approach the circle of rocky soil. They stand at the border, looking it over in eerie silence.Somewhere off in the distance we hear the unearthly SOUND again, only this time, it's closer. GEOFF Look, let's just get this over with.Even Drew seems to have awakened from the haze he had fallen into. He gently sets Zowie's body on the ground. DREW If this doesn't work... don't ever tell anyone I did this, okay? You gotta promise...Geoff nods and hands over the digging tools. Drew swings the pickaxe, sinking it into the ground. GEOFF You want me to help? DREW You have to bury your own. That's the way the Indians did it. It's like a rule...Backing away from the burial ground, Geoff takes a seat on a rock at the border of the forest. From there, he watches.Drew alternates the pickaxe and shovel as he clears a hole in the rocky ground.WE MOVE IN ON GEOFF, who's looking on with skeptical intrigue as the rhythmic SOUND of the tools continues.59 OMITTEDLATER -A cairn is complete: a conical pile of rocks over Zowie's grave.Drew is now sitting on the rock next to Geoff. Together, they stare at the cairn as if Zowie might climb from beneath at any moment. DREW What if he really does come back?Geoff shrugs, pondering such a thought.Geoff digs into his pocket and produces a pack of gum, offering one to Drew. With only a quick glance away from the grave, Drew snatches a piece and he stuffs it into his mouth. Geoff does the same.They sit together in silence. Nervously chewing their gum. Watching the grave. DREW I've never had anyone die before... (beat) ...but I guess you get over it. I mean, eventually... GEOFF (quietly) You never get over it.EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - AFTERNOONThe sun dips over the horizon, giving way to dusk.EXT. MICMAC BURIAL GROUND - DUSKGeoff's eyes shift from the grave to the darkening sky. GEOFF It's getting pretty late. We better go. DREW (disappointed) Yeah...They rise, leaving the burial ground. En route, Drew pauses for a last look at the grave. DREW So long, Zowie...Geoff follows, glancing back at the burial ground. It looks magical in the twilight, not quite so sinister now.EXT. ROAD - NIGHTDrew is walking home along the road, alone.Headlights blind him as a car approaches. It slows and pulls a U-turn, stopping at Drew's side. It's Gus' squad car. He pushes open the passenger door. GUS Get in.Drew takes a step back, shaking his head. GUS Your momma's worried sick over you. You take off in the middle of the night, you don't show up for school. What're you trying to prove? DREW I'm not trying to prove anything. (beat) I was burying my dog.Gus turns his eyes away, focusing on the dark road ahead. GUS Life is full of lessons. No one's above it. Not you. Not me... Now get in the car.After a moment, Drew approaches the car. Without another word, Gus drives off.64 OMITTEDEXT. RABBIT CAGE - NIGHTIt's quiet now. And out of the silence comes the JINGLING of Zowie's dog tags. Zowie's LONG SHADOW creeps over the cage, distorted to monstrous proportion by the flickering light.We move past the cages to the back porch...We see ZOWIE'S PAW scratching at the door.INT. AMANDA AND GUS' BEDROOM - NIGHTAmanda wakens with a start. She rises, eyes focusing on the dark bedroom. Gus is sound asleep next to her. Then, from outside, we faintly hear ZOWIE'S SCRATCHING.Slowly, Amanda rises from bed, pulling on a bathrobe as she heads for the door.EXT. BACK PORCH - NIGHTAmanda appears at the door. She unlatches it, stepping outside. AMANDA Zowie?Amanda looks down and SCREAMS.INT. DREW'S ROOM - NIGHTPhotos of Drew with Zowie are tacked on the wall above the bed. The one photo of Drew, Amanda and Gus has been altered with a cut-out head of Zowie's pasted on Gus' shoulders.WE FIND Drew below. He's fallen asleep with his Walkman on. Even with his ears covered, the POUNDING at the door jolts him awake. Half asleep, Drew peels off the headphones. GUS (O.S.) Drew, you unlock this door! Right now! AMANDA (O.S.) Unlock it, Drew!The anger in his mother's voice brings him off the bed. Gus' POUNDING continues.Drew moves to the door. The inside is secured by a double dead bolt. Instead of unlocking them, he opens a tiny, customized window which gives him a view of the hall. DREW What did I do now? AMANDA Open the door, Drew.Drew unlatches the deadbolts and steps back as Gus bursts through the door. GUS Where do you come off lying like that? "I'm burying my dog." You think a lie like that's never gonna catch up to you?Drew backs into the bed, taking a seat.Amanda comes through the door, and behind her is...ZOWIEThis is our first glimpse of the resurrected dog. Fur shiny and wet, the gaping gunshot wound in his rear. Zowie's head hangs low, his eyes GLEAMING RED. The husky is covered with dirt from head to toe.Drew's eyes widen in astonishment.Zowie staggers across the room towards Drew, nails clicking on the floorboards. Drew shrinks back in uncertain horror as the dog moves closer.Zowie absently throws his arms up onto the bed, across Drew's lap. And slowly, perfunctory, his tongue licks Drew's cheek. This last action of Zowie displaces Drew's fear. Tears well up in the boy's eyes. DREW (a whisper) Zowie... GUS Say your goodbyes. Zowie's going outside. You're grounded, buddy. That's the new law.Drew lifts his hand from stroking Zowie's fur. His palm is covered with muddy blood. AMANDA I never knew an open wound could smell so bad... (beat) Honey, he should have been looked at this morning. I don't know what you were thinking. It's a wonder he's still alive.Drew gazes into the dog's vacant eyes. It truly is a wonder.INT. GEOFF'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHTChase enters and stops in the doorway.Geoff sits in front of the television with a pile of videotapes next to him. He's scanning through Renee's old movies with the remote. The sound has been turned down and the effect is a little eerie.ON THE SCREENWe see RENEE move through a scene. Geoff hits the slo-mo button and the image winds down. Renee's face. HER EYES stare out at us from the alien universe of the past. CHASE (gently) Geoff...Geoff doesn't respond. He's captivated by Renee.Chase moves into the room. CHASE Geoff!Geoff PAUSES the tape. Renee freezes, the image flickering ever so slightly. For an instant, we think we see a FLASH OF Renee being electrocuted. But it's only an instant.Finally, Geoff tears his eyes away from the screen, resenting his father's intrusion. GEOFF What? CHASE You alright?Geoff's face softens. He nods. GEOFF Dad... do you think... (beat) ...you think you and Mom would've gotten back together?Chase draws closer. He takes a seat next to Geoff. The pain in his son's eyes is almost more than he can stand. CHASE I think so. CHASE (continuing) Your Mom and I loved each other, Geoff. Don't ever think that we didn't. GEOFF I still can't believe she's dead...Chase moves to reach for his son, and suddenly the phone RINGS, shattering the moment.Chase hesitates, but finally he rises and answers the phone.After a moment, he returns. GEOFF Who was that? CHASE Remember Zowie, Drew's dog? He got hurt again. I'm going over to take a look at him.Geoff's eyes widen. He looks like a ghost walked over his grave. GEOFF I'm going with you.Chase nods and exits to get his coat.Geoff looks back at the TV once more. The image paused.Renee staring at us from beyond the grave.EXT. DREW'S HOUSE - NIGHTGus, Amanda, Drew and Geoff are gathered around Chase's van.EXT./INT. CHASE'S VAN - NIGHTChase lays Zowie on his side on an examining table and shines an overhead light onto the wound.Geoff is looking in from outside, utterly bewildered by the living, breathing dog. CHASE How'd it happen?Gus casts a threatening glance in Drew's direction. DREW (glaring at Gus) Some psycho hunter probably got trigger happy...Chase is too busy preparing a syringe to notice the nonverbal exchange. CHASE I'm going to give Zowie a local anaesthetic so I can clean up the wound. I'd like to take him home tonight for observation. AMANDA Fine. DREW Can you keep him at your place until he gets better? CHASE Sure...Drew tenderly strokes Zowie's mane as Chase administers the injection. Zowie stares up at Geoff with dull, blank eyes.Drew reads Geoff's bewilderment and joins him outside the van. Their words are clear, but whispered. GEOFF Maybe he wasn't dead when we buried him. DREW He was dead. You know he was.Geoff returns his stare to Zowie. DREW You can't tell anyone, Geoff. Ever.Geoff looks into Drew's eyes and nods in understanding.69 OMITTEDTHRU75 OMITTEDINT. GEOFF'S BEDROOM - NIGHTTiger is curled up at the foot of Geoff's bed. Geoff climbs in, careful not to disturb the kitten. As he lays his head back on the pillow... VOICE (O.S.) Sleep tight, darling. I'll be with you soon.It's a woman's VOICE. A familiar one. Now we hear the rhythmic CREAK of a rocking chair. And with it comes the voice again, humming a HAUNTING LULLABY.Wide-eyed, Geoff turns his head toward the source...A WOMAN'S NONDESCRIPT FORM is seated in the rocking chair across the room. Rocking forward, her face passes into a swath of moonlight...It's Renee. With the rock of the chair, her face recedes back into the shadows. Her soothing HUM remains.And again, her face passes into the swath of light. And again it retreats.Geoff raises his hand, reaching out for her.Renee's hand rises from the shadows, reaching for him.But suddenly, THE ROOM BEGINS TO STRETCH.The rocking chair and the bed seem distanced like polar extremes, mother and son hopelessly separated by forces beyond their control.LIGHTNING FLASHES in the bedside window. Renee is falling farther and farther away. GEOFF Mom!!!Geoff leaps from his bed as the darkness closes in and...GEOFFbolts up from his pillow. Awake now, face wet with perspiration. It was a nightmare. Except, if it was a nightmare, why do we still hear......the steady CREAK of the rocking chair.Geoff slowly turns his head once again, repeating the actions of his dreams.In the shadows, the chair is still rocking. As it comes forward into the moonlight, we see ZOWIE, curled up asleep on the seat of the chair.Tiger is not on the bed anymore. She's up on top of the bookcase now, wide awake, eyes fixed on the dog. She HISSES.Geoff stares at the rocking chair, petrified.INT. CHASE'S OFFICE - DAYChase strips off the bandage over Zowie's rear end. The wound is gooey and open.Geoff reads the concern in Chase's expression. Drew is right there at Geoff's side, looking on. DREW What's the deal? CHASE I don't know. He's had three days. His immune system should've responded by now...Chase puts on his stethoscope and checks under the dog's rib-cage for a pulse. He checks a number of places, then shakes his head, totally confused. CHASE I can't seem to find a pulse... it must be so weak, it's not registering...Geoff and Drew share conspiratorial glances as Chase sets the stethoscope aside and extracts a blood sample.Chase labels the capped vial of blood "ZOWIE" and carefully places it into a packing container. When he closes the lid, we see the preaddressed label: UNIVERSITY OF MAINE School of Veterinary Medicine Lab Samples EnclosedUncomfortable with Chase's investigation, Geoff reaches for Zowie. GEOFF We'll take him back to the kennels, Dad.78A OMITTEDINT. BOARDING AREA - DUSKTHE KITTENS ARE HISSING, shrinking to the back of their kennel.Zowie stands motionless before their cage, gazing in at them.Geoff and Drew are nearby, putting the finishing touches on the bedding inside a larger boarding kennel. GEOFF You think my Dad'll figure out why he's not getting better? DREW You think he'd believe it if he did?One of the kittens SPATS fearfully at Zowie. Geoff turns to stare at Zowie. GEOFF How can he not have a heartbeat? DREW (worried) Maybe it takes a while...Drew lifts Zowie into the kennel. Geoff secures the door, something that clearly must be done from the outside.Zowie immediately begins to pace back and forth inside the cage. He turns towards us and we... CUT TO:EXT. TOWN, CHASE'S OFFICE - NIGHTA SNARLING WEREWOLF rushing at us.Chase jumps back, frightened out of his wits and we realize...The werewolf is part of a group of COSTUMED KIDS out trick-or-treating. The kids LAUGH at Chase's reaction and hurry on, dragging their candy loot bags behind them.Chase sighs and turns to lock the office door. He's closing up for the night.He climbs into his Mobile Vet Van. We HOLD ON the new sign in the back window: "A HALLOWEEN TREAT. FREE KITTENS." Beneath that is a pencil-sketch of a black arched-back kitten.INT. GEOFF'S HOUSE - NIGHTMarjorie and Geoff are at the kitchen table with the remnants of dinner. Geoff is doing last-minute touches on his costume.Marjorie looks over his costume. He's got a hockey mask pushed back onto the top of his head. MARJORIE So who're you going as, Wayne Gretzky?For effect, Geoff slips the hockey mask down over his face before answering. GEOFF I'm going as Jason. MARJORIE Jason? Who's he play for? GEOFF He doesn't. He hacks people up.Geoff checks his watch. GEOFF I'm late.As Geoff heads for the door, Chase is just coming in for the evening. CHASE Hey! Where're you off to? GEOFF I'm going out, Dad!Geoff ducks out the door. Chase turns to Marjorie. CHASE Out? MARJORIE He's probably going up to the Pet Sematary. Kids've been going out there on Halloween night for years. CHASE What do they do up there? MARJORIE Oh, you know... drink beer, tell ghost stories. They try and spook each other out, talking about zombies and things... (she shrugs) It's no big deal, Chase. I did it when I was young.INT. DREW'S HOUSE - NIGHTDrew is at the bathroom mirror. AMANDA Hold still. Hold still.Amanda puts the finishing touches of color on Drew's lips. She's done an alarmingly good job of turning Drew into THE JOKER. AMANDA You make sure you're home by ten. If Gus finds out I let you go... DREW (sighs) I'll be home, Mom. Don't worry. I won't let Gus blow up again...Amanda looks Drew straight in the eyes. AMANDA Drew, I know Gus isn't your father, but you never even knew your real father. He walked out on the both of us, and you remember that. (beat) Gus isn't that way. He has it in him to love us both. You just have to give him a chance...Drew nods respectfully. Amanda gives him a kiss. Drawing back, she rubs out the lipmarks she's left on his made-up cheek.83 OMITTEDEXT. PET SEMATARY - NIGHTDark clouds paint the foreboding sky. A broken pulse of lightning streaks through the dense haze.Abandoning their bikes next to the path, Drew and Geoff approach the archway. The graveyard beyond is deathly silent.They pass beneath the archway, entering the clearing.And now, a soft, chilling VOICE drifts over the graves. VOICE (O.S.) Geoff, honey. Mommy's here...Geoff freezes in his tracks, awestruck as...A WOMAN'S BODYswoops down from the darkness above, materializing out of nowhere. A fluttering negligee. Flowing blonde hair.RENEE'S FACE appears out of the shadows, masked with sadness.Geoff swallows the lump in his throat.Renee's form keeps coming. But even as she approaches, her visage grows less distinguishable. Just a phantom countenance now. A shadow framed by golden hair, resting atop a veiled body...She's coming so fast that she's upon Geoff in no time. He fumbles back, startled out of his wits...THE BODY is upon him now, flailing wildly. Geoff thrashes and struggles, screaming bloody murder.Gradually, he realizes the body isn't fighting back. Geoff eases his struggle, lets his scream fall off.Now he hears wild, mischievous LAUGHTER.Drew pulls the body away. It's just a heavy wad of stuffed clothing: A DUMMY dressed in a negligee, capped by a blonde wig. It dangles near the end of a slanted wire.Clyde, Stevie, Brad, and a half dozen other costumed KIDS appear from the nearby cover of bushes, doubled over in laughter.Clyde tugs at a piece of twine that's connected to the back of the dummy's head and makes spooky sounds. The dummy jumps around on the slanted wire.Clyde drops the dummy and saunters forward. CLYDE Look at this, Junior here practically shit his pants.Clyde drops down, nose to nose with Geoff, who's still recovering. CLYDE Maybe you're too chicken to hang out with the rest of the boys. You gonna run home to Daddy now?Geoff brushes himself off and rises to his feet. He stares into Clyde's eyes. GEOFF Fuck off.Geoff pushes past Clyde and moves on into the graveyard, somehow managing to keep his dignity intact.Drew follows, then the rest of the boys, leaving Clyde staring after them, standing alone with the dummy.EXT. DREW'S HOUSE - NIGHTGus' squad car slows to a stop outside. Gus swings open the door and ambles toward the porch.INT. DREW'S HOUSE - NIGHTAmanda draws back from the window, mortified. She nervously crosses to the refrigerator and grabs a beer, turning as Gus enters. AMANDA You're home early. GUS Nope. Just ran out of smokes.Gus opens a kitchen drawer and fishes for a pack of cigarettes. He fires one up. GUS Where's the boy?Amanda squirms. AMANDA Uh... in his room...Gus tightens his brow, casting a suspicious eye.A sickened look flushes through Amanda as Gus pulls his eyes away from her and marches upstairs. GUS (O.S.) DREW!His feet POUND down the hallway. Silence for an instant. Then the powerful swing of Drew's door. Followed by Gus' hastened return down the hallway. And as he hustles down the stairs... GUS God damn it, Amanda! You want me to be a father to the boy, and as soon as I lay down the law, you let him break it!Gus stops before Amanda. GUS Where is he?One step away from terror, Amanda shakes her head. Gus loses his patience. He rips the can of beer from her grip and sends it flying across the room. GUS WHERE IS YOUR SON!?Amanda sighs in quiet defeat. AMANDA The Pet Sematary.Gus turns away and heads out the door.EXT. DREW'S HOUSE - NIGHTWheels spin as Gus' squad car streaks off into the night. The cherry top glows to life, bombarding the countryside.EXT. PET SEMATARY - NIGHTBy now, nearly TWO DOZEN COSTUMED KIDS have gathered at the Pet Sematary. In the midst of the graves, a small story-telling campfire burns. A number of the boys sip beer, trying to pretend that the bitter after-taste doesn't bother them.Clyde sits up front. At fourteen, he's the elder statesmen of the group. With a beer in one hand, and a cigarette in the other, Clyde is just finishing up a spooky yarn. CLYDE ...yeah, that old Louis was one sick fuck... digging up little Gage like so, maggots pouring out of that kid's eyes...Clyde whistles. He drags on his cigarette and puffs out a smoke ring. Sees he still has an audience. CLYDE Ellie was the only Creed that lived. Then one night a few months later, Ellie freaks out, and she hacks up her grandparents with an axe! (beat) Police found her licking their brains off the blade... They locked her up in a psycho ward and all she said were two words: 'Pet Sematary. Pet Sematary.'Clyde stares at the wide-eyed kids. He grins, takes a swig of beer, and moves in for the kicker. CLYDE Oh yeah! Almost forgot! Here's the best part. Two nights ago she escapes. Word is, she was heading for Maine. Man I hope she doesn't show up out here. (feigning concern) Shit, we wouldn't even notice her, not if she's wearing a costume. She could be one of us...Clyde casts a suspicious eye on the group. The kids uneasily look at each other, making sure they know who's behind each and every costume.Suddenly Clyde drops his jaw in exaggerated horror. CLYDE Oh my Goddd!!!Clyde lifts a trembling finger, pointing beyond the group of spellbound listeners. CLYDE It's... It's...The kids are afraid to turn around, assuming Clyde's rigged up some unspeakable terror...And for an instant, a look of real horror washes over Clyde's face...A FIGUREIs coming up the path beneath the archway, rising out of the swirling mist. A frightening silhouette, backlit by the moon.But then Clyde realizes who it is. CLYDE Shit! It's Drew's Dad. It's fuckin' Gus!Drew and the others quickly turn around, realizing it's not part of the punch-line scare.89 OMITTEDTHRU91 OMITTEDEXT. PET SEMATARY - NIGHTThe kids quickly scramble for hiding places in the bordering brush, dropping their beer cans as fast as they can.As Drew leaps to his feet, he upsets the fire, knocking one of the logs. A FLAMING EMBER rolls to the base of one of the brittle old crosses.Drew and Geoff run for it.EXT. PATH, ARCHWAY - NIGHTGus moves quickly up the meandering path, sending the blinding beam of his flashlight over the graves. GUS You boys better not be drinking!EXT. PET SEMATARY - NIGHTThrough the thick woods, Drew is flanked by Geoff and Clyde. DREW Oh man, he's gonna kick my ass...Drew starts to take off. Clyde trips him on his first stride. Drew hits the dirt. CLYDE Thanks for fucking up our Halloween, dumbshit!Clyde recedes into the woods as Gus approaches the campfire. He scans the area with his flashlight, illuminating the various beer cans. GUS Drew, you get your ass out here! Front and center!Geoff pulls Drew to his feet.Gus passes the flashlight over the woods. Kids duck away, retreating from their hiding places...The flashlight sweeps toward Drew.Drew freezes, spotlighted by Gus' beam. A burst of LIGHTNING floods Drew's horrified face. GUS Get out here, Joker.Geoff remains frozen in the woods nearby, out of Gus' light.Behind Gus, the wooden cross is completely on fire now. GUS You out here making a fool of me?Drew shakes his head in instant denial. GUS I'm warning you, buddy! You don't play by the rules, I'm gonna shadow your ass for eternity!Drew makes a break from his spot in the woods. He weaves through the markers, arcing around the outer perimeter to avoid Gus......but Gus is quicker. He zigzags through the crosses and headstones to intercept Drew.Gus gets a handful of Drew's collar and yanks him in. GUS You little shit!Gus draws his free arm back and smacks Drew across the face. Drew goes down.GEOFFis looking on from the woods, horrified. Torn...DREWcowers on the ground, trying to scramble away.Geoff bolts out into the firelight, staring defiantly at Gus in silent accusation.Gus is beyond furious. LIGHTNING flashes again. GUS You get out of here, Geoff Matthews! This is between me and my boy!Geoff doesn't move. Gus starts to advance forward......but the GROWL emanating from the woods gives him pause. Everyone turns...A RUSTLING is heard in the bushes, and Zowie emerges into the building firelight, flashing his fangs at Gus. His eyes GLOW RED.Gus freezes, studying Zowie.Zowie inches forward, poised for the attack. GUS Call off your dog, Drew.Drew shifts his eyes from Zowie to Gus, too terrified to heed such a command.Zowie brushes past Drew and Geoff, moving in on Gus.Gus' eyes shift to burning cross at his side. With a swift boot, he kicks over the cross and presses it into his grip.Swinging the cross like a primitive weapon, Gus connects with the side of Zowie's head.Zowie spins a full circle from the impact. But he lands on all fours. Unphased. Taking the next step toward Gus. There's something clearly not of this world in Zowie's vicious stare. GUS (terrified) Drew, call him off!All Drew can manage is a faint appeal. DREW Zowie...Zowie goes for Gus, launching into the air... GUS DREW!...and sinking his glistening fangs into Gus' neck.AN ERUPTION OF BLOOD showers the closest headstone.Gus comes helplessly tumbling down with the weight of the dog. His SCREAMS are suddenly cut short as Zowie rips out his throat. His arms flail weakly at his sides, then grow still.Drew and Geoff stare at the scene, wide-eyed with shock.Zowie looks up from Gus' neck with dripping, red fangs. For a moment, his eyes settle on Drew. Then Zowie bolts off, disappearing into the night. DREW Oh, God. Oh, God...Drew's eyes shift to Geoff, whose face is flushed with sickened fear. GEOFF (a whisper) Is he dead?In dazed shock, Drew moves in for a closer look at the body.Gus' eyes are wide open. Blood is still pumping in rhythm from his jugular with each weakening beat of his heart. It's a gruesome image against the roaring fire.Drew kneels at Gus' side. He wants to touch him. To shake him awake, but with every attempt, he draws his hand back. GEOFF Is he breathing? Can you hear him breathing?Drew leans forward, turning his ear toward Gus' gaping mouth. And as he inches closer...GUS' FINGERS TWITCHHis hand jerks up and closes around Drew's neck. Gus stares up at him with his crazed menace.Drew SCREAMS. His fingers claw at Gus' hand, desperate to pry it loose......but then, Gus' hand relaxes as his last, dying ounce of strength fades away.Drew shrinks back, crouching over the lifeless body as the blazing firelight dances over it. He turns his tear-filled gaze to Geoff. DREW Oh man, Geoff... we killed him... we killed him... (beat) What're we gonna do?Geoff draws closer and looks down into the dead man's face. GEOFF We could bring him back.Drew's eyes widen at the suggestion.And now, GAZING DOWN on Gus' body, and on the boys, WE PULL UP INTO A SLOW SPIRAL...We move ever higher, until we are LOOKING DOWN UPON THE ENTIRE PET SEMATARY. At the SOUND of a shovel cutting into rocky soil, we... CUT TO:95 OMITTEDEXT. MICMAC BURIAL GROUND - NIGHTThree quick shots:A SHOVEL sinking into the earth.GUS falling head down into the grave, landing with a heavy THUD.SOIL covering Gus' lifeless face.EXT. DREW'S HOUSE - NIGHTAmanda is pacing back and forth on the porch, checking her watch every few steps. She sighs with relief as...Drew appears from the darkness of the woods.Drew dismounts his bike and carries it up the front porch steps, strangely silent. His clothes and face are caked with dirt. AMANDA Jesus, Drew, do you know what time it is? Did Gus ever find you?Drew moves on past her into the house. AMANDA (calling after him) Drew? Drew, what happened? DREW (trying not to lose it) Nothing happened, Mom. We just ditched Gus, that's all...Drew pauses and stares out into the unknown darkness of the night.INT. GEOFF'S HOUSE - NIGHTChase is in the study, perusing some files. He looks into the hallway as Geoff arrives home, then glances at the clock. It's late. Very late.Chase rises. He's both angry and relieved. Right now, though, the anger's winning out. CHASE Were you drinking?Geoff absently shakes his head. He slumps back against the wall, drained from the night's horrors. CHASE Drew's Mom called hours ago, the rest of the kids were back by ten. Where the hell were you boys?Geoff shrugs, trying to mask his uneasiness. GEOFF Just out. CHASE "Out." Well that's great, Geoff. (beat) Look, I've been letting you get away with a lot these past few weeks, but I'm not going to stand for crap like this. I don't care if it's Halloween... it's a school night, and if you do this again... GEOFF (cutting him off) I'm really tired, Dad... can I just go to sleep?Chase stops and looks at his son. Geoff's exhaustion is self-evident. CHASE (sighing) Go on... we'll talk about this in the morning.Geoff nods and heads for the stairs.INT. GEOFF'S ROOM - NIGHTTHE CLOCK is creeping up on 2AM...THUNDER rumbles outside in the distance and rain starts to spatter the window panes.Geoff's eyelids fall beneath unbearable weight and he nods off to sleep. Tiger is sprawled out on the blanket against his chest. Slowly, we move back towards the window...In a flash of LIGHTNING--GUS' FACEAPPEARS OUTSIDE. Washed in the haunting white glow. Streaked with mud. Caked with blood. Staring in at Geoff.Geoff is jolted awake by the delayed clap of THUNDER and whips his gaze to the window. Before he can focus......the pulse of lightning fades away. And with it, Gus' face. Only darkness remains beyond the window pane.Geoff returns his gaze to the bedroom, unaware of Gus' appearance. He sinks back to his pillow, already hurtling towards sleep once more.EXT. DREW'S HOUSE - NIGHTMOVING IN ON the house, WE SINGLE OUT a rain-obscured window on the ground floor, the window to Drew's bedroom.INT. DREW'S ROOM - NIGHTDrew is sound asleep, curled up under the sheets. He clutches his pillow like a life preserver. GUS (O.S.) Drew!Drew's eyes flutter open. He turns towards the window. Now, he hears some activity outside. And then Gus' hushed voice. GUS (O.S.) Drew, buddy. I lost my keys.Drew goes saucer-eyed. He swallows the swelling lump in his throat and rises from his bed.INT. KITCHEN - NIGHTDrew steadies his quivering fingers just enough to sink the key into the deadbolt on the back door. Drawing the CREAKING door open, he gazes out back. DREW (scared shitless) Gus?Nothing moves outside. The longer Drew watches, the more eerie each shadow becomes. Spooked, Drew steps back inside, quickly closing the door. He locks it back up again.When he turns around, he's face to face with GUS.Drew stiffens, backing into the wall. DREW H-how'd you get in?Gus offers a nightmarish grin and raises his hand, dangling his keys. GUS Found 'em.Drew's eyes follow a flow of blood from Gus' neck to the floor. Gus looks down at his dirty, bloody footprints. He's tracked blood all over the linoleum. GUS I'm makin' a mess of your mother's kitchen floor... (beat) I need a shower...Gus turns without another word and heads for the stairs.Drew's mouth drops in utter astonishment as he watches Gus clumsily climbing the stairs.After a moment, he returns his attention to the bloody kitchen floor. Tearing off a wad of paper towels, he wets them and begins to mop up Gus' tracks.103 OMITTEDAT THE MIRROR - NIGHTGazing vacantly at his reflection, Gus covers his ravaged throat with a gauze strip, wrapping it around the circumference of his neck again and again and again.Behind him, the shower is running, filling up the bathroom with steam.Finishing the dressing off with a sloppy tape job, Gus reaches for the pajamas hanging nearby. He lazily buttons the buttons, failing to notice their alignment is off. He never did bother to shower. He's still covered with mud.INT. AMANDA AND GUS' BEDROOM - NIGHTGus enters from the steamy bathroom. The shower is still running.Amanda stirs, sleepy eyes focusing on him. AMANDA Gus, hon. I'm sorry about tonight. You coming to bed?Gus lifts the covers and climbs in. With him comes the chill of death. Gus presses up behind her. His hand moves beneath the sheets, finding its way over the curve of her waist, caressing. Amanda shivers. AMANDA God, you're ice cold... (turning) ...and you smell! Lord, what did you get yourself into?It's then that Amanda sees the bandage around Gus' neck. Blood is seeping through the gauze. AMANDA My God, Gus, what happened?Amanda reaches out to touch him, but Gus stops her hand short of the bandage. Instead, he leans forward and clutches one of her breasts.Amanda tries to twist away. AMANDA Gus... stop it! What's wrong with you?!But Gus doesn't stop. He throws himself on top of Amanda, roughly forcing her back onto the bed. AMANDA Gus!!!Amanda's hands beat at Gus' face and back, to no apparent effect. With one arm forced against Amanda's throat, he rips open her nightgown with the other.We pull away from Amanda's struggles, back to the bathroom. The shower running on and on, cloaking the bedroom in steam.EXT. ROAD - DAYGeoff is riding along the highway, his backpack full of school books. Drew is waiting on the shoulder ahead. When Geoff approaches, Drew hops on his bike, getting up to speed.WITH THE BOYS - RIDINGGeoff keeps glancing at Drew, waiting for him to say something. Drew maintains his enigmatic expression. GEOFF Well?Drew nods. Geoff's eyes widen in disbelief. DREW Picture this... Gus comes down to breakfast and he doesn't say a word. He even kind of smiles, like he forgot he hates me. And then you know what he does? He serves me an extra helping of pancakes... (beat) I asked him if I was still grounded... "no." I asked him if you could spend the night, and he nods. It's like we're a family. A real family.The words have their own meaning for Geoff, who stares to the road ahead in deep thought. DREW It's weird... GEOFF What do you mean? DREW It's like he's not Gus anymore. He's different. You know, like Zowie...They share a chuckle that ends in silent uneasiness.INT. CHASE'S OFFICE - DAYChase enters with a stack of files tucked under his arm. As he organizes them in the large filing cabinet with the others, he listens to his messages on the answering machine.The current caller sounds a little annoyed... MESSAGE MACHINE ...Doctor Matthews, this is Elliot Rudman at the university. I've looked over the blood specimen you sent us on canine Zowie...Chase abandons the filing and immediately returns the call. While it RINGS... VOICE (O.S.) Knock, Knock, Doc.A MOTHER and TWO TODDLERS are standing in the doorway to Chase's office, trying not to intrude on his call. MOTHER (quiet whisper) We saw your sign. Are there any kitties left?Chase studies them. They look like decent people. CHASE Take your pick. They're in the boarding area. You can go on back.Chase turns away as his phone call is answered. CHASE Elliot, it's Chase...INT. LAB/INT. CHASE'S OFFICE (INTERCUT) - DAYELLIOT RUDMAN has the phone tucked under his chin, in the midst of an autopsy. The WHIRR of the saw drowns out his words as he shaves the dome off a dog's skull. CHASE I didn't get that...The pathologist turns off the saw. His words become audible. RUDMAN ...I said next time it might help if you took the blood sample while the animal was still alive...The comment hits Chase out of left field. CHASE What? RUDMAN I don't know what you expected to find, Matthews. There's nothing wrong with the antigens, nothing to indicate an unusual death... CHASE Wait, there must be some mix-up. He was... the dog is alive. RUDMAN Not this dog. There wasn't enough oxygen in those red cells to pump life into a flea.Chase is baffled, speechless. RUDMAN You took over for Doctor Yolander? CHASE Yes... why? RUDMAN Because the last person that sent me blood from a dead animal was Yolander...110 OMITTEDTHRU112 OMITTEDINT. BOARDING AREA - DAYThe kennels have been cleaned up, but the room retains its eerie, dimly lit quality.The DRIP of a faucet reverberates from the far corner.The mother enters with a toddler clinging to each hand. Their smiles fade at the unsettling surroundings. Slowly, they move down the row of kennels. TODDLER Where are the kitties?INT. CHASE'S OFFICE - DAY CHASE (into the phone) Look, this is ridiculous...Suddenly, BLOOD-CURDLING SCREAMS pierce the air. Chase drops the phone and rushes out of the office...INT. BOARDING AREA - DAYThe toddlers are screaming at the top of their lungs. Mom is burying their heads in her dress.Chase bursts in as the mother hastily retreats for the exit. Her horrified eyes flash by Chase. In an instant, she and the toddlers are gone.Chase remains alone, moving down the long row of kennels with mounting trepidation...Zowie's cage is empty.Chase shifts his troubled gaze to the...DRIP DRIP DRIP... as a PUDDLE OF BLOOD forms on the floor.Chase raises his eyes...THE KITTENS' KENNEL -Nothing but bloody ribbons of torn flesh are left of the kittens, dangling from the grid gate. DRIPPING.Chase looks away as a new level of fear runs through him. CHASE Jesus...It's too gruesome even for a man of Chase's background. Fighting the gag reflex, he searches the room for the missing dog......and then he spots the broken glass window vent along the floor. And the pile of blood-spattered shards laying on the tile.EXT. SCHOOL, STREET - DAYClyde, Stevie, and Brad are loitering near the front bike racks. Clyde's smoking away.As Geoff and Drew come out of the school, the trio moves to intercept them. CLYDE Hey!Just then, Chase's van pulls at the curb, interrupting whatever trouble was about to happen.Clyde looks from the van to Geoff, and falls back. DREW Saved by the bell...Chase hurriedly rolls down the passenger window as Geoff and Drew approach. GEOFF Can I sleep over at Drew's tonight?Chase is preoccupied with other concerns. CHASE Yeah... that's fine... (beat) Listen, Drew, I got the tests back on Zowie. He's not well. Don't ask me how, but he got out this afternoon...Geoff and Drew exchange concerned looks. CHASE If he finds his way home, call me, no matter what the hour, okay? And don't try to approach him. Whatever he's got might be infectious. Understand?The boys nod their heads.Chase masks his anxiety with a weary smile. With a wave, he speeds up, leaving the boys.INT. CHASE'S VAN - MOVINGA MAP of Maine is unfolded on the passenger seat. Chase is on the car phone. CHASE Can I have the address for Quentin Yolander?Chase jots an address down on the map. He turns the van up a mountain road, winding through the towering pines.EXT. YOLANDER'S CABIN - DAYA remote, rustic dwelling nestled into the desolate backwoods.INT. YOLANDER'S CABIN - DAYQUENTIN YOLANDER rocks back in his thick hide chair. His world is closed off from daylight by the extensive blinds.He's holding a SMALL POODLE in his lap. Its big brown eyes are staring back at him. YOLANDER You'd be so much more interesting with blue eyes...And now, ONE OF THE POODLE'S EYES POPS OUT. Yolander's finger comes through from beneath the eye socket.On closer examination, WE REALIZE that the dog is not alive at all. Yolander has his hand inside the hollowed-out carcass.He carefully looks over a container of glass eyes on his desk and selects the right shade of blue. A shot of whiskey rests nearby.Yolander reaches up into the poodle's belly and fits the blue eyes securely into place.There's a KNOCK at the door. Yolander ignores it. Maybe he's deaf. Another KNOCK. Yolander turns towards the door, annoyed at the intrusion. And behind that annoyance, there's a touch of madness.PULLING BACK, we see the rest of the room. Stuffed animals are crowded from floor to ceiling. A product of Yolander's obsession with TAXIDERMY. YOLANDER I'm immortalizing a poodle. State your business!Yolander presses some stuffing into the poodle's gut and begins to sew up the stomach. CHASE (O.S.) Doctor Yolander. This is Chase Matthews. I've moved into your offices in Ludlow...Yolander's attention remains on the needle as he meticulously stitches the belly. CHASE (O.S.) (continuing) ...I sent a blood sample out for analysis. They tell me I sent them the blood of a dead animal...At this, Yolander breaks his concentration. The needle pricks his hand. Blood oozes from the puncture, dripping onto the dog's stomach. CHASE (O.S.) ...a dog...Yolander rises from his seat and swings open the door.Chase stands in the doorway, startled. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the good Doctor is drunk. YOLANDER (glaring) Why are you bothering me about this? Can't you leave it be? CHASE I... um...Chase glances to the right and steps back...A BOBCATis perched nearby, frozen in mid-pounce. It takes a second for Chase to register that the bobcat has been stuffed.Now Chase sees the rest of the room... a whole zoo of stuffed animals, looking like a rural version of the Bates Motel. CHASE (momentarily thrown) ...the pathologist... he said that you had reported a similar incident... with a cat... YOLANDER The Creed cat, that's right. Bastard's name was "Church". (grins) Let me guess. Your dog's tissue isn't healing, pupils aren't dilating... maybe you can't find a heartbeat? CHASE Exactly! I thought it might be some sort of blood condition... immune deficiency or...Quentin Yolander laughs. It's disconcerting. YOLANDER There's no "blood condition." The dog isn't sick, it's dead. (drawing closer) And so was Creed's cat. And so was his wife the night she was killed for the second time...As Yolander moves forward, Chase backs up. He bumps into a whole shelf of stuffed creatures. To his right, A RAVEN sits frozen on its perch. Chase regards Yolander as being completely insane. YOLANDER (menacing) You want some advice, friend? You get in your car, you pick up your family... and you get the hell out of that town. CHASE Well... uh... thanks...Chase continues to back out of the door. On his way out, he bumps into the stuffed raven's perch......only this raven isn't stuffed. It spreads its wings and SCREECHES.Chase just about jumps out of his skin, tripping out of the doorway.116D OMITTEDTHRU116F OMITTEDEXT. DREW'S HOUSE - NIGHTGus reaches into the cage and grabs a rabbit by the ears. He casually snaps the neck. Laying the limp carcass on a stump cutting board, he quickly skins it.Hanging above the cages, there is now a line of furry pelts. Half a dozen.Drew and Geoff are on the porch, looking on. DREW I guess we're having rabbit for dinner.Gus hangs the freshly skinned fur to dry and violently snatches another hare from the cage.INT. DREW'S HOUSE - NIGHTThe dinner from Hell. Geoff splats a helping of mashed potatoes onto his plate, all the while keeping a wary eye on Gus...Gus is serving himself a chunk of rabbit. It hits the edge of the plate, teetering on the rim. He passes the dish on.Gus meets Geoff's gaze. For a moment, there's a deadened, vacant look in Gus' eyes. Then slowly, a limp smile creeps over him, sending a chill up Geoff's spine.Geoff averts Gus' stare. Gus helps himself to potatoes and passes the plate on. He lets go of it short of reaching Drew. Only Drew's quick hands save it from hitting the table.Amanda comes to the table with a dish of LIMA BEANS. She casts Gus a cold, hateful stare and sets the limas down. She's still angry over last night.Gus dishes a sloppy scoop and passes it toward Drew. Like before, he lets it drop too early. This time Drew doesn't save it. The lima beans shower the floor. AMANDA God damnit, Gus! This isn't funny!Amanda fetches a dishtowel and kneels to clean up the mess.Geoff and Drew exchange quick glances. As Geoff reaches for the salt......Gus intercepts his wrist. Geoff gulps.Gus drops his jaw, revealing a gooey mass of food. But the frozen smile and the look in his eyes convey dementia rather than playfulness.Geoff and Drew can't believe their eyes. They laugh uncomfortably. There's no other response.Gus LAUGHS too... awkward, terrible laughter. Spitting out food over his shirt and plate as he does so.The boys stop laughing, but Gus just keeps on going.Amanda stares at Gus and carries the mess out of the room.Through his laughter, Gus' bandage has slipped down, exposing part of his ragged wound. The wound glistens, oozing CLOTTED BLOOD and GOOEY PUS.Drew hesitantly reaches for Gus' neck, readjusting the bandage.Grossed out, Geoff averts his eyes and sets his fork aside.INT. DREW'S ROOM - LATERGeoff and Drew enter. Drew swiftly secures the deadbolts on his door. GEOFF What was that all about? You think he's trying to scare us? DREW I don't know but I'm not taking any chances...Drew opens the chest at the foot of his bed and produces a SHOTGUN. A box full of shells spill as he withdraws the gun. Cracking open the chamber, Drew loads two shells into the chamber.EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - NIGHTA moonlit horizon. Unmoving. Silent. The kind of silence that pulls at the darkest recesses of imagination.And now, A LONE FIGURE appears on the horizon. It's Zowie, moving at a deliberate pace.ATOP A KNOLLZowie takes pause. The TINKLING of his collar tags resumes as he drops over the horizon line, cutting down the hill.INT. CHASE'S HOUSE - NIGHTChase sits in the den, looking exhausted and disheveled. In front of him, the t.v. is on. RENEE'S FACE stares out at us. Chase hits the remote and rises, moving to the back door.He checks the deadbolt, then secures the chain link as a backup. From somewhere outside, we hear a DOG HOWL.Chase's eyes drop to the DOGGY DOOR, a holdover from the previous owner. Chase bends down and latches the door.Now he pauses at his desk... considers... then pulls something out of the bottom drawer. It's a gun.INT. HALLWAY - NIGHTChase moves to the front of the house, securing that door. Satisfied, he turns off the light and heads upstairs...WE STAY AT THE FOOT OF THE STAIRS -MOVING INTO DARKNESS, shadow and form begin to take shape. We hear a low GROWL and see a flash of RED EYES. It's Zowie. Already in the house.123 OMITTEDINT. CHASE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTComing through the door from the downstairs, Chase stops cold.RENEE is on the bed. Clothed in a negligee. Lying across a blanket of rose petals. Her eyes meet his with powerful longing. RENEE Chase. I miss you so much... CHASE (dry-mouthed) Renee...Chase approaches. Slowly. Fearful that this is all a dream.Renee reaches out her hand. They touch. This is not a dream. CHASE Oh God...Chase absently sets his gun on the bedside table as Renee draws his body to hers.They kiss. Once. Twice. Not a dream.Renee rolls Chase over, forcefully climbing on top. Chase sinks down into the center of the bed as Renee straddles him.Slowly, Renee slips off the top of her negligee... RENEE (a whisper) I can come back, Chase......and sinks down on top of him, kissing him hungrily.Her nipples graze his chest, then her breasts flatten as she grinds her hips against his.Almost instantly, the weight of her grows unbearable. Chase fights to pull his mouth from hers, to breathe... CHASE No... Too heavy.There is no pleasure in his words, just unmitigated horror as Renee's body comes down on him harder. CHASE ...can't breathe... I can't...CHASE'S EYESpop open, frenzied, AS HE COMES OUT OF HIS DREAM.Chase is alone on the bed, but he's still feeling the weight pressing down on him...ZOWIEis laying on his chest, staring back at him, rearing his teeth in a growl...Zowie LUNGES forward, jaws flashing, and Chase twists sideways...GNASHING TEETH connect with Chase's shoulder, then with the pillows where Chase's head used to be. A BLIZZARD OF DOWN FEATHERS ERUPTS...Chase scrambles out of bed, flailing for the gun on the bedside table...THE GUN spins out of reach and across the floor...Chase DIVES for the gun and reaches it just as Zowie leaps to the floor. In a panic, Chase FIRES WILD...Zowie abruptly turns and SMASHES through the bedroom window, sending glass flying.EXT. HOUSE - NIGHTZowie slides down the room and leaps to the ground below, disappearing into the night.INT. CHASE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTChase looks on in terror. Finally he pulls his eyes away from the shattered window......and catches a glimpse of something in the dresser mirror. Something that sends a chill up his spine.The flurry of down feathers is floating to the mattress. But intermingling with the feathers are a handful of ROSE PETALS, slowly settling to the bed.INT. BATHROOM - MORNINGChase is bare-chested at the mirror, applying a dressing to the dog bite on his shoulder.Marjorie appears in the doorway with a basket of laundry. She stops short at the sight of Chase standing there in his boxers.Chase catches her reflection in the mirror and is startled. MARJORIE I didn't mean to... I was going to empty the hamper...Chase turns, shaking off the scare. CHASE It's okay.Marjorie's eyes can't help but fix on the dog bites scattered over Chase's chest and arms. MARJORIE What happened to you? CHASE I had a little run-in with Zowie. MARJORIE You sure did...Marjorie sets the laundry aside. MARJORIE Here, let me do that...Marjorie looks over the antiseptics Chase has laid out on the sink. Saturating a wad of gauze with hydrogen peroxide, she gently cleanses the gashes on his arms.There's nothing overtly sexual in her actions, but the gentleness of her touch doesn't go unnoticed by Chase. MARJORIE I hope he doesn't have rabies. CHASE He doesn't. I don't know what he has, but I'm hoping to God it's not infectious...Chase stops and looks at Marjorie's reflection in the mirror. CHASE Marjorie... what do you know about the Creed murders?Marjorie stiffens for a moment. Obviously the Creeds are a sore spot for the people in this town. MARJORIE Did you ever play that game where you pass a story down a row of people and see how screwed up it gets by the time it's done? People say Louis Creed's son came back from the dead and it drove him crazy... (she rolls her eyes) He killed his wife and himself, and that's the end of story. Anything else belongs in the National Enquirer.Marjorie tapes the bandage over Chase's shoulder too tight. Chase's groan snaps her back to the reality at hand. MARJORIE Sorry. Now tell me what that has to do with Zowie?Chase closes his eyes, shutting out the pain. CHASE I wish I knew.INT. LIBRARY - DAYChase approaches the counter, looking to the ELDERLY LIBRARIAN for assistance. LIBRARIAN What are you looking for, Hon. CHASE Do you have anything on the Creed murders? I can't find the microfilm from that period...The librarian's smile vanishes. She lowers her voice, focusing her attention on some paperwork. LIBRARIAN We don't keep anything on file from that far back. CHASE But you've got files from the previous years... LIBRARIAN We have nothing on the Creed murders, sir. Can I get you something else?Chase looks around and realizes that a dozen hostile eyes are on him. TOWNSPEOPLE withholding a dark secret.Chase slowly backs away, eager to escape the field of hostile stares.127 OMITTEDTHRU129 OMITTEDEXT. HIGHWAY, COUNTRY BRIDGE - DAYGeoff and Drew have parked their bikes beneath the bridge. They sit on the bank of the creek below, watching the water run past. Geoff is lost in thought. GEOFF Do you think everyone that came back would be like Gus? DREW I don't know... (thinking) ...maybe it depends on what you were like before you... GEOFF (finishing) Dies?Drew nods. He tosses a stone into the creek, then looks up at the sun and sighs. DREW I gotta go back and do my chores... GEOFF Go later...Drew shakes his head. DREW I can't. Gus'd kill me if I showed up late.The boys reluctantly rise and move to their bikes, walking them up the steep grade to the highway. DREW See you at school Monday?Geoff nods. He looks at Drew. The boy is genuinely frightened. But there's nothing either of them can do. They're trapped in their roles as kids.Both boys mount their bikes. Drew turns... DREW You ever think about running away? GEOFF All the time.Drew smiles at this. He waves to Geoff and pedals off. DREW (calling back) See ya!Geoff waves and heads off in the opposite direction.WE STAY ON DREW -As he moves down the road. Up ahead, we hear the approaching WHINE of a motorcycle...CLYDErips by on an old junkyard fixer-up MOTORCYCLE, and he's heading in Geoff's direction.Seeing him, Drew brakes and pulls his bike into a U-turn, pumping furiously to catch up with Geoff.ON GEOFF -Now Geoff hears the WHINE of Clyde's motorcycle. He glances back...Clyde's spotted him, REVVING the engine.Geoff pedals like mad, but it's no use. Clyde is closing in on him, grinning sadistically.Clyde sweeps in next to him, calling out over the ENGINE. CLYDE Well look who's here!Clyde veers right, forcing Geoff towards the shoulder of the road...131 OMITTED132 OMITTEDEXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAYThe ground ahead drops toward a ravine. Geoff has nowhere to go but down the slope. Clyde is right there beside him...Laughing, Clyde reaches over and grabs ahold of Geoff's handlebar. He jerks it sideways... CLYDE Oops!Geoff's front wheel turns perpendicular. The bike pitches forward, THROWING Geoff into the dirt ahead...Clyde broadies his bike to a stop. With the engine idling, he hops off.Before Geoff can get to his feet, Clyde has picked up Geoff's bike and planted it upside down in the dirt. CLYDE Guess your Dad's not here to save you now, is he?Clyde gets a handful of Geoff's collar and drags him over toward the bike. With his free hand, Clyde cranks the pedal.The back wheel spins. Faster and faster. CLYDE You ever seen a tire take off a nose?Through the blur of the spokes, WE SEE Geoff, eyes widening fearfully. CLYDE Neither have I.Clyde forces Geoff's face toward the spinning tread. CLYDE Might even kill ya. Wheel might chew right into your brains. You could visit your mom.Geoff tries to get a hold on the frame of the bike for leverage, but his arms don't reach beyond the spinning wheel.Clyde is full of deranged glee, fueled by Geoff's fear.But now, A HAND grabs the wool scarf streaming from the back of Clyde's neck and yanks him off of Geoff.Clyde reels, finding...GUS standing there behind him. He looks bad. Real bad. His bandages are unwound and his ruined neck is still seeping. His face is unearthly pale. He's deteriorated considerably since yesterday. CLYDE (startled) Jesus Christ, Gus!Gus levels a threatening gaze at Geoff. GUS Go home.But Geoff remains frozen. Gus fixes him with a stare that could turn flesh to stone. GUS I said... GO HOME!!Geoff snaps out of it and flips his bike over. He gets a running start, making a beeline for the highway without ever looking back.ON THE KNOLL NEARBYDrew stops short of the ravine, watching from afar as Gus steps toward Clyde.BELOW -Clyde throws up his hands. He's frightened, but he tries to muster up a cocky front. CLYDE Come on, Gus, I was just fucking with him... (nervous laughter) What're you gonna do? Give me a ticket? I mean, shit, Gus...Clyde grows increasingly wary of Gus' evil stare. Gus steps closer. CLYDE You can't lay a finger on me...Wrong. Gus lashes out, backhanding Clyde across the face.Clyde falls to the ground, flat on his back, with his nose gushing blood. Terrified.Gus turns around and lifts the idling motorcycle. With one hand under the back of the seat, and the other working the accelerator handlebar, Gus advances toward Clyde.Gus kicks the bike into gear and REVS the accelerator.THE REAR WHEEL SPINS. On the pavement it would be moving forty miles an hour.Clyde can't believe his eyes. Pleading. CLYDE Gus... what are you doing? GUS I'm just fucking with you...Gus plants his foot against Clyde's chest, pinning him, and lowers the spinning rear wheel TOWARD CLYDE'S NECK. The wheel WHINES like a circular saw.Gus lowers the wheel. Then jerks it away, flashing a sadistic smile.Just when Clyde thinks Gus is backing off, the wheel comes down again... CLYDE (wailing) Stop it, man! Stop it!!!Gus gets into the rhythm as he lowers and retracts the spinning wheel at the terrified bully.But this time, as the wheel comes down...CLYDE'S WOOL SCARF, defying gravity, gets swept up, swallowed into the GEARS.And along with the scarf, here comes Clyde's SCREAMING face. We can only imagine the gruesome instant that follows.BLOOD sprays up over Gus' arms and chest. And then we hear the sound of CRUNCHING BONES jamming the motorcycle's gears. GUS (dead-pan) Whoops.He bares his teeth in a death's head grin.ON THE KNOLLDrew has witnessed the killing. He's mortified.BELOW -Gus tosses the bloody motorcycle aside, slowly raising his eyes up to where Drew stands. His eyes meet Drew's.Drew hastily jerks his bike around and takes off.Gus starts after him on foot.INT. DREW'S HOUSE - DAYDrew rushes through the front door, SLAMMING it behind him and throwing the deadbolt.INT. BEDROOM - DAYDrew climbs onto his bed and grabs his shotgun from the gun rack. His fingers shake as he flips off the safety. DREW Oh man...Just then we hear the CRACKLE of a POLICE P.A. and Gus' amplified VOICE coming from the yard outside. GUS (V.O.) (mocking) This is the Police, come out of the house with your hands up!Gus finishes his words with a burst of FEEDBACK and then amplified MANIACAL LAUGHTER.Drew's eyes go wide with terror. He creeps out into the hall, clutching the gun.INT. HALLWAY - DAYDrew tries to look out the window. Then we hear a low, guttural GROWL. Drew slowly turns...Zowie is standing down the hall, leveling a dead stare. Zowie takes the first step forward. DREW (horrified) No, Zowie! It's me!Pleading, Drew slowly retreats down the hallway.Along the way, he backs right into...GUS, grinning from ear to ear.Drew recoils against the wall, swinging up his shotgun. DREW Stay back!But Gus just keeps on grinning. He takes a step forward...Drew pulls the trigger...And CLICK! Nothing happens. The chambers are empty. GUS Forget something, Drew buddy?Gus raises his hand. He's holding the shotgun shells. He lets them fall to the floor.Suddenly Gus wrenches the gun from Drew's hands. He swings it and......Drew SCREAMS and ducks beneath the blow, as the shotgun butt SMASHES a hole in the wall above his head. Gus flings the shotgun aside and LUNGES for Drew...Drew races down the hallway to the back door. He turns the latch. The deadbolt has been locked from the inside.Drew's eyes whip to the keyholder on the wall. All the keyhooks are empty.Here comes the JINGLING of keys in Gus' pockets as he comes down the hall...Drew dashes away from the back door.Gus' eyes shift from Drew's fleeing form to A BOX OF TOOLS in the service closet.AT THE FRONT DOORDrew jimmies the knob. Again, the deadbolt is locked from the inside. Tears are streaming down Drew's face now.FOOTSTEPS approach. Drew spins around...Gus is advancing, WITH A HAMMER tight in his grip. GUS (crazed) You have the right to remain silent...WHAM! Gus SMASHES the hammer into the wall to punctuate his words. Plaster goes flying. GUS (continuing) ...while I bash your fucking head in!Drew's eyes dart frantically, looking for a way out. The closest route of escape is UP THE STAIRS.Down the hallway, Zowie starts running forward. Drew's caught between a rock and a hard place... GUS You have the right to a lawyer, but you won't need one...He runs for it. Gus charges to intercept him...Drew gets to the stairs first. GUS ...cause you'll be dead!WHAM! Gus brings the hammer down with the claw end leading. It sinks into the stair below Drew's feet...Zowie LEAPS past Gus, tearing up the stairs as Gus wrenches the hammer free...UPSTAIRSDrew makes it to the top of the stairs with Zowie right on his heels.Drew DIVES into Amanda and Gus' bedroom as...Zowie springs from the floor. Drew SLAMS the door shut, SMACKING Zowie. Zowie collapses to the floor, dazed.INT. BEDROOM - DAYDrew throws the latch on the door. Almost immediately, Gus is outside, POUNDING at the door with the claw end of the hammer. Wood splinters fly as the hammer claw sinks through...Drew SCREAMS and goes for one of the dormer windows. It's stuck; he can't get it open.From the hallway, Gus violently SMASHES the door again and again. The door is splintering apart. WE SEE glimpses of Gus through the ragged holes. GUS (O.S.) Do you understand these rights, Drew buddy?!Drew grabs a chair and HEAVES it through the window... GUS (O.S.) ...OR ARE YOU JUST TOO FUCKING STUPID?!The bedroom door EXPLODES INWARD and Gus claws his way into the room...Wasting no time, Drew climbs through the broken window...EXT. DREW'S HOUSE - DAYDrew slides down the slant of the roof. He hits the lattice and takes it to the ground with him.Untangling himself, he gets to his feet......and here comes Amanda, ARRIVING HOME.Drew runs for her car, waving his hands, throwing himself into her path so she'll go no further. She SLAMS on the brakes.Drew pulls open the passenger door and dives inside... DREW Gus killed Clyde, Mom! He's trying to kill me!Just then, the BACK DOOR flies open. Gus steps out. GUS Drew, buddy! Daddy's not done yet!Amanda spots the hammer hanging from his grip. Gus cracks a sick smile and FLINGS THE HAMMER at the car...CRACK! The hammer bounces off the windshield, causing it to spiderweb. DREW Go Mom! Go!!!That's all the convincing Amanda needs. She puts the car into reverse and stomps on the gas...INT. CAR - DAYSpeeding down the highway. Drew and Amanda are mortified.Suddenly, we hear the WAIL of Gus' patrol car coming up from behind. Amanda looks to the rear-view mirror...EXT. HIGHWAY - DAYApproaching from the road ahead is a POTATO TRUCK.INT. AMANDA'S CAR - DAYAmanda hips her head back in front of them. The potato truck is blaring its HORN.Gus' car swerves out onto the shoulder, speeding up to match her pace. DREW Mom!!!Gus cranks the wheel, jumping back onto the road, forcing Amanda's car into the path of the oncoming truck.INT. POTATO TRUCK - DAYTHE DRIVER stands on the BRAKES.EXT. HIGHWAY - DAYTHE POTATO TRUCK COLLIDES WITH AMANDA'S CAR. HEAD ON.Thousands of potatoes explode from the rear of the truck, obscuring our view.WE HEAR THE HORRIFYING SOUNDS OF CRUNCHING METAL. CRUNCHING BONES. AND SILENCED CRIES.Gus' vehicle speeds past. WE HOLD on the mess of twisted steel. Clearly there are no survivors.INT. GEOFF'S HOUSE - DUSKGeoff enters first. Wearing a dark suit. Looking pale and empty inside. Chase follows, dressed in black. It's obvious they've been to a funeral.Without a word, Geoff heads up the stairs. Chase watches on, feeling utterly helpless.INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - DAYChase exits from his bedroom, pulling a sweater over a more casual change of clothes. He cocks his head at the SOUNDS of Geoff moving about in the attic above.The door atop the attic stairway is barely ajar.Chase wrinkles his brow, concerned. Turning away, he heads downstairs.INT. KITCHEN - DAYMarjorie is preparing dinner. Across the room, the kitchen TV is playing...ON TELEVISION is the evening news. A photo of Drew and Amanda appears above the NEWSCASTER. NEWSCASTER ... Friends and neighbors came to pay respects for Drew and Amanda Gilbert, who died in a head-on collision Saturday...Chase enters the kitchen, eyes moving to the TV. MARJORIE Those poor people. I saw Gus this morning... he looked terrible.Chase pulls his eyes away from the broadcast as Marjorie sets dinner on the table. Chase yells upstairs. CHASE Geoff, dinner's ready! (after no reply) Geoff?! GEOFF (O.S.) I'm not hungry.Chase gives Marjorie an apologetic look and rises from the table.Meanwhile, the news broadcast continues. A photo of Clyde appears on the screen. NEWSCASTER ...in other news, the disappearance of a Ludlow youth remains a mystery. Clyde Parker was last seen on Saturday afternoon. His motorcycle was found off Highway 62...150 OMITTEDINT. ATTIC - NIGHTChase pushes open the door. A spring coil pulls the CREAKING door closed behind him. One look at the attic and Chase turns pale...A huge window at the far end of the room allows the moonlight to reach all corners of the spacious old attic...All of Renee's belongings have been unpacked. The entire attic has been converted into a museum-like room, down to the last meticulous detail. A room in preparation for Renee's return.Gauzy curtains billow out from some unseen draft. Pictures of Renee rest everywhere. Awards. Memorabilia...GEOFF is seated before the brightly lit, three-way theatrical mirror, casually setting out Renee's make-up. CHASE Geoff... what are you doing?There's an obsessive dementia in Geoff's gaze. GEOFF I'm getting things ready for Mom.Chase sighs. Obviously the strain of Drew's funeral has proven too much for Geoff. He moves closer. CHASE (gently) Mom is dead, Geoff. You know that...A creepy smile flickers across Geoff's face. GEOFF She doesn't have to be.Chase freezes as a chill runs up his spine. CHASE What are you talking about? GEOFF I can bring her back. The same way Drew and me brought Zowie back...At this, Chase is positively spooked. CHASE Geoff, this is crazy. Zowie didn't die. GEOFF He did. We buried him. (intense) There's a place out in the woods... if you bury something there, it comes back alive.Chase stares at his son. This is insane. It must be.Just then, the PHONE RINGS downstairs. Geoff continues to stare at his father. GEOFF We tried it on Zowie first. And then we did it again, when Zowie killed Gus. Drew didn't want Gus to be dead, so we brought him back, too...It's too much for Chase. His mouth is hanging agape. MARJORIE (O.S.) (outside the attic door) Doctor Matthews, you've got a call. It's the caretaker at the funeral home. Something about your wife's grave...Chase nods in private acknowledgement. He stares at Geoff as he backs away. CHASE Look, Geoff. Just... just relax, okay. I'm going to take this call and I'll be right back. Okay?Geoff doesn't respond. Chase pulls open the door and leaves.INT. KITCHEN - NIGHTChase is on the phone. The CALLER'S WORDS bring grave concern to Chase. CHASE What?! Christ, I'll be right there...Chase hangs up, stunned. He turns to Marjorie, who's watching him with a concerned gaze. CHASE (hurried) Marjorie, I need you to stay late. Geoff is really upset and I have to take care of this. Don't let him leave the house, alright?Chase is out the door before she has a chance to respond.151B OMITTEDTHRU151F OMITTEDINT. ATTIC - NIGHTGeoff is laying on his mother's bed, weeping. Tiger sits at the foot of the bed. Suddenly she wakens and HISSES.From out of the darkness...RENEE'S HANDENTERS FRAME, gently touching Geoff's side. And with its arrival, so comes her eerie LULLABY. RENEE (a whisper) I need you, Geoff...GEOFFslowly raises his head, bewildered. Renee's hand withdraws into the darkness. He reaches out for her, but she's gone. The LULLABY remains, beckoning from down the attic stairs.The attic door slowly swings open of its own accord.Geoff rises from the bed and follows.INT. DOWNSTAIRS FOYER - NIGHTGeoff looks into the living room as he passes. Marjorie has fallen asleep on the sofa with the TV on.155 OMITTEDEXT. PET SEMATARY - NIGHTThe lullaby drifts from beyond the deadfall. The fog rolls inward, towards the distant burial ground. As Geoff moves towards the deadfall, the fog converges around him.157 OMITTEDEXT. THE BOG - NIGHTThe lure of Renee's lullaby pulls Geoff deeper into the woods. We hear the unearthly ANIMAL HOWL once more.159 OMITTEDTHRU167 OMITTEDEXT. PLEASANTVILLE CEMETERY - NIGHTChase's van pulls to a stop behind a maintenance vehicle.Chase is greeted by the limping CARETAKER, who quickly leads him off across the rolling hillside. CARETAKER ...sorry to disturb you, Doctor Matthews, but I thought you'd want to come have a look for yourself. It's the damndest thing...AT RENEE'S GRAVE -Chase stops cold, gazing at the ground before him in disbelief...The grave is a gaping cavity. The casket has been unearthed. Renee's body is missing. CHASE Jesus... (uncomprehending) Gus did this?! CARETAKER (nodding) He stuck around after the funeral. Told me he had an order to exhume your wife. I didn't think much of it until I saw him drag the body out of the coffin... (shakes his head) He put your wife in his truck and drove off right through Amanda and Drew's headstones...The caretaker points across the hillside...TIRE TRACKS cut through the manicured grass, cutting a path of destruction right through the field of headstones and on through the fence. CARETAKER I swear, nothing this weird has happened since Louis Creed dug up his boy... (beat) You want me to notify the authorities?Chase doesn't answer, he just storms past the caretaker.INT. VAN - NIGHTThe van is speeding down the dark, open highway. Chase is on the car phone, frantic, waiting as it RINGS. There's finally an answer... CHASE Doctor Yolander, this is Chase Matthews, we spoke the other day...Yolander cuts him off. YOLANDER'S VOICE (bitter) You didn't leave town, did you.INT. YOLANDER'S HOUSE (INTERCUT)Yolander sits in the darkness, a bottle of whiskey and a tumbler at his side. His "creatures" are all around him, eyes glowing with reflected moonlight. His voice is slurred. The voice of someone who's already damned. YOLANDER You sorry bastard. You stayed. I have nothing more to say to you, Matthews... CHASE'S VOICE (desperate) Look, just tell me one thing. Did I treat an animal that had been brought back to life? Did I?! YOLANDER What do you think?INT. CHASE'S VAN - NIGHTChase grips the carphone tightly, his knuckles white. YOLANDER (V.O.) Believe what you saw, Matthews. The dog was dead. CHASE My God... (mounting horror) ...how is that possible? You have to help me, Doctor Yolander. I don't know what I'm dealing with here! They've dug up my wife... YOLANDER'S VOICE (cutting him off) I'm retired from my practice, Matthews. It's your practice now, and it's your problem. (beat) God help you... CHASE (screaming) Wait! Don't hang up!But Yolander does. And now we hear the DIAL TONE. CHASE Shit!Chase flings the carphone down, looking up as...An approaching potato truck ZOOMS by. Blinding headlights. A BLARING HORN. Chase barely swerves out of the way.Recovering from the scare, Chase reaches over and opens the glove compartment. He pulls out his gun and sets it on the seat next to him.EXT. MICMAC BURIAL GROUNDGeoff climbs the stone steps, reaching the flattop meas. He stops short, looking over the clearing...GUSis standing in the center of the burial ground. He's HUMMING, mimicking Renee's feminine tone. Now he stops and slowly turns, regarding Geoff with dead eyes. He's holding a pickaxe and shovel at his side.Gus looks to the ground at his side. Geoff follows his gaze...A VISION OF RENEE'S GRAVE APPEARS -Headstone. Manicured grass. Thriving flowers. As if it had been uprooted from her resting place at Pleasantville and set down right in the middle of the Micmac ground.And now, the vision of Renee's grave fades away. In its place is a bundle of white: RENEE'S SHROUDED BODY.Gus raises the pickaxe, offering it to Geoff. GUS You bury your own, Geoff.Geoff slowly nods and approaches, seduced beyond reason.169 OMITTEDTHRU177 OMITTEDINT. GEOFF'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHTMarjorie stirs on the couch, blinking her eyes open at the SOUND of a THUD upstairs. Otherwise, the house is dark and silent. MARJORIE Geoff?INT. HALLWAY - NIGHTMarjorie starts up the long, dark flight of stairs to the attic. The thin night-shirt she's wearing does little to protect her from the sudden cold. She clutches herself, shivering. MARJORIE Geoff? You okay up there?INT. ATTIC - NIGHTMarjorie cautiously pushes open the door. Her concern for Geoff is forgotten as she beholds the Renee Hallow memorabilia.She moves about Renee's unpacked belongings in bewildered reverence.The gauzy curtains billow about Marjorie like ghosts. And then she glimpses something beyond the curtains...A FIGUREstands in the shadows, wearing the BEADED PEACH DRESS that Marjorie had admired earlier. For a moment we think it's Renee, but as Marjorie draws closer, we see that the dress has been fitted onto a dressmaker's model.Marjorie lays a hand on the fabric, feeling the contours of the design.EEXT. GUS' HOUSE - NIGHTChase's headlights sweep across the front of the dark house. Pulling to a stop, Chase opens the van's door...ZOWIELEAPS out of the darkness, sinking his teeth into Chase's shoulder.Chase is thrown back over the car seat, grappling with the nightmare dog as it tears into him again and again...Chase SCREAMS, reaching back for the gun. He grabs hold of it and swings it around... FIRES...Zowie is BLOWN backwards, clear out of the car, spraying CHASE with BLOOD...Zowie lands outside on his feet, looking stunned. His chest is a ruined mess. Zowie WHIMPERS and drags himself weakly towards the front porch.Chase stumbles out of the van, clutching the gun. He's bleeding profusely.179 OMITTEDEXT. PORCH - NIGHTAn old saw is laying in a pile of sawdust next to a square hole that's been cut in the base of the front door.Chase gives it a look as he tries the door. It's unlocked. Chase enters, bringing with him an illuminating swath from his headlights.INT. GUS' HOUSE - NIGHTChase's headlights stream through the windows, distorting the interior. The house looks like it's been through a tornado. A trail of BLOODY PAW PRINTS leads into the kitchen. The stench is repulsive. Grimacing, Chase has to keep himself from gagging. CHASE Jesus...As Chase moves forward, he catches sight of...GUSstanding in a swath of light. At Gus' feet is Zowie, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Dead for the second time. Scattered around the dog are various tools.Propped against the wall is the cut out square of wood. It's fitted with hinges at the top. CHASE Gus, what are you doing?!Gus glances down at the dead dog. GUS (dead-pan) I was building a doggy door. CHASE God damn it Gus, you dug up my wife! What the fuck is going on around here?!Gus brings a cordless electric drill up from his side, pointing it at Chase in a threatening manner. GUS (grins) A little drilling. A little killing.As Gus moves forward, Chase gets a good look at him for the first time. He doesn't look even remotely alive. CHASE Holy shit!Chase levels his gun with a trembling hand.Gus stabs the air with the drill, feeding on Chase's horror.Chase pulls the trigger. A bullet pounds Gus' chest. A SPRAY OF FLESH explodes from his back.Unphased, Gus regains his balance. GUS God I hate when that happens...Before Chase can squeeze off the next round, Gus rips the gun from his grip... GUS You got a permit for that?Opening the chamber, Gus empties the remaining bullets and tosses the gun aside. GUS Didn't think so.Gus fires up the drill. The bit spinZZZZZZ. He DIVES at Chase, knocking him back against the counter. The drill bit SINKS INTO CHASE'S ARM...Chase SCREAMS as Gus withdraws it. Now, he presses it into Chase's shoulder. Chase is on the verge of blacking out now. The pain is unbearable...Gus withdraws the drill once again, aiming now for Chase's eye. GUS (maniacal) No brain, no pain, Chase. Think about it...The whirling drill bit is millimeters away from Chase's eye. He clutches Gus' arm, trying to force the drill aside...At the last second, adrenaline kicks in and Chase diverts the drill. It SINKS INTO the counter-top nearby... STUCK.Gus ROARS, lashing out, but Chase manages to duck away...Chase catches sight of HIS GUN on the floor. He scrambles for it, scooping it up...BULLETS are rolling across the floor every which way. Chase slaps his palm down on one and desperately fumbles with the chamber...Gus' hands CLAMP DOWN around Chase's neck. He swings Chase around and SLAMS him against the wall, lifting him off his feet...Chase GASPS as the life is literally crushed out of him...He brings the gun up beneath Gus' chin and jams it into his ruined throat. Gus just keeps on throttling him... GUS (insane) Just remember, Chase... I had Renee first... and now I'm gonna have her last...BLAM! The top of Gus' head BLOWS off. His BODY is thrown back by the incredible force, tumbling him to the kitchen floor with a HEAVY THUD.Chase sucks in precious air, then his head snaps up. CHASE Geoff!EXT. GUS' HOUSE - NIGHTChase stumbles from the house. It's a wonder he's even conscious. He swings open the van door and throws himself inside, sinking the key into the ignition.INT. ATTIC - NIGHTMarjorie is now seated before Renee's theatrical make-up mirror, entranced. She's wearing the beaded peach dress.With the help of Renee's vast array of cosmetics, Marjorie has turned herself into a stunning beauty.The lipstick isn't quite right. Turning to the countertop magnifying mirror, she carefully touches up her ruby red lips. Her face fills nearly the entire mirror......except for one rim, which reflects the dark, shadowy attic behind her.A HUGE EYE joins her reflection in the distorting mirror. Marjorie nearly jumps out of her skin. She spins around... MARJORIE Jesus, Geoff! Don't sneak up on me like that!...but no one is there.THE MAKE-UP MIRROR catches another glimpse. Renee's RED LIPS, magnified tenfold. The lips begin to move... RENEE (a whisper) Did you really think you could be like me?Renee's fist swings in, SMASHING a panel of the mirror...Marjorie raises her hands to protect herself against the flying glass. And as her hands come down, she finds...Renee standing before her. Her ghostly form silhouetted by moonlight. Curtains billowing around her. We never fully see her.Marjorie's face goes white with fear. RENEE Such a young face... but you've got potential...Renee grabs a fistful of Marjorie's hair, viciously YANKING her head back... RENEE We'll do the eyes first. You always start with the eyes...Renee lashes out, SLASHING a mirror shard across the skin beneath Marjorie's right eye. Marjorie SCREAMS.INT. GEOFF'S ROOM - NIGHTGeoff awakens at the commotion upstairs. He rocks forward, rising from his bed.185 OMITTEDINT. HALLWAY - NIGHTGeoff pauses at the base of the attic stairway, looking up at the open door. All he hears are the faint SOUNDS of movement. GEOFF Marjorie? You know you're not supposed to be in the attic.Geoff starts up the stairs.INT. ATTIC - NIGHTGeoff trepidatiously enters. He weaves through the maze of gauzy curtains. And then he sees her...Renee is standing in the midst of the attic. She's perfectly made up. Gorgeous. Just as she was on the day she died. She smiles warmly. GEOFF Mom... RENEE I came back for you, Geoff. We're going to be together again.Renee raises her outstretched arms to receive him. Through the haze of his tears, Geoff doesn't see the sinister, vacant gleam in her eyes.INT. CHASE'S VAN - NIGHTReaching the house, Chase SKIDS to a stop across the lawn.188B OMITTEDINT. ATTIC - NIGHTChase cautiously enters with the gun in his grasp. The spring coil swings the CREAKING door shut behind him.From Chase's vantage point, he can't see them yet. He makes his way around the stripped dressmaker's model, past an upright dressing mirror. And then he sees...MARJORIESlumped against Renee's bed like a ragdoll. We can only see half of her face. It looks untouched. Chase reaches for her... CHASE Marjorie?Marjorie's head rolls sideways, exposing the other half of her face. The skin has been stripped from her skull and peeled back...Chase turns his head away. And that's when he sees them...RENEE AND GEOFFHolding each other tightly. Geoff has his head buried in Renee's breast. Renee looks up from her son, meeting Chase's gaze. Her voice is both seductive and terrifying. RENEE Hello, Chase.Chase gasps. The word "horror" doesn't do the moment justice. CHASE Oh my God... RENEE We can try again, Chase. We can make it work this time.Chase sinks back against the wall. He's lost a lot of blood and his strength is leaving him. CHASE (shaking his head) No... RENEE Don't you love me anymore, Chase? CHASE You're not Renee... Renee's dead... (screaming) Geoff! Get over here now!But Geoff just holds his mother tighter. A hint of annoyance flickers through Renee's eyes. She strokes Geoff's hair. RENEE (looking at Chase) Geoff, honey, why don't you go downstairs. Your father and I need a moment alone. Do it for me?Geoff looks up at his mother, mesmerized. She releases him from the embrace. He brushes past Chase without a glance and heads for the attic door. RENEE Geoff...Geoff pauses at the door, looking back. Renee's words have a hauntingly familiar ring... RENEE I love you.Geoff smiles. Turning away, he opens the door and...CLYDEis standing there, an AXE perched on his shoulder. His face is torn to shit, bones and brain matter exposed. He's covered from head to toe in dirt and clotted blood. He looks worse than any of the undead we've seen. A total walking nightmare. CLYDE (grinning) Hey, Junior. Wanna play?WHOOSH! Clyde swings the axe, sinking it into the wall just in front of Geoff's face...Geoff tumbles back onto the floor, snapping out of his trance.Clyde brings the axe down......and Geoff rolls to the side, barely avoiding decapitation. CHASE Geoff!Chase stumbles forward to rescue his son. As he does so, Clyde brings the axe back up, SMASHING Chase in the head with the blunt end...Chase goes down. Unconscious. CLYDE Oops! Looks like Daddy got a boo- boo...Clyde turns his gaze back on Geoff. CLYDE Now, where were we?Geoff shuffles backwards across the floor as Clyde moves into the room.Renee passes behind Clyde. She SLAMS the attic door shut and snaps off the knob with a jerk of the wrist, locking them all inside.Scared out of his wits, Geoff makes it to his feet. Clyde swings again and misses...Geoff grabs hold of the axe handle, struggling, and the two boys go down...RENEEMoves to the vanity. She sweeps a hand across it, sending everything crashing to the ground. Crystal perfume bottles SHATTER, spilling their contents over the floor.Renee reaches for a lighter and flicks it on. She touches the flame to the perfume-soaked floor...FLAMES roar into existence, racing across the floorboards, igniting the curtains...We see the flames reflected in Renee's soulless eyes.ON GEOFF AND CLYDEAs they wrestle with one another across the floor. Bloody spittle drips from Clyde's face. He flashes a feral snarl.Clyde LUNGES forward and tears into Geoff's shoulder with his teeth...Geoff SCREAMS. His hands grope blindly for a weapon and close on a mirror shard. He JABS it up and into Clyde's eye...Somehow, Geoff manages to roll out from under Clyde. He rises to his feet...Clyde lets loose a DEMONIC ROAR. He charges, SLASHING the axe wildly, knocking aside curtains and dressing models alike. Nothing's going to stop him. Nothing.Flames are consuming the attic, licking the rafters, igniting the canopy drapings... devouring everything. SMOKE is rolling across the floor...Geoff reaches a far wall. He's trapped in a corner. There's nowhere else to go. Behind Geoff is a CIRCUIT BOX. INSULATED CABLES run from the box down through the attic floor. Geoff turns...And here comes Clyde... CLYDE Here it comes, buddy! HERE IT FUCKING COMES!!!Clyde swings. Geoff ducks. The axe hits the circuit box behind him, severing the insulated cables...As Clyde rips the axe out of the wall for another try, Geoff reaches for one of the SPARKING CABLES.Clyde raises the axe above his head... CLYDE Eat it, ass-hole... GEOFF EAT THIS!!!...and Geoff shoves the live cable into Clyde's mouth!SPARKS shoot out of Clyde's eyes and ears. He jerks back and forth, writhing in a horrific replay of Renee's electrocution.Then Clyde's face BLOWS APART in a gout of ruined flesh and BLUE FLAME. The circuit is blown and the SMOKING BODY falls...Geoff drops the cable. The blazing inferno is closing in. He runs to Chase...Chase is barely conscious. Geoff drops to his knees and pulls his father to his feet... RENEE (O.S.) Don't leave me again, Geoff!Geoff turns...RENEEis standing in the midst of the FLAMES, reaching out. The make-up and mortician's wax she wears fall victim to the heat and her "face" begins to MELT AWAY... RENEE Don't leave me alone!Geoff turns away, horrified. With Chase on his shoulder, he reaches the door. Locked. Geoff sets Chase against the wall.He spots the AXE, still clutched in Clyde's hand. Geoff drags the axe free from the dead boy's grasp and goes to work on the door...Ignoring Renee's CRIES, Geoff swings the axe again and again, chopping the door apart. He coughs through the smoke. The flames are almost upon them...Finally, the wood splinters apart. Geoff reaches through and grasps the outside handle, pulling the door open. Then he turns and lifts Chase up once more...At the door, Geoff pauses for one final, tearful look back. Then his face hardens and he turns away, pulling Chase to safety. RENEE NO, GEOFF! NO!!!ON RENEEAlone in the fiery storm, SCREAMING. Flames devour her flowing white dress. Her face doesn't even look remotely human anymore.And as the inferno slowly closes in, we... DISSOLVE TO:EXT. VETERINARY OFFICE - DAYWe PULL OUT from a sign on the door that says "CLOSED".Chase is just now locking up the door. He's bandaged up, looking a little worse for the wear, but happy to be alive. He turns, grinning...GEOFFstands near the van, holding Tiger in his arms. GEOFF All set? CHASE All set.Chase joins Geoff at the van and together they climb inside. Chase starts the engine, pulling away from the office.WE STAY ON THE VAN -As it moves off down the street, passing the familiar landmarks of sleepy Ludlow.RISING UP -We follow the van as it sweeps out of town. Ludlow looks picture-perfect from our bird's eye vantage point. Charming and quiet. CHASE (V.O.) So where're we going? GEOFF Anywhere but here.We continue rising up into the brilliant blue sky, losing the van amidst the rolling Maine countryside and we DISSOLVE TO:EXT. MICMAC FOREST - DAYRUSHING over the woods, just above the tree tops. It's an ocean of swaying green beneath us. A forest as ancient and mysterious as anything on the Earth.AND SUDDENLY -The endless trees fall out from under us. We find ourselves above the flattop mesa of the Micmac burial ground, swooping downward...The ground surges towards us. We see Renee's OPEN GRAVE.The quality of light is different now. We hear the wail of the LONESOME WIND, and perhaps, the WHISPER of something altogether alien.And on the unsettling note, we... FADE TO BLACK.THE END
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+                             PRECIOUS                            Written by                         Geoffrey Fletcher                                                 January 16th, 2008                                                                 1.    A line at a time, the following quote appears over a black    screen.              Every blade of grass has its Angel              that bends over it and whispers,              "Grow, grow."                                        The Talmud                                               FADE IN:    19871   EXT HARLEM STREET ≠ DAY                                          1    A COLD WIND blows a bright red scarf tangled high on a street    lamp.    An iron waste bin is blown sideways into an intersection. A    stray dog investigates it briefly, urinates and then moves on.    A book bag drops onto the pavement.    Visible from the waist down, a LARGE YOUNG WOMAN in a    disintegrating leather jacket turns the waste bin upright and    then maneuvers it onto the sidewalk.    Once finished, her thick hands wipe each other until they    stop abruptly.    Here, for the first time, we see her PLUMP, YOUTHFUL, VACANT    AFRICAN AMERICAN FACE. It is 16-YEAR-OLD PRECIOUS JONES.    Something inside the bin has caught her attention.    Precious gazes down upon a soiled and tattered paperback book    as the breath from her nostrils steams. The title of the book    staring back up at her is unintelligible.    She pushes debris aside to get to it.    The book plunges deeper into the trash, as if trying to flee.    The sound of an ONCOMING CAR approaches.    Precious pins the book against the bottom of the bin as the    sounds of the oncoming car close in.    Precious finally comes up with the book. Its title is still    unintelligible. When she flips it over, however, the letters    on the cover, which are facing us now, make sense. They read    CRYSTAL STAIR: SELECTED WORKS BY LANGSTON HUGHES.                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                                 2.1   CONTINUED:                                                    1    The car sounds incredibly close.    Precious looks sharply to her left.    AN EERIE SKID precedes an eerier THUD! Precious, almost hit,    falls back on to the pavement as her book skips across the    intersection and down into a drain.    She lays on the sidewalk pressed against the base of the    street lamp with her eyes closed.    The car reverses, skids, stops for a sec, shifts and    SCREECHES off.    The garbage bin, overturned yet again, rocks side to side    until settling, to a stop.    An ambulance eases up to the intersection.    When the stoplight changes, the ambulance motors past    Precious in no hurry. A moment later, its sirens BLARE and it    speeds off into the distance.    The stray dog returns, re-investigates the garbage bin, and    turns to Precious. He licks her face. Tom Cruise walks up to    her.    Precious' still vacant eyes finally open to see Tom, and the    red scarf falling from the street lamp towards her. Tom gives    her a hand up.                        TOM                  (flirtatious)              What's your name girl?    Precious blushes.                        TOM              What's your name?    Precious still blushing, looks on the ground.                                                 FADE TO BLACK.                        PRECIOUS (V.O.)              My name is Precious Jones. I wanna              take tap dance lessons. Mama said              we can't afford it.    A SCHOOL BELL RINGS.                                                                 2A.R2   INT. INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL 111/HALLWAY - DAY                  R2         The end of a final wave of students head to class.                                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Plus she say who wanna see me               dancing anyway. I goes to I.S. 111.               In Harlem. New York. Today I was               almost late. That'd a been a               problem.     Precious scurries behind them donning the red scarf and                lugging her book bag.                                                                 3.3   INT. CLASSROOM ≠ DAY                                             3    Precious sits in the last row behind 26 children half her    size, 3 years younger and mostly African American. Noise and    projectiles fill the air.    MR. WICHER -A FRAIL MAN IN A BOW TIE AND TWEED COAT, stands    at the head of the class trying to establish order.                        MR. WICHER              Class, would you please turn to              page 122 ...Class! 122!    Precious' book stays closed as the other students find the    page.    TWO BOYS in front of Precious giggle boisterously at some    private joke.    Mr. Wicher looks annoyed but accustomed to this.                        PRECIOUS (V.O.)              I like maff but I don't say nuffin'              -don't open my book even. Just sit              there.    The giggling boys continue their shenanigans.                           MR. WICHER              Boys?    The boys finally open their books.                        MR. WICHER              Page 122 please.                        PRECIOUS (V.O.)              Everyday I tell myself something              gonna happen, like I'm gonna break              through or somebody gonna break              through to me -I'm gonna learn,              catch up, be normal, sit in the              front ...someday.    The giggling flares up again. Precious sneers at the boys.                        MR. WICHER              Today we are going to review              Monday's assignment. Would anyone              like to begin?    The boys get louder.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                              4.3   CONTINUED:                                                 3    Mr. Wicher looks at them helplessly.                          MR. WICHER              Boys! ! !                        PRECIOUS (V.O.)              I like Mr. Wicher. I pretend he my              husband and we live in Weschesser,              whereever that is. I can see by his              eyes Mr. Wicher like me too. I wish              I could tell him all the pages in              my book look the same to me, but I              can't..                        BOY# 1              Excuse you?!    The entire class cries, "OOOOOH". Mr. Wicher looks scared.                        BOY # 1              Nobody 'spect us to learn nuffin no              way. Now I'm tryin' to have a              motherfuckin' conversation back              here if you don't mind Mr. Bitcher,              I mean, Mr. Wicher.    The boys fallout slapping hands.    The class turns to Mr. Wicher in unison to see what he will    do.                        MR. WICHER              I want to see you boys after class.                        BOY# 2              Sorry Mr. Wicher but you ain't my              type. Grow some tits.                        MR. WICHER              Just be quiet.    Mr. Wicher tries to carry on throughout the boys' unrelenting    defiance. Other students are continually distracted by the    boys. Precious looks bothered the most as Mr. Wicher's soft    voice loses the battle.                        PRECIOUS (V.O.)              I feels sorry for Mr. Wicher. He do              his best but he ain't got no voice.              He scared too. I feels sorry for              him.    The boys break out in RIOTOUS LAUGHTER until ...                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                              5.3   CONTINUED: (2)                                             3    CRASH! A desk slams against the floor. The boys whirl around    to see two large hands take hold of them and snatch them out    of their chairs.    Precious has had enough.                        PRECIOUS              Shut up motherfuckers, I'm trying              to learn something! Hard enuff              wiffout you stupid clowns carryin'              on!                        BOY# 1                  (trembling)              ...sorry Precious.                        BOY# 2                  (trembling)              We cool.    Precious shoves them down in their seats and huffs.                        PRECIOUS              Stupid asses... Go on 'bout cha              lesson Mr. Wicher. They ain' gonna              give you no more trouble today.    Precious turns her desk upright and sits back down. Mr.    Wicher looks grateful.                        PRECIOUS (V.O.)              I'm like the polices for Mr.              Wicher. Tha's why I can't be late              to maff.    KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. Someone is outside the classroom.    Mr. Wicher waves her inside.    MRS. LICHENSTEIN, A SKINNY WOMAN IN HER THIRTIES WEARING A    DARK SKIRT SUIT enters, squints to find Precious, points    briefly and then whispers something to Mr. Wicher. Precious    rolls her eyes.                        PRECIOUS (V.O.)              Now dis ...    Mrs. Lichenstein sends Precious an oversized grin and beckons    to her.                        MRS. LICHENSTEIN              Claireece ...                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                   6.3    CONTINUED: (3)                                                3     Precious sighs.                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)               What this bitch want? Claireece ...               Only motherfuckers I hate call me               Claireece.     Precious gathers her belongings. The other children watch     every move in silence. When she reaches the front of the     class ...                         PRECIOUS               You gonna be okay Mr. Wicher?                         MR. WICHER                   (forcing a smile)               Of course Precious. Thank you.     An unconvinced Precious grins sadly as Mrs. Lichenstein     motions for Precious to step out ahead of her.     Mr. Wicher looks abandoned. The door closing behind Precious     might as well be to a prison cell block. Noise inside the     classroom returns immediately.R4   INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR - DAY                                   R4     Precious heads off down the wide hallway in silence.               R5   INT. MRS. LICHENSTEIN'S OFFICE ≠ DAY                         R5     Precious waits among plants, plaques, pictures and file     cabinets while Mrs. Lichenstein sits across from her reading     from a file.     Mrs. Lichenstein closes the file and sets it on the desk     between them.                         MRS. LICHENSTEIN               Are you pregnant? You're sixteen,               still in junior high school and               pregnant with your second child.               Correct Claireece? Claireece are               you pregnant again?     Precious stares at the file without responding.                          MRS. LICHENSTEIN               Do you have any thoughts about your               situation?     Precious shrugs her shoulders.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               7.R5   CONTINUED:                                               R5                               MRS. LICHENSTEIN                  Claireece?     Precious doesn't respond.                             MRS. LICHENSTEIN                      (beat)                  Claireece, I'm talking to you.     Precious doesn't respond.                            MRS. LICHENSTEIN                  Claireece?!                            PRECIOUS                  Am I in trouble?                               MRS. LICHENSTEIN                  What?                            PRECIOUS                  Am I in trouble?                               MRS. LICHENSTEIN                  ...No.                             PRECIOUS                      (beat)                  Then I don't want to miss no more                  of maff class.     Precious starts to rise.                            MRS. LICHENSTEIN                      (firmly)                  Sit down Claireece.     Precious sits and sighs.                             MRS. LICHENSTEIN                      (beat)                  You know what I think? I think we                  should have a parent-teacher                  conference - me, you and your mom.                            PRECIOUS                  My muver is busy.                            MRS. LICHENSTEIN                  Well maybe I could arrange to come                  to your house.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                   8.R5   CONTINUED: (2)                                               R5                            PRECIOUS                  My muver wouldn't like that.                            MRS. LICHENSTEIN                  Well then Claireece, I'm afraid I'm                  going to have to suspend you.                              PRECIOUS                  For what?                            MRS. LICHENSTEIN                  You're pregnant.                            PRECIOUS                  That ain't fair. I ain' done                  nuffin! I doose my work. I ain' in                  no trouble. My grades is good...                            MRS. LICHENSTEIN                  Your attitude is one of total                  uncooperation and that won't help a                  thing...            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                     MRS. LICHENSTEIN     Now I heard everything. Nosy        I'm not the enemy here. If     ass white bitch mad 'cause          h                                         there's something going on at     she can't come over my house.        ome that you would like to     I don't be coming to this           talk about, you should feel     bitch's house in Weschesser.        free to do so here. If you     I'll be damned. I done heard        find that the added stress of     everything. White bitch wanna       caring for your child is     visit. Then I thought about         affecting your concentration,     Mr. Wicher all alone up             that would be helpful to     against the fools in his maff       know.     class ...                            MRS. LICHENSTEIN                  Now according to our records, your                  mother also looks after the child.                  Is that correct?                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  No kids on her pictures. Maybe she                  jealous. I still don't say nuffin.                             MRS. LICHENSTEIN                  Are you in contact with the father?                      (beat)                  Is he at all involved in your                  child's care?     No answer.                                                           (CONTINUED)                                                                 9.R5   CONTINUED: (3)                                             R5                         MRS. LICHENSTEIN               Fine! If that's the way you wanna               play it, we can do this all day.     The hand on Precious' lap makes a fist.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Thas when I knew I'd never get back               to maff class ...Lawd I hate this               hoe.     Precious lunges from her chair and reaches over the desk.     Mrs. Lichenstein vaults backwards in terror and tumbles to     the floor.                         MRS. LICHENSTEIN               SECURITY! SECURITY!R6   INT. MRS. LICHENSTEIN'S OUTER OFFICE AREA - DAY              R6         Precious bursts out of Mrs. Lichenstein's office and walks to     the exit. Mrs. Lichenstein's distant voice still cries for     security.R7   INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR - DAY                                   R7         Precious heads down the hall without looking back. Mrs.                 Lichenstein's CRIES are still audible.8    INT. PRECIOUS' APT 444 LENOX AVE. - DAY                      8     A faucet runs.     Precious stands over the sink washing dishes. A moment later,     a WOMAN'S VOICE speaks over the sound of a TELEVISION.                         MARY (O.S)               You get my cigarettes?     Precious freezes. Her HEART BEATS loudly.                         PRECIOUS                   (delicately)               No Mama, I dropped some of my               thangs on the way to school.     A SCREECHING CAR echoes distantly.     MARY - INCREDIBLY LARGE, OILY SKIN, ILL-FITTED WIG AND HOUSE     DRESS sits on the couch with her back turned to Precious.     This woman looks as if she is one with the furniture.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               10.8    CONTINUED:                                                 8     A cigarette smolders between her fingers as she watches "THE     PRICE IS RIGHT" on television.     Precious, still waiting for the other shoe to drop, looks     momentarily relieved and returns to the dishes until ...     CRACKKKK!     A thick glass ashtray smashes into Precious' head.     Precious falls and lands ...9    INT. PRECIOUS' BEDROOM ≠ NIGHT                                9     ...onto a bed completely naked.     CARL KENWOOD JONES, A LARGE AND NAKED MAN MUCH MORE THAN     TWICE HER AGE falls on top of her and gyrates.     Moments later...                           PRECIOUS                     (softly)                 Daddy?     An enormous hand muzzles her.     Precious lays there impassively as her vacant eyes fixate on     a long crack in the ceiling.     As we drift towards the crack it seems to widen -to open into     another world where...10   EXT. RED CARPET - NIGHT                                     10     Blinding flashbulbs pop everywhere.     Precious walks the red carpet with Tom Cruise. They head     toward the entrance of the theatre stopping occasionally to     sign autographs. Both sport matching sunglasses. The     paparazzi is going wild.     THUNDER RUMBLES. Precious removes her sunglasses and searches     the sky.     A LIGHTENING CRACK ROARS. Rain starts to fall as ...                                                                 11.11   INT. PRECIOUS' BEDROOM -NIGHT                               11     Drops of water seep from the crack in the ceiling accompanied     by the sound of distant THUNDER and MASCULINE GRUNTS morphing     into...                         MARY (O.S.)                   (at the top of her lungs)               I SAID I'M HONGRY YOU FAT LITTLE               PIGGY CUNT BITCH!!! Git your               Jezebel ass up and git to dinner               'fore I give you something to cry               about.12   INT. KITCHEN 444 LENOX AVE. - DUSK                          12     Eyes closed with ashes and tears on her face, Precious lays     still on the floor. Her hands are still wet from the dishes.     GOOOSH! 2 gallons of water splash down on her. Her eyes     spring open.     Mary stands over Precious with a large dripping pot in her     hands. She drops it on the floor and returns to the couch to     watch another program.                         MARY               ...I ain' gon' say it again.13   INT. KITCHEN - LATER                                        13     Pots and pans sizzle on the stove.     Precious, now wearing a dry T-shirt, tends to dinner     meticulously until ...     ANNNNT! The sharp sound of a BUZZER rings.     Mary and Precious turn to the door in unison.                         MARY               Tell them assholes to stop ringing               my bell.     Here is our first good look at Mary. She wares way too much     make up.     Precious wipes her hands and heads for the door though Mary     sits much closer to it.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               12.13   CONTINUED:                                                13                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  No one ever ring the bell but crack                  addicts. I hates crack addicts.                  Give the ghetto a bad name.     Precious presses TALK on the intercom.                            PRECIOUS                  Stop ringing the goddam buzzer                  motherfucker!     Precious heads back to the dishes until ...     ANNNT! The buzzer again.     Precious returns to the intercom.                            PRECIOUS                  Stop ringing the goddam buzzer.     ANNNT!                             PRECIOUS                  Stop it!     ANNNT!                             PRECIOUS                  Stop it!                            MARY                  Press LISTEN stupid.     Precious sighs and presses LISTEN.                            FEMALE VOICE (O.S.)                  It's Sondra Lichenstein for                  Claireece and Ms. Mary Johnston.     Precious' face goes blank. Mary looks alarmed and mutes the     television.                            MARY                  Who that Precious?                            PRECIOUS                  White bitch from school.14   EXT. 444 LENOX AVE. - NIGHT                                  14     Mrs. Lichenstein stands by the buzzer bundled up. THUMPING     RAP MUSIC FROM A CAR passes behind her.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                               13.14   CONTINUED:                                                14     She bounces lightly to the beat.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Lord, where is crack addicts when               you need 'em...15   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. - NIGHT                               15     Precious and Mary still try to sort this out.                         MARY               What she want?                         PRECIOUS               I don't know.                         MARY               Ask her stupid.     Precious presses TALK.                         PRECIOUS               What you want?     Precious presses LISTEN.                          MRS. LICHENSTEIN (O.S.)               I want to talk to you about your               education.                         MARY               Eighty-six that bitch.     Precious looks unsure.16   EXT. 444 LENOX AVE. - NIGHT                               16     A young man exits the building smoking a cigarette. Mrs.     Lichenstein puts her hands together, dramatically pleads for     a smoke and gets one.     She puts it in her mouth and lights hers to his. Bouncing to     stay warm, she nods in gratitude as the man walks off.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               This bitch crazy. 'Sides, my muver               don't want to get cut off welfare               and that's what Mrs. Lichenstein               comin' to visit result in. It's               hard to believe a hoe dis retarded               sposed to educate somebody.                                                               14.17   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. - NIGHT                                 17     Precious presses TALK.                         PRECIOUS               Git outa here Mrs. Lichenstein               'fore I kick your ass.     ANNNT!     Precious presses LISTEN.                          MRS. LICHENSTEIN (O.S.)               Claireece I am so sorry about               today. I only want to help you. I               ...Mr. Wicher says you're one of               his best students and that you have               an aptitude for math -or at least               potential.                   (beat)               I've called a Mrs. McKnight at               Higher Education Alternative / Each               One Teach One. It's an alternative               school.                   (beat)               Claireece, are you listening?     Precious looks at her mother. Mary clearly finds this all     bizarre.                         MRS. LICHENSTEIN (O.S.)               Claireece, did you hear me?     Precious presses TALK.                         PRECIOUS               Yeah.     Precious presses LISTEN.                         MRS. LICHENSTEIN (O.S.)               I've called Ms. McKnight at Each               One Teach One. It's located on the               nineteenth floor of the Hotel               Theresa on 125th Street. That's not               too far from here.     Precious presses TALK.                         PRECIOUS               I know where that is.     Precious releases the button.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               15.17   CONTINUED:                                                17                            PRECIOUS                  Bitch.     Precious presses LISTEN.                            MRS. LICHENSTEIN (O.S.)                  The phone number is 555-0831. I                  told them about you. Call or drop                  in, nineteenth floor.                            PRECIOUS                  I heard you the first time.                            MRS. LICHENSTEIN                  Listen Claireece... If you go down                  tomorrow.... Look, they have just                  started their semester. You may be                  a day or 2 late... Give it a try.18   EXT. 444 LENOX AVE. - NIGHT                               18     Mrs. Lichenstein bounds off into the night with her     cigarette.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  I don't know what an alternative                  school is but I feel I want to                  know...19   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. -NIGHT                                19     Precious leans against the refrigerator glowing.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  My heart is all warm...Mr. Wicher                  say I'm a good student.     There is silent movement behind Precious.     Mary approaches quietly wielding a skillet.     Mary swings for a head shot but Precious easily sidesteps the     blow.     The refrigerator takes the hit and a new dent.     Precious stares calmly at her mother.     Mary almost looks ashamed.     Still aglow, Precious grins absently at her mother and then     leaves the kitchen.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                              15A.19   CONTINUED:                                                19     Mary watches her go and then struts back to the television     speaking to herself.                         MARY               School can't help none. Go down               welfare. Who she think she is?                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                16.19   CONTINUED: (2)                                             19                   (beat)               Think she cute now right? Shoulda               kept her mouf shut. Uppity now               cause he give her more childrens               than he did me. Should've kept her               damn mouf shut. Stupid little pig.               Who she think she is? What I'm               sposed to do for cig'rettes now?20   INT. PRECIOUS' BEDROOM - NIGHT                               20     Precious, now dressed for bed and still beaming, pulls the     covers to her chest.                                                FADE OUT                                                FADE IN21   EXT. HARLEM CITYSCAPE - DAWN                                 21     The sun rises into the sky. The shadow of a tree draws     shorter as does that of an open gate.22   PRECIOUS' BEDROOM - DAY                                      22     The clock on the night stand reads 8:29.     We drift back to find Precious sitting on the side of her bed     fully dressed with neon yellow leggings and her red scarf as     she stares at the clock.     Various sheets of colored construction paper display     Precious' handprints on the wall. Their sizes increase     progressively and end beside a poster of Cyndi Lauper.     When the clock reads 8:30, Precious stands, looks in a     mirror, sees a pretty blond white girl and leaves the room.23   INT. PRECIOUS' APT ≠ DAY                                     23     Precious heads for the front door.                         MARY               Where you going?     DUNK, CLINK, CLONK, CLANK -Precious opens 4 locks with swift     precision.                         MARY               You hear me talking to you?!     Precious leaves slamming the door behind her.                                                               17.24   EXT. 444 LENOX AVE. -DAY                                  24     We track with Precious as she exits her building. RUBY, A     DARK-SKINNED HEAVY-SET LITTLE GIRL WITH A "NATURAL" HAIRSTYLE     WHO COULD EASILY PASS FOR A YOUNGER PRECIOUS, trails     Precious. A naked blond armless Barbie doll dangles by it's     hair from Ruby's hand.                         RUBY               Precious when we gon' play?                         PRECIOUS                   (without turning around)               Ain' you s'posed to be in school?                         RUBY               You said we was gon' play.                         PRECIOUS               See, thas jus exackly why we ain'               gon' be playin'. I never said               nuffin like it.                            RUBY               Why not?                         PRECIOUS               Cause you a mess. Look at ya' -no               style, no friends, no mama, no               daddy.                         RUBY               So?! I ain' the only one.     Precious stops abruptly and turns around.                         PRECIOUS               What you say?!                            RUBY               ...nuffin.                         PRECIOUS               Thas what I thought.     Precious heads away into the distance.                         RUBY               I check in wif you tomorrow               Precious.                         PRECIOUS (O.S.)               You do that.                                                                  18.25   EXT. STREET - DAY                                            25     Precious walks gazing upward.     Street lamps pass beneath the sky as autumn leaves fall from     nowhere.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               I'm lookin' up. Lookin' out for a               piano to fall, a desk, couch, TV,               Mama maybe? Always somethin' in the               way. Alternative. I'm gon' see all               about it.                         BOY'S VOICE               Watch where you goin' Orca!     Precious looks down to find three skinny boys, each much     smaller than she, taunting her.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Then my mind come back down to               Earf.                         2ND BOY               Shut up fool, she gon' eat you.     The boys burst out in laughter slapping hands and grabbing     their crotches.                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Boyz always been little things that               laff and grab they selves -cept               for when I's real big and pregnant               wif my first baby. Then boyz don't               say nuffin. They stand out the way               real quiet like I'm Queen of               England...     Pointing at her leggings, the boys erupt some more.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Still, I wonder...what could I wear               that boyz don't laff?     Precious crashes to the ground. The boys look surprised a     moment and then howl harder than ever.                         PRECIOUS               I always be fallin like that when               my mind be wanderin. Mama say I               gonna fall to my death one day.               Wonder what that be like?                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               19.25   CONTINUED:                                                25     The boys continue to taunt her from above. Precious stares     into space as if they aren't there.                                                        CUT TO:26   INT. DANCE STUDIO - DAY                                      26     Precious in Black leotards, fishnet stockings and patent     leather shoes tap dancing away. She finishes her number as     Tom Cruise walks into frame clapping. Tom gives her a hug and     a friendly lick on the ear.27   EXT. STREET - PRESENT - DAY                                  27     Precious continues to stare into space as a dog licks on her     ear.28   EXT. 125TH STREET - DAY                                      28     Precious walks amongst a crowd of people and stops to stare     at the Hotel Theresa, a beautiful pre-war building.29   INT. HOTEL THERESA - DAY                                     29     Precious enters the lobby. An older black man in a blue     uniform sits in a chair reading the Daily News through thick     glasses.     He doesn't move, react, speak to or look at Precious as she     passes him.     Precious glances back at him as she reaches the elevators,     presses the button and waits.     The elevator doors open. Precious steps inside and turns     around. Her eyes widen and time slows down. The sound of WIND     rises.     Moments later, Precious snaps out of her daze and hastily     pushes button 19.     The doors close.30   INT. ELEVATOR - DAY                                          30     Precious rises....5....8....14....15....and....     DING! 19.     The elevator doors fly open.                                                               20.31   INT. HOTEL THERESA 19TH FLOOR - DAY                       31     Precious steps out to find an AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN IN HER     EARLY 30'S WEARING HER HAIR IN "CORNROWS".     She sits behind a desk while speaking on the phone.                         CORNROWS               Why do you say that shit when you               don't mean it Trey? I'm not playing               with you and I know that wasn't               your damn sister neither....because               you don't have one...Fine. Yeah,               whatever.     Cornrows slams the phone down, mumbles and looks over a file.                         PRECIOUS               This the alternative?                         CORNROWS                   (looking up)               The what?                         PRECIOUS               This the alternative?                         CORNROWS               What exactly are you looking for?                         PRECIOUS                   (pointing)               Well what is this here?                         CORNROWS               This is Higher Education               Alternative / Each One Teach One.                         PRECIOUS               I'm looking for alternative school.                         CORNROWS               This is an alternative school.                         PRECIOUS               What alternative is?                         CORNROWS               What are you asking me?                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               21.31   CONTINUED:                                                31                            PRECIOUS                  Alternative. The lady from my other                  school tell me to come here to                  Hotel Theresa, nineteenth floor,                  it's "alternative" school.                             CORNROWS                  Each One Teach One is an                  alternative school and an                  alternative school is like a                  choice, a different way to do                  something.                             PRECIOUS                  Oh.                            CORNROWS                  You need your discharge papers from                  your old school saying they have                  formally discharged you or we can't                  allow you in the program.                            PRECIOUS                  I got kicked out 'cause I was                  pregnant.                            CORNROWS                  You still need formal discharge                  papers or we can't let you in. It's                  the law.                            PRECIOUS                  Mrs. Lichenstein ain' say all that.                            CORNROWS                  Oh you're the one Mrs. Lichenstein                  called about.                            PRECIOUS                  What she say?                            CORNROWS                      (searching papers)                  Are you Claireece P. Jones?                             PRECIOUS                  Thas me.                            CORNROWS                  Well the principal at I.S. 111                  already sent your discharge papers                  and stuff over.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                             22.31   CONTINUED: (2)                                          31                         PRECIOUS               What stuff?                         CORNROWS               Your academic record.     Suddenly, Precious looks very concerned.                         CORNROWS               Are you all right?     Precious looks both angry and disappointed.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               I thought this was new start. File               and tesses chase me to the grave.                            CORNROWS               Claireece?                            PRECIOUS               Huh?                         CORNROWS               We had to have certain information               before we could accept you into the               program. So really, their sending               your records over was just a way of               speeding things up for you.                         PRECIOUS               Can I start today?                         CORNROWS               Yup. The only other thing we need               right now is income verification.               Are you currently receiving AFDC?                         PRECIOUS               No...My muver get AFDC for me and               my daughter.                         CORNROWS               Oh, you've had amniocentesis?                            PRECIOUS               Huh?                         CORNROWS               You said your mother has custody of               you and your daughter?                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                               23.31   CONTINUED: (3)                                            31                         PRECIOUS               Not this baby! I got another one               'sides this coming.                         CORNROWS               Oh I see. Your mother has custody               of you and your daughter so you're               on her budget.     Precious nods.                         CORNROWS               Okay, well I need a copy of your               mother's budget and a current phone               or utilities bill, okay?                         PRECIOUS               I got to go get all that now?                         CORNROWS               No, relax. We're just gonna give you               a few tests -test your reading and               math level, see where to place you.                         PRECIOUS               What's the difference?                         CORNROWS               Well, to enter G.E.D. classes a               student should be able to read on               an eighth-grade level. They should               score 8.0 or better on the TABE               reading test.                         PRECIOUS               I was in ninfe grade at I.S. Ill.                         CORNROWS                   (smiling)               Then you should have no problem.     Precious doesn't look as convinced.                                                      CUT TO:32   INT. CLASSROOM - DAY                                       32     ECU - SHEET OF PAPER     Precious neatly writes CLAIREECE P. JONES on the top of the     page.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               24.32   CONTINUED:                                                32     Precious sits alone behind a smattering of empty desks in a     bright classroom.     She looks over her test, exhales and starts to write.                                              DISSOLVE TO:33   INT. CLASSROOM - LATER                                    33     A TICKING CLOCK accompanies ...     ...misspelled words     ...eraser shreds     ...tapping feet     ...sweat     ...giant letters     ...tapping thumb     ...tapping pencil     ...frowns     ...giant numbers     ...eraser shreds     ...sighs     BZZZPFFT!     Precious looks up sharply.     A square fluorescent light in the ceiling blinks and buzzes     as if struggling to stay alive.     We tilt down from the blinking light to find that we are in a     different place ...34   INT. DIFFERENT CLASSROOM - DAY                            34     A YOUNGER PRECIOUS with uncombed hair sits with her back to     us in a bright pink dress. She is at the very back of the     classroom.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               25.34   CONTINUED:                                                34     The many children seated in front of her are all blurs that     gradually fade into darkness while raising their hands.     As we drift towards young Precious, the stains on her dress     become more apparent.     As we continue drifting, the PLAYGROUND VOICES OF OTHER YOUNG     CHILDREN ECHO out...                         GIRL # 1 (O.S.)               ...What that on your dress               Precious?                         GIRL # 2 (O.S.)               She don't say nuffin'. She don't               talk to nobody.                            GIRL # 1 (O.S.)               She nasty.                         GIRL # 3 (O.S.)               When the last time yo head was               combed?     Precious mumbles something to herself.                         GIRL # 4 (O.S.)               ...What?! Shut up Precious. You               talk funny. You was better when you               was on mute.                         BOY               Here come the wide load...     Boys makes a lengthy FARTING sound triggering a CHORUS OF     LAUGHTER.     Our drift finally lands on a puddle of urine at her feet.                         GIRL # 5 (O.S.)               Teacher! Teacher! Precious               peeded herself again!     GIGGLES fill the air. A small pencil falls into the puddle     making a large ripple.                                                     DISSOLVE TO:     INT. CLASSROOM - DAY - PRESENT     Precious' pencil point has broken but she still holds the     pencil as if about to write.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                               26.     CONTINUED:     Precious sits with an absent look on her face and a bead of     sweat on her temple. A moment later, a shadow moves over her     test.                         ADMINISTRATOR (O.S.)               Claireece, do you need another               pencil?     The administrator stands over Precious waiting for an answer.                         ADMINISTRATOR               Claireece ...     Precious looks up to her blankly.                         ADMINISTRATOR               Are you finished?     Precious nods absently.     The administrator gently takes the test from Precious' desk     and leaves.     Precious lingers pensively in the back of the room.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               There has always been something               wrong wif the tesses ...36   EXT. STREET - DAY                                           36     Precious walks with her hands in her pockets watching the     pavement pass beneath her.                         PRECIOUS (V.O. CONT.)               ...The tesses paint a picture of me               wif no brain. The tesses paint a               picture of me 'an my muver -my               whole family as less than dumb just               ugly black grease to be wiped away,               punished, caged up, kilt, changed,               finded a job for.     Precious leaves us behind.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Sometimes I wish I was not alive. I               be O.K. I guess.                                                FADE OUT                                                FADE IN                                                               27.37   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. APT, BATHROOM - DAY                     37     ...A hand shuts off a shower .     ...A toothbrush lands in a mug .38   INT. PRECIOUS' BEDROOM - DAY                                38     ...A hairbrush lands on a dresser.     ...Thick hands remove a red scarf from a drawer.     ...The clock on the night stand reads 8:29.     Precious sits on the side of her bed fully dressed with red     leggings and her red scarf staring at the clock with a     notebook in her hands.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  Today is first day. I been tessed.                  I been incomed eligible. I got my                  medicaid card, proof of address,                  self, pencil, notebook -alla dat                  shit.     When the clock reads 8:30, she stands, turns to a mirror,     sees a pretty blond white girl and leaves the room.39   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. KITCHEN - DAY                           39     ...Precious stares into the refrigerator.     ...Precious stares into the freezer.     Finally, she closes the door.                              PRECIOUS                  MA! !!     No answer.                              PRECIOUS                  MA! !!                              MARY (0. S. )                  What?!                            PRECIOUS                  I need some money.                              MARY (0. S. )                  For what?                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                  28.39   CONTINUED:                                                   39                            PRECIOUS                  Sumthin' to eat. My head hurt.                             MARY (0. S. )                      (beat)                  How much you need?                            PRECIOUS                  Five dollars.                             MARY (O.S.)                      (beat)                  Come and git it then.     The air changes. Time stands still.     A look that is both childlike and gray comes over Precious'     face.40   INT. MARY'S BEDROOM - DAY                                    40     Large panties fall to the floor from beneath the sheets.     Mary's knees widen beneath the covers.41   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. KITCHEN - DAY                            41     A frozen Precious stares across the apartment for a brief     eternity.     Finally, she dashes for the front door, throws open the locks     and bolts out of the apartment slamming the door behind her.                            MARY (O.S.)                  Where you going?!42   EXT. STREET - DAY                                            42     Precious walks briskly.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  The other day I cried, felt stupid.                  Guess what...Fuck that other day.                  Thas why God or whoever make new                  days. Still hungry tho.     Precious stops and looks up at something.     Before her stands a fast food restaurant with a giant sign     atop it that says KICKIN FRIED CHICKEN.     Precious looks around, takes a deep breath and steps inside.                                                               29.43   INT. KICKIN FRIED CHICKEN - DAY                             43     Precious approaches the counter with a strained     "nonchalance".     A MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN IN A HAIR-NET waits behind the register.     Precious sets her notebook and pencil down on the nearest     table.                         WOMAN               What you want baby?                         PRECIOUS               Give me a basket please.                         WOMAN               Sides?     Precious' eyes wander from the fry bin all the way over to a     refrigerator towards the back.                         PRECIOUS               Ain't sure. still thinkin'.               Watchin' the weight you know.     The woman chuckles and then leaves for the chicken.     The digital clock on the wall reads 8:53.     Precious whirls around to see A YOUNG MAN CIGARETTE IN HIS     MOUTH spraying the door with glass cleaner and then wiping it     from the bottom up.     Precious turns back around to find her server selecting     pieces of chicken from a huge tray with large silver tongs.     The clock on the wall reads 8:54.     Precious turns to the door again to find the young man still     cleaning it.     Precious turns back around to see her server returning with a     basket of chicken.                         PRECIOUS               Potato salad! Thas it.     The woman nods, sets the chicken on the counter and heads     back towards the refrigerator in one fluid motion.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               30.43   CONTINUED:                                                43     The young man wipes the top of the front door and looks to be     about finished.44   EXT. KICKIN FRIED CHICKEN - DAY                              44     Precious bursts out of the restaurant with the bucket under     one arm and sprints off down the block.     A SCREAM from inside follows.                         WOMAN (O.S.)               REGGIE!!! GET HER!!!     A second later, Reggie, the young man who cleaned the glass,     dashes out after Precious.     Precious looks back while sprinting and scarfing down pieces     of chicken at a remarkable rate.     Across the street, SHEILA, Reggie's pregnant girlfriend,     screams at him.                         SHEILA               Reggie, where you been? I've been               paging your tired ass all night.     Reggie stops dead in his tracks. Shit! Busted. He lights up a     cigarette, about faces and prepares for her rant.                         SHEILA               Nigga, I knew that was you. And who               you running after, some fat bitch.               Get your ass over here.     Precious turns the corner of 126th street and onto Clayton     Powell Jr. Boulevard still devouring chicken.     A SKINNY DISHEVELED MAN sitting on a standpipe calls out to     her.                         SKINNY MAN               You gon catch indigestion Mommie.45   EXT. HOTEL THERESA - DAY                                     45     Precious finishes off the chicken at the exact moment she     reaches the Hotel, stuffs the bones and basket into a trash     bin and dashes into the building.46   INT. HOTEL THERESA ELEVATOR                                  46     Precious looks at her watch and then freezes as if something     terrible has just dawned on her.                                                              30A.47   INT. KICKIN FRIED CHICKEN - DAY                              47     Precious' notebook and pencil sit on the table where she left     them.48   INT. HOTEL THERESA ELEVATOR                                  48     Precious looks crestfallen. A glance at her watch makes it     worse.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                   31.48    CONTINUED:                                                  48      Her stomach GROWLS. She suddenly looks unwell.49    INT. HOTEL THERESA 19TH FLOOR - DAY                         49      The elevator doors open. Cornrows speaks on the phone while      picking her nails. Several lines are ringing. She waves from      behind her desk as Precious walks by.                          CORNROWS                    (on the phone)                ...What else would get away with                clouding your mind, messin your                heart and leaving the goddamn                toilet seat up? Wait a minute                girl....      She decides to grab a line.                          CORNROWS                Each One Teach one, hold please.      She pushes another line.                          CORNROWS                Each One Teach One, hold.      She goes back to her conversation.                          CORNROWS                Yeah, I'm back.      Precious exits.A49   INT. HOTEL THERESA HALLWAY - DAY                           A49      Precious, nauseous, makes her way down the hallway.B49   INT. HOTEL THERESA HALLWAY OUTSIDE MS. RAINS ROOM - DAY    B49      Precious lunges for a trash bin into which she promptly      vomits.      She quickly catches her breath. Wipes her mouth and looks 10      feet away at a brightness coming from an open doorway. Her      HEART BEATS loudly.      Precious stands up. She seems to be there for a considerable      spell.      A blur of a young girl darts into the room from the other end      of the hall without looking at her.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                31A.B49   CONTINUED:                                               B49      MS. RAIN, PETITE, AFRICAN AMERICAN, BEAUTIFUL, THIRTIES,      ALERT EYES enters the hallway looking at her watch and then      up to Precious.                          MS. RAIN                You alright?      Precious doesn't respond.                          MS. RAIN                Are you in the A.B.E. class?                          PRECIOUS                Yes.                          MS. RAIN                This is it.      Ms. Rain looks at her watch, beckons Precious with one arm      and disappears inside.                          MS. RAIN (O.S)                Time's a wastin'.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                 32.B49   CONTINUED: (2)                                           B49      Precious still doesn't move.      Ms. Rain appears again.                          MS. RAIN                You in or you out? This door closes                in thirty seconds.      Ms. Rain disappears again.      Precious' feet finally transport her into the bright doorway.      Its blinding light envelopes her completely.50    INT. CLASSROOM -DAY                                          50      Ms. Rain's desk sits before six smaller ones situated in a      semi-circle. Four of them are occupied by girls roughly      Precious' age:      RHONDA JOHNSON -AFRICAN AMERICAN, STOCKY AND EVEN TALLER THAN      PRECIOUS, RITA ROMERO -LATIN DESCENT, MEDIUM BUILD, FRIENDLY      FACE AND DRESSED ENTIRELY IN BLACK, JERMAINE HICKS WIRY,      LEAN, SEATED AND DRESSED LIKE A BOY and CONSUELO MONTENEGRO -      LATIN DESCENT, PETITE GLOWING AND GORGEOUS. She twirls her      hair incessantly with slender painted fingertips.      A seventh desk sits well apart from the others back beneath      the windows.      The girls all stare up at Precious blankly as she enters the      room. Precious looks to be in a mild state of shock as she      gazes around from the girls to Ms. Rain to the clouds outside      the windows.                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                First thing I wonder is where is                everybody -the boyz, the noises                ...this feel like a Sunday school                or crazy house...or something like                bof' but different. Smell different                too.      Precious' eyes land on the lone desk in the rear of the room.                          MS. RAIN (O.S.)                Have a seat.      Precious looks from the distant desk to one up front and then      back to the distant desk.      She sits with the other girls delicately, as if she were a      visitor in a complete stranger's home.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                               33.50   CONTINUED:                                                50     Ms. Rain finishes marking the roll sheet, places the cap on     her pen and holds up a notebook identical to the one Precious     left at the Kickin Fried Chicken.                         MS. RAIN               Does everyone have her notebook?     Precious sucks her teeth in self-disgust as she looks around     to find that all the other girls have theirs.     JO ANN ROGERS -CAREFREE, CUTE AND SMUG, then breezes into the     room with an air of insubordination.                         MS. RAIN               It's 9:07. Jo Ann you're late.     Jo Ann points into her mouth, which is full.                         JO ANN                   (chewing)               I had to. Most important meal of               the...                         MS. RAIN               Starting tomorrow, this door will               be locked at 9:00.     Jo Ann rolls her eyes and sits beside Precious.                         MS. RAIN               Class, today we have some new               people so let's just...                         JO ANN               Ooh! Hold up! wait up! Hold up! I               found something!                         MS. RAIN               I beg your pardon Jo Ann!                         JO ANN               2000 'pologies Miz Rain but I jus'               want to say, do anyone need an               extra notebook I foun' in the               chicken place?                            PRECIOUS               It's mine!                         JO ANN               Okay hoe. I found your Cadillac               too. It's parked out front.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               34.50   CONTINUED: (2)                                            50     Jo Ann rolls her eyes.                         PRECIOUS               I leff it! I did! I leff it at the               Kickin Fried Chicken on Lenox tween               one-two-seven and one-two-six this               morning.                         JO ANN               ...Alright girl, I was just fuckin'               with you.     Jo Ann returns the notebook to Precious.                         MS. RAIN               Mind your mouth in here Jo Ann.                         JO ANN               What I say?!                         MS. RAIN               Just watch the language.     Jo Ann shrugs her shoulders, looks down and then turns her     eyes to Precious' stomach.                         JO ANN                   (quietly)               When you due?     Precious looks down and shrugs her shoulders.                         MS. RAIN               Since we have more new people than               old people today, let's just go               back to square one and get to know               each other. State your name, where               you were born, your favorite color,               something you do well and why               you're here.                         CLASS               What?!     Ms. Rain points to the blackboard where each of the 5     questions are written neatly to the side.                         MS. RAIN               I'll start. My name is Blu Rain ...                         CLASS               What?!                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                35.50   CONTINUED: (3)                                             50                         JERMAINE               Thas your real name?                         MS. RAIN               That's my for real, hope to die if               I'm lying name.                         JERMAINE               Your first name Blue?                         MS. RAIN               Yes it is. My favorite color is               purple...                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Off da bat sumthin' different               wif dis lady. She like to sing. I               wish I could sing. Go to church.               Sing on a choir. Mama say ain't no               God. Dis lady remind me Mr. Wicher               but more a man and like Miss               Lichenstein 'cept not a cuckoo.               Dress like she ride in out the               village too.                         MS. RAIN               ...What do I do well? I sing pretty               well. And I'm here because a good               friend used to teach at this               school. She was out one day and               asked me to substitute for her.               When she quit, they asked me if I               wanted the job. I said yes and I've               been here ever since. Rhonda?                         RHONDA               My name Rhonda Patrice Johnson. I               was born in Kingston Jamaica ...     Precious looks her over.      PRECIOUS (V.O.)                              RHONDA     Big redbone girl big like me      My favorite color is blue.     but don't talk funny like how     I cook good. My mother usta     coconut head peoples do.          have a restaurant on Seventh                                       Ave. Before she got sick, she                                       taught me everything. I'm                                       here to bring up my reading                                       so I could get my G.E.D.     Rhonda turns to Rita who sits beside her.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                               36.50   CONTINUED: (4)                                            50                         RITA               My name is Rita Romero. I was born               right here in Harlem. I'm here               because I was an addict and dropped               out of school ...           PRECIOUS (V.O.)                         RITA     Skinny Spanish girl seem a       ...and never got my reading     little sad but maybe jus         and writing together. My     quiet. Could be bofe. I check    favorite color is black but I     into it.                         guess you could tell that.                         JO ANN               What do you do good?                         MS. RAIN               Well. What do you do well Jo Ann?     Jo Ann points to herself as if to say, "Me?!" and Ms. Rain     shakes her head and points to Rita.                         RITA                   (softly)               I'm a good mother, a very good               mother.     Jermaine is next in line.                         JERMAINE               My name is Jermaine. My favorite               color...                         RHONDA               Tell us where you born first.                         JERMAINE                   (mildly annoyed)               I was born in the Bronx, still live               there...            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                      JERMAINE     What the hell is going on in     h                                ...Red is my favorite color.     kere? Is she a man? What         Usta be blue. I'm a good     kinda school is this? I don't    dancer if I do say so. A      now here. Jermaine, which I     friend told me about Each One     don't have to tell you, is a     / Teach One. I came here to     boy's name.                      get away from bad influence.                         RITA               You come to Harlem to get away from               bad influence?                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                37.50   CONTINUED: (5)                                             50                         JERMAINE               I'm afraid so.                         JO ANN               Can I go Miz Rain?                         MS. RAIN               When it's your turn Jo Ann.               Consuelo?                         CONSUELO                   (still twirling her hair)               Favorite color? Why I'm here?               What's alla dat shit?                         MS. RAIN               It's just a way of breaking the ice               -a way of getting to know each               other better...      PRECIOUS (V.O.)                             MS. RAIN     Ooohhh, dis pretty Spanish        ...by asking nonthreatening     girl, coffee cream color wit      questions that allow you to     long ol' good hair. She look      share yourself with the group     nice but got some attitude.       without having to reveal more     Ain' like she tha first tho.      of yourself than might be                                       comfortable ...                         MS. RAIN               ...You don't have to do it if you               don't want to but you do have to               watch your language.                         CONSUELO               I don't want to.                         MS. RAIN               You don't want to do what,               participate or watch your language?                         CONSUELO               The first part.     Precious is next.                            MS. RAIN               Claireece?     Precious doesn't respond.                            MS. RAIN               Claireece?                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                               38.50   CONTINUED: (6)                                            50                         PRECIOUS                   (softly)               Could I skip too Miz Rain?                          MS. RAIN                   (beat)               Certainly. Jo Ann?     Precious exhales looking astoundingly grateful and then turns     to Jo Ann.                         JO ANN               I'm Jo Ann.                   (waving enthusiastically)               Hi! My favorite color is               fluorescent beige. My ambition is               to have my own record layer.     Ms. Rain and the class look confused.                         RHONDA               Where were you born and why are you               at this school?           PRECIOUS (V.O.)                       JO ANN     Jo Ann like the spotlight and   I was born in King's County     can't sit still. Teacher        Hospital. My mother moved us     don't need no outside           to Harlem when I was nine     policin' tho. She ain'          years old. I'm here to get my     'fraid. I wonder what is a      G.E.D., then, well I'm     record layer anyway.            already into the music                                     industry. I just need to take                                     care of the education thing                                     so I can move up.                         MS. RAIN               Well, that's everyone. Welcome               to...                         PRECIOUS (O.S.)               I could...Could I...go?     Surprised, Ms. Rain and the class turn to Precious. She is     visibly uncomfortable and seems as if trying to hide in plain     sight.                         MS. RAIN               Okay Claireece.     The air is sucked out of the room.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                 39.50   CONTINUED: (7)                                              50                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Everybody looking at me now.               Everybody see me. I wish for back               of class again...     The distant desk vanishes over Precious' shoulder.                         PRECIOUS (V.O. CONT'D)               ...then I think, never that again.     Precious exhales.                         PRECIOUS               My name Claireece Precious Jones. I               go by Precious. I was born in               Harlem. I like yellow 'n I had a               problem at my old school so I come               here.                          MS. RAIN                   (beat)               Something you do well?     Precious thinks for a moment and then shrugs.                            PRECIOUS               ...Nuffin.                         MS. RAIN                   (softly)               Everybody is good at something.     Precious shakes her head.                            MS. RAIN               One thing?                         PRECIOUS                   (looking down)               I can cook and...     The room waits.                            MS. RAIN               And?                            PRECIOUS               I never...     The room continues to wait.                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                                40.50   CONTINUED: (8)                                             50                         PRECIOUS               Well ...I never talked in class               before. I guess now I could do that               too.                          MS. RAIN                   (beat)               How does it make you feel?     Precious looks around but seems to be searching inside more     than anywhere else.     After a moment...                         PRECIOUS               ...Here. It make me feel ...here.     The class is quietly taken aback.     Precious smiles as if having just made it ashore from a ship     lost at sea.                                              FADE OUT                                              FADE IN51   EXT. HARLEM STREET - DAY                                   51     Precious walks off alone still beaming from the new world she     has discovered.      P                          RECIOUS (V.O.)               Before, I got A minus in English               and never say nuffin', never do               nuffin'. But Miz Rain say we gonna               read and write in our notebooks               every day. Thas sumthin' seeing how               we can't really do none of those               things and then I think maybe this               ain' tha class for me. But when Miz               Rain see the worry on my face, she               look at me and start to talk in               Chinese...     The ghostly image of Ms. Rain appears on the sidewalk ahead     of Precious. It is a glimpse from back in the classroom. Her     voice ECHOES.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                  41.51   CONTINUED:                                                   51                            MS. RAIN (V.O.)                  The longest journey begins with                  a single step...     Ms. Rain vanishes and Precious shakes her head.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  ...Whatever the fuck that spozed to                  mean. This school different, okay.                  But this not Star Trek neitha'.     Precious continues into the distance.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  Complicated, complicated -Chinese                  journeys, 2 books, write 'n you                  don't know how? Dawg ...52   INT. CLASSROOM - ANOTHER DAY                                 52     Ms. Rain writes the letter A on the board and then hands the     chalk to Jermaine. Jermaine writes B and then hands it to     Consuelo. Consuelo writes C and hands it to Rhonda. Rhonda     writes D and hands it to Rita.     Rita takes a step and starts to cry. She drops the chalk. It     shatters on the floor.                            MS. RAIN                  We're all in this together Rita.                  Class?                            ALL BUT RITA                  E!     Rita picks up the largest shard of chalk from the floor and     writes E on the board. She hands the chalk to Precious and     Precious writes F.     The entire class sits simultaneously and then giggles at     their synchronicity.                            MS. RAIN                  This is just the beginning. Why                  don't we try by ourselves? There                  are 26 letters in the alphabet.                  They all have a sound. These                  letters make up all the words in                  our language. Please open your                  notebooks, write the date and then                  let's write the alphabet.     The girls begin to write.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                               42.52   CONTINUED:                                                52     Precious soon sets her pencil down, moves her hands to her     stomach and looks faint. She gathers herself, catches her     breath and trudges on.                         MS. RAIN (O.S.)               This is going to be painless ...53   INT. SMALL OFFICE - DAY                                      53     Precious and Ms. Rain sit close together over a small table     looking down at a large colorful children's book.                         MS. RAIN               ...I just want you to read a page               from this book.     Precious looks up at her blankly and then back down at the     book with trepidation.                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Sure lady, right after I get voted               president.                           MS. RAIN               Precious?                         PRECIOUS               I can't do that Miz Rain.                         MS. RAIN               C'mon Precious. Give it a try.     Precious looks mortified and starts breathing heavily.     RAPID MONTAGE - DOOR SLAMS, MOANS, PANTING, PLATES BREAKING,     MEAT SIZZLING, ZIPPERS, GRUNTS, SQUEAKING BED SPRINGS,     LAUGHTER, SCREAMS, A RAZOR SLICING YOUNG FLESH, SWEAT and     DAYTIME TELEVISION all assault her mind's senses.     Ms. Rain speaks with a dire look of concern on her face but     no words come out.     She places a hand on Precious' shoulder and the kaleidoscope     of sounds sucks away into the air. The words from Ms. Rain's     mouth finally register.                         MS. RAIN               Precious. Honey are you okay? Try               to relax. Should I call an               ambulance? 911? Your moth ...                           PRECIOUS               NO! !!                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               43.53   CONTINUED:                                                53     Ms. Rain jumps.                         MS. RAIN               What is it?                         PRECIOUS               The pages ...     Ms. Rain looks down perplexed.                          PRECIOUS                    (defeated)               They all look alike to me. Always               did.                          MS. RAIN                   (beat)               The words or the pictures?                            PRECIOUS               The words.     Ms. Rain sighs. She sits back for a moment and looks as if     she's processing more than just the tragedy of this     particular situation but what is that of countless others.     In a decisive, almost militaristic movement, Ms. Rain sits up     again.                         MS. RAIN               I think I understand you Precious               but I still want you to try. You're               going to have to push yourself.     Precious looks back down at the page. There are people of     various colors on a beach.                         MS. RAIN               What do you think the story is               about?                         PRECIOUS               Peoples at the beach?                         MS. RAIN               That's right.     Ms. Rain points to the letter A. It is the first word on the     page.                         MS. RAIN               Do you know what that is?                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                44.53   CONTINUED: (2)                                             53                           PRECIOUS               Yes. A.     Ms. Rain points to the next word.                         MS. RAIN               Do you know that word?                         PRECIOUS               No. I don't.                         MS. RAIN               Do you know the letters.     Precious nods. Ms. Rain points to the letters ...                           PRECIOUS               D, A, Y.                         MS. RAIN               Do you know that word?     Precious shakes her head.                         MS. RAIN               Day. That word is day.     Ms. Rain points to the next word.                         MS. RAIN               What's that word?                           PRECIOUS               Ate.                         MS. RAIN               Good! Almost! The word is 'at'.     Ms. Rain points at the next word.                           PRECIOUS               The!     Ms. Rain points to the next word.                           PRECIOUS               ...Beach?                         MS.   RAIN               'Shore'. That   word is 'shore'.               That's almost   like 'beach'. Very               good. Can you   read the whole thing?                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                  45.53   CONTINUED: (3)                                               53     Precious nods.                         PRECIOUS               A-Day-at-the-Shore.     Amazed the words that escaped were from her very own mouth,     Precious' jaw drops. She whirls to Ms. Rain.     Ms. Rain smiles.     We ease away from the office as the two of them continue     working down the page.54   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. - NIGHT                                  54     Precious enters the apartment. Mary sits on the couch     watching "THE COSBYS."                         MARY               Bring your fat ass in here!     Precious suddenly looks exhausted.                         MARY               Where you sneak your ass off to               this morning?     Precious doesn't respond.                         MARY               You hear me talking to you! Where               you sneak your ass off to this               morning?!                         PRECIOUS               School! I was at school!                         MARY               You lying whore!                         PRECIOUS               Am not!                         MARY               You is! The welfare done called               here, saying they is removing you               from my budget 'cause you not in               regular attendance in school.                          PRECIOUS               Mama, I tole you I got kicked out.               I been home mostly every day for               two weeks.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                  46.54   CONTINUED:                                                   54                            MARY                  You didn't say nothin' `bout no                  damn school today.                            PRECIOUS                  Mama, I tole you dis morning I was                  goin'to school.     At a loss but still angered, Mary turns back to the     television slowly. Precious starts for her room until...                            MARY                  I ain' had no breakfast.     Precious stops, sighs, heads to the sink and starts washing     her hands.     Mary talks to Precious while watching television.                            MARY                  ...Need to forget school. Need to                  git your ass on down to welfare.     Precious dries her hands and reaches for a pan.                            PRECIOUS                  I'm gonna get stipend for school                  and then...                            MARY                  Fool fuck a stipend. What's that? I                  said take your ass down to welfare.     Precious stops everything with the pan in her hand.                            PRECIOUS                  Now?                             MARY                  No stupid. Got to be there at 7 in                  the A.M. if you gonna talk to                  anybody...     Precious shakes her head, huffs and turns on the stove. Mary     then presses the mute button on the remote and whirls around     with a cold cigarette between her fingers.                             MARY                  -Oh you too good for that? Is that                  what you is now, too good for                  welfare?                      (beat)                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                  47.54   CONTINUED: (2)                                               54               More white folks on 'ssistance than               there is niggas Miss Onassis. Other               ones got trust fund welfares from               'sploitin po dumb asses like yo dumb               ass for centuries ...Man on TV say               let's end 'Firmative Action. Fine wit               me. And while we at it, let's take               out son-in-laws, country clubs, white               motherfuckers and then call it a day.     Precious turns to her mother looking surprised but pensive.     Mary's eyes are still fixed on the TV.                         MARY               Now hurry yo ass up. I'm gon die of               starvation over here. Then where               you be at then?                                              CUT TO:55   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. - LATER - NIGHT                          55     A picturesque plate of pork chops and mashed potatoes.     Precious delivers it to the couch with a fork and knife.     THE APARTMENT HAS TRANSFORMED INTO THE PRISTINE WORLD OF THE     TV SITCOM THEY WERE WATCHING. Precious and Mary are well-     dressed and done-up like TV stars.                         MARY               What you gon' have?                         PRECIOUS               I ain' hungry. I ...                         MARY               Yes you is.                         PRECIOUS               But Mama I ...                         MARY               Sit your ass down.     Precious sighs and joins Mary on the couch.     Mary hands Precious the plate and silverware.                         MARY               Jus make mine after you done. This               gon' get cold if it sit.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                    48.55   CONTINUED:                                                     55                            PRECIOUS                  But I thought you said you was                  hongry?                            MARY                  Do what I say don't say what I say.                  Now eat bitch!     Precious starts eating slowly. Mary lights her cigarette.                            MARY                  ...Best feed like a pig and not a                  cow so's you can git yo ass back to                  the stove. If I croak off                  starvation, where in the world you                  be at then?     Precious eats reluctantly.                                                   CUT TO:56   INT. KITCHEN - LATER - NIGHT                                   56     Pots and pans sit drying on the counter.     Precious wipes her hands on a dishcloth.     The room is quiet and empty now.     Precious stares blankly out of the window.     ...She goes to the television, presses the remote and sits     down. "THE COSBYS" is still on. Tired and full, she turns the     TV off. She watches Mary's face snoring rhythmically but with     extremely unpleasant noises. Finally, she backs away and goes     to her bedroom.57   INT. PRECIOUS' BEDROOM - NIGHT                                 57     Precious falls back across her bed with her arms spread.     She stares up at the crack in her ceiling...     A hand darts into frame, touches Precious' side and then     quickly withdraws. Precious ignores it. The hand returns for     another jab. Precious restrains a grin. Finally the hand     tickles her fiercely.                                                             (CONTINUED)                                                               49.57   CONTINUED:                                                57     She giggles uncontrollably. The hand belongs to Tom Cruise.     He wears a leather jacket with a cherry red motorcycle helmet     tucked under one arm. The helmet has a golden bow stuck on     its crown.     ...Precious chases him out of frame for some revenge tickling     as they both laugh quietly.     ...The helmet falls to the floor with a bounce.                         WOMAN'S VOICE (O.S.)               ...Claireece, would you like to               talk about your home life?58   INT. CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST'S OFFICE - DAY                    58     Precious sits on a small couch in a modest office containing     2 bookshelves, several plaques and 2 file cabinets.     MS. WEISS -40's, CAUCASIAN, CONSERVATIVELY DRESSED sits     across from Precious with a clipboard on her lap and glasses     low on her nose. A strap hangs down from the glasses and     snakes around the back of her neck.                         PRECIOUS               What do you want me to say?                         MS. WEISS               Whatever comes to mind when you               think about your home.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Seem like inquiring white bitches               always want to know.                         PRECIOUS               I wish I had a TV in my room.                          MS. WEISS                   (beat)               Is that all?                         PRECIOUS               No... My muver is a like a whale               person for the couch. She says I               eat alla time, but then she always               makin' me eat... and then call me a               fat mess.... She says apartment is               little because of me.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               50.58   CONTINUED:                                                58                  She only leaves the house to play                  the number. Sometimes I feel I                  could just sit there wif her                  everyday wif the shades drawed,                  watch TV, eat, watch TV, eat. Can                  we talk about something else now?                            MS. WEISS                  Of course. I want to learn more                  about your father anyway.                            PRECIOUS                  I don't know much more than you do                  Miz White...                            MS. WEISS                  Weiss.                            PRECIOUS                  He say he the original man like                  Farrakhan be saying but little do                  he know about it. He give me this                  baby comin and my other one before.                  Thas all I know. Don't see him.                  Don't need to I guess.                             MS. WEISS                       (quickly)                  What did you say your father gave                  you?                             PRECIOUS                      (catching herself)                  ...Nuffin.                            MS. WEISS                  Yes you did Claireece. You said                  your father gave you...                            PRECIOUS                  No I didn't neitha. If you heard                  that, then you heard sumthin' else                  cause I ain' said nuffin like it!     Ms. Weiss' wariness looks unmoved.                            PRECIOUS                  Now whas next?                            MS. WEISS                  Um...How about your first child?                  You haven't spoken much about                  her...                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                  51.58   CONTINUED: (2)                                               58     Precious turns to Ms. Weiss. A DOORBELL RINGS ...59   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. APT. - DAY                               59     TOOSIE, A WOMAN IN HER LATE 50'S RADIATING A TOUGHNESS OF PRIOR     GENERATIONS, enters the apartment in a business-like manner with     MONGO, A SMALL, DISTRACTED AND OBVIOUSLY HANDICAPPED CHILD.     Toosie has a bag of groceries in her other arm.     Precious watches TV beside her mother. Both appear as if     they've just woken up. Mary attempts to put on her wig and     make up.     Toosie gives Mongo to Mary, whose eyes never leave the     television, and then hands the groceries to Precious, who     takes them directly to the kitchen as Toosie leaves without a     word.                            PRECIOUS (O.S.)               Mongo?                            MS. WEISS (O.S.)               Excuse me?                         PRECIOUS (O.S.)               Mongo? Thas short for Mongoloid.               She got Down Sinder.                         MS. WEISS (O.S.)               You mean she has Down Syndrome?                            PRECIOUS (O.S.)               Alla dat.     The child seems only mildly aware of what is going on.     The DOORBELL rings again. Precious opens the door. A HISPANIC     WOMAN IN HER THIRTIES with an attache case enters.     As the woman steps inside, we see that Mary has finished     tidying herself.     Mary and the woman exchange small talk while Precious     listens. Mary has never seemed so congenial.                         PRECIOUS (O.S.)               My grandmuver Toosie, brangs Little               Mongo over on days social worker               come so it look like Mongo live wif               us. Then my mama get the check 'n               food stamps for me 'n Little Mongo.               But it's my baby. Little Mongo is               money for me, not her!                                                                  52.60   INT. CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST'S OFFICE - DAY                       60     Precious continues speaking to Ms. Weiss from the couch.                         PRECIOUS               ...Sometimes I see vampires too.               They come for me sometimes and they               say that I am one of them. They               say, "Precious, you belong wif us."                         MS. WEISS               How do you respond to them?                         PRECIOUS               I say, "Check wif my muver." After               that, they just look at me and go               down through the floor. The family               downstairs is vampires so that's               where they should go.     Ms. Weiss looks up from her clipboard and over her glasses.     Precious reflects a moment and then looks up.                         PRECIOUS               I'm going to the doctor now too.               It's nice. Miz Rain, she fall out               when she finded out that I ain'               been to no doctor. Whole class               scream 'preenatal' at me. They               don't know I had my first baby on               the kitchen floor wif my muver               kicking me upside my head. I mean,               who would believe?     Precious snickers reminiscently a moment and then turns to     Ms. Weiss.                         PRECIOUS               Them the kind of thangs you mean               when you say talk about whatever               come into my mind?     Ms. Weiss looks up and nods through a perplexed daze.61   INT. CITY BUS - DAY                                          61     Precious rides lost in thought.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               I still don't know why I said all               them thangs. I know I wasn't               s'posed to. Just tired.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               53.61   CONTINUED:                                                61                  Tired of lying I guess. Hope mama                  don't find none of it out. She kill                  me for real cause that be tha end                  of them welfare checks.62   EXT STREET - DAY                                          62     The girls burst into frame followed by Ms. Rain and Cornrows     and then bound up a large number of steps leading into THE     METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART.63   INT. METROPOLITAN MUSEUM PERMANENT EGYPTIAN ART COLLECTION 63     Led by a spirited guide and trailed by Ms. Rain and Cornrows,     the girls scrutinize colossal tombs, various artifacts,     hieroglyphics and photographs.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  Miz Rain brang us out to see some                  real old stuff. Thangs and stuff                  before TV's was made, before Mr.                  Abraham Lincoln, before Miz Harriet                  Tubman -maybe some stuff before Miz                  Weiss even.     Precious and Rita fearfully enter the Tomb of Perneb. 2 steps     in, Rita grabs Precious hand tightly.                             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  Before we turn tha corner in a                  mummy tomb, Rita grab hold of my                  hand. No one in my life ever do                  that. Ever.                      (beat)                  How Rita do it wiffout a thought?     Rita and Jermaine study a sphinx.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  Guide lady smart. Say dis the first                  civilization of the Earf. Black                  folks, first!     Jo Ann poses like an Egyptian hieroglyphic. Consuelo examines     her nail polish.64   INT. CLASSROOM -DAY                                       64     Ms. Rain writes briskly across the blackboard.     As she makes her way across the frame, a barrage of letters     and numbers peel off the board, fly across the room, converge     and enter Precious' forehead.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                               54.64   CONTINUED:                                                64     Just before the letters and numbers reach Precious, lifelike     holographic images flank them. They are SPINNING PLANETS,     FLYING PTERODACTYLS, STAMPEDING ELEPHANTS, EMMETT TILL, MLK,     JFK, MALCOLM X, CIVIL RIGHTS MARCHERS, FIRE, TIDAL WAVES, A     VOLCANIC ERUPTION, CONTINENTS, MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS, LIGHT     BULBS AND THE INVERTED WORDS "JANIE", "SULA" AND "CELIE" ...     A few letters, numbers and images try to reach Jo Ann but     most just bounce off of her and fall away. Consuelo bats a     few mathematical symbols off as if they were flies.     Finally we land on Precious as she confidently stabs her hand     into the air to answer a question.65   INT. CITY BUS - DAY                                          65     Precious rides on one of the side seats towards the back     while wearing her red scarf.     The New Yorkers surrounding her are all men of various     backgrounds. All wear the exact same suits and raincoats.     Precious looks up to find two of the businessmen staring down     at her.     We pan from them and around the bus to find all of the other     passengers studying Precious in silence as well.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               I liked'd that museum so much I went               back by myself... Peoples ...They               only look when my belly big. They               minds all made. But do they know?               No. They do not know that I am a               girl for flowers and thin straw               legs?                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               If other peoples could see that the               way I do, they would see that I am               a real person inside.     Our long circular pan finally lands on Precious' seat but     sitting there now is the pretty blond white girl from     Precious' bedroom mirror wearing Precious' clothes.     The bus grinds to a stop.     A man smiles at Precious and steps off the bus.     The original Precious takes the abandoned newspaper from his     empty seat and tries to read it.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                  55.65   CONTINUED:                                                   65     Precious stops to watch two "society" ladies in hats and     gloves push antique buggy style baby carriages along the     sidewalk.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Miz Rain say the longest journey               begin wif a single step. I wonder               what step they journeys begin on.               Mama always talk about how there be               all different types of welfare. I               want filfy rich white folks               welfare. Mama crazy but Mama not               stupid.     Precious continues observing pensively as the ladies pass a     bearded and bedraggled elderly white man laying on the street     in tattered clothes.     As Precious studies him, her expression changes ever so     slightly.     Enormous handwritten letters forming "NOT STUPID" overtake     her face as we DISSOLVE TO the PAGE upon which she wrote it.66   INT. HOTEL THERESA CLASSROOM - DAY                           66     Precious writes in her notebook. All of the other girls do     the same.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               I am happy to be writing. I am               happy to be in school. I am happy               to know my baby coming soon. Don't               see the sense in pretending I am               not pregnant anymore. I am also               thinking about lil Mongo a lot. Miz               Rain say we gonna write everyday,               that mean home too.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               And she gonna write back everyday.               Thas great.     Precious looks up to find Jo Ann tapping her pencil, looking     around annoyed and literally at a loss for words.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Mama say this new school ain' shit               tho. Say you can't learn nuffin'               writing in no book. Gotta git on               that computer you want to make some               money. But Mama wrong about that.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                56.66   CONTINUED:                                                 66                  I is learning. Gonna read to dis                  baby too and hang colors on its                  walls.     We close in on Precious writing as we hear her whisper the     following.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  Listen Baby, Muver love you. Muver                  not dumb. Listen:            PRECIOUS (CONT'D)             PRECIOUS (V.O.) (CONT'D)        (in a whisper)                 Thas the alphabet. Twenty-six     ABCDEFGHIJKLPMN                   letters in all. Them letters     O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.          make up words. Them words                                       everything.     Precious looks up from her page gazing in an otherworldly way.     One by one, the other girls stop what they're doing and stare     at Precious curiously.     Their eyes turn downward in unison.     CLOSE ON Precious' legs.     A gush of water pours down between them as if it were a tidal     wave.67   INT. HOSPITAL - DAY                                          67     SILENT MONTAGE     ...The wheels of a speeding gurney waggle to remain straight.     ...Fluorescent lights stream by overhead.     ...Name tags dangle from the chests of attendants pushing the     gurney.     One we see belongs to a handsome African American Male nurse,     JOHN MCFADDEN. He is constantly looking down with a     reassuring smile.     ...Covered in sweat, Precious screams without our hearing a     sound.68   EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY                                          68     ...Two rain drops dance atop a puddle outside .     ...Water drips from a tree limb .                                                                  57.69    INT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT                                      69                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                His name Abdul Jamal Louis Jones.                He healthy. His muver love him.      John, the nurse who helped gurney Precious in, again stares      down warmly at her. This time with Abdul in her arms.69A   INT. HOSPITAL BEDROOM - NIGHT                             69A      Precious sleeps peacefully. It is still raining outside. Ms.      Rain crochets in the corner.                                               FADE OUT                                               FADE IN70    INT. HOSPITAL - DAY                                        70      We are close on Precious. Her eyes focus intently and      occasionally dart up and down.      Nurse John is doing the same thing.      His hands lay on top of Precious' with their palms touching.      We glimpse both of their searching eyes again.      Suddenly, Precious whips her hands over and SLAPS the back of      John's before he can pull them away.                            PRECIOUS                I win.                          JOHN                That hurt girl.                          PRECIOUS                Get to X-Ray.                          JOHN                    (leaving)                Maybe I will.                          PRECIOUS                You gon have to if you don't practice.                            JOHN                Alright.                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                                  58.70   CONTINUED:                                                   70     John exits.     The girls from class ogle him from another part of the room     as he leaves and then nudge and bicker with each other for     pole position to hold Abdul.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Dear Miz Rain, All the years I sit               in class I never learn, but now I               got baby again by my fahver.     Behind the girls, Precious sits up in bed writing in her     journal.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               I wish I had a boyfriend like other               girls and then I'd feel right that               I have to quit school. I love my               baby but want school too.     Precious closes her book. Jo Ann backs away from the others,     takes the notebook and then leaves.     Rhonda returns Abdul to Precious. The remaining girls embrace     Precious one at a time and then file out of the room.71   INT. CLASSROOM - DAY                                         71     As the girls stream into the classroom, Jo Ann sets Precious'     notebook on Ms. Rain's desk.     Ms. Rain opens it immediately.72   INT. SMALL OFFICE - DAY                                      72     Ms. Rain writes at her desk.                          MS. RAIN (V. O. )               Dear Precious, I am glad you love               your baby.                         MS. RAIN (V.O.)               I think a beautiful young girl like               you should have a chance to get an               education. I think your first               responsibility has to be to               yourself. You should not drop out               of school ...73   INT. HOSPITAL - DAY                                          73     Precious reads from her journal.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                 59.73   CONTINUED:                                                  73                            MS. RAIN (V.O. CONT'D)                  Come back to class. We miss you.                  Love, Ms Rain.     Precious immediately writes back.                            PRECIOUS(V.O)                  Dear Miz Rain...74   INT. MS. RAIN APARTMENT - BEDROOM - DAY                      74     Ms. Rain sits on the corner of bed reading Precious' journal.                            PRECIOUS (V.O. CONT'D )                  Social worker ask me if I want to                  give Little Mongo and Abdul up for                  adoption. I could kill her. She                  never help before. Now she want to                  take my kids away? If she take                  Abdul, I won't have nothing nomore.75   INT. HOSPITAL - DAY                                          75     Jo Ann bounds into the room with the journal in her hand,     swipes an apple from Precious' tray and takes a bite.     Precious snatches the journal and opens it quickly.                            MS. RAIN (V.O.)                  Dear Precious, It seems the                  opposite to me. If you keep Abdul                  you might have nothing. You are                  learning to read and write, that is                  everything. Come back to school                  when you get out of the hospital.                  You're only seventeen. Your whole                  life is in front of you.                                                CUT TO:     TOOSIE paces Precious' hospital room briskly while holding     Abdul and lecturing Precious fiercely.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  Dear Miz Rain, Grandmuver come                  visit and say only a dog will drop                  a baby and walk off. Say later not                  even a dog.     Precious' grandmother continues her sermon. Precious sighs.                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                               60.75   CONTINUED:                                                75                            MS. RAIN (V.O.)                  Dear Precious, You are not a dog.                  You are a wonderful young woman who                  is trying to make something of her                  life. I have some questions for                  you. 1. Where was your grandmother                  when your father was abusing you?                  2. Where is Little Mongo now? 3.                  What is going to be the best thing                  for you in this situation?76   INT. SMALL OFFICE - DAY                                   76     Ms. Rain sits at her desk reading with her pen ready.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  Dear Miz Rain, Lot of questions you                  ask. No muver, no grandmuver and                  father rape me years. Little Mongo                  wif my grandmuver. Best for me to                  stop breaving sometimes I think. I                  want to be a good mother too tho.     Ms. Rain writes immediately.                            MS. RAIN (V.O.)                  Dear Dear Precious, Being a good                  mother might mean letting your baby                  be raised by someone who is better                  able than you to meet the child's                  needs.77   INT. HOSPITAL - DAY                                       77     Precious writes while breast-feeding Abdul.                            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                  Dear Miz Rain, I is best able to                  meet my child's need.     The page turns.78   INT. MS. RAIN'S CLASS ROOM - DAY                          78     The page falls. The students are all at their desks reading.     Ms. Rain writes the following.                            MS. RAIN (V.O.)                  Dear Precious, When you are raising                  a small infant you need help. Who                  is going to help you? How will you                  support yourself? How will you keep                  learning to read and write?                                                                 61.79    INT. 444 LENOX AVE. APT. - DAY                            79      We drift towards Mary, at one with the couch, watching      television. One hand holds a cigarette while the other mines      an enormous bag of potato chips elbow-deep.      Her greasy mouth remains occupied with either a cigarette, a      potato chip or both at all times.                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                The welfare help Mama, it help me.                          MS. RAIN (V.O.)                Dear Precious Miss, When you get                home from the hospital, look and                see how much welfare has helped                your mother.79A   INT. HOSPITAL LOUNGE - DAY                               79A      Nurse John and Precious sit quietly. Nurse John hands her an      envelope. Precious opens the envelope to find a beautiful      card. It reads, "God Bless you." There is a $20 bill inside.      She looks up at him, teary eyed and grateful.80    INT. HOSPITAL - DAY                                       80      Precious, now wearing her jacket, packs up her things, takes      Abdul and heads out of a spotless room with her child in one      hand and two bags in the other.81    INT. LIVERY CAB - DAY                                     81      Precious rides holding Abdul.                          MS. RAIN (V.O.)                You could go further than your                mother. You could get your G.E.D.                and go to college. You could do                anything Precious but you have to                believe it. Love, Blu Rain.82    EXT. 444 LENOX AVE. - DAY                                 82      Precious heads into the main entrance holding Abdul and her      bags as snowflakes start to fall.83    INT. 444 LENOX AVE. MAIN ENTRANCE - DAY                   83      Ruby plays alone with her broken Barbie doll. Precious passes      her without a word. Ruby springs to her feet to trail her.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                             61A.83   CONTINUED:                                               83                            RUBY                  Hi Precious. You back? That your                  new baby? What it's name? Can I                  hold it? ..Precious?     Ruby can only watch as Precious disappears into the     stairwell.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                  62.83   CONTINUED: (2)                                               83     Signs on the elevators read "OUT OF ORDER".84   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. STAIRWELL - DAY                          84     Precious climbs the stairs growing short of breath holding     Abdul, her bags and her coat folded over one arm.     Once on the landing, she searches for her keys while trying     to balance Abdul and everything else.     After turning several locks, she pushes into the apartment...85   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. - CONTINUOUS                             85     ...looks up and ducks.                           MARY               Bitch!!!     CRASH!!! A flying vase barely misses Precious and Abdul and     then shatters against the wall.     Abdul WAILS.                           PRECIOUS               MAMA! ! !     SMASH! A plant comes next.     Precious barely dodges that one too and she drops everything     but Abdul.                           PRECIOUS               MAMA! ! !                         MARY (O.S.)               YOU RUIN MY LIFE YOU FAT LITTLE               SLUT!!!     Mary charges into frame to ram Precious and Abdul like a     bull.     Precious sidesteps the charge as Mary leaves a huge     indentation in the wall knocking over a side table and a     potted plant in the process. She grabs her shoulder in pain.     Precious backs away around the living room to flee.     Mary hurls what's left of the plant at Precious from down on     the floor.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                63.85   CONTINUED:                                                 85     Precious turns her back to shield Abdul. The pot strikes her     in the back. ABDUL SCREAMS louder. Dirt covers Precious.                         PRECIOUS               STOP IT MAMA! YOU GON CRAZY?!!!     As Mary gets to her feet ...                         MARY               FIRST YOU STEAL MY HUSBAND, THEN               YOU GET ME CUT OFF THE WELFARE YOU               STUPID-MOUTH BITCH!                         PRECIOUS               I AIN'T STEAL NUFFIN FROM YOU MAMA!               YOUR HUSBAND RAPE ME AND I NOT               STUPID!                         MARY               YOU IS! YOU IS TOO! YOU IS AND YOU               ALWAYS GON BE NUTHIN BUT STUPID TIL               THE DAY YOU DIE! YOU HEAR ME?!!               STUPID!!!     Tears well in Precious' eyes.                         PRECIOUS               SHUT UP MOMMA! I NOT STUPID! I AM               NOT STUPID! DON'T SAY THAT!     Mary GROWLS and charges Precious again.     Precious turns the TV over between them. Electrical sparks     fly as it hits the floor. There is a banging at the door.                         NEIGHBOR (O.S.)               Mary, leave that chile alone. Stop               beating that girl Mary.     Mary trips and crashes down on top of the overturned     television.     Precious dashes out of the apartment with only Abdul as Mary     struggles to get up.                         MARY               I'M GON KILL YOU PIG!                         PRECIOUS               I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DIDN'T               ALREADY. YOU CRAZY BITCH!                                                              63A.86   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. HALL OUTSIDE PRECIOUS APT - DAY       86     Precious dashes out of the apartment with tears in her eyes,     dirt on her clothes, no coat and Abdul SCREAMING IN HER ARMS.     A little OLD WOMAN stands in the hallway shaking her head in     disgust.                         MARY (O.S.)               YOU HEAR ME PRECIOUS! GET YOUR BIG,               BLACK ASS BACK IN HERE!                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               64.86   CONTINUED:                                                86     Precious looks back, trips on the landing and tumbles down a     flight of steps cradling and shielding Abdul all the way.     THUD! A hard floor abruptly halts Precious' descent.     She checks Abdul immediately.     He is smiling.     A DOOR OPENS followed by GRUNTS and a CRASH. Precious looks     up to find the broken television tumbling down the steps     towards them.     At the last second, Precious manages to roll them both out of     the way as the television crashes to the landing shattering     some more.87   EXT. 444 LENOX AVE. MAIN ENTRANCE - DAY                   87     Precious bursts out of the stairwell with blood streaming     down her nose and Abdul in her arms. Ruby dashes to intercept     them.                         RUBY               Precious what happened?     Ruby places herself between Precious and the door while     moving. Precious however, is in a big hurry.                         RUBY               Precious, could I see your baby now?               I just wanna see.     Precious shows no sign of slowing down. Ruby looks concerned.                         RUBY               Precious, what's wro...     Precious knocks Ruby out of her way and to the floor without     losing stride.     Ruby lands hard and CRIES loudly.88   EXT. 444 LENOX AVE. - DAY                                 88     Abdul still in her arms, Precious heads away from the     building under dressed.     The falling snow has thickened considerably.     As she makes her way into the distance, Precious walks into     the snowstorm carrying Abdul.                                                                  65.89   EXT. STOREFRONT CHURCH - DAY                                 89     She hears the sound of a choir. She approaches the Church     Basement where the voices are coming from.     Precious stares through the window where Choir members are     praising The Lord.90   INT. 444 LENOX AVE. APT. - DAY                               90     Mary barrels into Precious' bedroom yelling and screaming as     she turns the place upside down.     She rips down Precious' handprints along with her Cyndi     Lauper poster. She then picks up a brush and hurls it into     Precious' mirror, shattering it to pieces.91   INT. STOREFRONT CHURCH - DAY                                 91     Precious, with Abdul in her arms, is singing along with the     Choir, happier than ever. Tom Cruise joins in clapping, the     stray dog that licked Precious in the beginning at his side.92   EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY                                          92     Precious sits on the steps of a hospital. Snow still falling.     She looks confused.93   INT. HOSPITAL -DAY                                           93     Precious steps out of an elevator wet from the snow and still     splattered with dirt. She approaches a desk with urgency.                         PRECIOUS               I need to see Nurse John. Where               Nurse John at?                         NURSE               He's on break. He'll be back soon.               Have a seat.     Precious sits on one of a row of chairs by the wall. She     tries to settle Abdul as he starts to CRY.     The skinny Nurse's legs approach and stop in front of     Precious.                         NURSE               Hey...You don't remember me do you?                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               66.93   CONTINUED:                                                93     Precious looks up to find A SOUR-LOOKING WOMAN glaring down     at her.                         NURSE               I delivered your last one.     Precious pauses as if searching for a response to satisfy     this woman.     Precious looks away. The nurse doesn't leave.                          NURSE               You know I'm sorry to see you back               here.                   (beat)               I remembered hoping that you would               have learned from your mistakes.                         PRECIOUS               You don't know me bitch. Get lost               'fore I kick your ass.     The nurse finally starts away.                         PRECIOUS               Bitch?     The nurse turns around.                         PRECIOUS               I ain't make no mistake unless it               was being born.     DING! The elevator doors open.     John steps off between Precious and the nurse.     Precious starts to rise and John motions for her to stay     seated. He sits beside her.                         JOHN               What happened?                         PRECIOUS               My Mama kick my ass again. I ain'               giving Abdul away. And I ain' gonna               stop school ...I just...ain't.     John looks concerned.     Precious speaks with great resolve as if forcing herself to     believe her words.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                   67.93   CONTINUED: (2)                                                93                            PRECIOUS                 I'm gonna get Little Mongo back                 too.                      (sighs)                 I don't hardly even know what she                 look like now. Don't matter tho.                 That don't matter.     John looks on heavy-hearted.94   EXT. HOSPITAL - DUSK                                             94     Precious   is dressed in a hospital gown and draped in a wool     blanket.   It is still snowing. John holds an umbrella over     Precious   and a bag in one hand as he escorts her out onto the     driveway   and into a large gray van.     John places the bag in the van, hugs Precious, closes the     door and then waves as the van pulls away.     Precious turns to watch him recede into the snow through the     back window.                           PRECIOUS (V.O.)                 Nurse John say lots of people get                 out of hospital wif no place to go.                 His eyes look worried tho ...Wonder                 what next? Scared now.95   INT. VAN - NIGHT                                                 95     Precious rides in darkness cradling Abdul. She looks up     frightened, taking in the others sitting around her. Shes     hold Abdul closer. The dark swallows her whole.                                                       DISSOLVE TO:96   INT. ARMORY - NIGHT                                              96     Bare light bulbs hang from the ceiling.     Precious lays on a bed breast feeding Abdul and staring up at     the ceiling while covered in a blanket.     We sail away to find they are surrounded by scores of     rudimentary beds, many of which are filled with other women     of varying ages.                                                           (CONTINUED)                                                               68.96   CONTINUED:                                                96     A BUG LADY lies next to her with unkempt hair and sores on     her skin.                         BUG LADY                   (murmuring)               ...Put your bags in bed with you.               Put your bags in the bed with you.               Put 'em in. Tuck 'em in bed with               you...     The skinny woman on the other side sits up and grabs herself     feverishly as if there were bugs allover her.     AN ENORMOUS AND FEROCIOUS-LOOKING WOMAN IN HER FORTIES steps     up, snatches the blanket off of Precious and Abdul and walks     off.                         BUG LADY               Give the chile back her blanket!                         FEROCIOUS WOMAN               Fuck you. I ain' giving back shit.     The woman walks away.     Physically and emotionally spent, Precious sighs and then     lifts her bed's top sheet, beneath which is a plastic-covered     mattress.     She then wraps the sheet around Abdul and herself and hunkers     down.     Precious rocks Abdul gently as her eyes wander around the     cavernous armory.                           PRECIOUS                     (humming)               AB    C D E F G H I J K L M N 0 P, Q               RS    T U V, W X Y Z.                     (singing softly)               Now   I know my ABC's, tell me what               you   think of me.     Precious kisses Abdul on the head.                         PRECIOUS (V.O.)               Miz Rain say I was moving through               the vowel 'n consonant sounds               faster than even Rhonda Johnson               was. Maybe could've even catched up               to Jermaine. Maybe ...                                                      FADE OUT.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                              69.96   CONTINUED: (2)                                           96                                                       FADE IN97   OMITTED                                                      9798   INT. ARMORY - LATER                                          98     Precious sleeps soundly.     Something nudges her slightly.     When she finally opens her eyes ...     Abdul is gone! So is her bag.     Precious springs up in a panic turning in every direction.                         PRECIOUS               Where my baby?! Where my baby at?!     The Bug Lady casually points to the exit.     The large ferocious woman heads for the exit with Abdul in     one arm and Precious' bag in the other. She looks down at     Abdul making "baby" faces and sounds.     Precious dashes after her but winces in pain grabbing her     pelvic area along the way.     The Bug Lady follows Precious as a speed walker might.     Precious snatches Abdul and promptly knees the ferocious     woman hard in the gut.     The ferocious woman MOANS as she falls to the ground.     Precious continues kicking and stomping her without abandon.     The bug girl observes stoically. Abdul WAILS.     As she trounces the woman, Precious' eyes fill with a rage we     haven't yet seen.     Finally, two other women pull Precious away while she still     kicks at the woman.     The ferocious woman, now bloodied, falls over on her back     with her eyes closed and her mouth hanging open.99   EXT. HARLEM - DAY                                            99     A bright morning skyline stretches over the Hotel Theresa.                                                                    70.A99   INT. ELEVATOR - HOTEL THERESA - DAY                         A99      Ms. Rain, at work a little earlier than usual this morning,      looks great, and ready for another day.B99   EXT. LOBBY EACH ONE TEACH ONE - DAY                         B99      Ms. Rain enters the lobby. The window of the entry door has      been smashed. She opens the door with a look of trepidation.100   INT. MS. RAIN'S CLASSROOM - DAY                             100      Ms. Rain steps into her classroom carrying two bags. She      removes her sunglasses.      The sight before her stops her in her tracks. She drops her      bags immediately.      It is Precious, sleeping on the floor with Abdul in her arms.      Her hand is cut and bleeding pretty bad.      Ms. Rain looks incensed.101   INT. SMALL OFFICE - LATER - DAY                             101      Precious sits rocking Abdul with a bandaged hand.      Ms. Rain, still fuming, sits on the other side of the office      dialing a phone number from a list on the wall.                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                I can tell by Miz Rain's face that                I ain' gonna be homeless no more.                Only I ain' so sure where I'm gon                end up tho.                          MS. RAIN                    (sternly)                Yes I'll hold.                    (grumbling while on hold)                Safety net huh? What damn safety                net?! A newborn child! A NEW BORN!                In this fucking day and...                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                Thas the one time I heard Miz Rain                curse.                          MS. RAIN                Excuse my language Precious.      Precious nods.                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                                70A.101   CONTINUED:                                               101                             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                   I feels really sorry for her. She                   just a ABC teacher, not no social                   worker. But she all I could think                   of.      Rhonda, Jermaine and Consuelo appear in the doorway.                             RHONDA                   Hi Precious!                             JERMAINE                   What happened?                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                 71.101   CONTINUED: (2)                                           101      They start for Abdul immediately.      Ms. Rain stops them just as quickly.                          MS. RAIN                Good morning girls. Tell the others                to start writing when they come in.                Whichever one of you is older is in                charge until I get back. And                Consuelo, I know that is not you.                So here is $20.00.      Ms. Rain digs into her purse to find the money. She hands it      to Consuelo.                          MS. RAIN                Go get something for Precious to                wear. Quick! And bring me back my                change.      The girls nod and leave.102   INT. DOORWAY BETWEEN MS. RAINS OFFICE AND CLASSROOM - DAY 102      Rhonda and Jermaine head off down the hall.                          RHONDA                How old you is?                          JERMAINE                Same age as you.                          RHONDA                When your birthday?                          JERMAINE                When yours?                          RHONDA                I asked you first.                          JERMAINE                So ...103   INT. SMALL OFFICE - DAY                                  103      Ms. Rain still waits on hold until ...                          MS. RAIN                Well why didn't you tell me that                before!!! I'm sitting here half the-                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                71A.103   CONTINUED:                                               103      Ms. Rain slams the phone down, shakes her head, finds another      number on the wall and then dials again while speaking to      Precious.                          MS. RAIN                Before this day is up, you will                have a place to live Precious.      Ms. Rain suspends her frustration with a brief smile as she      waits for the other end of the line to pick up.                                                                 72.104   INT. CLASSROOM - DAY                                     104      Jo Ann saunters in.      The other girls are writing already.      Rhonda is at the head of the class displaying unusually good      posture.                          RHONDA                    (looking at her watch)                Jo Ann, you late.                          JO ANN                You ain't the teacher.                          RHONDA                I am today. Miz Rain busy wif                Precious.                           JO ANN                    (thrilled)                Alright!!!                    (concerned)                How Precious?105   INT. SMALL OFFICE - DAY                                  105      Ms. Rain hangs up the phone.      She looks tired.                          PRECIOUS                They have ...something. It's an                immediate opening and it's in                Queens.      Precious looks concerned.                             PRECIOUS                Queens?                          MS. RAIN                Yeah. Queens ...What do you think?                           PRECIOUS                    (beat)                I don't really know Queens.                          MS. RAIN                Me either. You should stay in                Harlem...long as we can anyway.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                 73.105   CONTINUED:                                               105      Ms. Rain takes an organizer from her bag, looks for another      number and picks up the phone.                          MS. RAIN                I have this West Indian friend whose                boyfriend is a council member.                    (with uncertainty)                We'll see what they can do...106   INT. HALLWAY - DAY                                       106      Precious exits the girls bathroom carrying Abdul. She sports      a new sweat suit.      She pauses before entering Each One Teach One Reception Area      and observes Ms. Rain speaking on the phone for a moment.      Suzanne, the school's administrator stands by.                          MS. RAIN                ...C-L-A-I-R-E-E ...                          WOMAN'S VOICE                Hey Precious.      Precious jumps and turns around to find Cornrows passing by.                          PRECIOUS                Hi Miss Lisa.                          CORNROWS                    (still moving)                How you been?                          PRECIOUS                Good. How you been?                          CORNROWS                I don't know... I went to see that                movie Barfly last night... That piece                of shit was depressin...Cute kid.                           PRECIOUS                Thanks.      Ms. Rain still on the phone.                          MS. RAIN                I have the information on my desk.                Can you hold one second?      Ms rain places the call on hold.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                 73A.106   CONTINUED:                                                106                               MS. RAIN                       (to   Suzanne)                   I think   I may be onto something.                       (to   Precious)                   Come on   Precious.      Precious and Ms. Rain walk back to her classroom.107   INT. CLASSROOM - DAY                                      107      Ms. Rain and Precious enter the classroom as the girls write      studiously. Rhonda supervises in a staid manner. Clearly she      is enjoying her new appointment.                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                                 74.107   CONTINUED:                                               107                             RITA                   How do you spell "Aquarius"?                             JO ANN                   What you want to spell that for?                             JERMAINE                   A-Q-U-A-R-I-U-S.                             RITA                   Is that right?                             JERMAINE                   Of course it's right. I'm one of                   `em.                             CONSUELO                   I wonder can you spell "boy" then.                             JERMAINE                   I wonder can you spell "slut" then.                             CONSUELO                   Maybe, but I bet Miss Lisa can.108   INT. MS. RAINS OFFICE - DAY                              108      Ms. Rain picks up the line holding.                             MS. RAIN                   Yes Brenda. Thank you.      Ms. Rain hangs up the phone, turns to Precious and exhales.                             MS. RAIN                   They can take you. Tomorrow...at a                   place here in Harlem.      Precious looks relieved.                              MS. RAIN                   You just need somewhere to stay                   tonight.                       (beat)                   You don't snore do you?      Precious smiles.                                                                    75.109   INT. MS. RAIN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT                           109      Precious sits at a small kitchen table in a modest but cozy      and craftily-decorated apartment. Fresh flowers adorne her      table.      She breast feeds Abdul and drinks from a tall glass of grape      juice. Ms. Rain clears the table of plates and take-out      containers.      WHITNEY HOUSTON IS PLAYING LOUD. KATHERINE, A SEXY BLACK      WOMAN who it seems has just awoken, descends the stairs.      She's not in a good mood.                          KATHERINE                Honey, how many times did I tell                you about the music?      She stops in mid sentence when she sees precious. Her mood      changes.                          KATHERINE                    (warmly)                You must be Precious. Hi.      Katherine bends down to admire Abdul.                           MS. RAIN                Precious, this is my wife                Katherine.      Precious looks confused. She spits her drink out. A lot of      which lands on Abdul.      She wipes Abdul.                           PRECIOUS                Huh?                           MS. RAIN                I said that this is my wife                Katherine.      Precious' mouth is agape.                           PRECIOUS                ...Oh...                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                     76.109   CONTINUED:                                                   109                             KATHERINE                       (smiling at Abdul)                   What's his name? He's adorable.                             PRECIOUS                   This Abdul.                             KATHERINE                   He looks just like you.                              PRECIOUS                   Thanks.                       (beat)                   Y'all really married?                             MS. RAIN                   Yes Precious. Very much.      Precious still looks confused.                                                   CUT TO:110   INT. MS. RAIN'S APARTMENT                                    110      The ladies lounge around the living room. Ms. Rain and      Katherine hold glasses of wine. Precious still looks as if      she's trying to keep up.                             KATHERINE                   ...Ask yourself. Just ask yourself;                   if Ronald McDonald were running the                   show and the price of hamburgers                   skyrocketed, wouldn't you be                   suspicious?                             MS. RAIN                   I just think you should finish the                   book.                             KATHERINE                   Who's gonna read it?                             MS. RAIN                   Nobody if you don't write it.                   Precious writes everyday. You                   should try it.                             KATHERINE                   What do you write about Precious?                             PRECIOUS                   I don't know. Stuff in my life.                   Abdul.                                                             (CONTINUED)                                                                    77.110   CONTINUED:                                                  110                       (beat)                   How come y'all don't like McDonalds?                             MS. RAIN                   Katherine was just drawing a                   comparison so that her point could                   be more easily understood...             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                        MS. RAIN      Together, these homo ladies        It's called an analogy. For      talk like TV channels I don't      example, my uncle Clayton      watch. I'm glad Abdul here to      used to smoke like a chimney      listen in on 'em tho cause I       and drink like a fish before      know they smart.                   he got saved.      An Etta James tune begins ...                                                 CUT TO:      Ms. Rain and Katherine, high from the wine, spin each other      lazily in a playful dance.      Precious sits watching carefully. She lifts and smells the      gardenias from the table.      Precious starts to pour a bottle of wine into her glass.                             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                   Mama say homos is bad peoples ...      A hand intercepts the bottle. It is Ms. Rain's. She then      pours it into her own glass and takes the bottle with her as      she returns to Katherine.                             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                   ...But homos not who rape me, homos                   not who let me sit up in school 16                   years and learn nuffin and homos not                   sell crack to peoples in Harlem. I                   wonder what Oprah have to say about                   that?      Ms. Rain looks over to Precious.                             MS. RAIN                   You okay Precious?      Precious nods.                             PRECIOUS                   Y' all watch Oprah?      Ms. Rain gives her a loving smile.                                                           (CONTINUED)                                                              77A.110   CONTINUED: (2)                                         110                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                Miz Rain the one who put the chalk                in my hand, make me queen of ABC's.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                      78.110    CONTINUED: (3)                                              110       Precious smiles back with gratitude and great affection.111    EXT. MS. RAIN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT                           111       Ms. Rain and Katherine continue dancing in the window as       Precious observes.       The evening cityscape sparkles around them.A111   INT. ADVANCEMENT HOUSE: PRECIOUS' ROOM - DAY/NIGHT         A111       MONTAGE: WINTER INTO SPRING AS PRECIOUS AND ABDUL SETTLE INTO       THEIR NEW HOME.112    INT. HOTEL THERESA CLASSROOM - DAY                          112       Streamers hang from the walls. Various handwritten versions       of "Congratulations Precious", obviously written by the       girls, stretch across the blackboard in uneven-sized letters.       Precious stands beside Ms. Rain holding a small trophy and a       check. The other girls flank them standing very straight. All       wear big grins.       FLASHPWOOWF!       Nurse John, without his uniform, has just taken a picture of       everyone.       The girls go straight for the cookies and punch waiting atop       an orange tablecloth on Ms. Rain's desk. They begin a Soul       Train Line and dance around the desk as Nurse John approaches       Ms. Rain to converse.                           PRECIOUS (V.O.)                 After I settle in halfway house, I                 work my hardest to memorize letter                 sounds, write in journal and read                 smaller and fatter books. Then I                 find out Mayor's office give me                 Literacy Award and check for                 progress. Everybody at the party,                 Nurse John, Cornrows and the staff                 stop in too, but they need to get                 back to they desks before too long.                 Whole operation can't stop just                 cause Miss Precious get a trophy.                 Even Ms. Katherine shows.       John discreetly beckons Precious over to the side as she       blows into a noisemaker. Both she and John dance in high       spirits.                                                            (CONTINUED)                                                                78A.112   CONTINUED:                                               112      John hands Precious a giftwrapped present. She shakes it and      then opens it.      It is a leather bound journal with blank pages. Precious      flips through it.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                 79.112   CONTINUED: (2)                                           112                          PRECIOUS                Thanks Nurse John.      They exchange a familiar, moderately complicated handshake.                          JOHN                You're welcome. What are you gonna                do with your award money?                          PRECIOUS                I owe the chicken place for a                bucket that I swiped last year.                Thas first. After that, get some                thangs for Abdul.                          JOHN                You know Blu?                             PRECIOUS                Miz Rain?                             JOHN                Yeah.      Precious holds up two intertwined fingers.                             PRECIOUS                Like dis.                          JOHN                Well she has, has she uh...got a                man?                             PRECIOUS                ...No.                          JOHN                Well I was hoping you could put in                the good word.                          PRECIOUS                The good word...wif Ms. Rain?                          JOHN                Yeah, that's what I'm trying to                say.                          PRECIOUS                You ain't her type.      John looks confused.                                                                  80.113   INT. HOTEL THERESA CORRIDOR - DAY                           113      Precious leads John down the hall by the hand.      She stops in front of Cornrows' desk as Cornrows converses on      the phone while picking her nails.      The previously illegible sign on her desk now reads "EACH ONE      TEACH ONE".                          CORNROWS                    (on the phone noticing                     Precious)                Hold on girl.      Cornrows lowers the phone and waits for Precious to speak.                          PRECIOUS                Miss Lisa this Nurse John. Nurse                John this Miss Lisa.      Cornrows looks up at John.      Precious heads back to the party. Nurse John and Cornrows      watch her curiously.                          PRECIOUS (O.S.)                Y'all work it out.      Nurse John and Cornrows turn to each other.                          JOHN                Hi ...How are you?      Cornrows looks him up and down then hangs up the phone      without looking.                          CORNROWS                I get off at 4.114   INT. CLASSROOM - DAY                                        114      The room is empty except for Ms. Rain standing on a chair      taking streamers down.      Precious appears in the doorway and studies Ms. Rain a moment      as if seeing her for the first time.      Ms. Rain steps down from her chair looking tired.      Precious enters the room.                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                                   81.114   CONTINUED:                                                 114                                PRECIOUS                   Miz Rain?                             MS. RAIN                   Precious, I thought you went home.                             PRECIOUS                   Not yet. I forgot to say thank you                   for my party.                             MS. RAIN                   You're welcome. It was my pleasure.      Precious just watches her.                             MS. RAIN                   Was there something else?                                PRECIOUS                   I ...No...                              MS. RAIN                       (beat)                   Are you sure?                             PRECIOUS                   Well, I was thinking...                                MS. RAIN                   Yes?                             PRECIOUS                   You talk to us girls in the class                   when we be working out problems and                   thangs and stuff, right?      Ms. Rain speaks to Precious while picking up around the room.                                MS. RAIN                   Mm hm...                             PRECIOUS                   Well, who do you talk to?      Caught off guard, Ms. Rain looks at Precious curiously.                             PRECIOUS                       (quickly)                   Or you probably don't have no                   problems so...                             MS. RAIN                   Everybody has those Precious.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                    82.114   CONTINUED: (2)                                              114                          PRECIOUS                Ms. Rain, some folks just got it                made in the shade.                          MS. RAIN                It only looks that way. Yes, I                talk to people all the time for                support.                          PRECIOUS                Oh, okay...I didn't have nobody to                really speak wif for a long time. I                know how that be sometimes so thas                why I asked cause almost evrybody                need a little help once in a ...      Ms. Rain abruptly stops what she's doing. Precious looks      alarmed.                          MS. RAIN                What on earth are you talking                about?                          PRECIOUS                    (confused)                Well ...only that -well, evrybody                need a little help once in a ...                             MS. RAIN                What?!                          PRECIOUS                    (scared)                I jus ...                          MS. RAIN                You just what?!                          PRECIOUS                    (terrified)                I just thought that if you might                need some ...                             MS. RAIN                Precious?!                          PRECIOUS                    (trembling)                ...Yes.                          MS. RAIN                You've helped me already.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                    83.114   CONTINUED: (3)                                              114      Precious looks both confused and relieved. Ms. Rain sits      while motioning for Precious to do the same.                             PRECIOUS                       (sitting)                   Me? I never...      Precious stops as Ms. Rain looks away as if gathering her      thoughts.      Finally...                             MS. RAIN                   Last night I had a conversation                   with my mother, and that never                   happens cause our relationship                   is.... complicated. We don't speak,                   and when we do, it always ends in a                   fight about my filthy misguided                   existence. Most times I feel                   terrible for days afterwards                   wondering whether all the hateful                   things she said are true. Those                   days I just feel like...like...                             PRECIOUS                   Nuffin?                              MS. RAIN                   ...Yeah. I didn't feel so bad this                   time though.                       (beat)                   Cause this time I thought about how                   strong you've had to be and then I                   decided that I had nothing to be                   ashamed of and that my mother was                   wrong about me, my dad and 5 or 6                   hundred other things. You ask if                   you can help me? Baby, you already                   have.                             PRECIOUS                   ...For real?                             MS. RAIN                   That's the for real, hope to die if                   I'm lying truth. Now shouldn't you                   be out the door?                             PRECIOUS                   I jus help you finish up first. I                   got some time.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                    84.114   CONTINUED: (4)                                              114                          MS. RAIN                    (standing)                Suit yourself.      Ms. Rain motions to the other end of a long folding table.      Precious takes hold of it and they carry it across the room      together.      As we watch from a distance...                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                Some folks got a light around them                that shine for other peoples. I                think maybe some of them was in a                long tunnel before. And in that                tunnel, maybe the only light they                had was one that was inside of them                and then -even long after they                escaped that tunnel, they still be                shining for everybody else. Thas                Miz Rain to me.115   INT. ADVANCEMENT HOUSE: PRECIOUS' ROOM - DAY                115      Precious' trophy sits on the windowsill beneath a thin a      layer of dust.      A stack of books sit on her bureau.      Colorful letters and numbers hang on the wall. Beneath them      hang postcards featuring Zora Neal Hurston, Alice Walker,      Maya Angelou and Oprah Winfrey.      Abdul sleeps in his crib.      Precious makes her bed.                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                In a book I read, a lady escaped to                a 1/2 way house. And the lady, she                asked the people there just what a                1/2 way house was. They tole her,                you is 1/2 way between the life you                had and the life you want to have                ...Thas nice. That also mean I                can't stay here forever and that                there is still a ways to go. It be                something to get apartment of my                own.                                                                   85.116    EXT. ADVANCEMENT HOUSE PARK GROUNDS - DAY                116       A larger Abdul steps towards us with Precious behind him       wearing a cotton dress that looks vaguely like one Ms. Rain       might wear.                           PRECIOUS (V.O.)                 Abdul nine months old and walking!                 Smart too. I been reading to him                 since the day he was born almost.                 Barely talkin' and he countin' .R117   INT. ADVANCEMENT HOUSE/POOL - DAY                       R117            Precious plays with Abdul in the shallow end of the community           swimming pool.                                                                              PRECIOUS (V.O.)                 Mama, Daddy, I.S. III and 444 Lenox                 Avenue already seem like a past                 life or some old bad dream. I wish                 I could have started out from here                 but still wif Abdul and poor Mongo.118    INT. ADVANCEMENT HOUSE: PRECIOUS' ROOM - DAY             118       Precious looks out of her open window with a glass of water       in her hand.       KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.                              PRECIOUS                 Come in...       Precious closes her window.       The door to her room opens. CHELSEA, A 30-S0METHING SOCIAL       WORKER steps in looking slightly uncomfortable.                           CHELSEA                 Precious ...you have a visitor.                           PRECIOUS                 Thas Rhonda. She always early.       Precious rises.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                 86.118   CONTINUED:                                               118                             PRECIOUS                   I should've said 4 'cause then that                   way...                             CHELSEA                   It's not Rhonda.      Precious stops.119   INT. ADVANCEMENT HOUSE HALLWAY - DAY                        119      Precious descends a staircase to a long corridor clearly deep      in thought every step of the way.      She stops momentarily to straighten her clothes.      When she finally reaches a day room at the other end of the      hall, she looks through its window for a moment.      Mary sits inside crushing and dwarfing the couch upon which      she waits. She looks frail. Her wig is half combed. She's      nervous. Her sweaty hands crumple her cigarette package.      Precious covers her nose a moment, lowers her hand, readies      herself and then steps into the room.120   INT. DAY ROOM - DAY                                         120      Once inside the room, and for the first time, Precious' soft      face looks like stone.      Mary looks up with a brief but quickly fading smile that is      pathetic, apologetic and grim.      Precious waits.      The air is thick without a single word between them.      Finally, Mary looks down.                             MARY                   Your daddy dead.      Precious looks surprised for a moment but still composed.      Mary waits for a response.                             PRECIOUS                   ...Is that all?                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                 87.120   CONTINUED:                                               120                               MARY                   No.                       (beat)                   Carl ...Carl had that AIDS virus.      A previously unseen woman sitting across the room looks up      from behind a newspaper.      Precious stays stone-faced until she finally GASPS as the      aftershock of the revelation hits her squarely.      The man across the room collects his hat and coat and leaves.      INSERT -GLIMPSES OF CARL REMOVING HIS BELT, CARL THRUSTING ON      TOP OF PRECIOUS, PRECIOUS FOLLOWING ABDUL TAKING EARLY STEPS.      We return to the dayroom as Precious opens her eyes and lifts      them to Mary slowly.                             PRECIOUS                   ... You got it?                               MARY                   Got what?                             PRECIOUS                   The AIDS virus.                               MARY                   No.                             PRECIOUS                   How you know?                             MARY                   We never did, you know...                             PRECIOUS                   No, I don't know Mama.                             MARY                   We never did what you got to do to                   get it.                             PRECIOUS                   He never been wif you?                             MARY                   Yeah...but not like faggots, in                   the ass and all, so I know.      Precious is speechless. It looks as if some of her anger has      suddenly been displaced with pity.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                    88.120   CONTINUED: (2)                                              120      Precious sighs.                          PRECIOUS                You better go to the doctor Ma.      Mary looks up delicately.                          MARY                You welcome back home.                           PRECIOUS                I'm home here.                    (beat)                I better go see 'bout Abdul and do                homework.      Mary doesn't move as Precious leaves.      Mary sits staring at the floor at the far side of the room.121   INT. ADVANCEMENT HOUSE: PRECIOUS' ROOM - DAY                121      Precious enters, takes Abdul from his crib, holds him closely      and sits on her bed.      Moments later, a TAPPING on the window draws her attention.      Precious rises to find Tom Cruise hurling pebbles up at her      window in a leather jacket.      A MOTORCYCLE sits a few feet away from him.      He beckons her.      She stares down at him with solemn eyes.      Tom finally mounts his bike and vanishes into thin air while      revving its engine.      Mary then crosses the frame where he was.      Precious turns to Abdul and kisses him on the head.                                                  DISSOLVE TO:122   EXT. STREET - DAY                                           122      Precious walks over the crest of a hill deep in thought with      her hands in her pockets. The constant HUM of the city seems      lower than usual as Precious' FOOTSTEPS make the most      prominent sound.                                                           (CONTINUED)                                                                   89.122   CONTINUED:                                                 122      From this distant view, it appears as if she is almost      walking in place.123   INT. HOTEL THERESA CLASSROOM - DAY                         123      Ms. Rain stands before the blackboard with a piece of chalk      in her hand pointing to the word "unrelenting", which is      written behind her.      Consuelo is missing and TWO NEW GIRLS, AISHA, INDIAN AND FROM      GUYANA AND BUNNY, VERY THIN WITH BAD TEETH have joined the      class.                          MS. RAIN                Rita, what do I mean when the                author describes her protagonist's                circumstances as "unrelenting"?                          RITA                I don't know Miz Rain.                          MS. RAIN                C'mon Rita, think about the                question before you just give up                like that...      Ms. Rain's voice trails off as we find Precious lost in      thought.124   INT. CLINIC - DAY                                          124      Precious waits in a small gray office.      A FEMALE COUNSELOR WITH SYMPATHETIC EYES carrying a file sits      across from her.      Her eyes say everything.      The counselor places a hand on top of Precious'.125   INT. HOTEL THERESA CLASSROOM - DAY                         125      All the girls write in their journals except for Precious,      who again looks preoccupied.      Ms. Rain watches her.                            MS. RAIN                Precious?      Precious doesn't respond.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                    90.125   CONTINUED:                                                  125                               MS. RAIN                   Precious?      The entire class looks up at Precious.      Ms. Rain waits for a response.                             MS. RAIN                   Precious, bring your journal to me.      Precious waits a moment and then shakes her head without      looking up.      Ms. Rain goes to her desk and picks up the journal without      resistance.      The words "Why me?" sit alone on the page with lines crossed      through them. Ms. Rain returns the journal to Precious' desk      still opened to the same page.                             MS. RAIN                   Precious, would you come to my                   office for a moment?      Precious doesn't respond.      The class still watches curiously.      Ms. Rain, steps back, sits on the edge of her desk and folds      her arms.                               MS. RAIN                   Preci-                             PRECIOUS                   Nurse say I am H.I.V. positive.      The air changes sharply.      Everything stops.      Precious exhales.                             PRECIOUS                   I don't have nuffin to write today                   and I don't hate no one. Not even                   my muhver. My head is all dark                   inside so I don't have nuffin to                   write today...Maybe nuffin never.      Rita rises, walks to Precious and embraces her. Tears well in      Precious' eyes.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                   91.125   CONTINUED: (2)                                             125      Still trying to stay composed, Precious wipes her face.      Ms. Rain rises, walks to Precious and rubs her back as she      looks around to the other girls who are still stunned.                          RHONDA                Your baby okay?      The class waits on pins and needles. Precious doesn't answer      at first and just looks down until ...                          PRECIOUS                Yeah. He good...Won't bress feed                him no more to be safe.                          MS. RAIN                    (to Precious)                One time in your journal you told                me that you had never really told                your story.                    (softly)                write.      Precious' eyes well up some more.      She wipes her face again.                          PRECIOUS                What for? How?! I feel like I am                drowning inside a giant river Miz                Rain. Thas what...      Precious stops herself abruptly as if being overwhelmed by a      sense of futility.                          MS. RAIN                I think telling your story will get                you over that river Precious ...      Precious erupts hurling her journal sharply across the room.      It bounces hard off the blackboard and stops abruptly on the      floor facedown.                          PRECIOUS                FUCK YOU! YOU DON'T KNOW NUFFIN                WHAT I BEEN THROUGH!!! I NEVER HAD                NO BOYFRIEND! MY DADDY SAY HE GONNA                MARRY ME BUT HOW HE DO THAT,                FUCKING ME ILLEGAL? I NEVER BEEN NO                CHILD! NOT EVEN ONE DAY!!!      The class looks shocked. Precious' wet eyes are filled with      fury.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                 92.125   CONTINUED: (3)                                           125      A moment later, Ms. Rain walks calmly across the room,      retrieves the journal and places it back on top of Precious'      desk.                          MS. RAIN                Open your notebook Precious.                          PRECIOUS                    (exasperated)                I'm tired Miz Rain!                          MS. RAIN                I know you are but you can't stop                now. You gotta fight through this.                You still have to live your life                and do the best you can with the                hand you've been dealt. If not for                yourself then for the people who                love you.      Precious HUFFS cynically.                          PRECIOUS                Nobody love me. Thas a lie.                          MS. RAIN                People do love you Precious.                          PRECIOUS                Please don't lie Miz Rain! Love?!                Me?! Love rape me, beat me, call me                animal, get me sick and make me                feel wurfless. I had enough love.                          MS. RAIN                That wasn't love. There are people                in this room who love you. Your                child loves you too. Is that clear                Precious? Now if Rita decided to                just give up? Would you let her?      Precious doesn't answer.                          MS. RAIN                Would you?!                            PRECIOUS                      (reluctantly)                No.                          MS. RAIN                And why not?!                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                  93.125   CONTINUED: (4)                                            125      Precious doesn't answer.                          MS. RAIN                Because you love her...as much as                she loves you.      Precious looks to her side and finds Rita smiling      reassuringly through her crooked teeth.                           MS. RAIN                Now the rest of the world can judge                you, cheat you, beat you, dismiss                you and abandon you all it wants                but we won't let you give up and                that's the only thing that matters.                Some people have less than that on                their side and still manage to keep                going.                    (beat)                It's up to you.      Precious thinks a long moment, wipes her face and exhales.      She doesn't move for what seems like ages.      The whole class watches her until Ms. Rain motions for them      to continue working. Finally, Precious takes hold of her pen,      opens her journal, sighs deeply and starts to write again.126   EXT. PARK - DAY                                           126      Our young ladies and Ms. Rain are seated around a picnic      table eating, laughing, talking and writing in their journals      all at the same time. Precious has found friends.      As we watch Rhonda ...                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                Some things is hard to say and                maybe not your business no way but                Rhonda's brother rape her for years                and when her muhver fine out, she                throw Rhonda out her house.      As we watch Rita smiling...                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                                 94.126   CONTINUED:                                               126                             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                   Rita's daddy kill her muhver in                   front of her eyes and Rita been out                   on the street selling herself since                   she 12.      As we watch Jermaine laughing...                             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                   Jermaine say mens beat her and then                   rape her for what she is. Muhver                   throw her out the house when she                   fine out that she different from                   other girls.      As we watch Ms. Rain.                             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                   Miz Rain still a sort of mystery,                   but a nice one like the sun.      As we watch the group from a distance...                             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                   Miz Rain right too. These girls is                   my family now. They visit me at                   hospital when I had Abdul and even                   take up a collection when Mama kick                   me out. They got love in they eyes                   and in they hearts for me, same as                   I got for them.127   INT. CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST'S OFFICE - DAY                   127      Ms. Weiss speaks from behind her desk as Precious sits on the      couch beside her backpack looking bored.                              MS. WEISS                   ...You know you can use your                   notebook between sessions                   Claireece.                             PRECIOUS                   I do.                             MS. WEISS                   I mean you can use it specifically                   for trying to recover certain early                   memories.      Precious nods mechanically.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                 95.127   CONTINUED:                                               127                             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                   Tired of this lady asking me                   questions. Miz Rain say talk anyway                   but Miz Weiss just a spy for the                   State who write reports on me                   undercover. Reports go in file.                   File say what I could get, where I                   could go and if I could get cut off                   and kicked out of Advancement                   House.                              MS. WEISS                       (beat)                   What are you thinking?                                PRECIOUS                   Nothing.                              MS. WEISS                   Oh I doubt that Claireece. It seems                   like you're always thinking about                   something.                             PRECIOUS                   I don't know. It's sort of hot in                   here I guess.                             MS. WEISS                   It is, isn't it? As a matter of                   fact, I'm going to get myself                   something to drink. Would you like                   something to drink Claireece?                             PRECIOUS                   A soda sounds nice ...please.                                MS. WEISS                   What kind?                             PRECIOUS                   I don't care.                             MS. WEISS                   Oh c'mon, you must.                                PRECIOUS                   Orange.                             MS. WEISS                   Okee Dokee.      Ms. Weiss collects some change, grins at Precious and then      steps out of the room leaving her purse open on the desk.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                   96.127   CONTINUED: (2)                                             127                          MS. WEISS                Back in a jiffy.      The moment the door closes, Precious dashes across the room      for the file cabinet behind Ms. Weiss' desk.      Precious searches the drawers in the cabinet and rifles      through the files.128   EXT. HALLWAY - DAY                                          128      Ms. Weiss inserts several pieces of change into a vending      machine and presses a button. A can of Soda CLUNKS down      through the bowels of the machine.129   OFFICE                                                      129      Pouring through the "J" files, Precious stops at Jones and      then first goes for "P". She sees nothing, sucks her teeth,      thinks a moment and then looks for "C".130   HALLWAY                                                     130      Ms. Weiss saunters back towards the office whistling softly      with 2 sodas in her hand.131   OFFICE                                                      131      Precious finally finds the file with her name on it and looks      up as FOOTSTEPS sound outside the door.      Ms. Weiss steps in.      Precious is now seated on the couch again with a corner of      her file protruding from her bookbag.      Ms. Weiss hands Precious her soda.                             PRECIOUS                Thank you.                          MS. WEISS                You know your mother's been calling                here wanting to come visit.                             PRECIOUS                Really?                          MS. WEISS                Would you like her to come to a                counseling session with you?                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                 97.131   CONTINUED:                                               131                             PRECIOUS                   I don't know. I never really                   thought about it before.                             MS. WEISS                   Well that's just one more thing to                   consider before I see you next                   week.      Ms. Weiss smiles at Precious. Precious smiles back.132   INT. ADVANCEMENT HOUSE: PRECIOUS' ROOM - DAY             132      Jermaine rocks Abdul's crib with one hand while looking at      the file with Precious as both girls sit cross-legged on      Precious' bed.      Precious reads carefully.                             PRECIOUS                   'I have just finished a session                   with Claireece Precious Jones, an                   eighteen-year-old African American                   female. According to her teachers                   at Each One Teach One where she                   attends school she is a pen-, phen-                             JERMAINE                   ... 'phenomenal'                             PRECIOUS                   ...success. Having made strides so                   tre-men-tremendous in the past                   year, she was given the mayor's                   award for outstanding achievement.                   She seems actively en...engaged in                   all aspects of the learning                   process. However, her TABE test                   scores are disappointingly low... '                   Not to Miz Rain! Not to Miz Rain!                       (continuing)                   'She scored 2.8 On her last test.'                   So what! Miz Rain-                             JERMAINE                   Get a grip and gon' read the report                   and don't get all emotional about                   what this silly hoe got to say.                   Anyway, if your shit wasn't dope                   you wouldn't be standing up here                   readin' -what, what's her name                       (looks up on the page)                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                   98.132   CONTINUED:                                                 132                   Ms. Weiss. What Ms. Weiss got to                   say.      Precious continues.                             PRECIOUS                   'She will need at least an 8.0                   Before she can enter G.E.D. Class                   and begin work toward her high                   school e-q...equivalency.'      Surprised and impressed, Jermaine double takes on Precious.                               JERMAINE                   ...Nice.                              PRECIOUS                   Thanks.                       (beat)                   'Abdul is the client's second-born                   child. He's from all outwhere...                             JERMAINE                   'outward'...                             PRECIOUS                   'Appearances, a healthy and                   welladjusted                   toddler. Precious attends to his                   needs a-s-s-i-d-u-o-s-l-y...      Precious and Jermaine look at each other. Both are at a      loss...                               PRECIOUS & JERMAINE                   Whatever.                             PRECIOUS                   ... 'and with great affection and                   ee... '                               JERMAINE                   'eagerly'                             PRECIOUS                   ... 'seeks any and all information                   on child rearing. The time and                   resources it would require for this                   young woman to get a G.E.D. or into                   college would be considerable'...      Precious stops reading abruptly and hands the file to      Jermaine. Jermaine looks at Precious oddly.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                  99.132   CONTINUED: (2)                                            132                          PRECIOUS                Finish reading this ...I know                what's coming.      Jermaine pauses and then continues reading the file as      Precious rises and paces the room.                          JERMAINE                'Although she is in school now, it                is not a job readiness program.                Nonetheless, Claireece is capable                of going to work. In January, her                son will be two years old. In                keeping with the new initiative on                welfare reform, I feel Claireece                would benefit from any of the                various workfare programs in                existence. Despite her obvious                intellectual limitations she is                quite capable of working as a home                attendant.'                          PRECIOUS                I don't want to be no motherfucking                home attendant! I wanna be...                          JERMAINE                Hush! 'My rapp-o-r-t with Precious                is minimal. Although I am not sure                with whom, she evidently has access                to counseling services provided by                Each One Teach One. She has a                history of sexual abuse and is                H.I.V. positive.'                          PRECIOUS                She say she not put that in my                file! Bitch!                          JERMAINE                That's the bitch's job, to get the                mofuckin' goods on you!                    (continuing)                'The client seems to view the                social services, AFDC, as taking                care of her forever.'      Jermaine sets the file down and looks up at Precious.                           PRECIOUS                    (beat)                That file do show one thing -that                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                100.132   CONTINUED: (3)                                           132                this hoe don't know nuffin wurf                knowing about Claireece Precious                Jones.                          PRECIOUS                I'm getting my G.E.D., a job, and a                place for me and Abdul, then I go                to college. I don't want to 'home                attend' nobody!                          JERMAINE                You better put this shit back                before you get in trouble. We talk                about it with Ms. Rain in the                morning.133   INT. ADVANCEMENT HOUSE HALLWAY - DAY                       133      Precious hurries into a room carrying Abdul. The sign on the      door says "DAYCARE".      Precious dashes out of the room alone.                          WOMAN'S (0.S.)                And don't be coming back late for                his bad ass neither.134   EXT STREET - DAY                                           134      Precious marches to school with her bookbag and red scarf.      She clearly has a lot on her mind.                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                Miz Weiss just part of the gang but                definitely not cool. And social                worker look at me like I am ugly                freak who did something to make my                own life like it is. I guess I am                trying to figure out just what has                happened to me while Miz Weiss just                hell bent on making me go wipe old                people's asses.      Precious crosses the street.                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                Got to sort dis out quick tho 'fore                Abdul's next birthday -coming up fast.135   INT. HOTEL THERESA CLASSROOM - DAY                         135      The whole class writes until Ms. Rain looks at her watch      and...                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                101.135   CONTINUED:                                               135                             MS. RAIN                   Time is up. Does anyone want to                   share?      The only hand up belongs to Precious'.                             MS. RAIN                   Okay Precious.                             PRECIOUS                   I don't really want to read all I                   wrote, I jus' wanna kinda say what                   it is I'm writing about and how it                   came about.                             AISHA                   What happened?                             PRECIOUS                   Well, to make a long story short,                   the counselor at Advancement House                   quizzing me about Mama and Daddy                   etc., etc. But it's really about                   workfare. She want to send me out                   as home attendant.                             RHONDA                   How you know?                             PRECIOUS                   Cause I stole my file from                   Advancement House and read it.      The class GASPS.                             JO ANN                   Next time get mine's too.                             PRECIOUS                   All this 'What you wanna be?' And                   'You can talk to me.' They ain' no                   motherfucking therapists on our                   side, they just flunkies for the                   'fare. I wanna work, but not for no                   motherfucking welfare check in                   Central Park -displacing brothers                   and sisters who really got jobs                   cleaning up 'cause I'm there                   working for free.      Jermaine speaks while slouched in her chair with her feet      crossed and arms folded.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                              102.135   CONTINUED: (2)                                         135                           JERMAINE                And what kinda shit is it for                someone like Precious to have quit                school before she get her G.E.D. to                work at some live-in job for some                old-ass crackers. She'll never make                a rise she get stuck in some shit                like that!                          MS. RAIN                Sit up straight Jermaine and watch                your language. Both of you. Please.      Jermaine reluctantly sits up.                          MS. RAIN                Now I see your points, but is                stealing...                          PRECIOUS                Miz Rain, If I didn't steal that                file I wouldn't know what I was                facing!                          MS. RAIN                You read the whole thing by                yourself?                          PRECIOUS                Yeah...basically.                          JO ANN                Rhonda home attend. Say old bitch                would ring a bell when she want                Rhonda in the night!                          JERMAINE                Rhonda used to have to go all the                way out to Brighton Beach where she                work for them people.                          PRECIOUS                The people had her there all day                and night - 'on call' they call it.                But you only get pay for 8 hours so                that's 8 X $6.37                    (referring to her                     notebook)                = $50.96 a day, but then you is not                really getting that much cause you                is working more than eight hours a                day. You is working 24 hours a day                and 50.96 divided by 24 is...                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                              103.135   CONTINUED: (3)                                         135                    (referring to her                     notebook)                $2.12 by my count.                          JO ANN                Rhonda say old bitch would ring a                bell - a actual bell -when she want                Rhonda in the night!                           PRECIOUS                Home attendants usually work six                days a week. I would only see Abdul                on Sundays? When would I go to                school?                    (beat)                Am I gonna hafta go be home                attendant like Rhonda was?                          MS. RAIN                No! So stop worrying about it.                We'll cross that bridge when we get                to it. Trust me -no, trust                yourself. My concern now is that if                this Ms. Weiss is someone you're                working with and can't trust, she's                out! We gotta find somebody else.                           PRECIOUS                    (beat)                Well, I just write in my notebook                till I get wif some kinda therapist                I can trust. Actually that always                help me more than talking to her.                Plus, I'm going to start going to                meetings wif Rita for insect                survivors.                          BUNNY                Incest.                          PRECIOUS                That's what I mean.                          BUNNY                Well it ain't what you been saying.                          PRECIOUS                What's the big deal?                          BUNNY                One's where your family molest you,                the other is like a roach or bugs.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                  104.135   CONTINUED: (4)                                             135                          MS. RAIN                Precious, have you ever had your                hearing tested?                          PRECIOUS                No. I never really had nothing                tested...nothing like that. Glasses                is what I really want so my eyes                don't hurt when I be reading at                night.      The sound of a RUMBLING BUS ENGINE accelerating leads us      to...136   INT. CITY BUS - DAY                                        136      Rita looks out the window of a moving 102 bus and then steps      across the aisle and sits beside Precious who stares out the      window pensively.                           PRECIOUS (V.O.)                Rita and me on our way. I look at                subway map sometimes and wonder                where I be if I go to the end of                the line. Jermaine say there be a                white boy wif a baseball bat when                you get off. Rita say it's not                true, or if it be true, it's only                part true.      The bus comes to a stop and the girls dash out the back door.137   EXT. UPPER WEST SIDE SUBWAY EXIT - DAY                     137      Precious and Rita climb up out of the subway.138   EXT. STREET - DAY                                          138      Precious and Rita walk with Precious looking around as Rita      hums quietly.139   INT. MEETING ROOM - DAY                                    139      In a simple meeting room, women of all different ages, colors      and strata sit in a large circle.      IRENE, A GORGEOUS SLENDER BLOND WITH LUSTROUS HAIR AND      SPARKLING EYES stands.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                 105.139   CONTINUED:                                                139                             IRENE                   Hello and welcome to our Tuesday                   night beginner's meeting...My name                   is Irene. I am an incest                   survivor...      Precious looks utterly amazed. Her jaw drops. From here, the      women's voices are so faint that they are barely audible as      we hear Precious' thoughts.            PRECIOUS (V.O.)                             IRENE      This girl look like a movie       It started when I was about 4      star and she in here too?!        or 5 years old with him      All kinda women in here.          fondling me. By the time I      Princess girls, big girls,        was 12, he was having      old women, young women, white     intercourse with me 3 or 4      women, lotta white women.         Times a week...      A montage of other women standing and speaking follows. As      the women talk, Precious' face fills with the wonder of      seeing the world through the window of a spacecraft headed      for re-entry.      CANDACE, SIXTIES, WHITE speaks next.             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                       CANDACE      What am I hearing?! What in       ....I didn't remember what my      h      the world?! One hour and a        father did to me for so many       alf women talk. How can this     years until after he died...      happen to so many people?      CAITLIN, 20's, WHITE speaks.             PRECIOUS (V.O.)                       CAITLIN      And these is just the ones        ...I am a proud lesbian. But      that come out to the meeting.     it's the only thing I'm proud      What about the rest? Do I         of. I was confined to a      pass them in the street and       mental institution for 14      do not know?                      years....      Finally, Precious stands.      She looks around as if seeing from the top of a mountain.      Finally she clears her throat and then ...                             PRECIOUS                   I was raped by my father and beat                   by my mother ever since I could                   remember anything at all. Raped and                   beat by both.                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                                  106.139   CONTINUED: (2)                                             139                The worst part about it...the part                even worse than them doin' it...was                how shamed I felt during the times                when my father was raping me and it                felt ...good. Anyway, I see a girl                and always think I know how easy or                bad she have it just by lookin'.                Now I wonder if everybody go                through sumthin' -sumthin' that                leave a shadow in they life.                     (exhales)                Never said alla that before...      Precious looks around the room to find herself surrounded by      understanding eyes.                          PRECIOUS                Anyway, thas all I'd like to say                for today. Thank y'all for letting                me share...      Irene nods and Precious sits. Rita squeezes her hand. Another      woman stands up to recount her story. Precious looks aglow.                          PRECIOUS (V.O.)                Everything is floating around me                now. Like geeses from the lake. I                see flying. Feel flying. Am flying.                Far up...Thank you Rita for getting                me here on time.140   INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE THE MEETING ROOM - A LITTLE LATER     140      The group slowly emerges. A table with a nice arrangement of      cookies stands next to a coffee maker and soda machine.      Irene chats with Candace over a cup of coffee. Precious and      Rita talk with TWO OTHER YOUNG WOMEN, MIRIAM, BLACK 20's LONG      PRETTY DREADLOCKS and LISA, WHITE 20's.                          PRECIOUS                ...How you get your hair like that?                          MIRIAM                Oh, you like it? I do yours one day                if you want. That's what I do - fix                people's hair and makeup.      Miriam hands Precious a card. Precious reads the card      carefully and puts it away with care.                          PRECIOUS                Thank you Miriam.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                       107.140    CONTINUED:                                                    140                              RITA                        (to Precious)                    Do you want another hot chocolate?       Precious smiles and shakes her head no. Rita gets up.       Precious watches her go as Miriam and Lisa chat.                              PRECIOUS (V.O.)                    Rita ask me do I want another hot                    chocolate. I do but I don't want to                    be greedy, even if her boyfriend do                    give her money.       Precious looks around at all of the other girls.                              PRECIOUS (V.O.)                    I'm alive inside. A bird is my heart.                    Mama and Daddy didn't win. I'm                    winning. I'm drinking hot chocolate                    on the Upper West Side with girls -                    all kind who love me. How does a                    stranger meet me and love me?       Rita returns with two cups of hot chocolate.       She gives one       to Precious.       Precious thanks Rita with her eyes.                                                             FADE OUT                                                              FADE INR141   EXT. MRS. WEISS'S WAITING AREA - DAY                         R141            Precious, wearing her new scarf and glasses, sits in the                     waiting room holding a book in her hands. Abdul plays among                  the little children in the kids area behind her. Crumpled                    wrapping paper lays beside her. The book's first page reads:         CONGRATULATIONS PRECIOUS! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU YET AGAIN.                                 LOVE, MS. RAIN       Sheila and Ruby walk in and sit down beside Precious. Ruby                   has a black eye. They sit in silence for a few moments,                      waiting for their turn.                                                                              SECRETARY                                                             (O.S.)                                                                   Sheila Hewitt, Ms. Rubenstein is                                             ready for you.                                                                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                 107A.R141   CONTINUED:                                              R141                              SHEILA                                                            (To Ruby)                                                           Go on back there!                                                                  RUBY                                                         But there are no kids there I can                                       play with.                                                                        SHEILA                                                        Do you want me to knock your other                                      eye out! Just sit there and shut                                        up then! I'm going to talk to this                                      lady before my shit gets cut off!                          Sheila heads up the stairs toward the offices. Precious                 closes her book. Its cover reads: Chrystal Stair: Selected              Works by Langston Hughes.                                                                       SECRETARY                                                        (O.S.)                                                              Clareece Precious Jones!   Mrs.                                         Weiss is ready for you.                                    Precious stands up and looks down at Ruby, sulking in her               chair. She leans down, gives her a big hug and tenderly                 fixes Ruby's hair.                                                      Precious walks off toward the stairs, but stops when she                passes a mirror hanging on the wall. Within the reflection,             she sees her true self for the first time.                                                                                (CONTINUED)                                                                108.R141   CONTINUED: (2)                                        R141                                                                                                  PRECIOUS (V.O.)                 One day Miz Rain ask us to write                 about our ideal self...I wrote that                 I would be light skinned and small                 wif wavy swing-job hair.       She heads up the stairs toward the offices.                                                 PRECIOUS (V.O.)                                                 (beat)                 Miz Rain read all that and then say                 I am beautiful like I am. I never                 believe her before but somehow,                 today, this moment -can't say why,                 I do. Just now...The inside I                 thought was so beautiful is a black                 girl too.                                                                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                                  109.R141   CONTINUED: (3)                                          R141       Precious turns around to find that Ruby has grabbed her arm.       She then reaches up and hugs Precious tightly.       Through the embrace, Precious finds herself facing the many       mirrors on display by the old man on the folding chair. In       her reflections, she sees the skinny white girl who she has       frequently imagined herself as gradually transform into the       real Precious one by one.142    EXT. STREET - DAY                                        142       We tilt down upon a stately pre-war building bathed in stark       wintry light.                           MS. WEISS (O.S.)                 Perhaps we should begin by talking                 a little bit about the abuse.143    INT. CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST'S OFFICE - DAY                   143       Mary looks worse than ever. Her hair and clothing are       disastrous. She rocks somewhat anxiously on the edge of her       seat like a desperate salesman looking to close a deal.                           MARY                 'Buse?                           MS. WEISS                 Yes Ms. Johnston. Abuse.                           MARY                 There was no drugs in ma house! No                 drugs! 'Cause Precious know damn                 well I whoop her ass bright blue if                 she bring some drugs in ma...                           MS. WEISS                 I'm referring to inappropriate acts                 of a physical and sexual nature                 involving Precious.                           MARY                 Why'nt you say dat? Dat?! Okay.                 When it first start?                           MS. WEISS                 Yes. According to Precious' files                 she has had two children by your                 boyfriend, the late Carl Kenwood                 Jones, who is also her father?                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                110.143   CONTINUED:                                               143                   You've been calling here saying you                   want to be reunited with your                   daughter and grandson and that you                   want them to come home. Well I                   think you'd better explain just                   what happened in that home.      Precious waits nervously.                             MARY                   ...Well, I, Precious b'long at home                   cause I'm a good mother. She had                   everything. I done tole her that.                   Pink 'n white baby carriage, little                   pink bootie socks, dresses;                   everything I put on her pink.                   Precious, she so smiling and                   healthy. A day don't go by I don't                   throw her wheeling in the air. I                   take her up and down 125th Street.                   Me 'n Carl loved Precious. I                   dreamed of the day we was gonna you                   know, git married, git house wif                   grass, color TV's in all the rooms.                   Precious, She born about the same                   time as Miz West son that got kilt.                   You remember him don't you                   Precious?      Precious looks at a loss.                             MARY                   He born summertime 'bout same time                   as you.                             PRECIOUS                   I was born in November...far as I                   know.                             MARY                   Yeah yeah thas right. My little                   Scorpio chile! Scorpio's crafty. I                   ain' sayin' they lie, jus' you                   cain't always trust 'em.      Precious looks embarrassed beyond embarrassment.                             MS. WEISS                   Ms. Johnston, when did the abuse                   happen, how often, where? And, when                   were you first aware of what was                   going on?                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                111.143   CONTINUED: (2)                                           143                          MARY                When? I don't know when it start.                When I remember it? She still                little. Yeah, around three maybe. I                give her a bottle. I still got milk                in my bresses but not from her but                from Carl sucking. I give him                tittie, Precious bottle. Hygiene,                you know?                           MS. WEISS                    (floored)                Excuse me?                          MARY                Huh?                          MS. WEISS                You mentioned something about                hygiene in connection with...      Ms. Weiss can't go on.                          MARY                I bottle her, tittie him. Bottle                more better for kidz. Sanitary. But                I never git dried up 'cause Carl                always on me. It's like that you                know. Chile, man -a woman got bofe.                What you gonna do? So we in bed. I                put her one side of me on pillow,                Carl on other side of me. Ms. Weiss                looks as if she's stopped                breathing. I think thas the day IT                start. So he on me. Then he reach                over to Precious! I say Carl what                you doing! He say shut your big ass                up! This good for her. I say stop                Carl stop! I want him on me! I                never wanted him to hurt her. I                didn't want him doing anything to                her. I wanted my man for myself -to                sex me up, not my chile. Me God                damn it! So you cain't blame all                that shit happen to Precious on me.                I love Carl, I loved him. He her                daddy but he was my man!      Mary can't help but to shoot a look of anger at Precious      while Ms. Weiss pauses to regain her composure...                                             LONG DISSOLVE TO:                                                                  112.144   INT. CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST'S OFFICE - DAY                      144      Precious nods reluctantly.                          MARY                Lady from Each One Preach One                say she got poems too. In fact...                           PRECIOUS                That's enough Mama. That's ...                enough.                    (beat)                You know, I didn't realize what you                was until this day -even after all                those thangs you did. Maybe I                didn't know no better or maybe I                just didn't want to but I finally                see you crystal clear for the first                time.                    (beat)                I forgive you too.      Mary smiles warmly and nods confidently to Ms. Weiss.                          PRECIOUS                ...but I'll never see you again.                Not even if you dead.      Mary's expression drops. Precious turns to Ms. Weiss as Mary      starts to spring up from her seat.                          PRECIOUS                    (without looking at her)                Stay down Mama.      Mary sits obediently. Precious turns to Ms. Weiss.                          PRECIOUS                I forgive you too. I can tell right                now that you ain't qualified for                dis kind of mess.      Precious thinks a moment and grins a grin that seems much      older.                          MS. WEISS                ...Precious? I was thinking we                might...                          PRECIOUS                I took the TABE test again. This                time it's 7.8. Last time it was                2.8.                                                           (CONTINUED)                                                                     113.144   CONTINUED:                                                    144                   According to the test, I'm reading                   around 7th or 8th grade level now.                   High school level next. College                   after that.                              MS. WEISS                   ...Why congratulations Precious.                   That's ...      Precious stands abruptly, startling both women. She takes a      step towards her mother. Mary winces. Ms. Weiss looks      concerned.                             MS. WEISS                   Precious, perhaps it's best if you                   remain seat...      Precious leans and kisses Mary tenderly on the cheek, turns      and gently touches Ms. Weiss' shoulder.      Precious takes a good look at them both, smiles and leaves      the room.                                MS. WEISS (O.S.)                   Precious?!145   INT. CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS                                    145      Ms. Weiss calls after her. Precious keeps walking.                                MS. WEISS (O.S.)                   Precious!      Precious doesn't stop.146   INT. CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS                 146      The women run to the window.      They see Precious burst out onto the street.147   EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS                                      147      Precious walks down the crowded street carrying Mongo and                  Andre. She is happy and filled with hope. Tom Cruise is there              chatting up another young girl... she pays him no mind.                                                                 DISSOLVE TO:148   DEDICATION                                                    148      ...for precious girls everywhere.
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+"HUNTER" Written by Jim Thomas and John Thomas With Revision #1 (Pink) April 17, 1986 With Revision #2 (Blue) April 28, 1986 With Revision #3 (Yellow) May 6, 1986 With Revision #4 (Green) May 20, 1986 With Revision #5 (Goldenrod) January 27, 1987 April 7, 1986 With Revision #6 (Goldenrod) January 30, 1987 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "HUNTER" FADE IN 1 EXT. OUTER SPACE 1 The infinite blackness punctuated by a billion stars. As we slowly DESCEND through the varied shades of blue of the Earth's atmosphere, we HEAR the first strains of a haunting, Central American FLUTE, joined by a swelling background of JUNGLE SOUNDS. We descend further, through a lush JUNGLE CANOPY, backlit by a setting sun. DISSOLVE TO: 2 EXT. JUNGLE COASTLINE - DAY (MAGIC HOUR) 2 Through a collage of shimmering HEAT-WAVES, a dark, OTHER-WORLDLY OBJECT drops INTO VIEW, backlit by the fiery, ORANGE-RED sphere of a setting tropical SUN, heading slowly towards us, floating, as if suspended by the rising heat of the jungle. Continuing to approach, the shimmering object resolves into a MILITARY ASSAULT HELICOPTER, its rotors strobing in the fading sunlight. Drawing closer, the SOUND of powerful TURBINES, throbbing in the heavy air, becomes dominant, overpowering. Guided by COLORED SMOKE and LANDING LIGHTS, the chopper looms hard INTO VIEW, pitching forward and settling to the ground, kicking up a maelstrom of dust and vegetation 2-A INT. COMMAND POST - DAY (MAGIC HOUR) 2-A * Where a MAN wearing a military UNIFORM watches through the large open windows the helicopter as it continues to approach. Before the skids have even touched down he SEES the first of the MEN, dressed in CIVILIAN CLOTHES but carrying full COMBAT GEAR, alight gracefully from the chopper, double-timing in close order to one side, the orders SHOUTED by one man lost in the ROAR of the chopper. The man turns away from the window, to a FIGURE, hidden * in the shadows. MAN * He's here. He turns back, lowering a BAMBOO SHADE, obscuring the * window. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 2-B EXT. HELICOPTER PAD - NIGHT 2-B * On adjoining PADS, two other HELICOPTERS are VISIBLE; in the b.g. can be SEEN several concrete and THATCHWORK BUILDINGS, a secret command post disguised as a COASTAL FISHING VILLAGE. The post in a flurry of activity, AMERICAN ADVISORS shouting directions to dozens of LATIN AMERICAN SOLDIERS who stand by to assist the landing helicopter and to load EQUIPMENT into the other choppers. Inside the chopper, one man remains, stretched out against * the bulkhead, as if asleep. He stirs, sits up, lighting * up a CIGAR. With fatigue showing in his motion, he leans * forward, descending to the ground. * A JEEP pulls to stop, the man swinging casually into the * front seat, tossing his GEAR into the rear. With a * lurch the jeep heads out towards the command post. * In the doorway TWO MEN solemnly watch as the jeep approaches. Reaching the command post the man alights from the jeep, heading towards the two men. Into the pool of light cast by the fixture above the door steps MAJOR ALAN SCHAEFER, the team leader, 38, an intelligent and intense man. He informally salutes, GENERAL H.L. PHILIPS, 55, hardened, close-cropped graying hair, his nameplate and insignia identifying him as a member of an elite commando unit in the U.S. Army. He clasps Schaefer warmly on the shoulder. PHILIPS (with affection) You're looking well, Dutch. SCHAEFER It's been a long time, General. They walk up the stairs, entering the palapa, leaving the other man on guard. 3 INT. PALAPA - DAY 3 Large, two room concrete floor, thatched walls and roof. Behind a partially drawn curtain in the kitchen, a naked lightbulb hung from the rafters illuminates a bank of compact FIELD RADIO EQUIPMENT, MAPS and AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS. Otherwise the rooms are primitive and stand out in stark contrast to this high-tech invasion. Philips and Schaefer enter the room. (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 3 CONTINUED 3 PHILIPS (growing serious) We've got a real problem here, something right up your alley. They cross to the center of the room to a folding table, covered with a large TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP of the Central American highland jungle. Philips leans over the table, circling a set of COORDINATES and a MARK on the open map. PHILIPS Eighteen hours ago I was informed that one of our choppers, transporting three presidential cabinet members from this charming little country, was shot down... (point to the circled area) ...The pilots radioed from the ground that they were all alive. Their position was fixed by the transponder beacon onboard the chopper. (points) Here. Schaefer studies the map. He looks up at Philips. SCHAEFER That's over the border, General. PHILIPS (dead serious) That's the problem. Apparently they strayed off course. (pause) We're certain they've been captured by the guerrillas. Schaefer looks up, puffing lightly on the cigar. SCHAEFER (quietly) What have you got in mind, General. (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 3 CONTINUED: (2) 3 PHILIPS We figure we've got less than twenty-four hours to catch up with them. After that, there's not much hope. We want a rescue operation mounted tonight. That doesn't give you much time. Another puff on the cigar. SCHAEFER What else it new? When do we leave? Philips looks at his watch. PHILIPS You lift off in three hours. (pause) There's one other thing. SCHAEFER What's that, General? PHILIPS Someone else will be going in with you. Schaefer stubbs out his cigar in an ashtray. SCHAEFER You know we don't work with outsiders, General. VOICE (o.s.) Who said anything about outsiders, Dutch? Schaefer turns, SEEING the outline of a figure standing in the doorway of the communications room, holding a sheaf of PAPERS. Wearing pressed fatigues, DILLON, mid-thirties, black, walks into the room. Although as rugged looking as the others, his bearing and grooming indicate he's been away from the business of soldiering for sometime. His quick intelligent eyes reveal his current profession. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 3 CONTINUED: (3) 3 DILLON Last time we danced, it was Lieutenant, Schaefer. A grin breaks out across Schaefer's face. SCHAEFER Dillon, you son of a bitch. The two men step forward and simultaneous swing from the hip as it to land a punch...but their hands SLAP together in a gesture of friendship, their forearms bulging, testing each other's strength. DILLON (warmly) How you been, Dutch? They continue the contest, Schaefer has the edge, forcing Dillon's arm slowly downward. SCHAEFER You've been pushing too many Pencils, Dillon. Had enough? DILLON (grinning) No way, old buddy. SCHAEFER You never did know when to quit. They look into each other's faces, each remembering something from the past. A moment's hesitation and they quit the contest. They laugh, Dillon slapping Schaefer on the shoulder. DILLON That piece of work you guys pulled off at the Berlin embassy last week was really something. Blew the entry points on three floors and neutralized the opposition in eight seconds flat. Beautiful. SCHAEFER Like the old days, Dillon. (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 3 CONTINUED: (4) 3 DILLON Also heard that you passed on that little job in Libya. Schaefer looks at Dillon, quietly considering him. SCHAEFER Wasn't my style. We're a rescue unit, not assassins. (smiles) This must be good. Big shot from the CIA, leaves his desk to come back to the bush. What's so important? DILLON Those cabinet members are very important to our scope of operations in this part of the world. They're about to get squeezed. We can't let that happen. I needed someone who could get the job done, quick and quiet...no screw-ups. I needed the best. The best. So, I pulled a few strings at the State Department...and here we are. SCHAEFER Go on. Dillon goes to the map. DILLON The set-up is simple, Dutch. One day job. We pick up their trail at the chopper, run 'em down, grab the hostages and bounce back across the border before anyone knows we were there. You've done it a hundred times. Nothing out of the ordinary. Schaefer considers this. (CONTINUED) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 3 CONTINUED: (5) 3 SCHAEFER And nothing we can't handle alone. Philips breaks in. PHILIPS I'm afraid those are your orders, Major. Once you reach your objective, Dillon will evaluate the situation and take charge. Schaefer looks from Philips to Dillon. He still doesn't like it. DILLON Not to worry, Dutch. I haven't lost my edge. They've got a head start on us in some real tough country, otherwise, believe me, it's a piece of cake. PHILIPS Gentlemen, we're losing time. (to Schaefer) You'd better get your men ready. (pause) Good luck, Major. 4 EXT. TWO ASSAULT HELICOPTERS - NIGHT 4 Burst over the top of a ridge. Rising up in silhouette they perform a radical left bank turn and descend rapidly into an adjoining valley, racing over the jungle at treetop level. As the helicopters perform dizzying, high-speed maneuvers through the winding canyon, the PILOT'S VOICES can be HEARD, coordinating their operations. PILOT ONE (voice over) Redbird Two, Two. Bearing south, three, five, zero, one o'ckock on the saddle ridge. Over. (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 4 CONTINUED: 4 PILOT TWO (voice over) Roger, Blue Leader. Three, five, zero, on your move. Over. The helicopters rise in perfect coordination over another ridge and bank sharply into the next valley, leveling out as they go. 5 INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT 5 Illuminated by the eerie red glow of NIGHT LIGHTS, are SEVEN MEN, dressed in jungle camouflage, soft hats and camouflage face-makeup. They wear no identity badges or insignias. The man are checking their WEAPONS, making last minute adjustments to their GEAR. The compartment reverberates with the NOISE of the THUMPING ROTORS and the ROAR of air from the open doors. BLAIN, weapons and ordinance specialist, a frightening bull of a man, a 240 pound killer, removes from his shirtpocket a think PLUG OF TOBACCO. He looks across at: MAC, a huge bear of a man, black, holding am M-60 MACHINE GUN. Blain holds out the tobacco to Mac who refuses with a gentle shake of the head, a knowing smile, he knows what's coming. Holding the plug between his teeth Blain yanks free from his shoulder scabbard a wicked, ten inch COMBAT KNIFE. Placing the razor sharp blade next to his lips he slices through the plug as if it were butter. He chews throughtfully. Seated by the open doorway is RAMIREZ, a slight, angular man, an East L.A. streetwise Chicano. Adding a final piece of camouflage TAPE to his pack HARNESS, he looks up and smiles, faking a throw and the bulleting the tape to: HAWKINS, the radioman and medic, Irish, street-tough, reading a rolled-up magazine, as if he were a rush hour commuter. He snags the tape with an instinctual snap (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 9 * 5 CONTINUED: 5 of the wrist, continuing to read for a moment before looking up, grinning at Ramirez, his boyish, eager face belying the rugged professional beneath. He turns his gaze to the man next to him: BILLY, the Kit Carson Scout, an American Indian, proud, stoic, a man of quiet strength and simplicity, carefully replacing the FIRING MECHANISM of his M-203, working its action several times. He looks up with a smile at Hawkins. HAWKINS (shouting) Hey, Billy, how many marines does it take to eat a squirrel? Billy looks back, shaking his head, uncomprehending. HAWKINS Two. One to eat it and one to watch for cars. Hawkins laughs heartily at his joke. 6 EXT. JUNGLE - NIGHT 6 Clearing another ridge, the helicopters plunge into a steep descent, turning quickly into a DEEP-WALLED CANYON, the force of the turn accentuated by the changing PITCH of the screaming turbines and the biting of rotors into the air. 7 INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT 7 The men, suspended in RESTRAINING HARNESSES from the bulkheads, lean forward, nearly upside down in response to the radical maneuver, handling the situation with ease. Blain holds out the tobacco to Ramirez, who swats at the offending object as if it were alive. RAMIREZ (shouting) Get that stinkin' thing out of my face, Blain! (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/29/86 10 7 CONTINUED: 7 Grinning, Blain proffers the plug to each man, each one refusing; they've done it a thousand times. It's an old gag but they obviously care for the man in a big way. BLAIN ...bunch of slack-jawed faggots around here... (holds up plug) ...this stuff will put hair guaranteed... (chewing) ...make you a God-damned sexual ty-ran-toe-sore-ass... just like me. This brings a chorus of HOOTS and SHOUTS from the others. The helicopter makes another radical turn. Schaefer and Dillon, seated near the cockpit, communicate through HEADSETS, also linked to the pilot. They consult a TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP by RED PENLIGHTS. DILLON (pointing to the map) Our rendezvous points and radio freqs. are indicated and fixed. AWACS contact on four hour intervals. SCHAEFER Who's our back-up on this? DILLON (grinning) No such thing, old buddy. It's a one way ticket. Once we cross that border, we're on our own. SCHAEFER This gets better by the minute.------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11 8 INT. COCKPIT - NIGHT 8 The PILOT and CO-PILOT are surrounded by an array of dimly lit GAUGES and SWITCHES. Before the Co-Pilot is a RADAR SCREEN and an INFRA-RED DISPLAY TERMINAL on which the TWO HELICOPTERS appear as HEAT SOURCES. PILOT NUMBER ONE ...roger Bird Two, Two. Reconfirm insertion at Tango, Charlie, Delta One, zero, niner on the grid at zero, two, two, mark four by zero. Over. PILOT NUMBER TWO (voice over) Two, Two, leader. Roger your insert co-ord. Over. PILOT NUMBER ONE Leader to Bird Two Two. I bear two minutes to Landing Zone. The Pilot throws a SWITCH on the panel before him 9 INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT 9 A BLUE LIGHT appears on the forward bulkhead. Schaefer is speaking over a RADIO TELEPHONE. The Co-Pilot turns and hands him a clipboard. Schaefer reads, notes his approval and hands it back. 10 EXT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT 10 Flares up into position over the jungle and hovers, as the SUPPORT HELICOPTER holds in a protective position above. 11 INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT 11 Dillon seems comfortable with the men, showing Ramirez a battered CIGARETTE LIGHTER from a famed commando unit from the past. But his ingratiating demeanor is not impressing Mac, who regards Dillon with the cold suspicion reserved for an outsider. Mac looks up at Blain, his eyes narrowing. Blain's massive jaws roll as he masticates the chew. He pauses, eyes moving downward, spotting his target. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12 11 CONTINUED: 11 He hocks a thick, vile stream of TOBACCO JUICE directly between Dillon's legs and onto the floor, a gelatinous skein lacing across the toe of one boot. Dillon looks up, his face goes cold and menacing. DILLON (icy) Man, that's a real bad habit you've got. Dillon turns back to Ramirez, ignoring Mac and Blain, who continues to stare at him. Mac looks across at Blain, wide grins breaking across their huge faces. Cradled in Blain's arms, as if it were a part of his body, is a large, CANVAS-COVERED BUNDLE. Blain looks down at his bundle, almost affectionately. The PILOT's VOICE breaks in over Schaefer's headset. PILOT NUMBER ONE (voice over) LZ comin' up in 30 seconds. Stand by the rappel lines. Looking up, Schaefer gives a hand signal to the nearest man who nods and in return,passes the signal down the line. Ramirez and Blain pick up heavy, METAL CONICAL DEVICES, attached to canvas bags filled with rope. 12 EXT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT 12 From the open doors the RAPPELLING LINES hurtle into space, CRASHING through the double canopy of the trees and to the jungle floor below. 13 INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT 13 * The blue light changes to GREEN. Schaefer nods. RAPPELLING DEVICES SNAP into place. Gloved hands grab onto rope. Combat boots move into position. DILLON (shouting to Schaefer) You don't know how much I missed this, Dutch!!! Once you get this in your blood, you never get it out!!! (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 13 13 CONTINUED: 13 SCHAEFER You never were all that smart...let's go!!! Schaefer signals. Men leap from the chopper. 14 EXT. JUNGLE - NIGHT 14 The man crash through the trees and are swallowed up by the darkness below. The helicopters depart, THUMPING their way into the night. DISSOLVE TO: 15 EXT. MOUNTAIN RIDGE - DAY (DAWN) 15 A light shower passes through the trees. The sky clears, REVEALING a lush and exotic foliage. Birds are beginning to SING but otherwise, all is SILENT. The dense growth seems impenetrable, but from a solid wall of undergrowth, a HAND appears and signals in a downward motion. As if by magic, the assault team materializes, quietly, cautiously. Schaefer makes another gesture and the team moves forward in perfect harmony in POINT-LOCK step, taking their cue from Ramirez, the pointman. Schaefer, highly focused and alert to every sound and movement, follows Ramirez, as if organically connected. 16 EXT. JUNGLE HILLSIDE - DAY 16 Descending the steep mountain slope, the team encounters an even denser growth of jungle, at times moving by instinct, as they are often visually separated. At one point, Schaefer checks his COMPASS, flashing some hand signals to Ramirez, indicating a new direction. Ramirez nods and moves on, Schaefer signaling to the rest of the men. 17 EXT. JUNGLE CLEARING - DAY 17 Blain, in a defensive position, sweeps the jungle slowly with his MP-5. He steps back and turns, checking, revealing in the b.g. the WRECKAGE OF A U.S. ARMY UH-1H HELICOPTER, hanging upside down, twenty feet above the ground, entangled in vines in the heavy capony, badly damaged, rotors bent, its tail section blown away. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/21/86 14 * 17 CONTINUED: 17 A GRAPPLING HOOK is hurled from the ground, CLATTERING into the cargo hold, hooking the edge of the airframe. 18 INT. HELICOPTER - DAY 18 Ramirez moves cautiously, searching for trip wires, using his knife to check the edges of the seats and door frames. Grimly he glances at the TWO BODIES slumped over the controls and then exits, snapping into and rappelling down the rope to the ground. He joins Schaefer standing in the f.g. They look up, watching as Dillon moves through the cockpit, searching through pockets and compartments. Schaefer turns his back to the helicopter. RAMIREZ The pilots have each got one round in the head. And whoever hit it stripped the shit out of it. Schaefer studies the clearing, eyes always moving, wary. He turns back, looking at the chopper. SCHAEFER Took 'em out with a heat seeker. RAMIREZ There's something else, Major... SCHAEFER Mmmnnn...? RAMIREZ I don't think that was any ordinary army taxi... Schaefer looks at him quizically. RAMIREZ ...looks more like a surveillance bird to me. Dillon rappells down the line and approaches. DILLON Have you picked up their trail yet? Schaefer taps Ramirez on the shoulder and he moves away. Schaefer turns to Dillon: (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/21/86 15 * SCHAEFER Billy's on it. (indicates chopper) Heat seeker. Pretty sophisticated for half-asses mountain boys. DILLON They're getting better equipped every day. Bill approaches from the b.g. BILLY Major, looks like there were ten, maybe twelve guerrillas. Looks like they took some prisoners from the chopper. (points) Then a different set of track, over there. SCHAEFER (puzzled) What do you mean? BILLY Six others, U.S. issue jungle boots. They came in from the north, then followed the guerrillas. Schaefer turns to Dillon. SCHAEFER Mean anything to you? DILLON Probably another rebel patrol. They operate in here all the time. Schaefer is obviously concerned about this. He turns to Billy. SCHAEFER Get ahead, see what you can find. (to Ramirez) Slow and easy. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 1/27/86 16 18 CONTINUED: (2) 18 SCHAEFER (Contd.) (to Dillon) We don't want any accidents. Billy takes up the trail, disappearing in to the jungle. Ramirez signals, the team moves out. 19 EXT. JUNGLE - DAY 19 As Billy reconnoiters, Ramirez looks back and gives a * sign... Schaefer nods and rappels down cliff. * As he joins Ramirez, there seem to be butterflies * everywhere -- SCHAEFER * What's he got? RAMIREZ * Same business, guerrillas hauling two guys from the chopper...followed by men with American equipment... Ramirez seems concerned by this. Schaefer signals him to * move on. Before he follows, Schaefer looks around: there's* something dodgy about this. He goes. * Over his head is a butterfly on a limb: * 20 EXT. JUNGLE - OVERHEAD - DAY 20 As the assault team passes below, a BUTTERFLY lands on what appears to be the BARK of a TREE. It fans its wings and flies on. The impression of the butterfly remains in PERFECT RELIEF, as is imprinted on the bark. The image fades, REVEALING for an instant a gridwork of TINY SCALES on the bark. The bark moves! Changing colors, like a chameleon, REVEALING for an instant the form of something alive as it flows into the leaves, once again becoming indistinguishable from the surrounding foliage. TWO EYES, faintly flowing yellow, appear in the foliage. They blink, disappearing, and then become VISIBLE again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 1/27/87 16-A 21 EXT. ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY 21 SEEN THROUGH HEAT-SEEKING VISION, studying the team's careful, silent movements at they pass by. The SOUNDS of the FOREST are also ALTERED and ENHANCED with an electric, STATICLIKE quality. The Observer scans over the men...and then focuses on Schaefer as he crouches down, signaling forward and rear with a circular motion. He refers to an OBJECT in his hand, studying it carefully. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 17 22 EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY 22 Using a MAP in lining out a course on his COMPASS. The other team members appear, silently, clustering around him. Using hand signals, Schaefer indicates a course change. 23 EXT. OBSERVER'S P.O.V. - DAY 23 Watches closely as Schaefer continues with his hand signals, instructing his team. 24 EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY 24 25 OUT 25 26 EXT. DENSE UNDERGROWTH - DAY 26 The hillside of a steep valley, dark and foreboding. Billy passes by and halts, removing his KNIFE. With his other hand he pulls down from overhead a THICK VINE, severing it. A thin stream of WATER emerges which he drinks. Suddenly he stops, letting the water drip to the ground. He quietly releases the vine and brings his M-203 shotgun to bear, listening intently. Something seems wrong. He brings his eyes upward and stares, hard into the treeline of the opposing hillside. As his eyes strain to penetrate the dense, intertwined canopy, he is engulfed by the rising SOUNDS of the JUNGLE, a cacophony of BUZZING and CLICKING, amplified in the sweltering heat of the day. Unable to locate a source to account for his anxiety, he relaxes, moving on, resuming the track. 27 BILLY (MINUTES LATER) 27 examines the ground as he moves, growing confused and puzzled by what he sees before him. He stops, scrutinizing the jungle, probing the world around him with his keen senses. HEARING a faint RUSTLING SOUND he looks up, SEEING a curtain of MOSS several feet away. He takes a cautious step forward, extending his weapon. He reaches forward with his free hand, touching the moss. Behind the curtain a slight shifting of DARK FORMS occurs. He pauses and then with a sudden movement, sweeps the moss aside... A BLACK EXPLOSION of FLUTTERING WINGS as carrion-eating BIRDS rush past Billy's body. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 18 27 CONTINUED: 27 Billy's face seizes into a mask of horror, his expression descending into a state of complete, primitive shock, his eyes staring transfixed, inches away from the leering death-grin of a HUMAN FACE, upside down, completely stripped of skin. Reeling, his body numbed by the sight before him, he stumbles backwards and stops. Vines threaded through their achilles tendons, the BODIES OF THREE MEN, skinned and gutted, hang suspended in the think, suffocating air, BUZZING with insects. Billy turns away, revulsed as Ramirez moves quietly INTO VIEW, Schaefer directly behind him. Ramirez stares at the bodies, now seen to be in the first stages of deterioration, strips of flesh torn away by the birds and other scavengers. In an almost childlike manner, he crosses himself. RAMIREZ (hoarse whisper) Holy Mother... Schaefer moves into the clearing, kneeling beside a bloody pile of CLOTHING and ENTRAILS. He examines the clothing and then rises, holding a DOG TAG on a broken chain. He reads the tag, his face growing hardened and bitter as he stares down at the tag, recognizing the name. SCHAEFER (to himself) J.S. Davis, Captain, U.S. Army... Schaefer's eyes move from the bloody dog tag to the bodies. SCHAEFER (coldly) Mac. Cut them down. Mac moves forward, withdrawing his COMBAT KNIFE. The blade flashes, cutting the vine as the first body THUDS to the ground. He bends over, picking up other DOG TAGS. Schaefer turns to Dillon. (CONTINUING)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/19/86 19 * 27 CONTINUED: (2) 27 SCHAEFER I knew this man. Green Berets, out of Fort Bragg. What the hell were they doing in here? You got any answers for this, Dillon? DILLON (stunned) Jesus...this is inhuman. (to Schaefer) Uh...I wasn't told of any operations in this area. They shouldn't have been here. SCHAEFER (angry) Well somebody sent them. Schaefer walks off. Mac steps out of the clearing, sheathing his knife with a violent gesture, passing Ramirez. RAMIREZ (seething) Must have run into the guerrillas ...Fucking animals. Mac moves alongside Blain. MAC (spits) Ain't no way for a soldier to die. (looks at Blain) Time to let 'ol 'painless' out of the bag. Grimly, Blain RIPS apart the velcro closures of the CANVAS BUNDLE slung across his shoulder, REVEALING a truly awesome weapon, a SIX-BARRELED MINI-GUN adapted for field combat. 28 EXT. BILLY - DAY 28 Kneels at the side of the original trail examining the ground. He rises, holding a spent CARTRIDGE. Schaefer approaches, kneeling beside him. SCHAEFER What happened here, Billy? Billy looks at him, puzzled. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/20/86 20 * 28 CONTINUED: 28 BILLY Strange, Major. There was a firefight. Shooting in all directions. SCHAEFER I can't believe Jim Hopper walked into an ambush. BILLY I don't believe he did, Sir. I couldn't find a single track. Just doesn't make sense. SCHAEFER What about the rest of Hopper's men? Billy shakes his head. BILLY (uncomfortably) No sign. They never left here Major. (pause) It's like they just disappeared. Schaefer ponders a moment. Then, to Billy: SCHAEFER Stick with the guerilla trail. (to team) Let's get it over with. We move. Five meter spread. No sound. Nothing. CUT TO: 28-A EXT. BLAIN - DAY 28-A Blain feeds the magazine of BELTED-SHELLS into the weapon, cocking it. He looks up at Mac, his eyes cold, his face taut with anger. BLAIN Payback time. Blain hefts the Mini-gun to his hip as Mac draws back slightly on the breech bolt of the M-60, letting it snap. They move on, Billy pausing to look at the jungle before disappearing into the foliage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/20/86 21 * 29 EXT. ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY 29 carefully watching this exchange from high in the treetop canopy. The Observer watches as Schaefer turns and leaves the clearing, cautiously moving into the jungle. 30 EXT. JUNGLE HILLSIDE - DAY 30 Mac appears suddenly, materializing out of the undergrowth, pausing cautiously, his senses alert, intense, almost nervous. He moves on, his huge body barely making a sound as he weaves through the heavy undergrowth. Dillon appears. As he moves on, he crosses over a fallen TREE. Stepping down, his foot breaks through a rotten portion, a CHUCK of the log breaking free and rolling down the hill. Dillon at once goes into a defensive position, listening. The jungle is SILENT. He stands and starts to move forward. Suddenly Mac appears within inches of Dillon's face. Mac's face is menacing, angry. (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 22 30 CONTINUED: 30 MAC (hissing; barely audible) You're ghostin' on me, mother fokaaa!...I don't care who you are back in the world... You give away our position again and I'll bleed you quiet and leave your fuckin' ass right here. (hisses; spits) Got it? Dillon's eyes are wide and fixed, staring back in cold hatred at Mac, controlling his rage...he knows the rules. Not waiting for a response, Mac turns and vanished into the jungle. Seething with anger Dillon focuses on a still moving LEAF and STEM, indicating Mac's exit point. He moves on. 31 EXT. BLAIN - DAY 31 Crouches under heavy foliage, waiting. He is joined by Mac. They glance briefly at each other, scanning in opposite directions for movement and sounds. They speak in whispers. BLAIN Say, Bull. What's goin' down? We got movement? MAC No. Shithead with his trenchcoat and dee-coda-da ring was makin' enough noise to get us all waxed. I don't like that guy. Don't like him at my back. I ain't winding up like those bastards back there. Mac, sweating heavily, wipes the moisture from his brow with his finger. Blain pats the mini-gun affectionately. BLAIN I know what you mean, Bull, but don't sweat it, me and 'ol 'painless' here are watchin' the front door. (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 23 31 CONTINUED: 31 MAC As always, bro... They do a gentle fist dap and smile warmly at each other. Two men who have seen it all, through a dozen no-win situations, and have lived to tell about it. Mac advances a few meters and signals slowly. 32 EXT. KNOLL 32 The assault team moving up the hill, barely visible in the heavy foliage, the team moves cautiously into defensive positions. Holding. A moment later they continue up the hill, crawling. On their stomachs, Schaefer and Ramirez clear the edge of the knoll, SEEING below a GUERRILLA VILLAGE, a huge, spreading PALAPA covering implacements dug into a hillside, descending to a winding stream bed below. 30 MEN, dressed in a mixture of jungle fatigues and civilian clothes, armed with AK-47 ASSAULT RIFLES move about the camp. A heavy MACHINE GUN emplacement guards the entrance to the camp. TWO MEN sit in the camouflaged emplacement. 33 SCHAEFER 33 sweeping the camp with BINOCULARS, SEES a GUARD above the camp. One of the man picks up a hand-held ROCKET LAUNCHER, placing it beside a bandolier of ROCKETS and a RADIO SET and CONSULS taken from the U.S. surveillance helicopter as if preparing to take them away. Schaefer puts down the glasses, looking at Ramirez who nods in acknowledgment. A sudden MUFFLED CRY brings Schaefer's attention to one end of the camp, where a heavily thatched DOOR covers and opening to the PALAPA. A GUARD stands at the door. The door flies open as a HOSTAGE, shirtless, hands tied behind his back, staggers through the door as if kicked from behind. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/29/86 24 33 CONTINUED 33 The man falls to the ground, feebly trying to regain his footing. Although difficult to see from Schaefer's vantage point, the man's battered face and welt-covered back indicate he has been severely tortured. Emerging from the palapa, a GUERRILLA LEADER, moustached and wearing a SIDEARM, approaches the beaten man, kicking him viciously in the stomach, rolling him to his side. Kneeling beside the man he withdraws an AUTOMATIC from his holster and cocks the hammer. Grabbing the man by the hair he jams the muzzle into the man's ear and with a violent twist, pulls the trigger. The guerrilla leader stands and strides quickly back to the palapa, still holding the pistol, closing the door behind him. 34 SCHAEFER 34 grim-faced at having witnesses the murder, lowers him glasses, a look of cold determination on his face. Quickly he and Ramirez ease down the escarpment, joining the other team members. Schaefer makes a circling motion with his thumb and the team members gather in close, huddle formation. SCHAEFER (whispering; angry) Just killed one of the * prisoners. No time for * invitations. We take them, now. 35 EXT. BLAIN AND MAC - DAY 35 Crawl silently through the underbrush. With nearly impreceptible movements, Blain slips out of the cartridge pack, ditching the Mini-gun. He withdraws his COMBAT KNIFE, placing it between his teeth. They move through the underbrush in tandem, like two bug cats, stalking. Mac freezes, the sweat pouring from his face, holds up his hand as Blain stops. (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 25 35 CONTINUED: 35 Using a BLADE OF GRASS, Mac points out a metal TRIP WIRE, following it to a hidden CLAYMORE MINE. Blain grins making a switching GESTURE. Carefully Mac detaches the LEAD WIRES. Directing the mine towards the camp, he reattaches the wires, nodding at Blain. 36 EXT. JUNGLE - OVERHEAD - ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY 36 SEEN THROUGH HEAT-SEEKING VISION, FOCUSED ON Blain and Mac, lying in the grass below, their bodies outlined in LUMONOUS AUREOLES. The Observer SEES the NETWORK of TRIP WIRES guarding the approaches to the machine gun nests. The wires GLOW as if ELECTRIFIED, standing out in hard-edged relief in contrast to the jungle foliage. He moves higher into the forest canopy. 37 EXT. BILLY - DAY 37 On Schaefer's signal rises up, pulling a SENTRY to him, covering his mouth with his hand, jerking him backwards and to the side, knocking him off balance with a sweeping motion of his left leg, killing him with his COMBAT KNIFE. 38 EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY 38 * Belly crawls silently through the tall grass just outside and above the main entrance to the camp. He stops, studying the ancient, rusted skeleton of a TRUCK parked on a level spot above the camp, its engine quietly IDLING. The truck is jacked and blocked up, one rear wheel attached to a belt-drive leading to a PUMP, drawing water from a river nearby. In the open cab of the truck a GUARD is on duty, watching the high ground above the camp. Schaefer moves out, heading for the guard. 39 EXT. MACHINE GUN EMPLACEMENT - DAY 39 While one Guerrilla attends to his equipment, the OTHER attentively watches the approaches to the camp. He is momentarily distracted by a BUZZING FLY, which he annoyingly swats at with his hand. He hears something to his side. Turning to investigate, the huge, hamhock fist of Mack smashes into his throat. Simultaneously, Blain rises up behind the other man, grabs him by the hair, pulling him down, his COMBAT KNIFE driving downward. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 26 40 EXT. TRUCK - DAY 40 * A SATCHEL CHARGE is looped over the gearshift lever, resting on the floorboard. Schaefer, lying low across the seat of the truck, turns and looks, SEEING the guard, lying in a heap in the foliage. 40-A EXT. RAMIREZ - DAY 40-A * Moves into position to the side and above the camp. He carefully checks the readiness of his SIX-SHOT GRENADE LAUNCHER, also setting his MP-5 in front of him, ready for action. 41 EXT. SCHAEFER 41 * Crouched to the side of the truck, watches the camp, SEEING below through the dense undergrowth, Ramirez, barely visible, signaling. Before him are two FRAGMENTATION GRENADES. He looks at his watch, and then up the hill to: 41-A DILLON AND HAWKINS 41-A * their weapons ready. Dillon picks up his binoculars, focusing on the machine gun emplacement, seeing a MAN, his face covered by a HAT. The head rises, REVEALING the face of Blain, who looks above the camp and slightly nods. Putting his glasses down, motions to Hawkins. DILLON (to Hawkins) Ready, kid? Hawkins grins back. Together they slip through the grass, downward towards the edge of the camp. 42- OUT 42- 43 43 44 EXT. SCHAEFER 44 * Holds his huge, COMMANDO MACHETE on a diagonal, pushing through the belt, slicing it cleanly. Turning he crawls silently to the rear of the truck, positioning himself behind the rear of the one ton truck. He squats, and with an enormous, concentrated effort, deadlifts the rear of the truck, its rusted springs and frame beginning to CREAK and GROAN slightly. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 27 44 CONTINUED: 44 With a herculean effort he lifts the truck free of its blocks and then pushes forward. He rolls aside, disappearing into the ground cover as the truck, its tireless rims digging into the earth, lops down the hill, slowly picking up speed. 45 EXT. GUERRILLA VILLAGE - DAY 45 A Guerrilla, alerted by the SOUND of the approaching truck, looks up at the hillside, SEEING the vehicle still moving down the hill at a moderate roll. He CALLS OUT and several Guerrilla leaves their posts, moving out to prepare to stop the truck. The truck rolls into the clearing picking up speed, heading towards the main palapa. The men rush forward, surrounding the truck, trying to slow it down, but the truck rolls, SMASHING through the front wall of the palapa. The men gather around truck and then look back up the hill. 46 EXT. ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY 46 * Watching as Schaefer pulls the pin and launches the GRENADE into the air, the Observer following its arc as it spirals dead-center into the camp, bouncing twice before rolling into the FUEL DUMP...which a moment later, EXPLODES into an incredible FIREBALL. The expanding FIREBALL released from the explosion is to the Observer like an erupting sun, momentarily blinding him. 47 EXT. GUERRILLA CAMP - DAY 47 The truck is BLOWN up into the air by the explosion... a moment later the satchel charge DETONATES with an ear-splitting EXPLOSION, tearing the truck apart. 48 EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY 48 Jumps to his feet, FIRING an M-203 round into the camp. 49 EXT. KNOLL - DAY 49 Schaefer races down the hillside, joined by Dillon, leaving Hawkins to cover them. Bullets burst around their feet as they run low, firing short bursts to his left and right. (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 28 49 CONTINUED: 49 He FIRES the undermounted GRENADE LAUNCHER, sending a round into a gun position in the trees. Still running he breaks open the breach, slamming in another 40mm ROUND from the cartridge pack at his waist. Blain and Mac fire the heavy machine guns, laying down a withering curtain of lead, shredding the camp, taking out five Guerrillas at once. 50 EXT. GUERRILLA CAMP - DAY 50 A MAN almost completely ON FIRE is hit by an onslaught of GUNFIRE, ripping him back into the jungle. Ramirez cuts loose a barrage from the SIX-SHOOTER... seconds later the MACHINE GUN IMPLACEMENT erupts in a series of EXPLOSIONS, blowing two Guerrillas into the air. At the HILLSIDE HUT, two Guerrillas move into position by the window, drawing down on Schaefer as he appears, racing down the hill. As they are about to open fire, Dillon appears, YELLING OUT a warning. DILLON On your nine!!! Schaefer dives, hitting the ground as Dillon OPENS FIRE taking out the Guerrillas. Schaefer rolls to his feet, spins, firing the 203 grenade launcher, completely destroying the hut. 51 EXT. ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY 51 As the Observer regains its vision an eerie, surreal experience of sight and sound unfolds: BULLETS streak through the air, leaving blood-red trails of HEAT, like laser blasts. As they impact into the Guerillas, we HEAR the enhanced SLAPPING of BULLETS, SEEING tiny blossoms of HEAT mushroom out of their bodies. We HEAR the horrific, deformed CRIES and SCREAMS of the dying men. Another searing, blinding EXPLOSION sends pieces of SHRAPNEL ripping through the air, some of them ROARING past the Observer's position, like tiny meteors. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 29 52 EXT. GUERRILLA VILLAGE 52 * at the entrance way to the main palapa, a Guerrilla stands in the doorway, giving COVER FIRE to his comrades as they fall back inside. Jumping from the roof of the adjoining palapa, Billy drops directly in front of the Guerrilla. From the side, unseen by Billy, another Guerrilla * thrusts out with a knife, Billy ducking backwards, the tip of the knife SLASHING his face. With a lightning move, Billy whips his arm up and around the Guerrilla, locking his elbow, breaking the joint. Still holding the man he FIRES, blowing the other Guerrilla off his feet with the SHOTGUN portion of his weapon. He looks at the Guerrilla out of the corner of his eye. He suddenly strikes, breaking his neck, dropping him in a heap. Billy continues on, racing down the stairs, firing the M-203. Meanwhile, Blain is crouched next to a tree, providing * cover. Behind Blain, at the edge of the camp, circling around from below, TWO GUERRILLAS appear and FIRE a grenade round which EXPLODES behind Blain, fragments ripping into the tree next to which Blain is standing, bark and dirt flying as shrapnel rips into his vest, one piece tearing into his upper shoulder. The hits have no effect on the huge man and with a savage GROWL, he spins, opening fire, raking the two attackers with the Mini-gun. Nearby, Mac charges from the jungle on a dead run, diving over a fallen tree as machine gun FIRE rakes the ground around him. Blain, spotting the sniper high in a tree, opens FIRE with the MINI-GUN, shredding the tree, sending the Guerrilla crashing down through the roof of the palapa. 53 INT. PALAPA - DAY 53 The sniper CRASHES through the roof, landing on the floor near Hawkins and Ramirez who do a quick double take before opening fire on a group of fleeing Guerrillas, taking out two, giving chase to the others. (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 30 53 CONTINUED: 53 Schaefer and Dillon appear at the top of the staircase, * Schaefer freezing as he SEES below a Guerrilla raising an AK-47, preparing to fire. Schaefer tackles Dillon, the two men hurling into the air, a moment later BULLETS ripping into the CRATES behind where they were standing. Dillon rises up, kicking over a crate, shooting the * Guerrilla who is trying to bring the gun around to fire at him. Schaefer crouches, covering the upper entrances to the * palapa, as Ramirez rushes past, joining Schaefer. From the corner of his eye, Schaefer catches a movement. With a whipping, backhanded throw, he lets fly his COMMANDO MACHETE... The machete impales the attacking Guerrilla, driving him * backwards, pinning him to a post. SCHAEFER Stick around. Schaefer and Ramirez run towards the lower levels, side by side, firing as they go. They reach a door, Schaefer taking out an ATTACKING Guerrilla. Ramirez grabs the side of the door, shoots a look to Schaefer and throws it open. With Schaefer covering him, Ramirez takes a quick peak inside and then rushes into the room. 53-A INT. ROOM - DAY 53-A At one end is a STAIRWAY, leading to an escape door. A Guerrilla, seen from the waist up, scrambles down the stairs. At the base of the stairs, a Guerrilla, holding an AK-47 on his hip, turns and starts to fire. Schaefer and Ramirez respond with full AUTO BURSTS which rip into the Guerrilla, spinning him around, knocking over a crude WOODEN TABLE, scattering a BRIEFCASE with burning PAPERS, FOOD CANS, and LIQUOR BOTTLES. As he spins he FIRES the weapon, an arcing line of SLUGS slamming into the tin roof, sending down a shower of rust and dirt. He falls to the ground. Dead. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 31 53-A CONTINUED: 53-A Ramirez charges through the DUST and thick SMOKE to cover the fallen men; Schaefer following close behind, jerking a new CLIP from his ammo belt. Suddenly, another Guerrilla erupts from behind some ammunition crates, drawing down on Ramirez with a machine pistol. SCHAEFER (shouting) Down!!! As the Guerrilla fires, Schaefer smashes the butt of his empty weapon into the Guerrilla's shoulder, knocking the gun aside, the SLUGS thudding into the wall harmlessly. He hits the Guerrilla with a vicious glancing blow to the head with the barrel of his weapon. The Guerrilla is hurled backward, crashing into the wooden crates and to the floor. Ramirez, recovering quickly, descends the stairs with catlike agility, disappearing. Schaefer crouches and spins, jamming a new clip into the rifle, scanning the palapa for any other movement. He races to the main door of the room, shouting into the palapa. He SEES Blain charging down the steps. Catching his attention he signals him on, out the back to cover Ramirez. SCHAEFER (to Hawkins) Hawk, Get Con. Op. on the hook! Position and situation, now! As Blain runs down the stairs, Hawkins already has the radio off his back, setting up the portable SATELLITE DISH ANTENNA. HAWKINS You got it, Major! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/29/86 32 53-B EXT. PALAPA - WATER AREA - DAY 53-B Ramirez, Blain and Billy race down the back stairs of the palapa, FIRING Mini-gun, automatic and grenade rounds at the escaping GUERRILLAS as they flee the area, splashing, charging across the shallow river. The guerrillas are history...in no uncertain terms. 53-C INT. PALAPA - DAY 53-C For the first time, Schaefer studies the interior of the cavernous palapa, SEEING the enormous stockpile of WEAPONS, EQUIPMENT and SUPPLIES stacked along the walls, obviously a major military stronghold hidden deep within the mountains. Mac hustles up to Schaefer, a look of urgency on his face. SCHAEFER Any sign of the hostages? MAC (nods) We found 'em both, dead. And the gear from the chopper. If they're Central American, I'm a fuckin' Chinaman. By * the looks of 'em, I'd say our * cabinet minister and his aide * are CIA. (pause) Another thing, Major, we were lucky...couple of those guys we waxed are Russians, military advisors by the look of it. Something big was about to happen here. Schaefer looks at Mac a moment, a flush of anger beginning to show. SCHAEFER Good work, Mac. Clear the area, no traces. Get the men ready to move. Schaefer goes back into the room, looking down at the unconscious guerrilla, racking a round into the chamber, reloading his weapon. He kneels, staring into the FACE of a WOMAN, ANNA, dark, late twenties. Despite her blood and dirt-smeared face, she is beautiful. (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 33 53-C CONTINUED: 53-C SCHAEFER (closes eyes) Shit... He checks her pulse and then slowly he bends to pick up her PISTOL, ejecting the clip. He stands, beginning to shuffle through the PAPERS scattered about the room. Staring at one he looks up, the pieces falling together. 54 EXT. JUNGLE - DAY 54 Ramirez, at a crouch, runs through the jungle, following the obvious signs of the Guerrilla's retreat. He emerges from the trees into an opening, leading to a sheer rock cliff, towering fifty feet above the ground. Scanning the wall, he SEES movement and quickly takes cover, as automatic FIRE rips up the ground before him. 54-A EXT. ROCK WALL - DAY 54-A Near the center of which a narrow cut, two feet wide, leads to the top of the cliff, giving access to the adjoining ridge. Two Guerrillas scramble up through the chimney, assisted by a ROPE, which with withdraw as they reach the top. Ramirez takes out one man, the other taking cover, returning fire. 54-B EXT. BASE OF ROCK WALL - DAY 54-B * Blain joins Ramirez, behind cover at the foot of the cliff. As they take cover, Ramirez notices the wound on Blain's shoulder. RAMIREZ You're hit. You're bleedin', man. Blain looks briefly at the wound. BLAIN (spits) Ain't got time to bleed. On a signal, they both clear cover and fire LONG BURSTS from their weapons up the cliff. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 34 54-B CONTINUED: 54-B The smoke is hardly cleared when they are answered by withering FIRE. They duck down as a grenade EXPLODES nearby. Ramirez quickly replaces the 40MM rounds into the SIX-SHOOTER. BLAIN Son of a bitch's dug in like a Alabama tick... (spits) ...jack us around all day. RAMIREZ Hell, dude, we don't have all day. Ramirez immediately rolls into the line of fire, BLASTING six RAPID-FIRE shots on a HIGH-ARC trajectory towards the rocks. Blain reacts. BLAIN Shit, Pancho!!! Blain dives against the protective cover of the rock wall, covering his head. Ramirez casually hops across, squatting next to Blain. They make eye-contact. RAMIREZ What's your problem, dude? Before Blain can answer, Ramirez puts his fingers into his ears and grimaces just as... The entire hillside EXPLODES, blowing the Guerrillas into the air, a torrent of vegetation and earth raining down the cliff, obscuring Blain and Ramirez. 55 INT. PALAPA ROOM - DAY 55 Schaefer is staring out the window, his weapon slack in one arm, still holding the paper. Dillon enters, obviously excited about what he has found. He sees the papers on the floor. He reads through them quickly, growing even more excited. DILLON This is beautiful! More than we ever thought. We got the bastards! (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 35 * 55 CONTINUED: 55 Schaefer turns, striding slowly to Dillon, handing him the paper he is holding. SCHAEFER I think this is the one you want. Dillon reads it. DILLON (reacting) Two days...that's all we had. In two days, three hundred of these bastards would have been equipped with all this. After they crossed the border, it would have taken a year to stop them. (looks up) We've averted a major guerrilla invasion, Dutch... Schaefer moves in close to Dillon, face to face, anger flaring in his eyes. SCHAEFER (slow; deliberate) It was all bullshit. All of it. From the start...you set us up, got us in here to do your dirty work. DILLON (angry) That's right, I set you up. You're a veteran at this, Dutch, I had to. SCHAEFER Why us? DILLON Because I told you, you're the best. I knew you could do it but I couldn't get you in here without a cover story. SCHAEFER What story did you give to Davis? (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/29/86 36 55 CONTINUED: (2) 55 DILLON We've been lookin' for this place for months. The chopper must have gotten close when they got shot down. Hopper * was sent in to get my men. He was just doing his job. When he disappeared I had to clean this up, I had to stop there bastards. We were so close, we couldn't quit. We couldn't sleep through this one. I needed you, Dutch, can't you see that? DILLON To invade a foreign country, illegally? You lied, Dillon. Stacked the odds against us. Set us up. You could have gotten us all killed. (pause; looking at him) You used to be one of us, Dillon, someone I could trust with my life... DILLON We've been through a lot together Dutch. When we were together, no * one could stop us, the hottest * Goddamned team the army ever saw. * But things changed, I woke up. We're fighting them in a dozen Goddamned countries. It's a fight we can't lose, Dutch. We're all expendable assets, can't you see that? Schaefer takes the paper from Dillon's hands. SCHAEFER That's your problem, Dillon. You always did put ambition before the lives of your men. (pause) My men are not expendable. I don't do this kind of work. (crumples up paper in fist) This is your dirty little war, not mine. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 37 * 55 CONTINUED: (3) 55 He stuffs the crumpled paper into Dillon's shirt pocket. Anna, regaining consciousness, GROANS, a heavy flow of blood running down her face from her head wound. Hawkins appears at the door. HAWKINS Major! Schaefer turns away from Dillon and steps through the doorway into the palapa as Anna moans again, MUMBLING something in Spanish. Dillon kneels, beside her. DILLON (quietly; in Spanish) Are you all right? 55-A INT. PALAPA - DAY 55-A Schaefer is talking to Hawkins who has the field radio set on a crate just outside the door. HAWKINS (urgent) Major, we stepped into some real shit here. I got a hook-up with aerial surveillance. SCHAEFER Movement? (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/29/86 38 55-A CONTINUED: 55-A HAWKINS (nods) Guerrillas swarming like flies * all over the place. Can't be more * then one, maybe two miles away. * Place is going down, Major. SCHAEFER How much time? HAWKINS Half an hour, maybe less. * Schaefer touches him on the shoulder. SCHAEFER (urgently) Tell Mac we move in five. He starts to walk away. DILLON (o.s.) She goes with us. Schaefer turns. Dillon is at the doorway, supporting the still groggy Anna. DILLON She's too valuable. She's got to know their whole network. The whole set up. We take her with us. * SCHAEFER We take her and she'll give away our position, every chance she gets. No prisoners, Dillon. Dillon grabs the handset from Hawkin's radio, shoving it at Schaefer. DILLON You're still under orders, Dutch. You want to make the call, or should I? Schaefer looks at the handset. Then at Dillon, he knows Dillon's won. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 39 55-A CONTINUED: (2) 55-A He starts to walk away but stops, turning back, pointing a finger at Dillon. SCHAEFER I'm getting my men out of this damn jungle, Dillon. She's your baggage. You fall behind, you're on your own. 56 EXT. GUERRILLA VILLAGE - DAY 56 Schaefer and Billy are kneeling on the ground near the trailhead, studying a MAP. In the b.g., the team, hidden, covers the hillside approaches to the camp, nervous and wary, weapons ready. SCHAEFER This place is too hot for a pick-up. They won't touch us until we're over the border. We can lift at LZ 49, here. (points to map) Spotter plane says we're cut off. (points to map) Except for this valley. Billy shakes his head, following the CONTOUR LINES of the rugged terrain. BILLY Looks bad, Major. It's gonna be a real bitch. (points to map) If we follow above the river and then down, here, at this canyon, we might find a way out. Schaefer turns to Ramirez, kneeling close by. SCHAEFER (decisively) Not much choice. Pancho, take the lead. Double time it. He turns and looks at Dillon, Anna as his side, her forehead bandaged, her hands bound in front of her. He turns back to the others. SCHAEFER Lock n' load, watch your ass. Blain moves out, swinging the Mini-gun in front of him as he goes.------------------------------------------------------------------------ 40 56-A EXT. OBSERVER'S P.O.V. - DAY 56-A Watching as Dillon leads ANNA onward, SEEING her bound hands. Dillon pushes her. 57 EXT. ANNA - DAY 57 Spins, hurling a string of insults to Dillon in SPANISH. ANNA (in Spanish) You touch me again, pig, and I will cut off your balls! DILLON (in Spanish) It's a long walk back, make it easy on yourself. She spits at him, turning forward with a twist of her head. Dillon picks up his back, shouldering it. As they move on, Mac calls out to him. MAC (quietly) Hey, Dillon, over here. Dillon doesn't respond. MAC (louder) Dillon, over here. Dillon turns and approaches, warily, holding the girl. DILLON Yeah, what is it, Sergeant? MAc unsheathes his knife. He gives Dillon a cold look and turns him by the shoulders. Crawling across the PACK on Dillon's back is a huge SCORPION. Mac skeweres the scorpion with the tip of his blade, holding it before the wincing Dillon. Anna smirks, nodding to the writhing, stinging insect. ANNA (in Spanish) When my people catch you, you'll wish you were him. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 41 57 CONTINUED: 57 Dillon looks at Mac. DILLON Thanks. MAC (coolly) Anytime. Mac flings the scorpion to the ground, crushing it with his boot. He looks up at Dillon, walks away. Dillon follows, pulling Anna behind him. Billy, guarding the rear, glances furtively around the clearing. He moves a step forward and stops, freezing. Slowly he turns back, his eyes riveted upon the treeline above the camp. His eyes strain, his senses registering a fear he cannot name or see. Something is out there, in the trees, waiting, watching. Billy turns and walks into the jungle, pausing one last time to look behind him before he too disappears from sight. The jungle GROWS SILENT. 58 EXT. OBSERVER'S ALTERED P.O.V. - DAY 58 LOOKING DOWN from his vantage point TO the treeline below, terraces like stepping stones, FOCUSING ON a TREE, fifty feet away. The Observer utters a LOW TRILL and springs outward into space, hurtling downward towards his landing point, the canopy of the trees approaching in a staccato rush of green. The SOUNDS of the FOREST are again altered and enhanced with an electric, STATIC-LIKE quality as the Observer descends fluidly through the trees and to the ground. He enters the camp, surveying the terrible destruction and carnage. He SEES the dead Guerrillas, the dissipating heat from their bodies leaving them pale and GHOST-LIKE, as if fading light about to extinguish. He sees their weapons, the cold hard steel of the barrels registering ICE BLUE in his vision. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 42 58-A EXT. OBSERVER'S P.O.V. OF HIS HAND - DAY 58-A As it appears, pulsing in a pale magenta heat, low to the ground, holding his weapon. He lays down the weapon, picking up the SCORPION, turning it slowly in his fingers, examining it. It looks like an exotic flower, its color fading from sight, turning to BLACK. A low SOUND is uttered, something vaguely familiar about it: A NEARLY HUMAN VOICE, a distorted imitation of Mac. HUNTER (o.s.; filtered) Dillon, over here. Again the phrase is uttered, improving, closer to Mac's inflection and accent. HUNTER (o.s.) Dillon, over here. The Hunter lowers the pitch. HUNTER (o.s.) Dillon, over here. The last effort is a chilling simulation of Mac's voice. 59 EXT. OBSERVER'S HAND - DAY 59 Drops the scorpion and picks up the weapon which changes instantly back to the Observer's skin tones. 59-A EXT. OBSERVER'S P.O.V. - DAY 59-A He turns and focuses on the area where the team left camp. He crouches and springs to the lower branches of a tree, grasping them with his clawed, three-fingered hands, pulling himself up and through the branches with astounding speed and simian-like dexterity; his spurred prehensile feet, grasping and thrusting him to a vantage point, fifty feet above the ground. As he moves on, the jungle grows suddenly QUIET, as if aware, sensing that the HUNTER is now stalking, no longer observing!!!------------------------------------------------------------------------ 43 60 EXT. JUNGLE VALLEY - DAY 60 The twilight world of a PREHISTORIC FOREST, filled with gigantic plants and towering trees, overgrown with vines and creepers. The team, with Billy at point, walk alongside a wandering STREAM BED, weirdly illuminated by SHAFTS OF LIGHT, streaming through openings in the trees, as if from spotlights, a hundred feet above. It is midday, hot and humid, the air BUZZING with the sounds of insects, the CRYING of birds and monkeys. The men are moving fast and quiet, straining to see into the dense jungle, aware of every sound, sweating, quietly slapping at biting insects. 61 EXT. GIANT HARDWOOD TREE - DAY 61 Lies across their path. As the man climb over a rotten section, Mac stops to assist Blain with his Mini-gun. MAC I've seen some badass bush before, but nothin' like this, man. (pause) Little taste 'o home? Blain nods and pauses to rest, looking around him as Mac withdraws a small silver POCKET FLASK. He takes a nip, passing the flask to Blain who also takes a sip. BLAIN I hear you bro, this is some shit. Makes Cambodia look like Kansas. Lose your way in here, man, you be in some kinda hurt. Blain hands back the flask, Mac replacing it inside his vest. They do their hand dap, looking warily behind them before they move on. 62 EXT. ANNA AND DILLON - JUNGLE - DAY 62 Have fallen behind, Dillon looking worriedly ahead at the them out distancing them. Anna is keeping her pace purposefully slow. She trips on a root falling to the ground. She lies there, motionless. He quickly reaches down to haul her to her feet. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/29/86 44 62 CONTINUED: 62 DILLON (urgently) Shit. Come on... Like an uncoiled spring, Anna turns, flinging a handful of DIRT into his face, momentarily blinding him. She lunges for his rifle with her bound hands. Suddenly the BARREL of an MP-5 is thrust into her face. Looking up she SEES Ramirez, calmly holding the weapon on her, the look in his eyes indicating he'd hove no trouble shooting her. RAMIREZ (in Spanish) Don't try it. She looks back at Dillon, wiping the dirt from his eyes. She moves on. Ramirez gives him a cold look as Dillon hurries past. RAMIREZ (coolly) You should put her on a leash, Agent Man. If you can't handle her, just say the word. Dillon moves on, ignoring Ramirez, who turns, scanning the jungle behind him before moving on. Dillon catches up with Anna, turning her sharply by the chin. DILLON (cold; in Spanish) Try that again. Please. * She looks at him contemptuously, undaunted. She will try it again. She breaks away from his grasp and moves on, Dillon watching her go, he won't hesitate next time. 63 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY 63 As he travels, directly overhead, timing his movement with those of the team. He moves lower, closer to the slowly moving humans. 64 EXT. RIVER BED - DAY 64 The team moves cautiously through the winding stream bed, now wearing their clothing in various stages of disarray for comfort, sweat dripping from their bodies. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 45 64 CONTINUED: 64 Billy, in the lead, picks his way along the riverbank, his concentration rapt, aboriginal. His face a trancelike mask of expectation. Blain, cradling the heavy Mini-gun as if it were a toy, swings the weapon relentlessly across his field of view. He pauses to adjust the hanging, belted loop of cartridges trailing from the back pack magazine. An INSECT lands on his face and is trapped in the grease paint near his lips. He draws the hapless bug into his mouth with his tongue and quietly spits it out, his concentration unbroken. Mac follows, holding the M-60 high across his chest. Schaefer, bent, cautious, his feet moving aside the dry leaves on the ground, heel to toe and on foot edges. He glances around, checking the team's position and progress. Hawkins follows, his mouth open, breathing deeply, exhausted, the radio a 60 pound demon. Anna, struggling to climb a section of the stream bank, slips on some loose dirt. Unable to assist herself with her hands tied, she nearly falls. Dillon prods her with his rifle, forcing her to her feet. She scrambles up the bank, Dillon following. 65 EXT. RIVER BANK - DAY 65 As Billy enters a small clearing, bordered on one side by the towering trees, carpeting the mountainside. High above in the thick, impenetrable treeline, brightly colored birds SQUAWK loudly, chasing each other from branch to branch. Suddenly Billy stops. Schaefer holds up his hand and the team freezes in position. An eerie SILENCE, like a slowly falling curtain, descends over the jungle until even the BUZZING and CLICKING of insects have CEASED. 66 EXT. TEAM MEMBERS - DAY 66 Sensing an ambush, move quietly into the foliage. Dillon moves into the undergrowth, dragging Anna with him. He slings his MP-5 over his shoulder, withdrawing his KNIFE. Grasping Anna by her shirt collar and pushing her to the ground he holds the weapon near her throat. Dillon signals to Ramirez * who approaches. Dillon hands Ramirez the knife. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 46 * 66 CONTINUED: 66 DILLON Watch her. Before Ramirez can respond, Dillon slips into the undergrowth. Ramirez holds the knife on Anna, cautiously scanning around him for movement. Unseen by Ramirez, Anna's outstretched hands slowly tighten around a stout ROOT-BURL, lying loose on the ground. 67 EXT. BILLY - AT THE RIVER BED - DAY 67 He remains frozen and transfixed, staring into the treeline. Something is moving, fluid, silently and downward, into the forest. Billy remains rooted to the spot, lost in concentration. 68 SCHAEFER 68 sensing something very wrong with Billy, moves alongside Mac. SCHAEFER What's got Billy so spooked? MAC Can't say, Major...been squirrely all mornin'... fuckin' weird...sometimes I think that nose of his is too good...smells things that ain't there. Schaefer signals for Mac to cover him and then moves low and quiet towards Billy. Dillon appears, looking to Mac for an explanation. Mac ignores him, concentrating on the jungle. Dillon looks forward at... Billy, his eyes riveted to the capony above, as he unconsciously reaches to his throat, grasping a LEATHER POUCH, secured to his neck by a thong. He fingers the MEDICINE BAG talisman. 69 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY 69 As he slowly descends through the trees, moving towards Billy, who's eyes search the treeline for movement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 47 70 BACK TO SCENE/SCHAEFER 70 approaches Billy, gripping his shoulders and in a hoarse whisper, speaks his name. SCHAEFER What is it...? Billy, rigid, does not respond. Schaefer forcefully jerks his around to face him. SCHAEFER Billy...What the hell's wrong with you? BILLY (low) Something...in the trees... 71 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY 71 Still closing in on Billy. Billy turns back, looking high into the trees, puzzled and frightened. He's lost sense of the Hunter's presence. He lowers his vision, looking towards the Hunter, now on the ground, 30 yards across the clearing from Billy. The Hunter pauses. 72 BACK TO SCENE/BILLY AND SCHAEFER 72 BILLY (whispers) Can you see anything... (points) ...there? Schaefer stares hard at the jungle. SCHAEFER It's...nothing... 73 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY 73 Moves behind a broad fern, skirting around Billy and Schaefer, heading away from the column. 74 BACK TO SCENE/BILLY AND SCHAEFER 74 Schaefer shakes his head, continuing to stare into the jungle. He turns to Billy. SCHAEFER What do you think...? (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 48 * 74 CONTINUED: 74 Billy turns, a puzzled look in his eyes. He nods in agreement. BILLY It's nothing... 75 EXT. ANNA AND RAMIREZ - DAY 75 Sensing the danger has passed, Ramirez releases his grip on Anna. As they start to rise, Ramirez sheaths his knife and unslings his MP-5. Anna still stares hard into the jungle. Suddenly, without even looking, Anna with the trained reflexes of an experienced fighter swings the BURL with all her might, catching Ramirez hard on the side of the head, just above the eye, opening a wicked gash. Spinning around she knees him brutally in the groin. As Ramirez goes down, doubled over in pain, Anna turns, scrambling up the embankment, running for the jungle. Ramirez CRIES out. 76 EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY 76 HEARING Ramirez' cry, Schaefer signals to Hawkins to move. Hawkins moves out, fast, heading towards the sound... 77 EXT. HAWKINS - DAY 77 SEES Anna running away. He gives chase. Anna, although bound, is light and fit and runs fast, hurdling fallen logs and branches, charging through the undergrowth. SHe has a good start. Hawkins, hampered by the radio and weapon but in tremendous shape, thunders after her, closing the distance. 78 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY 78 As he passes from behind a large tree, surrounded by dense foliage, SEEING the fleeing Anna. He watches her and then begins to move parallel with her, only faster, the green of the jungle rushing by in a blur. 79 EXT. ANNA AND HAWKINS - DAY 79 Anna, bursting through a grove of ferns, drives on, breathing hard with the exertion. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 49 79 CONTINUED: 79 Hawkins, ten yards behind, closing the distance, taking advantage of any hesitation Anna makes, struggling with the dense jungle. Anna hits a small clearing, an alleyway through the trees. She sprints hard across the clear ground. 80 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY 80 Moving through the jungle. As he steps clear of the foliage he SEES Anna driving hard into the alleyway, running directly towards him. Twenty yards away, Hawkins, closes in. 81 BACK TO SCENE/HAWKINS 81 Only a few feet behind Anna, lunges forward, knocking her to the ground. In a second he's on her, his weapon ready. She struggles to her feet, fighting, gasping for breath. Hawkins holds the MP-5 on her, looking at her, almost pleading. He doesn't want to shoot her, but he will if he has to. HAWKINS Please... She looks at the weapon, to Hawkins and then, hopefully, to the jungle. She stops, staring hard down the alleyway. Something...suddenly she sees it! ANNA (in Spanish) Look out, behind you!!! Hawkins spins... 82 EXT. HAWKINS AND ANNA'S P.O.V. - DAY 82 SEEING the MOTTLED OUTLINE of the Hunter's body, racing towards them, as if the entire wall of the jungle were rushing in. The Hunter's WEAPON flares to life. 83 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - ANNA AND HAWKINS - DAY 83 As he hurtles towards them, their faces frozen in surprise. 84 BACK TO SCENE/ANNA AND HAWKINS 84 A splitting THUD as Hawkins is hurtled backwards into the undergrowth, the Hunter's hand and WEAPON flashing (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 50 * 84 CONTINUED: 84 through the air. BLOOD splashes on Anna's face. She SCREAMS as Hawkins' MP-5 FIRES a short BURST into the air. 85 EXT. RIVER BED - DAY 85 HEARING the GUNFIRE, Schaefer WHISTLES low and sharp. Ramirez, face bloody, swings into action, moving in a coordinated defensive/offensive pattern into the jungle. 86 HAWKINS/BACK TO SCENE 86 The Hunter's ARM and SPUR hook into Hawkins' leg, and he is dragged into the jungle. 87 EXT. RAMIREZ - DAY 87 Ramirez runs forward ten paces, drops to a crouch, scanning to each side. Immediately Schaefer runs forward twenty paces. As he passes Ramirez, Ramirez turns and scans the rear and flanks. Dillon, Mac and Blain repeat the maneuver, leap-frogging forward, canvassing the jungle, providing areas of intersection cover. 88 EXT. RAMIREZ 88 Entering the alleyway where Hawkins was killed he SEES Anna, cowering in the bushes, her blood splattered face glazed with terror, his eyes vacant. He approaches, angry, wary, but the girl is so stunned. He SEES the trail of BLOOD and CRUSHED GRASSES leading into the jungle. He gives a LOW WHISTLE and then moves on, the rest of the team assuming defensive positions around the clearing. He follows the trail, finding first Hawkins' blood-covered weapon, and then, a few yards later, the radio. Ramirez cautiously parts the brush before him. A look of puzzlement and then revulsion comes of his face. 89 EXT. ALLEYWAY - DAY 89 Blain and Mac at either end, cautiously searching the jungle; Billy covering their flanks. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 51 89 CONTINUED: 89 Schaefer and Dillon approach Anna. She seems unaware of their presence, staring numbly ahead. Schaefer checks her out, looking for wounds, he wipes some of the blood from her face. SCHAEFER It's not her blood. Ramirez emerges from the jungle carrying Hawkins' MP-5 and radio. He approaches, dumping the equipment on the ground. RAMIREZ Major, you'd better take a look at this. SCHAEFER Hawkins? RAMIREZ (oddly) I can't tell. 90 EXT. SCHAEFER AND RAMIREZ - DAY 90 Dillon in the b.g., as Ramirez parts the brush with his weapon. Before them, covered with dirt and leaves, are Hawkins' ENTRAILS. There is no body. SCHAEFER (shocked) What in God's name...? RAMIREZ I think it's Hawkins. SCHAEFER Where the hell is his body? RAMIREZ There's no sign of it. 91 EXT. ALLEYWAY - DAY 91 The entire team is gathered, still holding defensive positions. Anna, still stunned, is beginning to come around. She looks up at Schaefer. He turns to Ramirez. (CONTINUED)----------------------------------------------------------------------- REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 52 * 91 CONTINUED: 91 SCHAEFER Ramirez, ask her what happened. Ramirez drops to one knee and talks softly to her in SPANISH. She mutters incoherently in Spanish, still dazed, shaking her head. Dillon listens closely to her response. Ramirez turns to Schaefer. He seems confused. RAMIREZ She says...the jungle came alive, and took him... DILLON That isn't what she said... she said... (pondering; to Ramirez) ...she doesn't make sense. RAMIREZ (growing angry) Couple of sappers been trailing us all the way from the camp, Major. Billy heard them. She set us up, ran for it...They were waiting. I should've wasted the bitch when I had the chance. Schaefer, looking at Hawkins' bloodstained equipment lying at Anna's feet, looks up. SCHAEFER (quietly) Why didn't they take the radio and his weapon? (pause) Why didn't she escape? Ramirez and Dillon look at the equipment and then to the girl, still numb with shock. DILLON (grimly; remembering) They did the same thing to Davis... (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 53 91 CONTINUED: (2) 91 The two veteran commandos look at each other, finding no explanation between them. SCHAEFER (urgent; to the others) I want him found. Sweep pattern and double back. Fifty meters. They move out. Schaefer moves into the jungle, searching. He crouches at the base of a huge MAHOGANY TREE, covered with vines, studying the jungle. He moves away from the tree and into the forest, looking for signs on the ground. Where he was sitting, a DROP OF BLOOD falls. Another drop falls, dripping from a leaf and above that, from another leaf. Above that, high in the top of the tree, SUSPENDED from vines from his ankles, is HAWKINS' BODY, his chest a gaping wound. He hands there as if he were an animal, field dressed. 92 EXT. BLAIN - DAY 92 Crouched in the undergrowth. There is a movement in the brush before him. He wipes the sweat from his eyes and clicks his safety on the Mini-gun to fire. The SOUND is growing closer. Blain levels the weapon. A smile crosses his face. BLAIN (whispers) Come on in you fuckers...come on in. 'ol 'painless' is waitin'... The movement in the brush is GROWING LOUDER. Blain's finger moves closer to the trigger. Suddenly a small TAPIR bursts through the leaves, startling Blain. He relaxes momentarily as he watches the animal scurrying from sight. He stands... (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 54 92 CONTINUED: 92 SOMETHING grazes his shoulder, a gout of BLOOD erupting. He starts to turn, the Mini-gun held low, ready to fire... ...from out of the jungle, 75 feet away, the Hunter's WEAPON streaks toward him like a missile. He SCREAMS as it enters his back, erupting from his chest in an EXPLOSION of BLOOD. 93 EXT. MAC - DAY 93 Has heard Blain's cry. He moves fast through the brush. He HEARS a RUSTLING in the bushes. A wet SUCKING SOUND. Mac charges into the clearing. In the instant before the Hunter disappears into the forest, Mac SEES a vision so brief and fantastic that it seems like a hallucination. The Hunter's EYES flare momentarily from the green before they vanish. Mac sees his friend, lying on the ground, his chest open, the powerful man, dead. MAC (shouting) Contact, 30 Right!!! He OPENS FIRE with his M-203, belted shells slamming into the weapon from the magazine at his waist, expending it in one LONG BURST. 94 EXT. THE OTHER TEAM MEMBERS - DAY 94 Flying through the jungle, weapons ready, eyes searching for movement. 95 EXT. MAC - DAY 95 He throws down the weapon and with a cry of rage, lunges forward, grabbing the Mini-gun. As he stands, the CARTRIDGE BELT, attached to Blain, strings out between them. He opens FIRE and the foliage before him EXPLODES with the fury of the terrible weapon. Mac sweeps the Mini-gun from left to right, like a man possessed, mowing down the jungle. The other team members race INTO SIGHT and begin firing with Mac. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/29/86 55 95 CONTINUED: 95 Ramirez opens FIRE with the SIX-SHOOTER grenade launcher...EXPLOSIONS rock the jungle. 96 EXT. HUNTER - DAY 96 Moving. A piece of SHRAPNEL cuts his shoulder. A splash of ORANGE BLOOD spatters across the LEAVES of a nearby tree, bullet holes ripping through the surrounding foliage. 97 BACK TO SCENE/MAC 97 More FIRING. Mac, his weapon expended, continues to thrust the Mini-gun forward, still squeezing the trigger. Suddenly, as quickly as it started, THE FIRING STOPS. The men move catlike into the jungle, reloading, searching, their nerves taut, stretched to the limit, ready to fire again at any second. Mac is frozen, eyes wide, unblinking, his breath coming in rapid gasps as he stares into the jungle, still squeezing the trigger of the weapon, its breech locked open, GUNSMOKE wafting from the chamber and barrel. Schaefer moves in front of Mac, still staring into the jungle. Dillon pushes Anna into the clearing, moving towards the body. Anna looks at the body and then up to Mac. Schaefer sees a terrifying moment of recognition flash in her eyes as she continues to stare at Mac. He turns to Mac. MAC (confused) I...saw it. At these words, Anna reacts in shock, drawing a * slight breath. Schaefer turns, sees her staring at * Mac. He turns back. SCHAEFER You saw what? MAC (still dazed) I saw it. Schaefer turns back to see Anna, staring fixidly at Mac, * watching his lips. Schaefer turns quickly to Blain's * body and kneels alongside Dillon. 98 SCHAEFER 98 is at Blain's side, shocked at the sight of the mutilated body. He is joined by Dillon. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 56 98 CONTINUED: 98 SCHAEFER (to himself) Blain... (puzzled) ...Just like the others...no powder burns, no shrapnel. DILLON The wound all fused, cauterized...what the hell did this? Schaefer stands, looking at the body. In the b.g. Anna drifts away from the group. SCHAEFER (to Mac) ...Mac! Mac stares ahead, dumbly, not hearing. He grabs Mac by his shoulders, shaking him violently back to awareness. SCHAEFER (demanding; angry) Mac! Mac! Look at me! Mac turn to face Schaefer, a shocked expression on his face. SCHAEFER (urgent) Mac, who did this? Mac is suddenly angry and frustrated, he has no explanation. MAC I don't know. Goddamn it, something...I saw something/. Ramirez runs from the jungle, breathing hard, shaking his head. RAMIREZ Nothing. The same thing. Not a fucking trace. No bodies, blood, anything. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 57 98 CONTINUED: (2) 98 Mac stands. Instinctively the team has now grouped around Schaefer, their weapons pointing into the jungle, ready, their nerves on total edge. Schaefer looks upward at the darkening sky. SCHAEFER (quietly) We're losing the light. Mac, I want a defensive position above this ridge, mined with everything we're got. Man is again the hardened professional. MAC Yessir. Schaefer looks down at Blain's body. He turns to Ramirez and Billy. SCHAEFER Put him in his poncho and liner and carry him back. We'll bury him in the morning. MAC I'll take him. 99 ANNA 99 as they leave approaches the brush, her attention focused on something clinging to the leaves, well off to the side of where Mac saw the Hunter. She draws closer, reaching out, hesitant, as if drawn magnetically to the leaves. 100 EXT. DETAIL - HUNTER'S BLOOD - DAY 100 Clinging to the leaves, thick, viscous, pale-orange, almost like the sap of an exotic plant. Her fingers hover above it, hesitantly, and then touch it. 101 ANNA 101 examines the blood, transfixed. Dillon appears at her shoulder, startling her. He motions for her to return. She turns, wiping the blood onto her pants leg. 102 EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DUSK 102 The team is dug into the foxholes in a dense grove of trees, a solid wall to their backs. The men are barely visible they blend in so well. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 58 102 CONTINUED: 102 Nearby, Mac is stringing a TRIP WIRE, low to the ground, covering it with leaves and grass. He moves into camp and reports to Schaefer. MAC We've got most of the flares, frags. and two claymores just outside. Nothin's comin' close to here without trippin' on somethin'. SCHAEFER Thank you, Sergeant. Mac starts to go but Schaefer places his hand on his shoulder. SCHAEFER I'm sorry, Bull. It's never easy. He was a good soldier. MAC (hardened) The best friend I ever had. Mac turns and walks through the camp, stopping beside a DARK OBJECT on the ground. He kneels beside the PONCHO pulling back the zipper REVEALING Blain's face, looking peaceful in death, as if lying in state. Mac removes something from his pocket, holding it in his hand, studying it. 103 DETAIL OF OBJECT IN MAC'S HAND 103 The small WHISKEY FLASH, the chrome rubbed away in places REVEALING the brass beneath and a MEDALLION depicting the 101 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION. 104 MAC 104 takes a tiny sip from the flask. He replaces the cap and lifts the flap of Blain's shirt pocket, placing the flask inside. He lingers on the face and then closes the zipper. MAC (softly) Good-bye, Bro.------------------------------------------------------------------------ 59 105 ANNA 105 is huddles into a foxhole, her hands still tied in front of her. She looks down at her pants leg. The Hunter's BLOODSTAIN glows with a faint luminosity. She places her fingers near the stain. 106 INT. HUNTER'S SHIP - NIGHT 106 Hawkins' BODY impacts the floor with a THUMP. 107 EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY (DUSK) 107 A momentary HUSH falls over the symphony of night sounds. Anna and Billy turn towards the trees with a growing look of wariness. The others, setting up the RADIO, show no response. 108 INT. HUNTER'S SHIP - DAY (DUSK) 108 The Hunter's foot steps on the upper leg of the corpse, the PREHENSILE SPUR digging deep, pinioning the body to the ground. The Hunter's HAND extends, his FINGERS puncturing the skin at the base of the spine, gripping the vertebrae. With otherworldly strength the arm pulls, the entire SPINAL COLUMN ripping free from the body, a sickly SNAPPING and POPPING of cartilage separating from bone and tissue. 109 EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY (DUSK) 109 Ramirez is tuning in the compact FIELD RADIO, equipped with a CRYPTO-PHONE device. Dillon holds the handset. DILLON (to phone) Blazer One, say again... A CRACKLE of STATIC over the radio. BLAZER ONE (voice over) Red Fox, I say again. Your request for extraction denied. Your area still compromised. Proceed to Sector 3000 for prisoner extraction, Priority Alpha. Next contact at 1030 hours. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 60 * 109 CONTINUED: 109 DILLON (to phone; angry) Roger, Blazer One. 1030 hours...damn, bastards. He puts down the phone, turning to the group, huddled together in a tight circle, Ramirez and Billy facing outward in defensive positions, Anna, silent, watching. Schaefer is look at him. DILLON (angry; shocked) We're still too far in, they won't risk coming in for us. SCHAEFER Expendable assets, Dillon. Seems Langley is never around when you need them. DILLON I can accept that, it comes with the job. SCHAEFER Bullshit. You're just like the rest of us. Dillon glares back. Schaefer leaves, lost in thought. Ramirez looks up at the impenetrable canopy. RAMIREZ Shit load o' good a chopper'd do us in here anyway. Dillon turns to Mac. DILLON Mac. Who hit us today? Mac is still obviously feeling the anger and bitterness of the mystifying event. MAC Don't know, only saw one of 'em. Camouflaged. He was there... (remembering) ...Those fucking eyes... (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 61 * 109 CONTINUED: (2) 109 DILLON (abruptly; pushing) What, Sergeant? MAC (returning; angry) Those eyes...disappeared. But I know one thing, Major... (pause) ...I drew down and fired right at it. Capped-off two hundred rounds and then the Mini-gun; the full pack. Nothin'...nothin' on this earth could have lived...not at that range. Dillon ponders this for a moment, staring hard at Mac. Mac gets up. MAC I've got the first watch. Mac departs. Dillon watches Mac as he creeps forward to the sentry position. He turns to Ramirez. DILLON Ask her again. What did she see? What happened to Hawkins? Ramirez turns to Anna. They talk quietly in Spanish, Dillon watching, listening carefully. Ramirez turns back to Dillon. RAMIREZ (interpreting) She says the same thing... It was the jungle... Ramirez looks up at Billy who continues to stare into the jungle, aware, catlike, reacting to every sound, his nerves on edge, as if ready to snap. Ramirez rises, moves alongside his friend, Dillon watching closely. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 62 * 109 CONTINUED: (3) 109 RAMIREZ (whispering; imploring) You know something Billy, what is it? Billy turns, his face a mask of primal fear. He moves close to Ramirez. BILLY I'm scared. Ramirez is frightened by this. RAMIREZ (shaken) Bullshit. You ain't afraid of no man. Billy looks deep into his eyes, chilling Ramirez to the bone, looking at his with eyes which have seen on an instinctual level what the others have so far only begun to sense. BILLY There's something out there, waiting for us...it ain't no man. Billy turns away, moving a short distance away, taking up his position. Dillon looks after him and then into the blackness of the jungle canopy. Dillon speaks to Ramirez. DILLON He's losing his cool. There's nothing out there but a couple of men that we're going to have to take down. Despite his words, there is an edge of doubt in his voice. Schaefer returns. He's overheard this exchange. He's holding the group of DOG TAGS taken from Davis' men. He holds them up for Dillon to see. SCHAEFER You still don't get it, do you Dillon? He took Davis... and now he wants us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 63 110 INT. HUNTER'S SHIP - NIGHT 110 CLOSE ON an oval CHAMBER made of an otherworldly looking metal with a strange copperlike patina, its interior bathed in INTENSE BLUE LIGHT. In the chamber is Hawkins' SKULL CAP and SPINAL COLUMN still attached. The light field suddenly changes as all connective tissue, flesh and blood and drawn away from the bony structures with incredible force, disintegrating as they rush toward the sides of the chamber. The light changes in frequency to a dull glow as the Hunter's hands remove the GLAZED, POLISHED trophy from the chamber. He turns, carefully placing it upon a GLOWING SURFACE. He touches the trophy gently, feeling its texture, as a man might touch the hide of a big cat. He pulls his hand away and instantly an opaque FORCE FIELD covers the trophies. 111 EXT. MAC - NIGHT (LATER) 111 Hunched down in a foxhole, the Mini-gun on a tripod before him. It's nearly a FULL MOON, the jungle a montage of SHADOWS AND REFLECTIONS. Mac stares into the night, his eyes always moving. MAC (distant; whispering) It's the same kinda jungle, Bro, same moon... everything... (pause) ...a real number ten night. Remember Bro? Only you and me, the only one's out of the whole fuckin' platoon who made it out. His eyes probe the darkness, remembering. MAC ...we walked out on top of 'em. Not a scratch, not a fuckin' scratch. (spits into the night) No fuckin' chili-choker got to you, Bro...you were just too good... He ponders this a moment. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 64 111 CONTINUED: 111 MAC ...I promise you this, Bro... whoever he is, I hope he's plannin' to hit us again... (pauses; spits) ...'cause he's got my name on 'em. 112 INT. HUNTER'S SHIP - NIGHT 112 A FORCE FIELD that permeates the jungle, becoming one with the trees and foliage. The Hunter walks down a CORRIDOR of SOLID LIGHT, leading to an opening to the jungle. As the Hunter reaches the doorway he changes from visible to invisible, moving on into the night. 113 EXT. ENCAMPMENT - NIGHT 113 The mist has thickened, the night alive with a million JUNGLE SOUNDS. The team members sleep uneasily, if at all. Mac, although weary, stares hard into the night, waiting, each small sound a potential enemy. A LULL spreads over the jungle, animals and insects QUIETING. Mac tightens his grip on the Mini-gun. Billy awakens, peering into the night. Nothing. Suddenly, a metallic CLICK, a POP, the SOUND of a warning flare rocketing into the canopy. A moment later a brilliant FLASH as the flare burns, illuminating the camp. An echoing eerie SCREAM fills the night as a DARK SHAPE in the mist rockets through the undergrowth towards Mac. Mac spins, hauling the heavy gun around, just as something crashes into his upper body, driving the huge man into the foxhole. A desperate battle for life ensues, illuminated with the strobing light of the descending flare. Mac's enraged SHOUTS and ROARS mingled with horrific SCREAMS fill the night. Mac's razor-edged KNIFE slashes in the light; BLOOD spatters his face as he attacks fiercely. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 65 113 CONTINUED: 113 Schaefer and Ramirez rush at a crouching run towards the foxhole, their weapons ready. A tremendous climatic SCREAM from the foxhole AND THEN, SILENCE. Schaefer and Ramirez approach, cautiously. Mac stands, his face and clothes drenched in blood, some of it his, his breath coming in rapid gasps. He looks at Schaefer, whispering hoarsely. MAC Got the motherfucker... As the flare breaks through the canopy, dying out in great flickering bursts, the man stare down into the foxhole. A huge, jungle BOAR lies mutilated in a pool of blood, still quivering in the final throes of death. The flare dies out. Mac, shaking from adrenalin, breathing heavily, looks down at the dying animal. MAC (incredulous) A pig...just a fucking pig... Schaefer shines his TEKNA-LIGHT onto the boar, playing the light along its massive hulk, its razor edges tusks gleaming in the light. Ramirez appears by his side, looking down at the huge carcass. RAMIREZ Holy shit, Mac. Nearby, unnoticed by the men, Anna stoops, her hands still bound, picking up an MP-5 from the ground. She turns, looking for an avenue of escape, running for the jungle. But the forest looks foreboding and sinister. She stops, staring at the jungle, the moonlight reflected off leaves like a thousand eyes. For a brief second she imagines she can see the Hunter's eyes, crashing towards her, the shifting patterns of light and dark making the jungle seem to strobe, like it is about to rush in at her. She freezes, paralyzed by fear, by her memories of the attack. She drops the MP-5 to the ground. Back at the foxhole, Schaefer and Ramirez help the still shaken Mac from the hole. Schaefer looks at Mac, at the huge gash across his chest. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 66 113 CONTINUED: (2) 113 SCHAEFER Get a field dressing on that right away. Suddenly he remembers, Anna. SCHAEFER Where's the girl? They all turn, ready to move and then stop. Coming forth from the shadows Anna appears, still frightened, seeking the security of the soldiers. From the darkness nearby, Billy's VOICE in a hoarse WHISPER. BILLY (o.s.; urgently) Major, over here. Schaefer turns, apprehensive, something in Billy's voice... He walks over to Billy, standing with a FLASHLIGHT pointing to the ground. They see Blain's BODY BAG slashed open, covered in blood. Ramirez appears. BILLY The body...it's gone. RAMIREZ Came in through the trip wires, took it right out from under our noses... Anna appears between Schaefer and Ramirez, staring down at the empty, blood-soaked body bag. She looks up, into Schaefer's eyes. 114 EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY (PRE-DAWN) 114 A patchy GROUND FOG covers the area. Anna, in her foxhole, awakens, LISTENING to the rising SOUNDS of the jungle. MONKEYS begin to forage, their noisy CHATTERING and SCREECHING filling the air. A BIRD flutters back to its nest; a CHAMELEON emerges onto a leaf, directly above Anna's head. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 5/6/86 67 114 CONTINUED: 114 Anna carefully extends her arm, allowing the lizard to crawl onto her, watching, fascinated as it changes colors. She carefully places the chameleon back on the leaf, which changes color again, becoming nearly invisible. Near the empty PONCHO, Schaefer, Billy and Ramirez are examining the ground and the trip wire to the flare. Billy stands, turns to Schaefer. BILLY Boar set off the trip flare, Major. No other tracks. Schaefer kneels and examines the thin, well hidden WIRE. He stands, looking around the camp. RAMIREZ How could anyone get through this, carry Blain out, right * under our noses without leavin' * a trace? SCHAEFER He knows our defenses. * * RAMIREZ Why didn't he try to kill one of us last night? Schaefer looks at him. SCHAEFER He came back for the body. (pause) He's killing us, one at a time... Schaefer turns and looks at Billy, asking with his eyes for a viable explanation. BILLY Like a Hunter. * Schaefer stares at him, the words sinking in. He * looks up, reconstructing in his mind the possible * events of last night, his eyes following the tree line, * tracing the path of the intruder as he might have * travelled through the trees and down to the ground. * He looks up at Billy. SCHAEFER He uses the trees. * (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 5/6/86 68 114 CONTINUED: (2) 114 Billy and Ramirez stare up at the trees, a wave of fear * passing through them...from the trees. Schaefer turns, * moving to where Dillon is guarding Anna, sitting on the ground. Reaching down, Schaefer pulls her firmly to her feet, looking at her intensely. SCHAEFER Yesterday. What did you see? She stares back at him. DILLON You're wastin' your time. SCHAEFER No more games. She looks at him a long moment, and then answers in English. ANNA I don't know what it was. It... Dillon does a double take. Schaefer continues to look * at Anna. He wasn't surprised: he knew it yesterday. * SCHAEFER Go on. ANNA It changes colors, like the chameleon. It uses the jungle... DILLON (derisively) Shit, you trying to tell me Blain and Hawkins were killed by a fucking lizard? Don't listen to her. Its's a psych-job. Two, maybe three of them, that's * all. We keep our cool, out-think * them 'til we're across the * border... * Ignoring him, Schaefer takes her hands, drawing his COMMANDO KNIFE, looking squarely into her eyes. SCHAEFER What's you name? She looks back into his eyes. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 5/6/86 69 114 CONTINUED: (3) 114 ANNA Anna. SCHAEFER Anna. He's hunting us. You know that? She nods. With a sudden movement he slices through her bonds. DILLON What the hell do you think you're doing? SCHAEFER We're going to need everyone. * DILLON What are you talking about? We'll be out of here in ten * minutes. * SCHAEFER We're not going. * DILLON That rendezvous is ten maybe * twelve miles, at most! We're * almost home. But the chopper * won't wait. Schaefer turns to face him. SCHAEFER Dillon...This thing doesn't * care who we are, who she is. We make a stand or there won't * be anyone left to make that * chopper. Dillon stares back, not wanting to hear what he already knows to be true. Anna touches Schaefer's arm. ANNA There is something else. When the big man was killed, you must have wounded it. (pause) It's blood was on the leaves. (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 5/6/86 70 * 114 CONTINUED: (4) 114 She touches her pant leg, the stain is faded but still there. Schaefer turns to Dillon. SCHAEFER If it bleeds, we can kill it. 115 EXT. ENCAMPMENT - MORNING (LATER) 115 Anna at the base of the rocks scans the jungle with binoculars watching the tree line. Mac moves past her, uncoiling a trip wire linking up four CLAYMORE mines hidden at various points with leaves and foliage. In a tree at the edge of the clearing, Billy tosses an uncoiling roll of wire to Ramirez who attaches it to a GRENADE, wedged it the crouch of a tree. Wires attached to GRENADES and CLAYMORE MINES lead off through the underbrush and trees leaving a long, unmined corridor leading from the camp and into the jungle. At the corridor's end, where the rocks merge with the jungle, Schaefer hauls down on a HEAVY VINE, straining with every ounce of strength, his muscles bulging, while Dillon takes up the slack of the vine (CONTINUED) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/29/86 71 115 CONTINUED: 115 around the base of a tree. The vine is attached to a forty foot SAPLING, arcing closer to the ground in a gigantic bow with every pull, CREAKING and GROANING with tension. With a last mighty heave, Schaefer draws the tree almost within reach, gesturing to Dillon to * tie it off, who does. * DILLON (straining) I'm tellin' you, this little * 'boy scout' stunt is a * Godamned waste of time. * (stands) * We've got to get the hell out * of here, now, while we've still * got the chance. Ignoring him, Schaefer rapidly drags into position a NET crudely woven of differing sizes of vines, their LEAVES still attached. He carefully begins to cover the net with leaves and debris. Dillon watches him in growing frustration as Schaefer moves quickly, picking up a FRAMEWORK of STICKS he has tied together, a TREADLE-SPRING TRIGGER. He holds up the framework, hurriedly examining his work before placing it on the ground. SCHAEFER He'll be looking for the trip wires. If we're lucky, he won't see this. DILLON Now what, Dutch. You going to send your mystery guest an invitation? Schaefer turns, there is a touch of fear in Dillon's eyes. SCHAEFER You're catching on, Dillon. Schaefer returns to his work on the net and trigger. * ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 1/30/87 72 * 116 EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY (LATER) 116 Morning passes. Fog lifts as the sun creeps into the jungle. Insects swarm and are fed upon by BIRDS and other predators. At the entranceway to the rock outcropping, the net and trigger are hidden beneath the leaves, the framework of the trigger bulging with tension from the straining vine attached to the bent tree. At the other end of the corridor, several meters above the jungle floor, Schaefer and his team, heavily camouflaged, nearly invisible, lie hidden, waiting. The team members, as if hypnotized by the BUZZING din, stare into the jungle, fixated, alert. ANNA while waiting at the net: ANNA (hushed) When I was little we find a man -- (she struggles for the words) -- like a butcher. The old ones in the village cross themselves and whisper crazy things. 'Demonio, cazador de trofoes...Only the hottest times of the hottest years...' Crazy things...This year is grows hot. And we begin finding our men. We find them sometimes without their skin. Sometimes...much, much worse. Cazador de trofoes...means the demon who takes trophies. SLOW RACK TO Schaefer's face. Ashen. HOLD. Suddenly an EERIE SILENCE moves over the jungle: He whips his face forward. The silence is SHATTERED by a bird flapping from the brush. Schaefer sits back and scratches his head, frustrated and a little chagrined. DILLON (o.s.) What'll you try next -- cheese? Schaefer glares at him. Turns to go -- He stands and begins to move low to the ground toward the waiting snare. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "THE HUNTER" - 1/27/87 72-A * 116 Cont. Behind him, sighting down their well-hidden gun barrels, the others scan the jungle, alert for the slightest sound or movement, covering him. Schaefer reaches the trap, carefully skirting the trigger hidden beneath the leaves. He reaches the end of the corridor, moving out into the jungle. He moves further away from the others, the silence crushing down on him. He stops and waits, sweat pouring down his face, his finger tightening on the trigger of his M-203, eyes scanning the jungle. He turns his back on the jungle, waiting. Nothing. He moves back towards the corridor, reaching the net, again waiting, listening, sensing. Nothing. He turns around, looking at the jungle one last time, his face measuring defeat and then, with carefully, measured strides, he walks back to the camp. Schaefer looks at Billy who shakes his head in puzzlement. Nearby, Dillon starts to rise. DILLON (low; whispered) Satisfied? Now let's get the hell out... (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 73 116 CONTINUED: 116 Suddenly, behind Schaefer at the end of the corridor, with a resounding SWISH and SNAP, the NET explodes off the floor of the jungle in a hail of leaves and sticks, rocketing upward into the treetops. Schaefer spins, the others leaping to their feet as they SEE the net as it tears into the treetops, a large struggling bulge trapped within as a long, unearthly TRILLING SCREAM ECHOES through the jungle. Schaefer and the others charge from the rocks towards the jungle and the bobbing net, their weapons ready. Anna remains behind, watching terrified from the rocks. They arrive under the net, raising their weapons to fire...but before they can fire the entire net EXPLODES into a flurry of leaves, twigs, vines, dirt and a FLASH of PULSATING CRIMSON. 117 EXT. HUNTER'S HAND AND ARM - DAY 117 As the Hunter leaps from the net his WEAPON activates, his arm slashing out, severing a THICK LIMB of the spreading tree capony, entangled in vines. 118 EXT. THE TEAM - DAY 118 The limb CRASHES down from the trees, Schaefer, Dillon, Billy and Mac Diving for safety. But Ramirez, following the Hunter's leap, SEES too late the pendular movement of the severed limb and is struck a THUDDING blow in the ribs, which lifts him off his feet, hurling him backwards like a rag doll, his shirt torn open, exposing a BLOODY WOUND. As Anna runs to Ramirez's side the others, still stunned, look upward, frozen in shock SEEING: THE HUNTER, clinging to a side of a tree, flushed bright crimson. Dillis is dumbfounded, like the others, rooted to the ground staring upward. DILLON What is God's name...? The Hunter utters an unearthly SNARL and HISS from his open mouth as an instant later his camouflage resumes and he vanishes from sight...a rapid, furtive movement through the trees. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 74 118 CONTINUED: 118 Mac OPENS FIRE with the M-60, the others joining in, shredding the foliage, but they know the creature is gone. With a SHOUT, Mac races into the jungle, in pursuit of the Hunter. SCHAEFER Mac! Schaefer hurriedly ejects the spent clip from the M-203, slamming in a new one. He shouts an order to Billy. SCHAEFER (to Billy) Get Ramirez on his feet! Take the girl and get the hell out of here! He turns to run after Mac. Dillon steps in front of him, putting his hand on Schaefer's chest. DILLON No way, Dutch. I'm going. You get these people and get the hell out of here. SCHAEFER This isn't your style, Dillon. DILLON Guess I've picked up some bad habits from you, Dutch. Now don't argue with me, you know I'm right. Get to that chopper and hold it for us. We'll be along. SCHAEFER You know you can't win this one. Dillon stares at him. DILLON You know me, Dutch, I never did know when to quit. Dillon turns and begins to move out. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 75 118 CONTINUED: (2) 118 SCHAEFER Dillon! Dillon turns. Picking up the spare MP-5, Schaefer tosses the weapon to Dillon, who grabs it with one hand. They share a look, knowing this is farewell. SCHAEFER I'll see you there. DILLON Right behind you. Hefting both weapons at the hip he runs into the jungle after Mac. Schaefer watches him leave. He breaks and goes to Ramirez, attended by Anna and Billy, who is now sitting up, holding his ribs and gasping for breath. BILLY He's busted up, bad, Major. RAMIREZ (gasping) I can make it, Major. Schaefer lifts him to his feet, supporting him. SCHAEFER Come on, Poncho, we're getting out of here. (to Billy) Billy, take the radio, leave the rest. Come on! 119 EXT. MAC - DAY 119 Creeping low to the ground, his eyes searching through the trees. MAC (whispered) Come on, you motherfucker! 120 EXT. DILLON - DAY 120 Moving through the underbrush HEARS a slight RUSTLING in the foliage. Mac? He strains to locate the source of the movement. He HEARS A SOUND, too faint at first it identify. He listens. Silence. He hears is again, the SOUND of a VOICE, barely audible. A VERY QUIET WHISPER. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 76 120 CONTINUED: 120 VOICE (o.s.) Dillon, over here. Dillon locates the direction of the voice and moves towards it. VOICE (o.s.; barely audible) Dillon, over here. Dillon moves a few feet into the undergrowth. He carefully parts the thick leaves and vines and enters a tiny opening. He looks around, seeing nothing. DILLON (whispering) Mac? Suddenly a HAND appears and covers Dillon's mouth. Dillon gasps as Mac pulls him down to where he is hiding. MAC (whispering; close) Out there. Past the rocks... can you see it? Something seems to MOVE in the direction Mac is pointing. DILLON (whispering) I see it! (pause) We're gonna take this thing. Dillon points to an OUTCROPPING OF ROCKS, covered with VINES. DILLON Take a position over there. I'll work around towards you. When I flush him, you nail him... MAC (a mean look) ...Right, I got a score to settle for the Bro... (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 77 120 CONTINUED: (2) 120 DILLON We both got scores to settle. Dillon silently disappears into the jungle, Mac watching him go. Mac makes his way toward the rock outcropping, working his way between the rocks and the vines. He takes up a position and scans the jungle before him. 121 DILLON 121 moving quietly, his face intense, determined. He stops and listens. 122 MAC/ROCK OUTCROPPING 122 straining to hear VAGUE SOUNDS coming from the jungle. He reaches out and grabs a VINE and carefully pulls himself forward into a better position. 123 BACK TO SCENE/DILLON 123 moving, searching. He goes into a crouch. 124 MAC/ROCK OUTCROPPING 124 There is MOVEMENT in the undergrowth. He begins to sweat. He moves the safety to fire; reaches out and grabs another vine to pull himself forward. Mac reacts in shock. The vine is alive! Before he can move, the Hunter's HAND appears from the vines, grabbing Mac by the wrist. In the moment before he is killed, Mac turns and SEES the Hunter's glowing EYES. A FLASH as the Hunter's other hand, moves with blinding speed, Mac's face contorting in pain as the Hunter's razor-sharp SPUR rips deep into his throat. He falls forward into the leaves. 125 DILLON 125 He HEARS the faint disturbance in the leaves. He pauses, turning in Mac's direction, listening. Hearing no further sound he relaxes, moving on. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 78 126 EXT. NARROW RIVER GORGE - DAY 126 Anna in the lead, followed by Schaefer carrying Ramirez on his back. Billy, carrying the RADIO is covering them from above, as they skitter and slide down the loose gravel of a rocky slope, leading to a river crossing. 127 EXT. DILLON 127 He stalks through a narrow corridor of tangled vines and moss, leading to the rock outcropping on the other side, his face alert, showing no signs of fear, his weapon ready. 128 EXT. VINES AND MOSS - DETAIL - DAY 128 Through the thick tangle of undergrowth, there is MOVEMENT, a slight, undulating distortion, drifting through the hanging vegetation, as if cast by a passing shadow. 129 DILLON 129 as he stops and crouches slightly, listing behind him. Did he hear something? He moves on. 130 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY 130 Behind Dillon and to the side of the corridor. The Hunter syncopates him movements precisely with those of Dillon. Dillon stops. The Hunter freezes in position. 131 BACK TO SCENE/DILLON 131 He does sense something behind him. He crouches and spins, leveling the weapon. The corridor behind him is empty, quiet and undisturbed. He studies the trail intently. 132 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY 132 Peering out through the vines. Dillon is looking directly at him. Dillon turns, moves on, as the Hunter resumes his stalk, timing his movements perfectly with those of Dillon. 133 BACK TO SCENE/DILLON 133 as he approaches the rock outcropping. He signals. Receiving no response he moves closer, turning cautiously to right and left. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 79 133 CONTINUED: 133 DILLON (whispering) Mac...Mac. He moves closer to the rocks, eyes probing. Through a gap in the rocks he SEES Mac's face, staring up at him, eyes frozen wide in death. Dillon spins hard. He stares at the solid wall of undergrowth. He looks from one side of the corridor to the other. Something it out there. Where? Something in the vines has caught his attention. He stares hard at a section of moss. 134 EXT. MOSS - DETAIL - DAY 134 Suddenly the right combination of light and shadow prevail and Dillon SEES in an instant, the Hunter's EYES materialize and then disappear. 135 BACK TO SCENE/DILLON 135 With a growl and exhalation of breath, charges, bringing the weapon to bear. A short BURST OF GUNFIRE erupts from the barrel. 136 EXT. THE HUNTER - DAY 136 In an indiscernible blue of camouflage releases his weapon. 137 DILLON 137 SCREAMS, his arm instantly severed halfway between his shoulder and elbow. The weapon drops to the ground, the forearm still attached, still FIRING. With his left hand he FIRES the second weapon SHOUTING INSANELY as swings it towards the blurred image of his unseen attacker, hitting nothing. The Hunter reloads his WEAPON which turns INVISIBLE again. Dillon continues to fire. The Hunter's weapon appears from below, cutting into Dillon's unprotected abdomen, which, as if hit by a samurai sword, bursts open. Dillon CRIES OUT as the huge man hits the ground. 138 EXT. LOG CROSSING - DAY 138 spanning the narrow gorge, Schaefer and Anna with Ramirez between them, move onto the log, preparing to cross. They stop, HEARING Dillon's GUNFIRE.------------------------------------------------------------------------ 80 139 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY 139 Moving through the jungle with incredible speed, leaping, tearing from tree to tree, the jungle a rush of HEAT TRAILS as he charges on. 140 EXT. LOG CROSSING - DAY 140 The jungle is still deathly SILENT. Schaefer, Anna and Ramirez cross the log, moving onto the other side. Billy, still at the foot of the log, providing cover, turns to face the jungle. He lifts his head towards the trees, feeling the onrushing presence of the Hunter. He shrugs off the radio letting it fall, smashing into the rocks below. He casts away his weapon. Staring forward he reaches into his cargo pocket, withdrawing a small GREASE-PAINT TIN. Covering his finger in BLACK PAINT he applies dark slashes under his eyes and again, vertically down his cheeks. Taking another dap of paint he makes a SYMBOL on his bare skin, over his heart. He drops the tin, withdrawing his COMBAT KNIFE. Holding the knife he grasps the MEDICINE BAG around his neck, yanking it free with a quick snap. He wraps the leather thong around his hand and knife, binding the weapon and bag together. Staring outward, as if in a trance, he begins a low CHANT. On the other side, Schaefer carrying Ramirez on his back, laboring up the steep slope, nearing the top, turns and SEES Billy standing, waiting at the foot of the bridge. SCHAEFER (screaming) Billy!!! But Billy stands at the foot of the bridge, knife raised, waiting, accepting his oncoming destiny. SCHAEFER Billy!!! (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 81 * 140 CONTINUED: 140 In frustration, Schaefer hikes Ramirez higher onto his back, digs in and sprints to the top of the hill, Anna waiting at the top. 141 OUT 141 142 EXT. BILLY - DAY 142 Crouches low, knife extended in a fighting position. 143- OUT 143- 144 144 145 EXT. RIDGETOP - DAY 145 Over the top, in a low depression, Schaefer props Ramirez against some rocks, reaching for his weapon. They HEAR Billy's echoing SCREAM. Instantly their weapons are raised, cocked and ready. SCHAEFER Get back, into the rocks! Schaefer sweeps Anna behind him as Ramirez struggles to his feet. Together they back up, covering the ridgeline over which they've just come. Suddenly, from one side, near Ramirez, the Hunter bursts from the jungle, Ramirez, seeing the Hunter, spins raising his weapons to fire... Ramirez SEES the Hunter's onrushing face, still in camouflage, a montage of organic textures and colors, his yellow eyes burning. Whipping the MP-5 is the direction of the Hunter he is hurled backwards from the impact of the Hunter's weapon, his neck gushing BLOOD, the MP-5 flying through the air, landing in front of Anna. She moves for the weapon... The Hunter, with unearthly speed, turns towards Anna, as Schaefer starts to spin, SEEING the Hunter about to strike as Anna dives for the weapon. Schaefer lunges kicking the MP-5 out of Anna's reach. SCHAEFER (to Anna) Run! Get to the chopper! (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 82 145 CONTINUED: 145 Schaefer spins and FIRES, bullets THUDDING into the ground, the barrel arcing towards the Hunter as Anna stumbles to her feet running into the jungle. In a blur the Hunter spins back, hurling his weapon at Schaefer which slices through the wooden stock of the rifle, SPARKS FLYING as it severs the trigger guard and steel breech. The M-203 flies out of Schaefer's hands as the Hunter's weapon cuts deeply into his left shoulder, laying open the flesh. The M-203 hits the ground, where it lies broken in half, useless. Schaefer hits the ground and is rolling, up and running for his life, the Hunter charging after him. 146 SCHAEFER 146 crashes headlong through the jungle. He leaps a fallen log, stumbles, struggles to his feet, running on pure adrenalin, his shoulder pulsing blood, his eyes filled with terror. Behind him he can hear the Hunter in pursuit, closing. Schaefer spins to look behind him, a wild desperate look on his face; he turns back, ducks an overhanging limb and lunges on. 147 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. OF SCHAEFER - DAY 147 Closing rapidly...another few yard. 148 BACK TO SCENE/SCHAEFER 148 runs like a madman, the SOUND of the Hunter's FOOTSTEPS close behind. He's losing ground. He knows he's going to die. Schaefer SHOUTS. Suddenly the ground before him COLLAPSES and he disappears from sight. 149 EXT. CANYON WALL - DAY 149 In a shower of leaves, flailing arms and legs, Schaefer crashes through the trees at the canyon's edge, free falling into space. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 83 149 CONTINUED: 149 With a sickening IMPACT, he hits the branches of the first trees lining the canyon and falls, a hundred feet, through one canopy after another, desperately grabbing for limbs and branched to break his fall. He hits the bottom branches of the list line of trees, impacting crosschest on a large BRANCH, knocking his wind out. Semi-conscious, he hangs momentarily before he slides off, fingers digging into the bark, falling another ten feet into the swiftly moving river. 150 EXT. RIVER - DAY 150 Weighted down by his boots and clothing, Schaefer struggles to stay afloat. Gasping for air he ducks underwater, untying one of his boots. He surfaces, fills his lungs and dives again, releasing the other boot. He surfaces, strips off his shirt and pants and begins to swim towards shore, stroking with one arm. 151 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY 151 As he nears the edge of the precipice from which Schaefer has fallen. The Hunter in close pursuit does not hesitate but LAUNCHES himself off the cliff in a spectacular LEAP, streaking downward towards the tops of the trees that grow out from the canyon wall. The Hunter tears through the canopy of the first tree, the branches and leaves rushing past in a KALEIDOSCOPIC BLUR. The Hunter bounds off of one branch after another, moving through the trees as an expert skier might negotiate a series of downhill gates. The Hunter leaps free of one tree, bounds across twenty feet of open space to a large branch of a huge tree, affording a good view of the river below. From his vantage point, looking down at the windening, slowing expanse of river, Schaefer is nowhere to be seen. 152 EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY 152 He is swept into a still FASTER CURRENT and is carried helplessly downstream. Boiling WHITEWATER appears. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 84 152 CONTINUED: 152 Out of control he is swept through a series of rapids, pulling his further and further downstream until he is finally ducked into the undertow and hurled over the top of a six foot falls, driven deep underwater by the pounding force of the water. 153 EXT. POOL AT BASE OF FALLS - DAY 153 There is no sign of Schaefer. Precious seconds pass. Slowly, looking like a drowned rat, he surfaces, taking a feeble breath. He is nearly finished, his energy sapped. But the water is calm and a few strokes are enough to carry him near the shore. His feet hit bottom. He tries to stand but pitches headfirst into the thick MUD SLURRY at the river bank. With his last ounce of strength, he crawls, panting and gasping into a sheltered mud OVERHANG, collapsing beside the exposed ROOT-SYSTEM OF A DEAD TREE, his body completely covered in thick, gray MUD. Nearly unconscious, he raises his head and looks to the opposite side of the river, scanning the bank. There is no sign of the Hunter. He collapses in relief. He's escaped. Suddenly, the Hunter impacts the water, throwing up a huge SPLASH. He stands up in the waist deep water. As the water streams off of his body, the chameleon effect rapidly changes, struggling to match the shifting color patterns of the shimmering water. His glaring yellow orbs stare directly at the spot where Schaefer lies helplessly trapped. The Hunter surges forward, relentlessly closing in on this prey. 154 SCHAEFER 154 is frozen in terror, paralyzed with fear, his eyes locked ontothe incredible creature that is about to kill him. 155 EXT. HUNTER - DAY 155 Closing rapidly, another ten feet. He leaves the water and walks through the mud, stopping, towering over Schaefer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 85 156 EXT. SCHAEFER'S P.O.V. - DAY 156 As the Hunter's feet surge though the mud and stop, three feet away. 157 EXT. SCHAEFER - DAY 157 Realizing his life is about to end, closes his eyes, awaiting the Hunter's killing blow. 158 EXT. HUNTER'S EYES - DAY 158 The fierce yellow orbs look downward. 159 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - DAY 159 He's looking directly at Schaefer, EXCEPT HE CAN'T SEE HIM. He can clearly see the EXPOSED ROOT-SYSTEM, but because of the heavy mud blocking Schaefer's body heat, Schaefer registers in the Hunter's vision as merely an indistinct lump of clay, unrecognizable to the Hunter as a human being. He scans the bank, searching, looking for heat sources. Detecting none he moves on sounding a questioning TRILL several times. 160 BACK TO SCENE/SCHAEFER 160 disbelieving that he's still alive, opens one eye, SEEING the Hunter's feet move away, his prehensile spurs dragging in the mud. He rounds a bend and disappears, heading for the undergrowth. Astonished, he tries to raise up on his hands but a sudden jabbing pain in his shoulder causes him to collapse, falling onto his side, unconscious in the mud. 161 EXT. RIVER - DAY 161 As a HUEY ATTACK HELICOPTER breaks over the top of the ridge, diving forward, moving down the canyon. The chopper flares up into a holding pattern. In the open doorway, a SOLDIER searches the top of the canyon with binoculars. Seeing no sign of life, the chopper flies on, disappearing down the canyon rim. 162 BACK TO SCENE/SCHAEFER 162 lies unconscious in the mud, the distant SOUND of the helicopter THRUMPING into the distance.------------------------------------------------------------------------ 86 163 EXT. ANNA - DAY 163 She runs into a clearing, stopping momentarily, gasping for breath. She is startled by a sudden movement behind her. She spins, looking. There is nothing there. She runs on. 164 EXT. THE CANYON - DAY (DUSK) 164 Schaefer GASPS as his eyes bolt open in fear. As if the Hunter were still attacking, Schaefer rolls to his feet and runs, slogging through the THICK MUD, stumbling, lunging forward, gasping for breath. Schaefer spins and staggers backwards into a shallow POOL, scuttling, crablike into the chest deep water. Schaefer backs into the moss-covered wall by the waterfall, looking for movement, regaining his senses. As the water settles, he looks down, SEEING the image of himself, reflected in the pool; his hair and face covered in THICK CLAY. He stares, mesmerized at the image. He lifts his arm from the water, his fingers wiping the MUD from his face, exposing a PATCH of SKIN. He studies the mud in his hand and then looks at the image of himself in the water, SEEING the exposed skin. HE stares at it, a wave of realization rushing through his mind. He places the mud back on his face, again looking at his image. SCHAEFER You couldn't see me. He looks up, out into the failing light, at the treeline of the deepening forest, realizing that fate has given him a fighting chance. Slowly a look of vengeance and hatred crosses over his face. 165 EXT. CLAY BANK - NIGHT 165 Using his MACHETE he carves MAGNESIUM SHAVINGS from a fire block into a pile of KINDLING. He removes a match from the hollow handle of the machete, also containing a coil of PIANO WIRE, GREEN TAPE and MEDICAL SUPPLIES. He lights the shavings which burn with a brilliant white light. Schaefer shelters the fire with a banana leaf until the flame dies down. He feeds the fire with more kindling, fanning it with a leaf. 165-A SCHAEFER - BOW AND ARROW MONTAGE - NIGHT (LATER) 166 Holding a three foot section of FIRE-HARDENED sapling between his feet and shoulder, he scrapes the char from the seasoned wood with his machete. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 87 165-A CONTINUED: 165-A He bends the bow and attaches a long piece of PIANO WIRE to one end, carefully wrapping it for strength, using strips of green tape to cover the sides of the wire where the nock of the arrow will fit. He attaches split quilled FEATHERS with fishing line to an ARROW, its tip fashioned into a series of barbs, rubbing them to a polished hardness against a smooth stone. When finished he places the arrow on the ground next to three other identical arrows. SCHAEFER One chance, that's all. 166 EXT. CLAY BANK - NIGHT 166 Schaefer is pounding a peeled root between two stones. He pauses to drool saliva into the pulpy mass. He scrapes the milky substance onto a BANANA LEAF, mixing it with a sticky SAP, holding it over the coals until the mixture steams. Schaefer coats the arrow tips with the sticky poison, holding them over the coals until the sap bubbles and smokes. He spins the arrows in his hands, blowing on the tips to cool and harden the mixture. Using the tip of his machete, he pries open the casing of one of the 40MM grenades, discarding the warhead. He dumps the PROPELLANT POWDER from the shell onto a leaf, mixing that with a mound of MAGNESIUM SHAVINGS. He opens the narrow, tight roll of GAUZE taken from the first aid kit of the machete handle, fluffing it into a large, loose BUNDLE, the size of a baseball. He pours the powder-mixture into the gauze, mixing it into the fabric. He transfers the ball of explosive ladened gauze to a pliable DRY LEAF, closing it into a bundle, binding it at the top with a long strand of jungle-grass. He twists the remaining gauze around a MATCH, leaving the head exposed, forming a self-striking FUSE. He coats the fuse with SAP and then thickly covers it with more powder from the 40MM grenade. He pokes the fuse down into the leaf. Taking a long strand of JUNGLE GRASS he makes a large loop, tying it onto the grenade, slipping the loop and grenade over his head. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 88 166 CONTINUED: 166 Finally, using several sections of BAMBOO of differing diameters, he fashions a crude, anti-personnel SPEAR-BOMB, a BANG-STICK like weapon, using the sharpened TONGUE from his belt buckle for a FIRING PIN and a 40MM GRENADE from his belt pouch as an explosive charge. 167 EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - NIGHT 167 Schaefer appears, he has covered him entire body with a variety of CLAYS and OCHERS, creating a mottled, EARTHEN CAMOUFLAGE pattern. Holding his weapons in one hand, he moves up the canyon, ascending into a rising boulder field. 167-A EXT. BOULDER FIELD - NIGHT 167-A Where the river flows into a series of falls and pools, surrounded by massive boulders and table top rocks, their crevices jammed with large amounts of DRIFTWOOD swept down at high water from the forests above. On a flattened section of rock, Schaefer drags a large section of BRANCHES INTO VIEW, adding it to a growing mound of FIREWOOD. He kneels, tending to a pile of DRIES GRASS, LEAVES and other tinder. Using the last of his precious matches, he sets fire to the tinder, gently coaxing the tiny blaze into a slowly consumming FIRE, flames starting to lick upward through the dry wood. He stands, staring into the rapidly growing blaze. He turns, facing the canyon rim, raising his weapons in one hand. From the depths of his soul, a SOUND emerges; primitive and visceral, as if from an animal in pain. He throws back his head and SHOUTS. 168 EXT. CANYON RIM - NIGHT 168 A hundred feet below, Schaefer stands in the boulder field, his mud coated body bathed in RED FIRELIGHT, looking like a fierce, primitive warrior; a timeless, prehistoric sight, his long and WAILING CRY, ECHOING endlessly through the canyon. 169 EXT. HUNTER'S SHIP - NIGHT 169 Backlit by the LIGHT of the open door, the Hunter's head, in three-quarter profile, his eyes gleaming, rears INTO VIEW, looking up at the sky, HEARING Schaefer's cry. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 89 169 CONTINUED: 169 Responding with a low HISS, he turns back, raising in one hand his weapon, in the other a U-shaped SHARPENING DEVICE. As he passes the weapon through the device, it FLASHES into life, a deep, HARMONIC HUM emitted as the blade grows with energy, growing hotter, hotter and HOTTER with each stroke. He draws the blade now WHITE-HOT through the device for the last stroke. He lifts it, testing its balance, the WHITE-HOT blade illuminating his alien face. 170- OUT 170- 177 177 178 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - JUNGLE - NIGHT 178 Emerging from his camp, the Hunter swings into the nearby tree line, moving to the uppermost branches. The Hunter travels silently from tree to tree, arriving at the canyon rim where far below he SEES in the canyon, the BONFIRE, a leaping, shifting, multi-colored collage of HEAT WAVES and FLARES, luring him onward. 179 SCHAEFER 179 hidden back within the deep notch of several large LOGS and broken trees, in the river canyon. Below him, on the rock plateau, is the bonfire, illuminating in SHIFTING PATTERNS of LIGHT, the awaiting arena of destiny. His eyes shift, trancelike, moving from side to side, watching the approaches to the fire below. His senses are alert; his nerves on a wire edge. 180 EXT. HUNTER - NIGHT 180 His SHADOW-FORM descending through the canyon, a rippling movement of grays and blacks, passing through the shifting light patterns on the rocks, cast by the growing bonfire below. 181 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - NIGHT 181 His eyes probe the canyon, drawn to the swirling patterns of HEAT given off by the gaseous COMBUSTION of the bonfire. 182 EXT. HUNTER - NIGHT 182 Continues on, moving silently down through the canyon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 90 183 SCHAEFER 183 sits motionless, nearly invisible in his mud camouflage amid the darkness of the logs. Suddenly, over the CRACKLING of the FIRE, the BUZZING, CLICKING of INSECTS, and the CROAKING of FROGS, suddenly CEASES. Slowly, painfully he draws the bow to full arch, his wounded shoulder trembling, the BLOOD beginning to seep through the bandage. The bow straining at full draw, Schaefer stares intently, concentrating, searching for the Hunter's form in the dancing light below. 183-A EXT. THE HUNTER - NIGHT 183-A Like a giant insect, drops from above, fifteen feet above Schaefer, his steel-like spurs digging deep into the log. 183-B EXT. SCHAEFER - NIGHT 183-B He freezes at the sound of the Hunter dropping, his eyes wide with fear. The slightest movement will bring an instant attack from the Hunter behind him. But to wait, his back exposed. 183-C EXT. THE HUNTER - NIGHT 183-C Jumps from the log above and to Schaefer's left, onto a boulder, gaining a better vantage point of the arena and fire below. He raises his weapon, his EYES glistening in the dim light, searching. A quiet HISS emerges from his mouth. 183-D EXT. SCHAEFER - NIGHT 183-D Spins and fires at the movement of the Hunter. 184 EXT. ARROW - NIGHT 184 Flies into the night, lodging into a BRANCH of an exposed tree, just missing the Hunter's head. In a blur, the Hunter's arm streaks downward, a dull flash of light leaving his fingers as he fires the weapon, the projectile STREAKING downward, EXPLODING into the log, inches from Schaefer, sending a SHOWER of wood chips and bark, flying in every direction. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 91 185 SCHAEFER 185 in a flash, is up and running, clutching his weapons, leaping from boulder to boulder. He jumps down into the lighted area below, landing hard, rolling into the protective shadows of the rocks, putting the loping fire between he and the Hunter's position on the rocks above. He moves forward, darting to look backwards before leaping off the lip of the table rock into the boulder field below, a flat plane littered by weirdly shaped, water-erroded rocks, forming a giant stone AMPITHEATER. Shadows leap and dance across the boulders, cast by the bonfire from the plateau above. Schaefer crouches between two large boulders, quietly breathing through clenched teeth, feeling the pain of his now freely bleeding shoulder wound. 185-A EXT. HUNTER - NIGHT 185-A A nightmarish silhouette appearing for an instant on the rim of the plateau above. 185-B EXT. SCHAEFER - NIGHT 185-B Over the SOUNDS of the FIRE and the softly flowing RIVER, distinguishes a NEW SOUND, one that brings fear and a savage determination to his heart: the rhythmical CLICK-SCRAPE, CLICK-SCRAPE of the Hunter's feet, moving over the rocks, somewhere above him. Drawing back on the bow, Schaefer moves around the boulder to his left, heading towards the sound of the Hunter. 186- OUT 186- 197 197 198 INT. HUNTER. SOMEWHERE IN THE BOULDERS - NIGHT 198 REVEALED in flashes of strobing light, pauses at the juncture of several towering rocks. He stands, erect, tilting his head slowly, turning it from side to side, his ears trying to orientate to the diversity of SOUNDS reflecting off the circular walls, enclosing the boulder field. 199 INT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - NIGHT 199 His vision, accustomed to another spectrum, has little available heat to register vivid images of the inert, lifeless forms of the stones. He SEES instead, a world of soft, ill-defined shapes in a pale MAGENTA field of flickering heat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 92 200 INT. SCHAEFER - NIGHT 200 Creeping forward, carefully placing one foot in front of the other, suddenly stops, hearing the CLICK-SCRAPE, CLICK-SCRAPE, now on his right. Starting to move in this new direction, he stops again, HEARING the sound now directly across from him. Listening, he hears the sound again from yet another direction, the sound ECHOING in the natural ampitheater of rock. Schaefer, uncertain of where to turn, waits. Suddenly he crouches and freezes, HEARING the unbelievable SOUND of a HUMAN VOICE, softly echoing through the ampitheater. ANNA'S VOICE (o.s.; filtered; in Spanish) Look out, behind you!!! Schaefer spins, his breath catching at the sound of Anna's voice. Wide-eyed, straining, he waits, hearing only the muted FLOWING of water, the HISSING and POPPING of the dying fire above, the shadows growing longer, darker with each minute. And then again, Anna's VOICE. ANNA'S VOICE (o.s.; in Spanish) ...Look out, behind you! SCHAEFER (to himself) Anna...? Tracelike he moves towards the sound. 201 THE HUNTER 201 his head canted, throat distended, utters another mimicry. 202 SCHAEFER 202 moving towards the space between two boulders from which the VOICE seems to emanate. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 93 202 CONTINUED: 202 SCHAEFER (louder) Anna...? 203 THE HUNTER 203 his ears now directed towards the SOUND of Schaefer's voice, his slowly approaching FOOTSTEPS, raises his weapon. 204 SCHAEFER 204 pauses before the opening of the passageway. All is silent. He hesitates to enter. Listeneing. He starts to move and then hears a NEW VOICE: HUNTER (o.s.; Mac's voice) Dillon, over here... Schaefer, horrified at the sound of the dead man's voice, backs quickly into the space between a boulder and the high rock wall of the ampitheater. 205 INT. HUNTER - SOMEWHERE IN THE BOULDERS - NIGHT 205 His feet moving quietly over the rock, the shadow-light deepening with the dying fire above, closing in. 205-A EXT. SCHAEFER - NIGHT 205-A Bow drawn, trapped against the rock, HEARING the sound of the Hunter approaching from the left, now the right, is helpless, not knowing where to fire, the Hunter's deadly strike only an instant away. Still holding the bang-stick in his bow hand, he carefully releases the draw on the string, reaching to his neck for the FLASH-GRENADE. With painstaking care he removes the grenade from his neck. Focusing on the rocks before him and the still approaching SOUND, he reaches down with the grenade, gripping with his fingertips the matchhead fuse, placing it against the rocks at his side. With a sudden jerk of his hand he strikes and throws the grenade, snatching up the bang-stick with his good hand. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 94 205-A CONTINUED: 205-A The matchhead SPUTTERS as the grenade flies through the air, an instant later a blinding, WHITE FLASH of light illuminates the ampitheater... In that instant Schaefer SEES above him and to his left, the HUNTER, poised on top of a rock, his weapon raised, about to strike! Momentarily blinded by the flash of light, the Hunter's head recoils to the side. Darkness swallows the image of the Hunter, but in that second, Schaefer seizes his advantage, hurling the bang-stick spear. 206- OUT 206- 213 213 214 INT. THE SPEAR - NIGHT 214 It smashes into the boulder at the Hunter's feet. The Hunter leaps as the grenade DETONATES, shrapnel tearing into his body. With a terrifying SCREAM of pain and anger, the Hunter clutches frantically at the WOUNDS in his neck and chest. Another bloodcurdling SCREAM OF RAGE and the Hunter is gone. 215 INT. WATERFALL - NIGHT 215 Cascades over the rocks, fed by a small stream running through the ravine. A pile of BOULDERS breaks the falls, filling the area with an everconstant MIST. Schaefer appears, holding the bow and arrow, following the LUMINOUS BLOOD TRAIL of the Hunter over the rock. Moving behind the falls, Schaefer's body is briefly soaked by the water, the hardened and CAMOUFLAGE beginning to dissolve, running off his body. He continues on, slowly, cautiously following the blood trail. 216 INT. TABLE TOP BOULDER - NIGHT 216 Next to the flowing stream, surrounded by an open area of rock. Schaefer, smeared with blood and sweat, his clay and ochre camouflage partially washed away, climbs up a log onto the boulder. Oblivious to the searing pain in his (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 95 216 CONTINUED: 216 shoulder, he breathes in hot, powerful exchanges, his eyes wide and glowing with vengeance. SCHAEFER Bleed, you bastard. His bow down, Schaefer follows the blood trail across the rock, edging alongside a huge vertical boulder. The blood trail stops. He takes another step forward, past a darkened ALCOVE... Schaefer spins, SEEING in the alcove the SURPRISED Hunter whirl and spring towards him... Schaefer in a bound closes the distance, savagely kicking the Hunter's arm. The WEAPON flies from the Hunter's hand CLATTERING to the rock. Before he can recover, Schaefer follows with a karate kick to the chest, hurling the Hunter to the ground, his back exposed. In a flash, Schaefer is standing over the Hunter, the bow drawn, poised, the blood from his open wound dripping onto the Hunter's back. The Hunter slowly rolls onto his back, REVEALING his face, his eyes bleached white in shock from the loss of blood. The Hunter's body, rippled out of control, trying desperately to orientate itself to the environment. SCHAEFER (incredulous) Who the hell are you...? 217 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. OF SCHAEFER - NIGHT 217 Schaefer's body, looms over him, MOTTLED and STREAKED from his exposed skin, blood oozing from the shoulder wound, his eyes like black sockets in his almost skull-like face. Seen from this perspective, Schaefer is a frightening, horrible visage. 218 THE HUNTER 218 shudders, GASPING hungrily for air, strugging to speak. From his throat, Schaefer HEARS the feeble, distorted efforts of the Hunter, at first garbled, incomprehensible and then, slowly, chillingly, taking on the timbre and quality of his OWN VOICE. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 96 218 CONTINUED: 218 HUNTER (electronic; filtered) Who... (improving) ...the hell... (nearly perfect) ...are... (perfect) ...You? The Hunter's strength seems to fade even more... Then, suddenly, with the last of his diminishing strength, he lashes out with one arm, activating the lethal, razor sharp SPURS on his wrists. The Hunter's coiled leg kicks upward with incredible force, his terrible spur ripping into Schaefer's thigh, hurling Schaefer into the air, flipping him over, sending him crashing to his back into the shallow pool of water, momentarily losing his bow. He flounders desperately in the water, searching for the bow. He finds it just as... The Hunter rises slowly to his feet, GASPING desperately for breath. He inhales deeply, hungrily, gaining strength with each breath. Schaefer looks from the pool to SEE the Hunter, raising his weapon to throw. In one totally instinctual movement, Schaefer draws back on the arrow to its very tip and fires. The arrow, with a deadly THUD, penetrates deeply into the Hunter's neck. Another bloodcurdling SCREAM of RAGE as the Hunter clutches his throat, dropping his weapon. An instant later and the Hunter is gone. 219 EXT. LOG BRIDGE - NIGHT (PRE-DAWN) 219 Emerging onto a huge log leading to the rim of the canyon, Schaefer holding the Hunter's weapon, pauses several times, finding more traces of the Hunter's blood, the deep WOUND in his thigh flowing heavily. He continues across the log and climbs the bank, following the traces into the jungle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 97 220 EXT. JUNGLE - PRE-DAWN 220 Moving along the rim of the coulee, Schaefer follows the thick, orange blobs hanging on leaves and spent on the forest floor. Too weak to move through the trees, the Hunter has left a SWATH of trampled grasses, broken twigs and branches in his headlong retreat from Schaefer: the Hunter turned Hunted. 221 EXT. TWO ATTACK HELICOPTERS - DAY (PRE-DAWN) 221 Powering upward from the canyon, the WATERFALL in the b.g., clear the rim, racing along at treetop height, heading towards the island promontory. 222 EXT. HUNTER'S P.O.V. - CAMP -PRE-DAWN 222 Staggering into the clearing, bleeding severely. The Hunter is rapidly losing his camouflage ability, his skin turning a PALE GREEN, flexing and pulsing in shock. The glow of light from the ENERGY FIELD reflecting off the spreading apron of BLOOD flowing from his wound. With trembling hands he grasps the arrow and breaks it, pulling the shaft from his neck. He screams in pain. 223 EXT. GLEN - PRE-DAWN 223 Schaefer follows the blood trail, deeper into the incredibly dense vegetation, ripping aside the heavy growth, plunging onward. Before him, covering a narrow passageway, is a huge SPIDER WEB, intricate, four feet across. Schaefer starts to sweep aside the web. With a sharp intake of breath, he halts, inches from the wed. Something is wrong. Examining the web closer he sees not silken threads but a hard and shiny network of HAIR-FINE WIRE: A TRAP. He backs up, picking up a hefty branch from the ground. He swings the branch with a mighty heave, clenching his teeth in pain. The branch sails end over end into the web impacting the strands. A metallic SNAP is HEARD; a high-pitches WHINE and the log is violently severed, the pieces flying in opposite directions with great speed. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 98 223 CONTINUED: 223 Schaefer runs on, again picking up the blood traces of the fleeing Hunter. 224 EXT. HUNTER'S CAMP 224 At the edge of the site. He SEES the Hunter staggering through the foliage. Schaefer starts after him but then stops, dumbfounded by the incredible images that crash in on him: TRANSLUCENT HUMAN SKINS stretched over frames, the hair of the attached scalps moving lightly in the wind; SKINNED BODIES, some lying on the ground, others hung from the trees, like Hopper and his men were. He turns back, SEEING the Hunter as he passes through the shimmering distortion of a FORCEFIELD enveloping the forest. Within the force field he SEES the vague, nearly transparent OUTLINE of the Hunter's ship. He approaches it, wide-eyed, his senses reeling with astonishment and rage. From within the force field, a PASSAGE WAY of BLUE LIGHT appears, the Hunter's form backlit as he ascends the RAMP to his spacecraft. 225- OUT 225- 226 226 227 THE HUNTER 227 as he passes his hand through a light BEAM, the ship instantly responds, as a low, TURBINELIKE HOWL is HEARD, building slowly in volume and pitch. 228 SCHAEFER 228 in his weakened condition staggers forward, looking up, SEEING the passage way of light diminish as the door begins to close. As rising HEAT WAVES begin to envelope the ship, the Hunter stares out at Schaefer, the heat waves increasing as the KEENING WHINE of the ship's drive builds. He enters the force field, the door now inches from closing. On the ground, nearly obscured by the grass and leaves, Schaefer SEES the Hunter's WEAPON, lying where he dropped it in his desperate flight to escape. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 99 228 CONTINUED: 228 Schaefer grabs up the weapon and holds it. How the hell does it work?...He squeezes the handle of the weapon feeling it resist. Nothing happens. With the last ounce of his strength, and with a BELLOW of RAGE, his arm muscles bulging, he crushes down on the handle... In a FLASH of blue-white light, the weapon becomes ACTIVATED. Schaefer raises the weapon, sensing its power and function. In the final seconds before the door closes, Schaefer, with a triumphant SCREAM, fires the weapon... The weapon, flaring with deadly energy, drops and turns sideways, accelerating through the door and into the spacecraft. 229 INT. SPACECRAFT - DAY 229 The weapon impacts the Hunter, his head EXPLODING in a fountain of orange blood and pale green tissue. The weapon continues on, burying itself into the energy field, bolts of plasma-energy begin arcing from the force field. Schaefer falls forward onto his hands and knees, staring at the Hunter's ship. The SOUND of the hyper-drive continues to increase, as the ship begins to tremble. 230 EXT. HELICOPTER COCKPIT - DAY 230 As suddenly the instrument panel goes wild, gauges spinning, digital readouts racing out of control. The SOUND of the turbine faltering, changing pitch. The pilot lurches forward with the stick, fighting for control. 231 EXT. HUNTER'S CAMP - DAY 231 The multi harmonic whine of the Hunter's ship is still building as the ground begins to shake. Schaefer, realizing that the ship is going to explode, and ignoring the pain of his shoulder and leg, runs desperately, searching for cover. He sprints for (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ 100 231 CONTINUED: 231 the edge of the clearing, diving over the embankment just as: A blinding purple FLASH blows the ship to pieces. 232 EXT. HELICOPTER - COCKPIT - DAY 232 Enveloped in the flash of intense light. CRIES of surprise fill the ship as the SHOCK-WAVE hits the chopper, heeling it hard over to one side. Below, the concentric waves of energy race outward from the center of the blast, an unearthly sight, like the miniature birth of a star. The helicopter suddenly regains control, its power restored. PILOT Holy, fuck, what was that...?!!! PHILIPS Orbit right...check it out! The helicopter levels out and heads toward the smoking, devastated site of the blast. 233 EXT. HUNTER'S CAMP - DAY 133 The jungle has been completely transformed. No longer lush and verdant, the area is clear-cut, two feet above the ground, covered in FINE WHITE, smoldering ASH. Amongst the shattered stumps, debris from the ship, bright as magnesium flares, burns with exotic colors. If the f.g., Schaefer, a living dead-man, streaked with the alien ash, rises up from a shallow depression, staring dumbstruck at the site. Breaking in low over the treetops, the HELICOPTERS flare up into position, one preparing to land. As the chopper descends, the crew, standing in the door way, stare transfixed at the devastation, their eyes trying to penetrate the dense white smoke. As the helicopter slowly descends, its propwash creating a raging storm, Schaefer materializes from the SWIRLING SMOKE AND ASH, his features taking form as he approaches, his naked body covered in mud, blood and ash.------------------------------------------------------------------------ 101 234 EXT. SCHAEFER'S P.O.V. - LANDING HELICOPTER - DAY 234 As the chopper, emerging from the vortex, settles towards the ground where the spacecraft once stood. Through the distorted veil, the helicopter, bristling with WEAPONS, VISORED and HELMETED MEN, now covered with WHITE ASH, looks like a landing spacecraft. 235 EXT. HELICOPTER - DAY 235 The door gunner swings the M-60 into firing position, pointing it at Schaefer. He racks the bolt, loading a round. The crewmen look tense, frightened. Anna, standing next to the door gunner, stares at the strange creature before her, narrowing her eyes, uncertain. Is there something familiar about the figure? 236 SCHAEFER 236 stands in the clearing, staring at the helicopter and the array of weapons pointed at him. He looks dazed, like a man making contact with members of an alien race, for the first time. 237 THE HELICOPTER 237 hovers low to the ground, the tension inside building as Schaefer approaches. More weapons swing into position. Fingers tighten on triggers. Suddenly Anna recognizes the figure. Realizing the danger she holds up her hands, shouting ANNA NOOOOOO!!!!!! 238 EXT. HELICOPTERS - JUNGLE - DAY 238 Flash overhead, heading across the trackless jungle, their rotors THUMPING like heavy machine gun fire. 239 INT. HELICOPTER - DAY 239 Schaefer, a blanket over his shoulders, still in the remains of his mud camouflage, his body laced with deep cuts; his chest and shoulder caked with dried blood, is seated on a bench in the cargo hold. (CONTINUED)------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVISED - "HUNTER" - 4/17/86 102 * 239 CONTINUED: 239 Near the cockpit are General Philips, an ARMY MEDIC, two MACHINE GUNNERS. They look at Schaefer in awe. The Medic, holding an open FIELD KIT, a syringe and bandages, turns to Philips. MEDIC (shaking his head) Looks like he's been through hell...can't believe he's still alive. What the hell went on down there? PHILIPS If it hadn't been for her, he'd be dead now. That story she told us...I still can't believe it. He looks at Anna, her eyes meeting his, as if asking for an explanation. She looks at him a moment before turning back to Schaefer, staring at him as if he were risen from the dead. She looks into Schaefer's face, Schaefer returning her look, recognition passing between them. Anna extends her hand. Schaefer slowly reaches out, touching her fingers, then clasping her hand. Schaefer turns his eyes to stare out the open door, beyond the passing jungle below, out to the heavens. He turns back, looking at Anna, a faint smile crossing his face...they made it. 240 EXT. TWO HELICOPTERS - JUNGLE - DAY 240 Pull away and head towards the distant, green horizon. FADE OUT THE END
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+                                                           REVOLUTIONARY ROAD                                                   Written by                                        Justin Haythe                                        EXT. NEW YORK CITY - NIGHT, 1947. FLASHBACK.                    City lights. The soaring bridges and glowing windows of New          York City. The SOUNDS of a cocktail party.                              INT. GREENWICH VILLAGE APARTMENT - NIGHT, 1947. FLASHBACK.                    A party   of bohemian types in the village. Artist's canvases          propped   up against the walls. A narrow hallway with couples          talking   intimately. Two rooms crammed with young people          smoking   and drinking.                    A man and a woman in their 20's stand alone in a corner...                    FRANK WHEELER, intelligent good-looks, and APRIL JOHNSON, a          patrician beauty, a woman amongst girls. He's been making          her laugh.                                          FRANK                      So, what do you do?                                          APRIL                      I'm studying to be an actress.                      You?                                          FRANK                      I'm a longshoreman.                                          APRIL                          (smiles)                      No, I mean really.                                          FRANK                      I mean really too. Starting                      Monday, though, I'm doing something                      a little more glamorous. Night                      cashier at a cafeteria.                                          APRIL                          (smiles)                      I don't mean how you make money.   I                      mean what are you interested in?                                          FRANK                      Honey - if I had the answer to that                      one, I bet I'd bore us both to                      death in half an hour.                                                                                2.                              She laughs.   He smiles, revelling in her attention.                              INT. GREENWICH VILLAGE APARTMENT - NIGHT, 1947, LATER.                    Later, Frank and April dance. They move well, in sync,          looking into each other's eyes. He slides his hand down the          silk of April's dress until it rests in the small of her          back.                    Close on their hands. Their fingers slowly entwine as they          lose themselves in each other...                                                                   SMASH CUT TO:                              INT. AUDITORIUM - NIGHT, PRESENT.                    Close on Frank's face, seven years later, full of doubt and          tension as he watches his wife, April, on stage and as we          hear the hollow VOICES of a very bad amateur play...                    Finally, mercifully, the curtain falls.   Nothing.   Then          vigorous, relieved applause.                    Frank hears a voice from behind, through the applause:                                        WOMAN                    Thank God that's over...                    April takes the final bow. She's fighting not to cry. Frank          applauds her loudly. Looks around to see who else is joining          him. But there is no noticeable crescendo in the applause.                    Then Frank hears the voice again:                                        WOMAN (CONT'D)                    ...And she was very disappointing.                    He can't argue.                              INT. HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - NIGHT, MOMENTS LATER.                    Frank now moves against the crowd of exiting audience members          towards the stage. He keeps his head lowered, avoiding eye-          contact, until he feels a hand on his sleeve.                                                                                3.                              MR. AND MRS. GIVINGS, an older couple, are standing in his          way.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Frank! Very nice Frank!                                        FRANK                    Thanks, Mrs. Givings.                    Frank steps around her.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    I can't tell you how much we                    enjoyed it. You have a very                    talented wife.                    Frank forces a smile as he goes.                                        FRANK                    I'll pass it along!                              INT. DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT.                    April sits alone at her dressing table crying.                              INT. BACK STAGE - NIGHT.                    The CAST mills backstage. The mood is subdued, but some have          decided to make light of the disaster.                    Frank moves through the crowd.    Across the room, he sees -                    MILLY CAMPBELL, 30's, determinedly bright, up on her tip-          toes. Her husband SHEP, 30's, heavy-set, is still in          costume, shell-shocked and pebbled with sweat.                                        MILLY                    Frank!                                        FRANK                    Hi!                                        MILLY                    She's through there...!                        (points)                    You `bout ready for that drink?                                                                                4.                                                  FRANK                    Couple of minutes!                              INT. DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT.                    Frank enters. The chair in front of the mirror is empty. A          cigarette burns in the ashtray. Frank glances at a standing          screen in the corner. April's costume is draped over the          top. He goes towards it, deciding what to say.                                         FRANK                        (heartfelt)                    April, sweetheart.   You were great.                    I mean it.                    The door to the bathroom opens. April enters in street          clothes. Frank's been talking to an empty room.                                        APRIL                    Hi. You about ready to leave?                    I've just got to get this makeup                    off, then we can go.                    She sits in front of the mirror, too embarrassed to look at          him. FRANK can see that her face is blotchy from crying. He          puts his hand on her shoulder.                                        FRANK                    Well... I guess it wasn't a triumph                    or anything, was it?                    APRIL looks at him in the mirror. She holds his look just a          second. And from her expression, he knows he said exactly          the wrong thing.                                        APRIL                    I guess not. I'll be ready in a                    minute.                                        FRANK                    Take your time.                    He removes his hands and lights a cigarette.     APRIL begins to          take off her makeup.                                                                                  5.                                                  APRIL                    Will you do me a favor? Milly and                    Shep wanted us to go out with them                    afterwards. Will you say we can't?                    Say it's because of the baby sitter                    or something?                                        FRANK                    Well, the thing is, I already said                    that we could. I mean, I just saw                    them out there and I said we would.                                        APRIL                        (tense)                    Oh. Then would you mind going out                    again and saying you were mistaken?                    That should be simple enough.                                        FRANK                    Don't you think that's a little bit                    rude, April?                                        APRIL                    Well I'll tell them myself.                                         FRANK                    Okay. Okay. Take it easy. I'll                    tell them.                    He backs to the door.                              INT. HIGH-SCHOOL CORRIDOR - NIGHT.                    April and Frank walk down a long empty echoing corridor, past          school lockers, booster club posters and silent classrooms.                    They don't touch.   They don't speak.   The tension between          them is palpable.                              INT. WHEELER CAR - NIGHT.                    Frank drives. April stares ahead.    Their faces are lit by          the dashboard. After a while...                                                                         6.                                                  FRANK                    I mean it, baby. You were the only                    person in that play.                                           APRIL                    Thank you.                    He looks over at her.                                        FRANK                    We just never should've let you get                    mixed up in the damned thing.                                           APRIL                    All right.                                        FRANK                    You've studied for Christ's sake.                                        APRIL                    Could we sort of stop talking about                    it now?                                        FRANK                    Sure. I just don't want you                    feeling bad about it, that's all.                    Because it's not worth it. I mean,                    it's bad enough having to live out                    here among these damn people -                    what'd you say?                                        APRIL                    I said yes. All right, Frank.                    Could you just stop talking now,                    before you drive me crazy, please?                    Frank clenches his jaw and flips on the indicator.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    What are you doing? Why are we                    stopping?                              EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT.                    The car comes to a stop at the side of the road.                                                                             7.                              INT. WHEELER CAR - NIGHT.                    Frank turns off the ignition.   He slides towards her.                                        APRIL                    No, Frank, please don't...                    He puts his arms around her.                                        FRANK                    Baby, it's okay...                                        APRIL                    Please don't touch me.                                         FRANK                    April...                                        APRIL                    Why can't you...just... LEAVE ME                    ALONE!                    Frank slides back behind the wheel.    Beat.                                        FRANK                    It strikes me, that there's a                    considerable amount of bullshit                    going on here.... And there's one                    or two things I'd like to clear up.                    Number one, it's not my fault the                    play was lousy. Number two, it's                    sure as hell not my fault you                    didn't turn out to be an actress,                    and the sooner you get over that                    little piece of soap opera the                    better off we'll both be. Number                    three, I don't happen to fit the                    role of dumb, insensitive suburban                    husband; you've been trying to hang                    that one on me ever since we moved                    here. Number four -                    She opens the door and is out of the car, flashing across the          headlights. Frank struggles with his door.                                                                               8.                              EXT. HIGHWAY SHOULDER - NIGHT.                    April stands in the dark 30 yards from the road looking over          an expansive countryside. There's only a few lights in the          distance. This is still farmland.                    Frank comes up behind her, careful to keep his distance.                                        FRANK                    What the hell are you doing?     Come                    back to the car.                                       APRIL                    No. Just let me stand here a                    second.                    Frank raises his arms in exasperation. A car approaches.    He          puts a hand in his pocket and tries to look casual. The          car's headlights light up April's back, then pass.                                        FRANK                    April?                    She doesn't move.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    Look, can't we sit in the car and                    talk about it, instead of running                    all over Route Twelve?                                        APRIL                    Haven't I made it clear I don't                    particularly want to talk about it?                                        FRANK                    Okay. Jesus, I'm trying to be nice                    about this thing.                                        APRIL                    How kind of you. How terribly,                    terribly kind of you.                                        FRANK                    Wait a minute. I don't deserve                    this.                                                                              9.                                                  APRIL                    You're always so wonderfully                    definite, aren't you, on the                    subject of what you do and don't                    deserve?                    She turns and walks past him back towards the car.                                        FRANK                    Wait a minute!                    He stumbles after her.   Other cars whizz by, but he's past          caring.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    Wait a minute, God damn it!                    She leans against the car and folds her arms.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    You listen to me. This is one time                    you're not going to get away with                    twisting everything I say.                                        APRIL                    Christ, I wish you'd stayed home                    tonight!                                        FRANK                    You know what you are when you're                    like this? You're sick. I really                    mean that. You're sick!                                        APRIL                    And you know what you are?                        (eyes raking him)                    You're disgusting.                                          FRANK                    Oh, yeah?                                        APRIL                    Just because you've got me safely                    in this little trap, you think you                    can bully me into feeling whatever                    you want!                                                                              10.                                                  FRANK                    You in a trap! You in a trap!                    Jesus, don't make me laugh!                                        APRIL                    Yes, me.                        (clutching at her chest)                    Me! Me! Me! Oh, you poor, pathetic                    little boy ≠≠ Look at you! Look at                    you, and tell me how by any stretch                    of the imagination you can call                    yourself a man!                    He raises his fist, she flinches away, and BONG! BONG! BONG!          BONG! He punches the hood of the car. Then, silence. The          look April gives him is probably the worst look he's ever          received: a look of pitying boredom.                                        FRANK                    Don't look at me like that, April.                                        APRIL                    Could we please go home now?                    She calmly walks around and gets in the car.    After a moment,          Frank follows...                              INT. CAR - NIGHT.                    They sit silently in the car in the darkness.                    TITLE CARD: REVOLUTIONARY ROAD                              EXT. WHEELER HOUSE - MORNING.                    A small, attractive suburban house in the morning sunshine.          Frank walks out to the car, stops and looks back at the          house.                              INT. WHEELER LIVING ROOM - MORNING.                    April stands at the window.   The SOUND of the car pulling          away.                                                                             11.                              EXT. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD TRAIN STATION - MORNING.                    Frank stands on a grey platform, amongst a crowd of          commuters. The morning commuter train eases into the          station.                              INT. COMMUTER TRAIN - MORNING.                    Frank sits against the train window holding a "New Yorker."          Around him, the train is crowded with men reading newspapers.                              INT. GRAND CENTRAL PLATFORM - MORNING.                    In one swift movement, all the doors of the commuter train          swing open as a hundred feet step down onto the platform.                              INT. GRAND CENTRAL STATION - MORNING.                    An empty stairwell in Grand Central: a tide of grim,          determined commuters rise into view. A mass of suits and          hats. Frank is amongst them.                              EXT. MIDTOWN STREET - MORNING.                    Knox Headquarters -- a squat, formidable structure.   Thick          HONKING traffic. Crowded sidewalks.                    Frank walks with the crowd past a display window: bright          cardboard images of fashionable women grin and point their          pencils at a list of product benefits - "SPEED, ACCURACY,          CONTROL."                    Pride of place at the center of the display is a new Knox 500          Electronic Computer with a sign that reads: "Performs A Man's          Lifetime of Work in Just 30 Minutes!"                              INT. KNOX BUILDING ELEVATOR - MORNING.                    Frank rides crushed against the wall in a crowded elevator.          He glances over at -                    MAUREEN GRUBE, 23, ripe, a little obvious, but undeniably          sexy.   She meets his look. And looks away.                                                                              12.                              INT. KNOX 15TH FLOOR, FRANK'S CUBICLE - MORNING.                    Frank opens the bottom right drawer of his desk, props up his          feet and lights a cigarette.                                        JACK (O.S.)                    I'm going to need your help this                    morning, Old Scout.                    Seated beside Frank, JACK ORDWAY, 40's, tall and effete with          greying hair, appears to be hard at work, hunched over a          file. He is, in fact, propping up his head with his hand          while shielding his eyes.                                        JACK (CONT'D)                    For the next few hours, you're to                    warn me of Bandy's every approach                    and you may have to screen me from                    public view in the likely event I                    that I throw up. It's that bad.                                        FRANK                    Good morning, Jack.                                        JACK                    Nothing good about it, I assure                    you.                              EXT. WHEELER HOUSE - DAY.                    April drags two overflowing garbage cans to the curb. She          stops and looks down the empty road. Not a single human          being in sight.                    Close on April's face.                              INT. MRS. GIVINGS' CAR - DAY, 1948. FLASHBACK.                    Mrs. Givings sits behind the wheel, driving slowly along a          suburban street talking at high speed.                    Frank sits beside her wearing sunglasses.    April sits in the          back.                    We don't yet see what Mrs. Givings is describing, only as it          plays on their faces.                                                                             13.                                                   MRS. GIVINGS                    Of course, I knew the moment you                    came off the train what you were                    looking for... A small remodeled                    barn, or a carriage house ≠ And I                    just hate to be the one to tell you                    that sort of thing just isn't                    available anymore... But I don't                    want you to despair. There is one                    place down here I want to show                    you... Now of course it isn't very                    desirable at this end.                        (gestures)                    As you see, Crawford Road is mostly                    these little cinder-blocky, pick-up                    trucky places ≠ plumbers,                    carpenters, little local people of                    that sort.                    Frank turns around to April, lowers his glasses. April          stifles a giggle.                                        MRS. GIVINGS (CONT'D)                    But eventually...                        (she points, her arm fully                         extended)                    Eventually it leads up to                    Revolutionary Road, which is much                    nicer. Now, the place I want to                    show you, is a sweet little house                    and a sweet little setting.                    Simple, clean lines, good lawns,                    marvelous for children. It's right                    around this next curve... Now,                    you'll see it ≠ there.                    They all look.                                        MRS. GIVINGS (CONT'D)                    See the little white one? Sweet                    isn't it? The perky way it sits                    there on its little slope?                    Charming, isn't it?                    April smiles.    A smile full of promise.                                                                              14.                                                   APRIL                    Oh, yes.                              INT. BANDY'S OFFICE - DAY. PRESENT.                    Frank's FIST raps against the door of an office...                    TED BANDY, 46, tight and precise, looks up from behind a well-          organized desk.                                        FRANK                    You wanted to see me?                    Bandy holds out an envelope from behind his desk.                                        BANDY                    Came for you from Toledo this                    morning.                    Frank reaches for it, but Bandy moves it out of reach.                                        BANDY (CONT'D)                    This is the third one this month.                                        FRANK                    Oh, right, sorry. I thought I'd                    taken care of that...                    Frank reaches again, but Bandy moves it.   A little man          enjoying his power.                                        BANDY                    I'm not prepared to have this                    conversation again, Frank. You                    understand?                                        FRANK                    ...Absolutely, yes.                                        BANDY                    These folks in the provinces look                    up to us, Frank.    We need to be                    efficient. We can't have this kind                    of back and forth, and so forth.                    It's just not efficient. Am I                    right?                                                                              15.                                                  FRANK                    ...Absolutely, yes, yes...                    Bandy finally hands over the envelope.                              INT. KNOX 15TH FLOOR, FRANK'S CUBICLE - DAY.                    Frank sits at his desk.                                        JACK                    What was that about?                                        FRANK                    Toledo. Branch manager wants a                    revised brochure for the conference                    on "The Knox 500."                        (impersonating Bandy)                    "It's just not efficient."                                        JACK                        (sharp inhale)                    Sounds like a real goodie.                                        FRANK                    I don't even know what the Knox 500                    does... Do you?                                        JACK                    Don't insult me.                    Frank drops it in his In Box. Then, looking up, he sees          Maureen across the office. Thinks.                              INT. KNOX 15TH FLOOR, MAUREEN'S DESK - DAY.                    Frank stands over Maureen at her desk.   The envelope from          Toledo lies in front of her.                                        FRANK                    Now, if you'll look in the inactive                    file under SP-1109 you'll find                    copies of all the stuff we sent to                    the agency... and that way we can                    trace the thing back to its                    original sources.                                                                              16.                              She nods, jotting down a note.                    For the first time, Frank allows himself to take in her          profile, her cleavage, her lips.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    I hope you weren't planning on an                    early lunch.                                        MAUREEN                    I'm not really hungry.                                        FRANK                    Good. I'll check on you later.                              INT. ALGONQUIN HOTEL RESTAURANT - AFTERNOON.                    Maureen and Frank sit in a secluded corner.    Maureen sips a          martini. She's already a little drunk.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    You know something? You're lucky                    you met me.                                          MAUREEN                    Oh?    How's that?                                        FRANK                    I can show you the ropes. There's                    an art to survival at Knox. Let me                    show you what I mean.                    He waves over the waiter.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    Bring me the telephone would you?                    And two more martinis.                    Maureen looks daunted at her empty glass.                                          MAUREEN                    Wow.                    The waiter brings over the phone. Frank dials. He holds his          finger to his lips. He uses an authoritative tone.                                                                            17.                                                  FRANK                    Hello Mrs. Jorgensen. Frank                    Wheeler here. Just wanted to let                    you know that I've had to send                    Maureen Grube down to Visual Aides                    for me. I'll probably need her the                    rest of the day... Okay? Fine.                    You too.                    Frank hangs up and smiles at Maureen.                                        MAUREEN                    I never even heard of Visual Aides.                                        FRANK                    That's because it doesn't exist.                    Maureen smiles.                              INT. WHEELER HALLWAY - DAY.                    Now we're moving behind April as she moves through the silent          house. She carries a basket of dirty laundry on her hip.          She pulls the bedding off the couch. The distant SOUND of          children playing.                                          MRS. GIVINGS (O.S.)                    Yoo-hoo!                    She turns to see Mrs. Givings at the screen door.                    April manages a friendly smile.                                          APRIL                    Hi Helen.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    I can't stay a minute... My, don't                    you look comfy! I just wanted to                    bring this sedum for that messy                    patch in the front yard.                    She puts it on the table.                                                                           18.                                                  MRS. GIVINGS (CONT'D)                    All it wants is just a tiny dollop                    of water for the first few days,                    and you'll find it absolutely                    thrives.                                        APRIL                    Well, thank you... You want some                    coffee?                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Only if you're having some.                    Helen sits down. With the end of her finger, she pushes a          dirty dish out of her way.                                        APRIL                    Is there something I can do for                    you, Helen?                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Oh... yes, I almost forgot. I do                    have a small favor I'd like to                    ask...                        (quiver of anxiety )                    It's about my son, John. He's been                    in the hospital.                                        APRIL                    I'm sorry to hear that.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Well, actually, just for the                    present, he's in Pleasant Brook...                    Psychiatric.                    April's face.   She knows what it means.                                        APRIL                    ...I'm so sorry.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Oh... Nothing serious. He just                    got a little run down. Things can                    just get the better of us                    sometimes. Don't you think?                                                                            19.                                                    APRIL                    Yes.    Of course.                    Mrs. Givings smiles. Then, pretending to read the titles on          a stack of books on the table...                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    It really is a marvellous facility                    and the treatments seem to be doing                    him wonders... Anyway, they said                    getting out for an afternoon might                    do him some good.                    She pauses on Sartre's `Nausea', looks at it vaguely.                                        MRS. GIVINGS (CONT'D)                    I think he finds my friends a                    little conventional, frankly. I                    mean, he's travelled. He has a PhD                    in mathematics. I suppose you                    could say he's an intellectual. It                    would do him a world of good to                    meet a young couple like you.                                        APRIL                    We'd love to Helen.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    So, I thought perhaps if you had                    some time...                                        APRIL                    We'd love to.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                        (flushed with relief)                    Thank you, dear... Thank you.                    April smiles generously.                                        MRS. GIVINGS (CONT'D)                    I remember when you first came off                    the train. You weren't like most                    of my clients. You were different,                    somehow.                    April's face.    She's listening.                                                                                  20.                                                  MRS. GIVINGS (CONT'D)                    Well, you looked simply ravishing                    and I just knew Frank did something                    terribly brilliant in town. You                    just seemed... special... Of                    course you still are.                    April takes this in.                              INT. WHEELER HOUSE - AFTERNOON.                    April watches from the picture window as Mrs. Givings walks          down the drive towards her car. Her face is reflected in the          glass. Something is taking shape in her mind.                              INT. ALGONQUIN RESTAURANT BAR - AFTERNOON, LATER.                    The dining room is now almost empty.     Waiters and busboys eat          in the corner.                    Frank cuts a solitary figure.     He lights his last cigarette          and crumples the pack.                                        MAUREEN (O.S.)                    I guess you got me a little drunk.                    Maureen slides into the booth.     She stares at the table,          trying to focus.                                        FRANK                    You know what today is?                                           MAUREEN                    ...Monday?                                         FRANK                    It's my birthday.      I'm thirty years                    old today.                                        MAUREEN                    Happy birthday!                    Maureen raises her glass, then sways drunkenly.                                                                        21.                                                  MAUREEN (CONT'D)                    What was the name of the department                    you made up again?                                        FRANK                    Visual Aides.                                        MAUREEN                    ...What-a-joke.                    He sips his drink.                                        FRANK                    Want to hear a real joke...?                    She looks up at him.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    My old man worked at Knox.                                           MAUREEN                    Yeah?                                        FRANK                    He was a salesman in Yonkers. Once                    a year he used to take me into the                    city for lunch. It was supposed to                    be a special, life-advice sort of                    occasion.                                           MAUREEN                    Nice.                                        FRANK                    Not really... I used to sit there                    and think, `I hope to Christ I                    don't end up like you.'                    Frank grins as if it's supposed to be very funny.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    And here I am, a thirty year old                    Knox man. Can you beat that?                                        MAUREEN                    I think I kind of lost you...   Your                    father worked for Knox...?                              (MORE)                                                                               22.                                        MAUREEN (CONT'D)                    I'm sorry, but everything's kinda                    going out of focus.                    Frank takes her arm to steady her.   She meets his eye.                                        FRANK                    How `bout some air?                              INT. WHEELER KITCHEN - DAY.                    Close on a hand opening an old cigar box.                    April is sitting with the box at the kitchen table. It          contains various sentimental knickknacks from her past,          including photos of the kids, of her and Frank in New York          with friends, and a photograph of Frank in uniform beneath          the Eifel tower on liberation day... She studies it.                              INT. BETHUNE STREET APARTMENT - DAWN, 1947. FLASHBACK                    Frank fixes coffee in the tiny kitchen.                    April is sitting up in bed in the first blue light of day          wearing Frank's T-shirt. She holds a curled collection of          black and white photographs in her lap. She stops on the          same picture of Frank and the Eifel Tower.                    Frank comes over with the coffee, and two cigarettes.     He          lights them both, and gives her one.                                        FRANK                    You ever been to Paris?                                        APRIL                    I've never really been anywhere.                                        FRANK                    Maybe I'll take you with me.                    He lies down with his cigarette between his teeth.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    I'm going back first chance I get.                    People are alive there.                    He stares up at the ceiling.    She studies him.   Appraising.                                                                             23.                                                  FRANK (CONT'D)                    All I know now is that I want to                    feel things. Really feel them.                    How's that for an ambition...?                                        APRIL                    Frank Wheeler?                                           FRANK                    Mm?                                        APRIL                    I think you're the most interesting                    person I've ever met.                    He looks at her, overwhelmed by her face in the light.                                           APRIL (CONT'D)                    I mean it.                              INT. MAUREEN'S APARTMENT - AFTERNOON                    Frank stands at the mantle tying his tie.                                        FRANK                    Well, I guess this wasn't what you                    had in mind when you went to work                    this morning?                    Maureen covers herself with the sheets.                                         MAUREEN                    No.   It certainly wasn't.                    Frank inspects the contents of the mantle: photos of Maureen          at the prom; Maureen with her parents.                    Maureen tentatively fingers her hair that has now gone to          frizz. The sheet slips down. She grabs at it. Then wills          herself to calm down and act sophisticated.                                        MAUREEN (CONT'D)                    Do you have a cigarette, Frank?                    He turns and smiles at her.                                                                               24.                                                  FRANK                    Sure, here.                    He comes over and gives her one. Lights it with his Zippo.          She exhales, slowly gaining confidence.                    Frank gets up and pulls on his jacket.                                        MAUREEN                    Can I get you a drink or anything?                                        FRANK                    No thanks, Maureen. Actually, I                    guess I'd better be cutting out,                    it's getting kind of late.                                        MAUREEN                    Gee, that's right.   Have you missed                    your train?                                        FRANK                    It's all right, I'll get the next                    one.                    He comes over to her.   Bends down, kisses her gently on the          lips.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    Listen: you were swell. Take care                    now.                              INT. FRANK'S STATION CAR/WHEELER HOUSE - NIGHT.                    Frank's station car turns into the driveway.     He sits there a          moment in the darkness.                              EXT. WHEELER FRONT DOOR - NIGHT.                    Frank approaches the door with his key. He takes a moment to          gather himself, but before he can, the door opens.                    April is dressed in a black cocktail dress. She looks          wonderful. She smiles. She steps forward and takes his face          in her hands. She kisses him.                                                                              25.                                                     APRIL                    Frank...                                        FRANK                    Why are you all dressed up?                    She hands him a glass of whiskey and closes his fingers          around it.                                        APRIL                    First of all, I missed you all day                    and I want to say I'm sorry. I'm                    sorry for the way I've been since                    that stupid play. I'm sorry for                    everything and... And I love                    you... Now wait here till I call                    you. Okay?                    She goes, leaving Frank in stunned silence.    He takes a large          drink.                    From inside the house, the sound of the children's voices.          Whispering, giggling. Then April's voice:                                        APRIL (O.S.) (CONT'D)                    Alright Frank! You can come in                    now!                              INT. WHEELER LIVING AND DINING ROOMS - NIGHT.                    Frank enters the house.    Walks through the darkened living          room towards the light.    Enters the dining room.                    The room is lit by the candles burning on a birthday cake.                    JENNIFER, 7, MICHAEL, 5, and April sit around the table          wearing paper birthday crowns.                    They sing Happy Birthday.                              INT. SHOWER - NIGHT.                    Frank scrubs his skin, his scalp, his face: trying to wash          away Maureen.                                                                                26.                              He turns off the water.   He stands there in the silence,          regaining control.                              INT. FRANK AND APRIL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT.                    Frank steps out of the bathroom. April turns from the mirror          wearing the silk negligee and comes towards him with two          glasses.                                        APRIL                    Frank. I have had the most                    wonderful idea. I've been thinking                    about it all day.                                        FRANK                    What's all this about?                                        APRIL                    You know how much money we have                    saved...?                    She hands Frank a glass of brandy.                                         APRIL (CONT'D)                    Enough to live on for six months                    without you earning another dime.                    And with the money we could get                    from the house and the car, longer                    than that.                                        FRANK                    What we get for the house...What                    are you talking about? Where are                    we going to live?                                          APRIL                    ...Paris.                    Frank stares.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    You always said it was the only                    place you'd ever been that was                    worth living. So why don't we go                    there?                                                                      27.                                                  FRANK                    You're serious?                                         APRIL                    Yes.   What's stopping us?                                        FRANK                    What's stopping us? Well, I can                    think of a lot of things. For                    instance, what kind of a job could                    I possibly get?                                        APRIL                    You won't be getting any kind of                    job, because I will.                    Frank laughs.                                           FRANK                    Oh, right.                                        APRIL                    Don't laugh -- listen a minute!                    Have you any idea what they pay for                    secretarial positions in the                    government agencies in Europe?                    Embassies and those things.                    Frank laughs again.                                        FRANK                    No, I don't.                                        APRIL                    I'm serious about this Frank. Do                    you think I'm kidding or something?                                        FRANK                    No, I know, I know. I just have a                    couple of questions, is all. For                    one thing, do you mind telling me                    what exactly I'm supposed to be                    doing while you're out earning all                    this money?                    She draws back, shocked that he doesn't get it.                                                                             28.                                                  APRIL                    Don't you see that's the whole                    idea? You'll be doing what you                    should've been allowed to do seven                    years ago. You'll have time,                    Frank. You'll have time to find                    out what it is that you actually                    want to do, and when you figure it                    out you'll have the time and the                    freedom to start doing it.                                        FRANK                    Sweetheart, it's just not very                    realistic, is all.                                        APRIL                    Well, I happen to think this is                    unrealistic. I think it's                    unrealistic for a man with a fine                    mind to go on working like a dog                    year after year at a job he can't                    stand, coming home to a place he                    can't stand, to a wife who's                    equally unable to stand the same                    things.                    Frank is silent.   How could anyone possibly argue with her?                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    You want to know the worst part?                    Our whole existence here is based                    on this great premise that we're                    somehow very special and superior                    to the whole thing, and you know                    what I've realized...? We're not!                    We're just like everyone else.                    Look at us!   We've bought into the                    same ridiculous delusion. This                    idea that you have to resign from                    life and settle down the moment you                    have children. And we've been                    punishing each other for it.                                        FRANK                    Listen: we decided to move out                    here. No one ever forced me to                    take the job at Knox.                              (MORE)                                                                    29.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    I mean who ever said I was supposed                    to be a big deal, anyway?                                        APRIL                    When I first met you, there was                    nothing in the world you couldn't                    do or be.                                        FRANK                    I was a little wise guy with a big                    mouth, that's all.                                        APRIL                    You were not! How can you even say                    that?                                        FRANK                    ...All right... So, I'll have                    time. And God knows that's                    appealing. It's very appealing.                    And I mean, everything you say                    might make a certain amount of                    sense, if I had some definite                    talent maybe. If I were an artist                    or a writer.                                        APRIL                    But Frank, listen to me: It's what                    you are that's being stifled here.                    It's what you are that's being                    denied and denied and denied in                    this kind of life.                                        FRANK                    And what's that?                                        APRIL                    Don't you know...?                    He looks at her.   She gazes back at him.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    You're the most valuable and                    wonderful thing in the world...                    You're a man.                                                                             30.                              Frank looks at her. In that moment, he loves her more than          ever before. He kisses her.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    This is our chance, Frank.   This is                    our one chance.                    Beat.                                         FRANK                    Okay.                                         APRIL                    Okay?                                        FRANK                    Why not...? Why the hell not?                    April throws her arms around him.                              INT. KNOX 15TH FLOOR, ELEVATOR BAY - MORNING.                    DING. The elevator doors slide open.   Frank steps onto the          fifteenth floor, full of energy.                              INT. KNOX 15TH FLOOR, FRANK'S CUBICLE - MORNING.                    Frank arrives at his desk.   Casually tosses his briefcase          down. Lights a cigarette.                    Jack stands nearby making idle chat with office co-workers,          ED SMALL, 36 and VINCE LATHROP, 33 - a pair of overgrown          children.                                        JACK                    Ah, Franklin. Good to see your                    shining face.  What's the news?                                        FRANK                    I'm moving to Paris.                                         JACK                    Right.   And I'm moving to Tangiers.                    Frank shrugs, smiles, picks up the Toledo file, scans it.                                                                             31.                              He reaches for his Dictaphone and clears his throat.                                        FRANK                    ...Intra-company letter to                    Toledo... Attention B.F. Chalmers,                    branch manager... With regard to                    recent and repeated correspondence,                    this is to advise that the matter                    has been... very satisfactorily                    taken in hand, period, paragraph.                    He takes out a cigarette.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    We wholly agree that the existing                    brochure is unsuitable. To this                    end we have developed...                    He lights the cigarette with a SNAP of his Zippo.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    "Speaking of Production Control..."                    Smiles. He's making it up as he goes, and enjoying it.   It's          all meaningless now!                              INT. AMERICAN EXPRESS OFFICE - DAY.                    April sits in the American Express office.                                        CLERK (O.S.)                    Here you are Mrs. Wheeler:                    A handsome CLERK smilingly hands her a stack of documents.                                        CLERK (CONT'D)                    Here's the travellers checks you                    asked for... and your steamer                    reservations... and these I'll pass                    on to the embassy for you.                                           APRIL                    Thank you.                    She looks at them in her hands: it's real.                                                                              32.                                                     CLERK                    Good luck.                    April smiles.                              INT. MIDTOWN RESTAURANT - DAY.                    Jack, Frank, Ed and Vince sit crammed in a booth in a tiny,          crowded Midtown Luncheonette.                    Frank looks pleased with himself.    The rest sit in stunned          silence.                                        JACK                    And when does this noble experiment                    commence?                                           FRANK                    September.     October at the outside.                    Jack and Vince exchange a look.                    Frank's enjoying the effect.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    I just happen to think people are                    better off doing some kind of work                    they actually like.                                        ED                        (vague)                    Right, yes.                                        VINCE                        (mumbled)                    Absolutely, absolutely.                                        JACK                    But... I mean, assuming there is a                    true vocation waiting for you.                    Wouldn't you be just as likely to                    discover it here as there?                    A waitress puts the check on the table.                                                                              33.                                                  FRANK                    No... I don't think it's possible                    to discover anything on the                    fifteenth floor of the Knox                    building, and I don't think any of                    you do either.                    The men are silent.   Frank picks up the check.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    This one's on me.                              EXT GRAND CENTRAL STATION - AFTERNOON                    Frank is standing leaning against a coffee bar in Grand          Central Station. He is finishing a beer.                    It is rush hour, and amidst the sea of people, he is the only          one not moving.                    He is watching all the people walking by with an air of          detached amusement. As if he were now above them all.                              EXT. SPACE BETWEEN TRAIN CARS - AFTERNOON.                    Frank rides between train cars. The wind whips his hair. He          takes a deep pull from a pinched cigarette - then flicks it          straight as a bullet into the passing countryside.                    He feels alive.                              EXT. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD TRAIN STATION - AFTERNOON.                    The commuter train slows into the station. A door swings          open. And Frank leaps from the still moving train onto the          platform. He slows to a walk.                              EXT. WHEELER HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON.                    The kids dance back and forth through the sprinkler,          shrieking with pleasure.                    April sits on the steps in front of the house reading some          material from the American Express office.                                                                               34.                              She looks up as Frank's car pulls into the drive. He steps          out of the car and comes towards her. She looks up and          smiles. He drops his brief case on the ground and walks          towards her. She meets him in the middle of the lawn, and          they embrace.                              INT. FRANK AND APRIL'S BEDROOM - EVENING.                    CLOSE UP - two fingers walk the journey from New York to          Paris across the page of an atlas.                    Michael and Jennifer, dressed for bed, sit sandwiched between          April and Frank under the bedclothes.                                        APRIL                    ...All the way to... here.                    A pause as the two kids stare at the Atlas.                                         JENNIFER                    But why?                                        APRIL                    Well, sweetheart. It's a big world                    out there and we thought maybe we                    should go see a little bit of it.                                        MICHAEL                    How far is it?                                        APRIL                    A long way. We have to take a                    boat ride over the sea to get                    there.                                        JENNIFER                    I won't know anyone there.                                        APRIL                    I know. And neither will I. But                    remember when you started school?                    And now look how many friends you                    have...                    Frank senses that they are a little concerned.   April and          Frank look to one another.                                                                              35.                                                  FRANK                    You'll never guess what they eat in                    Paris. You'll never guess...                                         JENNIFER                    What?                                         FRANK                    Snails.                                         JENNIFER/MICHAEL                    Snails?!                                        APRIL                    And frog's legs!                    The children dissolve into disgusted laughter.    April and          Frank laugh with them.                              INT. CAMPBELL FRONT HALLWAY - LATE AFTERNOON.                    At the bottom of the stairs, Shep hums a big band number as          he vigorously shines his shoes.                                        SHEP                    Buddappa banh!     Banh!   Banh!                    He takes a swig of beer and lets out a satisfied belch.                              INT. MILLY AND SHEP'S BEDROOM - LATE AFTERNOON.                    Milly sits at a vanity table doing her face. She wears a          floral dress and her hair's been done. She looks at Shep in          the mirror.                                         MILLY                    You better get changed, they'll be                    here soon.                                        SHEP                    That what you're wearing?                                        MILLY                        (panic)                    Don't you like it?                                                                               36.                                                 SHEP                    ...No... No. You look great,                    doll. Guess I better haul ass.                    He walks into the bathroom.    Milly looks back at her          reflection.                              INT. CAMPBELL KITCHEN - LATE AFTERNOON.                    The small explosion of a beer can opening.                    Shep watches the golden liquid fill his glass.                              INT. CAMPBELL FAMILY ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON.                    Shep walks through the living room with his glass of beer.          He's halfway across the room, before he notices -                    His four SONS dressed in matching pajamas, propped up on          their elbows chewing gum at the television screen.                                           SHEP                    Hiya gang.                    They don't even look up.                              EXT. CAMPBELL HOUSE - EVENING.                    Shep walks across the grass to the edge of his property. He          drinks and looks down over Revolutionary Road. He can see          the Wheeler house. He takes a drink of beer, his eyes          focused on the house.                                           MILLY (O.S.)                    Shep?                    Shep wheels around. April and Frank are standing there with          Milly. April wears a new indigo silk dress. Her hair moves          in the warm breeze. She's never looked better.                              INT. CAMPBELL LIVING ROOM - NIGHT.                    Shep mixes drinks with his back to the room.                                                                            37.                              Milly walks in and places two heaping trays of hors d'ouvres          on the coffee table.                                        APRIL                    Oh those look great.    I'm starving!                    April helps herself.                                        MILLY                    April, I can't get over it - you                    look like the cat who ate the                    canary! Do you have something to                    tell us? A little bit of news?                                        SHEP                        (disapproving)                    Not to pry or anything.                                        MILLY                        (suddenly unsure)                    I'm not prying. Am I prying?    I                    didn't mean to.                                        FRANK                    Actually, we have got some pretty                    important news.                    Shep and Milly look up expectantly.                    He smiles conspiratorially at April.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    You want to tell `em?                    April smiles back at him.                                        APRIL                    We're going to Europe.    To Paris...                    To live.                    Milly's face drops.    Shep is frozen.                    Overlapping:                                           MILLY                    What?                                                                            38.                                                      SHEP                     When?                                            MILLY                     Why?                                            FRANK                     September.                    Beat.   Then:                                         MILLY                     But what for?                                         FRANK                     What for? Because we've always                     wanted to. Because the kids are                     still young. Because it's                     beautiful. Shep, you tell her.                                         SHEP                     ...It's a great city.                    Milly glances nervously at Shep.                                         MILLY                     When did you make this decision?                                         APRIL                     Oh... about a week ago... its hard                     to remember. We just suddenly                     decided to go, that's all.                                         MILLY                     About a week ago, and you tell us                     now!                                         APRIL                     We had to get used to the idea.                    Shep forces himself across the room and hands the Wheelers          their drinks.                                         SHEP                     So, what's the deal, Frank? You                     get a job over there, or what?                                                                  39.                                                FRANK                      (smiles)                  No. Not exactly.                                      SHEP                  What do you mean, `not exactly?'                                      APRIL                  Frank won't be doing any kind of a                  job, because I will.                                      SHEP                      (to Frank)                  And what are you going to do?                                      FRANK                  I'm going to study... and I'm going                  to read and... I suppose I'm going                  to finally figure out what I want                  to do with my life.                                      SHEP                  ...While she supports you?                    Beat.                                      FRANK                  Yes. While she supports me...   At                  least in the beginning.                                      APRIL                  You wouldn't believe what they pay                  for secretarial work in government                  agencies over there. NATO and                  E.C.A. and those places.                                       FRANK                  The cost of living is dirt cheap                  compared to here, so we should be                  all right.                    Beat.                                       APRIL                  The truth is we just need something                  different.                             (MORE)                                                                             40.                                         APRIL (CONT'D)                     We're not getting any younger and                     we don't want life to just pass us                     by.                                         MILLY                     Gee, it sounds wonderful, kids. I                     mean it; it really sounds                     wonderful. We'll certainly miss                     you, though - won't we, sweetie?                     Golly.                                          SHEP                     Sure.                                          MILLY                     Paris.   Wow.                    A   silence.   Shep's face.                              INT. MILLY AND SHEP'S BEDROOM - NIGHT.                    Milly sits on the edge of the bed in her night gown.   She is          brushing her hair.                    Shep stands in the open doorway to the bathroom, doing up his          pyjamas. After a beat...                                         SHEP                     You know what I think?                    Milly looks up.                                         SHEP (CONT'D)                     I think this whole plan sounds a                     little immature.                    Milly's face brightens.                                         MILLY                     Oh God, I'm so relieved. Me too...                     I was thinking that the whole time.                                         SHEP                     What kind of man is going to sit                     around in his bathrobe picking his                     nose while his wife works all day?                                                                               41.                                                  MILLY                    I don't know, Shep.   I just don't                    know.                    Milly is crying.                                        SHEP                    What is it?                                         MILLY                    Nothing.   I'm just so relieved.                    He sits down beside her.   She falls into his arms.                                        SHEP                    Come on. Don't cry. Please. It's                    all right. It's going to be all                    right.                    A kid's shout from somewhere in the house.     Milly sits up.                                         SHEP (CONT'D)                    I'll go.                              INT. WHEELER KITCHEN - LATER THAT NIGHT.                    Frank and April burst into the kitchen, laughing.                                                   FRANK                    Jesus, their faces! You'd think                    we'd told them that we were                    swimming up the Yangtzee river or                    something.                    Laughing, April hands Frank a drink.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    You know what this is like, April?                    Talking like this? The whole idea                    of taking off to Europe this way?                    It's like the way I felt going up                    to the line the first time, in the                    war. I was probably just as scared                    as everyone else, but inside I                    never felt better. I felt alive. I                    felt full of blood.                              (MORE)                                                                                42.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    And everything looked more real.                    The guys in their uniforms. The                    snow on the fields, the trees. And                    all of us just... walking. I mean                    I was scared of course. But I kept                    thinking: this is it. This is the                    truth.                                        APRIL                    I felt that way once too.                    He looks at her.   And there's something in her eyes.                                           FRANK                    When?                                        APRIL                    The first time you made love to me.                    He walks over to her and kisses her passionately.                    And they make love that way, face to face, with the lights          on, looking into each other's eyes, fully clothed, until he          comes inside her.                    As he comes, she makes a sound, almost inaudible, but it          sounds like...                                           APRIL (CONT'D)                    ...No                    He holds her, breathing heavily.    She strokes his head.                              INT. KNOX 15TH FLOOR - DAY.                    Frank walks across the 15th floor, the atmosphere unusually          abuzz.                    He arrives in his cubicle. Jack, Ed and Vance are talking in          hushed tones.                                           FRANK                    What's up?                                        ED                    Bart Pollock is here.                                                                              43.                                                  VINCE                    He's in Bandy's office.                                        FRANK                        (unimpressed)                    Yeah?                    A small signal light illuminates on Frank's desk.                                        ED                    Looks like he wants to talk to you.                    Frank looks around. They're all looking at him.     He looks          over in the direction of Bandy's office.                                         JACK                    Hey.   Keep my name out of it.                              INT. KNOX 15TH FLOOR, BANDY'S OFFICE - DAY                    Bandy looks up from his desk.   An uncharacteristic smile.                                         BANDY                        (warm)                    Frank. How are you? You know Bart                    Pollock?                                        FRANK                    Well, we've never met, but -                    A massive MAN in tan gaberdine rises up from a chair.                                        BART POLLOCK                    Glad to know you Frank.                    He holds a file in his enormous hand.                                        BART POLLOCK (CONT'D)                    Speaking of production control?                    Frank looks away, ready for a dressing down.                                        BART POLLOCK (CONT'D)                    Frank... This is a crackerjack.                    They're just tickled to death in                    Toledo.                                                                                44.                              He slaps the file on the desk.    Frank can't believe it.                              INT. WHEELER LIVING ROOM - DAY.                    Close of a book: "Brighter French."                    Frank sits on the couch, flipping absently.                                        FRANK                    You wouldn't have believed this                    guy.                    April enters carrying a plate of sandwiches.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    He's perfect Presidential material                    in the worst sense. A million                    dollar smile and about three pounds                    of muscle between his ears.                        (mimicking Pollock's                         booming voice)                    "Frank, this is a crackerjack."                    April looks around to be sure everything's in place.                                        APRIL                    Wish I saw his face when you told                    him you were leaving.                    Frank looks away.                                        FRANK                    ...Horse's ass.                    TOOT of a car horn.   April goes to the window.                                        APRIL                    I think this is them.                              INT./EXT. WHEELER HOUSE - DAY.                    Through the picture window, we see the Givings' car is parked          in the driveway.                    Mrs. Givings gets out of the car holding a tinfoil covered          baking pan. Mr. Givings opens the backseat.                                                                              45.                              Out steps JOHN, 30's, an institutional haircut and ill-          fitting suit. He looks around the sunny neighborhood.                              INT. WHEELER KITCHEN - DAY.                    The kitchen is suddenly crowded with the Givings, Frank and          April.                    Overlapping:                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Sorry to be late.                                        APRIL                    You're not late.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    The traffic was terrible.                                        MR. GIVINGS                    Good to see you.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Wasn't it terrible, Howard?                                          MR. GIVINGS                    Route 12.                    Hands are shook, the baking dish exchanged.                                        APRIL                    You didn't have to do that.                                        FRANK                    The time they finish that stretch                    of road, they'll have to start all                    over again.                    John stands by himself closest to the door.                                        APRIL                    And you must be John?                    Silence settles over the room.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Say hello, John.                                                                            46.                                                  JOHN                    Nice to meetcha.   Heard a lot                    aboutcha.                    John smiles, exposing a mouthful of deeply-stained yellow          teeth and high, eroded gums.                              INT. WHEELER LIVING ROOM - DAY.                    Mrs. Givings leads the group into the living room.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Where are your darling children?                                        APRIL                    They're at a birthday party.     Sorry                    they couldn't be here.                    John walks around the room, stiff-legged, examining the book          shelves, the paintings.                                        JOHN                    Don't worry. If I had a certified                    lunatic coming around the house,                    I'd probably get the kids out of                    the way too.                    April and Frank exchange a quick glance.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Oh, look at all this food! You                    didn't have to go to any trouble                    for us.                                        APRIL                    It's just some sandwiches.                    April lifts the plate and offers it to John.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    John, would you like a sandwich?                    He avoids her look, but he takes four.                                        JOHN                    Helen's been talking it up about                    you people for months.                              (MORE)                                                                       47.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    The nice young Wheelers on                    Revolutionary Road, the nice young                    Revolutionaries on Wheeler road.                    Polite laughter.                                        FRANK                    Who'd like some sherry?                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Please, don't bother Frank.                                        JOHN                    I'd like some sherry. And I'll                    drink Helen's if she doesn't beat                    me to it.                    April can't suppress a smile.                                         JOHN (CONT'D)                        (suddenly serious)                    But, hey... Listen, though. You                    got a high-ball glass...? Put a                    couple-three ice cubes in it, pour                    it up to the brim. That's the way                    I like it.                                        FRANK                    I think I can do that.                    Mr. Givings eats his sandwich, watching his son.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Oh, this is the most wonderful egg                    salad, April. You must tell me how                    you fix it.                    Frank hands John his high-ball glass.                                        JOHN                    You a lawyer Frank?                                        FRANK                    No, I'm not.                                        JOHN                    I could use a lawyer.                                                                       48.                                                  MR. GIVINGS                    John, let's not get started again                    about the lawyer.                                        JOHN                    Pop, couldn't you just sit there                    and eat your wonderful egg salad,                    and quit horning in?                    Mr. Givings gives his son a level, warning look.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    See, I've got a good many questions                    to ask and I'm willing to pay for                    the answers... Now, I don't need                    to be told that a man who goes                    after his mother with a coffee                    table is putting himself in a weak                    position legally; that's obvious.                    Frank and April exchange a look.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    John, come and have a look out this                    fabulous picture window.                    Mrs. Givings gets up and goes to the window.                                        JOHN                    If he hits her with it and kills                    her, that's a criminal case.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Oh, look, the sun's coming out!                                        JOHN                    If all he does is break the coffee                    table and give her a certain amount                    of aggravation and she decides to                    go to court over it, that's a civil                    case.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Maybe we'll see a rainbow!   John,                    come have a look.                                                                               49.                                                  JOHN                    Ma, how about doing everybody a                    favor? How about shutting up!                    April's face.   She's not smiling now.                                        MR. GIVINGS                    Steady down, now.                    With her back to the room, Mrs. Givings closes her eyes.                                        FRANK                    I can look into it.   Maybe                    recommend someone.                    John stares at Frank for any sign of condescension.                                        JOHN                    So, what do you do, Frank?                                        FRANK                    I work for Knox Business Machines.                                        JOHN                    You design the machines?                                         FRANK                    Nope.                                        JOHN                    Make `em, sell `em, repair `em?                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    All these questions.                                        FRANK                    I sort of help sell them, I guess.                    I work in the office. Actually,                    it's sort of a stupid job. I mean                    there's nothing ≠ you know,                    interesting about it or anything.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Oh, Frank...                                        JOHN                    Whaddya do it for then?                                                                             50.                                                  MR. GIVINGS                    Maybe Frank doesn't want to be                    questioned like this, son.                                        JOHN                    Okay, okay, okay ≠ I know it's none                    of my business. And besides, I                    know the answer. You want to play                    house, you got to have a job. You                    want to play very nice house, very                    sweet house, then you got to have a                    job you don't like. Anyone comes                    along and asks "Whaddya do it for?'                    he's probably on a four-hour pass                    from the State funny farm. All                    agreed...? Ma?                    Frank laughs.                    John smiles his yellow grin.                                        MR. GIVINGS                    Sorry, Frank.                                        FRANK                    Don't be. I agree with everything                    you said, John. We both do.                    That's why I'm quitting the job in                    the fall and we're taking off.                                        APRIL                    We're moving to Paris.                    John looks over at his mother.                                        JOHN                    Did you know about this, Ma...?                    Wow. How do you feel about that,                    Ma? The nice young Wheelers are                    taking off!                    John bursts into a painful braying laugh.   It goes on and on.                    Mrs. Givings brings a hand to her brow - she's on the verge          of tears.                                                                                51.                                                  MRS. GIVINGS                    ...John, please.                                        MR. GIVINGS                    Steady down, son.                    April looks at Frank - the whole thing is in danger of going          off the rails.                                        FRANK                    How about some fresh air, John?                    John stops laughing abruptly.    He looks to his parents.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    If that's all right with you?                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    I don't know if it's a good idea.                                        MR. GIVINGS                    ...If John wants to, I don't see                    the harm.                              EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY.                    Frank, April and John walk through the woods.                    The ground is freshly rained on and damp.    The sun is bright.                    John buttons up his top button and pulls his sleeves down          over his hands.                                        APRIL                    I hear you're a mathematician.                                        JOHN                    You hear wrong.     It's all gone now.                                          APRIL                    All gone?                                        JOHN                    You know what electrical shock                    treatments are?                                                                                 52.                                                   APRIL                    Yes.   Yes I do.                                        JOHN                    I've had thirty-seven.                    He pushes his hat back and turns his head at April.                                           JOHN (CONT'D)                    See?                    There are scars on his forehead.       April can see them.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    Supposed to jolt out the `Emotional                    Problems.' Just jolted out the                    mathematics.                                           APRIL                    How awful.                                        JOHN                        (mimicking)                    `How awful...' Why, because                    mathematics is so `interesting?'                                        APRIL                    No. Because the shocks must be                    awful and... well, because it's                    awful not to be able to do what it                    is you want to do. I think                    mathematics are dull.                    John stares at April.    He smiles.                                        JOHN                    I like your girl, Frank.                                           FRANK                    Me too.                                        JOHN                    So, what do a couple of people like                    you have to run away from?                                        FRANK                    We're not running.                                                                              53.                              John comes to a stop.                                        JOHN                    And what's in Paris?                                        APRIL                    A different way of life.                                        FRANK                    So maybe we are running... We're                    running from the hopeless emptiness                    of the whole life here.                                        JOHN                    The hopeless emptiness? Now,                    you've said it. Plenty of people                    are on to the emptiness, but it                    takes real guts to see the                    hopelessness... Wow.                    John continues walking.   Frank and April watch him go.                              INT. WHEELER LIVING ROOM - DUSK.                    Frank and April at the kitchen table.                                        APRIL                    You know, he's the first person who                    seemed to know what we were talking                    about.                                        FRANK                    That's true. Maybe we are just as                    crazy as he is.                                         APRIL                    If being crazy means living life as                    if it matters then I don't care if                    we are completely insane.                        (beat)                    Do you?                                        FRANK                    No.                                        APRIL                    I love you so much.                                                                              54.                              EXT. WHEELER HOUSE - DAY                    The small, attractive house bathed in sunlight.                              INT. MIDTOWN HOTEL RESTAURANT - AFTERNOON.                    Frank follows Bart Pollock as he cuts a swathe through an          impressive midtown eatery. A small MAITRE D' scuttles in          front of them. Bart nods, points at well-wishers, and makes          a politician's show of knowing the staff.                                        BART POLLOCK                    Tell you something, Frank. I'm a                    little sore at Bandy for the way                    he's kept you under a bushel all                    these years. This place okay, for                    you?                    Frank smirks at the performance.                                        FRANK                    This is just fine, sir.   Fine.                              INT. MIDTOWN HOTEL RESTAURANT - LATER.                    Bart Pollock sits across an expanse of white tablecloth          gripping a martini glass in one of his enormous paws.                                        BART POLLOCK                    One thing interests me, Frank, and                    one thing only: selling the                    electronic computer to the American                    businessman...                                        BART POLLOCK (CONT'D)                    That's why I'm assembling a team.                    Men like you, not your average                    salesmen... It'll mean more money,                    and I got to be honest, maybe more                    of a time commitment. But you'll                    be part of something exciting,                    Wheeler... Computers.                                        FRANK                    Well, sir, it sounds exciting.                                                                              55.                                                   BART POLLOCK                    Bart!                                         FRANK                    Bart...                    Frank looks down at his plate.   He can't help himself.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    Do you happen to remember an Earl                    Wheeler?                    Bart looks at him blankly.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    Out of Yonkers?                                        BART POLLOCK                    Can't say that I do. Relation of                    yours?                                        FRANK                    My father. He worked at Knox                    almost twenty years.                                        BART POLLOCK                        (thinking)                    Earl Wheeler... Earl Wheeler...                                        FRANK                    No reason you would have heard of                    him.                                        BART POLLOCK                    Well, I'm sure he was a good man.                    Frank smiles.   Looks down.                                        FRANK                    There's something I should have                    mentioned earlier... I'm leaving                    the firm. In the fall.                                        BART POLLOCK                    Another outfit?                                        FRANK                    No, it's not another outfit --                                                                    56.                              Bart holds up his hands.                                        BART POLLOCK                    Now look, Frank. Is it a question                    of money? Because if it is,                    there's no reason we can't get                    together on a satisfactory ≠                                        FRANK                    I appreciate that, but it's not                    money. It's more of a personal                    thing.                                        BART POLLOCK                    A personal thing? I see.                        (looks down, clearly                         disapproving)                    Frank... Let me tell you something                    my father told me... A man only                    gets a couple chances in life. If                    he doesn't grab `em by the balls,                    it won't be long before he finds                    himself sitting around wondering                    how he got to be second rate.                    Frank's face.                                        FRANK                    I guess so.                    Bart lets it hang.                                        BART POLLOCK                    So, do me a favor... Sleep on it.                    Discuss it with your wife. Because                    let's face it: where the hell would                    any of us be without our wives,                    anyway?                    On Frank's face.                                        BART POLLOCK (CONT'D)                    And Frank, in all sincerity, if you                    do decide to join us, I believe                    it'll be a thing you'll never                    regret.                              (MORE)                                                                             57.                                        BART POLLOCK (CONT'D)                    And I believe something else, too.                    I believe it'd be a fine memorial                    to your Dad.                    Frank finds himself surprised by his welling up of emotion.                              INT. KNOX BUILDING - EVENING.                    It's late. Frank is sitting in his cubicle over his          Dictaphone. Jack is long gone.                                        FRANK                    Knowing what you've got, comma,                    knowing what you need, comma,                    Knowing what you can do without,                    dash. That's inventory control.                    He stubs out a cigarette in an overflowing ashtray.                    Close on his face.                    Maureen stops by Frank's cubicle.   She pretends to be          surprised to see him.                                        MAUREEN                    Oh, hi Frank. Working late?                                        FRANK                    I got to dig myself out here.                                        MAUREEN                    I heard you were getting promoted.                    Frank shrugs, no big deal.                                        MAUREEN (CONT'D)                    Big shot. I guess your Dad would                    have been real proud, huh?                                        FRANK                        (surprised she remembered)                    Huh. Yeah, I guess so...                                        MAUREEN                        (smiles sweetly)                    So...                              (MORE)                                                                              58.                                         MAUREEN (CONT'D)                    maybe I should buy you a drink or                    something? You know...?                    Celebrate.                    Frank's face.   We don't know which way he'll go.   He smiles.                                         FRANK                    Yeah.   Maybe.                    She smiles.   She can't quite believe it.                                        MAUREEN                    I'll just get my coat.                    Frank sits there a moment longer, thinking.    Then he follows.                              INT. WHEELER FAMILY ROOM - DAY.                    On a television. Elmer Fudd points a gun at Bugs Bunny, and          pulls the trigger.                    Frank frowns into his French phrase book.   Mike is watching          the TV.                    April works a sewing machine with a cigarette burning beside          her. Jennifer stands beside her holding a stuffed Giraffe          and a list, which she reads.                                        JENNIFER                    I'm going to take my doll carriage                    and my bear and my three Easter                    rabbits and my giraffe and all my                    dolls and my doll house.                                        APRIL                    I thought maybe we'd give the doll                    house to Madeline.                                        JENNIFER                    No! I don't want to give it to                    Madeline.                    April has to stop to re-thread and she's losing patience.                                                                            59.                                                  APRIL                    I already explained to you, the big                    things are going to be hard to                    pack.                    Frank lowers the book.   He recognizes her tone.                                        JENNIFER                    But Madeline can have my bear and                    my Easter rabbits -                                        APRIL                    No! Just the big things. Look.                    Wouldn't you rather go outside and                    play with Michael.                                        JENNIFER                    I don't feel like it.                                        APRIL                    You've been inside all day.                                        JENNIFER                    I don't feel like it!                                         APRIL                    Well, I don't feel like explaining                    everything fifteen times to                    somebody who's too bored and silly                    to listen!                    Jennifer turns and runs up the stairs, upset.                    April lets out a defeated sigh. She turns to the kitchen to          see to the supper. Steam rises from the vegetables.                    Frank stands in the entrance silently watching for a moment.                                        FRANK                    What's the matter?                                         APRIL                    Nothing.                    She carries a pot of steaming, overcooked vegetables to the          sink, slops them into a colander.                                                                          60.                                                  FRANK                    I don't believe you. Did something                    happen today or what?                                        APRIL                    Nothing happened today that I                    haven't known about for days and                    days.                                           FRANK                    What?                                        APRIL                    Oh God, Frank, please don't look so                    dense. Do you mean you haven't                    guessed or anything?                                        FRANK                    What are you talking about?                    She finally stops and looks at him.                                        APRIL                    I'm pregnant, that's all.                    Beat as he absorbs it.    He's totally blind-sided.                                         FRANK                    What...?   Jesus.                    She comes over to him.                                        APRIL                    Oh, Frank, I meant to wait until                    dinner to tell you, but I just -                    well, I've been pretty sure all                    week and today I went to the Doctor                    and now I can't even pretend it's                    not true.                                        FRANK                        (still stunned)                    Jesus... How long?                                           APRIL                    Ten weeks.                                                                            61.                                                  FRANK                    You didn't say anything.                                         APRIL                    I thought... Oh, I don't know what                    I thought.                    He stares, still unsure how he feels.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    I'm sorry, Frank. I'm so sorry.                                        FRANK                    I know you are.                    She looks at him, with slight desperation.                                        APRIL                    We don't have to let this stop us.                    There are things we can do.                    Remember that girl at school I told                    you about...? As long as you do it                    before 12 weeks, it's fine.                    He just looks at her and his silence makes her desperate.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    We've got to be together in this,                    Frank. Otherwise nothing's going                    to make any sense.                                         FRANK                    Okay.   We'll figure it out.                    He takes her in his arms.                                          FRANK (CONT'D)                    12 weeks.    So we have time.                    On Frank's face... Slowly, he smiles.                                        APRIL                    I love you Frank.                                        FRANK                    ...I love you too.                                                                              62.                              EXT. LONG ISLAND SOUND BEACH - AFTERNOON.                    A baking hot day. The sky is electric blue. Radios PLAY,          children CRY, dogs BARK. Sunbathers cover almost every inch          of sand.                    We find Shep, Milly, Frank and April with beach chairs,          coolers and umbrellas.                    A child wrapped in a towel sleeps on Milly's lap.                    April wears a pair of dark glasses, behind which she is          thinking, thinking.                                        SHEP                    So, Frank, how's work?   They gonna                    survive without you?                                        FRANK                    Actually... Something kinda funny                    happened the other day. I did some                    dumb little piece of work to get                    myself off the hook with Bandy, and                    suddenly I'm The Bright Young Man.                                        SHEP                        (laughs)                    That's always the way, isn't it?                                        FRANK                    It's incredible. I knocked this                    thing off in a couple of minutes                    and now they want me to join their                    team of `specialist' salesmen.                                        SHEP                    Morons.                                        FRANK                    It'd be funny, if they weren't                    talking about so much damn money.                    April turns and looks at Frank. Long and hard.   If he can          feel her look, he doesn't show it.                                                                              63.                                                  SHEP                        (stealing a glance at                         April)                    So, you tempted?                                         FRANK                        (shrugs)                    Well, it's kind of ironic, don't                    you think?                    April suddenly stands up.    Frank and Shep watch her walk down          to the water's edge.                                          SHEP                    She okay?                    Frank stares after her.                              EXT. LONG ISLAND SOUND BEACH, WATER'S EDGE - AFTERNOON.                    April stands in the water staring out over the sea. The          waves break against her ankles. Whether it occurs to her or          not, she's staring in the direction of Europe.                    Frank comes up beside her.                                        APRIL                    I thought you turned the job down?                                        FRANK                        (shrugs)                    Not yet... It's just an option,                    that's all. With the money they're                    talking, things could be different                    for us here. We could get a better                    place. Travel.                    April shakes her head and drags on her cigarette.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    Look, the point is - we could be                    happy here. At least for a while.                    She stares out at the sea.                                                                            64.                                                  FRANK (CONT'D)                    It is possible that Parisians                    aren't the only ones who know how                    to lead interesting lives, April.                    She turns to him.                                        APRIL                    So you've made up your mind?                                         FRANK                    No.   Like I said, it's an option.                                        APRIL                    ...And supposing you're right. You                    make all this money and we have                    this interesting life here. Won't                    you still be wasting your life                    toiling away at a job you find                    ridiculous? Just like your father.                                        FRANK                        (sharp)                    Maybe we let that be my business.                                        APRIL                        (incredulous)                    Your business?                                        FRANK                        (exhales)                    It's too hot for this.    I'm going                    to get wet.                    She just looks at him. He walks into the ocean.   She stands          on the shore, watching him swim away from her.                              INT. WHEELER FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT.                    April paces the family room. Her hair is a defiant mess.          She still wears her bathing suit under her clothes.                    Frank sits on the couch.                    The windows are open, and most of the lights are off. It's a          very hot night.                                                                            65.                                                  APRIL                    You don't want to go, do you?                                        FRANK                    Come on, April.   Of course I do.                                        APRIL                    You don't! Because you've never                    tried at anything. And if you                    don't try at anything you can't                    fail.                                        FRANK                    What the hell do you    mean I don't                    try? I support you,     don't I? I                    pay for this house.     I work ten                    hours a day at a job    I can't stand.                                        APRIL                    You don't have to!                                        FRANK                    Bullshit! I'm not happy about it.                    But I have the backbone not to run                    away from my responsibilities!                                        APRIL                    It takes backbone to lead the life                    you want, Frank.                    He shakes his head and gets up.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    Where are you going?                                        FRANK                    Is it alright with you if I go to                    the bathroom?                    She disgustedly twists out her cigarette, and immediately          lights another.                              INT. WHEELER BATHROOM - NIGHT.                    Frank splashes water on his face like a boxer between rounds.          He looks up at his reflection.                                                                               66.                              He reaches for a towel, but there isn't one. He turns to the          shelf behind him and pulls down a fresh towel. Something          catches his eye.                    He reaches to the back and retrieves a small brown paper          package.                    He opens it, his face slowly registering what it means...                              INT. WHEELER FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT.                    April wheels around as -                    Frank storms in, a rubber syringe in his hand.                                         FRANK                    What the hell are you going to do                    with this?                                        APRIL                    And what do you think you're going                    to do? You're going to stop me?                                        FRANK                    You're damn right!                                        APRIL                    Go ahead and try!                    He comes at her across the room with the syringe in his hand.          She moves away.                                        FRANK                    Listen. Listen to me. You do this                    - you do this and I swear to God                    I'll -                                        APRIL                    You'll what? You'll leave me?   Is                    that a threat, or a promise?                    He shakes it in her face.                                        FRANK                    When did you buy this, April?   I                    want to know!                                                                    67.                                                  APRIL                    You know you really are being                    melodramatic about the whole thing.                    As long as it's done in the first                    twelve weeks, it's perfectly safe.                                        FRANK                    That's now April!   Don't I get a                    say?                                        APRIL                    Of course you do! It would be for                    you, Frank, don't you see? So you                    can have time. Like we talked                    about.                                        FRANK                    How can it be for me if the thought                    makes my stomach turn over?                                        APRIL                    Then it's for me... Tell me we can                    have the baby in Paris, Frank. But                    don't make me stay here. Please.                                        FRANK                    We can't have the baby in Paris.                                        APRIL                    Why not? I don't need everything                    we have here. I don't care where                    we live! I mean who made these                    rules, anyway? The only reason we                    moved out here was because I got                    pregnant. Then we had another                    child to prove the first one wasn't                    a mistake. I mean how long does it                    go on?                    He turns away.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    Frank. Do you actually want                    another child? Well, do you?                    He won't answer.                                                                      68.                                                  APRIL (CONT'D)                    Come on, tell me. Tell me the                    truth, Frank. Remember that? We                    used to live by it. You know what's                    so good about the truth? Everyone                    knows what it is, however long                    they've lived without it. No one                    forgets the truth, Frank, they just                    get better at lying. So tell me: do                    you really want another child?                    Frank turns towards her.                                        FRANK                    All I know is what I feel. And                    anyone else in their right mind                    would feel the same way.                                        APRIL                        (quiet)                    But I've had two children.    Doesn't                    that count in my favor?                                        FRANK                    Christ! The fact that you even put                    it that way! You make it sound                    like having children is a                    punishment.                                        APRIL                    I love my children.                                        FRANK                    And you're sure about that?                                        APRIL                    What the hell is that supposed to                    mean?                                        FRANK                    April, you just said our daughter                    was mistake. How do I know you                    didn't try to get rid of her, or                    Michael for that matter? How do I                    know you didn't try to flush our                    entire fucking family down the                    toilet?                                                                          69.                                                  APRIL                    No that's not true. Of course I                    didn't.                                        FRANK                    But how do I know April?                                         APRIL                    Stop.   Please just stop, Frank.                                        FRANK                    April, a normal woman, a normal                    sane mother doesn't buy herself a                    piece of rubber tubing to give                    herself an abortion so she can, go                    live out some God damn fantasy.                    April's face.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                        (sober)                    All I'm saying is you don't seem                    entirely rational about this                    thing... And maybe we should get                    someone to help you think about it.                                        APRIL                    ...And the new job's going to pay                    for that too?                                        FRANK                    April if you need a shrink, it'll                    be paid for. Obviously.                    April turns to the book shelves.   Her back to him.                    Frank waits, his heart beating quickly.                                        APRIL                    ...Okay. I guess there isn't much                    more to say, then, is there?                    Her eyes are bright with tears.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    So I guess Paris was a pretty                    childish idea, huh?                                                                             70.                              Everything hangs on Frank's answer...                                        FRANK                    I guess maybe it was.                    April closes her eyes. Tears run down her cheeks.   He walks          over to her, but he doesn't touch her.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    We can be happy here April...   I                    can make you happy here.                    She cries quietly.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    We've had a great few months.   It                    doesn't have to end...                    She turns to face him.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    We're going to be okay.                                        APRIL                    I hope so Frank.   I really hope so.                              INT. WHEELER LIVING ROOM - MORNING.                    Frank stands at the picture window watching...                    April approach the children. She squats on the ground so she          can be at their height and talks to them. Michael tries to          get into her arms. Jennifer turns away and walks sulkily          across the grass.                    Frank looks into his coffee cup.   He doesn't look like a man          who won an argument.                              INT. KNOX WAITING ROOM - DAY.                    Frank sits smoking nervously in an oak-paneled waiting room.          The door opens behind him. He gets to his feet.                                        RECEPTIONIST                    Thank you for waiting.   Mr. Pollock                    can see you now.                                                                              71.                              He follows her through the door.    The door closes behind her.                    We see the scene in dumb-show through the glass door. Bart          looks up as Frank enters. An "I knew it all along" smile          spreads across Pollock's face. He offers his hand to Frank.          Frank smiles thinly. They shake.                                        JACK (O.S)                    Foiled by faulty contraception.                              INT. MIDTOWN RESTAURANT - DAY.                    Frank, Ed, Vince and Jack sit in the same booth in the same          crowded luncheonette.                    Frank stares out the window.   The others can't contain          themselves.                                        ED                    I can't say I'm sorry.                                        VINCE                    Wouldn't have been the same without                    you.                                        JACK                    You'd have been sorely missed in                    the old cubicle, I can tell you                    that.                    He raises his glass, drinks alone.                                        JACK (CONT'D)                    Besides which...                    Frank looks away from the window.                                        FRANK                    What?                                        JACK                    ...Well, the plan always seemed a                    touch unrealistic, don't you think?                    Frank glares with barely contained fury.                                                                             72.                                                  JACK (CONT'D)                    I suppose, it's none of my                    business, really.                                         FRANK                    No.   I suppose it isn't.                    A beat.                                        JACK                    Well, we won't be the only ones                    glad to hear the news. They'll be                    celebrating in the secretarial                    pool.                    Ed and Vince chuckle.   Frank's face.                              INT. VITO'S LOG CABIN - NIGHT.                    Two drumsticks spinning in a spotlight.   They click out a          rhythm, and crash into a number.                    Cut back to reveal a small, low-ceilinged joint. On-stage          are the Steve Kovack quartet, four perspiring middle-aged men          with day jobs.                    YOUNGISH COUPLES, and the odd middle-aged COUPLE navigate the          dance floor.                    A smattering of lost SINGLES line the bar.                    The Wheelers and Campbells sit squashed into a booth on the          side of the dance floor.                    Several empty glasses have accumulated. Milly is beating the          edge of the table with red drink straws. She's a few drinks          ahead.                    They have to SHOUT over the MUSIC.                                        MILLY                    Hey! Remember the first time you                    brought us here? You said, it                    takes a special kind of taste to                    enjoy Vito's Log Cabin!                                                                               73.                                                  SHEP                    It's so awful it's kinda nice!                                        MILLY                    That's right!                    They laugh at the old joke.   Then Milly begins to weep.                                        MILLY (CONT'D)                        (dabs at her eyes)                    Look at me...! I'm just so happy.                    Our little gang's back together                    again!                    She knocks her drink back.    The number finishes.                                        SHEP                    At least Europe's not going                    anywhere.                    April stares out at the dance floor.    Frank looks at her.   A          new number starts.                                        FRANK                    Wanna dance?                                        APRIL                    I don't really feel like it.                                        MILLY                    I'll dance!                    Milly takes him by the hand and pulls him away. Shep and          April watch. Then Shep turns his attention to April.                                        MILLY (CONT'D)                        (tipsy)                    Guess April's pretty blue `bout                    Paris, huh?                                        FRANK                    Think she'll be okay?                                        MILLY                    Oh, sure. Give us girls a couple                    of days and we can get over                    anything!                                                                              74.                              Frank turns his attention to Milly. He's a good dancer. His          movements are fast and aggressive, his mind on April.                    Milly is a little too drunk, and hurries to keep up,          perspiring through her dress. He spins her around and          around, back and forth into his arms. Milly begins to look          slightly dizzy.                                           MILLY (CONT'D)                     ...Frank.                    He doesn't hear her over the music, or he doesn't care.                                         MILLY (CONT'D)                     Frank... I...                                         FRANK                         (sudden remorse)                     You okay?                                         MILLY                     Gee...I'm afraid I'm not very...                    Her body spasms with the need to be sick. She turns and          rushes for the lady's room.                              EXT. VITO'S LOG CABIN - NIGHT.                    Frank leads the way through the cars.                    Shep supports Milly who is now falling down drunk.                    April walks alone a few paces behind...                    They reach Shep's car, which is trapped behind several other          cars.                                         SHEP                     Of all the inconsiderate...                    A beat.   Frank looks to April.                                                                               75.                                                  APRIL                    Look - why don't you take Milly                    home, then go home yourself and                    that would take care of both                    sitters. Then Shep can take me                    home later.                                        SHEP                    All right with me.                                        FRANK                        (to April)                    You'll be alright?                                        APRIL                    Sure.                    Frank holds April's look an instant, then walks away with car          keys in hand.                              INT. VITO'S LOG CABIN - NIGHT.                    Steve Kovack performs an exhausting, sweat-drenched drum          solo.                    April and Shep now sit alone in the booth.                                        SHEP                    I'm sorry you're not going away                    anymore. I know it was important to                    you.                    April distantly nods her thanks.                                        SHEP (CONT'D)                    Don't take this wrong; I've been                    there and...they don't have so much                    we don't have here.                                        APRIL                    It didn't have to be Paris.                    Shep sips his beer, trying to figure out how to connect with          her...                                        SHEP                    You just wanted out, huh?                                                                        76.                                                  APRIL                    I wanted in. I just wanted us to                    live again.                    Shep nods, not entirely sure what she means.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    For years I thought we shared a                    secret...that we would be wonderful                    in the world. I didn't exactly know                    how, but just the                    possibility...kept me hoping.                    She takes a long slug of her drink.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    How pathetic is that? To put all                    your hopes in a promise that was                    never made? See, Frank knows...he                    knows what he wants. He's found his                    place. He's just fine. Married, two                    kids. It should be enough. It is                    for him. He's right; we were never                    special or destined or anything at                    all.                                        SHEP                    Sure you are. You're The Wheelers.                    You're a terrific couple, everyone                    says so.                    April doesn't hear, she's pursuing her thought...                                         APRIL                    I saw a different life. I can't                    stop seeing it.                        (beat)                    Can't leave, can't stay.                        (beat)                    No damn use to anyone.                    April turns and stares at him.                    The band strikes up a new number.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    Come on, let's do it.                                                                            77.                              INT. VITO'S LOG CABIN, DANCE FLOOR - NIGHT.                    April and Shep dance.                    Shep can't dance well, but he's trying. April, on the other          hand, is a wonderful dancer. She dances out as far as their          joined hands allow and does a little twitching, hip-bobbing          curtsies before twisting back, all seemingly effortless. It          is joyous, released.                              INT. SHEP'S CAR - NIGHT.                    Shep slips behind the wheel and is immediately kissing her,          groping.                                        SHEP                    Let me take you somewhere.                                         APRIL                    No. Please. Here.    Now.    In the                    back seat.                    She climbs into the back seat. He pulls off his jacket and          climbs in after her. He folds the jacket under her head for          a pillow...                    She remains perfectly still, allowing him to kiss her, to          search under her clothing, to kiss her skin and finally, to          lift her skirt and pull her clothing aside and make love to          her against the vinyl seat cover...                    As suddenly as it began, it's over. Shep collapses against          her. April stares into the darkness.                                        SHEP (CONT'D)                    April... This is what I've always                    wanted... I love you.                                        APRIL                    Don't say that.                                        SHEP                    I mean it, I love you.                                        APRIL                    Please, just be quiet for a minute,                    then you can take me home.                                                                              78.                              They begin to quietly assemble themselves.                              INT. FRANK AND APRIL'S BEDROOM - AFTERNOON                    Frank stands at the mirror putting on a clean shirt.                              INT. WHEELER KITCHEN/DINING ROOM - AFTERNOON.                    April stands at the kitchen table chopping vegetables.    She          wears an unflattering floral dress.                    Frank stands in the doorway watching.                                        FRANK                    It's beautiful out.                                        APRIL                    Yes; it's lovely.                              He glances at the calendar.                                        FRANK                    You know what today is?                    She doesn't look at him.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    It's twelve weeks.                                        APRIL                    That's right.                    He walks over to her.   He takes her in his arms.   She          stiffens.                                        FRANK                    Look, this has been kind of a crazy                    summer. We've both been under a                    strain. I mean I know you're                    upset.                                        APRIL                    You know I'm not sleeping with you                    and you want to know why?                                                                              79.                              She looks him straight in the eye.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    Well, I'm sorry Frank, but I don't                    really feel like talking about it.                    She pulls herself free of his grasp. He watches as she adds          the vegetables in the pot on the stove.                                        FRANK                    Okay. What do you feel like                    talking about?                                        APRIL                    Would it be all right if we didn't                    talk about anything? Can't we just                    take each day as it comes, and do                    the best we can, and not feel we                    have to talk about everything all                    the time?                    He smiles patiently.                                         FRANK                    I don't think I suggested we talk                    about everything all the time. My                    point was, we've both been under a                    strain and we ought to be trying to                    help each other as much as we can                    right now.                    She's utterly uninterested and it's making him nervous.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    I mean God knows my own behavior                    has been pretty weird lately... I                    mean, as it happens... there is                    actually something I'd like to tell                    you about...                    She continues folding the napkins.                                         FRANK (CONT'D)                    I've been with a girl in the city a                    few times.                    Finally, she stops moving.   She looks at him.                                                                            80.                                                  FRANK (CONT'D)                    A girl I hardly even know. It was                    nothing to me, but she got a little                    carried away. She's just a kid...                    Anyway, it's over now. It's really                    over. If I weren't sure of that I                    guess I could never have told you                    about it.                                        APRIL                    Why did you?                                        FRANK                        (relieved)                    Baby, I don't know. I think it was                    a simple case of wanting to be a                    man again after all that abortion                    business. Some kind of neurotic,                    irrational need to prove something.                                        APRIL                    No. I don't mean why did you have                    the girl; I mean why did you tell                    me about it?                    He is suddenly unsure.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    I mean what's the point? Is it                    supposed to make me jealous, or                    something? Is it supposed to make                    me fall in love with you, or back                    into bed with you, or what? I mean                    what am I supposed to say?                    He tries that same patient smile, but it's not convincing.                                        FRANK                    Why don't you say what you feel?                                        APRIL                    I don't feel anything.                                        FRANK                    In other words you don't care what                    I do or who I fuck or anything?                                                                            81.                                                  APRIL                    No; I guess that's right; I don't.                    She is frighteningly calm.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    Fuck who you like.                    His panic mounts.                                        FRANK                    Don't you see...Don't you see, I                    want you to care.                                        APRIL                    Oh, I know you do. And I suppose I                    would if I loved you. But you see                    I don't think I do anymore. And I                    only just figured that out. And                    that's why I'd just as soon not do                    any talking right now.                    She goes back into the kitchen. Frank follows her.                                        FRANK                    Oh, now don't give me this shit!                    You know God damn well you love me!                                        APRIL                    You think so?!                                        FRANK                    You know GOD DAMN WELL!                                         MRS. GIVINGS (O.S.)                    Yoo-hoo!   Any one home?                    Frank and April stare at each other, breathless.                              INT. WHEELER DINING ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON.                    Frank and the Givings' sit with cocktails. It's painfully          awkward. Moving boxes are everywhere.                                        APRIL                    I'm sorry dinner's late. Can I get                    anyone a refill?                                                                               82.                                                  MRS. GIVINGS                    Oh, don't worry. It's nice just to                    sit for a bit and socialize...You                    really didn't need to go through                    all the trouble of cooking. I can                    see you have a lot to do with                    packing and what not.                    Frank looks at April. She avoids his look.                                        FRANK                    Actually, there's been a change of                    plans.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Oh?                    John looks up.                    Frank looks at April.                                        FRANK                    I thought maybe it was obvious...                    April's pregnant.                    April manages a forced smile.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Oh, April! I can't tell you how                    pleased I am. Oh, but I expect                    you'll be needing a bigger house,                    now, won't you?                                        JOHN                    Hold it a second, Ma.                    John gets to his feet.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    I don't get this.                    He fixes Frank with the stare of a prosecuting attorney.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    What's so obvious about it? I mean                    okay, she's pregnant; so what?                    Don't people have babies in Europe?                                                                             83.                                                   MRS. GIVINGS                    Oh John, really. I don't think we                    need to --                    John holds up a hand.                                        JOHN                    I'm asking the man a question. If                    he doesn't want to give me the                    answer, I'm assuming he'll have                    sense enough to tell me so.                                        FRANK                    Suppose we just say that people                    anywhere aren't very well advised                    to have babies unless they can                    afford them.                                        JOHN                        (nods slowly)                    Okay. Okay; it's a question of                    money. Money's always a good                    reason...                    John paces the room, with his hands behind his back like a          detective at a murder scene.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    But it's hardly ever the real                    reason. What's the real reason?                    Wife talk you out of it, or what?                    He turns the force of his smile on April.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    Little woman decide she isn't quite                    ready to quit playing house?                    She walks across the room and stabs out her cigarette.   Then          immediately lights another.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    Nah, nah, that's not it. I can                    tell. She looks too tough. Tough                    and female and adequate as hell.                    He swings around to face Frank.                                                                              84.                                                  JOHN (CONT'D)                    Okay, then; it must've been you.                    Frank stares back defiantly.   Rage bubbling.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    What happened?                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    John, please, you're being very --                    John holds up his hand.                                        JOHN                    What happened, Frank? You get cold                    feet, or what? You decide you're                    better off here after all? You                    figure it's more comfy here in the                    old Hopeless Emptiness after all,                    or --                    Frank's face.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    Wow, that did it! Look at his                    face! What's the matter, Wheeler?                    Am I getting warm?                    Frank stares at John, his rage increasing.   Mr. Givings gets          to his feet.                                        MR. GIVINGS (CONT'D)                    All right, son. I think we'd                    better be --                                        JOHN                    Boy!                    He lets out his braying laugh.   April starts to laugh.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    Boy! You know something? I                    wouldn't be surprised if you                    knocked her up on purpose just so                    you could spend the rest of your                    life hiding behind that maternity                    dress. That way you never have to                    find out what he's made of.                                                                            85.                                                  FRANK                    Now look, I think that's just about                    enough out of you. I mean, who the                    hell do you think you are? You                    come in here and say whatever crazy                    God damn thing comes into your head                    and I think it's about time someone                    told you to keep your God damn -                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    He's not well, Frank.                                        FRANK                    Not well, my ass! I don't give a                    damn if he's sick or well or dead                    or alive, he should keep his                    fucking opinions in the fucking                    insane asylum where they belong!                    April stares at Frank.                                        MR. GIVINGS                    Let's go, son.                    Mr. Givings moves John towards the door. Mrs. Givings slowly          stands. April is the only one left seated.                                        JOHN                    Big man you got there, April.                    He winks at April and puts his hat on.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    Big family man, solid citizen. I                    feel sorry for you. Still, maybe                    you deserve each other.                    April's face.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    Matter of fact, the way you look                    right now, I'm beginning to feel                    sorry for him, too. I mean, you                    must give him a pretty bad time, if                    making babies is the only way he                    can prove he's got a pair of balls.                                                                            86.                                                  FRANK                    You... fucking..!                    Frank lunges at John. Mr. Givings tries to hold Frank back.          Mrs. Givings leaps between them. She's crying.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    He's not well, Frank!                    Silence.   Mr. Givings slowly releases Frank.   He is          breathing heavily.                                        MR. GIVINGS                    All right, John. Let's get on out                    to the car now.                    He guides him from the room.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    I'm sorry April, I'm so sorry...                                        JOHN                    Right... Sorry, sorry, sorry!                    Okay Ma? Have I said `Sorry'                    enough times? I am sorry, too.                    Damn; I bet I'm just about the                    sorriest bastard I know. Course,                    get right down to it, I don't have                    a whole hell of a lot to be glad                    about, do I?                    He takes another step towards the door, then stops and turns          back, laughing again.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    Hey, but I'm glad about one thing,                    though.                    He points a yellow-stained finger at April's stomach.                                        JOHN (CONT'D)                    You know what I'm glad about? I'm                    glad I'm not gonna be that kid.                    They go out.                    Frank goes to the liquor cabinet, pours a whiskey and drinks          it.                                                                       87.                              April watches him from across the room.                                        FRANK                    Okay, okay, don't tell me. Don't                    tell me; let me guess. I made a                    Disgusting Spectacle of Myself.                    Right?                                          APRIL                    Right.                    He turns to April.                                        FRANK                    And everything that man said is                    True. Right? Isn't that what                    you're going to say?                                        APRIL                    Apparently I don't have to.     You're                    saying it for me.                    He comes towards her.                                        FRANK                    But you're wrong.                                        APRIL                    Why am I wrong?                                        FRANK                    Because the man is insane. He's                    fucking insane! Do you know what                    the definition of insanity is?                                        APRIL                    What is it, Frank?                                        FRANK                    The inability to relate to another                    human being. It's the inability to                    love.                    She looks at him.    Then she begins to laugh.                                        APRIL                    The in -- the in; the inabil; the                    inability to --                                                                               88.                              She reels around the room, her laughter increasingly out of          control.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    Oh. -- Oh, Frank, you really are a                    wonderful talker! If black could                    be made into white by talking,                    you'd be the man for the job. So                    now I'm crazy because I don't love                    you -- right? Is that the point?                                        FRANK                    No. Wrong. You're not crazy and                    you do love me; that's the point.                    He takes a step towards her.                    All the laughter goes out of her face.   She backs away.                                        APRIL                    But I don't. In fact I loathe the                    sight of you. You're just a boy who                    made me laugh at a party once and                    if you come any closer, if you                    touch me or anything I think I'll                    scream.                    He takes her by the arms.                                        FRANK                    Oh baby listen --                    She SCREAMS. High and shrill.    Her eyes wide open, cold and          perfectly calm.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    Fuck you, April. And fuck all your                    hateful, snotty little -                    She slips past him.                    He goes after her.                    She pulls a chair into his path.                    He SLINGS it against the wall.                                                                           89.                                                  APRIL                    What're you going to do now? Are                    you going to hit me? To show how                    much you love me?                                        FRANK                    Oh, no, don't worry, I can't be                    bothered! You're not worth the                    trouble it'd take to hit you.                    You're not worth the powder it'd                    take to blow you up. You're an                    empty --                    He begins to shake with anger.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    You're an empty, hollow fucking                    shell of a woman. What the hell                    are you living in my house for if                    you hate me so much? Huh? Will                    you answer me that? Why the hell                    do you fuck me? What the hell are                    you carrying my child for?                    He points at her belly.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    Why the hell didn't you just get                    rid of it, when you had the chance?                    Because listen. Listen: I got news                    for you. I wish to God you had.                    He strides out of the room.                              INT. FRANK AND APRIL'S BEDROOM - EVENING.                    Frank enters the bedroom and slams the door.                    He paces, slowly calming.                    He sits on the bed with his head in his hands... His mind          racing. Then he's on his feet again. He rushes for the          door.                                                                             90.                              INT. WHEELER KITCHEN - EVENING.                    Frank enters, running, but the kitchen is empty.   Frank runs          out of the room into living room.                              INT. WHEELER LIVING ROOM - EVENING                    The living room is empty.   He goes straight for the front          door.                              EXT. WHEELER HOUSE - EVENING.                    Frank bursts out the front and comes to a stop.                    She's across the street - climbing unsteadily into the          woods...                    Frank breaks into a sprint.                              EXT. WOODS - EVENING.                    April walks through the woods.                    Frank runs up behind her, scrambling through the muddy          bracken.                    April wheels around.                                        APRIL                    Don't come any closer.                                        FRANK                    April, listen, I --                                        APRIL                    Don't come any closer. Can't I                    even get away from you in the                    fucking woods?                    He stops moving.                                        FRANK                    April, listen, I didn't mean that.                    Honestly; I didn't mean what I                    said.                                                                               91.                                                  APRIL                    Are you still talking? Isn't there                    any way to stop your talking? I                    NEED to think. Can't you see that?                    She backs up against a tree trunk, looking down at him.                                        FRANK                    Please come back.     What're you                    doing out here?                                        APRIL                    Do you want me to scream again,                    Frank? Because I will, if you say                    another word! I mean it!                    Frank has no choice - they're outside. The neighbors would          hear and call the police. He reluctantly backs away, then          turns back the way he came, glancing over his shoulder as he          goes.                              INT. WHEELER FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT.                    Frank stands at the window watching the section of woods          where he left April.                    Then, he sees her come back across the street. She walks          around the side of the house. He turns and runs into the          kitchen.                              INT. WHEELER KITCHEN - NIGHT.                    Frank goes to the window. He watches April walk up into the          yard and stop against a tree.                    Frank pours a drink and takes the bottle with him to the          window. He looks out, drinking.                    In the darkness, he can make out the glow of April's          cigarette deep in the woods.                              INT. FRANK AND APRIL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT, LATER.                    Frank falls back on the bed.                                                                                92.                              He's now very drunk.                    His eyes close as he slips into unconsciousness.                              INT. FRANK AND APRIL'S BEDROOM - MORNING.                    Frank wakes alone.     He looks around the room.   His head is          throbbing.                              INT. WHEELER KITCHEN - MORNING.                    Frank stands in the doorway dressed for work.      He stares...                    The kitchen has been tidied and is bathed in sunlight.     The          table has been carefully set for two.                    April stands at the stove wearing a fresh maternity dress.          She seems serene.                    April turns and looks at him.                                        APRIL                    Good morning.                                        FRANK                    Good morning.                    He stands there frozen.                                        APRIL                    Would you like scrambled eggs or                    fried?                                        FRANK                    Oh. It doesn't really matter -                    Uh... scrambled, I guess, if it's                    easy.                                         APRIL                    Fine.   I'll have scrambled too.                    Frank sits at the table.                                                                             93.                              INT. WHEELER KITCHEN - MORNING, MOMENTS LATER.                    Frank and April sit across the kitchen table, eating.   For          several moments, only the sound of their cutlery.                                           FRANK                       It's kinda nice having breakfast                       without the kids for a change.                    April reaches out to pour him some orange juice.   Her hands          shake slightly.                                           APRIL                       Yes. I thought you'd probably want                       a good breakfast today. I mean it's                       kind of an important day for you,                       isn't it? Isn't this the day you                       have your conference with Pollock?                                           FRANK                           (surprised)                       Yes. That's right, yes.                    He shrugs.                                             FRANK (CONT'D)                       Big deal.                                           APRIL                       I imagine it is a pretty big deal;                       for them, anyway. What exactly do                       you think you'll be doing? You                       never have told me much about it.                                           FRANK                       Haven't I? Well... I think this                       whole thing is about Knox getting                       ready to buy up one of these really                       big computers, bigger than the                       `500'. Did I tell you about that?                                           APRIL                       No, I don't believe you did.                                                                                 94.                                                     FRANK                       Well, you know -- Basically it's                       just a...a big, fast adding                       machine. Only...                    He takes a pencil from his inside pocket and delicately          sketches the computer on the napkin.                                           FRANK (CONT'D)                       Instead of mechanical parts, you                       see, it's got thousands of little                       individual vacuum tubes.                    She picks up the drawing and looks at it.       It's surprisingly          delicate.                                           APRIL                       Oh, I see. At least I think I see;                       yes. It's really sort of --                       interesting, isn't it?                                           FRANK                       Well, I don't know, it's -- yeah, I                       guess it is sort of interesting, in                       a way.                                           APRIL                       You should value what you do Frank.                       You're obviously good at it.                    He smiles, flattered and surprised.    He slips the pencil into          the inside pocket of his suit.                                           FRANK                       Guess I'd better be getting                       started.                    He stands.    April stands up too, smoothing her skirt.                                           FRANK (CONT'D)                       Listen, though, April; this was                       really nice... I mean it was a                       swell breakfast. Really; I don't                       know when I've ever had a -- a                       nicer breakfast.                                                                                  95.                                                  APRIL                    Thank you... I'm glad; I enjoyed it                    too.                    They stand there gazing at one another across the table.          Suddenly, inexplicably, his eyes are filled with tears.                    He turns and walks to the door. He puts his hand on the          handle and turns back once more.                                        FRANK                    Then you don't -- You don't hate                    me, or anything?                                        APRIL                    No; of course I don't.                    She comes over to him.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    Have a good day.                    He leans down and kisses her tenderly.   They look at one          another a moment longer.                                        FRANK                    Okay, then... So long.                    He steps through the door. She catches the door before it          shuts and watches him through the screen.                              EXT. WHEELER DRIVEWAY - MORNING.                    April walks out onto the driveway as the car reverses away          down the drive.                              INT. WHEELER CAR - MORNING.                    Frank backs the car onto the road. He slides the car into          drive and then catches sight of April in the driveway.                              EXT. WHEELER DRIVEWAY - MORNING.                    April sees Frank looking back at her.    She waves.   Frank          waves from the car and drives off...                                                                              96.                              Then April is alone. She shivers from the morning chill.          She turns and looks back at the house.                              INT. WHEELER KITCHEN - MORNING.                    April enters through the screen door and goes to the table.          She looks down at Frank's diagram and carefully places it          aside.                    She carries the dishes to the sink and begins to wash them.                    Suddenly, her body convulses as she tries to hold back from          crying. And then there is no stopping the tears...                              INT. WHEELER HALLWAY - MORNING.                    April is standing by the phone, with her hand on the          receiver, rehearsing. She is smoking. She dials.                                       APRIL                    Hello... Milly? Everything all                    right? My voice sounds what...?                    April uses both hands to grip the receiver.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    Well, no, I'm afraid I'm not                    feeling any better... If it's not                    an inconvenience for you... This                    evening would be great. What...?                    Oh, well- no, not if they're                    outdoors playing. Don't call them                    in.                    The cigarette shreds in April's hand.                                        APRIL (CONT'D)                    Just give them - you know, give                    them each a kiss for me, and give                    them my love, and tell them - you                    know... All right, Milly. Thanks.                    She hangs up and begins to cry again.   Takes a breath.                                                                               97.                              INT. WHEELER HALLWAY - MORNING.                    FOOTSTEPS...                    We move behind April as she walks through the silent house.                    The distant SOUND of children playing outside.                    Each room she passes is a pocket of silence.                              INT. FRANK AND APRIL'S BEDROOM - MORNING.                    April makes the bed.                    She arranges her shoes on the floor of the closet.                    April reaches onto a shelf behind some clothes.   Pulls out          the brown paper package.                              INT. WHEELER KITCHEN - MORNING.                    April stands at the stove over a pot of rolling, boiling          water.                    She removes the rubber syringe from its paper packaging and          drops it into the pot. She checks her watch.                              INT. WHEELER HALLWAY - DAY.                    April carries the pot of boiling, sudsy water down the hall.                              INT. WHEELER BATHROOM - DAY.                    April places the pot into the tub.   She lays towels across          the floor. And closes the door...                              INT. WHEELER BATHROOM - DAY, MOMENTS LATER.                    The SOUND of running water. The empty mirror.     April's face          rises up into the reflection with a gasp.                                                                                 98.                              INT. WHEELER HALLWAY - DAY.                    We move with April down the hallway, her face is pale.                              INT. WHEELER LIVING ROOM - DAY, LATER.                    Now April stands at the picture window.    She is shaking.                    A DROPLET of blood slides down her knee.   She looks down.                    On the floor, two droplets of blood appear between her bare          feet...                    Now we see the bright maple leaf of blood seeping through her          skirt. She is shaking more.                    She walks slowly out of the room, towards the kitchen.                                        APRIL (O.S.)                    I think I need an ambulance....                    Yes... One one five Revolutionary                    Road.                              INT. CAMPBELL KITCHEN - DAY.                    Milly folds laundry. She looks up to see -                    An ambulance turns into the Wheeler's driveway.   Her face          clouds with instinctual foreboding.                              INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY - AFTERNOON.                    Shep steps out into a hospital hallway.                    Frank paces, helpless in the waiting room, his face a mask of          bewildered, childlike confusion. He looks up to see -                    Shep coming towards him.                                        SHEP                    Frank? They tell you what                    happened?                                                                              99.                                                  FRANK                    Jesus, Shep. I couldn't even                    understand half the things he told                    me. He said the fetus was out                    before they got her here. He said                    they had to operate to take out the                    whatdycallit, the placenta and now                    she's still bleeding. He said                    she'd lost a lot of blood before                    the ambulance came, and now they're                    trying to stop it, and he said a                    whole lot of things I didn't get,                    about capillaries, and he said                    she's unconscious. Jesus.                                        SHEP                    How about sitting down, Frank.                                        FRANK                    What the hell do I want to sit down                    for!                                         SHEP                    Okay.   Take it easy.                                         FRANK                    My God.                                        SHEP                    Here, have a cigarette.                    Shep offers the pack.   Frank doesn't take one.                                        FRANK                    She did it to herself, Shep.                    Shep's face as he realizes what he's saying.                                        FRANK (CONT'D)                    She did it to herself.                    Shep takes a cigarette for himself.   He lights it with          trembling fingers.                                        SHEP                    I'll get some coffee.                    Frank looks over at Shep as if he'd forgotten him.   He nods.                                                                             100.                              Shep stands and walks down the hall.                              INT. HOSPITAL - COFFEE MACHINE - AFTERNOON.                    Shep stands at a coffee machine, gathering himself. He looks          up. He begins to feed coins into the machine. His hands are          trembling. He drops a coin. It rolls under the machine. He          has to get down on his hands and knees to retrieve it...                              INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY - AFTERNOON.                    Shep walks tentatively, holding a cup in each hand, slopping          coffee onto the floor...                    He rounds the corner and stops.                    Frank is no longer in his chair at the end of the long          echoing hallway. Shep looks around...                    Then suddenly, the double doors are flung open and a number          of nurses hurry out. Behind them, comes Frank, supported by          two Doctors.                    Shep runs to them as they move Frank over to a chair.    He's          in shock.                                          FRANK                    No.   No.   No.                    They try to make him sit, but he stays stubbornly on his          feet, the chair skidding behind him.                                        DOCTOR                    Try to sit down, Mr. Wheeler.                                        SHEP                    Sit down Frank.                    Frank looks at Shep - his face is a terrifying blank.                              EXT. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD - MAGIC HOUR.                    A toyland of white and pastel houses along the road. The          crisp green lawns. The blue televisions flickering behind          the glass.                                                                            101.                              We hear the WHISK of running footsteps on the asphalt, the          rush of a man's breath...                    Frank is running down the middle of the street, tears          streaming silently down his face...                              INT. CAMPBELL LIVING ROOM - EVENING, ONE YEAR LATER.                    Four high-ball glasses with glistening cubes of ice.                    Shep puts the finishing touches on four drinks.                    MR. and MRS. BRACE, a pleasant looking young couple fresh          from the city sit on the couch.                                           MILLY                       ...It was the worst experience of                       my life. Such wonderful people.                       Weren't they Shep? Poor April.                    Shep picks up the drinks and carries them across the room.          He stands there beside the three of them, but he can't bring          himself to sit down and join in.                                           MILLY (CONT'D)                       Frank lives in the city now.       Where                       is it he works?                                           SHEP                       Bart Pollock Associates.                                              MR. BRACE                       Computers.     Interesting firm.                    Mr. Brace removes his pipe and looks at it.                                           MRS. BRACE                       Have you seen him since?                                           MILLY                       No. Too many memories, I think.                       Shep's seen him. In the city.                    Shep nods.                                                                             102.                                                  MILLY (CONT'D)                    He's just dedicated to those kids.                    Every spare moment he has, he                    spends with them...                    Shep turns and walks out of the room.                              EXT. CAMPBELL HOUSE - EVENING.                    Shep walks across the lawn to the edge of the property. He          looks out over the suburban houses. At what was once the          Wheeler house.                    Shep's face, looking out. His eyes are filled with tears.          Milly comes up behind him.                                          MILLY                    You okay?                                          SHEP                    Mm-hmm.                    She takes his arm and holds him close.                                        SHEP (CONT'D)                    I don't want to talk about The                    Wheelers any more.                                       MILLY                    Okay. We don't have to.     We don't                    have to.                    Shep and Milly look out over Revolutionary Road.                              EXT. CITY PARK - DAY.                    The same silence over a beautiful day in the city.    And          from the silence, the faint sound of wind through the leafy          branches of trees.                    Two children play in a playground in a small park.                    It's Jennifer and Michael.    They seem happy, engrossed. Other          kids play around them.                                                                            103.                              Watching them from a bench is Frank.   He is a little older, a          little thinner.                    Close on Frank's face.   The SOUND of his children playing.                              INT. GIVINGS' LIVING ROOM - DAY                    Mrs. Givings crouches on a cotton work sheet painting varnish          onto a chair. Mr. Givings sits reading the paper.                    A new puppy sleeps curled up on the rug nearby.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    I can't tell you how pleased I am                    about the little Revolutionary Road                    place, Howard. Remember how dreary                    it looked all winter? All cold and                    dark and -- well, spooky. Creepy-                    crawly. And now whenever I drive                    past, it gives me such a lift to                    see it all perked up and spanking                    clean again, with lights in the                    windows. And do you know, I was                    just thinking, I've loved that                    little house for years, and the                    Braces are the first really                    suitable people I've ever found for                    it. Really nice, congenial people,                    I mean.                    Mr. Givings fiddles with his hearing aid.                                        MR. GIVINGS                    Well, except for the Wheelers, you                    mean.                                        MRS. GIVINGS                    Oh, I was very fond of the Wheelers                    but they always were a bit -- a bit                    whimsical, for my taste. A bit                    neurotic. I may not have stressed                    it, but they were often very trying                    people to deal with, in many ways.                              (MORE)                                                                           104.                                        MRS. GIVINGS (CONT'D)                    Actually, the main reason the                    little house has been so hard to                    sell is that they let it depreciate                    so dreadfully. Warped window                    frames, wet cellar, crayon marks on                    the walls, filthy smudges around                    all the--                    Mr. Givings reaches up to his ear and SUDDENLY... SILENCE...          but for the faint sound of wind.                    He gazes out the window as behind him Mrs. Givings continues          to talk, but we can't hear a thing.                    He has turned off his hearing aid.                                                               FADE TO BLACK                     
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+
+
+THE S A I N T 
+
+BY JONATHAN HENSLEIGH 
+
+DIRECTOR: PHILLIP NOYCE 
+
+FEBRUARY 8, 1995
+
+NEW YORK CITY 
+
+The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. - O. Wilde - 
+
+FADE IN: 
+
+The majestic city and bay, as seen from the elevation of the surrounding Shan Ho hills as we SUPER – 
+
+HONG KONG – 1965 
+
+PANNING away from the city, we come before the bleak facade of the SAINT IGNATIUS ORPHANAGE. 
+
+BOY'S VOICE (O.S.) 
+Simon Magus was a magician and sorcerer in uhhm... Sumatra. 
+
+INT. HONG KONG - SAINT IGNATIUS ORPHANAGE - DAY 
+
+Twenty boys, aged 7 to 12, sit at spartan desks, bibles raised. FATHER O'NEAL walks amongst them. A career Jesuit with razor eyes and thin lips. An awful man. 
+
+FATHER 0'NEAL 
+(sternly) 
+Sumeria. And what happened to him Francis? 
+
+FRANCIS, 12, is the eldest and largest boy. 
+
+FRANCIS 
+Jesus' disciples came and performed miracles. When Simon Magus saw the miracles he offered disciple Peter gold for the powers of God. 
+
+FATHER 0'NEAL 
+What did disciple Peter say to that? Michael Quinn? 
+
+Father O'Neal stands before the youngest, littlest boy, who, unlike the others, exhibits no fear in his huge, intelligent eyes. Father O'Neal hates this boy. 
+
+The boy, MICHAEL QUINN, doesn't respond. Father O'Neal snatches his bible, revealing a SECOND BOOK hidden behind it. 
+
+It's a dime store pulp adventure with a gaudy cover entitled "THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR." 
+
+FATHER 0'NEAL 
+Answer the question Michael. 
+
+The little boy stares up at him. 
+
+MICHAEL QUINN 
+That's not my name. 
+
+Father O'Neal yanks the boy from the chair. Drags him by the arm across the room and out into the corridor. 
+
+THE OTHER BOYS wait two seconds, then they spring up and run, en masse, to the door. Grouped in the threshold, straining for a good view, they watch as -- 
+
+FATHER O'NEIL pulls Michael Quinn into an office down the corridor. The door has a stained-glass window. 
+
+It begins. We see it in SILHOUETTE: Father O'Neal with a CANE SWITCH in his hand, the boy beneath him. Down the switch comes. Again. And again. The boy YELPS. And again and again and again... and now he SCREAMS...
+
+THE BOYS HUDDLED IN THE DOORWAY begin to wince. With every repeated, merciless descent of the switch... 
+
+INT. SAINT IGNATIUS ORPHANAGE - EATING HALL - NIGHT 
+
+THE BOYS sit at benches. Michael Quinn stares stoically ahead. The back of his shirt is striped with blood. 
+
+FATHER YIN, 50's, a Chinese Jesuit, grim in black frock and white collar, paces amongst the benches. Father O'Neal watches from the side. 
+
+FATHER YIN 
+Why one child is born into a good home and another into poverty - that is but part of God's design. All of you are unwanted, put here because of the sins of your unwedded mothers. The church has fed you and educated you. Given you a home. A name. An identity. 
+
+Stopping before Michael Quinn, he points to a PORTRAIT ON THE WALL of a stern-faced Jesuit. 
+
+FATHER YIN 
+Who is that, boy? 
+
+MICHAEL QUINN 
+Father Michael Quinn. 
+
+FATHER YIN 
+Yes. A great man. You ungrateful little cur, you will sit here without food until you appreciate your namesake. 
+(to the other boys) 
+All of you will sit with him. Put lunch away, Mr. Fong. 
+
+MR. FONG, the orphanage cook, wheels a FOOD CART into the kitchen and locks the door. Father Yin exits, followed by Father O'Neal and Mr. Fong, leaving -- 
+
+A HUNDRED BOYS staring at Michael Quinn. 
+
+DISSOLVE TO: 
+
+INT. ORPHANAGE - NIGHT 
+
+Again, Father Yin stands before Michael Quinn. The boys are seated for their evening meal. 
+
+FATHER YIN 
+What is your name, boy? 
+
+Silence. Michael Quinn stares straight ahead. 
+
+FATHER YIN 
+Put supper away, Mr. Fong. 
+
+MR. FONG wheels the FOOD CART into the kitchen and locks the door. Again, a hundred boys stare at Michael Quinn. 
+
+INT . ORPHANAGE BUNKROOM - NIGHT 
+
+A long, narrow room with bunkbeds. The boys aren't sleeping. They're grouped around Michael Quinn's bunk. One boy has his hand clamped to Michael's, mouth, the others are wailing on him... and outside -- 
+
+INT. ORPHANAGE - CORRIDOR OUTSIDE BUNKROOM - NIGHT 
+
+Fathers O'Neal and Yin watch through the door. 
+
+FATHER YIN 
+Spareth the rod, spoileth the child. 
+
+INT. ORPHANAGE - MORNING 
+
+Father Yin grits his teeth, staring down at Michael Quinn, whose face is welted. Nothing has changed. 
+
+FATHER YIN 
+Put breakfast away, Mr. Fong. 
+
+Again, the FOOD CART goes into the kitchen. The Fathers and Mr. Fong exit. The boys rise, moving toward Michael Quinn. They're going to kick the living shit out of him. 
+
+MICHAEL QUINN 
+Stop. You'll have your breakfast. 
+
+Michael Quinn walks to the locked kitchen door. The other boys, curious, follow. 
+
+Michael Quinn kneels before the door, examining the lock. He looks around. On a counter next to the door are EATING UTENSILS. Michael Quinn picks up A FORK. He bends the fork's tines. Inserts it in the lock. He fishes around for a second. Nothing happens. He pulls the fork out, rebends it, and inserts it in the lock again. And CLICK.. ..the lock pops. 
+
+Michael Quinn turns and smiles. The boys flood inside. The hungry boys go for the food cart, scooping up eggs and sausage. They're ravenous. Francis, mouth full of sausage, beams at Michael Quinn. 
+
+FRANCIS 
+They should've named you Simon, like Simon Magus the sorcerer. 
+
+MICHAEL QUINN 
+No. Simon. . . . 
+(pulls the "KNIGHTS TEMPLAR" paperback from his back pocket) 
+...Templar. 
+
+Suddenly a SHARP WHISTLE. The boys, startled, whip their necks around. MR. FONG stands in the doorway. Father O'Neal and Father Yin enter quickly. The boys back away from the food cart. 
+
+FATHER YIN 
+Who.. . who did this...? 
+
+The boys look at Michael Quinn. Then Francis speaks: 
+
+FRANCIS 
+I did father. 
+
+And another boy, James: 
+
+JAMES 
+I did father. . 
+
+And another and another: "I did father." They all say it. And the littlest youngest boy, surrounded by his new confederates, smiles slightly. His eyes glint. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+Begin MAIN TITLE SEQUENCE 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - NIGHT 
+
+A chilly September night. A rally is underway in the Dvortsovaya Ploshchad, the vast square at the foot of Nevsky Prospect Boulevard. The Winter Palace and Hermitage loom in the b.g. 500,000 ST. PETERS BURGERS' stand shoulder-to-shoulder, listening to a SPEECH. INTERNATIONAL T.V. CREWS (the BBC, CNN, etc.) are transmitting the event. 
+
+SPEAKER (O.S.) 
+In I917 Lenin stood here and promised a new age. The result? Tyranny. Poverty. The darkest years in our history. 
+
+THE SPEAKER stands on a platform behind a cluster of microphones, his image projected on a huge screen (like the Sony screen in Times Square) above and behind him. 
+
+He is MICHAEL ROMANOV, coal-haired, fierce, ardent, eyes glinting like onyx, voice cutting the night air. 
+
+ROMANOV 
+In 1987 Gorbachev stood here and promised a new age. The result? An end to communism. Democracy. A free economy. And what else? Chaos. 
+(crowd CHEERS) 
+The economy run by criminals, the government run by charlatans. And they are in league together! Thieves! Traitors! 
+(louder CHEERS) 
+Men and women of St. Petersburg, citizens of Russia, the salt of this country, this must end! 
+(deafening CHEERS) 
+Join me then in the song of our forefathers. 
+
+Romanov begins to sing, ably, the first verse of "Mother Russia" (the Russian anthem before the Bolsheviks). 
+
+THE CROWD joins him. The Ploshchad rings with the voices of half a million Russians... 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - NIKKO HOTEL - CONTINUOUS 
+
+We're 12 stories up, outside the city's Nikko hotel. The rally across town is a distant glow. We hear the singing crowd. 
+
+TWO HANDS appear, gripping the nooks of the exterior architecture. A MAN IN BLACK climbs up, securing a sling to the window frame in which to sit. A bulky BACKPACK hangs from shoulder straps. He produces a diamond cutter; begins carving a man-sized aperture in the window. Below, in the foyer – 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - GRAND FOYER BALLROOM 
+
+-- A JAPANESE SECURITY MAN sits at his guard station, watching C.N.N. NEWS on a small television. Wolf Blitzer is reporting live from the rally. 
+
+WOLF BLITZER 
+(on t.v.)
+An extraordinary allegation, Bernard, that Russia's present leadership, including President Victor Karpov, is connected with the country's underworld. 
+
+Inside the foyer ballroom, Japanese businessmen are hosting a reception. The Nikko Hotel's core is hollow, like the Hilton in New York; thus, the ballroom's "ceiling" is 12 stories up. 
+
+CHAMPAGNE SERVERS are passing out glasses. A grey-haired Japanese businessman, HIRO MYAKI, clinks his glass. The guests pay attention. During this we focus on a CHAMPAGNE SERVER moving toward the lobby elevators with a full tray. 
+
+HIRO MYAKI 
+Ladies. Gentlemen. The Myaki Corporation looks forward to many profitable days ahead. To our new manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg. To the new Russia! 
+
+As the crowd CLAPS... 
+
+EXT. NIKKO HOTEL - EXTERIOR WALL 
+
+...the Man In Black kicks at the cut section of window, pushing it into the hotel and plunging inside after it. 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - CEILING SUPERSTRUCTURE 
+
+The Man In Black catches hold of a steel girder and dangles, and, miraculously -- 
+
+THE PIECE OF WINDOW doesn't fall. 
+
+It's stuck to his feet with suction cups. 
+
+The Man In Black moves, hand over hand, toward the mezzanine balcony, the window stuck to his feet. 
+
+IN THE LOBBY BELOW Everybody's beaming, toasting, congratulating, etc., totally oblivious to THE MAN IN BLACK, 12 stories up, inching hand-over-hand across the roof superstructure. 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - CEILING SUPERSTRUCTURE OVER MEZZANINE 
+
+The Man In Black has reached the mezzanine. TWO JAPANESE SECURITY GUARDS, armed with automatic rifles, walk their shift directly below him. They pass a wall mounted television, also carrying the NEWS: 
+
+WOLF BLITZER
+(on t.v.) 
+One thing's certain, Bernard: Michael Romanov, age 32, French born and Oxford educated, descendent of the last czar, is a political force to be reckoned with. 
+
+The guards move down the mezzanine; one jokes, the other laughs. They disappear around a corner. The Man in Black hangs from the girder with one hand; with the other he yanks the piece of window off his foot-mounted suction cups. He drops to the mezzanine. He rests the glass against the wall. He peers over the balustrade at the party below. Satisfied, he removes his hood, ENDING TITLES. 
+
+This is SIMON TEMPLAR. A hard, self-reliant, crafty man. You should treat him as such or be very sorry you ever met him. It is unfortunate that a man of Templar's various talents can be so lacking. How? 
+
+His journey has been through a tough world and he has come fast. This one gives no quarter. Ever. Though his outward self glows with life, he is dead inside. 
+
+Templar, focused utterly, steals inside a corridor. 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - INTERIOR CORRIDOR 
+
+A long corridor with a door at the end, on which is engraved: MYAKI CORPORATION. At the entrance, secured in a niche, is a BRONZE BUST OF HIRO MYAKI. 
+
+Templar stops cold. A RUG (an oriental runner) extends the length of the corridor. 
+
+Templar kneels, lifting an edge of the rug. Revealing ANTI -THEFT PRESSURE SENSORS. Templar produces a DARTGUN (the size of a flare gun, silenced, with a spool of steel cable attached to the top). He aims down the corridor and fires. 
+
+A STEEL DART explodes from the barrel, spooling out the cable, and imbeds above the door at corridor's end. 
+
+Templar yanks the other end of cable from the spool. He looks around for something to secure it. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Sorry about this. 
+
+He ties the cable around Myaki's bronze neck. He hangs from the cable, testing it. It will hold. He pulls out an aluminum contraption with small wheels and two handle grips. It's A GLIDER for the cable. He attaches the glider to the cable, grips the handles, and glides the length of the corridor. 
+
+THE OTHER END OF THE CORRIDOR - OVER THE DOOR 
+
+Templar bumps up against the door. He pulls his knees up and over the handles of the glider, then flops over backwards, hanging upside down. HIS FACE is now right next to the door handle, over which is an ELECTRONIC LOCK (opened by punching a code). 
+
+Templar pulls out a BLACK BOX. It's a really small, really powerful computer and its job is to run through every possible number combination in about a minute and a half. Templar wires the computer to the lock with two needlelike ELECTRODE PROBES. 
+
+He activates the system. The little computer starts running through combinations of numbers. He waits, hanging upside down. Meanwhile-- 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - MEZZANINE - ELEVATOR LOBBY 
+
+The Japanese guards are smoking by the elevator, joking, laughing. One of these guys is a riot... The elevator opens. The CHAMPAGNE SERVER comes out, tray in hand. 
+
+CHAMPAGNE SERVER 
+Compliments of Mr. Myaki. 
+
+JAPANESE GUARDS 
+(delighted) 
+Ahh! 
+
+Beaming, they each take a glass. They clink and drink. 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - INTERIOR CORRIDOR 
+
+The computer BEEPS. It's finished. Templar turns the door handle; pushes open the door. He pulls himself up. Hangs from his hands again. He swings his legs back and forth, getting momentum up. He releases from the glider and lunges inside. 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - MYAKI CORPORATION OFFICES 
+
+A grand boardroom with Japanese furniture and art. At the end of a fifty-foot mahogany table is a PAINTING OF HIRO MYAKI. Templar walks over to it. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Sorry again. 
+
+He RIPS the painting off the wall and heaves it aside. And here, where the painting was, is A SAFE. Templar unshoulders his backpack. He pulls out a 40-pound CARLSBAD & RINKER industrial diamond-tipped drill, as big as a jackhammer. No finesse here, people. 
+
+No, there's no time for high-tech. He's going to drill right through the bitch, right through four inches of tungsten steel. He starts setting up the drill. 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - MEZZANINE LOBBY 
+
+Two CHAMPAGNE GLASSES lie shattered on the floor, and next to that mess lie the JAPANESE GUARDS, now unconscious. The champagne server's gone... 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - MEZZANINE 
+
+...because he's here, moving quickly toward the Myaki Corporation's office, and he's not a champagne server, but a thief and a killer, a blonde Russian named ILYA. Ilya stops just outside the interior corridor. With the GUARD'S KEYRING, he shuts off the anti-theft mats and moves around the corner into the corridor. 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - INTERIOR CORRIDOR 
+
+Ilya stops short. His eyes spark. He sees Templar's cable and glider. 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - MYAKI CORPORATION OFFICES 
+
+Templar, wearing goggles, leans into the drill as THE BIT CHEWS into the tungsten lock. This is a violent exercise. SINEWS OF METAL spit out like shrapnel. 
+
+He's through the lock in seconds. Templar heaves the drill aside; it lands with a THUD on the beautiful mahogany table. He opens the safe. INSIDE THE SAFE is one object: A SMALL BOX, the size of a cufflink keeper. Templar grabs it and opens it. 
+
+INSIDE THE LITTLE BOX is a tiny MICRO-CHIP. Templar closes the box and pockets it. 
+
+ILYA (V.O.) 
+Don't move. 
+
+Templar freezes. His eyes twitch. This wasn't in the plan... 
+
+ILYA (V.O.) 
+Turn around. Slowly. 
+
+Templar faces Ilya. Ilya has a silenced handgun. 
+
+ILYA 
+On your knees. 
+(Templar sinks to his knees) 
+Give me the box. Slowly. 
+
+Templar pulls out the box. Tosses it to Ilya. Ilya raises the handgun at Templar's head. Smiles. Try something: throw an extension cord on the ground. I guarantee it will land coiled in several places. 
+
+Ilya happens to be standing inside one of the coils of the drill's extension cord. And this is not lost on Templar. Templar, on his knees, grabs the cord and yanks it; the coil tightens around Ilya's ankles. His legs fly from under him and he goes down, the gun clattering across the floor. Ilya tries to get to his feet. Templar floors him with a right cross. Templar grabs the box and his backpack and sprints across the room. Ilya gains his feet and grabs his gun; sprints after Templar. 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - MEZZANINE 
+
+Templar runs to the balustrade and climbs atop it. 
+
+He jumps, clutching the ceiling girder above. He's going out the way he came in. Suddenly ILYA'S HANDS are around his ankles. Templar falls. He's going 12 stories to his death. No. His fingers clutch the outside of the balustrade. Templar dangles there, looking up at the sadistic face of Ilya. And suddenly below -- 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - GRAND FOYER BALLROOM 
+
+-- A JAPANESE WOMAN, looking up, pointing at the man dangling from the balustrade above, SCREAMS. And now everybody looks up. 
+
+HIRO MYAKI 
+Sound the alarm! Call the police! 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - MEZZANINE 
+
+Ilya and Templar. Ilya calmly compresses his foot against Templar's left knuckles. 
+
+ILYA 
+The box please. 
+
+Templar, grimacing, reaches with his right hand and pulls the box from his pocket. Hands it slowly to Ilya, who reaches over the balustrade for it... 
+
+TEMPLAR stuffs the box in his teeth and grabs Ilya's hand, jerking him over the balustrade. Ilya falls 12 stories to his death. No he doesn't. He falls one story and miraculously catches the balustrade there. Templar clambers up again, atop the balustrade. He jumps to the ceiling girder. Hand over hand, swinging like an acrobat, Templar's across the girder in seconds. 
+
+He releases from the girder to the window frame. There's one further problem. BULLETS. Ricocheting all around him. Fired by -- 
+
+ILYA, one floor down. Templar reaches over his shoulder. Pulls a GUN from his backpack. To return fire? No, it's the DART GUN. Templar aims the dart gun out the aperture he cut in the window and fires. 
+
+EXT. NIKKO HOTEL - 12TH FLOOR 
+
+A STEEL DART launches from the window, flies fifty yards, and imbeds in the STAIRCASE BULKHEAD OF THE BUILDING ADJACENT TO THE NIKKO. 
+
+INT. NIKKO HOTEL - CEILING SUPERSTRUCTURE 
+
+Templar ties the cable to the ceiling girder. He pulls out his black hood and drapes it over the taught cable. He grabs both ends of the hood. And he jumps. 
+
+EXT. NIKKO HOTEL/ADJACENT BUILDING 
+
+Templar flies through space, across the cable, the hood acting as a makeshift glider. He lands on the roof of the adjacent building. Templar looks around. SIRENS ARE WAILING. He runs across rooftops, disappearing into the St. Petersburg night. 
+
+INT . NIKKO HOTEL - GRAND FOYER BALLROOM 
+
+Total chaos. Women screaming, everybody running around. Ilya comes through the panicked crowd. Ten ST. PETERSBURG POLICEMEN enter. 
+
+ILYA 
+I tried to stop him! He went out the window! 
+
+Five policemen go for the elevators. Five more exit quickly. Ilya follows. 
+
+EXT. NIKKO HOTEL - ENTRANCE 
+
+The befuddled police race off, looking skyward at the top floors of the building. Ilya curses silently. And peels away from the cops and commotion, off into the night. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. A BRITISH-AIR 747 - MORNING 
+
+The First Class section. The plane is in flight. A STEWARDESS, young, perky, comes down the aisle pushing a magazine/newspaper cart. 
+
+STEWARDESS 
+Newspaper sir? 
+
+SIMON TEMPLAR sits there, dressed as usual without much heed to fashion. Note this, reader: Templar is not a super-spy, super-hero, or super-rake. He is a thief. 
+
+He's examining several antique Russian BRACELETS and LOCKETS. He looks up at the stewardess. 
+
+STEWARDESS 
+(Cockney) 
+Wow, are those gorgeous or what... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+You have an eye for beauty. Of course - you see it every time you look in the mirror. 
+
+She blushes, fidgets, as his eyes bore in on her. 
+
+STEWARDESS 
+Why thank-you, Mr... 
+(reads seat assignment) 
+Templar. 
+
+She continues down the aisle, smiling to herself. Templar resumes with his lockets. 
+
+INT. BRITISH AIR 747 - FIVE HOURS LATER 
+
+The plane has landed. PASSENGERS are filing out past the Stewardess. 
+
+STEWARDESS 
+Goodbye, goodbye, enjoy your stay in London, etc. 
+
+Templar moves past the Stewardess, carrying TWO CARRY-ON BAGS. He winks at her. She winks back, and fingers one of the RUSSIAN LOCKETS, now around her neck. 
+
+STEWARDESS 
+Good-bye, Mr. Templar. 
+
+As Templar moves off, she smiles to herself and CUT TO: 
+
+INT. LONDON - HEATHROW AIRPORT 
+
+Templar walks briskly away from customs. A MAN IN TRENCHCOAT falls in behind Templar. TWO MEN appear in front of Templar, blocking his path; the man behind Templar comes to his side. They are Scotland Yard men BAKER, TEAL, and INSPECTOR MACDUFF. 
+
+INSPECTOR MACDUFF 
+How's the weather in St. Petersburg? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Cold. 
+
+INSPECTOR MACDUFF 
+Let's warm things up for you. 
+
+Baker and Teal gruffly take Templar by the shoulder and walk him forward and CUT TO: 
+
+INT. HEATHROW CUSTOMS - INTERROGATION ROOM 
+
+A spartan room, a table and two chairs. MacDuff ransacks TEMPLAR'S BAGS while, across the room -- 
+
+Templar kisses the wall, hands outstretched, as Baker finishes frisking him. Templar turns. 
+
+BAKER 
+He's clean. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+(to MacDuff) 
+Careful with that. It's delicate equip... 
+
+MacDuff lifts Templar's 9MM PISTOL from the bag. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+. . . ment. 
+
+MACDUFF 
+Yes. Very. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+It's for protection. I deal in antique.... 
+
+MACDUFF 
+(snaps) 
+I know what you deal in. And these? Your pajamas? 
+
+He holds up Templar's black bodysuit. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+For jogging. My doctor's recommended five miles a... 
+
+MACDUFF 
+Sit down and shut it. 
+
+Templar sits down. 
+
+Baker has Templar's papers. He holds up a certificate. 
+
+BAKER 
+He's licensed to carry, Inspector. 
+
+MACDUFF 
+Let's see the passport. 
+(Baker hands MacDuff 
+Templar's passport) What's your nationality this week, Templar? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I forget. 
+
+MACDUFF 
+(looks at passport) 
+Issued by the Principality of.. . Yemen? You're bloody joking. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+(shrugs) 
+Call the embassy 
+
+MacDuff whips the passport at Templar. Templar calmly moves his head; the passport flies by. Hits the wall. 
+
+MACDUFF 
+Shut it. 
+
+MacDuff leans down, coming in close. Templar doesn't blink. His expression never changes. 
+
+MACDUFF 
+You pass through Russia for a day with that gear and, what a surprise, a prototype computer chip worth quarter of a billion quid is nicked from the Myaki Corporation the night you arrive. We know you didn't fence it in Russia. Where is it? 
+
+The door opens. Teal enters, tossing several X-RAY PHOTOGRAPHS on the table before MacDuff. Two are of Templar's bags, two are of his body. 
+
+TEAL 
+(Cockney) 
+All negative. He didn't swallow it. 
+
+An embarrassing pause. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+You've got three options: charge me, or release me. 
+
+MACDUFF 
+What's the third. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+You can kiss my ass. 
+
+A dreadful pause. MacDuff smiles. He turns away, then turns back and viciously backhands Templar across the face; Templar's head jerks. The blow would knock most men out. Now Templar smiles. Like a serpant. And says calmly: 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I'm a busy man. Make up your mind. 
+
+MacDuff stares at Templar, gritting his teeth. Templar rises. Begins collecting his things. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. LONDON RESTAURANT - EVENING 
+
+A quaint place off Piccadilly. The STEWARDESS (from Templar's flight) gulps a martini. She is tipsy. She shows it. 
+
+STEWARDESS 
+.. . then me mum says, call uncle Charlie, he's in the airline business, there's jobs there, good benefits too, and.. ..where was I? 
+
+TEMPLAR, enduring this, sits opposite with a scotch. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+How you got your job. 
+
+STEWARDESS 
+Right! 
+(hiccups, giggles) 
+'Scuze me. 
+
+Templar motions to a passing WAITRESS. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Another round please. 
+
+STEWARDESS 
+Ye're tryin' ta get me drunk, aren't you? Are you cute or what? I gotta freshen up. 
+(she rises) 
+Where's the loo in 'ere? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Back there. Leave your locket. I'll polish it for you. 
+
+She smiles crookedly; hands over the locket. 
+
+STEWARDESS 
+Are you a dearheart or what... 
+
+She blows Templar a kiss and lurches off to the bathroom. Templar watches her a moment. When she's gone he puts the locket on the table. He pries open the back of it with a pen-knife. 
+
+INSERT - THE LOCKET - there is a compartment in which sits THE STOLEN MICRO-CHIP. Templar plucks out the chip and drops it into an envelope. 
+
+BACK TO SCENE - FOLLOWING THE STEWARDESS as she returns to the table. She sits down. Looks around. Templar's gone. The locket's gone. The waitress appears. 
+
+STEWARDESS 
+Maam, where's the gent who was sitting 'ere? 
+
+WAITRESS 
+He left, luv. Said you'd take care of the bill. 
+
+She hands the Stewardess the bill. She stares at it. 
+
+STEWARDESS 
+What? 
+
+She sinks down, confused, blinking, near tears. CUT TO: 
+
+INT. LONDON - MUSGRAVE HOTEL 
+
+A small, plush, discrete residential hotel in the heart of Mayfair (Regent Street, Grovesnor Sq. or equivalent). TEMPLAR approaches the front desk with his carry-on bags. CONCIERGE HARRY WINSTON and the HOTEL MANAGER are behind the desk. 
+
+CONCIERGE HARRY WINSTON 
+Mr. Templar! Good to see you sir. Your room key - south penthouse as usual. Your suits are up from storage, pressed of course, and there's a bottle of Oban on the dresser. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Thanks Harry. Oh, and Harry... 
+(pulls out the envelope with the computer chip) 
+.. . ship this by overnight courier to that address. 
+
+CONCIERGE HARRY WINSTON 
+Very good sir. 
+
+JIMMY, a young Bellman, takes Ternplar's bags. Templar doesn't let go. An uncomfortable pause. 
+
+CONCIERGE HARRY WINSTON 
+Jimmy, Mr. Templar carries his own bags. 
+
+Templar steps past Jimmy into the elevator. 
+
+JIMMY THE BELLMAN 
+What's with the bags, gov'nuh? 
+
+HOTEL MANAGER 
+They're all he ever brings. The man's bills are paid by a bank in Switzerland and his mailing address is a corporation in Lisbon. Bloody strange... 
+
+CONCIERGE HARRY WINSTON 
+Mr. Templar, strange? No sir, he's just shy. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT . MUSGRAVE HOTEL - SOUTH PENTHOUSE 
+
+Ternplar sits at a desk with a bottle of Oban scotch and glass, staring at the screen of a modemed MINI-COMPUTER. 
+
+-- Templar types: LION CONTACTING ZEBRA: IS ZEBRA HOME? 
+
+-- And this comes back: AFFIRMATIVE, LION. 
+
+-- Templar types: PIGEON IS FLYING; WILL ARRIVE A.M. 
+
+-- And this back: EXCELLENT. LION GETS LION'S SHARE. -- Templar types a new command. A new screen appears: 
+
+******* NATIONAL BANK OF GENEVA ******* 
+
+PRIVATE UNMARKED ACCOUNTS 
+
+PLEASE ENTER SECURITY PASSWORD 
+
+Templar types in: 77N8LS473Z. This appears: 
+
+******* NATIONAL BANK OF GENEVA ******* 
+
+ACCOUNT OF: TEMPLAR, SIMON 
+
+BALANCE (AS OF 8/1S/95): U.S. $47,895,12S.12 (Not a typo, reader. It's forty-seven million bucks.) 
+
+Templar picks up his scotch and drinks, staring at the screen. He's waiting for something... The first digit, "4," vanishes. A "5" appears in it's place. Now fifty-seven million. 
+
+Templar permits a slight smile, having just made 10 million dollars, and drinks his scotch. 
+
+The phone RINGS. Templar eyes it skeptically. He picks it up. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Yes. 
+
+A voice with an Eastern European accent: 
+
+VOICE 
+Is this Simon Templar? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+It depends. 
+
+VOICE 
+A meeting. Midnight, Blackfriars Bridge. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Involving what? 
+
+VOICE 
+A lot of money. If you want it. 
+
+Click. Templar recradles the receiver; He stares at it a moment and CUT TO: 
+
+INT. MUSGRAVE HOTEL LOBBY - LATER - NIGHT 
+
+Templar enters the lobby wearing a fresh suit under a black leather trench coat. He goes to the desk, where concierge Harry Winston looks up. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Harry, I'm going for a walk over Blackfriars Bridge. Midnight. 
+
+Pause. And Harry, just perceptibly, nods. And returns to his obsequious self. 
+
+HARRY WINSTON 
+Very good, sir. 
+
+Templar walks off through the lobby. 
+
+HARRY WINSTON 
+Jimmy 
+(Jimmy walks over) 
+It's about time I taught you how to run the front desk. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. LONDON - BLACKFRIAR' S BRIDGE - MIDNIGHT 
+
+Fog. The bridge lights cast everything in a sickly yellow glow. Below, A TUGBOAT plows the river, horn BELLOWING. The lights of Southwark twinkle beyond. 
+
+Templar enters from Victoria Embankment. TWO FIGURES emerge from the fog. Templar approaches. One is a huge dim-wit with greasy hair, as tall and wide as a bookcase. His name, aptly, is ZERO. The other is middle-aged and strongly built. A high forehead; clipped, irongrey hair; square jaw and aquiline nose; deep-set, ruthless, unblinking eyes. 
+
+This is GREGOR TRETIAK. To characterize him as the John Gotti of Russia is to demean him. He is vastly more powerful. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Interesting. 
+(sizes up Templar) 
+You are not a big man. But men like you never are. It is my pleasure, Simon Templar. My name is... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I know who you are. Tell me what you want, or I keep walking. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Suppose I don't want anything. Suppose I want to kill you. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Suppose there's a high-powered rifle trained at your head. 
+
+As Tretiak's eyes dart about, Templar raises his hand, waving, signaling to someone below the bridge -- 
+
+BELOW THE BRIDGE - ON THE VICTORIA EMBANKMENT 
+
+-- that someone is CONCIERGE HARRY WINSTON, in a cloth cap and rain mack now, and yes, he has a 30.6 scoped rifle trained at Tretiak's head. 
+
+BACK TO THE BRIDGE Tretiak's jaw muscles twitch. He smiles thinly. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Rumour has not lied about you, Mr. Templar. Last night something was stolen in St. Petersburg. My city. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+You talk about the place as if you own it. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+(sinisterly) 
+I do, Mr. Templar. May I ask who hired you? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+You can ask. I won't answer. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+What you stole I wanted very badly. 
+(beat) 
+Ilya. 
+
+Ilya emerges from the shadows. Locks eyes with Templar. The thief from the Nikko! 
+
+TRETIAK 
+What is the saying - if you can't beat them, why not join them? An American phrase, no? Or are you British? Australian? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I'm nothing. Except bored. Get to the point. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+(smiles) 
+Of course. An American scientist has worked ten years to develop a certain technology. I am informed that the technology will be made public at the annual nuclear science symposium in Washington D.C. I would like the plans and specifications for this technology. Before the symposium. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+What are we talking about? 
+
+TRETIAK 
+A nuclear fusion generator. We have a man on the inside. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Why can't he steal it? 
+
+TRETIAK 
+He's tried. The scientist trusts no one and keeps no hard records of the technology in the lab. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Nuclear fusion. They say it's mankind's only hope after all the oil's gone. This guy's actually done it? 
+
+TRETIAK 
+She. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Come again? 
+
+TRETIAK 
+She, Mr. Templar. The scientist is a woman. 
+(hands over a dossier) 
+Her dossier. All the information you will need. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+My fee is fifteen million U.S. dollars, half up front, half when I deliver. You'll hear from me. 
+
+Templar turns and walks off. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Templar, one question. 
+
+Templar stops. Turns. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+I ask you to steal a person's entire life's work. You have no reaction. Are you that cold? 
+
+Templar stares back, expressionless. He turns and disappears into the fog. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+No, rumor hasn't lied about you, Templar. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. WESTCHESTER COUNTY - ESTABLISHING SHOTS 
+
+Various establishing shots of this suburban community just north of Manhattan. Pretty, charming, affluent. 
+
+INT. WESTCHESTER COUNTY - SUPERMARKET 
+
+A large suburban supermarket. The aisles are full of Westchester women: affluent, country clubby, housewifey types. A HAND reaches for a BOTTLE OF LEMONADE (100% Natural) , bringing it down to the eye level of -- 
+
+JILLIAN ST. THOMAS. She is lean, a swimmer's body perhaps, with terrific acuteness and authority in her thought, speech, and action. Debate this woman? Fine, but you'd better know what the hell you're talking about. Her stare can stop a train. She's casually dressed. Only her JACKET stands out. It's waist-cut, with a colorful diagram of protons and electrons circling a nucleus embroidered on the back. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(reads ingredients) 
+Filtered water, high fructose corn syrup. Lemon juice concentrate. Citric acid. Gum acacia...? 
+(grumbles) 
+Totally natural, yeah right. 
+
+She returns the bottle and turns, coming face-to-face with SIMON TEMPLAR, wearing a moustache and glasses now. He has a bottle of LEMON JUICE in his hand. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Try this. 
+(smiles) 
+Sorry, I overheard. 
+(hands her the bottle) 
+The real thing. No chemicals, no preservatives. 
+
+She reads the label. Satisfied, she looks at Templar. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Thanks. 
+
+She puts it in her cart and wheels off and CUT TO: 
+
+INT. SUPERMARKET - PRODUCE SECTION - MINUTES LATER 
+
+Jillian is examining apples. There is a THUMPING NOISE. It persists. Finally she looks over at -- 
+
+TEMPLAR. He's standing in front of the watermelons. He's thumping one with his thumb. He notices Jillian. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Hello again. These aren't ripe. How are the apples? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Excellent. They're in season. 
+
+Templar walks over to the apples. Picks one up. Studies it for a moment. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I wonder why He didn't want us to eat these. 
+
+A pause. She looks at him, puzzled. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Who? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+God. In the Garden of Eden. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Oh right. Sorry, little slow today. Bad headache. 
+(looks at the apple) 
+Uhm, actually, I don't know. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Why wasn't it: "No bananas." Or: "Avoid, at all cost, kumquats." Wonder what God had against apples. She gives him a funny look and turns away. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Sorry. Can't help you. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+How about William Tell? You really think he shot one of these off his brother's head with an arrow? 
+
+Jillian turns around again. A pause. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Do I know you? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Unlikely. I just moved to New York. 
+
+She stares at him. This is a very strange man. Intriguing yes, but also possibly a lunatic. She decides to take the dismissive route: 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Well uhhm, sir, to answer your apple questions, one, I don't know what God's problem was. Two, William Tell, like Paul Bunyon, never existed. And in case you're wondering, Isaac Newton discovered gravity through planetary observation not because one of those fell on his head, and I seriously doubt that eating one a day will keep the doctor away. 
+(beat) 
+Okay? 
+
+She wheels her cart off. Says over her shoulder: 
+
+JILLIAN 
+By the way - welcome to the Big Apple. 
+
+Templar watches her wheel off. His eyes glint. This is going to be interesting... 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. WESTCHESTER SUPERMARKET - PARKING LOT - DAY 
+
+Jillian slams down the hatch of her station wagon, now filled with groceries. She gets in. The car pulls out of the parking lot. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S STATION WAGON - DRIVING 
+
+Jillian, driving, drinking her lemonade, listens to a cassette tape. An authoritative, scholarly, Indian voice: 
+
+VIJAY SINGH (V.O., CASSETTE) 
+Nuclear fusion occurs when pairs of nuclei meet and their protons and neutrons fuse together into a single nucleus. The fused nuclei move off at high speed, producing energy. Nuclear fusion could provide us with almost unlimited power. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+No, really? Moron. 
+
+VIJAY SINGH (V.O., CASSETTE) 
+All you need are two hydrogen gases, deuterium and lithium, and a machine to make them fuse under controlled conditions. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+C'mon, Dr. Singh. Tell me something I don't know. 
+
+Jillian sees something through the windshield. She turns down the volume and squints -- 
+
+JILLIAN'S POV - THROUGH WINDSHIELD A ROLLS ROYCE sits on the road shoulder. As we pass the Rolls, we see SIMON TEMPLAR standing next to it wearing a hopeless expression. 
+
+BACK TO SCENE - JILLIAN looks at the Rolls in the rear-view mirror. She frowns. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Just keep driving. 
+
+Jillian frowns again. Against her better judgment, she pulls over. Throws it in reverse. 
+
+EXT. WESTCHESTER - SUBURBAN ROAD SHOULDER - DAY 
+
+Jillian's station wagon backs up to the Rolls Royce on the road shoulder. Jillian gets out. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Hello! She walks up to him. Together they look down at THE REAR TIRE. It's flat, a pancake. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Where's the spare? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I.. .well.. .I'm not really certain. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+You do know how to change a tire. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Sorry. 
+(beat) 
+I'm not very... mechanical. 
+
+Jillian rolls her eyes. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Give me your keys. 
+
+Templar hands them over. They walk to the rear. Jillian opens the trunk. They both look down at -- . 
+
+THE TRUNK'S INTERIOR - THE SPARE TIRE is also flat. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+(sheepish) 
+Sorry. 
+
+Jillian rolls her eyes again. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+All right, where do you live? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Close. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+It's your lucky day. 
+(begins to walk off) 
+Come on. 
+
+Templar watches her walk off. He smiles grimly. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S CAR - DRIVING 
+
+The car winds through Westchester roads. 
+
+VIJAY SINGH (V.O., CASSETTE) 
+Research has centered on a machine called a tokamak, developed in Russia, essentially a doughnut shaped tube that contains the gases to be fused. 
+
+At this, Templar stares at the tape cassette. 
+
+VIJAY SINGH (V.O., CASSETTE) 
+The tokamak hasn't worked because the two gases must be heated to a temperature of hundreds of millions of degrees, and kept together for several seconds. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Try room temperature, idiot. The Tokamak's got it all backwards. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Uhhm. Excuse me. Who is that? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Him? A powerful, well-respected man who doesn't know a goddarnn thing what he's talking about. If I got one tenth of his funding... 
+
+Jillian reaches down and yanks off the cassette player. She looks out the window, grumbling. They drive on. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+It's the next left. First driveway on the right. 
+
+EXT. WESTCHESTER COUNTY - TEMPLAR 'S HOME 
+
+Jillian's station wagon pulls into the circle of the largest mansion in Westchester County. Just stupendous. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S STATION WAGON 
+
+Jillian stares, open-mouthed, at the mansion. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+You live here? 
+(turns to him) 
+Are you for real? 
+
+He picks up Jillian's lemonade bottle. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Like the label says. No chemicals, no preservatives. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(points at the house) 
+You work for this or inherit it? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+My father made shoes. I inherited the company. Now I make shoes. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(looks at the house) 
+That's a helluva lot of shoes. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Uhm listen, I'm not very good at this and I realize we just met, but I'm even-tempered, politically moderate, belong to no religious cults, have no children I know of, am free of communicable diseases, I happen to find you attractive... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Wait a minute, hold on. Are you asking me out on a date? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Yes. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+How do you know I'm not married? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I believe the fourth finger on your left hand is... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(quickly) 
+Okay so I'm not married. I could have a boyfriend. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I'd be surprised if you didn't have several. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Be surprised. Lemme give you a hand. 
+
+Jillian pops the wagon's back hatch and gets out. Templar follows. They walk to the wagon's rear. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+What about you? There's no wife stashed on some island someplace? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+No wife stashed on some island. 
+
+They pick up Templar's groceries; each takes two bags. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+No mistress? C'mon. No bimbo on the side? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Not a one. 
+
+They walk toward the mansion. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Well, that's a start. Here's the deal with me: I am not particularly even-tempered, I'm staunchly liberal, belong to no religious cults but I do believe in God as a basic force of good, have no children because one has to have sex to do that and, well, let's not pursue that, am free of communicable diseases, see above, and you're an attractive man, if a little weird, and well.. .hell, why not. 
+(smiles) 
+You've got a date, shoemaker. What's your name? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Michael. Michael Quinn. 
+
+They reach the mansion's front veranda. They set the groceries on a wicker couch. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I'm Jillian St. Thomas. 
+
+They shake hands. Jillian fishes for a pen. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I'll give you my number. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Just say it. I have a good memory. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(looks at him) 
+Eight seven seven, five two nine eight. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Good. Great. I'll call you. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I've heard that before. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I will call you. You saved me today. Thanks again. 
+
+She walks off to her car. Templar turns toward the front door. Jillian suddenly stops. Turns. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Hey. 
+(Templar turns) 
+What's my number? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+(without hesitation) 
+Eight seven seven, five two nine eight. 
+
+JILLIAN smiles and continues toward the car, mumbling: 
+
+JILLIAN 
+And he has a brain. What do you know. 
+
+AT THE MANSION'S FRONT DOOR - TEMPLAR watches Jillian get in her wagon and drive off. Then Templar keys open the door and enters. 
+
+INT. WESTCHESTER MANSION - DAY 
+
+The place is empty. Totally. No furniture. Nothing. Just Templar's two CARRY-ON BAGS on the floor in front of Templar. 
+
+DISSOLVE TO: 
+
+INT. WESTCHESTER MANSION - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 
+
+It's late now. About 10 p.m. Templar sits on a packing crate in the vacant living room with a glass of scotch, studying Jillian's life. 
+
+There are pages of personal data and many photographs: Jillian in cap and gown; Jillian in a lab coat; Jillian at the beach, etc. 
+
+DISSOLVE TIME CUT TO: 
+
+A LEGAL PAD, with Templar's handwritten note: NO HARD COPIES - COMPUTER SOFTWEAR 
+
+TEMPLAR stares into the screen of his mini-computer. It is two hours later. 
+
+INSERT - THE MINI-COMPUTER SCREEN - Templar has entered every detail of Jillian's life. Looks like this: Home state: Massachusetts Hometown: Milton Highschool: Milton Academy Highschool mascot: Bulldogs University: Harvard University mascot: Crimson 
+
+It just goes on and on: names of parents, family members, teachers, pets, boyfriends; favorite movies, colors, sports teams, hobbies, etc. 
+
+DISSOLVE TIME CUT TO: 
+
+TEMPLAR finishes entering the details of Jillian's life. He copies it onto a 3 1/4 disk, pulls out the disk and shuts off the minicomputer. He leans down and picks up a SHOE BOX. Opens it. He lifts out a WOMAN'S SHOE and jerks the heel, which lifts away from the sole on hinges. revealing a hidden compartment, in which Templar places a small transistor. He clicks the heel shut. THE SHOE -- 
+
+MATCH DISSOLVES TO: 
+
+THE SAME SHOE, now on Jillian's foot and WIDEN TO -- 
+
+INT. MANHATTAN - LE CIRQUE 
+
+-- Jillian and Templar at a corner table in Le Cirque. The meal is over. They're drinking coffee, laughing, at ease. The "date" is going well. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I am not eccentric. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+No? You live in the biggest house in America but do your own shopping, you talk to strange women about the history of apples, and you give a first-time date.. . shoes? Isn't the tradition flowers? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+You said you liked them. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I do. I'm joking. They're beautiful. Thank-you. 
+
+They smile at each other. A WAITER brings more coffee. There's a sudden commotion. Jillian and Templar look -- 
+
+ACROSS THE ROOM - a group of WAITERS are clapping their hands for a YOUNG COUPLE seated at a table. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(to the waiter) 
+What happened? 
+
+WAITER 
+(smiles) 
+He just asked her to marry him. Anything else? 
+
+JILLIAN looks at the radiant young couple. Smiles. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Just the check please. 
+(the waiter exits; Jillian looks at him) 
+You didn't answer my question. Maybe it made you uncomfortable. Maybe I should just shut up... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+No, it's all right. Okay: "Why Jillian never got married, chapter One:" I don't know where you're from. . . 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Canada. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I don't know what it's like there, but here, if a teenage girl doesn't want to be a cheerleader, or drink 'till she pukes every weekend, or talk endlessly on the phone every night about absolutely nothing, then she doesn't win many popularity contests, know what I mean? That pretty much took care of highschool. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+College? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Try earning double p.h.d.'s from Harvard before you turn twenty-three and having a social life. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Can I ask a personal question? 
+(she nods) 
+What's your I.Q.? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(laughs) 
+That's personal? My I.Q.? Let's just say it's high. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Very high. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Yes, very high. As high as yours. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+You don't honestly mean that. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Oh, you're a smart one, shoemaker. It's in the eyes. I can always tell. 
+
+They stare at each other. Neither averts eyes. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I just don't often get the opportunity. It feels nice. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+For me, too. 
+(and he means this:) 
+You're very pretty. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Stop it. Flattery will get you... someplace. I don't know where yet. 
+
+She smiles. The waiter arrives with the check; gives it to Templar. Jillian picks up her purse and takes her wallet out. Templar sees her doing this... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+No no no, absolutely not. Put that away. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+It's not for us. It's for the couple over there. 
+(points at the couple across the room) 
+Waiter, put their bill on my card please. 
+
+WAITER 
+Maam? Are you sure? 
+
+Jillian nods. The waiter takes Jillian's card, exits. Jillian smiles at Templar. [Due to his mean origins and evolution, Templar has witnessed approximately three charitable acts in his whole life, and this was the third.] Thus does Simon Templar smile uneasily back. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. WESTCHESTER COUNTY - JILLIAN'S HOUSE - NIGHT 
+
+Neat, modest, non-descript. Jillian and Templar enter. Jillian walks across the living room into a bar alcove off the living room. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I'll make the booze. Turn on the news. I want to catch up on that Russia thing. 
+
+Templar turns on the T.V. His eyes rove around, casing the place. 
+
+JILLIAN (O.S.) 
+What do you want, Michael? I've got everything. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Scotch please. No ice. 
+
+CNN EVENING NEWS with anchor BERNARD SHAW comes on. 
+
+BERNARD SHAW (ON T.V.) 
+.. ..of the steadily growing NeoCzarist Party, leveled more allegations against President Victor Karpov. According to Romanov, two men, Gregor Tretiak... 
+
+Templar looks at the T.V. and double takes. A PHOTO OF GREGOR TRETIAK has appeared on the screen. 
+
+BERNARD SHAW (O.S.) 
+.. . and Ivan Gracha... 
+
+A PHOTO OF IVAN GRACHA, 50's, short, beady-eyed, sinister, appears on the screen. 
+
+JILLIAN pokes her head out of the bar. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+What brand? 
+
+BERNARD SHAW (O.S.) 
+...allegedly the most powerful of Russia's underworld bosses, are linked to President Karpov in illegal enterprises... 
+
+JILLIAN walks over to Templar. They watch together. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+That country's going to explode. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+It very well might. Oban. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+What? . 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+My brand of scotch. Oban. Have any? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+No, but there's a liquor store five minutes away. 
+
+She grabs her coat, heads for the door. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Wait. Don't be ridiculous. 
+
+She stops. Looks at him. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I want to be ridiculous. 
+(pause) 
+Michael, I haven't had anybody over in...a long time. And I happen to like you. I want to do this right. Okay? 
+(he smiles; nods) 
+I'll be back in ten minutes. 
+(points at fireplace) 
+Build a fire. 
+
+She winks at him and exits. Templar walks to the window and stands there, waiting. We hear Jillian's car start, see the headlights. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+You're making this too easy, dear. 
+
+He pulls from his pocket a BLACK CASE, flips it open, turns it on. On a miniature computer screen is a detailed map of WESTCHESTER COUNTY. Two locations are pulsing: 1) Jillian's house and 2) a moving object, transmitted from a homing device, which we now see – 
+
+INT. JILLIAN' S CAR - DRIVING 
+
+-- it's in JILLIAN'S SHOE as she stamps on the brake at a stoplight and waits and we CUT BACK to the house... 
+
+INT. JILLIAN' SHOUSE - BACK HALLWAY 
+
+TEMPLAR moves down the hall opening doors, looking for Jillian's lab. He moves quickly, ruthlessly. 
+
+He comes to a heavily locked FIRE DOOR. He unpockets a set of burglar's tools. For Templar, these locks are a joke. He opens them with alarming speed. He pushes open the door, revealing a DESCENDING STAIRCASE. He descends. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE - BASMENT 
+
+Templar finds a lightswitch and flips it on. His eyes widen. Here we find -- 
+
+JILLIAN'S LABORATORY. A POOL OF WATER (the size of a small swimming pool) is surrounded by HUNDREDS OF TEST TUBES of various shapes and sizes containing chemicals. Templar moves through, eyes scanning everything. He sees JILLIAN'S COMPUTER. Walks over to it. 
+
+He unpockets the HOMING SYSTEM and sets it on the desk. The PULSING LIGHT is still moving; Jillian hasn't yet reached the liquor store. He turns on Jillian's monitor and hard drive. The COMPUTER SCREEN blinks on. We see a MENU: A.) Personal finances B.) Income tax C.) Things to do D.) Addresses E.) Research 
+
+Templar positions the cursor on "E.) Research" and hits "enter." The modem engages; this appears: 
+
+******* WELCOME TO THE INTERNET ******* PLEASE WAIT Then this appears: RETRIEVAL CODE: _____________________ 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Smart girl. Send your data into cyberspace and only you can retrieve it. Because only you have the code. 
+
+He unpockets the 3 1/4 disk containing the data from Jillian's life and pushes it into the disk drive. He types a command; a new screen appears: 
+
+DATA ENTRY SYSTEM Press any key to begin 
+
+Templar hits a key and the old screen reappears: ******* WELCOME TO THE INTERNET ******* PLEASE WAIT RETRIEVAL CODE: ______________________ 
+
+But now, in the space next to "Retrieval Code," Templar's data appears. word after word, like this: -- "Massachusetts" -- Computer: ACCESS DENIED -- "Boston" -- -- Computer: ACCESS DENIED. -- "Milton" -- -- Computer: ACCESS DENIED -- "Milton Academy" -- Computer: ACCESS DENIED -- "Bulldogs" -- Computer: ACCESS DENIED 
+
+It's incredibly fast, a new word appearing every second, as the system tries to crack Jillian's code. But the computer denies access to each word. The HOMING DEVICE suddenly BEEPS. The pulsing light has stopped, indicating Jillian is at the liquor store. Templar grimly turns back to the computer. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. WESTCHESTER LIQUOR STORE - NIGHT 
+
+The clerk, WALTER, hands Jillian her change. She exits with a SCOTCH BOTTLE in a brown wrapper. 
+
+CLERK 
+Goodnight Jillian. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+‘Night, Walter. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S LABORATORY - NIGHT 
+
+Templar paces; he looks at the homing device. The PULSING LIGHT is moving back toward Jillian's house. Templar looks at the computer; his system continues entering words: "Hendrix." ACCESS DENIED. "Purple Haze." ACCESS DENIED. "Red Sox." ACCESS DENIED. "Celtics." ACCESS DENIED. On and on...each is met with 
+
+ACCESS DENIED. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S STATION WAGON - DRIVING - NIGHT 
+
+Jillian, driving, turns on the radio. She hums along. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S LABORATORY 
+
+Templar stares at the HOMING DEVICE; the pulse is getting closer; it's do or die now... Templar's system suddenly stops. It has run through every word. Each has met with failure. TEMPLAR frowns. He yanks the system disk from the disk drive. He begins pacing... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Okay, think. Think. 
+
+Templar suddenly gets an idea. He sits and types: "Tokamak." ACCESS DENIED Templar stares at the screen in frustration. 
+
+He looks at the HOMING DEVICE; the pulsing light is getting really close. Templar concentrates with every brain cell. We can feel him think. He's remembering something. 
+
+MEMORY FLASHBACK 
+
+We're in Jillian's car again, when they first met. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Try room temperature, idiot. The Tokamak's got it all backwards. 
+
+BACK TO THE LABORATORY 
+
+Templar grabs a pencil and notepad and spells out: TOKAMAK. Under this he spells it backwards: KAMAKOT. He turns to the computer and types: "KAMAKOT" And instantly this flashes: ACCESS GRANTED. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Open sesame. 
+
+The retrieval begins: A DOCUMENT appears on the screen: THE GENERATION OF ENERGY FROM COLD NUCLEAR FUSION Submitted by: DR. JILLIAN ST. THOMAS 
+
+Templar scrolls through the document; we see a dizzying display of graphs, tables, plans, specifications, etc. Templar pulls out the disk containing Jillian's data and shoves a fresh disk into the disk drive. He begins copying Jillian's research from harddrive to disk. He looks at the HOMING DEVICE. Christ, she's almost back.. .and indeed -- 
+
+EXT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE 
+
+-- Jillian's car comes wheeling into the driveway. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN' S LABORATORY - NIGHT 
+
+The document is copied. Templar grabs the copied disk from the disk drive and rips the slip of paper from the notepad. He flicks off the computer and sprints across the lab, then up the stairs. 
+
+EXT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE 
+
+Jillian reaches for the doorknob and enters -- 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE 
+
+She comes in. TEMPLAR, relaxed, lounges on the couch, flipping through some magazines. He smiles: 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+That was quick. 
+
+She walks past him to the bar alcove. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Now Mr. Michael Quinn, let's have that scotch. Hey, what happened to the fire? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I thought we'd create our own. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(smiles) 
+Down boy. 
+
+He gets up; goes to the fireplace; grabs some logs and lays them across the andirons and we -- 
+
+DISSOLVE TO: 
+
+THE LOGS, now gently burning. Cole Porter is playing. CAMERA PANS past Jillian's shoes on the carpet, past the Oban Scotch on the coffee table, now half empty, to -- 
+
+-- the couch, where Jillian and Templar are locked in a heavy kiss. Jillian stops. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Whoah whoah whoah, time to put on the brakes. Those lips oughtta be licensed buddy... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Sorry. I wasn't trying to... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I know you weren't but if we keep going I'm gonna be the one who gets us both in trouble. Whew! 
+(fans herself) 
+Haven't felt like that for awhile. 
+(she brushes a lock of hair from his eyes) 
+Am I going to see you again? 
+
+A pause. Perhaps, just perhaps, for the first time in his black life Templar's having a hard time lying... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Michael? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+(smiles at her) 
+How about breakfast? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+It's a date. I'll walk you out, shoemaker. 
+
+EXT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE - NIGHT 
+
+In the threshold they kiss again. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Good-night. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+'Bye. Drive safe. 
+
+Templar walks off to his Rolls Royce parked in the driveway. He smiles at her and waves. He turns toward his car; his face goes hard and cold. 
+
+DISSOLVE TO: 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - NEVSKY PROSPECT - CONTINUOUS LATE AFTERNOON 
+
+On the Nevsky Prospect, St. Petersburg's equivalent of the Champs-Elysees – 
+
+MICHAEL ROMANOV stands on a raised platform outside the gates of a PALATIAL MANSION taking up a whole city block. TEN THOUSAND SUPPORTERS surround him. Many carry large, slogan-filled banners. Four THUGGISH-LOOKING MEN stand guard inside the mansion's compound, giving Romanov the eye. One is ZERO (Tretiak's bodyguard on Blackfriars Bridge). 
+
+MICHAEL ROMANOV 
+Where is Russia's capital? Moscow? The Kremlin? No, Russia's capital is... 
+(points at mansion) 
+THROUGH THOSE GATES! 
+(crowd CHEERS) 
+A den of thieves! 
+
+A LIMOUSINE pulls through the crowd, which reluctantly parts. The guards within the compound open the gates. 
+
+MICHAEL ROMANOV 
+And here - the Prince of Thieves! 
+
+GREGOR TRETIAK sits in the back of the limousine, silently glaring at Romanov. The limousine rolls inside the compound, the gates CLANGING shut. 
+
+MICHAEL ROMANOV 
+Every citizen in St. Petersburg knows what that man does, yet the police don't arrest him. They protect him! How can this be? Maybe we should ask our elected whores in Moscow! 
+
+The CROWD CHEERS WILDLY and starts hurling rocks, bottles, etc, through the gate at -- 
+
+-- TRETIAK, emerging from the limousine. Tretiak's guards surround him; they move quickly up the mansion's marble steps, dodging the thrown debris. 
+
+SIRENS WAIL. Four large police vans roar up, the back doors flinging open. ST. PETERSBURG POLICE, in riot gear, deploy from the vans. The police push into the crowd, wielding riot shields and batons. A melee breaks out, Romanov supporters versus the police. 
+
+INT. TRETIAK' S HEADQUARTERS - EVENING 
+
+Tretiak and his men move past A GUARD STATION manned by TWO GUARDS watching six SURVEILLANCE MONITORS (showing, at all times, certain areas of. the compound). 
+
+This is a former nobleman's residence; a 20 foot diameter CRYSTAL CHANDELIER hangs from the domed roof fifty feet above. A spectacular staircase ascends to a mezzanine, with offices (formerly bed chambers) off it. 
+
+Tretiak approaches a man in a lab coat, ZUBOV, wearing a grim, anxious expression. Zubov chainsmokes constantly. 
+
+ZUBOV 
+There's a problem. 
+
+Tretiak follows Zubov down stairs into -- 
+
+INT. TRETIAK' S HEADQUARTERS - BASEMENT LABORATORY 
+
+-- a large room with TECHNICIANS hunched over computers. Tretiak follows Zubov to a large bank of computers. 
+
+ZUBOV 
+(indicates computer) 
+This is the data your thief sent us. 
+
+Tretiak looks at Zubov's COMPUTER SCREEN. 
+
+INSERT - THE COMPUTER SCREEN. Again we see: 
+
+THE GENERATION OF ENERGY FROM COLD NUCLEAR FUSION Submitted by: 
+
+DR. JILLIAN ST. THOMAS 
+
+BACK TO SCENE 
+
+TRETIAK 
+(confused) 
+Cold fusion? 
+
+ZUBOV 
+Yes. Fusion at room temperature. Regarded as an impossibility by the scientific community. A myth. 
+(smiles) 
+Then I read this. 
+
+Zubov begins scrolling through the document; again we see the displav of graphs. tables. plans. Specs.. etc. 
+
+ZUBOV 
+She first proves why hot fusion - the tokamak - is impractical. You must heat the hydrogen gases so high, more energy is wasted than created. Here she goes into the benefits of cold fusion. 
+(scrolls more pages) 
+The hydrogen isotopes needed. 
+(scrolls more pages) 
+The physical plant. She even estimates its cost. Extraordinary. 
+(scrolls more pages) 
+The next pages are the critical part, what no one in fifty years has discovered. 
+(looks up at Tretiak) 
+The combination of chemicals in which atoms will fuse at room temperature. 
+
+Tretiak leans toward the screen, waiting. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Well? Let's see. 
+
+ZUBOV 
+Tretiak - I think from reading this that the woman's done it. She may have found a source of unlimited energy. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+What do you mean may have. Show me. 
+
+ZUBOV 
+I said there was a problem. Zubov hits the "scroll" key. The next page appears; we see the heading at the top of the page: THE CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT FOR COLD FUSION 
+
+But there's something wrong with the rest of the page. Terribly wrong. We know this because of – 
+
+TRETIAK'S EXPRESSION, and it's not too happy. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Where's the rest of it? 
+
+ZUBOV 
+It's in her head. 
+
+and CUT TO: 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING 
+
+JILLIAN, humming the Cole Porter song from the previous evening, fills a basket with breakfast for two: eggs, bagels, etc. Sunlight streams in. Birds chirping. 
+
+She wears jeans and her jacket with the atomic diagram embroidered on the back. She grabs flowers from a vase; tosses them in the basket. Smiles. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM 
+
+She enters with the basket. Looks at the disheveled couch and the bottle of Oban. She hums the Cole Porter song, stabs her feet in THE SHOES TEMPLAR GAVE HER and goes to the front door. 
+
+EXT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE - FRONT 
+
+Jillian comes out, running into -- 
+
+YURI, her lab assistant, who comes up the front stoop. Mid-20's, heavy Russian accent, white lab coat. 
+
+YURI 
+Good morning, boss. Where are you going? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+To see a friend. Be back in a couple hours. 
+
+She gets in her car. Yuri gives her a look, goes inside. 
+
+INT. JILL IAN'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM 
+
+Yuri enters. The foyer phone RINGS. Yuri answers. 
+
+YURI 
+Doctor St. Thomas' residence. 
+
+ILYA (O.S., IN RUSSIAN) 
+There's been a change of plans. Yuri stares at the phone and -- 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. WESTCHESTER - TEMPLAR' S MANSION - MORNING 
+
+The huge estate, as before. Jillian's station wagon pulls into the circular driveway. Jillian gets out with the breakfast basket. Moves up the flagstoned walk. Suddenly the front door opens. A WOMAN, mid-30's, pretty and well-dressed, comes out and locks the door. 
+
+JILLIAN watches her. The woman comes down the walk. 
+
+WOMAN 
+May I help you? 
+(beat) 
+Do you have an appointment? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+A what? 
+
+WOMAN 
+To see the house. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+The man who lives here... who owns the house... 
+
+WOMAN 
+What man. The estate is rented for weddings and corporate events. Are you. ..interested...? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+No. No. 
+
+The rental agent gives Jillian a funny look and gets in her car. Drives off. Jillian stares at the house, thunderstruck. Then she sharply inhales: 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Oh my god. ... 
+
+Jillian gets in her car. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+TEMPLAR'S COMPUTER screen, which reads: 
+
+******* NATIONAL BANK OF GENEVA ******* PRIVATE UNMARKED ACCOUNTS PLEASE ENTER SECURITY PASSWORD 
+
+INT. J.F.K. INT. - FIRST CLASS LOUNGE - CONTINUOUS 
+
+TEMPLAR sits in the British Air lounge. He has shaved and his eyeglasses are gone; he looks like himself again. In the b.g., businessmen are relaxing, reading newspapers, drinking coffee. Over the intercom: 
+
+INTERCOM VOICE 
+Varig Air flight 157 to Rio de Janeiro, departing at 8 a.m, boarding now from gate seventeen. 
+
+Templar checks his wristwatch: It's 7:40 a.m. Templar types in his password and waits. On the screen, this: 
+
+******* NATIONAL BANK OF GENEVA ******* ACCOUNT OF: TEMPLAR, SIMON BALANCE (AS OF 8/15/95): U.S. $57,895,125.12 (the same balance since London). 
+
+Templar frowns. Something's not right. He hasn't been paid. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. JILLIAN' SHOUSE - BACK HALLWAY - MORNING 
+
+Jillian runs down the hall, breath escaping her lungs. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+The supermarket, the flat tire, all a set-up. You fool. You fool. 
+(calls down the hall) 
+Yuri! 
+
+She unpockets her keyring, her hands trembling uncontrollably. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE - LABORATORY - MORNING 
+
+Jillian races down the stairs and across the lab to her computer. She moves in a panic, as if in a living nightmare. She turns the computer on. She types in the code word, "kamakot," and her research paper appears on the screen. In the lower right corner it reads: LAST ENTERED: 10:23 p.m. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+No.. . .. 
+
+She sees something on the desk. The NOTEPAD on which Templar wrote his notes. The page is indented with Templar's pen marks; the words "tokamak" and "kamakot" are clearly visible. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+No, this can't be happening. Yuri! 
+(turns, calling) 
+YURI! 
+
+She jumps, startled, because YURI is right behind her. He moves toward her and -- 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. J.F.K. INT. - FIRST CLASS LOUNGE - CONTINUOUS 
+
+WOMAN (O.S.) 
+Is that a good system? 
+
+A WOMAN, 40's, dowdy and serious in an accountant-like way, has sat down across from Templar. Points at Templar's computer. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Yes. 
+
+WOMAN ACCOUNTANT (O.S.) 
+Going to Europe? 
+(Templar ignores her) 
+Uhmm, I'm going for coffee. Like some? It's really no trouble. ... 
+
+Okay lady, anything to get rid of you: 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Sure. Black please. 
+
+She smiles and walks off to the coffee counter, passing A BUSINESSMAN, who sits down with a steaming cup of coffee and starts reading the WALL STREET JOURNAL. 
+
+Templar eyes the man, then looks back at his computer. He begins typing. The phone modem engages. – 
+
+Templar types: LION CONTACTING BEAR. IS BEAR HOME? -- This comes back: AFFIRMATIVE. -- Templar types: LION HAS NOT BEEN PAID. EXPLAIN. -- This comes back: LION'S DATA IS DEFECTIVE. -- Templar types: DEFINE "DEFECTIVE." -- This comes back: LIONS EMPLOYMENT TERMINATED. 
+
+Templar stares at the screen, his mind racing... THE ACCOUNTANT WOMAN comes back to the table with Templar's coffee. Sets it before him. Smiles. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Thanks. 
+
+INTERCOM (V.O.) 
+British Air flight 74 to London now boarding from gate fifteen. I repeat, British Air Flight 74... 
+
+The Woman Accountant rises, picks up her bag. 
+
+WOMAN ACCOUNTANT 
+Well, that's me. So long. 
+
+She smiles. Templar sort of smiles back. She walks off to catch her flight. THE BUSINESSMAN next to Templar, hidden behind his newspaper, sets his coffee cup down next to Templar's. The Businessman flips a page, engrossed in an article. He reaches back for his coffee, but takes Templar's cup. 
+
+He drinks from the cup. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Excuse me, that's my. . . . 
+
+The Businessman's newspaper is shaking. Violently. It falls to the table. The Businessman's face is flushed. He twitches. He pitches over. His head THUDS on the table. 
+
+Templar feels the Businessman's carotid artery. He's dead. Templar picks up his coffee and smells it. Templar's eyes dart to the lounge. The Lady Accountant is gone. Nobody in the lounge has noticed what's happened. Templar hurriedly collects his things. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. WESTCHESTER - JILLIAN'S NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY 
+
+AN AIRPORT TAXI stops at the curb. Templar gets out, paying the cabbie. The taxi pulls away. Templar approaches the house, eyes darting. He moves toward the door, unpocketing his 9mm pistol. He checks the doorknob, turning it. It's open. ... 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE - DAY 
+
+Templar enters. No one is here. He moves through the living room into the back corridor, glancing into the kitchen, where we see that -- 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY 
+
+-- SOMEONE is behind the refrigerator, holding a SILENCED GUN in a blackgloved hand. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE - BACK CORRIDOR - DAY 
+
+Templar moves through the hall, looking in each door. He comes to the lab staircase. The door is open. Templar heads down the stairs. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE - LABORATORY - DAY 
+
+Templar comes down; he walks to the computer. He looks at the document on the screen. He begins scrolling, going to the end this time. We see the graphs, tables, plans, specs., etc. Then the critical page appears: 
+
+THE CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT FOR COLD FUSION And under that. . . .. A NINTENDO GAME. Little spaceships are flying around chasing other little spaceships! TEMPLAR stares at it, stunned: what he sent the Russians is essentially worthless. Templar shuts off the monitor. The screen blackens. The black screen reflects light. It reflects A PERSON coming down the stairs. A person with a gun... 
+
+Templar dives away as THREE BULLETS blow the computer monitor to shards. THE WOMAN FROM THE J.F.K. LOUNGE, not an accountant but an assassin, draws a bead on -- 
+
+TEMPLAR, who scrambles across the room ducking under lab tables as BULLETS shatter bottles, beakers, test tubes; glass fills the air. TEMPLAR stands up, his 9mm leveled at the woman. The woman's gun is leveled at Templar. - 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+That's a Reuger nine shot. I counted nine. 
+
+FEMALE ASSASSIN 
+What if you're wrong. 
+
+The tension boils. Templar was right: her hand flashes to the gun, ejecting the spent clip. She tries to ram in a fresh clip but she's not fast enough... 
+
+TEMPLAR'S across the room in half a second. He presses his gun to her forehead. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+When were you hired and for what? 
+
+I'm not in a very good mood... 
+
+Templar cocks the hammer. This gets her attention. 
+
+FEMALE ASSASSIN 
+Okay. Take it easy. I was hired a week ago to take you and the woman out, and detonate the house. It was empty when I got here. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Who's your employer? 
+
+FEMALE ASSASSIN 
+I don't ask names. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Did they have accents? Russian? 
+(she nods; he lowers his gun) 
+I'm paying you out of your contract. Don't ask questions. What's your price? 
+
+FEMALE ASSASSIN 
+Fifty thousand for you, fifty for her, fifty for the house. 
+
+Templar pulls out his wallet, from which he unfolds three pieces of negotiable paper. Hands them to her. She examines them. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+U.S. bearer bonds. Good as cash. 
+
+FEMALE ASSASSIN 
+About the airport - no offense you understand. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+None taken. Go and don't come back. 
+
+And she turns and walks off. 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S HOUSE - BEDROOM 
+
+Templar enters, looking around, thinking. He looks in the bathroom. He looks in the closet. On the floor are Jillian's footwear: sneakers, pumps, cowboy boots, etc. 
+
+Right, Templar, the shoes... 
+
+TEMPLAR pulls out his HOMING DEVICE and clicks it on. 
+
+INSERT - HOMING DEVICE SCREEN 
+
+Like before, an electronic rendering of WESTCHESTER COUNTY. But no pulsing light. Templar enters commands, adjusting the screen, widening it to GREATER NEW YORK. Somewhere in Queens, fairly close to the Atlantic Ocean, we see a PULSING LIGHT. But it's fixed, inert. The pulsing light begins to move east, quickly. 
+
+Templar watches it. The pulse is moving too quickly for an automobile. And it's heading for the ocean. And it goes in the ocean! 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+(dawning on him) 
+A. . . .plane. Indeed, Simon Templar, a plane. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. PRIVATE JET - IN FLIGHT OVER ATLANTIC 
+
+A mid-sized gulfstream. JILLIAN sits in a wheelchair, covered with a blanket. She stirs. Mumbles something. Slowly opens her eyes. Yuri approaches. Yuri lifts away the blanket. Jillian's wrists are tied to the wheelchair armrests, her ankles to the footrests. Yuri produces a SYRINGE. He grabs Jillian's forearm and pushes in the needle. Jillian's head bobs forward. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. J. F. K. INTERNATIONAL - CONCOURSE 
+
+Templar hurries through the concourse with his carry-on bags, taking a left, moving past sign: 
+
+AIR FRANCE CONCORDE - - - - > 
+
+INT. J.F.K. - "AIR FRANCE" - CONCORDE TERMINAL 
+
+The passengers are in a line, going through security. Templar walks up next to A GUY IN A BROOKS BROTHERS SUIT. Stares at him. After a few seconds of this... 
+
+BROOKS BROTHERS MAN 
+Can I help you with something? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Your ticket. What'd you pay for it? 
+
+BROOKS BROTHERS MAN 
+What? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I'll give you twenty grand for it. Cash. Right now. 
+(they stop) 
+I need to get on that plane. 
+
+BROOKS BROTHERS MAN 
+Very badly obviously. 
+(studies Templar) 
+Fifty thousand and it's yours. 
+
+Templar rolls his eyes but the guy is unmoved. Templar scowls and pulls out his bearer bonds... 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. MARSEILLES - AIRPLANE HANGAR - CONTINUOUS 
+
+A hangar at Marseilles' Marignane Airport. A MAN is sprawled inside the engine cowling of a WWI classic BIWING FIGHTER. We only see his legs. 
+
+VOICE 
+Remy! Telephone. 
+
+REMY 
+(IN ENGINE COWLING) 
+Oui. Un moment. 
+
+REMY SAMARKAND, 40's, Algerian, pulls himself up and sits on the engine cowling. Bandanna around neck. Cigar. A tattoo here, a scar there... COCO, a young mechanic, hands Remy a CELLULAR PHONE. 
+
+REMY SAMARKAND 
+Merci, Coco. 
+(Coco walks off) 
+Remy Samarkand Aeronautique, Remy Samarkand. 
+
+TEMPLAR (V.O.) 
+I need a favour, Remy. 
+
+REMY SAMARKAND 
+(smiles) 
+Anything for Simon Templar... 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. PARIS, FRANCE - CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT - THREE HOURS LATER 
+
+The Concorde touches down as we SUPER: 
+
+CHARLES DE GAULLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, PARIS, FRANCE 
+
+EXT. DE GAULLE AIRPORT - TARMAC 
+
+Templar, with his carry-on bags, and Remy Samarkand run across the tarmac toward a LEAR JET being fueled. In the b.g. sits the huge Concorde jet. They yell over the howling jet engines. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+IT'S A LITTLE JET, MAYBE A TURBO PROP. ENTERED SCOTLAND FIVE MINUTES AGO, GO ING TO ST. PETERSBURG. CAN WE GET TO IT BEFORE THEN? 
+
+REMY SAMARKAND 
+OUI . OVER FINLAND. 
+
+INT. REMY' S LEAR JET - MINUTES LATER 
+
+THE HOMING DEVICE - The screen shows a MAP OF EUROPE. Two locations are pulsing: 1) Remy's jet, moving north from Paris; and 2) The jet carrying Jillian, moving across Scotland heading due east. The plane is in flight. Templar's homing device and mini-computer sit on the cockpit console. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+What are you smuggling these days? 
+
+REMY SAMARKAND 
+Oh, things. How long has it been – two year? Three? Now tell me: what's so important about this plane? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Fifteen million dollars of my money. 
+(picks up cellular phone) 
+And a score to settle. 
+
+Templar punches numbers and CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. EAST BERLIN - DAY 
+
+The city's decrepid industrial section. PANNING PAST buildings we come to the facade of "APEX ELECTRONICS," the only well-maintained building on the block. 
+
+A throbbing drum-beat is heard within... 
+
+INT. EAST BERLIN - APEX ELECTRONI CS - DAY 
+
+Organized. Spotless. You could eat off the floor. A STEREO plays GERMAN TECHNO-ROCK at a zillion decibals. 
+
+A COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE hangs from a hoist. BERTA FRANK (hereafter "FRANKIE”), late 20's, blonde spiky hair, pretty in a sort of dangerous way, is soldering a panel of transistors to the satellite. A wall-mounted T.V. plays a news program. 
+
+GERMAN NEWS ANCHOR 
+(German) 
+In Russia, Michael Romanov has been accused of inciting riots and violence in St. Petersburg... 
+
+The phone RINGS. Frankie grabs it. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Ja. 
+
+TEMPLAR (V.O.) 
+How's the weather in Berlin, Frankie? 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Simon? Where are you? 
+
+INTERCUT - SIMON IN REMY' S PLANE / FRANKIE IN BERLIN 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Unimportant. How soon can you be in St. Petersburg? 
+
+Frankie looks at her wristwatch. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Five hours. What type of job? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Eyes and ears. Two hundred thousand cash for two days work. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Who's the mark? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Gregor Tretiak. His headquarters. His office in particular. 
+
+Frankie lights a cigarette. Thinks. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Gregor Tretiak is not a very nice man, Simon. Four hundred thousand. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Deal. Now listen, Frankie... 
+
+DISSOLVE TO: 
+
+INT. THE RUSSIAN GULFSTREAM - DAY 
+
+Four hours later. Jillian sits, head bowed, unconscious. Yuri sits opposite. He is nodding off. If only Jillian could wake up... The PILOT shouts back. 
+
+PILOT 
+We're over Helsinki. Yuri wakes, sits upright. Yawns. 
+
+INT. REMY'S LEAR JET - DAY 
+
+Remy's peering out the window. Sees something. 
+
+REMY SAMARKAND 
+Simon, there! 
+
+Two miles ahead, THE RUSSIAN JET roars past, heading east toward St. Petersburg. Remy jerks the stick, banking into a right turn behind the Russian jet. Remy looks at his ALTITUDE GAUGE. 
+
+REMY SAMARKAND 
+They're descending. 
+
+Remy looks at Templar; Templar nods back. Remy pushes the stick; the Lear jet begins descending. 
+
+INT. THE RUSSIAN GULFSTREAM - DAY 
+
+Jillian sits, still unconscious. Or is she? 
+
+JILLIAN' S POV - THROUGH SLITTED EYES 
+
+Through the tiniest slit of eye, so as not to appear conscious, Jillian looks at Yuri, then at TWO PARACHUTES shelved above the emergency exit. BACK TO SCENE - YURI stands up and stretches. He goes to the window and looks out. [Wheelchair trivia: wheelchair armrests are removable, enabling a patient to transfer himself from the chair to a regular chair, or car seat, etc...] 
+
+JILLIAN'S RIGHT HAND (photographed in extreme close-up under the blanket) pulls out the PIN securing the armrest to the wheelchair. She lifts the armrest, separating the aluminum tubing, freeing her right wrist. 
+
+INT. REMY'S LEAR JET - DAY 
+
+Through the windshield is the RUSSIAN GULF STREAM. Remy, his headset on, turns to Templar. 
+
+REMY 
+The St. Petersburg tower wants us to circle. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+No. Follow them down. 
+
+REMY 
+What do we do when we land? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Haven't figured that out yet. 
+
+INT. THE RUSSIAN GULFSTREAM - DAY 
+
+The aircraft is tilted forward in descent. The PILOT shouts back to Yuri: 
+
+PILOT 
+(Russian, subtitled) 
+Prepare for landing. 
+
+The Pilot shuts the cockpit door. Suddenly JILLIAN'S EYES are open; her hands are free and she's throwing off the blanket and gripping the wheels. She pushes; the wheelchair bursts forward. YURI gets to his feet; the wheelchair slams against his shins. Jillian WHIPS the detached armrest across Yuri's head. Yuri falls backward, dazed. Jillian rolls to the emergency door, one hand yanking open the door, the other grabbing a PARACHUTE from the shelf. Wind howls through the cabin. Jillian gets the parachute on. Her ankles are still bound to the footrests. To hell with it, she'll lose the wheelchair in mid-air. She pushes forward as -- 
+
+-- YURI lunges across the floor, grabbing the wheels. JILLIAN AND THE CHAIR teeter on the edge of emergency door exit, half in, half out. Yuri clings to the chair wheels. His body jerks forward. He's sliding on his stomach. Jillian and the chair are pulling him out. Terror in Yuri's eyes. He grabs for the door frame. His fingers slip. Jillian, the wheelchair, and Yuri hanging from the wheelchair, plunge from the aircraft. 
+
+INT. REMY' S LEAR JET - DAY 
+
+Templar's bagging his computer and homing device. REMY suddenly clutches his arm. 
+
+REMY 
+Simon. 
+
+Templar looks up. 
+
+TEMPLAR' S /REMY' S POV - THROUGH WINDSHIELD JILLIAN AND YURI fall from the aircraft. 
+
+INT . THE RUSS IAN GULFSTREAM 
+
+The pilot, looking down at Jillian and Yuri, clicks on his short-wave radio: 
+
+PILOT 
+We have a problem. 
+
+EXT. SKIES OVER ST. PETERSBURG - DAY 
+
+JILLIAN freefalls in the wheelchair, her ankles still bound to the chair's footrests. YURI is beneath her, clutching the wheels. He tries to pull himself up. 
+
+JILLIAN yanks the rip-cord; a plume of silk spills out and Jillian and the chair SLINGSHOT UP, decelerating from 120 m.p.h. to 20 m.p.h. in two seconds. Yuri can't take the "G" force; his hands rip away from the chair. He plummets, SCREAMING, and 3000 feet later he will hit concrete in St. Petersburg. 
+
+Jillian pulls out the footrest pins (the footrests separate from the chair in the same manner), freeing her ankles. The chair releases, falling away. 
+
+INT. REMY' S JET - CONTINUOUS 
+
+Templar turns to the cockpit storage hatches behind him. He yanks open one designated: PARACHUTES. 
+
+REMY SAMARKAND 
+Don't! 
+
+TWO HUGE TOUCANS fly out of the hatch. They flap around the cockpit. Templar looks askance at Remy... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Remy... 
+
+REMY SAMARKAND 
+I get ten grand for them in Paris. Maybe a Russian would pay more? 
+
+Templar grabs a PARACHUTE PACK and races to the back of the plane. He YANKS OPEN the EMERGENCY EXIT DOOR. Cold air blasts his face. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Put down in Helsinki and wait for my call! 
+
+And Templar jumps and -- 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - STREETS 
+
+An autumn day in Peter the Great's city. Peaceful. Normal. Pedestrians walk the streets. [note: St. Petersburg is called "Venice of the North" because it's built atop marshy islands connected by canals. There are over 400 bridges; on the canals, boat traffic is often as dense as automobile traffic.] A WOMAN, glancing up, notices something. 
+
+WOMAN (RUSSIAN) 
+Look. 
+(points skyward) 
+Look! 
+
+Other pedestrians stop. They, too, look up at -- 
+
+A PARACHUTIST (Jillian of course) descending into the heart of the city! And down she comes, landing hard in the middle of an intersection. TAXIS and AUTOMOBILES swerve aside, nearly killing her. Others SCREECH to a stop. 
+
+JILLIAN gets to her feet, wild-eyed and frantic, tangled in cord and parachute silk. She looks around at -- 
+
+CROWDS OF PEDESTRIANS staring at her. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Help me. I'm American. Police! 
+
+A ST. PETERSBURG POLICE CRUISER comes through the intersection to a stop. A YOUNG COP, just 20, hangs up his c.b. radio and gets out. He approaches Jillian. 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - PETER AND PAUL FORTRESS CITY PARK 
+
+Across the Neva River from Jillian is a city park with a HUGE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT. Under the statue, two OLD RUSSIAN GEEZERS are playing chess, smoking pipes, arguing, etc. 
+
+Down TEMPLAR comes. The parachute snags on the BRONZE HORSE'S HEAD. Templar dangles 15 feet off the ground. He looks at the GEEZERS directly below. Hello there. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Sorry about this. 
+
+He shrugs off the parachute pack and falls, landing on the chess board, scuttling the pieces. The Geezers fall backward on their behinds. Templar gets to his feet, gaining his bearings, looking for Jillian. He takes off running. 
+
+INT. POLICE SEDAN, DRIVING - CONTINUOUS - DAY 
+
+Jillian sits in the back seat, catching her breath. The Young Cop looks at her in the rear-view mirror. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Do you speak English? 
+
+YOUNG RUSSIAN COP Yes. Some. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Thank God. 
+(takes a deep breath, composes herself) 
+I'm an American scientist. Last night, in New York, a man stole something from me, then this morning I was kidnapped by my lab assistant, god this sounds like a bad novel . . . . . 
+
+Suddenly a ROCK bounces off the windshield. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+What was that? 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG STREETS - DAY 
+
+The police cruiser moves past A THRONG OF MICHAEL ROMANOV SUPPORTERS carrying placards and banners. They begin pelting the cruiser with rocks and bottles. 
+
+INT. POLICE CRUISER - DAY 
+
+The cruiser clears the Romanov supporters. Rocks and bottles smash on the back windshield. 
+
+YOUNG RUSSIAN COP There could be revolution maybe. City very dangerous. 
+
+IN THE INTERSECTION AHEAD - TWO OTHER POLICE CRUISERS pull into the street, blocking it. The Young Russian Cop brakes; the cruiser comes to a stop in front of the other cruisers. 
+
+An OLDER RUSSIAN COP, followed by a PLAINCLOTHESMAN, approach the young cop's cruiser. 
+
+EXT. TROITSKY BRIDGE - CONTINUOUS - DAY 
+
+TEMPLAR sprints across the Neva River Bridge connecting the Peter and Paul Park with downtown St. Petersburg. He suddenly stops short, seeing -- 
+
+TEMPLAR' S POV - TWO BLOCKS AWAY 
+
+-- JILLIAN in the cruiser, the Older Cop and the plainclothesman approaching. 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - INTERSECTION - DAY 
+
+The Older Cop leans in the window. 
+
+OLDER COP 
+(Russian) 
+Is this her? 
+
+YOUNG COP 
+(Russian) 
+Yes sir Sergeant Ravik. 
+
+The plainclothesman emerges from behind the Older Cop. In one shocking, effortless motion, he places a silenced handgun to the Young Cop's head and squeezes the trigger. Blood spatters the windshield. JILLIAN gasps in horror at the plainclothesman. It is...ILYA. The Older Cop opens the door, shoving the Young Cop's corpse to the passenger side. Ilya gets in back next to Jillian, pressing the HANDGUN into her ribs. The cruiser ROARS off into St. Petersburg traffic. 
+
+EXT. AT THE FOOT OF TROITSKY BRIDGE - CONTINUOUS 
+
+TEMPLAR looks around. He sees A MOTORCYCLE STAND filled with MOTORCYCLES. Runs to it. Chooses a big, powerful, Honda street machine. He pulls out his burglar's tools; jams one in the ignition. He has it running in seconds. He throws it in gear and ROARS off. 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG STREETS - CONTINUOUS - DAY 
+
+Templar blasts through traffic on the Honda. He's on a street parallel to Jillian's. 
+
+AT AN INTERSECTION Templar looks to his right, where he can see, one block over on the parallel street -- 
+
+THE POLICE CRUISER moving through traffic. Templar guns the motorcycle. The engine WHINES. He races ahead, accelerating through the gears. AT THE NEXT INTERSECTION - TEMPLAR throws the cycle into a skidding, hair-raising turn. He's going 'round the block to cut off the sedan. 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG INTERSECTION - DAY 
+
+The police cruiser moves through the intersection. Suddenly TEMPLAR'S MOTORCYCLE, Templar-less, veers into the path of the cruiser. The cruiser hits it head on. The motorcycle rides up the cruiser's hood and smashes through the front windshield. The cruiser careens out of control. It fishtails twice and crashes into A STREETLIGHT POLE. 
+
+INT. THE POLICE CRUISER - DAY 
+
+UP FRONT, the Older Cop is unconscious; he's taken the full brunt of the motorcycle through the windshield. 
+
+IN THE BACK, Ilya is groggy, semi-conscious. JILLIAN is reeling also; there's a gash on her forehead. The BACK PASSENGER DOOR jerks open. TEMPLAR lunges inside. Ilya raises his gun but he's weak, disoriented. Templar yanks it from his hand and pistol whips him. This has all happened so fast. Jillian looks at Ilya then at Templar... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+What...? WHO...? 
+
+And Templar yanks Jillian out. 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG INTERSECTION - CONTINUOUS - DAY 
+
+The intersection is chaos: PEDESTRIANS running up, surrounding the police cruiser, vehicles stopping, etc. Templar, virtually dragging Jillian, plows through the crowd, passing a Russian Army Corporal who's just gotten out of his ARMY SUPPLY TRUCK. 
+
+RUSSIAN ARMY CORPORAL 
+(Russian) 
+Let me help! 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+(Russian) 
+(pointing back at the police sedan) 
+Help them! 
+
+The Corporal runs to the smashed cruiser, and -- 
+
+TEMPLAR and JILLIAN run to the Corporal's SUPPLY TRUCK. 
+
+INT. RUSSIAN ARMY SUPPLY TRUCK - DAY 
+
+The driver's side door opens. In comes Jillian, then Templar. Templar shoves Jillian across the front seat and gets in, behind the wheel. He floors it. They accelerate into traffic. Templar looks at Jillian. She's trembling, staring catatonically straight ahead. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Who are you. Tell me who you are and what the hell is going on. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I was hired to steal your research, but you know that by now. You left the critical data off the disk. Where is it? memorized, right? 
+(she doesn't answer) 
+That's a bad cut. Here. 
+
+He hands her his HANDKERCHIEF. She swats it away. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Look, you're in big trouble. The guy who hired me will do anything to get your research. Once he has it, you're a corpse. Give me the missing data and I'll get you out of here. You can trust me. 
+
+She stares at him in disbelief. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Trust you? 
+(chews the word) 
+Trust you...? 
+
+She grabs the door handle and yanks it open. Templar grabs her arm, pulling her back. They wrestle back and forth... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Damn it, don't be stupid...! 
+
+She picks up the CORPORAL'S STEAMING CUP OF COFFEE, sitting in a holder on the console between them, and throws it in Templar's face. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+ARGGH! 
+
+Templar recoils, blinded, releasing Jillian. He jerks the steering wheel to the side and stomps on the brakes. JILLIAN lunges out before the supply truck fully stops. She hits the pavement running. She hurries off, blending into the crowded sidewalk. 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - STREETS 
+
+Templar gets out, cursing, wiping the hot liquid from his eyes. He looks around. Runs off in Jillian's direction, abandoning the supply truck. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - LOMONOSOVA AVENUE 
+
+Templar, running, out of breath, rounds a corner onto Lomonosova Avenue, in the city's shopping district. It's jammed with PEDESTRIANS, SHOPPERS, MERCHANTS, etc. Templar moves through the crowd, eyes scanning left and right. There's no sign of Jillian. Then he sees her. Just a glimpse. 50 yards ahead. Moving through the crowded sidewalk toward the FONTANKA (the largest and most beautiful of the city's grand canals). 
+
+EXT. LOMONOSOVA AVENUE - FONTANKA CANAL BRIDGE - SUNSET 
+
+Templar runs over the Fontanka Canal Bridge. Nothing. He comes back the other way. Nothing. He stops in the middle of the bridge, exhausted, out of breath. Below him, passing under the bridge, all types of WATER CONVEYANCES (skiffs, barges, dinghies, etc) are navigating the canal. 
+
+And emerging from underneath the bridge, seated in the back of a WATER TAXI,...is Jillian. Templar races off the bridge. 
+
+EXT. FONTANKA CANAL - EMBANKMENT PROMENADE - SUNSET 
+
+Templar sprints down the sidewalk promenade next to the canal. The water taxi is 50 yards past the bridge. JILLIAN sees him coming. TEMPLAR closes the gap. 30 yards. 20 yards. Now 10. Now he's running alongside the taxi, staring at Jillian. And she stares back at him, stony, expressionless. The canal is wider now, and the water taxi accelerates, pulling away from the slower skiffs. Templar slows to a jog. He stops, lungs heaving. The sun is setting to the west. The water taxi speeds off into the setting sun, leaving Templar with this image of Jillian: eyes unblinking, staring at him with pure, unadulterated hatred. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - NEVSKY PROSPECT - NIGHT 
+
+Night is falling. Down the street from Tretiak's headquarters, A FEDERAL EXPRESS VAN rolls up to a traffic light. 
+
+INT. FEDERAL EXPRESS VAN - NIGHT 
+
+FRANKIE has arrived in St. Petersburg. She sits at the wheel in a Federal Express uniform. She pulls out a charge of C-4 plastique with a timer. She opens the van door; tosses it into a sidewalk TRASH RECEPTACLE. She accelerates through the light, now green, and takes a left into TRETIAK' S HEADQUARTERS, parking behind a LIMOUSINE which has just entered. The limousine's doors open. Several dark-suited men get out. One of them is IVAN GRACHA (the Russian mafia figure shown on the C.N.N. broadcast). 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S OFFICE - NIGHT 
+
+A MAP OF ST. PETERSBURG AND OUTLYING REGIONS is spread out on Tretiak's desk. Tretiak, Ilya, Zubov, and ten men are present. 
+
+ILYA 
+There could be another solution. The woman is not-the only scientist working in this field. Is she? 
+
+Tretiak turns to Zubov, who nods. 
+
+ZUBOV 
+No. There are others. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Get on a plane. Leave tonight. 
+
+The door opens. Zero, the huge bodyguard, enters. 
+
+ZERO 
+Gracha is here. 
+
+Tretiak goes immediately to his desk, pressing the "RECORD" BUTTON on a v.c.r. within. The surveillance camera in Tretiak's office begins taping the meeting. 
+
+IVAN GRACHA and six bodyguards enter. 
+
+GRACHA 
+This had better be important. It's my wife's birthday. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+My apologies to your wife. 
+
+GRACHA 
+An apology from Tretiak? An historic moment. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+(placating) 
+Come now, Ivan, why must we feud. 
+
+GRACHA 
+We feud because we hate each other. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+It is true there have been harsh words between us. We are rivals. But rivalry is bad for business. Upon what conditions would you accept a partnership? Be reasonable. 
+
+GRACHA 
+Fifty percent of the drug trade in St. Petersburg and Moscow. A third of prostitution and gambling. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Agreed. 
+(they shake hands) 
+I need the men in your areas, Ivan, for two days. Particularly Moscow and points South. 
+
+GRACHA 
+Why? 
+
+Tretiak hands TWO PHOTOGRAPHS to Gracha. One is of JILLIAN, taken somewhere in Westchester, wearing her "atomic" jacket. The second is an Interpol photo taken of TEMPLAR in a cafe in Amsterdam. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+To find this woman... and kill this man. 
+
+GRACHA 
+(smiles) 
+This is a private matter, I take it. 
+(Tretiak smiles) 
+Then you'll have them. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Ilya - some wine for Ivan Gracha. 
+
+INT. TRETIAK' S HEADQUARTERS - NI GHT 
+
+TWO GUARDS man the guard station, eyeing the bank of six video monitors. Frankie enters with a big DELIVERY BOX. 
+
+FRANKIE (RUSSIAN) 
+Delivery. 
+
+Frankie hands Guard 1 the box and hands Guard 2 a clipboard for his signature. Frankie looks at the surveillance monitors and raises an eyebrow. 
+
+ON TRETIAK'S OFFICE MONITOR - we see Tretiak with Ivan Gracha raising a toast. In the screen's lower corner are the letters "REC." The meeting is being taped. 
+
+EXT. NEVSKY PROSPECT - NIGHT. 
+
+THE C-4 in the trash receptacle blows. It blows up TWO CARS and A TREE. A monstrously concussive explosion. 
+
+INT. TRETIAK' S OFFI CE 
+
+Gracha drops his wine glass; it shatters on the floor. Gracha and his men unholster their weapons. Tretiak's men go for theirs. A tense stand-off. 
+
+GRACHA 
+What is this, Tretiak? 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Put your guns down. 
+
+Tretiak goes to his desk; stabs an intercom button -- 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT 
+
+The guards, save one, barge out the front door. The remaining guard answers the intercom, leaving FRANKIE unattended by the surveillance monitors. Her hand moves to THE CO-AXIAL CABLE behind the video monitors, yanking it. She plugs a TRANSMITTOR into the monitor, then replugs the co-axial cable into the transmitter. The guard turns to Frankie. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+What was that? 
+
+DISSOLVE TO: 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - STREET - NIGHT 
+
+TEMPLAR stands in a shop doorway. He pulls out his homing device. Adjusts the screen. 
+
+INSERT - THE HOMING DEVICE 
+
+The computerized screen now shows the ST. PETERSBURG CITY GRID. Two pulses: 1) a fixed pulse (Templar) and 2) a moving pulse (Jillian) on the other side of town. Templar turns his collar up; walks off into the night. 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - STREETS - NIGHT 
+
+TEMPLAR comes down a street in a scummy part of town. A GUY in a doorway swigs a vodka bottle, looking dangerously at Templar. A few PROSTITUTES pass. Templar pulls out the homing device. 
+
+INSERT - THE HOMING DEVICE - The MOVING PULSE is one block from Templar, emanating from inside a huge building, the NEVSKY RAIL STATION. 
+
+BACK TO SCENE - Templar pockets the homing device and walks across the street to the train station. 
+
+INT. NEVSKY STATION - MAIN CONCOURSE - NIGHT 
+
+An enormous facility, 100 yards long with a vaulted ceiling and entrances at the north and south ends. 
+
+Templar-enters from the north, looking around. He walks quickly to the center of the station concourse. 
+
+STATION LOUDSPEAKER (V.O.) 
+Next train to Moscow boarding on platform 8. 
+
+Templar approaches Platform 8. Passengers are boarding the next train to Moscow. Against the wall, a gang of ten PROSTITUTES are smoking, drinking vodka, laughing. Templar freezes. JILLIAN is with the prostitutes. Her back's to Templar, but it's her. Same "atomic" jacket, the shoes Templar gave her, same height, same weight. ... 
+
+Templar isn't the only one who's spotted her... TWO MEN IN BLACK TRENCHCOATS, obviously Tretiak's men, are converging upon Jillian from the other direction. They haven't yet seen Templar... 
+
+Templar moves off quickly, drawing his gun. As Tretiak's men move in for the kill. TEMPLAR falls in behind them, WHIPPING the barrel of his gun over one, then the other. They fall, unconscious. The PROSTITUTES, alarmed, whirl around and... 
+
+...It's not Jillian. Templar, thunderstruck, looks at THE PROSTITUTE'S feet. She's wearing JILLIAN'S SHOES and JACKET. On her wrist is JILLIAN'S WRISTWATCH. Templar turns. The TRAIN TO MOSCOW is pulling out of the station. ... 
+
+Templar sprints away, back toward the station concourse. It's all clear now; Jillian sold her clothes and watch and bought a ticket to Moscow. 
+
+EXT. NEVSKY STATION - NIGHT 
+
+AUTOMOBILES are parked in front of the station. Templar picks a B.M.W. out come the burglar's tools. Templar's through the door lock in two seconds. He gets in and shoves a tool in the ignition lock. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. TEMPLAR'S STOLEN B.M.W. - NIGHT 
+
+Templar speeds down the highway, moving in and out of traffic. His cellular phone chirps. He unpockets it, clicks it on. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Simon. Good news. 
+
+INT. ST. PETERSBURG - HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT 
+
+In the b.g. through a window, we see Tretiak's headquarters looming down the street. Frankie sits in front of six VIDEO MONITORS like those in Tretiak's headquarters; they are receiving the video transmissions from Tretiak's surveillance cameras. We see exteriors, Zubov's lab, corridors, etc. Frankie is looking at A MONITOR OF TRETIAK'S OFFICE; Tretiak is pacing, talking on the phone. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+They haven't found her and they don't know where she is. 
+
+INTERCUT - FRANKIE IN HOTEL/TEMPLAR DRIVING 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+She's on a train to Moscow. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+That's bad news. They're 'stopping every train leaving the city. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Call you later, Frankie. 
+
+Templar tosses the phone and jerks the wheel. The B.M.W. veers wildly across three lanes of traffic, swerving off the highway down an exit ramp. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. ROAD SOUTH OF ST. PETERSBURG - NIGHT 
+
+The St. Petersburg city outskirts. Templar's B.M.W. rounds a corner onto a two-lane road running next to the Moscow line train tracks. 
+
+INT. TEMPLAR'S B.M.W - NIGHT 
+
+Templar stares ahead through the windshield. 
+
+TEMPLAR'S POV - THE TRAIN TRACKS - A half mile ahead is a street crossing. We see the blinking caboose lights of the TRAIN TO MOSCOW. It's stopped at an intersection in front of TWO BLACK SEDANS parked across the tracks. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - NIGHT 
+
+JILLIAN sits alone, looking around nervously, wondering why the hell the train's stopped. Her hair is brushed over the gash on her forehead. She wears the prostitute's ratty jacket and shoes. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - FRONT CARS 
+
+Two of Tretiak's men enter the first passenger car, heads swiveling back and forth, checking every passenger's face. 
+
+EXT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - REAR CAR - NIGHT 
+
+Templar runs up to the rear passenger car. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - FRONT CARS - NIGHT 
+
+Tretiak's men come through the third car. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - REAR CARS - NIGHT 
+
+Templar comes the other way looking for Jillian. Through one car and into the next. He sees JILLIAN. This time it is her. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - FRONT CARS - NIGHT 
+
+On come Tretiak's men, into another car. They're one car away now... 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - JILLIAN'S CAR 
+
+JILLIAN sits up in her seat; she looks through the connecting door into the next car, which TRETIAK'S MEN are entering. She rises to flee, running into -- 
+
+-- TEMPLAR. Jillian's eyes bulge. She's going to scream. Templar clamps her mouth and shoves her forward to the exit door which opens to the parallel tracks. Templar wrenches open the door and sticks his head outside, looking down the tracks. We hear a TRAIN WHISTLE and RUMBLING WHEELS. Templar comes back inside. TRETIAK'S MEN are half-way through the next car and approaching fast. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+We're going to jump. Okay? 
+
+Jillian, terrified, wide-eyed, nods. And they jump. 
+
+EXT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - PARALLEL TRACKS 
+
+Templar and Jillian lunge from the train onto the parallel tracks. A train whistle BLARES. Jillian looks up; her face contorts with shock at -- A TRAIN bearing down on them at 60 m.p.h. 100 feet. Now 70. 50. Jesus, it's right on top of them... 
+
+TEMPLAR grabs her hand and yanks her across the tracks with 10 feet to go. The TRAIN SCREAMS past them. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - DAY 
+
+TRETIAK'S MEN enter the car where Jillian was. Outside, the St. Petersburg train flashes by, blocking any view of Templar and Jillian on the other side of the tracks. They continue down the aisle, into the next car. 
+
+EXT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - PARALLEL TRACKS 
+
+The train to St. Petersburg is gone. Jillian stares at Templar with hateful eyes. He gets up and yanks her to her feet. Pulls her back toward the train to Moscow. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - REAR CAR - NIGHT 
+
+A GERMAN BUSINESSMAN is having a heated conversation on a cellular phone. Outside, we see TRETIAK'S MEN walking toward their vehicles. Templar and Jillian enter the private berth across from the businessman. It has reclining chairs and a curtain for privacy. The train BEGINS MOVING again. Templar and Jillian sit, regarding each other. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+You can't get rid of me. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Like a bad flu. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Pretty smart, selling the clothes and watch. You were going for the U.S. embassy, weren't you? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Present tense please – I am going. Before we discuss the present, let's discuss the past. 
+
+She stares hard, malevolently at him. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Who the hell are you. I want full name, address, profession, and don't - don't - say Michael Quinn of 112 Mason Street, shoemaker. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+My name is Simon Templar. I don't have an address because I live in hotels. I'm a professional thief. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Good. We're getting somewhere. I'd like to respond to that. 
+
+The German Businessman is looking at them. Jillian pulls the curtain shut. Then she SLAPS Templar, hard, across the face. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+You wicked man. 
+(slaps him again. 
+You liar. 
+(slaps him again) 
+Thief. 
+
+She draws back to slap him again. He catches her arm. They freeze this way, faces inches apart. She's trembling, her face a mask of hatred. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I hope you rot in hell. 
+
+He lets go of her. She stands up. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Where are you going? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+As far away from you as I can. 
+
+Templar pulls out his 9mm pistol. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Sit down. 
+
+Jillian stares at the gun. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+You're joking. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Michael Quinn jokes. I don't. 
+
+She glares at him. Slowly sits. Templar pulls out his cellular phone. Punches numbers. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Remy. Be at Moscow Airport at eight a.m., fueled and ready to go. 
+
+Templar clicks off the phone and pockets it. Then he pockets the gun, its barrel pointing at Jillian through his jacket. With his free hand he grabs her arm and puts it under his arm, clamping it to his body. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+We're going to sit here and not make a scene. I'd get some rest. Templar leans back, shutting his eyes. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I sleep light. 
+
+Jillian, out of the corner of her eye, notices something through the curtain... ACROSS THE AISLE - THE GERMAN BUSINESSMAN is folding up his cellular phone and stuffing it in his satchel briefcase on the floor. He leans back and closes his eyes. The satchel briefcase sticks into the aisle. Close enough for Jillian to touch... 
+
+DISSOLVE TO: 
+
+EXT. BENARES, INDIA - ESTABLISHING - MORNING 
+
+The exquisite, astonishing city on the Ganges River. 
+
+EXT. BENARES - UNIVERSITY OF BENARES 
+
+A courtyard in the traditional Indian style. Zubov and two of Tretiak's men approach a building. Zubov rings the doorbell. Seconds pass. The door opens. An Indian gentleman peers out. He's about 50, in a madras shirt and nehru jacket. This is DR. VIJAY SINGH, whose taped lecture we heard in Jillian's station wagon. 
+
+ZUBOV
+Dr. Singh? Dr. Vijay Singh? 
+
+VIJAY SINGH 
+Who are you and what do you want? 
+
+ZUBOV 
+My name is Vapin Zubov. I would like to discuss something with... 
+
+VIJAY SINGH 
+(scowls) 
+Come back at a decent hour... 
+
+Dr. Singh begins to shut the door. Zubov puts his hand in the door, jamming it. 
+
+ZUBOV 
+I would like to discuss cold fusion, Doctor. Dr. Singh's demeanor changes. Pushes open the door. 
+
+VIJAY SINGH 
+Come in. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. THE TRAIN TO MOSCOW - MORNING 
+
+PASSENGERS are yawning, pulling up their window blinds. Sunlight streams in. A PORTER passes by. . 
+
+PORTER 
+Thirty minutes to Moscow, thirty minutes... 
+
+The Porter moves past the German Businessman; he's asleep and snoring. Across the aisle -- 
+
+JILLIAN'S EYES are darting from the German Businessman, to TEMPLAR, who's looking out the window. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I need to use the ladies' room. I think you can trust me to... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I don't trust anybody. 
+
+Jillian gives Templar a disgusted look. She rises and moves into the aisle. Ternplar follows. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Tell me something. How much were you paid? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+It's not your business. Move. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I think it is. C'mon. Tell me. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Fifteen million dollars, but it didn't work out. Did it. 
+
+They pass a PORTER serving snacks (fruits and cheeses) from a cart. Jillian looks' at the cart. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Does it bother you? What you do? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+No. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+You have no conscience? No sense of morality? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Define morality. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+It's a commonly used and generally understood word. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Not by me. . 
+
+They've arrived outside the LADIES ROOM. Jillian opens the door, begins to enter. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Wait. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+You are not going in there with me. 
+
+Templar brushes past her, leaving the door open. He steps up on the toilet, examining the WINDOW above. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Okay, how about: Do unto others as they would do unto you. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+How about: Do unto others before they do unto you. 
+
+Templar pulls up the window. It opens only five inches; it's prevented from rising further by TWO SAFETY SCREWS drilled through the frame. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+How about: love thy neighbor. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+The man who said that was crucified by his. 
+
+Satisfied, Templar steps down and walks back to Jillian. She shakes her head, laughs mirthlessly. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Were you raised by wolves? Who were your parents, Lucretia Borgia and the Marquis de Sader 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+The two people in question weren't as nice as that. I wouldn't know. I never met them. Are you through? It's all yours. 
+
+She gives him a look and shoves past him into -- 
+
+THE LADIES ROOM Jillian enters, closes the door and locks it. She stands on the toilet and examines the window. Sees the safety screws. She steps down. She turns on the sink, then kneels and pulls up her pantleg, revealing THE GERMAN BUSINESSMAN'S CELLULAR PHONE stuffed in her sock. She pulls it out. She turns the sink on full blast, creating as much noise as she can, and punches numbers. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+International operator please. 
+(pause) 
+The American Embassy in Moscow, please. 
+
+Jillian waits for the call to connect and CUT TO: 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - FRONT CAR - AISLES 
+
+Jillian exits the ladies' room. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+You really will rot in hell, know that? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Good, all my friends will be waiting for me. They move down the aisle, passing the SERVING PORTER, Jillian's hand dangles over the fruit and cheese cart. She plucks up a SERVING KNIFE with two fingers and slides it up her sleeve. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Friends? I thought you trusted no one. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I don't. Give it to me. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(innocently) 
+What. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+The knife you just took. 
+
+Jillian sighs. Pulls the serving knife out of her sleeve and hands it over. When she turns back toward her berth, she doesn't like what she sees -- 
+
+THE GERMAN BUSINESSMAN has woken up. He's yawning, opening up a stack of business correspondence sitting on the armrest of his chair with a LETTER OPENER. JILLIAN continues down the aisle, sweating it out. If the guy discovers that his phone is missing... 
+
+Each step is a mile. Finally Jillian and Templar come to their berth. The German Businessman is reading a letter. The letter opener is sitting on the stack of unopened letters. Jillian "accidentally" knocks the stack of letters and letter opener off the armrest. They fall to the floor next to the German Businessman's satchel briefcase. Jillian quickly drops to a kneeling position and begins gathering up all the letters. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I'm so sorry! 
+
+As Jillian rises and hands the German Businessman his letters, we see that – 
+
+THE CELLULAR PHONE is back in the German Businessman's satchel briefcase. Templar and Jillian sit down. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. MOSCOW - GORKY STATION, TRAIN PLATFORM - MORNING 
+
+The train pulls into the station. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - MORNING 
+
+The Porter comes down the aisle, calling out: 
+
+PORTER 
+Moscow Station, Moscow Station! 
+
+Templar and Jillian move with the other passengers toward the exits. As they pass the ladies' room: 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Give me a second, will you? I don't feel well. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Make it quick. 
+
+Jillian goes in the bathroom. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - LADIES' ROOM 
+
+Jillian enters and stands on the toilet. Out comes the German Businessman's LETTER OPENER. She centers the opener in one of the screw heads, leans into it, and twists. She begins unscrewing it. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - AISLE OUTSIDE LADIES' ROOM 
+
+Templar is impatiently looking at the ladies' room door. The passengers are filing past him. He knocks on the door. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - LADIES' ROOM 
+
+Jillian's got one screw out. The other is coming. Templar KNOCKS again. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Just a second. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - AISLE OUTSIDE LADIES' ROOM 
+
+Templar knocks again, LOUDER. No response inside. The German Businessman passes by him... 
+
+GERMAN BUSINESSMAN 
+Porter, I seem to have lost my letter opener... 
+
+Templar stares at the guy. 
+
+INT. TRAIN TO MOSCOW - LADIES ROOM 
+
+The door SMASHES open, splintering the lock. Templar bursts in. Something instantly gets his attention. The fully opened window. And no Jillian... Templar bolts out. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. MOSCOW - GORKY STATION, MAIN CONCOURSE - MORNING 
+
+Jillian hurries up the escalator to the main concourse. A stupendous, vaulted interior. As impressive as Grand Central in New York or Victoria in London. She moves through the crowd. Eyes scanning everything and nothing. She bumps into A COMMUTER, who scowls. Jillian takes cover by one of the immense marble pillars. She pulls her collar up. Waits it out. 
+
+ACROSS THE CONCOURSE - A MAN studies her. He's tall, blonde, looks like he played linebacker for Ohio State. He approaches. She eyes him. Everyone is a potential enemy. But this guy is obviously American. 
+
+BLONDE MAN 
+Ms. St. Thomas? Jillian? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Yes. 
+
+The Blonde Man opens his wallet, flipping out his EMBASSY BADGE and C. I. A. CREDENTIALS. 
+
+WHITEHEAD 
+John Whitehead, Special Agent, Central Intelligence Agency. Was your trip all right? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Yes it was fine, oh who cares, I'm finally safe... 
+(squeezes his hand) 
+Do you have a car? 
+
+WHITEHEAD 
+Yes, outside. First I'd like to ask you some questions. That was an interesting story you told the embassy. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Interesting? It's true. 
+
+WHITEHEAD 
+Please understand: the United States Embassy receives fifty calls a day. My husband's been murdered, my daughter's been sold into white slavery, you get the idea. So before we waste a lot of people's time, Ms. St. Thomas, you say you have p.h.d.s in chemistry and nuclear physics. What's the atomic symbol for, say. ..gold? 
+
+Pause. Jillian stares at Whitehead. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+You've gotta be kidding me... 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. MOSCOW - GORKY STATION - TRAIN PLATFORM - MORNING 
+
+Templar dashes across the platform, looking everywhere. Jillian has vanished. Suddenly his cellular phone chirps. He unpockets it and clicks it on. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Talk to me, Frankie. 
+
+INT. ST. PETERSBURG - FRANKIE'S HOTEL ROOM - MORNING 
+
+FRANKIE, red-eyed and drinking coffee, is staring at the video transmission from Tretiak's office. Tretiak and Ilya are talking. . 
+
+INTERCUT BETWEEN THE TWO (as deemed necessary) 
+
+FRANKIE 
+She called the U.S. Embassy a half hour ago. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+What? 
+(considers this) 
+Does Tretiak know? 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Simon, the U.S. Embassy has more leaks than a Polish submarine. Who do you think intercepted the call? 
+
+As FRANKIE says that, she doubletakes at the monitor showing Tretiak's office. Frankie's eyes widen. 
+
+ON THE VIDEO MONITOR - A THIRD MAN has entered the room. It is the crusading reformer, MICHAEL ROMANOV. Frankie stabs a button on a tape recorder next to her monitors. It begins taping the transmission from Tretiak's office. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Thanks, Frankie. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Simon, wait. . . . CLICK. 
+
+Frankie turns some dials, bringing into ZOOM FOCUS Tretiak and Romanov. She ups the volume. We hear this: 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Hail Michael Romanov, Czar of the Fatherland. How will that sound to the average Russian? 
+
+FRANKIE 
+(a whisper) 
+I don't believe it... 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. MOSCOW - GORKY STATION - ESCALATOR - DAY 
+
+TEMPLAR runs up the escalator, plowing through the disembarking passengers, taking two stairs at a time. 
+
+INT. MOSCOW - GORKY STATION, MAIN CONCOURSE - MORNING 
+
+Templar comes off the escalator. The place is packed with COMMUTERS. He moves off, eyes darting in all directions for Jillian, while meanwhile – 
+
+ACROSS THE CONCOURSE, BY THE PILLAR - CONTINUOUS 
+
+JILLIAN 
+. ..Cd, that's big "C" little "d," cadmium's valence is 2, its atomic number is 48 and its atomic weight is 112.411 or would you like that carried out five more decimal places? Good enough? 
+
+WHITEHEAD 
+(smiles) 
+Good enough. Come this way, Ms. St. Thomas. He ushers her off. 
+
+As they move from behind the pillar, 50 yards away -- 
+
+ACROSS THE CONCOURSE - TEMPLAR sees Jillian and Whitehead. He looks around, thinking. He sprints for the side exit. 
+
+EXT. MOSCOW - GORKY STATION - MAIN ENTRANCE/EXIT - DAY 
+
+The circular drive where travelers are picked up and deposited by taxis, buses, automobiles. Jillian and Whitehead exit the station. AHEAD - TWO MERCEDES SEDANS are waiting. Several darksuited MEN stand next to an open back door. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(shakes her head) 
+What a nightmare.. To think my work could just be taken from me... 
+
+WHITEHEAD 
+You're safe now, Doctor St. Thomas. We'll have you back in New York in no time. They continue toward the parked Mercedes. 
+
+Suddenly Jillian blinks. She sees something. It's TEMPLAR, driving a Russian sedan. He rolls to a stop across the circular drive, staring a hole right through Jillian, grimly shaking his head at her, trying to warn her... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Agent Whitehead... 
+
+Whitehead looks at Jillian. 
+
+Pause. Jillian eyes Templar across the drive. 
+
+AGENT WHITEHEAD 
+Yes? 
+
+Jillian looks at the men waiting by the Mercedes. She looks at two Moscow police officers standing to the side. Something's wrong. Something doesn't feel right. 
+
+AGENT WHITEHEAD 
+Ms. St. Thomas? You had a question? 
+
+They're drawing closer to the waiting Mercedes... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Nothing, I was just thinking that when my research was stolen I felt like the Buffalo Bills after they lost four World Series. 
+
+WHITEHEAD 
+Hah hah, I bet you did. I'm a baseball fan too hah hah... 
+
+Jillian looks at him differently. 
+
+The Buffalo Bills lost four Super Bowls, Whitehead. They continue toward the waiting sedans. 
+
+JILLIAN'S EYES dart around. Her forehead is sweaty. And she bolts from him, taking Whitehead by surprise. JILLIAN sprints across the circular drive for Templar's car, Whitehead after her. The men by the waiting Mercedes converge on Jillian from the side. TEMPLAR throws open the passenger side door for Jillian. The men coming from the Mercedes open fire on Templar, blowing in the sedan's side window. Templar ducks. JILLIAN'S almost there... She reaches the open sedan and dives inside. She tries to shut the door; WHITEHEAD gets hold of it. JILLIAN SCREAMS at Templar. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Go! 
+
+Templar floors it. The car SQUEALS away from the curb. Whitehead runs alongside, trying to get the door open. The car accelerates. Whitehead sprints but can't keep up. His feet leave the ground; he clings to the doorframe through the blown-out window. Whitehead pulls his gun from his shoulder holster and aims across Jillian's body at Templar. His finger squeezes the trigger as Jillian shoves his hand up. BULLETS blow holes in the roof of the car. 
+
+JILLIAN hits Whitehead, hard, in the head. Whitehead's head snaps back. She hits him again. Whitehead falls away from the car. He rolls twenty feet and stops, dazed but alive. 
+
+INT. TEMPLAR' S STOLEN SEDAN - DAY 
+
+Templar guns the sedan through a RED LIGHT. Cars to the left and right SCREECH to a stop. The sedan flies on... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+TAKE ME TO THE EMBASSY. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+We're going to the airport. 
+
+Templar guns the accelerator. 
+
+EXT. MOSCOW - GORKY STATION - CIRCULAR DRIVE - DAY 
+
+The TWO MERCEDES pull up to Whitehead, who staggers to his feet. He gets in the lead Mercedes; the two cars race off after Templar and Jillian. 
+
+INT. TEMPLAR'S STOLEN SEDAN - DAY 
+
+Templar floors it through another intersection. he looks in his rear view mirror. There's no sign of the two Mercedes. They've escaped. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Good. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Is it? Who's worse – them or you? 
+
+Templar looks down and registers shock -- 
+
+- - IN THE INTERSECTION AHEAD, A BLIND MAN with a walking stick is tap tapping across the intersection. Jillian cringes, expecting the worst. Templar throws the steering wheel and -- 
+
+EXT. MOSCOW - INTERSECTION - DAY 
+
+-- The sedan swerves, clearing the BLIND MAN by two inches, skidding wildly through the intersection. 
+
+INT. TEMPLAR'S STOLEN SEDAN - DAY 
+
+Templar fights the wheel but he's losing... 
+
+The skid can't be corrected. Jillian SCREAMS. 
+
+EXT. MOSCOW - INTERSECTION - DAY 
+
+The sedan slides sideways, hits the curb and flips over, spinning like a top across the sidewalk. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. WHITEHEAD'S MERCEDES - DAY 
+
+The Mercedes moves through traffic. Whitehead and the other men look around. The Mercedes rounds a corner. Across the intersection is the OVERTURNED SEDAN on the sidewalk, surrounded by gawking PEDESTRIANS. 
+
+EXT. MOSCOW - INTERSECTION 
+
+The Mercedes pulls up. Whitehead and his men get out. They warily approach the sedan, drawing guns. The pedestrians back off, getting the hell out of the way. 
+
+Whitehead and his men surround the car. They kneel, guns trained inside...Templar and Jillian are gone. Whitehead barks at his men. 
+
+WHITEHEAD 
+Fifteen block radius. Go house to house. 
+
+Whitehead looks around at the surrounding buildings. We FOCUS on one of them, a RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH several blocks away, under scaffolding and mesh wire, in the process of renovation. CAMERA pushes in on the church's HUGE ONION SHAPED TURRET. . . . . 
+
+INT. MOSCOW - RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH 
+
+… and we're in the turret's interior: round, with stained glass windows, a desk and chair. A trap door leading to the vestibule below BANGS OPEN. 
+
+JILLIAN comes up, followed by Templar, his gun in hand. They're cut and bruised, exhausted. Jillian slumps against the wall, shivering. Templar puts his equipment on the desk and goes to each of the windows. From this elevation he can see the entire city. 
+
+TEMPLAR'S FIRST POV - RED SQUARE, a mile across town, where a thousand Muscovites are listening to a pro Michael Romanov speech. 
+
+Shifting from Red Square to the city outskirts, we see MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, where Remy waits. 
+
+TEMPLAR'S SECOND POV - THE UNITED STATES EMBASSY is just a few blocks away - we see the American flag flying from the roof stanchion. In the intersections around the embassy, Tretiak's men stand by their vehicles, watching. Every point of access to the embassy is sealed. We see WHITEHEAD. A Mercedes pulls up to him. ILYA gets out. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+The embassy's surrounded. 
+
+BACK TO SCENE - JILLIAN is staring at Templar's computer. The modem is engaging. JILLIAN sits up, staring at the screen. Jillian reads an ELECTRONIC MESSAGE which appears: BEAR CONTACTING LION. GIVE HER TO ME. IN RETURN, 20 MILLION AND SAFE PASSAGE. IF YOU REFUSE YOU WILL DIE. 
+
+Jillian's eyes grow wide with terror. Templar looks out a third window. 
+
+TEMPLAR'S THIRD POV - Tretiak's men are going building to building in a fifteen block radius sweep, closing in on the church. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+The airport's out. They're drawing a noose around us. We don't have much time. 
+
+TEMPLAR turns away from the window. He sees Jillian looking at his computer. He walks over to it and reads the message. Jillian gets slowly to her feet, watching Templar. JILLIAN's mouth quivers as Templar types: LION CONSIDERING OFFER. Templar looks at Jillian. She stares back. A long moment. Neither moves. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+What are you going to do? Tell me. I deserve at least that. 
+(desperate now) 
+I'll die. If you take their offer, they'll kill me. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+And if I don't, they'll kill me. Interesting situation I'd say. 
+
+Jillian sinks to the chair, her voice shaking. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Oh god. It's over, it's all over... You're not human. You're an animal. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I'm a businessman. I perform services for profit. And spare me the lecture. You didn't spend ten years in that mildewed basement for the good of humanity, you did it to get rich. Richer than anyone on earth. Richer than God. 
+(beat) 
+I'll make you an offer - pay me my fifteen million out of your royalties - should come to about one month's. . .
+
+Pause. She slowly looks up at him. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I don't hold the patent rights to cold fusion. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+What? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+You fool. Don't you understand? 
+(her voice cracks; she begins to softly cry) 
+It wasn't about money, it wasn't about becoming rich... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+If you don't own the patent rights, who does? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+A foundation in my name. The royalties were going to go to scientific research, curing cancer, .. .christ how can you understand this... 
+
+She lowers her head, weeping openly. 
+
+CAMERA PUSHES in on Templar, staring at her. Even the darkest of men have a seed of goodness. Here, for the first time, does it flower in Simon Templar. 
+
+But we don't know this. Templar betrays nothing. He picks up his homing device and clicks it on. He types in this command: MOSCOW. The device beeps; THE MOSCOW STREET GRID appears. He types a new command: SUBTERRANEAN DATA. Moscow's SUBTERRANEAN GRID appears superimposed over the street grid; we see the guts of the city; the Moscow subway, water and gas mains, etc. In a corner of the screen is a TABLE OF SCHEDULES. Templar analyzes the information on the screen. 
+
+He quickly rises; goes to Jillian, pulling off his belt. He pulls her up. She stands limply, still weeping, no longer resisting. He's bigger and stronger, there's no use. Templar gathers Jillian's wrists together and ties them with the belt. He pulls her to the trapdoor and CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. MOSCOW - SIDEWALK 
+
+Several pedestrians walk by. Templar walks Jillian quickly to a MANHOLE COVER. He kneels and hoists the cover off. He points into the hole. Jillian, her wrists bound, steps down uneasily, her feet finding the top rung of a STEEL LADDER. She descends into the manhole. Templar follows. 
+
+INT. MOSCOW - SUBTERRANEAN SEWER SYSTEM - DAY 
+
+Jillian and Templar come down the ladder, dropping to the steel-gridded walkway over the Moscow sewer. Templar pulls Jillian twenty feet down the walkway. At this point in the wall there is a HATCH with a compression HATCHWHEEL, the turning of which opens the hatch, like on a submarine. Within the hatch we hear RUSHING WATER. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+That's a municipal water main. In one hour you're going in there. 
+
+Templar pulls out a SWITCHBLADE. Clicks it on. Jillian, shivering with terror, stares at the blade... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Listen. They shut it down twice a day for five minutes to clean the filters. Once at noon, once at midnight. Noon is in one hour. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+How do you know all this? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Part of my job. Now ask the logical question... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+.. . where does it go? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Very good. Under the United States Embassy. There's an exit hatch into the embassy courtyard. That's where we're going. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+We...? 
+
+Templar lowers his gun. He lowers the blade to her wrists and cuts the belt. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+You heard me. 
+
+A long pause. They stare at each other. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Then what happens? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Let's get to the embassy, then we'll talk about it. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Templar - about that night at my house… 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Don't talk about it, okay? 
+
+He turns away from her. She watches him. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Okay. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. MOSCOW - RED SQUARE - CONTINUOUS - DAY 
+
+The Michael Romanov supporters are marching past the Kremlin with PLACARDS BEARING ROMANOV'S FACE, chanting: KARPOV MUST GO! Ahead, awaiting them, are -- 
+
+Two units of MOSCOW POLICE in riot gear. A POLICE SERGEANT clicks on a megaphone. 
+
+MOSCOW POLICE SERGEANT
+Disperse. Disperse! 
+
+On come the Romanov supporters. Rocks start flying. The Romanov supporters push into the line of police. The police push back with shields and truncheons. A melee breaks out. The Romanov supporters surge past the police. It is a wild, uncontrolled, chaotic scene. 
+
+EXT. MOSCOW - THE UNITED STATES EMBASSY - DAY 
+
+ROMANOV SUPPORTERS flood past the embassy gates, chased by Moscow Policemen. Fights rage allover the street. A full-fledged riot is breaking out. OVERTURNED CARS are burning. LOOTERS run through the streets with stolen goods. We hear the sporadic CRACKLE of small arms fire. 
+
+IN THE U. S. EMBASSY COURTYARD A U. S. MARINE and ARMY GREEN BERET detachment, grimfaced and heavily armed, stand silent vigil inside the embassy's wrought-iron gates. COLONEL WILLIAM CROSBY, embassy c.o., exits the embassy and approaches the front gates. A FULL BEER BOTTLE smashes at his feet, showering him. 
+
+COLONEL CROSBY 
+Jesus H. Christ. 
+
+ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE U. S. EMBASSY Ilya and his men stand next to their vehicles, silently watching the embassy. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. MOSCOW SEWER SYSTEM - DAY 
+
+The WHOOSHING water in the municipal water main begins to subside. Templar looks at this watch. 
+
+INSERT - TEMPLAR'S WRISTWATCH - it is exactly 12 noon. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Right on time. 
+
+The water subsides to a trickle. Templar grips the hatchwheel and turns it. Opens the hatch. Residual water spills out onto the walkway. Templar pulls himself into the water main. He extends his hand to Jillian. Jillian looks uncertainly inside. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Four blocks. Right under Tretiak's men and up into the embassy compound. You can do this. She grabs Templar's hand. He pulls her up and inside -- 
+
+INT. MOSCOW - MUNICIPAL WATER MAIN - DAY 
+
+-- a four foot diamater pipe. Templar pulls out a PENLIGHT, switches it on and sticks it between his teeth. On hands and kneess Templar and Jillian move off through the water main. 
+
+INT. MUNICIPAL WATER MAIN - EXIT HATCH UNDER STREET 
+
+Templar and Jillian crawl up. Templar shines his penlight at the ceiling; AN EXIT HATCH WITH HATCHWHEEL is above them. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+It doesn't seem like we've gone far enough. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+We haven't, up there's the street in front of the embassy. 
+(looks at his wristwatch) 
+Come on. We've got two minutes. 
+
+They crawl off through the water main. 
+
+INT. MUNICIPAL WATER MAIN UNDER EMBASSY 
+
+Templar and Jillian crawl toward A SECOND EXIT HATCH. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+There it is. 
+
+They reach the exit hatch. They look at it. Jillian trembles. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Oh my god... 
+
+The EXIT HATCH has no hatchwheel. It's sealed. Jillian, panicked, looks down the water main. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+We. ...we've got to go back. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+(checks his watch) 
+Not enough time. 
+(thinks) 
+The hatch under the street. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+What about Tretiak's men … 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Better than drowning. 
+
+They scramble off. We hear WHOOSHING WATER coming down the pipe. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+The water's back on! 
+
+Back they go, crawling as fast as they can. 
+
+INT. MUNICIPAL WATER MAIN - EXIT HATCH UNDER STREET 
+
+Templar and Jillian reach the exit hatch under the street. Templar grips the hatchwheel as -- 
+
+THE WATER ROARS through the pipe, hitting Jillian flush, blowing her backward; she desperately clings to Templar's shoulders as he spins the hatchwheel. The water rises mercilessly. There's a foot of air, then six inches, then just three, then none at all, and they're under water... TEMPLAR desperately turns the hatchwheel, spinning it one last time and WHOOOSH, the hatch door blows open – 
+
+INT. MOSCOW - MANHOLE BELOW THE STREET 
+
+- - and SMASHES against A ONE FOOT DIAMETER PIPE running along the wall of the service manhole, CRACKING a fissure in it. PRESSURIZED GAS blows out of the pipe. TEMPLAR pulls himself up. He reaches down and pulls Jillian up. Templar kicks the exit hatchdoor closed and spins the hatchwheel shut. JILLIAN looks at the GAS spewing from the cracked pipe. She sniffs the air. Templar looks at the pipe. A warning is printed in five languages: GAS - DANGEROUS. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+City gas line. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+We can't stay here, we'll asphyxiate. 
+
+Templar and Jillian clamber up the steel runged ladder to the manhole cover. Templar pushes up the manhole cover, popping his head out, looking around. HIS EYES widen with alarm --- 
+
+A POLICE VAN is rolling straight for his head. He ducks and closes the manhole cover as the VAN RUMBLES over it. Templar listens. Above, the van has stopped. Templar pushes up the manhole cover. The VAN has stopped directly over the manhole. 
+
+EXT. MOSCOW - STREET IN FRONT OF THE U. S. EMBASSY 
+
+Templar slithers out. Pulls up Jillian. They're under the van now. The van's rear door opens; TEN MEN jump down to the pavement. We see their BLACK BOOTS; they are MOSCOW POLICE, arriving to arrest the looters. Templar and Jillian crawl toward the van's rear. Templar looks toward THE U.S. EMBASSY. It's 100 yards away, but looks like 100 miles. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Both of us will never make it. But one of us can. 
+(draws his gun) 
+Give me ten seconds, then break for the embassy and don't stop running until you're at the gates. It's a hundred yards, so move it. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+What are you going to... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+That's my business. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Wait... 
+(he stops) 
+.. .Simon. Don't do this. They'll kill you. 
+
+A long, tense pause. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+The world can do without Simon Templar. It can't do without you. 
+(smiles grimly) 
+See you around sometime. 
+
+He takes a deep breath and logrolls out. ABOVE THE VAN - TEMPLAR gets to his feet in the street, gun drawn. He races from the van, heading in a direction away from the embassy. ACROSS THE STREET - ILYA double takes, seeing Templar sprinting from the van. 
+
+ILYA 
+Kill him! 
+
+Ilya, Whitehead and Tretiak's men sprint down the street after Templar, firing as they run, leaving -- 
+
+JILLIAN UNDER THE VAN with a clear path to the embassy. She counts it off: three. . . . four. . . . five . . . . . 
+
+TEMPLAR dives behind an OVERTURNED CAR and comes up firing on Tretiak's men. 
+
+IN THE U. S. EMBASSY'S FRONT COURTYARD Colonel Crosby watches the situation unfold. 
+
+COLONEL CROSBY 
+What the hell is going on. 
+
+IN THE STREET - ILYA, WHITEHEAD and the other men close in on Templar, laying down a withering fusillade of fire. Templar returns fire from behind the car. 
+
+UNDER THE VAN - JILLIAN 
+
+JILLIAN 
+. . . nine. . . . TEN. . . . 
+
+Jillian logrolls out from under the van. She sprints for the embassy gates. BEHIND THE OVERTURNED CAR - TEMPLAR sees Jillian running for the embassy. As he returns fire, he exhorts her under his breath. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Go. Faster.. . . 
+
+ILYA, firing on Templar, sees Jillian. He spins, running in a new direction. He's going to get Jillian before she can reach the embassy. JILLIAN, sprinting, screams to the embassy marines. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Open the gate! 
+
+IN THE EMBASSY COURTYARD - COLONEL CROSBY turns to his second in command, a Lieutenant JONES. 
+
+COLONEL CROSBY 
+Do it. 
+
+Lieutenant Jones and a MARINE PRIVATE push open the embassy gates. COLONEL CROSBY watches Jillian helplessly. There's nothing he can do. Not until she reaches the embassy. On Jillian comes, legs pumping, feet pounding the pavement. ILYA is right behind her. She can feel his breath he's so close. Twenty yards. Fifteen yards. Ten... 
+
+BEHIND THE OVERTURNED CAR - TEMPLAR dodges bullets, corning thick and heavy now, and watches in terror as --- 
+
+ILYA, with a desperate reach, collars Jillian. She shrugs off her jacket, leaving Ilya with the jacket but no Jillian. Jillian lunges through the embassy gates... 
+
+... and is instantly surrounded by U.S. Marines. Jillian looks up at Colonel Crosby, panting. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I'm an American citizen. 
+
+COLONEL CROSBY 
+You have our full protection ma'am. 
+(looks at Ilya) 
+Back away from the gate. 
+
+Ilya's black eyes stare at Colonel Crosby. He backs away from the gate. He turns and sees – 
+
+AT THE OVERTURNED CAR - TEMPLAR, out of bullets with his hands raised, surrounded by Tretiak's men behind the overturned automobile. Ilya, fuming, walks across the street to Templar. AT THE OVERTURNED CAR - ILYA walks up to Templar. With the calm efficiency of a hangman, Ilya puts his hand on Templar's shoulder and forces him down, down to his knees. He sticks his gun to Templar's head. 
+
+He's going to execute Templar right there, behind the overturned car in the street. 
+
+IN THE EMBASSY COURTYARD - JILLIAN, watching, frantically turns to Colonel Crosby. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Do something! 
+
+COLONEL CROSBY 
+That's Russian soil out there, ma'am. 
+
+Jillian turns away, horrified, shielding her eyes. 
+
+BY THE OVERTURNED CAR - TEMPLAR AND ILYA 
+
+TEMPLAR (RUSSIAN) 
+Wait. A cigarette. It's customary. 
+
+Ilya looks at Templar. Looks at his men. And Ilya laughs. Chuckling at first, then open-mouthed. All of TRETIAK'S MEN laugh in Templar's face. Ilya takes out a cigarette. Hands it to Templar. Lights it for him. 
+
+TEMPLAR (RUSSIAN) 
+Thank-you. 
+
+And Ilya and Tretiak's men continue to laugh. 
+
+They won't be for long... Because Templar is looking at A GRATE above the municipal lines below. And TRETIAK'S MEN are sniffing the air, wondering why it smells like rotten eggs... Templar flicks the cigarette into the grate and dives away as -- 
+
+THE ENTIRE STREET IN FRONT OF THE U. S. EMBASSY blows sky high as THE GAS MAIN ignites . Ilya, Whitehead, and the other men are blown off their feet. Some are killed. Asphalt and dirt rain down, followed by -- 
+
+WATER, as the municipal water main goes up. Ilya and Whitehead get to their feet, looking around, water falling like a monsoon. Templar is gone. And the police van is SPEEDING away. 
+
+INT. POLICE VAN - DAY 
+
+Templar guns the van through Moscow streets. He pulls out his cellular phone. Punches numbers. 
+
+EXT. MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - DAY 
+
+Remy stands by his jet, smoking a cigar, looking impatiently at his watch. His cellular phone beeps. 
+
+REMY 
+Simon, where the hell are you... You want me to do what? 
+
+Remy clicks off the phone and scrambles up into the cockpit of the Lear. 
+
+INT. POLICE VAN - DAY 
+
+Templar guns the van straight for -- 
+
+A group of TRETIAK'S MEN conducting the building-to building search. They pull two sedans into the intersection, blocking it. 
+
+INT. MOSCOW INTERSECTION - DAY 
+
+Templar doesn't slow - he accelerates, and hits the two cars where their bumpers meet, BLASTING through them -- 
+
+-- and races on past the intersection. 
+
+INT. REMY' S LEAR JET - DAY 
+
+Remy's Lear jet skirts Moscow rooftops, just 200 feet off the ground. As the jet clears the KREMLIN roof, we see majestic Red Square spreading before us... 
+
+EXT. RED SQUARE - DAY 
+
+TEMPLAR'S POLICE VAN roars into Red Square as -- 
+
+ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SQUARE - REMY'S LEAR JET touches down. In Red Square. It taxis to a stop next to Lenin's tomb. The police van SCREECHS up next to the Lear. Templar races from the van to the jet, dodging BULLETS fired from -- 
+
+TRETIAK'S MEN, firing from sedans entering the square. The Lear jet accelerates straight for the oncoming sedans, lifting off, almost scraping the landing gear against their windshields. It wings into the air, clearing the top of the Ivan Memorial by a foot. And heads west. To freedom. 
+
+DISSOLVE TO: 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - NIGHT - REESTABLISHING 
+
+A shot of the city as we SUPER: St. Petersburg - two days later 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - TRETIAK'S HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT 
+
+The gates open. A BLACK SEDAN pulls into the drive and stops. Zubov gets out, then Dr. Singh, dressed in a conservative Indian suit, carrying a briefcase. Tretiak emerges from the mansion, greeting Doctor Singh. 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S HEADQUARTERS - ZUBOV'S LAB - NIGHT 
+
+Dr. Singh enters behind Tretiak and Zubov. They move to Zubov's lab table. Dr. Singh dons reading glasses. Zubov places Jillian's research before him. Singh flips a page, then another. He is awed. It's like Salieri looking at Mozart's sheet music. He's searched all his life for something and... another person has found it. 
+
+DR. SINGH 
+Yes. 
+(beat) 
+Yes. 
+(beat) 
+Yes, yes. . . . . 
+(looks up) 
+I will give you a list of the things I will need. I request solitude. Remove those men. 
+(turns back to Jillian's document) 
+Leave me now. Please. 
+
+Tretiak and Zubov exchange a look. They exit. Dr. Singh rubs his brow, bearing down on the material, flipping through the pages which DISSOLVE INTO: 
+
+PAGES being flipped, but these contain photographs... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+No. 
+(beat) 
+No. 
+(beat) 
+No. 
+
+WIDEN TO -- 
+
+INT. F. B. I. - MANHATTAN BUREAU - DAY 
+
+JILLIAN sits with F.B.I. agents RABINEAU and LONNER. 
+
+AGENT RABINEAU 
+One more. 
+
+Rabineau flips the page. SIMON TEMPLAR'S PHOTO stares at Jillian. She studies it a moment. Shakes her head. 
+
+AGENT LONNER 
+Be certain, Ms. St. Thomas. Look again. 
+
+She looks again. Studies Templar's photograph. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I'm certain. It's not him. 
+
+Agents Rabineau and Lonner exchange a look. 
+
+EXT. MANHATTAN - CENTRAL PARK - DAY 
+
+Jillian walks down the tree-lined mall. Templar is standing there. She walks up to him. A moment. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+They showed me photographs of criminals. 
+(beat) 
+And a photograph of you. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+And...? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+I said that the man in the photograph doesn't have the eyes of a criminal. 
+(pause; they stare at each other) 
+The Washington symposium is tomorrow afternoon. I'm going. I'm presenting my research to the scientific community. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+What about your data... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+It's in my head. I'll wing it. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+(draws closer to her) 
+You need to conduct further research anyway. I'll help you. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+What are we researching. ..? 
+
+Jillian draws closer. Their lips are almost touching... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+The benefits of warm fusion. 
+
+Templar pulls her lips to his and CUT TO... 
+
+INT. JILLIAN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT 
+
+There follows a love scene. Afterward, in each other's arms: 
+
+JILLIAN 
+It is in the eyes. You're not bad. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Being bad is the only thing I've ever been good at. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+You can be good at being good. 
+(she strokes his hair) 
+If you're afraid of the dark, remember the night rainbow. If tomorrow morning the sky falls, have clouds for breakfast. If the birds forget their songs, listen to the wind. And if between right and wrong, do what is right. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Who said that? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(smiles privately) 
+My grandmother. 
+
+Templar gently takes her face in his hands. Whispers to her. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+How did I meet you. This saint. 
+(smiles) 
+Saint Thomas. 
+
+They kiss. 
+
+DISSOLVE TO: 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S HEADQUARTERS - ZUBOV'S LAB - NIGHT 
+
+Late at night. Dr. Singh is working feverishly. The desk is stacked with papers and books. He is surrounded by three chalk boards with chemical isotope diagrams. He is adding chemicals to a bath of hydrogen in a COMPRESSION CHAMBER. 
+
+DR. SINGH 
+Zinc oxide. Iridium mercurate. Sodium bicarbon nitrate. A cobalt magnesium isotope. Liquify the cobalt at 665 degrees fahrenheit, add the magnesium. ... 
+
+The chemicals begin to mix. He picks up an ELECTRODE NEEDLE attached to a LIGHTBULB. Dr. Singh takes a deep breath. He introduces the electrode needle into the compression chamber through a rubber valve. And like a miracle, the LIGHTBULB ILLUMINATES. Dr. Singh looks up as if he's just seen Shiva. 
+
+DR. SINGH 
+My god. It actually works. 
+
+DISSOLVE TO: 
+
+EXT. WASHINGTON D.C. - ESTABLISHING SHOTS - DAY 
+
+The Capital on a cold, drizzly autumn day. A ROW OF FLASHBULBS EXPLODE POP POP POP... 
+
+EXT. CAPITAL MALL - THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE - DAY 
+
+PHOTOGRAPHERS are taking Jillian's picture as she moves through a crowd outside the Smithsonian. She is formally dressed. TWO F.B.I. AGENTS walk with her. It is raining. The place is a sea of umbrellas. Several REPORTERS trail after her. 
+
+REPORTER 1 
+Doctor St. Thomas! Ben Rothstein, Omni Magazine. Is it true? Have you done it? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+That question will be answered in ten minutes, Mr. Rothstein. 
+
+REPORTER 2 
+Marilyn Jones, Doctor St. Thomas. Dr. Vijay Singh has said that your theories are insupportable... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+(smiles) 
+Sorry, but I'm not interested in Doctor Singh's opinions on this or anything else. 
+
+JILLIAN moves up the steps, radiant and beautiful; it is the pinnacle of her life. She looks across the Mall. TEMPLAR stands there. Alone, smiling at her. Jillian winks at him, mouthing the words: "open it." TEMPLAR understands. He pulls a GIFTWRAPPED BOX from his pocket and opens it. Inside is a TIE-PIN; a stick figure man with a halo over his head. Templar sticks it through his tie. Picks up the accompanying card. 
+
+INSERT - THE CARD reads: Anyone can be a saint, Simon Templar. Templar looks back at Jillian. He sees something. Behind Jillian, moving toward her through the crowd, is a BLONDE MAN UNDER AN UMBRELLA. It looks like... Ilya. Templar squints for clearer vision. He begins walking toward the Smithsonian. He quickens to a jog, now he's running... 
+
+ON THE SMITHSONIAN STEPS - THE REPORTERS crush into Jillian. 
+
+REPORTERS 
+Ms. St. Thomas, Ms. St. Thomas... 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Please, no more questions. ... 
+
+Across the sea of people, TEMPLAR reaches the Blonde Man. Templar grabs his arm; whips him around. 
+
+BLONDE REPORTER 
+Hey! What's the idea? 
+
+It's not Ilya, just a reporter with blonde hair. Meanwhile JILLIAN, backing up the stairs from the reporters, draws closer to - - 
+
+A DARK-HAIRED MAN, seen from behind, who lowers an umbrella, pushing a button on the handle, revealing a GLISTENING NEEDLE POINT. CAMERA moves over his shoulder, revealing...ILYA. With dyed black hair. JILLIAN keeps backing up the stairs... 
+
+...Behind her, Ilya's needled umbrella strikes her. JILLIAN feels something. Like a bee sting. Her hand moves to her hip... 
+
+.. .as ILYA moves off through the crowd... 
+
+...TEMPLAR comes through the crowd to Jillian. The F.B.I. AGENTS grab him. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Stop it! I know him! 
+
+The Agents release Templar. Jillian looks at him. Templar's panting, out of breath. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Simon? What is it? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Are you all right? 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Yes. 
+(smiles) 
+Go get a seat. 
+
+Jillian moves up the stairs into the Smithsonian. ACROSS THE MALL.. .ILYA is gone, melting into the sea of umbrellas. 
+
+INT. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE - MAIN HALL - DAY 
+
+The room is packed with scientists and reporters. Jillian mounts a podium in front of the room. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Good afternoon. In 1989, two physicists claimed to have perfected... 
+(her eyelids flutter) 
+.. .cold nuclear fusion. Their results couldn't be duplicated. ... 
+
+Jillian is perspiring. She has cotton mouth. She picks up her ice water. Her hand shakes. TEMPLAR, seated in the back, watches her. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+It is my pleasure to announce that I . . . . 
+(her eyes roll back) 
+...have... 
+
+She opens her eyes. They're glassy. And the world is swirling... Jillian falls, her ice water SMASHING on the floor. TEMPLAR runs to her, shoving people aside. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+JILLIAN!! ! 
+(kneels to her) 
+No. No. No... AMBULANCE, GET AN AMBULANCE! 
+
+One of the F.B.I. agents races off. 
+
+JILLIAN 
+Simon... 
+(she's fading fast) 
+I love you... 
+(gasps for breath) 
+My Saint. . . . . 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+No. . . No. . . God please no... But God won't help you, Simon Templar... ...God will take her anyway. 
+
+FADE TO BLACK. 
+
+FADE IN: 
+
+The next images collide and merge upon one another: 
+
+A REPORTER 
+
+REPORTER 
+Nuclear physicist Jillian St. Thomas suffered a cerebral aneurism... 
+
+A CORONER 
+
+CORONER 
+Death occurred at two-fifty one p.m. … 
+
+THE INQUEST JUDGE 
+
+JUDGE It is the ruling of this court that death was due to natural... 
+
+A REPORTER 
+
+REPORTER 
+.. ..and foul play was ruled out. In international news, the situation in St. Petersburg worsened... 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - DVORTSOVAYA PLOSHCHAD - DAY 
+
+The square is filled with thousands of MICHAEL ROMANOV SUPPORTERS. They're camped out now. A C.N.N. NEWS TEAM transmits from the square. 
+
+WOLF BLITZER 
+The scene is reminiscent of the Tiananmen Square crisis, Bernard. The death toll stands at forty-eight civilians and at least twenty-one armed forces personnel. Rumors escalated today that... 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - ADMIRALTY - ESTABLISHING 
+
+A LIMOUSINE pulls through a 'crowd of ROMANOV SUPPORTERS outside the heavily guarded gates of the Admiralty, Russia's Naval headquarters, akin to Annapolis. 
+
+WOLF BLITZER 
+.. . General Nicolai Radischev... 
+(we see a photo of Radischev) 
+...has promised Michael Romanov his support, pending the outcome of today's meeting between Romanov and President Karpov. 
+
+ROMANOV, in the back of the limousine, waves to his supporters. They go wild, clapping and cheering. The limo continues into the Admiralty compound. 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY - DAY 
+
+The limousine rolls through a guarded checkpoint, stopping before -- 
+
+THE ADMIRALTY'S NUCLEAR SITUATION FACILITY: in a more dangerous time, this is the place from which Russian military leaders would conduct nuclear war. It's an acre-sized field of concrete, recessed 30 feet into the earth. It looks like a very large, very deep swimming pool emptied of water. In the middle is a concave-shaped entrance hatch (visualize an enormous bowl turned upside down). The two halves of the concave hatch open down the middle, each side retracting into the facility. On the concrete floor next to the hatch is a SMALL DETECTION UNIT. We'll find about the unit shortly... 
+
+Romanov and four bodyguards exit the limousine. Two RUSSIAN SECRET SERVICEMEN escort Romanov to the entrance hatch. They descend down stairs to -- 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - NUCLEAR OPERATIONS - DAY 
+
+- - a large room dominated by an ELECTRONIC MAP OF THE WORLD. Rows of computer stations run the length of the room. It looks like a N.A.S.A. control room. The Secret Servicemen lead Romanov across the room to -- 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - NUCLEAR OPERATIONS OFFICE - DAY 
+
+An office, relatively comfortable, with a computer, a television and v.c.r., and a small satellite link. VICTOR KARPOV, the popularly elected President of Russia, rises. Karpov is 55, intelligent, with a calm, professional demeanor. 
+
+ROMANOV 
+A nuclear bunker, Mr. President? You must worry for your safety. 
+
+KARPOV 
+I have reason to. 
+
+ROMANOV 
+Yes. You do. 
+
+They glare at each other. 
+
+KARPOV 
+You understand my policy on taping meetings. 
+
+Romanov consents with a wave of his hand. Karpov motions to his ATTACHE, who flips the switch on a VIDEO CAMERA mounted in the wall. 
+
+KARPOV 
+I'll get to the point. Your remarks are irresponsible; they've caused civil unrest. Unless you appeal to your supporters to stop rioting, I will institute martial law. 
+(beat) 
+Tell me what you want. 
+
+ROMANOV 
+A public debate, then new elections. We'll let the people decide. 
+
+KARPOV 
+(considers this) 
+Agreed. 
+
+They shake hands. Romanov rises and exits. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+A HAND reaching for a SHOTGLASS. The hand shakes so badly.. .it has to set the glass down. WIDEN TO -- 
+
+INT. MANHATTAN - LOWER EAST SIDE BAR - DAY 
+
+-- TEMPLAR, drunk at noon in a wretched little dive on Avenue A. His face is drawn and pale. Haunted. Hasn't slept or shaved for days. His fingernails are dirty. 
+
+TWO DARK-SUITED MEN enter. One pauses by the entrance, the other goes to the bar. He sets a FOLDER on the bartop and slides it to Templar. The two men exit. Templar opens the folder. Inside is a plane ticket. A plane ticket to St. Petersburg... 
+
+DISSOLVE TO: 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S OFFICE - DAY 
+
+Tretiak sits behind his desk. The room is dark. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+The woman's death was unfortunate. You lost. I lost. To think what we could have done with her formula. But life goes on, no? 
+
+TEMPLAR sits opposite Tretiak, staring at him. He is shaved and rested, his eyes utterly alert. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+When Romanov gains the presidency Russia will be ours. The possibilities are, you would agree, endless. 
+(beat) 
+You have talent. Unique talent. I need that talent to break into an impregnable facility. Be part of this, Templar. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+(considers this) 
+Fifteen million, plus the fifteen you owe me. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+I owe you nothing. You were hired to steal something and you failed. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Thirty million, and I use my own men. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Twenty million, and one of my men goes with you. 
+
+Templar nods in agreement. Rises. Goes to the door. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Templar. A question. 
+(Templar turns) 
+You had feelings for the woman, didn't you? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I don't have feelings, Tretiak. 
+
+Templar, his face hard, cold, expressionless, exits. 
+
+Tretiak watches him. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. ST. PETERSBURG - HOTEL SUITE - OFFICE - DAY 
+
+A hotel in the heart of the city. We hear sounds of demonstrations and rioting in the street below. Templar sits at a table with Harry Winston, Remy Samarkand, and Frankie. ARCHITECTURAL PLANS and PHOTOGRAPHS of the Admiralty's Nuclear Situation Facility are spread amongst room service trays. ILYA, and the massive ZERO sit on the couch, listening. Ilya eyes Templar. Templar periodically meets Ilya's eyes. These exchanged glances are rife with hostility. They've been at this a while and everyone's frustrated. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+No, no, no, Karpov's office is in the nuclear operations room. The entry hatch can't be activated from above - only below. 
+
+REMY 
+It's lead-lined and reinforced with eight feet of concrete. Explosives and drills are out. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Electronic by-pass? 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Negative. Understand something, Simon, please: this is not a bank. This is the former Soviet Union's missile command. Forced entry is impossible. 
+
+A long pause. Everyone looks at each other. Templar examines A PHOTOGRAPH of the facility. He fixates on it. He sees something. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+What's that? 
+
+Templar points at the SMALL DETECTION UNIT next to the Nuclear Operations entrance hatch. Frankie looks at the photograph, then picks up a set of blueprints. Starts flipping through... 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Uhhm.. .that is the facility's... 
+(comes to the relevant page and reads:) 
+... radiation detector. In the event of nuclear fall-out it automatically closes the hatch. 
+
+Everyone turns to Templar. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+You're saying the system can think. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Yes. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Then it can be lied to. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S HEADQUARTERS - ZUBOV'S LAB - DAY 
+
+Romanov and Tretiak stand on one side of the lab. ACROSS THE LAB, ZUBOV and DR. SINGH are huddled over a hydrogen tank, just like the one we saw in Jillian's lab. The tank is surrounded by hundreds of testtubes and beakers containing chemicals. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+The world will continue to spend half its gross national product on oil. 
+
+ROMANOV 
+And Russia will spend none. Within five years we will be the wealthiest nation on earth. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+And it's leaders, Romanov, the most powerful people. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. ST. PETERSBURG - ADMIRALTY - NIGHT 
+
+The situation in the city has worsened. The ROMANOV SUPPORTERS outside the admiralty now number several thousand. They carry pro-Romanov banners and shout: DOWN WITH KARPOV! In the b.g., we see more rioting. Gunfire crackling. An overturned truck. 
+
+A MILITARY AMBULANCE careens around the corner and rolls past the Romanov supporters up to the Admiralty gates. TWO RUSSIAN NAVY M.P.'s open the gates. The ambulance pulls inside. The driver's window rolls down. It's Harry Winston dressed as a RUSSIAN ARMY PARAMEDIC. 
+
+HARRY WINSTON (RUSSIAN) 
+Two soldiers shot by looters! 
+
+The M.P. waves the ambulance through. Harry waves back. The ambulance pulls into the Admiralty compound, going past to the rear, to the NAVAL HOSPITAL EMERGENCY WARD. 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY - NAVAL HOSPITAL 
+
+The ambulance pulls up next to the emergency ward. The back door opens. Remy, dressed as a PARAMEDIC, gets out. Remy and Harry haul out two heavily bandaged RUSSIAN SOLDIERS on stretchers. The stretchers expand into rolling gurneys. Harry and Remy roll the wounded soldiers inside. 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - NAVAL HOSPITAL 
+
+Harry and Remy roll the gurneys through the emergency ward. NAVAL DOCTORS and NURSES are scrambling around, attending to WOUNDED SOLDIERS. The scene is frenetic. The gurneys roll past the operating rooms, through double doors, into a room. No one notices. 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - HOSPITAL STORAGE ROOM 
+
+A room stocked with hospital supplies. The wounded "soldiers" spring off the gurneys. They are TEMPLAR and ILYA. Ilya wears the uniform of a NAVAL M.P. Templar wears a bulky, lead-lined anti-radiation suit. Templar shoulders his backpack. Harry Winston stands on a counter, pushing up the CEILING TILE. Templar and Ilya climb atop the counter. Harry forms a stirrup with his hands and hoists Templar, then Ilya, through the hole in the ceiling. 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - VENTILATION DUCTS - NIGHT 
+
+Templar and Ilya crawl through the ventilation duct to a WIRE MESH OPENING. Templar rips off the wire mesh screen. Thirty feet below, in the recessed entrance to the nuclear situation facility, TWO NAVAL GUARDS are walking their shift. They walk around the corner. . . 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+We've got sixty seconds. Move. 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY - SIDE OF BUILDING 
+
+Templar crawls out of the ventilation duct, his feet finding a windowsill. Just three inches to stand on. Ilya crawls out, his feet finding the same windowsill. The two men are side-by-side. They begin inching across the sill to a STEEL-RUNGED ladder leading to the concrete floor below. Ilya's FOOT suddenly slips. His arms flail. He tries to keep his balance, but fails. Templar catches Ilya's wrist. A terrifying tableau: Ilya, hanging over the concrete floor below, held up only by Templar. If Templar let's go, Ilya's dead. They stare at each other... 
+
+And Templar pulls Ilya back. Ilya gets his footing. Catches his breath. Nods to Templar. They continue to the ladder and descend. 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY - PERIMETER WALLS 
+
+The naval guards walk their shift. 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY - NUCLEAR SITUATION FACILITY - NIGHT 
+
+Templar and Ilya hurry across the concrete floor to the entrance hatch. Templar kneels next to the RADIATION DETECTOR, unshouldering his backpack. Templar's anti-radiation suit has a goggled hood, which he dons. He then carefully lifts from his backpack a PLEXIGLASS RECTANGULAR BOX the size and shape of a shoe box, and a high-powered cordless BOLTDRIVER. The plexiglass box has two' compartments, one empty, the other filled with SMOKY GAS. Templar positions the plexiglass box over the radiation detector. He unpockets FOUR CONCRETE BOLTS CREWS and bolts the box tightly to the concrete floor with the cordless boltdriver. (The plexiglass box has a steel mount with holes for this purpose.) 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY - PERIMETER WALLS 
+
+The naval guards reach the end of the perimeter wall, then turn back toward the nuclear situation facility... 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY - NUCLEAR SITUATION FACILITY - NIGHT 
+
+Templar turns a knob on the plexiglass box; THE DOOR separating the two compartments within the box OPENS. Inside, THE SMOKY GAS releases. It wafts into the radiation detector's sensors.. ..Templar watches anxiously, talking to it... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Radon isn't plutonium but you don't know that... 
+
+The detector's EMERGENCY LIGHT begins BLINKING. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Boom, you just got nuked. 
+(unbolts the box) 
+Now it's two months later and the radiation's gone... 
+
+Templar rips the plexiglass box away from the detector, releasing the RADON GAS into the air. A moment passes. The EMERGENCY LIGHT turns off and, open sesame, THE CONCRETE HATCHDOORS separate, revealing STAIRS. Templar rips off his hood. He and Ilya descend. 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY - PERIMETER WALLS 
+
+The naval guards are nearing the rear of the Admiralty. Around the corner is the nuclear situation facility... 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - NUCLEAR SITUATION ROOM - DAY 
+
+Templar and Ilya race down. At the base of the stairs is the HATCHDOOR open/close switch. Templar throws the "close" switch. Above, the hatch doors start to close.. 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY - PERIMETER WALLS 
+
+The naval guards come around the corner just as... 
+
+... THE CONCRETE HATCH DOORS pull shut. 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - NUCLEAR SITUATION ROOM - DAY 
+
+Templar and Ilya move through the nuclear situation room to President Karpov's office. 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - NUCLEAR OPERATIONS OFFICE - DAY 
+
+Ilya and Templar enter. Ilya opens the credenza behind Karpov's desk, revealing ROWS OF VIDEOTAPE CASSETTES. Ilya rifles through the tapes. Templar kneels behind the T.V. and V.C.R. He switches the T.V.'s satellite link from "RECEIVE" to "TRANSMIT," and adjusts the satellite frequency. Ilya hands Templar a VIDEO CASSETTE TAPE. Templar throws it in the V.C.R. and hits a button. The V.C.R. transmits the tape over the satellite link to the - - 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY ROOF 
+
+-- Satellite DISH on the Admiralty's roof, which sends the transmission into outer space, where it bounces off a satellite and returns to -- 
+
+INT. ST. PETERSBURG - HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT 
+
+-- a V.C.R. in the hotel suite, where Frankie hovers over an array of sophisticated editing equipment. Tretiak, Romanov, and several of Tretiak's men stand to the side. Templar's transmission plays on a T.V. It's a tape of the Karpov/Romanov meeting: 
+
+KARPOV 
+Tell me what you want. 
+
+ROMANOV 
+A public debate, then new elections. We'll let the people decide. 
+
+KARPOV 
+(considers this) 
+Agreed. 
+
+Frankie hits "play" on A SECOND V.C.R.: Here, we see the Tretiak/Ivan Grachameeting, taped earlier: 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Upon what conditions would you accept a partnership? Be reasonable. 
+
+GRACHA 
+Fifty percent of the drug trade in St. Petersburg and Moscow. A third of prostitution and gambling. 
+
+Both V.C.R.'s are connected to a VIDEO MORPHING SYSTEM not unlike those used by filmmakers. Frankie hits some buttons on the morphing machine. On the first V.C.R. MONITOR - ROMANOV'S IMAGE is lifted from the videotape. It simply disappears. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - NUCLEAR SITUATIONS FACILITY - NIGHT 
+
+Templar and Ilya, waiting. Templar looks at his watch. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Come on, Frankie... 
+
+INT. ST. PETERSBURG - HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT 
+
+Frankie, finished, hits "play." We see an altered version of the Karpov/Romanov meeting. Romanov has been morphed out and Ivan Gracha bas been morphed in. ON THE SCREEN, it now looks like this: 
+
+PRESIDENT KARPOV 
+Tell me what you want. 
+
+GRACHA 
+Fifty percent of the drug trade in St. Petersburg and Moscow. A third of prostitution and gambling. 
+
+PRESIDENT KARPOV 
+Agreed. 
+
+President Karpov shakes Gracha's hand. 
+
+BACK TO SCENE 
+
+Frankie turns to Tretiak and Romanov. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+Should I send it? 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Not yet. 
+
+Romanov clicks on his cellular phone. 
+
+ROMANOV 
+General Radischev please. Yes, an emergency. 
+
+Frankie, alarmed, turns to Tretiak. 
+
+FRANKIE 
+What's he doing? Templar won't have time to get out of there... 
+
+Tretiak nods to ZERO who opens the door into the hall. TWO MOSCOW POLICEMEN enter. They stride over to Frankie, yank her up and handcuff her, dragging her off. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY - GARRISON - NIGHT 
+
+The Naval Guard in the garrison looks up with wide, startled eyes at -- 
+
+THREE RUSSIAN TANKS rumble up to the Admiralty, followed by a detachment of RUSSIAN ARMY SPECIAL FORCES. 
+
+NAVAL GUARD 
+(under his breath) 
+Mother of God... 
+
+The tanks smash through the gate, rolling into the Admiralty compound. The Special Forces Men walk silently past the startled Naval Guard, who rushes inside and hits a KLAXON HORN. 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - NAVAL HOSPITAL STORAGE ROOM - NIGHT 
+
+Harry and Remy, startled by the klaxon, look out the storage room window at...the tanks. 
+
+HARRY 
+Come on, Simon, move it... 
+
+EXT. ADMIRALTY - COMPOUND - NIGHT 
+
+THE TANKS roll into the Admiralty compound: a message blares from one of the tank's loudspeaker: 
+
+TANK LOUDSPEAKER (V. O .) 
+This is a matter of national security. I repeat, this is matter of national... 
+
+The tanks roll up to the nuclear situation facility. The Special Forces Men walk up to the open hatch. 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - NUCLEAR OPERATIONS OFFICE 
+
+Templar looks at his watch. He's waiting for Frankie to send back the morphed tape... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Come on, Frankie. 
+
+Suddenly the transmission starts coming across the satellite link, recording over the old tape. It's almost finished... 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - OPERATIONS ROOM - NIGHT 
+
+The Special Forces Men come down the stairs and across the room toward Karpov's office... 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - NUCLEAR BUNKER - KARPOV'S OFFICE 
+
+Templar yanks the MORPHED TAPE from the v.c.r and goes back to Karpov's credenza. He kneels by the drawer. Something fast and unexpected happens, like slight-of hand. Templar pulls A SECOND TAPE from inside his suit and puts it back in the drawer, sliding the morphed tape under the credenza. He stands, turns, and freezes... 
+
+ILYA (remember, he is dressed as a NAVAL M.P.) has his gun leveled on Templar. Ilya steps past Templar. Lifts the tape from the drawer - the tape from Templar's waistband. The door bursts open. The Special Forces men pile inside. The Special Forces MAJOR regards the situation. 
+
+ILYA 
+I found him over there. 
+(holds up the tape) 
+With this. 
+
+SPECIAL FORCES MAJOR 
+Give it to me. 
+(turns to his men) 
+Arrest President Karpov. 
+
+Four Special Forces Men race out. 
+
+INT. ADMIRALTY - NIGHT 
+
+President Karpov and his wife are sleeping. The door blasts open, throwing a beam of light on Karpov, who sits up, staring with a confused expression at -- 
+
+The SPECIAL FORCES MEN, glaring back at him. 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. DVORTSOVAYA PLOSCHAD - EARLY MORNING 
+
+It's 4 a.m., but revolution is in the air. Thousands of St. Petersburgers are pouring into the square. It is an anxious, surreal scene. RUSSIAN TANKS and ARMOURED VEHICLES surround the square. THE CROWD explodes with thunderous cheers as -- 
+
+MICHAEL ROMANOV, escorted by soldiers, comes through the crowd. GENERAL NICOLAI RADISCHEV, tall, stern, career Army man, follows with a contingent of junior officers. 
+
+Behind Radischev are TEMPLAR, FRANKIE and PRESIDENT KARPOV, under arrest, escorted by SPECIAL FORCES MEN. Romanov climbs atop a TANK TURRET. He looks out over the crowd. THE CROWD comes to a hush. Like Lenin's arrival at Finland Station. A history-in-the-making atmosphere. 
+
+ROMANOV 
+Friends, countrymen, I give you Major Antonin Scarpinin. 
+
+Major Scarpinin (the Special Forces Major), climbs atop the tank turret. 
+
+MAJOR SCARPININ 
+Twenty minutes ago a team of Russian Special Forces, acting on confidential information, raided President Karpov's office... 
+
+ACROSS THE SQUARE - TRETIAK and his men emerge from several limousines. As Tretiak moves through the crowd, IVAN GRACHA and twenty of his men approach. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Thank you for coming, Ivan, it is a great night for Russia. 
+
+IVAN GRACHA 
+I don't give a damn who's president. I'll make my money either way. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Maybe you should take greater interest in politics, Ivan Gracha. Tretiak and Gracha turn to Major Scarpinin, listening... 
+
+ON THE TANK TURRET - TEMPLAR and FRANKIE are shoved by soldiers up next to Scarpinin. Templar and Frankie exchange a steely glance. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SQUARE - REMY and HARRY come through the crowd. Seeing Templar and Frankie atop the tank, they stop in their tracks and watch... 
+
+MAJOR SCARPININ 
+This man, a known international thief, aided by this woman, a German operative, were arrested stealing a surveillance videotape from President Karpov's office. Scarpinin shows THE SEIZED TAPE to the crowd, then hands it to Romanov, who climbs atop the tank. TEMPLAR AND FRANKIE are pulled down from the turret and led away to TWO ARMY TRUCKS in the background. 
+
+ROMANOV 
+One month ago I said I would prove that those who call themselves our leaders... 
+(points at KARPOV) 
+.. .are in league with those who we know to be thieves, traitors, rapists of our once-great country. Do you want to see this proof? 
+
+THE CROWD 
+(out for blood) 
+YES! 
+
+Romanov hands the tape to Major Scarpinnin, who walks it over to an army communications TECHNICIAN standing by a portable V.C.R. linked to the HUGE SCREEN (seen in Romanov's earlier speech) above Romanov. ON THE TANK TURRET - ROMANOV points at the HUGE SCREEN. The crowd waits breathlessly. .:. 
+
+ON THE SCREEN - the tape begins playing, but we don't see Karpov's office. Shockingly, we see...Tretiak's. Simon Templar stashed the tape Frankie recorded of the Tretiak/Romanov meeting in Karpov's office. We see: 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Hail Michael Romanov, Czar of the Fatherland. How will that sound to the average Russian? 
+
+ROMANOV 
+The average Russian is a fool. 
+
+IN THE CROWD there is confusion, incredulity. ROMANOV'S eyes widen. TRETIAK and MEN stare in disbelief at the screen. IVAN GRACHA and his men slowly back away from Tretiak. 
+
+ROMANOV 
+He exists to be dominated. To partnership in government. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+No Romanov – to partnership in crime. 
+
+MICHAEL ROMANOV looks down at the crowd and... . ...500,000 RUSSIANS stare back at him in silence. 
+
+ROMANOV 
+That.. . that it is a fraud... 
+(turns to General Radischev) 
+I can explain. 
+
+RADISCHEV 
+(motions to MAJOR SCARPININ) 
+Arrest him. 
+
+Scarpinin and his Special Forces Men close in on Michael Romanov, the crusading reformer. ACROSS THE SQUARE - TRETIAK AND HIS MEN, huddled in a protective circle, stare into the angry faces of half a million Russian citizens. Total silence. A pin could drop. Tretiak and his men brandish their weapons. The intimidated crowd backs off. They move quickly toward their vehicles, the CROWD parting for them. 
+
+A DETACHMENT OF RUSSIAN MARINES comes through the crowd. They are heavily armed and ready for business. Tretiak aims and fires. A MARINE goes down. CIVILIANS SCREAM and dive away. pandemonium breaks out. TRETIAK'S MEN open fire. The MARINES return fire. A harrowing amount of ammunition is expended in seconds. Ten of Tretiak's men and many marines take hits. ZERO dies instantly. A brutal, close-quarters firefight. The outnumbered marines take the worst of it. Tretiak, Ilya, and Tretiak's surviving men run past the fallen marines to their vehicles. They pile into the first two cars and SQUEAL away, heading down the Nevsky Prospect. 
+
+ACROSS THE SQUARE - AT THE ARMY TRUCKS Panic and pandemonium. Soldiers running here and there amidst panicked civilians. A SPECIAL FORCES SERGEANT stands guard outside one of the trucks. A NAVAL PARAMEDIC, supporting a WOUNDED PARAMEDIC, staggers up. Harry Winston and Remy, of course. 
+
+HARRY WINSTON (RUSSIAN) 
+Sergeant, give me a hand. 
+
+The Sergeant gives Harry a hand. REMY stands up; whips the barrel of his gun across the Sergeant's head, who collapses onto Harry. Harry drags him off and – 
+
+REMY pulls the pin on the truck's doorlock. The door swings open. Templar hops down … 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+Get Frankie. 
+
+Remy and Harry hurry off to the other army truck. TEMPLAR gets in the truck, sliding behind the wheel. He starts the ignition and throws it in drive. The truck rumbles forward, hopping the curb. THE ARMY TRUCK ROARS out of the square, pursuing Tretiak's vehicles down the Nevsky Prospect as, behind him -- 
+
+- - the TANKS and ARMOURED VEHICLES also roar out of the square, followed by Russian Marines, Special Forces, and the enraged crowd. They too head down the Nevsky Prospect for the mafia headquarters... 
+
+CUT TO: 
+
+EXT. TRETIAK' S HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT 
+
+Tretiak's vehicles wheel into the circular drive. No guards are present. Tretiak and men exit the vehicles and race inside -- 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT 
+
+Tretiak and his men hurry in. No guards here, either. Tretiak's on his cellular phone. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Get the plane running, we'll be there in five minutes. 
+(to his men) 
+Clean out the safe. Burn the records in my office. 
+
+Tretiak and Ilya go quickly to the basement stairs. Tretiak's men go for the upstairs staircase. 
+
+INT. TRETIAK' S HEADQUARTERS - ZUBOV' S LAB 
+
+A T.V. shows a newscast from the Ploschad. Dr. Singh and Zubov, having seen everything that just transpired, are frantically destroying their data and records. Zubov is burning the cold fusion hardcopies in a waste basket. Dr. Singh is deleting the computer files. Tretiak and Ilya come down the stairs. Zubov pops a 3 1/4 disk from the computer. 
+
+ZUBOV 
+We reduced the fusion formula to one disk and destroyed everything else. 
+
+TRETIAK 
+Good. 
+
+And Tretiak draws his gun. As does Ilya. Zubov and Dr. Singh stare at the guns. 
+
+DR. SINGH 
+What.. . what are you...? 
+
+Tretiak shoots Zubov. Ilya shoots Dr. Singh. The two scientists fall, dead. So much for honor among thieves. Then Tretiak wheels on Ilya, his gun coming up. Yes, so much for honor among thieves... Tretiak freezes, startled. Because Ilya has his gun leveled on Tretiak. Tretiak tries to speak. Words won't form. Ilya FIRES. Tretiak pitches over backward. Ilya walks past Tretiak's corpse, yanks the computer disk from Zubov's lifeless hand and turns -- 
+
+TEMPLAR stands across the lab, gun in hand. Ilya's eyes dart around the room. 
+
+ILYA 
+We can share this, Templar. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+We don't own it. 
+
+ILYA 
+Who does? 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+(eyes glinting) 
+The Jillian St. Thomas Foundation. 
+
+There is a sudden shrill WHISTLING SOUND. Templar and Ilya look around. 
+
+ILYA 
+Don't be a fool. 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+I'm a fool? You thought you could get away with murder. Used curare didn't you? Induces blood-clotting. 
+
+Templar clicks back the hammer... 
+
+ILYA 
+What do you want? 
+
+The WHISTLING is louder. Anyone with military service knows the sound of incoming ordnance... 
+
+TEMPLAR 
+What do I want? I want.. . revenge. Now give me the disk. 
+
+There's a massive EXPLOSION above. The laboratory is ROCKED. A SHELF OF CHEMICALS teeters over, falling on TEMPLAR, knocking the gun from his hand. The beakers of chemicals SMASH all around Templar Ilya sprints for the stairs. Templar grabs for his gun, lying in a puddle of CARBOLIC ACID. He grabs the gun; the acid burns his flesh. He drops it and races for the stairs. 
+
+INT. TRETIAK' S HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT 
+
+Ilya emerges from the basement stairwell and races for the front door. Templar comes up; sprints after Ilya. 
+
+Ilya, with Templar hotly behind, gets to the front door, flings it open, and... freezes. And Ilya and Templar are suddenly staring down the barrel of -- 
+
+A RUSSIAN TANK. Just sitting there in the mansion courtyard. Russian soldiers behind it. Ilya and Templar duck. The tank FIRES. The MISSILE PROJECTILE explodes from the tank's barrel, flies through the mansion's front door over Ilya and Templar's heads... 
+
+... wings across the interior of the mansion... 
+
+.. . and SLAMS into the rear wall of the mansion, exploding, blowing the wall down, revealing ANOTHER TANK at the mansion's rear, lumbering toward it. Ilya slams the door shut and whirls on Templar. They trade blows. Ilya has the better of this. He shoves Templar aside and races back through the foyer. Templar recovers and races after Ilya, tackling him in the middle of the floor. They roll on the floor, trading vicious blow after vicious blow, when --- 
+
+-- A TANK SHELL RIPS into the mansion's domed cupola. Templar and Ilya look up in horror as -- 
+
+THE 20 FOOT DIAMETER CRYSTAL CHANDELIER descends. Templar and Ilya dive away. The chandelier CRASHES spectacularly in the middle of the foyer, exploding like a glass grenade. A HUGE PIECE OF CRYSTAL hits Templar in the side of the head, opening a gash, dazing him. There's no place to go. Except up. Ilya races for the staircase. Templar recovers and takes up the chase again. Up the staircase they go. A SECOND TANK MISSLE slams into the dome, imploding it. CHUNKS OF STONE and MASONRY fall on Ilya and Templar, knocking them both backward. 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S MANSION - ZUBOV'S LAB - NIGHT 
+
+The lab is rocked by the explosions. RACKS OF CHEMICALS in beakers fall to the floor, SMASHING. The chemicals begin to ooze together. A chemical reaction is occurring. The mixing chemicals begin emitting smoke. 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S MANSION - CORRIDOR/TRETIAK'S OFFICE 
+
+Tretiak's men are at the windows with automatic weapons, firing on the army below. Two men drag a crate into the office. They open it, revealing an – 
+
+ANTI-TANK GRENADE LAUNCHER. They pull it from the crate and set up the tri-pod... 
+
+ON THE STAIRCASE - TEMPLAR AND ILYA continue up the staircase. Ilya reaches the mezzanine. He climbs atop the balustrade and jumps to the lip of the crater in the dome. He pulls himself up. Templar repeats Ilya's actions: climbs atop the balustrade and jumps to the lip of the crater. As he pulls himself up... ILYA appears. He compresses his foot against Templar's knuckles. Templar grimaces. There's no way out this time. There's a burst of ORANGE LIGHT as A TANK SHELL explodes on the roof, knocking Ilya off his feet, allowing -- 
+
+-- Templar to pull himself up to the roof. 
+
+EXT. TRETIAK' S HEADQUARTERS / NEVSKY PROSPECT - NIGHT 
+
+The tanks continue firing. Russian Marines fire round after round into the mansion. Tretiak's men inside return the fire. Harry, Remy and Frankie run up, looking with alarm at the vicious firefight. Realizing Templar is within... 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S OFFICE 
+
+The anti-tank grenade launcher is operational. One of Tretiak's men loads, the other fires, and -- 
+
+EXT. TRETIAK'S MANSION - NIGHT 
+
+-- an ANTI-TANK SHELL launches from the window and hits the tank in the courtyard, blowing its turret off. Tretiak's men fire assault rifles from the windows. No one's surrendering. It's a fight to the death... 
+
+EXT. TRETIAK'S MANSION - ROOF - NIGHT 
+
+Templar and Ilya, on the mansion's roof. The view is mind-boggling: the nighttime St. Petersburg skyline looming in the background and, below, three Russian tanks firing shell after shell into the mansion. Across the exploding, crumbling rooftop, Ilya and Templar go. A TANK SHELL explodes in front of Ilya. Ilya falls, concussed by the shell. Templar dives upon him, wrenching the COMPUTER DISK from Ilya's pocket. Ilya slams his forearm into Templar's head. The disk flies from Templar's hand, scuttles across the roof shingles, falling through a crater... 
+
+... it flutters to the mansion floor, 50 feet down. They get to their feet, circling each other. Their footing is not trustworthy, like ice in Spring. Tank shells SLAM into the mansion's upper architecture and roof. A shell hits the mansion's east wall, detaching the DRAIN PIPE running up it. Ilya draws a SWITCHBLADE. Backing Templar up. Templar's at the very edge of the building. There's no place to go. Templar's feet are unsteady. Because the cornice of the building is crumbling beneath him. ... 
+
+And Templar falls. He looks over his shoulder, his wrists turning, hands opening, and... 
+
+... Templar catches the detached DRAINPIPE. The drainpipe sags under Templar's weight, bending... And it stops. Templar hangs there, bobbing up and down above the alley between the mansion and the adjacent building, fifty feet below. Ilya turns back. He's going after the disk. Ilya jumps through the crater to the mezzanine and races down the staircase...while in the basement... 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S MANSION - ZUBOV'S LAB - NIGHT 
+
+Another whole shelf of chemicals falls, smashing. The chemicals continue to mix... 
+
+EXT. TRETIAK'S HEADQUARTERS - ROOF 
+
+Templar dangles from the drainpipe. KA-CHUNG. It gives. It gives again. The drainpipe is about to break. Templar looks down into the flames and demolition below... 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S MANSION - STAIRCASE/FOYER - NIGHT 
+
+Ilya races reaches the foyer. The building is imploding, chunks of stone falling all around him. Ilya's eyes are wild. He wants that disk... 
+
+Ilya gets to it. Clutches it. It's finally in his hands. He goes for the staircase. ... 
+
+INT. TRETIAK'S MANSION - ZUBOV'S LAB - NIGHT 
+
+The chemicals are steaming now, in a froth, becoming more and more and more volatile... 
+
+EXT. TRETIAK'S MANSION - NIGHT 
+
+Templar, dangling from the drainpipe, looks wildly around for an escape. If he could just get to that adjacent building... 
+
+It's too far. And his hands are slipping... 
+
+Then, from the mansion's basement, the very guts of the building, the chemicals in the lab detonate and -- 
+
+THE MANSION EXPLODES FROM WITHIN. 
+
+INT. TRETIAK' S MANS ION - STAIRCASE - NIGHT 
+
+Ilya's eyes bulge in terror as the staircase collapses under him. Ilya falls, engulfed in flame, still clutching the cold fusion disk. 
+
+EXT. TRETIAK'S MANSION - NIGHT 
+
+The drainpipe fully detaches from the collapsing mansion wall. It falls away from the mansion, with Templar still holding on... 
+
+Templar releases from the drainpipe and catches the lip of the roof cornice of the adjacent building. Templar pulls himself up and looks back at... 
+
+TRETIAK'S MANSION. The entire building comes apart at the seams. It crashes into a heap of rubble. 
+
+FADE OUT: 
+
+FADE IN: 
+
+EXT. MANHATTAN - REESTABLISHING - DAY 
+
+The skyline of the great city as we SUPER: NEW YORK CITY - ONE MONTH LATER 
+
+EXT. ROCKEFELLER CENTER - ESTABLISHING 
+
+It's mid-day. People coming and going. 
+
+INT. ROCKEFELLER - AN OFFICE 
+
+CAMERA PANS past the office door, stenciled -- ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION - CHARITABLE DONATIONS -- to a huge desk. Two middle-aged LADIES are going through a four-foot stack of MAILED DONATIONS. They are LUCY and DELORES. 
+
+LUCY 
+Here's one from that guy who owns most of Brooklyn. Ten bucks again. 
+
+LUCY 
+I'll alert the media. Guy's richer than god... 
+
+DELORES 
+(reads a check) 
+Hey, Mr. Anderson at the Met gave a thousand this year. Lucy? 
+
+But LUCY'S not listening. She's staring at a check. Her eyes are like hubcaps. 
+
+LUCY 
+Oh my goodness gracious... 
+(looks at Delores) 
+Get Mr. Thomas, Delores. 
+
+DELORES 
+What is it? 
+
+LUCY 
+A check for fifty... 
+(gulps) 
+...million dollars. 
+
+Delores gets up, goes to Lucy, who's hyperventilating. Lucy hands her the check. Delores starts hyperventilating. Lucy reads the letter: 
+
+LUCY 
+It's from a "Jillian St. Thomas Foundation," for the benefit of scientific research. 
+
+DELORES 
+Never heard of it. Lemme see. 
+
+Lucy hands Delores the letter. INSERT - THE LETTER is printed under a letterhead with a logo design: the stick figure man with halo, the same design as the tiepin Jillian gave Templar. 
+
+BACK TO SCENE 
+
+Delores looks at Lucy. Lucy looks back. And over this we hear a voice. We've heard it before... 
+
+JILLIAN ST. THOMAS 
+If you're afraid of the dark, remember the night rainbow... 
+
+EXT. MANHATTAN - BROOKLYN BRIDGE - SUNSET 
+
+A lone man stands on the bridge. The spires of Manhattan rise above him. The sun is setting... 
+
+JILLIAN ST. THOMAS 
+If tomorrow morning the sky falls, have clouds for breakfast. If the birds forget their songs, listen to the wind... 
+
+CAMERA closes in on the hard, defiant face of a man who has changed a great deal in these months. 
+
+JILLIAN ST. THOMAS 
+And if between right and wrong... And Simon Templar joins Jillian here, speaking with her soul... 
+
+SIMON AND JILLIAN 
+...do what is right. 
+
+And Simon whispers to himself... 
+
+SIMON 
+I will do what is right. 
+
+PULLING BACK, we see that the sunset has cast rays through the bridgework. And we can't be certain, it is vague, but the rays filtering through the bridgework seem to cast a halo over Templar's head. He is, now, The Saint. 
+
+THE END 
+
+to be continued... 
diff --git a/unformated_scripts/Script_Save the Last Dance.txt b/unformated_scripts/Script_Save the Last Dance.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..78a872c83e4772ace966717559ef592044eb6d5f
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@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+                      SAVE THE LAST DANCE                               by                         Duane G. Adler                          revisions by                        Toni-Ann Johnson                      Current Revisions by                    Cheryl Edwards (6/11/99)REWRITE -- FIRST SET OF REVISIONSCort/Madden CompanyParamount Studios5555 Melrose AvenueChevalier Building, Ste. 203Los Angeles, CaliforniaJUNE 11, 1999    FADE IN:1   EXT. PENNSYLVANIA COUNTRYSIDE - LONG SHOT - DAY            1    of an empty stretch of land parted down the middle by    railroad tracks. An Amtrak Commuter crests the horizon,    heads TOWARD us. As it gets CLOSER, we GO IN TIGHTER to    see --2   FACE OF SARA JOHNSON                                       2    17, pressed at one of its windows.3   REVERSE ANGLE - REFLECTION IN TRAIN'S WINDOW -             3    SARA'S FACE    distant and lovely and sad. SUPERIMPOSED against an    endless stream of sky and trees. The train speeds up and    SARA's face flies by, disappearing FROM FRAME.4   INT. AMTRAK TRAIN - MOVING - DUSK                          4    A zaftig BLACK WOMAN clumsily negotiates the aisle.    Stops at the first of a few empty seats left in the car.                             WOMAN               This seat taken?    ANGLE ON SARA    looking up, around. She shakes her head, clears her    backpack and magazines from the seat beside her. The    Woman drops down, settles in. A long silence. The Woman    glances at the American Ballet magazine on Sara's lap.    Tries to make conversation.                             WOMAN               I love ballet. Never had the body               for it. Do you dance?    Sara folds her arms, turns away mumbling under breath.                            SARA               Used to.    Sara gazes out the window. The world outside begins to    dissolve melting into images from another time, another    place. Her eyes stare blankly OUT AT us, blinded by her    memories.                                                            2.5   FLASHBACK - INT. AUDITORIUM - KINDERGARTEN RECITAL - DAY 5    A stage full of five-year-olds in tights and tutus. A    little girl performs center stage. She's remarkably    poised, remarkably good. CAMERA PANS TO the audience. A    woman in an Irish clover necklace springs to her feet    clapping loudly. The little girl's eyes catch the glint    of the necklace's gold. Mommy. She flashes a megawatt    smile, ends the dance with an unscripted bow, as we...                                                   DISSOLVE TO:6   INT. BALLET CLASS - EVENING (FIVE YEARS LATER)                6    Young Sara, lithe and earnest, dances. A budding beauty    blessed with long limbs and natural grace, she makes it    look easy. Gliding past the envious stares of    classmates, she scans the hall for a glint of gold.    Finds it in the back of the room where her mother, Glynn,    stands watching her. Their eyes connect with mutual    smiles and those smiles CARRY us TO:7   INT. SARA'S EXETER HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY                  7    A pair of flexing feet in ballet slippers on a hardwood    floor. PAN UP and PULL BACK to reveal Sara at 17,    dancing in the space opened up by cornered furniture and    rolled up rugs. As Glynn looks on, Sara completes the    routine with a pirouette. She spins out of it with a    preoccupied frown on her face.                            GLYNN               What's the matter?   It was good.                            SARA                    (checks her                     stance in mirror)             Everybody there's going to be             good, Mom. I have to be better.                    (then, beginning                     again)             My knees still knock when I do my             free form. Did you notice that?                           GLYNN             I noticed that it was fine.                           SARA                    (escalating                     frustration)             It's not supposed to be fine.             It's supposed to be special.                           (MORE)                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                              3.7   CONTINUED:                                                     7                           SARA (CONT'D)             And it just lays there, it doesn't             do anything. I bet they notice             that. That it doesn't do             anything. That I don't do             anything special enough to get in.                                GLYNN                 Sara.   You'll get in.                               SARA                 Don't lie because you love me.     My                 free form sucks.                               GLYNN                        (giving up that                         battle)                 I've got something for you. Come                 on. Sit. Mouth closed, eyes                 shut. No pouting. No peeking.    Sara flops down on the sofa beside her. Closes her eyes.    Glynn removes the clover chain from her neck, fastens it    around Sara's.                               GLYNN                 For luck tomorrow. Not that                 you'll need it. You dance like an                 angel.    The necklace is Glynn's talisman. Sara knows what it    means to her. She throws her arms around Glynn, holds    onto her tightly.                               SARA                 I love the necklace but you're                 still the best luck I'll ever                 have.    Glynn, not one to choke up, chokes up.        They cling to    each other.8   INT. AMTRAK TRAIN (MOVING) - ON SARA - DUSK (PRESENT)          8    In the blink of her eyes, the memory fades. She pulls    the window shade, shifts in her seat. Her fingers travel    to the clover necklace at her throat. Linger. The Woman    regards her.                               WOMAN                 Nice... the necklace.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                               4.8    CONTINUED:                                                     8                                SARA                  Oh. It's a good luck charm.                  Doesn't always work.     The Woman's wearing a crucifix.     She indicates it.     Smiles.                                 WOMAN                  Mine either.9    FLASHBACK - INT./EXT. BUS/RURAL ROAD - MORNING                 9     A sea of young white faces. A jock entertains the troops     with two straws up his nose. Sara sits next to her best     friend, LINDSAY, 17. Lindsay, chomping on a wad of gum,     turns from the jock to Sara with a bubble in bloom,     bursts it with her teeth.                                LINDSAY                  Wanna pray? You're leaving for                  Philly after first period. I                  won't see you. We should pray.                                SARA                         (stupefied)                  Lindsay... no. Not here.     Lindsay grabs Sara's hand and bows her head.      Sara,     embarrassed, aligns her head with Lindsay's.      She's     praying nobody sees them.                                LINDSAY                  'Awesome, Father, S.J. auditions                  today. She's ready for them.                  Please make them ready for her.                  Even if she screws up. Thanks.                  Amen.'                         (sure shrug; another                          bubble)                  God's gotten me outta all kinds of                  shit. He oughta be able to get                  you into Juilliard.10   EXT. EXETER SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL - LATER THAT MORNING            10     Sara exits with a bouquet of roses, takes the steps two     and three at a time. Glynn's waiting in a flower van at     the curb.                                                             5.11   INT./EXT. FLOWER VAN (DRIVING)/RESIDENTIAL STREETS           11     Sara and Glynn. The back of the van is filled with     flower arrangements. Glynn takes note of the roses in     Sara's hand.                             GLYNN               Where'd you get those, traitor?                             SARA               Ellison -- Mr. Ellison. He               actually told me to break a leg.                             GLYNN               Roses from the principal, even               droopy, out-of-season yellow ones,               is beyond cool, kiddo. You're               definitely movin' up in the world.     Sara looks through the windshield.   It's starting to     drizzle.                             SARA               Know what would be great? If you               didn't drop me off at the bus               station. If we just kept going               until we get to Philly.                             GLYNN               Ruin everyone's Valentine's Day               and not have a shop when I get               back. That's your definition of               great? I can see the headline               now: 'Starving Artist Kills Unfit               Mother.'                      (gently)               Sweetheart, we talked about this.               I'll get there as soon as I can.     Sara looks at her and Glynn instantly feels guilty.                             SARA               Right. This is the hardest, most               important day of my life and all               you can do is get there as soon as               you can. Thanks, Mom.12   EXT. GREYHOUND BUS STATION (READING, PA) -                   12     CONTINUOUS ACTION     Glynn pulls the van into the parking lot. Smiles at     Sara. Sara doesn't smile back. She's too angry. Too     scared.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             6.12   CONTINUED:                                                   12                                SARA                  So I guess I'll see you later.                                GLYNN                  I won't miss your audition, Sara.                  I'll be there, okay? If I have to                  swim the Susquehanna, I'll be                  there.                                 SARA                  Swim?   You can't swim, Mom.                             GLYNN               I'll float then.     A moment. They look at each other. Sara finally smiles.     They embrace and she hops out the van. Glynn calls after     her.                             GLYNN               Hey... Happy Valentine's Day.13   INT. AMTRAK TRAIN (MOVING) - ON SARA - NIGHT (PRESENT)       13     Feigning sleep. From the corner of her eye, she watches     the Woman beside her flip through the American Ballet     Magazine. We move back in time through their pages.14   FLASHBACK - INT. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - WAITING        14     ROOM - DAY     Sara, in costume, flips through a magazine. She taps her     toes, checks her watch. A phalanx of parents and dancers     are clustered around a sign posted on the door:     JUILLIARD SCHOOL OF DANCE AUDITIONS. Sara stares at it.     Re-checks her watch. An official with a clipboard walks     toward her. Where's her mother?15   INT. UNIV. OF PENNSYLVANIA - STAGE/AUDITORIUM -              15     MOMENTS LATER     Sara on stage. She looks past a row of Juilliard JUDGES     into the audience. No glint of gold. MOZART'S "Elvira     Madigan" (Andante) CUES UP. Sara begins her technical.     She transforms her nervousness into a notable, powerful     performance. The Judges are mutely but clearly     impressed. One of them looks directly at her.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                          7.15   CONTINUED:                                                  15                                JUDGE                  Is there anything you'd like to                  share about your free form before                  you begin? A motif... a theme?     Sara's stomach drops to her feet. Her mother's not there     and her free form sucks and she doesn't have a theme.     Shit!                                SARA                  Well, it's um, pretty self-                  explanatory. The theme.     The Judges exchange a look. New MUSIC CUES UP. Some     driving, CLASSICAL NUMBER.   Sara tries to elevate her     body above the music, but she's nervous, unsure on her     feet. She keeps glancing in the back of the auditorium     for Glynn. Searching for her port in the storm.     Wondering where her mother is and knowing how badly she's     dancing. Knowing but somehow continuing, stumbling,     recovering, and finally finishing with those damned     knocking knees. The Judges, eyes like stones,     perfunctorily nod. Their equivalent of maybe next year.     Sara chokes two words out...                                SARA                  Thank you.16   INT. AUDITORIUM - BACKSTAGE     ... Rushes backstage. Fighting tears, she hurries past     waiting dancers angrily unhooking the clover leaf chain     from her neck.17   INT. DRESSING ROOM - DAY                                    17     Sara in street clothes. Cramming her ballet gear into a     duffle bag when the official (of the clipboard)     approaches her. She touches Sara's shoulder gently.     Says something we do not hear.18   INT. OFFICE (UNIV. OF PA) - CONTINUOUS ACTION               18     SHOOTING THROUGH office window. A state trooper in a     rain slicker offers Sara a chair. She sits. The trooper     talks. As he does, dread and disbelief spread over     Sara's face. She shakes her head, attempts to stand.     Her legs buckle beneath her. The trooper and the     official catch her as she falls.                                                          8.19   EXT. AMTRAK TRAIN - NIGHT (PRESENT)                         19     A glowing moon in a clear, star-specked sky.20   TRAIN                                                      20     CHUGS toward Baltimore's Penn Station, which is visible     in the f.g.21   EXT. PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE - INTERCUT - MORNING             21     A torrential rain. A flower van -- Glynn's van -- caught     in it. SHOOTING THROUGH the driver's side window, we can     see Glynn's face, intense and determined, squinting     through the downpour.22   TRAIN'S WHEELS                                              22     GRINDING.23   VAN'S WHEELS                                                23     Hydro-planing, slip-sliding.24   TRAIN                                                       24     It's SQUEAL OF BRAKES as it maneuvers into the station.25   VAN                                                         25     The SQUEAL of its BRAKES as Glynn loses control and     smashes into the back of the eighteen wheeler in front of     her.26   TRAIN                                                       26     across space and time, the SOUND OF SQUEALING BRAKES     commingle as the Amtrak Commuter pulls into Penn Station.27   INT. AMTRAK TRAIN - NIGHT                                   27     Sara. Holding her breath, clenching her fists. Waiting     for the sound to stop, oblivious to the stare of the     Woman beside her.                                                            9.28   EXT. PENN STATION (BALTIMORE) - PLATFORM - NIGHT            28     ROY JOHNSON, 37, a handsome, laconic man of uncertain     style, takes a last drag from his cigarette, drops and     stomps it. Passengers disembark from the train. Roy     searches their faces. They all look like strangers.29   EXT. AMTRAK TRAIN - SAME TIME                               29     A conductor helps Sara to the platform. Steam from the     train's engine is sucked into the fog. She walks through     it. Sees him. They see each other. Roy weakly waves.     Walks toward her. Sara watches his bow legs stiffly     advance. She wants to run. Can't.                                 ROY                Hi.                                 SARA                Hi.                              ROY                Have a good ride?     Sara self-consciously tucks her hair behind an ear.                              SARA                Slept through most of it.     A beat.   Roy looks at her.                              ROY                Guess you got stuff.    Baggage.                                 SARA                Two suitcases.     One big one.                              ROY                Looks like they're unloading.                -- You hungry? We can stop                somewhere if you want.                              SARA                I'm kinda tired.     Roy takes her backpack.     They walk.30   INT./EXT. ROY'S PICKUP/STREET - SARA AND ROY - NIGHT        30     A heavy silence. Roy starts to turn on the radio, stops     himself. He lights a cigarette, cracks the window.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                           10.30   CONTINUED:                                                  30                                ROY                  I didn't like leavin' you so soon                  after the funeral. I wouldn't                  have if you hadn't asked me to go.                  I mean, I could've hung around.                  Helped you say good-bye. That's                  what you were doin', wasn't it?                                  SARA                  Uh-huh.     Roy takes another drag, nods thoughtfully to himself.                                ROY                  That's what I figured you were                  doin'.     Sara peers out    the windshield. Baltimore City. The     neighborhoods    are changing. The streets are getting     progressively    gritty and dirty. It surprises her. It     worries her.     Roy worries her.                                ROY                  Look. Sara. I feel bad too. I                  mean, we both got hit by the same                  bolt of lightning. You don't have                  to pretend this is easy.                         (off nothing)                  Everything's upside down right now                  but don't worry. We'll work this                  bachelor-father thing out. Hell,                  it ain't like we're movin' in with                  strangers. We got a pretty good                  idea about each other, right?     Sara looks askance at him, her expression indicating     otherwise. A moment. Roy's too new at this to hold up     both ends of the conversation. The silence deepens. Roy     switches on the radio.31   EXT. BOND STREET (SOUTH BALTIMORE) - NIGHT                  31     Roy's truck pulls up to a string of disrepaired rowhouses     with pristine white marble steps. He and Sara each lug a     suitcase from the truck. Her eyes wander up and down the     street. They're on the fringes of a ghetto. A few     people roost on their stoops, hang on the corners. All     of them have black faces.                                SARA                  Thought you were moving to Fells                  Point.                                  ROY                  Fell through.                                                             11.32   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT                                  32     The second floor of a two-story house has been turned     into a one-bedroom studio. A partition separates the     living area from the bedroom. Sara walks past a     collection of saxophones and several framed pictures of     herself. Aside from the saxophones and the pictures,     there's hardly any furniture. Roy lights a cigarette.                             ROY               Not much of what you're used to.               But the water's hot and the fridge               is full. And I made room in the               closets for you. Girl's gotta               have closets, right? You even get               your own bed. I'll crash on the               couch.                             SARA               You bought a bed?                             ROY                      (slight bow)               Pardon me. Your own futon.     Check               it out. On the other side.     Suitcase in hand, Sara walks around the partition. Her     "room" is an old futon, an ancient set of drawers. She     stands in the middle of nothing, wanting something to do.     She removes framed photos of Glynn from her backpack,     places them around the room.33   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - LIVING AREA - MINUTES LATER            33     Sara walks in.   Doesn't see Roy.   Calls out.                             SARA               Do you have a phone?     Roy emerges from the bathroom drying his hands, walks     past her.                             ROY               Of course I have a phone.                             SARA               You didn't at the last place.    The               last place I saw anyway.                             ROY               Things change. You've changed.               You grew up on me. Overnight.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                              12.33   CONTINUED:                                                     33                                SARA                  Over the summer. You blew me off                  for some gig on the road,                  remember?                         (before he can                          respond)                  Can I call Lindsay? Let her know                  I got here alright.                            ROY              Are you alright, Sara?                     (off the scowl                      in her eyes)              I just wanna know how you feel.                               SARA              I feel fine.     I feel like calling              Lindsay.     She's a wall. A brick wall. Roy's head aches from     knocking into it. He goes to the couch. Drops down.     Mutters at her.                                ROY                  Phone's in the kitchen.   Knock                  yourself out.34   INT. SARA'S ROOM/BATHROOM - LATE THAT NIGHT                    34     Sara lying in bed... wide awake... her stiff upper lip     quivering. She slips out of bed, creeps on tiptoes into     the bathroom. Closes the door oh-so-quietly behind her.     She flips on the light, crosses to the sink, turns on     both faucets. As the water flows and the PIPES RATTLE,     the brick wall shatters. Sara crumbles to the floor.     Buries her head in her arms. Cries like a baby.35   INT./EXT. ROY'S PICKUP (SOUTH BALTIMORE) -                     35     NEXT MORNING     Roy and Sara. Barreling through the south end, tongues     stuck in gear. A Pop-Tart grows cold on Sara's lap.     Then, finally.                                SARA                  I can take the school bus.                  Tomorrow.                               ROY                  School bus? That's the other Oz,                  Dorothy. Patterson kids ride the                  city Metro. Or walk.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                             13.35   CONTINUED:                                                     35                                SARA                  Well, I know how to do both.                                ROY                  Not around here you don't. Not                  until you get the hang of things.     Sara looks out the window at a full-fledged ghetto. It's     all to obvious, the hang of things. Roy glances over at     her.                                ROY                  I called about your transcripts.                  You're all set. Patterson's got a                  pretty good Humanities program.                  No ballet, but we can find a                  studio someplace close for after                  school --                             SARA               -- I don't think I'll have time.               I have to study, I'll be busy.     Roy can hear the lie behind her words.      The pain too. He     lights a cigarette, cracks the window.      He wants to say     the right thing.                             ROY               Good idea. Take a break. Not too               long a break though. You're a               dancer. You should dance. Stay               on top of your art.                             SARA               Like you stay on top of yours?                             ROY               Maybe I ain't playin' no grand               ballrooms or fancy jazz festivals,               but I'm playing.                             SARA                      (unconvincingly)               I didn't mean it like that.                                ROY                  S'alright. Hell, I wish I had                  half the time I wasted gettin'                  wasted. But those days are over.                  You'll see. I got my life on                  track.                                                            14.36   EXT. PATTERSON HIGH SCHOOL (SOUTH BALTIMORE) - MORNING       36     Formidably large and surprisingly well-kept, Patterson     serves the nearby, predominantly black O'Donnell Heights     Projects. Kids malinger outside on the front steps and     lawn.37   FROM ANOTHER ANGLE - PARKING LOT                             37     Roy's pickup pulls in. Roy CUTS the ENGINE. Sara looks     at him. Or through him. She won't let his eyes connect.                             SARA               You don't have to go in with me.               Since I'm all set. I mean, I have               done this before. Gone to school.               I'll be fine. I am fine. Really.     Roy regards her with weary resignation.   Sara climbs out.     He calls after her.                             ROY               -- Pick you up. Three-thirty.                              SARA                       (over a shoulder)               Yeah.   Sure. Whatever.38   EXT./INT. PATTERSON HIGH - MORNING                           38     Sara moving TOWARD us PAST a floating mosaic of black     faces. This is a near out-of-body experience for her.     She walks like a well-rehearsed soldier in a stiff     straight line to the school's entrance. It's clogged     with students. Inside the doorway, two security guards     flank a metal detector. When it's Sara's turn to pass     through, one of the guards grabs her backpack and     wordlessly begins searching it. He hands it back to her     on the other side of the detector where Sara stands     obtusely and mutely amazed.39   INT. ADMINISTRATION BUILDING - MORNING                       39     THROUGH a window, Sara seated across from an     ADMINISTRATOR. We PUSH IN.                             ADMINISTRATOR               ... It's no fun being uprooted in               the middle of your senior year.               We realize that and we'll do what               we can to help with the               transition.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                                 15.39   CONTINUED:                                                        39     There's a KNOCK at door. MRS. GWYNN, the Guidance     Counselor, steps in. The Administrator introduces her to     Sara. Sara regards Mrs. Gwynn with polite petulance.                                   MRS. GWYNN                  Any questions?     Concerns?                                   SARA                  About school?     No.   Not really.                                MRS. GWYNN                  Not even about Baltimore?                                SARA                  I'm not gonna be here that long.                  Besides, it's just a city, right?     Mrs. Gwynn looks at her squarely. But the brick wall     doesn't move an inch. Sara feels too safe behind it.40   INT. HALLWAY - MORNING                                            40     Clutching new textbooks, Sara starts down the hallway.     She's hoping nothing in her face reveals the rising panic     in her heart. She's surrounded. Alone. Every inch of     her feels afraid.     SARA'S POV     as she MOVES FORWARD. A crush of KIDS -- mostly black     with a sprinkling of white and Latino faces thrown in.     Kids like her. Only they don't dress like her. They     dress like commercials for Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin     Klein. And they definitely don't sound like her...                                TEENAGER #1                  Yo, man, check it, the                  muthafuckers wasn't playin', they                  was jackin'. Ten rides in five                  days. For real.                                TEENAGER #2                  Fools got caught for real too.                  Ten years in five days. Stall                  that shit!     Sara walks on, taking this netherworld in, eavesdropping     on other conversations. It's not just the words. It's     how they say them: Loud. Matter-of-fact. Cool. A     cooler cool. Like they breathe static electricity.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                               16.40   CONTINUED:                                                      40     That's it! The entire student body is energized. Sara's     thoughts are jolted by two black girls squeezing by. One     clips Sara's elbow as she passes, knocking it against a     locker. They keep going as if they don't see her. No     one seems to see her. Welcome to mass avoidance at     Patterson High.41   AT SARA'S LOCKER       - LATER                                  41     Sara's back is to a black girl striding purposefully     toward her. CHENILLE -- tall, pretty, with about a     million braids in her hair -- swoops Sara's backpack from     the floor. Thrusts it at her.                                CHENILLE                  That's how easy it is to give to                  charity around here. Don't put                  your shit on the floor.                                   SARA                            (cautions a smile)                  Thanks.     She closes her locker, starts to say something else.     She's eager to make a friend. One friend. But     Chenille's gone.42   ANOTHER CORRIDOR                                                42     Sara memorizes the schedule of classes in her hand. She     passes a clutch of students who surround a kid in the     middle like a horseshoe. Sara gets a fleeting glimpse of     him.     SARA'S POV - PATRICK REYNOLDS     Eye candy: Tall. Dark. Heartbreakingly handsome. If     Patterson were a monarchy, Patrick would be king. He     sure holds court like one, turning on his dazzling smile     and abundant charm for the crowd. One gets the sense     that the All-American Home Boy is almost as enraptured     with himself as the sycophants around him.43   INT. JURASINSKI'S CLASSROOM - MORNING                           43     The room's seen better days. Probably better teachers     too. MR. JURASINSKI looks out at his American Literature     class and sees nothing but tenure.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                                17.43   CONTINUED:                                                       43                                   JURASINSKI                  In Cold Blood    represents a turning                  point in our    country's literature.                  Take the cap    off and tell me why                  that is, Mr.    Ricard.     WIDER to include the class. FAVOR "SNOOKIE" RICARD. We     recognize him from the hallway kids wrapped up in     Patrick. Snookie, a flagrant Patrick wannabe, sits next     to him now. He removes his baseball cap. Thoughtfully     twirls it on a finger. He truly believes he's being     profound.                                 SNOOKIE                  Gay rights. That Compote dude who                  wrote it? Sweet tooth. Straight-                  up fag, Mr. J.                                JURASINSKI                  Thank you, Mr. Ricard. Your                  genius grant is in the mail.                  Anyone else?     No volunteers. Jurasinski looks for someone to put on     the spot. Sees the new girl in a back corner. Johnson.     He gets into her line of sight. The class shifts in     their seats, peeping her.                                JURASINSKI                  Ms... Johnson. You can catch up                  later. If this is over your head.     Everyone looks at her.        The way kids look at new kids.                                SARA                  It's a non-fiction novel. The                  first of its kind. Capote mixed                  true events with things he                  couldn't know, so he made them up.     A small murmur goes up.        Over this, the voice of a     dissenter.                                PATRICK (O.S.)                  White folks back then felt safe.                  Capote scared 'em. He took hard                  core crime out the ghetto and                  dropped it in America's back yard.                  That's what makes the book                  special.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                    18.43   CONTINUED:                                                           43     Sara cranes to see him. God. It's pretty-boy. He's     sitting on the other side of the classroom. Looking...     pretty. Looking at her. He has nice eyes. Not that she     noticed.                                 SARA                  Yeah.   That is part of it.                             PATRICK               That's all of it. Capote wasn't               first. Richard Wright and James               Baldwin did the same thing.               Wasn't nobody tryin' to read them               though.                                SARA                  Lots of people read them.     A defensive save.      Patrick sees right through it.                                PATRICK                  Lots of people like who?      You?                  Hello. Didn't think so.                                SNOOKIE                  Mr. J.! Girl needs to bone up.                  Give her a pass to the lib'ary.     The room erupts in laughter.     ON SARA     flushed in the face.      Embarrassed.     Pissed.     ANGLE WIDENS as Jurasinski quiets the class.           Then.                                JURASINSKI                  She can have your pass, Mr.                  Ricard. Since you obviously never                  use it.44   INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE OF CAFETERIA - NOON                             44     Lunchtime. PICK UP Sara among a cattle drive of     boisterous students.45   CAFETERIA - FOOD LINE - LATER                                        45     Hundreds of voices unleashed in pure, unadulterated     teenage cacophony. Sara's in a queue of kids, working     her way down the line.                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                             19.45   CONTINUED:                                                    45     She's as invisible and anonymous as ever. CAMERA TRACKS     her FROM the line, TO the cashier, INTO the heart of the     dining hall. She stands with a food tray, looking for a     place to sit.     HER POV     Table cliques of the cafeteria.     SERIES OF SWEEPING SHOTS46   JOCK TABLE                                                    46     Two tables pushed together.    Full.47   NERD TABLE                                                    47     Barely, pathetically populated but surprisingly diverse.48   HIP-HOP TABLE                                                 48     Loud, overflowing, fun.    King Patrick and his loyal     subjects horse around.49   POPULAR TABLE                                                 49     Over which a glacial beauty we will come to know as NIKKI     DAVIS presides. Girls only.50   WHITE TABLE     Notable for its glaring absence of color.    A girl we will     come to know as TONI sits there.     And then PUSHING IN ON --51   CHENILLE'S TABLE                                              51     She's there with a group of girls who eschew pretense.     They, like Chenille, are rugged and regular. They know     who they are.     END OF SERIES OF SWEEPING SHOTS.                                                             20.52   ANGLE ON SARA                                                 52     eyeing Chenille's table. Screwing up courage as she     approaches it. She gets there but two black girls are     faster. They sit down in the only empty seats. Sara     backs off, invisible again.     ON CHENILLE     glimpsing Sara from the corner of her eye as Sara walks     away.53   AT NERDS' TABLE - LATER                                       53     Time has    passed. The cafeteria is half as full, half as     noisy.     Sara sits among the NERDS, a friendly if verbose     group.     She's trying to eat but a snooze button is     talking    her to death...                                WONK                  ... I know you're new to the                  table, but think about it. We're                  the Y2K generation and nobody                  takes us seriously. We don't take                  ourselves seriously. Just look                  around. Half the student body is                  D.O.A. -- and that's from the neck                  up, Clara.                                 SARA                  Sara.   It's Sara.                                CHENILLE (O.S.)                  Yeah. It's Sara. And you're                  boring her from the ears down.     Sara looks up, surprised to see Chenille standing there.     She flashes a knowing smile at her, indicates Sara's     tray.                                  CHENILLE                  You finished?     Sara leaps up with a quick, grateful nod. Beats a hasty     retreat from the table. As she and Chenille walk through     the cafeteria, Sara shudders with relief. She feels     rescued.                                  SARA                  God!    Thank you!                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                               21.53   CONTINUED:                                                      53                                CHENILLE                         (laughs)                  Gotta watch where you sit, girl.                  And it's Chenille. But you're                  still welcome. Let's catch some                  air before the bell rings.54   EXT. QUAD - MOMENTS LATER                                       54     Sara follows Chenille into the "QUAD," four squared off     sections outside the cafeteria. There are a few dry-     rotted picnic tables scattered around. Other kids -- and     they run the gamut -- are seen in clots, sneaking     smokes... horsing around... making out.     SARA'S POV - KIDS OF QUAD     And OVER the sound of HIP-HOP MUSIC, a pair of feet.     Moving. Dancing. CAMERA PANS UP to reveal Nikki. She's     demonstrating some moves to the girls from the popular     table. Nikki's dancing her ass off, showing off.     BACK TO SCENE                                SARA                  What's it called? What she's                  doing?                                CHENILLE                  A dance.                                SARA                         (a look; knows that)                  No, I mean... the step, the...     She trails off as she catches someone in the corner of     her eye. She turns away from Chenille, gradually     focusing on --     PATRICK     playing cards with Snookie at one of the picnic tables.     He glances up to see Sara. Glowering at him. He grins.     Sara rolls her eyes, turns away.      Mutters loudly to     herself.                                SARA                  Asshole.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                             22.54   CONTINUED:                                                    54                            CHENILLE              Asshole beaucoup. In this crowd,              you gotta be more specific.                            SARA                     (covertly indicates                      Patrick)              He's in one of my classes. Thinks              he's so... smart. So cute.                             CHENILLE               I don't know about cute but he is               smart. Real smart. Real trip,               too.                             SARA               So you know him?                             CHENILLE               Patrick Reynolds? Hell yeah, I               know him. He's my brother.     Chenille waits for Sara to swallow her tongue.     Enjoys a     laugh.     ANGLE SHIFTS TO PATRICK     as Nikki approaches him. Sexy, standoffish and     conceited, she's the stuff of wet dreams and futile     longing. She sits down next to Patrick. Close to him.     Snookie watches her, much amused.                             NIKKI               You comin' tonight?     Patrick keeps playing his hand.     Responds very coolly.                               PATRICK               Gotta work.                             NIKKI               You already skipped three               meetings.                      (as he's ignoring                       her)               Is it because of me? Everybody on               the committee thinks it's because               of me. Us.                      (infuriated by his                       silence)               Look, Patrick. Regardless.                             (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              23.54   CONTINUED:                                                     54                                NIKKI (CONT'D)                  You're in charge of the music.                  I'm in charge of the prom. So                  show up. Don't make me fire your                  ass.     Fighting words. Snookie holds his breath. Patrick     throws out a card, turns slowly to Nikki with a withering     stare in his eyes.                                PATRICK                  You already fired my ass, Nikki.                  Once and done. Over. Out. 'Bye.     She stalks off. Snookie oogles her departure, peers at     Patrick, about to say something. Patrick cuts him off,     indicates cards.                               PATRICK                 Hit me and shut the hell up.                               SNOOKIE                 I'ma shut up... after I say it                 been real frigid 'round here since                 y'all broke up. 'Specially since                 she broke up with you. That was                 harsh, way she canceled your ass                 like a stamp for that Howard U                 dude. But their shit's over. Now                 might be the time to forget                 mistakes that was made. Shoot.                 You been with the girl since ninth                 grade.                                PATRICK                  Why you sweatin' me, Snookie?                                SNOOKIE                         (pounding his heart)                  'Cause I'm about you, man. I want                  a happy ending. Aww, shit. Tuck                  an' duck. Here he comes. The                  hood of the 'hood, up to no good.     THEIR POV     MALAKAI RHINEHART, 17, heading toward them. Powerfully     built and edgy with insolence, Malakai is like a tightly-     wound coil -- you never know when he's going to snap.     ANGLE WIDENS and we see Patrick is happy to see him. He     and Malakai grin at each other. Knock handshakes.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                                24.54   CONTINUED:                                                       54                                MALAKAI                  Medicine man...                                SNOOKIE                         (interjecting himself)                  Did I tell you, Malakai, man, how                  chill it is to have you back?                  We ain't been bad without cha.                                MALAKAI                  Shut the fuck up and step your                  lame ass off, Snookie. You heard                  me. Space.     Snookie haughtily, comedically obliges.        A moment.                                PATRICK                  What happened to you at lunch,                  man?                                MALAKAI                  Business.     Short-hand. Patrick understands it, nods. Malakai slips     the cigarette from behind his ear, openly lights and     starts smoking it. CAMERA TRACKS them walking back     toward Patterson.                                PATRICK                  So you're hangin' in, man?                  Feelin' strong about being back?                                MALAKAI                  Not at this motherfucker. Out a                  week and where am I? Fucking home                  sweet high school. Jail away from                  jail. You can have it.                                PATRICK                  You gonna stay though.   Right?                                MALAKAI                  Judge says it's school or JuVee                  and I sure as hell ain't goin'                  back there. Shit. I never knew a                  year could be such a long time.     A flash of commiseration, of guilt, crosses Patrick's     face. They're at the doors now. Most of the kids have     gone. Malakai puts his cigarette out on the floor as     they step in.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                             25.54   CONTINUED:                                                    54                                PATRICK                  You up for some hoops after                  school? Break your free-throw                  back in. Chump the chumps like we                  used to.                               MALAKAI                  Up for it? Hell-the-fuck yeah,                  man. Let's do it.55   EXT. PATTERSON HIGH - THAT DAY (AFTER SCHOOL)                 55     Sara exits with Chenille. A CAR HORN starts to blare.     Both of them ignore it. But it goes on like a musical     number. Sara gets a sinking feeling that drops like a     stone when she looks across the street. Roy's parked at     the curb, waiting for her. She rolls her eyes and he     HONKS AGAIN. Then he waves at her. Waves! Chenille     looks at Sara. Then at Roy.                                CHENILLE                  That's your old man? Now he's                  cute.                                SARA                  He's embarrassing.                                 CHENILLE                          (laughs)                  Yeah.   He is. For you.56   INT./EXT. ROY'S TRUCK - CONTINUOUS ACTION                     56     Sara climbs in, slams the door. Roy looks over at her,     unaware of how annoyed she is with him. She's a clenched     fist inside.                                 ROY                  How'd it go?                                 SARA                  Fine.                      (as he pulls off)               Tomorrow I catch the bus.57   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - SARA'S "ROOM" - NIGHT                  57     Sara's moving the partition around, trying to make her     room more like a room. Trying to build another wall     between her and Roy.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                               26.57   CONTINUED:                                                       57                                 ROY (O.S.)                  Hey, Sara.   C'mere a minute.     Sara lets out a heavy sigh.        What does he want?                                 SARA                  What?                             ROY (O.S.)               Just come here.     She walks into the kitchen. Roy's in front of the open     freezer door. Grinning from ear to ear. He motions her     over. Sara crosses to the freezer. Looks inside.     INSERT - INSIDE FREEZER     It's full of frozen dinners.       They're in unruly, lopsided     stacks.     BACK TO SCENE     Roy regards her expectantly.                                ROY                  Hungry and Healthys. I asked at                  the market. They're the best.                  So. What do you feel like?                         (whimsically)                  Lamb Chop Suey? Tropical Tuna?                  Primavera Paradise?                                SARA                  I had a big lunch.     Roy, deflated, closes the freezer door, trails her into     the living area. Sara's clenching again. There's no     escaping him.                                ROY                  What do you wanna do? You wanna                  hang out with me? Go to my gig.                  You can if you want.                                SARA                  It's a school night, Roy.                                 ROY                  Right.   School night.    Got it.                                                            27.58   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - SARA - LATER            58     Roy's gone. Sara takes her first good look around. A     mess. It drives home where she is. What she's lost.     It's overwhelming.59   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - CLOSE ON EMPTY T.V.         59     DINNER TRAY - NIGHT     An empty beer bottle, one askew kitchen chair. Vestiges     of Roy's meal. ANGLE WIDENS as Sara enters. She opens     the freezer to unearth a dinner and starts an avalanche     of falling food. A box of Sugar Puffs cereal lands at     her feet. Something else out of place. She picks it up,     jams everything back into the freezer. Slams the door     shut.                                                SHOCK CUT TO:60   SARA                                                         60     in a whirlwind, cleaning the apartment. Wall to wall.     Scrubbing away what's churned up inside. The dervish     ends in her "room," where she finishes unpacking.     Several layers into a suitcase, she comes to her ballet     shoes. The sight hits her like a slap in the face. Sara     stares at the shoes until her eyes blur. Then she     snatches them up and entombs them deep inside her closet.61   EXT. O'DONNELL HEIGHTS PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECTS -             61     MORNING     Patrick, Chenille, Snookie straggle through the dreary     jungle of concrete lawns and blighted high rises on the     way to school. It's quiet now but the scars of past     battles, like the bombed out police substation on one of     its corners, are evident everywhere.                             SNOOKIE               I need a date --                              CHENILLE               Why?   Your hand busy?                             SNOOKIE               -- For the prom. And if it wasn't               for that kinda undue attitude, you               could be the lucky girl, Chenille.               My personal prom queen. I can see               us now.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                              28.61   CONTINUED:                                                     61                                CHENILLE                  You must be lookin' in your                  dreams.     Snookie glances at Patrick.       He's somewhere else.                                  SNOOKIE                  Help me, man.    Defend me.                                PATRICK                  I got my own problems, Snook.                             SNOOKIE               What problems? You goin' to               college. Doctor college after               that. You large, man.                             PATRICK               I ain't gonna be doctor nothin' if               I don't get in and I'm not in 'til               I get my letter.                             CHENILLE               It's in the mail, Patrick.       Okay?                             SNOOKIE                      (wishfully thinking)               I probably coulda been a doctor               too. If I hadn't got left back               that time.                             CHENILLE               That time? What? Fifth and sixth               grade don't count?     Patrick finally laughs. Then his face changes. Becomes     serious. He hops a low wall, keeps in stride above them.     They continue on like this, the ruins of their world in     the b.g. behind them.62   INT./EXT CITY BUS/BALTIMORE STREETS - MORNING                  62     The bus is crammed with kids. Sara, seated by a window,     doesn't bother looking out. Inside's more interesting.     The kids cut up. Singing, rapping, and jousting with     each other. Some even manage to read. Sara watches with     immunity. She's invisible to them.63   EXT. BUS STOP (NEAR PATTERSON HIGH) - MORNING                  63     Sara alights just as Patrick, Chenille, and Snookie walk     past. Patrick's the only one to see her and their eyes     briefly connect.                                                            29.64   INT. HALLWAY NEAR ENTRANCE (PATTERSON HIGH) -                 64     CONTINUOUS ACTION     Patrick and Chenille pass through metal detectors, watch     Snookie clown his way through. The security guard shakes     his head. All three begin to walk. Snookie, bobbing and     jiving, doesn't see Mrs. Gwynn coming up from behind.     Her voice stops him cold.                             MRS. GWYNN                      (as Patrick and                       Chenille look on)               Light on your feet? Good. Be               sure they dance into my office               next week.     She moseys on.   Snookie regards Patrick's smile, shakes     his head.65   INT. CHEMISTRY LAB - LATER THAT MORNING                       65     The class has donned lab coats and is ready   to begin when     Sarah rushes in. She tries to slink into a    seat. The     teacher, MR. HILL, gives her a disapproving   look, points     at one of several formulas (C2,H6,O2) on the   blackboard.     Sara just looks at him                             MR. HILL               We're cooking today, Ms. Johnson.               This is your first lab. You'll               need a partner. Mr. Reynolds --               Patrick -- will show you the               ropes.     Patrick bounces a smile off unsettled Sara.     This should     be fun.66   INT. CHEMISTRY LAB - MINUTES LATER                            66     The class, in safety goggles and gloves, has partnered     up.     ANGLE ON SARA AND PATRICK     He's holding two vials. Sara picks up a beaker. Stares     at the blackboard. She has no idea -- and no intention     of admitting it.                             PATRICK                      (very casually)               That's too big.     She glints at him, grits through her teeth.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                                30.66   CONTINUED:                                                       66                                SARA                  I know it's too big.     She puts the beaker down. Picks up a vial. Flips     through her textbook. Her eyes shift from it to the     blackboard, trying to make a connection. She settles on     one. Picks up a vial of powder. Patrick grabs her hand,     leans over and whispers.                            PATRICK              I wouldn't do that if I were you.                            SARA                     (yanks her hand back)              Who died and made you teacher?     Patrick pulls back, looks at her. He can't believe she     dissed him. A small smile forms on his face. Sara turns     away from it, goes back to her vials. Patrick slides to     the farthest end of the table. Watches her consternation     with bemusement.                            PATRICK              Know the difference between ethyl              glycol and methyl acetate? Both              got three elements, two parts the              same. It's that first part, C2              versus C3. C3 could blow a vial              right out a person's hand.     Sara thinks he's messing with her. But then the contents     of the beaker begin to ominously bubble. Panicked, she     drops the vial into their sink. It instantly goes up in     smoke. Some of the liquid splashes on Sara's lab coat.     Patrick grabs a wet towel, quickly wipes it off. The     class stops cold. Hill rushes up to them. Once he's     sure Sara's fine, he looks sternly at Patrick.                                MR. HILL              What happened?      Everybody back in              your seats!     Patrick stares at Sara.     Her face is red.     She's biting     her lip.                                PATRICK                  I misread the component.                                MR. HILL                         (even more angry now)                  You? You misread a component.                  Don't give me that, Patrick. You                  were screwin' around!                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                31.66   CONTINUED:                                                       66     Hill's tone is searing. He turns to     Sara. She's trying     to say something but the words won't    come out. Hill     regards her wearily, then walks off    pushing the curious     class back to their stations. Sara     looks at Patrick,     weakly mouths "thanks."67   INT. GYMNASIUM - NIGHT                                           67     Over the sound of GRUNTING... OPEN CLOSE ON a girl's     plump ass. Squirming in too-tight gym shorts that hug     the cheeks. ANGLE WIDENS to reveal a stout white girl on     a balance beam. Trying to get her legs to stand up on     it. Hanging on for dear life. From somewhere around     her, a WHISTLE BLOWS.                                TEACHER (O.S.)                  Alright, Ms. Diggs. Time!     WIDEN to see the teacher and her class (FAVOR Sara,     Chenille, and Nikki). Amid snickers, the stout girl     ("DIGGY") slides off the beam, walks past the teacher     with her head demurely cast down. Clearing the teacher,     Diggy pivots around, both middle fingers in the air.     Gives up the double bird with much attitude. The class     loves it. Cheers it. Until the teacher swerves around.67   SERIES OF CLOSE CUTS                                             67     Chenille on balance beam.    competent but average.     Nikki on balance beam.    Agile.   Self-assured.   Good.     ... And then TIGHTER STILL on Sara. Tentatively     approaching the balance beam. Mindful of all the eyes on     her, all the bated breaths. All waiting to see the new     girl fall on her ass. Sara swings herself onto the beam     with aplomb. Her legs and body are strong, supple,     pliable rubber bands. She flounces across it on her     tiptoes. Does a flawless split. Hops off. Looks out.     SARA'S POV - TEACHER AND CLASS     Reacting with shock and surprise. Awed. Except for     Nikki. She stands there with her arms folded.     Simmering. Envious.68   PATTERSON HIGH - END OF SCHOOL THAT DAY                          68     Sara. Heading down the steps with other students.     Chenille and Diggy break through the logjam, catch up to     her.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                                 32.68   CONTINUED:                                                        68                                CHENILLE                  Girl, how you get your legs to                  twist like that?                                DIGGY                         (wildly gesticulating)                  Yeah. What was all that double-                  jointed cheerleader shit?                                   CHENILLE                  This is Diggy.     Thinks she's down.                                   DIGGY                  Egg-cuse me?     I am down.                                 CHENILLE                  So, Sara.   What's up with that?                                SARA                         (awkwardly)                  Nothing's up with it. I used to                  kind of dance. Ballet. Mostly.     Chenille makes an impressed face.          Regards Sara     curiously.                                CHENILLE                  You should hit Feetz with us                  tomorrow night. It's a club.                  Sorta members only.                                   DIGGY                  Un-der-ground.                            SARA              I don't know...                            CHENILLE              Come on and hang out. Snook dee's              sometime. He can get you in.                     (yelling)              Yo, Snook     Sara sees Snookie... then Patrick... loping her way. She     steels herself. He's going to say something, crack some     joke about her nearly blowing him up. But Patrick just     stares at her with a twinkle in his eyes. A nice     twinkle. Sara's not entirely immune to it. Chenille     breaks their eye play, pushes Patrick aside. She grabs     Snookie's arm, indicates Sara.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                               33.68   CONTINUED:                                                      68                                CHENILLE                  She needs to get hooked up for                  Feetz. All the way up. Sara,                  give Snook twenty dollars.                                SARA                  For what?                                SNOOKIE                  I.D. Eye-dee. How you think you                  gettin' in? On your looks?                         (rolling his eyes)                  Chenille, your girl is weak.                  Shit. I got my rep to watch. I                  can't just be gettin' any green                  in.     Sara glares.     Regards Snookie with a sweeping scowl.                                SARA                  Look closer. And if I still look                  green, I think maybe you should                  wipe the crust from your eyes.     Snookie's jaw drops. Patrick cracks up. Diggy too.     Chenille's stays on point. She's about solving the     problem.                                CHENILLE                  You gonna pay the man or what?                                SNOOKIE                  She ain't got it. Look at her.                  Loud-talkin' me and broke as a                  damn promise.     Sara, put on the spot, pulls out the money.     Snookie     snatches it.                                SARA                  I don't even know where it is.                                CHENILLE                  So we'll hook up at my house. Go                  together. I will have your I.D.     Snookie shrugs affirmatively. Patrick looks directly at     Sara. The twinkle in his eye is gone, replaced by fair     warning.                            PATRICK              Feetz ain't no square dance.                            SARA              That's okay. I dance in circles.              Probably around you.                                                            34.69   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - SARA'S ROOM - NIGHT                   69     Roy walks in to see Sara on the futon in her pajamas     reading a book. She's got a head full of rollers.                              ROY               I'm splittin'.                      (as she barely looks up)               Whatcha readin'?                              SARA               Chemistry.                             ROY               You're takin' chemistry?                             SARA               Right now it's taking me.                             ROY               Give yourself some time. Well.               See ya in the mornin'. Maybe I'll               call between sets.     Sara really looks up.   Gives him an angelic, sluggish     shrug.                             SARA               I'll be asleep.     He leaves. As soon as Sara hears the front DOOR CLOSE,     she jumps up, strips down to bra and panties, races to     the closet. One hand rips the rollers from her hair, the     other rips through outfits. She's frantic and unsure     about choosing the right one.70   EXT. "BLACK" STREET (SOUTH BALTIMORE) - NIGHT                70     Sara. In a skin-tight miniskirt and a bolero jacket.     Looking more eighties than nineties, more cute than cool.     She walks with tentative, jittery purpose down this     poverty stricken street. Doesn't meet anyone's eye. But     can feel the eyes on her. She keeps going. She's walked     too far to turn back.71   EXT. O'DONNELL HEIGHTS PROJECTS - SARA - NIGHT               71     Approaching the malignant edifices as the Heights begin     to come to life... or death, depending how luck's     running. Sara walks into this world of shadows and     despite a trepidation, finds something fascinating about     the possibility of real danger.                                                           35.72   EXT./INT. REYNOLDS APARTMENT/HALLWAY - NIGHT                72     Chenille triple unlocks the door, lets Sara in. Sara's     surprised -- the apartment is surprisingly quaint and     extremely neat. It looks a helluva lot better than Roy's     place. Chenille is dressed in hugely baggy military-     style pants and a tube top with a form-fitting, short-cut     leather coat over it. Sara takes it in.                              SARA               Cool outfit.                              CHENILLE               Slammin'.   Slammin' outfit.                             SARA               ... I look okay?     Chenille gives her the once over.   Decides to lie.                             CHENILLE               Yeah.  You look okay.                      (then)               Moma Dean. I'm leavin'.     FROM ANOTHER ANGLE     GRANDMOMMA DEAN enters with a toddler ("CHRISTOPHER") in     her arms. She sports snow white, waist-length dreads and     she's wearing a dashiki lounger. Despite her white     locks, she doesn't look old enough to be a grandmother.     She hands Christopher to Chenille. Inspects Sara. Her     eyes are open, kind.                             CHENILLE                      (fussing over                       Christopher)               Grandmom, Sara. Sara, Grandmom.               Also known as Momma Dean. And               handsome here is Christopher.                              SARA               Hi.                             MOMMA DEAN               Hello. Now don't get him all               riled up, Chenille. I want to get               some sleep tonight.     Chenille kisses Christopher, hands him off to Momma Dean.     They exit. Sara looks tentatively at Chenille.                             SARA               Is that... is he... yours?                             CHENILLE               He sure ain't Momma Dean's.                                                           36.73   INT./EXT. CAB/STREET (MOVING) - SARA AND CHENILLE           73     - NIGHT     They've been talking.   Well, Chenille has. Sara's been     listening. Intently.    Liking this confidence they're     sharing.                             CHENILLE               ... He'll be one in July. Best               mistake I ever made. Kenny --               Christopher's father -- he's the               worst. Triflin'. Okay?74   EXT. 6TH AND BROADWAY (EAST BALTIMORE) - NIGHT              74     A curbed cab. Sara and Chenille get out. Chenille digs     into her pocketbook, hands Sara her I.D. PUSH IN ON     photo of obese white girl with an untamed trailer trash     perm. Sara's eyes go wide.                              SARA               Chenille.   She's ugly.   She's fat!                            CHENILLE              She's twenty-one too. I ain't got              all night. Let's hop.                            SARA              Wait. I have to ask you              something.                     (hard for her)              Do I really look alright?     An unspoken thing passes between them. Chenille suddenly     whips off her coat. Gestures at Sara with her head.                             CHENILLE               Gimme that '89 Madonna shit.    Your               jacket. Give it here.     Sara takes off the bolero. Chenille ties it around her     own neck, then yanks Sara's miniskirt down around her     hips. Sara's torso is clad in a long-sleeved cotton tee.     Chenille frowns at it.                             SARA               It's from the GAP.                             CHENILLE               It's country. You look country in               it. Take it off.                             SARA               I'm not walking in there in my               bra.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                           37.74   CONTINUED:                                                  74     Chenille thrusts her leather coat at her. Sara can't     believe what she's doing, getting (un)dressed on a public     street! She pulls off the tee, slips on Chenille's coat.     Buttons it as far as the buttons go. Looks down. Half     her chest is exposed.75   EXT. ALLEY (EAST BALTIMORE) - SARA AND CHENILLE - NIGHT     75     Gaining on what looks like an abandoned warehouse.     Chenille snorts at the roped off queue of kids waiting to     get inside.                                 CHENILLE                  Rope dopes.   C'mon.     She leads Sara to the door of FEETZ. The Sumo-sized MAN     guarding it knows Chenille, digs her. His grin exposes     gold-capped teeth.                               DOORMAN               Chenille.    Lookin' fine.   As               always.                             CHENILLE               Too fine to stand in line?     The Man grins, opens the rope, lets them in -- "in" being     just inside the front door. A BOUNCER there collects the     $10.00 cover charge. Checks their I.D. He hands Sara's     back with a smirk.                             BOUNCER               Changed your hair.     He waves a metal detector over their bodies, nods to yet     another bouncer who escorts Sara and Chenille through yet     another door.76   ANOTHER ANGLE                                               76     They march a short distance to an old elevator where a     group of kids wait. Bouncer #2 engages the elevator.     Everyone piles in.77   INT. ELEVATOR - CONTINUOUS ACTION                           77     Sara holds onto her stomach as the CREAKY ELEVATOR     descends and the MUSIC below rises. The elevator's     vibrating with music.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                              38.77   CONTINUED:                                                     77                                SARA                         (an inside to Chenille)                  Can't get much more underground                  than this.78   INT. FEETZ CLUB - CONTINUOUS ACTION                            78     A smoky hole in the wall, filled to the brim with kids.     Mostly black kids with a few whites and Latinos melting     in. They share a common goal: To clog the dance floor,     flaunt their outfits and get nasty with the music of the     masters: Tupac Shakur, NAS, Lauryn Hill, Puff Daddy,     etc. Here, the boundaries of dirty dancing are pushed,     from erotic to vulgar; loving to lascivious.     ANOTHER ANGLE     Sara and Chenille. Sara's excited. She loves that she     has to shout to be head over the music.                                CHENILLE                  Let's get our table 'fore it gets                  crashed and I hafta hurt somebody.     Sara's bewildered. She doesn't see any tables. She     follows Chenille to the back of FEETZ. Sees six or seven     tables. All of them have reserved signs. Most of them     are filled.                                SARA                  What are you, some kind of V.I.P.?     Chenille indicates the deejay booth.     Snookie's in it.                             CHENILLE               Snook hooks me up whenever he               dees.     They walk past a SLACKER in lycra pants and a big Army     shirt. He licks his tongue at Chenille, grabs at her     protruding butt. She swirls around, grabs his crotch     hard enough to get his attention. The Slacker is     squirming in her clutch.                             SLACKER               Aw'right, aw'right. You got it.                               CHENILLE               Got what?                               (MORE)                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                39.78   CONTINUED:                                                       78                                CHENILLE (CONT'D)                         (as he can't think of                          anything but the                          squeeze on his balls)                  The right to walk past your                  greasy, tickle dick self without                  your paws on my ass? 'S'that how                  I got it?     Chenille bobs her head right in his face. Sara can't     believe it. A few people have stopped and are looking.     The Slacker nods hastily. Chenille releases him, gently     smoothes out his shirt.                                 CHENILLE                  That's how I thought I had it.                          (a fly wave)                  See ya.     She and Sara continue on to back-of-the-club tables.     Stop at a reserved one. An adjacent table sports Nikki,     her three girl crew... and Diggy. All nurse drinks.     Nikki snake-eyes Sara.                            NIKKI              What is up with this place? Seems              like they're lettin' anybody in.                                 CHENILLE                  Yeah.   And they started with you.     The three girls and Diggy snicker. Nikki gives Chenille     a look. Turns back to Sara with a snide smirk. Points     out her crew.                               NIKKI                  I'm Nikki. Alyssa. Jasmin.                  Tiff'nee. You know Diggy, right,                  Marsha?                                SARA                  Sara. It's Sara. And I know you.                  We have a class together.                                NIKKI                  That don't mean you know me.                                CHENILLE                  Quit it, Nikki.                                NIKKI                  Quit what? I ain't walkin' on                  eggshells just 'cause you brought                  the Brady Bunch to the Negro Club.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               40.78   CONTINUED:                                                       78                                SARA                         (kiss-my-ass polite)                  Maybe you came to the wrong spot,                  Nikki. I'm pretty sure this one                  doesn't have any Negroes.     Chenille cracks up mainly to back Sara up.       Nikki glowers     at her.                                NIKKI                  I'm pretty sure you came with one.                                CHENILLE                  Oh, no. Uh-uh, wench. You did                  not just call me a Negro.     As Chenille bucks, Diggy springs up from her seat, runs     her arm in the space between Chenille and Nikki like a     referee.                             DIGGY               Alright, y'all. Chill.                                NIKKI                  Tell her to chill. She always got                  somethin' to say.                            CHENILLE              I can say a lot more. Keep              runnin' your mouth, Nikki. I'll              lay all your shit bare.     Whatever shit it is, Nikki's not taking any       chances. She     ejects herself from the table, walks off.        The three     girls scoot loyally after her. Diggy gets        up. Sits down     at Sara's and Chenille's table. Diggy goes        with the     flow. That's why she always fits in.                                DIGGY                  Why you burn her like that?                                CHENILLE                  'Cause I can't stand her ass and                  the way she played my brother. I                  need a drink, Sara. Let's walk.79   INT. FEETZ - ENTRANCE - SAME TIME                                79     Patrick and Malakai enter with two high school dropouts     we will learn are ARVEL and LIP. Females flock to flirt     with Patrick and Malakai, who both swell like sponges,     soaking up the attention.                                                                   41.80   INT. FEETZ - BAR - SAME TIME                                        80     Chenille pushes her way to the bar, tugging Sara along.     A tall, angular twenty-something MAN on the far side of     the bar sees her. She sees him. Sucks her teeth, nudges     Sara.                                  CHENILLE              That's him.        Comin' over.   Kenny?              Don't look.     So of course Sara does. She makes a silly face at     Chenille as Kenny sidles up to her. Chenille rolls her     eyes half-heartedly.                                  KENNY (MAN)              What's up?                            CHENILLE              Where's my money, Kenny?                                KENNY                  I'm a little short this week.                  Don't jump off. It's comin'.                                  CHENILLE                  It's comin'?    No. You lyin'.                                KENNY                  Lemme rap to you about the                  situation on the dance floor.     She shakes her head firmly but her eyes do tell. She's     in love with him. Enough to let him whisper in her ear,     sweet-talk her away from the bar. Before she's swallowed     up by the crowd, Chenille turns back to Sara, shouts:                                  CHENILLE                  Rum and Coke.    No ice.   Hook me                  up.     ON PATRICK     splitting off from Malakai and a girl clinging to him.     He's walking through when Nikki appears from nowhere,     grabs his arm.                                  NIKKI                  Let's dance.                                PATRICK                         (pulling away)                  Let's not.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                 42.80   CONTINUED:                                                        80                                 NIKKI                  Oh?   It's gonna be like that.                                PATRICK                  How'd you think it was gonna be?                  That you was gonna drop me and                  pick me up whenever you felt like                  it?                                NIKKI                  It ain't all that serious,                  Patrick.                                PATRICK                  It ain't anymore, Nikki.     Not to                  me.     He walks off. CAMERA TRACKS him going deep inside the     club. He wants a drink. He's almost at the bar when he     sees Chenille on the dance floor with Kenny. She shrugs     a smile, then cocks her head over at the bar. Toward     Sara. The look is like, help me out. Don't let me leave     her hangin'. Patrick rolls his eyes as he glances at     Sara, before he really sees her. She looks fly. Hugely     fly. He ambles up as she shouts into the bartender's     ear.                                SARA                  Rum and Coke, straight up. And a                  beer. I don't care. Anything.                                PATRICK (O.S.)              Bad choice.      'Anything.'     The closeness of his voice startles her. She turns into     his smile. That cocksure, leave'em-weak-in-the-knees     smile.                                SARA                  It's just a beer.                                PATRICK                  Then it should be the best beer.                  You'd know that if you really                  drank.     Sara's knees straighten, her spine stiffens.         The     asshole's back.                                 SARA                  Whatever.                                PATRICK                  What's that mean? Whatever.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                            43.80   CONTINUED:                                                   80                                SARA                  Whatever you want it to mean.                  You're the whiz kid, right? You                  know everything.                            PATRICK                     (chuckles at this, at                      her)              Not everything. Like I don't know              why we're standin' still.                     (closer with a teasing                      whisper)              I'm supposed to be dizzy by now.              Remember? From all those circles              you danced around me.     Sara leans against the bar.    The knees are going again.                             SARA               I don't feel like dancing.                             PATRICK               But you do know how...?                             SARA               Would I be here if I didn't?                             PATRICK               ... Let's do it then.    C'mon.     He coaxes her onto the dance floor. PARLIAMENT'S funk     classic "Flashlight" is playing. The dance crowd is     robustly singing the refrain to the song. There's a     party on the floor. FAVOR Sara and Patrick, facing each     other. He's moving already. She starts to dance,     stiffly, tentatively. Patrick smiles at her. Shakes his     head. He grabs her hands, swings them in time to the     music.                             PATRICK               Now move your hips. Not so fast.                      (as Sara looks lost)               Sara! Just like our hands.                      (singing, in sync with                       the crowd)               'Flashlight! Neon light! Stop               light! Everybody got a little               light under the sun.'     The music's beginning to feel good to Sara. Patrick lets     go of her hands. Starts to dance. Sara watches him     intensely, her body follows his stiffly. Patrick's a     good teacher. He leads without leaving her. Whenever     she misses a complicated move, he smoothly segues into     another less-complicated one.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                             44.80   CONTINUED:                                                    80     Sara begins to pick-up on Patrick's rhythm. Her eyes     never wander from his. And then she starts to feel     something else. They both do. A rising beat. A     quickening heart. And not from the dancing. She smiles     bashfully at him. Patrick suddenly grabs her around the     waist, pulls her to him in a sexy spoon dance. All Sara     can do is try to keep up and hang on.     FROM ANOTHER ANGLE     Nikki avidly watching Sara and Patrick with Jasmin and     Tiff'ny.                                JASMIN                  She's all up in your nut, Nikki...                  Oh, that's right. It ain't your                  nut anymore.                                NIKKI                  It is if I want it to be. He is                  if I want him to be. That bitch                  ain't got shit on me.     The girls regard her in conspicuous, dubious silence.     Nikki maintains her cool but inside her pride is     pricking.81   INT. FEETZ - SAME TIME                                        81     Malakai and the clinging girl nuzzle in a back corner.     She licks his ear, whispers into it. Malakai laughs.     Then his expression abruptly darkens. A storm cloud     comes over it. He gets up.     MALAKAI'S POV - WALKING TOWARD     ... two dealers a few feet away. They're talking to an     Asian guy with a multi-colored Mohawk. One slips Mohawk     a packet of coke, the other takes his money. WIDER as     Malakai reaches the dealers. He doesn't explain, doesn't     complain. He just starts swinging.     SARA AND PATRICK     The MUSIC changes and their dance ends. They stand there     for a moment, a little caught up in each other. A little     unsure of the moment. And then there's a scream!     Several of them actually. Patrick reacts to it     instinctively. Looking around. In a small pocket of the     club he sees Malakai.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                45.81   CONTINUED:                                                       81     PATRICK'S POV - MALAKAI     in full fisticuffs with the two dealers.     Holding his     own.     ON PATRICK     leaving Sara, slicing through a clot of looky-loos until     he reaches Malakai. He jumps into the fray.     INT. FEETZ - FIGHT - PATRICK AND MALAKAI     A thick crowd around them, proceed to beat the living     shit out of the two dealers.     ANGLE ON SARA AND CHENILLE     wrangling their way to the front line of the crowd, Diggy     not far behind them. Sara looks on, dumbfounded and     dazzled by what she sees, which is --     PATRICK     pummeling his dealer into cowering submission. Only then     does he look over at Malakai who, eyes engorged with     rage, is standing over his opponent, kicking and stomping     him with no signs of letting up. Patrick can see     Malakai's too far gone for talk. He rushes him from     behind, nearly lifts Malakai off his feet to swing him     away from the dealer's writhing body on the floor.82   EXT. FEETZ - OUTSIDE VESTIBULE - CONTINUOUS ACTION               82     The exit door bursts open and Patrick and Malakai tumble     out. Patrick bends over, cups his knees as he catches     his breath.                                PATRICK                  Man, what the hell are you doin'?                  Tryin' to get sent back up?                                MALAKAI                  They the ones tryin' shit. Comin'                  here. Squarin' off in my shit.                                PATRICK                  You couldn't let it slide?                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                            46.82   CONTINUED:                                                    82                                MALAKAI                  Let it slide tonight, they come                  back strong tomorrow. You know                  that.                            PATRICK              Malakai, you fuck up parole, you              ain't gonna back to JuVee.              Eighteen and up, that's Jessup.              Hardcore lockdown. You want that?                                MALAKAI                         (regards him coldly)                  I want what was mine. Feetz is my                  spot. I'ma do business here just                  like I did before. Like we did                  before. And if I gotta stomp some                  niggers in my way, so be it.     An uncertain but tense moment.     Patrick tries to salvage     it.                                PATRICK                  Well, you definitely got the                  stompin' part down.     They look at each other.     Share a small laugh.                                MALAKAI                  We fucked those fools up for sure.                                PATRICK                         (crossing to exit door)                  For damn sure, man.     Patrick finds the door locked. He and Malakai hoist     themselves over a high, wrought iron fence. Disappear     behind it.83   EXT. FEETZ - FRONT ENTRANCE - NIGHT                           83     Distant WAIL of SIRENS as Feetz begins to empty out.     Kids converge on the sidewalks. PICK UP Sara, Chenille     and Diggy. Waiting and watching for Patrick. Diggy     looks at them.                                DIGGY                  It's about to get real out here.                  Cops and shit. I'm gone.     She leaves. Chenille spots Patrick. Not too worse for     the wear. She smiles with relief. Then Sara sees him.     She smiles too.                                                           47.84   EXT. STREET (O'DONNELL HEIGHTS) - NIGHT                      84     Sara, Patrick and Chenille. Walking home. Chenille's     preaching to Patrick. He's not in the mood.                              CHENILLE                ... Yeah, I'ma tell you. Tell you                like I keep tellin' you, Patrick.                You need to let Malakai alone.                Let him handle his own shit before                he drags you down in it.                              PATRICK                Chenille. I heard you the first                five hundred times.     They round a corner bordering the Heights. Stop in front     of it. Chenille, disconcerted with Patrick, looks dourly     at Sara.                               CHENILLE                I'll see you Monday.                       (to Patrick, like an                        order)                He'll walk you.     As much as this makes sense, it still takes Patrick by     surprise. Sara sees it in his face, regards Chenille     with a false bravado.                              SARA                It's just a few blocks.   It's                okay.                              CHENILLE                No, it's not okay. Would you tell                the girl it ain't okay?                              PATRICK                It's not okay, okay?                       (before she can                        protest)                Come on, Braveheart.85   EXT. STREET - SARA AND PATRICK - NIGHT                       85     walking.   Sara keeps stealing glances of him.   Or so she     thinks.                               PATRICK                What?                               SARA                        (caught)                What?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                               48.85   CONTINUED:                                                      85                                PATRICK                  Why you keep lookin' at me?                                SARA                  I have to look somewhere. The                  streets are deserted. Might as                  well look at you.                                PATRICK                  That's not why. You wanna know                  somethin'. Ask somethin'.                             SARA               It's not a question. It's the way               you were beating that kid up. You               looked so mad.                                PATRICK                  I was mad and he wasn't no kid.                  But you're from the suburb Mars,                  right? Folks don't fight there.                                 SARA                  Not like that.                         (some kind of                          wonder)                  You were really kicking his ass.     It's not funny, the look on her face.      But Patrick     laughs.                             SARA               Are you laughing at me?     Dropping the smile, Patrick shakes his head.      Looks at     her.                             PATRICK               My friend was in trouble.                             SARA               Maybe he's my question. Your               friend. Chenille doesn't like               him.                                PATRICK                  She likes him. It don't stop her                  from trippin' off him now and                  then. But Malakai's good people.                  We go back. Way back. You know,                  like they say, through thick and                  thin.                         (beat)                  So, how'd you like Feetz?                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                                49.85   CONTINUED:                                                       85                                   SARA                  It was great.                                PATRICK                  Once you got used to the music.                                SARA                  It wasn't the music I wasn't used                  to. I mean, it's not the first                  time I heard hip-hop, Patrick.                               PATRICK                  Uh-huh. Bet you listen to it all                  the time.     Patrick regards her with a sly, knowing smile. His stare     is significant, unsettling. Sara's face flushes. She     turns from him, hoping he didn't see it.                                SARA                  Not all the time. But a lot.                                PATRICK                  We gettin' any closer to your crib                  or should we stop for food and                  water?     Sara snaps out of it. Looks around. Shit. First the     flush and now this. She looks at him. She could kick     herself.                                   SARA                  We passed it.                                   PATRICK                  You passed it.     A look. They double back to her front door.        Pause on     the stoop.                            SARA              Thanks for walking me.                                   PATRICK              No problem.                                SARA              So.      I'll see ya.                            PATRICK              Is that 'see ya' like gee-whiz,              had a great time, can't wait to              see you again?                             (MORE)                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                               50.85   CONTINUED:                                                       85                                PATRICK (CONT'D)                  Or is it like 'see ya,' I'll bust                  a cap in your ass if you ever                  darken my doorstep again?     He makes it impossible not to smile.     So damned charming.                                SARA                  I haven't said gee-whiz since I                  was six. But I really had a great                  time... okay?                                PATRICK                  Okay.     She enters the rowhouse. Patrick waits until the lights     go on inside before he turns around and starts home.86   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - NEXT MORNING                    86     Roy's making breakfast when Sara straggles in. She peers     at the stove. Scrambled eggs and bacon. Toast too! A     first for him.                                ROY                  Figured I'd put a little marrow in                  your bones. Siddown, siddown.                         (she slumps in chair)                  You gettin' along at school?                  Makin' friends...?                         (as she nods robotically)                  ... See any of 'em last night?     He slides a plate in front of her.      Stands there holding     his.                                ROY                  I came home on my break.                                SARA                  Oh.     The succinct sneer in her voice gets to Roy.       He snaps at     her.                            ROY              ... Oh? Jesus! You're hard!              Look. You're seventeen. If you              wanna go out, go out. But don't              lie to me. On top of everything              else, don't make me worry like              that about you.                            (MORE)                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                51.86   CONTINUED:                                                       86                                ROY (CONT'D)                         (after long moment)                  I didn't mean to yell.                         (sits down; trying                          like hell)                  So how are the eggs? They good?     Sara takes a small, tasteless sample, nods. They eat in     silence. Then Sara looks over at him with genuine if     detached remorse.                                SARA                  You're right. I should've said                  something. I'm sorry.     Roy exhales.     Finally, a chink in the brick wall.                                ROY                  What're you gonna do today?                  Anything special?                                   SARA                  Nope.     Nothing special.87   INT. RECORD STORE (EAST POINT MALL) - DAY                        87     A track from TOP DOGG BLARES from invisible SPEAKERS.     All of the store's many customers are teenage kids.     Snookie, in sunglasses and a reversed baseball cap,     clerks behind the counter. He's ringing up (and trying     to rap to) a fly girl when Patrick walks in, overhears     the overture.                                    SNOOKIE                  ... How   you   know I can't do                  nothin'   for   you? I'm the hardest                  workin'   man   in showbizness, girl.                  C'mon.    Let   me be the bomb in your                  shell.     The fly girl rolls her eyes. Takes her bag. Leaves.     Patrick looks at Snookie, wryly shakes his head.                                PATRICK                  You do the shit to yourself, man.                  The bomb in your shell?                                SNOOKIE                  That was black magic, Patrick.                  It's gonna work one of these days.     He reaches behind the counter, hands Patrick a Jay-Z C.D.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                              52.87   CONTINUED:                                                     87                                SNOOKIE                  Last one on the rack. I snatched                  it up for you. Rang it up on my                  discount.                                PATRICK                         (what Snookie's                          waiting for)                  Thank you, Snookie.                                SNOOKIE                         (as Patrick pays him)                  You workin' or what, man?                                 PATRICK                  On my way.   Soon as I get outta                  here...     As he says this, his eyes wander around the store.      And     he sees her in the stacks. Sara.88   INT. RECORD STORE - HIP-HOP SECTION - MOMENTS LATER            88     Sara with a bunch of C.D.'s. She juggles them in one     hand, flips through Hip-Hop C.D.'s with another. She     looks up to see Patrick standing beside her. He takes in     the C.D.'s. Grins at her.                                PATRICK                  Throwin' a party?     There's no wiggle room but Sara wiggles anyway.                                SARA                  Just adding to my collection. I                  heard some stuff I didn't have                  last night.                                PATRICK                         (that twinkle in his                          eyes)                  Well, you were fly anyway. Last                  night. Dancin', I mean.                                SARA                  Not as fly as you.                                PATRICK                         (half-serious)                  Nobody's as fly as me.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                                53.88   CONTINUED:                                                       88                                SARA                         (dead-serious)                  Not yet anyway.     Patrick laughs. Looks at her.        Sara looks back at him.     They're staring at each other.                                PATRICK                  Maybe we could hook up later.                  After school or somethin'. Work                  on some of your moves. If you                  want.                                  SARA                  Okay.   Sure.     Patrick nods affirmatively. Starts to leave.       Turns     back, indicates her stack of C.D.'s.                                PATRICK                  By the way, Hammer's pretty much                  played out.                                SARA                         (convincing lie)                  Not to me.89   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - NIGHT                           89     Sara's on the phone, unwrapping one of those T.V.     dinners.                                SARA                         (into phone)                  It was so... slamming, Lindsay.                  The dancing! I'm going again.                  What? No, I haven't seen anybody                  get shot yet. God, I didn't move                  to Bosnia.90   INT. PATTERSON HIGH - HALLWAY - MORNING                          90     A fight. Two black girls having at it. It's a ferocious     match. Hair pulling, spit flying, punches landed,     clothes torn apart.     ANGLE ON SARA     as she crowns the corner, comes to a bottleneck of     students. It's like the nose bleed section of Caesar's     Palace. The far hallway is the ring. Sara cranes her     neck to see the action.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                            54.90   CONTINUED:                                                   90     ANGLE WIDENS as a security guard earns his hazard pay.     He separates the two girls who are still swinging at each     other. He throws one into a corner, hurls the other in     an opposite corner.     ON SARA     as a WHITE GIRL standing next to her shakes her head     lamentably.                                   SARA                  What happened?     The White Girl studies Sara's suburban clothes and fresh-     scrubbed face. Thinks she found a kindred spirit.                                TONY (WHITE GIRL)                  We freed the slaves and didn't                  teach them no manners.                         (before Sara can react)                  You're Sara, right?                         (as Sara warily nods)                  Toni. I was gonna introduce                  myself before but you're always                  with that crowd. You know.                  Chenille, her girls, that identity                  crisis Diggy.     Sara looks at Toni. Getting it. Getting her. The     expression on her face closes off. Toni, too dense to     read it, keeps talking.                                TONI                         (brightly)                  We should hang out sometime, Sara.                  The two of us. Whenever you                  decide to lose the tan?     Her inference clear, Toni flashes a brilliant smile,     happily walks off. Sara shakes her head to herself.     What an idiot.     As Sara continues down the hall, a P.A. address comes on.                                P.A. ADDRESS (V.O.)                  Seniors, a reminder before you                  rise up and change the world.                  Mrs. Gwynn is holding all diplomas                  hostage in her office. Her only                  demand is the pleasure of your                  company for career D-Day. Be                  there.     Sara enters her classroom, a bunch of kids in front of     and behind her.                                                               55.91   EXT./INT. STREET/ROY'S ROWHOUSE (SO. BALTIMORE) - DAY           91     Sara walks up the street (passing many black people),     sees Roys' pickup. Shit. He's home.92   CAMERA TRACKS                                                   92     Sara as she enters their rowhouse, walks up a flight of     stairs to their apartment. There's a JAZZ INSTRUMENTAL     FAINTLY coming from it. And another NOISE. Foreign and     yet familiar. Like grunting... but not. Sara unlocks     the door. Opens it.93   SARA'S POV - LIVING ROOM                                        93     Her father's fucking somebody! On the couch. Half on it     anyway. In broad daylight! The whore underneath him is     moaning. Jesus!     ANGLE WIDENS as Sara turns away from the spectacle.     Reaches for Roy's sax. She blows the longest, shrillest     note known to mankind.94   ON ROY                                                          94     The hair on his head stands up.    His body deflates     instantly.95   INT. KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER                                    95     Sara sits at the table. Roy enters in a wrinkled T-shirt     and battered jeans. His embarrassment is naked.                             ROY               I don't know what to say.    I               don't.                             SARA               How 'bout fuck it? Or should I               say fuck her? It's a fuck-fest,               Roy.                                ROY               Don't talk to    me like that, Sara.                      (beat)               I thought you    were goin' to your               friend's house    after school.               Obviously, you    changed your mind.               So I'm sorry.     Alright?                             SARA               Sorry you got caught.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                            56.95   CONTINUED:                                                   95                                ROY                  Sorry I got... observed     The "whore" with the Hich C is RHONDA. She stands     between the living area and the kitchen entrance now.     Sara tries not to look at her. Can't help it. She has     to see the whore. Not bad looking, in a washed out,     bottle blonde barfly kind of way.                                RHONDA                  Don't be mad at him. It's my                  fault. I'm real sorry, honey.                                ROY                  It's nobody's 'fault.' It's over.                  Let it be over. We're all adults.     Sara glares at him.     The disingenuous Rhonda jumps in.                                RHONDA                  I think he means you know about                  sex. That we have it and he likes                  it. Isn't that what you mean,                  Roy?     Sara looks at her.     Bats her eyes.   Hard.                                 SARA                  Really?   How often do you have it?                                RHONDA                  Things been kind of slow since you                  got here. Once upon a time we                  were real rabbits, weren't we,                  Roy?     Verbal quicksand.      Roy can feel himself sinking.                                 ROY                  Rhonda.   Shut up.   Please.96   INT. SARA'S ROOM - NOT MUCH LATER                            96     OPEN CLOSE ON a framed photo of Glynn and Sara (in full     ballet costume). Embracing. Happy. PULL BACK to see     Sara. Sitting on the edge of her futon, holding Glynn's     clover leaf necklace and staring at her mother's face.     Lost. Lonely. Missing her. She kisses the lucky charm,     smiles at Glynn, slips the necklace on.                                                             57.97   INT./EXT. CAR WASH - DAY                                      97     Patrick, in coveralls, slouches over a mechanic's station     studying. A few workers mill about, waiting for the next     car on a slow day. A BMW with tinted windows peels into     the lot on two wheels. Patrick looks up as Malakai and a     tall, wiry, nattily dressed man get out.                                PATRICK               I got it.     He exits into the lot.    Approaches Malakai and the man     ("TUTE").                                MALAKAI               Medicine Man.     You know Tute.     Tute takes in Patrick.    Looks around.   Snickers     derisively.                             TUTE               You call this a job, man?                             PATRICK               Actually, I call it a car wash.               The work I do, yeah, that's a job.     Malakai lets out a nervous laugh.     Tute doesn't crack a     smile.                              TUTE               I need some sticks.    Watch my               ride, Malakai.     Tute enters the cashier's office.    Patrick looks at     Malakai.                             PATRICK               You hangin' with him now?    Think               that's a good idea, 'Kai?                             MALAKAI               You got a better one?                             PATRICK               You could try layin' all this shit               off for awhile. Give yourself a               chance on the other side.                             MALAKAI               What other side?                             PATRICK               You know what I mean. It ain't               like you don't have good sense.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                               58.97   CONTINUED:                                                      97                                MALAKAI                  I got sense enough to know who I                  am, what I can do and where I can                  do it. I ain't like you. People                  don't just up and hand me shit.     Tute emerges from cashier's office lighting a cigarette     from a fresh pack. He blows a plume of smoke into the     air, regards Patrick.                             TUTE               We ain't here for our health.     You               workin', then work.                      (throws Patrick                       car keys)               And don't forget the rims.98   INT. REYNOLDS' APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM/KITCHEN -                98     LATE THAT NIGHT     Patrick, still in work coveralls, enters. First thing he     does is pick up a stack of mail. Tracking him into     kitchen as he crosses to refrigerator, takes out a plate     Momma Dean's left for him. He sits down at the table,     takes a breath, begins shifting through the mail. His     face registers disappointment. Nothing. Again.99   INT. GUIDANCE COUNSELOR'S OFFICE - DAY                          99     Patrick sits across from Mrs. Gwynn, the reality check of     Patterson High.                             MRS. GWYNN               Maybe you think it's enough to               have the grades, get a full               scholarship. But it isn't,               Patrick. Georgetown makes mulch               of students like you every               semester. You have to be ready to               change. Change friends.               Lifestyle. Your entire point of               view. What I'm saying is, options               won't matter if you don't keep a               clean nose to the grindstone.                             PATRICK                      (looks her right in                       the eye)               I know that, Mrs. Gwynn.     The unflappable Patrick.    He doesn't fool Mrs. Gwynn.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                                 59.99    CONTINUED:                                                       99                                 MRS. GWYNN                   Knowing's easy. Doing is hard.      BEGIN MONTAGE      in which a series of STUDENTS parade in front of      Mrs. Gwynn.100   SNOOKIE                                                          100                                 SNOOKIE                   Me? I wanna operate on cars.                   Some place fly like the Kentucky                   Derby. -- Ah-ha! Joke on you...101   SPACED-OUT STUDENT                                               101                                SPACED-OUT STUDENT                 Career?   That the same as a                 job...?102   DIGGY                                                            102                               DIGGY                 A Rock-n-Rap club in L.A. I'm                 gonna put a tattoo parlor on the                 roof. Soon as I find some                 investors...103   SERIOUS STUDENT                                                  103                               SERIOUS STUDENT                 I want to be a lawyer, but I                 believe in God so I'm not sure                 about it...104   TONI                                                             104                               TONI                 I'm moving to Idaho.      I hate it                 here.105   CHENILLE                                                         105                                  CHENILLE                 Beauty school.                                  (MORE)                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                              60.105   CONTINUED:                                                    105                                 CHENILLE (CONT'D)                   I'm a year behind 'cause of my                   baby, but I'm gonna work during                   the day, go to school at night.                   That's my plan anyway...106   MALAKAI                                                       106                                MALAKAI                   Plans? Yeah. I plan not to be                   poor. Next question...107   NIKKI                                                         107                                 NIKKI                   I get into U.M.B.C., financial                   aid, everything...                                 MRS. GWYNN                   Do I detect a 'but'?      Nikki folds her arms, regards her obdurately.                              MRS. GWYNN                I know you're -- how do you put                it? -- Large here, Nikki. You                enjoy that and it's fine for now.                I guess. But you can't live your                life like a popularity contest.108   MONTAGE ENDS WITH SARA                                        108      walking in.     Sitting down.                                 SARA                   I don't think it's realistic, what                   you're asking. Things happen.                   Things change. And the changes                   change you. What's the point of                   plans?                                 MRS. GWYNN                   To have a sense of direction.                                 SARA                   You can't direct destiny.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                              61.108   CONTINUED:                                                    108                                 MRS. GWYNN                          (fingering Sara's                           papers)                   I see here that you trained for                   Juilliard, that you auditioned.                             SARA               That was a long time ago.                             MRS. GWYNN               It was three months ago, Sara.                      (the brick wall)               Well, if you're not going to               pursue dance, what are you going               to do?                                 SARA                          (hadn't thought about                           it)                   I don't know. Take a year off.                   Work. Go to college later on.                                 MRS. GWYNN                   Be careful with later on, Sara.                   It's a slippery slope. Sometimes                   you can run right on top of it and                   it never catches up with you.109   EXT. O'DONNELL HEIGHTS - ROOFTOP - LATE DAY                   109      A low sun over the cityscape of Baltimore. PUSH IN ON      Patrick and Sara, two dots that grow larger. He CLICKS      ON a BOOM-BOX resting on the roof's ledge. A hip-hop      track BLASTS.                                 PATRICK                   Feel the groove. Don't let the                   music mess with you.      He starts to move with the music. Sara tries to emulate      him. They dance throughout the conversation.                                 SARA                   Did you always want to be a                   doctor?                                 PATRICK                   Who said I wanna be a doctor?                                  SARA                   Chenille.   Everybody.      He cinches her waist, pushes in her ass.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                                         62.109   CONTINUED:                                                               109                                    PATRICK                   Keep it tight.     Watch your butt.                                 SARA                   What kind of doctor do you want to                   be?                                 PATRICK                   Pediatrics. I like kids.         Come                   on, stay with me. You're                   slackin'.                                 SARA                   Do you have any? Kids.                                    PATRICK                   No.   Do you?                                 SARA                   I wasn't being smart, Patrick.                                 PATRICK                   Wouldn't be the first time.      She stops.     Regards him.      He stops.    Regards her.      Stalemate.                                     SARA                   Screw you.      I'm brilliant.      He goes into a spin, a half-split, comes out of it      swaggering and half-stepping around her. Sara gives him      an impish look. Rises up on full pointe, turns out her      legs and lifts one of them in a spiral just below his      head. It happens in two blinks. So fast Patrick thinks      it was a mirage. He stares at her, dumbfounded. Sara      smiles. The look on his face is worth the pain in her      joints. She blows some stray hair out of her face, puts      her hands on her hips. Looks appropriately hapless.                                 SARA                   I didn't get it. That thing you                   just did. Show me again?                                 PATRICK                   What was that shit you just did?      He mimes the move -- badly.        Sara can't help it.       She      laughs.                                   SARA                   A releve.    Over ice.     With a                   twist.                                    (MORE)                                                           (CONTINUED)                                                                   63.109   CONTINUED:                                                         109                                 SARA (CONT'D)                          (succumbs to his                           bewilderment)                   Ballet. I used to dance, Patrick.                                 PATRICK                   You used to dance?                             SARA                Uh-huh. Used to as in don't any                more. And don't ask me why.      She sounds suddenly defensive.       Patrick's suddenly      intrigued.                                PATRICK                Why not?                              SARA                Because I don't want to talk about                it.                              PATRICK                That's why you brought it up. Did                that whole relieve thing. 'Cause                you don't wanna talk about it?                              SARA                Because it's not a big deal.       Can                we just concentrate on this?                              PATRICK                Yeah, we can concentrate.                       (a beat; goading her                        a little)                But I think it is a big deal.                Whatever it is you don't wanna                talk about.      Sara shakes her head adamantly. He nods his head      emphatically. Another stalemate. They dance coyly,      seductively around it.110   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - NIGHT                             110      Sara. Doing stretching exercises as she talks on the      phone.                              LINDSAY (V.O.)                       (over phone)                I'm still gonna pray for you.                              (MORE)                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                                 64.110   CONTINUED:                                                       110                                 LINDSAY (V.O.) (CONT'D)                   Jesus, Sara, you're in the                   freaking ghetto. Forget the                   riots. How are you supposed to                   meet anybody?      Sara slides down the wall, hugs her knees.                              SARA                       (into phone)                I have met somebody. Sort of.       I                think. I mean, there's this                guy...111   INT. REYNOLDS' APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM/CHENILLE'S                111      BEDROOM - NIGHT      Patrick enters to hear CHRISTOPHER SCREAMING his lungs      out. He passes down the hall to Chenille's room to find      Christopher squirming in Kenny's arms. Kenny doesn't      know what to do.                                 PATRICK                          (walking in)                   What y'all doin' to my nephew?      Patrick takes Christopher, holds him and consoles him      until he settles down. Patrick pointedly hands the baby      to Chenille, glares accusingly at her and Kenny as he      quits the room. Kenny regards his son haplessly. Looks      at Chenille.                                 KENNY                   Why's he do that?                                  CHENILLE                   He's a baby.   They cry.                                 KENNY                   He was screaming, Chenille.                              CHENILLE                He don't know you, Kenny.                                 KENNY                   I'm his father. He knows me.                          (meaning now)                   ... What should I do?                                 CHENILLE                   Come around more often.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                 65.111   CONTINUED:                                                       111                                   KENNY                   See?    I can't talk to you.                                 CHENILLE                   And I can't depend on you! Am I                   askin' you to do anything for him                   you ain't supposed to do?                                 KENNY                   You don't ask, Chenille. You make                   demands. You want money, you --                                 CHENILLE                   -- I want you to pick up some of                   the slack. You always have an                   excuse.                                 KENNY                   It's not like that.    I get tied                   up.                                 CHENILLE                   You wanna talk about tied up? Try                   gettin' up in the middle of the                   night to change diapers and give                   him bottles or stayin' up with him                   when he's sick and havin' to drag                   your ass to school the next day.                                   KENNY                   Look.    I'm doin' the best I can.                                 CHENILLE                   It ain't good enough, Kenny!112   INT. PATTERSON HIGH - GIRLS' LAVATORY - MORNING                  112      Dripping, out-of-order faucets, graffiti-laced stalls,      litter-strewn floors are underscored by the spooky      flicker of fluorescent lights. Sara walks in. The      bathroom appears to be empty. She's about to enter a      stall when she hears the murmur of a voice. A guy's      voice. Then a girl's whimper. She eases forward a bit.                                 GIRL (O.S.)                   I don't get paid 'til next week.                                 MALE (O.S.)                   Boo the fuck hoo. You can't put                   my bizness up your nose on no                   layaway plan. C'mon now. You                   know what you gotta do.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                 66.112   CONTINUED:                                                       112      Sara ventures carefully forward to the edge of the      stall's open door. She cranes her neck trying to see      without being sen.      HER POV - STALL      A GIRL is seated on the toilet. A man straddles her, his      crotch in her face. The Girl sees Sara. Something in      her face gives this away. The "man" glances out past his      shoulder. He looks right down our throat straight into      Sara's eyes. Malakai.      ON SARA                                 SARA                   What are you doing?      Malakai backs up. The Girl jumps up, runs out the      lavatory. Malakai zips up his pants. Sara's frozen,      staring at him.                                 MALAKAI                   You didn't see nothin', you don't                   say nothin'. Not unless you want                   a taste for yourself. And that                   can be arranged.      He leaves.     Sara waits a moment.   Exits.113   HALLWAY                                                          113      She sees Mr. Hill, starts to move for him. Someone grabs      her arm from behind. She turns, startled, a little      afraid. It's the Girl from the stall. She looks Sara in      the eye. Shakes her head. Don't. Mr. Hill walks by      them unbeckoned.114   EXT. INNER HARBOR (DOWNTOWN BALTIMORE) - PARK - DAY              114      A perfect day. CAMERA PANS FROM the waterfront TO the      bustling crowds of the inner harbor, then to a park      across from this where Sara and Patrick are practicing.      HIP-HOP MUSIC softly PLAYS from Patrick's BOOM-BOX. Sara      watches his face as they dance.                                 PATRICK                   Didn't you like it when you 'used'                   to dance?                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                67.114   CONTINUED:                                                      114                                 SARA                   Yeah I liked it. I was gonna go                   to Juilliard. That school fucked                   up my entire life. It's a long                   story.                                  PATRICK                   Let me guess. You don't wanna                   talk about it.      Sara looks at him.     A soft smile is all she offers up.115   EXT. PARK - SARA AND PATRICK - LATER                            115      They lay on their bellies in the grass.       Close to each      other.                                 PATRICK                   I stole a bike here once.                                 SARA                   Why'd you do that?                                 PATRICK                   'Cause I didn't have one.                                 SARA                   That's a good reason.                                 PATRICK                   I used to do wild shit like that.                                 SARA                   You and Malakai?                                  PATRICK                   Yep.   Most of the time.                                 SARA                   I don't get you guys.    You seem                   so... different.                                  PATRICK                   We're not.                                 SARA                   Maybe you weren't then but you are                   now. You said you changed.                                 PATRICK                   Doesn't make me different from                   him. Not the way you think it                   does.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                68.115   CONTINUED:                                                      115                                 SARA                   I think Malakai's scary.   And I                   know you're not.                                 PATRICK                          (taking mild umbrage)                   What you mean by scary? 'Kai's                   tough. He has to be. He still                   got a good heart. I know.      Sara stares at the ground, struggling to tell him what      she saw.                                 SARA                   Patrick.                                 PATRICK                   Let me finish. Me and him got                   into some shit awhile back. Real                   bad shit. We held up a gas                   station off 95. I bailed the ride                   -- jumped out the car. 'Kai kept                   goin', got caught.                          (pauses)                   I knew what he was gonna do that                   night. Knew the car was hot. I                   woulda been guilty as him if they                   had caught me, if Malakai had                   served my name up. But he didn't.                                 SARA                   That means you owe him something?                                 PATRICK                   He did his time plus most of mine.                   I owe him that.                                 SARA                   No matter how much he messes up?                              PATRICK                We all mess up. Maybe Malakai                gave up. But he's still m'boy and                he still got a chance. I ain't                just gonna cross him completely                off and be like everybody else.      He looks at her and she doesn't have the heart -- or the      nerve -- to tell him. A long moment. She plucks a      dandelion from the grass, twirls it thoughtfully in her      fingers.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                 69.115   CONTINUED:                                                       115                                 SARA                   I stole a hat once. When I was                   twelve. My mom found it under my                   mattress, made me take it back.                                    PATRICK                   Gangsta' Sara.     Stole a hat.   Call                   the F.B.I.      She looks at him.       Smiles.   Twirls the dandelion under      his nose.                                 SARA                   You gonna turn me in?                                 PATRICK                   I think I'll wait for you to                   surrender.                          (pauses)                   Were you tight with your mom,                   Sara? I mean, y'all get along and                   shit?                                 SARA                          (guardedly)                   Yeah...tight... got along and shit                                 PATRICK                   So she meant something to you.                   How come you never talk about her?                                 SARA                   There's nothing to say.                                 PATRICK                          (studying her face)                   Know why there's nothing to say?                   Because you don't talk about her.                   You won't talk about her.                                 SARA                   I'm sorry she's dead. God! What                   do you want me to do? Run through                   the streets screaming?                                   PATRICK                   Why not?    If it helps.                                 SARA                          (tersely)                   Well, it won't. So drop it.                                 PATRICK                   And you call Malakai scary.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                                 70.115   CONTINUED:                                                       115      She looks at him. Patrick grins. Sara knocks her legs      against his. He knocks his legs back. A silly moment.      But it transcends the tension and creates a sweet truce      between them.116   INT. PATRICK'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT                           116      Momma Dean's fixing dinner. Patrick enters with the mail      in his teeth, a load of books in his arms. He dumps the      books on the counter, busses Momma Dean's check on the      way to the 'fridge.                                 MOMMA DEAN                   I know you're not puttin' those                   dirty hands inside my                   refrigerator.      Patrick  backs up to the sink. Washes his hands.      Impishly  dries them on her apron. He sits, begins      sifting  through the mail. Momma Dean pulls an envelope      from her  pocket. Waves it at him.                                 MOMMA DEAN                   This what you're lookin' for?      Chenille appears in the doorway. Patrick takes the      letter. He's almost afraid to open it. But he does.      And as he reads the letter, a slyly relieved smile      spreads across his face. He tosses the letter in the      air. Grabs Chenille and Momma Dean. And the three of      them jump up and down together with joy.117   INT./EXT. CITY BUS (MOVING) - SARA AND PATRICK - NIGHT           117      Dressed to the nines. They look happy and relaxed, more      so than we've ever seen. They sit close to each other.      Very close.                                 SARA                   Are you gonna tell me where we're                   going?                          (as he grins, shakes                           his head)                   Why is the surprise for me?                   You're the one with something to                   celebrate.                                 PATRICK                   We can celebrate together.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                   71.117   CONTINUED:                                                         117      She looks at him. Can't find any words. So she just      goes into her evening bag and pulls out a small box. She      hands it to him, a little nervous about how it will be      received.                             SARA               I wanted to get you something and               I couldn't figure out what. It's               not much but I hope you like it.      Patrick opens the box. Removes a key chain. It's      engraved with the medical emblem (snake & staff, etc.).      He regards her, touched.                                  PATRICK                   I like it.   I love it.    Thank you.                                 SARA                Wait.     There's more.      She leans in, turns the key chain over in his hand. The      back side of it is engraved with the words, "PATRICK      REYNOLDS, M.D." Patrick locks eyes with Sara, lifts her      hand to his lips. Kisses it softly. The gesture is      succinct but alluring and, for a brief moment, they're      the only two people in the world.118   INT./EXT. CITY BUS - SARA AND PATRICK - LATER                      118      The bus makes a stop and an older white woman gets on.      Sits across from Sara and Patrick who have moved even      closer to each other. Patrick's arm is around Sara's      shoulder. He whispers something in Sara's ear. She      laughs and looks up to see the white woman staring at      them with a muted but obvious repugnance. Watching the      woman from the corner of her eye, Sara drapes her arms      around Patrick's neck, nuzzles at his ear. Patrick's      eyes widen. Sara, playing this for all it's worth, folds      one of her legs between his and whispers:                                 SARA                   We have an audience.      Work with                   me.                                  PATRICK                          (nonplussed)                   Work with you?                                 SARA                          (sotto voce,                           through her teeth)                   Grab something.                                                         (CONTINUED)                                                             72.118   CONTINUED:                                                   118      He grabs her ass   -- what else is there? -- runs his hand      along her side.    The white woman, thoroughly disgusted,      gets up and moves   to the back of the bus. Patrick and      Sara look at each   other, burst out laughing.119   EXT. BALTIMORE HALL - NIGHT                                  119      The equivalent of D.C.'s Kennedy Center, the hall is      awash in lights and activity. Men and women are donned      in formal attire. Parking valets hover on the sidewalks      waiting for cars. Into this, Sara and Patrick walk. She      looks at the crowd, then sees the overhead banner --      "Boston Ballet, A Command Performance." Sara's heart      stops. Her feet freeze. Patrick looks at her. She      looks positively catatonic.                                 PATRICK                   Surprise... Sara?                                 SARA                          (quietly urgent)                   I can't. I can't go in.                                 PATRICK                          (doesn't understand)                   You have to go in. This is where                   I'm bringing you. The ballet.                                  SARA                          (beside herself)                   I know, but --                             PATRICK                      (crestfallen)               But what?      Sara looks at him, feeling bad. Feeling stupid for      ruining the evening. She bites her lip, shakes her head      ("but nothing"). Patrick takes her and they go in.120   INT. BALTIMORE HALL - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT                     120      Sara and Patrick watch the Boston Company perform Igor      Stravinsky's "Scenes De Ballet" as choreographed by      Christopher Wheeldon. They're both enraptured. But      while Patrick keeps sneaking excited glimpses of Sara,      her eyes remain fixed on the dancers, the dance. She is      utterly, totally engaged and amazed. The yearning that      never really left her returns to tug at her heart and      project her soul onto the stage.                                                              73.121   EXT. STREET (SOMEWHERE IN BALTIMORE) - NIGHT                   121      Post-ballet, Sara and Patrick walk. She's quiet,      introspective. Patrick's at a loss. He can't decipher      her mood and, which is more, he's disappointed by it.                              PATRICK                I thought you would like it.                              SARA                I did.                              PATRICK                You ain't actin' like you did.      She looks over at him, tries to smile.                              SARA                I'm sorry.      They come to a small, secluded bridge.     Sara sits down on      the edge of it. Patrick follows suit.      A long moment.                              SARA                I don't want you to think I didn't                have a good time tonight, Patrick.                I did. But ballet isn't a part of                my life anymore.                              PATRICK                Why not? What happened? You just                woke up one day and decided to                waste your talent.                              SARA                       (without rancor)                How do you know I have talent?                Because I did some stupid leg                trick.                              PATRICK                I saw the look on your face when                you did it, Sara. The same look I                saw tonight. Goofy happy. So if                you're gonna tell me somethin'                about not dancing, at least tell                me somethin' real.      A long, difficult moment wherein Sara attempts to find      the words, face the pain that comes with them. Finally,      she looks at him.                              SARA                Maybe I don't want it to be real.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              74.121   CONTINUED:                                                    121      She stares out at the water, the moon reflected off of      it. It's hard to reconcile that beauty and the turmoil      she's feeling. But she goes on.                              SARA                What I want is to wake up and see                my mom. For things to go back to                the way they were. When they made                sense. When my life made sense.                       (because)                And it's all my fault. She got                scraped off the highway for me,                for my fucking audition. She was                rushing. It was raining. It was                raining...                       (a torrent)                ... But she promised to be there.                I made her promise. And then I                didn't wait for her. I should                have but they called my name and I                didn't say anything. I just went                out and danced. I was mad. I                needed her and she wasn't there.      She buries her face in her hands, breaking down, racked      with tears and guilt. Patrick puts his arms around her.                              SARA                       (inconsolable)                She was dying while I was dancing                and I was mad at her and I'm                sorry. I'm sorry...                              PATRICK                It's not your fault it rained or                she died. Or that you danced.                That's what you were there for.                Your mom would've expected you to                do what you did.      Sara, choking on tears, regards him forlornly.                              SARA                That's what makes it so bad. She                always did what was right for me.                I wanted to be a prima ballerina                -- had to be. Even if it took                most of our money, all of her                spare time. I didn't care. It                was my stupid dream and it killed                her. All she wanted was for it to                come true.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                           75.121   CONTINUED:                                                  121                                 PATRICK                   You still got whatever you had                   when your mom was alive, Sara.                   She wouldn't want you to give up.      Sara swipes at her face, looks up at him, still crying.                                 SARA                   I know... but she... I just don't                   think I can do it without her.                                 PATRICK                          (holding her)                   Do you want to do it, Sara? I                   mean you. Do you want Juilliard?                                   SARA                   Yeah.   I do.                                 PATRICK                   Then it's on you to make the dream                   come true.                                  SARA                   Yeah.   For my mom.                                  PATRICK                   For her.   For you.122   EXT. ROY'S APARTMENT/STREET - THAT NIGHT                    122      Patrick walks Sara to the front door. They pause on the      stoop. Neither of them wants the night to end.                                 SARA                   See you tomorrow?      A rhetorical question under the circumstances. Patrick      regards her tenderly, moves her hair from her eyes.      Stares deeply into them. Sara smiles wanly, certain she      looks like shit. But it doesn't matter. The moment has      named itself. And so, with more certainty than passion,      they kiss.123   INT. SARA'S ROOM - NIGHT                                    123      CAMERA PANS the room, PICKING UP small touches from      Sara's past life, her previous bedroom -- more on display      than we've seen before. HOLD ON closet door. A beat      before Sara emerges from behind it, ballet slippers in      hand. She takes a deep breath. Slides them on. Peers      down at her feet. Wiggles them. Nothing magical or      mystical but simply wonderful. Gleefully wonderful.      Like the end of a long day's journey to home.                                                               76.124   EXT. INNER HARBOR COMPLEX   (DOWNTOWN BALTIMORE) - DAY         124      Sara and Patrick negotiate the heavy pedestrian traffic,      exit the complex. He leads her to a mall of trees and      bike paths.                              PATRICK               Lemme see that move you did.     That               cute leg relieve thing.                      (as she shakes                       her head)               Come on, Sara.                             SARA                      (hates to admit this)               It hurts! I'm out of shape and it               hurts. Okay? Satisfied?                              PATRICK                       (admiring her)                That's what you call outta shape,                what's it take to get you in                shape?                                SARA                Practice.                              PATRICK                This is the perfect spot for that.                You can run around and I can sit                under the trees and watch you.                              SARA                I don't get in shape like that.                But it's still a good spot.                       (diffidently)                I got my application for                Juilliard. Just in time too.                They're holding auditions in                Baltimore next month.                                PATRICK                That's great!      She looks at him, shakes her head.   Not that great.                              SARA                I'll never be ready in a month.                              PATRICK                Sara, you puttin' the mojo on                yourself.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                                77.124   CONTINUED:                                                       124                                  SARA                           (a smile in spite of                            herself)                   Mojo?                              PATRICK                Negative shit. White folks call                it karma. The bad kind.                              SARA                You don't understand. Ballet                takes a lot of time, a lot of                preparation. I used to practice                two, three hours every day. I'm                so far behind...      ... And unsure and afraid. Which Patrick can sense.        But      he won't let her go there or stay there. He's firm,      matter-of-fact.                              PATRICK                Quit whinin' and catch up then.                              SARA                It's not as easy as that. My free                form still sucks. It's still the                weakest part of my routine. That                hasn't changed.                                 PATRICK                   So I'll help you with it.                                  SARA                   You will?                                 PATRICK                          (surprised that she's                           surprised)                   Yeah. I'll help you. Tell me                   what you need to do and let's get                   busy.      MONTAGE SEQUENCE      BEGINS OVER THEME MUSIC.125   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - SARA'S ROOM - NIGHT                       125      Sara in the mirror dressed in leotards and tights.       She      bends forward from the hip, extends a leg, a      corresponding arm.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                78.125   CONTINUED:                                                      125      As she tries to complete the arabesque, the backward-most      leg buckles. She steadies herself. Starts over.      SARA - IN VARIOUS STAGES OF GETTING BUSY126   PATTERSON FOOTBALL FIELD                                        126      Hip-hop hybrid with Patrick.127   DANCE STUDIO                                                    127      In class.    Struggling to keep up.128   STREET                                                          128      On way to and from bus stop.    Practicing as she walks.129   DANCE STUDIO                                                    129      Alone with her instructor.    Looking good.130   DANCE STUDIO - LATER                                            130      Alone with her instructor.    Looking better.131   ROY'S BATHROOM                                                  131      Soaking and tending her bleeding feet.      MONTAGE ENDS.132   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - LIVING AREA                              132      OPEN CLOSE ON a black hand shaking a white one. PULL      BACK to reveal Patrick and Roy. Sara enters looking      striking, pretty, very down. Chenille's influence is      written all over her makeup and her clothes. Overlooking      Roy, she blithely tags Patrick.                                 SARA                   Let's skip.                          (cursory, to Roy)                   Later.      They leave. Roy stands in the middle of the room,      dumbfounded.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                               79.132   CONTINUED:                                                     132                                 ROY                   Let's 'skip'?                          (mumbling to                           himself)                   Three months and she's skipping?133   INT. FEETZ - BAR - NIGHT                                       133      Usual suspects, usual music. Patrick hands Sara a call-      brand beer. Leans in with his drink, openly and      contently with her.      ANOTHER ANGLE      Nikki and her crew (Jasmin, Tiff'nee, Alyssa). Nikki      hasn't seen Patrick and Sara. She's showing her crew a      dance.      ANOTHER ANGLE      Chenille, Diggy and another black girl.     Fraternizing.      ANOTHER ANGLE - DEEJAY BOOTH      A chrome-domed deejay with a Barry White baritone bellows      into his mike as he changes the music.                              DEEJAY                Master P with the 'Ghetto D'.                Showmesomethin', showmesomethin',                give up that cruel. Eyes on you!      WIDER as the dance floor swells with kids. PICK UP Sara      and Patrick among them. She looks at him nervously. He      smiles.                              PATRICK                Nobody's watchin' you but me.      A gallant lie. Sara tries    to believe it. They dance.      Practice has made her near   perfect. Their movements are      ambitious, nimble, better   than anyone else on the floor.      They move so well together   that Snookie, dancing nearby,      starts chanting:                                SNOOKIE                Go, Patrick!    Go, Patrick!                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                 80.133   CONTINUED:                                                       133      FROM ANOTHER ANGLE OF DANCE FLOOR      Diggy.     Jiggling and wildly gyrating.   Chiming in --                                  DIGGY                   Go, Sara!   Go, Sara!      PATRICK AND SARA      building up a sweat; confidently dancing at fever pitch.                                DEEJAY (V.O.)                  Everybody have funk, funk, funk!134   INT. FEETZ - DANCE FLOOR                                         134      Sara and Patrick, still going at it. Snookie, Diggy and      others prance around them like backup dancers.      ANOTHER ANGLE - NIKKI      standing with her crew dourly observing Patrick and Sara.                                NIKKI                  Watch me squash their shit.    Hard.      ON NIKKI      Shoving, pushing, and barging her way up to Patrick.      Without preamble or regard for Sara, she starts dancing      with him. Patrick looks at Sara but he's somehow dancing      with Nikki. Sara retreats with daggers in her eyes.      Pissed.      PATRICK (AND NIKKI)      unresponsive as she grinds her body into his, raw and      wild.      SARA      standing where she can see but can't be seen from the      dance floor. From a curtain of kids, Malakai suddenly      appears at her side. Sara can't move. She's boxed in.      Malakai indicates Nikki and Patrick with slick      satisfaction, whispers derisively:                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                                81.134   CONTINUED:                                                      134                                  MALAKAI                   You ain't never gonna look as good                   as she does with him. That's oil.                   You're milk. Ain't no point in                   tryin' to mix.      He evaporates into the crowd.        Sara stands there.      PATRICK AND NIKKI      as a SLOW DANCE BEGINS. Nikki starts to press herself      against Patrick. Patrick holds her off with both arms.      Walks away.      WIDER ANGLE - DANCE FLOOR - FAVOR PATRICK      moving toward Sara.      A stark, apologetic expression on his face. He takes her      hand. Sara fiercely jerks away. Patrick grabs her hand      again, more emphatically this time. But Sara won't budge      from the spot where she's standing. So Patrick slides      his arms around her, holds her without moving. They      remain like this for a moment or two until they slowly      begin to dance. We PUSH IN ON them in this little space.      Patrick's lips brush Sara's ear.                                 PATRICK                   Sara...?                                 SARA                   What?                                 PATRICK                I'm sorry.      ANGLE PAST THEM ON MALAKAI      slow dancing with his flavor of the night. Eyes on Sara      and Patrick. Both underwhelmed and resentful of what he      sees.135   INT. ROY'S ROWHOUSE - HALLWAY/FRONT DOOR - THAT NIGHT           135      Sara unlocks the door. She and Patrick enter. She turns      on the lights. Looks at him. Answers the unspoken      question.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                   82.135   CONTINUED:                                                         135                                 SARA                   He's in D.C. Blues Alley.   He'll                   be gone all night.      Patrick sits down on the sofa. Sara crosses to the      STEREO, turns it ON. A SAX SOLO begins playing.                                SARA                   Roy's demo. The only one he ever                   cut. Kinda grows on you.      A beat.   Somewhere between five seconds and forever.      Then:                                 SARA                   Wanna see my room?      Patrick looks at her, nods. He gets up, follows Sara      behind the partition into her "room." They stand there      for a moment. He cups her face with his hands. Kisses      her. They begin to take off each other's clothes,      alternately sure and fumbling; a bit awkward, a bit      urgent. Sara unzips Patrick's pants, catches something      other than his clothes. Patrick winces in pain. She      looks at him with an embarrassed grimace. Says this very      low.                                 SARA                   Sorry...      They kiss again, stumble backward to her futon.       Fall      down upon it and begin to make love.136   INT. PATTERSON HIGH - HALLWAY - PATRICK AND SARA -                 136      DAY      CAMERA TRACKS them as they walk down the hall hand-in-      hand, sometimes exchanging greetings with other students.      They are officially a couple and they appear to be in      love. At the door to Sara's next class, Patrick busses      her lips before she enters.137   INT. SARA'S CLASSROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION                          137      No teacher is present. The class files in. Toni drops      down in a chair beside Sara. She leans over in a      conspiratorial whisper.                                 TONI                   Whatever you do, don't fuck him.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                  83.137   CONTINUED:                                                        137                                  SARA                   Excuse me?                                 TONI                   'Hit it and quit it,' that's their                   motto.                                   SARA                   Whose motto?                                   TONI                   Black guys.    Everybody knows that.      The teacher walks in.       Sara quickly whispers back to      Toni.                                 SARA                   Don't forget, they all have big                   dicks and beat their wives.                   Everybody knows that too.138   INT. RIB JOINT (SOMEWHERE IN BALTIMORE) - NIGHT                   138      Malakai, along with Snookie and two brain donors, ARVEL      and LIP, eat at a booth. Patrick strolls in gritty from      work. Tired from work. He slides in next to Malakai.      The mood is light, jovial.                                 ARVEL                   You smell, boy.                                 PATRICK                   How can a piece of shit tell?      The table cracks up.                                 MALAKAI                   You been scarce lately, man.                   Where you been?                                 ARVEL                   Somewhere dreamin' of a White                   Christmas...                                 LIP                   ... And Christmas ain't even for                   'nother six months.                                 SNOOKIE                   Lip. It's a so-to-speak thang,                   you ignorant fuck.                                 (MORE)                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                  84.138   CONTINUED:                                                        138                                  SNOOKIE (CONT'D)                           (looks at Patrick)                   So.   So to speak? Whassup.                                 PATRICK                          (snatching up one of                           his ribs)                   Back out my business, boy.                                 MALAKAI                          (watching Patrick                           keenly)                   You tappin' that white girl, man?                          (half joking)                   That's why you ain't got time for                   your boyz no more, you too busy                   frontin'. Too busy snowflakin'.      Patrick lifts one of Malakai's ribs, responds coolly.                              PATRICK                How am I frontin', 'Kai? I made                time for this bullshit, didn't I?                              LIP                Aww, man. You busted. That's why                your jaws are gettin' so tight.                              SNOOKIE                You the one need his jaws                tightened with your pork-ass                instigatin' self.                              ARVEL                       (re: Patrick's roving                        fingers)                Order somethin', Patrick. This                ain't no goddamn soup line.      Patrick grabs some of Arvel's fries, chews them in his      face.                                 PATRICK                   Y'all hangin' tonight or what?                                 MALAKAI                   We thinkin' about slidin' through                   that new rec center opened up on                   the Eastside. You ridin'?                                  PATRICK                   Eastside?   That's the wrong side.                                  (MORE)                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                               85.138   CONTINUED:                                                     138                                 PATRICK (CONT'D)                   I ain't messin' with those fools                   over there. You know how they                   are.                                 MALAKAI                   I ain't pressed. I got my own                   shit.      Shorthand. The table stops. Malakai glances around,      lifts his shirt to expose a gun. Patrick stares at      Malakai with disbelief.                             MALAKAI               What you think? I'ma keep walkin'               around waitin' for some chump to               cap me? I'ma protect myself.                             PATRICK               That ain't protection. It's an               excuse for some unnecessary               mayhem.                             MALAKAI               Ain't nothin' unnecessary 'bout               it. Shit. Mayhem and madness.               That's a black man's life.                             PATRICK               How you know? You ain't tried               nothing else. Now you sittin' up               here strapped for no good reason.               You askin' for trouble, Malakai.                      (as Malakai laughs)               You think this shit's funny?      Snookie shifts uncomfortably. Arvel and Lip look at      Malakai. Malakai looks at Patrick, coldly drops his      smile.                                 MALAKAI                   I think it's funny you think it                   ain't necessary. You act like you                   don't know where you are no more,                   Patrick, and whassup out there for                   anybody who ain't you. Maybe                   that's what happens when a white                   girl goes to your head.                                 LIP                   -- Or gives you some.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                               86.138   CONTINUED:                                                     138                                  PATRICK                   Fuck you, Lip.                          (looks at Malakai)                   I know what's out there. I also                   know you can get past it. But                   that ain't gonna happen, 'Kai,                   long as you keep gettin' in your                   own way.                                 ARVEL                          (peacemaker)                   Aw'ight. Y'all said what you had                   to say. We back to bein' boyz.                   Patrick. Chill. Have some ribs.139   INT. ROY'S ROWHOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT                          139      Sara and Patrick, post-coital. She's in her robe. He's      dressed but they're fooling around as they fix      sandwiches. Patrick drops down in a chair. Sara drops      down on his lap.                                 PATRICK                   What's your favorite flower?                                 SARA                   I don't have a favorite.                                 PATRICK                   Yeah, but if you did...                                 SARA                   I dunno. Maybe cymbidiums --                   orchids. They're sort of show-                   boaty but they're pretty.                                 PATRICK                   What's your favorite color?                                    SARA                   Agua.                                 PATRICK                   What's your second favorite color?                                    SARA                   Mmm.    Mauve.                                 PATRICK                   You're makin' this real hard,                   Sara. Those ain't exactly tuxedo                   colors.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                  87.139   CONTINUED:                                                        139      Sara swings her legs around, facing him, straddling him.                                  SARA                   Nut.   What are you talking about?                                 PATRICK                   I was tryin' to get around to                   askin' you somethin' but since I'm                   some sorta nut, you probably                   wouldn't wanna go to prom with                   me...      She throws her arms around his neck, kissing him.      Patrick slides his hands under her robe, cups her      breasts. Sara responds to him. They are too engrossed      in this intimacy to hear the FRONT DOOR OPENING, to see      Roy until he walks in and sees them. Sara leaps up,      closes her robe. Patrick doesn't know what to do. He's      caught. Straight up. Red-handed. Roy's eyes dart      between them, settle on and slice into Patrick.                                 ROY                   Patrick -- it is Patrick, isn't                   it?                          (a small awkward nod)                   Well, I think you were just                   leavin'.      Patrick stands up.      Sara grabs his arm defiantly, holds      him back.                                 SARA                   Why does he have to leave?   We're                   all adults. Right?                                 ROY                   He either leaves or I throw his                   ass out. Your call, Sara.      Patrick jerks his arm free from Sara, grabs his jacket      off the back of his chair. He back-talks Roy as he      passes him.                                 PATRICK                   Chill, man. I'm goin'. You don't                   have to come off with all 'at.                             ROY               Who the hell are you to tell               me how to come off? You're in my               house alone with my daughter.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                               88.139   CONTINUED:                                                     139      It takes everything Patrick has to keep walking until      he's out the door. It slams behind him. Sara marches up      to Roy, furious.                              SARA                I hate being your daughter.    You                ruin everything.      She tries to stomp off.    Roy kicks a chair in her path.      Snarls.                              ROY               Siddown.                      (not a request; an                        order; as she sits)               It's a free country, you can hate               me. Ain't like that's exactly               news. But disrespectin' me,               that's where the road ends, Sara.               I don't want him up here again. I               mean it.                             SARA               You mean it because he's black.                             ROY               Don't start that bullshit!                             SARA               Why's it bullshit? Because you               hang with black guys and play jazz               and have the hots for Angela               Bassett?                             ROY               Because he was in my house with               his hands all over my daughter!                              SARA                Keep telling yourself that. Just                don't expect me to believe it. I                saw how you looked at him. But                you didn't see him. Well, for                your information, he's a straight-                A student with more heart and guts                than you'll ever have!                                 ROY                   Yeah? Well, when are you gonna                   have the guts to say what you                   really want to say to me, Sara?                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                               89.139   CONTINUED:                                                     139                                 SARA                          (screaming at him)                   Want me to say it? You were a                   piece of shit husband and you're a                   piece of shit father! You were                   never there for Mom or for me.                   You took off and never looked                   back. So don't talk to me about                   guts.      Not quite the truth, but near enough to sting. It quiets      Roy down. He regards her with regret and guilt.                                 ROY                   Sounds like you have it all                   figured out.                             SARA               I have you figured out. You think               you can make up all the time you               missed, all the things you didn't               do? You can't! I'm here because               I have to be and it's a goddamned               nightmare.                             ROY               Well, you might as well wake up               and get used to it, Sara, because               that's the way things are               sometimes, the way life is.                             SARA               How the hell would you know?               You've been asleep for the past               thirty-seven years!      Now she does storm off. This time Roy lets her.     He      can't find the words to deny what she's said.140   EXT. PATTERSON HIGH - QUAD OUTSIDE CAFETERIA - DAY             140      A break between classes draws the requisite claques and      cliques. Sara and Patrick huddle over a chemistry book,      attentive to each other. Nikki stands off watching both      of them. Malakai saunters up to her smoking a joint.      Hazily indicates Patrick and Sara.                                 MALAKAI                   The 'Love Boat.'                                 NIKKI                   Love shit. That bitch is tap-                   dancin' on my last nerve.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                90.140   CONTINUED:                                                      140                                 MALAKAI                   Looks like she's tap-dancing on                   your last boyfriend. She got it                   like that? Naw. Never mind.                   Stall it. I ain't heard shit.                                  NIKKI                   Stall what?   What you hear?                                 MALAKAI                   Some trash she's talkin'.   About                   you.                                  NIKKI                   About me?                                 MALAKAI                   Yeah. How you ain't all 'at since                   Patrick's takin' her to the prom.                          (in for the kill)                   I am a little bit... chagrined                   though, Nikki. You lettin' some                   white ho' show you up like that.      He regards her with bemused pity. Nikki, with all her      inner outrage, manages to salvage her pride. She sneers      in his face.                                 NIKKI                   Fuck you, Malakai. Fuck her too.                                 MALAKAI                          (gaily, a she sails off)                   Ain't no need in fuckin' me...                   stuck up, bitch... I'm on your                   side141   INT. PATTERSON HIGH - HALLWAY - DAY                             141      Patrick drinks at a water fountain. Looks up. Malakai's      standing there. There's still some tension between them.                                 MALAKAI                   Yo. Me and the boyz fixin' to                   shoot some hoops. Us against                   Druid Hill. If you interested.                                  PATRICK                   Druid Hill?   Hell yeah.                                 MALAKAI                   Gotta skip last period.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                             91.141   CONTINUED:                                                   141                                 PATRICK                   I got study hall. Don't matter                   anyway. Not with those suckers.                   I'll be back before the bell                   rings.      They walk off together and, after a few steps, begin      dribbling imaginary balls down the hall.142   INT. GYM (PATTERSON) - DAY                                   142      A girls' basketball game in progress. Sara's playing      defense. She's on Nikki's team. She blocks a shot but      Chenille, on the opposing team, gets it on the rebound.      Basket. Nikki shoots Sara a murderous look. Stupid,      uncoordinated bitch.143   EXT. DRUID HILL PLAYGROUND - BASKETBALL COURT                143      A four-on-four game in progress. Patrick, Malakai,      Snookie and Arvel versus the Druid Hill Two Deuces. An      unseen BOOM BOX BLASTS the music of JAY-Z throughout.      Patrick has the ball. He passes it to Malakai. They AD-      LIB insults to the Two Deuces. This is heaven for them.      Talking shit and playing ball. The best time.      INTERCUT WITH:144   INT. PATTERSON HIGH - GYM                                    144      Sara takes her defensive position against an opposing      player, successfully blocks the shot, tries to slam the      ball to Nikki. It clips Nikki's head, bounces out of      bounds. Nikki, her dignity stunned, her patience out,      walks up to Sara, shoves her to the floor. Sara looks up      at her as some disembodied voice calls out:                              FEMALE VOICE                Don't start nothin', won't be                nothin'! Stay down, girl!145   EXT. DRUID HILL - BASKETBALL COURT                           145      Malakai dribbles the ball around one of the Two Deuces,      skies it. Misses the hoop. Patrick rebounds. Passes it      back to 'Kai. He takes the shot. Makes it. Patrick and      Arvel strut victoriously.146   INT. PATTERSON HIGH - GYM                                    146      Sara jumps up, shoves Nikki back.    And the fight is on.                                                             92.147   EXT. DRUID HILL - BASKETBALL COURT                            147      As the dejected Deuces look on, Malakai high-fives      Patrick and Snookie. Arvel's moving into their circle      when SHOTS RING OUT. Everybody on the court instantly      dives to the ground for cover.148   INT. PATTERSON HIGH - GYM                                     148      Sara and Nikki tumble to the gym floor. The surprise is      Sara. She matches Nikki blow for blow. It's a punishing      fight for both of them and it only ends when the gym      teacher separates them.149   EXT. DRUID HILL - BASKETBALL COURT                            149      A car speeds off. Patrick raises up, looks around.      Malakai nods. He's okay. Snookie's crawling to the      exit, snot-nosed and crying. He's okay. Then they see      Arvel. Sprawled on the ground. Covered in blood. He      seems lifeless.150   INT. MRS. GWYNN'S OFFICE - SARA AND NIKKI - DAY               150      In adjacent chairs across from Mrs. Gwynn's empty one.                              NIKKI                       (a hiss, under her                        breath)                It ain't over, bitch.                             SARA               Over? I don't even know why it               started... bitch. And don't say               it's about Patrick because it's               not. It's not about him.                            NIKKI               No. It's about you. White girls               like you. Creepin' up, takin' our               men. The whole world ain't               enough. You gotta conquer ours               too.                              SARA                I like him, he likes me. And if                you don't like that, screw you.      Mrs. Gwynn walks in.   Sits down.    Looks reproachfully at      them.                               MRS. GWYNN                Girls.   I think you need to talk.                                                               93.151   INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - LIVING AREA/SARA'S ROOM - DAY           151      Roy's tuning his sax when Sara enters. Her face is a      mess. Yet she drifts by, bruised and bent over, as if      this were the norm. Roy does a double-take.                              ROY                What the hell happened to you?                              SARA                I got suspended. Two days.      She straggles into her room.    Roy follows her to the      futon.                              ROY                For what? Fighting?                       (as she nods                        like "no shit                        Sherlock")                Why were you fighting, Sara?                              SARA                       (sardonically)                I'm not sure. I think it's some                kind of black female thing.      He sis down beside her, instinctively reaches out to      touch her face, assess the damage. Sara sharply flinches      away. But Roy persists and after a moment, she lets him      minister to her.152   INT. REYNOLDS' APARTMENT - KITCHEN - EVENING                   152      Patrick walks in, Arvel's dried blood stained into his      clothes. Chenille's cooking with a sound-asleep      Christopher slung over her shoulder. She and Patrick      regard each other morosely.                               CHENILLE                How's Arvel?      Patrick slumps down at the kitchen table.     He's barely      audible.                              PATRICK                Pretty bad.                       (almost to himself)                Can't even play a got-damned game                of ball no more.      Chenille comes up behind him.    Squeezes, pats his      shoulder.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                               94.152   CONTINUED:                                                     152                                 CHENILLE                   You see Sara? She alright?                          (as he looks up                           with a question                           mark)                   You didn't hear? Nikki jumped off                   at her in gym. It was fierce...      Given the day, this is the straw on Patrick's back. He      bolts from the table and on his way out nearly bumps      heads with Kenny.153   INT. ROY'S ROWHOUSE - HALLWAY - NIGHT                          153      Patrick RINGS the DOORBELL. Sara opens the door      slightly, just enough for Patrick to see her face.      It      pisses him off.                                   PATRICK                   Shit!                                   SARA                   It's alright.    I'm okay.      Roy appears in the space behind her, looking out.      Sara      can feel his presence. Her eyes implore Patrick.                                 SARA                   Look.  It's not a good time.                          (gently shutting                           the door)                   I'll see you later... I'm okay.154   INT. LAUNDROMAT (SOUTHEAST BALTIMORE) - EARLY EVENING          154      The laundromat is empty but for a few customers and      Nikki. She's loading clothes from two large baskets into      washers when her brother DIONDRE, 10, races in. He's      grinning from ear-to-ear.                              NIKKI                Diondre, what your butt doin'                here?                              DIONDRE                       (a taunting twist)                I can go where I want. You the                one on punishment.      Nikki swings a wet shirt with no intention of hitting      him. She looks up. Patrick's standing in the doorway.      Diondre runs up to him, holds out the palm of his hand.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                               95.154   CONTINUED:                                                     154                                   DIONDRE                   There she go.    Gimme my two                   dollars.      Patrick pays him. Diondre darts out. Patrick walks up      to Nikki. Nikki clenches, tries to dismiss him with a      backhanded wave.                                 NIKKI                   Whatever it is, I don't wanna hear                   it.      Patrick leans up against a washing machine and for a long      moment just looks at her. The walk there has composed      his emotions.                                 PATRICK                   I thought you had somethin' to say                   to me.                                 NIKKI                   You thought wrong.      An old black woman is avidly, openly watchin' them.      Patrick indicates a bench on the other side of the      laundromat. Nikki petulantly follows him there. They      sit. Patrick looks at her.                             PATRICK               Somethin' must be on your mind for               you to get up in Sara's face,               start all this drama. What you               tryin' to prove, Nikki?                                 NIKKI                   You're the one tryin' to prove                   something. Stuck up in her shit                   like she's somethin' special.                                 PATRICK                   What if she is? What's it to you?                   You didn't see me trippin' off                   that Howard dude and I could have.                   I coulda tripped hard, Nikki.                                 NIKKI                   That was different.                                 PATRICK                   How you gonna call it different?      She stands up.     Looks down at him.    Raises her voice.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                            96.154   CONTINUED:                                                  154                             NIKKI               Because she's white and he ain't.               And don't sit there like you don't               know what I'm talkin' about,               Patrick.                             PATRICK                      (glaring at her)               You don't even know what you're               talkin' about, Nikki.                                    NIKKI                   I don't?     Y'all black men, soon as                   you even    think about goin'                   someplace    good, first thing you do                   is find a    white girl to take with                   you.                                   OLD WOMAN (O.S.)                   Uh-huh.      Patrick glares in the Old Woman's direction, then back at      Nikki.                                 PATRICK                   I thought I was goin' someplace                   good with you. You the one called                   me off. But you ain't tryin' to                   remember that. Now you mad. Why?                   Because she's white and I like                   her? I'm with her.                                NIKKI                   Please. You're with her because                   she's white. That's what sets me                   off.                                 PATRICK                          (exasperated)                   It ain't got no business settin'                   you off! Me and her ain't got                   nothin' to do with you and what                   you think. So keep your hands off                   her and that shit to yourself.      Nikki folds her arms across her chest, looks at him      defiantly.                                 NIKKI                   I don't think it, I know it. But                   you go ahead, deny it. That's                   what y'all always do.      She turns on her heels, goes back to her machine.      Patrick rises, sees the old woman glinting at him. He      holds her hateful stare for a moment, then walks out.                                                                97.155   INT. REYNOLDS' APARTMENT - CHENILLE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT           155      Chenille and Kenny.     In the middle of a contentious      moment. He tries to     give her some money. She snatches      it out of his hand.     Kenny looks at her. He's hurt.      Chenille's too mad to    see it.                                 CHENILLE                   What? I'm supposed to get excited                   because you decided to skate by                   and drop a dollar on the dresser?                                 KENNY                   It's more than a dollar. And it's                   all I got.                          (beat)                   I got laid off rom B.W.I.,                   Chenille. I been workin' part-                   time. Money's tight. You know                   how you are about money. That's                   way I haven't been coming around.      Chenille stares at him for a long moment.       Her voice is      low.                                 CHENILLE                   Money ain't got nothin' to do with                   it, Kenny. You don't come around                   because you don't feel like comin'                   around. You don't want the                   responsibility of comin' around.                   As long as you out there and I'm                   in here, you know your son's being                   taken care of. You ain't got no                   worries when it comes to him.                                 KENNY                   And you don't have no   feelings                   when it comes to me.    All you do                   is bitch and complain   about what I                   don't do. I get sick    of that.                                 CHENILLE                   Be sick of it. You ain't got to                   see me to see your son.                                 KENNY                   I'll be sure to keep that in mind.      He leaves.    Chenille stands there, mad at him.    Mad at      herself.156   INT. FREE CLINIC (SOUTH BALTIMORE) - DAY                        156      The lowest common denominator for misery.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                               98.156   CONTINUED:                                                     156      The room is filled with young women, most them black, and      children of all ages. They are piled up like cars on a      freeway, waiting to be seen. The noise level is at a      peak when Chenille and Sara walk in. Chenille's carrying      a fussy Christopher, his diaper bag and her backpack.      Sara, wanting to be helpful, reaches for Christopher.                                 SARA                   Want me to take him?      Chenille shakes her head. Walks to reception to sign      herself in. Sara takes in the faces of girls younger      than herself, the grime and gloom of the room. It's      incomprehensible that this is a place where sick children      are brought to get well. Chenille finishes at the desk.      Returns to Sara. They cross to a corner of the clinic      where they sit -- on the floor. Chenille indicates the      receptionist bitterly.                                 CHENILLE                   That wench. You gotta stand over                   her to make sure she puts your                   name on the damn list. Triflin'                   bitch.      Chenille starts to change Christopher's diaper. He      starts to wail and flail. Chenille can't placate him.      One of his kicks connects with Chenille's open backpack,      sends books and papers flying. Sara can see the veins      stand up on Chenille's neck.                                   SARA                   I'll get 'em.      She does. Chenille's finally got control of Christopher      but he's still crying. Chenille slips off his dirty      diaper. When Sara hands her a clean one, Chenille      regards her strangely, as if just remembering that she's      there.                                 CHENILLE                   So your old man flipped about the                   fight.                          (with some animus)                   Probably thinks it's all Patrick's                   fault.                                  SARA                   No.   I explained about Nikki.                                 CHENILLE                   Right. You put it all on her.                   None of it's on you.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                               99.156   CONTINUED:                                                     156                                 SARA                   She started it, Chenille. She                   wanted to start it. I told you                   what she said.      Chenille flashes a look, finishes up with Christopher.      She picks him up, puts a bottle in his mouth. Cradles      him.                                 CHENILLE                   Maybe she didn't have no business                   gettin' in your face. But she had                   a reason to say what she said.      A reason?    Sara studies her, trying to fathom the remark.                                 SARA                   So you agree with her? You think                   I don't belong with Patrick.                                  CHENILLE                   What I think don't matter. But                   you and him act like it don't                   bother people that you're                   together. Like it don't hurt                   people to see.                                 SARA                          (her Irish up)                   We like each other. What is the                   big fucking deal? It's him and                   me. Not us and other 'people.'      The white girl with the rose-colored reasoning. Chenille      glares at Sara, her voice designed to snatch the blinders      off.                                CHENILLE                  Black people, Sara. Black women.                         (passionately)                  Patrick's about somethin'. He's                  smart. He's motivated. He's for                  real. He ain't gonna make no                  babies and not take care of 'em or                  run the streets, fuck up his life.                  He's gonna do somethin' with                  himself. Here you come, white and                  right, and you take one of the few                  decent men left after jail, drugs                  and drive-bys. That's what Nikki                  meant about you up in our world.      Sara sits there, stupefied.    Understanding.    Not      understanding.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                               100.156   CONTINUED:                                                      156                                 SARA                   There's only one world, Chenille.                          (pauses)                   I thought we were friends. Guess                   I was wrong.      She gets up, walks out. Something in Chenille wants to      call after her, but she's too miserable, too torn up      inside to do it.157   INT. FEETZ - BAR - NIGHT                                        157      Patrick and Malakai nurse drinks. The MUSIC fails to      move them. They have too much on their minds. Malakai      fires up a cigarette.                                 MALAKAI                   So what you gonna do?                                 PATRICK                   How many times you gonna ask me                   that?                                 MALAKAI                   It's payback time. Either you                   down or you ain't. Either you                   m'boy or you not. Simple as that.      Patrick takes a long moment. The choice is simple. It's      the decision that's complicated. He downs his drink.      Hedges.                                 PATRICK                   Even if I did ride, you ain't got                   nobody but Lip and Lip will get a                   nigger's ass killed. Quick.                             MALAKAI               Eastside ain't got no firepower.               I got some shit, man. AK-47. We               go in, get out with one spray               down.      Just then Snookie and Sara walk toward them from the      dance floor. Something in their faces unsettles Sara but      Snookie, oblivious, dances up to the bar, snapping his      fingers and bobbing his head.                             SNOOKIE               You see us, Patrick?                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                          101.157   CONTINUED:                                                 157                                 MALAKAI                          (a storm warning)                   You see us, man? We're rappin'.      Snookie rebuffs him, keeps talking to Patrick...                              SNOOKIE                Me and Sara lit it up!      Y-e-o-w!      ... bumps his butt against Sarah's hip, does a very      ungainly half split. Sara and Patrick exchange smiles.      Malakai isn't amused. He flattens Snookie's ass with the      business end of his foot. Snookie sprawls flat on his      face to the floor. Now Malakai's amused. Sara looks at      Patrick. Patrick scowls at Malakai.                                 PATRICK                   That shit ain't funny.                                 SNOOKIE                          (springing up)                   Damn right it ain't funny.                                 MALAKAI                   I thought you liked it down there.                   That's your specialty, ain't it?                   Crawling?                              SNOOKIE                That was a reflex action, man.                And you just plain rude and wrong                to bring the shit up in mixed                company.      Sara's not quite sure what they're alluding to but she      doesn't want the displeasure of Malakai's company. She      taps Patrick.                              SARA                I gotta get home. Ready?      Malakai's eyes slice into her. First Snookie, now this      bitch. Steppin' all over his conversation with Patrick.                             MALAKAI               No, he ain't ready. He's talkin'.               To me. A-B conversation. Gotta               go? C yourself the fuck home.                              SARA                       (a real reflex action)                Fuck you.      Malakai lunges for her. The move is so swift and sudden      Patrick overturns his stool to dive between them. He      sweeps Sara behind him, into the path of a startled      Snookie. Stands there nose-to-nose with Malakai, staring      him down, furious with him.                              PATRICK                Have you lost your motherfuckin'                MIND, man? Huh? Have you!      Sara, frightened and frozen, doesn't know what to do.      Snookie's voice weakly creaks out. He's trying to rise      to the occasion.                             SNOOKIE               Patrick, man, c'mon.      But Malakai and Patrick stay where they stand. Too close      for comfort. Both in the danger zone. Malakai regards      Patrick with a combination of cruel anger and deep,      genuine hurt.                             MALAKAI               You take that bitch's back and               won't even cover mine?                             PATRICK               'Cause you wrong, Malakai!                             MALAKAI               No! You wrong. You BEEN wrong.               You ain't worth shit no more.                      (venomously)               Get out my face, and take that ho               with you.      Patrick bucks up. Sara walks over to him, gently      clutches his sleeve. It's no easier to turn away from      Malakai than it is to walk away from a lifetime of      friendship. But Patrick does. With Sara holding onto      his arm, at his side, he turns and walks away.158   EXT. STREET - SARA AND PATRICK - NIGHT                     158      walking. A heavy silence. Sara looks over at him.      Patrick doesn't say anything. But after a moment, he      reaches down and takes her hand and they walk on like      this together.      OVER MUSIC (e.g. BUSTA RHYMES' "Dangerous.")159   INT. DANCE STUDIO - SARA AND PATRICK - MORNING             159      Practice her free form, a hip-hop ballet hybrid. They're      both tired, irritable, beaten down. They've been there      awhile. Sara makes a misstep. Patrick stops. Cold.      Sara grits on him.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                                   103.159   CONTINUED:                                                          159                                 SARA                   We should keep going.                                    PATRICK                   You messed up.                                 SARA                   I know I messed up. I'll get it                   right the next time.                             PATRICK               No. You gonna get it right now so               you can do it perfect next time.      She glares at him, exasperated.         So many things bottled      up.                                 SARA                   I can't work like this.      I can't                   dance like this.                                PATRICK               Like what?                                SARA               Like this.     You dictating to me.      He crosses the room, CUTS OFF the MUSIC. Looks at her.      Sara walks over to a window seat near him. Flops down.                                 PATRICK                   What's wrong, Sara?                                 SARA                   Nothing's wrong.                          (except)                   I can't figure things out.                                 PATRICK                   What things? The audition? You                   ain't got nothin' to worry about.                   I told you. I'll be there.                                 SARA                   Things, Patrick. Things between                   us. Things between us and them.                             PATRICK               I didn't know there was a 'them.'                                 SARA                   Well, open your pretty brown eyes,                   look the hell around.                                 (MORE)                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                               104.159   CONTINUED:                                                      159                                 SARA (CONT'D)                          (he's so nonplussed)                   Everything's screwed up. Nobody                   wants to see us together, not even                   Chenille. I don't know why they                   feel that way. How can I know?                   Maybe they have a point, Patrick.                                 PATRICK                   They only got a point if you                   believe they got a point, Sara.      She looks at him... and loves him... and doesn't know      what to do.                                 SARA                   I'm just saying that we should                   think about this, that's all.                                 PATRICK                   That's a fuckin' 'nough.                                 SARA                   Why are you getting mad?                                 PATRICK                   Because I like to think for                   myself, run my own life, and I                   thought you did too.      Sara looks at him.     Now she's getting mad.                                 SARA                   You're never gonna run your own                   life as long as you keep running                   back to Malakai every time he                   fucks up or fucks you over.      She's crossed the line. But Patrick responds so      deliberately, so calmly prosaic, that she doesn't      immediately realize it...                                 PATRICK                   First of all, Malakai ain't never                   fucked me over. Second of all,                   you don't know him, Sara, what he                   been through. Matter of fact, you                   don't know shit about none of it.                   So don't come off to me like you                   do.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                105.159   CONTINUED:                                                       159                                 SARA                   I know he's lost, Patrick!                   Everybody but you can see that.                   And if you keep reaching back for                   him, you're gonna wind up lost                   too.      ... until he erupts.                                 PATRICK                   Who the fuck are you to say he's                   lost? Malakai had my back when                   you were busy gee-whizzin' in the                   woods with your backward-ass,                   redneck friends.                             SARA               They weren't rednecks!      Patrick yanks his boombox off the floor, glares at her.                                    PATRICK                   You know what?     The hell with you.      Sara yells after him.     Her VOICE ECHOES in the empty      studio.                                 SARA                   The hell with you too!160   EXT. PATTERSON HIGH - HALLWAY OUTSIDE SARA'S CLASSROOM - 160      DAY      Sara exits, looking pretty much like she feels. Like      shit. She walks a few paces. Sees Patrick. Their eyes      connect for a brief, awful moment before they continue on      their respective ways.161   INT. PATTERSON HIGH - SARA'S LOCKER/HALLWAY -                    161      LATER THAT DAY      Sara's at her locker. Patrick walks up to her. She      looks at him, tries to smile past the dour expression on      his face.                                    SARA                   Hi.      Patrick doesn't say anything at first.       But then:                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                            106.161   CONTINUED:                                                    161                                 PATRICK                   Thought you might need this on                   Saturday. I ain't gonna be able                   to make it.      He hands her an audio cassette of her free form music.      Sara gazes at it, then up at him, understanding what this      means. She won't let him see how it shatters her. He      hesitates, as if he wants to say something else. But      Sara turns her back on him and Patrick walks away.      ANOTHER ANGLE - TONI      approaching Sara's locker. Having seen the encounter      between Patrick and Sara, she's as smug and overbearing      as ever.                                 TONI                   Lovers' quarrel? You're better                   off. That menace to society                   would've broken your heart and                   spent all your money in a news                   flash. Trust me on that, Sara.      Sara stares at her, uncomprehending at first. She      resists the urge to slap the smile off Toni's face.   She      gets in it instead.                                 SARA                   Toni, listen carefully. You're a                   simple bitch and you don't have                   any friends, black or white,                   because nobody likes a fucking                   asshole.      She storms off leaving Toni, for once, speechless.162   INT. PATTERSON HIGH - HALLWAY/CAFETERIA - DAY                 162      Sara. Caught up in a throng of kids and    somehow very      separate from them. The walls have been    transformed into      veritable billboards for the senior prom   -- decorations      are everywhere. Sara continues down the    hallway almost      aimlessly into the...163   INT. CAFETERIA - CONTINUOUS ACTION                            163      Sara. Carrying a food tray, eyes searching for a place      to sit. She picks up Chenille and her girls at one      table... Nikki and her crew at another... Patrick and      Snookie... and, finally, Toni. Sara dumps her food into      a trash can, walks out.                                                             107.164   INT. DANCE STUDIO - DAY                                       164      Sara. Alone. She pushes the tape from Patrick into an      ancient recorder. The MUSIC COMES ON. She takes to the      floor. Her face is like a pinched nerve. She wants to      cry. She tries to dance.165   INT. SARA'S ROOM - NIGHT                                      165      Sara's on the futon, flipping through a photo album.      Pictures of her and Glynn. Roy knocks on the partition.      Waits a beat before he comes in. He looks at Sara. She      keeps flipping.                              ROY                I was wondering... how long you                plan on hating me? Maybe I'm an                optimist but I hope there's some                kind of timetable.                       (this raises a                        small smile)                Well, I don't wanna bug you. I                just came in to say good luck.      Sara regards him quizzically. Roy goes to her dresser,      picks up an envelope from Juilliard.                              ROY                I saw the return address. Got                curious. It was open. I read it.                I know I shouldn't have but at                least now I have an excuse to tell                you how proud I am of you, Sara.                              SARA                       (quietly miserable)                I was gonna tell you about the                audition, Roy. I meant to.      She's clutching the photo album.    Roy sits down next to      her.                              ROY                Tomorrow's the big day?                               SARA                Uh-huh.   The big day.                               ROY                You bummed out about it?                        (as she shakes                         her head)                You're a worse liar than I am                father.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                                   108.165   CONTINUED:                                                          165                                 SARA                   You're not so bad.                          (close to a                           confession)                   I didn't give you much to work                   with. It's not like I've been the                   perfect daughter.                              ROY                Well, it ain't like I deserve a                perfect daughter. I screwed up.                Did everything in a hurry and                still thought I had all the time                in the world. To be in love with                your mother. Be a father to you.                But time flies. You look up one                day and all you got to show for                yourself is a pretty little girl                who hates your guts and won't talk                to you because too much time went                by.      Sara's eyes well up.    Before she can stop herself,        she's      crying.                              SARA                I don't hate you. I miss her. I                miss Mom...                       (as Roy takes her                        in his arms, tries                        to console her)                ... Patrick's pissed at me. I'm                pissed at him. He's not coming                tomorrow and I want him there and                I don't know what to do.      Sara draws back from Roy, wipes her tears.       Collects      herself.                              ROY                You want him there. I understand                that. But whatever he brings to                the table, Patrick can't dance for                you, Sara. You're the bottom line                out there. This is your chance to                be the dancer Juilliard came to                see.                              SARA                I wanted somebody there who loves                me.      Roy regards her softly, significantly, the irony      implicit.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              109.165   CONTINUED:                                                     165                                 ROY                   I love you.      Sara looks up.    For the first time in her life, she      believes him.166   INT. HOSPITAL - I.C.U. WAITING ROOM/CORRIDOR - EVENING         166      Patrick's bouncing on his knees, speaking to Arvel's      parents, who are clearly stricken. Arvel's father,      stoic, holds his wife's hand. Arvel's mother kneads a      Kleenex, her face etched with tears. Patrick hugs her.      Stands up to see Malakai frozen in the doorway, put off      by the palpable grief. Patrick crosses over to him.      They retreat quietly into the corridor, their concern for      Arvel a shaky ground for conciliation.                                 MALAKAI                   Why his mom's cryin' like that?                   Arvel's gonna make it, right?                   That what's his nurse said. She                   told me herself, 'Your friend's                   gonna make it.' Did that bitch                   lie to me! Talk to me, Patrick!                   Is he gone?      Patrick steers Malakai away from the waiting room, backs      him against a wall and, in a gentle but firm way, holds      him there.                                 PATRICK                   They just got bad news, man. They                   don't need to hear it again.                          (trying to be                           strong; faltering)                   Arvel's fightin'. He's gonna pull                   through. Thing is, when he does,                   they don't think... he ain't...                   shit. Arvel ain't gonna walk                   again.      In that moment, whatever's left of Malakai's soul      crumbles. He looks at Patrick with aggrieved disbelief      and then a building anger. A stronger man would probably      cry.      Patrick eases his grip. Malakai straightens his body,      cocks his head slightly. Studies Patrick in this      crooked, derisive way.                                 MALAKAI                   I got a good reason now, man?                                 (MORE)                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                               110.166   CONTINUED:                                                      166                                 MALAKAI (CONT'D)                          (off Patrick's silence)                   Aw'ight, college boy. You do what                   you think is the right thing.                   I'ma do what I know is the only                   thing.      He starts to walk off, doesn't get far before Patrick      calls out.                                 PATRICK                   Malakai...                          (a fleeting hesitation)                   ... When it's on, I'll be there.167   EXT. PLAYGROUND (O'DONNELL HEIGHTS PARK) - DAY                  167      Groups of children scatter around worn-out playground      equipment. The gleeful squeal of them is everywhere.      Patrick guides Christopher down a slide; Chenille catches      him at the bottom. Christopher can't get enough of this      ride and Patrick and Chenille repeat the routine      throughout their conversation.                                 CHENILLE                   Why you so quiet?                          (off Patrick's                           brooding look)                   Patrick Reynolds ain't got nothin'                   to say? That's a first.                          (catches her son                           with a whee!; then)                   You know how I go off on folks                   sometimes. I mean it and then I                   don't mean it. Like what I said                   to Sara. Guess she told you.                                 PATRICK                          (monotone)                   I don't care what you said,                   Chenille.                                 CHENILLE                   Patrick. Your ass is on your back                   and your lips are on the ground.                   You care, baby brother. And not                   just about what I said.                          (as he looks at her)                   You seriously like Sara. She got                   a serious jones for you. Am I                   lyin'?                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                                111.167   CONTINUED:                                                       167                                 PATRICK                   It's besides the point. Whatever                   point it is you tryin' to make.                              CHENILLE                I'm sayin' you can't help who you                love, Patrick. At least you found                somebody who loves you back.      Patrick regards Chenille impassively.    Hands Christopher      to her.                                PATRICK                I gotta go.                              CHENILLE                To where? To who? Malakai?                       (sucks her teeth)                You ain't through with that fool                yet.                              PATRICK                He's not a fool, Chenille.                              CHENILLE                No. You know what? You're the                fool, Patrick. You think you let                Malakai down and all you did was                try to pull yourself up. Ain't no                blame or shame in that.                                 PATRICK                          (very low; a broken smile)                   I still gotta go. Check you                   later.      Holding Christopher, Chenille watches Patrick walk out of      the playground. Disappear. She and Christopher move on      to a seesaw. Chenille bobs him up and down on one end of      it. She's snuggling in Christopher's face when the other      end suddenly drops to the ground. Chenille looks up.      Sees Kenny.168   EXT. PLAYGROUND - SWINGS - CHENILLE AND KENNY - LATER            168      They're side by side on swings. Christopher's nestled      against Kenny's chest, soundly snoozing. They slowly      swing throughout.                                 KENNY                   It cut me, what you said.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                                     112.168   CONTINUED:                                                            168                                 CHENILLE                          (means this)                   I shouldn't have... I was                   trippin'.                                 KENNY                   You always trip. I'm used to                   that. Besides, you were right.                   You were wrong, too. So was I. I                   need to do better. Ain't no doubt                   about that.                                 CHENILLE                   I know I come down on you hard                   about money, but I would rather                   you spend the time. Seriously.                             KENNY                      (jokingly)               So you don't want any money?                             CHENILLE               I didn't say all that.      He smiles. Gently rubs Christopher's brow.          Looks at      her. Chenille smiles at him.                                 KENNY                   I love my son, Chenille.    You know                   that, don't you?                                  CHENILLE                   Yeah.   I always knew that.169   EXT. BALTIMORE SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS - ESTABLISHING               169      SHOT - SATURDAY EVENING      of the building, the downtown skyline, etc.170   INT. BALTIMORE SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS - AUDITORIUM -               170      SAME TIME      The house lights      are on. Several seats in the front row      are taken up by      judges for Juilliard. Further back are      the families and      friends of other dancers. PUSH IN and      FAVOR Roy among      them.171   INT. BACKSTAGE AREA - SARA                                            171      Warming up, other dancers, all in costume, around her.      Her eyes wander from the clock to the stage door.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                            113.171   CONTINUED:                                                   171      A sign on it reads: "JUILLIARD SCHOOL OF DANCE -      BALTIMORE AUDITIONS." She stares at it, fingers the      clover leaf necklace with an unsettling sense of deja vu.      ANGLE - WOMAN      with a PINCE-NEZ with a clipboard, navigating among the      dancers with a clipboard. She calls out:                                  PINCE-NEZ                   Johnson.   Sara Johnson...172   EXT. STREET (O'DONNELL HEIGHTS) - NIGHT                      172      Patrick's waiting on the sidewalk. Malakai pulls up in      Tute's BMW. Lip's in the backseat. Patrick gets into      the car. It takes off down the street.173   EXT./INT. STREET - BMW - DRIVING - NIGHT                     173      RAP MUSIC blasts ON the RADIO. No one in the car is      saying anything. Malakai has a "40" between his legs.      He sips from it, passes it to Patrick. Patrick takes a      short swig, passes it back to Lip. As he does this, a      set of keys fall out of his jacket into his lap. Patrick      picks them up. Looks at the key chain, his present from      Sara. He looks at Malakai.                             PATRICK               Pull over.                      (as Malakai glances at                       him, not understanding)               This ain't helpin' nobody, 'Kai.               I'm out. I mean it. Stop the               car.                                 LIP               Awww, shit.      Here we go.                             MALAKAI                      (furious)               What you mean you out? You think               I'ma let your punk ass bail on me               again?      Patrick starts to open the door. Malakai speeds up. The      CAR CAREENS down the street, SQUEALS around corners.      Finally comes to a red light. Stops. Patrick starts to      open the door. Malakai grabs him by the jacket. Pulls      his gun. Patrick looks at Malakai and now he sees him.      Sees that he's lost and desperate... and dangerous.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                                 114.173   CONTINUED:                                                        173                                 PATRICK                   What you gonna do, 'Kai? You                   gonna shoot me? Go ahead! You'll                   have to!                                  LIP                   Let him out!   We don't need him.                              MALAKAI                Shut the fuck up.      Patrick jerks himself loose. Opens the door. Malakai      cocks the gun. Patrick's face flinches at the sound of      it. He can feel it trained on his back as he gets out      the car. But Malakai can't do it. Wouldn't do it. He      takes off like a bat out of hell.174   EXT. STREET                                                       174      Patrick heads down the street. As he walks, he can hear      the sound of GUNFIRE behind him, and then the sound like      an EXPLOSION. A CAR HORN goes off in a persistent drone.      Patrick stops. Stands there for a moment. Then he's      walking again. Without looking back. And then he's      running away from the mayhem behind him.175   EXT. STREET - SAME TIME                                           175      The BMW's tangled around a street lamp. Inside Malakai      slumps over the steering wheel, a bullet through his      head.176   INT. BALTIMORE SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS - AUDITORIUM -           176      NIGHT      Pince-Nez leads Sara to the stage.      Announces her.      Sara walks onstage.      She nods down at the judges, looks out into the audience.      Her eyes anxiously search for Patrick... hoping. Her      MUSIC begins.      Grieg's Peer Gynt (Morning). Sara starts to sway, moving      like an angel through the soft cloud of this music. Her      line, proportion and balance are impeccable.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                            115.176   CONTINUED:                                                   176      Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (Tanz der Schwane) begins and      Sara slowly blossoms, opening herself up to the music      like a flower. She completes every turn and twist and      leap with confidence, energy and persuasion. She is      doing what a dancer should do -- engaging the audience,      igniting their imagination, drawing them in.      ANGLE - JUDGES      perking up, taking notes, attentive to her.      SARA      finishes with a flawless arabesque.      Looks out.      REVERSE ANGLE - JUDGES      One of the more imperious-appearing JUDGES removes his      glasses, speaks to her. Sara's still trying to catch her      breath.                              STERN JUDGE                You prepared a free-form?                              SARA                Yes... sir... they have... my                music.                              JUDGE                Does it have a theme?                              SARA                Yes.  Emo...                       (clears her throat)                Emotion.      The Judge turns around, shouts to someone we can't see:                                 STERN JUDGE                   Cue Johnson's music.      MUSIC UP: A remix of hip-hop (e.g., LAURYN'S HILL'S doo      wop; NAS'S "We Will Survive" and JAY Z's latest) and      snatches of CLASSICAL.      SARA      stands there. Doesn't move. Can't. She finally walks      up to the edge of the stage. Looks down at the judges,      her eyes filled with trepidation. Her voice is a shaky      whisper.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                                   116.176   CONTINUED:                                                          176                                 SARA                   I'm sorry. I wasn't ready.       Can                   you start it over again?      REVERSE ANGLE      The Judge waving off the MUSIC.      It STOPS.      He regards      Sara impatiently.                                 STERN JUDGE                   Are you ready now?      Before she can respond, Patrick's voice booms from the      back of the auditorium.                                   PATRICK (O.S.)                   Yes, sir.    She's ready.      ANGLE WIDENS to reveal him coming forward. Rushing for      the stage. He pauses at the apron of it. Looks up at      Sara. She peers down at him, astounded. Shaken. He      smiles at her. She smiles back. Patrick's eyes softly      take her in.                                  PATRICK                   You can do it.                          (because)                   Ain't nobody watchin' you but me.      Sara's eyes focus on him.       She nods.     Turns to the      judges.                                   SARA                   I'm ready.      As her MUSIC cues up, Patrick slowly backs away from the      stage.      Sara begins to dance.      She starts out strong and gets stronger. Every emotion      she feels, every experience she's had, comes to life in a      way that we've never seen before, not even when she was      practicing with Patrick. Her body has finally found a      way to get inside this kind of music, to elevate its      meaning and transform her dance.      The MUSIC ENDS.     The lights go up.      Sara stands in the middle of the stage breathless,      sweating. She lifts her head slowly and the ANGLE WIDENS      to reveal --                                                          (CONTINUED)                                                                 117.176   CONTINUED:                                                        176      Patrick letting out a giant whoop...      The judges react and the audience gasps...      ... as he bounds onto the stage and...      Roy jumps to his feet.      Proudly and loudly clapping.      Just like Glynn.      ANGLE - SARA      overwhelmed beyond belief. Patrick's coming toward her.      She flies into his arms, free and happy, overjoyed. But      the triumph of her performance and the sheer bliss of the      moment are transcended by something deeper and clearer,      which is her love for Patrick.      JUDGES      struggling to maintain their and the proceeding's      decorum, since the audience, caught up in the throes of      this excitement, has begun to loudly, enthusiastically      react.                                 STERN JUDGE                   Ladies and gentlemen, please!                          (to Patrick)                   Young man! Get off the stage.      WIDER to reveal the room.      Patrick hugging Sara, looks down at the judges.                              PATRICK                All due respect, if ya'll don't                let this girl in, you're crazy!      Sara pulls Patrick back. Walks alone to the edge of the      stage, composed and professional again. She regards the      judges with a beaming resolve and a ballerina's curtsy,      then simply says:                                  SARA                   Thank you.   Very much.                                  STERN JUDGE                   Ms. Johnson!      Sara stops.    Turns back to him.      The Judge smiles.                                 STERN JUDGE                   I can't say this on the record --                   yet. But welcome to Juilliard.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                               118.176   CONTINUED:                                                      176      SARA'S FACE      lovely and radiant as it breaks into a cheek-to-cheek      smile. WIDER as she walks slowly, deliberately back to      Patrick. Stops. Looks at him. Just looks. And then      she throws her arms around his neck, kissing and hugging      him. Emotional. Patrick swings her into the air, twirls      her around and around, as we:                                                   DISSOLVE TO:177   INT. HOTEL BALLROOM - SENIOR PROM - NIGHT                       177      OVER SLOW MUSIC (possible theme song):      Sara (in a gown) and Patrick (in a tux). Dancing (as if      they had danced from the last FRAME INTO this one). They      are beautiful.      WIDER to reveal the entire dance floor...      And we see that it's the senior prom.      The room's dressed up like a dreamy, futuristic romantic      illusion. The ceiling's ablaze with tiny, star-like      lights; under them large poufs of cotton clouds hang.      Glittering, mirrored balls dangle over the main floor.      Seniors dance in traditional and cutting edge tuxes and      mouth-watering, eye-popping versions of dresses and      gowns. CAMERA PANS the floor, PICKING UP:      A surprisingly dashing Snookie and the fly girl. As they      dance, he bravely but rather too abruptly dips her...      Diggy (in a glitter tuxedo and spiked hair) and her      date...      Nikki with whom we shall perceive to be the Howard      University guy. In any event, he looks slightly bored.      Chenille with Kenny, smiles at Sara as she and Patrick      dance by.      CAMERA FAVORS and PUSHES IN ON...      Sara and Patrick. Gazing at each other.     The SONG ENDS      with them in each other's arms.                                                   FADE OUT.                              THE END
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+"THE SEARCHERS" Revised Final Screenplay by Frank Nugent FADE IN Behind the main title and the credits: EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - CLOSE SHOT - MOVING JUST ABOVE GROUND LEVEL - A STUDY OF HOOFPRINTS - LATE AFTERNOON The hoofprints are deeply etched in the ground, picking their way through scrubby desert growth. An occasional tumbleweed drifts with the light breeze across the pattern of prints; and lightly-blown soil and sand begin the work of erasing them. The CAMERA FOLLOWING the hoofprints RAISES SLOWLY TO: EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - LONG SHOT - LATE AFTERNOON We see the rider now. BACK TO CAMERA, jogging slowly along -- heading down a long valley toward a still-distant ranch house with its outlying barn and corrals. EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - MED. SHOT - MOVING - LATE AFTERNOON The CAMERA FRAMES and MOVES with the lone horseman. He is ETHAN EDWARDS, a man as hard as the country he is crossing. Ethan is in his forties, with a three-day stubble of beard. Dust is caked in the lines of his face and powders his clothing. He wears a long Confederate overcoat, torn at one pocket, patched and clumsily stitched at the elbows. His trousers are a faded blue with an off-color stripe down the legs where once there had been the yellow stripes of the Yankee cavalry. His saddle is Mexican and across it he carries a folded serape in place of the Texas poncho... Rider and horse have come a long way. The CAMERA HOLDS and PANS the rider past and we see another detail; strapped onto his saddle roll is a sabre and scabbard with a gray silk sash wrapped around it... Horse and rider pass, moving closer to the ranch as a little girl and a small dog come tearing around the corner of the house. EXT. THE YARD OF THE EDWARDS RANCH - MED. SHOT - DEBBIE - LATE AFTERNOON She is staring wide-eyed at the distant horseman o.s. Her little dog has seen him too and is barking excitedly. DEBBIE quickly reaches to grab the dog by the scruff of the neck, crouching over him. Debbie is 11 years old with a piquant, memorable face. EXT. THE YARD - CLOSE SHOT - DEBBIE Here we must establish and dramatize what it is about her face that is memorable, so that if we were to see her again five or six years later, we would know it is she -- perhaps the eye color or the slant of eyebrow, or a trick of scratching bridge of nose with crooked forefinger. EXT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - MED. SHOT - AARON - LATE AFTERNOON The ranch house is of adobe, solidly built, with a sod and cross-timbered roof, deep windows. A small gallery or porch extends across the front. AARON EDWARDS comes through the door, attracted by the dog's barking -- and then he, too, sees the approaching horseman and comes farther out -- curious but not at all apprehensive. Aaron is a lean, weathered and tired man, with a down-swept mustache; a gentler-looking man than Ethan and possibly a few years older. As he squints off, studying the rider, his older daughter, LUCY, comes out to stand behind him. Lucy is from 16 to 18 -- a pleasant, feminine girl. She is carrying a mixing bowl with some sort of batter in it, which she now completely forgets to whip in her interest in the approaching stranger. In the next instant MARTHA EDWARDS follows the daughter onto the porch. Martha is a still-lovely woman, although the years have etched fine wrinkles about her eyes and mouth, and work has worn and coarsened her hands. Those hands will never be idle when Martha is on scene... And now, while she shares the family's interest in the approaching horseman, she automatically notes that Lucy has forgotten her task -- and she takes the mixing bowl from her and stirs the batter. EXT. YARD OF THE EDWARDS HOUSE - FULL SHOT - LATE AFTERNOON Along the side of the house comes BEN EDWARDS, 14, with a man-sized armload of chunkwood clutched to his chest. He, too, has spotted the stranger and is all attention. So much so that he trips, but recovers his footing. He pauses to dump the wood into a woodbox by the door -- his eyes always riveted on the oncoming rider -- and then he moves toward the others, biting a splinter out of a finger. Beyond Ben, MARTIN PAULEY emerges from the barn and crosses the open ground heading toward CAMERA. Martin is somewhat under 20, a lithe, perfectly coordinated male animal, with Indian-straight hair and a white man's eyes. He is carrying bridle or other horse-gear. He looks to the family on the porch -- to see if they recognize the stranger -- then out again. He continues, followed by Ben, toward where Debbie crouches over her dog. EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - LONG SHOT - ETHAN - LATE AFTERNOON As he rides downslope toward the house. THE CREDITS END. EXT. THE EDWARDS RANCH - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA, LUCY, AND AARON - LATE AFTERNOON Suddenly, Martha's eyes widen as she -- even before Aaron -- recognizes the distant rider. Her hand goes to her mouth to check the name that trembles on her lips... An instant later Aaron, too, identifies the oncoming horseman. AARON (incredulous) Ethan? He looks at her, frowning, then slowly steps out onto the hard ground. Martha hands the bowl back to Lucy and follows Aaron. EXT. THE YARD OF THE EDWARDS HOUSE - FULL SHOT - THE GROUP as Ethan rides in and sits his horse, looking down at them. There is a noticeable constraint on all of them. Finally: ETHAN Hello, Aaron... His eyes shift to Martha and hold. Ethan is, and always has been, in love with his brother's wife and she with him. ETHAN Martha... MARTHA (a bit shakily) Hello, Ethan. Ethan slowly, stiffly swings out of the saddle. Aaron and Martha exchange quick glances... troubled, puzzled. Aaron pastes on an uncertain smile as Ethan comes around his horse toward their side. AARON How's California? ETHAN How should I know? AARON But Mose Harper said... ETHAN That old goat still creakin' around?... Whyn't someone bury him? He goes to his saddle pack, begins unlacing it. Ben and Debbie have inched closer -- half-shy, half-curious. Debbie's dog begins sniffing at his heels. Ethan looks down at them - not unfriendly, just a man not used to children. ETHAN Ben, ain't you? Ben nods. ETHAN (frowning at Debbie) Lucy, you ain't much bigger than when I saw you last. DEBBIE I'm Deborah! (pointing) She's Lucy. Ethan looks in the direction of the pointing finger. EXT. YARD - ANOTHER ANGLE as Lucy steps down from the porch and approaches. MARTHA Lucy's going on seventeen now... BEN An' she's got a beau! Kisses him, too! MARTHA That's enough... Go on inside and help Lucy set the table... You, too, Deborah! EXT. YARD - FULL SHOT - ANOTHER ANGLE as Martin -- with slightly averted face -- crosses to take the bridle of Ethan's horse and lead him away. ETHAN (wheeling on him) MOMENTO! Martin checks his stride, stares in surprise. MARTHA (contritely) Martin!... Here we've been standing... Ethan, you haven't forgotten Martin? ETHAN Oh... Mistook you for a half-breed. MARTIN (levelly) Not quite... Quarter Cherokee. The rest is Welsh... So they tell me. ETHAN You've done a lot of growin'... AARON It was Ethan found you squallin' in a sage clump after your folks was massacred... ETHAN (bluntly) It just happened to be me... No need to make any more of it... MARTIN I'll take care of your horse for you, Uncle Ethan. Again, he starts to lead away. ETHAN Hold on! Martin stops again. ETHAN I'll take this... He completes unlacing the pack and takes it -- treating it as though it contained something of value. Martin watches with a touch of resentment: Ethan doesn't trust him. Ethan turns and sees the look. He doesn't care what Martin thinks, nor does he explain. Martin leads the horse off. MARTHA Supper'll be ready by the time you wash up... Let me take your coat for you, Ethan. He hesitates, then grudgingly surrenders it -- conscious of its sorry condition. MARTHA (smiling faintly) And... welcome home. He just nods, then turns to follow Aaron around the side of the house toward the wash-up. EXT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA She stands alone, looking after Ethan -- his coat in her arms. She holds it against her breast for just a moment and her eyes are tender. DISSOLVE TO: INT. EDWARDS HOUSE - FULL SHOT - NIGHT The family is finishing dinner -- and the scene is not quite, but almost, a still-life. Loud in the room is the pendulum tick of a Seth-Thomas clock on the mantel above the fireplace -- in which logs are burning briskly. Ben crouches near the fireplace, fascinatedly examining the scabbard and sabre Ethan has brought home from the wars. He tries to ease the blade just a bit out of its scabbard. Aaron sits at one end of the hand-hewn table, Martha at the other. At her right is Ethan, his fork scraping the last crumb off his plate. Lucy sits at her father's right and Martin at his left. Next to Martin is Debbie. In the center of the table is the sorry remnant of what was once a meal. Lucy and Martin have finished eating. Aaron is sipping his coffee, and Martha -- her own plate largely untasted -- is watching Ethan. Ethan has shaved, changed his shirt. He straightens contentedly and every eye is on him, expectantly. ETHAN Good. The clock rattles alarmingly -- the usual preliminary to its striking; and then it bangs out the strokes like a fire-alarm gong. Eight fast clangs. AARON Ben! Deborah! Bed! DEBBIE But I've got to help with the dishes. MARTHA Not tonight... Ben, put that sword back. BEN It's not a sword, ma... it's a saber! (moving to Ethan) Did you kill many damYankees with this sabre, Uncle Ethan? ETHAN (matter-of-factly) Some... BEN How many damYankees, Uncle Ethan? MARTHA Ben!... Martin, he'll sleep in the bunkhouse with you tonight. Martin nods and crosses to kiss Martha good night. MARTIN Good night, Aunt Martha... Uncle Aaron... (he hesitates) Good night, Uncle Ethan. Ethan doesn't like being called Uncle -- as we must know from the quick look he shoots at Martin. But he acknowledges it. ETHAN Night. Ben reluctantly puts the scabbard away, turns to Ethan. BEN Will you tell me tomorrow about the war? AARON The war ended three years ago, boy! BEN It did?... Then whyn't you come home before now? MARTHA BEN!... Go 'long with Martin. MARCH! As Ben reluctantly heads out with Martin, Deborah crosses to Ethan's side and studies him gravely. DEBBIE Lucy's wearing the gold locket you gave her when she was a little girl... ETHAN Oh? DEBBIE She don't wear it much account of it makes her neck green. LUCY (aghast) Deborah! DEBBIE (defensively) Well, it does... But I wouldn't care if you gave me a gold locket if it made my neck green or not. Ethan looks at her gravely. ETHAN 'Fraid I... (then he remembers something, rises) Wait. He crosses to where his pack is -- a side table or something -- and burrows into it. Debbie is at his side. ETHAN How about this? It is a gold medal or medallion -- something appropriate to Maximilian of Mexico -- suspended by a long multi-colored satin ribbon. DEBBIE Oh! LOOK! My gold locket! She holds it high for mother -- and all -- to see. Martha takes it and reacts at its weight. MARTHA It's solid gold... Ethan, I don't think she's old enough... ETHAN Let her keep it... Just something I picked up in Mexico. Martha reluctantly surrenders it to Debbie's eager hand. Aaron hasn't missed the word "Mexico" and looks sharply at Ethan. DEBBIE Oh, thank you, Uncle Ethan... LUCY (to Debbie) Come along... The two girls leave the main room. Martha and Aaron both look at Ethan -- half expecting some further explanation. He turns from them and looks into the fire. Martha begins to clear the table. Aaron gets up, takes a pipe and a spill -- lights it at the fire. ETHAN Passed the Todd place comin' in... What happened to 'em? AARON They gave up... went back to the cotton rows... So'd the Jamisons... Without Martha, I don't know... She wouldn't let a man quit. Ethan turns and looks at her -- still busy with her dishes. AARON (change of tone) Ethan, I could see it in you before the war... (Ethan looks at him) You wanted to clear out! Martha freezes in what she's doing -- listening. AARON And you stayed out beyond all need to... WHY? Ethan can't answer, but he takes it as a challenge and almost welcomes it. ETHAN (hard) You askin' me to clear out now? AARON (straightening -- with grave dignity) You're my brother... You're welcome to stay as long as you got a mind to... Ain't that so, Martha? MARTHA (almost a whisper) Of course he is. ETHAN I expect to pay my own way... Martha resumes her activity. Ethan crosses to his pack, reaches into it for a leather pouch, brings it back and tosses it onto the table. It lands with a resonant clink. Both Martha and Aaron draw close to the table. (NOTE TO WINTON HOCH: This scene should be dramatically back- lighted.) ETHAN There's sixty double eagles in there... twelve-hundred dollars. He opens a waistline shirt button and hauls out a leather money belt and drops that on the table. ETHAN An' twice that in here. He reaches into the belt and takes out a few mint-fresh gold pieces which he slides across the table. ETHAN ...only these got the late Emperor Maximilian's picture on 'em. Martha picks up one of the gold pieces, staring at the face on the coin: the same as that on the medal -- staring sharply then at Ethan. Aaron is examining another coin with a different interest. AARON Mint fresh... not a mark on 'em. He glances questioningly at Ethan. ETHAN So? Aaron shrugs and crosses to a barrel chair. He raises the seat and lifts out a pair of old boots, some rags of clothing and then raises a false-bottom lid and drops pouch and money belt into it. Carefully he replaces everything. During this Ethan's attention has gone to Martha's hand, to one cut finger, its wound barely healed. He takes the hand -- gently. ETHAN Cut yourself? She nods and withdraws the hand. ETHAN (softly) You were always hurting about your hands. She looks quickly at him and self-consciously tries to hide her hands, conscious of their work-worn appearance. Then for a moment their eyes meet and hold -- and a world of sadness and hopelessness is in the look. Aaron closes the seat of the barrel chair. AARON Time for bed... He picks up one of the lamps and starts away toward their bedroom door. Martha looks at Ethan again. His expression is bitter. AARON Night, Ethan... Come 'long, Martha. She turns obediently and follows Aaron. Ethan looks after them and waits as Aaron opens the bedroom door. Martha goes into it and Aaron follows and closes the door. Ethan crosses to the lamp on the mantel, blows it out. Only the firelight strikes his face as he stares broodingly at the closed bedroom door. DISSOLVE TO: OMITTED EXT. YARD OF THE EDWARDS' HOUSE - FAINT DAWN LIGHT Debbie's dog is barking excitedly as six horsemen slowly ride toward the house and dismount. A lamp goes on inside. THE SIX HORSEMEN ARE: CAPTAIN, THE REVEREND SAM CLAYTON, a big man with frosty blue eyes, graying hair, a bristly full mustache and the air of grave and resolute authority. He is a minister of the Gospel with a .44 on his hip. LARS JORGENSEN, the Edwards' neighbor, is a harried little man, Scandinavian. As we shall find out soon, he has a brisk and buxom wife and a rather astonishing brood of children. BRAD JORGENSEN is one of these: sandy-haired, brash, amiable, impulsive. He is in his early twenties. CHARLIE MacCORRY, slightly older than Brad, is Sergeant of Company A of the Rangers. (He is also Company A.) Charlie is a taciturn, gently-spoken, competent man, clearly patterned by his association with Captain, the Rev. Sam. MOSE HARPER is an old scout -- a walking bone-rack, yet capable of tireless feats of endurance. Some think him "tetched" yet he has managed to endure to his age during a time and in a region where few men lived to see their grandchildren. He wears a ragged dark overcoat in all weather, a narrow-brimmed hat with a feather in its band. ED NESBY is a rancher and homesteader in his mid-thirties; resolute, honest, self-effacing; nothing picturesque or dramatic about him; just a solid citizen and a realist. 16-A INT. EDWARDS' HOME - CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA She is at the window of her bedroom, wrapper clutched with one hand, lamp upraised in the other as she stares into the dawn to see who these callers are. We hear the heavy foot- falls of the approaching men, then a loud knock thrice repeated -- an ominous sound. OMITTED 17-A INT. THE EDWARDS' - ANGLE AT DOOR SAM'S VOICE Aaron! Open up!... Sam Clayton! The door is opened by Aaron -- holding a lamp and a gun. He is only partly dressed -- pants, boots, undershirt. The bar of light slashes across the faces of Sam and some of the men behind him. AARON Reverend... Come in! INT. THE EDWARDS' HOUSE - FULL SHOT CLAYTON Sorry to get you out of bed so early... (as Martha enters, tightening her wrapper) Mornin', Sister Edwards. MARTHA What is it, Reverend? CLAYTON Lars Jorgensen claims someone bust into his corral last night and run off his best cows... AARON You mean those pure breds he just bought? Jorgensen enters -- an angry little man -- closely followed by Mose Harper, who is grinning foolishly. JORGENSEN Next time I raise pigs, by golly! You never hear of anyone running off pigs, I bet you. MOSE Injuns has 'em... Caddoes or Kiowas... Kiowas or Caddoes. CLAYTON (irritably) Caddoes! Mose spots Martha and at once whips off his hat and makes her an exaggerated cavalier's bow. MOSE Respects to a charmin' lady, ma'am. ...Respects, respects... Ed Nesby enters. NESBY Mornin'... MARTHA Coffee's made if you... CLAYTON Coffee'd be fine, sister... She heads for the stove. MOSE (an old man's whimper) My bones is cold... His eyes brighten as he looks toward the fire and spots a rocking chair. He shuffles toward it, plants himself and begins rocking and half-crooning to himself. JORGENSEN Or bumble bees, by golly... I show them dirty rustlers! MOSE (crooning) Lookit me, old Mose Harper, rockin' in a rockin' chair... I'm a-goin' to set 'n rock, 'n rock, 'n rock, 'n rock... The front door opens to admit Martin, fully dressed and armed, with Charlie MacCorry. CLAYTON Over here, Martin... Aaron... Martin ranges himself next to Aaron and both face Clayton. CLAYTON Raise your right hands. Martha sets out cups on the table, begins pouring the coffee. During the swearing-in, Ethan will enter the room from the inner door -- unnoticed by the other men, but not by Martha. And as the scene plays, the audience must always be conscious of the by-play of glances between Martha and Ethan as they face the prospect of being left in this house together. CLAYTON You are hereby volunteer privates in Company A of the Texas Rangers and will faithfully discharge the duties of same without recompense or monetary compensation -- meaning no pay!... Amen and get your shirt on, will you, Aaron. AARON (stubbornly) Ain't goin' volunteerin' after rustlers without my morning coffee, Reverend... Drink your own! CLAYTON (sternly -- as he reaches for his cup) From now on, call me 'Captain'! But Ethan advances and calmly appropriates the cup Clayton is reaching for... ETHAN (mockingly) Captain the Reverend Samuel Johnson Clayton!... Mighty impressive. Clayton marks his surprise. CLAYTON (dourly) Well... the prodigal brother... When'd you get back? Ethan sips his coffee and doesn't answer. CLAYTON Haven't seen you since the surrender. (a pause) Come to think of it, I didn't see you at the surrender. ETHAN I don't believe in surrenderin'... I still got my sabre, Reverend... never turned it into any ploughshare neither! JORGENSEN Is no time for kaffee-klatch while a man's beef is been run off. MOSE Injuns, Ethan... (taps his nose) Caddoes or Kiowas... Mose Harper, drinkin' coffee in a rockin' chair. ...ay-eh! Martha has left the room briefly to fetch Aaron's shirt and vest and stands behind him. Aaron drains his cup. AARON Ethan, countin' on you to look after things while I'm gone. Ethan -- cup to his lips -- looks over its rim at Martha as Aaron starts to put on his shirt. Their eyes meet briefly, then she looks away. Ethan sloshes the dregs of his cup into the fire -- some of it spattering Mose. ETHAN You ain't goin'... CLAYTON He sure is goin'... He's sworn in. ETHAN (angrily) Well, swear him out again!... I'll go with you. Martha stands submissively, with her head bent, eyes averted as Ethan crosses the room to get his coat, guns, etc. Aaron follows him. AARON Now, Ethan, I ain't sure... ETHAN Don't argue!... And stay close... Maybe they're rustlers... and maybe this dodderin' old idiot ain't so far wrong... MOSE Thankin' ye, Ethan... thankin' ye. Kind words... CLAYTON (grudgingly) All right... I'll swear you in... ETHAN You can forget that... (as Sam stares) Wouldn't be legal anyway. CLAYTON Why? (a pause -- then shrewdly) You wanted for a crime, Ethan? Martha waits -- intent. ETHAN You askin' as a Reverend or a Captain, Sam? CLAYTON I'm askin' as a Ranger of the sovereign state of Texas. ETHAN Got a warrant? CLAYTON You fit a lot of descriptions. ETHAN (levelly) I figger a man's only good for one oath at a time... I took mine to the Confederate States of America... (he pauses -- then) So did you, Reverend... He looks past him then -- at Martha and then at Aaron. ETHAN Stick close, Aaron... He looks at Martha again... and then strides out. EXT. THE EDWARDS' HOUSE -- DAWN LIGHT As Ethan emerges he is brought to a momentary halt by sight of a couple -- Brad and Lucy -- in each other's arms, standing near the saddled horses of the posse. Clayton and Jorgensen following him out, spot the couple, who now belatedly are conscious of their audience. JORGENSEN Brad!... Is no time for lolly- gagging... In confusion, Lucy runs back around the side of the house as Brad -- unrepentant -- grins at his irascible old man and heads for his waiting horse. Clayton chuckles and turns toward Martha, who has followed them out. CLAYTON Looks like I'll be reading the lines over that pair before long, sister Edwards. JORGENSEN Is no time for talking weddings... Better say prayers for those dirty thieves, by golly... running off a man's beef... Mose, last to emerge, bows elaborately to Martha. MOSE Grateful to the hospitality of yore rockin' chair, ma'am... The men are mounting. Mose nimbly vaults onto the back of his horse -- which he rides bareback, with only a blanket pad. AND OMITTED EXT. THE EDWARDS' HOUSE -- DAWN LIGHT as Ethan and Martin ride to join the group. CLAYTON Let's get on with it... DEBBIE WAIT! She comes flying out of the house in her long flannel nightie and runs to Martin. DEBBIE Martin! Ride me as far as the well! MARTIN Grab hold!... He swings her up in front of his saddle. They start away. Ethan is last to ride out. He is watching Martha. He brings a gloved hand up in a salute. She starts to raise her hand but only brings it just above her waist, a fluttering gesture with tremulous fingers. It is the last he will ever see of her alive. EXT. YARD OF THE EDWARDS' HOUSE - FULL SHOT as the posse slowly rides out, with Ethan last. Martin reins in to let Debbie slip to the ground. Ethan passes her. Debbie stands watching the men ride away, waving at them. AARON'S VOICE (calling) DEBORAH! She turns and comes running back -- CAMERA PANNING -- to the little group on the porch; Ben in the door; Lucy crossing the porch; Aaron and Martha at the steps. SLOW DISSOLVE TO: EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - POSSE - LATE AFTERNOON Ethan and Mose are advancing at a steady walk, both men leaning slightly out of their saddles to study the terrain -- the trail they are following. Out to one side -- fifty yards distant -- is the main body of the posse: Sam, Jorgensen, Charlie, Ed, moving roughly parallel to Ethan but at a faster clip. Martin comes riding in toward Ethan from behind CAMERA. MARTIN (calling) Uncle Ethan! Ethan reins in -- compressing his lips at the "Uncle." Mose waits. MARTIN Somethin' mighty fishy about this trail, Uncle Ethan... ETHAN Stop callin' me 'uncle'... I ain't your uncle. MARTIN Yes, sir. ETHAN Don't have to call me 'sir' neither... Nor grampaw neither... Nor Methuselah neither... I can whup you to a frazzle. Mose lets out a snickering laugh. MARTIN What you want me to call you? ETHAN Name's Ethan... Now what's so mighty fishy about this trail? MARTIN Well, fust off... He breaks and all turn at a distant hail from Jorgensen. JORGENSEN Look! Look! OMITTED EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - LONG SHOT - RISE OF GROUND - BRAD He is holding his rifle with both hands straight over his head -- and he repeats the signal until he sees they have seen him. JORGENSEN'S VOICE (excitedly) Brad! He's found them... Come on! EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - THE POSSE WITH BRAD IN THE DISTANCE as Jorgensen digs spurs and leads the way. The other riders follow. MED. SHOT - BRAD - RISING GROUND - LATE AFTERNOON He waits grimly until he sees them coming, then wheels his mount and takes off over the hill. FULL SHOT - THE POSSE as it comes up the rise and the men rein in on the crest. Jorgensen stares and his face mirrors shock and dismay. The other men look down into the long valley on the far side with equally grim expressions. ETHAN Call that young fool back! Jorgensen doesn't even seem to hear him. Angrily Ethan whips out revolver and fires into the air. Then he swings his arm in a come-back gesture. He rides out ahead then a short distance and dismounts... and slowly the others follow. We see now, the bodies of a few bulls stiffening in the sun. Ethan goes to the nearest one. A feathered lance is driven into it. He pulls the lance out. Mose comes over beside him. ETHAN (angrily) Caddo or Kiowa, huh?... Ain't but one tribe uses a lance like that! He hands the lance to Mose. MOSE (almost a whisper) Ay-he... Comanch! Brad rides in -- shrill with anger. BRAD Killed every one -- an' not for food either... Why'd they do a thing like that? ETHAN Stealing the cattle was just to pull us out... This here's a murder raid... (facing Jorgensen) It shapes up to scald out either your place... or my brother's. Jorgensen wilts and casts an anguished look back over the miles they have ridden. JORGENSEN Mama!... Oh please... please no... BRAD! And with that one word, Jorgensen calls upon his son to follow and they take off... fast. Ed Nesby and Charlie MacCorry follow. Sam Clayton pauses. CLAYTON Jorgensen's place is closest... If they're not there, we'll come straight on! Then he too rides. Martin swings his horse back to where Ethan and Mose still are standing. MARTIN Well, come on! ETHAN Easy! (he starts toward his horse) It's forty miles, sonny... Horses can do with some grain and a little rest. MOSE Comanch generally hits at moonrise. MARTIN Moonrise!... It'll be midnight before... I ain't waitin'...! He wheels his horse and goes tearing to catch up with the others. Ethan shrugs and stoically takes grain bag to feed his horse. Mose does the same. MOSE Wisht it was Caddoes... or Kiowas... (shakes his head) Comanche... Ethan just gives him an angry look and then ruthlessly begins discarding every bit of unnecessary equipment from his saddle. WIPE TO: EXT. THE EDWARDS RANCH - WIDE ANGLE - SUNDOWN Nothing moves. Nothing could be more tranquil. The shadows are long. A thin wisp of smoke rises from the chimney. And then Debbie's little dog trots around the side of the house out into the yard. EXT. EDWARDS YARD - CLOSE SHOT - THE DOG - SUNDOWN He comes to a standstill and his nose is working. He begins to make excited little sounds deep in his belly. Then he lies down, muzzle between his paws, watching, listening. INT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - FULL SHOT - ANGLING TOWARD THE DOOR Debbie sits on the floor, playing with a little rag doll. The slanting blaze of the setting sun makes a brilliant area of light in which she is sitting. Beyond her, on the porch steps, Ben is squatting, whittling a piece of pine into a slingshot frame. We hear Martha and Lucy busy with the dishes. Aaron comes from behind CAMERA and stands in the doorway, absently rapping out his pipe. Near the doorway, on a wooden peg, hangs his gun, belt. He puts the pipe in his pocket and glances down at Deborah, intent on her play. He looks swiftly at where the women are busy - then stealthily eases the gun from its holster and slides it under his shirt. He hasn't made a sound and is sure he's got away with it. He clears his throat noisily and reaches for a light shotgun pegged above the door. AARON Think I'll see if I can pick off a sage-hen or two, Martha... INT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA AND LUCY busy at the wooden sink. Martha doesn't turn. MARTHA You do that, Aaron... AARON (still pleased with himself) Won't go far... He steps out. Only then does Martha turn -- and her EYES GO AT ONCE TO: INT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - ANGLING TO DOOR and FRAMING the empty holster, as Aaron pauses on the porch. LUCY'S VOICE My, the days are getting shorter! INT. EDWARDS HOUSE - CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA AND LUCY as Lucy heads for the lamp. MARTHA (sharply) Lucy!... We don't need the lamp yet... Lucy frowns at her mother. MARTHA (easily) Let's enjoy the dusk a while. EXT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - AARON AND BEN - ON PORCH Aaron is slowly scanning the terrain. AARON (to Ben) Mind you sweep up them shavin's. BEN Yes, Pa... (undertone -- man to man) An' if you see any sage-hens, I'm ready. Aaron stares as the boy shifts a fold of blanket, or whatever, by his side -- to disclose Ethan's cavalry sabre. Aaron smiles and rubs the youngster's head, then sets out across the yard. EXT. THE EDWARDS YARD - FULL SHOT - MOVING Debbie's dog rises at Aaron's approach and joins his master as they set out across the plain. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY NEAR EDWARDS HOME - MED. CLOSE SHOT - AARON He is walking through the scrub and brush grass, every sense alive and straining. He pauses every three or four strides -- casting each quadrant in turn. Once he whips, gun ready, as a sage-hen or quail whirrs up not far from him. He smiles grimly as he watches it fly away. He keeps on. EXT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - AT PORCH Martha comes to stand in the doorway. Ben doesn't look at her. His eyes -- like hers -- are fixed on the figure of the man. BEN (quietly) It's all right, ma... I been watchin'... Only I wish... MARTHA (quietly) What, Ben? BEN I wish Uncle Ethan was here. Don't you, ma? She doesn't answer. Lucy comes to the door. LUCY Mother, I can't see what I'm doing!... MARTHA NOT YET, LUCY!... EXT. RISING GROUND - WIDE ANGLE - PAST AARON He stands on the near slope of a rise and then gradually moves toward its summit, so that only head will be silhouetted. He drops to one knee, half-leaning against the slope and slowly looks out... The CAMERA PANS very slowly, following his careful sweep of the terrain. The scene is entirely peaceful. EXT. RISING GROUND - CLOSE SHOT - AARON with narrowed eyes slowly scanning the ground. Suddenly the head whips right. We hear a bird's sharp call. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - SKYWARD SHOT - A SMALL BIRD It is taking flight, sweeping away in erratic arcs. EXT. RISING GROUND - CLOSE SHOT ON AARON He squints closely at the ground from which the bird had flown. Then slowly his eyes range toward the left. EXT. RISING GROUND - WIDE ANGLE - PAST AARON Across the meadow, a shadow seems to touch the grass and at once a covey of quail takes off, whirring loud. Aaron waits no longer, but slides down the slope and starts running at a crouch for the house, stopping every so often to look backward. EXT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTHA AND BEN - SUNSET NOTE TO W. HOCH: What J.F. has in mind for this and the following scenes is the same kind of dramatic use of red you achieved in "Yellow Ribbon" in the scene telling of Custer's defeat. They are standing in the ruddy glare of the sunset and Ben has Ethan's sabre in his hand. We hear Aaron coming at a run, breathing hard. Ben takes a step as though to go to him, but Martha's hand at once is on his shoulder. Aaron gains the porch. AARON In the house, boy... and... He puts finger to his lips, sign for Ben to say nothing. Ben nods and goes inside. Aaron and Martha face each other, the question large on her face. Slowly he nods the confirmation of her fears, then gently propels her ahead of him through the door. INT. THE EDWARDS HOUSE - FULL SHOT - SUNSET The room is deeply shadowed except where the dull crimson of the sun through door and windows slashes the blackness. Ben is waiting and Martha turns toward Aaron as he pulls the door shut, bars it and sets the shotgun down. He takes the revolver from his waist and Martha holds it as he reaches for his gun belt. AARON Ben, close the shutters. Buckling on his gun belt, he moves toward the middle of the room, looking around him, taking inventory of his resources. Lucy slowly approaches, biting a knuckle, eyes wide with fright. LUCY Pa? One shutter closes and the bar of light they were standing in goes out. Martha, Aaron and Lucy are dark silhouettes now against the red beam from another window. MARTHA (sudden fear) Where's Deborah?... (calling it) DEBORAH! Debbie emerges from a shadowed corner into a beam of light. She is clutching her rag doll, nibbling a cookie. She holds it for them to see. DEBBIE I only took one, ma... Topsy was hungry. Ben closes the shutter. And now the room is almost completely blacked out, except for the dying light filtering through the rifle ports of the closed shutters. WIPE TO: EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - WIDE ANGLE SHOT - THE POSSE - DUSK This should be an expansive view to convey the fact that the posse has split -- the main group heading for the Jorgensen place, Martin forking off to race alone for the Edwards ranch. Coming toward and passing CAMERA is Martin, riding all out. Several hundred yards away and moving in a divergent direction are the others -- Brad and Charlie, Sam, Jorgensen and Ed Nesby. The men are not compactly bunched, but strung out, each taking his own best course and his own speed... As the riders pass and the dust of their passing, we see two other riders -- Ethan and Mose -- minute specks in the distance, possibly a mile or two behind. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - MOVING SHOT - ETHAN AND MOSE - DUSK (NOTE TO W. HOCH: What we are trying to get here is that moment of swift transition from twilight to night; of riders briefly touched with the last colors of day and then, as they pass, becoming one with blue shadows of night.) Ethan and Mose are holding their mounts to a jog, in marked contrast to the all-out pace of the others. The CAMERA PANS after them as the dark fingers of the night stretch across the valley. The wind begins to rise and somewhere off in the hills a coyote pack yaps. DISSOLVE TO: INT. EDWARDS - ANGLING PAST AARON AT WINDOW INTO ROOM - NIGHT Aaron is little more than a shadowy silhouette as he peers into the night through a partly-opened shutter. Suddenly the room leaps alight as Lucy opens an inner door and enters, holding a lighted lamp. Aaron closes the shutter, spins on her angrily. AARON LUCY! Martha crosses the room swiftly and blows out the lamp. In the brief moment the room has been lighted, we see that Lucy is carrying a dark shawl in one hand; that Ben is crouched at another window -- rifle ready; and that Deborah is on her feet -- standing like a child who is being dressed. LUCY I'm sorry... I couldn't find the shawl... AARON Hurry, Martha... Moon's fixin' to rise... He cautiously swings the shutters open. A pale light filters into the room. We see Martha wrapping the shawl around Deborah. MARTHA (softly to the child) We're going to play the sleep-out game... Remember?... Where you hide out with grandma? DEBBIE Where's she buried? MARTHA And you'll go along the ditch -- very quietly -- like a... (her voice breaks) DEBBIE Like a little mouse. AARON Now! He reaches for the child, but he has to wait for Martha's last embrace. MARTHA There!... And you won't come back or make a sound... no matter what you hear? Promise!... No matter what? DEBBIE I promise... Wait! AARON Child, child! DEBBIE Can't I have Topsy to keep me company? AARON There's no time... MARTHA Here she is, baby... Baby... Aaron takes the child, swings her out the window. AARON Down low -- go! Martha would come to the window to look out, but Aaron bars her with an arm and draws back to the side of the window to watch her go... Outside the little dog barks a welcome and presumably starts to follow the girl. Aaron reacts. AARON (hoarse whisper) Here dog... here! The dog whines but obeys. Aaron continues watching the child's course -- unconsciously imitating her every run and twist... Then he smiles and we may see the brightness in the corners of his eyes. AARON She reached the ditch... He closes the shutters and turns -- and his arms go around Martha, weeping soundlessly. AARON She'll be all right, mother... she'll be all right. EXT. A HILLOCK WITH TWO HEADBOARDS - MED. CLOSE SHOT - NIGHT Nothing stirs and we hear nothing. Then, with faintest little rustle, Debbie comes snaking along the ground into the hollow between the two graves and lies there face down, pressed against Topsy. She becomes one with the earth and the stillness. And then the moonlight strikes the tips of the scrub growth and as a cloud scuds by, the moonlight reveals something glittering -- like beads. And the CAMERA from that ground-level shot RAISES QUICKLY TO: CLOSE SHOT - FROM EXTREME LOW ANGLE - SCAR The Comanche we are later to know as SCAR is painted for war -- tall, savage, mockingly looking down at what we know is the child's hiding place... And in that instant, from a dozen quarters and a dozen throats, sounds the wild yammer of the warwhoop! DISSOLVE TO: OMITTED EXT. RISING GROUND - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTIN - MOONLIGHT He stands beside his spent and fallen horse. Its breathing is a rasping whistle. Martin tries to haul its head up. Useless. Breathing hard himself, his face ashen in the moonlight, Martin looks desperately off in the direction of the ranch. Then he jerks the rifle from its saddle scabbard -- struggling with it because it is under the horse. He freezes then -- listening... And we hear the steady beat of two horsemen approaching. Martin knows who they are and his face is alive with hope. He gets the rifle free at last and goes running toward the oncoming riders. MARTIN (shouting) Ethan!... Ethan! The CAMERA SWINGS with him and we see Ethan and Mose approaching at the same steady gait. MARTIN (waving) Uncle Ethan... it's me... Martin! Ethan doesn't slacken, nearly rides him down. ETHAN Out of my way! Martin goes sprawling to his hands and knees. Mose continues without slowing. EXT. RISING GROUND - ANOTHER ANGLE - PAST THE RIDERS - MOONLIGHT MARTIN (desperately) Mose! Wait!... He goes running, stumbling after the riders -- desperately calling to them... MARTIN Ethan!... Mose!... And then at the crest of the rising ground, he stops -- We see in the distance the glow of a fire leading from the barns and the hayricks and the house of Aaron Edwards. Martin runs down the slope. EXT. YARD AND APPROACH TO EDWARDS HOUSE - WIDE ANGLE - NIGHT (NOTE TO W. HOCH: Here again that use of red is suggested.) The ANGLE is past the porch uprights toward Mose and Ethan as they ride in. Little tongues of fire are licking the edges of the uprights. A few arrows, imbedded in the wood, are burning along their shafts. Beyond are the glowing ashes of the hayricks and the charred, smouldering rails of the corral. There are no bodies in evidence... The red glow of the burning is on the faces of the men as they dismount. Ethan strides to the porch, knocking away one of the blazing arrows as he heads to the door. He stops there -- and what he sees makes the big shoulders droop, the huge frame slump. Slowly then -- and removing his hat -- he goes in. Mose shuffles to the edge of the porch and squats there and rocks back and forth, his face working and crying soundlessly with senile grief. We hear a splintered door crash from its hinges within the room and Ethan's muffled voice calling through the house: ETHAN (O.S.) Lucy?... Deborah? Lucy? He strides back through the main room and out onto the porch just as Martin comes at a shambling run across the yard. Ethan takes a few steps out toward him. Martin would pass him, but Ethan grabs his arm. ETHAN (harshly) You stay out! Martin tries to fight his arm free. ETHAN Nothing for you to see. MARTIN Leggo... Ethan turns him and drives a brutal right to his jaw. Martin goes down -- out cold. And only now do we understand how merciful the blow was as Ethan looks compassionately at the fallen figure. ETHAN Don't let him go in there, Mose... And he takes off at a stumbling run for the hilltop. EXT. THE HILLOCK WITH THE TWO HEADBOARDS - FULL SHOT - ETHAN as he nears the graves. ETHAN (calling) Lucy -- Lucy! He runs in, looking around him. He sees the little dog, dead on the ground. And then he sees a shadowed something: The shawl Debbie had worn. It is spread out, almost as though concealing a body. Fearfully he stoops and pulls it away... There is nothing there, but the shawl. He drops to his knees, his head bowed, his face tortured. The moonlight is clear on the face of the nearer headboard. It is of weathered wood and the chiselled letters on it read: HERE LIES MARY JANE EDWARDS KILLED BY COMANCHES MAY 12, 1852 a good WIFE & MOTHER In her 41st year SLOW DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE HILLOCK - FULL SHOT - SLOWLY PANNING - DAWN LIGHT The funeral is begun. In the foreground are three newly- made crosses at the head of as many open graves -- which we need not see. With head bared, Sam Clayton is concluding his prayer. Near him stand the Jorgensen family: Mrs. Jorgensen, Lars and LAURIE -- blonde, just beginning to reach her maturity -- and a stepping-stone of tow-headed children. CLAYTON ...and to Your keeping we commend the souls of Aaron... Martha... and Benjamin Edwards... Mrs. Jorgensen and Laurie -- impelled by the same feminine sympathy and interest -- turn to look at Ethan and Martin. The PANNING CAMERA picks them up...Ethan standing dry-eyed, looking at the grave of Martha; Martin -- with bruised lip -- looking out across the plain. Clayton now opens his small, well-worn Bible to a marked page. CLAYTON Man that is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble... Ethan looks at him, angrily, impatiently. CLAYTON He cometh forth like a... ETHAN (harshly) Amen!... Put an 'amen' to it! CLAYTON ...like a flower and is cut down... Amen! ETHAN ET AL. Amen! Ethan turns on his heel and walks -- CAMERA PANNING -- to where Ed Nesby has been holding the horses. Brad is already mounting. Mose is there too and Charlie MacCorry. Silhouetted against the dawn light are the rifles in each man's saddle scabbard. Clayton is right behind Ethan. CLAYTON Charlie--you and Brad ride point! ...Don't get too far ahead... The young riders spur out. EXT. NEAR HILLOCK - MED. CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN AND MRS. JORGENSEN Ethan is about to mount when Mrs. Jorgensen comes up and catches his arm. MRS. JORGENSEN Ethan... (he turns impatiently) Those girls mean as much to me as though they were my own... Maybe you don't know my Brad's been sittin' up with Lucy... and my Laurie's real fond of Martin... Ethan glances back at where Martin and Laurie are standing. ANOTHER ANGLE - FAVORING LAURIE AND MARTIN The girl is looking at Martin full of compassion, tries to console him by taking his arm and squeezing it as he stares blindly at the graves and Jorgensen stolidly beginning the work of shovelling them full. EXT. NEAR HILLOCK - ETHAN AND MRS. JORGENSEN AS BEFORE Ethan looks back at her -- stone-faced. ETHAN (impatiently) I'd be obliged if you'd get to the point, ma'am. MRS. JORGENSEN I am... I am... It's just that I know Martha'd want you to think of her boys as well as her girls... And if the girls are... dead... Ethan, don't let the boys waste their lives in vengeance! Ethan shrugs his arm free and mounts. MRS. JORGENSEN Promise me, Ethan! He ignores her and turns angrily to where Martin is. ETHAN (harshly) Come on, if you're comin'... He digs spurs and rides out with the others. Martin comes over, with Laurie a step behind. His face is set, his eyes almost unseeing. MRS. JORGENSEN (a heartbroken murmur) Oh, Martin... Martin... MARTIN We'll find them, Mrs. Jorgensen... We'll find them... He swings into his saddle. Laurie impulsively runs to his side, steps onto the toe of his stirruped boot and pulls herself up to his level to kiss him hard and full upon the mouth. He looks at her dully, as though hardly conscious of it. And she is back beside her mother. Martin rides away after the others. MRS. JORGENSEN (slowly) I almost hope they don't find them! Laurie looks at her mother and understands. CUT TO: 61-A EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - THE SEARCHERS - EARLY MORNING LIGHT The SEARCH THEME begins as we see the riders in turn. A series of portraits of the men. CLOSE SHOT - BRAD AND CHARLIE - riding point, they come to a pause, surveying the terrain ahead. Charlie, with an arm signal, indicates he will take the left. Brad nods and he rides out to the right. THE MAIN BODY OF THE MEN, Clayton passing first, expression resolute, competent... Then Ed Nesby and old Mose, squinting at the ground as they ride, all but sniffing like an old hound dog. 63A MARTIN - Next to last in file. Finally: 63B ETHAN - His face a study of relentless purpose. WIPE TO: OMITTED. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - BRAD AND CHARLIE - AFTERNOON The two men are at a cairn of rocks -- their horses nearby. In the near distance, Clayton is leading the men of the search party at a fast clip toward the cairn. Charlie is standing, Brad tearing the rock cairn apart. In Charlie's hands is a Comanche head-dress of polished buffalo horn and feathers. Brad doesn't even look up as the men ride in and dismount, but continues his grim work of uncovering the buried Indian. CLAYTON Another one, eh? CHARLIE This 'un come a long way 'fore he died. CLAYTON Well, that's seven we can score up to your brother, Ethan. NESBY I don't like it. CLAYTON What don't you like? NESBY Injun's on a raid generly hides their dead so you won't know how many they've lost... If they don't care about us knowin', it only spells one thing... they ain't afraid of us followin' -- or of us catchin' up with 'em either. ETHAN You can back out any time, Nesby. NESBY Didn't say that... (angrily indicating Brad) What's he doin' that for... CHARLIE He wants to be sure... Brad shifts another rock and Looks grimly upon the face (O.S.) of the dead Comanche. Then he spits at it and stands. BRAD (grim) Let's get along... ETHAN (to Brad) Why don't you finish the job? With that he strides to the cairn, whipping a knife out. he crouches over the body (O.S.) concealing what he is doing, he bends to his bloody task. Sam Clayton crosses to stand behind him. CLAYTON (gravely) What good does that do? ETHAN By what you preach... none! He stands now and he faces Sam. ETHAN But by what the Comanche believe -- now he can't enter the spirit land, but has got to wander forever between the winds... because I took his mangy scalp! He flings the scalp down and grinds it into the dirt with his heel... He wipes clean the blade of his knife as he crosses back to his horse. The men mount (those who have dismounted) and they ride off. DISSOLVE TO: OMITTED EXT. NIGHT CAMP - RAVINE - CLOSE SHOT - BRAD AND MARTIN Brad is looking out into the night -- strain and tension in every line. Beyond them we may see some of the other men -- sitting or sprawled on the ground near a sheltered fire. BRAD (a whisper) If only she's alive... I'll make it up to her... No matter what's happened... I'll make her forget... She's just got to be alive... Ethan crosses behind them carrying his blanket roll. He looks at them sourly. ETHAN Get some rest! They move off, heading for their blankets. The CAMERA HOLDS on Ethan as he rolls up his blanket and turns on his side. He fishes a miniature out of his pocket and gravely studies it by the light of the flickering little fire. 70-A CLOSE SHOT - THE MINIATURE - NIGHT It is a picture of Martha. The CAMERA PULLS BACK to show Ethan studying it gravely, then putting it away and lying back to stare broodingly into the night. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. RIDGE TOP - CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN, BRAD, MOSE, SAM - SUNSET The four faces are just over the ridge, peering at something far distant, far below. MOSE Could be a buffler... BRAD It's horses, I tell ya... ETHAN It's them all right... He starts to squirm down the ridge, the others following. EXT. HIGH COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - THE SEARCHERS - SUNSET Ethan's group crosses to where the other men are waiting with the horses. ETHAN They're camped by the river -- 'bout twenty miles from here. Soon's it gets dark we'll circle out so's to jump 'em before daybreak. CLAYTON (slowly) You're right sure you want to jump 'em, Ethan? Martin and Brad stare at Sam -- not understanding the question. But Mose knows what he means and studiously looks into space. ETHAN (touch of defiance) It's what we're here for, ain't it? CLAYTON I thought we were trying to get the girls back -- alive... We jump those Comanches, they'll kill 'em... You know that! BRAD (bewildered, angry) But... but what are we doin' then?... What are we supposed to do? CLAYTON What I had in mind was runnin' off their hoss herd... A Comanche on foot is more apt to be willin' to listen... NESBY That makes sense to me. MARTIN Yeah... ETHAN (angrily) What do you know about it?... What's a quarter-breed Cherokee know about the Comanche trick of sleeping with his best pony tied right beside him... You got as much chance of stampedin' their herd as... CLAYTON ...as you have of findin' those girls alive by ridin' into 'em... I say we do it my way, Ethan... and that's an order! ETHAN Yes, sir... But if you're wrong, Captain Clayton, don't ever give me another! They look into each other's eyes a moment, then Sam turns to mount... and the others follow. Slowly then they start riding down the slope. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. FLAT GROUND, LIKE MARSH COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - THE SEARCHERS - DAWN MIST EFFECT (NOTE: It is now planned to shoot this on sound stage.) Fog and heavy morning mist rise from the swamp. Some cattails in the near ground. The effect is eerie, very still except for the trilling of frogs. Then, very quietly, the men emerge from the mist swirling around them. They are leading their horses. Sam looks baffled, angry. They stand still, listening -- then slowly continue. EXT. FLAT GROUND - ANOTHER ANGLE - FULL SHOT - DAWN MIST (SOUND STAGE) The mist is thinning. In the f.g. is a small blackened area -- the ashes of a campfire. The men come through the mist -- wary, vigilant. It is Mose who first spots the fire. He runs to it and drops beside and feels the ashes. The others come up around him. MOSE Ay-he... They was here... ETHAN (to Sam) SURE!... They WERE here... Now they're out there... an' waitin' to jump us!... He looks at Clayton. ETHAN You got any more orders, Captain? CLAYTON (quietly) Just keep goin'... They move on, slowly. 74-A EXT. FLAT GROUND - FULL SHOT - MOVING (SOUND STAGE) The mist is thinning as the men warily move along. Suddenly there is the faint hoot of an owl from behind and to one side... the men turn slightly, hearing it... A moment later another owl hoot, from the same side but up ahead. From the interchange of looks, we must know that the riders are aware of its significance. Mose cups hand to his mouth and he hoots in exact imitation of the other calls. Clayton glares at him. MOSE (in soft apology) Jus' bein' sociable, Cap'n... Ethan grins wryly. And now the first, faint, ruddy touch of the sun hits the slowly moving horsemen and begins to burn through the mist. 74-B EXT. NEAR RIVER - PANNING SHOT - MORNING The CAMERA SLOWLY PANS from a sun-touched butte or crag to the file of men slowly walking their horses. An occasional shred of mist drifts by. Everything about the little cavalcade bespeaks tension, watchfulness. Suddenly -- and every man sees it at the same time -- we see a file of eight Comanches ride slowly out of a canyon at a distance, walking their horses at the same pace and on a course roughly parallel with, but slightly converging on, our group. CLAYTON (softly) Keep goin'... Brad, who has been looking up ahead, sounds a new warning. BRAD (tensely) Look! CLAYTON Easy! 74-C EXT. CANYON COUNTRY - LONG SHOT - PAST THE SEARCHERS Another Indian file of eight angles out of a different canyon and begins to cut in toward the group -- riding slowly, very quietly. Clayton slightly alters course, veering slightly away from the converging files, but still riding slowly. And then, from ahead but at a 100 yards, another Comanche group seems to rise out of the ground and slowly begins closing the gap. ETHAN (to Clayton) If you were tryin' to surround 'em, you sure succeeded. CLAYTON How far's the river from here, Mose? MOSE I been baptized, Reverend... yes suh, been baptized, thank ye... CLAYTON Well, you better brace yourself for another one... Ya-HEE! And with that yell, he drives spurs and cuts sharply at an angle to the converging Indian files -- and every man is with him. In the next instant, the Comanches whoop and give chase. 74-D EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - THE CHASE with the Ranger group short-cutting in such a way as to outstrip the Comanche horsemen in a mad dash for the river. 74-E EXT. THE RIVER'S EDGE - FULL SHOT - THE GROUP Clayton flings his hand up in a signal to halt as the Rangers reach the bank. They rein in, wheel their horses and are reaching for the rifles as the Comanche vanguard races into view -- to find themselves opposed by seven veterans, sitting their horses, rifles at their shoulders. The charge breaks as the seven rifles bark, almost in unison -- and the Indians wheel to shelter. CLAYTON YA-HEE! And once again he spins his mount and takes off, across the river, followed by the others. 74-F EXT. THE RIVER - FULL SHOT As the men pound across. 74-G EXT. FAR BANK OF RIVER - FULL SHOT - THE GROUP They dismount and Charlie and Nesby take the horses and run them to some place of protection as the men group around Clayton and Ethan. During this: CLAYTON (shouting his orders) This is as good as any... Charlie, you and Ed take the horses... Mose runs over and crouches beside Ethan. Beyond Ethan is Martin, then Brad... Nesby and Charlie will rejoin the group after an appropriate interval... with all the men shielded behind river boulders, etc. EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - ANGLING PAST ETHAN AND MOSE WITH MARTIN AND BRAD BEYOND Ethan and Mose are hunkered down behind some rocks, very casual and business-like as they check rifles, set out and carefully wipe cartridges. MOSE (chattily) Minds me o' the time Joe Powers an' me fit us some Kiowas... Martin is in the throes of buck-fever, wiping mouth with back of his hand, peering anxiously across the river. MARTIN You think they mean to charge us, Uncle Ethan...? MOSE ...We found us an ole buffler wallow... BRAD (staring across river) Criminy! EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - LONG SHOT - PAST THE GROUP On the opposite bank, we see the full force of Comanches riding into sight -- racing their mounts to the edge, then wheeling off -- jeering, taunting. Brad starts to bring up his rifle. ETHAN Steady, Daniel Boone! You don't want to miss... It makes them think their medicine's stronger than yours... MOSE Ay-he... That's jest what I tole Joe Powers... That un's gettin' kinda sassy, ain't he, Ethan? One Comanche rides a few yards into the water, brandishing his rifle, taunting the white men. A moment later he is joined by a second brave. ETHAN (grimly) Real sassy. He and Mose slowly bring their rifles to bear -- and then the two shots crack out almost simultaneously. And within split seconds both Comanches fall. The others race away. Sam comes charging over to Ethan and Mose. CLAYTON (angrily) I didn't give any order to fire! ETHAN That's all right, Captain... I don't need any formal invitation to kill a Comanch... CLAYTON (grimly) You got one now! And he drops behind a rock as, with a wild whooping, the Comanche forces swing from their places of hiding and hit the river. The men open fire, all but Martin, who has frozen, staring wild-eyed at the oncoming Comanches. EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - PROFILE SHOT - THE DEFENDERS Brad, Charlie, Clayton, Nesby are snapping shot after shot. Only Martin seems out of it. Ethan shoots him a glance. ETHAN Slack your shoulders... Slack 'em... Your hands'll take care of themselves... Some of the tension leaves Martin. Somehow his gun is in position and he is firing as fast and well as the others. 77-A EXT. THE RIVER - FULL SHOT - INDIAN CHARGE The Comanches are coming in, crouched low over their ponies' necks, whooping and firing. Men and horses go down, counted off by the expert marksmanship of the Texans. But they keep coming. 77-B EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - PROFILE SHOT - PAST MARTIN, ETHAN, MOSE They drop their rifles now and pull out revolvers for close- range work. One Comanche breaks through from the side, his buffalo lance ready for the thrust. Ethan whirls and fires. The Comanche horse charges through the defense line and out and there is a muffled scream of pain from Ed Nesby. 77-C EXT. THE RIVER - WIDE ANGLE - THE INDIANS The charge breaks and Comanches wheel left and right, racing back across the river. With magnificent horsemanship, one brave rides to an unhorsed warrior crouched in the shallows and swings him up behind. Two others, riding together, head for one of the two dead Comanches Ethan and Mose had downed on their first shots. Swinging simultaneously from their saddles, they grab the dead man and carry him off. 77-D EXT. THE RIVER'S EDGE - ANGLING PAST MOSE AND ETHAN MOSE (cackling) There goes yer scalp, Ethan!... Ethan snuggles his rifle to his shoulder as two other racing Comanches prepare to pick up the other dead Indian. Most of the Comanches have regained the far bank now and are racing away. The firing from the Texans has stopped. ETHAN I still got one out there. OMITTED EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - CLOSE SHOT - BEHIND ETHAN The angle is along his rifle barrel as it beads on one of the racing Comanches trying to pick up the dead Indian. Clayton's big hand grasps the rifle barrel. CLAYTON'S VOICE (quietly) No, Ethan. EXT. RIVER'S EDGE - CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO Ethan looks up into Clayton's face. CLAYTON Let them bury their dead... Ethan pulls the gun free and looks out across the river. EXT. THE RIVER - LONG SHOT - PAST THEM The Comanches have done their work, are riding away -- and over the saddle of one lies the limp form of the dead Indian. Ethan looks back at Sam. ETHAN That tears it, Reverend... From now on, you keep out... (mad now -- facing the others) All of you!... I don't want you with me... I don't need you... for what I got to do! CHARLIE (quietly) No need to shout, mister. The CAMERA SWINGS to pick up the figure of Nesby outstretched on the ground, writhing in pain; with Charlie kneeling beside him. The men cross to stand around the fallen man. CHARLIE Reckon we got to go back -- Ed's shoulder is smashed -- bad! NESBY I can make it... just get me on a horse... CLAYTON No good, Ed... And Ethan's right... This is a job for a company of Rangers... or it's a job for one or two men... Right now we're too many... an' not enough... BRAD (facing Ethan) Only one way you can stop me lookin' for Lucy, mister... An' that's kill me... MARTIN That's how I feel, Uncle Ethan... (correcting the slip) Ethan, sir. Ethan glares at them, but has to accept it. ETHAN All right... but I'm givin' the orders... You take 'em or we split up here and now... MARTIN (quickly) Why, sure, Ethan... There's just the one thing we're after... finding Deborah and Lucy... ETHAN (grimly -- turning away) If they're still alive... He heads away, for his horse. Brad and Martin look at each other as the full import of Ethan's footnote strikes home. Then they head for their own horses. OMITTED 86-A EXT. THE RIVER - FULL SHOT Ethan, Martin, and Brad mount. Clayton crosses to them. CLAYTON You boys got enough shells? They nod. MARTIN Yeah... CLAYTON Vaya con dios. The three re-enter the river and slowly start across, with Clayton gravely looking after them. The three riders continue across the river... and the Search Theme resumes. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. WIDE ANGLE - DESERT COUNTRY - BLAZING NOON A region of buttes and giant rock formations; treeless, arid and seemingly reaching out to infinity. Far off we see a cloud of dust -- miles and miles off. Only the dust, nothing else. From behind CAMERA ride the three men -- Ethan, Brad, and Martin -- dust-powdered, eyes bloodshot. The three are watching that distant cloud of dust. They force their weary horses onward. WIPE TO: EXT. DESERT COUNTRY - WIDE ANGLE - LATE AFTERNOON The ANGLE is past some spectacular butte or citadel of rock into another long reach of valley -- different from the first view of it, yet alike in its suggestion of endlessness. But now there is no cloud of dust far away -- nothing to suggest the passage of anything but time itself. Ethan, Martin, and Brad ride into the fringe of the butte's shadow and scan the terrain ahead. BRAD (shrill) They got to stop sometime... if they're human at all, they got to stop! ETHAN Naw... a human man rides a horse till it dies... then he goes on afoot... A Comanche comes along... gets that horse up... and rides it twenty more miles... Then he eats it. Ethan turns to catch Martin thirstily drinking from his canteen. ETHAN (angrily) Easy on that! MARTIN Sorry... We don't even know if Debbie 'n Lucy are with this bunch... Maybe they split up... ETHAN They're with 'em -- if they're still alive. Brad wheels on him. BRAD You've said that enough!... Maybe Lucy's dead... maybe they're both dead... but if I hear it from you again, I'll fight ya, Mr. Edwards! ETHAN (an aside) That'll be the day!... Let's ride. WIPE TO: OMITTED 89-A EXT. VALLEY AND CANYON WALL - WIDE ANGLE - THE RIDERS - LATE AFTERNOON (NOTE: This is the gap in the rocks near the "Medicine Country" at Monument.) The three riders come to where the trail they have been following forks... the main horseprint track leading ahead, a lesser track heading for a narrow gap between two buttes. MARTIN Four of 'em cut out here... Why? Ethan thinks he knows why. His face is bleak. But he tries to be casual. ETHAN I'll take a look... You keep after the others... He turns his mount toward the gap. MARTIN (eagerly) You want us to fire a shot if... ETHAN (disgustedly) No... nor build bonfires... nor beat drums neither. I'll meet you on the far side. He's still grumbling as he rides off. An abashed Martin rides ahead along the broad trail with Brad. (NOTE: Ethan's serape, tied behind his saddle, should be clearly seen as he rides away -- not pointed up, but visible.) WIPE TO: EXT. FAR SIDE OF BUTTE - TWILIGHT Martin and Brad, riding in a direction opposite to that in which they had taken off -- indicating their circle route -- haul up momentarily as they spot Ethan, standing beside his horse, his back to them, some distance along. They turn slightly off their course and ride out toward him. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - NEAR BUTTE - TWILIGHT Ethan turns, almost startled, as the two youths ride in. His serape is no longer behind his saddle. Ethan looks at them blankly for a minute -- as though not really seeing them. ETHAN Oh... it's you. They both stare at him. ETHAN (a vague gesture) I... uh... here's where they met up again... They both can see that. ETHAN (pointing) Trail leads off there... They look at him and each other -- for these are clearly unnecessary remarks and doubly surprising coming from Ethan. BRAD Why'd they break off? (no answer) Was there water in that canyon? ETHAN Huh...? No... no water. MARTIN You all right, Ethan? ETHAN Huh...? (more like his usual gruff self) Sure I'm all right... He goes to his horse, mounts. Martin is right beside him and he notes the missing serape. MARTIN Say!... What happened to your blanket? Lose it? ETHAN Must've... Anyway, I ain't goin' back to look for it... He leads out. Brad rides up beside Martin. Again the two exchange puzzled looks. Martin shrugs and the three continue along the broad trace of the Indian ponies into the setting sun. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. NIGHT CAMP - A POCKET IN THE HILLS - TWILIGHT Ethan crouches over a small fire built into a slit trench so that barely the glow of the flames can be seen. Beyond him Martin is leading their unsaddled horses away. The men have come to the end of another long day. Both men look up as Brad comes over a hill slope and rides recklessly down the incline to their camp. His horse is lathered. BRAD (shouting it) I saw her!... I saw Lucy! Martin runs to his side as Brad slides off his mount. Ethan moves more slowly. BRAD (continuing) They're camped 'bout two miles over... I was just swingin' back when I saw their smoke... I bellied up a ridge an' they was right below me... MARTIN Did you see Debbie? BRAD No, but I saw Lucy all right... She was wearin' that blue dress... an' she was walkin' along... ETHAN (voice flat) What you saw wasn't Lucy. BRAD It was, I tell you! ETHAN What you saw was a buck wearin' Lucy's dress... (they stare at him) I found Lucy back there in that canyon... I wrapped her in my blanket an' buried her with m'own hands... I thought it best to keep it from you -- long as I could. He can't look at Brad or at Martin. Brad can't speak -- and then finally: BRAD Did they...? Was she...? Ethan wheels on him in shouting fury. ETHAN (blazing) What've I got to do -- draw you a picture?... Spell it out?... Don't ever ask me!... Long as you live don't ever ask me more! Brad wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. He turns -- walking stiff-legged as though on stilts back to his horse. He bends his head against the saddle, as though to hide his grief. Martin turns away from him and walks back to Ethan. And in that moment, Brad mounts and takes off in the same direction from which he had ridden in. MARTIN (frantically) BRAD!... They run for their horses. CUT TO: 92-A EXT. ROUGH ROLLING COUNTRY - NIGHT - MOVING - CLOSE SHOT - BRAD He comes pounding down a slope, and he takes off his hat and skims it away. He rips off a neckerchief as though to relieve the rush of raging blood. 92-B EXT. THE EDGE OF A RISE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - BRAD - NIGHT He reaches the crest and reins in. A distant firelight is on his face. He takes one moment to look down into the Comanche camp o.s. Then he has his gun out. His eyes are wild, his face wet with sweat. Then he throws back his head and he yells -- and with the yell goes charging into the camp. 92-C EXT. A RIDGE - FULL SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - NIGHT They rein in -- staring -- as from afar they hear Brad's yell echoing and bouncing off the canyon walls. There is nothing they can do. They hear his shouts, then the quick bark of his .44, and the angry shouts of the Comanche. 92-D EXT. COMANCHE CAMP - EXTREME CLOSEUP - BRAD - RIDING - NIGHT His face is red with the reflected light of the fires he is passing o.s. and his eyes are alight with a crazy, savage joy. His gun cracks once, then again -- and the hammer clicks on a spent shell. 92-E EXT. COMANCHE CAMP - CLOSE SHOT - SCAR - NIGHT He stands apart, warbow drawn and arrow notched. He releases it at his running target. We hear its impact and a high gasp of pain... and then the jubilant, yammering yells of other Comanches. 92-F EXT. A RIDGE - FULL ON MARTIN AND ETHAN AS BEFORE - NIGHT The distant yammering of the Comanches doesn't quite drown out one stifled scream of pain; we can surmise a scalping knife was busy in the last instance of Brad's life. Martin slumps in his saddle. Ethan listens a moment, then turns to Martin. ETHAN Let's just hope he took some with him... He turns his horse back the way they had come. Martin stares at him. MARTIN What you goin' to do? ETHAN Get some sleep... Tomorrow's another day... Slowly, he rides away. Slowly, reluctantly but helpless to do otherwise, Martin follows. DISSOLVE TO: OMITTED EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - LOW ANGLE SHOT - DAY A study of horseprints etched in the soil -- the mark of the passage of many horses; perhaps an eagle or turkey feather fallen from a warbonnet. And then we hear and see the approach of two plodding horses, and the dusty boots of the horsemen -- Ethan and Martin -- following the trail. The Search Theme resumes and continues over the next three shots, helping us suggest the passage of time, the change of scene. EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - LONG SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - DAY The two figures are little more than specks in a vastness of savage country. WIPE TO: EXT. MOUNTAIN COUNTRY - LOW ANGLE SHOT - DAY Again we study the hooves of two horses, fighting their way up a rocky slope and past a thorn bush on which -- fluttering in the mountain wind -- is a torn scrap of scarlet cloth with a bit of beadwork or Indian decoration. WIPE TO: OMITTED EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY - LOW ANGLE SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - AFTERNOON It is a portrait study of two faces -- etched by wind and privation and cold into tragic, fanatic masks. Martin has aged years in a matter of months. Falling snow flakes touch their faces and begin to rime their stubbly beards. MARTIN (bitterly) Say it. We're beat! ETHAN (slowly) No... our turnin' back don't change anything... not in the long run. If she's alive, she's safe... for a while... They'll keep her to raise as one of their own, 'til she's of an age to... He turns his mount. MARTIN And you think we got a chance to find her? ETHAN An Injun will chase a thing til he thinks he's chased it enough... Then he quits... Same when he runs... Seems he never learns there's such a thing as a critter that might just keep comin' on... So we'll find them in the end, I promise you that... We'll find them just as sure as the turning of the earth. FADE OUT OMITTED FADE IN EXT. THE JORGENSEN HOUSE AND APPROACH - WIDE ANGLE - TWILIGHT The time is spring. It is a year and a half later. The Jorgensen house is larger than the Edwards place -- of sod and logs, with a covered breezeway connecting the two separate buildings of the house: one being the keeping room, the other the sleeping quarters of the numerous Jorgensen brood. A meadowlark breaks into his sudden song. A dog or two come barking around the side of the house as Ethan and Martin ride slowly from behind CAMERA toward the house. In that instant a lamp is lighted within the house and Lars Jorgensen comes to the door. EXT. THE JORGENSEN HOUSE - FULL SHOT - NEAR DOOR - TWILIGHT Jorgensen peers at the two men as they ride up - recognizing them, of course, but ill-prepared for the change in their appearance and full of unspoken questions. Bearing a lamp, Mrs. Jorgensen hurries out to stand beside her husband -- and her face works and tears begin to well in her eyes. Two tow-headed boys -- 13 or 14 -- come after her. Jorgensen makes a little signal with one hand, not even looking at the boys, and they hurry out to take the reins as Ethan and Martin dismount. EXT. THE JORGENSEN HOUSE - MED. SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN The passage of time has stamped Martin -- and will continue during our story more and more to stamp him -- in the image of Ethan. Now it may show only in the set of his hat or trick of standing; later it will be in his walk, in his speech (or paucity of speech). Neither man is sure of his reception. They are thinking of Brad -- dead because of their search; and Martin is thinking of Laurie. And then Mrs. Jorgensen is running across to Martin and has him in her arms as though he were her son -- saying nothing, just holding him. He stands frozen a moment and then he returns the embrace. Ethan watches a moment, then crosses to Jorgensen. ETHAN (to Jorgensen) You got my letter about your son, Brad? JORGENSEN Yah... Just about this time a year ago... MRS. JORGENSEN It came the day before his... birthday. JORGENSEN The Lord giveth--the Lord taketh away... Mrs. Jorgensen starts to lead the way inside. Martin hangs back. MARTIN I ain't fit to go indoors, miz Jorgensen... These clothes is... Laurie rushes past her mother. LAURIE Martie! She kisses him hard and full on the mouth -- and has no eyes for anyone else. Mrs. Jorgensen looks on with amusement. Martin is just bowled over. MRS. JORGENSEN (teasing) And him probably forgettin' all about you!... Probably can't even call your name to mind. MARTIN (smiling) Laurie. And Laurie smiles triumphantly at her mother. MARTIN (continuing) But I fairly forgot just how pretty you was... Laurie grabs his hand then and pulls him indoors -- and there is no further resistance from Martin. Mrs. Jorgensen and her husband converge then on Ethan -- and her face is gravely questioning. MRS. JORGENSEN The little one?... Debbie? Ethan shakes his head. She squeezes his arm reassuringly and they start indoors. DISSOLVE TO: INT. THE SPARE BEDROOM OF THE JORGENSEN'S - MED. SHOT - MARTIN - NIGHT This is a room off the kitchen end of the keeping room -- and described in the book as the "grandmother room": with narrow, slit-like windows, a set of single bunk beds, possibly a fireplace. Martin is in a deep wooden tub, taking a hot bath, currying his back with a long-handled brush. Beyond him is the door. It opens and Martin turns casually -- and at once stops being casual as Laurie enters and purposefully crosses to a stool or bench on which his discarded clothing is scattered. MARTIN Hey... What you doin'...? She picks up the shirt, puts it over one arm; she reaches for his long-handled and ragged underwear, runs a fist through a hole in its seat, clucks and shreds it into rags. During this: MARTIN (a yelp) Don't go takin' that stuff... LAURIE Ain't worth the mendin'... She turns and looks at him, matter of fact. LAURIE What you gettin' red-in-the-face for?... I have brothers, haven't I? MARTIN Well I ain't one of 'em! LAURIE I'm a woman, Martie... (he tries to say something but she goes right on) We wash and mend your dirty clothes all our lives... When you're little we even wash you... How a man can ever make out to get bashful in front of a woman I'll never know... MARTIN You talk like a feller might just as leave run around nekkid... LAURIE Wouldn't bother me... (she heads for the door) I wouldn't try it in front of pa, though, was I you... And she is laughing as she closes the door behind her. INT. THE KEEPING ROOM OF THE JORGENSEN HOUSE - FULL SHOT It is a plastered room, everything bright and shiny; a big wood-burning cookstove, above it a row of shiny copper pots; the furniture handmade and probably not too much unlike the good plain Swedish modern of today. There should be Scandinavian accents in the decor. All told, a cheerful, warm-smelling room. Ethan is talking as Laurie enters the room still carrying Martin's shirt, the rags of his underwear. She will wait, listening for a break in what Ethan is saying, to try to get her mother's attention. Jorgensen is sitting in his usual chair -- with his boots off, puffing his pipe more or less in tune with what Ethan is talking about. Mrs. Jorgensen is in her rocker, darning or knitting. Ethan is standing near the mantel. ETHAN ...an' then it snowed and we lost the trail... No need to tell ya all the places we went... Fort Richardson, Fort Wingate an' Cobb... the Anadarko Agency... Trouble is we don't even know which band that war party belonged to... Mrs. Jorgensen looks up from her darning. MRS. JORGENSEN Well, you did all a body could, Ethan. ETHAN I got your boy killed. MRS. JORGENSEN (gently) Don't go blamin' yourself... JORGENSEN (angrily) It's this country killed my boy!... Yes, by golly! Mrs. Jorgensen stands. MRS. JORGENSEN Now Lars!... It so happens we be Texicans... We took a reachin' hold, way far out, past where any man has right or reason to hold on... Or if we didn't, our folks did... So we can't leave off without makin' them out to be fools, wastin' their lives 'n wasted in the way they died... A Texican's nothin' but a human man out on a limb... This year an' next and maybe for a hundred more. But I don't think it'll be forever. Someday this country will be a fine good place to be... Maybe it needs our bones in the ground before that time can come... The speech impresses everyone but Laurie, who probably hasn't heard a word of it. LAURIE Ma!... Martie's drawers is a sight! Ain't fit for rags!... Would it be all right if we gave him some of Brad's things? There is just the briefest hesitation... MRS. JORGENSEN Why...'course it would! They're in the chest... And she leads the way briskly, with Laurie following, to a big chest at the far end of the room. JORGENSEN (rising excitedly) By golly, the letter... In the chest, mama... It came for you, Ethan... last winter... Ethan and Jorgensen cross together to where Mrs. Jorgensen is raising the top of a huge dower chest. She extracts a letter, wrapped in oilskin against moths. JORGENSEN (continuing) Joab Wilkes of the Rangers brought it... Ethan takes the letter and studies it very carefully before venturing to open it. Jorgensen is quite curious, but trying not to seem nosy. The women remain at the chest -- pulling out various folded garments, etc. Finally Ethan carefully opens it and takes out a letter -- dirty as to paper, crudely printed in pencil and with a horseshoe nail pinning a two- inch square snip of calico to the bottom of the sheet. He reads the letter with the habitual difficulty of a man unused to words and then he turns the letter, removes the nail and looks at the snip of cloth. ETHAN (quietly) Mrs. Jorgensen... She comes to him, her arms piled with clothing; and Laurie a step behind her, holding up a new pair of long- handled underwear -- measuring it with her eyes for holes, etc. ETHAN Will you look at this? He holds out the snip of calico. MRS. JORGENSEN Why it's just a snip of calico... ETHAN You ever see it before... like mebbe on a dress Debbie wore? MRS. JORGENSEN Yes!... Yes, I remember!... Have they found her, Ethan? ETHAN No... not yet... He takes the calico snip, places it within the letter and carefully pockets it. He looks broodingly into the fire. ETHAN (continuing) ...not yet... Laurie's face is troubled as she turns from him and heads for the grandmother room, carrying the armful of clothes. INT. THE SPARE BEDROOM - FULL SHOT - NIGHT Martin is sitting sulkily on a cot, wrapped in a blanket. He glares up as Laurie enters. His feet are in his boots. MARTIN Might at least have left me my pants! LAURIE Shush!... Time for bed anyway... (putting clothes near him) Likely these'll need some takin' in... Oh, Martie, you're that gaunted! ...Ma's havin' a turkey for dinner tomorrow and... JORGENSEN'S VOICE (calling) Laurie!... Come... come! Ethan opens the door, enters. LAURIE Yes, Pa!... Good night, Martie... good night, Mr. Edwards... She wants to kiss Martie but is shy in Ethan's presence and hurries out. MARTIN Good night... Laurie... ETHAN Good night... Martin stoops to remove his boots. Ethan studies him and looks thoughtfully after the girl and at Martin. He takes the letter out of his pocket -- as though he meant to read it -- and then he puts it back decisively. He starts to undress. Martin lies back on his bunk. ETHAN Jorgensen's been runnin' his cattle with my own... MARTIN (staring) YOUR cattle?... DEBBIE'S cattle! Ethan returns the stare without any change of expression. ETHAN He's agreed to take you on and share the increase from my herd while I'm gone... I'll be pushin' on tomorrow... MARTIN I ain't stayin'... I set out lookin' for Debbie... I aim to keep on... ETHAN Why? MARTIN Because she's my... my... ETHAN She's your nothin'... She's no kin to you at all! MARTIN I always felt like she was... Her folks takin' me in, raisin' me like one of their own... ETHAN That don't make 'em kin... MARTIN All right... I ain't got no kin... I'm goin' to keep lookin' that's all. ETHAN How? You got any horses, or money to buy 'em... You ain't even got money to buy cartridges... Jorgensen's offering you a good livin' here... Martin throws himself back, turns his face to the wall. Ethan looks soberly at him -- and is sorry for the brutality of his words. ETHAN Martin... I want you to know somethin'... MARTIN (turning -- mad as hell) Yeah... you want me to know I ain't got no kin -- no money -- no horses -- nothing but a dead man's clothes to wear!... You tole me that already... Now shut your head! ETHAN Good night. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE JORGENSEN HOME - WIDE ANGLE - DAWN LIGHT It is a still scene, with the first light of day in the sky, a thin plume of smoke rising from the chimney. INT. THE JORGENSEN KEEPING ROOM - MED. CLOSE SHOT - LAURIE - DAWN LIGHT She is in a robe made of an Indian blanket, belted snugly around her waist. She wears moccasins for slippers. Her flannel nightgown is high at the collar and almost trails the floor. She is at the stove, frying bacon and eggs; a coffee pot is on the boil. Beyond her the door to the grandmother room opens and Martin comes in -- dressed in Brad's clothes. His eyes whip around the room. Laurie doesn't turn as he slowly approaches. LAURIE (quietly) Ethan rode on... an hour ago. The starch goes out of him. He walks heavily to the table and sits, slumped. She looks at him compassionately. LAURIE I don't know what you can do about finding Debbie that he can't... He just shakes his head, not looking at her. She lifts the food from the skillet onto a plate and sets it before him. LAURIE He'll find her now, Martie... Please believe me... I know. He shakes his head. She crosses to the stove for the coffee pot. MARTIN That's what scares me -- him findin' her. Now it is her turn to stare. MARTIN Laurie, I've seen his eyes when he so much as hears the word 'Comanche' ...I've seen him take his knife an' ...never mind... But he's a man can go crazy wild... It might come on him when it was the worst thing could be... What I counted on, I hoped to be there to stop him, if such thing come. Laurie has poured his coffee. Now he sips it. She sits at the table with him. LAURIE (slowly) I hoped I could hold you here... But I guess I knew... So I stole this for you... She takes Ethan's letter from her breast and hands it to him. He takes it, puzzled, and slowly reads it aloud. MARTIN 'I bought a small size dress off a Injun... If this here is a piece of yr chiles dress bring reward. I know where they gone... Jerem Futterman.' Martin is on his feet. MARTIN (excited) Futterman!... He's got a little tradin' post on the South Fork o' the Brazos... Laurie, I just got to get me a good horse! Think yer pa would... LAURIE Finish your breakfast... MARTIN I gotta catch up with him, Laurie! LAURIE (almost in tears -- but angry) Go on then! Pa's in the barn saddlin' the Fort Worth stud... an' you can take the light gelding with the blaze... MARTIN But that's Sweet-face -- your own good horse. Laurie goes to the front door and throws it wide. LAURIE (hysterically) Take it and welcome... but don't count on finding me here when you get back... I've been dallying around this god-forsaken wind-scour almost two long years waitin' for you... I ain't cut out to be an old maid! MARTIN (miserably) I can't help it, Laurie... I just gotta catch up with Ethan... He runs out and she slams the door, then rests her head against it. 113-A INT. JORGENSEN KEEPING ROOM - FULL SHOT - EARLY MORNING Mrs. Jorgensen quietly enters the room and sees Laurie with head pressed against the door. She wants to offer some word of sympathy, but doesn't know what to say. She crosses to the stove to pour herself a cup of coffee. Then we hear the drum of horses' hooves, the sound of Martin riding away. Laurie flings open the door, almost as though to call him back. 113-B EXT. PLAINS COUNTRY AND LAKE BEFORE JORGENSEN HOUSE - EARLY MORNING ANGLING from behind Laurie in the doorway as Martin, riding one horse, leading another, goes galloping away. EXT. FUTTERMAN'S TRADING POST - WIDE ANGLE - DAY Low, squat adobe structure, with a crudely lettered sign- board proclaiming it: 'JEREM. FUTTERMAN, TRADER' There are adjacent outbuildings and corral. Four horses are tied outside, two being pack animals. A surly-looking white man or breed sits in a stool tilted back near the door, whittling with a long-bladed knife, eyeing the horses covetously. He glances aside and glares as a squaw shuffles along bearing a clumsy load of faggots on her bowed back. MAN Andale! Andale! Fearfully she quickens her step. The man gets up, shoves knife into belt and heads into the post. INT. FUTTERMAN'S TRADING POST - FULL SHOT - DAY It is a grimy establishment with some dusty trade goods on shelves; a counter which serves as a bar; a few plank tables and benches. The breed seen outside enters and crosses to a side table where another mean-looking hombre sits preparing to play a game of solitaire with a deck of limp cards. Ethan and Martin are at a table in the center of the room, examining a dirty, rumpled child's dress -- Debbie's. Martin nods soberly in answer to Ethan's inquiring look; yes, it's hers. Both look up as FUTTERMAN crosses from the bar, carrying a whisky jug and two dirty glasses -- his fingers thrust inside the glasses. Futterman is a squaw man and a killer -- dead eyes in a white face. FUTTERMAN Drink? He sets the jug down, picks up one of the glasses -- so grey and thumb-printed it is almost opaque. Both Ethan and Martin regard it with disgust. Futterman gives a slight shrug, takes the dress and starts to wipe the dirty glass with it. Martin snatches it out of his hand. ETHAN (harshly) How'd you come by this? FUTTERMAN You said there'd be a thousand dollar reward. ETHAN That's what I said. FUTTERMAN You got it with you? Ethan looks at him and beyond toward the two men. INT. FUTTERMAN'S - CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO PLUG-UGLIES The solitaire player has a card in mid-air -- frozen, watching. The other man has the same buzzard-watchful look. INT. FUTTERMAN'S - FULL SHOT - THE GROUP AS BEFORE ETHAN Reward'll be paid when I find her -- an' if she's alive... Futterman uncorks the jug, prepares to drink. FUTTERMAN Man's got a right to expect some kind o' payment... I laid out for the dress an' sendin' you the writin'... He tilts the jug to his mouth as Ethan reaches for his heavy leather pouch. Futterman watches greedily as Ethan lets a gold piece slide out. He tosses it onto the table. ETHAN Twenty Yankee dollars. Futterman puts the jug down. His hand inches -- as though pulled by a magnet -- toward the gold piece. FUTTERMAN ...an' a man's time is worth somethin'... Ethan's big hand clamps over Futterman's and he starts squeezing as a man would squeeze a lemon. Futterman's lips whiten. ETHAN Talk! FUTTERMAN A young buck fetched it in late last summer... (Ethan eases the grip) Said it belonged to a captive chile of Chief Scar... ETHAN Scar? Never heard of any Chief Scar. FUTTERMAN Me neither... But this buck claimed he was a big war chief with the Nawyecky Comanches. ETHAN Keep talking. FUTTERMAN Scar's band was headin' north... to winter in at Fort Wingate... eatin' agency beef. That's what this buck said... Maybe he lied. ETHAN And maybe you lie... FUTTERMAN In that case you won't find her -- and I won't get my thousand dollars. Ethan stands. Martin follows. Martin takes the dress and folds it carefully. FUTTERMAN (too casually) Stay the night if you want... (Ethan shakes his head) Cards?... A jug?... If you'd like some company, we got a few squaws on the place... Ethan and Martin head for the door. ETHAN No thanks. The two plug-uglies stand -- mean ready to do their master's bidding. FUTTERMAN Don't forget to come back with my thousand dollars. ETHAN Ain't yours yet. They leave. The CAMERA holds on Futterman as he slowly rubs his bruised hand. His henchmen drift toward him. FUTTERMAN (slight smile) Bad manners... He shoulda said 'good- bye.' DISSOLVE TO: EXT. HILLY COUNTRY - MED. SHOT - ETHAN - NIGHT They have set up camp near a cluster of cottonwoods to which the horses have been tied. One of the horses is restless, possibly nickering. Ethan strokes its neck, looking out thoughtfully into the night -- listening. MARTIN'S VOICE Acts like somethin's out there. ETHAN (heading toward campfire) Smells a change in the weather... CAMERA PANS him to where Martin is spreading his blanket some little distance from the small fire. ETHAN Wouldn't surprise me if we didn't have a frost 'fore mornin'... Here... (he picks up a saddle and puts it close to fire) Whyn't you bed down closer to the fire, boy? Martin is a bit surprised as Ethan takes the blanket and spreads it near the saddle -- making the saddle serve as a pillow. Then Ethan tosses a few more heavy pieces of dry wood on the fire, making it blaze up. MARTIN Hey! What's the idea...? ETHAN Maybe I'm gettin' like Mose Harper -- my bones is cold tonight... He spreads his own blanket as Martin wraps into his bedroll, and when Martin turns, he casually arranges the blanket to suggest it is over the figure of a man. During this: MARTIN Funny... When we passed through Fort Wingate last winter, we didn't hear mention of any Nawyecky Comanche there... Ethan steps back -- and studies the "dummy." ETHAN Not so funny... if you recollect what 'Nawyecka' means... MARTIN What's that? Ethan studies Martin's back -- the light on him -- and looks around figuring the range of fire. ETHAN Sorta like 'roundabout' -- like a man says he's goin' one place when he means to go just the reverse... MARTIN (drowsily) Oh... ETHAN You all settled an' comfortable now? Martin just grunts and snugs deeper into his blanket. Ethan nods his satisfaction -- sure Martin isn't going to change positions. Then he takes off his hat and boots and uses them to complete the dummy. He picks up his rifle then and quietly walks out of the camp. CUT TO: EXT. HILLY COUNTRY - A RAVINE OR ARROYO - FULL SHOT - THREE MEN - NIGHT Three shadowy figures -- Futterman and his two henchmen -- are quietly dismounting, taking rifles from saddle scabbards. At a hand signal from Futterman, they quietly fan out afoot. EXT. NIGHT CAMP - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTIN still snug in his blankets, sound asleep; the fire burning a little lower but still shedding plenty of light on him. EXT. HILLY COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - FROM BEHIND FUTTERMAN AND HIS HENCHMEN At a crouch or crawling, the three worm their way among some rocks until they reach a slight rise looking down into the camp. Martin is asleep and next to him is Ethan's dummy, hat over its face, and the fire still burning. The two henchmen snake their rifles up to a firing position. A shot cracks... and one man is knocked flat on his face. The other whirls in the direction of the shot, his rifle swinging in search of a target. A second shot splits the night and the breed falls as though hit by a giant fist... Martin is sitting up now, staring wildly around. Futterman starts to run down-slope, away from the hidden marksman, dodging between the rocks. A third shot catches him in the back and he spins and falls and rolls down the slope into the firepit camp area. Martin is on his feet now. EXT. NIGHT CAMP - FULL SHOT - MARTIN He is staring at Futterman, face down and almost at his feet. He looks around in fear at someone approaching -- hand going to his gun. Then he relaxes as Ethan casually enters the camp, bareheaded, carrying his rifle. ETHAN Thanks... you did just fine... Ethan kneels beside Futterman, turns him over, reaches into his pockets -- first one, then another. MARTIN (dazed) Futterman? ETHAN He just couldn't wait... MARTIN (watching him go through pockets) Whatchu doin'?... Ethan grins satisfiedly as he straightens and spins the gold piece in the air, catches it and pockets it. ETHAN Even got my twenty dollars back... We did all right. And now Martin is getting the whole picture... and he's mad. MARTIN WE?... You just used me for bait -- staked me out like a... buildin' up the fire... fixin' it so's... I coulda had my brains blowed out! Ethan is just grinning at him -- completely unruffled, denying none of it. MARTIN (explosively) Suppose you'd missed! Ethan sobers a little, seems honestly surprised. ETHAN Never occurred to me... DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE JORGENSEN HOME - WIDE ANGLE - DAY It is a day in early winter. Charlie MacCorry, short-coated, is galloping across the yard as Jorgensen crosses it -- carrying a load of firewood. CHARLIE (calling it) Howdy, Mister Jorgensen... JORGENSEN Charlie... MacCorry swings off his saddle near the porch, as the door opens and Mrs. Jorgensen comes out -- shawled against the cold. CHARLIE Got a letter here... Jorgensen lets the cordwood drop... JORGENSEN By golly! A letter? CHARLIE For Miss Laurie... MRS. JORGENSEN Come in, Charlie, come in... (calling inside) LAURIE!... My land!... Two letters in the one year!... INT. JORGENSEN KEEPING ROOM - FULL SHOT as Charlie enters, following Mrs. Jorgensen. Jorgensen excitedly enters and closes the door. Laurie comes in from another room. Charlie smiles and bows clumsily. MRS. JORGENSEN (to Laurie) A letter for you, Laurie... CHARLIE Yes'm... Figgered it might be the news you been waitin' for... so... He hands the letter to Laurie who comes over eagerly, takes it and studies the wrapper before opening it. MRS. JORGENSEN Real good o' you to ride all the way over, Charlie... Might at least say your thank you's, Laurie... Declare! CHARLIE No need to... But Laurie has no interest in anything but the letter which she is reading skimmingly. MRS. JORGENSEN Well? JORGENSEN (expectantly) Yah? MRS. JORGENSEN Laurie! Don't keep a body just standin'! Laurie looks up then. LAURIE (impatiently) I was just readin' to see if... Anyway, it's MY letter! MRS. JORGENSEN (agreeably) 'Course it is. Now let's all get comfortable an' set so's we can listen while Laurie reads her letter... CHARLIE (turning as if to go) Maybe I'd better be goin'... JORGENSEN You stay, Charlie... After all, Charlie brought the letter, Laurie... He got a right to listen too! Mrs. Jorgensen has been pulling and pushing chairs around and now they all take places. Jorgensen automatically reaches for his glasses on the mantel and puts them on -- even though he isn't going to read the letter. Laurie has been sneaking looks at some of the other pages. LAURIE (surrendering) Oh, all right! Well... Martin says... JORGENSEN From the beginning... LAURIE 'Dear Miss Laury'... He spells it with a Y instead of an I... E... Wouldn't you think he'd know... JORGENSEN Who cares what he spells it? Read the letter. LAURIE Dear Miss Laury... I take pen in hand to let you know Ethan and me still are trying to catch up with them Comanches the late Mister Futterman told us about... She breaks off, looks up -- puzzled. LAURIE The late Mister Futterman? JORGENSEN That means Mister Futterman is dead, by golly. MRS. JORGENSEN Wonder what happened to the poor man. Go on, Laurie. LAURIE (resuming the letter) We cut north through Indian territory and... (her voice fades) DISSOLVE TO: EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - LATE SUMMER OR FALL - ETHAN AND MARTIN (SILENT) leading their pack animals. Martin's voice picks up the narration. MARTIN'S VOICE Soon we was meeting up with Kiowas an' Wichitas an' even some Comanches camped by one of the agencies... WIPE TO: WIDE ANGLE - A COMANCHE ENCAMPMENT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - DAY FALL WEATHER (SILENT) The camp is on the outskirts of a trading post. Indians watch unsmilingly from tepees, or in little clusters afoot; a few mounted braves ride on parallel courses as Ethan and Martin ride through camp toward the post. MARTIN'S VOICE But none of them was Nawyecky's nor claimed to know a war chief named Scar... He's the one the late Mister Futterman said had Debbie... WIPE TO: INT. APPLEBY'S TRADING POST - MED. SHOT (SILENT) - DAY This trading post is in marked contrast to Futterman's -- being well-stocked, clean and presided over by HIRAM APPLEBY, a resolute, clean-looking man of middle years. Ethan and Martin -- in winter garb -- are being shown a variety of trade goods, including a shoebox full of ornate ribbon rosettes, such as are awarded animals at stock fairs. Appleby is solemnly affirming the trade value of these, as well as sleeve garters, etc. MARTIN'S VOICE At one o' the agencies we outfitted with all kind an' manner of trade goods... figgerin' that'd make it easier for us to come an' go... You'd laugh if I told you what was our biggest seller... WIPE TO: EXT. INDIAN ENCAMPMENT - MED. CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN AND FAT INDIAN - EARLY WINTER OR FALL DAY Ethan is ceremoniously pinning something on the stern-faced buck. It is one of the rosettes seen in the shoebox. CAMERA MOVES to an extreme CLOSEUP of the rosette. On it, in gold letters, is: FIRST AWARD LARD TYPE HOG EXT. INDIAN ENCAMPMENT - FULL SHOT - EARLY FALL OR WINTER DAY As the Indian proudly steps back, we see beyond him a half dozen other braves -- all rosetted. Ethan looks them over complacently while Martin -- to hide the smile that threatens to split his face -- bends to pick up a huge bundle of furs. WIPE TO: INT. JORGENSEN KEEPING ROOM - FULL SHOT - THE GROUP FAVORING LAURIE reading the letter. She is at the bottom of a page. LAURIE 'There is one other thing I got to tell you before you hear it from Ethan... How I got myself a wife'... She stops and stares. LAURIE A WIFE? She looks at them - dazed. CHARLIE (delightedly) He did? JORGENSEN (smacking his knee -- very happy indeed) Good! A young man should get married early in life. Right, mama? Mrs. Jorgensen, full of sympathy for Laurie, just glares at her husband. JORGENSEN Every young man should at least once...Go on, Laurie! Read! LAURIE (haltingly) A little Comanche squaw - SQUAW! And with that she crumples the letter and throws it into the fire. MRS. JORGENSEN (aghast) Laurie! Jorgensen is out of his chair and scrambling in the fireplace to recover the letter. He fetches it out, beating the sparks out. The letter is basically undamaged. JORGENSEN (sternly) Is no way to treat a letter, Laurie ...Mama maybe you better read it... (to Charlie, proudly) My wife was a school teacher, Charlie ...She reads good. Laurie snatches the letter back. LAURIE I'll read it... Charlie crosses the room, picks up a guitar. CHARLIE (smugly) So he married a Comanche squaw... Haw haw haw! Laurie glares at him. He begins chording the guitar. WIPE TO: EXT. INDIAN ENCAMPMENT - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTIN AND "LOOK" - FALL OR EARLY WINTER - DAY "LOOK" is somewhat under five feet tall, pigeon-toed, platter- faced and wide-eyed. Over her arm is a very handsome blanket. She is coming forward shyly toward Martin, propelled by a Comanche -- her father. Martin, with an armful of trade goods -- a few yards of bright calico, a couple of AGED SOW rosettes and some trinkets -- is indicating the blanket. Look glances shyly at her father. He shakes his head negatively. Look is disappointed. The father points to Martin's pile of trade goods. Martin bends and picks up the indicated object: it is a battered high-crowned beaver hat. The Indian grunts his approval and puts it on. Look looks relieved. Martin reaches for the blanket. Look takes a quick step backward and holds up one finger: wait! Then she runs back through the other Comanches now crowding forward. EXT. INDIAN ENCAMPMENT - ANOTHER ANGLE - FULL SHOT - INCLUDING ETHAN who rides in slowly, leading their pack horse and Martin's horse. ETHAN (quietly) Let's go... I think I stumbled onto somethin'... MARTIN (eagerly) Scar? The name registers with some of the nearer braves. There is a quick interchange of glances, frowning, hostile. ETHAN (angrily) When are you goin' to learn to keep your mouth shut! Come on. Let's get out of here. MARTIN But I just bought a good blanket. ETHAN (curtly) Forget it... Martin mounts and the two ride out. The Comanches stare after them suspiciously, resentfully. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - MOVING SHOT - EARLY WINTER DAY They are riding down a slight grade beyond which (we can assume) is the Comanche camp. ETHAN What I heard back there was that a band o' hostile Nawyeckas came through this way less'n two weeks ago... MARTIN (excitedly) Think it might be...? He breaks and both turn as Look rides over the hill on a little spotted Indian pony, with her squaw-bag slung up behind her and her blanket over the saddle. She closes the gap between them. ETHAN What's she followin' for? Look smiles shyly at Martin. MARTIN Look, I changed my mind... You can keep your blanket. He gestures for her to go back. MARTIN Go on back... She stares and then dutifully wheels her horse. Martin and Ethan face front again. Look wheels her horse again and is right with them. Martin stops - exasperated. MARTIN Look... you don't understand... (he waves her away) I don't want it. Look just sits. ETHAN (explosively) YOU don't understand, ya chunkhead! You didn't buy any blanket! Ya bought her! MARTIN (aghast) What? ETHAN You got yourself a wife, sonny! MARTIN (a wail) Oh no! Tell her she's got to go back... ETHAN And have her whole family after our scalps for floutin' one o' their women?... No sir! Come on, Mrs. Pauley... Look smiles and sets her horse in motion as Ethan moves ahead. Martin's face is a mask of comic despair as he gives up. He is mouthing the words -- MARTIN Mrs... Pauley? And Ethan suddenly breaks into song; to the tune of "Skip To My Lou:" ETHAN (singing) I got another gal purtier'n you. I got another gal purtier'n you. I got another gal purtier'n you. Skip to my Lou, my darlin'. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. NIGHT CAMP - OPEN COUNTRY - CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN - NIGHT Ethan is wrapped in his blanket roll, head propped by an elbow, grinning sardonically as he watches a strange ritual in the camp. The score is softly reprising "Skip to my Lou." EXT. NIGHT CAMP - FULL SHOT - PAST ETHAN - NIGHT Look is standing with her blanket folded over one arm, her head shyly downcast, not far from where Martin (back to her) is spreading his own bed roll. He sits on it then and begins pulling off his boots. He is very conscious of Ethan's watchful scrutiny. Finally he is ready. He lies back on his blanket. At once Look is at his side to spread her own blanket. Martin sits bolt upright and tugs his blanket free and wraps it protectively around him. She stares at him, puzzled. MARTIN Water!... (in Comanche) Pah! She nods her understanding, hurries off to fetch a canteen. Martin glares at Ethan. ETHAN That's the way to train 'em. Looks like Mrs. Pauley's goin' to make you a fine beautiful wife... MARTIN Cut it out, will ya... Look returns with the canteen, hands it to Martin and kneels beside him. He looks at her sympathetically. MARTIN Look... I wish I could explain to you. And now Look speaks for the first time. She indicates herself. LOOK Look?... Now she jabbers in Comanche and, at the appropriate time, will point to the sky and imitate a bird flying. LOOK Nay tzare T'sala-ta-komal-ta-name... unt kang-yah Look. (which means) (My father calls me Wild Goose Flying in the Night Sky... but you call me 'Look'). Martin looks blank, but Ethan chuckles. ETHAN Says her name's Wild Goose Flying in the Night Sky... but she'll answer to Look since it pleases ya... MARTIN (blankly) Look? She nods and smiles and quickly settles alongside him and spreads her blanket over them both. Martin recoils, plants his foot in the small of her back and sends her sprawling. Ethan busts a gut laughing. Martin jumps to his feet, angrily. MARTIN (hotly) I don't think it's so funny... If you want to do some good, whyn't you ask her where Scar is? Ethan stares at the girl. Her face is suddenly impassive as she looks from Martin to the ground. ETHAN (grimly) She heard ya-all right... An' she knows... He gets to his feet and he crosses to stand before her. So does Martin. ETHAN Unt osupanet cah-nay Scar? (meaning) (You know where Scar is?) She stares sullenly, not answering. ETHAN You ask her! MARTIN Look! (she faces him) Scar?... (sign talk) Do you know where he went? And if he has a girl with him... a white girl -- nai-bist pabo taibo... She stands... She indicates Martin. She indicates herself. LOOK Mah nee-koo-ur? (meaning) (Your woman?) MARTIN (shaking head) No... not my wife... My... (to Ethan) How do you say sister? ETHAN (in Comanche) Nami. She looks gravely from Ethan to Martin. Then, with impassive face, she bends swiftly, picks up her blanket and walks away from them to choose her own sleeping place. The two men don't know what to make of it. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. CAMP - OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - MORNING It is the same scene the following morning. The men are standing above where Look had bedded for the night, looking at the ground. Clearly marked on the hard ground is a crudely drawn arrow. MARTIN Beats me how she could get that pony out o' camp without neither of us hearin' a thing... ETHAN She ain't goin' back to her family, that's certain... not if she took off where the arrow points. MARTIN Think she means for us to follow? ETHAN How should I know... She's YOUR wife! He walks toward their horses, starts to saddle up. Martin follows. MARTIN I think maybe we oughta... ETHAN (hiding a grin) Yeah, I kinda figgered you'd say that... Bein' a new husband and all... And Ethan starts singing "Skip to My Lou" half under his breath. Martin gives him a sour side-glance and continues saddling. DISSOLVE TO: INT. JORGENSEN HOME - GROUP AS BEFORE - LAURIE READING - DAY Mrs. Jorgensen is bringing a lighted lamp over to the table where Laurie is reading against the fading light of day. Jorgensen's pipe has gone out and he lights it. LAURIE Maybe she left other signs for us to follow but we'll never know -- 'cause it snowed all day and all the next week... We were heading north, through the buffalo country when something happened that I ain't got straight in my own mind yet... (her voice fades) 137-A EXT. SNOW COUNTRY - WIDE ANGLE SHOT - TWO RIDERS (COLORADO FOOTAGE) The two men are picking their way through a snow-mantled grove. Martin's voice resumes the narration. MARTIN'S VOICE Ethan's always been throwing it up to me that I'm a quarter-breed... I never figgered it made much difference... 137-B EXT. BUFFALO HERD - WIDE ANGLE SHOT - DAY (COLO. FOOTAGE) MARTIN'S VOICE But this day we came on a small herd. We needed some meat so we circled 'round... 137-C EXT. THE HERD - ANOTHER ANGLE (COLO. FOOTAGE) MARTIN'S VOICE ...and came up on 'em afoot... They hadn't been hunted, so it was no trick workin' in close. 137-D EXT. THE HERD - MARTIN AND ETHAN - DAY (COLO. FOOTAGE) The two men walk from behind CAMERA. Ethan aims, fires and brings down a bull. MARTIN'S VOICE Ethan got a nice one on his first shot, but then he began killing one after another -- cows as well as bulls -- fast as he could fire and load... It was just a slaughter... no sense to it... 137-E EXT. THE HERD BEGINNING TO RUN (COLO. FOOTAGE) Shots cracking out -- the terrified bawling of the bulls -- the beginning of the stampede. 137-F EXT. MED. CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN (PROCESS) Martin strides across to where Ethan is firing. MARTIN Ethan, quit it! ETHAN (firing again) Nine... (another shot) Ten! MARTIN What's the sense in it! Ethan turns and swings a backhand blow which catches Martin by surprise and fells him. ETHAN (in a fury) Hunger! -- Empty bellies! That's the sense in it, you Cherokee!... He swings up his gun and fires again -- and again... as Martin stares at him from the ground. 137-G EXT. THE HERD - LONG SHOT - THE STAMPEDE (COLO. FOOTAGE) Fear-maddened animals are swinging into full stampede fleeing the deadly marksman. Rifle shots keep cracking out. 137-H EXT. MED. CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN AS BEFORE (PROCESS) The thunder of the hooves is receding and Ethan grimly lowers his rifle. Martin picks himself up -- still staring at Ethan as though at a madman. Ethan turns and looks at him. ETHAN Least, THEY won't feed any Comanches this winter... Killin' buffalo's as good as killin' Injuns in this country. MARTIN Peaceful tribes depend on the buffalo, too.... ETHAN Ain't that too bad... If you feel that sorry for your kinfolk, I'm surprised you didn't take up with that squaw wife of yours... He whips out his shinning knife and strides toward the dead buffalo o.s. Martin looks after him with troubled expression. Suddenly he hears something, borne faint by the wind. MARTIN ETHAN! Ethan turns. Now faintly, little more than a shred of sound, is the distant blowing of a bugle. MARTIN Listen!... Hear it?... There! Ain't that a bugle... and firing? Ethan stares -- and then the bugle sound repeats and the distant crack of shots, from long miles off. ETHAN (grimly) Just hope we ain't too late... And the two break and run for their horses. DISSOLVE TO: OMITTED EXT. A RIVER - WIDE ANGLE - CAVALRY CROSSING WITH PRISONERS - DAY MARTIN'S VOICE (as narrator) It was all over long before we got there and the soldiers was high- tailin' it back to the agency with their prisoners -- squaws mostly -- by the time Ethan and me reached the camp... EXT. SNOW SLOPE - WIDE ANGLE - ETHAN AND MARTIN Horses and riders plunge downslope through breast-high snow. MARTIN'S VOICE It was the Nawyecky Comanches all right -- the ones we'd been looking for all this time... EXT. BURNING INDIAN VILLAGE - WIDE ANGLE - ETHAN AND MARTIN - DAY as they ride in, passing dead horses, a few bodies of men. MARTIN'S VOICE Trouble of it was that the soldiers had hit when most of the fightin' men was away -- huntin' maybe... So most of the dead was old men and women an' kids... And it was in one of the tepees Ethan found her -- the little squaw who wanted me to call her Look... Ethan has dismounted in front of one of the tepees, heads inside. INT. TEPEE - FULL SHOT - DAY as Ethan enters. A body -- Look's -- is sprawled on the ground. He crosses, turns her over. Martin enters behind him. ETHAN Well, you're a widower now... MARTIN (angrily) What'd the soldiers have to kill her for!... He sees something clutched in her hand. He stoops quickly. MARTIN Ethan! Ethan, who has turned indifferently to leave, pauses. Martin shows him what Look had been clutching -- Debbie's rag doll. MARTIN Look! It's hers, Debbie's... Ethan snatches it, stares at it. Then he turns and runs from the tepee. Martin stares at Look's body, then covers it with a robe. MARTIN'S VOICE So we knew Debbie had been in the village... What Look was doing there -- whether she'd come to warn them, or maybe to find Debbie for me... there's no way of knowing... He turns and then slowly heads out. EXT. THE TEPEE - ETHAN AND MARTIN Ethan stands there, his expression bleak, looking at the scene. Martin joins him. MARTIN We gotta catch up with them yellow legs... Maybe they got her with them. Ethan isn't thinking of that at all. ETHAN (harshly) And maybe they got Scar! They start away -- fast. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. SNOW COUNTRY - WIDE ANGLE - THE CAVALRY AND PRISONERS - DAY A long line stretching across the landscape -- women falling and being prodded along by their captors. From behind CAMERA ride Ethan and Martin and move to intercept the column. EXT. THE COLUMN - FULL SHOT - DAY as Ethan and Martin come closer and look at the shawled prisoners stumbling along. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - DAY as a young OFFICER spurs out of the column and rides toward them. OFFICER (inquiringly) Yes? ETHAN We're looking for a girl -- a white girl... MARTIN She'd be about thirteen now... OFFICER We got two around that age... MARTIN (eagerly) Where? OFFICER You'll have to wait until we reach the agency... Fall in behind the column... MARTIN (protestingly) But couldn't you...? OFFICER Sorry... (shouting it) Keep the column moving!... Close ranks there! The officer spurs out to rejoin the column. Martin looks at Ethan, his face alive with hope. But Ethan is just looking stonily along the line of passing prisoners. WIPE TO: EXT. THE NOKONI AGENCY - WIDE ANGLE - DAY The column of cavalry and prisoners enters the agency (COLORADO FOOTAGE). We see the dead and wounded on travois; the agency Indians watching stoically; the prisoners -- some of them -- being herded into a chapel. INT. OFFICE OF NOKONI AGENCY - FULL SHOT - DAY The office has been set up as a temporary army headquarters. The GENERAL is being interviewed by two Eastern newspaper CORRESPONDENTS. At a table beyond is a telegrapher, sending out a report of the victory. A pot-bellied stove supplies heat and the General is warming his hands at it, intermittently. An adjutant is rather wearily filling out a long official form. The General, for all his mudded boots remains a beau sabreur and is loosely modeled upon a certain other well-known glory hunter of the Indian wars. He wears a colonel's straps, but insists upon his brevet rank. GENERAL And it was clear to me the hostiles outnumbered us four to one... with all the advantage of terrain... CORRESPONDENT Four to one! What did you do, general? Ethan and Martin enter, stand in the doorway. GENERAL (impressively) Sir -- we charged!... Gentlemen -- and I hope you will quote me -- I cannot say too much for the courage of the men who followed me into that Cheyenne camp... ETHAN (blurting it) Cheyenne! What Cheyenne? GENERAL (turning and staring) I beg your pardon? ETHAN That camp you hit was Nawyecka Comanche... Chief Scar's bunch... CORRESPONDENT (fascinated) Scar? What a wonderful name!... GENERAL (to his aide) Are you getting this, Keefer? CORRESPONDENT (to Ethan) How do you spell that word -- Nawyecka? Ethan ignores him, still facing the General. ETHAN My name's Edwards... I'm looking for my niece... she was in that camp when you attacked... GENERAL (uncertain) Well... I know there were some captives recovered... MARTIN (bitterly) Four of 'em dead... so we were told... GENERAL (uncomfortably) Unfortunately, the hostiles murdered them as we developed the village... ETHAN Are you sure they didn't die of carbine shots fired by a bunch o' Yank bluebellies so scared they couldn't tell the difference between a Cheyenne and a Comanche? GENERAL Keefer!... Put this man under arrest! ETHAN That'll be the day... (scornfully) 'As we developed the village'... Next time you develop a village, hit it where the fightin' men are... You won't get any headlines for killin' squaws. Keefer coughs. KEEFER Shall I show him the captives, sir? GENERAL Just get him out of here! KEEFER Yes sir... (he crosses to Ethan) This way... INT. THE CHAPEL - MED. CLOSE SHOT - ANGLING TO DOOR - AFTERNOON The door is opened by a guard and Ethan takes a step into the room -- then stops in manifest shock. Martin is at his heels, eager and expectant. Beyond them stands Keefer, grave and compassionate. There is a keening sound in the room -- almost an animal sound. INT. THE CHAPEL - REVERSE SHOT - FULL It is a simple log-sided room with plank benches without backs. Up front is a small box-like pulpit, no altar. Across the front of the room, set up either on benches or on boards over saw-horses are four blanket-covered figures -- at least two being the bodies of children. Squatting on the floor near them is an elderly white woman with hair hanging loosely down her back and clad in Indian robes. Standing, facing the newcomers, is a woman who may be no more than in her mid-thirties. She is mad -- wild-eyed, frightened, with matted, unbrushed golden hair, torn garments. It is she who has been making the keening sound, the animal moans. Now she crouches at the sight of them and looks desperately for a means of escape. Two girls are asleep, heads together and backs to the door. One has light hair, like Debbie's; the other brown hair. The afternoon sun coming through a high window touches the light hair. MARTIN Debbie?... DEBBIE? He has seen the light hair and starts crossing the room. Now the madwoman begins her screaming, running from side to side like a trapped animal. Ethan follows Martin into the room, Keefer behind him. Martin comes to a stop, realizing the woman is afraid of him. The two sleeping girls stir, but do not turn. MARTIN Don't be scared, ma'am... The madwoman crouches behind one of the benches, looking at them with frightened eyes. KEEFER Just don't pay any attention to her... Martin swallows and nods and crosses to the light-haired girl. He reaches a hand gingerly to touch her shoulder. MARTIN (softly) Debbie? At the touch, the girl is on her feet, crouching -- one hand, like a claw, drawn back to rake his face. She is unmistakably a white girl, but she is painted like a Comanche woman --her ears red inside, streaks of paint accenting the savagery of her face. Her eyes are frightened, yet full of hate. GIRL Pabo-taibo! (White man!) The other girl has risen almost in the same instant -- but more out of fear. She is younger, but painted like the other. She moves to stand behind the savage one. MARTIN (slowly) No... She's not... ETHAN I ain't sure... Where's that doll? Martin stares at him, then realizes what he has in mind. He fishes the rag doll from under his coat and holds it out to the girl. She looks at it... and we may almost suspect it is rekindling a memory -- but then she spits at it. The other girl laughs. Martin turns away and he's sick. KEEFER Was your niece about their age? ETHAN Not far from it... KEEFER Hard to realize they're white, isn't it... ETHAN (grimly) They're not white any more -- they're Comanche!... Let's see the bodies... Martin nerves himself for the ordeal, turns to follow. ETHAN I don't need you... Ethan and Keefer move away. As they do, the madwoman -- eyes fixed on the rag doll in Martin's hand -- begins creeping up behind him. Martin is torturedly watching Ethan and Keefer as first one blanket then another is raised -- we will never see the dead. During this: KEEFER (the dispassionate pro) I'd like you to see them all... It might help us identify them... Shot in the head -- flash-burn range... The boy got his skull cracked... Here's the girl... Martin stiffens, waiting. ETHAN No... Martin relaxes... and in that instant the madwoman has the doll in her hands. She cradles it and she croons. Martin reaches to take it away. But she calmly sits, cradling the doll, and rocks to and fro, humming a lullaby. He can't take it. Ethan returns. ETHAN Well, we only got the one lead -- Scar... And where we begin to look, I don't know... KEEFER There's one thing. We recovered a bushel of trinkets in that camp... cheap stuff... trade goods... Couldn't help noticing that most of it was Mexican... Maybe if you could talk to some of those Mexican traders along the border... What do they call themselves? ETHAN Comancheros... KEEFER That's the breed... Course it might take time. ETHAN Time's running out... But I'm obliged to you. They leave. CUT TO: INT. JORGENSEN KEEPING ROOM - FULL SHOT - THE GROUP - EVENING Laurie has reached the last page of the letter, reading it by the lamp on the table. Jorgensen is knocking out the dead ashes of his pipe. Charlie is in the shadows, a guitar in his hands -- not playing it, but occasionally softly picking a note or chord. Mrs. Jorgensen is dabbing moist eyes with a corner of her apron. LAURIE ...so we're setting out for New Mexico Territory in the morning... I am sorry I won't be back for Christmas again this year... She swallows hard, pauses a moment in her reading. MRS. JORGENSEN (quick sympathy) And you knittin' that muffler... LAURIE (impatiently) What's the difference! MRS. JORGENSEN Well, I just thought it would be a sin and a shame not to let SOMEONE get some good of it... She looks almost too obviously at Charlie, which annoys Laurie. Laurie resumes her letter reading: LAURIE (peering closely) There's a word crossed out... It looks like 'I wish' or 'I will'... (she gives up) Anyway... 'I set pen aside in the hope you are enjoying good health and your folks the same... I remain, respectfully... (forlornly) yours truly, Martin Paulie.' That's all there is. Not a cross on it. Laurie just looks at it. Jorgensen stands, pocketing his pipe, easing the crick in his back. He ceremoniously removes the spectacles and replaces them on the mantel. JORGENSEN They never find that girl. LAURIE (half to herself) Yours truly... (hotly) And he even has to write his full name... Martin Pauley... not even just Martie!... (she stands) I don't care if he never comes back! She heads for the front door. MRS. JORGENSEN (rising -- saying it without conviction) Now, Laurie!... Charlie hits the guitar a little stronger. Mrs. Jorgensen looks at him -- and the matchmaker is at work. MRS. JORGENSEN Charlie, you'll stay for supper?... Now I won't take no for an answer. CHARLIE Thought of saying 'no' never crossed my mind, Miz Jorgensen... No place I'd rather be than right here, right now. Mrs. Jorgensen smiles and moves about her duties. Laurie has opened the door and is staring out wistfully... and Charlie begins playing and singing a verse from "Skip to My Lou." CHARLIE (singing) One old boot and a button shoe One old boot and a button shoe... FADE OUT FADE IN EXT. DESERT COUNTRY - WIDE ANGLE - ETHAN AND MARTIN RIDING - DAY The search theme is heard again as the two riders, with single pack horse, are heading south through New Mexico. It is hot country. EXT. DESERT COUNTRY - CLOSE MOVING SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - DAY Their faces are sun-tanned, burned dark and dry. Gone are the heavy coats and clothing of their northern days. They do not speak, just ride -- and there is the same bleak, fanatic, hard look about them both. The music theme segues into something livelier and Mexican as we - DISSOLVE TO: EXT. A MEXICAN VILLAGE - FULL SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - DAY It is a small place -- a single dirt street, a few adobe houses; a few racks of dried meat; a burro with a load of faggots on its back being driven along by a small boy; the music coming from a little cantina in the middle of the street. Before the cantina is a bone rack of a horse, without a saddle -- only a blanket pad. There is something familiar about the horse and Ethan is staring at it as they ride in. EXT. THE CANTINA - FULL SHOT - DAY The two men dismount, beating dust out of their clothes. Ethan takes another look at the sorry old nag tied outside. Martin pauses beside Ethan. ETHAN Recognize it? Martin shakes his head. They start toward the cantina. ETHAN There couldn't be two like that in all the world... INT. THE CANTINA - FULL SHOT - DAY as Ethan and Martin enter. It is a dirt-floored room with a small bar near the door, chairs and benches along the walls. A pair of guitar players are at the far end of the room. A couple of Mexicans are playing a noisy game of dominoes, slapping the dominoes down hard... EMILIO FIGUEROA, back to the door, spurred boots across one of the tables, is sipping a drink. Emilio is a cynical, middle-aged, aristocratic- looking man in modified charro costume. Watching the domino game is ESTRELLA, lithe, sensuous, smoking a brown-paper cigarette; she is barefoot. Behind the bar is the proprietor, dozing on his stool. Ethan takes a step into the room. ETHAN (loudly) MOSE!.... MOSE HARPER? The proprietor awakens. The domino game is suspended in mid- play. Estrella turns... and from beside Emilio, previously obscured by the man's back and the big charro hat, pokes the head of old Mose. Emilio turns then to look at the newcomers. MOSE Ay-eh...? He is on his feet and advancing to meet them. As he recognizes them a wide, foolish grin splits his face and his mouth opens and closes in words that won't come out. He grabs and shakes Ethan's arm, then Martin's. ETHAN Leggo my arm... You look mangier 'n ever. MOSE Ain't been too good... No sir, not too good... Gettin' old, Ethan... ETHAN You were born old... PROPRIETOR (all smiles - as they head for the bar) Bienvenidos, senores... Pulque?... tequila?... mescal?... huiskey? ETHAN Tequila... MARTIN Lo mismo. PROPRIETOR (beaming) Y' par' el Viejo -- el vino del pais... tequila tambien! Martin puts his back to the bar, leans elbows on it and looks around. 158A INT. THE CANTINA - ANGLING PAST MARTIN TOWARD ESTRELLA She is giving him an appraising once-over, then signals the musicians to play. She rests her buttocks against a table and waits, her eyes challenging Martin to make a move. Emilio is watching Estrella and Martin with something akin to bored amusement. 158B INT. THE CANTINA - ANGLE AT BAR Ethan has poured a drink for Mose, now one for himself -- leaving Martin's glass empty. MOSE I been helpin' ye, Ethan... I been lookin' all the time... Martin turns back to the bar to take his glass. He finds it empty. MARTIN (to Ethan's back) Thanks for nothin'... He angrily throws a coin on the counter, appropriates the bottle and his glass and heads for a table closer to Estrella. Neither Ethan nor Mose seems aware of his going. ETHAN Well, the reward still stands... MOSE Don't want no money, Ethan... jus' a place -- a roof over m' head... a little grub... a bunk to sleep in... an' a rockin' chair by the fire... my own rockin' chair by a fire... ETHAN You help me find her, you got your rockin' chair... MOSE Swear it, Ethan?... Given word? ETHAN (impatiently) Told ya, didn't I? MOSE (impressively) Ethan... I found a man's seen her... knows where little Debbie is! Ethan stares at him. Mose nods his reaffirmation of it. Then Ethan's hand locks on the old man's shoulder. ETHAN Who? Where is he... this man? Mose winces under the grip. He can't speak, but he looks past Ethan and he points. Ethan turns. Emilio swings his boots off the table and slowly crosses to them. He lets cigarette smoke curl out of his mouth. Then he smiles. EMILIO I am this man, senor... Emilio Gabriel Fernandez y Figueroa... at your service... (afterthought) ...for a price... (he smiles) ...Always for a price... As the men study each other, Estrella begins her dance -- and the rhythmic click of the castanets will beat like a metronome. Emilio looks at the bottle on the bar, disdainfully pushes it away and imperiously signals the proprietor to bring something better. EMILIO Un otra! INT. THE CANTINA - ANGLING PAST MARTIN TO ESTRELLA He is knocking off his tequila and looking at the girl hungrily. She is doing her swaying dance, playing up to him and with unmistakable effect. He sloshes another drink into his glass and, never taking his eyes off her, downs it. INT. THE CANTINA - FULL SHOT - ANOTHER ANGLE - THE DANCE Beyond Estrella we see Ethan, Emilio, and Mose at the bar -- gestures, headshakes, the entire pantomime of an inaudible conversation. Then Ethan takes out his pouch and begins dropping gold pieces into Emilio's hand. Meanwhile, dance and dancer are achieving their purpose with Martin. And the tequila is working. He gets to his feet, a little groggily. Estrella's smile deepens and there is a clear invitation in her eyes... Ethan turns then, his deal with Emilio concluded, and he sees what is going on. He starts for Martin's table just as Martin moves out to take the girl. ETHAN (tolerantly) Come on, Don Juan... We're on our way... Martin tries to push him away, his eyes still on the girl. MARTIN (thickly) Lemme alone... ETHAN (taking his arm) You breeds are all alike -- two drinks an'... Martin breaks free and squares off. MARTIN Take yer hands off'n me... This lady an' me got some things to talk over! Estrella ranges herself alongside of Martin and slips an arm possessively through his. ETHAN (a shrug) Suit yourself... While you're enjoyin' your little conversation, I'll be ridin' out with Senor Fernandez here... The Comanch' medicine country ain't far... there's one camp with a chief named Cicatriz. MARTIN Never heard of him... ETHAN Cicatriz is Mex for Scar... an' he has a white girl in his tepee... Be seein' you... He turns and heads out. Emilio, who has come up behind him, gives Estrella a slight smile and bow. EMILIO Buena suerte, Estrella... Hasta la vista. He follows Ethan. Estrella swings her body close to Martin and lets her arms slide around his neck. ESTRELLA (softly) Tu quieres...? Martin blinks to clear away the fog of tequila and desire. MARTIN (a bitter laugh) Sure... sure... Only not this year... He pulls her arms away and goes lurching after the others. Mose catches his arm. MOSE 'Mind Ethan 'bout my rockin' chair! Martin continues out and Mose stands there -- his head rockin' as though he already were in his chair. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. (APPROACH TO THE NEEDLES MONUMENT) - A BROAD CANYON - FULL SHOT - DAY A small pack train (nine or ten horses, six or seven men) winds through a canyon behind which we can see huge needles of rock: majestic, savage country. At the head of the column ride Ethan, Emilio, and Martin. Behind them come Emilio's cargadores -- lean, hard-bitten wiry little Mexicans. One leads a handsome palomino. The SOUND of the CASTANETS ECHOES in the musical theme. EXT. CANYON - MED. SHOT - HEAD OF COLUMN - MOVING - DAY Ethan is looking around with grim interest. ETHAN Medicine country, huh? EMILIO (slight smile) Medicine so strong they believe the feather of an eagle found here can guard a man against bullets... MARTIN (looking ahead) If you got one handy, now's the time... Ethan and Emilio both look in the direction of his glance. EXT. CANYON - FULL SHOT - REVERSE ANGLE - FROM BEHIND RIDERS - DAY They are turning a bend and now, ahead, we see a cordon of Comanches -- all armed, all quiet, all very menacing as they watch the approaching column. Emilio calls a greeting in Comanche. It gets no answer. EXT. CANYON - MOVING SHOT - THE COMANCHE FACES - DAY The CAMERA PICKS UP the faces in turn, as from the white men's viewpoint, as they ride slowly by. EXT. COMANCHE ENCAMPMENT - FULL SHOT - DAY One tepee stands apart from the other's -- Scar's. Beyond it are other tepees, the gathering of braves and some squaws, the drying racks for meat, etc. Emilio leads the way toward the central tepee. They dismount nearby and Emilio inclines his head toward the one tepee. Ethan and Martin brace themselves and wait. The flap of the tepee is closed. MARTIN (gruffly) What are we waiting for? Emilio cautions him with a hand gesture. EXT. THE TEPEE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - DAY The flap is thrust aside and SCAR steps out -- the same Comanche we had seen at the grave when Debbie was captured. He stands tall, arrogant, eyeing the white men with hard, implacable eyes. He has a robe gathered about him. Across his face is a scar. EMILIO'S VOICE Senores! This is Cicatriz! EXT. INDIAN ENCAMPMENT - CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - DAY The white men's eyes are as hard as the Comanche's: this is the man they have long sought, the killer, the raper. They cannot mask the hatred they feel. ETHAN (slowly... at last) Scar... It's plain to see where you got your name. Scar's hand moves to the scar on his face, and a finger runs along it. SCAR Your name - Big Shoulders... His name - He Who Follows. ETHAN You speak pretty good American for a Comanche... Someone teach you? It is a leading question and Scar knows it. He looks long at Ethan and the suggestion of a smile touches his lips. But he makes no direct answer. He looks instead to Emilio. SCAR (in Comanche) Ah-we pabbo-tie-bo ee-kee-tay? (Why did you bring the gringos here?) EMILIO (a shrug -- in Comanche) Pabbo-tie-bo kim te-moo-er. (The gringos want to trade.) ETHAN That's right... We come to trade... Only not out here... (with sign language accompaniment) I don't stand talkin' in the wind. Emilio quickly turns and calls to one of his men. Emilio is worried. EMILIO (sharply) Miguel... caballo -- aca! One of the Mexicans comes on the trot, leading in the palomino. Emilio makes a gesture -- giving it to Scar. EMILIO Co-bay tabitz-chat. (meaning) (Very fine horse.) Scar looks at it greedily, then nods. He'll accept it. He looks at Ethan. Again that faintly contemptuous smile. He signals them to enter his tepee. ETHAN (to Martin) Stay out here. MARTIN Not likely. He follows Ethan into the tepee... and a worried Emilio goes along. INT. THE TEPEE - FULL SHOT A small fire burns in the center of the lodge and a shaft of sunlight strikes in from the smoke flap at the peak. Two chunky squaws, who have been tending the fire or grinding corn in a rock pestle, scuttle to a side of the tepee. Two others, one half-grown and the other slightly taller, sit with their backs to the fire, huddled over some leather work or stitching. Both are shawled. As Scar enters, he barks a word to the squaws near the fire. SCAR Pie-kay! (Clear out!) (then he turns to the white men) IH-CARD! (Sit!) He sits on some robes, signs for them to sit opposite. Slowly they look around them. INT. THE TEPEE - REVERSE ANGLE - AS FROM THEIR VIEWPOINT - TTE TWO OLDER SQUAWS They are sitting with heads averted, slightly profiled -- but clearly Indian women, broad-faced, dark of hair and skin. EMILIO'S VOICE His sons are dead... So his wives sit on the honor side of his lodge. INT. THE TEPEE - ANGLING PAST ETHAN TOWARD THE TWO YOUNG ONES ETHAN (glancing at them) Are those his wives too? One of the squaws turns -- and even in the shadows we see it is another Indian face. The other does not turn. Scar leans in, blocking the view. SCAR Two sons -- killed by white men... For each son, I take many scalps... (in Comanche) Mayah-kay zee-eh!... (Bring the lance!) The slightly smaller of the young squaws stiffens but doesn't move. Scar glares. SCAR (louder) MAYAH-KAY ZEE-EH! The girl gets to her feet. Ethan and Martin watch as, still with averted face, she crosses to where a lance hangs from the tepee wall. It has several scalps on it, including one with light red hair. Slowly she carries it back. Scar never takes his eyes from the faces of the white men, savoring every moment of it. The girl extends the lance between them, so that it is like a bare blade separating two duelists. Neither Ethan nor Martin dares at first look at more than the scalp pole... Then slowly their eyes lift... and the CAMERA MOVES IN and RAISES TO: INT. THE TEPEE - EXTREME CLOSE SHOT - DEBBIE As the shawl slips back to reveal her light hair, the slant green eyes looking at them from a tanned, but still white and very beautiful face. (NOTE TO MUSIC: The SEARCH THEME should cover all the foregoing action -- but at the first clear view of DEBBIE, it ends dramatically.) Debbie's eyes hold theirs -- and then Scar's voice is heard: SCAR (in Comanche) Pie-kay! (Go!) Swiftly she straightens, takes away the scalp pole and goes back to her former place. INT. THE TEPEE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - THE GROUP AS BEFORE Scar is watching the white men like a hawk. Martin's eyes are wide and his breathing seems suspended. But Ethan is playing it like a poker player. ETHAN (his voice controlled) I've seen scalps before... Scar's eyes are mocking. He lets his robe slip back from his shoulders, revealing a bare bronzed chest on which -- glinting in the reflected firelight -- is the medallion that Ethan had given Debbie. It is suspended by a chain or rawhide string. Scar touches it. SCAR This before? Ethan smiles -- and he's still playing poker. He stands... and the others follow. Scar is puzzled. ETHAN (to Emilio) I came to trade, not to admire his collection... Tell him we're going to pitch camp across the crick... Maybe we can talk trade tomorrow. Scar hasn't understood all of it. He scowls and looks at Emilio. SCAR (in Comanche) Ee-sap! Pabbo-tie-bo ee-sap! (He lies! The gringo lies!) EMILIO (placatingly) Tomorrow -- manana -- 'puetze.' Scar looks at Ethan and at Martin. He smiles slightly, and he nods his agreement. SCAR Puetze! Martin and Ethan turn to go. Only then does Debbie look swiftly at them and as swiftly away. Martin can't help but pause, but Ethan prods him toward the tepee flap. EXT. THE TEPEE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MOVING - THE THREE MEN They emerge from the tepee and begin to walk away -- not fast, not slow, and without a side glance. Scar emerges and looks after them -- glowering. A few other Comanches begin to gather near his tepee. EMILIO (urgently) Walk with dignity! (after a moment; lips hardly moving) If you gringo heretics have any prayers, say them... MARTIN (transfigured) She's alive... Can you believe it, she's alive... alive... An' we found her... EMILIO (fervently) Please!... I, too, am alive... I wish to stay that way. They reach the waiting cargadores and the pack train, surrounded by suspicious Comanches. EMILIO (to his men) Vamanos! They mount and ride out. WIPE TO: EXT. SAND DUNES NEAR NEEDLES (MONUMENT) - FULL SHOT - LATE AFTERNOON Emilio is standing near his horse, talking to Ethan and Martin. EMILIO You understand, senores... It is not that I am cobarde... cowardly... ETHAN Don't apologize... You did your job... Emilio nods and mounts. EMILIO He knows you -- who you are -- and why you are here... This I did not understand... or I would not... even for gold, senores... have led you here. He fumbles for a pouch, holds it out to Ethan. EMILIO Take it. I do not want blood money. Vaya con Dios! He digs spurs and rides out. Ethan turns and looks soberly at Martin. We hear the rest of the riders moving away. Ethan and Martin cross the sand and go down slope toward the creek where their horses are waiting. 174-A EXT. SAND CREEK (MONUMENT) - FULL SHOT - THE TWO - DAY MARTIN You figger Scar means to kill us? ETHAN He's got to... All these years, runnin', dodgin', knowin' we were after him... Now we caught up... It's him or us. MARTIN Why didn't he make his move back there? ETHAN I don't know... Somethin' tied his hands... maybe hospitality... He breaks and both wheel as sand slides from the top of the dunes. They look up. 174-B EXT. SAND DUNE - DAY Debbie is silhouetted atop the dune, looking down at them. MARTIN (barely breathing the name) Debbie...? She slides down the dune to stand across the creek from them. 174-C EXT. SAND CREEK - FULL SHOT - THE THREE - DAY Her hand cautions them to silence and against coming any closer. DEBBIE (in Comanche) Unnt-meah! (Go away!) Both men move closer. She takes a frightened step back, as if to run. MARTIN Debbie... Don't you remember me? I'm Martin. She hesitates. She looks long at him. DEBBIE (in Comanche) Unnt-meah! MARTIN (softly) We ain't goin'! We ain't goin' without you, Debbie... Ethan, get the horses... I'll try to keep her talkin'... ETHAN (harshly) How? She's even forgot her own language! MARTIN Debbie, you're comin' with us! Hear me? DEBBIE No... not now... not ever. These have been her first words in English... and they bring new hope to Martin. MARTIN I don't care what they've done to you... what happened... DEBBIE (angrily) They have done... nothing... They are my people... ETHAN Your people? They murdered your family! DEBBIE (reverting to Comanche) Ee-sap! (furiously) White men killed them - to steal cows! I was... little... I ran away... They find me... take care of me. MARTIN No Debbie! That ain't what happened! They been lyin' to you... DEBBIE You lie! All white men lie... and kill... MARTIN Debbie, think back! I'm Martin... remember? Remember how I used to let you ride my horse? Tell you stories? Don't you remember me, Debbie? DEBBIE I remember... from always... At first I prayed to you... come and get me... take me home... You didn't come... MARTIN I've come now... DEBBIE These are my people... (in Comanche) Unnt-meah! Go! Go! Please! ETHAN (grimly) Stand aside, boy... Martin turns as Ethan slowly reaches for his gun. It takes Martin a moment to realize what he is about to do. MARTIN Ethan -- NO! He moves quickly then to put himself between Ethan and the girl and in that instant there is the crack of a rifle. Ethan is hit in the leg. It goes out from under him. Martin swings and his gun is out and firing. 174-D EXT. SAND CREEK - FULL SHOT - INCLUDING THE DUNES - DAY A mounted Comanche is on the crest of the dune above them -- rifle raised. Martin's first shot brings him down the dune in a spectacular horse-and-man fall. Debbie goes running like a deer up the creek, away from Martin; in the same instant we hear the angry yells of distant Comanches charging from the far left. Martin turns to see Debbie running away. MARTIN Debbie! WAIT! Ethan is on his feet now and limping frantically toward their horses. He shoves Martin ahead of him. ETHAN (angrily) Never mind her! MOVE! They mount and take off, just as the vanguard of the attacking Comanches swings around a point of rock and comes charging toward the creek. EXT. DESERT COUNTRY - WIDE ANGLE - LATE AFTERNOON as Ethan and Martin race their horses from the creek area and down a long incline, as -- from the heights above -- a dozen or more Comanches, led by Scar, come tearing after them. 175-A EXT. DESERT COUNTRY - MED. CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN - MOVING - DAY Ethan is swaying in his saddle, just barely hanging on, as Martin races up behind him -- driving Ethan's horse along. They swing past a huge outcrop of rock and go tearing along a vaulting wall of stone. Their hoofbeats and those of the pursuers bounce and echo off the canyon walls, and bullets whine and ricochet. 175-B EXT. CANYON COUNTRY - FULL MOVING SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - DAY They swing around giant boulders, up-ended like pancakes. Ethan is lurching almost out of the saddle, barely conscious. Martin spots the cave -- ahead -- and drives his mount and Ethan's toward it. 175-C EXT. THE CAVE (MONUMENT) - FULL SHOT - THE TWO - DAY Martin pulls his horse in and swings off just as Ethan slides from his saddle. He runs toward one of the huge boulders, crouches and starts firing. 175-D EXT. CANYON COUNTRY - WIDE ANGLE ON THE COMANCHES - DAY The Comanches are spread out but coming on fast. One goes down under Martin's fire.... another is hit in the arm. He pulls up and the other Comanches wheel away from the hidden marksman. 175-E EXT. THE CAVE - FULL SHOT - MARTIN AND ETHAN Martin runs back from his firing post toward where Ethan has fallen. ETHAN (angrily) Go on! Get out of here while you can... MARTIN (pointing to the cave) Over there! Ethan turns and sees what he means. He starts dragging himself to the cave as Martin grabs the rifles from their saddle scabbards, yanks off the water canteens and then drives their horses away. Then he too runs for the shelter of the cave. 175-F EXT. THE CANYON - ANGLING FROM BEHIND MARTIN AND ETHAN Both men are crouching, rifles ready. In the distance we see their horses running off -- pursued by some yelling Comanches. Four or six others come into sight, heading for the cave -- moving cautiously, uncertainly -- not seeing their quarry. Then the white men open fire and the Comanches bend low over their horses' necks and clear out of there. Ethan looks grimly at Martin. ETHAN They'll be back... MARTIN We won't be here... Come on! He gets an arm under Ethan and hauls him to his feet. DISSOLVE TO: 175-G EXT. THE GAP IN THE CLIFF - PANNING SHOT - SUNSET CAMERA PANS from the top of the rock chimney to where Martin is snaking his way through, carrying newly-filled water canteens. He stands there, listening and looking back the way he has come; and then, satisfied there has been no pursuit, he continues away. OMITTED INT. THE CAVE - MED. SHOT - ETHAN - HALF-LIGHT Ethan is lying on the hard earth, perhaps cushioned with some boughs. He is half delirious. A small fire is burning. Martin enters carrying the canteens. He looks unsympathetically toward Ethan, then continues to the fire, takes a knife and starts to sterilize it. Ethan gasps, mumbles and then a word comes clear. ETHAN Martha... Martha! Martin stares at him -- and now, perhaps for the first time, he is fitting pieces into the jig-saw puzzle. He shifts closer to Ethan and we see he is preparing to dig out the bullet. Ethan opens his eyes and looks at him. MARTIN I gotta open that leg and let the poison out... He poises the knife. ETHAN Wait... He fumbles in his shirt pocket, brings out a greasy folded piece of paper. ETHAN Just in case... Read it. Martin sets the knife down, takes the paper, opens it and slowly reads: MARTIN 'I, Ethan Edwards, being of sound mind and without any blood kin, do hereby bequeath all my property of any kind to Martin Pauley...' (he stares, then) I don't want your property.... 'Sides, what do you mean no 'blood kin?' Debbie's your blood kin... ETHAN Not no more. MARTIN (angrily) You can keep your will! (he thrusts it back into Ethan's shirt) I ain't forgettin' you was all set to shoot her yourself... What kind o' man are you, anyway. ETHAN (sitting up -- eyes blazing) She's been with the bucks! She's nothin' now but a... Martin shoves him back onto the ground. MARTIN (a shout) Shut your dirty mouth! He gets to his feet, trembling, and stands looking down at Ethan, his fists clenched at his sides and murder in his eyes. Then his eyes rove to the knife lying on the blanket. He picks it up and he looks again at the wounded man. MARTIN (slowly) I hope you die! And he kneels again to open the wound. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DESERT COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - ETHAN AND MARTIN - DAY Martin is hauling an improvised travois over the ground in which, lashed by vines and some clothing, is the unconscious figure of Ethan. CLOSE SHOT - MOVING - MARTIN - DAY Eyes shadowed, whiskered, drawn -- he is an implacable figure as he drags the weary miles home. He hears a groan from Ethan o.s. He barely lets his eyes drift to the sound. He doesn't stop. CLOSE SHOT - MOVING - ETHAN IN THE TRAVOIS - DAY We see he is delirious, lips parched, strapped to the poles. The travois jolts over the ground. As he passes out of frame, the CAMERA HOLDS on the marks of the travois poles scraping across the desert. FADE OUT OMITTED FADE IN INT. JORGENSEN KEEPING ROOM - FULL SHOT - NIGHT A party is in progress. Fiddler and banjo-player are playing a lively square dance for one or two sets of dancers -- ranchers, their wives and daughters. Laurie is not in evidence. At the far end of the room is a table with a punch bowl set up and a cluster of men and women about. Jorgensen is at the door boisterously welcoming some new arrivals. Leading them into the room is Captain the Reverend Sam Clayton, with a bulky oil-skin package under his arm. With him is Charlie MacCorry, dressed in his best black suit and scrubbed until he looks raw. Behind them come three or four other competent-looking men -- Rangers all of them. JORGENSEN (shouting) They're here, mama... Come in, come in... INT. JORGENSEN HOME - FULL SHOT - FAVORING GROUP AT DOOR Clayton waits for Charlie to come abreast, then hits him on the back and drives him inside. CLAYTON Here he is, Lars... Combed, curried 'n washed behind the ears! Mrs. Jorgensen hurries over, beaming, to admire Charlie. MRS. JORGENSEN Why, Charlie, you look real handsome! CHARLIE (grinning) Yes'm... scarcely reck'nize myself... Where's Laurie? Mrs. Jorgensen smiles and playfully pushes him toward the guests. MRS. JORGENSEN You'll see her soon enough... Clayton -- and the other Rangers -- have been hanging gunbelts on pegs along the wall. Now he shakes out his parcel -- disclosing a green-black frock coat. CLAYTON (nodding to the music) Say, that music sounds so good it must be sinful... MRS. JORGENSEN Grab a partner, reverend! CLAYTON Well, now, a man of my age just can't haul off and dance in cold blood... but if there's any of that wild cherry brandy of yours, Lars... JORGENSEN (suddenly sober) Nooo... (change of heart) Yah, by golly... One jug left... I get it! Mrs. Jorgensen glares as he heads out. MRS. JORGENSEN Last winter that man swore up and down there wasn't a drop left -- and me with pneumoney!... Reverend, you'd better start clergyin' again! EXT. JORGENSEN HOME - FULL SHOT - NIGHT Horses, wagons fill the yard. We can hear the lively music of the square dance. As Jorgensen opens the door and sets out toward the barn, a battered dusty trap drives in -- and on it are Martin and Ethan. Jorgensen at first doesn't recognize them. JORGENSEN (hailing them) Hi!... You're late... hurry... And then he sees who they are, and his jaw drops. JORGENSEN (staring) Ethan... Martie... No, don't get down! ...You can't come in! They stare at him. JORGENSEN The Rangers are here! He says it as though that explains everything. ETHAN What's that got to do with us? MARTIN (eyeing the house) What's goin' on? JORGENSEN (who's forgotten they wouldn't know) Why, my Laurie's getting married... Martin throws the reins aside and jumps out. Jorgensen grabs his arm. JORGENSEN Wait! Don't you hear me! The Rangers... MARTIN So what? JORGENSEN You been posted for murder... both of you... That trader fella, the late Mister Futterman... Martin tries to break free. MARTIN I gotta see Laurie! JORGENSEN (desperately) Go around the side... the grandmother's room... I'll tell her... PLEASE! MARTIN You better! He heads around the side. Ethan meanwhile has climbed stiffly down, slightly favoring his leg. JORGENSEN Quick... hide in the barn, Ethan... ETHAN Hide? Why would I? He brushes past the little man and heads for the door. INT. THE JORGENSEN HOUSE - ANGLING FROM BEHIND ETHAN as he enters, with Jorgensen at his heels. For a moment, as he stands there, the party breezes on. Then first one, then another sees him. They gape, and the music falters and stops. Sam Clayton crosses to confront him across the width of the room. Jorgensen tries to be the easy, smiling host--and makes a very bad job of it. JORGENSEN Look everybody... Look who's... He can't even finish it but stands there making flapping gestures. INT. JORGENSEN ROOM - FULL SHOT - ETHAN AND SAM -- others gaping. During the opening lines, Jorgensen will covertly back toward the door to the inner room -- Laurie's room. ETHAN (to all) Evenin'... evenin' Reverend... or do I call you 'Captain'...? CLAYTON Came here for a wedding, Ethan... Until that's over, I reckon 'reverend' will do... MRS. JORGENSEN (coming forward) And news of our little girl, Ethan? His face contorts and his smile is twisted. ETHAN She's not a little girl any more. MRS. JORGENSEN (eyes wide) You've seen her!... She's alive? ETHAN I've seen her... and she's alive. Mrs. Jorgensen throws herself against his chest, sobbing. Ethan looks past her at Clayton. And the faces of both men are grim. CUT TO: INT. THE GRANDMOTHER ROOM - FULL SHOT The room is dark. Martin is pacing, eyes constantly turning to the inside door. And then it opens and Laurie is inside, holding a lamp. She is in her bridal gown and very obviously trying to keep from betraying the stress she is under. LAURIE (quietly) Hello, Martie.... He just stares at her -- very lovely, strangely remote. He suddenly is conscious of his dirty hands, his dusty, worn clothing. MARTIN I... I wrote you a letter... Reckon you didn't get it... LAURIE (setting the lamp down) One letter in five years... I read it till the paper dried up and the writing faded out... MARTIN It wasn't much of a letter... LAURIE No, it wasn't... You mighta said you loved me... You mighta asked me to wait... At least that'd have been something... MARTIN But I allus loved you... You know that, without my sayin' it... I couldn't bring myself to ask you to wait... the little I had... not knowin' how much longer until we found Debbie... LAURIE (breaking) It isn't fair... She sinks onto the bench. LAURIE (sobbing) It isn't fair, Martin Pauley, and you know it! She begins to cry, very softly. He is beside her and his arm goes around her shoulder comfortingly. MARTIN Don't cry, Laurie... I understand how it is... I'll just go 'way... LAURIE (spinning on him) You do and I'll die, Martie... I will! I'll just die! And they are kissing through her tears when the outer door is flung open by Charlie MacCorry. They part as he glares. CHARLIE I'll thank you to leave the room, Laurie. Martin stares at him, then at her. MARTIN (incredulous) Charlie MacCorry!... You weren't fixin' to marry HIM?? CHARLIE She sure is!... An' don't think your comin' back is goin' to change it! MARTIN As to that, I don't know, Charlie... We hadn't got around to talkin' marriage... CHARLIE What right you got to be talkin' marriage to any decent woman... MARTIN (angrily) If you're talkin' about that crazy murder charge... CHARLIE AND other things... Mebbe you thought you was gettin' away with being comical about that Indian wife you took... I bet she wasn't the first squaw you... Martin swings wildly but Charlie is a wily fighter. He side- steps and chops Martin in the jaw and drives him against the wall. Laurie runs between them. LAURIE Stop it! Both of you... I won't have any fighting in this house. Martin gently brushes her aside. MARTIN It's all right... Charlie, let's move outside. CHARLIE I ain't wearing no gun. Martin nods and unbuckles his gunbelt. The men head outside as Laurie runs to get help. EXT. THE JORGENSEN HOME - BREEZEWAY Charlie waits assuredly as Martin follows him outside. Martin makes a wild run, swings. The blow is neatly guarded by Charlie's left and countered with a crisp right that puts Martin down. Martin gets to his feet, more cautiously this time, and comes in at a crouch; he's fighting like an Indian, not a white man. The men from the wedding party come out now at a run. CLAYTON (yelling) Sergeant MacCorry! Charlie turns slightly and in that instant Martin springs and drives a straight right at his face -- almost as though there were a knife in the hand. MacCorry stumbles back into Clayton's arms. CLAYTON Is this in the line of duty, sergeant? CHARLIE (regaining his balance) No sir... pleasure. CLAYTON In that case, give the boys room... Martin waits at a crouch as Charlie comes in, feints his right and crosses his left. It is a hard blow but Martin recovers and waits... Charlie circles and starts to repeat. He feints his right but this time Martin springs in, ducks and -- as the left shoots out -- he grabs the wrist and throws Charlie over his head. What we are looking at, in effect, is a wrestler against a boxer. CLAYTON Fight fair, son... Use your fists! ETHAN (drily) Comanches don't use their fists, reverend... Let 'em alone... Charlie is on his feet and warily starts circling -- now trying to imitate Martin's crouch. Suddenly Martin feints a right swing and connects with a solid left -- reversing the order of business. Charlie staggers and Martin follows up with a wrestling hold, leaping behind Charlie, locking both legs around him and driving his arms upward behind his back so that his face is in the dirt and so he could -- under other circumstances -- be neatly and expeditiously scalped. With the hands locked, Martin then calmly draws a knife. He looks innocently into the aghast faces of the crowd. MARTIN Could scalp him... but I'll just count coup! With that he releases the paralyzed arms just long enough to grab a lock of Charlie's hair and neatly snip it off. He stands then and laughs as Charlie lamely gets to his feet -- easing the tortured arms. Clayton goes to Charlie's side. Laurie moves to Martin's side. CLAYTON You all right, sergeant? CHARLIE Dunno... Seems so. CLAYTON Well, go get cleaned up and we'll proceed with the weddin'... Charlie frowns and looks off at where Laurie and Martin are standing. CHARLIE Ain't goin' to be any weddin' -- not till we get a few things cleared up 'round here... He walks rather unsteadily away leaving a thunderstruck assembly, murmurous with surprise. WIPE TO: INT. JORGENSEN KEEPING ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT The last of the wedding guests is leaving: Ed Nesby carrying his bull fiddle and with his wife and daughter and two smaller children preceding him out the door. The Jorgensens stand by -- trying to put a good face on the wedding debacle. Charlie MacCorry is sitting dejectedly, studying a spot on the floor. Ethan is at the mantel. Laurie is in her room -- presumably changing out of her wedding gown. Martin is at a sink, bathing a cut on his lip. Clayton, still in his clerical coat, is near the door. NESBY (a grin) Well... it was a nice weddin' party... considerin' no one got married... 'Night. JORGENSEN Good night, Ed... Mrs. Jorgensen puts her handkerchief to her eyes -- letting down now that the guests have gone. Jorgensen crosses to her, pats her sympathetically. JORGENSEN Now, mamma!... He leads her away. Clayton faces Ethan. CLAYTON I got to ask you and Martin to ride to the State Capitol with me, Ethan. ETHAN This an invite to a necktie party, Reverend? CLAYTON Captain... Nope, wouldn't say that... Likely you had your reasons for killin' Futterman... Probably needed killin'... I'm speaking as a ranger now, not as a reverend... Fact that all three was shot in the back is the only thing that's raised some question -- that and a missin' gold piece known to have been on him just prior to his demise. Ethan casually reaches into his pocket, takes out a gold coin and spins it. ETHAN (casually) That so? Martin crosses to confront Clayton. MARTIN I ain't goin' to Austin, Reverend. Charlie gets to his feet and he has his gun in his hand. CHARLIE You're goin' if the captain says you're goin'... CLAYTON Now, now... let's not grow disputatious... Fast hoofbeats sound o.s. -- signalling the approach of a four-man cavalry detail. CLAYTON (turning) What's that? More company? He and Jorgensen head for the door. CLAYTON Kinda late getting here, aren't they? A voice hails from outside. LIEUTENANT'S VOICE Hello there! Captain Clayton? INT. - EXT. JORGENSEN HOUSE - ANGLE AT DOOR - NIGHT Clayton stands in the opened doorway, Jorgensen behind him, looking out. Drawn up outside is the four-man cavalry detail, led by a young and very crisp LIEUTENANT. We may or may not see the sixth man, slouched over his horse. The Lieutenant swings off and crosses. LIEUTENANT Is Captain Clayton here, Reverend? CLAYTON I'm Clayton. The Lieutenant gapes at Clayton's ministerial coat. LIEUTENANT (doubtfully) You're Captain Clayton?... Ethan chuckles, to Clayton's very obvious annoyance. LIEUTENANT (recovering, he salutes) Colonel Greenhill's compliments, sir. The Colonel wishes to know how soon you could put a company of Rangers in the field, fully armed and... CLAYTON Hold on, son... Who's this Colonel Greenhill you're talking about? LIEUTENANT Why Colonel Greenhill is Colonel Greenhill, sir... Commanding Officer, Fifth U.S. Cavalry... I'm Lieutenant Greenhill, sir. CLAYTON Oh... Now what's this your pa wants to know? LIEUTENANT My pa wants to know... Colonel Greenhill wants to know how soon you could put a company of your Rangers in the field, fully armed and equipped, for joint punitive action against the Comanches. CLAYTON JOINT action? LIEUTENANT Yes sir... We've received information about a band of Comanches under a chief named Scar... ETHAN What information? LIEUTENANT That maybe he's not far from here -- holed up somewhere, waiting his chance to get back over the border... He raided north about a month ago... ran into more army than he bargained for... Now he's running for cover, for keeps this time... CLAYTON And what makes you think he's in this territory? LIEUTENANT Yesterday, one of our patrols picked up a man claims he was a prisoner with Scar till only two days ago... He talks crazy but I brought him along... Says he lives here... keeps mentioning a rocking chair. ETHAN (half to himself) Mose... And then he is striding to the door, calling it: ETHAN MOSE! MOSE'S VOICE Ay-he?... Ay-eh?... And the old man totters in, half-supported by a trooper -- hollow-eyed, weak, almost delirious. MOSE Come f'r my rockin' chai'... ole Mose. ETHAN (shouting it) Where's Scar, Mose... SCAR? MARTIN Ask him about Debbie!... Is she all right, Mose? MOSE My rockin' chai'... MRS. JORGENSEN (bustling over) Leave the poor man be! Can't you see he's out of his mind... She tries to lead him away, but Ethan shoves her aside and grips the old man by his arms. ETHAN Mose... try to remember!... You were in Scar's camp... MOSE Ay-he... Made out I was crazy... (he giggles foolishly) Ate dirt... chewed grass... I fooled 'em, Ethan!... an' I got away... ETHAN Scar! Where's he holed in? MOSE Seven Fingers... ay-he... Seven... He staggers and this time Mrs. Jorgensen won't be denied. MRS. JORGENSEN Now that's enough! Here... by the fire... What you need's a good bowl of soup... She leads him away, at last to his rocker by the fire. During this, Ethan and Clayton have been mulling Mose's answer. ETHAN (blankly) Seven Fingers? LIEUTENANT That's what he told us... but there's no such place on the maps. MARTIN Wait a minute! Isn't that the Caddo name for where all those canyons branch on the Malapai? MOSE (from his rocker) Caddo or Kiowa... ay-he... ay-eh... Sam Clayton wheels on the Lieutenant. CLAYTON You tell your pa a company of Rangers -- all fourteen of 'em -- fully armed an' equipped will be in the field by daylight... headin' for the south end of the Malapai. If he can catch up with us, well an' good... LIEUTENANT But... but captain, we can't possibly take the field tomorrow... for your own protection... CLAYTON Sonny, yonder's a passel of murderers, complete with Texican scalps an' white girl captive... You want to protect us, you just get out of our way... Now skedaddle! The lieutenant skedaddles. Sam whirls on Martin and Ethan. CLAYTON Ethan, you an' Martin are hereby appointed civilian scouts -- without pay... Charlie, hightail it to headquarters an' spread the word... CHARLIE Yes sir... He leaves. Martin's hands go to his side -- recalling where he left his guns. MARTIN My guns... He heads for the inner door to the grandmother room. INT. THE GRANDMOTHER ROOM - FULL SHOT as Martin enters and crosses to where he had dropped his gunbelt. Even before he reaches it, Laurie is in the room -- closing the door after her. LAURIE Martie... don't go! Not this time. MARTIN (staring) You crazy? LAURIE It's too late... She's a woman grown now... MARTIN I got to fetch her home... LAURIE Fetch what home?... The leavin's of Comanche bucks -- sold time an' again to the highest bidder?... With savage brats of her own, most like?... MARTIN (shouting it) Laurie! Shut your mouth! LAURIE Do you know what Ethan will do if he has a chance?... He'll put a bullet in her brain! And I tell you Martha would want him to! MARTIN Only if I'm dead! He strides out past her. INT. THE KEEPING ROOM - FULL SHOT as Martin re-enters. Ethan and Sam are waiting. Martin looks hard at Ethan. CLAYTON You ready? MARTIN (eyes never leaving Ethan's face) I'm ready. As they stride out, CUT TO: 204-A INT. JORGENSEN HOUSE - GRANDMOTHER ROOM - CLOSE SHOT - LAURIE - NIGHT as she stands at the window, in her bridal gown, and sadly watches Martin again going away. Softly the score reprises -- sadly now -- "Skip to My Lou." DISSOLVE TO: EXT. MESA COUNTRY - LONG SHOT - THE RANGERS - DAWN LIGHT A file of eighteen men and horses -- Rangers -- is walking under the shoulder of a mesa, keeping well below the skyline. FULL SHOT - THE FILE OF RANGERS - DAWN LIGHT They pass CAMERA one by one -- Sam Clayton in the lead, Martin behind him leading two horses, then the others -- grim- looking, capable men of varying ages; some with long drooping mustaches, some in need of shaves, some chawing tobacco. CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN - AT RIM OF A MESA - DAWN LIGHT He is lying prone, his hat off, squinting down into a long reach of desert canyon at the Comanche encampment -- with tepees set up, a thin wisp of smoke rising from a fire, the horse herd penned in a draw cut off by an improvised corral of rawhide ropes. EXT. THE COMANCHE ENCAMPMENT - WIDE ANGLE SHOT - DAWN LIGHT The camp is sleeping. A dog yaps shrilly. One of the tepee flaps opens and Scar steps out. He picks up a stone or a chunk of wood and throws it. The dog yelps and runs off. Scar's air is troubled, suspicious. He heads for the horse herd. The camp sleeps on. CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN - AT RIM OF A MESA - DAWN LIGHT His face betrays a bitter inner satisfaction. He looks back along the trail as faintly we hear the approach of the Ranger company. Then he squirms back, retrieving his hat. FULL SHOT - HEAD OF RANGER COLUMN - DAWN LIGHT Sam, seeing Ethan in the near distance, raises his hand in a signal for halt and waits. Ethan scrambles down the trail to join him. He takes the reins of his horse from Martin. ETHAN We can get within 500 yards... there's a hogback to the south. CLAYTON How many, would you say? ETHAN (drily) Enough to go around... I'd say about a dozen apiece... Mount 'em up! He moves as though to mount, but Martin steps forward. MARTIN Wait! We go chargin' in, they'll kill her... and you know it. ETHAN (calmly) It's what I'm countin' on. Sam stares at him, but Martin isn't surprised. MARTIN I know you are... Only it ain't goin' to be that way... she's alive... ETHAN Livin' with Comanches ain't bein' alive... MARTIN (same tone) She's alive... Better she's alive and livin' with Comanches than her brains bashed out... CLAYTON Now son, it's a bitter thing to say, but there's more than your sister at stake here. ETHAN There sure is! I'm going to tell you somethin'... I wasn't going to speak of it... But I'll tell you now. Did you notice them scalps strung on Scar's lance? (MARTIN NODS) Did you see the third scalp from the point of the lance? Long... wavy hair... MARTIN I saw it... And don't try to tell me it was Aunt Martha's or Lucy's... ETHAN You don't remember it, but I remember. That was your mother's scalp! Martin stares, quick disbelief in his eyes. But Ethan's eyes hold his and there is no doubting the truth in them. ETHAN I didn't want to tell you... but maybe it's your right to know. CLAYTON (quietly) Now mount up, son... Sam puts his hand on Martin's elbow -- as though to turn him to his duty. But Martin jerks the arm away. MARTIN It don't change it... All I'm askin' is a chance to sneak in there... an' try to get her out before you come chargin' in. CLAYTON What if you're caught? MARTIN It won't tell 'em anything, will it! Just a man alone... ETHAN I say NO! CLAYTON Go ahead, son... But at the first alarm, we're comin' in -- and we ain't goin' to have time to pick and choose our targets when we do... Ethan looks long and hard at Martin, then reaches into his shirt for the folded, dirty, dog-eared paper that was his will. Slowly he tears it into shreds. ETHAN It's your funeral... Martin squats and starts pulling off his boots. He glances up as Charlie MacCorry comes over, an Indian blanket in his hands. He tosses it onto Martin's shoulder. CHARLIE Here... you fight like a Comanch... Maybe this'll help ya pass as one. Then he grins and extends his hand. Martin takes it -- and they shake as Charlie pulls him to his feet. Martin drops his hat, and then -- at a crouching run -- he heads for the distant Comanche camp. FULL SHOT - FROM BEHIND CLAYTON AND ETHAN, TOWARD MARTIN as he runs downslope under the shelter of the hogback toward the unseen camp. Clayton waves an arm at his men and starts leading out -- in a somewhat different direction. FULL SHOT - THE RANGERS, FAVORING CLAYTON AND ETHAN They are leading their horses down the slope, still under the lee of the butte, when two riders are seen approaching at a fast gallop -- Lt. Greenhill and his courier. (The latter is a bugler). CLAYTON What in...? GREENHILL (calling -- still distant) Captain Clayton... Captain! Sam whips off his hat and makes frantic signals to Greenhill to shut up. Greenhill pulls to a canter, puzzled, and rides in. CLAYTON (exploding) Go on! Whyn't you have your bugler sound the charge while you're at it?? GREENHILL (blankly) Sir? CLAYTON Never mind... Your pa know you're out here? GREENHILL Yes, sir... Troop's about ten miles back... The Colonel sent me looking for you... CLAYTON (dismissing him) Well you found me... Good work, son... Good work. He starts away. Greenhill follows. GREENHILL If there's anything I can do, sir... CLAYTON (under his breath) God forbid... No, son, you flog on back and tell your pa where we're at... and where he's at... GREENHILL But he knows THAT, sir... Can't I stay, sir? CLAYTON (reluctantly) All right... But keep your eye on me, boy... I'm the hard case you're up against here -- not these childish savages... If you don't hear me first time I holler, you better read my mind... I don't aim to raise no two hollers on any subject at hand... GREENHILL Yes, sir... He whips out his sabre -- to the imminent peril of Captain Sam who quickly shifts out of the way. CLAYTON Watch that knife, boy! Then Sam continues away and the Rangers after him. EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF COMANCHE CAMP - FULL SHOT - DAWN LIGHT Martin runs from behind CAMERA and dodges behind a rock. The camp is still asleep, very quiet. Martin runs out from behind the rock and makes another short dash toward the camp, dropping behind a pile of blankets or other impedimenta. A dog runs out of one of the tepees, begins barking. EXT. THE HORSE HERD - MED. CLOSE SHOT - SCAR He stands with another Comanche -- inspecting the horse lines. In the near distance the dog's barking is heard -- shrill, insistent. Scar, almost like an animal, sniffs the air suspiciously. The other Comanche laughs. COMANCHE Tahbo. (A rabbit.) Scar isn't satisfied but returns to his work. EXT. THE COMANCHE CAMP - ANGLE FAVORING SCAR'S TEPEE PAST MARTIN He is staring at it -- remembering it from certain distinct decorations. The lower part of the tepee is rolled up, for better air circulation. Martin wraps Charlie's blanket around him and begins walking to the tepee. EXT. THE LEE OF THE HOGBACK OR RISE - FULL SHOT - THE RANGERS The line is drawn up, dismounted, the men checking their sidearms, tightening cinches, etc. Sam moves briskly along the line of men, then mounts his horse. CLAYTON The State of Texas is payin' you boys $12 a month. Here's your chance to earn it... Now I don't want any foolin' around after scalps. We ain't got the time... Yankee cavalry's on its way here to set those Comanches free... We gotta beat 'em to it -- our way... Now mount an' guide center on young Greenhill here. Son, you just follow me... And WATCH THAT KNIFE! The last comes as Greenhill tries to mount, simultaneously flailing out his sabre perilously close to Clayton. EXT. SCAR'S TEPEE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTIN Martin has gained the tepee, takes one quick look around, then strides in. INT. SCAR'S TEPEE as Martin enters. One robe, tossed back, shows where Scar has slept. Against one wall lie the huddled figures of two squaws. Two other figures -- one being Debbie's -- sleep in robes. Martin's eyes go to Scar's place and then rove slowly and hold on: INT. TEPEE - MED. CLOSE SHOT - DEBBIE She moves slightly so that the light strikes her fair hair. Martin kneels close to her and gently touches her shoulder, to awaken her. Her eyes open, then widen in fear. Martin quickly claps a hand over his mouth. Silently she fights him, trying to pull the hand away. MARTIN (a hoarse whisper) Debbie... don't! And then her fingernails rake his hand. He winces and lets go. She screams and tries to leap up. He grabs her. The other squaws wake -- begin squawking. MARTIN (grimly) I'm takin' you whether you want to or not... Debbie sees something beyond him. Her eyes widen. DEBBIE (a scream) MARTIN! INT. TEPEE - SHOOTING FROM EXTREME LOW ANGLE, AS FROM HER P.O.V. - SCAR He looms in the flap of the tepee much as he had over the grave when he first kidnapped her. He has a scalping knife in his hand. Scar whips his arm back. Behind him we see the other Comanche -- the one from the horse herd. INT. TEPEE - FULL SHOT Martin spins and his gun is out. He fans the trigger hammer twice -- and both slugs hit Scar. As the other Comanche leaps in, Martin's gun speaks again. And then he is on his feet, catching Debbie by the arm -- unresisting now -- and pulling her after him through the camp. Shouts and cries bespeak the awakening of the camp. EXT. THE HOGBACK - FULL SHOT - THE RANGER GROUP They are mounted and in line. The echo of a shot comes bouncing back. Clayton is facing the men. He solemnly doffs his hat and bows his head. CLAYTON For these Thy gifts which we are about to receive... (donning his hat, he turns to the bugler) Sound that horn, son, and Leave Us Go Amongst Them...YA-HEE! And shouting the rebel yell, he leads the charge. The yell is picked up by every man and the bugler sounds the charge as though he had a regiment at his back. Lt. Greenhill -- a West Point beau sabreur in strange company -- has his sabre at the "charge." FULL MOVING SHOT - ON THE CHARGE In the swamp of men and horses, we just have time to notice that Sam is darting a somewhat worried look at Greenhill's saber ominously close to his back. The charge is sounding, the hooves are drumming and the men are yelling the way they did when they rode with Bedford Forrest -- reins in their teeth, guns in their fists. EXT. THE ENCAMPMENT - FULL SHOT - AS THE RANGERS HIT Comanches are running from the tepees, trying to reach their horse herd as the file of Rangers knifes in. The bark of hand guns is a steady sound now -- and the Comanches have never been up against such marksmen. One charging Ranger rides down a tepee. Another, with two guns drawn, scores a running double on two Indians racing toward him from opposite sides of his fast-running horse. A dodging Comanche screams as a barrel-chested roan hits him broadside and sends him sprawling into the embers of the campfire. EXT. SCAR'S TEPEE - FULL SHOT - ETHAN He yanks his horse back to its haunches, firing at a Comanche crouched near the tepee. The charge races past him. Ethan swings off and runs to the tepee flap, whips it open and glares. A squaw comes running out at him, knife upraised, but he knocks her sprawling with a full arm sweep. He turns and his face is a mask of frustration -- and then he freezes, seeing what he has been looking for: EXT. THE INDIAN ENCAMPMENT - LONG SHOT - ETHAN'S P.O.V. Martin is running with Debbie, trying to pull her along, while she kicks and claws and tries to break free. (They are about thirty yards from the camp proper.) Riderless horses are milling, circling. O.s. we can hear the firing, the yells. EXT. SCAR'S TEPEE - FULL SHOT Ethan remounts and heads around the side of Scar's tepee. In the distance we see Martin and Debbie. The Rangers, regrouping, are charging back through the camp, driving the Comanche horse herd. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARTIN AND DEBBIE Martin hears Ethan's horse riding down at them; he turns, and Debbie pulls free and starts to run away. MARTIN No, Ethan! NO! He goes running into the path of Ethan's horse. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - MOVING SHOT - ETHAN as Martin runs and grabs hold of his stirrup, trying to fight the horse to a stop. Ethan swings on him -- once, twice -- and Martin is knocked sprawling. Ethan rides on, relentlessly. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - FULL SHOT - DEBBIE AND ETHAN She is running and dodging, trying to escape the horseman. Ethan has his gun drawn. She ducks to one side and the horse goes past. Both figures are almost obscured in the dust. Ethan spins his mount and charges after her. She runs and then falls -- and he is off his horse and striding toward her. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - ETHAN AND DEBBIE Ethan is at the left of CAMERA and slightly closer to the foreground, with Debbie at the right, supine on the ground and the dust swirling around her. Ethan draws and raises his gun. The hammer goes back. ETHAN (quietly) I'm sorry, girl... Shut your eyes... The dust clears. The CAMERA MOVES slightly forward along the gun arm and HOLDS on Debbie's face -- the eyes gazing fearlessly, innocently into Ethan's. We HOLD for a long moment and then the gun lowers. Ethan slowly holsters it and walks over to her. EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - CLOSE SHOT - ETHAN He looks down at her. ETHAN (softly) You sure favor your mother... EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - MED. CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO He extends his hand to her. She takes it and he helps her to her feet. And then she is against his chest and his arm goes protectingly about her. They are standing that way when Martin stumbles up -- and stares. WIPE TO: 233-A EXT. COMANCHE CAMP - WIDE ANGLE - DAY The line of Rangers is afoot now, each man near his horse, each man with rifle out, pumping shot after shot at the fleeting remnant of Comanches riding down the long valley with their scattered horse herd milling and criss-crossing in mid-ground... And then as the firing slackens, from afar we can hear the blare of a cavalry bugle sounding the charge: sign of the approach of Greenhill's troop. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE INDIAN ENCAMPMENT - FULL SHOT - FAVORING CLAYTON It is perhaps half an hour later. Clayton is very grim of face and occasionally wincing. His trousers are down over his ankles, his shirt-tails flapping over his long-handled red underwear. Behind him Charlie MacCorry is kneeling, applying some crude first aid to Sam's rump. Beyond them some of the Rangers are readying for the move-out. Sam looks up angrily as COLONEL GREENHILL, a guidon bearer, and bugler ride in. Greenhill is a choleric man. COLONEL Clayton, if you were in my command I'd have you courtmartialed for this! CLAYTON (angrily, to MacCorry) Hurry it up! COLONEL What's the matter, sir... You wounded? What is it, Sergeant -- a bullet or an arrow? Charlie just gapes, but Clayton -- grim-lipped -- bends a meaningful glare on someone off. Greenhill looks that way. EXT. THE INDIAN ENCAMPMENT - CLOSE SHOT - LT. GREENHILL He is standing with his sabre at salute -- looking as miserable as any shavetail would look when in disgrace. It could be that the end of the sabre has a pronounced bend. EXT. THE INDIAN ENCAMPMENT - FULL SHOT - THE GROUP Sam suddenly slaps MacCorry's hand away and grabs for his pants and pulls them up -- and around a tepee come three figures -- Ethan, Debbie, and Martin -- with Ethan holding Debbie's hand. And Sam's face is split by a grin as he tucks his shirt-tails in and goes to meet them. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE JORGENSEN HOUSE - CLOSE SHOT - MOSE HARPER - AFTERNOON He is in a rocker on the porch. Suddenly he stares out and stops rocking. Faint in the distance, but coming closer, the clop-clop of two horses, moving at a walk. A moment later Jorgensen emerges and comes to stand beside Mose, shading his eyes and squinting against the sun, still not recognizing the distant horsemen. He is joined by Mrs. Jorgensen. And then Laurie comes out and she too stares, frowning at first, then with dawning realization. Lars and Mrs. Jorgensen also begin to guess... to suspect... and then to know. And Laurie starts to run. CLOSE SHOT - MOVING WITH LAURIE The CAMERA MOVES ahead of her as she runs blindly over the hard-packed ground, running as hard as she can toward the still unseen but nearing horsemen. FULL SHOT - THE GROUP Ethan has Debbie on the pommel of his saddle, his arm supporting her, and she is asleep. Martin is riding beside them. Laurie comes running up to stare at Ethan and at the girl. He smiles and puts a finger to his lips -- cautioning her against waking Debbie -- and then he rides by. Laurie looks then at Martin. He doesn't know whether to smile or not; he just waits. And then she is beside him and she steps onto his stirruped foot and vaults up beside him, and she kisses him just as she had on the day he left the graves to take up the search. And still holding her beside him, he rides slowly after Ethan and Debbie toward the house. FADE OUT THE END
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+                                                      SMOKIN' ACES                                  Written by                                 Joe Carnahan                                                                      4/23/05                                        FADE UP ON:                    TITLE CARD                    A narration accompanies this passage: "The events depicted          herein were believed have taken place in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.          All manner of record as they might pertain to these events          have been seized by the Department of Justice"                    INT. VAN -- NIGHT                    Wall-to-wall surveillance set-up. Two FBI AGENTS: DONALD          CARRUTHERS 30's and RICHARD MESSNER 30's, man the post,          staring at video monitors. Both hold telephoto images; shaky,          long lens shots of a mansion some distance away. Messner          tacks photographs to a corkboard on the van wall. One is          labeled "Subject SIDNEY K. SERNA: UNDERBOSS/Sparazza Family."                    The other is labeled "Subject VICTOR "BABY BUZZ" PADICHE          LIEUTENANT/Sparazza Family." Voices begin emitting over the          van's speakers.                                             SERNA (V.O.)                       Buzzy...Buzz...?                                               PADICHE (V.O.)                       Yeah...Sid?                                             SERNA (V.O.)                       You got clicks, anything?                                             PADICHE (V.O.)                       Nah, nuthin' on my end--                                             SERNA (V.O.)                       --Okay...hang on, I gotta move--                    Messner rides a digital console, tweaks frequency.                                             MESSNER                           (keying mic)                       Zoom and pan please.   Stay tight.                    ON THE MONITORS: The image pans, follows a figure moving          behind the mansion's windows, entering a back bedroom.                                             SERNA (V.O.)                       Alright, now Buzzy-- this is, this                       is it, here, okay, so listen to me                       careful and wait till I'm finished                       'cuz we got no room for slop.                                               PADICHE (V.O.)                       I'm here.                    Messner adjusts the record level, V-U meters spike, modulate.          The figure on the monitors paces the room. WE SEE it's Serna.                                                             2.                                SERNA (V.O.)          Okay, he's gonna clip Israel, I just          gotta outta there--                                PADICHE (V.O.)          --he's doing it then, huh--                                SERNA (V.O.)          --yeah, now lemme finish, I was          eavesdroppin', so give me sec, lay          this thing out, since the information          might be a little loose--                                PADICHE (V.O.)          --okay, g'head--                                SERNA          So what I heard downstairs there is          that they got a guy, some Swede,          real badass, supposedly a "specialist"          and they're bringing him over. Now          he ain't coming cheap-- so, I'm          thinkin' we jump, do this in the          next day or so, get to Israel before          the Swede can, we got chits, y'see?          We're in a power position. Grab          him, ransom him back, pick up that          nut, we're that much closer to having          our own thing.                                PADICH (V.O.)          --I see that, yeah, s'smart move,          for us anyway.                                SERNA (V.O.)          Trust me, we keep our mouths shut,          go about our thing, play the part,          nobody suspects us.              (feedback distorts)          The old man's on the fade Buzzy,          fuck him, y'know? And that hurts, I          don't like saying that, but hey, our          livelihood, our lifeboat, y'get?                                PADICHE          No question, no, you're right. We          gotta do what's good for us now.                                SERNA (V.O.)          Fuckin' A, first survive, yes?                                PADICHE (V.O.)          Y'gotta, y'gotta. But d'ya think          they'll kick ransom for that little          prick, assuming we get to'm.                                                                               3.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    Yeah, y'ain't heard the punchline,                    yet and before I get to it, one more                    thing I heard, little curious, should                    probably bring it up...Primo wants                    Israel's heart. The actual thing,                    the organ.                    Pause. Feedback. The agents trade looks. Carruthers grabs          a cellphone, dials, patches a feed for the party on the other          end to hear.                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    ...Jesus...what for?                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    --who can say. He's off his onion,                    y'know, he's old school Sicilian,                    this is how they hate.                                          PADICHE   (V.O.)                    Wow.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    Hey, we nab Israel, they pay t'get'm                    back, I'll cut the fuckin' thing out                    m'self, no extra charge. My thing                    is, we crew up, let's not fuck                    around, someone's cousin, some Zip                    off the boat from Naples, let's get                    pros, people who know how to behave.                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    Yeah, there's a pair'a broads I'm                    thinking might be good for this.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    Chances are, they're gonna get into                    some shit too, hafta put people down.                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    That's not a problem. Are we goin'                    outta pocket ourselves?                                          SERNA                    Yeah, I can front this.                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    Well just so I got a quote in my                    head. What's the rate for the Swede?                                          SERNA                    That's the punchline, y'ready?                                          PADICHE                    Shoot.                                                                                  4.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    A million flat.                                           PADICHE (V.O.)                    No shit.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    None whatsoever.                    SMASH CUT TO CREDITS                    The Ace of Hearts, spinning through mid-air, slow motion,          end over end. Bullets blast big sizzling holes through it.                                                                       SMASH CUT TO:                    EXT. CASINO -- LAS VEGAS (PAST)                    Neon-framed doors fly open as a slicked-back chump with a          store-bought tan strides out onto the strip, swinging underage          bar-bait on each arm. He's all strut and punk swagger,          grinning like a geek who just struck gold.                                          DUPREE (V.O.)                    Buddy Israel, nicknamed "Aces" Born                    a bastard, mom Laverne chased the                    pipe dream from a Dairy Queen in                    Kansas City to the Vegas stage. Two                    months after stepping off a Greyhound,                    she gets knocked up by some hood.                                                                       CUT TO SCENE:                    INT. DRESSING ROOM -- NIGHT (PAST)                    A row of chorus girls, gilded like gold-flaked flamingos,          rubbing coca-butter on bare midriffs. THE CAMERA FINDS          Buddy's mother LAVERNE, prominent bulge, seriously pregnant,          she's arguing with her employers, trying to suck in her belly,          yelling "bullshit, you just have to light it right..."                                          DUPREE (V.O.)                    Biological abandons her and the                    showgirl thing goes sideways so she                    winds up working as a magician's                    assistant to make extra cash.                    CUT TO SCENE:                    INT. CLUB -- NIGHT (PAST)                    Second rate dive bar. Laverne Israel assists a pompadour-          maned MAGICIAN on stage. In the lounge, sitting on a          stripper's lap, a young Buddy plays with a deck of cards.                                                                             CUT TO:                                                                                   5.                    INT.   POOL HALL -- NIGHT (PRESENT DAY)                    Bamboo-style ceiling fans circulate cigar smoke and shitty          attitudes. At a billiard table in the back: JACK DUPREE,          40's, third generation Bail Bondsman, talks with HOLLIS          ELMORE, 30's and "PISTOL" PETE DEEKS, 30's, ex-Vegas vice          cops. As Dupree speaks, WE SEE the scenes behind the story:                                           DUPREE                     ...And young Buddy learns everything                     about cards from this Mandrake                     motherfucker his mom is working for...                                                                        CUT TO SCENE:                    The magician being brutally beaten-- pelted with poker chips,          kicked in the chops, pissed on, the works.                                           DUPREE (V.O.) (CONT'D)                     But magic man was also a degenerate                     gambler and got caught dealing bottom-                     deck at a mob-owned poker parlor.                         (beat)                     He didn't get outta there with much                     more than a pulse.                                                                              CUT TO:                    INT. HOSPITAL -- DAY (PAST)                    The Magician, full body cast, taking his meals through a          straw. Young Israel labors over him, performing card tricks.                                                                CUT BACK TO SCENE:                                           DUPREE                     Point is, he passed on all this slight                     of hand shit onto Aces and the kid                     is sick with it...By the age of twelve                     Buddy Israel is positively prodigal                     with a deck of cards. By sixteen,                     he's headlining the MGM's main room.                                                                        CUT TO SCENE:                    Buddy, cards and coins dancing off his fingertips, dazzling          sold-out crowds. Laverne Israel sits in the front row, decked          out in ankle-length fur, applauding wildly.                                                                         CUT BACK TO:                    INT. POOL HALL -- NIGHT (PRESENT)                    Dupree rounds the table, lines up a shot, leans over it.                                                                                  6.                                          DUPREE                    This punk is pulling down ten bills                    a night and more showgirl geech than                    you can shake a stick at. Four years                    of sold-out shows, he becomes the                    unofficial mob mascot                                                                       CUT TO SCENE:                    Buddy meets mob hierarchy; silk suits and pinkie rings.                                          DUPREE (cont'd; V.O.) (CONT'D)                    By the tender age of twenty-one he's                    breaking bread with the wheels,                    keeping company with major muscle.                    And it goes to his head in a big way                                                                      CUT TO SCENE:                    Buddy, poolside, glass of top dollar Dom in hand. Chicks,          Coopertone and chasm-deep cleavage abound.                                          DUPREE (V.O.) (CONT'D)                    ...Wiseguys start to think this                    sonofabitch is a mystic, something                    special...and Aces plays it up, lets                    the legend grow, takes time off from                    his stage act and starts showcasing                    the chip on his shoulder.                                                                       CUT TO SCENE:                    Buddy, tipping a craps table, attacking the stick-man,          stripping off one of his gold chains, going garotte.                                          DUPREE (CONT'D)                    He buys into his bullshit, building                    street cred, he's got plans and pull,                    he's makin' plays, living the mob                    life for real. Somehow, it takes:                    Lounge act turned legitimate thug.                    INT. POOL HALL                    Dupree rips the eight ball, corner pocket.                                          DUPREE                    In reality, he doesn't know the ball                    from the bounce...He's not a crook,                    so he starts fucking up fast and                    picking up speed, putting a floodlight                    on the whole Carlotta organization.                    Cops get curious, start camping out,                    compiling names and faces and pretty                    soon Israel's bullshit has brought                    the heat to bear on none other than                    Primo Sparraza--                                                                                  7.                                            LOCKE (V.O.)                    --Enforcer.    Extortionist.   Killer.                                                                             CUT TO:                    INT. BRIEFING ROOM -- DAY                    WE RECOGNIZE Carruthers and Messner as the two Agents from          the Padiche/Serna surveillance. They are sitting with F.B.I.          Deputy Director STANLEY LOCKE. A debrief is in progress.                    SUPER: WASHINGTON, D.C.                    A Mafia Family Tree has been erected behind them with a photo          of Primo Sparazza at the top.                                          LOCKE                    Sparazza is rumored to have performed                    in excess of one-hundred and thirty                    contract murders, including one of                    the bureau's most celebrated agents.                    Freeman Heller. You heard of "The                    Turnpike Murders" that was Sparazza.                                          MESSNER                    I thought Heller was a double op?                                                                       CUT TO SCENE:                    FREEMAN HELLER, 20's, clean cut Cornell grad, class of 1937.          He's on a pistol range, scoring perfect marks.                                          LOCKE (V.O.)                    No. He worked for the O.S.S. before                    joining the Bureau in its heyday.                    He was the first operative assigned                    with infiltrating the mob.                                                                       CUT TO SCENE:                    Heller, outdistancing the rest of his recruiting class in a          training run, nearly a mile ahead of the next man.                                          LOCKE (V.O. CONTD) (CONT'D)                    Full immersion and assimilation,                    fake identity, falsified background,                    everything that is now standard                    operating procedure, Heller                    implemented, way back when.                                                                       CUT TO SCENE:                    Heller oversees every aspect of his transformation, radically          altering his appearance, adding different mannerisms, an          accent, etc...befuddled FBI brass can only look on in awe.                                                                                 8.                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    And as a result, his undercover work                    was wildly successful. He eventually                    reached the rank of Capo inside the                    Carlotta crime family...but through                    some internal slip-up, his cover was                    compromised and Primo Sparazza was                    given the contract to kill him.                                                                            CUT TO:                    EXT. NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE -- NIGHT (PAST)                    A '51 Ford Fairlane, flush with an embankment, bullet          perforated, dead-body draped. A top-coated gunman (presumably          Primo Sparazza) stalks the vehicle's sole survivor, FREEMAN          HELLER; faux mafioso, full-time federal agent.                                          LOCKE (V.O.)                    There wasn't enough evidence to bring                    formal charges, so the case never                    went to trial.                    Heller collapses, the gunman looms over, levels a .45, FIRES.                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    Sparazza is a bit of a specter.                    Over the years, the serious crimes                    with which he was thought to be                    involved, including Heller's murder,                    could never be traced back to him.                    The gunman slinks back to his car as we--                    CUT BACK TO:                    INT. BRIEFING ROOM -- CONTINUOUS                    Locke stands, distributes files.                                          LOCKE                    A dedicated viciousness and a slavish                    devotion to mob doctrine had                    Sparazza's star on the rise. So                    the mob relocated him to Nevada and                    he became the unofficial head of the                    Las Vegas LCN.                                                                      CUT TO SCENE:                    A PHOTOGRAPH of PRIMO SPARRAZA, sharkskin suit, vintage 60's          coif, posing in front of The Riviera with a dour, pissed-off          Frank Sinatra.                    CUT BACK TO SCENE:                                                                                  9.                                          MESSNER                    So he's personally issued the contract                    on Israel?                                          LOCKE                    Sparazza was the one who introduced                    Israel to the life, gave him his                    first big break, brought him through                    the ranks.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Made him a friend of the family.                                                                       CUT TO SCENE:                    Sparazza and Israel, Casino grand opening, flashbulbs burst.                                          LOCKE (V.O.)                    ...His hand-picked protege, successor                    to the throne...and Israel played                    the situation very shrewd.                    A MONTAGE OF more photo-pos, Buddy Israel posing with mob          power brokers, playmakers...smiling all the way to the top.                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    ...Slowly amassing the loyalties of                    Sparazza's top men...with plans of                    toppling the throne.                                                                      CUT TO SCENE:                    Buddy, late-night conspiratorial confab with Sparazza soldier.                    CUT BACK TO SCENE:                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    In doing so, he plunged the Carlotta                    organization into a civil war,                    splitting the family into dual                    factions. Sparazza on one side,                    Israel on the other. The infighting                    that followed drew the interest of                    nearly every major investigative                    body operating under the canopy of                    the federal government.                    MONTAGE                    Stakeout teams snap photos- plant bugs- wire hidden cameras.                                          LOCKE (cont'd; V.O.)                    Presently there are sixteen state                    and federally funded agencies, running                    concurrent criminal probes on select                    members of the LCN...With Israel                                (MORE)                                                                                10.                                          LOCKE (cont'd; V.O.) (CONT'D)                    being the primary target in virtually                    every investigation.                                                                      CUT TO SCENE                    Israel sits with a group of FBI agents, discusses a deal.                                          MESSNER (V.O.)                    A marked man gets wise and wants to                    come in.                                          LOCKE (V.O.)                    His testimony has the potential of                    blowing the lid off what's left of                    the La Cosa Nostra is this country.                    That alone warrants total immunity                    from prosecution and and a vanishing                    act with Witness Protection.                    Israel is walked out of the room as we CUT BACK TO:                    INT. BRIEFING ROOM -- CONTINUOUS                                          MESSNER                    So the wiretaps we conducted on Serna                    and Padiche, the mention of Israel's                    heart?                                          LOCKE                    --Your intel corroborates what we                    already know. Sparazza's health is                    in rapid decline and before his date                    with destiny, it seems he wants one                    last thing...The heart of his sworn                    enemy. A recently opened, cash rich                    escrow account has been traced back                    to Sparazza. This and the mention                    of this mysterious Swede makes the                    million dollar contract on Israel                    very real.                                             SYKES (V.O.)                    How real...?                                                                           CUT TO:                    INT. DINER -- NIGHT                    Greasy spoon soul food joint, packed lunch counter. Meet          SHARICE WATTERS, 33 and GEORGIA SYKES, 24, Ebony stunners,          ghetto queens, street assassins. They are sitting with their          booking contact, LORENZO WYMAN, 41. He holds up a copy of a          bank telex, sliding it across the table.                                          WYMAN                    How 'bout six-figures for this fool?                    How 'bout that love?                                                                              11.                    Watters takes the telex, gawks, shows the numbers to Sykes.                                          SYKES                    Bulllllshit...                                          WYMAN                    Naw baby, they heard about that Triad                    hit, the work ya'll put in and they                    recognize the skills. And this ain't                    no tryout, tap-dance "show us your                    shit" thing neither-- if ya'll want                    this then I'mma go git it for 'ya.                    Watters twirls her long braids, looks over at Sykes.                                          WATTERS                    So me and Sis here, 'cuz we got a                    rep on a rise, we chipped some nails                    on some niggas, they want us to drop                    this mafiaoso so and so, magician,                    whatever-the fuck he is.                                          WYMAN                    S'way it works girl. Ya'll done dirt,                    ya'll peeled some serious caps.                    Word travels.                                          SYKES                    And so I get this straight, we gotta                    go in, bust on this punk and remove                    the heart? Is that for real?                                          WYMAN                    No, no, no, y'gotta go in and get                    him, pull'm out of wherever he at,                    forget all that other shit, that's                    just f'flavor. I'm still getting                    lil' bits'a this-n-that from this                    cat Padiche, the man contacting                    me...Right now, what we got--                        (nod to telex)                    --Is a number and a name...Buddy                    Israel.                                          SYKES                        (to Loretta)                    What else did Padiche say?                                          WYMAN                    He said that the shit could get hot,                    could get heavy...I said good.                        (beat, grins)                    'Cuz I got two of the hottest,                    heaviest bitches alive.                                          MESSNER (V.O.)                    Like who?                                                                                 12.                    CUT BACK TO:                    INT. BRIEFING ROOM -- DAY                    The Feds continue their briefing.                                          LOCKE                    Like Pasquale Acosta, blood money                    mercenary. His countrymen have dubbed                    him the more dubious "El Estrago"                        (beat)                    The Plague.                                                                       CUT TO SCENE:                    Death personified; sun-cooked skin, black hole eyes, tattoos          gouged out of prison boredom...This is PASQUALE ACOSTA.                                          LOCKE (V.O.) (CONT'D)                    American educated, fluent in over a                    dozen languages, did journeyman's                    work for CIA funded "G-2" and                    "Archivo" death squads in Guatemala                    and Chile...noted for his legendary                    torture techniques.                                                                       CUT TO SCENE:                    Acosta clips car battery cables to the eyelids of a dissident.          FLASH TO: Acosta scorching an off-camera scrotum with a          blowtorch. FLASH TO: Acosta powering up a bore-drill as a          semi-nude man screams and pleads.                    CUT BACK TO:                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    Sought for war crimes and human rights                    violations in eighteen different                    countries. When he was caught by                    the SAS in Northern Ireland and                    imprisoned, he chewed off his                    fingertips to the bone before he                    could be printed and ID'd by Interpol.                                                                       CUT TO SCENE:                    Pasquale; prison cell filthy, feasting on his fingers.                    CUT BACK TO:                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    On an extradition flight back to El                    Salvador, he murdered a security                    detachment and vanished.                                          MESSNER                    You think it's possible he could be                    involved in the Israel hit?                                                                                 13.                                          LOCKE                    Possibly. Acosta is pure mercenary.                    And a million dollar hit fee will                    draw some huge flies. But forget                    about Sparazza's money for a moment                    and remember, there's no shortage of                    those who want Israel killed and no                    shortage of cash to do just that...                                          DUPREE (V.O.)                    ...Then I'm sure you've heard of                    these guys...The Tremor brothers.                                                                             CUT TO:                    INT. POOL HALL -- MORNING                    Dupree chalks his cue, positions for a shot.                                          DUPREE                    No?                        (off dull stares from                         Deeks and Elmore)                    Then you've both been living under                    the same rock, 'cuz these cocksuckers                    are infamous. Three brothers, same                    skank mom, different deadbeat dads,                    used for that suicide-kamikaze style                    shit. You heard about that huge shoot-                    out in Cleveland?                                          DEEKS                    Is that the club that got wiped out                    a couple months back?                                          ELMORE                    What happened?                                          DUPREE                    The Teamsters had a reform measure                    going to ballot that didn't sit too                    well with the local syndicate. Night                    of the polling, big black-tie to-do                    downtown and the Tremor Brothers                    crash the party. Literally.                                                                       SMASH CUT TO:                    INT. DINNER CLUB -- NIGHT                    THE TREMOR BROTHERS pilot a Dodge Barracuda right through          the front window with wrecking ball bravado. Bodies scatter          as the Tremors deploy from the car in full body kevlar, doing          doomsday on the club. One of them fires up a chainsaw,          chewing into the panicked crowd. Bodyguards blast back, but          bullets play like spitballs against the Tremor's body armor.                                                                                14.                                          DUPREE (V.O.)                    Donald McGarey, the local union rep,                    is the mark. The Tremors go ripshit                    riot on the whole club, seven people                    dead, twenty-eight wounded. Just to                    get to this one guy.                    Shotguns roar-- blast spreads obliterate-- a shitstorm of          blood, spilled booze and busted glass--                                          DUPREE (CONT'D)                    --And they get it about as good as                    they give it. In the melee, one of                    the brothers catches blowback from a                    jammed piece and is temporarily                    blinded, the other takes bullets to                    the lower back and can't walk. The                    third gets popped in the neck and                    passes out. McGarey gets out of the                    club alive...and not much further...                                                                          CUT TO:                    EXT. DINNER CLUB -- PARKING LOT -- NIGHT                    The blind Tremor, walking wounded, piggybacking his brother          with the bum back, dragging the other by the scruff of his          neck, unconscious across the concrete. Police sirens squeal.          McGarey, the union guy, hairpiece hanging by a thread,          crawling toward his car. The piggyback Tremor brother reaches          into his blind brother's coat, grabs a revolver and unloads.                    Long live the teamsters...Not tonight.                    CUT BACK TO:                    INT. POOL HALL                    Dupree chalks his cue.                                          DUPREE                    They're speed freaks, neo-nazi's.                    Sworn to the swastika, supposedly                    read and recite "Mein Kampf" like                    Mother Goose...And these motherfuckers                    can go megaton at the drop of a hat.                                          SYKES (V.O.)                    What's the name again?                    INT. DINER -- NIGHT                    Wyman, Sykes and Watters, back at the greasy spoon.                                          WYMAN                    "Soot, Lazlo Soot." Lotta folks want                    this white boy clapped. Soot could                    be workin' for one 'em.                                                                                15.                    EXT. STREET -- DAY                    Crammed pedestrian crossing, noon hour a trio of SUITS          converse, shrouded by bodyguards.                                          WYMAN (V.O.)                    Nobody really certain where he come                    from...                    The party proceeds through the crosswalk, approaching them          is a dark-suited man, expressionless, hands in his pockets.          Others move past; a woman with shopping bags, a skateboard          punk, a geriatric dog-walker and a man, full paralysis, mouth-          op wheelchair, "My Left Foot" palsy.                                          WYMAN (CONT'D)                    ...and when he moves on somebody,                    they the last ones t'see it comin'--                    The bodyguards perk up, sensing something. Dark-Suit,          removing his hands from his pockets-- cellphone...Wrong guy.                    The crippled cat, throwing a quilt off his lap, contorted          face vanishing, two Uzi machine-pistols up, safeties off,          triggers pulled-- BAP! BAP! BAP! BAP! BAP! BAP!                    The bodyguards get caught napping-- bullets blaze point blank.          The three suits collapse. The phony invalid empties both          guns, hops up from the wheelchair, hooks a passing truck and          flees the scene...that, was LAZLO SOOT.                                          DUPREE (V.O.)                    So what do you think?                    INT. POOL HALL -- BAR                    The boys have retired to the bar for a round of dollar drafts.                                          ELMORE                    I think it's idiotic to continue                    this conversation.                        (turns, to Deeks)                    We're ex-cops which means we weren't                    great cops or even good ones.                                          DEEKS                    Paying bills with bullshit casino                    jobs, sitting watch on slot machines.                                          ELMORE                    Which was a great gig until we we                    walked in here and started drinking.                                          DUPREE                    The bond on Israel expires in eighteen                    hours, after that, it's a jump ball.                    Our window is now.                                                                        16.                                          DEEKS                    Who posted his bail?                    Dupree pats himself down, searching for his cigs.                                          DUPREE                    His law firm, same one that hired                    me. Israel walked out after he made                    bail and nobody's seen him since.                                          ELMORE                    Jack, if the rumors hold and Israel                    is really the great white whale of                    snitches, then the mob is looking to                    put all kinds of bullets into his                    ass and pour some serious psychotics                    into the mix to do just that. So                    what real incentive is there to track                    him on something as small-time as a                    skip trace, when it's putting you                    and yours in the path of severe pain                    and suffering and an almost certain                    prelude to doom.                    A beat. Dupree blows smoke, flicks ash.                                          DUPREE                    So I guess you're not going.                                          ELMORE                    Shit, if you're on a crazy jag, why                    stop there, why not take Fort Knox                    with a fucking slingshot or go into                    Hell after Hitler...I like your                    chances a lot more.                    Dupree, stubbing his cigarette.                                          DUPREE                    I know his location, we've got the                    drop of a maybe half a day before                    that location gets grape-vined and                    the rest of the world gets hipped.                                          ELMORE                    That's already happened hoss.   It's                    naive to think otherwise.                                             DEEKS                    Where is he?                                          WYMAN (V.O.)                    --Lake Tahoe.                    CUT BACK TO:                                                                                 17.                    INT. DINER -- NIGHT                    Watters, nodding, wiping red sauce off her fingers.                                          WATTERS                    Three hours t'the east. S'day trip.                    Pretty this time a'year too...                    Sykes sets her fork down, wipes her hands on a napkin.                                          SYKES                    We gotta lay something out, strategy-                    wise. Somethin' tight. Y'go in there                    ad-libbing, it's y'ass.                                          WATTERS                    What are we talkin' on the split...                                          WYMAN                    Forty-five apiece for you two, ten                    percent finders fee for me.                                          SYKES                    What's the time frame?                                          WYMAN                    Right mafuck'n now girl. Fast as we                    can get you there. We wait any                    longer, someone goin' dead this fool.                                          MESSNER (V.O.)                    ...Then we lose our witness.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. BRIEFING ROOM -- DAY                    The briefing continues.                                          LOCKE                    We lose our case. Twenty-four hours                    from now, he's scheduled to meet                    with federal prosecutors. His agent,                    a man by the name of Morris Mecklen,                    has guaranteed us that he'll enter                    into protective custody once his                    deal is approved.                                                                             CUT TO:                    MORRIS MECKLEN, 60's, bloated, bad combover, agent to the          Vegas vanguard. He sits at his desk, jawing into the phone.          On the wall, framed photos; Wayne Newton, Buddy Hackett,          Carol Channing and a triple-chinned, near-the-end Elvis.                                                                              18.                                           LOCKE (V.O.) (CONT'D)                    We've been monitoring Mecklen's calls                    and have learned that Israel is                    staying in the penthouse level of                    the Nomad Hotel and Casino in Lake                    Tahoe, Nevada under an assumed name.                    CUT BACK TO SCENE:                    INT. BRIEFING ROOM -- CONTINUOUS                                          CARRUTHERS                    Right there? In the high-roller suite?                                          MESSNER                    It's the last place they'd look.                                          LOCKE                    Israel's legal representation, the                    firm of Culpepper, Brody and Reed,                    which is currently the subject of a                    joint SEC and Treasury Department                    probe, were left holding the bag                    after he skipped bail. Over three-                    quarters of a million dollars on a                    bond that's set to expire in less                    than a day. Rupert Reed, one of the                    firm's partners, has learned of                    Israel's whereabouts and dispatched                    a local bondsman by the name of Jack                    Dupree to pick him up and return him                    to Las Vegas...that can't happen.                                               (beat)                    We have a Gulf Stream standing by at                    Reagan International to transport                    you two to Lake Tahoe.                        (pause, with weight)                    It's very simple gentlemen. Valacchi,                    Fratiano, Gravano-- no former witness                    against the mob has been as crucial                    or has brought more to bear on the                    potential dissolution of The La Cosa                    Nostra, than Buddy Israel.                    SMASH CUT TO BLACK:                    MONTAGE                    Over this entire sequence WE HEAR Agent Locke speaking:                    The cylinder of a .44 Magnum is popped, a speed-load dropped          in, spun and snapped shut-- Porn mags and crossword puzzle          compendiums are tossed into a carry-on. Morphine and          adrenaline syringes get spiked and capped-- A collection of          wigs, fake sideburns and moustaches get laid out, separated--                                                                              19.                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    ...But understand that if an attempt                    is made on his life...                    Kevlar body armor gets stowed-- An elephant gun gets buffed          to a high shine-- Vintage Ww11 German Potato-Masher hand-          grenades are lovingly wrapped in terry cloth towels.                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    ...then it is being made by those of                    the strictest professional caliber...                    Torture-tools; curved cutting implements, serrated bone saws,          skull keys, a portable blowtorch, blackened with burned          blood...all packed neatly into a duffel bag--                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    ...They are cold-blooded, ruthless,                    and without restraint...and they                    must not succeed.                    A gun is aimed, a trigger pulled..."BOOM"                    SMASH CUT TO BLACK                    FADE UP ON:                    INT. HOSPITAL ROOM -- MORNING                    Daybreak. Sunlight streams in, soft suffusion, the color of          good scotch. PRIMO SPARAZZA, 86, lies on a hospital bed, an          O2 mask shrouding deep-set, sunken eyes, cataract-grey, gazing          out at a four-walled world. Someone enters the room, awaiting          approval to approach...Sparazza, turning, seeing the man,          summoning him over with a feeble finger wag. The man reaches          him, kneeling down, ring-kissing reverent, whispering:                                          MAN                    ...he's here now...                    Sparazza nods. The man exits. After a moment, the door opens          again...and another MAN enters, walking slowly toward          Sparazza's bedside. He sets down his luggage, a black leather          valise. The travel tags originate in Stockholm:                    The Swede has arrived.                    FADE TO BLACK                    FADE UP ON:                    Soaring across the pristine deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe.          Rising, revealing the gaudy, mirrored glass tower of the          NOMAD HOTEL & CASINO. We slowly DISSOLVE TO:                                                                               20.                    INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE -- NOMAD HOTEL & CASINO -- MORNING                    BUDDY ISRAEL, bathrobe, boxers, bags under his eyes. He          absently shuffles cards, pulling aces as if by touch,          telepathy. He gazes out at the snow-packed peaks. Behind          him; post-bacchanalia...the ugly morning after. Prostitutes,          passed out cold in a tangle of crotchless panties and stiletto          heels, lying amongst smashed vodka bottles and ashtrays,          coke-covered tabletops and tipped room service trays. -                    Israel, sober now...contemptuous of it all. He starts walking          around them the way you would casualties on a battlefield.          His bathrobe brushes over, terrycloth catching one of the          hooker's wigs, tugging it free. Israel looks down, zooming          in on her scalp, sees dandruff and scars, gags disgust and          disdain. He steps, the wigs pulls. He stops and slips the          bathrobe off, letting it fall rather than pull her wig the          rest of the way off and ruin what illusion remains.                    He shuffles, begins dropping Aces on their bodies like dead          enemy soldiers. One of his bodyguards enters; a bulging,          slow-witted, ex-bodybuilder by the name of HUGO CROOP.                                          ISRAEL                    D'you talk to'm?                                          HUGO                        (fetching Mylanta                         from the fridge)                    I got his machine.                    A beat. Israel fidgets, twitches, rubs coke residue from his          nose and over his gumline                                          ISRAEL                    What'd you say?                                          HUGO                        (gulping Mylanta)                    I said I got his machine.                                          ISRAEL                    No, what did you say on the machine?                                          HUGO                    I left him a message.                                           ISRAEL                    I know you left him a message. What                    did you say!                    Hugo looks up, seems confused. Moments pass. Israel, the          patience of a gorilla, crammed into a canary cage.                                            ISRAEL (CONT'D)                    Jesus Hugo!                                  (MORE)                                                                              21.                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                    How is it that you can turn a simple                    conversation into a fucking hedge                    maze!? This is zero degree of                    difficulty man!                                            HUGO                    Okay.                                          ISRAEL                    Then why are you still looking at me                    like I'm asking for the square root                    of something! What did you say!?                    Hugo, still unsure, speaks in spite of it.                                          HUGO                    I said that we were returning his                    call and you were real concerned,                    because he sounded real concerned.                                          ISRAEL                    Look at that, we didn't have to fill                    up the whole blackboard after all.                    Now, do you know anything about that?                    Israel wrist-flicks a playing card, it embeds a sofa cushion          like a ninja throwing star, right next to a beige coat.                                            HUGO                    About what?                                          ISRAEL                    Look at the collar on that coat...                    Hugo, wary, walking over, inspecting the coat from a distance.                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                    What's that look like, that stain?                    Hugo edges closer, looks down at the coat, squints.                                          HUGO                    I dunno...Cinnamon roll?                                           ISRAEL                    Cinnamon roll? No, good guess though.                    No, Hugo that looks like jizz...                        (reshuffles, stares)                    And I'm no forensic expert mind you,                    but that looks like some fuckhead                    shot their load on a twelve-thousand                    dollar calf's skin jacket. The twist?                    It's My twelve thousand dollar, calf's                    skin jacket.                        (beat, then)                    So y'got semen, human ejaculate--                                 (MORE)                                                                              22.                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                        (checks watch)                    --that's been allowed to soak in for                    what, six, seven hours now? Work                    it's way into the fabric-fuck'n                    fibers-- and while you may never see                    it in a Tide commercial, I think it                    still safely qualifies as a "tough,                    deep down stain."                    Hugo takes another pull off the Mylanta bottle, moving slowly,          like most morons do, avoiding eye contact at all cost.                                          HUGO                    I could have it sent out...                                          ISRAEL                    ...to what? Incinerate? 'Cuz I'm                    almost dead certain there's not a                    fucking laundry detergent or dry                    cleaning process known to man that                    can ever return that jacket to its                    former glory! Some shit, suffice it                    to say, just don't wash out.                        (beat, cooling down)                    Now, the money question...To whom                    does that stain belong?                    Hugo, gameface falling apart...Israel prods him.                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                    C'mon, somebody was banging one of                    these skanks, sans rubber--                        (beat, assesses girls)                    -which is terrifying in its own right-                    pulled out, let 'er rip and ruined                    the last gift my mother gave me before                    she died.                        (snatching up coat)                    The way I see it, it's the same as                    if she was dug up, three months dead                    and it was shot right on her rotting                    corpse, 'cuz that's how it defiled                    this feels!                    Hugo. Long pause.   Big dumb blush.                                          HUGO                    Do you want me to say I did it?                                          ISRAEL                    I was kinda hoping, yeah.                                          HUGO                    Do you want me to say I'm sorry?                                          ISRAEL                    Only if you really, truly mean it.                                                                                23.                    Hugo, swallowing, pressures on. The phone begins to ring.                                          HUGO                    ...I'm sorry...                                          ISRAEL                    Are you a fucking colossal idiot?                                              HUGO                    I am.   Yeah.                                          ISRAEL                    Without peer?                                          HUGO                    I-- uh, yeah, I guess, yeah.                    Cards dance, Israel's hands moves at lightspeed, he reaches          into Hugo's shirt front and pulls a playing card out...Joker.                                          ISRAEL                        (showing him the card)                    No. Be sure. Be resolute.    You stand                    alone on that summit.                    The phone rings. Hugo, wobbly, what-to-do...? Buddy fires          all fifty-two cards into his face. The beast barely blinks.                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                    Get the phone, it might be Gill,                    then get out of my sight.                    Hugo, furtive look to the floor, all those scattered cards,          then, back to the boss, "should I?"                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                    No. The cards can stay there. Get                    The Goddamn Phone.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. CAR -- DAY                    A cellphone being lifted, revealing Special Agent Carruthers.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Yes Sir. Go ahead.                        (listens, checks watch)                    We're three miles from The Nomad                    now. We'll be awaiting word.                    He clicks off. Messner occupies the passenger seat, reviewing          surveillance tape, portable headphones on, mini-DAT player          in his lap. He listens to the following excerpt:                                                                                 24.                                          SERNA (ON TAPE)                    --so, I'm thinkin' we jump, do this                    in the next day or so, get to Israel                    before the Swede can--                    Messner pulls the headphones off.                                          MESSNER                    Anything on the Swede?                                          CARRUTHERS                    Only the mention made in that phone                    call. There's no Swedish hitman of                    any renown, much less one with a                    million dollar day rate.                                          MESSNER                    Maybe he's that good. Never been                    caught, no criminal record.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Maybe.                    Messner, sets the gear on the floorboard, stretches. He          turns over photographs of Victor Padiche and Sidney Serna.          (the same ones that were tacked to the corkboard of the          surveillance van in the opening)                                          MESSNER (CONTD)                    I tell you, engineering this kind of                    play against Sparazza, going to the                    lengths these guys are going                    to...they're playing some long odds.                                          CARRUTHERS                    And a very bad gamble.                                          MESSNER                        (re; the passing neon)                    Well... This is as good a place for                    it as any I guess.                                                                          CUT TO:                    A slot machine handle gets yanked, rolls, stops, lemon-lemon-          cherry- loser...please deposit coins.                    CAMERA MOVES PAST, TRACKING THROUGH:                    INT. CHOW SHACK BUFFET -- MORNING                    Tahoe's "First and Finest" all seasons Buffet. THE CAMERA          FINDS: A slicker older cat in a Guyabera shirt, mid-fifties,          spotted skin, sun damaged, pocked with pre-cancerous black.          We recognize him from the mugshots and surveillance video:          It's VICTOR PADICHE. Sykes and Watters enter FRAME. Padiche          stands, greeting them, smiling-cigarette-stained-dentures...                                                                                25.                                          PADICHE                    Girls, wonderful, here, sit.                    Watters scoots in right next to Sykes, gets comfy. Sykes          seems a put off by the proximity, ignores it for the moment.                                          PADICHE (CONTD) (CONT'D)                    Okay, so...you're here, really nice                    isn't it? Brisk weather, but nice.                        (as WAITRESS approaches)                    Coffee? Anything? I didn't want to                    order for you.                                          WATTERS                    No, we're cool.                                          PADICHE                    Fabulous.                        (to Waitress)                    I'm fine sweetheart, thanks.                        (beat, back to girls)                    Okay, so...welcome to the south shore!                        (big smile, then)                    So, just jumpin' right in, just in                    terms of this thing, our thing. I                    spoke to Lorenzo this morning, he                    says y'got somethin' more or less                    put together, plan'a attack and me                    and my associate Mr. Serna, who I                    can put on the phone hear, we'd                    love t'hear it.                    Watters and Sykes, non-responsive, staring...                                          PADICHE (CONT'D)                    We ain't askin' ya t'take us through,                    soup t'nuts or 'nuthin' like that, I                    jus' like t'hear the broad strokes,                    y'know, so we can get an idea--                    Sykes and Watters look at one another, wordless exchange,          then;                                          WATTERS                    Pussy.                    Awkward beat, Padiche, head cocked, did I hear that right...?                                          PADICHE                    Wha'?                                          SYKES                    Pussy.                                          PADICHE                        (leaning closer)                    "Pushy?"                                                                                26.                    Watters, shaking her head, correcting him.                                             WATTERS                    Pussy.                    The old man blanches, doesn't quite understand the--                                             PADICHE                    --Uh...                    Another beat. The girls let him dangle. Watters, lewd sneer,          looks almost lustfully at Sykes as she says the following;                                          WATTERS                    Israel likes pussy...                    Padiche, recovering, nodding, nervous.                                          PADICHE                    ...Oh...uh-huh, yeah--                    Sykes squirms under Watters lascivious gaze, but manages:                                          SYKES                    And we like that he likes...                    Yet another beat.    Padiche, wanting desperately to contribute.                                             PADICHE                    ...Pussy?                                             SYKES                    Correct.                    Padiche, big nod going from one girl to the other, he-get's-          it-but-not-really.                                             PADICHE                    ...Fabulous.                    He extends his hand.   WE TRACK IT ACROSS IN C.U. as it meets          with a male hand.                    PULL BACK TO REVEAL                    INT. HOTEL ROOM -- BLACKJACK INN -- MORNING                    Dupree and Deeks shaking hands with RUPERT "RIP" REED, mid-          forties, showbiz-slash-mob attorney, low man on the totem at          the Las Vegas based legal firm of "Culpepper Brody & Reed"                                          REED                    Yeah, Jack, alright...hey--                        (shakes Deeks' hand)                    Nice t'meet you. Rip Reed.                                             DEEKS                    Pete.                                                                                 27.                                          REED                    Okay, good, good, c'mon, c'min.                    Reed and Dupree shake.   Reed glances out in the hall before          closing the door.                                          REED (CONTD) (CONT'D)                        (to Dupree)                    Where's your third? This was a                    troika, no?                    Dupree, finding a seat, almost under his breath.                                          DUPREE                    He's...fuckin'...he's comin'...                    As Elmore appears, Reed almost closes the door on him--                                          REED                        (extending hand)                    Hey, hey how r'ya, Rip Reed.                                           ELMORE                    Hollis.   Elmore.                    They shake. Dupree shoots a look at Elmore, not pleased.          Elmore, pissy, leans against the wall, arms crossed.                    Reed, wound out, worn thin, half drunk-- his bedspread is          papered with writs, summons, notaries, etc: Everything to          make Buddy Israel's return to custody legally binding. He          sits on the edge of the bed, reaching for a pack of smokes          on the nightstand, finding a half empty glass of scotch.                                          REED                        (to Deeks)                    So Jack tells me you're both ex-cops?                                          DEEKS                    Yeah, that's right.                                           DUPREE                    They worked as swingmen for the Vegas                    Vice squad--                        (to Deeks)                    What? Five, six years?                    Reed, digging a cigarette out of his pocket.                                          REED                    Man the stories you guys must tell.                    I grew up soft myself, private                    schools, little blazers, you "Talked                    it out" nobody threw punches, t'this                    day, never been hit with a fist,                    Imagine that, huh?                                (MORE)                                                                              28.                                          REED (CONT'D)                    Pretty much a panty-waste, trembling                    little faggot-fairy when I smell                    trouble-- and I don't say this to be                    self-deprecating, I just don't have                    much of an opinion about myself, I                    mean, shit, I wish I was a lot more                    like you guys, barfighters, big                    swinging dicks, gettin' it done.                    Sadly.                        (lifts his shirt,                         exposes torso flab)                    This is it. It's...disgusting.                        (with a look skyward)                    Thanks God, dogpile a piss-poor                    physique with an small cock and                    hereditary alcoholism! 'preciate it!                        (beat, to Dupree)                    Okay, I'm babbling, I do this when I                    drink, forgive the rants, let's get                    at it here. This wanted felon fucking                    prick bastard Buddy Israel and the                    nearly one million dollar bail bond.                    Dupree smiles, pats Reed on the shoulder, don't-sweat-this...                                          DUPREE                    Rip, my right hand to God, we're                    gonna go in and recover this asshole                    and everybody's gonna leave the                    theater grinning. Trust me.                                          REED                    That confidence translates bro,                    seriously, it does! Out-STANDING!                    Reed, white-boy high-five, excruciatingly un-hip. Deeks and          Elmore literally have to look away. Dupree can barely bear          it.                                          REED (CONT'D)                    I'm a lawyer, y'know, I need to hear                    these things, little boosts, helps                    allay my fears, I pass that piece of                    mind along to my partners.                        (beat, then)                    Alright, so, couple primers for you                    guys, maybe things we might've looked                    past that you should know about...His                    hangers-on, these idiots Israel                    runs with, they're all "packing heat"                    "strapped" whatever the phrase is.                    Point two, Israel likes hookers, so                    you might run into a harem up there.                    Point three: He binges between a six-                    to-seven thousand dollar a day cocaine                    habit that nobody knows about, so he                                (MORE)                                                                                 29.                                          REED (CONT'D)                    and those hookers, will most likely                    be high. He also drinks, self-                    medicates, the whole cliche, y'know?                    The strung out hasbeen jerkoff snitch                    drunk. The seven-layer loser.                        (beat, exhales)                    I'm praying he puts up a fight,                    please, please, please, rape him if                    possible, I'll-pay-the-extra-whatever--                    Nobody knows what to make of Reed, as he giggles, nods,          smokes, nods, drinks-- he looks at all of them, a sudden          unexpected wave of enthusiasm seizing him.                                          REED (CONT'D)                    Yeah-yeah-yeah. Fucking hell, this                    feels GREAT! YEAH!? DOESN'T IT!                    Reed begins laughing like a complete fucking loon, like he's          just lost it completely. It's paralyzingly uncomfortable.          Then, just like that, he stops, grabs an envelope.                                          REED (CONT'D)                        (hands envelope over)                    Okay, we had a retainer, for services                    to be rendered...Fifty thousand                    dollars.                    Reed hands the envelope to a smiling Dupree.                                          ISRAEL (V.O.)                    FIFTY-FUCKING GRAND!                                                                             CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE -- DAY                    Israel, furious, screaming at an immense black man standing          in front of him: SIR IVY, his steadfast second-in-command:          The presence of a Pimp, the mien of a Mack.                                           SIR IVY                    Calm down.                    Israel gets up in Ivy's grill. A phone begins to ring.                                          ISRAEL                    Don't tell me to "calm down" Ivy! I                    hate that!                        (re; the phone)                    HUGO GRAB THAT! I JUST PAGED GILL!                    Hugo rushes for the phone.                                          SIR IVY                    Look at the attention we're getting.                    It's all bad...                                                                              30.                    Hugo, hand cupped over the phone, butting in.                                          HUGO                    Hey-- It's him, it's Gill.                                          SIR IVY                        (gesturing to hookers)                    ...We got these tricks going in and                    out, we're partying like the shit                    might go stale, what did you think                    was gonna happen?                    Israel, walks toward Hugo.                                          ISRAEL                    Fifty grand gouge. South shore                    hayseeds, this is why I never play                    Tahoe, or redneck Reno...                                          SIR IVY                    We're hot, and they're losing a whole                    floor's worth of business saying                    it's "under construction."                                          ISRAEL                    Alright, bag it, I'm not shelling                    out that kinda bread for this                    shithole, this is a junior suite in                    Vegas. Call Mecklen right now, he                    should have his cell on, I need an                    update.                        (to Hugo)                    Get the Russian up here, have him                    clean this place, floor to ceiling                    and get us packed .                        (points to hookers)                    ...And send out for some new skeeze,                    the sun's up, these ones are starting                    to stink...                    Hug hands the phone to Israel, pulling his own cell, dialing.          Ivy looks around at the collapsed hookers, strewn about the          place, his face registering the appropriate disgust. Then:                                          SIR IVY                    BEANIE!                    Some of the girls start at the sound of Ivy's big Barry White          baritone. They rise, groggy, burping up last night's          debauchery. Mascara-smeared, hangover-hindered the girls          rise as BERNARD "BEANIE" ALFONSE, protector #2, pops in; A          sumo-sized brother with a diamond-studded smile.                                          BEANIE                        (addressing the girls)                    Alright ya'll, that's the call, we                    had our fun, pack it in, pro-ceed to                    the front. Les' go, les' go--                                                                                31.                    Beanie starts herding hookers, Ivy positions himself at the          door, pulls a flashroll, fingers hundred dollar bills.          Israel, phone to his ear, retires to the bedroom for privacy.                    INT. PENTHOUSE BEDROOM -- CONTINUOUS                    Israel throws the lock.                                            ISRAEL                      Are you on a land line?                                             DR. GILL                      Yeah, why.                    Israel checks the wall clock.                                            ISRAEL                      Just checking...what's up?   What's                      wrong with your voice?                    INTERCUT:                    INT. PRIVATE PRACTICE -- DAY                    DR. GREGORY GILL, 30's, Israel's private physician,          walking/sprinting up a hallway, holding a medical report.                                            DR. GILL                      I've got concerns.                                            ISRAEL                      ...About what?                                            DR. GILL                      About cocaine...and the amount you're                      doing.                                            ISRAEL                      I'm not doing cocaine.                                            DR. GILL                      Buddy, I'm not an ethics professor,                      I'm a physician, be honest, or be                      dead within a day...s'your choice.                    Israel, grave.   Guilt in his silence.                                            DR. GILL (CONT'D)                      ...I just got the cardiology work-up                      back and sent it to two of my                      colleagues, both heart specialists.                      They concluded, as I have, that you                      are showing signs of severe cardiac                      distress...so much so, that a massive                      coronary may be imminent.                    CUT BACK TO:                                                                              32.                    INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE -- CONTINUOUS                    Ivy and Beanie, marshalling the mass hooker exodus. Ivy          paying the gals as they exit the suite. One YOUNG HOOKER          bringing up the rear, stumbles in her stripper heels, shaky,          tries to take another step, slips, trips, falls-- smacks          face first into a glass coffee table, shattering it.                                          BEANIE (CONTD)                    Damn girl, look out now!                    The other Hookers; gape jawed, mild shock, mild amusement.          Beanie plucks the fallen woman up, shakes her off, straightens          her out, pulls off the offending heels.                                          BEANIE (CONT'D)                        (holding up heel)                    All these good for is poppin' them                    titties girl, but y'see what happens                    when you try to get around in 'em?                    The hooker, covered in glass dust, stuck with shards,          teetering, too out of it to care.                    CUT BACK TO SCENE                    INT. PENTHOUSE BEDROOM -- CONTINUOUS                    Israel sweats like a stuck pig, pained, clutching his chest.                                          DR. GILL (O.S. ON PHONE)                    --Forget about the tissue damage                    you're doing to the heart itself.                    Sustained cocaine abuse will segue                    you from a very painful ventricular                    fibrillation into full cardiac arrest.                         (beat)                    Buddy, nobody knows about your                    condition, or your drug use. Why                    you lied to me, knowing that I'd                    find out anyway, I'll never know,                    but it imperative now that I see                    you.                                          ISRAEL                    That's not possible. I told you.                                           DR. GILL                    There are certain meds, certain                    intravenous measures that can                    counteract some of the damage you've                    done, but I'd have to administer                    them myself.                                          ISRAEL                    Won't work, we're just gonna have to                    chance it man. I'm sorry.                                                                                  33.                                             DR. GILL                       No. Sorry comes later, when you're                       in a partial coma with ambulatory                       paralysis. Sorry comes when we have                       to decide which of your limbs have                       to be amputated because severely                       constricted blood flow has brought                       about a gangrenous infection, sorry--                                             ISRAEL                       --Fine, fuck, I got it...Lake Tahoe,                       Nevada. I'll have Hugo book your                       flight, you can be here in a couple                       hours. He'll meet you at the airport.                    Buddy disconnects. Dr. Gill holds for a moment, clicks over          to another line, dials a new number...waits.                                             DR. GILL                       ...He's in Lake Tahoe.                                                                         CUT BACK TO:                    Buddy still standing there next to the phone, wincing,          breathing shallow, looking down, rubbing his chest.                                             ISRAEL                       Be cool, be cool, be cool...c'mon...                    He walks over to the bureau, cut lines of coke await him.          He bends, inserts a rolled hundred into his nostril.                                             ISRAEL (CONT'D)                       Just this last little bit, then we're                       done, just this tiny bit and that's                       it, that's it, all of it, over--                    He snorts.                    CUT BACK TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE -- CONTINUOUS                    Beanie, trying to assist the ailing hooker. She lurches          suddenly, retching, projectile-vomit dousing Beanie's Versace--          dripping dung-like from his shirt front.                                             BEANIE                       Awwww, motherfuck me! C'mon woman!                       Hold your shit! This is silk!                    The other hooker's titters turn to outright guffaws. Barf-          girl takes umbrage, hurls her purse at them, rushing into          the herd, throwing haymakers asswild, snatching wigs, sinking          fake nails into skin, snapping them off, Van Helsing style.                    The fur flies, a slugfest free-for-all. Ivy intervenes--          Beanie jumps into the fray, separating combatants-- one of                                                                                 34.                    them wielding her pump heel like a pick-axe. Hugo heads          another off hooker, hitting her like a blitzing linebacker.                    Israel, who has walked back out, looks on with total disdain          for what he's seeing...Then, he catches his reflection in a          living room mirror, a profound sense of sadness there.                                          ISRAEL                        (to himself, quiet)                    ...How the mighty have fallen...                    WE PUSH PAST HIM...                    In the distance, on the lake, a small boat, a man sitting          inside, gazing up through a pair of binoculars.                                            CARRUTHERS (V.O.)                    He's awake.                                                                             CUT TO:                    INT. "TAHOE SKILLET" RESTAURANT -- MORNING                    The Feds occupy a booth, black coffee for both. Carruthers          clicks off a cellphone. Messner is engrossed in a file          clipped with old surveillance photographs of Primo Sparazza.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Spotter on the lake confirmed Israel.                    Penthouse level. There was apparently                    a fisticuffs with some prostitutes.                    He wasn't involved. He's also had                    his people phone a local madame for                    another group of girls.                                          MESSNER                    No rest for the wicked.                        (beat, holds up file)                    Why were we never shown these files?                    We're sitting on Sparazza for what?                    Six months now and we're just seeing                    this?                        (beat, reading)                    Did you know that he's has had thirty-                    six major medical procedures performed                    on him since 1953?                        (flips, reads)                    Elective plastic surgery, every single                    one--                    Messner, turning the file toward Carruthers, pointing.                                          MESSNER (CONT'D)                    --look at this, look at the work                    he's had done; nose, three times,                    eyes, eyelids, chin, jaw-- he's had                    his jaw done a dozen times.                                (MORE)                                                                              35.                                          MESSNER (CONT'D)                    You take every hasbeen actor in                    Hollywood they haven't been cut this                    much.                    Messner flips to another part of the file.                                          MESSNER (CONT'D)                    Unreal, this guys jacket too. Wall-                    to-wall major felony offenses, murder,                    extortion, arson, grand larceny--                        (beat, points)                    --A paternity suit...I just feel                    like we're playing catch-up with all                    this and we shouldn't be.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Welcome to the new Bureau. Nobody                    shares information anymore, it's                    become synonymous with job security.                                          MESSNER                    Based on what we had, I thought                    Sparazza was a mid-level player at                    best and it turns out he's this mob                    relic, running the show out west.                    Carruthers nods, sips his coffee.                                          CARRUTHERS                    He's stayed below the radar. You                    don't kill a hundred and thirty people                    without knowing how to tip-toe.                    Messner flips the file, finds a page paper-clipped with a          photograph of murder/martyred Federal Agent Freeman Heller.                                          MESSNER                    But the Bureau knew Sparazza killed                    Heller. Why not go after him, guns                    blazing' for that one?                                          CARRUTHERS                    Heller was buried in agency lore,                    anytime an operative failed or was                    perceived to have failed, Hoover                    blackballed their memory. Look at                    Ness.                                          MESSNER                    Yeah, but the Untouchables took down                    Capone. Heller got shot and killed.                    The bad guys beat him. Worse, Sparazza                    walked.                    Messner sits back, kills the remainder of his coffee, gazing          out the window, watching sightseers stream by. Carruthers          glances at his watch.                                                                                36.                                          CARRUTHERS                    It's almost five a.m. in D.C. now.                    Locke said the lawyers from Justice                    had been in there since three o'clock                    yesterday afternoon. Israel's manager                    is acting as his attorney and that's                    what's holding things up.                    The waitress arrives with breakfast, sets it down.                                          MESSNER                    So he has no idea what's about to                    happen?                                          CARRUTHERS                    No. And I want to be in that room a                    half second after Mecklen calls to                    say the deal's done. We've got a                    sheriff's task force on stand-by.                                          MESSNER                    What about the hotel staff obstructing                    us. Israel's obviously paid off the                    management.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Tampering with a witness extraction                    of this magnitude makes everyone                    indictable at the federal level.                        (beat, grins)                    Trust me, we won't any problems with                    the hotel staff. You show 'em your                    ID with the letters "F.B.I." in all                    caps and it's instant compliance.                    I've seen in happen a hundred times.                                                                            CUT TO:                    F.B.I. BADGE AND IDENTIFICATION                    It fills the the frame. An O.S. voice explains:                                          VOICE (O.S.)                    Special Agent Gerald Diego, Federal                    Bureau of Investigation, San Francisco                    Field Office.                    INT. NOMAD HOTEL AND CASINO -- LOBBY/RECEPTION -- DAY                    PULL BACK TO REVEAL: Gerald Diego...aka Pasquale Acosta, aka          "El Estrago" the most notorious torture-murder specialist in          the biz in convincing disguise. His suit, mannerisms and          speech. Pitch Perfect...he's got the fake-Fed bit down cold.                                          ACOSTA                    We're conducting a series of impromptu                    inspections for the Nevada Gaming                                (MORE)                                                                              37.                                          ACOSTA (CONT'D)                    Commission. I'd like to speak with                    your head of security.                    A pimply CASINO EMPLOYEE nods, dashing off to find the boss.          Acosta glances around, takes in the eight-dollar-an-hour          security, the array of quasi-armed guards...and smiles.                                          DEEKS (V.O.)                    Where'd you get these?                                                                          CUT TO:                    Guard uniforms, exactly like those we've just seen, worn by          the Nomad's security staff. Maroon with burnished gold          buttons and brown piping down the slacks. Three separate          vestments laid out across the trunk of a rental car.                    CAMERA PULLS BACK TO REVEAL:                    EXT. PARKING LOT -- OFF THE LAKE -- DAY                    Dupree and Deeks in an empty parking lot, bundled up in          windbreakers, battling the frozen spindrift swirling in off          the lake.                                          DUPREE                    Same place that rents the guard's                    uniforms. There's a shift change at                    9am. Graveyard goes home and we can                    blend in with the day shift coming                    on.                                          DEEKS                    What about access cards? Pass keys?                                          DUPREE                    We'll have to get our hands on them.                    There's two separate units; Casino                    Floor/Count Room Security and General                    Hotel Security--                        (annoyed, nods to car)                    Does he want to hear this or what?                    Deeks bangs on the hood of the car.                                          DEEKS                    Hollis!                    Elmore steps out, moving slowly to the rear of the car.                                          DUPREE                    Nobody put a gun to your head.                    Elmore leans against the bumper, bored.                                          ELMORE                    Yeah, we've been through that.                                                                              38.                                          DUPREE                    Then quit acting like somebody shit                    in your cereal bowl. Reed just gave                    us fifty grand.                                          ELMORE                    --Jack, what am I doing? I'm standing                    here, aren't I?                        (beat, to both men)                    Shouldn't that be enough? That I                    made the trip?                                          DUPREE                    Your attitude sucks.                                          ELMORE                    I been accused of worse.                        (glancing at uniforms)                    What do we got...?                    Dupree, dubious, does he continue...?   Fine. Fuck it.                                          DUPREE                    Two security levels, the one we're                    going in under the guise of, hotel                    security, has restricted access.                    They're mostly there to monitor the                    lobby, handle disturbances on the                    different floors and toss out drunks.                        (beat)                    There's a thirty-five member employee                    rotation going from graveyard to day                    shift. If we split up, we can blend                    in and enter unnoticed. Once we're                    inside the hotel, we'll regroup.                                            ELMORE                    Then what--                    --A Plymouth Barracuda passes by, brakes hard, reverses.          The trio stop talking, look over...and then their lives end.          Bad intentions blaze from the driver's side, machine-gun          bursts-- Dupree is hit flush, dead on his feet, his dying          thought, cut comically short; "I had that car in high scho--                    Deeks, shredded where he stands, his body absorbing a          fusillade of rounds traveling at twice the speed of sound.          One creases Elmore's skull, another blows out Deeks' back,          fragmenting, claiming three fingers from Elmore's left hand.          The three of them fall in weird, waterlogged flops, no dying          breaths, no death rattles, just lights out...just like that.                    Several seconds pass. Then the car door opens and The Tremor          Brothers, like circus clowns, clamber out in a cloud of gun          and reefer smoke. LESTER TREMOR, the dandruff-caked,          pockmarked middle brother is the first out. He shakes off          the cold, yawning, stretching, revealing all manner of tattoo.                                                                              39.                    The Tremors' youngest brother, the Baby-Huey sized JEEVES          TREMOR bumbles out, pulling at his crotch. He unzips & rips,          baptizing the Cuda's tire with a truly prodigious piss.          DARWIN TREMOR climbs from the car, the eldest brother, straw          boss, brains of the outfit. He looks down at the dead men,          seems saddened by their state. Some remorse maybe? Maybe so.                                          JEEVES TREMOR                        (still pissing)                    Luvin' that, rat-tat-tat-tat, clean                    as a nun's snatch on Kristal Nacht!                                          LESTER TREMOR                        (stops singing)                    Shut up fuckass, them spirits ain't                    vacated yet, s'keep quiet.                                          JEEVES TREMOR                    Them spirts can kiss my Chinese ass.                                          LESTER TREMOR                    ...YOU AIN'T NO CHINESE!                    This exchange prompts Jeeves to turn and urinate on Lester.          Lester squeals war cry, launching a wild windmill barrage on          his behemoth little brother. Jeeves ignores the hydrant-          like urine stream soaking them both and starts swinging back.                    Darwin kneels down over the dead Jack Dupree, taking Jack's          face in his hand and squeezing back and forth, adding his          own words in what amounts to a freakish ventriloquist act.                                          DUPREE (DEAD)                    ...I forgive you Darwin.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    Shoot, I appreciate that man.                                           DUPREE                    If I needed your I.D. and your car                    and me and my brothers were wanted                    by the law, I woulda killed you to                    get 'em too.                                            DARWIN TREMOR                    You woulda?                                          DUPREE                    Oh hell yeah. We's just in the wrong                    place at the wrong time. So don't                    feel so bad dude.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    Damn...alright then.                                          DUPREE                    I don't mind now anyway.                                (MORE)                                                                                40.                                          DUPREE (CONT'D)                    You know, up here in Heaven, it's                    beautiful. Way better than fuckin'                    Hawaii or any place like that.                    Darwin's eyes begin to well, the tears coming slowly. In the          background, Lester and Jeeves beat e ach other ruthlessly.                                             DARWIN TREMOR                    Really?                                          DUPREE                    I'm glad I'm here. I love it. I'm                    gonna get laid by some fine ass angels                    and then go hang out with Jesus and                    them.                    Darwin wipes his eyes.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    Man, that's great.                                           DUPREE                    I got it made in the shade Amigo.                    Hey, I'll see you up here some day,                    don't worry.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    You think so?                    Darwin uses his thumb and forefinger to make it appear as          though Dupree we're smiling up at him.                                             DUPREE                    I know so.                    Darwin smiles back down   at the corpse, wiping his nose on          his sleeve. He reaches    down and pulls out Dupree's wallet.          He spots the bondsman's   license, eyeballs the bail papers:          He sees the name ROBERT   ISRAEL in bold type. Puts it together.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    Damn Jack...you was after the same                    sacka shit as us...Small world.                    Darwin continues the pat down, pauses, pulls the envelope          with fifty grand inside, fingers fresh bills. With his free          hand he manipulates Dupree's dead mouth one last time.                                          DUPREE                    Don't tell your asshole brothers you                    know about it, that money is for you                    old boy.                    Darwin, a nod of acknowledgement for the dead Dupree.                                                                                41.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    I appreciate that pard...I wish I                    coulda been a better friend.                    Darwin stands, His eyes move to the guard's uniforms, still          laid out across the trunk...he looks over at his two brothers,          Jeeves now with a Lenny-like hammerlock on Lester's head.                                          DARWIN TREMOR (CONTD) (CONT'D)                    Alright enough grabassin' goddamit!                    We need t'get over t'that hotel.                                          WATTERS (V.O.)                    We're already here baby.                                                                           CUT TO:                    INT. NOMAD HOTEL AND CASINO -- LOBBY -- MORNING                    Watters is once again on her cellphone to Lorenzo.                                          WYMAN (O.S.)                        (on the phone)                    So everything's cool then?                                          WATTERS                    We sat down with Padiche, he tried                    to get some details which we wasn't                    gonna give up, but it's all good.                    We goin' check Sis in first, 'fore I                    check in across the street.                    Sykes arrives at the reception counter when the elevators          open-- and Israel's Hookers, post-brawl bruised, bloodied          and barefoot, come staggering out.                    They slur insults at the security team, broken heels slung          over their shoulders, wigs misaligned, miniskirts mangled.          Sykes trades looks with Watters as if assessing something,          nodding almost imperceptibly to one another. Watters then          winks, something sexual there...it gives Sykes the shivers.                    The Hookers are surrounded by a horde of hotel staff and          summarily whisked away. Watters joins Sykes. The WOMAN          behind the counter checking Sykes in, looks up to see Watters.                                           WOMAN                    Will you be needing a room with two                    double beds?                                          SYKES                        (quickly)                    No, we're not together.                    Watters, a grin.                                          WATTERS                    C'mon baby, don't be shy.                                (MORE)                                                                                 42.                                          WATTERS (CONT'D)                        (to woman)                    Just one bed please.                        (beat, to Sykes smiling)                    Although if we sweat that one up, we                    goin' need some clean sheets.                        (As Sykes pulls away)                    C'mon Girl, you know I'm playing!                    Sykes looks uneasily at the counter woman, who keeps her          eyes locked on the computer in front of her.                                          WATTERS (CONT'D)                        (over her shoulder to                         the departing hookers)                    ..If ya'll let hoochie like that                    stay up in here, ya'll must be burning                    sheets by the ton.                    The woman just smiles that monstrously insincere "I'm here          to help!" smile, offering nothing in response.                                          WATTERS (CONT'D)                    You just goin' grin? Y'ain't goin                    comment on that, at all? Trampy ass                    skeezers, doin' damage they ain't                    even smart enough to see. That don't                    gall you at all?                        (beat, closer)                    Bitches like those are the same ones                    runnin' feminism right to the brink                    girl. Bitches like that the reason                    mafuckas don't take our species                    seriously. We jus' meat for male                    consumption, we jus' pieces a'ass                    and pussy, somethin' pretty in                    lipstick and eye liner can suck cock.                    Sykes, embarrassed, nudging Watters, knock-it-off...                                          WATTERS (CONTD) (CONT'D)                    Bitches like that make me weep for                    what could be-- if we could all,                    sisters everywhere, black, white,                    yellow and brown, put our shit down                    one time, unified front, the force                    of the female race, mobilized, moving                    as one...                    The woman, smile severely strained, the pro-feminist diatribe          falling on decidedly deaf ears. An awkward beat, then;                                          SYKES                    I'm gonna need a mini-bar key too.                                                                           CUT TO:                                                                                 43.                    A mini-bar being opened. A hand reaching in, extracting two          small bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey and a bottle of seltzer.                    INT. NOMAD HOTEL ROOM -- LOWER FLOOR                    The figure crosses the room, pouring the seltzer onto a towel.          He kneels down, dabbing a spot on the carpet, fresh spill,          deep red, indelible.. The seltzer doesn't bring it up. The          stain remains, smeared now but unmistakable...blood.                    The figure stands. In the bathroom behind him, we see a body,          male, late-50's, trussed up, hung by his feet over the tub          and bled out. The figure walks in, takes a Polaroid, turns          it upside down near the man's face and fires off a photo.                    He crosses back into the bedroom. The resulting photo is          tucked into the corner of a dresser mirror as it develops.          As the figure sits, WE PAN OVER TO REVEAL:                    LAZLO SOOT: world class assassin slash master of disguise.          The slowly developing polaroid depicts the same face that we          now see in the mirror. Soot touches up the putty and plastic          appliances on his face, smoothing, sealing...                    He takes up a small micro-cassette recorder, rewinds, pushes          play. A butler's uniform, steamed and pressed, hangs on the          door. He takes it down and begins changing into it.                                             LAZLO SOOT (ON RECORDER)                    --Keep calm.                    He glances over at the bed. The dead man's voice crackles          back over the recorder.                                          DEAD MAN (ON RECORDER)                    I am an employee, I-- I don't know                    wh-- they don't let me speak to h--                                          LAZLO SOOT (ON RECORDER)                    --Say your name. Then say "How can I                    be of assistance."                    Soot, back to the mirror, buttoning his collar, straightening          his cuffs, smoothing out the creases.                                          DEAD MAN (ON RECORDER)                    I don't understand.                                           LAZLO SOOT (ON RECORDER)                    I didn't ask for your understanding.                    I asked you to say your name, followed                    by the phrase "How can I be of                    assistance."                    Beat. Soot looks down at the Silencer-fitted 9mm pistol lying          on the vanity.                                                                                   44.                                             LAZLO SOOT (ON RECORDER)   (CONT'D)                    Last chance.                    A pause, then:                                          DEAD MAN (ON RECORDER)                    My name is Vitoli. How can I be of                    assistance.                                             LAZLO SOOT (ON RECORDER)                    Thank you.                    A muffled gunshot sounds. The recorder abruptly shuts off.          Soot, gazing at his reflection now, rewinds the recorder,          replays, listens, gauging the man's vocal patterns-- rough          Baltic accent, throaty warble, excessive smoke & booze          exposure, tracheal damage. Tough to match. He rehearses one.                                          SOOT                    My name is Vitoli. How can I be of                    assistance.                    He grimaces, grabs cigarettes off the bureau, lights, wails          smokestack, puffing three at once, bellows-like lungfuls--          He grabs an aerosol can from the same bureau, strafes the          back of his throat, pops the tops on the bottles of Jack,          kills them both, gags, sputters, recovers, adjusts himself.          Suddenly, the phone begins to ring. Soot stops, stares.                    After another ring, he lifts the receiver,                                          SOOT (CONT'D)                        (into phone, cautious)                    This is Vitoli. How can I be of                    assistance.                    Hugo Croop's voice booms from the earpiece.                                          HUGO                    Answer your fucking pages! I've                    been calling for fifteen minutes, we                    need you up here to clean NOW!                                          ISRAEL (V.O.)                    That's right! RIGHT NOW!                                                                              CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE -- NOMAD HOTEL & CASINO -- MORNING                    Israel, sequestered to his bedroom, lying on a baby-grand          piano, its legs inexplicably sawed off during the previous          night's hedonism. In his hands, the de riguer deck of cards,          restlessly shuffled and reshuffled...Cocaine has been lovingly          cut and arranged in neat, snortable rows atop the piano.                    In the b.g. we see HUGO on the phone to Vitoli/Soot.                                                                              45.                                          ISRAEL                    They're gonna give on this in the                    next ten seconds or the deal's off!                                          MECKLEN (O.S.)                    I dunno what to say to you sweetheart,                    it is what it is.                                          ISRAEL                    Bullshit it is. I said, about as                    loud as I could say it, "no jail                    time for my guys."                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. FOUR SEASONS HOTEL -- WASHINGTON D.C. -- DAY                    Morris Mecklen, sleepless, sweat rings blossoming armpit to          waist. He picks at the plate of room service food in front          of him. A group of Feds and Fed lawyers linger in the b.g.                                          MECKLEN                    And they're not going give there                    pally. They're bricking us on that                    particular issue.                    Mecklen glances back over his shoulder, lowering his voice.                                          MECKLEN (CONTD) (CONT'D)                    Baby, I've been co-habitating with                    these people for the past thirty odd                    hours and in so doing, have stared                    into the face of hell. These are the                    premier prick cocksuckers of all                    time and I feel beaten by them, I                    feel bloodied--                                          ISRAEL                    --and you're gonna feel altogether                    fucked, by me, if you don't handle                    this. I'm the one, does the face                    plant, this falls apart, not you.                    Buddy's rubs his chest-- grimacing-- he lays back on the          piano, hoists a vial of blow, presses a nostril, does a bump.                                          MECKLEN (V.O.)                    And I vibe that kiddo, I do indeed,                    but it's one'a those fait accompli                    things, you have to--                                           ISRAEL                    I don't have to do shit! Which                    includes cooperating any further                    with these motherfuckers until I get                    what I want!                                 (MORE)                                                                               46.                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                        (beat, considers,                         looks over at Hugo)                    Alright, fuck it, if we gotta hand                    'em somebody from our end and they're                    being hard-ons about it-- make it                    Hugo, him I don't mind. He needs                    that regimented thing that prison                    provides--                                          MECKLEN                    --Buddy, it's bigger than that, they                    want 'em all, Ivy, Beanie--                                          ISRAEL                    --this isn't a swap meet Morrey,                    they're getting Sparazza and the                    west coast syndicate, giftwrapped,                    now if that's not good enough--                    The Feds are signaling Mecklen back into the main room.                                          MECKLEN                    --Listen kid, let's not antagonize                    this any more. I got 'em backed                    down on the book and t.v. deals.                    They're agreeing to give you all the                    after tax profits, so you can come                    away with some chits and live                    comfortably. If we push this, they'll                    revoke your protective status, which                    nullifies any agreement you got with                    the government...Now that's mate and                    checkmate kiddo and once that happens,                    the shit'll start falling down around                    your ears, real fast.                    Buddy's head teeters back, bangs on the keys, sour chords,          thinking...thinking...He takes the deck, firing the cards up          in a perfect column above his head, snatching one random out          of the air with his right. He turns it over, looks...Joker.                                          ISRAEL                    Alright...do it.                    In the shadows at the far end of the room, tucked into the          midday shadows, Ivy listens as his boss betrays them all...                                          CARRUTHERS (V.O.)                    Israel just rolled.                                                                          CUT TO:                    EXT. TAHOE SKILLET" RESTAURANT -- MORNING                    The Feds, heading toward their car, Carruthers snaps his          cellphone shut.                                                                                 47.                                          MESSNER                    He's giving them up?                                          CARRUTHERS                    All of 'em. His entire entourage. I                    think we should move.                                          MESSNER                    Did the Justice lawyers sign off?                                          CARRUTHERS                    That's happening in about ten minutes.                    Israel's at optimum risk of flight                    right now, so we can't wait.                    They reach their car.                                          MESSNER                    What about the sheriff's task force?                                          CARRUTHERS                    Have them mobilized. I'll phone                    security and have the elevators locked                    down and stairwells secured. We                    need to keep Israel sequestered in                    that penthouse.                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR (V.O.)                    No, I'm sorry, the penthouse is                    currently under construction.                    INT. NOMAD HOTEL AND CASINO -- SECURITY ROOM -- DAY                    S.A. Gerald Diego, alias Pasquale Acosta, speaking   with "Bill"          SECURITY SUPERVISOR for the Nomad. Banks of video    monitors          surround them, displaying the various gaming areas   and VIP          floors...two of the screens are completely blacked   out.                                          ACOSTA                        (to Bill)                    Can I speak to you privately?                    The Supervisor nods, dismisses his staff, calls after one.                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    Gary, let's get our personnel up in                    the catwalk over twelve, that stickman                    has been acting odd and I don't like                    the rolls that table has been getting.                                            EMPLOYEE                    Got it.                    Acosta waits for the door to close, leaving only himself and          the supervisor in the room.                                                                              48.                                          ACOSTA                    It's gotta be tough keeping an eye                    on everything.                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    And everybody, all the time. Yeah,                    it's a chore.                    Acosta laughs, keeps it loose.                                          ACOSTA                    So, Bill, if I understand this right,                    you currently have your penthouse                    floor under construction?                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    That's correct.                                          ACOSTA                        (points to monitors)                    But with these down, doesn't that                    pose a major security concern if, as                    you say, you have to keep an eye on                    everything at all times?                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    Well, we were worried about dust and                    debris from the work being done                    ruining the cameras, so--                                          ACOSTA                    --so you shut them off?                    The Supervisor, quick to amend.                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    Yes, but no-- we have personnel                    stationed at both ends of that hall,                    twenty-four hours a day.                                          ACOSTA                    What kind of personnel?                                                                          CUT TO:                    The Nomad's crack unit, security staffers cum bodyguards:          The casino's version of a SWAT Team: Six ex-cop/military          types-- bowling buddies, brushcuts and potguts-- they carry          Colt .380 autos, religiously kept, strictly range-fired.                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR (V.O.)                    Right now? A six man security force,                    plus a member of our Butler staff.                    So seven men total.                    CUT BACK TO SCENE:                                                                                49.                                          ACOSTA                    You have a butler working that floor?                                                                          CUT TO:                    Vitoli, aka Lazlo Soot, stepping onto a lower-floor elevator,          pushing a service cart tucking the 9mm into his waistband.                    CUT BACK TO SCENE:                    The Supervisor sputters-- stammers, realizes he just slipped.                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    Uh-- well, yes, uh just in terms of                    the men up there now, my team, he's                    serving lunch and dinner and just                    doing general upkeep so--                                          ACOSTA                    So there are no guests staying on                    that floor?                    The Supervisor makes a big show of the headshake "no...."                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    No. None at present.                    Acosta grins, takes a step closer.                                          ACOSTA                    C'mon Bill...you've got some Sultan                    up there, one of your whales, big-                    spender, likes a lot of space, you                    cook up this "construction" thing...?                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    No, no, no. We've been looking to                    renovate that area of our hotel for                    some time now. The security team is                    only present to preserve floor                    integrity, due to the roof access.                                          ACOSTA                    Is your security team armed?                                           SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    Of course.   Yes.                                          ACOSTA                    And who has access to that floor?                    The Supervisor...something like suspicion in his eyes. The          secure "hotline" begins to ring. The Supervisor looks over          at the phone, then back at Acosta...the unflappable pro.                                                                                 50.                                          ACOSTA (CONTD) (CONT'D)                    Bill, listen, I can ask you now and                    you can answer me, or I can drag you                    up to San Francisco and depose you                    in front of a federal judge. Because                    that's where we're headed here.                    Bullshit, but it sounds good.   The Supervisor starts for the          ringing hotline.                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    I'm sorry, but I'm going to need to                    see your identification again. We're                    covering some sensitive material                    here and I need to safeguard myself,                    I'm sure you can understand.                    Acosta, reaching into his coat.                                          ACOSTA                    Of course, but if you could just                    tell me who has access to that floor--                    The Supervisor touches a pass key that he wears on a chain          around his neck as he moves to answer the phone.                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    --I hold the sole pass key and                    personally relieve the shifts myself.                    Now if I could get your ID we can--                    --Acosta, coming out of his coat, fake ID in hand, the          supervisor reaching for it and the ringing phone          simultaneously-- suddenly a six-inch, spring-loaded stiletto          blade explodes from Acosta's sleeve, piercing the ID-- pinning          it to the Supervisor's chest.                    A surprised grunt from the man as blood begins to pour from          his punctured sternum. The blade retracts. The phone sits          trembling in the Supervisor's hand, --a voice-- Carruther's,          tinny and barely audible, warbles from the other end-                                          VOICE                        (over phone)                    Hello? This is Special Agent Donald                    Carruthers of the FBI, I need an--                    Acosta takes the phone from the stunned Supervisor, replacing          it on the console. The Supervisor, still confused by the          exchange, wanting to speak, but unsure of what to say...He          gazes down to the red blossom fanning across his shirt front.                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    Is...that...blood?                    Acosta pockets his ID as he yanks the pass key off the          Supervisor's neck. His natural accent returns.                                                                               51.                                          ACOSTA                    Yes it is and right now it's filling                    your lungs. In less than a minute,                    you'll asphyxiate and pass out. You                    shouldn't be feeling any pain now.                    The Supervisor's knees begin to buckle, nervous system slowly          shutting down. Acosta steadies him, easing him to the floor.                                            ACOSTA (CONT'D)                    Close your   eyes. Think of something                    wonderful.    Don't make this face the                    last thing   you ever see.                        (beat,   in Spanish)                    Heaven may   hold it against you.                    The Supervisor, unblinking, an almost childlike clarity there.                                          SECURITY SUPERVISOR                    ...Am I really dying...?                    Acosta, deadpan.                                          ACOSTA                    Bill--                        (out of respect)                    Willliam...                        (pause)                    We're all dying...                    Bill the supervisor almost smiles as he breathes his last          breath...Acosta checks for a pulse, then drags his body toward          a service closet. As he passes one of the video monitors...                    ...WE SEE ON-SCREEN: The Employee entrance, grave and swing          shifts on their way out, day shift on it's way in. Mixed in          with this personnel rotation, each doing his inconspicuous          best...The Brothers Tremor.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. EMPLOYEE ENTRANCE -- DAY                    Darwin, Lester and Jeeves, clad in full security attire,          standing apart so as not to appear together, heads down,          hands shoved into their pockets.                    Darwin bird-dogs both his brothers, monitoring their movement,          using hand signals and some bizarre inbred semaphore to          communicate with them. They pass through and punch in,          signing time sheets. The surrounding security staff oblivious          to the new faces. The brothers enter the lower floors, moving          through the hotel's fitness center and indoor pool.                    A kid does a cannonball as they pass as we...                                                                          CUT TO:                                                                                 52.                    A clouded bog-- coming to-- consciousness, then, retching,          gagged gasps, throat ablaze with bile, liquid clearing          convulsed lungs, breath in burning spasms-- not enough air.                    EXT. LAKE --DAY                    Elmore sits up in the sub-zero shallows of Lake Tahoe with a          start, stripped naked, shaking uncontrollably, his skin a          deep bruised blue. Dull pain quickly defines-- pinpoints,          bores in, bone deep...Death can't hurt this much.                    He gets his breathing under control, the onset of hypothermia          turning his fingertips black-- his left hand, lighter three          digits-- he looks, comprehension sparks but can't catch-- he          stares impassively at the ragged space, for the moment, he          doesn't seem to mind their absence. He gropes the side of          his head, bullet-graze, blood congealed by the cold, the          concussion he suffered has left a massive migraine behind.                    He crawls from the water, muscles cramping, knotting up. He          reaches the sand, unable to pull himself up any further. He          turns back, sees the bodies of Deeks and Dupree, face down,          the lazy lake tide gently lifting and lowering them...                                          MESSNER (V.O.)                    Double homicide, gunshot vics, both                    of 'em dumped in the lake. That's                    where the Sheriff's task force is.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. CAR -- DAY                    Carruthers and Messner, hectic, speeding through the south          shore of Lake Tahoe, cellphones pinned to their ears.                                          MESSNER                        (back into his phone)                    Deputy, have you made any ID's?                                          CARRUTHERS                        (cups phone, to Messner)                    Get a coroner's estimate too.                        (back into his cell)                    --Miss, I've been transferred and I                    was disconnected. No one is answering                    and I need someone from security to                    pick up that line. It's urgent.                    Messner, nodding as he listens.                                          MESSNER                    Dep-- Deputy, I'm going to put you                    on speaker, I have Agent Carruthers                    in the car with me.                        (beat to Carruthers)                    You need to hear this.                                                                              53.                    Messner clicks over, the deputies voice fills the car.                                          SHERIFF DEPUTY                    --nd have a pending ID on a Jack                    Dupree, appears to be a bondsman out                    of Las Vegas. He was just rolled                    and printed by our medical examiner.                    Messner and Carruthers trade looks.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Was there anything recovered?                                          SHERIFF DEPUTY (O.S.)                    We found a handwritten receipt in                    his pocket for what looks like uniform                    rentals. The name and phone number                    of the rental house wasn't listed,                                          MESSNER                    What kind of uniforms?                                          SHERIFF DEPUTY (O.S.)                    Receipt wasn't specific, the uniforms                    were just listed as maroon in color.                    Carruthers mashes the floorboard, brakes smoke, power swerve,          slicing the rented Taurus across four lanes of traffic.                                          MESSNER                    Alright, deputy, we'll be there as                    soon as possible, until we arrive, I                    need you to limit physical access                    and restrict movement to and from                    the crime scene. Clear?                    Messner clicks off.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Maroon uniforms?                                          MESSNER                    Yeah. Have you been able to get                    through to the Nomad's security?                                          CARRUTHERS                    No.                        (beat, decision)                    I'm going over there. You take the                    car from there, get out to the lake.                    Carruthers pushes 110mph, barreling toward the Nomad, blowing          through traffic-- Both men pull out IFB/earpiece apparatus,          plugging in, checking their signals.                                          MESSNER                    You going up to the Penthouse alone?                                                                              54.                    Carruthers pulls a .45 from his holster, driving with his          knees now, he jacks the slide, checks for a chambered round.                                           CARRUTHERS                    Yeah.                    The slide releases--                                          SYKES (V.O.)                    That's a bad move.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. NOMAD HOTEL SUITE -- DAY                    Sykes, stowing a Glock 9mm, tweaking the earpiece/mic combo          she's wearing-- getting primped, leather mini-skirt, lace          garters, thigh-high platform boots; hooker de coutage.                                           WATTERS (O.S.)                    Why?                                          SYKES                    'Cuz we don't need to draw any more                    shit down on our heads. We hit                    whoever's between us and Israel. I                    don't want to dead the whole floor                    and I don't want to be killing women                    no matter how they make a living.                                          WATTERS                    Wait, I'm getting some fucked up                    feedback off that earpiece--                    Sykes pulls her earpiece, adjusts something, re-inserts it.                                           SYKES                    Better?                    WHIP PAN TRANSITION TO:                    INT. HORIZON HOTEL AND CASINO -- SAME                    The Hotel just across the street from the Nomad. Watters on          a headset, talking to Sykes, looking out the window.                                           WATTERS                    Much.                    On a room service tray near Watters; scanners monitor calls          and in-house transmissions within The Nomad.                                          SYKES                    What are you hearin' right now?                    Watters adjusts one of the scanners, searching for a signal.                                                                                 55.                                          WATTERS                    Nuthin', we cool. There was somethin'                    about a fed being in the building.                    INTERCUT BETWEEN THE TWO                                           SYKES                    A Fed?   Like FBI?                                          WATTERS                    It's just a little casino inspection,                    don't trip, he's alone.                        (beat, then)                    Alright, let's set this spinnin'...                    Sykes checks her reflection, makes sure her holsters aren't          peeking out, weapons adequately conformed to her curves.                                          SYKES                    When them tricks hit the lobby, holla                    at me and I'm gonna meet them on the                    way up, blend in. Once I get inside,                    I'mma put m'Nina to Israel's head                    and back out hot. Anybody's fucks                    with that program, y'break 'em off.                    They get gully--                                          WATTERS                    I'mma grip and rip girl.                        (holding up a red-                         tipped bullet)                    I got some handloads here ready to                    cut heads.                                          SYKES                    Jus' remember, this is more rescuin'                    shit than rampagin' shit...What are                    you shootin'?                                          WATTERS                    ...Girl, y'know I had to bring big                    mamma through.                    PULL BACK TO REVEAL                    A .50 Caliber sniper-rifle on a tri-pod, jutting just past          the window, zeroed ut on the Penthouse level of the Nomad.                                          SYKES                    You got the fifty up? Bitch y'tryin'                    t'take down a jumbo jet? Blown the                    moon out the sky? T'fuck you wanna                    get that grimy?                                          WATTERS                    The try t'wild out on my boo and                    it's on and crackin'! I'm layin'                    niggas out.                                                                              56.                                          SYKES                    Damn, this kevlar ridin' up on me, I                    wish they made this more sheer.                    Watters puts her eye to the scope, scans, finds SYKES in          the crosshairs across the way, adjusting her outfit. Watters          settles on her, watches...something vaguely creepy about          this bit of voyeurism. She nuzzles the Barrett close.                                          WATTERS                    Mmmm. I tell you, I snuggle up with                    big girl here and my pussy start                    t'drip.                    Sykes grimaces.    Watters sees it, smiles to herself.                                          WATTERS (CONT'D)                    ...So you heard from Keith? He still                    fuckin' with that 'lil light-skinned                    girl?                                          SYKES                    I ain't tryin' to break a sweat for                    that sorry ass nigga.                                          WATTERS                    He a dog babydoll. He a great dane.                    I tried to tell y'after ya'll first                    date. He hit that ass one time, his                    interest in a bitch start t'landslide.                                          SYKES                    You know I burned all his shit. All                    that vinyl. Chalamar, Funkadelic,                    I burned his turntables too. They                    was like three-thousand brand new.                                          WATTERS                    Fuck that nigga. Let him go woof on                    some other scrub. We got one another,                    s'all the love we're ever goin' need.                    Sykes says nothing for a moment, Watters just watches her          through the crosshairs, her finger idly flicking the trigger          in a strangely perverse gesture. Finally:                                          SYKES                    Girl, lemme ask you somethin' and I                    want you t'tell me straight up, since                    I got my suspicions and y'know I                    ain't one t'talk circles...you gay?                                            WATTERS                    What!?                                          SYKES                    Ain't nuthin' wrong wit' it.                                                                                  57.                                           WATTERS                    Damn!   Why you trippin' like that?                                          SYKES                    --I don't know, I feel like you always                    pushin' up on me, gettin' close and                    I love you baby, in every way you                    can love a bitch, 'cept that one.                                          WATTERS                    I ain't even goin' dignify that.                    You my road dog. We threw up sets.                        (beat, lets it sit)                    Plus you stank.                                          SYKES                        (laughing now)                    Fuck you.                    Watters spots something outside, grabs a pair of binoculars,          looks down...BINOCULARS P.O.V.: Four obvious CALL GIRLS          disembarking a taxi, mylar-colored micro-minis, fuck-me heels,          cheap shoulder bags. They smoke, laugh, chit-chat.                                          WATTERS                    Alright girl, the ho train has                    arrived. Four of 'em.                    Sykes, grabbing her bag, dropping spare clips inside and          starting for the door.                                          SYKES                    ...I'm on my way out, I'm just gonna                    hang in the hallway until they start                    up in the elevators.                    Watters loads a red-tipped round into the breach of the Fifty.                                          WATTERS                    Just get in there and do your thing                    baby...mamma gots you.                    SNAP ZOOM ON BULLET as she slams the action forward, loading          the round WE SMASH CUT TO BLACK.                    ...Dial tones over black.   A phone rings. A voice answers.                    FADE UP ON:                    A reel-to-reel machine activates, begins to record-- A sticker          on the pick-up spool reads: "PROPERTY OF THE F.B.I."                                                                           CUT TO:                    MONTAGE                    The players take their places. Over these images WE HEAR:                                                                              58.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    Buzzy...Buzz...?                                            PADICHE (V.O.)                    Yeah...Sid?                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    Right, you got clicks, anything?                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    Nah, nuthin' on my end--                    Vitoli, aka Lazlo Soot: arriving at the Penthouse level,          exchanging nods with the security team, pushing his service          cart out of the elevator and down the hall, through a metal          detector, which goes off. Vitoli/Soot shrugs, gestures to          his stainless steel cart. The security team wave him through.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    So how we lookin'?                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    Good. This thing's on track, looks                    like it's gonna get done.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    Fuckin' thrilled t'hear it. So the                    scout, the sitdown, y'musta felt it                    from 'em then huh?                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    Cold blood Sid, dead eyes, y'know?                    Pasquale Acosta: Now wearing the nametag of "Bill" the          recently deceased Security Supervisor. He buttons his red          blazer, hanging the penthouse pass key around his neck as he          moves through the lobby, carrying a small briefcase.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    That's what we're countin' on. What'd                    they say when you went for specifics?                    The Tremor Brothers: Duffel bags straining with the horrible,          shit inside. They move toward a service elevator, swapping          pill bottles, downing overdose amounts, repeating "Mein Kampf"          recitations as they push the elevator's call button.                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    Lil' cagey, y'know, don't like t'share                    trade secrets, that type'a thing.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    Okay-- yeah, I can, I respect that.                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    How are we on time...?                                                                               59.                    Hollis Elmore: Frantically ringing the alley delivery doorbell          of a local Souvenir Shop-- naked, frozen, delirious, near-          death, he has dragged himself there.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    Well, I'm hearin' the Swede's been                    dispatched, he's flying so--                                          PADICHE                    Well, uh-- damn, alright, so he's                    headed in, does that-- where does                    that leave us?                    Agent Messner: Watching as the bodies of Dupree and Deeks          are hauled from the lake by Sheriff's personnel. He walks          the shoreline, searching for clues, on his cellphone, trying          to reach Security at the Nomad.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    --in a foot race right now. Really                    a matter of who out hustles who,                    y'know...                    Agent Carruthers: Plugging in his headset as he reaches the          front of the Nomad, leaping out, rushing inside, holstering          his gun for the moment.                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    So we gotta get t'Israel pretty quick                    for this to fly, yeah? I think?                    Georgia Sykes; Pulling a small revolver from her garter-          holster, annoyed, rubbing the chaffed area, reaching the          elevator, leaning back against the wall, waiting.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    Basically-- it'd really be the best                    thing right now, yeah. Can't give                    up the ship now Buzzy--                    Sharice Watters; Her eye going to the rifle-scope...she makes          subtle adjustments to the targeting-ring-- P.O.V. -- Israel's          penthouse sits in the crosshairs. We see a figure, just          beyond the glass...a shimmering shape, moving within.                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    --No, no, not when y'can see the                    shore. I hear ya.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    Okay, well, y'know, then we just                    gotta get Israel.                                          PADICHE (V.O.)                    I'm working on it.                                          SERNA (V.O.)                    Bag this fucker Buzzy.                                                                                60.                                            PADICHE (V.O.)                      It's gettin' done Sid.                    Watters tracks the figure-- finger finding the trigger as we          SMASH CUT TO:                    BLACK                    FADE UP ON:                    CAMERA DOLLIES IN ON -- Primo Sparazza, bedridden, blinking          at the nothingness around him...a life on its last legs...a          dying man determined to outlive his last enemy...Buddy Israel.                                                                          FADE OUT:                    FADE IN UP ON:                    FBI   Director Locke, receiving a CONFIDENTIAL package, signing          for   it, tearing it open, reviewing the paperwork inside.          The   color drains from his face, casting him cadaver-like.          His   phone rings, he quickly snatches up the receiver.                                            LOCKE                      ...Yes? Yes sir...I'm looking at it                      now...what does this-- mean exactly?                          (long pause)                      ...What?                          (longer pause)                      ...Good God...                          (back down at paperwork)                      ..Good God...                          (shell-shocked pause)                      No, the two of them attached, Agent's                      Carruthers and Messner. I'd like to                      notify them immedia--                    Locke is cut off sharply, listens...as he does, he pulls his          personal Primo Sparazza file from a separate pile, flips          through, Finds a sheet, extracts it...it's a copy of the          paternity suit, brought against Sparazza in 1967. He reads...                                            LOCKE (CONT'D)                          (still on phone)                      Understood Sir...They won't be                      contacted...I'm leaving now.                                                                            CUT TO:                    EXT. TAHOE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -- DAY                    A learjet touches down. THE CAMERA TRACKS, FINDING: Dr.          Gill, at a payphone, the cacophonous racket of taxiing          aircraft forcing him to repeat every other sentence.                                            DR. GILL                      I'm here, where's the car?                                                                              61.                                          ISRAEL (O.C. OVER PHONE)                    I sent Hugo, he should be there!                    Gill looks around.                                          DR. GILL                    Well I don't see him.                    P.O.V. -- CAMERA PANS AROUND WITH HIM...                                          GILL                    Should I take a taxi or what?                                          ISRAEL (O.C. OVER PHONE)                    No, wait there. He'll be there.                    ...AS WE FIND:                    EXT. TAHOE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -- TARMAC -- SAME                    A learjet unloading passengers-- The Swede steps down off          the plane, dressed as we last saw him, carrying the same          black leather valise. He's accompanied by two Sparazza thugs          who quickly escort him to an awaiting car.                    The Swede looks over, sees Gill at the payphone...The two          seem to acknowledge one another as the Swede quickly climbs          into the car and closes the door--                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE -- DAY                    A door opens-- revealing Vitoli the butler, aka Lazlo Soot,          standing behind it. He's with one of the SECURITY TEAM          MEMBERS; waxed mustache, polo-shirt, gut sucked in.                                            MUSTACHE                    Here he is.                    Beanie, glaring at both of them.                                          BEANIE                        (to Mustache)                    Why you always gotta be announcin'                    this fool like he some mafuck'n                    muckamuck!? What, 'cuz he got an                    accent, y'goin' treat this cracker                    like he don't be scrubbin' toilet                    seats!? Nigga please!                        (beat, to Vitoli/Soot)                    Speakin' of scrubbin'-- where the                    fuck you been? I know Hugo been pagin'                    you like a mufucka--                                          SOOT                    --my name is Vitoli, how can I be of                    service.                                                                              62.                                          BEANIE                        (annoyed)                    I know your name man! What's wrong                    wit'chu!?                        (back to Mustache)                    Why you standing there fool? You                    make your money watching the hall.                    Get y'eyes back where they belong!                    Mustache nods. Beanie slams the door on him. Soot, inside          now, scanning, making split- second evaluations-- what's-          where, who's-where, he picks up voices from the master bedroom--                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE -- MASTER BEDROOM -- DAY                    Clothing everywhere. Israel's top dollar wardrobe, designer          suits, wadded up into balls and stuffed into a garment bag.          He's doing more cocaine, talking to himself, babbling the          classic addict's "don't-worry-it'll-to-be-alright" monologue.                                          ISRAEL                        (calling)                    IVY! Why isn't Hugo at the airport!?                    It's a fifteen minute trip!                    Ivy, his menace gone malignant, quietly stepping out of the          shadows...Israel has no idea that he's been there all along.                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                        (turning back to Ivy)                    Well what the fuck!? I got the Doc                    in town, I need him here! Call Hugo,                    find out where the car is!                    Ivy doesn't budge, just stands there, staring hard.                                          IVY                    So what'd Mecklen have to say?                    Israel stiffens, board-straight, the guilt goosing him. Ivy          turns the burners slow.                                          ISRAEL                    They're getting close. It's down to                    a handful of deal points now.                                          IVY                    But it's all good right?                    Israel almost chokes on his own smile, nodding.                                          SIR IVY                    So we're all traveling together,                    getting sworn, giving our statements--                    Israel starts zipping up some of his bags.                                                                                 63.                                          ISRAEL                    --I dunno the way it's gonna play                    out, but-- yeah, it'll probably go                    something like that.                    Ivy unbuttons his coat. A .50 Cal rides in his shoulder-rig.          Israel averts his eyes. Ivy lets the moment load up...then;                                          SIR IVY                    You believe in loyalty, don'tcha?                        (pause, then)                    'Specially the kind of loyalty where                    an otherwise sensible motherfucker                    puts his own best interests aside to                    selflessly serve another. 'Cuz outside                    a goddamn dog, that kinda loyalty,                    my kinda shit, don't get any more                    dedicated, or deep, or devout...                    Israel, unnerved now-- spots a small handgun sticking out of          his bag. He covers it with the bedspread, looking up at Ivy.                                          ISRAEL                    ...what are you tryin' to say?                                          CARRUTHERS (V.O.)                    What I've been saying. Get me your                    head of security right now.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. NOMAD HOTEL AND CASINO -- LOBBY -- SAME                    Carruthers, bracing the same Casino Employee Acosta braced          earlier. College kid, patch-acne, panic-stricken, stammering,          struggling, a phone stuck to his hand--                                          CASINO EMPLOYEE                    --I don't-- it's just-- I can't reach                    him. He's not picking up the extensio--                                          CARRUTHERS                    --I know that. Which floor are they                    on?                    The kid's skittish gaze shifts, locking on a figure moving          through the lobby.                                          CASINO EMPLOYEE                        (with great relief)                    Wait-- He-- there, that's one of our                    guys ther--                    Carruthers breaks off, moving for the man in the maroon jacket          heading toward the elevator. He reaches him, puts a hand on          his shoulder.                                                                              64.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Excuse me, sir.                    The man turns...His nametag reads "Bill."                                             BILL/ACOSTA                    Yes.                    Carruthers badges him.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Special Agent Donald Carruthers.                    We've got a situation developing                    here in your hotel.                    Acosta has fully assumed the identity of the murdered security          supervisor. The pimply kid at counter eyeballs him, confused.          Acosta steps behind Carruthers, blocking himself from view.                                          BILL/ACOSTA                    How can I help you?                    Carruthers leads him toward an awaiting elevator.                                          CARRUTHERS                    I need to get to your penthouse level                    immediately, I also need every other                    elevator with access to that floor                    evacuated and locked down.                    They step into the lift.                                          BILL/ACOSTA                    Is this an emergency?                                          CARRUTHERS                    Let's hope not.                    The elevator doors close behind them as we...                                                                          CUT TO:                    Elevator doors open to reveal: The Tremor Brothers, vibrating          at varying speeds, pharmaceutical stares, simultaneously          sharp and dull. Georgia Sykes stares back, bad vibes trickle          up her back. She holds a moment. Doesn't board.                                          SYKES                    I'm going down.                    Darwin looks her over, lecherous grin.                                             DARWIN TREMOR                    Bet'chu are.                    He mimics a blowjob, treating her like the hooker he thinks          she is. Sykes wants to shoot him in the face. Lester and          Jeeves oogle her as the doors begin to close.                                                                                 65.                    Darwin smiles wide and lewd. Sykes kisses her middle finger.                                          SYKES                    ...Faggot-ass redneck...                    Darwin's smile turns scowl as the elevator doors slide shut.                                          WATTERS                    What'd you say?                                          SYKES                    Not you. Some assholes on the                    elevator...are these bitches on a                    permanent smoke break or what? Why                    the fuck they call'm "working girls."                    Watters grabs her binoculars; sees the four prostitutes snub          cigarette butts and start to head inside.                                          WATTERS                    Alright, the ho train is exiting the                    station. They're coming to you...                    Sykes waits a beat, then reaches for the call button to signal          another car. WE FOLLOW HER FINGER to the "up" button and--                                                                          CUT TO:                    A blackened fingertip, trembling, barely enough force behind          it to hold a delivery bell button down.                    EXT. "LAKEY'S SOUVENIR SHOPPE" -- DAY                    Hollis Elmore, hypothermia-ravaged, racked by seismic-like          seizures, body temperature terminally low. The delivery          door is flung open and A KID of about twelve stands there;          cross-eyed, coke-bottle eyeglasses, shirtless, wearing a          rising-sun head-wrap and karate Gee. He says nothing.                                          ELMORE                        (sputtering)                    Hel-- I-- ambula-- pleeeeee--                    --Elmore collapses-- consciousness strains, snaps-- he blacks          out as his jaw collides with the concrete--                                                                          CUT TO:                    --As Dupree's bagged corpse is hefted onto a coroner's gurney          and wheeled into an awaiting ambulance. Deeks' body follows.                    EXT. LAKESIDE -- DAY                    The parking lot teems with local news trucks. Passerby's          crowd the police line. Messner is on his cellphone, incensed,          confused. A Sheriff's DEPUTY flanks him.                                                                             66.                                           MESSNER                    No, no clarify. What is "an emergency                    requisition of surrounding personnel?"                        (beat, listens)                    Within one-hundred mile radius,                    understood-- Sacramento, Reno, Carson                    City. So in less than an hour, we're                    going to have anywhere from forty to                    fifty odd field agents arriving,                    without the slightest inkling as to                    why they're here. Is that correct?                    Am I misinterpreting that or--                        (listens)                    No, I'm not blaming any one person,                    this is Bureau directive. But Agent                    Carruthers is the SAC and he's out                    of cell range at the moment, so I                    can't contact him to--                        (listens, frustrated)                    Very well. I need to get Deputy                    Director Locke on the phone as soon                    as possible.                    One of the Crime Scene Recovery TEAM MEMBERS approaches,          hands Messner a printout. A faxed, blown up rendering of a          Nevada Driver's license...We recognize the face.                                            MESSNER (CONT'D)                    Who's this?                                          CS TEAM MEMBER                    Hollis Elmore, resident of Las Vegas,                    formerly with the P.D. there. He's a                    known associate of Dupree's.                    The CS Team Member holds an evidence bag aloft.                                          CS TEAM MEMBER (CONT'D)                    We found these washed up on shore.                    Messner takes the bag, gawks, can't quite make out the          contents.                                          MESSNER                    What are these?                                          CS TEAM MEMBER                    Elmore's fingers. Whorls are in bad                    shape from the frostbite, but we got                    a good pull for latents, positive                    ID.                        (beat, nod to bag)                    Those were shot off.                                          MESSNER                    Then we've got a third man missing.                                                                                 67.                    --Commotion close, Sheriff's task force members, hustling          past, hopping into cruisers, firing their sirens. A fifty-          something TASK FORCE CHIEF approaches Messner.                                          TASK FORCE CHIEF                    We've recovered their car.                                          MESSNER                    What car?                                          TASK FORCE CHIEF                    Dupree's rental. A Dodge Stratus--                    Picked up yesterday at a commuter                    airport in Reno, Nevada.                                          MESSNER                        (suddenly panicked)                    --Where's it at now?                                          TASK FORCE CHIEF                    In the parking structure of the Nomad.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. PARKING STRUCTURE -- NOMAD HOTEL -- SAME                    A crime scene unit already has the area cordoned off. Police          photographers circle the rental car snapping pictures as          uniformed units scribble license plate and VIN numbers.                    CAMERA PANS OVER TO REVEAL:                    A limo arrives, the Swede disembarks, black valise in tow.          A group of Sparazza henchmen surround him, spiriting him          toward a nearby stairwell, anxious to avoid the police.                    CAM CONTINUES PAN TO REVEAL:                    Doc Gill and Hugo, sitting in their car, a little leery at          the heavy police presence. Hugo takes up his cellphone.                                          HUGO                    Doc, I'm gonna tell 'em we're on our                    way up, make sure it's cool up there.                    Is there anything you need?                    Gill shakes his head "no" as Hugo dials. Gill retrieves his          own phone as he climbs out, dialing, moving to the trunk.                                          DR. GILL                        (into his phone, quiet)                    I'm going up now, give me ten minutes,                    that should be enough time to prep...                    He clicks off, Hugo is completely unaware of the call he          just made. Gill pops the trunk, removing his medical bag                                                                              68.                                          HUGO                        (still on his phone)                    C'mon, somebody answer...                    INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE -- SAME                    The phone rings, Beanie moves to answer it, tossing his balled          up Versace shirt to Soot/Vitoli.                                          BEANIE                        (looking back)                    That's a silk blend B, six-hundred                    and change an s'got vomit and bile                    and stomach contents all over it-- I                    ain't gonna tell'ya how t'get the                    mafucka clean, jus' put it right.                    Soot nods, unfurls a laundry tote, sticks the shirt inside,          hand moving within the bag--                                          BEANIE (CONT'D)                        (pointing to Israel's                         soiled jacket)                    Check the man's calf-skin coat too,                    he look like he got some cinnamon                    roll an' shit all over it--                    --Beanie, turning, reaching down for the ringing phone when--          THWAP-- something plunks him hard from behind-- he's knocked          forward by the force of the impact-- startled-- instinctively          slapping at that area-- thinking something stung him.                                          BEANIE (CONT'D)                    What the fuck!?                    He looks around, alarmed, head on a swivel, hand probing the          pain, not aware of the blood coursing from that spot,          streaming down his back...The phone continues to ring.                    Then Beanie hears the small metallic warble of something          rolling around on the floor behind him, gradually settling.          A sensation overtakes him...and he grows very still with it.                    He looks down at his hand for the first time...sees blood          there, reaches up with that same hand and finds the tattered          hole right above the base of his spine-- small wisps of smoke          drifting up out of the wound...He turns, numb...and sees          what looks like a spent shell casing, just ejected, coming          to rest on the tile...The phone continues to ring.                    His eyes track upward to Vitoli the Butler, holding a silenced          9mm-- aim still held...And that's when it dawns on Beanie...          ...He's just been shot in the head.                                          BEANIE (CONT'D)                        (almost to himself)                    Aw hell no you ain't just do that...                                                                              69.                    Three more soundless shots from the 9mm put a humane end to          these proceedings-- blowing Beanie's body over a sofa chair.          His three-hundred plus pound frame slides to an unceremonious          halt in the remnants of the shattered coffee table.                    Israel's calf-skin coat lies near Beanies dead body, a pool          of blood surrounding it, soaking through and all the while...          The phone continues to ring.                    INT. BEDROOM -- SAME                    Ivy and Israel, oblivious to what's gone on, fifty feet away.                                          SIR IVY                    What did you say to Mecklen?                    Israel looks from the ringing phone-- to the gun in his bag--          no good-- Ivy will kill him before he clears the bedspread.                                          ISRAEL                    That's probably him now...                                          SIR IVY                    ...See, this is one'a them rare                    moments when y'ass get a chance to                    be completely honest...and if I'm                    asking you what you said to Mecklen,                    assume the shit is rhetorical...so                    assume I already know.                    Ivy lets that .50 caliber hang like intimidation itself.          Israel looks over at the ringing phone, then back at Ivy.          He slowly withdraws the deck of cards from his robe pocket,          begins shuffling at lightspeed, firing them across his body,          left to right, right to left.                                          ISRAEL                    A set of skills, God-given gifts, I                    close my eyes.                    He does, snatching a card cold from the deck, turning it to          Ivy.                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                    King of Clubs...You pick up this                    deck, s'just playing cards, I pick                    up this deck it's a living, breathing                    thing. What do you see right now?                    You see exactly and only, what I                    choose to show you....That's illusion                    Ivy. That's the lie I tell your                    eyes. The manipulation of movement.                    Knowing where your gaze wants to go,                    guiding it there. Making the magic                    happen in that moment, that split-                    second, but seeing behind it, knowing                    it's all bullshit...Built on sand.                                (MORE)                                                                                 70.                                           ISRAEL (CONT'D)                         (cards flying crazy)                    I can show the Feds what they want                    to see too. And make it as real as                    this room. Make it more than smoke,                    more than mirrors...and that's why                    I'm valuable...and that's why you're                    not.                         (beat)                    I never wanted it this way.                    Israel, a card slipping from his sleeve, into his throwing          hand...Ace Of Spades. He keeps it cupped.                                          SIR IVY                    Oh you ain't done a damn thing can't                    be undone Playa. The dye ain't even                    close t'cast. Y'wanna make some                    shit real? No stage, no and lemme                    say this one time...                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. LEARJET -- DAY                    Locke, inbound to Tahoe with a detachment of D.C. Agents          accompanying him. He's examining contents from the          confidential package he received earlier: PHOTOS of a post-          op Primo Sparazza, plastic surgery shrink-wrapped, his face          swollen and deformed, dozens of photos, dozens of dates.                                          SIR IVY (V.O.)                    ...If you think old man Primo could                    twist your shit up...                    He scans the surgical reports, specific sentences and words          pop: "MALIOFACIAL DISORDER" "DEGENERATIVE BONE DISEASE"          "BULLET FRAGMENTS" He keeps reading...                                          SIR IVY (V.O.) (CONT'D)                    ...It ain't nothin' compared to what                    I 'bout to do here. Believe that.                                          ACOSTA/BILL (V.O.)                    I don't believe this.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. ELEVATOR CAR -- SAME                    "Bill" aka Pasquale Acosta, hitting a walkie-talkie against          his leg, checking for a signal-- faking the whole affair.                                          ACOSTA/BILL                    Battery's completely dead.                    Carruthers, behind him in the elevator, checking his cellphone--                                                                              71.                                          ACOSTA/BILL (CONTD) (CONT'D)                    Forget it, you won't get a signal in                    here. Have to wait.                    Carruthers, annoyed, stowing his cellphone.                                          CARRUTHERS                        (re: wall phone)                    Can't you use the line in here to                    contact your people.                                          ACOSTA/BILL                        (not missing a beat)                    No, these phones are hardwired                    directly to maintenance. Once we                    reach the penthouse, I can call down                    and have the system taken off-line.                    Carruthers, absent nods, anxious. Acosta/Bill, back to          futzing with his walkie-talkie-- going so far as to remove          the battery-- --And that's when Carruthers sees it...Bill's          fingers, flesh mottled at the tips, horribly scarred over--                    --something clicks --memories fire --photostrobic...                    FLASH CUT TO:                    The briefing in D.C., Supervisor Locke--                                          LOCKE                    Pasquale Acosta-- Mercenary-- "El                    Estrago"-- "The Plague"                    CUT BACK TO SCENE:                    Carruthers' expression goes black...                                          LOCKE (V.O.) (CONT'D)                    When he was caught by the SAS in                    Northern Ireland and imprisoned, he                    chewed off his fingertips to the                    bone before he could be printed and                    ID'd by Interpol.                    Carruthers stares at those fingers, backs against the wall,          hand moving slowly toward his waist-- suspicions pique.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Can't maintenance do that?                                          ACOSTA/BILL                    Do what?                    Carruthers unclips his belt holster.                                          CARRUTHERS                    Shut the elevators down.                                                                                 72.                    Acosta...sensing it...keeping his back turned.                                          ACOSTA/BILL                    An emergency shut down of our entire                    elevated lift system? No sir. That                    has to be handled by my staff.                    Carruthers gets a hand on the stock of the .45 on his hip.                                          CARRUTHERS                    How long have you worked here?                        (beat)                    Bill.                    A long, drawn silence...then, static emits from Bill/Acosta's          belt-- his walkie-talkie was working all along. Jig's up.                    Acosta spins back-- spring-loaded blade firing from his sleeve--          Carruthers clears his holster-- Acosta closes the gap-- blade          flashing, passing through Carruthers' hand, slashing tendons,          shearing bone, hot butter.--                    Carruthers screams-- grip gone, gun tumbling-- instinct kicks--          his good left hand hauls the .45 out of mid-air, clutches,          squeezes-- BLAM! Acosta's abdomen eats the blast, burps          blood-- Carruthers, a severed hand tucked under his chin,          held in place-- he extends, pulls, fires again-- Ricochets          clip overhead fluorescents, fixtures catch strays-- shatter--          glass filament explodes-- razor slivers rain down.                    Acosta, struck, slumping-- a silver automatic appearing from          his other sleeve, trigger finding finger just as the last of          the lights flicker and die-- A beat sustained-- just hard          breathing and fluid hitting the floor-- Everything goes stiff--                    --the two take silent aim in the pitch black and fire          simultaneously, blazing away-- emptying their weapons into          each other from inside three feet-- Gunblasts illuminate          ghoulish features, muted screams covered in gore...                    INT. NOMAD HOTEL -- UPPER FLOOR -- SAME                    Georgia Sykes, concerned, finger to her ear, picking up          something off her IFB earpiece: Muted gunshots, static-          scrambled ...it's the sound of Carruthers and Acosta, ending          one another's lives in the lift below...                                          SYKES                    Girl, you hear that!?                    INTERCUT WITH:                    INT. HORIZON HOTEL -- TOP FLOOR -- SAME                    Watters sweeps the penthouse level with her rifle scope.                                          WATTERS                    Are you anywhere near the penthouse?                                                                                 73.                                          SYKES                    No, but that definitely sounds like                    shots and I don't where it's comin'                    from--                                          WATTERS                    --It's your IFB, somebody else has                    got an earpiece, you're picking up                    their signal--                                          SYKES                    --I thought we had secure frequency.                    Aww girl, tell me this mafucka ain't                    goin' off right now.                    Watters hears something crackle over one of the scanners...          a transmission to Nomad security staff...                                          WATTERS                    ...Oh, fuck these fools...                    Sykes looks up to see the elevator has reached her floor.                                          SYKES                    What's wrong?                                          WATTERS                    Security's locking down the elevators.                    Sykes looks at the elevator doors in front of her as we...                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. ELEVATOR CAR -- SAME                    The Tremor Brothers, waiting arrival on the penthouse, armed          to the teeth, each one tethered with an array of pistols,          rifles, knives, hatchets, hacksaws; the tools of their trade;          to be implemented in the most godless manner imaginable.                    Muzak drifts in over the speakers, when suddenly the car          lurches, cables catch, brake boxes shriek and the elevator          car comes to abrupt stop. The Brothers exchange looks as          power is cut and they are plunged into darkness...An emergency          recording sounds from the elevator's ceiling speaker.                                          WOMAN'S VOICE                    Please remain calm...Elevator service                    has been temporarily suspended and                    will resume momentarily...                    The recording defaults into a maddening loop...then, the          sounds of someone unzipping a bag in the dark, hands moving          objects around, metal clanks off metal as the bag is rummaged.          A brilliant flash, hot white to iridescent red as a road          flare is struck, showering Darwin Tremor with a deluge of          sparks as he holds it aloft.                                                                              74.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    Les' get at it then.                    Lester and Jeeves, effortless aplomb; the speed and dexterity          of a seasoned pit-crew. Lester pulls a torque wrench from          the bag, pops the panel bolts on the elevator's power box          and strips the electrical wiring in seconds--                    Jeeves removes a gas-powered generator from their Mary Poppins-          like carry-all carpet bag. He primes the pump, yanks it to          a sputtering start and feeds the AC lead to his brother.          Lester takes it, locates the service override conduit and          ties in. Darwin admires this deft display of skill from his          idiot brethren. As the elevator's power cycles back on we...                                                                       ...CUT TO:                    INT. BATHROOM -- DAY                    Light switch flipped on, revealing the shrunken, shriveled,          fetal-like form that is Hollis Elmore being carried by MARGIE          TURLOCK, 63, part-time RN, full-time souvenir shop owner. A          substantial, tank of a woman, Margie manhandles Elmore,          dropping him into a lukewarm bath, brimming with grey water.                                           MARGIE                    Okay sweetie, now I'm a registered                    nurse and this was my bath not a                    half hour ago, so it ain't as hot as                    it could be, but we're gonna get you                    all toasty warm in no time--                        (beat, to boy)                    Warren, Warren-- go on an' get grandma                    her hot blanket and her heating bag,                    the one in there under the sink in                    my bathroom.                    Warren sniffs, licks lovingly on an ice cream sandwich, but          never bites it.                                             WARREN                    Slower Nana.     Talk slooooooeerrrrr.                    Margie indulges her grandson, no end.                                          MARGIE                    Okay Shug...Grandma needs you to go                    in--                    --Warren begins to smile, a snarl of misshapen yellow teeth,          smeared with chocolate, bracketed by chrome-colored braces.                                          MARGIE (CONTD) (CONT'D)                    Oh, you little foxy, trying to fool                    your Nana! You heard me didn't you!?                                (MORE)                                                                                  75.                                          MARGIE (CONTD) (CONT'D)                        (beat)                    Now Boogie, Grandma needs her big                    helper boy now, go on an' get those                    things and grandma'll rub your feet!                                          WARREN                    My karate feet? My crazy Karate                    kick feet!!                    Warren puts the ice cream sandwich in his mouth and begins          hopping up and down, kicking, striking the wall with great,          disturbing ferocity. Margie cackles at this.                                          MARGIE                    You little angel-butt! Grandma'll                    rub those feet forever!                    Elmore, struggling against imminent death, watching this          display with increasing dread. He scans the sink basin--          sees it lined with anti-depressants; Ritalin, Thorazine, etc          Warren keeps throwing hard roundhouse kicks into the wall.                                          MARGIE (CONT'D)                    Oh you silly-sil! Never mind,                    Grandma'll get it!                    Margie marches off and Warren immediately rushes over to          the tub, placing himself directly over the inert Elmore and          assuming a martial arts stance. He opens his mouth to speak          and the ice cream sandwich tumbles out, landing in the tub.                                          WARREN                        (barking out)                    Bow to your opponent!                    Warren bows before he squares up and begins methodically          delivering a "Kata" of punches and kicks...violently and          expertly snapped within millimeters of Elmore's face. Elmore,          helpless to raise his arms or defend himself, stares in horror          as the boy, his glasses beginning to fog and drip with          perspiration, works himself into a furious lather.                                          ELMORE                        (trying to speak)                    Pl-- kid, st-- stop...                    Elmore holds up his stump   of a hand,   pinky wagging in pathetic          plea-- no use-- Warren is   in a state   of unhinged, near-animal          frenzy-- his eyes wild, a   small, yet   prominent erection          beginning to poke through   his karate   gee...                    Margie returns to the bathroom, scolds her grandson.    He          squares up on her, feigning a blow to her face. She     clouts          him, hard backhand, big flabby arms restraining him,    hauling          him out of the bathroom. He bleats like a butchered     sheep.                                                                                76.                    Elmore, left alone, stark naked, shaking-- he turns his head,          gazing into the other room-- a newscast plays on the          television: A Reporter, lakeside, via live feed...standing          in the same parking lot where Deeks and Dupree were killed.                                                                          CUT TO:                    TELEVISION SCREEN                    We slowly DOLLY BACK, revealing a different room.                                          REPORTER (ON SCREEN)                    --the two men slain here earlier                    today as authorities speculate as to                    the apparent disappearance of a third.                    The names of the victims are being                    withheld, pending notification of                    family members, but Action Seven has                    learned that one of the deceased,                    identified as Jack Dupree--                    INT. HOTEL ROOM -- BLACKJACK INN -- SAME                    Rupert Reed, shit-faced off belts of straight scotch, a stack          of shot-glasses on his chest, gaped-jawed at the television.                                          REPORTER                    --was a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada--                    Reed lurches up, going for the phone, shot-glasses scattering,          scotch bottle upending, bouncing off the bed.                                          REED                        (to himself, dialing)                    ...holy shit, shit, shit...                                                                          CUT TO:                    TELEVISION SCREEN                    We slowly DOLLY IN now.                                          REPORTER                    We've also learned that Mr. Dupree                    was employed as a process server and                    bondsman for Draygo Bail Bonds and                    may have been in this area on a                    fugitive apprehension--                    INT. GAMBLER'S RAMBLE HOTEL -- SAME                    Victor Padiche, playing solitaire, one card frozen in his          hand as he watches the news.                                            PADICHE                    ...uh oh...                                                                                 77.                                          REPORTER                    A rental vehicle, registered in Mr.                    Dupree's name, has been recovered in                    the parking lot of the nearby Nomad                    Hotel & Casino...                                                                            CUT TO:                    INT. NOMAD HOTEL & CASINO -- PARKING STRUCTURE -- DAY                    Agent Messner arrives, flanked by shotgun-toting Sheriff's          deputies, local cops and Bureau field agents. They deploy,          cordoning off the scene, taking control.                    WE SEE Hugo and Doc Gill, ducking down, Hugo still has the          phone to his ear. As they approach a rear stairwell with a          door that reads: "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY: PENTHOUSE LEVEL"          two FEDS descend, chaining and bolting the door.                                          HUGO                    Shit...answer the fucking phone.                                                                            CUT TO:                    INT. NOMAD HOTEL -- PENTHOUSE -- SAME                    The phone is still ringing as Soot, Browning 9mm at his side,          stalks the voices coming from the master bedroom                                                                            CUT TO:                    INT. MASTER BEDROOM -- SAME                    Ivy, fingers brushing his gun grip, stares Israel down.                                          SIR IVY                    Y'ain't never had to wash another                    man's blood off, dig it out                    y'fingernails...Y'had us for that.                    Y'ain't ever made a real beef on                    y'own, shit as light in the ass as                    you are, I'll bet you ain't ever                    made anything more than a fuck'n                    fist your whole life.                        (beat)                    So if you think I'mma let your lil'                    punk-ass, with the dirt I've done                    for you, in the eleventh hour, sell                    me off like some fucking field nigger,                    hand me up to the Feds like y'last                    chip, then you done gone straight                    out-your-motherfucking MIND!                                          ISRAEL                        (nodding to phone)                    That's Mecklen. The deal's closing.                    I can pick that phone up and I can                    work this out.                                (MORE)                                                                                 78.                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                        (beat, for ffect)                    You'll walk with me.                    Israel readies the playing card behind his back, slips it          between his index and middle finger-- Ivy shakes his head.                                          SIR IVY                    All that slight a'hand you can do                    and you still ain't never learned to                    lie right--                    --Israel steps hard, slinging the Ace sidearm, sailing it          toward Ivy, surgical strike, right eye, blood bursting at          his browline-- Ivy goes down in a heap.                                          SIR IVY (CONT'D)                        (enraged)                    MOTHERFUCK! MOTHERFUCKER!                    Ivy, doubled over-- he drags the .50 cal from its holster          and lets fly-- FIRING. Big bore rounds rip right through          the wall, punching dinner-plate sized holes in the plaster.          Israel goes to the ground as Ivy, bleeding, blazes away--                    INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE -- ANTEROOM -- SAME                    --Soot takes cover as bullets whistle by-- he tucks the 9mm          away just as the doors to the suite are blitzed and the          security team stumbles in, guns drawn, grouped tight--                                          SECURITY TEAM                        (in unison)                    DOWN! DOWN! DOWN!                    They assume quasi-combat stances; six idiots, crab-crawling          their way across the room. Soot stays prone, plays scared,          realizes that his rubber appliance nose has come loose, tries          to adjust it-- can't, has to hide his face, burying it in          his sleeve, wiping more make-up off in the process--                    Mustache is on point, pistol trained.    He spots Soot cowering.                                           MUSTACHE                        (to Soot)                    Are you hit?                    Soot shakes his head a vigorous "no" as Mustache and his men          turn their attention to the bedroom.                                           MUSTACHE (CONT'D)                        (calling out)                    Mr. Israel!?                                          ISRAEL                    IN HERE!                                                                                 79.                                          MUSTACHE                    Are you hurt sir!?                                          ISRAEL                    Ivy's trying to kill me!                                          SIR IVY                    FUCK YOU!                                          ISRAEL                    GET IN HERE GODDAMMIT!                    Mustache and his men round the corner into the master bedroom.                    INT. MASTER BEDROOM -- SAME                    Ivy, down on one knee, depth perception shot, trying to          reload, bullets slipping through blood-slicked fingers--          Israel lies on the floor behind the bed, breathless, chest          heaving, frantically trying to pull the small automatic pistol          out of his overnight bag.                                          MUSTACHE                        (advancing on Ivy)                    Drop-that-gun-right-now!                    One of the bodyguards spots the body of Beanie, lying dead          in the remnants of the coffee table.                                          SECURITY MEMBER #1                    Jesus, he got Beanie...                        (back to Mustache)                    He shot Beanie!                                          ISRAEL                    What?                    Ivy hears this, let's the gun slide from his hand, standing,          eye swollen to a bleeding slit.                                          MUSTACHE                    GET ON THE GROUND!                    Ivy, looking past them, seeing Beanie's lifeless body, laying          there. Israel peers out, sees the same thing.                                          ISRAEL                    Jesus Christ...                    Two of the bodyguards rush to Beanie, bending over his body,          checking for vitals. Ivy, suspended in the doorway, stunned.          One of the security team looks back; no good...he's gone.          Just then, the phone stops ringing.                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                        (looking up at Ivy)                    ...you just murdered Beanie...                                                                              80.                    Ivy, shocked, dismayed. Israel, starting to see his sweetheart          deal with the Feds go up in smoke. He immediately mobilizes.                                                ISRAEL (CONT'D)                              (to Mustache)                       Hey!                           (pointing to Ivy)                       Get him out-- muscle him if you have                       to. Take him down the quietly, use                       the service exit. Then get back up                       here and we'll handle the rest of                       this.                           (off Mustache's look)                       What? Is there somebody else in                       there?                    Soot, from the other room, careful to keep his face concealed.                                                VITOLI                       Eees Vitoli.                    Israel, a grimace...two too many people involved. Israel          nods, thinking, does a bump of coke, right out in the open.                                             ISRAEL                           (to security)                       Avert your eyes gents, y'didn't see                       that.                           (beat, rolls neck)                       Okay Vitoli, listen these last few                       minutes make you a material witness,                       do you understand what that means?                                             VITOLI                       ...How can I be of assistance...                                             ISRAEL                       You do know what that means!                       Tremendous, that's the attitude.                           (beat, clutching chest)                       Alright, Vitoli, hang tight for half                       a tic, we've got a special sort of                       "clean-up" we gotta do here, alright?                    Soot nods.                                             ISRAEL (CONT'D)                           (to Mustache)                       What's he doing, is he getting this?                    Mustache, glancing over at Soot, seeing him nod.                                             MUSTACHE                       Yeah, he's nodding.                                             ISRAEL                       Good. Now Move.                                                                                 81.                    Mustache and his men brace Ivy, taking advantage of his          disorientation and dismay and swiftly escorting him out.                    EXT. PENTHOUSE HALLWAY -- SAME                    They amass around the elevator, taking care to double handcuff          Ivy now. Mustache pushes the call button. It fails to light.                                                                            CUT TO:                    INT. ELEVATOR CAR -- SAME                    Choked with generator and road flare smoke, lit like hell          itself. The Tremors stand at arms, shrouded in a miasmic          mung of horribly toxic fumes, filling their lungs with it.                    CUT BACK TO:                    INT. HALLWAY -- SAME                    Mustache hits the call button again, still nothing.   Yet          one of the lifts appears to be ascending                                          SECURITY TEAM                    Wait...one of 'em looks like it's on                    its way up...                                          MUSTACHE                    What about the other four?   Are they                    out?                    He keeps hitting the call button, but it won't light.                                          MUSTACHE (CONTD) (CONT'D)                    The hell is going on...                                          WATTERS (V.O.)                    ...Forget it, it's dead.                                                                            CUT TO:                    INT. HALLWAY -- FOURTEENTH FLOOR -- SAME                    Sykes, trying to pry the elevator doors open.                                          SYKES                    It ain't dead! Quit saying that                    shit!                    INTERCUT WITH:                    INT. HORIZON HOTEL -- TOP FLOOR -- SAME                    Watters pours herself a glass of Chablis from the mini-bar.                                                                                 82.                                          WATTERS                    Girl, I just saw muzzle flashes comin'                    out that suite. S'probably where                    you heard that shootin' earlier,                    somebody jus' downed Israel. He                    dead, our play is dead.                    Sykes, getting some separation on the elevator doors, pulling          her 9mm, using it like a crowbar.                                          SYKES                    I'm not givin' it up jus' yet...                                          WATTERS                    C'mon, I say we bounce now, kick it                    for a lil' bit, play some craps.                        (beat, probing)                    ...Maybe spend the night?                    Sykes, struggling, when the doors suddenly retract on their          own...She's staggered by what she sees in the elevator,          tripping back, heels catching, dumping her on her ass--                                          SYKES                        (just above whisper)                    ...oh...damn...                    She sits up, stupefied...cordite and pistol smoke drift out          of the open elevator doors like a funeral dirge. The sound          of a bone-saw emanates from within.                    INT. ELEVATOR CAR                    Carruthers and Acosta...wartorn, shot to hell, post-battle          standoff, just staring, weapons emptied, bodies bullet-          punctured, leaking life...both are breathing, but just barely.                                          WATTERS (OVER HEADSET)                    What is it...?                    Filament and glass dust cover everything. Blood streams in          steaming fissures, floating spent shell casings and          fluorescent shards cover the floor of the car.                    Acosta, clinging to life itself, clutching the whirring bone          saw, trying in vain to reach Carruthers. Sykes wades forward,          wary, Glock vise-gripped.                                          SYKES                    ...Shhhhhhit...girl, there's these                    two dudes, just sittin' here in this                    elevator, all shot up...                                          WATTERS                    What?                                                                                 83.                                          SYKES                        (beat, looking around)                    They musta been beefin' big time                    with one another, cuz this shit, got                    way past words, whatever it was.                                          WATTERS                    ...What are they doin' right now...?                    Sykes, glancing from Carruthers to Acosta. A beat.                                           SYKES                    Right now?                        (beat)                    ...Dying.                                                                           CUT TO:                    INT. "LAKEY'S SOUVENIR SHOPPE" -- KITCHENETTE -- DAY                    Elmore, seated, wrapped in quilts and heated blankets,          shivering horribly, lips blackened, flexing brittle fingers          on his good hand, trying to restore feeling, teeth clattering          like ten thousand tea cups. Margie Turlock enters, arms          loaded down, grandson Warren hot on her heels, a set of          Nunchukas under his arm...                    ...Elmore, palpable hatred, pure bile for the boy.                    Margie sets the assortment of goods down on the table in          front of Elmore; tourist-themed hats & sweatsuits from the          shop, a pair of thermals, a collection of pill bottles and          what appears to be an old Vietnam-era ammo box.                                          MARGIE                    So them fellas were your friends                    then? The ones that was shot and                    tossed into the lake? Were they police                    officers too?                    Elmore nods, rifling the pile in front of him, going for the          pills. Margie pulls a pot of coffee off the stove, pours a          mug. Sets it down in front of him.                                          MARGIE (CONT'D)                        (motioning to pills)                    Them was left over from my                    hysterectomy, so they're a few years                    old, might be outta date.                    Elmore eyes the labels; Vicodin, Vioxx...morphine-based.          Nice...Just numb it all.                                          MARGIE (CONT'D)                    You sure you don't want me to call                    an ambulance honey?                                (MORE)                                                                              84.                                          MARGIE (CONT'D)                    I think it's crazy you not going                    in...y'got what looks like hypothermia                    and real bad frostbite. They could                    wind up amputatin' if y'don't get it                    treated.                    Warren sits in the chair next to Elmore and begins mimicking          him, shaking epileptically, doing his doofus bit, tucking          three fingers away, waving a stump, belly-laughing...                                          MARGIE (CONT'D)                    Warren! Now you go and practice                    your nunchucks now, leave us be for                    a bit Shug.                    Warren scowls, getting up, in super-slow motion, making sounds          with his mouth as he stands, robotic whirs, buzzes, clicks--          Margie chuckles at her grandson, she can't help it--                    Then, in a blur, Warren snaps, abruptly slamming the nunchakas          on the table, the rebounding portion of the weapon almost          hitting Elmore in the face. He bolts the room before Grandma          can scold him, his titters echoing off like taunts...                                          MARGIE (CONT'D)                    ...M'sorry about that boy, his momma                    abandoned him going on a year now,                    his daddy, my boy Dale-- Gulf War                    vet, s'over in the Reno-Washoe                    Correctional facility-- got some                    "clarity" issues. He did some home                    invasion sodomy-torture type stuff,                    wrote a buncha bad checks, got hisself                    consecutive life terms-- shipped off                    to Soledad there in California.                        (beat, scribbles                         something down)                    --reminds me, I got that care package                    I need to send off--                        (beat, continues lament)                    Anyhoo, m'husband Bill took the                    coward's route, n'committed suicide                    by hangin' 'bout nine months back.                    Ever since then, little Boogie there's                    been the man'a the house!                        (beat, gnarled grin)                    And we make a darn cute couple I                    think!                    Margie, cackling again-- the facade of sanity showing serious          signs of strain...Elmore pulls the ammo box across the table.          Stenciled on the side: "177th Airborne Division -- Charlie          Company - Reckon" He cracks the lid.                                          MARGIE (CONT'D)                    I don't think that's been opened                    since my husband died.                                                                              85.                    Inside, army memorabilia and bric-a-brac; patches, service-          tags, dog-earred b&w polaroids, ancient titty mags, (which          make Margie horribly uncomfortable) Saigon bottled beer and          most importantly, a .357 Colt Python.                    Elmore lifts it, looks it over, feels the heft, drops the          chamber-- it's loaded. He sifts some more, palms loose bullets          at the bottom of the box. He cracks a blackened grin, rolling          the pistol's chamber and snapping it shut as we...                                                                          CUT TO:                    A padlock being locked and secured.                    CAMERA PULLS BACK TO REVEAL:                    INT. NOMAD HOTEL -- LOBBY                    Elevators and access doors locked down indefinitely. Casino          and hotel patrons file out in less than orderly fashion.          Craps players, pissed that their "hot streaks" have been cut          short, harangue police and sheriff's personnel in passing.          Barflys and blackjack habituates, accustomed to staying in          one spot for months on end, have to be manually removed.                    The four call girls, trying to argue their way past security          and onto one of the elevators, realizing they're not getting          anywhere near the Penthouse level. Messner coordinates the          Nomad's exodus, continually adjusting his earpiece, trying          to contact Carruthers, two agents flank him.                                           MESSNER                         (to agent)                    I want you to locate Agent Carruthers                    now.                         (beat, to another                          agent)                    The guests that aren't able to leave                    need to be confined to their suites.                    And under no circumstances are they                    to venture out, for any reason. Have                    the staff make calls to that effect.                    The pimply Casino Employee is at the center of an intensive          on-spot interrogation being conducted by a group of agents.          Messner arrives, stares at the kid.                                          MESSNER (CONT'D)                    This him?                                          FBI AGENT                        (nodding, then to kid)                    Alright Ricky, I want you to explain                    to Agent Messner exactly what                    happened and do it slowly please.                    The kid, head bobbing, gnawing fingernails, cuticles mangled.                                                                                86.                                          CASINO EMPLOYEE                    Yeah, ye-- I-- uh, there were,                    earlier, there was that guy Carrut--                                          MESSNER                    --Agent Carruthers. Do you know where                    is he now?                                          CASINO EMPLOYEE                    He uh-- he asked about-- I'm-- he                    wanted to know whic-- what floor                    security was on, then I saw him get                    on the elevator with the other agent.                                          MESSNER                        (quick, thrown)                    Wait a minute, what other agent?                        (beat, to others)                    What other agent?                                          FBI AGENT                    I have no idea. It wasn't anybody                    from our office.                                          CASINO EMPLOYEE                    He said he was from San Francisco.                                          MESSNER                    Did he give you his name?                                          CASINO EMPLOYEE                    Yeah, uh-- it was Spanish-somethin'                    Garcia, or Diego, uh--                                          MESSNER                        (to other agents)                    --run both those names through the                    D.C. database. Call San Francisco,                    see if they've got anybody in the                    field doing collateral inquiries for--                                          CASINO EMPLOYEE                    --he was wearing one of our jackets.                    Messner stops cold.                                          MESSNER                    Who?                                          CASINO EMPLOYEE                    The other agent. He said he was here                    to do an inspection and later, when                    he got on the elevator with the other                    guy, Carruthers, I saw him wearing                    one of our security jackets...                    Messner turns, bores in on the kid, no more bullshit now.                                                                               87.                                          MESSNER                    This man wearing the jacket identified                    himself as an Federal agent?                                             CASINO EMPLOYEE                    Uh, yeah.                                             MESSNER                    You're sure?                                          CASINO EMPLOYEE                    Yeah, he had the badge and everything.                    It said "FBI" on it.                                          MESSNER                    And when you saw him later, he was                    wearing one of your security jackets--                                             CASINO EMPLOYEE                    Yeah.                                          MESSNER                    And that didn't seem odd to you?                    The kid glances around, oops-- my mistake-- tries to amend.                                          CASINO EMPLOYEE                    I-- I mean, I thought they gave it                    to him so he cou--                    Messner turns on his heels, the other agents tag along.                                           MESSNER                        (addressing others)                    We may have a man posing as one of                    us. Get a tactical team assembled.                    We need to get to the penthouse level                    immediately.                                          FBI AGENT                    We'll have to power the elevators                    back up.                                             MESSNER                    Do it.                    As they move past the group of call girls, still arguing          with security as we...                                                                       ...CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE SUITE -- SAME                    Israel, sickly, face bloodless, sitting down on a couch,          setting the small handgun down on the table next to him. He          digs at his chest now, in considerable pain, rotating his          arm around, trying to rouse it.                                                                                 88.                                          ISRAEL                    Fucking things falling asleep...                    Israel gazes at Beanie's body, trying to figure out an          appropriate course of action.                                          ISRAEL (CONT'D)                        (over his shoulder)                    Vitoli, just sit tight for a second,                    I gotta make a phone call, figure                    this out...                    He takes out his cellphone, dialing Morris Mecklen. Soot          appears behind him, easing the 9mm out of his waistband and          resuming his stalk...ever...so...slowly.                                                                             CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE HALLWAY -- SAME                    Israel's security crew, surrounding a still-stunned Sir Ivy,          waiting on the lift. One of the elevators approaches. The          rest appear to be down.                                          BODYGUARD #1                    One of 'em on it's way up. This                    doesn't make any sense, what's wrong                    with the rest of 'em?                    Suddenly, the stairwell doors are flung open, revealing Hugo          and Gill. All guns whip simultaneously to that spot.                                          HUGO                        (hands up)                    Whoa, hey-- hey-- hold-up, hold-up,                    I got the Doc, easy...                        (beat, seeing Ivy)                    What's going on?                                          MUSTACHE                    Ivy tried to kill Mr. Israel and                    shot Mr. Alphonse in the process.                    He's dead.                    Hugo, thunderstruck.                                          HUGO                    --Beanie!? What? How did that happe--                        (beat, angry now)                    Ivy!?                    Ivy, ashamed, not looking up.                                          IVY                    Buddy was goin' jam us Hugo. He was                    gonna fuck us up with the Feds...                                                                                 89.                                          SYKES                    ...Wait a minute...This one's a Fed.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. ELEVATOR CAR -- FOURTEENTH FLOOR -- SAME                    Sykes, holding Carruthers' FBI credentials after patting him          down. She doesn't notice that power has been restored to the          elevator.                                          WATTERS (O.S.)                    What?                    INTERCUT WITH:                    INT. HORIZON HOTEL -- TOP FLOOR -- SAME                    Watters, trying to listen to Sykes, but concerned by the          sudden surge of activity from the police scanners.                                          SYKES (O.S.)                    Girl one of these fools has an FBI                    badge on him! Is this the one that                    was doing the inspection?                                          WATTERS                    Hold up, hold up, I'm getting shots                    over the scanners, tons of traffic--                    jus' chill for a sec, lemme listen...                    INT. ELEVATOR CAR -- FOURTEENTH FLOOR                    Sykes, pocketing the Carruthers ID. Behind her, Acosta          manages to move enough to cover the "Bill" ID on his jacket.                    Sykes turns back to him, moving over to his now still form--          blood drenched, barely conscious, eyes flittering like black          flies...she kicks the bone saw from his hand. It spins to a          gradual stop. She leans over him...the stiletto blade he          used to dispatch "Bill" and hack Carruthers digits off has          retracted back into his sleeve.                    Sykes begins patting him down, moving dangerously close to          that sleeve, her neck hovering right above that spot--                                          SYKES                    You jus' lay still, we goin figure                    out what the fuck ya'll were up t--                    She pulls Acosta's bogus ID...Gerald Diego: Federal Bureau          of Investigation.                                          SYKES (CONT'D)                    You ain't gonna believe this shit.                        (beat)                    Both these motherfuckers are FEDS.                                                                                 90.                    INT. HORIZON HOTEL -- TOP FLOOR -- SAME                    Watters shaking her head, monitoring scanner transmissions.                                          WATTERS                    No, no, no no-- one of 'em ain't--                    one of 'ems bullshit-- it's all over                    the air here, they got an impostor,                    some fool with a fake badge--                                                                             CUT TO:                    INT. ELEVATOR CAR -- SAME                    Messner, having commandeered an elevator-- his IFB earpiece          picking up interference-- distorted crosstalk, some sync of          some kind, voices, clipped, delineating, spiked with static:                                          WATTERS (OVER MESSNER'S IFB)                    --some fool wi-- a fake badge. So w-                    tch yours--f.                    Messner, finger in his ear now, listening hard, hand up,          quieting the rest of the car.                                          SYKES (OVER MESSNER'S IFB)                    What I got i- a Gerald D--go and a                    Donald Carruthers here...Now w--ch                    one of --'ll --s for real?                    As the car rises past the fourteenth floor, the signal          sharpens, crystallizes less than a second--                                          SYKES (CONT'D)                    'Cuz I'mma kill the one that ain't...                    Messner reacts--                                          MESSNER                    --STOP THE ELEVATOR!                                                                             CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE HALLWAY -- SAME                    The Elevator arrives with a "ding!" Mustache and his men          wait for the doors to open...heavy black smoke begins to          slowly seep through the cracks, rolling up and along the          walls, unfurling finger-like across the ceiling. From within          the elevator car itself, a pull engine sputters to a stall...                    A HEART BEGINS TO BEAT OVER THE SOUNDTRACK. A steady thrum,          building slowly...                                                                             CUT TO:                                                                              91.                    INT. PENTHOUSE APARTMENT -- SAME                    Israel on the phone, consumed by chest spasms. Soot, his          Vitoli visage now mangled beyond recognition; nose sheared          off, rubber chin and jaw prosthesis. He throws back the          tablecloth covering his service tray, takes an igloo cooler          off ice inside, pulls surgical tools from it-- scalpel,          forceps rib-spreader, etc., He arranges them pre-op style.          He removes a phone from his jacket, hits "Send" waits, says:                                           SOOT                         (cryptically)                     Three minutes.                    He reaches Israel, leveling the 9mm to his skull. Israel is          completely unaware as he clutches his chest, breath coming          in great laborious gulps. He's on the phone to Mecklen.                    INTERCUT                                            MECKLEN                     Buddy, they revoked the deal, they                     pulled it...                                            ISRAEL                     They what?   What? No.   No. Why?                                           MECKLEN                     The Deputy Director, this prick Locke,                     he smashed the whole thing, we're                     done, they won't tell me why...                    The doors to the suite open and in stride Hugo and Doc Gill.          Soot, gun raised, watches as both men look up and meet his          gaze.                    ...Nobody moves.                    THE HEARTBEAT CONTINUES.   Quickening...                    Hugo, a guarded step forward, squinting.                                            HUGO                     Vitoli?   What are you doing?                                           GILL                         (to Hugo)                     It's okay, it's okay Hugo...                         (beat, to Soot)                     Mr. Soot, I'm Doctor Gill.                    Israel turns back, sees this demented version of Vitoli aiming          at gun right in his face. Israel's breathing suddenly cinches          up tight, his pulse triple-timing. He turns back to Gill.                                           ISRAEL                     Doc-- y-- wha-- what is this?                                                                                 92.                    Hugo takes a step away from Gill, alarmed, his hand inch-          worming toward the gun on his waist...WE TRACK THE HAND as          it becomes--                                                                             CUT TO:                    --Agent Messner, reaching for his gun as the elevator arrives          at the fourteenth floor.                    INT. HALLWAY -- FOURTEENTH FLOOR -- SAME                    Messner and a heavily armed contingent of cops and fellow          feds exit the elevator, fanning out, quietly situating          themselves at the far side of the hallway with a clear line          of sight to the open elevator at the opposite end.                    HEARTBEAT ACCELERATES MORE                    INT. ELEVATOR CAR -- SAME                    Sykes, having heard the elevator arrive, leans against the          wall, gun up, listening--                    INT. HALLWAY -- SAME                    Messner, voice low, directing the tactical action.                                          MESSNER                    Two man cover formation, far end,                    the elevator is open, possible                    aggression inside, watch for fire--                    INT. ELEVATOR CAR -- SAME                    Sykes, hearing that last transmission simultaneously.                                          MESSNER'S VOICE                    --watch for fire...                    She glances down at Carruthers, sees his IFB in his lap,          realizes that's where the voice is coming from. Plugs it          into her ear.                                          MESSNER'S VOICE (CONTD) (CONT'D)                    Stay low, breach on my mark...                    Sykes, covering Carruthers' IFB, whispering into her own.                                          SYKES                    Shar...Fourteen, I'm pinched-- I                    need some heavy shit, fire-from-                    heaven...my count.                                                                             CUT TO:                                                                                 93.                    INT. HORIZON HOTEL -- TOP FLOOR -- SAME                    Watters, re-targeting, bringing the Barrett .50 to bear on          the lower floors, sighting down from the top, counting back          to fourteen, settling, locking off the tripod, gazing through          her scope... HEARTBEAT BUILDING STILL, becoming more erratic.                    WATTERS POV: Fourteenth floor, big glass windows, drawn          curtains...she nuzzles the eyepiece, finger slipping          delicately inside the trigger guard...waiting.                                          WATTERS (INTO IFB)                    Bet.                    CUT BACK TO:                    INT. ELEVATOR CAR -- SAME                    With Sykes attention diverted, Acosta begins slowly moving          his hand toward his pant leg, reaching for a hidden ankle-          holster as we--                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE HALLWAY -- SAME                    --Mustache and his men, hands going to their rigs, shoulder          and waist. A handcuffed Ivy watches with them as the elevator          doors open and a big plume of black smoke vacates the car,          eerily cast light burns blood red within, infernal, hellish.          Now, another pull engine leaps to life from inside the car,          this one gnarled and guttural, winding out...a chainsaw.                    HEARTBEAT JACKHAMMERING NOW. Out of control.                    The sound falls away, leaving only the runaway throb of the          beating heart as we--                                                                          CUT TO:                    SLO-MO DOLLY IN:                    Buddy Israel. Both hands going to his heart. Something          horribly wrong. He pitches forward, falling away from Soot's          pistol--                    THE HEARTBEAT crescendos wildly, out-of-control...                                                                          CUT TO:                    ...A BELL-RANGER HELICOPTER, the heartbeat becoming the thwack          of rotor blades as it lifts off with Deputy Director Locke          and an FBI tactical team inside...                                                                          CUT TO:                    MONTAGE                                                                                 94.                    ...a kaleidoscope of scenarios about to be played out at the          exact same second...shared fates...Shakespearean fraught...in          this soundless realm the CAMERA TAKES US PAST THE FOLLOWING:                    HUGO -- Looking on in horror as Israel collapses.                    DOC GILL -- Rushing to Buddy's aide.                    SOOT -- Bringing the 9mm up, leveling it on Hugo.                    CAMERA MOVES OUT INTO THE PENTHOUSE HALLWAY PAST:                    MUSTACHE -- Sensing grave danger, his gun being drawn. His          m           en following suit.                    IVY -- Pulling away from his captors, looking for cover.                    DARWIN TREMOR -- Stepping from the elevator, strapped with          a            sawed-off pump shotgun in one hand, a vintage elephant gun          in the other, looking for lives to end.                    s          LESTER TREMOR -- Chainsaw snarling, spewing oil, psycho smile           preading viral across a pockmarked face.                    JEEVES TREMOR -- Sledgehammer in a scabbard on his back,          h           olding WWII era German "Potato-Masher" grenades, gripped          like drumsticks, pins pulled. He hurls them.                    CAMERA MOVES PAST THEM, DOWN ELEVATOR SHAFT TO:                    SYKES -- Pulling extra clips from her handbag, securing them          under her garter belt, dumping her heels in favor of hose.                    ACOSTA -- Pant leg lifted, moving panther-quiet, tortoise-          slow, unfastening the snap on his ankle-holster.                    c          CARRUTHERS -- Near death, eyes locked on Acosta, his mortal           ombatant, trying desperately to reach his own ankle holster.                    MESSNER -- Watching as his team moves into place around the          e           levator. Checking his own piece, flicking off the safety.                    CAMERA MOVES OUT THE WINDOW AND UP TO:                    WATTERS -- In the Hotel window across the way, sniper-rifle          s           nug to her shoulder, eye on the scope, waiting for the word.                    CAMERA MOVES THROUGH RIFLE SCOPE UP TO AND INSIDE EARPIECE                    Inside the earpiece at 10000x normal magnification; micro-          sound condensers and circuits the size of skyscrapers. Then,          a voice makes the landscape tremble, like the trump of God:                                          SYKES                    Bring it.                    THE CAMERA SUDDENLY REVERSES PATH                                                                                 95.                    Back out of the earpiece, down through the scope, over the          barrel of the rifle...BOOM...A .50 caliber bullet is birthed.                    CAMERA TRAVELS BACK TO:                    The fourteenth floor window of the Nomad detonates with          concussive ferocity-- creating a hailstorm of shattered glass          that sweeps the length of the hallway, engulfing cops and          feds whole.                                                                          CUT TO:                    Another round tears in after it, exploding a gilded ceiling          stanchion, sparking off the rebar, tripping the sprinkler          system, dousing the corridor-- everybody runs for cover.                    One of the AGENTS, wounded, summons another elevator.          Messner, undeterred, advances on the elevator containing          Sykes and Carruthers.                    CAMERA TRAVELING BACK                    Sykes, Glock ready to rock, about to move. Acosta, pulling          a pistol from his ankle-rig, preparing to backshoot Sykes.                    CAMERA ASCENDS BACK UP THROUGH SHAFT                    Chaos. Carnage. Full blown bloodbath. Heavily-armed men on          an overkill override. Mustache and Co., waging close quarters          warfare with the Brothers Tremor. Bullets blaze, bodies          drop, everything burns--                    CAMERA CONTINUES PAST SCENE TO:                    Soot, shooting Hugo several times-- Hugo falling back,          confused by the abrupt pain, baffled by the appearance of          blood. Gill, overtop of Israel, trying to force feed him          nitro-glycerin tablets. Buddy goes into full cardiac arrest.                    Disparate sounds collide now, swell to a great tumult-- an          incomprehensible crescendo of explosions and chainsaws and          gunshots and screams as we--                    CUT TO BLACK                    ...nothing...complete and utter silence...                    SLOW FADE UP ON:                    Primo Sparazza...sitting in that hospital bed...waiting.                                                                        FADE OUT:                    SLOW FADE UP ON:                                                                                 96.                    The Swede...sitting on a sofa in his suite with Sparazza's          men...waiting.                                                                        FADE OUT:                    SLOW FADE UP ON:                    Rupert Reed...drunk and despondent...by the phone...waiting.                                                                        FADE OUT:                    SLOW FADE UP ON:                    Victor Padiche...hand-wringing...watching his phone...waiting.                                                                        FADE OUT:                    HARD CUT UP ON:                    All of it happening at lightspeed. Watters, reloading,          watching as leaden contrails of gunsmoke pour from the          pulverized fourteenth floor. She resumes her assault.                                                                          CUT TO:                    Messner, a few feet from the car containing Sykes. More          sniper fire rakes the hallway. Another elevator arrives,          opens...call girls inside. They snuck up somehow, past          security... The gunplay gets them spooked, scared-- they          scramble from the car-- cops and feds try to stuff them back          inside the elevator as rounds continue to rain down.                    One of the girls catches a hard ricochet, wig leaping off          her head as a bounced bullet punches through her skull-- she          crumbles, instant casualty. Messner hardly notices, moving          instead toward the other elevator car.                                          MESSNER                    THIS IS THE FBI! THROW YOUR WEAPON                    OUT! SHOW ME YOUR HANDS!                                          SYKES                        (whispering into IFB)                    Are these feds fake or for real girl!                    Carruthers, pawing feebly at her, moaning-- trying to warn          her-- she shrugs him off.                                          WATTERS                        (yelling)                    I DON'T KNOW!                                          SYKES                    Jus' keep doin' y'damage girl, keep                    these mafuckas off my as--                    BANG-- Sykes squeals, spins back, feels numbness spread over          her legs and lower trunk, knows she's been shot.                                                                                 97.                                             SYKES (CONT'D)                           (panic, into her IFB)                       We're out girl! I'm shot! I'M SHOT!--                    ACOSTA fires again, bullet ripping through her studded          bustier, gouging kevlar, nicking ribcage-- embedding into          the IFB receiver on her hip, ruining it. Sykes falters--          tries to raise her gun--                    Acosta raises his aim to her head, about to deliver the coup          de grace-- Messner appears now, sees Acosta, sights him when--                    BLAM!BLAM!    BLAM!!                    Acosta's chest explodes, he slumps, the gun sliding away--          Messner swings wide on the car to reveal:                    Carruthers, smoking gun, trembling aim, exposed ankle          holster...empty. Sykes, kevlar burning, smashed round still          hot, she tries to pull her vest off, finds her newly paralyzed          arm uncooperative. Messner, advancing now, keeping an eye          on his partner as he moves toward the car.                                             MESSNER                       LADY, SHOW ME YOUR HANDS RIGHT NOW!                                             SYKES                       I NEED MY HANDS MOTHERFUCKER! I'M                       HIT! KILL ME OR LET ME BE!                    Messner enters the elevator, rushes to the doomed Carruthers.                                             MESSNER                       How bad?                                             CARRUTHERS                       Mortal.                                             MESSNER                       No.                                             CARRUTHERS                       Yeah.                    Messner takes his partner under the arms, lugging him into          the open hallway, stripping off his shirt. Carruthers severed          hand nearly falls away from the rest of his arm.                    Acosta spits blood from the lungs-- his breathing now a bog          of pinched snorts and gurgles.                                             MESSNER                           (re: Acosta, yelling                            to the others)                       SECURE THIS SUSPECT!                    TWO FEDS enter to remove Acosta from the car-- he lets out a          guttural yelp as they hoist him-- real pain or playing possum,                                                                                 98.                    impossible to tell...As his legs clear the elevator doors,          they slowly close on the wounded Sykes.                    Messner, tries to prevent them from closing, can't-- gazes          up at the digital counter as the elevator continues its ascent          to the Penthouse level...                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. ELEVATOR CAR                    Sykes, riding up, wounded, vulnerable, trying to reach the          control panel to stop the car. She keys her now useless IFB.                                          SYKES                        (into IFB)                    Girl, I'm inside, I'm on my way up--                    this elevator is going to the                    Penthouse-- can you hear me--? Baby,                    can you hear me--                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. HORIZON HOTEL -- TOP FLOOR -- SAME                    --Watters, panicked, pulling the Barrett up off its tri-pod,          hitting the hallway, double-timing to the stairwell...She          has no idea that she's lost radio contact with Watters.                                          WATTERS                    Sit tight if you can hear me Girl!                    I can't do shit for you from here.                    I'm moving down for a sightline!                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE HALLWAY -- SAME                    Plaster and debris everywhere, sprinklers tripped, most of          Mustache's team shot, shredded or burnt to a crisp. Pieces          of building and bodies either waterlogged or fully ablaze.          Mustache and Darwin play duck and cover, exchanging fire.          Jeeves, out of grenades, sledgehammer swinging, crushing          wall studs, scattering remaining security team members.                    Ivy, sheltered, having survived the opening salvos, gets          ahold of a gun from a chainsaw-shorn former security member;          Lester sees Ivy arming himself, blitzes him-- chainsaw          snarling, revved out, sending fantails of gristle and chipped          bone everywhere. Less than fifteen feet separate them.                    Ivy fires, shots deflected off the blade's teeth, seconds          from getting gutted-- he adjusts his aim high, emptying the          gun into Lester's chest, bullets blazing haywire, blowing          out between Lester's shoulders, stopping a hard charge cold.                                                                                 99.                    Lester, lopsided, bullet-dazed, drools blood...then dies.          Ivy dumps his clip, searches for another-- the chainsaw falls,          stalls.                    Jeeves, hefting the sledgehammer like a hayseed John Henry,          looks over as his older brother's life come to an end. He          reacts badly.                                          JEEVES TREMOR                    LESTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!                    Jeeves buries the sledge in a wall, takes up the chainsaw,          rips the pullcord, resumes the charge--                    Ivy, finds a clip, slams it in the stock, points, pulls--          trigger-stick, hammer-jam. He falls to his back, scurrying          away, trouble finding traction, soles slipping-- he keeps          pulling the trigger. Jeeves straddles him from above, raises          the saw like a great wooden stake, about to bring it down--                    --BAM!                    Ivy's automatic discharges. The round splits the saw's gas          tank, spritzing fuel, dousing Jeeves-- A beat before the          tank suddenly arcs, exploding, lighting Jeeves up like a          four-hundred pound bonfire, bouncing him off the walls; a          human Hindenberg, fully engulfed. He flails, burns, howls,          falls...molten fat melts off his body like lard butter...                    Darwin, dismayed, both brothers down...He moves on Mustache,          dispatches him with detached efficiency, snapping his neck          clean. He then starts toward Ivy, who's trying desperately          to crawl out of there.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE -- SAME                    Hugo, crawling across the floor, knees dragging over his own          blood trail, trying to reach: Israel, on the ground, dying.          Soot's gun has jammed. He clears it efficiently, patiently          reloading the weapon as Doc Gill, in panic mode, performs          full chest compressions on Buddy as we--                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. HALLWAY -- FOURTEENTH FLOOR -- SAME                    Messner, doing the same to Carruthers, trying to restart his          heart. Acosta, lays there silently, slowly bleeding out,          being tended to by a team of agents. In the b.g. Cops and          Feds gather near the window, searching for the assailant,          binoculars and rifle scopes strafing the Horizon hotel across          the way, concentrating at the open window near the top floor.                                                                          CUT TO:                                                                                100.                    INT. HORIZON HOTEL -- FOURTEENTH FLOOR HALLWAY -- SAME                    WATTERS, running up the hallway, past alarmed maid service          and hotel staff. She reaches the lower floor window and          raises the scope to her eye, searching for Sykes--                                          WATTERS                    Girl, where are you-- talk to me...how                    bad are you hit...                    WATTERS POV                    She sees the Feds and Cops in the Nomad window across the          way. Smoke clears, her field of vision through the scope          expands, sharpens.                                          WATTERS (CONT'D)                    Georgia goddamn baby, please talk to                    me, please say somethin' so--                    --And that's when she spots the call girl, face obscured,          lying dead from a headshot in the hallway...her heart          sinks...and she assumes the worst: Sykes is dead.                                          WATTERS (CONT'D)                    MOTHERFUCKERS!!                    She flicks to full-auto and opens fire right through the          glass in front of her-- big gas-ejected shells pop from the          breach like bowling pins-- the gathered throng across the          way in the Nomad window seem to vaporize in a violent collage          of heat, blood and building chunks-- Watters bucks big sobs,          blasting away with the Barrett...                                           WATTERS (CONT'D)                    M'SORRY BABY! I'M SO SORRY! I LOVED                    YOU SO MUCH!                                                                             CUT TO:                    INT. ELEVATOR -- SAME                    Sykes, standing now, knock-kneed, kevlar discarded, down to          a black bra and mini-skirt, blood dribbling over her midriff,          deep indentation near her sternum-- big yellow bruise in          bloom-- the bullet didn't penetrate...her elevator arrives          at the penthouse level and as the doors open we--                                                                             CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE HALLWAY -- SAME                    Darwin, looming over Ivy, about to bring the sledge down          squarely on his skull-- the elevator doors open in his          periphery... He looks over, sees Sykes standing there, barely          clothed, wet with blood, gun in her hand...and grins.                                                                                101.                    Sykes, seeing Darwin standing over Ivy, holding a sledgehammer--          recognizes him as the perv from earlier. She levels the Glock,          stepping out of the elevator, steadying herself against the          wall, steadying her aim on Darwin's head.                                          SYKES                    Drop that hammer...                        (beat, cocking gun)                    And I drop this one.                        (beat)                    Know a killer motherfucker...know                    they voice. Know they feel...and                    know you 'bout to die by one.                    Then, the sound of an helicopter intrudes, rotor thrum,          building steadily, growing louder-- the floor seems to shake          as the chopper approaches-- nervous eyes dart-- nobody moves.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE APARTMENT -- SAME                    The chopper draws closer, growing louder-- Hugo, still trying          to crawl toward his downed boss. Soot finishes him off with          a flush headshot. Gill, frantic, rapid chest compressions          on Israel, who gags, starts, coughs, heart back up and          beating. His watery gaze moves from Gill to Soot, who know          stands overtop of him, aiming the 9mm down at him.                    Israel averts his eyes...the end has come. He looks over          and sees his lamb-skin coat, lying there, soaking in Beanie's          blood, ruined beyond recognition. A tear escapes his eye.                                          ISRAEL                    ...forgive me...                    Soot puts the gun flush with Buddy's skull when suddenly,          the ceiling begins to tremble and shake...the sound of a          helicopter filling the air.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. HALLWAY -- FOURTEENTH FLOOR -- SAME                    Messner is losing Carruthers, can't revive him, begins to          crack-- hammering on his chest...it's no use. He's dead.          He sobs-- something slides from his pocket. He glances down...                    ...sees that the bag containing Elmore's severed fingers has          fallen from his pocket. Doesn't remember hanging onto them.          He replaces them in his pocket. Looks down at his dead          friend, sees his severed hand, also missing fingers...                    ...the absurdity of this makes Messner want to cry laughing...                    ...and that's when he hears the chopper...and sees it as it          rises up past their floor, past the contingent of Cops and          Feds slugging it out with Watters across the street.                                                                              102.                    INT. HORIZON HOTEL -- FOURTEENTH FLOOR -- SAME                    Watters, ears ringing with gunfire reverb, reloading-- salvos          of return fire ripping back at her-- then, all at once, the          shooting stops-- She pauses, thinks it's a ploy-- then slowly          peers over the window sill as the Bell-Ranger comes into          view, over the Nomad, touching down on its narrow rooftop.                    INT. PENTHOUSE -- SAME                    The doors to the Penthouse level are bashed open and the          windows implode as FBI tactical agents repel in, weapons          drawn, swarming, surrounding the scene, shouting commands--          Darwin Tremor drops the sledge, jackrabbits for the elevator,          diving in as the doors close--                    Sykes, stumbling toward Ivy. He sees she's injured, scoops          her up like a new bride-- she places something in his          hand...Acosta's fake FBI credentials. Ivy looks, nods, gets          it-- agents approach, combat crouches, MP-5's at arms.                                          AGENT #1                    Let me see your hands!                    Ivy, flashing the I.D., taking care to cover the photo.                                          SIR IVY                    This woman's been shot, I need to                    get her medical attention immediately!                    Commotion and confusion swirl. The Agent, unsure, searching          for some confirmation-- can't find it, dismisses them and          rushes into the Penthouse. Sykes and Ivy slip out the exit.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE APARTMENT -- SAME                    Soot, disarmed, handcuffed. Israel, propped up, sweating          badly, seizures still hobbling his heart. Gill, being patted          down by the Agents, prescription pills confiscated. Soot is          held at gunpoint and flex-cuffed, the remainder of rubber          appliance pulled off his face.                    The agents begin to initiate an "All Clear" over their radios.          Moments pass before Deputy Director Locke enters the room,          He approaches Soot, studies him, to one of the agents;                                             LOCKE                    Soot?                    The Agent nods confirmation. Locke reaches into Soot's coat,          finds his cellphone...hits redial.                                          LOCKE (CONTD) (CONT'D)                        (into phone)                    Would you join us please...                                                                              103.                    Locke disconnects, passes the phone to an underling.                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    Where are Carruthers and Messner?                                          AGENT #1                    Agent Carruthers was killed sir,                        (as Locke turns back)                    Agent Messner is unaccounted for.                                          LOCKE                    Account for him.                                                                           CUT TO:                    INT. STAIRWELL -- SAME                    Messner, bounding up the steps, gun drawn, hears voices coming          down the stairs toward him-- stops, checks his weapon...                                                                           CUT TO:                    INT. STAIRWELL -- SAME                    Ivy and Sykes descending the stairs. He carries her like a          princess, sweeping her down landing after landing.                                          SIR IVY                    What's your name baby girl...                    Sykes, somehow shy, sweet, gazing up at him.                                             SYKES                    ...Georgia.                    Ivy, big smile.                                          SIR IVY                    Georgia on my mind wit'yo fine ass.                    You know you saved this black man.                                          SYKES                    You know I did baby...                        (smiling, assessing)                    And a deep, dark one at that. Now if                    you ain't a dog, which you don't                    look like--                                          SIR IVY                    --never in a million girl--                                          SYKES                    --good, then all you got to be is                    grateful.                                          SIR IVY                    No doubt. That's my moms there,                    taught me them skills.                                                             104.                                SYKES          You love her?                                SIR IVY          My mamma? C'mon shorty, y'gotta ask?              (beat, sees her wounds)          You hurtin' pretty bad?                                SYKES              (nodding)          Got hit twice.                                SIR IVY          It's going around ain't it? Mafuckas          catching bullets like the common          cold up in this bitch.              (beat)          I think I accidentally shot and killed          my boy today.                                SYKES          Well, if it's any comfort, I's goin'          in to there to act a fool baby.              (taps her gun)          Straight rockin' heat and slayin'          niggas--                                SIR IVY          For real?                                SYKES          Mmm-hmm...and your boy very well          mighta been one of 'em.                                SIR IVY          True?                                SYKES          Like a mafucka.                                SIR IVY          That takes some of the sting out.                                SYKES          I probably woulda busted on you too          ...and what a shame that woulda been.                                SIR IVY          I feel like I know you girl. I feel          like I've known you forever.              (beat, smiles)          You gonna lemme see your scars?                                SYKES          You do the right thing. Sit with me          while I heal, let it develop slow.                                                                             105.                                          SIR IVY                    What were you doin' here anyway?                                          SYKES                    'Spose to kill this fool named Buddy                    Israel.                    This gets Ivy's biggest grin.                                          SYKES (CONT'D)                    Damn baby girl, you makin' a nigga                    fall hard now.                    He reaches the seventeenth floor, rounds the corner, nearly          runs into Messner, has a gun thrust in his face.                                          MESSNER                    F.B.I. YOU'RE UNDER ARREST! PUT HER                    DOWN, GET UP AGAINST THAT WALL!                    Sykes recognizes him and in a blink has a gun under his chin.                                          SYKES                    Don't play out this string, 'cuz                    it's real short I didn't do your man                    downstairs. I found him that way.                    Now whether or not you believe that                    ain't the least bit important. We                    either goin' work this out and live,                    or stay doin' the shit we been doin'                    and die. Now I got no beef with you,                    or wit ya'll bureau...so you better                    off jus' movin' on & lettin' us be.                    Messner, eyes moving from Ivy to Sykes. Stalemate, no sense          pushing. He moves past them, hits the stairwell exit on          eighteen. Ivy and Sykes resume their trek down the stairs.                    INT. HALLWAY -- PENTHOUSE FLOOR                    Messner, bashing in from the stairwell. WHIP PAN OVER TO          REVEAL: The Swede, still accompanied by the Sparazza goons,          arriving in the elevator at the same time.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. ELEVATOR                    Darwin, on his way down, rolling around on the floor of the          car, covering himself in congealed blood and bullet casings,          slicking back his hair, losing the security jacket, splashing          yet more blood on himself. Satisfied, he snatches Carruthers'          F.B.I. credentials up off the floor...and waits.                                                                          CUT TO:                                                                             106.                    INT. HORIZON HOTEL -- FOURTEENTH FLOOR -- SAME                    The elevator arrives at the far end. A small asian man          carrying a stack of clean towels steps off and starts down          the hall-- sees Watters, sees the .45 trained on him-- does          an abrupt about face and disappears back inside the car.                    Watters lowers the gun, wipes tears, the area around her is          littered with spent .50 caliber shells. The fourteenth floor          of the Nomad is now empty. Sirens wail in the distance.          Down below, Watters can see a bevy of law enforcement          personnel streaming toward the Horizon. She slowly takes          the Barrett off the ledge, begins breaking it down, glancing          up at the Penthouse of the Nomad as we...                                                                       ...CUT TO:                    INT. PENTHOUSE APARTMENT -- SAME                    Director Locke waits. Messner and The Swede appear in the          doorway. The Swede nods to all concerned and starts toward          Israel. Doc Gill acknowledges the Swede.                                          DR. GILL                    Dr. Ingstrom, he's had a mild cardiac                    episode and recurring arrhythmia,                    I've given him 60cc's of Nobuneatol...                    The Swede kneels down next to Israel, dropping his black          valise, cracking it open. Messner, dazed, dumbfounded, sees          Locke.                                          MESSNER                    ...Deputy Director Locke?                    Locke approaches, lays a comforting arm on Messner, guiding          him to a chair.                                           LOCKE                    Here. Sit.   Please.                                          MESSNER                        (pointing to Swede)                    This is him? The hitman hired to                    kill Israel? He's a doctor?                                          LOCKE                    Difficult to explain everything now...                        (beat, toward Israel)                    And much larger issues loom.                        (beat)                    I'm sorry about Carruthers...Damndest                    thing to have to die for.                    The Swede, working on Israel, shaking his head, something's          wrong. He stands, crosses to Locke, silently confers.                                                                             107.                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                        (to The Swede)                    Very well.                        (to other Agents)                    Take Mr. Israel to the roof, he'll                    be traveling with us.                    Suddenly, Soot breaks from his captors, sprinting for the          shattered Penthouse windows, launching himself-- a swan dive          out into the open air-- He hangs there for a moment, an          aesthetically striking form; like Lazarus cast against a          cobalt blue sky, backlit by the sun from the lake below--                    --till gravity grabs, pulls-- plummeting him toward earth,          sending him headlong into the vast expanse of concrete below.          This startlingly event is dismissed by mutual shrugs and a          collective lack of concern.                    Messner is absolutely agog.                                          MESSNER                        (to Locke, forceful)                    What the hell-- What is this!? People                    died. Agent Carruthers is dead!                                          LOCKE                    We have to transport Mr. Israel to                    Las Vegas, time is of the essence.                    The gulfstream is standing by on the                    jetway at Tahoe International. I'm                    sorry, I'm restricted from disclosing                    anymore information. Return to                    Washington. You'll be debriefed in                    the coming days.                    Locke says no more-- starts out of the Penthouse with the          Swede, Dr. Gill and Buddy Israel in tow. A Bureau forensics          team arrives to quietly tag and bag the dead...Messner stands          there, absolutely agog.                                                                          CUT TO:                    INT. NOMAD HOTEL -- LOBBY -- DAY                    Hives of activity. Cordons and crime scene lockdowns like          onion layers, multiple law enforcement agencies, confounded,          confused-- too many cooks, too many kitchens. Nobody knows          who the hells in charge. Local paramedics and EMT's cart          out the wounded. Coroners and M.E.'s cart out the dead.                    Reporters and national news outlets crowd police barricades          outside, competing for coverage, as--                    THE CAMERA PANS OVER TO REVEAL:                    Acosta is wheeled through the lobby, hooked up to IV and          oxygen, looking ghastly, like something exhumed. He catches          the eye of the pimply casino employee and manages a wink.                                                                             108.                    He's flex-cuffed to the gurney and pushed against the wall          for the moment as the Agents move off to deal with the recent          appearance of Lazlo Soot-- whose body has been unceremoniously          splattered over the parking lot.                    As the Agents depart, Acosta peers down at his shackles;          simple plastic binding rods-- he smiles...a moment later the          stiletto blade fires from his sleeve as--                    THE CAMERA PANS OVER TO REVEAL:                    Darwin Tremor staggering out of an open elevator, blood-          sodden, head down-- FBI badge held aloft for all its worth.          Playing it up, free pass, Agents rush in, hold him upright,          help him toward a line of awaiting ambulances outside as--                    THE CAMERA PANS OVER TO REVEAL:                    Ivy and Sykes, being released from the stairwell, cut chains          sliding off-- Ivy holds up pilfered FBI creds. Rampant          confusion makes the moment possible. He's waved through,          carrying Sykes, looking every bit the good Samaritan.                    Sykes, a mess of mascara, adorned in her unmentionables,          looking every bit the prostitute she appears to be-- she          spots the woman at the counter from earlier. The woman gazes          back, jaw agape. Sykes can only shrug...if you can't beat          'em-- join 'em. She and Ivy cross the lobby as--                    THE CAMERA PANS OVER TO REVEAL:                    Messner...morose, exiting another elevator with the sheet-          draped body of Carruthers on a gurney. Gandersen, the Nomad          owner, spots him, starts over, looks to unleash, gets close          enough to catch Messner's expression. Sees it in his          eyes...enough dead bodies for one day. Messner continues          moving through the lobby, hears the chopper taking off as--                    CAMERA TILTS UP TO REVEAL:                    Through the clear glass atrium of the Nomad, the Bell-Ranger          goes airborne against an impossibly clear winter sky, banking          south toward Las Vegas.                    CAMERA TILTS DOWN TO REVEAL:                    The Horizon hotel across the way: The Fourteenth floor window.                    INT. HORIZON HOTEL -- FOURTEENTH FLOOR -- DAY                    Watters, gear stowed, seemingly indifferent about the level          of law enforcement heading up her way, about to launch an          Alamo-like last stand in honor of her fallen sista.                    She hears commotion erupt from outside as survivors begin          filing from the building. She takes up the Barrett, gazing          through the scope, looking, looking, looking...stops...holy          shit...it's her. It's Sykes.                                                                             109.                    And she's alive and being carried by a man, a big gorgeous          black man that she's gazing upon with utter love and longing.          A boulder-sized lump takes shape in Watters throat; betrayed,          backbit-- tears come to fast to contain, too many to control.                    Numbed...the sensation leaving her fingers, she finds herself          racking the bolt on the Barrett and gazing through          crosshairs...taking aim on Ivy's head. Behind her, the          elevator arrives, an a dozen armed cops, hoo-rah from it,          hustling the length of the hall, descending down on her--                                          WATTERS                        (whispering)                    ...I loved you baby...                    BOOM!                    EXT. PARKING STRUCTURE -- NOMAD HOTEL -- SAME                    A gunshot in the distance followed by shrieks-- Darwin Tremor          snaps his head around at the sound, moving past platoons of          Cops and Feds now rushing that way. His I.D. is out,          affording him easy egress. He hops the stairs up, top level,          Barracuda parked at the rear of the lot. As he approaches...                                           VOICE (O.S.)                    Hey...                    Darwin glances over at...Hollis Elmore, standing there, skin          horribly discolored, disease afflicted. He wears a hooded          tourist sweatsuit; "Ta-Hoe, Ta-Hoe It's Off To Fun We Go!"          stitched in cursive across the front. He's holding the Colt          Python against his hip.                                          ELMORE                        (nodding to Cuda)                    That your car?                    Darwin, a beat, what-to-do...hillbilly-acumen in overdrive.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    No, I'm confiscating it.                        (holding up badge)                    F.B.I.                    Now Elmore raises the Colt with his good hand, advancing on          Darwin, moving gingerly, his legs not quite there...                                          ELMORE                    You're F.B.I.?                    Darwin tries to stay tight, composed.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    That's right...and I'd advise y'ta                    lower your weapon sir.                    Elmore keeps coming.                                                                             110.                                           ELMORE                    You investigating those murders out                    at the lake?                                          DARWIN TREMOR                        (blanching a bit)                    Ww...uh...                                          ELMORE                    Three men were ambushed and shot,                    two died and had their bodies tossed                    into the lake, the other has severe                    hypothermia, possible dementia and                    will probably be a multiple amputee                    by week's end...if he even lives                    that long.                    Darwin, uh-oh...                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    No, I ain't even heard abou--                    --Oops.                                          ELMORE                        (even more menace)                    You "ain't"--                        (beat, teeth clenched)                    You have any idea how close to death                    I've been? You understand that I'm                    dying now? That I've survived bullets                    and frostbite and raging fever--                        (holding up hand)                    missing fingers and every fucking                    imaginable horror in between?                    Darwin...speechless...he's done.                                          ELMORE (CONT'D)                    And I'm asking you now, "Is that                    your car" and you can't even come                    clean and do me the decency of a                    straight answer, with the fucking                    state that I'm in!?                    Elmore, that Colt looking like a cannon this close to Darwin.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    Yeah, shit-- hell, you're right. I'm                    sorry.                                          ELMORE                    You shot me and murdered my friends.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    I did. We-- yeah, I know.                                                                             111.                                          ELMORE                    And threw us into the lake.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    Pretty much, yep.                    Elmore, still nodding.                                          ELMORE                    And this is your car, isn't it?                                             DARWIN TREMOR                    Mmm-hmm.                                          ELMORE                    But there were more of you?                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    Yeah, m'brothers...They didn't make                    it.                                             ELMORE                    Two of 'em?                                          DARWIN TREMOR                        (nods, tears flow)                    Thass' right.                        (beat, wiping eyes)                    I got other brother's though, so it                    ain't so bad.                                          ELMORE                    You were here huntin' a man named                    Israel, weren't you? Your name is                    Tremor.                    Darwin gazes up at Elmore, some fraternal bond forms.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    I was. It is...That who you was here                    for? Israel?                    A pause. Elmore nods.                                          DARWIN TREMOR (CONT'D)                    Well...we both got beat out then,                    didn't we?                    Darwin, slowly lowering the Colt.                                          ELMORE                    Yes we did...                        (long pause, then)                    Now, give me your car keys. And get                    the fuck out of here.                    Darwin, sifting through his pockets, tossing Elmore the keys.                                                                               112.                                          DARWIN TREMOR                    S'fair...lemme just grab somethin'.                    Elmore brings the Colt back up.   Darwin, hands up, hold on--                                          DARWIN TREMOR (CONT'D)                    No, no, no, I'm done with all that.                    He reaches in, pulls a joint off the dashboard, forages,          finds matches, lights up, starts off.                                          DARWIN TREMOR (CONT'D)                        (to 'Cuda)                    Probably needs to be tuned. Air                    filter's old. Plugs might be bad.                    Heater and AC ain't worked in forever.                        (seeing Elmore waver)                    There's some good drugs in the glove                    box there, homespun, keep you smiling,                    semi-lucid at leas'...                        (beat, puffing away)                    Well, God's speed t'ya then. Sorry                    'bout all that. S'way a'the world                    though, winners and losers y'know.                    S'way it's always goin' be...                    Darwin, walking away, taking huge hits off that joint,          traipsing down the steps, getting stoned out of his mind.          Elmore, considering, re-considering, looking at that Colt.                                          ELMORE                    ...Oh, fuck that...                    --As he back shoots Darwin with all six rounds from the          Python, blowing holes through him. Darwin goes lop-sided,          legs failing, lit-joint still smoking in his mouth as dies          standing, only to fall like cut timber seconds later.                    Elmore acts quickly, sliding into the 'Cuda and starting it,          that big block Hemi roaring to life under the hood.                                                                           CUT TO:                    EXT. NOMAD HOTEL AND CASINO -- DAY                    Pedestrians and passerbys drawn to the commotion at the Nomad,          the bottleneck bogs traffic down, making it impossible to          move. Elmore crouches low as police and emergency personnel          cross in front of the car... Slowly, the crosswalk begins to          thin and then finally clear...save a single man:                    Messner...standing right in front of the Barracuda, staring          at the tires, staring at Elmore. The two lock eyes as he          moves around to the driver's side, reaching into his pocket--                    --Elmore lifts the Colt up off his lap, putting his heavily          bandaged hand on the wheel. Then he sees Messner's FBI creds,          clipped to his belt-- can't tell if this one's legit.                                                                             113.                    He sets the Colt down on the floorboard as Messner walks up,          pulling a plastic bag from his pocket: The one containing          three severed fingers. He glances down at Elmore's mummified          left hand, holding out the bag for him to take.                    Elmore, unsure, accepting the bag, seeing what's inside,          embarrassed by it-- he sets it down on the seat next to him.                                           MESSNER                     Your friends were taken to Carson                     City Memorial, they're going to be                     autopsied and shipped back for burial.                                           ELMORE                     I'll take care of it.                    Messner, nodding. A beat.                                           MESSNER                     Who owned this car?                    Beat.                                           ELMORE                     The ones that killed 'em.                    Beat.   Messner nods.                                           MESSNER                     Where are they now?                    Elmore looks up at him-- what does it matter...                                           ELMORE                     I just want to go home man...I just                     want to go home and forget this                     fucking place even exists.                                           MESSNER                     Where's that? Home.                                            ELMORE                     Las Vegas.                    Messner, a thought, then:                                           MESSNER                     You're injured...Let me drive.                    CUT TO BLACK                    FADE UP ON:                    INT. CEDARS SINAI -- LAS VEGAS NEVADA -- DAY                    Messner walks in, cleaned up, pressed suit, no tie. He badges          himself past the front desk. An ORDERLY approaches.                                                                                114.                                          ORDERLY                    Are you with the group on the third                    floor?                    Messner nods.                                          ORDERLY (CONT'D)                    Very well.                        (turns, points)                    You can take that stairwell up, the                    I.C.U. is at the end of the hall.                                                                            CUT TO:                    INT. CEDARS SINAI -- THIRD FLOOR -- DAY                    Messne exits the stairwell. Droves of Feds and justice          department types crowd the third floor hallway, around the          I.C.U. The mood is subdued. The Swede exits a per-op suite,          dressed in scrubs and a surgical gown, talking with Dr. Gill,          who is also dressed for surgery.                    Messner searches the hall for a familiar face...finds          it...Locke, far end, talking with an aide.                                          LOCKE                    ...for a press release. Officially,                    he took his own life, suicide by                    hanging, something of that sort.                    Basic bullet points-- despondent                    over the turn his career had taken,                    troubles with the law, history of                    substance abuse and so on--                    The aide sees Messner approach. Locke follows her eyes, turns.                                          MESSNER                    Where's Israel?                                          LOCKE                    What are you doing here?                                             MESSNER                    My debrief--                                          LOCKE                        (indignant)                    --will be handled back in--                                          MESSNER                    --no, we need to handle it now.                    Locke, angered, handing his clipboard to the aide, taking          Messner by the arm, leading him away.                                          LOCKE                    You were given instructions to get                    on that plane and return to Washington--                                                                                   115.                    A gun is in Locke's side now-- against his ribs-- he looks          down, stunned...Now it's Messner who's leading him away.                                             MESSNER                       You're going to tell me why no call                       was made to inform us that the Israel                       situation had been "altered." Why I--                       and my friend and partner, whose                       body is going into a furnace tomorrow,                       were not sufficiently apprised of                       Bureau movement on this matter.                    Locke, pale, shook up.                                             LOCKE                       I can't discuss--                                             MESSNER                       --You can and you will.                                             LOCKE                       You're finished.                                             MESSNER                       And you just figured that out?                           (jams gun into ribs)                       The Swede isn't a hitman, is he?                       He's a surgeon. Sparazza didn't                       want Israel's heart for a trophy, he                       wanted it for a transplant...why?                                                                          SMASH CUT TO:                    INT. CEDARS SINAI -- I.C.U. -- RECOVERY ROOM -- DAY                    Locke and Messner enter. In an oxygen tent erected on one          side of the room, sits the shrunken figure of Primo Sparazza.          On the other, a barely conscious Buddy Israel. Both men are          hooked up to multiple I-V's and heart monitors.                                             LOCKE                       ...They're father and son...                    Messner turns back to Locke, mind racing, searching his          memory, sparking to--                    FLASH CUT:                    The Diner. The day before.                                             MESSNER                       ...A paternity suit, filed 1967...                    CUT BACK TO SCENE:                                                                               116.                                          LOCKE                    --Brought against Sparazza by Israel's                    mother Laverne who was nineteen at                    the time. They had a brief affair                    which Israel was the by-product of.                    Messner turns back, gazing at Israel and Sparazza.                                          MESSNER                    ...Does he know?                                          LOCKE                    ...He does now...                    Israel and Sparazza glare at one another across the room          with pure, unadulterated hated for the other.                                          MESSNER                    So the wiretaps of Padiche and Serna--                                                                            CUT TO:                    The reel-to-reel machine spins:                                          SERNA                    --some Swede, real badass, supposedly                    a "specialist"                                                                       CUT BACK TO:                                          LOCKE                    Dr. Sven Ingstrom is head of                    cardiology at Stockholm University                    and the foremost heart specialist in                    all of Europe--                    Messner...words can't begin to describe his dismay.                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    Sparazza was in failing health and                    looking for a donor. The son who                    had betrayed and burned him so                    thoroughly seemed a obvious choice.                                          MESSNER                    So all of our intel was bogus to                    begin with.                                          LOCKE                    Yes. The actual contract went to                    Lazlo Soot, the man that plunged to                    his death from the Penthouse                    yesterday. He was to neutralize                    Israel's entourage and prep for the                    removal of his heart.                                (MORE)                                                                              117.                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    Ingstrom was to handle the surgery                    itself on-site with the assistance                    of Dr. Gregory Gill, Israel's personal                    physician, who was also on the                    Sparazza payroll.                    Messner steps closer to Locke, close enough to throttle him.                                          MESSNER                    ...When did you know all this?                                          LOCKE                    Information was arriving all day                    yesterday. When we finally figured                    out who Sparazza actually was, we--                    --Oops-- slip-up, too much talking...Locke goes silent.                                          MESSNER                    --What?                        (after a moment)                    What do you mean "Who Sparazza                    actually was..."                    Locke says nothing...Messner levels his gun on him.                                          LOCKE                    ...Are you insane?                                          MESSNER                    ...Almost.                        (pulling hammer back)                    What do you mean "who Sparazza                    actually was..."                    Locke reluctantly hands Messner the confidential package we          saw delivered to him earlier in the film. Messner pulls the          photos of a post-op Primo Sparazza--                                                                           CUT TO:                    The Diner, Carruthers and Messner, the day before...                                          MESSNER (CONT'D)                    You realize that Sparraza has had                    thirty-six major medical procedures                    performed on him since 1953? Elective                    plastic surgery, every single one--                    CUT BACK TO SCENE:                                          LOCKE                    It wasn't elective. It was undertaken                    to save his life. And it wasn't                    cosmetic, it was reconstructive...Look                    at the date of the first procedure.                                                                                118.                                          MESSNER                        (reading)                    ...Yeah, fifty-three.                                          LOCKE                    The same year that Sparazza murdered                    Agent Freeman Heller...                    Messner...a slow, sickening realization taking hold...                    FLASH CUT TO:                    Jersey Turnpike. The past: A '51 Ford Fairlane, flush with          an embankment, bullet perforated, dead-body draped. A top-          coated man stalks the vehicle's sole survivor, FREEMAN HELLER,          shooting him in the back. He rolls over and is shot point          blank in the face. THE CAMERA TILTS UP to the top-coated          gunman, who returns the pistol to its holster, revealing...                    ...An FBI BADGE, clearly visible, clipped to his waist...                    FLASH CUT BACK TO:                    Messner, staring at Sparazza...now he knows.                                          MESSNER                        (as if to himself)                    ...holy shit...that's Heller...                        (back to Locke)                    Isn't it?                                          LOCKE                    Primo Sparazza was Heller's alias.                    He went deep cover in 1940 and stayed                    under for over ten years, amassing                    materials against the mafia and other                    criminal syndicates. He may have                    ripped the organization wide open,                    pre-Appalachia, but his superiors                    were convinced that he had gone rogue,                    swapped allegiances...So they gave                    the order to terminate his cover.                    FLASH CUT TO:                    Freeman Heller/Primo Sparazza, lying there on the turnpike,          unblinking blue eyes staring up dead, bullet punctures issuing          blood, swelling consuming the facial features, distorting,          perverting...then, inexplicably...those blue eyes blink.                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    He survived the shooting but the                    injuries he sustained triggered a                    degenerative bone disease that                    required constant surgery, forever                    altering his features...so he assumed                    his alias full-time.                                (MORE)                                                                             119.                                          LOCKE (CONT'D)                    The figment that was Primo Sparazza                    became flesh and blood.                        (beat)                    Freeman Heller was no more.                                                                          CUT TO:                    The Diner. The day before.                                          CARRUTHERS                    --Heller was buried in agency lore-                    CUT BACK TO SCENE:                    Messner, head in his hands.                                          LOCKE                    The agents of that era are all dead                    and gone, history had defaulted to                    fable...until now. You can imagine                    the shock this sent through the                    corridors of power in D.C. Heller's                    op predates the second world war.                    That's over sixty years of intel.                    Do you know how valuable that could                    be? The man's a treasure trove.                                          MESSNER                    ...So you made another deal?                                          LOCKE                    I wouldn't go that far.                                          MESSNER                    But you did, and have...And now people                    are dead.                        (beat, seething)                    Did Sparazza become more valuable                    than Israel...and did you make another                    deal?                    A beat. Locke, a reluctant nod.                                          LOCKE                    Israel's agreement with the government                    was tossed out. We're now attempting                    to rehabilitate him to the point                    where a transplant can be attempted.                    Messner glowers at Locke...can't believe what he's hearing.                                          MESSNER                        (with disgust)                    You're trying to save Sparazza?                                          LOCKE                    No...We're trying to save Heller.                                                                             120.                                          MESSNER                    ...So you knew all this and yet y--                                          LOCKE                        (cutting him off)                    --We needed cohesion to move forward.                    Not conjecture.                                          MESSNER                    ...while Carruthers and a dozen others                    lie dying, you debate semantics.                    The Bureau's betrayed us...                        (pointing to Sparazza)                    The way they betrayed him...                                          LOCKE                    I don't see it like that at all.                    Messner's head falls into his hands.                                          MESSNER                    No, of course you don't...of course                    you don't.                        (long reflective pause)                    ...I gave all my belief and the better                    part of my soul to this Bureau.                        (beat, looking at the                         wraith-like Sparazza)                    ...Look at the monsters you've made...                        (beat, profoundly sad)                    I won't be one of them.                    Locke, swallowing hard, struggling to assert his authority.                                          LOCKE                    I'll overlook what you've done here                    today in light of what's taken place.                    You've been fully debriefed. Now I                    want you to return to D.C. immediately                    and make no further inquiry into                    this matter. I mean it. It's closed.                                           MESSNER                    No...It's not.                        (tossing Messner his                         FBI ID)                    What it lacks...is an end.                    Locke, not getting it as Messner takes aim on the oxygen          tent containing Sparazza. Locke's eyes inflate, he reaches-          grabs-gropes-NOOOO-!                    --Israel, the faintest of smiles as-- BOOM.                    THE END           
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+                  SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME                             by                      Howard Franklin                        Danilo Bach                       David Seltzer                  Revisions by Danilo Bach                                          REVISED                                          December 4, 1986FADE IN:INT.  MIKE'S HOUSE - QUEENS - EARLY EVENINGWinter.  A celebration.  Close friends, cop friends,family all here to celebrate patrolman MIKE KEEGAN'Spromotion to detective, NYPD.The party spills through the house -- front room, diningroom, kitchen, with a small fenced backyard visible beyondthat.  A community of cops on their off-hours, theirwives, kids.  A mix of generations, all the way fromMIKE'S kid, TOMMY, and his FRIENDS, playing among theadults, to an elderly woman observing quietly from herchair at the side.  The mood's warm, spirited; there's alot of friendship here.ANGLE:  MIKE, in the dining room, posing for a photo withhis ten-year-old son, TOMMY, proudly displaying his newgold detective's SHIELD pinned to his jersey.                         MIKE                  (calling to his                   wife, for a family                   portrait)          Ellie!  C'mon!  Over here!ANGLE:  ELLIE, MIKE'S wife of fifteen years, a localproduct, bright and lively, and clearly proud as hell ofher man.  She frees herself from the crush of friends,hurrying to join him.ANGLE:  MIKE, ELLIE giving him a full-mouthed smack on thelips as he hooks her into his arms.The picture's snapped, to a chorus of hoots and hollers.Behind, a banner and poster blowup of Mike in gun anduniform read:  "FINALLY THEY'VE RECOGNIZED YOU, DETECTIVEKEEGAN."SCOTTY, a patrolman with the 117th and one of MIKE'S bestpals, puts his hand vigorously, in congratulations, onMIKE'S SHOULDER.                         SCOTTY                  (to Mike)          No joke?  You're being transferred          to the 19th as your first          assignment?  Who the hell loves your          ass downtown?                         ROOKIE                  (naively)          What's the 21st?BROOKLYN, a cop about Mike's age, joins in.                         SCOTTY          What d'you care?  You'll never know.                         BROOKLYN          Manhattan.  The Upper East Side,          East 59th to 96th.The ROOKIE stares, impressed.                         SCOTTY                  (to the others)          Remember Curran from the Sixteenth?          He posted a coupla months there on a          floater outside the French embassy.          He met Jackie Kennedy.                         BROOKLYN          Curran, that fuckin' noodlehead.  He          probably wrote her up for letting          her dog dump on Rockefeller's          doorstep.ANGLE ON MIKE, trying to swallow a mouthful of potatosalad as a plump and pretty middle-aged woman (HELENGREENING) pulls him into a bear hug, planting a kiss onhim.                         HELEN          Mmmmmm-glimmmeee-kisss!  I'm so          proud of you!  What the hell took          you so long?                         MIKE          Hey, don't ask me.  Ask the man who          put in the good word.ANGLE ON T.J. GREENING, Helen's husband, Mike's bestfriend.  He's forty, stocky, looks up, horsing around withsome of the kids in the next room.                         MIKE          If T.J. didn't push for me, I never          would've made it.                         BROOKLYN          Bet your ass... I give you six weeks          before you're back on the beat,          Keegan, they got no room for hero          cops...                         MIKE          Appreciate, that vote of confidence,          Brook.                         BROOKLYN          Hey, am I supportive, or what?ANGLE ON TOMMY:  in the hallway, trying to show SCOTTY'Sdate -- a "real" BIMBO, who's spilling out of her woollysweater and tight jeans -- how to stand on his SKATEBOARD.She shrieks a laugh, toppling off.  HELEN, passing by withan empty platter, catches the action.INT.  KITCHEN - SAMEELLIE, another WIFE at the sink, wives all; HELEN enters.                         HELEN          He left Elaine for that?                         WIFE #1          And what about little Scotty?ELLIE continues washing the dishes as HELEN and the WIFEdry.  MIKE enters to get more beers.                         HELEN                  (still staring)          I'd like to tie her tits together.                         ELLIE          That wouldn't be too difficult.                         MIKE                  (overhearing)          I bet you think she doesn't have a          brain in her head.  I bet you think          the only thing he sees in her is one          incredible, dynamite body...He GRINS at their blank stares... ELLIE'S EYES wrylyfollowing... as he moves on out with his beers.                         HELEN          I love your husband, Ellie, but he's          a real dork.                         ELLIE          Yeah, but he's my dork.                                            DISSOLVE TO:INT.  MIKE'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHTNight has descended, PEOPLE talking and laughing quietly,MELLOW music is playing -- CAMERA FINDING MIKE AND ELLIE,dancing close, moving sensually.  It's impressive.  HELENconvinces T.J. to DANCE.  SCOTTY and BIMBO join in too.T.J., whipped, extricates himself and Helen; touslingMike's hair in affection.                         T.J.          We're goin'.  Get some sleep,          Detective Keegan.  You got a new job          tomorrow.                                            CUT TO:INT.  HALLWAY - NIGHTMIKE is holding TOMMY asleep on his shoulder.ELLIE appears, completing the family portrait.                         MIKE                  (a whisper)          Think I should put the skateboard in          bed with him?                         ELLIE          Too kinky.MIKE smiles and climbs the stairs.INT.  MIKE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTELLIE in the bathroom, the door open, she brushes herhair.MIKE in bed, thoughtful, a happy man.                         MIKE          Ellie, you know I think it's about          time we got outa this place, get us          a house of our own.  We can afford          it now.                         ELLIE          Amen to that.  The supermarket's          full of assholes.                         MIKE          Take my advice, don't buy any...MIKE waits for a response.  None comes.                         ELLIE          Mike?                         MIKE                  (aware of her change                   in tone)          What?                         ELLIE          My ass if falling.                         MIKE          Your what...?                         ELLIE          My ass is falling.  It is.                         MIKE                  (a laugh)          What are you talking about?                         ELLIE                  (appears in the door;                   stricken)          I just saw it in the mirror, it          doesn't look like my ass anymore.                         MIKE          Get in bed.                         ELLIE          What am I gonna do?  I jog, I do the          exercises on TV in the morning...          gravity...                         MIKE          You got a great ass!  I love your          ass -- now get that falling ass into          bed before it hits the floor.She does -- the lights snap put.  They giggle, she MOVINGinto his arms.                         ELLIE                  (a declaration)          Tomorrow, I start looking for our          house... You love me?                         MIKE                  (deeply)          You got no idea...                         ELLIE          Imagine... I'm sleepin' with a DT.Another muted laugh -- and they move into an EMBRACE,CAMERA PANNING WITH THEM, and then STILL FARTHER INTO THEDARKNESS.THE DARKNESS HOLDS.EXT.  EAST RIVER - (AERIAL) - NIGHT... Becoming a darkness pricked with light, as WE FLOATover the reflective river, MOVING WEST TOWARD AND OVER THECITY.EXT.  MANHATTAN - (AERIAL CONTINUED) - NIGHTThe fabled city, the ultimate object of man's desire andfulfillment, Oz, the city unfolding itself before andbeneath us, till DAZZLING SHAFTS OF LIGHT sizzling up --KLEIG LIGHTS -- stab our eyes and bring us down into theirBLINDING BRIGHTNESS...EXT.  CLUB - MIDTOWN - NIGHTA nondescript piece of rundown city block that's thehottest thing in town.  PERSONNEL regulate the CROWD andARRIVALS.  There is a public line, and from it the young,hip and outrageous can look on while awaiting entrance atthe formally dressed, stylishly gowned GUESTS arriving atthe private line.A glittering post-Metropolitan Museum of Art opening galais in progress tonight.  The club's private entrance lookslike what it once was, a shuttered porno bookstore, andthe joke's not lost on most of the formal GUESTS, arrivingthrough the X-rated doorway.INT.  CLUB - NIGHTThe latest achievement of money, rock and art.  It's abreathtaking multi-leveled theater of light, sound anddance.There is also an entrance-by-invitation-only grand salon.ANGLEThe GUESTS arriving here for the Met gala enter almost inenchanted procession, each of them being personallygreeted by the primary owner and manager of the club, WINHOCKINGS, a charming, rakish ex-preppy.  WIN stands in themiddle of the floor in the throw of a spot, greeting.This is his element and his club, a son of old money, anda crossover creature to the fast life.                         WIN          Hi... nice to see you... thank          you... my pleasure...                         A MET BENEFACTRESS                  (effusively)          Thank you so much for agreeing to          host us tonight.  It's really          extraordinary!                         WIN          Glad I could be of help.CAMERA MOVING IN ON A NEW ANGLE, CLAIRE GREGORY and NEILSTEINHART.  The way our CAMERA covers them makes it clearthey are major characters in our story.  NEIL stepsforward to introduce himself, but WIN, looking up, spotsCLAIRE first:  A special beauty and clearly someone veryspecial to him...                         WIN          Claire!                         CLAIRE          Hello, Win.And he embraces her.                         CLAIRE                  (introducing her                   companion)          You know Neil Steinhart?He grins broadly, taking NEIL'S hand; then right back toCLAIRE.                         WIN          Of the filthy rich Steinharts?  Why          is it Claire always connects with          the richest men this side of Saudi?                         NEIL                  (to Win; meaning the                   club)          This gives new meaning to the word          nightlife.WIN acknowledges the obligatory compliment with a closedsmile, impatiently returning to CLAIRE:                         WIN          C'mon, let's get outa this lowbrow          rag trade...                  (smiles, cutting                   Neil out)          You don't mind, do you?NEIL stares, polite, as WIN whisks her away; turning, ashe is addressed by someone else coming his way.EXT.  THE CLUB - NIGHTas a BLACK PORSCHE PULLS UP, its dark-tinted windowrolling down TO REVEAL JOEY VENZA.  The MANAGER of theclub comes over to him, with a clipboard list of only theinvitees.                         MANAGER                  (a dilemma)          I'm sorry, Mr. Venza...VENZA jams the ACCELERATOR to the FLOOR, the CAR burningrubber like a DRAGSTER as PEOPLE SQUEAL and JUMP OUT ofthe way; the CAR fish-tailing away, screeching AROUND theCORNER.INT.  CLUB - NIGHTWIN and CLAIRE.  The music, noise, other conversations canstill be heard as they walk through the club.He smiles, mid-conversation; there's a real affectionhere.                         WIN          Skiddy and Kit?  I haven't seen them          since that shitty pasta dinner on          the cape.                         CLAIRE          They've got two monsters now.  Both          boys.                         WIN          And so what's with Steinhart?  Is it          serious?                         CLAIRE          You didn't like him?                         WIN          Looks a little constipated to me.                         CLAIRE                  (needling him)          It's called "solid"... Nice to find          someone you can count on, Win.                                            CUT TO:INT.  BASEMENT - REAR - ENTRANCE - NIGHTVENZA entering, a rush, NOISE and ACTIVITY from the alleyoutside; the throbbing new MUSIC overhead.JOEY VENZAImmaculate as always, in a conservatively-cut Europeanpinstripe, VENZA strides tautly into the shabby corridors.                                            CUT TO:INT.  MEZZANINE - MAIN BAR - NIGHTWIN shows CLAIRE the main dance floor below, sound-filledand crowded, private and paying GUESTS mixing,indistinguishable now.  He raises his voice to be heard.                         WIN          The main floor stays public.  The          side rooms we try to keep available          for special functions like tonight.He turns and takes her arm.                         CLAIRE          It's terrific Win.                         WIN          You still writing the occasional          magazine article?                         CLAIRE          Occasionally.                         WIN          Then c'mon.  Follow me.  The art's in          the basement, you're going to get a          privileged peek.He leads her to the freight elevator.                         VOICE (O.S.)          Claire!A sociable FOURSOME descends on them.  It looks like it'sgoing to be a long conversation.                         WIN                  (to Claire, quietly)          Just press the button all the way          down when you're ready, okay?He turns as she's engulfed, heading towards the elevator,runs into NEIL, CLAIRE'S escort.  NEIL doesn't see her.                         NEIL          Where's she go?                         WIN          Probably found somebody nicer...          Kidding.  You're great.He smiles, entering the elevator and disappearing fromview.  NEIL looking around, with thinly-veiled impatience,at the benefit-types streaming into the room.INT.  BASEMENT TUNNELS - NIGHTVENZA navigates the labyrinth that connects to theoffices.INT.  BASEMENT - NIGHTThe elevator reaches bottom.  WIN exits into an area oftall rows of stacked boxes still awaiting unloading.Beyond, a bright, high-ceilinged linen whiteness gleams.It's a soon-to-be restaurant-gallery area.THE RESTAURANT GALLERYThe walls have already been painted white.  Tables havebeen positioned.  Chairs are stacked, waiting.  So aremounds of folded laundry and tablecloths, boxes ofaccessories, glass and dish and kitchenware, etc.Except for FRED, the elderly stock boy, the bright silenceis empty.FRED scores open the sealed cardboard cartons with acurved case cutter.  Several tablefuls of unloadedservers, kitchen utensils, etc., bear witness to the sizeof his job.                         WIN          You're in overtime, Freddy.FRED nods, putting down his case cutter, using a sideexit.WIN, left alone, turns to look up proudly at hispowerhouse modern art collection lining the wall.INT.  MEZZANINE - NEAR ELEVATOR - NIGHTCLAIRE extricating herself; to the foursome.                         CLAIRE          I will... I promise...She smiles graciously and steps into the freight elevator,pushing the down button.  The doors close.INT.  BASEMENT TUNNELS - NIGHTVENZA approaches an intersection.  Ahead, FRED crosses onhis way to the offices.  The elderly STOCK BOY doesn't seeVENZA, but VENZA sees him, realizing where else to lookhere.INT.  FREIGHT ELEVATOR - NIGHTCLAIRE closes her eyes, leaning back against the metalwalls, taking advantage of the refuge for the moment.Music and crowd noise still vibrate.  The elevator,shuddering, continues its descent.INT.  RESTAURANT - NIGHTWIN turns in the silence, looking out over the brightspace edged by darkness, every reason to be pleased.WIN doesn't even hear VENZA enter.                         VENZA                  (bear, icily)          You need money, you come to me.WIN turns.                         VENZA                  (approaching,                   soundlessly)          Who the fuck do you think you are,          raising cash without coming to me?                         WIN                  (calmer)          Your ex-partner... I'm buying you          out, Joey.  Read the contract.          There's ample provision.                         VENZA          Fuck the contract!INT.  ELEVATOR - BASEMENT - NIGHTThe elevator arrives.  The doors open.  CLAIRE steps outinto the shadowed area of stacked rows.INT.  RESTAURANT - WIN AND VENZA                         VENZA                  (stares, wildly)          Two years ago you were begging me          for the money.  Nobody would've          touched you...                         WIN          You're making an eighty percent          return.  Which is what you wanted.WIN turn away from VENZA.  VENZA grabs his arm violently.                         VENZA          Don't turn away when I'm talking to          you.                         WIN                  (beat with                   deliberation)          Grease and water still don't mix,          Joey.VENZAslashes one of the canvases (A Rosenquist) with the casecutter... Then another...ANGLE - WIN                         WIN                  (stunned)          Jesus Christ... are you crazy?ANGLEVenza slashes another.                         WIN          Joey!VENZAturns, slashing WIN.WINgasps.  Blood begins to seep from his wound.ANGLE - CLAIREhearing, emerges into the light, smiling, thinking WIN'Ssaying something she's supposed to respond to.VENZAslashing WIN again, losing all control.                         WIN                  (staggering back)          Jesus...!CLAIRE ROUNDS THE CORNERSeeing WIN, she stops.ANGLEVENZA continues to attack him, stabbing WIN to the floor.CLAIREscreams, unable to imagine or believe it.VENZAlooks up, hearing her.WIN sprawls, a lifeless, bloodied mass at VENZA'S feet.VENZA stares, returning CLAIRE'S stare, trying toconcentrate, to focus and pull himself back together.  Heputs down the cutter, taking a step toward her.CLAIREsteps back, turning and moving back toward the elevator,running.VENZAquickens his step, after her.ANGLE ON THE ELEVATORas she REACHES IT and HURTLES inward, HITTING all theBUTTONS, the doors beginning to RUMBLE CLOSED.  But VENZAis there, THRUSTING HIS HAND INSIDE to stop them.  Thedoors CLOSE on his fingers.  He cries out, pulling hisfingers free.  He slams his fist against the doors as theyclose shut, POUNDS the button again.ANGLE INSIDE - CLAIREBut CLAIRE grabs the POWER SWITCH, pulling it -- theelevator goes dead, the overhead lights go out -- andsomewhere, in the shaft above, an ALARM BELL begins toRING.Relentlessly, VENZA pounds on the other side of the door.CLOSE ON CLAIREgiving way in the darkened cubicle.ANOTHER ANGLE - CLAIREsagging against the elevator wall, weeping, hearingVENZA'S FRANTIC BREATHING on the other side subside, andfinally move away in the darkness.INT.  MIKE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTThe PHONE RINGING -- a hand fumbling on the telephone inthe darkness.  WE HEAR MIKE'S VOICE as he turns on thelight.                         MIKE          T.J...?  Is this a joke?  Are you          kidding me?                  (listening, not                   liking what he                   hears)          Give me 20 minutes.MIKE hanging up the phone, turns to ELLIE.                         ELLIE                  (mumbling from under                   the covers)          Switch the light off on your way          out.                                            CUT TO:INT.  UNMARKED CAR - NIGHTMIKE and T.J. disheveled and tired, drinking out ofstyrofoam coffee cups, arriving at the club.                         T.J.                  (grinning)          Hey Mike, out of the bag into the          bureau, huh... How do you like it so          far?                         MIKE                  (giving a half smile)          Right behind you, T.J.                                            CUT TO:INT.  THE CLUB - NIGHTA rare tableau; swirling disco lights reflecting offstrategically placed mirrors, illuminating a room filledwith POLICEMEN (in uniforms and polyester suits), tryingto ride herd on the BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, in contrastingattire.The man in charge and coping is LIEUTENANT GARBER; inplainclothes, fiftyish, rough-hewn.                         GARBER          Did you ever hear the chatter.          They're worse than fuckin' four-          year-olds... Miller, let's clear          this path here, all right?T.J. and MIKE arrive.                         GARBER                  (to them, on the                   move)          Blood bath downstairs.  The owner of          this place is dead.  And I got a          witness, and a suspect... Joey          Venza.T.J. reacts to the name.                         T.J.          Where's Venza?                         GARBER          Nice question.  I like questions          like that.A massive "GASP" goes up from the CROWD as a cumbersomeBODYBAG is brought up a stairwell from downstairs.  GARBERtemporarily moves away to oversee.                         MIKE                  (to T.J.)          Who's Joey Venza?                         T.J.          Bad fuckin' news.  Even the families          dropped him when they found they had          a fruitcake on their hands.  But he          knows where a lot of bodies are          buried.  It'd cap it for Garber if          he could bring him in.                         GARBER                  (returning, re: the                   crowd)          Okay, let's find out what we know.          Herd'm up and check'm out.  Anybody          know more than gossip about the          deceased or Venza, I wanna talk to          them myself.  Go.T.J. moves into action with typical "T.J. style"diplomacy.                         T.J.          Okay, will all the beautiful people          shut the fuck up, before it starts          gettin' real ugly here!The uniformed COPS take their cue, moving in for quiet.                         GARBER                  (to Mike, the "new                   boy")          Keegan, go baby-sit the witness.          Just sit and look impressive.  Make          her feel protected.  And if you can          get her boyfriend outa my hair, I'll          promote you to fuckin' Joint          Chiefs...                                            CUT TO:EXT.  WIN HOCKINGS' OFFICE - CLUB - NIGHTA uniformed COP guarding the door as MIKE approaches,flashing his shield.                         COP          Quit playing with yourself, Keegan.          I know who you are.                         MIKE                  (grinning)          A Detective's supposed to identify          himself.                                            CUT TO:INT.  WIN HOCKINGS' OFFICE - NIGHTThe room is dim, lit only by a desk lamp, CLAIRE seated ona couch, catatonic, NEIL kneading her hand, trying tocomfort her.  A KNOCK at the DOOR:  NEIL JUMPS UP to openit -- MIKE ENTERING before he gets there.                         NEIL                  (upset)          Are you in charge here?                         MIKE          No, sir...                         NEIL          I asked for the man in charge...                         MIKE          That would be Lieutenant Garber, and          he's very busy upstairs...                         NEIL          Don't tell me he's "busy".  I asked          for an ambulance for this woman          and...                         MIKE          Is she injured?                         CLAIRE                  (softly)          No.MIKE gets his first view of her as she TURNS her head intothe light.  It is an almost storybook vision of beautythat emerges from the darkness around her; hervulnerability penetrates to the very core.                         NEIL                  (to Claire)          You're not going to talk to anyone          without a lawyer.                         MIKE          She's not a suspect, sir, she's a          witness.  Could I ask you to step          outside, please.                         NEIL          No, I will not step outside.                         MIKE          Sir, I am just trying to do my job,          it's standard procedure to question          the witness alone.  Help me out          here, could you please leave.                         NEIL                  (icily)          I don't really see what that has to          do with...                         CLAIRE                  (deadened; to Neil)          Neil, do what he says.ANGLE ON MIKE AND NEIL:  at a standoff.                         CLAIRE                  (quietly)          Please.MIKE OPENS THE DOOR for NEIL.  NEIL reluctantly swallowsit.                         NEIL          I'll be right outside.NEIL grudgingly leaves.  MIKE quietly closes the door.ANGLE CHANGE:  CLAIRE and MIKE alone.  He sits down.  Abeat.                         MIKE          Can I get you a cup of coffee or          something?Her plaintive eyes turning to meet his.                         CLAIRE                  (lost)          I've never seen anyone killed          before.                         MIKE          It's okay... I've never been a          detective before either...She lifts her gaze quizzically, catching his smile.  Shereturns it in spite of herself, disarmed by his frankness,and curiously reassured.                         MIKE          We'll go slow.  Okay?  We'll get          through it together.                                            CUT TO:INT.  DOWNTOWN HEADQUARTERS - DAYPHONES RINGING, TYPEWRITERS TYPING, BODIES moving atcross-current -- CAMERA FINDING LIEUTENANT GARBER,hustling through the bullpen, MIKE FOLLOWING, toward hisoffice.                         GARBER          I don't know how you did it, but          whatever it was, keep doing it.                         MIKE                  (puzzled)          I just sat and listened.                         GARBER          Safe and secure is how we want her.          Until she I.D.'s Venza.T.J. has joined them.                         GARBER          Venza's either going to skip or try          to get to her and Venza likes it          here.  I want her ass covered, 24          hour protection, but I don't want          her to know there is any real          danger.                         T.J.          I don't like what I'm hearing...                         MIKE                  (to Garber)          I don't understand.  If there's any          danger, why not just level with          her...GARBER turns back to MIKE                         GARBER                  (with mock tolerance)          T.J. your friend's a little dense.          When she realizes there's a killer          tryin' to shut her up, she'll be on          the next plane for Tahiti... somehow          I think my way is better.He MOVES ON, leaving them not very happy.                         MIKE          Chief?GARBER turns back.                         MIKE          Why not Patrol?  They'd do just as          good a job.                         GARBER          When I want your advise, Keegan,          I'll make an appointment.GARBER MOVES ON OUT.  MIKE and T.J. left alone.                         MIKE                  (disappointed)          Shit!  A Nursemaid!  My first          detail, and I'm a fuckin' slug!                  (turning to T.J.)          I got a 'choice' at all.                         T.J.          Do it, or look for another          profession.  That's a choice I          guess.                         MIKE          You in this with me?                         T.J.          Yeah!  Seniority gets the day shift.EXT.  BACK OF MIKE'S HOUSE - DAYELLIE IS SEEN unloading groceries from the rear of a smallhatchback...INT.  MIKE'S HOUSE - DAYMIKE is in the kitchen; he's making eggs in agitation,throwing in everything he can find (tuna fish, choppedpickles, mustard), his kid, TOMMY, in evidence in theb.g., on a SKATEBOARD, whizzing through the kitchen, evenRIDING IT down the STAIRS.MIKE MOVES TO A CABINET -- and his FEET GO OUT FROM UNDERHIM.  He's slipped on a SKATEBOARD -- barely catchinghimself in time.                         MIKE                  (yelling)          Tommy!  Goddamnit!  Get these          skateboards off the goddamn kitchen          floor!TOMMY whizzes through, expertly picking it up "on themove," MIKE taking a futile swipe at him.                         TOMMY          What're we having?                         MIKE          My special, scrambled eggs surprise.                         TOMMY                  (frowns dubiously)          Scrambled eggs surprise?TOMMY goes whizzing on out again.  ELLIE comes in loadedup with the groceries.  Puts them down, giving MIKE akiss.                         ELLIE          So how'd it go?                         MIKE          Not great.  I've got a babysitting          job for a material witness on a          homicide.It explains his mood.  ELLIE starts putting away thegroceries.                         ELLIE          For how long?                         MIKE          'Til they pick up the perp.                  (he sits)          Seniority gets day shift... You know          what that means.CLOSE ON ELLIE:  she sits, realizing, upset, but taking itin stride, now putting plates on the table.                         ELLIE          Well, I'll live with it, I've lived          with it all my life.  My Dad was a          cop, he said, "whatever you do,          honey, never go out with a cop".          So, what did I do?  I got a job with          the cops.  Then I married a cop.  I          probably gave birth to a cop.                  (shouting)          Tommy!  Come over here and eat, it's          hot.TOMMY enters.                         MIKE          Maybe you and Tommy should stay with          my Mom.ELLIE makes an expression of dislike.                         MIKE          Don't start... The only reason is          that the neighborhood's shi...                  (realizing that                   Tommy is listening)          ... crummy.  I just don't like the          idea of leaving you alone here at          night.                         ELLIE          I can still use a gun.                         MIKE          Just keep it someplace safe, but          handy.TOMMY joins then at the table.                         TOMMY                  (zooming in)          Keep what handy?                         ELLIE          Nothing.                         TOMMY          The gun?  It's in the upstairs          closet.                         MIKE          How do you know where the gun is?                         TOMMY          I know where everything is.                         MIKE          Except the goddamn skateboards,          which are everywhere!  I'd like to          kill the guy who invented those          things.                         TOMMY          Lay back, Mack.                         MIKE          Lay back, Mack!!  What's this "lay          back, Mack?"                  (to Ellie)          Where does he get this?Silence; they eat... ELLIE'S eyes finding MIKE'S.                         ELLIE          Keep the weekends for us, huh?  Get          a replacement for Saturday nights.          That'll give us the weekends          together.TOMMY'S face screws up, tasting the lump of food in hismouth.                         TOMMY          God!  Scrambled eggs surprise?!          These are pickles...!  God!                         MIKE          Just "lay back, Mack"... lay back...                                            CUT TO:EXT.  MANHATTAN - FIFTH AVENUE - EARLY EVENINGMike emerges from the subway alongside the park.EXT.  FIFTH AVENUE APARTMENT BUILDINGS - EARLY EVENINGOut front, the DOORMAN opens the door for the building'schildren returning from music lessons.Across the street in Central Park, handsome, elderlytenants stroll in the company of their nurse:  a nannypushes a pram, taking advantage of the last light.  Thisis one of New York's most exclusive co-ops.  Distilledcivilization and quiet wealth.  A world away from Queensor anything else.  MIKE arrives on foot.INT./ EXT.  LOBBY - EVENINGA notice behind the locked front door informs:  "ALLVISITORS MUST BE ANNOUNCED".  MIKE displays his shield tothe DOORMAN through the glass.  The DOORMAN opens, takingthe time to inspect his credentials before returning them,then STEPS ASIDE, allowing ENTRY.INT.  ELEVATOR - SAMEMIKE rides up in silence, examining the ornate walls.INT.  VESTIBULE - CLAIRE'S APARTMENT - SAMEThe elevator delivers him.  MIKE finds himself in a wall-papered trompe l'oeil foyer.  Nothing to get his bearings.The front door clicks open, startling him.  MARY, thecleaning lady, an older, capable woman in functionalcivilian clothes, greets him matter-of-factly, taking himin.INT.  CLAIRE'S LIVING ROOM - SAMEMarble-floored and high-ceilinged, absolutely palatial;MIKE'S EYES registering amazement as he's led inward.Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park, wherethe VOICES are REVEALED belonging to GARBER, T.J., CLAIRE,and CLAIRE'S boyfriend, NEIL -- who's trying his best tobe "in charge".                         GARBER                  (approaching Mike)          You remember Detective Keegan?                         NEIL                  (expressionless)          I do.The doorbell RINGS AGAIN:  MARY goes to answer it as MIKEmumbles his greetings to all -- noticing that CLAIRE,reclining on a couch, seems extremely put out -- or is it"disinterested"?                         NEIL          I want to make sure that everyone          respects the privacy of Miss          Gregory's household.  You're limited          to the outer vestibule, so you can          watch the elevator, the kitchen, so          you can get something to eat, and          the washroom.                         T.J.                  (under his breath to                   Mike)          So you can take a shit.The THIRD DETECTIVE enters, being led by MARY.  It'sKOONTZ, a package of razz and sarcasm, somebody youdefinitely don't take home to mother.                         MIKE                  (reacting; to T.J.)          Not Koontz.                         T.J.          Be happy.  He's good at this.                         GARBER                  (to Neil)          We'd like to, just once, get a look          at the entire layout, so we can          evaluate security.                         CLAIRE          This really isn't necessary.  The          security in this building is about          the best in the city.                         GARBER                  (ever the diplomat)          I'm sure you're right, Miss Gregory,          but I'd consider it a favor if you'd          let us look around.                         CLAIRE          Be my guest.                         GARBER                  (to his troops)          Guys.ANGLE - HALLWAYas GARBER withdraws; MIKE, T.J., KOONTZ to start theircheck.                         MIKE                  (to Garber)          What about when she goes out?                         GARBER          Discourage it.  But stay with her if          you can't.  Call it in first so we          can have a car on tail.  She's          agreed to travel only with her own          driver and limousine... okay, let's          check it out.They split up.ANGLE - MIKEfollowing orders, continues down the hall.  He moves to adoor that he ATTEMPTS TO OPEN -- discovering it's notreal.  It's a TROMPE L'OEIL.  He turns around to find he'snot alone in the long hall.  NEIL stands just outside theliving room, watching him.                         MIKE                  (re: the "door")          Pretty good.ANGLE - NEILturns, returning to CLAIRE in the LIVING ROOM.                         NEIL          Why an I reminded of the Three          Stooges?                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S LIBRARY - MOMENTS LATERKOONTZ checking the windows and terrace.                                            CUT TO:INT.  KITCHEN - SAMEMIKE, MARY the MAID in there with him.                         MARY                  (officiously)          You a vegetarian?  Miss Gregory's a          vegetarian, so I'm gonna put food          for you people in a separate fridge.          You know how to use a microwave?                  (before he can                   answer)          Just about everything you'd want          will heat up by turning this to          ninety seconds.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S BEDROOM - SAMEUtterly sumptuous; T.J. uttering a low "whistle" of awe.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S POWDER ROOMThere's an enormous circular bathtub and a Jacuzzi,endless mirrors, a writing desk, carpeted, a place onecould spend one's life in -- MIKE SEEN, in the MIRRORS,wandering through -- idly pushing a mirrored door open, togaze, in awe, at the walk-in closet.                         MIKE                  (under his breath)          Fuckin' A.ANGLE:  He see T.J., or what he thinks is T.J., reflectedamong the other reflections at the other end of the room.Sees T.J. sit on edge of bed.  MIKE is standing in centerof the MIRRORS, slightly disoriented.  And T.J. sees him,similarly astounded, MOVING OUT OF SHOT.CLOSE ON MIKE:  Moving inward, he gawks at the racks ofclothes, gently brushing his hand through the lushfabrics.  CLAIRE'S VOICE -- ANGRY, ALMOST TREMBLING, AFIRM EFFORT OF WILL -- rustles the silence behind him.                         CLAIRE          Excuse me.ANGLE ON CLAIRE                         CLAIRE          This is my dressing room, and these          are my clothes.                  (holding herself                   firm)          I understand your responsibilities...          but I'd appreciate you staying out          of here at all times.MIKE:  chastened, nods.                         MIKE          Sorry.  Just checking.He starts away.  MOMENTARILY baffled by the MANY-ANGLEDREFLECTIONS OF HIMSELF in the MIRRORS.                         CLAIRE          Straight ahead.                         MIKE          Hard to find doors in this place.MIKE:  embarrassed, apologetic.                         CLAIRE          ... Detective Keegan, I hope you          understand how upsetting this is?                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S OUTER VESTIBULE - NIGHTAll silent; MIKE on "watch".  Just him and a wooden deskchair, the grade-school variety.  No books, no crosswordpuzzles; he came unprepared.  He checks his watch andlooks to an ornate wall clock.  And he's bored.  He picksup an empty coffee cup, looking for a last drop.  Settlesfor sniffing it.  Replaces it on the floor beside him.Then he looks to the closed doors of the apartment andmakes a decision.  Picking up the coffee cup, he quietlypushes the DOORS OPEN, and ENTERS.                                            CUT TO:INT.  LIVING ROOM - NIGHTAs MIKE pads quietly across the marble floors in thequiet; pausing to gaze, in awe, at the vast, empty LIVINGROOM.  It is gigantic, his eyes roaming the ceilings, asthough to estimate their height.Moving inward, his eyes fall on a BOOK RACK, and hecrosses to it, perusing the shelves for possible readingmaterial.They're all ART BOOKS, the big, thick kind.  A Renoir,because of a NUDE FIGURE on the cover, catches his eye.But as he pulls it out and begins to leaf through -- heHEARS VOICES.  CLAIRE'S and NEIL'S; her tone is agitated.                         NEIL (O.S.)                  (barely audible)          ... just saying you should think          twice about it...                         CLAIRE (O.S.)          ... I don't want to talk about it...CLOSE ON MIKE:  book under his arm, quietly moving towardthe SOURCE:  the DEN.  It's door is slightly ajar; thereis a suitcase in front of it, ready for travel.INT.  DEN - NIGHT                         CLAIRE          ... You know, and I know, that the          only thing standing between a life          sentence for Venza and his freedom          is my testimony at his trial...                         NEIL          Claire...                         CLAIRE          ... He killed Win... he enjoyed          it...                         NEIL          Win made his choices, Claire.  We          all do --                         CLAIRE          And I'm making mine.She looks at him; a beat, emotionally.  He remains steady.                         NEIL                  (gently)          You're dealing with a psychopath.          He gets out of jail in ten years, or          five... or ninety days, and you'll          be looking over your shoulder for          the rest of your life...                         CLAIRE          What am I supposed to do?!  I saw          one of my oldest friends get killed!          And I saw who did it!                  (through tears)          I can't just -- "let it go away"!!                         NEIL                  (gently)          Claire...ANGLE - DEN.  NEIL takes her in his arms, holding hertightly, affectionately, protectively.  Holding her frombehind, NEIL KISSES CLAIRE gently on her neck.  She calmsin his arms.RETURN:  MIKE DODGES back quickly, through the living anddining rooms until he's in the kitchen.INT.  KITCHEN - NIGHTSpotting the microwave, MIKE QUICKLY TOSSES in an Englishmuffin -- peering at the dials, as he switches it on.But he hasn't escaped being a trespasser to what's goingon in the far room.  He can still HEAR THEM, though HEWHISTLES, trying not to.The English muffin BURSTS INTO FLAMES, MIKE desperatelypulling it out, tossing it into the sink, feverishlyfanning the air.ANOTHER ANGLE ON MIKE:  becoming aware that HE'S NOTALONE.  He TURNS SUDDENLY to see MARY, the housekeeper,not ten feet from him, in the laundry room, coat on,fluffing her collar, ready to go home.                         MIKE                  (chagrined)          I like 'em toasty.ANGLE ON MARY:  staring at him, amused.                         MARY          Good night, Mr. Keegan.She moves through the kitchen and EXITS.INT.  VESTIBULE - LATER - NIGHTNEIL, with his briefcase, finally leaving.  He crossesfrom the hallway.The TWO EYE EACH OTHER:  MIKE attempting a cordial smile.                         NEIL          You're here 'til what time?                         MIKE          I'm relieved at 4:00 A.M.NEIL noticing the Renoir.                         NEIL          When you're through with it, put it          back, please, exactly where you          found it, and don't use the library          again.  I have to leave town for a          few days.  Let's do everything we          can to make this less of a trial for          her, shall we?MIKE NODS.  But when NEIL leaves, he makes a mock"military salute"; a click of the heels.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S VESTIBULE - LATER2:45 A.M. (the clock ON THE WALL); pindrop silence; MIKEalone.CLOSE ON MIKE:  thoughtful, leafing through the Renoir.Like a man making the most of solitary confinement --becoming aware of a NOISE.  Though hard to make out inthis windowless capsule, it is DISTANT THUNDER.  It stirslife in him and his eyes wander reflexively upward,studying the ceiling -- then the doors of the apartment,left slightly ajar.ANGLE INSIDE THE APARTMENT:  CAMERA FOLLOWING MIKE as hewanders inward, becoming aware of light coming from adrawing room.  HE MOVES TOWARD, STOPPING.ANGLE FROM HIS POV:  CLAIRE, dimly illuminated by thelight of a desk lamp that throws a gentle glow around her-- seated, still as statuary, gazing out into the rain.CLOSE ON MIKE:  watching her.                                            DISSOLVE TO:INT.  SUBWAY - ON THE MOVE - LATERThe uncivilized hour indicated by the TOTALLY EMPTYSUBWAY, MIKE a lone figure, somewhat numbed, his eyes setinto distant space -- as the SUBWAY reaches itsDESTINATION, the blurry platform signs decelerating untilwe can make out the word "QUEENS".EXT.  MIKE'S HOUSE - QUEENSThe neighborhood still asleep in the predawn hour; MIKEpicks up the newspaper... glancing at it, he opens it,sees an article and photograph of CLAIRE on the secondpage.  He heads inwards...                                            CUT TO:INT.  MIKE'S BEDROOM - DAYAfternoon sunlight SPILLING IN as MIKE AWAKENS to theSOUND of a CAR MOTOR, faltering, then "chug-chugging" toanother start, gasping, then revving.  Someone's workingon MIKE'S car.  He looks at his alarm clock; it's 4:00 inthe afternoon.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  MIKE'S BACKYARD - DAYELLIE and TOMMY visible only as fragments as they work onMIKE'S car.  ELLIE IS SEEN as a rear-end in blue jeans,the rest of her inside the hood; she calls to TOMMY to"try it again".  It looks like no one's behind the wheel;but the very top of his head CAN BE SEEN as he strains toreach the accelerator.ANGLE ON MIKE:  appearing at the door, in a freshlypressed suit, a steaming cup of coffee in hand.  He walksacross the lawn towards them.                         MIKE          Hey!  What the hell're you doin' to          my car?ELLIE emerges from underneath the hood, flushed.                         ELLIE          Changing the sparks.  They showed it          on TV.  What d'you think?                         MIKE          I think television's a dangerous          thing.                         ELLIE          It's twenty bucks in the bank.Slamming the hood.  TOMMY revs the engine ELLIE movingdown the steps towards MIKE.                         ELLIE          Enough, Tommy!  C'mon.  Get out of          there!ELLIE moving towards MIKE, she slipping her hand into hisunderpants:  Their eyes meet, lovingly.  She laughs.                         MIKE          Hey.  The neighbors.                         ELLIE          Let 'em eat their hearts out.She retrieves her cold coffee cup from the POTTING TABLE,checks out the picture of CLAIRE in the newspaper, he'sleft there.  MIKE adjusts his tie.  It's very colorful.                         ELLIE          I read the article.  You didn't tell          me she was so beautiful.                         MIKE                  (Mister Honest)          Well, actually, she looks better          than that.ELLIE playfully makes a move, JABBING AT HIM, MIKE stopsher, ending WITH A HUG.                         MIKE          I've got to go.MIKE kisses her.  ELLIE holds MIKE'S face with her glovedhand.                         MIKE          See you Tommy.ANGLE ON ELLIE:  as TOMMY comes up and leans against hismom:  both watching MIKE primp, they share on the joke.MIKE turns, his face with grease on it.                         MIKE          Okay?                         ELLIE          Unbelievably handsome.  You look          fantastic in a suit.                         TOMMY          Nice threads Dad.                         MIKE          Yeah, I think so.MIKE leaves.INT.  CLAIRE'S KITCHEN - LATER - NIGHTThe WALL CLOCK reads 6:30.  The remains of a teeny gourmetmeal, before him on the kitchen table.MIKE is playing an improvised hockey game, shooting peasthrough a goal made up of two water glasses, using hisknife as a hockey stick.  He HEARS the CLICK of HIGH HEELSapproaching, crossing the vast marble floors.ANGLE FROM HIS POV:  CLAIRE coming toward -- clearlydressed for the evening, her stride signalingdetermination.                         MIKE                  (brilliant)          Hi.                         CLAIRE          I'm sorry.  I'm not sure how this          works.  I have to go out... is that          all right?                         MIKE                  (unprepared)          Uh...                         CLAIRE          I have to pick something up before          Bergdorf's closes, then stop at a          reception just a few blocks away.                         MIKE                  (faltering)          I think, maybe, that isn't such a          great idea...                         CLAIRE          Lieutenant Garber said that in all          likelihood there was no real danger,          is that true?                         MIKE          Right.  That's true.                         CLAIRE          Can we go then?                         MIKE          I'm supposed to call in.                         CLAIRE          There's a phone in the car.She MOVES TOWARDS THE ELEVATOR:  MIKE, stymied.INT.  ELEVATOR - SAME - NIGHTThey descend in silence, MIKE aware of being scrutinized.The ELEVATOR STOPS, MIKE about to get off, realizingthey're stopped at the THIRD FLOOR, another TENANTstepping on.  He's dressed in an expensive JOGGING SUIT,his key dangling from around his neck; he nods to CLAIREand pushes "DOWN".  The elevator RUMBLES downward.                         CLAIRE          Do you have another tie?  Something          more conservative?                         MIKE                  (confused, then                   realizing)          Oh... Yes... I don't have it with          me.  It's at home.EXT.  CLAIRE'S BUILDING - SAME - NIGHTThe JOGGER first out the door, taking off with fiercedetermination, followed by MIKE, who nervously checks thestreet, then opens the limo door and checks inside, then,finally, MOTIONS CLAIRE OUT.  She moves smoothly into thelimo; MIKE checks traffic behind them, then gets in,after.                                            CUT TO:INT.  LIMO - SAME - NIGHTMIKE fumbles, searching the console for the car phone.She finds it easily, picks it up.                         CLAIRE          What's the number?                                            CUT TO:INT.  DOWNTOWN HEADQUARTERS - GARBER'S OFFICEGARBER is on the other end of the line.                         GARBER          Oh, Jesus, what a fucking lunatic.          Fucking shopping.                  (he thinks)          I don't see that we have much          choice.  Jesus Christ.  Tell her          she's a fucking lunatic.GARBER slams down the phone.INT.  CLAIRE'S LIMO - NIGHTMIKE sets down the phone.                         CLAIRE          What did he say?                         MIKE          He thinks you're being a little          careless.  He made the point several          times.MIKE sets down the phone.  They settle back; trying tofeel "comfortable" in one another's presence.  It's plentyawkward.                         CLAIRE          You live in Manhattan?                         MIKE          Queens... You know Queens?                         CLAIRE          My father founded a music school          there.  The Milton Gregory School.He politely tries to place it, with no idea.                         CLAIRE          I'm supposed to speak at their tenth          anniversary.                         MIKE          Nice.  Maybe you'll stop by... have          an aperitif...It evokes a slight smile but nothing more.                         MIKE          Maybe not.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  5TH AVENUE SHOP - NIGHTThe limo pulling up, MIKE hopping expertly out before itstops moving.It's parked in a red zone, with tow-away signs everywhere;a PATROLMAN notices from the curb.                         MIKE                  (to the driver)          Don't move it.He flashes his shield at the PATROLMAN, takes a firm gripon CLAIRE'S elbow, guiding her in.ANGLE - AT THE ENTRANCE DOORSMIKE stiff-arms the revolving door, stopping outgoingshoppers to clear the way for CLAIRE; hops over to thefixed door, opening it quickly for her, hustling hereffortlessly in, zip.ANGLE:  CLAIRE, taken by it, but not displeased.INT.  FIFTH AVENUE SHOP - NIGHTThey cross toward the up escalator; she knows where she'sgoing.                         PERFUME LADY          Hello, Miss Gregory.CLAIRE steps onto the ESCALATOR; MIKE on alert,scrutinizing the crowd.  He gets on right behind.  Theyascend.At the top LANDING, A DARK-SUITED MAN VEERS RIGHT INTOHER.  CLAIRE flinches.  MIKE MOVES PAST HER to the front,quickly handling the guy.  The MAN jumps back.                         DARK-SUITED MAN          I'm sorry... I thought this was          down...ANGLE ON MIKE; SHAKEN.  CLAIRE giving him a long unsteadylook, too.                         CLAIRE          Are you nervous?                         MIKE          No, Ma'am.                                            CUT TO:INT.  SHOP - GIFT COUNTER - NIGHTMIKE keeping close watch as CLAIRE approves her purchase:a silver frame, containing an inscribed photo of CLAIREand an elegant older woman.                         CLAIRE          Would you wrap it for me, I'll be          back in a moment.CLAIRE walks past MIKE.                         CLAIRE          Could you come with me please.MIKE follows her.CLAIRE at the TIE COUNTER, points to the tie rack.                         CLAIRE          Would you pick one out, please?                         MIKE          Beg pardon?                         CLAIRE          Since you're going to be my escort,          you'll need a new tie.MIKE begins to connect, glancing down again at the tiehe's wearing.  CLAIRE selects a TIE, turning to theSALESPERSON, for his reaction.                         SALESPERSON          Perfect.CLAIRE handing it to the SALESPERSON.                         CLAIRE          Put it on my account, please.                         MIKE          I got money.CLAIRE gives a look to the clerk to go ahead with herorder.  SALESPERSON goes off.                         CLAIRE          If we had more time we'd work on the          suit too.                                            CUT TO:INT.  THE LIMO - IN MOTION - SAME - NIGHTMIKE AND CLAIRE; CLAIRE favorably assessing him in the newtie.                         CLAIRE          You look quite elegant, actually.He looks down at it in silence; then, finally:                         MIKE          My wife likes this suit.CLOSE ON CLAIRE:  his vulnerability makes her smile.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM - NIGHTClearly a "big deal," with Kleig lights and heavyLIMOUSINE and TAXI traffic being directed into place byCOPS, some of whom we recognize.ANGLE ON A PAIR OF COPS, using flashlights to guidetraffic -- spotting CLAIRE'S LIMOUSINE with the BLACK-AND-WHITE PATROL CAR following it, and signaling it intoplace.                         TRAFFIC COP                  (re: Claire's limo)          Bring it in, close.The COP OPENS THE DOOR -- stunned to see MIKE STEP OUT, insuit and new tie -- looking like he belongs there.                         COP          Jesus Christ.                         MIKE          I'm on duty.                         COP          What kind of work?  Gigolo?CLAIRE steps out, utterly elegant, taking MIKE'S arm --the traffic COPS now joined by those from the BLACK-AND-WHITE, as MIKE and CLAIRE head INWARD.  The COPS wolf-whistle MIKE and razz him as they go, some beginning theSTRAINS of "Just a Gigolo"...MIKE GIVES THEM THE FINGER behind his back.                                            CUT TO:INT.  THE RECEPTION - SAME - NIGHTMIKE and CLAIRE caught in a crush of people jamming theENTRANCE WAY -- their bodies coming into close contact, soclose that MIKE is forced into an awkward posture in orderto stay close to her; one arm up in the air, uncomfortableabout taking her arm.                         CLAIRE          You can touch me, I won't bite.                         MIKE          Not too sure about that.He takes her arm, guiding her through the crowd.The SOUND of a WOMAN'S (MARGE GOODWIN) VOICE attractstheir attention.                         MARGE                  (pushing through)          CLAIRE!  Claire!  Darling!  Are you          all right?She's a SOCIETY MATRON-TYPE, grabbing CLAIRE in an ever-so-concerned HUG.                         MARGE          My God!  I couldn't believe... my          poor darling... and Win Hockings...!          Antonia'll be so happy you're here,          she says a "Lifetime Achievement          Award" is like being invited to your          own funeral while you're still          alive...But ANTONIA, an elegant OLDER WOMAN, has already SPOTTEDHER.                         ANTONIA          Claire...!She pushes through, and fairly falls into CLAIRE'S arms.ANTONIA almost emotionally overcome, that CLAIRE hasmanaged it.                         CLAIRE          I wouldn't have missed it, Tony.                         ANTONIA          You look so beautiful...ANTONIA looks up to see MIKE.                         CLAIRE          This is Mike Keegan, the policeman          assigned to protect me.  Antonia          Bolt...She looks up to SEE MIKE:  it directs others to do thesame.                         MARGE                  (change of tone)          Hello.                         CLAIRE                  (introducing)          Marge Woodwin, Antonia Bolt, this is          Mike Keegan...                         MIKE                  (ultra respectful)          Hello...                  (a deferential nod                   to Antonia)          ... Ma'am.                         ANTONIA                  (liking him; to                   Claire)          He's got nice eyes.  Very gentle.                  (re: Mike's                   embarrassed                   reaction)          And he blushes.  I like that.  Take          good care of her.INT.  THE RECEPTION - LATER - NIGHTCLAIRE in the thick of things -- a BAND PLAYING NOW --occasionally glancing at MIKE -- who stands against awall, ever watchful...CLOSE ON MIKE: TURNING to see a VERY PRETTY YOUNG THINGcome up to him; just "oozing" seduction.                         PRETTY YOUNG THING          I hear you're a policeman.MIKE nods; eyes fixed on CLAIRE.                         MIKE          Uh, yeah.  I'm a policeman.                         PRETTY YOUNG THING          Ever shot anyone?                         MIKE          Yes.                         PRETTY YOUNG THING          Does it make you... hard?                         MIKE          ... Hard?                         PRETTY YOUNG THING          Erect.  You know, a "boner?"  I'd          heard that it gives you a boner, to          shoot a man.MIKE'S eyes register abject dumbfoundment.                         MIKE          Would you excuse me, please?HE PUSHES TOWARD CLAIRE, catching her eye.                         MIKE          Would you consider leaving here          pretty soon?CLAIRE relaxed, clearly having a good time.                         CLAIRE          People think I'm stepping out on          Neil.  We're causing quite a          scandal.                         MIKE                  (confidential)          Hey!  There are crazy people here.                         CLAIRE          Let's get a drink.                         MIKE          Ah... I shouldn't... on duty.She plows toward the crowded bar, just inside the ballroomentrance, MIKE following.                         CLAIRE          I'll have a spritzer, order          something soft for yourself... I          must go for a pee.                         MIKE          I'll come with you.                         CLAIRE          I think I can probably do that on my          own.CLOSE ON MIKE:  Not amused.  CLAIRE heads to the ladies'room across from the bar.  MIKE watches her enter.  Turnsback to the bar, which is very busy and confused.                         MIKE                  (irritated)          Gimme a spritzer, and a... vodka          martini.MIKE seeing the Pretty Young Thing.                         MIKE          Make it a double.                                            CUT TO:INT.  LADIES' ROOM - SAME - NIGHTas a pair of WOMEN finish their "touch-up" and head out,making way for CLAIRE to step up to the mirror to assessherself.  The room momentarily empties.  Putting her pursedown she moves to a stall and enters.                                            CUT TO:INT.  BAR COUNTER - NIGHTMIKE, waiting, glancing back at the door as the TWO WOMENEXIT, then turns to the BARMAN to receive the drinks.                                            CUT TO:INT.  LADIES' ROOM - SAMELOW ANGLE on the door -- as a pair of men's shoes passthrough frame.CLOSE ON CLAIRE, inside a stall SHE HEARS FOOTSTEPSQUIETLY ENTER, followed by a CLICK of a DOOR.  It's notthe click of a stall door, because the FOOTSTEPS thenproceed inward; WE HEAR A STALL DOOR CLOSE and LOCK.  Itgives her momentary pause, but she dismisses it, lookingfor her purse -- realizing she left it on the sink --opening her stall door and heading out.She barely hears the "click" of the bolt sliding behindher -- and looks up, into the MIRROR, SEEING VENZA appearbehind her.  She SPINS -- but doesn't have time to CRYOUT.  He's grabbed her by the THROAT.                                            CUT TO:INT.  BALLROOM - SAME MOMENT - NIGHTMIKE and the PRETTY YOUNG THING:  she doesn't notice himtrying to drift away.                         PRETTY YOUNG THING          You know what?  I don't think you're          a policeman at all.  I think you're          just some schmuck who uses that          "policeman" line as a come-on.                                            CUT TO:INT.  LADIES' ROOM - SAME - NIGHTCLAIRE attempting to breathe -- her FACE being brought towithin an inch of his.                         VENZA          Christ, you're one beautiful woman.          I could kill you right now, but I'm          not gonna... 'cause you're gonna          help me.  You're gonna see me in a          police line-up and say it wasn't me.          And if you don't do that, someone          will come after you.  They're gonna          find you dead, with your face          missing -- understood... Good...          Because otherwise, it'd be this          easy.CLOSE ON CLAIRE:  her eyes wide with TERROR.  He rubs histhumb across her mouth, smearing the lipstick.                         VENZA          Now walk outta here.  And if you          ever see me again... you never saw          me before.To make his point, he SQUEEZES HARDER -- CLAIRE'S eyesbulging, as TEARS run from her eyes.                                            CUT TO:INT.  MUSEUM - UPPER TIER - SAME - NIGHTMIKE, finally putting distance between him and the "PRETTYYOUNG THING."ANGLE:  MIKE, as he catches sight of a back of a man(VENZA) moving out of the ladies' room.  Stunned, MIKEPIVOTS, TURNING, SPRINTING IN THE DIRECTION of the ladies'room.OUTSIDE THE LADIES' ROOM:  Two women just go in.  MIKEpushes his way in, slamming the door behind him.  TheOTHER WOMEN GASP, seeing MIKE invading their sanctuary.INSIDE THE LADIES' ROOM:  MIKECLOSE ON MIKE:  RELIEVED BUT SHOCKED to see CLAIRE,disheveled, lipstick smeared across her mouth, throat andface, but otherwise uninjured.MIKE turns, calling to the TWO WOMEN coming in.                         MIKE          Take care of her!MIKE TAKES OFF AFTER VENZA --INT.  UPPER TIEROUT OF LADIES' ROOM, AND UP THE RAMP TO THE NEAREST (THEUPPER) LEVEL.ANGLE:  He sees VENZA get into the ELEVATOR.  These isonly one place for it to go -- DOWN.  MIKE CHANGESDIRECTION and FRANTICALLY RUNS DOWN THE SPIRALING RAMPtrying to keep pace with the descent of the elevator.  Atthe GROUND LEVEL HE SEES THE ELEVATOR DOORS OPEN and VENZAEXITS AMIDST THE PARTY.ANGLE ON VENZA:  VENZA MAKES HIS WAY TO THE FRONT ENTRANCEAND EXITS THE BUILDING.ANGLE ON MIKE:  MIKE HURTLES DOWN THE RAMP AND DESPERATELYFIGHTS HIS WAY THROUGH THE CENTER of the PARTY and OUT theFRONT ENTRANCE.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM - NIGHTMIKE EXITS the BUILDING bewildered; lost him... RUNSBLINDLY amidst PEDESTRIANS -- SPOTS VENZA AHEAD.ANGLE ON VENZA reaching someone MIKE CAN'T SEE.  MIKE putshis hand in his jacket for his gun.                         MIKE          Venza!VENZA HEARS and SLOWS, but DOESN'T TURN.  ONLOOKERS turn.VENZA is talking to someone, taking his time.ANGLE ON VENZA:  untroubled, turning; raising his arms,and SMILING.ANGLE ON MIKE:  confused -- seeing that the man VENZAstopped to talk to is a PATROLMAN, he'd stopped to givehimself up.CLOSE ON MIKE:  breathless as he moves toward VENZA.  MIKEfrisks VENZA as he turns, SMILING at MIKE.                                            CUT TO:INT.  PRECINCT - DAYMIKE and T.J. with GARBER, MIKE being CONGRATULATED byCOPS who pass.  But GARBER doesn't look happy.                         MIKE                  (protesting)          But I got him!  He's in jail!          Wasn't that the point...?!                         GARBER          You apprehended him after he gave          himself up --                         MIKE          It wasn't a bad bust.  He gave          himself up because he knew I was          gonna nab him.                         GARBER          Anyone who turns himself in makes a          good case for bail.                         MIKE          Even Joey Venza?!                         GARBER          He's got a good lawyer, and he made          a smart move.  We've got a scared          witness and a suspect who proved          "good will" by turning himself in.                         MIKE                  (protesting)          What about when she identifies him?!                         GARBER          If she identifies him.                  (turns, unloading on                   him)          Where the fuck were you anyway,          cowboy!  Venza was meat.  He walked          right past you, and now we're the          ones playing catch-up!  You better          hope she identifies him.GARBER turns on his heel, ENTERING HIS OFFICE; leavingMIKE looking at T.J.  Dismayed.                         T.J.          Wasn't your fault.                         MIKE                  (exasperated)          It was my fault, T.J.  Fuck!                                            CUT TO:EXT.  TRACT HOME - BROOKLYN HEIGHTS - AFTERNOONA tree-lined neighborhood.  The house has a FOR SALE signin front; MIKE is standing in front of a cab, he's dressedfor work -- he looks around.  The cab pulls out, he headsfor the front door.INT.  TRACT HOME - AFTERNOONMIKE enters the house.  It's nothing special.  ELLIE is inanother room.  She joins MIKE.                         ELLIE          The real estate lady left, she          couldn't wait anymore.  What took          you?                         MIKE                  (upset)          Oh, some shit.                         ELLIE          What shit, honey?                         MIKE          You don't want to hear about it.ELLIE begins to show him the place.                         ELLIE          ... Look at the fireplace.  You          don't get workmanship like that          anymore.ANGLE ON MIKE:  preoccupied.                         ELLIE          Ninety-seven five.  What do you          think?He nods, trying hard to "be there," but ELLIE isn'tfooled; she assesses him with concern.                         ELLIE          Honey.  You got him.                         MIKE          I don't know that Ellie.  He might          get out.  Garber's not bein'          straight with the witness, she could          be in deep shit if she identifies          him, and it's my job to convince her          she won't be.                         ELLIE                  (the voice of                   sanity)          She's got to identify him.                         MIKE          Why?                         ELLIE                  (taken aback)          Because the the only way to stop          crime is to identify criminals.  I          can't believe you're talking this          way Mister Detective -- I think          she's got a lot of guts.                         MIKE          I think -- she's crazy.                         ELLIE          I'd identify him.                         MIKE          I might stop you.A beat.                         ELLIE          Oh I can see you've had a bad day.          We'll see the house another time,          okay?                         MIKE                  (trying to recover)          No!  No!  I'm sorry.  Ninety-seven          five right?                         ELLIE          Where'd you get the tie?He's wearing the tie CLAIRE bought him.                         MIKE                  (distracted)          Bought it.                         ELLIE          It's not your taste.                         MIKE          What did she say the down payment          was?PAUSE.  DEAD SILENCE.                         MIKE          She didn't like the other one, so          she picked this one.                         ELLIE          She took you shopping for a tie?                         MIKE          I had to follow her to a store.                         ELLIE          What's wrong with your paisley tie?                         MIKE          Ellie, it was a formal party...                         ELLIE          Excuse me!  You went to a party with          her?                         MIKE          I'm her bodyguard, goddamnit...                         ELLIE          I know you're her bodyguard.  Did          she buy it or did you?                         MIKE          She bought it.                         ELLIE          Why?                         MIKE          I don't know why she bought me a          tie! -- She's a generous person --          and she's a nice person -- and I          could be settin' her up to be          killed... you want the fuckin' tie?His VOICE resonates through the empty house, creating aringing silence.  ELLIE begins to giggle.                         ELLIE                  (joking)          No, I don't want the 'fuckin'" tie          -- I'm sorry --                  (conciliatory)          I'm glad she bought you a tie.  You          needed one.  You look good in that          tie.                  (a beat)          Next time you two go shopping, maybe          you could tell her we need a new          Maytag stackable, double-decker          washer and dryer set.MIKE smiles, she gives him a kiss, and a flick on thenose.                         ELLIE          You want to see the bedroom.                                            CUT TO:INT.  DEN - LATER - NIGHTThe WALL CLOCK reads 9:45.  CLAIRE is working at her desk.She gets up and moves into the hallway where she sees MIKEthrough the half-opened door.  CLAIRE moves to thedoorway.                         CLAIRE          Hi.  Just checking to see if you're          here.                         MIKE          I came on at 8:00.An awkward silence.                         MIKE          You all right?                         CLAIRE          Yeah.                         MIKE          I'm sorry about what happened.                         CLAIRE          Listen, that was my fault.                         MIKE                  (disagreeing)          I shouldn't have listened to you, I          should've followed you right into          the "can" the way he did.                         CLAIRE          If I had known I was going to have          company, he was right next to me.  I          think he heard me peeing!  I hate          that, I am glad he's in jail.She laughs, he smiles, both attempting to make light ofit.  But it's hard to make light of; the attempt quicklyfades.                         CLAIRE          Lieutenant Garber says when I          identify him, they're going to lock          him up and throw away the key.MIKE nods; buttoning his lip.                         CLAIRE          I guess I'm supposed to do it in the          morning.  Identify him.                         MIKE                  (uneasy)          Sooner, the better.                         CLAIRE          He said he'd kill me.                         MIKE          Big talk... Desperate guy.                         CLAIRE          Right.  How could he do that if he's          in jail and they've thrown away the          key...?MIKE is TORN.                         MIKE          It's the right thing to do.          Identifying him.She starts to walk away.                         MIKE          Claire?                         CLAIRE          Hmm...                         MIKE                  (holds up a book)          You wouldn't happen to know what          language they speak in India, do          you?                         CLAIRE          Urdu and Hindi.                         MIKE                  (amazed)          Yeah, what a woman.He marks it in his CROSSWORDS:  she moves closer,leaningover his shoulder to see.                         CLAIRE          Didn't do very well, did you?                         MIKE                  (a laugh)          Nope... never finished one yet.  I          hate these things.                         CLAIRE          You were reading my Renoir.                         MIKE          How did you know?                         CLAIRE          You put it back in the wrong          place... Do you like Renoir?                         MIKE                  (thoughtful)          They're kind of fuzzy.                         CLAIRE          You know why they're like that...?          He was myopic... going blind.                         MIKE          No kidding.In the SILENCE that follows, their eyes on each other,appraising.                         CLAIRE          So, this could be your last night,          huh?                         MIKE          Could be, I guess.                         CLAIRE                  (a thought)          Want to go out for a drink?                  (re: his surprised                   expression)          I mean, we're both sitting here, and          Joey Venza's in jail...                         MIKE                  (a beat)          Yeah, I like that!  Where you go, I          follow.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  FIFTH AVENUE - NIGHTCLAIRE and MIKE walking; her arm looped in his -- theBLACK-AND-WHITE keeping pace alongside them -- theirconversation animated, clearly enjoying one another'scompany.                         CLAIRE                  (laughing)          You mean to tell me, a mugger would          stay away from someone because they          walked a certain way?                         MIKE          Absolutely.  Look at this.He demonstrates a peculiar walk; arms and legs moving inridiculous awkwardness.                         CLAIRE          That's the dumbest walk I ever saw!                         MIKE                  (indignant)          No, no seriously!  There's a study          done on this, you walk this way, the          muggers are gonna single you out.                         CLAIRE          And die laughing, because you're          walking so stupid!                         MIKE                  (mock anger)          Hey.  This is my business.  Do I          tell you your business.                         CLAIRE          Okay.  Let's just see if a mugger          gets me.She takes off down the street; walking stupidly, worsethan he did -- he's LAUGHING as he WATCHES HER GO.                                            CUT TO:INT.  PATROL CAR - NIGHTThe COPS following exchange dubious glances, getting aglimpse of the strangeness.                                            DISSOLVE TO:INT.  PIANO BAR - NIGHTCAMERA FINDING CLAIRE and MIKE, at a small table, indarkness, a piano bar playing in the background.  The songbeing sung is "SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME."                         MIKE          ... It was like... the minute I saw          her... I knew.  She looked so damn          adorable in a cop's uniform...          puttin' on a big, tough act...                         CLAIRE          So it was "love".                         MIKE          Yeah.  It was.                         CLAIRE          And "is"...?He hesitates; but nods.                         MIKE                  (confirming it)          Yeah.                         CLAIRE          That's nice.  And you live in          Queens?  With a child, and a dog...?                         MIKE          No dog.                         CLAIRE          I saw you with a dog, in my mind.                         MIKE          No dog.                         CLAIRE          But "nice".                         MIKE          Very nice.Her envy is plain.                         MIKE          What about Neil?                         CLAIRE          You don't like him, do you?                         MIKE                  (a pause)          What's to like?                         CLAIRE                  (amused)          Tell it like it is.                         MIKE          You asked.                         CLAIRE          He's very caring, in his way.  You          haven't seen him at his best.                         MIKE          You could do better.                         CLAIRE                  (laughs)          I'll miss you, Mike...ANGLE ON BOTH:  the music playing.                         CLAIRE          It was nice having you "watch over          me"...                         MIKE          Yeah.  I liked being around you          too... Claire.CLOSE ON MIKE:  feeling a moment of awkwardness.                         MIKE          Let's go home.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  CITY STREET - NIGHTThe PATROL CAR keeping pace as the two walk home; the COPSin the BLACK-AND-WHITE exchange a look at what they areseeing.  MIKE is holding her arm, she's huddled up; she iscold and he removes his topcoat and puts it around hershoulders.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  CLAIRE'S BUILDING - NIGHTThe PATROL CAR comes to a STOP as MIKE and CLAIRE ENTER.ANGLE ON THE TWO COPS AGAIN:  watching them go.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S ELEVATOR - NIGHTAs they ride up in silence -- on opposite sides of theelevator -- looking at each other.  It comes to a stop,and neither moves; the tension is palpable.She steps out first, he follows.  She moves to the doorsand stops -- her shoulders visibly relaxing as he moves upbehind her.  But he stops, too.  And she turns.ANOTHER ANGLE:  Both captive to indecision.  It is he whomakes it, just by staying immobile for too long.  Shesmiles and takes off her coat, holding it out to him.  Andin the moment of exchange is the return to reality.                         CLAIRE          Good night, Mike.                         MIKE          Sleep good.She turns to open the door.  Entering she -- and we --suddenly can see Neil pacing in the hall, b.g.  He'sreturned.  He looks up, worried and very upset.CLOSE ANGLES ON FACES.                         NEIL          It's 3 o'clock in the morning.          Where the hell have you been?                                            CUT TO:INT.  DOWNTOWN HEADQUARTERS - DAYMIKE heading down a LONG HALL TOWARD GARBER'S OFFICE:It's like running a gauntlet.                         COP #1          Hey, Mike, tough night.                         KOONTZ          I guess it happens, you know?  A          chick gives you a ride in her          limousine, the next thing she wants          is to wear your clothes...                  (a beat)          ... I heard he had her underpants on          his head.That one got to him; stopped dead by it, he turns, givingKOONTZ a challenging look.                         COP #1          Ease up, Mike.  Ain't nobody gonna          tell the old lady.CLOSE ON MIKE:  cooling down -- then girding himself forGARBER.                         KOONTZ          Ain't the first time the taxpayers          paid for a blow-job neither.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CORRIDOR - DAYGARBER and MIKE on the carpet.                         GARBER                  (steamed)          Don't tell me it was "no big deal,"          it was out of line, it makes you          look like an asshole, and it makes          me look like an asshole.  She's          coming in, in a few minutes to I.D.          Venza.  If Steinhart's with her, I          want you to apologize.                  (in motion)          Let's get this over with...In the room next to the corridor, KOONTZ interrupts theshift already there, entering.                         KOONTZ          Okay, we're gonna have a line-up          here...The OTHER COPS grab their things and scatter, not wantingto get involved in another cop's headache.                                            CUT TO:INT.  FARTHER DOWN THE CORRIDOR - SAME - DAYCLAIRE approaching with NEIL, with T.J. on guard-duty.                         GARBER          Good morning, Miss Gregory.MIKE AND CLAIRE catch each other's eyes.  He sees hownervous she is.                         CLAIRE          It was my fault not Detective          Keegan's, I'm sorry for all the          fuss.NEIL catches MIKE'S glance at her; reassures himself witha glance at CLAIRE, straightens, still steamed from lastnight.GARBER picks up on it, not liking the tension, especiallynot now; his eyes throw daggers at MIKE.                         GARBER                  (to Claire)          You all ready?                         NEIL                  (playing the                   protector role)          Will this take long?                         GARBER          We'll see.GARBER TURNS, getting them started.                                            CUT TO:INT.  VIEWING ROOM - SAME - DAYThey crowd in; another MAN already standing there --VENZA'S PARK AVENUE LAWYER.  A one-way window looks intothe brightness of the line-up (squad) room that's emptiednow and undergoing preparation by KOONTZ.GARBER to CLAIRE, a professional reassurance.                         GARBER          They can't hear you, they can't see          you...                  (introducing pro                   forma)          Mr. Venza's attorney, Mr. Neuman;          arresting officer Keegan...                  (to Claire)          Good luck.With that, GARBER leads NEIL out.  NEIL manages a finalconcerned stare at CLAIRE before he goes.  The DOORCLOSES.  MIKE, CLAIRE, and an unruffled MR. NEUMAN, THELAWYER, are left alone in the cramped space.INT.  LINE-UP ROOM - SAME - DAYKOONTZ beckons VENZA and the OTHER FOUR LINE-UPPARTICIPANTS IN.                         KOONTZ          Okay, take a seat... you, put a          couple phone books under your          rear...VENZA enters confidently, with the others.  He's numberthree.  He takes his place, staring unconcernedly past thebright lights toward the direction of the mirrored window,as if he could see through it, into CLAIRE'S EYES.INT.  VIEWING ROOM - SAME - DAYCLAIRE, staring expressionless, her eyes etched with fear.MIKE aware of that fear.  VENZA'S LAWYER waitingpatiently, casually.INT.  LINE-UP ROOM - DAYVENZA and the OTHERS WAITING, now STANDING ON DISPLAY.                         KOONTZ (V.O.) (OVER SPEAKER)          Will everyone except number three          please take one step back?VENZA'S JAW TIGHTENS, a flicker, before catching himselfand controlling the reaction.  Realizing.  She's makingpositive identification.                                            CUT TO:INT.  SUBWAY - EVENINGMIKE, empty-eyed.  On his way HOME.                                            CUT TO:INT.  MIKE'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHTELLIE dressed for sleep, in a DISNEYWORLD T-SHIRT, pausesto glance with worried eyes -- toward the living roomwhere WE HEAR the SOUND of a TV.ANGLE ON MIKE:  on a couch, beer in hand -- mindlesslywatching.                         ELLIE          Coming to bed?                         MIKE          Few minutes.  Want to catch the          news.                         ELLIE                  (hesitant)          Should I wait up?  We've got to get          up early for the beach tomorrow.                         MIKE          I'll be right up.She accepts it, reluctantly -- returning to the BEDROOM.CLOSE ON MIKE:  hitting the remote to SCAN the channels;troubled.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S DEN - EVENINGCLAIRE at ease on the couch, staring, trying to follow theimages of the television.  NEIL, at the bar, pours themboth a drink.                         NEIL          They need me back in Miami, but I'd          really like it if you could join me.          The marlin fishing's supposed to be          great off the Keys...He steps forward with her drink.                         NEIL          The change would do you a world of          good.She straightens, suddenly attentive, in response tosomething on the TV.It's a REPORT FROM OUTSIDE THE COURTHOUSE, with the TVNEWSMAN reporting:                         TV NEWSMAN          Denied bail, Joey Venza will remain          behind bars at least until the time          of the trial --ANGLE ON NEIL, watching.                         NEIL          Hallelujah.He gives her a drink, leaning down to kiss her on theforehead.                         NEIL          At least now we can get on with our          own lives.                                            CUT TO:INT.  MIKE'S KITCHEN - MORNINGWhere life has indeed returned to normal, except for theheavy weight of memory.  MIKE, at the counter, makesSANDWICHES, packing a cooler for the game.  He grabs TOMMYwith an arm-hook as TOMMY tries to swipe a sandwich on thepass through.                         MIKE          Hey, not yet!  How many times...Roughhousing TOMMY, MIKE gets him squealing.  ELLIEenters, stomping her feet clean, coming in from thegarden.                         ELLIE          God, it's freezin' out there.She blows on her hands, shows MIKE how cold, putting themagainst his cheeks.                         MIKE                  (wincing)          Ah!She does it to TOMMY, too, except he's too fast for her,yelling and squirming out of the way.  The PHONE RINGS.ELLIE doesn't answer it.  TOMMY picks it up.                         TOMMY                  (a beat)          Wait a sec.He offers the phone out to ELLIE.                         ELLIE          Hello.                  (a beat)          Yes, just a second.                  (hands it to Mike)          It's the Whip.MIKE takes it.  ELLIE turns to TOMMY, who yelps and dartsaway, avoiding her cold touch.                         MIKE                  (into phone)          Hey Lieutenant, how are you...?          What?!                  (to Ellie)          Venza's out.                  (back to phone;                   pissed)          Why didn't the I.D. unit or the          D.A.'s office know about his sheet?                  (a beat)          Ah shit... Yeah, yeah, okay I'm on          my way in.He SLAMS DOWN THE PHONE, raging.                         ELLIE          What?                         MIKE          Goddamn Venza assaulted a taxi          driver in the Bronx, thirteen months          ago.  It's coming to court and the          judge let him walk because of the          pending case law.In a fit of RAGE, he SWIPES at a MILK CARTON, sending itHURTLING AGAINST A WALL.  ANGLE on TOMMY:  amazed.                         ELLIE          Mike, take it easy...                         MIKE          Take it easy!  I set her up.  I saw          it coming.                         ELLIE          It's not your fault.  Mike, please          get off the case.                         MIKE                  (distraught)          It is my fault!  I'm responsible for          her!                         ELLIE          Did you hear what I said?                         MIKE          Did you hear what I said?!!SILENCE.                         MIKE                  (to Ellie, with                   finality)          I'm due on at seven.He dumps the rest of the lunch preparations in the sink,exiting.ANGLE on TOMMY and ELLIE looking distraught.                         TOMMY                  (dismally)          We're not going to the game, are we          Mom?                         ELLIE                  (pulling herself                   together)          Sure we are, let's go!                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S KITCHEN - EVENINGMUSIC TURNED UP FULL.CLAIRE spills red wine over the counter, uncorking thebottle.  She leaves the stain, grabbing the bottle and awine glass, taking them with her, in emotional extremis.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  CLAIRE'S APARTMENT BUILDING - EVENINGANGLE on MIKE:  as he rounds a corner ALMOST BUMPING INTOthe JOGGER from CLAIRE'S BUILDING; MIKE hurries,sidestepping him, HEADING toward the ENTRANCE.ANGLE FROM HIS POV:  CLAIRE'S FRONT ENTRANCE; extraSECURITY -- A SQUAD CAR PARKED IN FRONT now.ANGLE ON MIKE:  SPRINTING INWARD.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S VESTIBULE - SAME - NIGHTThe ELEVATOR DOORS OPEN and MIKE steps out, breathless,confronting KOONTZ.  The MUSIC CONTINUES TO BLAST frombehind the closed apartment doors.KOONTZ grabbing his stuff, massive understatement.                         KOONTZ          She's a little upset.  You're going          to have to piss in a bottle.He holds up a beer bottle; half-filled with urine.                         KOONTZ                  (packs it under his                   arm)          Sorry, I don't have any extras.          Have a nice night.HE WILLINGLY LEAVE, and MIKE WAITS but a split second,before going to the doors.  They are closed.  MUSIC blaresfrom within.  No other response.INT.  CLAIRE'S LIVING ROOM - SAME - NIGHTDistraught, CLAIRE tries to bring herself back from thebrink, placing the wine bottle rack down after she'spoured.                         MIKE (O.S.)          Claire?                         CLAIRE                  (frightened)          What do you want?                         MIKE (O.S.)          Open the door, will you?                         CLAIRE          I can't open it.                         MIKE (O.S.)          It's just me.  I want to talk to          you.  Let me in...The lock turns and it opens, but just a crack, enough tosee that she's hysterical, her eyes reddened from crying.                         CLAIRE          You put me life in danger.                         MIKE          No, you'll be safe.  We're gonna          pick him up again...                         CLAIRE          And then what?  I'll never be safe.          I'll have to leave the country!  You          can't protect me, and you can't keep          him in jail!  And you knew that all          the goddamn time!Near bursting, she SLAMS THE DOOR, leaving MIKE STUNNED:Inside, the MUSIC is TURNED UP AGAIN to THUNDEROUSPROPORTIONS.Clenching his fists, MIKE PACES in frustration, then SLAMShis fist against the wall -- NOTICING the door has failedto FULLY SHUT.HE PUSHES IT OPEN, ENTERING THE APARTMENT, CAMERAFOLLOWING HIM as he looks for her.  The MUSIC, boundingoff the high ceilings and marble floors, is thunderous.INT.  CLAIRE'S HALL - NIGHT                         MIKE                  (searching for her)          Claire...?He moves HURRIEDLY DOWN THE HALL to her BEDROOM, entering,without warning, to SEE HER REFLECTION in the MIRROR asshe PULLS ON SOME CLOTHES.                         MIKE          What are you doing?The dress on, she SWEEPS past him, heading toward thedoors.                         CLAIRE          You told me I'm safe?  I'm going for          a walk in the park.                         MIKE          Claire, will you calm down?                         CLAIRE          I'm perfectly calm, I'm a normal          human being.  I'm going for a walk          in the park.                         MIKE          Claire...!She heads out the bedroom door.                                            CUT TO:INT.  HALL - SAME - NIGHTANGLE ON CLAIRE:  as she heads down the hall moving fast,he's right behind her.                         MIKE          Stop, will you?!HE GRABS HER, SPINNING HER AROUND.                         CLAIRE                  (struggling)          Let go!                         MIKE          Stop being nuts!                         CLAIRE                  (hysterical)          I trusted you!  I thought you cared          about me?!                         MIKE          I do care about you!                         CLAIRE          More bullshit!  More bullshit!                  (struggling)          What kind of odds are they giving          me?  There must be some kind of          office pool.  One month?  A couple          of days?Their physicality reaches a CLIMAX with MIKE pinning heragainst the wall, she, restrained by him, finally GIVINGUP, with a SOB, and COLLAPSING INTO HIS ARMS.                         MIKE                  (handling her close)          Easy... easy... I'm not gonna leave          you alone like this...ANGLE ON CLAIRE:  gasping as she clings to him.                         MIKE          I'm not gonna let anything happen to          you...He holds her; makes a tentative move toward her -- andstops.  She CLOSES THE DISTANCE.  THEY KISS.  Theyseparate, making sure.  They KISS AGAIN, certain.                                            CUT TO:INT.  MIKE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTELLIE startles awake, premonitorily.ELLIE:  She turns in the darkness to look at the clock.Heart beating, she reclines again, lying awake, realizingwhat it was that woke her.  She listens, hearing it again.A shuffling SOUND, something moving, outside.She stirs, sitting up, listening.ANGLE:  Only silence answers.ELLIE gets up, dissatisfied by the silence, and moves tothe rear bedroom window.AT THE REAR WINDOW, she looks out into the darkness.HER POV - BACK YARDIt's almost impossible to see anything.  Nothing moves.INT.  HALL/LANDING - NIGHTELLIE closes TOMMY'S door, listens again for the SOUND;starts quietly down the stairs.INT.  DOWNSTAIRS HALL - NIGHTELLIE reaches the ground floor, moving for the kitchen.INT.  KITCHEN - NIGHTELLIE enters.  She GASPS.  A SMALL SHADOWED FIGURE TURNS,CONFRONTING HER.  It's TOMMY, having left his roomearlier.                         TOMMY                  (hushed)          There's somebody outside...Recovering from the scare, ELLIE grabs him, relieved,sinking to her KNEES and HOLDING HIM TIGHT.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTMIKE gets up, dressing.  CLAIRE watches from the bed.  Hereturns her gaze, reluctant to go, but hesitating to touchher again.  CLAIRE clasps his hand, bringing him closer.They kiss, in affirmation.INT.  VESTIBULE - NIGHTMIKE stands by the front door as T.J. arrives to beginhis duty.                         T.J.          We're gonna need snow boots.MIKE nods, absently, entering the elevator.  The PHONEstarts to RING in the apartment.                                            CUT TO:INT.  SUBWAY - EARLY A.M. - NIGHTMIKE; miserable.  The "QUEENS" exit is SEEN APPROACHINGthrough the TRAIN WINDOW; he attempts to pull himselftogether, rising, waiting for the train to stop.EXT.  MIKE'S STREET - SAMEAs MIKE rounds the corner and looks up.  His breathcatches.  His heart starts to pound.AHEAD, lights ablaze.  ONE COP CAR is in front of hisHOUSE, and a JEEP (Belonging to SCOTTY).  MIKE BREAKS INTOA RUN.INT.  MIKE'S ENTRY - NIGHT - MORNINGHe rushes in.  The front door is unlocked, lights are on,but otherwise there is nothing different.  He hearsVOICES.INT.  MIKE'S KITCHEN - NIGHT - MORNINGMIKE hurries in.  The room is bright.  SCOTTY and anothercop, BROOKLYN from the 117th, look up from the kitchentable, nursing cups of coffee.  BROOKLYN is on duty;SCOTTY has come over on his own.TOMMY has long since been ushered back to bed.  ELLIEmaking coffee at the stove, turns as MIKE enters.She is okay, returning MIKE'S stare with embarrassment.                         SCOTTY          Calm down, everything is okay.          Ellie reported a prowler.  Probably          one of those peepers who've been          making this neighborhood such a          pleasure...SCOTTY collects his gun from the table, rising.                         SCOTTY          We all look like hell.                         BROOKLYN                  (rising)          Well, there you are...                  (to Ellie,                   unconcerned)          I'll come 'round in the car from          time to time so you can get some          sleep.  Just keep the shades pulled.He gives her a peck, yawning.                         BROOKLYN          Thanks for the coffee.                         ELLIE                  (to both)          Thanks.  You're terrific.SCOTTY waves her off with a goodbye, exiting afterBROOKLYN.  ELLIE turns back to MIKE.                         ELLIE                  (sheepishly)          I'm sorry.  I know I heard noises...          the detective's wife...                         MIKE                  (tensely)          I want you and Tommy to stay with my          mother.She shakes her head, amused.                         ELLIE          Don't be ridiculous... That's all I          need, rubbing up against your mother          and grandmother every day... I can          take care of myself...                  (gently, to him)          C'mon, let's go to bed... we all          need some sleep...CLOSE ON MIKE.  Feeling like absolute hell.                                            CUT TO:INT.  MIKE AND ELLIE'S DINING ROOM - AFTERNOONMIKE is threading his necktie.  ELLIE stands behind him,in the kitchen, grinning.                         ELLIE          C'mon, don't make an issue of it.          Do you want the fucking meatloaf or          not?                         MIKE          D'you have to say "fucking" every          other word?                         ELLIE          What was that?                         MIKE          You heard me.                         ELLIE          Jesus, Mike, somebody's been feeding          you a line of crap.                         MIKE          What're you talking about --                         ELLIE          I'm talking about I've been talking          this way for sixteen years and now,          out of the blue, it's vulgar!She leaves the room, slamming the door behind her.  Helooks at himself in the mirror, wondering what's possessedhim.                         MIKE          Fuck.  What's happening?INT.  MIKE'S KITCHEN - DAYMIKE sits at the table with a cup of coffee.  He watchesELLIE from the window.MIKE'S POVELLIE:  Tight jeans, workshirt, scarf tied around herhead, she looks great.  She looks up, rinsing a greasygrill over a bucket of hot water, playfully sprays thewindow with the hose, seeing him watching her.                                            CUT TO:INT.  SUBWAY - EVENINGMIKE walking along the platform amidst the crowded car,returning to his work and his destination.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S ENTRY HALL - EVENINGA heavy silence.  MIKE sitting, on duty again.  He keepsto himself.  He doesn't move from his chair.CLAIRE finally enters.  She holds tensely, waiting, awareof his mood.                         CLAIRE          Is everything all right?His stare is unyielding.                         MIKE          Yeah.                         CLAIRE          They called here after you left...                         MIKE                  (sharply)          She's okay.  Everything's okay...He looks up.                         MIKE                  (anguished)          I don't know you...                         CLAIRE          This is me, Mike.  There's nothing          else...                         MIKE          You don't wash your clothes at the          Boulevard Laundromat... you don't          pick up your kids from some crummy          public school... what is this?  A          fuckin' joke?                         CLAIRE                  (beat; sustaining)          Okay, then let's make it easy.  It          was a mistake.  Don't make me feel          guilty now that it's over, let's          forget about it.She walks away; MIKE sits.INT.  CLAIRE'S STUDYShe turns to her table to resume work.  Scribbled pageslitter the surface.  Her hands betray her.  It's an effortof will.  MIKE enters, moving closer.Beginning to cry, she feels his embrace, turning into it.                         CLAIRE          Don't you think I know what this is          doing.  I know you have a wife.  I          know you have a family... I'm not          asking for anything.  I don't want          anything... Just please hold me I'm          scared...                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S BEDROOM - EARLY A.M. - NIGHTCLAIRE lies asleep.  MIKE leans over her as she wakes,meeting his gaze, bringing him closer before he goes.They kiss.  He withdraws, tenderly returning her gaze andreturning her to sleep.INT.  HER HALLWAY - EARLY A.M. - NIGHTT.J. standing in the hallway.                         T.J.          Mike...?ANGLE ON T.J., as the bedroom DOOR OPENS -- REVEALINGMIKE.  T.J. recoils with surprise.                         T.J.          Oh, man.  I don't believe you.MIKE steps out, closing the door behind him; distraught.                         MIKE                  (beat)          All fucked up, T.J.T.J. issues a long, saddened sigh; just staring at him.                                            CUT TO:INT.  MIKE AND ELLIE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTMIKE sits in a chair by the far wall, staring out towardManhattan, which glows palely, in the distance.  Now PANOVER THE BED where ELLIE lies asleep.  But as WE MOVECLOSE TO HER FACE, WE SEE she is not asleep; wide-eyed,aware of MIKE in the chair.                                            DISSOLVE TO:INT.  MIKE AND ELLIE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT - LATERELLIE stirs as MIKE slips between the sheets.  Sheembraces him, starts to kiss him.  He rolls over.A moment of silence.                         ELLIE          You gotta get another tour.  We're          gettin' too old for this.                         MIKE          I'm sorry.                         ELLIE          I'm not saying it's your fault.More silence.                         MIKE          What did you do tonight?                         ELLIE          I watched TV.                         MIKE          What did you watch?                         ELLIE          I don't remember Michael, go to          sleep.  You don't have to make          conversation with me.She snuggles up to him.                         ELLIE          I'll make a reservation tomorrow for          early dinner.  You can sleep till          noon.                                            CUT TO:INT.  BROOKLYN RESTAURANT - EVENINGTHE LIGHTS of New York beginning to sparkle against adarkening sky; MIKE and ELLIE at a table that looks out onthe East River.  It's an OK restaurant, not the poshest inthe world.  ELLIE finds herself carrying most of theconversation.  They scan menus to order.                         ELLIE          Hey, we qualify for the Senior          Citizens Early-Bird Special... Did          you see Tommy today?  He misses          you...                         MIKE          Well.  This'll be over soon.          Venza's such a nut job, we're bound          to pick him up soon.                         ELLIE                  (carefully)          I'd like you to switch to the day          shift, Mike.  To be home for dinner.          Helen insists that T.J. be home for          dinner... That's why he's on the          morning shift.                         MIKE          Well, T.J.'s... seniority... and          all.                  (evasive)          I'll talk to Garber about it.                         ELLIE                  (girds herself)          I already did.  I mean, I talked to          his wife, and she talked to him...                         MIKE                  (stopped)          You talked to his wife?CLOSE ON MIKE:  incredulous.                         MIKE          My wife talks to his wife about what          shift I'm gonna take?                         ELLIE          What's the difference?MIKE is nonplused; not knowing how to respond.                         ELLIE          Unless there's some particular          reason why it feels better to be          around her at night.He shakes his head, dismissively.                         ELLIE          Is there, Mike?No response; MIKE having trouble with it.CLOSE ON ELLIE:  sensing deception.  Her eyes begin toglisten.CLOSE ON MIKE:  seeing her distress.  Unable to hide hisown.She looks at him -- and knowing him as well as she does,is certain.  She puts a hand in front of her mouth in anattempt not to cry.                         ELLIE          What, what is it?  Is it serious or          what...?  Quit looking at me like          that!  What's with this ridiculous          silence?!Her eyes flush with tears.                         ELLIE          Goddamn.  I never thought this          would happen to me... you fuckin'          sonofabitch...She UPSETS her SETTING, GETTING UP from the TABLE, shakinghim off.                         ELLIE          I just want you off the case.  Get          off it, or don't come home.                  (her voice trembling)          And I want you to remember... when          we're old... that when this awful          thing happened... I behaved like a          lady.                  (embittered)          The kind of "lady" you apparently          prefer.                         WAITER                  (approaching)          We got some specials.She BOLTS from the room; MIKE following her.                         MIKE                  (to the waiter)          We'll be right back.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  RESTAURANT - PARKING LOT - NIGHTShe weaves toward the car.  MIKE goes after her.                         MIKE          Let me drive...                         ELLIE          Get away from me... get away!  She          means that much to you, you stay          with her.  But you come back, you          come back for me.  Not for Tommy,          not for your mother, or your fucking          job, but for me.                         MIKE                  (tortured)          El?  I'm sorry.  I do love you.                  (with difficulty)          And you are a lady.  I have so much          respect...She TURNS and SWINGS AT HIM, catching him SQUARE IN THENOSE; he's stunned and bleeding.                         ELLIE                  (through her tears;                   screaming)          You fucker!  Don't tell me how much          respect you have!  You dumb mother          fucking FUCKER!  Now get off this          case or don't come home!!She RUNS to her car, BURNING RUBBER as she PEELS out ofthe PARKING LOT -- leaving MIKE, distraught, gazing afterher.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  PHONE BOOTH - BROOKLYN BRIDGE - SAME - EVENINGTRAFFIC ROARING BY -- revealing MIKE, upset, on a payphone, a finger in one ear, waiting for the phone toanswer.                         MIKE          Hey, T.J.?  Yeah, listen, I need a          huge favor from you, man.  I know          Helen doesn't like you to miss          dinner, but I need you to switch          shifts with me tonight.                  (a beat)          Just "personal".  I don't know what          the hell I'm doin', I need some time          to think.                  (angered)          Look, do it or don't do it, but          spare me the fuckin' lecture, all          right?He HANGS UP:  miserable.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  CLAIRE'S BUILDING - EVENINGA SQUAD CAR parked in front, CAMERA PANNING to the DOORS,as the JOGGER (MR. SPARKS) EXITS, dressed in his usualoutfit, POUNDING DETERMINEDLY across the street.ANOTHER ANGLE:  as he LOPES INTO THE PARK.ANOTHER ANGLE:  as he REACHES a STOPLIGHT CROSSING that's"RED"; he waits to cross, jogging in place; crosses intothe park.  A sinister lone black LIMO approaches, slowingto a stop behind him, its back door slowly swinging open,engulfing our sight of him...                                            CUT TO:EXT.  CLAIRE'S BUILDING - LATERThe "JOGGER" returning, obscuring his identity from theparked PATROL CAR, by wiping his face with a towel.Before heading to the door, where a DOORMAN stands guard,he delays as though WAITING FOR SOMETHING.It's happening:  A dainty teenage VIETNAMESE GIRL,distracts the DOORMAN at his post, getting enough of hisattention SELLING FLOWERS, and SPOUTING VIETNAMESE, forthe "JOGGER" to SLIP BY, making it inside.                         DOORMAN          I know sweetheart... we have enough          flowers here.ANGLE:  VIETNAMESE GIRL, still spouting.                         DOORMAN          No, no, sweetheart... not here...          get going... Okay.ANGLE: VIETNAMESE GIRL, backing off, seeing the JOGGERslip by and her mission accomplished.                         VIETNAMESE GIRL                  (sweetly, to Doorman)          Have a nice day.THE GIRL:  slyly cursing the DOORMAN in Vietnamese as sheskips off.                                            CUT TO:INT.  BUILDING LOBBY - SAMEThe "JOGGER," his face still obscured by the towel waitsfor the elevator, as T.J., arriving, ENTERS the building.They both enter the elevator in silence.ANGLE on T.J. glancing at the JOGGER quizzically.  TheJOGGER avoids his stare, CAMERA TILTING UP to theindicator, beginning to rise.                                            CUT TO:INT.  SPARKS' VESTIBULECLOSE ON "JOGGER'S" key, entering the LOCK.  IT TURNS.CLOSE ON HIS FACE.  He ENTERS.                                            CUT TO:INT.  SPARKS' APARTMENT - SAMEAs the killer closes the door.  He's in the kitchen.  Allis quiet in there.IN CLOSEUPS, WE SEE his JOGGING SHIRT coming off,revealing a shoulder holster; a specially designed "belt"removed and laid on the kitchen table.  A "SILENCER"within.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S KITCHEN - EVENINGCLAIRE eagerly and earnestly preparing dinner.  She makessome fluffs, not really used to this.  CLASSICAL MUSICplays.  She looks up expectantly, hearing the FOOTSTEPS.CLOSE ON CLAIRE:  surprised to see it's T.J.                         T.J.          Detective Keegan is... Mike...          "Michael" asked me to tell you he's          under the weather.CLAIRE:  She handles it, crestfallen.                         T.J.          He'll probably take the morning          shift.                         CLAIRE          He's okay?T.J. spots, over his shoulder, the table, set for two.                         T.J.          Yeah, just... bad gut.  Y'know.                         CLAIRE          Oh.Nothing left to say; she hides her disappointment with anod.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  CITY STREET - FIFTH AVENUE - NIGHTActive with nightlife; CAMERA PANNING to a lone figurewalking in the night.  It's MIKE; his collar turned upagainst the cold, his face grim and pensive.  He passes anart gallery and PAUSES to gaze in, his eyes refocusing onhis own reflection staring back at him.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S APARTMENT - SAME - NIGHTCLAIRE immobile, on a window seat in her LIVING ROOM, theCLASSICAL MUSIC still playing softly in the background,her eyes empty as she gazes out into the park.THE MUSIC CONTINUES OVER:                                            CUT TO:EXT.  CENTRAL PARK - NIGHTOutside and far below, the GLOW from the tip of aCIGARETTE REDDENS the darkness with an inhalation.VENZA:  He stands, impervious to the cold, looking up atthe windows of CLAIRE'S apartment.ANGLE UP TO CLAIRE:  SILHOUETTED in the distant window.VENZA:  finishes his butt, flicks it, satisfied, gettinginto HIS CAR curbside and driving away.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S VESTIBULE - NIGHTT.J., DOZING as the ELEVATOR INDICATOR HEADS UPWARD --finally reaching our FLOOR.The DOORS OPEN, STARTLING T.J.  He stares at MIKE withDISMAY.  MUSIC IS HEARD from just inside.                         T.J.                  (fatigued)          Tell me I'm dreamin'.                         MIKE          I just gotta talk to her, T.J.MIKE ENTERS, closing the doors behind him.INT.  CLAIRE'S APARTMENT - SAME - NIGHTSilent, save for CLASSICAL MUSIC -- as MIKE quietlyenters.He pauses a moment, his eyes filled with unhappiness, thenMOVES in the direction of the MUSIC -- SPOTTING CLAIRE,immobile since we last saw her, still gazing out thewindow.CLOSE ON MIKE:  as always, AFFECTED BY HER.She becomes aware of his presence and slowly TURNS.  For along moment, neither seems willing to move -- or speak.Finally, he does.                         MIKE          T.J. agreed to take my shift.  He          knows about us.She absorbs it, without response.                         MIKE                  (a beat; with                   difficulty)          So does Ellie.She nods.  Thoughtfully.  As though willing to deal withit intellectually, but avoiding any encounter with heremotions.                         CLAIRE          You told her?                         MIKE          Not exactly.                         CLAIRE          What do you want to do?                         MIKE          I don't know.Her eyes turn to his.  She moves toward him and sits.CLAIRE pulls him close to her.  A soft GERSHWIN TUNEplays.  She sees how drawn MIKE is.                         CLAIRE          You're tired.                  (smiles, gently)          Let me watch over you tonight...                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTIt's quiet.  MIKE sleeps deeply on the bed.  CLAIRE doesher work at the bedroom desk nearby; glances gently over,keeping her watch, glad of the feeling.                                            CUT TO:INT.  SPARKS' APARTMENT - SAME - NIGHTThe MERV GRIFFIN SHOW playing on the TV; it ends, a VOICEOVER indicating to "stay tuned for the news".  It isSILENCED by remote control -- we HEAR FOOTSTEPS movingaway.ANGLE INSIDE THE KITCHEN:  CLOSE on the murderousparaphernalia left on the kitchen table, being assembledby the "JOGGER".                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S VESTIBULE - SAME - NIGHTThe apartment pin-quiet and darkened.  T.J. in his chair-- head arched back; snoring; his self-help book abandonedon the floor.                                            CUT TO:INT.  SPARKS' VESTIBULE - SAME - NIGHTSPARKS' FRONT DOOR quietly "CLICKING" SHUT as the KILLEREXITS.CLOSER ANGLE:  THE BUTTON of the ELEVATOR being PUSHED bya GLOVED HAND.  It activates a "HUM."                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S APARTMENT - SAME - NIGHTLONG ANGLE down the HALL, on the CLOSED DOOR TO THEBEDROOM SUITE.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S VESTIBULE - SAME - NIGHTAs the ELEVATOR slides to a stop, its DOOR GLIDING OPEN.THE KILLER, keeping himself flattened back out of sight,glances quickly out, gun and reflexes at the ready.It's unnecessary.  The vestibule's deserted; T.J.'S postis momentarily empty.The KILLER steps silently, EASING out the elevator.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S APARTMENT - SAME - NIGHTT.J. at the TOILET; yawning as he pees.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S HALLWAY - SAME - NIGHTThe KILLER pauses, hearing the TOILET FLUSH, retreats theother way.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S APARTMENT - SAME - NIGHTAs T.J. emerges from the bathroom.  He stretches, tryingto shake his fatigue.  Making a decision, he HEADS for theKITCHEN to get a cup of coffee -- CAMERA FOLLOWING HIM ashe ENTERS, snapping on the light.MOVING directly to the stove, he examines the Mr. Coffee;the red "ON" button glows, but the pot is virtually empty.Picking it up, he MOVES TO THE SINK, turning on the tap,which is a thin, gooseneck spigot.  He look up, hearing aslight SHUFFLE, seeing the KILLER'S FEET sticking out ofthe shadows of the floor of the LAUNDRY ROOM.T.J. reacts -- TOO LATE -- there's a slight chung, and ahole opens up in T.J.'S gut; the bullet that went throughhim, ricocheting and nicking off the end of the thin,curving tap, sending a stream of water gushing straightup.The KILLER moves quickly, catching T.J.'S body, trying tobreak its fall as it hits the floor.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S BEDROOM - SAME - NIGHTCLAIRE asleep in MIKE'S PROTECTIVE EMBRACE:  MIKE, awake,his eyes to the bedside table, notices the almostimperceptible disturbance of VIBRATION ripple the surfaceof the DRINK left there by the clock.MIKE sits up; as if by instinct, sensing something iswrong.  CLAIRE continues to sleep.INT.  CLAIRE'S HALLWAY/OUTER BEDROOM - SAME - NIGHTThe KILLER OPENS THE BEDROOM SUITE DOOR, steps into theANTEROOM.  Off to the right is the closed DOOR of theBEDROOM.  He steps in the direction, reaching the doorknob-- thinks twice about it, though, seeing the door on theother side of the anteroom which would take him thelonger, but unexpected route into the bedroom.  He backsoff, moving silently to the OTHER DOOR, turning it opensilently and slipping through into the CLOSET and WALK-THROUGH DRESSING ROOM leading to the bedroom by the farside.INT.  CLAIRE'S BEDROOM - NIGHTMIKE:  on the other side of the door, listening.He opens the door quietly, sees the anteroom door ajar,remembering that he had closed it before.  He tightens,closing the door and moving back to his gun in its holsterdraped over the chair with his other clothes.INT.  DRESSING ROOM - NIGHTThe KILLER enters the reflective maze.INT.  MASTER BATH - NIGHTMIKE moves silently, backtracking through the bedroom andbathroom toward the DOORS leading to the dressing roomahead.INT.  DRESSING ROOM - NIGHTThe KILLER passes the door he wants, thinking it's justanother mirror; finds himself in the totally MIRROREDENVIRONMENT of the MAIN DRESSING AREA.On the other side of the door, MIKE HEARS HIM, tighteninghis grip on his gun and on the doorknob as he REACHES forit.  MIKE grasps it, turning and opening the doorsilently.  But the latch connects to the light, and theLIGHT GOES ON OVERHEAD of MIKE.The KILLER reacts quickly, gun drawn, on the turn.  But hefaces SEVERAL REFLECTIONS OF MIKE in front of him -- andMIKE IS BEHIND HIM.MIKE LEVELS AIM AT HIM.                         MIKE          Put it down!                  (beat)          Think about it!The KILLER takes his chances, WHIRLING.  MIKE FIRES FIRST,NAILING HIM right through the HEAD.  The KILLER SPINSAGAIN, SLAMMING UP against the MIRRORS and falling DEAD tothe floor.IN THE BEDROOM:  CLAIRE wakes.MIKE:  checking quickly on the dead assassin, flattenshimself against the wall and scurries back through thebath the way back into the BEDROOM.                         MIKE                  (entering, to Claire)          Get on the floor!  There may be          more!CLAIRE does what he says.MIKE RACES into the CORRIDOR, hugging the wall; he PAUSESmomentarily, then RACES down the HALL.ANGLE ON THE OPENED FRONT DOOR as he REACHES IT, seeingT.J.'S CHAIR empty.                         MIKE                  (desperate)          T.J.!MIKE RUNS, frantically, into the living room, thebathroom, the den -- CAMERA FOLLOWING HIM into theKITCHEN.CLOSE ON HIS FACE:  twisting with GRIEF.ANGLE ON T.J. face down in a pool of blood, MIKE RACINGTO HIM, rolling him over.                         MIKE                  (sobs)          T.J...!MIKE moves by REFLEX, starting mouth-to-mouth.  But thereis blood everywhere.MIKE desperate; pumping T.J.'S chest.                         MIKE          Live, T.J.  Please...!CLAIRE appears behind him, to help.                         MIKE                  (to her)          Get security on the phone!          Emergency!She RUNS to the KITCHEN PHONE; it's dead, the WIRES CUT.She TURNS, HURRYING to the VESTIBULE and THE ELEVATOR,pulling the alarm, sagging in collapse.  The ALARM goesoff within the shaft, THROUGHOUT the building.ANGLE ON MIKE:  shirtless and shoeless, on his knees inT.J.'S blood, desperately pumping his chest.                         MIKE                  (his voice cracking)          Ambulance!  Ambulance!  He's got a          heartbeat...!                                            CUT TO:INT.  HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NEAR DAWNMIKE alone on a bench, his head in his hands:  a couple ofCOPS we recognize from the Precinct stand a distance away,at a coffee machine, talking softly as they glance at him.It is not yet dawn.FOOTSTEPS are HEARD coming TOWARD; MIKE looks up to seeGARBER APPROACHING, his expression appropriate to theoccasion.  GARBER reaches him; they exchange a long look,MIKE'S eyes etched with anguish.                         MIKE                  (softly)          They're operating on him.  He's          still alive.                         GARBER                  (grim)          I heard.A long pause, as he looks at MIKE.                         GARBER          I heard a lot... Anything you want          to deny, Mike?                         MIKE                  (almost inaudibly)          It should've been me...GARBER:  aware of his own dilemma.                         GARBER          Then it would've been her, too.                  (beat)          I don't know... but I gotta protect          the Precinct, too.  You're on          suspension, pending Disciplinary          Hearings.  Don't hold your breath.          And you're not to go near that woman          until she's no longer under Police          protection and this case is closed.ANGLE ON MIKE:  responding with a silent nod as GARBERstands looking down at him.                         GARBER          Is it "love," Mike?  I hope so.  I          want it to be worth it, for your          sake.No response.In the response that follows, they HEAR MOVEMENT at theend of the HALL, looking up to see the silhouetted figuresof ELLIE, with HELEN GREENING in tow.  They look small,and lost, framed against a floor-to-ceiling window that'sbeginning to illuminate with the first light of day.Heavy with sadness, GARBER turns and heads toward thewomen.  Taking a long moment.  MIKE decides not to follow.CLOSE ON MIKECAMERA STAYS AT THIS DISTANCE as the THREESOME comestogether.  We do not hear their words, but sense theemotion by what WE SEE.  After a brief exchange of words,GARBER takes HELEN GREENING under his arm, and they MOVEAWAY -- leaving MIKE and ELLIE alone.CLOSER ANGLE:  MIKE and ELLIE, gazing at each other acrossthe gulf of their collective misery.                         ELLIE          I'm going to visit my sister for a          few days.  I'd like you to get your          stuff out.                         MIKE          What about Tommy?                         ELLIE          He'll live through it.  They all          live through it.                  (bitter)          What a world, huh?Nothing left to say; after a long, last look, she turns togo.  But stops.                         ELLIE          Was it Venza?  Did you get him?                         MIKE          No.The last thing she's going to do is cry.                         ELLIE                  (her voice giving                   out)          What a shame.She TURNS and LEAVES:  MIKE gazing after her.                                            CUT TO:INT.  SCOTTY'S "BACHELOR PAD" - DAYMIKE is being shown in by SCOTTY, luggage in hand, SCOTTYdoing his best to be a good "host," under tryingcircumstances.                         SCOTTY          You see a couple of the parties that          go on at this place, you'll realize          that marriage is an institution          whose time has come and gone.Opening a bedroom door.  They've entered a bedroom that'ssparse, but decorated with A BOY'S PARAPHERNALIA;skateboard, "rock" posters, etc.  It looks sad and barren.                         SCOTTY          Little Scotty stays on Wednesdays,          and every other weekend.  And know          what?  Our relationship's never been          better.MIKE stares at the room, his heart too heavy to respond.SCOTTY, with a pat on the back.                         SCOTTY          Make it home, Mike...He leaves -- and after a long moment MIKE sits on the edgeof the bed, like an automaton.  Staring.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S LIVING ROOM - SAME - DAYCLAIRE and NEIL in the aftermath.  CLAIRE remains silent,staring.  Whatever is to be said is his.                         NEIL                  (frustrated)          I'm no saint, Claire, but I do love          you.  I can understand the pressure          of the circumstances... but what          about when it's over?  Are you going          to feel the same way about him?  Is          he going to move in here and do          shift work at the 21st if they'll          have him back.  Think this through          Claire.                  (with feeling)          This is the rest of your life we're          talking about.NEIL staring at her.                         CLAIRE          I have thought it through, Neil.He adverts his gaze, turns, controlling himself, and picksup his coat to go.                         NEIL          Call me if anything changes.  I love          you, Claire.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S VESTIBULE - SAME - DAYKOONTZ and a uniformed COP on guard duty.KOONTZ scanning The Post, which has a front page articleon it with a headline that indicates the whole story hasnot "quite" been told:  "INTRUDER SLAIN IN DARING EASTSIDE BREAK-IN"                         KOONTZ          Unbelievable, man, the fuckin'          jogger... they found him in Atlantic          City, totally drugged out and still          jogging...The APARTMENT DOOR SWINGS OPEN and NEIL EMERGES.  KOONTZand the COP look up, straightening.  KOONTZ folds away thepaper.  But NEIL hardly even acknowledges or notices them,EXITING.                                            CUT TO:INT.  CLAIRE'S STUDY - SAME - DAYThe PHONE RINGING -- CAMERA FINDING CLAIRE, looking like aghost of her past self -- REACHING FOR THE PHONE.                         CLAIRE          Hello?                  (relieved)          Mike.  Where have you been?                                            CUT TO:INT.  SCOTTY'S KITCHEN - SAME - DAYMIKE on the telephone.                         MIKE          You don't want to know.                         CLAIRE (V.O.)          Oh, I do want to know.  I tried to          reach you at the precinct.                         MIKE          I've moved into Scotty's... Good          news about T.J., though.  Looks like          that tough son of a gun is gonna          pull through.                         CLAIRE (V.O.)          Oh God, that's great!                         MIKE                  (gently)          Are you okay?                                            CUT TO:CLAIRE - SAME                         CLAIRE                  (trying to brighten)          Oh, I'm fine.  They've replaced you          with quite an entourage.  It's a          regular "marching band".  You should          see me on the street, you'd think I          was the First Lady --She attempts a laugh, trying to keep it "light".                         CLAIRE          I'm taking them all out to Queens,          as a matter of fact, right in your          neighborhood.  There's an event at          my Father's school... an          anniversary... I thought maybe you          could come...                         MIKE (V.O.)          Oh that thing in Queens.                         CLAIRE                  (faltering)          I'm going away after that, the next          morning.                                            CUT TO:MIKE - SAMEImpacted by it.                         MIKE          Where?                         CLAIRE (V.O.)          Pretty far.  I'm told not to say          anything about it on the phone, in          case it's tapped... they think it's          best, safer, if I go away, at least          till Venza's found.CLOSE ONE MIKE:  absorbing it.                         MIKE          When can I see you?                                            CUT TO:CLAIRE - SAME                         CLAIRE          I don't know.  Garber's left orders          here not to let you in the building.                                            CUT TO:MIKE - SAMECLOSE ON MIKE:  beat.                         MIKE          Oh yeah.  When is it?  This thing in          Queens.                                            CUT TO:CLAIRE - SAME                         CLAIRE          Tomorrow night.  Can you come?                         MIKE (V.O.)                  (torn)          I don't know.  It wouldn't be very          smart.                         CLAIRE          Listen, you're right.  Don't do it.          I'll just... send you an address,          okay?Fighting tears; not wanting him to know it.                         MIKE (V.O.)          Claire...                         CLAIRE          No really, it's okay, I've gotta go.          I'm expecting some calls.  I'll be          fine, really.                         MIKE (V.O.)          I'll think about Wednesday.MIKE hangs up, torn.                                            CUT TO:      CLAIRE - SAMEHangs up.EXT.  QUEENS - SAME - DAYCAMERA PANNING TO REVEAL MIKE, leaning on a CAR, under the"El" waiting.  HE SPOTS TOMMY, coming around the cornerwith his SKATEBOARD under his arm, going into a grocerystore.  MIKE crosses the street as TOMMY comes out of thestore.                         MIKE          Tommy!TOMMY SPOTS HIM:  hesitant -- slowly approaching the car.                         MIKE          How are things going, pal?                         TOMMY          Okay, I guess.                         MIKE          How about dinner tonight?                         TOMMY                  (evasive)          Mom and I got plans.                         MIKE          What "plans?"  You and Mom got          "plans?"                         TOMMY                  (after a long pause)          She's taking singing lessons.                         MIKE                  (incredulous)          She's what?                         TOMMY          She met some friend of Aunt Millie's          who works for a record company.  He          thinks she's got a great voice.TOMMY is mum:  something dawns on MIKE that sobers him up.                         MIKE                  (outraged)          What!  What kind of pathetic line is          that?                         TOMMY                  (pointing)          We're gonna pass the street.MIKE stops.  His goat is gotten.                         TOMMY          You coming in?                         MIKE          No, I'm not coming in.  And if you'd          rather go to a "singing lesson" than          have dinner with your father...                         TOMMY          We're not going to a singing lesson,          she's just gonna start taking          singing lessons.                         MIKE          So, what are you doing tonight?                         TOMMY          Shooting.                         MIKE          Shooting?                         TOMMY          Yeah.  She says we gotta get used to          being alone in this neighborhood.                  (a long beat;                   observing his                   father)          'Bye, Dad.TOMMY starts toward the HOUSE.  He's emotional, butdoesn't know how to express it.                         MIKE          Tommy!                  (a parting shot)          The guy's a sleaze-bag.  She can't          sing.                         TOMMY                  (turning back,                   smiling)          I don't think she can sing, either.                         MIKE          Take care, pal.HE TURNS AWAY.ANOTHER ANGLE:  MIKE'S CAR LEAVING.  TOMMY watches ituntil it can be seen no longer, then TURNS, going into thehouse.CAMERA PANS SLOWLY -- REVEALING, far down the BLOCK, aCAR.  VENZA, and ANOTHER MAN (SOSA), are within:WATCHING.EXT.  STREET - NIGHTMIKE pounds it out running on the darkened street.  Hepauses to look up at his dark, empty house as a PATROL CARslows to check him out.  He studies them as they pass.CLOSE ON MIKE:  he gazes after them, then continues tojog.                                            CUT TO:INT.  FIRING RANGE - SAME - NIGHTGUN BLASTS going off in OUR EARS, CAMERA PANNING A LINE ofCOPS putting in their PRACTICE HOURS; ENDING ON ELLIE, herEAR BLOCKERS on, FIRING AWAY.CLOSE ON TOMMY watching from a booth behind her.ANGLE ON HER TARGET.  Its balls blasted off.She comes out.                         TOMMY          Aren't you supposed to aim at the          head?                                            CUT TO:INT.  CAR - NIGHTELLIE in the driver's seat, TOMMY in the back seat.                         TOMMY                  (thoughtful)          Mom, what's going to happen with you          and Dad?                         ELLIE          I don't know Tommy.A LONG BEAT as TOMMY thinks about this.  His attentionswitches to a passing McDONALD'S.                         TOMMY          Hey, can we go to McDonald's?                         ELLIE          Absolutely.                                            CUT TO:INT.  MILTON GREGORY - BANQUET HALL - EVENINGOverhead, chandeliers gleam.  A small orchestra comprisedof STUDENTS of the school plays a variety of tunes.Mirrors reflect a profusion of flowers, carved gilt andcandlelight.Gloved service PERSONNEL wait to be of service at thesides.  The room is quite large yet intimate.  The tablesset perfectly.  GUESTS continue to move toward theirplaces engaged in animated chatter.ANOTHER ANGLE:  CLAIRE moving through the crowd,PLAINCLOTHESMEN flanking her as anonymously as possible(KOONTZ among them), HER EYES anxious, scanning the crowd.SHE'S SPOTTED by the PRINCIPAL of the school (GIDDINGS),who APPROACHES, surprised to see her.                         GIDDINGS          Hello, Claire.  How extraordinary          that you came.                         CLAIRE          It was something my father always          liked me to do.                         GIDDINGS                  (apprehensive)          You're planning to speak?                         CLAIRE          Not if you don't want me to.                         GIDDINGS                  (a brief hesitation)          Well, of course, we'd be...          honored...                         CLAIRE                  (understands; gamely)          Just putting in an appearance then.SHE GLANCES around, her "ESCORTS" mistaking it foranxiety, one of them taking her arm and escorting her in.                                            CUT TO:INT.  THE BANQUET ROOM - LATERSPEECHES droning on -- CAMERA FINDING CLAIRE at a rounddinner table, with OTHERS, who think they're engaging herin conversation; but her thoughts are elsewhere, her eyescontinually glancing toward the doors -- both hoping andfearing.                                            DISSOLVE TO:INT.  THE BANQUET ROOM - LATERThe SPEECHES have long since ENDED, PEOPLE DANCING, slowdances to the live orchestra -- CAMERA PANNING to CLAIRE,sitting in silent isolation at the now sparsely populatedtable, having lost hope, feeling utterly alone.  Her chinis resting in her hand, her eyes fixed sadly on her wineglass.  PLAINCLOTHESMEN, situated around her, study herdispassionately.CLOSE ON HER FACE:  expressionless.  But it slowly gainsanimation, as she realizes the MUSIC has changed, made asegue to something new.  It's "SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME."SHE LOOKS UP -- to see MIKE; his approach from thebandstand indicating that the change of music was hisdoing.HER FACE breaks into the most enormous, and grateful,GRIN.CLOSE ON MIKE:  returning the smile as he COMES TOWARD.                         KOONTZ                  (as he passes)          Don't do it, man.  I love ya, but          you're out of your mind.Uncaring, MIKE MOVES TO CLAIRE.ANGLE ON BOTH:  gazing at each other.                         CLAIRE                  (overwhelmed)          What a memory.                         MIKE          Do you dance?                         CLAIRE          Do you?                         MIKE          Pretty bad.                         CLAIRE          Let's do it.They TAKE to the FLOOR, she MOVING INTO HIS ARMS.  Sheputs her head on his shoulder, then draws back to look athim, studying his face with the hunger of a woman whoknows it might be for the last time.                         MIKE          They guys treatin' you all right?                         CLAIRE                  (too emotional to                   really talk)          Yeah.                         MIKE          I've been doing a lot of thinking.                         CLAIRE                  (a pause)          I know.CLOSE ON HIM:  studying her saddened eyes.                         MIKE          It wouldn't work.                         CLAIRE          I know.The conversation is deeply caring; the tone opposite tothe words.                         MIKE          I'd miss my life...                         CLAIRE          ... Don't explain.She rests her head on his shoulders again; they continueto dance.                         MIKE          How long you going away for?                         CLAIRE          Long enough.                         MIKE          "For"...?                         CLAIRE          "To"... Forget about you.CLOSE ON HER:  awash in the nearness of him.                         CLAIRE          I'll have to pack a lot of clothes.                         MIKE                  (choked up)          Yeah...He holds her tight -- his eyes EMOTIONAL as they roam theroom --But HIS EXPRESSION CHANGES as he SPOTS SOMETHING at a farend of the room.  Near the rear doors.It's a PLAINCLOTHESMEN, headed purposefully toward KOONTZ,conferring with him -- both men looking to MIKE, a senseof bewilderment in their eyes.ANGLE ON MIKE:  Stopping -- as KOONTZ heads quicklytoward.                         KOONTZ          Brook's patching a call through to          you.  He thought he'd find you here.          It sounds urgent.MIKE:  Baffled.                         KOONTZ          He says it's your son.Exchanging a quick LOOK with CLAIRE, MIKE heads for theDOORS; she pauses, heading after.                                            CUT TO:OUTER LOBBY - SAMEas MIKE BARRELS through doors.                         KOONTZ                  (pointing)          The office down the hall.MIKE BREAKS INTO A RUN.                                            CUT TO:INT.  OFFICE - SAMEas MIKE RACES IN; A PLAINCLOTHESMAN hands him the phone.                         PLAINCLOTHESMAN #2          He's crying.                         MIKE                  (grabbing the phone)          Tommy?  What...?                  (frightened)          What?!  Hello?                  (listening; stunned)          Who is this?                  (trying to be calm)          Yeah.  I'm listening.                  (quick)          No.  Nobody but me.                                            CUT TO:INT.  MIKE'S HOUSE - NIGHT - SAME MOMENTCLOSE ON the RECEIVER of the PHONE:  as JOEY VENZA'S mouthSPEAKS into it --The images of ELLIE and TOMMY SEEN, dimly lit, in thebackground, petrified; GUARDED by a SECOND MAN (SOSA)whose figure is shrouded in darkness.                         VENZA          I'm glad you're where I expected you          to be, Detective Keegan, 'cause          you're got two minutes to get home          or I take your family out.                                            CUT TO:MIKE - SAMEcaught in a nightmare.                         MIKE                  (desperate)          I heard you.  I'll do it.  Just          don't touch them.                  (a beat)          I...                  (a pause)          Lemme talk to my son.                  (suddenly)          Hello?It goes dead.  MIKE PARALYZED with FEAR.  CLAIRE isENTERING, PLAINCLOTHESMAN #1 close to her heels, MIKE'Sbreath coming in SHUDDERS as he stares helplessly at her-- then turns to the PLAINCLOTHESMAN and KOONTZ.                         MIKE                  (stunned)          They got my family.                  (to Koontz)          I need you guys.                         PLAINCLOTHESMAN #1          Who...                         MIKE          Venza.OTHER PLAINCLOTHESMEN are COMING.                         MIKE          At my house...!                         KOONTZ                  (shouting to others)          Call a cruiser!                         CLAIRE          ... Mike.                         MIKE                  (to Claire)          It's Venza.  He wants you.  You, for          Ellie and Tommy.                         KOONTZ                  (to Claire)          Let's go.                  (to others; urgent)          We're takin' her home!                  (swinging into                   crisis mode)          Move it!  Get the cars!                         MIKE                  (pleading)          Koontz!  I need you guys!                         KOONTZ          We'll call SWAT.  We'll get the          locals.                  (re: another cops's                   radio)          Throw it!                         MIKE                  (pleading)          No, I need'm now!                         CLAIRE                  (to Koontz)          Go with him!                         KOONTZ          My job is to protect you!                  (into radio)          This is Koontz --                         MIKE                  (near hysteria)          No One-Seventeen, they'll fuck it          up!  He told me not to tell anybody,          to bring Claire and come alone!  He          won't wait, he knows I'm two minutes          away!  Koontz, please!                         KOONTZ          I can't do it, you know that... He's          not gonna allow it anyway, Mike.  No          way is he gonna let anybody walk out          of that house alive, who can finger          him.MIKE WHIRLS, heedlessly, running for the DOORS, CLAIRERACING AFTER HIM.                         PLAINCLOTHESMAN #1                  (calling after her)          Hey...!                         CLAIRE          Mike!  Don't go there...!  Then make          them come with you!                         MIKE          They can't, they're assigned to          you!  I'd do the same thing!He RACES OUT THE DOOR:  she in PURSUIT.                         KOONTZ                  (re: Claire)          Go get her.PLAINCLOTHESMAN #1 hurries out.                         KOONTZ                  (reconsidering)          Fuck it, man.  Our brother needs us.          Let's go.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  MILTON GREGORY SCHOOL - SAME MOMENT - NIGHTMIKE BOUNDING to his car, CLAIRE hot on his heels.  SheJUMPS into the PASSENGER SEAT, pounding the DOOR LOCKSHUT.                         MIKE                  (into his car)          Go!  Get outta here!PLAINCLOTHESMAN #1 REACHES HER, pulling on the DOOR.                         PLAINCLOTHESMAN #1          Hey!                         MIKE          Get OUT!                         CLAIRE          They're assigned to me, they'll have          to go if I come with you!MIKE HESITATES.                         CLAIRE                  (screaming)          I'm not getting out!  GO!MIKE hits the ACCELERATOR -- PEELING OUT, leavingPLAINCLOTHESMAN #1 stranded on the curb.                         KOONTZ                  (calling to him,                   emerging)          Adams...!  C'mon, move it!ANGLE ON COPS:  RACING FOR THEIR CARS -- SCREECHING OUT.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  STREETS OF QUEENS - SAME - NIGHTMIKE'S CAR tearing down the STREET -- PURSUED by TWO MORESQUAD CARS, one of them not knowing better, GIVING VOICETO HIS SIREN!                                            CUT TO:INT.  MIKE'S CAR - SAME - NIGHTMIKE'S terrified eyes glancing into the REARVIEW MIRROR.                         MIKE          Turn off the siren...!Luckily, THEY DO.CLOSE ON CLAIRE:  wide-eyed.  In silence.                         MIKE                  (breathless)          We get there, you get down, stay out          of sight.  Don't get near that          house.  Understand me?  Venza's not          to know you're there!She NODS:  terrified.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  MIKE'S HOUSE - SAME - NIGHTAs MIKE'S CAR COMES TO A SCREECHING HALT, MIKE RUNNING OUTas CLAIRE DUCKS DOWN.  The house is COMPLETELY DARKENED,blending in with the night; the PURSUIT CARS CONVERGE asMIKE makes it to the DOOR, his HANDS TREMBLING as heFUMBLES with his KEYS... takes a deep breath... andENTERS.                                            CUT TO:INT.  THE HOUSE - SAME - NIGHTDarkened and pin-drop silent.  They only thing that can beheard is the SOUND of CAR DOORS slamming outside, as COPSrun into combat positions.                         MIKE          Tommy?  Ellie...?The SOUND of a MUFFLED WHIMPER comes from the kitchen; heHEADS TOWARD down a narrow HALLWAY.  He falters, ALMOSTSTEPPING on a SKATEBOARD.                         MIKE                  (calling out)          I'm not armed!  I'm the only one in          here!  I can help you get away if          you listen to what I say!He's used to the SOUND OF HIS VOICE to mask the slight"roll" of the SKATEBOARD under his foot:  He's sliding itinto the middle of the doorway.                         MIKE          I'm comin' in the kitchen!  If you          fuckin' shoot me, they'll come in          here, and we're all dead!  You hear          me, Venza?!No answer -- MIKE continues on, girding himself as hesteps into the KITCHEN DOORWAY.  He tries the light-switch; it doesn't work.  And then a VOICE SPEAKS.  Itsbreath, like his, is labored; the VOICE CRACKLING withtension.                         VENZA          You made a terrible mistake, Keegan.          You didn't do what I said.                         MIKE                  (his voice shaking)          That's right, you're gonna do what I          say.                  (desperate)          Joey.  I want to help you out of          this.                         VENZA          You should'a brought the girl.                         MIKE          I brought the girl.  She's outside.He MOVES to the WINDOW; it's right BESIDE THE TABLE.VENZA TENSING.                         VENZA          Hold it...!                         MIKE          I'll prove it!He LIFTS THE WINDOW, CALLING OUT:                         MIKE          Claire!                         CLAIRE (V.O.)          Mike...?                                            CUT TO:EXT.  THE HOUSE - SAME MOMENT - NIGHTCLAIRE, having shouted from behind a COP CAR:  KOONTZgrabbing hold of her to keep her in place.                         KOONTZ                  (a hiss of warning)          Not another word until I tell you.                                            CUT TO:INT.  KITCHEN - SAME MOMENT - NIGHTVENZA; wary.                         VENZA          How do I know that's her?                         MIKE          I'll bring her in.  You let them go,          and I'll bring her in.                         VENZA                  (wary)          Why should she come in?                         MIKE          She trusts me.  She'll do what I          say.                         VENZA          Bullshit!  Prove it.                         MIKE                  (calls out the                   window)          Koontz!  Let her come in!  Claire!          It's pitch dark in here!                  (his words are                   carefully chosen)          You're gonna have trouble seeing          anything, so just come in, and          straight down a long hall.  Then          stand at the door so we can see you.          We want to see your face and we          won't be able to until you get to          the kitchen door!                                            CUT TO:EXT.  THE HOUSE - SAME MOMENTKOONTZ receiving his "message".  Quickly assessing CLAIRE,he looks to the COPS around him -- then GRITS HIS TEETHwith DECISION.                                            CUT TO:INT.  THE KITCHEN - SAME - NIGHT                         MIKE          I want your guarantee they'll be          turned loose when she opens the          front door.                         VENZA          I get my hostage first.  No one's          turned loose until I say so.                         MIKE          Let my kid go.                         VENZA          I'm not lettin' no one go.                         MIKE          Get that gun away from his head, or          I'll keep her from coming in!  Put          the gun on me, he can't hurt you!          He's tied up!  Put him under the          table!                         VENZA          Don't you fuckin' give orders to          me...                         MIKE          Put him under the table or I'll stop          her from coming in.MIKE turns to the window, about to shout.                         VENZA                  (to Tommy, an order)          Under the table.                         MIKE          I'll take his place, all right?  Put          the gun to my head.MIKE YANKS TOMMY under the TABLE, taking HIS PLACE in THECHAIR; the COCKED GUN presses up against MIKE'S TEMPLE.ANGLE ON ELLIE:  Her widened eyes continuing to INDICATE"beneath the table".CLOSE ON TOMMY, ON HIS KNEES, his hands tied behind hisback; emitting a whimper of terror.                         ELLIE          Be careful, Tommy.HE LOOKS UP:  SPOTTING HER GUN, where she'd hidden it forsafe-keeping, TAPED SECURELY, just OVER HIS HEAD.The FRONT DOOR OPENS -- with a SLOW CREAK -- the FIGURE OFCLAIRE, her dress silhouetted by the moonlight fromoutside, SEEN standing in the front hallway.                         MIKE                  (frantic)          Claire!  It's dark.  Watch your          step.  Come slowly.ANGLE ON TOMMY:  trying desperately to get his hands, tiedbehind his back, within reach of the GUN taped over hishead.  It's impossible.CLOSE ON MIKE:  eyes darting to ELLIE -- as the FIGUREslowly APPROACHES down the DARKENED HALL, his HANDlowering beneath his knees, within reach of TOMMY, underthe TABLE.ANGLE ON TOMMY:  in a near HEADSTAND, his small handsmanaging to TOUCH THE TAPE, his fingernails futilelyattempting to DIG BENEATH IT -- as the FOOTSTEPS continueto APPROACH down the DARKENED HALL.ANGLE ON THE FIGURE:  almost at the kitchen door -- aboutto STEP INTO THE LIGHT.                         MIKE          Watch your step!                         VENZA                  (rising)          What the fuck you doin'?!TOMMY'S HANDS are on the GUN.                         MIKE          There's a skateboard in the door!With a sudden SOUND of TAPE "RIPPING" from under theTABLE.  ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE.  TOMMY ROLLS, THRUSTING THEGUN INTO MIKE'S HAND as the FIGURE at the DOOR KICKS THESKATEBOARD, sending it ZOOMING INTO THE ROOM.  VENZA LEAPSASIDE AND FIRES, the FIGURE at the DOOR OPENING FIRE inRETURN.  MIKE LEAPS FOR ELLIE, knocking her off her CHAIR,rolling FAST as the ENTIRE KITCHEN ERUPTS IN GUNFIRE.ANGLE ON ELLIE:  throwing herself OVER TOMMY, BULLETS"PINGING" AROUND MIKE as he ROLLS, RETURNING THE FIRE.The pitch-black kitchen shudders with BANGS and FLASHESlike the Fourth of July, mixed with the "WHINE" of bulletshitting pots and pans, and the sight of BODIES hurtlingthrough the dark.The "FIGURE AT THE DOOR" is firing with both hands,SCORING A HIT ON VENZA'S ACCOMPLICE, who goes down,wounded, HIS GUN CLATTERING to the FLOOR.  He REACHES forit, but ELLIE GETS THERE FIRST, grabbing it with her twohands tied in front of her.                         ELLIE                  (to Tommy)          Stay down!The ACCOMPLICE is staggering upward as ELLIE gets to herfeet, SQUARING OFF in POLICE STANCE -- and FIRES, catchinghim square between the SHOULDER BLADES; HE SPINS, crashingBACKWARDS through the GLASS DOOR -- SWISH-PAN to VENZA,trying to get out THE KITCHEN WINDOW...                         MIKE          Turn around, fuck!He DOES, BLASTED by MIKE, and the "FIGURE" in the door,SIMULTANEOUSLY.  He falls out the window, but still haslife in him, staggering to his feet, and hit by SPOTLIGHTSfrom the CARS OUTSIDE.  In a sudden barrage, he's hit byCROSSFIRE, SPINNING, LURCHING -- finally going down.And then all is quiet.INSIDE THE KITCHEN -- all sound and movement has suddenlyceased; everyone is a state of shock.                         ELLIE                  (desperate)          Tommy...!                         TOMMY          I'm all right.                         MIKE          Ellie...                         ELLIE          I'm all right.The overhead LIGHT is SNAPPED ON by the "FIGURE" in thedoorway -- revealing it to be KOONTZ.  In CLAIRE'S DRESS.Guns in both hands, still smoking.                         KOONTZ                  (emphatic)          Fuckin' miracle, man.In the BACKGROUND distant SIRENS are HEARD heading toward.The SWAT squad.  CAMERA MOVING ACROSS THE FACES OF ELLIE,TOMMY, MIKE... and KOONTZ; all holding in place.Listening to them come.                         KOONTZ                  (re: the sirens)          Told you they'd be here in a few          minutes.The grim humor of it is registered in SILENCE.  MIKE picksup VENZA'S HUNTING KNIFE from the floor, cutting throughthe ropes that bind TOMMY'S and ELLIE'S HANDS; she PULLSTOMMY to HER, in a tearful EMBRACE, shielding his facefrom the ghastly sight of the man, lying dead, on thefloor.OTHER PEOPLE are MOVING INWARD, CLAIRE among them, clad inan OVERSIZED POLICE OVERCOAT -- looking frail andfrightened, SHUDDERING WITH RELIEF when she sees that allare safe.  But there is no mistaking the presence ofsomething else in her eyes.CLOSE ON CLAIRE'S FACE:  gazing at MIKE, his familywrapped in his protective embrace.  He LOOKS UP, meetingher eyes.                         CLAIRE          Everyone's all right...?                         MIKE          Yeah.  It's all over.LONG ANGLE on the ROOM:  dimly illuminated by the singlelight, shed from the opened refrigerator door, as peoplebegin to move -- awakening to life, and its necessarydetails, in the aftermath of the crisis.                                            CUT TO:EXT.  THE HOUSE - SAMEThe LAWN virtually FILLED with POLICE VEHICLES, theirrevolving red lights illuminating the grim scene; a smallgathering of onlookers gawking from behind police ropes,AMBULANCES pulling SLOWLY, SILENTLY, away.CAMERA PANS to two figures ALONE, beside a squad car, inthe distant shadows.  It's CLAIRE, still clad in thepolice overcoat, and MIKE.  They are together, butseparate, maintaining the proper distance to say goodbye.CLOSER ANGLE ON THEM:  not knowing quite what to say.                         MIKE          So.                         CLAIRE          So.ANGLE ON BOTH:  their eyes locked into each other's.                         MIKE          You still going away?                         CLAIRE          I don't know...                         MIKE          You don't have to, now.                         CLAIRE          I think it's probably still a good          idea.CLOSE ON MIKE:  getting her message.                         MIKE          Yeah...Both are hurting.                         CLAIRE                  (heartfelt)          I'll miss you, Mike.                         MIKE          Listen, I'll... see you again.Her eyes are glistening; she gives him a bracing smile.But he can't quiet manage it.                         CLAIRE                  (barely able to                   speak)          Say goodbye.He struggles with it; unable.                         MIKE          I like your coat.                         CLAIRE                  (half-laugh, half-cry)          You have a weakness for Lady Cops.                         MIKE          I do.Silence now; their eyes adoring.                         CLAIRE          Say goodbye, Mike.                         MIKE                  (thick voiced)          You take care.MIKE TURNS -- CAMERA MOVING WITH HIM as he WALKS SLOWLYAWAY -- finding himself on a collision course with GARBER.They meet, spending a long moment in non-communicativegreeting.                         MIKE                  (finally)          What do you think?                  (a beat)          Any chance?  There's nothin' else          I'm any good at, but this.                         GARBER                  (noncommittal)          Call me next week.  We'll talk about          it.MIKE absorbs it, looking up to SEE ELLIE and TOMMY, besidea SQUAD CAR, a distance away.  Girding himself, he HEADSTOWARD.ANGLE ON ELLIE AND TOMMY -- as he APPROACHES, and standsbeside them.  Not much to say.  Finally he reaches out andtousles TOMMY'S hair.                         MIKE          Good police work, kiddo.He catches ELLIE'S eye, both assessing each other.                         ELLIE                  (re: Tommy)          He doesn't want to sleep here.                  (a long beat)          Neither do I.  It's not my house          anymore.                         MIKE          Me neither.ANGLE ON ALL:  finding each other's eyes.                         MIKE          Let's find some place to start over.MIKE puts an arm AROUND TOMMY -- and the CAMERA BEGINS ALONG PULLBACK, as ELLIE moves to his side, and the KEEGANFAMILY begins to MOVE AWAY.  WE SEE CLAIRE, being helpedinto a SQUAD CAR, turning to look back at them as it PULLSAWAY -- CARS REVVING UP and PULLING OUT, in ALLDIRECTIONS.From a distance, we HEAR MIKE'S VOICE.                         MIKE (V.O.)                  (to Ellie)          What this crap about singing          lessons?                                            FADE OUT.                         THE END
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+8/4/1993 S P I D E R - M A N Written by Barry Cohen and Ted Newson and James Cameron 2nd Revision by Joseph Goldmari and James Cameron and John Brancato -------- Third Revision by James Cameron based on screenplays by Ted Newsom & John Brancato, Barney Cohen and Joseph Goldman SECOND REV. 7/29/1993 FADE IN: INT. PROFESSOR OCK"S PRIVATE PHYSICS LABORATORY, THE CYCLOTRON ROOM (CREDIT SEQUENCE) - DAY A mighty WARNING KLAXON assaults our ears. A FLASHING RED WARNING LIGHT stabs our eyes. Several DIALS go into the RED. A hand pushes aside a YELLOW THERMOS and pushes forward a RED POWER THROTTLE. We hear the WHINING UP of a cyclotron. A DIGITAL DIAL climbs to "5% POWER." A SPIDER crawls across a DIAL. Begin OPENING CREDITS. THE CYCLOTRON ROOM is in an old basement full of peeling paint and plumbing wrapped with TAPE. Leaks are here and there. COBWEBS are all around. DOCTOR OTTO OCTAVIUS (OCK) is a strong but strange featured man in his mid-fifties. His assistant, WEINER, hovers nearby looking on. He's open mouthed with a mindless kind of curiosity. WEINER is a local, small-time hood hired by OCK to circumvent the school administration and to "procure" whatever OCK needs for his experiments. He shades his eyes against a searing BLUE-WHITE BEAM that erupts from the WINDOW. THE ROOM IS DIVIDED INTO A CONTROL ROOM AND THE EXPERIMENT CHAMBERS. WEINER Whoa, whoa, whoa... what's that? With a WHOOSH, the WINDOW EXPLODES, showering the TWO with shards of GLASS, and throwing them to the floor. OCK (rising) We begin again... let's kick in that new transducer. See if we can double the power output. WEINER (rising more slowly) Whoa, Doc... wait a minute... But OCK is already at the THROTTLE. The cyclotron whirls up. The lights go on. Louder, brighter than before. OCK looks through the broken WINDOW into the EXPERIMENTAL CHAMBER. The POWER DIAL inches upward, "eight, nine..." the BLUE-WHITE LIGHT is blinding now. The WHINE pitch is shattering. END OPENING CREDITS. OCK Okey... dokey! The POWER DIAL hits ten. EXT. EMPIRE STATE UNIVERSITY - DAY As STUDENTS go to class, the sound of the cyclotron spills out of the SCIENCE CENTER onto the grounds of Empire State University. We see PETER PARKER, a pleasant faced senior who's among the top in his class. Sincere and serious, he has yet to develop a way with women. LIZ (falling in step) Hiya Peter... LIZ ALLEN is also a senior. She's beautiful and intelligent. PETER (ardent but uncomfortable) Hiya Liz... how're you doing...? LIZ (teasing softly) How'm I doing what? HARRY Peter! Peter! Wait up! HARRY is the school nerd. A quirky kid who, like PETER, can be a little backward around girls, especially pretty ones like Liz. HARRY (to Liz) Would you, uh... excuse us for a minute? Despite PETER'S protesting body language, HARRY pulls him away like a conspirator. PETER What is it? what... HARRY Did the Astro-Physics Journal really accept your paper? PETER (laughs, embarrassed) Yeah... well... all I got's the data but they've agreed to publish it when it's finished. You know... it's my calculation on the Planetary Conjunction. HARRY And its influence on the anti-force. Isn't it? PETER Yes. Look, Harry, I am busy with... (indicates Liz standing there) HARRY Yeah, you and the rest of the class. Every one is busy with Liz. LIZ (growing impatient) Peter? A HAND reaches in and smacks her bottom. FLASH Hiya, cupcakes... LIZ (elbowing him affectionately) Flash...! They kiss and walk away. HARRY (sneering) And Flash is the busiest of them all... PETER (disappointed) Come on, Harry... we'll be late for Octavius. HARRY makes a gesture dismissing OCK as crazy. HARRY Ock is nuts, don't you agree? PETER Ock is a genius, Harry. Crazy, Yes! But, a genius misunderstood, and unappreciated. INT. CYCLOTRON AREA HALLWAY - DAY It is a basement hallway full of LOCKERS which STUDENTS are banging open and shut as they put stuff in and take stuff out. In their midst, a MAN is banging on the door marked "Cyclotron Room - Authorized Personnel Only!" Professor ROSOMORF, SIXTISH, respectable, a good old fashioned professor, he's the head of the Physics Dept. With him is ALEXANDER THORKEL, a 40-ish, Waspish school administrator. For a scientist as crazily focused as OCK, THORKEL is a natural enemy. ROZ (knocking furiously) Doctor Octavius! You are late for your lecture. The students are waiting. Doctor Octavius! THORKEL Your friend is impossible Professor Rosomorf, I told the board we should let him go. The LIGHT above THORKEL's head EXPLODES. Then all the LIGHTS behind him EXPLODE in succession. THORKEL and ROZ look amazed... THORKEL What's he doing in there, not his crazy experiment again. ROZ You mean his anti-force theory... one day they'll give him the Nobel Prize for it. THORKEL Meanwhile he is demolishing our university. Octavius!! (knocks) Open the door. INT. OCK'S LAB OCK The anti-force experiment has now reached the limit of electronic overload safety. Therefore, Weiner, you will disconnect the overload safety device... FOUR WALDOS (three-fingered, snake-like mechanical arms) suddenly thrust themselves into the CHAMBER and begin working, each at a different task. OCK is an acknowledged master at manipulating these WALDOS. He flicks a switch and a searing BLUE-WHITE BEAM lances down from a FOCUSING CONE and strikes a GRAM WEIGHT marked, "1,000,000"), illuminating it and filling our ears with a splitting BUZZ TONE. The knock on the door grows louder. WEINER comes up behind OCK. WEINER Whoa, Doc... someone's at the door... OCK (ignoring) World class scientific mind and they stick me in the basement with this third rate cyclotron... INSERT: The DIAL marked "RELATIVE GRAVITY" reads "1,000,000" but suddenly it snaps to "0.999999!" OCK Okey! Dokey! The WEIGHT begins to jiggle and, for an instant, it appears to lift ever so slightly. INT. COLLEGE PHYSICS LAB - DAY This is an enormous room, 100 lab tables. The yellowing smoke of a thousand experiments hangs in the air. A HUGE AMERICAN FLAG dominates the back wall. PETER, HARRY and LIZ set up their TABLES. FLASH reads the DAILY BUGLE sports section. PETER can't take his eyes off LIZ. When she looks back he looks down at his GEAR. LIZ (softly) What is it, Peter? PETER (embarrassed) It's nothing. INT. OCK'S LAB WEINER opens the door and sees ROZ and THORKEL waiting impatient. WEINER Yes, gentleman can I help you? THORKEL Tell your boss, that his class is waiting. WEINER (looks) You better tell him yourself. THORKEL looks at ROZ who waves his shoulder, then the both call. ROZ & THORKEL Professor Octavius!! Professor OCK turns and looks at the bewildered men. OCK Gentlemen, come, you must see this. ROZ But, your students... OCK The imbeciles can wait... I have better things to do than teach introductory Physics Rosomorf. Undergrads are kindless adolescence. THORKEL You see he is impossible. OCK Thorkel you are the dummiest administrator our university has ever had. (Thorkel turns to go) Don't go Thorkel!! Come! Look! He starts to play his machines handles and buttons. THORKEL The university pays you to teach something to your students. INT. COLLEGE PHYSICS LAB - DAY LIZ Well, do you mean nothing... or do you mean something but you won't tell me what it is? PETER (regaining) I mean plain nothing. LIZ Well, I guess that's about as nothing as you can get... plain nothing. A beat. PETER Liz...! LIZ Ahh, it is something. PETER No... look. The equipment on her TABLE is starting to vibrate. They look at it, curiously. We hear the cyclotron's WHINE begin to build... INT. CYCLOTRON ROOM - DAY Everything is shaking like in an earthquake... Roz and Thorkel seem to dance in their place going crazy with anger and surprise. The WHINE is deafening! The light is blinding! WEINER has his eyes closed and his hands over his ears. OCK I am going for 20 percent power! THORKEL NO!! Don't do that... ROZ Ock! Its dangerous... THORKEL Ock I warn you... WEINER crosses himself. The CONSOLE erupts in sparks. INT. ELECTRICAL CONDUIT MONTAGE - DAY We follow the electrical overcharge as it crackles along the WIRES and CABLES inside the WALLS and FLOORS. It is making its way up to the LAB! INT. LAB - DAY All the kids are now trying to hold onto their vibrating equipment. The CHARGE crackles up a WIRE and erupts at LIZ'S TABLE. A BREAKER explodes in flames. There is an outburst of AD LIBS: "Fire!" "Everybody out!" THORKEL (comes running he is shabby and bewildered) seeing LIZ trapped behind the fire which is growing from second to second. THORKEL Keep calm, everybody keep calm. Use the front door. Everybody out the front. PETER Liz! Come on...! LIZ I can't. Help me! PETER I'm coming! He wades into the fire, but is beaten back by the FLAMES. His sleeve is on fire. He pats it out. LIZ Peter! Flash appears and tries to help but Thorkel stops him. THORKEL Get back, you idiots. You can't go in there! LIZ smashes at the WINDOW, but this is an inner city school and the WINDOWS are covered by STEEL GATES. Liz wraps her fingers in the GATE. LIZ (out at the street) Help! Help me! Outside the WINDOW the air is clear and people come and go. Some are stopping to look up at the girl on the second floor who screams (but they can't hear, of course) down at them as the FLAMES close in behind her. PETER comes flying in with a FIRE EXTINGUISHER. He fumbles with it. FLASH pushes Thorkel, grabs the extinguisher away from him with a scowl of disdain. LIZ turns to face the FLAMES. Suddenly there is an eruption of CO2 CLOUDS and the roar of a FIRE EXTINGUISHER. The FLAMES are beaten down enough for her to leap out. FLASH is there, holding the EXTINGUISHER. People CHEER. PETER Thanks for your help Flash. FLASH No problem wimp. PETER Our hero has a real way with words. LIZ Oh, why don't you grow up. PETER is stung, insulted, turns away. ROSOMORF peeps in, worried -- faces Thorkel. THORKEL This man will bring a disaster upon this university. OCK comes in, starts his lecture calmly as if nothing has happened. OCK The universe is made up of forces... and counter-forces. Science is the study of the forces! FLASH hands the EXTINGUISHER to PETER. LIZ embraces FLASH, throwing a glimpse at PETER who tried so bravely. He looks away and turns the last of the EXTINGUISHER on the last of the FIRE. OCK (continues without a hitch) But I... Professor Otto Octavius... have devoted my life to the study of the counter-forces! Good job, Peter. PETER (taking place at lab table) Thanks, Professor. THORKEL has walked slowly and uncomprehendingly toward the front of the huge LAB. He simply cannot believe OCK'S behavior. THORKEL I don't believe it, I simply don't... OCK Can we carry on Mr. Thorkel. THORKEL I don't believe... oh, all right carry on Professor. OCK Well! This week my dear students I have made a stunning breakthrough... THORKEL Wait a minute, wait a minute... you've got fire forms to fill out, Dr. Octavius. OCK I have no time for forms, or administrators who persist in interrupting me, Mr. Thorkel. THORKEL steams out and bangs shut the DOOR. OCK I now believe its possible that these counter forces can be... collected... the way the magnifying glass collects the sunlight... and focused into a hard beam I call... Weiner! WEINER backs away from the BLACKBOARD to reveal a word that OCK has scrawled in large letters. It says "Anti- Force." OCK I call it, the Anti-Force! OCK is plugging a HUGE CABLE into a small LUCITE BOX with a SILVER BALL inside it. OCK (continues as he works) This anti-force, once harnessed, is capable of undoing any natural force at which it is aimed... for instance... (looks up maniacally) Gravity! LIZ scribbles down a note and mouths the word "gravity." Then she turns to PETER. LIZ (whispers) I'm sorry... PETER It's alright. OCK is "playing" his COMPUTER like the Phantom of the Opera at the organ. OCK We patch in the cyclotron... The lights flicker and go dim. OCK Pay no attention to the lights... I of course steal its energy, and it looses power. We patch in the cyclotron... and we gradually apply power. The power that I am stealing... As the WHINE builds in the LAB... OCK peers through the LUCITE BOX at us, distorted by it. The BOX is a miniature version of the cyclotron's experimental chamber, and now the BLUE-WHITE glow begins. It crackles round the SILVER BALL. OCK And so we stand, four square against the fundamental force that orders and maintains our universe... gravity... which is holding down this goddamn ball. Rise! The LIGHTS go totally dark. The kids react with WHOOPS and CATCALLS. HARRY What a crock... PETER Shut up Harry... this is very interesting. OCK Mr. Parker! Have you some... interesting observation you'd like to share with the class? PETER No sir... OCK Then shut up! And pay some attention to the experiment. OCK peers at us through the LUCITE BOX as the SILVER BALL begins to rise. OCK'S face is ecstatic. OCK Rise! Rise!!! The SILVER BALL suddenly shoots up, shattering the top of the box. It flies up to the ceiling where it shatters a LIGHT FIXTURE. The shards rain down on OCK who reaches out and catches the falling BALL and scales it in a raised fist. OCK Now that's what I call an experiment! The CYCLOTRON WHINE cuts out and OCK wheels to the COMPUTER. He hits a KEY and several COLORED PROJECTION BEAMS lance out of the back of the room. They pierce the smoke and light a PROJECTION DISPLAY in the front. TWO COLORED SPHERES one, YELLOW, one BLUE touch where their circumferences meet. Behind them is a BLACK depiction of "space". OCK You are looking at a representation of two universes. Our Blue one. Our real universe... something we can touch and feel and see and draw calculations about. This is us. The Yellow universe... this is something else. Some other dimension... something... on the other side! OCK hits another COMPUTER KEY and a hole appears where the TWO SPHERES touch. The BLUE AND THE YELLOW MARBLEIZE with each other. The colors swirl until both SPHERES are BRIGHT GREEN. OCK If it were possible to generate enough power behind it, the anti-force could wipe out not just gravity... but all our universal forces at the same time. In effect... it would blast a hole between this universe and the next. Each... (indicates green spheres) would flow into each other. No blue universe. No yellow. End, finished, over. LIZ (with a student's ear) That sounds like a scenario for the end of the world. OCK My girl, it is! It is. It would mean wiping out everything that's known... and letting in everything that's unknown. FLASH Isn't that a little dangerous? OCK Don't worry yourself, true inter- dimensional penetration is still purely theoretical, but one day... Maybe very near... maybe in the 21st century... INT. BASEMENT HALLWAY - DAY PETER, LIZ, FLASH and HARRY all take BOOKS from their LOCKERS. LIZ (whispers to Peter) Look, it's just... I don't know... when you and Flash go after each other like that... PETER (whispers) He's not my type. LIZ He doesn't have to be. PETER Check. LIZ And besides, he's not all bad. PETER looks at FLASH who's a few LOCKERS down. FLASH has taken a FOOTBALL from his LOCKER and is spinning it on his finger with great joy and concentration. PETER You don't get nicknamed Flash because you're a rocket scientist, Liz. LIZ Give it up, Parker. You'd die for a nickname like Flash. PETER Yeah, of embarrassment. KIM comes by and leans seductively by her LOCKER. KIM is a ripe one and hot-hot-hot! KIM (teasing) Hey, Flash... I'm scalping a pair of the Midnight Madness Wrestling Match tomorrow night. FLASH The Slammies??? I'd kill for that!!! KIM Would you pay $125? FLASH Well, uh, I... gee... if... can I tell you tomorrow? KIM (moving on) You snooze, you lose. Hiya Liz... LIZ Kim, you know Peter and Harry? This is my new roommate... Kim Nickson. KIM is pulling her pet, a foot long SALAMANDER, out of her LOCKER. She wraps it around her neck and turns to the boys. They go bug-eyed! KIM (interested) Hellooo, Peter. PETER (embarrassed) Hi... LIZ We're going to the Student Reunion Meeting. You coming? Peter looks at KIM. Wow. Then he looks at LIZ who's adjusting herself in a small MIRROR. HARRY jabs him in the ribs. Yeah, yeah! PETER (frustrated) I can't... I gotta go over to the Daily Bugle. I'm trying to sell some photos. KIM Soooh, a photographer...? PETER Just an amateur. Well... nice meeting you, Kim. KIM Yeah... I bet it would be. HARRY Can I be your date for the reunion ShooShoo? KIM No Jerk! HARRY (she turns to go) What did I say... LIZ It's not what you said, it's how you say it, ShooShoo! Everybody leaves and Harry is left alone, he throws his bag down. HARRY Damn! PETER turns to go and comes face to face with the hulking WEINER. WEINER Peter, Doc Ock wants to see you. PETER About my data I bet. WEINER I don't know. PETER He knows about my work on the Planetary Conjunction, doesn't he? WEINER (lies) I don't know. INT. CONTROL ROOM - DAY PETER enters wide-eyed behind WEINER. This place is a far cry from the experiment in the LAB ROOM. It's a fantastic netherworld to which no undergrad gains entrance. No one but PETER. OCK is sitting in a swivel CHAIR with his back to PETER. He has the look of Captain Nemo in his Nautilus. This is OCK'S domain. PETER Hello, Professor Octavius. (no response) I really admired your experiment. OCK (back to Peter) We have a lot of interests in common, Peter. Perhaps we should put our heads together, if you know what I mean... PETER (flattered) That would be... great. OCK (turns with a smile) Now you take the Planetary Conjunction. This Saturday night we will witness Saturn, Jupiter, the Moon, the Earth, the Sun... all in a row. Never seen within the memory of man, or measured for its effect. The total gravitational force must be quite exceptional. Isn't that the subject of your paper...? PETER Yes sir, I've worked out a new way to calculate the combined gravitational effect. OCK I'm a busy man, Mr. Parker. But I think I could find the time to go over it with you. Make sure it all... checks out. PETER Well... I'm sort of working with Professor Rosomorf and he suggested we kind of keep it between us. He thinks that my theory is... well, I don't know... OCK (to himself) The scoundrel... (turns angry) I want to see that data, Peter! PETER But Professor Octavius... if I knew you were interested... sorry, I've already given it to... Professor Rosomorf, and he is after all the head of our Physics Department... and I couldn't... OCK turns sweet again. He smiles too broadly. OCK Well, I'm certain something can be worked out. Run along, young man. PETER begins to leave. OCK Just a minute... how about if I show you my discoveries... something I never showed to any other student... as a matter of fact to anybody at all. PETER Well I am really flattered, I mean I'd love to... but I... OCK Very well shall we say if you come here tonight... PETER But Professor I don't now if I should... OCK Make it eight sharp... I'll be waiting for you... Right here... Peter looks worried then leaves. OCK turns to WEINER who slouches against the wall smiling. OCK The same academic world that's so keen to embrace that boy's undergraduate work, ridicules my anti-force theory as quackery. I ask you, Weiner... what is our society coming to? Ha! WEINER They are all a bunch of brainless assholes, that's what I say... OCK Weiner! Go get me that boy's data! WEINER Cost you fifty bucks. OCK (Weiner hissing) Just get it. We'll negotiate your fee when you have the data, alright Weiner? EXT. DAILY BUGLE - DAY Establish as ART DECO BUILDING well beyond its prime. A sign says: "The Daily Bugle." Peter enters the building. JAMESON (V.O.) Garbage! Absolute, 100% garbage! INT. JAMESON'S OFFICE - DAY Very forties, very messy. J. Jameson scans some PHOTOS as PETER stands helplessly by. JAMESON Bag ladies. I hate bag ladies. PETER Yes, sir. JAMESON is 50ish, grey at the temples, brush cut on top. He too is forties. His chewed up CIGAR is forties. This guy is a hard case. JAMESON (looks at the other photos) Little kids... I hate little kids. This is a daily newspaper. We need news value photographs, not artsy-fartsy shit! PETER Yes, sir. JAMESON comes to a picture of a BUSINESS SUITED MAN with a MOHAWK. PETER smiles in anticipation. JAMESON Kid? You want a pro's assessment? PETER Yes, sir! JAMESON (handing photos back) Your photos suck. (cigar for emphasis) Parker, my readers are morons. I gotta grab them by the eyes. Every time you press the button of that Nikon of yours it costs you fifty-five cents. So the next time you're about to take the plunge, ask yourself, am I taking dog bites man? Because if you are... PETER I know, I know. You want man bites dog... JAMESON Parker, this is the post modern 20th century. I want man eats dog! Get out! EXT. STREET - DAY A seedy east village walk up. Peter takes his camera and takes various shots of a wino. ALL IN. He climbs the stairs to his building, looks through the mail, he collects from a beaten down mailbox. PETER (reading) Rent! Rent, more bills, rent... electricity, bills... INT. PETER'S APARTMENT - DAY A one-room, shabby roof apartment, a chaos of books and papers. A photo enlarger and darkroom baths in kitchen pots; 8x10s tacked to the walls; a spare camera and lenses. Self-consciously wacky kitsch; plastic dinosaurs, wind-up toys, a stuffed carp. An unmade bed and a 50's dinette set are the only furniture. A grimy skylight leads to the roof. It's not a pretty place, but it has personality. A voice from the kitchen, a shadow of an intruder, is sneaking around. PETER There's nothing in there worth stealing! MAY (V.O.) (from within the kitchen) That's the understatement of the year. PETER Aunt May, you're trespassing. MAY (comes in) I was just so desperately bored... I thought I'd come over and make you dinner... PETER I am old enough to... to make my own-- MAY But I didn't feel like getting to know your roaches. PETER I'll introduce you. MAY Oh. And those foul chemicals in the pots... PETER I take pictures, remember? MAY Anyway, I've decided to kidnap you for dinner in Forest Hills... She grabs her coat, crosses back to Peter and tugs on his shoulder. PETER It's Friday night... MAY Yes. Do you have a date? PETER No. MAY Then come on. INT. LARGE COMPUTER LAB - NIGHT It is dark and empty except for COMPUTERS. Sitting at it, lit by the GLOW of its screen, is SOLOMON ROSOMORF (ROZ). As he works, a DOOR opens behind him. Someone walks quietly through the LAB. ROSOMORF keeps working. The intruder approaches... THORKEL (at his ear) Professor Rosomorf, what happened here? ROZ Someone tried to rob me of some paper... I suspect they were looking for that one. THORKEL What is it? ROZ (unruffled) Award winning stuff. (turning slightly) Peter Parker's data on the Planetary Conjunction. Damn lucky I hid it in my computer under another title. THORKEL My God, what's going on in our school? First Professor Octavius almost blows up the Physics lab... Now this. You report it in triplicate, of course. ROZ Thorkel, be careful when you talk to Octavius. Remember... the man is a very fragile genius. One day he'll bring us all the Noble Prize. THORKEL Rosomorf, the man is a very dangerous crackpot! Off screen the voice of the CYCLOTRON WHINE begins to build. ROZ That's him again. He's working day and night. THORKEL I tell you the man is very dangerous. (the whine grows louder) Come on Rosomorf, let's stop him before this building will explode. INT. CYCLOTRON ROOM - NIGHT OCK and WEINER are at work as before. OCK takes no notice of the TWO MEN who come in, nor the WORKER who comes in behind them and sets to work attaching a BIG LOCK to the door. THORKEL Shut it down, Octavius. OCK ignores him. WEINER touches OCK'S shoulder. OCK ignores him too. THORKEL You've blown half the circuits in the Science Center. OCK Call an electrician. THORKEL I have called the locksmith. OCK What... what is he doing. He points toward the worker who's working on the lock on the main door. THORKEL We have to shut your lab down and take a look at the lines. ROZ Please, Otto, we must lock it up. OCK (to Thorkel) You're denying me access to my cyclotron?! THORKEL You bet. OCK glares back and forth between the TWO MEN, the WORKER, and WEINER. Then he pulls BACK the RED POWER THROTTLE. The WHINE descends. The WALDOS pull back and dangle from their panel. The WHINE dies. OCK (contemplating) Okey, dokey... just give me till tomorrow. I want to clean up my papers. Tomorrow... Ha... Tomorrow you can have this room... ROZ Oh... well Thorkel... few more hours won't make a difference. THORKEL I hope. He signals to the worker to stop. INT. APARTMENT OF AUNT MAY AND UNCLE BEN - NIGHT The N.Y. Mets are playing baseball on T.V. PETER watches with his UNCLE BEN, a paunchy 65 years old in POLYESTER SLACKS and a COMFY OLD SWEATER. A N.Y. METS CAP is perched on BEN'S head. A BEER CAN is in his hand. A cluttered but familiar living room sprawls comfortably around them. BEN Another brewski? PETER No, I'm fine, Uncle Ben. BEN (at T.V.) Yah! Way to do it. Alright! (to Peter) You don't follow the Mets like you used to, do you, Pete? PETER No, not so much anymore. BEN Funny. When your Mom and Dad, uh, passed away... I had this idea... I wanted you to be the best baseball player that ever was. Geez, what ever happened to that? PETER Little league. BEN (soft and warm) Yeah... Babe Ruth you wasn't. AUNT MAY enters. AUNT MAY It's on the table! Turn off the TV! BEN nods, rises sluggishly and slowly, and turns the sound off only. PETER moves toward his AUNT in the doorway. AUNT MAY How's that girl you told us about, Peter? PETER Liz? She's great... But she has a boyfriend. INT. THE DINING ROOM - NIGHT PETER passes AUNT MAY and takes his seat. AUNT MAY A boy your age should have a girlfriend. PETER Aunt May... she has a steady boyfriend. AUNT MAY Peter, any girl that's worth your attention is of course gonna have a boyfriend... But if she really gets to know what you have to offer she'll... you get my drift? BEN Look, just leave him alone, okay. When he's ready for girls he'll be a holy terror. (winks) It's in the blood. (now serious business) Lookit, how are you fixed for money, Pete? Maybe I can help you out a little. PETER (lying to them) No, I'm alright. My scholarship covers almost everything, and I sell some photos here and there. Today my physics professor asked for some of my work... he wants to study my data. They might publish my work in the science magazine... that'll bring me some money... BEN (practically cheering) Publish your work?! You hear that May...? PETER (embarrassed laughs) Yeah, in fact I have to leave a little early tonight, to meet Professor Octavius... He offered me to be his assistant... BEN Whoa! Did you hear that May...? AUNT MAY Oh, Peter, you promised you'd spend the night... PETER I... I can't, Aunt May. Professor Octavius wants to discuss my new findings. AUNT MAY (disappointed) Peter, what you should be finding... is a nice girlfriend. INT. BASEMENT CYCLOTRON ROOM - NIGHT WEINER is eating a large SANDWICH and a drinking a COKE. OCK I'll show them... closing the cyclotron on me... Weiner! WEINER Yes, Professor... OCK Where is he? It's ten past eight o'clock... A KNOCK WEINER (with mouth full) That must be him. He opens the door. PETER Good evening. OCK You are late. (to Weiner) Weiner, go outside and get us something to eat. And don't steal it! Just buy it. I'll reimburse you. WEINER (to Peter) Do you want anything Parker? PETER No thank you, I just had dinner at my aunt's... OCK Piss off, Weiner! WEINER leaves. PETER wanders around. He goes into the experimental chamber, he overlooks the SPIDER which is scuttling away and crawls inside the open WINDOW... and into the chamber. OCK Okey, dokey, Parker... how would you like to take Weiner's place... I mean, be my assistant? PETER Well, Professor, that would be a great honor, but I'm already working with... OCK Rosomorf... that imbecile. Don't you understand, kid, that I am about to uncover the greatest discovery since Einstein came up with his theory of relativity... The "Anti-Force." PETER Wow! The theory of the Anti-force! You should go for the Noble Prize Professor... OCK Noble Shmoble, I am going for a much bigger prize kid. Okey, dokey. Let me show you, kid, what I got here. OCK begins the experiment. We move in past the shattered WINDOW. We see the SPIDER crawling on the chamber's GEAR. OCK Present maximum anti-force power to date is 38 percent of theoretical limit. I have patched in the variable particle-wave accelerator... (shrugs) I will now try to reach 50% power... (big breath) And if your paper has any value... I can use it to get the power I'm missing to create the anti-force, to break through and beat any other form of power in our or any other universe, capish! PETER Sorry, Professor, I can't do it. I gave my word to Professor Rosomorf. OCK is angry... Ock now sees the SPIDER. He shoots out a WALDO to try and crush it but the SPIDER is too fast. The WALDO slams against the wall of the chamber. He starts to push every button or switch in sight. A deafening whining starts. An URGENT WARNING TONE causes OCK to look at the "Relative Gravity" DIAL. It is at "4.999999KG" but suddenly the numbers start to tumble rapidly. INSERT: The glowing 5KG WEIGHT. INSERT: The POWER DIAL inches toward 50% POWER! OCK (screaming) 50 percent... anti-force... 50 percent... that's all I'm missing! Parker, we can be rich together! PETER Sorry... I'd better go now. OCK (really angry now) You'll be sorry, Parker. PETER leaves. Another URGENT WARNING TONE causes OCK to look at the monitor SCREEN. On it, flashing RED, is the word, "OVERLOAD!" OCK pushes the RED POWER THROTTLE forward! The WHINE increases to a PULSE and THROB. INT. EXPERIMENTAL CHAMBER - NIGHT Incredibly lit, the SPIDER is dropping on it's shimmering WEB-STRAND down toward the 5KG WEIGHT which now GLOWS in time with the THROB and PULSE. INT. THE CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT The MONITOR is flashing "MAXIMUM OVERLOAD - SHUT DOWN!" OCK continues with the experiment. And then he sees the SPIDER! OCK You! Get out of there, you creeping... He tries to shove the SPIDER with his hand. INT. EXPERIMENTAL CHAMBER - NIGHT Through the BLUE-WHITE we can barely make out OCK on the other side if the shattered WINDOW. He sends TWO WALDOS after the SPIDER. The SPIDER evades him and jumps onto the PROFESSOR's back. It then climbs onto the PROFESSOR's neck and bites him. OCK (anguish) Noooooooooooo! The gravity DIAL goes to .000001, then pops back up as OCK'S tiny world goes berserk. DIALS spin, crack, explode or droop liquidly. WIRES dance on the CONSOLE which erupts like the 4th of JULY. OCK begins to float. His shirt begins to tear away. A DIAL floats by with its pulled WIRES undulating like a Medusa. WALDOS smash through the walls and flail like snakes. OCK'S YELLOW THERMOS distorts and EXPLODES! OCK, his hair wild, face locked in a multi-G grimace, is pinned halfway up a wall that is showering the room with SPARKS. OCK (ecstasy above the din) It's an energy storm! Okey! Dokey! We see clearly the SPIDER still stuck to his neck. The big beast buffets and shakes. Tubes, junctions, valves and whatnot fall off, crashing to the floor where they twitch and writhe with a life of their own. Then, an enormous EXPLOSION rips a large hole in the CYCLOTRON's side, sending debris and a HUNDRED MICRO- STREAMS of ELECTRONIC PARTICLES lancing in our direction. INT. BASEMENT HALLWAY - NIGHT Ultimate weirdness! The PULSING BLUE-WHITE LIGHT penetrates first the DOOR of the CYCLOTRON ROOM and then the very walls! LOCKERS bang, LAMPS POP, the ceiling sags in a SURREAL, RUBBERY way. The WALLS sag too! The CYCLOTRON SIGN pivots and embeds itself in a WALL. A LADDER sinks in the WALL. The BLUE- WHITE LIGHT dances wildly about in PULSES. Then, suddenly, it stops... DEAD SILENCE. WEINER comes running in holding a double decker sandwich and a large bottle of Pepsi. Weiner enters OCK'S lab, singing, not at first noticing what's going on. Suddenly he stops dead. INT. CYCLOTRON ROOM - NIGHT A scene out of DALI's surrealistic canvas. There are things inside of other things. DIALS look like DALI watches. This place has been rippled to the max! OCK lays face up, unconscious on the floor, a WALDO across his chest. The SPIDER is weaving its web. CAMERA slowly DOWN to see OCK. PIPES and WIRES are stuck to his body. The WALDO seems to be wrapping him. He wakes up to see those MECHANICAL ARMS buried in his body. They weave around him as if they are looking for prey. He tries to tear them out, but they seem to be a part of his body, like his other limbs. He screams. Suddenly Weiner sees OCK. WEINER Professor... what happened to you? What did you do... Suddenly one of the waldos hits him so strongly that he flies back and out through the door to the corridor. INT. BASEMENT HALLWAY - NIGHT WEINER Oh my God... what happened here... He hears the police sirens approaching, he runs away. WEINER I better get out of here. EXT. THE EMPIRE UNIVERSITY - NIGHT The long SCREAM segues to a POLICE SIREN. A COP CAR pulls to a halt in front of the COLLEGE. Many NYPD CARS are already there, along with a NUCLEAR REGULATORY VAN, some AMBULANCES, a VAN from the ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY and TWO TV VANS. ROZ runs across the lawn. POLICE STRUGGLE to hold back the crowd of press, students and general gawkers. J. JAMESON pushes to the front of the mob in time to see TWO COPS hustle a BUGLE PHOTOGRAPHER back into it. The MAN shakes his head. JAMESON throws down his CIGAR, stomps it, and pulls out a fresh one. THORKEL arrives to address the CROWD. THORKEL (through bull horn) There is no danger. Please go back to your dorms. I repeat, there is no danger. JAMESON (approaches him) Spill it out, Professor! The public wants to know! The CROWD closes on THORKEL. THORKEL Who are you? JAMESON Jameson, Daily Bugle, Chief Editor, now what really happened here? THORKEL There will be a press announcement in the morning Mr. Jameson... now if you'll excuse me. This elicits a flood of AD LIBS: "I heard a terrible explosion?" "Nuclear accidents?" "Meltdown?" "Genetic engineering?" "Are you guys making mutants in there?" THORKEL I have nothing to say... there will be an announcement. Now, please go home... everybody... we must clear the grounds... In the back of the crowd are PETER, HARRY, LIZ, FLASH and KIM. FLASH You think they'll cancel classes? HARRY They must... the whole building must be contaminated with some kind of poisonous gas. PETER How about nuclear contaminations? KIM My God... lets beat it. But nobody moves. LIZ (more interested in other things) Could anyone be in there, Peter? PETER (concerned) I don't know... Maybe Professor Octavius. He usually works late... FLASH That nut, I bet it was all his doing... JAMESON (seeing Peter) Hey Parker! Peter Parker! PETER pushes forward. PETER Mr. Jameson! What are you doing here? What's going on? JAMESON That's for them to know, and for you to find out. PETER But sir, they wouldn't tell us. You heard Thorkel... he said... JAMESON A press announcement tomorrow...! But we must know tonight Parker. This is your university, right... PETER Yes, but... JAMESON You got your camera? PETER Sure, but I can't-- JAMESON A hundred dollars says you can? PETER Yes sir! JAMESON Get inside and get pictures, fifty bucks. PETER You just said a hundred. JAMESON Seventy, but I want blood and gore. PETER (calling back) Seeya guys. He dashes off. FLASH shakes his head in dismay at this guy. LIZ Where is he going? JAMESON To make fifty bucks. EXT. SCIENCE CENTER - NIGHT PETER approaches a CYCLONE FENCE keeping low and out of sight. He leaps it like a skirmisher but fails ignominiously in a heap. He's torn his PANTS and cut his leg. He moves to the side of the building. A DUMPSTER sits next to a FIRE DOOR. It's locked. As PETER mulls over his next move, the LOCK clicks and the DOOR slowly opens. PETER leaps on the DUMPSTER... and falls in. INT. DUMPSTER - NIGHT PETER lays in the GARBAGE, a pained look on his face. He rolls over and comes face to face with a wet DAILY BUGLE. The headline reads, "Wave of Violence Rips City!" He pulls himself up and peers out. He sees a UNIFORMED GUARD hold the DOOR open for THREE MEN IN RADIATION SUITS who remove some weirdly fused objects. When they let the DOOR swing closed, PETER stops it by inserting the NEWSPAPER in the top. EXT. FIRE DOOR - NIGHT PETER squeezes inside and jumps to knock out the NEWSPAPER. The Door closes behind him. INT. BASEMENT HALLWAY - NIGHT Skewed, strange, surreal, PETER stares at the weirdness and fumbles with his CAMERA. He snaps off a few shots, then freezes when he hears a familiar voice. ROZ (V.O.) (filtered through face mask) Take it easy. Take it easy with him. THORKEL (V.O.) Take him away and never bring him back! Now we see ROZ and THORKEL following 2 GUARDS carrying OCK in a stretcher. They all wear RADIATION SUITS. A waldo sneaks out from under the sheet and hits Thorkel, as fast as lightning. He falls back. He's covered with a SHEET and attached to LIFE SUPPORT EQUIPMENT. Octavius moans. THORKEL What was that? ROZ What was what? THORKEL What hit me? ROZ What hit you? THORKEL I don't know. It was so fast. ROZ You're going to be fine, Otto. PETER gets off a shot and ducks into the MEN'S room leaving the DOOR ajar for a peak. A WALDO slips down from the SHEET. PETER'S eyes go wide at the sight. What in the hell has happened here? INT. MEN'S ROOM - NIGHT The URINALS are twisted in bizarre shapes. PIPES are exposed and spout WATER. The MIRRORS look like something out of a funhouse. PETER hears the STRETCHER go by. PETER goes to the DOOR of OCK'S Lab and cracks it. PAN up to the SPIDER, GLOWING softly, dangling from a SHIMMERING STRAND above PETER. As PETER looks out at the STRETCHER, the SPIDER drops on his neck. He reacts by swatting it away. Bad move. The GLOWING SPIDER now squats malevolently on the back of PETER's hand. He stares at it transfixed. It bites. PETER Ow!!! PETER throws the SPIDER to the ripply tile floor where it scuttles unsteadily out the door. Sweat starts to bead on PETER'S face. He shakes his head to clear it. His vision becomes uncertain. He lurches against a WEIRD SINK. PETER'S POV is not just uncertain, not just fuzzy, not just moving in and out anamorphically. It's all of that! GUARD (V.O.) (heavily distorted) Hey! What are you doing here, kid? PETER turns to see a UNIFORMED GUARD distorted by his crazy vision. PETER I feel a little funny... GUARD (heavily distorted) Yeah? Well, I ain't laughing. Get out... Just get out of here... EXT. FIRE DOOR - NIGHT It bangs open. The GUARD throws PETER out and then throws his BACK PACK at him. GUARD (still distorted) You get yourself over to the Police lines. PETER (ultra wooz) Right. Police lines. EXT. UNIVERSITY - NIGHT PETER melds into the crowd. As in a dream, JAMESON appears at his side. JAMESON (distorted) Okay, scoop, whaddaya got? PETER I... got pictures of the Professor... in there... it's so strange in there... so bizarre... JAMESON (winks) Good job, kid. Bizarre is what we need. Pick this up in the morning. (holding up his camera) There'll be two crisp twenties tucked inside. He hurries off. PETER peers after him and all of a sudden his vision corrects to a perfect focus. The sweat is gone. He's okay. He makes his way through the crowd to the street. We TRACK with PETER as the madding throng recedes behind him. He turns a corner. He hears a SIREN. An AMBULANCE screeches around the corner. It nearly hits PETER who leaps to avoid it. EXT. BRICK BUILDING - NIGHT PETER'S cheek is pressed against the brick. He opens his eyes and sees that he's hanging onto the side of the building like a spider. And he's three stories up! He looks down and sees the street thirty feet below him! And the Ambulance which he jumped over is driving away. He tries a downward step, but a BRICK dislodges and crashes to the sidewalk. He takes an upward step. And then another. Tentatively at first, and then with growing confidence, he "crawls" to the roof of the building. At the top he gropes for a RAILING and slips. He dangles eight stories above the street. Then, with a grunt, he vaults to the roof one-handed. EXT. THE ROOF - NIGHT PETER is flat on his back, staring at the stars. He sits up and looks wonderingly at his hands. On the back of his right hand are TWO PUNCTURE WOUNDS surrounded by a faint BLUE-WHITE PULSING GLOW. The GLOW disappears. PETER (mutters to himself) This is weird. My God, I feel so weird... He leaps to his feet. He flexes. Feels weird. Good Weird. In fact, great weird! He tries a couple of "jumping jacks" and on the third jump he soars into the air! PETER (exhilarated) Very weird. The great, bespangled, NEW YORK CITY is his backdrop as PETER jumps and turns and does loops in the air. With the agility and tactility of a spider, PETER leaps from the RAILING to a WALL to a FLAG POLE to another WALL where he lands sideways and sticks. PETER (sideways) Very, very weird. He leaps off the WALL and lands at the edge of the roof. He looks down. No one's looking back. So, he takes a step back and leaps the alley to the next roof. EXT. ROOFTOP SHACK - NIGHT PETER lands on it. The next roof is seven stories up and across the street. PETER bites his lip. PETER Well, what the hell!! EXT. THE TALLER BUILDING - NIGHT Backlit by a FULL MOON, PETER somersaults to the roof of the taller building, and misses the top! He sticks to the brick FACADE, upside down! He laughs with the moment. A WINDOW opens below him and a pretty BLONDE in a TOWEL sticks her head out. She looks this way and that, and all she sees is a MAN in a LOUD SPORTCOAT down the street. Never thinking to look up, she withdraws into the room. EXT. CHELSEA STREET - NIGHT The MAN in the LOUD SPORTCOAT leans against a LAMP POST and lights a CIGARETTE with a BEAT UP, SILVER PLATED LIGHTER. In the LIGHTER he sees a reflection of PETER leaping off the taller building. He snaps around and looks up in time to see PETER make it to the next FACADE. EXT. ROOFTOP MONTAGE - NIGHT With the UPTOWN SKYLINE behind him, PETER casts caution to the wind and leaps from rooftop to rooftop. Watching from the street, the MAN in the LOUD SPORTCOAT follows PETER'S progress. PETER leaps to a BROWNSTONE and lands amid the WASH. He leaps up to a TENEMENT and lands on a BILLBOARD across which he does a "bug crawl" and leaps again. He touches down on a PIGEON COOP and bounds up and out of frame again. The COOP OWNER, a LATINO in an undershirt and a YANKEES CAP, comes running out of the COOP. He's so surprised that he leaves the DOOR open and twenty WHITE MORNING DOVES fly away in a furious flapping, free at last. The LATINO lets out a stream of Hispanic expletives complete with all the appropriately obscene gestures. PETER slides down a CABLE to a LAMP POST, and swirls down the POLE to a PHONE BOOTH. EXT. PHONE BOOTH - NIGHT PETER comes face to face with the man in the LOUD SPORTCOAT. He gives PETER his CARD. REISS You're a kid who's going places, and I'm gonna point you the right way. PETER (reading card) Max Reiss, models, strip dancers, escort girls, blue movies... REISS Oops... sorry, wrong card. (exchanges cards) PETER Max Reiss, Talent management. REISS It's a big outfit. Got a lot of departments. PETER Yeah... well... why you approach me? I'm not... REISS Oh yes you are... very talented. The three questions of show business success. One do you think you possess a unique talent? PETER Well... REISS Two... what are you gonna do with it? PETER (not a clue) Well... I don't know. REISS (the clincher) Three... how much money you got in your pocket? PETER Ten. REISS You invest half of that with me and I'll make you a star. PETER (laughing) What are you talking about? REISS I'm talking about fame. I'm talking about fortune. I'm talking about the chance of a lifetime. How'd you like to be on MTV tomorrow night? PETER MTV...? Me? Really? REISS Taxi! It screeches to a stop. PETER Hey! REISS (getting in) Kid! Tomorrow night. Same place, same time. PETER (calling after) How do you know I'll show up? As the TAXI roars off... REISS (from the taxi window) Because you wanna be a star... everybody does. PETER pulls out a QUARTER. And enters a phone booth. He dials. PETER Hello? Aunt May? AUNT MAY (V.O.) (filtered) Peter? What time is it? Are you alright? PETER Well, no, I mean yeah I'm fine, but listen... Aunti, the craziest thing happened to me tonight. INT./ EXT. PHONE BOOTH/AUNT MAY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT As UNCLE BEN stirs fitfully AUNT MAY (lovingly) Does this have to do with a certain girl we talked about at dinner? PETER No, no, look, there was this radioactive experiment... I was poisoned! AUNT MAY You were what? PETER I was bitten by a bug. AUNT MAY Oh! I get it, you mean a love bug. PETER No... No... A spider... AUNT MAY Peter, did you at least talk to her? PETER Aunt May, listen to me. I got bitten on the hand... by a poisonous spider. AUNT MAY She bit you? PETER No. I was in the bathroom and... AUNT MAY Oh, you did it in the bathroom? Peter, this is craziness, why don't you use your bed? You're up all night. You're in the radioactive labs. You never take time to eat or sleep. Am I right? PETER Yes, Aunt May. INT. PHONE BOOTH - NIGHT AUNT MAY (V.O.) Did you eat something today? PETER Yes, Aunt May. AUNT MAY (V.O.) Okay, Peter go back to bed, and remember we love you. PETER And I love you too, Aunt May. (hangs up) And by the way, I got a mess of super powers today. Exit booth. He BANGS the PHONE BOOTH. Goes out and-- jumps lightly onto the phone booth roof. INT. HOSPITAL OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT OCK is prepped for surgery. GOWNED PERSONNEL hurry about with a feverish urgency. The CHIEF SURGEON checks the SENSORS attached to OCK'S head. These seasoned professionals are astonished and frightened. CHIEF SURGEON (whispers) Look at these brainwave readings. The mental activity is ten times of any normal man...! BRAINMAN (whispers) Equipment malfunction...? CHIEF SURGEON (whispers) Hell, yeah... his. (checks Ock's chest) My God... I thought I'd seen everything... SURGEON #2 (whispers) But this is beyond medicine. This is madness...! OCK lays bare chested, face up, all FOUR WALDOS splayed. He is a true cyborg. Part man, part machine. Part organic, part molybdenum steel. NURSE (leaning in, blitzed) It is so freaky... CHIEF SURGEON (stern for the staff's sake) Okay, lets stop yakking and get cracking. I want to go in at the upper thoracic. Then we'll work our way around. (slaps Ock's shoulder) Hang in there, man. INSERT: The WALDO nearest the slap moves ever so slightly. The triangular CLAW rotates a quarter turn and then turns back. The NURSE sees it and SCREAMS. CHIEF SURGEON (glares) Nurse! Number seven scalpel. Arthroscope stand by. Read out parameters in progress. Let's go in. You alright? NURSE Yes... Yes, of course. Everything's online. CHIEF SURGEON Scalpel! No... no... a larger one... the largest we have! She slaps a HUGE ONE into his palm. He takes a deep breath and goes to work. MASKED heads gather round him. The SCALPEL is poised at the line where skin meets steel. We make an incision. The INSTRUMENTS go crazy. WARNING BELLS and BUZZERS sound. HEAD NURSE Kill the alarms! BRAINMAN He's going off the chart! A WALDO flashes around the steel leg of the operating TABLE and clanks tight! CHIEF SURGEON Mop. Mop! Sutures and clamps! Hurry up! SURGEON #2 We're losing him. Defibrillate! A HEART MACHINE is rushed in. They work frantically. CHIEF SURGEON Zap him! BRAINMAN Stabilizing alpha waves... SURGEON #2 applies the CARDIAC SHOCK PADS. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY NURSE You have a visitor, Doctor... She leaves OCK and THORKEL alone. THORKEL (enjoying this) Octavius, I'm afraid I have bad news for you. OCK The cyclotron is damaged... THORKEL What used to be the cyclotron was permanently shut down this afternoon. OCK But my work! THORKEL Your work is a disaster! Look at yourself! OCK Myself? I don't matter. Nobody matters anymore. To enter a new dimension we must first destroy our own... THORKEL What are you saying? OCK gets off his bed throwing away his sheet waving with his 4 WALDOS and 2 arms. OCK Destroy life. Life is... insignificant. Bags of sleepy, sluggish flesh. What would you say? THORKEL Oh, my God, what are those horrible things sticking from your body? OCK (gets more and more excited) Thorkel, if I told you that for one moment in time I broke all the laws! For one brief glorious moment, I broke through to the other side. I saw... I felt... I became creation. THORKEL What on Earth are you rambling about? OCK Destiny!!! My destiny! I see it all so clearly now. Universal destruction, yes. All I need is the power... then I can destroy this illusion you call life. It is my destiny to lead us to the light! THORKEL You're a madman. OCK And you are a fool. I will end the universe as you know it. And in that final moment... I'll laugh my ass off while you're kissing yours goodbye! THORKEL (excited) Goodbye is right, Octavius... You're fired... sacked... canned. You are history, Doctor Octavius. And I couldn't be more pleased to be the first to tell you this good news... A WALDO shoots up and grabs THORKEL by the throat. He GASPS and SCREAMS silently as the telescoping WALDO lifts him off his feet. He rises until his head is just inches from the ceiling. THORKEL (his last words) Let me down Ock... you crazy... MONSTER! Let me down! Then OCK smiles and slams THORKEL'S head through the ceiling. PLASTER rains down. THORKEL'S legs scissor and kick and then go limp. OCK throws his dead body on to the bed, and covers him with the WHITE SHEETS. OCK Okey, dokey. INT. TAXI - NIGHT Through the WINDOW of the TAXI we see MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. As it pulls up, a sign reads, "Midnight Madness! MTV's Rock and Wrestling 'SLAMMY Awards!" The TAXI come to a stop. PETER (looking up at the sign) MTV Wrestling?! REISS (getting out) That's the place. Pay the man. MAX REISS gets out, he is carrying a BOX. PETER Look, Mr. Reiss... I'm not real interested in watching a wrestling match. REISS Who said anything about watching a wrestling match? You're here to win a wrestling match! PETER Me? You must be kidding. REISS hustles PETER inside. REISS You hop around. You know, the way you did last night. Your opponent gets tired. He falls down. The ref counts to three, you win, and we pick up a thousand bucks. INT. CATACOMBS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - NIGHT We can hear the CROWD screaming at something in the background as REISS leads PETER to an employee WASHROOM and shows him the BOX. REISS You're really gonna love this. PETER Look, really, I don't know... REISS You don't have to know. I know enough for both of us. (pause) Change in there. PETER What is this? REISS A costume... something that fits your talent. Go put it on. I'm sure you'll like it. He slaps the BOX against PETER'S chest and all but pushes him inside. INT. WASHROOM - NIGHT PETER takes the suit out of the BOX. It is the SPIDER-MAN SUIT! He looks at it and shrugs. Then he begins to struggle into it. PETER is looking at himself in the MIRROR. He is dressed in all but the MASK. And he looks terrific! He flexes. He smoothes his hair. He's starting to get into it. INT. THE ARENA - NIGHT CRUSHER COLE is destroying an opponent. INT. THE CATACOMBS - NIGHT REISS winces as the CROWD CHEERS and BOOS. PETER (comes out) How does it look? I feel like it's Halloween. REISS Cover your face with the mask. PETER Why? REISS Mystery, my friend. Nobody should know who you are... INT. THE RING - NIGHT CRUSHER COLE is doing a big flexing number and the CROWD is going wild. There are MTV CAMERAS and SIGNS and BANNERS proclaiming the "SLAMMIES" everywhere. RING ANNOUNCER And now, a new challenger, for the thousand dollar fight, weighing in at one hundred and fifty pounds... from parts unknown! Here is the Amazing... Mysterious... Incredible Superman... REISS (snorts from ringside, hating the name) No, not Superman... Spider-Man... SPIDER-MAN!!! RING ANNOUNCER ...Spider-Man!!!!! The CROWD BOOS the slender newcomer who climbs awkwardly through the ropes. Rock music blares. TWIN REDHEADS in RED BIKINIS ring a bell. CRUSHER COLE and SPIDER-MAN circle. COLE is twice SPIDEY'S size. SPIDEY spots a TV CAMERA for the first time. He momentarily freezes. CRUSHER sneers the CRUSHER sneer. Then he charges! With the agility of a spider, SPIDEY leaps out of the way. CRUSHER comes back at him. SPIDEY leaps again, bigger! The acrobatics get more and more dramatic as CRUSHER COLE works himself up into a theatrical rage. Taunts erupt from the CROWD. OLD LADY Kill the sucker, Crusher! SPIDEY, really getting into it now, begins playing for the CAMERAS. HIPSTER (between two blondes) Whatsamatter, Crusher, can't you crush that bug? CRUSHER (to Spidey) Okay, Web Face, this is it! He misses SPIDEY again! HIPSTER Hey, Crusher, you need a insecticide! (his blondes titter) INT. LIZ/KIM'S DORM ROOM - NIGHT LIZ'S side is all schoolwork. KIM'S side is all ROCK POSTERS and STUFFED ANIMALS. LIZ is curled up doing homework. FLASH and KIM sit on the edge of the bed watching the "SLAMMIES" on MTV. FLASH Will you look at this Spider-Man guy! He is absolutely incredible! KIM Liz, get a load of this outfit! I wish I had it for the Halloween party... it's quite sexy. LIZ Will you two shush. I'm trying to work. INT. RING - NIGHT The match continues in an increasingly spectacular choreography. CRUSHER bellows at the SCREAMING CROWD. But there's a gleam in his eye. This is it! He charges. SPIDEY, playing the CAMERAS for all he's worth, leaps way, way up. But this time CRUSHER stops dead in his tracks. SPIDER-MAN comes back down into a forearm SMASH that sends him reeling into a corner. CRUSHER does a flying pin. 300 pounds. WOMP! The air leaves SPIDEY in a rush as CRUSHER covers him, smothering him. The CROWD goes WILD. REF One...! REISS Get up...! Get up...! REF Two...! Not realizing his own strength and panicky about being squashed, SPIDER-MAN throws CRUSHER COLE off him and up into the air. Way up! Reiss cheers... Spider-Man comes down and knocks CRUSHER for the first time. CRUSHER flies away and out of the arena, eight rows back! The HIPSTER sees CRUSHER coming at him and bolts from his seat. CRUSHER lands on it, in between the TWO BLONDES who break into utter hysterics. SPIDEY, surprised at his own strength, watches CRUSHER land. SPIDER-MAN (whispers to himself) Wow... REF Ladies and Gentlemen, history is made today, we have here the first man to win a thousand dollars against the mighty Crusher. The REF raises his hand in victory. The CROWD BOOS and DEBRIS rains down. But some in the CROWD CHEER wildly, recognizing the new sensation. SPIDER-MAN steps down from the right as REISS leads the CHEERS. PETER Max! Am I really gonna get a thousand... REISS We are going to get a thousand-- PETER turns with REISS and comes face to face with CRUSHER COLE. Two ominous beats. CRUSHER Hi, who are you, kid? PETER I'm Peter Parker. REISS He is Spider-Man, and I handle him... Whenever you want a rematch call me. Next time it's gonna be ten thousand, what do you say... Crusher? SPIDER-MAN Oh, look, Mr. Crusher, I'm really sorry about what happened in there. Really... CRUSHER Oh, well, I don't know what happened to me tonight... (measures his muscles) I really don't know... REISS I know... you lost. Big man you lost to the Amazing Spider-Man. EXT. CITY STREET - NEAR A HOSPITAL - DAY WE ARE TIGHT ON A NEW YORK JOURNAL TRUCK. On its SIDE BANNER is a PICTURE of SPIDER-MAN'S face. Headline: "Who is he? Mega-Smash Hits MTV!" The TRUCK pulls away and we see PETER, LIZ, HARRY and KIM standing on the sidewalk waiting to cross. PETER is rocking on his heels and smirking. PETER (indicating truck) You know who that is? LIZ (walking ahead) Yeah... he's some clown we saw on TV last night... boy does Flash think he's hot. PETER He does... KIM I love wrestling. HARRY Wrestling is all bluff. Do you really believe this little guy in a stupid Spider-Man suit beat the Crusher? LIZ Hey, we better rush... visiting hours will be over soon. INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR & ROOM - DAY The NURSE leads PETER and LIZ and HARRY into the room. NURSE Doctor Octavius? You have visitors. Doctor Octavius? We hold for a beat. When LIZ takes a step forward to look around we expect the worst. But nothing grabs her. PETER sees a pile of PLASTER on the floor. He looks up and sees the hole in the ceiling. LIZ and HARRY look up too. OCK is not there. PETER Ock is not here! LIZ My God, what happened? NURSE I'd better call the doctor! HARRY You'd better call the police! KIM screams. INT. CORRIDOR TO OCK'S LAB - DAY OCK, hiding his WALDOS under a white hospital robe. He stalls until he reaches the door. Then one of his WALDOS peaks out and snaps open the new locks on the door. INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT OCK, in a white hospital robe walks through the surreal debris. Two WALDOS reach out and "sense" the ripples on opposite WALLS. He runs a hand through his hair. OCK What a wreck. What a useless, wasted wreck. Okey, dokey. We rebuild you, my damaged darling. Bigger, better, hotter! A world class, super cyclotron! He hears a NOISE behind him and reacts. And here comes WEINER. Bedraggled, shuffling through the CONTROL ROOM door. He eyeballs the incredible wreckage. WEINER There you are, doc... where have you been... whoa this place is messed up. OCK turns, WALDOS writhing. WEINER sees them and kind of ducks, remembering how he was hit by them once. WEINER (smirks) Whoa, doc! You look a little messed up yourself. OCK Where have you been, you imbecile? WEINER I went to the wrestling... OCK Wrestling... WEINER I went after the kid. You still want that Parker guy's data, don't you? OCK Well, did you get it? WEINER No, I followed him... but I lost him in the crowd. OCK Lost him? You-- WEINER I'll find him, Maestro... I promise... soon... maybe by tomorrow. OCK So how was the wrestling? WEINER Fantastic! There was this new wrestler... beat the mighty Crusher. You won't believe it... a nothing of a guy... calls himself this stupid name... the Amazing Spider-Man... would you believe it? OCK Spider-Man, huh? Well, maybe I'll just go and wrestle myself one of these days... with all my new arms... I'm sure I can beat Crusher or any other monster. Suddenly OCK throws out his WALDOS from under his long white coat, grabs WEINER and, lifts him up in the air, smiles cynically and with cruelty! OCK Will I beat him, this Crusher, will I beat him or not? WEINER No... no, please... I mean yes, yes... you'll beat him easily... let me down... Please... I'll do anything for you... OCK The Parker data... get me the Parker data, you hear?!!! EXT. PETER PARKER'S ROOFTOP - DAY A CAMERA is mounted on a TRIPOD facing us. A TIMER winds down and it CLICKS. REVERSE ANGLE - CAMERA'S POV. SPIDER-MAN is clinging to the side of a WALL. SPIDER-MAN And one like this... (changing pose) And one looking real sincere. The WHITE EYES narrow to a slit. CLICK. Suddenly he spots WEINER climbing onto his roof. He hides. WEINER tiptoes into the roof apartment. SPIDER-MAN jumps in and grabs him. SPIDER-MAN What are you doing here? WEINER I'm looking for Peter Parker. SPIDER-MAN Oh, yes... so why not use the front door? SPIDER-MAN throws him back onto the roof so that he almost slides over the edge. WEINER turns, facing SPIDER-MAN. WEINER Hey, I know you... SPIDER-MAN You do? WEINER I saw you crushing the Crusher. SPIDER-MAN You like wrestling? SPIDER-MAN jumps and reaches WEINER. WEINER I love it! You are the best wrestler I have ever seen... please don't hurt me! SPIDER-MAN picks up WEINER, throws him up to an antenna above the building, to which WEINER clings desperately. SPIDER-MAN circles the antenna. WEINER Oh, please... don't kill me. Please help me down. SPIDER-MAN Of course I'll help you down. I am Spider-Man... the good guy, am I not? WEINER Yes... yes, you are. SPIDER-MAN jumps to the CHIMNEY, picks WEINER up in his arms and whispers to him. SPIDER-MAN And by the way, Peter Parker does not live here anymore... SPIDER-MAN jumps with WEINER in his arms to the edge of the roof. SPIDER-MAN And tell the Professor he can't have Peter's data. Goodbye. SPIDER-MAN drops WEINER off the roof, three floors straight down into heavy bushes below. INT. ELECTRODYNE FACTORY SHOP - DAY A SIGN tells us so. A CLERK is double checking a long list of items OCK has ordered. CLERK Holy cow, whattaya building, fella, a cyclotron? (Ock glares at him) Okay... lets see here. Page three. We got 30,000 feet of 50-gauge copper co-ax... twin 550 XK transformers... cadmium accelerator rails, a half dozen... a GBC relative multi-phase transducer... and one yellow thermos. (finishes computation) That'll be $475,989.65... OCK Wrap it up... CLERK What about the money... or do you pay by credit card? OCK (a long beat) Cash! I'll be back soon. EXT. STREET - OUTSIDE OF A BANK - BACK DOOR - NIGHT An ARMORED TRUCK rolls by and stops. TWO GUARDS open the Bank's DOORS. Suddenly a WALDO smashes through the DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW of the ARMORED TRUCK, wrapping around the DRIVER'S NECK and pulling him through the WINDOW. The SHOTGUN goes for his weapon, but a WALDO smashes in and pulls the GUN out through his WINDOW. TWO WALDOS shoot out and attach themselves to the REAR DOOR. BANK GUARD What's going on here? The WALDO knocks him over. OCK rips the DOOR off! The TRUCK is full of MONEY BAGS. OCK Cash! INT. JAMESON'S OFFICE - DAY A PHOTO ASSISTANT look on as JAMESON goes over PETER'S latest PHOTOS. They are his SPIDER-MAN shots. PETER Doesn't he look amazing in that one? Look, he's flying in the air! JAMESON I don't care if he flies to the moon. He's just another wrestler in a silly costume. Look at this, Parker, right off the wire. This is the guy who hit that armored truck this morning. They say he has metal arms... get me a picture of this character! PETER Metal arms? JAMESON Four of them. PETER Ock...?! JAMESON The web faced weirdo... He is a joke in a Halloween costume... don't make me laugh. He tears up PETER'S SPIDEY PHOTOS. JAMESON Now get out of here and don't come back without something I can use! PETER Yes sir... (stops, and turns back) JAMESON A mega baloney... A bug in blue tights... what next? PETER The Journal said he was a mega-smash on MTV... INT. CYCLOTRON ROOM - NIGHT WEINER is putting on a CLOWN SUIT. He fastidiously puts his ratty jacket on a hanger and hangs it on a PIPE. The PIPE turns into a snake. It is, in fact, a WALDO! OCK (turning from work) What do you think you're doing? WEINER I'm going to the Masquerade. It's Halloween tonight Doc, aren't you coming to the School Ball? Whoa, you could go without an outfit. A WALDO whips around WEINER'S throat... AARRRGH! OCK You're not going to any ball, clown. You're going to get me Peter Parker's data... WEINER I was almost killed on my last try... Look at all these bruises... OCK I don't care if you come back dead. Just get it! WEINER (croaking) Cost you a thousand bucks, if I get it. The WALDO coils tighten around WEINER'S throat. WEINER All right... boss please let go... P L E A S E ... OCK Just get it, Weiner. I'm running out of time. If you fail me again, you won't have to concern yourself with money anymore... DO YOU GET ME CLOWN?! WEINER croaks his assent. INT. CAFETERIA - NIGHT It is all dressed up for a party: LIGHTS, STREAMERS, GLITTER BALL, the WORKS! HARRY is dressed as a SPACEMAN; PETER wears his regular clothes. HARRY You should have worn a costume. I told you to wear a costume. PETER It's... embarrassing. HARRY There's Liz... LIZ is crossing the dance floor dressed as an INDIAN PRINCESS in an MINI-DRESS. PETER Yeah... ROZ, dressed as a COWBOY, ambles over. ROZ ... howdy partners. PETER/HARRY Hiya, Professor Rosomorf. HARRY Any word on Doctor Octavius? ROZ (falling in step) Nothing beyond what I read in the papers. I'm afraid he's not the same man we knew. You know, I've been digging through the notes on his experiments... PETER follows LIZ with his eyes. She takes a seat at a TABLE next to KIM who wears a HAREM GIRL outfit with the SALAMANDER around her neck. Next to KIM is... SPIDER-MAN! PETER'S eyes go wide. ROZ You boys must have had an extraordinary classroom experience. PETER (eyeing Spidey) Yes sir... oh... I'm going to be a little late with my paper on the Planetary Conjunction, sir... ROZ Whenever you're ready... I'll look at it. I know it's going to be an important work... and Peter, take my hat. He hands PETER an oversized TEN GALLON HAT. ROZ It is a costume party. PETER and HARRY make their way through the dance floor to the table. PETER can't take his eyes off SPIDEY. HARRY Look, there's Spider-Man! PETER Not the real one, I'm sure... HARRY You can never be sure... all kinds of crazy stuff can happen at a masquerade ball... PETER I bet I know who it is. As they take seats, PETER sees that SPIDER-MAN is trying to read the BUGLE'S sports section by party light. KIM waves. PETER nods and the BIG HAT falls over his face. PETER Hiya, Liz... LIZ moves to Flash, who's dressed in the SPIDER-MAN costume. LIZ Hiya, Peter. Who is in the Spider-Man costume? PETER It's a very clever outfit you've got there, Flash. FLASH Take a hike, asshole. LIZ (to Peter) How did you recognize him? PETER His pretty blue eyes give him away... HARRY Anyway, who'll be sitting with you at the Halloween Ball? LIZ (whispers to Flash) I wanna dance... Hey, Spider-Man... Shall we Flash dance? FLASH/SPIDER-MAN Hey, I'm reading the paper, okay? LIZ turns with a mild pout. Nervously, PETER ponders his chance. HARRY nudges him. HARRY Take her now, it's easy... HARRY turns to KIM and does a clanking shimmy in the SPACE SUIT. HARRY Wanna dance, Schechrezaa? KIM I'm pooped. LIZ I'm not... She reaches for HARRY'S hand. FLASH Holy jumping jelly beans, willya look at these pictures of Spider-Man? Wow! Is this guy great or what? LIZ looks. She shrugs. Then she shrieks. LIZ Hey, Peter! These are your pictures! FLASH Can't be... LIZ It says here "Photos by Peter Parker." PETER reacts, then looks over FLASH'S other shoulder. INSERT: There are three PHOTOS of SPIDER-MAN in the paper. PETER BLUSHES, smiling. FLASH (takes off his head mask) You know this guy, Parker? PETER Well, yeah... sort of... FLASH Wow... I'll give you anything if you introduce us. HARRY (to Liz) Will you grant me this dance...? LIZ joins him provocatively. KIM Hey, Flash-Man... Wanna dance...? FLASH Well, why not. PETER is left alone, PETER leaves toward the entrance. At the REAR DOOR a BIG LIZARD passes a NOTE to a DALLAS COWGIRL who passes it to a KANGAROO. The KANGAROO hops across the dance floor to the STAGE where he hands the NOTE to a YOUNG WOMAN in a BASEBALL UNIFORM. She climbs the STAGE where she is bathed in a SPOTLIGHT. She gets a DRUM ROLL from the band. There are some BOOS as the bad stops. YOUNG WOMAN Thank you, thank you. We have a special surprise guest tonight. (booo) The Empire State University Masquerade Ball presents... The "Slammy" winning star of MTV'S wrestling tournament... The Amazing Spider-Man! FLASH, amazed turns to LIZ. He points to himself and mouths, "Me?" (The REAL) SPIDEY drops from the ceiling and lands in a pose. The CROWD cheers. He does a flip to LIZ and extends a hand. The BAND starts up. LIZ demurs. FLASH (whispers firmly) Go ahead... go ahead! LIZ takes SPIDEY'S hand and they move slowly and sexily onto the dance floor. They do a short simple number. SPIDEY returns LIZ to FLASH. LIZ (to Flash) Come on... Flash... FLASH takes LIZ from PETER (SPIDER-MAN). LIZ and FLASH dance wildly. They finish to big cheers. The real SPIDER-MAN slides to center floor. The crowd backs away as SPIDEY spins out the greatest dance number in film history. He's all over the floor and on the walls and on the ceiling and on the GLITTER BALL. He takes LIZ and flies with her. He breaks the place up. Then drops in a pose. BIG CHEERS. LIZ stops breathless, very near to SPIDER-MAN'S face. LIZ (whispers breathless) Who are you...? PETER One day you'll know... LIZ (a long beat) You sound very familiar. PETER/SPIDER-MAN Sure I do... I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! He jumps away and disappears, leaving the CROWD aghast and LIZ in love. INT. BEN AND MAY'S FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT BEN is flicking through the channels of his TV, aggravated as usual. It's all ROCK VIDEOS! BEN (to May) What a bunch of crap. Goddamn rock and roll's screwed up the whole TV. He flicks off the set and turns to MAY who's asleep on the couch. He gently nudges her. BEN Come on, May. Wake up and go to sleep. EXT. TAXI - NIGHT It enters the EAST RIVER DRIVE. INT. TAXI - NIGHT As the city rolls by. SPIDER-MAN (fearful) Hey! Can't you go any faster? CABBIE What'm I in, a race? SPIDER-MAN (fighting his fear) I don't know... I get this tingling in my brain, like some danger is lurking just ahead. I'm worried about Aunt May and Uncle Ben... CABBIE Your family? SPIDER-MAN Well, they are kind of my parents. They raised me. I lost both of my parents in a car accident... please step on it! CABBIE Step on it... so now you want to kill yourself in another accident... not with me, Boychick. SPIDER-MAN But I'm telling you... I've got this-- CABBIE ... tingling... I know. And I got ulcers... Everybody's got something to worry about. SPIDER-MAN Please... Faster... Please. CABBIE Okay, you asked for it. EXT. THE STREET - NIGHT The TAXI skids and swerves like crazy, bumping into everything in sight. INT. BEN AND MAY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT A GLASS SHATTERS. AUNT MAY sits up in bed with a start. AUNT MAY What's that? BEN What? It's nothing... go back to sleep... (another crash) Oh, I'll go look. Go back to sleep. INT. BEN AND MAY'S KITCHEN - NIGHT WEINER is going through the drawers. He finds a nice BONE HANDLE KNIFE and pockets it. WEINER Hmmm... INT. BEN AND MAY'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT BEN descends the stairs from the bedroom. He peers off into the darkness and pulls his ROBE tight around him as if to ward off some unacknowledged danger. EXT. TAXI - NIGHT TAXI driving fast through STREET. INT. TAXI - NIGHT CABBIE Some crazy kinda town, huh? You hear about that hold-up? The guy with the six arms? Hey, I see it all on this job. (a beat) What kinda outfit is that, anyway? SPIDER-MAN (panicked) Look, I'm really in a hurry. BANG! A BLOW OUT. The CABBIE fights the wheel to the side of the road. Then he turns to SPIDEY. CABBIE (sly) You said the magic words, we have a flat Boychick. INT. BEN AND MAY'S FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT BEN comes in and looks around. A long beat. Then a noise. BEN Mice... INT. BEN AND MAY'S DINING ROOM - NIGHT A very scared WEINER hides, eyes widening. WEINER takes the BONE HANDLE KNIFE from his pocket. It glints in the MOONLIGHT. He moves off. INT. BEN AND MAY'S KITCHEN - NIGHT BEN is looking for mice. He opens a closet. Nothing. He shifts around. Nothing. He moves off. EXT. 59TH STREET BRIDGE - NIGHT The CABBIE slowly changes the TIRE. Fearing the worst, SPIDEY gets out, looking for a ride. A TRUCK approaches. SPIDEY looks down at the CABBIE and then up at the TRUCK. CABBIE Hey! You wanna hand me that lug wrench? He looks up to see SPIDEY go by, stuck to the side of the TRUCK like a spider. CABBIE Some crazy kinda town... EXT. THE TRUCK - NIGHT SPIDEY stares at the lettering on the side of the TRUCK. It says, "Victory Sporting Goods." SPIDER-MAN (a thought) Sporting goods... INT. BEN AND MAY'S DINING ROOM - NIGHT BEN comes in quietly. He looks around. He opens a closet. Nothing. He hears a CRASH. He wheels. A SHADOWY FIGURE runs by a doorway! BEN takes off like a shot! INT. BEN AND MAY'S HOUSE - NIGHT BEN runs through the rooms. INT. BEN AND MAY'S FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT BEN flies in and goes right to the RIFLE on the wall. WE hear WEINER clattering around the house in the background as BEN goes to a drawer and pulls out a BOX of BULLETS. He begins to fight the BULLETS into the RIFLE. WEINER comes flying in and tackles him. They fall to the floor, four hands on the RIFLE. They scuffle. WEINER All I want it the kid's computer crap! BEN Let go before I blow your brain's out. EXT. FOREST HILLS STREET - NIGHT The TRUCK pulls away leaving PETER in a POOL of STREET LAMP LIGHT. He's wearing a FOOTBALL JERSEY and SHORTS and carrying a SPORTS BAG. He begins to run. INT. BEN AND MAY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT MAY hears a CRASH. She pulls the covers up around her chin in fear. BEN (V.O.) Let go! WEINER (V.O.) You let go! EXT. BEN AND MAY'S HOUSE - NIGHT PETER runs up and hears a SHOT. He runs inside. INT. BEN AND MAY'S FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT PETER runs in. He sees WEINER standing there with the RIFLE. They face off across the room. The moment hits PETER like a punch in the chest. PETER Uncle Ben! BEN (a wheeze) Peter... PETER rushes to BEN. PETER Oh my God... Uncle Ben... PETER tries to revive BEN, while WEINER runs out. INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM - NIGHT PLASTIC FURNITURE, GARISH LIGHTING, CIGARETTES in the ASHTRAYS. AUNT MAY (a brave but fragile front) Ben gets through everything. He'll be alright. The doctors are... AUNT MAY and PETER embrace, leaning on each other for support. DETECTIVE (compassionate) Excuse me. You the nephew? PETER rises, nods. As AUNT MAY wipes away a sniffle... DETECTIVE Your uncle's a brave man. Apparently, the perpetrator was after something of yours. Your uncle didn't know what it was but he stood up to him anyway. You ought to be proud of him. PETER I am... how is he... A grim-faced DOCTOR walks slowly across the room to them... MAY stands up slowly. DETECTIVE Ask the Doctor. AUNT MAY How's my... how's my husband doing...? DOCTOR Mrs. Parker, I'm sorry. We tried. MAY collapses. DOCTOR Crash cart! STAT! The Detective pulls PETER gently away. The STAFF works on MAY. DETECTIVE Let the medics handle it. (pause) Look, if it makes you feel any better. We're gonna nail this guy. He crashed his getaway car. We got him trapped in a warehouse on Jackson. NURSE (to Peter) She's alright. She just fainted. We'll have to check her for symptoms of shock. If you want to wait, you can get some coffee on the third floor. PETER No, I... I think I wanna go out for some fresh air. EXT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT COP CARS, COPS, SEARCHLIGHTS playing their BEAMS against the ACME CHEMICAL STORAGE BUILDING. GUNFIRE flashes from one of the WINDOWS. EXT. COP CAR - NIGHT ELITE COPS in BASEBALL CAPS are plotting strategy. COP #1 That place is loaded with solvents and chemicals. If we blast our way in, it's gonna go up like a roman candle. COP #2 We could go in through the fifth floor wash room. COP #1 What's that up there? Throw a light on that! COP #1 directs the BEAM of the SEARCHLIGHT. EXT. WAREHOUSE WALL - NIGHT SPIDER-MAN is climbing it, trapped in the GLARE of the SEARCHLIGHT. He freezes. COP #1 He's got a partner! EXT. COP CAR - NIGHT Every COP'S WEAPON is trained upward at SPIDER-MAN! COP #2 (on radio) We got an accomplice up there! And we got a clear shot. Do we have a go? RADIO (filtered) That's a go. EXT. WAREHOUSE WALL - NIGHT GUNSHOTS erupt around SPIDER-MAN and he skitters around to evade them. INT. THE WAREHOUSE - NIGHT Thinking they're shooting at him, WEINER shoots back. In the corner of his eye he sees SPIDER-MAN at a side WINDOW. He aims his rifle and SPIDEY ducks out of the way. The frightened WEINER moves to the side WINDOW to blow SPIDEY away. As he moves past the front WINDOWS he is lit by the SEARCHLIGHTS that play on his face darkly. SPIDEY leaps in at FRONT WINDOW and drops neatly behind WEINER, landing a pose. SPIDER-MAN (cold, hard) Say your prayers, Weiner! WEINER whips around and fires. SPIDEY leaps to avoid it and lands on a STACK of PAINT CANS. WEINER You ain't takin' me... Spider-Man... who ever you are... SPIDEY gathers himself tighter. He leaps. A second GUN BURST comes in behind him, Several PAINT CANS erupt in cascades of COLOR. SPIDER-MAN (hanging on ceiling) Hey, creep! WEINER aims and fires, several times. He is emptying his RIFLE. SPIDEY leaps away and lands on the top of a CASK marked "CAUTION-FLAMMABLE SOLVENT!" SPIDER-MAN (taunting) Try again. The CASK gives way and SPIDEY is plunged into the FLAMMABLE SOLVENT. WEINER smiles his stupid grin and takes aim. SPIDEY leaps out of the CASK and sticks to the roof BEAM. He's sopping wet. His hand slips down the BEAM as the SOLVENT works against his sticking power. He falls to the floor and scrambles behind some PAINT CANS. WEINER, crazed, fires wildly. One of the CANS EXPLODES. PAINT flows from it... burning! SPIDEY peeks out and sees a YELLOW RIVER OF FLAME creeping toward him. He sniffs his SOLVENT soaked outfit. He backs down a "corridor" of PAINT CANS. The YELLOW FIRE follows, now joined by a RIVER OF BLUE FIRE from another can. They're following the trail of SOLVENT he's dripping! He's trapped! COP (V.O.) (on bullhorn) This is your last chance, you two. Either you're coming out, or we're coming in! SPIDEY'S against the WALL! PAINT CANS to his right and left, and a RIVER of RED FLAME joins the YELLOW and BLUE as they creep toward him! He climbs backwards up the wall, face toward the BLAZE. The COLORED FIRES join and follow him up the wall! They're licking at his feet! WEINER (at the window) Stay back! (gun burst) Whoa... stay back down there! SPIDEY is inches from being torched. He sees a PIPE. He reaches out and grabs it. He swings out above the flames. But the PIPE begins to bend! The PIPE bends down... down... and then breaks! SPIDEY hangs precariously as WATER cascades out of the PIPE and puts out the FIRE. SPIDEY drops down and rest his head in his hands to collect himself. Then looks up. The GUN is at his head. WEINER Stand up, you. SPIDEY stands. COP (V.O.) You have thirty seconds to come out! WEINER You're my ticket outa here. Gimme that stupid mask! SPIDER-MAN hesitates. Then he begins to raise the MASK, but stops and shakes his head no. WEINER Then I'll take it myself. He reaches for the mask and SPIDER-MAN flips him across the room. WEINER lands in a CARGO net and becomes ensnared. SPIDER-MAN Well, look what we've caught in our web... WEINER Don't hurt me, man. Please don't hurt me... INT. WAREHOUSE HALLWAY - NIGHT COPS are poised at the door. A signal. They crash inside. INT. WAREHOUSE PAINT ROOM - NIGHT COP #1 Hold your fire! WEINER is hanging from the ceiling in the the CARGO NET. WEINER Get me out of this madhouse! He falls down, immediately encircled by the POLICE OFFICERS. SPIDER-MAN flies above their heads, crashing through the WINDOW and disappears into the dark of night. INT. CYCLOTRON - NIGHT A weird, flickering BLUE LIGHT dances around the hole in the CYCLOTRON. Then it cuts out. A HELMETED MAN pulls himself out of a HATCH. He flips up the HELMET. OCK is finishing putting together his new equipment. OCK (smiling) Okey, dokey. OCK goes about checking out the CYCLOTRON. It looks good. INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT OCK starts flicking switches and reading DIALS, doing a "mission countdown" for his next experiment. This place has been "hot rodded" to the max. OCK (reading dials and numbers) Amperage, okay. Flux, 14. Negative variable differential... good enough. He shuts it down. The WHINE whirs down. OCK Okey, dokey... now all I need is Parker's data. Where the hell is Weiner? Damn it... I can't trust anybody. (throws his Waldo in the air) Only you, my babies... only you can I trust... Okay... If I have to do everything myself... I'm going to do it. (to his equipment) I'll be back... my babies... my new babies! OCK hides the WALDOS under his coat and leaves the room. INT. PETER PARKER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT There is more EQUIPMENT than before. PETER is deep at work. His SPIDER-MAN UNIFORM hangs on the WALL. There is a knock at the DOOR. LIZ (V.O.) Hey, Peter! Are you finished with my computer yet? I got a paper too, you know... PETER (panicked) Oh my God... oh, it's you, Liz... I didn't expect you... uh... give me a minute. He hides his SPIDER-MAN COSTUME. INT. THE HALLWAY LANDING - NIGHT LIZ waits impatiently. PETER (opening the door) Hi, Liz. Come on in. INT. PETER PARKER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT LIZ enters, looking around. PETER covers for this and that. LIZ What were you doing in here? PETER (looking around) Cleaning up. Come on. I'll get your computer. Where's Flash parked? He picks up the COMPUTER and turns to her, but she's already looking around the apartment. LIZ Flash didn't come. PETER (holding it) Oh. Well... how are you going to get it home? LIZ walks into the room. LIZ Taxi... I guess. She discovers the PRINTS of SPIDEY that PETER has taped up around the apartment. LIZ You must spend a lot of time with this Spider-Man guy... Peter! Don't you think you ought to unplug that! PETER looks and sees that he is tethered to the wall. Embarrassed, he puts the COMPUTER back down. PETER (embarrassed) I, uh, I'll go down to the corner... see it I can hail that taxi. PETER leaves. LIZ smiles. She likes PETER. Why is he so...? INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT A SHADOW of a MAN can be seen hiding. PETER does not notice him. INT. PETER PARKER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT There's a KNOCK at the DOOR. LIZ (crossing to it, wondering) Peter...? She is about to open the door when FOUR WALDOS smash through it, obliterating it. OCK stands in the shattered doorway, WALDOS writhing. LIZ Doctor Octavius...! You're... You're... (finds the words) You're so weird!... with those... what do you call those... OCK Waldos... Did you hear about Spider-Man? (moving Waldos like spider's legs) That's me... the real Spider-Man... now tell me, where is that jerky friend of yours... Parker? LIZ (protecting) Peter?... oh... he's not here. He's gone. I don't think he'll be back for awhile. OCK (running his Waldo in her hair) You wouldn't lie to your Professor now, would you? LIZ Of course not. Why would I lie about a thing like that? Really. He's... out. OCK We'll wait. OCK grabs LIZ'S HAIR with his WALDOS. LIZ What are you doing... let me go! Please... take those things out of my hair! OCK My Waldos, you mean. LIZ Whatever you call them... please... OCK shoots out TWO WALDOS. Simultaneously each grabs a CHAIR from different parts of the room and brings them to the TABLE. OCK Sit. She does. He does, too, and folds his WALDOS across his chest. OCK (chatty) He's a nice boy. A little nerdy maybe, but nice, wouldn't you say? LIZ Oh, I don't know. Maybe. He's very inexperienced. ONE of OCK'S WALDOS rests on the TABLE curled around the COMPUTER. LIZ lets her hand rest on it. OCK warms immediately. OCK You know, you're a fascinating young lady... LIZ Thank you... OCK You're so refreshing. You're so... LIZ Shocking...? OCK (gone to far) Oh, I wouldn't say shocking... LIZ I would! She sticks his WALDO in the ELECTRIC WALL SOCKET behind the COMPUTER! The CURRENT sizzles through him and he leaps up, WALDOS akimbo, like the "cartoon cat." LIZ runs out the door. OCK extricates himself from the current and gives chase. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT LIZ burst from the DOOR. LIZ Peter...! She looks both ways for PETER, doesn't see him, and takes off! OCK bursts from the doorway and runs off after LIZ. EXT. THE STREET - NIGHT LIZ running as fast as she can, but OCK is gaining quickly. EXT. PETER PARKER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT A TAXI drives up and disgorges PETER. PETER Wait here... INT. PETER PARKER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT He walks in. It's empty PETER Liz? LIZ (V.O.) (screaming from the street) Peter! Help! Peter! PETER springs into action. He grabs his SPIDEY SUIT out of a drawer and starts taking off his clothes. EXT. STREET - NIGHT LIZ looks back and sees OCK CARTWHEELING toward her. She can't outrun him. She must hide. There's a CONSTRUCTION SITE on the right. She ducks down the alley next to it. INT. CONSTRUCTION ALLEY - NIGHT LIZ runs into it and finds herself trapped on three sides by a high CYCLONE FENCE. Behind her, OCK'S WALDOS stretch out like waterbug legs. He bug-walks into the alley and laughs down at her from his perch atop the WALDOS. OCK Peter Parker has something I want... And I'm going to have something he wants. She dashes past him and runs into the outboard CARGO ELEVATOR. INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT She looks for the UP BUTTON and finds nothing! OCK, on his feet now, is on the wire mesh ELEVATOR CAGE in a flash. He tears the outer DOOR away. LIZ starts pressing KNOBS and LEVERS in panic. The LIGHT goes on. A WARNING BELL clangs. She finally finds the switch and the CAR leaps up just as OCK tears off its front door. LIZ, safe for the moment, watches OCK recede below, shaking the torn off door in a rage. EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT Extending WALDO over WALDO, OCK climbs the ELEVATOR HOUSING chasing the rising CAR inside. EXT. CONSTRUCTION ROOF - NIGHT The CAR arrives and LIZ jumps out. She's on nothing but a narrow GIRDER! She tightropes on the GIRDER. OCK gets to the top. He looks across at her. She's stuck between two unfastened GIRDERS, at a dead end. He slowly telescopes a WALDO toward her. She's got no place to run, no place to hide. He grabs her by the BLOUSE and lifts her off the GIRDER. SPIDER-MAN (V.O.) Put her down, Ock. OCK looks across the street. There, on the top of a tall building, is SPIDER-MAN. SPIDER-MAN I know what's happening to you, Ock. I've been through a lot of changes myself lately. You have to listen to me. OCK (holding Liz) Who the hell are you? SPIDER-MAN Spider-Man. LIZ (seeing Spidey) Spider-Man... OCK That's a lot of crap, clown... I am Spider-Man, not you. (points to Liz) Ask you girlfriend. (to Liz) Tell him! SPIDER-MAN I'm a good friend of Peter Parker's Ock. Just like that girl you're holding. Now let her go. OCK thinks for a moment, then he begins to extend the kicking and screaming LIZ out over the street, ten stories up. OCK Let her go? What an excellent idea. If you do not deliver your friend, Mr. Spider-Man, yes. Yes, of course, I'll let her go. LIZ Put me down, you mechanical mutant! LIZ is having none of this. She kicks, she fights. She twists. She flails around, making things a little worse. The ground is yawning death beneath her. RRIIPP! PART of her BLOUSE tears away and LIZ plummets! SPIDER-MAN swoops down on a WEB-STRAND in his characteristic compound curve. He reaches out for the falling LIZ and misses her cleanly. The WEB is too short. LIZ (falling away) You jerk! He THWIPS her with a second WEB and together they swing to a HIGH GIRDER where he deposits her safe and sound. LIZ (straightening herself) Tell your friend Peter next time I'll get the taxi myself... OCK (screams) Hey... you jerk... you phony Spider-Man... Prepare to meet your death, bug. SPIDEY THWIPS a beam and swings across toward OCK. SPIDER-MAN (whispers) Actually, I'm rather fond of living... especially now... (he looks at Liz) He lands on OCK'S GIRDER and the two progeny of the cyclotron face off for the first time, ten stories above the street. SPIDER-MAN (a last appeal to reason) Octavius. Just stop and think. OCK I am thinking, insect. I'm thinking about exterminating you! SPIDER-MAN Okay, if that's the way you want it... Let's see what those chrome knuckles can do, Doc... A WALDO lances out and catches SPIDEY flush on the jaw. It knocks him to another GIRDER. SPIDEY hangs on and rolls over. He rubs his jaw. LIZ Great... SPIDEY gets ready to go into action and gets pummeled by another barrage of blows from above. OCK Now I must kill you, you cretinous clown. OCK throws a roundhouse WALDO that nearly knocks SPIDEY off the GIRDER. He's just barely hanging on. But SPIDER-MAN'S not done yet. He THWIPS a HIGH BEAM and swings into a better attack position. The two SUPER- ADVERSARIES engage in battle. With OCK swinging from his WALDOS like a metal monkey and SPIDEY swinging from his WEBS like, well, like SPIDEY, they clang and bang through the GIRDERS of the CONSTRUCTION SITE. OCK Once I dispose of you, Spider-Man, no one will be able to stop me. SPIDER-MAN Stop you from what...? OCK My destiny! OCK throws his biggest punch yet. SIRENS can now be heard in the street. SPIDEY avoids WALDO strike after WALDO strike. OCK eludes WEB after WEB. But SPIDEY'S agility soon has him turning circles. SPIDER-MAN Over here, Octopus! OCK That's Professor Octopus to you Spider Jerk! SPIDER-MAN Give it up, Professor. You'll never catch me! OCK takes three steps and soars through the air. EXT. BRICK WALL - NIGHT OCK, misjudging the leap, soars right past SPIDEY and into an alley! Screaming all the way... EXT. THE ALLEY - NIGHT OCK and TWO WALDOS pressed against each of the opposing walls. It's a tenuous grip. Then, very slowly, sparks flying from his WALDOS, OCK slides down into the alley. SPIDER-MAN So long, sucker. EXT. STREET - NIGHT COP CARS pull up. COPS leap from them. EXT. SIDE WALL - NIGHT OCK makes it down, sees the COPS, ducks out of sight. EXT. COP CARS - NIGHT The SEARCHLIGHTS go on. SPIDER-MAN swings back across the street to the CONSTRUCTION SITE. COP #1 There he is! COP #2 It's that Spider-Man! EXT. THE ROOF - NIGHT SPIDEY lands next to LIZ in a pose. Lit by the flashing BILLBOARD, he's weirder looking than ever. SPIDEY puts an arm around LIZ and extends a WEB SHOOTER. LIZ What do you think you're doing? SPIDER-MAN I'm rescuing you. With that SPIDEY leaps way out and he and LIZ swoop away on a WEB-STRAND. LIZ Thanks but nooooooooooo! EXT. THE COP CARS - NIGHT ALL WEAPONS point upward at SPIDEY'S movement. COP #2 He won't get away this time! COP #1 Hold your fire! He's got a girl. COP #2 Looks like he's got a hostage. EXT. WEB STRAND - NIGHT SPIDEY sees the WEAPONS aimed upward. He shoots out another WEB and swings off in a different direction. LIZ whoops with the G-force. LIZ Wait a minute. Where are you taking me? SPIDEY hounded by the Police, rejected by the girl. SPIDER-MAN I better just take you back where you belong. He shoots out another WEB. SPIDER-MAN Hold on tight. LIZ (Times Square) Where are we? SPIDER-MAN Open your eyes. They are standing on the ROOF of the CENTRAL TOWER of the EMPIRE UNIVERSITY BUILDING. LIZ opens her eyes. It's an extraordinary sight. LIZ (the Empire State Building) If you're trying to impress me Spidey, I want you to know I'm not easy. Okay, I'm impressed... now put me down, Spidey... put me down. SPIDER-MAN I like the way you say Spidey... Nobody calls me Spidey... now we go... EXT. DORMITORY - NIGHT They swoop down... and down... stopping on one of the building's SILLS, actually right in front of a WINDOW in the DORMITORY BUILDING. LIZ (Tavern on the Green) Wow... look, this is our dormitory. I can get to my room. Hey, wait a minute... there's Flash, if I'm not mistaken. SPIDER-MAN Liz? LIZ You know my name? SPIDER-MAN Liz, listen to me. There's something I have to tell you. LIZ Okay, put me down and we can talk, alright? SPIDER-MAN Do you know who I am? LIZ All I know is you're the Amazing Spider-Man... or better you're Spidey the good guy on the block... you're a weirdo in a clown spider suit. SPIDER-MAN And that's all you know about me? (a beat, a sigh) Okay, lets get your boyfriend. LIZ Which one? SPIDER-MAN How many do you have? I meant Flash. LIZ Well, Flash is not exactly my boyfriend... SPIDER-MAN He's not? Then who is? LIZ There's someone I like, but he's too shy to notice. (Flash appears) SPIDER-MAN Flash! FLASH Liz! (a beat) SPIDER-MAN!!! LIZ (to Spider-Man) You know everybody... Flash we have to call Peter! FLASH rushes right past LIZ to the WINDOW. There's a NEWSPAPER in his hand. FLASH Hey, they won't let up, man! (shows Daily Bugle) They keep calling you an accomplice in that burglary murder. But that's a crock, ain't it? I'm with you, Spidey, 100% SPIDER-MAN Thanks. FLASH (realizing) By the way, what are you doing with... Liz? SPIDER-MAN She needed a lift. FLASH Oh... okay! This calls for a beer! A lot of beer! SPIDER-MAN Thanks, but I have some business to take care of. FLASH Well... take care of that later. Wait here. I'll get the beer. He disappears. LIZ comes, tentatively, to the WINDOW where SPIDEY squats, desire and passion in his WHITE EYES. LIZ (accusatory) How'd you know this was Flash's place? SPIDER-MAN Peter Parker told me all about it. LIZ Peter told you all about Flash? SPIDER-MAN No... he told me all about you. See you later. (he jumps away) INT. DORM - NIGHT FLASH comes in with more BEER than a man ought to carry. FLASH Hey, where'd he go? Hey, Spider-Man!! But SPIDER-MAN has disappeared. LIZ (distracted) Peter told your Hero all about me... FLASH He would, wouldn't he... that jerk! EXT. PETER PARKER'S ROOF - NIGHT SPIDER-MAN lands on it. He drops in the SKYLIGHT. INT. PETER PARKER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT He drops into the room and pulls off his MASK. The place has been ransacked. COMPUTER DISCS are all over the floor. PETER pulls a file marked "Planetary Conjunction." He opens it. A piece of PAPER falls out. It says, "Kiss it goodbye, Wall Crawler!" PETER (whispers angrily) Octavius!!! EXT. EMPIRE STATE UNIVERSITY QUAD - DAY PETER is hurrying along. KIM in sunning herself wonderfully. PETER (hurrying by) Kim! Have you seen Harry? KIM Sure, lots of times. What a brainiac... PETER Yeah... have you seen him today? KIM No, un unh. LIZ (catching up) Peter...! PETER (keeps walking) Hi... have you seen Harry? LIZ No. What a night, huh? PETER (laughs) Yeah, that was some ride home... must have been pretty exciting. LIZ It was... okay. Look, I got two tickets to Les Miserables... wanna go? PETER Sorry... I'm really busy... I mean, not tonight... see you later. LIZ (thinking) Hey, Peter... how did you know about last night...? PETER What about last night? LIZ My exciting ride with Spider-Man... PETER Oh... Sorry... I gotta hurry... I have to find Harry... I'll see you later. LIZ Peter! PETER runs off. He sees a car approach and flags it. PETER Hey! Can I get a lift downtown? FLASH Take your shoes for a walk, Dork. FLASH gets out of his car, and crosses the lawn toward LIZ. INT. CONTROL ROOM - DAY OCK is hard at work. The room, still rippled, has been "hot rodded" to the max. Lots of jerry-rigged stuff has been added. OCK takes a sip from the THERMOS and flicks on the small TAPE RECORDER. OCK We are new inserting Peter Parker's data on tonight's Planetary Conjunction. INSERT: The COMPUTER SCREEN displays Peter Parker's name and ID number and the title, "The Planetary Conjunction and it's effect on Earth Gravity." OCK Yes, yes! Go on! Go on! INSERT: NUMBER SEQUENCES appear on the SCREEN. Then a GRAPHIC of the EARTH moving into line with SATURN, JUPITER, the SUN and the MOON. In the corner a NUMBER rises. OCK Enormous. It's enormous. (to recorder) The Parker calculations add 4% gravitational force at the moment of full Planetary Conjunction. (hits some keys) Adding this to present maximum power potential, I get... He looks up and sees the SCREEN a GRAPHIC "HOLE" opening up right through the EARTH! The widening HOLE is swallowing everything! OCK I knew it. I knew it! Universal destruction! It's doable! I am putting a countdown clock on the Planetary Conjunction now! A LARGE DIGITAL DISPLAY reads, "13:00:03." The last seconds count down to, "12:59:59!" OCK (playing the computer) Okey, dokey. Now let's see if I have enough power to drive this beast. He starts hitting KEYS on his COMPUTER. INT. PETER PARKER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT PETER is working on LIZ'S COMPUTER. There is a KNOCK at his brand new, unpainted DOOR. He hurries to it and pulls the KNOB so quickly (forgetting his own strength) that the whole assembly comes off in his hand. PETER (pulling Harry aside) I gotta remember to have that fixed. (opens the door) There you are, I've been looking for you all over town. HARRY What happened? PETER Where were you? HARRY I went to the wrestling, wanted to see that Amazing Spider-Man, but he didn't show up. PETER Listen, Harry something terrible happened. HARRY What? What? PETER My Planetary Conjunction papers... they were stolen... HARRY Oh my God... Are you sure...? Who would do such a thing? PETER Ock... HARRY Of course... but why...? PETER We have to find out, sit down. (indicates computer) I want to access Dr. Octavius' main program. I want to know about his experiments with the cyclotron. Can you do it? HARRY (starts hacking) I can try. I could access the system in the dorm. Okay. And through that I could crack the main line. PETER Alright. Now if we can just disrupt the Octavius file... HARRY Okay, let's try. HARRY cracks his knuckles like a safe cracker and bends to the task. The PHONE RINGS. PETER hits his jerry-rigged SPEAKER PHONE. HARRY keeps hacking. PETER Yeah? JAMESON (V.O.) Parker? Peter Parker? This is J. Jonah Jameson! PETER (looking over Harry's shoulder) Mr. Jameson, you got me at a bad time. JAMESON (V.O.) I need pictures of your friend, the Amazing Spider-Man. But I need bad guy shots, you got it? Lots of bad guy shots. We're gonna pin that insect to the wall. Whaddaya say? PETER hangs up. The DIAL TONE cuts off JAMESON. INT. JAMESON'S OFFICE - NIGHT Only he and the PHOTO ASSISTANT are there. JAMESON What about that kid? On the job already? INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT OCK is pacing around the hot rodded room. He checks this and that. He looks at the COUNTDOWN CLOCK (06:00:10) and throws himself down in his CHAIR. He resumes his check- down. OCK Fusion cells...? All up. Internal temperature... okay. Risk? (a long beat) Acceptable. (another beat) Let's fly. He starts flicking on SWITCHES and DIALS. The WHINE whirs up. He throws the RED POWER THROTTLE. The POWER DIAL goes to 90! INT. PETER PARKER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT PETER and HARRY are at a COMPUTER. The LIGHTS flicker and dim. Then they go back on. PETER and HARRY look at each other and shrug. HARRY Got something! INSERT: DIGITAL CLOCK display: "06:00:03" PETER What is it? HARRY Let me see. It's some kind of countdown clock. PETER Countdown to what? HARRY I don't know, but whatever it is, it's only six hours away. PETER The Planetary Conjunction? HARRY Could be... PETER Or Doc Ock's end of the world experiment... Or both! HARRY Wait a minute. You're not telling me you think the world is gonna end tonight...? PETER You want to wait around till midnight to find out? HARRY No, but... PETER Let's see what else we've got. Another set of numbers roll up on the SCREEN. They are accompanied by ELECTRICAL SYMBOLS. HARRY What's that? PETER It might be a calculation of the amount of power he needs to create the hole between the force and the anti-force. HARRY That's a lot of energy. What could generate power like that? PETER The closest you could come is the New York City Subway System. Again, the lights flicker and then dim and they return. HARRY/PETER (together) We gotta talk to Professor Rosomorf!! INT. BROADWAY EXPRESS - NIGHT ROZ boards and takes a seat. There are the usual SUBWAY TYPES. A FAT WOMAN. A PIMPLY TEENAGER and his date, a TALL SKINNY GIRL in a PARTY DRESS. ROZ, making notations in a PAD, takes no notice of them. He sits down, closes his PAD, and taps a PENCIL against his chin. ROZ Plutonium... EXT. MAJOR INTERSECTION - NIGHT TAXIS go by. TWO LOVERS stroll. We hear a familiar WHINE. The "WALK" and "DON'T WALK" signs FLASH at the same time. BOY Make up your mind! The signs EXPLODE! The COUPLE stops in their tracks. The BOY looks at the GIRL. GIRL What's going on? An ARC of ELECTRICITY now shoots between the LIGHT PILLARS of the SUBWAY STATION on the corner. INT. BROADWAY LOCAL - NIGHT SPARKS fly by the window. ROZ, oblivious at first, is now stunned by the show. EXT. SUBWAY TRAIN ENTRANCE - NIGHT The ARCS of ELECTRICITY continue to rise. The STREET LIGHTS buckle and bend into weird shapes. WOMAN Oh my God! MAN Get back! Get back! EXT. INTERSECTION - NIGHT TWO TAXIS roar through the intersection and COLLIDE. The ETHNIC DRIVERS leap out and begin arguing. INT. TRAIN - NIGHT PEOPLE SCREAM and fall back as the TRAIN seems to change angles. EXT. SUBWAY ENTRANCE - NIGHT A building ROAR rises from the SUBWAY ENTRANCE. Then the sound of a TRAIN WHISTLE! The BOY looks down the STAIRS and has to leap out of the way as the BROADWAY EXPRESS comes highballing up the STEPS and blasts through the SUBWAY entrance. The TRAIN sails through the air. EXT. LUXURY CONDO HIGH-RISE - NIGHT The TRAIN crashes into the building in a storm of cyclotron generated Dali physics. EXT. THE STREET - NIGHT The THROB and PULSE recede. SCREAMS, HONKS, SIRENS can be heard. EXT. LUXURY CONDO HIGH-RISE - NIGHT A splendidly turned out MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN wakes from her satin sleep to see that a SUBWAY TRAIN is in the middle of her BEDROOM. The WALL through which the train has come sags and ripples like it has melted and partially resolidified. WOMAN Henry!!! Several PASSENGERS climb out of the WINDOWS of the TRAIN or pry open the DOORS. WOMAN What are you doing here? Get out of here! Get out of here! EXT. THE STREET - NIGHT A CROWD has gathered to gawk and point. They look up and we see their POV. The MIDDLE CAR of the TRAIN is simply "embedded" in the HIGH-RISE, its rear sticking out of the building fifteen stories up. From its COUPLING dangles the LAST CAR. INT. MIDDLE CAR - NIGHT The car is bisected in the middle by the fused brick and glass of the WALL of the building. PASSENGERS on the outside of the WALL press their faces to the GLASS and pound for help. ROZ comes to the aid of a MOTHER with TWO CHILDREN. EXT. THE STREET - NIGHT The CROWD sees something else. Swinging high in the sky is your friendly neighborhood SPIDER-MAN. The COUPLE and TWO DRIVERS argue about what this means. WOMAN It's Spider-Man! TRUCK DRIVER #1 Get outa here, you bum! WOMAN Hey, what are you talking about?! TRUCK DRIVER #2 (back at woman) What's the matter, lady don't you read the papers? This is the DRIVER of a DAILY BUGLE truck carrying the historically famous Bugle headline, "Spider-Man - Threat or Menace?" MAN Go Spidey! Go! INT. LAST CAR - NIGHT It's nearly vertical! People are tumbled over each other. The scared TEENAGER is tearing at the door. The SKINNY GIRL screams in a mechanical way. The DOOR opens. He nearly falls! The SKINNY GIRL screams again. He manages to get back inside. She looks at him, safe now. But she screams again anyway. ROZ struggles to right himself against a pole. A BAG OF GROCERIES goes sliding past him. It continues downward and out the OPEN DOOR. INSERT: The BAG tumbles down through the air. Down, down, and down... INT. MIDDLE CAR - NIGHT SPIDEY'S face appears in the WINDOW upside down. SPIDER-MAN Hello, everybody... He slides the WINDOW down and flips inside. He walks through the parting PASSENGERS to the BUILDING WALL. He feels it. SPIDER-MAN Okay, everyone, stand back and stay cool. He hurls himself at the fused GLASS portion and bounces back onto the floor. He rolls over, flexing his shoulder. WOMAN (whining) Is that the real Spider-Man? SPIDEY does a TRIPLE FLIP to his feet. He reaches up for the overhead RAILING and pulls it down easily. Oohs and aahs. SPIDER-MAN points it at the GLASS and hefts it. SPIDER-MAN Somebody wanna give me a hand with this? First the WOMAN, and then all of them, take up positions on the BATTERING RAM. SPIDER-MAN On three. One... Two... Three! They ram the GLASS and it shatters. INT. THE LUXURY CONDO HIGH-RISE - NIGHT HENRY stands at the open DOOR of the TRAIN in his bedroom as they all come rushing through into the room. HENRY Come on. Come on. That's it. Step lively now. WIFE Henry, the rugs! HENRY Oh, shut up! SPIDER-MAN Have a nice evening, Ma'am... and you too, Henry. EXT. THE STREET - NIGHT The FIRE TRUCKS arrive and begin assembling a LADDER. INT. THE LAST CAR - NIGHT SPIDEY arrives at the DOOR at the top of the CAR. He sees ROZ at the bottom. THREE PEOPLE are between them. The SKINNY GIRL sees SPIDEY. She screams. SPIDER-MAN Okay, folks, just hang on... He scampers down the GRAB-HANDLES to the people below. FOUR PASSENGERS cling to SEATS and BARS. SPIDER-MAN Okay, one at a time. You first, Ma'am... A FAT WOMAN makes a "who me?" gesture. SPIDEY throws her over his shoulder. INSERT: THE COUPLING which holds the two CARS at right angles begins to bend open. SPIDER-MAN, the FAT WOMAN over his shoulder, goes hand over hand to the top and the WOMAN is dumped into the MIDDLE CAR. INSERT: THE COUPLING bends open a little more. SPIDEY helps the TEENAGER and the SKINNY GIRL out of the CAR. She takes the dreadful step between cars. She looks down. She screams. She steps across. EXT. LUXURY CONDO HIGH-RISE - NIGHT The FIRE LADDER is up. But it is about TEN FEET short of where it's aimed at. The end of the CAR. A FIREMAN stands at its apex. FIREMAN (into walkie) Gimme more ladder! I need more ladder! WALKIE Negative on that, you're at full extension! INT. LAST CAR - NIGHT Now only ROZ is left. SPIDEY approaches him. He clings to a POLE. INSERT: The COUPLING bends open! The CAR is hanging there from memory! ROZ This is Doctor Otto Octavius' work. I must get back to my university. I must stop Ock... he's gone crazy. Can you help me? SPIDER-MAN Sure thing, just don't take the train. Come on... give me your hand. ROZ Spider-Man! Listen to me! If he can do this with the train, if he's come this far, then I can pretty well predict his next step. He'll go to Plutonium SL 270 for the power. He must be stopped... or else he'll destroy our world. The COUPLING shrieks and the CAR lurches. SPIDER-MAN Let's get you out of here first, Professor. ROZ Wait Spider-Man. I don't think I can make it... You mustn't waste time saving me... you must save the world! You must go and stop Ock! SPIDER-MAN Where can I find him...? ROZ He is looking for Plutonium SL 270 I'm sure... The CAR lurches on its side and ROZ flies out of the DOOR. SPIDEY THWIPS out a WEB that girdles ROZ'S waist. SPIDER-MAN Think Rosomorf, think where one can find Plutonium? Where could he find SL 270...? EXT. LUXURY CONDO HIGH-RISE - NIGHT ROZ is hanging in mid-air on the WEB. ROZ shouts. ROZ (shouting) There's only one place he can get the Plutonium SL 270... SPIDER-MAN Where...? ROZ Toxic... toxic dump... any toxic dump would have SL 270. SPIDEY swings ROZ in an arc to the FIREMAN. He misses ROZ on the first pass. ROZ looks up at SPIDEY who stands in the doorway, manipulating the WEB. The FIREMAN grabs ROZ. Then, with an awful SCREECH of steel, the CAR pulls loose from the COUPLING. With SPIDER-MAN inside it, the CAR plunges ten stories to the street below. EXT. STREET - NIGHT COPS, FIREMEN, PRESS, the works. The CROWD GASPS. CAMERA STROBES pop as the LAST CAR crashes to the SIDEWALK. We hold several beats on the incredible rubble. Then, a WEBBED HAND. SPIDER-MAN groggily pulls himself from the wreckage. COP (V.O.) Put your hands up, Spider-Man. SPIDER-MAN You're making a big mistake. COP And you're looking at twenty years. SPIDER-MAN shoots a WAD of WEB GOO onto the COP'S GUN and leaps up onto the LUXURY CONDO... and swings up out of the frame. The COP aims and shoots. The BULLET makes a THWUMP noise. The WEB GOO stretches out about three feet and falls limp. COP What the hell! EXT. BACK OF BUILDING - NIGHT SPIDER-MAN swings painfully, one handed and limp, at the end of a WEB STRAND. After falling ten stories, he is groggy and weak. He can't think. He can't focus. He can barely hold onto his WRIST GIZMOS. This bug is spent. SPIDER-MAN Must go on... must find Ock... SL 270 Plutonium... must get that crazy old loony... before he gets to the Plutonium... toxic dump... where are the toxic dumps...? He hangs there with two hands to catch his breath and thinks. He shoots a WEB up diagonally and swings across on it. This time he catches on and holds, but barely. INT. AUNT MAY'S FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT LIZ is standing. AUNT MAY is seated on the COUCH, she looks weak, pale and alone. AUNT MAY You're as lovely as Peter said you were. LIZ (embarrassed) Thank you. He really wanted so badly to come see you. He called me up out of the blue. AUNT MAY (great concern) Tell me about Peter. What's he been up to? He seems so preoccupied. LIZ Oh, you know Peter... he's all caught up in some kind of study he's doing. Things are really crazy at the university now. Things are crazy... everywhere. I guess Peter's just... well, you know... pulled into his shell. AUNT MAY (reminiscing) When Peter was little, he loved to hide. In the closets. Under the sink. He always needed a secret place. But when I'd look for him, he'd always laugh... he wanted to be found. LIZ Yeah... well. I don't think he wants me to find him... Well, I'd better be going. My friend Flash is picking me up. AUNT MAY This Flash... he isn't your boyfriend, is he? LIZ No... not really... I think you can guess why... They smile knowingly at each other. LIZ goes toward the DOOR. AUNT MAY Elizabeth...? She turns. AUNT MAY Finders keepers, losers weepers. LIZ What? AUNT MAY That's what I used to say to Peter when I found him. EXT. FIFTH AVENUE - NIGHT SPIDER-MAN swings high above it. This is not the confident swinger with LIZ in his arms. This is a guy who's making it by the narrowest of margins. There is a traffic jam below. SPIDER-MAN Got to find Ock... got to find the toxic dumps. (grabs his head) Oh! Oh! Oh... yeah! He looks down at the traffic. We PAN across the many CARS until we come to a non-descript GREEN CAR. INT. GREEN CAR - NIGHT OCK is honking the HORN. Something lands on his ROOF. Then SPIDEY sticks his head, upside down, in the windshield. SPIDER-MAN What's up, Ock? OCK You!!! A WALDO smashes through the WINDSHIELD but misses SPIDEY. OCK leaps from the CAR. OCK (on the run) You're a doomed bug, Wall Crawler. I've no time to waste on you now. EXT. STREET - NIGHT OCK runs through HONKING TRAFFIC. SPIDER-MAN leaps from CAR to CAR. OCK turns to see SPIDER-MAN leap to a LIMO at the curb. OCK turns tail and runs down an alley. A FEMALE COP pops out of a DOORWAY. Her partner, a BIG, YOUNG COP, pulls his GUN. FEMALE COP (gun poised) Alright! Freeze! Up against the wall and spread 'em OCK complies. He raises his hands... and spreads the WALDOS to full extension! The BIG COP screams and faints. The little FEMALE COP'S eyes POP. OCK swats the GUN from her hand. He starts to choke her. SPIDEY comes swinging to the rescue. He lands on the ROOF nearby. SPIDER-MAN Hey, you big OCK, why don't you pick on someone your own size?! OCK Alright Spider-Bug... here I've come for you... OCK leaves the COP and attacks SPIDER-MAN, shooting his iron fist at him. OCK runs to the end of the alley. SPIDEY staggers to his feet and resumes the chase. OCK breaks into a red Corvette convertible, starting it with a WALDO. SPIDER-MAN comes out in time to see the Vette drive away. A CHINESE LAUNDRY TRUCK is passing. SPIDEY THWIPS it and is whipped away. He crawls over to the WINDOW. SPIDER-MAN Hey, driver. Could you follow that red Vette for me? The surprised CHINAMAN lets loose a stream of CHINESE expletives, complete with appropriate suggestive gestures. SPIDER-MAN crawls to the top of the TRUCK and surveys the situation. He sees a sea of moving traffic. He THWIPS up a WEB and swings away. SPIDEY swings along from BUILDING to BUILDING. The RED VETTE is making headway. Suddenly, SPIDER-MAN spots a blue MG with its top up. SPIDER-MAN (swinging) Flash Thompson... I never thought I'd be happy to see you. EXT. BLUE MG - NIGHT SPIDEY swoops down on the BLUE MG. INT. BLUE MG - NIGHT SPIDEY wedges down into the car, right between FLASH and LIZ. She WHOOPS. FLASH is thrilled. SPIDER-MAN Sorry about that! FLASH Spider-man! This is unbelievable...! SPIDER-MAN Flash, I need your help. FLASH You got it. SPIDER-MAN You any good with this thing? FLASH I'm the best. SPIDER-MAN Okay... catch that Vette! FLASH Roger, wilco, over and out. He swerves. SPIDEY falls all over LIZ. They begin to careen through traffic, three peas in a very small pod. EXT. WEST SIDE CAR CHASE MONTAGE - NIGHT With SPIDEY jammed in between LIZ and FLASH, the MG chases the VETTE. Since neither OCK nor FLASH is any good at this, both cars quickly careen into POLES, FENCES, HOT DOG CARS and begin falling apart. On RIVERSIDE DRIVE the MG begins to lurch and STEAM. The VETTE looks eaten away. The GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE looms ahead. The VETTE roars through the TOLL BOOTH. They spot OCK stuck in traffic. FLASH Why is he going to New Jersey, and who is it in that shitty red car... LIZ Don't you recognize him... it's Ock! SPIDER-MAN New Jersey has the largest toxic waste dump in the world. FLASH What does he want with toxic waste? SPIDER-MAN He's looking for Plutonium, my dear... The car has to slow down... it's in a traffic jam. FLASH Sorry... can't do anything about this traffic. SPIDER-MAN jumps out of the car. SPIDER-MAN Try to stay with me. I don't want to lose him! Speeding along the BRIDGE, OCK sees no one. But high above, SPIDEY swings from TOWER to TOWER after him. At the last TOWER, SPIDEY leaps down onto a BIG TRUCK. The VETTE weaves and SPIDEY crosses to another BIG TRUCK. For a moment he is caught between the TWO TRUCKS, but he makes it across. The VETTE takes an exit. SPIDEY leaps to the next SIGN. He aims his WRIST GIZMO and waits for the next car to take the exit, but none does. Deflated, he drops to the ground. He looks up to see a sign on a CYCLONE FENCE. It says, "DUMP NUMBER 7 -- KEEP OUT -- RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL!" SPIDER-MAN Bingo. INT. TOXIC WASTE DUMP - NIGHT The landscape has a nightmarish vision, weirdly lit by "safety lights." VATS and DRUMS ooze all kinds of bad stuff. A light is on in a dilapidated SHACK. INT. THE SHACK - NIGHT OCK is tossing away the CANISTERS until he comes to one marked, "HAZARD!! PLUTONIUM SL 270 HAZARD!!" OCK Okey, dokey... SPIDER-MAN Open that now, and you'll spoil Christmas. SPIDEY'S peering in from a HOLE in the ROOF. OCK Insect! I am going to squash you to death... Once I lay my Waldos on your skinny bones... OCK hurls a DRUM at SPIDEY. It erupts in a sizzle of LIQUID and GAS. Then the SIX-ARMED FIEND runs for the door with his SL 270. EXT. THE SHACK - NIGHT OCK comes flying out and SPIDER-MAN grabs a WALDO. SPIDEY does a back flip and whips OCK so hard the WALDO snaps off! OCK recoils it and reacts in horror. With a roar, OCK attacks SPIDER-MAN. They battle as SUPER-ADVERSARIES. OCK gains the upper hand and tosses SPIDEY into a pile of RUSTING DRUMS. A GAS envelopes SPIDER-MAN and he begins coughing. EXT. THE DUMP - NIGHT OCK'S WALDOS are coiled around SPIDER-MAN'S neck as the WEB SLINGER is dragged through the dump. His WHITE EYES narrow and blink. There is a capped WELL behind a WARNING SIGN. OCK tears off the CAP and then hurls the groggy SPIDEY down the WELL. OCK Goodbye, Spider-Man! INT. THE WELL - NIGHT SPIDEY falls. He cannot grab onto the slimy WALLS. At the bottom of the foul pit is a bubbling BLUE luminescent POOL. SPIDEY claws frantically at the WALLS. SPIDER-MAN Noooooooooooooo! He gets a hold and slides down to within a foot of the POOL. Its weird light shines up at him. He looks up at the starry sky. SPIDER-MAN (to himself) Okay now, Spidey. Easy does it. He shoots a WEB about halfway up the PIT. It hits the wall, sizzles, and drops back down. SPIDER-MAN (to himself) Don't give up, Spidey. Don't give up. The WEB GIZMO squirts out a pathetic patooey of WEB GOO. Then it hisses, empty! SPIDER-MAN Empty... now what do I do? OCK So you've avoided the nuclear pool, have you, Spider-Man? SPIDER-MAN Well, so far so good. But I can't hold on much longer. OCK Pity...! SPIDER-MAN Oh, come on, Ock, be a good sport. Let's talk this over face to face... throw me a line... SPIDEY reaches out. OCK Okay... face to face... Catch this! OCK, way up at the opening above, raises a huge DRUM above his head. The DRUM leaks toxic waste in ORANGE TENDRILS. He is about to drop it down on SPIDER-MAN... FLASH Don't do it, Professor! We now see FLASH and LIZ in the BLUE MG. OCK (puts down the drum) I know you... and you, young lady. Both of you are in my physic class, aren't you...? Come... you can help me. I need to get some of these drums to my laboratory... help me... and I'll give you special grades. What'd you say? Suddenly he catches FLASH with a WALDO and starts to choke him. LIZ screams and tries to help FLASH. LIZ Leave him alone!!! Another WALDO grabs her. ROZ now appears on the scene. ROZ Leave them alone Otto! OCK But, they won't help me. Everybody is trying to destroy my experiment. And so are you, Rosomorf. Another WALDO grabs ROZ by his arm. ROZ Otto... I was wrong. I've gone over your research. It's brilliant, Otto. It's mad, but it's brilliant. You have much work left to do. I want to help you, Otto. For the sake of science, go and do your experiment. Leave... these kids alone and I'll help you. OCK You will? You too? Both FLASH and LIZ shake their heads okey dokey. OCK gestures to FLASH and LIZ. OCK Help me with these drums, I need to get them to my laboratory immediately. ROZ Do as he says. OCK pushes FLASH and LIZ with his iron arm. Gripping LIZ be her hair, he shoves her into the CAR. OCK Drive, Flash, before I flush your girl right down the toilet! SPIDER-MAN Professor Rosomorf, it's no good, double dealing... why did you help him...? ROSOMORF finds a rope and looks into the well. ROZ Don't lose your energy screaming. Catch this rope and climb up, come on! INT. ROZ'S CAR - NIGHT They drive along the highway. SPIDEY is recovering, working his neck. ROZ I've been through the Octavius data. He has enough power with his Plutonium. Especially if he gets his hands on Parker's data, there he has enough power to do what he wants to do. And we are not going to stop him in time before the Planetary Conjunction occurs tonight... SPIDER-MAN Stop the car. I have an idea. They're in the middle of RIVERSIDE DRIVE but a PHONE BOOTH is coming up on the right. INSERT: ROZ'S foot stabs the BRAKE. INT. ROZ'S CAR - NIGHT SPIDEY gets out of the car. Then he pats himself where his pockets ought to be. SPIDER-MAN Do you have a dime? INT. PETER PARKER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT HARRY is there, working on the COMPUTER, PHONE RINGS, HARRY picks up. PETER Harry?! HARRY Peter, where are you? INT. PHONE BOOTH - NIGHT SPIDER-MAN Listen, Harry. You must get my paper before Ock uses it... INT. PETER PARKER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT HARRY Your Planetary Conjunction data? It's too late... Ock's got your paper, it's in his computer already. INSERT: The COMPUTER SCREEN displays a graphic of the SUN, EARTH, and MOON lining up with JUPITER and SATURN. HARRY But don't worry... he can never use it without Plutonium. SPIDER-MAN (V.O.) He's got the Plutonium, and he's on his way back to the lab! And he's got two prisoners with him... Liz and Flash! HARRY Don't worry... he needs a huge amount of power... thousands of volts of electricity... to get to the Anti-Force. SPIDER-MAN He can get to the power. Electrical power... to the max. Nuclear power... SL 270. And now, at the moment of full Planetary Conjunction. When all the planets line up with the sun... maximum gravitational power. The Conjunction is Ock's final power source. HARRY Damn... the Conjunction is due at midnight! What are we going to do? EXT. UNIVERSITY GROUNDS - NIGHT The BLUE MG arrives and comes to a stop. OCK looks at his two prisoners in the back seat and smiles to himself... Picks up one DRUM on each shoulder. OCK Okey, dokey... have fun, young ones... for the last time. OCK leaves. LIZ and FLASH are tied together in the back seat of the CAR. LIZ (still ministering) What do we do now? FLASH We kiss the world goodbye. If he is right, all there is left to do is... LIZ Wait... I think I can release my right hand... INT. PETER PARKER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT HARRY How much time is left? Wait... I can find out... my God... 59 minutes! INT. PHONE BOOTH - NIGHT SPIDER-MAN The only way we can interfere with Ock's plan is to find a computer center... fast. HARRY (V.O.) Our University has the biggest center in town. SPIDER-MAN Yeah, but who's gonna work 'em? EXT. UNIVERSITY GROUNDS - NIGHT Professor OCK comes for some more drums. He sees that LIZ and FLASH have disappeared. OCK picks up TWO DRUMS. HARRY seeing FLASH and LIZ come running to the school grounds. HARRY I think I can get some help... I can teach anyone how to work a code in five minutes. SPIDER-MAN (V.O.) Then do it! INT. COMPUTER LAB - NIGHT The LIGHTS are off, but the COMPUTERS are on. HARRY looks over LIZ'S shoulder as she cracks through a code. Her SCREEN reads out, "CONNECTICUT. TECH. Fully Op, Line Backlog, Security Max Level." The last line is FLASHING. KIM Hey, this is easy. They all run from COMPUTER to COMPUTER. FLASH Hey, Harry I need help. HARRY Coming! HARRY types in KARNAKY LTD and gets the same response. He looks at his DIGITAL WRISTWATCH. "01:00:02" becomes "00:59:59" as we watch. Then a WARNING BUZZER! KIM I got one! I got one! LIZ Harry! Get over here! HARRY hurries to KIM'S side and elbows her out of the CHAIR. The SCREEN is flashing "WARNING, Security Breach!" HARRY'S hands fly over the keys. The KIDS gather around. LINE DRAWINGS of the CYCLOTRON (progressing from large to small detail) appear one after the other. Finally, a PIPE. There is a CIRCLE around a JOINT. And the legend "H20". HARRY A goddamn water leak... FLASH Hey, look at this. Empire State University. This is our cyclotron, right? HARRY (serious) What does it say? FLASH (hits two keys) It says "no information on net." HARRY Damn... we can't do it... KIM You mean... we can't stop loony Ock... HARRY I mean the world is in danger... FLASH We must find Peter, he knows these computers better than all of us. HARRY Yes, but where the hell is he? LIZ (mysteriously) I bet he is with Spider-Man... Suddenly the lights dim. A heavy noise. An earth quake. EXT. OUTER SPACE - PERPETUAL DARK The EARTH is moving into line with the other PLANETS of the CONJUNCTION. EXT. SCIENCE CENTER - NIGHT HARRY and FLASH and LIZ and KIM, (the EARTH is SHAKING) come out running from the building beneath an enormous HANGING MOON. They are frightened. Suddenly it all stops. It's quiet, the kids look at the sky. LIZ Look at the moon... I have never seen it so big. FLASH What is that... HARRY Must be the sun. We now see the sky. With the sun on one side, and the moon on the other. They watch it, shocked, frightened out of their wits. EXT. END OF THE WORLD MONTAGE - NIGHT Suddenly from OCK'S basement lab a BLUE BEAM of LIGHT breaks through. A WHINE starts, it moves magically out of the WINDOW and PANS around a sleepy NEW YORK which doesn't know that the end is upon it. The dreaded WHINE builds throughout! People stop in their tracks, look up to the strange looking skyline. Camera comes down to a street where ROZ is DRIVING SPIDER-MAN fast toward the UNIVERSITY. INT. ROZ'S CAR - NIGHT ROZ looks out over the skyline of NEW YORK. Lighted buildings FLARE UP and then GO DARK. The LIGHTED SPIRE of the Empire State Building FLARES UP and EXPLODES. SPIDER-MAN It's started. Step on it Professor, or we'll never make it. They look across the campus and a strange LIGHT is coming out of the SCIENCE CENTER. ROZ Our campus... right there... see those beams from Ock's lab. We're late... it's coming... the Conjunction will happen in a few seconds. SPIDER-MAN massages his arm. SPIDER-MAN Stop the car...! Come with me. ROZ Where...? What...? SPIDER-MAN SHOOTS out a WEB and flies toward the SCHOOL BUILDING taking ROZ with him. INT. EXPERIMENTAL CHAMBER - NIGHT It is a patchwork of make-shift repairs. OCK looks in through a WINDOW that's been melted out. He is lost in a mad rapture. INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT RED POWER THROTTLE is at 95% POWER! SPIDER-MAN and ROZ enter, shielding their eyes from the GLARE. The COUNTDOWN CLOCK reads, "00:08:18". OCK (looking back, madly) Aha! You never included the Conjunction in your calculations, did you?! Rosomorf! ROZ Damn the calculations! My God, Otto, you have to hear me! The world we know will collapse! Everything we have devoted our lives to... all the patterns, all the harmonies... everything will be destroyed. OCK A new world waits! Rosomorf! It is my destiny!!! ROZ It is cosmic suicide! You have no right! ROZ flings himself through the MELTED WINDOW into the EXPERIMENTAL CHAMBER. He grabs for the "BULLET" but the WALDOS grab him and throw him back. ROZ staggers backward... into the arms of SPIDER-MAN. ROZ You have to stop him... Spider-Man you have to stop him. SPIDER-MAN I'm afraid we're too late. SPIDER-MAN attacks OCK, trying to push him away from the THROTTLE. OCK pushes SPIDER-MAN away from him so strongly that SPIDER-MAN is knocked down. OCK nudges the POWER THROTTLE forward and the WHINE increases to an ear shattering pitch. The COUNTDOWN CLOCK reads, "00:06:48". We are at 96% POWER! EXT. THE SCIENCE CENTER - NIGHT We PAN down from the MOON to a STREET full of SIRENS and SHADOWY FIGURES running in the night. LIZ and KIM and HARRY come nearer. A very WEIRD light is emanating from the CENTER. LIZ He's in there. I know Peter is in there. She breaks into a run. FLASH Liz, don't... Liz come back... come back! LIZ runs inside. They run after her. A BOLT OF ELECTRICITY flashes across the doorway, stopping them. INT. THE CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT The PLANETS are playing on the COMPUTER SCREEN. Things in the room begin to rise, weightless. The ENERGY STORM is brewing! OCK Okey, dokey!! My energy storm has started. My Anti-Force is on! History is being made... Spider-Man, Rosomorf cheer up friends... we're on our way to the unknown cosmos... we three are about to visit heaven... real Gods heaven. ROZ (sees the sky through the window) Spider-Man! The Conjunction! It's happening! EXT. THE SKY - STRANGE COLORS - NIGHT The CONJUNCTION is now happening. INSERT: Surreal DIALS spin madly. INT. SCIENCE CENTER - NIGHT LIZ runs into a HALLWAY gone berserk. Stuff is flying everywhere. TILES pull from the WALLS and crash to the ceiling. LIZ Peter! Peter, where are you?! INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT OCK throws the RED POWER THROTTLE to 97% POWER. Cacophony! The "BULLET" begins to PULSE and THROB! The DIALS spin! The COUNTDOWN CLOCK reads, "00:05:58". EXT. SCIENCE CENTER - NIGHT The FULL MOON hangs over the building. FLASH and HARRY and KIM stand at the entrance to the CENTER. FLASH starts to run to the building. FLASH (screaming) Liz! Liz come on out! They run forward but as they reach the FRONT STEPS the building lurches upward. The bottom step becomes a wall of STONE and DIRT, six feet high. HARRY Get back! Flash... get back! FLASH Wow...! Then the building lurches upward again! This time it pulls FREE from the ground. The KIDS take cover as WATER LINES BURST and ELECTRICAL WIRES SPARK. INT. SCIENCE CENTER HALLWAY - NIGHT LIZ opens a door. LIZ Peter! The building lurches throwing her back across the HALL where she crashes through another door. INT. CHEMISTRY LAB - NIGHT All manner of stuff is flying around. LIZ comes sliding across the floor. She crashes into a CABINET. GLASSWARE starts to fall on her, but crashes into the CEILING instead. She is dragged up the WALL. She kicks and screams against the Anti-Force. EXT. SCIENCE CENTER - NIGHT FLASH, KIM and HARRY look on as heavy ELECTRICAL CABLES stretch upward to the rising CENTER and then snap in showers of sparks. As they fall away the CENTER becomes airborne. The CABLES wave up at it, shooting arcs of ELECTRICITY directly at the building. INT. CHEMISTRY LAB - NIGHT LIZ slides down the WALL. She grabs at the WINDOW and looks out. The rest of the university recedes beneath her, now a hundred feet below. And they're still rising! FLASH and HARRY look up. FLASH Oh my God... Liz is inside there! HARRY And Professor Rosomorf and crazy Ock. FLASH What about Peter? Is he there with them? HARRY No, but I bet Spider-Man is. EXT. STREET IN FRONT OF UNIVERSITY - NIGHT People look up at the SCIENCE CENTER. A CYCLIST, riding and looking, crashes into a TAXI. MAX REISS leaps out with the BEAUTIFUL STARLET from the TAXI. MAX That's some show... if ever I saw one. INT. JAMESON'S OFFICE - NIGHT He's looking out his window seeing the University's Lab Building flying by. Up and up toward the sky. JAMESON (shouting) Tear out the front page! Change the headline... The biggest news is happening right now... we need photos... a camera... get me a camera...! EXT. SKY - NIGHT A very long shot of the SCIENCE CENTER rising into the CLOUDS. INT. AUNT MAY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT She pulls aside a CURTAIN and watches the SCIENCE CENTER rise. INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT OCK works the COMPUTER as the CONSOLE sends up SHOWERS of SPARKS. He glances at the "BULLET" which now PULSES. The COUNTDOWN CLOCK at "00:04:18". ROZ Where is it going Otto? OCK Other worlds, Roz, other times, other dimensions, who knows? Who cares? ROZ Then... why? OCK Truth, Rosomorf. Look at it! The new truth! The new way! SPIDER-MAN Don't listen to him Professor Roz. OCK No, you don't listen to that clown, he can't save you, or the world for that matter. A WALDO reaches in and rips ROZ off SPIDEY, flinging him back against a WALL. ROZ lands in a heap beneath a FIRE STATION (HOSE, EXTINGUISHER, AXE). We see the WALDO reach out for SPIDER-MAN. It wraps around his FOOT and begins to tug, slowly... OCK Once and for all, Spider-Man... once and for all we'll end the legend of your powers. OCK knocks SPIDER-MAN with a real BIG BLOW with his WALDO. OCK is slowly dragging SPIDER-MAN to a HUGE HOLE that's been ripped in the floor by the BEAMS of ELECTRICITY. We see New York a half a mile down through the hole. We see SPIDEY being drawn across the HOLE. Then ROZ comes flying in with the FIRE AXE. ROZ hacks away at the WALDO and chops it off! The stump withdraws. OCK examines it in pain and fury! OCK (ultimate betrayal) You!! You were my teacher!!! ROZ doesn't even look back. He and SPIDEY are at the edge of the HOLE and he's shaking SPIDEY furiously. OCK sends out his other WALDO and begins banging it on the floor in a frenzy on either side of ROZ and SPIDEY. Like a child denied, he smashes his steel fists against the floor again and again. OCK You were my teacher! And you want to destroy my experiment. You are a scientist for heaven sake... don't you want to know what's up there? ROZ Yes, but not on account of our world. We have only one world... only one life. The floor begins to craze and then crack like ice around a hole on a pond. BANG! BANG! SPIDEY comes to just as the section of floor beneath himself and ROZ gives way and falls through. SPIDEY grabs hold of the edge and dangles. He looks down and sees ROZ falling away beneath him, disappearing into the dark. ROZ (calling back from the dark skies) Spider-Man! Only you can save us now... SPIDER-MAN Roz!!! (turns to Ock) Murderer!!! OCK Forget that old fool, insect. My Spider-Man... Come join me on my fantastic voyage to the 7th heaven. EXT. OUTER SPACE - PERPETUAL DARK The PLANETS are virtually in line! INT. SCIENCE CENTER HALLWAY - NIGHT LIZ comes running through it. A BOLT OF ELECTRICITY shoots from the right to the left in front of her. She slams on the brakes and runs the other way. LIZ Peter! Peter! INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT The COUNTDOWN CLOCK is at, "00:02:59". OCK throws the POWER THROTTLE to 98% POWER. He laughs and a WEB splats against his GLASSES. SPIDEY scrambles to his feet. OCK, still trying to get the WEB GOO off his GLASSES, is slammed into the CONSOLE by SPIDER-MAN. SPARKS fly and WALDOS flail blindly, smashing things. OCK tears off his GLASSES and squints through the FIRE and SMOKE and GLARE. SPIDER-MAN THWIPS the ceiling and swings into a drop kick! OCK recovers. He grabs SPIDEY and slam dunks him through the hole in the floor. EXT. THE BOTTOM OF THE BUILDING - NIGHT SPIDER-MAN falls through the air. He shoots up a WEB and THWIPS, it sticks to the ROCKY bottom of the FOUNDATION. OCK appears in the HOLE. He sees SPIDEY'S dilemma, hanging on a thread of WEB. A half-broken WALDO snakes down and CLIPS the WEB. But the WEB sticks to the WALDO! OCK shakes it, but he can't get loose. SPIDER-MAN shoots out another WEB at the ROCK BOTTOM and, with the leverage, he pulls OCK out. OCK swings down in a wide arc and his WALDOS catch on the ROCK upside down. He holds on fiercely. OCK scrambles out to the side of the CENTER and begins looking for an entry. SPIDER-MAN is right on his tail. The building pitches sideways! OCK turns to face SPIDER- MAN, his broken WALDOS out for BATTLE. SPIDEY grabs an EXPOSED PIPE and breaks it off, brandishing it like a broad sword. SPIDER-MAN Let's have it, old boy! A bizarre DUEL takes place. The CENTER pitches this way and that. SPIDEY and OCK move from foothold to foothold, from WINDOW to LEDGE to PARAPET. Now the CENTER pitches to a 45 degree angle. They DUEL upside down! A WINDOW GRATE crashes open and LIZ comes flying out, holding onto the GRATE for dear life! SPIDER-MAN Liz!! OCK seizes the opportunity to whack SPIDEY across the head. SPIDEY loses his footing but the building now lurches back and LIZ goes flying back inside. SPIDEY ducks inside too and pulls the GRATE. SPIDER-MAN uses his great strength to move a HUGE PIECE of SCIENTIFIC MACHINERY in front of the GRATE. SPIDER-MAN Come on. LIZ Where's Peter? He must be here somewhere. SPIDER-MAN (pulling her ahead) He's around, don't worry... we'll find him. INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT The COUNTDOWN CLOCK is at, "00:01:00" as SPIDEY comes flying in with LIZ in tow. LIZ This building is flying. I'm in a goddamn flying building... SPIDER-MAN I think we have to pull some of these cables. Try those over there. I'll work on these. We gotta slow this thing down somehow. We got helicopters coming. LIZ looks at some WIRING, apprehensive about even touching it. SPIDER-MAN Pull! She yanks out a CABLE. The building pitches. But when SPIDEY pulls one out, it rights itself. EXT. SCIENCE CENTER - NIGHT The BIG BEAMS start cutting out one by one. The CENTER begins to PITCH and YAW. The CHOPPERS are getting closer. INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT The COUNTDOWN CLOCK reads, "00:00:15" as SPIDEY and LIZ continue to pull WIRES and CABLES. TWO WALDOS erupt through the floor and grab SPIDEY. They pull SPIDEY to the floor. Entangled in these molybdimum pythons, SPIDEY struggles valiantly. LIZ leaps to his aid. LIZ Oh my God... A third WALDO, a broken one, snakes up from the HOLE and begins feeling blindly around on the CONSOLE for the POWER THROTTLE. SPIDER-MAN The power! LIZ sees the damaged WALDOS heading for the RED THROTTLE. The COUNTDOWN CLOCK is at "00:00:10". LIZ leaps and tries to wrestle it away. It whips in her arms and she holds on tight. It bangs her against the wall and then the CONSOLE. She holds on. "00:00:03". The WALDO crashes LIZ against the wall which erupts in SPARKS. She lets go of it. It heads for the POWER THROTTLE! "00:00:01!" SPIDER-MAN can't break the grip of the WALDOS, but he can pull with super-human strength. He yanks OCK up through the STONE floor. OCK hits the ceiling of the CONTROL ROOM. ONE WALDO grabs on. The other one throws the RED POWER THROTTLE! OCK Spider-Man. You're end is coming. Life in its present form is ending... new dimensions, new horizons... The UNIVERSAL BULLET begins to GLOW. The GLOW sharpens to a POINT of LIGHT. SPIDER-MAN holds on tight against a rushing ENERGY FLOW that's pulling everything in the room towards the POINT of LIGHT. LIZ (bracing against the storm) What is happening? SPIDER-MAN (similarly braced) I don't know!!! LIZ starts to slip away into the flow. She struggles against it. LIZ I can't... hold on! SPIDEY THWIPS her and she grabs onto the WEB. SPIDER-MAN Hold tight, Liz, hold tight! OCK drops calmly, beatifically, to the floor of the room. He moves slowly, under his own power, into the LIGHT. OCK (spaced out) You cut my power... there's too little power... It's so tiny... so tiny... there's only space... for me. But I've done it, Spider-Man. I have broken through... I've broken through! LIZ Don't do it, Dr. Octavius! OCK Okey... dokey... Now that's what I call an experiment!!! As he nears the LIGHT he actually becomes a part of it. He radiates LIGHT. He shimmers and shines. He fills the room with BLINDING LIGHT. SPIDEY and LIZ shield their eyes, and as the light diminishes, the storm subsides. They're safe. Except for the fact that they're in a floating building, 10,000 feet above the city! EXT. SCIENCE CENTER - NIGHT Against the backdrop of the MOON, a SQUADRON of HELICOPTERS approaches the CENTER. From their POV, a HUGE CRACK opens across the face of the building. The CENTER begins to drop in PULSING SURGES. INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT SPIDER-MAN is at the CONSOLE pulling and putting back WIRES. LIZ, fascinated, looks in at the WINDOW where OCK disappeared. SPIDER-MAN I can't control her. She's dropping too fast! Alright... let's go! LIZ But what about Peter? We've got to find Peter! SPIDER-MAN Peter will be okay, I promise you... Let's go before it's too late. (he grabs her) LIZ Go where? EXT. THE CENTER - NIGHT It rotates and drops. The HELICOPTERS come in like the cavalry. INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT Trying to leave it, LIZ and SPIDEY are confronted with a nightmare. The room is tilted at a 45% angle. PIPES are bursting. SPIDEY helps LIZ through the obstacles. Debris rains down. They come face to face with a diagonal maze of PIPES. SPIDER-MAN Maybe there's another way... A HUGE CRACK opens above them. LIZ It's breaking apart! SPIDER-MAN Alright, keep moving, a step at a time! They scale the maze, but as they emerge on the other side, half the floor falls away! Central Park awaits, 8,000 feet below. LIZ We have to go back. SPIDER-MAN We can't go back. He looks across at the door. It is midway up a diagonal wall. He shoots a WEB up at the ceiling between themselves and the door. Then he extends a hand to LIZ. LIZ Forget it... SPIDER-MAN Okay, have it your way. He swings across and lands on the LEDGE of the DOOR. Then he swings the WEB back to her like a trapeze. LIZ catches the WEB and looks across at SPIDER-MAN, furious. LIZ (shouting across) What am I supposed to do with this! SPIDER-MAN (shouting back) Go ahead. It's easier than it looks! We've got to try the fire escape. LIZ swings across like TARZAN and SPIDEY gathers her in on the LEDGE. She does a comic "phew" and the LEDGE buckles beneath them but holds. SPIDER-MAN tries to open the door, but it's stuck. LIZ The door is stuck. SPIDER-MAN bends his back to the task. It take all his strength, but with a comic AAAAARGGHH! He bends the DOOR open. EXT. FIRE DOOR - NIGHT They burst out onto the ROCK FOUNDATION of the building. New York is rushing up to meet them. The WIND created by their fall buffets them. The HELICOPTERS arrive, and the falling building plunges right past them. The HELICOPTERS look across at each other, helpless. EXT. THE CENTER - NIGHT It drops like a stone. EXT. FIRE DOOR - NIGHT SPIDEY and LIZ are falling away from the DOOR, sliding along the ROCK. LIZ is stopped by a RETAINING WALL. SPIDEY keeps sliding. He THWIPS the wall and then disappears over the edge. LIZ screams! LIZ fights to her feet and grabs onto the WEB STAND. She pulls on it with all her strength. She pulls and pulls and pulls. We see the WEB running up between the ROCKS. She gives one last pull and comes up with an EMPTY WEB END. A long, long beat. PETER (V.O.) Liz, Up here! LIZ looks up and sees PETER hanging out the WINDOW two stories above her. He throws out a ROPE LADDER. LIZ grabs it. She begins to climb. INT. CLASSROOM - NIGHT PETER pulls LIZ through the WINDOW. There is no time for an embrace. PETER Come on. I've found a way down. LIZ (at long last, love) I knew you were going to say that. They run out of the ROOM. We PAN down and see, crumpled beneath the WINDOW, the SPIDER-MAN suit. INT. LARGE PHYSICS LAB - NIGHT This is the LAB we saw in the opening sequence. PETER has turned on the lights. He's got a handful of ROPE. LIZ Where's the way out? PETER Right there! We are looking at the HUGE AMERICAN FLAG. PETER Come on, help me with this. EXT. THE FOUNDATION - NIGHT LIZ is already down the ROPE LADDER and is holding it for PETER. He comes down with a HUGE bundle of RED, WHITE & BLUE. PETER Okay, stand still. He ties some ROPE around her waist. LIZ Is this going to work? PETER How do I know? LIZ I just adore confidence in a man. PETER Come on... They move to the edge of the ROCK and look down. CENTRAL PARK is still a couple thousand feet down. LIZ What is it you say when you jump? PETER Your prayers. They SCREAM as the building lurches again, knocking them to the ground. They start to slide across the ROCK. They reach out for each other but their hands don't quite reach. Slowly, they inch back together, but the FOUNDATION cracks between them. EXT. THE CENTER - NIGHT It spins and falls beneath us. Down, down it goes. And then it crashes into the GREAT LAWN. A huge cloud of debris shoots upward. EXT. THE SKY - NIGHT There is a beautiful FULL MOON. PETER and LIZ float down into the frame lit by its wonderful light. The AMERICAN FLAG which has turned into a huge parachute. They hold each other tight. They can hear SIRENS below. They begin to laugh with relief. Then they stop. The wind billows LIZ'S skirt and plays with PETER'S hair, and snaps in the AMERICAN FLAG. LIZ We have a lot to thank your friend Spider-Man for. PETER Somehow, I don't think we've seen the last of him. LIZ Peter...! Finders, keepers... PETER What...? What is it? Why do you look like that? LIZ I think I'm in love. PETER (even his eyes blush) You are... LIZ With your friend... PETER Spider-Man? You're in love with Spider-Man? LIZ I am... you think we'll see him again? PETER We might... you never know. He kisses her. LIZ Oh. (bittersweet) This may be the end of a beautiful friendship you know? PETER Nah. They land in the center of the park under the parachute. They stay there and kiss... completely covered by the flag. Camera pulls up to show the building floating away. THE END
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+Star Wars: Episode 1:The Phantom MenaceTITLE CARD : A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....A vast sea of stars serves as the backdrop for the main title, followed bya roll up, which crawls up into infinity.EPISODE 1 THE PHANTOM MENACETurmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes tooutlaying star systems is in dispute.Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, thegreedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet ofNaboo.While the congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain ofevents, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights,the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle theconflict.....PAN DOWN to reveal a small space cruiser heading TOWARD CAMERA at greatspeed. PAN with the cruiser as it heads towardthe beautiful green planet ofNaboo, which is surrounded by hundreds of Trade Federation battleships.INT. REPUBLIC CRUISER - COCKPITIn the cockpit of the cruise, the CAPTAIN and PILOT maneuver closer to oneof the battleships.QUI-GON : (off screen voice) Captain.The Captain turns to an unseen figure sitting behind her.CAPTAIN : Yes, sir?QUI-GON : (V.O) Tell them we wish to board at once.CAPTAIN : Yes, sir.The CAPTAIN looks to her view screen, where NUTE GUNRAY, a Neimoidian tradeviceroy, waits for a reply.CAPTAIN : (cont'd) With all due respect for the Trade Federation, theAmbassodors for the Supreme Chancellor wish to board immediately.NUTE : Yes, yes, of coarse...ahhh...as you know, our blockade is perfectlylegal, and we'd be happy to recieve the Ambassador...Happy to.The screen goes black. Out the cockpit window, the sinister battleshiplooms ever closer.EXT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - DOCKING BAY - SPACE (FX)The small space cruiser docks in the enormous main bay of the Federationbattleship.INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - DOCKING BAY - SPACEA PROTOCOL DROID, TC-14, waits at the door to the docking bay. Two WORKERDROIDS, PK-4 and EG-9 watch.PK-4 : They must be important if the Viceroy sent one of those uselessprotocol gearheads to greet them.The door opens, and the Republic cruiser can be seen in the docking bay.Two darkly robed figures are greeted by TC-14.TC-14 : I'm TC-14 at your service. This way, please.They move off down the hallway.EG-9 : A Republic cruiser! That's trouble...don't you think?PR-4 : I'm not made to think.INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - CONFERENCE ROOMA door slides open, and the two cloaked shapes are led PAST CAMERA into theformal conference room by TC-14.TC-14 : I hope you honoured sirs with the most comfortable here. My masterwill be with you shortly.The droid bows before OBI-WAN KENOBI and QUI- GON JINN. He backs out thedoor and it closes. The JEDI lower their hoods and look out a large windowat the lush green planet of Naboo. QUI-GON sixty years old, has long whitehair in a ponytail. He is tall and striking, with blue eyes. OBI-WAN istwenty five, with very short brown hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. Severalexotic, bird-like creatures SING in a cage near the door.OBI-WAN : I have a bad feeling about this.QUI-GON : I don't sense anything.OBI-WAN : It's not about the mission, Master, it'ssomethging...elsewhere...elusive.QUI-GON : Don't center on your anxiety, Obi-Wan. Keep your concentrationhere and now where it belongs.OBI-WAN : Master Yoda says I should be mindful of the future...QUI-GON : .....but not at the expense of the moment. Be mindful of theliving Force, my young Padawan.OBI-WAN : Yes, Master...how do you think the trade viceroy will deal withthe chancellor's demands?QUI-GON : These Federation types are cowards. The negotiations will beshort.INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - BRIDGENUTE GUNRAY and DAULTRAY DOFINE stand, stunned, before TC-14.NUTE : (shaken) What?!? What did you say?TC-14 : The Ambassadors are Jedi Knights, I believe.DOFINE : I knew it! They were sent to force a settlement, eh. Blind me,we're done for!INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - HALLWAYA hologram of NUTE , surrounded by BATTLE DROIDS, appears in the conferenceroom hallway.NUTE : They must be dead by now. Blast, what's left of them.The hologram fades off, as a BATTLE DROID, OWO-1, cautiously opens thedoor. A deadly green cloud billows from the room. BATTLE DROIDS cock theirweapons as a figure stumbles out of the smoke. It is TC-14 , carrying thetray of drinks.TC14 : Oh, excuse me, so sorry.The PROTOCOL DROID passes the armed camp just as two flashing laser swordsfly out of the deadly fog, cutting down several BATTLE DROIDS before theycan fire.INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - BRIDGEThe bridge is a cocophony of alarms. NUTE and RUNE watch OWO-1 on theviewscreen.OWO-1 : Not sure exactly what...OWO-1 is suddenly cut in half in mid-sentence. RUNE gives NUTE a worriedlook.NUTE : What in blazes is going on down there?RUNE : Have you ever encountered a Jedi Knight before, sir?NUTE : Well, not exactly, but I don't...(panicked) Seal off the bridge.RUNE : That won't be enough, sir.The doors to the bridge SLAM shut.NUTE : I want destroyer droids up here at once!!!RUNE : We will not survive this.INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - HALLWAY - OUTSIDE BRIDGEQUI-GON cuts several BATTLE DROIDS in half, creating a shower of sparks andmetal parts. OBI-WAN raises his hand, sending several BATTLE DROIDScrashing into the wall.QUI-GON makes his way to the bridge door and begins to cut through it.INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - BRIDGEThe CREW is very nervous as sparks start flying around the bridge door.QUI-GON and OBI-WAN are on the view screen.NUTE : Close the blast doors!!!The huge, very thick blast door slams shut, followed by a second door, thena third. There is a hissing sound as the huge doors seal shut. QUI-GON tabsthe door with his sword. The screen goes black as a red spot appears in thecenter of the blast door.RUNE : ...They're still coming through!On the door, chunks of molten metal begin to drop away.NUTE : Impossible!! This is impossible!!RUNE : Where are those destroyer droids?!INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - HALLWAY - OUTSIDE BRIDGETen ugly destroyer WHEEL DROIDS roll down the hallway at full speed. Justbefore they get to the bridge area, they stop and transform into theirbattle configuration. QUI-GON can't see them but senses their presence.QUI-GON : Destroyer droids!OBI-WAN : Offhand, I'd say this mission is past the negotiaion stage.The WHEEL DROIDS, led by P-59, rush the entry area from three hallways,blasting away with their laser guns. They stop firing and stand in asemi-circle as the smoke clears. OBI-WAN and QUI-GON are nowhere to beseen.P-59 : Switch to bio...There they are!The Jedi materialize at the far end of the hallway and dash through thedoorway that slams shut. The WHEEL DROIDS blast away at the two JEDI withtheir laser swords.OBI-WAN : They have shield generators!QUI-GON : It's a standoff! Let's go!INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - BRIDGENUTE and RUNE stand on the bridge, watching the view screen as the WHEELDROIDS' POV speeds to the doorway.RUNE : We have them on the run, sir...they're no match for destroyerdroids.TEY HOW : Sir, they've gone up the ventilation shaft.INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - MAIN BAYQUI-GON and OBI-WAN appear at a large vent in a giant hanger bay. They arecareful not to be seen. Thousands of BATTLE DROIDS are loading onto landingcraft.QUI-GON : Battle droids.OBI-WAN : It's an invisible army.QUI-GON : It's an odd play for the Trade Federation. We've got to warn theNaboo and contact Chancellor Valorum. Let's split up. Stow aboard separateships and meet down on the planet.OBI-WAN : You were right about one thing, Master. The negotiations wereshort.INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - BRIDGETEY HOW recieves a transmission.TEY HOW : Sir, a transmission from the planet.RUNE : It's Queen Amidala herself.NUTE : At last we're getting results.On the view screen, QUEEN AMIDALA appears in her throne room. Wearing herelaborate headdress and robes, she sits, surrounded by the GOVERNINGCOUNCIL and FOUR HANDMAIDENS, EIRTAE, YANE, RABE, and SACHE.NUTE : (cont'd) Again you come before me, Your highness. The Federation ispleased.AMIDALA : You will not be pleased when you hear what I have to say,Viceroy...Your trade boycott of our planet has ended.NUTE smirks at RUNE.NUTE : I was not aware of such a failure.AMIDALA : I have word that the Senate is finally voting on this blockade ofyours.NUTE : I take it you know the outcome. I wonder why they bother to vote.AMIDALA : Enough of this pretense, Viceroy! I'm aware the Chancellor'sAmbassadors are with you now, and that you have beencommanded to reach asettlement.NUTE : I know nothing about any Ambassadors...you must be mistaken.AMIDALA, surprised at his reaction, studies him carefully.AMIDALA : Beware, Viceroy....the Federation is going too far this time.NUTE : Your Highness, we would never do anything without the approval ofthe Senate. You assume too much.AMIDALA : We will see.The QUEEN fades off, and the view screen goes black.RUNE : She's right, the Senate will never....NUTE : It's too late now.RUNE : Do you think she suspects an attack?NUTE : I don't know, but we must move quickly to disrupt all communicationsdown there.INT. NABOO PALACE - THRONE ROOMThe QUEEN, EIRTAE, SACHE and her Governor, SIO BIBBLE, stand before ahologram of SENATOR PALPATINE, a thin, kindly man.PALPATINE : ...How could that be true? I have assurances from theChancellor...his Ambassaodrs did arrive. It must bethe...get...negotiate...The hologram of PALPATIONE sputters and fades away.AMIDALA : Senator Palpatine?!? (turns to Panaka) What's happening?CAPTAIN PANAKA turns to his SARGEANTCAPT. PANAKA : Check the transmission generators...BIBBLE : A malfunction?CAPT. PANAKA : It could be the Federation jamming us. Your Highness.BIBBLE : A communications disruption can only mean one thing. Invasion.AMIDALA : Don't jump to conclusions, Governor. The Federation would notdare go that far.CAPT. PANAKA : The Senate would revoke their trade franchise, and they'd befinished.AMIDALA : We must continue to rely on negotiation.BIBBLE : Negotiation? We've lost all communications!...and where atre theChancellors Ambassadors? How can we negotiate? We must prepare to defendourselves.CAPT. PANAKA : This is a dangerous situation, Your Highness. Our securityvolunteers will be no match against a battle-hardened Federation army.AMIDALA : I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war.EXT. SPACE LANDING CRAFT - TWILIGHT (FX)Six landing craft fly in formation toward the surface of the planet Naboo.EXT. NABOO SWAMP - SHALLOW LAKE - TWILIGHTThree landing craft slowly descend through the cloud cover of theperpetually gray twilight side of the planet. One by one, the Federationwarships land in the eerie swamp.OBI-WAN's head emerges from the mud of a shallow lake. For in thebackground, the activities of the invasion force can be seen in the mist.OBI-WAN takes several deep breaths, then dissapears again under the muddyswamp. Troop Transports (MTT's) emerge from the landing craft.EXT. NABOO EDGE OF SWAMP / GRASS PLAINS - TWILIGHT (FX)The droid invasion force moves out of the swamp and onto a grassy plain.OOM-9, in his tank, looks out over the vast ARMY marching across therolling hills. A small hologram of RUNE and NUTE stands on the tank.RUNE : ...and there is no trace of the Jedi. They may have gotton onto oneof your landing craft.OOM-9 : If they are down here, sir, we'll find them. We are moving out ofthe swamp and are marching on the cities. We are meeting no resistance.NUTE : Excellent.EXT. NABOO SWAMP - TWILIGHTQUI-GON runs through the strange landscape, glancing back to see themonstrous troop transports, emerging from the mist. Animals begin to runpast him in a panic.An odd, frog-like Gungan, JAR JAR INKS, squats holding a clam he hasretrieved from the murky swamp. The shell pops open. JAR JAR's greta tonguesnaps out and grabs the clam, swallowing it in one gulp.JAR JAR looks up and sees QUI-GON and the other creatures running like thewind toward him. One of the huge MTT's bears down on the JEDI like acharging locomotive. JAR JAR stands transfixed, still holding the clamshell in one hand.JAR JAR : Oh, noooooooooo!JAR JAR drops the shell and grabs onto QUI-GON as he passes. The JEDI iscaught by surprise.JAR JAR : (Cont'd) Hey, help me! Help me!!QUI-GON : Let go!The machine is about tp crush them as QUI-GON drags JAR JAR behind him.Just as the transport is about to hit them, QUI-GON drops, and JAR JAR goessplat into the mud with him. The transport races overhead.QUI-GON and JAR JAR pull themselves out of the mud. They stand watching thewar machine dissapear into the mist. JAR JAR grabs QUI-GON and hugs him.JAR JAR : Oyi, mooie-mooie! I luv yous!The frog-like creature kisses the JEDI.QUI-GON : Are you brainless? You almost got us killed!JAR JAR : I spake.QUI-GON : The ability to speak does not make you intelligent. Now get outtahere!QUI-GON starts to move off, and JAR JAR follows.JAR JAR : No...no! Mesa stay...Mesa yous humble servaunt.QUI-GON : That wont be necessary.JAR JAR : Oh boot tis! Tis demunded byda guds. Tis a live debett, tis. Mesaculled Jaja Binkss.In the distance, two STAPS burst out of the mist at high speed, chasingOBI-WAN.QUI-GON : I have no time for this now...JAR JAR : Say what?The two STAPS barrell down on OBI-WAN.JAR JAR : (cont'd) Oh, nooooo! Weesa ganna....QUI-GON throws JAR JAR into the mud.QUI-GON : Stay down!His head pops up.JAR JAR : ...dieeee!The two troops fire laser bolts at OBI-WAN. QUI-GON deflects the boltsback, and the STAPS blow up. One-two. OBI-WAN is exhausted and tries tocatch his breath.OBI-WAN : Sorry, Master, the water fried my weapon.OBI-WAN pulls out his burnt laser sword handle. QUI-GON inspects it, as JARJAR pulls himself out of the mud.QUI-GON : You forgot to turn your power off again, didn't you?OBI-WAN nods sheeplishly.QUI-GON : (cont'd) It won't take long to recharge, but this is a lesson Ihope you've learned, my young Padawan.OBI-WAN : Yes, Master.JAR JAR : Yousa sav-ed my again, hey?OBI-WAN : What's this?QUI-GON : A local. Let's go, before more of those droids show up.JAR JAR : Mure? Mure did you spake??!?OBI-WAN and QUI-GON start to run. JAR JAR tries to keep up.JAR JAR : (cont'd) Ex-squeeze me, but da moto grande safe place would beOtoh Gunga. Tis where I grew up...Tis safe city.They all stop.QUI-GON : A city! (JAR JAR nods his head) Can you take us there?JAR JAR : Ahhh, will...on second taut...no, not willy.QUI-GON : No??!JAR JAR : Iss embarrissing, boot... My afrai my've bean banished. Myforgoten der Bosses would do terrible tings to my. Terrible tings if mygoen back dare.A PULSATING SOUND is heard in the distance.QUI-GON : You hear that?JAR JAR shakes his head yes.QUI-GON : (cont'd) That's the sound of a thousand terrible things headingthis way...OBI-WAN : When they find us, they will crush us, grind us into littlepieces, then blast us into oblivion!JAR JAR : Oh! Yousa point is well seen. Dis way! Hurry!JAR JAR turns and runs into the swamp.EXT. NABOO SWAMP LAKE - TWILIGHTQUI-GON, OBI-WAN and JAR JAR run into a murky lake and stop as JAR JARtries to catch his breath. The TRANSPORTS ARE HEARD in the distance.QUI-GON : Much farther?JAR JAR : Wesa goen underwater, okeyday?QUI-GON and OBI-WAN pull out small capsule from their utility belts thatturn into breathing masks.JAR JAR : (cont'd) My warning yous. Gungans no liken outlaunders. Don'texpict a wern welcome.OBI-WAN : Don't worry, this has not been our day for warm welcomes.JAR JAR jumps, does a double somersault with a twist, and dives into thewater.Breath masks on, QUI-GON and OBI-WAN wade in after him.EXT. NABOO LAKE - UNDERWATERQUI-GON and OBI-WAN swim behind JAR JAR, who is very much at home in thewater. Down they swim into murky depths. In the distance the glow of OtohGunga, an underwater city made up of large bubbles, becomes more distinct.They approach the strange, art nouveau habitat. JAR JAR swims magicallythrough one of the bubble membranes, which seals behind him. OBI-WAN andQUI-GON follow.INT. OTOH GUNGA - CITY SQUAREGUNGANS in the square scatter when they see the strange JEDI. Four GUARDSarmed with long electro-poles ride two-legged KAADUS into the square. TheGUARDS, led by CAPTAIN TARPALS, point their lethal poles at the drippingtrio.JAR JAR : Heyo-dalee, Cap'n Tarpals, Mesa back!CAPT. TARPALS : Noah gain, Jar Jar. Yousa goen tada Bosses. Yousa in bigdudu this time.CAPT. TARPALS gives JAR JAR a slight zap with his power pole. JAR JAR jumpsand moves off, followed by the two JEDI.JAR JAR : How wude.INT. OTOH GUNGA - HIGH TOWER BOARD ROOMThe Bosses' Board Room has bubble walls, with small lighted fish swimmingaround outside like moving stars. A long circular judge's bench filled withGUNGAN OFFICIALS dominates the room. OBI-WAN and QUI-GON stand facing BOSSNASS, who sits on a bench higher than the others.BOSS NASS : Yousa cannot bees hair. Dis army of mackineeks up dare tis newweesong!QUI-GON : That droid army is about to attack the Naboo. We must warn them.BOSS NASS : Wesa no like da Naboo! Un dey no like uss-ens. Da Naboo tinkday so smarty den us-ens. Day tink day brains so big.OBI-WAN : After those droids take control of the surface, they will comehere and take control of you.BOSS NASS : No, mesa no tink so. Mesa scant talkie witda Naboo, and nonutten talkie it outlaunders. Dos mackineeks no comen here! Dey not know ofuss-en.OBI-WAN : You and the Naboo form a symbiont circle. What happens to noe ofyou will affect the other. You must understand this.BOSS NASS : Wesa wish no nutten in yousa tings, outlaunder, and wesa nocare-n about da Naboo.QUI-GON : (waves his hand) Then speed us on our way.BOSS NASS : Wesa gonna speed yousaway.QUI-GON : We need a transport.BOSS NASS : Wesa give yousa una bongo. Da speedest way tooda Naboo tis goenthrough da core. Now go.QUI-GON : Thank you for your help. We go in peace.QUI-GON and OBI-WAN turn to leave.OBI-WAN : Master, whats a bongo?QUI-GON : A transport, I hope.The JEDI notice JAR JAR in chains to one side, waiting to hear his verdict.QUI-GON stops. JAR JAR gives him a forlorn look.JAR JAR : Daza setten yous up. Goen through da planet core is bad bombin!!QUI-GON : Thank you, my friend.JAR JAR : Ahhh...any hep hair would be hot.JAR JAR's soulful look is counterpointed by a sheepish grin.OBI-WAN : We are short of time, Master.QUI-GON : We'll need a navigator to get us through the planet's core. ThisGungan my be of help.QUI-GON walks bact to BOSS NASS.QUI-GON : (cont'd) What is to become of Jar Jar Binks here?BOSS NASS : Binkss brokeen the nocombackie law. Hisen to be pune-ished.QUI-GON : He has been a great help to us. I hope the punishment will not betoo severe.BOSS NASS : Pounded unto death.JAR JAR : (grimacing) Oooooh...Ouch!OBI-WAN looks concerned. QUI-GON is thinking.QUI-GON : We need a navigator to get us through the planet's core. I havesaved Jar Jar Binks' life. He owes me what you call a "life.debt."BOSS NASS : Binks. Yousa havena liveplay with thisen hisen?JAR JAR nods and joins the JEDI. QUI-GON waves his hand.QUI-GON : Your gods demand that his life belongs to me now.BOSS NASS : Hisen live tis yos, outlauder. Begone wit him.JAR JAR : Count mesa outta dis! Better dead here, den deader in dacore...Yee guds, whata mesa sayin?!EXT. NABOO CITY - UNDERWATER - SUB (FX)A strange little submarine propels itself away from the Otoh Gunga, leavingthe glow of the settlement in the distance.INT. SUB COCKPIT - UNDERWATEROBI-WAN in the co-pilots seat, JAR JAR guides the craft.JAR JAR : Dis is nusen.OBI-WAN : Master, why do you keep dragging these pathetic life forms alongwith us?...Here, take over.JAR JAR : Hey, ho? Where wesa goen??QUI-GON : You're the navigator.JAR JAR : Yo dreamen mesa hopen...,br QUI-GON : Just relax, the Force willguide us...JAR JAR : Ooooh, maxibig..."da Force"...Wellen, dat smells stinkowiff.JAR JAR veers the craft to the left and turns the lights on. The coralvistas are grand, fantastic, and wonderous.OBI-WAN : Why were you banished, Jar Jar?JAR JAR : Tis a long tale, buta small part wawdabemesa...ooooh...aaaa.....clumsy.OBI-WAN : They banished you because you're clumsy?As the little sub glides into the planet core, a large dark shape begins tofollow.JAR JAR : Mesa cause-ed mabee one or duey lettal bitty axadentes...yud-sayboom da gasser, un crash Der Bosses heyblibber...den banished.Suddenly there is a loud CRASH, and the little craft lurches to one side.QUI-GON looks around and sees a huge, lumimnous OPEE SEA KILLER has hookedthem with its long gooey tongue.QUI-GON : Full speed ahead.Instead of full ahead, JAR JAR jams the controls into reverse. The subflies into the mouth of the creature.JAR JAR : Oooops.OBI-WAN : Give me the controls.OBI-WAN takes over the controls and the OPEE SEA KILLER instantly releasesthe sub from its mouth.JAR JAR : Wesa free!As the sub zooms away they see a larger set of jaws, munching on thehapless KILLER. The jaws belong to the incredible SANDO AQUA MONSTER. Thelights on the tiny sub begin to flicker as they cruise deeper into thegloom.QUI-GON : There's always a bigger fish.INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - BRIDGENUTE and RUNE stand before a hologram of DARTH SIDIOUS.NUTE : The invasion is on schedule, My Lord.DARTH SIDIOUS : Good. I have the Senate bogged down in procedures. By thetime this incident comes up for a vote, they will have no choice but toaccept your control of the system.NUTE : The Queen has great faith the Senate will side with her.DARTH SIDIOUS : Queen Amidala is yound and naive. You will find controllingher will not be difficult. You have done well, Viceroy.NUTE : Thank you, My Lord.DARTH SIDIOUS fades away.RUNE : You didn't tell him about the missing Jedi?NUTE : No need to report that to him, until we have something to report.INT. SUB COCKPIT - UNDERWATERSparks are flying, and water is leaking into the cabin. The sound of thepower drive drops.OBI-WAN : .....we're losing power.OBI-WAN is working with the sparking wires. JAR JAR panics.QUI-GON : Stay calm. We're not in trouble yet.JAR JAR : What yet? Monstairs out dare! Leak'n in here, all'n sink'n, andnooooo power! You nutsen! WHEN YOUSA TINK WESA IN TROUBLE?!!!?OBI-WAN : Power's back.The lights flicker on, revealing an ugly COLO CLAW FISH right in front ofthem.JAR JAR : Monstairs back!The large COLO CLAW FISH is surprised and rears back. The sub turns aroundand speeds away.JAR JAR : (cont'd) Wesa in trouble now??QUI-GON : Relax.QUI-GON puts his hand on JAR JAR's shoulder. JAR JAR relaxes into a coma.OBI-WAN : You overdid it.The COLO CLAW FISH leaps after the fleeing sub as it shoots out of thetunnel and into the waiting jaws of the SANDO AQUA MONSTER.OBI-WAN (cont'd) This is not good!JAR JAR regains consciousness.JAR JAR : Wesa dead yet?? Oie Boie!JAR JAR's eyes bulge, and he faints again. The sub narrowly avoids thedeadly teeth of the AQUA MONSTER. The COLO CLAW FISH chasing them isn't solucky. It is munched in half by the larger predator. The little sub slipsaway.QUI-GON : Head for that outcropping.EXT. THEED - MAIN ROAD INTO THEED - DAY (FX)The long columns of the DROID ARMY move down the main road leading toTheed, the Naboo capital.EXT. THEED PLAZA - DAY (FX)As the QUEEN watches helplessly from a window in the palace, a transportcarrying NUTE and RUNE lands in Theed Plaza. They exit the transport.NUTE : Ah, victory!INT. NABOO LAKE - UNDERWATER - SUB (FX)The little sub continue to propel itself toward the surface, which isbrightly lit.JAR JAR : Wesa dude it!EXT. THEED - ESTUARY - DAYParadise. Billowing clouds frame a romantic body of water. There is a LOUDRUSH OF BUBBLES, and a small sub bobs to the surface.The current in the estuary begins to pull the sub backward into a fastmoving river. OBI-WAN switches off the two remaining bubble canopies.QUI-GON stands up to look around. JAR JAR lets out a sigh of relief.JAR JAR : Wesa safe now.QUI-GON : Get this thing started.JAR JAR : Dissen berry good. Hey?OBI-WAN : What is it?JAR JAR looks back to where they're drifting. He sees they are headed for ahuge waterfall.JAR JAR : What!!?? Oie boie!OBI-WAN tries to start the engine. The long props behind the sub slowlybegin to rotate. OBI-WAN struggles until finally, a few feet short of thewaterfall, the sub starts and is able to generate enough power to stopdrifting backward in the powerful current. The sub slowly moves forward. Inthe background, QUI-GON takes a cable out of his belt. The engine coughsand dies. They start drifting backward again. JAR JAR panics.JAR JAR : (cont'd) Iyiiyi, wesa die'n here, hey!QUI-GON shoots the thin cable, and it wraps itself around a railing on theshore. The sub pulls the cable taut, and the little craft hangsprecariously over the edge of the waterfall.QUI-GON : Come on...OBI-WAN climbs out of the sub and pulls himself along the cable. QUI-GONstarts in after him.QUI-GON : (cont'd) Come on, Jar Jar.JAR JAR : No! Too scary!OBI-WAN : Get up here!JAR JAR : No a mighty no!JAR JAR looks back and sees he is hanging over the waterfall.JAR JAR : (cont'd) Oie boie...mesa comen. Mesa comen!JAR JAR starts to climb out of the sub. OBI-WAN is on shore and helps topull QUI-GON out of the water.OBI-WAN : That was close.BATTLE DROID 3B3 : (O.S) Drop your weapons!The TWO JEDI turn around to see a BATTLE DROID standing in front of them.JAR JAR climbs up on shore between the JEDI.BATTLE DROID 3B3 : I said drop your weaponsQUI-GON ignites his laser sword, and in a brief flash, the DROID is cutdown by the JEDI. A stray laser bolt hits the cable and the sub breakslose, crashing down the waterfall.The JEDI move on. JAR JAR reluctantly follows and looks back at the mess.JAR JAR : Whoa!!!EXT. THEED - PALACE - DAYThe waterfalls of Theed sparkle in the noonday sun.INT. THEED - PALACE THRONE ROOM - DAYQUEEN AMIDALA, SIO BIBBLE, and FIVE OF HER HANDMAIDENS (EIRTAE, YANE,PADME, RABE, SACHE) are surrounded by TWENTY DROIDS. CAPTAIN PANAKA andFOUR NABOO GUARDS are also held at gunpoint. NUTE and RUNE stand in themiddle of the room.BIBBLE : ...how will you explain this invasion to the Senate?NUTE : The Naboo and the Federation will forge a treaty that willlegitimize our occupation here. I've been assured it will be ratified bythe Senate.AMIDALA : I will not co-operate.NUTE : Now, now, your Highness. You are not going to like what we have instore for your people. In time, their suffering will persuade you to seeour point of view. Commander. (OOM-9 steps forward) Process them.OOM-9 : Yes, sir! (turns to his sergeant) Take them to Camp Four.The SERGEANT marches the GROUP out of the throne room.EXT. PALACE - PLAZA - DAYQUEEN AMIDALA, PADME, EIRTA, YANE, RABE, SACHE, CAPTAIN PANAKA, SIOBIBBLE,and FOUR GUARDS are led out of the palace by ten BATTLE DROIDS. The plazais filled with tanks and BATTLE DROIDS, which they pass on their way to thedetention camp. Unbeknownst to them, QUI-GON, OBI-WAN, and JAR JAR sneakacross on a walkway above the plaza and jump from a balcony to begin anattack to rescue the QUEEN.FOUR BATTLE DROIDS are instantly cut down. MORE DROIDS move forward and arealso cut down by the JEDIS' flashing lightsabres until there is only theDROID SERGEANT left. The SERGEANT starts to run but is pulled back toQUI-GON by the Force, until finally he is dispatched by the JEDI.JAR JAR : Yousa guys bombad!QUEEN AMIDALA and the OTHERS are amazed. JAR JAR is getting used to this.They move between two buildings.QUI-GON : Your Highness, we are the Ambassadors, for the SupremeChancellor.BIBBLE : Your negotiations seem to have failed, Ambassador.QUI-GON : The negotiations never took place. Your Highness, we must makecontact with the republic.CAPTAIN PANAKA steps forward.CAPT. PANAKA : They've knocked out all our communications.QUI-GON : Do you have transports?CAPT. PANAKA : In the main hanger. This way.THEY disappear down an alleyway as the ALARMS are soundedINT. CENTRAL HANGER - HALLWAY - DAYCAPTAIN PANAKA cracks open a side door to the central hanger. QUI-GON looksin over his shoulder. OBI-WAN, JAR JAR, and the rest of the group arebehind him. They see several Naboo spacecraft guarded by about FIFTY BATTLEDROIDS. ALARMS can be heard in the distance.CAPT. PANAKA : There are too many of them.QUI-GON : That won't be a problem. (to Amidala) Your Highness, under thecircumstances, Isuggest you come to Coruscant with us.AMIDALA : Thank you, Ambassador, but my place is here with my people.QUI-GON : They will kill you if you stay.BIBBLE : They wouldn't dare.CAPT. PANAKA : They need her to sign a treaty to make this invasion oftheirs legal. They can't afford to kill her.QUI-GON : The situation here is not what it seems. There is something elsebehind all this, Your Highness. There is no logic in the Federation's movehere. My feelings tell me they will destroy you.BIBBLE : Please, Your Highness, reconsider. Our only hope is for the Senateto side with us... Senator Palpatine will need your help.CAPT. PANAKA : Getting past their blockade is impossible, Your Highness.Any attempt to escape will be dangerous.BIBBLE : Your Highness, I will stay here and do what I can...They will haveto retain the Council of Governors in order to maintain control. But youmust leave...The QUEEN turns to PADME and EIRTAE.AMIDALA : Either choice presents a great risk...to all of us...PADME : We are brave, Your Highness.QUI-GON : If you are to leave, Your Highness, it must be now.AMIDALA : Then, I will plead our case before the Senate. (to Bibble) Becareful, Governor.INT. CENTRAL HANGER - DAYThe door opens to the main hanger. QUI-GON, OBI-WAN, JAR JAR, CAPTAINPANAKA, TWO GUARDS, and THREE HANDMAIDENS (PADME, EIRTAE, RABE),followedby QUEEN AMIDALA, head for a sleek chrome spacecraft. SIO BIBBLE, YANE andSACHE stay behind. The HANDMAIDENS begin to cry.CAPT. PANAKA : We need to free those pilots.CAPTAIN PANAKA points to TWENTY GUARDS, GROUND CREW, and PILOTS held in acorner by SIX BATTLE DROIDS.OBI-WAN : I'll take care of that. OBI-WAN heads toward the group ofcaptured pilots.QUI-GON and the QUEEN, CAPTAIN PANAKA, JAR JAR, and the rest Of the GROUPapproach the GUARDS at the ramp of the Naboo craft.GUARD DROID : Where are you going?QUI-GON : I'm Ambassador for the Supreme Chancellor, and I'm taking thosepeople to Coruscant.DROID GUARD : You're under arrest!The DROID GUARD draws his weapon, but before any of the DROIDS can fire,they are cut down. OTHER GUARDS run to their aid. OBI-WAN attacks theGUARDS around the PILOTS. QUI-GON stands, fighting off DROIDS as the OTHERSrush on board the spacecraft. OBI-WAN, the FREED PILOTS (including RICOLIE), GUARDS and GROUND CREW MEMBERS rush on board the ship. The OTHERPILOTS and GUARDS race to SIO BIBBLR. After everyone has made it onto theship, QUI-GONjumps on board. ALARMS sound. MORE DROIDS rush into the hangerand fire as the ship takes off.EXT. THEED - HANGER ENTRY - DAY (FX)The ship exits the hanger. BATTLE DROIDS standing in the hanger shoot atthem.EXT. SPACE (FX)The sleek spacecraft speeds away from the planet of Naboo and heads for thedeadly Federation blockade.INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - COCKPITThe PILOT, RIC OLIE, navigates toward the massive battleship, QUI-GON andCAPTAIN PANAKA watch.RIC OLIE : ....our communications are still jammed.INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - DROID HOLDJAR JAR is led into a low, cramped doorway by OBI-WAN.OBI-WAN : Now stay here, and keep out of trouble.OBI-WAN closes the door. JAR JAR looks around and sees a long row of fiveshort, dome-topped ASTRO DROIDS (R-2 units). The all look alike, except forthier paint color, and they all seem to be shut down.JAR JAR : Ello, boyos. (no response) Disa wanna longo trip...hey?JAR JAR taps a bright red R-2 UNIT on the head, and its head pops up a bit.He lets out a gasp as he lifts the head.JAR JAR : (Cont'd) Tis opens?...Oooops! Many springs and things come flyingout.JAR JAR quickly closes it again, very embarrassed.JAR JAR : (Cont'd) Yoi! Just yoken!RIC OLIE : Powers back! That little droid did it. He bypassed the mainpower drive. Deflector shield up, at maximum.The lone BLUE DROID finishes his repairs and goes back into the ship. TheNaboo spacecraft races away from the Federation battleship.RIC OLIE : There's not enough power to get us to Coruscant...the hyperdriveis leaking.QUI-GON : We'll have to land somewhere to refuel and repair the ship.QUI-GON studies a star chart on a monitor.OBI-WAN : Here, Master. Tatooine... It's small, out of the way, poor... TheTrade Federation has no presence there.CAPT. PANAKA : How can you be sure?QUI-GON : It's controlled by the Hutts...CAPT. PANAKA : The Hutts??OBI-WAN : It's risky...but there's no alternative.CAPT. PANAKA : You can't take Her Royal Highness there! The Hutts aregangsters... If they discovered her...QUI-GON : ...It would be no different than if we landed on a systemcontrolled by the Federation...except the Hutts aren't looking for her,which gives us an advantage.CPATAIN PANAKA takes a deep breath in frustration.EXT. SPACE - NABOO SPACECRAFT (FX)The Naboo spacecraft races away.INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - CONFERENCE ROOMNUTE and RUNE sit around a conference table with a hologram of DARTHSIDIOUS.NUTE : We control all the cities in the North and are searching for anyother settlements...DARTH SIDIOUS : Destroy all high-ranking officials,Viceroy...slowly...quietly. And Queen Amidala, has she signed the treaty?NUTE : She has disappeared, My Lord. One Naboo cruiser got pat theblockade.DARTH SIDIOUS : Viceroy, find her! I want that treaty signed.NUTE : My Lord, it's impossible to locate the ship. It's out of our range.DARTH SIDIOUS : ...not for a Sith...A second SITH LORD appears behind DARTH SIDIOUS.DARTH SIDIOUS : (Cont'd) ...Viceroy, this is my apprentice. Lord Maul. Hewill find your lost ship.NUTE : Yes, My Lord. The hologram fades off.NUTE : (Cont'd) This is getting out of hand...now there are two of them.RUNE : We should not have made this bargain. What will happen when the Jedibecome aware of these Sith Lords?INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - QUEENS CHAMBERSQUI-GON, OBI-WAN, CAPTAIN PANAKA, and the LITTLE BLUE DROID stand beforeQUEEN AMIDALA and her THREE HANDMAIDENS, PADME, EIRTAE and RABE.CAPT. PANAKA : ...An extremely well put together little droid. Without adoubt, it saved the ship, as well as our lives.AMIDALA : It is to be commended...what is its number?The LITTLE BLUE DROID lets out a series of bleeps.CAPTAIN PANAKA leans overand scrapes some dirt off of the side of the DROID and read the number:CAPT. PANAKA : R2-D2, Your Highness.AMIDALA : Thank you, Artoo Detoo. You have proven to be very loyal...Padme!PADME bows before the QUEEN.AMIDALA : (Cont'd) Clean this droid up the best you can. It deserves ourgratitude...(to Panaka) Continue, Captain.CAPTAIN PANAKA looks nervously to OBI-WAN and QUI-GON.QUI-GON : Yor Highness, we are heading for a remote planet called Tatooine.It is a system far beyond the reach of the Trade Federation. There we willbe able to make needed repairs, then travel on to Coruscant.CAPTAIN PANAKA : Your Highness, Tatooine is very dangerous. It's controlledby an alliance of gangs called the Hutts. I do not agree with the Jedi onthis.QUI-GON : You must trust my judgement, Your Highness.AMIDALA and PADME exchange looks. PADME moves next to the DROID.INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - MAIN AREAPADME sits in the Main Area, cleaning R2-D2, the brave little Astra Droid.JAR JAR pops out of an open door.JAR JAR : Hidoe!Both PADME and ARTOO jump and let out a little SCREAM. The Gungan isembarrassed that he frightened them.JAR JAR : (Cont'd) Sorry, nomeanen to scare yousa.PADME : That's all right.JAR JAR : I scovered oily back dare. Needen it?PADME : Thank you. This little guy is quite a mess.JAR JAR hands PADME the oil can.JAR JAR : Mesa Ja Ja Binksss... PADME : I'm Padme, I attend Her Highness,You're a Gungan, aren't you? (Jar Jar nods) How did you end up here withus?JAR JAR : Me no know...mesa day starten pitty okeyday witda brisky morningmunchen. Den boom....getten berry skeered, un grabbed dat Jedi, and beforemesa knowen it...pow! Mesa here. (he shrugs)...getten berry berry skeered.ARTOO BEEPS a sympathetic beep.INT. ANBOO SPACECRAFT - COCKPITOBI-WAN, QUI-GON, and CAPTAIN PANAKA watch over RIC OLIE'S shoulder. Alarge yellow planet appears directly ahead. RIC OLIE searches his scopes.OBI-WAN : Tahyt's it. Tatooine.RIC OLIE : There's a settlement...a spaceport, looks like.QUI-GON : Land near the outskirts. We don't want to attract any attention.EXT. TATOOINE - SPACE (FX)The ship heads toward the planet of Tatooine.EXT. TATOOINE - DESERT - NABOO SPACECRAFT - DAY (FX)The Naboo spacecraft lands in the desert in a swirl of dust. The spaceportof Mos Espa is seen in the distance.EXT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - MAIN AREAOBI-WAN is hoisting the hyperdrive out of a floor panel. JAR JAR rushes upto him and falls to his knees.JAR JAR : Obi-Wan, sire, pleeese, no mesa go!OBI-WAN : Sorry, Qui-Gon's right. You'll make things less obvious.JAR JAR walks back to ARTOO in the hallway as QUI-GON (dressed as a farmer)enters the main area.OBI-WAN : (Cant'd) The Hyperdrive generator is gone. We will need a newone.QUI-GON moves closer to OBI-WAN and speaks quietly to him.QUI-GON : Don't let them send ant transmissions. Be wary...I sense adisturbance in the Force.OBI-WAN : I fell it also, Master.QUI-GON goes into the hallway to meet up with ARTOO and JAR JAR. They headto the exit ramp.EXT. TATOOINE - DESERT - SPACESHIP - DAYThey start their trek across the desert toward the city of Mos Espa. In thedistance, a strange looking caravan makes its way toward the spaceport.JAR JAR : Dis sun doen murder tada skin.From the spaceship, CAPTAIN PANAKA and PADME run toward them.CAPT. PANAKA : Wait!QUI-GON stops as they catch up. PADME is dresses in rough peasant's garb.CAPT. PANAKA : (Cont'd) Her Highness commands you to take her handmaidenwith you. She wishes for her to observe the local...QUI-GON : No more commands from Her Highness today, Captain. This spaceportis not going to be pleasant...CAPT. PANAKA : The Queen wishes it. She is curious about this planet.PADME : I've been trained in defense... I can take care of myself.CAPT. PANAKA : Don't make me go back and tell her you refuse.QUI-GON : I don't have time to argue. But this is not a good idea. Stayclose to me.He gives PADME a stern look.EXT. MOS ESPA - STREET - DAYThe little GROUP walks down the main street of Mos Espa. They passdangerous looking citizens of all types. PADME looks around in awe at thisexotic enviroment.QUI-GON : ...moisture farms for the most part, but also a few indigenoustribes and scavengers. The few spaceports like this one are havens forthose who do not wish to be found...PADME : ....like us. JAR JAR is in a constant state of panic.ARTOO whistles along, with perfect confidence.JAR JAR : Dissen berry berry bad. (steps in ooze)Ooooh...icky...icky...goo.EXT. MOS ESPA - JUNK DEALER PLAZA - DAYThe GROUP comes to a little plaza surrounded by several junk spaceshipdealers.QUI-GON : We'll try one of the smaller dealers.They head for a little junk shop that has a huge pile of broken spaceshipsstacked up behind it.INT. WATTO'S JUNK SHOP - DAYQUI-GON, JAR JAR, PADME, and ARTOO enter the dingy junk shop and aregreeted by WATTO, a pudgy blue alien who flies on short little wings like ahummingbird.WATTO : (subtitled) Hi chuba da naga? (What do you want?)QUI-GON : I need parts for a J-type 327 Nubian.WATTO : Ah yes, ah yes. Nubian. We have lots of that. What kinda junk?(subtitled) Peedenkel! Naba dee unko (Boy, get in here! Now!)QUI-GON : My droid here has a readout of what I need.A disheveled boy, ANAKIN SKYWALKER, runs in from the junk yard. He is aboutnine years old, very dirty, and dressed in rags. WATTO raises a hand, andANAKIN flinches.WATTO : (subtitled) Coona tee-tocky malia? (What took you so long?)ANAKIN : (subtitled) Mel tassa cho-passa... (I was cleaning the bin likeyou...)WATTO : (subtitled) Chut-Chut! Ganda doe wallya. (Never mind! Watch thestore) Me dwana no bata. (I've got some selling to do here.) (to Gui-Gon)Soooo, let me take- a thee out back. Ni you'll find what you need.ARTOO and QUI-GON follow WATTO toward the junk yard, leaving JAR JAR withPADME and the young boy ANAKIN. JAR JAR picks up a gizmo, trying to figureout its purpose. QUI-GON takes the part out of his hand and puts it back.QUI-GON : Don't touch anything.JAR JAR makes a rude face to QUI-GON's back and sticks out his long tongue.ANAKIN sits on the counter, pretending to clean a part, staring at PADME.She is the most beautiful creaure he has ever seen in his life. PADME is alittle embarrassed by his stare, but she musters up an amused smile.Finally, he gets the courage to speak.ANAKIN : Are you an angel?PADME : What?ANAKIN : An angel. I've heard the deep space pilots talk about them. Theylive on the Moons of Iego I thimk. They are the most beautiful creatures inthe universe. They are good and kind, and so pretty they make even the mosthardened spice pirate cry.PADME looks at him, not knowing what to say. PADME : I've never heard ofangels.ANAKIN : You must be one...maybe you just don't know it.PADME : You're a funny little boy. How do you know so much?ANAKIN : Since I was very little, three, I think. My Mom and I were sold toGardulla the Hutt, but she lost us, betting on the Podraces, to Watto,who's a lot better master than Gardulla, I think.PADME : You're...a slave?ANAKIN looks at PADME defiantly.ANAKIN : I am a person! My name is Anakin.PADME : I'm sorry. I don't fully understand. (looking around)This is astrange world to me.ANAKIN studies her intently.ANAKIN : You are a strange girl to me.JAR JAR pushes the nose on what appears to be a LITTLE DROID, and itinstantly comes to life, grows legs and arms, and starts marching around,knocking over everything. JAR JAR hold on but can't stop it.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Hit the nose!JAR JAR hits the nose, and the DROID collapses back into its originalstate. ANAKIN and PADME laugh. ANAKIN watches PADME straighten her hair.EXT. WATTO'S JUNK YARD - BEHIND SHOP - DAYWATTO reads a small portable monitor he is holding. He stands before ahyperdrive.WATTO : ...Here it is...a T-14 hyperdrive generator!! Thee in luck, I'm theonly one hereabouts who has one...but thee might as well buy a new ship. Itwould be cheaper, I think...Sying of which, how's thee going to pay for allthis?QUI-GON : I have 20,000 Republic dataries.WATTO : Republic credits?!? Republic credits are no good out here. I needsomething more real...QUI-GON : I don't have anything else. (raising his hand) But credits willdo fine.WATTO : No they won'ta. QUI-GON, using his mind power, waves his handagain.QUI-GON : Credits will do fine.WATTO : No, they won'ta. What you think you're some kinda Jedi, waving yourhand around like that? I'm a Toydarian. Mind tricks don'ta work on me-onlymoney. No money, no parts! No deal! And no one else has a T-14 hyperdrive,I promise you that.INT. WATTO'S JUNK SHOP - DAYJAR JAR pulls a part out of a stack of parts to inspect it, and they allcome tumblimg down. He struggles to catch them, only to knock more down.ANAKIN and PADME are oblivious.ANAKIN : ...wouldn't have lasted long if I weren't so good at fixingthings. I'm making my own droid...QUI-GON hurries into the shop, followed by ARTOO. QUI-GON : We're leaving.JAR JAR follows QUI-GON. PADME gives ANAKIN a loving look.PADME : I'm glad I met you,....ah...ANAKIN : ...Anakin.PADME : Anakin.ANAKIN : Anakin Skywalker.PADME : Padme Naberrie.PADME turns, and ANAKIN looks sad as he watches her leave.ANAKIN : I'm glad I met you too.WATTO enters the junk yard, shaking his head.WATTO : (subtitled) Ootmians! Tinka me chasa hopoe ma booty na nolia.(Outlanders! They think because we live so far from the center, we don'tknow nothing.)ANAKIN : (subtitled) La lova num botaffa. (They seemed nice to me.) WATTO :(subtitled) Fweepa niaga. Tolpa da bunky dunko. (Clean the racks, then youcan go home.)ANAKIN lets out a "yipee" and runs out the back.EXT. MOS ESPA - STREET - ALCOVE - DAYQUI-GON, ARTOO, JAR JAR, and PADME have found a quiet spot between twobuildings. The busy street beyond is filled with dangerous lookingcreatures. QUI-GON is talking on his com-link, while JAR JAR nervouslywatches the street. OBI-WAN is in the main hold of the Naboo craft.QUI-GON : ...Obi-Wan, you're sure there isn't anything of value left onboard?OBI-WAN : (V.O) A few containers of supplies, the Queen's wardrobe, maybe.Not enough for you to barter with. Not in the ammounts you're talkingabout.QUI-GON : All right. Another solution will present itself. I'll check back.QUI-GON puts his comlink away and starts out into the main street. JAR JARgrabs his arm.JAR JAR : Noah gain...da beings hereabouts cawazy. Wesa be robbed uncrunched.QUI-GON : Not likely. We have nothing of value, that's our problem.EXT. MOS ESPA - STREET - MARKET - DAYQUI-GON, PADME, JAR JAR, and ARTOO move out into the street. JAR JAR iswalking behind the others. They walk by an outdoor cafe filled with a roughgang of aliens, one of which is especially ugly, SEBULBA, a spider-likecreature. JAR JAR stops for a moment in front of a stall selling dead frogshanging on a wire. He looks around to see if anyone is looknig, then sticksout his tongue, and gets hold of one, pulling it into his mouth.Unfortunately, the frog is tied tightly to the wire. The vendor suddenlyappears.VENDOR : Hey, that will be seven truguts!!JAR JAR opens his mouth in surprise, and the frog snaps away, ricochetsaround the market, and lands in Sebulba's soup, splashing him. As JAR JARmoves away from the VENDOR, SEBULBA jumps up on the table and grabs thehapless Gungan.SEBULBA : (subtitled) Chuba!! (You!!) JAR JAR : Who, mesa?? SEBULBA :(subtitled) Ni chuba na?? (Is this yours??)SEBULBA holds the frog up to the Gungan threateningly. SEVERAL OTHERCREATURES start to gather. SEBULBA shoves JAR JAR to the ground. The Gungandesperately tries to scramble to safety.JAR JAR : (to himself) Why mesa always da one??ANAKIN : (V.O) Because you're afraid.JAR JAR turns to see ANAKNI pushing his way next to him. The boy stands upto SEBULBA in a very self-assured way.ANAKIN : (subtitled) Chess ko, Sebulba...Coo wolpa tooney rana. (Careful,Sebulba...This one's very connected.)SEBULBA stops his assault on JAR JAR and turns to ANAKIN.SEBULBA : (subtitled) Tooney rana nu pratta dunko, shag. (Connected?? Whadayou mean, slave?)ANAKIN : (subtitled) Oh da Hutt...cha porko ootman geesa...me teesa roddaco pana pee choppa chawa. (As in Hutt...big time outlander, this one... I'dhate to see you diced before we race again.)SEBULBA : (subtitled) Neek me chowa, wermo, mo killee ma klounkee(Next timewe race, wermo, it will be the end of you!) Una noto wo shag, me wompity dupom pom. (If you weren't a slave, I'd squash you right now.)SEBULBA turns away.ANAKIN : (subtitled) Eh, chee bana do mullee ra. (Yeah, it'd be a pity ifyou had to pay for me.)QUI-GON, PADME and ARTOO arrive.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Hi! Your buddy here was about to be turned into orangegoo. He picked a fight with a Dug. An especially dangerous Dug calledSebulba.JAR JAR : Nosir, nosir. Mesa hate crunchen. Dat's da last ting mesa wanten.QUI-GON : Nevertheless, the boy is right...you were heading for trouble.Thank you, my young friend.PADME looks at ANAKINB and smiles; he smiles back. They start walking downthe crowded street.JAR JAR : Mesa doen nutten!ANAKIN : Fear attracts the fearful. He was trying to overcome his fear bysquashing you...be less afraid.PADME : And that works for you.ANAKIN : To a point. (he smiles)EXT. TATOOINE - DESERT - SPACESHIP - DAYOBI-WAN stands in front of the Naboo spacecraft as the wind picks up andbegins to whip at his robe. CAPTAIN PANAKA exits the ship and joins him.OBI-WAN : This storm's going to slow them down.CAPT. PANAKA : It looks pretty bad. We'd better seal the ship.CAPTAIN PANAKA'S comlink sounds off.CAPT. PANAKA : (Cont'd) Yes? CAPT. PANAKA : We'll be right there.EXT. MOS ESPA - STREET - FRUIT STAND - DAYANAKIN and the GROUP stop at a fruit stand run by a jolly, but very poor,old lady named JIRA.ANAKIN : How are you feeling today, Jira?JIRA : The heat's never been kind to me, you know, Annie!ANAKIN : Guess what? I've found that cooling unit I've been searching for.It's pretty beat up, but I'll have it fixed up for you in no time, Ipromise.JIRA : You're a fine boy, Annie.ANAKIN : I'll take four pallies today. (to Padme) You'll like these...ANAKIN reaches in his pocket and comes up with three coins. He drops one.QUI-GON picks it up, revealing for a moment, his lightsabre.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Whoops, I thought I had more...Make thgat three, I'm nothungry.The wind picks up. SHOP OWNERS are starting to close up their shops as JIRAgives them their pallies.JIRA : Gracious, my bones are aching...storm's coming on, Annie. You'dbetter get home quick.ANAKIN : (to QUI-GON) Do you have shelter?QUI-GON : We'll hed back to our ship.ANAKIN : Is it far?PADME : On the outskirts.ANAKIN : You'll never reach the outskirts in time...sandstorms are very,very dangerous. Come with me. Hurry!The GROUP follows ANAKIN as he rushes down the windy street.EXT. MOS ESPA - SLAVE QUARTERS - STREET - SANDSTORM - DAYThe wind is blowing hard as QUI-GON, JAR JAR, and PADME follow ANAKIN downthe street and into a slave hovel.INT. ANAKIN'S HOVEL - MAIN ROOM - DAYQUI-GON, JAR JAR, ARTOO, and PADME enter a small living space.ANAKIN : Mom! Mom! I'm home.JAR JAR : Dissen cozy.Anakin's mother, SHMI SKYWALKER, a warm, friendly woman of forty, entersfrom her work area and is startled to see the room full of people.SHMI : Oh, my!! Annie, what's this?ANAKIN : These are my friends, Mom. This is Padme, and...gee, I don't knowany of your names.QUI-GON : I'm Qui-Gon Jinn, and this is Jar Jar Binks. ARTOO lets out alittle beep.PADME : ...and our droid, Artoo-Detoo.ANAKIN : I'm building a droid. You wanna see?SHMI : Anakin! Why are they here?ANAKIN : A sandstorm, Mom. Listen.The wind HOWLS outside.QUI-GON : Your son was kind enough to offer us shelter.ANAKIN : Come on! Let me show you Threepio!ANAKIN leads PADME into the other room. ARTOO follows, beeping all the way.QUI-GON takes five small capsules from his utility belt and hands them toSHMI.QUI-GON : I have enough food for a meal.SHMI : Oh, tank you. Thank you so much. I'm sorry if I was abrupt. I'llnever get used to Anakin's surprises.QUI-GON : He's a very special boy. SHMI looks at him as if he's discovereda secret.SHMI : Yes, I know.INT. ANAKIN'S HOVEL - BEDROOM - DAYANAKIN shows off his ANDROID, which is lying on his workbench. There is oneeye in the head; the body, arms, and legs have no outer coverings.ANAKIN : Isn't he great?! He's not finished yet.PADME : He's wonderful!ANAKIN : You reall like him? He's a protocol droid...to help Mom. Watch!ANAKIN pushes a switch, and the DROID sits up. Anakin rushes around, grabsan eye and puts it in one of the sockets.THREEPIO : How do you do, I am See-Threepio, Human Cyborg Relations. Howmight I serve you?PADME : He's perfect.ANAKIN : When the storm is over, you can see my racer. I'm building aPodracer!PADME smiles at his enthusiasm. ARTOO lets out a flurry of beeps andwhistles.THREEPIO : I beg your pardon....what do you mean I'm naked?ARTOO BEEPSTHREEPIO : (Cont'd) My parts are showing? Oh, my goodness. Howembarrassing!INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - QUEENS CHAMBERSAMIDALA, EIRTAE, RABE, and OBI-WAN watch a very bad transmission of a SIOBIBBLE hologram.BIBBLE : ...cut off all food supplies until you return...the death toll iscatastrophic...we must bow to their wishes, Your Highness...Please tell uswhat to do! If you can hear us, Your Highness, you must contact me...AMIDALA looks upset...almost nervous.OBI-WAN : It's a trick. Send no reply... Send no transmission of any kind.INT. ANAKIN'S HOVEL - MAIN ROOM - DAYQUI-GON listens to his comlink. OBI-WAN is in the cockpit.OBI-WAN : ...the Queen is upset...but absolutly no reply was sent.QUI-GON : It sounds like bait to establish a connection trace.OBI-WAN : What if it is true and the people are dying?QUI-GON : Either way, we're running out of time.EXT. CORUSCANT - BALCONY OVERLOOKING CITY - NIGHTDARTH SIDIOUS and DARTH MAUL look out over the vast city.DARTH MAUL : Tatooine is sparsely populated. If the trace was correct, Iwill find them quickly, Master.DARTH SIDIOUS : Move against the Jedi first...you will then have nodifficulty taking the Queen back to Naboo, where she will sign the treaty.DARTH MAUL : At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we willhave revenge.DARTH SIDIOUS : You have been well trained, my young apprentice, they willbe no match for you. It is too late for them to stop us now. Everything isgoing as planned. The Republic will soon be in my command.The hologram of DARTH MAUL fades off as DARTH SIDIOUS looks out over thecity. EXT. MOS ESPA - SANDSTORM - DAYThe giant sandstorm engulfs the town, including the Naboo spaceship on theoutskirts of the city center, where Watto's ship is; and the slavequarters, where drifts of sand begin building up against Anakin's house.INT. ANAKIN'S HOVEL - MAIN ROOM - DAYQUI-GON, ANAKIN, SHMI, JAR JAR, and PADME are seated around a makeshifttable, having dinner as the wind howls outside.JAR JAR slurps his soup rather loudly. Everyone looks at him. He turns alittle brighter red.SHMI : All slaves have transmitters placed inside their bodies somewhere.ANAKIN : I've been working on a scanner to try and locate them, but noluck.SHMI : Any attempt to escape...ANAKIN : ...and they blow you up...poof!PADME and JAR JAR are horrified.JAR JAR : How wude.PADME : I can't believe there is still slavery in the galaxy. TheRepublic's anti-slavery laws...SHMI : The Republic doesn't exist out here...we must survive on our own.An awkward silence. ANAKIN attempts to end the embarrassment.ANAKIN : Have you ever seen a Podrace?PADME shakes her head no. She notices the concern of SHMI. JAR JAR snatchessome food from a bowl at the other end of the table with his tongue.QUI-GON gives him a dirty look.QUI-GON : They have Podracing on Malastare. Very fast, very dangerous.ANAKIN : I'm the only human who can do it.SHMI looks askance at her son.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Mom, what? I'm not bragging. It's true. Watto says he'snever heard of a human doing it.QUI-GON : You must have Jedi reflexes if you race Pods.ANAKIN smiles. JAR JAR attempts to snare another bit of food from the bowlwith his tongue, but QUI-GON, in a flash, grabs it between his thumb andforefinger. JAR JAR is startled.QUI-GON : (Cont'd) Don't do that again.JAR JAR tries to acknowledge with some silly mumbling. QUI-GON lets go ofthe tongue, and it snaps back into JAR JAR's mouth.ANAKIN : I...I was wondering...something...QUI-GON : What?ANAKIN : Well, ahhh...you're a Jedi Knight, aren't you?QUI-GON : What makes you think that?ANAKIN : I saw your laser sword. Only Jedi carry that kind of weapon.QUI-GON leans back and slowly smiles.QUI-GON : Perhaps I killed a Jedi and stole it from him.ANAKIN : I don't think so... No one can kill a Jedi Knight.QUI-GON : I wish that were so...ANAKIN. I had a dream I was a Jedi. I came back here and freed all theslaves...have you come to free us?QUI-GON : No, I'm afraid not...ANAKIN : I think you have...why else would you be here?QUI-GON thinks for a moment.QUI-GON : I can see there's no fooling you...(leans forward) You mustn'tlet anyone know about us...we're on our way to Coruscant, the centralsystem in the Republic, on a very important mission, and it must be keptsecret.ANAKIN : Coruscant...wow...how did you end up here in the outer rim?PADME : Our ship was damaged, and we're stranded here until we can repairit.ANAKIN : I can help! I can fix anything!QUI-GON : I believe you can, but our first job is to aquire the parts weneed...JAR JAR : Wit no-nutten mula to trade.PADME : These junk dealers must have a weakness of some kind.SHMI : Gambling. Everything here revolves around betting on those awfulraces.QUI-GON : Podracing... Greed can be a powerful ally.. if it's usedproperly.ANAKIN : I've built a racer! It's the fastest ever...There's a big racetomorrow, on Boonta Eve. You could enter my pod. It's all but finished...SHMI : Anakin, settle down. Watto won't let you...ANAKIN : Watto doesn't know I've built it. (to Qui-Gon) You could make himthink it's your's, and you could get him to let me pilot it for you.QUI-GON looks to SHMI. She is upset.SHMI : I don't want you to race, Annie...It's awful. I die every time Wattomakes you do it.ANAKIN : But Mom, I love it...and they need help...they're in trouble. Theprize money would more than pay for the parts they need. JAR JAR : Wesa inapitty bad goo.GUI-GON : Your mother's right. Is there anyone friendly to the Republic whomight be able to help us?SHMI shakes her head no.ANAKIN : We have to help them, Mom...you said that the biggest problem inthe universe is no one helps each other...SHMI : Anakin, don't...JAR JAR belches. There is silence for a moment as they eat.PADME : I'm sure Qui-Gon doesn't want to put your son in danger. We willfind another way...SHMI : No, Annie's right, there is no other way... I may not like it, buthe can help you...he was meant to help you.ANAKIN : Is that a yes? That is a yes!The storm continues to rage outside the slave hovel.EXT. MOS ESPA - JUNK DEALER PLAZA - DAYThe storm has passed. VENDORS and STREET PEOPLE clean up the mess andrebuild their food stalls. JAR JAR sits on a box in front of Watto's partsshop, watching all the activity with growing nervousness. ARTOO is standingnext to him. PADME stops QUI-GON as he is about to enter the shop.PADME : Are you sure about this? Trusting our fate to a boy we hardly know.The Queen will not approve.QUI-GON : The Queen does not need to know.PADME : Well, I don't approve.QUI-GON turns and starts into the shop.INT. WATTO'S JUNK SHOP - DAYWATTO and ANAKIN are in the middle of an animated discussion in Huttese.WATTO : Patta go bolla!ANKAIN : No batta!WATTO : Pedunky. Maa kee cheelya.ANAKIN : Bayno, Bayno!QUI-GON walks in, and WATTO and ANAKIN join him.WATTO : The boy tells me you wanta sponser hi insa race. You can't affordparts. How can you do this? Not on Republic credits, I think. (he laughs)QUI-GON : My ship will be the entry fee.QUI-GON pulls a small object that looks like a watch out of his pocket, anda hologram of the Naboo spacecraft appears about a foot long in front ofWATTO. He studies it.WATTO : Not bad...not bad...a Nubian.QUI-GON : It's in good order, except for the parts we need.WATTO : ...but what would the boy ride? He smashed up my Pod in the lastrace. It will take some time to fix it.ANAKIN is embarrassed and steps forward.ANAKIN : Ahhhh....it wasn't my fault really...Sebulba flashed me with hisvent ports. I actually saved the Pod...mostly.WATTO : (laughing) That you did. The boy is good, no doubts there.QUI-GON : I have...acquired a Pod in a game of chance. "The fastest everbuilt."WATTO : I hope you didn't kill anyone I know for it. (laughs) So, yousupply the Pod and the entry fee; I supply the boy. We split the winningsfifty-fifty, I think.QUI-GON : Fifty-fifty!?! If it's going to be fifty-fifty, I suggest youfront the cash for the entry. If we win, you keep all the winnings, minusthe cost of the parts I need...If we lose, you keep my ship.WATTO thinks about this. ANAKIN tries not to be nervous.QUI-GON : (Cont'd) Either way, you win.WATTO : (subtitled) Deal! Yo bana pee ho-tah, meedee ya. (Your friend is afollish one, methinks.)EXT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - TATOOINE DESERT - DAYOBI-WAN stands outside the Naboo spacecraft, speaking into his comlink.QUI-GON is on the back porch of the hovel.OBI-WAN : What if this plan fails, Master? We could be stuck here for along time.QUI-GON : (V.O) A ship without a power supply will not get us anywhere, andthere is something about this boy...EXT MOS ESPA - SLAVE QUARTERS - PORCH - DAYQUI-GON puts the comlink away as SHMI comes onto the porchPADME, ANAKIN, JAR JAR, and ARTOO work on the engines of the Podracer inthe courtyard below.QUI-GON : You should be proud of your son. He gives without any thought ofreward.SHMI : He knows nothing of greed. He has...QUI-GON : He has special powers.SHMI : Yes...QUI-GON : He can see things before they happen. That's why he appears tohave such quick reflexes. It is a Jedi trait.SHMI : He deserves better than a slave's life.QUI-GON : The Force is unusally strong with him, that much is clear. Whowas his father?SHMI : There was no father, that I know of...I carried him, I gave himbirth...I can't explain what happened. Can you help him?QUI-GON : I'm afraid not. Had he been born in the Republic, we would haveidentified him early, and he would have become Jedi, no doubt...he has theway. But it's too late for him now, he's too old.EXT. MOS ESPA - SLAVE QUARTERS - BACK YARD - DAYKITSTER (a young boy about Anakin's age), SEEK (a boy of ten), AMEE (a girlof six), and WALD (a Greedo Type, six years old) join ANAKIN, JAR JAR,ARTOO, and PADME securing some wiring.ANAKIN : Padme and Jar Jar, this is my friend Kitster, and seek, Amee, andWald.All whistle, hoot, and speak a greeting.KITSTER : Wow, a real Astro Droid...how'd you get so lucky?ANAKIN : This isn't the half of it. I'm entered in the Boonta Racetomorrow!KITSTER : What? With this??WALD : (subtitled) Annie, Jesko na joka. 9You are such a joke, Annie.)AMEE : You've been working on that thing for years. It's never going torun.SEEK : Come on, let's go play ball. Keep it up, Annie, and you're gonna bebug squash.SEEK, WALD, and AMEE take off, laughing. JAR JAR is fiddling with one ofthe energy binder plates.ANAKIN : Hey! Jar Jar! Stay away from those energy binders...JAR JAR : Who, mesa?ANAKIN : If your hand gets caught in that beam, it will go numb for hours.JAR JAR peeks at the energy plate; it makes a little electronic pop, zapshim in the mouth and jumps back. JAR JAR tries to say something, but hismouth is numb and his words are garbled.JAR JAR : Ouch-dats muy bigo Oucho. (Gibberish)KITSTER : But you don't even know if this thing will run.ANAKIN : It will.QUI-GON approaches the GROUP and gives ANAKIN a small battery. JAR JAR getshis hand caught in the afterburner and tries to tell Anakin, but can't getwords out that make sense.QUI-GON : I think it's time we found out. Use this power charge. ANAKIN :Yes, sir!!ANAKIN jumps into the little capsule behind the two giant engines. He putsthe power pack back into the dashboard. EVERYONE backs away, except for JARJAR who calls for help. Finally PADME frees him and the engines ignite witha ROAR. EVERYONE cheers.EXT. MOS ESPA - SLAVE QUARTERS - PORCH - DAYSHMI, watching from the porch, smiles sadly.EXT. SLAVE QUARTERS - BALCONY - NIGHTANAKIN sits on the balcony rail of his hovel as QUI-GON tends to a cut. TheBOY leans back to look at the vast blanket of stars in the sky.QUI-GON : Sit still, Annie. Let me clean this cut.ANAKIN : There are so many! Do they all have a system of planets?QUI-GON : Most of them.ANAKIN : Has anyone been to them all?QU-IG0N : (laughs) Not likely.ANAKIN : I want to be the first one to see them all... Ouch!QUI-GON wipes a patch of blood off ANAKIN'S arm.QUI-GON : There, good as new...SHMI yells from inside the hovel.SHMI : (O.S.) Annie, bedtime!QUI-GON scrapes ANAKIN's blood onto a comlink chip.ANAKIN : What are you doing?QUI-GON : Checking your blood for infections.ANAKIN : I've never seen...SHMI : (O.S.) Annie! I'm not goiung to tell you again!QUI-GON : Go on, you have a big day tomorrow. (beat) Goodnight.ANAKIN rolls his eyes and runs into the hovel. QUI-GON takes the bloodstained chip and inserts it into the comlink, then calls OBI-WAN.QUI-GON : (Cont'd) Obi-Wan...OBI-WAN : Yes, Master.QUI-GON : Make an analysis of this blood sample I'm sending you.OBI-WAN : Wait a minute...QUI-GON : I need a midi-chlorian count.OBI-WAN : All right. I've got it.QUI-GON : What are your readings?OBI-WAN : Something must be wrong with the transmission.QUI-GON : Here's a signal check.OBI-WAN : Strange. The transmission seems to be in good order, but thereading's off the chart...over twenty thousand.QUI-GON : (almost to himself) That's it then.OBI-WAN : Even Master Yoda doesn't have a midi-chlorian count that high!QUI-GON : No Jedi has.OBI-WAN : What does it mean?QUI-GON : I'm not sure.The JEDI KNIGHT looks up and sees SHMI in the doorway watching him.Embarrassed, she goes back into the kitchen while QUI-GON ponders thesituation.EXT. TATOOINE - DESERT MESA - NIGHTThe sinister looking Sith spacecraft lands on top of a desert mesa at dus,scattering a herd of banthas. DARTH MAUL walks to the edge of the mesa andstudies the landscape with a pair of electrobinoculars. He picks out thelights of three different cities in the distance, then pushes buttons onhis electronic armband.Six football-sized PROBE DROIDS float out of the ship and head off in threedifferent directions toward the cities.DARTH MAUL stands on the mesa and watches them through hiselectrobinoculars.EXT. MOS ESPA - SLAVE QUARTERS - PORCH - SUNRISEPadme exits the hovel.EXT. MOS ESPA - SLAVE QUARTERS - BACK YARD - SUNRISEAs the twin suns rise, ARTOO is busy painting the racing Pod. ANAKIN isasleep. PADME passes ARTOO.PADME : I hope you're about finished.ARTOO whistles a positive reply. PADME sees KITSTER riding toward them onan EOPIE, a strange camel-lile creature. He is leading a second EOPIEbehind him. PADME goes over to ANAKIN. He looks very vulnerable as hesleeps. She watches him, then touches him on the cheek. ANAKIN wakes up,yawns, and looks at her, a little puzzled.ANAKIN : You were in my dream...you were leading a huge army into battle.PADME : I hope not; I hate fighting. Your mother wants you to come in andclean up. We have to leave soon. ANAKIN stands up and stretches just asKITSTER arrives.ANAKIN : Hook 'em up, Kitster. (to Padme) I won't be long. Where's Qui-Gon?PADME : He and Jar Jar left already. They're with Watto at the arena.EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - MAIN HANGER - DAYRACE CREWS mill about outside the Main Hanger.INT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - MAIN HANGER - DAYThe hanger is a large building with a dozen or so Podracers being readiedfor the race. ALIEN CREWS and PILOTS rush about, making last minute fixeson their vehicles. WATTO, QUI-GON, and JAR JAR walk through the activity.WATTO : ...I want to see your spaceship the moment the race is over.QUI-GON : Patienc, my blue friend. You'll have your winnings before thesuns set, and we'll be far away from here.WATTO : Not if your ship belongs to me, I think...I warn you, no funnybusiness.QUI-GON : You don't think Anakin will win?WATTO stops before an orange racer. Sitting to one side, having hisshoulders and neck massaged by TWIN YOBANAS, is SEBULBA.WATTO : Don't get me wrongo. I have great faith in the boy. He's a creditto your race, but Sebulba there is going to win, I think.QUI-GON : Why?WATTO : He always wins. (laughs) I'm betting heavily on Sebulba.QUI-GON : I'll take that bet.WATTO : (suddenly stops laughing) What??!! What do you mean?QUI-GON : I'll wager my new racing pod against...say...the boy and hismother.WATTO : A Pod for slaves. I don't think so...well, poerhaps. Just one...themother, maybe...the boy isn't for sale.QUI-GON : The boy is small, he can't be worth much.WATTO shakes his head.QUI-GON : (Cont'd) For the fastest Pod ever built?!WATTO shakes his head again.QUI-GON : (Cont'd) Both, or no bet.WATTO : No Pod's worth two slaves...not by a long shot...one slave ornothing.QUI-GON : The boy, then...WATTO pulls out a small cube from his pocket.WATTO : We'll let fate decide. Blue it's the boy, red his mother...WATTO tosses the cube down. QUI-GON lifts his hand slightly; it turns blue.QUI-GON smiles. WATTO is angry.WATTO : (Cont'd) You won the small toss, outlander, bou you won't win therace, so...it makes little difference.ANAKIN and PADME enter the hanger on one of the EOPIES, pulling an engine.KITSTER, on the other EOPIE, is pulling another engine. With THREEPIOwalking alongside, ARTOO trundles behind, pulling the Pod with SHMI sittingon it. WATTO passes ANAKIN as he leaves.WATTO : (Cont'd) (subtitled) Bonapa keesa pateeso, o wanna meetee chobodd.(Better stop your friends betting, or I'll end up owning him, too.)WATTO walks off, laughing.ANAKIN : What did he mean by that?QUI-GON : I'll tell you later.ARTOO beeps at THREEPIO.THREEPIO : Oh my! Space travel sounds rather perilous.ARTOO emits a series of beeps.THREEPIO : I can assure you they will never get me onto one of thosedreadful starships!KITSTER : (to Anakin) This is so wizard! I'm sure you'll do it this time,Annie.PADME : Do what?KITSTER : Finish the race, of course!PADME : You've never won a race?ANAKIN : Well...not exactly...PADME : Not even finished?!ANAKN looks sheepish.ANAKIN : ...but Kitster's right, I will this time.QUI-GON : Of course you will.EXT. MOS ESPA - STREET - DAYOne of Darth Maul's PROBE DROIDS slowly floats down the main street ofTatooine. It looks in shops and studies PEOPLE as it searches for OBI-WAN,QI-GON, or the QUEEN.EXT. MOS ESPA - DESERT RACE ARENA - DAYAn EXTREME HIGH WIDE ANGLE reveals a vast arena in the Tatooine desert. Alarge semi-circular amphitheatre that holds at least a hundred thousandpeople dominates the landscape. Large viewing platforms loom over theracetrack. INT. MOS ESPA - ARENA ANNOUNCER'S BOX - DAY (FX)A two-headed ANNOUNCER describes the scene.FODE/BEED : -A: Toogi! Toogie! (Greetings) Toong mee cha kulkah du Boonta magi! tah oosazalus ooval Poddraces. (We have perfect weather today for the Boontaclassic. The most hazardous of all Podraces.)B : That's absolutly right. And a big turnout here, from all corners of theOuter Rim territories. I see the contestants are making their way out ontothe starting grid.EXT. MOS ESPA - DESERT RACE ARENA - DAYOn the left side of the tracks across from the grandstands, a line ofPodracers emerges from the large hanger, surrounded by several CREWMEMBERS. Pods are pulled by a wide variety of CREATURES and are led byaliens carrying flags. The PILOTS stand facing the royal box.FODE/BEED : -(O.S) A : La Yma beestoo (Yes, there they are!)B : I see Ben Quadinaros from the Tund system.A : ...eh Gasgano doowa newpa Ord Petrovia! (And Gasgano in thenew OrdPedrovia.)B : Two time winner, Boles Roor...A : Poo tula moosta, woe grane champio Sebulba du Pixelito! Splastyleeyabookie ookie!! (On the front line the reigning champion, Sebulba fromPixelito. By far the favorite today.)B : And a late entry, Anakin Skywalker, a local boy.A : Wampa peedunkee unko ( I hope he has better luck this time.)B : I see the flaggers are moving onto the track.EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - GRANDSTAND - DAYColorful canopies shade some of the SPECTATORS. VENDORS sell barbecuedcreature parts and colorful drinks.EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - ROYAL BOX - DAY (FX)All the PILOTS bow from the waist as JABBA THE HUTT enters the box andwaves to the crowd.FODE/BEED : -A : O grandio lust, Jabba Du Hutt, amu intoe tah parena. (His honor, ourglorious host, Jabba the Hutt has entered the arena.)The crowd ROARS. SEVERAL OTHER SLUG-LIKE HUTTS follow, along with humansand aliens. Several SLAVE GIRLS on a chain are led alongside JABBA.JABBA : (subtitled) Chowbaso! Tam ka chee Boonta rulee ya, kee maddahodrudda du wundee. (Welcome!) Sebulba tuta Pixelito...EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - STARTING GRID - DAYSEBULBA, who is right next to ANAKIN, stands and waves to his fans. A smallpep band plays as his fans wave and cheer.KITSTER attaches the giant engins to Anakin's Pod with a long cable. SHMIgives ANAKIN a big hug and kiss. She looks him right in the eye.SHMI : Be safe.ANAKIN : I will, Mom. I promise.She leaves as ANAKIN checks the cable hitches.JABBA : ...Mawhonic tuta Hok, Teemto Pagalies tuta Moonus Mandel, AnakinSKywalker tuta Tatoonine....The CROWD YELLS. ANAKIN waves to the crowd, as JABBA continues with hisintroductions. SEBULBA moves over to one of Anakin's engines. KITSTER andJAR JAR unhitch the EOPIES, and KITSTER leads them away. ARTOO beeps thateverything is OK. JAR JAR pats ANAKIN on the back.JAR JAR : Dis berry loony, Annie. May da guds be kind, mesa palo.PADME comes up and gives ANAKIN a little kiss on the cheeek. SEBULBA bangson a part protruding from Anakin's engine. He looks around to see if anyonehas noticed.PADME : You carry all our hopes.ANAKIN : I won't let you down.PADME moves away as SEBULBA edges his way next to ANAKIN and gives him asinister grin.SEBULBA : Bazda wahota, shag. Dobiella Nok. Yoka to Bantha poodoo. 9Youwon't walk away from this one, slave scum! You're Bantha poodoo.)ANAKIN : (subtitled) Cha skrundee da pat, sleemo. (Don't count on it,slime-ball.)ANAKIN looks the evil SEBULBA in the eye with a cold stare. QUI-GONapproaches, and SEBULBA backs off toward his racer.JABBA : (sutitled)...Ka bazza kundee hodrudda! (...Let the challengebegin!)The CROWD lets out a LOUD CHEER. QUI-GON helps ANAKIN into his Pod. The boystraps himself into the tiny racer.QUI-GON : Are you all set, Annie? (Anakin nods) Remember, concentrate onthe moment. Feel. Don't think. Trust your instincts. (he smiles) May theForce be with you.QUI-GON steps away as ANAKIN puts on his goggles. The PILOTS flip switches,and powerful energy binders shoot between the engines. ANAKIN flips aswitch, and his engine starts. The incredible ROAR of high-powered enginesigniting echoes throughout the arena. One driver, ODY MANDRELL, yells at adroid (DUM-4) to get away from the front of his engine. The crowd is tense.EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - STARTING GRID - DAYThe giant power-house engines torque as the PILOTS gun them. The PILOTSflip switches, and poerful energy binders shoot between the engines. Alienscarrying large flags move off the track. JAR JAR covers his eyes.JAR JAR : Mesa no watch. Dissen ganna be messy!FODE/BEED : -A : Ya pawa culka doe rundee! (The power couplings are being activated)B : Hey, it looks like they're clearing the grid.EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - VIEWING PLATFORM - DAYSHMI looks nervously to QUI-GON as he enters a veiwing platform. PADME andJAR JAR are already on board. The platform rises like an elevator.SHMI : Is he nervous?QUI-GON : He's fine.PADME : You Jedi are far too reckless. The Queen...QUI-GON : The Queen trusts my judgment, young handmaiden. You should too.PADME : You assume too much.EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA ANNOUNCER'S BOX - DAY (FX)FODE/BEED : -B : Start your engines.The earth-pounding ROAR of the engines revving is deafening.EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - ROYAL BOX - DAY (FX)Jabba bites off the head of a frog and spits it at a gong, signaling thestart of the race.EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - STARTING GRID - DAYOn a bridge over the track, a great green light at the center flashes. ThePodracers shoot forward with a high-pitches scream. ANAKIN'S engine floodsand coughs - then dies. All the other Podracers except one swerve aroundhim and dissapear down the track. The slave boy struggles to get his racerstarted. The two-headed announcer reports.FODE/BEED : - (O.S.)A : An dare ovv! (And they're off!)B : Oh...wait. Little Skywalker has stalled.PADME and JAR JAR are very dissapointed with ANAKIN. QUI-GON puts his armaround a very worried SHMI to comfort her. Finally, Anakin's enginesignite. He zooms away after the receeding pack of competitors, leaving onequadra-Pod racer still trying to get started. The two-headed ANNOUNCERdescribes the race as it progresses.FODE/BEED : - (O.S.)B : And there goes Skywalker... He'll be hard pressed to catch up with theleaders today.EXT. MOS ESPA - RACETRACK - DAY (FX)The Podracers fly across the desert. SEBULBA is running neck and neck withMAWHONIC. They round the first turn in the track, side by side. SEBULBAdrives his Pod into his rival, forcing him into the wall of a large rockformation. MAWHONIC crashes in a spectacular display of fire and smoke.ANAKIN is much faster than the back-end stragglers and passes them easily.One of the drivers, GASGANO, won't let ANAKIN by. ANAKIN tries to pass himon one side and is cut off. He then tries to pass him on the other sideansd is cut off. As they come up on a cliff drop-off, ANAKIN backs off,then guns it as GASGANO goes over the cliff. ANAJIN accelerates so fastthat he sails right over the top of GASGANO and speeds away.Four TUSKEN RAIDERS perched above the race course fire their rifles at thePods racing in the canyon below them. One shot ricochets off the back ofAnakin's Pod.FODE/BEED : -B : Looks like a few Tusken Riaders have campe out on the canyon dune turn.EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - VIEWING PLATFORM - DAYJABBA THE HUTT and the crowd watch the progress of the race on small,hand-held view screens. JAR JAR is looking over the shoulder of a strangealien named FANTA.JAR JAR : Where's Skywalker?FANTA moves the view screen out of Jar Jar's view. PADME, SHMI, and QUI-GONwatch another screen and look worried.ARTOO, down in the pits with KITSTER, lets out a worried sigh. The driverof the quadra-Pod looks worried.EXT. MOS ESPA - RACETRACK - DAY (FX)ANAKIN is powering around corners and over hills and cliffs, passing otherracers right and left. SEBULBA is in the lead. He is being challenged byanother racer, XELBREE.SEBULBA slows a little, and as XELBREE pulls alongside, he opens a sidevent on the racer's engine and the exhaust starts to cut through thealien's engine.The blast cuts along the engine until finally it EXPLODES. SEBULBA deftlyveers away.ANAKIN works his way through a dense mass of racers as they zoom over adune sea, kicking up dust. His Pod shakes violently as he goes over a jump.One of the Podracers, ODY, catches one of his engines in the sand, and thewhole thing EXPLODES.EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - VIEWING PLATFORM - DAYQUI-GON sits quietly, meditating. PADME and SHMI search the landscape forany sign of the racers. JAR JAR is still annoying FANTA for information.The crowd SCREAMS. WATTO is laughing with his friends, confident inAnakin's defeat.The quadra-Pod engines start just as the racers come around the corner. TheDRIVER, BEN QUADINAROS, puts it in gear, and the four engines go off in alldirections, EXPLODING in a spectacular display. The Pod drops to the groundas SEBULBA enters the arena, closely followed by all the OTHER RACERS.KITSTER strains to see as ARTOO beeps excitedly. The announcer continues.FODE/BEED : - (O.S)B ; There goes Quadinaros' power couplings.A : Sebulba! Ka pa me cheespa wata! (Here comes Sebulba in record time.)QUI-GON, PADME, SHMI, and JAR JAR yell for joy as ANAKIN passes. JAR JAR isvery nervous and pounds on the back of his alien neighbor, FANTA. JAR JAR :What gooie-on?FANTA : Bug off.Lap two. SEBULBA and the pack race past the main arena. The crowd standsand YELLS as the Podracers scream off into the distance. QUI-GON and PADMElook worried.JAR JAR : He musta crash-ud.PADME : Here he comes!EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - PIT AREA - DAY (FX)ARTOO lets out an excited whistle, as KITSTER yells.THREEPIO : He has to complete two more circuits? Oh dear!EXT. MOS ESPA - RACETRACK - DAY (FX)Sure enough, coming around the bend is ANAKIN, quickly gaining on the pack.The two-headed announcer describes the action. The crowd goes wild.FODE/BEED : - (O.S.)B : It looks like Skywalker is moving up through the field. He's in...A : Steeth pa nagoola! (Sixth place, not bad.)ANAKIN continues to gain on the pack. Tension for SHMI and PADME isunbearable.ODY stops in the pits. Droids work on his engines. DUM-4 stands in front ofthe engine and is sucked in, causing the engine to die. DUM-4 is spit outthe back of the engine, very bent up. The engine lets out one final wheeze,then EXPLODES in a puff of smoke.FODE/BEED : - (O.S.)A : Ody Mandrell! Coona wa wunda dunko! (Ody Mandrell into the pits forsome attention.)ODY : Droids!TERTER is getting close to SEBULBA, who purposely breaks a small part offhis Pod, sending it into Terter's engine, causing him to veer into ANAKIN,and unhooks one of the main straps on Anakin's engines that links the Podto his engines.ANAKIN struggles to keep control of the little Pod. It whips about wildly.As the Pod swings near the broken engine strap, ANAKIN grabs for it.Finally, he catches the strap and manages to unhook it to the Pod.SEBULBA cuts the engine of OBITOKI with his side exhaust, and the racercrashes with a cloud of dust. A THIRD RACER, HABBA, flie into the cloud ofdust and crashes into OBITOKI. ANAKIN rounds a corner and heads into thecloud of smoke. He hits a part of one of the engines but regains control.FODE/BEED : - (O.S.)B :At the start of the third and final lap, Sebulba is in the lead, closelyfollowed by Skywalker...ANAKIN finally catches up with SEBULBA, and runs neck and neck over therough terrain. JAR JAR, QUI-GON, SHMI, and PADME all SCREAM s ANAKIN comesthrough the arena. The lights in the tower indicate that this is the thirdand last lap. WATTO begins to worry.SEBULBA uses his side exhaust port to try to cut through Anakin's engines.ANAKIN manages to avoid having his engine disabled but is forced offcourse.FODE/BEED : - (O.S.)B : Skywalker is forced onto the service ramp!A : Oh noah!On a tight corner, ANAKIN dives to the inside and takes the lead.FODE BEED : - (O.S.)B : Amazing... a controlled thrust and he's back on course! What a move!SEBULBA is furious. He stay's right on Anakin's tail, crowding him andpushing him through the turns.SEBULBA pushes ANAKIN harder, and the young boy has a difficult timekeeping control. One of the parts on Anakin's engines begins to shakeloose. ANAKIN sees it and switches over to an auxiliary system. While he istrying to accomplish this maneuver, SEBULBA races past him.ANAKIN tries to get around SEBULBA, to no avail. Every move ANAKIN makes,SEBULBA is able to block.Finally, ANAKIN fakes a move into the inside as he usually does, then triesto go around SEBULBA on the outside. They race sid by side down the finalstretch of the track.FODE/BEED : - (O.S.)B : He's catching Sebulba.A : Inkabunga. (Incredible!)SEBULBA veers toward ANAKIN and bangs into his Pod. He crashes into ANAKINover and over. The young boy struggles to maintain control as the steeringrods on the two Pods become hooked together. SEBULBA laughs at ANAKIN.FODE/BEED : - (O.S.)B : That little human being is out of his mind.A : Punda tah punda! (They're neck and neck!)B : They're side by side!A : Bongo du bongu! (Shoulder to shoulder!)As they head for the final stretch, ANAKIN fights to unlock the steeringrods by trying to pull away from SEBULBA. The strain on the steering rod istremendous. Suddenly, ANAKIN's steering arm breaks, and his Pos startsspinning.The release of tension sends SEBULBA into an ancient statue. One engineEXPLODES, then the other. SEBULBA skids through the fire-balls, blackened,but unhurt. He slides to a smoking stop, gets out of his racer, and throwswhat's left of a shifter arm on the ground. Suddenly he realizes his pantsare on fire, and he struggles to put them out. ANAKIN flies through theEXPLOSION as the crowd stands, CHERRING. PADME and JAR JAR jump up and downwith excitment, PADME screaming for joy. ARTOO and KITSTER whistlehysterically. QUI-GON and SHMI smile. ANAKIN races over the finish line,the winner.INT. MOS ESPA - ARENA ANNOUNCERS BOX - DAY (FX)The two-headed announcer excitedly calls the finish.FODE/BEED : -B : It's Skywalker! The crowd are going nuts! Oh Ah Oh Ah (rock head intandem with partner)EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - DAYAs ANAKIN stops the Podracer, KISTER turns up, and they embrace. Hundredsof SPECTATORS join them and put ANAKIN on their shoulders, marching off,CHEERING AND CHANTING. Darth Maul's PROBE DROIDS move through the crowd.INT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - PRIVATE BOX - DAYSeveral ALIENS leave Watto's box, laughing and counting their money. WATTOsees QUI-GON standing in the doorway.WATTO : You! You swindled me! You knew the boy was going to win! Somehowyou knew it! I lost everything.WATTO flies up to QUI-GON and puts his face right up against QUI-GON's.QUI-GON simply smiles.QUI-GON : Whenever you gamble, my freind, eventually you'll lose. Bring theparts to the main hanger. I'll come by your shop later so you can releasethe boy.WATTO : You can't have him! It wasn't a fair bet!QUI-GON : Would you like to discuss it with the Hutts...I'm sure they cansettle this.WATTO : No, no! I want no more of your tricks! Take him!The SITH PROBE DROID watches with great interest.EXT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - MAIN HANGER - DAYThe Main Hanger is almost deserted as RACERS depart.INT. MOS ESPA - ARENA - MAIN HANGER - DAYJAR JAR gives ANAKIN a great hug, then PADME gives him a hug, then SHMI.ANAKIN : Ah, gee...enough of this...SHMI : It's so wonderful, Annie. You have brought hope to those who havenone. I'm so very proud of you...PADME : We owe you everything.ANAKIN : Just feeling this good was worth it.In the background, QUI-GON has harnessed the EOPIES to containers full ofparts.QUI-GON : Padme. Jar Jar, let's go, we've got to get these parts back tothe ship.The GROUP walks over to QUI-GON and the EOPIES.PADME climbs on behind QUI-GON. JAR JAR swings up onto the second EOPIE,only to slwly slide off the other side. ARTOO whistles. ANAKIN and SHMIwave as they ride off.QUI-GON : (Cont'd) I'll return the eopies by midday.EXT. TATOOINE - DESERT - NABOO SPACECRAFT - DAYARTOO cruises ahead of QUI-GON and PADME, who are riding one of the EOPIES;JAR JAR ridses the other. They stop in front of the sleek Naboo spacecraft.OBI-WAN comes out of the ship and joins them.QUI-GON : Start getting this hyperdrive generator installed. I'm goingback...some unfinished business. I won't be long.OBI-WAN : Why do I sense we've picked up another pathetic life form...?QUI-GON : It's the boy who's responsible for getting those parts.On a hill far overlooking the Naboo spacecraft, the SITH PROBE DROID turnsand speeds away.EXT. TATOOINE - STREET - SLAVE QUARTERS - DAYANAKIN and A GREEDO are rolling around on the floor, fighting. About ADOZEN OR SO KIDS are standing around them, yelling. Suddenly, a long shadowis cast over the TWO BOYS; they stop fighting and look up. QUI-GOMN istowering above them. KITSTER is with them.QUI-GON : What's this?ANAKIN : He said I cheated.QUI-GON : Did you?ANAKIN : No!QUI-GON : Do you still think he cheated?GREEDO : Yes.QUI-GON : Well, Annie. You know the truth... You will have to tolerate hisopinion, fighting won't change it.QUI-GON moves off down the street. Anakin follows. The GREEDO wanders overto WALD who has been watching the goings-on.WALD : Keep this up, Greedo, and you're gonna come to a bad end.Farther down the street QUI-GON and ANAKIN head toward Anakin's hovel.QUI-GON takes a handful of credits from beneath his poncho and hands themto the boy.QUI-GON : These are yours. We sold the Pod.ANAKIN : (suddenly beaming) Yes!INT. ANAKIN'S HOVEL - MAIN ROOM - DAYSHMI is cleaning up as ANAKIN bursts through the door, followed by QUI-GON.ANAKIN : Mom, he sold the Pod. Look at all the money we have!ANAKIN pulls a bag of coins out of his pocket.SHMI : Oh, my goodness, That's wonderful.QUI-GON : And Anakin has been freed.ANAKIN : What?!?QUI-GON : You're no longer a slave.ANAKIN jumps for joy! SHMI is stunned.ANAKIN : Did you hear that, Mom? (to Qui-Gon) Was that part of the prize,or what?QUI-GON : Let's just say Watto has learned an important lesson aboutgambling.SHMI : Now you can make your dreams come true, Annie. You're free! (turnsto Qui-Gon) Will you take him with you? Is he to become a Jedi?QUI-GON : Our meeting was not a coincidence. Nothing happens by accident.You are strong with the Force, but you may not be accepted by the Coucil.ANAKIN : A Jedi! Mighty blasters, you mean I get to go with you in yourstarship and everything?!QUI-GON kneels down to the boy.QUI-GON : Anakin, training to be a Jedi will not be a easy challenge. Andif you succeed, it will be a hard life.ANAKIN : But it's what I want. What I've always dreamed about. Can I go,Mom?!QUI-GON : This path has been placed for you, Annie; the choice to take itis yours alone.ANAKIN thinks, looks to his mother, then to QUI-GON.ANAKIN : I want to go.QUI-GON : Then, pack your things. We haven't much time.ANAKIN : Yipee!!ANAKIN hugs his mom and starts for the other room, then stops. SHMI andQUI-GON give each other a knowing look. ANAKIN has realized something.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) What about Mom? Is she free too? You're coming, aren'tyou, MomQUI-GON : I tried to free your mother, Annie, but Watto wouldn't have it.ANAKIN : But the money from selling...QUI-GON : It's not nearly enough.SHMI comes over to her son and sits next to him. Taking both of his handsin hers, she draws him close.SHMI : Son, my place is here. My future is here. It is time for you to letgo...to let go of me. I cannot go with you.ANAKIN : I want to stay with you. I don't want things to change.SHMI : You can't stop change any more than you can stop the suns fromsetting. Listen to your feelings; Annie, you know what's right.ANAKIN takes a deep breath, drops his head. QUI-GON and SHMI exchange alook of concern. When ANAKIN raises up, there are tears in his eyes.ANAKIN : I'm going to miss you so much, Mom...SHMI : I love you, Annie...now hurry.ANAKIN and SHMI hug. ANAKIN runs into the other room.SHMI : (Cont'd) Thank you.QUI-GON : I will watch after him. You have my word. Will you be all right?SHMI : He was in my life for such a short time.INT. ANAKIN'S HOVEL - SECOND ROOM - DAYANAKIN has thrown the last of his things in a small backpack. As he leaves,he stops and pushes the button that wakes his droid up. THREEPIO stares athim blankly.ANAKIN : Well, Threepio, I'm free...and I'm going away...in a starship...THREEPIO : Master, Annie, you are my maker, and I wish you well. AlthoughI'd like it better if I were a little less naked.ANAKIN : I'm sorry I wasn't able to finish you, Threepio...give youcoverings and all... I'm going to miss working on you. You've been a greatpal. I'll make sure Mom doesn't sell you or anything. Bye.THREEPIO stares at ANAKIN as he rushes out of the room.THREEPIO : Sell me?!?EXT. MOS ESPA - STREET - SLAVE QUARTERS - DAYKITSTER runs up to ANAKIN as he and QUI-GON exit Anakin's hovel. SHMIstands in the doorway. ANAKIN pulls a handful of coins out of his pocketand gives them to KITSTER.KITSTER : There are so many of us who want you to stay, Annie... You're ahero.ANAKIN : I... (looks to SHMI) I... have to go.QUI-GON has moved a short way down the street.KITSTER : Well.ANAKIN : Well.KITSTER : Thank's for every moment you've been here. You're my best friend.ANAKIN : I won't forget.ANAKIN hugs KITSTER and runs toward QUI-GON, then stops to look back at hismother standing in the doorway. He turns back to QUI-GON, then turns andruns back to his mother.ANAKIN : (starting to cry) I can't do it, Mom. I just can't.SHMI hugs ANAKIN. QUI-GON watches from the distance. She kneels down andlooks him in the face.SHMI : Annie, remember when you climbed the great dune in order to chasethe Banthas away so they wouldn't be shot... Remember how you collapsesseveral times, exhausted thinking you couldn't do it?ANAKIN shakes his head.SHMI : (Cont'd) This is one of those times when you have to do somethingyou don't think you can do. I know how strong you are, Annie. I know youcan do this...ANAKIN : Will I ever see you again?SHMI : What does your heart tell you?ANAKIN : I hope so...yes...I guess.SHMI : Then we will see each other again.ANAKIN : I.. will become a Jedi and I will come back and free you, Mom...Ipromise.SHMI : No matter where you are, my love will be with you. Now be brave, anddon't look back... don't look back.ANAKIN : I love you so much.SHMI hugs ANAKIN, then turns him around so he is facing QUI-GON, and off hemarches, like the brave little trooper that he is. He marches right pastQUI-GON, starring right ahead, tears in his eyes, determined not to lookback.EXT. TATOOINE - DESERT MESA - DAYThe PROBE DROID beeps and whistles to DARTH MAUL. The SITH LORD gets on aspeeder bike and follows the PROBE DROID into Mos Espa.EXT MOS ESPA - STREET - FRUIT STAND - DAYANAKIN and QUI-GON exit WATTO'S and stop before JIRA'S fruit stand. ANAKINhands JIRA some coins.ANAKIN : I've been freed, and I'm going away. Buy yourself a cooling unitwith this... Otherwise I'll worry about you.JIRA is astonished. She stares, not knowing what to say.JIRA : Can I give you a hugANAKIN : Sure.She gives him a hug.JIRA : I'll miss you, Annie.. there isn't a kinder boy in the galaxy. Yoube careful...ANAKIN runs to join QUI-GON, who has already started down the street. Asthey walk along together, QUI-GON notices something out of the corner ofhis eye.Suddenly, without breaking his stride, he ignites his laser sword, swingaround, and lunges forward and cuts a lurking PROBE DROID in half. QUI-GONinspects the sparking and fizzing DROID.ANAKIN : What is it?QUI-GON : Probe droid. Very unusual... not like anything I've seen before.Come on.QUI-GON and ANAKIN start running.EXT. TATOOINE - DESERT - NABOO SPACECRAFT - DAYQUI-GON and ANAKIN run toward the Naboo spacecraft. ANAKIN is having a hardtime keeping up.ANAKIN : Master Qui-Gon,sir, wait!QUI-GON turns to answer and sees a DARK-CLOAKED FIGURE bearing down on aspeeder bike.QUI-GON : Anakin, drop!ANAKIN drops to the ground just as DARTH MAUL sweeps over him. DARTH MAULjumps off his speeder bike, and before he has hit the ground, the Sith Lordhas swund a death blow with his laser sword that is barely blocked byQUI-GON.ANAKIN picks himself up. The two galactic warriors, Sith and Jedi, arebashing each other with incredible blows. They move in a continual cloudofdust, smashing everything around them. This is a fierce fight. ANAKIN getsup, bewildered by the confrontation.QUI-GON : (Cont'd) Annie, get to the ship! Take off! Go! Go!QUI-GON struggles to fend off the relentless onslaught as ANAKIN races tothe ship.INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - HALLWAYANAKIN runs into the main hallway of the spaceship, where PADME and CAPTAINPANAKA are working.ANAKIN : Qui-Gon's in trouble. He says to take off...now!!CAPT. PANAKA : Who are you?PADME : He's a friend.INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - COCKPITCAPTAIN PANAKA, ANAKIN, and PADME rush into the cockpit where OBI-WAN andRIC OLIE are checking the hyperdrive.CAPT. PANAKA : Qui-Gon is in trouble, he says to take off!PILOT : I don't see anything.OBI-WAN : Over there! Fly low!In the distance is a small cloud of dust.EXT. TATOOINE - DESERT - NABOO SPACECRAFT - DAYQUI-GON and DARTH MAUL continue theirsword battle. Leaping over one anotherin an incredible display of acrobatics, the two warrios hear the ship flyover them a few feet off the ground. QUI-GON almost dissapears for amoment.Before DARTH MAUL knows what's happening, QUI-GON is on the spacecrat'sramp.EXT. TATOOINE - NABOO SPACECRAFT RAMP - DAYThe SITH LORD immediately jumps onto the ramp after QUI-GON, but barelymakes it. His heels hang over the edge of a forty-foot drop. QUI-GON swingshis laser sword with all his might and knocks DARTH AMUL off the ramp andonto the desert floor. The ramp closes, and the Naboo craft rockets away,leaving the Sith Lord standing alone.EXT. SPACE - NABOO SPACECRAFT (FX)The sleek spacecraft rockets away from the planet Tatooine.INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - HALLWAYANAKIN and OBI-WAN rush into the hallway to find QUI-GON collapsed on thefloor opposite the entry. ARTOO is looking over him. The JEDI is breathinghard, wet with sweat and covered in dirt.ANAKIN : Are you all right?QUI-GON : I think so... that was a surpirse I wont soon forget.OBI-WAN : What was it?QUI-GON : I don't know... but he was well trained in the Jedi arts. Myguess is he was after the Queen...ANAKIN : Do you think he'll follow us?QUI-GON : We'll be safe enough once we're in hyperspace, but I have nodoubt he knows our destination.ANAKIN : What are we going to do about it?OBI-WAN gives ANAKIN a "who are you?" look. ANAKIN returns an innocentstare.QUI-GON : We will be patient. Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi.ANAKIN : Pleased to meet you. Wow! You're a Jedi too?OBI-WAN gives the boy a skeptical look.INT. COCKPIT - SPACERIC OLIE pulls back on the hyperdrive. OBI-WAN, QUI-GON, and ANAKIN watch.QUI-GON : Let's hope this hyperdrive works and Watto didn't get the lastlaugh.The stars streak outside the cockpit window.EXT. SPACE - NABOO SPACECRAFT (FX)The ship streaks into hyperspace.EXT. THEED - STREET - NIGHT (FX)SEVERAL FEDERATION DROIDS patrol a deserted city street. The Palace can beseen in the distance.INT. NABOO PALACE - THRONE ROOM - THEED - NIGHTNUTE sits in a strange, mechanical walking chair, which approaches SIOBIBBLE and SEVERAL OTHER NABOO OFFICIALS. RUNE follows a few paces behind.DROID GUARDS surround SIO BIBBLE and THE OTHERS as FOUR COUNCIL MEMBERSwatch.NUTE : When are you going to give up this pointless strike? Your Queen islost, your people are starving, and you, Governor, are going to die, muchsooner than your people, I'm afraid. Take him away!BIBBLE : This invasion will gain you nothing. We're a democracy. The peoplehave decided... They will not live under your tyranny.BIBBLE is taken away as OOM-9 approaches NUTE.OOM-9 : My troops are in position to begin searching the swamps for theserumored underwater villages... they will not stay hidden for long.INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - MAIN AREAThe ship is asleep. The lights are dim as PADME walks into the main room.She goes to a monitor and watches the BIBBLE plea recording. JAR JAR isstretched out on the floor, snoring. ARTOO is to one side, cooing as herests.PADME appears tired. She senses someone watching her and turns around witha start. She sees ANAKIN sitting in the corner, shivering and lookingverydejected. She goes over to him. He looks up at her with tears in hiseyes. He is holding his arms to keep himself warm.PADME : Are you all right?ANAKIN : It's very cold.PADME gives him her over-jacket.PADME : You're from a warm planet, Annie. Too warm for my taste. Space iscold.ANAKIN : You seem sad.PADME : The Queen is...worried. Her people are suffering...dying. She mustconvince the Senate to intervene, or...I'm not sure what will happen.ANAKIN : I'm...I'm not sure what's going to happen to me. I dunno if I'llever see you again.. (he pulls something from his pocket) I made this foryou. Sou you'd remember me. I carved it out of a japor snippet... It willbring you good fortune.ANAKIN hands a wooden pendant to PADME. She inspects it, then puts itaround her neck.PADME : It's beautiful, but I don't need this to remember you. Many thingswill change when we reach the capital, Annie. My caring for you will alwaysremain.ANAKIN : I care for you too. Only I...miss...ANAKIN is disturbed about something. Tears are in his eyes.PADME : ...You miss your mother.ANAKIN looks at her, unable to speak. She hugs him.EXT. SPACE - PLANET CORUSCANT (FX)MOVE with the ship as it heads toward Coruscant.INT. CORUSCANT - CITYSCAPE - NABOO SPACECRAFT - DAY (FX)The spacecraft dlies over the endlesscityscape of Coruscant, the capital ofthe galaxy.INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - COCKPITANAKIN looks out the cockpit window in awe.RIC OLIE : Coruscant...the capital of the Republic...the entire planet isone big city.ANAKIN : Wow! It's so huge!INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - DAY (FX)The ship flies through the cityscape of Coruscant.EXT. CORUSCANT - SENATE LANDING PLATFORM - DAYSupreme Chancellor VALORUM, SEVERAL GUARDS, and SENATOR PALPATINE stand ona landing platform.The sleek Naboo spacecraft lands on the platform high above the streetlevel of the galactic capital. The ramp lowers. OBI-WAN, QUI-GON, JAR JARand ANAKIN descend the ramp first and bow before PALPATINE and VALORUM.CAPTAIN PANAKA, TWO GUARDS, QUEEN AMIDALA, then PADME, RABE, EIRTAE,andMORE GUARDS descend the ramp. QUEEN AMIDALA stops before the group.ANAKIN and JAR JAR stand to one side, looking at the huge city. PADMEsmiles at ANAKIN. PALPATINE bows before the Queen.PALPATINE : It is a great gift to see you alive, Your Majesty. May Ipresent Supreme Chancellor Valorum.VALORUM : Welcome, Your Highness. It is an honor to finally meet you inperson. I must relay to you how distressed everyone is over the currantsituation. I've called for a special session of the Senate to hear yourposition.AMIDALA : I am grateful for your concern, Chancellor.PALPATINE starts to lead QUEEN AMIDALA and her RETINUE off the platformtoward a waiting air taxi.PALPATINE : There is a question of precedure, but I feel confident we canovercome it...JAR JAR and ANAKIN start to follow, then stop, noticing that OBI-WAN andQUI-GON are staying with the SUPREME CHANCELLOR. QUEEN AMIDALA waves to theduo to follow her. ANAKIN looks back to QUI-GON, and he nods to go ahead.ANAKIN and JAR JAR join the QUEEN, PALPATINE, PADME, RABE and EIRTAE in thetaxi. PALPATINE gives the Gungan and the boy in the back of the taxi askeptical look. JAR JAR leans over to ANAKIN.JAR JAR : Da Queens- a bein grossly nice, mesa tinks. (he looks around)Pitty hot!VALORUM and the JEDI watch the taxi move off into the city.QUI-GON : I must speak with the Jei Council immediately, Your Honor. Thesituation has become more complicated.INT. PALPATINE'S QUARTERS - ANTEROOM - DAYQUEEN AMIDALA is sitting listening to PALPATINE. EIRTAE and RABE standbehind the QUEEN; PADME is nowhere to be sen. ANAKIN and JAR JAR arewaiting in an adjoining room. They can see the Queen but cannot hear whatis being said.JAR JAR : Dissen all pitty odd to my.ANAKIN : Don't look at me. I don't know what's going on.CAPTAIN PANAKA enters, then goes into the room with QUEEN AMIDALA.INT. PALPATINE'S QUARTERS - LIVING AREA - DAYPALPATINE is pacing as CAPTAIN PANAKA enters. EIRTAE and RABE stand to oneside.PALPATINE : ...the Republic is not what it once was. The Senate is full ofgreedy, squabbling delegates who are only looking out for themselves andtheir home sytems. There is no interest in the common good...no civility,only politics...its disgusting. I must be frank, Your Majesty, there islittle chance the Senate will act on the invasion.AMIDALA : Chancellor Valorum seems to think there is hope.PALPATINE : If I may say so, Your Majesty, the Chancellor has little realpower...he is mired down by baseless accusations of corruption. Amanufactured scandal surrounds him. The bureaucrats are in charge now.AMIDALA : What options do we have?PALPATINE : Our best choice would be to push for the election of a strongerSupreme Chancellor. One who will take control of the bureaucrats, enforcesthe laws, and give us justice. You could call for a vote of no confidencein Chancellor Valorum.AMIDALA : He has been our strongest supporter. Is there any other way?PALPATINE : Our only other choice would to be to submit a plea to thecourts...AMIDALA : There's no time for that. The courts take even longer to decidethings than the Senate. Our people are dying, Senator...more and more eachday. We must do something quickly to stop the Federation.PALPATINE : To be realistic, Your Highness, I'd say we're going to have toaccept Federation control for the time being.AMIDALA : There is something I cannot do.EXT. TEMPLE OF THE JEDI - DAY (FX)A unique building with it tall spires stands out against the Coruscantskyline. A small transport passes by the vast temple.INT. TEMPLE OF THE JEDI - COUNCIL CHAMBERS - DAYQUI-GON stands in a tall stately room. Twelve JEDI sit in a semi-circle.OBI-WAN stands behind QUI-GON in the center of the room.The Senior Jedi is MACE WINDU. To his left is an alien Jedi namedKI-ADI-MUNDI, and to his right, the Jedi Master, YODA.QUI-GON : ...my only conclusion can be that it was a Sith Lord.MACE WINDU : A Sith Lord?!?KI-ADI : Impossible! The Sith have been extinct for a millenium.YODA : The very Republic is threatened, if involved the Sith are.MACE WINDU : I do not believe they could have returned without us knowing.YODA : Hard to see, the dark side is. Discover who this assassin is, wemust.KI-ADI : I sense he will reveal himself again.MACE WINDU : This attack was with purpose, that is clear, and I agree theQueen is the target.YODA : With this Naboo queen you must stay, Qui-Gon. Protect her.MACE WINDU : We will use all our resources here to unravel this mystery anddiscover the identity of your attacker... May the Force be with you.YODA : May the Force be with you.OBI-WAN turns to leave, but QUI-GON continues to face the Council.YODA : (Cont'd) Master Qui-Gon more to say have you?QUI-GON : With your permission, my Master. I have encountered a vergence inthe Force.YODA : A vergence, you say?MACE WINDU : Located around a person?QUI-GON : A boy... his cells have the highest concentration ofmidi-chlorians I have seen in a life form. It is possible he was conceivedby the midi-chlorians.MACE WINDU : You're referring to the prophesy of the one who will bringbalance to the Force...you believe it's this boy??QUI-GON : I don't pressume...YODA : But you do! Rrevealed your opinion is.QUI-GON : I request the boy be tested.The JEDI all look to one another. They nod and turn back to OBI-WAN andQUI-GON.YODA : Trained as a Jedi, you request for him?QUI-GON : Finding him was the will of the Force...I have no doubt of that.There is too much happening here...MACE WINDU : Bring him before us, then.YODA : Tested he will be.INT. QUEENS QUARTERS - CORUSCANT - DAY Anakin, tentative, walks down one ofthe long hallways in Senator Palpatine's quarters. He stops before a dorthat is flanked by TWO GUARDS.GUARD : May I help you, son?ANAKIN : I'm...I'm looking for the handmaiden, Padme.The GUARD speaks into his comlink as ANAKIN looks around a bit nervously.GUARD : The boy is here to see Padme.RABE : Send him in.The doors open, and ANAKIN enters the Queen's quarters.RABE greets ANAKIN as TWO OTHER HANDMAIDENS come and go into the next room.ANAKIN : I'd like to speak with Padme, if I could.RABE : I'm sorry, Annie. Padme is not here right now.The Queen speaks out in the next room.AMIDALA : (O.S.) Who is it?RABE : Anakin Skywalker, to see Padme, Your Highness.The QUEEN moves into the doorway and studies ANAKIN. ANAKIN bows and looksdown, then takes a peek at her.AMIDALA : I've sent Padme on an errand.ANAKIN : I'm going to the Jedi temple to start my training, I hope.The QUEEN just stares at him.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) I may not see her again...and... I just wanted to saygoodbye.AMIDALA : We will tell her for you. We're sure her heart goes with you.ANAKIN bows again.ANAKIN : Thank you, Your Highness. I'm sorry to have disturbed you.The QUEEN dissapears behind the doorway, and ANAKIN exits.EXT. CORUSCANT - GALACTIC SENATE BUILDING - DAY (FX)A large, distinctive looking domed building stands out amid the cityscapeof Coruscant.INT. MAIN ROTUNDA - GALACTIC SENATE - DAYThe Senate chambers are huge. Thousands of SENATORS and their AIDES sit inthe circular assembly area. CHANCELLOR VALORUM sits in an elevated area inthe center. Hindreds of AIDES and DROIDS hurry about. SENATOR PALPATINE,QUEEN AMIDALA, EIRTA, RABE, and CAPTAIN PANAKA sit in the Naboocongressional box, which is actually a floating platform. PALPATINE leansover to the QUEEN.PALPATINE : If the Federation moves to defer the motion...Your Majesty,Ibeg of you to ask for a resolution to end this congressional session.AMIDALA : I wish I had your confidence in this, Senator.PALPATINE : You must force a new election for Supreme Chancellor...Ipromise you there are many who will support us...it is our best chance...Your Majesty, our only, chance.AMIDALA : You truely believe Chancellor Valorum will not bring our motionto a vote?PALAPATINE : He is distracted...he is afraid. He will be of no help.VALORUM : The Chair recognizes the Senator from the sovereign system ofNaboo.The Naboo congressional box floats into the center.PALPATINE : Supreme Chancellor, delegates of the Senate. A tragedy hasoccured on our peaceful system of Naboo. We have become caugt in a disputeyou're all well aware of, which began right here with the taxation of traderoutes, and has now engulfed our entire planet in the oppresion of theTrade Federation.A second box rushes into the center of the Senate. It is filled withFederation trade barons led by LOTT DOD, the Senator for the Federation.LOTT DOD : This is outrageous! I object to the Senator's statements!VALORUM : The Chair does not recognize the Senator from the TradeFederation at this time. Please return to your station.LOTT DOD reluctantly moves back to his place.PALPATINE : To state our allegations, I present Queen Amidala, the recentlyelected ruler of Naboo, to speak on our behalf.QUEEN AMIDALA stands and addresses the assembly. There is some applause.AMIDALA : Honorable representatives of the Republic, distinguisheddelegates, and Your Honor Supreme Chancellor Valorum, I come to you underthe gravest of circumstances. The Naboo system has been invaded by force.Invaded...against all the laws of the Republic by the Droid Armies of theTrade...LOTT DOD : I object! There is no proof. This is incredible. We recommend acommision be sent to Naboo to assertain the truth.VALORUM : Overruled.LOTT DOD : Your Honor, you cannot allow us to be condemned withoutreasonable observation. It's against all the rules of procedure.A third box representing Malastare moves into the center of the room. AKSMOE, the Ambassador, addresses the convention.AKS MOE : The Congress of Malastare concurs with the honorable delegatefrom the Trade Federation. A commision must be appointed...that is the law.VALORUM : The point...VALORUM confers with several of his AIDES and VICE CHAIRMAN MAS AMEDDA.PALPATINE whispers something to the QUEEN.PALPATINE : Enter the bureaucrats, the true rulers of the Republic, and onthe payroll of the Trade Federation, I might add. This is where ChancellorValorum's strength will dissapear.VALORUM : The point is conceded...Section 523A take precedence here. QueenAmidala of the Naboo, will you defer your motion to allow a commission toexplore the validity of your accusations?QUEEN AMIDALA is angry but remains composed.AMIDALA : (angrily) I will not defer...I have come before you to resolvethis attack on our sovereignty now. I was not elected to watch my peoplesuffer and die while you discuss this invasion in a committee. If this bodyis not capable of action, I suggest new leadership is needed. I move for a"vote of no confidence"...in Chancellor Valorum's leadership.VALORUM : What?...No!This causes a great stir in the assembly. A loud mumur cresendos into aroar of approval and jeers. CHANCELLOR VALORUM is stunned and standsspeechless. His Vice Chair, MAS AMEDDA, takes over.MAS AMEDDA : Order! We shall have order...Things settledown a little. The Federation box settles next to AMIDALA.PRINCE BAIL ORGANA moves his box into the arena.BAIL ORGANA : Alderaan seconds the motion for a vote of no confidence inChancellor Valorum.MAD AMEDDA : The motion has been seconded by Bail Organa of Alderaan.MAS AMEDDA turns to the confused VALORUM, and whispers something to him.BAIL ORGANA : There must be no delays. The motion is on the floor and mustbe voted upon in this session.LOTT DOD : The Trade Federation moves the motion be sent to the procedurescommittee for study.The assembly begins to chant. VALORUM talks to MAS AMEDDA.ASSEMBLY : Vote now! Vote now! Vote now!PALPATINE stands next to AMIDALA.PALPATINE : You see, Your Majaesty, the tide is with us...Valorum will bevoted out, I assure you, and they will elect in a new Chancellor, a strongChancellor, one who will not let our tragedy continue...MAS AMEDDA : Thew Supreme Chancellor requests a recess. Tomorrow we willbegin the vote.The Federation delegation is furious. VALORUM turns to PALPATINE.VALORUM : Palpatine, I thought you were my ally...my friend. You havebetrayed me! How could you do this?EXT. PALACE OF THE JEDI - BALCONY - SUNSETOBI-WAN and QUI-GON stand outside the palace on a balcony.OBI-WAN : The boy will not pass the Council's tests, Master, and you knowit. He is far too old.QUI-GON : Anakin will become A Jedi...I promise you.OBI-WAN : Don't defy the Council, Master..not again.QUI-GON : I will do what I must.OBI-WAN : Master, you could be sitting on the Council by now if you wouldjust follow the code. They will not go along with you this time.QUI-GON : You still have much to learn, my young apprentice.INT. PALACE OF THE JEDI - COUNCIL CHAMBERS - SUNSETANAKIN stands before the TWELVE JEDI. MACE WINDU holds a small hand-heldviewing screen. In rapid succession, images flash across the screen.ANAKIN : A ship...a cup...a speeder.MACE WINDU turns the viewing screen off and nods toward YODA.YODA : Good, good, young one. How feel you?ANAKIN : Cold, sir.YODA : Afraid are you?ANAKIN : No, sir.MACE WINDU : Afraid to give up your life?ANAKIN : I don't think so.ANAKIN hesitates for a moment.YODA : See through you, we can.MACE WINDU : Be mindful of your feelings...KI-ADI : YOur thoughts dwell on your mother.ANAKIN : I miss her.YODA : Afraid to lose her..I think.ANAKIN : (a little angry) What's that got to do with anything?YODA : Eveything. Fear is the path to the dark side... fear leads toanger... anger leads to hate.. hate leads to suffering.ANAKIN : (angrily) I am not afraid!YODA : A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. Isense much fear in you.ANAKIN : (quietly) I am not afraid.YODA : Then continue, we will.INT. PALPATINES QUARTERS - SUNSETQUEEN AMIDALA is standing, staring out the window, with JAR JAR. The lightsof the city shimmer before them. EIRTAE and SABE stand near the door. JARJAR turns to face the QUEEN and sees her sadness.JAR JAR : Mesa wonder why da guds invent pain?AMIDALA : To motivate us, I imagine...JAR JAR : Yousa tinken yousa people ganna die?AMIDALA : I don't know.JAR JAR : Gungans ganna get pasted too, eh?AMIDALA : I hope not.JAR JAR : Gungans do die'n without a fight.... wesa warriors. Wesa gottagrand army. Dat why you no liken us, metinks.PALPATINE and CAPTAIN PANAKA rush into the rom and bow before the QUEEN.CAPT. PANAKA : Your Highness, Senator Palpatine has been nominated tosucceed Valorum as Supreme Chancellor.PALPATINE : A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. I promise, YourMajesty, if I am elected, I will bring democracy back to the Republic. Iwill put an end to corruption. The Trade Fedreation will lose its influenceover the bureaucrats, and our people will be freed.AMIDALA : Who else can be nominated?CAPT. PANAKA : Bail Antilles of Alderaan and Ainlee Teem of Malastare.PALPATINE : I feel confident...our "situation" will create a strongsympaphy vote for us... I will be Chancellor, I promise you.AMIDALA : I fear by the time you have control of the bureaucrats, Senator,there will be nothing left of our cities, our people, our way of life...PALPATINE : I understand your concern, Your Majesty; unfortunately, theFederation has possession of our planet. The law is in their favor.AMIDALA : With the Senate in transition, there is nothing more I can dohere...Senator, this is your arena. I feel I must return to mine. I havedecided to go back to Naboo. My place is with my people.PALPATINE : Go back!! But, Your Majesty, be realistic! You would be indanger. They will force you to sign the treaty.AMIDALA : I will sign no treaty, Senator. My fate will be no different fromthat of our people. Captain!CAPT. PANAKA : Yes, Your Highness?AMIDALA : Ready my ship!CAPT. PANAKA : Please, Your Majesty, stay here...where it's safe.AMIDALA : No place is safe, if the Senate doesn't condemn this invasion. Itis clear to me now that the Republic no longer functions as a democracy. Ifyou win the election, Senator, I know you will do everything possible tostop the Federation. I pray you will bring sanity and compassion back tothe Senate.AMIDALA and her RETINUE exit the room. PALPATINE has a self-satisfied smileon his face.INT. TEMPLE OF THE JEDI - COUNCIL CHAMBERS - TWILIGHTANAKIN, OBI-WAN, and QUI-GON stand before the TWELVE MEMBERS OF THE JEDICOUNCIL.YODA : ...Correct you were, Qui-Gon.MACE WINDU : His cells contain a high concentration of midi-chlorians.KI-ADI : The Force is strong with him.QUI-GON : He's to be trained, then.The COUNCIL MEMBERS look to one another.MACE WINDU : No. He will not be trained.ANAKIN is crestfallen; tears begin to form in his eyes.QUI-GON : No??!!OBI-WAN smiles.MACE WINDU : He is too old. There is already too much anger in him.QUI-GON : He is the chosen one...you must see it.YODA : Clouded, this boy's future is. Masked by his youth.QUI-GON : I will trin him, then. I take Anakin as my Padawan learner.OBI-WAN reacts with surprise. ANAKIN watches with interest.YODA : An apprentice, you have, Qui-Gon. Impossible, to take on a second.MACE WINDU : We forbid it.QUI-GON : Obi-Wan is ready...OBI-WAN : Iam ready to face the trials.YODA : Ready so early, are you? What know you of ready?ANAKIN watches as QUI-GON and OBI-WAN exchange angry looks.QUI-GON : Headstrong....and he has much to learn about the living Force,but he is capabe. There is little more he will learn from me.YODA : Our own council we will keep on who is ready. More to learn, hehas...MACE WINDU : Now is not the time for this...the Senate is voting for a newSpreme Chancellor. Queen Amidala is returning home, which will put pressureon the Federation, and could widen the confrontation.YODA : And draw out the Queen's attacker.KI-ADI : Events are moving fast...too fast.MACE WINDU : Go with the Queen to Naboo and discover the identity of thedark warrior. That is the clue we need to unravel this mystery of the Sith.YODA : Young Skywalker's fate will be decided later.QUI-GON : I brought Anakin here; he must stay in my charge. He has nowhereelse to go.MACE WINDU : He is your ward, Qui-Gon...we will not dispute that.YODA : Train him not. Take him with you, but train him not!MACE WINDU : Protect the Queen, but do not intercede if it comes to waruntil we have the Senate's approval.YODA : May the Force be with you.OBI-WAN, QUI-GON, and ANAKIN leave.EXT. CORUSCANT - SENATE LANDING PLATFORM - NIGHTQUI-GON, OBI-WAN, and ANAKIN stand on the landing platform outside theship. ARTOO whistles a happy tune as he leans over the edge of theplatform, watching the traffic. Suddenly, he leans over too far and fallsoverboard. After a moment, he reappears, using his on-board jets to propelhimself back onto the landing platform. The wind whips at ANAKIN as helistens to the JEDI.OBI-WAN : It is not disrespect, Master, it is the truth.QUI-GON : From your point of view....OBI-WAN : The boy is dangerous...they all sense it. Why can't you?QUI-GON : His fate is uncertain, not dangerous. The Council will decideAnakin's future...that should be enough for you. Now get on board!OBI-WAN reluctantly boards the Naboo spacecraft followed by ARTOO. QUI-GONgoes over to ANAKIN.ANAKIN : Master Qui-Gon, sir, I do not wish to be a problem.QUI-GON : You won't be, Annie....I'm not allowed to train you, so I wantyou to watch me and be mindful...always remember, your focus determinesyour reality. Stay close to me and you will be safe.ANAKIN : Master, sir...I've been wondering...what are midi-chlorians?QUI-GON : Midi-chlorians are a microcopic lifeform that reside within allliving cells and communicates with the Force.ANAKIN : They live inside of me?QUI-GON : In your cells. We are symbionts with the midi-chlorians.ANAKIN : Symbionts?QUI-GON : Life forms living together for mutual advantage. Without themidi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of theForce. They continually speak to you, telling you the will of the Force.ANAKIN : They do??QUI-GON : When you learn to quiet your mind, you will hear them speaking toyou.ANAKIN : I don't understand.QUI-GON : With time and training, Annie...you will.Two taxis pull up, and CAPTAIN PANAKA, SENATOR PALPATINE, TWENTY OR SOTROOPS, GUARDS, and OFFICERS walk briskly toward the ship, followed byQUEEN AMIDALA, PADME, EIRTAE, and finally, JAR JAR. AMIDALA and herHANDMAIDENS stop before the JEDI.QUI-GON : (Cont'd) Your Highness, it is our pleasure to continue to serveand protect you.AMIDALA : I welcome your help. Senator Palpatine fears the Federation meansto destroy me.QUI-GON : I promise you, I will not let that happen.AMIDALA enters the ship, followed by her HANDMAIDENS. JAR JAR hugs QUI-GONand ANAKIN.JAR JAR : Wesa goen home!They ALL move onto the ship. The ship takes off.INT. NABOO PALACE - THRONE ROOM - THEED - NIGHTNUTE and RUNE stand before a hologram of DARTH SIDIOUS.DARTH SIDIOUS : The Queen is on her way to you. I regret she is of nofurther use to us. When she gets there, destroy her.NUTE : Yes, my Lord.DARTH SIDIOUS : Viceroy, is the planet secure?NUTE : Yes, my Lord, we have taken over the last pockets of primitive lifeforms. We are in complete control of the planet now.DARTH SIDIOUS : Good. I will see to it that in the Senate, things stay asthey are. I am sending Darth Maul to join you. He will deal with the Jedi.NUTE : Yes, my Lord.DARTH SIDIOUS fades off.RUNE : A Sith lord here with us?!!INT. SPACE - NABOO SPACECRAFT COCKPITANAKIN stands next to the PILOT, RIC OLIE, pointing to various buttons andgauges.ANAKIN : ...and that one?RIC OLIE : The forward stabalizer.ANAKIN : And those control the pitch?RIC OLIE : You catch on pretty quick.INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - QUEEN'S CHAMBERSSABE and EIRTAE stand behind QUEEN AMIDALA as she talks with QUI-GON andCAPTAIN PANAKA. OBI-WAN and JAR JAR watch.CAPT. PANAKA : The moment we land the Federation will arrest you, and forceyou to sign the treaty.QUI-GON : I agree...I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish by this.AMIDALA : I'm going to take back what's ours.CAPT. PANAKA : There are only twelve of us, Your Highness....we have noarmy.QUI-GON : I cannot fight a war for you, Your Highness, only protect you.AMIDALA : Jar Jar Binks!JAR JAR looks around, puzzled.JAR JAR : Mesa, Your Highness?AMIDALA : Yes. I need your help.INT. NABOO CRUISER COCKPIT - DAYThe Naboo Cruiser heads toward the lush green planet. There is only oneFederation battle cruiser orbiting. OBI-WAN and CAPTAIN PANAKA spot it onthe view screen.PANAKA : The blockade's gone.OBI-WAN : The war's over...No need for it now.RIC OLIE : I have one battleship on my scope.OBI-WAN : A droid control ship.PANAKA : They've probably spotted us.OBI-WAN ; We haven't much time.INT. NABOO SPACECRAFT - MAIN HOLDThe QUEEN, CAPTAIN PANAKA, TROOPS, and HANDMAIDENS get ready to disembarkas the ship alnds. The elevator door slides open, and ANAKIN emerges intothe hold area. He see PADME and run up to her.ANAKIN : Hi! Where have you been?PADME : Annie! What are you doing here?ANAKIN : I'm with Qui-Gon...but...they're not going to let me be a Jedi.I'm too old.PADME : This is going to be dangerous, Annie.ANAKIN : Is it? I can help... Where are we going?PADME : To war, I'm afraid. The Queen has had to make the most difficulddecision of her life. She doesn't believe in fighting, Annie. We are apeaceful people...ANAKIN : I want to help...I'm glad you're back.ANAKIN smiles. PADME smiles back.EXT. NABOO SWAMP - DAYThe Naboo spacecraft has landed in the Gungan swamp. TROOPS unload theships in the background as OBI-WAN approaches QUI-GON.OBI-WAN : Jar Jar is on his way to the Gungan city, Master.QUI-GON's thoughts are elsewhere.QUI-GON : Good.OBI-WAN and QUI-GON stand silently for a moment.OBI-WAN : Do you think the Queen's idea will work?QUI-GON : The Gungans will not easily be swayed, and we cannot use ourpower to help her.OBI-WAN : I'm...I'm sorry for my behavior, Master. It is not my place todisagree with you about the boy. I am grateful you think I am ready for thetrials.QUI-GON looks at him for a long moment.QUI-GON : You have been a good apprentice. You are much wiser than Iam,Obi-Wan. I foresee you will become a great Jedi Knight.EXT. NABOO SWAMP - UNDERWATER - DAY (FX)JAR JAR swims down into Bubble City.INT. OTOH GUNGA - CITY SQUAREJAR JAR enters the main square of the bubble city. He stands, stunned, inamazement and fear. He is nervous and shaking.JAR JAR : Ello! Where das everybody?The plaza is empty. He notices that many of the buildings are shot up as ifthere had been a battle of some kind.EXT. NABOO SWAMP LAKE - DAYJAR JAR exits the swamp lake and walks over to QUEEN AMIDALA, CAPTAINPANAKA, OBI-WAN, and QUI-GON. PADME, EIRTAE, RABE, ANAKIN, and ARTOO,FOURPILOTS, and EIGHT GUARDS stand in the background near the starship.JAR JAR : Dare-sa nobody dare. All gone. Some kinda fight, I tink. Sorry,no Gungas...no Gungas.CAPT. PANAKA : Do you think they have been taken to camps?OBI-WAN : More likely they were wiped out.JAR JAR : No...mesa no tink so. Gungan hiden. When in trouble, go to sacredplace. Mackineeks no find them dare.QUI-GON : Do you know where they are?EXT. NABOO SWAMP - DAYThe GROUP follows JAR JAR as he moves through the swamp. JAR JAR stops andsniffs the air. The GROUP stop behind him.JAR JAR : Dissen it.JAR JAR makes a strange chattering noise. Suddenly, out of nowhere, CAPTAINTARPALS and SIX OTHER GUNGAN TROOPS riding on KAADUS emerge from the brush.JAR JAR : (Cont'd) Heyo-dalee, Captain Tarpals.CAPT. TARPALS : Binks!! Noah gain!JAR JAR : We comen to see da boss.CAPTIAN TARPALS rolls his eyes.CAPT. TARPALS : Ouch time, Binks... Ouch time for all-n youse.EXT. NABOO SACRED TEMPLE RUINS - DAYJAR JAR, QUEEN AMIDALA, ANAKIN, ARTOO, QUI-GON, OBI-WAN, PADME, RABE,EIRTAE, and the rest of her group are led through a clearing full of GUNGANrefugees. At the far end are the ruins of a grand temple with massivecarved heads. BOSS NASS and several other COUNCIL MEMBERS walk out on thetop of a three-quarter-submerged head.BOSS NASS : Jar Jar, yousa payen dis time. Who's da uss-en others??QUEEN AMIDALA steps forward. CAPTAIN PANAKA and the JEDI stand behind her.AMIDALA : I am Queen Amidala of the Naboo...I come before you in peace.BOSS NASS : Naboo biggen. Yousa bringen da Mackineeks... Dya busten uss-enomm. Yousa all bombad. Yousa all die'n, mesa tink.CAPTAIN PANAKA and HALF A DOZEN GUARDS and PILOTS look around nervously,and the GUNGAN TROOPS lower their long power poles. The JEDI stay relaxed.ANAKIN watches everything with great interest.AMIDALA : We wish to form an alliance...Suddenly, PADME steps forward.PADME : Your Honor...ARTOO whistles a quiet "uh oh."BOSS NASS : Whosa dis?PADME : I am Queen Amidala (points to Queen) This is my decoy...myprotection...my loyal bodyguard.ANAKIN is stunned. OBI-WAN and QUI-GON give each other a knowing look.PADME : (Cont'd) ...I am sorry for my deception, but under thecircumstances it has become necessary to protect myself. Although we do notalways agree, Your Honor, our two great societies have always lived inpeace...until now. The Trade Federation has destroyed all that we haveworked so hard to build. You are in hiding, my people are in camps. If wedo not act quickly, all will be lost forever...I ask you to help us...no, Ibeg you to help us.PADME drops to her knees and prostrates herself before BOSS NASS. There isa gasp from CAPTAIN PANAKA, HIS TROOPS, and the HANDMAIDENS.PADME : (Cont'd) We are your humble servants...our fate is in your hands.Slowly, CAPTAIN PANAKA and his TROOPS bow down before the GUNGAN COUNCIL.Then the HANDMAIDENS, ANAKIN, and finally the JEDI. The GUNGANS are puzzledby this. BOSS NASS begins to laugh.BOSS NASS : Yousa no tinken yousa greater den da Gungans.. Mesa like dis.Maybe wesa bein friends.INT. NABOO PALACE - THRONE ROOM - DAYNUTE, RUNE, and DARTH MAUL walk with a hologram of DARTH SIDIOUS.NUTE : ...we've sent out patrols. We've already located their starship inthe swamp....It won't be long, My Lord.DARTH SIDIOUS : This is an unexpected move for her. It's too aggresive..Lord Maul, be mindful.DARTH MAUL : Yes, my Master.DARTH SIDIOUS : Be patient... Let them make the first move.EXT. NABOO EDGE OF SWAMP/ GRASS PLAINS - DAYA GUNGAN SENTRY sits on top of the ancient temple heah, searching thelandscape with a pair of electrobinoculars. He sees something and yellsdown to ANAKIN at the foot of the statue.GUNGAN LOOKOUT : Daza comen!ANAKIN : All right. They're here!ANAKIN yells and runs over to PADME and the JEDI, who are discussing abattle plan with FIVE GUNGAN GENERALS. SABE and EIRTAE stand nearby. BOSSNASS puts his arm around JAR JAR.BOSS NASS : Yousa doen grand. Jar Jar bringen da Naboo together.JAR JAR : Oh, no, no, no...BOSS NASS : So, wesa maken yousa Bombad General.JAR JAR : General??! Oh, no..JAR JAR's eyes roll back, his tongue flops out and he faints.FOUR SPEEDERS pull up to the GROUP. CAPTAIN PANAKA and a DOZEN OR SOGUARDSand PILOT pile out and join the group.PADME : What is the situation?CAPT. PANAKA : Almost everyone's in camps. A few hundred police and guardshave formed an underground movement. I brought as many of the keaders as Icould. The Federation Army's also much larger than we thought, and muchstronger. Your Highness, this is a battle I do not think we can win.PADME : The battle is a diversion. The Gungans must draw theDroid Army awayfrom the cities. We can enter the city using the secret passages on thewaterfall side. Once we get to the main entrance, Captain Pnaka will createa diversion, so that we can enter the palace and capture the Viceroy.Without the Viceroy, they will be lost and confused.QUI-GON and OBI-WAN look on with interest.PADME : (Cont'd) What do you think, Master Jedi?QUI-GON : The Viceroy will be well guarded.CAPT. PANAKA : The difficulty's getting into the throne room. Once we'reinside, we shouldn't have a problem.QUI-GON : There is a possibility with this diversion many Gungans will bekilled.BOSS NASS : Wesa ready to do are-sa part.JAR JAR smiles a very worried and sheepish grin. ANAKIN watches withinterest, as does ARTOO.PADME : We have a plan which should immobilize the Droid Army. We will sendwhat pilots we have to knock out the Droid control ship which is orbitingthe planet. If we can get past their rayshields, we can sever communicationand their droids will be helpless.QUI-GON : A well-conceived plan. However, there's great risk. The weaponson your fighters may not penetrate the shields on the control ship.OBI-WAN : And there's an even bigger danger. If the Vicroy escapes, YourHighness, he will return with another droid army.PADME : That is why we must not fail to get to the Viceroy. Everythingdepends on it.INT. THEED - PALACE - THRONE ROOM - DAYNUTE, RUNE, DARTH MAUL, OOM-9, and a hologram of DARTH SIDIOUS walk throughthe throne room.DARTH SIDIOUS : ...she is more foolish than I thought.NUTE : We are sending all available troops to meet this army of hersassembling near the swamp. It appears to be made up of primitives. We donot expect much resistance.OOM-9 : I am increasing security at all Naboo detention camps.DARTH MAUL : I feel there is more to this, My Master. The two Jedi may beusing the Queen for their own purposes.DARTH SIDIOUS : The Jedi cannot become involved. They can only protect theQueen. Even Qui-Gon Jinn will not break that conenant.... This will work toour advantage...NUTE : I have your approval to proceed then, My Lord.DARTH SIDIOUS : Proceed. Wipe them put...all of them. INT. NABOO SWAMP LAKE- DAY (FX)All is peaceful. SMALL CRITTERS drink out of a large swamp lake. Suddenlythere is a disturbance in the middle of the lake. A rush of bubbles, then aGUNGAN SOLDIER riding a KAADU emerges from the water, followed by SEVERALOTHERS. FROGS and OTHER LITTLE ANIMALS flee in all directions as the GUNGANARMY marches through the swamp. The KAADU shake themselves off as they exitthe lake. When JAR JAR's KAADU shakes off, JAR JAR falls off.SOLDIERS on huge, lizard-like FAMBAAS with large shield generators mountedon their backs follow the marching WARRIORS. The GUNGAN ARMY heads out ofthe swamp and onto the rolling grassy hills.HUNDREDS OF GUNGAN WARRIORS march in lon lines toward the horizon.Federation tanks move up to a ridge and stop. In the distance they see theGUNGAN ARMY marching toward them. The GUNGAN GENERAL CEEL sees the tanks onthe ridge and orders a halt. The GUNGANS are spread out in a large line.JAR JAR is nervous. GENERAL CEEL signals to the shield operators.GENERAL CEEL : Energize the shields.A red ray shoots out of the generator and blasts into a large dish on theback of a second FAAMBA and spreads like an umbrella over the assembledWARRIORS.EXT. THEED - CENTRAL PLAZA - DAYPADME, followed by EIRTAE, OBI-WAN, QUI-GON, ANAKIN, and ARTOO, stealthilymakes her way toward the entrance to the main hanger. They are followed byabout TWENTY NABOO GUARDS, PILOTS, and TROOPS. They stop, and PADME uses asmall red laser light to signal across the plaza to CAPTAIN PANAKA, RABEand TWENTY OTHER ASSORTED NABOO TROOPS. They signal back. QUI-GON leansover to ANAKIN.QUI-GON : Once we get inside, Annie, you find a safe placeto hide and staythere.ANAKIN : Sure.QUI-GON : And stay there!DROID TROOPS mill about the tank-filled plaza. At the far end of the plaza,SEVERAL DROIDS begin to run and fire. NABOO SOLDIERS begin to fire back atthe BATTLE DROIDS.As the ruckus erupts at one end of the plaza, PADME and her TROOPS rushinto the main hanger. CAPTAIN PANAKA and HIS SOLDIERS continue to engagethe DROIDS outside.INT. THEED - CENTRAL HANGER - DAYALARMS ARE SOUNDING a PADME, the JEDI, ANAKIN, EIRTAE, and PADME's TROOPSrush into the hanger. BATTLE DROIDS begin firing at them as they run forcover. ANAKIN runs under a Naboo fighter. The JEDI deflect bolts aimed atPADME back onto the BATTLE DROIDS, causing them to EXPLODE.INT. THEED - PALACE THRONE ROOM - DAYNUTE, RUNE, and FOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS watch the plaza battle on a large viewscreen.NUTE : I thought the battle was going to take place far from here...this istoo close!RUNE : What is going on?DARTH MAUL enters the throne room.DARTH MAUL : I told you there was more to this...the Jedi are involved.EXT. NABOO GRASS PLAINS - DAY (FX)The Federation tanks begin to fire on the GUNGANS, but they are protectedby their energy shield. The tanks stop firing, and the GUNGANS CHEER, untilthey see the doors to the massive transports open, and racks of BATTLEDROIDS are pulled out and lined up by a squad of STAPS.The BATTLE DROIDS reconfigure into their standing position. The GUNGANS getready for an attack. OOM-9 gives the command to move forward, and THOUSANDSOF DROIDS march toward the GUNGANS.The GUNGANS power up their weapons. The DROIDS slowly march through theprotective shield and start firing. The GUNGANS throw their power poles andfling small balls of energy with slingshots. The WARRIORS dump large ballsof energy into mortars that heat up and fire the energy goo onto the BATTLEDROIDS, causing them to short out.The battle rages and the GUNGANS defend their shield generators against theARMY OF DROIDS. OOM-9 watches from a tank on a hill overlooking the battle.INT. THEED - CENTRAL HANGER - DAYANAKIN hides behind one of the Naboo fighters, ducking as large bolts whizpast and EXPLODE near him. PADME and the TWO JEDI destroy BATTLE DROIDSright and left. The QUEEN'S TROOPS and EIRTAE also blast away at theDROIDS. PADME signals to her pilots.PADME : Get to your ships!The PILOTS and ARTOO UNITS run for the Naboo fighter craft stacked in thehanger bay. ONE OF THE PILOTS jumps into a fighter right above where ANAKINis hiding.FIGHTER PILOT : Better find a new hiding place, kid. I'm taking this ship.The ship begins to levitate out of the hanger. BATTLE DROIDS fire at it asit falls in behind five other fighters. ARTOO whistles to ANAKIN from asecond fighter not far away. ANAKIN runs and jumps into the second fighterto hide.EXT. THEED - CENTRAL PLAZA - DAY (FX)Two Naboo starfighters exit the main hanger. A tank fires at them, hittingone of them, which causes it to pinwheel into the ground and EXPLODE.INT. THEED - CENTRAL HANGER - DAYCAPTAIN PANAKA, SABE and NABOO TROOPS rush into the hanger and overwlm thefew remaining BATTLE DROIDS. PADME, OBI-WAN, and QUI-GON join forces withCAPTAIN PANAKA.PADME : My guess is the Viceroy is in the throne room.She looks to QUI-GON.QUI-GON : I agree.They start to head for the exit, on the way passing the fighter whereANAKIN is hiding. ARTOO whistles a greeting as ANAKIN peeps out of thecockpit.ANAKIN : Hey! Wait for me.QUI-GON : No, Annie, you stay there. Stay right where you are.ANAKNI : But, I...QUI-GON : Stay in that cockpit.They head for the exit. As they are about to go through the door, suddenlyeveryone scatters, revealing DARTH MAUL standing in the doorway. CAPTAINPANAKA, PADME, and HER TROOPS back away. QUI-GON and OBI-WAN step forward.QUI-GON : (Cont'd) We'' handle this...The TWO JEDI take off their capes and ignite their laser swords. DARTH MAULtakes off his cape, and ignites his laser sword. Both ends of the swordlight up.At the far end of the hanger, SIX WHEEL DROIDS roll in and transform intotheir battle position. ARTOO calls ANAKIN's attention to the DROIDS. TheJEDI begin to fight the Sith Lord.ANAKIN : Oh, no...The DROIDS begin to advance and start firing on PADME and HER TROOPS.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) We gotta do something, Artoo.ARTOO whistles a reply. Suddenly, the ship's systems go on, and the shipbegins to levitate.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) All right, thanks Artoo! Great idea! I'll take over.Let's see...ANAKIN steers the ship toward the DROIDS. He pushes a button, and the shipbegins to shake.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Where's the trigger? Oops, wrong one.. Maybe this one....ANAKIN pushes a second button, and the lasers begin to fire, wiping outseveral DESTROYER DROIDS. ARTOO whistles a cheer.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Yeah, all right. "Droid blaster." Yeah!The JEDI are engaged in a fierce sword fight with DARTH MAUL. They havemoved into the center of the hanger. While the WHEEL DROIDS are momentarilydistracted by ANAKIN, CAPTAIN PANAKA, PADME, and HER TROOPS exit into apalace hallway.The WHEEL DROIDS start firing at ANAKIN. There are EXPLOSIONS all aroundhim.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Oops...shield up! Always on the right...shields always onthe right.ANAKIN flips several switches, and the after-burner ignites.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) I know we're moving. I'll shut the energy drive down.The fighter rockets out of the hanger. ARTOO and ANAKIN hold on for dearlife.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Oops!! Wrong one.ARTOO beeps.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) I'm not doing anything!ARTOO beeps.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) I know...I didn't push anything.The SITH LORD's moves are incredible. He is fighting the TWO JEDI at once,flipping into the air, outmaneuvering them at every turn.INT. NABOO STARFIGHTER - COCKPIT - SPACEThe Naboo fleet leaves the planet and heads toward the space station.RIC OLIE : Bravo Flight A, take on the fighters. Flight B, make the run onthe transmitter.BRAVO TWO : Roger, Bravo Leader.The fleet approaches the space station. Many Federation fighters exit thehangers and attack.RIC OLIE : Enemy fighters straight ahead!EXT. NABOO GRASS PALINS - DAYJAR JAR's clumsiness works for him in the battle. He gets caught up in thewiring of a blasted DROID, dragging the torso around with him, the DROID'sgun firing randomly, accidently blasting SEVERAL DROIDS in one process.OOM-9 decides to send in the WHEEL DROIDS and gives the signal. HUNDREDS OFWHEEL DROIDS roll out of the transports and head down toward the battle.They slowly roll through the deflector shields, then transform themselvesonce they get on the other side. The GUNGANS blast the WHEEL DROIDS withenergy balls. The DESTROYER DROIDS blast many GUNGANS.INT. NABOO STARFIGHTER - COCKPIT - SPACEA giant dogfight ensues. ANAKIN's fighter flies into space above Naboo.ARTOO beeps a worried concern.ANAKIN : The Autopilot is searching for what other ships?ARTOO beeps and whistles.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) There is no manual override, Artoo. You'll have to rewireit or something.ARTOO chirps that he's trying.ANAKIN : (cont'd) Look! There they are! That's where the autopilot istaking us.ANAKIN's fighter flies toward the Federation Battleship.INT. THEED - CENTRAL HANGER - DAYThe SITH LORD drives the JEDI out of the hanger and nto the power generatorarea next door.INT. THEED - POWER GENERATOR PIT - DAYThree swords are crossed in an intense display of swordmanship. The JEDIand the SITH LORD fight their way across the narrow bridge of the Theedpower generator. DARTH MAUL jumps onto the bridge above them. The JEDIfollow, one in front of the SITH LORD and one behind. They continue theirsword fight.INT. THEED - PALACE - HALLWAY - DAYPADME, CAPTAIN PANAKA, EIRTAE, SABE and THIER TROOPS are trapped in ahallway by BATTLE DROIDS.PADME : We don't have time for this, Captain.CAPT. PANAKA : Let's try the outside stairway.CAPTAIN PANAKA blasts a hole in the window, and they make their way outsidethe building onto a ledge about six stories above a raging waterfall. SABE,EIRTAE and about TWENTY NABOO SOLDIERS stay in the hallway to hold off theBATTLE DROIDS.EXT. THEED - PALACE - OVER WATERFALL - DAYPADME, CAPTAIN PANAKA, and about TEN OTHER NABOO SOLDIERS are lined upalong the edge. They have pulled small attachments out of their pistols andfire at a ledge about four stories above them. Thin cables shoot out of thepistols and are embedded into the ledge. PADME, CAPTAIN PANAKA, and theOTHERS begin to climb up the wall.EXT . NABOO GRASS PLAINS DAYThe GUNGAN ARMY is no match for the DESTROYER DROIDS. JAR JAR tries to runfrom the BATTLE DROIDS.GENERAL CEEL : Retreat! Retreat!The GUNGANS begin to turn and run, on foot, on their kaadu, and in wagons.JAR JAR attempts to escape on a wagon of energy balls but only manages tounhitch the back gate, causing all of the energy balls to roll out of thewagon and down the hill. JAR JAR scrambles to avoid being hit by one of theballs. FOUR DESTROYER DROIDS aren't so lucky. They get blasted by theenergy balls.The GUNGANS renew their attack on the DROID ARMY. JAR JAR's bumblingdestroys several more DESTROYER DROIDS.INT. NABOO STARFIGHTER - COCKPIT -SPACEANAKIN finds himself in the middle of the space battle. A ship explodesbehind him (over his left shoulder).ANAKIN : Whoo, boy! This is tense!He looks forward to see enemy ships approaching head on.ANAKN : (Cont'd) : Oops! Artoo, get us off Autopilot!ARTOO screams a reply.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) I've got control?ANAKIN fips switches.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Okay, let's go left!He moves the controls left and the ship responds, turning left.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Yes...I've got control. You did it, Artoo!ARTOO beepsANAKIN : (Cont'd) Go back!?! Qui-Gon told me to stay in this cockpit andthat's what I'm gonna do. Now c'mon!An enemy fighter comes into his sights. ANAKIN pushes the controls andinstead of firing, his fighter accelerates past the enemy ship.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Oops! Whoa!Now the enemy ship is on his tail. He tries evasive maneauvers.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) I'll try spinning, that's a good trick.ANAKIN rolls the ship as ARTOO screams desperately.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) I know we're in trouble! Hang on! The way out of thismess is the way we got into it.ARTOO beeps a reply.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Which one? This one?ANAKIN yanks on the reverse thrusters and the ship slows instantly- theenemy fighter shoots past and explodes against the space station.INT. NABOO STARFIGHTER - COCKPIT - SPACEThe SQUADRON attacks the space station.RIC OLIE : Bravo flight...go for the central bridge.BRAVO TWO : ROger, Bravo Leader.The attack is fruitless.RIC OLIE : Their deflector shield is too strong. We'll never get throughit.Meanwhile, ANAKIN is being chased by another fighter. ARTOO shrieks.ANAKIN : I know, Artoo! This isn't Podracing!The enemy ship fires and hits ANAKIN's fighter, sending it into a spin.ARTOO screams.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) We're hit!ANAKIN regains control as his ship enters the space station hanger.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Great gobs of bantha poo-doo!ANAKIN's ship dodges parked transport ships and other obstacles. A hugebulkhead blocks his way. ARTOO beeps.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) I'm trying to stop! I'm trying to stop! Whoa!ANAKIN hits the reverse thrusters and the ship skids to a stop on thehanger deck. ARTOO givesout a worried whistle.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) All right! All right! Get the system started!ANAKIN ducks down to adjust a control panel.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Everything's overheated. All the lights are red.ARTOO sees DROIDS appraoching, and beeps frantically.INT. THEED - POWER GENERATOR PIT - DAYThe laser sword battle continues on the small catwalk around the vast powerpit. DARTH MAUL kicks OBI-WAN off one of the ramps and he falls severallevels. QUI-GON knocks the DARK LORD off another ramp, and he lands hard ona ramp two levels below. QUI-GON jumps down after him. The DARK LORD backsaway along the catwalk into a small door. QUI-GON follows as OBI-WAN runsto catch up.INT. THEED - POWER GENERATOR ELECRIC BEAM - HALLWAYThe SITH LORD, followed by QUI-GON, enters a long hallway filled with aseries of deadly rays that go on and off in a pulsing pattern that shootsdown the corridor every minute or so. DARTH MAUL makes it down severalwalls of deadly rays before they close. QUI-GON is one wall away from theDARK LORD. OBI-WAN is just starting into it and is five walls way fromDARTH MAUL.The JEDI must wait until the next pulse to advance down the corridor.OBI-WAN is impatient and paces, waiting for the wall of rays to open.QUI-GON sits and meditates. The SITH LORD tries to patch up his wounds.INT. THEED - PALACE - HALLWAY TO THRONE ROOMA window in the hallway blasts apart. PADME, CAPTAIN PANAKA, and HERSOLDIERS climb into the hallway. They head for the door to the throne roo.Suddenly, two DESTROYER DROIDS skitter in front of the door. PADME turnsaround and sees TWO MORE appear at the far end of the hallway, trappingthem in the middle.PADME throws down her pistol and turns to CAPTAIN PANAKA.PADME : Throw down your weapons. They win this round.CAPT. PANAKA : But we can't....PADME : Captain, I said throw down your weapons.CAPTAIN PANAKA and HIS MEN throw down their weapons.EXT. NABOO GRASS PLAINS - DAYA DESTROYER DROID blasts one of the shield generators, causing it toEXPLODE. The protective shield begins to weaken and fall apart.OOM-9 seesthe shield weaken and orders his tanks forward. The GUNGAN GENERAL signalsa retreat as the tanks enter the battle.The GUNGANS flee as fast as they can. JAR JAR is blown off his KAADU andlands on one of the tank guns. A GUNGAN WARRIOR signals JAR JAR to jumpoff. JAR JAR is afraid. The gun swings around trying to knock JAR JAR off.JAR JAR hangs from the tank barrel as it moves along. Finally, he jumpsonto a KAADU behind a GUNGAN WARRIOR. EXPLOSIONS from the tank fire areeverywhere. It is chaos.INT. THEED - POWER GENERATOR ELECTRIC BEAM - HALLWAYThe electric rays cycle as QUI-GON sits meditating. The wall of the deadlyrays turn away, and OBI-WAN starts running toward QUI-GON and the DARKLORD. When the wall between QUI-GON and DARTH MAUL opens, QUI-GON is in asplit second fighting the DARK LORD with a ferocity not seen before. Theymove into the area at the end of the corridor called the melting pit, asmall area that is mostly made up of a deep hole.The electron ray gates begin to close. OBI-WAN tries to make it to themelting pit but is caught one gate short. He slides to a stop just beforehe hits the deadly electron field.QUI-GON and DARTH MAUL battle around the melting pit as a frustratedOBI-WAN watches.DARTH MAUL cathces QUI-GON off guard. The SITH makes a quick move, basheshis lightsaber handle into QUI-GON's chin, and runs him through. QUI-GONslumps to the floor in a heap.EXT. NABOO GRASS PLAINS - DAYThe GUNGANS have beeb overrun. Some flee into the hills, chased by BATTLEDROIDS on STAPS. Many OTHERS are herded into groups by BATTLE DROIDS andDESTROYER DROIDS.JAR JAR and GENERAL CEEL are held in a small group with OTHER OFFICERS.JAR JAR : Dissa bad, berry bombad.GENERAL CEEL : Mesa hopen dissa working for da Queen.INT. THED - PALACE THRONE ROOM - DAYPADME, CAPTAIN PANAKA, and SIX OTHER OFFICERS are brought by TEN BATTLEDROIDS before NUTE and RUNE and FOUR NEIMOIDIAN COUNCIL MEMBERS.NUTE : Your little insurrection is at an end, Your Highness. Time for youto sign the treaty...and end this pointless debate in the Senate.SADBE dressed like the Queen appears in the doorway with SEVERAL TROOPS.Several destroyed battle droids can be seen in the distance.SABE : I will not be signing any treaty, Viceroy, because you've lost!NUTE and THE OTHERS are stunned to see a SECOND QUEEN. NUTE yells at theTEN GUARDS in the room.NUTE : After her! This one is a decoy!SIX OF THE DROIDS rush out of the throne room after SABE. NUTE turns toPADME.NUTE : (Cont'd) Your Queen will not get away with this.PADME slumps down on her throne and immediately hits a security button thatopens a panel in her desk opposite CAPTAIN PANAKA.PADME grabs two pistols, tosses one of the to CAPTAIN PANAKA and one to anOFFICER. She takes a third pistol and BLASTS the last of the BATTLE DROIDS.The OFFICERS rush to the door control panel as PADME hits the switch toclose the door. The OFFICER at the door jams the controls. CAPTAIN PANAKAthrows more pistols to the OTHER GUARDS. The NEIMODIANS are confused andafraid.PADME : Now, Viceroy, this is the end of your occupation here.NUTE : Don't be absurd. There are too few of you. It won't be long beforehundreds of destroyer droids break in to rescue us.INT. THEED - POWER GENERATOR - MELTING PITOBI-WAN screams as the pulsing electron gate opens, and the SITH LORDattacks him. The DARK LORD is relentless in his assault on the young JEDI.OBI-WAN and DARTH MAUL use the Force to fling objects at each other as theyfight. DARTH MAUL seems to have the upper hand as OBI-WAN grows weary.DARTH MAUL catches OBI-WAN off guard, and the JEDI slips into a meltingpit. He is barely able to hold onto a nozzle on the side of the pit. DARTHMAUL grin evilly at OBI-WAN as he kicks OBI-WAN's lightsaber down theendless shaft.The SITH LORD smiles as he goes in for the kill. At the last moment,OBI-WAN jumps up out of the pit, calls QUI-GON's lightsaber to hi, throwingDARTH MAUL off. The young JEDI swings with a vengeance, cutting the SITHdown. DARTH MAUL falls into the melting pit to his death.OBI-WAN rushes over to QUI-GON, who is dying.OBI-WAN : Master! Master!QUI-GON : It is too late...It's...OBI-WAN : No!QUI-GON : Obi-Wan promise...promise me you'll train the boy...OBI-WAN : Yes, Master...QUI-GON : He is the chosen one...he will...bring balance...train him!QUI-GON dies. OBI-WAN cradles his Master, quietly weeping.INT. NABOO STARFIGHTER - COCKPIT - FEDERATION HANGERANAKIN peeks over the edge of the cockpit to see BATTLE DROIDS surroundingthe ship. He ducks back down.ANAKIN : Uh oh. This is not good.He looks at the dashboard to see red lights.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) The systems are still overheated, Artoo.The BATTLE DROID CAPTAIN walks up to the ship and sees ARTOO.BATTLE DROID CAPTAIN : Where's your pilot?ARTOO beeps a reply.BATTLE DROID CAPTAIN : (Cont'd) You're the pilot?ARTOO whistles.BATTLE DROID CAPTAIN : (Cont'd) Let me see your identification!ANAKIN sees the dashboard lights go from red to green.ANAKIN : Yes...we have ignition.He flips the switch and the engine starts.BATTLE DROID CAPTAIN : (seeing Anakin) You! Come out of there or we'llblast you!ANAKIN : Not if I can help it! Shields up!ANAKIN flips a switch and the ship levitates, knocking over the BATTLEDROID CAPTAIN. The OTHER DROIDS shoot, but the lasers are deflected byANAKIN's shields. ARTOO beeeps.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) This should stop them.ANAKIN fires lasers as the ship begins to rotate.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) ...and take this!He presses a button and launches two torpedos which miss the DROIDS.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Darn...I missed!The two torpedos fly down a hallway and explode inside the reactor room.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Let's get out of here!ANAKIN's ship roars through the hanger deck, bouncing over the DROIDS.ANAKIN : (Cont'd) Now, this is Podracing! Whoopee!INT. FEDERATION BATTLESHIP - BRIDGETEY HOW turns to CAPTAIN DOFINE.TEY HOW : Sir, we're losing power... There is some problem with the mainreactor...DOFINE : Impossible!! I don't...The bridge explodes.INT. NABOO FIGHTER - COCKPIT - SPACERIC OLIE watches in amazement as the Federation battleship starts toexplode from the inside out.BRAVO TWO : What's that?? It's blowing up from the inside.RIC OLIE : I don't know, we didn't hit it.BRAVO THREE : Look! One of ours! Outta the main hold!!EXT. NABOO GRASS PLAINS - DAYSuddenly, all of the DROIDS begin to shake upside down, run around incircles, then stop. The GUNGANS carefully move out to inspect the FROZENDROIDS. JAR JAR pushes one of the BATTLE DROIDS, and it falls over.JAR JAR : Wierdind...EXT. THEED - CENTRAL HANGER - DAYANAKIN and ARTOO follow the squad of yellow Naboo starfighters into themain hanger.INT. THEED - CENTRAL HANGER - DAYRIC OLIE and the OTHER PILOTS gather around as thye exit their ships.BRAVO TWO : He flew into the hold, behind the deflector shield and blastedthe main reactor...BRAVO THREE : Amazing... They don't teach that in the academy.ANAKIN's ship skids to a stop behind the other Naboo starfighters. RICOLIE, BRAVO TWO, the OTHER PILOTS, and GROUND CREW rush to his ship.RIC OLIE : We're all accounted for. Who flew that ship?ANAKIN sheepishly opens the cockpit and stands up. All the PILOTS stare inamazement.ANAKIN : I'm not going to get into trouble, am I?ARTOO beeps. oh. oh.INT. MAIN HANGER - COURTYARD - DAYThe large, grand cruiser of the Supreme Chancellor lands in the courtyardof the main hanger. CAPTAIN PANAKA and TWENTY TROOPS guard NUTE GUNRAY andRUNE HAAKO. OBI-WAN, the QUEEN, and her HANDMAIDENS stand before theNEIMOIDIANS.PADME : Now, Viceroy, you are going to have to go back to the Senate andexplain all this.CAPT. PANAKA : I think you can kiss your Trade franchise goodbye.The main ramp of the cruiser is lowered as OBI-WAN and CAPTAIN PANAKA leadthe VICEROY and HIS ASSISTANT toward the ship. The GRAND CHANCELLORPALPATINE and SEVERAL REPUBLIC GUARDS descend the walkway, followed by YODAand SEVERAL OTHER JEDI MASTERS.The CHANCELLOR PALPATINE is greeted by the QUEEN.AMIDALA : Congratulations on youer election, Chancellor. It is so good tosee you again.PALPATINE : It's good to be home. Your boldness has saved our people, YourMajesty. It is you who should be congratulated. Together we shall bringpeace and prosperity to the Republic.OBI-WAN greets YODA and the OTHER JEDI as CAPTAIN PANAKA takes theNEIMODIANS onto the cruiser.INT. TURRET ROOM - NABOO PALACE - LATE DAYThe sun streams into the multi-windowed room at a low angle. It is notquite sunset. YODA paces before OBI-WAN, who is kneeling in the center ofthe room.YODA : Confer on you, the level of Jedi Knight the Coucil does. But agreeon you taking this boy as your Padawan learner, I do not.OBI-WAN : Qui-Gon believed in him. I believe in Qui-Gon.YODA : The Chosen One the boy may be; nevertheless, grave danger I fear inhis training.OBI-WAN : Master Yoda, Igave Qui-Gon my word. I will train Anakin. Withoutthe approval of the Council if I must.YODA : Qui-Gon's defiance I sense in you. Need that, you do not. Agree, thecouncil does. Your apprentice, young Skywalker will be.EXT. THEED - CENTRAL PLAZA - FUNERAL TEMPLE STEPS - SUNSETQUI-GON's body goes up in flames as the JEDI COUNCIL, the QUEEN, SIOBIBBLE, CAPTAIN PANAKA, the HANDMAIDENS, and ABOUT ONE HUNDRED NABOOTROOPES, TWENTY OTHER JEDI, PALPATINE, OBI-WAN (standing with ANAKIN), JARJAR, BOSS NASS, and TWENTY OTHER GUNGAN WARRIORS watch. There is a drumroll that stops. Doves are released, and the body is gone. ANAKIN looks toOBI-WAN.OBI-WAN : He is one with the Force, Anakin...You must let go.ANAKIN : What will happen to me now?OBI-WAN : I am your Master now. You will become a Jedi, I promise.To one side, MACE WINDU turns to YODA.MACE WINDU : There is no doubt. The mysterious warrior was a Sith.YODA : Always two there are....no more...no less. A maste and anapprentice.MACE WINDU : But which one was destroyed, the master or the apprentice?They give each other a concerned look.EXT. THEED - CENTRAL PLAZA - DAYCHILDEREN SING and throw flowers on the passing GUNGAN SOLDIERS. The CROWDSCHEER. It is a grand parade.QUEEN AMIDALA stands next to the SUPREME CHANCELLOR PALPATINE, ANAKIN,OBI-WAN, SIO BIBBLE, and the JEDI COUNCIL. ARTOO stands in front of theQUEEN'S HANDMAIDENS and whistles at the parade. QUEEN AMIDALA and PALPATINEsmile at one anotherIn the parade are BOSS NASS and his GUARDS, JAR JAR and GENERAL CEEL. TheGUNGANS ride KAADU. They stop before the QUEEN and walk up the steps tostand by her side.BOSS NASS holds up the Globe of Peace. EVERYONE CHEERS.The parade marches on.IRIS OUTEnd titles
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+                                       STATION WEST                                        Written by                              Frank Fenton & Winston Miller                                   Based on a novel by                                        Luke Short                                      SHOOTING DRAFT                                      JULY 22, 1947                               EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - DAY               FADE IN               The sky is pure blue, exquisitely blemished by huge cumulus                clouds, floating lazily. A single bird sails past. From the                sky the CAMERA MOVES TO earth. Here, too, all is tranquil.                The trees, bright green in the sunlight, move only to the                slight but constant breeze. Now the CAMERA MOVES DOWN,                revealing a wagon to which is hitched a team of horses beside                the road. The wagon is at an awkward angle, but upright. It                is wedged between two rocks where the horses have pulled it                as they tried to reach some forage. Its seat is empty. In                the bed of the wagon several sacks lie, bearing the legend:                       From: Argus Mine - Rock Pass                       To: U.S. Assay Office                       San Francisco               The sacks are empty and slashed as by a knife. The ropes                that bound them are cleanly severed. The disorder in the                wagon indicates haste. Two horses are hitched to it, munching                grass or the high leaves of a tree overhead. All that is odd                or unnatural is that the reins have fallen askew and trail                the ground.               Now the CAMERA MOVES AWAY and ALONG tracks made by the wagon                when it left the road. ON THE ROAD two horses stand. These                are saddled, but riderless. The rifle holsters are empty.               CAMERA MOVES TO the ground. There on the road lies the rifle.                The dust is slightly blowing across it, moved by the                persistent summery little breeze. From the rifle, the CAMERA                MOVES ON A LITTLE and STOPS ABRUPTLY ON the sprawled dead                figure of a soldier, then another, face down in the road.               CLOSE SHOT of the dead soldiers, as the CAMERA HOLDS ON them.                Near the hand of one a revolver lies, the fine dust coating                it. Dust blowing over the uniforms, as though seeking to                hide the shame of a murder. As it blows over their still                figures, the SOUND of BIRDS coming over:                                                                   FADE OUT               FADE IN               ROCK PASS - NIGHT               This is a western mining town of the Eighties that has                mushroomed up around a gold strike. On the streets prospectors                and miners mingle with merchants. As the CAMERA PICKS UP the                scene, a lumber wagon passes, bearing logs, a ten team wagon,                its trailer filled with ore from the stamp mills and bearing                the legend: ARGUS MINE. A stage coach comes in as we:                                                                   DISSOLVE               INT. HOTEL - NIGHT               On the hotel clerk, as he sits behind the desk, playing a                guitar and singing pensively the ballad of the story. As he                sings, JOHN HAVEN, newly arrived on the stagecoach, walks                in, gazes at the clerk with a slight smile, finding the clerk                completely indifferent to the arrival of anybody, at last                leaves the bag and saunters out.                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. SALOON - NIGHT               As Haven leaves the hotel and has reached the saloon, a well-               lighted, plush-looking spot, illumined by kerosene flares.                Sticking a pipe in his mouth, Haven saunters in.               INT. CHARLIE'S SALOON - EVENING               It is a huge elaborate room, lit by overhead chandeliers. A                long mahogany bar runs the length of it. To one side there                is a big stove and the gambling tables. Beyond can be seen                pool tables in an alcove. To another side, a man grinds away                at a piano. A stairway near the end of the bar leads to an                upper floor. The place is crowded and noisy with people.                Haven saunters towards the dice table, pauses, watches; he                is looking the crowd over carefully -- missing no detail of                the place or the people in it. When his turn comes, he picks                up the dice, bets all over the place -- on the line, on the                odds, on the seven, then on the come, the hard way, etc. His                point is eight.                                     STICKMAN                         Eight the hard way! Pay the line!               Haven bets again, doubling all over the table.                                     STICKMAN                         Seven a winner.               Players glance at the newcomer. Prince appears from nowhere,                standing behind the stickman, watching. Prince is slender,                black-haired, handsome and impassive. Haven throws again.                Stellman, an Army officer, watches curiously. There is a                little rising murmur as Haven tosses another natural. He                does it without enthusiasm or any lost movement. The bettors                get down on him. Prince touches the stickman's arm; the man                stands aside and Prince takes his place with the stick. Prince                tosses the dice back to Haven. Haven's eyes are fixed on                him. With a little smile, Haven throws the dice to the next                man, picks up his winnings.                                     HAVEN                         No, thanks...               His eyes meet Prince's again and then he turns away, Prince's                gaze following him curiously, Stellman looks at Prince.                                     STELLMAN                         Know him?                                     PRINCE                         No. Why?                                     STELLMAN                         He just seems kind of free with that                          money.               CAMERA FOLLOWS Haven, as still smiling slightly, he heads                towards the bar, searching the faces of the crowd as he goes.                Two miners are squared off for a fight and Haven, going his                way, walks between them, very indifferent, not even glancing                back at the SOUND of scuffle behind him.               AT THE BAR - Haven alone is not watching the fight. All the                others have turned to see it; even the barman is busy                watching. But Haven's eyes are resting on the figure of a                woman now at the piano, singing. Softly, as if to herself                and for her own enjoyment. He is near the end of the bar and                near the piano, and since no one else listens to her at this                moment, she sings, half smiling, directly for him, and then,                self-consciously, she stops and turns to sit at a table, as                Haven watches her. Behind them the fight is being stopped                and Charlie's eyes follow the huge bouncer, Mick Marion, as                he drags the offenders out to the door and the street. All                is as usual. The bartender is back at work. As Haven turns,                he finds that the place beside him is now occupied by the                young Lieutenant (Phil Stellman). Haven glances at the                uniform, then at the pleasant face of the officer, as the                barman comes up.                                     HAVEN                              (to barman)                         Whiskey -- like you'd pour it for                          yourself.               A girl sidles up to him, blonde, brash and pretty.                                     BLONDE                         Don't you know it's no fun to drink                          alone?                                     HAVEN                         Not till after the first one.               He turns his back to her; she gives him a look and saunters                off. The barman produces the drinks -- a beer for Stellman,                the young officer. The barman folds his arms. Stellman looks                at Haven.                                     STELLMAN                         You a stranger here?                                     HAVEN                              (to barman, after                               gulping it in one                               gulp)                         What kind of whiskey was that?                                     BARMAN                         On the bottle it says Rye -- but the                          way you take it, I don't see what                          difference it makes.               Haven smiles at him.                                     HAVEN                         Another Rye.               The barman turns to get it. Stellman is still looking at                Haven.                                     STELLMAN                              (easily)                         You didn't answer my question.                                     HAVEN                         I'm a stranger everywhere.                                     STELLMAN                         Got a job?               The barman gives Haven another Rye.                                     HAVEN                         Listen, soldier. I know that one,                          too. Got a job, stranger? No? Why                          don't you join the Army? Three meals                          a day, a place to sleep, a nice warm                          uniform --                                     STELLMAN                         It has a little more than that.                                     HAVEN                              (deliberately)                         Yeah, it has one thing more, and                          that's what I could never take --                              (looking at Stellman's                               stripes)                         It's got Second-Lieutenants.               The barman, listening, senses trouble and signals with his                eyes to a big bouncer down the bar. The bouncer moves up                quietly.                                     STELLMAN                         If you want to make it a personal                          matter --                                     HAVEN                              (coldly)                         I don't make it anything, soldier.                          You tried to sell something and I                          didn't buy it -- so why don't you                          just beat it?               They stare at each other for a long second, then Stellman                speaks icily:                                     STELLMAN                         If I weren't in uniform, I might                          teach you some manners.                                     HAVEN                         If you could teach me anything, you                          wouldn't be in a uniform.               Stellman's jaw tightens; then he turns and exits abruptly.                The barman sighs with relief; the bouncer turns away.                                     BARMAN                         You couldn't be looking for trouble,                          could you?                                     HAVEN                         I could, but I'm not.                                     BARMAN                         That's fine, because this is one of                          the best places West of the Atlantic                          Ocean to find it.                                     HAVEN                         That was my first impression.                                     BARMAN                              (as Haven looks at                               him)                         That Lieutenant's a nice young boy.                                     HAVEN                         I don't doubt it, but his mouth is                          too big -- like your ears.               He turns away from the bar, after flipping a coin on to it,                while the barman stands there not knowing whether to be angry                or philosophical.               CAMERA FOLLOWS Haven, as he threads his way through the tables                towards the door. His eyes catch sight of the girl who sang                at the piano, Charlie. She is sitting at a table with Prince.                Prince murmurs to her and she glances at Haven, then looks                away again. Haven notes it. As he comes near the table, the                blonde who spoke to him at the bar, accosts him again.                                     BLONDE                         How is it now?                                     HAVEN                         What?                                     BLONDE                         Drinking alone?                                     HAVEN                              (flipping her a coin)                         It's all right -- try it.               Haven is looking at Charlie. She is checking a stack of coins                the blonde has turned in to her. She glances up with a                fleeting smile at Haven.                                     CHARLIE                         It's not a good habit if it makes                          you pick fights.                                     HAVEN                         Only with Second Lieutenants.                                     CHARLIE                         We like Second Lieutenants here.               Their gazes meet and Prince notes it with narrowing eyes.                The gaze holds like a spell, and then Charlie's smile comes                back, from nowhere.                                     CHARLIE                         You see -- here everybody fights,                          except the Army.               Haven looks at her, fascinated. She can feel a fascination                herself. Now Haven smiles a little.                                     HAVEN                         I wouldn't know --                                     CHARLIE                              (still smiling)                         So anyone who doesn't like the Army --                                     HAVEN                         I know what you mean, but I'm afraid                          I'll have to come back. I like the                          way you sing.               She looks at him in a second's silence. Haven turns and                leaves. She watches him go. Prince studies her face, his own                grim. A croupier comes up and places a paper before her. She                hardly notices it.                                     CROUPIER                         Okay, Charlie?               Charlie snaps out of it long enough to initial the paper.                                     CHARLIE                         That's his limit.                                     CROUPIER                         There's a sucker getting hot with                          the dice at Ed's table.               He turns away. Prince sits still, his eyes on Charlie, his                slim fingers at an habitual trick, that of idly stacking                dice in a little pillar and then picking the pillar aloft by                holding the lowest dice pinched between the thumb and                forefinger, NOT by the edges, but by the sides. Now he does                it as he watches Charlie's face. Her eyes glance again at                the disappearing back of Haven. The sense of fascination                seems to have gotten her, too. Then she realizes the presence                of Prince and his shrewd gaze. She looks at him coolly.                                     CHARLIE                         Well -- cool him off.               Prince flips the dice into his palm and rises...               EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN - NIGHT               The board sidewalk has given way to a rutty dirt road. Now                the racket of the saloon street is just a ghost of noise,                the road dark and silent. Haven has emerged from the saloon.                He glances up the street. Fifty yards ahead, Stellman is                walking slowly. Stellman pauses, shoots a quick glance                backwards, then goes on. Haven follows, going leisurely up                the street after Stellman.               ANGLE on a corner as Stellman turns it, pauses and waits.                When Haven reaches it, Stellman goes on in silence.               EXT. MRS. CASLON'S MINE-CABIN - NIGHT               As Stellman reaches it, pauses and glances behind him. Then                he rings a bell. Haven comes up and waits in silence, glancing                at the dark interior. A woman's face now peers through the                door window and then the door opens. Stellman enters quickly                and Haven follows.               INT. MRS. CASLON'S MINE-CABIN - NIGHT               As Stellman and Haven follow Mrs. Caslon to a rear door.                Looking around, Haven notes in the shadows a desk and in a                corner the big safe. (This room is described in a subsequent                scene.) So as to emit the least light, Mrs. Caslon lets                Stellman and Haven go through, then quickly follows them and                quickly shuts the door.               INT. MRS. CASLON'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT               It is remarkably neat and elegant inside. As Haven, glancing                around, pauses inside, he finds himself facing a burly                uniformed cavalry officer, captain's bars gleaming on the                side of his collar. The captain is big and broad and scowling.                He is standing by the fireplace and his eyes are boring into                Haven's with curiosity and perhaps, suspicion. Stellman steps                forward as Haven and the captain are measuring each other.                                     STELLMAN                         Captain Iles -- the Commanding Officer                          of the Post.               Haven gives a casual nod.                                     STELLMAN                         Mr. Haven -- sir.               Iles looks him up and down. Haven hands him an envelope which                he slips into his tunic without removing his gaze from Haven.                                     ILES                         I see you finally got here.                                     HAVEN                              (pleasantly)                         I seem to finally get everywhere.               They eye each other, Iles scowling, Haven thinly smiling.                The sense of conflict is already between them.                                     ILES                              (introducing)                         Mrs. Caslon, -- Mr. Haven.               She nods and smiles warmly.                                     ILES                         You've met Mr. Stellman.               Haven nods.                                     STELLMAN                         It came off beautifully. He picks a                          very good fight. In fact, I think                          I'm still a little sore at him.                                     ILES                              (grunting)                         Sit down, Mr. Haven.                                     HAVEN                         Thank you, Captain.               He sits down. Iles is still studying Haven.                                     ILES                         So you're operating under sealed                          orders.               Haven nods agreeably.                                     ILES                              (disgruntled)                         All this mumbo jumbo is characteristic                          of the Military Information                          Department.                                     HAVEN                         We use it as sparingly as possible.               Iles pulls out a cigar, lights it, sizing Haven up.                                     ILES                         I've been in this territory for a                          number of years -- and I think it                          might be a little rougher here than                          a suburb of Washington, D.C.                                     HAVEN                         Very possibly.                                     ILES                         Then why is M.I.D. sending you out                          here?                                     HAVEN                         Because two soldiers have been                          murdered.                                     ILES                         And they think I can't handle that?                                     HAVEN                         They merely know you haven't.               There is a tight little silence, while Iles formulates his                dislike for this newcomer.                                     ILES                         I have only ninety-four men on the                          post, with Indian trouble up north.                          The War Department has refused to                          send reinforcements, or am I boring                          you?                                     HAVEN                              (looking bored)                         I'm not the War Department.                                     ILES                              (explaining)                         The two soldiers were killed while                          escorting one of the gold stages.                                     HAVEN                              (quietly)                         Is escorting gold a function of your                          command?                                     ILES                         Young man, the functions of my command                          look very pretty on paper, but they're                          not very practical in a territory                          like this. Do you have any illusions                          about that?                                     HAVEN                         I have no illusions about anything.               Haven takes out his pipe and fills it.                                     HAVEN                         What's happening to the gold?                                     ILES                         I've permitted it to be stored in a                          warehouse on the post. Now everybody                          is waiting to see what I do next.                                     HAVEN                         What do you do next?                                     ILES                              (with sarcasm)                         Aren't you here to tell me?                                     HAVEN                              (lighting the pipe)                         Captain, you're in a bad way.                              (going over to discard                               the match)                         Wells Fargo won't convoy gold. You                          tried and failed and two men are                          dead. The gold is piling up on the                          post and you can't move it. Your                          post is under-manned. You want the                          Quartermaster at Platte to replace                          seventy uniforms sent to the freight                          office at West Rim City --                                     ILES                         The freight building burned down                          with the uniforms! I'm not operating                          a fire department -- and if I was,                          West Rim City is sixty miles away!                                     HAVEN                         That doesn't concern me either.                                     ILES                         What does?                                     HAVEN                         The killing of two soldiers.                                     ILES                         They were my men, Haven, and I'm                          trying every way I know to find out                          who murdered them.                                     HAVEN                         So will I.               For the first time Iles looks amicably at him, as though                realizing that after all the man isn't there to criticize                him.                                     ILES                         You'll find it harder than you think.                          I don't know how you operate, but                          it's a dangerous job that can get                          you killed.               He smiles slightly at Iles, who gives him a slight smile in                return, somehow intrigued by this nonchalance. Haven rises                from the chair, lighting the dead pipe in vain.                                     HAVEN                         Perhaps I can get some help from the                          Sheriff.                                     ILES                         You can forget him. He's a miserable                          man that somebody is using to keep                          the law a joke.                                     HAVEN                         You make it sound very difficult.                          Why don't you just wrap up your flag                          and take it back East with you?                                     ILES                              (smarting)                         Tell me, how will I know what you're                          doing?                                     HAVEN                         I'll let you know from time to time.                                     ILES                              (coldly)                         That's very obliging of you.                                     HAVEN                         But I don't want to visit the Army                          post.                                     ILES                         Then report to me through Mrs. Caslon                          here. You can be a friend of her                          husband's. He owned the Argus mine                          and died last year. If that meets                          your approval.               Haven glances at Mrs. Caslon, smiles back at Iles.                                     HAVEN                         Only if it meets with hers.                                     MRS. CASLON                         I'd be delighted to help.                              (she smiles at Haven)                                     ILES                              (grim at the smile)                         Is that all?                                     HAVEN                         I think so.               Iles marches out abruptly, followed by Stellman. The door                shuts. Haven smiles after him, then at Mrs. Caslon.                                     MRS. CASLON                         He really isn't that abrupt -- he --               The door opens again, smartly, Iles marches back in, kisses                Mrs. Caslon on the cheek.                                     ILES                         Goodnight, Mary.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (warmly)                         Goodnight, George.               Then he marches out again, shutting the door after him.                                     MRS. CASLON                         You see?                                     HAVEN                         I see.                                     MRS. CASLON                         I think he secretly likes you.                                     HAVEN                         He's a man who can sure keep a secret.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (smiles)                         Would you like a little sherry?                                     HAVEN                         Only if you have some too.               She goes over to a sideboard and pours a little from a                decanter into two wine glasses. Haven watches her. For the                first time he realizes she is a very attractive woman. She                smiles as she brings him the wine.                                     HAVEN                         Thank you.                                     MRS. CASLON                         To your good luck.               Haven nods and they sip.                                     HAVEN                         What mine did the two soldiers try                          to convoy the gold from?                                     MRS. CASLON                         My mine -- The Argus.                                     HAVEN                              (smiling a little)                         That brings me to a question I decided                          not to ask.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (smiling back at him)                         Then I'll answer it first. Captain                          Iles has asked me to marry him.                                     HAVEN                         I can understand that.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (quietly)                         But you can't understand why Captain                          Iles should be involved in the gold                          business.                                     HAVEN                              (smiling)                         I do now.                                     MRS. CASLON                         It isn't just mine. You must realize                          there's a lot of gold from all over                          the territory stored at the post                          warehouse.                                     HAVEN                         How much.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Perhaps as much as half a million.                              (worried now)                         In fact, I have about fifty thousand                          in my safe now.                                     HAVEN                         Who is doing all this?                                     MRS. CASLON                         I don't know... that's the worst                          part of it... not knowing.                                     HAVEN                              (puts down the glass,                               pats her shoulder                               with casual                               reassurance)                         I might find out.               He starts for the door and she follows him. At the open door                he pauses.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Don't get into trouble --                                     HAVEN                         That's why I'm here.                                     MRS. CASLON                         I know, but --                                     HAVEN                         Don't worry about it. Trouble and I                          are old enemies. We understand each                          other.                              (he grins at her)                         Goodnight.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (smiling again)                         Good luck.               Haven walks out and she closes the door thoughtfully and                turns away. In a moment the door opens and Haven reenters                and crosses to her much in the manner that we have seen                Captain Iles do so. Haven stops.                                     HAVEN                         You didn't tell me your husband's                          name.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Ben.                                     HAVEN                              (repeating it)                         Ben.               He turns and goes out the door. Mrs. Caslon stands smiling                after him. The smile fades for a moment -- then she dismisses                it with a shrug.                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. MAIN STREET - NIGHT               As Haven saunters along. He pauses, glances up at a sign                that reads: HOTEL. Then he enters the dingy building.               INT. HOTEL - NIGHT               As Haven enters the small dismal lobby, and goes over to the                desk, where a little man, Orville Weekly sits, singing to                himself softly and strumming an accompaniment on a battered                guitar. As Haven stands there the clerk finishes the verse                about the stranger. Haven nods approval. The clerk looks at                him shrewdly.                                     ORVILLE                         Evenin' stranger.                                     HAVEN                         You must know everybody in town.                                     ORVILLE                         Everybody but one. I don't know you.                                     HAVEN                         What's your name? You seem to be a                          pretty clever fellow.                                     ORVILLE                         Orville Weekly, and I can't be a                          total blank. I been here six years                          and I ain't dead yet.                                     HAVEN                         Have you got a vacant room?                                     ORVILLE                         Day, week, month?                                     HAVEN                         I don't always know. And the way you                          talk a man couldn't be very sure.                                     ORVILLE                         Then it's eight bucks, cash in                          advance.               Haven puts down the money; the clerk spins the registry to                him, watches as Haven signs it. And he can read that way.                                     ORVILLE                         From Arizona, huh?                                     HAVEN                         No -- I always put down where I'm                          going next -- so I won't forget.               The clerk spits, hands him a key.                                     ORVILLE                         Room ten -- end of the hall. Make                          your own bed. Furnish your own towels.                          Your bag's over there.                                     HAVEN                              (picking up the key)                         Thanks a lot for the key. I'll be                          back later.               Haven crosses to exit into the street.                                                                   DISSOLVE               INT. CHARLIE'S SALOON - NIGHT               As Haven enters. It is crowded. Haven pauses by a table. He                sees Charlie at the piano singing. He sees Mick cross to                Prince and say something, then Prince gazes in his direction.                Haven's eyes meet those of Prince suddenly turned to him,                cold as glass. Charlie, seeing that Haven is watching and                listening to her impromptu singing, stops and makes her way                through the crowd towards a booth off the dance floor. Haven's                eyes follow her.               MED. SHOT - of booth as Charlie sits down. A sandwich is                waiting for her. She takes a bite of it, then glances up to                see Haven standing beside the table.                                     HAVEN                         How about eating alone? Is that a                          bad habit too?                                     CHARLIE                         Just when you have to pay for it.                                     HAVEN                         It's only money.                              (sitting down)                         I've changed my mind since I left                          here awhile ago. I don't want to                          pick a fight -- or break the bank --                          or --                                     CHARLIE                              (evenly)                         What changed your mind?                                     HAVEN                              (grins)                         That's what I came back to find out.               Charlie glances at him, then at the crowd where Mick Marion                stands beside Prince. Both are looking coldly towards the                booth. Haven's gaze follows hers towards Mick, as Prince                leaves the big man.                                     CHARLIE                         Maybe it would be better if you found                          another girl.                                     HAVEN                              (smiling)                         No, it wouldn't... I looked.               She smiles slightly back at him, glances away towards Mick.                Haven looks too, curiously. Mick is still watching, coldly.                Others glance too, as though this were an unexpected thing.                Mick takes a drink from a passing waiter; kills it in one                gulp. Haven looks back at Charlie's face and smiles.                                     HAVEN                         That man in ape's clothing -- could                          he be Charlie?                                     CHARLIE                         No.                                     HAVEN                         His eyes follow you around like a                          couple of flies.                                     CHARLIE                         They follow me to see that strangers                          don't annoy me.                                     HAVEN                         Only strangers?                                     CHARLIE                         No one else would be so foolish.                                     HAVEN                         First, you're beautiful. Then I like                          the way you sing -- and now you're a                          woman of mystery.                              (to a passing waiter)                         Champagne?               The waiter nods and leaves. Charlie is still gazing at Haven                with that slight provocative smile.                                     HAVEN                         I don't want to be a stranger, so                          I'll have to be foolish.                                     CHARLIE                         You like to take chances, don't you?                                     HAVEN                         If I feel lucky.                                     CHARLIE                         Then I'd advise you to try the dice                          table.                                     HAVEN                         I'd rather get lucky here.                                     CHARLIE                              (shrugging)                         Every man has a right to go to his                          own funeral.                                     HAVEN                              (as the waiter sets                               down the champagne                               and glasses)                         I could be your cousin from                          Waxahatchio. I could be cousin John,                          a missionary on his way to China.               The waiter leaves, as Charlie still regards Haven with a                curious interest. Haven is glancing again toward Mick, just                as that animal barrels down another whiskey.                                     HAVEN                         He seems to be a lot of man.                                     CHARLIE                         The most in town.               At this moment Prince comes into scene and sits at the table.                Haven looks at him but Charlie offers no introduction.                                     HAVEN                         It's a very small town.                              (he sips and gazes                               around)                         You could get it all in this saloon.                                     CHARLIE                         We usually do.                                     HAVEN                         So Charlie probably runs the town.                                     PRINCE                              (toying with his dice)                         Why do you care?                                     HAVEN                         I'm going to spend some time here. I                          want to know who winds the clock.               He glances up and a slow smile comes over his face as Mick                Marion is seen approaching deliberately and with cold menace.                Her eyes follow his, then back to his face.                                     CHARLIE                         It's been a nice conversation. I                          hate to have it end.               Blank-faced and big, Mick arrives at the booth. He stares                from Charlie to Haven. Haven looks at him then at Charlie.                Charlie watches Haven's face, but the smile remains. It seems                to sway her, this little test of expression.                                     MICK                         Who's this?                                     CHARLIE                              (after a taut pause)                         Mick -- this is -- cousin John.                                     HAVEN                              (relieved)                         From Waxahatchie.               Mick is not quite sure.                                     MICK                         What's keeping him?                                     PRINCE                         I think he's wondering if he couldn't                          do more good here.               Haven senses now it is a little game they're playing together                on him. His smile remains. He reaches for the bottle, his                hand grasping the base of it, just as Mick reaches for it                too, clenching the top. Mick lifts at it; Haven's hand holds.                They look at each other as this little game of strength goes                on.                                     MICK                         You aren't very friendly, are you,                          mister?                                     HAVEN                              (quoting)                         A friend to all is a friend to none.                                     PRINCE                         You ought to learn not to pick 'em                          so easy, like you do your cousins.                                     HAVEN                              (indicating Charlie)                         Ask her?                                     CHARLIE                              (coolly)                         I never saw him before in my life.               That does it. Mick wrenches at the bottle, and as he does                so, Haven releases his grip. The bottle shoots up. The wine                spills over Mick's face and clothes. Infuriated, Mick flings                the bottle at Haven, but Haven ducks as he comes out of the                chair. The bottle crashes against the wall, and Haven's fist                crashes against Mick. The big man grunts and staggers back,                but he doesn't drop. As Haven sets himself, he is suddenly                pinned from behind by two bouncers. Mick stands still, staring                at him, his cut lip bleeding.                                     MICK                              (icily)                         You're too little to make that big a                          mistake.                                     HAVEN                         You want to correct me or just bleed                          at the mouth?               There is a dead silence. At the crap table the dice read                seven but no one looks at them, all turning toward the scene.                A minor rises and the girl on his lap hits the floor. A drunk                steals a drink and no one sees him. (Business with glass)                Prince looks on coldly. Mark Bristow, moving up from the                dice table, pauses and stares.                                     MICK                              (coldly)                         Bring him outside.               The two bouncers start with Haven toward the door, Mick                following. A rear rises and men begin following in their                silent wake. Only the guy at the piano keeps on playing: he                never stops.               ANGLE on Charlie as she rises. Bristow and Prince have                sauntered over to her as the place empties, leaving only the                piano player.                                     BRISTOW                         What happened?                                     CHARLIE                              (casually)                         A misunderstanding.                                     PRINCE                         Did you find out what he wants?                                     CHARLIE                              (starting out)                         He wanted to be my cousin.                              (they follow her)                         Only I haven't any aunts or uncles.                              (still casually)                         But you never know -- and the least                          I can do is bury him.               Prince lets go with one of his rare smiles as he looks                admiringly at Charlie. They reach the door. The crowd opens                for them a little.               EXT. SALOON - NIGHT               As Mick and Haven come out; the crowd makes a noisy clearing.                There are bets going down. As soon as the crowd has formed                an open space, Haven wheels and smacks Mick across the face                hitting with the heel of the hand, so that Mick rocks back                almost going down. There is dead silence. Mick sets himself                for the Kill, as he peels his coat.               Bristow is shaking with excitement.                                     BRISTOW                         Mick will kill him.                                     CHARLIE                         That's ten to one.                                     BRISTOW                              (grinning)                         I don't like the other fellow's                          chances, but I'm a sucker for odds.                                     CHARLIE                         You should always bet on a champion.                          Then you can only lose once.                                     BRISTOW                         You give ten to one...?                              (she nods)                         I'll take it.                                     CHARLIE                         You're down. A thousand to a hundred.               As they stare at the fight --               FULL SHOT - fight scene. As Mick is slowly advancing toward                Haven. He suddenly swings a haymaker which Haven easily ducks,                another and another that Haven evades.                                     HAVEN                         Don't miss so much. You'll got tired.               Mick misses again, fiercely and Haven cracks him one in the                midriff. Then steps out fast and waits.               Mick charges and Haven catches him full in the mouth. It                stops Mick, and then Haven socks him again, this time with                the butt of his hand -- open palm -- on the nose. Mick is                surprised, tasting the blood on his hurt lips.               ANGLE on Charlie, Mark and Prince, as they watch. Charlie's                eyes are fixed with a kind of admiration on Haven. Prince                watches without interest. Mark is tense and excited.                                     BRISTOW                         He can fight a little.                                     CHARLIE                         A little won't be enough.               But you feel she wishes it might...               ANGLE on the fight.                                     MICK                         Stand still and fight.               As Mick closes again, Haven stops quickly to one side,                clipping him behind the ear as he goes by. But this time                Mick keeps after Haven and finally connects. It is more of a                push than a clean hit, but even so the force of it drives                Haven off balance and he sprawls on his back. As Mick, sensing                victory, charges, Haven knows he can't get to his feet in                time, so he turns his body and springs at Mick's knees                shoulder first. The impact spills Mick on his face; before                he can recover, Haven dives on him, hands flat on his own                chest and palms turned out. His body crashes heavily, angling                across Mick's head, and Haven's savagely pushing hands mash                the other man's face into the hard ground. Then he rolls                clear and comes to his feet, breathing easily, waiting. Mick                gets up, shaking his head to clear it, mad and hurt. As he                closes ponderously in on Haven, his booted foot suddenly                shoots out. Haven twists his knee cap away but takes the                blow on the inside of his thigh, numbing the leg so that he                almost goes down. And now Mick gets to him. His great arms                close around Haven's waist, his hands locked in the small of                Haven's back. Haven braces himself against the crushing                squeeze, tensing his back muscles and stiffening his spine,                but there is nothing he can do against the implacable brute                power of the other man.               The sweat stands out on Haven's face as Mick's great strength                bends him over farther and farther. He must do something,                and soon, or his back will be cracked like a barrel stave.                Suddenly he bends his knees and lifts his feet up from off                the ground. Mick, suddenly finding Haven's full weight pulling                him forward, crashes down on top of him. With all the strength                left in him, Haven brings his knee to the pit of Mick's                stomach; as Mick's hold breaks, Haven rolls clear.               Now they are both hurt. Haven's ribs and chest are so bruised                that it is agony to take a breath. He knows it has to end                quickly or he is done for, and he goes all out. As Mick tries                to close with him again, he stands his ground and throws                pile-driver punches to Mick's midsection; as Mick finally                lowers his arms to cover his body, Haven shifts his attack                to the face. This is not Mick's style of fighting, but as he                lashes back clumsily and angrily, each time he touches Haven                it is with punishing power. Toe to toe, they slug it out,                the belt now unwound and dangling from Mick's fist, both men                groggy but both refusing to go down. Finally Mick is helpless                to protect himself, but Haven hasn't got power left to knock                him off those sturdy legs. Gathering himself, Haven hurls                his body shoulder first at Mick's chest but he miscalculates,                glances off and falls flat on his face. As he rolls over,                dogged and slow with exhaustion, he sees that his weight has                staggered Mick; the big man has taken a step back, and now                he starts to walk forward. Dazed and blind with pain, he                passes Haven, staggers forward until the tie-rail stops him.                There he stands, his hands on the rail, moving his head from                side to side like a wounded animal.               The crowd is silent now, waiting. Haven gets to his feet,                drunk with weariness. He puts a hand on Mick's shoulder, but                hasn't the strength to whirl him around. He braces himself                with one hand against the tie-rail, and almost in slow motion                pulls Mick around and clips him one last time with his                remaining strength. Mick goes down.                                     MICK                              (getting up very slow)                         You can't do this.               Before he is up he goes down again, unable to make it.                                     MICK                              (in the dirt)                         Nobody can do this... to me.               The crowd is transfixed. They can't even cheer. The two                bouncers lean over the fallen Mick.                                     BOUNCER                         Somebody just did.               They pick up Mick as Haven stupidly watches. Then as Haven                turns and goes away, swaying and weak, the roar rises. He                pushes aside people who try to assist him. They move aside                and watch him leave. The crowd goes back in the saloon behind                the vanquished Mick...               ANGLE on Charlie, Bristow and Prince. Prince watches the                beaten Mick go by with a smile of contempt. Charlie's eyes                are fixed on the vanishing lonely figure of Haven. Mark's                eyes are dancing.                                     BRISTOW                         I can't believe it. Mick Marion losing                          a fight and me winning a thousand!                                     CHARLIE                              (to Prince)                         Give it to him, Prince -- in chips.               Bristow follows Prince, wiping his forehead. Charlie remains,                looking down the now empty street where Haven vanished, a                strange soft look in her eyes, a slow smile mounting her                lips.               INT. HOTEL - NIGHT               Orville behind his desk is strumming softly on the guitar,                his eyes following Haven as the latter slowly and somewhat                painfully walks in and across the lobby. All the way to the                desk the clerk watches Haven, strumming softly. Haven pauses                and smiles very faintly at him. The clerk puts the guitar                aside. There is a coffee pot and cup on the desk.                                     ORVILLE                         Have some coffee?                                     HAVEN                              (leaning on the desk)                         Thanks.               Orville pours it quickly.                                     ORVILLE                              (turning back to pick                               up a pitcher and a                               bottle)                         They told me who was fightin'. I was                          getting ready to rent your room.                          Cream or sugar?                                     HAVEN                         Cream.               Orville pours the "cream" from a whiskey bottle. Haven sips                gingerly.                                     ORVILLE                              (looking with mild                               curiosity and                               admiration)                         Myself, I'd rather fight a forest                          fire.                                     HAVEN                              (softly)                         So would I...               He finishes the coffee, turns and starts for his room. Orville                tosses two towels on Haven's shoulder as the latter goes.                Strumming the guitar again softly, he watches with admiration                the retreating form of Haven.               INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT               Haven stands in the darkness only lighted by lights of the                saloon next door. He stands there looking vaguely out the                window, sucking his knuckles absently as he listens to the                piano playing. Then he goes wearily to the bed and falls on                it gratefully, shutting his eyes, the towels still across                his shoulder. There is a moment of silence and then a soft                KNOCK at the door. Another KNOCK, and painfully Haven lifts                himself on one elbow and drags out his gun. The door opens                and Charlie enters. She shuts it behind her and stands looking                at him. He lets the gun fall and turns over on his back.                Charlie walks across to the bed and stands looking down at                him.                                     CHARLIE                         How do you feel?                                     HAVEN                         Like a million dollars.                                     CHARLIE                         You just cost me a thousand. You                          lost your pipe in the fight. I brought                          it to you.               She puts it on the table beside the bed. Haven's eyes follow                her. She sees the towels, takes them to the washstand, soaks                them and brings them back and compresses them gently on                Haven's bruised face. When she takes the towel away, he pulls                himself up a little, propped against the pillow, looking at                her curiously. She sits down on the edge of the bed.                                     HAVEN                         Do you always get sweet with the men                          who fight over you?                                     CHARLIE                         Only the winners.               He watches her as she wets the towels again, returns and                wraps his hands in them, sitting again on the edge of the                bed.                                     HAVEN                         Tell me something --                                     CHARLIE                              (quietly, smiling)                         What?                                     HAVEN                              (he lies back)                         That fellow might have killed me --                              (sleepily)                         Where do you bury the losers?               He is almost asleep. She takes the now unused towel and puts                it back in the basin, soaks it, returns with it and tucks it                against the side of his face.                                     CHARLIE                         You talk too much.                                     HAVEN                              (bitterly)                         What do you want -- the next dance?                                     CHARLIE                         I think you'd better sit this one                          out.               He is sound asleep the next second. She stares at him; rises,                puts the blanket over him and goes quietly out.                                                                   FADE OUT               FADE IN               INT. HOTEL LOBBY - DAY               Haven comes to the desk from his room. Orville is singing                another verse of the ballad. The clerk favors Haven with an                admiring smile. The coffee pot is there.                                     ORVILLE                         Have some coffee?                                     HAVEN                         Thanks.               Orville strums the strings as Haven drinks, having a little                trouble with his sore hands.                                     HAVEN                         The way you run this dump I knew you                          must be good at something else.                                     ORVILLE                         Some call me the town poet -- and                          some the village idiot. Who am I to                          question either? How you feel today?                                     HAVEN                         Like I crawled here from Kansas City.                                     ORVILLE                         Well, it figures to make you pretty                          famous. Fact, people been askin' for                          you already.                                     HAVEN                         Who?                                     ORVILLE                         That gold mine lady -- Mrs. Caslon.                                     HAVEN                         That's nice.                                     ORVILLE                         Couldn't do better. And Charlie.                                     HAVEN                         Charlie?                                     ORVILLE                         No. less.                                     HAVEN                         You seem impressed.                                     ORVILLE                         Why not? Charlie owns a piece of                          everything, includin' the undertaker                          and the sheriff.                                     HAVEN                         The stage line too?                                     ORVILLE                         Everything but the Wednesday Bible                          Class. Even owns a piece of me.                              (grins)                         Takes your money while you're here,                          and makes you pay to leave.                                     HAVEN                              (putting down the cup)                         When you get the next verse I'd like                          to hear it.                                     ORVILLE                         Can't find no word to rhyme with                          Mick Marion.                                     HAVEN                              (as he turns away)                         Carrion.               He walks off. Orville ponders this, scowling into space.                                                                   DISSOLVE               INT. MRS. CASLON'S MINE-CABIN               Iles is pacing the floor. Mrs. Caslon is occupied with some                minor domestic chore. Stellman is standing by the door. Iles                is a ball of fire.                                     ILES                         Of all the stupid bonehead plays!                          What did he fight about -- don't                          tell me a woman?                                     STELLMAN                         That's what they tell me.                                     ILES                         Who started it?                                     STELLMAN                         I don't know, but Haven finished it.                                     ILES                         That probably strikes you as a very                          admirable thing.               Stellman shrugs.                                     ILES                         Well, I don't think so! I have men                          who can use their fists. Why didn't                          they send a man who could use his                          brains!               There is a knock at the door. Iles gives her a look; then                glares at Stellman.                                     ILES                         Well -- open it up!               Stellman opens the door and Haven walks in. He pauses, glances                around and smiles. Mrs. Caslon smiles at him.                                     HAVEN                         Hello, Mrs. Caslon.               She smiles and nods. Irons. Haven can feel the surcharged                air. Deliberately he assumes that casual manner that so burns                the Captain.                                     HAVEN                         Captain... Lieutenant...                                     ILES                              (coldly)                         Mr. Haven, we may not have very much                          around here that pleases you, but we                          do have a strict post regulation                          against brawling in the town. Now                          would you like to explain what                          happened last night?                                     HAVEN                              (smiling)                         I came here to return Mrs. Caslon's                          call.               Iles glances sharply at Mrs. Caslon, and then to Haven.                                     ILES                              (indicating a chair)                         Sit down.               Haven sits, wincing a little. But he beams at Iles, who now                picks a book off the table.                                     ILES                         This book I have in my hand is the                          Army Register, 1882.               Haven inspects his knuckles.                                     ILES                         I am now going to read from it.                              (finds the place;                               reads)                         "Haven, John Martin, born Ohio 1852.                          Appointed Second Lieutenant. Promoted                          First Lieutenant 20th Infantry, March                          1880; reduced in rank to 2nd                          Lieutenant January 12, 1881."               He tosses the book on the table, glaring at Haven.                                     ILES                         Is that correct?                                     HAVEN                         It's the Army Register.                                     ILES                         Haven, you've lost your rank once.                          It may very well happen again.                                     HAVEN                         To almost anybody.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Maybe if you'd let him explain... He                          might have a good reason.                                     ILES                         Even a bad reason would delight me.                                     HAVEN                         What would you like to know?                                     ILES                         Did you pick that fight?                                     HAVEN                         Those things can become very vague.               Iles scowls to him.                                     ILES                              (shrewdly)                         And where do you expect all this to                          get you?                                     HAVEN                              (rising wearily)                         That is a question I prefer not to                          answer.                                     ILES                              (snaps it)                         I think you're trying to carry your                          authority too far.               Haven goes to the door, gently touching his sore jaw. At the                door he turns.                                     HAVEN                         Perhaps, but there's one thing,                          Captain Iles... We had an arrangement                          that we wouldn't meet -- you and I --                         except through Mrs. Caslon... I think                          it's important to keep it that way...                              (one more glance back)                         And I like it better.               He smiles and leaves, closing the door as he goes. Iles stands                there frozen with rage a moment. Then his face relaxes in a                grim smile. He glances at Stellman as he takes a cigar out                and bites it off.                                                                   DISSOLVE               INT. SALOON - DAY               Business is slack. Girls drink coffee and knit at a table.                Ernie polishes glasses at the bar. A colored man cleans a                crap table. All look up with curiosity and esteem as Haven                enters; all but Sam, the piano player, who goes on playing.                Haven goes to the bar. Ernie nods at him.                                     HAVEN                         Doesn't he ever stop playing?                                     ERNIE                         Sam? It don't bother him. He's deaf.                                     HAVEN                         Where do I find the boss?                                     ERNIE                         First door top of the stairs.                                     HAVEN                         Mick been around?                                     ERNIE                         He's undisposed.               Haven goes to the stairs. The eyes of the girls follow him.               Top of the stairs -- as Haven reaches the door, wincing at                the climb. He KNOCKS with the heel of his hand, hurts it,                then uses his boot toe.                                     PRINCE'S VOICE                         Come in.               Haven opens the door.               INT. CHARLIE'S OFFICE - DAY               This is a big corner room, the windows of which look out                over the main street. The chairs are big and there is a roll-               top desk in the corner, a big leather sofa, and on the walls                some framed pictures. At a table Prince sits. He has six                dice stacked on top of each other and he is lifting the                column. Charlie is seated behind the desk smiling. Haven                looks from one to the other.                                     HAVEN                              (to Prince)                         You wanted to see me?                                     CHARLIE                         I did.                                     HAVEN                         They said Charlie --                                     CHARLIE                         Yes.               She seems to enjoy Haven's momentary confusion. Prince is                indifferent.                                     HAVEN                         You're Charlie?                                     CHARLIE                         That's right.                              (nods toward Prince)                         This is Prince. Don't ever gamble                          with him.                                     HAVEN                         You mean with his equipment?               Prince gives him a thin smile and rises.                                     PRINCE                         She means either.                              (he crosses to door)                         See you later, Charlie.               Prince saunters out.               Haven sits in a big chair, very gingerly; takes out his pipe                and tobacco.                                     HAVEN                         You surround yourself with very                          affable characters.                                     CHARLIE                         It makes me feel at home.                                     HAVEN                         You're not that sinister. Last night                          with the wet towels you were Florence                          Nightingale in silk stockings.                              (stretching his legs,                               looking at her)                         Have you got a match?               She comes over with one and lights his pipe.                                     HAVEN                         There's one in my pocket but I hate                          to reach for it... thanks.               She takes his hand and looks at the cut knuckle.                                     CHARLIE                         Sit there.               She walks out of the room and he watches her; then around                the room. In a moment she returns, pulls up a chair in the                front of him and sits down. She has bandages and a little                jar of ointment.                                     HAVEN                              (smiles)                         Now you're Florence Nightingale again.               She takes one of his bruised hands, and as she bandages his                hands slowly, carefully and rather expertly, they talk.                                     CHARLIE                         Why did you pick that fight?                                     HAVEN                         I thought you did.                                     CHARLIE                              (smiling)                         Really?                                     HAVEN                         You could have insisted I was your                          cousin.                                     CHARLIE                         Perhaps that isn't the way I felt                          about you.                                     HAVEN                              (as his knuckle hurts)                         Ouch!               She smiles at him and then goes on.                                     HAVEN                         Where did you get the name of Charlie?                                     CHARLIE                         It was my father's. My name is                          Charlene, but --               He watches her face.                                     HAVEN                         I like that better... Charlene...                              (she doesn't answer)                         This'll be the first time I ever                          worked for a woman.                                     CHARLIE                              (giving him a glance)                         What makes you think you're going to                          work for me?                                     HAVEN                         You sent for me.                                     CHARLIE                              (finishing the bandage)                         How's that?               She stands up. Haven looks at her and ignores his bandaged                hands.                                     HAVEN                         Beautiful.                                     CHARLIE                              (walking towards the                               window)                         All right, I sent for you. I was                          doing a nice quiet business. That                          was because everybody was afraid of                          Mick. Now every time a man has enough                          drinks in him to feel rugged he'll                          try to do what you did.                                     HAVEN                         I wouldn't.                                     CHARLIE                         But they will.                                     HAVEN                         That's not the job I want. I don't                          intend to start at the bottom. I've                          been there. It's too crowded.                                     CHARLIE                              (coolly)                         Where do you want to start?                                     HAVEN                         With the money.                                     CHARLIE                         And what will you do for it?                                     HAVEN                         Anything -- except hang. How did you                          get -- all this?                                     CHARLIE                         I learned one thing from my father.                          As long as men think they can beat                          the tables, all you have to do is                          get a table. Sometimes they run out                          of cash and I find myself with new                          responsibilities.                                     HAVEN                         Such as --                                     CHARLIE                         A couple of stores for one thing.                                     HAVEN                         I can't see myself behind a counter.                                     CHARLIE                         A sawmill, and a logging camp. The                          logging camp's a long way from town.               Haven gets the meaning and shakes his head.                                     CHARLIE                         I own the stage line from here to                          West Rim City, but that's a dud.                                     HAVEN                         Why?                                     CHARLIE                         Outlaws. The money was in gold                          shipments. Now the mines won't ship                          it.                                     HAVEN                         I'll take that job.                                     CHARLIE                         You mean ride shot-gun?                                     HAVEN                         I mean run the line.                                     CHARLIE                         Don't force your luck. You won a                          fight last night. You could lose one                          tonight.                                     HAVEN                         Today I'd hate to tangle with a                          butterfly.                                     CHARLIE                         What do you think you'll get out of                          running the stage line?                                     HAVEN                         A commission on all the gold I get                          through.                                     CHARLIE                         That should buy you a small beer.                                     HAVEN                         Glad to get it.                                     CHARLIE                         It's pretty dangerous. Even Wells                          Fargo locked up their station and                          quit trying.                                     HAVEN                              (leveling)                         Who steals the gold?                                     CHARLIE                         Who doesn't? All they have to do is                          put a mask on and they all look like                          Black Bart.                                     HAVEN                              (rising)                         Give me a letter of authorization.                                     CHARLIE                              (going to the desk)                         I can't bet against you twice, can                          I?               As she writes out the authorization, Haven saunters to the                window, then over to the desk. Charlie finishes and hands                him the paper. Haven scans it, pockets it.                                     CHARLIE                              (smiling at him)                         You know I forgot to ask you one                          thing.                                     HAVEN                         I'm working for you now. You can ask                          me anything.               Haven is moving to the door and she beside him. They pause.                                     CHARLIE                         How do I know I can trust you?                                     HAVEN                         You don't.                                     CHARLIE                         Can I?               He looks at her face, neck and hair. She looks pretty good.                                     HAVEN                         Only with money.               Haven looks squarely at her a moment, then smiles. He reaches                out one bandaged hand and pats her shoulder.                                     HAVEN                              (quietly)                         Okay, boss?               He walks out, and Charlie remains standing there, staring                after him, just a little hazily.                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. STAGE LINE DEPOT - DAY               As Haven walks through the wide gate into a compound. There                are several unhitched stages and freight wagons, one or two                in partial disassembly and being serviced. A colored boy is                readying a horse and buggy and beside him, overlooking the                yard activities, is a bespectacled man with rubber sleeve                garters. He is the manager. He has eyes like Armadillo and                claw-like hands; otherwise, he could be your loan agency                man. Seeing Haven he crosses to him.                                     HAVEN                              (looking him over)                         Are you the manager?                                     MANAGER                         I am.                                     HAVEN                         My name's Haven.                                     MANAGER                         I've heard about you. You're the                          fellah who took Mick Marion apart.                              (looking at him)                         Almost knocked me off my feet. But                          my feet ain't been any good since I                          followed Stonewall Jackson.                              (keenly)                         What business you got with me?                                     HAVEN                              (handing him the note)                         I'm the new boss.               The manager glances at the note, after moving his spectacles                out of the way. He gives it back without a word, and turns                toward the rear office door. Haven halts him.                                     HAVEN                         Wait a minute. You're not fired.                                     MANAGER                         I got to be. There ain't enough work                          around here for one man, let alone                          two.                                     HAVEN                         Two can loaf as easy as one.               Jim Goddard and Jerry enter from the rear office door. Jerry                is the younger. Goddard walks a little stiffly with the aid                of a cane.                                     JERRY                         Mr. Leonard!               They halt and look at Haven. The Manager jerks a thumb at                Haven.                                     MANAGER                         Talk to him. He just took the reins.                              (indicating the two                               lads)                         This is Jim Goddard. He's a regular                          stage driver. Jerry here runs freight                          to the sawmill. Boys, your new boss.                                     HAVEN                         Hello, boys.                                     JERRY                              (with a grin of hero                               worship)                         I gotta start out of here for the                          sawmill before daybreak. Is that all                          right, Mr. Haven?               Haven nods, after a glance at the manager.                                     JERRY                         I seen that fight last night. It was                          sure a beauty.                                     HAVEN                         Glad you enjoyed it.                                     JERRY                         What I liked was the way you --                                     HAVEN                         Let's not talk about it. Right now                          it hurts my hands to listen.                                     JERRY                         Yes, sir.               He walks out, looking back with an awesome smile. Haven looks                curiously at Goddard, who has been standing in silence, a                thin smile on his lips.                                     HAVEN                         What happened to you?                                     GODDARD                         My last run. I stopped a bullet.                                     HAVEN                         Did you get a look at them?                                     GODDARD                         I wish I had.                                     HAVEN                         I think I'm going to need you and                          not on one leg. So sit down and give                          it a rest.                                     GODDARD                              (slowly smiling)                         Yes, sir.               He obeys. Haven watches and then turns to the manager.                                     HAVEN                         I'm coming back later and sit behind                          your desk. I'll need the keys.                                     MANAGER                              (taking keys from his                               pocket)                         Only things here that work.               The manager, gives them to him. Then looks at him.                                     MANAGER                         Son, I waste my time. I might as                          well waste some advice. You're full                          of blood and vinegar, but this whole                          thing has got something wrong with                          it. Goddard only got nicked in the                          shin. You might not be so lucky...                                     HAVEN                         I might depend on something besides                          luck.                                     MANAGER                         Like for instance?                                     HAVEN                         Well the fact that they don't seem                          to shoot too straight.                                     MANAGER                         They don't need to when they shoot                          so often.               He turns, takes a few steps -- and turns back to Haven.                                     MANAGER                         Worry it over.               The manager turns to go, shaking his head.               EXT. OFFICER COMPOUND               Haven, whistling softly, crosses to the colored boy who is                polishing the last specks of dust off the buggy. It is a                beautiful buggy attached to a beautiful horse. Haven pauses                and gazes at it.                                     HAVEN                         What's this?               The colored boy steps back and admires his work.                                     COLORED BOY                         Sumpin', ain't it?                                     HAVEN                         Who's it for?                                     COLORED BOY                         Miss Charlie, Mr. Haven.                                     HAVEN                         Where do you drive her?                                     COLORED BOY                         Same places. Around the hills, down                          the river, every afternoon.                                     HAVEN                         I think I'll give you this afternoon                          off.                                     COLORED BOY                         I shouldn't let you do this, suh...                              (looking Haven over,                               especially the                               bandaged hands)                         But ah am.               Haven climbs in the buggy, and the Colored Boy watches him                go.                                                                   DISSOLVE               INT. CHARLIE'S OFFICE - DAY               Charlie is dressed to go somewhere. She looks much nicer in                these clothes than in her show garments of the night. She is                listening to Prince who sits in a chair, the inevitable dice                in his fingers, two this time. There is a silence except the                rattle of the cubes. Then Prince speaks coldly.                                     PRINCE                         Does this Haven move me out? Is that                          the plan?                                     CHARLIE                         Prince, you know I wouldn't part                          with you.                                     PRINCE                         But I always come up empty.                                     CHARLIE                         Not quite empty. I gave you what is                          probably the one honest feeling you                          ever had in your life.                                     PRINCE                         I keep forgetting that. Pardon me.                                     CHARLIE                         What's the matter, Prince?                                     PRINCE                         I don't like John Haven or anything                          about him.                                     CHARLIE                         You've said that.                                     PRINCE                         What do you know about him?                                     CHARLIE                         You want me to have him looked up in                          the Social Register?               She gets up, goes to the window testily. Prince looks at her                coldly as she gazes at the street.                                     PRINCE                         A man walks in out of nowhere --                                     CHARLIE                              (turning)                         And went against your table. Did he                          play like a gambler?                                     PRINCE                         He knew something.                                     CHARLIE                         Yes -- and he took Mick.                                     PRINCE                         So he can fight.                              (shrewdly)                         You like that part, don't you?               He looks straight at her and she stares back, staring him                down at last. As his eyes lower, she turns again to the                window.                                     CHARLIE                         I'll tell you one thing, Prince, I                          don't like this part.               She is silent and Prince gets up and walks out. She does not                turn. Down in the street she can see Haven riding up in the                buggy, and the hard look on her face softens to a smile as                Haven climbs out of the buggy. Some people passing stare at                him, and whisper together. His fame has spread. He walks                inside, smiling a little.               INT. SALOON - DAY               As Haven enters. There is no play at the tables. Some at the                bar. The deaf pianist is pounding the keys softly. Prince                has just descended the stairs and gone to the dice table,                where he leans, his cold eyes fixed on Haven as the latter                goes to the foot of the stairs. At this moment Charlie appears                and descends the stairs, adjusting her hat. Haven stares at                her with admiration, as she descends, smiling at him.               MED. SHOT - Haven and Charlie, as she reaches the last step.                                     HAVEN                         Stand there a second.               She looks at him.                                     HAVEN                         Every time I see you, you look                          different, but you always look                          beautiful. Why is that?                                     CHARLIE                         I always have somebody to lie to me.                                     HAVEN                         Take my hand --                              (offering it)                         But don't squeeze it.               She takes his arm instead and they walk towards the door.               MOVING SHOT - Charlie and Haven, as they go.                                     CHARLIE                         Tell me what you're doing with my                          buggy.                                     HAVEN                         My work. I'm the new transportation                          boss. You hired me.               MED. SHOT of Prince, as he stands at the table, watching                them go.               EXT. CHARLIE'S BUGGY - DAY               As Haven helps Charlie into the carriage.                                     HAVEN                         I presume you're going shopping?                                     CHARLIE                         I wouldn't wear anything sold this                          side of Chicago. I'm going to call                          on a gentleman.                                     HAVEN                         At this hour?                                     CHARLIE                         His name is Mark Bristow -- and any                          hour, it would be strictly business.               He glances at her.                                     HAVEN                         The way you say it -- he may need a                          lawyer.                                     CHARLIE                         He's a lawyer himself, but it won't                          help him.                                     HAVEN                         No?                                     CHARLIE                              (with a smile)                         What good is a lawyer if he never                          gets in a court?                                     HAVEN                         Like a doctor in a graveyard. Where                          is this unlucky man?                                     CHARLIE                         Across the street.               As Haven shrugs and turns the carriage to front of Bristow's                office.               EXT. BRISTOW'S OFFICE - DAY               The letters on the window read:                                   Mark Bristow, Lawyer               As Haven pulls up in front of it with the carriage. He goes                around and helps Charlie alight, making it a little slow for                the sake of added intimacy and causing her to smile as though                she didn't resent it.                                     HAVEN                         Shall I take the horses back and rub                          them down?                                     CHARLIE                         Do you think they've gone far enough?                                     HAVEN                         I haven't.                                     CHARLIE                         Then maybe you better wait and come                          with me.               As Charlie starts in, Mrs. Caslon comes out and they pass.                Mrs. Caslon pauses to smile and Haven tips his hat. Charlie,                flashing a backward look, sees this.               EXT. BRISTOW'S OFFICE - DAY               MED. SHOT of Haven and Mrs. Caslon. Haven is talking to her                with apparent casualness because he realizes that Charlie                can see him.                                     HAVEN                         I wonder if you'd do me a favor?                                     MRS. CASLON                         Why, surely.                                     HAVEN                         It's a big favor, and I wouldn't                          blame you if you refused.                                     MRS. CASLON                         What is it?                                     HAVEN                         I want to haul some gold from your                          mine.                                     MRS. CASLON                         That IS a big favor.                                     HAVEN                         I know it seems impossible to you,                          but that's one reason why I'm here --                          to find cut what makes it impossible.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Isn't that very risky?                                     HAVEN                         That's why I couldn't go to anyone                          but you.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (hesitating)                         I'm just wondering if we shouldn't                          speak to Captain Iles first.                                     HAVEN                         You know what he'd say.                              (she smiles grimly                               and nods)                         He'd advise against it -- but if it                          works my way, it may clear everything                          up -- for all of us -- and for Iles                          too. The War Department doesn't like                          all that gold around an Army Post.               He watches her face as she thinks it over.                                     HAVEN                              (softly)                         We're working too much in the dark.                          This may be the only way to see                          something. It's a risk -- but someone                          has to take it...                                     MRS. CASLON                              (firmly)                         Who else will know of it?                                     HAVEN                         Just us. That'll be all who know --                          and that's the idea.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (simply)                         I'll arrange it.                                     HAVEN                              (grinning)                         Don't look so grim. It's only your                          gold and my skin. And smile when you                          walk away as though we'd been talking                          about what a dry summer it's been.               She smiles and Haven pats her shoulder.               INT. OFFICE - DAY               As Bristow is talking. Charlie, looking through the window,                sees Haven and Mrs. Caslon part, Haven patting her shoulder                with that familiar gesture of his, then coming into the office                door.                                     BRISTOW                         ...You know I'll always cooperate --                          as much as possible. But I haven't                          the money.               Haven has entered in silence, seated himself in a chair.                Charlie does not look at him; her face, hard now, looks                straight at Bristow. He pauses as he glances at Haven with a                little nod Haven doesn't return.                                     CHARLIE                              (rising and going to                               the desk with a sheaf                               of papers, which she                               places on his desk)                         These are I.O.U.s for gambling. They                          add up to six thousand dollars. Do                          you want to count them?                                     BRISTOW                         No.                                     CHARLIE                              (returning them to                               her pocket)                         Your credit's over, Mark.                                     BRISTOW                         My luck can turn, can't it?                                     CHARLIE                         Not on my tables.                                     BRISTOW                         I've seen other people fall in this                          trap -- but I didn't think it would                          get me.               He is sweating a little.                                     CHARLIE                         Nobody does. I'll have Prince drop                          in and go over your books. Maybe we                          can work something out.                                     BRISTOW                         But I told you --                                     CHARLIE                         That's the way it is, Mark. I pay                          off on the line and I expect to get                          paid. Give it some thought.               She whirls and walks out the door. Haven, fumbling for his                pipe and putting it in his teeth, follows her with a parting                glance at Bristow. For a long minute Bristow sits there alone,                his eyes staring at nothing; then as he mops the mildew of                sweat from his forehead:                                                                       WIPE               INT. CHARLIE'S CARRIAGE - DAY               As Charlie and Haven drive in the country. The road winds                between hills now and a stream tumbles along beside the                winding road. The horse is moving at a snail's pace and                Charlie is gazing around at the scenery, relaxed and                thoughtful.                                     HAVEN                         You know, you remind me a little --                          back there -- of a character I once                          read in a book.                                     CHARLIE                         I had an idea you'd read a book.                          What was the character?                                     HAVEN                         Simon Legree.                                     CHARLIE                         Mark is mixed up. He's either crooked                          without being smart, or honest without                          being lucky. And that's no good.                                     HAVEN                         I don't think I'd want to owe you                          money -- even if I was honest.                                     CHARLIE                         Even?                                     HAVEN                         When I was seven I robbed my own                          piggy bank.                                     CHARLIE                         It's hard to imagine you being seven.                                     HAVEN                         I was very fat and ate a lot of candy.                                     CHARLIE                         Is that why you robbed your bank?                                     HAVEN                         No... I robbed it to run away from                          home.                                     CHARLIE                         Did you do it?                                     HAVEN                         Yeah, but I had to go back.                                     CHARLIE                         Why?                                     HAVEN                         It got dark.               She laughs. They stop and get out.                                                                   DISSOLVE               STREAM BANK - DAY               FULL SHOT as Haven helps her down the bank to the edge of                the water. She sits on the edge of a huge flat boulder and                Haven stretches out beside her.               MED. SHOT of Haven and Charlie. As she looks at the stream                and then at him.                                     CHARLIE                         This is my favorite place in the                          world... I always come here to think                          about it.                                     HAVEN                         What?                                     CHARLIE                         The rook here and the stream. The                          stream is always running away and                          the rock is always watching it go.                          It's two ways to be -- and I always                          wonder which is the best.                                     HAVEN                         They probably envy each other.                                     CHARLIE                         Do you suppose any woman could envy                          me?                                     HAVEN                         I know it.                                     CHARLIE                         But not a good woman?                                     HAVEN                         Nobody is any good. You mean                          respectable.                                     CHARLIE                         Maybe.                                     HAVEN                         Respectable people are very useful --                          but they bore me.                                     CHARLIE                         With certain exceptions.                                     HAVEN                              (curiously)                         Like who?                                     CHARLIE                         Like Mary Caslon...                                     HAVEN                         I thought we might get to that.                                     CHARLIE                         How did you happen to know her?                                     HAVEN                         I knew her husband.                                     CHARLIE                         That's curious, considering --                                     HAVEN                         Considering what?                                     CHARLIE                         Ben Caslon was a very upright citizen.                                     HAVEN                         Meaning I'm not?                                     CHARLIE                              (adds thoughtfully)                         She's certainly not hard to look at --                          and now she has the money and is --                              (looking away)                         -- also very respectable.                                     HAVEN                         Then why would she be interested in                          me?                                     CHARLIE                         Because you're no good. And good                          women like men who are bad for them.                                     HAVEN                         Flattery will get you nowhere.                                     CHARLIE                         Fooling with her will get you nowhere                          too -- except in trouble.                                     HAVEN                         With whom?                                     CHARLIE                         The army. Why is it you're always                          getting mixed up with the army?               Haven has been idly flipping pebbles into the stream. He                sees a leaf float by.                                     HAVEN                              (idly)                         What are the odds I hit the leaf?                                     CHARLIE                              (absently)                         Four to one.                                     HAVEN                         Pass --                              (he flips the pebble,                               misses)                         What's the army got to do with Mrs.                          Caslon?                                     CHARLIE                         She's engaged to Captain Iles.                                     HAVEN                         Iles?                                     CHARLIE                         He's the army boss here.                                     HAVEN                              (smiling)                         If you're going to frighten me, the                          least you can do is hold my hand.               He holds out his hand and takes hers. Abruptly she starts to                rise, very piqued and unable to disguise it. Haven rises                too. Takes her hand to help her from the boulder. Then stops                and gazes at her, smiling.                                     HAVEN                         This is where you ought to slip --                          and I should catch you and kiss you.                                     CHARLIE                         No chance.               She starts down; Haven moves too, but it is he who slips and                she who has to catch him. Her arms go automatically around                him. His around her. Before he can act himself, she holds                him tight and kisses him. It is a long kiss and on it we:                                                                   FADE OUT               FADE IN               INT. HOTEL LOBBY - EVENING               Orville is strumming the guitar as Haven enters. He pauses                as Haven comes near on the way to his room.                                     ORVILLE                         Hey.               Haven halts, walks over.                                     HAVEN                         You finish that song?                                     ORVILLE                         Never do.                                     HAVEN                         Why not?                                     ORVILLE                         It's my fatality. I never finish                          nothin'.                                     HAVEN                         Maybe it's just as well.                                     ORVILLE                         Maybe so. I thought I'd tell you.                          Goin' back to your room will be a                          waste of time.                                     HAVEN                         It will?                                     ORVILLE                         I don't know what happened on that                          buggy ride, but somebody came and                          took all your truck.               He strums the strings.                                     HAVEN                         And, naturally, you didn't do anything                          about it?                                     ORVILLE                         What could I do?                                     HAVEN                         You could have called the sheriff.                                     ORVILLE                         Set a thief to catch a thief, eh?                                     HAVEN                         I paid my rent and I think I'm                          entitled to know who stole my clothes.               He starts to his room.                                     ORVILLE                              (calling after him)                         A man couldn't ask for no prettier                          thief.               INT. HAVEN'S ROOM               Haven enters, glances around, sees the bag is missing. He                goes to the window, sees Charlie at saloon window across the                areaway. He leans out.                                     HAVEN                         Hey!               Charlie moves the window, smiling.                                     CHARLIE                              (leaning out)                         Hello... I've been wondering where                          you were.                                     HAVEN                         I lost my shirt.                                     CHARLIE                         You didn't imagine that I'd let you                          live in that hotel, did you? I want                          you available -- in case of trouble.                                     HAVEN                         Where did I move?                                     CHARLIE                         In a very nice room upstairs.                                     HAVEN                              (taking out his pipe)                         When can you get my things back to                          the hotel, Charlie?               She stares at him, the smile fading on her face.                                     CHARLIE                         Why don't you take them yourself?                                     HAVEN                              (calmly)                         Because that's not how they got here.               A slight pause.                                     CHARLIE                         You're really hard -- aren't you?                                     HAVEN                         No.                                     CHARLIE                         You have to play everything alone?                                     HAVEN                         This hotel is no good. The service                          is bad. The clerk's a poet, and the                          mattress is not quite as soft as a                          marble slab. But I'm beginning to                          like it... and if I open this window,                          and hear you singing...                                     CHARLIE                         Is that the way you want it?                                     HAVEN                         That's the way.                                     CHARLIE                         They'll be there.               She turns abruptly from the window. Haven smiles and turns                away.                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. STAGE LINE COMPOUND - NIGHT               Haven is finishing preparations for the ride. ANGLE ON Goddard                as he stands in shadow, watching. He carries a shotgun. As                Goddard moves from the shadow, Haven whirls, going for his                gun -- then relaxing as he recognizes the other man.               MED. SHOT of Haven and Goddard.                                     HAVEN                         What brings you here?                                     GODDARD                              (smiling)                         I had a dream.                                     HAVEN                         Yeah?                                     GODDARD                         That you'd be back here tonight.                                     HAVEN                         Why?                                     GODDARD                         Maybe because you took the keys.                                     HAVEN                         Don't they go with the job?               Haven stares at him a long moment; Goddard returns the stare                steadily.                                     GODDARD                         You know how it is with dreams. I                          got the crazy idea you were going to                          try something --                                     HAVEN                         How crazy?                                     GODDARD                         Like running a shipment.                                     HAVEN                         Then what happened?                                     GODDARD                         I wanted to be some help with it.                                     HAVEN                         All right -- you've been some help.                          Now you can go back to sleep and                          I'll finish the dream for you.               The coach is ready. Goddard doesn't move.                                     GODDARD                         I'm riding with you, Haven.                                     HAVEN                         You are?                                     GODDARD                              (grimly)                         I'm riding.                                     HAVEN                              (slowly)                         You got more than your leg hurt,                          didn't you?                                     GODDARD                         Maybe I just like to ride in the                          moonlight if nothing happens.                                     HAVEN                         And if it does?                                     GODDARD                         Then I think I got a little better                          right than you to be there.                                     HAVEN                              (gazing at him)                         I was just thinking -- a nice guy                          like you probably has a nice girl                          somewhere -- or a wife.                                     GODDARD                         What are we gonna do -- have a little                          chat about women?               Haven slowly grins at him; Goddard smiles back.                                     HAVEN                         Some other time -- Let's go -- out                          the back gate.               Goddard climbs up with his shotgun as Haven clambers up into                the driver's seat. As the coach turns and heads for the back                of the corral.                                                                       WIPE               EXT. OPEN COUNTRY - NIGHT               FULL SHOT - the stagecoach, travelling across open flat                country, heading toward the distant hills.               CLOSE SHOT - Haven and Goddard in the driver's box, keeping                an eye about him as the teams gallop along in the moonlight.                                     HAVEN                         What makes you so anxious to take                          this chance?                                     GODDARD                         What makes you?                                     HAVEN                         I'm on commission. With me it's a                          matter of money.                                     GODDARD                         And you think it's something else                          with me?                                     HAVEN                         I can't think of anything else --                          except curiosity.                                     GODDARD                              (gazing out drily)                         Some moonlight after all...               FULL SHOT as the stage rockets off into the darkness.                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. MOUNTAIN COUNTRY - NIGHT               The stage is now heading uphill, the gentle slope at the                beginning of the foothills.               EXT. MOUNTAIN COUNTRY - NIGHT               The road is steeper now, and winding.               ANOTHER ANGLE. The road is cut out of the side of the                mountain, leaving a sheer slope on one side, and high, thick                trees and brush on the other. As the stage follows a bend in                the road, a rider leaps out and grabs the lead horse. The                stage lurches crazily and almost overturns as it slows to a                stop. Before Haven can free his hands from the reins to go                for his gun, two shadowy figures, handkerchiefs helping the                darkness mask their faces, have jumped out onto the road                ahead and have him covered.                                     BANDIT                         All right -- stretch!               Haven and Goddard raise their arms. Another bandit, from the                hillside, calls out:                                     SECOND BANDIT                         Pile out with the hands up.               Two shotgun barrels cover the side of the stags. Goddard                gets off, hands in air.                                     FIRST BANDIT                              (to Haven)                         Get down.               Haven obeys, to join Goddard in the road, as the bandits                converge on the stage. There are five or six of them. Two                come up behind Haven and Goddard.                                     FIRST BANDIT                         Turn around and keep 'em high.               The sacks are being loaded on a pack horse. Haven turns                around.                                     HAVEN                         Take it easy. They hang you just the                          same.                                     SECOND BANDIT                         You, Goddard, start walking.               He gives Goddard a none too gentle shove. Goddard moves on                up the road in the darkness.               A FEW YARDS UP THE ROAD. Mick is waiting by his horse, his                gun drawn. We hear the steps of Goddard and the bandit.                                     SECOND BANDIT'S VOICE                         That's far enough.               The footsteps halt. Mick aims and fires.               BY WAGON. There is a half grunt, half groan from Goddard.                Haven turns as if to protest and then crumples as a gun fells                him.               CLOSE SHOT - Haven, lying face down on the ground,                unconscious.                                                                   FADE OUT               FADE IN               EXT. SKY               As day breaks.               EXT. MOUNTAIN ROAD - DAWN               CLOSE SHOT - Haven. Haven comes to, gradually clearing the                cobwebs. Then suddenly he remembers Goddard and the shot. He                makes his way to where Goddard's body lies a few feet up the                road. Goddard's right hand is half in his hip pocket, as if                in his last dying moment he was reaching for something. As                Haven pulls the hand out, he sees that Goddard's fingers                have closed around his wallet. Puzzled, Haven opens the                wallet. There is a stiff-backed daguerreotype of his wife,                an expired Union Pacific Railroad pass, an express receipt,                a souvenir bank-note of the Confederacy, and a small, closely-               folded piece of paper. Unfolding this, Haven sees the top                line:               "To Whom It May Concern"               HE READS FURTHER:               "This certifies that the bearer, James Goddard, is operating                as a legally deputized detective for Wells Fargo Stage and                Express Company."               Haven replaces the papers and lifts Goddard's body, carries                it to the stage and places it on the floor. He removes                Goddard's gun and shell belt and straps it on, closing the                stage door. Haven's face is grim as he studies the ground                nearby. The sticky mud shows clearly the new tracks of the                bandits' horses. As he starts unhitching one of his horses                from the wagon traces, we                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. MOUNTAIN COUNTRY - MORNING               A tiny clearing on a brush-filled knoll, where the remains                of a cooking fire are still visible, the ashes scattered                over the tamped-down ground. CAMERA PANS OVER TO Haven, on                horseback, as he studies the scene. This is where he evidently                made camp for the night. He dismounts, sifts the ashes through                his fingers to feel their warmth. He cannot be far behind.                Then he turns his attention to the trail loading away.                Inspection reveals that it divides, one group of fresh tracks                heading towards town, another smaller group further into the                mountains. He decides to follow the latter. As he mounts and                rides off:                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. MOUNTAIN COUNTRY - MORNING               A high spot from which Haven can get a good view. Off in the                distance he sees:               LONG SHOT - FROM his ANGLE. A lone rider, leading a pack                horse, barely visible through the timber. He is heading away                from him.               CLOSE SHOT - Haven. He spurs his horse forward.               FULL SHOT - Haven, in pursuit of the man ahead.               EXT. STREAM - MORNING               The bandit, unaware of his pursuer, puts his horse and the                gold-laden pack horse through the stream. He comes out into                a meadow on the other side.               PAN SHOT - WITH Haven, as he comes to the stream. Half way                across, his horse momentarily loses his footing on the                slippery rocks.               MED. SHOT - bandit. Hearing the noise of Haven's horse, he                turns and sees his pursuer, takes a quick shot back at him,                then heads for the other side of the meadow where there will                be shelter, firing back as he rides.               MED. CLOSE SHOT - Haven. He takes careful and deliberate aim                and fires.               FULL SHOT - FROM Haven's ANGLE. The bandit is almost at the                edge of the woods when Haven's shot gets him. He tumbles                from the saddle. Haven rides forward, gun ready in case it                is a trick.               EXT. MEADOW - MORNING               It is no trick. The bandit is down where he fell. When Haven                turns him over, the man's eyes are already glazed. Haven                puts his lips close to the dying man's ear.                                     HAVEN                         Who sent you?               The man only glares up at him. Haven tries again.                                     HAVEN                         You're a goner, brother -- you can                          talk.               The man holds Haven's gaze defiantly and silently as the                life goes out of him. Haven lowers him back to the ground,                rifles his pocket. There are no papers on him, no                identification. He stands up. He has the gold back, but he                is no closer to rounding up the whole gang than he was before.                Unless -- he is looking at the horses, placidly grazing. He                goes up to them, ties up the loose lead reins, draws his                belt off, and gives them each a sharp crack on the rump with                the buckle. They take off across the meadow at a gallop.                Haven lets them get a good start before he mounts his own                horse, and follows after them.                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. MOUNTAIN COUNTRY - DAY               As Haven rides up to the edge of a downslope, gazes over a                broad valley, and sees:               LONG VIEW of a sawmill, nestled in the valley. It comprises                several sheds and buildings, with a long rank of stacked                logs beside the biggest shed, and all this is serviced by a                dirt road along which the two horses canter up to the camp.                Haven observes several men come out of the main office and                snag the two horses.               EXT. CAMP OFFICE - DAY               As two men who have snagged the horses now take off the gold                bags. In front of the office Pete, the camp boss, Ben and                Sam, two tough-looking accomplices, stand watching and                glancing up the road down which the horses came. There is a                frown on Pete's face.                                     BEN                         Where's Joe?                              (as Pete doesn't answer)                         Something's gone wrong, Pete.               Pete looks thoughtfully at Joe's horse, pats his neck, again                locks up the road.                                     PETE                         I know one thing. He was born on a                          horse and he didn't just fall off                          this one... go and take a look.               Two men mount and start away.               CLOSE SHOT of Haven. As he moves back out of sight. Obviously                he can't move into the camp now. Glancing off down the valley                he sees in the distance a work wagon approaching. It is still                hidden from sight of the sawmill by high ground between. He                puts his horse down the slope towards the approaching wagon,                at a tangent to the camp.                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. SAWMILL ROAD - DAY               As the work wagon lumbers along. Its markings identify it as                belonging to the stageline Haven now manages. We recognize                Jerry the driver as Haven rides up. Jerry gives him a grin                and a salute.                                     JERRY                         Hello there, Mr. Haven!                                     HAVEN                         Hello, Jerry. What's the haul?                                     JERRY                         This is that load of grub for the                          sawmill.                                     HAVEN                         Want to ride my horse back to town?                                     JERRY                         What about the wagon here?                                     HAVEN                         I'll finish the haul.                                     JERRY                         You're the boss.               He climbs down as Haven dismounts and turns the horse over                to Jerry.                                     HAVEN                              (throwing it away)                         Any excitement in town?                                     JERRY                              (grins)                         Don't know, Mr. Haven. I left before                          daybreak.                                     HAVEN                              (relieved)                         Take him easy. He's tired.                                     JERRY                         I'll give him a good rubdown.                              (mounting)               Haven watches him ride away, then climbs aboard the wagon.                Picking up the reins, he notices the bandages on his hands                and, not wanting to be identified by them, rips them off.                Blowing on his still sore knuckles, he drives toward the                sawmill.                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. SAWMILL CAMP SITE - DAY               As Haven's wagon lumbers in. He looks curiously at the main                office. No one is in sight, but as he draws nearer, the                swarthy hard-faced man, Pete, comes out on to the porch.                                     PETE                         Hey, you!               Haven looks at him.                                     PETE                         You see a rider comin' up?                                     HAVEN                         Nope.                                     PETE                         You sure?                                     HAVEN                         Haven't even seen a lizard. Where do                          I put this stuff?                                     PETE                         Where did you put it before?                                     HAVEN                         I never did. I'm a new driver. I                          think it's grub.                                     PETE                         Take it to the cook shack.               Haven flicks the reins, moves on. Pete watches suspiciously.                Haven moves on to the cook shack outside of which the cook                is busy dumping a pail of slop.                                     HAVEN                              (pulling up)                         You the cook?                                     COOK                         Nah. I just wear this hat to keep                          the flies out of my hair.                                     HAVEN                         It don't matter to me, brother. I                          just haul this grub. I'd just as                          soon haul it back.                                     COOK                         Take it next door.               Haven pulls up by the warehouse next door and gets down.                There is nobody around, so he starts wrestling with the food                crates himself, taking the first one into the warehouse.               EXT. WAREHOUSE - DAY               It is big, barnlike, piled with provisions and equipment.                Haven stares around; carries the crate to where a similar                stack of crates are piled. Lowering the crate he notes a                shiny object, picks it up. It is a button from an army                uniform. He pockets it as his attention is distracted by two                horsemen passing outside. Haven goes out to continue                unloading.               EXT. MAIN OFFICE - DAY               As the two horsemen ride up to Pete and dismount. Ben and                Sam are standing there.                                     PETE                              (to the horsemen)                         Any luck?                                     BEN                         No sign of Joe. But there's the tracks                          of another horse, circling the mill                          and coming back on the road just                          north.                              (he points)                                     PETE                         That's bad.               He glances toward the wagon where Haven is working.                                     PETE                         Let's go and look at this guy again.               The five men move down to Haven's wagon.               ANGLE ON wagon and Haven, as he sees them come. His lip                tightens; then he relaxes and goes on lifting a crate. He                pauses as they come up and stand around him, their eyes fixed                on:                                     PETE                         You --               Haven looks at him.                                     PETE                         You sure you didn't see no rider?                                     HAVEN                         Look -- you want me to say I saw a                          rider? I'll say it. I'll say I saw a                          ghost. It don't make any difference                          to me.                                     PETE                         When did you get this job?                                     HAVEN                         Yesterday.                                     PETE                         What for?                                     HAVEN                         It's the system. If I don't work I                          don't eat. I never been able to find                          any way to beat it.                                     PETE                         Who hired you?                                     HAVEN                              (blandly)                         Mr. Haven.                                     PETE                         The guy that had the fight?                                     HAVEN                         Same fellow.               It is a risky little moment; Haven eases both bruised hands                into his coat pockets.                                     PETE                         Friend of yours?                                     HAVEN                              (innocently)                         Who?                                     PETE                         This Haven.                                     HAVEN                         Any man who gives me a job is my                          friend. Look, I'm working, I haul                          this stuff out here. Nobody wants to                          tell me where to dump it. Everybody                          wants to know what I'm doin' and                          what I haven't seen. I don't know. I                          get thirty cents an hour. How smart                          does that have to make me?                                     PETE                         Don't get hot.               Pete's face relaxes; as do the grim faces of the others.                                     HAVEN                              (grinning)                         I ain't hot. I'm just mixed up.                                     PETE                         Forget it. I got a load for you to                          take back when you're done here.                                     HAVEN                         Sure.                                     PETE                         How soon?                                     HAVEN                         Well, I haven't eaten anything but                          dust since sun-up.                                     PETE                         All right -- grab it quick.                              (to the others)                         Work on this stuff.               They start unloading and Haven goes to the cook house. Pete                watches him go. Ben notes it.                                     BEN                         What do you think?                                     PETE                         We risk him, that's all.                                     BEN                         He don't look right to me.                                     PETE                         He don't look any worse than the                          rest of it looks right now.                              (turning)                         Come on, get this junk out.               He lends a hand with Ben and Sam.               INT. COOKHOUSE - DAY               A big pot of stew is simmering on the fire. The cook is busy                slicing french fries. Haven enters.                                     HAVEN                         How about a handout?                                     COOK                         Help yourself.               Haven begins ladling out some stew into a bowl, tastes it.                                     HAVEN                         You cook pretty good.                                     COOK                         I ought to. I used to cook for six                          hundred men a day.                                     HAVEN                         Where was that?                                     COOK                         Leavenworth.               Haven shrugs and takes more stew; the cook goes on cutting                the potatoes.                                     HAVEN                         This used to be my mother's special                          dish. She made it right out of the                          world.                                     COOK                         My old woman couldn't boil a potato.               Haven takes another gulp in the silence that follows. Then                he says carelessly:                                     HAVEN                         Who's boss around here?                                     COOK                         I am.                                     HAVEN                         I mean the whole works.                                     COOK                         You talked to the man when you came                          in.                                     HAVEN                         Real tough-looking fellah.                                     COOK                              (spits)                         They're all tough till they get to                          Mick Marion.                                     HAVEN                         Mick come out here?                                     COOK                         Last night -- and he looked like                          somebody got to him.                                     HAVEN                         How's that?                                     COOK                         Face all beat up --                              (casually)                         Like your knuckles.                                     HAVEN                         I had bad luck with a crate of                          cauliflower.                                     COOK                         That's what he brought down here --                          a cauliflower face.                              (casually)                         You fight him?                                     HAVEN                              (smiling blandly)                         Mick? Do I look like I would?                                     COOK                              (looking at him)                         Just the knuckles.               Ben's head appears in the doorway.                                     BEN                         Hurry it up, driver!                                     HAVEN                         Comin'.               Haven takes a last mouthful, turns toward the door.                                     HAVEN                         Not many of the hands here, are there?                                     COOK                         All up at the logging camp.                                     HAVEN                         Much obliged. That was real fine                          mulligan.               The cook isn't interested; he spits as he slices a potato.               EXT. SAWMILL OFFICE - DAY               Pete, Sam and Ben are waiting beside the gear box as we see                Haven bringing the wagon up.                                     BEN                         Maybe this isn't such a good idea.                                     PETE                         Who said it was? I just want that                          gold outa here the easiest and                          quickest way.               They watch Haven as he pulls up the wagon. Pete looks hard                at his face. Haven has the pipe in his mouth again, looking                very blandly at them.                                     PETE                         You see this box?                                     HAVEN                         Sure.                                     PETE                         It goes to Prince. Know who Prince                          is?                                     HAVEN                         Nope.                                     PETE                         He runs things for Charlie. Know who                          Charlie is?                                     HAVEN                         Sure.               Haven climbs aboard. They look hard at him. He has stuck his                pipe in his mouth. He smiles at them and he picks up the                reins.                                     PETE                         One thing...               Haven pauses.                                     PETE                         That's a gear box you're hauling                          back and it's got to be repaired.                          And you tell Charlie that if it ain't                          repaired we might have to shut down                          quick. You got that?                                     HAVEN                         I got it.                                     PETE                         All right -- then get out of here!               Haven flicks the reins, grins at them and drives off. Ben is                still worried and stares after the departing wagon.                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. MOUNTAINS - DAY               This is deserted country on the way to town. When the land                slopes steeply from the road down into a kind of wash, Haven                halts the wagon. He glances around. No sign of life. He takes                a hammer and chisel out of the tool box beside the seat,                crawls to the crate and prys it open. His cargo is gold.                Satisfied, he replaces the pried board, then pushes the crate                over the side. It topples down the bank, vanishes in the                brush at the bottom of the wash. With one more glance around,                Haven resumes his seat in the wagon, puts a match to his                pipe, and sends the horses forward at a faster clip.                                                                   DISSOLVE               LONG SHOT OF POST - DAY                                                                   DISSOLVE               INT. CAPTAIN ILES' OFFICE - POST               Iles is pacing up and down as Stellman enters quietly. Iles                promptly faces him.                                     ILES                         Well -- what have you found out?                                     STELLMAN                         Goddard's body -- shot in the back.                                     ILES                         And no sign of Haven?                                     STELLMAN                         One horse was missing. They might                          have taken him away on that. They                          wouldn't kidnap him if they'd killed                          him.                                     ILES                         Why would they kill Goddard?                                     STELLMAN                         He was a Wells Fargo Detective.                                     ILES                         I see... he was a man they couldn't                          handle, so they shot him. But Haven                          wasn't killed.                                     STELLMAN                         He may have followed them on the                          missing horse.                                     ILES                         And he may be fishing for trout in                          the Verde River. Why do I always                          learn everything last? Why must                          everything be common gossip by the                          time it reaches me?                                     STELLMAN                         I don't know, sir.                                     ILES                         Neither do I, but I'll find out. The                          Army didn't banish me out here to                          set up a listening post. Bring the                          man in, dead or alive. If he's alive,                          arrest him.                                     STELLMAN                         But can you arrest him?                                     ILES                         No, but I can take any living human                          being into custody -- or am I mistaken                          in this too?                                     STELLMAN                         No, sir.                                     ILES                         Then go and do it!                                     STELLMAN                         Yes, sir.               Stellman turns and leaves obediently.                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. MARK'S OFFICE - EVENING               SHOT FROM Haven's ANGLE to include street activity. As Mark                approaches, opens the door and enters.               INT. MARK'S OFFICE - EVENING               As Mark enters in the semi-darkness and pauses, stiff with                fright at the sight of Haven sitting in the chair, a gun in                his hand. Mark opens his mouth but can't speak.                                     HAVEN                         Draw those blinds, Bristow.               Numbly, Mark obeys; then turns.                                     HAVEN                         All right -- light it up.               Mark lights the lamp. His voice is small and quavering.                                     BRISTOW                              (indicating gun)                         Can't you put that firearm away.                                     HAVEN                         I can -- but it quiets my nerves.               Mark pours a drink shakily from a decanter by his law library.                                     BRISTOW                         Drink?                                     HAVEN                              (flatly)                         No.               Mark gulps his in an ominous silence.                                     BRISTOW                         We'd given you up for dead -- we --                                     HAVEN                              (idly rotating the                               cylinders of the gun)                         Who?                                     BRISTOW                         Who?                                     HAVEN                         Yeh.                                     BRISTOW                         Why, everybody. They found Goddard's                          boy -- didn't you know that? What                          happened? Tell me about it.                                     HAVEN                              (smiling)                         I'm glad you got your voice back.                                     BRISTOW                         If you're trying to imply that you                          frightened me, coming here like this,                          you're right. I'm neither a hero nor                          a fool.                              (he sits down)                              (shrewdly)                         They killed Goddard -- Why didn't                          they kill you?                                     HAVEN                         Somebody must have wanted me saved.                                     BRISTOW                         What for?                                     HAVEN                         I don't know. Maybe a rainy day.                              (dryly)                         Only it might never rain.               Haven puts the gun away; rises, walks to the desk, pours a                drink for himself. Mark watches him shrewdly.                                     BRISTOW                              (himself again)                         And what do you want from me?                                     HAVEN                         I'm going to make a statement, which                          you will write and notarize.                                     BRISTOW                         Is that all?                                     HAVEN                         Yes -- except that you put it away                          where it can't be stolen or tampered                          with.                                     BRISTOW                         I have a safe --                                     HAVEN                         I can see you have.                                     BRISTOW                         Meaning you don't trust me.                                     HAVEN                         I do -- but I don't think you trust                          yourself.                                     BRISTOW                         Where do you want it?                                     HAVEN                         Mrs. Caslon has a safe -- a nice fat                          one.                                     BRISTOW                         I think I can arrange it.                                     HAVEN                         All right -- here's the statement.               He saunters to the window -- glances through the crack of                the shades. When he turns, he notes that Mark has paper and                pencil ready.                                     HAVEN                         I solemnly swear that on Thursday                          last, about eleven p.m. the stagecoach                          in which I was riding was held up by                          five armed bandits. The gold I was                          hauling was stolen and James Goddard,                          the guard, was murdered in cold blood.               He pauses, looks stonily at the face of Mark, who is staring                at him curiously and waiting.                                     HAVEN                         I trailed the bandits, caught up                          with one and -- killed him.               Mark stares in amazement.                                     HAVEN                         Put it down.                              (as Mark obeys)                         I then followed the horses bearing                          the gold to a sawmill --               EXT. CHARLIE'S SALOON - EVENING               Mick is standing outside, holding the arm of Jerry as he                talks to the kid. Beside him stands Pete Yore's man, Ben.                                     MICK                         You sure it was Haven you met?                                     JERRY                         Don't I know my own boss?                                     MICK                              (giving him a shove)                         Go in and get a beer.               INT. MARK'S OFFICE - EVENING               As Haven finishes his statement. He is again at the window,                glancing out. Perhaps he has seen the incident with Mick and                Jerry across the crowded street.                                     HAVEN                         ...After I left there, I opened the                          crate. The gold was in it.               He turns back into the room. Mark is looking at him with                puzzled wonder, his face drawn and tense.                                     HAVEN                         That's all.               He smiles slightly. The wonder leaves Mark's face. Urbane                cunning replaces it.                                     BRISTOW                         Not quite.                                     HAVEN                         No.                                     BRISTOW                         What did you do about the gold?                                     HAVEN                         I came to the conclusion that I                          finally had enough money to need a                          lawyer.               Mark smiles thinly, licking his lips.                                     BRISTOW                              (needing a drink again)                         Have you seen the sheriff?                                     HAVEN                         I've heard about him, and I still                          came to you.                                     BRISTOW                         I see. Well, as a lawyer, my advice                          would be --                                     HAVEN                         I didn't come here for advice.                                     BRISTOW                         I'm wondering what you get out of                          this.                                     HAVEN                         It makes me more valuable to somebody                          alive than dead.                                     BRISTOW                         Who?                                     HAVEN                         I don't know... yet.                                     BRISTOW                              (levelly)                         Now I'm wondering what I get out of                          it.                                     ORVILLE                         They been here lookin' for you, the                          men.                                     HAVEN                         I thought they might.                                     ORVILLE                         I told them you was out.                                     HAVEN                         I was. I just came in the back way.               Haven lights the pipe.                                     HAVEN                         You finish that song?                                     ORVILLE                         I had her finished, but what good is                          it? It was about your death.                                     HAVEN                         Keep it a couple of days -- may be                          you can still use it.               He strolls back towards his room and CAMERA FOLLOWS him, the                strumming of the guitar again SOUNDING in the b.g.               INT. HAVEN'S ROOM - EVENING               Haven shuts the door, pulls off his boots and gun belt, lies                on the bed and stares at the ceiling. His face is sad and he                looks tired. The MUSIC from the saloon comes over, Charlie's                song... he closes his eyes and in a moment falls asleep...                                                                       WIPE               EXT. MRS. CASLON'S MINE-CABIN - EVENING               As iles rides up. He is just about to enter, after                dismounting, when Mark Bristow comes out of the office. Mark                smiles and nods at the officer.                                     BRISTOW                         Good evening, Captain.                                     ILES                              (grimly)                         Any news about Haven in town?                                     BRISTOW                         I just saw Haven.                                     ILES                              (abruptly)                         Alive?                                     BRISTOW                              (smiling)                         Very much.               Mark mounts his horse, drives away.               INT. MRS. CASLON'S MINE CABIN - EVENING               As Iles opens the door and enters. Mrs. Caslon is her usual                cool self as she sits at her desk. Iles crosses to her and                gives her a peck on the cheek as she fondly pats his hand.                                     ILES                         Good evening, Mary.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Good evening, George.                                     ILES                         I just passed Bristow.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (ignoring this)                         Why don't you sit down. You look                          tired.                                     ILES                         I should.               He sits in a comfortable chair, conscious of the fact that                she had ignored his reference to Bristow.                                     MRS. CASLON                         I suppose you've heard the news. The                          holdup and poor Jim Goddard.                                     ILES                         I heard it -- last, as usual.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (delaying)                         Why don't you smoke?               Iles gives her a surly look, takes a cheroot out of his tunic.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (taking a match and                               crossing to light                               his cigar)                         I'm afraid you're going to be angry                          with me.                                     ILES                              (puffing)                         Why?                                     MRS. CASLON                         The gold Haven tried to run was from                          the Argus, darling                                     ILES                         It was?                              (then reacting)                         Yours!               Iles is about to yell something at her, then holds himself                in check, while she wipes the spilled ashes from his uniform.                In this interlude he changes to an icy man.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Now don't excite yourself.                                     ILES                         I am very calm, and I calmly ask you                          how you could allow that scoundrel                          to transport gold from your mine                          when --                                     MRS. CASLON                         The man you call a scoundrel may be                          dead at this moment.                                     ILES                         And he may be in town at this moment --                          where, in fact, he is.                              (looks at her)                         How you could do this without telling                          me --                                     MRS. CASLON                         I only did it for your sake.                                     ILES                         MY sake?                                     MRS. CASLON                         After all, Mr. Haven represents the                          U.S. Government.                                     ILES                         Who do you think I represent?                                     MRS. CASLON                         I told you, George, I was only trying                          to help you.                                     ILES                              (containing his fury)                         And while we're on the subject, who                          does Mark Bristow represent?                                     MRS. CASLON                         You know perfectly well that he's my                          lawyer.                                     ILES                         I know perfectly well he's a scoundrel                          too.                              (rises)                         Is he also trying to help me?               He walks to the door. She stands there frigidly.                                     ILES                              (at the door, a ball                               of cold fire)                         Thank you, Mary.               He turns and fumbles with the knob, but he can't do it. He                turns at last and walks meekly back to her.                                     ILES                         I'm sorry. I'd say that I lost my                          head if I believed that I had one.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (kissing him fondly)                         It's my fault George.                              (turning)                         Mark left me something.               She turns to the desk and hands him the long legal envelope.                Iles takes it and stares at it. He starts to open it.                                     MRS. CASLON                         You're not going to open it?                                     ILES                         To whom it may concern. That's what                          it says here.                              (going on)                         Well, it may concern me.               He opens it, looks.                                     ILES                         It does.               He hands it to her. She reads.                                     ILES                              (grimly)                         My business isn't jammed up enough --                          so they send this harebrained demoted                          lieutenant pry around in it... They                          want to help me too.               He takes back the paper from her, thrusts a blank sheet in                the envelope, tosses the envelope back on the desk.                                     MRS. CASLON                         George -- you're getting to be a                          hard man to deal with.                                     ILES                         I'm getting to deal with some hard                          men.               Iron-faced, he starts out, remembers again, softens against                his will, comes back from the door and kisses her cheek and                then leaves. CAMERA stays on Mrs. Caslon as she watches him                go. She smiles slightly, puts the envelope in the safe, and                then from it takes a six-gun, looks at it and begins dusting                it with her handkerchief as we                                                                   DISSOLVE                                     BRISTOW                         You certainly are a careful man.                                     HAVEN                         I have to be. I live a careless life.               Haven begins washing his face in the washbowl, and then                combing his hair and readjusting his somewhat rumpled shirt.                Mark watches him.                                     HAVEN                         What about the deposition?                                     BRISTOW                         She has it. It's in her safe.                                     HAVEN                         Good.                                     BRISTOW                         What do we do now?                                     HAVEN                         We call on Charlie.               There is a little nervous sweat on Mark's hands; he wipes                them on his coat.                                     BRISTOW                         It's a dangerous play, Haven.                                     HAVEN                         Is it?                                     BRISTOW                         What if she doesn't believe you?                                     HAVEN                         Then she'll have to believe you.                                     BRISTOW                         That deposition could be a lie. It                          might not stand up in a court.                                     HAVEN                         You're sure of that?                                     BRISTOW                         Well -- not exactly.                                     HAVEN                         That's it. You're a lawyer and you're                          not sure. Then how can she gamble on                          it, either?                                     BRISTOW                         Because she's a gambler.                                     HAVEN                         No, she isn't.                              (ready to go)                         We're the gamblers, Mark. Lot's go.               A little shaken and uncertain, Mark obeys.                                                                   DISSOLVE               EXT. HOTEL - EVENING               As Haven and Mark come out. They walk towards the saloon.                People look at them curiously. Suddenly, down the street,                the sheriff appears, approaching Haven slowly and ominously.                Sensing a gun fight, people vanish. Purely from instinct,                Mark deserts Haven's side in a hurried walk towards the                saloon, eyeing both. Haven comes on leisurely. The sheriff                has stopped in his tracks and has his gun out. A woman                clutches her child to her skirt. Men stand stockstill,                watching. A crowd forms at the entrance to Charlie's. Haven                walks slowly forward until he reaches the waiting sheriff.                He looks him over with a smile of contempt.                                     SHERIFF                         You're under arrest!                                     HAVEN                              (pausing)                         For what?                                     SHERIFF                         For the murder of James Goddard --                          and robbery under arms!                                     HAVEN                              (casually)                         I've heard about you. You don't appear                          to understand the functions of your                          office.                              (taking sheriff's gun                               and breaking it open)                         You've missed the whole point of                          your profession.                              (showing him)                         Even your gun isn't loaded.                              (Haven loads it as it                               goes on)                         I suggest that you start all over                          again, with this point in mind: the                          duty of a peace officer is to arrest                          the culprit of a crime -- not the                          victim.               Haven hands him back the now loaded gun and walks away towards                the saloon, leaving the sheriff standing there, a completely                dumbfounded and bepuzzled man.                                                                   DISSOLVE               INT. CHARLIE'S SALOON - NIGHT               The place is roaring. Haven enters, followed by Mark. The                guy at the piano is playing as always. Haven and Mark go                slowly to the bar, eyes following them. The noise softens                almost to silence, except the piano, Cowering, Mark sticks                close to Haven.               At the dice table, Prince stares coldly, hands another man                the stick and walks away to the stairway, his eyes seeking                Mick Marion who is also staring at Haven. Prince nods to                Mick as he goes.               MED. SHOT at bar -- as Haven and Mark loan against it. Ernie                is looking at him curiously; then towards Mick. Haven doesn't                follow the glance, but Mark does.                                     ERNIE                         Rye?                                     HAVEN                         Two.               Ernie gets them. Haven glances at the piano. Mick who had                stood there has now vanished. Haven smiles. The drinks arrive.                                     BRISTOW                              (gulping his drink)                         This is no good.                                     HAVEN                         The bourbon is just as bad.                                     BRISTOW                         I don't mean that.                                     HAVEN                         You want to leave?                                     BRISTOW                         I just don't like it.                              (taking another drink)                         I'm a nervous man. Something's going                          to happen. I can feel it.                                     HAVEN                         That's right.                                     BRISTOW                         Then why don't we do something.                                     HAVEN                         We're doing something.                                     BRISTOW                         What?                                     HAVEN                         Waiting for something to happen.                              (smiling at Mark)               Mark finishes off his second. A stickman comes up. Nudges                Haven.                                     STICKMAN                         Charlie wants to see you. Upstairs.                                     HAVEN                              (to Mark)                         See?               The stickman moves away. Mark looks at Haven.                                     BRISTOW                         Do I go with you?                                     HAVEN                         Can you make it?               Haven turns away towards the stairs. Mark hesitates, bites                his lip, swallows another drink and then grimly follows.               INT. CHARLIE'S OFFICE - NIGHT               Charlie is behind her desk, as Haven walks in. Behind him,                sweating now, comes Mark. As the two are in the room the                door behind them slams shut. Mick is there with a gun. Prince                moves slightly out of a shadow. Mark backs against a wall.                Charlie looks up from her fingernails. Haven smiles and                glances around. His eyes fix on Mick and the gun.                                     HAVEN                         I see you found the difference.               Mick says nothing, his face a blank hatred. Haven sits down                in a big chair.                                     HAVEN                         Looks like a board meeting.               Another door opens and Pete, the sawmill foreman, enters,                stands silently. Haven glances at him, then at Charlie who                smiles thinly back.                                     CHARLIE                              (indicating Mark)                         What's he doing with you?                                     HAVEN                         I thought I might need a lawyer.                                     CHARLIE                         I doubt it.                                     HAVEN                         I can realize how seldom legal                          technicalities annoy you -- but I                          have one that might.                              (taking out his pipe)                         Besides, he knows all about it.                                     PRINCE                         About what?                                     HAVEN                         About a gear box I failed to deliver.                                     BRISTOW                         I don't know anything! I merely --                                     PRINCE                         Shut up!               Mark relapses into a perspiring silence.                                     HAVEN                              (quietly)                         Mark is right. He doesn't know                          anything. He just knows what I                          dictated to him in a deposition.                                     CHARLIE                         And what was that?                                     HAVEN                         It was just a story. About a man who                          got murdered, a thief who got shot,                          and a gear box that got lost. Probably                          nobody would believe it --                              (glancing up)                         ...unless I got killed for it.               Charlie stares at him a moment. Then she glances at Pete.                                     CHARLIE                         Go downstairs, Pete. Watch the                          stairway.               Pete walks out.                                     CHARLIE                              (to Haven)                         Who else have you told?                                     HAVEN                         No one. Mark I had to have. He's a                          witness and a notary. He makes it                          stick. He stands it up in court.                                     CHARLIE                              (always watching his                               face)                         What keeps it from getting to a court?                                     HAVEN                         A cut.                                     MICK                         He's running a bluff!                                     HAVEN                         I ran one on you.               Mick burns in silence. Charlie smiles.                                     CHARLIE                         You brought your lawyer. Ask him if                          this doesn't sound like blackmail.                                     HAVEN                         He can't think very clearly in the                          presence of a gun.                                     PRINCE                         But it doesn't bother you?                                     HAVEN                              (coldly)                         No, it doesn't.                                     PRINCE                         What you want is money.               Haven nods.                                     CHARLIE                         I don't see how going to the law                          will get it for you.                                     HAVEN                         If you did see how, I'd never get                          there, would I?                                     CHARLIE                         I'm afraid not.                                     HAVEN                         So it boils down to this: we can                          make a deal, and all be happy                          together.                                     PRINCE                         Not as long as you always have                          something on us.                                     HAVEN                         Unless you also have something on                          me.                                     CHARLIE                         And how would that be?                                     HAVEN                         When I deliver the gold to you.                                     CHARLIE                         You mean the gear box?                                     HAVEN                         I can even forget I looked inside.                          So I stole a gear box... I'm still a                          thief.               Charlie is silent a moment. Haven lights his pipe. Charlie                looks at Mark, pale by the wall.                                     PRINCE                              (indicating Mark)                         What does he get?                                     HAVEN                         He gets even with you.                                     PRINCE                         Have you lost your mind!                                     HAVEN                         It was all right when he lost his                          money.                                     CHARLIE                         All right... I'll give him the                          IOU's... when the gear box is                          delivered.                                     PRINCE                              (smiling)                         You don't realize how important it                          is when a piece of machinery breaks                          down. It could close the entire                          sawmill.                                     HAVEN                         I guess I didn't realize it.               She looks coolly at Mick and Mark.                                     CHARLIE                         I think that's all.               Mark glances at Haven who nods and Mark leaves in the wake                of the grimly departing Mick. Prince lingers.                                     CHARLIE                              (to Haven)                         You can stay.                                     HAVEN                              (to Prince)                         I think she was talking to me.               Prince gets up grimly, his lips tight, the dice held hard in                his fingers. He stares at Haven.                                     PRINCE                         You roll nice dice and you bet them                          jamb up, but some day you'll slip.                          And when you do, I'll be around to                          catch you.               He turns and walks out. Haven watches him go.                                     HAVEN                         You know, I think he will.                                     CHARLIE                         Then you should be more careful.                                     HAVEN                         The poorhouses are filled with careful                          men...                              (knocking out his                               pipe)                         ...And so are the graveyards.               Charlie comes around and sits on the arm of his chair.                                     HAVEN                         You've got a nice perfume.                                     CHARLIE                         Carnation.                              (she ruffles his hair                               with her hand)                         I almost had to have you killed. I'd                          have hated it.                                     HAVEN                         So would I.                                     CHARLIE                         I'd have missed you... too much.                                     HAVEN                         And too long.               She brushes his cheek with her lips.                                     CHARLIE                              (she smiles at him)                         Did you ever tell a woman you loved                          her?                                     HAVEN                         All of them.                                     CHARLIE                         How did you get away?                                     HAVEN                         I was always in the doorway when I                          said it.                                     CHARLIE                         You never said it to me.                                     HAVEN                         Let's go over to the doorway.               He rises and so does she. She picks up a scarf in silence                and anger, crosses and goes out the door, Haven following                her.               INT. STAIRWAY - NIGHT               As Haven and Charlie descend. Her face is hard.                                     CHARLIE                         I seem to always end up like this                          with you. I take you for granted.                          You like it that way. It goes with                          loaded dice and crimped cards and                          fixed wheels.                                     HAVEN                         Isn't that your business.                                     CHARLIE                         It isn't my life.               As they descend, Stellman can be seen in the bar crowd,                watching them.               MED. SHOT of Charlie and Haven at foot of stairs. Haven is                smiling at her, but her face is serious and her eyes hard.                                     CHARLIE                         You told me once you might be a                          missionary on your way to China. And                          that's as much as I've ever found                          out about you. You're working for                          me, but for all I know you could be                          working for somebody else.                                     HAVEN                         Like Goddard?                                     CHARLIE                         Why not?               Haven smiles. He can see Stellman approaching.                                     HAVEN                         I think I better bring you that gold.               He starts away, but Stellman halts him.                                     STELLMAN                         Haven.               Haven looks at him. Charlie watches.                                     HAVEN                         Don't tell me you're still recruiting?                                     STELLMAN                         Yes, we still want you. But this is                          a little different.                                     HAVEN                         And how's that?                                     STELLMAN                         Captain Iles has asked me to take                          you into custody, Haven.               Haven stares at him, then looks at Charlie. A slow smile                dawns on her face.                                     CHARLIE                              (quietly)                         You heard the man.                                     STELLMAN                         Best thing for you is to come along,                          Haven.                                     HAVEN                         That's what I like -- the best thing                          for me.               He pats Charlie's shoulder and then walks out with Stellman.                Charlie watches them go. Prince appears beside her.                                     PRINCE                         Very friendly with everybody -- isn't                          he? Wells Fargo detectives, and now                          the Army. How far can he go?                                     CHARLIE                         Exactly where he's headed now -- to                          jail.               She walks away towards the piano. Prince stands there,                watching Haven go.                                                                   DISSOLVE               Note: Pick up two night exteriors of the post.               INT. ILES' OFFICE - NIGHT               There is a sergeant inside facing Iles who sits behind his                desk. Stellman and Haven pause at the door.                                     SERGEANT                              (to Iles)                         The Quartermaster at Platte wants                          three sworn statements before he'll                          replace those seventy uniforms, sir.                                     ILES                         Three sworn statements! I told him                          all I know. They were in the freight                          office at West Rim City. The building                          burned down.. .you sure he doesn't                          want me to send him the ashes too?                              (seeing Stellman)                         All right, have Stamm fix the papers.               The Sergeant exits. Iles looks calmly and with relish at                Haven.                                     ILES                              (pleasantly)                         Come in.               Haven and Stellman enter. Stellman closes the door and stands                near it. Haven smiles and nods at Iles, then sits down                unbidden.                                     ILES                         Nice to see you alive.                                     HAVEN                         Dumb luck.                                     ILES                         You seem to have been living quite                          an adventurous life.                                     HAVEN                         Is that why I'm under arrest?                                     ILES                         That's indefinite. I wanted to talk                          to you.                                     HAVEN                         If you consult the Army Blue Book it                          might enable you to be more definite.                                     ILES                              (grimly)                         Curiously enough, you got me into                          the habit of reading myself. You're                          quite right about The Blue Book --                              (fiercely)                         UNLESS that officer should get himself                          about one-half as far out of line as                          you have!                                     HAVEN                         How far is that?               Iles picks up the deposition, extends it.                                     ILES                         Right here in your own statement!               Haven glances at him, then at the statement, and then tosses                it on the desk and inhales.                                     HAVEN                         I see you did what I expected.                                     ILES                         You've gotten a man killed and Mrs.                          Caslon's gold stolen. Is that far                          enough?                                     HAVEN                         Not quite.                                     ILES                              (rising slowly)                         Haven -- as far as I'm concerned,                          this deposition is good enough for                          me.                              (indicates the                               deposition)                         I want these people arrested. This                          is all the evidence we need.                                     HAVEN                         I need more.                                     ILES                         For what reason?                                     HAVEN                         For the reason I came here... to get                          the murderers of two soldiers -- not                          to save somebody's gold. That's a                          mistake you made. I still don't know                          who killed them, but I'm going to                          find out. And when the net is hauled                          in, they're all going to be in it.                              (rising)                         That's my fish -- and you can have                          the minnows.                                     ILES                              (demandingly)                         When are you returning Mrs. Caslon's                          gold?                                     HAVEN                              (firmly)                         That's a matter between myself and                          Mrs. Caslon.               They look hard at each other in silence.                                     ILES                         I don't particularly like you -- but                          I see no reason why you should get                          yourself deliberately killed.                                     HAVEN                              (smiling again)                         It won't be deliberate.                                     ILES                         What difference does it make how you                          get killed? Where does it leave me?                                     HAVEN                         Where does it leave me?                                     ILES                              (meaning it)                         Understand this, Haven. You're heading                          for bad trouble -- and when it comes                          don't expect any help from me. Is                          that clear?                                     HAVEN                              (smiling thinly)                         From the beginning.               Haven turns and walks out; the door closes behind him. Iles                slumps down into his chair. Stellman is smiling faintly at                him.                                     STELLMAN                         Anything else, Sir?                                     ILES                              (glumly)                         Yes, three cigars, a pint of whiskey,                          and a copy of that confounded Blue                          Book.               As Stellman turns away.                                                                   DISSOLVE               INT. HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT               As Haven saunters in. Orville is, as always, behind the desk.                Haven nods at him.                                     HAVEN                         What's the good word?                                     ORVILLE                         For you it's not good. You're in bad                          trouble.                                     HAVEN                         I don't know how you can know so                          much and move so little.                              (turning to go)                         I think I'll try it myself.                                     ORVILLE                         Want to leave a call?                                     HAVEN                         That's very nice of you.                                     ORVILLE                         What time?                                     HAVEN                         When you're sure everybody in town                          is in bed -- call me. And if anybody                          asks for me -- I went to jail.               He goes and Orville strums a little jail song.                                                                   FADE OUT               FADE IN               EXT. COUNTRY - DAY               Haven, driving a wagon and team of horses, is retracing the                road he took back from the sawmill looking for the place                where he dumped the bullion.               CLOSER VIEW of Haven, as he looks for the landmarks. He is                whistling softly the tune that Charlie always sings. At last                he stops, alights and makes his way down the steep slope, a                couple of gunny sacks slung across his shoulder.               Bottom of the gulley as Haven gets there and locates the                crate at rest in a clump of brush. The crate has broken from                the fall. Haven loads the buckskin bags of gold into the                gunny sack and scrambles back up the slope.               Side of slope as Haven scrambles to the top, he finds himself                looking into a six-shooter held in the unwavering hand of                Mrs. Caslon. Her eyes are hard and a grim smile plays at the                corners of her mouth.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Drop it.               Haven obeys.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Turn around with your hands up.               Haven turns. She takes his gun and tosses it in the wagon;                then glances inside the sack, sees the gold. She backs off a                step or two.                                     MRS. CASLON                         All right -- put it in the wagon.               Haven turns to obey. He manages a smile at her.                                     HAVEN                         Is this a hold-up?                                     MRS. CASLON                         You want to put it in the wagon?                                     HAVEN                              (looking at her hard                               eyes)                         Yes.               He struggles with the sack, swings it onto the wagon in which                he came. Then stands back, looking at her.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Now was there something you wanted                          to say?                                     HAVEN                         I trailed one of the bandits here                          where they cached it. I couldn't                          haul it on horseback, so I came here                          with the wagon.                                     MRS. CASLON                         I know that's a lie.                                     HAVEN                         Some of it's true.                                     MRS. CASLON                         But not nearly enough.                                     HAVEN                         I'll try it again. I cached it here                          myself. I was going to turn it over                          to them. I wanted to buy a membership                          in their club. This was the initiation                          fee.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Fifty thousand dollars?                                     HAVEN                         Well, you see, I thought it was worth                          it.                                     MRS. CASLON                         Well, you see, I don't.               She climbs to the seat of the wagon watching him warily.                Haven doesn't move.                                     HAVEN                              (quietly)                         What you're doing may get me into                          serious trouble.                                     MRS. CASLON                         If you're still in town in twenty-                         four hours, I promise what I do may                          get you hanged.               She grabs the rein of her own horse, flicks the reins of the                wagon team and rides away, leaving Haven on the road,                horseless and very much discountenanced. He watches grimly                as she rides away. At a distance from him she tosses his gun                beside the road.                                                                   DISSOLVE               INT. CHARLIE'S SALOON - DAY               As Haven enters. He is dusty and tired from his long walk.                The place is moderately busy.               MED. SHOT of Haven as he sits tiredly at a table where Charlie                and Prince are sitting. She smiles at him.                                     CHARLIE                         I thought you were in jail.                                     HAVEN                         I talked my way out.                                     CHARLIE                         You're a very glib man. You seem to                          talk your way out of everything.                                     HAVEN                         Up to a certain point.                                     CHARLIE                         What's that?                                     HAVEN                         A gun.                              (to the waiter)                         Champagne.               The waiter exits. Charlie looks at Haven curiously.                                     PRINCE                         Are we celebrating something?                                     HAVEN                              (to Charlie)                         You know, the first time I talked to                          you we had champagne.                              (smiling at her)                         I think I should have been a                          missionary and gone to China after                          all.               He takes out the pipe, twirls it in his fingers. The waiter                puts down the champagne. Charlie is looking at Haven with                puzzlement and curiosity. The waiter goes...                                     CHARLIE                         Didn't you bring me something?                                     HAVEN                         No.                                     CHARLIE                         But you will?                                     HAVEN                         No.               Her face changes; hardens. She glances across at Prince.                Haven watches Prince with a smile.                                     PRINCE                              (quietly)                         No -- just like that?                                     HAVEN                         It's easy to explain. It's just a                          little hard to believe.                                     CHARLIE                         Make it as credible as you can.                                     HAVEN                              (smiling grimly)                         I can't.                              (filling the pipe)                         I went to get it, and it was there.                          But so was somebody else.                                     CHARLIE                         Who?                                     HAVEN                         Mrs. Caslon.                                     CHARLIE                         Alone?                                     HAVEN                         No... she had a gun with her.                                     PRINCE                         Did you have one too?                                     HAVEN                         The one she had was in her hand.               There is a silence. Prince stares idly at the dice cubes in                his hand. Charlie stares straight at Haven. Haven glances at                Prince.                                     HAVEN                         This could be that slip you mentioned.               Prince just stares at him.                                     CHARLIE                              (to Haven)                         So this nice lady held you up and                          took the gold, is that it?                                     HAVEN                         It's like saying I got robbed at                          Sunday school. It's no good, is it?                                     PRINCE                              (looking at him)                         No, it isn't.                                     HAVEN                         I even had to walk back to town. I                          think that may be one of the longest                          walks I ever took.                                     PRINCE                         And one of the last.               Haven takes a sip of the champagne, Charlie's whole manner                has now changed. It is cold and very quiet.                                     PRINCE                         Mick might have killed you, but you                          fought him with your fists. The                          sheriff had a gun but you took it                          away from him. Ben had a gun last                          night but it didn't seem to scare                          you. Now this genteol petticoat waves                          a pistol and you run for your life.                                     HAVEN                              (twirling the                               wineglass, glancing                               at Charlie)                         He makes it sound very silly.                                     PRINCE                         Or I make it sound like what it is:                          a lie!                              (he rises)               Haven reaches in his pocket for a match. Prince, mistaking                the gesture, swiftly extracts a small pistol from his belt,                covers him.                                     PRINCE                         No.               Haven extracts the match, with a glance of contempt at Prince;                then lights the pipe again.                                     HAVEN                              (smiling faintly)                         My word doesn't seem very good around                          here.                                     PRINCE                         You've only got one thing left that's                          any good here - and that's some gold.                                     HAVEN                              (to Charlie)                         Is that all I've got?                                     CHARLIE                         Not quite. You've got some time.                          You've got two hours to get it here.               There is a brief silence that punctuates this statement. It                has an air of fatal finality, marked by the idle MUSIC of                the deaf pianist. Haven puts his pipe away, carefully so                that Prince won't get any mistaken ideas.                                     HAVEN                         You want me to fatten you up before                          you kill me? Is that what you mean?                                     CHARLIE                         I said what I meant -- two hours.               Haven rises. He brushes some dust off his coat, smiles thinly                at Charlie.                                     HAVEN                         I once knew a guy who stole a dime                          tip from a lunch counter and parlayed                          it into fifty thousand. I might try                          that -- but not in two hours.               She says nothing; her face carved out of ice. Prince smiles                thinly. Haven looks at him, shrugs. He hesitates; then pats                Charlie's frigid shoulder.                                     HAVEN                              (to Charlie)                         You're sweet.               He turns and walks slowly out. The dirge of the piano follows                him. Prince fingers his pistol a little, tempted. At a look                from Charlie he puts it away. Haven goes out. Charlie suddenly                leaves the tables and goes quickly up the stairs. Prince                watches her with a slow smile, picks up Haven's gun and                pockets it...                                                                       WIPE               EXT. STREET - DAY               As Haven leaves the saloon. He pauses, looks around, up at                the sky, then down the street. He takes out his pipe and                beginning filling it slowly with tobacco, as Mark Bristow                comes hurrying across the street.               MOVING SHOT of Haven as he walks very slowly, filling the                pipe, and Mark comes alongside and walks with him. Haven                hardly glances at him.                                     BRISTOW                         I've been looking for you. Where                          have you been?                                     HAVEN                         I took a walk in the country.                                     BRISTOW                         Did you get it for her?                                     HAVEN                         No.                              (pausing in front of                               the hotel)                         Sorry.               MED. SHOT of Haven and Mark outside the hotel. Mark is afraid                and puzzled. He keeps staring at Haven's face.                                     BRISTOW                         But that was the deal. You agreed to --               He pauses as two men walk by.                                     BRISTOW                         If you're trying to pull something --                                     HAVEN                              (finished with the                               pipe)                         You want to listen?                                     BRISTOW                              (calming himself)                         All right.                                     HAVEN                              (explicitly)                         I can't deliver it because I no longer                          have it. It was taken away from me                          by Mrs. Caslon. I've told Charlie,                          and she's very unhappy. I have two                          hours to produce the loot. You haven't                          any idea where a man could raise                          fifty thousand quickly, have you?               Mark's mouth pops open.                                     HAVEN                         I thought not.               Haven lights the pipe. Mark stands there, mouth open; fear                draining the blood from his face. His voice is a mere whisper.                                     BRISTOW                         What are you going to do...?                                     HAVEN                         Nothing, Mark. The boat just sailed.                                     BRISTOW                         What about me?                                     HAVEN                         You'll have to think of something                          very good.               Mark stares at him, then looks off. His face becomes grim.                He almost glares back at Haven.                                     BRISTOW                         I can think of something.                                     HAVEN                              (patting his shoulder                               with a slight smile)                         Go ahead, Mark. Go ahead and do it.               Mark stares at him, then turns abruptly away. He hurries                across the street. Haven watches him as he goes off in the                direction of Mrs. Caslon. Haven smiles and walks inside the                hotel.                                                                       WIPE               INT. HAVEN'S ROOM - DAY               He enters, locks the door. Pulls the shade at the window,                takes off his shoes and coat and lies down on the bed. He                gazes towards the wall, thoughtfully. He gets up, goes to                the window, opens it softly; then looks out. Down the alley,                at the corner, a man is lounging; an ugly looking character,                whose eyes watch the alleyway. Haven smiles wryly, goes back                to the bed and lies down. The piano music starts next door.               INT. SALOON - DAY               Showing the deaf pianist at the piano, playing. CAMERA PICKS                UP Pete as he enters, FOLLOWS him as he walks up the stairs.               INT. UPPER HALLWAY - SALOON               As Pete knocks on Charlie's office door, then enters.               INT. CHARLIE'S OFFICE - DAY               As Pete enters. He looks around. Mick is sitting there and                Prince. Charlie is standing at the window. By another door                another grim character stands in silence. Charlie turns as                Peter enters.                                     CHARLIE                         Everything ready?                                     PETE                         All set.                                     PRINCE                         Got enough men at the sawmill?                                     PETE                         Plenty.                                     PRINCE                         All right. Go back out there and get                          them into the uniforms. We'll hit                          the post just before midnight.               Pete turns and walks out, shutting the door behind him. There                is silence. Charlie looks out the window again. Prince fools                with the dice. Mick stands stolidly near the door. At last                the silence is broken over the ticking of the wall clock.                                     PRINCE                         I don't know what we're waiting for.                                     CHARLIE                         I gave him some time. He's in the                          hotel. He's not doing anything. I                          gave him some time. I don't care                          what he does with it.               She has not turned from the window. The clock ticks. From                behind her Mick's voice comes, quiet and deadly.                                     MICK                         And I don't care when, but I'll get                          him.                                     CHARLIE                         Again?               Mick is silent. Charlie smiles thinly.               EXT. STREET - NIGHT               As Mark hurries into the saloon, a desperate look on his                face.               INT. CHARLIE'S OFFICE - DAY               As Charlie turns from the window.                                     CHARLIE                         Bristow's here.                                     PRINCE                         This should be good.                                     CHARLIE                              (to Mick)                         Let him in.               Mick goes to the door, opens it; just as Mark arrives a little                breathlessly at the door. Mark enters, a little surprised at                the door opening for him, glancing back as Mick quietly shuts                it. Charlie looks coldly at the lawyer who is sweating again.                Mark stands there, silent a moment, gathering himself                together.                                     CHARLIE                         You want the I.O.U's?                                     BRISTOW                         You mean --               She has turned to the safe; now she turns with them and as                Mark reaches for them, Charlie drops them at his feet. They                scatter. He bends to pick them up. Prince smiles at him                contemptuously. Mark is picking them up one at a time when                suddenly he pauses, stands erect, and looks at them with                fear and suspicion.                                     BRISTOW                         Why? Did Haven --                                     PRINCE                         No, he didn't.                                     BRISTOW                         Then I don't understand --                                     PRINCE                         We don't think they're going to be                          any good.               Mark stands there. The papers slip from his fingers. He knows                what Prince means. But his mouth hardens in an effort.                                     BRISTOW                         I didn't have anything to do with                          it. All I did was write it. I'm not                          in on this. I can still make them                          good.                              (he puts a couple                               back on the desk)                         Or I can --                                     CHARLIE                         What?                                     BRISTOW                         I can do business.                              (fumbling in his pocket)                         I got it somewhere. I -- Here --                          take a look at this -- the deposition --                              (bringing out the                               deposition)                         The only copy.                                     CHARLIE                              (coldly)                         Let's have it.                                     BRISTOW                              (eagerly)                         Here.               Hands it to her.                                     PRINCE                         What do you want?                                     BRISTOW                              (as Charlie opens the                               envelope)                         Nothing. I just want to get out of                          it. I never had any part of it. This                          ought to prove that!                                     CHARLIE                         This?               She hands him the paper from the envelope. Marks takes it                and stares at it. It is absolutely a blank piece of paper.                He stands there, bites his lips. He looks wearily around at                them, fear making him weak, making him unable to hold the                piece of paper, so that it floats to the carpet.                                     BRISTOW                              (at last)                         It's -- it's a trick. I --                              (trying to pull himself                               together)                         I'll see about this! He can't do                          this to me!                              (moving back towards                               the door)                         I'll go and see about this!                                     CHARLIE                         Sure, you see about it.               He stops dead in his tracks as Charlie moves towards him                with a little pistol, pearl-handled. But she only gives it                to him. She has to take his hand and put it in his palm.                                     CHARLIE                         Take this along.               He backs out, the little gun in his hand. Mick opens the                door. In sudden relief and haste Mark barrels out. They can                hear his quick feet on the stairs outside. Prince looks at                Charlie.                                     PRINCE                         Something left to wait for?                                     CHARLIE                              (slowly)                         No.               Prince gets up and leaves, and Mick, with a grim smile of                anticipation follows. Charlie sits slowly down in the chair.                The music comes up the stairs and through the door.               INT. HAVEN'S BEDROOM - DAY               Haven is lying on the bed, his arms under his head, his eyes                on the ceiling. There is a SOUND in the hallway and then a                hurried knock at the door. Haven slowly rises, walks to the                door. He stands there. The knock SOUNDS again.                                     HAVEN                         Who is it?                                     MARK'S VOICE                         It's me -- Bristow -- let me in.               Haven opens the door. Mark enters swiftly, the little gun in                his hand. Haven shuts the door and locks it. He turns and                faces Mark, now pointing the gun. Without a word Haven walks                over to the bed and lies down again, looking at the ceiling.                Mark follows him with the gun.                                     HAVEN                         You going to shoot me, Mark?                                     BRISTOW                         You double crossed me, Haven.                                     HAVEN                         I did?                                     BRISTOW                         I got the deposition back. I took it                          to them.               Haven leans on one elbow, looking at him.                                     BRISTOW                         It wasn't there! It was a piece of                          blank paper!               Haven lies back with a short laugh. Mark stares at him in                fury.                                     BRISTOW                         Don't you laugh at me! I ought to                          kill you!                                     HAVEN                         They want you to, Mark.               Haven again leans on one elbow, looking at Mark and the                trembling hand that holds the gun.                                     HAVEN                         And it may be your only out, if you                          do. But I doubt it. You know why?                          Because even if you took them my                          scalp, it wouldn't buy your life.                          You're in debt and you're broke and                          you're scared -- and you know far                          too much. There isn't any way they                          use you -- alive. Can you think of                          one?               Mark sits slowly back in the chair, beaten.                                     BRISTOW                         They're going to do it. I know it.                          They're going to kill me --                              (his hand trembles)                         Why do they have to kill me?                                     HAVEN                         Us, Mark...               Haven gets up slowly, reaches over and takes the little gun,                smiles at it.                                     HAVEN                         This must be hers.                                     BRISTOW                              (dully)                         Yes.                                     HAVEN                         She's sweet.               He puts the gun on the table. Mark's teeth are chattering.                He is almost ready to cry. Haven gets a bottle and pours him                a drink in a dusty glass. He hands it to Mark.                                     HAVEN                         There's one thing, Mark.                                     BRISTOW                              (gulping the drink)                         There is?                                     HAVEN                         You might get out of town.                                     BRISTOW                         There isn't a chance in a thousand.                                     HAVEN                         If there's one in a million, it's                          the only one you have.               Mark gets up waveringly. Takes another hooker.                                     BRISTOW                         Yes -- we might get away with it. We                          might...                                     HAVEN                         I'm not going.               Mark stares at him. Haven smiles grimly back.                                     HAVEN                         I have to stay.                                     BRISTOW                         But you can't stay. You said yourself --                                     HAVEN                         If you must do this, go straight to                          your horse. Don't stop for anything.                                     BRISTOW                         -- I've got a lot of important papers --                                     HAVEN                         You haven't got anything important                          left, Mark -- except your life, and                          very little time to keep it. You do                          it very fast and you might be lucky.                                     BRISTOW                              (trying to pull himself                               together)                         Yes. I might be. I'll try it.               Mark hurries out into the hall. Goes. Haven turns back and                looks at the room, picks up the little pistol, smiles at it.                Shrugs and then slips into his coat and exits, too.               INT. HOTEL LOBBY - DAY               As Haven enters. SHOOTING FROM his ANGLE, we can see, as he                does, Mark crossing the street, apparently towards his law                office. He is in such a hurry that he falls down, crawls a                little, gets up, runs. Just as he reaches the office door,                just as his hand touches the knob, a shot rings out and he                crumples. He still tries, then his hand slips from the knob                and he lies there dead. The vacant street is empty with his                death. Haven stares. He takes a match from the counter,                applies it to his pipe -- then finding the pipe empty, smiles                thinly and pockets it                                     HAVEN                              (softly; turning to                               the clerk)                         You didn't throw away that verse?                                     ORVILLE                         No.                                     HAVEN                         You won't have to change it much.               He takes the little pistol from his pocket and glances at                it. The clerk, watching, idly strumming the guitar string.                                     ORVILLE                         You ain't going out there with that?                                     HAVEN                         Not much, is it?                                     ORVILLE                         You'll never get closer to having                          nothin' --                                     HAVEN                              (staring out)                         No -- I won't.                                     ORVILLE                         Say --                                     HAVEN                         Yeh?                                     ORVILLE                         I'm naturally sentimental, bein' a                          sort of poet.                                     HAVEN                         Naturally.                                     ORVILLE                         I keep a bunch of gimeracks -- an                          oldtime sheriff's gun, a bullet from                          a dead bandit, a rosary from some                          guy they hanged.                                     HAVEN                         That's nice. A hobby?                                     ORVILLE                         In a way -- Want to leave me                          something?               Haven smiles. He feels in his pocket, comes out with the                army button gotten at the sawmill.                                     HAVEN                         This is all I seem to have.                                     ORVILLE                              (taking it)                         Army button.                              (puzzled)                         Where's the uniform that goes with                          it?                                     HAVEN                         What do you want for --                              (he pauses as the                               idea hits him)                         Yeh? A very good question.               The clerk stares at him; Haven smiles grimly. He breaks the                little gun, checks it.                                     HAVEN                         I might even know. I think I'll try                          to go and find out.               He starts to the door, the little gun in hand; very slowly.                Watching him, the clerk twangs the strings softly. Haven                walks very slowly. He opens the door and hesitates. Just as                he is about to step out, looking up and down the street,                there is a furor and the sheriff rides up outside and                dismounts. Starts over to inspect Mark's body. He turns as                Haven walks on to the street, hands held high.               EXT. STREET - DAY               As Haven emerges and the Sheriff holds a gun on him.               ANGLE on Mick as down the street, with disgust, he lowers                his gun.               ANGLE on Prince as from a doorway he watches. Stopping with                a shake of his head the intent of a man beside him to shoot.               FULL SHOT -- street -- as Haven surrenders to the sheriff.                                     SHERIFF                         All right, you -- march.               Haven obeys, walking up the street -- the sheriff and the                sheriff's horse behind him. People watch, appearing now in                safety. The sheriff is pretty pleased.               MOVING SHOT -- of Haven and Sheriff. As they go, Haven's                hands still aloft.                                     HAVEN                         You loaded your gun for this?                                     SHERIFF                         No -- you did.               Back of them can now be seen the figures of Mick and Prince                and the other gunman, following at a little distance. Going                leisurely, now Haven slows his pace so that the sheriff is                closer behind him.                                     SHERIFF                         Come on, you! Keep moving!               Haven suddenly drops to his knees. The sheriff almost walks                over him. The sheriff stumbles with an oath. Haven grapples                with him. Haven snatches his gun, drags him by a headlock to                the horse, flings him aside and then mounts. A second later                he is away. Shots RING OUT as Mick and Prince and the gunman                shoot. Haven rides on, bent low, out of town. The sheriff                hides his bulk in the dust as the bullets fly.               ANGLE from Charlie's office -- as she goes to the window,                stares out at the flying form of Haven. A slow smile comes                over her face, bitter and grim, yet somehow faintly                admiring... She sees Mick mount a horse and start after Haven.                Then she turns abruptly away.                                                                       WIPE               EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAY               As Haven slows down his horse, but goes on at a fair clip                after looking warily back. He breaks open the sheriff's gun,                finds it loaded. He reacts and whistles softly. As he swings                his horse off the travelled road to head crosscountry for                the sawmill.                                                                   FADE OUT               FADE IN               EXT. NEAR SAWMILL - NIGHT               As Haven sits on his horse at a point in the woods where he                can look down on the sawmill. Around the mill office there                seems to be signs of unusual activity. Haven sees Mick Marion                going by on the road towards the mill. Mick passes not far                away and is riding hard. Haven watches as Mick arrives and                Pete can be seen in conference with him. Other men -- too                many -- are gathered around. At last Haven dismounts and                makes his way carefully on foot towards the warehouse.               EXT. WOODS IN BACK OF WAREHOUSE               As Haven leaves his horse in the brush and trees and then                approaches the building. He finds a window in back, breaks                it with a stone; then waits tensely to see if the sound has                attracted any attention, gun in hand now. It doesn't. Haven                replaces the gun in his holster, opens the window and crawls                inside.               INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT               Haven surveys the piles of crates, boxes and equipment. He                starts his search methodically and swiftly. Suddenly a shaft                of light comes from the front doors opened now by two men.                Haven shrinks back, drawing his gun. The men start to enter                when Pete's voice is heard.                                     PETE'S VOICE                         Where you guys goin'?                                     MAN                         You want them uniforms out, don't                          you?                                     PETE'S VOICE                         I'll tell you when.               The men turn and leave. Haven relaxes. He goes back to work,                pulls back a big canvas tarpaulin one of the men had                approached, and there before him is revealed the army                uniforms, stacked in neat piles. He looks and smiles grimly.                Outside is the SOUND of horses and more men arriving. Haven                goes slowly around the warehouse now, looking for something.                At last he finds it: a can of kerosene. He takes it over to                the uniforms, pours it liberally on them. At just this moment                a figure appears at the door.                                     MAN                         What you think you're doin'?               Haven lights a match and tosses it on the soaked bales of                uniforms. They blaze up instantly. The man shoots as Haven                ducks away.               EXT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT               As the shot RINGS out. Pete and Mick, surrounded by many                men, turn swiftly. Flame and smoke emerge from the warehouse.                They start swiftly across, drawing guns. The man at the door                shoots again into the smoking interior. An answering SHOT                from Haven fells him.               INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT               As Haven makes his way back to the open window. He crawls                out swiftly. Now the building is in flames. He can hear                shouting and, as he moves away, the useless attempt of men                to put out the blaze, working with buckets of water.               EXT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT               As Haven starts for the woods. The flames now light the ground                around, and Pete appears around the side of the building.                Pete fires and Haven draws and shoots. Pete whirls away, hit                but still on his feet, driving forward, trying to shoot again                and this time Haven drills him clean and Pete goes down to                stay. Other men come up as Haven makes for the woods,                disappears.               Mick Marion and a dozen men appear, shooting. Mick suddenly                changes his mind, turns past the body of Pete, gets his horse                and heads back to town full tilt.               INT. WOODS - NIGHT               As Haven watches the flaming building. The slowly approaching                figures of the men are illumined in the big light of the                fire. Haven smiles, turns to the horse and moves slowly                through the trees to a place where he can mount; then mounts                and rides for it, SHOTS following him as he breaks into the                clear some hundred yards away and heads for the road that                Mick Marion took back to town. Bent low, Haven rides for his                life -- and makes it...                                                                   FADE OUT               FADE IN               EXT. ARMY POST - DAWN               As Haven rides up, a detachment of men supervised by Stellman                is forming beside mounts in the parade ground. Haven dismounts                and starts inside. He glances at his wagon parked outside.                It is the one Mrs. Caslon took from him. He smiles slightly                as he notes it.               INT. ARMY POST - ILES' OFFICES - DAWN               Haven walks in, brushes past the desk sergeant with a cursory                nod and enters Iles' sanctum.               INT. ILES' OFFICE - DAWN               As Haven enters. Mrs. Caslon is there, and Iles, in full                field uniform. They look at him quickly as he enters; he                pauses, glances at Mrs. Caslon and then faces the explosive                Iles.                                     ILES                         That's all right. Just barge right                          in! I'm going to tell you something...                                     HAVEN                              (abruptly)                         No, you're not. You're going to                          listen.               As Iles stares, dumbfounded, at this impertinence:                                     HAVEN                         You lost some uniforms? You thought                          they were burned?                                     ILES                         They were.                                     HAVEN                         No, they weren't, but they are now                          because I just set fire to them.                                     ILES                              (rising)                         What's this?                                     HAVEN                         They're smouldering right now in the                          warehouse at the sawmill, and there                          are about seventy men down there who                          were ready to wear them.                                     ILES                         Wear them? What for?                                     HAVEN                         What other reason? To get in the                          post and take the gold from you.               Iles gawks at him.                                     HAVEN                         You were taking a detachment up north                          on an Indian scare?               Iles nods vaguely.                                     HAVEN                         Well, that scare is a fake. A ruse.                          So you know where to send them now.                                     ILES                         Look here, Lieutenant --                                     HAVEN                         Correction.               Haven dips into a lining pocket under his arm and tosses a                paper at Iles. Iles glances at it, then looks, thunderstruck,                at Haven.                                     ILES                         Major?                                     HAVEN                         You better get down to that sawmill,                          Captain. They may try it anyway.               ILES' expression slowly changes. He smiles at last.                                     ILES                         I guess I owe you an apology.                                     HAVEN                              (extending his hand)                         I'll take it.               He shakes hands with Iles for second, then Iles goes out                abruptly. Outside we can hear abrupt commands to the Sergeant                before the door closes. Haven takes out his pipe, looks at                the silent, dumb-struck Mrs Caslon. He smiles at her slightly.                She gets her voice at last.                                     MRS. CASLON                         I guess I owe you something too.                                     HAVEN                         Only fifty thousand.               Outside "To Horse" is sounding. Haven glances out the window,                hardly aware of Mrs Caslon's presence.                                     MRS. CASLON                         I wish there was something I could                          say or do.                                     HAVEN                         There is. You can give me back my                          gun.               She goes to the desk, gets it and hands it to him. He takes                the gun from his holster and hands it to her.                                     HAVEN                         And you can give this one back to                          the sheriff.               She takes it.                                     MRS. CASLON                         I'll always remember what a fool I                          made of myself.                                     HAVEN                              (smiling)                         I always try to forget.               He puts his own gun in holster. Glances out the window.                                     MRS. CASLON                              (watching his face)                         Are you going too?                                     HAVEN                         Not with them...               He pats her shoulder in a gesture of goodbye and walks out                the door. She stands watching him, then moves to the window                and looks out.               EXT. POST - DAWN               As Haven walks outside towards his waiting horse. He pauses,                pipe in mouth, lighting the pipe now, his face intensely                interested as he watches the men form on the parade ground                in front of the mounted Iles and Stellman.               FULL SHOT of soldiers. As they mount to a brisk command, and                the color bearer takes position. Iles barks out a command;                the column forms into marching order. On the double quick,                the cavalry company starts out and on the way.               CLOSE SHOT of Haven as he watches; his eyes lighting a little,                the pipe in hand. We feel that he'd like to go too in this                moment.               ANOTHER ANGLE from Haven's view, as the column of cavalry                departs. Haven waves his hand, a half salute, a half gesture                to Iles as Iles salutes him in passing. Then only the dust                remains and Haven's gaze lingers. His face changes. It becomes                grim. He slowly knocks the ashes from the pipe, pockets it.                He slowly mounts the horse. He takes out his gun and checks                it. Then slowly he rides away, like a man on a mission he                dislikes but cannot evade.               INT. ILES OFFICE - DAWN               As Mrs. Caslon looks out the window. Her face, tense, as she                watches the lonely figure go; her hand waves slightly.                                                                   DISSOLVE               INT. CHARLIE'S OFFICE - DAWN               Charlie is standing by the desk and window. Prince is sitting                there, talking, the inevitable dice in his fingers.                                     PRINCE                         There's seventy men ready for any                          kind of play. I say we can still                          swing it -- and get out of town.               THERE is SOUND of massed horses outside and Charlie looks                out. Prince walks to the window. They look in silence.                                     CHARLIE                         Can we?               EXT. STREET - DAWN               As Iles rides by at full gallop, followed by a troop of                cavalry, headed for the sawmill.               INT. CHARLIE'S OFFICE - DAWN               As they watch. Prince turns away.                                     PRINCE                         You wanted to give Haven time. Well,                          he took it.                                     CHARLIE                         You better get out before he takes                          you.                                     PRINCE                         By that I presume you intend to                          remain.                                     CHARLIE                              (wistfully)                         I've been here as long as I remember.               Prince crosses to the window and stands looking at Charlie.                                     PRINCE                         I asked you once if Haven moved me                          out.                              (he smiles)                         I think he's moved us both out --                          together.               Charlie looks at him but does not answer and then she turns                to the window, and smiles slightly. Prince follows her gaze                to the street. His face is grim.               EXT. STREET - DAWN               Haven, mounted, is coming up the street. Slowly and carefully                he progresses to the front of the saloon.               INT. CHARLIE'S OFFICE - DAWN               As Charlie glances at Prince.                                     PRINCE                              (softly)                         This is the way I wanted it... and                          when I've finished you will too...                          as though Haven had never been here.               He turns and goes quietly and swiftly from the room. Charlie                stands thoughtfully. There is nothing in her look or manner                to indicate that what Prince has said has made the slightest                impression on her.               EXT. STREET - DAWN               As Haven comes up to the saloon door.               INT. SALOON DAWN               As Prince moves into a shadowy corner.               ANGLE ON the door as Haven enters and looks around. He sees                no one. The place seems utterly deserted. It is soundless.                CAMERA FOLLOWS Haven as he moves slowly. He has replaced the                gun, but he is alert.               ANGLE ON Prince as he watches Haven, now a perfect target,                not looking in his direction. Prince raises the gun a little,                but the dice in his over hand click ever so faintly.               SHOT OF Haven as he stops dead in his tracks, hand on the                gun again, alert at the slight sound of the dice. Now facing                towards the shadow where Prince is hidden. He stands ready                and rigid for a long still moment. When there is no further                sound or movement, he goes on towards the stairs.               ANGLE ON Prince as he moves slightly from the shadow as Haven                goes to the stairs. Prince is ready to shoot again, but now                the angle on Haven up the stairs is no good. He lowers the                gun with disgust, then moves softly out of the shadow.               INT. CHARLIE'S OFFICE - DAWN               She gets a gun out of the drawer, looks at it, smiles, drops                it back into the drawer, moves around the desk and faces the                door, composing herself and waiting.               EXT. CHARLIE'S DOOR               As Haven pauses, pushes it open. Then walks slowly in.               INT. CHARLIE'S OFFICE - DAWN               She is standing with her back to the desk, her fingers tight                on the edge of the desk as Haven walks in. He stops and looks                around and then at her. There is a slight smile on her face.                                     CHARLIE                         You cause me an awful lot of trouble.                                     HAVEN                         Yeh... but I finally brought you                          something.               He hands her the little derringer she had given to Mark.                                     HAVEN                         You didn't really think Mark would                          use it, did you?                                     CHARLIE                         Maybe I just wanted to send you a                          gun.                                     HAVEN                              (thoughtfully)                         Maybe.                                     CHARLIE                         Isn't it a little late to make any                          difference?                                     HAVEN                         It's pretty late.                                     CHARLIE                         Why?                                     HAVEN                         I have to arrest you.                                     CHARLIE                         For what?                                     HAVEN                         Murder.                                     CHARLIE                         I could have killed you from the                          window -- but I didn't. And I didn't                          kill the two men -- or Goodard.                                     HAVEN                         Who did?                                     CHARLIE                         Maybe Mick -- maybe Prince -- who                          knows.                                     HAVEN                         You know.               She puts the little gun on the desk.                                     CHARLIE                         You'd almost as soon be killed as                          arrest me, wouldn't you?                                     HAVEN                         Almost.                                     CHARLIE                         Which are you -- Wells Fargo or Army?                                     HAVEN                         Army.               He hands her the paper he showed Iles. She just glances at                it without touching it. Smiles at him.                                     CHARLIE                         I guess it's my turn to wish you'd                          gone to China.                                     HAVEN                         I wish I had too.                                     CHARLIE                              (quietly)                         If you still have that gold, and I                          think you do, we might make it yet.                          You see I believe that every man has                          his price.                                     HAVEN                         Some men don't believe that.                                     CHARLIE                         But every woman knows it.               Her eyes pass him towards the door behind him.                                     HAVEN                         Only there wouldn't be any women on                          my jury.                              (taking out his pipe)                         And that's why you're not as bad off                          as you might think... I could find                          twelve men who might think you capable                          of almost anything -- but I wouldn't                          bet they'd vote that way after staring                          at you through a trial.                              (he notes her eyes go                               past him)                         Mick is dead for the murders and                          Prince can be hung for the rest of                          it...               At the bare rustle of SOUND behind him (and the memory of                her eyes going past him) Haven whirls, stopping aside and                drawing as he does so. And just as he does so, Prince, in                the doorway, fires. Haven shoots so that the shots RING OUT                almost simultaneously. Prince topples forward on his knees                and then his face. The dice roll out of his unclenched left                hand.               MED. SHOT of Haven and Charlie as their eyes read the dice.                Haven puts away the gun. Charlie is still leaning against                the desk, but there is a strange look on her face. A thin                smile for Haven. Now she sags a little and Haven realizes                she has been hit. He starts to her and she turns away towards                the couch. He catches her as she sags again, and helps her                down gently on the couch.               ANGLE on couch as Haven kneels beside her. He starts to pull                away the top of her dress, but the wound is close to the                heart. She shakes her head.                                     CHARLIE                         It's no good...               Haven knows it. He takes her hand and squeezes it.                                     HAVEN                         I'll get someone --                                     CHARLIE                         Stay here.               Haven stares grimly at her face. She gives him a faint smile.                                     CHARLIE                         Tell me something...                                     HAVEN                         Sure.                                     CHARLIE                         This gets us all. This doesn't count.                                     HAVEN                              (softly)                         No...                                     CHARLIE                         Tell me something -- on the square.               She holds herself tight a moment; then looks at him again,                the faint smile returning.                                     CHARLIE                         Did you ever -- love me?                                     HAVEN                         All the time.                                     CHARLIE                              (a whisper)                         Tell it.                                     HAVEN                         From the first night and the first                          time of the song. I tried to get                          away from it, but every time it came                          back. Every time I tried to get it                          out of my brain I just pushed it                          deeper into my heart. It had to be                          either you or me.                                     CHARLIE                         It's all right. I love you...                              (as he looks hard at                               her)                         Well -- say it.                                     HAVEN                              (softly)                         I love you.               She starts to die. He takes her shoulders in his hands as                though to kiss her or hold her back to life. Her voice is                almost a whisper.                                     CHARLIE                         See you... in China.               She goes, slumping back. He sits there, pats her shoulder in                a familiar absent-minded way, then slowly rises. Grimly,                Haven walks out of the room.               MOVING SHOT as Haven goes down the stairway. The deaf pianist                is playing as always.               INT. HOTEL               Orville is at his old seat behind the desk. He is playing                the last verse of the ballad. Haven enters and crosses to                his bag, his face blank and grim. He picks up his bag, turns                and walks out, as though not hearing the guitar and the                ballad. As he goes into the street --                                                                   FADE OUT                                         THE END
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+                                    CARRIE II                                                            Written by                                   Rafael Moreu                                                                                                        13 FEBRUARY 1998                                                            "I wish that I could write you a melody so plain          That would save you dear lady from going insane"          Bob Dylan, Tombstone Blues                                                                                                        BLACK          MUSIC UP: Slow, sad, ethereal.          Perhaps even eerie.          FADE IN:          On a sea of red, filling the frame. A crimson ocean without          waves or ripples.          A thick housepainter's BRUSH dips in, revealing its paint.          The BRUSH is extracted, paint dripping like congealing blood.          FOLLOW THE BRUSH to reveal...          INT. A HOUSE - NIGHT          A white wall, where the BRUSH is moved horizontally, leaving          a thick continuous stripe, until the paint thins out.          A WOMAN'S HAND plunges the BRUSH back into the paint can,          then takes up creating the stripe again, painting the wall:          until it reaches &pleated drape --          -- and doesn't stop. A window and another drape receive the          same treatment before the BRUSH is re-dipped.          A PUPPY,          a sad-eyed basset hound, sits on the floor watching, a bit          perplexed. This is WALTER and even he knows this is weird.          The dog looks over to...          A FOUR-YEAR-OLD GIRL          standing next to him, also watching. This is RACHEL. Dark          haired, in a plain dress. Her large eyes are welling on the          verge of tears.          The BRUSH is dragged across the wall, hits a wooden picture          frame, moves across a cheap oil painting of a pastoral,          forest scene, and over the other edge of the frame.          Another ANGLE takes in the red line, five feet high, parallel          to the floor, extending around a modest living room.          Painting the line is BARBARA LANG, in her thirties, yet worn,          haggard- She hasn't slept in a while.          The precision of her work, her concentration, her focus, as          the line runs across a wall and into a corner, is more than a          little frightening.                                                                                                                             RACHEL                         Mommy          BARBARA hears nothing, says nothing, just wipes a paint drip.          This is a very careful line.                         RACHEL          Momma, come play with me. In my room.          But her mother keeps painting across a door.                         RACHEL          Right now, mommy, okay?          BARBARA looks at her, or rather through her. And continues          her task. RACHEL steps forward, tugs on her mom's                         RACHEL          I got a idea, we could--          -- and gets , , splat, right-in the face with the brush                         THE KITCHEN           A TOY AMBULANCE sits on the floor. RACHEL's tiny hand           deliberately presses a button on it. The TOY responds with a          wheep whe ep siren, then:                         AMBULANCE VOICE                         (CANNED; TINNY)          If you need help, dial nine one one.          If you need help, dial nine one one.          A WALL-MOUNTED PHONE          RACHEL's HAND struggles to reach the buttons to dial 9-1-1.          BARBARA's still painting the wall in the background.          RACHEL (O.S.)          Hello? It's my mom. She's doing          some... some wrong things. She's          doing wrong things, so, and, you          should come.          EXT. THE STREET - FROM ABOVE - NIGHT          A light rain falls on an AMBULANCE sitting next to a POLICE          Its dashing red lights          CRUISER with its doors flung open.          splash over the umbrella carrying NEIGHBORS, in pajamas and          robes, watching...                                                                                                              TWO E.M.S. WORKERS drag a struggling BARBARA across a lawn,          her hands in plastic restraining cuffs.          A wet RACHEL stands by a kneeling POLICE OFFICER holding a          poncho over her head.                         POLICEMAN          Rachel? Rachel, are you okay?          She keeps staring off, watching her mother being stuffed into          the ambulance.                         RACHEL          Momma!          She starts towards her, but the OFFICER holds her back.                         POLICEMAN          Honey, she just has to go somewhere,          to get some rest, so she'll feel          better.          As the AMBULANCE pulls away, RACHEL catches a glimpse of her          mother in the rear windows, watching her.                         POLICEMAN          is your dad around? When's he get          home from work?          I don't have a dad.          The POLICEMAN collects himself.                         POLICEMAN          Okay. Then we're going to take you          someplace nice, with a family, a          really nice family, till we get all          this sorted out.                         (QUIETLY)          No.                         POLICMIAN                         WE'LL JUS                         RACHEL          She breaks free, races into.                                                                                                              4.          INT. THE HOUSE - NIGHT          Where she runs down the entrance hall. Behind her, outside,          as the POLICEMAN runs toward the front door, it --          SLAMS by itself, right in his face.          FOLLOW RACHEL as she rushes through the living room and down          a hall. Another door slams shut behind her.                         HER ROOM          She spins, frightened by the door that closed behind her. To          her left...          A WINDOW crashes shut, startling her. Then, like a wave          moving in a circle around her, another WINDOW bangs down, a          DOOR slams shut, another WINDOW. Scared, RACHEL backs into                         A CLOSET          where she finds WALTER huddling and cradles him in her arms.          The CLOSET DOOR swings shut, sealing her off from the world.                         FROM ABOVE          In the dark, RACHEL is in a fetal position on the floor, dry          eyed, in shock, curled around her puppy.          There's the far-off sound of POUNDING on a door.                         DISSOLVE TO:          NT. A DARKENED BEDROOM - DAWN          RACHEL, now 17, is curled in bed around WALTER, also now a          far more senior dog. She's enmeshed in tangled white          Small TATTOOS come into view -- A delicate angel with broken          wings on her ankle. A small EGYPTIAN ANKH is etched on her          shoulder blade.          Wrapped around her upper arm is an elegant THORN BAND          encircling a HEART, either protecting or imprisoning it.          There's a knock on her bedroom door.          WOMAN (O.S.)          Rachel. c et up. You're gonna be late          again.          She rolls over, blinks awake. She's beautiful, with sensual          lips framed by raven black hair.                                                                                                                             RACHEL          joy.                         CUT TO          BLACK. A SUPER burns in:           M. O N D A Y                          FADE INTO:          A PAN AROUND RACHEL'S ROOM          the usual teenage mess, clothes strewn everywhere. A POSTER          of Jim Morrison reads: "No One Here Gets Out Alive."          RACHEL stands before her dresser mirror, in a ratty bathrobe,          putting on a small nose stud. She dons her daily armor --          -- Slipping on multiple earrings.          -- Applying Kohl around her eyes.          -- Shrugging on a T-shirt with a photo of Sharon Tate          captioned "Manson Sucks".          -- Disheveling her long black hair.          Scooping up WALTER, she kisses him, takes him to an open          ground floor window.          Sorry, Walt.          And gently lowers him outside.          EXT. A HOUSE - MORNING          It's not the home RACHEL lived in with BARBARA. This one is          run down and in the section of town where people have cars in          their yards they've abandoned tinkering with. The lawn is          overgrown, there's broken glass on the street.          INT. KITCHEN - MORNING          The crammed eat-in-kitchen of the WALLACE house. EMILYN,          40's, is ironing a waitress uniform on the counter. A groggy          BOYD, 40's, enters, he's a trucker and looks like one. He          goes straight for the refrigerator.          BOYD and his wife EMILYN have taken in RACHEL as a foster kid          to augment their income.                                                                                                              6.           RACHEL is alone at a formica table, eating cereal. BOYD          looks at his ..rife.                         BOYD                         (YAWNS)          Working tonight?                         EMILYN          Graveyard shift, again.                         (TO RACHEL)          Was the dog in the house last night?          He's allowed in the morning.                         BOYD          (head in refrigerator)          Daytime, yes; nighttime, no. We've          been over this ground.          I only brought him in this morning.          No juice?                         EMILYN          We're out of a lot of things.                         (TO RACHEL)          I heard dog noises last night.          When I was trying to sleep.                         (LOUDER)          Walter was not in the house last          night.                         BOYD          (shoots Rachel a look)          You watch that voice in this house.          While you're here, you'll respect her          as your mother, and treat her as such.                         RACHEL          (lowers her eyes, mumbles)          Sorry.          She picks through her cold cereal in silence.                         EMILYN          Your mom's making progress isn't she,          on the new medicacions, the          tricyclics?                                                                                                              7.                         RACHEL          Yes, ma'am.                         (BEAT)          May I be excused?          Without waiting for a reply, she stands and gathers the bowl.          (casually, a routine)          And you should take that thing outta          your nose. Don't you have enough          holes in your head?          As she turns away, RACHEL makes a face, but replies.                         RACHEL          Yes, sir.          EXT. HOUSE - MORNING          RACHEL stands outside, clad in a long dark overcoat, with a          black backpack. WALTER sits next to her, behind a fence.          A YELLOW SCHOOL BUS pulls up.                         RACHEL          Later, Walt.          On WALTER, bummed.          WITHIN THE SCHOOL BUS          A gaggle of young KIDS in faded denims and pastels. RACHEL          moves to the back, sits with LISA PARKER, who could be her          younger sister, also dressed Goth, black lace and metal.          LISA has a HEART-THORN TATTOO around her arm, like RACHEL's.                         LISA                         (SMILES)          Well, hullo.                         RACHEL          She speaks. She opens her mouth          and sounds come out. The sounds          are words.          LTA gives her a Cheshire cat grin.                         LISA          What's wrong, fcscer-dad bein' a          pain again?                                                                                                              8.                         RACHEL          Why are you so weiz.ly happy?                         LISA          o I look any different?                         RACHEL          Do you look any...                         (GETTING IT)          Oh, my gawd. You did it.                         LISA          Yep.          With who?                         LISA          You'd never believe me if I told you.          I'm bringing him to lunch.                         RACHEL          C'mon. ' 1 Fess up.                         LISA          All will be revealed in due time.          RACHEL pulls out a worn Anne Rice paperback from her ba          gives it to LISA.                         RACHEL          You suck.                         LISA          I love you too.          Simultaneously, they bite their thumbs, then press them          together; a pantomime of blood sisters.                         LISA / RACHEL          Best Blood. / Best Blood.          ARNIE, a skinny, pimply stoner, plops into the seat behind          them, sticks his head on their seatback, smiles full braces.                         ARNIE          Hi there gruesome twosome, how 'bout          a threesome?                         LISA          (ignoring him, to Rachel)          Lunch. Meet me in the parking lot.                                                                                                              9.          EXT. BERGEN HIGH SCHOOL - MORNING          A modern, windowless school, shrouded in mist. It's          beautiful in an eerie "Fall of the House of Usher" way.          E SCHOOL ENTRANCE - MORNING          Hung over the concrete entrance is a large bedsheet BANNER          with oversized red lettering:          CRUSH CARLIN FRIDAY!          The school mascot, a scrappy BULLDOG wearing a CROWN tilted          at a rakish angle, is also drawn on the banner.          FADE IN -- KNOTS of STUDENTS, like spectral figures.          The two major school cliques are...          on the front steps. Land of burnouts, step-kids, Metalheat s          skateboard junkiei-and other lost souls.          A STONER KID kicks his skateboard up and catches it. HIS          BUDDY follows suit and misses, suffering the embarrassment of          watching his board shoot down the steps whose metal rail          separates Freak Hall and..,                         THE PATIO          a courtyard with concrete tables where the school's royalty          hold court. The cleancut "Patio People" are the jocks,          student government types and others who have no idea what it          is to be alone on a Saturday night.          At the patio is a pack of muscular jocks in football letter          jackets reading "Bulldogs", some sport caps marked "Dawgs:          There's JESSE RYAN, handsome, longish hair, a young Eddie          Vedor if Eddie ever played football. Next to him is...          MARK BING, good looking, with a body like a fist.          Behind them, arrayed around a concrete table are the large,          doltish BRAD, hearty rich boy CHUCK, and the arrogant ERIC.          CHUCKS looks over a plain looking GIRL on the Patio.                         CHUCK          (aside, low)          Hey, Mark, the girl over there,          how many if I do her?                                                                                                              10.          Six.                         BRAD                         (MIFFED)          Hold it. I did her last week,          I only got five.                         MARK          She was having a bad hairday.          A group of PATIO GIRLS sit at another table. Among them is          MONICA, a stunning brunette, AMY a cute redhead and TRACY, an          icy BLONDE who could spend all day checking her makeup.          JESSE looks over. TRACY graces him with a smile and turns          away. MARK leans in to JESSE.                         MARK          Hey, Jess. Tracy, she wants you, man.          Jump her bones.                         I JESSE          Yeah, whatever.                         CHUCK          What's the matter with you, she's got          an ass stamped "Made in Heaven                         JESSE          I don't know, you ever have a          conversation with her? It's like          talking down a well. She only wants          me cause I'm on the football team.                         MARK          So what? You want her to want you          cause of your dazzling personality?          Look, you want someone to talk to,          you got us. H, you screw.          THE SCHOOL BUS          RACHEL and LISA hop off and walk past the Patio. CHUCK          watches LISA pass.                         CHUCK                         (ASIDE)          Woof- Coyote date.                         JESSE          That's harsh, man, keep it down.                                                                                                                             11                         ERIC          What's a coyote date?                         MARK          When you wake up in the morning, and          she's sleeping on your arm, and the          only way to get up is to wake her.          So you gnaw your arm off instead.          BRAD snorts a laugh.          A goatee'd ENGLISH TEACHER nods to both camps as he passes.                         ENGLISH TEACHER          Hello Montagues, hello Capulets.          A BELL goes off and the STUDENTS start filing into school.          LISA waves the tips of her fingers to RACHEL, bye-bye.          RACHEL looks over, catches a glimpse of JESSE, across the          line of demarcation. For a piece of a second it seems as if          he's looking back. She drops her head, walks away.          INT. ENGLISH CLASS - DAY          The ENGLISH TEACHER strolls among the student's desk. RACHEL          is in social Siberia, sitting in the back.                         ENGLISH TEACHER          Okay, then how many saw the movie?          A show of hands, all the girls, some of the boys.                         ENGLISH TEACHER          Now, how many read the play?                         AS ASSIGN          A few tentative hands, including JESSE.                         ENGLISH TEACHER          I thank you for your honesty, but I am          saddened. I'd like to think we're          here to study William Shakespeare, not          worship at the altar of Leo DiCaprio.          Scattered laughs.                         ENGLISH TEACHER          I was going to calk about the          language. But since you haven't Z&&d          the language, let's talk about the          plot.                                                                                                              12.          Sighs of relief                         ENGLISH TEACHER          Romeo and Juliet, a tale of two lovers          meant for each other, pulled apart by          their families, society, and, some          might say, by fate.                         (BEAT)          Why is it that we are so moved by love          stories that end with separation?          The STUDENT' s faces are blank.                         ENGLISH TEACHER          What are some other stories with this          theme?                         (NO RESPONSES)          How about, Dr. Zhivago? Casablanca?          Still blank. AMY timidly raises her hand.                         AMY          You meair like in Dumb and          when the girl's husband showed up?          The TEACHER surrenders to the inevitable.                         ENGLISH TEACHER          Okay, well. Perhaps at some level          we know that Lauren Holly's husband          AIM to show up? What say? Anyone?                         (BEAT)          Rachel?          I don't know that I believe in it.                         ENGLISH TEACHER          Believe in what?                         RACHEL          Love.          JESSE looks at her, pensive.                         ENGLISH TEACHER                         (SYMPATHETIC)          Well, then you've got bigger problems          than passing this crass.                                                                                                              13.                         ARNIE          (raises his hand)          Love is fifteen seconds of squishing          noises. Unquote. Johnny Rotten.          Scattered laughs. JESSE overhears TRACY as she nods at          RACHEL, whispers to AMY...                         TRACY          Who would love her?                         ENGLISH TEACHER          Do you think that all love stories are          tragedies? I mean, unless they die at          the same time, all lovers are          eventually separated by death.                         JESSE          Well, then Romeo and Juliet isn't a          tragedy, because the only way they          could really be together was in death.                         ENGLISH TEACHER          Very good.          (nods at Rachel)          A foul cynic, most cliche.          (turns to Jesse)          A true romantic, how refreshing.          Kids scoff at JESSE, but RACHEL eyes JESSE, struck by this          side of him.          The BELL rings and ARNIE leads the exodus.                         ARNIE          Food!                         ENGLISH TEACHER          Next assignment, Brave New World, the          book, not the TV movie.          INT, HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY          A stone-faced LISA folds a NOTE, places it within her hallway          locker, jammed to the brim with books; a photo of Fiona Apple          and a Nine Inch Nails sticker are plastered on its door.          EXT. ICE SCHOOL. THE REAR PARKING LOT - LUNCHTIME          STUDENTS pour out the doors, some heading to a row of outside          lockers. RACHEL appears, searching for LISA.                         BACK TO:                                                                                                              14.          THE SCHOOL HALLWAY          LISA walks as if moving through extremely dense air, hugging          the wall as STUDENTS pass without acknowledging her.                         HACK TO:          THE PARKING LOT          RACHEL looks around the students, sees a GIRL's HEAD from          behind, realizes it isn't LISA.                         BACK TO:                         A STAIRWELL          LISA ascends several flights, still brushing the wall,          exiting onto the...                         SCHOOL'S ROOF          She walks past a TRIO OF STUDENTS smoking near the roof's          edge. Without slowing or blinking an eyelash LISA simply..          DROPS OUT OF FRAME.          A GIRL turns in the direction of LISA's disappearance.                         SMOKING GIRL          Did you see that?          SHOCK CUT TO:          WITHIN A PARKED CAR          LISA'S FACE smashes into the windshield which cracks in a          spider web pattern. Blood fills the web. The sound of a          droplet hitting car vinyl, then drops SPLATTER RED on our          P.Q.V.          EXT. THE SCHOOL PARKING LOT - DAY          Standing in the lot is RACHEL. She stares in horror at --          LISA sprawled on the dented hood of a parked car, her head a          bloody mass nestled in the shattered windshield.          -- and RACHEL opens her mouth, but the SCREAM BOTTLED inside          catches in her throat, which causes --                                                                                                              15.          A ROW OF OUTDOOR LOCKERS          to "ULQ open, behind her, like dominoes, banging in a wave          away from her, startling KIDS near them.          INT. SCHOOL - DAY          BANG as a door marked "GUIDANCE COUNSELOR" swings open and..          SUE SNELL whips around in her seat, late 30's, but with the          eyes of someone who's been to hell and back. A YOUNG GIRL is          seated before her for counseling.          in her doorway is the SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, chaos in the hall          behind him.                         PRINCIPAL          You'd better come with me, a girl just          killed herself in the lot.          EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - DAY.          More chaos. KIDS'rush in to see, others move away.          Next to the car with LISA's body is RACHEL. Slowly,          tentatively, without knowing what she's doing, RACHEL runs          her hand along the car's hood, coating her thumb with blood.                         RACHEL                         (TO HERSELF)          Best blood.          SUE pushes her way through the crowd, sees a stunned RACHEL,          puts an arm around her shoulder.                         SUE          Corns. Come with me. Let's back off.          One step. Good. Let's back away.          PULL BACK to see the widening circles of shock as the          students of Bergen High realize what's just occurred.          INT. GUIDANCE OFFICE - DAY          A SNOW DOME with a forest scene. RACHEL is in a chair, her          face an ashen mask, staring at the dome on the desk. SUE          offers a glass of water, RACHEL doesn't take it. SUE leans          on the desk's edge.                         SUE          (low, intimace)          Was she a friend? This is a place          where you can calk about it.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              16.                         SUE (CONC'D)                         (NO RESPONSE)          Or not. But if you need to, I'm          always here.          SUE takes RACHEL's hand. RACHEL looks up at her, eyes          welling. Bur she doesn't cry.                         SUE          It's okay. Let it out.                         RACHEL          (shakes her head)          I never cry. Miss Snell? She was so          happy this morning. I don't          understand. Why would she--          The INTERCOM BOX squawks:          WOMAN (V.0.)          Ms. Snell, would you please come to          the principal's office? Ms. Snell,          please come to the principal's office.                         - SUE          You stay here as long as you need to.          RACHEL nods. SUE moves to the door and exits.          Leaving RACHEL alone, looking all of five years old.          INT. PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE - DAY          A medium-sized office, standing room only. The PRINCIPAL          addresses SUE and his STAFF as he hands out sheets of paper.                         PRINCIPAL          The board of education has given us          these procedures to follow. I want          every teacher to read this aloud in          their classrooms in ten minutes.          Do not digress or become overly          emotional or dramatic.          His VOICE under...          EXT. THE SCHOOL ENTRANCE - DAY          A door BANGS open as RACHEL runs out and down the steps.          PRINCIPAL (V_O.)          Then I'll ask you to identify any          students who may have been Lisa          Parker's close friends and therefore          may require additional counseling.                                                                                                              17.          PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE - DAY          He scans the faces of his troops.                         PRINCIPAL          No memorials. No assembly. We want a          return to the normal life of the          school. what do we not want?                         (PAUSE)          Copycats. Everybody got it?          Nods all around.                         PRINCI PAL          Then let's go with the drill.          A TEACHER reads from the prepared statement to her class.                         TEACHER          One of our students died today.          -- A FOREST -- Glimpses of RACHEL running through the trees.          -- SUE at a microphone, reading from a sheet of paper:                         SUE          We will observe, at exactly two          p.m...          -- Her voice emanates from an INTERCOM BOX high on a          classroom wall. STUDENTS bow their heads.          SUE (V.O.)          .a moment of silence.          EXT. FOREST - DAY          th RACHEL -- running, branches tearing at her clothes.          SUE (V.3.)          Lisa Parker may be gone, but she will          not be forgotten by her friends.          INT. CLASSROOM - DAY          ERIC surreptitiously passes MARK something under a desk, a          large pocket NOTEBOOK.          A GIRL picks her nose. A 3CY yawns. Another BOY absently          fiddles with his crucifix as he reads a comic book.                                                                                                              18.          A GIRL and a BOY whisper to each other, then stifle a laugh.          SUE {V.0.)          She will not be forgotten, by her          fellow students, her teachers, and          her school.          EXT. THE FOREST - DAY          RACHEL sits on rock in a clearing, observing her own moment          of silence.          She looks at her hand. It's trembling and still covered with          LISA's BLOOD.          EXT. ARI{HAM STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL - DAY          th a sign identifying it as such. A fenced-in complex of          spooky Victorian and Queen Anne buildings.          EXT. A BUS - DAY          CHEL sits, removing her nose stud and earrings as the bus          approaches the hospital.          INT. HOSPITAL BATHROOM - DAY          RACHEL is washing off her makeup, which runs black into the          institutional porcelain sink.          She changes into a white cotton shirt.          INT. STATE HOSPITAL, VISITING AREA - DAY          The dilapidated room is a statue garden of catatonics and          depressives seated on vinyl furniture before a static-filled          T.V. PATIENTS shuffle past like motorized corpses.          BARBARA LANG, now in her 40's, sits on a couch with a          transformed RACHEL. BARBARA is lucid and beaming at her.                         BARBARA          Yes, baby, I really am feeling so much          better. I feel so good on the inside,          I must be glowing on the outside.                         RACHEL          You look great, mama.                         BARBARA          Lord, you come all the way out here,          we can't keep talking about me. How          are you? I wane to hear every little          thing I'm missing.                                                                                                              19.          RACHEL takes a deep breath, working extra hard to seem happy          and well adjusted today.                         RACHEL          Things are really great. Last night          I, um, I had this slumber party, with          some girlfriends. And this morning,          Mrs. Wallace made us all pancakes          before school.                         BARBARA          The Wallaces sure are a nice family.                         RACHEL          (her smile falters)          Oh, they are. A nice family.                         BARBARA          What's wrong?                         RACHEL          Nothing, I just... I miss those crepes          you used to make me.                         BARBARA          Oh, honey, those.crepes weren't          nothing but watered down pancakes.          (holds out her arms)          Come here baby.          She gives her daughter a big hug.                         BARBARA          Now you listen to me, the doctors say          I'm doing well. You know what that          means? That means someday, soon, you          and I are gonna be eating crepes for          breakfast, lunch and dinner.          For the first time, RACHEL's smile is genuine.                         RACHEL          That would be so great.                         BARBARA          (holds her at arm's length)          Oh, I look at you, remembering what          you were like at five, at ten...          (decides not to go down a sad path)          All I need is a little Loving Care for          these grey hairs and we'll make up for          all the time we've lost.          ooks at a wall clock)                         (MORE)                                                                                                              20.          BARBARA (cont ' d)          Now you get going before you're late          for work.                         RACHEL          Yes, mama.          INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY - DAY          RACHEL stands before glass doors, reinforced with chicken          wire, waiting to be buzzed out.          The NURSE on the other side is on the phone.          RACHEL turns and sees graffiti reading:          klnq of heLL          She cocks her head, noting the capitalized letters reveal a          hidden message: SLL.           A smiling TEENAGE GIRL wears a nightgown with a large wet           spot where she's soiled herself, without warnin she lets.          out a arcing ; ,e.          RACHEL wheels and pounds on the door.                         RACHEL          C'mon, c'mon. Let me out!          The door buzzes and she shoves through.          EXT. THE KENNEL - DAY          A restaurant/bar decorated with the BULLDOG insignia on a          football helmet.          INT. THE KENNEL - DAY          The rear end of a young WOMAN in tight jeans walking away.          MARK (V.0.)          Backfield in motion.          PULL BACK TO -- Pub decor with football paraphernalia          everywhere; Bulldog lamps and paw prints painted on the          floor. The bar's packed with local BUSINESSMEN.          JESSE, MARK and the other BULLDOGS are in a corner booth.          A.middle-aged, bearded WAILER with half his face bur -SS-arred          approaches.                         WAITER          Boys, what can Z get you?                                                                                                              21.                         MARK          Hey, Al, we'll have three 1ÔøΩ.rge pepperoni          pies and two pitchers of beer.                         WAITER          (heading off) ,          Three large pizzas and cokes all around.                         B          I can't wait to play Carlin, man, I'm          onna bash Todd Simpson's face in.                         CHUCK          He scored two touchdowns on you last          time, dude.                         B          Yeah, I wish hl would jump off a roof.          TRACY, MONICA and AMY are at a table across the Kennel.                         MARK          Yo, Jes$, I think Tracy's following          you.          He pulls out the black NOTEBOOK.          ERIC eyes it, gets very nervous.                         MARK          Now then, according to the scoreboard          Jess, you'd have to bag every girl          here to catch up. You need the          points. I'll give ya ten for Tracy.                         BRAD          Do her, Jess.                         CHUCK          (a low chant)          Do her, do her, do her.          d the others join in.                         JESSE          All right, all right.          ERIC leans over to MARK, urgently whispers, and the two of          them move to...                                                                                                              22.          ANOTHER BOOTH --                         ERIC          (nervous, jumpy)          When Lisa asked me to lunch, she was          actin' like were on the road to          marriage or something. I told her to          wake up, she was just a pump, a nut.                         MARK          And she freaked and took a header.                         ERIC          And now I freakin.'. The Notre Dame          scout's comin' Friday and it this gets          out, I mean, sex and suicide?          Catholic schools frown on that shit.                         MARK          No one knows 'bout you and her.                         ERIC          Lisa took a picture of me with. her.                         MARK          Shit. Okay. I'll handle it.                         ERIC          How?                         MARK          Eric, relax, its me, Mark. I'll          handle it.          The WAITER sets a pitcher of soda and cups on the table.          AT THE BAR -- MR. STARK, a rotund lawyer in his 40's, takes a          pitcher of beer from the BARTENDER.                         BARTENLER          I don't see nuthin'.          STARK strolls to the booth with the pitcher in hand. He          sits, hiding the pitcher below table level.                         STARK          Hello, boys.                         ERIC          Hi, dad.          STARK winks, takes MARK's empty cup and fills it with beer          below the table.                                                                                                                             STARK          Great game last week. All of us on          the town council are awful proud.          He hands MARK the cup under the table and takes JESSE's cup.          The PLAYERS smile at each other.                         STARK          So, the Bulldogs bringing home the          state championship again this year?                         MARK          Absolutely. We're gonna crush Carlin          Friday and make it seven years in a'row.                         STARK          That's what I like to hear.                         MARK          (offers a toast to Jesse)          It's good to be king.          INT.SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY          A CRASH of metal as the lock is cut off Lisa Parker's locker          with a pair of boltcutters held by SHERIFF KELTON, 30"s, a          former Bulldog himself. The PRINCIPAL and SUE stand nearby.          Opening the locker, KELTON finds LISA's NOTE. As he pulls it          out, something falls from the note.                         SUE          What is it?                         KELTON                         (READS)          Looks like a suicide note.          (bending to retrieve)          .and a stub. Royal Photos.          EXT. ROYAL DRIVE-THRU PHOTCMAT - DAY          RACHEL's at her job, an island in the middle of a parking          lot. She wears her Walkman, listening to music. Across the          street is a 7-11 type store.          INT. MINIMART - DAY          ARNIE,che sweet-natured stoner, mops the floor. He waves to          RACHEL, who gives him a half-hearted wave back.                                                                                                              24.          INT. ROYAL PHOTOMAT - DAY          Photos glide out of the developing machine. RACHEL pulls the          pictures out, stops dead when she sees they're shots of LISA;          With RACHEL, laughing. LISA with Rachel's dog.          RACHEL's finger tenderly slides along LISA's face.          She's shocked to find a picture of --          LISA AND ERIC -- his arm draped around her in the backseat of          a car. LISA's holding the camera at arm's length.          JESSE's CAR pulls up outside. MARK sits beside him.                         RACHEL                         (STARTLED)          Oh!          She peels off her headphones.                         JESSE          Sorry, didn't scare you, did I?          RACHEL turns, slides LISA's PICTURES into an envelope. MARK          checks her out, likes what.he sees, nudges JESSE.                         JESSE          You're... Rachel, right?          She nods, surprised he knows she's alive, much less knows her          name.                         JESSE          I'm Jesse.                         RACHEL          Uh-huh. The true romantic.          MARK leans over JESSE, his voice low now, intimate.                         MARK          So, Rachel, there were some pictures          Lisa took. They have, what you might          call sentimental value.          She just stares at him. MARK pulls a twenty from his wallet.                         MARK          Twenty bucks cover it?                         RACHEL          No.                                                                                                              25.                         MARK          What do you mean? I'll go thirty.                         RACHEL          They're not your pictures.                         MARK          Well it's not like she's gonna be          picking them up, is it?          RACHEL turns away. JESSE glares at MARK.                         JESSE          Hey, cool. it.                         MARK          (tries a different tack)          Rachel, why don't I come by when you get          off and, you know, take you for a ride?          JESSE cocks an ear for her reply, but she doesn't answer.                         T MARK          C'mon, I don't bite... not unless you          want me to.                         RACHEL          I don't think so.                         MARK          Why not?                         RACHEL                         (TURNS)          Cause I'm a dyke.          JESSE laughs. MARK doesn't. He knows she's putting him on          and bores holes into her.                         MARK          Let's go, Jess.          The car pulls away, MARK glances in the REARVIEW MIRROR at          RACHEL, framed like a target.                         MARK          (low to himself)          Bitch. I'll show you funny.          ON RACHEL -- watching them go.          Seconds later, a SHERIFF'S CRUISER pulls up.                                                                                                              26.                         KELTON          Hi.          He holds out Lisa's PHOTO STUB. RACHEL takes it, sees the          name, her eyes widen.          EXT. A HILL - NIGHT          A star-filled sky hangs above the town's makeout spot, a hill          overlooking Bergen. MARK and CHUCK stand outside a car          sipping beers. JESSE's CAR, a blue G.T.¬©, is several yards          away, with foggy windows.          WITHIN JESSE'S CAR          The backseat. JESSE's on top of TRACY. He pulls away from          her. She pulls her top down, sits up.                         JESSE          I'm sorry, it's not you. its me.                         TRACY          It's okay. You should save your          energy for the game anyway.          JESSE opens the door, stands outside, tucking in his shirt.          MARK and CHUCK make a crude humping gesture to JESSE. He          hesitates, then nods at them.          MARK pulls out the SCOREBOARD and enters JESSE's name with          TRACY's and the number 10.                         MARK          He shoots, he scores.          ON TRACY -- in the front seat, using the rearview to adjust          her makeup, pleased with what she sees. She glances at JESSE          as he re-enters on the driver's side.                         TRACY          What are you thinking about?                         JESSE          Nobody.                         TRACY          I asked what, not who.                         JESSE          Oh. Nothing.                         (PAUSE)                         (MORE)                                                                                                              27.                         JESSE (CONT'D)          Doesn't it bother you that a girl          offed herself today?                         TRACY          Why? She wasn't anybody.                         JESSE          What?                         TRACY          I mean, I didn't know her.                         (SMILES)          You know, I still don't have a date to          Mark's party Friday. Hint, hint.          She leans over and nibbles on JESSE's ear. He pulls away,          forces a smile and turns the ignition.          INT. RACHEL'S KITCHEN - NIGHT          SMASH as a dish drops onto the floor. RACHEL is at the sink,          doing dishes. She crouches to retrieve the broken plate.          WE PAN along the chorus line of dishes, glasses, and          silverware on the counter as the metronome of the sink          faucet's DRIP, DRIP, DRIP and the micro-explosions of the          soap bubbles in the water intensify to deafening levels.          TIGHT ON a SPOON atop the counter which suddenly begins          dancing. Pots and pans on a hanging rack start rattling.          A RUMBLE as more dishes and utensils vibrate and rattle, as          if by a paranormal force.          But as RACHEL casually straightens up and looks out the          window, it's revealed it's only...          EXT. RACHEL' S HOUSE - NIGHT          BOYD driving a large SEMI-TRUCK pulling alongside the tiny          house. Its engine shuts off..,                         THE KITCHEN          .and the spoons and dishes stop vibrating.                         RACHEL          (singsong, to herself)          Daddy's home.          She walks to her bedroom and closes the door.                                                                                                              28.          EXT. THE HOUSE - NIGHT          BOYD goes to shut the open fence and WALTER, the basset          hound, scurries past him and into the street.                         BOYD          Come back here, mutt.                         (WHISTLES LOUDLY)          Aw, good riddance.          And he closes the gate.          INT. RACHEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT          RACHEL lays in bed, staring at the ceiling. BOYD knocks on          her door.          BOYD (0.S.)          Your dog got out. Better get'im.          INT. JESSE'S CAR - NIGHT          JESSE's driving alone, wiping Tracy's lipstick from his          cheek.          EXT. THE STREET -NIGHT          's in her overcoat over her longjohns. She looks down          the road and blanches as she sees WALTER trotting towards...          The road in front of him, a two-lane blacktop with CARS and          TRUCKS streaming by at high speed.                         RACHEL          Walter!          And she breaks into a run. WALTER looks back, starts          running, this is all fun for him.          There's the low BLEAT of a TRUCK'S HORN and then...          The high, piercing SQUEAL of a wounded animal.          In the road, WALTER, laying flat, keening in pain.          She runs to him and in one continuous motion SCOOPS him into          her arms.          RACHEL, in the middle of the two lanes. She turns as.__                         HEADLIGHTS          approach, fast.                                                                                                              29.          She stumbles under the dog's weight, tries flagging down a          car.                         RACHEL          Help me! Please!          It speeds past, dangerously close. Another set of LIGHTS.                         RACHEL          Stop! Please, stop!          But the CAR passes, blaring its horn. She spins,around.          is bearing down on her. She holds her ground.                         RACHEL          THE CAR'S WINDSHIELD -- CRACKS, crazes, as if it hit with a          sharp, fierce projectile.          THE CAR -- lays down rubber as it screeches to a halt.          JESSE is at the wheel. Sees through the crazed windshield:          RACHEL, splattered with dog's blood.          He gets out, stares at his'windshield, shaken-up, groping for          some explanation.                         JESSE          Damn. What... damn.          RACHEL staggers up to him, holding a shivering mass of fur.                         RACHEL                         PLEASE--                         JESSE          Oh, my god.          . JESSE'S CAR - NIGHT          JESSE driving. RACHEL sits next to him, hugging the dog.                         RACHEL          It's my fault. He should have been in          bed with me.                         JESSE          Everything's gonna be all right.          His voice is not entirely convincing.                                                                                                              30.          Through the spidered windshield: The car's headlights pierce          the night.          INT. THE VET'S PET CLINIC - NIGHT          A craftsman bungalow which serves as a vet's hospital. The          only light is over a FEMALE VET in her bathrobe, tending to          WALTER on a shiny examining table. There are runnels on both          sides of the table, for the blood.          RACHEL and JESSE stand nearby.                         RACHEL          His name's Walter. will he be          all right?          The VET's intensely focused on inserting an I.V. into the          dog.                         VET          You two had best wait outside.                         JESSE          Let's go. Best thing's to let her          do her work.          JESSE gently guides RACHEL away, who keeps looking back at          her dog.          THE WAITING ROOM - NIGHT          RACHEL and JESSE on a couch in the darkened room. She's          rocking herself, caked with blood. He tries to comfort her.                         JESSE          Your dog's gonna be okay.          She nods, unconvinced.                         JESSE          God, I almost roadkilled you.          Are you sure you're all right?          She nods. They hear a muffled, "pmt", from the VET in the          examining room. JESSE tries to take RACHEL's mind off it.                         JESSE          That tattoo on your arm, its pretty.          Hurt a lot when you got it?                         RACHEL          some.                                                                                                              31.                         JESSE          Yeah?                         RACHEL          But it's... you know, like the song          says, you hurt yourself to see if          you can still feel.                         (BEAT)          I'm sorry.                         JESSE          For what?                         RACHEL          For making you--                         JESSE          No problem. Glad to help, you know.                         RACHEL          And I'm sorry about your windshield,          about your car.                         JESSE          How bizarre was that,, huh? Anyway,          wasn't your fault.                         RACHEL          You can be sorry for things that          aren't your fault.          The VET enters, drying her hands. RACHEL sits up, bracing          herself for the bad news. JESSE puts an arm around her seat          back, getting ready to hold her.                         VET          Walter's banged up pretty bad, lost          quite a bit of blood, but he's gonna          make it.                         RACHEL          Can I see him?                         VET          Come back tomorrow, any time after          eight.          EXT. HOUSE OF BREAKFAST - NIGHT          Your typical I.H.O.P. JESSE's CAR is parked in the lot.                                                                                                              32.          INT. BATHROOM, HOUSE OF BREAKFAST - NIGHT          RACHEL's at the sink, washing the dog's blood from her arms.          A WOMAN walks in, sees her. Looks alarmed.          INT. HOUSE OF BREAKFAST - NIGi4T          As RACHEL moves through the restaurant, THREE PATRONS stare,          stare, stare at the blood stains on her coat.          She slides into a booth with JESSE. He's eating eggs.                         JESSE          Better. You don't look like a mass-          murderer now.          She smiles, sips a coffee. A country song comes on the          jukebox.                         JESSE          Wow, this music. Guess we should just          count ourselves lucky it ain't Hanson.                         RACHEL          (a weak smile)          Lisa hLUd them.                         JESSE          She was a friend of yours?          She nods.                         JESSE          really sorry.                         RACHEL          Sometimes I'd see someone, from          behind, and I'd know, I'd just know,          it was Lisa. And then she'd turn          ound, and it wasn't. But sometimes,          you know, it was. And now...                         (PAUSES)          Whenever I see someone who looks like          her, and she turns around...          it won't be... ever.          They both go quiet, not knowing what to say.                         JESSE          (looks at his latch)          Wow. It's late. "ve got football          practice tomorrow.                                                                                                                             3                         RACHEL          I know. I hope I didn't ru;.n                         JESSE          No, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't          have had this nutritious medl,                         RACHEL          You're very polite, for a jock.                         JESSE          The compliments, they just keep on          comin'.          He drops some money on the table.                         RACHEL          I don't have any--                         JESSE          's cool, I got it. Can I give you a          Et home or something?          I can walk                         JESSE          Yeah, right.                         RACHEL          Or hitchhike.                         JESSE          Right.                         RACHEL                         (SMILES)          or I could wait for my limo,                         JESSE                         (SMILES)          You could. You could just wait fo          that limo.          INT. JESSE'S CAR - NIGHT          his engine.          He pulls up in front of RACHEL's house and kills                         JESSE                         WEL                         RACHEL          Thank you. For everything.                                                                                                              34.                         JESSE          I guess I'll see you in school          tomorrow?                         RACHEL          Sure.                         JESSE          You'll let me know how Walter's doing?                         RACHEL          Yeah.                         JESSE          Good night.          He extends his hand. She takes it.          3i2!          The SHOCK of static electricity. Their words are          simultaneous.                         RACHEL          Dry weather.                         JESSE          Acrylic sweater.          They both laugh. Then go quiet. Then just stare at each          other. Then the moment is gone.          RACHEL gets out of the car, through the gate, back inside her          house. JESSE watches her go. Starts his engine, and his car          WIPES THE FRAME TO:          EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - DAY          RACHEL crossing the lot. Her HEARTBEAT can be heard. She          looks up, sees LISA approaching the roof's edge. RACHEL's          heart sounds like its bursting from her chest.                         RACHEL          Lisa don't! Somebody stop her! Stop!          SLOW MOTION -- LISA falls through the air towards the car,          arms outstretched, hair trailing like black flames.          SMASH -- she goes through the windshield, but the face is          RACHEL'S.          SLAM CUT TO:                                                                                                              33.          NT. RACHEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT          RACHEL's eyes pop open as her body jerks awake, heart,          pounding. She looks around, realizes where she is.          FADE TO BLACK:                         A SUPER:          T U E S D          Under which is heard:          KELTON (V.O.)          "For a moment, I thought someone was          actually seeing me. But it was all a          lie..."          INT. GUIDANCE OFFICE - DAY          SHERIFF KELTON is reading from a photocopy of Lisa's          SUE and RACHEL sit-,in chairs.                         KELTON          "Eric lied when he said I was special.          And I guess I was lying to myself when          I believed him."          He folds the note.                         SUE          Rachel, is there anything in there          that strikes a chord for you? Do you          know what Lisa was referring to?                         RACHEL          (after a moment)          Yesterday morning, she told me she'd,          uh, lost her virginity.          KELTON looks at SUE, produces the photo of LISA with ERIC.                         KELTON          You recognize this boy?                         RACHEL          Sure. Eric Stark. He's on the team.          KELTON gestures to SUE and they step out into...                                                                                                              36.                         THE HALLWAY          with another "Heat Carlin!" banner in the background.                         KELTON          What do you think?                         SUE          Robbie, I had a Freshman crying in the          hall last week. I couldn't get          anything out of her, but her friend          told me a football player slept with          her, then dumped her.                         KELTON          Nothing illegal about breaking a          girl's heart.                         SUE          Eric's 18. Lisa was 15. That's          statutory rape.                         KELTON          That's a stretch.                         SUE          Then let's make it. I don't know          what's going on around here, but if          that's what it takes to stop it, let's          stop it, before someone else's          daughter kills herself.                         KELTON          All right. I'll look into it.                         THE OFFICE          SUE sits behind her desk, with RACHEL before her.                         SUE          How are you feeling?                         RACHEL          okay. Fine. Can I go no          SUE opens a file on her desk.                         SUE          I was looking at chic last night.          it says here your mom's in Arkham.                         (BEAT)          How's your mom doing?                                                                                                              37.                         RACHEL          She's gonna be fine.                         SUE          I spent some time up there.          As a patient.          RACHEL looks surprised.                         SUE          Does that surprise you?                         RACHEL          I guess. I mean, you seem pretty          normal.                         SUE          Thanks. i try. You visit your moat          often?                         SUE          Is that scary for you?                         RACHEL          Why?                         SUE          Well, children of schizophrenics          sometimes live with the fear of it          happening to them. At your age,          it's perfectly normal to be afraid          of turning out like your parents.                         RACHEL          Normal, huh? Get real, I know I'm          ten times more likely to get it          than most people.                         SUE          You're right. I'm sorry. So.          You've been in a series of foster          homes since you were, what, four?                         RACHEL N                         SUE          How's your foster family?                         RACHEL          They're happy, - 'z-rig as they get           their check every month.                                                                                                              38.                         SUE          What about your real father?                         RACHEL          Never met the gentleman. My mom          won't even tell me his name.          RACHEL stares at a ceramic MUG of coffee, very close o the          edge of the desk.                         SUE          Rachel, in a way, you've lost your          mother. And now you've lost a friend.          Losing someone can be a very lonely,          painful place to be.                         RACHEL                         (QUIETLY)          You're right, I.lost my mom, I lost my,          friend, the people who cared about me.          But you only get paid to care.                         SUE          I really do care. How can I show you          that I do?          RACHEL is silent, staring at the MUG.                         SUE          Rachel?          But RACHEL's shut off, pushing down a storm of emotions.                         SUE          You know, this room is a place where          if you have feelings, you can talk          about them. You can let them out.          RACHEL shifts. SUE sees RACHEL's forearm near the coffee          MUG. And, as if by proximity alone, it EDGES off the end of          the desk --          And FALLS --          RACHEL catches it in one smooth motion just before it hits.                         RACHEL          sorry. I must've knocked it.          SUE, the color draining from her face.                         SUE          I didn't... see you knock it.                                                                                                              39.          The DOOR swings open and the PRINCIPAL walks in, lays a          computer printout on her desk.                         PRINCIPAL          Sue, could you update the absentee          lists, see who we have to call?                         SUE                         (DAZED)          ure... sure.          She turns, and RACHEL is gone.          NT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY          ERIC is at his locker, wearing his BULLDOG letter jacket. He          closes his locker to find RACHEL approaching him,          intimidated, but determined. She looks him in the eyes.                         RACHEL                         (LOW)          know. I know what you did.          A chill goes through him. Not saying a word, he turns, walks          through the crowd, looks back.          She's still rooted, staring him down.          EXT. FREAK HALL - LUNCH          ARNIE plays hackey-sack behind RACHEL, who sits on the steps.          She looks up, sees a BULLDOG letter jacket standing over her.          It's JESSE.                         JESSE          Hi. How's Walter?                         RACHEL                         (COLD)          Good. I'm picking him up today. Why          aren't you hanging out with your          friends over there?                         JESSE                         (TAKEN ABACK)          What's up? What's wrong?          She sees the hurt look in his eyes and softens.                         RACHEL          What do you wane from me?                                                                                                              40.                         JESSE          I just wanted to, you know, see          how you're doing.          Over his shoulder she can see the stir his presence aC Freak          Hall is causing among...          THE PATIO GIRLS          MONICA taps TRACY on the shoulder, who's checking her makeup          in a compact mirror.                         MONICA          Look at Jesse, talking to a burnout.          TRACY turns, slips on a stylish pair of DKNY glasses.                         TRACY          She's not very good in daylight is          she? wonder where she keeps her          coffin.                         BACK ON:                         JESSE          So you'll meet me tonight, at the                         PIZZA PLACE--                         RACHEL          --yeah. Okay.                         JESSE          (smiles, as he backs away)          Okay. See you. Tonight.          ARNIE sees the Patio Girls glancing at RACHEL. She sits an          ARNIE nudges her.                         ARNIE          What'd he want?                         RACHEL          He asked me out.                         ARNIE          What'd you say?                         RACHEL          I said, "Okay, its your funeral."                         ARNIE          Pardon me, but is hanging out with          jockboy such a hot idea? I mean,                         (MORE)                                                                                                              41.                         ARNIE (CONT'D)          I heard he's dating Tracy Campbell,          who is giving you the look of a          thousand deaths right now.          RACHEL casually turns to take in TRACY, then turns away. Her          heart sinks.                         RACHEL          She's beautiful.                         ARNIE          Duh.          INT. FOOTBALL LOCKER ROOM - DAY          CLOSE ON a TV SET showing game highlights of last year's          Bulldog game against the Carlin Cougars.          WALSH (O.S.)          All right, as you can see from last          year's tape, the Carlin Cougars are a          tough, physical team. So Friday,          it's gonna be kill or be killed.          COACH WALSH, a charmless John Wayne, stands near the TV. The          BULLDOGS sit on benches before him.          On the VIDEO -.- MARK misses an easy block. WALSH points.                         WALSH          Here, we can see mark Sing kissing an          opposing player good-bye.          There are hoots of derision from the other PLAYERS. MARK          nods. ERIC leans into MARK, speaks low.                         ERIC          You didn't get the picture?                         MARK          Bitch wouldn't give it to me. Stay          frosty, no one else knows anything.          It's still at the photomat, I'll          get it.          WALSH (O.S.)          You two ladies back there gossiping?          No, sir.          WALSH (O.S. )          Excellent. Then you can give me fifty          when we hit the field.                                                                                                              42.          EXT. FOOTBALL PRACTICE - DAY          JESSE and BRAD rest on a bench in their uniforms as MARK an          ERIC do push-ups. The COACH stands on a blocking sled with          PLAYERS Pounding into it.                         WALSH          C'mon girls, those are love taps!          (sees Chuck give a weak block)          Potter, show me you're a dog.                         CHUCK          Aww, coach.                         WALSH          You know the drill.          The other PLAYERS begin a BARKING CHANT. CHUCK strips off          his helmet, jogs to the bench and opens a styrofoam cooler,          within it are slabs of raw steak on blood soaked ice..                         WALSH          Show me you're a dog, Potter.          The barking rises as the PLAYERS psyche up CHUCK, who chews          off a bite of the raw meat. JESSE whispers to MARK...                         JESSE          I hate this bullshit.                         MARK          Not me. I love it.          MARK pops up, grabs a steak, rips off a bite, and runs full          tilt at the, blocking tackle, smashing into it with meaning.                         WALSH          You're a piece of work, Bing.          MARK takes a bow as he jogs away, chewing. He spots the          SHERIFF's CRUISER pulling --p to the practice field.          INT. A BUS - DAY          RACHEL hugs her dog, who 'Looks a mess; hind legs bandaged, a          funny cone around his head.          TWO OLD LADIES are staring at RACHEL, unsure if they're more          appalled by her appearance or the doge.          WALSH c `1.O . )          Show me you're dzgs'.                                                                                                              43.          EXT. FOOTBALL PRACTICE- LATER          WALSH drill sergeants over MARK and the other PLAYERS as they          do drills. The CHEERLEADERS run their practice in the'          background.          on the sideline, SHERIFF KELTON is talking to ERIC, who's          sweating bullets as he fiddles with his helmet.          MARK watches ERIC, so intent he bobbles a ball thrown to him.                         KELTON          So, you're saying you never met or          talked to Lisa Parker?                         ERIC          No, sir. Never.          KELTON produces the photo of LISA and ERIC.                         N          Eric, who's this you're hanging onto,          a ghost?          ERIC blanches.          MARK watches KELTON leading ERIC away with WALSH.          KENNEL - DAY          A pinball machine as MARK plays, applying some body English          to it. A wired ERIC enters, a bundle of violent energy.                         MARK          What happened?                         ERIC                         (ANGRY)          Kelton, man, with that sheriff's badge          he pulled out of a cereal box.          Somebody told him I did Lisa. He          nails me with a picture of me and her,          starts talking statutory rape.                         MARK          Relax, that's bullshit. Your dad's a          lawyer, he'll kill that talk dead.                         ERIC          So I'm suspended. And Coach, Coach he          up and does this scene where he says,          "give me your helmet."                                                                                                              44.                         MARK          What about Carlin?                         ERIC          What about Carlin? Game of the year,          football scouts are gonna be there and          I'm gonna be sittin' on the bench with          my thumb up my...          (shoves the machine in anger)          You said you were gonna get the          pictures.                         MARK          I tried. That Rachel bitch wouldn't          give'em to me..                         ERIC          She's the one who put me and Lisa          together. Shit. what are we gonna          do, Mark?          EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT          BRAD and CHUCK are throwing unfurling TOILET PAPER rolls onto          the trees in front of someone's middle-class house.                         BRAD          Who's place is this, again?                         CHUCK          Nimrod. It's Carlin's quarterback.          MARK and ERIC pull up in Mark's Mustang convertible.                         MARK                         (WHISTLES LOUDLY)          Hey, dogs! C'mon, we got a mission.          BRAD and CHUCK run to MARK's car, jump over and into the back          as MARK peels out.          'S BATHROOM - NIGHT          A HAND WIPES shower steam off a mirror, revealing a wet          RACHEL, a towel wrapped around her.                         RACHEL          jy are going to be late.          She hears her doorbell go off.                                                                                                              45.          THE FRONT DOOR          as RACHEL opens the door.                         RACHEL          What'd you forget your--          There's nobody there.                         (WEAKLY)          --keys?          She looks around, closes the door, locks it, wraps her towel          tighter.                         LIVING ROOM          As she crosses back to her room. There's a KNOCKING on the          kitchen back door. She frowns, goes to the back door, looks          through the glass. No one there either. Now she's worried.          . ' RACHEL          (calls through the door)          Boyd? Emilyn?          She turns when the DOOR HANDLE on the front door JIGGLES          once. She stops dead. Spins as...          The BACK DOOR handle starts JIGGLING.          She backs into the living room and spins as--          Something starts TAPPING on one of the living room WINDOWS.          Like a wave moving around her, a WINDOW on the other side          starts TAPPING.          RACHEL turns a full circle, scared, surrounded by TAPPING and          JIGGLING, which grow increasingly loud r.          She puts her palms against her temples, as if struggling to          keep something bottled inside:                         RACHEL          Oh, god, oh, god. Not now. Stop          Suddenly all goes silent. She jumps as...          The PHONE RINGS near her. She scoops up the cordless. Beat.                         RACHEL          Hello?                                                                                                              46.          There's a long pause on the other end.          MALE VOICE (V.0.)                         (FILTERED)          What's your favorite scary movie?          JUMP CUT TO :          EXT. RACHEL'S HOUSE - NIGHT          MARK on a CELL-PHONE. BRAD starts laughing next to him as          MARK covers the receiver, gestures to ERIC and CHUCK, who          scurry around Rachel's house.          RACHEL (V.O.)          Who is this?          WITHIN THE HOUSE          sees a SHADOW run past a window.          MARK (V.O.)          who is Wig?                         RACHEL          Knock it off. Is this you, Arnie?          MARK (V.0)          Ding, ding, ding. Wrgnq, guess again.                         RACHEL          What do you want?          MARK (V.0.)          (a menacing pause)          You.          The JIGGLING and the TAPPING starts up again, loud. The BOYS          VOICES are heard outside chanting...                         BULLDOGS          Rachel! Rachel! Rachel!          MARK (V.o.)          Rachel, come out and play now.          RACHEL grabs a knife from the kitchen, backs into...                         HER BEDROOM          where a bandaged WALTER is on the bed, looking alarmed.          RACHEL keeps backing up, nearing her open closet door.                                                                                                                             RACHEL          I'm calling the police.          She hangs up, dials 911, fumbling with the knife.                         UT TO:          INT. PIZZA PARLOR - NIGHT           A beer-and-slice emporium. JESSE'S at a payphone, hearing a          bus y sianal on RACHEL Is line. He hangs up.           INT. RACHEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT          A horror-movie-moment as RACHEL waits for 911 to pick-up.          Behind her, a HAND is reaching through the open sash window,          pulling it up to gain entrance.          RACHEI.                         (INTO PHONE)          I have an emergency. Now, right now!          Yes, 3366 Elm Street...          She turns, sees the HAND at the window.                         RACHEL          No!          The WINDOW SMASHES down on the intruder's HAND. There's a          muffled YELL outside and the HAND is extracted.          EXT. THE HOUSE - NIGHT          Headlights light up MARK's face as BOYD and EMILYN's beat-up          STATION WAGON approaches the house.          MARK whistles loudly.          And takes off, joined by ERIC, clutching his injured hand.          ‚Ä¢ SE - NIGHT           RACHEL, still stunned by what just happened. The cordless in          her hand speaks:           911 OPERATOR (V.O. )           Hello? Hello, :Ma'am, you still there?          RACHEL slowly moves to tier bedroom doorway. BOYD comes in          the front door.                                                                                                              48.                         RACHEL                         (INTO PHONE)          Yes. It's okay. Things are fine.          She hangs up as a clueless BOYD takes in her freaked-out          appearance.                         BOYD          What's wrong?                         RACHEL          Nothing.          She retreats into her bedroom, looks at the Window. The          PHONE RINGS in her hand. She answers.          MARK (V.0.)          Don't go tellin' stories about my          Eric.          Click and the line goes dead. She hangs up. The PHONE RINGS          again. She doesn't answer.          THE LIVING ROOM          The PHONE RINGS on another extension. EMI, swers.                         EMILYN          Hello... just a second. Rachel?                         RACHEL          curled on her bed with WALTER, calls out:                         RACHEL          I'm not here.          INT. PIZZA KING - NIGHT          JESSE at the payphone, sipping a Royal Crown Cola.                         JESSE          Okay. Thank you, then.          He hangs up. Checks his watch. Waits.          FADE TO BLACK:          SUPER: WEID NElinA_Y                         JUMP TO:                                                                                                              49.          EXT. SCHOOL ENTRANCE - DAY          A SCREAMING DEVIL fills the frame.          The bed of a speeding PICK-UP TRUCK is jammed with kneeling          TEENAGE BOYS wearing children's Halloween masks. They're          screaming bloody murder as they fire RAW EGGS at...          The BERGEN STUDENTS gathered at the entrance.          The PICK-UP speeds off as STUDENTS recover, straightening up          from their ducking positions. MARK and his cohorts go          running after the truck.                         TRACY          Carlin creeps!          At Freak Hall, ARNIE rises, wipes egg yolk from his hair.                         ARNIE                         (SLOWLY)          Hormonally-charged mo,,,ÔøΩr '‚Äûns. Why do the          innocent always get hit in a drive-by?          RACHEL looks up, sees JESSE approaching. Her eyes flare.                         JESSE          Hey, what happened to you last night?          I waited.                         RACHEL          You tell me what happened last night.                         JESSE          What?          ON RACHEL and JESSE as she tells him what happened last          night. He gets more and more agitated.          TRACY is wearing her glasses as she and MONICA watch JESSE          from the Patio.                         TRACY          What is wrong with this movie:          does he see in her?                         MONICA          Come on Trace, you're caviar, she's          cheeze whiz. He'll come around. He's          just letting little Jesse do the          thinking for big Jesse.          BACK TO -- A pissed-off JESSE.                                                                                                                             5                         JESSE          Okay, don't worry, I'll talk to Mark,          I'll take care of it                         RACHEL                         (FRUSTRATED)          No, don't... maybe all this isn't such          a good idea.                         JESSE          All what?                         RACHEL          I mean, guys like you are supposed to          date girls like Tracy.                         JESSE          I'm picking you up tonight. We're          gonna have a nice, mellow date.          RACHEL stands, silent, torn. The BELL RINGS, everybody          starts filing in.. She moves, he smiles, blocks her way.                         JESSE          I'm not going anywhere till you          say yes.                         RACHEL          (looks away, looks back, smiles)          All right. Okay.          (he doesn't move a muscle)          Yes.          JESSE lets her pass, with a chivalrous after-you sweep of his          hand, then falls in next to her. RACHEL'S arm is grabbed          by...                         S          May I speak with you a second?          INT. GUIDANCE OFFICE - DAY          RACHEL crossing and uncrossing her legs, it's the last place          she wants to be. She idly plays with the forest SNOW DOME.          SUE doesn't look so comfortable herself. She's holding a          stack of index cards.                         RACHEL          What are those, tonight's Top-Ten          list?                                                                                                                             5                         SUE          These are just an exercise that will          let me know how to help you better.                         RACHEL          You're wasting your time.                         SUE          Just answer true or false to these          statements.          (reads the top card)          "There's a man inside the television          set who tells me what to do."                         RACHEL          False. I don't see the point-                         SUE          "Sometimes my thoughts assume the form          of a giant insect."                         RACHEL          This ddesn't make any sense.                         SUE          Answer true or false and this won't          take all day. Again: "Sometimes my                         THOUGHTS--                         RACHEL          False.          She sets down the SNOW DOME.                         SUE          "If you want to play the piano well,          you have to practice."                         RACHEL          True.                         SUE          "I can see sounds and hear colors."                         RACHEL          False.                         SUE          "Large furry animals crawl on my face          every night while I sleep."                         RACHEL          True.                                                                                                              52.          SUE looks up, surprised.                         RACHEL          I have a dog.          SUE nods, watches RACHEL closely as she takes her time with          this one, not reading off a card.                         SUE          Sometimes I can move things with my          thoughts.          Beat. RACHEL stares at her, a million thoughts racing.          Another beat.          The only sound is the clock ticking on SUE's desk. RACHEL          grabs her backpack and stands.                         RACHEL                         FUCK THIS--                         SUE          Honey, sit down. I just want to hel                         YOU--                         RACHEL          --and fuck you. You're not my mother!          RACHEL turns to go. SUE jumps up, grabs her arm, and...                         THE S          on the desk EXP DES, splattering water and white flecks all          over the desktop. RACHEL looks at it.          SUE stares at it, her worse fears coming true.          As RACBZL flies out the door.          EBT. FOOTBALL PRACTICE - CAY          WALSH sees JESSE get tackled, then help up the teammate who          tackled him.                         WALSH          What was that? 'hat are you, Miss          Manners? Show me you're a dog, Ryan.          JESSE looks at the styrofoam cooler on the bench.          A few of the nearby PLAYERS begin their barking chant.                                                                                                              53.                         JESSE          Can't, Coach.                         WALSH          Say what?          The barking trails off. The other boys are stunned.                         BRAD          Oh, shit.                         JESSE          Well, I'm not a dog today, Coach,          I'm a vegetarian.                         WALSH          Since when? Don't give me that.          Show me you're a dog, Ryan.                         JESSE          Sorry, Coach. No can do.                         ¬Ä¢ WALSH          Your attitude sucks. Hit the showers.          Get outta my sight.          JESSE doffs his helmet, jogs to the bench. He douses his          head with water, sits there, looking angry.          INT. LOCKER ROOM -          PLAYERS goof around, snap towels at each other. Clanking          steel and grunts from the boys at the weight machines.          LOCKER ROOM SHOWERS          The mist in a shower, through which are glimpses of a lean          male figure with rippling stomach muscles. It's JESSE. MARK          and BRAD enter the showers.                         BRAD                         (TO JESSE)          Yo, lover boy, whatsa matter? Didn't          ya nut that tattoo chick yet?                         MARK          Brad, how many points he gonna get for          straightening a dyke?                         BRAD          Twenty, no, thirty.          They fingertip high-five each other.                                                                                                              54.                         BRAD          Jess, you score the skank yet?          JESSE just glares at him, walks away.                         MARK          What's with him?                         BRAD          Must be that time of the month.          THE LOCKER ROOM          JESSE finishes dressing between the lockers. MARK, wearing a          towel, approaches him.                         MARK          Jess, what's the matter?                         JESSE          You. What's with the stunt you pulled          last night?                         MARK          What? Papering McCabe's house?          I asked you if you--                         JESSE          What you did at Rachel's.                         MARK          what? We were just sendin' her          a message.          JESSE slams his locker closed.                         JESSE          Tell me, I'll pass it on.                         MARK          Look, man. She's getting Eric in all          kinds a shit. I mean, if he gets          charged with rape, there goes any                         CHANCE OF--                         JESSE          Screw Eric, he's a big boy. He made          his own decisions, he's gotta live          with 'em. And stay away from Rachel,          or deal with me.                                                                                                              55.                         MARK          What are you getting bent for? She's          just a burnout, a slut--          BANG as JESSE shoves MARK against a locker. MARK shoves him          back. The rest of the PLAYERS in the background go quiet.                         JESSE          (low, intense)          Don't call her a skank, don't call          her a slut.                         MARK          What's wrong with you?                         JESSE          We screw with girls, use them, because          it makes us feel like big men--                         MARK          Get to the bad part.          ' - JESSE          I'm tired. I'm tired of all of it.                         MARK          What are you talking about? We're          friends, we're all friends.                         JESSE          No. We just grew up together.          And he walks away. On MARK. Pissed. He sees JESSE left his          letter jacket behind, hanging on the locker.          INT. ARKHAM STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL - DAY          CLOSE ON GRAFFITI reading:          KIng of heLL          RACHEL is looking at it, while she waits to be buzzed in.          The capped letters read: KILL.          THE VISITING AREA          where RACHEL sits with BARBARA, holding her hand. There are          occasional MOANS and SHOUTS from other PATIENTS.                         B          Baby? Rachel? What's wrong?                                                                                                              56.                         RACHEL          Mama, what was it like? WhEn you          started to... when things went bad.          What did it feel like, what did you see?                         B          h, honey, why do you want to--                         RACHEL          Did you see things move by themselves?          Please, mama. I have to know.                         BARBARA          (thinks, then)          Well, first, I thought I saw the devil          in your eyes. Then I started to see          people's faces looking... deformed,          like they'd had plastic surgery, or the          bones were moving under their skin.                         (LAUGHS)          For a while, I thought I had this bi          snake wrapped around my neck, and I          couldn't'talk, or it would try to go          down my mouth.          sits, thinking.          BARBARA looks at her in confusion for a long beat.                         BARBARA          There is something different about          you. Baby, are you all right?          Yeah. Yes. Everything's fine.          Everything's gonna be all right.                         HOSPITAL HALLWAY          A BUZZ and as RACHEL leaves, she smiles at.          sitting on the couch. BARBARA shifts slightly, looks at a          CHROME CHAIR across from her.          HER DISTORTED REFLECTION          A LARGE SNAKE is coiled around her neck.          She closes her eyes. opens them. And the SNAKE is gone.                                                                                                              57.          There's the high, mechanical wssshh sound of film sliding          through a gate on the--                         CUT TO:          INT. PUBLIC LIBRARY - DAY          A MICROFILM MACHINE as IMAGES STREAM past its screen.' Black          and white, abstract, poignant, fleeting, with newspaper text,          scratches and magnified pieces of dust.          SUE (V.O.)          July. June. May.                         HER FACE          is illuminated from below by the view screen. And now:          She stops on a NEWSPAPER front page:          CHAMBERLAIN RECORDER. May,-1976.          With a PHOTO of C ' RIK W iITE at age seventeen.          The headline identifies her as the girl thought responsible          for the arson at Chamberlain High School which killed 73          people.          The text below the photo states that ga1nh White is the          ,father of Carrie White.          ON SUE --          staring. Totally absorbed.                         A HAND          grabs her forearm. SUE jerks. Looks up.                         LIBRARY MATRON          The library is closing.          EXT. HALL OF RECORDS - DAY          SUE SNELL walks up the steps of a nondescript municipal          building.          INT. HALL OF RECORDS - DAY          SUE SNELL at the files. She pulls up:          An aging photocopy, white :,n black o                                                                                                              59.          Rachel Ann Lang's BI CERTIFICATE.          She scans the certificate finds:          MOTHER: Barbara Elizabeth Lang.                         FATHER: WN                         S          (under her breath)                         UNKNO          EXT. ARKHAII STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL - DAY          SUE'S red VOLVO sits before the entrance to the hospital.          SUE looks at HER EYES in the rearview mirror, takes a deep          breathe to summon her courage.                         SUE                         (WHISPERS)          You can do this.          She gets out of her car, holding a box of chocolates.          INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY          SUE strides up to the reinforced door. The sudden BUZZ o          the lock seems to cut through her. She hesitates, then          pushes in to...          THE VISITING AREA          .and approaches the NURSES STATION.                         SUE          I'm here to see Barbara Lang.                         NURSE          Stay here, I'll get her.          SUE looks around. This place holds a lot of bad memories.          DOCTOR NELSON, SO's, an overworked-underpaid psychiatrist          approaches with a smiling MALE PATIENT.                         DOCTOR          Suzy? Suzy Snell?                         SUE          Hello, Doctor Nelson.                                                                                                              59.                         DOCTOR          Suzy Snell, one of my rare success          stories. What brings you back?                         SUE          I'm visiting the mother of one of          my students.                         DOCTOR          I heard about the good work you're          doing at the high school.          The PATIENT turns and softly starts thudding his forehead          against the wall. The DOCTOR casually pulls him away before          he can harm himself.                         R          Excuse me, Sue.          (towing the Patient)          Come see me after. I'd like to hear          how you're doing.          INT. THE VISITING'AREA - DAY          SUE sits before BARBARA, who's picking her way though the          chocolates. The MOANS of PATIENTS seem to rattle S                         BARBARA          Thank you for the chocolates.          Thoughtful of you.                         S                         AT)          Mrs. Lang, why didn't you ever tell          Rachel who her father was?          BARBAR.          Wasn't important.          Why was it important for her not          to know?                         BARBARA          Why would she need to?          Hrs. Lang, I need to know who he was.                         BARBARA          sorry, that's private.                                                                                                              60.                         SUE          Mrs. Lang, it's important that I know          his name.                         BARBARA          I really don't see how that's any of          your business.                         SUE          I promise you, I'll keep the          information in the strictest          confidence.          BARBARA just looks at her, chewing.                         SUE          I'm just trying to help Rachel. She          seems very troubled and I'm worried          about her.                         BARBARA                         (LAUGHS)          You're worried? Very worried                         SUE          I am. Yes.                         BARBARA          You don't have children, do you, miss?                         SUE          No. No I don't.          BARBARA laughs. almost hysterically. SUE's thrown. BARBARA          regains herself, then, with tremendous conviction...                         BARBARA          Then you don't kzgx. You will never          ever know, how terrifying children          can be.          SUE, frustrated, it's like punching water with this wo                         SUE          Rachel needs my help. She...                         (DESPERATELY GROPING)          She has a... a disease, a genetic          disorder I think her father passed on          to her. I need to know so I can help          her. Who was her father, Mrs. Lang?          es SUE, then goes quiet, lost in her memories.                                                                                                              61.                         BARBARA                         (SMILES)          I did tell Rachel how I met him. He          said it was love at first sight.          I was his waitress. I insisted he try          the cherry pie, 'cause I'd baked it          myself. He said, with every bite of          that pie, he could see our future          together. By the time he got to the          crust, he could see what I would look          like, all old and saggy... and he          still loved me.          (her smile fades, then)          He left me after Rachel was born.          I never told her because, people          around here aren't too fond of Carrie          White, for what she did. I didn't          want her having to grow up with that.          His name was Ralph. Ralph White.          SUEgoes cold.                         SUE          So they are half-sisters.          EXT. MINIATURE GOLF COURSE - NIGHT          A castle, a windmill, and yards of worn astroturf. One of          those places you go for fun if you're young and the city's          too far away.          MONTAGE -- of RACHEL and JESSE on their date, playing,          laughing.          -- JESSE takes a swing, muffs a shot, tosses his club.          -- A tricky par-four hole, featuring a dogleg and a slope to          the cup. RACHEL hits the ball. And it rolls a hole-in-one.          -- She leaps in the air with joy. Behind her, JESSE feigns          dropping dead.          EXT. MONARCH MOTORS - NIGHT          A sign reads: MONARCH MOTORS, below it are a row of USED          CARS for sale, hoods open, like circus animals begging for          peanuts.          JESSE (V.O.)          That's my dad's dealership. Y          all that will be mine.                                                                                                              62.          EXT. WITHIN JESSE'S CAR - NIGHT          JESSE driving. RACHEL has her hand on the big HURST          stickshift between the two bucket seats. He accelerates and          RACHEL expertly shifts the gear.                         JESSE          You are good. I'm impressed.                         RACHEL          My foster-dad taught me on his semi          truck. Where we going?          EXT. THE HILL - NIGHT          The twinkling lights of Bergen below. Stars above. RACH          and JESSE lay on the hood of his car, leaning against the          windshield.                         JESSE          Before he sold cars, my dad wanted to          write this book: One Hundred Senators          Pick Their Favorite Restaurants.' So,          he wrote, to all of them.                         RACHEL          All of them?                         JESSE          Dear Senator So-and-so, I am writing          a book.                         RACHEL          Anybody answer?                         JESSE          Yes. No. Sort of.          She laughs.                         JESSE          He got two letters back. one was a          form letter which said, 'Thank you          for your support.'                         RACHEL          And the other?                         JESSE          The other was from Hubert Humphrey.                         RACHEL          Who?                                                                                                              63.                         JESSE          He was the vice-President once.          He wrote back a three page letter,          raving about a place called Wally's          Burger Hut. My dad was knocked-out.                         RACHEL          So your dad wrote a book, color me          impressed.                         JESSE          He never wrote it. Or he was going          to, and then my sister was born, and          then I was born. And there was this          car dealership, and it was security.          So your dad wanted to be a writer.          How'd his kid end up being this sweaty          armpit jock?                         JESSE                         (BEAT)          Sometimes when they throw me the ball,          it feels like time just slows down.          And I know where to be and how to get          there. When I have that feeling I          catch it. Always. Every time.                         RACHEL          And you like that.                         JESSE          Yeah, I love it. Except. My dad.          He's got my life all mapped out. He          wants me to take over the business.                         RACHEL          What's wrong with that? Sounds like a          nice life.                         JESSE          Selling used cars is not what I want.          And, unless I nail that football          scholarship,' that's what I'll get.                         (EXHALES)          Wow. I can't believe I'm telling you          all this. I've never said any of this          out loud to anyone before.          (takes a long look at her)          Must be great not having to be like          anyone else.                                                                                                              64.                         RACHEL          It's not so great. Sometimes I wish I          could just be one of the shiny, happy          people. Does that surprise you?                         JESSE          Everything about you surprises me.          There's the soft pops of rain hitting the car as it begins to          drizzle, then it comes down hard.          WITHIN THE CAR          RACHEL and JESSE are in front, facing each other, leaning          against the doors as rain streams against the windows.                         RACHEL                         (SITS FORWARD)          I used to know this guy, could suck a          strand of spaghetti through his mouth          and out his nose. He called it Brain          Flossing.          JESSE smiles.                         RACHEL          He had a talent. You. You got          football. It'll get you outta this          place. You can make your own path          after that. Write your own book.                         JESSE          Yeah? Want to come with me?          She smiles. He leans forward. And she pulls away-, afraid,          then decides to let him. They kiss. Then she pulls away.                         JESSE          What?                         HEL          This...          She indicates the gear shift.                         HEL          is poking me right in the ribs.          JE55E's eyes flicker to the back seat.                         RACHEL          Um, I don't know how to say this.                                                                                                              65.                         JESSE          Yeah?                         RACHEL          But I've never...                         JESSE          Oh.                         RACHEL          And, I'd want it to be special. Like          you ring the doorbell, with flowers          in your hand.                         JESSE          Right. So... what's your favorite          flower?                         RACHEL                         (SMILES)          Daisies.          EXT. RACHEL'S HOUSE - NIGHT          in his car. The street's wet, but it's stopped raining.          RACHEL gives him a quick kiss goodnight.                         RACHEL                         SEE YOU--                         JESSE          --later.          She pulls away, exits, closes the door for the--                         CUT TO:          INT. RACHEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT          RASE sleeps fitfully, tangled in her sheets.                         DISSOLVE TO:          EXT. THE WOODS - NIGHT          A massive GOTHIC BED sits incongruously in a clearing.          RACHEL AND JESSE          are making love. She's on top, her hands on his chest.          Their glistening bodies catch the light of a RING OF FLAMES          bursting around the bed.                                                                                                              66.                         RACHEL'S HANDS          suddenly sink into the flesh of JESSE's chest.          She SCREAMS as she tries to extract them,. but strips of his          flesh stick to her like flypaper.          RACHEL twists violently as her torso melds into his.          Their bodies fuse, a grotesque apparition with four legs and          two heads.          Her mouth presses into his as their faces merge.          The ring of fire leaps inward, consuming the bed.          FADE TO WHITE:          SUPER IN BLACK:          T H U R S D A Y                         FADE IN:          EXT. FREAK HALL - MORNING          RACHEL sits, lost in thought. JESSE nears. She stands up.                         JESSE          So, you're coming to the game, right?                         RACHEL          I don't really get football.                         JESSE          C'mon. I need you, for good luck.                         RACHEL          All right. I'll be there.                         JESSE          Good. I have practice today, but I          can pick you up later, seven thirty?                         RACHEL          Sure, go practice. Go be great.          Live the life you want.                         JESSE          What kind of life do you want?                                                                                                              67.                         RACHEL                         (PLAYFUL)          I don't know. I have a hard time          picturing it.                         JESSE          Well if you can't, I'll do it for you.                         RACHEL          What do you mean?                         JESSE          I will predict your future.                         RACHEL          Uh-huh. Can I get a hint?                         JESSE          'm in it.          ON THE PATIO -- are TRACY, MARK and MONICA, watching the.                         TRACY          If he's gonna do it, you know, be seen          talking in public with someone else,          he should show some respect.          (a slow boil)          He should show me the respect, at          least, to be seen with someone pretty.          Someone cool. Someone who counts.          Amy or you, you know, ate.          Instead, it's Its. And I feel...                         MONICA          Disrespected?                         TRACY          That's right. I wish there was          something I could do to make him come          to his senses.          On MARK's face, a slow, insidious grin that seems to spread          into eternity appears.                         TRACY          What?                         MARK          Let's nail the bitch. Plan          a way to screw her like she's          screwing us.          .TRACY, a wicked smile as she nods.                                                                                                              68.          INT. CLASSROOM - DAY          RACHEL watches SUE at the door, speaking to her TEACHER.          SUE points to RACHEL, who looks less than thrilled.          EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY          A dark smudge is spread on the empty parking space where LISA          died. No one parks there anymore.          SUE is escorting RACHEL to her VOLVO.          RACHEL (V.0.)          Where are you taking me?          SUE (V.0.)          There's something you have to see.          EXT. THE WOODS - DAY          A DREAM-LIKE GLIDE past SUE's VOLVO, parked on the roadside,          and through the trees.          SUE (V.0.)          This used to be the school for the          whole district. Chamberlain High.          It was closed down in 1976.          FAST DISSOLVE TO:          EXT. THE OLD GYM - DAY          A burned-out hulk, shrouded in mist.          SUE (V.0.)          There was a fire here that year.          The night of the prom. Seventy-three          people died. A few of us survived.          INT. THE DESTROYED GYM - DAY          Dark; full of exposed wires, metal rods and pipes, countless          empty beer cans. Two mattresses are laid out amid the          debris.          SUE stands on a pile of rubble, next to RACHEL. There's a          haunted look on SUE's face.                         FLASH TO:                                                                                                              69.          GYM - PROM NIGHT, 1976 (STOCK)          STROBING IMAGES of CARRIE WHITE, drenched in pig's blood.          Sounds of horrible SCREAMING.          Flashes of.KIDS stampeding. Burning. Dying.          A fire rages behind CARRIE as she steps off a platform, turns          and looks at us with the face of an avenging angel.          BACK TO.          THE DESTROYED GYM,          present day, as SUE flinches.                         SUE          I haven't really been here in over          twenty years. But it feels like I've          been back here every day since.                         RACHEL          Happy homecoming. Can we go? This          place is spooky. Gives me the creeps.                         SUE          Do you know what happened here?                         RACHEL          You just said. A fire.                         SUE          What caused it?                         RACHEL          They think a boiler blew up, okay?          Am I gonna be graded on this?                         SUE          Come on, you've heard of Carrie White.                         RACHEL          (kicks a can)          Everybody has.                         SUE          And?                         RACHEL                         (SIGHS)          Supposedly, she set the fire, as part                         (MORE)                                                                                                               ! 0.                         RACHEL (CONT'D)          of a revenge-suicide thing. Elvis was          her date and they escaped in a U.F.O.          I know what happened to that          snow dome, on my desk.                         RACHEL                         (BEAT)          It fell.                         SUE          We both saw it.          RACHEL looks at her, isn't going to talk about this.                         SUE          I know everything there is to know          about Carrie White. She did this.          It began with what you did, with          the snow dome. Then it got out          of control.                         RACHEL                         (TURNS)          I'm cold. Let's go.                         SUE          It's a genetic recessive trait. The          male is the carrier, when he combines          with the right female, the trait          surfaces in their offspring, usually          in women. Like King's Disease,          hemophilia.                         RACHEL          What are you saying I have?                         SUE          Its a trait, Rachel, you inherited.          Telekinesis.                         RACHEL          With all respect, lady, you're          seriously bat-shit. I'm walking,          back to the real world.          SUE's voice is low, quiet.                         SUE          Your mother told me your father was          Ralph White. Carrie's father.          It stops RACHEL in her tracks.                                                                                                              71.                         RACHEL          I don't believe you. She never told          me, why would she tell you?                         SUE          You need help--          Like what? Like they helped you?                         SUE          Yes. No.                         RACHEL          So then it's Arkham for me?                         SUE          No. I can help you, get it under          control.                         RACHEL          You want to know what I'm feeling          today? `Happy. Happier than I've          ever been. So I don't want or need          your help.          RACHEL runs off. SUE follows, trips on the rubble, falls.                         SUE          Rachel!          INT. FOOTBALL LOCKER ROOM - DAY          JESSE stands at his locker, dressing. MARK approaches.                         MARK          Hey.          (no response from Jesse)          Just wanted to say two things.          I'm sorry. Maybe I overreacted.                         JESSE          Don't play with me.                         MARK          I'm not. We've been friends since          we could both pee standing up. And I          thought we'd be best friends forever.                         (BEAT)          Never thought some girl could come          between that. Look, I know I'm scum.          I'm lower than scum, I'm smegma, I'm          butt lint.                                                                                                              72.                         JESSE          (smiles in spite of himself)          Keep going.                         MARK          I'm sorry.                         JESSE          I'm not the one you should be          apologizing to.                         MARK          You're right. I'll come up with a way          to make it up, to b of you.          (smiles, full charm)          tryin', brother, I'm tryin'.          INT. DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE - DUSK          Light streams in through the slatted blinds. The young D.A.          is at his desk. MR. STARK, Eric's attorney father, sits          across from him with ERIC. SHERIFF KELTON and COACH WALSH:          also sit in chair's.                         STARK          You're not really thinking of pressing          charges against my son.          D.A.          We're doing more than just thinking.                         WALSH          I need the boy for the game.                         STARK          Robbie, we've known each other a long          time, since you were a Bulldog.                         KELTON          Save it, Lou. Sue Snell told me there          were other girls--                         WALSH          Those kinds of girls know what they're          getting in to. Eric's a good kid, he          may be guilty of some youthful                         TRANSGRESSIONS--                         KELTON          Youthful transgressions? A girl          killed herself.                                                                                                                             73          The door opens and the town's MAYOR walks in, grey-haired,          distinguished, with an air of authority.          D.A.                         (NODS)          Mr. Mayor.                         MAYOR          Sit, everybody, sit, 'm just          listening in.          He leans against the desk, arms folded..                         STARK                         (BEAT)          Okay. Cards on the table. My boy          isn't going down alone then.          D.A.          Go on.                         STARK          He hasn't done anything other boys on          the team haven't done. Eric can even          get proof of it. Mark Bing, Jesse          Ryan, Chuck Potter, Brad Winters.                         (PAUSES)          Now, there will be college scouts at          the game Friday. Eric takes a fall,          I'll make sure they all do. You want          to be responsible for tarnishing all          these boys lives?                         MAYOR          Well. I think that about sums it up.          He looks at the D.A., as if to give him his cue.          D.A.          Robbie, I just don't think I have          enough evidence to ruin this boy's          reputation.                         KELTON                         BUT--          D.A.          That's it, Robbie. That's all.                         MAYOR          Lou, thank you for coming in.          I'll walk you out.                                                                                                              74.          They all stand and shakes hands.          KELTON sits; seething as he realizes the fix was in before          ever entered this room. he          He looks across at ERIC, sitting, a smug look on his face.          EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - DAY          MARK intercepts JESSE as he nears his car.                         MARK          Hey, man, I got it. This girl, this          Rachel, is special to you, huh?                         JESSE          Yeah.          MARK extracts a KEY RING from his jacket, pulls a KEY off.                         MARK          The cabin. My folks aren't there.          Get away from all of us idiots.          Go have a romantic time.          JESSE looks at him. MARK tosses the key, JESSE catches it.          MARK smiles.                         MARK          And bring her to my party. I'll show          you we can be one big, happy family.          EXT. STREET/TRACY'S BMW - DAY          TRACY driving with MONICA as they follow a walking RACHEL.          RACHEL crosses the street.                         MONICA          Finally, she's going into the mall.                         TRACY          (an evil smile)          Perfect. We have the homefield          advantage.          INT. SHOPPING MALL, DEPARTMENT STORE - DAY          The cosmetics department of an upscale store, mirrors on          every counter. A SALESwoMAN sprays perfume samples on          passing shoppers. She pulls up short as she encounters...          RACHEL wandering by, out-of-place in her street urchin wear.          The PERFUME WOMAN watches RACHEL pass.                                                                                                              75.          Stopping at a counter, RACHEL takes in the vast array of          makeup, the models on the displays. She sees a YOUNG COUPLE          go by, very J. Crew, very much in love.          She turns to her own visage reflected in several mirrors on          the counter.                         RACHEL          (under her breath)          You're normal.          At the end of the counter, the PERFUME WOMAN approaches a          SALESWOMAN helping MONICA.                         PERFUME          Karen, watch the girl in black, make          sure she doesn't pocket anything.          MONICA turns around to see...          RACHEL -- staring at a row of-lipsticks. She's startled                         BY-                         SALESWOMAN          Can I help you?                         RACHEL          Uh, just looking.          The woman gives her a smile of devastating insincerity,          crosses her arms and just stands there. RACHEL gets her          drift.          MONICA walks up behind RA                         MONICA          Oh, hi. Karen, this is a friend          of mine from school.          The SALESWOMAN nods, moves away.                         RACHEL          Thought she was gonna frisk me.                         MONICA          She does Step Class with my mom.                         (SMILES)          You should see the scars from her          liposuction.          RACHEL edges way, checking out the lipsticks, but MONICA          trails her.                                                                                                              76.                         MONICA          What are you looking for?                         RACHEL          Nothing. Just lookin'.                         MONICA          Is it perhaps, something to wear on a          date? Perhaps with a certain jock-          hunk we all know?                         RACHEL          (smiles, nervous, nailed)          No.                         MONICA          You know, Tracy isn't universally          loved.                         RACHEL          There's a shock.                         MONICA          Exhibit A. I think she's a Melrose          Place superbitch.          RACHEL cracks a hint of a smile.                         MONICA          You have great lips.                         (BEAT)          No, really. Look, this shade would          look very kissable on you. Soft.          MONICA goes to apply the lipstick on her. RACHEL pulls away.                         MONICA          Trust me. See, Tracy tried to steal          Brad from me. Now hold still.          And RACHEL does.                         MONICA          So, he invite you to the game? Just          nod.          RACHEL nods.                         MONICA          Well, there's a big party after. I          hope you can go. I know it would mean          a lot to Jesse if we all got along.                                                                                                              77.                         RACHEL          Uh-huh.                         MONICA          Good. See?          Checking in a mirror, RACHEL sees she's right.                         MONICA          Here, these two would also rock          on you.          The SALESWOMAN reappears.                         SALESWOMAN          Can I ring those up?                         RACHEL          Um, sure. How much are these?                         SALESWOMAN          Twenty-two fifty. Each.          RACHEL sets the lipsticks down. MONICA smiles at the          SALESWOMAN.                         MONICA          Maybe next time. Bye.          She pulls RACHEL away. As they walk the SALESWOMAN keeps          looking at RACHEL with distaste.                         MONICA          (a conspiratorial smile)          Here, I kleptoed it for you.          She slips RACHEL the lipstick.          INT. RACHEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT          RACHEL before the mirror, applying the lipstick. A P.J.          HARVEY song plays under, slow, insistent, seductive:          P.J. HARVEY          She's burst/ dropped off! picked the          fruit! realize! I'm naked / I'm naked          too./ So cover rrry body/ dress it fine/          hide my linen and lace.          She pulls on a silver, thrift-shop SLIP DRESS, moves a slee ve          to cover her tattoo.                                                                                                              78.          P.J. HARVEY (cont'd)          So fruit flower myself inside out/ I'm          happy and bleeding for you / fruit          flower myself inside out / I'm tired          and bleeding for you...          She slips off her nose stud.          EXT. RACHEL'S HOUSE - NIGHT          JESSE waiting in his car. He looks up --          RACHEL stands under the porch light in her dress. A lanky          gangster girl, with. one leg planted on a step like a cocked          gun. She's bone-chillingly beautiful.          He gets out, opens the car door for her.                         JESSE          What happened to that little thing you          wear, that, uh...          He gestures to hib'nose, indicating her stud.                         RACHEL          Took it off.                         JESSE          Too bad. I like it. It's different.          RACHEL looks at the car seat. On it are DAISIES.                         JESSE                         (SMILES)          Just, you know, throw'em in the back.          EXT. A CABIN - NIGHT          A small cabin in the woods. Fire light in the window.          JESSE's CAR is parked in t;^.e gravel alongside.          INT. THE CABIN - NIGHT          JESSE is stoking a fire in the fireplace. There's a MOOSE          HEAD TROPHY on the wall. RACHEL's sitting on a bed, draped          with a chenille spread.                         JESSE          It was nice of mark to lend us the          place. He's really tryin' to make          peace. Invited .s to his party. But          we won't go if y;,u,d be uncomfortable.                                                                                                              79.          He moves to the bed.                         RACHEL          No. Let's go.                         JESSE          Great.          (looks at her)          What's wrong?                         RACHEL          I feel like.., we're being watched.          She looks up at the MOOSE HEAD's MARBLE EYES, reflecting          firelight. JESSE drapes his jacket over the MOOSE HEAD.                         JESSE          Sorry, Bullwinkle, lights out.          (sits on the bed)          Feel better?                         RACHEL          Feel scared.                         JESSE          Funny. He too.,          He leans in to her. She backs away, like a skittish doe.                         RACHEL          I'm sorry, I just feel... weird.          I don't know. Oh, wow, I am really          losing my mind here.                         JESSE          It's okay. Rachel, it's okay. It          doesn't have to be tonight. Whenever          you're ready. And, hey, you know          what, you're the sanest person I know.          And that's exactly what she needed to hear. She cups the          back of his neck and pulls his lips to hers. They kiss; a          deep, healing kiss.                         HER HAND          brushes aside one of the straps to her dress,, which slips off          her shoulder.          JESSE tenderly runs his hand over her HEART-THORN TATTOO.          FADE TO BLACK /FADE IN:                                                                                                              80.          CLOSEUPS OF RACHEL AND JESSE          in the bed, making love. Firelight playing over their skin.          It's beautiful. what we all wanted our first time to be.          They move slowly, as if all the pain in the world could be          erased, ÔøΩf only they could become one. JESSE watches RACHEL          Her face open, vulnerable.          FADE TO BLACK/FADE IN:                         RACHEL ASLEEP          seems peaceful, holding on to JESSE like a child, they're          covered by the chenille spread. Their sweat clings to them          like the softest of prisons. He's awake, studying her. He          gently runs his fingertips across her brow.                         E                         (SOFTLY)          I love you.          off them and across the floor.          TO FIND a MI on the floor, hidden behind a chair.          FOLLOW the MICROPHONE CORD to a closed WINDOW where it snakes          out.          There's the gaping lens of a VIDEO CAMERA visible in the          corner of the window. Its RED recording light on.          DIVE into the black lens, and...          FADE TO BLACK:          A SUPER - BLOOD RED:          F R D A Y          FADE IN TO:          INT. RACHEL'S BEDROOM - MORNING          And the round BLACK PUPIL of WALTER'S EYE.          He lays on the bed watching'RACHEL sneaking in through her          window. trying to be mouse quiet. She gets safely inside          when her bedroom door opens.          BOYD stands in the doorway. She's busted.                                                                                                              8l.                         BOYD          You were out all night.          RACHEL nods, defiantly. He walks over to her and, without          warning, slaps her.                         BOYD          You're grounded. No school today.          You don't move from this room.          He turns on his heel, walks out. The dog looks as stricken          as she does.          A SERIES OF DISSOLVES:          Of RACHEL in her bedroom, as the day passes.          The sun moves across the floor as a ghostly RACHEL and her          dog FADE IN-AND-OUT around the room. She lays in bed,          staring at the ceiling. Paces her room like a prisoner.          FINALLY -- It's nightfall.          RACHEL slips out her window.          EXT. ARKHAM STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL          And it looks even spookier at night.          INT. STATE HOSPITAL, VISITING AREA - NIGHT          Dimly lit as SUE SNELL sits with                         SUE          Rachel needs help. She doesn't          believe me and I'm afraid for her.          I want you to tell her who her          father was.          Why?                         SUE          She'll believe it from your lips.          Mrs. Lang, I really need your help,          before it's too late. I can take you          to her. Will you help me?          BARBARA slowly nods, yes.                                                                                                              ¬£2.          EXT. FOOTBALL STADIUM, STANDS - NIGHT          The entire town has showed for this traditional rivalry and          there's Bulldog paraphernalia galore. RACHEL appears in the          stands, looking a bit lost. Down front sit MONICA and AMY.          On the field are TRACY and her fellow CHEERLEADERS.          MONICA nudges AMY and waves to                         MONICA          Rachel, Rach, over here.          Hey. Grab a seat.          Looking around, RACHEL sees she's surrounded by Patio People.                         RACHEL          Thanks, but...                         MONICA          Oh, please, you're.not gonna sit by          your lonesome. There's plenty of room,          if Amy;here slides her bubble butt.                         AMY                         (DRY)          Very witty, Ms. Bulimia.          But she moves over. RACHEL tentatively sits.          INT. FOOTBALL LOCKER ROOM - NIGHT          JESSE enters, mounds of hair are at his feet. He looks up.          MARK and most of the BULLDOGS have shaved their heads and are          working on the last players. They turn to him in unison.          CHUCK grins, runs his hand over his scalp.                         CHUCK          We did it for the big game.                         MARK          C'mon, Jess, you're up.          JESSE stares in horror at how identical they all look now.          Then he starts to... giggle, then breaks into laughter, turns          and walks away.                         A P-ALN          Man, he'll ruin the whole effect.                                                                                                              83.          EXT. THE STANDS - NIGHT          MONICA and RACHEL.                         MONICA          No, no, it's an extra point when          you score the kick after the touchdown.          A safety is when you get tackled with          the ball in your own end zone.                         RACHEL          Thought that was a bunt.          What?                         RACHEL          I'm kidding, I'm kidding.                         MONICA          Okay, listen. Here's what Brad told me          to say, doesn't matter if something good          or bad happens, just say "You. gotta be          fuckin' kiddin' mel" No matter what,          just say that. It'll sound like you know          what's going on.          INT. STADIUM TUNNEL - NIGHT          JESSE and the team move through a dark tunnel and onto...          THE FOOTBALL FIELD          with all the pageantry and sheer rush of a hometown crowd.          The school band plays like they're going to bust a gut.          Hysteria and bloodlust fill the air as the crowd starts a          barking chant.                         JESSE          on the sideline bench. He scans the crowd behind him,          sees.          A NOTRE DAME SCOUT, wearing a "Fighting Irish jacket, toting          a clipboard.          JESSE then spots RACHEL in the stands, gives her a reassuring          grin. She glances at the SCOUT, smiles back at JESSE.          TRACY sees them, is none too happy.          SLOW MOTION -- A whistle sounds as a FOOTBALL is kicked to          start the game. The BALL spins end over end until...                                                                                                              84.          It's caught by a BULLDOG receiver who starts his return, then          is popped hard and FUMBLES. An OPPOSING PLAYER leaps onto          the ball on the muddy quagmire of a field.          n the stands...          RACHEL, MONICA, AMY          (in accidental unison)          You gotta be fuckin' kiddie' me!          They turn to each other, burst into laughter.          MONTAGE -- of the punishing game. Epic warfare with          grunting, spitting and cursing as LINEMAN butt heads and.          -- A CARLIN RUNNING BACK steamrolls through the BULLDOGS for          a touchdown.          -- RACHEL, MONICA and AMY do their You gotta be fuckin'          kiddin' me routine.          JESSE catches a pass, and is immediately slammed hard          CARLIN PLAYER.          RACHEL looks like she's been kicked in the gut.                         RACHEL          Do they have to hit him that hard?                         MONICA          Amy, Rachel's worried about Jesse.                         AMY          Don't worry, i always looks worse          than it really                         CUT TO:          TRACY and the other CHEERLEADERS leading a cheer as...          JESSE glances at the sideline, where the NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL          SCOUT watches him, writing notes on his clipboard.          THE HALF-TIME SCOREBOARD and the BULLDOGS trail 7-          On the sideline, MARK SMASHES his helmet to the ground.          INT. ARKHAM STATE MENTAL HOSPITAL - NIGHT          mpatient SUE sits before an exhausted DOCTOR NELSON.                                                                                                              85.                         DOCTOR          Well... I understand you need to take          out Mrs. Lang, to do a drug-abuse          intervention with her daughter. But          while she's doing well, her condition          may be fragile.                         (BEAT)          In good conscience, I could only          release her in your custody for          two hours.                         0          Thank you.          SUE jumps to her feet to leave.                         DOCTOR          Hold on. You have a bunch of release          forms to sign. I'll go get them.          On SUE, sitting, knowing she-may be running out of time.          EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD - NIGHT          The BULLDOGS prove their worth with brutal play as they cream          the CARLIN QUARTERBACK for a big loss.          THE FOURTH QUARTER SCOREBOARD -- the BULLDOGS trail 7-3.          RACHEL sees...          The Notre Dame FOOTBALL SCOUT writing notes as he watches...          JESSE cutting across the middle of the field.          He catches a pass, but two DEFENSIVE BACKS converge on him          and he gets bone-jarringly plastered.          JESSE hits the ground with such force his helmet flies off.          For a moment, it looks like he's been decapitated.                         RACHEL                         (STANDS)          Jess!          THE HOMETOWN CROWD rises to their feet as...          JESSE stays down, hurt.                         RACHEL          Oh, no.          RACHEL strains to see him as the team circles around JESSE.                                                                                                              86.          FOUR PHOTOGRAPHERS rush along the sideline to snap shots,          their cameras flashing.          JESSE sits up, stands, shakes his head to clear it as he jogs          to the sideline.                         RACHEL          Thank, God. He's okay.                         CUT TO :          THE SCOREBOARD CLOCK -- loudly TICKING from 0:09 to 0:07.          JESSE -- running. He looks up to...          THE NIGHT SKY -- A FOOTBALL silently arches up, spinning an          achingly beautiful spiral in SLOW MOTION.          THE SCOREBOARD CLOCK -- a booming TICK from 0:05 to 0:04.          JESSE makes a spectacular one-handed catch on the run,          streaking along the sideline.          Ahead of him, a monstrous CARLIN LINEBACKER closes in on him          with murder in his eyes.                         RA          Look out !          THE LINEBACKER'S P.O.V. --          All the PHOTOGRAPHERS on the sideline have their CAM g          FLASHES flare in unison, without their snapping them!          The blinded LINEBACKER plows into the SIDELINE PHOTOGRAPHER          JESSE scores a touchdown.          And the CROWD goes berserk as the BULLDOGS throw their          helmets in the air.                         MONICA                         (STUNNED)          You gotta be... wow.          RACHEL stands there, open-mouthed, relieved, but unsure if          she had anything to do with what just happened.          INT. LOCKER ROOM - NIGHT          The Bulldogs are still whooping it up as COACH WALSH          approaches JESSE.                                                                                                              87.                         WALSH          Ryan, Notre Dame scout's-here,          wants to talk to you first.          JESSE nods, turns to BRAD.                         JESSE          Brad, can you tell Rachel I'll be          out soon? Have her wait for me.          INT. STADIUM CORRIDOR - N          RACHEL and MONICA stand in the hoard waiting for the players.          TRACY passes, soggy, muddy, yet still radiating a cool          confidence in her beauty. She gives RACHEL, a shark's smile.          BRAD exits the locker room, goes to RACHEL's side.                         BRAD          It's gonna be a while, Jess is talkin'          to the scout, he said for you to go          ahead to the party.                         MONICA                         (WARMLY)          Rachel, did you hear that, Jesse's          talking to the scout, isn't that great?                         RACHEL          Yeah.                         MONICA          C'mon, I'll give you a ride to Mark's.          EXT. RACHEL'S HOUSE - NIGHT          SUE drives up with BARBARA to RACHEL's tiny, run-down house.                         BARBARA          No, this couldn't be it. Rachel said          it was a real nice house, surrounded          by trees, with a pool in the back.                         SUE          I guess she didn't want to worry you.          INT. RACHEL' BEDROOM - NIGHT          The bedroom door is opened by EMILYN. SUE and BARBARA stand          behind her.          They find WALTER, alone on the bed, blinking awake.                                                                                                              88.          MARK BING'S HOUSE - NIGHT          An upper-class home built in the international style of          fieldstone and gray-stained wood. The house is set back from          the road, surrounded by trees, with a pool in the back.          A herd of parked cars and throbbing music indicate MARK's          party is at full tilt.          INT. MARK BING'S HOUSE - NIGHT          CLOSE ON -- a 36-INCH TV playing psychedelic music videos and          Japanese anima.          WIDEN -- to reveal a DANCING'CROWD in a dimly lit, split-          level living room with exposed wooden beams.          There's a large, roaring fireplace and a Jackson Pollock          splatter PAINTING hangs opposite. Sliding glass doors          overlook the backyard patio and swimming pool.          CHUCK cuts through, sees someone jostle a table lamp.                         CHUCK          Careful! Don't break anything, or          Mark'll have my head on,a plate.          EXT. MARK'S HOUSE - NIGHT          MONICA leads RACHEL up the walkway to the front door where a          BEEFY BOY plays doorman. ARNIE and two geeky YOUNGER BOYS          mill outside the door, trying their damndest to look cool.                         ARNIE          Hey, Monica, can ya get us into the          party?                         MONICA          Sure, Arnie, wait here. I'll come          back for ya.. .          And she waltzes past him.                         MONICA (CONT'D)          . in two or three years.          ARNIE points at a passing RACHEL.                         APISI E          How come she gets to go in?                                                                                                                             MONICA          (rais6s a toast)          To new friends.          They raise their glasses and RACHEL joins in with a hesitant          smile. Their glasses clink together for the...                         CUT TO:          EXT. STADIUM PARKING LOT - NIGHT          JESSE crosses the near empty lot, hair wet from his shower.          He stops dead.                         JESSE          Damn it.          Under a pool of lamplight -- HIS CAR has had its tires          slashed and someone has sprayed in red Carlin uies!‚ñ           across the door.          TRACY pulls up in. her BMW, wearing her cheerleading outfit.                         TRACY          Oh, wow, that sucks. Further proof          Carlin guys are gravy sucking pigs.                         JESSE          Yeah.                         TRACY          Need a ride?                         JESSE          You goin' to Mark's?                         TRACY          Wouldn't miss it. Hop in.          As he gets into her car, TRACY has one hand on the wheel, the          other hanging out her window. She drops something as JESSE          closes the door.          REVEAL a CAN of red spray paint TRACY dropped onto the          parking lot's tarmac.                         TRACY          Just a quick stop at my house,          want to change my outfit.          Her car pulls off...          WIPING THE FRAME TO,                                                                                                              91.          INT. MARK'S HOUSE - NIGHT          RACHEL and MONICA chat with AMY and two other PATIO GIRLS.          AMY takes RACHEL 's hand.                         AMY          I really like your nail color.                         MONICA          Check out the tattoo on her arm          wild huh?                         AMY          Yeah. Did that hurt?                         RACHEL          No. Well, yeah, actually some.                         AMY          Oh, it's just too cool.                         MONICA          I'm dying to get one, but my mom          would have a shit fit.                         AMY          So would mine. She says I'm not          that type of gi rl.                         RACHEL          What type is that?          There's an awkward pause which MONICA breaks.                         MONICA          A slut.          (throws an arm around Rachel)          That's why you should take all          of us in for tattoos!          AMY and the other GIRLS laugh. RACHEL softens, joining in.          She looks around at everyone at the party, laughing, dancing.          The shiny, happy people. it feels weird, but here she is.          She smiles, takes a sip of her drink.          By the stereo, MARK cranks up the music as CHUCK dances over          to AMY, pulls her into the dancing CROWD. BRAD grabs MONICA.                         BRAD          C'mon, wench, let's dance.          He pulls MONICA into the crowd, and she gestures for RACHEL          to join them.                                                                                                              92.                         RACHEL          No, I'd rather wait for Jesse.                         MONICA          Oh, c'mon, Rachel. He'd want you          to have fun.                         AMY          Yeah, c'mon, Rach.          There's a chorus of "C'mon, Rachel" from the guys and some of          the other DANCERS join in. An embarrassed RACHEL surrenders,          sets down her drink and enters the dancing group.                         MONICA          All right, girl.          RACHEL smiles. BRAD starts dancing before RACHEL.          SLOW MOTION -- CLOSE on RACHEL's face, dancing, beaming. For          a few moments, everything seems perfect. And she throws her          head back and laughs.          MARK dances into the group.                         MARK          Hey, Chuckzilla, why don't you          put on the highlights tape?                         CHUCK          You mean tonight's game?          MARK shares a laugh and a glance with MONICA and B                         MARK          Yeah, tonight's game.                         CHUCK          Okay. Let's go to the videotape:          He dances out of the group over to the VCR where he pops out          a tape and inserts a tape marked "Bulldogs Highlights".          RACHEL turns around, sees the large screen TV PLAYING images          of the Bulldogs playing football.                         RACHEL          Is that tonight's game?                         MARK          No, it's the other game.          Still dancing, she turns back to the group.                                                                                                              93.                         RACHEL          What other game?                         MARK          The game you were in.          The others laugh. She smiles, confused.                         RACHEL          What?                         BRAD          The one you played.                         MARK          Yeah, yeah, what was the score?          Chuckie, pass me the scoreboard,          I wanna show Rachel how she helped          Jesse win the game.          CHUCK pulls the BLACK NOTEBOOK next to the CD's off a shelf,          pretends he's a quarterback hiking a ball.          Twenty-four, twenty-six, hut, hut,          hut.          He drops back to pass the NOTEBOOK.                         CHUCK          Go long, Bradzilla.          MARK laughs as BRAD circles around RACHEL, twists between          other dancers. CHUCK tosses the NOTEBOOK over RACHEL and          BRAD leaps up to catch it.                         BRAD          Post-pattern, Mark!          Ducking around DANCERS, MARK raises his hands for the pass.          KIDS start to notice their antics and start laughing.          BRAD passes the book over to MARK who catches it, mimes          spiking it for a touchdown and does a silly victory dance.          MONICA laughs and turns to RACHEL, who laughs, even though          she still looks a bit befuddled.                         MARK          Rachel, catch!          He throws the NOTEBOOK through the air, where it tumbles end          over end for a few slow beats, then is caught by her.                                                                                                              94.          BEHIND RACHEL --           THE TV SET -- keeps playing football highlights, but suddenly          there's an almost subliminal --          FLASH of TWO INTERTWINED BODIES.          RACHEL holds the NOTEBOOK, unsure of what to do with it. The          boys are a little out of breath, but still grinning and          dancing.                         MARK          Open it. Go 'head, read off the          scores.                         BRAD          Start with Eric.                         CHUCK          Yeah, start with poor Eric.          She opens the book, looks at the pages with a quizzical          expression. She sees the Bulldog names across the top of the          page with lists of girls beneath each one. Every girl has a          number next to her with a total at the bottom.                         MARK          What's Eric's score?                         RACHEL          Twenty-two?          RACHEL stops dancing as she spots LISA PARKER's name at the          bottom of ERIC's column with the number four next to it.                         MARK          What's up, Rach? You know someone on          that list?                         RACHEL          (under her breath)          Lisa.                         MARK          Oh, yeah, Lisa, forgot about her.                         CHUCK          How many points was she?                         BRAD          Four. But maybe he shoulda lost          those when she offed herself.                                                                                                              95.                         MARK          Rach, look under Jesses's name, how          many points you get?                         MONICA                         (CHEERLEADING)          Two, four, six, eight--                         AMY          Who do we appreciate!          RACHEL looks down JESSES's column sees-her name with thirty          points next to it, then, above hers, sees TRACY with ten.                         MARK          No, more than that, remember, we          thought Rach was a dyke. He got          extra-points for the conversion.                         BRAD          points?          Try thirty.          RACHEL stares at the book, stunned, trying to make sense of          it.                         MONICA          Look at her face, this is priceless.          At the front door, JESSE walks in, TRACY behind him. He          looks around, hasn't seen what's going on yet. ERIC          intercepts him, turning JESSE away from the TV.                         ERIC          Hey, man, what did the scout say?          Behind Rte...          THE TV SET -- between shots of players grunting, tackling          and smashing into each other, longer and longer segments          appear of...          A COUPLE MAKING LOVE --          from the waist up, with thick scan lines that almost make it          look surreal. It's obvious that the girl is RACHEL, and the          boy is JESSE.          DANCING KIDS notice what's on the TV and start to point and          laugh at the set. RACHEL is completely unaware of what's          going on behind her.                                                                                                                             9                         MARK          See, we didn't think Jess could do i          so he offered to get evidence, proof          that he'd scored you.                         MONICA          Here comes Jesse's big play!                         MARK          Lookie, lookie, Rachel.          RACHEL realizes people are watching something behind her,          then laughing at her. She turns and sees...          The IMAGES of her and JESSE on the TV.          Her face goes slack with horror.                         RACHEL          Oh, God          MARK leans in to RACHEL, who hasn't noticed JESSE.                         MARK          Jess was disappointed with the picture          quality, but I told him it was better          than Pam and Tommy Lee's tape.                         CK          Rach, was it good for you too?          Sure looks like it, don't it?                         MARK          Why don't we ask Jesse?          He turns and calls out.                         MARK (CONT'D)          Hey, Jesse! Over here!          JESSE looks over and his eyes meet RACHEL's, but she just          stares back, horrified. Then he sees the TV set behind her                         JESSE          What...          JESSE pushes his way through the crowd, trying to get to          RACHEL. TRACY throws an arm around him, kisses his neck.                         TRACY          He told me he was thinking of me          when he fucked you.                                                                                                              97.          Seeing MARK laughing, JESSE realizes what's going on.                         JESSE          Rachel...          He tries to shrug off TRACY, but ERIC and CHUCK grab his arms          and pull him back into the crowd.                         JESSE          Rachel!          MARK pushes RACHEL towards BRAD.                         MARK          Rachel! Rachel!          She tries to get away, but BRAD pushes her into MONICA who          shoves her to AMY as they join in the chanting.          Rachel!                         MONICA          Rachel!          Rachel!          Drowning out JESSE's cries.          RACHEL's P.Q.V. -- spinning around. A NIGHTMARISH GALLERY of          dancing, jostling torsos, TWISTED FACES and LAUGHING MOUTHS,          smirking and pointing at her.                         INTERCUT WITH:                         FAST CLOSE-UPS          of RACHEL and JESSE making love. The assault of music,          chanting and images crescendo with...          BRAD grabbing RACHEL's bare arm below her HEART-THORN TATTOO          forcing her to face the TV screen.                         BRAD          Hey, is that a zit on your ass?          RACHEL has tears streaming down her face for the first time          since she was four years old.          She bows her head.                                                                                                              98.          A LAUGHING BRAD          glances down at RACHEL's arm.          The THORN VINE around the HEART TATTOO looks bigger, edging          up her arm.          He looks away, shares a laugh with MARK, looks back and...          THE HEART TATTOO          on RACHEL's upper arm is growing, etched from within, the          thorn covered vine snaking like a tendril up her arm.                         BRAD          Holy shit.          He releases her.          RACHEL raises her head, eyes glowing with pain and rage, her          broken heart turned to stone.,          The delicate THORN VINE has grown across her chin, cheekbone          and forehead, swirling around to end on her other cheek.          A stunned BRAD backs away from her.          JESSE breaks free of ERIC's grip, slugs CHUCK and pushes his          way towards RACHEL.          Her HEART POUNDS at an alarming rate as she slowly turns and          sees JESSE coming at her, his arms out to take her in his          embrace.                         A KNIFE          on the bar dances and rattles, then...          A WHIP PAN finds...          JESSE, as his back arches in pain and he screams. The KNIFE          embedded in his open palm, nailing his hand to the wall.          MARK and the other boys stare in shock.                         MARK          What the fuck?          ON JESSE -- as he screams again.          A CORKSCREW has pierced his other hand, at waist level. The          SCREW spins around, burrowing into his flesh.                                                                                                              99.          Everyone on that side of the room stops dead, taking in the          bizarre sight.          RACHEL straightens up and...          The kitchen door CLOSES...          The glass doors to the back yard slide SHUT...          The front door SLAMS.                         TRACY                         (LOOKING AROUND)          What's going on Mark?          I dunno.          The floor starts to shake like a small earthquake. All the          PARTYGOERS go still, looking around at each other. The room          is frozen, even though the music keeps pounding.          MARK looks at RACHEL, her disheveled hair partially obscures          her features, but her eyes are glowing.          THE GLASS WINDOWS          surrounding the room, begin to RATTLE, then CRACK in a spider-          web pattern. Then...          THE WINDOWS BURST inward.          FOLLOW the deadly hail of shards as they cut through the          CROWD.          FROM ABOVE -- The outer edge of the CROWD are mowed down as          if by a machine gun and...          A WHIP PAN -- Finds a BOY impaled by a large, jagged shard.                         TWISTED SHADOWS          are splayed across a wall of KIDS falling to the ground. The          hard-edged music keeps playing while...          CHUCK's decapitated head rolls across the floor and onto...          A plate.          The BEEFY BOY spins around, clutcning at a shard protruding          from his neck, his carotid artery spewing blood like a lawn          sprinkler.                                                                                                              100.          On a GIRL as his blood sprays across her face and...          The BOY turns, arcing blood across...          The Jackson Pollock PAINTING, which blends into the multi-          colored canvas.          Reeling into the stereo, the BOY scatters CDs everywhere.          On RACHEL, clothes spattered red, tears streaming down her          cheeks.          TRACY straightens up, having been protected by MONICA, who`s          screaming, her face a lacerated pulp with glass, shards          sticking out of it like a pincushion.          Surviving PARTYGOERS panic as they struggle to their feet and          try to flee, stampeding over each other.          , TRACY, ERIC and BRAD shove their way through the crowd.          EXT. MARK'S HOUSE - NIGHT          As SUE and BAR.BA k leap from the Volvo.. SUE hears the          screams from within the house, takes in the shattered          windows.                         SUE BARBARA          Oh, not Rachel!          They race to the door as...          WITHIN THE HOUSE          BRAD runs to the front door.          An IRON FIREPLACE POKER lifts up one end, then flies like a          javelin towards BRAD's back as...          DOOR - N          BARBARA and SUE approach the door when the end of the          bursts from the center of it, nearly spearing a surprised          BARBARA in the face as it sticks out about a foot.          She jerks back, then pushes the door open with an effort.          WITHIN THE HOUSE --          They enter and freeze as the door slams shut behind them,          revealing a dead BRAD speared through the throat, pinned to          the door.                                                                                                              101.          Oai, my god. Where's Rachel?          They see JESSE, then RACHEL covered in tattoos.          A panicked itMY smashes into BARBARA, then runs toward a          window.          RACHEL sees AMY and her eyes narrow...          MUSIC CDs fly off a shelf and...          Spin through the air at high velocity.          One of the deadly frisbees buries itself in AMY's back,          spinning her around. More CDs embed in her stomach, chest          and throat.          MARK and ERIC smash their way through the chaos as MARK's          eyes flash from a collapsing AMY to RACHEL                         MARK          God, it'ls her! She's doing it!          SUE moves towards RACHEL.                         SUE          Stop! Stop it!          RACHEL has her gaze locked on...          MARK, who realizes he's a dead man. He moves toward a          shattered window, through which some PEOPLE escape.          But RACHEL turns her head slightly and...          A TELEKINETIC PULSE travels across the row of LIQUOR BOTTLES          at the bar, exploding them one-by-one, spraying alcohol which          douses SUE.          A FLAMING LOG erupts from the fireplace...          Striking the alcohol-drenched BAR, setting a blazing trail          and lighting the curtains on fire, creating a wall of FLAMES          before the windows.                         SUE          Stop it! You don't want to--           And RACHEL snaps her head around, launching another LOG from           the fireplace which strikes SUE in the back, whose alcohol          drenched clothes catch flames... and she , A.                                                                                                              102.          A screaming SUE pitches forward, rolls on the floor to put          out the flames, but caly succeeds in lighting another trail          of liquor which creates a barrier to the backyard windows.          In the eye of the storm is BARBARA, shaking her head in          denial, muttering, as her mental state rapidly deteriorates.                         BARBARA          No, this isn't happening. It isn't          happening, isn't happening...          MARK pulls ERIC by the shirt collar and they careen down...                         A HALLWAY          where each of the DOORS ahead of them SLAM SHUT as they          approach.          Utter CHAOS, but RACHEL calmly turns into the hallway,          following MARK, as if in a trance.                         I                         MARK          lowers his shoulder, crashes through a closing door into.                         A DEN          where the walls are decorated with deer heads and hunting          trophies. MARK and ERIC are smashing a standing glass case          containing pistols and rifles.          TRACY leans panting against the wall.          MARK slips a HANDGUN into his belt.                         TRACY          Screw that, get the shotguns!          Shaking, freaked out, they gather weapons.                         THE HALL          d ERIC see RACHEL the end of the hall, silhouetted          from behind. They take off in the other direction, TRACY          bringing up the re          Barrelling shoulders first into a door, the boys burst          through and into...                                                                                                              103.          EXT‚Ä¢ THE BACK YARD - NIGHT          Where they almost stumble into the swimming pool.          Toting their rifles, MARK, ERIC and TRACY turn to find          RACHEL, at a gunfighter's distance, coming towards them.          TRACY and BRAD cock their weapons and bring them to their          shoulders. TRACY slips on her glasses.                         MARK          Wait till she's closer.          TRACY tightens her finger on the trigger.          RACHEL's eyes narrow and...          TRACY's glasses shatter into her eyes, spewing blood          milky fluid.          Aaaaa...          She staggers, fires her shotgun into ERIC's groin and he          lands sitting next to the pool. A dying ERIC stares at his          shredded lap, then falls over.          MARK looks at his dead friend.          Oh, shit.          .recovers, and swings his aim back at RACHEL. But his          rifle goes sailing over his head and into the grass twenty          feet behind him.          He makes eye-contact with a grim RACHEL advancing toward him,          and hauls ass.          RACHEL glances at a coiled GARDEN HOSE and it springs to          life, slithering through the grass and across the concrete at          high speed to wrap around MARK's ankle and trip him up.          He hits the ground hard and rolls over to find the hose          twisting around his legs and up his waist like a python.                         HIS HAND          grasps for the rifle, but falls short as the hose pins his          other arm to his side, then curls around his windpipe in a          stranglehold.                                                                                                              104.          His eyes widen as the life is squeezed from him and he sees          RACHEL standing over him.          He gropes for the shotgun again... and finally grabs it.          RACHEL looks at the rifle and it flies from his hold,          splashing into the pool.          But she jolts on two...                         GUNSHOTS          RACHEL looks down. MARK had pulled the handgun from his belt          with his pinned hand and fired.          She's holding her belly, gutshot, staggers and falls into the          pool, disappearing amid a swirl of blood.          MARK yanks the hose from his neck as it goes slack. He          gasps, points the gun into the pool and FIRES until it's          silent and he's left pulling the trigger on empty chambers.          He gets his breatking under control, leans over to look into          the water of the deep end. He Aar on the sound of a          mechanical whirring, and turns.          A POOL COVER starts to unfold.          At that moment...          RACHEL'S BLOODY ARM          bursts from the water and grips his neck. MARK grabs her          forearm as her other arm yanks him into the pool.                         UNDERWATER --          As RACHEL drags MARK down, he kicks and pummels her, but she          holds on. The POOL COVER steadily closes over them, shutting          out the light from above.          MARK finally frees himself and lunges for the surface, but          the POOL COVER blocks his escape.          He desperately pushes at it, eyes bulging, lungs burning, as          his feet kick to keep him afloat.          ON THE SURFACE --          The POOL COYER closing as RACHEI, hauls herself from the          water, barely making it out. MARK'S HAND, grabs her leg,          slides, then clutches at the edge of the pool. His fingers          slip under as the cover completely shuts.                                                                                                              105.          M RX's head bulges the POOL COVER, then his hands punch          feebly at it a few times. Then... nothing.          BARBARA (O.S.)          Rachel!          A weakened RACHEL lays by the pool. She seems to be snapping          out of her trance as she rolls over and sees BARBARA.          RACHEL shudders and suddenly just looks like a wet, scared          little girl reaching for her mother.                         RACHEL          Mama. Maury?          BARBARA'S P.O.V. o          but it's a FOUR-YEAR-OLD RACHEL, pristine, without tattoos.          BARBARA blinks and her P.O.V. is of a TEN-YEAR-OLD RACHEL,          reaching for her.          Mama, please.          BARBARA blinks and it's now...          The 17-YEAR-OLD RACHEL, covered in blood and tattoos.          She looks her daughter in the eyes, backs away in terror.                         BARBARA          What are you? You're not my little          girl. No. The devil's in you.                         RACHEL                         (CRYING)          Don't leave me, mama.          But her mother disappears into the shadows.                         RACHEL          Please, I don't have... anyone.          She rolls onto her back, looks up at the STARRY NIGHT.                         RACHEL          Please, God, let me die...          And she tightly shuts her eyes.          DISSOLVE BACK TO:                                                                                                              106.          THE LIVING ROOM          A vision of hell -- crimson-stained walls and piled bodies.          The fire is spreading, licking its way across the burning          SCOREBOARD NOTEBOOK, and along the floor toward...          JESSE, in pain, still pinned to the wall. He raises his head          and starts in fear as...          o the center of the room, facing him.          He sees the gunshot wounds in her stomach, then follows her          gaze to...          THE TV SET          with a cracked screen, but still playing the tape of their          intimate moment at the cabin, with a sleeping RACHEL laying                         ON JESS          He looks back at her.                         JESSE          Rachel, listen. I swear, d          know they were taping us. d          never hurt you.          She looks at his pleading eyes.                         JESSE                         I LOVE--          The TV SET now has the video footage of...          INT. THE CABIN - NIGHT          JESSE looks at RACHEL clinging to him, asleep, peaceful. He          gently runs his fingers across her brow.                         JESSE                         (SOFTLY)          I love you .          And oulls her closer.          HACK TO -- -          RACHEL staring at the TV. And the VCR rewinds and replays..          ON TV -- the moment of JESSE saying 'I love you" to her while          she was asleep.                                                                                                              107.          RACHEL falls to her knees, tears running down her face. She          turns back to JESSE, amazed.          A BLAZING CHUNK of ceiling falls near her.                         JESSE                         (COUGHS)          Rachel. Gat out, now. Go.          And the KNIFE and the CORKSCREW drop away, releasing him.          He falls to the floor, drags himself over... and takes RACHEL          in his arms. He cradles her. She whispers and he bends over          to hear. She whispers again...                         RACHEL          .love you.          JESSE tenderly kisses her lips.          And all the TATTOOS fade from her face and body          Love.          Her face is serene.          JESSE traces his fingers across her brow, embraces her, the          flames start to encircle them, just like in RACHEL's          nightmare.          JESSE pulls RACHEL over the debris ridden floor toward the          back windows, but stumbles and goes down. Her eyes flutter          open.                         RACHEL          Leave. Get out          Instead of leaving her, JESSE hugs RACHEL closer. The sleeve          of his jacket catches flames. And he accepts his fate.          RACHEL shuts her eyes, gives one last TELEKINETIC PUSH...          EXT. THE BACKYARD - NIGHT          And a BODY is flung out the back window like a rag doll,          clothes in flames.          The BODY goes fifteen feet and falls onto the pool cover, its          weight bowing the cover enough for water to rush over it.                         BACK T0:                                                                                                              108.          INT‚Ä¢ THE LIVING ROOM - NIGHT          RACHEL on her back, looking up, eyes open, a slight smile on          her lips.          SHE SEES --          The BURNING CEILING collapse, raining death on her.          EXT. THE HOUSE - NIGHT          .is now a burning inferno. A funeral pyre.          BACK YARD - THE POOL          At water level. All is quiet, there's only the sounds of the          crackling fire and faraway sirens of firetrucks. Suddenly --          JESSE HURTS up on the --                         CUT TO:          EXT. THE HILL - NIGHT          From miles away -- the LIGHT given off by the BURNING HOUSE          rises over the treeline.                         CLOSE ON          A dejected ARNIE and the two uncool BOYS who couldn't get          into the party, leaning against a van, staring in amazement.                         ARNIE          Man, we are missing one killer party.          FADE TO BLACK:          And the peaceful sound of CRICKETS for the...          SUP : NOTRE DAMS' LINIVER.STTY - QNE YEAR LATER          FAD; IN TO:          EXT. NOTRE DAM UNIVERSITY - NIGHT          A CHURCH TOWER with a BELL overlooks the student dorm          buildings. The darkened campus is tranquil, still.          INT. HALLWAY, STUDENT DORM BUILDING - NIGHT          MOVING down a. dormitory hall. The room doors feature rock          posters and "Fighting Irish" stickers and pennants.                                                                                                              109.          INT. DORM ROOM - NIGHT          JESSE is slumped over, asleep on a desk layered in textbooks          and a notebook. An all-night study session.          His hair is shor., he's wearing a beard. His face is more          mature, sadder. The beard largely hides some burn scars on          one side of his face.          Over the desk is a MIRROR and a "Fighting Irish" pennant.          The only light comes from his desk lamp.          He jerks awake with a spasm, glances at a digital clock          glowing on his desk: 11:S$ A.M.                         JESSE          (rubs his eyes)          Jesus.          WALTER, Rachel's dog, hops on his lap, licks at.his face.          The sad-eyed DOG whimpers'and,JESSE scratches him.          In the distance the CLOCK TOWER BELL can be heard CHIMING          MIDNIGHT: One, two...          As JESSE looks down and his eyes widen in surprise:          Somehow, he's scrawled on the notebook paper on the desk in          front of him:          kINg of HELL          Or, if you only look at the capitalized letters, it reads:          Around it, the same phrase is written over and over again:          kINg of HELL kINg of HELL kINg of HELL          kINg of HELL kINg of HELL kINg of HELL          kINg of HELL kINg of HELL          JESSE lowers the dog          How did...          Trails off as he stares at the page.          The CLOCK BELL in the background is still CHIMING: give, six,          seven and...                                                                                                              110.          T h e F R E N C H DOORS fly o behind JESSE. ns.          It's the wind. The DOG starts barkin                         JESSE          (shushes the dog)          Ssshhhh. Relax, boy.          He takes a-deep breath, flips the page on the notebook,          resumes his cram session.          On the floor, the DOG looks at the open French doors, then          scurries under the bed.          JESSE is writing, in the MIRROR above h          A WOMAN' s FIGURE          anding in the French doors, her face hidden          up, sees the WOMAN reflected, spins to watch          her stop forward into the light.          It's RACHEL, in hAk slip dress.                         JESSE                         (STUNNED)          Rachel?          RACHEL smiles. She lifts her arms to him.                         JESSE          (with growing joy)          Rachel.          He rises, envelops her in his arms, and kisses her.          He pulls back to take her in.          T!!s two of thaw are reflected in ANOTHER MIRROR behind the          r 's door.          opens her mouth to speak --          A LARGE SNAKE          FLIES out and jams itself into JESSE's mouth, throwing him          back.          Ho aacs. clutching at the SNAKE as it slithers down his          throat, and qmIS'3i$ into the desk and mirror, shattering it          on the --          SLAM CUT TO                                                                                                              INT . DORM ROOM, NOTRE DAME - NIGH a'          A LOUD SCREAM as JESSE jerks awake at his desk. His heart          FATIM like it's about to explode from his mouth.          He looks down at the paper in front of him. Filled only with          his study notes.          The dog, WALTER, is awake on the bed, blinking, having been          stirred by the scream.                         JOS          He recovers, runs his hands through his hair. Starts          reading.          The DIGITAL CLOCK reads: 11:59 A.M.          In the distance, the CLOCK BELL begins'chiming midnight: One,          three...          JESSE reads, but in his ayes he's waiting for the savant          chime.          The BELL CHIMES: Four          The FRENCH DOORSNinat          JESSE spins. The wind. Nobody there.          He turns back to his reading, his heart BEATING WILDLY again.          Glances up at the mirror. Nothing.          His HEARTBEATS and the BELL CHIMES get increasingly LQ=          as,.. .          He reads, glances up at the mirror, shivers, and it isn't          in the cold.          Move, to ANOTHER ANGLE :          Where his image is MULTIPLIED TO INFINITY in the two mirror!          Fear is written on his face.          And we know he'll be looking over his shoulder...          Until the day he dies.                         SLOW FADE                                                                                                                              
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+"THELMA & LOUISE" by Callie Khouri Final shooting script JUNE 5, 1990 FADE IN: INT. RESTAURANT - MORNING (PRESENT DAY) LOUISE is a waitress in a coffee shop. She is in her early- thirties, but too old to be doing this. She is very pretty and meticulously groomed, even at the end of her shift. She is slamming dirty coffee cups from the counter into a bus tray underneath the counter. It is making a lot of RACKET, which she is oblivious to. There is COUNTRY MUZAK in the b.g., which she hums along with. INT. THELMA'S KITCHEN - MORNING THELMA is a housewife. It's morning and she is slamming coffee cups from the breakfast table into the kitchen sink, which is full of dirty breakfast dishes and some stuff left from last night's dinner which had to "soak". She is still in her nightgown. The TV is ON in the b.g. From the kitchen, we can see an incomplete wallpapering project going on in the dining room, an obvious "do-it- yourself" attempt by Thelma. INT. RESTAURANT - MORNING Louise goes to the pay phone and dials a number. INT. THELMA'S KITCHEN - MORNING Phone RINGS. Thelma goes over to answer it. THELMA (hollering) I got it! Hello. INT. RESTAURANT - MORNING LOUISE (at pay phone) I hope you're packed, little housewife, 'cause we are outta her tonight. INT. THELMA'S KITCHEN - MORNING THELMA Well, wait now. I still have to ask Darryl if I can go. LOUISE (V.O.) You mean you haven't asked him yet? For Christ sake, Thelma, is he your husband or your father? It's just two days. For God's sake, Thelma. Don't be a child. Just tell him you're goin' with me, for cryin' out loud. Tell him I'm havin' a nervous breakdown. Thelma has the phone tucked under her chin, as she cuts out coupons from the newspaper and pins them on a bulletin board already covered with them. We see various recipes torn out from women's magazines along the lines of "101 Ways to Cook Pork." THELMA He already thinks you're out of your mind, Louise, that don't carry much weight with Darryl. Are you at work? LOUISE (V.O.) No, I'm callin' from the Playboy Mansion. THELMA I'll call you right back. Thelma goes through the living room to the bottom of the stairs and leans on the banister. THELMA Darryl! Honey, you'd better hurry up. DARRYL comes trotting down the stairs. Polyester was made for this man, and he's dripping in "men's" jewelry. He manages a Carpeteria. DARRYL Damnit, Thelma, don't holler like that! Haven't I told you I can't stand it when you holler in the morning. THELMA I'm sorry, Doll, I just didn't want you to be late. Darryl is checking himself out in the hall mirror, and it's obvious he likes what he sees. He exudes over-confidence for reasons that never become apparent. He likes to think of himself as a real lady killer. He is making imperceptible adjustments to his over-moussed hair. Thelma watches approvingly. THELMA Hon. DARRYL What. THELMA (she decides not to tell him) Have a good day at work today. DARRYL Uh-huh. THELMA Hon? DARRYL What?! THELMA You want anything special for dinner? DARRYL No, Thelma, I don't give a shit what we have for dinner. I may not even make it home for dinner. You know how Fridays are. THELMA Funny how so many people wanna buy carpet on a Friday night. You'd almost think they's want to forget about it for the weekend. DARRYL Well then, it's a good thing you're not regional manager and I am. He's finally ready. He walks to the door and gives Thelma the most perfunctory kiss on the cheek. THELMA 'Bye, honey. I won't wait up. DARRYL See ya. Darryl leaves. We see his Corvette parked out front. As he closes the front door, Thelma leans against it. THELMA He's gonna shit. Thelma laughs to herself. She goes back into the kitchen and picks up the phone and dials it. INT. RESTAURANT - MORNING The pay phone on the wall RINGS. ALBERT, a busboy in his 50's, answers. ALBERT Good morning. Why, yes, she is. Is this Thelma? Oh, Thelma, when you gonna run away with me? Louise comes over and takes the phone out of his hand. LOUISE (to Albert) Not this weekend, sweetie, she's runnin' away with me. (into phone) Hi. What'd he say? THELMA (V.O.) What time are you gonna pick me up? LOUISE You're kiddin'! Alright! I'll be there around two or three. THELMA (V.O.) What kind of stuff do I bring? LOUISE I don't know. Warm stuff, I guess. It's the mountains. I guess it gets cold at night. I'm just gonna bring everything. THELMA (V.O.) Okay. I will, too. LOUISE And steal Darryl's fishin' stuff. THELMA (V.O.) I don't know how to fish, Louise. LOUISE Neither do I, Thelma, but Darryl does it, how hard can it be? I'll see you later. Be ready. They both hang up. EXT. RESTAURANT - DAY Louise pulls out in a green '66 T-Bird in mint condition. INT. THELMA'S BEDROOM - CLOSEUP - SUITCASE ON BED - DAY Going into the suitcase is bathing suits, wool socks, flannel pajamas, jeans, sweaters, T-shirts, a couple of dresses, way too much stuff for a two-day trip. REVEAL Thelma, standing in front of a closet, trying to decide what else to bring, as if she's forgotten something. The room looks like it was decorated entirely from a Sears catalog. It's really frilly. INT. LOUISE'S BEDROOM - CLOSEUP - SUITCASE ON BED - DAY A perfectly ordered suitcase, everything neatly folded and orderly. Three pairs of underwear, one pair of long underwear, two pairs of pants, two sweaters, one furry robe, one nightgown. She could be packing for camp. REVEAL Louise. Her room is as orderly as the suitcase. Everything matches. It's not quite as frilly as Thelma's, but it is of the same ilk. She is debating whether to take an extra pair of socks. She decides not to and closes the suitcase. She goes to the phone, picks it up and dials. We hear: ANSWERING MACHINE (V.O.) Hi. This is Jimmy. I'm not here right now, but I'll probably be back 'cause... all my stuff's here. Leave a message. Louise slams down the phone. A framed picture of Louise and Jimmy sits on the table next to the phone. She matter-of- factly slams that face down, too. INT. THELMA'S BEDROOM - DAY Thelma is still throwing stuff in, randomly now. She talks to herself quietly the whole time. She is taking stuff off of her nightstand, a small clock, fingernail scissors, etc. She opens the drawer of her nightstand. Her attitude is purposeful; she looks as if she knows exactly what she's doing; although, frankly, she has no idea, and each decision is completely arbitrary. As she rifles through it, plucking various items from among the jumbled contents, we see there is a gun in there, one Darryl bought her for protection. It is unloaded, but there is a box of bullets. She picks up the gun like it's a rat by the tail and puts it in her purse. THELMA (muttering to herself) Psycho killers... She grabs the box of bullets and throws them in, too. She tries to close her suitcase, but there is stuff hanging out all over the place. She stuffs things back in the sides and heaves all her weight against the top. EXT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY Louise's green '66 T-Bird convertible pulls into the driveway of Thelma's house. The garage door goes up and Thelma is standing in the garage with all her gear. A suitcase that looks like it might explode, fishing gear, a cooler, a lantern. Thelma's car, a beat-up gray Honda, is parked in there, too. Louise gets out of the driver's seat. LOUISE We don't need the lantern. The place has electricity. THELMA I wanna take it anyway. Just in case. LOUISE In case of what? THELMA In case there's some escaped psycho killer on the loose, who cuts the electricity off and tries to come in and kill us. LOUISE (going along with her) Oh yeah, sure, Thelma, that lantern will come in real handy. Maybe we could tow your car behind, in case he steals the spark plugs. THELMA We'd have to. That thing barely makes it down the driveway. They load everything into the car. The trunk barely closes. Thelma heaves all her weight against it. They get into the car and pull out of the driveway. As they drive down the street, we hear Thelma let out a long howl. She is laughing and she sticks her arms straight up in the air. EXT. CAR - DAY They are driving down the interstate. Thelma reaches for her purse and finds the gun. THELMA Louise, will you take care of the gun? Louise shrieks at the sight of it. LOUISE Why in hell did you bring that? Thelma wonders if Louise is really that naive. THELMA Oh, come on, Louise... psycho killers, bears... snakes! I just don't know how to use it. So will you take care of it? Louise reaches over and takes the gun out of Thelma's purse and holds it in her hand. She tests the weight of it, and then puts it under the seat. Thelma puts the bullets under the seat. They are speeding off down the highway with the RADIO blaring. Louise puts in a TAPE of wild R&B MUSIC. THELMA Whose place is this again? LOUISE It's Bob's, the day manager's. He's gettin' a divorce, so his wife's gettin' this place, so he's just lettin' all his friends use it till he has to turn over the keys. THELMA I've never had the chance to go out of town without Darryl. LOUISE How come he let you go? THELMA 'Cause I didn't ask him. LOUISE Aw, shit, Thelma, he's gonna kill you. THELMA Well, he has never let me go. He never lets me do one goddamn thing that's any fun. All he wants me to do is hang around the house the whole time while he's out doing God only knows what. They are both silent for a minute. THELMA (looking straight ahead) I left him a note. I left him stuff to microwave. After a pause. THELMA I guess you haven't heard anything from Jimmy... yet? Louise's jaw tightens. The car speeds up. THELMA ...never mind. A huge semi-tanker carrying gas passes them on the highway and HONKS. The mud flaps are the shiny silhouettes of naked women. There is a bumper sticker on the back that says: "Lick you all over -- ten cents." LOUISE One of your friends? Thelma is watching herself in the side mirror, pretending to smoke a cigarette. THELMA'S POV OF A SIGN alongside the road that reads "See you in church on Sunday!" Thelma pushes in the lighter and waits for it to pop out. Louise gives her a sidelong glance, but does not say anything. INT. CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY THELMA How much longer is it gonna be? I'm hungry. LOUISE Another hour of so. We've got enough food for a month. THELMA I'll never make it... Can't we stop just for a few minutes... LOUISE We've not gonna get to the cabin till after dark as it is, Thelma. THELMA Then what difference does it make if we stop? Come on. I never get to do stuff like this. Louise realizes that Thelma is going to revert to a teenager and continue whining unless she gives in. LOUISE Alright, but it's gonna be a quick stop. EXT. SILVER BULLET - NIGHT They pull off at a place down on the right all lit up with neon. It's called the SILVER BULLET. The sign flashes COCKTAILS -- BEER -- DANCING -- FOOD. There is a huge gravel parking lot with lots of pickup trucks and older cars. Even though it's early, you can tell this place is a real night spot. It's already pretty crowded. INT. SILVER BULLET - NIGHT This place is jumpin'. There are ten pool tables with crowds all around. The long bar is filled with customers. There are tables and booths. The room is dense with smoke. There is a dance floor, but no one is dancing yet because the band is still setting up. There are a lot of single men. Many heads turn and follow Thelma and Louise to an empty table. LOUISE I haven't seen a place like this since I left Texas. THELMA Isn't this fun? A WAITRESS comes over and drops two menus on the table. WAITRESS Y'all wanna drink? LOUISE No thanks. THELMA I'll have Wild Turkey straight up and a Coke back, please. As the Waitress leaves: LOUISE Thelma! THELMA Tell me somethin'. Is this my vacation or isn't it? I mean, God, you're as bad as Darryl. LOUISE I just haven't seen you like this in a while. I'm used to seeing you more sedate. THELMA Well, I've had it up to my ass with sedate! You said you and me was gonna get outta town and, for once, just really let our hair down. Well, darlin,' look out 'cause my hair is comin' down! As the Waitress returns: LOUISE (laughing) Alright... (to Waitress) I changed my mind. I'll have a margarita with and a shot of Cuervo on the side, please. THELMA Yeah! As the Waitress leaves, a MAN comes over with a chair which he pulls up to the table and straddles backwards. He is in his late-40's, heavyset, his face is shiny in the neon light. MAN Now what are a couple of Kewpie dolls like you doin' in a place like this? LOUISE Mindin' our own business, why don't you try it. THELMA Well, we left town for the weekend 'cause we wanted to try and have a good time. And because Louise here is mad because her boyfriend won't call her while he's out on the road... Louise kicks Thelma under the table. THELMA (quieter) We just wanted to get somethin' to eat. MAN Well, you come to the right place. You like chili? They got good chili. The Waitress returns with Louise's drink. WAITRESS Harlan, are you botherin' these poor girls? HARLAN (MAN) Hell, no. I was just bein' friendly. WAITRESS (making eye contact with Louise) It's a good thing they're not all as friendly as you. Louise understands. THELMA Your name's Harlan? I got an uncle named Harlan! HARLAN You do? Is he a funny uncle? 'Cause if he is, then he and I got somethin' in common. Harlan laughs. Thelma laughs, too, but doesn't really get the joke. Louise does not laugh. LOUISE (to Harlan) I don't mean to be rude, but I've got something I need to talk to my friend about. In private. HARLAN Aw, I understand. I didn't mean to bother ya. It's just hard not to notice two such pretty ladies as yourselves. (standing, to Thelma) You better dance with me before you leave, or I'll never forgive you. THELMA Oh, sure. That'd be fun. Harlan leaves, then: THELMA Jeez, Louise, that wasn't very nice. LOUISE Can't you tell when somebody's hittin' on you? THELMA So what if he was? It's all your years of waitin' tables has made you jaded, that's all. LOUISE Maybe. THELMA Well, just relax, will ya. You're makin' me nervous. Thelma knocks back her shot of Wild Turkey and holds up her glass to the Waitress to bring her another one. The Waitress sees her and nods. She turns back to face her friend. THELMA So, Jimmy still hasn't called yet? LOUISE Givin' him a taste of his own medicine. Asshole. THELMA I'm sorry, Louise. I know you're all upset. It's just I'm so excited to be out of the house, I guess. (pause) I wonder if Darryl's home yet. LOUISE I wonder if Jimmy's gotten back. THELMA Why don't you tell him to just to get lost once and for all? LOUISE Why don't you ditch that loser husband of yours? They both drift off momentarily, contemplating their domestic problems, until the Waitress comes over: WAITRESS (rolling her eyes) This one's on Harlan. Thelma looks over at the bar where Harlan is grinning at her, making dancing motions. She smiles and waves at him. Her face becomes serious again as she turns back to Louise. THELMA Jimmy'll come in off the road, you won't be there, he'll freak out and call you a hundred thousand times, and Sunday night you'll call him back and, by Monday. He'll be kissin' the ground you walk on. Thelma's mind goes too fast for her mouth, and the speed at which she speaks can be staggering. Louise is used to it. Louise smiles wistfully at Thelma's assessment of the situation. LOUISE Exactly. THELMA In the meantime, you said we were gonna have some fun. So let's have some! She again drinks her whole shot of Wild Turkey and holds up her glass, as the BAND strikes up a lively tune. Practically the whole place "whoops" and heads for the dance floor. Louise drinks her shot of tequila and holds up her glass, too. LATER Thelma is dancing with Harlan and has been for quite a while. Louise has been dancing with a quiet guy named DAN. Thelma is breathless, drunk and giggly. She holds a beer bottle in one hand. She is laughing a lot about nothing, and Harlan is studying her closely. Louise notices this. LOUISE (over the noise) Thelma, I'm gonna hit the little girls' room, and then we gotta hit the road. THELMA (eyes closed, swaying with the music) Ready when you are. Louise heads off to the bathroom. THELMA (eyes still closed) Louise, I'm gonna come with you. (she gets a funny look on her face) I don't feel so good. She stumbles a step and drops her beer bottle. Louise is heading towards the bathroom, where there is a line of at least fifteen women in front of her. HARLAN (catching Thelma, copping feels) Oopsy-doopsy. We need to get you some fresh air, little lady. He steers her towards the door. Louise leans against the wall, waiting in line. CUT TO: EXT. SILVER BULLET PARKING LOT - NIGHT Harlan is hauling Thelma out the door into the parking lot. She is pretty limp. THELMA Oh shit. HARLAN What's wrong? THELMA Stop. HARLAN What for? THELMA I'm spinning. INT. SILVER BULLET - NIGHT The Waitress is going over to their table. She picks up Thelma's purse off the floor and puts it on her chair. She sets the check on the table, looks around to see if she can see them and walks away. INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT Louise goes into the bathroom. She stands in front of the sink and looks at herself in the mirror. EXT. PARKING LOT - NIGHT Thelma has been sick. She has Harlan's handkerchief and is wiping her mouth. Harlan has backed off for this part, but he's right back in there. HARLAN How you feelin' now, darlin'? Harlan is leaning close to Thelma's head, and she pulls her head away. THELMA I guess I'm startin' to feel a little better. HARLAN Yeah, you're startin' to feel pretty good to me, too. He pulls her to him and tries to put his arms around her. Thelma pulls away. THELMA (uncomfortable) I think I need to keep walking. INT. SILVER BULLET - NIGHT Louise comes out of the bathroom as the next woman goes in. She scans the room looking for Thelma. She doesn't see her. She goes over to the table and sees Thelma's stuff there. She picks up the check and looks at it. EXT. SILVER BULLET PARKING LOT - NIGHT Harlan has led Thelma off to the far end of the parking lot. He is trying to kiss her now. He is pushing her arms down and turning her head away. THELMA Don't. I'm married. I don't feel good. I've been sick. HARLAN It's okay. I'm married, too. Harlan is pushing himself on her now, and she is beginning to push him away harder. INT. SILVER BULLET - NIGHT Louise is paying the Waitress. The Waitress is shaking her head, indicating she hasn't seen Thelma either. Louise picks up Thelma's stuff and heads towards the door. EXT. SILVER BULLET PARKING LOT - NIGHT Harlan has now pinned Thelma against the back of a car and is kissing her neck. He has her ass in his hands. He is beginning to hump her. She is pushing him away as hard as she can, but he is relentless. HARLAN (breathing heavily) You're beautiful. It's okay. I won't hurt you. It's okay. THELMA (struggling) Stop it! Goddamnit, I mean it! Louise is gonna wonder where I am. Let go! HARLAN Louise is alright. LOUISE is now standing outside the door of the Silver Bullet. She is looking around. HARLAN is pulling at Thelma's clothes. Thelma gets one of her arms free and hits him hard in the face. He hits her back and grabs her face, squeezing it hard. HARLAN Don't you hit me! Don't you fucking hit me! There is no trace of friendliness in his face now. He looks mean and dangerous. He lets go of her face and pins her arms behind her. He holds both of her arms with one hand. HARLAN You just shut up. With his free hand, he reaches down and starts to pull her dress up. Thelma is still struggling and there are tears running down her face. THELMA Don't hurt me. Harlan. Please. HARLAN Shut up. He turns her around, pushing her face down onto the back of the car. He holds both her arms in one hand and continues pulling her dress up over her hips. He starts to undo his pants as we hear the CRUNCH of gravel. LOUISE (O.S.) Let her go. HARLAN Get lost. THELMA Louise! TIGHT SHOT of the barrel of Thelma's gun being pressed into the nape of Harlan's neck. Louise's thumb pulls back the hammer. LOUISE You let her go, you fat fucking asshole, or I'm gonna splatter your ugly face all over this nice car. Harlan slowly raises his hands in the air, and Thelma darts out, pulling her dress down. HARLAN Now, calm down. We were just havin' a little fun. Louise glances at Thelma. Thelma shakes her head no. LOUISE Looks like you've got a real fucked up idea of fun. Now turn around. Louise starts to back away, but the gun is still close to his face. His pants are undone in the front. She is still backing away with the gun raised. Thelma is inching away as well. LOUISE Just for the future, when a woman's crying like that, she's not having any fun! Louise lowers the gun and stares at him for a second. Then she turns and walks away. Thelma does, too. HARLAN (pulling up his pants) Bitch. I should have gone ahead and fucked her. Louise stops in her tracks. LOUISE What did you say? HARLAN I said suck my cock. Louise takes two long strides back towards him, raises the gun and FIRES a bullet into his face. We hear his body HIT the gravel parking lot. LOUISE'S POV. The car behind him is splattered with blood. Thelma and Louise are both silent. We hear the SOUND of the nightclub in the distance. Louise lowers the gun. THELMA Oh my God. LOUISE Get the car. THELMA Jesus Christ! Louise, you shot him. LOUISE Get the car! Thelma runs to get the car. LOUISE (quietly, to herself) You watch your mouth, buddy. Thelma comes careening up in reverse. Louise hops in and Thelma PEELS OUT, spraying gravel. As they speed out of the parking lot back to the road, we hear MUSIC blaring from the nightclub. They hit the main road with tires SQUEALING. LOUISE Get back to the interstate. Louise lifts her hand and notices she is still holding the gun. THELMA Shit! I... I, which way? LOUISE West. Left. EXT. CAR - DISTANCING SHOT - NIGHT They get onto the interstate going west. TRAVELING SHOT FROM BEHIND -- VARIOUS DRIVING SHOTS INT. CAR - NIGHT Louise picks up the handkerchief from the car seat and wipes the gun off. Her movements are as if in slow motion. She puts the gun under the seat. Thelma is watching her. THELMA Louise. Louise does not answer. THELMA Louise. Where are we going? LOUISE (shaking) I don't know, Thelma! I don't know! Just shut up a minute so I can think. Thelma starts to cry quietly. THELMA Shouldn't we go to the cops? I mean, I think we should tell the police. LOUISE Tell them what?! What, Thelma? What do you think we should tell them? THELMA I don't know. Just tell 'em what happened. LOUISE Which part? THELMA All of it. That he tried to rape me. LOUISE Only about a hundred people saw you cheek to goddamn cheek with him all night, Thelma! Who's gonna believe that?! We just don't live in that kind of world. Pull over! EXT. INTERSTATE - NIGHT Thelma pulls off to the side of the road. Louise gets out and starts to walk around the car. She stops when she gets to the back of the car, and she is sick. Thelma waits in the car and moves over to the passenger side. Louise gets in the driver's side. THELMA Louise... Are you alright? Louise rests her head on the steering wheel. LOUISE Oh Christ. (to Thelma) Thelma. Thelma doesn't hear. LOUISE Thelma. Thelma looks at her blankly, without answering. LOUISE I've gotta stop for a minute. I've got to get it together. I'm gonna find a place to get a cup of coffee and I'm gonna sit down for a second. Do you want to come? Thelma's head moves almost imperceptibly. Louise studies Thelma's face. LOUISE Is that yes? Are you up to this? Again, Thelma slightly moves her head in a nod. Louise puts the car in gear and pulls OUT OF SHOT. EXT. TRUCK STOP - RESTAURANT - NIGHT The green '66 T-Bird pulls into a modern truck stop and parks. Louise turns to Thelma. LOUISE We gotta be inconspicuous. Do you know what that means? THELMA Yes. LOUISE It means you don't talk to anybody. You don't draw attention to yourself in any way. Do you understand that? Again, she twitches more than nods. LOUISE Tell me you understand that. Thelma nods more firmly now. She understands. VARIOUS POV SHOTS of truck drivers seeing Thelma and Louise wind their way towards the restaurant portion of the coffee shop. They look small and incongruous with the surroundings. INT. TRUCK STOP - TIGHT SHOT - WAITRESS' HANDS - 4 A.M. slamming dirty coffee cups from the counter into a bus tray underneath the counter. REVEAL Louise and Thelma sitting at the counter. Louise is looking at a map. The car is parked outside, near the door. LOUISE (halfway to herself) We have to think this through. We have to be smart. Now is not the time to panic. If we panic now, we're done for. Nobody saw it. Nobody knows it was us. We're still okay. Now all we have to do is just figure out our next move. THELMA Our next move? I'll say one thing, Louise. This is some vacation. I sure am having a good time. This is real fun. LOUISE If you weren't so concerned with having a good time, we wouldn't be here right now. THELMA Just what is that supposed to mean? LOUISE It means shut up, Thelma. THELMA So this is all my fault, is it. Louise looks at Thelma for a long time. LOUISE Just shut up. The Waitress comes and fills their coffee cups. Thelma stands up to go to the bathroom. She grabs her purse from the counter, and the strap catches on her coffee cup and it falls to the floor with a CRASH. All heads turn and look at her. THELMA I have to go to the bathroom. I... Sorry. HOLD on Louise. EXT. SILVER BULLET PARKING LOT - 4:00 A.M. Police cars are parked around. The activity has died down. Doors on the coroner's van SLAM shut. In the back of a police car sits the Waitress with the door open. A DETECTIVE in a suit leans over the car door with his note pad. HAL Could you identify 'em, if ya saw 'em again? LENA (WAITRESS) Hal, I've told you about twenty times, yes, I could identify 'em, but neither one of them was the type to pull something like this. HAL Well, you're not exactly an expert witness, but what makes you so sure? LENA If waitin' tables in a bar don't make you an expert on human nature, then nothin' will, and I could've told you that Harlan Puckett would end up buyin' it in a parkin' lot. I'm just surprised it didn't happen before now. HAL Who do you think did it? LENA Has anybody asked his wife? She's the one I hope did it. HAL Lena, just cut the bullshit, will ya? Do have any ideas or don't ya? I been standin' in this stupid parkin' lot all goddamn night, and I still got to go file a report before I can go home in time to get back up again! LENA Well, if I had to guess, I'd say it was some ol' gal, some ol' gal's husband. But it wasn't either one of those two. The tall one, the redhead, she left me a huge tip. HAL You didn't happen to notice what kind of car they were driving? LENA It's a nightclub, not a drive-in, Hal. I don't follow the customers to the parking lot. HAL Alright, Lena. Go on home. We might have to call you in for some more questioning. Lena gets out of the back of the car. LENA Those girls are not the murderous type. INT. PAY PHONE - NIGHT Outside the bathroom there is a pay phone. Thelma picks it up and dials. THELMA (into phone) Collect from Thelma. There is no answer. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - NIGHT Phone RINGS. VARIOUS SHOTS of the interior of the empty Dickinson house: THE BEDROOM exactly as Thelma left it. The drawer of the nightstand still open. THE NOTE TO DARRYL taped to the refrigerator. The interior of the microwave with a now completely thawed microwave dinner still in the package in a little puddle. INT. TRUCK STOP - NIGHT THELMA Thanks. I'll try later. She hangs up and goes into the bathroom. As the door closes behind her, Louise comes up with a handful of change and starts putting it into the phone. She dials a number. It RINGS for a long time. She hangs up and goes into the bathroom. She looks at herself in the mirror. She notices a tiny speck on her cheek. She takes a paper towel and wets it and rubs the spot. She looks at the towel and there is a bright red streak. LOUISE Thelma... Come on, Thelma! The door of the stall flies open and Thelma comes charging out and heads straight for the door, without even looking at Louise. Louise charges out after her. They head out of the restaurant and, THROUGH THE WINDOW, we see them get into the car and drive away. EXT. CAR - DRIVING SHOT - DAWN The T-Bird barrels down a fairly empty four-lane highway. A truck passes going the other way. INT. CAR - DAWN The top is down on the car, and Thelma is slouched on the seat, her hair blowing wildly. LOUISE We're gonna go to the next town and stop. We'll get a motel room. I can rest for a while and then figure out how to get some money. We're gonna need money. Thelma. How much money do you have with you? THELMA What? Oh, I don't know. Let me look. Thelma is rummaging through her purse. She finds her wallet and takes it out. Thelma finds some bills stuffed in the change compartment and takes them out. She straightens the money out. THELMA Sixty-four dollars. As she is counting it, one of the bills flies out of her hands. Thelma's not that good at handling money. THELMA Umm. Shit. Forty-four dollars. Louise has not noticed any of this. She is so intent on her driving. THELMA I'm cash poor. LOUISE Hmmm. We gotta get some money. EXT. MOTEL - ESTABLISHING SHOT - DAY The motel is near farms and agricultural areas with crops. INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY (6 A.M.) The curtains are open and we can see the car parked right outside the room. Thelma is lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling. Louise is bustling around the room, putting things in drawers. THELMA Why are you unpacking? You said we were just gonna take a nap. Louise did not realize she was doing it. LOUISE Oh, I don't know. I'm just nervous. I gotta figure out what to do. THELMA Well, when you figure it out, wake me up. LOUISE Just what the hell is wrong with you? Louise slams the closet door. Thelma jumps. THELMA What do you mean? LOUISE Why are you actin' like this? THELMA Actin' like what?! How am I supposed to act? 'Scuse me for not knowing what to do after you blow somebody's head off! They are silent for a moment. LOUISE You could help me try and figure it out! I gotta figure out what to do, and you could try and help me. THELMA I suggested we go to the police, but you didn't like that; so, frankly, Louise, I'm all out of ideas. LOUISE Well, what's the big rush, Thelma? If we just give 'em some time, they'll come to us...! Oh Christ. I'm just not ready to go to jail yet. Why don't you go out to the pool or something and I'll figure it out... THELMA Give me the keys. LOUISE You're not touchin' that car. THELMA My stuff's in the trunk! God! You care more about that car than you do about most people. LOUISE Most people just cause me trouble, but that car always gets me out of it. INT. POLICE GARAGE - DAY Hal is at the police station where they're dusting the car with Harlan all over it for prints. Hal looks closely at the back of the car. He holds his hands over two sets of hand prints. He moves his hands to the outside of the prints so as not to smear them, and puts his hands on the car. His face is one inch away from the trunk. He sees a very clear drop of blood. It's different than any of the other blood splatters on the car. He calls the identification technician over and points it out. HAL (pointing) What's that? The I.D. TECH comes over and looks and shrugs his shoulders. I.D. TECH Blood? HAL Whose? I.D. TECH His, I guess... Hal makes a face like he suddenly felt a slight toothache. He stares at the guy. HAL You guess? Hal takes out a black sharpie and draws a circle around the area of the black smudge and the drop of blood. He shakes his head slightly. EXT. MOTEL - DAY Thelma comes out of the room and walks towards the pool. She stops, then decides to go on to the pool. She lies down in a lounge chair facing the road. INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY Louise in the motel room. She's looking at the phone. She picks it up and dials it and watches herself in the mirror. She stares as if she's trying to see into herself, see through herself. EXT. MOTEL POOL - DAY Thelma arranges herself in a lounge chair, trying desperately to feel like she's on vacation. INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY ANSWERING MACHINE (V.O.) Hi. This is Jimmy. I'm not here right now... A VOICE interrupts the message: JIMMY (V.O.) Hello! I'm here. Hang on a minute! The machine switches OFF. INT. JIMMY'S APARTMENT - DAY JIMMY, mid-30's, musician, is standing in the kitchen on the phone. He's not the type you'd expect Louise to like, not quite straight-looking enough. LOUISE (V.O.) (on phone) Jimmy... INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY Louise is looking at herself on the phone in the mirror. She is very choked up. JIMMY (V.O.) (on phone) Louise! Where are you? Are you alright? Honey... LOUISE Hi. I'm okay. How are you? Long time no see. JIMMY (V.O.) Louise, honey... Where are you? You sound funny. Louise is still looking at herself in the mirror, as if she's never seen herself before. LOUISE I am funny. I'm real funny. JIMMY (V.O.) Are you in town? This sounds long distance. LOUISE No, I'm out of town. I'm in... I'm in real deep shit, Jimmy. Deep shit Arkansas. JIMMY (V.O.) Louise, just tell me what the hell is going on here! I come back, nobody knows where you are. Is Thelma with you? Darryl's been callin' here every half-hour sayin' he's gonna kill you both when you get back, he's goin' nuts. I don't envy her if she is. EXT. MOTEL POOL - DAY Thelma at pool basking in the sun. INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY JIMMY (V.O.) (on phone) Where'd y'all go? LOUISE Fishing. Look, Jimmy... I need you to help me. This is serious. I'm in trouble and I need you to help me. Can you do that? INT. JIMMY'S APARTMENT - DAY Jimmy is shocked by the gravity of her tone of voice. He realizes this is very serious. JIMMY Yes, yes, darlin'. I can help you. Tell me where you are. INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY Louise covers the mouthpiece with her hand. She is trying very hard not to cry. LOUISE I have a savings account with about sixty-seven hundred dollars in it. Now I know you won't be able to get it out, but I'm good for it. I need that money. Can you wire me the sixty-seven hundred dollars and I'll pay you back? Please, I'm desperate. JIMMY (V.O.) What the fuck is going on? LOUISE Something real bad has happened and I can't tell you what, just that it's bad and I did it and I can't undo it. Can you help me? JIMMY (V.O.) Of course. Of course! Where? Can't I bring it to you? For God's sake, baby, please, just tell me what's happened, what could possibly be so bad? Louise sits on the edge of the bed. She is looking at her hand. LOUISE Jimmy? She takes the ring that she wears on her left hand and turns it around backwards to make it look like a wedding band. LOUISE Do you love me? JIMMY (V.O.) Christ, sure... yes! LOUISE Wire it to the Western Union in Oklahoma City, INT. JIMMY'S APARTMENT - DAY JIMMY You're in Oklahoma?! LOUISE (V.O.) Not yet. JIMMY Louise, let me call you back after I wire it, so you'll know which office to go to. LOUISE (V.O.) Can't it go to any office? JIMMY No, for that much money I have to tell them exactly which office. I know, I've had to have money wired to me on the road. And there has to be a code word or they won't give it to you. I'll have to tell you the code. INT. MOTEL ROOM - DAY LOUISE Tell me now. JIMMY (V.O.) Call me back. LOUISE Okay. I'll call you back. In an hour. Don't tell Darryl. JIMMY (V.O.) I know. Call me back. Louise, I love you, okay? LOUISE Okay. EXT. MOTEL POOL - DAY Thelma by the pool. A car SCREECHES, a loud horn HONKS. LOUISE (bellowing) Come on, Thelma! Get in the car! Thelma bolts upright and grabs her sundress and dashes to the car. She jumps in over the door. She's in a mild state of shock. THELMA Did you finish thinking? LOUISE I think better when I drive. Louise PEELS OUT of the parking lot. INT. POLICE STATION - MAJOR'S OFFICE - DAY Hal is in the office talking to his superior. He stands in front of the desk with his hands in his pockets while his MAJOR sits behind the desk looking troubled. HAL All we know is there were two women in a green T-Bird convertible that turned left out of the parking lot, going real fast. We're trying to get a make on the car, but nothin' yet. So far, we got nothin'. MAJOR Well, you'd best get something. Even if they didn't do it, it times out that they most likely witnessed it. I want somebody to at least talk to 'em. Put out an APB with a description and see what we get back. HAL Alright. MAJOR Is there any reason to believe they've left the state? HAL That's certainly possible. MAJOR Why don't we go ahead and let the bureau in on this. HAL I have no problem with that. MAJOR Somebody's butt is gonna bar-b-que. EXT. CAR - FARMLAND - DRIVING SHOT - DAY INT. CAR - DAY THELMA Don't get mad, Louise, but where are we going? LOUISE Oklahoma City. Jimmy's gonna wire me some money, and then... THELMA You talked to him?! Is he mad? Did you tell him? LOUISE No, I didn't tell him. And that's something we gotta get straight. Darryl's been callin', mad as a hornet, makin' all kinds of noise. When you talk to him, you cannot say anything about this. You gotta make sure everything sounds normal. THELMA I called the asshole at 4:00 in the morning and he wasn't even home. I don't know what he's got to be mad about. I'm the one who should be mad. LOUISE I've been tellin' you that for the last ten years. THELMA Do you think Darryl's having an affair? LOUISE I don't think Darryl is mature enough to conduct an affair. THELMA But you think he fools around. LOUISE Thelma, I'm going to Mexico. I think I can make it in two and a half days, but I'm going to have to haul ass. Are you up to this? I mean, I have to know. This isn't a game. I'm in deep shit. I gotta know what you're gonna do. THELMA I... I don't know. I don't know what you're askin' me. LOUISE Don't you fall apart on me. Goddamnit, Thelma. Every time we get in trouble, you go blank or plead insanity or some such shit, and this time... Not this time. Everything's changed now... Now you can do whatever you want, but I'm going to Mexico. I'm going. Are you coming with me? Thelma is staring down the road. She does not answer. Then: THELMA I think he does. Fool around. EXT. CAR - FARMLAND - DRIVING SHOT - DAY INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY TIGHT SHOT of an "indent-a-kit" likeness of Louise. On a table nearby lies a drawing strongly resembling Thelma. Lena, the waitress, sits next to the plain-clothes cop who holds the indent-a-kit. Hal picks up the drawing and studies it closely. EXT. SMALL COUNTRY TOWN - DAY The T-Bird rolls into town. EXT. COUNTRY STORE - DAY Louise and Thelma pull up in front of an old store, the kind with a wooden front porch, the kind that sells bait and flannel shirts. They enter the store and see an OLD MAN behind the counter. LOUISE Do you have a pay phone? OLD MAN 'Round the side, by the restrooms. Louise gets change while Thelma strolls around looking at rubber worms and pickled pigs' feet. Louise goes out to the phone. EXT. PAY PHONE - DAY Louise dropping change into the phone. It RINGS and Jimmy answers. INT. JIMMY'S APARTMENT - DAY JIMMY Louise! EXT. PAY PHONE - DAY LOUISE Is that how you answer the phone? JIMMY (V.O.) (on phone) I got it. I was afraid I'd missed you. I almost couldn't get a check cashed. It's Saturday. LOUISE Who did it? JIMMY (V.O.) Friend of mine, owns a club. Dickie Randall. You'd know him if you saw him. His brother was in your class. Terry. LOUISE You didn't say what it was for, did you? JIMMY (V.O.) (on phone) No, honey. I told him I was buyin' a car. What is it for? LOUISE (not responding to the question) Good. That was good. Where do I go? JIMMY (V.O.) (on phone) It's a place called Shaw's Siesta Motel. The address is 1921 North East 23. It's under your name. LOUISE And what's the mysterious code word? JIMMY (V.O.) (on phone) Peaches. LOUISE What? JIMMY (V.O.) That's the code word. I miss you, peaches. Louise rolls her eyes and tries not to melt. LOUISE Okay, Jimmy. Thanks. She puts her finger down on the receiver. INT. JIMMY'S APARTMENT - DAY Jimmy is still holding the phone to his ear. JIMMY Louise? INT. COUNTRY STORE - DAY Thelma in store buying gum, beef jerky. Next to the cash register on the counter on display are those little tiny bottles of liquor. Thelma picks up a little bottle of Wild Turkey and puts in on the counter. The Old Man rings it up. She takes another one and puts it on the counter. The Old Man is still ringing stuff up. She takes two more and puts them on the counter. She takes the rest of the little bottles of Wild Turkey out of the display and puts them on the counter. She takes one little bottle of Cuervo and puts it down on the counter, too. The Old Man finally looks at her. From the wall behind him, he takes a pint of Wild Turkey down. OLD MAN Ma'am, are you sure you wouldn't rather have the large economy size? EXT. PAY PHONE - DAY Louise is hanging up the phone. She walks away towards the front of the store. EXT. COUNTRY STORE - DAY Thelma comes out of the front of the store. The store is at a crossroads with a fair amount of vehicular traffic. LOUISE Go call Darryl. Thelma is walking towards the car. She puts her purse in the front seat. She looks at Louise. THELMA Call him? LOUISE Call him. Don't tell him anything. Tell him you're having a wonderful time and you'll be home tomorrow night. THELMA Will I be? LOUISE I don't know. I won't be. Thelma and Louise look at each other while this sinks in. THELMA walks around to the side of the building to the phone. She picks it up and dials. THELMA (into phone) Collect from Thelma. EXT. STOREFRONT - DAY Louise goes into the store for a chocolate Yoohoo. EXT. PAY PHONE - DAY THELMA Honey? INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY Darryl in the den of their house. The room is a mess. There are beer cans everywhere. The large screen TV is ON, showing a FOOTBALL GAME. Darryl is in a recliner. He is wearing loud shorts, a V-necked T-shirt, and a couple of necklaces and bracelets. DARRYL Goddamnit, Thelma, where in the Sam Hill are you?! EXT. PAY PHONE - DAY THELMA I'm... I'm with Louise. We're in the mountains, we're... INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY DARRYL (interrupting) What in the hell do you think you're doing? Have you lost your goddamn mind?! Is that it? I leave for work and you take complete leave of your senses? EXT. PAY PHONE - DAY THELMA Darryl... baby... Darryl, calm down now, honey. Please don't get so mad. I can explain... INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY Darryl is mad, but he's still watching the game. DARRYL Hold on. Hold on a minute, damnit. He covers the mouthpiece and watches a play where "his team" fumbles the ball. This only makes him madder. He puts the phone back to his ear in time to hear Thelma say: THELMA (V.O.) ...only for one day and we'll be back tomorrow night. DARRYL No you won't. You'll be back today. Now! You get your ass back here, Thelma, now, Goddamnit. Thelma, do you understand me? EXT. PAY PHONE - DAY Thelma is trying not to cry. She's trying to be strong. THELMA Darryl, please... You're my husband, not my father, Darryl. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY DARRYL (interrupting) That does it! That Louise is nothin' but a bad influence. If you're not back here tonight, Goddamnit, Thelma... well, I just don't wanna say... Neither one of them say anything for a moment. DARRYL Thelma? EXT. PAY PHONE - DAY THELMA Darryl. DARRYL (V.O.) What? THELMA Go fuck yourself. She hangs up on him. EXT. COUNTRY STORE - DAY Thelma has tears running down her face and she is watching the ground as she storms back to the car. So she makes a loud grunt as she slams into someone that she did not see. Both people are knocked back a few steps from the force of the collision. HITCHHIKER Whoa! Excuse me! Miss, are you alright? Thelma nods her head "yes," but tears continue. Her crying is silent. HITCHHIKER Is there anything I can do? Thelma shakes her head "no." She tries to control her tears. She notices how blue his eyes are. THELMA No. Thanks. Sorry. THELMA collects herself as she walks back to the car. She gets in and is drying her eyes, looking in the side mirror. In the mirror she sees the Hitchhiker come back around from the side of the building. He is several feet behind the car, and she watches him as he removes his long-sleeved shirt and stuffs it into his duffel bag. Now he is just in T-shirt and jeans. He looks good. Really good. She watches in the mirror as he picks up his stuff and heads towards the road. She can see him as he's walking. He stops. He's thinking. He heads over to the car. HITCHHIKER Would you mind me asking which direction you and your friend are going? I'm trying to get back to school and my ride fell through, so I'm kinda stuck. Are you going my way? Thelma doesn't know what to do. THELMA Umm. I think we're going to Oklahoma City. But I'm not sure. HITCHHIKER Do you think you could... I mean, I could help pay for gas. Thelma knows Louise isn't going to like this. THELMA Ummm. Well, see, it's not really up to me. It's not my car. Umm, we'll have to ask my friend, but she'll probably say no. She's a little uptight. HITCHHIKER Well. Maybe we better not ask her. But thank you anyway. Now she wants him to come. He starts to walk away from the car. THELMA Well, we can ask her. That won't hurt. Just then Louise comes out of the store. She sees Thelma talking to this guy and, for one moment, stops dead in her tracks as she takes this in, then continues toward the car. Although her face is basically expressionless, we see that it's possible she might kill Thelma. THELMA Louise, this young man is on his way back to school and needs a ride, and I thought since... LOUISE It's probably not a good idea. THELMA Louise. The Hitchhiker just nods and starts walking towards the road. HITCHHIKER Y'all have a nice day. Drive safe. The guy does seem really nice and Thelma is really frustrated that Louise wouldn't give him a ride, but decides not to confront her. THELMA See how polite he is? He was really nice. Louise lowers the top and backs the car out. They watch him walk away. Louise pulls out of the parking lot onto the road. They pass the Hitchhiker. Thelma waves. HITCHHIKER (to Thelma) You cheer up now! She turns around in the seat to continue waving. He smiles and waves. They drive down the road. TIGHT SHOT of the Hitchhiker as the smile fades from his face. CUT TO: INT. CAR - DRIVING - DAY Thelma looking sulky. THELMA I wish we could've brought him with us. LOUISE What did Darryl say? THELMA (sarcastically) He said "Okay, Thelma. I just wanted to know you were alright. I hope you're havin' a good time. You sure deserve one after puttin' up with me all the time. I love you, honey." Louise doesn't say anything. THELMA How long before we're in Goddamn Mexico? INT. POLICE STATION - DAY Hal goes over a list of every registered green T-Bird in the state. INSERT - COMPUTER MONITOR Names are scrolling by as Hal stares blankly at the screen. We see the name LOUISE ELIZABETH SAWYER scroll past. It means nothing to Hal. INT. CAR - DAY It's twenty minutes later. They are clear of the town. Thelma is like a dog with a bone. She just won't let it drop. THELMA I just don't see what it would hurt just to give somebody a ride. Did you see his butt? Darryl doesn't have a cute butt. You could park a car in the shadow of his ass. LOUISE I'm sorry. I'm just not in the mood for company right now. Here. Take this map. I need you to find all the secondary roads to Mexico from Oklahoma City. I think we should stay off the interstates. We're too conspicuous. THELMA (taking map) Well, it looks like we can get on this road 81 that heads down towards Dallas, then cut over to... LOUISE (interrupting) I don't want to go that way. Find a way that we don't have to go through Texas. THELMA (looking at map) Wait. What? You want to go to Mexico from Oklahoma and you don't want to go through Texas? LOUISE You know how I feel about Texas... We're not going that way. THELMA I know, Louise, but we're running for our lives! Don't you think you could make an exception just this once?! I mean, look at the map. The only thing between Oklahoma and Mexico is Texas! LOUISE Thelma! I'm not gonna talk about this! Now find another way or give me the goddamn map and I will! You understand? THELMA No, Louise. How come you never said what happened? Louise is completely unreasonable on this subject and Thelma is totally puzzled by Louise's reaction but is reluctant to press her further. LOUISE I... I just... I just don't think it's the place I wanna get caught for doin' something like... if you blow a guy's head off with his pants down, believe me, Texas is the last place you wanna get caught! Trust me! Now, I said, I don't wanna talk about it!! Louise looks very shaken up. She keeps her eyes on the road but she's holding the steering wheel so tightly, her knuckles are white. She does not look at Thelma. Suddenly she reaches over and locks her door. Thelma flinches imperceptibly at this gesture. THELMA Okay. We'll go around Texas to get to Mexico. This is crazy. EXT. ROAD - FARMLAND - DAY Two Harley-Davidson bikes tool past, driven by a couple of ex-hippies from the 60's. The Hitchhiker is on the back of one, and he waves to them as they go by. Thelma waves back enthusiastically. THELMA I'll tell you what. He is gooood lookin'. Louise pops a TAPE into the cassette player. EXT. LOUISE'S APARTMENT COMPLEX - DAY Hal walks up the sidewalk past a couple of elderly people sitting outside, to the door of an apartment complex and knocks. INT. LOUISE'S APARTMENT - DAY VARIOUS SHOTS of Louise's empty apartment. There are pictures of Louise and Thelma in high school. The kitchen is spotless and nothing is out on the counters. HER BED is unwrinkled, perfect, and next to it on her nightstand is a picture of Jimmy and her in a small heart shaped frame. Everything is extremely neat and orderly. EXT. LOUISE'S APARTMENT COMPLEX - DAY Hal is walking back down the sidewalk past the old people. He stops, turns around and goes back to them. We see him stand and talk to them. OVER MUSIC: INT. CAR - DAY Thelma and Louise are singing along with the MUSIC. THELMA/LOUISE (pointing) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! EXT. CROSSROADS - DAY Hitchhiker standing on the side of the road. Thelma looks at Louise pleadingly. Louise's car pulls over and he hops in the back seat. An animated Thelma turns around backwards in the front seat to face him. INT./ EXT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY Hal walks into the coffee shop where Louise works. VARIOUS SHOTS of him talking to other employees. Albert, waitress, etc. Some cover their mouths as they recognize police sketches of Louise and Thelma. The Day Manager comes over, looks at the pictures and talks to Hal. INT. CAR Thelma passing out beef jerky and Wild Turkey to Hitchhiker and Louise. EXT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY Hal's unmarked detective car pulls up in front of Thelma's house. A Corvette, completely customized with everything, sits in the driveway. INT. CAR Hitchhiker leans over resting his chin on the back of the front seat. THELMA So J.D., what are you studying in school? J.D. Human nature. I'm majoring in behavioral science. LOUISE And whaddya wanna be when ya grow up? J.D. A waiter. Louise laughs. He has charmed her too. EXT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY Hal is walking up the sidewalk as the front door flies open to reveal a drunk Darryl in Hawaiian shorts, necklaces and a beer can in his hand. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY Hal and Darryl in den. The TV DRONES in the b.g. Pictures and papers are on the table. TIGHT SHOT of Darryl's face. DARRYL What?! CUT TO: INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DEN - DAY EXTREME CLOSEUP of Darryl's face. DARRYL What?!! EXT. RURAL HIGHWAY - DAY J.D. (to Thelma) So how come you don't have any kids? THELMA Darryl, that's my husband, he says he's not ready. He's still too much of a kid himself. He prides himself on being infantile. LOUISE He's got a lot to be proud of. THELMA Louise and Darryl don't get along. LOUISE That's puttin' it mildly. THELMA She thinks he's a pig. LOUISE He's a real piece o' work. I wish you could meet him. J.D. Did you get married real young? THELMA Twenty-four isn't young. I'd already been goin' out with him ten years when we got married. I've never been with anybody but Darryl. J.D. Well, if you don't mind me sayin' so, he sounds like a real asshole. THELMA It's okay. He is an asshole. Most of the time I just let it slide. J.D. is looking down the road, way off in the distance. J.D. Better slow down. That's a cop. Louise looks down the road and sees a highway patrol car coming down the road towards them. She does not look alarmed but veers off the road into a "rest area" drive that has trees and shrubs that obscure the view from the road. She glides along as the cop car passes on the other side without seeing them. Louise glides right back onto the road as if nothing unusual has happened at all. They realize they have not been spotted. J.D. and Louise look at each other. J.D. Maybe you got a few too many parking tickets? LOUISE We'll take you on to Oklahoma City, then you'd best be on your way. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY Hal is on the phone to the FBI man. Darryl is sitting on a chair looking dazed. Other law enforcement types roam around the house. HAL The prints on the trunk of the car match those of Thelma Dickinson. INT. FBI OFFICE - DAY MAX STRATTON, an FBI MAN in his early forties, is looking at the ident-a-kit drawings of Louise and Thelma. MAX Well I'll be damned. Isn't that strange. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY HAL And the husband says a gun is missing. She took a lot of stuff. It looks like she maybe planned on being gone a while. The strange thing is, her husband said she would never touch that gun. He got it for her 'cause he's out late a lot, but he said she'd never touch it, wouldn't learn to shoot it, just left it in a drawer for years. INT. FBI OFFICE - DAY MAX What kind of gun was it? HAL (V.O.) A .38. MAX Right. Where are they? INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY HAL We're lookin'. They were on their way to some guy's cabin and they never showed up. We're lookin'. We hope you're lookin' too. EXT. FLATLANDS - ROAD - DUSK The T-Bird barrels down the road at high speed. EXT. SHAW'S SIESTA MOTEL - DUSK Louise, Thelma, and J.D. pull into the motel parking lot. LOUISE I just gotta run in for a minute. Louise looks at J.D. in the back seat and takes the keys out of the ignition. LOUISE You two better go on and say your goodbyes. Louise gets out of the car and goes inside. INT. MOTEL OFFICE - NIGHT An older WOMAN behind the counter is looking at a computer screen. LOUISE Louise Elizabeth Sawyer. Are you sure? WOMAN Nothin'. Nothin' came in today at all. Louise turns and sees Thelma crawl over into the back seat with J.D. LOUISE Nothing under peaches? Check again under peaches. WOMAN Naw, nothin' under peaches neither. A MAN comes up behind Louise and stands close behind her. MAN (JIMMY) Did you say Peaches?! Why that's the secret word! Show her what she's won, Don. He drops an envelope in front of her. Louise is startled and turns around quickly. JIMMY Hey, peaches. LOUISE Oh my God! Jimmy! You... Oh my God! What are you doin' here? JIMMY (to Woman) Can we get another room? Just put it on my credit card. The Woman hands them a key. WOMAN 'Round to the back. EXT. MOTEL PARKING LOT - NIGHT Louise and Jimmy walk outside and catch Thelma sitting very close to J.D. Thelma sees Jimmy and is so startled she screams and involuntarily slams herself across the back seat to the other side of the car. She tries to look nonchalant. THELMA Jimmy! Hello, stranger. What in the world are you doin' here? JIMMY Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies. THELMA Good answer. Same goes double for me. JIMMY Who's your friend? J.D. is climbing out of the car, looking very uncomfortable. THELMA This is J.D. He's a student. We're just givin' him a ride to... to here. Louise said we could bring him here and then he'd have to go. And that's what he's doin'. He's goin'. Aren't you, J.D.? J.D. Yup. Thanks for the ride. You all take care. He quickly turns and walks away toward the road. THELMA (watching him) Yup. That's him goin'. I love to watch him go. LOUISE (to Jimmy) Thelma kinda took to him. Jimmy is smiling. JIMMY (to Thelma) Well, come on, gal, I got you a room. You can go on in and take a nice cold shower. THELMA Don't mind me, Jimmy, I'm just a wild woman. JIMMY I always knew that. THELMA A regular outlaw. Louise shoots Thelma a look. The three of them drive around to the back of the motel. Thelma turns and looks at the road. J.D. is standing there. He blows her a kiss. EXT. MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT They stop in front of the motel rooms and the three of them climb out of the car. LOUISE Let me just go in and freshen up for a minute. I need to wash my face, you know. Thelma is taking their luggage out of the trunk. JIMMY Okay, honey. I don't want to rush you. I just wanna talk to you and... (whispering) ...be alone with you. I'll just be in my room, 115, you just come on down when you're ready. Jimmy helps carry the luggage to Thelma's room. He stops at the door. JIMMY I'll be waiting. Louise smiles at him quizzically as if she can't believe he's acting this way. He turns on his heel and slinks away. THELMA I don't care what you say about him. The boy has got it bad. LOUISE He's always got it bad as long as I'm running in the other direction. Don't be fooled, he's no different than any other guy. He knows how to chase and that's it. Once he's caught you, he don't know what to do. So he runs away. THELMA I heard that. INT. MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT They close the door to their room. Louise sets the envelope of money on the table. LOUISE (indicating envelope) Our future. Louise gets her purse and starts taking out her makeup. She stands very close to the mirror. She is putting on lip liner. Thelma is watching. THELMA So what are you gonna tell him? LOUISE Nothing. I'm not gonna tell him a thing. The least I can do is not make him an accessory any more than he already is. THELMA You are so sweet to that guy, you really are. Imagine not wanting to drag him into this. He is a lucky man. Louise is still putting on her makeup, making sure it's perfect. LOUISE I didn't ask him to come! It's like I said, Thelma, he just loves the chase. THELMA Well boy, he's got his work cut out for him now, don't he? LOUISE Put a lid on it, Thelma! It's hard enough as it is. Just let me get this part over with. Now stay here and guard the money. If there's any problem I'm in room 115. THELMA I won't wait up. Louise turns to face Thelma. LOUISE How do I look? THELMA You're a vision, Louise, a goddamn vision of loveliness, you always are. LOUISE Have another drink, Thelma. Louise walks out the door. THELMA Good idea. EXT. MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT It's raining out. Louise goes to Jimmy's room. Louise knocks on the door to room 115. The door opens slightly and one red rose pops out. LOUISE Hello... JIMMY (in a falsetto voice) Who is it? LOUISE It's me. The following eleven roses are held out the door, then Louise is yanked inside and we hear her shriek with LAUGHTER. INT. THELMA'S MOTEL ROOM - EVENING Thelma has taken a shower and is dressed in cut-offs and a T- shirt. Her hair is still damp but she looks better than she did when she arrived. Thelma is fixing a drink of Wild Turkey and Diet 7-Up in one of the motel room glasses. There is a KNOCK on the door. She stops what she is doing and is completely still. THELMA Louise? Another KNOCK. THELMA Louise, is that you? J.D. (O.S.) (through the door) Thelma? It's me. Thelma opens the door and there stands J.D., soaking wet from the rain pouring down behind him. J.D. I just thought I... I know I'm supposed to be gone, but... He's kind of looking over towards the road. He's still slightly shy. J.D. I'm not havin' much luck gettin' a ride. He notices looking past her into the room that Louise isn't there. Thelma just stands there looking at him. J.D. Well, I guess I'd better... THELMA Wait...! Um, where ya going? J.D. I don't know. Nowhere. What are you doin'? THELMA I don't know. Nothin'. Took a shower. J.D. That sounds nice. THELMA Well, you wanna use the shower? You can tell he does want to but doesn't want to say so. So instead he just kind of stands there with a reticent grin on his face. J.D. Oh. I... where's Louise? THELMA She's off with Jimmy, that's her boyfriend. J.D. That's lonely for you, I guess. I always think of motel rooms as lonely. Thelma pretends like she's had a lot of experience with this sort of thing. THELMA (letting him in the door) Oh, yes, well, they can be. INT. JIMMY'S ROOM - NIGHT Jimmy is pouring champagne into Louise's glass. There are a dozen roses in a vase on the table. He pours for himself as he sits as close to Louise as possible. JIMMY Now, my little coconut, what seems to be the trouble here? Tell Daddy everything. LOUISE (cringing) Jimmy, my daddy's still alive and it kind of gives me the creeps when you do that... JIMMY Okay, okay, just tell me what's the trouble. Louise just looks at him for a minute. LOUISE Jimmy, I'm not gonna tell ya what the trouble is. Someday soon you'll understand why I can't. But I won't tell ya, so don't ask me. Jimmy is once again shocked by how serious she is. JIMMY (almost at a loss for words) Okay, peaches, okay. But can I ask you one thing? LOUISE Maybe. JIMMY Does it have something to do with another guy? Are you in love with him? LOUISE It's nothin' like that. JIMMY (exploding) Then what?! What, goddamnit, Louise! Where the fuck are you going? Are you just leaving for fucking ever? What, did you fuckin' murder somebody or what?! Louise spills her champagne. LOUISE Stop it! Stop it, Jimmy, or I'll leave right now. I'm not kiddin'! JIMMY (calming down) Alright, alright. I'm sorry. They both take a second to regain their composure. JIMMY Can I just ask you one other thing? LOUISE Maybe. Jimmy pulls a little black box out of his pocket. JIMMY Will you wear this? He hands Louise the box. She opens it and it is a diamond ring. Louise is flabbergasted. JIMMY Will you at least see how it fits? LOUISE Jimmy... it's beautiful! JIMMY You didn't see that one comin', did ya? INT. THELMA'S MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT J.D. is out of the shower standing in front of the mirror wearing only his jeans, the top button of which is still undone and no shirt. He has an incredible physique. He also has a tattoo on his shoulder of the homemade variety. Thelma has gone and bought cheese crackers and peanuts from a vending machine and is into her second Wild Turkey and 7- Up. She sits on the bed, watching him in the mirror. He definitely looks better with his shirt off. She suddenly feels awkward and stands up. THELMA You wanna drink? INT. JIMMY'S MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Louise has the engagement ring on her finger. It's really beautiful. JIMMY So whaddya think. I mean... I could... uh... get a job. Of some kind. I mean you've been tellin' me that for years, right? LOUISE Why now, Jimmy? JIMMY (this is hard for him) 'Cause, Louise. I don't want to lose you. And for some reason I get the feelin' you're about to split. Permanently. Louise doesn't know how to respond. She struggles for a reply. LOUISE Jimmy, we've gone all these years... we never made it work. We're not gonna be able to just... I'm not... What kind of job, honey? Can you see it. I can't. Jimmy doesn't answer right away. He's trying to see it. JIMMY I'm the one... I never made it work. I just... It's not that I don't love you. It's not that. I just never thought I'd be thirty-six years old and I never thought... I don't know what I thought. What do you want, darlin'. What do you want me to do. LOUISE I don't know. It doesn't even matter anymore. I just want you to be happy... It's not that I don't love you either. But Jimmy, your timing couldn't be worse. Jimmy does not really understand why this is happening. JIMMY Are you just doin' this to punish me? LOUISE Believe me, the last thing I want is for you to get punished. INT. THELMA'S MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Thelma has poured a drink for J.D. who's sitting on the edge of the bed. She walks over and hands it to him and as she does, he takes the drink with one hand and her hand with the other. He sets the drink down on the nightstand and holds her hand with both of his. He closely studies her wedding ring. He suddenly looks up at her and gazes at her just as intently. He slowly shakes his head as he removes her ring as if to say, "This is not right for you. This isn't going to work." He looks at the ring as he moves it through space finally stopping when the ring is directly over his drink. He drops it in. He looks back at Thelma and smiles as if to say, "There. Now don't you feel better?" He smartly kisses her hand. INT. JIMMY'S ROOM - NIGHT Louise and Jimmy are sitting on the edge of the bed. Jimmy has put the ring on her finger and they both are looking at it, as Jimmy holds her hand in his. They both ponder it. JIMMY It does look good. INT. THELMA'S ROOM - NIGHT J.D. is standing on the dresser with a towel tied around his neck like a cape. J.D. Faster than a speeding green T-Bird, able to leap tall babes in a single bound... He leaps from the dresser and flies across the room landing on the bed, straddling Thelma. J.D. (in his deep man's voice) Hi. Could I interest you in some Fuller brushes? Thelma has not stopped laughing since he came in the room. He is the greatest guy she's ever seen. He is sniffing her neck like a dog. THELMA (giggling) Stop, stop, stop! Thelma tries to catch her breath. THELMA Who are you? J.D. attacks her again. J.D. I am the great and powerful Oz... THELMA J.D.! Just tell me. I know you're not some schoolboy. Now come on, nobody ever tells me shit. J.D. I'm just some guy. A guy whose parole officer is probably having a shit fit right about now. Thelma gasps. THELMA What?! Parole officer? You mean you're a criminal? J.D. Well, not anymore, Thelma, except for bustin' parole, I haven't done one wrong thing. THELMA What did ya do? J.D. I'm a robber. THELMA You're a bank robber? J.D. Nope. I've never robbed a bank. THELMA What? J.D. Well, I robbed a gas station once, and I robbed a couple of liquor stores, and some convenience stores. And that's it. THELMA How? J.D. Well, I was just down on my luck and it seemed like somethin' I was good at so I... THELMA (interrupting) No, I mean how would you do it? Do you just sneak in real fast or hide out till the store closes or what? J.D. Naw, honey, that would be burglary. I never got arrested for burglary. Burglary's for chicken shits. If you're gonna rob someone, ya just have to go right on up to 'em and do it. Just take the money. That's robbery. That's a whole 'nother deal. THELMA Tell me. J.D. Well, first you pick your place, see, then I'd just sit back and watch it for awhile. Ya gotta wait for just the right moment, which is something you know instinctively, that can't be taught. Then I'd waltz on in... J.D. jumps up and picks up a hair dryer and holds it like a gun. He starts acting it out. J.D. And I'd say, "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, let's see who'll win the prize for keepin' their cool. Simon says everybody lie down on the floor. If nobody loses their head, then nobody loses their head. You sir... You do the honors. Just empty that cash into this bag and you'll have an amazing story to tell all your friends. If not, you'll have a tag on your toe. You decide." Then I'd split. Simple. THELMA My gosh, you sure gentlemanly about it. J.D. I've always believed if done right, armed robbery doesn't have to be a totally unpleasant experience. THELMA God. You're a real live outlaw! J.D. I may be the outlaw, but you're the one stealin' my heart. THELMA And smooth, boy, you are smooth. They kiss passionately. THELMA You're kinda the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. J.D. You're a little angle, you are. J.D. turns out the light. INT. JIMMY'S ROOM - NIGHT Louise and Jimmy are wrapped in each other's arms, quietly making love. Through this, Jimmy is ardent. JIMMY Louise? I think you are so damn beautiful. I mean that. I always have. She smiles. Completely. LOUISE (whispering) I think you're beautiful too. EXT. SIESTA MOTEL - DAWN MONTAGE of early morning staff, a truck driver climbing into his cab with a silver thermos, squirrels hopping around on the ground. INT. SIESTA COFFEE SHOP - DAWN TIGHT SHOT of coffee beginning to drip into an empty coffee pot. Louise and Jimmy are sitting in a booth, both on the same side. They are both playing with their wedding rings. JIMMY Don't worry darlin'. I'll say I never found you. I'll say anything you want. We'll find a way to get you out of this, whatever it is. LOUISE Damn, Jimmy, did you take a pill that makes you say all the right stuff? JIMMY I'm choking on it. They sit for a minute. JIMMY Honey? Ummm... Do you want me to come with you? They look at each other, into each other and Jimmy can see that Louise is already gone. Louise is really touched that he asked her that but she knows it's impossible. She is very kind to him. LOUISE Oh... now... it's probably not such a good idea right now. I'll... catch up with you later, on down the road. In her hand she's been holding the ring in the black box. She puts it on the table and slides it back to him. He stops her, suddenly. He covers her hand with his. JIMMY You keep this! Jimmy is trying not to seem upset, so he's completely still. A taxi pulls up outside. LOUISE Your taxi's here. Jimmy pulls her to him and kisses her so passionately that employees in the coffee shop look away. A cook fans himself with a spatula. The taxi driver, who can see in, looks at his watch. JIMMY Are you happy, Louise? I just want you to be happy. Louise looks at her hand and Jimmy's hand. LOUISE I'm happy, sweetie. Happy as I can be. Jimmy gets up and leaves the coffee shop. Louise watches him go. A WAITRESS comes over and fills her coffee cup. WAITRESS Good thing he left when he did. We thought we were gonna have to put out a fire. The Waitress chuckles and the other waitresses do too. Louise waves to Jimmy in the back of the cab. The cab driver winks at her. She smiles to herself. INT. THELMA'S MOTEL ROOM - MORNING The room is totally trashed. J.D. and Thelma are both asleep, naked and hanging off either side of the bed. J.D. starts to stir... INT. HAL'S BEDROOM - MORNING Hal is in bed with is WIFE. He has to get up. He is holding his wife in his arms. HAL Honey? SARAH Yes, baby? HAL Do you think you could ever shoot someone? SARAH What? HAL Do you think you could ever think of a set of circumstances that would just cause you to haul off and shoot someone? SARAH I could shoot your cousin Eddie. HAL Why? SARAH Because he's an inconsiderate asshole. HAL I'm asking you seriously, Sarah, a stranger? SARAH I don't know, honey. I guess it would depend. HAL On what? SARAH (trying to picture it) Well, maybe if they were trying to hurt you or one of the kids. I'm sure I could shoot someone if they tried to hurt one of the children. HAL Yeah, I could too. But... I don't know why I'm even asking you this. It's just... we can't place anybody at the scene but these two gals that everybody swears is sweet as pie. I don't know. I keep hearing words -- impossible -- inconceivable. If just one person would say... SARAH Honey. Nothing's impossible. You just don't shoot someone like that for no reason. Maybe he was askin' for it. Anyway, somebody's husband probably got ol' Harlan. HAL That's what everybody says. Only problem is nobody's husband was unaccounted for that night... Could you shoot Eddie in the face? At point blank range? SARAH (thinking) In the leg. HAL (getting up) I gotta go to Little Rock. INT. COFFEE SHOP - MORNING Louise is sitting in the booth by herself. Thelma comes hurrying by. She looks disheveled but is grinning like an idiot. She sees Louise and charges into the coffee shop. Her energy and volume is several notches higher than the rest of the people in the coffee shop. There are a couple more customers in there now. Thelma slides into the booth seated directly across from Louise. THELMA Hi. She is shocked by Thelma's appearance. LOUISE What happened to your hair? THELMA Nothing. It got messed up. Louise is studying Thelma closely as Thelma squirms in her seat, barely able to contain herself. LOUISE What's wrong with you? THELMA Nothing. Why? Do I seem different? LOUISE Yes, now that you mention it. You seem crazy. Like you're on drugs. THELMA Well, I'm not on drugs. But I might be crazy. LOUISE (shaking her head) I don't think I wanna hear what you're gonna tell me. Thelma is just about to shriek when the Waitress comes over and puts a coffee cup on the table and pours some. Thelma gets a grip on herself for a moment then loses it as the Waitress goes away. THELMA Oh my God, Louise!!! I can't believe it! I just really can't believe it! I mean... whoa! Thelma is just laughing hysterically. Louise suddenly understands. LOUISE Oh, Thelma. Oh, no. THELMA I mean I finally understand what all the fuss is about. This is just a whole 'nother ball game! LOUISE Thelma, please get a hold of yourself. You're making a spectacle. THELMA You know, Louise, you're supposed to be my best friend. You could at least be a little bit happy for me. You could at least pretend to be slightly happy that for once in my life I have a sexual experience that isn't completely disgusting. LOUISE I'm sorry. I am happy. I'm very happy for you. I'm glad you had a good time. It's about time. Where is he now? THELMA Taking a shower. LOUISE You left that guy alone in the room? Louise is getting a bad feeling. She is already standing up putting money on the table. LOUISE Where's the money, Thelma? Thelma has forgotten all about the money. THELMA Ummm... it's on the table. It's okay. They are both leaving the restaurant now. As they hit the door they both break into a full run. THELMA I don't remember. EXT. MOTEL PARKING LOT - DAY They run across the parking lot around the back to the room. The door is ajar and no one is in the room. Louise goes in and Thelma stays outside the door. THELMA Goddamnit! I've never been lucky! Not one time! Louise comes back outside. She doesn't say anything. She is stoic, fighting tears. THELMA Shit. That little sonofabitch burgled me. I don't believe it. Louise sits down on the sidewalk in front of the room. Thelma comes and sits beside her. Neither one says anything for a moment. THELMA Louise? Are you okay? Louise shakes her head no. THELMA Louise... It's okay. Louise? I'm sorry. I mean it. Louise has seen the end of the tunnel and there is no light. LOUISE It's not okay, Thelma. It's definitely not okay. None of this is okay. What are we going to do for money? What are we gonna buy gas with? Our good looks? I mean... Goddamn, Thelma! Louise quietly starts to fall apart. This causes Thelma to leap into action. THELMA Come on. Stand up! Don't you worry about it. I'll take care of it. Just don't you worry about it. Get your stuff. Louise is still sitting on the sidewalk. THELMA Come on! Damnit, get your stuff and let's get out of here! Louise slowly gets to her feet. THELMA Move! (to herself) Jesus Christ, take your damn time. Thelma is hauling stuff out of the car. EXT. MOTEL PARKING LOT - MORNING TIGHT SHOT of rear wheel of green T-Bird LAYING RUBBER out of the motel parking lot. Thelma and Louise, both looking a little rougher than we've seen so far, drive away. EXT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY Hal, FBI Man, various other police and detective types, pull up in front of the house. The front door swings open and there stands Darryl looking like he's been shot out of a cannon. EXT. STREET - DAY Louise and Thelma pull into a convenience store. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY Police are tapping the phones, dusting for prints, etc., while Darryl sits motionless in his recliner with a dull expression on his face. HAL (to Darryl) As you know, we've tapped your phone. In the event that she calls in. Max comes up and joins them as they walk down the hallway. MAX We're going to leave someone here at the house in the event that she calls in. Someone will be here until we find them. HAL The important thing is not to let on that you know anything. We want to try and find out where they are. Now I don't want to get too personal, but do you have a good relationship with your wife? Are you close with her? DARRYL Yeah, I guess. I mean, I'm about as close as I can be with a nut case like that. MAX Well, if she calls, just be gentle. Like you're happy to hear from her. You know, like you really miss her. Women love that shit. EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE - DAY Thelma and Louise are sitting in the car. They've put all their money together. LOUISE Eighty-eight dollars ain't gonna make a dent, baby girl. THELMA (getting out of the car) Don't worry about it. You want anything? LOUISE No. Thelma marches off to the store. Louise puts a tape in the deck and is listening to loud R&B MUSIC. She checks herself in the rearview mirror. She takes her lipstick out and is about to put it on. She makes eye contact with herself and, instead, throws it out the window, closes her eyes and leans her head back on the seat. She's in a world of shit. Thelma comes trotting out of the store and jumps into the car. THELMA (breathless) Drive! Louise looks at her. THELMA Drive! Drive away! LOUISE (driving away) What happened? Thelma opens her purse and exposes a bag full of bills. LOUISE What? You robbed the store? You robbed the Goddamn store?! Thelma shrieks with excitement. Louise is completely stunned. THELMA Well! We needed the money! It's not like I killed anybody, for God's sake. Louise shoots her a look. She puts the car in gear and FLOORS it out of the parking lot. She is still looking at Thelma as if she has completely lost her mind. THELMA I'm sorry. Well, we need the money. Now we have it. LOUISE Oh shit, Thelma!! Shit! Shit! Shit! THELMA (sternly) Now you get a grip, Louise! Just drive us to Goddamn Mexico, will ya! LOUISE Okay. Shit, Thelma! What'd you do? I mean, what did you say? THELMA Well, I just... INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY Hal, Max, various other cops, and Darryl all watch as TV plays back VCR TAPE of Thelma in the convenience store pulling a gun. In perfect lip sync is: THELMA (V.O.) Alright, ladies and gentleman, let's see who'll win the prize for keepin' their cool. Everybody lie down on the floor. If nobody loses their head, then nobody loses their head... TIGHT SHOT of Darryl's face going deeper and deeper into a state of shock. TIGHT SHOTS of Hal, Max, etc., all looking intently at the screen. VIDEO IMAGE of Thelma boldly ordering cashier to fill her purse with money. As he's loading the purse with bills, she's taking beef jerky from the display and putting it in there, too, while she points the gun at the cashier. THELMA (V.O.) (videotape playback) You, sir... You do the honors. Just empty that cash into this bag and you'll have an amazing story to tell all your friends. If not, you'll have a tag on your toe. You decide. CUT TO: INT. CAR - DAY Thelma and Louise in car, driving. LOUISE (incredulous) Holy shit. CUT TO: INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY TIGHT SHOT: DARRYL Jesus Christ. TIGHT SHOT: MAX Good God. TIGHT SHOT: HAL (wearily) My Lord. EXT. DRIVING SHOT - DAY LOUISE Holy shit. THELMA Lemme see the map. Louise throws the map across the front seat at Thelma and FLOORS it. FADE TO BLACK FADE IN: INT. JIMMY'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY Jimmy is entering the apartment building, carrying his overnight bag. Two men are sitting on the stairs. They stand as he comes in. They are plainclothes police. They show their badges. He leaves with them. EXT. ROAD - TIGHT SHOT - J.D.'S BACKSIDE - DAY made only more prominent by the bulging wallet in his back right pocket. J.D. is walking down the road and continues to walk as an Oklahoma State Patrol car pulls up alongside him. He smiles and gives a friendly wave as they cruise along slowly beside him. We can see the cop nearest him talking, and then we see J.D. stop walking and set down his duffel bag. He reaches for his wallet. It's clear that they have asked for some I.D. EXT. RURAL ROAD - DAY Louise is driving. They fly past a kid on his bike on a long gravel driveway. He watches them. A huge cloud of dust blows up as they pass him. He turns and rides his bike down the driveway towards the house. INT. CAR - DAY THELMA Louise, you'd better slow down. I'll just die if we get caught over a speeding ticket. Louise looks at the speedometer touching 80 mph and lets her foot off the gas. Louise is looking a little nervous. LOUISE For the first time in my life, I wish this car wasn't green. THELMA Are you sure we should be driving like this? In broad daylight and everything? LOUISE No we shouldn't, but I want to put some distance between us and the scene of our last Goddamn crime! THELMA Oooooweee!! You shoulda seen me! Like I'd been doin' it all my life! Nobody would ever believe it. LOUISE You think you've found your calling? THELMA Maybe. Maybe. The call of the wild! Thelma howls like a dog and drinks a little bottle of Wild Turkey. LOUISE You're disturbed. THELMA Yes! I believe I am! INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY Jimmy is in a small room with Hal, Max, other cops, looking stunned. JIMMY I swear to God, she wouldn't tell me one thing! Christ! You oughta try to find that kid that was with 'em. HAL Tell us about him. JIMMY Just some young guy. Around twenty years old. Dark hair. Jimmy is really upset and has to really struggle to control himself. JIMMY (trying to remember him) They said they'd picked him up along the way. He was a student. But he didn't look right. But he left when they got to the motel. MAX Do you understand that you may be facing an accessory charge? HAL This is serious, son. A man is dead. JIMMY I know! I'd tell you if I knew! Goddamn! I know something happened, or she wouldn't have left. I'm trying to remember everything! Find that fucking kid. He probably knows something. EXT. DRIVING SHOT - DAY Thelma and Louise are in the car. Thelma is taking empty little Wild Turkey bottles out of her purse and throwing them out the window. LOUISE So what's the plan, Thelma? You just gonna stay drunk? THELMA Try to. LOUISE Litterbug. They come ROARING up on a semi-tanker carrying gas. We see their FISH-EYE REFLECTIONS in the shiny tanker. The mud flaps are the shiny silhouettes of naked women that Thelma and Louise saw earlier. The truck is going slower than they are. LOUISE Aw, great. This always happens. Whenever you're in a hurry. She noses out to see if she can pass, but there's a car coming. The car passes and the truck HONKS. The truck driver's arm comes out his window and waves them past. THELMA Isn't that nice? Truck drivers are always so nice. The best drivers on the road. As they get next to the truck, the truck driver is smiling and waving at them. They smile and wave back. He flicks his tongue at them. Louise screams. THELMA/LOUISE Ugh!! Gross!! Oh my God! Aw, God! Louise FLOORS it and speeds past him. THELMA Ugh!! Why do they have to do that? LOUISE They think we like it. Maybe they think it turns us on. Louise shivers with disgust. INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY Jimmy is looking at police mug shots of a lot of young guys. Hal shows Jimmy a mug shot of J.D. HAL Is this the guy you saw them with? JIMMY (looking closely) It's him. MAX (clapping his hands) Oh, happy day. JIMMY You gotta be kiddin' me. They picked up a murderer?! HAL Armed robber. JIMMY Oh, great. MAX (to Hal) They're flying him here right now. He was picked up this morning for parole violation. They also found about six grand on him, so he probably knocked over something while he was out there. They can drop him by here for questioning. I'm so happy. JIMMY (overhearing) How much cash did he have? EXT. POLICE STATION - DAY J.D. arriving, handcuffed, at State Police building. EXT. DIRT ROAD - DAY The T-Bird is entering terrain that looks more like desert. The top of the T-Bird is up. INT. CAR - DAY LOUISE Thelma. THELMA Yeah. LOUISE I want you to call Darryl. THELMA What for? LOUISE To find out if he knows anything. If you think he does, you gotta hang up because it means the police have told him and the phone is probably tapped. THELMA Jeez, Louise, tapped the phone? You think so? LOUISE (agitated) Oh, come on! Murder one and armed robbery, Thelma! THELMA Murder one! God, Louise, can't we even say it was self-defense? LOUISE But it wasn't! We got away! We were walkin' away! THELMA They don't know that! It was just you and me there. I'll say he raped me and you had to shoot him! I mean, it's almost the truth! LOUISE It won't work. THELMA Why not?! LOUISE No physical evidence. We can't prove he did it. We probably can't even prove he touched you by now. They both pause for a moment. THELMA God. The law is some tricky shit, isn't it? Then: THELMA How do you know 'bout all this stuff anyway? Louise does not answer the question. LOUISE Besides, what do we say about the robbery? No excuse for that. No such thing as justifiable robbery. THELMA Alright, Louise! EXT. DIRT ROAD - HELICOPTER SHOT - DUSK As the sun sets, the T-Bird drives deeper into the vast desert. INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT Darryl is sitting in the hallway. Two officers are leading J.D. down the hall. Hal, Max, other plainclothes officers follow. Darryl looks at Hal questioningly. Hal doesn't respond and the entourage quickly goes into a room. Darryl stands and crosses the hall to the room as the door shuts in his face. DARRYL (yelling at the door) Hey! Hey! INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT J.D. Who's the nut? HAL That's Thelma Dickinson's husband. J.D. Aw, God. INT. POLICE STATION - HALLWAY - NIGHT Darryl tries the doorknob, but the door is locked. INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT Hal, Max, J.D., other officers. There is a VCR and monitor set up in the room and they view the videotape of Thelma in the convenience store. J.D. (pleased) Alright! She did good! Didn't she? HAL Well, son, she's doin' a damn sight better 'n you right now. MAX Where did you get $6600.00 in cash? J.D. A friend. HAL We spoke with a gentlemen today who says he personally delivered very close to that same amount to a Miss Louise Sawyer. Do you know her too? J.D. Umm, yes. She was driving. HAL He said he took it to a motel in Oklahoma City. He also says that at that time he met a man. He identified you through a series of mug shots. He also told us that you and Mrs. Dickinson seemed "close." Is that true? J.D. You might say we had a meeting of the minds, yes. MAX Did you know that Mrs. Dickinson and Miss Sawyer are wanted in connection with a murder? J.D. What?! HAL Did either of them ever indicate that they might be running from the Law? J.D. (surprised to hear this) Now that you mention it, they might have been a little bit jumpy. HAL You know what? You're starting to irritate me. MAX Yeah. Me too. Hal thinks for a moment and then looks to Max. HAL Do you mind if I have a word with him alone for a minute. Max agrees and opens the door for the others to leave. He and Hal make eye contact before Max closes the door. J.D. What?! What'd I do? Hal sits down across the table from J.D. and looks at him. HAL Son, I gotta feelin' about somethin' and I just wanna ask your opinion. Do you think Thelma Dickinson would have committed armed robbery if you hadn't taken all their money? J.D. doesn't say anything. They both just sit there for a moment. HAL Cat got your tongue? J.D. shifts in his chair. J.D. How do you know I took it? How do you know they didn't just give it to me? HAL There's two girls out there that had a chance, they had a chance...! And you blew it for 'em. Now they've gotten in some serious trouble, some very serious trouble and for at least part of it, I'm gonna hold you personally responsible for anything that happens to them. I've got no feelin' for you. But I may be the only person in the world who gives a rat's ass what happens to them and you're either gonna tell me every damn thing you know, so there's a small chance I can actually do them some good, or I'm gonna be all over you like a fly on shit for the rest of your natural life. Your misery is gonna be my goddamn mission in life. That's a sincere promise. Hal walks over and opens the door and Max and the others straggle back in. HAL Now, for one thing, you violated your parole two days out. And you know Judge Hainey. He hates this sort of thing. Once he gets wind of this, he's gonna blow sky high. And then when he finds out that you're a possible accessory to murder and armed robbery, well, I think we can safely place your ass back in the slammer for at least the remaining eight, don't you? MAX Oh, definitely. J.D. (convinced) Okay. Is somebody gonna write this down? INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT Darryl is sitting in the hallway. Hal comes out of the room first. HAL Mr. Dickinson, if you'll just hang on, I want a word with you and then we'll take you home. Police officers lead J.D. out of the interrogation room, down the hallway. Darryl is watching J.D. closely. J.D. is smirking at him. J.D. (slyly, to Darryl) I like your wife. DARRYL (going after him) Come back here, you little shit! Hal and another police officer are restraining Darryl. J.D. is led off down the hall. EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT Louise and Thelma pull into a gas station. EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT A gas station attendant approaches as Louise and Thelma are getting out of the car. LOUISE (to attendant) Fill her up. (to Thelma) There's a phone right over there. THELMA Let's get it over with. Thelma and Louise walk to the phone. LOUISE I'm not kidding, Thelma. If you think he knows, even if you're not sure, hang up. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - NIGHT The TV is ON and the place is a mess. Darryl, Hal, Max, and other cops spring into action as the phone RINGS, putting on headsets, turning on tape recorders. Darryl picks up the phone. DARRYL Hello. EXT. PAY PHONE - NIGHT THELMA Darryl. It's me. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - NIGHT Hal, Max, etc., all are gesticulating wildly. DARRYL (real friendly) Thelma! Hello! EXT. PAY PHONE Thelma hangs up the phone. THELMA (matter-of-factly) He knows. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - NIGHT Everyone is very disappointed, taking off their headsets, turning off tape recorders and looking at Darryl like he's an idiot. HAL Shit. Darryl still holds the phone in his hand. DARRYL What?! All I said was hello. EXT. PAY PHONE - NIGHT Thelma and Louise are staring at each other intently. Louise steps up to the phone. LOUISE You got any change? Thelma digs in her bag and hands Louise a roll of quarters. Louise gets out of the car and goes to the pay phone. Thelma follows her. She puts the money in and dials. It RINGS. LOUISE Darryl, this is Louise. Are the police there? INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - NIGHT Again everybody springs into action. Darryl is fumbling with the phone. DARRYL Uh, no! No, why would any police be here? Hey, where are you girls, anyway? Darryl gives Hal and Max a look as if he's got it completely under control. Clever guy. EXT. PHONE - NIGHT LOUISE Let me talk to whoever's in charge there? INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - NIGHT DARRYL What are you talking about, Louise? Hal comes over and takes the phone away from Darryl. Hal looks at Max who nods, "take it." HAL Hello, Miss Sawyer. I'm Hal Slocumbe, Chief Investigator, Homicide, Arkansas State Police. How are you? EXT. PHONE - NIGHT LOUISE (chuckling) I've been better. HAL (V.O.) You girls are in some hot water. LOUISE Yes, sir. I know. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - NIGHT HAL You're both okay? Neither one of you hurt? You're bein' careful with that gun? EXT. PHONE - NIGHT LOUISE We're both fine. HAL (V.O.) Good. You wanna tell me what happened? LOUISE Sure. Maybe over coffee sometime. I'll buy. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - NIGHT HAL I just want you to know, neither one of you are charged with murder yet. You're still just wanted for questioning. Although, now, Mrs. Dickinson's wanted in Oklahoma for armed robbery. EXT. PHONE - NIGHT LOUISE No kiddin'. Listen, we gotta go. I'll call you back, all right? Louise looks at her watch. HAL (V.O.) Miss Sawyer, I don't think y'all are gonna make it to Mexico. We should talk. Please. I wanna to help you. On hearing this Louise mouths the word "shit" in a very frustrated way. Louise hangs up the phone. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - NIGHT All are busy trying to see if the call was traced. Darryl is back in his recliner still in shock. EXT. PAY PHONE - NIGHT She is stomping back to the car. Thelma follows doggedly. A moving van pulls in and parks in the b.g. LOUISE That J.D. kid is a little shit. THELMA What. Louise stops as she is about to get in and faces Thelma who's standing on the other side of the car. LOUISE How'd they find out we're going to Mexico, Thelma, how they know that? THELMA I... I... LOUISE You told that thievin' little shit where we were goin'?! Louise yanks open her car door, gets in and slams the door and fires up the ENGINE. Thelma hops in quickly. THELMA I just told him if he ever gets to Mexico to look us up. I asked him not to tell. I didn't think he would tell anybody. LOUISE Why not?! What's he got to lose? Other than my life's savings, that is. Shit! Louise careens back onto the road. THELMA I'm sorry. I mean I... Louise slams on the brakes. LOUISE Goddamnit, Thelma! Let me explain something to you. Right now we have only two things goin' for us. One, nobody knows where we are, and two, nobody knows where we're going. Now, one of our things that was going for us is gone! Louise stops yelling for a moment groping for self-control. Thelma looks pitiful. LOUISE Just stop talkin' to people, Thelma! Stop bein' so open! We're fugitives now. Let's behave that way! THELMA You're right. EXT. LONELY ROAD - NIGHT (MUSCO LIGHT) The T-Bird flashes by on a road that looks a lot like Route 66. THELMA (V.O.) Louise? Where are we? LOUISE (V.O.) Just past Boise City. THELMA (V.O.) Idaho? LOUISE (V.O.) Oklahoma, Thelma. We're crossing into New Mexico. THELMA (V.O.) I always wanted to see New Mexico. EXT. THELMA'S POV - OUT PASSENGER WINDOW - PITCH BLACK EXT. BACK ROAD - NIGHT The car goes streaking by. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - NIGHT (MUSCO LIGHT) All's quiet. The large screen TV is ON and the room is filled with dense smoke. Hal, Max, sit at a table going over paperwork. Other plainclothes and surveillance guys play cards. Darryl sits crumpled in his recliner staring blankly at the TV. INT. JIMMY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Jimmy sits on his couch with his guitar while two plainclothes cops sit reading the paper, doing the crossword puzzle. INT. CAR - NIGHT Over music from tape: Thelma is sipping on a little Wild Turkey. THELMA Now what? LOUISE Now what what? THELMA Whaddo we do? LOUISE Oh, I don't know, Thelma. I guess maybe we could turn ourselves in and spend our lives trading cigarettes for mascara so we can look nice when our families come to visit us on Saturdays. Maybe we could have children with the prison guards. THELMA I'm not suggestin' that! I'm not goin' back. No matter what happens. So don't worry about me. Louise speeds up. Thelma hands Louise a little bottle of Wild Turkey and she drinks it down. Thelma has one too. THELMA Can I ask you kind of a weird question? LOUISE Yeah. THELMA Of all the things in the world that scare you, what's the worst thing that scares you the most? LOUISE You mean now or before? THELMA Before. LOUISE I guess I always thought the worst thing that could happen would be to end up old and alone in some crummy apartment with one of those little dogs. THELMA What little dogs? LOUISE You know those little dogs you see people with? THELMA Like a Chihuahua? LOUISE Those, too, but you know those little hairy ones? Those flat-faced little fuckers with those ugly goddamned teeth? THELMA Oh yeah. You mean Peek-a-poos. LOUISE Yeah. Those. That always put the fear of God in me. What about you? THELMA Well, to be honest, the idea of getting old with Darryl was kinda startin' to get to me. LOUISE I can see that. THELMA I mean, look how different he looks just since high school. It's bad enough I have to get old, but doin' it with Darryl around is only gonna make it worse. (quieter) I mean, I don't think he's gonna be very nice about it. LOUISE Well, now, maybe you won't have to. THELMA Always lookin' on the bright side, aren't ya? EXT. MOONLIT DESERT HIGHWAY - NIGHT (MUSCO LIGHT) They are driving through Monument Valley. The T-Bird speeds through the beautifully moonlit desert. It is almost like daylight. MONTAGE of silhouettes of cacti, huge rock formations, desert beauty SHOTS, etc. INT. CAR - POV THROUGH WINDSHIELD - NIGHT The sky is bright and expansive and the road goes on forever. THELMA This is so beautiful. LOUISE Gosh. It sure is. THELMA I always wanted to travel. I just never got the opportunity. LOUISE Well, you got it now. They both look forward for another moment. And then, at the same time, they look at each other, each taking the other one in completely, in this moment. They're saying everything to each other in this moment, but their expressions don't change and they don't say a word. MUSIC plays on the RADIO. EXT. DESERT HIGHWAY - NIGHT A semi-gas tanker is up ahead on the road. It looks like the one they saw earlier. It's got the same mud flaps... INT. CAR - NIGHT LOUISE Look! Look who it is, Thelma. I'll be darned. What's he doin' way out here. THELMA Just ignore him. Louise passes him and, as she does, he HONKS. They look up and he is wildly pointing to his lap. LOUISE Oh, Christ. I hate this guy. THELMA We should have just ignored him. EXT. DESERT HIGHWAY - DAWN (OVER MUSIC) The car is flying down the road. INT. CAR - DESERT HIGHWAY - DAWN They are quiet for a moment, then Thelma starts quietly laughing to herself. She is trying to stop but cannot. LOUISE What? THELMA (shaking with laughter) Nothing. It's not funny. LOUISE What? What's not funny, Thelma! Thelma is trying to compose herself but cannot. THELMA Okay, but... (she can barely speak) I can't say. Thelma isn't making a sound. She is stuck in a convulsion of laughter. LOUISE What?! THELMA (gasping for air) Harlan. LOUISE What?! What about him?! THELMA Just the look on his face when you... (she is falling apart again) ...it's not funny. LOUISE (shocked) Now, Thelma, that is not... Thelma is still trying to get a grip on herself. THELMA Boy, he wasn't expectin' that! LOUISE (scolding) Thelma! THELMA (impersonating Harlan) Suck my dick... Boom!! Thelma is laughing wildly. LOUISE (quietly) Thelma. It's not funny. Thelma has just crossed the line from laughing to crying. THELMA (trying to catch her breath) I know! They both get quiet. Thelma leans back just watching Louise. She studies her as if she's never really seen her before. All of a sudden a look of shocked realization comes over Thelma's face. She jerks upright and startles Louise. THELMA (carefully) It happened to you... didn't it? Louise knows what she is talking about. She becomes immediately agitated. LOUISE I don't want to talk about it! Thelma, I'm not kidding! Don't you even... THELMA ...in Texas... didn't it? That's what happened... Oh my God. Louise looks as if she is looking for a way to flee. LOUISE (fighting hysteria) I'm warning you, Thelma. You better drop it right now! I don't want to talk about it! THELMA (gently) Okay, Louise... It's okay. Louise's eyes are wild, not seeing, while Thelma now seems completely serene. EXT. DESERT HIGHWAY - DAWN The car is SCREAMING down the road. They drive through a little stand of buildings. EXT. DESERT HIGHWAY - LONG LENS SHOT - DAWN A car speeds up to try and catch them... The red and blue lights pop on. It is a New Mexico State Patrol car. INT. CAR - DAY Louise sees the lights in the rearview mirror. LOUISE'S POV OF THE SPEEDOMETER at 100 mph. Thelma is asleep. LOUISE Shit! Thelma, wake up! Shit! We're gettin' pulled over! Thelma jumps awake. THELMA What! What! Oh shit! Oh no! They are trying not to panic. They are slowing down, but still doing 70 mph. The patrol car is right behind them. THELMA What do we do? What do you want to do?! LOUISE I don't know! Shit! Let's just play it by ear. He may not know. He may just give me a ticket. THELMA Please, God, please don't let us get caught. Please, please, please... Louise pulls the car off the road. The patrol car pulls up right behind them. The lights shine brightly in through the windows. EXT. SIDE OF DESERT HIGHWAY - DAY PATROLMAN (O.S.) Turn off your engine. Louise does. The PATROLMAN gets out of his car and approaches their car. He comes to the driver's side window. It is rolled up. PATROLMAN'S POV OF LOUISE smiling up at him. He gestures to her to roll her window down. She does. LOUISE Hello, Officer. Is there a problem? PATROLMAN You wanna let me see your license, please? Louise fumbles in her purse for her wallet, opens it and shows her license. PATROLMAN You wanna take it out of your wallet, please? LOUISE Oh yeah. She does and hands it to him. THELMA I told you to slow down. Hell, Officer, I told her to slow down. LOUISE About how fast was I going? PATROLMAN About a hundred and ten. You wanna step out of the car, please? They walk to the back of the car. He notes the license plate number. PATROLMAN Is this your car? LOUISE Yes. PATROLMAN You wanna come with me, please? Walk around and get in the car, please. LOUISE In the back? PATROLMAN Front. LOUISE Am I in trouble? PATROLMAN As far as I'm concerned, yes, ma'am, you are. Patrolman gets in the driver's side. He picks up a clipboard and clips Louise's driver's license to it. He picks up the hand mike for the radio and, as he does, a hand with a gun comes in his car window. It's Thelma and she puts the gun to his head. THELMA Officer, I am so sorry about this. Could you let go of that? He drops it. THELMA I really, really apologize, but please put your hands on the steering wheel. See, if you get on that radio, you're gonna find out that we're wanted in two states and probably considered armed and dangerous, at least I am, then our whole plan would be shot to hell. Louise, take his gun. Louise reaches over and takes his gun. LOUISE (apologetic) I am really sorry about this. THELMA I swear, before yesterday, neither one of us would have ever pulled a stunt like this. But if you ever met my husband, you'd know why I just can... You wanna step out of the car, please? (she opens the door for him) You wanna put your hands on your head, please? Louise, shoot the radio. LOUISE What? THELMA Shoot the radio! Louise SHOOTS the car radio. The cop flinches with each shot. THELMA The police radio, Louise! Jesus! Louise fires TWO SHOTS into the police radio. It BLASTS all to hell. THELMA You wanna step to the back of the car, please. Louise, bring the keys. Louise reaches over and takes the keys. She takes her license off the clipboard. She gets out and trots around to the back of the car. Thelma is holding the gun on the Patrolman. Suddenly Thelma FIRES the gun, blowing two holes into the trunk cover. THELMA (to Louise) Open the trunk. Louise opens the trunk. THELMA (to Patrolman) You wanna step into the trunk, please? PATROLMAN Ma'am, please... I got kids... a wife... THELMA You do? Well, you're lucky. You be sweet to 'em. Especially your wife. My husband wasn't sweet to me and look how I turned out. Now go on, get in there. As he's climbing into the trunk, Thelma explains to Louise: THELMA Air holes. He's all the way in and Louise closes the trunk. INT. PATROL CAR - DAY Thelma opens the glove compartment. She takes a box of spare ammo and closes it. Thelma takes the keys and gets out of the car. She walks around to the trunk. EXT. PATROL CAR - DAY THELMA (to trunk) Sorry! LOUISE (from her car) Sorry! Thelma hops into the car with Louise. They look at each other. LOUISE Ready? THELMA Hit it. Louise pulls the car back onto the road and they drive away. INT. CAR - DAY THELMA (shaking her head) I know it's crazy, Louise, but I just feel like I've got a knack for this shit. LOUISE I believe you. EXT. CAR - MONTAGE DRIVING SHOTS - DAY They are in really beautiful country now. THELMA (V.O.) Drive like hell. INT. THELMA'S KITCHEN - MORNING Hal and Max are alone in the kitchen. Hal switches on the Mr. Coffee. MAX It's just not working like this. We gotta do something. It'd be one thing if these girls were hardened criminals, but Jesus, Hal, this is makin' us look bad. I don't know... maybe they're not movin'. Maybe that little creep lied. HAL He's got nothin' to gain by lyin'. Nothin' at all. He already got all their money. I just don't know what we're dealin' with here. Anyway, it went out again last night on Nationwide Teletype. Let's just wait it out a little longer. She said she was gonna call back. Let's just sit tight. MAX We don't have a whole lotta choice, do we? I can't figure out if they're real smart or just really, really lucky. HAL It don't matter. Brains will only get you so far and luck always runs out. A cop walks into the kitchen and hands Hal a file that says Louise Elizabeth Sawyer on the outside. He opens it up and starts looking through a personal history. One piece of paper is a case file from Texas containing an incident report of a rape. Stamped across it are the words "charges dropped." INT. CAR - DAY THELMA Louise... are we still going to Mexico? LOUISE Yes. Thelma pauses while she searches for the logic. THELMA Then aren't we going in the wrong direction? LOUISE Well, I figure if you take a state policeman, shoot up his car, take his gun and lock him in the trunk, it's best to just get on out of the state if you can. THELMA Just asking. They are both quiet for a second. Louise goes a little faster. Thelma is digging through her bag. She hands Louise a piece of beef jerky. LOUISE I don't want to see any more beef jerky. I mean the next beef jerky you hand me is going out the window. It's drivin' me crazy. The whole car smells like it. THELMA It's good. It's what the pioneers ate. LOUISE I don't care what the damn pioneers ate. You just keep that shit away from me, now I mean it. Thelma puts down her bag. LOUISE And I don't want any more Wild Turkey, either. It's burning a hole in my stomach. THELMA Okay, okay... I've got some tequila. You want some tequila? LOUISE You do? THELMA Yeah, you want it? LOUISE Yeah. Thelma starts to dig through her bag again. THELMA It's in here somewhere. Louise is rubbing her face. She looks pretty bad. Her hands are shaking. LOUISE Shit. I'm gettin' tired. THELMA Are you alright? Louise does not really seem alright. LOUISE I think I've really fucked up. I think I've got us in a situation where we could both get killed. Why didn't we just go straight to the police. THELMA You know why. You already said. LOUISE What'd I say again? THELMA Nobody would believe us. We'd still get in trouble. We'd still have our lives ruined. And you know what else? LOUISE What? THELMA That guy was hurtin' me. And if you hadn't come out when you did, he'd a hurt me a lot worse. And probably nothin' woulda happened to him. 'Cause everybody did see me dancin' with him all night. And they woulda made out like I asked for it. And my life woulda been ruined a whole lot worse than it is now. At least now I'm havin' fun. And I'm not sorry the son of a bitch is dead. I'm only sorry that it was you that did it and not me. And if I haven't, I wanna take this time to thank you, Louise. Thank you for savin' my ass. LOUISE I said all that? THELMA No, Louise, you said the first part. I said all the rest. LOUISE (tired) Whatever. EXT. ROADSIDE REST STATION - MORNING Louise is at a pay phone as the sky is just starting to get light. Thelma is in the bathroom nearby. Louise has already dialed and the phone is RINGING. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - MORNING The TV DRONES on in the b.g. as the phone RINGS there, everyone leaps into action again. Max picks up the phone. MAX Hello. LOUISE (V.O.) Let me speak to... Slocumbe. MAX (to Hal) She wants to talk to you. HAL Hello, Louise. EXT. PAY PHONE - MORNING LOUISE Hey. HAL (V.O.) How are things goin' out there? LOUISE Weird. Got some kind of snowball effect goin' here or somethin'. HAL (V.O.) You're still with us though. You're somewhere on the face of the earth? LOUISE Well, we're not in the middle of nowhere, but we can see it from here. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - MORNING Hal smiles. HAL I swear. Louise, I almost feel like I know you. LOUISE (V.O.) Well. You don't. HAL You're gettin' in deeper every moment you're gone. LOUISE (V.O.) Would you believe me if I told you this whole thing is an accident? HAL I do believe you. That's what I want everybody to believe. Trouble is, it doesn't look like an accident and you're not here to tell me about it... I need you to help me here. EXT. PAY PHONE - MORNING Louise does not answer. HAL (V.O.) Did Harlan Puckett... Through clenched teeth, repulsed: LOUISE (interrupting) No! HAL (V.O.) You want to come on in? Louise thinks for a minute. LOUISE I don't think so. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY HAL Then I'm sorry. We're gonna have to charge you with murder. Now, do you want to come out of this alive? The surveillance man motions to Hal to keep it going. Darryl comes in and immediately realizes Hal is talking to Louise. Darryl looks attentively at Hal. EXT. PAY PHONE - DAY LOUISE You know, certain words and phrases just keep floating through my mind, things like incarceration, cavity search, life imprisonment, death by electrocution, that sort of thing. So, come out alive? I don't know. Let us think about that. HAL (V.O.) Louise, I'll do anything. I know what's makin' you run. I know what happened to you in Texas. Louise's eyes get wide as she hears this. A FINGER reaches up and presses down the lever and hangs up the phone. ANGLE OF THELMA She has her finger on the lever. THELMA Come on, Louise. Don't blow it. Let's go. She walks away towards the car. Louise is still standing there holding the phone. Thelma stops and looks at her. THELMA Come on. Louise doesn't move. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY Frustrated, Hal slams down the phone. He looks over at the surveillance man who nods to say "we got it." The whole room reacts excitedly. Everyone in the room springs into action. Max immediately picks up the phone and Hal watches him intently. He mouths the words to Max -- "I wanna go" emphatically. Max slightly shakes his head, still of the phone. Hal goes charging over to Max. HAL Max. You gotta take me there! I'm... I'm the only one she's ever talked to. I don't want anybody losin' their heads. You know what happens. The volume gets turned way up and the next thing you know those girls are gonna get shot. Max, still holding the phone, is surprised by this outburst. MAX (calmly) Okay, Hal, okay. EXT. PAY PHONE - DAY Louise is still standing there. THELMA Louise? LOUISE Yes, Thelma? THELMA You're not gonna give up on me, are ya? LOUISE What do you mean? THELMA You're not gonna make some deal with that guy, are you? I mean, I just wanna know. LOUISE No, Thelma. I'm not gonna make any deals. THELMA I can understand if you're thinkin' about it. I mean, in a way, you've got something to go back for. I mean Jimmy and everything. Louise is surprised to be hearing this from Thelma. LOUISE Thelma, that is not an option. THELMA But I don't know... something's crossed over in me and I can't go back. I mean, I just couldn't live... LOUISE I know. I know what you mean. I don't wanna end up on the damn Geraldo Show. They are both quiet for a moment. LOUISE He said they're charging us with murder. THELMA (making a face) Eeuww. LOUISE And we have to decide whether we want to come out of this dead or alive. THELMA Gosh, didn't he say anything positive at all? Louise STARTS the car. They lurch into reverse then SCREECH forward as they tear off down the road. WIDE SHOT OF CAR as they fly down the road. THELMA Louise, do you think we should change cars, get another car? LOUISE Sure... You know how to hotwire a car? THELMA No. LOUISE Well, let me know when you figure it out. EXT. AIRSTRIP - DAY A car pulls up on an airstrip and stops next to a small jet. Hal and Max get out of the car and board the plane. EXT. DESERT - DAY MONTAGE of driving shots as Louise and Thelma drive through the intense beauty of the Arizona desert. INT. CAR - DAY THELMA You awake? LOUISE You could call it that. My eyes are open. THELMA Me too. I feel awake. LOUISE Good. THELMA Wide awake. I don't remember ever feelin' this awake. Everything looks different. You know what I mean. I know you know what I mean. Everything looks new. Do you feel like that? Like you've got something to look forward to? Louise and Thelma both get quiet for a second. LOUISE We'll be drinkin' margaritas by the sea, Mamasita. THELMA We can change our names. LOUISE We can live in a hacienda. THELMA I wanna get a job. I wanna work at Club Med. LOUISE Yes! Yes! Now what kind of deal do you think that cop can come up with to beat that? THELMA It'd have to be pretty good. LOUISE It would have to be pretty damn good. They are both laughing. The car is still flying down the road. The sun is coming higher in the sky now. They come to an intersection in the middle of nowhere. Louise stops and looks at the map. LOUISE We should head a little further in. There's not that many roads in this state. I want to try to hit Mexico somewhere not so close to New Mexico. They probably wanna kill us in New Mexico. THELMA You're drivin'. Louise takes a right turn and speeds down the road. EXT. DESERT ROAD - DAY Louise and Thelma are singing along to a wild R&B SONG. They do the hand movements as if they are the Supremes. They come roaring up on the semi-tanker, the same one they have seen three times before. THELMA (screaming over music) Oh my God! Louise! Look! Look! See if that's him! LOUISE It's him. He's got California plates. It's the same guy. THELMA Pass him! EXT. DESERT ROAD - DAY Louise bears down really hard and passes him. Again as they get right next to him, he blows kisses down at them. He is leering at them and laughing. Louise and Thelma drive further down the road. Louise pulls the car off to the side of the road. As the truck gets close they start waving to him to stop. He pulls his truck off the side of the road and stops. ANGLE ON Louise and Thelma smiling up at him. He chuckles to himself. He leans out the window. THELMA Hi! TRUCKER Hi there! You alright? THELMA We're fine! How are you? TRUCKER Grrrreat! LOUISE Follow us. They turn off onto a dirt road and pull to a stop. INT. TRUCK CAB - DAY The Trucker reaches over and opens a glove compartment crammed full of condoms. He grabs a few and shoves them in his pocket. He turns off his engine and gets out of the truck. EXT. SIDE OF ROAD - DAY He walks up to the car. Louise and Thelma get out of the car. THELMA Where you goin'? TRUCKER Fresno. LOUISE We been seein' you all along the way. TRUCKER Yeah. I been seein' you, too. THELMA We think you have really bad manners. Louise nods. LOUISE We were just wonderin' where you think you get off behavin' like that to women you don't even know. This is not what is supposed to be happening. TRUCKER What? What are you talkin' about? LOUISE You know good and damn well what I'm talkin' about. THELMA I mean really! That business with your tongue. What is that? That's disgusting! LOUISE And, oh my God, that other thing, that pointing to your lap? What's that supposed to mean exactly? Does that mean pull over, I want to show you what a big fat slob I am or... THELMA Does that mean suck my dick? TRUCKER You women are crazy! LOUISE You got that right. THELMA We think you should apologize. He is getting a little panicky. TRUCKER I'm not apologizing for shit! LOUISE Say you're sorry. TRUCKER Fuck that. Louise pulls the gun they stole from the State Patrolman. LOUISE Say you're sorry or we'll make you fuckin' sorry. He looks at the gun. TRUCKER Oh, Jesus! THELMA You probably even called us beavers on your CB radio, didn't you? TRUCKER Yeah... sure did. THELMA Damn. I hate that! I hate bein' called a beaver, don't you? LOUISE Are you going to apologize or not? TRUCKER Fuck you. Louise looks at his truck off in the distance. She points the gun at it, takes a second to get a bead, then SHOOTS two of the tires flat. The truck slowly sinks as the air escapes from the tires. TRUCKER Oh goddamn!! You bitch!! Louise and Thelma look at each other. They both turn towards the truck and FIRE rounds into the tankers until they EXPLODE in a huge ball of fire. The truck driver screams at the top of his lungs. Louise starts the car and starts driving in circles around the truck driver. Thelma and Louise are both howling at the top of their lungs. Thelma is sitting on the back of the front seat with her legs on the dashboard. TRUCKER You fucking bitch! Aaaaaaarrrgghh!!! You're gonna have to pay for that!!! I'm gonna make you pay for that!! You hear me??!! Louise stops the car right next to him. THELMA Shut up. Louise takes off again and Thelma falls into the back seat. They drive off trailing a huge cloud of dust. EXT. DESERT - DAY Louise drives through the desert back towards the road, past the burning debris of the truck. As she gets to the road she stops. Thelma climbs into the front seat. INT. CAR - DAY THELMA Hey. Where'd you learn to shoot like that? LOUISE Texas... You were right about what happened to me there. They pull away from the burning wreckage. INT. CAR - DAY As Thelma and Louise talk, their voices are heard over the following scene. LOUISE (V.O.) You know what's happened, don't you? THELMA (V.O.) What? LOUISE (V.O.) (smiling) We've gone insane. THELMA (V.O.) Yup. EXT. NEW MEXICO SIDE OF ROAD - DAY A battered old pickup truck is parked by the New Mexico State Patrol. An old man uses a crowbar to pry open the trunk. The New Mexico State Patrolman hops out of the trunk. EXT. DESERT ROAD - HELICOPTER SHOT - DAY Police Bulletin VOICE OVER BEGINS AND PLAYS OVER following scenes: A police helicopter flies over the burning wreckage of the fuel truck. The truck driver is waving his arms as the helicopter descends, blowing dirt all over him. INT. THELMA'S HOUSE - DAY Darryl sits practically comatose in a big chair. His eyes have a dull glaze as he stares first at one wall, then another. INT. CAR - DAY A TIGHT SHOT of a TAPE being shoved into the cassette deck. INT. FBI JET - DAY Max and Hal sit next to each other in the jet. Hal tries to appear as if he's used to all this. Max holds a cellular phone to his ear. TIGHT SHOT of Max as we hear through the phone: Police VOICE OVER becomes part of scene. POLICE (V.O.) (on phone) ...Abducted... shot up the car... stole the officer's weapon... tanker... blown up... terrorized... Max's face becomes troubled and more serious than we've seen so far. He looks at Hal as he hangs up the phone. MAX You're not even going to believe this. EXT. FBI JET - DAY The jet banks off to the left. EXT. DESERT ROAD - DAY WIDE SHOT of car speeding through the desert on an empty highway west. DRIVING SHOT -- Thelma has her face to the sun with her eyes closed. Louise is driving with a fierce intensity. They hardly resemble the two women that started out for a weekend in the mountains two days earlier. Although their faces are tanned and lined and their hair is blowing wildly there is a sense of serenity that pervades. EXT. HELIPORT - DAY Hal and Max are climbing out of the jet and running across the tarmac to a waiting helicopter. Max is carrying a walkie- talkie now. INT. CAR - DAY Thelma sits up suddenly. An Arizona police car passes them going eastbound. THELMA Oh shit. Louise... Do you think he saw us? LOUISE I don't know, but let's get off. LOUISE'S POV - REARVIEW MIRROR The police car cuts across the median to begin pursuit of the girls. The lights are flashing. INT. CAR - DAY LOUISE Is your seat belt on? Thelma puts her seat belt on. Louise floors the car and it streaks off, putting some distance between them and the police car. Thelma looks back at the police car. She looks scared. THELMA I guess we shoulda made some kinda plan for what to do if we get caught. LOUISE Yeah, right. We're not gonna get caught. INT. ARIZONA POLICE CAR - DAY STATE POLICEMAN is on his radio. POLICEMAN #1 ...requesting assistance. In pursuit of a green T-Bird, 1966 license, seven, one, nine, William, Zebra, Adam... RADIO (V.O.) Roger. Be advised... (breaks up) ...armed and extremely dangerous... EXT. ARIZONA STATE POLICE HEADQUARTERS - DAY A steady stream of state police cars pulls out of the parking lot with lights flashing while other policemen are running to their cars still parked in the lot. INT. CAR - DAY THELMA How far are we from Mexico? LOUISE About two hundred and fifty miles. THELMA How long do you think that'll take? EXT. DESERT ROAD - DAY There are now two police cars behind them about half a mile back. They are going really fast. A police helicopter catches up to them and orders them to stop. Thelma stands and flips them off. THELMA We're going to Mexico! INT. CAR - DAY THELMA (looking back) Uh oh. There's another one. Louise and Thelma both are looking back at the two police cars following them. They turn back around just in time to see a third Arizona State police car has pulled into the middle of an intersection of the only road that crosses it for miles. They both scream. Louise swerves just in time to keep from hitting it broadside. She goes off the road and has to struggle to pull her car back onto the road, leaving a huge cloud of dust. LOUISE Shit! THELMA Did you see that guy?! He was right in the middle of the road! EXT. DESERT ROAD - DAY The first two police cars are approaching the same intersection. They are driving side by side. There is still a huge cloud of dust that now covers the third car in the middle of the intersection. INT. POLICE CAR #1 - POV - DAY A huge cloud of dust blows across the road as he approaches the intersection. It clears to reveal the third police car in the middle of the road, just as he and police car #2 reach the intersection. ANGLE ON POLICEMAN #1 as he screams and swerves to the right. INT. POLICE CAR #3 - DAY ANGLE ON POLICEMAN #3 AS HE SEES BOTH POLICE CARS HEADING right for him at 120 mph. He screams and ducks down into the seat. ANOTHER ANGLE - POLICE CAR # swerves to the right. Police car #2 swerves to the left, both barely missing police car #3. ANOTHER ANGLE as police car #1 and police car #2 both pull back onto the road right next to each other. INT. POLICE CAR #3 - DAY Policeman #3 sits up in the seat. He can't believe he isn't dead. He puts his car in gear and takes off down the road after them. INT. CAR - DAY LOUISE (looking in rearview mirror) Shit! THELMA What?! LOUISE What?! What d'you think?! THELMA Oh. EXT. DESERT GHOST TOWN - DAY Louise and Thelma blow through a stand of buildings left from when the train went through here. There are two parallel streets on either side of the one they're on and, as they pass by buildings, they can see police cars ROARING down these parallel streets trying to "head them off at the pass." Louise FLOORS it and her car screams ahead. LOUISE We probably shoulda filled up the car before we blew up that truck. THELMA Why? LOUISE They'll probably catch us when we have to stop for gas! THELMA I know this whole thing was my fault. I know it is. LOUISE There's one thing you oughta understand by now, Thelma, it's not your fault. THELMA Louise... no matter what happens, I'm glad I came with you. LOUISE You're crazy. EXT. DESERT ROAD - DAY Louise swerves off the road and begins driving across the desert. All the police cars take off across the desert after them. They are now being pursued by at least fifteen cars. INT. CAR - DAY THELMA You're a good friend. LOUISE You too, sweetie, the best. THELMA I guess I went a little crazy, huh? LOUISE No... You've always been crazy. This is just the first chance you've had to really express yourself. THELMA I guess everything from here on in is going to be pretty shitty. LOUISE Unbearable, I'd imagine. THELMA I guess everything we've got to lose is already gone anyway. LOUISE How do you stay so positive? They smile. EXT. DESERT - DAY It does look like an Army. More police cars have joined, and from every direction, police cars are swarming across the desert, although none are in front of them. Way off in the distance, a helicopter joins the chase. INT. CAR - DAY Thelma is looking way up ahead in the distance. THELMA Louise! LOUISE What?! THELMA What in the hell is that up there? LOUISE Where?! THELMA Way up ahead! Louise strains to see. Whatever it is, Louise is barreling towards it, the car leaving the ground as they fly through the desert. LOUISE Oh my God!! Louise starts to laugh and cry at the same time. THELMA What in the hell is it?! LOUISE It's the Goddamn Grand Canyon! EXT. DESERT - DAY Behind them is a huge wall of dust created by all the police cars following them. In front of them, looking larger every moment, is the awesome splendor of the Grand Canyon. INT. CAR - DAY THELMA Isn't it beautiful?!! LOUISE It's grand! Louise has tears streaming down her face as she realizes there is absolutely no escape. She continues barreling towards it without slowing down. EXT. DESERT - DAY All the police cars are still following about a half a mile behind. The car is bouncing and flying across the desert. Finally, they get about twenty yards from the edge and Louise SLAMS on the brakes. Thelma and Louise are just waiting for the cars to catch up. The police cars stop in a line about two hundred yards behind them. The dust from the cars is blowing across them. They just sit looking at the Grand Canyon. From the canyon, the FBI helicopter rises up in front of the car. INT. FBI HELICOPTER - DAY Hal sees Thelma and Louise for the first time. They are sitting in the car, oblivious in a way, to all the activity around them. He only takes his eyes off of them long enough to look at Max. INT. CAR - DAY THELMA God! It looks like the Army! LOUISE All this for us? Thelma starts to laugh. Louise is only concerned with missing the cacti and other obstacles that lie before her. INT. FBI HELICOPTER - DAY The helicopter lands behind the row of police cars. HAL'S POV He sees Thelma and Louise facing each other. They look so nice. He can't stop looking. He borrows the binoculars from Max. He sees Thelma and Louise in the car. Some of the police sharpshooters are sporting semi-automatic rifles. Hal looks at Max. HAL Hey! Don't let them shoot those girls. This is too much. They got guns pointed at 'em! MAX The women are armed, Hal. This is standard. Now you stay calm here. These boys know what they're doin'. Max climbs out of the chopper. Hal sits for a moment and then leaps out and follows Max. POLICE (O.S.) (over loudspeaker) This is the Arizona Highway Patrol. You are under arrest. You are considered armed and dangerous. Any failure to obey any command will be considered an act of aggression against us. INT. CAR - DAY THELMA Now what? LOUISE We're not giving up, Thelma. THELMA Then let's not get caught. LOUISE What are you talkin' about? THELMA (indicating the Grand Canyon) Go. LOUISE Go? Thelma is smiling at her. THELMA Go. They look at each other, look back at the wall of police cars, and then look back at each other. They smile. TIGHT SHOT - CARTRIDGES being loaded into automatic rifle. THELMA AND LOUISE - THROUGH THE CROSS HAIRS OF A GUN SIGHT EXT. DESERT - DAY TWO OF THE ARIZONA COPS by their cars, as they are loading weapons, talk quietly. ARIZONA COP #1 ...heard they shot a cop. ARIZONA COP #2 No shit. ARIZONA COP #1 With his own gun. Put him in the trunk and blew him away... INT. CAR - DAY Louise and Thelma are looking at each other. POLICE (O.S.) (over loudspeaker) Turn off the engine and place your hands in the air! EXT. DESERT - DAY Hal is about to crawl out of his skin. He can't believe this thing is getting out of control. He jumps in front of Max. HAL Max! Let me talk to 'em! I can't believe this! You've gotta do something here! Max goes around Hal and continues walking. Hal jumps in front of Max again and blocks his way. HAL I'm sorry to bother you, I know you're real busy right now, but how many times, Max? How many times has that woman gotta be fucked over? You could lift one finger and save her ass and you won't even do that? MAX (grabbing Hal) Get a hold of yourself! You are way out of your jurisdiction, now come on! Calm down! Don't make me sorry I let you come! Max lets go of Hal's lapels. HAL (under his breath) Shit! I can't fucking believe this! Hal walks along with a look of total disbelief on his face. He's shaking his head. Slowly he breaks into a trot and starts heading toward the front line. MAX (shouting) Hey. Hey! Hal is running now and clears the front row of cars. There is a lot of confusion among the officers on the front row. Some shout, some lower their guns to look. ARIZONA COP #1 What in the hell?! ARIZONA #2 (lowering his rifle) The son of a bitch is in my way! INT. CAR - DAY They are still looking at each other really hard. THELMA You're a good friend. LOUISE You, too, sweetie, the best. SHOOT WITH OR WITHOUT. MUSIC: B.B. King song entitled "Better Not Look Down" begins. It is very upbeat. LOUISE Are you sure? Thelma nods. THELMA Hit it. Louise puts the car in gear and FLOORS it. CUT TO: EXT. DESERT - DAY Hal's eyes widen for a moment at what he sees, and then a sense of calm overtakes him and he mouths the word "alright." B.B. KING SONG (V.O.) I've been around, I've seem some things, People movin' faster than the speed of sound, faster than a speedin' bullet. People livin' like Superman, all day and all night. I won't say if it's wrong or I won't say if it's right. I'm pretty fast myself. But I do have some advice to pass along, right here in the words to this song... EXT. DESERT - DAY The cops all lower their weapons as looks of shock and disbelief cover their faces. A cloud of dust blows THROUGH THE FRAME as the speeding car sails over the edge of the cliff. B.B. KING SONG (V.O.) Better not look down, if you wanna keep on flyin'. Put the hammer down, keep it full speed ahead. Better not look back or you might just wind up cryin'. You can keep it movin' if you don't look down... FADE OUT THE END
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+                                    THOR                                 Written by                         Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz           FADE IN:          On the blackness of SPACE, beautiful and mysterious, strewn          with a billion stars.          Atop a building, a wrought-iron sign -- a HAMMER-WIELDING          BLACKSMITH -- spins listlessly in the wind as a swirling          breeze kicks up. A hint of what's to come.          1 EXT. PUENTE ANTIGUO, NEW MEXICO - NIGHT 1          A main street extends before us in this one-horse town, set          amid endless flat, arid scrubland. A large SUV slowly moves          down the street and heads out of town.          2 EXT. SUV - NIGHT 2          The SUV sits parked in the desert. Suddenly, the roof panels          of the SUV FOLD OPEN. The underside of the panels house a          variety of hand-built ASTRONOMICAL DEVICES, which now point          at the sky.          JANE FOSTER (late 20's) pops her head through the roof. She          positions a MAGNETOMETER, so its monitor calibrates with the          constellations above. It appears to be cobbled together from          spare parts of other devices.                         JANE          Hurry!          We hear a loud BANG followed by muffled CURSING from below.          Jane offers a hand down to ERIK SELVIG (60) who emerges as          well, rubbing his head.          JANE (CONT'D)          Oh-- watch your head.                         SELVIG          Thanks. So what's this "anomaly"ù          of yours supposed to look like?                         JANE          It's a little different each time.          Once it looked like, I don't know,          melted stars, pooling in a corner          of the sky. But last week it was a          rolling rainbow ribbon--                         SELVIG                         (GENTLY TEASING)          "Racing "òround Orion?"ù I've always          said you should have been a poet.          Jane reigns in her excitement. She tries for dignity.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 1A.                         JANE          Hey, Darcy. Pass up the bubbly and          my gloves, will you?          Intern DARCY LEWIS (20) hands Jane a bottle of Champagne and          a pair of gloves through the window. Jane passes it to          Selvig to hold while she pulls on the old gloves -- too large          and masculine for her small hands. He starts to unwrap the          foil, and she stops his hand with an excited grin.          JANE (CONT'D)          Not until you see it!                         SELVIG          (re: the gloves)          I recognize those. Think how proud          he'd be to see you now.          Jane's grin fades to a sad smile.                         JANE          Thank you.                         SELVIG          For what?                         JANE          The benefit of the doubt.          The two stare out at the sky expectantly. A long beat while          they scan the skies. Nothing. Jane's worried.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 2.          JANE (CONT'D)          It's never taken this long before.          Darcy calls up from the front seat.          DARCY (O.S.)          Can I turn on the radio?                         JANE          (an edge to her voice)          Sure, if you like rocking out to          KFRM, "All agriculture, all the          time."ù          Worried, Jane heads back down into the vehicle.          3 INT. SUV - NIGHT 3          The SUV is bathed in the glow of high-tech monitoring          equipment and laptops, some looking like they're held          together with duct tape. Jane opens a well-worn NOTEBOOK of          handwritten notes and calculations. Selvig watches the          frustrated Jane with sympathy.                         JANE          The anomalies are always          precipitated by geomagnetic storms.          She shows him a complicated CHART she's drawn in the book,          tracking occurrences and patterns.          JANE (CONT'D)          The last seventeen occurrences have          been predictable to the minute... I          just don't understand.          Something catches Darcy's eye out the driver's side mirror.          She adjusts it. In the distance, ODD GLOWING CLOUDS form in          the skies over the Northeastern end of the desert.                         DARCY          Jane?          Jane SHUSHES her, leafs through her notes. The bottle of          champagne begins to vibrate.                         JANE          There's got to be some new          variable... Or an equipment          malfunction...          The lights and equipment in the SUV begin to FLICKER around          them. The computer monitors SQUELCH with static.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 2A.                         DARCY          I don't think there's anything          wrong with your equipment...          The champagne bottle starts to RATTLE noisily now as it          shakes more violently. Jane and Selvig notice.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 3.          They watch it curiously, pressure building up inside it, when          the cork EXPLODES out of it. Champagne goes spewing          everywhere -- over equipment, over Jane.          DARCY (CONT'D)          Jane?                         JANE          What?!                         DARCY          I think you want to see this.          Darcy points out the window. Jane and Selvig look out. Over          the desert --          MASSIVE CLOUDS OF RAINBOW LIGHT          Churn in the sky. The three stare, dumbfounded.                         JANE          Holy. Shatner.                         SELVIG          That's your "subtle"ù aurora?!                         JANE          No-- yes! Let's go!          4 EXT. DESERT - MOMENTS LATER 4          The roof panels still open, the SUV races towards the strange          event, Jane, amazed by the sight, stands with half her body          out the roof, taking video of the light storm before them.          The SUV hits a bump. Jane nearly flies out. Selvig grabs          her, yanks her back in.          5 INT. SUV 5          Jane grins, thrilled, pumped with adrenaline.                         JANE          Isn't this great?!          A thought strikes her.          JANE (CONT'D)          You're seeing it too, right? I'm          not crazy?                         SELVIG          That's debateable. Put your seat          belt on!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 3A.          The SUV lurches.          6 EXT. DESERT 6          Winds HOWL around the SUV now. Up ahead, spiraling down from          out of the clouds comes --          AN ENORMOUS TORNADO          Suffuse with the strange rainbow light, ROARING like a          thousand freight trains as it touches down.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 4.          7 INT. SUV 7          Selvig looks up through the still-open sunroof at the          enormous glowing funnel cloud with wonder. Jane clambers          into the front seat, beside Darcy. She leans way out the          window, TAPING the storm.                         JANE          You've gotta get us closer so I can          take a magnetic reading.          Darcy laughs.                         DARCY          Yeah, right! Good one!          (then, realizing)          Oh God, you're serious...                         JANE          You want those college credits or          not?          8 EXT. SUV 8          The SUV tears across a field towards the tornado, Jane          leaning out the window, taping the event. The SUV disturbs          two RAVENS perched on a cactus as they race past. The birds          take flight, when -- KRAKABOOM! A huge BOLT OF LIGHTNING          strikes down through the center of the funnel cloud before          them with a terrifying intensity.          9 INT. SUV 9          The SUV rocks from the blast. Darcy's had enough. She turns          the wheel, starts to head away.                         DARCY          Keep the credits. I'll intern at          Burger King.                         JANE          What are you doing?!                         DARCY          Saving our lives!          Jane grabs the wheel, jerks it hard the other way. They          struggle for control, when the headlights fall on --                         A MAN                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 5.          Directly in their path, stumbling through the winds. Darcy          slams on the brakes, Jane turns the wheel hard to avoid him.          The SUV swerves -- but too late.          10 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) 10          The side of the SUV slams into the man with a THUD, sending          him flying. The car SKIDS to a stop.          11 INT. SUV 11          Jane, Darcy, and Selvig trade shocked looks, breathing hard.          They peer through the dust clouds, unable to see through.          A paralyzed moment, then they all leap out of the car.          12 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) 12          The three race from the SUV with flashlights. Jane spots the          man lying on the ground. He's dressed in tattered clothing,          charred and blackened.                         DARCY          I think that was legally your          fault.                         JANE          Get the first aid kit.          Darcy heads back inside the SUV as Jane, concerned, kneels          next to the man. Selvig hovers, protectively.          She gently turns his head to the light, and we see him          clearly for the first time. He is magnificently handsome,          long blonde hair flowing around his classically sculpted          features. She cups her hands around his face, as if willing          the life back into him.          JANE (CONT'D)          Come on, big guy. Do me a favor          and don't be dead, okay? Open your          eyes and look at me.          Suddenly, he GROANS, and she's startled, then relieved, as          his eyes flutter open. She looks deep into his confused,          azure eyes, which at last focus on her own. Locking onto          them.          For a moment, they each forget to breathe.          The connection is broken as Darcy returns with the kit. She          freezes when she sees how gorgeous the man is.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 5A.                         DARCY          Wow. Does he need CPR? Because I          know CPR.          A flustered Jane smooths her hair and sits back on her heels.          She looks up at Selvig. Back to being a scientist.                         JANE                         HIS EYES--                         DARCY                         (DREAMILY)          --are beautiful.                         JANE          --are dilating. That's a good          sign.                         SELVIG          We still have to get him to a          hospital.                         JANE                         (HOPEFULLY)          After we get a reading on the          storm?                         SELVIG          Immediately, Jane.          Jane sighs and nods, regretfully watching the storm EVAPORATE          above their heads. A thought strikes her.                         JANE          Where did he come from?          They exchange puzzled looks, as we move up through the last          glowing remnants of the storm, and into:          13 EXT. SPACE 13          EARTH spins slowly before us as we hear a voice, deep and          resonant -- the voice of HEIMDALL, Gatekeeper of Asgard.          HEIMDALL (V.O.)          Questions, they've always asked          questions -- this race called man,          on this planet they call earth.          Passionately longing to know how          they are connected to the heavens.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 6.          We pull away from the planet, widening, past other worlds,          cosmic debris -- leaving first our solar system, then our          galaxy.          HEIMDALL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          In ages past, they looked to us as          gods, for indeed so many times we          saved them from calamity. We tried          to show them how their world was          but one of the Nine Realms of the          Cosmos, linked to all others by the          branches of Yggdrasil...          We pull back until we see it -- YGGDRASIL. Immense,          sprawling, like a quasar or a nebula twisted into the vague          shape of a TREE, its branches of glowing energy stretching          out into the black void of space.          HEIMDALL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          ...the Worlds Tree. Nine Realms in          a universe of wonder, beauty, and          terror that they barely          comprehended.          We move in through Yggdrasil, until we reach what looks like          a galaxy, slowly spinning before us.          HEIMDALL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          But for all their thirst for          knowledge, they let our lessons          fall into myth and dreams.          Where did he come from? He came          from us, the proudest race of          warriors the Worlds have ever seen.          He came from this -- the greatest          Realm the universe has ever known.          We move through the galaxy's mists and astral matter, then          over and up, through a band of prismatic color to reveal          what's on the other side:          HEIMDALL (V.O.) (CONT'D)          He came... from Asgard!          14 EXT. ASGARD - DAY 14          Beautiful beyond imagination. We fly over the magnificent          landscape of the Realm, through the gleaming capital city,          modern yet timeless.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 6A.          15 EXT. ODIN'S PALACE - DAY 15          The palace rises countless stories tall, gleaming with an          other-worldly majesty, towering high above the Realm sprawled          out before it.          We move towards a large window of the palace, where a FIGURE                         STANDS --                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 7.                         ODIN ALLFATHER          Stares out at his kingdom. The ravens fly up to the balcony,          land at his side.          16 INT. ODIN'S CHAMBERS - DAY 16          Odin turns away from the window. His wife FRIGGA sits at a          vanity and tries different earrings before the mirror.                         ODIN          Do you think he's ready?                         FRIGGA          He thinks he is. He has his          father's confidence.                         ODIN          He'll need his father's wisdom.                         FRIGGA          And his humility?          Odin reacts.          FRIGGA (CONT'D)          Thor won't be alone. Loki will be          at his side to give him counsel.          Have faith in your sons.                         ODIN          Yes, but Thor's still a boy. He          could be a great King...          Odin stops, notices HIS HAND SHAKING. It seems to be out of          synch temporally with the rest of the world, leaving a trail          as it moves. He stares at it determinedly, concentrating,          trying to stop the strange event through the force of his          sheer will.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 8.          Finally, the occurrence subsides, his hand normal once more.          A worried Frigga covers his hand with her own.          ODIN (CONT'D)                         (QUIETLY)          ...if we only had more time.                         FRIGGA          For once, our son needs something          we cannot provide.                         ODIN          I can fight it a little longer...                         FRIGGA          No. You've put it off too long! I          worry for you.          He touches her cheek.                         ODIN          I've destroyed demons and monsters,          devastated whole worlds, laid waste          to mighty kingdoms, and still you          worry for me?                         FRIGGA          Always.                         ODIN          Not today. Now come kiss your          king... while I'm still king.          He pulls her close, and they kiss.          17 INT. PALACE ANTEROOM - DAY 17          Directly under the throne room, a gloomily lit hall. Banners          hang on either side to form a corridor down the middle of the          fire lit room.          Giant doors open at one end. A huge figure silhouetted          against the bright light beyond walks forward. In slo-mo, we          recognize the unmistakable shape of the God of Thunder.          Hammer in hand, he reaches the end of a raised platform.          An ATTENDANT hands the figure a goblet of wine.          He downs it quickly, hurls it towards the fire directly          below.                         THOR          Another!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 8A.          The cup smashes, the alcohol causes the fire to glow          intensely -- and, for a moment, brightly lit, and seen full          length, like a King to be, is THE MIGHTY THOR.          He proceeds down stops, past camera, and down the center of          the Hall.          We follow from behind and see at the other end, massively          shadowed on one of the great banners, the shape of two great          horns. As Thor approaches, the horn shapes move, and then,          from the shadows at the side, emerges LOKI, wearing his          horned headpiece.          Like Thor, he is dressed for a great ceremony. They stand by          a brazier at the foot of steps that lead up to the crowded          throne room.                         LOKI                         (TO THOR)          Nervous, brother?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 9.                         THOR          Have you ever known me to be          nervous?                         LOKI          There was the time in Nornheim...                         THOR          That wasn't nerves, brother. It          was the rage of battle. How else          could I have fought my way through          a hundred warriors and pulled us          out alive?          The Attendant approaches with another goblet of wine for          Thor.                         LOKI          As I recall, I was the one who          veiled us in smoke to ease our          escape.                         THOR          Some do battle, others just do          tricks.          The Attendant stifles a laugh. Loki notices, doesn't like          it. He gestures towards the goblet in the Attendant's hand.          EELS pour over the sides of the goblet, slithering out and          across the terrified Attendant's hand. He SCREAMS, hurls the          goblet to the ground. Loki chuckles.          THOR (CONT'D)          Loki...          Loki gestures to the writhing eels on the ground. They turn          back to spilled wine, the illusion shattered.          THOR (CONT'D)          Now that was just a waste of good          wine.                         LOKI          Just a bit of fun.          (to the Attendant)          Right, my friend?          The Attendant isn't so sure. Thor dons his EAGLE-WINGED          HELMET.          LOKI (CONT'D)          (re: Thor's helmet)          Nice feathers.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 9A.                         THOR          You don't really want to start this          again, do you, Cow?                         LOKI          I was being sincere!                         THOR          You're incapable of sincerity.                         LOKI          Am I?          He looks his brother in the eye, all pretense lost.          LOKI (CONT'D)          I've looked forward to this day as          long as you have. You're my          brother and my friend. Sometimes          I'm envious, but never doubt that I          love you.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 10.          Thor searches his brother's face, sees no trace of irony.          He's either speaking from his heart or he's a very, very good          liar. Maybe both. Thor puts an appreciative hand on his          brother's shoulder.                         THOR          Thank you.          The two brothers take in the moment a beat, then:                         LOKI          Give us a kiss.                         THOR          Stop.          Thor makes the final adjustments to his ceremonial wear.          THOR (CONT'D)          How do I look?                         LOKI          Like a king.          They hear the blast of a CEREMONIAL HORN.          LOKI (CONT'D)          It's time.                         THOR          You go ahead.          Loki casts him a wary look.          THOR (CONT'D)          I'll be along. Go on.          Loki heads inside the palace without his brother.          17A INT. ANTECHAMBER - NIGHT 17A          VOLSTAGG combs his great beard in preparation for the big          event. As he does, he's surprised to find a stray GRAPE          stuck in the beard. He pulls it out, looks around, then          eagerly pops it into his mouth and gobbles it down.          FANDRAL checks his reflection in a mirror, smooths out his          moustache, gives himself a dashing smile. A PRETTY MAIDEN          holds the mirror before him, as other MAIDENS look on          dreamily.                         FANDRAL          Thank you, love.          (to the Maidens)                         (MORE)                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 10A.                         FANDRAL (CONT'D)          Now who'd like to polish my sword          for me?          The giddy Maidens eagerly raise their hands.          HOGUN stands staring ahead grimly, his hands folded in front          of him, amidst the hustle and bustle of the ATTENDANTS and          the ceremony preparations going on around him. A HELPFUL          ATTENDANT approaches him and starts to polish his armor.          Hogun turns his head, gives him a look. Intimidated, the          Attendant quickly backs away.          From behind, we see a WOMAN IN CEREMONIAL ARMOR take off her          SWORD and set it on a table, then her SHIELD, then several          HIDDEN DAGGERS and small, yet intimidating WEAPONS. We          reveal that it's SIF, looking radiant. She eyes the weapons          on the table.                         SIF          (to the weapons)          I'll miss you.          18 INT. THRONE ROOM - DAY 18          Colorful CEREMONIAL BANNERS of the Nine Realms adorn the          room, crowded with AESIR and REPRESENTATIVES from across          Yggdrasil, all BUZZING with excitement.          Thor's COMRADES enter and stride to their place of honor at          the front of the hall. They are:          THE WARRIORS THREE          VOLSTAGG has the girth and strength of a Sumo wrestler, with          oversized passions to match. FANDRAL, the consummate          swashbuckler, is agile, charismatic, and nattily dressed.          HOGUN -- dark, sullen, brooding -- a large MACE slung at his          side.          With them walks the warrior maiden SIF. She's clad in armor,          a shield and sword at her side -- a beauty not to be trifled          with.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 11.                         VOLSTAGG          I hope this goes quickly. I'm          famished.                         FANDRAL                         (FEIGNED DISBELIEF)          Noooo!                         VOLSTAGG          Are you attached to that pretty          face of yours? Because one more          word, and you won't be.                         FANDRAL          (to the others)          My, we are hungry, aren't we?          The others laugh, save Hogun. Fandral turns to him.          FANDRAL (CONT'D)          Go on, Hogun. Smile. You can do          it. Even you, Hogun the Grim.          Just one smile.          Hogun stares at him grimly.          FANDRAL (CONT'D)          All right, half a smile. Look,          forget the smile, just show some          teeth.                         SIF          Fandral, is it true the famous          Warriors Three are ready to meet          any challenge?                         FANDRAL          Name it, Lady Sif.                         SIF          Keep your mouth shut.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 12.          19 INT. VAULT - DAY 19          Imposing EINHERJAR GUARDS clad in armor, swords at the ready,          stand watch inside the massive underground structure beneath          the palace.          A cold BREEZE blows past them.          19A INT. PALACE ANTEROOM - DAY 19A          Thor stands, his fingers nervously drumming the handle of his          hammer. Frigga approaches behind him, sees his anxiety.                         FRIGGA          It's all right to be nervous.                         THOR          Why does everyone keep saying that?          I'm not nervous!                         FRIGGA          You may be able to fool the rest of                         ASGARD --                         THOR          ...but never you. I know.                         FRIGGA          Thor, just remember that you have          something even the great Allfather          never had.                         THOR          And what is that?                         FRIGGA          Me for a mother.          She smiles.          FRIGGA (CONT'D)          Now don't keep your father waiting.          Frigga leaves.          20 INT. THRONE ROOM - DAY 20          Sif and the Warriors Three still wait before the crowd. Loki          and Frigga enter. Loki takes his place at the front of the          hall alongside the others. With another blast of the horn,          the crowd goes silent as the EINHERJAR HONOR GUARD moves into          formation. They part to reveal --                         ODIN                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 12A.          Sitting atop his throne, clad in full ceremonial armor. He          holds his spear GUNGNIR before him. Any trace of weakness in          him is gone now. He exudes all the power and majesty of a          Ruler of Asgard.          Frigga joins him at his side. He looks around the hall,          casts a glance over to the Warriors. Thor is nowhere to be          seen. Odin looks to Loki. Loki shrugs. Odin isn't pleased.          A murmur spreads through the crowd.                         VOLSTAGG          (sotto, to Loki)          Where is he?                         LOKI          He said he'd be along.          Sif realizes the truth, shakes her head in disapproval.                         VOLSTAGG          What?                         SIF          He wants to make an entrance.                         FANDRAL          Well, if he doesn't show up soon,          he shouldn't bother. Odin looks          like he's ready to feed him to his          ravens.                         LOKI          I wouldn't worry. Father will          forgive him. He always does.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 13.          Just then, at the back of the hall, up the steps from the          lower level --                         MJOLNIR          Roars up into the hall, Thor strides cockily into the hall          behind it, catching it behind his back. The CROWD erupts in          CHEERS. Thor spins his hammer with a flourish, holds it up          before the crowd, basking in the moment, relishing the          adoration, whipping his audience up into a frenzy.                         SIF          Oh, please.          Odin watches from the front, not liking this showy display.          21 INT. VAULT - DAY 21          As the sound of the cheers echo from above, the odd, cold          breeze picks up in the Vault. The Guards rub their limbs to          warm themselves. They grow increasingly uneasy, sensing          something's not right.          They exchange a look, then walk the length of the Vault's          hallway to its end, where a CASKET sits undisturbed upon a          pedestal.          LARGE SHADOWS suddenly loom over them. They look up and          SHOUT in terror as they raise their weapons.          22 INT. THRONE ROOM - DAY 22          Thor finishes stirring up the crowd, then reaches the front          of the room, kneels on one knee before his mother and father.          Frigga casts him an admonishing glance. Thor winks up at          her. She can't help but smile.          Odin strikes Gungnir upon the ground with a deafening BOOM.          The crowd falls silent. Odin speaks with quiet, effortless          authority.          He raises Gungnir before him.                         ODIN          Gungnir. Its aim is true, its          power strong. With it I have          defended Asgard and the lives of          the innocent across the Nine Realms          since the time of the Great          Beginning. And though the day has          come for a new King to wield his          own weapon -- that duty remains the          same. Thor Odinson, my heir, my          first-born.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 13A.                         ODIN (CONT'D)          So long entrusted with this mighty          hammer, Mjolnir. Forged in the          heart of a dying star, from the          sacred metal of Uru. Only one may          lift it. Only one is worthy. Who          wields this hammer commands the          lightning and the storm. Its power          has no equal -- as a weapon, to          destroy, or as a tool, to build.          It is a fit companion for a King.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 14.          23 INT. VAULT - DAY 23          The bodies of the Guards are flung to the Vault's floor, now          strewn with ice. We don't see their attackers clearly, just          catch glimpses of them in the shadows -- but they are large          and BLUE-SKINNED.          One of the creatures lifts the Casket off its stand and turns          to go. But, as they do, the intricate latticework behind the          Casket starts to separate and retract, revealing something          standing in the shadows behind it.          As the creatures walk away, a fiery glow rises behind them.          They turn back around.          Now it's their turn to SCREAM.          24 INT. THRONE ROOM - DAY 24          The Ceremony continues.                         ODIN          Today I entrust you with the          greatest honor in all the Nine          Realms. The sacred throne of          Asgard. I have sacrificed much to          achieve peace. So, too, must a new          generation sacrifice to maintain          that peace. Responsibility, duty,          honor. These are not merely          virtues to which we must aspire.          They are essential to every soldier          and to every King.          The Crowd and the Warriors Three start to shiver and rub          their limbs for warmth in the increasingly cold air of the          hall.          Thor turns back to face his father. Odin looks upon his son          with pride.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 15.          ODIN (CONT'D)          Thor Odinson, do you swear to guard          the Nine Realms?                         THOR          I swear.                         ODIN          Do you swear to preserve the peace?                         THOR          I swear.                         ODIN          Do you swear to cast aside all          selfish ambition and pledge          yourself only to the good of all          the Realms?          Beat.                         THOR          I swear.                         ODIN          Then on this day, I, Odin          Allfather, proclaim you--          Odin hesitates, noticing a strange sight before him. ICE          creeps across the surface of the large banners around the          hall, making an eerie CRACKING sound. Thor, his comrades,          and the crowd see it too.          ODIN (CONT'D)                         (REALIZING)          Frost giants...          The far-off sounds of a BATTLE echo in the depths of the          palace below. Sif and the Warriors Three reach for their          weapons, as Thor races from the hall.          24A OMITTED SCENE MOVED BELOW 24A          25 OMITTED SCENE COMBINED WITH SCENE 25B BELOW 25          25A OMITTED 25A                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 16.          25B INT. VAULT - DAY 25B          Thor enters, then stares shocked at the sight before him.          Sif, the Warriors Three, and Loki hurry in behind Thor and          stop short.          Shattered and melting ICE is strewn about the floor.          We don't see the blue-skinned bodies of the Frost Giants          clearly, just catch glimpses of their twisted and smoldering          remains on the floor.          They've just lost a savage battle. Badly.          Amidst them, shrouded in shadow, stands the black metal          creature, a fiery glow coming from within it.          It is THE DESTROYER. It holds the Casket in its hands.                         SIF          The Destroyer.                         VOLSTAGG                         (AWED)          I thought it was but a legend.          Odin steps in behind the Asgardians, as the Destroyer sets          the Casket back on its pedestal. It moves back to its post,          the faint, FIERY GLOW extinguishes within it.          Fandral looks around the Vault, ill at ease.                         FANDRAL          I've never been inside the Vault          before. It's said the Tesseract          was once held here.                         VOLSTAGG                         (AWED)          The Tesseract? I thought that was          but a legend too!                         SIF          Shush!          Odin surveys the destruction.                         THOR          The Jotuns must pay for what          they've done!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 16A.                         ODIN          They have paid with their lives.          The Destroyer did its job, and the          Casket is safe. All is well.                         THOR          "All is well?!"ù They broke into          the Weapons Vault! If the Frost          Giants had stolen even one of these                         RELICS--                         ODIN          But they didn't.                         THOR          I want to know why they--                         ODIN                         (INTERRUPTING)          The Casket of Ancient Winters          belonged to the Jotuns. They          believe it's their birthright.                         THOR          And if you hadn't taken it from          them they would have laid waste to          all the Nine Realms!                         ODIN          I have a truce with Laufey, the          Jotun King.                         THOR          He just broke your truce! We must          act!          Odin turns to Sif and the Warriors Three.                         ODIN          Leave us.          Thor's comrades exit. Odin eyes Thor, as Loki watches.          ODIN (CONT'D)          And what action would you take?                         THOR          March into Jotunheim as you once          did, teach them a lesson, break          their spirits so they'll never dare          try to cross our borders again!                         ODIN          You're thinking only as a warrior!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 16B.                         THOR          This was an act of war!                         ODIN          It was the act of but a few, doomed          to fail.                         THOR          They got this far!                         ODIN          We will find the breach in our          defenses. It will be found, and it          will be sealed.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 17.                         THOR          As King of Asgard, I would--                         ODIN          You are not King. Not yet.          Thor sees in his father's face that he's pushed this as far          as he can. He backs away, then leaves, pushing through the          doors so hard that they SLAM backwards behind him. Odin          watches him go.          26 INT. BANQUET HALL - DAY 26          Thor stands in the empty hall, bearing the signs of the          festivities cancelled due to the events of the day. Anger          and frustration rising within him, Thor upends one of the          massive tables.          From across the room, Loki watches him.          AT THE BANQUET HALL ENTRANCE          Sif, Fandral, and Hogun follow Volstagg as he enters in          search of his dinner.                         SIF          Redecorating, are we?          Volstagg surveys the overturned tables and food, aghast.                         VOLSTAGG          What's this -- ?!                         HOGUN          I told you they'd cancel it.                         FANDRAL          We thought that was just you being          your normal cheery self.          Volstagg looks about the floor, despairing.                         VOLSTAGG          All this food -- so innocent, cast          to the ground. It breaks the          heart!          Thor strides away from them to the far end of the hall. Loki          calmly moves towards him.                         THOR          It's unwise to be in my company          right now, brother.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 18.                         LOKI          Who said I was wise?                         THOR          (re: the empty hall)          This was to be my day of triumph.                         LOKI          It will come. In time.                         (ADMITS)          If it's any consolation, I think          you're right. About the Frost          Giants, about Laufey, everything.          If a few of them could penetrate          the defenses of Asgard once, who's          to say they won't try again. Next          time with an army?                         THOR          Yes, exactly!                         LOKI          But there's nothing we can do          without defying Father.          Thor considers this, looks at his hammer, a gleam in his eye.          Loki can guess what he's thinking, grows concerned.          LOKI (CONT'D)          No... stop there! I know that          look!                         THOR          It's the only way to ensure the          safety of our borders.                         LOKI          It's madness!                         VOLSTAGG          Madness? What sort of madness?                         LOKI          Nothing! Thor was making a jest!                         THOR          The safety of our Realm is no jest.          We're going to Jotunheim.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 19.                          FANDRAL          What?!                          SIF          Thor, of all the laws of Asgard,          this is one you must not break.          Loki looks on, intrigued by the proceedings.                         FANDRAL          This isn't like a journey to Earth,          where you summon a little lightning          and thunder and the mortals worship          you as a god. This is Jotunheim.                         VOLSTAGG          And if the Frost Giants don't kill          you, your Father will!                         THOR          My father fought his way into          Jotunheim, defeated their armies,          and took their Casket! We'd just          be looking for answers.                         SIF          It is forbidden!          Thor sizes up his friends, smiles. He proceeds to make his          case with enthusiasm and charismatic conviction.                         THOR          My friends, have you forgotten all          that we've done together?          He turns to Fandral.          THOR (CONT'D)          Who brought you into the sweet          embrace of the most exotic maidens          in all of Yggdrasil?                         FANDRAL          You did.                         THOR                         (TO HOGUN)          Who led you into the most glorious          of battles...                         (TO VOLSTAGG)          ...and to delicacies so succulent,          you thought you'd died and gone to          Valhalla?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 19A.                         VOLSTAGG/HOGUN          You did. / You did.          He turns to Sif.                         THOR          And who proved wrong all who          scoffed at the idea that a young          maiden could be one of the fiercest          warriors this Realm has ever known?                         SIF          I did.                         THOR                         (QUICKLY)          True. But I supported you...          (then, to the others)          My friends, trust me now. We must          do this.          The others exchange concerned looks, realize there's no          convincing him.          THOR (CONT'D)          Come on. You're not going to let          my brother and me take all the          glory, are you?          Loki looks startled.                         LOKI          What?                         THOR          You are coming with me...                         LOKI          Yes, of course! I won't let my          brother march into Jotunheim alone.          I will be at his side.                         VOLSTAGG          And I.                         FANDRAL          And I.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 20.                         HOGUN          And I. The Warriors Three fight          together.                         SIF          I fear we'll live to regret this.                         VOLSTAGG          If we're lucky.          27 EXT. ODIN'S PALACE - DAY 27          Thor, Sif, Loki, and the Warriors Three walk from the Palace,          across the grounds. They reach a group of ATTENDANTS who          ready their battle gear for their journey.          Loki slips away from the group, speaks to a nearby GUARD.          Hogun notices.                         THOR          We must first find a way to get          past Heimdall.                         VOLSTAGG          That will be no easy task. It's          said the Gatekeeper can see a          single dew drop fall from a blade          of grass a thousand worlds away.                         FANDRAL          And he can hear a cricket passing          gas in Niffelheim.                         VOLSTAGG          Jest not! He heareth all!                         FANDRAL          Please. Getting past him should be          simple enough now, since he seems          to be letting Frost Giants sneak by          under his nose.          Volstagg, terrified, calls out to the sky.                         VOLSTAGG          Forgive him! He meaneth no          offense!          Loki rejoins the group as Thor leads them onward.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 20A.          28 EXT. GATE OF ASGARD - DAY 28          Thor and his band of adventurers, on horseback, pass through          the massive Gate, leaving Asgard behind. They ride along the          most astounding path in this Realm or any other --          THE RAINBOW BRIDGE.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 21.          Wide and flat, it runs straight out from Odin's palace to the          mists and black void of space beyond. In the distance far          ahead, the Bridge continues on until it reaches Heimdall's          Observatory.          29 EXT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY - DAY 29          The band draws near the Observatory, where HEIMDALL himself,          Gatekeeper of Asgard, stands at his post on the Bridge before          them, blocking their way, staring them down.          There is something other-worldly about him, even for this          Realm. He holds a massive sword in front of him, his stern,          intimidating face virtually concealed by armor. Something          glints beneath his visor, like twinkling stars.                         LOKI          Keep your weapons sheathed and your          mouths closed. This is going to          take subtlety and sincerity, not          brute strength. Leave it to me.          Loki dismounts and steps forward.          LOKI (CONT'D)                         GOOD HEIMDALL--                         HEIMDALL          You're not dressed warmly enough.          Thor, Loki, and the others trade looks.                         LOKI          I'm sorry?                         HEIMDALL          The freezing cold of Jotunheim. It          will kill you all in time, even          Thor.                         (THEN)          You think you can deceive me? I,          who watch all? I, who can sense          the flapping of a butterfly's wings          a thousand worlds away?          He fixes his eyes pointedly at Fandral.          HEIMDALL (CONT'D)          Or can hear a cricket passing gas          in Niffelheim?          Fandral looks gob-smacked.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 22.                         FANDRAL          That was just a bit of a jest,          really...          Loki goes into damage control.                         LOKI          You must be mistaken. We're not--                         THOR                         (STEPPING FORWARD)          Enough.                         (TO HEIMDALL)          Heimdall, may we pass?          Heimdall stares him down.                         HEIMDALL          For ages have I guarded Asgard and          kept it safe from those who would          do it harm. In all that time,          never has an enemy slipped by my          watch -- until this day. I wish to          know how that happened.                         THOR          Then tell no one where we've gone          until we've returned.          Thor walks past Heimdall as the Gatekeeper lets the group          pass. Volstagg walks beside the frustrated Loki, needles          him.                         VOLSTAGG          What happened? Your silver tongue          turn to lead?                         LOKI          Get me off this bridge before it          cracks under your girth.          Volstagg and Fandral share a laugh.          30 INT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY - DAY 30          Thor and the others enter the Observatory, step onto a          platform. Heimdall climbs into the large control apparatus          at the center of the room and readies the Observatory.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 23.                         HEIMDALL          Be warned. I will honor my sworn          oath to protect this Realm as its          Gatekeeper. If your return          threatens the safety of Asgard,          Bifrost will remain closed to you.          You'll be left to die in the cold          wastes of Jotunheim.                         THOR          I have no plans to die today.                         HEIMDALL          None do.          Heimdall inserts his sword into the control panel, and the          apparatus of the Observatory starts up.          31 EXT. RAINBOW BRIDGE 31          The Bifrost energy quickens along the Bridge, feeding into          the Observatory.          32 INT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY 32          Heimdall turns his sword in the control panel. The          Observatory's giant turret swings around, aims toward a          section of space. As a final step, Heimdall plunges his          sword deeper into the control panel. The great turret FIRES,          the RAINBOW LIGHT of Bifrost energy blasts out of it.          The Bifrost opens at the end of the platform upon which Thor          and his five comrades stand.                         HEIMDALL          All is ready. You may pass.                         VOLSTAGG          Couldn't you just leave the bridge          open for us?                         HEIMDALL          To keep this bridge open would          unleash the full power of the          Bifrost and destroy Jotunheim with          you upon it.                         VOLSTAGG          Ah. Never mind, then.          Thor starts towards the Bifrost, turns back to the others,          grins.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 23A.                         THOR          Come on. Don't be bashful.          The others join him at his side, then step towards the          Bifrost. Their bodies stretch towards the maelstrom,          changing shape, as if every atom of their being is being          elongated by the pull of it. In an instant, they're jerked          off the platform and inside the vortex.          33 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (JOTUNHEIM) - DAY 33          A hole in the sky rips open, and the Bifrost comes shooting          out of it. Snow flurries up when the Bifrost hits, as Thor          and his band touch down. RUNES from the Bifrost are          imprinted on the ice around them.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 24.          Volstagg loses his footing, falling backwards. Thor quickly          grabs him by the belt. We see the warrior dangling          precariously on the edge of a sheer cliff on the planet's          inner ring, opening up to the black abyss of space beyond.                         THOR          Come on, big fella. Up...!          With an effort, Thor pulls the burly warrior back onto the          ice and, tremendously relieved, he proclaims:                         VOLSTAGG          This belt! This belt is now my          lucky belt! I will never remove          it! Even when bathing!                         FANDRAL          You bathe?          Thor and the others turn and stare out in horror and wonder          at the frozen alien wasteland before them. The whole planet          is a massive flattened ring of jagged ice, slowly breaking          apart. Huge CHUNKS OF ICE calve away from its outer edges          and float off into space. The planet's icy surface cracks          and melts as far as the eye can see. The ruins of a Jotun          city lies in the distance.                         HOGUN          We shouldn't be here.                         THOR          Too late now.                         FANDRAL          Actually, it's not. We could turn          right around, hop back to Asgard,          share a mug by the fire. Could be          nice.          Thor ignore him, heads off. Loki looks around, anxious.                         LOKI          Perhaps we should wait.          Thor turns back to his brother.                         THOR          For what?                         LOKI          To survey the enemy. To gauge          their strengths and weaknesses from          a distance.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 25.                         VOLSTAGG          I'm liking that. Gauging,          surveying. Particularly the          distance part.                         THOR          We know all we must. It's time to          act.          Thor heads on. Reluctantly, the others follow.                         SIF          He's just got to swing his          hammer...          34 EXT. JOTUNHEIM - DAY 34          The group trudges behind Thor across the frozen wasteland,          shielding themselves from the howling wind and cold. Loki          looks around them, anxious. Volstagg shivers.          Thor, invigorated, turns back to his comrades.                         THOR          It feels good, doesn't it? To be          together again, adventuring on          another world?                         FANDRAL          Adventuring? Is that what we're          doing?                         THOR          What would you call it?                         FANDRAL          Freezing.                         VOLSTAGG          Starving.                         SIF          Whining.                         THOR          How about a song to lift our          spirits?          The others groan.                         HOGUN          No, not that!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 25A.                         SIF          Please don't make us sing again!                         FANDRAL          If I have to listen to Volstagg's          singing voice one more time, I'll          fall on my own sword!                         SIF          Well, now I'm on board.          She and Thor share a grin.          The party reaches the edge of the city -- its ancient          structures of jade and ice melting and crumbling, ravaged by          warfare long ago. A TEMPLE lies before them, across a          central plaza.          SIF (CONT'D)          Where are they?                         THOR          Hiding. As cowards always do.          Thor leads the others onwards towards the central plaza.          Loki reluctantly follows. They don't notice as SHADOWY          FIGURES move in the shadows of the structures nearby.          35 EXT. CENTRAL PLAZA - DAY 35          The party reaches the plaza. They sense the Frost Giants in          the shadows and crevices, surrounding them now on all sides.          The Asgardians reach for the hilts of their weapons.          A JOTUN SENTRY calls to him.                         JOTUN SENTRY          What is your business here,          Asgardian?          The Jotun's voice itself sounds like cracking ice.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 26.                         THOR          I speak only to your King. Not to          his foot soldiers.          JOTUN VOICE (O.S.)          Then speak.          Thor turns towards the source in a balcony of the temple,          where LAUFEY sits, veiled in shadow, behind a cascading          waterfall. The Jotun King is ancient, noble, powerful -- too          proud to reveal even a hint of the years of suffering he and          his people have endured.                         LAUFEY          I am Laufey, King of this Realm.                         THOR          And I am--                         LAUFEY          We know who you are, Odinson. Why          have you brought the stench of your          blood into my world?                         THOR          I demand answers.          Laufey stands, sizing up Thor, tries to piece this together.                         LAUFEY          You "demand?"ù                         THOR          How did your people get into          Asgard?                         LAUFEY          The house of Odin is full of          traitors.          Sif and the Warriors Three exchange a puzzled look, disturbed          by the Jotun King's words.                         THOR          Do not dishonor my father's name          with your lies.                         LAUFEY          Your father is a murderer and a          thief. He stole what was ours, and          left our world in ruins. We have          the right to reclaim the Casket.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 27.                         THOR          Not when you'd use it to make war          against other Realms.          Laufey laughs, cold, mocking.                         LAUFEY          And why have you come here? To          make peace? You long for battle.          You crave it. I see you for what          you are, Thor Odinson. Nothing but          a boy, trying to prove himself a          man.                         THOR          This boy has grown tired of your          mockery.          Thor takes a step towards Laufey. The other Jotuns step in          front of Thor, blocking his path. We finally see the Frost          Giants now -- terrifying, blue-skinned, standing eight feet          tall. Loki moves next to his brother and quietly implores          him.                         LOKI          Thor, stop and think. Look around          you. We are outnumbered.                         THOR          Know your place, brother...                         LAUFEY          You should listen to his counsel.          You know not what your actions          would unleash.          Laufey steps out of the shadows.          LAUFEY (CONT'D)          But I do. Go now, while I still          allow it.          Thor simmers. Loki speaks up.                         LOKI          We will accept your most gracious          offer.          The others look to Thor imploringly. Thor stares Laufey down          a beat -- then relents. He turns to leave. His comrades          breathe a sigh of relief and follow, when a Frost Giant          nearby mutters under his breath.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 28.                         JOTUN          Run back home, little princess.          Thor stops in his tracks. Loki goes white. He knows what's          coming.                         LOKI          Damn.          In one quick move, Thor pulls Mjolnir, swings it, and KNOCKS          the Jotun clear across the plaza. The Asgardians reluctantly          draw their weapons, gather into a circle around Thor.          Volstagg looks around at the angry Jotuns approaching them.                         VOLSTAGG          Silly hammer! Has a mind of its          own!          ICE forms on the Jotuns' bodies, creating a FROZEN ARMOR          around them, extending off the ends of their arms like          SWORDS. One Giant does so directly in front of Fandral.                         FANDRAL          I'm hoping that's just decorative.          Thor leaves the circle of Asgardians, swings at another Frost          Giant. His comrades form another circle around him,          separating him from the Jotuns, as he whirls his hammer          around once and catches it with a cocky grin. He's enjoying          this.                         THOR          Next!          Fandral calls to Volstagg and Hogun.                         FANDRAL          Well? What move, do you think?                         VOLSTAGG          I say we use "The Norn's Revenge."ù                         FANDRAL          At this close range? I think "The          Alfheim Lunge"ù is a better move.                         VOLSTAGG                         (DISGUSTED)          Maybe if they were three feet tall!          No! How about "The Randy          Valkyrie"ù?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 28A.                         HOGUN          Shut up!          Thor takes out yet another Frost Giant, then all hell breaks          loose as the Asgardians and Jotuns begin to battle.          A Jotun backs Hogun up against a wall of ice. As the Giant          hurls an ice blade fist at him, the grim warrior swings his          mace over his head, embedding it into the ice wall, and          hoists himself up, dodging the Giant's blow and leaping over          him. Hogun takes out a second approaching Frost Giant, spins          back, dodges a swing from the first, then pounds the Jotun          with his mace.          Nearby, Sif expertly stabs one Jotun after another with her          double-bladed staff. One knocks her viciously to the ground.                         SIF          If you don't treat me like a lady,          I won't act like a lady!          She takes out the Jotun.          Loki backs away from an approaching Jotun, finds himself at          the edge of a deep crevasse. The Giant sees he's vulnerable,          swipes at him. But the Jotun's arm passes right through him.          The Giant stands there, confused, when THE REAL LOKI comes          out from behind a structure and shoves the Giant into the          crevasse below. The false Loki dissipates into nothingness.                         LOKI          (to the falling Giant)          Pathetic.          He turns back to the battle. Two Jotuns come at him from          either side. He lets two daggers fly, felling both Giants at          once.          Laufey nods to one of his guards -- a massive Jotun BRUTE.          The Brute leaps down from the balcony, icing himself up, then          punches his giant fist into the ice beneath his feet. It's a          long-range attack, causing PILLARS OF ICE to explode out in          front of Hogun, sending the grim warrior flying back.          Across the plaza, Thor easily dispatches some Jotuns.                         THOR          Come on! At least make it a          challenge for me!          He sees the Brute coming at him. The huge Jotun lands a          tremendous blow, sending Thor back across the ice. Thor          rises, grins.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 28B.          THOR (CONT'D)          Now that's more like it!          He throws Mjolnir with all his strength, knocking the Brute          head over heels.          Thor raises his hand. Mjolnir slows in mid-air, then flies          back to his grasp.          THOR (CONT'D)          (re: the fallen Brute)          Ugly and stupid.          Sif takes out a couple Frost Giants, but she's knocked to the          ground by another. It raises its weapon above her.          Hogun sees Sif in danger. He pulls a HIDDEN KNIFE from his          sleeve and hurls it at Sif's attacker, hitting him square in          the chest. The Jotun falls dead.                         SIF          (to Hogun, re: knife)          I'm so glad I taught him how to do          that!          Volstagg grapples with a Frost Giant, getting a couple good          hits in.                         VOLSTAGG          You may want to put some ice on          that!          The Frost Giant fights back, but Volstagg manages to grip in          a headlock just as another comes up on him from behind.          Volstagg fends him off, then turns the first one loose.          VOLSTAGG (CONT'D)          You may be taller, but I'm wider!          Volstagg launches his mighty belly at the Jotun and sends him          flying.          Another Jotun grabs Volstagg, squeezing him tightly and          sending him crashing to the ground.          VOLSTAGG (CONT'D)          It's not too late for you to          surrender.          Volstagg recovers and fights on. The Jotun grabs Volstagg's          bare arm. The warrior's skin begins to freeze from the          Jotun's grasp, a BLACKNESS spreading from it, necrotizing          Volstagg's flesh. The warrior SHOUTS in pain.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 28C.          Volstagg head-butts the Frost Giant, shattering the Jotun's          ice helmet and dropping him to the ground.          Winded, he takes a seat upon one of the fallen Jotun's bodies          to catch his breath. As the battle rages around him, he          opens a secret compartment at the end of his weapon, takes          out a small FLASK.          Volstagg grimaces in pain, sees his blackened skin. He yells          to his comrades.          VOLSTAGG (CONT'D)          Don't let them grab hold of you!          He takes a swig, enjoying the brief respite, then rejoins the          battle.          Volstagg stabs his blade in a Giant's chest, but the sword          stops mid ice layer.          The Giant delivers a bone-breaking blow to Volstagg's face,          and the warrior drops to one knee.          Sif sees Volstagg in trouble and rushes towards him. In one          quick move, she leaps up and off of Volstagg's back, using          her boot to plunge Volstagg's blade deep into the Giant's          chest, standing atop him as he falls backwards to the ground.          VOLSTAGG (CONT'D)          (on his belly)          Thank you, my lady. But I nearly          had him!                         SIF          Of course you did.          Nearby, a Frost Giant forms a BARRAGE OF ICE BULLETS, hurling          them at Sif. Sif raises her shield barely in time, as the          bullets go pinging and ricocheting off it. She races into          the group of Frost Giants who attacked her and takes them          out.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 29.          A Frost Giant touches a pool of standing water. It FLASH-          FREEZES Hogun's feet to the ground.          Volstagg notices, hurries over, dispatching Jotuns as he          goes.                         VOLSTAGG          Hang on!          Volstagg swings his weapon, wildly hacking at the ice around          Hogun's legs to free him. Hogun looks down, suddenly          worried, as Volstagg's blade cuts deep -- and perilously          close to hacking into Hogun's legs.                         HOGUN          Watch the legs!                         VOLSTAGG                         (REALIZING)          Right. Sorry.          Volstagg chips away at the ice more carefully, finally          freeing Hogun's feet.          Fandral sword fights with a Frost Giant.                         FANDRAL          You really think your icicles are a          match for Asgardian steel?          Fandral lunges at the Giant. The Jotun knocks his blade          away.          FANDRAL (CONT'D)          Fair enough.          Fandral moves on him again, but the Giant grabs Fandral's          sword and snaps it in half.          FANDRAL (CONT'D)          Could we stop just a moment while I          get another sword?          Fandral fights the Giant with his broken sword. The Jotun          then lunges at Fandral, who ducks just in time, grabs hold of          the Giant's sword and redirects it, stabbing the Giant          through with his own weapon.          The Jotun staggers back, then reaches down and swipes at a          pool of water, sending up a spray that freezes in mid-air,          forming into an ICE STALAGMITE. It impales Fandral,          rendering him helpless.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 29A.          Loki races towards the impaled Fandral, throwing daggers and          felling Frost Giants as he goes. He reaches the nearly-          unconscious warrior, when other Jotuns approach. He fights          them off.          Volstagg looks across the plaza and sees the impaled Fandral.                         VOLSTAGG          That's unfortunate.          He hurries to his wounded comrade.                         FANDRAL          I may need a bit of help. Not a          good look, is it?                         VOLSTAGG          Just try not to bleed.                         FANDRAL          How's the face?                         VOLSTAGG          Flawless.          Volstagg begins to pull the bleeding Fandral off the ice          stalagmite.          Loki plunges two daggers into the chest of one of the Frost          Giants.          The Giant grabs hold of Loki's gloved wrists. Loki pulls his          hands free of the gloves, which are still in the Giant's          grasp, revealing Loki's skin beneath. The wounded Jotun sees          his chance, grabs hold of Loki's bare arm.          Loki looks at his arm, prepared for the worst. But instead          of the blackness of necrotizing flesh, Loki's arm turns BLUE          -- like the Frost Giant's own skin. The blueness spreads          painlessly up Loki's arm. He stares at it, confused.          The Frost Giant is thrown as well, distracted by the          unexpected phenomenon. Loki takes advantage of the          distraction, KICKS the Giant.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 30.          Thor continues fighting, his blood lust rising. He taunts          the Jotuns around him.                         THOR          Come on!          But when he hurls his hammer to take out a Jotun, the Frost          Giants seize the opportunity. A group of Jotuns swarm Thor          from all sides, keeping him separate from his weapon.          Mjolnir falls to the ground.          A Frost Giant desperately struggles to lift Mjolnir off the          ground, to no avail.          Now free, the wounded Fandral looks relieved as Volstagg          slings him over his shoulder, and the warriors start to          leave.          From his balcony, Laufey looks upon the battlefield, decides          it's time to pull out the big guns. He touches a wall of the          palace. An ENERGY WAVE sweeps from his touch, across the          wall of the palace, and down to the ground below.          The Asgardians hear a foreboding CRACK OF ICE below their          feet.                         LOKI          That can't be good.                         VOLSTAGG          Yes, it could! Might be an early          spring!          They look down, suddenly filled with dread when they see          shadowy figures moving in the ice -- dozens of JOTUN WARRIORS          awakening beneath the surface, rousing to join the battle.          Loki turns to his brother, who battles a group of the Giants.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 31.                         LOKI          Thor, we must go!          Thor, still without his hammer, fights his Jotun foes          mercilessly, a man consumed by blood lust. Loki sees the          look on his brother's face -- the savage thrill of the heat          of battle.                         THOR          Then go!                         SIF          There are too many of them!                         THOR          I can stop them!          The others hesitate. Jotuns break up through the ice all          around them.                         SIF          Thor!          But Thor ignores his comrades, continues fighting.                         VOLSTAGG          Run!          Reluctantly, the group flees back toward the inner edge of          the planet as the Giants break up through the ice and give          chase.          Thor battles valiantly, but there's just too many of them.          The Frost Giants swarm him from all sides now, as he          disappears beneath a pile of blue flesh and ice. After a                         MOMENT --          THOR'S FIST          Forces its way up through the middle of the pile of Jotuns.          He opens his hand, beckoning.          One of Thor's attackers hears something ROARING up behind          him. He whirls around -- BAM! -- Mjolnir nails him square in          the face, then flies into Thor's outstretched hand. Thor          raises the hammer up high, and brings it down on the ground          with all his might.          KRAKABOOM! Lightning strikes down from the sky, the hammer          channeling the blast, firing the electricity out at the          Jotuns around him. They're blasted back in a massive          shockwave. The Jotuns convulse, drop dead to the ground.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 32.          But the force of the blast also cracks the ice below, the          shockwave continuing to spread outwards. It moves out to          where his comrades are running, breaking up the ground          beneath them, exposing the black void of space below.          VOLSTAGG (CONT'D)          What's Thor done?                         LOKI          Likely killed us all!          As the Jotuns race towards the Asgardians, they open their          mouths wide and breathe out an ICY FOG. The swirling mists          quickly engulf the fleeing Asgardians before them.          The Asgardians stand in the mist, unable to see. Hogun takes          a step back, the ice cracking beneath him. They dare not          move, for fear of falling through, into the void below.          Thor sees he's put his friends in even greater danger. He          raises Mjolnir high, SUMMONING THE WINDS. They lift him off          the ground and carry him across the frozen wasteland to his          comrades.          35A EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (JOTUNHEIM) - DAY 35A          Thor lands beside his comrades in the shroud of mists.                         THOR          Loki, we have to see.          Loki raises his arms, concentrates, the mists dissipating.          But as they do, the Asgardians see before them the faces of          the Frost Giants. And there are HUNDREDS of them -- too          many, even for a Thunder God.                         VOLSTAGG                         (TO LOKI)          Actually, could you bring the mists          back, please?          Thor realizes that he and his comrades are as good as dead.          The Giants move in for the kill, when they hear a deafening          ROAR. A hole in the sky opens up, and the Bifrost blasts          down onto the inner edge of the planet. Out of the maelstrom          comes the sound of THUNDERING HOOVES, and, to the shock of          all, tearing across the frozen wasteland comes --                         ODIN ALLFATHER          Astride his powerful, eight-legged steed SLEIPNIR. He's clad          in battle armor, Gungnir in his hand -- an imposing sight.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 32A.          The Giants part in fear as he thunders into their ranks,          stopping before Laufey and the Asgardians.          Laufey slams his fists into the ground, and the ice beneath          his feet raises him towards Odin. The Asgardians start to          react, thinking it's an attack, but Laufey just stands face-          to-face with Odin.          Asgardian and Jotun alike look on uneasily, unsure what's          about to happen.          Laufey sizes up Odin, notices that as powerful as the          Allfather still is, the years have taken their toll. He's          not the foe he once was. The two rulers talk quietly, out of          earshot of the others.                         ODIN          Laufey. End this.                         LAUFEY          Your boy sought this out.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 33.                         ODIN          You're right. These are the          actions of a boy. Treat them as          such. You and I can stop this          before there's further bloodshed.          Unseen by Odin and the others, Laufey starts to form an ice          blade at the end of his arm.                         LAUFEY          We are beyond diplomacy now,          Allfather. He'll get what he came          for -- war and death.          Odin looks grim, determined.                         ODIN          So be it.          Without warning, Laufey swings his ice blade at Odin, but          Odin is quicker. The Allfather brings his spear down upon          the ice. Laufey and the nearest Jotuns go falling backwards          in a wave, the ice cracking beneath their feet.          The other Frost Giants turn tail and run. Thor watches the          fleeing Jotuns with delight.                         THOR          Now! We'll finish them together!                         ODIN          Silence!          Odin raises his spear. The hole in the sky opens, the          Bifrost energy blasting forth from it. The Bifrost envelops          the Asgardians, yanks them off the ground and up through the          hole. The vortex closes behind them as all falls silent.          Laufey stares up after them contemptuously.          36 INT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY - DAY 36          Heimdall stands at the Observatory controls. Odin pulls          Heimdall's sword from the control panel and throws it to him.          Heimdall backs away.                         THOR          Why did you bring us back?                         ODIN          Do you realize what you've done?          What you've started?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 33A.                         THOR          I was protecting my home.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 34.                         ODIN          You cannot protect your friends.          How can you hope to protect a          kingdom?          Odin turns to the others.          ODIN (CONT'D)                         (RE: FANDRAL)          Get him to the healing room!          Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun hurry to help Fandral out of the          room.                         THOR          There won't be a kingdom to protect          if you're afraid to act!          Odin stares at him.          THOR (CONT'D)          Whatever the cost, the world must          know that the new King of Asgard          will not be held in contempt.                         ODIN          That's pride and vanity that talks!          Not leadership! Have you forgotten          everything I've taught you? What          of a warrior's patience, cunning?                         THOR          While you wait and be patient, the          Nine Realms laugh at us! The old          ways are done. You'd stand giving          speeches while Asgard falls!                         ODIN          You're a vain, greedy, cruel boy!                         THOR          And you are an old man and a fool!          The whole world seems to stop at Thor's words. Odin falls          quiet. When he speaks again, there's something terrifying          beneath the calmness of his words.                         ODIN          A fool, yes! I was a fool to think          you were ready.          Loki takes a step towards Odin imploringly.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 34A.                         LOKI                         FATHER--          Odin turns and gives Loki a look which stops him in his          tracks.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 35.                         ODIN          Thor Odinson... You have disobeyed          the express command of your King.          Through your arrogance and          stupidity, you have opened these          peaceful Realms and innocent lives          to the horrors of war.          The Allfather plunges Gungnir into Observatory's control          panel. The turret turns, the Bifrost energy building along          with Odin's rage. It FIRES, as the Bifrost opens at the end          of the platform, creating a portal behind Thor.          Odin turns angrily to his son.          ODIN (CONT'D)          You are unworthy of this Realm...          Odin RIPS a disc off Thor's chest.          ODIN (CONT'D)          ...unworthy of your title...          He rips away Thor's cloak.          ODIN (CONT'D)          ...unworthy of the loved ones          you've betrayed. I hereby take          from you your powers.          Odin extends his hand towards his son. Mjolnir goes flying          from Thor's grasp into Odin's hand.          ODIN (CONT'D)          In the name of my father...          A FINGER OF LIGHTNING comes off the hammer and hits Thor,          disintegrating the right arm of his armor and part of the          chest piece.          ODIN (CONT'D)          ...and of his father before...          Another strike disintegrates the remainder of Thor's armor,          including the cape and torn-away disc on the floor.          ODIN (CONT'D)          I cast you out!          Odin thrusts Mjolnir before him and -- with a CRACK OF          THUNDER -- Thor is hurled backwards into the open Bifrost and          disappears in the vortex.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 35A.          Odin holds Mjolnir in his hand, stares at it bitterly. He          closes his eyes, lost in contemplation, whispers something          quietly.          ODIN (CONT'D)                         (WHISPERING)          Whosoever holds this hammer, if he          be worthy, shall possess the power          of Thor.          RUNES appear on the side of the hammer, as if carved into its          smooth surface. The runes linger for but a moment, then          disappear. Suddenly, Odin turns and hurls the hammer into          the Bifrost.          CUT TO BLACK.          37 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) - NIGHT 37          Thor opens his eyes, surrounded by darkness. Suddenly, he's          blinded by bright headlights of a vehicle -- an SUV. It          swerves, the side of it coming straight at him. It SLAMS          into him, as we:          CUT TO BLACK.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 36.          After a beat, we hear familiar voices.          DARCY (V.O.)          I think that was legally your          fault.          JANE (V.O.)          Get the first aid kit.                         (THEN)          Come on, big guy. Do me a favor          and don't be dead, okay? Open your          eyes and look at me.          THOR'S POV          Thor opens his eyes to see Jane Foster staring at him,          concerned. She looks vulnerable and beautiful.          DARCY (O.S.)          Wow. Does he need CPR? Because I          know CPR.          END THOR'S POV          TIME CUT TO:          Jane regretfully watches the storm EVAPORATE above their          heads. A thought strikes her.                         JANE                         (TO SELVIG)          Where did he come from?          They exchange puzzled looks when Thor GROANS again. He sits          up abruptly, and Jane topples backwards in surprise.          Thor staggers groggily to his feet, then turns and offers          Jane a hand up. She takes it hesitantly, and he easily pulls          her up. She can't help but marvel at his strength.          JANE (CONT'D)          Uh, thanks. Are you okay?          Thor searches the ground.                         THOR          Hammer...                         DARCY          Yeah, we can tell you're hammered.          That's pretty obvious.          Jane notices something on the ground around them. She shines          her flashlight down at the sand.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 36A.                         JANE          Erik... look at this.          He joins her at her side and sees it. A faint, discernible          pattern is etched into the sand. They exchange a look.          Amazed and excited, Jane hurriedly takes out a camera and          snaps some photos of the runes. A breeze begins to blow them          away.          JANE (CONT'D)          We've got to move fast before          anything changes.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 37.          JANE (CONT'D)          We need soil samples, light          readings, everything.          She pulls out a light meter, holds it up, takes some          readings, jots them down in her notebook. Selvig looks at          Thor, who stares up at the sky.                         SELVIG          Jane, we need get him to a          hospital.          Jane kneels and quickly scoops up a soil sample in the          cannister.                         JANE          Not right now. It'll take too          long. County's an hour away.          We'll drop him off after we're done          here.          Selvig looks uncertain.          JANE (CONT'D)                         (RE: THOR)          Look at him, he's fine.          Thor stares up at the stars, shouts up at them angrily.                         THOR          Father! Heimdall! I know you can          hear me! Open the bridge!                         JANE          (off Selvig's look)          Okay, you and Darcy take him to the          hospital, I'll stay here.                         SELVIG          You expect me to leave you alone in          the middle of the desert?          Thor turns to the others, frustrated.                         THOR          You! What world is this?          The group is intimidated by his fervor.                         SELVIG          It's all right, my friend. We're          going to get you some help.          Selvig touches Thor's shoulder. Thor shoves him off, grows          agitated, belligerent.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 37A.                         THOR          Where am I?! Answer me!          Darcy reaches into her fanny pack, pulls something out of it.          Jane looks on, concerned.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 38.                         JANE          Erik, just back away...                         SELVIG          (to Thor, calming)          You're in the desert outside the          town of Puente Antiguo.                         THOR          What Realm?! Alfheim? Nornheim?                         DARCY          Uh... New Mexico?          Darcy raises a TASER at him. Thor looks at the weapon,          unsure what to make of it.                         THOR          You dare threaten Thor with so puny                         A--          Darcy fires, the electrified wires shooting out of the taser,          ZAPPING him in the chest. Thor convulses, falls to the          ground unconscious. Jane and Selvig stare at her, shocked.                         DARCY          What? He was freaking me out.          38 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) - MOMENTS LATER 38          As Jane still takes soil samples, Darcy and Selvig struggle          to drag an unconscious Thor to the SUV and lift him inside.                         SELVIG                         (TO DARCY)          Next time you decide to taser          someone, do me a favor and make          sure they're already inside the          truck.                         (TO JANE)          Jane, come on...          Reluctantly, Jane joins the others inside the SUV.          39 EXT. DESERT - MOMENTS LATER 39          The SUV heads off into the distance. Behind it, high          overhead, a HOLE opens in the sky. A last blast of Bifrost          energy bursts forth from it, and a small OBJECT comes firing          into our world. It BURNS across the desert sky like a          meteor.                         40 OMITTED 40                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 39.          41 EXT. COUNTY HOSPITAL - NIGHT 41          The SUV sits parked before the emergency room entrance.          42 INT. COUNTY HOSPITAL ER - NIGHT 42          Selvig watches the unconscious Thor with interest as two          ORDERLIES set the Asgardian onto a gurney. Jane and Darcy          stand before a sweet, ditzy ADMISSIONS NURSE.                         ADMISSIONS NURSE          Name?                         JANE          He said it was "Thor."ù          The Nurse painstakingly types it into the computer, one key          at a time. Jane watches as Thor is wheeled out of the room.                         ADMISSIONS NURSE                         (SPELLING)          T-H-O-R. And your relationship to          him?                         JANE          I've never met him before.                         DARCY          Until she hit him with the car.                         JANE          Grazed him, actually.                         (THEN)          Oh, and we tasered him, too.                         ADMISSIONS NURSE                         (SYMPATHETIC)          Must have been quite the spat.                         JANE          I told you, I don't know him. I          just want to make sure he's okay.                         ADMISSIONS NURSE          I'm going to need a name and          contact number.                         JANE          Jane Foster.                         ADMISSIONS NURSE                         (TYPING SLOWLY)          J...A...N...                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 39A.                         SELVIG          Oh, for God's sake...          He reaches over Jane's shoulder and hands the Nurse his          business card.          SELVIG (CONT'D)          Here. Let's go.          Selvig, Darcy, and Jane head out.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 40.          43 INT. HOSPITAL ER - NIGHT 43          Thor, now in a hospital gown, winces in pain as he awakens on          a gurney to find a NURSE standing over him, a syringe in his          arm.                         NURSE          Hi. Just taking a little blood.          Thor SLAPS the syringe away angrily, starts to sit up.                         THOR          How dare you attack the son of          Odin!                         NURSE          I need some help!          Two ORDERLIES race over, try to hold Thor down.          NURSE (CONT'D)          We're trying to help you!                         THOR          Then bring me a healing stone, you          savages!          He hurls one of them off, smashing against a wall. Now a          couple SECURITY GUARDS and MALE NURSES join the fracas, all          struggling to hold Thor down. Medical equipment goes flying,          furniture overturned.                         ORDERLY          What the hell is this guy on?          Finally, they force him back down onto the gurney. Thor          looks shocked and amazed that he's actually being overpowered          by this small group. The NURSE injects him with a sedative.                         THOR          You're no match for the Mighty--          Thor struggles a beat, then passes out.          44 EXT. NEW MEXICO DESERT - DAWN 44          Smoke rises from a fifty foot wide CRATER. A TOWNIE pulls          his pick-up to a stop at the crater's edge. He climbs out,          peers down below, his curiosity piqued by what he sees.                         TOWNIE          Huh.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 40A.          The Townie approaches something at the center of the crater.          We don't see what it is, but it bathes him in an          otherworldly, BLUE LUMINOUS GLOW. He reaches for the object,          tries to lift it, but can't. He redoubles his efforts,          strains with all his might, with no luck.          He takes off his hat, fans himself, stares at the mysterious          object.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 41.           TOWNIE (CONT'D)           Huh.          45 EXT./INT. SMITH MOTORS - LAB - MORNING 45          The distant mountains glint snow in the early morning light.          Selvig appears with a cup of coffee and surveys the vast          desert. He turns back into the lab and sees Jane, busy at          her workstation, soldering a piece of equipment.          A printer churns out blown-up screen-cap PHOTOS of the          Bifrost footage. Darcy hangs them on the wall.          Selvig surveys the scene, watches how Jane works, impressed.          He notices a monitor which displays a complex program          entitled "J. FOSTER ALGORITHM ANALYSIS"ù. He looks proud.          The three of them have been up all night, fueled by caffeine          and excitement.                         JANE          Darcy, when you're done, take the          soil samples to Professor Meyers in          geology. Remind him, he owes me.                         SELVIG          We might want to perform a spectral          analysis.                         JANE          "We?"ù                         SELVIG          I flew all the way out here --          might as well make myself useful.          This is the offer Jane's been waiting for. She gets up,          inserts the piece of equipment she's been working on into a          rack-mounted server.                         JANE          You know what would be really          useful? Do you still have that          friend at LIGO?                         SELVIG          She was more than a friend.                         JANE          Could you call in a favor?                         SELVIG          You don't think this was just a          magnetic storm?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 41A.                         JANE          If I'm right, their observatory          must have picked up gravitational          waves during last night's event.                         SELVIG          Meaning?          Jane heads over to a computer monitor. Selvig follows.                         JANE          Meaning these anomalies might          signify something bigger.                         SELVIG          How "big"ù are we talking about?          Jane indicates the footage on the monitor. As the last of          the Bifrost cloud disappears into the night sky, there          appears to be a blister in space, bulging out in convex and          covered with stars.                         JANE          I think the lensing around the          edges is characteristic of an          Einstein-Rosen Bridge.                         DARCY          A what?                         SELVIG          I thought you were a science major.                         DARCY          Political Science.          Selvig shoots Jane a confused look. Jane shrugs.                         JANE          She was the only applicant.                         SELVIG                         (TO DARCY)          An Einstein-Rosen Bridge -- a          "theoretical"ù connection between          two different points of space-time.          Darcy stares blankly.                         JANE                         (TO DARCY)          A wormhole.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 41B.          Selvig looks skeptical. Jane prints out a frame-grab off the          monitor.          JANE (CONT'D)          Erik, look...                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 42.          Jane indicates the print-out showing the constellations seen          through the "bubble"ù in the clouds.          JANE (CONT'D)          What do you see here?                         SELVIG          Stars.                         JANE          Yes. But not our stars.          She spreads out a STAR CHART, barely able to contain her          excitement.          JANE (CONT'D)          This is the star alignment for our          quadrant, this time of year. So          unless Ursa Minor decided to take          the day off... those are someone          else's constellations.          Selvig's intrigued, in spite of himself.          Darcy pulls another frame-grab of the Bifrost footage from          the printer and hangs it on the wall, when something in the          image catches her eye.                         DARCY          Hey, check it out.          Jane and Selvig examine the photo, amazed.                         SELVIG          Is that...?                         JANE          I think I left something at the          hospital.          As Jane walks away, we REVEAL the photo. Inside the Bifrost          funnel cloud is a FIGURE -- the vague, but unmistakable shape          of a MAN.          45A EXT. ODIN'S CHAMBERS - DAY 45A          At the top of the palace, we see a small FIGURE on the          balcony. As we move closer, we see it is a burdened Odin,          looking out over Asgard.          46 INT. ODIN'S CHAMBERS - DAY 46          Frigga enters to find Odin standing lost in thought.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 42A.                         FRIGGA          How could you have done this?                         ODIN          Do you understand what he set in          motion? He's taken us to the brink          of war!                         FRIGGA          But banishment? You would lose him          forever? He's your son!                         ODIN          What would you have done?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 43.                         FRIGGA          I would not have exiled him to a          world of mortals, stripped of his          powers, to suffer alone. I would          not have had the heart for such          cruelty!                         ODIN          That is why I'm King.                         (THEN)          I, too, grieve the loss of our son.          But there are some things that even          I cannot undo.                         FRIGGA          You can bring him back.                         ODIN          No. His fate is in his own hands          now.          47 INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY 47          Thor awakens on a hospital bed. He notices RESTRAINTS on his          wrists now. He pulls at them, tries to free himself, to no          avail.                         THOR          It's not possible.          He tries again, mustering all his strength. One of his hands          slips free from its restraint.          47A INT. COUNTY HOSPITAL ER - DAY 47A          Jane again faces the Admissions Nurse, with Selvig and Darcy          nearby.                         ADMISSIONS NURSE          I'm sorry, only relatives can visit          patients.                         JANE                         (THINKING FAST)          But... I'm his wife.          Darcy stifles a SNICKER at this, as the Nurse looks doubtful.                         ADMISSIONS NURSE          I thought you said you didn't know          him.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 43A.                         JANE          I meant I barely know him anymore.          The man he's become. He's changed.          I mean, what woman really knows her          husband, anyway?                         ADMISSIONS NURSE          None of us, dear. He's in Room          102.          48 INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY 48          Jane, Selvig, and Darcy head down the corridor, passing the          destruction of the ER Thor wrecked the previous night.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 44.          They enter Thor's room.          49 INT. HOSPITAL ROOM 49          They step inside to find Thor's bed empty.          50 EXT. HOSPITAL PARKING LOT - DAY 50          Jane, Selvig, and Darcy quickly climb into Jane's SUV.          51 INT. JANE'S SUV 51          Jane starts the car, frustrated.                         JANE          Typical. I just lost my most          important piece of evidence.                         DARCY          So now what?                         JANE          We find him.                         SELVIG          Did you see what he did in there?          I don't know if finding him is the          best idea.                         JANE          I want to know what that thing was,          and he may have the answers. We          don't have a choice.                         DARCY          Oo-kay.          She pulls out her taser and a can of mace.                         SELVIG          So we're just going to spend the          rest of the day looking for him?                         JANE          However long it takes.          Jane puts the car in reverse and backs up, when --          BAM!          She collides with Thor again, dressed in stolen hospital          scrubs. Jane and Selvig exchange a look.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 44A.          52 EXT. HOSPITAL PARKING LOT - DAY 52          Jane and Selvig emerge from the SUV, help Thor to his feet.                         JANE          I'm so sorry. I swear I'm not          doing that on purpose.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 45.          Thor looks up at the sky.                         THOR          Blue sky... one sun... This is          Earth, isn't it?                         DARCY          I think you may have hit him with          the car one time too many.                         JANE                         (TO THOR)          Let's get you some clothes.          53 INT. HEALING ROOM - DAY 53          Sif, Loki, and the Warriors three, battered and shell-          shocked, still reeling from the day's events, sit before a          ROARING central fire.          Hogun reaches into the flames, pulls out some fragile HEALING          STONES. Neither the fire, nor the stones burn him. As he          carefully places the stones over the wounds of his comrades,          the stones begin to glow. He crushes them to a powder. His          comrades' injuries heal up at the glowing powder's touch.          Fandral winces in pain as Hogun heals his gaping wound.          Volstagg looks at the skin on his arm -- healing, but still          blackened from the necrotizing touch of the Frost Giant.          Loki watches him, then stares at his own arm, where the          Giant's touch turned his skin blue. It's undamaged, back to          its normal color.                         VOLSTAGG          We should never have let him go.                         SIF          There was no stopping him.                         FANDRAL          At least he's only banished, not          dead. Which is what we'd all be if          that guard hadn't told Odin where          we'd gone.                         VOLSTAGG          How did the guard even know?          Loki stares at his arm.                         LOKI          I told him.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 45A.                          FANDRAL          What?                         LOKI          I told him to go to Odin after we'd          left. Though he should be flogged          for taking so long.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 46.                         VOLSTAGG          You told the guard?                         LOKI          I saved our lives! And Thor's. I          had no idea Father would banish him          for what he did.                         SIF          Loki, you're the only one who can          help Thor now. You must go to the          Allfather and convince him to          change his mind!                         LOKI          And if I do, then what? I love          Thor more dearly than any of you,          but you know what he is. He's          arrogant. He's reckless. He's          dangerous. You saw how he was          today. Is that what Asgard needs          from its King?          The others exchange glances, torn. Loki has a point. He          leaves the room. Hogun stares after him.                         SIF          He may speak about the good of          Asgard, but he's always been          jealous of Thor.                         VOLSTAGG          True, but we should be grateful to          him. He did save our lives.                         HOGUN          Laufey said there were traitors in          the House of Odin.          The others turn to the usually quiet Hogun.                         FANDRAL          Why is it every time you choose to          speak, it has to be something dark          and ominous?                         HOGUN          A master of magic could easily          bring three Jotuns into Asgard.          The others look to Hogun, understanding the implication.                         VOLSTAGG          No! Surely not!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 46A.                         FANDRAL          Loki's always been one for          mischief, but you're talking about          something else entirely.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 47.                         SIF          Who else could elude Heimdall's          gaze with tricks of light and          shadow?                         VOLSTAGG          The ceremony was interrupted just          before Thor was named King.                         SIF          We should go to the Allfather.                         FANDRAL          And tell him what? "Oh, by the          way, we think your son just          betrayed the throne. And do us a          favor. Bring back Thor. There's a          good fellow!"ù                         SIF          It's our duty. If any of our          suspicions are right, then all of          Asgard is in danger.          54 INT. VAULT - DAY 54          Loki heads into the Vault, sees the Casket of Ancient Winters          sitting on its stand.          He walks over to it slowly, reaches out to it, lifts it          between his forearms off its pedestal. As he does, a          blueness spreads from his arms, across his body.          The latticework behind the Casket starts to separate, the          Destroyer rousing. A fire starts to glow within its black          metal armor, as it rattles to life, but Loki ignores it --          the blueness spreading further, consuming his whole body.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 48.           ODIN (O.S.)          Stop!          Loki turns, sees Odin hurrying into the room, the Destroyer          goes motionless, the latticework rejoining before it.          Odin eyes Loki with dismay.                         LOKI          Am I cursed?                         ODIN          No. Put the Casket down.          Loki sets the Casket back upon its pedestal, his body quickly          returning to its normal form and color. He stares at his          father.                         LOKI          What am I?                         ODIN          You're my son.                         LOKI          What more than that?          Odin doesn't answer. He looks suddenly weary, burdened.          Loki sizes him up, realizes the truth.          LOKI (CONT'D)          The Casket wasn't the only thing          you took from Jotunheim that day,          was it?          Odin looks him in the eye. He can deny it no longer.                         ODIN          No.                         (BEAT)          In the aftermath of the battle, I          went into the Temple, and I found a          baby. Small for a giant's          offspring -- abandoned, suffering,          left to die. Laufey's son.          Loki is sent reeling by the revelation.                         LOKI          Laufey's son...          He desperately struggles to make sense of it all.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 48A.          LOKI (CONT'D)          Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun          blood. Why would you take me?                         ODIN          You were an innocent child.                         LOKI          You took me for a purpose, what was          it?          Odin doesn't answer.          LOKI (CONT'D)          Tell me!                         ODIN          I thought we could unite our          kingdoms one day, bring about an          alliance, bring about a permanent          peace... through you. But those          plans no longer matter.                         LOKI          So I am no more than another stolen          relic, locked up here until you          might have use of me.                         ODIN          Why do you twist my words?                         LOKI          You could have told me what I was          from the beginning. Why didn't          you?                         ODIN          You are my son. My blood. I          wanted only to protect you from the          truth.                         LOKI          Because I am the monster parents          tell their children about at night?                         ODIN          Don't...                         LOKI          It all makes sense now. Why you          favored Thor all these years.                         ODIN          Listen...                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 48B.                         LOKI          Because no matter how much you          claim to "love"ù me, you could never          have a Frost Giant sitting on the          Throne of Asgard!          Odin's body begins to shake, he lifts his hand. It starts to          move out of synch temporarily, leaving a trail, the effect of          the Odinsleep approaching. Loki doesn't notice as Odin tries          to fight it off.                         ODIN          Listen to me!          Loki strides away towards the exit.          ODIN (CONT'D)          Loki!          Odin starts towards him, when the enormous mental, emotional,          and physical strain of recent events finally takes its toll.          The effect of the Odinsleep consumes him. His entire body          now moves out of sync with the rest of the world, leaving          trails behind him as he staggers backwards.          Odin falls back against a wall, his face contorting in a          scream. He collapses to the stone floor.          Loki, shocked, hurries to him. He takes Odin in his arms,          calls out.                         LOKI          Guards!                         55 OMITTED 55                         56 OMITTED 56                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 49.          57 OMITTED MERGED WITH SCENE 54 57                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 50.          58 EXT. OUTSIDE OF CRATER - DAY 58          Cars, pick-ups, and SUVs are parked around the crater, the          sound of a BOISTEROUS PARTY coming from within.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 51.          59 EXT. INSIDE OF CRATER 59          It looks like the whole town has turned out. LOCALS sit on          lounge chairs, drink beer from coolers, laugh and talk. They          watch the center of the crater, where LARGE MEN have formed a          line to take a turn with the mysterious object.          One of them struggles and fails to lift it. As he gives up,          the next man steps up and takes his turn, straining from the          effort. Other Townies SNAP PICTURES of the scene with their          cell phones.          They hear an approaching RUMBLE, then clear a path as a large          PICK-UP TRUCK backs its way down the crater's edge. An EAGER          TOWNIE hops out the passenger side and pulls a thick chain          from the back of the truck.          He fastens one end around the object, then securely affixes          the chain to the bumper and the rear of the undercarriage.                         EAGER TOWNIE          This'll do it.          He yells to the driver.          EAGER TOWNIE (CONT'D)          Okay, let 'er rip!          The townsfolk watch as the pick-up's engine ROARS, then          STRAINS, its wheels spinning futilely, until finally the rear          of the truck, along with the back wheels and axles, break off          and go flying.          People dive out of the way.          The PICK-UP DRIVER sticks his head out. He is STAN "THE MAN"ù          LEE. He looks back, shocked. The townsfolk laugh, the party          continuing. They don't notice as --          ON THE CRATER'S EDGE ABOVE THEM          An imposing GOVERNMENT VEHICLE pulls up to a stop. A Fed in          a suit climbs out, peers down at the boisterous gathering          below, his eyes fixed on the object at the center of the          crater.          He is SHIELD AGENT COULSON. He stares down at the object          which glows with an otherworldly blue energy -- MJOLNIR. He          pulls out a phone.                         COULSON                         (INTO PHONE)          Sir -- we've found it.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 51A.          60 INT. SMITH MOTORS - LAB - DAY 60          In a back room, Thor, now shirtless and wearing jeans, looks          around for a t-shirt.          Jane and Darcy, standing in the lab, can't help but notice          his reflection in the mirror. Darcy eyes his powerful build,          rippling biceps.                         DARCY          You know, for a crazy homeless guy,          he's pretty cut.          Jane turns away. Thor emerges from the back room, holding a          t-shirt.          DARCY (CONT'D)          Hey, sorry I tased you!          Thor heads over to Jane's work area, starts fiddling with the          equipment there with interest. Jane hurries over to put a          stop to it.                         JANE          Excuse me... excuse me!          She leads him away from the work station. Thor holds up the          t-shirt. On the front, it bear a sticker which reads:          "HELLO, MY NAME IS DR. DONALD BLAKE"ù. Thor looks at it,          puzzled. Jane rips the sticker off.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 52.           JANE (CONT'D)          My ex.          Thor stares at her a beat.          JANE (CONT'D)          They're the only clothes I had          that'll fit you. Sorry.                         THOR          They will suffice.          Thor turns his attention to the pictures of the Bifrost on          the wall.                         JANE          You're welcome. Now tell me...          Thor studies the frame-grabs with interest. Jane points to          his form in the Bifrost photo.          JANE (CONT'D)          What were you doing, in that?          He glances at it, dismissive.                         THOR          What does anyone do in the Bifrost?          Everyone stares at him. Selvig seems to recognize the word.          Jane opens her notebook, quickly writes the word down. Thor          moves close to her, eyes the notations and drawings within          the book, curious.                         SELVIG          (amused, skeptical)          The Bifrost...          Jane starts to get uncomfortable with Thor standing so close          to her, looking over her notations. She quickly closes the          book.                         JANE          What exactly is the Bifrost?                         THOR                         (IGNORING HER)          This mortal form has grown weak.                         JANE                         BUT--                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 52A.          JANE (CONT'D)          Somebody get the mortal a Pop-Tart.          61 INT. ODIN'S CHAMBERS - DAY 61          Frigga sits at her husband's bedside, holding his hand. Odin          lies there -- looking pale and lifeless, his body and the          space around it warped from the effect of the Odinsleep. The          walls of the chamber have moved close around him, protecting          him like a dark crypt, sealing off any daylight.          Loki sits at Odin's side, across from Frigga. She speaks          softly to him.                         FRIGGA          I asked him to be honest with you          from the beginning. There should          be no secrets in a family.                         LOKI          So why did he lie?                         FRIGGA          He kept the truth from you so that          you would never feel different.          You are in every way our son, Loki,          and we your family. You must know          that.          Loki takes this in, stares at Odin.          FRIGGA (CONT'D)                         (RE: ODIN)          You can speak to him. He can see          and hear us, even now.                         LOKI          How long will it last?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 53.                         FRIGGA          I don't know. This time is          different. We were unprepared.                         LOKI          I never get used to seeing him like          this. The most powerful being in          the Nine Realms lying helpless          until his body is restored.                         FRIGGA          But he's put it off for so long          now, I fear...          Loki takes her hand. She's grateful, wipes tears from her          eyes.          FRIGGA (CONT'D)          You're a good son.          Loki sits there, uncertain how to react, uncertain how he          really feels.          FRIGGA (CONT'D)          We mustn't lose hope that your          father will return to us. And your          brother.          Loki looks to Frigga, concerned.                         LOKI          What hope is there for Thor?                         FRIGGA          There's always a purpose to          everything your father does. Thor          may yet find a way home.          Loki looks troubled by the revelation. He rises, heads for          the exit, when they hear the clatter of ARMORED FOOTSTEPS          hurriedly approaching.          THE EINHERJAR GUARD          Enter the room, block his way out. Loki tenses, prepared for          the worst, but the guards just stand before them. Loki is          baffled.          FRIGGA (CONT'D)          Thor is banished. The line of          succession falls to you. Until he          awakens, Asgard is yours.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 53A.          The Einherjar kneel before the shocked Loki. Another          EINHERJAR enters, holding Gungnir before him. He kneels          before Loki, offers the spear to him.          FRIGGA (CONT'D)          Make your father proud.          Loki reaches out tentatively, then takes it. He likes the          feel of it in his hand.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 54.          62 INT. ISABELA'S DINER - MORNING 62          Thor, Selvig, Darcy, and Jane sit at a table in the local          diner. Selvig and Darcy watch as Thor eats ravenously from a          huge mound of steak and eggs. A couple other full plates --          pancakes and biscuits and gravy -- are piled high before him.          Jane's eager, her notebook at the ready.                         JANE          Now tell us exactly what happened          to you last night.          Thor looks her in the eyes, staring, intrigued. Jane gets          flustered, looks away.          JANE (CONT'D)          Maybe start with how you got inside          that cloud.                         DARCY          And how you could eat an entire box          of Pop-Tarts and still be this          hungry.          Jane shoots her a withering look. Thor downs a cup of          coffee.                         THOR          (re: coffee mug)          This drink. I like it.                         DARCY          (to Thor, re: coffee)          Yeah, it's great, isn't it?          Isabela makes the best coffee in          town.          Thor hurls the empty mug at the ground, SHATTERING it.                         THOR                         (CALLS OUT)          Another!          ISABELA ALVAREZ (60), the diner's proprietor, glares at Thor          from behind the counter.                         JANE          Sorry, Izzy. Little accident.                         (IN SPANISH)          Yo voy a pagar la taza.          Isabela turns to a WAITRESS and starts venting quickly in          Spanish.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 54A.                         ISABELA                         (IN SPANISH)          Did you see that? The first time          she brings a man in here, and he's          a lunatic!                         JANE          (to Thor, re: mug)          What was that?          He doesn't understand. The other patrons stare at him.                         THOR          It was delicious. I want another.                         JANE          Then you should just say so!                         THOR          I just did.                         JANE          I mean ask for it. Nicely.                         THOR          I meant no disrespect.                         JANE          All right, then no more smashing,          deal?                         THOR          You have my word.                         JANE          Good.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 55.          A few TOWNIES, looking bedraggled, enter and take a seat at          the counter. We recognize them from the crater. (Among them          is the Drunk Townie Jake, who is not presently drunk.)                         ISABELA          Morning, Pete. Jake.                         TOWNIE PETE          The usual, please, Izzy.          Isabela pours them a couple cups of coffee.          DRUNK TOWNIE JAKE          You missed all the excitement out          at the crater.                         ISABELA          What crater?          Jane and Selvig overhear this, exchange a look, turn to the          Townies with interest.                         TOWNIE PETE          They're saying some kind of          satellite crashed in the desert.          DRUNK TOWNIE JAKE          We were having a good time with it          till the Feds showed up, chased us          out.                         JANE          (to the Townies)          Excuse me, did you say there was a          satellite crash?          DRUNK TOWNIE JAKE          Yep. They said it was radioactive.          And I had my hands all over it.                         (REALIZING)          I'm probably sterile now.          Thor, unconcerned, prepares to dig into the giant pile of          pancakes. Darcy is amazed by the sight.                         DARCY          Oh my God, this is going on          Facebook.          Darcy whips out her cellphone.          DARCY (CONT'D)                         (TO THOR)          Smile!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 55A.          Thor looks puzzled as she SNAPS a photo of him and his          massive stack of food.                         SELVIG          (to the Townies)          What did the satellite look like?          DRUNK TOWNIE JAKE          I don't know nothing about          satellites. But it was heavy.          Real heavy. Nobody could lift it.          This gets Thor's attention.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 56.          Thor springs to his feet, heads over to Drunk Townie Jake,          and pulls the Townie around to face him.                         THOR          Where?!          DRUNK TOWNIE JAKE          About twelve miles east of here.          Thor grins, his spirits soaring, as he quickly strides out of          the diner.                         PETE          I wouldn't bother! Looked like the          whole Army was coming in when we          left!          63 EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY 63          Thor studies the position of the sun, gauging his bearings.          Jane, Darcy, and Selvig catch up to him.                         JANE          Where are you going?                         THOR          Twelve miles east of here.          He starts to stride determinedly down the street. Jane walks          with him.                         JANE          Why?                         THOR          To get what belongs to me.                         JANE          So now you own a satellite?                         THOR          It's not what they say it is.                         JANE          Whatever it is, the government          seems to think it's theirs. You          intend to just walk in there and          take it?                         THOR          Yes.          He stops walking.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 57.          THOR (CONT'D)          If you take me there now, I'll tell          you everything you wish to know.                         JANE          Everything?                         THOR          All the answers you seek will be          yours, once I reclaim Mjolnir.          Darcy looks to the others.                         DARCY          "Myeu-muh?"ù What's "Myeu-muh?"ù          Jane studies Thor. He looks sincere. She's nearly swayed,                         WHEN:                         SELVIG          Jane.          He pulls her aside. Thor can tell that Selvig doesn't much          care for him.          SELVIG (CONT'D)                         (TO JANE)          Please don't do this.                         JANE          You know what we saw last night.          This can't be a coincidence. I          want to know what's in that crater.                         SELVIG          I'm not talking about the crater.          I'm talking about him.                         JANE          He's promised us answers.                         SELVIG          He's delusional! Listen to what          he's saying! "Thor."ù "Bifrost."ù          "Mjolnir."ù These are the stories I          grew up with as a child!                         JANE          I'd just be driving him out there,          that's all.                         SELVIG          It's dangerous. He's dangerous.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 58.          After a moment, she nods. They head back over to Thor and          Darcy.                         JANE          I'm sorry. I can't take you.                         THOR          I understand. Then this is where          we say goodbye.          He takes her hand and kisses it.                         JANE          That's... thank you.          Thor bows slightly to each of them.                         THOR          Jane Foster... Erik Selvig...          Darcy. Farewell.          He heads off down the street. Selvig looks relieved.                         SELVIG          Now... let's get back to the lab.          We have work to do.          Selvig and Darcy turn and start to go. Jane looks after Thor          as he walks away down the street.          64 EXT. ODIN'S PALACE - DAY 64          Sif joins the Warriors Three as they hurry towards the Throne          Room.          65 INT. THRONE ROOM - MOMENTS LATER 65          Two EINHERJAR GUARDS enter, admitting Sif and the Warriors          Three, who burst through the entrance, heads bowed.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 59.                         SIF          Allfather, we must speak with you                         URGENTLY--          But as they raise their heads, they stop short to see --                         LOKI          Sitting sprawled upon his father's throne. He wears his          horned ceremonial headdress and holds GUNGNIR in his hand.          Sif and the others look up, shocked at the sight before them.                         VOLSTAGG          What is this?                         LOKI          My friends... you haven't heard? I          am now Ruler of Asgard.                         FANDRAL          Where is Odin?                         LOKI          Father's fallen into the Odinsleep.          My mother fears he may never awaken          again.                         SIF          We would speak with her.          Sif and the Warriors Three exchange a look. Loki notices.                         LOKI          She has refused to leave my          father's bedside. You can bring          your "urgent"ù matter to me, your          King.          Sif covers quickly.                         SIF          We would ask you to end Thor's          banishment.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 60.                         LOKI          My first command can not be to undo          the Allfather's last. We're on the          brink of war with Jotunheim. Our          people must have a sense of          continuity in order to feel safe in          these difficult times.          Sif and the Warriors Three trade looks, not liking any of          this.          LOKI (CONT'D)          All of us must stand together, for          the good of Asgard.                         FANDRAL          Of course.          Sif and the Warriors Three bow their heads and exit. Loki          stares after them.          66 EXT. PUENTE ANTIGUO, NEW MEXICO - MAIN STREET - DAY 66          Jane, Selvig, and Darcy head up the street. They're by          Arturo's, when a PICK-UP TRUCK pulls up before them, stopped          by traffic. In the back of the vehicle, Jane notices,          partially covered by a tarp, the dark matter analysis machine          from her lab.                         JANE          Hey! That's my stuff!          66A EXT. SMITH MOTORS - LAB 66A          Jane, Selvig, and Darcy reach the lab, where government          vehicles are parked. SHIELD AGENTS haul equipment out of the          lab and load it into waiting vans. Other Agents strip all          the equipment from inside the Pinzgauer and cart it away.          Still others emerge from her trailer, arms loaded with          scientific instruments and documents.                         JANE          What the hell is going on here?!          The Agents ignore her as Agent Coulson approaches.                         COULSON          Ms. Foster, I'm Agent Coulson, with          SHIELD.          Selvig, recognizing the name of the organization, grows wary.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 60A.                         JANE          I don't care who you work for, you          can't do this!                         SELVIG          Jane. This is more serious than          you realize. Let it go.                         JANE          Let it go?! This is my life!                         COULSON          We're here investigating a security          threat. We need to appropriate          your equipment and all your          atmospheric data.                         JANE          By "appropriate"ù you mean "steal?"ù          Instead of answering, Coulson gives her a check.                         COULSON          This should more than compensate          you for your trouble.          She throws the check to the ground without looking at it.                         JANE          I can't just pick up replacements          from RadioShack! I made most of          that equipment myself!                         COULSON          Then I'm sure you can do it again.                         JANE          And I'm sure I can sue you for          violating my constitutional rights!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 61.                         COULSON          We're the good guys, Ms. Foster.          He tries to walk away, but Jane blocks his path. She is          fully herself, fueled by outrage.                         JANE          So are we! We're on the verge of                         UNDERSTANDING SOMETHING          extraordinary.          Jane holds up her notebook.          JANE (CONT'D)          Everything I know about this          phenomenon is in this lab and in          this book, and no one has the right          to take it from me.          Coulson gestures to a nearby AGENT, who promptly plucks the          notebook out of Jane's hands and adds it to the pile he's          carrying. Jane is stunned.                         COULSON          Thank you for your cooperation.          He gets into a car. The cars and trucks pull away.          67 INT. SMITH MOTORS - LAB - DAY 67          Jane, Selvig, and Darcy enter, staring in shock at the now-          empty space.                         JANE          Years of research, gone.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 62.                         DARCY          They even took my iPod.                         SELVIG          And your back-ups?                         JANE          Look around! They took our back-          ups. They took the back-ups of our          back-ups.                         DARCY          I just downloaded, like, thirty          songs on there.                         JANE                         (TO DARCY)          Will you please stop talking about          your iPod?!                         (TO SELVIG)          Who are these people?                         SELVIG          No one knows much about them. But          I knew a scientist -- a pioneer in          gamma radiation. SHIELD showed up,          and he was never heard from again.                         JANE          I'm not going to let them do this.          I'm getting everything back.                         SELVIG          Please, let me contact one of my          colleagues. Dr. Pym has had some          dealings with these people. I'll e-          mail him and see if he can help.                         DARCY          They took your laptop, too.          Annoyed, Selvig thinks.          67A EXT. PUENTE ANTIGUO LIBRARY - DAY 67A          Selvig and Jane in the Pinzgauer drive up in front of the          town's rinky-dink library. A sign in the window reads, "FREE          INTERNET."ù                         SELVIG          I'll just be a minute.          He climbs out and heads inside. Jane looks down the street          and sees something that intrigues her.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 62A.          68 INT. PET STORE - DAY 68          Thor enters the store and approaches a PET STORE CLERK.                         THOR          I need a horse.          PET STORE CLERK          Sorry, we don't sell horses. Just          dogs, cats, birds.                         THOR          Then give me one of those, large          enough to ride.          The Pet Store Clerk looks confused.          Just then, Thor hears a CAR HORN. He turns to the open door.          Across the street, Jane calls to him from the Pinzgauer.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 63.                         JANE          You still want a lift?          68A INT. PUENTE ANTIGUO LIBRARY - DAY 68A          It's story time in the library, as a LIBRARIAN reads a book --          "THE SECRET HISTORY OF GIANTS"ù -- to a group of kids.                         LIBRARIAN                         (READING)          "And though they're large, giants          can be quiet. You have to listen          carefully for the sound of their          footsteps -- because they may be          closer than you think."ù          Nearby, Selvig sits at a computer terminal, finishing up his          e-mail. Beside him, a KID flips through a book with          interest. The Librarian stops mid-story and calls to the Kid          pleasantly.          LIBRARIAN (CONT'D)          Joshua, come sit down. It's story          time.          The Kid closes his book and joins the others. Selvig looks          over, notices the title of the book the Kid was reading --          "MYTHS AND LEGENDS FROM AROUND THE WORLD."ù          He picks it up, flips through it, stops at the section on          Scandinavian Mythology.          It's a picture of a RAINBOW BRIDGE coming down from Asgard to          earth. ASGARDIANS walk upon it, among them ODIN, LOKI, and          THOR, who wields Mjolnir. On the ground below them, a group          of VIKINGS kneel reverently.          He eyes the illustration, pondering.                         69 OMITTED 69          70 EXT. DESERT - DUSK 70          Jane's Pinzgauer cuts off the road, heads over the rugged          terrain. Storm clouds roll in over the desert sky.          71 INT. PINZGAUER - DUSK 71          Jane drives, pumped with adrenaline, nervous and excited, as          Thor sits beside her, upbeat and eager for battle.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 63A.                         JANE          I've never done anything like this          before! Have you ever done          anything like this before?          Thor looks amused by her excitement.                         THOR          Many times. You're brave to do it.                         JANE          They just stole my entire life's          work. I really don't have anything          left to lose.                         THOR          But you're clever. Far more clever          than anyone else in this Realm.                         JANE          "This Realm?"ù Why do you talk like          that?                         THOR          You think me strange?          Jane laughs, catches herself.                         JANE          Yeah. Just a little.                         THOR          Good strange or bad strange?                         JANE          I'm not quite sure yet.          She looks at him, sees him staring at her. She's lost in his          gaze, distracted, when the PINZGAUER LURCHES. She quickly          turns her eyes forward, regains control of the car.          JANE (CONT'D)          Sorry.          She glances back at him. He's confident, determined.          JANE (CONT'D)          Who are you? Really?                         THOR          You'll see soon enough.                         JANE          You promised me answers.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 63B.          Thor looks at her, charmed by her persistence.                         THOR          What you seek -- it's a bridge.                         JANE          A bridge? Like an Einstein-Rosen          Bridge?                         THOR          More like a rainbow bridge.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 64.          A beat.                          JANE          God, I hope you're not crazy.          71A EXT. DESERT - NIGHT 71A          As the Pinzgauer heads away, we continue up a hillside,          revealing a light illuminating the valley beyond. As we move          closer, we see the glow comes from --          A MASSIVE SHIELD BASE          Now set up around the crater -- vehicles, trailers,          barricades. Armed GUARDS man a gate in the razor wire fence          that runs fifty yards from the crater's edge, enclosing the          complex.          Clear, plastic access tubes with junction boxes lead to a          translucent cube structure erected in the middle of the          crater.          Through the glass walls of the base's command trailer, we see          Coulson directing TECHNICIANS, busy at work.          Within the cube structure itself, a team of SHIELD SCIENTISTS          work with high-tech machinery, analyzing the object at the          center of it all -- Mjolnir.          72 EXT. RIDGE ABOVE CRATER - NIGHT 72          Jane and Thor crawl to the edge of the ridge, look through          binoculars, see the impressive SHIELD base.                         JANE          That isn't a satellite crash. They          would have hauled the wreckage          away, not built a city around it.          Thor shrugs out of his jacket and hands it to her.                         THOR          You're going to need this.                         JANE          Why?--          Thunder RUMBLES overhead. She stares at him intently and          takes his jacket.                         THOR          Stay here. Once I have Mjolnir, I          will return what they stole from          you.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 64A.          He looks to her, already knowing that Jane may disobey his          request.          THOR (CONT'D)          Deal?                         JANE          No! Look what's down there! You          can't just walk in, grab our stuff,          and walk out!                         THOR          No.          Jane looks relieved.          THOR (CONT'D)          I'm going to fly out.          Before she can react, he starts heading towards the crater.          The first drops of rain begin to patter into the dust.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 65.                         JANE          Wait...          But Thor is already headed towards the crater.          72A EXT. SHIELD BASE / INT. HAMMER CONTAINMENT CUBE STRUCTURE 72A          A NEEDLE spikes on a handheld SENSOR DEVICE. The TECHNICIAN          holding it looks over at the hammer. Mjolnir begins to give          off a subtle glow. A bolt of lightning CRACKS across the sky          above.                         CUT TO:          73 AN AERIAL INFRARED VIDEO IMAGE OF THE AREA 73          It's fuzzy, doesn't show much. We widen to see we are:          74 INT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - SECURITY ROOM 74          A younger SHIELD agent, a TECHIE in a headset, monitors          security. AGENT SITWELL, humorless, just this side of          junior, looks on, none-too-pleased.                         TECHIE          Feed from the keyhole. Can barely          penetrate the cloud cover.          The Techie hikes a thumb at another monitor, SQUELCHING with          static. It shows an SAR shot of the area, laid over a          terrain map.          TECHIE (CONT'D)          Tech's barely working as it is,          with all the interference that          thing's giving off.          He gestures towards the hammer. He checks a computer.          TECHIE (CONT'D)          Hey, we've got a commercial          aircraft coming in right over us,          Southwest Airlines Flight 5434.                         SITWELL          Reroute it, like all the others.                         TECHIE          Right. Can I get the passengers          some free drinks for the trouble?          Sitwell glares at him.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 65A.          TECHIE (CONT'D)                         (SHRUGS)          It'd be a nice gesture.          The Techie types into the computer, when he notices something          on another screen, holds up a hand.          TECHIE (CONT'D)          Hold a sec... we got something          outside the fence, west side...          He points at the screen. Through the haze, it shows a          THERMAL IMAGE huddled beside the fence.                         SITWELL          (into a radio)          DeLancey, Jackson -- check it out.          74A EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE 74A          A pair of SHIELD AGENTS (DELANCEY and JACKSON) take off in a          jeep to investigate.          74B EXT. SHIELD SECURITY ROOM 74B          Sitwell looks out the window, something strange catching his          attention. We see in the window's reflection that a glow is          coming from the hammer containment area.          75 EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - FENCE - MOMENTS LATER 75          The jeep pulls up as the Agents scan the fence with a          flashlight, see nothing unusual.                         AGENT JACKSON                         (INTO RADIO)          Looks like we're good here. Must          have been another coyote.          Just then, the Agents notice a section of the fence has been          bent up from the ground, leaving a gap.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 66.          Before they can call it in, a massive CRACK OF LIGHTNING          illuminates the night sky -- revealing the silhouette of a          large man standing outside the driver's (Jackson's) side of          the jeep. DeLancey looks over, notices.                         AGENT DELANCEY          Jackson?          The Agents reach for their weapons. Thor elbows the driver          across the jaw, causing him to drop his weapon. Jackson          slumps over the steering wheel, as DeLancey starts to raise a          shotgun at Thor.          Thor grabs the barrel, yanks it out of DeLancey's hands and          thrusts the hilt back, smashing the Agent's jaw.          Thor reaches into the jeep to grab a rain slicker.          75A INT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - SECURITY 75A          Sitwell talks into his radio, starting to look worried.                         SITWELL                         (INTO RADIO)          DeLancey, Jackson -- report.          76 EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - MOMENTS LATER 76          Thor, now wearing a SHIELD rain slicker, makes his way across          the base.          Another SHIELD AGENT approaches the jeep, spots the          unconscious DeLancey and Jackson. He quickly calls into his          radio.                         SHIELD AGENT          Agents down! We've got a perimeter          breach!          77 INT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - SECURITY 77          The security monitors SQUELCH with static and interference.          Sitwell holds his PDA -- even it's on the fritz. Sitwell and          the Techie watch the monitors warily.          On the monitor showing the hammer containment area, Mjolnir          starts to crackle with energy.                         SITWELL          (to the Techie)          Get Coulson.          Sitwell punches an alarm.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 66A.          78 EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE 78          As Thor makes his way towards the crater, an alarm sounds and          SECURITY LIGHTS explode to life.          78A EXT. RIDGE ABOVE CRATER 78A          A spotlight fires out from the base and sweeps across the          ridge towards Jane. She ducks down, out of sight.          She pulls out her cellphone and dials. We hear Selvig's          recorded message.          SELVIG (V.O., ON PHONE)          You've reached Dr. Erik Selvig.          Please leave me a message.          His voicemail BEEPS. She talks quietly, urgently.                         JANE          Erik, okay, first of all, don't          worry. I'm perfectly fine, really.          More sounds of MAYHEM come from the base.          JANE (CONT'D)          But if you don't hear from me          again, you might want to come out          to the crater site and look for me.          I kind of did what you said I          shouldn't do. Thanks. Bye.          She hangs up.          79 EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - COMMAND TRAILER 79          Coulson emerges from the SHIELD command trailer and marches          across the mud, radio to his ear. He looks out across the          lit up site uneasily.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 67.          80 EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - NIGHT 80          A SHIELD GUARD moves through the base, rifle in hand. From          the shadows behind a trailer, a FIGURE looks out at him.          As the Guard raises his radio to check in, Thor quickly          rushes towards him and chokes him out. He falls to the          ground.          Thor notices the AR-15 rifle lying on the ground beside the          fallen Guard. He stares down at the weapon quizzically. As          more GUARDS approach, Thor snatches up the weapon and takes          cover in the shadows of the trailer. The Guards pass by.          Thor peers around the corner, sees the well-guarded main          entrance tube to the center of the site.          A bright light suddenly illuminates his face. He looks to          see an ATV moving across the site, shining its spotlight          right on him.          Thor sees that the ATV DRIVER has spotted him. The Driver          raises his radio to report. Thor knows he has to act fact.          He raises the rifle -- then flips it over in the air and          catches it by the barrel. He rears the weapon back, then          hurls it like a hammer. It flies through the air, smashing          the ATV's spotlight.          Glass and debris shower the driver, who takes his hands off          the wheel to protect himself.          The ATV roars out of control past the Guards near the tube          entrance. The Guards notice and chase after it.          Thor emerges from the shadows, watches the Guards abandoning          the site entrance.          80A EXT. EDGE OF CRATER 80A          The ATV Driver looks forward in panic as the ATV approaches          the crater lip.          The vehicle careens over the edge of the crater and heads          straight for one of the plastic tunnels. The Technicians          inside scatter as the ATV CRASHES into it, tearing into the          tunnel, sending sparks everywhere.          The ATV finally comes to a stop, the tunnel collapsing around          it and the Driver. SHIELD AGENTS rush in behind to help.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 67A.          81 EXT. RIDGE ABOVE CRATER 81           Jane peers over the ridge, stares down at the frenzied           aftermath of the ATV crash, at the base on high alert.           Lightning CRACKS in the sky behind her.                         82 OMITTED 82          82A OMITTED 82A          82B EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE 82B          Coulson climbs to the lip of the crater as a light rain          begins to fall. He eyes the damage of the ATV crash.          He's not pleased. The light rain becomes a downpour.          82C EXT. MAIN ENTRANCE TUBE 82C          As SHIELD Agents pull the ATV driver from the wreckage, Thor          races towards the unguarded entrance to the tunnels and heads          inside.          82D INT. ENTRANCE TUBE 82D          Thor races up the entrance ramp. Before him, two GUARDS          round the corner.          Thor knocks out the first Guard, then tackles the second. He          hurries around the corner, when more GUARDS come up a ladder          ahead. Thor punches the closest Guard, sending him tumbling          backwards, toppling the others on the ladder behind him.          Thor takes off running, as the Guards regroup and give chase.          Thor spots the glow of Mjolnir in the central cube, through          the translucent walls of the tunnels. He hurries through to          tunnels to find a way towards it.          82E EXT. EDGE OF CRATER 82E          Coulson stands on the crater lip, barking out orders, as the          Guards in the tunnel rush to cut off Thor.          Coulson activates his radio.                         COULSON          I want eyes up high. With a gun.          Now!                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 67B.          82E.a INT. SHIELD TRAILER 82E.a          A SNIPER, dressed in black tactical gear and high-tech          NIGHTVISION EQUIPMENT, picks up a rifle, slings it over his          shoulder and heads out.          His name is BARTON.          82E.b EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE 82E.b          Lightning CRACKLES around the camp.          82E.c EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - CRANE SITE 82E.c          Barton approaches a CRANE BUCKET. He leaps in, and the          bucket lifts into the air.          82F EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - TUNNEL 82F          Through the translucent plastic, we see Thor racing through          the tubing.          82G INT. TUNNEL 82G          As Thor races through the tunnel, a GUARD runs right at him,          on a collision course. Thor takes him out with a punch to          the gut, then turns to see more AGENTS coming towards him.          Thor picks up the fallen Guard he punched, then throws him          into the approaching Agents, scattering them.          Thor turns around, runs back the way he came. The Agents          give chase.          82H EXT. RIDGE ABOVE CRATER 82H           Jane looks down at the crater through binoculars, frustrated           that she can't clearly see what's happening.          82I EXT. CRATER 82I           Coulson watches the commotion in the tunnel complex. He           heads off for the command trailer to enter the tunnels.          82J OMITTED 82J          82K EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE 82K          The crane basket ascends into the high winds as Barton          readies his sniper rifle.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 67C.          82L EXT. TUNNEL COMPLEX 82L          We see the figure of Thor inside the complex, heading down a          ladder from a junction box, with other figures converging on          him.          82L.a INT. COMMAND TRAILER TUNNEL ENTRANCE 82L.a          Coulson enters the tunnels through the command trailer. He          calls on his radio.                         COULSON          Barton. Talk to me.          82M OMITTED 82M          82N OMITTED 82N          82O OMITTED 82O          82P OMITTED 82P                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 68.          83 EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - CRANE SITE 83          The crane holding Barton arcs out over the structure. Barton          takes aim.                         BARTON                         (INTO RADIO)          One shot, one kill, sir. Just give          the word.          BARTON'S NIGHTVISION POV          Overlooking the complex. It's a clear field of vision,          nowhere to hide. A digital read-out gives information on the          distance to the target. He locks in on Thor, who's inside          the plastic tubing, emerging from the junction box and          heading towards the cube structure.          BARTON (CONT'D)          Hello, handsome.          83A INT. TUNNEL 83A          Thor races through the tunnel, comes across a wall of AGENTS.          Thor ROARS and barrels through them -- elbowing, punching --          whatever it takes to keep moving.          As he takes down the last Agent, Thor sees the last junction          box and the entrance to the cube structure up ahead.          He races towards it. He can actually see Mjolnir within the          middle of the structure, when -- BAM! From out of nowhere, a          fist lands a powerful blow across his jaw, sending him          reeling. Dazed, Thor looks up to see --          A HUGE SHIELD AGENT          The biggest of them all, standing between him and his hammer          in the cube structure beyond. Thor sizes him up.                         THOR           You're big.          Thor grins.           THOR (CONT'D)           Fought bigger.          83B EXT. JUNCTION BOX 83B          Thor and the Huge Agent explode through the wall of the          junction box, then crash into the mud, sending them sliding.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 68A.          83C EXT. CRANE BUCKET 83C          Barton has Thor in his sites. The sniper stands still as a          statue.          83D INT. TUNNEL 83D          Coulson hurries through the tunnel, ready to give the word to          Barton, when he stops short. He sees what looks like an          electrical storm erupting inside the structure ahead,          directly above the crater... and the hammer.          83E EXT. RIDGE ABOVE CRATER 83E          Jane sees SHIELD Agents and Guards swarming into the cube          containment structure.                         JANE          No...          84 EXT. CRATER 84          Thor and the Huge Agent struggle to stand in the mud.          Through the translucent walls of the cube structure, Thor          sees Mjolnir. The Huge Agent rises up before him, blocking          his view.          Rain and blood run down Thor's face. He lunges forward,          whipping his feet in front of him, then kicks out, nailing          the Huge Agent in the chest. The Agent goes down hard as          Thor's momentum carries him past.          Thor stands, heads for the cube structure, when the Huge          Guard grabs his ankle in a last effort. Thor looks back down          at his foe, then drops backwards, pile driving his elbow into          the fallen Agent's chest. The Huge Agent grimaces in pain,          defeated.          Thor races back towards the structure.          84H INT. HAMMER CONTAINMENT CUBE 84H          From outside, Thor rips an opening in the plastic wall of the          structure.          He stands there -- soaking, bleeding, caked with wet earth.          His hammer rests just a few yards before him, energy surging          around it.          Coulson steps into the structure through an access tunnel,          one story up.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 68B.          As Thor approaches his hammer, Mjolnir starts to glow          brighter, blue electricity sparking off its surface. The          crackling energy seems to reach out to him. Coulson notices,          his interest piqued.          Above the open ceiling of the structure, Barton's crane          bucket comes into view.          84I EXT. CRANE BUCKET 84I          Wind and rain whip around Barton as he stares into his rifle          site, locked on the back of Thor's head -- his finger on the          trigger.          84J INT. HAMMER CONTAINMENT CUBE 84J          Thor stands next to the hammer, feels its power. He reaches          out to it confidently.          Coulson watches from above. Armed AGENTS approach behind          him. He motions for them to hold their positions, then          radios Barton.                         COULSON          Barton...          84K EXT. CRANE BUCKET 84K          Barton stands ready to take Thor down. His finger starts to          squeeze the trigger.          COULSON (V.O., ON RADIO)          ...hold your fire.          Barton releases the trigger, pulls up.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 69.          84L INT. HAMMER CONTAINMENT CUBE 84L          Coulson watches Thor with anticipation as Thor wraps his hand          around the hammer. He smiles, triumphant, lifts... but the          hammer doesn't move.          Thor looks confused, tries again with two hands, to no avail          -- anger and frustration overtaking him. He strains with all          his might, SCREAMS from the effort, bellowing up at the storm          and lightning above him.          Something begins to appear on the side of Mjolnir -- glowing          RUNES. Thor looks down, sees them.          But, still, the hammer doesn't budge. Thor falls to his          knees before it, rain pouring down around him, as the glowing          runes fade away. He's failed. Unworthy.          Coulson looks on, disappointed.          SHIELD AGENTS move in, guns trained on Thor, surrounding him.          Coulson activates his radio.                         COULSON          Ground units, move in. Show's          over.          As the Agents surround him, Thor doesn't seem to notice or          care. He just sits there on his knees, head bowed in the          rain -- a man broken, lost.          From overhead, we see the hammer in the cube containment          room. We pull up as the Guards approach Thor, then continue          to climb, until we see the whole camp -- and the extensive          damage Thor's done to it during the melee.                         85 OMITTED 85          86 EXT. RIDGE ABOVE CRATER - NIGHT 86          Jane lowers her binoculars, sensing things have gone from bad          to worse.          She steels herself, then starts over the ridge to help him.          Almost immediately, a SPOTLIGHT sweeps past her. She hears          the sound of DOGS and SHIELD AGENTS approaching, sees the          glow of flashlights moving from the base towards her.          With no other choice, she makes a quick retreat.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 69A.          87 EXT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY - NIGHT 87          Heimdall stands at his post, watching the scene. He lowers          his head.          88 INT. SMITH MOTORS - LAB - NIGHT 88          Jane stands with Selvig and Darcy in the empty lab.          Darcy picks up the book Selvig checked out of the library,          looks through it.                         JANE          I can't just leave him there.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 70.                          SELVIG          Why not?                          JANE          You didn't see what happened.          Darcy points at an illustration of Thor's hammer in the book.                         DARCY          Hey! Myeu-muh!          Jane looks at the illustration in the book, turns to Selvig          knowingly.                         JANE                         (RE: BOOK)          Where did you find this?          Selvig grabs the book from them, quickly closes it.                         SELVIG          In the children's section. I          wanted to show you how ridiculous          his story was.          Jane is unconvinced by this. She knows he wants to believe.                         JANE          Aren't you the one who's always          told me to chase down all leads,          all possibilities?                         SELVIG          I was talking about science, not          magic!                         JANE          Magic's just science we don't          understand yet. Arthur C. Clarke.                         SELVIG          Who wrote science fiction.                         JANE          The precursor of science fact.                         SELVIG          In some cases.                         JANE          If that's really an Einstein-Rosen          Bridge out there, then there's          something on the other side.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 70A.                         JANE (CONT'D)          Advanced beings could have come          through it before.                         SELVIG          Jane...                         DARCY          A primitive culture like the          Vikings might have worshipped them          as deities.          They give her a look, surprised by her unexpectedly          insightful input. Darcy shrugs. Jane points at her,          grateful for the support.                         JANE          Yes! Exactly! Thank you!          Darcy beams.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 71.                         SELVIG          Jane, if you do this, you'll find          yourself in a situation that I          won't be able to get you out of          this time.                         DARCY          I'll help you.          Jane looks grateful. Selvig looks at her, sees there's no          stopping her. He sighs.          89 INT. SHIELD HOLDING CELL - NIGHT 89          Thor sits in a chair, staring forward blankly, hands cuffed          behind him. Coulson stands across from him.                         COULSON          It's not easy to do what you did.          You made us all look like a bunch          of mall cops. That's hurtful.                         (THEN)          The men you so easily subdued are          highly-trained professionals, and          in my experience, it takes someone          who's received similar training to          do what you did to them. Would you          like to tell me where you received          your training?          Thor sits silently.          COULSON (CONT'D)          Pakistan? Chechnya? Afghanistan?          Then again, you strike me more as          the soldier of fortune type. What          was it, South Africa?          Still no answer. Coulson leans in close to him.          COULSON (CONT'D)          Certain groups pay well for a good          mercenary. Especially HYDRA.          Coulson waits for a response, but gets none.          COULSON (CONT'D)          Who are you?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 72.                         THOR          Just a man.                         COULSON          One way or another, we find out          what we want to know. We're good          at that.          Coulson leaves the room. Thor lowers his head.          LOKI (O.S.)          I thought he'd never leave.          Thor looks up, shocked to find Loki standing there, dressed          in 21st century attire.                         THOR          Loki? What are you doing here?                         LOKI          I had to see you.                         THOR          What's happened? Tell me! Is it          Jotunheim? Let me explain to                         FATHER--                         LOKI          Father is dead.          Thor stares at him, stunned.                         THOR          What?                         LOKI          Your banishment, the threat of a          new war, it was too much for him to          bear.          The implications of Loki's words dawn on Thor -- he's          responsible for his father's fate. Loki draws close to him,          looks in his eyes, consolingly.          LOKI (CONT'D)          You mustn't blame yourself. I know          that you loved him. I tried to          tell him so, but he wouldn't          listen.                         (MORE)                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 73.           LOKI (CONT'D)                         (THEN)          It was cruel to put the hammer          within your reach, knowing you          could never lift it.          Thor stares ahead, falling deeper into the abyss.          LOKI (CONT'D)          The burden of the throne has fallen          to me now.                         THOR          Can I come home?                         LOKI          The truce with Jotunheim is          conditional upon your exile.                         THOR          But couldn't we find a way to--                         LOKI          Mother has forbidden your return.          Thor nods, lowers his head, beaten.          LOKI (CONT'D)          This is goodbye, brother. I'm so          sorry.                         THOR          No, I'm sorry. Loki... thank you          for coming here.                         LOKI          Nothing could have stopped me.          Coulson enters the room, but seems to take no notice of Loki.          LOKI (CONT'D)          Fare well, brother.                         THOR          Good-bye.                         COULSON          Good-bye? I just got back.          Thor looks up to see that Loki is gone.          COULSON (CONT'D)          Now. Where did we leave off?                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 73A.          90 EXT. CRATER - NIGHT 90          Agents and Scientists work to repair the damaged area around          Mjolnir. They take no notice of Loki as he steps up beside          the hammer. He stares at it -- intrigued, wondering. Can he          do it?          He reaches down, tries to lift it -- but can't. He lets it          go, eyes it with contempt, then steps away.          He gestures with his arms. An odd GREEN AND GOLD LIGHT rises          from the ground, enveloping him, then he disappears.          91 INT. HOLDING CELL - NIGHT 91          Sitwell enters and speaks sotto to Coulson.                         SITWELL                         (RE: THOR)          Sir... he's got a visitor.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 74.          92 INT. SECURITY ROOM - MOMENTS LATER 92          Coulson and several other SHIELD AGENTS stand across from          Erik Selvig.                         COULSON          "Donald Blake?"ù                         SELVIG          Doctor Donald Blake. He's part of          our team.                         COULSON          You have dangerous coworkers, Dr.          Selvig.                         SELVIG          Troubled, not dangerous. He was          distraught when he found out that          you'd taken all of our research.          It was years of his life, gone! He          got depressed, started drinking,          and... well, you know the rest.                         COULSON          Uh-huh. You mind if we take a          moment to verify his identity?                         SELVIG          Certainly.          The Techie at a computer nearby runs the name.          SELVIG (CONT'D)          You can understand how a man could          go off like that. I mean, a big,          faceless organization like yours,          coming in with their jack-booted          thugs and stealing private          property...                         (THEN)          ...is how he described it.                         COULSON          That doesn't explain how he managed          to tear through our security.          Selvig shrugs.                         SELVIG          Steroids. He's a bit of a fitness          nut.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 74A.          On the Techie's monitor, a DMV record from the State of New          York pops up reading "DR. DONALD BLAKE"ù. The license photo          is indeed a picture of Thor -- the one Darcy took with her          cellphone.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 75.          The Techie hits a button, and a graphic reads, "SHIELD          SECURITY ANALYSIS IN PROGRESS."ù Coulson eyes the screen.          After a beat, he turns back to Selvig.                         COULSON          It says here he's an M.D.                         SELVIG          He is. That is, he was. He          switched careers and became a          physicist. He's quite brilliant,          really.                         (THEN)          If you would just release him to          me, I promise to keep an eye on          him.          Coulson thinks, sizing Selvig up -- then smiles. He turns to          an AGENT nearby.                         COULSON          Release Dr. Blake to Dr. Selvig          here.          The Techie looks to him, surprised.          COULSON (CONT'D)                         (TO SELVIG)          Make sure he stays in town for the          next few days in case we need to          talk to him again.          Selvig shakes his hand.                         SELVIG          Thank you.          92A INT. SHIELD HOLDING CELL - NIGHT 92A          Selvig bursts into the room with a SHIELD Agent to find a          seated Thor.                         SELVIG          Donny, Donny, Donny! There you          are!          Thor looks up, unsure what the hell is going on. Selvig          pulls Thor to his feet, gives him a warm hug.          SELVIG (CONT'D)          It's going to be all right, my          friend. Come on, I'm taking you          home.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 75A.          He leads the bewildered Thor out the door.          92B EXT. COULSON'S TRAILER - NIGHT 92B          As Thor and Selvig make their way past the SHIELD Security          Room, Thor notices Jane's possessions and equipment from the          Smith Motors lab stacked under a tarp. He spots Jane's hand-          written journal among them. As he passes, he quickly takes          it from the pile and pockets it.          92C INT. SECURITY ROOM - NIGHT 92C          Coulson looks at the computer bearing Donald Blake's DMV          record. A security warning over the image clearly reads          "SECURITY ALERT: FALSIFIED DATA."ù He knows it's been a ruse          all along.          He looks to Selvig and Thor heading away from the Security          Room, then follows them outside.          93 EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - NIGHT 93          Coulson and two SHIELD Agents watch as Selvig walks with Thor          away from the base to the SUV. Coulson calls to Selvig.                         COULSON          Just keep him away from the bars.                         SELVIG          I will!                         THOR                         (TO SELVIG)          Where are we going?          Selvig drops his cool demeanor.                         SELVIG          To get a drink.          Selvig and Thor climb into the SUV.          As they drive off, Coulson turns to the other two agents --          GARRETT and CALE.                         COULSON          Follow them.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 76.          94 EXT. JOTUNHEIM - DAY 94          Loki, looking apprehensive, walks alone across the icy          surface of the planet.          95 INT. LAUFEY'S TEMPLE - DAY 95          Darkness shrouds the ruined temple, save for the shafts of          light which knife their way in through the damaged ceiling.          Loki enters. Frost Giant guards surround him on all sides.          Laufey approaches, towers over him menacingly.                         LAUFEY          Tell me why I shouldn't kill you.                         LOKI          I've come alone and unarmed.                         LAUFEY          To what end?                         LOKI          To make you another proposition.                         LAUFEY                         (REALIZING)          So you're the one who let us into          Asgard.                         LOKI          You're welcome.                         LAUFEY          My men are dead, and I have no          Casket. You are a deceiver.          Laufey lashes out, grabs Loki around the throat, but Loki          calmly stands his ground.                         LOKI          You have no idea what I am.          The blueness spreads across his face, as Laufey and the          guards stare in shock. Loki grins.          LOKI (CONT'D)          Hello, Father.          Laufey releases him. Loki's body turns back to normal.          Intrigued, Laufey sizes up his son.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 76A.                         LAUFEY          Ah, the bastard son. I thought          Odin had killed you. That's what I          would have done. He's as weak as          you are.                         LOKI          No longer weak. I now rule Asgard,          until Odin awakens. Perhaps you          should not have so carelessly          abandoned me.          This gives Laufey pause.                         LAUFEY          Or perhaps it was the wisest choice          I've ever made. I will hear you.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 77.                         LOKI          I will conceal you and a handful of          your soldiers, lead you into his          chambers, and let you slay him          where he lies. I'll keep the          throne, and you will have the          Casket.          Laufey studies Loki's face.                         LAUFEY          Why would you do this?                         LOKI          When all is done, we will have a          permanent peace between our two          worlds. Then I, the bastard son,          will have accomplished what Odin          and Thor never could.                         LAUFEY          This is a great day for Jotunheim.          Asgard is finally ours.                         LOKI          No. Asgard is mine. The rest of          the Nine Realms will be yours, if          you do as you're told.          Laufey considers the proposition.                         LAUFEY          I accept.          Loki turns to leave. As he goes, the slightest trace of a          smile crosses his face.          96 INT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY - DAY 96          Loki emerges out of the Bifrost, as Heimdall steps away from          his controls. Heimdall glares at Loki. Loki notices.                         LOKI          What troubles you, Gatekeeper?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 78.                         HEIMDALL          I turned my gaze upon you in          Jotunheim, but could neither see          nor hear you. You were shrouded          from me, like the Frost Giants who          entered this Realm.                         LOKI          Perhaps your senses have weakened          after your many years of service.                         HEIMDALL          Or perhaps someone has found a way          to hide that which he does not wish          me to see.          Loki sizes him up, smiles.                         LOKI          You have great power, Heimdall.          Tell me, did Odin ever fear you?                         HEIMDALL          No.                         LOKI          And why is that?                         HEIMDALL          Because he is my King, and I am          sworn to obey him.                         LOKI          Exactly. Just as you're sworn to          obey me now. Yes?          A beat.                         HEIMDALL          Yes.                         LOKI          Good. Then you will open the          Bifrost to no one until I have          undone what my brother has started.          Loki heads out of the Observatory. Heimdall stares after          him.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 78A.          97 INT. BAR - NIGHT 97          Thor and Selvig sit at a booth at the back of the local dive.          The bartender sets down a couple mugs of beer and two shots          of whiskey. Selvig pours the shot into his mug and downs it.          Thor follows his example.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 79.                         SELVIG          Seems Darcy's a terrible intern,          but a talented hacker.                         THOR          Thank you for what you've done.                         SELVIG          Don't thank me. I only did it for           Jane.                         THOR          Are you in love with her?                         SELVIG          Of course not! Jane's like a          daughter to me. Her father and I          taught at University together. A          good man, but he never listened.          This registers with Thor.                         THOR          Neither did I.          Selvig eyes him with interest.                         SELVIG          I don't know if you're really           delusional, and I really don't care           at this point. I just care about           her. I've seen the way she looks          at you.                         THOR          I swear to you, I mean her no harm.                         SELVIG          Good. If that's the case, then          I'll buy you one more drink, and           you'll leave town tonight.           A long pause, then Thor nods. He takes a drink.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 80.                         THOR          I had it all backwards. I had it          all wrong.          Selvig watches him keenly. This is a different Thor than          he's seen before.                         SELVIG          It's not a bad thing, finding out          that you don't have all the          answers. That's when you start          asking the right questions.          Thor takes this in.                         THOR          For the first time in my life, I          have no idea what I'm supposed to          do.                          SELVIG          Anyone who's ever going to find           their way in this world has to          start by admitting they don't know          where the hell they are.          Thor nods.          DRUNK TOWNIE (O.S.)          Hey, I know you, man...           An intimidating DRUNK TOWNIE nearby sizes up Thor. He is one           of the Townies from Isabela's Diner who saw Thor earlier. He          approaches, belligerent and looking for a fight.           DRUNK TOWNIE (CONT'D)          You were in the diner with that hot           girl.          Thor doesn't like where this is going.           DRUNK TOWNIE (CONT'D)          I wouldn't mind her doing a little          research on me.          He laughs. Thor is annoyed.                          THOR          I have no quarrel with you. But           she's a lady. You should be more           respectful.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 80A.                          DRUNK TOWNIE           And you should shut the hell up,            princess.           Selvig looks to Thor, concerned that he's going to lose it.            But, to his surprise, Thor remains unaffected by the Townie's           baiting.                           THOR            I will not fight him.                           DRUNK TOWNIE            Then it'll be easy to kick your            ass.            Selvig stands, steps between the two men.                          SELVIG           Gentlemen, please. Let's keep our            heads.           Just then, Selvig HEAD-BUTTS the Townie, knocking him out.          Thor's impressed. Selvig downs his drink, then hurls his          glass aside, SHATTERING it on the ground.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 81.          SELVIG (CONT'D)                         (TO THOR)          Another drink?          98 EXT. MAIN STREET - NIGHT 98          Thor and Selvig stumble down the street, singing a NORWEGIAN          FOLK SONG. They improvise an impromptu drinking song dance          routine involving side steps and happy slaps, optimistically          in time with the song.                         THOR/SELVIG                         (SINGING)          "The mood is good, our hearts are          full, there's magic in the air. /          It's all because we're here          tonight, and haven't got a care. /          So raise a glass, and toast to          life, wherever it may lead / Tra-la-          la, tra-la-la, a friend is fine          indeed. / Tra-la-la, tra-la-la, a          friend is fine indeed!"ù          Thor holds up a hand for Selvig's last finishing slap.          Selvig misses it completely and falls out of frame like a          straight dead weight with a CLUNK.          WIDE SHOT. Emerging from behind the car where Selvig fell,          Thor stands up, Selvig slung over his shoulder, and starts to          walk up the street towards Jane's trailer.          99 INT. JANE'S TRAILER - NIGHT 99          The small trailer is in a state of perpetual disarray, strewn          with various books, old pizza boxes, etc. A worried Jane          lies on her bed, trying to read.          She's startled by the loud RAPPING on the door. She bolts to          the door and opens it to find --                         THOR          Standing there with the unconscious Selvig slung over his          shoulder.                         JANE          Erik!                         (TO THOR)          Is he all right?                         THOR          He's fine. Not injured at all.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 81A.          As Thor enters, he BANGS Selvig's head on the doorway.          Selvig GROANS.          THOR (CONT'D)          Sorry, my friend.                         JANE          What happened?                         THOR          We drank. We fought. He made his          ancestors proud.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 82.                         JANE          Put him on the bed.          Thor moves through the small trailer carrying Selvig, like a          bear lugging another bear, smashing into things along the          way, until he finally sets Selvig down on Jane's bed. Selvig          awakens groggily and looks up at him through bleary eyes.                         SELVIG          I still don't believe you're the          God of Thunder.                         (THEN)          But you ought to be.          Thor grins, pats him on the cheek. As Selvig drifts off to          sleep, Thor pulls a blanket over him.          Jane watches, stunned by their friendship, impressed by          Thor's tenderness. Thor turns back to her, looks around.                         THOR          These are your chambers?          Jane suddenly becomes self-conscious. She starts cleaning up          the mess around her.                         JANE          Well, it's more of a temporary          living space, really. I don't          usually have visitors in here.          Actually, never...          Thor picks up a sock off the floor. She snatches it from          him, puts it away.          JANE (CONT'D)          Can we go outside?          100 EXT. SMITH MOTORS - ROOF - NIGHT 100          Thor steps off a ladder onto the roof of Smith Motors. He          offers Jane his hand, helps her up. There's a telescope set          up, a couple chairs, some blankets.                         JANE          I come up here sometimes when I          can't sleep. Or when I'm trying to          reconcile particle data. Or when          Darcy's driving me crazy.                         (THEN)          I come up here a lot, now that I          think about it.          Thor looks at the night sky, filled with stars.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 82A.          JANE (CONT'D)          I'm glad you're safe.                         THOR          You've been very kind. I've been          far less grateful than you deserve.                         JANE          I also hit you with my car a couple          times, so it kind of evens out.          He grins, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out her          NOTEBOOK.          JANE (CONT'D)          I don't believe it...          She takes it from him, surprised and grateful.                         THOR          It was all I could get back. Not          as much as I promised. I'm sorry.                         JANE          No, this is good. Thank you. This          means I don't have to start from          scratch...          She sits down and opens the notebook eagerly, then stops, a          harsh realization clouding her face. Thor notices.                         THOR          What's wrong?                         JANE          SHIELD, whatever they are. They're          never going to let this research          see the light of day.                         THOR          You must do this. You must finish          what you've started.                         JANE          Why?                         THOR          Because you're right. It's taken          so many generations for your people          to get to this point. You're          nearly there. You just need          someone to show you how close you          really are.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 83.          Thor moves beside her, opens her notebook, turns to the page          which bears a sketch of the Bifrost. He takes the pen from          the notebook, begins to add to the sketch, leading from one          point to another in space.          THOR (CONT'D)          Look -- your ancestors called it          magic. You call it science. I          come from a place where they're one          and the same thing.          We recognize that Thor is drawing the branches of Yggdrasil          as she looks on, amazed and intrigued.                         JANE          What is it?                         THOR          This is how my father explained it          to me...                         (THEN)          Your world is one of the Nine          Realms of the Cosmos, linked to          each other by the branches of          Yggdrasil, the Worlds Tree. Now,          you see it every day, without          realizing. Images glimpsed through          -- what did you call it?...          (checks her notebook)          ...this Hubble Telescope. So, Nine          Realms...          They look at each other. She nods. They smile. This is          going to be a long night.          101 EXT. SMITH MOTORS - ROOF - LATER 101          Jane sleeps beside Thor on the blankets on the rooftop. He          stares up at the night sky.          She rolls close to him, nuzzles against him in her sleep. He          looks down at her, beautiful in the moonlight, looks out at          the town beyond her.          102 INT. HEALING ROOM - DAY 102          Volstagg eats ravenously from a PLATTER OF FOOD. Sif stands          nearby, ill at ease. Fandral watches Volstagg incredulously          as the large warrior stuffs himself. Finally Fandral can          stand it no more.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 84.                         FANDRAL          Our dearest friend banished, Loki          on the throne, Asgard on the brink          of war, yet you manage to consume          four wild boar, six pheasant, a          side of beef, and two casks of ale.          Shame on you! Don't you care?!          Fandral moves to throw the platter in the fire, but Volstagg          pulls his weapon, stopping him.                         VOLSTAGG          Do not mistake my appetite for          apathy.                         SIF          Stop it, both of you! We all know          what we have to do, we're just too          damned afraid to do it!                         HOGUN                         (DECIDES)          We must go. We must find Thor.          Hogun starts to pull the delicate HEALING STONES from the          fire, carefully putting them into a POUCH at his side.                         FANDRAL          It's treason, Hogun.                         VOLSTAGG          To hell with treason, it's suicide.                         (SUDDENLY NERVOUS)          Now, shh! Heimdall may be          watching! It's said he can hear--                         FANDRAL          Yes, yes, we know!                         SIF          Thor would do the same for us.          An EINHERJAR GUARD enters. They tense.                         EINHERJAR GUARD          Heimdall demands your presence.          Volstagg quickly drains his flagon of ale.                         VOLSTAGG          We're doomed.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 84A.          103 EXT. MAIN STREET - MORNING 103          Dawn breaks over the quiet town of Puente Antiguo.          104 EXT. SMITH MOTORS - ROOF - DAY 104          Thor awakens, looks down to see Jane still sleeping, nuzzled          against him. She opens her eyes, looks up at him and smiles.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 85.          He stands, offers his hand, helps her to her feet.          105 EXT. SMITH MOTORS - LAB 105          Thor helps Jane down off a ladder. A groggy, hungover Selvig          emerges from Jane's trailer. He sees Thor with Jane.          Selvig eyes the two of them together, then:                         SELVIG          I need some coffee.          The three head inside Smith Motors.          FROM THE LIBRARY ROOFTOP ACROSS THE STREET          SHIELD Agents Garrett and Cale watch the scene, pointing a          small audio surveillance device towards the lab.          105A INT. SMITH MOTORS - LAB - DAY 105A          Darcy and Selvig sit at a card table, drinking coffee. Thor          holds a couple plates as Jane makes eggs on a hotplate. She          scoops them out onto the plates. Thor takes them over to the          table, sets them down before Selvig and Darcy.                         DARCY          Thanks.                         THOR          You're very welcome.          Jane joins them at the card table with a couple more plates.          She and Thor sit with the others and start to eat their          breakfast, looking like a little family.                         106 OMITTED 106                         107 OMITTED 107                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 86.          108 EXT. MAIN STREET 108          On a roof across the street from Smith Motors, Agents Garrett          and Cale continue their surveillance, bored out of their          wits. Agent Cale watches the group through the lab window          with binoculars. Agent Garrett listens to his comm-link,          turns to Cale.                         AGENT GARRETT          They want an update.                         AGENT CALE          Tell them he's eating eggs.                         AGENT GARRETT          Scrambled or fried?          Cale glares at him.                         AGENT CALE                         (INTO COMM-LINK)          Target is eating eggs, sir.          We'll keep you posted.          108AA INT. SMITH MOTORS - LAB 108AA          As the group finishes breakfast, Thor looks at the mug in his          hand, gets an idea.                         THOR                         (RE: MUG)          May I have this?                         DARCY          Sure.                         THOR          Thank you. Excuse me a moment.          Thor leaves.          108A EXT. MAIN STREET - MOMENTS LATER 108A          In front of her diner, Isabela prepares to open for the day.          (Through the window of Isabela's, we see chairs still atop          tables.) Isabela sweeps the front porch.          She looks up to see Thor approaching. She eyes him          suspiciously. He offers her a MUG.                         THOR          To replace the one I broke. Please          forgive my behavior.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 86A.          She takes it, looks at it curiously, then smiles at him.                         ISABEL          Okay. Thank you.                         THOR          If I may, I'd like to come back for          more of your "coffee."ù                         ISABEL          Any time.          He nods and walks away. She stares after him, smiling, and          shrugs.          ISABEL (CONT'D)          She could do worse.          109 INT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY - DAY 109          Sif and the Warriors Three enter warily to find the          intimidating Heimdall standing before the Observatory's          controls. He glares at them accusingly.                         VOLSTAGG          Good Heimdall, less us explain--                         HEIMDALL          You would defy the commands of Loki          our King, break every oath you have          taken as warriors, and commit          treason to bring Thor back?          The four exchange nervous glances.                         SIF          Yes, but--                         HEIMDALL          Good.          The group looks puzzled. What did he just say?                         VOLSTAGG          So you'll help us?                         HEIMDALL          I am bound by honor to our King. I          cannot open the Bifrost to you.          With that, Heimdall leaves them alone in the Observatory.          The others exchange puzzled looks.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 86B.                         FANDRAL          Complicated fellow, isn't he?                         VOLSTAGG          Now what do we do?          Sif glances at the control panel, notices something.                         SIF          Look!          The others turn to see HEIMDALL'S SWORD stuck into the          control panel. They exchange a grin. They have an ally.          Sif hits the controls, and the Bifrost apparatus fires up.          110 INT. SHIELD DESERT BASE - SECURITY ROOM - DAY 110          Coulson races in as a SHIELD TECHIE calls up satellite          footage of the Bifrost storm on a monitor.                         COULSON          What the hell was that?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 87.                         TECHIE          I don't know, sir. We got massive          energy readings out of nowhere,          then they just disappeared.          Fifteen miles due northwest.                         COULSON          Let's go take a look.          111 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) - DAY 111          Amidst the fury of the Bifrost storm, the Warriors Three and          Sif drop to the ground in the New Mexico desert. They          clamber to their feet as the Bifrost quickly recedes, the          hole in the sky closing up behind it. The Bifrost runes          cover the desert sand around them.                         VOLSTAGG          He must have landed nearby. It's          time to put our tracking skills to          work. Spread out. Check the sand          for indentations of his boot          prints.                         FANDRAL          The winds would have blown them          away by now. We should look for          signs of a campfire.                         SIF          Or we could just start there.          She points behind them to the town of Puente Antiguo in the          distance -- the only visible sign of civilization -- and to          Hogun, who has already started walking towards it. Volstagg          and Fandral trade looks, their egos bruised.                         FANDRAL          It's worth a look, I suppose.          The party tromps towards the town.          112 EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY 112           Townsfolk stare in wonder at the Warriors Three and Sif, as           they stroll down the street in all their Asgardian splendor.          113 EXT. DOWN THE STREET - DAY 113           A BOY Hits a baseball, which rolls under a parked car. He           runs to retrieve it, but can't reach it. Suddenly, the side            of the CAR rises into the air. The boy looks over, his mouth            dropping open at what he sees. Volstagg easily holds the car            up with one hand.                                                                                                                4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 88.           Volstagg picks up the boy's ball, then drops the car. He            hands the ball back to the boy, tousling his hair.                           VOLSTAGG            There you go, lad!           The boy just stares, standing frozen. The Asgardians head           off.          VOLSTAGG (CONT'D)          Is it just me, or does Earth look a          little different to you?                         SIF          It has been a thousand years...                         VOLSTAGG          Things change so fast here. You          leave for a millennium, and it's          like the whole neighborhood's gone.          Volstagg sniffs, smells something.          VOLSTAGG (CONT'D)          Perhaps we should split up.          114 EXT. PUENTE ANTIGUO - ROOFTOP - DAY 114                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 89.          Agents Cale and Garrett spot Sif, Fandral, and Hogun walking          down the street.                         AGENT GARRETT          Is there a Renaissance Faire in          town?                         AGENT CALE          Call it in.          But before they can, Volstagg rises up behind them, smashes          their heads together. They're out.                         VOLSTAGG          Never cared for spies.          He starts to go, then sees their bag of fast food on the          ground. Intrigued, he pulls out a cheeseburger and takes a          bite. He likes what he tastes.          VOLSTAGG (CONT'D)          Exquisite.          115 EXT. PALACE GROUNDS - DAY 115          Loki stands with Gungnir, surveying his kingdom, when an          Einherjar Guard quickly approaches him, out of breath.                         EINHERJAR GUARD          My liege, the Warriors Three and          the Lady Sif have gone missing.          Loki reacts. He knows who's responsible.          116 EXT. RAINBOW BRIDGE - DAY 116          Loki approaches Heimdall on the Rainbow Bridge.                         HEIMDALL          Tell me, Loki, how did you get the          Jotuns into Asgard?                         LOKI          You think the Bifrost is the only          way in and out of the Realm? There          are secret paths between worlds to          which even you with all your gifts          are blind. But I have need of them          no longer, now that I am King.                         (THEN)          And I say, for your act of treason,          you are relieved of your duties as          Gatekeeper. And you are no longer          a citizen of Asgard.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 90.                         HEIMDALL          Then I need no longer obey you.          Heimdall raises his massive sword, strides towards Loki.          Loki reaches out and, with both hands, takes hold of          something invisible, hovering in mid-air before him. As it          quickly fades into view, we realize what it is --          THE CASKET OF ANCIENT WINTERS.          The blueness creeps from his hands and up his arms, as Loki          opens the Casket towards Heimdall, who is fast approaching.          From inside the Casket, all hell breaks loose. The fury of          the Casket is unleashed, its winds not just howling, but          SCREAMING, as ice and snow and darkness come flying straight          towards Heimdall. Ice clings to his body, freezing him, but          still he moves forward. Loki starts to get worried.          Heimdall is nearly upon him. The Gatekeeper swings his          massive sword at the prince. But the blade STOPS, frozen,          just inches from Loki's throat. Loki breathes a sigh of          relief and steps past him.          117 INT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY - DAY 117          Loki inserts Gungnir into the Observatory's control panel and          opens the Bifrost. He gestures, and the veiled DESTROYER          appears before him, a fiery glow rising within it. It turns          its head toward its King.                         LOKI          Ensure my brother does not return.          118 INT. SMITH MOTORS - LAB - DAY 118           Jane, Thor, Darcy, and Selvig make a charming team, tidying           up after breakfast -- washing, drying, and putting plates and          utensils away.          The door opens.           VOLSTAGG (O.S.)           Found you!          Thor, Jane, Selvig, and Darcy turn to see --          SIF AND THE WARRIORS THREE          Staring baffled at the sight of the domestic Thor drying          dishes in mortal clothing.          Jane drops a plate. It goes SHATTERING on the floor.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 90A.                         THOR          My friends!          Thor happily races over and greets his comrades.          Jane, Selvig, and Darcy watch the Asgardians from across the          room. Jane looks concerned. Selvig and Darcy eye them with          wonder.                         SELVIG          I don't believe it...                         DARCY          Who are they?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 91.                         VOLSTAGG          Lady Sif and the Warriors Three.          Surely you've heard tales of Hogun          the Grim, Fandral the Dashing, and          I, Volstagg the Svelte?          Selvig looks pointedly at Volstagg's massive gut.          VOLSTAGG (CONT'D)          Well, perhaps I've put on a little          more muscle since I was here last.                         JANE           That would have been a thousand           years ago? Northern Europe?                          VOLSTAGG           Exactly! Those lovely herring           people. They worshipped us!           Thor grins, lays a hand on Volstagg's shoulder.                         THOR          My friends, I've never been happier           to see anyone. But you should not          have come.                         FANDRAL          We're here to take you home.          Jane reacts to the news of Thor leaving.                         THOR          You know I can't. My father is           dead because of me. I must remain          in exile.          The other Asgardians exchange puzzled looks.                         SIF          Thor... your father still lives.          Thor reacts to the revelation.          119 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) - DAY 119          A few SHIELD vehicles are parked by the Bifrost site. A few          SHIELD agents stand nearby as SCIENTISTS take readings.          Coulson kneels, examines the Bifrost Runes. He turns to an          Agent.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 92.                         COULSON          Get somebody from Linguistics out          here.          Just then, they hear a RUMBLING overhead, as the Bifrost          storm ROARS in the sky above.          Coulson and the SHIELD Agents scramble for cover, their          vehicle windshields SHATTERING, as the Bifrost storm grows in          strength. Finally, the hole in the sky overhead opens, and          the funnel cloud EXPLODES out of it, touching down onto the          desert floor.          Coulson and the Agents shelter their eyes from the maelstrom.          120 OMITTED MERGED WITH SCENE 119 120          121 INT. SMITH MOTORS - DAY 121          Thor and the others see the Bifrost storm forming in the          distance.                         DARCY          Was somebody else coming?          Just then, the Bifrost funnel EXPLODES down to the ground.          122 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) - DAY 122          From behind a jeep, Coulson and the SHIELD AGENTS stare at          the Destroyer in awe. We don't see it, just its shadow as it          moves towards them.                         SHIELD AGENT                         (RE: DESTROYER)          Is that one of Stark's?                         COULSON          I don't think so. But the guy          doesn't tell me anything.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 93.          Coulson grabs a megaphone, steps forward, calls out to the          Destroyer.          COULSON (CONT'D)          Hello! You're using unregistered          weapons technology. Please          identify yourself.          We hear the HUM of the Destroyer's fiery energy power up          inside.          COULSON (CONT'D)          Incoming!          As the SHIELD Agents scramble for cover, a blast of energy          from the Destroyer EXPLODES a vehicle. SHIELD agents return          fire.          123 EXT. SMITH MOTORS - DAY 123          Townspeople fill the streets, staring at the fire fight in          the distance. Thor and the Asgardians prepare for battle, as          Thor turns to Jane.                         THOR          Leave this town now. Get yourself          and your friends to safety.                         JANE          What about you?                         THOR          I must stay and fight.          The Asgardians look to Thor.          THOR (CONT'D)          I'm still a warrior, and I will          fight by your side.                         VOLSTAGG          You're but a mortal now. You'll          get yourself killed!                         FANDRAL          Or one of us, trying to protect          you.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 94.                         SIF          The best thing you can do is get          the mortals to safety and leave the          battle to us.          Thor looks at the townsfolk around them, all oblivious to the          oncoming threat.                         THOR                         (TO SIF)          You're right.          Sif looks surprised. Thor turns to Jane, Selvig, and Darcy.          THOR (CONT'D)          Help me clear the streets. I'll          let none of these people die this          day.          Thor, Jane, Selvig, and Darcy start to herd the crowd of          Townsfolk off the streets, as the Warriors Three and Sif head          across town, towards the Destroyer.                         124 OMITTED 124                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 95.          125 INT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY - DAY 125          Laufey and two Frost Giants appear out of the Bifrost and          step onto the platform. Loki is waiting for them. He pulls          Gungnir from the Observatory's control panel. The giant          apparatus slows to a stop.                         LOKI          Father. Welcome to Asgard.          125A EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) - DAY 125A          The site looks like the aftermath of a war zone. The          smoldering wreckage of SHIELD vehicles lies strewn about.          126 EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY 126          Thor, Jane, and Selvig clear the streets, loading confused          TOWNSFOLK into cars, moving others indoors.          127 EXT. MAIN STREET - EDGE OF TOWN - DAY 127          A dog makes it way down the street, barking at something in          front of it. Then we see it --                         THE DESTROYER          Strides down the street, a red, fiery energy glowing from          within it.          It unleashes BLASTS as it goes, blowing up cars, setting          storefronts aflame.                         128 OMITTED 128                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 96.          129 EXT. STREET 129          Sif and the Warriors Three head down the street towards the          Destroyer.                         SIF          Keep him distracted.          She hurries off. The Warriors Three continue towards the          behemoth.                         FANDRAL          What do you think? "The          Svartalfheim Twist?"ù "Kiss of the          Hag?"ù "Face Full of Boot?"ù          Volstagg grins eagerly.                         VOLSTAGG          "The Flying Mountain."ù          Hogun and Fandral groan.                         FANDRAL          Not "The Flying Mountain!"ù It          threw out my back for a year last          time!                         VOLSTAGG          Trust me, it'll work.          130 EXT. SMITH MOTORS - DAY 130          Thor looks anxiously back down the street, where the Warriors          Three get into position before the Destroyer.                         THOR                         (TO JANE)          My friends fight bravely, but they          won't be able to hold it back much          longer.          Darcy hurries out of the burning pet store carrying as many          animals in cages as she can, then loads them into a truck.          DOWN THE STREET          Hogun and Fandral take off running towards the Destroyer, as          Volstagg stands limbering up.                         FANDRAL                         (TO VOLSTAGG)          Come on!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 96A.          Volstagg takes off running at full speed.          As he catches up to his comrades, Hogun and Fandral grab him          on either side, and with all their Asgardian might, hurl the          voluminous warrior into the air at the black metal behemoth.                         VOLSTAGG          For Asgaaaaard!!!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 97.          The Destroyer is unable to react quickly enough, as Volstagg          SMASHES into the creature. It looks like it might actually          work for a moment, but the Destroyer stays on its feet. It          lifts Volstagg into the by the scruff of his neck. He shrugs          apologetically.          The Destroyer savagely HURLS him at Hogun and Fandral,          smashing into them, when --                         SIF          Leaps off a nearby rooftop with her two-headed spear and          plunges it deep into the back of the creature.          The creature stands there motionless, the fire dimming in its          faceplate, Sif standing atop its back. The Asgardians have a          brief moment of hope.          But the creature stirs with life, its fire igniting once          again. Sif looks on with growing trepidation.          Slowly, unnaturally, the Destroyer spins its torso around 180          degrees to face its attackers.          The Destroyer unleashes a blast at Sif. She barely dives off          of the behemoth in time, dodging the blast. The Destroyer          rises again to its full height, pulling free from Sif's          staff, the weapon slipping through the slats of its armor.          Sif and the Warriors Three try to regroup, when the Destroyer          unleashes another blast, sending Sif and her comrades flying          in all directions. Hogun's POUCH OF HEALING STONES breaks          free, landing in the middle of the street.          131 EXT. SMITH MOTORS - DAY 131          Thor sees his friends lying injured on the ground, but has no          time to act, as the Destroyer fires in his direction.          A storefront near Smith Motor EXPLODES, knocking Thor, Jane,          and Selvig off their feet. Thor helps Jane to her feet, when          they notice Selvig lying on his back amidst the debris,          impaled by a twisted piece of iron.                         JANE          Erik!          She and Thor hurry to his side. He's losing blood, going          into shock.                         SELVIG                         (TO JANE)          Go! Leave me!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 98.          Jane takes his hand as Thor spots Hogun's pouch of healing          stones lying in the middle of the street. He makes a break          for it, dodging through the flaming wreckage, then grabs the          pouch and races back.          He opens the pouch to find the fragile stones crushed and          useless. He pours the contents out in his hand.                         THOR          Come on... give me one!          Amidst the useless powder, he finally finds one stone still          intact. Thor tosses the pouch aside, holds the stone over          the end of the iron rod.                         JANE          What are you doing? What is that?          As the stone begins to glow, Thor crushes it.          Jane looks on, amazed, as the glowing powder falls upon the          piece of iron, dissolving it, heading downwards, until it          reaches Selvig's wound. The powder heals his wound          completely.          Thor looks down the street, sees his wounded friends still          lying there, as Selvig sits up in utter astonishment. He          reaches through the hole in his shirt to touch his healed          flesh.                         SELVIG          (to Jane, re: Thor)          I'm really starting to like him.          Jane turns to Thor to find he's gone.          132 EXT. DOWN THE STREET 132          Thor reaches Sif, who lies dazed, battered, and bloodied on          the ground. He pulls her behind a burning vehicle.                         THOR          Go, while you can!                         SIF          But the others...                         THOR          You can't help them now. Your job          is to survive.          She struggles to sit up.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 98A.                         SIF          No! I will die a warrior's death.          Stories will be told of this day--          He gently takes her shield from her.                         THOR          Live and tell those stories          yourself.          At last, she nods. Thor spots Volstagg lying unconscious,          with Hogun and Fandral lying nearby. Thor makes his way          towards them.          Volstagg is barely breathing. Thor tries to pull him to          safety, but it's no use. He won't budge. He rouses Hogun          and Fandral.          THOR (CONT'D)                         (RE: VOLSTAGG)          Get him out of here!                         FANDRAL          No. We can still fight!                         THOR          But not win. Move Volstagg, or          he'll die!          Thor looks at them, grins.          THOR (CONT'D)          Don't worry, my friends. I have a          plan.          The two Warriors reluctantly grab their fallen friend and          drag him away from the battlefield.          After they go, Thor turns to back to the Destroyer, then          tosses Sif's shield aside.          He strides down the street towards the behemoth, completely          defenseless.          THOR (CONT'D)          Brother... for whatever I have done          to wrong you, whatever I have done          to lead you to do this, I am sorry.          But these people have done nothing          to you. They are innocents.          He continues towards the Destroyer.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 98B.          THOR (CONT'D)          Take my life, and know I will never          return to Asgard.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 99.          Thor reaches the Destroyer, extends his arms.          The Destroyer hesitates, sizing up the defenseless Thor, then          swats him with its enormous arm. We hear the sickening CRACK          of breaking bones as Thor goes flying.          Thor lands in a crumpled, broken heap in front of Smith          Motors, before Jane, Selvig, and Darcy.          The wounded Asgardians watch helplessly from down the street,          a look of horror on their faces. Jane tries to rush out to          Thor's aid, but Selvig holds her back.                         SELVIG          Jane, no!          He pulls her into Smith Motors. A RAVEN flies overhead,          watching the scene --          133 INT. ODIN'S CHAMBERS - SAME TIME 133          Odin lies in the Odinsleep.          A single tear rolls down the Allfather's cheek.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 100.          134 EXT. SMITH MOTORS - DAY 134          Thor's eyes close, his last breath leaving his lips. The          Destroyer stands over Thor's body, lowers its head towards          him. It opens its faceplate, locks it in place, readying to          unleash its fiery blast.          135 EXT. SHIELD DESERT BASE 135          Inside the crater, the RUNES of the side of Mjolnir reappear,          burning bright. Electricity starts to CRACKLE on the          hammer's surface. SCIENTISTS beside it take notice as it          vibrates, and a RUMBLE comes from overhead. They look up.          Clouds form in the sky above.          Just then, with a CRACK and flash of lightning, Mjolnir flies          straight up into the air like a rocket.          136 EXT. MAIN STREET 136          The Destroyer unleashes its blast at Thor's body, when --          KRAKAKABOOM!          A blinding BOLT OF LIGHTNING strikes down from above,          colliding with the Destroyer's blast. The explosion is          massive. The Destroyer is hurled backwards, a cloud of dust          enveloping the street. As the smoke clears we see --                         JANE          Oh. My. God.          THE MIGHTY THOR          Clad in his full battle armor, holding Mjolnir in his hand --          the God of Thunder once more. Thor kneels, brings Mjolnir          down onto the ground.          KRAKABOOM!          Lightning strikes the Destroyer. It convulses. Thor swings          Mjolnir around, takes off straight up into the air, as the          Destroyer gets back on its feet and looks up at the Thunder          God. Storm clouds gather around Thor as he summons gale          force winds.          Debris from the battle begins to rise up into the sky. The          Destroyer stays there, kept grounded by its massive weight.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 101.          It lifts its head up at the Thunder God, opens its faceplate,          locks it in place, unleashes its blast. Thor dives downwards          straight at it, with Mjolnir before him.          Mjolnir collides with the Destroyer's fiery energy blast,          overpowering it, pushing it back, forcing it downwards at the          Destroyer.          Thor jams his hammer deep into the Destroyer's faceplate.          The fiery energy within the creature builds up and EXPLODES          within him, firing out of all his openings.          Thor smashes the Destroyer to the ground in a tremendous          heap, the fiery energy within it extinguished forever.          Thor pulls Mjolnir from its faceplate, walks away from its          lifeless carcass. As he does, the other objects and debris          pulled into the air by the gale winds drop down from the          skies, around the Destroyer, burying it.          Jane and Thor's comrades, now roused, stand to join him.          A battered Coulson approaches with several SHIELD AGENTS.                         COULSON          Donald... I don't think you've been          completely honest with me.          137 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) - DAY 137          Thor, Jane, Darcy, Selvig and the other Asgardians stand in          the desert with Thor, Coulson, and several SHIELD AGENTS.          Darcy turns to Volstagg.                         DARCY          So, how can you speak our language?                         VOLSTAGG          Your language? Ha! Silly girl,          you're speaking ours.          Thor calls up to the sky.                         THOR          Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!          138 EXT. RAINBOW BRIDGE - DAY 138          Heimdall stands frozen.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 102.          139 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) - DAY 139          Thor looks to the others with concern.                         THOR          He would open it if he could. I          fear the worst.                         VOLSTAGG          Then we're trapped here forever.                         FANDRAL          Then I suppose we'd best start          settling into our new lives.          He looks to Darcy, turns on the charm.          FANDRAL (CONT'D)          Are all earth maidens as fair as          you?          Darcy enjoys the attention.                         DARCY          No.          Thor shouts back up to the sky.                         THOR          Heimdall!          140 EXT. RAINBOW BRIDGE - DAY 140          From inside the ice, Heimdall hears Thor calling to him.          Knowing that the fate of Asgard depends on him, he musters          all his strength. The ice around him begins to CRACK. With          a tremendous effort, Heimdall SHATTERS free from the ice.          Weakened, near death, he drags himself inside the          Observatory.          141 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) - DAY 141          The Asgardians begin to lose hope. Volstagg eyes a SHIELD          Agent's machine gun.                         VOLSTAGG          Primitive. Good enough for hunting          small game, I suppose.          Suddenly, the Bifrost EXPLODES down from the sky. Thor          grins. The mortals look on, amazed. Fandral turns to Darcy.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 102A.                         FANDRAL          Sorry, my love. These things          happen.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 103.          He joins the other Asgardians at their side. Thor turns to          Coulson.                         THOR          Know this, son of Coul. You and I,          we fight for the same cause -- the          protection of this world. From          this day forward, count me as your          ally.                         (THEN)          If you return the items you have          stolen from Jane Foster.                         COULSON          Not stolen. Borrowed.          Jane shoots him a look. Coulson quickly continues.          COULSON (CONT'D)          You'll get your equipment back.          You're going to need it to continue          your research... which, after          today's events, SHIELD would like          to fully sponsor. If that's all          right with you.          Thor takes Jane's hand, kisses it tenderly. She looks at          him, her eyes filled with the fear that she may never see him          again.                         THOR          Whatever fate lies before me, you          are part of it.          He takes her in his arms, kisses her passionately. Thor and          the Asgardians leap into the Bifrost.          142 INT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY - DAY 142          The Asgardians emerge from the Bifrost to find Heimdall          slumped over his controls.                         THOR          (to the others)          Get him to the healing room! Leave          my brother to me.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 104.          Thor bolts out the door.          143 INT. ODIN'S CHAMBERS - DAY 143          Odin lies in the Odinsleep, Frigga at his bedside. She hears          the SHOUTS of Guards outside, the sound of a battle. Frigga          grabs a sword.          A Frost Giant bursts in. She swings the sword around hard,          cleaving into his shoulder. He swats her aside angrily.          Laufey and the Brute Frost Giant enter.          Laufey looks at Odin lying helpless on the bed.          144 EXT. RAINBOW BRIDGE - DAY 144          Thor rides the winds over the Bridge, speeding towards the          palace.          145 INT. ODIN'S CHAMBERS - DAY 145          The Jotun king stands over the unconscious Odin, relishing          the moment.          He forms an ICE BLADE.          146 EXT. ODIN'S PALACE - DAY 146          Thor races through the entrance to the palace.          147 INT. ODIN'S CHAMBERS - DAY 147          Laufey stands before the sleeping Odin.                         LAUFEY          It's said you can still see and          hear what transpires around you,          even in this state. I hope it's          true, so that you may know your          death came by the hand of Laufey.          He raises his blade above Odin's body, when --          A BLAST OF ENERGY          Hits him from behind. As the Jotun king falls to the ground,          we see it is not Thor standing behind him, but Loki, holding          Gungnir.                         LOKI          And your death came by the son of          Odin.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 104A.          Laufey dies as the other two shocked Frost Giants move for          Loki. He fires Gungnir at one, blasting him against a wall,          taking him out.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 105.          The Brute is nearly upon him, when the Jotun stops suddenly,          his eyes going wide. The Brute falls to the ground,                         REVEALING --                         FRIGGA          Standing behind him -- the sword stuck in his back. She          looks to Loki, takes him in her arms.          LOKI (CONT'D)          I swear to you, mother, they will          pay for what they've done today. I          will end the Jotun threat, now and          forever!          He looks to Odin.          LOKI (CONT'D)          And I will make you proud.          Loki savors the moment, but it's short-lived, as Thor bursts          in. He's thrown by the scene before him -- Odin safe, Laufey          and two Jotuns dead, Frigga regarding Loki with pride and          respect. Stunned and delighted to see Thor, Frigga beams.                         FRIGGA          Thor!          She moves to Thor and hugs him, but Thor's eyes remain fixed          on his brother. Loki looks at Mjolnir in his brother's hand.                         LOKI          Found its way back to you, did it?                         THOR          No thanks to you.          Frigga picks up on the tension building between her sons.                         FRIGGA          What?                         THOR          Why don't you tell her? How you          sent the Destroyer to kill our          friends? To kill me?          Frigga looks to Loki, alarmed and confused.                         LOKI          It must have been enforcing          Father's last command.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 106.                         THOR          You're a talented liar, brother.          Always have been.                         LOKI                         (SMILES)          It's good to have you back.                         (DEAD SERIOUS)          Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to          destroy Jotunheim.          Loki suddenly raises Gungnir, FIRES it point-blank at Thor.          Thor goes flying backwards, SMASHING through the chamber          walls, into...          148 INT. ODIN'S PALACE - CORRIDOR 148          Thor flies from the blast through ANOTHER wall on the          opposite side of the corridor, to...          149 EXT. PALACE GROUNDS - DAY 149          Thor plummets from the palace and CRASHES into the reflecting          pools below.          150 EXT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY - DAY 150          Loki speeds on horseback down the Rainbow Bridge, then          quickly dismounts and enters the Observatory.          151 INT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY - DAY 151          Loki operates the Observatory's controls. The massive turret          spins, points.          152 EXT. PALACE GROUNDS - DAY 152          Thor awakens to the sound of the Bifrost. He stands, sees          the Observatory firing the Bifrost energy into space. He          looks to where the Bifrost is aimed.                         THOR          Jotunheim...          153 EXT. RAINBOW BRIDGE - DAY 153          Thor soars on the winds above the Rainbow Bridge, the Bifrost          energy roaring through Bridge, feeding into the Observatory.          He lands before the Observatory's huge doorway.          154 INT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY 154          Thor enters, shields his eyes from the brilliant light of the          Bifrost energy blasting towards Jotunheim.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 106A.          He looks over to the controls, sees that they're frozen in an          enormous block of ice. Loki stands atop it.                         LOKI          All these years, and no one's ever          dared to use it as a weapon.          Thor hurries to the ice, raises his hammer to SMASH through          it to get to the controls frozen within. Before he can, Loki          fires Gungnir. The blast hits the ice in front of Thor,          blasting him back across the floor. Loki steps down from the          ice as Thor staggers to his feet.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 107.          LOKI (CONT'D)          You can't stop it. The Bifrost          will build until it rips Jotunheim          apart.                         THOR          Why have you done this?                         LOKI          To do what Father never could. To          destroy their kind forever. When          he awakens, he'll see the wisdom of          what I've done.                         THOR          He won't! You can't kill an entire          race!                         LOKI          What is this newfound love for the          Frost Giants? You, who would have          killed them all with your bare          hands.                         THOR          I've changed.                         LOKI          So have I.          Loki hits Thor across the face with Gungnir.          LOKI (CONT'D)          Fight me.          He swings Gungnir at Thor again. Thor catches it in his          hand, rears back his hammer as if ready to return the blow,          but instead takes to the air and flies past Loki, back          towards the frozen controls.          Loki spins around, aims Gungnir, and fires a blast which          immobilizes Thor in the air. He hangs there, suspended.                         THOR          Is the throne really worth what          you've done? What you would          become?                         LOKI          I never wanted the throne. I only          wanted to be your equal. Now fight          me!                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 108.          With a gesture of Gungnir, he flings Thor to the ground.          Thor rises to his feet, turns to Loki.                         THOR          I will not fight you, brother.                         LOKI          I am not your brother. I never          was.                         THOR          Loki, this is madness...          Loki grins.                         LOKI          Is it?          He FIRES Gungnir at Thor. Thor dodges the blast, rolls to          his feet.          LOKI (CONT'D)          What happened to you on earth that          turned you so soft? Don't tell me          it was a woman.          Thor doesn't answer. Loki laughs, realizing he's right.          LOKI (CONT'D)          It was. Perhaps when we're          finished here I'll pay her a little          visit myself.          That did it. Loki and Thor rush at each other. They and          their weapons collide.          The two battle -- Loki unleashing years of pent-up rage and          jealousy, Thor having no choice but to defend himself.          155 EXT. JOTUNHEIM - DAY 155          It's mayhem. The growing Bifrost TEARS through the ice of          the planet like a destructive wave, breaking it apart.          JOTUNS go running in terror, others fall through the breaking          ice.          156 EXT. BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) 156           Jane, Selvig, Darcy, and Coulson look up with concern at the           hole in the sky, where excess Bifrost energy builds up around          it.                          SELVIG          Jane?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 108A.                         JANE          Something's wrong.                                                                                                               4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 109.          157 INT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY 157          Thor and Loki battle savagely. Loki fires Gungnir, sending          Thor sliding across the floor and knocking Mjolnir from his          hand.          The hammer flies into the Bifrost towards Jotunheim.          Thor raises his hand towards his hammer, tries to summon it          back to him, to keep it in this Realm, but the Bifrost is too          powerful.          Mjolnir disappears into the maelstrom as Thor himself slides          towards the Bifrost.                         LOKI          If you care so much for the Jotuns,          then die with them.          The Bifrost stretches every cell of Thor's body, trying to          drag him away. He's nearly swallowed by the vortex, when he          concentrates, mustering his will. He reaches out his hand          towards the Bifrost.          MJOLNIR flies back through the maelstrom, into Thor's hand.          The hammer pulls him free. Loki tries to fire off another          blast at him, but Thor takes to the air, speeds towards his          brother.          158 EXT. HEIMDALL'S OBSERVATORY 158          Thor and Loki come CRASHING through the Observatory dome and          land hard, rolling across the Rainbow Bridge. As Thor gets          to his feet, he sees Loki dangling off the Bridge's edge.                         LOKI          Thor! Help me!          Thor steps over to the side of the Bridge, sees Loki looking          up at him desperately.          LOKI (CONT'D)          Please...          Loki's fingers start to slip. Thor reaches down to grab his          brother's wrist, but his hand passes through Loki's. Just          then, the REAL LOKI materializes behind him. Thor whirls          around as Loki STABS him in the chest with Gungnir.          Loki lifts Thor into the air, impaled on the spear, and hurls          him across the bridge.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 110.          Thor, bleeding, rises to his knees. Loki strides up behind          him to finish him off, when Thor swing his hammer around.          It passes through him. Instantly, another Loki appears next          to him, Thor swings his hammer, but that too is an illusion.          Loki after Loki appears, Thor futilely swinging at each one,          never making contact. Thor falls back to his knees. The          Lokis grin as their raises their spears, encircling him.                         LOKIS          I was always more clever than you.                         THOR          Yet still not clever enough.          With that, Thor raises his hammer, rising into the air,          summoning lightning. A massive bolt strikes Mjolnir, then          channels outwards, splitting up, striking each one of the          Lokis.          All of them dissipate into nothingness, save one -- the real          Loki -- who's sent flying back across the Bridge, Gungnir          knocked from his grasp.          Thor steps over to his fallen brother, lying dazed on his          back. Loki winces, prepares for the worst, when Thor steps          away.          Loki opens his eyes, tries to stand, but can't. He looks          confused, then sees what the problem is -- Mjolnir rests atop          his chest. Struggle as he may, Loki can't lift it off. He's          pinned to the ground.          Thor looks about him desperately -- at the Bifrost firing          towards Jotunheim, gaining in strength, at the surge of          energy moving through the Bridge. He's at a loss of what to          do.          Loki watches him smugly.                         LOKI          Look at you, the Mighty Thor.          With all your strength, what good          does it do you now?          Thor knows Loki's right. He's powerless to stop what's          happening. He looks down at the Bridge beneath his feet,          VIBRATING from the force and speed of the Bifrost energy          feeding into the Observatory. Then he gets an idea.          He realizes what he must do -- and what he must sacrifice.          Thor extends his hand towards Loki, summoning Mjolnir. The          hammer goes flying to his grasp. Loki looks confused.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 111.          Thor raises Mjolnir in the air. Clouds form above him,          thunder RUMBLING. Lightning arcs off of his hammer, as he          channels the power of the storm into it, then --          He strikes Mjolnir down upon the Rainbow Bridge. The blow is          massive, causing a rumbling along the whole bridge, shaking          the Observatory itself like an earthquake. A crack appears          where the blow struck. Loki rises to his feet.          LOKI (CONT'D)          Stop! What are you doing?!          Thor lifts the hammer again, brings it down harder. BOOM!          The crack grows bigger. The Bifrost energy starts to stream          out from it. Loki thinks fast.          LOKI (CONT'D)          If you destroy the Bridge, you'll          never see her again!          Loki grabs Gungnir, runs towards him, ready to pierce Thor          through the back.                         THOR          Forgive me.          Summoning every bit of strength he has left, Thor raises          Mjolnir one last time, drawing lightning to it from all          sides, and brings it down with a final, terrible blow --          KRAKABOOM! The Bifrost SHATTERS, rainbow energy EXPLODING          out of it.          Both Loki and Thor are hurled into the air by the force of          the blast. A wave of destruction moves forward along the          Bridge towards the Observatory, breaking it apart as it goes.          The Observatory RIPS ITSELF APART.          As Loki and Thor fall together, Thor grabs hold of one end of          Gungnir, while Loki still clutches the other. They both fall          towards the MASSIVE WAVE of Bifrost energy which spews out          from the broken Bridge.          They're an instant from being blasted by the destructive          force of the energy, carried away by the current, pulverized          by the debris, when --          A POWERFUL HAND          Catches Thor's leg. Thor dangles there, holding onto Gungnir          as Loki hangs onto the other end. Loki looks up, shocked to                         SEE --                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 112.                         ODIN ALLFATHER          Standing on the edge of the broken Bridge, awakened from the          Odinsleep, restored to his full strength.          Loki searches his father's face, looking for some kind of          approval, some kind of redemption, but all he sees is          disappointment and regret.          Loki lets go.          THOR (CONT'D)          No!          But it's too late. Odin and Thor can only watch as Loki          falls into the rushing torrent of Bifrost energy. It carries          him away, along with the debris of the Bridge and the          Observatory, disappearing out of sight.          Odin pulls Thor up onto the Bridge. Drained, Thor falls back          into his father's arms.                         ODIN          It is over.          159 BIFROST LANDING SITE (EARTH) - DAY 159          The Bifrost energy explodes in the sky like fireworks firing          in all directions.          Jane, Selvig, Darcy, and Coulson stand watching in amazement.          Jane looks back up at the sky, distraught. She knows the          significance of what's just happened.                         JANE          It's gone.          160 INT. ODIN'S PALACE - BANQUET HALL - NIGHT 160          A FEAST is in progress as Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three          sit amongst the gathered Asgardians. Hogun sits between          Fandral and Volstagg, who is in the middle of recounting          their battle with the Destroyer.                         VOLSTAGG          ...and then, with a mighty bellow,          I flew at the great metal beast and          laid it low...                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 113.                         FANDRAL          Is that another way of saying you          fell on your huge a--                         VOLSTAGG          As a matter of fact, falling down          was a tactic. Lulling the          Destroyer into a false sense of          security!                         FANDRAL          Well, I was the one who had to drag          your enormous carcass off the          battlefield. That makes me the          real hero. Doesn't it, Hogun?          Hogun points to Volstagg.                         HOGUN          Big stomach.          (points to Fandral)          Big mouth.          The other gathered Asgardians laugh. Volstagg and Fandral          look to Hogun. The grim warrior gives just a trace of a          smile.                         FANDRAL          Well, how about that? A smile!          I'd say that calls for another          drink!          They laugh and raise another round.          Frigga sits nearby, lost in thought, her face betraying the          sadness she struggles to conceal. Sif notices, approaches          Frigga, bows her head.                         SIF          My Queen. I am so sorry for your          loss.          Frigga takes Sif's hand appreciatively.                         FRIGGA          Thank you, Sif.          She looks to Thor, who's unable to enjoy the merriment around          him.          FRIGGA (CONT'D)          How is he?                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 113A.                         SIF          He mourns for his brother. And he          misses her. The mortal.          Frigga sees the trace of regret in Sif's face as she looks at          Thor with new feelings. He rises and leaves the hall.                         FRIGGA          He will need his friends now more          than ever.                         SIF          I will always be at his side.          Frigga understands, puts her arm around Sif gratefully.          161 EXT. PALACE BALCONY - NIGHT 161          Thor stands alone on the balcony, lost in thought. Odin          walks up behind him.                         ODIN          You'll be a wise King.                         THOR          There will never be a wiser king          than you. Or a better father.                         (THEN)          I have much to learn. I know that          now. But some day, perhaps, I will          make you proud.                         ODIN          You've already made me proud.          Odin leaves, Thor consoled by his words.          162 EXT. RAINBOW BRIDGE - NIGHT 162          Out of the broken, jagged Rainbow Bridge flows the Bifrost          energy, drifting off into space.          Thor walks out to its edge, where Heimdall stands watch.          Thor stares out at the stellar void.                                                                                                              4th BLUE REVISIONS 03-26-10 114.                         THOR          Can you see her?          Heimdall turns, gazes out towards Earth.                         HEIMDALL          Yes.                         THOR          How is she?          163 EXT. SMITH MOTORS - LAB - NIGHT 163          Through the window into Jane's lab, we see an enlarged          ILLUSTRATION from her notebook pinned to a board. As we pull          away, we see a computer terminal displaying a program clearly          inspired by the illustration. We pull further back to see          that the lab has been transformed into a well-funded research          facility, abuzz with activity.          SHIELD SCIENTISTS and AGENTS work with impressive, state-of-          the-art equipment.          Selvig orchestrates the process, giving instructions to the          SCIENTISTS. We continue to track right outside the glass          windows and rise up to find Jane sitting at the front of the          roof, working at a small, improvised workstation, notebook at          hand, as always. She sets up an impressive, HIGH-TECH DEVICE          before her, which bears the "STARK INDUSTRIES"ù logo.          From behind, Darcy approaches, hands her a flash drive.                         DARCY          Here you go.                         JANE          Thanks.          Jane inserts the flash drive into the device.                         DARCY          He would have come back if he          could.                         JANE          I know. But if he can't get here          on his own...          Jane hits a switch on the device. Suddenly, a 3-D          HOLOGRAPHIC PROJECTION bursts to life over the device,          bathing the two women in its glow. We recognize what it is --          YGGDRASIL, in all its beauty.                                                                                                    "           JANE (CONT'D)           ...maybe we can help him find his           way back.          164 OMITTED COMBINED WITH SCENE 163 ABOVE 164                          FADE OUT:                          THE END                                                                                                                              
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+ TIN MEN     Written by   BARRY LEVINSON      June 1986   SHOOTING DRAFTFOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY                                                                1.    SCREEN is BLACK.      In white letters we read:    BALTIMORE 1963.    FADE IN:1   EXT. CADILLAC DEALERSHIP - DAY                                   1    BILL BABOWSKY ("BB"), a wiry, dapper-looking man in his    mid-thirties, is circling a baby blue Cadillac. A    SALESMAN follows on his heels.                             SALESMAN               She's a beauty.                              BB                       (looking at Salesman)               Who?                                SALESMAN               What?                             BB               Who's the beauty?                                SALESMAN               The car.                             BB               I thought maybe you saw some chick               walking by. I lost my concentration.               Why do they call cars 'she'? They               never say 'he'... always 'she.'    The Salesman shrugs his shoulders.      BB walks around the    Cadillac.                             BB               Very nice... very nice.                                                      CUT TO:2   EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - LINE OF ROW HOUSES - DAY                     2    We hear YELLING.3   INT. ROW HOUSE - DAY                                             3    NORA, a rather plain, but attractive woman in her early    30's, is yelling up the stairs.                             NORA               You're a sick man! Sick! Do ya               hear me?! Do ya hear me?!                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                            2.3   CONTINUED:                                              3    Peeking around the bannister from the second floor is    ERNEST TILLEY, also in his 30's, handsome in a boyish    way.                            TILLEY              Who's sick?                            NORA              Who do ya think I'm screaming at?              How many of you are there up there?              There's only you, and you're a sick              human being.                            TILLEY                     (quietly, coming                      down a few steps)              Where's my white on white shirt?              The nice one, you know.                            NORA              It's like yelling through a wall              to you. I'm carrying on about              what a disgusting human being you              are, and all you want to know is              where your white on white shirt is.                            TILLEY              Yes, the one with the permanent              stays.                                                  CUT TO:4   EXT. CADILLAC DEALERSHIP - DAY                               4    BB is now sitting in a cubicle in the office with the    Salesman, going over the contract on the car.                            BB              Now don't try to hustle me here              ... you know what I mean. I hate              being hustled. Give me an honest              price, not one of your 'special'              deals... give me an honest price.              Do I make myself clear?                            SALESMAN              Now, how much are you willing to              pay?                            BB              There ya go... there ya go...              you're doing it... you're doing              one of those hustle numbers.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             3.4   CONTINUED:                                               4                            SALESMAN              I'm just trying to get an idea              how much you're willing to pay.                            BB              Four dollars... I want to pay four              dollars a month.                            SALESMAN              That's not an honest answer.                            BB              What do ya want to hear? That I'd              love to pay three hundred and fifty              a month... is that what you want to              hear? Tell me how much you want me              to pay and I'll tell you how much              I'll pay, but don't do a hustle on              me... I don't like that. How much              do I want to pay? I'd like to pay              nothing!                                                   CUT TO:5   EXT. TILLEY'S HOUSE - DAY                                     5    Tilley's leaving the house with his tie undone around    his white on white shirt. He carries his sports jacket,    and Nora is standing at the door yelling at him.                            NORA              You're being unreasonable.     You              don't even want to listen.                            TILLEY              I don't know what I did... I got              no idea. If it's my fault, I'm              sorry... I'm sorry. I can do no              better than that. A full              unconditional apology.    Tilley walks down the steps of the house and goes to his    car -- a Cadillac. He gets inside, STARTS the ENGINE and    pulls away. Nora remains on the porch watching the car    ... one lonely figure in a neighborhood of hundreds of    duplicate houses.                                                   CUT TO:6   EXT. CADILLAC DEALERSHIP - DAY                                6    BB and the Salesman are coming out of the office.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            4.6   CONTINUED:                                              6                            SALESMAN              If you even have the smallest              problem, call me personally and              I'll just shoot you straight into              the service department.                            BB              And I get a loaner if the car's              got to stay?                            SALESMAN              As we discussed, you get a car if              the car has to be kept overnight.                            BB              I get a loaner?    The Salesman nods.                                                  CUT TO:7   INT. TILLEY'S CAR - DAY                                      7    He drives along, mumbling to himself.                            TILLEY              She's gonna drive me to my grave...              I'm headed to my grave... the              woman's driving me insane... it's              not supposed to happen this way.    He starts moving his head -- stretching his neck from    right to left.                            TILLEY              It's not even eleven o'clock              and my neck is stiffening up.    He juts his jaw out.                            TILLEY              My neck's tight... it's tight.                                                  CUT TO:8   EXT. CADILLAC DEALERSHIP - DAY                               8    BB gets into the shiny, baby-blue Cadillac, puts it in    reverse and starts to back out of the car lot.                                                             5.9    INT. TILLEY'S CAR - DAY                                      9     Tilley is doing neck exercises, rolling his head from     left to right as he drives. He sees a red light ahead     and starts to slow down, continuing to roll his head.10   EXT. BB'S CADILLAC - DAY                                10     BB sees the light is red and starts to back into the     street.11   INT. TILLEY'S CAR - DAY                                      11     Tilley rolls his head back as he slows to 15 miles an     hour.12   EXT. BB'S CADILLAC - DAY                                12     BB backs into the street thinking that Tilley's car is     going to stop.13   INT. TILLEY'S CAR - DAY                                      13     Tilley is still rolling his head.                                                   CUT TO:14   EXT. STREET - DAY                                       14     Tilley's Cadillac and BB's Cadillac CRASH into one     another. The entire right rear of BB's shiny, baby-blue     Cadillac is smashed. Both men are shocked and momen-     tarily confused. After a beat, both Tilley and BB bolt     from their cars. Tilley looks at his buckled hood. BB     races up to Tilley's face.                             BB               Are you a lunatic? Can't you see               I'm trying to back out of this               lot? There's a red light, you               shoulda stopped.                             TILLEY               Me? What are you, crazy? You               just want to back into the middle               of the street like that. A man's               just driving along and you back               into the middle of the street.               What kind of driving is that?               What kind of driving?                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                               6.14   CONTINUED                                                      14                               BB                 There's a red light, I'm making                 a space for myself... that's                 what I'm doing, in order to get                 into the street... that's                 something ya do!                               TILLEY                 You came out of nowhere... you                 bolted out of no place... bolted                 out of nowhere.                               BB                 Bolted! At six miles an hour I'm                 bolting into the street! You                 schmuck! You schmuck!     He moves toward Tilley.                               TILLEY                 Back away from me, do ya hear me?                 Back away from me.                              BB                 Back away? You want me to back                 away? I'll back away.     He turns to walk away from Tilley, walks and then turns     back and kicks in the headlight of Tilley's car.                               TILLEY                 You're a fucking lunatic!     He goes for BB, jumps him and they both fall on to the     trunk of BB's car. People have started to gather and     immediately jump in and pull BB and Tilley apart.                               BB                 You're a madman! Smashes into                 me, attacks me... the man is                 crazy!     People continue to pull them apart.                               MAN #1                 Come on now, calm down, calm down.     He holds BB's arms. Another MAN grabs for Tilley and     tries to pull him off BB.                               MAN #2                 Take it easy... take it easy...                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                              7.14   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              14                              TILLEY                       (to people watching)               Get  this guy! Will ya get this               guy?   Backs in front of me, and               then  kicks my headlight in...               and  I'm crazy. You lunatic!     Tilley makes another jump for BB.    Again, people try     pulling them apart.                             BB               You're going to prison. Death!               Death! They're going to give               you death!     BB looks at his brand new Cadillac with the smashed-in     side.                             BB               Car only has one sixteenth of a               mile, and I've been hit.     He turns back and looks at Tilley.                             BB               I'm gonna get even with you,               you son of a bitch... I'm gonna               get even with you. This is no               ordinary traffic accident.                             TILLEY               You want to drive a Cadillac,               learn how to drive. You want               to get even with somebody? You               picked the wrong person to get               even with. Nobody backs into               traffic, smashes my car and               says they want to get even.               I'm gonna get even!                                                  CUT TO:15   INT. DINER - DAY                                              15     Seated at a booth are three aluminum siding salesmen     having their late morning breakfast. SAM PICKLES, a     heavyset man in his 50's, delicately butters his toast,     and is shaking his head sadly.                             SAM               Did ya see 'Bonanza' last night?               Can you tell me why Ben Cartwright               had a colored guy stay over?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             8.15   CONTINUED:                                              15     GIL, who is pouring half a pound of sugar into his coffee,     looks up.                             GIL               Ben Cartwright had a colored guy               stay overnight at the Ponderosa?     MOUSE, who is picking his teeth with a matchbook, squints     at Sam with an investigative look.                             MOUSE               Did he know this guy personally?                             SAM               No... he was just passing through,               asked if he could stay over, and               Ben Cartwright said 'sure thing.'               It doesn't make any sense... he               invites a strange colored guy in...               invited him in to stay. Is that               crazy or what? If a colored guy               came to my door and said 'can I               stay the night,' I'd tell him               'get the fuck out of here'! It's               nothing personal, mind you.                             MOUSE               You're not a bigot, is that what               you're telling us?                              SAM               Me?   No, I'm not a bigot.                             GIL               If you're not, how come you're               making such a big thing out of it?                             SAM               It's the fact the Ben Cartwright's               on the Ponderosa... he's in the               middle of nowhere. It's not like               he's living on Reisterstown Road               with houses all around... we're               talking about the West here. It's               the idea that a strange guy comes               to the door in the middle of the               West. It doesn't make sense,               that's all I'm saying.                             MOUSE               Come on... you're a bigot, that's               what you are.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             9.15   CONTINUED:   (2)                                             15                             SAM               Listen, I'll sell tin to anybody               ... I don't care who he is. A               mark's a mark, whether he's               Chinese, Indian or from Mars...               I'm thoroughly integrated. Makes               no difference to me... I just               wouldn't have one of those guys               sleep in my house.                                                   CUT TO:16   EXT. DINER PARKING LOT - DAY                                 16     Tilley gets out of his car and enters the diner.17   INT. DINER - DAY                                             17     He starts walking to the booth where the other tin men     are. On his way he yells over to the waitress.                             TILLEY               Florence, eggs and the toast,               the way I like it.     FLORENCE, who doesn't have too much energy, calls back     to Tilley.                                FLORENCE               Not too gooey.     Coffee right               away.     She trails the last word. Sam is still talking about     his problem with "Bonanza."                             SAM               I just don't believe that 'Bonanza'               is an accurate description of the               West. I say no more.     Tilley slips into the booth next to Sam.    He indicates     for Sam to give him more room.                             TILLEY               Come on, give me a couple of more               inches.                             SAM               You want me to take my plate...               I'll eat in the parking lot.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             10.17   CONTINUED:                                              17                             TILLEY               Come on, Sam, I'm having a terrible               morning. You're not going to               believe this, some guy just crashed               into me... right in the middle of               the street... then he attacks me.               One of the loonies.                              SAM                      (biting into his                       toast)               Did ya live?                             MOUSE               Did you get his name?                             TILLEY               Yeah, I got his name. The police               came... God, I can't believe it...               the guy's an idiot.     He pulls a piece of paper from his pocket.                             TILLEY               Yeah, here it is... some Polish               name... Babowski... Bill Babowski               ... fucking son of a bitch.                             GIL               I know the guy... they call him               BB.                             TILLEY               You know the son of a bitch?                             GIL               Yeah, he works with Bagel.                             TILLEY               He sells aluminum siding? I               don't believe it... of all the               people that could run into me, it               has to be a fucking tin man. How               come I don't know him?                             GIL               You musta seen him. He hangs               out with Carly Benelli, Cheese               ... you know, that group.                             TILLEY               I don't know the guy.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             11.17   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              17                             GIL               Don't you remember, he was up at               the Corral one night when we were               there... he's a good dancer. You               must have seen him.                             TILLEY               I don't know the guy.                             SAM               Gil, he doesn't know the guy.                             GIL               I thought he knew him, Sam... I               can't believe he doesn't know               him.                             SAM               He seems to be indicating that               he doesn't know him.                             TILLEY               I don't know the guy!                             GIL               He's a good dancer.                             TILLEY               What do you want me to do, date               him? What do I give a shit if               he's a good dancer?                             GIL               I thought you saw him. I was               amazed, he does a Marengay... I               tell you if I was a girl I'd be               impressed.                             SAM               You're not a girl and you're               impressed!     Florence comes over and puts down some coffee in front     of Tilley.                              TILLEY               Is it fresh?                             FLORENCE               Yes, it's fresh!                             TILLEY               Just asking, Florence.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                               12.17   CONTINUED:   (3)                                                17     Florence starts to walk away.                             FLORENCE               You're always just asking.     Gil still talking about BB.                             GIL               I'm telling you, you just can't               believe how well this guy does               the Marengay.                             MOUSE               I can't wait to see it.                              TILLEY               I'll  tell you one thing,    when I               get a  hold of this guy,    I'll               break  both his legs and    then he               won't  dance the Marengay    too               good.                                                     CUT TO:18   EXT. INDUSTRIAL PARK IN A RUN-DOWN AREA OF TOWN - DAY18     We see BB pulling up to a building in his banged-up,     brand new Cadillac. There are three or four nice     Cadillacs parked outside of the run-down building.                                                     CUT TO:19   INT. OFFICE - DAY                                         19     The office is filled with second-hand furniture, mis-     matched desks and a conglomeration of styles. In one     corner of the room there are two or three GIRLS working     the telephones -- canvassing -- talking to people on the     phone to see if they're interested in a demonstration on     the benefits of aluminum siding. They all speak in a     very congenial tone of voice.                             GIRL #1               Good morning, I represent the               Superior Aluminum Siding Company.               We will have a representative               in your neighborhood today.               Would you be interested in seeing               the benefits of our aluminum               product?                             (MORE)                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                              13.19   CONTINUED:                                               19                             GIRL #1 (CONT'D)                      (beat)               Yes... well, we do aluminum siding               which improves the appearance of               your house, and improves the               insulation...     CAMERA MOVES TO ANOTHER GIRL.                             GIRL #2               ... Which improves the appearance               of your house, and improves the               insulation...     CAMERA MOVES TO GIRL #3.                             GIRL #3               ... Superior Aluminum Siding               Company. We will have a               representative...     CAMERA MOVES TO another corner of the room where we see     4 "tin men" salesmen sitting around one of the desks     playing cards. MOE is beginning to tell a joke. He is     a man in his 50's.                             MOE               So the guy goes to the doctor for               a physical... they do all those               tests, all that stuff, blah, blah,               blah...     BB enters the scene and goes over and gets himself a cup     of coffee.                               MOE               ...   Doctor says 'when we get all               the   information back, we'll give               you   a call.' Leaves the doctor.               One   day the telephone rings...               the   guy goes and picks it up.                                CHEESE               The guy?                              MOE                      (immediately                        aggravated)               The guy!                             CHEESE               Not the doctor?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                14.19   CONTINUED:   (2)                                                 19                             MOE               That's right, the guy picks    it up.               He gets a phone call... it's    the               doctor on the line. Doctor     says               'I've got some bad news and    some               worse news.'     BB join the tin men to listen to Moe's joke.                                MOE               Guy    says 'Well, let me hear the               bad    news first.' 'The bad news               is,    you've got twenty-four hours               to    live.' The guy says 'What's               the    worse news?' Doctor says               'I    forgot to call you yesterday.'     They all laugh. LOONEY, a thin guy who twitches and     blinks a lot, stands up.                             LOONEY               It's good... I like it.                             CHEESE               I never heard bad news and worse               news... smart joke.                             LOONEY               Yeah... I like it.                             CARLY               It's dumb, but good.     BB, who is not laughing, stands behind Cheese who throws     50 cents into the card game.                             CHEESE               Up it fifty cents.                              LOONEY               I call... I call. I'm in on this               one... I call.                             MOE               We get it, you're calling.                                CARLY               I'm not sure.                                BB               Stay with him.                                CARLY               I don't know.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                               15.19   CONTINUED:   (3)                                                19                              CHEESE               Carly, get out of the hand...               I'm holding serious cards. Very               serious cards.                                 BB               He's bluffing.                             CHEESE               If I'm lying, I'm dying.                                 CARLY               I'm out.                                 BB               Ballsy move.     Moe throws his hand in, too.                              MOE                      (to BB)               Did you get the new Cadillac?                               BB               Yeah.    It's already been hit.                                 MOE               What?                                 BB               Didn't have it     five minutes,               backing out of     the place, and a               guy comes out     of nowhere and               bangs into my     car.                             LOONEY               So, what ya got?     Cheese throws his hand down.                                 CHEESE               Pair of sixes.                                 LOONEY               Jacks.     Win.                               CARLY               Shit!    Pair of sixes.                             MOE                      (about car)               How much damage?                             BB               I bet it's six hundred bucks.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                            16.19   CONTINUED:   (4)                                             19                             LOONEY               Six hundred bucks? I'd get rid               of the car. That much damage               it won't be any good. You may               have dented the frame.                             BB               I didn't dent the frame.                             LOONEY               When you hit the frame, the car               doesn't ride right.                             BB               He didn't hit the frame! I'll               tell you this, I'm gonna get the               son of a bitch. If he would               have apologized or something,               but this guy gets out, tries to               push me around.                             CHEESE               You're kidding me?                             BB               Yeah... the guy's totally off               the wall.     He takes a sip of his coffee.                              BB               I'm gonna get him... just for               the fun of it.                                                  CUT TO:20   EXT. LOWER/MIDDLE CLASS NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY                   20     BB's Cadillac moves through the neighborhood, and we see     homes that all look to be about 30 to 40 years old.                                                  CUT TO:21   INT. BB'S CADILLAC - DAY                               21     Moe is with BB in the Cadillac.   BB is driving.   Moe is     looking through some papers.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             17.21   CONTINUED:                                              21                             MOE               Now, let me see... we gotta be               at the Hickey house at four.                      (he looks at                       his watch)               It's about three-twenty now...               we've got some time on our hands.               You want to get some coffee?                             BB               No, I'm up to here with the               coffee.     He indicates his throat.                             MOE               They got any good pool halls               around here?                             BB               I don't know.                      (beat)               You know what would be fun to do..?               Let's try the Life Magazine               routine.                              MOE                       (smiles)               Yeah.                                                   CUT TO:22   EXT. WOODEN FRAMED HOUSE - DAY                                22     Slightly run-down.   We're looking THROUGH the LENS of a     35mm camera.                             BB (O.S.)               You know, I think we've got to               come over about two feet.     The SCREEN SHAKES as BB moves the camera.                                                   CUT TO:23   INT. WOODEN FRAMED HOUSE - DAY                                23     A HOUSEWIFE is looking through the curtains, suspiciously.     CAMERA MOVES TOWARDS the window and we see Moe and BB     moving the 35mm camera around on a tripod. We can     faintly hear their talk.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             18.23   CONTINUED:                                              23                              BB               I think this  is a better position...               the light is  hitting it, which is               accentuating  the effect we're               going for.   It's very good...               very good.                             MOE                      (in a creative pose)               This shows the flaws in the               structure...                                                   CUT TO:24   EXT. WOODEN FRAMED HOUSE - DAY                                24     BB and Moe at the camera and tripod.                             BB                      (under his breath,                       to Moe)               She's at the window.                               MOE               Yeah.                              BB                      (in a loud voice)               This is going to be terrific in               Life Magazine.                      (even louder)               Terrific in Life Magazine!                      (under his breath)               Come on outside, honey.                             MOE                      (in loud voice)               This should be our single biggest               issue of Life Magazine.     We see the Housewife coming out of her front door.                               BB                        (quietly)               Bingo!     The Housewife approaches BB and Moe suspiciously.                              HOUSEWIFE               Excuse me.   What are you doing?                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             19.24   CONTINUED:                                              24                             MOE               Oh, I hope we're not disturbing               you, ma'am. We're with Life               Magazine... we'll be out of here               in just a minute.                             BB                      (still looking through                       camera; to Moe)               Move the tripod another foot...               another foot.     Moe moves the tripod.                             HOUSEWIFE               What do you mean, Life Magazine?                             BB                      (looking up                       from camera)               Two minutes, ma'am, and we'll be               out of here. We just need the               picture for Life Magazine, and               we'll be out of here.                                HOUSEWIFE               Life Magazine?     I don't understand.                             BB               It's very simple. Ya know, we're               doing this layout about the               benefits of aluminum siding -- a               'before' and 'after' kind of               presentation.                             HOUSEWIFE               A 'before' picture?                             MOE               So they see your house, and another               one done with aluminum siding...               the other house looking so much               more beautiful.                             HOUSEWIFE               In Life Magazine?                             MOE               It's a special issue on home               improvements and ways to beautify               your home.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             20.24   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              24                             BB               A wonderful issue... it's one of               the finest pictorial things we've               done here at Life... the ways you               can improve your house.                      (he adjusts the                       camera)               We're gonna be out of here in no               time, ma'am.                             MOE               It's gonna look very good, BB.                             HOUSEWIFE               My house is going to be the 'before'?               Can't mine be like the 'after'?                             BB               No, no... we've got a house that               looked like yours and it's been               done in aluminum... it's very               nice.                             MOE               Yeah... really shows the contrast               of what a house can look like.                             HOUSEWIFE               What does it cost?                             BB               What? The aluminum siding? Oh...               I don't know the figures offhand.               Do you have any idea, Moe?                             MOE               I think it's fairly reasonable.                             HOUSEWIFE               Could my house be the 'after' in               Life Magazine and you get another               house for the 'before.'                             BB               You mean have your house as the               'after' and find another house               that looks like your house for               the 'before'?                             HOUSEWIFE               Is it possible?                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            21.24   CONTINUED:   (3)                                             24                             BB               What do ya think, Moe?     Would               that be ethical?                             MOE               Well, we didn't sign any agreement               with the 'after' house. We'd have               to move very quickly, ma'am... you               know what I mean?                             BB               You'd have to work out an               arrangement with an aluminum               siding company and they'd have               to do the job very quickly for               us to make our deadline...               we've got a deadline, that's the               problem.                              HOUSEWIFE               How quickly?                              MOE               BB, what do you think? Can we               slide the deadline, or what? Six               or seven days?                             BB               Pressing it. Do you think we               could manage it, Moe?                             MOE               It's pushing it, BB.                      (to Housewife)               What time would your husband be               home, 'cos he'd have to go over               the figures with the salesman...               that's if there's a salesman               available this evening.                             HOUSEWIFE               He'll be home at seven.                             BB               We might be able to work it.                             HOUSEWIFE               That would be wonderful.                                                  CUT TO:                                                           22.25   INT. WOODEN FRAMED HOUSE - NIGHT                            25     BB and Moe are sitting on a sofa sipping coffee, looking     as if they were members of the family. The Housewife and     her HUSBAND are sitting across the dining room table from     Carly. Carly is going  through papers, adding up figures.                             CARLY               Okay... we've got a total of               thirty-seven hundred dollars.                             HUSBAND               Thirty-seven hundred dollars?                             HOUSEWIFE               Honey, we're gonna be in Life               Magazine.     ANGLE ON MOE AND BB ON SOFA                             BB                      (to Moe)               Moe, did you call  the office               and make sure we  can hold up the               issue until this  job is completed?               This house really  could be a               showcase.                             HUSBAND               Thirty-seven hundred dollars!                              CARLY               I tell you what... I've got               an idea. Do you mind my guys               working on a Saturday? 'Cos if               my crew can work on Saturday               next, that'll free my guys up               on Monday. Yeah, that'll really               help me out on another job.               Anyway, if we can do that, I               think I'll be able to knock off               three hundred and fifty dollars               from the job. You see, I've               got an overlapping situation on               Monday... I don't want to go               into it. What do ya think?               We got a deal?                               HUSBAND               Yep.                                                 CUT TO:                                                            23.26   INT. HOUSE #1 - MONTAGE - ANGLE ON LOONEY                    26                             LOONEY               What are the benefits of               aluminum siding? One: you               never have to paint.                                                  CUT TO:27   INT. HOUSE #2 - MONTAGE - ANGLE ON CHEESE                    27                             CHEESE               ... You have much greater               insulation.                                                  CUT TO:28   INT. HOUSE #3 - MONTAGE - ANGLE ON MOUSE                     28                             MOUSE               ... It cuts down on your heating               bills...                                                  CUT TO:29   INT. HOUSE #4 - MONTAGE - ANGLE ON GIL                       29                             GIL               So what we've got is efficiency               and the beautification of your               home.                                                  CUT TO:30   INT. HOUSE - NIGHT                                           30     Tilley is packing up his sample case. A middle-aged     HUSBAND and wife sit on a couch across from him.                             HUSBAND #2               No, I'm sorry, Mr. Tilley, I               just can't afford it.                             TILLEY               We haven't even got to discussing               terms. There are so many friendly               financial arrangements that would               hardly be a bite into your weekly               salary.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                              24.30   CONTINUED:                                               30                             HUSBAND #2               No... not this time.                             TILLEY               Well, as I said, you can always               reach me... you've got my card,               and when the time comes, let's               talk.     The Husband and wife stand to show Tilley to the door.                             TILLEY               Hey, give my best to your little               son... wonderful kid there. What's               his name again, Ronnie?                               HUSBAND #2               Randy.                               TILLEY               Randy, right.    Well, good night.                                                    CUT TO:31   INT. CADILLAC - NIGHT                                          31     Sam is singing to the RADIO. Tilley opens the back door     and throws his sample case inside. He gets in the     driver's seat and slams the car door angrily.                             TILLEY               I thought I had 'em... I was this               close.     He demonstrates with his fingers.                             SAM               The amount of time you spent there,               I thought you were ready to send               for me to close it up.                               TILLEY               Damn!    I thought I had 'em.     Tilley STARTS the CAR and pulls out.                                                    CUT TO:32   INT. PIMLICO HOTEL - BAR/RESTAURANT - NIGHT              32     This is a piano bar with an intimate restaurant at one     end. The PIANIST is playing "The Girl From Ipanema."                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             25.32   CONTINUED:                                              32                             PIANIST               'Tall and tan and young and lovely,               the girl from Ipanema goes walking,               and when she passes each one she               passes goes... "Ah!"'     The last word of the verse -- "Ah" -- has great emphasis     put on it and is lengthened considerably. The people     sitting around the piano all join the pianist and say     "Ah" in unison. CAMERA MOVES OVER TO a table where Mouse,     Sam, Tilley, Gil and a few other tin men set. WING, the     head of Gibraltar Aluminum, a tall, strong, imposing     figure, holds court. The table is filled with papers,     folders, etc., as if Wing's office desk had been trans-     ported to the bar. He's reviewing a paper from a job     that Mouse has done.                             WING               Forty-six hundred dollars. This               looks like a sound deal. They               own their own house... we won't               have any problem getting the               financing for them. Real good,               Mouse.     He picks up his check book ledger and writes out a check.                             WING                      (writing)               So, that's one thousand, one               hundred and thirty-eight dollars.     Finishes writing check and hands it to Mouse.                             MOUSE               Thanks, boss. Pleasure doing               business with ya.     Mouse takes the check and pockets it.   Wing turns to     Tilley and Sam.                             WING               Now, what's your guys' story?                             TILLEY               Nothing again... came up short.               Let me get a little advance...               three hundred, just to carry me               for a bit.                             WING               Tilley, I'm already carrying you               for, what is it -- twenty-three               hundred? Something like that?                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              26.32   CONTINUED:   (2)                                               32                             TILLEY               No problem... just in a little               slump here.                             WING               Don't try to go walking on me.                             TILLEY               What do you mean, walking? You               think I'm gonna work somewhere               else... you've been very good               to me... very honorable.                             SAM               He's always said that about you,               Wing. Always said that about you...               he has.                             WING               I'll give you hundred and fifty.                             TILLEY               Wing, I need a bit more than that...               I got expenses.                             WING               What's wrong with your wife?   She               doesn't work?                             TILLEY               Yeah, but how much is she gonna               make working at the Social Security               office?     Wing writes out a check and gives it to Tilley.                             TILLEY               Come on, Wing, can't you do better               than this... a man in my position               in terms of this firm... I dunno...                             WING               All right, I'll give you two               hundred.     Wing changes amount of check and hands it to Tilley.                             MOUSE                      (yelling to                       cocktail waitress)               Honey, can you get me some               Marlboros and a 7 and 7?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            27.32   CONTINUED:   (3)                                             32                             SAM               And some scotch, straight up.     Tilley pockets the check.                             WING               Now listen, guys, we got a problem               here.                             SAM                      (to Mouse)               Did she hear me say scotch               straight up?                             WING               My sources tell me this Home               Improvement Commission is for real...               it's no jackpot. These guys are               going to be a real pain in the ass,               so any of the scams that you guys               are pulling, they get wind of it,               they take your license and it's               goodbye to this business.                             MOUSE               They take away your license? They               take away your livelihood? What               kind of people are these?                             SAM               They have no respect for the               working man.                             TILLEY               Which scams are they talking about?               They got a list?                             WING               Any irregularities, you know,               selling a house on the pretense               that it's a model house and               every job sold in the area they               get a kickback... the Life               Magazine hustle... you guys know               all the bullshit numbers we can               run.                              SAM               Jesus! What a pain in the ass.               Do you think this commission's               gonna stick around or is it gone               with the wind?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                            28.32   CONTINUED:   (4)                                             32                             TILLEY               They take your license?                                                  CUT TO:33   EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                          33     BB's Cadillac moves along the street.                                                  CUT TO:34   INT. CADILLAC - NIGHT                                        34     BB and Moe are in the car driving along.                             MOE               I wouldn't mind seeing Africa               some time.                             BB               Not me. I don't want to go               where they've got snakes.                             MOE               They've got snakes?                             BB               I've heard they've got snakes               that'll outrun a horse through               the grass. They got a snake               that bites you... you got eleven               seconds to live. No thank you.               I don't want to spend my good               money to visit with that kind               of jeopardy. I'd like to go to               a place where... hold it!     He hits the brakes suddenly.                               MOE               What's wrong?     BB backs his car halfway up the street. He stops in the     driveway of the Pimlico Hotel parking lot.                             BB               The guy who ran into me...               that's his car.     He puts the car into park and opens the car door.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             29.34   CONTINUED:                                              35                             BB               I'll be back, Moe.    I'm gonna               even the score.     He gets out of the car, quickly walks over to Tilley's     Cadillac, and with a swift kick, he kicks the headlight     that isn't already broken.                                                   CUT TO:35   INT. ENTRANCE LOBBY TO PIMLICO HOTEL - NIGHT                  35     Tilley, Sam, Mouse and Gil are about to leave the hotel.     They're putting their coats on just inside the closed     door. Tilley is halfway into his coat.                             TILLEY                      (to Mouse)               Give me eight points I take the               Knicks over the Lakers for 20.                             MOUSE               It's too big a spread.     We hear the    sound of BREAKING GLASS. Tilley responds to     the sound.     He looks out of the glass doors and sees BB     kicking in    the headlight of his car. BB runs back     towards his    car.                             TILLEY               It's that fucking lunatic again.     He races out of the door of the hotel towards BB's car     which pulls away and speeds down the street. Several     of the tin men run after Tilley. He stands in the street     watching the car disappear.                             TILLEY                      (still looking                       after the car)               Can you believe this guy?    Is               he sane or what?                             MOUSE               Isn't that something?                             SAM               What's he got, a gnat up his ass?               What the hell's wrong with the               guy?                             GIL               Don't you recognize him from the               Corral?                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             30.35   CONTINUED:                                              35                             TILLEY               I don't know the guy!                             GIL               I'll never forget his Marengay.                             TILLEY               I'll tell you something, if Mr.               Marengay wants to play... we'll               play.                                                   CUT TO:36   EXT. STREET - PROFILE SHOT - NIGHT                            36     of the porches of one row house on top of another.37   INT. PORCH OF HOUSE - NIGHT                                   37     Tilley is letting himself into his house. He goes into     the kitchen where Nora is sitting, drinking a cup of     coffee and working on a crossword puzzle. He takes off     his coat and throws it on a chair.                             NORA                      (without looking up                       from the crossword                       puzzle)               Look at you, quarter to three and               home already. What happened?               You and the fellas run out of               things to talk about?                             TILLEY               Please! I'm out there working               myself to the bone, trying to make               a living.     He goes over to the refrigerator and gets himself some     orange juice.                             NORA               What's a five letter word for a               Portuguese overseas province?                             TILLEY               Try Macao.                             NORA               M-A-C-A-O... that fits.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             31.37   CONTINUED:                                              37                             TILLEY               What're you doing up so late?                             NORA               We're off tomorrow.     Beat.                             TILLEY               I think this place may be a little               too large for us.                             NORA               What are you talking about... this               match box?                             TILLEY               It's got a lot of overhead to it.               What do you do... spend your time               in the bedroom and the kitchen,               that's all. So why do you need a               living room and a dining room.     He walks over to the back door and looks out.                             TILLEY               Why do ya need a back yard?                             NORA               You're not selling anything?                             TILLEY               I'm in a slump.                             NORA               It happens.                             TILLEY               Last year I'm number three top               seller... year before, right up               there. I  can't get my momentum               going this year.                             NORA               Well, you will. You always do.                             TILLEY                      (beat)               I'm not sure I like the idea of               all this overhead breathing down               my neck. When you have a place               like this, that's a lot of               overhead.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              32.37   CONTINUED:   (2)                                               37                             NORA               What are you talking about? The               monthly payments on your Cadillac               are more than this whole house.               Why don't you get yourself               something cheaper, like a Chevy?                             TILLEY               It doesn't instill confidence in               my clients. Cadillac means that               you're dealing with someone of               importance.                      (beat)               I thought I had a couple tonight...               they just slipped away... slipped               away.                      (beat)               I'm gonna take a bath -- my neck's               been tight since this morning.                             NORA               I'll turn out the lights.     Nora gets up and puts the cups in the sink -- gives a     big sigh.                                                   CUT TO:38   INT. TILLEY'S HOUSE - BATHROOM - NIGHT                         38     Tilley is in the tub, lathering himself.   Nora enters     and sits on the side of the tub.                             NORA               You know, Tilley, we hardly ever               do things together.                             TILLEY               Like what?                             NORA               Do things together that are               enjoyable.                             TILLEY               What would we do together for               it to be enjoyable?                             NORA               If we went on a picnic... it               would be fun.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            33.38   CONTINUED:                                             38                             TILLEY               I don't understand a picnic...               we just go some place... we put               a thing on the ground, and we               eat.                             NORA               Yes... it's nice to do that.                             TILLEY               Why? I don't get it. It's better               sitting at home and watching TV.                             NORA               I think there's something nice               about a picnic... it's fun.                             TILLEY               What's fun about it? Ants get               into the food... there's bees.               I don't get it. We have to drive,               it takes maybe an hour to get               there, then you sit in grass and               eat. Why is that fun?                             NORA               I just thought it might be nice               to do something together, that's               all... thought it might be fun.                             TILLEY               It doesn't sound like fun to me...               you take the stuff you've got here               in the house, you take it someplace               to eat it. It's just as much fun               eating in front of the TV, and               we do that together, don't we? No               ants and no bees... much more               comfortable.                             NORA               It's not the same thing.                             TILLEY               Scrub my back, will ya, Nora.     Nora picks up the back brush, puts soap on it and starts     scrubbing Tilley's back.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             34.38   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              38                              TILLEY               Not too hard!                      (beat)               Don't get me wrong, I'm willing               to do anything with you. I'm               just a little stymied by a               picnic. If you want to go, send               me a postcard.     Nora drops the brush in the tub and walks out of the     bathroom.                             TILLEY               What did I say?                                                   CUT TO:39   EXT. INDUSTRIAL PARK - DAY                                    39     We see Tilley's Cadillac cruising the streets, obviously     looking for someone.                                                   CUT TO:40   INT. TILLEY'S CADILLAC - DAY                                  40     Tilley is driving with Gil in the passenger seat.                             GIL               I think you make a left here.     Tilley turns the car.                             GIL               Yeah... there it is... that's the               place... Superior Aluminum...               that's it over there.     As Tilley pulls up we see BB's car parked outside of the     building.                             TILLEY               Okay, Mr. Marengay... here I come.     He reaches into the backseat of the car and takes out a     crowbar.                             GIL               Hey, Tilley, don't go too wild...                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            35.40   CONTINUED:                                             40                             TILLEY               I'll show the son of a bitch.     He gets out of the car, crosses to BB's Cadillac, and     smashes in the windshield and all of the windows of the     car.                             TILLEY                      (as he smashes,                       wildly)               He'll get a lot of air... won't               be too stuffy in this car when I'm               finished.                              GIL                      (calling from Tilley's                        Cadillac)               Quick, Tilley... let's get out               of here.     Tilley runs back to his car and drives away.                                                  CUT TO:41   INT. SUPERIOR ALUMINUM SIDING OFFICE - TIGHT SHOT - DAY      41     Of a map of a 15 block area of Baltimore. Colored pins     are in place indicating various homes that have been     provided with aluminum siding. Another pin goes into     place.                             BAGEL (O.S.)               That was a good sale, Double B.               Just got a call on a loan...               we're in business.                                                  CUT TO:     ANOTHER ANGLE     We see BAGEL. He's a little guy with a black Fedora and     baggy pants held up with suspenders. BB stands with him.                             BAGEL               This whole section has been very               fertile for us.                                                  CUT TO:                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             36.41   CONTINUED:                                              41     ANOTHER ANGLE     Moe, Looney and Carly are talking to STANLEY FRANKS, a     young guy in his early 20's. He is dressed in the "Ivy     League" look of the times.                             MOE                      (to Stanley)               Sure you wanna get into the tin               game?                             STANLEY               Money's good, I understand.                             LOONEY               Lot of crazy people you're gonna               run into when you're knocking on               those doors. Hermits that don't               see the outside world, Jehovah's               Witnesses that try and sell you               the Bible at the same time you're               trying to sell them tin. People               that are just lonely and want to               have conversations.                             CARLY               Every time you step in that door,               you've got to be fast on your feet.                              STANLEY               Interesting.                              MOE                       (quizzing Stanley)               What's the best way to qualify               a mark?                              STANLEY               What?                             MOE               How do you know if you can get the               upper hand? How do you know if               you're dealing with a guy who's in               an inferior position to you, or               superior position? How do you               know?     Moe puts Stanley on the defensive.                             STANLEY               You just have to talk and feel               your way.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              37.41   CONTINUED:   (2)                                               41                             MOE               Quick way... get a book of               matches out of your pocket to               light your cigarette... you drop               the matches on the floor.                               STANLEY                        (looks puzzled)               Yeah.                             MOE               Guy bends down to pick up the               matches for you, you got a mark...               you got this guy in your pocket.               If he looks to you to pick it up,               you've got a long, hard, tough               sell on your hands.     BB walks over to the guys, having just poured himself     some coffee.                             BB               You want to get in good with these               people... you want to win their               confidence? Good thing to try...               get a five dollar bill, take it               out when the guy's not looking,               drop it on the ground. Guy looks               back, pick it up, hand it to him               and say, 'Mr. Blah blah, you               musta dropped this five dollar               bill on the ground.' Two things               happen... he says, 'It's not               mine,' you say, 'Musta been, 'cos               it's certainly not mine,' or the               guy takes it. Right away this               guy is thinking you must be one               hell of a nice guy... you're in.               You start chipping away... you               start getting inside those people.     Stanley is quite taken by their information.   BB puts     his cup down and grabs his coat.                             BB               Come on, Moe, let's split.                             LOONEY                      (to Stanley)               Yeah, we'd better go, too. Come               on, Stanley.                      (to Carly who is                       hanging behind)               Me and Stanley. It's like a first               date.                                               CUT TO:                                                                38.42   EXT. SUPERIOR ALUMINUM SIDING BUILDING - DAY                     42     BB and Moe approach BB's Cadillac. He sees that all the     windows have been smashed in. Moe looks to BB. Looney     walks up from behind.                             LOONEY               What? You got a special bargain               when you bought this car? They               come cheaper without windows?     BB reaches into the car and picks up a handful of broken     glass. He tosses it up and down in his hands.                             BB               This guy's looking to play tit               for tat. That's not my game.               I'm gonna play hardball.     BB throws the glass down on the ground.                             STANLEY                      (to Looney, quietly)               What's going on?     Looney just nods for them to go, and they start to walk     over to Looney's Cadillac.                                BB               I'm gonna find    out everything               about this son    of a bitch, and               then I'm gonna    find the one thing               that cuts him    to the quick.                             MOE               Let's go inside... make some               calls.     BB nods and they start back inside.                                                      CUT TO:43   INT. POOL HALL - TIGHT SHOT                                      43     of a pool ball ricocheting off an eight ball. The eight     ball drops into the pocket. Tilley throws down his pool     stick. We  see his partner is Mouse. Gil sits in a chair     against a wall.                             TILLEY               Damn it! Damn it! I can't believe               it... I can't believe I did that.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                             39.43   CONTINUED:                                              43                             MOUSE               Well, then, believe it. There's               no sense not to believe it,               because you did it... so believe               it. That's twenty more... you               owe me sixty.                             TILLEY               You think I can't add?     He goes to rack to re-set. Mouse     goes over and puts a     nickel in the juke box. A RECORD     slips into position,     and Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat    Song" begins. Mouse,     in unison with the record, sings,    and is totally caught     up in the song.                             MOUSE               'Dayo!... da, da, da, da, day.               Daylight come and he wanna go               home...'     He sings very loudly, especially on the chorus.                             GIL                      (facetiously)               Oh, this is going to be good.                              MOUSE               'Dayo!... da, da, da, da, da, da,               da.'                      (he hits his pool cue                        on the ground for                        emphasis)               'Daylight come and he wanna go               home...'                                                   CUT TO:44   INT. ROOM OFF MAIN POOL HALL                                  44     Sam is going through some papers on a desk, and comes     across an IRS letter addressed to Tilley. He notices     that it hasn't been opened. He looks at the postdate     mark -- it's five weeks old, dated January 3, 1963.                               SAM               Jesus Christ!     We can hear the "BANANA BOAT SONG" through the door, with     MOUSE SCREECHING along with it. Sam takes the letter and     goes through the door to the pool hall.                                                             40.45   INT. POOL HALL                                                45     He approaches Tilley who's just finished racking the     balls.                              SAM               Tilley.     He nods for Tilley to go over to him. They start to     walk together through the darkened areas of the Pool     Hall.                             SAM               Found this on your desk while I               was going over some papers.     He hands the letter to Tilley.                             TILLEY               From the IRS. I never even               remember seeing it. I must have               left it with my other bills. I               wonder what it is?                             SAM               Maybe it's a refund check.     Tilley opens the envelope and looks at the document.                             TILLEY               Hum... says here that they haven't               received my 1962 taxes. They seem               to be saying that they didn't               get my check for four thousand               dollars.                            SAM               What? It must be a clerical               error.                             TILLEY               I can't believe they spend all               that time and energy to write to               me... to single me out.                             SAM               What are you talking about?   You               didn't pay your taxes?                             TILLEY               I probably forgot... people               forget their taxes all the time...               just slipped my mind... I got so               many things on my mind.                             (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             41.45   CONTINUED:                                              45                             TILLEY (CONT'D)               I figured they could wait a few               years... it's not like they need               my money to build a bomber. You               think they're waiting for my money               before they dig a new road? Are               they all sitting there saying,               'Well, it's time we went to see               that guy on Pimlico Road... can't               run this government without his               four thousand dollars.'                      (beat)               I figured they'd give me a little               leeway. I'm going to pay them...               I know I've got a debt... I just               need a little leeway.                             SAM               You can't mess around with the               government. Why don't you go to               H & R Block, they'll take care               of your taxes for you.                             TILLEY               You think I'm gonna let some               schmuck know all my business...               have some guy pull me over the               coals for spending on this and               that. I need some privacy.                             SAM               Taxes is serious stuff, Tilley.                             TILLEY               I can just see that schmuck in               that little tax shop telling               people my business... how much               I make... how much I spend...               no way!                             SAM               All I can say, is you better get               a lawyer or somebody to look into               this, 'cos the IRS, they don't               fuck around.                             TILLEY               Just what I need in my life right               now... I'm in a slump and I've               got the IRS on me. Like when               something goes wrong, it's like...     He throws his arms up in the air in exasperation.                                                   CUT TO:                                                                 42.46   EXT. NORA AND TILLEY'S HOUSE - DAY                                46     We see Nora leaving her house,  walking down the    steps     and getting into her car. She   STARTS the ENGINE    and     pulls away.  CAMERA HOLDS for  a moment, and then    INTO     FRAME comes Moe's car with BB  sitting shotgun.     They     follow Nora.                                                   CUT TO:47   INT. SMALL NEIGHBORHOOD SUPERMARKET - DAY                         47     Nora enters. Ten seconds later, BB enters. He pulls a     shopping cart from the stall, and follows Nora.     ANGLE ON MOE     as he walks up to the front of the supermarket and looks     through the window.     ANGLE ON FROZEN FOOD SECTION     Nora is stopped with her cart and is deciding on vege-     tables. BB has a pile of frozen dinners in his arms.                             BB                      (to Nora)               Are these any good do ya know?               These TV dinners?                             NORA               I don't think they're too good               for you, not a lot of 'em anyway.     She continues to choose her frozen foods.     BB continues     talking to her.                               BB               My wife died.                             NORA                      (looking up)               Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.                             BB               I'm over it now, but it was a               very trying time... very trying...               I've only just started eating               again.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             43.47   CONTINUED:                                              47                             NORA               You know what would be a lot more               healthy and satisfying is to get               yourself a chicken... just pop it               in the oven for a couple of hours               with a little bit of seasoning on               it. Makes a good meal, and you               can make sandwiches with the               leftovers.                             BB               But then you have to sit and watch               it cook. Something seems sad about               a man sitting alone in a house and               watching a chicken cook.                                                   CUT TO:48   EXT. SUPERMARKET - DAY                                        48     Moe is looking through the window of the supermarket.     From his POV we see BB and Nora. BB says something and     Nora laughs. Then Nora says something and BB laughs,     holding her arm.                             MOE               He's an amazing sort... he's got               the gift.                                                   CUT TO:49   EXT. STREET - ACROSS FROM SUPERMARKET - DAY             49     A man sits behind the wheel of a plain-looking Ford.     Stanley, the new tin man, pulls up in his car behind     him, gets out and walks to the other man's car. He     kneels down and talks to the driver of the car. There     seems to be a serious exchange but with the sound of     TRAFFIC and the cars passing THROUGH FRAME, we're un-     able to hear what is taking place. Stanley nods, taps     the side of the car, car drives off. Stanley goes back     to his car and drives off.                                                   CUT TO:50   INT. MODEST HOUSE - DAY                                       50     Tilley is selling to a MAN and his WIFE. The Man wears     a seersucker suit and a bow tie -- he is a mousie little     man, and his Wife is the female equivalent.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             44.50   CONTINUED:                                              50                             MAN               Thank you, Mr. Tilley. I can't               believe it... this is the most               generous thing anyone's ever done               ... Swell! Like a gift from               heaven.                             WIFE               The Lord has certainly blessed               us this evening.                              TILLEY               Well, what can I say... I'm a               modest person... I just do what               I can to help.                               MAN               Thanks again.     He opens the door for Tilley and Tilley walks out.                                                   CUT TO:51   EXT. MODEST HOUSE - DAY                                 51     As the door closes behind Tilley, he goes to where     Sam's car is parked and gets in the passenger seat.                             SAM               So, what's the scoop?                               TILLEY               We got 'em!     He's very excited.                             SAM               You're kidding?                             TILLEY               Take a look at this, Sam.     Tilley shows him the written contract. Written across     the front of the contract in big, bold, black letters     are the words: "THIS JOB IS FREE." Sam looks at Tilley.                             SAM               Are you fucking crazy? You               just gave them forty-two hundred               dollars in aluminum siding free?!                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                               45.51   CONTINUED:                                                51                             TILLEY                      (smiles)               This is the best scam I've ever               thought of in my whole life.     He kisses his hands with wild smacking sounds.     He's     ecstatic.                              TILLEY               It's in my blood... I'm brilliant               ... I'm fucking brilliant... this               is such a brilliant scam... I'm               beside myself.                             SAM               What are you talking about?                             TILLEY               Here it is... you go back in the               house and this is what you say...                                                   CUT TO:52   INT. MODEST HOUSE - TIGHT SHOT ON SAM - DAY               52                             SAM               Mr. Tilley is crazy... he had a               nervous breakdown.     WIDEN to include Man and Wife from before.                              MAN               What's that?                             SAM               He's been under a lot of pressure               recently... he snapped... he had               a nervous breakdown... it's the               saddest thing I've ever seen.               Let's be honest about it, nobody               gives away forty-two hundred               dollars' worth of aluminum siding               free.                             MAN               I thought it was very generous,               but sometimes the Lord moves in               mysterious ways.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             46.52   CONTINUED:                                              52                             SAM               Let me tell you something, when I               go and see his boss and show him               this contract, he's out of this               business... he'll lose his home               ... his wife and kids will be               thrown out onto the street. He'll               probably spend some time in an               institution, so God knows what               will happen to his wife and kids.               Anyway, it's not your problem.                             MAN               Why do they have to be thrown out               onto the street?                             SAM               You don't expect his boss to pick               up the forty-two hundred job, do               ya?                             MAN               Hmm.                             SAM               Yeah, it's a bad state of affairs.                      (beat)               Let me ask you something, sir.                             MAN               Yes?                             SAM               You don't think there's some way               you could work with me to try               and resolve this, do you?                             MAN               How so?                             SAM               Let's look at it this way, what               if I can sell you this job at a               wholesale price... kind of lessens               the burden. The big boss won't get               so angry, and maybe won't throw the               guy's wife and kids out... at least               they'll have a roof over their               heads.                             MAN               What kind of wholesale price are               we talking about?                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             47.52   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              52                             SAM               You got a cup of coffee?                             WIFE               I'll get you a coffee... won't be               a minute.                             SAM               Let's just sit down and kick this               around.     The Wife goes into the kitchen.                             SAM                      (calling to Wife)               No hurry, ma'am.     The Man turns to sit down, and as he does so, Sam throws     a $5 bill on the ground.                             SAM               What you doing throwing your               money around?     He bends to pick up the $5 note.                                MAN               What's that?                             SAM               I found a five-dollar bill, here               by the side of the chair.                                                   CUT TO:53   INT. CORRAL CLUB - NIGHT                                53     The place is crowded... jumping with activity. A local     band is playing on a tiny stage. BB's on the floor     dancing with a girl. He's doing some good moves, and     it's obvious that he's a real crowd pleaser. Sitting     at the bar are Looney, Stanley and Carly.                             CARLY               The buzzard had a great gimmick.               You know, when it came time to               measure a job, he'd cut the               yardstick and reglue it together               ... he took out seven inches so               his square footage would always               be higher. That way he'd always               make a few extra bucks on the job.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             48.53   CONTINUED:                                              53     Stanley laughs and looks at Carly.                             STANLEY               You're kidding?                             CARLY               Yeah... he'd always put his               hand over the break when he was               measuring. Nobody looks at a               yardstick to see how long it is.                             LOONEY                      (laughs)               I never did that... I never did               that... I was never very good in               arts and crafts. I  could never               make the ruler come out right.     The song ends.     ANGLE ON BB     He pats his dancing partner on her rear, she walks back     to her table, and BB walks over to where Moe is sitting.     BB picks up his beer can, holds it up to Moe as if he's     going to make a toast.                             BB               Here's to Nora.     Moe smiles, picks up his can, they tap their cans, and     both take a swig of their beers.     ANGLE ON BAR     Stanley is really enjoying the stories Carly and Looney     are telling.                             STANLEY               What else? Give me another story               ... these stories are great!                             LOONEY               Just a minute... I've got one.               You know it's like the faster you               can start spiking a job, the guy               can't back out of the deal.                             (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             49.53   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              53                             LOONEY (CONT'D)               Shoe had some customers that he               thought was fragile on coming for               the buy. He'd say to the guy               'here let me show you how bad a               shape your house is in,' and he'd               rip off a piece of wood, maybe               fifteen feet wide. The guy's               house looks like shit so it makes               it hard for him to back out of               the deal when half the side of               his house is missing. The Shoe's               a fucking wonder.                                                   CUT TO:54   INT. SAM'S CAR - NIGHT                                        54     Sam is driving and Tilley is rubbing his hands together     with excitement.                             TILLEY               Fantastic, Sam! A twenty-seven               hundred sale! 'This job is free'!               What a beaut! I'm out of the               slump! Tilley's riding high again               ... Tilley's back! We ought to               go and celebrate. Let's go to               the Corral and have a drink...               we can turn the paperwork in a               little later.                             SAM               Gil says that's where 'Marengay'               hangs out.                              TILLEY               Gil keeps saying it... I've never               seen him.                       (laughing and hit-                        ting the dashboard)               I'm riding high... twenty-seven               hundred dollars... 'this job is               free'... the man went insane...               lost control of himself... his               wife and children are out on the               street!                       (he laughs)               Sometimes I'm brilliant... I'm               fucking brilliant... I can't               believe it.                                                   CUT TO:                                                            50.55   INT. CORRAL CLUB - ANGLE ON MOE AND BB - NIGHT               55     They're looking at the girls, sizing them up.                             BB                      (pointing to a                       girl)               See that one, if you were married               to that one two weeks you'd have               to put your head out of the window               for air... this one smothers.                      (looking over to                       another girl)               That one is the kind that can't               live without you...                      (whiney voice)               ... 'Where were you? When will               you be home?'                             MOE               I should get out of here. I told               my wife I'd be home early tonight.                               BB               Christ!    It's not even one o'clock               yet.                      (beat)               How long you been married now?               What is it? Twelve... twelve               years?                               MOE               Sixteen.                             BB               Holy God! Sixteen years? What               do you think? Is it worth it?                               MOE               Yeah.                             BB               Why do you think?                             MOE               It's hard to answer.                      (beat)               Seems better than if she wasn't               there.                              BB               Quite a recommendation... can't               wait to do it.     He laughs.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             51.55   CONTINUED:                                              55     ANGLE ON DOOR     Tilley and Sam come through the door and walk over to     the bar.                             TILLEY                      (to Sam)               Scotch straight up?                             SAM               Yeah.                             TILLEY                      (to barman)               Scotch straight up and a rum               and Coke for me.     He looks around the room at the women.                             TILLEY               Looks like there's good action               here tonight.                             SAM               What do you expect, it's half               price night for divorced women.               The place is hopping.     ANGLE ON BB AND MOE                             BB               Look how much more complicated               things are now. There used to               be a time you met a girl, you               courted and then you got married               and lived happily ever after.               Now, see that one over there...                      (he points to                       girl at a table)               ... that's Helen Armstrong...               maiden name used to be Tudor.               Get this, she dated Charlie               Rider when I was in high school,               seemed like they were together               forever. They broke up, she               started to go with Lenny               Mardigian, they got married,               she's Helen Mardigian. That               goes on two years... three years,               something like that.                             (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             52.55   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              55                             BB (CONT'D)               They divorce, dates Billy Small               for a couple of years, lives with               John Isaacs for a year, marries               Tommy Selnini... that marriage               goes in the toilet, but fast.               Now she's dating Charlie Rider               who was divorced by Evelyn Chartoff               who used to be Evelyn Gage before               that.                      (beat; he looks at                       Moe and laughs)               So much for relationships.     ANGLE ON SAM AND TILLEY AT BAR                             SAM               I'm beginning to believe in God.                             TILLEY               You were never one of those               atheists, were you?                             SAM               No, I'm not saying that, but I'm               beginning to give God more thought.                             TILLEY               So, what did you do? Have some               kind of religious experience?                             SAM               I tell ya... I took my wife for               lunch yesterday... we went and               had some smorgasbord, and it               kind of happened.                             TILLEY               You found God at the smorgasbord?                              SAM               Yeah.                             TILLEY               Sam, people have religious               experiences like on a lake or               when they go up into the mountains,               that kind of thing.                             SAM               Maybe... but I had mine in a               smorgasbord.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             53.55   CONTINUED:   (3)                                              55                             TILLEY                      (laughs)               Sam, you're too much.                             SAM               I went to get myself a salad               and I started to see all these               vegetables, you know how they               have all those salads laid out               so that when it's time to get to               the main course you won't eat too               much... that scam to get you               filled up so you don't eat too               much chicken and beef and all               that other stuff.                             TILLEY               Yeah, yeah... I get the point.               So?                             SAM               So I see celery, I see the lettuce,               tomatoes, cauliflower... and I               think, all these things come out               of the ground... they just grow               out of the ground. They had corn               -- out of the ground... radish --               out of the ground. You say to               yourself, how can all these things               come out of the ground? You know               what I'm talking about? All these               things are out of the ground.                               TILLEY                        (not understanding)               Yeah.                              SAM               I mean, how can that be? It just               happened that way? And I'm not               even getting into the fruits...               I'm just dealing with vegetables               right now. With all those things               coming out of the earth, there               must be a God.                             TILLEY                      (looking at Sam)               I'm not getting the same religious               effect that came over you. I               don't know why, but I don't feel               like running to a church to pray               right this second.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             54.55   CONTINUED:   (4)                                              55                             SAM               You gotta admit, it's amazing.                             TILLEY               Yeah, yeah...                      (he turns away                       and looks across                       the room)               I don't believe it. See the guy               over there?     He looks in the direction of BB.                             TILLEY               That's the son of a bitch who               crsahed into my car.     Sam looks over to BB.     ANGLE ON BB AND MOE     BB's looking through the crowd and sees Tilley.                             BB               I don't believe it!    Mr. Banana               Head is here.                             MOE               What?                              BB               That crazy guy that banged into               my car and smashed my windows in.               I don't fucking believe it! I'm               gonna get him.     ANGLE ON TILLEY                             TILLEY               I'm gonna get him!     Both BB and Tilley weave their way through the crowd to     get to one another. In the confusion of all the people,     they both go right past one another and then look around     for one another. They see that they're in the opposite     direction, and end up going towards one another again.     Moe and Sam wander over to their guys.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            55.55   CONTINUED:   (5)                                             55                              BB               You got a lot of nerve banging               into my car, and you've got a               lot of fucking nerve smashing               my windows in.                             TILLEY               What're you talking about?     Why               would I want to break your               windows?                             BB               You didn't smash my windows in?                             TILLEY               I'm a hard-working guy... I               don't go around breaking windows.               I've got better things to do.                             BB               You didn't break my windows?!               You didn't break my windows?!     He pushes Tilley.                             TILLEY               Push me one more time and I'm               gonna have to redefine your face.     BB pushes him.     Tilley starts to go for BB and they     scuffle about.     Moe and Sam try to pull the guys apart.     ANGLE ON LOONEY AND CARLY     They move through the crowd to BB and Moe. The band     keeps playing. Moe and Sam, with the help of Looney     and Carly, pull Tilley and BB apart.                             BB               Come on, let's go outside... let's               settle this in the parking lot.                             TILLEY               Oh, no! You're not gonna get               near my car... you're not gonna               kick in my headlights again...                      (beat)               ... What am I talking about? I               didn't even drive tonight. You               wanna duke it? Let's go.     They both head out the door. The other tin men follow,     and others who have been paying attention to this alter-     cation, also follow.                                                CUT TO:                                                            56.56   EXT. PARKING LOT - NIGHT                               56     Tilley and BB   come out of the club and start to look for     a place in the   lot where there's some room to fight. The     crowd eagerly   follows right on the heels of BB and Tilley.     BB and Tilley   both take off their sports jackets.                             BB                      (seeing the people                       gathering around)               What is this? What is this crowd               here? We're charging admission?                             TILLEY               Back away... give me some elbow               room.     BB and Tilley both take up  fighting stances and circle     one another looking to take  a shot. A police car pulls     into the lot. The sound of   the tires on the gravel     catches Moe's attention and  he sees it's the police.                              MOE                       (quietly to BB                        and Tilley)               Police!     Tilley and BB immediately drop their guards and lean     against a car. One cop gets out of the police car and     heads into the club, the other cop stays behind in the     car. No one knows quite what to do since the policeman     is so nearby.                               TILLEY                       (casually leaning                        against the car;                        to BB)               You're a lucky man... the police               showed.                             BB               We'll see who's the lucky one.     He picks up his coat and leaves with Moe.                                                  CUT TO:57   INT. SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE - TIGHT SHOT OF LARGE CAKE       57     with lit candles on it.    The cake reads "FAREWELL ADA."     ANGLE ON CAKE     as it passes row upon row of SECRETARIES typing in the     Social Security office.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                            57.57   CONTINUED:                                             57     All of a sudden everything goes black, the typewriters     stop and all we can see are the lit candles. We hear     a huge chorus from all of the Secretaries in the     Social Security office:                             SECRETARIES (O.S.)               Surprise!!!     Lights go on again, and we see a group of GIRLS gathered     around the cake placed on one of the desks. At the     center of the group is ADA, in her late twenties, and     very pregnant.                             ADA               I never expected this.   What a               lovely cake.                             GIRL #1               Blow out the candles then.     Ada blows out the candles, missing a couple, and getting     help from one of the other Girls.                             GIRL #2               Nine candles for nine months!     Everyone laughs.                             GIRL #3               We'll miss you, Ada... you'd               better bring that baby in to               visit us.                             GIRL #1               Register him for his social               security number.     A couple of girls hand around glasses of Coca-Cola. Nora     stands in the midst of the girls, pleased for Ada. She     yells out.                             NORA               I love ya, Ada, and if you're               smart you won't come back.     The cake is being passed out, and people are talking --     it has become somewhat of a party atmosphere. Nora turns     to her friend, NELLIE.                             NORA               I've just decided... I'm going               out with him.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             58.57   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              57                             NELLIE               You're kidding?                             NORA               I have to. I just want to know               what it's like to be with someone               else.     She sips her Coke.                              NORA               Because if what I've got with               Tilley is as good as it gets, I               just...                       (she shrugs her                        shoulders)               ... I gotta know.                             NELLIE               Well, how are you going to manage               it?                             NORA               Tilley doesn't get home until at               least two in the morning.                             NELLIE               I hope you know what you're doing               ... you speak to some guy at the               frozen food section for five               minutes, you could jeopardize               your whole marriage.                             NORA               Everything I've done in my life               has been safe and practical, and               where's that gotten me?                      (she lifts her paper                       cup)               Well, here's to who knows what.     They touch their cups.                                                   CUT TO:58   INT. BB'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM                             58     This is a two-story  apartment in a renovated building.     It has high ceilings  and exposed brick. It is sparsely-     furnished, but what  there is is decent-looking. We see     Nora and BB dancing  closely in the shadows of the dark-     ened room.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            59.58   CONTINUED:                                             58     A Frank Sinatra record is playing on the RECORD PLAYER     in the b.g. -- it is "IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE     MORNING." A bottle of wine is on the coffee table.     The remains of Chinese food in containers are alongside.                             NORA               I'm still nervous.                             BB               Well, I guess that's to be expected.               You want me to take you home?                             NORA               No, not right now.     They dance quietly for a moment.                             BB               Every time I listen to Sinatra, I               always remember when I used to               work in Atlantic City back in the               late 40's... you know, a busboy               job... Sinatra used to play at the               500 Club, and we used to take our               dates and say, 'Hey, you wanna               go and hear Sinatra?' Then we'd               just lean on the door of the club               in the alley and listen to the               music. I think the girls were               looking for something a bit more               uptown.     Nora laughs.                             NORA               I'd go with you and lean against               the door.     They dance for a bit and look at one another. He leans     toward her, holds her tight and kisses her. Then the     RECORD STICKS on the words "that's the time"... "that's     the time"... "that's the time"... BB slips off one of his     loafers, while still embracing Nora, kicks it so that it     hits the side of the record table. The RECORD SLIPS     a little and continues to play correctly.                             NORA                      (she looks at BB)               You've got a pretty good aim.                             BB               I sure do.                                                  CUT TO:                                                             60.59   INT. BB'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - NIGHT                         59     Nora is sleeping in the bed, BB slips a robe on, looks     at her and then goes down the stairs to the living room.     He takes a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket on     the back of a chair, and dials a number on the telephone.                                                   CUT TO:60   INT. PIMLICO HOTEL - BAR - NIGHT                              60     TELEPHONE RINGS at the bar, the BARMAN picks it up.                             BARMAN                      (into phone)               Yeah, he's here... just a minute.     The Barman calls over to Tilley who we see sitting at a     table with some of the other tin men.                             BARMAN               Hey, Tilley, somebody wants ya on               the phone.     Tilley gets up from the table and goes over to the phone.                             TILLEY               Yeah, this is Tilley...                                                   CUT TO:61   INT. BB'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM                                 61     BB on phone.                             BB               Hey, asshole... here's the               ultimate 'fuck you'... I just               poked your wife!                                                   CUT TO:62   INT. PIMLICO HOTEL - BAR                                62     Tilley on phone.                             TILLEY               What are you talking about?                                                   CUT TO:                                                                     61.63   INT. BB'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM                                         63     BB on phone.                             BB               She's in my bed right now with a               big smile on her face.                                                      CUT TO:64   INT. PIMLICO HOTEL - BAR                                        64     Tilley on phone.                             TILLEY               Well, that's just fine by me...               she's a pain in the ass... an               albatross around my neck. You're               welcome to her... keep her... and               may you both rot in hell!     Tilley slams the phone down.                                                      CUT TO:65   INT. LIVING ROOM                                                      65     BB puts the phone down -- looks puzzled.                                BB               Is this    a setup? That son of a               bitch...    I bet he set me up... I               thought    I got him, and he got me.               That son    of a bitch!                                                      CUT TO:66   EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                                   66     Tilley pulls up in his car in front of his house.          He     runs up the front steps.67   INT. TILLEY'S HOUSE                                                   67     He opens the door, flips on the lights and looks around.     He races upstairs and starts rifling through the closet     and drawers, pulling out Nora's clothes -- her dresses,     skirts, blouses, and coats -- and he opens the window     wide and throws them out. He screams as he tosses     underwear and the rest of her clothes.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                           62.67   CONTINUED:                                            67                             TILLEY               I'm a free man! I'm a free man!     He grabs Nora's shoes and throws them out onto the     street. Then he goes into the bathroom and piles all of     her toiletries in his arms, tosses them into a trash can.     Takes a suitcase from a shelf in the bedroom, opens it,     throws in the trash can. He clears out her underwear     drawers and empties them into the suitcase, closes the     suitcase and then throws that out of the window. He's     out of breath, exhausted and sweating. He goes down-     stairs into the kitchen to get himself a drink. He     sees a pair of Nora's slippers under the kitchen table,     he picks them up, opens the back door and tosses them     outside. Locks the door. He stands there as if a     motor is running inside of him. Walks out of the     kitchen.68   EXT. TILLEY'S HOUSE                                          68     He exits the house, gets into his car and drives away.                                                 CUT TO:69   INT. TILLEY'S CAR - NIGHT                                    69     Tilley is driving.    The same Sinatra record "IN THE WEE     SMALL HOURS OF THE   MORNING" is playing on the car RADIO.     Tilley does his now   familiar neck exercises to relieve     tension. He's hard    to read... a mixture of happiness     and sadness.                                                 CUT TO:70   EXT. DINER - NIGHT                                           70     THROUGH the window of the diner we see Tilley sitting     alone at a table drinking a cup of coffee. The Sinatra     record "IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE MORNING" plays     over this.                                                 CUT TO:71   EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                          71     Nora is getting out of her car in front of her house.     She starts to walk toward the house and stops as she     sees her clothing, shoes, etc. scattered all over the     lawn. She tries to take in the scene -- coats are lying     on hedges, underwear on the flower beds... she's shocked.                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                             63.71   CONTINUED:                                              71                             NORA                      (quietly)               Oh, my God!     She just stands there and tears run down her face.     LONG WIDE SHOT     of Nora's BACK TO the CAMERA, with all her possessions     strewn over the front garden of her house.                                                  CUT TO:72   EXT. BB'S FRONT DOOR - NIGHT                                  72     Nora is standing at the door with her suitcase in hand.     BB is at the door.                             NORA               He must have gone crazy... I               don't know what happened to him...               he must have found out I was with               you... I don't know... I don't know               what to do.     She starts to cry.   She goes to hug BB.                             NORA               Can I stay with you for a day or               two?     BB puts his arms around Nora.                              BB               Sure.                                                  CUT TO:73   INT. POOL HALL - LONG SHOT - DAY                              73     of a nearly empty pool hall. One guy plays alone in     the far corner of the room. Tilley comes down the     stairs of the pool hall and starts to walk toward the     back rooms -- CAMERA FOLLOWS him. He opens the door     and goes through.74   INT. GIBRALTAR ALUMINUM SIDING COMPANY                        74     CAMERA CONTINUES TO FOLLOW him INTO the offices of     Gibraltar Aluminum Siding Company.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             64.74   CONTINUED:                                              74     We PASS BY THREE GIRLS on telephones -- they are solicit-     ing jobs for the salesmen. CAMERA GOES FROM one Girl TO     the other.                             GIRL #1               Hello, this is Gibraltar Aluminum               Siding Company, we're taking a               survey...                             GIRL #2               ... Would you be interested in               our field representative giving you               a home demonstration?                             GIRL #3               ... Home demonstration. We will               have some factory representatives               in your area today as it happens.     A voice calls out.                               VOICE (O.S.)               Tilley!    Let me see you.     Tilley walks over to the coffee machine.                             TILLEY               Wing, give me a minute to get               a cup of coffee here.     Tilley passes Sam on the way to the coffee machine. Sam     is looking through the sports page of the newspaper,     along with Mouse and Gil.                             SAM               What about 'Super Highway' in the               seventh... it's paying 7 to 1.               Ran well in its last race.     Gil looking at the newspaper.                             GIL               'Super Highway'...                             TILLEY               Four in the fourth... twenty bucks.                               SAM               Who's that?                             TILLEY               I don't know... it just came to               me -- number four in the fourth.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             65.74   CONTINUED:    (2)                                             74                             SAM                      (looking at Tilley)               Number four in the fourth -- 'Rider's               Revenge' -- 60 to 1, never been in               the money. Nice pick, Tilley.               Why don't you just throw the               twenty dollars in the trash can               right now.                             TILLEY               'Rider's Revenge'... I like that               name. I've gotta go and see Wing.                      (a little pissed off)               Look, we can be scientific from               now to doomsday, but we gotta be               gutsy and go for the big one.     Tilley goes through the door into Wing's office.75   INT. WING'S OFFICE                                            75     His office    is equally messy and thrown together as     everything    else in the Gibraltar offices. As Tilley     closes the    door, his coffee, which is filled to the top     of his cup,    spills over the top and starts to burn his     hand.                                TILLEY               Ah!    Ah!     He jumps back, and puts his coffee down on a desk, and     wipes his hand on the back of his jacket.                             TILLEY               What's up, Wing?     Wing is sitting at his desk which is cluttered with     papers.                             WING               You lost a sale, Tilley. The               Hudsons' loan didn't go through.                             TILLEY               What do ya mean? They wouldn't               clear the loan?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             66.75   CONTINUED:                                              75                             WING               This Mr. Hudson's some guy. He's               got three outstanding shoplifting               charges, failure to pay child               support from a previous marriage               ... guy's overdue on his mortgage,               overdue on his car loan, and he               was fired from his last job for               misappropriation of funds.                             TILLEY               What's wrong with this world?               There are sick people out there!               Thievin' son of a bitch like that               takes up my time... cuts into               the amount of hours I have               available to deal with other               people interested in my wares!               There's no fucking sympathy for               the working man in this country.                             WING               They don't make our job easy,               Tilley.                             TILLEY                      (lamenting)               Wing, it was such a beautiful               thing... you shoulda seen how I               worked. Like a magician... 'this               job is free'! It was my best...               my best! There's no fucking               justice in this world... there               ain't no justice.     Tilley goes to pick up his coffee off the desk.                             WING               Did you see the paper?                               TILLEY               What section?                             WING               Take a look at this.     He hands the newspaper to Tilley.                             TILLEY                      (reading)               'Home Improvement Commission...               Hearings begin today..." Is this               McCarthyism? What are they gonna               see? If there are any communists?                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             67.75   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              75                             WING               Just cool down the scams, okay,               Tilley?     Tilley shrugs his shoulders.                                                   CUT TO:76   INT. CONVERTED TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - DAY                        76     An area has been set up for hearings to take place. This     seems to be a temporary headquarters until something sub-     stantial can be worked out. There are boxes and crates     all over. There's a long table with a number of commis-     sioners behind it, and a defense table a little way     across the room. MICROPHONES are being used, and the     sound BOOMS -- ECHOING off the walls. A small gallery of     people are watching the proceedings.     ANGLE ON JOHN MASTERS     who is presiding over the hearings. Even though he wears     a tie and a vest, he is nonetheless very sloppily dressed.     To his left and right are two other home improvement     commissioners.                              MASTERS               Now,  when you made your initial               sales  pitch, did you indicate               that  you would be giving free               storm  windows with the job?     ANGLE ON MURRAY BANKS     A typical aluminum sidings salesman, in his early 40's.     He leans into the microphone.                             MURRAY               Free storm windows?                             MASTERS               Yes. That you would provide a               free set of storm windows with               the sale of aluminum siding.                             MURRAY               No, sir. I wouldn't be able to               make any money if I was giving               away storm windows. My cost of a               storm window is somewhere like...                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             68.76   CONTINUED:                                              76                             MASTERS                      (cutting him off)               The point being that you had no               intention of giving away the storm               windows.     ANGLE ON BB AND MOE     Standing by the door at the back of the warehouse.                             MURRAY (O.S.)               The storm windows, as I can recall,               was not an issue. I mentioned               that I thought the storm windows               would cut down on their heating               bill, and that they would obviously               enhance the look of the house with               the aluminum siding work we were               going to do.                             MASTERS (O.S.)               So, you weren't dangling a free               set of storm windows as a come-on               to selling them the aluminum siding               job? Because it says here, and               I'm reading from a statement from               Mr. Tabaleri...                              MOE                      (to BB)               What do ya make of all this?                             BB               It's the future, Moe... it's the               future.                             MASTERS (O.S.)               'It was my understanding that the               storm windows were included in the               price of the sale.'                                                  CUT TO:77   EXT. TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - DAY                                  77     Moe and BB are walking away from the warehouse toward     BB's car... AWAY FROM CAMERA.                             MOE               Where do you think they're getting               this information from?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             69.77   CONTINUED:                                              77                             BB               I dunno... looks like any tin man               gets in that hot seat, then he's               had it.                             MOE               Then they can take your license               forever... it don't seem fair.     They walk by a Volkswagen "beetle" car that's parked in     front of BB's Cadillac. BB stops and looks at it.                             BB               Boy, I tell ya, I bet you could               sell a ton of these things.                              MOE               That?   Too silly-looking.     BB looks at the car for a few more seconds, then goes     to get into his car.                             BB               Ever see a dealership?                              MOE               No.                              BB               Interesting.     They get in the car and drive off.                                                   CUT TO:78   EXT. RACETRACK - ANGLE ON STARTING GATE - DAY                 78     as it bolts open and the horses charge out.                                                   CUT TO:79   INT. TURF CLUB AT RACE TRACK - ANGLE ON SAM AND TILLEY        79     - DAY     Sitting at a table. Sam is studying the racing form,     Tilley is studying the menu.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            70.79   CONTINUED:                                             79                             TILLEY               I keep racking my brain. I gotta               find a way to really get even with               this guy. It isn't enough to               wreck his car... even breaking               into his house and messing it up               or something, that don't have               enough impact. I mean, the man               poked my wife! I gotta come up               with something ingenious...               something ingenious.     Sam sees a WAITER approaching and indicates to Tilley to     get off the subject. Waiter arrives at their table.                             SAM                      (to Tilley)               So, what do ya think?                             TILLEY               I think I'll take some meatloaf.                             WAITER                      (writes on check)               Meatloaf.                             TILLEY               No, I think I'll have some fish.               No, no... fish doesn't fill you               up. Meatloaf.     He closes the menu.                             WAITER               So, it's meatloaf?                              SAM                      (to Tilley)               What do you think, 'Sally's pride'               in the second?                      (to Waiter)               Get me a Bloody Mary.                             WAITER                      (to Sam)               Anything other than the Bloody               Mary?                             TILLEY                      (to Sam)               What number is Sally's Pride?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                            71.79   CONTINUED:   (2)                                             79                              SAM               Six.                      (to Waiter)               No, I don't like to eat until               the third race.     Waiter walks off.                             TILLEY                      (putting his hand                       to his forehead)               Six... six... six... six.                      (beat)               I'm thinking one. Whose one?                              SAM               Mr. Motor.                             TILLEY               Then that's it, I'm going with one.                             SAM               Tilley, this is insane. You're               picking horses because you think               you're clairvoyant or something.                              TILLEY               Sam, I'm  not doing too well by               checking  the stats, so why not.               I put my  hand to my forehead, I               see a one  -- Mr. Motor in the               second...  twenty bucks.     They both look toward the track, the horses race to the     finish line. Number nine streaks across the finish line.                             SAM               Hallihan's Daughter.                             TILLEY                      (laughing)               I got it... I got it...     He picks up the racing form.                             TILLEY               Three to one... hundred and               sixty smackers.                      (laughs)               Hand to the forehead! Hand to               the forehead!                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                            72.79   CONTINUED:   (3)                                             79                             SAM               You're not exactly talking about               a long shot. Mr. Motor, for               instance, is coming off at               50 to 1.     Tilley taps his forehead, with his eyes closed.                             TILLEY               Third race, I see a six... I see               a three. I don't think the               verdict's in on that one yet.     Tilley stands up and is going through his money and race     tickets.                             TILLEY               Wing paid a hundred on number five,               he loses, I got hundred and               forty... next race I'll lay down               the bet.                      (beat)               What you taking in this   race?                             SAM               Thrifty's Delight -- number four --               20 bucks.                             TILLEY               You take Thrifty's Delight -- 20               bucks, I got 20 on Mr. Motor,               Wing's got a hundred on Night               Fire. What's the odds on Night               Fire?                                SAM               Twenty to one.                              TILLEY               I don't see Night Fire winning.               Fuck it, I'm not gonna even               place the bet... I just made a               hundred bucks.                             SAM               What are you, crazy?   What happens               if he wins?                             TILLEY               He's not gonna win... I feel it.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                               73.79   CONTINUED:   (4)                                                79     Tilley heads towards the betting booths.    Wing enters     near the booths, Tilley yells to him.                             TILLEY               Hey, Wing, we're sitting just off               the left of the entrance. I'm               gonna lay down your bet right               now. See you in a minute. You               lost the first race, in case you               don't know.                                                   CUT TO:80   EXT. STREET - DAY                                         80     BB's Cadillac is moving along the street.                                                   CUT TO:81   INT. BB'S CADILLAC - DAY                                  81     BB is behind the wheel, Moe is beside him in the     passenger seat.                             BB               I tell you something, she's               getting on my nerves.                                MOE               Who, Nora?                              BB               Yeah, yeah... who else is it               gonna be... 'who, Nora"!...               who else is there?                       (beat)               The whole idea of being with a               girl on consecutive nights is               new to me. It's one thing when               they're with you for a night,               but when they live with ya, it's               stretching the point. They got               a lot of things they bring with               them... you go to the bathroom               you see 'things' you never saw               before.                             MOE               So, what's the todo?                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             74.81   CONTINUED:                                              81                             BB               Well, they move your stuff around               and it's not where it used to               be... I'm not used to that.                             MOE               You mean all this time you've               never lived with a girl?                             BB               What?! Did we just meet? How               long we been partners? No, I've               never lived with a girl!                             MOE               Boy, oh boy! Did you wake up on               the wrong side of the bed today?                             BB               Yes, I did. I came in  last night,               she was sleeping on my side of               the bed. In my life I  never got               out of bed on the left side...               in my life, never from the left.                      (beat; he looks                       out of the car                       window)               I got close once up in the               Catskills. I met this  girl,               Dorian. For a week we  were               together, but it wasn't the               same because she always went to               her room to change and do all               that stuff. She didn't  have               things in my room.     BB gives a big sigh.                             BB               All this 'cos I'm trying to get               even with some guy.                      (beat)               You know what? I think I got to               see her and put an end to this.                                                   CUT TO:82   INT. SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE - DAY                             82     We see hundreds of secretaries typing away, and clerks     sitting at desks. BB walks into the office, peeking his     head around the corner, feeling a little uncomfortable.     He starts to walk around trying to find Nora out of all     the secretaries and clerks.                                                (CONTINUED)                                                                75.82   CONTINUED:                                                 82     ANGLE ON NELLIE     Nora's friend. She looks up from the typewriter and sees     BB. In his thick overcoat, huddled up, he seems a little     lost, and it's obvious that he's looking for someone.                             NELLIE                      (calling across                       to Nora at the                       next desk)               Is that him?                               NORA                        (looks up and and                         BB wandering around)               Yes.                        (she smiles                         and yells)               Bill!     BB turns towards Nora. Nora waves to him, happily, with     a twinkle in her eye. BB feels conspicuous -- people     are looking at him. He gives a little wave.                               BB                        (softly)               Yeah.                                                      CUT TO:83   INT. SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE - COFFEE AREA                        83     Nora gives BB a small kiss.                             NORA               I'm glad you stopped by.     This               is a real surprise.                             BB               Listen, I got a problem.                               NORA               Oh.    How can I help?                              BB               Um... er...                      (realizing    that                       she didn't                       quite get    the                       point)               Well, the problem    is... like...               is like... eh, you    know... you're               the problem.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                             76.83   CONTINUED:                                              83                             NORA                      (quietly, obviously                       really taken                       with him)               Really. How so?                             BB               There's things that are bothering               me.                             NORA               Like what?                             BB               You know... things.                             NORA               Things?                             BB               You know, like things that come               up... stuff... like... you know,               annoyances.                             NORA               Annoyances?                             BB               Hard to explain... very hard.                             NORA               Well, try.                             BB               As an example... I came home               last night, I get undressed, and               I realize you're sleeping on my               side of the bed. I've always               slept on that side... it's               something I've always done.                             NORA               Then why didn't you just nudge               me a bit and tell me to go and               sleep on the other side?                             BB               I didn't want to wake you up...               I thought you might think it was               kind of stupid or something.                             NORA               Well, that's easily changed.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             77.83   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              83                             BB               But there are other things...               bigger things. But I realize               just talking about it, they all               sound petty and silly.                             NORA               Listen, if you think all of this               is going too fast, maybe I should               move out. Is that what you want,               Bill?     BB looks around, very uncomfortable, and he shrugs.                             NORA               I really care for you, but if               you think it's best.                      (beat)               I don't want to make you unhappy.     After a long beat.                             BB               I don't think we've got to take               drastic action.     Nora smiles.                             BB               Thought I'd come by and get things               off my chest... talk it out.                      (beat)               Listen, I'm going over to Pimlico...               catch the seventh race... wanna               come?                             NORA               I can't get away from work.                             BB               I know.     He goes to walk away, then turns back and gives her a     quick kiss. He turns and walks away. Nora watches him     as he walks by the rows and rows of secretaries and     clerks.                                                   CUT TO:84   INT. TURF CLUB AT RACETRACK - CLOSEUP OF TILLEY - DAY         84     watching a race.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            78.84   CONTINUED:                                             84                             TILLEY                      (very excited and                       animated)               We're taking a thirty-to-one               shot... number eight... come on               number eight... 'Streamers...'               come on, you sucker!                                                 CUT TO:85   EXT. RACETRACK - DAY                                         85     We see horse number eight in the lead, coming around the     home stretch.                                                 CUT TO:86   EXT. GRANDSTANDS - DAY                                       86     Moe and BB are watching the race.                                                 CUT TO:87   INT. TURF CLUB - ANGLE ON TILLEY, SAM AND WING - DAY         87     Tilley is still yelling for his horse, Sam and Wing     watch quietly.                             TILLEY               Thirty-to-one... a hundred bucks               on you, number eight. There's a guy               up here who put a hundred on ya.               Come on... come on... come on,               baby... come on, baby!88   EXT. RACETRACK - FINISH LINE - DAY                           88     Another horse -- number 14 -- races past the winning     post.                                                 CUT TO:89   INT. TURF CLUB - ANGLE ON SAM, TILLEY AND WING - DAY         89                              TILLEY               Nooooooo!                                                 (CONTINUED)                                                             79.89   CONTINUED:                                              89     Wing smiles.                             WING                      (quietly)               I've got myself a winner.     Tilley turns to look at Wing. Sam turns towards Tilley     looking concerned. We see the totals flashed on the     board indicating that the winning horse pays $16.30.                                                   CUT TO:90   EXT. GRANDSTAND - ANGLE ON MOE AND BB - DAY             90                             BB                      (smiling)               Way to go... Southern Belle.     Moe tears up his ticket.                             BB               Should have bet with me, Moe.                                                   CUT TO:91   INT. TURF CLUB - ANGLE ON WING, SAM AND TILLEY - DAY          91                             WING                      (smiles)               Very nice!                             TILLEY               That was your horse, Wing?                             WING               Yeah... Southern Belle. You               oughta know, you bet her for me.                                TILLEY               Of course.     Wing goes to look at form.                             WING                      (to Tilley)               I'm gonna go with the favorite               in this one -- Fordnee Lane.                             (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             80.91   CONTINUED:                                              91                              WING   (CONT'D)               I tell you what, I    won sixteen               plus on the other    race, from               those winnings you    can bet me               eight hundred.                                TILLEY               Eight hundred?                             WING               Yeah... I wanna bet eight hundred               on Fordnee Lane.                             TILLEY                      (feeling uncom-                       fortable)               Fordnee lane -- eight hundred.     Sam is looking at Tilley knowing that he's really in a     jam.                                TILLEY               Eight hundred.                              WING                       (calling to Waiter)               Waiter, can you get me a cup of               coffee?     Tilley looks over to Sam, with panic on his face.    Wing     turns back to Tilley and Sam.                             WING               You guys want anything else?                             TILLEY                      (nods "no")               Er... hum... er... hey, Wing...               I tell you, I got a problem.                                WING               What is it?                             TILLEY               It's the eight hundred on Fordnee               Lane. I haven't got it.                             WING               No, you got it wrong. You take               it from the sixteen plus I won...               the eight hundred.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            81.91   CONTINUED:   (2)                                             91                             TILLEY               I haven't got the winnings.                              WING                      (angry)               What do ya mean, you don't have               my winnings?                             TILLEY               Wing, it was the craziest thing...               I didn't want to mention it earlier               because it was so nuts... it was               the craziest thing.                             WING               What?                             TILLEY               I don't know how to even tell you               this without being embarrassed for               myself. It was an accident...               it's like one of those things out               of the blue... it's crazy... you               can't explain it... it happens.                             WING                      (to Sam)               Sam, what is he talking about?                             SAM                      (quietly)               He had an accident of some sort.                             TILLEY               It happens... I don't know how...               I don't know how to explain. It's               too crazy, I swear to God, Wing.                             WING               Wait a minute... you're telling               me that I didn't win the last race?                              TILLEY               You won, Wing... you won, it's just               that you're not getting any money...               it was a fluke. I swear, I don't               know how it could have happened.               A ten-year-old couldn't have made               the mistake I made... I don't               know, I swear.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             82.91   CONTINUED:   (3)                                              91                             WING                      (to Sam)               What the fuck is he talking about?                             TILLEY               If there was some way I could               make it up, believe me, I would,               because you know where I stand.     There's a beat while Wing just looks at Tilley.                             TILLEY               You know where I stand, Wing. If               there was any way, believe me, I'd               make it up. I'd give you thirty               percent of what you didn't get               because it was a fluke... I'm               willing to make some kind of               retribution.                             WING               You just pocketed the God damned               money... you just took my money               and slipped it into your God               damned pocket, didn't you?                             TILLEY               No. I'd split fifty-fifty with               you, that's how badly I feel               under the circumstances.                             WING               You get this straight, you son               of a bitch, you owe me sixteen               plus... I want sixteen plus.                             TILLEY               Am I trying to shirk my               responsibility? That's not the               way I see it... it was a fluke,               a crazy thing that happened, but               I stand behind my honor on this...               put it on my tab.                              WING                       (to Sam)               What  the hell is wrong with him?               What  the hell is wrong with him?               He's  stealing money from me...               what  the hell is wrong with him?               Can  you tell me?                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             83.91   CONTINUED:   (4)                                              91                             SAM               I don't know the whole story.                              WING               You work with him, Sam... for               Christ sake...     Wing is totally frustrated.                             TILLEY               What do you mean, wrong? It was               a fluke... it was an accident.               I don't know what the hell went               wrong. It was a one-in-a-million               thing that happened to me when I               went to place that bet. I'm               trying to do what I can.                              WING                       (shaking his head)               Tilley, what the hell happened               to you?                                                   CUT TO:92   EXT. RACETRACK - LATE AFTERNOON                               92     Tilley and Sam are leaving the racetrack and walking to     Tilley's Cadillac.                             SAM               Why didn't you at least give him               the six hundred that you pocketed               from the six races he lost?                             TILLEY               Fuck him! It's on my tab. At               least I've got six hundred in my               pocket right now. It's like               another loan. Sam, you got to               think about today. Today, I               got six hundred bucks in my               pocket. You know what I'm saying?                             SAM               Yeah.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              84.92   CONTINUED:                                               92                             TILLEY               It's like some guy trying to sell               me life insurance. You think I'm               gonna take some money out of my               pocket to give to some jerk so               that somebody can take it when               I'm dead? No, Sam, you gotta               live for today. I'm gonna live               as good as I can every day. You               know what I'm saying?     As Sam and Tilley walk towards Tilley's Cadillac, BB and     Moe are walking to BB's Cadillac parked close to Tilley's     car. They see each other.                             TILLEY                      (yelling to BB)               Hey, Mr. Marengay went to the               track!                             BB               Did you bother to bet, or did               you just hand your money to the               tellers?                             TILLEY                      (laughing)               The sarcasm's killing me.                      (beat)               I thought you were looking to               get even.                             BB               Who's your accountant, mister,               'cos I think you're down in the               debit side.                             TILLEY               Who's stuck with my wife.   You or               me?     He laughs.                             BB               You want me to believe that you               were setting me up with your               wife as some kind of decoy?                             TILLEY               Decoy is the word!     There's a long beat as the two guys eye one another.     Then, almost in a soft apologetic manner, BB speaks.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            85.92   CONTINUED:   (2)                                             92                             BB               Okay then, you win.     BB gets into his car.                                TILLEY               I win?                      (to Sam)               That guy would never let me win.               He must be setting me up. The               son of a bitch is setting me up,               Sam.                             SAM               For crying out loud, why don't               you just leave it at that... you               win.                              TILLEY               I couldn't have won.                      (beat)               I smell a rat.     BB's car pulls away.    Tilley and Sam watch him go.                                                  CUT TO:93   INT. BB'S CADILLAC - DAY                               93     BB's driving and Moe is in the passenger seat.                             MOE               BB, I think you're getting a               little humility in your blood.                             BB               If getting Nora is part of losing,               Thank God I didn't win.                                                  CUT TO:94   EXT. OLD TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - DAY                             94     A temporary sign is posted on the door and a painter     is filling in the name -- "HOME IMPROVEMENT COMMISSION."                                                  CUT TO:                                                            86.95   INT. TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - OFFICE - DAY                        95     This is the office of the Home Improvement Commission.     Desks, chairs and filing cabinets are all over the place     (not yet organized) and boxes and cartons are stacked     against a wall. ANGLE ON John Masters walking with a     file under his arm. He walks across the half-empty     warehouse where workers are renovating the space. He     approaches a table where Stanley is seated with his     feet up, nursing a hot cup of coffee. Masters throws a     file down on the table.                             MASTERS               This is good, Stan... nice work.     Stanley nods.                             MASTERS               Fossey says it should go down               very well with the city council.               Could help us appropriate more               funds. This goes a long way               to establish our credibility in               what we're trying to do.     We hear a LOUD, SAWING noise and HAMMERING echoing     through the warehouse throughout this scene.                             STANLEY               There's a lot more where this               came from.                             MASTERS               You know what I think you should               do now. Why don't you pull some               files... some files that were               completed, others that went               unsold, and I'll have somebody               run it down, talk to the customers               and get some statements.                             STANLEY               Pulling files is another thing.               That might not be easy.                             MASTERS               To sneak a few here and there               when you can.                             STANLEY               I'll see.                             MASTERS               I think that might be good.                                                  CUT TO:                                                            87.96   EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                          96     BB's Cadillac is parked in front of a house.                             MOE (O.S.)               What do you think if we made this               one of our factory showcase houses?                              MAN (O.S.)               What's that?                             BB (O.S.)               It's a good location... get a               lot of traffic on this street.                                                  CUT TO:97   INT. HOUSE - NIGHT                                           97     BB and Moe are selling to MR. and MRS. SHUBNER, a young     couple. The TELEVISION is ON in the background.                             SHUBNER (MAN)               What does that mean, Mr. Gable?                             MOE               You know what I do, Alan? I               pick certain houses that are               strategically located, we put               up the aluminum siding, and for               every referral, for every person               who sees this quality job that               we do... sees how beautiful it               is... I give you two hundred               dollars.                             SHUBNER               Two hundred dollars?                             MOE               That's right. God knows how many               homes we could sell by people               passing this house. It's               perfectly placed for that.                      (taking out his                       wallet)               Alan, this is how confident I               feel that this house will drum               up business for me.     He peels off four hundred dollars and hands the money to     Shubner.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                            88.97   CONTINUED:                                             97                             MOE               Four hundred dollars... I'm               giving you commission on two house               referrals before I put a panel on               the side of your house... that's               how confident I feel.                             SHUBNER               You think that many people are               going to...                             MOE                      (interrupting                       Shubner)               I'm certain of it. I'm not giving               away four hundred dollars for my               health... I'm a businessman, and               I'm a good businessman. This is               good business for me. I'm giving               it away 'cos I believe in this               house, believe that it will refer               me to other jobs which means money               in my pocket, which means money in               your pocket.                             SHUBNER               You got a deal, Mr. Gable.     BB smiles.   Suddenly Moe winces in pain.                             SHUBNER               Something wrong, sir?     Moe collapses to the floor.                                                  CUT TO:98   INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR                                       98     Moe is being wheeled on a gurney by a couple of nursing     attendants. BB walks alongside.                             BB               I finally got hold of May... she               was over your sister's.                             MOE                      (breathing heavily)               Oh, I forgot.                             BB               She'll be down here shortly.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                                89.98   CONTINUED:                                                 98                             MOE               BB, I don't have any insurance.               If I die, May's got nothing...               nothing... nothing for Leonard.               The only money I've got is in               my pocket. That's all I got.                             BB               Just take it easy, Moe... rest.                                MOE               Did they sign?     Did they sign?                             BB               Don't worry about it now.                             MOE               Goddamn it, BB! Did you sign               them?                             BB               Don't worry... don't worry.     I'll               take care of it tomorrow.                             MOE               Goddamn, my chest hurts.                      (beat)               I always taught you, BB, never               walk out of a place without a               signed contract. Somebody's               word ain't spit.                             BB               They'll sign, Moe.    Don't worry,               they'll sign.     They round the bend of the corridor.                                                      CUT TO:99   INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY                                            99     BB is on a public phone to Nora.     We never see Nora, we     just hear her voice.                             BB               This is kind of   new to me, but I               thought I better   call and tell               you I'm gonna be   late... maybe               two or three. I    never had               anyone there to   call before,               but I thought I   should call,               you know.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                             90.99    CONTINUED:                                             99                             NORA (V.O.)                Why? Do you think you have some                obligation?                              BB                I dunno... I thought I'd better                call, that's all.                              NORA (V.O.)                Well, I'm glad you did.                              BB                I don't know what's gonna happen                to Moe.                              NORA (V.O.)                Well, I hope he's okay.                       (beat)                I'll see you when you get in.      She gives BB a kiss on the phone.                                BB                         (looks at the                          receiver)                Yeah.      He hangs up the phone and walks to a room opposite. He      opens the door and stands in the doorway looking at Moe      who is lying beneath an oxygen tent.                                                   CUT TO:100   INT. DINER - DAY                                             100      Tilley, Sam, Mouse and Gil are sitting in a booth having      just finished breakfast.                               SAM                Let me see what the damage is.                       (he reaches for the                        bill, hums as he                        reads)                Babum... babum... babum... babum...      He hands the bill to Mouse.                              SAM                Mouse, figure it out, will ya?                              GIL                Why don't we just split it five                ways?                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              91.100   CONTINUED:                                              100                              TILLEY                No way! I didn't eat anything,                so why should I pay for Mouse...                he eats like an animal.                              SAM                Well, sometimes you'll eat more                than he does, and it'll even out.                              TILLEY                No way! He's a pig! He always                eats more than anyone else. Why                should I pay for his food?                              MOUSE                What're you talking about?                Today I happened to have eggs and                flapjacks, some cantalope, some                juice and then another juice.                              TILLEY                Like an animal! Like an animal!                              MOUSE                But yesterday, what did I have?                              TILLEY                What did he have?                       (turning to Sam)                Sam, what did he have?                              SAM                Let me get out my notebook. How                the fuck do I know what he had?                              TILLEY                Well I don't remember what he                had. Gil, what did he have?                              GIL                Pancakes?                              MOUSE                No.      Through the diner window we see Nora's car pull up and      park outside the diner.                              TILLEY                       (to Mouse)                Then what did you have?                              MOUSE                Guess.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              92.100   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              100                              TILLEY                What is this, a quiz show? We                don't know what you had. What                did you have?                              MOUSE                I had very little.                              TILLEY                Very little!! You eat like an                animal! It couldn't have been                very little.                              MOUSE                I didn't have that much... doesn't                anybody remember?                              SAM                We don't remember, I don't know                why.                              GLI                I could have sworn he had pancakes.                              TILLEY                He said he didn't have pancakes.                              MOUSE                I'll give you a clue... maple                syrup was used.                              TILLEY                I don't give a shit.                                SAM                French toast.      There's a KNOCK at the window of the diner.                                TILLEY                French toast?    He had more than                French toast.                              MOUSE                Yes, but not a lot more.      We hear further RAPPING on the window.                              TILLEY                I don't give a damn... it's split                five ways.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              93.100   CONTINUED:   (3)                                              100                              GIL                       (to Tilley)                Your wife's knocking on the                window here.      Tilley looks to the window, acknowledges Nora and points      to the far end of the diner, she nods and starts walking      across the front of the diner to the door.101   INT. DINER - DAY                                              101      Nora and Tilley are sitting alone at a table drinking      coffee.                              TILLEY                Was not long ago you never would                have seen a woman in here.                              NORA                You don't have to tell me. How                many nights did you drop me off                and come up here all the time?                              TILLEY                I know. I was just trying to                be congenial... you know, start                a conversation off, on a nice                kind of light level, you know.                So, what's the scoop, Nora?                              NORA                Well you know, I think we really                should get divorced.                               TILLEY                Makes sense.   You want some more                coffee?                              NORA                Yeah, I'll have some.                              TILLEY                       (shouting to                        waitress)                Florence, some coffee here.                       (to Nora)                It's for the best.                       (beat)                You know, we were kind of fooling                ourselves, weren't we?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              94.101   CONTINUED:                                              101                              NORA                Yes, it went wrong somewhere                along the line -- I don't know                where though.                              TILLEY                Yes, something went wrong... I                don't know.      Florence walks over and pours coffee for Tilley and Nora,      then walks away.                              TILLEY                So you like this guy?                              NORA                Yeah, I like him.                              TILLEY                All in all I guess it'll all work                out for the best.                              NORA                I'm glad you feel that way.                              TILLEY                Yeah, can you figure it out? A                guy bangs into my car, thinks I                did him in, tries to get even with                me by stealing my wife, you two                people fall in love... can you                figure that out?                              NORA                What?                              TILLEY                You telling me you didn't know                this was the guy?                              NORA                This was that guy?                              TILLEY                Yeah, I told you I ran into                another tin man.                              NORA                He didn't tell me he was a tin                man... he told me he sold baby                pictures.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              95.101   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              101                              TILLEY                It's your life. All I know is                this guy has a bent weather vane.                               NORA                Oh, God!   Not another tin man.                                                    CUT TO:102   INT. SUPERIOR ALUMINUM SIDING COMPANY OFFICE - DAY            102      We see and hear the Girls working the telephones, as      before.                              GIRL #1                Good afternoon, this is Superior                Aluminum Siding. We're going to                have...                              GIRL #2                ... a salesman in your area                today...      BB is sitting in a chair across from Looney.                              LOONEY                Beeb, why don't you let Stanley                work with you. I'm off to Florida                at the end of the week for some                sun and fun. Let Stanley work                with you, and when I get back,                we'll see how Moe's doing.                              BB                I don't know. To be honest with                you, I think I'd rather work alone                ... he's too green. Is he a pain                in the ass?                              LOONEY                No. He don't talk much; he's a                good listener, so he can't really                get on your nerves. He's a lousy                pool player and he can't play                cards for shit, but...                              BB                       (interrupting)                So what good is he?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                  96.102   CONTINUED:                                                  102                              LOONEY                Studious type... takes a lot of                notes.                              BB                       (smiles)                If this is a sales pitch, I think                you got to work a little harder                'cos I don't think you've got                good product.                                                     CUT TO:103   EXT. INDUSTRIAL WAREHOUSE - ANGLE ON BB - DAY                     103      As he comes out of the Superior Aluminum building and      walks towards his car. We see Nora driving her Chevy in      front of BB's car. She drives her car forward, and then      reverses it hard into BB's Cadillac. He runs over to      the driver's side of Nora's Chevy.                              BB                What are you, crazy?!      Nora drives the car forward and then backwards again      almost running BB down. She rolls down the window (auto-      matically) so that she can yell.                              NORA                You're a goddamn tin man!      Then she backs the car up.      BB tries to go around the      front of the car.                                 BB                Wait a minute!     Wait a minute!      Nora starts to move the car towards him. He moves away,      and her car smashes into the side of his car. She      presses the button to the window and rolls it down      just a shade.                              NORA                You wanted to win me just to                get even with my husband...                screw you!      She rolls up the window, floors the car, and drives      away.                                                     (CONTINUED)                                                              97.103   CONTINUED:                                              103      ANGLE ON LOONEY      as he walks out of the building.   He sees BB's car all      smashed up.                               LOONEY                       (to BB)                I think you ought to get rid of                this car... it's bad luck.      Nora's CAR SCREECHES around the corner.                              LOONEY                Is that the guy again?                              BB                No, it's his wife.                              LOONEY                There's some kind of sickness                that runs in that family.                                                    CUT TO:104   INT. POOL HALL - TIGHT SHOT OF MOUSE - DAY                    104      He's singing "The Banana Boat Song."                              MOUSE                'Day-O! da,da,da,da,day... daylight                come and he wanna go home...'      ANGLE ON TILLEY AND GIL      at a table playing pool. Mouse is standing next to his      trusted JUKEBOX, belting out his favorite Harry Belafonte      song. In b.g.:                              TILLEY                       (to Gil)                Why can't they get rid of that                fucking record? It's not a hit                anymore... nobody cares about                this song anymore... it's history.      Mouse continue singing in the background.                               MOUSE                'Day-O!   da,da,da,da,day...'                              GIL                We can always smash the juke box,                or break in and steal the record.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             98.104   CONTINUED:                                             104                              TILLEY                       (lining up a shot)                He's getting on my nerves. The                guy eats like an animal, and                sings like an asshole.                              GIL                Maybe it's me, but I'm beginning                to like it.      Tilley hits the ball and sinks the shot.                              TILLEY                       (happily)                Yes, sir... yes, sir!      ANGLE ON SAM      He comes out of the back room into the pool hall, and      walks over to the table where Tilley and Gil are playing      pool. He drops an open envelope onto the pool table.                              SAM                       (to Tilley)                Take a look at this crap.                             TILLEY                IRS? They're not gonna leave me                alone!                              SAM                Home Improvement Commission.      With those words there's a genuine moment of concern from      all of the tin men -- even Mouse stops singing. Tilley      picks up the envelope and pulls out the letter.                              TILLEY                We've got to appear?                              SAM                I think that's the gist of what                they're saying.      Gil looks over Tilley's shoulder at the letter.    Mouse      comes over.                               MOUSE                Holy Christ!                              TILLEY                Can't we just ignore it? How do                they know we got the letter.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            99.104   CONTINUED:   (2)                                            104                              SAM                It's certified.                              TILLEY                What do you think, Sam?                              SAM                I dunno... I don't know what                they've got.                              TILLEY                Why is this happening? Am I                paranoid or something? I mean,                why is this happening? The                government is after me... the                state is after me... Mr. Marengay                ... somebody is always after me.                What the hell's going on here?                I'm just this guy. What's the                big deal? They can't get along                without me? The government can't                operate unless they've got Tilley's                money... the Commission's after                my job! This shit's driving me                insane! All the lying, thieving,                stealing corporations in this                world, and the IRS takes the                time to come for me? There's                billions of dollars out there                but they've got to come and get                Tilley's four thousand dollars!                       (turning to Mouse)                Turn off the fucking Belafonte                song now, or I'm gonna break the                goddamn machine!!                                                  CUT TO:105   INT. CORRAL CLUB - NIGHT                              105      BB is sitting at the bar, getting drunk. Stanley sits      next to him. A girl approaches (RUTHIE).                              RUTHIE                Come on, Beeb, let's dance.                              BB                Not tonight, Ruthie, my dancing                shoes are on holiday.                                 RUTHIE                You sure?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                              100.105   CONTINUED:                                              105                              BB                I'm more than sure.      Ruthie moves off. BB takes a shot of whiskey and downs      it, and then drinks some beer.                              STANLEY                Who was the best you ever saw?                              BB                Best I ever saw?   Best tin man                I ever saw?      He holds up his shot glass towards the bartender, and      the bartender fills it up.                              BB                Harry Apel... Dandy Flynn... those                guys had good lines, but they                burned themselves out too fast.                Best? Moe's the best... the best                there ever was. If he's in the                door, he's got a sale. The best                closer ever.                              STANLEY                What's some of the hustles he                used to pull?      BB downs another shot glass of whisky.                              BB                God damn Nora... God damn Nora!                I'm trying to adjust... I'm                putting up with things I never                put up with in my life. I mean,                give me a break... give me a                break, woman.      Stanely wants to get back to the topic of best tin man.                              STANLEY                       (making light)                So, what are a couple of things                you and Moe have done?                              BB                       (still on the                        subject of Nora)                It was getting to be real pleasant                ... figure that.                       (long beat)                More than pleasant. To hell with                her!                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                              101.105   CONTINUED:   (2)                                            105                              STANLEY                How come Moe's so good?   Why do                you think, huh?                              BB                Great man, Moe. Great man.      BB holds out his glass again to the bartender who refills      it. BB downs the shot and drinks more beer.                              BB                I don't know why they're so                irrational... chicks. I dunno.                I think it's because air gets                inside 'em.                       (beat)                She probably went back home, to                her husband.                       (looks at his watch)                Eleven-thirty... he wouldn't be                home yet.                       (takes out a $10 bill                        from his wallet)                This outght to cover it, Stanley.      He puts the $10 bill down on the bar and walks out of the      club.                                                    CUT TO:106   EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                         106      Sam's Cadillac moving along a row of houses.                                                    CUT TO:107   INT. CADILLAC - NIGHT                                       107      Sam is driving the car, Tilley is in the passenger seat,      very drunk.                              TILLEY                They got no right. You know what                I'm saying, Sam? They've got no                right.      Tilley takes a drink from a pint of whisky he has open.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                      102.107   CONTINUED:                                                      107                                SAM                  They've got nothing concrete                  against us, because if it's just                  hearsay stuff, it's neither here                  nor there.                                TILLEY                         (looking around)                  Where's my car? What happened                  to my car?                                SAM                  It's better I drop you off.                                TILLEY                  Yeah, it's better.                                                            CUT TO:108   INT. TILLEY'S BATHROOM - NIGHT                                        108      Tilley is    in the    bathroom washing his    face in the sink,      trying to    sober    up. He lifts his head     out of the water      and bangs    it on    the faucet. He grabs     his head in pain      and then    slides    down the tiled wall to    the floor.                                                            CUT TO:109   EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                                   109      BB's Cadillac pulls up in front of Tilley's house. We      see BB looking up and down the street, with his head out      of the car window. He's very drunk.                                    BB                  He ain't here.      He gets out of the car and looks around the street some      more. He stumbles up to a couple of parked cars, look-      ing for Nora's car. He falls into some trash cans in      front of the house.                                                            CUT TO:110   INT. TILLEY'S HOUSE - BATHROOM - NIGHT                                110      Tilley    is lying on the floor. His eyes open at the sound      of the    TRASH CANS FALLING. He struggles to his feet and      walks    through the bedroom. We hear the sound of MORE      TRASH    CANS RATTLING.                                                            (CONTINUED)                                                                103.110     CONTINUED:                                              110        Tilley goes to the bedroom window and looks out. He        sees BB struggling to his feet, surrounded by trash        cans and garbage.                                   TILLEY                  I knew I    could smell a rat! The                  son of a    bitch is coming for me...                  the son    of a bitch never wants to                  leave me    alone!        Tilley walks over to the night table, opens the drawer        and pulls out a revolver.                                                      CUT TO:111     EXT. STREET - NIGHT                                           111        BB making his way up the front stairs to Tilley's house.                                                      CUT TO:112     INT. TILLEY'S HOUSE - NIGHT                                   112        Tilley makes his way down the stairs, and creeps to the        front door.                                  TILLEY                           (quietly)                  You   want to rob my God damn house?                  I'm   gonna make it easy for you.                           (unlocks the door                            and leaves it                            ajar)                  Come   and rob Tilley... come on...                  take   everything he's got.                                                      CUT TO:113     EXT. FRONT DOOR OF TILLEY'S HOUSE - NIGHT                     113        BB knocks on the door. The door swings open.      He waits        a moment, unsure as to what to do.                                                      CUT TO:11436   INT. TILLEY'S HOUSE - OTHER SIDE OF FRONT DOOR                114        Tilley stands behind the door with the gun, waiting.     BB        steps inside the house.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              104.114   CONTINUED:                                              114                              BB                Hel...      Before he can finish the word "Hello," Tilley hits him      hard in the head with the butt of the gun. BB falls to      the ground unconscious.                                                    CUT TO:115   INT. TILLY'S HOUSE                                            115      BLACK SCREEN. Then a light goes on, and we see the in-      side of a refrigerator. PULL BACK to reveal Tilley at      the refrigerator in the kitchen of his home. He is      putting eggs and rotten tomatoes from the refrigerator      into a bowl. He looks at a piece of celery, but it's      so wilted and has no strength for his purpose that he      throws it down. He picks up other vegetables, but      settles for the eggs and tomatoes. He closes the re-      frigerator door and makes his way to the living room.      We see BB lying on the floor, unconscious. Tilley sits      down across from him with the bowl in his lap... he      watches BB. BB starts to come to.                               TILLEY                       (to BB)                You're a sick man! You smash my                car, you steal my wife, and now                you come to rob me! You're one                demented human being.      BB tries to focus on Tilley.                              TILLEY                I'm going to call the police and                send you to jail... but I'm going                to humiliate you first.      Tilley throws an egg at BB and hits him in the head.     BB      is groggy and confused and still drunk.                              BB                What're you doing?                              TILLEY                What do ya want to break into                my house for? This ain't the                fucking Rockefeller mansion!                There ain't thirty-eight                television sets here.                              (MORE)                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              105.115   CONTINUED:                                              115                              TILLEY (CONT'D)                They ain't saying 'Nelson, I think                we've had a break-in... count the                sets to see how many we've got                left.' There ain't tons of jewelry                hanging out of drawers... it ain't                like I don't know which watch to                put on, I got so many. I'm a                working man, trying to make an                honest living. What fucking                morality you got, asshole?!!      Tilley throws another egg at BB and hits him in the head      again. Egg yolk drips down BB's face. He tries to get      off the floor, but can't.                              BB                You're the craziest human being                on the face of this earth!      Tilley, getting ready with another egg.                              TILLEY                What else do you want from me?                Huh? What else?! I've got enough                problems with the I.R.S. busting                my balls and the Home Improvement                Commission bullshit to contend                with. I don't need aggravation                from you.                               BB                        (still trying to get                         up; wiping his face)                Nobody does this to me and lives!                Nobody!                              TILLEY                       (throws an egg)                How do ya like your eggs? Over                easy?                       (picks up a tomato)                Side of tomatoes?      He throws a tomato.                              BB                You're going to rue the day you                ran into my car. This ain't the                end... this is just the beginning.      Tilley throws another egg.                                                    CUT TO:                                                             106.116   INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT                                116      A POLICE OFFICER is interrogating Tilley behind the main      desk of the police station. There's a lot of activity      during this interaction... people coming and going.                              TILLEY                A guy breaks into my house and I'm                being charged with assault? It                makes no sense...                              POLICE OFFICER                       (with pencil and paper)                Let's get it down right. The guy                broke into your house, you hit him                in the head with a gun, went to                the refrigerator, took out eggs                and tomatoes and threw them at                him.                              TILLEY                I was defending myself... he was                stealing from me.                              POLICE OFFICER                It doesn't sound like defense to                me.                              TILLEY                I wanted to humiliate the guy.                Here I am, out busting my ass all                day making a decent living, I come                home, and some schmuck is trying                to steal from me.                              POLICE OFFICER                So you hit him with a gun, and                pelted him with eggs and tomatoes?                              TILLEY                If I had some soup I would have                thrown soup at him... is there                any law you can't throw eggs?                              POLICE OFFICER                Mr. Babowski claims he didn't                break into your house.                              TILLEY                What did I do? Invite him in so                that I could throw eggs at him?                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              107.116   CONTINUED:                                              116                              POLICE OFFICER                Maybe Mr. Babowski intended to                break into your house, but these                circumstances of the guy being                pelted with eggs and tomatoes is                something we need to look into.      Tilley shrugs his shoulders.                              TILLEY                He's lucky that he didn't rob me                last week, 'cos then my wife was                living at home and we had all                kinds of things in the fridge...                I could have thrown barley soup,                pumpkin pie, candied yams... yeah,                he got off light.                                                    CUT TO:117   EXT. POLICE STATION - DAY                                     117      Tilley and Sam exit the building. Seconds later BB and      Bagel come out of the police station. Both pair of men      head for their respective Cadillacs. BB has egg stains      all over his suit.                              BB                       (to Bagel)                I can't believe it, the man throws                eggs at me and now I'm gonna have                breakfast with him.                              BAGEL                His partner says maybe the two of                you can sit down and come to some                kind of settlement.                                                    CUT TO:118   INT. TILLEY'S CAR - DAY                                       118      Tilley is sitting in the driver's seat and Sam is next      to him.                              TILLEY                What am I supposed to say to him?                The man has been a pain in the ass                since the day he rammed into my                car.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              108.118   CONTINUED:                                              118                              SAM                Just air your differences and                we'll put an end to this.                                                    CUT TO:119   EXT. POLICE STATION - LONG SHOT OF POLICE STATION AND         119      TWO CADILLACS      as they start to pull out of the parking lot.                                                    CUT TO:120   INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY                                        120      Tilley, Sam, BB and Bagel are sitting at a table together      looking at menus.                              BB                       (looks up from his                        menu)                I tell you what... I'll drop the                charges against you, and we can                wipe the slate clean.                              TILLEY                I appreciate it.                              SAM                See how quickly you can clear it                up?                              TILLEY                But I don't understand how the                slate gets wiped clean when he                breaks into my house and I'm the                one charged.                              BB                I told you, I wasn't breaking into                your house. I was looking for                your wife.                               TILLEY                All right... all right... I'm too                tired... the slate's clean... the                slate's clean.      The WAITRESS approaches.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                109.120   CONTINUED:                                                120                              WAITRESS                What will you have?                              TILLEY                Couple of eggs over,   some hash                browns, some toast --   toasted                dark... butter on the   side, large                grapefruit juice and   some coffee.      The Waitress writes his order.                              TILLEY                On second thought, instead of the                eggs over, if I ordered soft                boiled eggs do you take them out                of the shell or leave them in the                shells?      We can see that BB is getting a little irritable.                              WAITRESS                We leave them in the shell.                              TILLEY                I don't like them that way because                they get hot in the hand and it's                hard to scoop the stuff out...                it's not good... and you get                little bits of shell in there and                it doesn't taste good.                              BB                Why don't you just order some                scrambled eggs and be done with                it... all right?                              TILLEY                If I'm going to order, at least I                ought to be content with my food.                              BB                I'm getting a little hungry...                I've got a headache as it is.                Just order some eggs so some other                people can have something to eat                before the lunch trade comes in.                              TILLEY                       (looks to Sam)                Why do I need a guy telling me                what I should or shouldn't eat?                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              110.120   CONTINUED:   (2)                                            120                              BB                This is not a four-star restaurant                ... we're not having a gourmet                meal... we're ordering breakfast,                for Christ sake!                              TILLEY                It so happens I haven't been to                this restaurant before. I don't                know how they do their eggs... if                they're over easy and they're                gooey, I'm not happy with it...                and I'm not happy if the soft                boiled eggs are left in the                shell...                              BB                       (to Waitress, cutting                        Tilley off)                Can I have some French toast and                a cup of coffee?                       (to Bagel)                Bagel, what do you want?                              TILLEY                Hey! I'm ordering here. At least                you can have the courtesy to let a                man order his breakfast.                              BB                       (to Waitress;                        ignoring Tilley)                French toast and a cup of coffee.                               TILLEY                       (to Sam)                Sam, this guy gets on my nerves...                from day one! I knew it then and                I know it now.      Tilley stands up from the table and starts to leave.                              BB                I'm back to pressing charges                against you!      Tilley turns and is face-to-face with BB.                              TILLEY                You want to play that way? This                game ain't over, mister... it                ain't over...                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              111.120   CONTINUED:   (3)                                            120      BB stands up.   The Waitress steps back and looks      concerned.                              BB                All right, you want to finish it                now? You want to finish it right                now? I'm ready... I'm ready now!                              TILLEY                You're ready?! You're ready,                that's what you're saying?!                You're ready now?! I have to be                intimidated... I have to be brought                here to be intimidated...                              BB                I can't stand it any longer.                You're driving me out of my mind.      BB lunges for Tilley across the table, Sam and Bagel      try to intervene -- the Waitress doesn't know what to do.                              BAGEL                Come on, guys... take it easy...                take it easy.                              TILLEY                Get the people with the                straitjackets... this man is out                of control.      Tilley and BB pull at one another.                              BB                We're gonna finish it... we're                gonna finish it.      Bagel and Sam pull them apart.                              SAM                       (to Tilley)                Come on, let's get out of here.      Sam ushers Tilley to the door.                               TILLEY                I'm not finished with him, Sam.                       (to BB)                You heard me... I'm not finished                with you, mister.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            112.120   CONTINUED:    (4)                                         120      He storms out of the coffee shop with Sam. Bagel sits      back, looking relieved. BB composes himself. The      Waitress nervously stands by.                               BB                        (to Waitress)                So, I'm having French toast and                coffee.                        (to Bagel)                Bagel?                                                  CUT TO:121   INT. HOSPITAL - MOE'S ROOM - DAY                          121      Moe is in bed, still hooked up to tubes. His breathing      is deliberate and he seems weak. The CAMERA SLOWLY PANS      TO BB who is sitting by Moe's side.                              BB                Moe, when you decided to marry                May, how did you know?                                 MOE                Know what?                              BB                How did ya know?                              MOE                You mean to make up my mind to                marry her?                                 BB                Yeah.     How did ya know?      Moe shrugs his shoulders as if he doesn't know.                              BB                       (suddenly angry)                This Nora is a pain in the ass,                Moe... a pain in the ass. It's                worse now than when she used to                be around.      Moe smiles.                              BB                You wanna hear something? The                other night at the Corral Club,                I turned down a dance.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             113.121   CONTINUED:                                             121                              MOE                You turned down a dance?                              BB                What's the odds on that? You                think you can come up with odds                on that one?                              MOE                Hundred to one BB don't dance...                a hundred to one against.      There's a beat.                              MOE                I'm getting out of the business,                BB... I've got nothing for all                this.                              BB                Lot of good times, Moe.                              MOE                A lot of good times, but I can't                live off the good times.                       (beat)                You know, my brother-in-law has                offered me a job at Hess Shoes.                I think maybe I should do it. You                get there in the morning, you come                home at night... you get health                benefits... I get to be assistant                manager.                               BB                That's it, Moe? You're gonna                spend the day measuring people's                feet? 'You're an "E" fit...                you're a "D" wide... you got a                high arch... I'll show you                something in an alligator...                something with a wing tip...' How                can you talk about that all day                long?                        (beat)                Moe, you're the best tin man there                ever was. Nobody's a better                closer.                              MOE                It's over, BB... it's over.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            114.121   CONTINUED:   (2)                                            121      BB looks at Moe for a long beat.   He's obviously greatly      affected by this.                              BB                So, May's happy about this Hess                Shoe thing, heh?                              MOE                To say the least.                                                  CUT TO:122   INT. SAM'S CADILLAC - DAY                                   122      Sam is driving and Tilley is in the passenger seat.                              SAM                You know, when I saw 'Bonanza' the                other day, something occurred to                me. There's those three guys                living on the Ponderosa and you                never hear them say anything about                wanting to get laid. You never                hear Hoss turn to Little Joe and                say 'I had such a hard-on when I                woke up this morning.' You know                ... they never talk about broads                ... nothing. Ya never hear Little                Joe say 'Hey, Hoss, I went into                Virginia City and saw a girl with                the greatest ass I ever saw in my                life.' Ya just see 'em walking                around the Ponderosa saying, 'Yes,                Pa,' and 'Where's Little Joe?'                Nothing about broads. I don't                think I'm being too picky... at                least once if they talked about                getting horny. I don't care if                you're living on the Ponderosa or                right here in Baltimore, guys talk                about getting laid.                       (beat)                I'm beginning to think that show                doesn't have too much realism.                What do you think, Tilley?                              TILLEY                Sam, I can't concentrate on                'Bonanza' shit...                              (MORE)                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                              115.122   CONTINUED:                                              122                              TILLEY (CONT'D)                I've got too much on my brain,                what with that asshole and the                Home Improvement Commission, I                don't want to have to worry about                whether Little Joe got laid last                night.                       (beat)                Let's go and eat something.                              SAM                Yeah, we'll go and have some lunch                at the smorgasbord.                                                    CUT TO:123   INT. THOR'S SMORGASBORD RESTAURANT - DAY                      123      Tilley and Sam are in line at the buffet. Sam fills up      his tray and moves off to the cashier. Tilley hangs      behind staring at all the food. He looks up to the      ceiling.                              TILLEY                       (very quietly)                God, if you're responsible for all                the stuff down here, maybe you got                a moment's attention for me.                       (beat)                Between the I.R.S., this Home                Improvement Commission and Mr.                Marengay, I got it up to here with                this bullshit. To be frank with                you, I'm in the toilet here. If                you can see your way...      A WOMAN with a tray starts to approach Tilley.     Tilley      turns to her.                              TILLEY                Listen, I'm praying here... go                around.                              WOMAN                I wanted to get some of the salad.                              TILLEY                It's out of order... go around.      He signals for her to walk around him.   The Woman looks      at him and moves down the line.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             116.123   CONTINUED:                                             123                              TILLEY                       (looking up to                        ceiling)                Do what you can, all right?    I                appreciate it. Amen.      Tilley helps himself to some salad.                                                   CUT TO:124   INT. SUPERIOR ALUMINUM SIDING OFFICE - DAY                   124      The usual office activity.   BB is at a desk.   He picks      up the phone and dials.                              BB                Nora Tilley, please.      We hear a WOMAN'S VOICE on the other end of the phone.                              WOMAN (V.O.)                What department is she with?                              BB                She's with Social Security.                              WOMAN (V.O.)                Which department is Social Security?                              BB                I dunno... she's there somewhere                ... yeah, on the third floor...                she's got a desk towards the back.                              WOMAN (V.O.)                Just a moment... checking.      ANOTHER ANGLE      In the b.g. Stanley has gone over to a filing cabinet and      is starting to look through the files. Cheese wanders      over to him.                              CHEESE                Stanley, can I help you look for                something?                              STANLEY                No, I'm just making myself busy.                              CHEESE                Well, I wouldn't do that. Bagel                don't like nobody looking at the                files.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             117.124   CONTINUED:                                             124      BACK TO BB      on phone. He's still holding for Nora.    We hear a RING      on the other end of the phone.                               NORA (V.O.)                Mrs. Tilley.                              BB                Nora, this is BB.      The PHONE goes DEAD.   BB reluctantly puts the receiver      down.                                                   CUT TO:125   INT. TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - DAY                                 125      The Home Improvement Commission is in session. Tilley      and Sam sit at the defense table. Masters presides over      the commission table where four or five other commis-      sioners sit.                              MASTERS                       (into microphone                        to Tilley & Sam)                Didn't you approach Mr. Boloshevski                August 18, 1961, while he was                cutting his front lawn and tell                him that his house had been                selected, as one of only 16 homes                in the state of Maryland, for a                free aluminum siding job?                              TILLEY                What's the name again?                               MASTERS                Boloshevski.                              TILLEY                Doesn't ring a bell.                       (to Sam)                Sam, does it ring a bell to you?                              SAM                       (leans into microphone)                It doesn't ring a bell to me either,                sir.                              MASTERS                Didn't you suggest that for a                nominal labor charge, he would                receive over five thousand dollars'                worth of aluminum siding?                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                             118.125   CONTINUED:                                             125                              TILLEY                That's an awful lot for nothing.                Doesn't sound like good business                to me.                              MASTERS                Mr. Boloshevski was ultimately                charged twenty-four hundred                dollars for labor, which according                to our figures is about the average                cost of an aluminum siding job.                              SAM                       (leans into the                        microphone)                I don't get the point of this.                              MASTERS                Twenty-four hundred dollars that                you charged for labor, is the same                as if Mr. Boloshevski had purchased                the aluminum siding and had the                labor done.                              TILLEY                Maybe I'm missing the point here,                but if he paid twenty-four hundred,                which is the cost of the job, I                can't see anything wrong with that.                I don't know the guy, but I don't                quite get the problem.                               MASTERS                What we're getting at here... what                we're trying to stress, is that                the job was sold under false                terms. The man didn't win any                award... he was not getting                aluminum siding at a special price.                A clear case of deception was                involved here.                              TILLEY                       (to Sam)                What's he talking about? The man                got the job for twenty-four hundred                dollars, and that's what it costs                in aluminum siding.                              (MORE)                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              119.125   CONTINUED:   (2)                                            125                              TILLEY (CONT'D)                       (leans into                        microphone)                Um... I don't know... we have no                recollection of this particular                job, but I don't know if this is                deception. Look, if you work in a                clothing store, some guy tries on                a suit, it looks like shit, but                you tell him it looks wonderful.                The guy's standing there looking                like a sack of shit, the salesman                says what a great suit and the man                buys it. That's deception as far                as I can see, but I don't                understand the deceptiveness that                you say we're responsible for...                if I make myself clear.                              SAM                       (leaning into                        the microphone)                I'd go along with that as well.                              MASTERS                What we're trying to establish                are the principles that have been                laid down as part of the Home                Improvement code of ethics...                that you cannot mislead someone                intentionally, and I think that's                the principle that applies to this.                              TILLEY                Did somebody put a gun to this                guy's head and make him spend                twenty-four hundred dollars? I                don't get the point here. I                don't know the specifics of this                case, not being privy to all the                information, but all I can say is                this guy got a fair price for a                fair job.      Another commissioner, BUD DELANEY, takes the microphone.                              DELANEY                       (to Tilley)                Do you know Mr. and Mrs. Rayburn                of 156 Aberdeen Avenue, Essex?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              120.125   CONTINUED:   (3)                                            125                              TILLEY                       (looks to Sam                        and shrugs his                        shoulders; then                        into mike)                I think you'd have to familiarize                me.                               DELANEY                The couple purchased twenty-eight                hundred dollars' worth of aluminum                siding and the two of you were the                salesmen on record. They say, and                I quote here, 'that they would                have received one hundred and                fifty dollars per home for every                person in the neighborhood who                saw their house and decided to                buy aluminum siding.'                       (looking up from                        paper)                Is that true?                              TILLEY                It sounds right.                              DELANEY                Are you aware that, according to                the Home Improvement code, you                are not allowed to exceed a                twenty dollar limit in                incentives?                              TILLEY                       (shrugs his shoulders)                We wanted to be a little more                generous, that's all.                              DELANEY                The couple said that they never                did receive any money from any                other jobs, as you had promised.                              SAM                       (leaning into                        microphone)                We didn't get any leads from them.                Their house was not the showplace                that we thought it would be. It                didn't generate the activity that                we had hoped.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              121.125   CONTINUED:   (4)                                            125                              TILLEY                       (interrupting)                But should a referral turn up in                the community, we'd be more than                happy to give them twenty dollars                instead of the hundred and fifty.                              MASTERS                       (leaning into                        microphone)                Excuse us for one moment.      He then leans over to Delaney, and they start to confer.      Tilley and Sam watch, wondering what's going on. Masters      leans in the other direction, holding his hand over the      microphone, and he talks to the other commissioners.      They nod in approval, then Masters leans back into the      microphone.                              MASTERS                Thank you very much, gentlemen.                Should there be a reason in the                future to call you back, we would                like to reserve that right.                              TILLEY                       (leans into                        microphone)                Glad we could be of some service.      Tilley and Sam get up from the table and walk out of      the building.                                                    CUT TO:126   EXT. TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - DAY                                126      Tilley and Sam are walking toward Tilley's car.                              TILLEY                       (rubbing his hands,                        gleefully)                We beat 'em, Sam... we beat 'em!                What a piece of cake! No problem!                They ain't got nothing on us...                clean as a whistle... we're clean                as a whistle!                              SAM                I need a drink. I hate                inquisitions.                                                    CUT TO:                                                                122.127   EXT. SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE - NIGHT                           127      Heavy RAIN is falling. Nora, with an umbrella, walks      quickly across the parking lot. Suddenly BB slips      under the umbrella with her.                              NORA                       (reacting sharply)                I don't want to see you anymore.      She pulls away from BB and continues walking.      BB walks      behind her, getting soaked in the rain.                              BB                I gotta talk to you.                              NORA                I don't want to listen.                              BB                Give me a chance to explain.    You                owe me that much.      Nora still walking toward her car in the downpour.                              NORA                I don't owe you anything.      BB lets her walk away.   After a beat, he yells out.                              BB                It was a lousy thing to do, okay?                It was a lousy thing to use you                to get back at your husband... but                the fact is that I never would                have met you otherwise.      Nora stops and turns to look at BB.                              BB                       (more quietly)                It was lousy... it was a                disgusting, terrible thing...                but a lot of good came out of it.                              NORA                What kind of a person would come                up with such a devious thing?                              BB                I'm not always a nice guy, I                admit that. I got a lot of                training in deceit... it's an                occupational hazard.      They stand looking at one another in the rain.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              123.127   CONTINUED:                                              127                              NORA                I'd like to know what it is about                me that I have to fall for tin                men. What kind of character flaw                do I have?                              BB                I didn't want to have to come                here. I wish that I didn't have                to ever see you again. I've gone                this far in my life without having                to have this kind of thing happen                to me. I was going through life,                sailing along, pretty good...                doing okay, and I tried to get                even with some crazy guy... and                I'm here.                              NORA                The wet becomes you. Gets rid                of some of the slickness.                              BB                I don't like the idea that I'm                not in control of this, but if                this stuff's got to happen, I                guess I've got no choice. I                wanna... ya know...                       (he gets angry)                ... I wanna be with ya! Okay, I                said that... I said it, okay?! I                wanna be with ya! It pisses the                hell out of me, and I'm gonna                tell you that to your face, but                I want to be with you because...                I miss you and I'd like to live                with you... I'd like to marry                you... and that's that!      Nora eyes him carefully. The rain falls on her umbrella      and the rain beats on BB's head. After a long moment.                              NORA                I was hoping for something a                little more romantic... but, okay.      A slight smile comes to BB's face.                                                    CUT TO:                                                              124.128   INT. PIMLICO HOTEL - BAR/RESTAURANT - NIGHT             128      Tilley and Sam are sitting at the bar  nursing a couple      of drinks. In the b.g., the pianist   is playing "Last      Night When We Were Young," and a few  people are sitting      around the piano joining in with the  song.                              SAM                Ya know, Tilley, we been working                together for over a year.                              TILLEY                Yeah, must be about that.                              SAM                I've been thinking that sometimes                a different combination makes for                better luck. Ya know what I mean?                I mean, maybe the two of us ain't                the right combination.                              TILLEY                I'm just getting used to ya, Sam.                              SAM                Let's face it, we're not exactly                setting the world on fire.                              TILLEY                It's a slump... it's a slump, Sam.                              SAM                Maybe it's a slump, but like                baseball, some time they have to                change the lineup to get the team                going again.                              TILLEY                You're not serious about this, are                you, Sam?                              SAM                Yeah.                              TILLEY                You're serious? You wanna get                another partner? You don't think                I'm gonna pull out of this?                              SAM                I know you're gonna... I know                you're gonna.                              TILLEY                So?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                125.128   CONTINUED:                                                128                              SAM                Look, we beat the   Commission today                ... you know, we   got a little bit                of a victory.  We   split right now                and maybe we can   add to that...                you know what I'm   saying?                               TILLEY                I know... I know. Change in the                lineup. Okay, maybe it'll help...                maybe it'll help.                       (he drinks his                         whiskey)                You got any ideas for a new                partner?                                 SAM                Well, I had a    conversation with                Solly Shavitz,    so... maybe I'll                go with him.                       (beat)                Mouse is gonna   need a new partner                because Dennis   is going into used                cars.                               TILLEY                Mouse! Mouse! He gets on my                nerves... He eats too much.                       (beat; he holds                        up his whiskey                        glass)                Here's to some pretty good times,                huh?      Sam smiles.                                                      CUT TO:129   INT. CORRAL CLUB - NIGHT                                  129      Looney, looking tanned, sits with Stanley at the bar.      BB and Nora are dancing in the b.g.                              LOONEY                I don't get it... the broad                smashes into his car and he takes                her dancing. Some kind of dating                ritual that I'm not familiar with.                              STANLEY                BB's a pretty good tin man, huh?                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              126.129   CONTINUED:                                              129                              LOONEY                Pretty good? Whew! Man's what                legends are made of. Started                selling pots and pans door to                door at sixteen. Nothing he                can't sell.      ANGLE ON BB AND NORA      The song ends and BB walks Nora back to the table they      were sitting at.                              BB                You're gonna come back and stay                the night?                              NORA                I dunno... all my things are back                at Nellie's -- the other side of                town.                       (beat)                I know what I could do, I'll go                back to the house... there's                still a few things I left behind                ... at least I can get a change                of clothes.      They both sit down.    BB looks at Nora.                              BB                I'm glad this is working out.                              NORA                You really happy?                                BB                Yeah.                               NORA                You don't really show a great deal                of exuberance.                              BB                Honey, for me... I'm a parade.                                                    CUT TO:130   EXT. STREET - TILLEY'S HOUSE - TIGHT SHOT OF HAND -           130      NIGHT      Rattling a special padlock. PULL BACK to reveal Tilley      at his front door, trying to get in.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              127.130   CONTINUED:                                              130      CAMERA PANS to see Nora's car pulling up in front of the      house. Nora turns off the car lights and exits the car.      She starts up the front walk and stops.                                 NORA                What happened?                              TILLEY                The I.R.S... they need my                furniture. They got some living                room somewhere in this country                that needs to be furnished.                              NORA                They're taking the furniture?                              TILLEY                The furniture, the whole house.                They locked it up... they                confiscated it.                              NORA                       (yelling up to him                        on the porch)                What do you expect? You expect                to get some preferential treatment                ... you're some special case?                You've got to pay your taxes just                like everybody else has to pay                their taxes!      Tilley shrugs.                              NORA                How many arguments did we used to                have about filing your taxes?                              TILLEY                We had a lot of arguments.      Nora starts toward him.     Tilley sits on the steps.                              NORA                       (as she sits beside him)                There's a responsibility that                you've got to have. It's a long                way from high school, Tilley.                               TILLEY                I  was doing pretty good there for                a  while... doing pretty good. Had                my  house, had a wife, a Cadillac...                I  still got my Cadillac.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                128.130   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              130                              NORA                Where are you gonna sleep?                              TILLEY                I'll stay at Sam's for a couple                of days until I get set up.                       (beat)                What're you doing here, anyway?                              NORA                There's just a couple of things                you didn't throw out of the house                ... a couple of things I didn't                find in the drawer.                              TILLEY                I don't know... I did a pretty                good house cleaning number on you.                              NORA                Listen, about the divorce. Do you                want to file, or should I file?                              TILLEY                I got to be frank with you, this                guy is nuts.                              NORA                He told me all about it... all                about how you threw eggs at him.                              TILLEY                He told you it was about eggs?                The guy tried to break into my                house. He tried to steal things                from me.                              NORA                He was trying to find me.    We had                an argument.                              TILLEY                I think you'd be making a big                mistake if you married him.                              NORA                It's not for you to make decisions                for me.                              TILLEY                I think maybe I should, because I                think you're being misled... I                think you're confused. I think...                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              129.130   CONTINUED:   (3)                                            130                              NORA                       (interrupting him)                I know what I'm doing.                               TILLEY                        (interrupting Nora)                Nora, listen to me. I know about                guys...                              NORA                       (cutting him off)                I appreciate your concern, but                it's not for you...                              TILLEY                       (interrupting her)                But this guy is as bad a choice                as you could make. Bad choice.                              NORA                You're a good one to give advice...                you're sitting on the steps,                locked out of your house because                you can't pay your taxes, and                you're going to give me advice on                life?                              TILLEY                I'm not giving you a divorce, and                that's it. I'm looking out for                your welfare. No divorce.      Nora looks at him, starts to say something, then stands      up and walks down the steps of the house toward her car.                              TILLEY                       (yelling to her)                It's for your own benefit, and                you'll thank me for it.      Nora turns toward Tilley and suddenly snaps.                              NORA                My benefit! You don't give a                damn about me! You don't give                a damn who I marry. The reason                you don't want me to marry is                because he's the one taking your                wife, and you've got your own                problems with him.                              (MORE)                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              130.130   CONTINUED:   (4)                                            130                              NORA (CONT'D)                You don't care about me... it's                the same bullshit you're doing.                That's what it always is with you,                Tilley. It's always you! The                I.R.S. took your house... your                furniture! You don't say anything                about my things in the house.                I've got things in the house I                worked damn hard for, and things                that belonged to my family... the                headboard that was given to me by                Aunt Josephine, it's got to be at                least a hundred years old... and                the hand-embroidered footstool...                              TILLEY                What footstool?                              NORA                The hand-embroidered footstool                over by the TV.                              TILLEY                I don't remember seeing that.                              NORA                It's been there forever... it was                my granny's.                               TILLEY                It's been there forever?   I've                never seen it.                              NORA                You've never seen it!? You've                never seen it!? You put your feet                on it to watch TV... the                hand-embroidered footstool.                              TILLEY                I don't know what you're talking                about. I never put my feet up to                watch TV.                              NORA                That's the way you are, Tilley, it                doesn't mean anything to you. You                don't care if they take it all                away. It's all you, Tilley!                That's the way it's always been.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              131.130   CONTINUED:   (5)                                            130      She stands there for a moment, then turns back to her      car, gets in, slams the door and drives off. Tilley      stands on the front steps with a puzzled look on his      face.                              TILLEY                Hand-embroidered footstool?      He walks over to his car, gets in and STARTS the ENGINE...      shaking his head in disbelief.                                                   CUT TO:131   EXT. SUPERIOR ALUMINUM BUILDING - NIGHT                     131      BB drives up to the building in his Cadillac, the pas-      senger door opens and Stanley gets out.                               STANLEY                Thanks for the lift back, BB.                See ya around.                                 BB (O.S.)                Okay, Stanley.      Stanley closes the car door and BB drives off. Stanley      watches BB's car turn the bend, and then he goes toward      the office door.                                                   CUT TO:132   INT. SUPERIOR ALUMINUM OFFICE - NIGHT                       132      Stanley is standing at the filing cabinet going through      files. He takes some files and puts them to one side.      Then, satisfied that he's got everything he needs, he      picks up the files and turns to leave. BB is standing      at the door watching him.                              BB                You know something, Stanley, I                can always smell a guy who's not                made of tin.      He walks over to Stanley.                              BB                It's against the law to steal                files. I could call and have                you arrested and sent to jail,                right now.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            132.132   CONTINUED:                                            132                              STANLEY                I'll put everything back, nobody's                the wiser.                              BB                You work for the Commission, is                that it?      Stan nods "yes."                              BB                Doesn't the Commission have                enough information? They got to                send out guys like you to spy?                              STANLEY                Well, we just started out, and if                we had some really good hard facts                of some infractions, it would give                us a lot of credibility in the                community.      BB walks closer to Stanley, looks at him for a second,      grabs him by his tie and pushes him backwards. Stanley      crashes into the filing cabinet.                              BB                You know what your big problem                is, Stanley? You're lazy. If                you want to find out stuff, then                you dig... you get on the phone...                you canvas... 'We're from the                Home Improvement Commission...'                Go find your leads... that's what                we do all the time. You're just                lazy, Stanley. If we're doing                something wrong, you should                collect all your evidence.                Instead, you snoop around...                steal files. What is this?                Undercover time? You think                you're breaking up some big drug                ring? Is this the Mafia you've                infiltrated? All you've got here                is a bunch of guys selling tin                for Christ sake!                       (beat)                You want some files?      He walks over to the filing cabinet, flips through some      files and pulls out three files. Stanley has gotten up      from the floor. BB throws the files down on the desk.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                                133.132   CONTINUED:   (2)                                              132                              BB                Here... here's some jobs I did.                Leave Moe out of this... he quit                the business.      Stanley gathers up the files from the desk.                              BB                Go on, get out of here.      Stanley starts for the door, and turns back.                              STANLEY                Why are you doing this?                                 BB                If it's    not gonna be you, it's                gonna be    somebody else... and if                it's not    tonight, it's gonna be                another    time.      Stanley exits the office. BB picks up the files that      Stanley had taken out of the filing cabinet, and starts      to put them back. Then he slams the filing drawers      closed very hard.                                                      CUT TO:133   INT. BB'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT                             133      BB and Nora are in bed together.                                 NORA                Maybe if I    talked to him another                day he'll    change his mind. I                mean, he's    like that... one day,                he's this    way and another day he's                that way.                              BB                You don't need to talk to him.                              NORA                I mean, he's probably, you know,                upset about the I.R.S. taking the                house and all our stuff.      After a beat.                              BB                Ever see a Volkswagen?                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                             134.133   CONTINUED:                                             133                              NORA                What?                              BB                You know, those little Volkswagens.                              NORA                What does that mean?                              BB                It's a car... a little car.                              NORA                What does that have to do with                anything?                              BB                I dunno... they're interesting.                              NORA                What?                              BB                It's interesting.                              NORA                What's so interesting about a car?                              BB                I dunno. It's a little thing...                you know, a little thing. Guy                tells me they don't even have                radiators... they're air-cooled.                              NORA                Yeah?                              BB                It's interesting... different...                something new. I like it.                                                   CUT TO:134   INT. GIBRALTAR ALUMINUM SIDING OFFICE IN POOL HALL           134      Wing is standing up at the blackboard chalking out      schedules and sales. Tilley stands back and looks at      the board, seeing his name up with Mouse.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             135.134   CONTINUED:                                             134                              TILLEY                       (to Wing)                Tilley and Mouse. It looks weird,                doesn't it? Looks very weird.                              WING                Let's hope you have some better                luck with Mouse.                                                   CUT TO:135   INT. POOL HALL                                               135      The pool hall  is fairly unlit, except for the slight      shaft of light  falling over several tables. Gil is play-      ing pool with  another tin man. Mouse, Sam, and three or      four other tin  men are playing pool.      ANGLE ON STAIRS TO POOL HALL      BB comes down the stairs into the pool hall.      ANGLE ON GIL      He stops playing pool.                              GIL                       (under his breath)                Mr. Marengay.      He goes over to the office door, opens it and yells to      Tilley.                              GIL                Hey, Tilley... Mr. Marengay's                out here.      Tilley comes out of the office and stands looking at BB.                              BB                Can I talk to you in private, or                do I have to talk to you over                fourteen pool tables?      Tilley moves down the hall toward BB.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              136.135   CONTINUED:                                              135                              BB                We've got enough that's going                down between the two of us, but                the fact of the matter is that I                love your wife, and I want to                marry her.                              TILLEY                I don't care who she marries,                but I don't want her marrying                you!                              BB                Why don't we just talk about                this in a nice, rational manner.                               TILLEY                Rational?   You're going to be                rational?                              BB                We've got our problems, but let's                try and isolate this particular                situation.                              TILLEY                Isolate... isolate... I like this                kind of talk. What the hell                nonsense is that?                              BB                What are you gonna gain from this                thing here?                               TILLEY                Now let me see here... I've got                to isolate that for a moment and                think it over.                               BB                Nobody's going to benefit from                making me mad.                              TILLEY                You ought to hear yourself. You                know that? You ought to listen                to the way you talk. You come                in here, you want to take my wife                ... you want to isolate this                situation... you want to be                rational. I've got no tolerance                for you, mister. You know what                I'm saying?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              137.135   CONTINUED:   (2)                                             135                              BB                What you're saying is you don't                want to discuss this, am I                right?                               TILLEY                       (after a beat)                You like pool?      The other tin men move closer to Tilley and BB, crowding      in.                              BB                I enjoy the game.                               TILLEY                Why don't we play a little  game                of eight ball? If I lose,   I                consent to the divorce...  if you                lose, you give Nora up...  walk                away from her.      BB stares at Tilley; Tilley eyes BB.                              BB                       (quietly)                Rack 'em.                                                    HARD CUT TO:      TIGHT SHOT OF CUE BALL      hitting the balls on the break. A seven ball drops into      the pocket. CAMERA PANS TO BB who has a smile on his      face at the successful break he just made. He quickly      moves around the table, lines up a shot and sinks the      ball. Tilley looks a little concerned. BB moves around      the table quickly, confidently. He lines up another      shot. He carefully strokes the pool cue between his      fingers, hits the ball, and sinks the shot. He moves      around the table -- he has a particularly complicated      shot.                              BB                Combination... side pocket.      The tin men react.   BB hits the ball and sinks it.                               BB                That's four.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                              138.135   CONTINUED:    (3)                                             135      He quickly surveys the     table and sees his next shot. He      hits the ball, it goes     toward the pocket, but bounces      back slightly, missing     the pocket. Tilley quickly goes      to work. He sinks his      first shot... his second. He      makes a difficult shot.                                  TILLEY                  Yes, sir!    Yes, sir!      Tilley    keeps moving around the table, sinking one ball      after    the other. He's enthusiastic, excited and confi-      dent.     He sinks another ball, and another. He sinks      every    ball, then he eyes the eight ball for the coup de      grace.                                BB                         (trying to shake                          Tilley)                  You make this one here, and you                  win.                                TILLEY                  Don't I know it... don't I know                  it!      He shoots. The eight ball heads for the pocket and      doesn't make it. It hangs up on the felt about two feet      from the pocket.                                  BB                  Bad break.      BB quickly goes to work... sinks every one of his balls.      He eyes the eight ball carefully. Tilley's nervous. A      couple of the tin men make private side bets whether the      ball goes or doesn't. BB lines up the shot; he shoots,      and it misses, hanging up on the lip of the pocket.                                  TILLEY                  Tough break.      Tilley quickly moves and sinks the eight ball.                                  TILLEY                  You lose.                                BB                  Yeah... that puts an end to one                  of our differences. Now,                  concerning you...                                  TILLEY                  Yeah?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                               139.135   CONTINUED:   (4)                                             135                              BB                I'm gonna beat the crap out of                you. You want it here or do you                want it outside?                                TILLEY                Outside.      BB turns his back on Tilley to move toward the door.      Tilley swings with all his might and hits BB in the     back      of the head. BB almost falls to the ground. Tilley       goes      to hit him again. BB hits him in the face, knocking      him      back. Tilley falls back... BB starts to move toward      him.      The tin men move in.                              TILLEY                Stay out of this... this is                between the two of us.      BB gets to his feet... the two guys eye one another,      moving. BB quickly moves with incredible cat-like speed      with four hits into the stomach, really fast, and one hit      to Tilley's head. Tilley falls into the rack of pool      cues, they all fall to the ground. BB goes to jump on      Tilley. He slips on one of the pool cues and falls to      the ground.      ANGLE ON DOOR TO OFFICE      Wing is standing watching the fight.    He looks disgusted      ... shakes his head.      BACK TO TILLEY AND BB      Tilley moves toward BB. BB hits him hard in the stomach      again. Tilley keeps coming at BB. He rams him and      knocks him to the ground. Tilley pushes BB's head onto      the ground, trying to hit it against the floor. BB gets      a hand free and hits Tilley hard in the side of the      head. The tin men have seen enough and jump in and pull      Tilley and BB apart. AD LIBS: "That's enough, you guys"      ... "Come on, break it up." BB and Tilley stand up.      BB brushes his suit down with his hand.                              BB                I think our business is finished.      Tilley just stands watching BB.    BB walks up the steps      of the pool hall and exits.                                                    CUT TO:                                                              140.136   EXT. INDUSTRIAL ESTATE AREA - DAY                             136      BB drives up to the front of the Superior Aluminum      Siding building. He stops the car and gets out. He is      fairly disheveled and has a bruise on his cheek. He      walks up to the entrance of the building.                                                    CUT TO:137   INT. SUPERIOR ALUMINUM SIDING OFFICE - DAY              137      Three or four GIRLS are on the phones canvassing for      sales.                              GIRL #1                ... Improves the insulation...                              GIRL #2                ... We'll have a representative                in your area...      Carly, Cheese and Looney are sitting around a desk drink-      ing coffee.                              LOONEY                ... Danny's an example of that.                Danny goes into a bar, chicks                lined up and down the bar. Walks                up to one and says, 'Honey, would                you like to fuck?' She'd slap                him in the face. He'd move down                to the next girl, say the same                thing... she'd slap him. Then                he'd just keep moving down, going                from one girl to the other.                Fifteen, maybe sixteen girls                would tell him to get lost... to                get the hell out of there...      BB enters, says "hi" to the Girls, moves to get a      coffee.                              LOONEY                ... Call him names... but he                doesn't take it personal, you see                ... he keeps going, and then the                next girl smiles. He says, 'Why                don't you buy me a drink'... he                scores. Every time. He goes                through a lot of girls, takes a                lot of slaps in the face, but he                never takes it personally...      BB moves over to the guys.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             141.137   CONTINUED:                                             137                              LOONEY                ... And he always gets what he                wants.      Looney looks up and sees BB's face.                              LOONEY                Hey, Beeb. What happened to you?                That broad beat the shit out of                you?      BB smiles.                              LOONEY                I think you must enjoy these                masochistic relationships.                Smashes your car... punches                you in the face...      Bagel walks out of his office and across to NICK, a tin      man sitting at a desk across from Looney. He hands Nick      a file.                              LOONEY                       (to Bagel)                Bagel, you ought to get a load                of this broad Beeb's messing                with.                               BAGEL                       (looking over                        to BB)                Looks a little too romantic for                me.      He walks back to his office.                              CHEESE                You know who's no longer married                to who?                              CARLY                Well, we ought to know. There's                like a million fucking people                living in Baltimore. How many                guesses do we get?      (NOTE: The following action and dialogue will run      concurrently.)                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              142.137   CONTINUED:   (2)                                            137                CHEESE                 A MAN comes into the        It's not that hard if you      office from outside.        think about it.                He's carrying an envelope.                                       He approaches Nick, who is                LOONEY                 closest to the door.        Ruby and Joe.                                               MAN                 CHEESE                I have a certified letter        No, but they're friends        here for William Babowski.        of them.                                               NICK                LOONEY                     (points to BB)        Friends of them...             The guy over there.                CARLY                  The Man approaches BB who        Ed and Ethel?                  is standing back from the                                       group a little.                CHEESE        Ed and Ethel aren't that               MAN        friendly with Ruby and Joe.    William Babowski?                CARLY                          BB        What are you talking about?    Yeah.        I went to a party, not two        weeks ago at Ed and Ethel's,            MAN        and they invited Ruby and      I have a certified letter        Joe over.                      for you.                CHEESE                 BB takes the letter.        It doesn't mean they're        friendly because they're               MAN        invited to a party. They're        (hands BB a piece        friendly, but not that              of paper)        friendly. Couple I'm           Would you please sign.        thinking about were very,        very tight with Ruby and       BB picks up a pen and        Joe.                           signs the paper.                LOONEY                         MAN        Do we have any money bet       Thank you.        on this, because otherwise        we could be thinking and       He turns and exits the        not gaining anything from      office. BB looks at the        this discussion.               envelope, opens it and                                       pulls out a summons. He                CARLY                  reads it: "You are        Frank and Vivien?              summoned to appear before                                       the Home Improvement                LOONEY                 Commission at 9:30 A.M.        Frank and Vivien broke up?     on Wednesday, April 6,                                       1963."                                               (CONTINUED)                                                            143.137   CONTINUED:   (3)                                          137                CARLY                BB smiles and walks over        I don't know... I'm just     to Bagel who is standing        making names up for Christ   outside of his office        sake.                        looking through some files.                                     BB hands him the summons --                CHEESE               Bagel looks at it.        They did break up, but        that's not who I was                 BAGEL        thinking about.              Jesus Christ! I think                                     you should take some                LOONEY               legal counsel, Double B.        I'd like to call on        Vivien... she's one hot              BB        broad.                       Not necessary.                CARLY                        BAGEL        Then why don't you call      Better to err on the safe        her?                         side.                LOONEY                       BB        I stood her up in high       I'd rather handle it        school... she's hated me     myself.        for nearly fifteen years.                                             BAGEL                CHEESE               Want me to find out what        You stood up Vivien          they've got against you?        Marshall? Are you an         I know a clerk down there.        idiot! What an idiot.        For a price I could get                                     the inside scoop. These                LOONEY               guys are just fishing        I stood her up for Denise,   right now.        who happened to have been        my wife. So, yes, I was      BB just shakes his head        an idiot. If I knew then     "no." Bagel looks at        what I know now...           him.                CARLY                        BAGEL        What was your ex-wife's      You okay, Double B?        maiden name?                                             BB                 LOONEY              Yeah... yeah.        Essex.                                             BAGEL                CARLY                Because ever since Moe        Denise Essex. Did she have   went down you seem a        a sister named Wilma?        little off your feed                                     to me.                 LOONEY        Yeah.                                BB                                     Thanks for the concern,                CARLY                Bagel, but I'll be all        You're kidding me.           right.                                             (CONTINUED)                                                             144.137   CONTINUED:   (4)                                           137                CHEESE                  BB puts the summons into        What does this have to do       his breast pocket and        with the couple who broke       exits the office.        up?                CARLY        We'll get to that once we've        discussed Wilma... they'll        still be broken up... we'll        get to that in a minute.                LOONEY        How do you know Wilma?                                                   CUT TO:138   EXT. PIMLICO BAR/RESTAURANT - NIGHT                        138      Tilley drives into the parking lot of the Pimlico -- he      heads for a dark corner of the lot where about eight cars      are parked. As he's about to park his car, he sees Wing      talking to Masters in the car next to his. Tilley's a      bit confused, stays in his car watching them. After a      couple of beats, Wing gets out of the car and heads for      the Pimlico. Masters drives off. Tilley gets out of      his car and catches up to Wing.                              TILLEY                Hey, Wing, isn't that the putz                from the Commission?      Points to car driving out of parking lot.                               WING                Masters?   Yeah.                              TILLEY                What the hell's he doing hanging                around here?                              WING                He wants information.                              TILLEY                I nailed his ass the other day,                Wing. Can't lay a finger on me.                I was amazing, you should have                been there. I was amazing... I                was respectful, courteous, but I                was slipping and sliding... they                couldn't touch me.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             145.138   CONTINUED:                                             138                              WING                I got a real problem, Tilley.                Come inside, I'll buy you a drink.                                                   CUT TO:139   INT. PIMLICO BAR - NIGHT                               139      Tilley and Wing are sitting at a table. The pianist is      playing, and people are sitting around the piano joining      in with the song.                              TILLEY                You're gonna sell me out to the                Commission? Wing, am I hearing                this right?                              WING                I'm up front with you about this...                I'm up front with ya, Tilley.                I've got my balls in a vice...                what am I gonna do?                              TILLEY                Is this about the money I owe                you? Are you just pissed? You                want to get even because of the                horse race? I told ya it was an                accident.                              WING                Tilley, it's got nothing to do                with the money.                              TILLEY                You're selling me out? You're                gonna let them bury me? Jesus                Christ, Wing... Jesus Christ!                I'm not gonna be able to work in                this business? Wing, this was                my chosen field!                              WING                Masters was gonna take this                company apart. You're the low man                on the totem pole, Tilley. There's                a lot of guys earning a good                living... no sense for it all to                go up in smoke. You understand,                don't you, Tilley? It's just                business.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             146.139   CONTINUED:                                             139                                TILLEY                Jesus Christ!                              WING                Listen, Tilley, you owe me sixteen                plus from the race, and you're in                for over two grand on the books,                so I tell you what... I'll wipe                the slate clean.      He takes out his wallet from his pocket, and peels off      a few notes.                              WING                Here's a thou until you get                yourself set up. I can do no                better than that.                               TILLEY                       (looking at the                        money)                You'd sell me out for a lousy                three thousand dollars? Three                thousand dollars and I got to go                down the toilet? Jesus Christ,                Wing, how long the two of us                been busting our asses together                ... Jesus Christ! We got some                history to this relationship for                Christ sake. Masters puts a                little squeeze on you, you just                sell out. Three thousand                dollars?!                              WING                The bottom line is, I'm running                a business, Tilley.                       (he peels off another                        couple of hundred                        dollars from his                        wallet)                Here's another deuce. I carried                you a long time, Tilley. I've                done a damn sight more than a                lot of other guys would have                done for you... and I don't                see no gratitude from you.      He gets up to leave.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                             147.139   CONTINUED:    (2)                                          139                              WING                You can finish up whenever you                like.                       (throws a few                        dollars on                        the table)                I'm sorry, Tilley. That's the                way of the world.      He pats Tilley on the back and walks away.                                                   CUT TO:140   EXT. VACANT PARKING LOT - NIGHT                            140      Tilley's Cadillac drives into the lot which overlooks      the harbor. We see the harbor city lights surrounding      the lot.                                                   CUT TO:141   INT. TILLEY'S CADILLAC - NIGHT                             141      The RADIO is playing. Tilley stops the car, turns off      the lights, but leaves the radio playing. He leans in-      to the back of the car and takes a pillow off the back      seat. He props the cushion up against the passenger      side, and lies down, looking up to the roof of the car.                                                   CUT TO:142   EXT. CADILLAC IN PARKING LOT - LONG SHOT - NIGHT           142      of the car sitting in the deserted lot.                                                   FADE TO BLACK.      FADE UP ON:143   INT. BB'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - EGGS - DAY                 143      being fried in a frying pan on a stove.                              NORA (O.S.)                       (yelling)                Bill! Better hurry up,                everything's ready.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                              148.143   CONTINUED:                                              143      ANOTHER ANGLE      Eggs being slipped onto a plate with some bacon and      hash browns.      ANOTHER ANGLE      BB comes into the kitchen of his apartment.    He is      tying his tie. WIDEN SHOT to include Nora.                              NORA                I can't believe that you're up                so early. This is a rare occasion.                              BB                Yeah. I just got some business                downtown I gotta take care of.      He stands there watching Nora as she prepares the plates      of food.                              NORA                Toast will be ready in a second.                Coffee's on the table.      He continues to stand watching her -- she's not aware      that he's watching her. She waits for the toast to pop      up out of the toaster.                              BB                Listen, Nora. I... um... I... er                ... lied to you the other day.      Nora is still waiting for the toast, looking inside the      toaster to see if it's getting brown.                              NORA                How so?                              BB                I went to see Tilley about the                divorce.      She turns to look at him.                              BB                He was not too agreeable, and                one thing led to another, and we                decided to shoot some pool to                settle the matter.                              NORA                What?!                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            149.143   CONTINUED:   (2)                                          143      The toast pops up -- she ignores it.                              BB                We played pool. If I won he'd                give you up, if I lost I'd give                you up.                              NORA                You played pool for me?                              BB                Nora, I had no choice.                              NORA                It's the most despicable thing                I've ever heard in my life. I                mean, it's disgusting... guys                shooting pool to determine my                future.                              BB                Nora, I had no choice!                       (beat)                Hand me the toast.                              NORA                Get the toast yourself.      BB takes the toast out of the toaster.                              BB                I'm just trying to be honest.                It's been on my mind... on my                conscience.      He picks up a plate.                              BB                This plate yours or mine?                              NORA                Why don't you take both...                maybe you can choke to death                on one of them.      BB takes one of the plates and goes toward the table.      Nora watches him a beat, amazed that he doesn't seem to      recognize the seriousness of the situation.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                                  150.143   CONTINUED:   (3)                                                143                               NORA                       (angry)                How can you be so... how     can you                not understand how wrong     that is?                I can't understand that     mentality!                Shoot pool for me! It's      insane.      BB dips his toast into his eggs.                              BB                Tilley is not the     most rational                man in this world.      I tried to                talk to him... he     wouldn't                listen. So, what      are my options?                You know what I'm     saying? What                are my options?                              NORA                I can't believe you had to shoot                pool! Don't you understand that                ... don't you understand how                crazy that is? You're sitting                there... you're eating your eggs                as if it's normal business in                life here! Like feudal lords or                something you used to read about                in history books.                              BB                All right, I'm sorry.      Beat.                                 NORA                What happened?                                 BB                I lost.      He dips more toast into his eggs and eats.                                 NORA                You lost?                              BB                I blew the eight ball.                                 NORA                You lost?                                 BB                Yeah.                                                        (CONTINUED)                                                              151.143   CONTINUED:   (4)                                            143                              NORA                What does that mean?                              BB                It means I'm supposed to give                you up, and I'm never supposed                to see you again.                              NORA                Will you stop eating the eggs for                a minute! How can you tell me                things like this and casually eat                your eggs?! What does this mean,                Bill?                              BB                Well, I'm supposed to give you                up as part of honoring that                agreement, but I'm not that                honorable a guy.      He smiles, takes a quick sip of his coffee.                              BB                I gotta go.                              NORA                Why are you running off so fast                here?                              BB                I told you, I got some business                downtown.      He gives her a kiss. Starts to go, turns back, gives      her another kiss, more passionate this time.                              BB                I'll see you later.      He goes down the hall to walk out the front door.144   EXT. BB'S APARTMENT - FRONT DOOR - DAY                      144      Nora walks behind him, stands and watches him go out the      door and down the front steps. He gets into his car and      drives off. Nora stands at the door watching the car      drive away.                                                    CUT TO:                                                                152.145   EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET - DAY                                    145      Tilley pulls his Cadillac into a parking space just a      little up the street from the tobacco warehouse which      houses the Home Improvement Commission. He gets out      of his car, locks the door and starts down the street.      BB's car drives past Tilley. CAMERA FOLLOWS BB's car      as he pulls into a parking space close to the Commission      building.                                                      CUT TO:146   INT. TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - DAY                                  146      Corridor off the main hearing room. The hearing is not      yet in session. Tilley sits on a bench against a wall.      He glances up, his eyes drop and then he looks ACROSS      CAMERA. CAMERA PANS TO the opposite side of the corri-      dor where BB sits on another bench against a wall. BB      glances off at Tilley and then drops his eyes. CAMERA      PANS BACK TO Tilley. A few beats go by. Both men are      uncomfortable with one another's presence.                              TILLEY                       (finally, to BB)                You gotta testify, huh?                              BB                You?                              TILLEY                Yeah.                              BB                You got a lawyer?                              TILLEY                Nah. I already testified once.                I beat 'em before, I'll beat 'em                again.                       (beat)                You got a high-priced mouthpiece                to speak for ya?                              BB                I don't need one.    I don't expect                to win.                              TILLEY                How so?                              BB                I gave them some pretty                incriminating evidence.                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              153.146   CONTINUED:                                              146                              TILLEY                You gave them evidence?                              BB                The only way I could think to get                out of this business.      He smiles.                              TILLEY                       (points, laughing)                Hey, that's good... that's good,                yeah.      There's activity in the hallway.                              VOICE (O.S.)                The hearing for the Home Improvement                Commission is now in session.      Tilley stands.                               TILLEY                       (to BB)                So... how's Nora?                              BB                She's doin' all right.      A MAN comes out of the hearing room.                                 MAN                Ernest Tilley?                              TILLEY                Yeah... here.                       (turns to BB)                Take good care of her.                                                    CUT TO:147   INT. TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - LONG SHOT OF HEARING ROOM - DAY 147      of the Home Improvement Commission. Five  or six      commissioners are behind a long table, led by John      Masters, there is a gallery of observers, and Tilley      sits at the defense table across from the commissioners.                              MASTERS                       (into microphone)                Are you aware that that's a                violation of sections 258 and                261?                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                                  154.147   CONTINUED:                                                  147                                TILLEY                  I'm not aware of the section                  numbers. Sometimes you get a                  little overzealous in the heat of                  the sales pitch, that's all.      BB is watching the proceedings.      CAMERA HOLDS ON him.                                MASTERS (O.S.)                  Was it the heat of the sales pitch                  on February 23rd of this year that                  made you write across a contract                  'This Job Is Free'?      ON TILLEY      who is falling apart.                                TILLEY                  As I remember, no sale was made                  concerning those customers.                                MASTERS                  It fell out because a loan couldn't                  be arranged, but the people did                  agree in principle.                         (beat)                  The point that we'd like to stress,                  is that you misled these people.                  Told them the job was free. Then                  you sent in your closer with some                  cover story about how you had                  suffered a nervous breakdown, and                  a sale was ultimately made for                  twenty-three hundred and seventy-                  seven dollars. That is misleading                  and deceptive sales practice.                                   TILLEY                  It was    temporary insanity. I                  don't    know... it just came over me                  ... it    might have been something                  I ate.     I don't know... it was                  crazy,    I'm the first to admit it                  was a    crazy thing to do. Believe                  me...                                                      (CONTINUED)                                                              155.147   CONTINUED:   (2)                                            147                              MASTERS                       (cutting him off)                We have other specific examples of                deceptive sales practices on your                behalf concerning a job carried                out on December 11, 1962. You                violated sections 241 and 247.                And concerning a job sold to Mr.                and Mrs. DeFranco on October 9,                1962, violations of sections 251                and 257 took place.                              TILLEY                What are all these numbers here?                I'm not familiar with all these                section violations.      ON BB      who is watching the proceedings intently.                              MASTERS (O.S.)                It is the feeling of this commission                that these infractions are severe                violations of the Home Improvement                Laws, and therefore constitute                misuse of the license to sell                aluminum siding as approved by this                state.      CAMERA ON MASTERS                              MASTERS                It is the decision of this                commission to revoke your license                to sell aluminum siding...      CAMERA ON TILLEY      He's not very happy.                              MASTERS (O.S.)                ... Which will prohibit you from                practicing in the state of                Maryland.                              TILLEY                Are you sure? Maybe the guys                want to think this over.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                             156.147   CONTINUED:   (3)                                           147      BACK TO MASTERS                              MASTERS                Thank you, Mr. Tilley. You may                hand over your license to the                clerk of the commission on your                way out.      TILLEY      gets up from the table and goes to the back of the room      to exit the building. He stops at a desk just inside      the door where the clerk is sitting. Tilley pulls out      his wallet, takes out a small document, and throws it      down on the desk. He exits the building.                                                   CUT TO:148   INT. TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - DAY                               148      Same as before, except now we see Stanley enter and sit      amongst the observers.      ANGLE ON MASTERS                              MASTERS                Will Mr. William Babowski please                come forward.      BB walks over to the defense table and sits down.                              MASTERS                You have the right to have a                lawyer present if you so wish.                                 BB                I do not wish.                                                   CUT TO:149   EXT. TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - DAY                               149      Tilley walks down the street toward his car. Suddenly      he realizes that there's an empty space and his car is      gone. Tilley's a little confused, thinking that perhaps      he parked elsewhere. A YOUNG BLACK KID walks up to      Tilley.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                                 157.149   CONTINUED:                                                 149                              KID                Did you have a car parked here?                A Cadillac?                               TILLEY                Yeah.   What about it?                              KID                A man told me to say they took it.                               TILLEY                Who took it?                              KID                Man said, the tax man.     Gave me a                dollar to tell you so.      Tilley walks over and stands in the empty space where      his car had been.                             TILLEY                Tax man! Fucking I.R.S. How low                can you get? How low can you get?      He walks around in the space as if somehow his car might      reappear. He mumbles to himself.                              TILLEY                They're lowlife. How can people                come and take a man's car?... His                Cadillac?                                                       CUT TO:150   INT. TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - DAY                                     150      The hearing is continuing with BB at the defense table,      and Stanley watching.                              MASTERS                I think with the number of                violations on your record, Mr.                Babowski, this commission has no                recourse but to revoke your state                license.      CAMERA ON STANLEY                              MASTERS    (O.S.)                Would you please drop    off your                license with the clerk    of the                commission on your way    out.                                                       (CONTINUED)                                                             158.150   CONTINUED:                                             150      BB                              BB                       (leaning into the                        microphone)                Thank you.      BB gets up and walks to the back of the  room. He stops      at the same desk as Tilley, but instead  of going into      his wallet like Tilley, he just reaches  into his suit      pocket, pulls out a license document and  tosses it onto      the table. Then he heads out the door.                                                   CUT TO:151   EXT. TOBACCO WAREHOUSE - DAY                                 151      BB walks down the street, making for his car. He sees      Tilley still standing in the vacant parking space.      Tilley sees BB. BB stops.                              BB                Sorry about your license.                               TILLEY                Yeah.   You in there?                               BB                Yeah.   They got my license as well.                              TILLEY                Sorry to hear it.                              BB                What are you doing standing there?                              TILLEY                This is where my car used to be.                               BB                Stolen?                              TILLEY                I.R.S. Fucking bandits! Bandits!                Thieving sons of bitches!      BB looks at Tilley for a beat.                              BB                You need a ride uptown?                              TILLEY                I could use one.                                                   (CONTINUED)                                                            159.151   CONTINUED:                                            151                                 BB                Come on.      They cross the street and go toward BB's Cadillac. BB      gets in the driver's side, Tilley gets in the passenger      side, and the car pulls out.                                                  CUT TO:152   INT. BB'S CADILLAC - DAY                              152      BB's driving and Tilley's in the passenger seat.                              TILLEY                Some bullshit commission, huh?                       (beat)                Tell me, where's it written it the                Constitution that says you can't                hustle for money? Where's it                written? It ain't like I went                into an alley and hit a guy over                the head with a brick and stole                his money... not like I broke                into somebody's house and stole                his stuff. All I'm doing is                selling... where's the crime in                that?                              BB                I don't know what the world's                coming to.                              TILLEY                You're telling me. I don't know                what the world's coming to.                                                  CUT TO:153   INT. BB'S CADILLAC - LITTLE LATER                           153      BB's still driving and Tilley's in the passenger seat.                              BB                You know what our big crime is?                We're nickel and dime guys. We're                small time hustlers.  They got us                because we're hustling nickels and                dimes.                                                  (CONTINUED)                                                              160.153   CONTINUED:                                              153                              TILLEY                Nickels and dimes. You got a good                point there, BB. You're right on                the money with that kind of                thinking.      BB stops the car at a stop sign. Something catches BB's      eye. THROUGH the windshield we see a Volkswagen "beetle"      going from right to left.      ANGLE ON BB      as he watches the car.                              BB                Gotta find a new business to get                into.                              TILLEY                New? Very hard to find something                new to get into.      BB puts his foot on the gas and starts to drive.                              BB                Maybe... maybe not.                              TILLEY                Better put on my thinking cap...                not easy to think of something                new.                                                    CUT TO:154   EXT. STREET - LONG TELEPHOTO SHOT OF CITY - DAY               154      showing stacks of houses as the Cadillac drives away.      A MacDonald golden arch is being put in place by a crane      on the horizon line. It's almost as if it's a rainbow      across the far side of town, and the Cadillac will drive      through it.                              BB (V.O.)                Believe me, we'll find something.                It's just a matter of time.                              TILLEY (V.O.)                Yeah... matter of time.      Beat.                                                    (CONTINUED)                                                            161.154   CONTINUED:                                            154                              BB (V.O.)                You know, I hear the new Cadillac's                gonna be out in a couple of months.                              TILLEY (V.O.)                You're kidding?                              BB (V.O.)                Yeah... they're changing the body.                I hear it's a beaut.                              TILLEY (V.O.)                Maybe I should put in my order now.                              BB (V.O.)                What're you talking about? You                ain't got a pot to piss in.                              TILLEY (V.O.)                Give me the pot... I'll fill it.                                                   FADE TO BLACK.                                THE END
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+TRAINING DAY by David Ayer REVISED DRAFT August 18, 1999 FADE IN: INT. BEDROOM - PREDAWN In a Simi Valley housing tract. It's dark. CLOSE ON ALARM CLOCK 4:59 AM. WIDER ANGLE: Eyes glisten in the clock's shine, patiently watching the time. BZZZZ! The ALARM SOUNDS. A hand that's been hovering over the clock drops. Silence. JAKE HOYT, a fit young man, rolls over, throws an arm over his sleeping wife -- JAKE It's time. -- she's not there, just empty blankets. He sits up. HIS POV LISA, his wife, in a rocking chair in the corner. BACK TO SCENE Jake is surprised. How'd she sneak off? JAKE What are you doing up? She pulls back the blanket, she breast-feeds their infant daughter. LISA Mooooo. She lavishes kisses on her baby. CUT TO: CLOSEUP - BRASSO is squirted on terry cloth. A badge is rubbed against it in precise circles. WIDEN TO: INT. KITCHEN - DAWN Jake, scrubbed, shaved, in T-shirt and jeans, studies the gleaming badge, snaps it in its case, clips it to his belt. He tosses a duffle on the counter. Searches through the police gear. Lisa taps a police baton on his shoulder. He takes it. JAKE Thanks. LISA Wrong day to forget stuff. He shoves it in the bag. Zips it. JAKE She go back to sleep? LISA Mmm-hmm. Ate like a pig. She grabs a pack of English muffins. LISA Want some eggs for the road? JAKE I gotta roll. Gotta beat the traffic. He grabs his duffle and pressed uniform off a chair. He kisses Lisa's cheek, her neck, her lips. Heads to the door. The PHONE RINGS. Jake stops. Lisa answers. LISA Hello? (beat, laughs) Hi! How nice, thank you. (beat, giggles) Yes, sir. He's right here. (to Jake) Jake. It's Alonzo. Jake takes the phone. JAKE Hello? ALONZO (V.O.) (filtered) Hoyt? JAKE Yessir. ALONZO (V.O.) (filtered) Meet the Lieutenant yesterday? Get the welcome aboard speech and all that? JAKE Yessir. ALONZO (V.O.) (filtered) He's a good guy. Backs his boys. You all checked in? Your sheet signed off? JAKE Yessir. ALONZO (V.O.) (filtered) You're not on the squad until I sign it. And that depends on how you do today. JAKE Yessir. I know. ALONZO (V.O.) (filtered) On your way to roll call? JAKE Yessir. I'm not out the door right now. ALONZO (V.O.) (filtered) Hoyt. JAKE Yessir? ALONZO (V.O.) (filtered) Patrol fairies go to roll call. We don't go to roll call. JAKE Yessir. ALONZO (V.O.) (filtered) There's a coffee shop at Virgil and Raymond. See you there at ten. Be in civvies. Comfortable shoes. Got a back-up gun? Something pocket-sized? JAKE Yessir. I have a three eighty stainless with nine rounds of silver tips. ALONZO (V.O.) (filtered) Bring it. Cuffs, too. We're gonna be in the office all day, but who knows, maybe we'll do some business. Told you, we're an aggressive unit. JAKE I know, sir. That's why I signed up. I want to thank you for giving me the oppor -- -- CLICK! Alonzo hangs up. Jake too. He stands there. Nervous. Grabs his stomach. LISA What's wrong? JAKE Feel like it's football tryouts. Wish it was tomorrow so I'd already know if I was on his squad or not. LISA It's not tomorrow. It's today. And it's gonna work out. I know it will. JAKE I gotta relax. (snuggles against her) Don't have to show up until ten. She breaks the embrace -- sore breasts -- Ouch! JAKE Soon they'll be mine again. Jake chases them with cupped hands as she retreats, giggling. Their game. CUT TO: INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY Jake struts through the door, confidently looks around. JAKE'S POV DETECTIVE SERGEANT ALONZO, in a flannel shirt, reading the paper in a booth. The gun leather tough LAPD vet is a hands-on, blue collar cop who can kick your ass with a look. BACK TO SCENE Jake walks over. Slides in across. Alonzo's eyes will never leave his newspaper. JAKE Good morning, sir. A young waitress pours Jake coffee, offers a menu. Jake waves it away. JAKE I'm okay, ma'am. Thank you. ALONZO Have some chow before we hit the office. Go ahead. It's my dollar. JAKE No, thank you, sir. I ate. ALONZO Fine. Don't. Alonzo turns the page. A long beat. Then: JAKE It's nice here. ALONZO May I read my paper? JAKE I'm sorry, sir... I'll get some food. ALONZO No. You won't. You fucked that up. Please. I'm reading. Shut up. Jake does -- Jeeez, sorry. Pours a ton of sugar in his coffee. TIME CUT TO: INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY The waitress pours refills. Alonzo reads. Jake fidgets. JAKE Where's the office, sir? Back at Division? No response. JAKE Gonna be nice not roasting all summer in a hot black and white. Alonzo sighs, carefully folds his paper. Glares at Jake. ALONZO Tell me a story, Hoyt. JAKE My story? ALONZO Not your story. A story. You can't keep your mouth shut long enough to let me finish my paper. So tell me a story. JAKE I don't think I know any stories. Alonzo waves the paper in Jake's face. ALONZO This is a newspaper. And I know it's ninety percent bullshit but it's entertaining. That's why I read it. Because it entertains me. If you won't let me read my paper, then entertain me with your bullshit. Tell me a story. JAKE A real one or should I make one up? ALONZO (sighs) Where'd you do your probation? JAKE Van Nuys. ALONZO Right. The Valley. No cute little anecdotes about your time on the mean streets of Van Nuys? Writing underage smoking cites at the shopping mall? Jake thinks. Bingo! He's got it. JAKE There was this D.U.I. stop. ALONZO A D.U.I. stop. Wow. Go on. JAKE We were on the mid-watch. ALONZO We? You and...? JAKE Debbie. ALONZO Debbie? The fuck's Debbie? JAKE My training officer. Debbie Maxwell -- ALONZO -- You're T.O. was female? JAKE Yessir. ALONZO She white? Black? JAKE White. ALONZO She dyked out or she any good? JAKE She's pretty good. ALONZO So you and Debbie are pullin' a mid-watch? JAKE Right. It's a real quiet night. A yawner. We're rolling on Vanowen. I'm driving. And this Acura, just a beautiful car, comes out a side street. In excess. All over the median. So I light it up and hit the wailer. Guy drives on like I'm invisible for ten blocks before he pulls over. Plates ran clean. I approach. Debbie covers. Driver's this huge white guy. Can barely keep his eyes open. I field test and arrest and I'm belting him in our unit. Debbie's tossing his car. She calls me to the vehicle and shows me a snubbed .38 and two shotguns, all loaded and locked. ALONZO No shit? JAKE No shit. She calls our supervisor and I keep searching. I find five hundred grams of meth in the dash. Turns out our D.U.I. was on bail for distribution. He was on his way to smoke his ex-partner before trial. (proudly) We prevented a murder. Alonzo is astonished. ALONZO ... amazing... Jake beams -- some story, huh? ALONZO You're driving around the Valley with a fine bitch in your car for a year and the most entertaining story you got is a D.U.I. stop? Never hit her up for some Code X in the back seat? JAKE I have a wife. ALONZO You also have a dick. Alonzo shakes his head in disgust. Jake is crushed. ALONZO Let's go. Alonzo tosses a twenty on the table. OFF his heavy wedding band we: CUT TO: EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY Jake and Alonzo crossing. Alonzo sizes Jake up, smirks at his dorky running shoes. ALONZO You look, walk and talk like a cop. Grow your hair out. Alonzo stops at: G-RIDE A narc-machine supreme. A tired, candy blue 1978 Monte Carlo with mismatched rims, curb feelers, window tint. ALONZO Gimme that menu. Jake pulls a Chinese menu from under the wiper. Hands it to Alonzo, who folds and pockets it. ALONZO Get in. S'un1ocked. Jake's turn to smirk as he climbs in. INT. G-RIDE - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY Jake buries his shoes in beer cans and coffee cups. He notes a car seat in back. Alonzo twists a screwdriver in the shattered ignition, pumps the hell out of the gas. After forever, the ENGINE CATCHES -- VROOM! JAKE This is a piece'a shit. ALONZO Don't worry. My baby puts out when she has to. Alonzo rubs the dash lovingly and backs out. JAKE Where's the office? ALONZO You're in it. Jake reacts. Then smiles -- This is kind'a cool. ALONZO Rover's in the glove box. Wanna ten-eight us? JAKE Yessir. ALONZO Shitcan the sirs. I'm not your domestic violence awareness instructor. Jake takes a Motorola radio from the glove box. JAKE What's our I.D.? ALONZO Nora fifteen. JAKE (into Motorola) Nora fifteen, ten-eight. DISPATCH (V.O.) Nora fifteen, ten-twenty. Jake checks the street signs -- Virgil and Raymond. Before he can tell Dispatch, Alonzo snatches the Motorola. ALONZO (into rover) Nora fifteen, South on Rampart at 6th. DISPATCH (V.O.) Ten four. Alonzo SQUEALS out of the lot, tosses Jake the rover. ALONZO Bad guys are listening. Don't trust the radios. Never let anyone know where you're really at. Ever. Jake nods and smiles -- makes sense. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY Heading South on Alvarado, passing MacArthur Park. It could be San Salvador or Guatemala City. Jake is mesmerized by the crowds. JAKE This looks like the Third World. ALONZO It's my world. Alonzo lights a smoke. Settles in his seat. ALONZO Today's a training day. Gonna show you around, give you a feel for the business. I have thirty- eight cases pending trial. I have sixty-three active investigations. There's another three hundred and fifty cases on the log I can't clear. I'm supervising five officers. That's five different personalities, five different sets of problems. You, Officer Hoyt, if you got the guts to succeed, will be number six. I don't have time to baby-sit or hold hands. You have one day to show me who you are and what you can or cannot handle. You can't hack narcotics, feel free to work a pussy desk pinching check kiters. Hear me, Officer Hoyt? JAKE I hear you. ALONZO Good. Gonna show you reality. Think you can handle it? JAKE Yeah. ALONZO Why you wanna be a narc? JAKE I want to serve my community by ridding it of dangerous drugs. Alonzo gives him a look -- Don't b.s. me. JAKE I wanna make detective. The boy is ambitious. Alonzo likes that. ALONZO Stick with me and you will. If you can unlearn the bullshit they've filled your head with. You gonna be passing out baseball cards and carrying old ladies' groceries like the rest of the newfucks Washington's flooded the streets with? JAKE Sergeant, I'll do anything you want me to do. ALONZO Stand by, because narcotics ain't about staying in the car and looking good. I bet you write great paper, Hoyt. (before Jake can answer) You do. I checked it out. Cover your area, cover your ass, but not necessarily in that order, right? JAKE Right. Are you going to teach me that old school hard-charging beat up everything that moves Rodney King shit? ALONZO That's not police work either. We're the new breed. We use this... (taps his head) This is our tool. Alonzo stops at a light. A shiny new police cruiser pulls alongside. The driver sips a Big Gulp, his female partner writes a report. They look more like co-eds than cops. Jake eyes the driver. Who gives him a smile. Then Alonzo looks at the driver. When their eyes meet, the Driver looks away, intimidated, and makes a right turn. Alonzo grins at Jake, his point underscored. ALONZO How long you been married? JAKE A year. ALONZO Gotta kid, right? JAKE (smiles) A nine-month-old girl. ALONZO I got four kids. All boys. You want a son, lemme know. I'll do your old lady up. I can't miss. Jake angers, though he knows he is being tested. JAKE Let's not talk about my family. ALONZO It's cool. I can respect that. I'm married. I have my queen, too. I remember what it's like to have a pretty young bride. Bet you still fuck her face-to-face. JAKE (clenched teeth) Can we not talk about my wife? ALONZO Kick back, kid... You're so in love it's comin' out your eyes. The day you bring the old lady to the office is the day you don't go home. If you don't hide your love deep inside, the maggots are gonna find it and chew on it. Jake realizes Alonzo is right. Alonzo hands him a card. ALONZO That's our Chaplain, Lieutenant Hayes. Give him a call. Invite him and his wife over for dinner. He's a good guy and no dumbshit. You and your woman need any kind'a help, call him. I'm serious. Jake takes the card. Kind of smiles. JAKE Thanks. I will. They cruise a beat. JAKE Who's Mr. Clean? Alonzo nails him with surprised look. ALONZO Where the hell you hear that? JAKE From a Van Nuys Robbery Detective. Told me to ask you that. ALONZO (smiles, shakes his head) Asshole. Alonzo pulls onto a street of dense apartments. Parks along the curb. JAKE What's here? ALONZO Transactions... See the Salvatrucha one-cut on the fence, trying not to look like he's slangin'? Jake looks, sees a young, bald cholo, Neto, just hanging out. ALONZO That's Neto. Works for me. JAKE Informant? ALONZO I got eyes everywhere. He gets to peddle reefer, make a little cash for the family. I get a heads up when shit goes down. The barrio on-line. JAKE And you trust him? ALONZO Fuckin' right I trust him. Sprung his mom from I.N.S. detention. Alonzo watches his mirror, perks up. ALONZO Here we go. INSERT - MIRROR A new VW Beetle pulls onto the street, moving slow. BACK TO SCENE The VW passes the G-Ride. Jake glimpses three people inside, two guys in front, a girl in back. Hipster university students. ALONZO Shit's going down. JAKE'S POV The VW stops. Neto looks around, crosses to the driver's window, a drink cup in hand. Neto plucks a foil pack from the cup. Trades it for the driver's ten. Neto walks away. BACK TO SCENE ALONZO See the hand-to-hand? JAKE I saw it. The VW drives off, fast. Alonzo pulls out. Follows it. ALONZO When was your last felony stop? JAKE Couple weeks ago. ALONZO You need practice. JAKE They look like college kids. ALONZO They need a lesson. I want these hemorrhoids grabbing glass. I got front. You got back. Alonzo pulls his gun. Jake reaches for the Motorola. ALONZO Stay off the rover. Jake puts it away, pulls his gun. Alonzo stomps the gas. The G-Ride HOWLS. The VW is at the corner, about to turn -- SCREEEEEECH! -- Alonzo slaloms to a stop, blocking its path. His pistol aimed through Jake's window at the DRIVER. ALONZO Police! Lemme see your hands! Jake draws a bead on the girl in back. JAKE Police officers! Your hands! The kids gawk at the two narcs for a stunned beat. JAKE Don't look at us! Look straight ahead! ALONZO Driver and right front passenger! Palms on the windshield! JAKE You in the back! Palms on the side window! Look straight ahead! ALONZO Driver! Use your left hand, put the vehicle in park. The Driver is mortified because: DRIVER ... it's a stickshift... ALONZO Shut up, dickhead! I'll shoot your face off! Take the keys out of the ignition. Throw 'em out the window! The Driver does, quickly, as Alonzo jumps from the car charges the Driver, shoves the gun in his face. These are just scared kids. The girl tries not to cry. ALONZO Fork it over, smartman. DRIVER What, sir? Alonzo grabs his ear, tugs violently. ALONZO The fuckin' marijuana I just watched you purchase! The Driver hands over the foil pack. PASSENGER I'm very sorry, sir. I didn't know he was bringing me here. ALONZO Shut up, dumbass. You're here now! Gimme that pipe! There's a pot pipe on the floor mat. The PASSENGER picks it up. Reluctantly hands it to Alonzo. PASSENGER My mom gave me that pipe. ALONZO What else you got? DRIVER Cigarettes...? ALONZO Gimme those too. He gives him a squished packed of Marlboro reds. The girl lowers her hands -- bad move. ALONZO Control your suspect, Hoyt! JAKE Miss! Palms on the glass! Alonzo sees her lip quiver. ALONZO Cry and I slap the eyes outta your face! Back to the Driver. ALONZO You aware this is a gang neighborhood? That gives him pause -- no kidding -- Alonzo grabs his ear again, shakes. ALONZO I see you here again, I take your car. You can walk home while your girlfriend pulls a homeboy train... Hear me, reefer addict? DRIVER Yes, sir. ALONZO Thank you for your cooperation -- Safe your iron. Jake holsters his gun. Follows Alonzo to the G-Ride. ON VW The kids trade shell-shocked looks, grabbing glass. Then lower their hands. ON G-RIDE Alonzo and Jake climb in. As they drive away, the gir1 nails Jake with a look of revulsion. Jake reacts. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY Alonzo laughing. Jake didn't like what happened. It shows. JAKE Was that training? How to roust students for dime bags? ALONZO They have no business being here. Sooner or later that little smart- ass white boy college puke is gonna get jacked. I saved his life. JAKE Taught him a real lesson. ALONZO Sure did, buy your shit on campus. (beat) I like your moves. Someone trained you well. Jake smiles to himself. Alonzo opens the foil, sniffs -- ALONZO Shitty dime. Check it out. -- hands it to Jake. Who takes out a bud. ALONZO See the small hairs? The undeveloped seeds. How it's all stems? Jake nods. ALONZO It was picked immature. See how flat it is? Classic brick-pack Mexican. See how brittle it is? It's not bud season. It's from last year. Jake is amazed. Alonzo snatches the bud, crumbles it in the pipe, tosses aside seeds. ALONZO To be truly effective, a narcotics detective must know and love narcotics. A good narcotics detective should have narcotics in his blood. JAKE You going to smoke that? Alonzo smiles devilishly, offers Jake the pipe. ALONZO You are. JAKE Hell if I am. ALONZO What? You a Mormon? A Jesus freak? JAKE No. I'm not losing my job. ALONZO (re: the pipe) This is your job. JAKE I can't do it. ALONZO This isn't some kind of test. Take a fuckin' hit. JAKE I became a cop to keep people from using that poison. ALONZO (laughs) This ain't a review board. We ain't doing rails. Just leafy green bud. Jake stands firm, shaking his head. SCREECH! Alonzo stops in the middle of the street, pulls his gun, jams it in Jake's ear. CARS behind them HONK. ALONZO If I was a dealer, you'd be dead. Turn shit down on the street and the Chief hands your wife a crisply folded flag. Jake stares stubbornly at Alonzo. Alonzo pockets the gun. Lights the lighter. And takes a huge hit, blows smoke in Jake's face. ALONZO I don't want you in my unit. Not even my division. Go back to Valley. Get the fuck out of my car. A staring contest. Jake decides to play the game. JAKE ... Okay... He takes the pipe, takes an absolutely huge hit -- ALONZO Alright. That's how it's done, son. -- And is racked with a spasm of coughing. ALONZO Betrayed by your virgin lungs. Jake takes another hit -- a passing driver watches -- blows the smoke in Alonzo's face. Alonzo laughs, resumes driving, takes a hit. They pass the pipe around a few times before Alonzo tosses it on the dash. ALONZO It's cashed. They cruise in a strange otherworldly silence. Jake is clearly messed up, his head lolls from side to side. ALONZO Shit, you took some mansized hits. You gonna be okay? When's the last time you smoked out? JAKE ... Twelfth grade... ALONZO Left that out of your service jacket. Knew you had secrets, everyone does. Didn't know you dig dusters. JAKE What are dusters? ALONZO You know, dusted bud. Dippers? C'mon, dipped in P.C.P. Primos. Sherm, Kool, P-dog, Angel dust... Didn't you smell it? Taste it? JAKE (horrified) ... I've never done it... ALONZO Now you have. Remember the smell for next time. Think I'd inhale that shit? Jake is scared as hell, pale, sweaty. JAKE Oh, no. No. No. No. ALONZO Gonna kick the shit out of Neto. Motherfucker's lacing crappy bud to get that unsuspecting return client. Hell with his mom, I'm deporting the bitch. JAKE I'm gonna get piss tested. I'm gonna get fired. ALONZO I told you, Lieutenant's got our backs. We know a week before we piss. JAKE (panicking) Shit. How could you do this to me? Shit. Shit. Shit! Alonzo slams an elbow across Jake's throat. ALONZO Fuckin' chill and ride the high. You're an adult. You chose to smoke. Live with your decisions. You cool? JAKE I'm cool. ALONZO Besides, no one put a gun to your head. Jake shoots him a look. CUT TO: EXT. HOUSE - DAY A well-tended craftsman on a steep hill of fixer-uppers in Echo Park. The G-Ride parks out front. ALONZO Get your shit together. Alonzo and Jake cross to the door. The steepness of the hill is disorientating to Jake. Alonzo knocks. ALONZO This is my Road Dog's pad. Wanna see what he thinks of you. JAKE What do I say? ALONZO You'll think of something stupid. Someone peeps through the peephole. A tall, heavy man in a bathrobe with long, grey hair answers. This is ROGER, old before his time, a little sick. Happy to see Alonzo. ROGER Hey, brother, get your ass in here. CUT TO: INT. ROGER'S LIVING ROOM - DAY Roger and Alonzo hug. ALONZO Did I wake you? ROGER No. C'mon in. Please have a seat. Alonzo and Jake sit in big chairs. Three beepers, three cell phones on the coffee table. Roger sits, takes a bottle of whisky, three tumblers from a liquor cart. Pours booze. Jake looks around at the modest traditional furniture. The Hummel figurines. Photos on the wall. ALONZO Alright. Time to get my swerve on. Roger gives Alonzo a concerned look. ROGER Heard you had a beef in Vegas. ALONZO I'm cool. People talk shit. ROGER You know I got your back. ALONZO I know. Thanks. They clink glasses, chug booze. Jake doesn't. He stares into the liquid, enraptured by its smoky patterns. ALONZO C'mon. Be polite. Jake takes his tumbler, sniffs, sips. Winces. Roger runs a finger up Jake's crew-cut. Jake recoils. ROGER Went and got yourself a daisy- fresh scuzz-headed rookie. Roger leans back in the couch. Jake is looking around the room again. A BEEPER BEEPS. Roger checks it. Dials a cell phone. Alonzo gesturing for Jake to drink. He almost empties his glass. ROGER Wassup? (beat) Collect first. Step to that cat with something to flash. He'll lay you down. (beat) Righteous. Later, dude. Roger hangs up. Studies Jake. ROGER Jesus, Alonzo. He's high as a motherfucker. The hell you give him? Alonzo tosses the foil pack on the table. Roger takes it, smells the PCP and shakes his head. ROGER Where'd you grow up? JAKE North Hollywood. ROGER What's your last name? JAKE Hoyt. ROGER (it clicks) You play strong safety for North Hollywood High? JAKE Yessir. How'd you know? ROGER I follow all the good players. His BEEPER BEEPS. He checks it, sighs. Dials a cell phone. ROGER It's me. Whassup? (beat) Can't do a thing for you. Your mess. You clean it up. Don't be callin' me. He hangs up. Freshens the drinks. ROGER (to Jake) Here's a joke, boy. One day this man walks out of his house to go to work. He sees this snail on his porch. So he picks it up and chucks it over his roof, into the back yard. Snail bounces off a rock, cracks its shell all to shit, and lands in the grass. Snail lies there dying. A BEEPER BEEPS. Roger checks and ignores it. ROGER But it doesn't die. It eats some grass. Slowly heals. Grows a new shell. And after a while it can crawl again. One day the snail up and heads back to the front of the house. Finally, after a year, the little guy crawls back on the porch. Right then, the man walks out to go to work and sees this snail again. So he says to it, 'What the fuck's your problem?' Jake stares at Roger a beat. Then starts laughing. Really laughing. Maybe too much. He wipes his eyes. JAKE That's messed up. That wasn't funny. ALONZO Then why are you cackling like a jackal? JAKE I dunno. ROGER Figure that joke out and you'll figure the streets out. ALONZO Don't listen to him. There's nothing to figure out. The street's nothing more than senseless bullshit. JAKE Uh-uh. I got 'em figured out. ROGER You got the streets figured out? JAKE Yeah. It's all smiles and cries. ALONZO Give up. You're too high, space captain. ROGER Hold on -- smiles and cries. I hear you. JAKE You gotta control your smiles and cries. No one can take them away so... they're all we really have. Roger and Alonzo trade looks -- sharp kid. Alonzo pats Jake's shoulder. To Roger: ALONZO Think this greenhorn can handle undercover? Roger scrutinizes Jake a beat. Smiles and nods: yes. ROGER You were just like him. ALONZO (laughs) Fuck you. ROGER Same silly-ass look and everything. Saving the fuckin' world. ALONZO That lasted a week. Alonzo stands, shakes with Roger. ALONZO Brother, I gotta get back in my office. Thanks for the snort, dog. What're you up to today? Roger gestures at the phones and beepers. ROGER Think I get out of the house? A BEEPER BEEPS. Roger shakes with Jake. ROGER Take care, Hoyt. You're gonna do okay. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY South on Rampart. Jake senses he passed a test. Alonzo smiling at him. JAKE What? ALONZO He liked you. JAKE Who is he? One of your snitches? ALONZO He's no snitch. He's a good man to know. C'mon, let's find some action in Niggertown. (off Jake's look) N-wordtown. What are you, Hoyt? You ain't pure whiteboy. You mixed? JAKE Italian, Irish and Mexican. ALONZO No shit? You're all fucked up. How's the Espanol? JAKE Mas o menos. ALONZO Work on it. People'll be plotting the worst kind of shit behind your back. Alonzo parks in front of a liquor store. CUT TO: EXT. LIQUOR STORE - DAY Alonzo crosses to the G-ride with a sixer of beer -- INT. G-RIDE - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY -- Climbs in. Sees Jakes's eyes are closed. ALONZO C'mon, man. Open your eyes. You'll make it worse. Nothing. ALONZO Sit your ass up. Hoyt! Jake locks bleary red eyes on Alonzo, jokingly: JAKE Who're you? ALONZO The fuckin' zig-zag man. JAKE Cool. I'm a cop. ALONZO You're a little bitty boot. Alonzo cracks beers for him and Jake. ALONZO C'mon. It helps. Believe me. Jake takes one. Swigs. Alonzo lights a smoke, pulls onto Normandie. Does a doubletake. ALONZO Oh, damn! Jake looking around wildly. JAKE Oh, shit! What? What? What? ALONZO Relax. See that savory Mexican mama? JAKE'S POV A beautiful Mexican woman pushing a baby carriage. CAMERA PLAYING OVER her in luscious SLOW MOTION. BACK TO SCENE Jake stares, mouth open. Alonzo points out more beautiful Latinas gracing the sidewalks. ALONZO Mmmm-mmmm. The brown woman is the fine woman. Give her ten more babies to push around. Thick and tasty. Love to get up in that... Your old lady white? Fuckin' Nordic cheerleader, right? JACK Wrong. She's Chicana. Light- skinned. ALONZO I like my meat dark. C'mon, pound that beer. Have another. Gives you ballast. Alonzo tosses his empty out the window. Jake too. Alonzo cracks two fresh beers -- Jake takes one, drops it, soaking his leg. ALONZO Dumbass. Don't spill it. You gotta learn how to party. JAKE I'm fine. ALONZO You gotta be able to handle a high. It's a necessary job skill. I'm not kidding. It's an alcohol world down here. You gotta be able to hang. To get fucked up and talk shit with sketchy sociopathic dumbasses and not pass out and get your shoes stolen. JAKE I'm fine. Just a little dizzy. But Jake looks decidedly green. He sips beer. HICCUPS mightily. Alonzo brakes, flings open Jake's door. ALONZO Not in my car! Jake leans out, vomits onto the street. He hangs there a beat, dry heaving. ALONZO Okay, okay. Well's dry, kid. He yanks Jake in by the collar. Keeps driving. JAKE Sorry. ALONZO Wipe your chin. Jake does, rinses his mouth with beer, spits out the window. JAKE I'm cool now. Had to unload the groceries. He leans his head on the window pillar. Jakes's eye absorb the street's tableau of unworldly gliding by. Palm trees and sunshine. Paradise and hell in one. His lids begin to drift shut. Then Jake sees a flash of movement in an alley. Suddenly alert, he paws at the doorhandle. JAKE Activity on the right? Stop the car! ALONZO Siddown, Hoyt. Everything's fine. JAKE Stop the fucking car! ALONZO C'mon, relax. You're trippin' -- Jake grabs the gearshift, throws it in reverse. The transmission GRINDS, tires SCREECH. The engine stalls. Jake is out like a shot -- EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY -- He dodges an oncoming car. ALONZO Get the fuck back here! Jake into the alley. ON G-RIDE Alonzo pulling to the curb. ALONZO Dumb-ass kid. ON JAKE Running like a deer. He enters the alley. Sees a book bag on the ground -- A dumpster ahead. Jake rounds it. Fast. HIS POV A devastatingly beautiful Latina SCHOOLGIRL, pinned against the wall by a tall CRACKHEAD. Her nose dots blood on her uniform blouse. BACK TO SCENE The Crackhead hauls back to smack her. Jake Charging. JAKE Police officer! You're under arrest! The Crackhead punches Jake's throat. Stops him cold. Jake realizes how huge this guy is. Gulp. CRACKHEAD Gonna fuck you too, cop. ANOTHER CRACKHEAD dives from the shadows and tackles Jake. Both go down hard. Crackhead #1 stomps Jake's head. Jake gets his arm around Crackhead #2's neck, squeezes -- the forbidden choke hold. Alonzo enters the alley. And just stands there, watching. Jake rides out Crackhead #I's vicious kicks as Crackhead #2 convulses from hypoxia. And finally goes limp. Jake lets go, sweeps Crackhead #I's legs out from under him and hops to his feet. Crackhead #1 stands too. The Schoolgirl looks on, stunned. CRACKHEAD #1 You're ass is doomed. Jake growls, snatches him up like a rag doll, spins him, slams him hard. In a flash, Jake twists him into a pretzel, drops a knee on his neck, grinds his head into the asphalt. Clicks on the cuffs. CRACKHEAD #1 We didn't do shit. Bitch is crazy and shit. Crackhead #2 coming to, starting to stand. Jake crosses to him, pins his head with his knee. Slips a pair of flexicuffs from his sock, zips them on the man's wrists. CRACKHEAD #2 Man, you fuckin' up, slick. Homegirl tradin' her ass for cookies. JAKE Shut the fuck up, sir! ANGLE ON ALONZO Smiling, impressed by his raw skill. JAKE Thanks for the help. ALONZO Should'a shot 'em. Jake crosses to the Schoolgirl. JAKE We're police officers. You okay? You hurt? SCHOOLGIRL (to the Crackheads, shaken but tough) You fucked up! My cousins are from White Fence. They're gonna blast you fools! Pinchi mayates! ALONZO Miss! Relax! Are you okay? SCHOOLGIRL What? No. No, I'm not okay. Lookit my nose... My mom's gonna trip out. Alonzo gingerly examines her nose. ALONZO Honey, it's just a nosebleed. Put ice on it. Don't be walkin' around here alone. Tell your cousins to get your back. You know what those pieces'a shit were gonna do. Probably got AIDS. Why aren't you in school? SCHOOLGIRL I was going to a ditch party. ALONZO You almost became a ditch party. Go home. Go home. Now. She grabs her book bag and gets out of there. JAKE I gotta get her statement. ALONZO Unhook em'. We're not racking up arrests. JAKE (shocked) Kick 'em loose? ALONZO No. Get some shots in first. JAKE I have a punching bag at home. I want them off the street. Alonzo squats by Crackhead #1. Searches him. ALONZO Hear that, bro? My dog, here, wants to lock you up. Been to the bootyhouse? Grabbin' ankles for the big boys? CRACKHEAD #1 Suck my dick, bitch. I know people. ALONZO Kick back, who's-who. Alonzo finds rocks in one sock. Some twenties in the other. He pockets the cash and crack. Searches Crackhead #2. ALONZO Where's your horn? CRACKHEAD #2 Ain't got no horn. Alonzo finds a glass pipe. ALONZO So what's this, chief? Gonna make you eat it. Instead, he grinds it underfoot. ALONZO Ya'll lucky I got pressing business today -- You, stand up. Alonzo hauls Crackhead #1 to his feet. Unlocks the cuffs, tosses them to Jake. Crackhead #2 strains against the flexicuffs. ALONZO (to Crackhead #2) You get to keep those. He steers Crackhead #1 to a wall -- cocks his fist. ALONZO Ain't the first honey ya'll pinned to a wall, huh? Close your eyes. Crackhead does. Alonzo knees his groin -- oof! -- He falls to the ground, whimpers in the fetal position. ALONZO Next time I cut your dick off and shove it up your ass. (pats Jake's back, winks) I'll leave you three alone. Gonna grab some beer. Alonzo exits the alley. Jake watches Crackhead #1 whimper, Crackhead #2 writhe in the gutter. It's futi1e to beat these men. Jake takes pity, walks away. CRACKHEAD #2 Pussy motherfucker. Gonna see your ass again. Gonna fuck you up, bitch. Won't see shit coming. Creep like a ninja and crack your head open. Blow your house up. Punk-ass white boy. Now you in my world, motherfucker. Jake stops and turns around. He stoops to pick up a pink Hello Kitty change purse. INSIDE CHANGE PURSE The Schoolgirl's MIA bus pass and her freshman ID from Immaculate Heart High School. BACK TO SCENE Jake glares at the Crackheads. JAKE You assholes! She's fifteen! CRACKHEAD #2 (grins) She all woman. Tax that ass for days. Man! Jake could kick his brains out. Somehow, he turns and walks away. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY Jake steams. Alonzo offers a beer from a new sixer. Jake refuses. Alonzo counts and pockets the money he took. Notes Jake's stare. ALONZO Wanna book sixty bucks? Where're the suspects? JAKE (ice) You let them go. ALONZO Get over it. You wanna go runnin' and gunnin', stay in patrol. This is Investigations. Leave the garbage for the garbage men. We're professional anglers. We reel in the big ones. Should'a dished out some shoe leather. You'd have a big 'ol smile on your face. JAKE I get my shits and grins booking bad guys, not beating them. ALONZO Man... The fuck you doing running alone into an alley full'a cracked-out monkey-strong motherfuckers? Those hemorrhoids wouldta killed you without mercy or hesitation. JAKE That's why they belong in prison. ALONZO They lost their money, their rock, got beat down and now the eses from White Fence are gonna smoke 'em. Jesus, what more do you want? JAKE Justice. ALONZO Is that not justice? JAKE That's street justice. ALONZO What's wrong with street justice? JAKE Let the animals wipe themselves out, right? ALONZO If only they would. But it don't work like that. They wipe out the good folks. Notice how it's always school kids, mommies and ass-bustin' family men catching stray slugs in their noodles. You protect the sheep by catching the wolves. It takes a wolf to catch a wolf. JAKE What? ALONZO You protect -- JAKE I heard you. Whatever. A beat. JAKE When do you lock anyone up? Seems like you're too busy keeping people out. Bad mistake. Alonzo slaps him. Glares at him. ALONZO Shut up, boot! Nothin' but shit 'tween your ears. They build prisons cause'a me! Judges have handed out fifteen thousand man years of incarceration time based on my investigations. My record speaks for itself. How many felons have you collared? Dickhead. Now that it's clear who's the boss, they drive in tense silence for a long beat. Alonzo digs in his pocket -- ALONZO Here... -- hands Jake the rocks he found. A beat. JAKE I'm not smoking crack. ALONZO Good. I'm glad to hear that. Toss 'em in the glove box. Jake does, sees several more rocks under some papers. ALONZO Comes in handy. Like a debit card. (offers Jake a beer) You earned it. C'mon. Jake refuses. ALONZO No matter what I say, I want you to know, you did the right thing. Reminds me of when I could chase down anyone and fuck them up. You're a good cop. You got fire. That was some amazing shit back there. JAKE Thanks. ALONZO That the choke hold I saw you applying? Isn't that a big no-no, procedure-boy? JAKE Well... I was getting my ass kicked. ALONZO You did what you had to do. Alonzo gives Jake a beer and grins at him like a proud dad. ALONZO You got a magic eye, Hoyt. You have a magic fucking eye. Up your street I.Q. and you'll do some damage, crime fighter. They clink cans. Jake smiles. CUT TO: EXT. NORMANDIE AND VERNON - DAY The G-Ride rolls through the intersection. If you don't know the neighborhood, stay the hell out. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY The area fills Alonzo's eyes with memories. ALONZO This is Southwest Div. Did my probation here. Learned a lot here. Good things. Bad things. Kicked some ass. Had my ass kicked. JAKE Back in the days. ALONZO Yeah, back in the days. Today's my date of employment. Know how long I been a cop? (as Jake shakes his head) Thirteen years. Seven more and I cash outta the game. JAKE No shit. Happy anniversary. Jake holds out his hand. Alonzo shakes it. Kills his beer, cracks another. ALONZO Thanks. Thirteen's an unlucky number but the seven to go cancel it out. Alonzo turns on Adams. He reaches over, digs in the glove box. Pulls out a photograph and hands it to Jake. INSERT - PHOTO A spit-and-polish, young cop in crisp blues, white gloves, holding his Beretta at inspection arms. BACK TO SCENE Jake looks at the photo, then at Alonzo. Realizing: JAKE You're Mr. Clean. ALONZO I had a few misconceptions when I started out. (points out a house) On the left. See that house? Dude named Spooky lived there. Mean old vato loco. Mexican Mafia. No one fucked with Spooky. Even got respect from the cops. We'd keep an eye on his house. You like dogs? JAKE Gotta six-year-old Rottweiler. Not too bright, but I can trust him with my kid. ALONZO Rotties are good dogs. Dobermans are better. Spooky raised Dobermans. On my second week of patrol, when I was not knowin' shit, we roll by Spooky's one night. I observe this old, black fool, named Too Fine, all drunk, beating the shit out of this female Doberman. Beautiful dog, seven months old. Too Fine's whoopin' her with a garden hose. This dog's just crying, shaking. I grew up with Dobermans. I was pissed. I tell my T.O. 'I'm gonna take him.' And my T.O. is like: 'No, no. It's cool.' He fuckin' waves to Too Fine and this motherfucker smiles and waves back and keeps hitting the dog. Thought I lost my damn mind. Tells me Spooky gave him twenty bucks to beat the shit out of it. My T.O., this good 'ol boy, looks me in the eye and says: 'Teaches 'em to hate niggers.' Almost quit right there. Almost got out of the fuckin' black and white and took the bus home. Jake looks at Alonzo. JAKE That's fucked up. That's one of the most fucked up things I ever heard. ALONZO Just remembered that. Every time I'd seen it all, the street'd show me something even more fucked up. I know you didn't see no shit like that in the Valley. JAKE No, I haven't. Jake takes a last look at the photograph of young Alonzo and replaces it in the glove box. Alonzo enters an alley cutting through several blocks. ALONZO Double-nickel Crips control shit here. They come up hard. Come in here running undercover shit and get made as a narc, the O.G.s'll booty-bust you then some thirteen- year-old wannabe'll curbstone you. Feed your dead ass to a pit bull. Youngins here fight for the right to dump a cop. Everyone wants a name. JAKE That really happen? ALONZO No, Hoyt, I'm pullin' your dick. Anything can happen. It's loony tunes here. Keep an eye out for rock stars. Alonzo pulls on a side street where PEANUT, a young gangster, is ready to serve them. ALONZO There's one. Don't let him see your face. And don't let anyone run up on us with a shotgun. Alonzo pulls out a twenty, stops near Peanut, who crosses to his window. PEANUT What you want, homie? ALONZO (flashes twenty) Twenty. Gimme a big-ass chip. Peanut takes a rock from his pocket, gives it to Alonzo, reaches for the twenty -- CLICK-CLICK! Alonzo cuffs him to the steering wheel -- ALONZO Let's take a ride, asshole. -- Stomps the gas, SCREECH! Peanut runs to keep up. Alonzo stops at the end of the alley. ALONZO You from double nickel? PEANUT Ain't from shit. ALONZO Again: Where you from? PEANUT My mom. ALONZO Your mom? From her ass? You a butt baby? PEANUT Fuck you -- -- SCREECH! Alonzo races in reverse down the alley. Peanut is yanked off his feet. His legs drag in the dirt. Alonzo stops, lights a squished Marlboro. He has Peanut's attention. ALONZO What do they call you? PEANUT Peanut. ALONZO You in double nickel, Peanut? Peanut nods. ALONZO See, respect me, I respect you. Talk shit, I fuck you up. Ah'ite, homie. PEANUT Ah'ite. ALONZO Who's the boss? PEANUT You. ALONZO No, dumbass. Who you slangin' for? Peanut clams up. Alonzo grabs the gearshift. ALONZO Gimme a name or your hand. Choose now. Peanut stares at his hand, flexes it. Alonzo revs the engine. PEANUT Mr. Mighty. Alonzo shoves forty bucks in Peanut's hand, unlocks him -- ALONZO Back to work, poo-butt. -- and drives away. Peanut flips him off. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY Jake adds Peanut's rock to the glovebox. JAKE He was just a kid. ALONZO Kids or not, gotta make 'em sing. JAKE Who's Mr. Mighty? Let's get him. ALONZO Nope... can't catch that fish. JAKE Why not? ALONZO Lives in the unincorporated part of Lynwood. We don't wanna deal with County Sheriffs. Fuck that headache. Wastin' our time here. Let's head East. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY The G-Ride cruising through an even worse area. Alonzo scans the urban wasteland for prey. Sees a gaunt DEALER on a corner. Hands Jake a twenty. ALONZO Your turn. JAKE What do I say? ALONZO Adlib, dumbfuck. He pulls over. The Dealer crosses to Jake. DEALER What you want, homie? JAKE Crack. Twenty dollars' worth. DEALER Fuck you, rookie. He quickly walks away. Alonzo smiles. ALONZO Fetch, boy. Fetch. Jake bolts from the car. EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - ON DEALER - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY walking. He sees Jake, starts running. Jake gaining, tackles him. Gets the Dealer in a compliance hold and cuffs him. Alonzo pulls up, sees Jake grinning. ALONZO Love doing that, huh? (searches Dealer) Who you work for, fuckstain? DEALER Can't work. I'm on disability. ALONZO Bullshit. You crackin'. Jake finishes searching. ALONZO No rocks? JAKE No rocks. DEALER (laughing) Aw, dang. See? Ya'll ain't got shit. The man comin' up short again. Alonzo exits the car. Glares. ALONZO I never come up short, fool. (to Dealer) Open your mouth. The Dealer does. Sensing to not play with Alonzo. ALONZO Lift your tongue. He does. DEALER See. I ain't be gottin' shit. ALONZO Gimme a pen. Jakes does. Alonzo grabs the Dealer's neck. Forces the pen in his mouth. Down his throat. He gags -- Urgh! Vomits. DEALER Motherfucker! Jake is stunned. Alonzo inspects the spattered sidewalk. Sees Saran-wrapped rocks. ALONZO Lookie those. DEALER That's corn. ALONZO That's Jimmy crack corn... One, two, three, four, five... six. How'd you swallow that shit without water? DEALER Fuckin' bullshit! Fuck you, civil rights violatin' motherfuckers. Alonzo slaps him. ALONZO Gonna act like a man or a bitch?! Got you cold. Gimme a name and stay on the streets. The Dealer mulls it over. DEALER He in County. ALONZO Who? DEALER Sandman. He's shot callin'. ALONZO Unhook him, Hoyt. Jake unlocks the cuffs. Alonzo steps over the vomit. ALONZO And collect the evidence. JAKE Fuck you. ALONZO You're learning. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY Jake keeps looking at Alonzo, half impressed, half appalled. ALONZO What? JAKE You don't give a fuck. Alonzo grins, dials a cell phone. ALONZO Afternoon, Bob. It's Alonzo, Rampart Narcs. (beat) Good, and you? (beat) Great. (beat) Yeah, that's right. I made it. The big one three. (beat; laughs) 'Course I'm on the street. Hey, partner, got your gang book? (beat) Okay, I need a res. Alias is Sandman. If he's not in Ghetto Boys, try the Mobsters... might be in custody. (beat) No, I'll hold. (to Jake) Bob Ramirez. Intel coordinator for Seventy-Seventh Div Crash. (into phone) -- Yeah, Bob, still here. Shoot. Alonzo jots the information on a notepad. ALONZO Okay... Thank you, sir. That's gonna do it. Have a good one. Alonzo hangs up. JAKE We go after the Sandman? ALONZO We go after the Sandman. Jake smiles. CUT TO: EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - DAY Graffiti on a wall: GHETTO BOYS HOOD -- SANDMAN The G-Ride glides INTO FRAME and OUT. ANGLE The G-Ride parks in front of a house. Alonzo and Jake exit. Alonzo pops the trunk. Inside is a microwave box, toaster, a boombox, a TV. JAKE Gonna open a Circuit City? ALONZO It's unclaimed shit from property. I pass it out to informants, victims, witnesses. Help their families out. Alonzo fishes out an assault vest, tosses it to Jake and dons an LAPD windbreaker, POLICE across the back. ALONZO Intel says his mom's in the residence with two female juveniles and a possible male juvenile. JAKE If he's not here, why are we here? Alonzo pulls a paper out of his pocket, unfolds it. ALONZO We gotta serve this search warrant. It's the Chinese take-out menu Jake handed him earlier. JAKE We can't do that. ALONZO Yes we can, supercop. Ding-ding, that's the schoolbell. He slams the trunk. Pulls his gun. They cross to the door. JAKE Get a real warrant. ALONZO I wanna get shit done. They step onto the porch. Take sides by the front door. ALONZO Don't get me killed, new guy. He knocks on the security screen. ALONZO Police! Search warrant! Silence. Alonzo knocks again. Nods at Jake. JAKE L.A.P.D.! Open the door. Nothing. Then: WOMAN (O.S.) Kevin ain't here. He up at the Honor Ranch. ALONZO L.A.P.D.! Please open the door or we kick it in! Ma'am?! CLICKING. The door is unlocked, opened. An attractive black WOMAN stands on the other side of the security screen. Alonzo waves the menu. ALONZO Search Warrant. Unlock the door and back away. She does, Alonzo snaps it open, rushes in, Jake follows. INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY Jake and Alonzo swinging guns around the room. There's two scared toddlers in a play pen. The Woman on the couch, pissed. JAKE Stand up, ma'am. He searches the couch for a weapon. ALONZO Anyone else in the house, ma'am? WOMAN My nephew, Dimitri. He in the bedroom. The boy is ten. ALONZO Cover her. Gonna clear the house. JAKE You can sit. Please keep your hands on your knees. Alonzo exits through a doorway into the kitchen. ALONZO (O.S.) Kitchen's clear! We HEAR Alonzo moving through the bedrooms. ALONZO (O.S.) Bedrooms're clear! Bringing out the kid! Alonzo marches Dimitri, 10, into the living room. The youngster trembles. ALONZO S'okay, son, we're the good guys. Go sit on the couch with your aunt -- House is code-four. Gonna start my search. Alonzo exits. The Woman glares at Jake. WOMAN I wanna read the warrant. JAKE (reacts) My partner has it. She looks out the window at the empty street. WOMAN Where's your back-up? JAKE Ma'am, please be quiet while we conduct our investigation. WOMAN You got the gun, boss. (sotto) Crooked-ass motherfuckers. The kids stare at Jake like an occupying soldier. He crosses to Dimitri, smiles. JAKE Hey, little man. How's it going? Jake tries to shake. Dimitri crosses his arms, looks away. The Woman smirks. O.S., the SOUNDS of Alonzo tearing apart the bedrooms like a hurricane. Making a hell of a mess. The Woman stands. JAKE Ma'am. Stay seated. WOMAN Who you be thinkin'? Comin' in like you pay the rent. JAKE Ma'am, sit down. WOMAN Both ya'lls stink. Drinkin' all day. Gotta get liquored up to do business? Alonzo is suddenly quiet. Jake backs to the doorway, peeks around it. Sees a dresser with a mirror. IN MIRROR Alonzo shoves something big down his raidjacket. BACK TO SCENE JAKE Siddown. WOMAN Gonna shoot me, boss? Kids, don't look. The drunk policeman gonna shoot me now. Alonzo enters, excited, grinning. ALONZO Didn't find shit. Let's go -- Sorry about the inconvenience, ma'am. Thank you for your cooperation. He and Jake head for the door. WOMAN I wanna see the warrant. ALONZO Here. He hands her the menu as they exit. CUT TO: EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY At the end of the block, three big GANGSTERS buy popsicles from a Mexican vendor. ANOTHER ANGLE The Woman bursts out of the house, screams at Jake and Alonzo as they climb in the G-Ride. WOMAN Fuckin' jackers! You ain't no fuckin' police! Get the fuck back here with my money! She sees the gangsters. WOMAN Why ya'll standin' there lookin' pretty?! Blast them fools! The gangsters trade looks. Start running towards -- G-RIDE Alonzo sees the gangsters. Tries STARTING the CAR. The engine won't catch. ALONZO C'mon, baby. Don't do me like that. The gangsters getting closer. ALONZO Fuckin' bitch! Start! Nothing. Alonzo piles out. Raises the hood, taps the carb with the butt of his gun. ALONZO Start it! Jake twists the screwdriver. No dice. He sees a Glock pulled from a waistband. Alonzo tapping. JAKE Gun! Gun! Gun! ALONZO Start it! VAROOM! Alonzo slams the hood. Climbs in. SQUEALS from the driveway. The armed gangster drops to one knee. The G-Ride tear-asses away in Glock's sights. POP!-POP!-POP!-POP!-POP! A ROUND SHATTERS a taillight. ANOTHER pierces the trunk -- INT. G-RIDE - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY -- the back seat -- the front seat -- the six pack -- and finally the dash. Jake reacting to beer spray. Alonzo rounds the corner, tosses the wounded cans out the window. ALONZO Shit... Let's hit a liquor store. Jake fingers the hole in the dash. ALONZO Gun! Gun! Gun! Jake startles, Alonzo laughing. ALONZO First time you been shot at? JAKE (lies) No. ALONZO Yeah, it is. JAKE That wasn't cool. That wasn't cool at all. What the fuck were you doing in there? ALONZO Looking for narcotics activity. Scales. Baggies. Guns. Coke. Bud. Etcetera. JAKE Cash...? ALONZO Say it, motherfucker. JAKE She was screaming about money. ALONZO Bitch was talking shit. Trying to get us blasted by her homies. Jake's eyes fall to a brick-shaped bulge under Alonzo's raid jacket. ALONZO What? JAKE I dunno. I'm just a new guy. A daisy-fresh scuzz-head boot. You tell me what. ALONZO I don't deny my shit stinks. I will never deny that. So why do I got the best arrest and conviction record in the county. Why? 'Cause I don't handicap myself with bullshit. JAKE I thought that bullshit served a purpose. ALONZO You thought wrong. There's hemorrhoids walking free on the streets right now who've killed fuckin' three, four, five people. I know it, they know it, every detective on payroll knows it. Why do these turds still float around? The rules. I take down the duly deserving. I'm not locking up Mr. Nine-to-five, Mr. Family Provider. Jake shaking his head angrily. ALONZO C'mon, communicate. What aren't you saying? Talk to me. A beat. Then Jake fixes Alonzo with a stare. JAKE I think... I think you're a rogue cop. Alonzo laughs his ass off. Wipes his eyes, he laughs so hard. ALONZO Fuckin' Hoyt, man. Know what? You're alright. You are alright. Jake gives him an "I'm not stupid" look. ALONZO You're in a privileged position to learn a thing or two if you can keep your mouth shut and your eyes open. If you're serious about doing good out in the real world, this is the place to learn how. If this shit shakes you up, go back to Division and cry to the Watch Commander. He'll find you a nice job lighting flares and measuring wrecks. Decide now if you want to be a wolf or a sheep. If you want on my squad, I'll sign your card. Alonzo stops the car. Reaches over and opens Jake's door. ALONZO If not, get out of my car. Jake looks at Alonzo, he turns away and reacts. JAKE'S POV They are parked in front of a police station, steps lead up to a pair of glass doors. BACK TO SCENE Jake sits there a beat. He gives Alonzo a final look. Then gets out of the car. EXT. POLICE STATION - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY Jake stiffly marches up the steps. Then stops. And turns. Alonzo staring at him. Waiting for him to change his mind. A beat. Jake shakes his head: no. SCREECH! Alonzo is gone. CUT TO: INT. POLICE STATION LOBBY - DAY Jake badges the elderly sergeant desk and is buzzed into the offices. CUT TO: INT. POLICE STATION OFFICES - DAY Jake stands just inside the door. Taking in station life. HIS POV Station queens of all sorts. Overweight cops talk on the phones. Pension jockeys tap away at keyboards. This is about as far from the action as you can get. BACK TO SCENE Jake looks at a sign over a door: "WATCH COMMANDER". Instead of crossing to it. Jake looks at his hands, dirty and scraped from fighting. Jake turns around and exits. CUT TO: EXT. POLICE STATION - DAY As Jake descends the steps, the G-Ride pulls up. The passenger door opens. Jake climbs in. Shuts the door. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY Alonzo holds out his hand. Solemn. ALONZO Welcome to Narcotics, Officer Hoyt. Jake beams, shakes his hand. JAKE I'm going to do my best. ALONZO You do and you'll run the unit someday. (a beat) You hungry? Let's code seven. CUT TO: EXT. CENTRAL AVENUE - DAY The G-Ride pulls onto a side street then winds its way through a maze of shabby streets. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY Jake nervously glances around one of the toughest parts of the city. A strong point adorned with wrought iron and concertina wire. JAKE What are you doing? We'll be killed coming in here. ALONZO Oh, you've heard about this neck of the woods? JAKE No man's land. (points) You got Broadway there, dividing the eastside-westside Hispanic gangs. And Adams Boulevard there is the only thing separating the Rolling Twenties Bloods from the Hoover Crips. They said never come in here with anything less than a platoon. ALONZO (impressed) On top of that, area's an administrative nightmare. Four L.A.P.D. Division boundaries meet here. Rampart, Central, Southwest and Newton. That makes everything that happens here the other guy's problem. Jake is really uncomfortable. JAKE I thought we were going to eat. Alonzo gives him a reassuring look and stops in front of a cul-de-sac of run down houses and apartments. He HONKS. A little kid runs out of the corner house. He eyes Alonzo then hops on his bike and rides OUT OF VIEW into the cul-de-sac. A beat. The little kid returns. Waves Alonzo into the cul-de- sac. Alonzo turns onto the dangerous dead-end, driving around a poorly parked van. JAKE That little kid's a lookout. ALONZO Lots of eyes on us right now. Never come up in here without me. For your safety. I'm serious. JAKE Okay. Why do you have a golden pass? ALONZO Because I'm square with 'em. But they know if the line is crossed, I'm leading the platoon in here. Alonzo parks in front of some apartments. Jake and Alonzo get out. An old woman sweeps her doorstep and glares at Jake. ALONZO Buenas tardes, Dona Lucila. The old woman smiles, nods. Jake and Alonzo pass a long driveway as they cross to some stairs. JAKE'S POV At the far end of the driveway, gangsters work out and drink. One of them is benching over 300 pounds. BACK TO SCENE ALONZO Don't look at them. Alonzo and Jake climb the steps. ALONZO See that dude benching? JAKE Yeah, Jesus. ALONZO Exactly, you run into him; you pray. Real quick hands for a big guy. Used to make money boxing but he fucked that up. Alonzo knocks on a door. JAKE What's here? ALONZO A loving touch. WOMAN (O.S.) Quien...? ALONZO Policia, senorita. The door opens, there stands SARA, a ravishing Salvadoran in a housedress. She hugs Alonzo, plants a big kiss on him -- SARA Hi, papi. -- then notices Jake and backs off. ALONZO He's just my new guy. She holds out her hand. They shake. SARA Hi. How are you? JAKE Good, thank you. SARA Come in, come in. Welcome to my house. Alonzo enters, Jake follows. CUT TO: INT. APARTMENT - DAY The living room is filled with Salvadoran kitsch. A 2- year-old boy on the couch watches cartoons. Alonzo motions for Jake to sit. ALONZO You had a rough morning. Relax and let her hook you up. He disappears into the bedroom. Sara hands Jake the remote. SARA Here. Take this. I have cable. You watch what you want. This is your house. Don't be shy. She crosses to the kitchen. Sounds of POTS, DISHES. Jake is about to change the channel. The kid gives him a look. He puts away the remote. Sara returns with a massive tray of food, chicken stew, beans, rice, salad, tortillas, the works. She sets the mouth-watering spread before Jake. SARA This is El Salvador food. I hope you like it. JAKE Thank you. This is great. I'm starving. She hangs a beat, eabarrassed. SARA I'm sorry. I have too... Jake knows. She runs off. CUT TO: INT. BEDROOM - DAY Sara hands Alonzo a beer. Alonzo lays back on the bed with a huge grin. She surveys him, smiles. SARA Wow. That's something different. You're smiling. ALONZO Wassup, woman? Lookin' good today. SARA (unties his shoes) Well, happy man: you didn't say 'hi' to your son. He's been asking for you. ALONZO Yeah, well... I will. She removes his shoes, massages his feet. SARA How's your wife? ALONZO Why the fuck you comin' at me with all this shit? Don't you have a brain? I'm in a good fuckin' mood for the first time in who knows how the fuck long and you start talkin' shit. Man. Just shut the fuck up. Take that shit off and get your ass in bed. SARA (crosses her arms, glares) I'm not a piece of something for you to bark at, mister. ALONZO I'm sorry. Please get your ass in bed. I gotta get back to work. She thinks it over. Slips off her dress -- Wow! SARA This is because I want to. Not because you tell me to. ALONZO Whatever. CUT TO: INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY (LATER) Jake dozes, his plate wiped clean, an arm around the little kid, still watching cartoons. Alonzo enters, invigorated, he kicks Jake's foot. ALONZO Let's go. We're rollin'. Gotta meeting in fifteen. Jake stirs, stretches. Stands. Alonzo shows him the door. ALONZO Go to the car. JAKE I wanna thank her for the food. It was great. ALONZO I'll tell her, don't worry. Jake tussles the kid's hair. JAKE See you later, little man. Jake exits. Alonzo picks up his son. Hugs him tight. Kisses him. ALONZO Hey. How you been? Been good? Gettin' heavy, mister. Mama says you miss me. Sara watches from the bedroom doorway. Seeing Alonzo like this rips her apart more than anything he says. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY Near downtown. The noon sun high and bright. JAKE What about your queen? ALONZO Sara's my princess. JAKE I like her. She's a really cool lady. ALONZO So are her two sisters. They look fuckin' good and they party. How'd you like to be in the middle of a bitch sandwich? Come to Vegas with us. JAKE No, thanks. I get mine at home. ALONZO You're missing out. I should know. JAKE Her kid looks just like you. He's number five. ALONZO Number six. JAKE Six kids. That's all? Or you holding royal court in a few more houses? ALONZO I'm only aware of six. JAKE It's easy to make a baby -- ALONZO -- And hard to take care of one. Fuck you, okay? No one's going hungry. Everyone gets plenty of what they need: toys, shoes, clothes. JAKE Love? Alonzo shoots a look at Jake. ALONZO Let's not talk about my family. CUT TO: EXT. LA GOLONDRINA - DAY A great place for lunch and cocktails. Alonzo and Jake cross to the entrance. Alonzo, his raidjacket tucked underarm, hands Jake some Visine. ALONZO Use it. Jake does. Alonzo opens the door. JAKE Who's here? ALONZO Don't speak unless spoken to. CUT TO: INT. LA GOLONDRINA - DAY A lunchtime business crowd dines in burgundy leather booths amidst a forest of wrought £ron. Alonzo leads Jake into: INT. CORTEZ ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY Empty. Save for the back table. Three scary 40ish bruisers in nice suits, DOUG, STAN, AND LOU, share a pitcher of beer. Doug and Stan see Alonzo, react like they've seen a ghost. So Lou turns around, sees Alonzo. And quickly stands. It's tense. Like there could be a gunfight. Jake's hand creeps near his gun. Alonzo and Lou converge, trading serious questions and answers with their eyes. Jake watches Stan and Doug. They watch him. Alonzo and Lou grab hands grimly. LOU (softly) I don't know why I'm meeting you. I don't talk to dead men. ALONZO (smiles, winks) Ain't dead yet, you prick. They shake vigorously, smile big. Everyone relaxes. LOU (claps his back) Fuckin' Alonzo. Heard you just tucked lucky number thirteen under your belt. Hey, man. Congratulations. ALONZO Thanks, Lou. What, marked your calendar? Lou smiles, taps his temple. Doug and Stan shake with Alonzo. It's clear he makes them uncomfortable. DOUG Congratulations. Good to see you. STAN Congratulations. You made it through another year of this madness. LOU Who the fuck is Ricky Rookie? Alonzo grabs Jake's shoulder, pulls him into the huddle. ALONZO This is Jake Hoyt, first day on the squad. Jake shakes Lou's hand. Sees an LAPD Captain's badge on his belt. Jake realizes these guys are police administrators. ALONZO Jake, this is Lou Jacobs, interagency task-force coordinator. You ever have to talk to a fed, talk to this man first. He'll get your back. JAKE Pleased to meet you, sir. ALONZO This is Stan Gursky, senior investigator for the L.A. County officer involved shooting team. Think about him before you pull a trigger, okay? Stan will rock your world if you make a bad call. JAKE (shaking with Stan) Pleased to meet you, sir. ALONZO And this is Doug Marcab, Metro Burglary. Does high-dollar cases for the Poodle crowd. Your Van Gogh takes a trip. Doug'll find it. JAKE Pleased to meet you, sir. Lou takes Alonzo's arm. LOU Have a seat, guy. Alonzo slides into the booth after Lou. ALONZO (to Jake) Shoo, boy. Shoo. He points out the adjacent booth. Jake crosses, sits, his back to their table. LOU Seems like a good kid. An attractive tall blonde waitress, JULIE, brings a fresh pitcher of beer. ALONZO Fuckin' elbow benders read my mind. LOU Look's like you're way ahead of us. ALONZO I'm always a step ahead of you guys. Julie smiles at Alonzo. JULIE There's the mystery man. Thought you gave up on us. What've you been up to? ALONZO Been good. JULIE More bad than good, right? ALONZO You know it. JULIE Mmmm-hmmm. You need to eat. Combo plate? ALONZO No. I'm good. Toss the kid, there, a taco and a beer. Alonzo grabs the pitcher, starts pouring. Julie walks away. ALONZO Why the long face, Doug? Feds seize your house or something? Chuckles from Lou and Stan. DOUG Fuck you, Alonzo. STAN Doug had a bad day in court today -- Tell him what happened. DOUG You tell him, think it's so funny. STAN He went to a sentencing hearing. On a three strikes case against a silk-suit catburglar type. Fuckwad pulled fifteen Encino burglaries. DOUG Spent twelve months trying to catch the suspect, a real slickster, gave up nothing. Captain rode my ass the entire time. What broke it? Luck. Caught in the act by a fuckin' patrolman. We had him. It was the prosecutor's first serial burglary case but he slam- dunked it from a stepladder. Clockwork trial. Jury deliberates half a day. Comes back guilty on ten out of eleven counts. The fuckbag was looking at a twenty- five mininum. STAN Mininum. Bye-bye, toilet-licker. DOUG Sentencing was today -- LOU -- Judge is female. DOUG Right. Female judge. ALONZO Who? DOUG Landers. The stress-case brunette. ALONZO I know her. Sharp lady. DOUG Before this guy goes to the hearing, he gets a hold of some peanut butter and packs his ass crack with it. So there he is, standing tall before the bench to give his statement and he shoves his hand down his pants and comes out with a gob of fuckin' extra- chunky Jiff. Could'a heard a pin drop. Bailiffs wouldn't come near him. He looks the judge right in her eyes and licks his fingers clean. Holy shit. The judge, she screams. All these homeowners are there to read statements, they run out of screaming. Alonzo is breaking up. Stan and Lou, too. ON JAKE laughing too. Julie returns with a beer and a taco plate. And walks away with a flirty smile. BACK TO STAN STAN No, wait, here's the punchline... DOUG Judge Landers, she says: (falsetto) Oh, this poor man's insane, he can't go to prison. (himself, grim) She ordered him to psychiatric. ALONZO (floored) You are fucking kidding. She fell for it? DOUG Time she found out it was sandwich spread, the order was signed and he'd been transferred. ALONZO Proceedings closed. DOUG Proceedings closed. STAN Fucker'll do six months in the puzzle factory before they say he's normal and kick him loose. DOUG So a maggot gnaws on a wrinkleneck. Real or not, lock him up. He's repulsive not insane. LOU Little kids eat their own shit. STAN Not my kids, Lou. ALONZO It's called coprolagnia. People do it for sex kicks. STAN Bullshit. How do you know? ALONZO Had a case when I worked vice. LOU Only in America. ALONZO If the asshole's clever enough to play the system like that, I say he earned his freedom. DOUG I see him on the street, I'm gonna fuckin' do him. ALONZO Take his bullets, Stan. Laughs. Alonzo pours a fresh round. ALONZO Hey, listen to this, my new guy, right? Been showing him around town. Scored some reefer for him to smoke. But he wouldn't. So I run through the whole bit, the gun to the head. Everything. 'Okay,' he says. I light up and it stinks like burnt rubber, right? I pass it to him anyway. The detectives grin knowingly. STAN You're an asshole. DOUG Kid's gotta learn. ALONZO He sucks the shit down. Showing me he can hang. We're in MacArthur Park and he starts screaming and jumps out of the fuckin' car. And runs down the street. Omigod. I thought he lost it. The detectives are hooked. So is... JAKE Listening, sipping beer. ALONZO So I chase him down this alley and, holy shit, he's jamming two huge crackheads and there's this pretty girl with a bloody nose. Kid stopped a rape. STAN No shit. ALONZO No shit. LOU Kid's got a magic eye. ALONZO That's what I told him. Kid's a prince. Jake beams with beer-buzzed pride. ON DETECTIVES ALONZO His first day on the squad and know what he tells me? (pathetic voice) 'You're a rogue cop.' Roars of laughter from the Detectives. Lou refills beers, holds up his glass for a toast. LOU Okay. Okay, ladies... Here's to the craziest, most bounce back, nine lives cop to darken the streets of this fine city. Congratulations for -- ahem -- honorably completing thirteen years in the most fickle job a man could be married to. Glasses clink. The men drink. Lou turns to Alonzo, quiet, serious. LOU You should be at Division hiding under a desk. ALONZO Best way to fix a problem is to look it in the eye. LOU I'm not the problem. ON JAKE He turns, sees it's a serious pow-wow. Overhears: STAN Heard you had an expensive weekend in Vegas. How'd you fuck up so bad? ALONZO How could I know? Vegas ain't my town. I'm not omniscient. LOU You should hop a jet outta here. ALONZO Why? It's an easy fix. LOU (laughs) How? ALONZO I can cash out an account. STAN Whose? ALONZO One of mine. My first. The three suits shudder, trade looks. LOU You're fucked up. ALONZO Someone steps on his tail, he'll cry like a coyote. I can't keep him off the radar forever. He's a security risk. LOU Do your job and no one steps on his tail. ALONZO Fuck him. I'm taxing him. A beat. Lou acquiesces. LOU It's your call. Alonzo smiles. And the men speak in hushed tones. Jake turns to look. JAKE'S POV Lou, Doug, Stan and Alonzo stare back at him. BACK TO SCENE Jake snaps his eyes to his plate. The men murmur. Julie arrives with a fresh beer. Softly: JULIE You should know when not to listen. She quickly exits. CUT TO: EXT. LA GOLONDRINA - DAY Alonzo and Jake exit. It's obvious something big is going down. Alonzo is excited, happy, the raid jacket underarm. He crosses to the valet -- ALONZO Gimme the keys for the grey one. -- receives a key ring. Alonzo crosses to one of three plush unmarked Crown Victorias in the lot. Jake watches him open the trunk and empty his jacket inside. Alonzo returns the keys to the valet. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - DAY Alonzo drives away. Dials his cell phone. ALONZO It's me. We gotta green light. Fax the warrant to the clerk and tell her to get the judge to sign it. I want you and Paul to bring it to the van. And bring some picks and shovels. Sign 'em out from maintenance. Copy that? (beat) Good. Hurry the fuck up. He hangs up. JAKE How much was in your jacket? ALONZO Forty G's. JAKE What for? ALONZO You wanna know? JAKE I wanna know. ALONZO Nothing's free in this world. Not even an arrest warrant. Jake didn't want to know. JAKE Who's it for? ALONZO A real bag of shit. A genuine bad guy. Been investigating this vile bastard for ten years. He's a big fish in a big pond. Today I fry him. The squad's gonna get some glory. Talkin' name-making shit. We'll be getting handshakes from the Chief and Mayor. Wanna piece, new guy? A beat. Jake smiles. Sounds good. JAKE Hell, yeah. I wanna piece. ALONZO Knew you would. CUT TO: EXT. ALLEY - DAY In an old, hilly L.A. neighborhood near downtown. The G- Ride parks. Alonzo and Jake exit. Cross to a Pacific Bell repair van that Alonzo knocks on. VOICE Go away. ALONZO Daddy's home. Open up. The door opens. Alonzo and Jake climb in. INT. STAKEOUT VAN - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY Crammed with surveillance gear. Monitors show neighborhood streets, houses. TIM and JEFF, late 2O's, dressed in jeans but obviously cops, play Streetfighter II. The stubbly pair has been holed up for two days. Jeff knocks Tim out. TIM Jerk. JEFF The chick always wins. Jake and Alonzo sit on milk crates. Jake examines the fascinating gear. Tim opens the cooler he sits on, tosses beers to Alonzo and Jake. ALONZO Guess what, guys. Jake's joined the team. TIM Great. (shakes) Here's my official welcome to the squad handshake. JAKE Thanks. Jeff and Jake shake next. JEFF Welcome aboard. How's the first day? Don't worry. Gets worse. Tim hits PLAY on a VCR. TIM Check this out. ON VIDEO MONITOR Two amorphous human heat signatures hump with compeling intensity on infrared surveillance video. BACK TO SCENE ALONZO What's this shit? TIM Infrared. Trained a thermal scope on a house down the street. JEFF Some Asian chick. Lives alone. Everyday some asshole from work follows her home, throws in some pumps and bails. TIM This was too good to pass up. You know we love yellow-tail. Check this out. ON MONITOR Same couple, same intensity, clearly seen through a window via a camera atop a phone pole. TIM I threw on the climbing irons and got a camera on her window. JEFF This afternoon we're spiking her wall for sound. Tim and Jeff beam proudly. ALONZO No. You're not. Erase that shit. They trade looks. ALONZO I'm not fuckin' kidding! Erase that shit. And any other horny housewife tapes you made. Right fuckin' now! Alonzo smacks the back of Tim's head. Tim hits the VTR buttons. TIM Ow, man. I'm erasing. Jesus. Alonzo studies a clipboard. Hurls it at Jeff. ALONZO What's this? Day camp sign-in? Redo the logs. Neatly. (taps a blank monitor) Why isn't this on? TIM Respect. I don't wanna watch the dude in his living room. Alonzo CLICKS it ON. Rewinds the tape of the VTR it's connected to. JEFF Why are you being a dick? What's wrong? ALONZO What's wrong? All you've done for two days is jerk off and play sega. You pinheads even see me in there this morning? JEFF No one went in there this morning. ALONZO I should snap your neck. Instead, he hits play. INSERT - MONITOR A living room. A familiar one -- Three beepers, three cell phones on the coffee table. Roger in his bathrobe, having a drink with Jake and Alonzo. BACK TO SCENE Jake stares at the screen, stunned to see himself. Jake gives Alonzo a confused look. JEFF Okay. I'm sorry. We haven't been diligent. How can we take this gig seriously? Who's gonna fuck with him? ALONZO We're gonna fuck with him. We're serving an arrest warrant. Tim and Jeff trade serious looks. JEFF We can't arrest Roger. Alonzo ejects the tape. Tosses it to Tim. ALONZO Erase it. Alonzo notices an unmarked police sedan pull up to the van. ALONZO Here we go. Least someone on the squad has their shit squared away. CUT TO: EXT. ALLEY - DAY The sedan parks by th G-Ride. Out steps MARK, a black clothes horse in Italian silk. And PAUL, a steely-eyed, clean-cut chicano in a turtleneck. The van doors open. Jeff and Tim climb out. JEFF Nice suit, Mark. TIM Beautiful suit. Now Alonzo and Jake get out. Six cops huddled in an alley. Jake fits right in with the motley bunch. Paul hands Alonzo the warrant. ALONZO Thanks. My picks and shovels? MARK In the trunk. Gonna dig a ditch? ALONZO You are. Great suit. MARK Fuck you. ALONZO (shakes with Paul) Howdy, killer. PAUL Alonzo, what the fuck's going on? ALONZO Don't worry. I talked to the three wise men. It's all good. His men trade looks, they have total trust in him. Jake is a little nervous. PAUL If we can get away with it, let's go for it. Fuck Roger. (re: Jake) Who's this? JAKE Jake Hoyt. First day in the unit. I'm coming from Van Nuys patrol. He holds out his hand. Paul scoffs. PAUL Why's he in on this shit? ALONZO Gotta pop his cherry sometime. PAUL (to Jake) Stay outta my way, boot. Alonzo notes Jake's unease, shows him the warrant. ALONZO It's the real deal. Signed by the judge. Thank the Sandman. PAUL Roger's not gonna be too keen on going back to the pokey. ALONZO I don't care what Roger thinks. (addresses everyone) Our safety comes first. He gives us shit, we give him lead. Let's do this right so everyone can go home and do the wife and girl friend thing tonight. (checks his watch) Suit up, ladies. Time to punch in. CUT TO: EXT. ROGER'S HOUSE - DAY Five cops crouch outside the door with shotguns, machine pistols. Assault vests and helmets worn over civvies. Jake and Jeff to one side. Paul, Mark and Tim to the other. Paul and Mark give the door several quick, powerful kicks. Wood splits, hinges tear. It falls open. The five cops surge into: INT. ROGER'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY Roger reads on the couch, the morning paper. He's non- plussed to find himself surrounded by police, weapons. MARK Freeze up! You need to not move, breath, think or blink. ROGER What are you clowns doing here? PAUL Shut up! -- New guy! His hands move, blast him. Jake aiming his shotgun at Roger's head. JAKE I'm on him. Roger, holding his newspaper, recognizes Jake. ROGER You know what you're doing, son? Jake nods: yes. PAUL Drop what's in your hands. Before zero. Five. Four. Three. Two. CLUNK-CLUNK! Two tiny derringers hit the coffee table. Roger had been palming them. Paul sweeps them aside with his foot. The cops relax a little. Roger folds his paper. Sets it down, takes off his reading glasses. A principal besieged by truants. ROGER Alonzo's gonna kill you guys. Alonzo enters the shattered door. Holding picks, shovels. He drops the tools. They crash to the floor. Roger crosses his arms and glares at his friend. ROGER What's going down, Alonzo? ALONZO I had lunch with the three wise men. You gotta render unto Caesar. Roger sees the tools and knows exactly what they are for. ROGER Those goddamn vampires want my pension. ALONZO No, man, it's not like that. You're just getting taxed. They got their boat payments and God knows what. I'm sorry. They're makin' me do it. I'm just a lowly civil servant. ROGER Fuck you. You're their bitch. What happens with me? ALONZO Don't worry, bro. I promised you'd never go back to prison. I got your back. You won't even miss what I'm gonna take. I hate doing this. Orders is orders. Sorry, dog. ROGER No, you ain't. Cop. ALONZO (to Tim and Jeff) You guys are gonna work. Get the tools. (grabs Jake's shotgun) Gimme the boomer. Tim and Jeff gather the tools. Alonzo hands Jake a pick and leads the three men to a bedroom door. Roger pours a slug of Crown Royal as Paul and Mark guard him. ROGER Who's paying for my floor? ALONZO The city. INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY Alonzo flips the bed. Taps the floor with his toe. ALONZO Open the floor. Right here. Jake, Tim and Jeff begin chopping. It's quick work to tear a large hole in the wood. ALONZO Hop in, Hoyt. Couple'a of feet down, there's a locker. Jake jumps in. Attacking dirt with his pick. CUT TO: INT. BEDROOM - DAY (10 MINUTES LATER) Jake, Tim and Jeff haul a trash-bag-wrapped footlocker out of the hole. JAKE What's in it? ALONZO Open it. Jake tears away trash bags. Alonzo takes a pick and snaps the lock. Jake opens the lid -- taped bundles inside. JAKE It's coke? ALONZO Go ahead. It won't bite. Jake grabs a bundle. Hefts it in his hand. JAKE Hmmm. A good five kilos. Alonzo hands him a penknife. Jake pokes a hole -- nothing pours out. ALONZO Cut the damn thing open. Jake does -- it is a brick of fifty dollar bills. Alonzo is relieved to see the money. Jake likes its heft. JAKE This is sweet. ALONZO That's a hundred grand in your hot little hands. There's four million bucks in there. Alonzo slaps Jack's back. ALONZO First day on the job and you're in on a three million dollar seizure. JAKE You said four. ALONZO Told you, nothing's for free. Gotta grease the rails to make the big moves. Alonzo grabs a pillowcase. Tosses bricks of fifties in it. Hands it to Jake. ALONZO Here. Lucky to get this, day-one- motherfucker. JAKE What's this? ALONZO Sweet green clean legal tender. Start the kid's college fund early. Get the old lady a minivan. However pleasant the heft, Jake could never accept. He returns the pillowcase to Alonzo. JAKE No way. Only checks I cash say City of L.A. on 'em. JEFF Someone didn't sleep through Ethics. ALONZO You said you wanted a piece. JAKE Not like this. ALONZO I understand. I'II hold on to it for you. Not everyone's comfortable the first time -- Let's wrap up. Alonzo drops the pillowcase in the locker. Exits. Jake, Tim and Jeff follow. CUT TO: INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY Roger reads a Vegas odds paper. Alonzo, Tim, Jeff and Jake enter. Roger glares at Alonzo. ROGER What have I done to those guys? Are they nuts? Am I supposed to stand still and let them horsefuck me? ALONZO No. We can put you out of your misery. Alonzo tosses Jake the shotgun. ALONZO Lemme tell you a secret, Hoyt. If you kill someone on duty, they have to be your slave in the afterlife. (points to Roger) There you go. Start an entourage. JAKE You want me to shoot him? Paul, Mark, Tim and Jeff snicker, crack smiles. Roger too. Jake plays along, points the shotgun at Roger. ROGER You'd be doin' me a favor, kid. JAKE Bang -- There. He lowers the weapon. ALONZO Not gonna to do it? JAKE Of course not. This isn't funny. Alonzo smiles. Takes the shotgun from him. ALONZO Man, youngsters these days. Can't get shit done unless you do it yourself. Alonzo aims at Roger... BOOM! Roger is punched ragged with BUCKSHOT, lifted off his couch, knocked into the wall. Jake jumps back. A peal of laughter from Tim. Contagious giggles from the others. Roger gurgles. Jake stares wide-eyed at Alonzo. JAKE Holy shit! Jake's shock elicits more giggles from the squad. PAUL Finish him. Jake watches Alonzo cross to Roger, blindly gasping. ALONZO He's finished. Alonzo takes one of Roger's derringers from the floor. Slaps it in the dying man's hand. ALONZO C'mere, Jeff. You took fire coming through the door. Jeff smiles, gets in position so Alonzo can shoot him. JEFF Alright. Gonna get some time off. He braces himself. Alonzo aims Roger's hand. Pop! A BULLET THWACKS harmlessly into Jeff's vest. He removes his sunglasses from a pocket. JEFF Watch my Oakleys. Jake looking at Roger, it's hard watching him die. Again Jeff braces. Pop! The THWACK of another BULLET. ALONZO How's that? Jeff probing his hand under the vest. JEFF Fine. Alonzo drops the gun in an envelope marked: EVIDENCE HANDGUN. Jake can't believe what he just saw. ALONZO Listen up. This is the scenario. Mark and Paul kick the door. Jeff is first through. Roger opens fire. Hits Jeff twice. Jeff coughs -- bright foamy blood in his hand. JEFF Oh, shit. ALONZO One go through? Jeff answers by coughing more blood. Tim runs to him. TIM Siddown, dude. Jeff does. Tim opens the vest -- a hole in a seam on the edge. Underneath, bruised puckered flesh drools blood. TIM You shot him! JEFF You fuckin' shot me! TIM Call a rescue. ALONZO You're fine. You'll get a medal. JEFF Call the R.A.! ALONZO Let me run the scenario and I will. Okay -- Mark and Paul kick the door. First through is Jeff. Bang. Bang. Gets hit. Wounded. Second through is our new guy, Hoyt. He drops the suspect with some fine shotgun work. (points at Mark) Who shot Roger? MARK The new guy. Came in spraying. ALONZO Paul? PAUL The boot shot him. ALONZO What'd you guys see? TIM Hoyt blasted him. JEFF Hoyt went for it -- Now will you get me a fucking rescue ambulance? Jake looks at these guys. They look back, smiling, smirking. He feels dizzy, sick as the nightmare sinks in. Jeff coughs blood. Alonzo tosses his rover to Paul. PAUL (into rover) Eleven forty-nine. Nine-nine- eight. Shots fired. Shots fired. Man down. Fifty-nine fifty-one Baxter Street. ALONZO (slaps Jake's back) Good job, son. Congratulations. Gonna get a medal of valor. JAKE ... I didn't shoot him... ALONZO Roomful of cops says you did. JAKE Fuck you. I don't care. I didn't shoot him. You did. Alonzo pulls his gun. Aims at Jake's face. ALONZO (as a newscaster) A Los Angeles Police Department narcotics officer was killed serving a high risk warrant in Echo Park today. An L.A.P.D. spokesperson said the young officer was survived by his wife and infant child. (himself) Shit gets deeper. Get the picture? JAKE I got the picture. Jake strikes -- twists back Alonzo's gun sharply -- sweeps away his legs with a kick. Alonzo finds himself on his back, Jake's knee on his neck, staring down the maw of his own pistol. JAKE That's the second time you've stuck a gun in my face. Won't be a third. Paul presses his Beretta against Jake's temple. PAUL Be my pleasure putting a hydrashock in your melon. Tim, Jeff, Mark gawk at the Mexican standoff. PAUL But I'm gonna be cool. Open your hand slowly. Drop the weapon. Jake's free hand inches to his holstered gun -- JAKE (super-calm) Hey, sorry, man. Relax, okay7 -- and snatches it -- He swings on Tim -- who swings his .45 on Jake. A three-way standoff. JAKE Wanna shoot me, Paul? Go ahead. Because these two are gonna be wiping my ass in the netherworld. A beat. Then: TIM Alonzo. This is bad. PAUL This dude's a fuckin' fed. ALONZO He's no fed. Just a choirboy with heart who got the drop on you fools. Everyone, let's take a deep breath and defuse this -- Jake? You hear me? JAKE You can't just spring this shit on me. I never signed up for this. ALONZO I hear you. I know you're angry -- Paul, Tim, please put down your guns. TIM Hell no. PAUL Choirboy first. SIRENS approach. Lots of them. ALONZO Both of you: guns down. Now. Paul and Tim reluctantly lower their weapons. Jake lifts his knee off Alonzo's neck, stands and backs away, aiming both pistols at Alonzo, who climbs to his feet. ALONZO Jake, use your ears and listen. Sometimes we take shit all the way. That's the nature of the game. We don't do this every day. No one will ever again ask you to pull a trigger you don't want to -- Mark, where're you transferring to? MARK Westside Homicide. ALONZO Westside Homicide -- Only made detective last test. Jake, give me eighteen months and I'll give you a career. We make the big arrests. We make the big seizures. When someone's in my unit they're in all the way or not at all. I thought you were man enough to handle this shit. Alonzo calmly pours himself a whisky. ALONZO Five proven, decorated officers say you were the shooter. Investigators are gonna pull a tube of your blood and test for intoxicants. Remember all the P.C.P. you smoked today? Jake does, wincing at his stupidity. JAKE You've been planning this all day. ALONZO I've been planning this all week. You start talking crazy shit, I will make sure the right sample goes to the lab. Still wanna talk your babynuts around the block? You won't make it to the corner. But if you're cool. You're a hero. A virgin shooter above suspicion. Jake looks at Roger, gasping like a beached carp. The SIRENS are getting closer. Alonzo gulps his drink and -- Pfffffst! Spits the booze in Jake's face. Jake is blinded. Paul seizes Jake's wrists and aims the pistols at the ceiling. Alonzo wrenches the pistols from his hands. Jake wipes his eyes, looks at the roomful of crazy cops, scared. Paul points at Roger's other derringer, laying on the carpet. PAUL Alonzo, there's two shots in that stinger. Let's kill your boy right now and say Roger dumped him coming through the door. Mark, Tim, Jeff like the idea. Jake doesn't. And lucky for him, neither does Alonzo. He stands protectively in front of Jake. ALONZO No. We're not killing him. He's a good guy. Man's got the magic. Just having a little freakout is all. We've all been there. I say he's cool. No one's gonna hurt him. Jake and Alonzo trade a look. The SIRENS are close. Alonzo returns Jake his gun. ALONZO Hoyt, you gotta decision to make. In thirty seconds, this place will be overrun with patrolmen. Go outside and clear your head. Or shoot me now. Jake is only too happy to get out of there. Jake crosses to exit, pauses, an afterthought? JAKE Hey, Paul. Crack! Jake nails his jaw. Paul staggers, almost falls. To Jake as he exits: PAUL You're dead! I'm takin' you out. I don't care. ALONZO Kick back, Wyatt Earp. Gotta respect a motherfucker who puts you on queer street with one punch. Alonzo catches his men trading looks. ALONZO Kid's got more balls than all you faggots combined. CUT TO: EXT. ROGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD - LONG SHOT - ROGER'S HOUSE - DAY from a distant hilltop. The ambulances and black and whites out front shimmer in golden afternoon heat. OVER: PARAMEDIC (V.O.) (filtered) Patient is a white male approximately forty years old, six one, two hundred fifty pounds. Eight buckshot wounds in the torso. First wound: left chest wall, fourth intercostal space, anterior axillary line. Second and third wounds: eighth intercostal space, mid-clavicular line. Fourth and fifth wounds: right chest wall. Tenth intercostal space. Posterior axillary line. Two distance-distorted LAPD paramedics wheel out Roger on a stretcher. PARAMEDIC (V.O.) (filtered) Sixth wound: left lower quadrant, mid-clavicular line. Seventh wound: left lower quadrant, anterior axillary line. Eighth wound is an exit wound. Left lower quadrant posterior axillary line. ZOOM IN -- Amidst the heat mirages, Alonzo talks to a uniformed sergeant. Two more paramedics wheel Jeff outside on a stretcher. Mark, Tim and Paul following. PARAMEDIC (V.O.) (filtered) There is a sucking wound at the first woundsite. Superclavicular in-drawing. Abdomen is rigid. Stand by for skin signs. Patient's skin is pale and cool and diaphoretic. Here's the vitals: B.P. sixty and palpitated. Respiration thirty- one, decreased on the left with hyper-resonance. Roger is lifted into an ambulance. Alonzo dismisses Jeff's paramedics and huddles with his men. CUT TO: EXT. ALLEY - DAY Alonzo crosses to the G-ride with an armload of gear. Pops the trunk. Dumps everything inside. He shuts the trunk. Dials his cell phone and gets in the car. ANGLE ON JAKE leaning against a phone pole. Watching as Alonzo pulls a clipboard from under his seat and puts on reading glasses. Alonzo begins writing a major incident report as he talks on his cell. A beat. Alonzo STARTS the G-RIDE. Motions for Jake to get in. INT. G-RIDE - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY Jake gets in. Alonzo with his reading glasses, the clipboard on his steering wheel, filling in the report, talking on his cell phone, laughing. ALONZO -- you're gonna be scrubbing the bathtub, homie. Later. Alonzo hangs up. Preoccupied with filling in little boxes on the report as he drives slowly down the alley. ALONZO Why didn't you take off? JAKE There's nowhere to run. ALONZO Roger was D.O.A. at Good Samaritan. Let's get the paper rolling now. Alonzo looks at Jake, sees his torment. ALONZO Justifiable homicide in the line of duty. Anyone'd be proud to have that in their jacket. JAKE Not this way. Say I don't play along? ALONZO At this point it behooves you not to fuck around. That's the truth. And Jake knows it. We can almost hear his heart breaking. Jake stares out the window a beat, clenching his jaw, finally he looks at Alonzo, stares at Alonzo's scary, empty eyes. Amazed to be utterly trapped by them. JAKE It can't be like this. A beat. ALONZO It is like this. Jake has a lump in his throat as they drive in silence for a long beat. ALONZO Look, the money I gave you, keep it. JAKE Told you, I don't want it. ALONZO Just take it. Throw it in the ocean. Barbecue it. Just take it. It would make the boys feel better. JAKE Fuck their feelings. ALONZO Jake, they're worried. JAKE About what? ALONZO About you. You didn't make anyone feel you were on the team back there. JAKE Fuck the team. You guys are insane. I'll go back to Valley and cut parking tickets. And tell Paul: he comes near me again, I'll shoot him. ALONZO I'm really sorry I exposed you to that today. It was ugly but it was necessary. Roger sold dope to kids. World's a better place because he's gone. Never seen no one die before? You're too damn soft. Bet you never missed a meal in your life. JAKE (glares at Alonzo) Missed a lot of meals growing up. Why? (pantomimes shooting up) Because the folks had to do their shit. OFF Alonzo's amazed look: JAKE That's right. I'm in the cop business to lock up the criminals and poisoners. Not be one. Alonzo sizes up Jake anew, laments not knowing that earlier. ALONZO What happened today was -- JAKE -- was murder and armed robbery. Wait. We had badges, it's different. ALONZO Dammit, boy! Why can't you open your eyes and see? Jake can see. Too clearly. Softly: JAKE That man was your friend and you killed him like a fly. ALONZO (ice) We weren't friends. (consoling) All the shit you're feeling now, it's going to go away. I know you're scared. JAKE I'm not scared. ALONZO You're terrified. I know you are. Because I went through the same shit. Everyone has. Jake, there's gotta be dirt on you if anyone's gonna trust you. After this is behind you, a whole new world will open up. I walk a higher path. I can give you the keys to all doors. JAKE What are you talking about? ALONZO I'm not the asskicker I once was, but you are. Want to run my unit? My guys are good but not one of those clowns is a leader. You are. Want my job? You got it. Wanna lock up criminals? This is the best place to do it. Do your time and make detective. Play the game, grow wise and change things from the inside. Jake looks at him. And realizes Alonzo is right. ALONZO Let's get to the hospital and talk to Stan. He'll tell you what to say to the D.A.'s guys. CUT TO: EXT. STREET - SUNSET A large hospital near downtown looms in the distance. TILT DOWN -- to reveal the tough old barrios below it. Cholos drink on the sidewalk. Play grab-ass and listen to MUSIC. CUT TO: INT. G-RIDE - MOVING - STREET Alonzo parks near the gangsters. JAKE What's here? Alonzo points out a well-tended, quiet, quaint house near the Cholos. ALONZO Informant of mine's in Chino. Promised I'd help out his family. Alonzo gets out. Opens the trunk. Loads up his arms with appliances. ALONZO Sometimes I bring food. Believe it or not, I like to help out the community whenever I can. (a box falls) Shit. Hoyt, help me with this. CUT TO: EXT. STREET - SUNSET Jake gets out, takes some boxes. And they cross to the house. With Jake following. Past staring Cholos. A drunk PeeWee maddogs Jake. Jake maddogs back. PEEWEE You know where you're at, fool? A VETERANO shoves the PeeWee aside. VETERANO The fuck outta the way, punk. It's business. He shakes with Alonzo. VETERANO 'Sup, dog. Thought you were missing in action. ALONZO 'Sup, man. You know I'm never lost. Jake and Alonzo cross to the house. AD LIBS of "Those're cops," spread through the Cholos. At the house's door, Alonzo knocks. A beat. A little girl cracks it. ALONZO Hi. Got some stuff for your family. She closes it. A beat. The door opens to reveal SMILEY, a huge, drunk Veterano sleeved with prison tattoos. He looks at the two cops. Massive, impassive. Smiley never smiles. SMILEY Kitchen's this way. Alonzo enters. Jake hesitates. Then follows. CUT TO: INT. HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - SUNSET The little girl does homework. Two fine Cholas watch the Spanish newscast. An old man dozes in a chair. Family photos on the wall -- A proud line of warfighters, lots of military uniforms. Alonzo and Jake follow Smiley into: INT. HOUSE - KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS ACTION - SUNSET SNIPER and MORENO, big and intimidating like Smiley, have been playing poker around a beer-bottle covered table. Smiley, Alonzo and Jake enter. SMILEY Put it on the counter. Alonzo and Jake place the boxes on the counter. Sniper, Moreno, ignore Alonzo. And vice versa. ALONZO Can I use the head? SMILEY Go for it. ALONZO (to Jake) I'll be two seconds. We're already late. Alonzo exits to a hallway. Smiley opens a box. Pulls out a nice CD player. MORENO That's nice. Lemme get that. SMILEY You get the Osterizer. This is mine. Smiley opens a microwave box. Jake reacts. JAKE'S POV The box is crammed with cash from Roger's locker. BACK TO SCENE SMILEY Dreamer! Got your bony ass in here! DREAMER, 19, an attractive young lady, enters. Smiley stacks the heavy packages in her arms. He tops it off with the pillowcase of Jake's money. SMILEY Count that shit in the bedroom. DREAMER Thanks, eh. I was doing stuff. Learn to count, math whiz. SMILEY Wait up. Smiley pulls a small electric money counter from a drawer. Dreamer's hands are full. So he balances it on her head. SMILEY Don't drop it. She gives him a dirty look and exits. Smiley takes his seat and picks up his cards. He eyes Moreno. SNIPER You looked at 'em. MORENO No I didn't. Smiley tosses them to Sniper. SMILEY Deal again. SNIPER Play cards, cop? JAKE Not really. MORENO Beer? Moreno offers one. Sniper deals in Jake. JAKE No thanks. SNIPER C'mon and play a hand. MORENO Don't be rude, dude. One hand. SMILEY Don't sweat it. We ain't playin' for money. JAKE We gotta go. SMILEY Alonzo's probably taking a dump -- Go ahead and have a seat. Sniper finishes dealing. Jake looks at the cards intended for him. JAKE Okay. One hand. Jake sits. Now he can see a shotgun against the wall by Moreno. The three Cholos check their hands, signal for more cards. Jake checks his cards. MORENO How long you been a cop? You look like you're in high school. JAKE Nineteen months. MORENO Like it? JAKE I should'a been a fireman. MORENO My cousin's a fireman. And his kid's a Police Explorer. Gonna be our man on the inside. SNIPER I'd love to be a jura. Drive around all day getting fucked up. Talkin' to the ladies. Any heads that talk shit, fuck 'em up. SMILEY Listen to your bullshit. You couldn't hack takin' orders -- They order you around all the time. You gotta do everything they say, huh? JAKE Yeah, it's pretty strict. Especially when you're just starting out. SMILEY Sounds like the service. You serve? JAKE No. Never been in the military. But half the guys I work with were. SMILEY I was in the Army. Ranger Alert Battalion. Carried a machine gun. SNIPER Kick back, Rambo -- Waddaya got, dog? JAKE Huh? SNIPER Your hand, homes. Oh -- Jake lays down his cards. JAKE Three of a kind. SMILEY Man... didn't get squat. He tosses away his hand, Moreno, too. Sniper shows his cards with a grin. SNIPER Two pair. Sniper collects the cards. Shuffles. SMILEY What are you doing? The cop won. SNIPER I got two pair. SMILEY Three of a kind beats two pair, dumbass. MORENO See why we don't play for money? Smiley slides the deck to Jake. SMILEY Your deal. Jake looks down the hall. Getting up: JAKE We have to go. I'm gonna get Alonzo. SMILEY Kick back and party. Smiley pulls aside the curtain. JAKE'S POV An empty street. The G-Ride is gone. SMILEY (O.S.) Ain't nobody out there for you. ON JAKE He feels like a toddler lost in a department store. He sits back down. Moreno laughs. MORENO Alonzo played you like a booger. SMILEY Deal. Jake shuffles. Smiley lights a joint. Offers it to him. SMILEY It's P.C.P. Wanna hit? JAKE No thanks. I already smoked out today. SNIPER Shit. I'll step on that P-dog. Sniper takes it, inhales. Jake dealing cards. The joint rounds the table. MORENO Lemme see your cohete. SNIPER Your gun, dude. Let him see your gun. Under your shirt. Jake is outnumbered, outsized, outgunned. All he can do is take the pistol from his holster and show Moreno. MORENO That's down. What is it? A three eighty? JAKE Three eighty stainless. Double action. Nine round mag. MORENO Lemme see it. Ain't gonna blast no one. Jake hands it over. Moreno examines it with skilled hands. MORENO Fuck a vat up with this. He hands it back. To Jake's relief. SNIPER Gimme two cards. Jake does. Dreamer enters. DREAMER There's extra. SMILEY I know. That's ours. Set it aside. Sure about the count? DREAMER You count it if you don't believe me. SMILEY Okay. Thanks -- Gimme three. Dreamer grabs a beer and exits. Jake deals three. SMILEY Alonzo pulled off a miracle, huh? Times are tight. That's a lotta cash. SNIPER Who'd he jack? JAKE (dealing cards) I dunno. SMILEY He jacked Roger. Blasted the dude. Moreno guffaws. Sniper chuckles. MORENO Damnnnn. Alonzo's scandalous. SNIPER That's some cold shit. Vato'll jack anyone. MORENO Alonzo's a low-down dirty ruthless vato. SMILEY That's why I never shake his hand. He don't respect shit. (to Jake) Know what all the money's for? JAKE No. SMILEY Alonzo's a hothead. Last week in Vegas some dude was talking shit so Alonzo beat his ass and killed him. Turns out the dude was somebody. He ran a big game and owed big money. Now Alonzo owes the money. JAKE How do you know? SMILEY I'm the man in the middle. I hear shit. They gave Alonzo till today to pay up. His name's already on a list. There's a crew up from Sinaloa to do the mission. They're gonna blast him. No one thought he could get cash like that. SNIPER Dude made a pact with the devil or some shit 'cause only a miracle could'a saved his ass. JAKE It's no miracle. SNIPER Alonzo takes care of business. SMILEY Cops get crafty in a clinch. MORENO And get away with it -- Been to jail, cop? SNIPER That's a stupid question. If he's been to jail, he wouldn't be cop. JAKE You can be a cop as long as you've never been convicted of a felony. MORENO There goes my chance. I got like eighty strikes. SNIPER Fuck cops. Cops turned out my little brother. That went over Jake's head. SNIPER You hear me? JAKE What? He got arrested? SNIPER No. Two fuckin' juras turned him out. They took his manhood. They booty-tagged him in the back of a black and white. JAKE That can't be true. SNIPER Do I look like I'm lyin', motherfucker? JAKE I didn't say you were lying. I just haven't ever heard anything like that. SMILEY 'Cause you're a rookie. Put in a few years' work and you'll know what's up. MORENO Makes me wanna turn out a cop -- Ever had your shit pushed in? JAKE What? MORENO I had my shit pushed in. SNIPER Me too. My shit's been pushed in. Smiley? SMILEY (grins) I'm always gettin' love from the homies. Smiley caresses Jake's thigh under the table. He almost leaps from his chair. Everyone laughs. SMILEY Jumpy motherfucker. SNIPER (disgusted) He's a fuckin' buster. MORENO You never been booty-busted? Jake tries to laugh. But it's getting weird. SMILEY Hey, cop. Win this hand and we won't bust you out. MORENO Unless you want us to. Laughs. Sniper reveals his cards. SNIPER I got two pair again. MORENO (tossing his cards) Didn't get shit. SMILEY (grins) Gotta straight. SNIPER Uh-oh. This jura's gonna be wearin' a dress. Everyone looks at Jake -- well? He lays down his cards. JAKE Full house. SMILEY Lucky fucker. SNIPER You won. Deal again. Smiley taps the deck. Jake looks at it. At them. MORENO Deal, homie. Jake picks up the deck. Starts dealing. SNIPER There's a new chick in the neighborhood. SMILEY Oh yeah? What's her name? MORENO Vanessa... Vanessa Salguero. Everyone but Jake laughs. SMILEY I seen her around. Think she's a good girl or a bad girl? SNIPER She's a good girl. Innocent. Easy to play. MORENO How's she like the neighborhood? SNIPER Dunno. (to Jake) How you like the neighborhood? Jake realizes he's Vanessa. Laughter. Jake finishes dealing. Sets down the deck. Smiley arranges his hand. SMILEY Gimme three. MORENO Fuck this buster. Let's get this shit over with. Looks of agreement are traded. Moreno grins at his shotgun. Sniper shifts his weight. Smiley whiteknuckling his beer. SMILEY Hurry up, cop. Gimme three. Jake reaches for the deck. This happens fast: Jake flings the deck in Sniper's face. Smack! Cards scatter. Jumps up from the chair, flips the table into Moreno. Smiley SMASHES a beer BOTTLE on Jake's head. Moreno grabbing the shotgun. Crack! Jake socks Smiley's jaw. He goes down, amazed to find himself on his ass. Crack! Sniper uppercuts Jake. Smiley grabs Jake's legs, yanks him to the deck -- kerchack! JAKE'S POV The bore of a 12 gauge and Moreno's leering face. BACK TO SCENE Jake gives up, his broken scalp gushing blood. JAKE ... uncle... Dreamer pops her head in. DREAMER Dang! You guys fucked him up. MORENO Get outta here. Take the girls next door. Or you're next. She gives him the finger, pops out. Smiley pats Jake down. Pockets the gun. SMILEY You fucked up, fool. You know that. He finds Jake's handcuffs -- clicks his wrists together behind his back. He takes his badge, clips it on his belt. SMILEY Look. I'm a cop. Gonna start taxing. Smiley commences kicking the hell out of Jake: SMILEY You're under arrest. For being a cop. For being a buster. For dogging me in the mouth in my own pad. And for bleeding on my clean kitchen floor. You have the right to be kicked. And the right to be slapped. Smack! He slaps him. Everyone laughs. Smiley finishes, panting. SMILEY There. Get him in the bathtub. Moreno grabs Jake's hair, Sniper grabs an arm, they jerk him to his feet. SMILEY Gotta fuck this vato up. They run him out of the kitchen, Smiley follows. INT. BATHROOM Pink carpet and porcelain kitties. They throw Jake into the tub -- shove his face in the drain. Smiley turns on the water -- Jake's blood whirlpooling away. Smiley grabs the shotgun from Moreno. Thumps the butt against Jake's head, flips it, shoves the muzzle in his ear. Snicks the shower curtain shut to catch the spatter. SNIPER Fuckin' do it, eh. SMILEY It's gonna be loud. Close the door. Moreno does. Sniper plugs his ears. Smiley braces for the recoil. Jake is dazed, like steer in a slaughterhouse chute. MORENO Wait. Lemme get his money first. Smiley nods. Moreno searches Jake's pockets, takes his wallet. Pockets forty bucks. Finds the Schoolgirl's pink change purse. Opens it, reacts. MORENO ... dang... He hands it to Smiley. MORENO Here, ese... You are gonna trip the fuck out. Smiley opens it. His face goes dead blank. He hands Moreno the shotgun. Whips aside the shower curtain. Starts slugging Jake. Emphasizes each word with a kidney punch. SMILEY Pinchi... game... playing... cop... where'... you... get... this? JAKE Get what? Get what? Oh, God. Smiley slaps him with the change purse. SMILEY This, stupid. Alonzo give it to you? JAKE No! I found it! SMILEY Where? JAKE MacArthur Park! SMILEY What? Bullshit! Snick! The curtain closes. Smiley take the shotgun. Holds it to Jake's temple. Moreno angles for a peek. MORENO Wait up. I can't see. SMILEY If you're religious, go ahead and get in that last prayer. JAKE (sobs) Omigod... she was going to be raped. I was driving with Alonzo. These two crackheads were gonna rape her. I saw them hit her. I stopped them. They were gonna rape her. I swear to God. I stopped it... I gotta kid -- SMILEY -- Shut up, faggot! Smiley opens the curtain -- stomps Jake's back -- closes it. SNIPER Fuck the fool. Blast him. Smiley aims, braces for the recoil. Jake croaks: JAKE ... I gotta little girl... Smiley pauses. He eases off the trigger. Pulls a cell phone. Dials. SMILEY We're gonna get to the bottom of your bullshit. She's my cousin. She's a civilian. Ain't right involving her. He sits on the toilet. Still holding the shotgun to Jake's head, he waits for an answer. INTERCUT: INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT The Schoolgirl works out Algebra II proofs on a "Hello Kitty" bedspread in a pink T-shirt. She grabs her RINGING PHONE. SCHOOLGIRL Hello? SMILEY Wassup, Letty. Whatc'cha don'? LETTY (SCHOOLGIRL) Hey, Smiley! Just here doing homework. Wanna talk to Tony? SMILEY No. I wanna talk to you. Go to school today? LETTY Yep. SMILEY All day? You didn't ditch? LETTY I went to every class... Why? SMILEY I heard different. LETTY Nuh-uh. SMILEY Cops talk to you today? LETTY (beat) No. A beat. Smiley sighs. SMILEY Tell me what happened. Don't bullshit me. LETTY I got jumped by two niggers. SMILEY You got jumped? LETTY Well... I think they wanted to rape me. I kinda got hit. I mean he just slapped me. But nothing happened, okay? 'Cause this cop came and kicked their butts. They almost killed him but he kicked their asses. A beat. SMILEY What did this cop look like? LETTY He was a white boy. Brown hair. Tall. He looked young. Smiley looks at Jake. That's him. SMILEY Sure you're okay? LETTY I'm fine. Nothing happened. SMILEY That don't sound like nothing. Wanna go to the doctor? LETTY No. I said I'm fine. SMILEY Letty. LETTY Yeah? SMILEY What the fuck were you doing in MacArthur Park? LETTY I was just kicking back at my friend's pad. There weren't no guys or nothing. I swear to God. SMILEY Letty. LETTY Yeah? SMILEY You go there again, I'm gonna beat your ass. I got your bus pass and I.D. Gonna send 'em over. And we're gonna talk more about this. He hangs up. Looks at Jake a long beat. Soaked, bloody, shivering. Click. He safeties the shotgun. Tosses it to a disappointed Moreno. MORENO Ain't you gonna blast him? SMILEY The vato was tellin' the truth. Life's a fuckin' trip, huh? SNIPER This is some trippy-ass shit. Smiley hands the change purse to Sniper. SMILEY Get this to Letty. Smiley stands, turns off the water. He helps Jake to his feet. Unlocks the handcuffs as Jake sways, woozy. SMILEY Thanks for getting my cousin's back. Jake half-smiles, not really sure if he's alive or not. Smiley tosses him a towel. SMILEY Put that on your head. You're gonna stain the carpet. Where the fuckers at? Where'd you book them? JAKE I didn't. SMILEY Why the fuck not? JAKE Alonzo let them go. OFF Smiley's scowl, we: CUT TO: INT. HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT (LATER) Moreno and Sniper help Dreamer pick up broken glass. Jake sits in a chair holding a bloody towel on his head. Smiley returns his badgecase and gun. JAKE Thanks. SMILEY You know this shit was just business. JAKE I know. DREAMER Want some coffee? JAKE No, thank you. Smiley tosses the pillowcase of Jake's money on the table. SMILEY Alonzo gave me that to take care of you. To burn you up on the freeway by your house. I don't want his blood money. So... I don't know. I just don't want it. JAKE I'll take it. Jake picks up the pillowcase and hugs it. CUT TO: EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT Smiley walks Jake past the Cholos, staring at the beaten, wet cop. Jake hugs the pillowcase. Out in the street: SMILEY I know Alonzo paid off his debt, but I'm gonna wait till tomorrow to make the call. His magic ran out. Jake and Smiley shake hands. SMILEY Sure you don't wanna ride? JAKE I'm sure. As Jake walks away: SMILEY You went Sega today, rookie. You're at that next level. Just play their games and do what you gotta do and you'll be cool. They'll make you Chief. (beat) Hey, cop! Jake stops, turns. Smiley smiles. The first time. SMILEY Remember me. JAKE (smiles) I will. CUT TO: EXT. BOULEVARD - NIGHT Jake boards an MTA bus. Flashes his badge to the driver and plunks into a seat. Passengers gawk. CUT TO: INT. MTA BUS - NIGHT Jake thousand-yard-stares out the window. CUT TO: EXT. STREET - NIGHT The MTA bus FILLS FRAME. A beat. It rolls out to reveal Jake and his pillowcase. Just standing there on the curb. JAKE'S POV The cul-de-sac. No man's land. And very dark, the streetlights have been shot out. Deceptively quiet, except for the little kid riding away on his bike. CUT TO: EXT. CUL-DE-SAC - NIGHT Jake enters, wary. He rounds the misparked van. And sees the street is quiet. The glow of a cigarette on the roof of an apartment building catches his eye. He looks at a building across the street. Sees movement, a shadow, like someone taking cover. ON HOUSE A light turns off. The curtain in the window moves. Jake swallows hard and keeps walking toward Sara's apartment. The G-Ride parked out front. ON DRIVEWAY Thirteen men pour out like hornets from a hive. They are the gangsters he saw earlier. The bench presser leads the way, like a cat that has found a spider to play with. Jake stares unwaveringly into the man's eyes. Bench presser looks at the pillowcase curiously -- Smack! -- Jake threw a roundhouse at his throat, solidly connecting. Bench presser drops on one knee. He struggles for a breath. Clutches his throat. His homies stare in disbelief. ON JAKE He takes a deep breath. TILT DOWN -- Jake's police handcuffs orbit his fist like brass knuckles. The gangsters stare at him. JAKE I have business with Alonzo. It's in his eyes, he will not back down. A gangster with intelligent eyes, obviously next in the chain of command, sizes up Jake. A beat. He gestures for Jake to go ahead. Jake steps around the bench presser, only now getting air through his windpipe. Jake walks into their midst. Their faces follow him. They are behind him, around him. He is outnumbered by these hardened streetfighters. Jake prays he isn't bum-rushed. Now past them, he continues walking toward Sara's building. CUT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Sara sits on the couch, clutching her son. Watching TV in the dark. Something is wrong, she's almost catatonic. We hear MOANS and GIGGLING O.S. ANGLE to see Sara has a black eye. BANG! The FRONT DOOR flies open. It's Jake, his gun out. Jake and Sara look at each other a long beat. Two battered faces in a dead TV glow. She points at the bedroom. Jake crosses, opens the door. Enters. INT. SARA'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION - NIGHT It's a bitch sandwich and Alonzo's in the middle. Jake crosses to the foot of the bed. Stands there. From inside the writhing flesh pile: ALONZO 'Bout time you changed your mind and joined in. The two women stare at Jake, naked and immodest. It takes a beat for Alonzo to recognize the ghost before him. Jake dumps the money on the blankets. JAKE Smiley didn't want the job. Alonzo's eyes bug in horror at the mountain of cash. He ages a hundred years in a second. A man who knows he will soon be dead. ON JAKE with eyes colder and blacker than a shark's. Alonzo can fool him no more. JAKE Know what I learned today? It's not about money. He turns, about to walk away. And turns back around. The women shriek, dive out of the line of fire. Alonzo braces for bullets and instead hears: JAKE It's about respect. Jake leaves. As he crosses the -- INT. LIVING ROOM ALONZO (O.S.) ... Oh, God... Jake exits the apartment. ON SARA A smile slowly spreads across her face. CUT TO: EXT. CUL-DE-SAC - NIGHT As Jake descends the stairs, the porch lights of a house come on. Then the lights of another house. Steel doors open. People tentatively step outside. Women and children, mothers with babies on their hips. Blue-collar fathers in shop uniforms. More porch lights come on. More doors open. JAKE'S POV The cul-de-sac has come to life. The homes are lit, their occupants filling the street, ready to bear witness. BACK TO SCENE All eyes on Jake as he walks down the street. Three young boys follow him. The old woman comes out of her house to watch Jake pass. As do two pretty girls. Jake nearing the gangsters. They block the street. The bench presser stands there, arms crossed, Jake will have to go through him again. Curious eyes wonder what will happen. The bench presser gives Jake a slight nod of respect. The gangsters part for Jake and he leaves the cul-de-sac. ON JAKE As he walks, his innocence is gone, a heavy burden on his shoulders, but there is much strength in his gait. Jake walks past the aloof little kid, riding his bicycle in tight circles. He smiles at Jake. Jake smiles back. CUT TO: INT. JAKE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Lisa watches TV on the couch, snuggling with a cup of tea, worried. Headlights sweep the curtains. A car pulls into the driveway. Lisa smiles, sets down her tea, sprawls on the couch like she's sleeping, opens her robe provocatively, arranges it just right. We hear the front DOOR OPEN O.S. FOOTSTEPS as Jake moves through the house. Lisa peeks, sees him enter the baby's room in silhouette. LISA (sotto) Guess I'm second in line tonight. She rises, crosses to the bedroom and enters. INT. BEDROOM - LISA'S POV Jake's back is to her, holding his daughter tight. BACK TO SCENE Lisa lays a hand on his shoulder. He turns slowly, reveals his broken, swollen face. And a look in his eyes that says he will never be the same. Lisa sees this and starts crying. She holds him tightly in her arms. He holds onto his wife and child for dear life. PULL BACK, OUT OF the room, HANDHELD THROUGH the house to: TELEVISION Breaking news. A helicopter shot of the G-Ride. Crashed into a light pole. Alonzo lies dead under a sheet, hanging out of his beloved car. An utterly impossible river of blood flows from his head, into a gutter. NEWSCOPTER REPORTER (V.O.) -- has not been identified by name but a police spokesman said the thirteen-year L.A.P.D. veteran was the victim of a failed carjacking attempt near Los Angeles International Airport. Gunfire was exchanged with the suspects, now being sought in an extensive countywide manhunt, described as four hispanic males in their mid- twenties, with shaved heads, wearing white T-shirts and driving a dark late model sedan -- CUT TO: EXT. JAKE'S HOUSE - NIGHT An unmarked police sedan pulls up. We recognize the silhouettes of the Three Wise Men inside. CUT TO: INT. JAKE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Jake and his wife embracing. The SEDAN HONKS. Jake steps back from her. Her eyes search his. JAKE We served a warrant. I shot a man. Lisa reacts. CUT TO: EXT. JAKE'S HOUSE - ON FRONT DOOR - NIGHT Jake opens it and exits his house, ready for absolutely anything. WIDER He crosses to the sedan. The back door opens, and Jake gets in. FADE OUT. THE END 
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+                                    TWO FOR THE MONEY                                       Written by                                       Dan Gilroy                                                        Final Draft: 10-29-04               EXT. HOME MOVIE - 1982 - DAY               A DAD tosses a baseball to his SON.  The boy swings, connects,                sends the ball flying.  DAD smiles.                                       BRANDON LANG'S VOICE               That's me.  Five years old.  I remember that day.  Believe it                or not, I remember that hit.  I remember it because of the smile                that spread over my dad's face...                EXT. HOME MOVIE - 1983 - DAY               BRANDON shooting hoops.  DAD drinks a Bud, frowns as he misses.                                                       BRANDON VOICEOVER               I would've stood there all day to sink one.  Just to see that                smile...                  EXT. HOME MOVIE - 1984 - DAY               BRANDON runs, wears a too-big helmet and pads.  A DOG chases                him as DAD throws a football -- long pass -- TIME SLOWS and --                                                     BRANDON VOICEOVER               To pop, sports were a religion.  To me, it was about purity,                a place where all wrongs could be made right, or at least temporarily                forgotten.  I was going to fill the whole house with trophies                for him.  There was no doubt in my mind, I was going to make                him happy...                BRANDON catches the ball.  Blinding light, loud CHEERING and                --                  EXT. STADIUM - 1999 - NIGHT               Our eyes adjust to see we're in a STADIUM.  It's a night game.                 Stands packed.  A PLAY CLOCK fills the SCREEN.  It's the fourth                quarter.  Seven seconds left.  Score:  CAL WEST 31 / SOUTH WEST                NEVADA UNIVERSITY 27.  A bruised and battered UNLV QUARTERBACK                gets a play from the COACH, straps on his helmet as he runs back                to the huddle.  The name on the QUARTERBACK'S jersey -- B. LANG.                 10 exhausted, desperate faces come close, hang on BRANDON'S                every word --                                       BRANDON               Last play.  Slant red, right back on two.  On two, Scottie.                 It's a lock.  A guaranteed TD.  I've already seen it.  So relax.                 There's nothing to worry about 'cept one thing -- after we win                and they're shoving cameras in your faces, I don't want to hear                any "Hi moms."  Guys, it's overdone, the fans are tired of it                and if you have to thank some one you can just thank me.  See                you in the end zone.                The teams breaks, approaches the line.  Loud CROWD roar.                                     BRANDON VOICEOVER               I'd been a quarterback since pee-wee football.  Set high school                records.  Won state championships.  I wasn't driven by joy, it                wasn't winning as much as terror, pure and simple -- fear of                losing.                                      TV ANNOUNCERS               South West Nevada needs a score.  Seven seconds on the clock.                 22 yard line.  Win or lose, this has been a spectacular season                for Lang.  The big question, should he turn pro now or wait until                -- Lang's got the snap--                BRANDON drops back.  A GIANT gets a hand on BRANDON'S jersey.                 BRANDON pulls free, runs.  OPPONENTS charge his way, BRANDON                vaults, sails in the end zone, SCORES.  BRANDON rolls on his                back as an OPPOSING PLAYER hurtles in -- mid-air -- unable to                stop as -- 300-plus pounds come crashing onto BRANDON'S leg.                 Sickening sound.  BRANDON clutches his strangely angled limb.                                                     BRANDON VOICEOVER               ... My first thought was I can tape it and play next week.  Then                I puked.                TEAMMATES surround BRANDON, many turning from the sight and --                               INT. EMERGENCY ROOM ENTRANCE - NIGHT               BRANDON'S wheeled in.               INT. OPERATING ROOM - NIGHT               SURGEONS regard the leg.  IVs are hooked up.                                     BRANDON               What's the rehab time?                 The SURGEONS talk between themselves, impressed by the break.                                                       BRANDON               When do I play again?               One DOCTOR examines his x-rays.  BRANDON grabs his smock.                                      BRANDON               The patient's got a question!               Anesthetic haze.  A wavy world is melting far, far away.                                     SURGEON VOICEOVER               Football's done, son...               INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY               BRANDON'S in a hospital bed.  Big leg cast.  IV's in each arm.                                                      MAN'S VOICE               Brandon... Brandon, it's me.               BRANDON opens his eyes, focuses on his FATHER (older, cheap suit,                beard stubble, clutching a $2 bouquet of flowers).                                        BRANDON'S DAD               You okay?  I saw what happened on the tv.  Helluva thing that                happening like that.                                      BRANDON               (edge)               What are you doing here?                                     BRANDON'S DAD               I brought some flowers.  From downstairs in the shop.                                       BRANDON               (pressing the nurse's call button)                No, you gotta go -- where's the nurse?                                      BRANDON'S DAD               I'm thinking of getting into a new program, Brandon.               A NURSE comes fast through the door, watches unsure --                                     BRANDON               Could you get him out, please?                                       BRANDON'S DAD               It's okay, we're fine, I'm his father.                                     BRANDON               Just get out!               BRANDON tries to rise, IV'S coming loose.  The NURSE takes his                DAD'S arm, leads him out to the hall.                                       BRANDON'S DAD               (pulling away, straightening)               He didn't recognize me.  Must be all the drugs and all.  Boy's                been through a lot.                (handing the NURSE the flowers)                If you could put these in some water and leave 'em in his room.                 Before they die.                BRANDON'S DAD nods thanks, departs down the corridor and --                               EXT. TRACT HOME - DAY               Vegas desert.  It's raining.  A SWNU car pulls up.  The COACH                helps BRANDON out, on crutches now.  A middle-aged WOMAN and                a TEENAGE BOY stand under a rusty awning, waiting to greet him.                                                     BRANDON VOICEOVER               It doesn't rain much in the desert.  Maybe it was that, or maybe                the look on my mother's face, or how fast coach left after getting                me up the steps, but I swore then and there -- no matter what,                I'd get back -- I would play again...                INT. UNLV WEIGHT ROOM - 1997 - DAY               Off-season.  The room's packed.  Loud hip hop plays.  BRANDON                limps in on a cane.  Back slaps.  ("B's back!" "The man!")                                                         OMIT               EXT. SOUTH WEST NEVADA UNIVERSITY TRACK - DAY                Sprinters dart by.  Here comes BRANDON.  Several months have                passed.  Big ass brace on his leg.  A GIRL'S TRACK TEAM bounds                past like a herd of gazelles.  BRANDON presses on, possessed.                               EXT. PRACTICE FIELD - DAY               The TEAM'S practicing for a new season.  BRANDON'S on the sideline,                flanked by the COACH and TEAM DOCTOR.                                      BRANDON VOICEOVER               Doc told me it would take years to heal.  One bad hit and it'd                be over.  But the team needed me and I had to play to get drafted.                 I figured I'd take a chance...                BRANDON looks at the field, the PLAYERS, the empty stands and--                                 EXT. SOUTH WEST NEVADA UNIVERSITY STADIUM - 1997 - DAY               CROWDED arena.  Electrifying scene.  BRANDON'S suited on the                sidelines.  Kick-off.  A SWNU PLAYER returns the ball.                                        BRANDON VOICEOVER               Every minute of recovery I'd dreamt about this moment.  There                were NFL scouts in the stands.  I knew what happened next.                               BRANDON leads his team onto the field.  Into the huddle --                                     BRANDON               Let's ease back into it with our bread                and butter -- TD first play.  We're going                deep.  Split right.  Deep two on three!               (coming up to the line)               Red 38!  Red 28!  Set!  Set--               BRANDON drops back.  Blitz.  Brandon about to throw when one                of his own LINEMEN is knocked into him and -- BRANDON'S off balance.                 Too much pressure on that leg and in one horrible moment...                it buckles.  BRANDON falls.  The play whistled dead.                                        BRANDON VOICEOVER               ...It was over.  I could've gone out with class, a gritty smile                and a little wave to the crowd from a stretcher, instead I opted                to go psycho on national tv.                The PLAYER who hit him leans down to help.  BRANDON grabs his                face mask, starts punching.  Pure rage.  A REFEREE steps in and                BRANDON slugs him, slams his face in the turf.  LINEMEN yank                BRANDON off as the bloody REF struggles to get free and --                               TV SCREEN -- jim rome sports show               A highlight reel plays a tape of the incident -- BRANDON seen                struggling with PLAYERS as the roughed-up REF crawls away --                                                     JIM ROME               Welcome to the jungle!  Hey clones, do you believe this idiot?!                 That cannot happen!  This is college football, not the ultimate                fighting championship!  What we have here is too much muscle                and not  enough brain mass -- this is why we need a life-time                ban!  Make an example out of him!  Because the sport deserves                better than this!  Talk to me!                 CAMERA PUSHES IN -- ECU on the TV as we hear --                                     BRANDON VOICEOVER               It made all the highlight films.  People wrote editorials.  Overnight                I became the poster boy for the "Dark Side of Sports."                 The college yanked my scholarship and I was kicked out of school.                 The ref piled on, pressed charges.  My probation included counseling.                               INT. PSYCHIATRIST'S OFFICE - DAY               A PSYCHIATRIST faces BRANDON.  A clock ticks in the corner.                                                     PSYCHIATRIST               Who did the referee represent, Brandon?                                     BRANDON               He represented the nearest guy I could grab.                                     PSYCHIATRIST               ... Let's try again.               INT. WINDOWLESS OFFICE - PRESENT DAY - DAY               CAMERA moves ceiling level above a dreary space.  Passing over                cramped cubicles.  Murmer of voices from each one.  EMPLOYEES                seen, all reading phone copy into taping devices.  Sex lines,                astrology and get-rich-quick schemes are heard.                                        BRANDON VOICEOVER               Football wasn't a sport, it was my life.  Maybe I couldn't play                anymore but I couldn't leave.  So I went with it,                 rode it out.  Then one day, and it didn't               take long, I woke up at the bottom, and I liked it so much, I                stayed for six years.                THE CAMERA stops above BRANDON.  Older.  Scruffier.  He sits                in his cubicle under a flickering flourescent light, tossing                a weathered football as he reads copy into a recording device.                                                      BRANDON               --You've reached the Jessica Simpson hot line!  Jessica's going                to tell you all about Nick's surprise birthday party and her                rockin' new panty line at Wal-Mart, but first, here's a little                fan trivia to win a VIP Gold Package back stage pass to Jessica's                Omnicon Hotels Summer Tour--                A bull-like BOSS appears at BRANDON'S cubicle entry --                                      BOSS               Got a job for you, Lang.                                     BRANDON               I'm in the middle of taping.                                     BOSS               Bauer's sick, can't update his betting line.  You know anything                'bout sports?                                      BRANDON               ... Yeah, a little.               INT. NEIGHBORING CUBICLE - OFFICE - MINUTE LATER               BRANDON enters a co-worker's cluttered cubicle.                                      BRANDON VOICEOVER               900 numbers, audio text, the racket had a lot of names.                                       Brandon sits at his co-worker's desk.  He picks up the text copy                sitting beside the recording device, looks it over --                                       BRANDON VOICEOVER               This guy's gig was sports handicapping.  Predicting winners for                people who bet.  I was supposed to just record his picks.                The thing was, I didn't agree with them.                 Brandon starts changing game selections, re-writing the copy.                                                       BRANDON VOICEOVER               My picks went 9-and-1 that weekend.  By football season, the                job was mine...                INT. BRANDON'S NEW CUBICLE - SEVERAL MONTHS LATER - DAY               A football is seen, rising and falling from BRANDON'S cubicle.                 He tosses the football as he records a new update --                                      BRANDON               --Kansas City is 7-1 against the point spread versus division                opponents coming off a Monday night game.  Take K.C. minus the                six points.  Call tomorrow for my pro football game of the year                -- Tampa Bay versus Oakland.  That's 900-656-3100.  This is Brandon                Lang saying good night and good luck everybody.                BRANDON pops the tape.  Dons an old UNLV windbreaker.  He shoulders                a beat-up bike, walks up front, hands the tape to his BOSS.                 BOSS hands back a paycheck.  Regarding the amount --                                      BRANDON               I went 9-2 in pro football Sunday and hit my third straight Monday                night parlay.                                       BOSS               That's what you get paid for.                                     BRANDON               I want a raise to 12 bucks an hour.                                     BOSS               I don't make 12 an hour.                                     BRANDON               You're not picking 75 percent.                                     BOSS               If you're so good then bet your own games, get rich and send                me a postcard                 from the Riviera.               BOSS pops BRANDON'S tape in a multi-line answering system and--                               EXT. LAS VEGAS - DAY               BRANDON rides a beat-up bike through downtown.               INT. CASINO - DAY               BRANDON maneuvers through a bustling casino, enters the SPORTS                BETTING ROOM.  He goes to a rack of printed bettling lines for                the weekend games, pockets a printed sheet, sees a SUPERVISOR.                                                     BRANDON               Hey Stu, where's the action this weekend?                                     SUPERVISOR/STU               We're getting big money on Tampa/Oakland.  Everyone's jumping                on Tampa Bay.                                        BRANDON               Crazy.               Supervisor/stu               You think?                                     BRANDON               That game's gonna be won by coaching, Stu.  Gruden put that Tampa                Bay team together before he came to Oakland, right?  He knows                every weakness of that team and every strength.  He knows Brown                only likes to catch over his left shoulder and he'll have him                double-teamed to the right.  He knows Gannon always throws on                a 3-step drop and the linebackers will take away the middle of                the field.  Gannon'll be intercepted at least 4 times on Sunday.                                (STU staring at him, pained look)               ...You got sucked into Tampa, didn't you?               (STU manages a nod)               Stu, how many times do I have to bail you out?  All right, listen,                forget the point spread.  Oakland's going to win outright.  Bet                the money line and bet big.                                      STU               Thanks, B.                                     OMIT               EXT. BRANDON'S HOUSE - NIGHT               BRANDON rides up.  His younger brother, DENNY (18, Metallica                t-shirt) and some FRIENDS work on an old, bondo-pocked muscle                car in the garage.                                        DENNY               I scrounged some old headers, B!  Check it out!               DENNY turns the key.  The car rumbles to life.  He revs the bored-out                engine, flashes a shit eating grin.                                      BRANDON               ... Awesome dude.  That's a righteous ride, Denny.               INT. BRANDON'S HOUSE - NIGHT               MOM'S readying for work, dressed in croupier attire, searching                for something as BRANDON enters.                                      MOM               I'm late.  Dinner's in the oven.               Where the hell's my lucky crucifix?               BRANDON reaches to a key rack, hands it to her.  She dons it.                                                     MOM               Thank God.  A man won 5600 at my table last night.  Tipped me                out in color.  I gave it to Denny, help him with college.                BRANDON nods, downs a carton of milk.  MOM about to go.                                     MOM               Mail came, letter for you, from Chicago.                 You just tried out last week.  They got back to you quick.  That's                a good sign.                                      BRANDON               Wanna bet?                                     MOM               Open it.               BRANDON opens it.  Reads.  Words pop out: "Arena Football League"..."We                regret to inform you"..."but based on your performance"..."staff                declines."                                        BRANDON               At least they kicked me a cap.                                     MOM               Shit.               INT. BRANDON'S ROOM - NIGHT               Filled with exercise equipment.  BRANDON pins the letter to a                wall covered by dozens of rejections -- National Football League                -- Canadian Football League -- Arena Football League. BRANDON                changes into shorts.  And now we see, he's in amazing shape.                 Could maybe still play pro.  But that two foot scar running                the length of his leg makes you wonder.  As BRANDON pumps it                out we realize he still has a dream of coming back, a dream we                sense by his intensity is fast slipping away and --                EXT. LAS VEGAS - DAWN               BRANDON pedals to work when his cell phone rings.  Answering:                                                     BRANDON               Hello.                                     MAN'S VOICE               Brandon!                                     BRANDON               Yeah?                                     MAN VOICEOVER               Congratulations!  You went 9-2 last Sunday!  20-4 college!  Picking                77 percent winners since opening weekend!  I've been following                you!  I'm a big fan, Brandon!  A big fan.                                      BRANDON               How'd you get this number?  If you want picks, call my 900 line.                                                     MAN VOICEOVER               What I want, Brandon, is for you to come to New York and work                for me.                                      BRANDON               Who is this?                                     MAN VOICEOVER               This is Walter Abrams.  I don't know if you know me but I run                the biggest sports service in the country.  Hell, I started the                industry.  Ask around.  Ask anyone,                 even that reprobate boss of yours.  It's               my job to keep track of who's doing what and what you're doing                should be rewarded.                Focus, Brandon.  Focus.  One day you'll                look back, see this was one of life's defining moments.  Allow                me to paint a picture for you.  Right now I'm getting a massage,                looking out my window at the greatest city in the world and all                I'm asking you to do is come up with a number.  Write down what                you make now, cross it out and write what you should be making                and then toss in how much it'll take to get you to fly here first                class and come work for me -- did I mention free room and board                -- and speak up when you've got something to share.                (aside to MASSEUSE)               Right there.  Yeah.  Deeper.  Yes.  Fuck that hurts.                                     BRANDON               Do me a favor and lose my number, I gotta go to work.               BRANDON hangs up and --               INT. BRANDON'S CUBICLE DAY               BRANDON hefts the bike down the hall, reaches his cubicle to                find his phone ringing.  Picking up --                                      BRANDON               Hello.                                     WALTER VO               It's me again.                                       BRANDON               This is a joke, right?                                     WALTER VO               A joke can be the ultimate intellectual pursuit sometimes.  This?                 This is just a job offer.  In your top drawer there's an envelope                with your name on it.                  BRANDON opens the drawer, pulls an envelope and a ticket.                                     WALTER VO               That's travel cash and an airline ticket.  It's not a magic trick,                Brandon.  I paid someone to put it there, who incidentally                               said the place reminded him of a Turkish prison.  I don't have                to tell you you're                 wasting your time there, Brandon, unless               this is a part time gig -- unless you're               planning some kinda "comeback," in which               case I request you use a fraction of your                talents and weigh the odds of that dream becoming reality.  Two                leg fractures?  Passed on by every conceivable team in the league?                 Any chump can make that call, and anyone who clears the boards                the way you do week in and week out should live in a penthouse                on Park Avenue -- which is not for you to construe I'm offering                that to start, but keep these stats up working for me and I'll                have you in one in less than a year.  Unless of course you're                a village kind of guy...                BRANDON glances at the old faded football in his back pack.                                                     WALTER VO               Run the numbers, do the math.  Hold on a sec--               Muzak.  BRANDON juggles the phone, searching, finds a pay stub.                 Amount: $275.00 a week.  BRANDON crosses it out, writes $1000.                 He crosses that out, writes $1500.  BRANDON pulls a quarter,                flips it.  The coin bounces, spins, falls and--                EXT. JFK MOVING WALKWAY - DAY               BRANDON hefts a duffel bag -- sees an ASIAN DRIVER, chauffeur                uniform, mirrored shades, holding a sign reading B. LANG and                --                INT. MOVING LIMO - DAY               BRANDON eyes a basket of croissants and juice, grabs a danish,                takes a bite, sees the DRIVER watching in the mirror.                                      BRANDON               I'm gonna pay.  I'll pay you--                                     DRIVER               --Pay me?  Pay Walter.  His car.  I'm Milton, I drive for him.                                                     BRANDON               I thought it was a service.               (moving to the jump seat, seeing MILTON is driving very fast)                               So what's the deal with this guy?  You work for him a long time?                                                     MILTON               Oh yeah, going on two weeks.               (off BRANDON'S look)               I was bike messenger.  Walter's driver hit me with his car.                 I lie on ground, make it look worse than is, big car, you                know maybe get some money.  Driver call me name, I call him name,                he take swing -- big son of a bitch -- so I kick his ass.                (slicing the air with his hands)               Walter get out.  I say his driver can't drive, he say you're                right.  I say damn right.  He ask if I can, I say hell yeah.                 He take hat off driver, give it to me.                Every day with Walter is...               EXT. BROOKLYN HEIGHTS BROWNSTONE - DAY               Five stories.  Next to the Brooklyn Bridge.  Manhattan rises                across the East River.  The limo pulls up.  BRANDON steps out,                regards the structure.  Exhaust fans dot the second floor.  Satellite                dishes on the roof.  Security cameras everywhere.                 INT. BROWNSTONE - TOP FLOOR - DAY               BRANDON follows MILTON through a large, wildly furnished apartment.                 They pass an large library dominated by rows of bleacher seats                from the old Polo Grounds.  A hot dog stand sits outside a wine                cellar.  Toys tell us there's a child in the house.  A cha-cha                plays from a stereo.  MILTON stops at a set of doors.  About                to knock when --                                     WALTER VO               Bring him in!               INT. WALTER ABRAMS' OFFICE - DAY               WALTER smokes a cigarette, talking on the phone as an ASSISTANT                in a separate, adjoining space handles four ringing phones.                 Across the room, a large wall is filled with TVS, each turned                to a different channel, no sound.                                       WALTER               I'll hire the trainers too... Well run it by them, you won't                know until you try... So, they can stay the night.  I'll put                'em up at the Plaza, nice suite, park view... Okay double it...                Triple it... Everything's about money.  Look, on Sunday, my daughter,                an angel, turns six, it's not likely to happen again.  She                               loves elephants.  Your circus has 10,               I only want one, my little girl's happiness is in your hands.                               (beat, icy edge)               I don't need parenting advice from a guy                who doubles as a clown.  I want an               elephant and I'll pay.  What'll it take to grease your wheels                and get one this weekend?  Hello?... Hello?"  Fuck wad!                (intercom his ASSISTANT, furious)               Find Ringling Brothers!  Get me on the horn with someone who                understands profit!                WALTER sees BRANDON.  Something new.  Full focus.  He removes                the headset.  Dons his glasses.  Circles around.                                        WALTER               Whoa, look at you.  The Marlboro man.               (feeling his bicep)               Jesus you're in great shape.                                     BRANDON               I've been in better.                                     WALTER               (assessing BRANDON as he speaks--)               Modesty's not a virtue, it's a vice, as evil as vanity.  There                are rules to                success, Brandon, and this is rule number one, know what you                know and know what you don't know and know I gotta know  everything                you know as soon as you know it, if not sooner!  Smile.  C'mon!                 What the hell is that?  I said smile.  Bigger.  Hungrier.  More                teeth.  Ever sell before?                                        BRANDON               No.                                     WALTER               If you can sell you'll never starve.  Ever speak in public?                 Perform?  Anything like that?                                      BRANDON               I played quarterback in college.  Division one.                                      WALTER               I know, I'm talking about not in uniform.                                     BRANDON               I used to sing at church.                                     WALTER               Oh really?  So you're religious?                                       BRANDON               I don't know.  I guess.                                       WALTER               Certain things, you either are or you aren't.  Which is it?                                                     BRANDON               When I was a kid I thought I wanted to be a pastor... obviously                not now.  I mean, yeah, I believe in God.                                      WALTER               Relax.  What do I care?  Besides, it's against the law to hire                based on religious orientation.  You're not a republican are                you?  Just kidding.                (silent beat, staring at him)               You're scaring me son.  What's with the deer-caught-in-headlights                vibe?  You were a quarterback for God's sake.  A leader.                                      BRANDON               That was six years ago.                                     WALTER               C'mon, you won three conference titles at a major university.                 You think I went to college?  I'm autodidactic.  Big word, huh?                 Know what it means?  Self-taught.  Partially by reading, sure,                but mostly by keeping my eyes open and asking a lot of stupid                fucking questions.  I swear to God I'm looking at myself 30 years                ago.  A taller, more athletic version maybe, but the resemblance                is remarkable.                WALTER crushes out the cigarette, sprays air freshener.                                     WALTER               I'm not supposed to smoke any more, among other things.  It's                bad for my condition.  So before I die, did you do anything other                than the sports phone in Vegas?                                        BRANDON               Just the 900 number recordings, it was full time, I mean we got                10 bucks a call.                                      WALTER               Chump change, Brandon.  We're angling for bigger fish here.                 You see, the networks don't talk about it and Uncle Sam can't                tax it, but sports gambling is a 200-billion-dollar-a-year-business.                 These gamblers have needs, Brandon.  Come Monday morning, after                a losing weekend, a lot of them have big needs.                   WALTER presses a button and the TVS fill with football games.                                                      WALTER               That's every pro game played last Sunday.               Do you know why Monday Night's the most watched game of the week?                 It's because Monday's the last chance bettors have to climb                out of the hole before paying their bookies on Tuesday.  Sports                betting's illegal in 49 states, including this one, but what                we do is 100% legal -- it's exactly the same as a stock broker,                only instead of touting stocks, we advise people on how to bet.                 We make the big money off our client list.  You see, when a                client wins with our advice we take a percentage, which they                gladly give to keep getting our picks.  When they lose we get                zip.  So the object here, my tall, athletic, religious friend                -- is to win.                WALTER clicks a control and his face fills the wall of tvs.                 Phone numbers and messages ("FOOTBALL SELECTIONS!" COLLEGE AND                PRO!"  "BASKETBALL PICKS!") flash on the screens.  It's a high-octane                infomercial for sports gamblers.                                      TV WALTER               Hello -- this is Walter Abrams and welcome to The Sports Advisors                and week three in professional football.  After a nice five day                vacation on my yacht I can't be any more ready than I am right                now.  Studying the mismatches this weekend I can only conclude                they're giving my handicappers a license to steal.  I want you                to take out a blank                                                      Tv walter con'd               check right now -- go on, do it -- and write in as much you want                to cash it for on Tuesday, that's how much money we're making                for you this weekend.  Year in, year out, no stock matches our                return, and for the first time in the history of the company                I'm releasing our three-team college and pro parlays absolutely                free!  That's right.  This is why in a business with a higher                turnover rate than Leona Helmsley's maid staff we're still going                strong after 28 years!  I'm giving these picks away.  800-238-6648.                 1-800-BET-ON-IT.  Absolutely free.  We're looking at a big money                weekend so let's get right into it with our panel of experts--                                                     WALTER               (freeze frames himself, to BRANDON)               My cable show.  Tapes Thursday, airs Saturday and Sunday morning.                 Nationwide.  Hell I need a new barber.  The man should                 be shot.  Look at my hair in the back.                                     BRANDON               How'd you afford that yacht if the picks are free?                                     WALTER               There is no yacht.  Good, keep asking question.  Next.                                     BRANDON               You didn't answer about the free picks.                                     WALTER               I know.  What else?                                     BRANDON               What's on the second floor?                                     WALTER               That's where we print the money.  Any more?                                     BRANDON               No, that clears up pretty much everything.                                     WALTER               Great.  Welcome aboard.  We got some good stuff to work with.                                 ASSISTANT/over intercom               Ringling Brothers on one.                                     WALTER               Ever have a manicure?                                     BRANDON               Me?  No.  Why?                                     WALTER               Because you need one.  Besides, there's  a girl you gotta meet.                                                     BRANDON               Really?  What's she like?                                     WALTER               Beautiful, you'll like her--               (answering the phone)               --This Barnum or Bailey?               INT. HIGH-END, BROOKLYN SALON - DAY               TONI MORROW looks into CAMERA, styles an attractive, 30-ish WOMAN'S                hair as the WOMAN regards her face in a mirror --                woman               I'm just thinking of doing some work around the eyes.  Tighten                it up a bit.  A lift here, look, see these lines?                                      TONI               I see a beautiful woman.  What are you --all of 35?  I have a                girlfriend, she was stunning, went in to "tighten it up a bit"                and came out with a permanent smile.  Even when she cries she                looks like she's laughing.  Another, she's on her third eye lift.                 Her skin's so tight, I swear, if you put an egg shell on her                butt she'd look like a baby bird.                                      WOMAN               I'm just thinking of a tune-up.                                     TONI               Oh yeah, first it's a tune-up, then it's something else, and                one day you'll come teetering in with your new 36Cs and a stretched                face and you won't be able to say how unhappy you are because                of all the collagen they shot in your lips.                  Do youself a favor.  Skip the surgery and get a shrink, work                on the inside.                                      WOMAN               Easy for you to say.  You used to model.               The other WOMEN CUSTOMERS listening nearby nod in agreement.                                                     TONI               Oh yeah, that's true.  Those were the good days.  Sometimes I                like to just curl up on the ledge with my box of retouched photos                and reminisce about rehab.                                      WOMAN               Tightly wound today, aren't we?                                     TONI               I guess.  Must be the coffee talking.                 (handing her a fashion magazine)               Here, read a fashion magazine.  Feel more insecure about yourself.                               TONI walks through the shop, checks her watch, passes a row of                WOMEN getting lunch-hour nail jobs.  BRANDON'S squeezed in among                them.  Only guy there.  Cotton between his toes post-pedicure.                 Hunched and uncomfortable as the WOMEN around him discuss boyfriends                and relationships.                                      TONI               ... Brandon?                                     BRANDON               Hi.                                     TONI               I'm Toni.  Walter said you'd stop by.                                     BRANDON               Nice to meet you.               (immediately, re: the pedicure)               This was his idea.                                     TONI               I know.                                      BRANDON               He makes all his employees do this?                                     TONI               Every one.                                     BRANDON               How often?                                     TONI               Once.  Before they start work.                                     BRANDON               Weird.                                       TONI               You think?                                     BRANDON               I've never had my nails done before.                                     TONI               I can see that.               (putting his hands in water)               Strong hands.  Nice.  Do you drink?                                     BRANDON               No thanks.  I'm fine.                                     TONI               No, do you drink?                                     BRANDON               Excuse me?                                     TONI               Alcohol.  Are you a drinker?                                     BRANDON               I've been pretty focused on staying in shape.  I mean a beer                once in a while.                                      TONI               Smoke?                                     BRANDON               No.               Toni               What about gambling?                                     BRANDON               What about it?                                     TONI               Look, I'm sorry, I'm pressed for time.               (stopping work, regarding him)               I asked do you bet.  Are you a bettor?                                     BRANDON               No.                                     TONI               Really?  Why not?               BRANDON meets her gaze.  Gears turning.  She's hitting on him.                                                     BRANDON               Toni, huh?  Are you here full-time?                                       TONI               It's my shop, I better be.  Why don't you gamble?                                     BRANDON               Well I'll tell you, Toni.  I bet on something once.  Risked everything                I had and lost.                                      TONI               So?                                     BRANDON               I swore I'd never do it again.               Toni               You're sticking to that story?               Brandon                Hey, we just met.  I sure wouldn't want to start our relationship                off by lying.                                      TONI               Well Walter could definitely use someone with a little resolve                in his life.                                      BRANDON               (leaning in)               Ya know, Toni, this is my first time in town.  I'm not used to                how fast things run around here.  I'm wondering if you'd  like                to have dinner tonight?  Let's get                 to know each other without so many people around.                                     TONI               ... He didn't tell you.                                     BRANDON               What?                                     TONI               Brandon, Walter and I are married.                                     BRANDON               What?  Walter just said I was meeting a woman.  He acted like...                                                     TONI               Walter's got a weird sense of humor.               Look, he has a big, bright, beautiful spirit, you'll love working                for him, but he's held together by meetings.  If it has "anonymous"                at the end, Walter goes.  He has to.  He also has to be very                careful who he let's into his life.  In  most ways, Walter's                brilliant -- but he can be bullshitted and I can't.  So he sends                'em over to me before he hires 'em.                                        BRANDON               You're kidding me?  Coming here... the manicure... this was an                interview?                                        TONI               You're swift.                                     BRANDON               How'd I do?                                     TONI               Except for an illegal forward pass,                perfect, flying colors.  Congratulations.  I'm late for my next                appointment.                TONI walks away, glances back, smiles and --               EXT. BROWNSTONE - DAY               BROWNSTONE.  CAMERA favors the ground floor windows.               WALTER vo               The apartment on the first floor is yours.  You have satellite                tv, a gym, you want to relax there's a jacuzzi tub the size of                a kiddie pool.                INT. BROWNSTONE - FIRST FLOOR - DAY               900 number office.  A phone and a computer on an empty desk.                 Two TVs mounted on the wall.  WALTER shows BRANDON around.                                                     WALTER               I'm starting you on the 900 numbers, same gig you did in Vegas.                 You'll make your picks and record them every day, once a day                Monday through Friday and five times a day on weekends.  Each                call's worth 25 bucks a shot.  Right now we get a few dozen hits                a week.  We should be doing triple that.  I'm sending down some                test copy.  Before you record it, a little advice.                                                               BRANDON sits.  Regards the phone --                                     WALTER               Your pitch sucks, it doesn't exist.  The pieces are there, we                just gotta bust you out.                 Brandon                How?                                     WALTER               From now on you have a new name -- John Anthony, "The Million                Dollar Man."                                       BRANDON               Hold on.  What's wrong with Brandon Lang?                                     WALTER               Brandon Lang is still at home with his mother.  You're selling                a lifestyle here, and John's livin' large.  John's got a direct                line to God and for a measly 25 bucks a call you're gonna let                the world's losers listen in.                      INT. BROWNSTONE - 900 NUMBER OFFICE - NIGHT               BRANDON studies the copy.  He pops in a CD, hits record, reads                into a mike --                                      BRANDON               Hello sports fans!  This is John Anthony in the Big Apple with                my big money picks!  The action starts Saturday with college                ball and our first matchup, Michigan against Indiana--                EXT. BROWNSTONE - DAY               The upstairs window flies open and a CD sails out.                                     WALTER VO               Wrong!               INT. WALTER'S OFFICE - SAME TIME - DAY               WALTER turns from the window, faces BRANDON.                                     WALTER               What's your sales pitch?                                      BRANDON               What's my sales pitch?  77 percent's my sales pitch.                                     WALTER               Stats aren't enough!  These are gamblers               you're talking to, people ready to risk what they can't afford                for what they can't have!  You're selling the world's rarest                commodity.                BRANDOn               What's that?                                     WALTER               Certainty in an uncertain world!               INT. BROWNSTONE - 900 NUMBER OFFICE - NIGHT               BRANDON back at the mike.  Groping for a delivery.                                     BRANDON               John Anthony here, ready to make all your betting dreams come                true!  Call now and let me win for you!  The point spread in                the Indiana/Michigan game's up to four, making that game a gimme--                                   INT. BROWNSTONE - WALTER'S OFFICE - DAY               Another CD sails out.  WALTER staring at BRANDON --                                     WALTER               What is that shit?  You spent 6 years bouncing from one dead-end                job to another.  Riding to work on a frigging bicycle.  Were                you making some kind of statement?  What the hell were you afraid                of?                                        BRANDON               I wasn't afraid of anything.  I was working my ass off, trying                to get back in the game.                                      WALTER               You are back in the game!  Convince me you belong here!                 INT. BROWNSTONE - DOWNSTAIRS GYM - NIGHT                 BRANDON pumping it out.  Music pounds on a stereo.  BRANDON watches                himself in the mirror, muscles straining.  He suddenly slams                the bar down, goes down the hall, grabs the mike, reads from                the copy and --                                      BRANDON               This is John Anthony here, and from Wall Street to Tokyo to Hollywood,                all your big money stays and plays with me!  Winning consistently's                the name of this game and I always remain the same, winners on                a consistent basis, 77 percent winners!  So sit back and relax                because                because it's a scud attack this weekend and I'm shelling your                bookmaker!                INT. BROWNSTONE - DAY               BRANDON bounding up to WALTER'S office.                                     BRANDON VOICEOVER               Game one of my three-team parlay is  Michigan hosting Indiana;                the big boys at Michigan are just 2-7 against the spread as a                double-digit home favorite and with arch rival Wisconsin on deck                next week, Indiana will catch them looking ahead!  Take Indiana                plus the 16 points!  It's a lock!                INT. WALTER'S OFFICE - DAY               WALTER listening to the CD.  BRANDON watching him.                                     BRANDON VOICEOVER               You want more?  John Anthony's the man with a plan to make you                money!  Game two goes to Florida and North Carolina!  I don't                care how many points you gotta lay with Florida, lay it!  They'll                win by 50!                WALTER pops the CD, heads for the window.                                      BRANDON               C'mon!  First too little, then too much --                                     WALTER               It's a start.                                      BRANDON               Tell me what you want.                                     WALTER               No.  What do you want, Brandon?  That's what this is about!                               WALTER stops.  Steadies himself.  He pulls a prescription vial.                 Sits.  Passing, pained look.                                      BRANDON               Walter?  Are you okay?                                      WALTER               ... Huh?... It's nothing.                (popping a pill from the vial, beat, taking another)               ... Small one.                                     BRANDON               Should I call someone?                                     WALTER               Not unless they got a spare heart.  I'm okay.               WALTER finds a cigarette.  Lights it.  Savors the first drag.                                                     BRANDON               What are you doing?                                     WALTER               Courage wants to laugh.               EXT. BROOKLYN BRIDGE - MORNING               BRANDON riding his bike hard across the Brooklyn Bridge.   Wearing                earphones while he listens to a radio sports show.                RADIO ANNOUNCER/keith jackson vO               --Talking about college defenses you have to include Oklahoma.                 The Okie boys are 2nd-ranked going into this weekend and facing                an offensive powerhouse in Oregon.                 That game and more coming up after the break.                A commerical's heard as BRANDON pedals away, glances up and --surreal                sight -- Brandon hurtling at an ELEPHANT'S ASS -- he swerves                -- looks back at the TRAINER walking the pachyderm across the                city span and --                 INT. BRANDON'S APARTMENT - DAY               A TV SCREEN FILLS FRAME.  A COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME starts. ANNOUNCERS                riff a MEDLEY of analysis and scores.                PULL BACK TO SHOW -- BRANDON comes out of the shower, towel around                his waist, putting on a clean shirt.  Through a ground floor                window the boardwalk can be seen.  A child's party is in progress.                 The elephant ambles by wearing a birthday hat, the bemused TRAINER                walking beside him.  TONI and WALTER are seen arm-in-arm with                their 6-year-old daughter, JULIA.  WALTER crosses the lawn, looks                through the window.                BRANDON'S switching between football games blaring from the tv.                 A radio blasts scores and updates.  WALTER knocks on the window,                mouths "How we doing?"  BRANDON grabs a betting sheet, writes                something, holds it up -- 0 and 9.  WALTER scowls.  BRANDON realizes                it's upside down, flips it to read -- 6 and 0.  WALTER kisses                the glass and --                EXT. BROWNSTONE - SAME TIME - DAY               WALTER catches up to TONI, walks through the party with her.                                                     WALTER               He's a machine, all he does is work out and pick winners.  Talk                about fit.  Go  take a peek, see him with his shirt off.  I did.                 He's a serious side of beef.                                       TONI               Enjoy your daughter's party.                                     WALTER               Check him out, you know you want to.                                       TONI               Get out of your head, Walter.  It's a bad neighborhood.               TONI kisses him, walks with WALTER through the party and --                               EXT. BROWNSTONE ROOF - DUSK               Satellite dishes aim at the sky.  ANNOUNCER CHATTER continues                OVER, giving non-stop COLLEGE football scores.  BRANDON comes                down the street, carries a bag of take-out.                  BRANDON'S POV -- a second floor window opens as someone blows                cigarette smoke into the night.  Activity seen inside before                the window shuts.  BRANDON left staring and --                EXT. PARK SLOPE - NIGHT               BRANDON rides a bike.  Wears headphones.  Sunday's NFL scores                coming in now.  BRANDON'S reactions indicate he's doing well.                               INT. WALTER'S OFFICE - NIGHT               WALTER writing on a call sheet -- 375 calls at $25/85 at $50!"                The city's seen through WALTER'S office window.  NFL ANNOUNCER                CHATTER subsides as scores filter in.  WALTER flipping through                BRANDON'S betting sheets, smile spreading over his face and --                               INT. N.Y.C. RESTAURANT - NIGHT               Loud.  Crowded.  High-end.  WALTER, TONI and BRANDON at a table,                ordering dinner.                                        BRANDON               I'll have the bruketta and the -- this, with the pasta.                                     WAITER               (takes the menus, departs)               Very good, and may I say, sir, an excellent choice.                                     WALTER               It's bruchetta.  Like little pizzas without the cheese.                                     BRANDON               Bruchetta.                                     WALTER               Don't worry about it.  Anyone goes 20 for 24 in college football,                12 for 14 pro can call it whatever he wants.  Ever drink a thousand                dollar bottle of wine?  Steward!                                      TONI               It's a waste, Walter.  He hardly drinks.                                      WALTER               It's a celebration.  Just because he's out with a couple of reformed                drunks doesn't mean he can't enjoy himself.                                      TONI               I was a lot of things, Walter, but I was never a drunk.                                     BRANDON               Actually, truth be told, I've never had a 12 dollar bottle of                water either.                                      WALTER               He thinks we're fighting.                                     BRANDON               No.  I just, this place is great.                                     TONI               --Watch out, Walter, he's a fixer.                                     WALTER               175 calls on the 900 number.                                     TONI               Did you call home?  Let 'em know how you did?  How you're doing?                                                     BRANDON               I will tomorrow.  My mom works nights at the casino, she'll sleep                till three.                                      TONI               Are you close with your parents?                                     WALTER               He's very close.  They sound terrific.                                       TONI               Is your name Brandon?                                     BRANDON               Oh, they're great.  We talk all the time.                                     TONI               What're they like?                                     BRANDON               Mom's terrific.  Amazing lady.  I got a little brother, Denny,                going to college next year.  Complete motor head.  Dad's a...                well he's a sports nut.  He was, I mean, it all came from that.                                                     WALTER               Kid grew up with the frigging Cleavers...               INT. RESTAURANT - LATER               WALTER, TONI and BRANDON finish dessert.                                     WALTER               I should've ordered two.                                       TONI               What'd the doctor say, Walter?                                     WALTER               Oh yeah, I've been meaning to tell you.  I had a check-up yesterday.                 Afterwards                 he was very concerned.  He sat me down, looked me in the eye                and said, "Walter, who do you like in the Buffalo/Oakland game?"                               WALTER laughs.  He reaches to Toni's plate, lifts a dessert pitcher.                                                     WALTER               You didn't touch the sauce.                                     TONI               Neither should you, Walter.                                     WALTER               I read chocolate's good for you.                                      TONI               I'm not raising a kid alone.                                     WALTER               Don't get dramatic, Toni.  In biblical times you'd just move                in with my brother Morty.                TONI shoots him a look and WALTER quickly sets down the sauce.                                                     WALTER               --Wow.  What a meal.  Do you feel good, Brandon?  Content?                                     BRANDON               Very.                                     WALTER               Yeah, I can tell.  Don't be.  Ever.  One week's over, another                begins.  The past is merely a prologue.  In this job you have                to push the envelope every day.                  BRANDON glances at a nearby table, catches the eye of a stunning                GIRL sandwiched between two middle-aged, overweight MEN.  WALTER                catches the eye contact before she looks away.  The GIRL seems                bored as the two big men heartily chow down.                                      WALTER               Look at that.  Beauty and the beasts.  What do you think of her,                Brandon?                                          BRANDON               She's cute.                                     WALTER               Cute doesn't half cover it.  The girl's gorgeous.  And bored                out of her mind.  Waiting for some young buck to save her from                those two gorillas.  Check it out.  She's eyeing you again, Brandon.                                                     BRANDON               So are the two guys she's with.                                     WALTER               I'll bet you 10-to-1 on a 1000 you can't pick her up, cash, if                you leave with her.                Toni               C'mon Walter.  You might as well go to Atlantic City and open                a house account.  You know you can't gamble.                                            WALTER               Who's gambling?  It's a challenge.  If Brandon leaves with her                I give him ten thousand dollars, that's probably more than he                made last year.  If not, he gives me a grand, which I'll give                to you.                                       BRANDON               I don't bet, Walter.               (glancing over, look from the GIRL)               ... But I do love a challenge.                                       WALTER               All right.  Before you bust a move, just one thing...               (talks across the table, addressing the MODEL and the two MEN)                               Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt but                                                     Walter con'd               I have to know what's going on here.               You're drop dead gorgeous and your dates               look like they haven't missed a meal               since Christ died.  Seriously, you               two are eating like you have a date                with the electric chair.  What's the story with you three?  I'm                not gonna sleep if I don't know.  Lemme guess.  Garment district.                 The Hardy boys make lingerie and you're a model.  That                it?  Close?  Sprechenzee English?  Sit down, sit down -- I'm                just joking.  I better stop before I get stabbed with a fork.                 Bon apetit.                (turning back, TONI staring at him)                                     TONI               What the hell was that?                                     WALTER               I'll send over a bottle of champagne.                 Toni               You'll pick up their check.                                     WALTER               The voice of reason.  She's right.  I owe 'em a meal.  Hey --                here we go, Brandon, your girlfriend's going to the bathroom.                                 The GIRL glides by their table.  Heads up a flight of stairs.                                                     WALTER               Well get moving, slick.               Brandon                After that introduction?                                      WALTER               Hey, I just raised the bar.  C'mon, kid.  John Anthony could                close her.                Beat.  BRANDON looks from WALTER to TONI.                                     TONI               I'd prefer Brandon...               BRANDON smiles.  He walks through the restaurant, up the stairs                as the WOMEN'S ROOM door opens and the GIRL emerges before him.                 She regards BRANDON.  Jaded, disintested air.                                       BRANDON               You're beautiful.                                     GIRL               (stepping past)               Excuse me.                                       BRANDON               I just want to get to know you.                                     GIRL               You just want to get into my pants.                                     BRANDON               I want to get into your mind, your heart, your soul.  I don't                see you wearing any pants in this equation.                  Beat.  This could go either way before -- the GIRL smiles.                                     BRANDON               I'm Brandon.  What's your name?               GIRl               Alex.                                     BRANDON               Alexandria.  Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.               BRANDON leans in close, talking too low now for us to hear.                 Selling hard.  ALEXANDRIA laughs at something he says and --                               INT. MOVING CAB - NIGHT               BRANDON and the GIRL all over each other and --                INT. GIRL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               40th floor of a luxury high rise.  In the darkness, BRANDON'S                seen naked on a big bed, GIRL straddling him, body rising and                falling, pace quickening, back arching.  BRANDON looks up --GIRL                silhouetted against the floor-to-ceiling windows -- city spires                sparkling all around and --                                       OMIT               INT. BROWNSTONE BACK STAIRWELL - DAY               WALTER and BRANDON reach the second floor landing, stand outside                a solid steel door.                                      WALTER               Everything you've ever done's been leading up to this moment.                 Put your ear to the door.  Hear that?  It's the sound of possibilities.                 The din of greatness.                WALTER turns the knob, BRANDON nearly tumbles through and --                               INT. BROWNSTONE SECOND FLOOR - DAY               Another world.  A dozen SALESMEN work in a large room.  Phones                ring.  FAXES churn.  Numbers are called out.  A half-dozen GIRLS                stroll the space, deliver betting and tip sheets.                                      WALTER               We use the 800 number and free tips to bait the hook.  Then the                bettors are                 bounced to our sales staff.               (stopping at the front desk, talking to a pretty Brooklyn GIRL)                                You're looking lovely today, Tammy.  Give it up baby, you know                what I need.                TAMMY smiles, hands WALTER a long list of names and numbers.                 WALTER studies the sheet as he walks BRANDON through the room.                                                     WALTER               This is the day's phone sheet, it's a list of everyone who's                called.  Only way to keep track of the action.  All leads equal                money.                 BRANDON'S POV -- walking by SALESMEN doing their thing.  The                first is a chain smoker, battering ram tone.  This is SOUTHIE.                               Southie               Did I not tell you that game was going over the total?  Now stop                holding back and let's make some serious dough...                What's our game plan this week?  Look, Mr. Mitch, collect from                your bookie, wire our pitiful frigging share and then we'll discuss                the goddamn game plan.                The second MAN'S HERBIE.  Slight.  Polite.  Soothing tone.                                     HERBIE               Trust me, we're going to turn all this around... I'm aware last                weekend was difficult... Well of course I do, that's a substantial                sum--                (cupping the phone, to WALTER)               --He's a bit miffed about our picks                                     WALTER               Fuck him if he can't take a joke.                                     BRANDON               You're telling me that all this is legal?                                     WALTER               It better be.  Five of these guys are off-duty cops.  We're just                advising people how to bet, not making the bets for 'em.                C'mon, I want you to hear our best salesman, Reggie Hawks.                                     REGGIE/INTO PHONE               --It says here your minimum bet's five grand, so let's be honest                now, can you                move 50 large on this game or not?...  I don't have time for                this shit, Jimmy.  I                know you're a loser, because if you                were such a big winner you wouldn't have paid money to call me                today.  Vegas is calling, I'm putting you on hold.                 (pressing hold)               What's up big Wally, you slummin' today!               This the new kid?                                     WALTER               Brandon Lang, meet Reggie.                                     REGGIE               You're the QB that went off on the refs.               (BRANDON shamefully nods)               --Yeah, but you covered!  Shit, as much money as the refs cost                us every year, that was pure.  Totally crystal.  Hell, I like                you already.  Even if you did get the best office.                                      WALTER               (re: an item on the sports ticker)               Barker's not playing this weekend?                                     REGGIE               Hamstring.                                     BRANDON               No, he's in the middle of renegotiating.  It's a tantrum, he'll                play Sunday.                WALTER and REGGIE exchange a glance, they can use that and --                               ANGLE ON -- TWO GLASSED-IN OFFICES overlooking the sales room.                   One office is crammed with clutter, bears a prominent KEEP                OUT sign on the door.  Inside, a big, bearded MAN wolfs a breakfast                burrito, scours the sports pages.  In the other office sits a                suited, studious-looking MAN in his 30s, talking on a headset--                               INT. OFFICE OVERLOOKING SALES ROOM - SAME TIME - DAY               JERRY SYKES types stats into a computer as he fields a call.                  Three other computer screens flash football info and data.                 Large, complex wall graphs chart esoteric team trends.  A framed                promotional picture shows JERRY standing in a bank vault, the                banner type below reading "Jerry 'The Source' Sykes, Creator                of The Sykes Sports Wagering System."                                      JERRY               (typing on a computer as he speaks)               --I know it's a new stadium, I'm asking if they used Astroturf                or Astroplay?... Astroplay, it has a rubber silica base, like                ground up tires... Look, I don't have time to explain abrasion                indexes and resistance scales to you, trust me, it makes a big                fucking difference...                (looking through the glass, seeing WALTER showing BRANDON around)                               So bribe a security guard, sneak in with the grounds crew, do                what you have to -- this is what I pay you for.                INT. ENCLOSED OFFICE - SECOND FLOOR - DAY               WALTER and BRANDON enter.  It's spacious.  Nicely appointed.                 A glass partition overlooks the sales room.                                      WALTER               I had three guys who picked games.  I fired one last weekend.                 I'm giving you his job.  This is your office.  From here  out                your picks are going straight to our biggest customers.  How                do you like it?                                      BRANDON               What's not to like?               JERRY SYKES appears at the door.  Fast glance at BRANDON, attention                to WALTER --                                       JERRY               The Miami/New York point spread shifted a half tick up to 10.                                                     WALTER               What do you think?                                     JERRY               Miami's still a lock.  The win/loss ratios and RPI ratings are                off the charts.  I'm keeping it on my sheet.                                      WALTER               Jerry's our top handicapper, came to me straight out of grad                school.  Jerry, meet the new kid in town.                                       JERRY               Whoa, phone guy makes good.  Big jump from the 900 numbers.                 Watch out you don't get a nose bleed.  Just kidding, best of                luck, I gotta get back to work.                                                BRANDON               Pleasure meeting you.  By the way, Jerry, New York's gonna win                straight up.  They always play the fish tight.  Tonight it's                foregone, they win outright.                                      JERRY               Really?  Listen up, stick to college, sonny.  You have to work                up to pro ball around here.  Nice try though.                                        WALTER               (watching JERRY walk away)               I got three guys who can handicap and 20 who can sell but I never                had one who could do both, not really, not until now.                                      BRANDON               You mean me?                                     WALTER               Not you.  John Anthony.                                     BRANDON               John Anthony doesn't exist.                                     WALTER               That's a shock 'cause I'm standing in his office and you're sitting                in his chair!                                      BRANDON               Look, making predictions is one thing -- but pushing people to                bet, it's not me.                                      WALTER               Pushing people?  Get real, this country was built on gambling.                 Look at Wall Street -- one big casino.  The state spends millions                hawking the lottery.  If people want to pay for advice on who                to bet, who are we to say no?  Stop being selfish, spread the                word!  Check your bible, Brandon, tis better to give than receive.                                                      BRANDON               You got a whole room full of salesmen.                                     WALTER               Big bettors don't want to talk to a middle man, they want to                speak to the guy making the picks -- and you're picking 80 percent                winners.                                                                              WALTER CON'D               What's the matter?  Gonna lose your purity?  C'mon, what do you                think selling is?  We're just talking a few well-timed phrases.                 Let's start with an easy one.  A throw-away.  "I don't want                your money, I want your bookie's fucking money?"                                      BRANDON               I don't want your money --                                     WALTER               --Jesus, don't start that shit again.  Sell me.                                     BRANDON               I don't want your money, I want your bookie's money!                                     WALTER               What happened to the fuck?                                     BRANDON               Nothing, I just don't talk like that.                                     WALTER               I can't have someone working for me who can't say fuck.                                     BRANDON               It's not that I can't.  Why do I have to?                                     WALTER               Because there's no other fucking word that can convey the precise                feeling and fucking flavor of life's various predicaments and                certain concepts the way a well-placed fuck can.  Fuck is your                friend.  Fuck can be your best friend.                                      BRANDON               I'm happy for you and your friend, Walter, but I'm not using                it.                                       WALTER               Chaucer used it 600 years ago.  It was good enough for him.                 C'mon--                (calling out to the SALESMEN)               --this fucking guy has a problem saying fuck!                 A chorus of "Fuck yous" fill the air.                                       WALTER               C'mon, repeat after me -- fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.  Fuck he,                fuck she, fuck me, fuck them, fuck me -- try it.                                      BRANDON               It's not me.  Let it go.                                      WALTER               Backbone.  Almost as good.  We'll keep working on the other thing...                So, you really like New York in tonight's game?                EXT. MANHATTAN - MID-DAY               Looking down Fifth.  Thousands of heads in a hurry to get somewhere.                 Here comes BRANDON and WALTER.                                      BRANDON               Where are we going?                                     WALTER               Continue your education.                INT. MANHATTAN APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY               A dozen people fill an upscale living room.  Doorbell.  A well                dressed WOMAN answers.  WALTER and BRANDON stand before her.                                                     WALTER               We're here for the gambler's anonymous meeting...               INT. MANHATTAN APARTMENT - DAY               The GROUP sit in a circle, listen as a BUSINESSMAN, near tears,                gives his testimony.                                      BUSINESSMAN               ...I mean you'd think with two mortgages out, repo guys staking                out my car, my job on the line and my wife threatening to leave,                you'd think I'd have the goddamn brains to stop, instead of staying                in the chase, doubling down, which of course is what I did...                I know I'm sick because I keep thinking if I just pulled that                game out then I got a lock on the parlay and I'm flush going                into Monday night and--                (breaking down, unable to continue)                                     MEMBER #1               ... It's a disease, Leon.                                     MEMBER #2               Admitting you have a problem is the first               step.                                     BUSINESSMAN/LEON               Then I guess I'm doing pretty good because I got one big fucking                problem.                Someone claps.  Everyone joins in.  LEON smiles.  Warm beat.                 WALTER suddenly stands.  BRANDON watches, concerned.                                      WALTER               My name's Walter.  I'm new to the group.               (various "hellos")               Hi.  I've been going to meetings like this for 18 years.  Once                a week, every Friday night, for 18 years.  This, my friends,                is my 936th consecutive meeting.                (enthusiastic applause)               Thank you.  Thanks.  And my hand to God, I haven't been to a                track, casino or bet a game that whole time.  Not a cent.                (murmurs of approval)               I've listened to thousands of sob stories by people like Leon                here, and I gotta say, Leon -- if I learned one thing it's that                gambling is not your problem.                                       LEON               It's not?                                     WALTER               Not even close.  You're a lemon.  Like a bad car, there's something                inherently defective in you.  And you.  And me!  All of us here                -- we're lemons!  Big, juicy, acidic, ice-tea flavoring lemons!                 We look like everyone else but we're defective because when                most people make a bet they want to win, while we, the degenerate                gamblers of the world, we're subconsciously playing to lose.                 All humans like going to the edge of the abyss, but what makes                us different is we go all the way and hurl ourselves off into                the void!  And we like doing it so much we do it time after time                after time!  Me?  I always felt most alive when they were raking                away the chips, and every one here knows what I'm talking about.                 People like us, even when we win, it's just a matter of time                before we give it all back.  But when we lose, and I mean the                kind of loss that makes your asshole pucker to the size of a                decimal point, there's a moment when you're standing there and                you've just recreated the worst possible nightmare this side                of malignant cancer for the 20th goddamn time and you suddenly                realize -- hey, I'm still here, I'm still breathing, I'm still                alive!  In order to really live you have to be aware of your                own mortality -- and a losing bet of a certain size is one of                the best ways                                                                            WALTER CON'D               I know of getting that feeling.  When you win, you defy death,                but when you lose,                 you survive it, and that's remarkable!                Us lemons, we fuck shit up on purpose!  We need to constantly                remind ourselves                that we're alive!  Gambling's not the problem, Leon, your fucked                up need to feel something, to convince yourself you exist, to                test what's really real, that's the problem!                                      BICYCLE MESSENGER               Hey!  You're the guy I see on tv every weekend selling betting                picks!                                       WALTER               ... Yeah.  So?               This guy peddles a tout service on tv.                                     WALTER               Check the charter, buddy, we all left our jobs at the door.                 You gonna toss an ex-alcoholic bartender out of an AA meeting?                                                     BICYCLE MESSENGER               (to BRANDON)               Hey, didn't you come with this jerk?                                     BRANDON               ... No, I mean, we walked in together --                                     WALTER               (handing out business cards)               -- My card -- we're topping 80 percent this season -- put it                in your wallet, in case you fall off the wagon --                INT. APARTMENT ELEVATOR - DAY               WALTER and BRANDON riding down in silence.  Finally --                                        BRANDON               What the fuck was that?!                                     WALTER               ... What'd you just say?                                     BRANDON               You heard me!  I said what was that?                                     WALTER               No, you said "What the fuck?"  That's what you said.                                     BRANDON               So?                                     WALTER               That was great!  It was all worth it! Don't you see?  I felt                your anger because of that one word!  Well done!  I'm proud of                you!  The progress you're making Brandon, I gotta say, it's exhilerating!                                                     OMIT               INT. SALESROOM - DAY               Cacophony of calls.  Building buzz.  College football games play                in the BG.  The big, bearded MAN  exits his pack-rat cluttered                work space, strides to the office coffee machine, pours a quick                cup.  BRANDON approaches, extends a hand.                                      BRANDON               Hey, I stopped by to say hi, I'm Brandon.                                     BIG MAN               (averting his gaze, walking past)               Congratulations.                                     BRANDON               I'm picking now with you and Jerry.                                       CHUCK               (ducking back into his office)               Whatever.                 The MAN shuts the door, leaves BRANDON looking at the KEEP OUT                sign.  SOUTHIE stops for a coffee, has seen the exchange.                                      SOUTHIE               Don't take it personal.  Chuck's got a condition, get's anxious                around people.                CHUCK closes his blinds, blocks out his glassed-in walls and--                               INT. BRANDON'S OFFICE - DAY               BRANDON'S poring over sports pages and injury reports when                  TAMMY enters his office, sits on his desk, extends a lead sheet.                                                     TAMMY               His name's Amir, he's a dime bettor.  Owns a dry cleaners.  We                got him for the subscription.  He's on line three.                (leans in, gives BRANDON a kiss)                                     TAMMY               Walter wanted your first call to be special.  Go get 'em tiger.                                                       BRANDON               (picking up)               Amir, my man, John Anthony here!               INT. NEW JERSEY DRY CLEANER - DAY               A MIDDLE EASTERN MAN (ratty t-shirt, beard stubble, sleepless                look) stands in the back of a low-end dry cleaners.                                         AMIR               Yes, hello.                                     BRANDON               Today's your day, Amir!  It's a Pamplona thing, I'm running wild                in the streets this weekend!  Starting with the hottest Saturday                of my life!  How much can you lay with your bookie?  20 large?                               Amir               You crazy?  No way.  I was betting a thousand a game but... Look,                I saw an ad.  I was just calling to see--                                      BRANDON               --Amir, this is my lock of a lifetime!  Texas plus the six points!                 They win by two touchdowns!                Amir                Really?  I like Oklahoma in that game.                                     BRANDON               (looks up, sees WALTER watching)               Oklahoma huh?  Okay... well considering that, I like Texas even                more now.                Amir                I shouldn't have called.  Thank you for--                                       BRANDON               --Amir, buddy, I'm talking about banging out the biggest win                of your life.                  WALTER crosses, whispers to BRANDON.  Into the phone:                                     BRANDON               Hold on, I got Vegas on the line.               (pressing HOLD)                                     WALTER               There's only one thing you have to know about any of our clients                -- they're all in the hole.  The second they pick up the phone,                wham!  Right to the point!  You're above them!  Let 'em feel                it!  More confidence!  More John Anthony!                (punches speaker phone)               BRANDON/into phone               Amir, what's your favorite drink?                                     AMIR               Favorite drink?  I dunno, Pina Colada.                                     BRANDON               Tomorrow we gotta get you a new drink.  But for now, this is                what you're gonna do.  First, you're going to bet 20 large on                Texas, then you're going to put on a                 Hawaiian shirt, whip up your sweet little rum concoction with                the orange slice and                 the cherry, turn on the game and play               with the little umbrella while you sit                back and watch Texas tear those Okies a               new asshole -- and when you call me back                after winning 20 G's the first thing out out of your mouth will                be words every fratboy knows -- "Thank you, sir, may I have another!"                                                     AMIR               ... What about payment?                                     BRANDON               Good question.  What about it?               Amir                Well how much is this going to cost me?                                     BRANDON               We take a percentage if WE win, Amir -- not exactly your problem                of late, is it?                Amir               What if I don't pay?                                     BRANDON               It's simple, you don't get any more picks.  Comprende?  So make                the bet, make the drink and let's roll this into                something big!                 INT. BRANDON'S OFFICE - NIGHT               BRANDON jamming, using a phone headset.                                     BRANDON               To hell with power ratings -- McNab lost his dog yesterday!                 Hunting accident.  Everyone knows you don't mess with a man who                just lost his dog!  Take Atlanta plus the points and send me                ten thou Western Union by tomorrow, Stan -- let's ride this wave                into Sunday!                (punching a new call)               Denny!  Sorry to keep you on hold, bro...  Hell yeah it takes                pictures, bitchen                little phone, huh?  Now I got something else for ya, Green Bay                against Minnesota, take the Cheesheads... That's right -- go                to a sports book and put 500 hundred on 'em... So I'll send you                the money to bet... Don't worry about it, just JPEG your big                brother a smile when you win.                INT. SALES ROOM - DAY               WALTER paces like a hyped-up Ahab as his SALESMEN jam.                                     SOUTHIE               Billy, thanks for the 15,000 Fed Ex. What're you up, 160 or something?                                Did you ever go 12-2 betting college football before?  Didn't                think so.  Now, Greenbay--Dallas--Cleveland--100,000 across the                board, got it?                                      REGGIE               The fuck do you care how he does it?  And where the hell's our                30 grand for hitting that 3-team college parlay last night?                                                     HERBIE               (sipping a cup of tea)               Do this, call your off-shore sports book right now and put the                whole 100,000 on Green Bay-Dallas-Cleveland, it's called a three-team                parlay and pays 6-1.  I do appreciate the 40,000 you sent us                today, but let me assure you we've only just begun to make serious                money.                INT. WALTER'S OFFICE - DAY               NFL GAMES fill the TV screens.  Theme music, announcers and action                create a frenetic pace.                                        TIME LAPSE               SAME SHOT.  LATER.  Sunday sports start winding down and --                                                     TIME LAPSE               SAME SHOT.  LATER.  All the screens are dark save one, where                the last game of the day finally ends in overtime and --                INT. BRANDON'S OFFICE - NIGHT               BRANDON pulls the headset, heads out to the water fountain.                 SALESMEN work the phones, glance at him as he passes.                  Herbie               ... Hey -- great job.               INT. WALTER'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               TONI in the kitchen cooking pasta.  Moving fast.  BRANDON sits                in the living room, watches JULIA ride WALTER like a horse.                 Music on the stereo.                                      JULIA               Faster daddy!               WALTER crawls around the room, stops before BRANDON, grins.                                                     WALTER               10-2 in pro football?  85 percent for the weekend?  Jesus, you're                a mutant.                                      JULIA               Go daddy!               WALTER whinnies like a horse, keeps crawling.  BRANDON goes into                the kitchen.  TONI cooking at the stove, referring to a daily                planner, talking on the phone.                                      TONI               Monday's no good because I take Julia to ballet.  Tuesday I work                late at the salon.  Wednesday's a maybe if I can move a couple                clients to after six but I'll have to check.  I really want to                come in with him.  Listen, I have to call you back tomorrow.                                (grabbing a pot about to boil over)                                     BRANDON               What's all the commotion?                                     TONI               The doctor, thank God, put Walter,on an exercise program.  I                want to be there the first time he goes.  Make sure the trainer                understands Walter's aversion to consistency.                                      BRANDON               Aversion to consistency?                                     TONI               He's always been that way.                                     BRANDON               Well that's consistent.               CLOSE ON -- WALTER watches from the living room -- sees TONI                and BRANDON laughing, enjoying each other and --                 INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT               WALTER, TONI and BRANDON relaxing after dinner.                                       WALTER               Life is fucking... good.               (burp, regarding BRANDON)               Let's talk about making it better.                                     TONI               Duck, Brandon, here it comes.                                     WALTER               I've been tracking you since last year.                                     TONI               Don't let him steamroll you.                                     WALTER               --Can I get the damn thing out?  I want to put John Anthony on                tv this week.                                      BRANDON               That's me.  You mean me.                                     WALTER               That's right.  You, John Anthony.  You're one in the same.                                                      TONI               Go on -- get to the good part, Walter.                                     WALTER               Hold on.  Before I say another word, understand -- you do this                thing, Brandon, and from here out you gotta eat, sleep, shit,                breathe, walk, talk and fart John                Anthony.  It's not just a new persona.               You can't play it.  You gotta live it.  That's how this works.                 The only way it works.  You have to sell it all the way.                                      TONI               Think it over, Brandon, don't decide now.                                     BRANDON               It sounds like a promotion.                                     WALTER               Bet your ass it is.  Five-star.                                     BRANDON               --I'm in.                                     TONI               Well that's a thoughtful response.  Here I was, worried you'd                rush your decision.                                      BRANDON               It's the only move.  For six years I've been living on Ramen                noodles.  For the                first time in a long time I've got something going.  If that                means I gotta do a little acting, fine.                                      WALTER               Living, not acting.  You understand that as of right now Brandon                Lang with his fettucini knee and his self-fucking pity is as                flat dead as Donald Trump's hair and John "I-can-walk-on-fucking-water"                Anthony has taken his place?                                      TONI               Listen to what he's asking you, Brandon.                                     WALTER               She's right.  There's no going back.  I mean that.  This is gonna                cost me.  I'm talking about building an empire around you.  Do                you understand that?                                      BRANDON               ... Should I wait a little to create some tension?  Of course                I understand, I'm John Fucking Anthony.  I've got the crystal                ball...                INT. TONI'S SALON - DAY               BRANDON'S FACE FILLS SCREEN.  Scissors come in, start cutting.                 TONI begins bringing John Anthony to life.  BRANDON chatting                her up in the chair, TONI laughing at something he says and --                                INT. BARNEY'S MEN'S STORE - DAY               BRANDON (new haircut) stands in private room, modeling a suit.                 WALTER nearby, looks through racks of clothes with a SALESMAN.                               INT. MERCEDES DEALERSHIP - DAY               BRANDON (new haircut, new suit) walks through the showroom as                WALTER talks with a DEALER.                                      WALTER               I need a new car for my friend.                                     DEALER               (to BRANDON)               Do you have any credit?                                     BRANDON               No.                                     DEALER               Walter, do you trust him?                                     WALTER               With my wife naked.                                     DEALER               (calling to BRANDON)               In that case, which one do you want?               BRANDON comes over, runs his hand over a sleek, silver SL500.                                                     WALTER               I think he likes that one.               EXT. SIXTH AVENUE BAR - DAY               The silver SL500 pulls to the curb.  License plate reading "900                KING."  A pair of $500 shoes emerge.  BRANDON stands on the sidewalk                as the DOORMAN comes up, eyes the car.                Doorman               I'll watch it for you.               (seeing the license plate)               What's "900 King?"                                     BRANDON               (handing him a card)               I don't lose.               BRANDON heads into the bar, meets WALTER and a group of HEAVY                HITTERS outside.  John ANTHONY instantly comes alive and --                               INT.  TV PRODUCTION HOUSE - NIGHT               BRANDON and WALTER sitting side-by-side, getting made-up.               MAKE-UP ARTIST/to brandon               You're sweating a lot honey.               BRANDON nervously regards himself in the mirror.  WALTER sees.                                                       WALTER               You okay?                                     BRANDON               I'm scared shitless.                                     WALTER               Don't worry about your lines, it's all scripted.  You've been                here before, kid, just think of it like a football game.                                      BRANDON               This is different.                                     WALTER               How?                                     BRANDON               There's no opponent.                                     WALTER               Perfect, then you're a lock to win.               INT. TV PRODUCTION HOUSE - NIGHT               The CAMERA TRACKS to a talk show-like set dominated by a triangular                table, three chairs and a backdrop bearing a sports-themed logo                and the words - THE SPORTS ADVISORS.  BRANDON sits between WALTER                and JERRY, increasingly nervous as the CAMERAS push close.  CHUCK                arrives, loud suit, takes a seat at the end of the table, head                down, averting eye contact with everyone.                                      TECH               30 seconds.  Walter, we're not getting your audio.                                     WALTER               (fumbling with a clipped on mike)               Something's wrong here.                                     JERRY               (leaning over, plugging in a wire)               Your lead's loose, I got it.  I'm talking to the tech guys about                going wireless.                 JERRY looks at BRANDON, staring anxiously at the teleprompter.                                                     JERRY               John Anthony, huh?  All I see's another wannabee in a 1000-dollar                suit.  Word to                 the wise, save the clothes you came in.                                     TECH               Five, four, three, two, one--               (NOTE: WALTER and the PANEL follow text from a teleprompter.)                                                     WALTER               Welcome to this week's edition of The Sports Advisors!  America's                premier sports information program with myself, Walter Abrams,                Jerry Sykes, Chuck Adler  and a truly gifted newcomer to the                Sports Advisor panel, a substantial find -- John Anthony!  We're                entering week six in pro football!  This is when the cream rises                to the top!  This is when things get hot!  It's oven mitt time!                 This is big-time ball season so let's get right into it with                the Wizard of Odds -- Jerry "The Source" Sykes!  Jerry, what's                the Sykes System predicting for this weekend?                                      JERRY               Walter, my patented computer models tell me we're looking at                nothing less than the perfect storm of betting opportunities.                 But first, last week I cashed in a big-time call on on Chicago                as an outright winner over Indianapolis -- making it my 8th straight                top selection winner right here on this tv show!  This Sunday                I have 5 match-ups I absolutely love, including Miami at New                York!  Stats, rankings, records, weather, the Sykes System uses                42 proven indexs to eliminate the guesswork from sports wagering.                 Without my patented, computer-based picks you have a better                chance of seeing God knocking on your door with five strippers                and a bag of Bolivian cocaine than winning on your own!  Call                me for my five games!  Absolutely free -- 800-238-6648!                                       WALTER               Our experts know how to read between the lines, we know how to                analyze a point spread, we're not pulling rabbits out of                 a hat here.  Certainly not Chuck Adler --               (turning to CHUCK)               Chuck, you'd probably eat that rabbit if you got your hands on                it.                                      CHUCK               (coming suddenly, wildly alive)               Hell yes -- with a side order of fried bookmaker!!!  I'm the                grim reaper of bookmakers!  I've put more bookies out of business                than the I.R.S.!  How many gamblers did I bail out last weekend                with my game of the year!  Denver, a 10-                point underdog beating Cincinatti by two touchdowns!  A $100                bettor made $10,000!                                                                           CHUCK CON'D               A $500 bettor made $50,000!  I've got six games on Sunday I'm                releasing absolutely free!  These games are a burial!  A blow-out!                 A human lock!  You can bet your children's unborn children's                children on these six games -- ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!                                          WALTER               (finger in his ear)               Holy Christ, I forgot my earplugs.  Take a break before you blow                a gasket, we'll get back to you after my hearing returns.  Saturday                comes before Sunday and looking at this Saturday's college match-ups                is the last but certainly not least member of The Sports Advisors                -- John Anthony!                                      BRANDON               (reading off the teleprompter)               --John Anthony here, the Million Dollar Man with the billion                dollar plan!  From Wall Street to Tokyo to Hollywood, all your                big money stays and plays with me!                (beat, processing this, suddenly going off the teleprompter script)                               --Someone wrote some great stuff for me here but the "Million                Dollar Man," I dunno, it sounds kinda small somehow.  I mean                maybe if you change that M in million to a Z I could get behind                it.  They tried all sorts of names, wanted to call me the Magic                Man -- but picking 80 percent winners sounds pretty scientific                to me.  So let's just call me John.  I was a quarterback.  And                every QB knows the key to victory is anticipating -- the ability                to see the future and react to it.  That is what I do, that's                the truth, and what do they say about the truth, Walter?                                      WALTER               ... It bites you on the ass?                                     BRANDON               Not in my case.  You tell us, Jerry.                                      JERRY               It sets you free?                                     BRANDON               That's right, but with me it makes you M-O-N-EE!  I'm picking                80 percent, is that                 unbelievable?  Well it used to be.  I know the leagues!  I know                the players!  I                                                                           BRANDON CON'D               know the game!  I'm your friend on the field!  Your insider on                the outside!  You can't do what I do if you haven't been there!                 Played at the level I have!  Maybe you'll get lucky -- guess                right once in a while -- but these match- ups won't be called                consistently by anything other than experience!  Forget trends!                 Throw out every system you possess!  Keep your friends but toss                their opinions out the window!  It's time to change I-would-if-I-could                to I-can-and-I-am!  You wanna know who I like -- call that little                number at the bottom of your screen!                BRANDON continues.  CAMERA on WALTER, watching proudly and --                                 INT. WALTER AND TONI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               WALTER walks down the dim hall, looks in on JULIA, sleeping.                                INT. WALTER AND TONI'S BEDROOM - NIGHT               Dim darkness.  Silence.  Then someone bumps into something.                 Muffled curse.  A light goes on.  TONI sits up in bed, sees WALTER                fully dressed, across the room, holding his shoes.                                      WALTER               I'm not here.  Go back to sleep.                                     TONI               It's four in the morning.                                     WALTER               (continues to his dresser, manic)               What a show!  You should have seen him!  I'm sitting there watching                him roll and I swear he made me want to grab a phone and call!                 I took the sales boys out to Smith and Wo's.  Get 'em primed                for the                weekend.  Chuck got drunk, took a swing               at one of the deer heads on the wall.                Just blowing off steam.  I'm gonna hire more guys Monday.  Put                in more phones.      Everything's amping up.  It's okay.  There's                room.  I'll tear down a                few walls, fit another 10 desks down                there easy.  I'm gonna do a whole dot-com thing around him!                 Oh shit, if I had me when I was his age... I never had a                 protege.  Someone you hand it all down to.  Anything happens                to me, he steps in!  Just knowing that, with the thing... I                                mean that's just beautiful!               (changing into workout clothes)               Just beautiful.                                     TONI               What are you doing?                                     WALTER               Going for a run.  See the sunrise.  We're doubling volume this                week.  And doubling it again after that.  He can pick, he can                sell, he's gonna change things around here.  He's the real deal.                 Knows sports from the inside.  That's how he picks.  Guy like                him comes along once in a -- a --                                       TONI               -- 100 years.                                     WALTER               Yeah, a lifetime.                                     TONI               Walter, come to bed.                                     WALTER               Not tired.                                     TONI               You're exhausted.                                     WALTER               I'm just gonna run the bridge, up Fifth, circle Central Park,                be back in no time.                                      TONI               Get in bed.  Lie down next to me.  Come on.  Come here, Walter.                                                       WALTER               Just a quick once-around.                                     TONI               Roll on your stomach for a minute.                                     WALTER               Just for a sec.  I've gotta meet the trainer tomorrow.  Told                me to run.  Run in place, or from one place to another...                WALTER lays down.  TONI gently massages his back.  She leans                in, whispers to him.  We sense she's done this before.                                      TONI               --I know.  Of course you do.  This is no time to sleep, Walter...                Can't sleep now... Just because you're so tired... Completely,                totally, utterly exhausted... I'll be here when you get back                from your                                                                           TONI CON'D               run... Right beside you... You go on now, baby, I'll stay right                here... It's okay... Close your eyes... Just for a second before                you leave... I'm not going anywhere... I'll just hold you--                               (quietly crying)               I'll wait right here for you...               TONI'S whisperings become a constant, soothing, mantra.  WALTER'S                eyes close.  Dressed in sweats and sneakers.  Gone.  TONI loosens                his laces, covers him with a blanket, slides under the covers.                 TONI kills the light.  Seen in darkness.  Holding WALTER close,                draping a protective arm around and --                INT. SALES ROOM - DAY               A SLEDGE HAMMER smashes through a wall.  DELIVERYMEN dolly in                new desks and chairs to accomodate more salesmen.  SOUTHIE and                REGGIE at the water fountain, watch the room expand.                                      SOUTHIE               You see him this morning?  Wearing those suits to work now.                                                     REGGIE               He keeps picking 90 percent I'll press the fuckers for him.                               WALTER walks in, stops at the front desk, speaks to TAMMY.                                     WALTER               What a weekened!  Helluva Christmas bonus if this keeps up.                 Where'd you hide the phone sheet?                TAMMY locates the sheet, hands it to him.  WALTER studies it,                starts away.  He sees something, stops.  Walking back --                                      WALTER               (to TAMMY, pointing on the sheet)               Who's this?  This guy here -- Lang?                                      TAMMY               I dunno, he said it was personal.                                       WALTER               Did Brandon take the call?               Tammy               He wasn't in.                                       WALTER               Don't mention it to him.  And don't patch the guy through.  Say                Brandon doesn't work here, you can't reach him.                INT. BRANDON'S OFFICE - DAY               BRANDON at his desk, reading The New York Post.  JERRY enters.                                                     JERRY               You know anything about Stokley being out this weekend against                the New York?                                      BRANDON               A knock would be nice, Jerry.                                     JERRY               I'm underwater here, man.  Yes or no?                                     BRANDON               No.                                     JERRY               You know something... You hear anything, let me know.  That's                how this works.                                      BRANDON               I'll rush right over.  Stat.                                     JERRY               All inside information gets shared.                                     BRANDON               Inside?  I've got nothing inside.                                     JERRY               F.Y.I. -- we work as a team here, that's the way we do it.  I'll                do the same for you.  So stop holding out on me, babe.                                                             BRANDON               This wouldn't have anything to do with                you going 30 percent this weekend, would it?                                     JERRY               Listen you little shit, I've been doing this six years to your                one.                                      WALTER               (entering, to JERRY--)               What are you doing in here?  Hit the phones and do some damage                control -- re-write your frigging computer program.                                      JERRY               Hey, it was a fucked weekend.                                     WALTER               For some people.                  (to BRANDON)                                     WALTER               There's a 50-dime bettor on line three.  Wants to talk to John                Anthony.                                      BRANDON               Who?                                     WALTER               His name's Carl.  Carl owns a couple dozen McDonalds franchises.                 Guy's a gazillionaire.  That sign out front might as well be                his bank account.                                      JERRY               No no no no no.  What'd you mean?  I landed that lead!  That's                my guy!                                         WALTER               Was.                                     JERRY               He's raiding my fucking lists!                                     WALTER               Your clients are jumping ship you lactose intolerant fuck!  Get                outta my sight!                JERRY leaves.  BRANDON picks up the phone --                                     BRANDON               Carl, John Anthony here, how's the fast-food king...?  Good--                               INT. WALTER AND TONI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               The door opens.  TONI, carrying groceries, and JULIA, dressed                in ballerina clothes enter, walk into the kitchen.                                      JULIA               Can we play?                                     TONI               Okay, let me just put the groceries away.                                     JULIA               I want to play princess.                                     TONI               So do I.  Go put your dress on.               JULIA runs off to her room when TONI suddenly spies a tacky,                woman's jacket draped on a chair.  TONI regards it and --                The CAMERA tracks TONI through the apartment.  Down the hall.                 Voices heard.  A man and woman as -- WALTER emerges from his                office with a CALL GIRL.  He's pulling bills from his wallet.                                                     WALTER               Easy 200, huh?  Here's something extra for a cab.                                     GIRL               Thanks, Walter.  Talk to ya.                                     WALTER               (seeing TONI)               I can explain.               The CALL GIRL slides by, shows herself out.  TONI staring.                                     WALTER               No, no, you think she was for me?  Are you crazy?  No.  I just                had her come up to pay her.  I got her for John.                                       TONI               I don't give a damn who you got her for!  We have a 6-year-old                in the house, Walter!  What the hell is going on here?                (looking in, checking the made bed)               Don't bullshit me!                                     WALTER               You think I slept with her?  C'mon!                                     TONI               Who the hell's John?                                     WALTER               Brandon, we all call him John now.                                     TONI               You got Brandon a hooker?                                     WALTER               New city, no friends, working all hours.                                     TONI               What the hell are you creating here, Walter?                                      WALTER               I don't understand this.  I was helping him out, that's all.                                                     TONI               Helping him?  Really?  Like the others before him?                                     WALTER               This kid's different, he's different -- wait a minute.  This                has nothing to do with you, you know I do business up here.                 Why are you so angry?                                      TONI               Are we actually going to have this conversation?  Are you completely                clueless?                                       WALTER               You're jealous.  Look at you!                                     TONI               Of what?!                                     WALTER               Gee, I don't know -- Brandon screwing someone?                                     TONI               You really are fucking crazy, Walter!  That never entered my                mind!                                      WALTER               That's not where those thoughts enter.                                     TONI               Fuck you!               TONI goes into the kitchen, slams the door.  Calling to her --                                                     WALTER               You'll be happy to know he didn't sleep with her.  I paid her                off just for coming.  No pun intended.                WALTER grimaces, clutches his side.  WALTER pops one, two --                three pills from a vial, let's them settle as JULIA, princess                clothes, runs down the hall, leaps in his arms.  WALTER stifles                the pain of her embrace.  Carries her down the hall.                                      WALTER               ... Julia my jewel, you're getting big angel.                                     JULIA               Can we play princess, Daddy?                                     WALTER               Course we can.  Who am I gonna be?                                     JULIA               You're the king, daddy, like always.               INT. SPORTS ADVISORS TV SET - NIGHT               BRANDON practicing John Anthony expressions.  A pretty MAKE-UP                ARTIST finishes touching him up.                                      MAKE-UP ARTIST               I made 500 bucks off your picks last week.  I was thinking maybe                we could go out later and get a little wild... you can help me                blow some.                                          BRANDON               Let's get really wild and you can blow mine.               The GIRL laughs.  BRANDON crosses the stage, takes his place                on the set between WALTER and JERRY.  CHUCK sits off to the side,                eating a muffin.  WALTER looks voer at BRANDON --                                       WALTER               Look at you.  I like the tan.                                     BRANDON               Toni put one of those lamps down in my room.  The ladies do love                it.                                       TECHNICIAN               60 seconds!                                     WALTER               John's up first tonight, Jerry.                                     JERRY               What?                                     WALTER               John Anthony's leading off tonight.                                     JERRY               John Anthony's leading?                                     WALTER               Somebody tell the engineer there's an echo in here.                                     JERRY               Two years I lead and you bury me in the deck over a few lousy                fucking weekends?  The Sykes System's based on percentages --                the long haul.                                      WALTER               No, that's called a mutual fund, Jerry.                                     JERRY               (to CHUCK)               You gonna sit for this shit?                CHUCK shrugs, finishes his muffin.  JERRY turns to WALTER --                                                     JERRY               ... He leads, I'm walking.                                     WALTER               He's leading.               JERRY unclips his microphone, stands.                                     WALTER               That's baby talk!  You need a fucking rattle!  Sit down!               (staring him down)               You probably think you know what I'm gonna say... how everything                you got I pay for.  Your apartment, your car, your kid's school                -- and it's true.  You'd be right.  I do.  Now I don't know,                Jerry, maybe you break your losing streak, end the shneid, start                winning again and find yourself another job, but then of course                maybe you don't.  I don't see you taking that chance.  My gut                says you'll walk out of here on principle or even pride but not                on a gamble, a hunch yet.  And if you do, fuck it.  I give a                shit?  The only reason I keep you around is it makes me look                loyal and him--                (pointing at BRANDON)               --look good!  Now you got three fucking seconds to stop standing                there like dog                shit on my porch and sit down and shut               the fuck up or you can kiss everything you have goodbye!  The                clock's started.                 Beat.  JERRY sinks into his seat.  WALTER turns to BRANDON.                                                     WALTER               See that?  He made the safe play.  Me, I would've walked, but                I'm a fucked-up human being.  That's the difference between us.                 Right there.  Jerry's a statistician, I'm a gambler.  And you're                not a gambler, not really -- until you bet more than you can                afford to lose.                                      TECHNICIAN               Five, four, three, two, one --                                     WALTER               Welcome to week 7 of pro football!               INT. SPORTS ADVISORS TV SET - BACK HALL - NIGHT               BRANDON done taping, wiping off make-up, talking on his cell                --                                       BRANDON               Denny, it's me... What'd I tell ya?...  Hey, it's your money,                dude, you won it...  Well did you hook it up yet?... Hell yeah,                crank it, let me hear--                INTERCUT - EXT. DENNY AT HOME IN GARAGE - NIGHT                Denny on his cell, crouched under the dash of his car, wiring                a new stereo.  He touches two wires and the sound system BOOMS                to life, deafening hip-hop before Denny disconnects the wires.                                                          DENNY               It's the bomb, B!                                     BRANDON               Sure sounds like it!  I'm heading out with some people, everything                else cool?                                      DENNY               Everything's great.  Did dad reach you?                                     BRANDON               Dad?  No, why?                                     DENNY               He keeps calling.  He saw you on tv, wants to talk to you.  I                gave him your work number but he says they won't put him through.                                                     BRANDON               Really?               BRANDON'S eye catches WALTER across the set, watching a playback                of the show.  TONI enters the studio, kisses WALTER hello and                --                INT. TV PRODUCTION HOUSE LOBBY - NIGHT               WALTER, BRANDON and TONI exit the stage, enter into the lobby.                                                     WALTER               I'm starved, there's a new steak house around the corner.  You                two split a prime rib, I'll get the porterhouse, we'll whack                it up!                                      TONI               Let's walk, you could use the exercise.                                      WALTER               Stop worrying.  We're set--               (arm around BRANDON)               --I got the next Jimmy the Greek here!  I'm serious!  Nostra-fucking-damus                was a novelty act next to this guy!                                        BRANDON               Let me ask you something, Walter.                                       WALTER               Shoot.                                     BRANDON               Have you been blocking any of my calls?                                     WALTER               Of course.  You don't need distractions, there's a lot of crazies                out there.                                       BRANDON               Does that include my father?                                     WALTER               You're asking, I'll tell you... Yeah.                                     BRANDON               (striding outside)               Son of a bitch -- for how long?                                      WALTER               (following)               Week or so.                                     TONI               Walter.               EXT. TV PRODUCTION HOUSE BUILDING - NIGHT               WALTER and TONI trail BRANDON down the lamp-lit sidewalk.                                     WALTER               Hold on, Brandon, if I didn't block his calls would you've talked                to him?  Honestly.                                      BRANDON               That's not the point!                                     WALTER               Then what exactly is the point, Brandon? What's the full story                here?  What's the deal with your old man?                                        BRANDON               You tell it, you seem to know.                                     WALTER               --I only know pieces.  I was trying to spare you from something.                                                     BRANDON               (stopping under a street light)               Spare me?  By blocking my calls?  There's nothing you can spare                me from.  He's a drunk.  Left when I was 9.  I couldn't t compete                with a bottle.  End of story.                                      WALTER               ... That's it?  That's the best you can do?  Hell, Toni and I'll                match our dysfunctional childhoods against yours                any day of the week.  My father, 5-foot-                arms like this, cock the size of a hebrew national -- if I even                looked at him wrong he knocked me across the room like LaMotta.                 He yelled so much, until I was five I thought my name was asshole.                 Tell him about you, Toni.  Well go on --                                      TONI               I didn't have a great home-life either.                                     WALTER               "Great?"  Tell him about the uncle--                                     TONI               --He gets the idea.                                     WALTER               Don't sugarcoat this shit, you were abused by everybody but the                family pet, isn't that right, honey?                                      TONI               Walter, please.                                     WALTER               (to BRANDON)               Your father was a drunk, a jerk -- so what?  It happens.  I'm                glad I blew him off.  Know why?  Because what you need is a new                image of a man.  How 'bout me?                                      BRANDON               That's a really scary thought.                                     WALTER               If not me, then pick someone else.  It's all in your head!  The                shit that happened to you, to Toni, to me -- you know what it                is?  Just that, shit that happened.                                                                           WALTER CON'D               It's not who we are.  After                                                     Walter con'd               all the therapy and the analysis and the meetings and the --                aaahhhh! -- the one thing I know--                (yelling to the sky)               --WE'RE ALL FUCKED UP!  We are all just so fucked up!               (to BRANDON)               Say it!  Shout it!  Come on, you two -- wallow with me here!                               A MAN sticks his head out a window down the street, yells --                                                     MAN               I'm trying to sleep, asshole!                                     WALTER               Dad!  Is that you?                                     MAN               I'll crush you like a beetle!                                     WALTER               How's Mom?!                                     MAN               Fucking freak!                                     WALTER               I love you too!  Don't wait up!               WALTER, TONI and BRANDON all laugh.  The three of them doubled                over on the dark, deserted street.  MAN screaming from above.                 The ring of a phone begins bleeding in and --                INT. BRANDON'S OFFICE - DAY               New furniture and sports photos on the walls suggest the passage                of time.  BRANDON stands before a mirror, being fitted for a                suit by a TAILOR.  He has a cigar in one hand, Coke in the other,                talks into a headset as he watches the TAILOR work.                                      BRANDON               Are you serious, Amir?  You gonna fucking haggle with me over                a measly 50 thousand on the 250 grand I won you this weekend?                               EXT. AMIR'S DRY CLEANERS - DAY               AMIR (sharply attired) stands outside his business, leaning against                a brand new, red Ferrari as he talks on the phone.                                        AMIR               Don't get me wrong, John.  I'm thankful, very much, you're amazing,                it's just that 50 thousand seems slightly steep--                                      BRANDON               --The first time you call me you're in a hole the size of the                Grand Canyon, you're crying about hocking your fiance's ring                and this weekend you're phoning me from a suite at the Bellagio                that I put you in -- you know what -- I'm cutting you off...                You want to continue with me, I'm tagging on a 10 percent aggravation                tax!  Now get to Western Union and shoot me 75 grand by tonight                and we'll kiss and make up.                (hanging up, to the TAILOR)               No cuff.               (the phone rings, picking up--)               John Fucking Anthony, talk to me.                                     WOMAN VOICEOVER               This is... May I please speak to a Brandon Lang?                                     BRANDON               ... Mom?               INT. BRANDON'S VEGAS HOME - DAY               BRANDON'S MOM drinking coffee, talking on the phone                                     BRANDON'S MOTHER               Brandon, is that you?                                     BRANDON VOICEOVER               That's me.                                     INTERCUT                                     BRANDON'S MOTHER               Are you okay?                                     BRANDON               Never better.  Kicking ass and taking names.  Did you get the                money I sent?                                      BRANDON'S MOTHER               Well that's why I'm calling, honey.                                     BRANDON               Good good good.  I talked to Denny.  Next month I'm flying you                and him out here.  First class.  I'll put you up at The Plaza.                 You'll love this joint.                                      BRANDON'S MOTHER               It sounds great, Brandon, but the money -- it's too much.  Where                did you get it?                                      BRANDON               I made it.  Earned it.  Every fucking cent.  Put it in Denny's                college fund.                                      BRANDON'S MOTHER               Listen to you.                                     BRANDON               It's just how people talk here.               (looking down at the TAILOR, edge)               How many times I gotta say no cuff?                                     BRANDON'S MOTHER               Who's this John Anthony person?                                     BRANDON               He's me.  I'm him.                                     BRANDON'S MOTHER               And he talks like that?                                     BRANDON               He's pretty fucking salty -- geez, I'm sorry, Mom -- I mean yeah.                 Look, the main point is I'm learning a lot here.                                      BRANDON'S MOTHER               Then you should know you can't be two people, Brandon.                                     BRANDON               I appreciate the concern, Ma, but the checks I've been sending                -- the checks you've been cashing -- those are from John Anthony.                                                     BRANDON'S MOTHER               Funny, I thought they were from my son.               WALTER enters, slaps an airline ticket on his desk.                                     WALTER               We're going to Puerto Rico!                                     BRANDON               Gotta put you on hold, Ma.               (pressing a button on the headset)               What's in Puerto Rico?                                     WALTER               Since Ricky Martin moved out, all that's left are tourists, cruise                ships and C.M. Novian -- one of the biggest sports bettors in                the world.  He just called.  Wants to meet you in person!  To-day!                 Flight leaves Laguardia in 45 minutes.                                        BRANDON               (activating the headset)               I gotta go, Ma... Ma... Son of a bitch --  my own fucking mother                hung up on me!                EXT. SAN JUAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - NIGHT                An AIRLINER roars in for landing.               INT. AIRLINE TERMINAL - NIGHT               WALTER and BRANDON pass through FRAME.                                     BRANDON               What do you know about him?                                     WALTER               Not much, 'cept for the fact he's a world class prick.  Bastard                treated me worse than my Hong Kong tailor.  Never once returned                a call.  I've been trying to bag this guy for years.  Do you                have any idea what this is worth?                                      BRANDON               No, but I want a bonus if we pull it off.                                     WALTER               Look at me.  There is no if -- it's only when.  This time he                called us, remember?  You hooked him.  Know that.  Sweat that.                                                     BRANDON               Relax, I'll get in character in the car.                 WALTER suddenly slows, winces.  He angles toward a bathroom.                                                     BRANDON               ... Walter?               WALTER grabs for a water fountain, misses, suddenly collapses.                                                       BRANDON               Your vial -- where's your pills, Walter?               WALTER finds the vial, pops it, his chest heaves and the pills                spill on the floor.  WALTER looks wide-eyed up at BRANDON, mouths                "Big one."  BRANDON frantically loosens WALTER'S shirt.  A crowd                gathers.  A BUSINESSMAN pulls a cell phone, dials 911.                                                         BRANDON               Hold on, Walter we're getting help!  Oh my God.  Listen to me.                 Walter -- Walter.  You're gonna be fine.  Hold on!                (to the CROWD)               We need a doctor!  Is there a doctor?                                     WALTER               Brandon --                                     BRANDON               Save your strength.  Help's coming.  Help's coming.                                     WALTER               ... Do you love me?                                     BRANDON               Of course I do.                                     WALTER               Uh-huh.                                     BRANDON               I do.  I really do love you.                                     WALTER               ... How much?                                     BRANDON               A lot!  Now don't talk.                 (turning to the CROWD)               We need a doctor!                 Several stunned ONLOOKERS run for help.  WALTER fading fast.                                                     WALTER               I believe you.  I believe you love me.  I love you too... Just                one thing --                                       BRANDON               Save your strength, Walter.                                     WALTER               ... Would you love me if this was a joke?                                     BRANDON               What?                                     WALTER               I'm fine.  Just practicing...               WALTER smiles.  Stands.  Brushes himself off.  To the CROWD --                                                     WALTER               I'm okay!  Little gas.  Must've had too many peanuts on the plane.                               The confused ONLOOKERS drift away.                                       BRANDON               You sick fucking fuck!  That was too goddamn fucking far!!!                                                     WALTER               You weren't listening!  You're not paying attention to me!  There's                no such thing as too far!  Push everything as far as you can!                 Push it until it starts pushing back and then push some goddamn                more!  Remember that when you're with this guy today!                                      OMIT               INT. PUERTO RICAN MANSION - DAY               Palatial.  Drapes dance before the open doors.  Music plays.                 BRANDON and WALTER sit in the living room.  Peaceful beat.                                                     WALTER               I start to die, fuck the hospital, just sit me down, I wanna                kack here.                A beefy BODYGUARD enters followed by a tan, broad shouldered                MAN of 50.  WALTER extends his hand.                                      WALTER               Mr. Novian!  What can I say?  An honor.  This is my associate,                John Anthony.                MR. NOVIAN nods, settles in a chair.  WALTER and BRANDON sit.                                                      NOVIAN               You should know I think that most sports services are a complete                scam... However, I hear your boy here's having quite a season.                 What's your system?                                      WALTER               (looking around)               Our system?  Fuck that, what's your system?               Walter laughs.  Novian stone-faced, glances at his watch when--                                                     BRANDON               It's a privilege to meet you, Mr. Novian.   You have a beautiful                home.  Let's start with how much you bet.                                      NOVIAN               A million a game, across the board.                                     BRANDON               Nice round number, is that our ceiling here?  Is that the most                we're working with?                                      NOVIAN               "We're" not doing anything until I hear how you feel about this                weekend.                                      BRANDON               Do you rent that yacht out there?                                     NOVIAN               I own it.                                     BRANDON               Well, sir, that's how I feel about this weekend.  That may sound                cocky, I don't care.  I didn't come down here to lie.                                       NOVIAN               Do you have inside information?                                     BRANDON               If I did I wouldn't share that with you.  My record speaks for                itself.  The truth is I know these teams better than they know                themselves.  I'm going 12 for 12 this weekend, and that includes                the Monday Night parlay.                                         NOVIAN               Why should I believe you?                                     BRANDON               With all due respect, Mr. Novian, you can't afford not to.                                     NOVIAN               I can afford to do any damn thing I please.                                     BRANDON               Can you?  What I'm saying is can you -- can anyone for that matter                -- afford to lose as much as a man like you probably needs to                bet to feel a win?  Winning's a funny thing, Mr. Novian... it's                one of those rare commodities on earth money can't buy.  Or was,                until you called me.                Charged beat.  A tight grin's glued to WALTER'S face.                                     BRANDON               The price is a quarter million, Mr. Novian -- up-front -- in                addition to a percentage of every game you win.                                      NOVIAN               Fuck you.  I never pay anything up front.                                      BRANDON               And we've never charged it before.  But with what you're betting,                250 up front's a bargain.  You want this weekend's winners, that's                my offer.  Take it or leave it.                                      NOVIAN               (standing)               ... Step outside.               BRANDON and WALTER exchange looks, unsure where this is going.                               EXT. NOVIAN'S BALCONY - DAY               NOVIAN and BRANDON regard a group of GIRLS lounging topless by                a pool.                                      NOVIAN               ... Ever pick oranges, Mr. Anthony?                                     BRANDON               Nope.                                     NOVIAN               I have, in fact it's how I started.               Builds character.  See those girls down there?  Pretend they're                oranges and pick some ripe ones.  Take 'em upstairs and build                some character.  Mr. Abrams and I need to refine the terms.                               BRANDON goes to an ice-filled cooler by the door, pulls a bottle                of champagne, carries it dripping down to the pool and--                 INT. BRANDON'S OFFICE - DAY               A FOOTBALL BETTING FORM fills FRAME.  Two columns of teams seen.                 Point spreads penciled in between them.  11 of 12 games checked                off.  Monday Night the last to be decided.                PULL BACK TO SHOW -- BRANDON in his office, the unfinished form                before him.  A young SALESMAN appears at the door.                                      YOUNG SALESMAN               They need it, Mr. Anthony.               BRANDON picks up his pen, regards the box for Monday Night --                Seattle or New Orleans?  The point spread is Seattle minus 3.                 A box beside it is for the over/under.  That number is 34.                 BRANDON about to pick when he stops, looks up, smiles --                                      BRANDON               Three questions.  What's your mother's name?                                     YOUNG SALESMAN               Shelia.                                     BRANDON               What street did you grow up on?                                     YOUNG SALESMAN               Atlantic Avenue.                                     BRANDON               Who do you like Monday night?                                     YOUNG SALESMAN               I don't know.                                     BRANDON               Pick one.                                     YOUNG SALESMAN               That's your job.                                     BRANDON               I'll do your job tomorrow, today you do mine.                                     YOUNG SALESMAN               What are you talking about?                                     BRANDON               Pick one.  Stop stalling.  You know who's playing.  Seattle versus                New Orleans.                                      YOUNG SALESMAN               ... I dunno.  I guess I like Seattle giving the two points.                                                     BRANDON               (writing on the form)               Over or under?                                     YOUNG SALESMAN               You can't do that.                                     BRANDON               Sure I can!  Over 34 points or under!                                     YOUNG SALESMAN               Over!               BRANDON checks it off, gives him the finished form.                                     YOUNG SALESMAN               I'm not handing that in.  Like a million dollars is going on                that game!                                      BRANDON               Like a lot more than that.  Relax.  I think we know I can pick.                 Today I'm picking you.  The outcome'll be the same.                                      YOUNG SALESMAN               What if I'm wrong?                                     BRANDON               Didn't they tell you?  There is no if.               INT. WALTER'S OFFICE - NIGHT               MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL.  Final seconds of a hard-fought game.                The Seattle QUARTERBACK'S driving, completes a long pass to a                RECEIVER who's brought down at the New Orleans 10-yard line.                                                      WALTER               They score, we win!               AL MICHAELS/vo from tv               --Kuhn's stopped at the 10!  Seattle down by three.  Two seconds                on the clock.  Kuhn suffered a concussion last week and with                that foot injury in the first quarter he has no mobility -- Hanratty                drops back, he's out of the pocket, breaks one tackle, throws                downfield, it's tipped!  Raymond's got it!  Breaks the plane!                 Touch down!  Seattle takes it 20 to 17!  They win by three!                 What a game!                The buzz in the BG explodes as we see -- every EMPLOYEE is packed                into WALTER'S office.  Riot of celebration all around.                                       WALTER               100 fucking percent!               Champagne corks start popping.  Someone hits the remote and the                wall of screens fill with a jamming MTV video.  The lights dim.                 People start dancing.  Cell phones start ringing and --                VARIOUS SALESMEN/into phones               -- Call back tomorrow!                -- Who knows who he likes next week you   fucking degenerate!                                -- I don't have anything yet!                The YOUNG SALESMAN who made the Monday night and over/under picks                talks excitedly to SOUTHIE and REGGIE.                                      YOUNG SALESMAN               He kinda mesmerized me, see, and like Spock or something I visualized                Seattle and the over and he wrote it down!  Said picking me was                the same as him doing it.                                      SOUTHIE               What kinda power is that?                                     REGGIE               Who fucking cares?  He's money.               JERRY SYKES stands nearby, listening.  Whoops of excitement as                WALTER jumps up on his desk, starts throwing cash.  JERRY moves                through the raucous CROWD, finds BRANDON against a wall, out                of the fray, watching WALTER hurl money in the air.                                      JERRY               Congratulations, Brandon... Or should I say John?  Either way                it's amazing.  I must say I am impressed.  Letting salesmen make                your picks?  That's balls.                                      BRANDON               (watching WALTER hurl money)               Best get in there and collect some of this, Jerry.  The way you're                picking, you're gonna need some for a rainy day.                                      JERRY               Keep talking, sugarmouth.  Must feel pretty good to be that plugged                in.  You got a good streak going.  Well enjoy it while it lasts.                 The gambling Gods are a fickle bunch, sooooo easily offended.                               BRANDON makes his way through the room, reaches WALTER.                                     WALTER               Here, get you teeth fixed.  There might be some other businesses                you can make two mill in one weekend, but tell me, someone please                tell me -- where else are you gonna have this much fun?                                      BRANDON               How much of that big stack's mine?                                     WALTER               A one with five zeros behind it.                                     BRANDON               ...A 100 fucking thou?  On two million?                                     WALTER               You're working out of my shop.                                     BRANDON               I was thinking of ten percent.                                     WALTER               Really?  Is that what you were thinking?                                     BRANDON               I got you Novian.                                     WALTER               Nice job, now don't blow it by getting ahead of yourself.  I'm                looking beyond the money.                                       BRANDON               You can afford to, you're holding it all.  C'mon, I only want                what's fair, Walter.                WALTER smiles.  Wraps an arm around.  Puts him in a headlock.                                                     WALTER               "Fair?"  Honey, you don't know what fair is.  What's fair is                not giving you the money.  Now I'm only gonna say this once.                 If you want something from me more than a gazunheidt after a                sneeze you have to do more than think about it.  Or ask for it.                 You gotta earn it.  You gotta fight for it.  You gotta rip it                out of my fucking talons.  John Anthony would know that.  That's                what he'd do.  As a matter of fact, next time you come with that                shit, come as John Anthony.  'Cause from now on I'm not talking                to you about money.                BRANDON pulls free.  Stunned.  Seething.  MTV pounds from the                TVs, people dancing all around.  TONI walks up.                                      TONI               The big winner.  How are you doing?                                     BRANDON               I'm winning... I'm winning...               BRANDON leaves.  WALTER pulls her close, moves with the music.                                                     WALTER               Dance with me.  Close, that's it.  I gotta dance with you more.                 Listen, I'm thinking of buying a plane.  Big one.  G-something.                 We can just get on it and go, you and me, anywhere in the world,                any time we want.  There's a house for sale in the Bahamas with                a runway right beside it.  Comes with its own 50-foot boat.                 Two for one.  What an investment.  Anything happens, you and                Jules always have it.  Let's go down and check it out.  Next                week, just us, barefoot in the sand.                (TONI watching him)               Well say something.                                              TONI               ... Are you gambling again, Walter?                                     WALTER               What?  Oh, c'mon -- hell no.                                       TONI               Look me in the eye and say it.                                     WALTER               I am not gambling.  Not now, not ever.  18 years clean.  That                shit's over.                                       TONI               It's never over, Walter.  You know that.                                       WALTER               Get a lie detector if you don't believe me.  Shoot me with truth                serum.  Baby -- we just made two-million dollars.  I'm working                miracles here.  Now can I enjoy a dance with my wife?  Huh?                 I swear, it's a shame you can't drink, we need something to kill                that bug up your ass.                TONI smiles.  WALTER holds her close, kisses her and --               EXT. BROOKLYN BRIDGE - NIGHT               BRANDON'S Mercedes speeds into the city.               INT. MANHATTAN STRIP CLUB - NIGHT               Big breasts, G-strings, testosterone.  BRANDON in a booth with                a topless BLACK GIRL.  We can see from his moves it's the Million                Dollar Man talking.  Drinking Dom.  Flashing cash.  He whispers                something to her.  She reaches for her top as he grabs the hand                of her topless FRIEND and --                INT. STRIP CLUB - PRIVATE BACK ROOM - NIGHT               DARKNESS.  A light goes on, illuminates a cave-like bedroom.                 MUSIC from the club rumbles through the space, reduced to a                driving bass beat.  The ASIAN GIRL pulls an outrageous wad of                cash from BRANDON'S pocket, tosses it confetti-like in the air                as -- BRANDON, the ASIAN GIRL and the BLACK GIRL fall on the                gold lame sheets.  Clothes are peeled off, money sticking to                their bodies, GIRLS clawing the cash from BRANDON'S skin --                               Black girL               (kissing his neck, hands roving)               What's it feel like to do what you do?  To win like that?               BRANDON flips her over, leans in from behind.                                     BRANDON               It's just like sex.  You start by massaging the numbers, very                relaxed,                getting a feel, see how they move.  Then there's a shift, a plan                forms and you connect to your teams.                (the GIRL moans, reacting to something unseen)               Sunday's like penetration and the games have started and teams                are scoring and                 you're inside and you're doing it and                it's doing you, feeling every shift,               every score, every trickle of sweat --               the giving, taking, the long, the short,               excitement growing bigger and bigger--               (BRANDON cupping her breasts)               And it's not an idea or part of you anymore -- it is you, all                of you -- and the crowd's roaring and the clock's                 ticking and you know everything except                how it'll end and and then you've won -- over and over and over                and it's like one, big, huge, insane, weekend-long orgasm.                                                     FRIEND               (totally turned on, kissing him)               Nice job description.               BRANDON presses her below FRAME, naked ASIAN GIRL climbing on                top as the sound of APPLAUSE is heard, building in volume and--                               INT. BROWNSTONE SALESROOM - DAY               25 SALESMEN stand on their desks, clapping, as BRANDON passes                through on the way to his office.  Only it's John Anthony who's                strutting through the room, high-fiving SALESMEN, kissing the                GIRLS, a tanned, tailored, magnetic presence and --                INT. BROWNSTONE - BRANDON'S OFFICE - MORNING               WALTER waits within, standing at the window overlooking the sales                room as BRANDON enters.                                      WALTER               Know what time it is?                                     BRANDON               (glance at his watch)               Yeah, it's--                                     WALTER               --Wrong.  It's time to press, my friend.  We're yanking out all                the stops.  When you're winning -- you press.                  BRANDON rummaging a closet, produces a set of golf clubs.                                      WALTER               What are you doing?                                     BRANDON               I have a 10:30 tee time at Wingfoot with a client, that Howell                guy.  Don't call me unless the lines change.                                      WALTER               The salmon are running!  You're staying right here and fielding                calls.  You're not going off to play golf and have fun.                                      BRANDON               Fun?  Senor, you have obviously never played Wingfoot.                                     WALTER               Stop screwing around, you got a lot to do before this weekend.                                                       BRANDON               I'm not asking you if I can leave, Walter -- I'm telling you                that's how it is, understood?  You want my picks, hell I'll make                'em now.                  BRANDON sits, starts filling out the week's betting form.                                     WALTER               Whoa -- hold on -- slow down -- today's only Tuesday, you have                all week.                                      BRANDON               I don't need it.                                     WALTER               Hey -- we're gonna be advising somewhere in the neighborhood                of 20 million dollars this week.                                      BRANDON               Nice neighborhood.                                     WALTER               You're really gonna make your picks now?  No study?  No analysis?                 Just like that?                                      BRANDON               I'm in the zone, Walter.  Locked in.  You want my picks, I might                as well do it now!                Washington at Miami giving 8, Washington!               Saint Louis at K.C. getting 12 -- K.C. by three touchdowns!                 Pittsburgh at Philly giving 3 -- Philly, another blow out!                                (handing WALTER the finished form)               Brandon con'd               There they are, unless you want next weekend's picks too.  You're                welcome to join me, Walter, it's a beautiful track.                                        WALTER               ... Okay, fine.  Take a break.  Go play golf.  We'll put the                picks on ice and look 'em over tomorrow.                                      BRANDON               (walking out)               I won't be in tomorrow.                                     WALTER               Then the next day!               But BRANDON'S gone.  WALTER considers what's just occured, regards                the finished betting form.  He dons his glasses and begin examining                BRANDON'S picks and --                EXT. OUTSIDE THE BROWNSTONE - DAY               BRANDON loads his golf clubs in the Mercedes, spies TONI coming                down the front steps.                                      BRANDON               Where're you headed?                                     TONI               Some of us have to work.                                     BRANDON               Come on, get in.  I'll give you a lift.               ANGLE ON -- upper brownstone window.  WALTER looks down.  Watches                TONI'S legs swing into BRANDON'S sports car and --                INT. MOVING MERCEDES - DAY               BRANDON speeds fast down a street.  Uncomfortable beat.                                     BRANDON               Some ride, huh?  Feel that?  Feel that?                                     TONI               Slow down, Brandon.                                     BRANDON               Why?  This car was made to go fast.                                     TONI               Not with me in it.                                     BRANDON               C'mon, Toni, loosen up.                 (goosing the gas, laughing)               Let me ask you something.  When you're not at the shop, or running                Julia to play dates or keeping Walter from losing his mind, which                I know is a full-time job,                what do you do for you, Toni?                                      TONI               I stay busy.                                     BRANDON               That's not what I asked.                                     TONI               Yes it is.                                     BRANDON               What do you do for you, Toni, for yourself.                                     TONI               "What do I do for myself?"  If you drove past my salon and went                two blocks down Prospect Street you would have found me 20 years                ago with a needle in my arm.  I was a 5-bag a day junkie.  I                would have sold Julia to get high.  Keeping it all on track,                that's what I do for myself.                                        BRANDON               That's not living, Toni.  That's just maintaining.  You cashed                in.                                       TONI               What the hell does that mean?  Are we talking perfection here?                                                     BRANDON               Well, nobody's perfect... except me last weekend going 14 and                0.                  BRANDON pulls up outside her shop.  TONI regards him.                                     TONI               Yeah, that's living.                                     BRANDON               Hell yeah.  You oughta try it some time.                                     TONI               (stepping from the car)               Thanks for the ride, John...               TONI enters her shop and --               INT. WALTER'S OFFICE - DAY               Eight football games are winding down, another four starting.                 Favor one of the TV SCREENS.  A network sports update.  CHRIS                BERMAN motor-mouthing a one-minute list of results.                                      CHRIS BERMAN               -- Big loss for Washington, going down 24-12 in Miami.  Saint                Louis upsets K.C., 34-14.  And another Sunday surprise, Philly                trounces Pittsburgh, 23-10.                CHRIS BERMAN continues with the scores as -- a PENCIL runs down                BRANDON'S betting sheet -- checking off results -- loss --  loss                -- loss -- loss -- loss -- the pencil pauses -- suddenly snaps                from the pressure of the person's hand and -- WALTER stares at                BRANDON, seated on the sofa, watching the tvs.  It's obvious                they're getting killed.                                       BRANDON               I'm gonna go work out.                                     WALTER               Sit down!  You're watching every game!  Every second of every                minute of every game!  Don't even think of leaving!                INT. WALTER'S OFFICE - NIGHT               All but one tv is dark.  The last game ends and a remote control                suddenly shatters the screen.  WALTER paces the office.  BRANDON                still on the sofa.  No one else in the room.  A wall clock reads                12:19 AM.  WALTER picks up BRANDON'S betting sheet, holds it                like a dead fish.                                      WALTER               ... How do you go 3 and 11?  Wanna know how -- you make Sunday's                picks on Tuesday!  It rained in Cincinatti!  Two starting QBs                didn't play!  You're a handicapper, not a psychic!                                       BRANDON               There's still Monday night and the parlay.                                     WALTER               Fuck Monday night!  Fuck the parlay!                You were pissed at me, right?  The commission thing?                                     BRANDON               I don't know.                                     WALTER               You fucked with me, right?  Joke's on me, right?  The money thing.                 Okay, I think we're on dangerous ground here but I'm giving                you a bump, 10 percent.  Now what about Monday night's game?                 You want to look over that pick?  Because everyone's gonna double                down to climb out of the fucking hole you put 'em in.                                      BRANDON               Monday night's fine.                                     WALTER               You'd bet your mother's house on it?                                     BRANDON               I don't bet.                                     WALTER               If you did?                                     BRANDON               I like the pick, Walter.                                     WALTER               On your mother's house or not?                                     BRANDON               With my mother in it.               INT. UPPER EAST SIDE BAR - NIGHT               Up-scale.  BRANDON sits at the end of the rail, empty glasses                lined before him, watching a wall TV with the sound off.  Monday                Night Football's on.  His glazed expression suggests it's been                a long three hours.  PATRONS around him socialize, laugh, enjoy                the bar's oasis-like vibe.  But for BRANDON, it's just him and                the game as -- a GIRL approaches, big smile.                                      GIRL               Oh my God -- Brandon!               BRANDON glances up, quickly goes back to watching the game.                               Girl               Oh come on, I know you remember -- two weeks ago, Aqua -- I'm                Heather.                                      BRANDON               (eyes glued to the game)               Uh-huh.               Heather               This is like such a concidence.  I live right around the corner.                 This is my neighborhood bar.                She sits beside him, signals the bartender.               Heather                Apple martini.               (back to BRANDON)               So listen, my office is renting out a loft this weekend, really                fun group, it's gonna be a big blow-out, a PR thing -- music,                open bar.  Wednesday night, I want you to come, I mean I'd really                love to hook up.                   POV BRANDON -- flurry of action on the TV.  Final seconds.  BRANDON                lasered on the screen.                                      HEATHER               (leaning in, laughing)               Earth to Brandon, you're blowing it.               The BARTENDER steps in front of the TV to deliver her drink --                BRANDON jumps from his seat so he can see -- flurry of action                on the screen -- the game ends -- the final score flashes and--                                                     BRANDON               (pounding the bar)                                     FUCK!               HEATHER taken aback, pulls away.                                       BRANDON               Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!!!               HEATHER quickly leaves.  Other PATRONS react.  BRANDON in his                own world of pain.  BARTENDER eyeing him now.  BRANDON throws                down the rest of his drink, trying to steady himself.  His beeper                suddenly sounds.  He looks and --                WALTER'S NAME scrolls across the screen.  BRANDON wipes the sweat                from his brow.  Mind racing.  Trying to understand.  BRANDON's                cell phone rings.  He checks the number, picks up --                                      BRANDON               Denny!  Hey -- yeah, I'm in a bar.... Of course in New York,                I own this town.  What's going on -- you okay?... Tonight's game?                 You took my picks?  How much?...                All of it?  That was for your college you dumb ass!  Denny, I                gave you one game -- goddamn it you should have told me you were                following my picks!                 (pacing the rail)               All right, listen.  Does Mom know?... Okay, good.  Don't say                anything.  I've got next weekend wired.  I'll win it all back                for you and more.  Understand?  Now I'll call you Friday with                who to take.  It's all gonna work out.  I gotta go,  talk to                you later.                     BRANDON hangs up.  Straightens.  Strides out of the bar and --                               INT. BRANDON'S OFFICE - DAY               BRANDON'S a man absorbed.  The office is filled with sports pages                from every newspaper in the country.  Injury reports.  Power                ratings.  BRANDON studying everything and --                                      QUICK CUTS               -- A dozen rapid-fire kick-offs fill the SCREEN -- RECEIVERS                catch passes, OTHERS drop them spectacularly -- RUNNING BACKS                brilliantly juke tackles, score -- QUARTERBACKS are slammed from                behind, stripped of the ball -- kicks miss goal posts by inches                -- PLAYERS are carried off on stretchers -- footballs sail through                RECEIVERS'S hands, their fingers clawing empty air -- scoreboards                blink outcomes, stadium lights flare and --                EXT. CHELSEA PIERS - MANHATTAN - NIGHT               Similar lights illuminate a driving range on the Hudson River.                               EXT. DRIVING RANGE -- TOP TIER - NIGHT               BRANDON smacks one to the 250 sign, about to hit another and                --                                        WALTER               Helluva swing.  Great game.  Sport of kings, right?  Or is that                horse racing?                                        BRANDON               What are you doing here?                                     WALTER               Southie told me where you were.                                         BRANDON               I had to get out.  Clear my head.                (teeing one up)               Well talk to me.  How'd we do?                                     WALTER               You haven't seen the scores?                                     BRANDON               Nope.  That's how I wanted it.  Just make the picks and get the                results later.                                        WALTER               Highest sales volume ever.  Take a guess.                                     BRANDON               I think we kicked ass.                                     WALTER               It was amazing.                                     BRANDON               I told you.  Last week was nothing.               BRANDON smacks a drive, watches it soar --                                     WALTER               You're right, nothing compared to how much we lost today!                                     BRANDON               ... What'd I go?                                     WALTER               I have an idea.  I give you a few glimpses of what happened here                today and you take a stab.                                      BRANDON               Just give me the numbers, Walter.                                     WALTER               You don't like that game.  Too bad.  Woulda been fun.  Grown                men crying on the phone.  Wives screaming in the background.                 Three salespeople quit 'cause they couldn't take the pressure!                                                         BRANDON               Fuck!                                     WALTER               No.  When you lose 10 out of 12, fuck doesn't quite cover it.                 What would be more appropriate is something like "Holy Fucking                Shit!" Or "My Fucking God."  Or "Jesus Fucking Christ!"                                      BRANDON               Enough.  I get the idea, Walter.                                     WALTER               You're right.  I mean 2 for 12 on our biggest volume weekend                -- what the hell's left to say?  Except maybe keep the phone                number and switch it over to a fucking suicide hotline!                BRANDON hefts the golf bag, walks away.  Yelling after him --                                                      WALTER               Tomorrow morning, Brandon!  Bright and early!  We start in all                over again!  No getting off!  I'm gonna ride you until you're                more sick of me than losing!  Turn it around and we avoid a lot                of pain!                Omit                                     OMIT               Omit               Omit               EXT. BROOKLYN PARK - EARLY MORNING               Gloomy fog.  A few PEOPLE heading home from work.  BRANDON riding                his bike, pedaling fast when a MAN suddenly steps out, flash                of something in his hand, jamming it in the spokes and --BRANDON                wipes out, over the handlebars -- hard to the ground --                                      BRANDON               Son of a bitch... What the fuck--                                     BODYGUARD               Mr. Novian wants to see you.  Now.                                     BRANDON               (seeing a gun in his waistband)               ... Tell him to call.                                     BODYGUARD               You tell him.               BRANDON looks, sees NOVIAN nearby.                                     NOVIAN               I didn't recognize you without the suit, John.                                     BRANDON               This is my time off.  It's how I clear my head.  You want to                talk, pick a time.                                      NOVIAN               Or should I call you Brandon?  Someone costs you 18 mill, you                do some research.                I know more than your name, Brandon.  I know where you're from.                 Where your family lives.  Hell, I just came from Vegas.  Your                Mom, sweet lady... dealt me three blackjacks in a row.                (stepping close)               Where's the cocky motherfucker who came to my house?                                     BRANDON               I'm leaving.               The BODYGUARD grabs his arm.  Iron grip.                                     NOVIAN               Feel that?  I hate the cold.  Winter's coming.  Water's getting                rough.                                      BRANDON               What the fuck is this about?  If you don't like my picks, use                someone else.                                      NOVIAN               Oh, I'm not using you again.  That's already decided.  And I                can't get my money back.  It's gone.  No, I came for an apology.                               The BODYGUARD holds him tight.  Light fading.  No one around.                                                     NOVIAN               Look me in the eye and say you're sorry. Say it so as to make                me believe you mean it.                Cold gust.  NOVIAN closes the distance between them.                                     BRANDON               You flew to New York for--                                     NOVIAN               --That's right.                                     BRANDON               ... I'm sorry.                                     NOVIAN               I don't accept it.  Not good enough.  Try again.                                     BRANDON               I don't know what you want me to say.  I'm sorry.  I am.  I'm                very sorry.                                      NOVIAN               Pathetic.                                     BRANDON               I am very, very sorry.  That's a lot of money.                                     NOVIAN               Not even close.                                     BRANDON               I'm sorry!                                     NOVIAN               This isn't going to work.  I'll have to get satisfaction somehow                else.                                      BRANDON               Look, I'm not it -- I...               NOVIAN inches from BRANDON.  Unbuttons his coat.  Sound of a                zipper.  BRANDON glances down, sees Novian reach into his fly.                 BRANDON jumps.  The BODYGUARD holds him.  NOVIAN comes close.                 BRANDON struggles, very unsure where this might be going and--                               He squirms -- enduring something -- trickling water heard --                NOVIAN staring right at BRANDON -- finishes pissing on BRANDON'S                leg.  NOVIAN motions his BODYGUARD to let go and the men walk                off.  BRANDON stands there.  Alone in the gloom and --                INT. STUDIO PRODUCTION SET - NIGHT               WALTER, BRANDON, JERRY and CHUCK at the desk, waiting for the                weekly taping to start.  WALTER jots notes.  JERRY leans over.                                                      JERRY               I scored you the new mikes, Walter.  No wires to mess with.                 What do you think?                                      WALTER               I'm busy.                                       JERRY               Listen, I think I should lead off.  I have some really strong                stuff.                                      WALTER               You got a good hole, Jerry.  Stay in it.                                      JERRY               C'mon, I went 8 for 12 last weekend.  I'm hot.  I'm feeling it.                               WALTER doesn't respond, continues working.  JERRY fumes.                                      TECHNICIAN               60 seconds.                                     JERRY               What am I, wood?                                       WALTER               You got one good weekend under your belt, don't push it.                                      JERRY               One weekend?  The Sykes System revolutionized this industry.                                (pulling a newspaper, showing a full-page ad for JOHN ANTHONY)                               Explain something to me, where's my fucking ad?                                     WALTER               Take a hike.                                     JERRY               What?                                     WALTER               You heard me.  You're fired.  Goodbye.                                     JERRY               I'm not fired, you need me more than ever.                                     WALTER               Beat it, you cut-rate parasite!                                     JERRY               In six years my worst weekend was never as bad as any of his                last three weeks!                                      WALTER               Get out!  You don't work for me anymore!                                     JERRY               What the hell are you doing, Walter?    C'mon, man -- it's me,                Jerry.  These other guys come and go.                                        WALTER               (pointing at BRANDON)               Not this one!  That's true talent!  I'm firing your ass 'cause                you don't see it and I can't explain it to you!                                       JERRY               Think what you're fucking doing!                                     WALTER               I am!  You couldn't pick your fucking nose without a computer!                 You're small!  You belong in a can!  Show some self-respect!                 It's over, Jerry -- leave!                   Beat.  BRANDON watches as JERRY gathers his things, walks off.                                                     WALTER               ... Fuck him where he flosses.  Asshole doesn't understand I'm                building an empire around you.  Finish the countdown, we got                a big weekend to get to!  Let's go, chop chop!                INT. BRANDON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT               A BUDWEISER COMMERCIAL fills FRAME --               PULL BACK TO SHOW -- BRANDON in bed, under the covers, peeking                at the tv over a remote.  The sports wrap-up comes on, scores                flashing on the screen.  No clue how he did until his phone rings.                 Then his cell vibrates.  BRANDON gets out of bed.  Fully dressed.                 Buries the phone under the mattress.  He turns off the cell,                but within seconds it starts vibrating again.  BRANDON sinks                into a corner.  Knock at the door.  BRANDON doesn't move.  Another                knock and --                Intercut -- toni in the hall, talking through the door                                     TONI               It's me, Brandon.  Can I come in?                                     BRANDON               No.  It's not a good time.  What do you need?                                     TONI               I need to talk to you, it's important.               BRANDON lost, doesn't answer.                                         TONI               You need to get out, Brandon.  You need to go.                                       BRANDON               I gotta pick a winner is what I gotta do.  I gotta get back on                track.                                      TONI               It won't matter.  You could go 100-and-0 and it won't be enough                -- it'll never be enough.  He'll ride you into the ground.                                                     BRANDON               I gotta figure this out.                                     TONI               Please, Brandon.                                     BRANDON               I'll figure it out...               TONI leans her head against the door, exasperated, spent and--                               EXT. UPPER EAST SIDE - MANHATTAN - NIGHT               BRANDON, suit and tie, stands in the lobby of an apartment high-rise,                speaks on a house phone.  An unsmiling DOORMAN watches nearby.                                                     BRANDON VOICEOVER               Alex, it's Brandon.  Hey, it's been awhile but I never got your                number that night.  I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'd                take a chance and stop by.                  INT. LUXURY HIGH-RISE APARTMENT BUILDING - LOBBY - NIGHT               The DOORMAN stands at the entrance, watches BRANDON wait.  ALEX                appears, beautiful as the night BRANDON picked her up in the                restaurant.  Her demeanor, however, is far from friendly as she                exits the elevator.                                      BRANDON               Man, you got a Doberman for a doorman.                                     ALEX               What are you doing here?                                     BRANDON               I came by to take you out for a late dinner and a couple of killer                bottles of wine.  C'mon.  We'll go back to that place where we                met.                                         ALEX               Are you out of your fucking mind?               (stepping close for emphasis)               I live in this building, asshole.  It's home.  I don't like creeps                coming around unannounced.  Lurking around outside.                                        BRANDON               What the hell's gotten into you?  What about that night?                                     ALEX               Let me make this real clear so this shit doesn't happen again.                 You mean nothing to me.  Oh wait, I take that back -- you meant                5000 bucks.  Your friend set it up.                (already heading back inside)               Don't fucking bother me again.               EXT. MANHATTAN - DAWN               Pale sunrise over the East River.               INT. SALES ROOM - DAWN               BRANDON, suit and tie, walks through the silent, empty room.                                 INT. BRANDON'S OFFICE - DAWN               BRANDON sits at his desk.  Staring out at the city.  His phone                rings.  Again.  Again.  Finally pressing speaker phone --                                                      BRANDON               Hello.               Intercut - amir in payphone beside N.J. Turnpike - dawn               Amir               (dishevelled, distraught)               I'm wiped out, John...                                      BRANDON               Amir?               Amir               My business... My house... My credit...                                     BRANDON               No, now listen to me -- we got a big weekend coming up, buddy                --                                      AMIR               Still you talk like this.  Who the fuck are you, like this is                some kind of game.  I was betting a few thousand a Sunday when                I called you.  You pushed me.  Every call.  All the time with                your talk... I lost $380,000 this weekend... I was going to get                married... I had a life...                 BRANDON staring at the phone, barely holding it together, sees                TAMMY standing there -- holding the day's newspapers, hearing                the conversation on speaker.                                      AMIR               No words now, huh?  No more money to squeeze so you shut up.                 How do you fucking live with yourself?                  Click.  Amir hangs up.  Crushing beat.  TAMMY staring at him.                                                     BRANDON               What?               (face hardening)               Fuck him if he can't take a joke.               TAMMY puts the day's newspapers on his desk, leaves.  BRANDON                glances down, something catches his eye.  BRANDON pulls a newspaper                from the pile -- finds himself staring at a full-page ad for                JOHN ANTHONY.  Big smile.  Copy advertising "The Million Dollar                Man!" and --                 INT. BRANDON'S APARTMENT - EARLY MORNING               BRANDON paces the dim space.  Sits on the bench press.  Leans                back on the board.  He stares up at the weights.  Moves the weight                pin to 250... and slowly starts to lift.  One rep.  Two.  Three.                 Four.  A bad of sweat forms.  BRANDON throws off the jacket.                 Pulls off the tie.  Removes his shirt and shoes.  He resumes                lifting, grim determination -- the weights rising over and over                and over -- faster and faster and --                INT. WALTER'S APARTMENT - MORNING               BRANDON, t-shirt and sweats, approaches WALTER'S office, bursts                through the door --                                      BRANDON               I know what the problem is!               BRANDON freezes.  WALTER watches two MEN unload stacks of money                from a briefcase, pile them on his desk.                                       BRANDON               I'll come back later.                                     WALTER               No!  C'mon in.  We're done here.  Right fellas?  All through?                 You want a bite before you go?  Something to drink?                 The two MEN leave.  WALTER lights a cigarette.                                     BRANDON               Who were they?                                     WALTER               We need a bat light or something, you know a signal I can shoot                up at the                                                     Walter con'd               clouds and no matter where you are you                can look up and you'll know I need you.  Maybe that would work.                 'Cause last night I must've beeped you a hundred times.                                      BRANDON               Who were they?                                     WALTER               They're from the Salvation Army.  How the hell does someone go                1-for-8?  A fucking monkey tossing darts could do better!                                      BRANDON               What's with the money, Walter?                                     WALTER               1-for-fucking-8!               (coming around the desk)               I have a plan.  From now on we take your picks and reverse everything!                 Like a Twilight Zone episode where everything's the opposite!                 You say black we go white!  A is B!  Lose becomes win!                                      BRANDON               (staring at the pile of cash)               How much is that?                                     WALTER               (sweeping the pile to the floor)               How much is what?  Oh, that -- 275,000 dollars!                                      BRANDON               What happened to the two mill, all the other money?                                     WALTER               I was carrying twice that in red ink before you showed up.  The                last few weeks I thought keep the pressure off.  He'll come around.                 Climb out on his own.  Now I figure fuck it!  Time to turn on                the lights!  Let him see the toilet he's drowning us all in!                 Maybe that'll shake him up!  So what do you want to know?  I                got three mortgages on this house, I'm gambling again and to                cover my losses I just got a loan from a guy who works out of                a bar on a 106th and Broadway!  All this -- everything you see                around you --                 is smoke and mirrors!  I shoulda been a magician!                                                                          WALTER CON'D               ... What'd you say when you came in?  You    were in a good mood                when you walked through the door and you said something.                                      BRANDON               You're betting my picks?                                     WALTER               You went 82 and 11!  You were picking 80 percent -- how could                I fucking not!?  Trouble is I bet heavy after you went a hundred                percent and rode you right into the fucking toilet!  One decent                weekend and I would have been set for life!  One decent weekend!                                 BRANDON stares at him, stunned.                                     WALTER               "I know what the problem is!"  That's it!  You came in with a                big smile and said, "I know what the problem is!"                                      BRANDON               ... I'm Brandon Lang, Walter.  Brandon's the one who played sports.                 Brandon's the one who can pick games.  I lost touch with him                -- myself.  It wasn't an act, man.  I became John Anthony.  But                he's not me.  If I go back to being Brandon--                                      WALTER               --You can pick again!  Of course!               All you gotta do is go back to being Brandon!  Talk like Brandon!                 Eat like Brandon!  Forget John Anthony!  Burn the suits!  It's                all my fault.  I see that now.  I pushed you into something you                weren't.  I took the golden goose and tried to turn it into a                duck.  We're winding down the season.  There's only two games                this weekend.  Two winners and two over/unders.  That's all we                need.  You crunch the numbers, sprinkle in a little Brandon magic,                we get the sales people burning up the phones and come Monday                we go four for four going into the big game!  Right?  Huh?  Let's                get                something to eat!  Go to Smith and Wo's!                                     BRANDON               No thanks.  I'll stay here.  Eat light.                                     WALTER               (kneeling down, stacking the cash)               The Brandon thing!  What am I thinking trying to get you to go                out?  What would Brandon eat for lunch?  Peanut butter and jelly?                 Ramen noodles?  What?                                      BRANDON               (on the floor, helping him)               I'll get something.                                     WALTER               You want anything shipped from home?  Your bed?  Clothes?  Porno                collection?                                      BRANDON               No, I'm fine.                                     WALTER               Blow job?                                     BRANDON               Thanks anyway.  Maybe later...                                     WALTER               Because it's important.                                     BRANDON               Pressure doesn't help.                                     WALTER               God forgive me, you're an artist.  I fucked with that.  Two little                winners and a couple of over/unders.  That's all we need.  You                could phone it in.  Two's nothing.  Not for you.  Not for Brandon.                 Right, Brandon?  Isn't that right?                BRANDON stands.  Looks down at WALTER, unable to hide the desperation                behind his frozen smile and --                MONTAGE OF BRANDON WORKING THROUGH THE WEEk               --BRANDON closes the blinds in his office, blocks the view --BRANDON                works out, watching ESPN -- the SALES STAFF sit idle at their                desks, playing cards -- a pick sheet fills FRAME,  shows New                York versus Atlanta, Tenessee versus Kansas City and an over/under                beneath each game -- WALTER waits in the SALES ROOM, edgy, pacing                when BRANDON emerges holding the sheet -- all eyes on him --                WALTER approaches --                                      WALTER               These are the winners?                                     BRANDON               That's who I like.                                     WALTER               Brandon made these picks?                                     BRANDON               You're looking at him.                                     WALTER               (regarding the picks, to the room)               New York and the under, Tenessee and the under!  Sell 'em hard!                               INT. WALTER'S OFFICE - DAY               SALES STAFF crowd into the room.  WALTER and BRANDON sit side-by-side.                 Seconds before kickoff of the New York/Atlanta game.  JULIA                climbs into WALTER'S lap, holding her puppy.                Julia               Can I watch, daddy?                                     WALTER               Sure, Angel.  I need you to root for me.               (pointing at ATLANTA)               They're the bad guys.  Atlanta.  We want the blue team.  New                York.  They have to win by more than five points.  And root for                a low score.  Both teams have to make less than 42 points total.                 New York and under 42 points.                                      JULIA               Why do we like the blue team?                                     WALTER               Because Brandon likes them.               JULIA looks at BRANDON, smiles.  BRANDON'S barely holding up                here, forces himself to find a smile in return.                THE TV FILLS FRAME.  New York kicks off.  An Atlanta RECEIVER                takes it back for a 60 yard return.  We start cutting from the                game to BRANDON, to WALTER, the SALESPEOPLE, JULIA, all reacting                as the betting Gods raise hopes one play, dash them the next.                 Play after play.  Tide going for New York one minute, Atlanta                the next.  Tension in the room building. Everyone crowds the                TVs as New York defends a 10 point lead with a minute left.                 37 points on the board.  Only an Atlanta TD can lose the two                bets and they're 80 yards from scoring.  A few high fives as                Atlanta fumbles on a run, recover the ball for a five yard loss.                 Backed up to their own end zone.  Two plays left.  WALTER excited,                things going their way and --                BRANDON starting to breath again and -- Atlanta tries a final                hail mary, ball coming down into a crowd -- time runs out as                a New York PLAYER swats it and an Atlanta RECEIVER pulls it down                -- running hard -- open to the end zone -- the room freezes --                a New York PLAYER grabs hold -- trying to bring him the bastard                down but the Atlanta RUNNER is strong and just makes it in for                the score -- game over -- and Atlanta hasn't won but they've                killed the point spread and pushed the game over -- nobody speaks                -- the second game comes on right on the heels of the first and                now Tennessee is kicking off to Kansas City and we're on the                roller coaster all over again -- SALES PEOPLE start drifting                from the room and they've pushed their clients huge on these                games and their cell phones are ringing and WALTER'S just staring                at the screens and BRANDON'S dying and --                                      DISSOLVE TO               INT. WALTER'S OFFICE - LATER - NIGHT               WALTER and BRANDON alone in the room.  Sound of the ANNOUNCERS                as Atlanta get trounced by Denver.  Not even close.  Well over                42 total points scored.  The game ends.  All four bets lost.                 A commercial comes on.  Horrible stillness.                                        BRANDON               ...I'm finished.  I'm done.                                     WALTER               That's great.                                     BRANDON               I can't do this anymore, Walter.  I can't sleep at night.  I                can't eat.                                       WALTER               You're not gonna sit there and tell me you're ending this because                you have a little indigestion or some insomnia.                                      BRANDON               It's a lot more than that.                                     WALTER               I made it very clear before we started what the stakes were.                                                       BRANDON               Walter, it's over.  What use could John Anthony be to you now?                 Only an idiot would follow him after the streak I've been on.                                                     WALTER               Wrong!  Hot streaks go cold, cold streaks go hot.  Bettors will                climb back aboard.                                                                            WALTER CON'D               They know you!  And when your luck turns they'll remember you                went 80 percent for half the season!  We'll make it all back                on the last game and by next year they'll forget everything.                                                     BRANDON               Who said anything about next year?                                     WALTER               Sports betting's year-round.                                     BRANDON               I'm not doing this next year.                                     WALTER               You made a career choice!  I bankrolled it!                                     TONI VO               Let him go, Walter.               WALTER and BRANDON turn, see TONI at the door.                                     WALTER               Of course you stick up for him!                                     TONI               Meaning what?                                     WALTER               Who's side are you on?                                     TONI               I didn't realize I had to choose.                                     WALTER               (to BRANDON)               Look, you got a magnificent gift.  Own that.  So you strike out                sometimes, big deal, you're swinging for the fences.  You're                a champion, Brandon.  A champion goes down 186 times but gets                up 187.  I'm not letting you stay down.  This isn't about you                or me or Toni, this transcends that -- this is metaphysical,                this is cosmic, this is eternal -- this is God... Besides, we                have a contract.                                      BRANDON               Bullshit!                                       TONI               You can't own someone, Walter.                                     WALTER               I created the hottest sports tout this country's ever seen!                 I plugged him, took out full page ads, built a show around him,                hooked him up with every major client I have and I will be goddamned                if he's going to walk out the door and take all that with him!                 Why the hell am I even explaining this to you!  This is between                me and him!  Get out!                                      BRANDON               Don't talk to her like that.                                     WALTER               I need you to tell me how to talk to my wife?  When I'm talking                you'll shut your fucking toilet!                                      TONI               (to BRANDON)               Leave.               INT. WALTER AND TONI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               BRANDON comes down the hall.  TONI and WALTER heard yelling through                the office door.  BRANDON hesitates, walks out and --                INT. BRANDON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT               Dim darkness.  A distant siren bleeds in as --                                     WALTER'S VOICE               Brandon... Brandon.               BRANDON'S POV.  His eyes open.  WALTER'S face fills FRAME.                                     WALTER               Wake up.                                     BRANDON               What time is it?                                     WALTER               Five in the morning.  Listen, I gotta fly to Vegas to meet with                some clients.  Hand holding thing.  Keep 'em on board for the                final game.  Because you can do this thing, Brandon.  End of                the season's the perfect place to turn this streak around.  I'll                be back to you out to dinner.  Get you back in the groove.  9:30.                 Nobu. Gotta catch my flight.  See you tonight.  Look sharp.                 We're turning it around.                WALTER backs out, kills the lights.  Darkness returns and --                               INT. NOBU - NIGHT               BRANDON alone at a table, sipping a sake when TONI, evening dress,                sits next to him.                                      BRANDON               Hey, I didn't know you were coming.                                     TONI               Walter was delayed, he's coming back in the morning.  Asked if                I'd fill in.                                        BRANDON               (processing this)               That's funny, he didn't call me.  You look great.               TONI silent.               BRAndon               You okay?                                     TONI               Julia did her ballet recital today.  God she was beautiful.                                                     BRANDON               She is.               TONi               ... He's betting again.                 BRANDON regards her.                                     TONI               I can't believe I'm here again.  I saw it coming.  I just...                I just couldn't stop it.                                      BRANDON               Nobody could.                                     TONI               He won't stop on his own.  He can't.                                     BRANDON               I gotta win one more game.                                     TONI               You can't fix this, Brandon.               BRANDOn               After Sunday's game I'm taking off...               EXT. BROWNSTONE STEPS - NIGHT               A cab pulls up.  BRANDON and TONI emerge.  BRANDON looks around                as they start up the steps.  Both reach for their keys, regard                one another.                                      BRANDON               It's still early.  Come in for a while.                                     TONI               I don't think so.                She leans in to kiss him on the cheek and -- BRANDON suddenly                shifts.  Their lips meet.  A casual goodbye suddenly grows in                intensity as neither tries to part.  Seconds ticking by.  Things                getting heated.  TONI tries to pull away.                                      TONI               Brandon--               BRANDON comes close, whispers something.  He unlocks the door.                She hesitates before BRANDON takes her hand, leads her into his                dark apartment and --                EXT. BROOKLYN BRIDGE - SAME TIME               A cold wind blows off the river.  Whips through the cables of                the span.  A match flares.  WALTER'S face is lit briefly by the                flame.  He stands on the bridge walkway, looking down at the                brownstone and --                                      DISSOLVE TO               EXT. WALTER AND TONI'S APARTMENT - DAY               Gray, winter day.  View of a snow-covered window sill --                INT. WALTER AND TONI'S APARTMENT - DAY               WALTER'S FACE fills a shaky HOME VIDEO VIEWFINDER, video coming                close to show WALTER opening a book-size present -- removing                a beautifully framed photo of TONI and JULIA.                                         WALTER               Look at that.  With the leaves and all.  This goes on my desk.                                 Quick PAN to TONI -- sitting near the fireplace, fire blazing.                                                      TONI               Happy anniversary.               KNOCK at the door --               JULIA vo               I'll get it.               JULIA hands the CAMERA to WALTER.  VIDEO CAMERA view of JULIA                and the puppy running to the door, opening it and --                                      JULIA               Brandon!                                     BRANDON               Hey darlin'.               Walter vo               There he is.  C'mon in.  We're having a little celebration.                 Toni and I were married 12 years ago today.                                           BRANDON               Congratulations, I didn't know.                WALTER vo               Sit down.  I want you to be part of this.                 Okay angel, give Mommy my gift.               WALTER aims the CAMERA as JULIA hands TONI a small gift box.                 TONI opens it, reveals a set of very expensive earrings.                                 Toni               Walter...                WALTER vo               Relax, I had some saved.  Put 'em on, lemme see.                   TONI puts the earrings on.               Walter vo               Beautiful.  God I got good taste.               TONI stares into the CAMERA as WALTER PANS to BRANDON --               WALTER vo               I saw something else, I couldn't help myself.  Here, Brandon                -- for you.                WALTER hands BRANDON a small black case.  BRANDON unsure, looks                at TONI, opens it -- produces a very expensive watch.                WALTER vo               It's a Chopard.  Designed for car racing.  Guy won six times                at LeMans wearing it.       Put it on, maybe you'll start winning.                                                      BRANDON               I can't take this.               WALTER vo               Why not?                                     BRANDON               It's too much.               WALTER vo               For what?  You're family, Brandon.  We all love each other, right?                 I'm like a father, you're like my son -- gee, sorry Toni, but                I guess that makes you his mother.                WALTER PANS to TONI, staring at the fire.  Strained silence.                               WALTER vo               What?  Somebody fart or something?               TONI starts taking off the earrings.               WALTER vo               Leave 'em on.                                     TONI               They're for evening.               WALTER vo               Good, wear 'em to bed tonight.               (VIDEO CAMERA back on BRANDON)                Who do you think'll win the big game?                                      BRANDON               Turn it off.               WALTEr/still taping               Better yet, don't say anything.  Surprise me.  We'll break it                when we do the live show.  Take your time, Brandon.  Enjoy yourself.                 Give Walter a smile.                WALTER ZOOMS IN -- BRANDON staring back at us and --               EXT. TIMES SQUARE NEWS STAND - DAY               BRANDON loads up on newspapers and sports magazines and --               INT. BRANDON'S APARTMENT - DAY               BRANDON surrounded by a sea of sports pages, comentary, ratings.                 He looks up at a blaring TV and --                THE TV FILLS FRAME -- TIME CUT as various sports shows come on                 back-to-back -- each providing a wealth of competing Superbowl                predictions and analysis.                  CAMERA TIGHTENS ON THE SCREEN AND WE SEE, for every hopped-up                SPORTSCASTER who picks Denver, an equally assured COUNTERPART                chooses New York.  One after another.  No consensus at all. Airwaves                awash in past-season stats -- regular season stats -- post-season                stats -- all of it blending into an overwhelming, mind-numbing,                jarring blather of pure disagreement and --                   INT. TV PRODUCTION STUDIO BATHROOM - NIGHT               BRANDON, suit and tie, splashes water on his face, stares at                himself in the mirror.  He pulls reams of stats and newspaper                reports from his pocket, regards the Superbowl pick sheet.  Blank                space for the winner.  Blank space for the over/under.  BRANDON                fumbling with his sheets of data, desperately searching for an                answer when he suddenly hurls it all in the trash.  Kicks the                can.  Kicks it again.                                        TECHNICIAN'S VOICE               60 seconds till we go live, Mr. Anthony!               BRANDON looks over.  The unfinished pick sheet lies crumpled                by the toilet.  He smooths it.  Pulls a coin.                                      BRANDON               Heads, New York.  Tails Denver.               He flips the coin.  Palms it.  Heads.  BRANDON checks the box.                                                     BRANDON               Heads, over.  Tails, under.               BRANDON flips again, lets the coin hit the floor, watches it                spin, slowly come to a stop, drop to its side and --                INT. TV PRODUCTION STUDIO - NIGHT               BRANDON sits at the set.  Looks over at CHUCK, in his own world,                working something from his teeth.  BRANDON Slides the pick sheet                to WALTER.                                      TECHNICIAN               Ten seconds!                                     BRANDON               Wanna know about the picks?                                     WALTER               New York minus the two-and-a-half points and the over, what should                I know?                                      BRANDON               I flipped a coin to decide.                                     TECHNICIAN               Five, four, three, two, one --                                     WALTER               Hello everybody and welcome to the big weekend!  John Anthony's                just given me tremendous news about his assessment!  Let me say                to all of you who've used our service and those of you thinking                of using it for the first time -- never before in the history                of this industry has an offer been made like the one I'm about                to present to you now!  I am so confident of John Anthony's picks                for this Sunday, so sure of the skills he's brought to bear and                so anxious to get you on the phone and dialing the toll free                number on your screen that for the first time in sports service                history I will guarantee our picks this weekend!  What's that                mean?  Tell us how much you're betting with your bookie.  You                lose, we cover!  That's right!  Risk free!  Lock Of The Millenium!                 Now let's go to the oracle, God's gift -- John Anthony!                BRANDON'S face fills the monitor.  Completely off-guard.                                     BRANDON               ... Wow.  What an offer.  The phones'll be flooded.                                     WALTER               We're that sure!  John, rundown the pitfalls facing the average                bettor.  I mean a game this huge, all the added dynamics, without                your expertise most bettors might as well just... flip a coin,                am I right?                                      BRANDON               (tapping into it)               That's right, Walter!  Last game of the year ladies and gentlemen!                 Come Sunday you're either ending the season a winner or a loser!                 It's crunch time!  The last action on the way out the door!                 And I am absolutely, 1000-percent sure that I, John Anthony,                will end the season ahead of the game!                EXT. TV PRODUCTION STUDIO - NIGHT               The studio doors open.  WALTER exits.  BRANDON right beside.                                                     BRANDON               You can't guarantee they'll win!  It's insane!                                     WALTER               You think?  Well I say if you can flip a coin to pick, I can                guarantee the game!                                      BRANDON               What if you lose?                                     WALTER               Fuck it, I'm ruined anyway.                                     BRANDON               At least cap it out!                                     WALTER               (turning to him)               Can't you feel it, Brandon?                                        BRANDON               I don't know what you're talking about.                                     WALTER               I think you do.  The best part of the best drug in the world                isn't the high.                The best part is the time just before you take it!  The dice                are dancing on the                table.  Between now when they stop -- that's the greatest high                in the world!                INT. SALES OFFICE - DAY               Mayhem.  Loud and crowded.  They can't answer the phones fast                enough.  A big screen TV is set up in front.  The Superbowl pre-game                show is seen coming to an end.  SALESMEN machine-gun last minute                calls.  Scribble like mad.                Southie               Win, we get a piece!  Lose, we cover!  It ain't rocket science!                 Take New York minus two and the over!  42 points!  It's an iron-clad                lock!  How much you betting with your book?                                      HERBIE               Our reputation's the guarantee!  28 years in the business, we're                not going anywhere!  Bet this game big!                (yelling toward the windows)               Can we please get some air in here!               INT. BRANDON'S OFFICE - DAY               BRANDON, suit and tie, looks through the glass at the feeding                frenzy.  He closes the blinds.  Goes to the closet.  Hangs up                his jacket.  Removes his tie and --                INT. SALES OFFICE - NIGHT               Kick-off is seconds away.  WALTER and the SALES STAFF gather                around the set, turn up the sound.                                      1ST TV ANNOUNCER               New York wins the toss and elects to receive.                                     2ND ANNOUNCER               Some bettor somewhere just made some money.                                     WALTER               That's it!  No more calls!  Kill the phones!  Kill 'em now --                right now!                The ringing stops.  All eyes on game as the two teams line up                for kick-off.  WALTER before the tv.  Laughing with SALESMEN.                                INT. BRANDON'S OFFICE - SAME TIME - NIGHT               TONI alone.  View across the hall into the office.  BRANDON enters,                wearing his UNLV jacket and faded jeans.                                      TONI               (to BRANDON, re: WALTER)               Look at him.  Dead man walking, should be getting last rites.                 Hours away from losing everything, but Walter -- he's having                the time of his life.                                      BRANDON               Maybe he thinks he already did lose everything.               WALL OF TVS, the ball's kicked and the game begins -- the SALESROOM                explodes in cheers after a good play -- PLAYERS collide -- a                fumble bounces across the field -- SALESMEN clamber atop desks                for a better view -- WALTER in agony after an interception, a                moment later elated when a flag brings the play back -- the score                board FILLS FRAME, New York trails 14/7 at the half and --                               PULL BACK TO SHOW -- the tension level in the room is suddenly                suspended.  We're in the eye of the storm.  WALTER like a fighter                between rounds.  BRANDON appears.                                      WALTER               Hold onto that coin you flipped.  Game keeps up like this I'll                have to borrow it.                                      BRANDON               It's not over yet, Walter.  I wouldn't change my bet.               INT. BRANDON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT               BRANDON packs things into a duffel bag.  The Superbowl's on tv.                 The sound's off.  Play's resumed.  BRANDON removes the watch.                 Sets it on a nightstand beside an envelope and the Mercedes                keys.  Picks up a plane ticket and --                EXT. BROWNSTONE - NIGHT               BRANDON comes down the steps, carrying his bag, dressed the same                as the day he came.  BRANDON starts down the sidewalk.  Flags                a cab.  It stops.  He opens the door, about to get in when a                cheer from the SALES ROOM makes him look up and --                POV BRANDON -- TONI looks down from a window.  Frozen beat.                 She turns away.  BRANDON climbs in the cab, drives off and --                               INT. SALES OFFICE - NIGHT               Fourth quarter.  Superbowl blaring from the tv.  New York's driving.                 Minutes left.  The SALES STAFF are screaming at the set, climbing                over each other to get a better view and New York suddenly scores                and the room erupts and WALTER'S right in the middle of it, looks                around --                                      WALTER               Where the hell's Brandon?               INT. BRANDON'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               The door's ajar.  WALTER rushes in.                                     WALTER               You're missing the game!  We're back in it!  A New York touchdown                and we win both bets!                Walter walks back to the bedroom.  The tv's on.  WALTER pauses                to watch another play, about to leave when he spies the Rolex                on the nightstand, envelope beside it.  WALTER picks up the letter.                 Sees his name on the outside.  He opens it, reads. TONI appears                in the BG.  WALTER turns.                                      WALTER               ... He left.                                     TONI               I know.                                     WALTER               And you didn't you tell me?                                     TONI               He asked me not to.                                     WALTER               Just like that?  No goodbye?                                     TONI               I'm sure it's in the letter.                                     WALTER               I'm sure it is... I wonder what's not in here?                                     TONI               What do you mean?                                     WALTER               What do you mean, what do I mean?  When it comes to Brandon you                seem to have all the answers.                                      TONI               He had enough.  He wanted his life back.                                     WALTER               He said that to you?                                     TONI               Yeah, loud and clear, by leaving.                                     WALTER               I think it's something else.                                     TONI               Yeah, tell me.                                     WALTER               You know.                                     TONI               No.               ON -- the TV.  New York's driving.  Game reaching a head.  A                clock in the corner counts down the final two minutes.                                      WALTER               You have no idea, huh?                                     TONI               You're missing the game.                                     WALTER               No I'm not.  This is the game.               INT. JFK AIRLINE TERMINAL - NIGHT               BRANDON travels down an escalator and --               INT. BRANDON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                TONI at the door.  WALTER approaches.                                     WALTER               Something was bothering him.  I mean sure, maybe he was homesick.                 Or I was thinking maybe he had such, you know, deep feelings                for me he couldn't face saying goodbye.  What a minute.  I just                                thought of something.  Just came to me.  Out of the blue.  What                about this?  Maybe Brandon left without telling me because --                               (full volume, in her face)               You let him fuck you!               ON -- TV.  A New York RECEIVER catches a long bomb.  Nailed at                the 20.  Clock down to a minute 30.  No time to huddle and --                                                     WALTER               Do you deny it?                                     TONI               Do I have to?                                     WALTER               I know you did!                                       TONI               Really?  Another "lock of the year?"                                     WALTER               I saw you, Toni!  I saw you go into his room that night!  This                room!  With him!  I never went to Vegas!                INT. JFK AIRLINE TERMINAL - NIGHT                 BRANDON walks through FRAME.  PASSENGERS rush for flights and--                               INT. BRANDON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                 TONI and WALTER in the middle of it --                                     TONI               You mean you lied to me about the trip!                                     WALTER               Don't talk to me about lying!                                     TONI               I guess you had the whole thing planned?                                     WALTER               Don't make this about me!                                     TONI               Put me out there on a tray!                                     WALTER               Yeah, I put the tray out there -- but you didn't have to shove                an apple in your mouth and jump on it!  On him!                ON -- New York throws a pass.  Blocked.  45 seconds left --                                                     WALTER               Admit it!                                     TONI               You played me!                                     WALTER               You're damn right I did!                                     TONI               ... Brandon was right.  Son of a bitch!                                     WALTER               You don't deny it!                                     TONI               Best pick he ever made.                                     WALTER               What the hell are you talking about?               INT. JFK AIRPORT BAR - NIGHT               PASSENGERS watch the Superbowl on a tv over the bar.  Final seconds.                 BRANDON appears.  Stands outside.  CROWD of people around the                set, it looks like the last play and --                INT. BRANDON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                TONI before WALTER.  Inches away --                                     TONI               You were gambling with me that night, Walter.  Brandon knew it.                 Knew you.  He told me he was sure you were watching somehow.                 So he asked me in to spend the night, put on a show.  I didn't                believe him -- I mean after all we've been through -- but I figured                what the hell.                                                     Toni con'd               He slipped out the back,                                                                          TONI CON'D               didn't even stay here.  And you... you were in such a good mood                the next day.  I figured he must have been wrong.  Otherwise                why wouldn't you confront us?  Confront me?                CLOSE ON -- TV.  Last play.  No time left.  The New York QUARTERBACK                drops back, about to be sacked, starts to run --                INT. SALESROOM - NIGHT               The room's at fever pitch, everyone screaming at the TV and --                                INT. BRANDON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT                WALTER still as a statue.  Game in the BG.  TONI rolling --                                                     TONI               And now I find out you've been thinking ever since then that                we did sleep together?  Living with it like that?  Looking at                me like that?  You sick fuck!  You wanted to lose!  You set us                up!  Like I was something you just toss on the table!  Only we                booked your bet, Walter!                Brandon and me.  The two of us, who evidentally love you more                than you love yourself.  Your fantasy's to end up alone with                nothing!  Well I won't let that happen to you!  Understand?                 I will never let that happen!  This is it!  We're all we have,                Walter!  All we're ever gonna have!  You and me, we're all that's                real!                WALTER stands there, staring at her.  Tears streaming down his                face and --                INT. JFK AIRPORT BAR - NIGHT               CAMERA on the tv.  Blaring the game.  Bar going crazy as the                New York QUARTERBACK runs for the end zone.  Juking LINEMEN.                 Dodging tackles.  Nearing the goal.  A last-second block clears                a lane and the QUARTERBACK barrels by, dives -- a hit -- a fumble                on the goal line -- a beat -- a replay -- a REFEREE signaling                a touchdown -- and the game's over -- and New York has won, but                more importantly they've covered the spread and --                BRANDON walks down the corridor, his cell rings.  Answering --                                                       BRANDON               It's me.                                     BRANDON'S DAD               Hello, Brandon?                                     BRANDON               Hey, hey the big winner.  What's going on?                                     BRANDON'S DAD               Nothing much... the usual.                                     BRANDON               C'mon, I know it's rough, it's supposed to be.  A friend turned                me on to the place.  She said it's the best.                                      BRANDON'S DAD               Where are you headed?                                     BRANDON               I don't know, but I got an airport full of planes to choose from.                                                      BRANDON'S DAD               Does your mom know I'm in rehab?                                     BRANDON               Yeah, I told her.                                      BRANDON'S DAD               Great pick on New York.  It's like I always said, you don't bet                quarterbacks and receivers--                                       BRANDON               (finishing his words)               --You bet the offensive line.  I remember.  That's exactly what                I was thinking about, pop.                                      BRANDON'S DAD               (excitement creeping in)               No kidding!  Wow.  Helluva game, huh?  Boy, that opening drive                was a beaut, the way they drove like that, six first downs --                you shoulda seen me, Brandon -- I'm screaming at the tv...                               BRANDON smiles as he listens to his DAD talk.  The loud sound                of a jet taking off fills the terminal as BRANDON walks down                the corridor and --                                      DISSOLVE TO               ext. Elementary school playground - day               A dozen 9-year-old PEE-WEE FOOTBALL PLAYERS, barely able to move                in over-sized gear, are lined for practice.  BRANDON, coach's                whistle, faces them.                                      BRANDON               We're up against a tough team today, toughest on our schedule.                 But you're ready for it.  You're prepared.  Most important I                want you to go out there and have some fun.  Enjoy yourselves.                 Keep it loose.  Because you can't make me any more proud of                you than I already am.  Team cheer, bring it in --                The KIDS gather close, thrust their hands in the center --               Thunderbirds!                                     BRANDON               Go get 'em!               The KIDS scramble across the field, other TEAM seen suited and                ready.  PARENTS on the sideline.  One of BRANDON'S tiny TEAMMATES                hangs back, approaches BRANDON.                                      TEAMMATE               You really think we can win today, Coach?                                     BRANDON               ... I'd bet on it.               BRANDON drapes an arm over the KID, walks him to the game --                               CAMERA lifting higher --               And higher --               And that's it.               FADE OUT               THE END
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+unbreakable october.eighth.ninety-nine written by m.night.shyamalanINT. CLOTHING STORE - AFTERNOONWomen's casual wear department. J.C. Penny.Legend "1961"An African-American man carrying two J.C. Penny shopping bags is ushered past thedepartment store managers and security guards on walkies that have gathered atthe entrance to the woman's dressing rooms. CUT TO:INT. DRESSING ROOM - AFTERNOONA bed has been formed by a chair and three benches.A STRIKING AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN in her twenties lays across it. Her face andclothes are covered in sweat. Her skirt is stained.She holds something wrapped in a soft sweatshirt on her chest. We can't see it,but WE HEAR THE BABY CRYING.She's just given birth.There are three frazzled saleswomen in the dressing room with her. They watch herwith quiet smiles.A fourth SALESWOMAN arrives ushering in the man with the shopping bags. SALESWOMAN This is Mr. Mathison. He's a doctor.DR. MATHISON looks over the scene and then directly at the striking woman. DR. MATHISON You okay?The woman nods, "Yes." Sweat trickles down her face. THE BABY'S PIERCING CRIESECHO IN THE SMALL ROOM. SALESWOMAN An ambulance is on the way.Dr. Mathison puts down his shopping bags and moves to her. He kneels down andgestures for the bundle of sweatshirts in her arms. DR. MATHISON Is there a name yet?Beat. The woman smiles for the first time. WOMAN Elijah.She hands him the wrapped child. We can't see the baby, but THE PIERCING CRIESSEEM TO GET LOUDER. WOMAN Is he supposed to be crying like that?The doctor lowers the baby to his lap and unwraps him.The woman can't see her baby anymore. She watches Dr. Mathison as he looks downand examines her child. Beat. Dr. Mathison doesn't look up for the longest time. WOMAN Can I have him back?THE BABY'S CRYING IS RELENTLESS. UNNERVING. Beat.The doctor finally glances up. He looks shaken. He makes eye contact with thewoman for only a second. It's enough. A chill goes through her body.He looks to the three saleswomen who were in the room. DR. MATHISON What happened during the delivery?His hard stare unsettles the women. The OLDER SALESWOMAN speaks up. OLDER SALESWOMAN Nothing. It was very quick. The baby just wanted to come right out. There was no problems. DR. MATHISON Did you drop him?Everyone becomes very still. The mother looks like she stopped breathing. THEBABY'S SCREAMING ENGULFS THE ROOM. DR. MATHISON Did you drop this baby?Beat. OLDER SALESWOMAN Jesus Christ, no.The BABY SCREAMS.The doctor whispers something to himself, we can't hear. He looks up to thesaleswoman who brought him in. DR. MATHISON Please inform the ambulance we have a situation...Dr. Mathison turns back to the mother. Beat. DR. MATHISON I've never seen this... It appears your infant sustained some fractures while in your uterus. (beat) His arms and legs are broken. FADE TO BLACK:EXT. TRAIN STATION NEW JERSEY - DAYLEGEND "PRESENT DAY"A fountain of humanity bubbles up from the escalators to the train platform.Businessmen take their last desperate drags of their cigarettes... Womentraveling with children herd their luggage and offspring into tight shapes asthey move... College students with backpacks look around dazed at the varioustrack numbers. ANNOUNCER(o.s.) Last call track three, Amtrak Clocker making it's final stop at Philadelphia's thirtieth street station. First two passenger cars only. First two cars only.A face inside the train watches the stream of passengers emerging from theescalators. DAVID DUNNE, a man in his early forties, rest his temple against theglass and quietly observes the movement outside.The train starts to pull out. CUT TO:INT. PASSENGER CAR - DAYDavid sits with his coat on his lap. He's wearing a tie. He doesn't look verycomfortable in it.He feels a stare. He looks up to find a girl, six or seven years old, peering athim from over the seat in front of him. She just gazes at him blankly.He gives her a small forced smile. She doesn't react. David returns his head tothe window.His eyes begin to shut with the lulling movement of the train. WOMAN(o.s.) You alone?David looks in the direction of THE VOICE. A WOMAN with dark hair and light blueeyes stands in the aisle with two bags over her shoulder. She's wearing a tightwhite t-shirt and jeans. She's beautiful.David nods "yes."The woman starts putting her bags on the shelf above the seats. She stretches toget them up. Her toned stomach is exposed. She has a silver ring pierced throughher navel.David has a gold ring on his hand. He fiddles with it. Beat. He gently slips offhis wedding band. It goes into his coat pocket.The woman takes the seat next to him.Beat. A LOUD VIOLENT BURST OF SOUND. The passenger car shakes as a passingtrain barrels by two feet from David's window. It passes in a few seconds. Thecar returns to a QUIET HUM.David pulls a magazine out from the seat pocket in front of him.He holds the woman's fashion magazine out. DAVID Someone left these. You want one?The woman looks over the one being offered and then points to the SportsIllustrated peeking out of the seat pocket.David pulls the magazine out and gives it to her. DAVID You like sports? WOMAN It's my field. I represent athletes. I'm an agent. DAVID What a coincidence? I'm a male synchronized swimmer and I'm looking for representation. WOMAN(smiling) Is that right? DAVID But I'm afraid of water, so that's been holding my career back a little bit.The woman laughs. DAVID You represent someone in Philadelphia? WOMAN I'm meeting a player from Temple University. He's a cornerback. You like football?Beat. DAVID Not really. WOMAN This kid is six foot two, two hundred and forty pounds. He runs the fifty in under six seconds. He's going to be a God.Beat. David studies the excitement in her eyes.ANOTHER LOUD VIOLENT BURST OF SOUND. David waits till the opposing train passes.The woman goes back to her magazine. Beat. DAVID I'm David Dunne.The woman looks up. WOMAN Kelly.She goes back to the magazine.Beat. DAVID How long are you staying in Philly?KELLY looks up from her Sports Illustrated. Her striking blue eyes gaze at David.Beat.She holds up her hand. Taps the diamond ring on her finger. KELLY(soft) I'm married. DAVID(fake excitement) Great.Beat. KELLY Sorry. DAVID(fake confusion) What are you talking about?An awkward silence. DAVID I think you got the wrong idea.The woman stares at David. She looks down. Beat. Closes the magazine. KELLY I'm going to find another seat.Kelly gets up. She balances herself against a headrest as the train rumbles. Shestarts to the back of the car.David sits alone. He looks like he's drowning, but there's no water.He feels a stare. He glances up. The little girl spies on him from between theseats.David leans towards the window to avoid eye contact. His hand reaches into hiscoat and slides out his wedding band. He puts it back on.His temple touches the glass. The vibration of the train begins to lull his eyesclosed... Beat.David's head bounces lightly against the window.The shaking of the glass never allows David's eyes to completely close.He sits up when he realizes the shaking is getting stronger.He looks out the window. The scenery blurs as it flies by. Beat.David turns. Some of the other passengers start to react as they realize thetrain is picking up speed.The normal bumps of the tracks become amplified.The WORRIED VOICES OF THE TRAVELERS START FILL THE CABIN.The train goes faster.AND THEN THE HIGH PITCHED METAL ON METAL SCREECHING STARTS AS THE TRAIN BEGINS TOTAKE A CURVE.David's eyes move to the seat in front of him. The little girl is no longerwatching him.DAVID LOOKS TO THE PASSENGERS ACROSS FROM HIM. He sees the ground slowly dropaway in the windows behind them as THEIR SIDE OF THE TRAIN STARTS TO RISE...THE PASSENGERS SCREAM AS THE AMTRAK PASSENGER TRAIN BEGINS TO TILT OFF THETRACK... CUT TO:INT. FAMILY ROOM - AFTERNOONA boy, age ten, sits on his head on the family couch and watches televisionupside down. His floppy brown hair spreads out in a circle in front of his redface. He changes channels with a remote control.He moves past the upside down cartoons and the upside down talk shows. He stopson an upside down picture of a crashed train. Beat.His knees come forward as he flips over. He tumbles slowly off the couch and ontothe carpet. JEREMY DUNNE gazes at the television screen... A LIVE AERIAL VIEW OFA TRAIN WRECK SMOULDERING BELOW IS SEEN. Two trains are tangled like snakes.Jeremy gets up and moves to a small table with a phone. Next to the phone is anotepad. On it is written..."Dad - Amtrak 177 - 3:40pm."Jeremy looks at the television. At the bottom of the screen in red block lettersthat move from right to left are words and numbers..."The 3:40 Amtrak 177 hasderailed... Amtrak Emergency number is 1-800-777-4322... The 3:40 Amtrak 177 hasderailed...Amtrak"Jeremy doesn't take his eyes off the screen. He makes a small desperate noisethat no one hears. CUT TO:INT. PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTER - LATE AFTERNOONAn elderly woman can't hold back any longer and SCREAMS. An embarrassed, torturedhelpless scream.MEGAN DUNNE continues applying pressure to her arm which is being pushed back asfar as it will go.She counts to three and eases off. She lays her arm back in her lap.WE ARE IN A PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTER. About a dozen people are on specializedweight machines.The elderly woman is seated on an exercise table and breathes slowly. MEGAN You okay, Virginia?Beat. VIRGINIA shakes her head, "No." MEGAN I'll put something on the t.v. Maybe we'll find some almost naked guys to inspire you.Megan reaches up to the t.v. monitor mounted on the wall. She turns it on andstarts flipping channels. She stops on ESPN where a swimming meet is underway.Men in bikini swimsuits line the edges of the pool.Virginia starts watching with great interest.Megan's eyes move to the tiny print moving across the bottom of the screen. Herface goes still as she reads the train number... 177. CUT TO:INT. EMERGENCY ROOM - AFTERNOONDAVID DUNNE'S EYES SLOWLY OPEN. THE DULL WHITE OF THE OVERHEAD TUBE LIGHTINGBLINDS HIM AT FIRST.He blinks his vision back. He realizes he's in a bed.WE HEAR AGITATED VOICES, MOVEMENT.David looks around. He's in an emergency room. There are a half dozen prep areasand beds next to him. They're all empty.DAVID FOLLOWS THE URGENT SOUNDS OF ACTIVITY TO A PREP AREA DIRECTLY ACROSS FROMHIM.He can only see glimpses of activity through the drawn curtain. A group ofemergency room personnel are treating a man whose body is twitching violently ona gurney.One of the group is a man who glances through the opening in the curtain. Henotices David sitting up from across the room.THE MAN IN SCRUBS leaves the group and walks over. MAN IN SCRUBS How are you feeling? DAVID Okay.He FLASHES A LIGHT in David's eyes. MAN IN SCRUBS You are in the emergency room of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. You were in a serious accident. (beat) How's your vision? DAVID Fine.David stares across as the scene with the other patients becomes more frantic anddisturbing. MAN IN SCRUBS Where were you sitting on the train? DAVID Against a window. MAN IN SCRUBS In the passenger car? DAVID Yes. Where are the rest of the passengers? MAN IN SCRUBS Was your family traveling with you? DAVID No. MAN IN SCRUBS Did you get up from your seat? DAVID No.David watches the other patient. MAN IN SCRUBS You're certain you were in the passenger car?David turns to the man. DAVID Yes... Why are you looking at me like that?Beat. MAN IN SCRUBS Your train derailed... Some kind of malfunction... It took a curve way to fast. A second train collided with yours after it derailed. The debris is spread over one mile. It's unbelievable they said. (beat) They only found two people alive so far... You and him.David looks to the other passenger now laying unnaturally still in the desperatewhirlwind of activity around him. MAN IN SCRUBS The man's skull was cracked open and most of his left side was crushed.Beat. MAN IN SCRUBS And to answer your question, there are two reasons why I'm looking at you like this.David turns and stares at the man. MAN IN SCRUBS One, because it seems, in a few minutes, you will officially be the only survivor of this train wreck. (beat) And two, because you don't have a scratch on you. You didn't break one bone. CUT TO:INT. EMERGENCY RECEPTION AREA - EVENINGDavid moves through the depressing milky corridors of the hospital. He opens aset of double doors.A room crammed with cameras and photographers explodes with movement.A CHILD'S VOICE BREAKS THEIR NOISE. JEREMY I told you!Jeremy Dunne pushes forward through the mob of people and cameras. He bursts outand runs to David. He wraps his arms around David's waist. David just standsthere, aware that the cameras are catching it all. He's overwhelmed.Hospital staff and a couple police officers push the media back.Jeremy tugs David to lean down. He does. JEREMY They thought everybody on the train died.David looks at his son's face. Wipes the tears on his cheek. JEREMY I told them they were wrong.A woman moves to them. David stands up and faces Megan Dunne. JEREMY Mom even cried.David looks at Megan's eyes. JEREMY A lot.Megan looks away. MEGAN Not a lot.They stand there for a moment. David looks shaken. Jeremy takes hold of his hand. JEREMY Let's go home.Megan nods. They move to the exit. The pack of cameras and reporters burst tolife as they leave the building. They jockey for position to get a last glimpseof David Dunne. CUT TO:INT. KITCHEN - NIGHTDavid eats a bowl of pasta alone in a modest kitchen. He stares at his hand.Opens and closes it slowly. Beat.He rises and puts the bowl away in the sink.INT. FRONT HALL - NIGHTDavid stops just before rising the stairs. He glances into a bedroom at thebottom of the stairs. The doorway is half open. He makes eye contact with hiswife. Beat. DAVID I don't think I got the job in New York. MEGAN What does that mean? DAVID I'm still going to New York. Just not this second. MEGAN I don't want to drag this out too long for Jeremy. DAVID I know.Beat. DAVID How about in the meantime, you don't sleep in the guestroom anymore? (beat) You sleep in our room. I'll sleep down here.Beat. MEGAN It stopped being our room a long time ago. (beat) You should go up and get some rest.Beat. Megan slowly closes the door to the guest bedroom. CUT TO:INT. BEDROOM - NIGHTDavid looks at his son asleep in his bed. DAVID Jeremy, why don't you go sleep with your mom? JEREMY(eyes closed) I want to sleep here tonight. DAVID I think it's be better if I was alone. JEREMY(eyes closed) I won't make any noise. DAVID How about your room then? If you get scared like before, you can come back in here?Beat. Jeremy doesn't answer because he's asleep. David rubs his forehead and getsup. He turns on the t.v., low volume, as he moves into the bathroom. CUT TO:INT. BATHROOM - NIGHTHot water rushes over David's face as he stands in the shower. His attention isdrawn to the t.v. which is seen through the slightly open bathroom door.He turns off the water to HEAR. NEWS ANCHOR(t.v.) ...Derailed approximately seven and half miles outside Philadelphia. It came to rest on its side on the northbound tracks. It is train officials belief that some if not most of the passengers were still alive at this time. NEWS ANCHOR(t.v.) The momentary peace lasted only a few seconds. A Boston bound freight train on the northbound tracks was seconds away from passing train 177 when it derailed. The impact happened at about three-fifteen p.m. The first of the two occupied passenger cars was severed in half and sent careening in two directions. The second of the passenger cars was crushed and dragged for four hundred feet. Six crew members were on the freight. One hundred and eighteen passengers and seven crew members were on the passenger train... There is one reported survivor. (beat) Rescue teams will be working for the next forty-eight hours removing bodies and debris.David steps out of the shower. He sees a glimpse of Jeremy asleep in bed. Davidshuts the door. Locks it.He gets back into the shower and turns the water back on.He closes his eyes. His face tightens up. He slowly hunches down and takes a seaton the tiled floor of the shower. Water pours over him. Beat.His muscular body begins to shake. Then we realize he's crying. FADE TO BLACK:EXT. FAIR - DAYLEGEND "1969"A hazy afternoon. A fair has come into town. They have set up in the vast parkinglot of the local high school.A line of women has formed in front of the portable bathrooms.The striking African American woman we saw giving birth is now standing in line.She is older and somehow more beautiful.She stands with a skinny, almost ethereal looking African American boy. The boywears a metal brace on his leg. THE EIGHT YEAR OLD ELIJAH holds two oversizedstuffed animals in his arms. He looks back over his shoulder as THE SOUND OFVOICES YELLING IN EXCITEMENT FILL THE AIR. His eyes dance over the many colorfulrides in the parking lot.The door opens to one of the portable bathrooms. A woman steps out.Elijah's mother touches his head and enters the three foot square plasticbathroom. She turns back and gives him a look. MOTHER We'll play the water pistol game next.Elijah nods, "Yes" happily.The mother closes the cubicle door. Elijah is left alone amongst the line ofwomen. They stare at him blankly. Their eyes moves over his leg brace. Elijahdoesn't like it. He moves away from the line.A CRESCENDO OF CHEERS RISES IN THE AIR FROM SOMEWHERE IN THE FAIR. Elijah followsthe voices. He carries the stuffed animals through the crowds of people. CLICK.CLICK. CLICK. His metal brace sounds as he walks.For a moment, he sees nothing but bodies all around him.He emerges amongst a huddle of teenagers who wait at a turnstile.A man in a red and white striped coat takes their tickets and waves them in.Elijah looks up and sees the sign above the turnstile... "The Hurricane."He watches the teenagers giggle as they each into a grey cup-like seat. They pullthe metal bars down in front of them.The man in the red and white stripes leaves the turnstile.Elijah stares up at the multi-colored sign. Beat. He moves quickly. Ducks underthe turnstile and climbs onto the platform.Elijah finds and empty circular seat. He slips inside the gray metal compartmentand sits. He pulls down the rusted metal bar in front of him.He looks around at all the excited faces. His eyes fill with excitement too.His small hands feel the cold metal of the interior of the compartment. Hisexpression changes.Elijah looks to the stuffed animals in his arms. He presses them to check theirsoftness. He places the stuffed animals on either side of him on the seat. He'swedged in between them. Feels good.He reaches out and touches the hard rusted metal bar in front of him. Elijahlooks a little anxious. Beat.He pulls off his sweater and wraps it around the bar. It goes around twice beforehe ties the arms together. He checks its softness.Elijah looks around the customized cup-like compartment he sits in. He smiles aneight year old smile of pride.AND THEN HE HEARS HIS MOTHER'S VOICE.He searches around and finds her walking in the waves of people. He hears hercalling. MOTHER Elijah...She moves in his direction by chance. She finds herself at the entrance to TheHurricane ride. She looks up at the sign above the turnstile. Her worried eyesimmediately start searching the young faces in the gray circular compartments.Her eyes meet Elijah's. He waves. Her face goes very still.A HUGE ROAR OF MACHINERY as the ride starts up.Elijah yells to his mother as the platform starts running. ELIJAH I won't get hurt momma! I'm safe!HIS WORDS GET EATEN UP BY THE CHEERS OF THE TEENAGERS AND THE GRIND OF MACHINERY.The platform spins. He sees a glimpse of his mother and the red and white stripedman. She's pointing at Elijah.The platform turns... Elijah sees a flash of the red and white striped man'sangered face as he yells at the frantic woman next to him.And then the ride speeds up.The gray circular seats start to spin on their own. The teenagers CHEER.Elijah's eyes fill with joy as the wind plays against his face.Suddenly the ride changes directions. The cup-like seats get jerked. Everyonegrabs the metal bars to hold on.Elijah laughs as he smashes into the stuffed animal on his right. It cushions himand then falls to the floor of the compartment along with the other stuffedanimal.Elijah's expression becomes tense as his compartment spins. His hands slide overthe rusted metal bar as the sweater unravels.Elijah looks around... a sudden panic enters his eyes.THE BLURRING IMAGE OF HIS MOTHER NOW IN A GROUP OF RED AND WHITE STRIPED MEN.THE SOUND OF MACHINERY GRINDING IS HEARD as the ride changes directionssuddenly.Elijah's hands rip away from the bar as he gets thrown to the side of thecompartment. His shoulder and arm takes the brunt of the impact. WE HEARSOMETHING CRACK.TEENAGERS SCREAM IN EXCITEMENT. ELIJAH JOINS THEM WITH SCREAMS OF HIS OWN.The ride spins its passengers. Elijah's small face looks up at the swirlingclouds in a mixture of agony and terror.The ride changes directions.Elijah is thrust forward. He hits the rusted metal bar square against his chest.WE HEAR MORE CRACKS.The world spins. Giggles and yells fill the air. Elijah slumps down onto thefloor of the compartment.And then finally, the grind of the machinery slows and then comes to a gradualstop.THE TEENAGERS MOAN.Elijah is facing directly up at the sky. The clouds now move slowly over him.WE HEAR COMMOTION. AGITATED VOICES. HIS MOTHER'S DESPERATE VOICE. MOTHER(o.s.) His bones... He's not well...HER VOICE GETS LOUDER AS SHE MOVES CLOSER TO THE PLATFORM. MOTHER(o.s.) Elijah baby...Then her face appears as she finds the cup-like seat Elijah is in. She begins toscream.Elijah lays on the bottom of the compartment. One arm is clutching his chest. Theother is curved horrifically like an "s". His mouth is open. His eyes arebulging. The last thing we HERE ARE THE SHORT DESPERATE BREATHS of an eight yearold child about to black out from the pain. FADE TO BLACK:PRESENT: EXT. CHURCH - AFTERNOONWE EMERGE FROM BLACK to find news vans and reporters lining the street acrossfrom a church. They have been cordoned off by a handful of police. Mourners arerecorded as they emerge from their cars and enter the church.David is among the arriving crowd. MAN(o.s.) David Dunne!At hearing his name, David turns back as he walks. He can't tell which reportercalled his name because all of them seem to react. A storm of camera movement asthe group jockeys for the best angle of his troubled face.David passes a magnetic board as he enters the church. It reads, "Services forthe families and friends of train 177." CUT TO:INT. CHURCH - AFTERNOONA PRIEST stands before a podium. PRIEST Sarah Elaston, social worker at Broad and Locust Community Center. We pray for your soul. (beat) Kevin Elliott, business man, father of six. We pray for your soul. (beat) Glen Stevens, researcher in the area of Leukemia at Drexel University. We pray for your soul.David sits amongst the mourners in the standing room only church. His eyes driftto a woman two rows ahead of him. She's turned around, looking at him. Her eyesare red from crying.David looks away. His eyes stop on an old man far to his left just a few seatsaway. Father, mother and daughter stare silently.David surveys the entire church... Desperate inconsolable eyes question hisexistence from every direction.David has to look down. PRIEST ...Jennifer Pennyman, third grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary. (beat) We pray for your soul. CUT TO:INT. BACK OF CHURCH - AFTERNOONDavid and the priest who conducted the mass are alone in the mass preparationroom. The priest looks in his fifties, eyes tired, blood shot. DAVID I used to play football in college. In my first year as quarterback, we went on this winning streak. It just went on and on. It didn't matter who we played... I'd always win. (beat) You get superstitious when something like that happens. You give things meaning. Like you wear the same color socks each game or you listen to the same B.B. King song before you leave the apartment. I wouldn't even untie the shoelaces on my cleats. I'd just slip them on and off so nothing would change... I gave things meaning that had no meaning. (beat) I'm here to make sure I'm not making shoelaces into something they're not again. (beat) I was the only person to survive that accident. The only one... It feels like it means something.Beat. PRIEST Are you a religious man, David?David nods, "No."The priest removes the sacred stoll from his around his neck and kisses it beforefolding it carefully. PRIEST Good. Because I'm going to talk to you as a man. Not as a man of the cloth. DAVID Okay.Beat. The priest turns to David. PRIEST It was luck.Beat. DAVID What do you mean? PRIEST Luck... Random... Without meaning.David just sits awkwardly. PRIEST Three years ago, my cousin died on a plane that crashed on take off at Philadelphia International airport. Do you remember that crash?David nods, "Yes." PRIEST I prayed and prayed and finally found some meaning in the event. It gave me peace... And then not quite a year later, an entire family from my parish burned to death in a hotel fire downtown... (beat) Again I prayed. Again I found meaning. (beat) Just two days ago, my nephew rode with you on that train back from New York. He was traveling alone for the first time. PRIEST I'm sorry if I can't react to your survival with the appropriate 'It was the hand of God. It was a miracle.' kind of answer... I'm fresh out of those right now.David is shaken. Beat. DAVID(soft) The metal of the watch I was wearing was crushed like a sledge hammer hit it.Beat. The priest's eyes fill with emotion. PRIEST My twelve year old nephew's neck was broken in four places... What's your point? You were chosen? (beat) I don't think so.The priest turns and continues putting away artifacts from the mass. Silencefills the back room. CUT TO:INT. CHURCH PARKING LOT - LATE AFTERNOONNo cameras greet his exit. No people anywhere.David walks across the now empty parking lot. His car is the only one left.He walks to the driver's side. Pulls out his keys. That's as far as he gets.His eyes catch sight of the GRAY ENVELOPE tucked under the windshield wiper ofhis car.David moves forward and gently pulls it out. His name is typed on the front. Heturns it over. Two embossed words on the back. "Limited Edition"He opens the envelope. One line, handwritten, gazes at him from the gray indexcard.The line reads... "How many days of your life have you been sick?"Nothing else is written.David Dunne looks around the empty parking lot quietly. CUT TO:INT. EMPLOYEE LOCKER ROOM - MORNINGA poorly lit changing room. A row of metallic lockers sits against one wall. Abench splits the room. A brown folding table with Dunkin Donuts boxes and bagelson it is crammed in the corner. A puke colored concrete floor sets the tone.David and three other large men are changing out of their street clothes. Theyall put on the same yellow short sleeve shirts. The same two words are written onall their backs..."Stadium Security"This ritual goes on without a word. CUT TO:INT. MAIN STADIUM CORRIDOR - MORNINGDavid walks along the massive curved wall around the outer rim of the stadium. Ashe passes the different walkways we get glimpses of the enormous and emptysixty-thousand seat football stadium on the inside.David stops at a door marked "PERSONNEL". CUT TO:INT. PERSONNEL OFFICE - MORNINGDavid knocks on the door as he steps into the cramped reception room to thepersonnel office.The SECRETARY, an ancient woman with thick flabby arms never stops typing andnever looks up as she talks. ANCIENT SECRETARY Yes? DAVID Is Noel in? ANCIENT SECRETARY No sir he is not. (beat) I read about you in the paper. DAVID Oh. ANCIENT SECRETARY I was in an accident once too. A horse almost trampled me to death. DAVID Wow. ANCIENT SECRETARY I had to put him down.Beat. DAVID That's a sad story. (beat) Do you think you could ask Noel something for me?The ancient secretary's right hand immediately picks up a pen and positions itover a blank pad. Her left hand keeps typing. She never looks up. ANCIENT SECRETARY Proceed. DAVID Ask if he can check how many sick days I've taken since I've worked here?Beat. ANCIENT SECRETARY Is that the entire message? DAVID Yes. CUT TO:EXT. STADIUM FIELD - AFTERNOONRain falls in sheets in the stadium.David stands at the entrance to a tunnel that empties out onto the field. Hestands in an imposing dark green rain poncho and hood. The poncho almost touchesthe ground. The word 'security' on the back has almost faded away. We can barelysee David's face under the hood.There is a football game in progress on the enormous field. The players seemunusually small. There is no one in the stands. About four hundred people are onthe sidelines of the field watching the players. A soggy limping banner stretchedbehind them declares, "The Pennslvania Elementary School Championships."David's eyes scan the tiny figures on the field. His eyes come rest on a surge ofactivity on the sidelines. Beat.David steps out into the rain. CUT TO:EXT. SIDELINES - AFTERNOONA handful of red faced fathers are yelling at each other. They're in each other'srain soaked faces. The scene feels on the verge of physical violence.David and another security guard jog over. David steps in the middle of the tightcircle. The men stop yelling in the presence of stadium security. Everyone juststands in the rain glaring at each other. Beat. DAVID You know what I think about to calm down? I think about those big fat, hundred and twenty pound turtles that live in the islands. Those suckers never get angry, never get in fights and live longer than all of us and all they do all is sit on the beach and hump other turtles. (beat) Why don't we take a second and think about the turtles?Nobody moves. Rain washes over the agitated faces. A father breaks the moment. FATHER Yeah Jerry why don't you think about the fat ass turtles... Like your fat ass son on the field jeopardizing the rest of our chances at a fucking championship.David tenses. Everyone looks to JERRY. A bald man who stands just a foot away.Jerry nods to himself. Looks like he's going to say something. Instead he lungesforward and smashes a HEADBUTT to the man who spoke to him.David tackles Jerry hard and fast. He drives him into the ground.Blood starts rushing out of the nose of the dazed father who took the headbutt.The other fathers start yelling and pushing each other. The remaining securityguard calls on his walkie for assistance.David keeps Jerry immobilized in a powerful arm and head lock that holds theman's enraged face hard into the wet surface of the field.David's eyes are not on Jerry. They gaze out onto the field where twenty twoelementary school boys have stopped playing and are standing frozen, helmets off,rain washing over their faces. They watch in horror as their parents attack eachother on the sidelines. CUT TO:INT. EMPLOYEE LOCKER ROOM - LATE AFTERNOONDavid is the last one left. He's showered and back in his street clothes. He sitsin the dimly lit room on the bench, lost in his thoughts when the door opens.He turns to find a somewhat pregnant looking man with a tie step in. This isNOEL. DAVID Hey Noel.Beat. He just stares. NOEL Forty dollars.David turns on the bench. DAVID What? NOEL You're getting a forty dollar raise per week... that's it.Silence. NOEL I checked. You were right. You've never taken a sick day. (beat) Five years, no sick days. I get it. You want a raise. You made your point.The room is still. Beat. NOEL All right fifty dollars and that's the god damn limit. (beat) Are we done here?Beat. David nods, "Yes." CUT TO:INT. BEDROOM - NIGHTLIGHTS OUT.David is wide awake in his bed. He glances over. Jeremy is in deep sleep next tohim. CUT TO:INT. GUEST ROOM - NIGHTDavid knocks again quietly. The guest bedroom door opens.Megan looks up at David. She's just woken up. MEGAN(low voice) Is Jeremy okay? DAVID(low voice) He's asleep. MEGAN(low voice) Oh.Beat. They both stand awkwardly for a moment. DAVID(low voice) I wanted to ask you a question. It'll sound strange, but just think about it for a second.Megan nods, "Yes." DAVID(low voice) When's the last time I was sick? You remember?Megan tries to mask her reaction to the oddness of the question. Beat. MEGAN(low voice) I don't know. It's been a while. DAVID(low voice) I haven't been sick this year. I know that. MEGAN(low voice) Okay. DAVID(low voice) Do you remember me getting sick? MEGAN(low voice) Not a specific day. What's this about? DAVID (low voice) Megan, do you ever remember me getting sick?Beat. DAVID(low voice) In the three years we've been in this house?... In the old apartment?... Before Jeremy was born?... Before we were married?Beat. MEGAN(low voice) ...I can't remember. DAVID(low voice) That's strange isn't it? Not remembering one fever... Or a cold... Or a sore throat. What do you think that means? MEGAN(low voice) It means we're probably to tired to remember.David becomes quiet as he thinks. Beat. MEGAN(low voice) Is that what you wanted to ask me? DAVID(low voice) Yes. MEGAN(low voice) Is there anything else you wanted to ask me while I'm up?... MEGAN(low voice) ...When was the last time you wore pink? When was the last time you drank soup standing up? Final call for strange questions at two in the morning. DAVID(low voice) No that's it.David seems lost in his thoughts. MEGAN(low voice) Maybe you should go up. Jeremy might see you're gone and get frightened. (beat) The train thing, really shook him up. He's scared something's going to happen to you. He doesn't want to let you out of his sight.David stares at Megan. Beat. DAVID(low voice) Yeah. I know.There's silence for a bit. DAVID(low voice) When was the last time I wore pink? MEGAN(low voice) The Mitchell barbecue three years ago. DAVID(realizing) Oh shit... MEGAN(low voice) Matching shirt and shorts. It was brutal.David half-smiles as Megan turns and starts back into the guest room. DAVID(low voice) Goodnight Megan.Megan looks back at her husband. Just for a moment. Then she looks down. MEGAN(low voice) Goodnight David.Megan closes the door slowly shut. FADE TO BLACK:INT. BEDROOM - AFTERNOONWE EMERGE in a cramped sparse bedroom.LEGEND "1974"A thirteen year old Elijah sits in a chair with his arm in a sling. He watches asmall black and white television in the corner of the room.WE HEAR FOOTSTEPS. Elijah's mother walks into the room. She looks around for amoment, and then moves to the television. Turns it off.The room GOES SILENT. ELIJAH'S MOTHER No more sitting in this room. I've let it go on long enough. ELIJAH I'm not going out anymore. I'm not getting hurt again. This was the last time. I told you. ELIJAH'S MOTHER You can't do anything about that. You might fall between that chair and this television. If that's what God has planned for you, that's what's going to happen. You can't hide from it in your room.Elijah just sits staring at the dark television screen. ELIJAH They call me Mr. Glass at school. Cause I break like glass.Elijah's face is tense. Unyielding. Beat.Elijah's mother says the next words in almost a whisper. ELIJAH'S MOTHER ...You make this decision now to be afraid... (beat) And you'll never turn back your whole life. You'll always be afraid.Elijah's eyes move from the television to his mother. He sees the emotion in herface. Neither says anything for a while. Beat. ELIJAH'S MOTHER ...I got a present for you. ELIJAH Why? ELIJAH'S MOTHER Forget why. Do you want it or not?Elijah thinks it over. He nods, "Yes." ELIJAH'S MOTHER Well, go get it then. ELIJAH Where is it? ELIJAH'S MOTHER On a bench, across the street.Elijah looks at his mother with disbelief. ELIJAH'S MOTHER You calling me a liar?She points to the window. Beat. Elijah gets up and moves to the only window inthe room.The view from his room looks out over a narrow street. On the other side of thestreet is a public playground. A handful of children are playing on it.There are three benches to one side of the swings. On one of them is a THINPACKAGE wrapped in brown paper with a bow on it.Elijah looks to his mom who has joined him at the window. ELIJAH Someone's gonna take it.Beat. ELIJAH'S MOTHER Then you better get out there soon. CUT TO:EXT. PLAYGROUND - AFTERNOONElijah walks across the playground. He's very wary of the other children runningabout him.He walks towards the bench with the present on it. Takes a seat. Puts the packageon his lap. It's flat. The edges of the bend down over his thin legs.He undoes the white bow. He peels off the clear tape holding the brown papertogether. He unfolds the paper. Beat.Elijah stares down at the single comic book in his lap.He feels the shadow of his mother. She takes a seat next to him. ELIJAH'S MOTHER I bought a whole bunch. They'll be one of these waiting for you, every time you want to come out here.Beat. ELIJAH'S MOTHER They said this one has a surprise ending.Elijah looks to his mother. His intelligent piercing eyes take her in for amoment.He looks back down at his lap. He opens the first page... DISSOLVE TO:INT. STORE - DAYThe same intelligent piercing eyes, twenty-five years older. Elijah has growninto a handsome, regal looking man. He leans on a walking stick.He's looking at an impressively framed charcoal sketch on a wall. Two figures aredepicted on the top of a building locked in fierce battle. One figure isextremely muscular with a mask. The other is half human, half animal. MAN This is from Fritz Champion's own library. This is before the first issue of the comic book hit the stands in 1968.Elijah glances at the BUSINESS MAN standing next to him and then back to thesketch. ELIJAH It's a classic depiction of good versus evil. Notice the square jaw of Slayer - common in most comic book heroes. And the slightly disproportionate size of Jaguaro's body to his head. This again is common, but only in villains... The thing to notice about this piece... The thing that makes it very, very special... is its realistic depiction of its figures. When the characters eventually made it into the magazine they were exaggerated... as always happens. (beat) This is vintage.The business man rubs his face. Gazes at the sketch. Beat. BUSINESS MAN Wrap it up. ELIJAH You've made a considerably wise decision.Elijah starts to the back of the store which we now see is some type of artgallery where all the framed pictures are images and sketches from comic books. BUSINESS MAN My kid's gonna go berserk.Elijah jams his walking stick into the extra thick carpet and stops. He turns. ELIJAH Once again please? BUSINESS MAN My son Jeb. It's a gift for him. ELIJAH How old is Jeb? BUSINESS MAN Four. ELIJAH No.Elijah starts back to the businessman shaking his head strongly. ELIJAH No, no, no, no no... You need to go now. BUSINESS MAN What did I say? ELIJAH Do you see any Telletubbies around here?... Do you see a slender plastic tag clipped to my shirt with my name printed on it?... Do you see a little Asian child with a blank expression sitting outside in a mechanical helicopter that shakes when you put a quarter in it?... No?... Well that's what you see at a toy store? Any you must think this is a toy store, cause you're in here shopping for an infant named Jeb. One of us has made a gross error and wasted the other person's valuable time...Elijah's eyes pierce through the shaken man. ELIJAH This is an art gallery my friend. This is piece of art...Elijah points at the sketch. ELIJAH This is one of seventeen original drawings by Fritz Champion remaining in the world. It's value will triple every year... This piece is to be treasured. To be cherished... To be coveted by every single one of your banker friends that think they're better than you.The business man stares at the sketch with large eyes. Beat. BUSINESS MAN What if I kept it?Beat. ELIJAH I'm listening. BUSINESS MAN I'll keep it in my office room. ELIJAH What about Jeb? BUSINESS MAN I have a lock on the door.Elijah just stares. ELIJAH Will it be near a window? BUSINESSMAN No direct sunlight will fall on it.Elijah eyes the man for many seconds. Beat. ELIJAH Come back in three days. I'll think about it.Elijah starts to the back. He passes the front door as two customers walk in.Elijah talks over his shoulder to them. ELIJAH We're by appointment only. MAN I received a card from your store. ELIJAH Congratulations, you have a mailbox... The sale isn't for two weeks. MAN This one was under the windshield of my car.Elijah turns and faces the customers for the first time. David Dunne stands withJeremy.Elijah just stands staring for the longest time. Beat. He walks closer to them.When Elijah speaks, his voice has a whispery quality to it. ELIJAH You've never been sick? DAVID I don't know for sure. (beat) ...I don't think so.David and Elijah quietly look at each other. Beat. ELIJAH Well if this ain't a riddle worthy of the Riddler? CUT TO:EXT. LIMITED EDITION - LATE AFTERNOONThree chairs have been placed on the walkway in front of the bay window of thestore. The words, "Limited Edition" are etched in the window.David, Jeremy and Elijah are seated watching the people stroll by. Elijah's caneis on his lap.Jeremy sips a drink in a paper cup. ELIJAH So let's get some of the usual questions out of the way. Why am I using a cane? Raise your hand if you were thinking that.Jeremy raises his hand. ELIJAH I fractured my leg. It's the fifth time I've done that particular bone. It didn't really heal well this time. ELIJAH Raise your hand is you're wondering who the hell breaks the same bone five times?Jeremy and David raise their hands. ELIJAH I have something called Osteogenesis Imperfecta. It's a genetic disorder. I don't make this particular type of protein very well and it makes my bones very low in density, very easy to break. I've had fifty-four breaks in my life. I have the tamest version of the disorder... Type one. (beat) There are type two, type three, and type four. Type four's don't make it very long... (beat) That ends our lecture on the medical anomaly known as Elijah Price.Elijah stares at his two rapt listeners. ELIJAH How certain are you that you haven't been sick in your life? DAVID Seventy-five percent. ELIJAH Seventy-five percent? That's not nearly good enough for me. I'm extremely skeptical. DAVID Skeptical about what? ELIJAH Your answer to my question. It's one thing to have never been injured in your life, but to state that you've never taken ill, well that's a whole new level. JEREMY Dad's been injured.Beat. ELIJAH What's he talking about? DAVID In college. A car accident. ELIJAH Was it serious?David nods. JEREMY He couldn't play football anymore.Beat. Elijah looks shaken. ELIJAH I assumed because of the train. DAVID You assumed wrong.Elijah closes his eyes. When his eyes open, the life force in them hasdiminished. Beat. ELIJAH It's over. (beat) You can go now.Elijah uses his cane to get up and walk back through the doors of the store.INT. LIMITED EDITION - LATE AFTERNOONDavid and Jeremy enter the store. Elijah leans on a walking stick before one ofthe framed sketches. He gazes at it quietly. DAVID I think you skipped a couple steps.Elijah turns. DAVID You forgot the "Now I'm going to tell you what the hell is going on" step. See usually that comes before the, "It's over" Step. And it always, always comes before the "You can go" Step. (beat) What is over? ELIJAH The life of an idea that has lived too long in my head.David stares at Elijah impatiently. ELIJAH There are probably only four or five individuals in the world who can claim more knowledge of comics than myself. I've spent a third of my life in a hospital bed with nothing else to do but read. I have studied the form intimately. I have seen the patterns in them... The references to social and cultural events and the atmosphere that surrounded them. I've come to believe that comics are our last link to the ancient way of passing on history. ELIJAH The Egyptians drew pictures on walls about battles, and events. Countries all around the world still pass on knowledge through pictorial forms. (beat) I believe that comics, just at their core now... have a truth. They are depicting what someone, somewhere felt or experienced. Then of course that core got chewed up in the commercial machine and gets jazzed up, made titillating - cartooned for the sale rack.Elijah gazes at David. ELIJAH This city has had its share of disasters. Well publicized ones. It was around the time of that plane crash, when it first entered my head. And there it stayed, as I waited and watched the news over the years... (beat) And then one day I see a news report on a train accident and its sole survivor who was miraculously unharmed. (soft) And just like that, an idea blossoms into the flower of possible reality. DAVID What was your idea Elijah?Beat. ELIJAH(soft) If there is someone like me in the world, and I'm at one end of the spectrum... Couldn't there be someone the opposite of me, at the other end? (beat) A person who can't be hurt like the rest of us. A kind of person they were talking about in those stories.Elijah points at the framed comic sketches. ELIJAH(soft) A person they believed was put here to protect the rest of us. Guard us. JEREMY You thought my dad was a real- DAVID Jeremy don't take another sip of that drink.Jeremy looks down at the paper cup in his hands. DAVID Throw it in the trashcan near the door and wait for me outside. Do it now please.David waits for Jeremy to exit the store. Beat. DAVID At the church... You were following me weren't you? ELIJAH Technically no. I gambled that you would attend the church service. I just waited for you.David glares at Elijah. DAVID What's this about? This is obviously some scam. Is this where you tell me one of those pictures is like an investment? ELIJAH You've misunderstood. DAVID I see guys like you all the time in my work. You find someone you think is emotionally vulnerable and you tell them a fantastic story, utterly convincing... and somewhere in there, you slip it in... 'I just need your credit card number','I just need a small down payment.'David shakes his head. He smiles out of frustration. Beat. DAVID Did you know that this morning was the first morning I can remember, that I didn't open my eyes and feel that sadness... Do you know what I'm talking about? That little bit of sadness? (beat) I thought the person that wrote that note had an answer for me. For why I survived that train. For why my life feels so out of balance... (beat) But I guess that's what you were counting on.Elijah stares carefully at David. Beat. David glances over to the entrance.Jeremy watched through the window concerned. DAVID I'm going to leave now. (beat) Good luck with your sale.Elijah watches David walk towards the front door. ELIJAH What type of job do you have David?David opens the door. He looks back at Elijah. ELIJAH You mentioned you've met 'guys like me' in your work. (beat) What type of job would that be?Beat. DAVID I work at the stadium as a security guard.Beat. David closes the door behind him. Elijah watches through the window asJeremy takes David's hand as they cross the street.Elijah gazes out the window in a bit of a daze. CUT TO:INT. BEDROOM - NIGHTALL LIGHTS ARE OUT EXCEPT THE SMALL BEDSIDE LAMP ON DAVID'S SIDE.David sits up in bed staring at a torn section of newspaper in his hands.Jeremy is asleep horizontally with his legs over David's legs.David doesn't blink as he gazes at the headline silently... "TRAIN CRASH DEATH TOLL CONFIRMED AT 131 DEAD. 1 SURVIVOR"Beat. David slides out from under his son's legs. Jeremy stirs but doesn't wakeup.David moves to the darkness of the corner of the room. He opens a closet door.A NAKED HANGING BULB GOES ON as David yanks a chain. David steps inside thenarrow closet and closes the door slightly so the LIGHT FROM THE BULB DOESN'TFALL ON JEREMY.There's just enough room to stand and look around. David reaches up and pulls asmall travel bag out of the way. David stretches as he feels on the top shelf.His hand comes down with something wrapped in a t-shirt. He unwraps it. It's ahandgun.He stares at it for a beat before wrapping it back up and replacing it to thehighest shelf.He stretches even more. Reaches farther back. WE HEAR SOMETHING SLIDE ON THESHELF AS HE PULLS IT FORWARD.He pulls down a folder jammed with clippings. He opens the folder to reveal ayoung David in football uniform holding his helmet in the air victoriously. Theword "Champion" is written over his head. David flips through the top clippings- all are images and stories of David and football.He turns the pile over. Goes to the last clipping. This piece of paper is foldedover three times, unlike the others. He opens it.It's a newspaper headline. It reads..."CAR ACCIDENT LEAVES TWO INJURED"David puts the new headline next to the old one... They look like a set. Even thefont is similar.David stares at the old headline. Stares hard at the photo of the bent andheavily damaged car laying upside down in the middle of the highway... The bulbseems to flicker. David is utterly still.SOMEONE KNOCKS AT THE BEDROOM DOOR. David gets startled.He puts back the clippings. Stuffing the new one inside with them. He replaces itback to the top shelf and leaves the closet.ANOTHER SOFT SET OF KNOCKS as David moves across the bedroom. He opens the door.Megan stands in the darkened hall. Beat. DAVID(whisper) Hi.Megan nods. Beat. MEGAN(whisper) I've come to a decision. DAVID(whisper) Oh.Beat. MEGAN(whisper) Let me just ask you something okay? And you can be totally honest. I'm prepared for any answer. It won't affect me...David nods, "yes." MEGAN(whisper) Have you been with anyone? Since we started having problems? The answer won't affect me.Beat. David stares at his wife. MEGAN(whisper) It won't affect me either way.Beat. David doesn't say anything. He just nods, "No."Megan's face starts to tremble. She starts crying. Tears roll over her veryaffected face. She tries to wipe them away, but there's too many. Beat. MEGAN(soft) ...My decision is... I'd like to start again. Pretend we're at the beginning. (beat) It's a big deal you walked away from that train. It's a second chance. (beat) If you want to ask me out sometime, that would be okay.Megan nods and walks down the stairs as she wipes her face. David watches herdisappear into the shadows. DISSOLVE TO:EXT. VETERAN'S STADIUM - AFTERNOONSunday afternoon. The cavernous stadium opens up into a picture perfect blue sky.The Philadelphia Eagles pro football players are in uniform and doing stretcheson the field. The opposing team warms up on the other end of the field.The sixty thousand seats are already half filled as fans stream in on every levelof the stadium. CUT TO:EXT. ENTRANCE GATE 27B - AFTERNOONA line of ticket holders snakes towards two turnstiles where stadium crew areripping tickets.David Dunne stands to one side with two other security guards.The fans moving through the turnstiles are clad in all types of Eaglesparaphernalia. A group of girls carries a homemade banner that David reads as hetilts his head sideways. "We sleep with quarterbacks," is written in blockletters.David stares at a woman carrying a newborn infant in her arms. The baby iswearing an eagles uniform.The WALKIE TALKIE on David's hip bursts to life. He pulls it off his hip anlistens. WALKIE Dunne, it's Jenkins, we got a guy at gate 17C with a bogus ticket. Says he knows you. He won't tell me his name. DAVID(into walkie) What's he look like? WALKIE He's got the most beautiful eyes... The hell kind of question is that? He's a guy. DAVID(into walkie) Send him packing. I'm not walking all the way over there. WALKIE Consider him packed. I didn't like his attitude... Struttin around with a cane and shit.Beat. DAVID(into walkie) Hold up Jenkins... CUT TO:EXT. ENTRANCE GATE 17C - AFTERNOONDavid finds Elijah waiting to the side as the crowds funnel through the gate.Elijah offers his hand as he walks up. David doesn't take it. ELIJAH They said I couldn't get in with my ticket.Elijah offers him the ticket. David inspects it. DAVID It's for last week's game. ELIJAH I've come to understand that... (beat) An ill advised purchase in the parking lot.David hands Elijah back the ticket. DAVID What do you want? ELIJAH Not money. (beat) But I appreciate your healthy cynicism in the manner. It will be wise for both of us to proceed with greatest caution. DAVID We're not proceeding anywhere together. ELIJAH We've already begun.David looks around. DAVID One more time. What is it you want?Beat. ELIJAH Why is it, do you think, that of all the professions in the world... you chose protection? DAVID Are you for real? ELIJAH You could have poured coffee in Starbucks, you could have learned to install track lighting in office buildings, you could have told people their horoscopes on the internet... You could have been one of ten thousand things... but in the end, you chose to protect people. You made that decision... and I find that very, very interesting. (beat) Now all I need is your credit card number.Beat. Elijah smiles. ELIJAH That last part was a joke.David fights it. But he smiles anyway. Beat. DAVID I got this job because my college coach called the guy who manages the stadium. There's no hidden meaning to it.David's walkie makes NOIES on his hip. DAVID They need me at the gate.David stares at Elijah leaning on his walking stick. DAVID Did you really want to see the game? I can get you in. CUT TO:EXT. ENTRANCE GATE 27B - AFTERNOONThe line of fans outside the gate has tripled in size and intensity.David and Elijah move along the line towards the turnstiles. DAVID It gets heaviest ten minutes before kickoff.David bumps a guy in line wearing an army jacket. David looks backs at him andcontinues walking.David moves to a security guard near the turnstiles. DAVID Why don't we pat down?David walks to his post near the gate and faces the crowd. Elijah moves next tohim. DAVID Just give me a minute. ELIJAH Is there a problem? DAVID That guy in green. Sometimes people carry weapons in here. Then they drink too much. They're team isn't doing so well, bad things happen... We do random pat downs of the crowd to discourage people from carrying. (beat) If he's carrying, he'll step out of line.Elijah observes as a security team pats down random males as they move throughthe turnstiles.The GREEN ARMY JACKETED MAN moves forward in the line. His face is blank as hewatches the pat down ahead of him. He's twenty people from the turnsstile.David eyes him. Fifteen people away... Ten...The man coughs and steps out of the line. Elijah watches the green army jacketmelt into the thick part of the crowd and disappear as it moves away from thestadium. CUT TO:INT. STADIUM TUNNEL - AFTERNOONAN UNLIT arched concrete passageway. The SUNLIGHT from the stadium streams incausing long shadows.Elijah stands waiting in the ground tunnel by himself.THE THUNDEROUS CHEERS OF THE SIXTY THOUSAND FANS IN THE STADIUM ECHOES FROM THEFIELD INTO THE TUNNEL.David enters the tunnel and joins Elijah. He hands him a ticket. DAVID I got you a seat in the seven hundred level. (points straight up) It's nose-bleed territory, but at least you won't get spit on. ELIJAH How did you know that man you bumped was carrying a weapon? DAVID Probably the army jacket. Those guys carry hunting knives and stuff for show. ELIJAH You thought he was carrying a knife?Beat. DAVID I thought he was carrying something. ELIJAH But not a knife? DAVID I got this picture of a silver handled gun tucked in his pants. (beat) Like on t.v.Elijah stares at David. THE STADIUM CHEERS BOUNCE OFF THE GRAY WALLS. ELIJAH You have good instincts when it comes to things like that? DAVID Like what? ELIJAH Telling when people have done something wrong?Beat. DAVID Yes. ELIJAH Have you ever tried to develop it? DAVID I don't know what you're asking? ELIJAH You're skill.Beat. DAVID Listen. I got to be on the sidelines during the game... You can get to your seat by taking the stairwell at- ELIJAH Characters in comic books are often attributed special powers. X-ray vision, things of that sort.David exhales slowly as he stares at Elijah. DAVID Okay, I don't want to play this game anymore. ELIJAH It's an exaggeration of the truth. Maybe it's based on something as simple as instinct. Like being able to touch someone and tell whether they've done something wrong... Or the level of what they've done wrong. DAVID The guy might not have been carrying anything. ELIJAH Or he might have been carrying a silver handled gun tucked in his pants.David's WALKIE ERUPTS WITH NOISE. DAVID I have to go now. ELIJAH One last question.Beat. DAVID Quick. ELIJAH The car accident you were in... Was there anyone else involved?The two men stand very still in the tunnel. DAVID Yes. My wife Megan. She was in the car with me.David turns and starts down the hall. David talks back over his shoulder. DAVID Have a good life Elijah and try to buy your tickets at an authorized sales location.Elijah watches as the silhouetted figure of David Dunne jogs down the darkness ofthe tunnel. CUT TO:INT. CAR - LATE AFTERNOONWe are inside a customized car. The dashboard is covered in some sort of thinfoam padding. The steering wheel and gear shift have the same padding. Everycorner and hard surface has been safe guarded. Elijah sits behind the wheel ofhis car in the parking lot of the stadium. He sits as thoughts crash at his head.Beat.He finally reaches for the keys and starts up the car. He looks into the rearviewmirror and sees the man in the GREEN ARMY JACKET pass behind his car.Elijah quickly turns and sees the man moving through the parked cars heading outof the parking lot.Elijah takes a deep breath and turns off the engine. CUT TO:EXT. PARKING LOT - LATE AFTERNOONElijah's walking stick makes RHYTHMIC CLICKS on the concrete parking lot.The figure in the army jacket seems to move farther away with every step.Elijah starts breathing harder. He pushes himself to move faster. He avoids thehard chrome bumpers and tailpipes that jut out from the cars as he quickens hispace through the lot.He gains on the army jacket. ELIJAH(calls out) Hold up for a second!The man in the army jacket turns as he reaches a subway entrance that marks theend of the parking lot. He looks back at Elijah for a beat. Doesn't like what hesees. He disappears into the subway entrance.Elijah quickens into a jog now. He hasn't done this in a while and it's painful.He makes it with great strain to the subway.He looks into the entrance...A steep flight of stairs leads to the subway floor. The tail of the army jacketis glimpsed before it disappears.Elijah breathes hard as he takes hold of the railing. ELIJAH(calls out) I just want to ask you something!Elijah's VOICE ECHOES down the stairs. No response.Elijah starts his descent.THE SOUND OF A SUBWAY PULLING IN ROARS UP THE STAIRS.Elijah has to move fast. He takes the steps with less and less hesitation. He'smoving with great agility... and then his foot catches on a step.His hand slips away from the railing...He falls down the remaining part of the stairs. The FIRST SICKENING CRACK isheard when his hand reaches out to stop his fall.The SECOND CRACK IS MORE LIKE A CRUNCH AS HIS LEG LANDS AWKWARDLY ON THE METALSTAIRS.He comes to a stop in a pile on the dirty gum stained floor of the subwaylanding. His jaw is locked in a HORRIFIC SCREAM THAT GETS EATEN BY THE ROAR OFTHE SUBWAY TRAIN PULLING IN.His contorted anguished face sees the turnstiles of the subway upside down. Thegreen army jacketed man looks back at Elijah with a blank expression pushingthrough the turnstile.The last thing Elijah sees before he blacks out, is the tail of the man's coatriding up as he move through the turnstile. The SILVER HANDLE OF A GUN peeks outfrom the belt of his pants. CUT TO:EXT. BUS STOP - DUSKDavid's neighborhood turns crimson as the day comes to an end. The Septa buspulls to a stop in front of a public high school. David steps off, still in hissecurity clothes. The bus pulls away as he hears his SON'S VOICE.David turns to the high school football field behind him. A group of children arehaving a touch football game. Jeremy runs out from the huddle across the field toDavid. JEREMY Was it sold out?David nods, "No." DAVID You know how mad your mom would be if she knew you were playing football?Jeremy nods. JEREMY Are you going to tell?David nods, "No." JEREMY You want yo play the last downs? We got a big guy like you. You can play on opposite sides.David looks to the fields to see a very muscular college age man in sweats whostands with the other children. JEREMY He's Potter's cousin. He's the starting corner back for Temple University.David stares at his son. JEREMY He going pro in the draft. They say he can run the fifty- DAVID In under six seconds. (beat) I've heard.David watches the cornerback being surrounded by kids. He's letting a couple ofthe kids feel his flexed bicep. DAVID I'm going to go in. JEREMY Just play one set of downs. I told them you were great. DAVID Why'd you do that? JEREMY Just one- DAVID Jeremy. (beat) I'm going in. I have to do some things. JEREMY What things? DAVID I'm going to work out. JEREMY I'll help you. DAVID There's nothing to do.Jeremy turns back to the children and waves. JEREMY(yells) I can't play! I'm working out with my dad!Jeremy turns back to his father and takes his hand. David looks down at his sonwho waits patiently. CUT TO:INT. BASEMENT - EARLY EVENINGThe basement is dominated by storage boxes and Christmas decorations. An oldbench press and weights are in a cluttered corner.David sits and turns at the end of the bench as Jeremy laboriously carries andplaces fifteen a pound weight on the bar. David talks over his shoulder. DAVID Why don't you rest now? I'll take it from here. You've been a big help.Jeremy goes to the opposite side of the bar and starts to put on another weight. JEREMY You think you could beat up Mike Tyson? I mean before he started wiggin out and eating people's ears? DAVID No. JEREMY What if you worked out everyday for six months? You think you could beat him then? DAVID No. JEREMY What if you only ate foods that were good for you and you worked out everyday for a year?Jeremy is breathing hard as he puts the safety collars on the barbell and comesaround to David's end of the bench. David lays back. DAVID No.David takes hold of the barbell. Beat. He takes a deep breath.The weight comes off the armrests of the bench. David lowers it to his chest andpushes it back up. He does just one more rep with serious strain. He puts theweight back on the armrest and sits up. DAVID How much did you put on there?David twists around and looks back at the barbell. He counts up the black metalcircles. He turns back to Jeremy. DAVID You put too much. That's two hundred and fifty pounds. JEREMY How much can you lift?David looks back at the weights. DAVID That's the most I've ever lifted. (beat) That could have been dangerous Jeremy. Why don't you go upstairs and let me finish up?Jeremy starts back to the barbell. JEREMY I'll take it off. I'll help you right.He slips off the safety collar. JEREMY You think you could have beaten up Bruce Lee?David hears the SOUND OF THE WEIGHTS SLIDING OFF THE BAR BEHIND HIM. DAVID No. JEREMY I mean if you knew karate? DAVID No Jeremy. JEREMY What if he wasn't aloud to kick and you were really mad at him?Jeremy is breathing hard again as he finishes with the weights and comes aroundto David.David lays back. DAVID No.David takes hold of the bar. Lifts it off the armrest. Brings it down. His armsare straining hard again. He raises it and lowers it two time; it takes a sizableeffort. The weights bang down onto the armrest.David sits up. DAVID How much did you take off? JEREMY I lied.Beat. DAVID You added?Jeremy nods, "Yes" slowly.David turns completely around and looks at the barbell. He counts the black discson the steel bar. Beat.Nobody says anything for a long time. JEREMY(soft) How much is it? DAVID(soft) Two hundred and seventy.David just stares at the black steel circles on the metal bar. Jeremy comes andsits on the bench next to his father. They both stare at the weight. Beat. JEREMY(dead serious) Let's put more.Beat. DAVID Okay. CUT TO:INT. BASEMENT - EARLY EVENINGDavid's fingers wrap around the cold metal of the bar. He leans his head forwardand looks to Jeremy. DAVID Why don't you move back a bit? Just to be safe.Jeremy moves back to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the house. He waits.Another deep breath as David heaves. The weight CLINKS as it comes off the armrest. David is full out straining now as he lowers and raises it. His arms beginto tremble as he lifts it for the second time. BANG the weight lands back safelyonto the rest.David sits up. He looks at his son whose eyes are wide. Beat. JEREMY More?Beat. David nods, "Yes." CUT TO:INT. BASEMENT - EARLY EVENINGAn enormous amount of black discs sits on the bar. David's hands are gripping themetal.He talks to Jeremy who stands in his position at the bottom of the stairs withoutlooking at him. DAVID You should never try anything like this. You know that right?Jeremy nods, "Yes." DAVID What do you do if something happens? JEREMY(soft) Get mom.David nods, "yes" before starting his deep breathing. He takes one last breath.CLINK the weights comes off the rest. His arms are trembling immediately now. Hisface is locked in a grimace as he brings the bar down to his chest and back upagain two times before dropping it onto the armrest.He slowly sits up. DAVID How many did you put on that time? JEREMY(soft) All of it. DAVID There's no more left?Jeremy nods, "no" in a slight daze. Beat. David looks around his basement. DAVID What else can we use? CUT TO:INT. BASEMENT - EARLY EVENINGA set of two unopened MAB satin finish paint cans are dangling by their metalhandles on the outside of each side of the weights.The fours cans sway a little as the bar is heaved off of David's chest. His armsare shaking hard. He raises the weight to it's apex and brings it down again. Ittouches his chest and rises up again. David's red strained face exhalespowerfully as he straightens his arms.The bar lands on the armrest with A CRASH. The paint cans make METAL SQUEAKS asthey swing to stillness, one at a time. Beat.David sits up and turns back to the weights. His mouth moves as he calculates thediscs and the cans.His lips stop moving. Beat. JEREMY(soft) How much is it?David doesn't react. JEREMY(soft) How much is it dad?It takes a second for David to register the question. He looks to his son. Beat. DAVID(soft) About three hundred and forty.David turns and looks at his son. Jeremy's mouth is slightly open. He gazes athis dad. Awe in his tiny eyes. CUT TO:INT. BATHROOM - EVENINGDavid sits on the edge of the bathroom tub. He's just showered and wearing jeansand a t-shirt. He sits still with his elbows resting on his knees, staring at thewhite tiles of the floor.THE PHONE RINGS.David gets up and walks out of the bathroom. He picks up the phone and stands inthe bathroom doorway. DAVID Yeah, hello. WOMAN(on phone) Is David Dunne there?Beat. DAVID Megan? MEGAN(on phone) Yes. Is this David? DAVID Yeah? Megan where are you calling from? MEGAN(on phone) My name is Megan Inverso. We went to college together.David looks at the phone. The lights for line ONE and line TWO are glowing RED.David squints his eyes as he pieces together the situation. Beat.He moves back into the bathroom. The cord stretches as he takes his seat on theedge of the bathtub. DAVID I remember you. MEGAN(on phone) I was hoping you would call me, but... Anyway I decided not to wait. (beat) I was thinking, it might be nice to go to dinner together.Beat. MEGAN(soft) ...Hello?Beat. DAVID Yeah it might be nice.We hear A SOUND ON THE OTHER END OF THE PHONE. A SOUND MUCH LIKE AN EXHALE. CUT TO:INT. CHINESE RESTAURANT - LATE EVENINGThe local Chinese restaurant. Red and gold plastic dragons hang from the ceiling.A couple late-nighters are at the bar. Megan and David are two of a handful ofpeople left dining in the restaurant. They're a little dressed up. Megan lookskind of stunning. DAVID ...When you work with clients on machines, do they sometimes just jump up a level or two? Do something they didn't know they were capable of? MEGAN Not often, but it is possible. Most people get scared when they see the shadow of their limits. They don't know how long the shadow really is. They don't know how far away the real limits are standing... They stop out of fear.David nods as he takes it in. Beat. He looks down at his plate and twirls his lomein onto a fork. Megan watches him. MEGAN This is kind of strange isn't it?David nods, "yes" before taking the bite. MEGAN We're not even acting like ourselves.David touches his mouth with his napkin. MEGAN Like that. Your mouth's dirty. You tapped your napkin to your lips. You only do that when you're with someone you don't know.David looks down at his napkin. DAVID What do I do when I'm around someone I know? MEGAN You use your sleeve.They both smile at each other. Beat. WOMAN(o.s.) Megan?David and Megan look over to the only other table of late night diners as theyget up from their table. A woman about Megan's age walks over to her. WOMAN I thought it was you. MEGAN Hi. (to David) This is Claire. Her son is in Jeremy's class. Claire and I worked on the school food drive together. DAVID Hello.CLAIRE smiles as she stares at David. She turns to Megan. CLAIRE(mouths) He's cute.Claire turns back to David. CLAIRE I'm very happy about this. Megan mentioned to me she was considering dating again.Megan becomes still. CLAIRE(to David) I'm sorry, what's your name?Beat. David doesn't look up. DAVID David. CLAIRE David? MEGAN This is my husband.Beat. All three people become frozen in silence.Claire looks to Megan. CLAIRE(soft) I am so sorry.Megan nods.Claire quietly walks away form the table and joins her group as they leave therestaurant. Beat.Megan and David are the last one's left. They sit silently in their booth. Meganlooks at David's face. He's shaken.He slowly takes a sip of water and then taps his mouth with napkin. CUT TO:INT. FRONT DOOR - NIGHTIt's late. NO LIGHTS ARE ON EXCEPT THE ONE IN THE HALL. The babysitter has blackdyes hair and Buddy Holly glasses. David waits as she puts on her jacket. DYED HAIR GIRL He ate about six of those chocolate covered doughnut holes with his milk. He said he only had three, but I know he had six. DAVID Okay.David is not paying attention to the girl. He watches as his wife takes off hercoat and heads to the guest room. She turns before entering the room. David andhis wife make eye contact. MEGAN(soft) Goodnight.David nods. Megan goes into her room. The guest door closes softly.David finds the babysitter looking at him with an odd expression. DYED HAIR GIRL My parents sleep in separate beds.David reaches into his wallet and hands the girl money. DAVID Thank you.David opens the front door for her. DYED HAIR GIRL By the way, Jeremy went to sleep in his room tonight. DAVID His room?The baby sitter nods with a smile as she walks out the front door. CUT TO:INT. JEREMY'S BEDROOMDavid walks into the darkened child's bedroom. The lump on the bed turns when hehears movement. He smiles when he sees David. JEREMY(whispered) I'm sleeping in my room. DAVID(soft) I see. JEREMY(whispered) I'm not scared. DAVID(soft) That's great. JEREMY(whispered) Do you know why?David nods, "No." JEREMY(whispered) I know now. DAVID(soft) Know what? JEREMY(whispered) You're secret identity. (beat) That man was right.Beat. David just stares at his son. Jeremy's eyes start to close. DAVID Jeremy.Jeremy opens his eyes. DAVID(soft) There are big guys in almost every gym who can lift that much.Beat. Jeremy's eyes start to shut. JEREMY(whispered) You could have lifted more. (his eyes close) ...Don't worry, I won't tell anyone.Jeremy Dunne falls asleep. David Dunne stands in the darkness of his son's room.Posters of comic book heroes don the walls around him. CUT TO:INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHTElijah's cheek rests against two pristine white pillows. He looks exhausted. Hiseyes are fixed on some abstract point in the room. WE HEAR SOUNDS OF A HOSPITAL.The torso of a PHYSICIAN can be seen on the other side of the bed. We hear himspeak but never see his face. PHYSICIAN(o.s.) ...fracture of the proximal phalanx of the little finger as well as multiple fractures of the sixth, seventh, and eighth ribs. The worst of the injury, however, was sustained to the left leg in the form of a spiral fracture. There were fourteen breaks. It simply shattered... ELIJAH They call me Mr. Glass.Beat. PHYSICIAN(o.s.) Who does? ELIJAH Kids.Elijah just keeps staring. PHYSICIAN(o.s.) Shall I continue?Beat. Elijah's head nods the slightest bit up and down. PHYSICIAN(o.s.) Pins were placed throughout the length of the leg. The use of a wheelchair will be needed for a two month period. The use of crutches will follow for twelve to fourteen months. Hospital stay will range from five to eight days followed by nine to twelve months of physical therapy. Prescribed medication for pain management will take the usual forms of...The PHYSICIAN'S WORDS FADE AWAY as Elijah continues to gaze at an abstract pointin the room. FADE TO BLACK:INT. PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTER - LATE MORNINGWE EMERGE FROM DARKNESS TO FIND OURSELVES IN THE PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTER.A CO-WORKER finds Megan working with an elderly gentleman who's laboring on astationary bike. JANIS Your ten o'clock is here. The hospital discharged him this morning. MEGAN Thanks.The co-worker takes Megan's position by the elderly man.Megan crosses the physical therapy center. A man in a wheel chair waits by heroffice. She walks up to him with a smile. MEGAN Elijah right?Elijah's leg is immobilized by a metal brace and held straight. Under his shirtwe see the wrappings around his ribs. His left pinky is in a splint. He smilesand nods, "yes" to Megan. CUT TO:INT. STADIUM LOCKER ROOM - LATE MORNINGDavid Dunne stands in security uniform by a set of double doors that leads intothe players locker room.Three walls of the locker room are lined with shiny lockers. One side of the roomhas benches and massage tables. The far end of the room has work out equipment.About twenty players and trainers are scattered throughout the spacious room lostin their own pre-game rituals.David watches as a massive muscular player takes a seat on the massage table andremoves his dress shirt. His body is covered in old bruises. He lays down,wincing a bit from the pain. A trainer begins to massage him.David just stares at the battered athlete. His gaze moves across the room. Beat.David stares at something in the crowded room then he starts towards it.He moves through the room of players and trainers. He moves to the one area ofthe large room not occupied by anyone.David comes to a step at the foot of an Olympic bench press. Racks and racks offree weights sit behind the press.David looks down at the thick silver bar. Three large black plates are on eitherside. Six in all.David looks back and glances at the double doors where he should be standing.Beat. He looks to the twenty or so players and trainers in the room. Some of theplayers have headphones on. Some are staring into space. A couple are on cellphones...No one notices David Dunne as he reaches for a forty-five pound black plate offthe weight rack.The huge disc slides onto the bar with almost NO SOUND...A matching forty-five pound disc goes on the other side...And then David adds another. He matches it on the other side...THE BENCH CREAKS just the slightest bit as David takes a seat.No one notices the security guard lay back on the bench.David's hands take hold of the shiny bar.He closes his eyes...David's arms become tense. He pushes against the weight. It doesn't move.His face turns deep red. He opens his eyes and stares at the bar as he keepstraining. His face and arms are shaking... He keeps staring... focusing.And then, without any fanfare, the bar lifts off the arm rest.The weight hovers over David. He lowers it to his chest for a second time. Hisarms aren't shaking anymore. He pushes the weights back up.He carefully brings the bar back to the arm rest. It touches down with thesmallest of CLINKS.David's fingers uncurl from the bar.David lets out two slow soft breaths as he counts the thick black discs. DAVID(whispers) Four ten... four forty-five... (beat) Five hundred.Beat. David sits up in a daze.He finds the entire room of athletes and trainers staring at him. Some of theplayers have stood up. Everyone stares as David Dunne with the same quietdisbelief in their eyes. CUT TO:INT. PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTER - AFTERNOONMegan and Elijah are in the far corner of the room. They're separated from theother clients. Megan is seated on an exercise machine. Elijah is in his wheelchair facing her. MEGAN We're going to prevent any substantial atrophy of your good leg with this. (She taps the machine) It works the quadriceps. ELIJAH How long have you been married?Megan is taken off guard by the question. She stares at Elijah. Beat. MEGAN Twelve years. ELIJAH How did you get together?Elijah smiles warmly. Megan smiles softly back. MEGAN A car accident.Elijah smiles even bigger. ELIJAH Now you're going to have to tell me more. MEGAN ...See my husband was a big football star in college and we were in an accident together. Our car flipped on an icy road. We were both injured. He couldn't play football anymore. (beat) If that hadn't happened, we wouldn't have been together. ELIJAH How so? MEGAN Football wasn't the kind of life I wanted... For ten years I'd be by the phone waiting for a call telling me he broke his neck in a practice game. And if it wasn't that call, it would be a call telling me he blew out his knee or suffered his third concussion. I've seen way too much of it in my job... I can barely take it when my clients are in pain. (beat) I don't hate the game. I admire the amount of skill it involved and, like everyone else, I was in awe of how he could play it, but I couldn't give him my heart and then have something happen to him. And it always does with that game. (beat) It's not a thing many people would understand. ELIJAH You and my mother would have a special connection. MEGAN Any way, fate stepped in and took football out of the equation. ELIJAH ...And everyone lived happily ever after.Beat. MEGAN Sort of.Beat. ELIJAH What part of David's body was injured?Beat. Megan's eyes become utterly still. MEGAN Who said my husband's name is David? CUT TO:INT. STADIUM - AFTERNOONEleven football players in white and green battle eleven football players in blueand gray on the field. A sold out stadium watches the event.David stands at the lip of a tunnel that opens out onto the upper section of thesecond level. Waves of people move from their seats through the tunnel to thebathrooms and concession stands and back again.David stares to the side away from the movement, his shoulder leaned up againstthe wall. He looks over at the constant movement of spectators through thetunnel.Beat. His shoulder leaves the wall. He STEPS OUT into the stream of people.Shoulders and arms bump into him and brush by him as they move.David's eyes are looking down - his expression still - like he's listening.He continues into the dead center of the tunnel. He's in the heaviest part of themovement now. Fans continue to brush against him as they pass.And then it happens... A stocky woman bumps into him.FLASH CUT: AN IMAGE OF THE STOCKY WOMAN IN A BATHROBE STANDING IN A KITCHEN.SHE'S HOLDING THE SHOULDER OF A FIVE YEAR OLD BOY STANDING NEXT TO HER. HE'SCRYING UNCONTROLLABLY.THEY BOTH ARE LOOKING DOWN AT THE KITCHEN TABLE WHERE THREE THINGS ARE LAIDOUT... A BELT, A HANGER, AND AN EXTENSION CORD. STOCKY WOMAN Choose.SLAM CUT BACK TO PRESENT:We're back with David in the crowd. He turns and watches the stocky woman walkdown the tunnel. She's holding the wrist of her five year old son. She yanks itquickly and violently to keep the boy close at her side. She and the boy dissolveinto the crowd. CUT TO:INT. PHYSICAL THERAPY CENTER - AFTERNOONElijah and Megan sit very still. ELIJAH There have been three major disasters in this city over the last four years. I've followed each one of them... A Seven-three-seven crashes on take off. One hundred and seventy-two die. No survivors... A hotel fire downtown. Two hundred and eleven die. No survivors... And am Amtrak train derails seven and half miles outside of the city. One hundred and thirty one die. One survivor. He is unharmed. (beat) I've spoken with your husband about his survival. I suggested a rather unbelievable explanation. Since then, I've come to believe, that my explanation, however unbelievable, is in fact, true. MEGAN And what was that explanation?Beat. ELIJAH It's a mediocre time Mrs. Dunne. People are starting to lose hope. It's hard for many to believe that extraordinary things live inside themselves as well as others... I hope you can keep an open mind?Beat. MEGAN(soft) Is this a religious thing? ELIJAH I own a comic book museum. It's called the Limited Edition. MEGAN(smiles) For a second there I thought you were a fanatic. ELIJAH I believe comic books are based loosely on reality - I believe there are real life equivalents of the heroes in those books that walk the earth - I believe your husband is one of those individuals.Beat. Megan becomes utterly still. ELIJAH I'm glad you brought up fate Mrs. Dunne. I'm becoming a strong believer in it... See, David refuses to speak with me any longer... And when I saw your name on my insurance list of approved physical therapists... It was like fate had intervened... (beat) We were meant to speak to each other. CUT TO:INT. STADIUM - AFTERNOONDavid lets the waves of people move by him in the tunnel.A MAN WITH GRAY EYES and wearing a dark blue sweat shirt carries a cardboard trayof nachos and drinks. He brushes David's arm as he passes.FLASH CUT: THE IMAGE OF THE GREY EYED MAN WEARING A BLOOD SPLATTERED T-SHIRT INA MEN'S BATHROOM. HE'S VIOLENTLY KICKING ANOTHER MAN CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR OF ATOILET STALL.HE STOPS KICKING. HE GLARES DOWN WITH POWERFUL GRAY EYES. SWEAT SHIRT MAN(whispers) This is my house, bitch. These are my customers.SLAM CUT BACK TO PRESENT:The gray eyes man in the blue sweat shirt pauses with nachos in hand at the topof the stairs to locate his seats. Beat.David walks the five feet between them and taps him on the shoulder. Peoplecontinue to stream by as the man turns to face David. The man's GRAY EYES go fromDavid's face to the security emblem on his shirt. The man's face becomes still. GRAY EYED MAN Yeah?David stares hard at the man in front of him. DAVID We've had some problems with drug selling in this stadium. (beat) Would you mind if I checked the pockets of your sweatshirt?The gray eyed man stands eerily still with his nachos and drinks. The two menjust stare at each other, evaluating the situation. People move in bothdirections around them, unaware.The gray eyes man holds his tray of food to the side and raises his arms slowly.David steps forward and reaches into his pockets. Beat. David pulls his hands outfrom the pockets. They're empty.The gray eyes man brings his arms down. Beat.The walkie on David's hip COMES TO LIFE. David reaches down and pulls it off hisbelt without removing his eyes from the man in front of him. David brings thewalkie to his mouth. DAVID(into walkie) Yeah? WALKIE(o.s.) There's a message for you at the office. Your kid was hurt.David's face changes. DAVID(into walkie) When? WALKIE(o.s.) Just now. They want you to come down to his school.David lowers the walkie from his face. The gray eyed man has a slight smile on.Beat. GRAY EYED MAN Why don't you go take care of your business?The gray eyed man takes a bite of a nacho as he stares at David. GRAY EYED MAN And dude, no one carries their merchandise on them any more. They got messengers for that shit now. (beat) That's what they tell me.The gray eyed man in the blue sweat shirt turns and starts down the stairs to hisseat. He raises his fist in the air as someone scores a touchdown on the field. CUT TO:INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NURSE'S RECEPTION AREA - AFTERNOONJeremy is seated in a chair with abrasions and cuts on his face. He sits next toa smaller boy with a thermometer in his mouth.They're both looking at the glass window of the nurse's private office. There aretow people inside talking. David and A WHITE HAIRED NURSE.The THERMOMETER BOY pulls the thermometer out of his mouth. THERMOMETER BOY Is that your dad?Jeremy nods "Yes." THERMOMETER BOY I bet my dad can beat up you dad.Jeremy turns to the thermometer boy. JEREMY I don't think so. CUT TO:INT. NURSE'S OFFICE - AFTERNOON NURSE ...No, he insisted we only call you. (beat) Though it took us a while to track down your number. It's not on file here. DAVID Megan handles that type of stuff. NURSE What stuff is that? DAVID Jeremy's stuff.David feels uncomfortable as the nurse just stares at him. Beat. David rises fromhis seat. DAVID So do I need to put any smelly ointments on him or anything?The white haired nurse nods, "no." NURSE It's more emotional damage. It wasn't very serious physically.David nods. NURSE Nothing like when I sent you to the hospital.David stares at the white haired nurse. DAVID What was that? NURSE My office was on the other side of the building back then. (beat) You don't remember me do you?David nods, "no." NURSE I had red hair.David stares at the woman. He doesn't recognize her. NURSE I think you were a little younger than Jeremy when it happened. (beat) Did you know we changed the conduct rules of the pool because of you?David nods, "no" slowly. NURSE The kids still talk about it like some ghost story..."Did you know there was a kid that almost drowned in the pool? He got pneumonia and almost died."The nurse shakes her head. NURSE We let them tell it... It helps keep them safe.Beat. NURSE Are you still phobic of water?David seems lost in his thoughts. He looks up at the nurse. DAVID Yes I am. CUT TO:EXT. BUS STOP - AFTERNOONDavid and Jeremy are seated on a bench at a Septa bus stop. No one else iswaiting with them.Jeremy talks without making eye contact with his dad. JEREMY(soft) It was Potter and another guy I play football with. They were messing with this Chinese girl. She's kind of fat. She doesn't talk to anybody. (beat) I tried to make them stop. They kept pushing me down and wouldn't let me get up.Beat. Jeremy's VOICE STARTS TO TREMBLE SOFTLY. JEREMY(soft) I thought maybe cause you were my dad, I thought I might be like you.Jeremy finally looks up. Tears in his eyes. JEREMY(soft) I'm not like you.David moves closer to Jeremy on the bench. DAVID You are like me. We both can get hurt. I'm just an ordinary man. (beat) I'm not what you think I am.Jeremy just stares at his father. Beat. JEREMY Why do you keep saying that? CUT TO:INT. KITCHEN - EVENINGDavid stares at his bowl of pasta. He sits alone in the kitchen. Beat.He gets up, slides the pasta in the trash and moves to the sink.David is rinsing out the bowl when Megan walks in. David turns off the water. MEGAN He's just laying in bed. He's pretty upset. He won't talk. DAVID He's dealing with a lot of things. (beat) I think he needs to find answers himself.Beat. MEGAN It's weird to hear you tell me about Jeremy. (beat) A good weird.David looks at Megan. They stand silently in an awkward pause. Beat. DAVID Would you like to try going- MEGAN Yes. DAVID -out again.Beat. David smiles. DAVID But if we see another mother from Jeremy's school, me name is Juan. I always wanted to be a Juan.Megan smiles softly back. Beat. MEGAN Oh. Elijah Price came to visit me at the center today. DAVID Jesus.Megan sees David's shocked expression. MEGAN He didn't do anything. He just told me his theory... It's sad when patients get like that. They loose reality. DAVID(whisper) Jeremy what the hell are you doing?Megan suddenly realizes David is looking over her shoulder.Megan turns around. She SCREAMS.Jeremy is standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He's crying hard. In hisoutstretched hands is the HAND GUN FROM DAVID'S CLOSET. It's pointed directly atDavid. JEREMY(crying) You don't believe. I'll show you... You can't get hurt. MEGAN(realizing) -Oh my God. DAVID -Jeremy did you load that gun?Jeremy nods, "Yes." Crying harder now. JEREMY(crying) -You won't get hurt... DAVID -Elijah was wrong. MEGAN -Sometimes when people are sick or hurt for a long time, like Elijah, they're mind gets hurt too.David shoots a tense glance at Megan. MEGAN -They start to think things that aren't true. He hold me what he thought about your father. It isn't true. JEREMY(crying) -I'll show you.David starts moving a little to his right. Jeremy follows him with the barrel ofthe handgun. David stops moving. DAVID -You know the story about the kid who almost drowned in the pool?Jeremy stops moving. DAVID -That was me they were talking about. I almost died. That was me. JEREMY(crying) -You're lying. DAVID -I'm not. I just didn't connect it. MEGAN -Jeremy, your father was injured in college - you know that. You know all about that.Jeremy's small face tenses. Confusion mixes with the desperation on his face. MEGAN -Don't do it. He'll die Jeremy.Beat. Jeremy looks up, tears streaming down his cheeks. JEREMY(crying) -I'll just shoot him once. DAVID -Jeremy listen to what-Jeremy starts pressing the trigger. The hammer clicks back. JEREMY -Don't be scared. DAVID -Jeremy if you pull that trigger I'm going to leave! I'm going to go to New York.Jeremy freezes. David flashes a desperate glance at Megan then back to Jeremy. DAVID You're right... If you shoot me, that bullet is going to bounce off me and I won't get hurt... but then I'm going to go upstairs and pack. And then leave to New York.Beat. JEREMY(crying) -Why?Jeremy's hands are trembling. He starts to close his eyes as he raises the gunlevel with David's chest. DAVID(loud) Jeremy!Jeremy's eyes open. DAVID(loud) You're about to get into big trouble! I'm your father and I'm telling you to put that gun down right now God damn it! (beat) One!... (beat) Two!...Jeremy puts the gun down on the floor in front of him and stands up.Megan leans against the refrigerator and slides down to a sitting position on thetiled floor.David walks over and picks up the gun. He unloads the bullets in his hand. Davidbends down very slowly and takes a seat on the kitchen floor.Jeremy is the last to sit down. He takes a seat in the doorway of the kitchen.Beat. He wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. Beat. JEREMY(soft) ...You didn't have to yell.The Dunne family sits in silence on the floor of their kitchen. CUT TO:EXT. LIMITED EDITION - AFTERNOONPeople move up and down the streets outside the storefronts. David is one ofthem. He waits to cross the street. He sees movement inside the Limited Editionwindow. CUT TO:INT. LIMITED EDITION - AFTERNOONElijah opens the door. It takes him a bit, because of the wheelchair.David stares at Elijah's damaged condition. Beat. ELIJAH Joined a rugby league. Turned out to be a bad idea. (beat) Come here I want to show you something.Elijah wheels over to one of the framed sketches on the wall. It's a charcoaldrawing of a muscular figure shielding himself from a blow about to be delivered.A huge ominous shadow is covering him, as if something unspeakable and evil isjust out of frame. ELIJAH Look at this. I just noticed this today.David steps in close and studies the drawing. ELIJAH This is from the Sentryman series. A color version of this was actually used in the second issue.Elijah points up to the drawing's face. ELIJAH Look at this eyes. What do you see?David looks right at the intense eyes of the drawing. ELIJAH It's fear. (beat) He was scared. They were being honest in the beginning you see. They let him be human. (beat) They turned him into a garden variety hero later... Then he was brave all the time.Elijah turns to David. ELIJAH I followed the guy in the army jacket.David becomes still as his words register. ELIJAH He had a silver handled gun tucked in the back of his pants. (beat) Were you really injured in that car accident in college?David looks unsteady all of the sudden. ELIJAH Because I think you faked it. I think you took the opportunity to end your career - no questions asked. (beat) And I think you did it, of all things, for a women... (beat) Not only do you have the physical traits of a hero, down somewhere in there, you have the moral code of one too. You were ready to sacrifice everything for what's right. Where can you find that these days? (beat) Only thing you didn't realize is that you were giving up a part of yourself when you gave up football. The physical part. And you need that part desperately to feel balance again... (beat) You can have it back now. (beat) This was all just make believe before. What if there was someone the opposite of me? What if?... (beat) I now believe you are the genuine article Mr. David Dunne. The kind of person we knew existed, from our history.Elijah points to the room full of pictures. ELIJAH It's time for someone like you. (beat) Bad is winning. I can feel it.Elijah looks at David with deep admiration. His voice cracked a little at the endof his words. Beat.David doesn't take his hands out of his pockets. DAVID(rattled) I must have felt some lump in his back when I bumped him. Most guns have a black or silver handle. I had a fifty-fifty shot at the color. ELIJAH That's not what I witnessed David. DAVID Stop messing with my life Elijah. My son almost shot me last night. He wanted to prove you were right. ELIJAH I never said you couldn't be killed. I never said that. DAVID You have a problem, Elijah. My wife is right. Somewhere along the line one of your bones broke and your mind just broke with it.Beat. ELIJAH Are you finished? DAVID No. And I have been sick. I spent a week in a hospital when I was a boy recovering from pneumonia and almost drowning. DAVID Two skinny eight year old kids were playing around the pool. They were dunking me. I swallowed water. They didn't know it and they almost killed me. (beat) Heroes don't get killed like that. Normal people do.Beat. Elijah seems shaken for the first time. David stares at him coldly. DAVID I don't want to see you again okay. (soft) Now I'm finished.David turns and starts for the entrance. The BELL OF THE DOOR CLANGS as DavidDunne leaves the store. CUT TO:EXT. STREET - AFTERNOONDavid exits the Limited Edition and moves down the street lost in this thoughts.He bumps a man in a jacket and tie walking in the opposite direction.FLASH CUT: THE SAME MAN STANDS IN A BAGGY SWEATER. AGAINST A PARKED CAR HE'SHOLDING SOMETHING SHINY AND METALLIC IN HIS HANDS. HE INSERTS IT IN THE HALF INCHGAP BETWEEN THE GLASS OF THE DRIVER'S WINDOW AND THE DOOR. THE DOOR UNLOCKS.THE MAN LOOKS AROUND QUIETLY BEFORE ENTERING THE CAR.SLAM CUT BACK TO THE PRESENT:David looks over his shoulder at the conservative looking man in a shirt and tiewalking down the street.David Dunne is shaken. He turns and keeps walking. CUT TO:INT. JEREMY'S ROOM - NIGHTA superhero action figure and a plastic villain do battle on Jeremy's desk.David sits dressed up in a white shirt and dress pants. He holds the villain.Jeremy holds the superhero.Megan enters the room in a beautiful brown dress. MEGAN The sitter's here.David nods, "yes." Megan studies his tense expression. MEGAN We can do this another time if you want? I'm fine with anything.David looks from the action figures, to his son's face to the face of his wife.They both have the same quiet anxious expression. Beat. DAVID But I put cologne on.Megan smiles. MEGAN Is that what that smell is?Jeremy giggles. CUT TO:INT. DOWNTOWN COMIC BOOK STORE - NIGHTAn overweight man in sweats and a ponytail counts the cash in the register. Weare in a low-end comic book store. The walls are lined with shelves of comicbooks. The more expensive issues are kept in a glass case.THE PONYTAIL MAN looks at his watch and then to far back of the store where onehead is visible behind a low rack. PONYTAIL MAN Hey man it's twenty after. It's time to close. I gotta head.The top of the man's head doesn't move. Beat. PONYTAIL MAN You better not be jacking off to the Japanese comics. I swear to God.No response. Ponytail man closes his register and walks towards the back.As he gets closer to the customer, he realizes that the man is in a wheelchair.The Ponytail man walks ups to Elijah. PONYTAIL MAN Listen man, I didn't know you were in- (beat) Just choose something all right?Elijah doesn't react. He sits in his chair in a quiet daze. Ponytail man leansover. PONYTAIL MAN Hello. You understand English?Ponytail man makes fake sign language gestures in front of Elijah's face. PONYTAIL MAN Look man, I'm just gonna wheel you out. You can think about things outside on the sidewalk. I gotta get some chicken in me, you know what I'm saying?Beat. The Ponytail man shakes his head moves behind Elijah. He starts wheelinghim towards the front of the store. They move down a narrow aisle of comics.Elijah suddenly grabs the left wheel and turns the chair. His immobilized leftleg hits a rack of comic books. A handful of comics tumbles to the ground. PONYTAIL MAN Shit.The ponytail man straightens the wheelchair and starts down the aisle again.After a couple of feet, Elijah jerks and grabs the other wheel sending thewheelchair ramming violently into the opposite wall. Comics are knocked free andfall onto the wheel chair and the nearby ground. PONYTAIL MAN Dude, I don't care if you are in a wheelchair. If you do that again, I'm calling Five-O.Beat. The Ponytail man takes Elijah's silence as a, "Yes." He straightens thechair.They move down the aisle. All is quiet... and then Elijah jerks the wheelchair tothe left again. His metal brace and the wheelchair crash into two racks. Elijahgets covered in comics. PONYTAIL MAN That's it crackerjack! You're going to sit your ass in jail now.The Ponytail man moves to the front counter.Elijah sits in a trance - slightly hunched over. His eyes stare at a comic bookin his lap. His expression changes for the first time.The Ponytail man finishes dialing. He looks over to Elijah as he waits for avoice on the other end. Elijah raises a single comic book in his hand. ELIJAH How much is this one? CUT TO:INT. RESTAURANT BAR - NIGHTLATE EVENING. A trendy restaurant. Not enough light to read the menus.David and Megan are on stools at one end of the bat. They sip their drinks asthey appear in deep thought. DAVID ...I think rust. MEGAN Rust? DAVID As a color, not as rust. You know, a rust colored paint or wood?Megan leans slightly closer. MEGAN I didn't know that. Mine's still brown. DAVID My turn. What's your favorite song? MEGAN Soft and Wet, by the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. DAVID What was that? MEGAN We're supposed to be honest.Beat. David brings his stool closer. DAVID Soft and Wet. That's very interesting. MEGAN My turn. (beat) When was the first time the thought popped into your head that we might not make it?David's grin slowly fades. DAVID That's not the game.Megan moves her stool closer. They're only a foot or so apart. MEGAN It's a second date. There aren't any rules.Beat. David sips his drink slowly. DAVID I'm not sure. MEGAN Think carefully? DAVID What about the game? MEGAN It's finished. I won.Beat. David glances at Megan. She waits for his answer. MEGAN Maybe it wasn't a specific moment, maybe it- DAVID I had a nightmare one night and I didn't wake you up so you could tell me it was okay. (beat) I think that was the first time. (beat) Does that count? MEGAN(soft) That counts.Beat. Megan takes her glass up to her lips. Doesn't take a sip. Brings it backdown. MEGAN Do you knowingly keep Jeremy and me at a distance?Beat. DAVID Yes.Megan's face tenses. She's on the verge of getting upset. MEGAN Why? DAVID I don't know Megan. MEGAN It's like you resent us David. Resent the life you have.Beat. David doesn't answer. MEGAN You know even if it meant we couldn't be together, I would never have wished that injury on you? What you could so physically was a gift. I would never have wished it to go away.Megan's eyes glaze with water. Beat. MEGAN You know that right?David takes a sip with a trembling hand. David's eyes look up and make eyecontact with Megan's. He stares at her for the longest time. DAVID(soft) I know.Husband and wife sit close together in the corner of the bar on their seconddate. CUT TO:INT. FRONT DOOR - NIGHTMegan stands next to David as he pulls out his wallet. The babysitter with theblack dyed hair and Buddy Holly glasses stands ready to leave in the doorway. DYED HAIR GIRL You got two calls. One came through while I was on the line - I wasn't talking too long. There was an emergency with my sister. She tried to do her own perm and now she looks like- DAVID Who called through?Megan tries to hide her smile. DYED HAIR GIRL Someone from New York.The smile instantly fades. DYED HAIR GIRL About a security job at a museum. They want to hire you. (beat) I didn't know you guys were moving to New York. Thanks for telling me. MEGAN We're not moving. DYED HAIR GIRL Oh. (beat) I let the answering machine pick up the other call.The babysitter fixes her Buddy Holly glasses as she looks at the two suddenlyquiet faces.David hands her the money. She opens the door. It's started to rain. DYED HAIR GIRL Great.The babysitter covers her head with her jacket and runs down the walkway. Davidcloses the door. Beat. MEGAN Look let's be honest here. We're just at the beginning. I don't expect you or I to change the course of where our lives were headed because of two dates. (beat) If you do go to New York, we can still develop this. We'll just be forced to take it slow. And in the end, that's definitely better. (beat) This is our second time around David. I don't expect us to get carried away. (beat) I guess congratulations is the right thing to say.Megan takes off her coat as she moves to the guest bedroom. She disappearsinside. The door closely behind her. CUT TO:INT. KITCHEN - NIGHTOnly the COUNTER LIGHT is on in the kitchen. David stands by the phone.ELIJAH'S VOICE IS HEARD ON THE ANSWERING MACHINE. ELIJAH(on tape) ...David. It's Elijah. It was so obvious. It's referred to over and over. That's the key you see. The repetition across time. That means at some point it was all based on common thought, a common event - a fact. (beat) It was this one issue that brought it back for me... Century Comics One-Seventeen. That's where this group, the Coalition of Evil, tried to ascertain the weakness of every superhero. ELIJAH(on tape) ...Because they all have one. (beat) Just like you. (beat) The cells that make up your muscles and your bones react to forces that act upon it, slightly different from than mine. That's clear... Your cells react to bacteria and viruses slightly differently than mine... That's also clear...But for some reason, you and I react the exact same way to water. We swallow it, we choke. We swallow too much of it, we drown. However unreal it may seem, we are connected, you and I, we are on the same curve... just on opposite ends. ELIJAH The point of all this is, we now know something we didn't... You have a weakness... Water. It's your krpytonite. (beat) You hearing me David? Call me back... I got rugby practice in an hour.THE SOUND OF ELIJAH HANGING UP IS HEARD. THE ANSWERING MACHINE BEEPS AS IT TURNSOFF.David hits a button on the answering machine. It makes a WHIRRING SOUND beforeANNOUNCING. MACHINE Message erased. CUT TO:INT. BATHROOM - NIGHTThe master bedroom is very narrow. A bathtub and toilet are at one end. Twoidentical sinks sit opposite each other.David sits on the edge of the tub. His shirt is unbuttoned. He sits in a dazestaring at the tiled floor.His eyes slowly move to a small white and red box laying on its side under one ofthe sinks.David rises and picks it up.It's a BOX OF BAND AIDS. David looks up to Megan's sink. Perfume and lotions siton its edge.David opens her mirrored cabinet. He starts to put the band aid box back, hehesitates.His eyes begin to roam the cabinet shelves. They stop on certain items... ACONTAINER OF TYLENOL... A LOTION FOR DRY SKIN... A BOTTLE OF ALLERGY DROPS...COUGH SYRUP... A TUBE OF MUSCLE PAIN OINTMENT...David just stands quietly for a beat before turning and looking across to his ownidentical mirrored medicine cabinet.There are three things on the shelf... DISPOSABLE RAZORS. SHAVING CREAM. ANDCOLOGNE.David's mouth opens just a little bit as he stares. CUT TO:INT. FRONT HALL - NIGHTALL THE LIGHTS ARE OUT.David moves through the darkness down the stares in jeans and a sweatshirt.He moves to the coat closet. Pulls out the dark green rain poncho. The word"security" is almost faded away.He opens and closes the front door with virtually NO SOUND. CUT TO:EXT. THIRTIETH STREET STATION - NIGHTRain falls like gunfire from the sky.David's car pulls into the massive rain station parking lot.David steps out and pulls the hood of the poncho over his head. CUT TO:EXT. METAL STAIRS - NIGHTA steel fence leads to a set of stairs that travel down to the dozens ofinterconnected tracks below. David walks down about forty feet. A fenced gatewith a lock stops his progress.David looks through the fence down to the tracks. Just to the side is aconstruction site. Cranes and lifts and various equipment stand idle in the areanext to the section of train wreckage that has been brought to the stationgrounds for dismantling and salvaging. The bent shapes of the train pieces canonly be glimpsed in outlines as they sit in the darkness, hundreds of feet awayfrom the immaculately lit train station.Beat. A HUGE METALLIC CRACK ECHOES THROUGH THE TRAIN YARD as David kicks open thefence door that holds him back from going down. CUT TO:EXT. TRAIN WRECKAGE - NIGHTFrightening twisted pieces of metal glisten in the rain. David walks along thebody of the caved-in passenger car.The passenger car is split in two. Just before the tear, along the window line,the windows have been crushed in. A huge hole has been ripped below the windowsexposing the ravaged interior.David stands before this heavily damaged area of the car. He just stares at thewreckage. Water falls off the rim of his hood in front of his face.His eyes drift over the ominous pieces of deformed metal. He takes a couple slowbreaths as THE SOUNDS OF HARSH RAIN FADE AWAY TO SILENCE. CUT TO:FLASHBACK: EXT. STREET - NIGHTSILENCE. BLACK. OUR VISION CLEARS TO REVEAL the glazed icy top of a street.THE SOUND OF DISTANT FIRE COMES INTO THE SILENCE.A TWENTY YEAR OLD DAVID DUNNE rises to his feet from the ground where he waslaying amongst the fragmented pieces of windshield. He looks down at himself. Hisfootball jacket is torn. So are his jeans... He's trembling slightly, but notbleeding.HE LOOKS UP TOWARDS THE NOISES.About thirty feet away is a Honda, upside down, wrapped around a telephone pole.It's front is on fire.Through one of the crushed door windows, WE SEE A WOMAN'S HAND.Young David heads toward his car. He slips a couple of times on the slick icedsurface of the road.He kneels down next to the inverted car. He looks in the crushed window frame.THE FACE OF A TWENTY YEAR OLD MEGAN IS UPSIDE DOWN. She is unconscious. DAVID Megan...She doesn't answer. Her body is twitching as it sits pinned behind the wheel.David pulls at the handle of the mangled door. It's wedged tight. It won't move.The heat from the fire is tremendous.David's powerful arms keep pulling with all their strength.WE HEAR THE CREAK OF METAL... THE DOOR BENDS UNNATURALLY AND THEN PRACTICALLYRIPS OPEN.David leans into the car and unbuckles Megan. He works her out underneath thesteering column. He slides out. Her leg is bleeding.David picks her up and carries her to the grass next to the road. He lays herdown gently. DAVID Megan?He just stares at her. She doesn't respond.A LIGHT WASHES OVER THEM. David turns to see a truck approaching up the road.David waves frantically. The truck slows.David turns back to Megan. Her eyes are open.Tears fall from David's face as he moves the hair out of her eyes. She looks atDavid. MEGAN(soft) I thought I was dead.Beat. DAVID Me too.The driver of the truck slips and slides his way over to David. DRIVER Is she all right? DAVID I think her leg is fractured. DRIVER Are you injured?Beat. David looks at Megan who lays shivering in the grass. He looks back at thedriver. DAVID(soft) My shoulder's hurt.The driver nods. DRIVER Hold on. I got a C.B. in the truck.The driver moves back to his truck.David takes Megan's hand in his and waits in the grass by the sight of their caron fire. CUT TO:PRESENT: EXT. TRAIN WRECKAGE - NIGHTDavid stands utterly still in the graveyard of train 177. CUT TO:INT. HALLWAY - NIGHTThe wheels of Elijah's wheelchair move down the hall as he follows the SOUND OFTHE PHONE RINGING.He follows THE SOUND to a PHONE RINGING in the storage room of the store. Thereare shelves and shelves of comic books. Thousands of them filed away in neatpiles.Elijah picks up the phone a little out of breath. ELIJAH Hello. DAVID'S VOICE Elijah?Beat. ELIJAH David?Nothing is said on the other line for a couple of beats. WE HEAR THE ECHOED DINOF A LARGE ROOM FILLED WITH PEOPLE AND MOVEMENT IN THE BACKGROUND. DAVID'S VOICE What am I supposed to do?Elijah closes his eyes. His face fills with strength. CUT TO:INT. THIRTIETH STREET STATION PHILADELPHIA - NIGHTThe interior of the station is a mystical sight. One huge cavernous room, afootball field in size, lined on both sides with giant pillars that rise into amisty hand painted ceiling. ELIJAH(v.o.) David, it's okay to be afraid. Because this part won't be like a comic book... Real life doesn't fit into little boxes that were drawn for it.David stands in a quiet corner and watches the faces of passengers arriving anddeparting late night trains. Even at the late hour, there is heavy trafficthroughout the station. ELIJAH(v.o.) Go to where people are... You won't have to look very long.David stares out at the midnight travelers. Beat. He starts towards them.He passed the towering black statue standing at the far end of the station. Itwatches over the whole building. It's in the form of an angel lifting a soldierto heaven.David moves through the first group of people - a crisscross of arrivingpassengers from tracks one and two. They brush by him and lightly bump him asthey move.FLASH CUT: WE ARE NO LONGER IN THE TRAIN STATION. A BLOND WOMAN IN HER TWENTIESSTANDS AT A COUNTER IN A CROWDED STORE.SHE SLIDES THE SILVER BRACELET AND EARRINGS SHE WAS LOOKING AT OFF THE GLASSCOUNTER AND INTO HER PURSE. NO ONE SEES.SLAM CUT BACK TO PRESENT:David turns and glances at the blonde woman as she walks away from him towardsthe exit of the train station. He doesn't stop moving.David heads towards the densest part of the floor. The area near the informationboard. Sleepy friends and tired family members stand and wait. A steadyspider-like web of movement flows as six tracks let out on either side.David moves to the center. His rain poncho almost touches the marble floor. Linesof passengers emerging from trains below the main level move steadily on eitherside of him.David looks down and gently turns the palms of his hands out as they at his side.His finger tops graze the jackets and clothes of the passengers walking by.Dozens and dozens of people pass. Nothing happens. Then a man in a crumpled shirtand slicked back hair brushes by...FLASH CUT: THE SLICKED BLACKED HAIRED MAN LEANS OUT THE WINDOW OF A TRUCK. HE'SHOLDING A BOTTLE OF BEER. SLICKED HAIR MAN Go back to Africa!THE SLICKED HAIR MAN THROWS THE BOTTLE WITH FORCE AS HE PASSES A CLACK FAMILYWALKING ON THE SIDEWALK. THE BOTTLE SHATTERS AS IT HITS A WOMAN IN THE GROUP.SLAM CUT BACK TO PRESENT:David's eyes dart up as the slicked haired man turns the corner at theinformation booth. He watches him for a beat.FLASH CUT: WE ARE IN A BEDROOM. A YOUNG MAN IN HIS LATE TEENS LOOKS DOWN AT AGIRL LAYING IN A PILE OF OVERCOATS ON A BED. THERE IS LOUD MUSIC AND LAUGHTERCOMING FROM SOMEWHERE DOWNSTAIRS. TEENAGER What's your name? I think you drank too much.THE GIRL MOANS SOMETHING INAUDIBLE AS SHE ROLLS ON HER SIDE. HER SKIRT RIDES UPHER THIGH.THE YOUNG MAN STARES AT HER AND THEN GETS UP. HE MAKES SURE NO ONE IS LOOKINGBEFORE CLOSING THE DOOR. HE LOCKS IT FROM THE INSIDE.SLAM CUT BACK TO PRESENT:David watches the teenager with baggy jeans hanging off his hip. He walks andgreets a group of identically dressed friends.Beat. David turns his hands back in. He seems shaken. He takes a couple of deepbreaths as he gathers himself.Then David steps back to look around. HE BUMPS the shoulder of a man standingbehind him.David takes a sudden breath like someone punched him in the solar plexus.FLASH CUT: AN ENORMOUS MAN WITH GLASSY EYES STANDS BEFORE A SCREEN SIDE DOOR.HE'S BALDING. THE HAIR HE DOES HAVE IS SHOULDER LENGTH. HIS ECLIPSING SHADOWFALLS ON THE CONSERVATIVE LOOKING MAN WHO STANDS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SCREENDOOR INSIDE THE HOUSE. GLASSY EYED MAN Can I come in? MAN IN HOUSE Who are you? GLASSY EYED MAN I like your house. Can I come in? MAN IN HOUSE What is this? (beat) No you can't come in.Beat. GLASSY EYED MAN Are you sure?The enormous glassy eyed man takes hold of the screen door handle. He turns it.The man inside the house grabs the door handle on the inside to stop him. MAN IN HOUSE What are you doing?The man inside the house uses all his strength to keep the door from opening...It opens slowly anyway.SLAM CUT BACK TO PRESENT:David stands frozen in the train station. His face is almost unreadable.David is standing less than a foot away from the man he bumped. They're standingshoulder to shoulder. David's eyes slowly move from the ground over his right andthen finally onto the man.He's huge. At least three inches taller than David. His shoulders are massive.He's wearing a one piece ORANGE UNIFORM.The man in the orange uniform leans over a trashcan next to him and removes thefull trash bag within it. He replaces it with a fresh one. He throws the fulltrash bag into a gray plastic bin with wheels and starts pushing it.David watches the man head across the floor towards a double door marked "StationMaintenance Staff Only".Four identical gray bins sit outside the door. The huge man disappears with hisbin inside.David waits. He just stares hard at the double doors. Nothing happens for thelongest time... No one comes out. David makes a decision. He starts towards thedoors.And then they open.The huge glassy eyed man in orange emerges carrying a bag over his shoulder. He'swearing a baseball hat with his uniform now. He heads toward a back exit.David lets him get about twenty feet away before deciding to follow him. CUT TO:EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - NIGHTThe man in the orange uniform walks in the driving rain down a residential cityblock. Almost all the lights in the middle class homes he's passing are off atthis late hour. No one is out walking except him and David Dunne fifty feetbehind.The orange figure turns the corner onto a block of modest stand alone homes. Theuniformed man walks slower in this block. He looks around carefully as he moves.He turns into a driveway of one of the homes. He stops and pulls a wad of mailout of the mailbox.David stands with the hood of his security coat covering his head and face. Hestands in the shadows and watches silently as the man in the orange uniform looksover his massive shoulder before turning a knob and entering the white paneledhouse through a familiar side door with a screen on it. CUT TO:INT. LAUNDRY ROOM - NIGHTThe side door opens with almost no sound. The hooded figure of David Dunne stepsinto a narrow laundry room. THE SOUND OF A TELEVISION IS HEARD FROM ANOTHER ROOM.A very large pile of unopened mail sits in a mound on the clothes dryer. Two orthree days worth.David shuts the door very slowly. CUT TO:INT. KITCHEN - NIGHTTHE SOUNDS OF CHEERING FROM THE TELEVISION IN THE NEXT ROOM SPILL INTO THEKITCHEN.David stares out from under his hood at the mess.Cabinets are left open. Empty cans of food sit on the counter with a handful ofunwashed dishes. The breakfast table is the eeriest thing in the room. It sitsfrozen with a plate of half-eaten, now moldy eggs at one setting and two bowls ofcolorful cereal in another. The cereal has dissolved in the old milk. Twocockroaches are crawling in the bowl.David moves slowly to a door in the kitchen. It's slightly open. As David getscloser, he shields his face from the strong smell. He pulls the door openquietly.A SHAFT OF KITCHEN LIGHTS FALLS DOWN THE STAIRS INTO THE BASEMENT. At the bottomof the stairs is a MAN'S BODY. The same man who answered the door in theflashback lays partly in the shadow, partly in the light. His crumpled tie liesfolded over itself on his still chest. CUT TO:INT. FAMILY ROOM - NIGHTA BOXING MATCH BLARES ON THE TELEVISION. Empty beer bottles and coke cans sit ina pyramid on the coffee table.David steps into the unoccupied room. His movements are slow and tense.THUDS OF HEAVY FOOTSTEPS COME FROM THE CEILING OF THE ROOM. David looks up andfollows the SOUND AS IT MOVES AROUND ABOVE HIM.David moves to the stairs as SOMEONE GETS KNOCKED OUT ON THE TELEVISION. CUT TO:INT. GIRL'S ROOM - NIGHTThree closed doors converge on a landing. David opens the closest one.It's a young girl's room. Posters of boy bands are on her wall. Clothes areeverywhere. The room is empty.A NOISE COMES FROM THE HALF OPEN BATHROOM DOOR ATTACHED TO THE BEDROOM. CUT TO:INT. BATHROOM - NIGHTA slightly overweight girl, probably fourteen years old is tied by her wristswith a phone cord to the metal towel rack in her bathroom. She sits with her armspointed upward over her head. He knees tucked up to her chest.Next to her is her younger brother. A skinny boy, maybe twelve. He's tied andseated in the same way.Their heads are leaned back against their arms. They're completely listless. Eyeshalf mast. They watch as the door to the bathroom opens and the dark hoodedfigure of David Dunne steps in. His long dark slowing rain poncho still drippingwater. He stands in the doorway for a moment before moving towards them.They don't react in anyway as David reaches for the phone cord and unties them.They're arms flop to their laps as they gaze up at the figure leaning over them.They boy blinks once slowly.David takes a step back and stares at them from under his hood. DAVID You need to leave now. CUT TO:INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHTAn exercise bike in the corner of the bedroom has been turned into a clotheshanger long ago. The t.v. across the bed has framed family photos displayed ontop of it.David's shadow passes over them as he moves towards the open bathroom on theother side of the bedroom.A woman is tied to the bathroom door handle. She sits on the tiled floor slumpedagainst the door. Her eyes stare blankly at the ground. She has considerablebruises on her face and arms.David stands before her. DAVID(soft) Where is he?The woman doesn't answer, but a SOUND COMES FROM THE SCREEN DOOR nearby. Thecurtains draping the screen door move with the wind from outside.David crosses the room and pushes aside the curtain. It leads to a small balcony.An empty lawn chair is the only thing on it.David steps onto the balcony and looks down.The rain still pours down unmercifully. It comes down on a black tarp that coversa pool in the backyard.David turns to go back inside.A BLURR OF ORANGE ATTACKS HIM.The collision is sudden and explosive. The huge man drives his shoulder intoDavid's chest and takes him off his feet. David's body flips over the railing.The dark green rain poncho flaps in the wind as he falls two stories directlytowards the black tarp. CUT TO:EXT. POOL - NIGHTDavid lands on his stomach with a TREMENDOUS SLAP onto the nylon black tarp.There's a thin layer of rain water on the tarp's surface. David is laying on hischeek. Half his face is covered in water.Beat. David's exposed eye looks around in a daze. The surface of the tarp getspounded by the rain.David uses his hands to push his body off the tarp. His hands sink into the wateras his pressure pushes the tarp down.THE FIRST SOUNDS OF NYLON SLIDING AGAINST CONCRETE START.David stops pushing. His vision catches the corner of the swimming pool as thetarp slides out from under the sand bags that hold it in place.The tarp sags. David becomes utterly still. THE SOUND CONTINUES ANYWAY.One by one the tarp starts sliding out from under the sand bags all around theedge of the pool.And then without warning, the tarp caves in. It folds around David as he and thetarp get pulled UNDER THE COLD DARK WATER. CUT TO:EXT. UNDER WATER - NIGHTDavid's body is tangled in the pool cover. His legs and arms thrash against theconstricting black tarp. He's drowning.GLIMPSES OF LIGHT FROM THE HOUSE PIERCE THE DARKNESS UNDER WATER. THE BLURREDIMAGE OF A DISTANT FIGURE HIGH ABOVE ON A BALCONY FLICKERS AND DISAPPEARS.The last of the tarp slides out from under the sandbags that old it in placearound the edge of the pool.The rain keeps falling.The tarp moves like it's alive underwater. It shifts and wraps David tighter withevery movement.GLIMPSES OF LIGHT AGAIN. TWO SMALL FIGURES NOW STAND IN A BLURRED SILHOUETTE NEARTHE EDGE OF THE POOL. FLASHES OF SOMETHING SHINY THEY'RE HOLDING... A ROD ORPOLE... IT'S SHAKY NEBULOUS IMAGE WAIVERS IN THE AIR ABOVE THE SURFACE.David's only free hand reaches for the light. It catches the silver pole.The tangled mass of David and the tarp are pulled slowly towards the edge of thepool. David's head and shoulders emerge from the darkness. He takes hold of thepool's edge.Huge desperate breaths as he pulls his body out from the water and the grasp ofthe tarp. He hauls himself onto the ground.He sits hunched over in a dark mass, his head down under his hood. The rainponcho covering him like a blanket. Beat.He rises to his feet. The water rushes off of him. His breathing is slowing,calming.He stands in a silhouette from the light of the house. He turns and looks to thetwo small figures standing near the edge of the pool.The children from the bathroom stand still in the rain. They're holding analuminum pole with a brush head for cleaning the pool. They stare up at thehooded figure.No one says anything. CUT TO:INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHTThe man in the orange one-piece uniform stands over the woman tied to the doorhandle of the bathroom. His back is to us. He's drinking from a beer bottle as helooks down at her.He doesn't notice the third presence come into the room. He doesn't hear him movecloser. Right behind him.The man in orange takes another sip of his beer, not realizing an arm is reachingover him... He doesn't get to swallow the sip in his mouth.David Dunne's powerful arm wraps around the man's thick neck. David's hands clamptogether like and iron vise. He squeezes.The man's beer bottle crashes to the ground as his neck begins to get crushed.David yanks back hard, pulls the man off balance. The man's legs push backviolently, sending both of them backwards across the room. They come to a hardstop as David's back gets RAMMED INTO THE BEDROOM WALL.The huge man in orange pulls away and then SLAMS DAVID harder against the wall.David's arm remains locked around his throat.The man becomes frantic. His face turning dark red. He clutches at David's arm.He spins, taking David with him into another wall. The IMPACT IS TREMENDOUS. Theroom shakes. David holds on. His face bent low and hidden under his hood.And then the man in orange throws a powerful elbow back. It lands hard right inDavid's side. David groans. The huge man delivers another one. Savage, desperateblows. WE HEAR THE IMPACT OF EACH ONE WITH DAVID'S BODY. And David never lets go.The elbows slow and then stop. The legs of the man in orange start to buckle.David pulls him back onto his heels. He turns him in a half circle. All of histremendous weight is hanging from David's arm now. David LETS OUT A YELL AS HEAPPLIES ALL HIS STRENGTH. The man's legs stop kicking.David keeps turning him. The man's body goes completely limp. David's justdragging two hundred and seventy-five pounds of weight in a circle over thecarpet now.David slowly comes to a stop. He stands there with his arm wrapped around theman's neck....The man's limbs dangle down to the ground. Beat.David's hands let go of each other. His arm slips out from under the man's jaw.The man in orange crumples to the ground like a rag doll. The only SOUND IN THEROOM IS DAVID'S HEAVY BREATHING. Beat.He moves to the woman slumped against the door. He starts to untie the phonecords that bind her wrists to the handle. He whispers to her. DAVID(soft) It's over now. (beat) Your children are fine. They're getting help.He unties her wrists. Her arms stay above her head where they were. DAVID(soft) I'm going to go now.He stares at the woman whose eyes stare blankly at him. She sits unnaturallystill against the door with her arms above her head. The mascara that has rundown her face and dried, has tracks where countless tears have rolled down.David moves his hand near her mouth and nose. He checks for the feeling of breathagainst his hand. Beat.He rises up. Removes his hood. David Dunne stands silently in the master bedroomof someone's house and gazes at the dead woman frozen in a slumped positionagainst her bathroom door. CUT TO:INT. FRONT HALL - NIGHTThe front door opens to SILENCE. The silhouetted figure of David steps into thedarkness of his home. CUT TO:INT. CLOSET - NIGHTThe dark green faded security poncho gets hung back on its hook in the closetnext to the family winter coats. CUT TO:INT. JEREMY'S BEDROOM - NIGHTDavid enters the quiet of Jeremy's room. Jeremy lays sound asleep. David staresdown at the shadowy figure of his son.He pulls the blanket over the boy's small shoulder. CUT TO:INT. DAVID'S BEDROOM - NIGHTDavid sits on the edge of the empty bed in the darkness of his room.He doesn't makes a sound. He doesn't move an inch. He is so still, he seems todisappear into the shadows of the room. CUT TO:INT. GUEST BEDROOM - NIGHTMegan stirs in her sleep. She shifts her head on the pillow.Then her body RISES INTO THE AIR.She starts to wake as she floats across the room. She opens her eyes and seesDavid close by. He's carrying her in her arms. He moves up the stairs with her.No words are spoken. CUT TO:INT. THEIR BEDROOM - NIGHTThey enter their bedroom. David lays her down gently on her side of the bed.She watches as he walks out of sight. He lays down right behind her.He covers her with his arm... His hand is shaking. Beat. He speaks softly. DAVID(soft) I had a bad dream.David tucks his head in close to hers and closes his eyes.Megan lays stunned in her husband's arms. Beat. MEGAN(soft) It's over now.She closes her eyes too as the tears start coming. DISSOLVE TO:EXT. STREET - DAYDowntown Philadelphia.People move up and down the sidewalks in front of the storefronts. David Dunne isamong them.He crosses the street in front of The Limited Edition. The front doors of thestore are open.A banner over the door reads, "Annual Sale." CUT TO:INT. LIMITED EDITION - DAYThe compact store is crowded with customers.David spots Elijah with a group of people before a framed painting of a comichero.David moves to a less crowded area of the store and waits. He turns and looks ata framed sketch.Beat. An older woman walks over from a near by picture and joins David. WOMAN ...See the villain's eyes. They're larger than the other characters'. They insinuate a slightly skewed perspective of how they see the world. Just off normal.David stares at the drawing. DAVID He doesn't look very threatening. WOMAN That's what I said to my son. He said, there's always two kinds. The soldier villain who fights the hero with his hands, and then there's the real threat. The brilliant and evil arch enemy who fights the hero with his mind.David turns and looks at the striking and beautiful African American woman in hersixties who stands next to him. DAVID Are you Elijah's mother?The woman turns and looks at David for the first time. ELIJAH'S MOTHER I am. I'm helping him with the sale. DAVID It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm David Dunne. ELIJAH'S MOTHER He's spoken of you. He says you're becoming friends. DAVID We are.David looks across the store at Elijah talking with the customers. DAVID He's doing well today. ELIJAH'S MOTHER I'm very proud of him. (beat) He's been through a lot in his life. A lot of ups and downs, a lot of bad spells. A couple I'd thought had broken him... I mean emotionally. (beat) They were bad... But he made it. Yes he did. DAVID He's kind of a miracle. ELIJAH'S MOTHER Yes he is.They both watch Elijah from across the room. ELIJAH'S MOTHER I'll tell him you're here.David watches as Elijah's mother walks across the store and waits for Elijah tofinish talking.David turns back to the framed sketch. He looks at it with his hands in hispockets. Beat.David's stare turns into a gaze. His gaze turns into stillness.THE SKETCH is of a withered man with large tense eyes. He sits in the shadows.He's seated in some type of machine. There are lots of buttons and levers on themachine. The machine has wheels.David turns from the sketch. He looks across the room to Elijah seated in hiswheelchair. Elijah's large eyes stay focused on the customer's as he finishesnegotiating.David turns back to the sketch. He looks at it with growing confusion. The moreyou look at drawing, the more the machine the man is seated in looks like awheelchair.David looks back across the store. Elijah and his mother are talking. Elijah hasspotted David.Beat. Elijah starts across the crowded store towards David. He wheels up to him. ELIJAH Did you see this?Elijah has a newspaper on his lap. He holds it up.There's a drawing on the front page. It's a hooded figure shielding two huddledchildren behind him. ELIJAH(soft) It has begun.David stares quietly at the sketch of himself. ELIJAH When I saw it this morning. I felt a part of the world again.Elijah looks down at the newspaper.David hesitates and then reaches forward.He reaches past the paper... And TOUCHES ELIJAH'S ARM.FLASHCUT: AN AIRPORT GATE. ELIJAH IS STANDING AT THE WINDOW LOOKING OUT ONTO THEAIRFIELD. HE'S CRYING.SIRENS START SOUNDING THROUGHOUT THE AIRPORT.WAITING PASSENGERS START GETTING UP AND MOVING TO THE WINDOWS. MAN What's going on?Elijah speaks to no one in particular as he stares out the window with torturedeyes. ELIJAH A plane just crashed. CUT TO:FLASH CUT: ELIJAH AND AN ELDERLY MAN IN A UNIFORM ARE SEATED IN A HOTEL BAR. ELDERLY MAN I've worked here twenty-five years. I know all its secrets. ELIJAH Secrets? ELDERLY MAN(whispers) Like if there was ever a fire on floors one, two, or three... Everyone in this hotel would be burned alive.ELIJAH LOOKS UP FROM HIS DRINK. CUT TO:FLASHCUT: ELIJAH LEAVES THE ENGINEERING ROOM OF AN AMTRAK TRAIN. HE PASSES THEENGINEER WHO HAS JUST ARRIVED WITH COFFEE. ENGINEER Passengers aren't allowed in there.Elijah doesn't answer and doesn't turn around as he exits train 177.SLAM CUT BACK TO PRESENT:David takes two unsteady steps back. Elijah has tears in his eyes as he gazesdown at the newspaper. He looks up to David. ELIJAH(low voice) I almost gave up hope. There were so many times I questioned myself. I've made so many sacrifices but it's all been worth it. (beat) There are millions and millions or mediocre people in the world David. Isn't it great that we aren't one of them?David looks like he stopped breathing as he backs up in the store.Customers step between him and Elijah. Elijah becomes obscured and then blockedfrom view. CUT TO:EXT. STREET - DAYDavid emerges from the store slowly. He braces himself against a parked car andthen keeps on walking in a nightmarish daze.WE PULL BACK as David Dunne blends in with dozens and dozens of ordinary people,walking on an ordinary street, in an ordinary city. FADE TO BLACK:
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+                                       "UNDER FIRE"                                      Screenplay by                             Clayton Frohman and Ron Shelton                                         Story by                                     Clayton Frohman                                      SHOOTING DRAFT                               SOMEWHERE IN AFRICA               EXT. GRASSY PLAINS - DUSK               BIRDS ARE FLUSHED FROM HIDING. A soldier carrying an automatic                weapon rises up out of the grass and looks around. A mortar                shell explodes nearby. There are no sound effects. He seems                unperturbed.               Several more explosions in the field. The soldier motions                with his arm and:               FIFTY MORE SOLDIERS RISE UP OUT OF THE GRASS More small                explosions.               FREEZE FRAME               With a click-click of a camera -- still no fx.               THE SOLDIERS RUN THROUGH THE GRASS FOLLOWING THEIR LEADER As                they do, the platoon leader waves his arms again.               FIVE ELEPHANTS CHARGE OUT OF THE SHRUBBERY Through a field                of small mortar explosions.               FREEZE FRAME               With the click-click of a camera.               THE ELEPHANTS CHARGE OUT ACROSS THE PLAINS Each carries an                enormous load of supplies, and each is ridden by a soldier                with a rifle.               A HELICOPTER GUNSHIP DIVES OUT OF THE SKY firing rockets at                the soldiers and elephants. A tribal mask is painted on the                nose of the chopper.               THE ELEPHANTS REAR UP IN TERROR               The soldiers on the elephants stand up and aim rifles at the                chopper and begin firing.               THE CHOPPER ATTACKS THE ELEPHANTS against an African sunset.               FREEZE FRAME                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               INT./EXT. LOBBY OF THE 'NEW PEOPLE'S HOTEL' - DAWN               A door slams o.s. and the figure of RUSSELL PRICE, 30, appears                at the top of some stairs. Sleepy-eyed, he pulls on a multi-               pocketed fishing vest over a baggy shirt. He carries a beat                up canvas bag over his shoulder.               A BLACK WOMAN, 40, sleeps at the lobby switchboard desk.                Another OLD BLACK MAN sweeps the floor. Price mumbles a 'good                morning' and goes to two vintage WW II vending machines --                one for candy, one for Coca-Cola. He buys two candy bars and                a coke, and begins eating his "breakfast" as he crosses the                lobby.               EXT. THE HOTEL - DAWN               JIMMY, a cab driver, has been sleeping in a chair against                the wall. Several street vendors have their wares laid out                on the sidewalk against the hotel. Some are shaded by                makeshift awnings, some are not. Jimmy rises as Price arrives;                there is familiar ritual in their greeting.               They cross the street together toward Jimmy's waiting taxi,                a hand-painted purple old American car with the words on the                door, "New People's Taxi Company" and Jimmy's name in script                above it. Price hands a candy bar to Jimmy.                                     PRICE                         'Morning, Jimmy, think you could                          squeeze me in?                                     JIMMY                         Where is you would care to go at                          once, Mr. Price?                                     PRICE                         Bang-bang.                                     JIMMY                         Twenty dollar.               Price hands him a wad of bills.                                     PRICE                         You're a thief, Jimmy.               Jimmy smiles broadly, nodding, then points to the sky.                                     JIMMY                         Booteeful picture, huh, snap-snap?                                     PRICE                         I don't do skies.               The two men get into the strange cab parked in front of an                open marketplace just starting to come alive; the cab drives                off.               EXT. A REMOTE AFRICAN VILLAGE - DAY               The taxi arrives, and Price gets out.               Price ambles over to stand in the early morning shade against                an old building. A hand-painted image of Che Guevarra --                with an X painted over it -- is on one wall. Price pulls a                joint from his pocket and lights up, taking a hit.               The sounds of war machinery soon interrupt the stillness.                Price hurries to the corner.               P.O.V. A JEEP LEADING AN ARMY CONVOY               Price pulls a handful of colored rags from his pocket and                picks out a yellow kerchief, tying it to his arm. Price then                steps boldly into the street in front of the approaching                convoy. He exchanges shouts with an officer in a jeep, and                with a motion is given permission to join.               PRICE CLIMBS INTO THE LAST OF THREE TROOP TRUCKS               Each truck is filled with perhaps 25 African soldiers in                khaki, each holding an automatic rifle. Another jeep follows,                towing a World War II cannon.                                                                    CUT TO:               INSIDE THE TROOP TRUCK - DAY                                     PRICE                              (cheerily)                         Hi, guys.               The soldiers look over disinterestedly. Two dozen cases of                Coca-Cola are tied to a stretcher among stacks of guns.               As Price settles in for the ride, he begins pulling cameras                from his bag. Quickly and automatically, rarely looking, he                switches lenses, loads film, and prepares his cameras. He                has done this a thousand times.               A SINGLE WHITE SOLDIER -- OATES, rises from among the blacks,                and shakily makes his way toward Price. A mercenary dressed                in a ragged uniform of his own design, carries two machine                guns and a .45. He smiles broadly, recognizing Price. HODGE                slaps Price's hands as if they were teammates.                                     OATES                         G'damn, Price, you tuna sucking piece                          of raw meat -- whatchyou goin' to                          Zambeze for?                                     PRICE                         Thought I'd get some great shots of                          your head gettin' blown to                          smithereens.                                     OATES                         Smithereens?! Be a great fuckin'                          picture, eh?                                     PRICE                         Be a prize winner.                                     OATES                              (proudly)                         Ya think so?                              (beat; changing tone)                         Trade ya some greenies for a joint.                              (beat)                         I gotta have a joint.                                     PRICE                         I'm on the wagon, man, sorry.                                     OATES                              (shrugs)                         Ahh. Dope-wise, this place sucks.                              (looks around, leans                               in confidentially)                         Lotta fuckin' coons around here, eh?               They nod. He laughs obscenely and deeply.                                     PRICE                         I thought you were fighting for the                          Government?                                     OATES                         I am. This is the Government.                                     PRICE                         These are the Rebels.                                     OATES                         Fuck they are. This is a Government                          convoy to Calunda.                                     PRICE                         This is the Abou-Deian Revolutionary                          Front.               Pause.                                     OATES                         You're shitting me.               Pause. Finally Oates starts laughing uncontrollably.                                     OATES                         These guys be pissed if they knew,                          eh?                              (Price nods in                               agreement; Oates                               suddenly gets serious)                         This is the dumbest motherfucker I                          ever signed up for. Don't pay shit                          either.                              (Price nods in                               agreement)                         Nicaragua. That's the spot. Cheap                          shrimp, lotta rays -- real thin in                          the spook department too, dig?                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE REBEL'S AIRFIELD - DAY               The convoy rumbles past a check-point into a small airfield                containing a motley collection of DC-3's and old planes. TWO                RUSSIAN ADVISORS and THREE CUBAN ADVISORS watch.                                     OATES                         Well hell... I wonder where the                          fuckin' Guvmint is?               As he speaks, the cab of the truck is rocked with a mortar                shell and explodes. Soldiers scramble to safety. Some grab                the guns being transported.               TWO SOLDIERS GRAB THE STRETCHER OF COKE and start running                for safety. Smoke and explosions are everywhere -- they                abandon their cargo and run for cover.               OATES SCRAMBLES TO SAFE GROUND quickly and instinctively,                looking around wildly to "read" the situation. Price dives                next to him.               A SOLDIER IS HIT AND GOES DOWN NEARBY, staggering towards                Price and Oates.               A DC-3 GOES UP IN FLAMES IN THE BACKGROUND               THE WOUNDED SOLDIER REACHES FOR OATES who darts out quickly                and drags the injured Rebel to safety.               PRICE HAS HIS CAMERAS OUT AT ONCE and is firing away.               TWO REBEL SOLDIERS POINT TO THE STRETCHER OF COCA-COLA and                start moving toward it through the smoke. They want to rescue                the soft drinks.               PRICE LEAPS FROM HIS BUNKER AND RACES TOWARD THEM dangerously,                waving and shouting as he does.                                     PRICE                         Hold it! Hold it!               They don't speak English but stop at his craziness.               PRICE STOPS AND AIMS HIS CAMERA, and as he does he motions                for the soldiers to continue.               P.O.V. THE FRAMED IMAGE -- SOLDIERS, SMOKE AND COKE IN B.G.                As the soldiers move toward the Coke, Price snaps picture                after picture.               A MORTAR EXPLOSION BLOWS THE COCA-COLA TO A MILLION BITS The                two soldiers stop short -- several more steps and they would                have been killed. Price's intrusion has accidentally saved                them. The two soldiers run toward safety, bewildered and                scared.               ON THE AIRFIELD - THE SMOKE CLEARS AND ALL IS CALM               Gradually the airfield comes back to life. Several teams of                medics run with stretchers from the hut and begin gathering                bodies. Rebel soldiers appear from every conceivable shelter                and move across the field.               Oates emerges and meets Price on the torn up runway amidst                the rubble. They look around at the devastation.                                     OATES                         Well, I guess we know where the                          Guvmint is.                                     PRICE                              (cynically)                         You can walk to work from here.                                     OATES                         Convenient, ain't it?               Oates starts to walk away, then stops and speaks earnestly,                as if trying to connect to a real world that doesn't exist.                                     OATES                         My brother just got married.                                     PRICE                         I don't know your brother.               Suddenly, the distant roar of a jet. All the soldiers on the                field scan the horizon; Price looks up. The air raid siren                goes off.               A JET DIVES OUT OF THE SKY TOWARD THE AIRFIELD OATES AND THE                SOLDIERS DIVE TO COVER               JET STREAKS OVERHEAD and, instead of rockets and bombs, it                drops something else:               THE SKY IS FILLED WITH A MILLION PIECES OF PAPER The jet                pulls out and disappears. All is quiet again as the million                papers flutter in the sky above the airfield.               Out of frustration a single soldier fires a couple of shots                at the paper.               Price grabs a piece of paper out of the air. It is:               A PICTURE OF A SWIMMING POOL IN FRONT OF A CALIFORNIA HOUSE               HE STARES AT THE IMAGE and turns it over. There is writing                on the backside in Spanish and Russian. He looks around.               OATES WANDERS OVER with a handful of the leaflets.                                     PRICE                         What's this?                                     OATES                         Great shit, eh?               Price tries to read the writing on the back as Oates looks                at a leaflet familiarly.                                     OATES                         U.S. Gummint offers this house to                          any Cuban pilot flying Migs for the                          Rebels who chooses to defect to                          America with a Russian jet. We know                          they ain't gonna run off with no                          planes -- but the Rebs don't --                          They're scared. They start thinking                          about that swimming pool. Damn near                          smell that chlorine. Starts workin'                          on 'em, and pretty soon they don't                          let the Cubies near a Mig. Use their                          own spook pilots and destroy their                          own air force in a week. Guaran-fuckin-                         teed.                                     PRICE                         C.I.A.?                                     OATES                              (proudly)                         Smartest guys in the world.                              (afterthought)                         Hey, you gotta scoop here, eh? You'll                          be famous.               OATES shakes hands with Price who looks at the picture.                                     PRICE                              (dispassionately)                         Maybe.                                     OATES                              (looking around)                         I gotta run... have a good one.               Oates heads off across the runway as papers continue blowing                down out of the sky; Price looks up and speaks to himself.                                     PRICE                         I love Africa.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HOTEL ROOMS AT THE NEW PEOPLE'S HOTEL - NIGHT               CLAIRE STRYDER, 40, reads a report over the telephone as she                times the call with a stopwatch. A photograph of Claire's                high-school-aged daughter sits on her dresser.               ALEX GRAZIER, 50, struggles with his tie and a drink at a                dresser in the adjoining room. Their connected rooms are                littered with hand washed laundry and the paraphernalia of                their trade -- typewriters, tape decks, books, notes,                pictures.               Their love affairs of three years is ending.                                     CLAIRE                              (on the phone)                         "...and so this strange war that                          features two provincial governments,                          three rival liberation fronts, and                          at least twenty-five tribal                          associations, grinds into its seventh                          year..."               Alex picks up a Melodica, a novelty wind instrument, and                tries to court her with "Caravan" as she files her story.                Though mildly put off, she maintains her cool throughout the                call. He thinks he's Paul Desmond.                                     CLAIRE                         "...The Battle for the Airfield at                          Abou Deia is just another chapter in                          this endless story. From Ndjamena,                          Chad, this is Claire Stryder."                              (beat)                         No -- you didn't hear any music --                          must be the connection. Okay? So                          long.               She hangs up and rises more irritated than angered.                                     CLAIRE                         Alex, don't play that God damn thing                          when I'm filing.                              (beat)                         We're late.               Quickly expressed, her anger passes.                                     ALEX                         It's my party -- we'll be late. You                          called it a "strange war" and an                          "endless story." If you filed that                          story for me, I'd say you were                          editorialishing.                                     CLAIRE                         I like to editorialize. You drunk?               Alex loves to be melo-dramatic and is quite conscious of his                ability to charm. He's also aware that it's worn off with                her.                                     ALEX                         Drunk? Only with the memories of                          making love with you on the plains                          of Fianga as the first Army of                          Liberation marched in and opened                          fire.                                     CLAIRE                         And freed the Proletariat.               Alex raises a drink.                                     ALEX                         Right.                                     CLAIRE                         I'm going to the party without you.               She leaves -- he quickly puts on his coat and follows her.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE ELEVATOR GOING DOWN - NIGHT                                     ALEX                         Christ, I don't want to go to this                          stupid party. I'm bad at false                          modesty.                                     CLAIRE                         You're great at it.               She straightens his half-tied tie in an act of familiar                affection rather than motherliness. Nervousness. She speaks                calmly -- this is ground they have already covered.                                     CLAIRE                         Alex, you're going to make a great                          anchorman in New York and undoubtedly                          I could be a Pulitzer Prize winning                          hostess -- but I'm not going with                          you.                                     ALEX                         You can work out of the East Coast.                          We'll get a place on Long Island and                          burn our suitcases.                                     CLAIRE                         I still like suitcases.                                     ALEX                         Every Saturday night we'll have a                          party... invite all our friends, sit                          out on the veranda and interview                          each other.                                     CLAIRE                         I've done all that.                                     ALEX                         I haven't.                              (beat; changes tack)                         Well, God dammit, I'm getting tired                          of memorizing who's the president of                          the... Republic of Maldives.                                     CLAIRE                         Mamoon Abdul Gayoom.                                     ALEX                         Yeah, he succeeded Mamoon Abdul                          Gayeem.               They both smile slightly as the elevator comes to a stop.                The door doesn't open, and the light flickers.                                     ALEX                         And I'm tired of Third World                          elevators.               He bangs the door with his fist. It opens, and they enter a                dismal hallway. The sounds of a party come from beyond.                                     ALEX                         Don't leave me.                                     CLAIRE                         I already have.               As they approach the door to the party, he speaks with new                toughness.                                     ALEX                         Fuck Abou Deia and New York. I'm                          going to Nicaragua with you.                                     CLAIRE                         No.                                     ALEX                         I've heard it's a neat little war                          with a nice hotel.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE ROOM WITH THE PARTY - NIGHT               A cheer goes up for Alex as he and Claire enter. Party hats,                booze, hand-made signs reading "Bon Voyage," etc. Fifteen                journalists of varying nationalities cover this backwater                war.               Though both upset, they act as if everything is normal.               PRICE STANDS ON A CHAIR AT THE CENTER summoning Alex who                moves through the group with ease, instantly at home. Price                holds up a bottle of champagne in toast.                                     PRICE                         Alex, get up here!               Alex climbs on a chair next to Price who puts his arm around                him.                                     PRICE                         To the man who gave me my first job,                          and fired me from my first job...                          and gave me my second job...                                     VOICE FROM CROWD                         And fired you from your second job...                                     PRICE                         Just a few words, Alex.                                     VOICES FROM CROWD                         Impossible! Can't be done! etc.               However miserable, Alex shines in these situations. He raises                his hand -- silence.                                     ALEX                         You may be asking yourself what                          exactly are you doing here in this                          "strange war, just another chapter                          in an endless story... that grinds                          into its seventh year..."               Claire slips to the side bar and pours herself a drink,                watching Alex and shaking her head with some affection.               JIMMY, THE CAB DRIVER, ENTERS WITH A CAKE covered with                candles. The crowd parts for the cake shaped like the country                of Chad. The crowd begins singing "Caravan" in a half-drunken                tribute to a man they like and respect.               PRICE MOVES AROUND THE ROOM TAKING PICTURES of the party; it                is all casual, silly, fun.               THROUGH CAMERA P.O.V.'S OF ALEX IN A PARTY HAT, whip pan to                CABBY WITH THE CAKE, whip pan to DRUNKEN JOURNALISTS.               THROUGH CAMERA P.O.V. OF CLAIRE -- FREEZE FRAME, pan follows                her as she moves through the room -- FREEZE FRAME, she picks                up another drink and leaves through a side door -- FREEZE                FRAME.               ALEX GIVES IN AND JOINS THE SINGING, enjoying his own tribute                once he has managed to give in to it.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE DARKROOM - RED LIGHTS               Claire's face is also covered with tears as she smokes,                wandering idly among clothespinned photos. A part of her                life is ending -- life with Alex -- but it's not ending                neatly.               A ROW OF HANGING PHOTOGRAPHS catches her eye. She stops and                looks closely -- then laughs in spite of herself at a series                of pictures: PHOTO OF A TALL AFRICAN NATIVE WITH A COCK SO                LONG IT IS TIED IN A KNOT; PHOTO OF A BEAUTIFULLY BREASTED                AFRICAN WOMAN; PHOTO OF SEVERAL POSING SOLDIERS; PHOTO OF A                PHOTO -- THE RANCH HOUSE WITH POOL; PHOTO SELF-PORTRAIT OF                PRICE BLOWING SMOKE RINGS; PHOTO OF CLAIRE AND ALEX IN HAPPIER                DAYS.               CLAIRE PULLS THE PHOTO OF ALEX AND HER from the clip and                looks at it.               THE DOOR OPENS, AND PRICE ENTERS                                     PRICE                         Oh. I didn't know you were here.                                     CLAIRE                         Sure you did. You were taking pictures                          of me all over the room.                                     PRICE                         Well... yeah... you looked great.                          Why aren't you partying?                                     CLAIRE                         In a minute.               He notices the picture she's looking at.                                     PRICE                         I printed that up for Alex.                                     CLAIRE                         It wouldn't be the greatest thing                          you could give him right now...                              (beat)                         We just split up.                                     PRICE                         Jesus, I'm sorry. Who left who this                          time?                                     CLAIRE                         I'm the villain... I thought it could                          be a little cleaner this time -- me                          in Central America, him in New York.                                     PRICE                         That's pretty clean.                                     CLAIRE                         But he's decided to go to Nicaragua                          too.                                     PRICE                         To cover you or the war?                                     CLAIRE                         To cover everything.               Silence. Price moves behind her and gently kisses her on the                ear. She smiles quickly and nervously.                                     CLAIRE                         No.               He kisses her on the neck.                                     CLAIRE                         For godsakes, Russell, listen.               The sounds of the party can be heard. He ignores them and                moves around her, trying to kiss her on the lips. She puts                her hand over his mouth.               Price reacts strongly, flaring slightly and withdrawing.                                     PRICE                         I don't want to wait for you again.                          We've been circling each other since                          the Montreal Olympics.                                     CLAIRE                         You're a genius of bad timing.                              (beat)                         I'm going back to the party.               She heads to the door; Price stays. She stops before getting                there, hesitates, then pulls the PHOTO OF THE ELEPHANT from                the string and returns to Price, handing him the photo.                                     CLAIRE                         This is a great shot.                                     PRICE                         Thanks.                                     CLAIRE                         I've heard the light in Nicaragua's                          even better.               He doesn't respond. They stand for several moments -- the                sounds of the party get louder. She turns and heads to Alex's                celebration, leaving Price alone in the darkroom.               PRICE LOOKS AT CLAIRE AS SHE LEAVES, stares aimlessly for                several moments, then focuses back on his PHOTO OF THE                ELEPHANTS.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:                                      NICARAGUA 1979               EXT. THE STREETS OF MANAGUA - THE CAPITOL - AFTERNOON               CLOSE ON: TIME MAGAZINE WITH COVER PHOTO OF THE ELEPHANTS,                gradually PULL BACK to reveal other magazines, candy, cigars,                Nicaraguan toys, all in a corner shop, and finally:               A FIRE TRUCK LEADS A PROCESSION through the streets -- a                group of middle class Nicaraguan women carry a banner that                reads "Our Revolution is in Christ" (in Spanish), followed                by three Catholic PRIESTS in bright robes, followed by a                sound truck with P.A. system, followed by hundreds of                townspeople carrying banana leaves and religious signs. All                are singing a Catholic hymn in a swaying, hypnotic rhythm.                Small red and black flags are scattered throughout.               A CAB DRIVING THROUGH THE STREETS runs into the parade and                stops. Price sits in the front seat -- his luggage is tied                precariously to the roof. The trunk of the cab has been                smashed in beyond repair. Price hops out of the cab with his                camera bag -- he doesn't know what the parade is about but                it looks great. He hands the cabbie some money to stay nearby.                                     PRICE                         Wait here.               He runs to join the procession.               PRICE HOPS ONTO THE RUNNING BOARD OF THE FIRE TRUCK and almost                simultaneously his light meter is out. HE is surrounded by                images: SMALL GIRLS DRESSED AS ANGELS LINE THE STREET,                TOWNSPEOPLE HANG FROM DOORWAYS AND WINDOWS, ICE CREAM CARTS                AMONG RELIGIOUS ICONS, SOLDIERS WITH GUNS STAND IN SMALL                GROUPS ALONG THE PARADE ROUTE.               PRICE IS QUICKLY TAKING PICTURES OF EVERYTHING, changing                cameras, occasionally taking a quick light reading; his                actions are instinctive and automatic. Suddenly:               TEN YOUNG TEENAGERS BURST INTO THE PARADE They wear red and                black handkerchiefs, baseball caps, and strange masks. They                are chanting:                                     TEENAGE BOYS                         Rafael, Rafael, Rafael... libre o                          muerte... Rafael...               A LARGE PAINTING OF THE FACE OF RAFAEL is carried aloft on a                stick, draped with red and black scarves.               PRICE PHOTOGRAPHS the boys and the painting.               NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS SHOVE INTO THE PARADE Up and down                the street they spring into action, running for position                with their guns.               An ice cream vendor is knocked down, a mother clutches her                "angel" daughter, another child is whisked inside a door as                the Soldiers break into the procession.               THE "MUCHACHOS" WITH RAFAEL TURN TO RUN but realize that the                soldiers have cut off their escape.               THREE SOLDIERS BREAK into the parade and are separated from                the boys only by a group of Priests. Trapped, the boys panic,                but as the SOLDIERS push towards them:               THE PRIESTS BLOCK THE SOLDIERS and intentionally scuffle                with them, allowing the boys just enough time to dart into a                house. One of the boys drops the picture of Rafael as he                heads in the door.               THE CROWD PUSHES FORWARD, the route to the door is blocked                off, and the boys escape.               SOLDIERS FIND THE PORTRAIT OF RAFAEL and shoot it full of                holes with their automatic weapons.               PRICE PHOTOGRAPHS "RAFAEL" as his image is ripped to shreds                with bullets.               The singing and the parade march on.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL IN MANAGUA - LATER - DAY               Overlooking Managua is a sub-tropical paradise that seems                far removed from a brutal civil war, this one time tourist                watering hole serves as home base to the international press.                The cab pulls up, and Price gets out. The driver unties his                luggage from the roof as TWO PRESS CORPS MEMBERS recognize                Price and greet him as an old friend.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE HOTEL POOL AND OUTDOOR BAR - DAY (DUSK)               ALEX SITS WITH A BEAUTIFUL NICARAGUAN WOMAN, 35, at a table                as PRESS CORPS MEMBERS mingle. A man we will come to know as                HUB KITTLE, 40, dressed New York casual, table hops in the                b.g.               PRICE SEES ALEX and sneaks over to drop the Time magazine                over his shoulder onto the table in front of him. Without                looking up, Alex knows Price has arrived. He smiles.                                     ALEX                         Welcome to Managua.               They shake hands warmly, and Price sits down. Price points                to the cover as a beer is served.                                     PRICE                         You have something to do with this?                                     ALEX                         Well... I thought of calling your                          photographs "Pictures from a Lost                          War"... I'm great at captions -- the                          New York editors loved it since none                          of them knew where the hell Chad was                          anyway -- it legitimized their                          ignorance, got you a cover, me a                          feature, and packaged a class struggle                          in two words. Nifty, eh?                                     PRICE                         Nifty.               Russell acknowledges ISELA CRUZ sitting with Alex.                                     PRICE                         I'm Russell Price.                                     ALEX                         I'm sorry... this is Isela Cruz. She                          works for the hotel and helps out as                          a translator.                                     ISELA                         My pleasure.               IN THE BACKGROUND CLAIRE WALKS INTO THE POOL-BAR AREA She                carries her handbag and some papers -- she stops short seeing                Price sitting with Alex. She hesitates, starts toward them,                stops, and sits down at the bar at the opposite end of the                pool.               Price sees her, and she sees Price. They pretend they don't.                Price turns to Isela and launches into a stream of broken,                chauvinistic Spanish with his usual elegance.                                     PRICE                              (in Spanish)                         Looks like you guys have a lot of                          bang-bang down here, eh? Little                          misunderstanding between the poets                          and the government?                                     ISELA                         "Misunderstanding?!" "Down here"                          it's called a war. It started in                          nineteen thirty. Before you were                          born.                                     ALEX                         My Spanish is a little out of shape --                          what'd he say?                                     ISELA                         He said he considers it an honor to                          be able to photograph our war.               Price looks at each of them and decides not to push.                                     ALEX                         Russell's got a way with words.                                     ISELA                         I can tell.                                     PRICE                         You're a helluva translator.                                     ISELA                         I know. I'm much in demand around                          here. Will you excuse me? If you                          have any questions, just ask.               Alex stands to help Isela from her chair. Price presses on,                instinctively and effortlessly.                                     PRICE                         Who is Rafael?                                     ALEX                         It depends who you ask.               Alex turns to Isela, who stops as she rises.                                     ISELA                         Rafael? Comandante Rafael. He is                          either a Marxist dupe of Russia and                          Cuba...                              (beat)                         ...or the most popular leader of a                          most popular democratic revolution.                              (to Price cynically)                         Take your pick.                                     PRICE                         I don't really give a damn... but                          the guy's got a great face.               A beat, then Price asks his question almost sexually, as if                he thinks he could seduce Isela, Rafael, the whole war.                                     PRICE                         How would he like to be photographed?                                     ISELA                         You'd never find him.                                     PRICE                         Wanta lay odds?                                     ISELA                         You would lose.                              (beat)                         You must excuse me.               She starts to leave again, and again he stops her.                                     PRICE                         Just one more thing -- is Rafael                          owned by the C.I.A. or the K.G.B.?                          I'll figure out the rest.               Isela seems to welcome the question. Her tone is less flip,                and she focuses hard on Price.                                     ISELA                         Mr. Price... the world is not divided                          into East and West anymore. It is                          divided into North and South. By the                          time you people figure that out --                          it will be too late.                              (beat)                         Congratulations on your cover.               She touches his Time magazine, kisses Alex on the cheek, and                floats magically through the pool area.               Price frames her with his fingers as if composing a shot.               P.O.V. OF ISELA THROUGH PRICE'S FINGERS Isela kisses another                journalist, grabs someone's hand, and lands gracefully at                another table.                                     PRICE                         So far this war's got it all over                          Africa.                                     ALEX                         You're gonna have a ball.               ALEX PLACES HIS HAND OVER PRICE'S "FRAME" blocking out his                view of the sexy Isela. Though Alex's tone is gentle, the                threat is obvious.                                     ALEX                         Hands off. I need an interpreter                          more than you do right now.               Price takes the hint.                                     PRICE                         You still hanging in there with                          Claire?               Alex chooses his words carefully and speaks slowly.                                     ALEX                         I'm hanging in there like an interim                          post-war government waiting for the                          palace to be overrun... by younger                          men.               Silence and an uneasiness that Alex intended. Price manages                a smile.                                     PRICE                         Younger men.               Alex smiles disarmingly.               CLAIRE RISES AT THE OPPOSITE BAR, picks up her papers, and                heads straight for the two men with a bounce in her step.               BOTH MEN ARE A BIT SURPRISED AT HER ENTRANCE and she hands a                stack of mail to Alex.                                     CLAIRE                         Hi, Alex... Russell! When did you                          get in?                                     PRICE                         Just now.               She shakes Price's hand in a friendly manner that comes out                awkwardly, then races past the moment to address and entertain                both men.                                     CLAIRE                         You're not going to believe this --                          I just beat you guys and everybody                          else here to a story...                              (she teases them)                         ...exclusive... eat your heart out.                                     PRICE                         What'd ya get?                                     CLAIRE                         I've just been promised a private                          interview with Tacho.                                     ALEX                              (impressed)                         Congratulations. The bastard won't                          talk to me.                                     PRICE                         Who's Tacho?               They turn to Price as if everyone knows who Tacho is.                                     CLAIRE                         That's President Somoza's nickname.                                     PRICE                         I don't know who the players are                          yet.                                     ALEX                         Want me to order you a hot dog and a                          program?               A bit of tension and awkwardness -- Claire quickly takes                control and changes the tone.                                     CLAIRE                         Fellas! No fighting after six at                          night, all right? Curfew.                              (beat)                         C'mon, we've all got something to                          celebrate.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE VIKING CLUB OF MANAGUA - NIGHT               Corrugated metal roofs, thatched hut booths, a strange                combination of decorative and architectural devices. DAISY                WILLIAMS, a large black woman from Nicaragua, sings "I Left                My Heart in San Francisco" with a mediocre jazz group.               HUB KITTLE is present, and other journalists drop by the                table to say hello.               A BOY PHOTOGRAPHER, 13, aims an ancient bellows type polaroid                at a booth in which Claire sits between Alex and Price. They                are holding a pose indefinitely while the boy struggles with                the camera. They hold up the TIME COVER and a couple of beers                in celebration, and when he finally snaps the picture -- no                flash.               The boy puts the camera down disappointedly.                                     BOY PHOTOGRAPHER                              (in broken English)                         Sometimes it doesn't work.               The three journalists relax their pose.                                     PRICE                         Let me look.               ON THE BANDSTAND Daisy has just finished "San Francisco" and                spots Alex, motioning to him.                                     DAISY                         Ladeez and Gen'mun, hep me get Aaleex                          ov' here...               Daisy applauds lightly for Alex to join them. Alex is equally                pleased and embarrassed.                                     ALEX                         There's not many piano bars left                          where I'm still welcome.                                     CLAIRE                         Go ahead.                                     ALEX                         If she can't sing in the key of C                          I'm in trouble.               Alex excuses himself and joins Daisy on the bandstand. Price                and Claire are left alone in the booth as Price hands the                repaired camera back to the boy.               ALEX AT THE PIANO begins a slow, easy cocktail version of                "Stardust," the song of his generation perhaps, and he seems                happy, seduced by his own chords.               PRICE AND CLAIRE RESUME THEIR POSE, and this time the camera                FLASHES. Price pays for the picture from the boy.               At first there is a moment of awkwardness between them.                                     PRICE                         Well...                                     CLAIRE                         "Well"... you finished your assignment                          in Chad?                                     PRICE                         Got Africa all wrapped up and pouched                          to my editor.               She smiles and relaxes a bit at the typical Price remark.                                     CLAIRE                         You're going to love this war,                          Russell... there's good guys, bad                          guys, cheap shrimp...                              (an afterthought)                         And Alex is still singing in the                          background.                              (beat)                         I missed you.                                     PRICE                         We gotta get alone somewhere to talk.               ALEX BEGINS SINGING as he plays. He sings like a trumpet                player -- no voice but great phrasing. He half smiles as he                sings, enjoying the song and enjoying making them                uncomfortable.               ALEX AT THE PIANO                                     ALEX                         Sometimes I wonder why I spend these                          lonely nights, Dreaming of a song...               BACK AT THE BOOTH                                     CLAIRE                         Jesus... he's doing it on purpose.                                     PRICE                         Alex is one of the world's leading                          experts on military strategy.               They don't really want to talk about Alex though his presence                is unavoidable. Price changes gears, gets slightly goofy,                and steers the conversation to more comfortable turf.                                     PRICE                         Well, hell, I just got off the boat...                          gimme the scoop on Nicaragua...                                     CLAIRE                         Well... about sixty years ago the                          U.S. Marines invaded to protect                          American business interests and put                          down a peasant revolt led by a little                          man who wore a giant cowboy hat --                         his name was Augusto Sandino... In                          nineteen thirty-four he was murdered                          at a peace conference, and the Somoza                          family has ruled ever since...                                     PRICE                         No, no, no... I don't mean the stuff                          about the peasants -- I mean the                          real stuff.               She knows what he means, but she wants to tease him a bit                first.                                     CLAIRE                         The "real" stuff?... you mean a                          history of class struggle in agrarian                          societies?                                     PRICE                         No, c'mon!                                     CLAIRE                         Oh. Okay... well...                              (beat)                         Just a couple things.                              (beat)                         One -- there's only two kinds of                          beer available -- Tona and Victoria.                          Victoria's better.                              (beat)                         And two -- if you see Miss Panama                          hanging around the hotel bar -- hot,                          hot, hot -- but don't touch. She                          belongs to Tacho, and if anybody                          gets caught with her then El                          Presidente has promised to personally                          cut off the guy's...                              (unsure which word to                               use)                                     PRICE                         Pecker?                                     CLAIRE                         Yeah... and throw it into Lake                          Managua.                                     PRICE                         Jesus.                                     CLAIRE                         And the lake's already polluted.               Price is impressed, and yet another new face drops by the                booth -- they both recognize and see him coming, a                contemporary of Price, REGIS FLYNN, a scraggly British                journalist who heads over to their table holding three beers.                                     PRICE                              (mutters to Claire)                         Is there anybody here we don't know?                                     CLAIRE                         No.               Regis slides into their booth, happy to see them.                                     REGIS                         G'damn, Price... kudos on the African                          snaps.                              (shakes hands, a                               perfunctory kiss on                               her cheek)                         Jeez, Claire, I haven't seen you                          since...                                     CLAIRE                         Three Mile Island.                                     REGIS                         Yeah... shit...                              (wistfully)                         Holiday Inn, right?               He nods; they all sip beers and watch Alex sing.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE NIGHT CLUB KITCHEN               A teenage DISHWASHER looks around nervously, then pulls a                paper sack from off the shelf, removing a strange mask from                it. He pulls the mask over his head. Then from the bag he                removes a hand-made zip gun, puts a bullet in it, and darts                into the shadows of a nook, waiting.               BACK TO THE BOOTH where Regis softly croons a few bars of                "Stardust" into Claire's mike. The three of them are having                a good time, mildly drunk at best, and uninhibited.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE CLUB               As we hear Alex's gentle rendition of the standard, a NECKING                COUPLE moves back into the shadows of the club. Each pulls                on a mask, as in the b.g.:               ISELA AND AN ELEGANT MAN ARRIVE AT THE CLUB               The man, somehow out of place, dresses with casual continental                style, not overdone but expensive and tasteful -- clearly                from another world. He wears a neat hat and moves gracefully.                Isela looks stunning, dressed for the evening. The DOORMAN                greets them familiarly.               Isela casually checks her watch as they enter the club.               The masked couple in the shadows check their watches.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE VIKING CLUB               As Isela and the man enter, commanding attention without                trying. Isela stops at the piano long enough to kiss Alex                gently before sitting in the booth with the man.               IN PRICE'S BOOTH the new arrivals have caught their attention --                Price and Alex still clown slightly, and Claire teases them.                                     CLAIRE                         Jesus... Louis Jordan walks in, and                          I'm sitting with the Everly Brothers.                                     REGIS                         Before you fall in love -- that's                          Marcel Jazy... friend of wine, women,                          and Somoza. They say he's a                          businessman...                                     CLAIRE                              (interrupting)                         He's a businessman in search of a                          business... he doesn't try very hard                          to cover up his connections to the                          C.I.A...               P.O.V. OF JAZY LIGHTING ISELA'S CIGARETTE                                     CLAIRE                         But look at his moves -- can the                          C.I.A. light cigarettes like that?                                     PRICE                         What's wrong with the Everly Brothers?               THE WAITER ARRIVES AT PRICE'S BOOTH and sets down three shrimp                cocktails and more champagne, as:               INT. THE BACK DOOR OF THE CLUB               It opens quickly, and three more MEN IN MASKS enter quickly.               BACK TO THE BOOTH as the waiter speaks with a firm coolness.                                     WAITER                         Please stay at your table, and you                          won't be hurt.               A FACE IN A MASK MOVES QUICKLY PAST PRICE'S TABLE               ANOTHER MASKED FACE COMES OUT OF THE KITCHEN The dishwasher                waves a gun.               TWO MASKED FACES -- THE COUPLE -- ENTER THROUGH THE FRONT                DOOR The woman carries an automatic rifle and guards the                entrance.               THREE MASKED FACES APPEAR Almost materialize from thin air,                moving silently and without commotion. The music winds down                slowly. (Six Guerrillas total)               A GUERRILLA QUICKLY SPRAYS AN IMAGE ON THE WALL With a few                deftly drawn strokes, the FACE OF RAFAEL magically appears.                The name "RAFAEL" is written under the face, then other names                and revolutionary slogans. As this takes place:               A WOMAN GUERRILLA HAS A GUN AT THE HEAD OF A NICARAGUAN                BUSINESSMAN The middle-aged, well-dressed local sits with                his wife and two other men. They freeze in fear, the nightclub                freezes, as the GUERRILLAS take control of the room swiftly                and smoothly.               ONE GUERRILLA FACES THE NICARAGUAN BUSINESSMAN at the table                and speaks loudly but without panic. The masked Guerrillas                around the room are serious but nervous.                                     GUERRILLA LEADER                              (in Spanish)                         We do not want to waste any ammunition                          on a head as empty as yours -- but                          we will.                                     BUSINESSMAN                              (in Spanish)                         What is this?!                                     GUERRILLA LEADER                              (in Spanish)                         Shut up! Get up!               The BUSINESSMAN refuses. The GUERRILLA LEADER takes a hand                grenade from his pocket and pulls the pin without hesitation,                then holds the grenade in front of him fearlessly, inches                away from the Businessman's face.               The Businessman rises slowly. The LEADER motions toward the                back door of the club.                                     GUERRILLA LEADER                              (in Spanish)                         You are coming with us -- you will                          not be hurt -- we will trade you for                          the release of some Nicaraguans who                          care about Nicaragua.               The woman with the gun shoves it into the man's head forcing                him to move toward the kitchen door.               PRICE TAKES PICTURES QUICKLY WITH A TINY CAMERA that fits                into the palm of his hand. Neatly, surreptitiously, and calmly --                Price is coolest in any crisis.               CLAIRE PUNCHES ON HER TINY TAPE RECORDER instinctively, and                a tiny red light comes on.               THE BUSINESSMAN IS SHOVED TO THE DOOR He hesitates, afraid                to leave the room. The Guerrilla shoves the grenade in his                face; the woman sticks the gun into his neck even deeper.               MASKED GUERRILLA AT THE FRONT DOOR SHOUTS FOR THEM TO HURRY               THE BANDMEMBERS -- INCLUDING ALEX -- BACK AWAY FROM THE                BANDSTAND Alex trips over the drum set slightly -- a clanging                clash of cymbals startles everyone, and as the drama freezes:               THE KITCHEN DOOR SWINGS OPEN, AND THE BOY PHOTOGRAPHER EMERGES                Innocently, the young boy struts out of the kitchen to see                what's going on, and as he does the DOOR STRIKES THE ARM OF                THE GUERRILLA WITH THE GRENADE, and:               THE GRENADE IS KNOCKED FREE For an instant, everything                freezes, and:               THE GRENADE ROLLS ACROSS THE FLOOR Daisy Williams, the singer,                runs away screaming as the grenade comes to rest near a                crowded section of the club.               A Guerrilla guarding the side door rushes for it, picks it                up, and as he does:               THE GRENADE EXPLODES IN THE GUERRILLA'S HAND A brutal                explosion -- the ceiling caves in partially, the musical                instruments explode, and:               THE SANDINISTA GUERRILLAS DART FROM THE ROOM through various                doors. The boy photographer lies bloodied. The Guerrilla who                picked up the grenade is a barely recognizable corpse. The                Businessman is soiled but unhurt.               ONE HALF OF THE CLUB BREAKS OUT IN FLAME As a broken gas                pipe feeds a sudden outburst of fire, the club's patrons                panic -- screaming and shoving towards the door as the ROOM                LIGHTS UP, and:               PRICE'S LIGHT METER IS OUT AT ONCE followed quickly by a                35mm camera, quickly clicking off picture after picture of                the club amid the flames and panic. The new light makes his                job easier.               PRICE TAKES A LIGHT READING near the body of the boy                photographer. He sees the boy's camera lying nearby. Price                puts away his light meter and feels the boy's pulse, then                puts his ear to the boy's heart -- making sure he is not                still alive.               LA GUARDIA SOLDIERS AND FIREMEN FILL THE ROOM                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE PRESS ROOM AT THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL - LATER               The chaos of a busy, cramped Telex room. A switchboard --                several journalists trying to place phone calls. Press come                and go -- coffee, cigarettes, and half-eaten sandwiches.               CLAIRE TEARS A STORY OFF THE TELEX while Price stands to the                side of the action eating a sandwich and watching.               ALEX STANDS AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL Established as the senior                figure (or one of them) to whom other, younger journalists                come for information.               A YOUNG JOURNALIST, a Time stringer, is slightly distraught                on the phone, and interrupts Alex's dealing with others,                cupping the phone, to announce:                                     TIME STRINGER                         ...it's Charlie, from New York --                          says that a terrorist bombing of a                          Central American restaurant isn't                          big enough to hold for the world                          section...                                     ALEX                         Tell him we have pictures.                                     YOUNG JOURNALIST                         He knows.                                     ALEX                         Tell him there were pieces of body                          in the piano, and somebody was                          singing, "I Left My Heart in San                          Francisco."                              (beat)                         What's he got better than that?                                     TIME STRINGER                         He's got the Pope visiting Egypt.               Alex grabs the phone in disgust and launches in.                                     ALEX                         Forget the Pope, Charlie. Every week                          you got the Pope somewhere. This is                          a very big story down here because                          it's the first sign of fighting in                          Managua.                              (beat)                         Yeah, well get a map and look up                          Nicaragua -- ya drive to New Orleans                          and turn left.               While Charlie argues on the other end of the phone, Alex                initials papers and performs several jobs at once.                                     ALEX                         Like hell I'm editorializing, the                          whole thing happened in a roomful of                          C.I.A. and press. What do you want?!                              (beats)                         How do I know they were C.I.A.? They                          wore name tags, what do you think?                          We're backing a Fascist again -- I                          know that ain't news, but see if you                          can find an angle!               HUB KITTLE has been floating through the room and, upon                hearing the word "fascist," takes offense and approaches                Alex.                                     HUB                         Hey! There's fascists and then there's                          fascists, right? Be careful how you                          throw words like that around.               Alex ignores Hub though he is slightly pestered by him, and                continues on the phone as he initials papers brought to him.                                     ALEX                         We don't have any pictures of Rafael                          because nobody knows where the son                          of a bitch is, and anybody crazy                          enough to go after him...               Alex spots Price who is standing nearby, still eating a                sandwich, still enjoying the high energy buzz of the room.                Alex directs his next line so that Price cannot fail to get                the message. Alex plays the moment coolly.                                     ALEX                         ...is liable to get his nuts shot                          off.               Hub nods seriously, in agreement. Price turns. Alex smiles.                Price smiles. Alex hangs up, grumbling, then turns his                attention to the persistent Hub Kittle.                                     ALEX                         Yeah, well g'bye...                              (to Hub)                         Who the fuck are you?                                     HUB                              (extending a hand)                         Hub Kittle. I'm with Lewitsky and                          Knupp -- New York. We have a client                          down here.               Alex is irritated but fascinated.                                     ALEX                         Who?                                     HUB                         President Somoza.               Alex is incredulous that Somoza employs a New York P.R. firm.                Hub is professionally used to this reaction -- no panic.                                     HUB                         I know, I know...                              (beat)                         But there's an untold story here. I                          mean, the man has a point of view                          too, right?               Alex turns to leave; Hub corners him.                                     HUB                         We got a national anthem contest                          going on right now, and you guys are                          ignoring it. Lotta human interest.               Alex turns to other business though Hub persists.               ELSEWHERE IN THE ROOM a young NICARAGUAN WOMAN, 18, is talking                to Claire. She seems to be part of the local press.                                     CLAIRE                         I want you to get me copies of the                          Government inventory lists of all                          captured Guerrilla weapons. I want                          to know if the guns are Israeli,                          Belgian, Russian, Cuban...                                     YOUNG WOMAN                         The Guerrillas are not supplied by                          anybody from the outside.                                     CLAIRE                         Fine -- give me proof.               A TELEPHONE OPERATOR CALLS TO CLAIRE through the chaos.                                     OPERATOR                         Su hija, su hija! Your daughter from                          Los Angeles.               Claire sighs at the bad timing but seems delighted to be                interrupted by her daughter, and brushes aside a Stringer                forcing paperwork upon her. Claire takes the phone into a                bare, adjacent hallway for some privacy.               IN A BARE HALLWAY Claire talks to her daughter.                                     CLAIRE                         Hi, baby! How are you?                              (beat)                         Has Grandmother spoiled you silly by                          now? She has? Good.                              (beats)                         Yes, I got your letter with the                          picture of your new boyfriend. He's                          very good looking... but he's a bit                          old, isn't he? No? Just how old is                          he?...               P.O.V. FROM THE TELEX ROOM TO CLAIRE Price knows this is not                his world, and he wanders outside.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. MANAGUAN STREET NEAR THE HOTEL - LATER THAT NIGHT               Price bounces along, whistling, "San Francisco." An occasional                Guardia jeep or taxi rumbles past. He strolls up the walkway                of a house from which comes a strange, blue glow.               INT. THE MONEYCHANGERS HOUSE - NIGHT               Blue walls, bare bulbs, several pictures on the wall, and an                old woman lying in a hammock. Music in the b.g. Price                approaches her and hands her a $100 bill -- there is a brief                negotiation of the black market value.                                     PRICE                              (in broken Spanish)                         Cuanto?                                     OLD WOMAN                         Quince.                                     PRICE                         Veinte.                                     OLD WOMAN                         Diezysiete.               She shrugs, declaring the negotiation ended, and leaves the                room to change the dollar into cordobas. Price idly studies                the pictures on the wall:               PICTURE OF ANASTAZIO SOMOZA IN WHITE, PICTURE OF THE VIRGIN                OF GUADALUPE, PICTURE OF SANTA CLAUS, FADED NEWSPHOTO OF                HANK AARON HITTING HIS 715TH HOME RUN.               PRICE SMILES AND TURNS RIGHT INTO A SHARP BAYONET mounted to                a rifle held threateningly by a Guardia soldier.               THE SMALL ROOM IS FILLED WITH NATIONAL GUARDS We haven't                heard them enter over the sounds of music and our                preoccupation with the pictures.                                     PRICE                         What is this? I'm a journalist!               No answer. Price pulls a thick passport and press credentials                from a pocket, handing them to the Officer in charge.                                     PRICE                         Journalista, journalista!               The officer looks at Price's passport photo, studies it                briefly and takes the passport. He nods.               A rifle butt is jammed violently into Price's belly -- he                doubles over. The Officer nods, and Price is led away.               As the Guard hauls him outside, the OLD WOMAN appears in the                doorway with a stack of local currency.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. MILITARY HOLDING CELL - NIGHT               Price is led into a dark cell where another PRISONER, 50,                lies in street clothes on the floor. The Prisoner is spat                upon by the Guards and kicked awake. Price cringes.                                     GUARD                         Padre Puta, Padre Puta, Padre Puta...                              (in Spanish to Price)                         Here is a Priest for you to confess                          your sins.               The Guards laugh and leave. The Prisoner rises to his feet.                Price keeps his distance. The Prisoner looks in bad shape.                                     PRISONER PRIEST                         Cigarillo?               Price hands him a cigarette and lights it. A long, deep drag.                                     PRICE                         Priest?                              (the man nods)                              (in broken Spanish)                         What are you doing here?                                     PRISONER PRIEST                              (in Spanish)                         The government accused me of using                          the church to hide Rebels and guns.                                     PRICE                              (in Spanish)                         Governments are always wrong, eh?                                     PRISONER PRIEST                              (in Spanish)                         This time they're right. Who are                          you?                                     PRICE                              (in Spanish)                         Un periodista.                                     PRISONER PRIEST                              (in Spanish)                         Whose side are you on?                                     PRICE                              (in Spanish)                         I don't take sides. I take pictures.                                     PRISONER PRIEST                              (in Spanish)                         No sides?                                     PRICE                              (in Spanish)                         No.               The Prisoner Priest looks at Price with disdain.                                     PRISONER PRIEST                         Periodista Puta, todos periodistas                          son putas.                              (All journalists are                               whores)               The Prisoner sits down in the corner ignoring Price who is                surprised to be treated so despicably.                                     PRISONER PRIEST                              (quietly)                         Go home.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. A BRIGHTLY LIT ROOM               Price is led into a lineup of 10 people, all Nicaraguans.                The room is narrow and so brightly lit that at first he covers                his eyes.               FIGURES MOVE IN THE SHADOWS A Guardia soldier moves up and                down the lineup, stopping to point at a prisoner. In the                line we recognize the WAITER from the Viking Club. Price                speaks to the soldier in a calm, reasoned tone.                                     PRICE                         Mi amigo -- mala interpretacion, eh?                          Periodista, comprende? Famoso. Time                          magazine.               The soldier whirls at Price in a rage out of all proportion                to Price's tone, shouting:                                     SOLDIER                              (in Spanish)                         Shut up!               Price holds up his hands -- he may be fearless, but he's not                stupid. The soldier pulls a knife, then pulls his own tongue                from his mouth, and makes motions with the knife as if cutting                out his tongue. The message is clear -- Price doesn't speak.               The soldier walks up to the Waiter and points. The Waiter is                frightened.               Through the shadows we see an officer talking with a civilian                in a hat. The civilian points to a door.               THE WAITER IS LED AWAY THROUGH A DOOR protesting desperately                as he goes. The soldier moves to the next prisoner -- he too                is led away. This repeats itself until the soldier arrives                at price.               THE SOLDIER POINTS TO PRICE               PRICE'S P.O.V. THROUGH THE SHADOWS The civilian is in a                discussion with the officer -- it is clear that his opinion                affects the decisions. For a moment Price doesn't know where                he's going to be led. The civilian points to a different                door -- it opens -- and Price steps down off the display                rack into a room.               THROUGH THE DOOR as Price steps through, the action continues                with the other Nicaraguan prisoners. Price looks around                quickly, but the Civilian and Officer are gone. He is quickly                shown into a bare office.               INT. THE BARE ROOM               Pictures on the wall of Somoza and the FLAG RAISING AT IWO                JIMA. Price's cameras and bag sit on a desk.               P.O.V. THE CIVILIAN THROUGH A DOOR -- IT IS MARCEL JAZY His                rumpled elegance is at odds with the brutal surroundings.                The door closes.               A SENIOR OFFICER ENTERS THE BARE ROOM, and Price addresses                him at once.                                     PRICE                         Soy un periodista.                                     SENIOR GUARD OFFICER                              (in excellent English)                         Mr. Price... you must accept our                          deepest apologies for the                          misunderstanding. Somebody saw you                          taking photographs of terrorists                          hooligans in the parade and at the                          nightclub -- our young officers get                          carried away... they're always looking                          for traitors.                                     PRICE                         That film is half way to New York by                          now.                                     SENIOR GUARD OFFICER                         I know, I know... It was all a                          misunderstanding... una mala                          interpretacion. Your cameras.               The Officer reaches for one of Price's cameras and hands it                to him, but as he does:               THE CAMERA DROPS TO THE GROUND AND BREAKS -- SILENCE The                Officer would love for Price to get angry.                                     SENIOR GUARD OFFICER                         I'm sorry.               Price smiles barely, and refuses to pop off.                                     PRICE                         Forget it.               Price puts his cameras in his bag, and as he is shown from                the room he notices a copy of the TIME MAGAZINE WITH ELEPHANT                sitting on the desk.                                     SENIOR GUARD OFFICER                         This way.               Price is shown to a door, handed over to a soldier, and led                outside into the night.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. MILITARY PRISON - DAWN               Claire stands at the main doorway surrounded by GUARDS, an                OFFICER, and an unidentified CIVILIAN -- she is arguing with                them in rapid Spanish, not allowing them to get in a word.                                     CLAIRE                              (in Spanish)                         You throw a journalist in jail -- it                          gets in the papers. You walk all                          over the same press credentials you                          pass out. I demand to speak to someone                          in authority or I'll go to Tacho                          myself... I don't understand you --                          you're big and strong and handsome                          but you're not so smart!                              (beat)                         You should be trying to seduce us!                                     OFFICER                         Senora...               PRICE IS SHOWN OUT A DOOR IN THE BACKGROUND and sees her.                                     PRICE                         Claire!               They hurry toward each other and embrace briefly. The Guards                watch it all curiously.                                     CLAIRE                         You're okay?                                     PRICE                         I'm fine -- what're you doing here?                          These guys are goons.                                     CLAIRE                         They love being beaten up by a woman                              (beat)                         I've been looking for you all night --                          why'd they lock you up?               They walk away together.                                     PRICE                         I don't know. Taking pictures. The                          usual. Jazy got me released.                                     CLAIRE                         Jazy?! You think there's a story                          there?                                     PRICE                         Ahh... C.I.A. stories are all alike.                          I wanta find Rafael.                                     CLAIRE                         You need help?                                     PRICE                         No. You?                                     CLAIRE                         No.                              (beat)                         When should we start.                                     PRICE                         I figure you probably want to do a                          little research on the history of                          Marcel Jazy's business connections                          in the third world countries with                          C.I.A. influence...                                     CLAIRE                         Oh. I assumed you'd just look him in                          the eye and say "Gimme a break, for                          crissakes, Marcel, are you a spy or                          aren't you?"                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. GARDEN COURTYARD OF MARCEL JAZY - DAY LATER               Marcel Jazy stands, drink in hand, looking slightly rumpled                in the daylight, slightly older, but more charming and self-               effacing than his first impression indicated. His two story                Mediterranean style house is in slight disrepair; the gardens                are scraggly and overgrown. The pool is empty. Jazy addresses                Price and Claire.                                     PRICE                         ...are you a spy or aren't you, eh?                                     JAZY                              (smiling)                         Spy is such an odd word, Mr. Price...                          nobody is a... 'spy'... anymore.                                     CLAIRE                         Russell prefers pictures to words...                                     JAZY                         You don't have to apologize... you're                          journalists.                                     CLAIRE                         And you're a businessman?                                     JAZY                         A businessman? That sounds good.                          Okay, I'm a businessman.                                     PRICE                         Why was I arrested, and why did you                          get me released, and who are you?               As he speaks, the questioning comes to a sudden halt as a                SPECTACULAR LOOKING WOMAN emerges from the shadows of the                house into the light of the courtyard. She is tall, Latin,                and besides high heels wears only a shiny, high fashion                swimsuit, cut high on the legs.               Price, Claire, and Jazy stop to watch as the woman stops to                look into the empty pool.                                     WOMAN IN SWIMSUIT                         No agua.                                     JAZY                              (nodding)                         No agua.                                     WOMAN IN SWIMSUIT                              (in Spanish)                         Oh, Marcel! You told me there would                          be water in the pool this week!               Jazy leans in very coolly to Price and Claire as he pours an                extra glass of wine and speaks softly in English again.                                     JAZY                         If she dove in, I assure you she                          wouldn't notice.               He carries the glass of wine to the woman, smiling warmly.                                     JAZY                              (to Miss Panama in                               Spanish)                         Sweetheart, the Guerrillas knocked                          out the pumping station on the road                          to Masaya, and we must ration water                          for the time being. Next week maybe                          things will be better.                                     WOMAN IN SWIMSUIT                              (in Spanish)                         Maybe I should go back to Panama.                                     JAZY                              (in Spanish)                         Maybe you should.               Jazy pushes a lounge chair over to her and hands her a glass                of wine. The woman unfolds gracefully into a lounge chair in                the sun. Very sexy. She reaches for and kisses Jazy's hand                affectionately -- he kisses her forehead. She feels better                now.               Jazy motions for Claire and Price to follow him inside.               INT. JAZY'S HOUSE - DAY               The pool is visible in b.g. His house, like the pool, is                rumpled and slightly sloppy though it betrays the taste of                its occupant -- books everywhere, pictures on the wall,                nothing cheap or tacky but everything is well worn.                                     JAZY                         You were arrested because the Guardia                          are clowns who specialize in excess.                          You were released because I told                          them to release you.                                     CLAIRE                         These are not the normal duties of a                          businessman.               He looks at them directly.                                     JAZY                         But they are the normal duties of                          a... spy, eh? You win, I'm a spy.                              (smiles)                         There, are you happy? I feel better.               He refills their glasses.                                     JAZY                         Now we can relax. You can turn off                          your little thing.               The red light of her recorder is on. She smiles slightly,                undisturbed, and turns it off.                                     JAZY                         Oh, I trust you won't say anything                          to hurt me. In some ways I'm a                          terrible spy. I used to be much better                          at it, but now it seems everyone                          knows who I am. I have too many                          girlfriends. I like to be                          photographed.                              (beat)                         I talk too much.               Price and Claire are almost afraid to speak, afraid to                interrupt this strange performance.                                     JAZY                         I always talk too much... but my                          girlfriends like that... No matter.                              (pointing to the                               swimsuited woman)                         You know who she is?                                     CLAIRE AND PRICE                         No.                                     JAZY                         That's Miss Panama. Do you know who                          that is?                                     CLAIRE AND PRICE                         Oh, yeah, yes, etc.                                     JAZY                         She's in love with me. I've got to                          get some water in the pool.                              (beat)                         And once a week I have lunch with                          President Somoza to discuss security                          measures against the Sandinista                          insurgents, but all he wants to talk                          about is Miss Panama... he's worried                          about her.               Claire interrupts with a smile.                                     CLAIRE                         Because he thinks she's seeing another                          man?               Jazy smiles slightly before confirming.                                     JAZY                         ...and he assigned me to find out                          who the man is.               They all smile at this complication. Price is impressed.                Jazy changes the subject with fluent and disturbing ease.                                     JAZY                         We all know the Revolutionaries are                          going to win, don't we?               Silence. They don't know how to respond.               THEIR P.O.V. AS MISS PANAMA STRETCHES LIKE AN ENORMOUS CAT                They all are slightly entertained and glad for the relief.               Unsure what to say next, Price notices a picture on the wall:               CLOSEUP - A BLOWN-UP FRAMED PHOTO OF THE RANCH HOUSE WITH                POOL               The same picture we saw on the leaflets in Africa.                                     PRICE                         There's a rumor about this picture.                          Some people say you're a genius --                          that you invented this scheme.                                     JAZY                         It was lots of people's idea... Have                          you been to Leon?                                     CLAIRE                         We're going to Masaya... they say                          the Rebels have hit the cuartel.                                     PRICE                         It's supposed to be nasty there... a                          lotta people think Rafael's in the                          South. I want to find out.                                     JAZY                         No, no, it's not "nasty" yet. Another                          week maybe.                              (beat)                         You would love Leon. A nice cathedral                          and beautiful light... et un peu de                          bang-bang.                                     CLAIRE                         We're not doing a travelogue, you                          understand.                                     JAZY                         Of course, of course... only I have                          heard that Comandante Rafael has                          recently had his unit in the area.                                     PRICE                              (surprised)                         Rafael is near Leon?                                     JAZY                         Well... it's a rumor, what do I know?               The voice of Miss Panama.                                     MISS PANAMA                         Estoy desemperado!                                     JAZY                         She's lonely!                                     CLAIRE                         Don't let us stand in the way.                                     JAZY                         It's my job.                              (beat)                         You think I talk too much?               He doesn't wait for an answer, but excuses himself and goes                out to tend to Miss Panama.               P.O.V. OF JAZY AND MISS PANAMA BY THE EMPTY POOL as Jazy                touches her, whispers, and she waves to Claire and Price.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               INT. PRICE'S HOTEL BATHROOM - DAY               Early morning. Price lathers up with shaving cream for the                first time, cleaning up. As he applies the lather he stops,                and slowly draws a face on the mirror with shaving cream                until he is staring at:               THE IMAGE OF RAFAEL IN SHAVING CREAM ON THE MIRROR                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. NICARAGUAN COUNTRYSIDE - DAY               A RENTED CAR WITH WHITE FLAGS turns onto the road to Leon.                Price drives, eats, and reads a map. Claire takes the map                from him and reads it herself. They seem to enjoy their first                moment alone without Alex looking over their shoulder. A                small band-aid is on Price's clean shaven cheek.                                     CLAIRE                         Did you dream about Miss Panama last                          night?                                     PRICE                         I dreamed about you.                                     CLAIRE                         Have a good time?                                     PRICE                         Yeah... so'd you.               She reaches out and touches his band-aid.                                     CLAIRE                         And old war injury flaring up?                                     PRICE                         Is the tape on?                                     CLAIRE                         Of course.                                     PRICE                         I was on the deck of the U.S.S. Pueblo                          catching some rays when the North                          Koreans attacked... took a bullet                          right in the chest, but by luck I                          had an extra roll of high speed                          ektachrome in this pocket right                          here... over the heart...                                     CLAIRE                         And the bullet ricocheted off the                          film, grazed your cheek, and saved                          your life.                                     PRICE                         You heard about it?! I was lucky.               PASSING SHOT OF A CLUSTER OF ROADSIDE CROSSES marking a series                of graves. Immediately the tone in Claire's voice changes,                sobered by the reminder of war.                                     CLAIRE                         Did anyone ever die next to you in                          combat?                                     PRICE                         Yeah.                                     CLAIRE                         What did you do?                                     PRICE                         F.8 at a sixtieth.                                     CLAIRE                         That's an old joke. My question was                          serious.                                     PRICE                         So was I.                              (beat)                         You ever dream about me?                                     CLAIRE                         Once.                                     PRICE                         How was I?                                     CLAIRE                         Fast.               Again their glibness is interrupted by what they came to                see. Even as they joke, they watch the landscape with concern.               REFUGEES ARE STREAMING OUT OF LEON, mostly women and children,                some old men, carrying their possessions. Soldiers stand                around.                                     CLAIRE                         I'm basically a coward, Russell, I                          hope you understand that. I hope we                          don't get shot.                                     PRICE                         Me too.                                                                    CUT TO:               A GUARDIA ROADBLOCK ON A HILL OVERLOOKING THE CITY               The press car pulls up to a stop. Price and Claire get out                quickly, hand their credentials to a soldier, and open the                trunk and the hood. As the car is searched they look down at                the city.               P.O.V. LEON AS A PLANE CIRCLES FIRING ROCKETS AND SMOKE RISES                from several places in the town. The sound of gunfire.                                     CLAIRE                              (to soldier in Spanish)                         I thought it was quiet here.                                     SOLDIER                              (in Spanish)                         Quiet? Are you sure you want to go                          down there? Not me.               The soldier laughs at the journalists and hands back the                credentials.                                     SOLDIER                              (in Spanish)                         You must leave the car here.               Price speaks in English knowing he can't be understood.                                     PRICE                              (to soldier)                         You thinking of scoring a Toyota?                                     CLAIRE                              (in Spanish)                         No problem -- we leave the car.               Price and Claire remove their things from the car, and Price                takes the distributor cap as well as the keys. They walk                over and look down the road leading into the city under seige.               MORE REFUGEES EVACUATE THE TOWN -- it is a most uninviting                sight. The plane passes over the town in the distance firing                rockets.                                     CLAIRE                         Now what?               Price responds by flashing his light meter in the air, taking                a quick, nervous reading.                                     PRICE                         C'mon. Be careful.                                     CLAIRE                         Be careful?! Where the fuck we going?                          Better light?                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREET INTO LEON - DAY               PRICE AND CLAIRE WALK SLOWLY INTO LEON               Looking around warily as they go, they are the only people                entering the town. Claire speaks softly into her tape recorder                as they walk in, recording the event without editorializing.                                     CLAIRE                         ...June tenth... the evacuation of                          Leon... a woman carries a pig...                          signs for the F.S.L.N. are                          everywhere... a body...               THE BODY OF A YOUNG MAN lies ignored on the sidewalk. They                continue walking and soon come to:               AN INTERSECTION HELD BY LA GUARDIA TROOPS WITH A TANQUETTA                Price and Claire duck into a doorway, protected in effect by                the Government soldiers who wait silently, guns ready, around                the corner of a building. We see what they're waiting for.               A YOUNG SANDINISTA COMES OUT OF A BUILDING a block away,                holding a handgun. Momentarily confused, he begins running                toward us, toward the soldiers waiting in ambush. The                Guerrilla races quickly to his waiting death, and as he turns                the corner right into a dozen Guardia troops:               THE GUARDIA GUNS OPEN UP ON THE YOUNG GUERRILLA, killing him                instantly.               CLAIRE TURNS HER HEAD AWAY unable to watch.               PRICE RECORDS THE EVENT WITH HIS CAMERA               THE GUARDIA FOLLOW THE TANQUETTA SLOWLY down the street toward                the Rebel youth's house. Suddenly the intersection is empty.               PRICE AND CLAIRE MOVE DOWN A SIDESTREET SLOWLY as:               SEVERAL GUERRILLA MUCHACHOS DART OUT OF AN ALLEY with                sharpened sticks, a spear gun, and one home-made gun. The                Muchachos hesitate briefly, lost, and see Price.               THE MUCHACHOS QUICKLY POSE FOR A PICTURE motioning for Price                to record them. They pose instantly in "tough-guy" posture.               PRICE TAKES THEIR PICTURE and just as quickly they dart away                through a bombed out building.               THREE SANDINISTAS LEAP OFF A ROOFTOP and race toward Claire                and Price who freeze:                                     CLAIRE                         Russell?!               For a moment they aren't sure what this means -- are they in                trouble? The Sandinistas shove past the two journalists,                pushing open a doorway and disappearing inside. For a moment                Price and Claire are alone on the street.               THE DOOR OPENS AGAIN SLOWLY and a middle-aged WOMAN appears,                motioning for them to come inside.               INT. PEDRO'S HOUSE - DAY               The Three Sandinistas, dressed half in khaki, half recycled                disco, are pleading with a young man, PEDRO, 15.                                     SANDINISTA #1                              (in Spanish)                         You must come and help us... one                          more time.                                     PEDRO                              (in Spanish)                         No, please...               One of the Sandinistas brings Pedro his rumpled baseball                jersey from another room.                                     SANDINISTA #2                              (in Spanish)                         For Leon... for Nicaragua!               Pedro sees Price and Claire and is more interested in them.                He speaks in broken but understandable English.                                     PEDRO                         Americans? Journalists?                                     CLAIRE AND PRICE                         Yes.               Pedro lights up, and runs to a shelf where he returns with a                baseball he is signing.                                     PEDRO                         Ah! I put my autograph on this ball.                                     SANDINISTA #1                              (in Spanish)                         Pedro! There is no time to waste.               Pedro is more interested in the two Americans.                                     PEDRO                         When you get back to the United                          States, I want you to give this ball                          to Tippy Martinez for me. He is from                          Nicaragua.               Pedro hands Claire the baseball as the Sandinistas plead                with Pedro for his help. He is more interested in getting                the baseball delivered to Tippy Martinez. Claire accepts the                ball graciously, exchanges awkward glances with Price, and                puts it in her shoulder bag.                                     SANDINISTA #1                              (in Spanish)                         Enrique is dead! Roberto has                          disappeared! The Guardia has the                          church, and we need you!                                     PEDRO                              (to Claire and Price)                         You come, eh?                              (to the Sandinistas)                         Can they come with us?                                     SANDINISTA #2                         Come! Everybody come!               They go to the door and open it a crack to look out.               P.O.V. THE TANQUETTA PASSES as Soldiers kick open doors across                the street.               The Sandinistas go to a corner of the room and push a book                shelf out of the way. A large hole has been broken in the                wall. They climb through the hole into the living room of                the next house; the woman pushes the shelf back over the                hole with great effort.               INT. THE NEXT HOUSE - DAY               A family huddles in the corner as the MAN OF THE HOUSE pulls                back a couch and a hanging blanket, revealing another hole                knocked in the wall. The Sandinistas, Pedro, Claire and Price                scramble through.               P.O.V. THROUGH A SERIES OF DOOR-SIZED HOLES IN THE WALLS of                all the houses on the block, connecting the homes with a                secret passageway. The six of them race through the houses,                each hole opening and then closing magically.               INT. THE KITCHEN OF A TINY SIDEWALK RESTAURANT - DAY               The Three Sandinistas, Pedro, Claire, and Price emerge. A                WOMAN, 50, runs the cafe and welcomes them. The SIX crawl so                as not to be seen from the street; they stop long enough to                survey the plaza.               P.O.V. THE CENTRAL PLAZA OF LEON DOMINATED BY A HUGE CATHEDRAL                Half a dozen bodies are scattered across the plaza. Otherwise,                it is empty.               P.O.V. SIX GUARDIA SNIPERS IN THE CHURCH TOWER control the                plaza. As we watch, they fire off occasional shots in                different directions--there is no way to cross the plaza.               THE WOMAN PULLS A TRAY OF "CONTACT BOMBS" from the oven,                home-made grenades that look like muffins on a tray. Pedro                grabs one and pretends to bite into it. The Sandinistas start                to laugh and catch themselves as Pedro clowns. Claire and                Price aren't sure what the "muffins" are and don't respond;                mostly they are on edge. The contact bombs are put in a sack.               The woman opens a trap door in the floor, and the six of                them climb down a ladder into a tunnel.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. TUNNEL UNDERNEATH THE FLOOR - DAY               Pedro leads them with a candle through a dark passage under                the street. Overhead we hear gunfire. Rats scurry, and water                runs through an open sewer.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE CATHEDRAL - DAY               A tapestry rug is pulled away, and Pedro's head appears. He                climbs out and soon all the party is in the church. A PRIEST                leads them quickly through an immense, nearly. European                interior of ornate altars and burning candles. The small                party is led to a small corner of the sanctuary where a long,                rickety ladder leads up to the roof.               THE SANDINISTAS SCRAMBLE UP THE LADDER as it sways. Pedro                follows with his sack of contact bombs. Then Price goes up                as the Priest holds the ladder. The American is much larger                than the Nicaraguans -- the ladder squeaks and sways, and                when he is nearly at the top:               THE LADDER CRACKS as Price reaches the top and is helped to                safety. The Priest steadies the ladder now made unsafe and                clearly Claire wants to go onto the roof.                                     PRIEST                              (in Spanish)                         No, please... it's not safe. You                          must come with me.               Claire looks at Price -- she wants to go on the roof but the                sound of close gunfire settles the dilemma. Claire hurries                off to safety with the Priest.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE ROOFTOP OF THE CATHEDRAL OF LEON - LATE IN DAY               THREE SANDINISTAS, PEDRO, AND PRICE EMERGE FROM A TUNNEL                onto a lower level of the cathedral rooftop where a body                lies. They are exposed immediately and automatic weapons                fire opens up on them -- the Sandinistas flatten against a                wall, quickly becoming separated from Price and Pedro.               TWO SANDINISTAS RACE FOR COVER BEHIND A CUPOLA in a move                that is equally daring and foolish. The diversion draws fire                from the two soldiers.               PRICE'S LIGHT METER IS INSTANTLY OUT TAKING READINGS as Pedro                huddles with him, curious at this strange act.               TWO GUARDIA MOVE INTO POSITION TO FLUSH OUT THE SANDINISTAS                as they hide behind the cupolas. The hidden Third Guerrilla                opens fire killing a Guardia soldier, and the other soldier                races for the belltower. As he does:               THE SANDINISTAS SEIZE THE MOMENT TO RUSH CLOSER, waving to                Pedro who slips along a wall with his bag of bombs.               PRICE STARTS TO FOLLOW BUT IS PINNED DOWN BY FIRE and chooses                to take refuge halfway in an alcove. As fire from both sides                ricochets all over the rooftop, Price switches camera lenses                seemingly oblivious to the action.               PEDRO MEETS ONE OF THE SANDINISTAS in a protected niche and                quickly they are unfolding his bag, setting the "muffin bombs"                out on the rooftop.               THE OTHER TWO SANDINISTAS OPEN HEAVY FIRE and briefly draw                heavier fire from the belltower, as:               PEDRO PICKS UP A MUFFIN weighing it briefly in his hand,                like a pitcher. He studies the surroundings -- runners on                first and third, no outs -- he spits in his left (his pitching                hand) and rubs it in casually.               Pedro crosses himself, goes into an abbreviated pitching                motion, then rears and fires the 'muffin' toward the belltower                window, exposing himself as he does.               AN EXPLOSION IN THE TOWER               PEDRO THROWS ANOTHER INTO THE TOWER -- another explosion.               A GUARDIA SOLDIER STAGGERS INTO THE WINDOW and a Sandinista                drops him with a shot.               All is quiet.               THE THREE SANDINISTAS CAREFULLY RUSH THE TOWER, looking in                and motion to Pedro and Price that all is okay, and as they                do:               ANOTHER SHOT RINGS OUT -- they whirl around -- Pedro and                Price drop again. A lone Guardia soldier fires at them from                the other tower.               A THIRD SANDINISTA DROPS HIM WITH A VOLLEY OF FIRE Again all                is quiet.               PRICE FOLLOWS THE SANDINISTAS TO THE FIRST BELLTOWER and                looks in.               FIVE BODIES LIE SCATTERED AND BLOODIED One of the Guerrillas                kicks a couple of them to make sure they are dead. In the                corner, one body lies on top of another. Satisfied, the                Sandinistas head for the other tower.               PRICE STAYS BEHIND TO TAKE A FEW PICTURES and the ever-present                light meter appears, followed by several quick shots of the                bodies. Then Price goes to one of the arched, stone windows.                He looks out over the city.               P.O.V. OF LEON -- DUSK Late in the afternoon now, the fighting                is over for the day. An occasional gunshot. Smoke rises from                scattered places throughout the city. There is new rubble.                The town is littered with bodies.               P.O.V. THE RED CROSS WAGON MOVING THROUGH THE STREET               A man walks in front of it, chanting slowly, rhythmically:                                     RED CROSS MAN                         Hay heridas o muertes aqui? Hay                          heridas o muertes aqui?                              (Are there wounded or                               dead here?)               We see a woman drag a body out into the street. The Red Cross                man makes small stacks of bodies. He douses the bodies with                gasoline and sets the pile aflame. Then continues.                                     RED CROSS MAN                         Hay heridas o muertes aqui?               Price watches. He thinks he hears something, then dismisses                it. Something else. A voice, almost a whisper.                                     VOICE                         Price. You motherfucker, Price, I'm                          talking to you.               He turns. One of the bodies speaks.                                     VOICE                         Where are those bastards... are they                          away?               Price looks out -- the Sandinistas are on the other side of                the roof. This war gets stranger.                                     PRICE                         They're away.               A body rolls out from under another body. Blood-splattered,                smiling, wiping the blood from his face. It is Oates, the                mercenary from Africa. He peeks out the window -- the                Sandinistas are on the other side of the roof. He whispers.                                     OATES                         What the fuck are you doing here?                                     PRICE                         What the fuck are you doing here?               For a moment they understand that they are there for the                same reason -- they make their livings off war. Oates peeks                out the window nervously and repeatedly.                                     OATES                         Awright, awright -- you're lookin'                          good... how ya like Nicaragua?               OATES readies his automatic weapon in case it's needed --                routine. Price doesn't know how to answer.                                     PRICE                         It's beautiful.               Oates laughs quickly and softly -- he is tuned into the                strangeness of Price's answer.                                     OATES                         Shitload o' greasers though, eh?               P.O.V. THE SANDINISTAS HEADING BACK TOWARD US               OATES AND PRICE SEE THEM, and Oates crawls back under the                pile of bodies.               THE SANDINISTAS LOOK INTO THE BELLTOWER, all looks quiet,                and they motion to Price.                                     SANDINISTA #1                              (in Spanish)                         It's getting late -- come on.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE FRONT OF THE CATHEDRAL - DUSK               The Three Sandinistas, Pedro, and Price are hiding in the                shadows of the main church entrance. The Sandinistas are                carefully peeking around the corner, checking out the plaza.                It seems safe. The door opens; the Priest lets Claire out.                For a moment she looks around to see who's still alive -- in                the shadows Price looks like one of the Guerrillas. They see                each other and embrace briefly.                                     CLAIRE                         You're okay?               The Sandinistas seem to relax. The Sandinistas take pride in                Pedro and pat his left arm for Price and Claire.                                     SANDINISTA #1                         San-dee Koufax, no?                                     SANDINISTA #2                         Si, Koufax.                                     SANDINISTA #3                         Es mejor que Koufax, eh?!               They seem to want approval from the Americans.                                     CLAIRE                         Much better than Koufax.               The Sandinistas slap hands, familiar with the American                gesture. The Six start walking across the plaza away from                the church. In the b.g. we see piles of bodies burning; the                Red Cross tends to the wounded locals. Spirits are high as                they walk. The tiny red light glows on Claire's recorder.                                     PEDRO                         Koufax is okay... but Tippy Martinez,                          he is the best... he pitches for the                          Baltimore Orioles, and some day I                          will be the second man from Nicaragua                          to play in the major leagues...                                     SANDINISTA #1                              (to Price and Claire)                         Tippy Martinez had a good fastball,                          but Pedro has a curveball and a                          screwball that are better.               All five of them agree that Pedro is the best; they slap his                valued arm and relax for the first time all day.                                     PEDRO                         You will give my autographed baseball                          to Tippy and tell him in five years                          I will be pitching with him, okay?                          He better watch out for me, eh?                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. ROOFTOP OF THE CATHEDRAL - DUSK               OATES CHECKS THE CLIP ON HIS RIFLE and looks down into the                plaza.               OATES P.O.V. TO THE SIX WALKING AWAY He doesn't smile or                joke -- it's all business.               He aims the rifle.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE PLAZA - DUSK                                     SANDINISTA #1                              (in Spanish)                         It's too dangerous to return to                          Managua at night. You should stay at                          the house of hammocks.                                     CLAIRE                              (in Spanish)                         Gracias. Can they get into trouble                          for keeping us?                                     PEDRO                         No, no... you are not combatants.                              (would rather talk                               baseball)                         The Baltimore team is my team...               A SHOT RINGS OUT, AND PEDRO'S CHEST EXPLODES in front of us.                Sudden panic, rage, confusion -- the Sandinistas whirl and                scan the building.               P.O.V. OATES RACING ACROSS THE CATHEDRAL ROOFTOP into the                night.               PRICE GRABS PEDRO'S GUN AND WHIRLS to face the church; his                action is instinctive, angry, and electric with energy.               CLAIRE GRABS PEDRO'S ARM AND DRAGS THE BODY to safety, though                there is no safety and the body is lifeless. Her actions are                protective and automatic.               THE SANDINISTAS TAKE CONTROL OF THE SITUATION and move                quickly. Two of them fan out to cover the escape. Price                screams in the direction of Oates,                                     PRICE                         You bastard!               Claire drags the body near a bench under a tree.                                     CLAIRE                         What about him?!                                     SANDINISTA #1                              (dispassionately)                         He's dead.               The Sandinistas survey the cathedral and streets carefully,                warily, upset at their nonchalance. They know the sniper is                disappearing into the night, but they continue to look.                                     SANDINISTA #1                         I will talk to Pedro's mother. You                          must go to the house of the hammocks                          if you want to be safe.               The Three Sandinistas fan out toward the church as it gets                dark.               PRICE AND CLAIRE STAND NEXT TO PEDRO, feeling helpless and                ineffective. They both look at the body. Price realizes he's                holding Pedro's gun and places it down next to the body.                Price notices the tiny red light is still glowing on her                tape recorder. He points it out to Claire. She turns it off.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE HOUSE OF HAMMOCKS - NIGHT               IN A NEARLY DARK ROOM full of hanging hammocks, Claire sits                on the floor lit by a low wattage bulb hanging from a cord.                In another room through a door Price can be seen with a family                in the hammock workshop. Claire talks softly into her                recorder.                                     CLAIRE                         Hello sweetheart, this is your mother.                          I'm in Leon and I miss you. Don't                          worry about me -- it's not dangerous                          at all. I guess you can't believe                          what you hear on the news. I'll put                          this this tape in the mail when I                          get back to Managua, but knowing                          what the mail service is like, I may                          be home before it arrives. I think                          about you all the time and hope I                          can make it back before you graduate                          from Jr. High.               As she speaks Price bids the family farewell and comes into                the room with Claire where he lies down in a hammock.                                     CLAIRE                         I love you and I'll finish this letter                          when I get back to the hotel.               Claire lies down on a mat, exhausted, after turning out the                light. Several moments pass before Price speaks.                                     PRICE                         I know who shot Pedro. I knew somebody                          was in the tower.                                     CLAIRE                         Why didn't you tell the guerrillas?                                     PRICE                         I don't know... then they would've                          killed him I guess. I didn't want to                          interfere.                                     CLAIRE                         It wasn't an easy choice.                                     PRICE                         I think I made the wrong one.               Silence.                                     CLAIRE                         You didn't take any pictures when it                          was over.                                     PRICE                         I didn't?                              (beat)                         I picked up a gun. Jesus.                              (beat)                         Is something happening to us?                                     CLAIRE                         Yes.               Silence. They lie for a long time in the dark. A light in                the house is turned off. Finally:                                     PRICE                         Are you asleep?                                     CLAIRE                         No.               Price gets out of the hammock and lies down next to her.                They don't speak. They kiss. She unbuttons his shirt. He                unbuttons her blouse. They undress just enough to begin making                love softly, quietly.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               INT. PRICE AND CLAIRE'S ROOM - DAWN               The first light of dawn strikes Claire's bare torso.               PRICE'S LIGHT METER APPEARS AT HER BACK Price takes a reading,                then moves the meter to her neck, another reading. He moves                it down her nude body lit beautifully in the vague light,                partially covered with a blanket.               He scurries across the room, stark naked, with a camera.                Price begins photographing her.               He moves back to her and gently removes the blanket from the                rest of her body. His actions are quiet and easy. He stops                frequently to admire her.               Claire lies sleeping nude, except for her socks. Price moves                around the room -- picture, picture, picture.               CLAIRE WAKES UP SLOWLY and pulls the blanket back over her.                She opens her eyes and sees Price sitting in a chair several                feet away with his camera.                                     PRICE                         G'morning.                                     CLAIRE                         What are you doing?                                     PRICE                         You look beautiful.               She realizes what he's been doing.                                     CLAIRE                         How long have you been doing this?                                     PRICE                         'Bout ten frames. Wait'll you see                          the pictures -- you look great.               Her sense of violation is balanced by this notion. For a                moment we sense her attitude can go either way -- outrage or                some sense of being flattered, however ill conceived. She                chooses the latter.                                     CLAIRE                         I'll bet I look great -- give me the                          film.                                     PRICE                         After they're printed.                                     CLAIRE                         I'll develop them myself -- give it                          to me or I'll start taping what you                          say in your sleep.               Price hands her the film and climbs back under the blanket                with her.                                     PRICE                         I talk in my sleep?                                     CLAIRE                         Girl's names and F-stops. Terrible.               They curl up together, holding onto each other. A small child                crosses the courtyard, peeking at them. A rooster crows.                                     PRICE                         Call the office. I don't want to go                          to work today.               The peacefulness is shaken by the roar of an engine close                by.               A HELICOPTER GUNSHIP PASSES OVER THE COURTYARD They look up,                jolted out of the moment. The war is back.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE OUTSKIRTS OF LEON - MORNING               Price's rental car is a smoking wreck. He and Claire arrive                and she removes a single, feeble white flag that remains.                They study the car briefly and then turn as:               A GUARDIA TROOP CARRIER LUMBERS past with a truckload of                refugees behind. They wave the flag and catch a ride with                the refugees.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. FIFTH FLOOR OF INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL - DAY               Alex comes out a door chatting with somebody, and passes a                mini-cam crew, old friends.                                     ALEX                         How was Matagalpa?                                     MINI-CAM CREW #1                         No bang-bang, Alex... none at all.                                     ALEX                         You find anything?                                     MINI-CAM CREW #2                         Half the press corps.               A small laugh. They continue on. Alex enters Claire's room.               INT. CLAIRE'S ROOM               Alex enters. Nobody there. As he turns to leave he sees some                pictures in a stack of papers on her desk. He picks one up.               CLOSE UP: A PICTURE OF CLAIRE SLEEPING IN LEON It's all over                and he knows it. He stares at, even admires, the image. He                puts it down and turns to leave as:               CLAIRE ENTERS                                     CLAIRE                         Oh!                                     ALEX                         Oh.                              (awkwardly)                         How was Leon?                                     CLAIRE                         Bloody.                                     ALEX                         Yeah... I'll bet... Claire...               Alex finally acknowledges that it is over with Claire, but                refuses to say it directly.                                     ALEX                         I'm tired of Nicaragua.                                     CLAIRE                         You haven't been here very long.                                     ALEX                         Long enough, lets face it, you were                          right... everybody was right.                                     CLAIRE                         About what?                                     ALEX                         My cheekbones. What do you think of                          'em?                                     CLAIRE                         I like your cheekbones. Alex, are                          you all right?                                     ALEX                         This is a face made for television.                                     CLAIRE                         You decided to go with the network.               Alex nods, then seems to hit the end of his own resilience                and gets vitriolic.                                     ALEX                         Is he a good fuck?                                     CLAIRE                         Alex...               In a simple monologue Alex goes from outrage to acknowledgment                of what he already knew.                                     ALEX                         That's a reasonable question for a                          reporter to ask, isn't it?!                              (beat)                         I shoulda never come down here, eh?                          This is the way it's going to be.                              (beat)                         I'll make a shitload of money in                          television for just sitting there.                              (beat)                         I'm gonna show up to work at                          Rockefeller Center every morning and                          they're gonna hand me the news with                          my coffee and toast.                              (beat)                         I shoulda never come down here, eh?                          This war down here belongs to you                          guys, okay? I'm on tommorrow's plane.                                     CLAIRE                         Alex...                                     ALEX                         You want to take me to the airport?                          It's okay.                              (beat -- resigned)                         I shoulda never come down here.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE MANAGUA AIRPORT - NEXT DAY               A cab pulls up. Soldiers stand around everywhere. Price,                Claire, Alex, and the Cabbie get out. The cabbie takes his                bag.                                     ALEX                         Take this to check in. I'll be right                          there.               Price pulls a bottle of wine from his camera bag and sets                three styrofoam cups on the cab roof. He hands the cork to                Alex and shows him the label.                                     PRICE                         Sniff this sucker, eh?               Alex does, and looks at the label.                                     ALEX                         Jesus, where'd you get this?                                     CLAIRE                         The C.I.A.                                     ALEX                         Where else.               They toast and drink.                                     PRICE                         Hey -- I'll leave you guys alone,                          eh?                                     CLAIRE                         No, no, don't be ridiculous.                                     ALEX                         We're grownups, Russell...                              (non acerbically)                         Most of us.               Awkward smile from Price.                                     PRICE                         You two wanta happy snap?               Price makes the motion of taking a picture. They look at him                with affection, yet astounded again by his inappropriateness.                                     ALEX                         No happy snaps.                                     PRICE                         Okay, okay...                              (beat)                         I'll just... be over here.               He wanders away from the car to give them a moment alone,                and as he does he pulls the light meter from his pocket,                flipping it on and off nervously without looking at it. He                wanders idly toward a Guardia soldier. The soldier gets                nervous.                                     ALEX                         You're sure about him?                                     CLAIRE                         For the moment.               Alex considers this -- he understands (whether he wants to                or not).               THE SOLDIER COMES FACE-TO-FACE with PRICE, WHO BACKS OFF                                     PRICE                              (to soldier)                         I'm a personal friend of Tacho's.                              (smiles disarmingly)               The soldier stops at Tacho's name. Price turns.               P.O.V. ALEX AND CLAIRE KISSING GOODBYE               PRICE TURNS AGAIN, embarrassed, faces the soldier.                                     PRICE                         Don't look, huh?                              (beat)                         No mire!               The soldier, confused, turns away, and as he does:               ALEX SLAPS PRICE ON THE SHOULDER, AND THEY TOO EMBRACE                                     ALEX                         Don't get hurt.                                     PRICE                         Ahh, I'm a chicken, don't worry.                              (beat)                         Alex, listen to me...                                     ALEX                         Yeah?                                     PRICE                         Within a year you're gonna be one of                          the "Ten Most Admired Men in America."               Alex is amused, Price is serious. The cabbie comes out and                Alex heads into the airport.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. SOMOZA'S COMPOUND - A PRESS LUNCHEON - DAY               Daisy and her combo from the Viking Club perform "The Girl                From Ipanema" as ONE HUNDRED PRESS MEMBERS and V.I.P.'s sit                at long tables in the garden. The pleasantness of the                surroundings is countered by the presence of dozens of                SOLDIERS in the background, guarding the house, etc. Visible                at the head table are: TWO GENERALS AND THEIR WIVES, MRS.                SOMOZA, TWO WEALTHY BUSINESSMEN, MISS PANAMA IN A FLOPPY                HAT. Elsewhere mingling are: JAZY, ISELA, PRICE, REGIS. An                elaborate array of food sits on the table.               INT. SOMOZA'S HOUSE - DAY               Overlooking the gathering from his private living room, Somoza                grants Claire her interview. He close the window to muffle                the singing.                                     CLAIRE                         You're late to your own luncheon,                          Mr. President -- we can schedule                          this for another time.                                     SOMOZA                         Nonsense -- let them wait. We are a                          stunning couple, eh? My stomach is                          very flat -- I've been working out.                                     CLAIRE                         We are a stunning couple. Mr.                          President, you own one fifth of all                          the land in Nicaragua, you own the                          shipping port, the national airlines,                          the Mercedes dealership...                                     SOMOZA                         I am on a salt free diet...               He takes her hand and leads her to two large portraits hanging                on a wall -- his parents.                                     CLAIRE                         Do you always hold hands with                          reporters?                                     SOMOZA                              (ignores her)                         This is my mother and father. They                          were very special to me. Every Sunday                          morning I drive out to the cemetery                          and put flowers on their grave. I                          think people should know that.                                     CLAIRE                         Would you care to comment on the                          fall of Leon to the rebels?               Somoza just smiles unaffected by her questions; she knows                the game is undaunted.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE LUNCHEON TABLES - DAY               Hub Kittle is bending Price's ear in the crowd. Price seems                ammused and watches the anthem contest as he munches food.                                     HUB                         Listen, Russell, let's grow up. It's                          very easy to fall in love with the                          underdog, eh? But there's an upside                          and downside to this thing -- just                          wanta remind you... this stuff about                          a "Revolution of Poets" is crap.                                     PRICE                         But it's great P.R. So what's the                          upside?                                     HUB                         Simple. And it could happen. Somoza                          destroys the terrorist insurgents,                          rebuilds the country, shitcans the                          purveyors of excess, stabilizes the                          cordoba, and is finally beloved as                          the savior of Nicaragua.                              (beat)                         Our pal. Got a smoke?               Price gives him a cigaret.                                     PRICE                         What's the downside?                                     HUB                         The Commies take over the world.               It's simple, and Hub is pleased with his presentation. A                SOLDIER moves through the crowd looking quite out of place,                finds Hub and hands him a note. Hub reads it, seems delighted,                and excuses himself from the table.                                     HUB                         Excuse me, gentlemen, but the war                          may be over.               Price and Regis look at each other strangely -- what's he                talking about? They shrug, Regis bites into a papaya, and                Hub hurries inside. Price and Regis watch the singer.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. SECOND FLOOR OF SOMOZA'S HOUSE - DAY                                     SOMOZA                         My people love me. My stomach is                          flat. Did I say that already? No                          matter. It is flat.                                     CLAIRE                         There are reports that the Guardia                          operates a torture chamber at                          Coyotepe.               Somoza ignores the question and reopens the window, flooding                the room with the Tony Bennett classic.                                     SOMOZA                         I like this song.                                     CLAIRE                         Since the earthquake in 1972 destroyed                          half of Managua, over three hundred                          million dollars in foreign relief                          aid have poured into the country,                          yet nothing has been re-built. It is                          said that the money has gone into                          your pocket.                                     SOMOZA                         I love the press, I really do. Some                          of my best friends are journalists.                                     CLAIRE                         Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, and                          Panama are reportedly on the verge                          of breaking off diplomatic relations                          with your regime. Would you comment?               HUB KITTLE AND AN OFFICER BURST INTO THE ROOM interrupting                the interview. Something has happened. Somoza initially lashes                out at them -- the first time we've seen him lose his cool --                then recovers.                                     SOMOZA                              (in Spanish)                         I am busy! Get out of here at once                          or I'll put my foot up your ass!               The OFFICER seems familiar with these tirades and grabs Somoza                by the arm, whispering into his ear. Somoza seems delighted                with the news and turns to Hub for confirmation. Hub nods.                                     SOMOZA                              (to Claire)                         I'm sorry to have to conclude this                          most pleasant encounter, but something                          has happened.               As Somoza leaves the room with the Officer and Hub, Hub turns                to Claire to squeeze in one final P.R. stroke.                                     HUB                         Did he tell you about his parents in                          the graveyard, the flowers and all                          that?                              (she nods)                         Good, good...               Claire is left alone momentarily in Somoza's room. A soldier                enters and accompanies her outside to the luncheon.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE LUNCHEON - DAY               As Claire comes outside, there is a flurry of activity at                the head table. TWO OFFICERS hastily set up an easel with a                large military-topographical map of Nicaragua. A SOLDIER                takes the microphone from the Singers -- the music grinds to                an inglorious halt -- and carries it to the head table.               Price spots Claire and makes a "What's all this about?"                motion. Claire holds out her palms and shrugs -- she doesn't                know. All attention is quickly focused on the head table,                as:               PRESIDENT SOMOZA MAKES A GRAND ENTRANCE FLANKED by Hub Kittle                and an Officer. He seems suddenly in unusually good spirits.                Hub taps the mike -- it works -- he motions for Somoza to                come forward.                                     SOMOZA                         My friends... this gathering was not                          intended to be a press conference as                          much as a... "get-together"... but I                          have just been handed a piece of                          news.               Somoza plays the moment with theatrical elan.                                     SOMOZA                         Rafael is dead.                              (beat)                         He has been killed in an ambush in                          the Cordillera mountains of the                          Jinotega district.               Somoza points to a spot on the map as do his Officer.               THE PRESS TABLE IS SHAKEN FROM ITS NONCHALANCE and several                journalists immediately leap to their feet to question him.                                     JOURNALISTS                         Mr. President! Mr. President!                                     SOMOZA                         Please my friends -- no questions. A                          press release is being prepared.               Somoza hands the mike to an aide who returns it to the music                stand. Almost immediately the music begins again.               AT THE PRESS TABLE there is some confusion over the                announcement. Some journalists hurry off to file the story,                others just sit. Price seems alarmed by the announcement,                confused. Slightly wired, he listens to Regis and OTHER                JOURNALIST discuss it.                                     OTHER JOURNALIST                         They got Rafael? You believe that?                                     REGIS                         Every six months Tacho gives this                          speech -- maybe they finally lucked                          out.               CLAIRE TRIES TO CORNER HUB KITTLE who is heading back inside.                Hub disappears inside, Claire pressing after him.               JAZY APPROACHES PRICE and leans in as if sharing a confidence.                IN the b.g. the luncheon is breaking up.                                     JAZY                         Russell, excuse me... but I've just                          been put in a rather embarrassing                          position.                              (hesitates)                         Mrs. Somoza would like her picture                          taken with Miss Panama. In color?               Price throws his camera bag over his shoulder, pulls out a                camera, and follows Jazy. They walk toward the head table.                                     PRICE                         How the hell could Tacho find Rafael.                                     JAZY                         Russell, please... I have my hands                          full...               Mrs. Somoza and Miss Panama are waiting as Price and Jazy                arrive. Price is automatically switching camera lenses, but                he continues to grill Jazy.                                     MRS. SOMOZA                         Tacho, Tacho... venga, por favor!               Price and Jazy exchange glances as Somoza reluctantly joins                the portrait.               SOMOZA POSES WITH HIS WIFE AND HIS MISTRESS ON EACH ARM as                Price flashes a light meter under their noses, then backs                off to take the picture.                                     PRICE                         Is Tacho lying again? They did kill                          him, didn't they?                                     JAZY                         Everybody smile.               Price takes a picture, Somoza wants to leave and Jazy would                just as soon have this awkward moment over with, but:                                     PRICE                         One more, please! Una mas, por favor?               Reluctantly they pose again, and Price grills Jazy who is                trapped.                                     PRICE                         We help each other, right? Could you                          move your girlfriend into the sun...               Jazy moves Miss Panama slightly, returning to Price.                                     JAZY                         What do you need?                                     PRICE                         Is Rafael alive or dead?                                     JAZY                         I don't know.                                     PRICE                              (to the posers)                         Just one more -- thank you.                              (to Jazy)                         I thought you knew everything?               As Somoza holds an interminable pose, Jazy launches into a                speech, keeping his voice low enough so Tacho cannot hear.                                     JAZY                         What do I know, eh? Tacho needs a                          victory very badly... he needs to                          prove to Jimmy Carter that he is                          still winning. He thinks Rafael's                          death is the proof he needs.                                     PRICE                         Carter don't need proof. He just                          sent twenty-five million in new arms                          to Tacho.                              (to posers)                         I'm sorry... almost got it here.                                     JAZY                         No, no... the arms shipment has been                          delayed in New Orleans because Jimmy                          is getting nervous.                                     PRICE                         The State Department's gonna pull                          the plug on Tacho?! Pardon my French --                          but whose fucking side are you on?               Jazy and Price motion for the posers to move a step over.                                     JAZY                         ...I work for everybody. If there is                          a transition of power, I facilitate                          a relationship with the new people.                          If there is not, I facilitate the                          status quo.                              (beat)                         Either way, I facilitate.                                     PRICE                         Great job.                                     JAZY                         I send messages to Jimmy and I tell                          him that the Revolution is a flood                          that cannot be stopped but it can be                          controlled... nobody listens... I                          can't even get a little water in my                          pool.                                     PRICE                         Rough ain't it. Thank you everybody,                          very nice.               Price smiles to Somoza, Mrs. Somoza, and Miss Panama. Somoza                hurries off from his uncomfortable position at last.                                     PRICE                         I don't think Rafael is dead. I'm                          gonna find him.                                     JAZY                         They say he's very handsome.                              (beat)                         It would make a wonderful picture,                          eh?               The two men share a smile.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE ROAD TO MATAGLAPA - EARLY MORNING               A rental station wagon covered with press flags races along.                Inside the car are the British crew -- Regis drives -- and                Price and Claire.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. MATAGALPA - DAY               A city of about 50,000 located on the side of a hill. The                car pulls slowly into the base of the town into a clearing                with assorted vehicles -- Red Cross, La Guardia, Press. The                car moves slowly as its occupants survey the town, until it                pulls alongside a Red Cross truck that has broken down. Price                sticks his head out the window to ask instructions of a R.C.                WORKER.                                     PRICE                         Con permiso -- who controls what                          today?                                     RED CROSS WORKER                              (in Spanish)                         The Sandinistas hold the hills, the                          Guardia has everything else.                                     CLAIRE                         How do we find the guerillas?                                     RED CROSS WORKER                              (points)                         Va alli, dos o tres cuartos, doble                          la esquina al francotirador.                                     REGIS                         What'd he say?                                     CLAIRE                         Go two or three blocks and turn right                          at the sniper.               Regis and his crew don't like this at all. Price points.               P.O.V. A TOWER FULL OF GUARDIA SNIPERS                                     PRICE                         You can drop us off.               MAIN ROAD INTO MATAGALPA               A gradual uphill grade -- the press car moves slowly. Guardia                are on both sides of the street, as the car stops at the                corner, directly beneath the sniper tower. They all look up.               P.O.V. THE SNIPERS LOOKING BACK DOWN AT THEM               THE CAR SLOWLY TURNS LEFT                                     PRICE                         Wrong way!                                     REGIS                         We're not looking for the guerillas.                                     CLAIRE                         Then let us out.               The car stops, the door opens, and:               A WALL NEARBY IS RIDDLED WITH BULLET HOLES AS THEY CLIMB                OUT, so they climb back in quickly.               P.O.V. A SOLDIER HOLDS OUT HIS ARMS AS IF TO SAY, "accident."                                     SOLDIER                         Lo siento!                              (I'm sorry!)               The soldier seems sincere, but they don't want to take a                chance.                                     PRICE                         Go one more block.               THE CAR MOVES DEEPER INTO MATAGALPA, gradually moving among                tanquettas patrolling the streets, coming to a barricade                which they manuever past as Guardia soldiers look at them                strangely. The car turns around -- it has come too far.               A GUARDIA OFFICER SIGNALS FOR THEM TO GET OUT but the idea                doesn't appeal to Regis and he whirls around, panicking                slightly, and heads off in the other direction.                                     CLAIRE                         He just wanted to see credentials,                          for crissakes, what're doing?                                     REGIS                         You want to drive?                                     PRICE                         We want out!               THE BARRICADE OFFICER SPEAKS IN A WALKIE TALKIE to a squadron                leader a couple of blocks away as the car approaches.               THE SECOND OFFICER WHISTLES FOR THE CAR TO STOP but it speeds                up.               THE OFFICER FIRES A PISTOL SHOT AT THE CAR SHATTERING THE                WINDSHIELD               INSIDE THE CAR -- VISION IS BADLY IMPAIRED BY THE SHATTERED                GLASS and Regis panics, hitting the floorboard and the car                suddenly screeches around a corner, racing through Matagalpa.                The car squeals around corner after corner blindly, into:               A GUARDIA BARRICADE AS A FUSILADE OF SMALL ARMS FIRE RINGS                OUT The windshield is totally destroyed now, and:               THE OCCUPANTS OF THE CAR CROUCH LOW as the car races. Price                and Claire scream at Regis to stop, but it's too late.               THE CAR SCREECHES INTO REVERSE as Regis tries to see out the                back window and Price, out of necessity operates the foot                pedal with his hand. The car smokes into an intersection and                sees:               AN OPEN BLOCK AHEAD -- no Guardia are visible, so the car                races down the open block and as it comes to an intersection:               A SHERMAN TANK COMES AROUND THE CORNER FACING US               Several times larger than a tanquetta -- it dwarfs us and                everything around it. Its giant gun faces us head on.               THE PRESS CAR SCREECHES TO A HALT, and everyone scrambles                out.                                     PRICE                         Periodista, periodista, periodista!               The mini-cam equipment is dropped as the British crew                scrambles to safety against a building. Price and Claire end                up on opposite sides of the street.               Silence -- the huge and silent tank is deciding what to do.               THE TURRET SWINGS SEVERAL DEGREES TO ONE SIDE and lowers as                the scattered journalists freeze.               A THUNDEROUS ROAR -- THE TANK DESTROYS THE CAMERA EQUIPMENT                leaving a huge crater and not a trace of the expensive qear.               CLAIRE STARTS LAUGHING, FRIGHTENED, nervous and amused.               PRICE TAKES PICTURES               A WOMAN THROWS A CONTACT BOMB FROM A WINDOW AT THE TANK The                tiny bomb makes a pitiful explosion, hopelessly ineffective.               THE TANK SWINGS ITS TURRET TOWARD THE HOUSE AND OPENS FIRE                and the wall of the house crumbles quickly as a family                scrambles to the rooftop of a neighboring house. Their house                is destroyed in a second.               LA GUARDIA TROOPS APPEAR AND BEGIN FIRING TOWARDS Claire and                Price, who turn to see:               SANDINISTA ARMY REGULARS RUNNING DOWN THE HILL alongside the                homemade local guerillas. This is the first time we've seen                the F.S.L.N. regular army in their camouflaged khaki dress.               THE GUARD TAKES A POSITION TO FIGHT IT OUT and Claire and                Price are caught in a cross-fire, pinned to walls on each                street side.               PRICE PUSHES THROUGH A DOOR TO SAFETY and looks back:               CLAIRE IS TRAPPED OUTSIDE pounding on a door that doesn't                open. She tries another -- no luck. She curls up in a doorway                making herself as small as possible as bullets rip the wall                around her.               AT THE TOP OF THE HILL, AN OLD BUS MOVES SLOWLY INTO THE                STREET               Several youthful guerillas are pushing it.               THE BUS COMES FLYING DOWN THE HILL TOWARD THE TANK Several                hundred feet away, it gathers speed toward us.               INT. THE SPEEDING BUS               A YOUTH at the wheel props a board under the steering wheel                and races to the back as ANOTHER YOUTH opens the door as the                bus races past Claire toward the tank.               THE TWO YOUTHS LEAP OUT THE BACK DOOR where they tumble into                the dirt just before:               THE BUS SMASHES INTO THE TANK AND EXPLODES               GUARDIA SOLDIERS SHOOT THE TWO YOUTHS before they get away,                as:               GUERILLAS APPEAR ON EVERY ROOFTOP opening heavy fire on La                Guardia.               GUARDIA TROOPS RETREAT QUICKLY ON FOOT AND IN TANQUETTAS               THE SHERMAN TANK TRIES TO DISLODGE ITSELF FROM THE BUS but                cannot, and drags the bus with it as it backs down the hill.               PRICE RUNS OUT TO CLAIRE and huddles with her. She is shaken                but unhurt.               SANDINISTAS ARE EVERYWHERE, moving into Matagalpa as Price                and Claire move past several bodies to higher ground.               SANDINISTA BARRICADES ARE ON EVERY CORNER where women serve                food to their men. Claire and Price wander through,                momentarily disoriented. A small boy runs through the street                kicking a soccer ball, occasionally avoiding a body. He runs                right up to them and speaks.                                     BOY                         Busca triquitraques?                                     CLAIRE                         Si.                                     BOY                         Venga.               They follow him up a hill.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. MIDDLE-CLASS HOUSE OVERLOOKING THE CITY - DAY               THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS TOTALLY SANDINISTA and several guerillas                are at the door. The boy speaks to one of the guards, and                they are admitted.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE HOUSE - DAY               THEY ARE SEARCHED IMMEDIATELY, asked to put down their gear,                asked for credentials, and led down the hallway of a house                that is very American middle class.               ANOTHER SOLDIER WITH RIFLE detains them momentarily before                showing them into a room used as a Revolutionary Command                office.               ISELA STANDS IN MILITARY FATIGUES talking to her Sandinista                colleagues. Clearly she commands respect and makes decisions.                She finishes and turns to Claire and Price in a very                businesslike way, never acknowledging directly that they                have met before.                                     ISELA                         You are looking for Rafael?               They are somewhat taken aback at her directness and                information.                                     PRICE                         Yeah. If it's possible.                                     CLAIRE                         Do you know why we're here... exactly?                                     ISELA                         Mr. Price doesn't do anything before                          announcing it first in the bar.                              (beat)                         It's a good story. You'll be more                          famous.               EXT. A MOUNTAIN ROAD - LATER - DAY               An old truck chugs up a series of cutbacks through rough                terrain. The truck has no hood, and a BOY sits on the fender                pouring oil from a series of Folgers cans into a funnel stuck                permanently into the engine. Underneath, dangling cans catch                the oil as it flows through. Price, Claire and FOUR ARMED                SANDINISTAS sit in the back. ISELA rides in front.               THE TRUCK PASSES THROUGH A FRIENDLY GUERILLA ROADBLOCK                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. TOBACCO FIELDS IN REMOTE TERRAIN - DAY               ISELA, CLAIRE, PRICE AND THE FOUR HIKE into increasingly                inaccessible terrain.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. RAFAEL'S CAMP - DUSK               Heavily guarded but very mobile, the camp consists of perhaps                100 Soldiers, women preparing food, several tents. Price and                Claire attract attention as they enter.               PRICE STOPS AND LOOKS AROUND THE CAMP CLOSELY seeming to                take it all in. He's been in many similar camps, countries,                wars.               P.O.V. TWO SOLDIERS GUARDING THE ENTRANCE TO ONE TENT                                     CLAIRE                         Rafael's tent?               Price doesn't answer but continues taking it all in, and                ISELA shouts to them to continue.                                     ISELA                         Venga, companeros.                              (Come, comrades.)               THEY CONTINUE INTO THE CAMP, BUT PRICE STOPS AGAIN Something                has caught him, his sixth sense, a feeling -- he refuses to                walk further for the moment. No glibness, just coolness.                                     CLAIRE                         What is it?               Price looks around, speaks quietly.                                     PRICE                         Rafael is dead.               Claire looks around quickly. There is no evidence to her.                                     PRICE                         I can smell it.                                     CLAIRE                         I don't know.                                     ISELA                              (slightly exasperated)                         Venga por favor! Alli!               They continue into the camp -- now Claire looks around                nervously. Price mutters a half laugh, softly and strangely,                as they are led to a makeshift table and offered food. In                the b.g. Isela enters one of the tents.               PRICE AND CLAIRE SIT DOWN TO EAT and Price continues scanning                the camp as they talk.                                     CLAIRE                         What're you talking about?                                     PRICE                         He's dead. I know it.                                     CLAIRE                         Then why did they bring us all the                          way here to see him?               He doesn't know.               P.O.V. FOUR FIGURES/CONFERRING IN FRONT OF A TENT Isela                emerges and joins them. The others are: THE PRIEST FROM LEON,                A BUSINESSMAN WHOM WE SHOULD RECOGNIZE FROM EARLIER SCENES,                AND COMMANDANTE CINCO, dressed in camouflaged khaki.               ISELA WALKS OVER TO CLAIRE AND PRICE after talking with the                others. She brings COMMANDANTE CINCO with her. They sit down.                                     ISELA                         This is Commandante Cinco.               They all shake hands.               Isela begins at once.                                     ISELA                         Today we took Matagalpa. Leon is                          about to fall, and Masaya. And next                          week we could be in Managua but it                          is still possible to lose.                              (beat)                         In the last days of our final                          offensive the people of Nicaragua                          must know that Rafael is alive and                          well.                                     COMMANDANTE CINCO                         Queremos un fotografia.                                     ISELA                         We need a photograph.                              (beat)                         Come with us.               THEY ALL RISE AND HEAD TOWARDS RAFAEL'S TENT               INT. RAFAEL'S TENT               The tent is filled with Sandinista officers and soldiers                standing and sitting around.               RAFAEL'S BODY LIES ON A TABLE The shirtless upper torso                propped slightly upright, still wearing glasses, the figure                of Rafael is distinctly non-heroic. He is slightly overweight,                slightly balding, but as he lies there surrounded by his                men, the the glow of lanterns, he looks almost alive.               Price and Claire look at each other.                                     COMMANDANTE CINCO                         Usted es un fotografo magnifico.                              (beat)                         Queremos que vive.                              (You are a great                               photographer. Make                               him alive.)               Price laughs -- the request is ridiculous.                                     ISELA                              (to Claire)                         Why is he laughing?                                     PRICE                         You're crazy.               Cinco steps forward -- his presence commands attention. His                delivery is forceful but not emotional. As he begins to speak,                Price stops laughing.                                     CINCO                              (in Spanish)                         We have momentum, but many more lives                          will be lost. Even Washington is                          starting to admit that the butcher                          Somoza is not loved by his people.                          They have detained twenty-five million                          dollars in new arms shipments for                          Somoza at an airfield in Florida                          until they find out if Rafael is                          alive or dead. We know about these                          things.               He pauses briefly.                                     CLAIRE                         If Washington thinks Rafael is dead,                          they will ship the arms to Somoza.                          Do you understand.                                     PRICE                         Yeah.                              (without enthusiasm)                         Commandante... Soy un periodista.               CINCO attacks that defense with new vigor.                                     CINCO                         This has nothing to do with journalism --                          there is more to the world than                          journalism. We are going to end this                          war with you or without you.                              (beat)                         People don't really believe in Rafael --                          they believe in the idea of Rafael,                          no? Because for now the idea of Rafael                          is enough for the people of Nicaragua.                          When the war is over -- none of this                          matters.               PRICE hesitates, his manner devoid of its usual cockiness.                                     PRICE                         I don't do things... like this.                                     CINCO                         Enough lives have been lost already.                              (beat of empathy)                         It's difficult, I know -- but you                          must do it.               COMMANDANTE CINCO PLACES AN ARM ON PRICE'S SHOULDER and speaks                in broken English.                                     CINCO                         In the morning, eh? When there's                          better light!                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. PRICE AND CLAIRE'S TENT - LATER THAT NIGHT               Price lies on his back on a table. Claire sits in a chair, a                lantern is on the table. His reclining body is not unlike                Rafael's. He plays with a camera without looking at it,                turning it slowly, removing and replacing a lens. He's never                been this calm, this unmoving.               Claire, however, moves around the tent like a caged animal --                like Price normally is. She smokes. She's nervous and wired.                                     CLAIRE                         I spend my whole life separating how                          I feel from how I think and what I                          see from what I say -- that's called                          journalism, isn't it?               He nods slightly.                                     CLAIRE                         It's disciplined. It civilized. It                          involves distinctions. I'm great at                          distinctions. I wish I wasn't so                          good at them. Sometimes I envy you --                          you don't make any -- it's very                          convenient.                              (beat)                         The only time I don't worry about                          all those things is when I'm with my                          daughter.                                     PRICE                         Or when you're in bed.                                     CLAIRE                         Yes!                              (beat -- changes                               direction)                         My job is to find a story, then tell                          a story -- whatever it is -- because                          I believe that if enough people hear                          enough stories then somehow, through                          information alone, we all have a                          better chance to survive.                              (beat)                         I believe in information.                              (beat)                         That's a very romantic streak I have                          running through me -- maybe it's a                          weakness. Information is good --                          lack of information is bad. Simple,                          eh?                                     PRICE                         Not so simple.                                     CLAIRE                         You're God damn right it's not.                              (beat)                         You take that picture you'll take it                          for all the right reasons -- I                          understand.                                     PRICE                         I'm not gonna take it.               He fiddles with the cameras.                                     CLAIRE                         That's fine for you. But do I go                          back and say I interviewed Rafael?                          Do I go back and say I missed the                          biggest story of the war? Or do I                          say Rafael was stone cold dead --                          that's the information, isn't it? Or                          do I say he entertained us all in                          his inimitably charismatic manner                          around the ol' revolutionary campfire?                              (beat)                         Can we throw up our arms and say we                          fell in love with the querillas                          because their cause was...                          sympathetic?                              (beat)                         Journalists don't fall in love.                              (beat)                         Which story do you want me to tell?               Silence.                                     PRICE                         Do what you want to do.                                     CLAIRE                         Christ, what the fuck are we doing                          here?                                     PRICE                         I want to be here.                              (beat)                         With you.                              (beat)                         What do you want.               Silence.                                     CLAIRE                         I want this war to end.                              (beat)                         I'm not going to tell the world that                          Rafael is dead.               Silence. Claire lies down on the cot. Exhausted but high.                Price gets off the table and goes to her.                                     PRICE                         I love you.                                     CLAIRE                         I think I love you.                                     PRICE                         Don't think so much.               He gets on the cot with her. They kiss deeply, passionately,                and begin making love.               EXT. THE CAMP - FIRST LIGHT OF DAWN               THE CAMP IS COMING TO LIFE as the flap opens on Price's tent                and he looks out. He raises his camera and starts taking                pictures of:               A WOMAN COOKING OVER A FIRE AS A BUSINESSMAN LOOKS ON, a                face we recognize from earlier in Managua -- FREEZE FRAME               THREE YOUNG GUERRILLAS PLAYING WITH A DOG -- FREEZE FRAME                THE PRIEST FROM LEON DRINKING FROM A GOURD -- FREEZE FRAME               TWO CHILDREN PLAYING WITH HANDMADE TOYS -- FREEZE FRAME               ISELA COMING OUT OF ANOTHER TENT -- FREEZE FRAME               PRICE RISES AND LOOKS AROUND THE CAMP, wandering over to a                large can where he drinks some water.               CLAIRE EMERGES FROM THE TENT and watches Price head over to                a shaded area with his cameras.               CLAIRE'S P.O.V. OF PRICE AS HE MOVES THROUGH A GROUP OF                SANDINISTAS GATHERED AROUND A TABLE               Their backs are toward us as he adjusts seating positions                and rearranges items that have been provided for the table.               He takes a light reading and moves quickly into position.                Price raises his camera.                                                                    CUT TO:               PRICE'S P.O.V. OF A TABLEAU OF RAFAEL, CINCO, AND SOLDIERS                They sit at a table studying a map, a copy of La Prensa is                displayed -- the headlines declare that RAFAEL IS DEAD and                featuring a photo of Somoza at the luncheon as he points to                a map of the country. For an instant Rafael looks alive --                FREEZE FRAME.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE ROAD BLOCK TO MANAGUA - LATER               Price and Claire are sitting on top of a Red Cross truck as                it heads through Sebaco. Soldiers from La Guardia are                everywhere. As the truck moves through the village, something                catches Price's eyes:               OATES STANDS AGAINST A WALL IN COMMAND OF A SQUADRON Two                whores and several troops sit against a wall. As the truck                passes, Oates waves casually, with emotion.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               INT. PRICE'S HOTEL BATHROOM IN MANAGUA - DAY               Red light in the bathroom as Price pulls several photo prints                from the bath and plasters them wet against the mirror.               PHOTO OF RAFAEL IN THE CAMP, and he looks very much alive.                He pulls more shots from the bath: THE PRIEST FROM LEON, THE                BUSINESSMAN, COMMANDANTE CINCO AND ISELA. He dries them off                and hides them with their negatives under a pile of equipment.               He picks up the shot of Rafael and leaves.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. SOMEWHERE IN MANAGUA               A group of muchachos in masks, baseball caps, and bandanas                race through the streets carrying a photo blow-up of Rafael.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. JAZY'S HOUSE               The newspaper headline sits on Jazy's desk as Jazy studies                it unemotionally. We hear Miss Panama's voice:                                     MISS PANAMA                         Marcel!               He spins on his chair as she glides in modeling a new dress.                She spins magically for him -- he blows her a kiss.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. LUSH RIVER VALLEY OF NICARAGUA - DAY               A small private plane flies through a canyon, dwarfed by the                spectacular landscape. Hub Kittle works the room.               INT. THE PLANE - DAY               Two MASKED GUERILLAS hold a gun to the head of a pilot. A                large sack is crammed into the tiny compartment with them.               EXT. A SMALL MOUNTAIN TOWN IN NICARAGUA - DAY               The plane flies in low over the town and suddenly:               THE SKY IS FILLED WITH LEAFLETS that flutter to the ground.                Townspeople, bewildered at first, pick up the papers to see:               CLOSE UP -- PRICE'S PHOTOGRAPH OF RAFAEL ALIVE               LOCAL RESIDENTS RAISE THEIR FISTS IN SALUTE to the plane as                it disappears into the mountains.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE ROOFTOP GARDEN OF THE INTERCONTINENTAL - DAY               Journalists are gathered to watch the fighting which is now                on the outskirts of Managua. Price stands to the side casually                taking pictures of Journalists taking pictures of the war.                Hub Kittle floats around providing drinks and P.R.               P.O.V. A PUSH-PULL AIRPLANE MAKES BOMBING PASSES on the                capitol. Columns of smoke rise throughout the city.               REGIS MOVES HIS MINI-CAM CREW INTO POSITION AT THE RAIL                                     REGIS                         We got the smoke in frame?                                     CREWMEMBER                              (moves the camera                               slightly)                         We got the smoke.                                     REGIS                         Roll it...               CLAIRE STANDS TO THE OTHER SIDE with binoculars watching.                She accepts a drink from Hub and speaks into her tape deck.                                     CLAIRE                         Under a steel gray July sky... start                          again... under a gray steel Managuan                          sky... scratch it... In an                          extraordinary development in Managua,                          President Anastazio Somoza has ordered                          the Air Force to begin bombing his                          own capitol, under a sky... fuck                          it...               She fires down the drink and puts down the mike. She picks                up the binoculars again and, glancing below, is shocked:               P.O.V. BELOW -- ALEX GETS OUT OF A CAB WITH HIS SUITCASES               He starts into the hotel, glances up, and they see each other.                                     CLAIRE                         Oh my God...               Price sees Alex at the same time. Alex waves to both of as                he heads into the hotel. Price and Claire look at each other.               Claire sits down at a table, stunned to see Alex. Price                commandeers a waiter and joins her with a fresh tray of                drinks.                                     CLAIRE                         A Scotch, please...                              (he nods)                         Double.               Price joins her as other journalists jockey for position at                the railing. He is equally upset and confused.                                     PRICE                         What's he doing here?                                     CLAIRE                         I have no idea.               ALEX COMES THROUGH THE DOOR with a couple journalists, sees                Price and Claire and comes over to join them. A polite kiss                on Claire's cheek, a handshake for Price. A moment of                awkwardness.                                     ALEX                         Congratulations.                                     PRICE                         On what?                                     ALEX                         On what?! The Washington Post, the                          Times, networks, wire services --                          everybody's picked up the picture.                          It's fabulous.                                     CLAIRE                              (nervously)                         Well, yes... it's fabulous.                                     PRICE                         Fabulous.               Unsure silence.                                     CLAIRE                         Why are you back?                                     ALEX                         I came back because of Russell.                                     PRICE                         Because of me?                                     ALEX                         Yeah... the whole fucking East Coast                          is falling in love with Rafael --                          they were sure he was dead this time.                          Somebody wants to do a musical about                          him and his mug's on every T-shirt                          in Central Park.               Alex enjoys the lunatic mixture of politics and popular                culture.                                     ALEX                         I think he's bigger than Farrah                          Fawcett.               Claire and Price struggle to enjoy this supremely                uncomfortable moment. It's not easy to enter the game. Claire                attempts to change the subject.                                     CLAIRE                         You look good. Things're okay?                                     ALEX                         I'm happier in New York, sure, things                          are great. You guys?                                     PRICE                         Terrific... now... I'm a little slow                          here, Alex... what exactly did you                          come back for?               No more games. Alex addresses Price with conviction.                                     ALEX                         It's a great story.                              (beat)                         I want to talk to Rafael... and you're                          the only man in the world that can                          take me to him.               Price's and Claire's hearts sink. They look at each other.                Alex, despite his reluctance to return to Nicaragua, seems                genuinely enthused about the possible story. Before Price or                Claire respond, Hub Kittle notices Alex and comes over with                a tray of drinks, extending genuine greetings to the Senior                Correspondent.                                     HUB                         Alex! Couldn't stay away, eh?               The fresh round of drinks are put on the table. The sound of                bombs ripping the capitol are the only thing we hear.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. CLAIRE'S ROOM - NIGHT               Claire and Price now have adjoining rooms. She is staring                out the window as he comes in. The mood is strained.                                     CLAIRE                         We've got to tell Alex what happened.                                     PRICE                         No way.                                     CLAIRE                         I'll tell him. He deserves to know.                                     PRICE                         We don't owe him anything!                                     CLAIRE                         We owe him that!                              (beat)                         He got you started in this business...                          he covered for your missed deadlines                          and made excuses for your                          unprofessional attitude before the                          world fell in love with your                          pictures...                              (beat)                         Before kids fresh out of journalism                          school were rushing off to any war                          they could to interview bullets and                          take pictures of bodies -- like Price!                              (beat)                         He took care of you before you were                          hot!               Silence. She's hitting home but he doesn't want to acknowledge                it.                                     PRICE                         He wouldn't understand.                                     CLAIRE                         Before Nicaragua you wouldn't                          understand. I'm not sure I exactly                          understand.                              (beat)                         What are we going to do?               There is something calculating in Price's tone, this is not                the fearless, boyish innocent anymore.                                     PRICE                         I'll take Alex to find Rafael --                          we'll go to Sebaco on the road to                          Matagalpa -- the Guardia heavily                          control the area and they're scared                          right now -- they'll never let us                          through. We won't be able to get                          near Rafael. Alex will understand --                          and we'll turn around and drive back                          without a story.               Claire is disturbed at this compounding of the lie.                                     CLAIRE                         That's a lie!                                     PRICE                         Tell me about lies!               Silence. They are co-conspirators and they know it.                                     CLAIRE                         I don't want to tell him either.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. ROAD TO MATAGALPA - NEXT DAY               Price's white flagged newly rented press car streaks along,                overtaking an ox cart. A guardia convoy is going the opposite                direction, back toward Managua. Alex looks out of the car                with interest--he hasn't been to the front line for several                wars.                                     PRICE                         We may not be able to find him,                          y'know...                                     ALEX                         I've got supreme confidence in you.               A car is on fire by the side of the road. Price flies past;                Alex watches curiously. Several people stand around the car.                                     ALEX                         Claire looks good, eh?                                     PRICE                         Everybody looks good in the tropics.               Alex isn't sure how to respond to this curious reply.                                     ALEX                         Since I haven't been able to find                          Isela since coming back, you're going                          to have to translate for me -- what                          the hell does that mean?               Price is nervous, wired, on edge.                                     PRICE                         Alex... I love her.               Alex takes this calmly -- it's not exactly new information.                                     ALEX                         And she 'thinks' she loves you.                                     PRICE                         It's past the thinking stage.               Alex looks at the passing scenery -- he's in no hurry.                                     ALEX                         I'd like to know something -- it                          probably doesn't matter in the great                          final scheme of things... but I'm                          interested...                              (beat)                         Did you ever lay a hand on her before                          she left me?                                     PRICE                         No!                                     ALEX                         That's the truth?                                     PRICE                         Yes!                              (beat)                         Alex -- we're friends!               There is something desperate in his voice.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. A ROADBLOCK ON THE EDGE OF SEBACO - DAY               Price and Alex are ordered out of their car by a very                unfriendly Guardia soldier. He is ordered to put down his                camera bag. The hood and trunk are opened.                                     SOLDIER                         Venga.               They are led to a shed by the roadside, A TIRE REPAIR SHOP,                where they sit down in an oily, dusty shack. They watch the                soldiers:               P.O.V. THE SOLDIERS TEARING UP THE RENTAL CAR, pulling off                door panels, looking for weapons.                                     ALEX                         I bet you go through a few rental                          cars.                                     PRICE                         Don't worry. I put this in your name.               PRICE AND ALEX JERK TO LIFE at the sound of screaming in the                distance. A volley of gunfire follows. Price moves quickly                into an adjoining shed and looks through a crack in the wall:               P.O.V. AN EXECUTION SQUAD IN A FIELD as several bodies are                being hauled away. Two soldiers reload their guns. PAN to a                figure moving behind a wall -- OATES.               PRICE HURRIES THROUGH THE SHACKS TOWARD THE EXECUTION WALL                as Alex calls to him and hurries after -- Price is single-               minded. As he moves through the shacks we hear another volley                of fire, and Price bursts into a clearing to see:               TWO TRUCKS BEING LOADED WITH BODIES AS OATES SUPERVISES.                PRICE STEPS INTO THE CLEARING -- FACE-TO-FACE WITH OATES.               They look at each other for several beats before anyone                speaks. Oates is slightly embarrassed.                                     OATES                         No pictures, eh? Might look bad.               Oates smiles half-way; Price looks around at the bodies.                                     PRICE                         You get paid by the body or by the                          hour?                                     OATES                         I get paid the same way you do. What                          the fuck you doin' in Sebaco -- this                          place's about to blow... ain't it?                                     PRICE                         You didn't have to nail Pedro.                                     OATES                         Who's Pedro?               Alex arrives and tries to pull Price back -- at the same                time he sees the bodies and is sickened at the sight.                                     ALEX                         Oh my God...               A body is carried through and loaded on a truck. Oates's                tone is one of explanation rather than defense, very matter-               of-fact.                                     OATES                         There's a motherfucking war goin'                          on, pal... lotta sad stories.               Price mumbles and wanders to the next truck a few feet away,                and as he sees it he stops short, speechless. He points:               THE BODIES OF THE PRIEST FROM LEON AND THE BUSINESSMAN,                figures we saw at Rafael's camp, sit in the back of the truck.                They are splattered with blood and lifeless. Price is shaken.                                     PRICE                         Why them? Why them?!               Oates has to look to see who he's talking about, and Price                loses his cool.                                     PRICE                         You're a cocksucker!                                     OATES                         I don't suck no dick, man...               PRICE GRABS OATES AND PUSHES HIM BACKWARDS but Oates responds                like an animal. The two men go down in a heap and lash out                at each other in the dust. Their fighting is largely                ineffective, though very physical, until Oates asserts himself                and knocks Price against a wall, breaking free to pick up                his automatic rifle that he handles with one hand and shoves                it into Price's face.                                     OATES                         I'd prefer not splattering your brains                          in a dump like this -- I got                          priorities.                              (to Alex)                         Guy wants to be a hero, pops, get                          him outta here before he's a number.                              (beat)                         Be a shitty little town to buy it                          in.                              (beat)                         Who are you?                                     ALEX                         Russell, let's get outta here.                                     PRICE                              (to Oates)                         Fuck you.                                     OATES                         Guy's got a sense of humor, old man.                              (beat)                         Got any dope? Tough place to find                          decent dope?                                     PRICE                         Why them?                                     OATES                         Them? C'mere. You too.               He leads them under an awning nearby where a couple soldiers                sit. A small table, some weapons, two shallow boxes, food,                beer. Oates rummages around to find what he wants, and pulls                out:               A HANDFUL OF PHOTOGRAPHS, mostly snapshots, odd sizes, with                names written on them. He sifts through them quickly and we                see an assortment of photographs of Nicaraguans. He finds                what he's looking for and holds up:               PRICE'S PHOTOGRAPH OF THE PRIEST AND THE BUSINESSMAN, the                picture taken in Rafael's camp, blown up, cropped, and                identified. The faces are circled.                                     OATES                         If your mug shows up in this box...                          and ya try to make it through                          Sebaco... I owe yer ass.               This information hits Price in the gut, and he is seized                with fear.                                     ALEX                         Who gives you the pictures?                                     OATES                         What's this, an interview? I ain't                          that dumb.               Price turns, he doesn't want to face it.                                     ALEX                         Off the record.                                     OATES                         Off the record... some pachuco gives                          'em to me. Ain't none of my business,                          but I heard he gets 'em from a Frog.               Oates pulls another picture from a different box and holds                it up:               PHOTOGRAPH OF ISELA                                     OATES                         Nice, eh?                                     PRICE                         She dead?                                     OATES                         Not yet.               Alex grabs Price and heads back toward the roadblock.                                     OATES                         Whatya' expect? We're the ones gettin'                          our butts kicked.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE CAR - DAY               Price hangs a U-turn at the roadblock and heads back to                Managua. He drives crazily.                                     PRICE                         Some-motherfucker-took-my-fucking-                         pictures-I-don't-fucking-know-what-                         happened!                              (beat)                         Fuck me!               Silence.                                     ALEX                         Didn't you ship the film to New York?                                     PRICE                         I developed it in my room.                              (pleads)                         Jesus Christ, Alex?!               Silence. The car races.                                     ALEX                         Slow down.                              (compassionately)                         It wasn't your fault if somebody                          stole your stuff...                                     PRICE                         It was.               Alex doesn't force the issue, nor does he understand it                entirely.                                     ALEX                         What about Rafael?               No answer -- the car races back to Managua. Alex stares at                Price trying to figure out what is wrong.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. PRICE'S ROOM AT THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL - LATER               A MAID IS CLEANING HIS ROOM which is the usual disaster.                Price enters, just returned, and quickly looks for his                negatives under the equipment where he had hidden them.                                     PRICE                         Algo no esta aqui. Fotografias.                              (Something is not                               here. Photographs.)                                     MAID                              (in Spanish)                         Everything's always a mess here. You                          should be neater.                                     PRICE                         Negativos, negativos!               The maid shrugs -- Price is crazy anyway, and:               CLAIRE WALKS INTO THE ROOM She too looks shaken. He looks                up.                                     CLAIRE                         Commandante Cinco's body was just                          found on the road to Matagalpa.               The maid starts crying. They look at her helplessly as she                sobs, 'Cinco, Cinco...'                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREETS OF MANAGUA - DAY               A cab takes them through the increasingly nervous city. La                Guardia troop trucks are everywhere -- things seem more                hurried. A hunting rifle sits in the cabbie's lap. They get                out and knock on Jazy's door.               GUARDIA SOLDIERS WATCH THEM FROM A DISTANCE, a development                that Price and Claire are aware of.                                     CLAIRE                         I don't think it's Jazy.               Still no answer.                                     PRICE                         Oates said it was a Frog. How many                          Frenchmen you know around here? Jazy                          ain't 'facilitating' shit.               Price is impatient. He looks around nervously -- the Guards                are out of view -- and he slides a knife into the latch,                jimmying the lock. The door opens slowly -- an alarm goes                off.               Price and Claire duck inside quickly.                                     CLAIRE                         Christ!               Price, momentarily comfortable with the danger, responds                quickly and finds the alarm wire running along the door jamb.               LA GUARDIA TROOPS NEARBY HEAR THE ALARM and head toward                Jazy's.               INSIDE THE HOUSE PRICE FINDS THE ALARM BOX which he pries                open and expertly pulls two wires. The alarm stops.               Immediately they begin going through drawers and cupboards.                She pulls out some harmless snapshots of Miss Panama, replaces                them.                                     CLAIRE                         Are we looking for negs or prints?                                     PRICE                         Anything.               They find nothing downstairs. The look up at the sound of                distant gunfire.               Suddenly: Loud banging at the front door -- La Guardia.               EXT. TWO GUARDIA SOLDIERS AND A THIRD ARRIVING - DAY               They look around warily, hungrily -- they know something is                wrong.               BACK INSIDE THE HOUSE we hear the shouting soldiers, banging.                Price and Claire look at each other, and the camera bag.                Claire points upstairs to Price, to the door for herself.                Russell grabs the bag and bounds quickly upstairs. Claire                goes to the front door, shaking nervously.               CLAIRE OPENS THE DOOR AND FACES THE SOLDIERS                                     CLAIRE                         Que quiere?                              (What do you want?)                                     SOLDIER                         Donde esta senor Jazy?                                     CLAIRE                         No esta aqui.                                     SOLDIER                         Que quienes?                              (Who are you?)                                     CLAIRE                              (smiles)                         Una novia suya.                              (A girlfriend of his.)               The soldiers look at each other curiously and push open the                door to look in the house without entering -- respectful of                Jazy.                                     SOLDIER #2                         El hombre tiene muchas novias, eh?                              (The man has many                               girlfriends, no?)               The soldiers laugh and peer into the room. Claire forces the                door closed on them, teasing slightly.                                     CLAIRE                         No, no, no...               Afraid to make a mistake with one of Jazy's sweethearts,                they don't press the issue. The door closes shut.               INT. THE HOUSE               CLAIRE sighs with frightened relief and hurries upstairs to                join Price.               JAZY'S BEDROOM as she enters. A rumpled bed, a spilled wine                glass -- a pleasant mess.                                     CLAIRE                         Russell?                              (no answer)                         Russell?               A door off the bedroom is open -- light spills out. Claire                stops cold at what she sees:               PRICE STANDS IN A ROOM FULL OF PHOTOGRAPHS Hundreds of                pictures of all sizes, photographic equipment, an enlarger,                cameras and lenses, etc. Pictures of Sandino, newspaper                photos, snapshots.               P.O.V. OF RUSSELL'S PHOTOGRAPHS FROM RAFAEL'S CAMP cropped                and blown up -- Commandante Cinco, the Priest of Leon, the                Businessman, Isela. Photographs of other slain rebel leaders.                The pictures include faces that have been circled with names                written in -- exactly as in the pictures Oates possessed.               They are both stunned.                                     PRICE                         Let's get out of here.               THEY HURRY DOWNSTAIRS and as they get to the front door --                the sound of somebody opening it. They freeze.               THE DOOR OPENS AND MISS PANAMA ENTERS She smiles and greets                them in a friendly, aloof manner, and continues toward the                waterless pool.                                     MISS PANAMA                         Hola.               Price and Claire return the greeting and continue out the                door.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. JAZY'S HOUSE - THE SOUND OF MORTAR IN THE DISTANCE               As they emerge, Claire tears a white cloth in half and ties                it to a stick, handing half to Price who does likewise.               An earth mover goes past, a Guardia soldier at the wheel.                More soldiers cling to the machine, their guns at the ready.                                     PRICE                         We've got to talk to Alex.               They start walking.                                     CLAIRE                         You think our flags are big enough?               Flags held high, they move nervously down the street into                the ominous silence of the city.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREETS OF MANAGUA - NIGHT               Alex, Price, and Claire get out of a cab and approach a large                statue of Somoza on horseback, surreally lit by floodlights                in the center of a traffic circle. Four Guardia Soldiers are                visible on the sidewalk in the b.g. drinking with two women.                                     PRICE                         This is what I want to show you.                                     ALEX                         We drove through three roadblocks a                          half hour before curfew so you could                          show me a statue of Tacho.                                     PRICE                         It's not Tacho. It's Mussolini. Tacho                          went to Italy to commission a statue                          of himself, he found a warehouse                          full of Il Duces on horseback, got a                          great deal on one of 'em -- brought                          it back and switched heads.                              (beat)                         Ya can't tell, can ya?               Silence. Alex knows Price too well -- it's a great story but                that's not why they're here.                                     ALEX                         What the hell are you talking about?                                     CLAIRE                         I think what he's trying to say --                          what we're trying to say -- is that                          things aren't exactly what they seem                          to be.                                     ALEX                         Well, they don't "seem" to be that                          great so I can't wait for this one...                              (mocks silliness)                         Hey, here we are! Two guys in the                          tropics in love with the same dame...                          bullets flying!                                     CLAIRE                         Alex! That's not why we're here.                                     ALEX                         Oh yeah? I left the country because                          of him...                              (points to Price)                         ...and I came back because of him...                              (beat)                         And now the cutest couple in town                          has me looking up a horse's ass on a                          midnight tour of Managua.                              (points up the statue's                               ass)                         What are we doing here?               Silence. Claire addresses Alex calmly.                                     CLAIRE                         Rafael is dead.               Silence. Alex isn't quite sure he understood.                                     ALEX                         In the picture he's dead?                                     PRICE                              (shouts)                         Dead!                                     ALEX                         How the hell...                                     CLAIRE                              (interrupts quickly)                         Who cares how?!               Silence. A bit of gallows laughter from Alex as he circles                the statue. Price calms and tries to explain.                                     PRICE                         Alex... I think I finally saw one                          too many bodies.                              (beat)                         Somoza is a killer.                              (beat)                         I thought the war would end sooner.                              (beat)                         How many reasons do you want?                                     ALEX                         You saw too many bodies? That's a                          lot of bodies.                              (beat; to Price)                         You stupid son of a bitch.                              (to Claire)                         Did he talk you into it?                                     CLAIRE                         No! I wanted Rafael to be alive.                                     ALEX                         In some way I understand him doing                          it, I don't like it but I                          understand... but you?                                     CLAIRE                         I'd do it again.               Alex lets it all sink in. These two people about whom he has                such passionate feelings have totally exposed themselves to                him.                                     ALEX                         You two have, of course, just served                          me up your balls -- if that's what                          they're called -- on a platter.                              (several beats)                         I can bury you both. You're handing                          me your careers.               They don't respond -- he's right.                                     ALEX                         Well, Jesus Christ... this is a                          motherfucking story, Russell...                              (long silence)                         What am I supposed to do with it?                                     CLAIRE                         Anything you want.               Small, tired gallows laughter from Alex. There is a long                silence before Alex speaks, aware of the irony.                                     ALEX                         They're holding the lead in the World                          section for Rafael.                                     PRICE                         It's great stuff, isn't it? We'd go                          down in a blaze of glory.                                     ALEX                         Oh yeah...                              (distraught)                         I don't know what to do.                              (beat)                         I've gotta take some kind of a story                          back with me. Maybe Jazy, eh?                                     CLAIRE                         Oh Jesus.                                     PRICE                         It's a little dangerous looking for                          Jazy at the moment.                                     ALEX                              (mock heroic)                         Ah, danger -- I love it. You could                          ask the pointy-shoed little bastard                          about your pictures... and I could                          ask him whatever happened to Isela.                                     CLAIRE                         She's an officer in the Rafael army --                          we saw her in Matagalpa.               Alex is surprised slightly, but takes pleasure in revealing                it.                                     ALEX                         You mean I slept with a Sandinista?               Price and Claire exchange glances. Alex is dead serious.                                     ALEX                         I guess Rafael is alive, eh?                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. CLAIRE'S ROOM - NIGHT               PRICE AND CLAIRE LIE IN BED sweating. A siren and distant                mortar can be heard outside. Price goes to the window and                shuts it -- the room is quieter and hotter. He pounds a broken                air conditioning duct.                                     PRICE                         Damn air conditioning.               He looks out the window -- it never used to be this                complicated.                                     CLAIRE                         I wish I was home.               Silence.                                     PRICE                         C'mere.               She goes to him, lies down, and they embrace.                                     CLAIRE                         Do you think it's almost over?               A loud, long burst of automatic weapons fire is heard                somewhere outside. Their eyes are open as they hold onto                each other.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE STREETS OF MANAGUA - NEXT MORNING               A sense of foreboding. Heavy road equipment prowls the street                looking for Rebel barricades to destroy. Tanquettas and                Guardia everywhere.               The flag draped press car of Price and Alex drives slowly.               P.O.V. OUT OF THE CAR AS THEY LOOK CAREFULLY Things feel                wrong. Guardia barricades are everywhere, forcing them to                follow a route they might not choose. The Guardia soldiers                at the barricades seem on edge. When Jazy's house is visible                in the distance, barricades force them another direction.               GUARDIA SOLDIERS RACE DOWN A STREET TOWARD GUNFIRE and the                car stops. When the road is clear it creeps into an                intersection. They check their position.               THE CAR CREEPS TO A STOP and they look around further.               A PIG CROSSES THE STREET 100 YARDS AWAY AND IS SHOT BY A                SOLDIER.               Everything is wrong. Price looks around restlessly.                                     PRICE                         Alex... let's go back.                                     ALEX                         Jazy's probably sitting in the bar                          laughing at us. Which way's the hotel?                                     PRICE                         I don't know.               A WOMAN PEEKS OUT OF A DOORWAY WATCHING                                     ALEX                         I'll ask her... be right back.                                     PRICE                         Just a sec'... take a flag.               But Alex is out of the car at once, approaching the woman.               Alex motions that "it's not necessary" and talks to the woman.                We can't hear, but she points down the block.               INSIDE THE CAR Price cranks film into place, his actions are                automatic and nervous. When he looks up:               P.O.V. ALEX FIFTY YARDS AWAY               Walking in the direction she pointed, he motions to Price as                if to say, "Just checking this out."               PRICE LOOKS AROUND NERVOUSLY FOR A SENSE OF DIRECTION And as                he does, looks through the camera.               THROUGH CAMERA P.O.V. OF THE DEAD PIG followed by quick                blurred pans to other images -- TANK, HOUSE, WOMAN, SOLDIER --                until it settles on ALEX IN THE INTERSECTION. Two Guardia                soldiers come up to him and he holds out his hands as if to                say, "I'm lost."               ALEX TALKS TO THE SOLDIERS -- FREEZE FRAME click, click --                and the whirring sound of a motor drive, another FREEZE FRAME                click, click, more whirring -- Price is on automatic pilot.                Another soldier orders Alex up against a wall.               Nobody sees Price taking pictures -- it happens too quickly.               THROUGH CAMERA P.O.V. ALEX IS SHOT IN THE CHEST FROM POINT                BLANK RANGE -- FREEZE FRAMES click, click, whirring as the                images blur and the camera is dropped.               PRICE STARES WITHOUT THE CAMERA               P.O.V. ALEX LIES DEAD AS THE SOLDIERS LOOK AROUND The act                was random, almost nonchalant.               PRICE STARTS TO RUN TOWARD ALEX shouting madly.                                     PRICE                         You fucks! You fucks!               He stops quickly as they see him, realizing how exposed he                is.               THE GUARDIA START FIRING AT HIM, realizing the murder was                recorded.                                     GUARDIA SOLDIER                         Fotografia!                                                                    CUT TO:               PRICE LEAPS IN HIS CAR and starts it up, racing around the                corner as bullets rip into the car.               THE WINDOW SHATTERS, AND PRICE IS HIT IN THE SHOULDER He                clutches his bleeding arm as he races on.               EXT. SHANTYTOWN BARRIO - DAY               THE CAR GRINDS TO A HALT and Price leaps from it, racing                into a maze of ramshackle huts.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. SOMOZA'S BUNKER               A hastily called press conference. Tacho takes a quick drag                on a cigarette and makes the announcement.                                     SOMOZA                         It is with grave concern that we                          announce that Alexander Grazier,                          senior American correspondent, has                          been murdered at the hands of                          terrorists...               A shock wave goes through the room -- hands raised, questions.                                     SOMOZA                         Mr. Kittle has prepared statements                          for you.               Somoza turns and leaves as Kittle passes out press statements.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. CLAIRE'S HOTEL ROOM               TV is on. She's at the typewriter working on a story.               A PHOTOGRAPH OF ALEX COMES ON THE TELEVISION NEWS, with                Spanish language commentary over the image.               CLAIRE KEEPS WORKING AND GRADUALLY TYPES LESS AS SHE HEARS                the story, finally rising and moving in front of the                television as a local newsman reads of Alex's death and we                see the Somoza press announcement.               The phone rings: Claire picks up the phone and listens                silently before hanging up. She sits down shakily on the bed                and starts crying.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE SHANTYTOWN BARRIO - DAY               PRICE HURRIES THROUGH the passageways between tin shacks,                through tiny yards of goats and chickens, through houses as                poor that the war has nearly passed them by. Price is hurting,                and looks around with fear to see:               THE GUARDIA SOLDIERS MOVE DOWN INTO THE SHANTYTOWN, fanning                out to quickly engulf the barrio. They move quickly.               A HELICOPTER GUNSHIP MOVES IN LOW over the barrio and opens                up sporadic outbursts of fire to insure nobody will try to                flee.               PRICE RUNS DOWN AN ALLEY and nearly runs right into the                Guardia. He hides behind a paper thin wall of flattened beer                cans -- the Guardia move past him only inches away. Price                starts off in another direction, but Guardia appear -- he is                trapped in the barrio.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HOTEL LOBBY               Journalists are everywhere -- suitcases packed -- trying to                get out of the country. The registration desk is chaos. Regis                tries to get the attention of the clerk -- so does everyone                else.                                     REGIS                         Get my bill and get me a cab, hey,                          amigo!               The clerk is under attack.                                     CLERK                         No cabs.                                     REGIS                         Cabs!                                     CLERK                         No cabs!               CLAIRE GETS OFF THE ELEVATOR AND MOVES THROUGH THIS CHAOS                Regis sees her and tries to give her comfort -- she's beyond                that. She wears a jacket and carries her bag -- she's going                somewhere.                                     REGIS                         I'm sorry, Claire...               She pushes him away politely; she is single-minded now.                                     CLAIRE                         Heard from Russell?                                     REGIS                         Nobody has.                                     CLAIRE                         Wanta help me find him?               Regis looks at her like she's crazy.                                     REGIS                         Claire... it's on the weird side out                          there...               Hub Kittle enters the lobby, sees Claire and volunteers:                                     HUB                         Jesus Christ, Claire, a human tragedy,                          what can I say?               Claire is nearly in tears, but resists.                                     CLAIRE                         Fuck off, Hub, get outta my way.               CLAIRE EXITS THE HOTEL AND GETS INTO HER PRESS CAR                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREETS OF MANAGUA - LONG SHOT OF JAZY'S HOUSE - DAY               Claire stays in her car and watches the house -- no way to                get close -- and she continues driving, her route dictated                by the same barricades that directed Alex and Price.               She passes the dead pig in the street, and TWO RED CROSS                WORKERS make their way slowly around a corner, frightened.                Claire gets out of her car and approaches them.                                     CLAIRE                              (in Spanish)                         Do you know where the American                          journalist was killed?               They all point down a street. She shows them the polaroid of                Price and her.                                     CLAIRE                              (in Spanish)                         Have you seen him?               They haven't and continue on their way. Claire walks in the                direction they pointed -- no street fighting but many Guardia.               P.O.V. PRICE'S CAR FAR DOWN THE STREET SURROUNDED BY GUARDIA                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. SHANTYTOWN - DAY               PRICE HUNCHES DOWN AND CRAWLS BEHIND THE STALLS as soldiers                move through the yards looking for him.               A WOMAN IN A DOORWAY WATCHES PRICE HIDE               THE WOMAN APPEARS IN A DOORWAY AND MOTIONS WITH HER HEAD for                Price to dart inside.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE HOUSE - DAY               Nothing is said. Price is led into a room, one of many --                but this room is boarded over. There is no escape. Price is                in pain, his arm bleeds, he's tiring.                                     WOMAN                              (in Spanish)                         This is the best I can offer.                                     PRICE                         Gracias.               PRICE STANDS IN THE TINY ROOM WAITING               He leans against the wall behind the door. He shuts his eyes --                a noise at the door. When he opens them:               THE WOMAN IS STANDING THERE WITH A GUN               She hands it to him and leaves, bolting the door.               PRICE LEANS AGAINST THE WALL HOLDING A REVOLVER and he waits --                cameras around his neck, gun in hand, bloody, slightly                ridiculous, and scared.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE STREETS OF MANAGUA - DAY               Price's shot up car is not far away, but she's afraid to                approach it. She shows the picture of Price to a small boy                who doesn't recognize it.               GUARDIA SOLDIER SPOTS CLAIRE and walks toward her. She cannot                tell if the act is routine or threatening. He calls out to                her.                                     SOLDIER                         Venga aqui.               She hesitates -- Alex is dead, everything is crazy. She starts                toward him, then changes her mind, turns, and walks quickly                away from him.               THE SOLDIER RUNS TOWARD HER               CLAIRE RUNS FASTER and darts into a narrow passageway behind                a house, where she looks back. He calls for support -- several                join him and hurry after her. Panicky, she runs between                houses.               OVERHEAD PLANES BUZZ THE NEIGHBORHOOD as Claire emerges from                the 'maze' to see:               P.O.V. PRICE'S CAR ABANDONED and full of holes near the shanty                town. Guardia are everywhere. The helicopter gunship is                overhead.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE HOUSE WHERE PRICE HIDES - DAY               He hears the Guard breaking in, and he cocks his gun.               INT. SAME HOUSE               as the Squadron Leader and three soldiers burst in -- the                woman stands in the middle of the room and lies.                                     WOMAN                              (in Spanish)                         Nobody is here. Get out.               The Sqaudron Leader points to different rooms for each                soldier, and they proceed to kick in each door, automatic                rifles ready.               PRICE'S ROOM AS HE HEARS A SOLDIER AT THIS DOOR.               THE DOOR IS KICKED OPEN, AND A SOLDIER STEPS INTO THE ROOM                For a moment he doesn't see Price -- then he whirls and faces                the photographer who's so scared he's forgotten to raise his                gun.               PRICE AND THE SOLDIER ARE FACE-TO-FACE The soldier is a                fourteen-year-old boy fighting back tears. He, too, is scared                to death. Neither is quite sure why he is there -- they just                want it to end.               PRICE AND THE BOY AIM THEIR GUNS AT EACH OTHER as they hear                the voice of the Squadron Leader in the other room.                                     LEADER                         Esta alli?!                              (Is he there?)               No answer.                                     LEADER                         Esta alli?!               SQUADRON LEADER HEADS TOWARD THE ROOM but as he does, the                boy soldier appears in the doorway.                                     BOY SOLDIER                         No esta aqui.               The Leader grunts an order, and the squadron quickly heads                to the next house.               PRICE'S BODY SLUMPS AGAINST THE WALL EXHAUSTED, and the woman                enters as soon as the last soldier has gone.               Price's brief moment of peace is shattered by the screaming                of Guardia troops and the explosions of rocket fire from the                gunship. He looks outside.               THE GUNSHIP FIRES INTO THE SHANTYTOWN killing several of its                own Guardia troops. A GUARDIA OFFICER screams at the gunship                and fires a hand gun at the giant chopper.                                     GUARDIA OFFICER                              (in Spanish)                         We are you! We are you! What are you                          doing?!               GUARDIA TROOPS EVACUATE THE SHANTYTOWN in a panicky scramble                to escape their own gunship.               PRICE RACES THROUGH THE BACK OF THE SHANTYTOWN, taking                advantage of the chaos, and without slowing down, breaks                free of the maze of the barrio.               CLAIRE'S P.O.V. OF PRICE RACING ACROSS THE STREET, past a                body and an overturned, smoking car, back into the rubble                strewn blocks of the edge of the city. A tanquetta comes                around a corner and sees Price a block away.                                     CLAIRE                         Russell!               PRICE SEES HER, and races along a wall until they meet,                grabbing her on the run -- each is panicky and frightened --                and they duck into very shallow cover, barely safe.                                     PRICE                         What're you doing here?!               They embrace quickly and tightly, but look around nervously                as they do. Price isn't sure if anybody knows about Alex.                                     CLAIRE                         Alex!                                     PRICE                         The Guardia did it -- I got pictures.               P.O.V. A TANQUETTA PASSES ON THE NEXT STREET, visible through                shattered holes in the buildings. A Guardia squadron passes.               PRICE AND CLAIRE RUN DOWN THE STREET in the opposite                direction, their path guided somewhat by an overturned bus                in an intersection, abandoned barricades and roadblocks, and                the rubble of street fighting.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE STREET OF JAZY'S HOUSE - DAY               PRICE AND CLAIRE hesitate at the corner and move slowly along,                seeing two Sandinistas, dressed half in camouflaged gear,                half disco. The TWO GUERRILLAS seem to control the street.                Price and Claire approach warily.                                     PRICE                         Hola.                              (the Guerrillas nod;                               in Spanish)                         Do you control this area?               The Sandinista looks at his comrade, then looks around                nervously, frightened, then shrugs.                                     DISCO SANDINISTA                              (in Spanish)                         I don't know.               Price and Claire continue on down the street and                simultaneously noticed something strange:               THE DOOR TO JAZY'S HOUSE IS WIDE OPEN They approach carefully                and look in a view to the court-yard. Claire sticks her head                in the door slowly, and as she does:               A GIANT HAND GUN IS STUCK IN HER TEMPLE as TWO MUCHACHOS                quickly seize her and Price, dragging them inside.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. JAZY'S COURTYARD - LATE IN DAY               JAZY STANDS WITH A THIRD GUN AT HIS HEAD, being held by the                most forceful and crazed of three young Muchachos. With guns                on Jazy, Price, and Claire, there is much confusion as to                who's in charge and what exactly they're doing.                                     MUCHACHO #1                              (in Spanish)                         Who are you?                                     JAZY                         They are my friends.                                     MUCHACHO #2                              (in Spanish)                         Shut up. We kill them all.                                     MUCHACHO #3                              (in Spanish)                         No. Only him.               The guns are aimed back and forth in confusion -- Price and                Claire don't have a chance to respond, and they're not sure                what to say.                                     MUCHACHO #1                              (in Spanish)                         Him or him or her?               The Muchachos begin arguing rapidly among themselves; and as                they do, Jazy addresses Price and Claire coolly.                                     JAZY                         Well, here we are, eh?                                     MUCHACHO #1                              (in Spanish)                         Assassin! Shut up!                                     JAZY                         The boys are confused -- they think                          I had their family killed.                                     PRICE                         You murder people.                                     JAZY                         "Murder" is a word for criminals. I                          have a job to protect the stability                          of a continent.                                     MUCHACHO #3                         Pig! Hijo de puta!                                     JAZY                         Please...               He is not begging for his life as much as for them to calm                down.                                     CLAIRE                         You got caught by some boys?                                     JAZY                         Yes. Poets too, I imagine.                              (beat)                         Is your recorder on?                                     CLAIRE                              (hesitates)                         Yes.                                     JAZY                         Good. I have a speech to make.               The Muchachos don't understand what he's saying, but they                stop to listen to his style. The guns remained trained on                all three.                                     JAZY                         I like you people, but you are                          sentimental shits. You fall in love                          with the poets, the poets fall in                          love with the Marxists, the Marxists                          fall in love with themselves. The                          country is destroyed with rhetoric,                          and in the end we are stuck with                          tyrants.                                     MUCHACHO #1                              (in Spanish)                         Shut up!               Jazy turns to the boy who jams the gun into his head and                speaks with tired authority.                                     JAZY                         Un minuto, por favor.                                     MUCHACHO #2                              (to Price and Claire,                               more calmly)                         Who are you?                                     JAZY                              (in Spanish)                         They are journalists.               The Muchachos are immediately surprised and delighted, and                one of them speaks in excited, broken English.                                     MUCHACHO #1                         Periodistas! Take this picture! I'm                          going to blow his head off.               The Muchachos quickly withdraw their guns from Price and                Claire and aim them all at Jazy's head.                                     JAZY                         Somoza? He is a tyrant too, of course.                          A butcher.                              (beat)                         But finally that is not the point,                          you see. If we wish to survive -- we                          have a choice of tyrants, and for                          all the right reasons, your poets                          choose the wrong side.                                     MUCHACHO #1                              (impatiently)                         Fotografia!                                     PRICE                         No.                                     JAZY                         Yes.                              (beat)                         Your picture of Rafael was                          brilliant... but I am alive, and                          better looking. A good looking                          Frenchman with a sympathetic face is                          murdered in cold blood while fighting                          for the survival of Europe and                          America.                              (beat)                         You will have another magazine cover!                              (smiles)                         Muy complicado, no?                                     MUCHACHO #1                              (in Spanish)                         Ready! Now!                                     CLAIRE                         You picked the wrong side.                                     JAZY                         In fifty years we will know who's                          right.                              (beat)                         Are you going to take the picture as                          the bullet enters the skull or as it                          comes out? This wall's a nice color,                          eh? I can move into the sunlight.               CLAIRE TURNS AND WALKS AWAY, her back to the scene.                                     JAZY                              (to Claire)                         It's just a story!               PRICE REMAINS AND STARES AT JAZY as the Muchachos grow                increasingly impatient. Some part of him wants to take the                picture.                                     MUCHACHO #1                              (in Spanish)                         Shut up!                                     JAZY                         They say that if somebody's holding                          a gun on you, you should never stop                          talking... that's the theory -- who                          knows?...               PRICE TURNS AND WALKS AWAY toward Claire. Still -- Jazy talks.                                     JAZY                         Maybe it's a good thing that I talk                          too much...               A GUNSHOT RINGS OUT.               Price grimaces. Claire shuts her eyes. They turn to look at                the fallen Jazy as the Three Muchachos, frightened by their                own act, race back into the street. For several moments Price                and Claire stand, frozen, until the rumbling sound of a                helicopter gunship nearby forces them to hurry outside.               PRICE AND CLAIRE GO TO THE DOORWAY and look out as a jeep                full of Guardia screams past               P.O.V. SEVERAL GUERRILLAS RETREATING FROM AN ADVANCING                TANQUETTA a block away. The neighborhood seems to be changing                hands again.               Price and Claire slump in the darkness near the doorway; she                touches near his wounded arm.                                     CLAIRE                         You okay?                              (he nods)                         Russell... what did Alex do?                                     PRICE                         Nothing. He asked for directions.               She shakes her head and leans it against Price's shoulder                but the distant popping of guns does not even allow her a                moment of mourning. Their heads pop up nervously.                                     PRICE                         We gotta get outta sight -- half the                          fucking army's looking for me...                                     CLAIRE                         They're not looking for me.               Silence.                                     CLAIRE                         Let me have the film...                              (beat; unsure)                         ...if I can't get to the hotel I'll                          come back here...               Price doesn't want her to go alone, but he's not that excited                about hiding out in the middle of the city either.                                     PRICE                         Aw, Christ...                              (frustrated)                         I've wrecked everything else, at                          least let me take care of you here.                                     CLAIRE                         Russell... it's more dangerous being                          with you than being alone.               He knows she's right. He loves her, and he's made enough                disastrous decisions lately. He hesitates, then pops open                his camera and removes the film. Price ties the film into                the white flag that hangs from a stick stuck into her belt.               PRICE AND CLAIRE EMBRACE AND KISS BRIEFLY                                     PRICE                         Don't get hurt.                                     CLAIRE                              (affectionately)                         That's great advice.               They kiss, and Claire runs out after a Red Cross truck. Price                watches nervously until they turn a corner, out of sight,                then goes back inside Jazy's courtyard. PRICE NEARLY STUMBLES                OVER JAZY'S BODY, stops, stares -- he'd forgotten already.                The body makes him uneasy, and after several moments he finds                a sheet and covers Jazy. Price then sits down and waits                nervously, sharing the courtyard with Jazy.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREETS OF MANAGUA - DUSK               CLAIRE WALKS ALONGSIDE THE RED CROSS TRUCK as it comes around                a corner. The truck turns one direction, she wants to go the                other way toward the hotel.               P.O.V. -- THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL ON THE HILL IN DISTANCE -                DUSK               Guardia troops heavily patrol the ground between Claire and                the hotel -- a jeep, a troop carrier, a tanquetta, and fifty                foot soldiers.               CLAIRE TAKES TEMPORARY COVER offered by a MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN                who sees that she is afraid of La Guardia. Claire steps behind                a walled yard. Moments later:               A BOY ON A BIKE RIDES SLOWLY OUT OF THE YARD and turns up                the hill toward the Guardia and the hotel. Claire's white                flag is tied to his handlebars.               CLAIRE WATCHES FEARFULLY as the boy pedals into the military                zone. The woman offers Claire some food; she declines.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE ROAD TO THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL - DUSK               THE BOY PEDALS slowly, in no hurry, past La Guardia troops.                Some of them watch him curiously, some ignore him. The white                flag flutters as he rides.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREETS OF MANAGUA - DUSK               CLAIRE RETRACES HER STEPS to the block where Price is hiding                in Jazy's house.               THE TWO DISCO SANDINISTAS LIE DEAD IN THE STREET, a dog sniffs                at the bodies. Claire looks around -- there is little sign                of life. She enters Jazy's house.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. JAZY'S HOUSE - DUSK               CLAIRE ENTERS and stops. She calls out his name, no answer.                Price is gone. She hurries back outside.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. JAZY'S HOUSE - DUSK               TWO GUARDIA TROOP CARRIERS RACE PAST, sirens screaming, loaded                with Guardia soldiers. Claire steps into the street unsurely,                looking every direction.               PEOPLE BEGIN COMING OUT OF THEIR HOMES and what remains of                their small homes. They come one at a time at first, then in                small groups, carrying belongings, pets, chickens, etc.               CLAIRE SHOWS A PICTURE OF PRICE AND HER to a woman who comes                out of the house next to Jazy's, but the woman shakes her                head, not recognizing Price.               A PUSH-PULL PLANE DIVES IN LOW FIRING ROCKETS at the homes.               THE CROWD GROWS and chaotically flees the destruction,                gradually finding a direction out of the city. Claire is                swept along in the crowds, at first without choice, then                finally fleeing for her life with the rest of Managua. As                she moves with the crowd, she looks for Price everywhere,                without success.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. A TEMPORARY REFUGEE CAMP - NIGHT               SEVERAL CAMPFIRES burn near the edge of the city where dozens                have taken temporary refuge. Claire arrives to see: A BODY                ON A STRETCHER BEING CARRIED up outside stairs to a rooftop                from which glow several bare bulbs. She goes up the stairs                to the rooftop.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. A ROOFTOP HOSPITAL - NIGHT               A MAKESHIFT MOBILE HOSPITAL under awnings and palm fronds,                capable of moving location in minutes. A WOMAN DOCTOR and                two temporary orderlies tend to wounded. A small black and                white television sits on a table and those who are able watch                the seige of Managua on television while it goes on around                them. Claire looks for Price among the dead or wounded.               P.O.V. -- THE CITY UNDER ATTACK               Claire watches for several moments -- smoke, flame, the                buzzing sound of planes swooping low, fleeing crowds. She                then notices the television.               PRICE'S FOOTAGE OF ALEX'S DEATH comes on the TV screen, and                she pushes closer to see the grim sequence. The NEWS                COMMENTATOR explains in Spanish what we see CLAIRE IS SO                DISTURBED AT THE IMAGES that she turns away, sickened, hurt,                guilty, outraged, but unable to break down. She closes her                eyes -- her face is covered with tears. The Doctor notices                this and speaks softly to her.                                     DOCTOR                         Journalist?                              (Claire nods)                         You knew the man who was killed?                              (she nods again)                         Fifty thousand Nicaraguans have                          died... and now one Yankee.                              (beat)                         Perhaps now Americans will be outraged                          at what is happening here, eh?               It takes a while for Claire to respond.                                     CLAIRE                         Yes... perhaps they will.               Noise in the distance from mortars. The Doctor speaks calmly,                without bitterness in the voice, but with total conviction.                                     DOCTOR                         Maybe we should have killed an                          American journalist fifty years ago.               Claire acknowledges the grim truth of the observation with a                slight nod, and walks to the railing as:               ALEX'S DEATH IS REPEATED IN FREEZE FRAME SEQUENCE over and                over again as the Orderlies, Doctor, and patients gather to                watch with fascination.               CLAIRE STARES OUT AT THE CITY ON FIRE, when her eye catches                something -- a light in the sky. She watches:               P.O.V. -- A HELICOPTER WITH SEARCHLIGHT PASSES OVERHEAD,                momentarily illuminating the hospital, but it continues on,                curiously uninterested in the Guerrilla activity. The chopper                sweeps above a nearby hill and hovers, then slowly lowers to                earth.               CLAIRE WATCHES with interest then descends the stairs.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE CEMETERY - NIGHT               SOMOZA WATCHES AS A BACK HOE DIGS UP THE COFFINS of his                parents. An Army helicopter lands, lighting the scene, and                Miss Panama rushes from the chopper into his arms as the                turbulence from the blades raises her dress and musses his                hair. Soldiers place the dirt-covered caskets on the roofs                of Somoza's two Mercedes, hastily tie them down, and the                strange motorcade, flanked by two heavily armed jeeps, drives                off into the dark.               CLAIRE WATCHES IT ALL from a safe distance, not far from the                refugee camp. She turns and walks slowly back to the camp.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE REFUGEE CAMP - LATE AT NIGHT               Claire sits down against the remains of a wall. The war has                overtaken her -- she doesn't know if Price is alive -- and                though totally involved, she is at last an observer once                again. Claire notices the tiny red light of her recorder is                still on. She turns it off, and as the sounds of battle                gradually die down, Claire falls asleep -- exhausted.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. THE REFUGEE CAMP - DAWN               CLAIRE SLEEPS AGAINST THE WALL as a dog sniffs and licks her                face. She awakens with a start -- the dog scurries away.                Claire rises and looks around.               A LOCAL WOMAN PUSHES A CART carrying the wrapped body of her                husband through the otherwise quiet streets of Managua.               CLAIRE MOVES THROUGH THE CAMP just coming to life, and looks                around trying to interpret the eerie silence. A WOMAN tends                to her TWO SMALL CHILDREN.                                     CLAIRE                              (in Spanish)                         Have you seen La Guardia?                                     WOMAN WITH CHILDREN                              (in Spanish)                         No. Is the war over?                                     CLAIRE                              (in Spanish)                         I don't know.               A DISTANT, DRONING NOISE GETS STEADILY LOUDER. Claire looks                around nervously.               A CHILD RUNS DOWN THE STREET SHOUTING                                     CHILD                         Tanquettas! Tanquettas!               P.O.V. -- SEVERAL TANQUETTAS AND EARTH MOVERS coming over                the hill in the distance. The Refugees look up fearfully and                some hide. As the war machinery gets closer, we see that:               SANDINISTAS ARE DRIVING THE MACHINES draped with red and                black (F.S.L.N.), blue and white (Nicaraguan), and yellow                and white (the Vatican) flags. Graffiti of victory covers                the tanquettas.               PEOPLE COME INTO THE STREET CHEERING, embracing, only                gradually realizing what has happened.                                     WOMAN WITH CHILDREN                              (in Spanish)                         Is the war over?                                     CLAIRE                         Yes.                                     WOMAN WITH CHILDREN                         Es bueno.                              (It is good.)               The woman continues with her children, her comment                unemotional, and Claire smiles slightly and walks away,                through a city awakening slowly to its victory.               CLAIRE STOPS A RED CROSS TRUCK and shows the driver her                picture of Price. The picture means nothing to the driver.                Claire continues through the city, looking for Price.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL - MORNING               CLAIRE WALKS INTO THE POOL AREA where chairs and tables float                in the pool, the bar is overturned, and the once sumptuous                press oasis is a disaster.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL - MORNING               CLAIRE ENTERS A DESERTED LOBBY, also a mess, and hesitates                before climbing the circular stairs.               CLAIRE LOOKS INTO PRICE'S ROOM, and finds it empty, and                typically messy.               CLAIRE WALKS INTO HER OWN ROOM -- PRICE STANDS AT THE BALCONY                looking out at the jubilant city from which smoke still rises.               CLAIRE AND PRICE EMBRACE DEEPLY, holding onto each other                without the slightest intention of letting go.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               INT. THE INTERCONTINENTAL LOBBY - LATER - DAY               PRICE AND CLAIRE COME DOWNSTAIRS to the lobby. They are                cleaned up in fresh clothes; they have survived and the war                is over.               THE LOBBY IS COMING TO LIFE AGAIN with Regis' camera crew,                who look like they've had a long night, a BUS BOY, A MAID,                AN OLD COUPLE, and A WHITE WOMAN, 38, with TWO SMALL DAUGHTERS --                all either sit or mill in the b.g.               PRICE AND CLAIRE STOP SHORT at what they see.                                     PRICE                         Alex.               P.O.V. -- A HANDMADE CASKET SITTING IN THE LOBBY with the                name, "A. Grazier" scrawled in felt pen.               Price and Claire stand next to the box silently -- there is                nothing to say -- but the silence is interrupted by a familiar                voice that is polite, unforced, and sincere.                                     VOICE OF HUB KITTLE                         It was the best I would do under the                          circumstances. The casket, I mean.               Awkward silence until they realize that he's sincere.                                     CLAIRE                         Can you help us ship it home?                                     HUB                         I've already taken care of it.                              (beat)                         I always liked the guy. I can't even                          get tickets for my own family, but I                          could get you two on the plane if                          you want.               We see the woman and little girls as Hub's family.                                     PRICE                         Yes, please...                                     HUB                         Tacho's in Miami.               A shared silence at the lunacy of the moment, interrupted by                the tired voice of one of Hub's daughters.                                     HUB'S DAUGHTER                         Daddy!                                     HUB                              (to Price and Claire)                         I am sorry. I had a job to do --                          that's all -- it put me in some                          unhappy situations.               Hub goes over to take care of his family.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. PLAZA OF MANAGUA'S LARGEST CATHEDRAL - LATER - DAY               Thousands of people have gathered to celebrate in loud and                joyous singing, led by a group on the highest cathedral steps,                surrounded by Revolutionary leaders waving to the crowds. A                SINGING GROUP sings a song to Nicaragua, and a song to Rafael.               RAFAEL'S BODY IN A FANCY CASKET is carried in through the                crowd to wild cheering and singing. High over the pallbearers'                heads it moves through the crowds.               PRICE AND CLAIRE STAND TO THE SIDE watching it all. The                celebration is joyously infectious, and for the moment we                can forget the bloodshed, forget the problems that lay ahead,                forget even the death of Alex.               PRICE PULLS OUT A CAMERA and begins taking pictures of the                celebration.               ISELA IS AT THE MICROPHONE with other Guerrilla leaders.               CLAIRE WORKS THROUGH THE CROWD with her mike held high,                recording the singing of the crowd.               PRICE BACKS UNDER THE AWNING of a stand selling refreshments,                and especially Rum and Coke mixtures known suddenly and                triumphantly as "Nicalibres." As Price snaps off pictures --                a voice from an American in casual street clothes drinking                at the temporary bar.                                     OATES                         Hey, Pricey...               Price looks over to see the smiling Oates.                                     OATES                         It's all over, eh? We made it. I                          like the singing.                                     PRICE                         What're you doing here?                                     OATES                         Free country. Now it's free, anyway.                              (raises his drink)                         Nicalibre!               Oates holds up his Kodak Instamatic camera.                                     OATES                         How 'bout a quickie?                              (no response)                         No? Things are heating up in                          Thailand... thought I'd check it                          out.                              (beat)                         You ain't gonna turn me in, are ya?               PRICE TURNS AND WALKS AWAY                                     OATES                         Am I gonna see ya in Thailand? We                          could be friends!               Price keeps walking, into the crowd, where he finds Claire.                Oates orders another Nicalibre, and beats his foot to the                music.               PRICE AND CLAIRE IN THE CROWD                                     PRICE                         We've got a plane to catch.                                     CLAIRE                         Did you get enough pictures?               No answer -- a final complicated question from Claire --                they smile. Price waves for a cab which pulls over. They get                in the cab and drive away.               HOLD ON THE VICTORY CELEBRATION                                         THE END
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+                                                                 V FOR VENDETTA                                                                  Written by                                       Larry and Andy Wachowski                                                   Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore                                                            FADE IN:                    In the darkness, we hear a voice, a woman's voice.  Her name          is Evey.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    "Remember, remember, the fifth of                    November, the gunpowder treason and                    plot.  I know of now reason why the                    gunpowder treason should ever be                    forgot."                    Her voice has a strength that is metered by a calmness, a          deep centered peace that we can feel.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Those were almost the very first                    words he spoke to me and, in a way,                    that is where this story began,                    four hundred years ago, in a cellar                    beneath the Houses of Parliament.                    In the darkness, we find a lantern.  Guy Fawkes, a dangerous          man who wears a goatee, is struggling with a wheelbarrow          stacked with barrels of gunpowder.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    In 1605, Guy Fawkes attempted to                    blow up the Houses of Parliament.                    The wheelbarrow bumps over the heavy stone mortar of the          cellar floor.  From the dark depths, we hear the sound of          dogs.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    He was caught in the cellars with                    enough gunpowder to level most of                    London.                    Guy sees lanterns coming from both sides.  He tries to run as          the dogs reach him first.  He grabs for his sword as dozens          of pole axes pin him against the tunnel's stone wall.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Sometimes I wonder where we would                    be if he hadn't failed.  I wonder                    if it would have mattered.                    In the dim pre-dawn light, Guy is led to the gallows.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I suppose the answer is in the                    rhyme.  More than the man, what we                    must remember is the plot itself.                    The coarse noose of rope is snugged up to Guy's throat.  He          looks into the crowd until he finds a face, a woman's face,          staring up at him.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    For in the plot we find more than                    just a man, we find the idea of                    that man, the spirit of that man,                    and that is what we must never                    forget.                    The lever is thrown and the woman looks down, a tear falling          down her face.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    This, then, is the story of that                    idea, of that spirit that began                    with an anarchist's plot four                    hundred years ago.                    Guy's body hangs in silhouette, lifeless against a red          morning sun.                                                                    FADE OUT.                    FADE IN:                    INT.  SUBURBAN HOUSE                    A young Evey sits on her father's lap, combing her Barbie's          hair.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I was born near the end of the                    millennium, the year 1997.  My                    father used to say that people were                    so afraid that the world was going                    to end that they were willing it to                    happen.                    Her father sits beside her mother on the living room couch,          watching the news.  From the look on their faces, the news is          bad.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I don't remember much of the                    century's turn.  I don't remember                    the market crash or the plague or                    any of the Trafalgar riots.                    The television flickers with images of heavily armed soldiers          fighting in a shelled city.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I've read about them since but I                    don't recall how any of them                    impacted my life except for the                    fear.  They would hide it from me,                    like a secret between them.                    Little Evey sees her father staring at her mother.  They          take hold of each other's hand, clasping them tight.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    But I could feel it.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    It is a new day.  People are gathered along the street as if          they were waiting for a parade.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Of the chaos that seemed to swallow                    the beginning of the 21st century,                    there is one thing I do remember.                    Evey holds her father's hand.  Unable to see what is coming,          she can hear it.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Very clearly, I can remember that                    sound.                    We hear them, hundreds of marching soldiers.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    And I remember those boots, black                    leather that gleamed bright in the                    morning sun.  I had never seen such                    boots.  All moving in perfect                    unison.                    Little Evey hides in the forest of adults, clinging to her          father's leg, staring as row after row of boots march by with          military precision.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    In the midst of a political rally for the emerging new party          calling itself Norsefire, we find little Evey now on her          father's shoulders.                    Dascombe, a young man, paces the podium, inciting the crowd.                                        DASCOMBE                    The time has come, London, to                    return to a bygone age, an age of                    tradition, an age of values that                    have been disparaged and all but                    forgotten.  What this country needs                    is a leader!  A true leader to                    remind us of that age.  A righteous                    leader with the strength of his                    moral convictions to do what must                    be done.  I give you that man!  I                    give you our leader!  Adam Susan!                    Adam Susan rises and the crowd cheers.  Evey's father looks          at her mother and again they clasp hands.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    It must have seemed so easy to                    them.  They offered such a simple                    deal; give up control and we will                    restore order.                    INT.  SUBURBAN HOUSE                    Little Evey is asleep in her bedroom.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    At first, the arrests were                    political.  Dissidents.  Radicals.                     Liberals.                    A loud crash of splintering wood wakes her up.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    When my parents were younger, they                    had been activists.  They had                    marched with Labor in the great                    train strike.                    The sound of heavy boots swarms through the house.                                        LITTLE EVEY                    Mommy?                    Her bedroom door bursts open and a heavily armed soldier          scoops her up.                    She is carried through the dark house which is filled with          soldiers.  On the floor of the living room, she sees her          parents being bound with plastic zip-ties.                                        MOTHER                    My daughter!  Don't take my                    daughter!                                        FATHER                    Evey!  Evey!                                        LITTLE EVEY                    Mommy!  Daddy!                    A heavy black hood is pulled over each of her parent's heads          as Evey is carried out of the house.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I never saw them again.  Overnight,                    my life, my entire world was                    erased.                    INT.  BATHROOM                    A nun with a switch in her crossed arms watches as Evey and          several other little girls scrub the floor of a dormitory          bathroom.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    It was done so quickly and                    violently, so completely, that it                    began to seem that it had never                    even existed.                    A tear rolls down Little Evey's cheek.                    EXT.  HOUSE                    A gay man is dragged violently from his Piccadilly home.           Outside, he sees his lover being forced to the cobblestones.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    The homosexuals were next.  What                    God had started with AIDS had to be                    finished by man.  It was God's                    work.  That's what we were told.                    He reaches for him as the clubs rise and fall, vicious and          bloody.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    But once they were gone, there was                    someone else.  Someone different.                    In another neighborhood, we see the police arresting          Pakistanis.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Someone dangerous.                    In a different area, young black men are packed into a caged          van so tightly they are unable to move.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    There were those who understood                    what was happening, who knew it was                    wrong but who kept silent.                    A young detective named Finch looks down as the van pulls          away.  When he looks up, another man in a military uniform          whose name is Almond is watching him.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    And in the vacuum of that silence,                    order was imposed.                    Finch sticks his pipe in his mouth and turns away.                    EXT.  STREET                    Again, we see the marching boots.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Order that was like those boots,                    order that required rigorous                    discipline.  Order that is exactly                    the same, where each single step                    falls with every step.  The order                    of the many shaped into one.                    We move through the columns of marching soldiers to a wall          where a poster has been plastered up.  The poster reads,          "Strength Through Purity, Purity Through Faith."                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Somehow in my heart, I knew it                    wouldn't last.                    As the sound of the marching fades, a shadow falls over the          sign.                    After a moment, we hear the hiss of spray paint.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    What they thought they had crushed,                    the spirit they believed trampled                    and ground beneath the marching of                    their boots, rose up, rose as if                    from a four hundred year old grave,                    rose to remind us all that day.                    The shadow sprays a "V" over the poster.                                                                    FADE OUT.                    FADE IN:                    Close on a loudspeaker.  There is one on every major street          corner.                                        FATE (V.O.)                    Good evening, London.  It's nine                    o'clock, the fourth of November in                    the year 2019 and this is the voice                    of Fate broadcasting on 275 and 285                    of the medium wave.                    Beneath the loudspeaker is a surveillance system labeled,          "For your protection."                    Bubble eyed lenses iris at the end of stalks that move,          insect-like, racheting and clicking as they watch a little          girl pedal her bicycle.  The little girl glances nervously          over her shoulder up at the mechanical eyes watching her.                                        FATE (V.O.)                    People of London, be advised --                    EXT.  EVEY'S APARTMENT                    There is a radio on a small makeup table.                                        FATE (V.O.)                    -- that Braxton and Streathon are                    quarantine zones as of today.                    Evey is now a young woman.  She slips into a dress that is          little more than a nightgown.  She tries to adjust it,          pulling it down at the hem, pulling it up at the thin          shoulder straps, but it is like trying to hide behind a          lamppost.                                        FATE (V.O.)                    It is suggested that these area be                    avoided for reasons of health and                    safety.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    Another radio in a room that seems to be of another world.                                        FATE (V.O.)                    Good news following the                    productivity reports from                    Herefordshire indicating a possible                    end to meat rationing starting mid                    February.                    A man enters the room as he once entered the world.  His body          is lean and strong and though we do not see his face, there          is a strength in his carriage, a power to his presence.                    INT.  EVEY'S APARTMENT                    She packs tissue paper into the toes of a pair of high heels          that are too big for her.                                        FATE (V.O.)                    Police raided seventeen homes in                    the Birmingham area, uncovering                    what is believed to be a major                    terrorist ring.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    We move over a dressing bureau, past a wig and over a pair of          black leather gloves, moving until we find the mask; it is          like something from the masquerade ball of another era.  It          has an exaggerated goatee, harlequin cheeks and a smile,          forever fixed, at once be-guiling and be-deviling.                                        FATE (V.O.)                    Twenty eight people, eight of them                    women, are currently in detention                    awaiting trial.                    INT.  EVEY'S APARTMENT                    Evey coats her lips with a lascivious red.  She stares into          the mirror, her makeup like a mask over her own face.                                        FATE (V.O.)                    And that is the face of London                    tonight.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    The man, now fully dressed in cloak, hat, and mask gazes into          the mirror.                    This is V.                                        FATE (V.O.)                    And this is the voice of Fate                    signing off and bidding you a                    pleasant evening.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    Close on Evey's high heels, stumbling and awkward as she          walks down a dark cobblestoned street.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    Close on V's boots walking in the opposite direction so that          it seems they are walking towards each other.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I don't know what brought us                    together that night.  I had never                    been to that part of Westminster                    but ever since I've known him, I've                    stopped believing in coincidence.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    Evey looks up and sees a man standing mostly in shadow.                                        EVEY                    Excuse me?  Uh... excuse me,                    Mister?                    The man turns around.  It is not V.                                        EVEY                    Would you like... uh, would you                    like to sleep with me?                    He smiles.                                        EVEY                    I mean, for money.                                        MAN                    That is the clumsiest bit of                    propositioning I've ever heard.                                        EVEY                    Oh god, I'm sorry.                                        MAN                    Is this your first time, darling?                                        EVEY                    Yes, no, I mean for money.  But I                    know what you want and I'll do it.                    She presses her body to his, using her little girl eyes and          her woman's mouth.                                        EVEY                    Anything you want, mister.  Please,                    I need the money.  I know I'm young                    but I promise I know what I'm                    doing.                                        MAN                    No.  You don't know what you're                    doing.                    He pulls out his wallet and shows her a badge.  The sight of          it knocks the breath out of her.                                        EVEY                    Christ, you're a Fingerman.                                        FINGERMAN 1                    Give the little lady a prize.                                        FINGERMAN 2                    I've got something to give her.                    Evey turns and there are more Fingermen behind her.                                        FINGERMAN 1                    Prostitution is a class H offense.                     Know what that means?  It means                    that we get to exercise our own                    judicial discretion --                                        FINGERMAN 2                    And you get to swallow it.                    The Fingermen laugh.                                        EVEY                    Oh god, please.  It's my first                    time.  Please don't hurt me.                                        FINGERMAN 1                    Gosh, fellas, look at those big                    innocent eyes.  What do you think?                                        FINGERMAN 3                    Spare the rod, spoil the child.                    Fingerman 2 laughs hard as he drops his pants.                                        EVEY                    Oh no!                    He shoves her face first against a brick wall, lifting her          dress to expose her bottom.                                        EVEY                    Please, don't!                                        FINGERMAN 3                    You heard the man, sweetie.  This                    rod's for your own good.                    Suddenly, they are no longer alone.                                        V                    "The multiplying villainies of                    nature do swarm upon him."                                        FINGERMAN 3                    What the hell --                                        V                    "And fortune, on his damned                    quarrel, smiling, showed like a                    rebel's whore."                                        FINGERMAN 1                    We're police officers, pal.                                        FINGERMAN 4                    We're with the Finger.                                        FINGERMAN 3                    So bugger off!                                        V                    "Disdaining fortune with his                    brandished steel, which smoked with                    bloody execution."                    In the clenched fist of black leather, we see a flash of          steel.                                        FINGERMAN 1                    He's got a knife!                    V attacks and at once we know this is no normal human being.           A single blow sends the largest of the Fingermen flying          backwards.                    But more than his strength, it is his speed.                    A gun is cocked but before the hammer falls, a knife is          buried in the Fingerman's chest and --                    Before the body falls, the knife is gone.                    It takes a handful of seconds and three bodies lay on the          ground.  V turns to the last Fingerman who is struggling to          pull his pants up.                                        FINGERMAN 3                    Jesus Christ!  Don't hurt me!                    V steps forward and he screams, bolting while holding his          pants up.                                        V                    Good evening.                                        EVEY                    Who -- Who are you?                                        V                    Me?  I imagine all manner of names                    shall be heaped upon my humble                    visage but, for now, let us simply                    say I am the villain.                    He throws wide his cloak and bows deeply to her.                                        V                    And you would be?                                        EVEY                    Evey.                                        V                    Of course.                    They hear sirens rushing towards them.  In a blink, he scoops          her up and dashes into the shadows of a narrow alleyway.                    EXT.  ROOFTOPS                    Police cars and several ambulances swarm over the area with          the dead Fingermen.                    V watches them from above.                                        EVEY                    Why did you do that?  Why did                    you... help me?                                        V                    Why indeed?                    He takes out an old antique pocket watch.  It is almost          midnight.                                        V                    Almost time.                                        EVEY                    For what?                                        V                    For the music.                                        EVEY                    Music?                                        V                    Yes, music.  My music.  You see.                     Evey, I am a performer.                                        EVEY                    Is that why you're wearing a mask?                                        V                    We all wear masks.  Life creates                    them and forces us to find the one                    that fits.  Do you know what day it                    is?                                        EVEY                    Uh... November fourth.                                        V                    Not for long.                    He looks out where, rising above the rooftops, he can see Big          Ben.                                        V                    "Remember, remember, the fifth of                    November, the gunpowder treason and                    plot.  I know of no reason why the                    gunpowder treason should ever be                    forgot."                    The second hand sweeps into the final minute.                                        V                    Tell me, Evey, what good is an                    actor that plays his part to an                    empty theatre?                                        EVEY                    I don't know.                                        V                    Nor do I.  That's why you are here.                     I need you, Evey.  I need someone                    to listen.                                        EVEY                    To your music?                                        V                    Yes.  Yes, to my music.                    From his sleeve, he pulls a conductor's wand.                                        V                    Can you hear it?  It's already                    begun.                    He begins to lightly tap the wand in the air and, very          faintly, we hear it.                                        EVEY                    I can't hear anything.                                        V                    At first, you have to listen very                    carefully...                    He continues to conduct and we begin to hear the music,          violins and horns that seem almost like a whisper or a wind          that steadily swells.                                        V                    Ahh, yes.  There it is.  Beautiful,                    is it not?                    He turns to the parapet, his gestures growing grander as the          music rises and we recognize Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture.                    The music mounts a climax and V points the wand at Big Ben as          cymbals crash --                    Big Ben explodes with such force the world seems to shake,          while --                    V, smiling, always smiling, points again with another          crescendo and --                    The statue of justice is blown to smithereens.                    V nods in appreciation while mustering the music towards it's          finale as fireworks begin lighting up the sky.                                        EVEY                    Oh my...                    Everywhere across the city, people stand transfixed by the          dazzling shimmer of the fireworks until --                    A strobing final blitz leaves a single, starry image floating          in the smoke filled sky.                    It is the letter V.                                        EVEY                    It's beautiful...                                        V                    Thank you.                    From every direction, the city screams with the panicked          sound of sirens.                    EXT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING                    A massive modern building that is the seat of the new          government.                    A long, black car pulls up to the entrance.  Adam Susan gets          out, wearing a long black trenchcoat over his pajamas.  He is          the Leader and he looks older, heavier, and meaner.                    He hurries past the heavily armed guards, barely          acknowledging the snap and cock of their Nazi-like salute.                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    The Leader enters his main chambers and we see the Fate          computer system.                    It is a cerebral cortex for a vast intelligence network.           Information can almost be felt coursing through its hard          drives.                    The Leader sits, at once regaining a measure of composure.           He takes a deep calming breath and accesses the system.                    Dozens of monitors fill with images from all across the city,          most of them are of the damage caused by V.                                        LEADER                    Gentlemen, I will hear your reports                    now.  Mr. Heyer, speak for the Eye.                    Conrad Heyer appears on one of the screens.  He is at his          desk inside the command center for the Eye, the governmental          organization responsible for the visual surveillance systems.                                        CONRAD                    We have less than two minutes of                    usable footage, Leader.  It took                    the suspect less than a minute to                    dispatch the Finger's vice patrol.                    On an insert screen, we see grainy footage of V rescuing Evey          from one of the pole-mounted cameras.                                        CONRAD                    As you can see, the suspect's                    reflex speed is extraordinary.  As                    is his strength.                    As the last body falls, V seems to pause and looks back over          his shoulder straight into the camera.                                        LEADER                    Freeze it!                    The Leader stares at the smiling face.                                        CONRAD                    I'm afraid the mask makes retinal                    identification impossible.                                        LEADER                    Mr. Etheridge, report for the Ear!                    Bunny Etheridge appears on another screen.  Behind him, huge          spooling reels of audiotape wind constantly.                                        ETHERIDGE                    We were able to triangulate the                    origin of the fireworks.  We also                    are currently monitoring a lot of                    phone surveillance indicating a                    high percentage of conversation                    concerned with the explosions.  All                    suspect or significant transcripts                    are being forwarded to Mr. Almond.                                        LEADER                    Very good.  Mr. Finch, speak for                    the Nose.                    Finch, no longer the same young man, stands at the site of          the fireworks launch.                                        FINCH                    Thanks to Etheridge, we found the                    launch for the fireworks.  These                    appear to be individually weighted                    flares and we have found traces of                    the same chemicals at both of the                    detonation sites which leads us to                    conclude that, despite a level of                    sophistication, these devices are                    all home-made with over the counter                    chemicals, making them impossible                    to trace.  Whoever he is, Leader,                    he's good.                                        LEADER                    Thank you for that professional                    annotation.                    An intercom opens.                                        LIEUTENANT (V.O.)                    Leader, Mr. Almond has arrived.                                        LEADER                    Very good.  Gentlemen, keep me                    informed of any further                    developments.  England prevails.                    They answer in unison as Almond enters the office.  His face          is harder but he has the same violent gleam in his eye.                    The Leader turns in his chair.                                        LEADER                    Mr. Almond, do you know what this                    is behind me?                                        ALMOND                    Uh... the Fate computer system,                    sir?                                        LEADER                    No.  No sir.  It's more than that.                     This, this computer is a symbol,                    Mr. Almond.  A symbol of the                    highest attainable goal of mankind.                     Do you know what that goal is, Mr.                    Almond?                    Almond does not.  The Leader leaps from his chair while          pounding the desk.                                        LEADER                    Control, Mr. Almond!  Control!  The                    world around us is a changing,                    directionless, amoral morass and it                    is up to man and man alone to set                    things right!                    He moves around the desk at Almond.                                        LEADER                    Without control, man is nothing                    more than any other stinking,                    sweating, brute animal.  Control,                    Mr. Almond.  The control that we                    have painstakingly built up over                    the last ten years.  Now, do you                    understand what happened last                    night?                                        ALMOND                    We... lost control.                                        LEADER                    Yes, Mr. Almond.  Last night                    someone did the unthinkable.                     Someone hurt us.  It is imperative                    that we act swiftly and precisely.                     I want that man found, Mr. Almond.                     I want his head or, by god, I'll                    have yours.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    Evey is wearing a blindfold and V leads her by her          fingertips, guiding her almost as if they were dancing...                    His fingers slip free of her and she reaches out.                                        EVEY                    Wait.  I've lost you.                                        V                    No, you haven't.                    He is behind her and he removes the blindfold, revealing his          house to her.                                        EVEY                    Oh...                    It is a labyrinth of interconnecting underground tunnels and          rooms.                    The gallery is the main room as it is filled with an amazing          collection of human culture.  There is art that spans from          the renaissance to the painted covers of Eerie comics,          literature that ranges from Shakespeare to Spillane,          philosophy from Plato to Bukowski, and a vast collection of          nonfiction.                    There are movie posters everywhere and an entire wall is          lined with videocassettes.                    A jukebox stands in front of an enormous vinyl and CD          collection of music.                                        EVEY                    A jukebox?  Where did you get it?                                        V                    I saved it.  Like everything here.                    She punches a button and Billie Holiday begins to sing.                                        EVEY                    Oh, it's beautiful.  I've never                    heard anything like it.                                        V                    Of course not.  You grew up in                    their world.  Art is created by                    individuals and there are no                    individuals in a world where you                    are told what to think.                                        EVEY                    This place is amazing.                                        V                    You're welcome to stay.                    She stops suddenly and looks at him.  The offer is terribly          exciting but it is so unlike anything she has ever done that          it's almost impossible to imagine.                                        EVEY                    Stay here... with you?                                        V                    Yes.  If you like.                                        EVEY                    I... I don't even know your name.                                        V                    I don't have a name.  But you can                    call me V.                                        EVEY                    V?  V... I like that.                    And she returns his smile.                    EXT.  JORDAN TOWER                    The only operating broadcast tower in London; home of the          Mouth.                    INT.  RADIO BROADCAST BOOTH                    Lewis Prothero leans forward and lets his voice pour like          syrup over the microphone.                                        PROTHERO                    Good morning, London.  This is the                    voice of Fate -- Damn.                    He stops and coughs.                                        PROTHERO                    Good morning -- ack.  Good morning                    Lond-- Goddammit!  Where is my                    bloody tea?!                    In the control booth, Roger Dascombe, his hair thinner now,          rubs his temple.                                        DASCOMBE                    Would someone get his lordship his                    bloody tea?                    He clicks on the microphone.                                        DASCOMBE                    Lewis, they want this report on the                    first hour --                                        PROTHERO                    I know.  I know.  Damned                    inconvenient this entire affair.                     Fine.  Let's try again.                    He clears his voice and the red "record" light turns on.                                        PROTHERO                    Good morning, London.  It is 6 am,                    the fifth of November 2019 and this                    is the voice of Fate.  The new day                    brings good news and bright                    prospects from overseas, where                    negotiations with New China are                    moving in a positive direction.                     Last night's scheduled demolition                    of two deteriorating landmarks went                    off without a hitch.                    Dascombe is unable to stop himself from smiling.                                        PROTHERO                    Spokesman for the Interior ministry                    said both structures were severely                    damaged and judged to be a danger                    to the unsuspecting public.  Plans                    for new landmarks are well                    underway.                    Prothero sits back, shaking his head.                                        PROTHERO                    Do you believe this crap, Dascombe?                                        DASCOMBE                    It's not our job to believe it,                    Lewis.  Our job is to tell the                    people --                                        PROTHERO                    "Exactly what they tell us."  I                    Know but do you think that people                    will believe it?                                        DASCOMBE                    They will if it's you that's                    telling it to them.  Now let's try                    it again.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    V is alone, listening to the first morning broadcast.                                        PROTHERO (V.O.)                    ... plans for new landmarks are                    already well underway.                    He clicks off the radio.  Walking down a hall, he stops and          peers into Evey's new bedroom.                    She is fast asleep, looking remarkably at peace.  Quietly, he          shuts the door.                    EXT.  TRAIN STATION                    People are hurrying to board a departing train.                    INT.  TRAIN CAR                    Prothero is staring out his window.                                        PROTHERO                    "Remember, remember, the fifth of                    November..."                    He talks to his bodyguards almost as if talking to himself.                                        PROTHERO                    Do you suppose that's why he did                    it?                                        BODYGUARD 1                    Sir, who did what, sir?                                        PROTHERO                    Guy Fawkes.  He tried to blow up                    Parliament.                    The guards look at each other, confused.                                        PROTHERO                    Don't they teach history in school                    anymore?                                        BODYGUARD 1                    Sir, we're both straight military,                    sir.                                        BODYGUARD 2                    Sir, yes, sir.  I was fighting in                    Ireland by the time I was sixteen.                                        PROTHERO                    Yes, of course.  My mistake.                    He turns back to his window.                    EXT.  RAILROAD                    The train rumbles along, heading for a tunnel.                    INT.  TRAIN CAR                    Prothero watches the countryside rolling past.                                        PROTHERO                    I love trains.  I remember riding                    the underground with my father.                     Shame they shut them all down.                    Bodyguard 1 looks out the opposite window just as the train          enters the tunnel.                                        BODYGUARD 1                    What the hell's that!                    EXT.  TRAIN                    For a flashing instant, we see V in silhouette, cloak          swirling around him like dark wings as he jumps from the          bridge onto the train.                    INT.  TRAIN CAR                    Prothero and Bodyguard 2 stare at Bodyguard 1.                                        BODYGUARD 1                    I thought I saw a man jumping onto                    the train.                                        BODYGUARD 2                    The train's doing almost seventy.                     It would break his legs.                                        BODYGUARD 1                    You're right, I... It must have                    been rags.                    EXT.  TRAIN                    Deep in the tunnel, a dark figure glides across the rooftops.                    INT.  CONDUCTOR'S CAB                    The conductor hears something on the roof.  He peers up just          as V swings down, smashing feet first into the cab.                    INT.  TRAIN CAR                    The brakes suddenly lock, throwing Bodyguard 2 into Prothero.                                        PROTHERO                    Get off of me!                    A moment later, the lights are cut off and the entire train          is plunged into complete darkness.                                        BODYGUARD 2                    What the fuck is going on?                                        BODYGUARD 1                    Lock the car doors.                                        PROTHERO                    I have a lighter... somewhere...                                        BODYGUARD 2                    I can't find the lock -- wait.  Hey                    wha--                    There is a muffled shriek followed by a sharp snap.                                        BODYGUARD 1                    What's happening --                    There is another sound, like the leather slap of a boxer          pounding a heavy bag, followed by the sound of the heavy bag          collapsing onto the floor.                                        PROTHERO                    I found it!                    He flicks on the lighter and, in the dim light of its flame,          he sees the smiling face.                                        PROTHERO                    Oh god.                    V sits casually, arms folded, across from Prothero.  The          bodyguards lay dead on the floor.                                        PROTHERO                    Who are you?  What do you want?                     Money?  Is that it?                    V just smiles.                                        PROTHERO                    Wait, wait.  You're, you're the one                    that blew the Bailey.                    V nods and Prothero's eyes go wide.                                        PROTHERO                    You're making a mistake.  I'm                    nobody --                    On the floor, he sees the bodyguard's gun.  He kills the          lighter and dives for it.                    In the darkness, we hear the struggle.  It ends quickly.           When the lighter flicks back on, V is holding it and the gun.                                        PROTHERO                    Oh god, what do you want?                                        V                    I've come to offer you a choice.                     Commander Prothero.                                        PROTHERO                    What -- What did you call me?                                        V                    Commander Prothero.                    Prothero's heart begins to pound.                                        V                    That was your title at Larkhill.                     You remember Larkhill, don't you,                    Commander?                    EXT.  LARKHILL RESETTLEMENT CAMP - FLASHBACK                    A sign reads, "Larkhill Resettlement Camp."                                        V (V.O.)                    Where they sent the undesirables.                    A caged truck packed with minorities rolls into the gates          which are topped with spools of razor wire.                    INT.  TRAIN CAR                    Prothero is sweating.                                        PROTHERO                    I don't know what you're talking                    about.                                        V                    Maybe I can help your memory.                     Let's see.  Larkhill opened in the                    summer of 2009.  You were appointed                    it commander.  You wore a uniform                    in those days.  You looked very                    good in it.                    INT.  LARKHILL - PROTHERO'S OFFICE - FLASHBACK                    Prothero admires his uniform in the mirror.                                        V (V.O.)                    You were a man of many                    responsibilities.  You made sure                    Larkhill made all its quotas,                    especially the oven quotas even                    though they required an excessive                    amount of maintenance.                    EXT.  LARKHILL OVENS - FLASHBACK                    We see a detail of black and Indian men, shoveling mounds of          black ash from a series of furnace like ovens.                    As the shovels lift, we see blackened bones and burnt skulls.                    EXT.  LARKHILL MAIN YARD - FLASHBACK                    Prothero saunters through the lines of camp prisoners.                                        V (V.O.)                    But there was one task you took to                    with exceptional relish.  Remember                    the medical block, Commander?  I                    believe you called it the funny                    farm.  You were the one that                    selected the prisoners.  You hand                    picked each one.                    Prothero steps in front of a woman who remains beautiful          despite the suffering she has endured.  Prothero smiles.                                        PROTHERO                    Her.                    As the guards grab her, we become aware of a man that is          staring at Prothero.  He is one of the prisoners but we do          not see his face.                    Prothero notices the man.  He doesn't like the way the man is          staring at him.                                        PROTHERO                    You.                    INT.  TRAIN CAR                    Prothero is terrified.                                        PROTHERO                    You!  You're him, aren't you?                    V nods.                                        PROTHERO                    Oh my god!  What are you going to                    do?                                        V                    You gave us a choice, remember,                    Commander?  You said we could                    cooperate with the doctors or...                    V cocks the gun.                                        V                    Hold out your hand.                    Trembling, Prothero sticks out his hand.  V lets the light          die for a moment.                    When he flicks it back on, Prothero is holding a long, metal          syringe filled with a murky liquid.                                        PROTHERO                    Oh no, no!  Please I was just doing                    what I was told!                                        V                    Of course you were.  Now I'm                    telling you to make a choice.                     Either you stick that syringe into                    your neck or --                    He presses the gun barrel to Prothero's forehead.                                        V                    I can kill you right now.                    Prothero begins to blubber.                                        V                    Crying doesn't help, Commander.  I                    remember there was a woman who had                    been screaming for two days.  You                    winked at the doctor and laughed,                    "All in the name of science."                                        PROTHERO                    Please, don't make me do this...                                        V                    It's a difficult choice, isn't it?                     Certain death versus something that                    might be... worse.  But you never                    know.  There is still a chance.                     You could survive.  Look at me.                     Now, time's up, Commander.  Choose.                    Anger galvanizes his fear and steadily Prothero lifts the          needle towards his neck.                                        PROTHERO                    I'll see you in hell.                    He jams the needle in and sinks the plunger.                                        V                    Yes.  I'm quite sure you will.                    INT.  TRAIN                    Train workers with flashlights hurry through the cars.                                        TRAIN MAN                    This door's locked!                    He slams a shoulder against it and the door gives in.                                        TRAIN MAN                    Holy Christ!                    Flashlights sweep over the dead bodyguards.  The train man          hears a strange gurgling rasp and he turns, finding Prothero          in his light.                                        TRAIN MAN                    What happened here?                    Prothero is foaming at the mouth while a thick mucus bubbles          from his nose.  His breath comes in tiny rasps.                                        TRAIN MAN                    Good lord!  I need a medic here.                    Prothero becomes more animate, trying to tell the man          something.                                        PROTHERO                    Fi... Fi... Fi...                                        TRAIN MAN 2                    He's trying to say something.                                        PROTHERO                    Five.                                        TRAIN MAN 1                    Five?  Where's the goddamn medic?                                        PROTHERO                    Room five.                    Suddenly, his body convulses and blood pours out his ears.           His body slumps over.                                        TRAIN MAN 2                    I think he needs a priest.                    EXT.  TRAIN STATION                    The station is swarming with police.  A stretcher wheels a          body in a black plastic bag out from Prothero's car.                    INT.  TRAIN CAR                    Finch puffs on his pipe, staring at something spray painted          on the wall of the train car: a "V" with a circle around it.                                        DOMINIC                    What do you make of this, Mr.                    Finch?                    Dominic, Finch's younger assistant, is holding a flower in          his rubber gloved hand.                                        FINCH                    Hmm.  It's a rose.  A violet                    carson, I believe.  Strange.                                        DOMINIC                    Strange?                                        FINCH                    I didn't think they still existed.                                        SOLDIER                    Mr. Finch!  Sir!                    Finch turns as a soldier with a radio steps into the car.                                        SOLDIER                    Sir, they want you at headquarters,                    sir.                                        FINCH                    Now?                                        SOLDIER                    Yes, sir.  I'm to transport you                    immediately.                                        FINCH                    Send the rose to the lab.  Also,                    scrape a sample of this paint and                    have it analyzed as well.  I'll be                    back as soon as I can.                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    The door opens and Finch steps in.                                        LEADER                    Ah, Mr. Finch.  I sent for you                    because what I have to say cannot                    be said over a phone or a radio.                     What I have to say cannot leave                    these four walls.  Do I make myself                    clear?                                        FINCH                    Yes, sir.                                        LEADER                    I believe in a few things, Mr.                    Finch.  I believe in god.  I                    believe in the destiny of the                    Nordic race.  And I believe in                    fascism.  The romans invented                    fascism.  They had a symbol for it;                    a bundle of twigs bound together.                     One twig could be broken but a                    bundle would prevail.  That is the                    heart and soul of fascism.                     Strength in unity.  I tell you                    these things knowing full well that                    they make you uncomfortable.                                        FINCH                    Well, I...                                        LEADER                    You have in fact expressed your                    discomfort in several arrest                    reports, arrests that were, in your                    opinion, "unnecessary."  The fact                    that you are here, that you are not                    rotting in a prison cell, is a mark                    of my respect and admiration for                    you, for your craft, and for what                    you have done for this country.                    Finch looks at the ground.                                        LEADER                    It is also because I know you,                    Finch.  I know what you are.                     You're a man like me.  A man who                    understands when they are given a                    job what must be done.  I                    understand you, Finch, and that is                    why I can trust you.                    He moves in close to Finch.                                        LEADER                    This terrorist knows us, Finch.                     These attacks are perfectly                    calculated and they are divisive.                     He knows what he's doing, Finch.                     He knows us all too well.                                        FINCH                    You think he's an insider?                                        LEADER                    What I think is that this man must                    be stopped.  Stopped at all costs                    and no one, I repeat, no one is to                    be placed above suspicion.  Do I                    make myself clear?                                        FINCH                    Perfectly.                                        LEADER                    England prevails, Mr. Finch.                                        FINCH                    England prevails.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    Evey, alone in the Shadow Gallery, stares up at the          inscription above the crooked staircase.                                        EVEY                    V, v, v, v, v.                                        V                    I hear your summons, my lady.  And                    obey.                    She jumps, V suddenly appearing behind her.                                        EVEY                    Oh, V, you scared me.                    She turns back to the carving.                                        EVEY                    I was reading the inscription.                     What is it?                                        V                    A Latin quotation.  A motto.  "Vi                    veri veniversum vivus vici."  "By                    the power of truth, I, while                    living, have conquered the                    universe."                    She nods.                                        EVEY                    Yes, I suppose you have.  This                    place is the only universe I have                    right now.                                        V                    Does that bother you?                                        EVEY                    I don't know.  I'm so grateful to                    you -- I just feel I should help                    you, you know, the way you're                    helping me.  I mean, that's the                    deal, isn't it?                    V drifts over to the big old Wurlitzer, fingers scanning the          song list.                                        V                    No deals, Evey.  Not unless you                    want them.                    She looks up at the inscription as an old blues song begins          to play.                                        EVEY                    I think I do.  Part of me wants to                    stay here forever and never have to                    face what's going on outside.  But                    that's not right.  Is it?  That's                    not taking responsibility.  Not                    conquering my universe.                    She turns to him.                                        EVEY                    I want to help you, V.  I want to                    do something.  Can we make a deal?                                        V                    Yes.  I think we can make a deal if                    you like.  I think I know a way you                    could help me very soon indeed.                    Evey smiles nervously.                                        EVEY                    Good.  That's that, then.                    The blues song curls in the air around them like a heavy          incense.                                        EVEY                    V, you said that Latin thing was a                    quote.  Who said it?                                        V                    Nobody you'd have heard of.  A                    German gentleman named Dr. John                    Faust.                    He spins her.                                        V                    He made a deal too.                    EXT.  WESTMINSTER ABBEY - DAY                    The church doors have opened with the flow of parishioners as          the final mass of the day has ended.                    The tide slowly pours out onto the sidewalk, separating          around the clumps of people that conglomerate to network and          gossip.                    Church bells toll in the orange dusk above them.                    Helen Heyer, a woman whose spite and guile are hidden behind          her looks and clothes she drapes them with, charges into the          gossipers, her trophy husband in tow, a timid looking man          that we recognize as Conrad Heyer.                                        CONRAD                    Hello, Rosemary.  Derek, how --                    Helen's head snaps over at the mention of the name.                                        HELEN                    Derek!                    She pushes past Conrad, giving Derek Almond an exuberant kiss          on both cheeks.                                        HELEN                    Darling, how are you?  Hello,                    Rosemary.                    Always behind her husband, Rosemary Almond smiles nervously          as she straightens her drab church dress.                                        ROSEMARY                    Hello.                                        DEREK                    It's so good to see you.  Since                    this bloody terrorist business, the                    old man has me literally chained to                    the office.                    Helen pouts at him.                                        HELEN                    Oh, you poor dear.                    Derek taps the bottom of his cigarette box, drawing one with          his lips.                                        DEREK                    It comes with the job.  How are                    things in the Eye, Conrad?                                        CONRAD                    Well, we've been working some bugs                    out of the new Mark IX fiber optic                    network, actually --                                        HELEN                    Oh, Conrad, don't be such a bloody                    bore.  Do tell us about the                    terrorist, Derek.  Is it true he                    blew up Big Ben and the old Bailey?                                        DEREK                    I'm afraid so.  We're dealing with                    a pathological psychotic in the                    most extreme case.  We'll catch him                    though.  I promise.                    Helen rubs her white sable against her body.                                        HELEN                    Oh, it sounds dreadfully exciting.                     Aren't you glad you've got such a                    ruthless, implacable brute for a                    husband, Rosemary?                                        ROSEMARY                    Yes, well --                                        HELEN                    Believe me, you're lucky.  You                    could be struck with a professional                    peeping tom like Conrad.  England's                    highest paid voyeur, aren't you                    darling?                                        CONRAD                    Helen, I think we'd better --                                        HELEN                    Oh yes, of course.  We have to get                    back so the little pervert can                    watch what the neighbors do after                    Sunday lunch.  He's so exciting.                    Derek laughs as they climb into their car.                                        HELEN                    Ciao!                                        DEREK                    Goodbye, Helen.  Conrad.                    Rosemary waves as it pulls off.                                        ROSEMARY                    She's a bit hard on him, isn't she?                    Derek sneers at her.                                        DEREK                    Until you're half the woman of                    Helen's sophistication, I'd keep                    your little mouth shut.                    He throws the cigarette at her feet.                                        DEREK                    Really, just look at the way you                    dress.                    INT.  WESTMINSTER ABBEY                    From above, a hand sweeps aside the red plush curtain.                                        LILLIMAN                    Ah, there they go.  My happy and                    contented flock.  Spiritually                    refreshed and ready to face the                    world again.                    Bishop Anthony Lilliman is a slender man of pious elegance          with a warm, beautiful smile.                    He turns from the window to his valet, Dennis, as Derek and          Rosemary get in their car.                                        LILLIMAN                    Did you enjoy the sermon today,                    Dennis?                                        DENNIS                    Very inspiring, your grace.  Though                    the segue of the forces of Satan                    among us did strike me as a bit of                    a curious digression.                    He whisks a lint brush over the Bishop's robes before putting          them away.                                        LILLIMAN                    Hmm, yes.  A trifle purple, I                    thought.  Still, Fate wanted it                    included and who are we to question                    the will of the almighty, miserable                    sinners that we are?                    A gentle smile spreads across his mouth.                                        LILLIMAN                    And speaking of sin, I wonder which                    of the seven deadlies the good lord                    will see fit to tempt me with                    today.                    Dennis finishes with the Bishop's robes and sweeps the closet          door shut.                                        DENNIS                    Perhaps pride, your grace.                    Lilliman chuckles.                                        LILLIMAN                    I was thinking of something a                    little less ethereal.  Has the                    young lady arrived?                                        DENNIS                    The agency informed me she'll be                    here directly.  However, there was                    a mixup.  It's not one of the usual                    girls.  She's a little older.                                        LILLIMAN                    Oh dear.  Oh dear.  Not too old, I                    trust?                                        DENNIS                    They promise me she's no more than                    fifteen.                                        LILLIMAN                    Fifteen, hmm.                    The Bishop rubs his cheek, ponderously.                                        LILLIMAN                    Ah well, if Job could bear his                    disappointments, I suppose I must                    have the good grace to bear mine.                     Show her in when she arrives.                                        DENNIS                    Yes, your grace.                    EXT.  WESTMINSTER ABBEY - NIGHT                    A pair of headlights melt through the heavy night's fog as a          taxicab pulls into the circle drive.                    INT.  BISHOP'S QUARTERS                    Dennis peers into the Bishop's living quarters.                                        DENNIS                    The young lady, your grace.                                        LILLIMAN                    Oh my!                    Standing next to Dennis is Evey, wearing a frilly pink summer          dress, pigtails and bows and white ruffled socks.                                        LILLIMAN                    And to think I doubted your                    loveliness for even an instant.                     Mea culpa, my child, mea culpa.                     You are a vision.  An angel.                    Evey smiles awkwardly.                                        EVEY                    Uh... thank you.                    EXT.  WESTMINSTER ABBEY - NIGHT                    A shadow begins moving across the manicured grounds borne on          the thick mist like a dark phantom.  V glides toward the          rectory, cloak undulating against the dark, wet wind.                    INT.  BISHOP'S BEDROOM                    It is extravagantly furnished, somewhere between posh and          pimp.  The Bishop is sitting very close to Evey on his plush          water bed.                                        LILLIMAN                    Of course, "hate the sin, love the                    sinner."  I always say.  Take your                    dress off, please.                    Evey stammers, backing up along the bedside.                                        EVEY                    Listen -- I was kind of hoping --                    He paws at her, groping hands pushing the front of her dress          down as she backs up against the nightstand.                                        EVEY                    No --                    EXT.  MAIN GATE - NIGHT                    The guards look out into the night, fear suddenly gripping          their faces.                    V emerges demonically through the parting veils of fog, the          white smiling mask bobbing eerily up and down as he rushes          them.                    A cigarette drops from the first guard's mouth, red embers          exploding when it hits the wet cement.                    Close as the two guards claw for their arms and the white hot          flash of V's knives --                    That slice like talons.                    The two men crumple to the ground, clutching their gaping,          gurgling wounds.  A whisper.  V sprints into the courtyard.                    INT.  BISHOP'S BEDROOM                    Evey grabs a metal table lamp and swings it down on the          Bishop's head.  There is a shuddering clank and he collapses          to the floor.                                        LILLIMAN                    You -- You filthy whore!                    His blood speckles the white bearskin throw rug as the Bishop          slowly rises after the retreating Evey.                                        LILLIMAN                    I'll kill you, you fucking sow.                    He charges after her but freezes dead in his tracks as V          swings around the corner in front of him.                                        LILLIMAN                    What's this?  Who --                                        V                    Please allow me to introduce                    myself...                    V bows.                                        V                    I'm a man of wealth and taste.                                        LILLIMAN                    Dennis?                    Instantly, the point of one of V's knives is against the          Bishop's throat.  V presses a finger to his frozen smile.                                        V                    Shh.  It isn't polite to disturb                    the dead on their journey.                    Evey watches from around the corner.                                        V                    A courtesy I'll most respectfully                    extend to his grace.                                        EVEY                    V?                    Lilliman swallows audibly.                                        EVEY                    V, what are you doing?                                        V                    Vi veri veniversum vivus vici,                    Evey.                    Evey looks down at the knives on his belt, dripping blood.                                        EVEY                    Oh no.                    She begins backing to the door.                                        EVEY                    You can't kill him!                                        V                    Death has followed his grace the                    whole of his career.  Is it any                    coincidence it has finally followed                    him here?                                        EVEY                    Oh god, V.  I can't -- I can't --                    V turns back to Lilliman as Evey runs.                                        V                    Let us pray.                    EXT.  WESTMINSTER ABBEY - NIGHT                    Evey sprints past the dead guards at the man gate and into          the fog.                    INT.  THE EAR                    A cramped control room that looks like something between a          radio and television switching room, though it does not          broadcast.  It receives.                    Two operators sit at the main substation as the sounds of          lovemaking come over the speakers.  The moans are stifled and          low, however, as if they were afraid someone was listening.                                        OPERATOR 1                    Bloody hell.  Doesn't anybody fuck                    with feeling anymore?                    Operator 2 does not look at him, scrolling through an          intricate city map on his computer.                                        OPERATOR 2                    Hey, it's Sunday.  Children's hour                    over at the Abbey.                                        OPERATOR 1                    Let's see what that filthy old                    pervert is up to.                    Operator 1 punches in some coordinates and the sound over the          speakers changes to a garbled fart of noise.  Two voices          drown beneath a cacophony of classical music.                                        OPERATOR 1                    What the --                    He tries to dial out the background and suddenly the voices          rise clearly above the din.                                        VOICE 1                    ... And I saw a black shape against                    the flames.  Oh god.  It's you.                     The man from room five.  You've                    come --                                        VOICE 2                    To collect what's mine.                                        VOICE 1                    I beg you!  I don't want to die!                     Please have mercy!                    The two men look at each other, Operator 1 lunging for a red          phone.                                        OPERATOR 1                    Get me the Finger.  This is an                    emergency!                    EXT.  BISHOP'S QUARTERS - NIGHT                    Close on a stain of white vomit and blood on the thick pile          of a Persian rug.  It is encircled in police chalk.                    Pull back to reveal the chalk outline where the body of          Bishop Lilliman was found.  The circled bloodstain floats          above the head like the last word balloon of a crude comic          strip character.                    The Bishop's quarters is slowly being picked over by a          forensic team from the Nose.  A photographer's flash bursts          against a painted "V" on the wall near the body outline.                    At the window, Finch chews on his pipe, staring at a plastic          evidence bag that contains a single violet carson rose.                                        DOMINIC                    No prints yet, sir.  Just like                    Prothero.                                        FINCH                    I want those tapes from the Ear in                    my office tonight, Dominic.                                        DOMINIC                    Yes, sir.  They're on top of it.                    Finch turns to a muscular man named Creedy, second in command          at the Finger.                                        FINCH                    Any word from your superior, Mr.                    Creedy?                                        CREEDY                    Mr. Almond doesn't seem to be                    answering his page, sir.  I'm sure                    he's in the field.                                        FINCH                    Quite.                    INT.  CONRAD HEYER'S BEDROOM                    Grunting like an animal, Derek's face is frozen, locked in          the rigor of a violent orgasm.  After a moment, he collapses          beside Helen onto the sweat soaked sheets.                                        HELEN                    There you go, baby.  Now my baby                    boy can think so much clearer.                     Can't he?                    She grabs her cigarette case and her lighter.                                        HELEN                    You have been thinking, haven't                    you?                    She straddles his chest then lights two cigarettes.                                        HELEN                    I know you have.  Ever since this                    terrorist appeared.                    He smiles as she puts one of the cigarettes in his mouth.                                        HELEN                    Oh jesus, that smile.  That smile                    turns me on like nothing else.                    She whispers in his ear.                                        HELEN                    Tell me.  Tell me what's going on                    in that ruthless sadistic brain of                    yours.                                        DEREK                    Everyone is so worried about the                    terrorist.  Especially Susan.  You                    know why?  Because nobody knows                    what he's going to do.                    He exhales through his grinding teeth.                                        DEREK                    If I were him, I know what I'd do.                    He whispers.                                        DEREK                    I'd blow that fat bastard to                    kingdom come.                    Helen bolts up.                                        HELEN                    No.  You're kidding.                                        DEREK                    Am I?                    He smiles, blowing more smoke.                                        DEREK                    There's an old train line under the                    New Government Building.  It                    collapsed when they poured the                    foundation.  You could haul in                    enough TNT to launch our Leader's                    ass all the way to the moon.                    Helen's eyes gleam as he laughs.                                        HELEN                    You're serious, aren't you?                    He eyes her sucking on the cigarette.                                        DEREK                    You need to be careful, Helen.                     Your mouth is going to get you into                    trouble one day.                                        HELEN                    Is that the same trouble you love                    putting in my mouth?                                        DEREK                    You never know who might be                    listening.                                         HELEN                    I know, Derek.  You love your                    country and you love your party,                    just like you love your wife.                    He glares at her.                                        HELEN                    Derek.  I'm sorry.  I know I can be                    a bitch.  But that's why you're                    here, isn't it?                    He smiles again and she presses her body to his.                                        HELEN                    This is it, isn't it, Derek?  What                    we've been waiting for.  At last,                    you'll be rid of Susan.  I'll be                    rid of Conrad.  And we'll be free.                     Free, won't we?                    His eyes close as he grinds his hips into hers and we rise,          drifting up to the ceiling light fixture --                    Where we see a tiny hidden microphone.                    INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE - THE NOSE                    Finch sits at his desk, staring into the silence of his          notepad.  He has doodled a little "V" with a circle around          it.                    He looks up as Dominic enters, holding up a portable cassette          player.                                        DOMINIC                    Sorry it took so long.  The boys                    had a devil of a time trying to                    filter out the background noise.                                        FINCH                    Background noise?                                        DOMINIC                    The perpetrator apparently turned                    on the Bishop's stereo.                     Subsequently, a great deal of the                    tape is useless.                    He hands the player to Finch.                                        FINCH                    What music did he play?                                        DOMINIC                    Beethoven.  The fifth, I believe.                    Finch smiles.                                        FINCH                    Da, da, da, dum.  That's code.                     Morse code.                                        DOMINIC                    Sir?                                        FINCH                    For the letter "V".                    Finch punches "play".                    Over the small speaker, we sear Evey protesting to V, then          run.  He stops it.                                        FINCH                    Anything on the girl yet?                                        DOMINIC                    No.  The agency said somebody                    claiming to be Lilliman's valet                    canceled his Sunday appointment.                    Finch starts it again and this time the tape is very fuzzy.                                        FINCH                    What is it?                                        DOMINIC                    23rd Psalm.                    We recognize some of the words though muted and crackly.                                        TAPE (V.O.)                    Though I walk through the valley of                    the shadow of death...                                        DOMINIC                    It goes on like that for a while.                     Fairly incoherent except we could                    make out a few words in this part.                     Transubstantiation.                    Finch nods, understanding.                                        DOMINIC                    That miracle business when the                    wafer transform into the body of                    Christ.                                        FINCH                    He made him eat a host.                                        DOMINIC                    Yes, listen to this part.                    The tape becomes somewhat clearer as the music rests.                                        TAPE (V.O.)                    ... And at the moment this enters                    your mouth it becomes the flesh of                    the savior?  Yes... please... And                    whatever it is made of now it will                    become the body of Christ?  Yes...                    yes...                    They eye each other.                                        TAPE (V.O.)                    I want you to swallow it.                                        DOMINIC                    There's a couple of funny human                    noises...                                        FINCH                    And then just Beethoven's fifth.                    He shuts off the tape.                                        FINCH                    We have got the initial path report                    back.  The host was full of                    cyanide.                    Finch picks up the bag with the violet carson.                                        FINCH                    And do you know what?                    He rises, sliding into his jacket.                                        FINCH                    When it reached his abdomen, it was                    still cyanide.                    INT.  MORGUE                    Close on the heavy stitching of a "Y" incision sewn into the          chest of a corpse.  It is one of the Bishop's guards.                                        DELIA                    Do you have a motive?                    Finch is standing next to the cadaver gurney with the          coroner, Delia Surridge.  She is a serious woman, hair wound          tight behind her head in a severe bun.                                        DELIA                    I mean, was anything taken?                    She fills the dead man's head with cotton and replaces the          top of his skull.                                        FINCH                    Just lives.                    Pulling at the man's scalp, she stretches it over the          replaced skull piece.                                        FINCH                    I know it's too early for your                    profile but do you have any initial                    impressions?                                        DELIA                    Well...                    She points at a jagged puncture wound at the base of the          man's sternum with a ball point pen.                                        DELIA                    He's incredibly powerful.  This                    man's sternum was split like dry                    wood from the base all the way up                    to the manubrium.                    Finch peers into the hole.                                        DELIA                    And he's resourceful.  On that                    table behind you is a breakdown of                    all the chemicals found in                    Prothero's blood stream.                    Finch hefts the pile of computer paper.                                        FINCH                    Bloody hell.                                        DELIA                    There were hundreds of different                    chemicals in him.  From                    trinitrotoluene to estrogen to                    motor oil.                    He flips through the document, biting into the wooden end of          his pipe.                                        FINCH                    Perhaps Fate will make something                    more of all this.  I certainly                    can't.                                        DELIA                    The Leader finally authorized an                    uplink for you?  He must be getting                    nervous.                                        FINCH                    Quite.  Government directed                    terrorism never sews healthy ideas                    into the public.  Oh, that reminds                    me.                    Finch pulls the evidence bag from his pocket.                                        FINCH                    Can you tell us anything about                    this?                    Delia's eyes lock onto the violet carson.                                        FINCH                    We found one in the carriage with                    Prothero and this one in the                    Bishop's quarters.  A violet                    carson.                    He hands it to her.                                        FINCH                    I heard that strain had died off.                     Thought a botanist might shed some                    light on it.  Delia?                    Delia, riveted to the rose, suddenly looks up to him.                                        DELIA                    Yes -- Yes, of course.                                        FINCH                    Magic.  I'll drop by tomorrow then.                    He turns, leaving her with the rose.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    V relaxes with a book in an overstuffed reading chair, a          violet carson rose resting on a table next to him.  He begins          to read a passage aloud.                                        V                    "There is more behind and inside of                    V than any of us had suspected.                     Not who, but what: what is she?"                    He places the book down.  Thomas Pynchon's "V".                    V rises, lifting the rose and moving into the darkness of the          Shadow Gallery.                    EXT.  EMPTY STREET                    A small figure moves down the dark wet street, the          cobblestones glistening like black scales.                    The huddled figure arcs across the street in the shadows,          avoiding the pools of streetlight.  It is Evey, a frightened          look on her face.                    INT.  KITTY KAT KELLER                    A woman in combat boots, fishnets, and a tight fitting          soldier's uniform is in the middle of a cheeky number on          stage in this smoky burlesque bar.  It is a popular place          with locals and Fingermen.                    Peter Creedy squeezes through the crowd, angling for the back          of the bar where a number of loud Fingermen are drinking.                                        CREEDY                    What's all this, then, Harper?  I                    get a radio that a man's down and                    in need of assistance?                                        HARPER                    I ain't gone down yet but I sure do                    need some assistance.                    Creedy leans in.                                        CREEDY                    Are you flat broke already?                    They break up in laughter, led by Creedy who sits next to          Harper, pouring himself a drink.                                        LOUT                    How'd you sneak away, Creedy?                     Almond off buggering that blonde                    chippy?                                        HARPER                    The one with the tits?                    They all begin to hoot and whistle.                                        CREEDY                    What I wouldn't give for a piece of                    that.                                        LOUT                    She could serve a tray of drinks on                    those thingies.                                        HARPER                    I bet you get your chance with her                    sooner than later, Creedy, with the                    way Almond's crackin' up.                                        LOUT                    Bloody bugger's losing his marbles.                                        HARPER                    Terrorist or no, if that bastard                    gives me another double shift, I'll                    stomp his fucking head.                    Creedy raises his drink.                                        CREEDY                    Aye.  This nonsense has put a                    serious strain on my drinking.  I                    think I was actually sober today.                                        LOUT                    I'll drink to that.                                        HARPER                    We need to get a real man of the                    people in that director's position.                     Like Creedy here.                    Everyone cheers in agreement.                                        CREEDY                    Well, it's good to know when the                    shit hits the fan who your real                    friends are.                    They salute and drink.                    INT.  ALMOND HOME                    Derek Almond sits hunched under a desk lamp, pumping the          cylinders of his revolver with a wire brush.                    Rosemary shuffles up to him, her frumpy gown gathered around          her.                                        ROSEMARY                    Derek --                    He blows down one of the cylinders, not looking up.                                        DEREK                    I don't want to hear it, Rosemary.                                        ROSEMARY                    Derek, please!  We can't carry on                    like this.                    Derek stares at the gun, rage building.                                        ROSEMARY                    You don't talk to me.  You don't                    eat with me.  You don't have sex --                    Derek leaps up, slugging her.                    Rosemary clatters to the ground in tears.  Derek glowering          over her.                                        DEREK                    I don't have to take any crap from                    you!  I have that fat bastard                    riding me all day.  I don't want to                    listen to you, so shut your fat                    gob!                    He leans into her face.                                        DEREK                    And me not wanting to fuck you is                    obvious.  Take a look at yourself.                    He sits back in front of the gun, wiping it down.                                        DEREK                    Get out of my sight.  I'm cleaning                    my gun.                    INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S HOME                    Dr. Surridge sits somberly in the dark, street light          filtering in from the open curtains.                    Her eyes fixed on the violet carson as she slowly turns it          over in her hands, fingers tracing the soft petals.                    After a moment, she stands, letting it fall from her lap.                    INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE - THE NOSE                    Finch turns as Dominic bursts in.                                        DOMINIC                    I got it!                                        FINCH                    A connection?                    Dominic waves a printout.                                        DOMINIC                    Larkhill Resettlement Camp.                     Prothero's and Lilliman's                    employment records show they both                    help positions there at similar                    times.                                        FINCH                    What about codename V?                                        DOMINIC                    Most of Larkhill's records were                    destroyed for security reasons but                    I did uncover an old standard                    procedures and operations manual.                    Dominic smiles.                                        DOMINIC                    In special case studies, medical                    research groups used roman numerals                    to identify test inmates.                                        FINCH                    Five is the letter V.  Brilliant,                    Dominic.                    Finch slides in front of his computer.                                        FINCH                    All we need is Larkhill's                    employment records.                    INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S BEDROOM                    The covers pulled protectively up around her, Delia rests in          a light, uneasy sleep.                    Suddenly, an eye pops open as she awakens, catching a          familiar scent.  She slowly sits up and inhales.                                        DELIA                    Roses.                    She closes her eyes.                                        DELIA                    It's you, isn't it?  You've come to                    kill me.                    From the shadows, V answers.                                        V                    Yes.                    Tears begin to streak her face.                                        DELIA                    Oh thank god.  Thank god.                    INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE - THE NOSE                    Dominic hangs over Finch's shoulder as Larkhill's employment          record comes up.                    Finch's mouth falls open.                                        FINCH                    Oh my god.                    Row after row of names scroll by at the end of each bio are          the words: deceased, file closed.                                        FINCH                    Oh bloody hell.                    The data banks unfurl like a mass grave.                                        DOMINIC                    He's killed them all?  It's not                    possible.                    Finch stops, staring at the one name whose file is not          closed --                                        FINCH                    Oh no.                    Dr. Delia Surridge.                    INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S BEDROOM                    V floats on the edge of the room's shadows, a dark angel.                                        V                    Are you afraid?                                        DELIA                    No, no.  I thought I would be, but                    I'm not.  I'm --                    She looks at the hovering, smiling mask.                                        DELIA                    Relieved.                    She starts to cry again.                                        DELIA                    Oh god, all these years.  All this                    waiting.  And somehow I always knew                    you'd come back.                    Delia thinks back.                                        DELIA                    When I saw you that night -- the                    night you escaped, you were                    standing against the flames and you                    looked straight at me.                    The mask almost nods.                                        DELIA                    I knew then that one day you'd come                    looking for me, that you'd find me.                    Her voice drops to an almost confessional whisper.                                        DELIA                    What -- what happened at Larkhill.                     What we did -- What I did.  That                    terrible knowledge, it's been with                    me so long.  That I could do things                    like that.                    Delia rubs the salty tears from her eyes.                                        DELIA                    For years, I blamed it on the                    government, on the authority I                    could never stand up to.  But                    living so long with the knowledge                    of what I did has made me                    understand otherwise.  I alone was                    accountable.                    V watches her.                                        DELIA                    There is something wrong with us.                     With all of mankind.  With me.                     Something evil that made me enjoy                    what I did.  Some hideous flaw.                    Her voice almost trails off.                                        DELIA                    We deserve to be culled.  We                    deserve it.                    INT.  ALMOND BEDROOM                    Light sweeps across Rosemary from the opening bedroom door as          she sobs softly in bed.  Derek enters, holding a bottle of          whiskey and his clean gun.                    She sits up as Derek looms over her.                                        ROSEMARY                    Derek?  What?                    He lifts the gun into her bruised face.  Her eyebrows cringe          as he slowly pulls the trigger.                                        DEREK                    Bang.                    Click.  It is empty.                                        DEREK                    Don't worry, Rose.  I didn't load                    it.                    The phone rings.                                        DEREK                    Not tonight.                    He grins evilly at her and answers the bedside phone.                                        DEREK                    Almond.  What?!  Where?                    Derek's drunk eyes light up.                                        DEREK                    Oh god, yes!  God, thank you!                    He slams the phone down, charging out of the room.                    EXT.  KITTY KAT KELLER                    A gaggle of drunks exit the bar, laughing and singing as they          pass a small figure.                    INT.  KITTY KAT KELLER                    Evey wanders into the bar amidst the lustful screams and cat          calls for the line of high stepping, semi-clothed girls on          stage.                    She stares out into the crowd, not sure why she is here when          a man approaches her: Creedy.  His sloppy smile indicates he          has had a few drinks.                                        CREEDY                    You look lost.                    She looks blankly at him.                                        CREEDY                    Can I buy you a drink?                                        EVEY                    No... I made a mistake.                    She turns for the door.                                        EVEY                    I have to find someone.                    Creedy frowns as his radio crackles.                                        CREEDY                    Well I didn't like the looks of you                    anyway --                                        RADIO (V.O.)                    All units, all units.  Code red.                     Converge in Plaistow to apprehend                    codename V.                                        CREEDY                    Bloody hell!                    He screams to the Fingermen at the back.                                        CREEDY                    It's him!  We got him!                    Evey watches as they storm out of the bar, then follows.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    The emergency lights blaring, Finch's car squeals around a          corner.                    INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S BEDROOM                    V hovers ghostly at Delia's bedside.                                        DELIA                    It's funny, I was given one of your                    roses today.  I wasn't sure you                    were the terrorist until I saw it.                    She manages a smile.                                        DELIA                    What a strange coincidence.  That I                    should be given it today.                                        V                    There are no coincidences, Delia.                     Only the illusion of coincidence.                    He reaches into his cloak.                                        V                    I have another rose.  This one is                    for you.                    He hands it to her.                                        DELIA                    Then you are going to kill me now?                    V produces an empty syringe.                                        V                    I killed you ten minutes ago.                     While you slept.                                        DELIA                    Is there any pain?                    V sits on the bed.                                        V                    No.  No pain.                                        DELIA                    Thank you.                    She stares at the mask.                                        DELIA                    Can I -- Can I see your face again?                    V slowly pulls off his hat and lifts his mask.  Delia stares          into his face.                                        DELIA                    It's beautiful...                    The rose falls from her hands.                    INT.  HALL                    V quietly shuts the door as if not to wake her and turns just          as --                    Derek Almond reaches the top of the stairs.                                        DEREK                    Don't move an inch, you bloody                    bastard.                    He trains his gun.                                        DEREK                    You didn't hear me arrive, did you?                     Didn't know we'd rumbled you?                    He squints.                                        DEREK                    It's all finished, chummy.  All of                    it.  The old man told me it was my                    head or yours and what do you know.                     It's yours.                    The smiling mask stares.                                        DEREK                    Because you're standing over there                    with your bloody stupid knives and                    your fancy karate gimmicks --                    Derek pulls back the hammer.                                        DEREK                    And I've got a gun.                    He smiles.                                        DEREK                    Bang.                    Click.  He never loaded it.                    There is an awkward moment of silence, then V moves --                    Cloak opening, filling the hall like a black tidal wave that          envelopes Derek.  He chokes a scream as V embraces him,          slipping a knife above his floating rib.                    Derek Almond sputters as he claws at V's mask.                                        DEREK                    Who -- Who are you?                                        V                    Yes, look.  Look and tell me what                    you see.                    He rips V's mask off as V thrusts the knife in deeper.                    Derek's eyes widen in horror as his life pours out the knife          wound.                                        DEREK                    Horrible!  God, it's horrible!                    V jerks his blade free, letting Derek slip to the ground.                    EXT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S HOME                    Finch's car bucks up onto the sidewalk.                    Finch and Dominic tear out of the car and barrel into the          house.                    INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S HOME                    At the top of the stairs, they find the dead Derek.  Finch          rushes past him for the bedroom.                                        FINCH                    Delia?                    Inside, he finds her.  Her eyes fixed, cold, and dead, a          single violet carson in her lap.                                        FINCH                    Get an ambulance.                    EXT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S HOME                    Evey rushes around a corner to see a crime scene bathed in          siren light.  She pushes up to the police barricade as the          M.E.'s load a draped body into their van.                                        EVEY                    Oh no... V?                    She tries to angle around to get a better look when a man in          a brown overcoat grabs her from behind and drags her into the          alley.                    INT.  DELIA SURRIDGE'S BEDROOM                    From the corner of the room, Finch sits, watching as the          M.E.'s wheel out Delia's body.                    Dominic squeezes past the gurney and crosses toward Finch.                                        DOMINIC                    I'm sorry, sir.  You knew the                    doctor pretty well?                    Finch nods.                                        DOMINIC                    We found this on her bureau, sir.                     It's Dr. Surridge's journal.  It                    covers her years at Larkhill.  It                    might contain the whole story.                    Dominic searches for something more to say when Finch does          not answer.                    After a moment, Finch looks at the book in Dominic's hand,          then takes it, leafing through the pages.  They flip by, a          breathy sigh, rising to a cold wind.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    May 23rd...                    INT.  LARKHILL MEDICAL RESEARCH BLOCK - DAY - FLASHBACK                    A younger Dr. Surridge, one by one, administers a series of          injections to her research stock.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    Prothero has hand picked my                    subjects.  Four dozen of them, none                    of which will be any use to me if I                    don't get to work soon.                    She finishes an injection, Prothero encouraging the next          subject.  We recognize her as the woman Prothero pointed at.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    They're so weak and pathetic I find                    myself hating them.                    Delia prepares the next dose, a sour look on her face.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    They don't fight or struggle.  Just                    stare at you with weak eyes.                                        PROTHERO                    Next.                    INT.  LARKHILL OVENS - DAY - FLASHBACK                    Two inmate orderlies are hefting sacked cadavers from a cart          into an incinerator.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    June 9th: Of the original four                    dozen, over 75% are now deceased.                     Strangely, no clear patterns have                    emerged as of yet.                    Another body thuds onto the pile.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    Batch 5 seems to have no common                    discernible effect on any specific                    group though the men seem slightly                    more resilient than the women.                    When it is full, they move to the next door until the cart is          empty.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    I'm hoping the survivors will                    provide more answers or my time                    here will have gone to waste.                    Red heat suddenly glows from the oven vents as the orderly          throws a series of switches.                    INT.  LARKHILL MEDICAL RESEARCH BLOCK - DAY - FLASHBACK                    Dr. Surridge moves down the drab aseptic hallway accompanied          by an armed guard.  Roman numerals on the doors to each cell          ascend to five.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    June 18: And only five left now.                     Two men and three women.  Which                    tends to contradict my entry on the                    9th.                    She pauses at room five.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    The man in room five is a                    fascinating case.                    She looks through the small chicken wire glass window in the          door.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    Physically, there doesn't seem to                    be anything wrong with him.  No                    cellular anomalies, nothing.                    In the back, just on the edge of the room's shadow, sits the          man in room five, silently staring back.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    Batch five, however, seems to have                    brought on some kind of psychotic                    breakdown.  He's quite insane.                    Dr. Surridge can't seem to break her stare.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    He has this way of looking through                    you.  Reverend Lilliman won't go                    near him.  He claims that it is the                    devil in room five.  I see him                    cross himself whenever he passes                    his door.  Still, there's something                    about him...                    EXT.  LARKHILL GARDEN - DAY - FLASHBACK                    Dr. Surridge slowly moves through the Larkhill garden, an          incredible abundance of fruits, vegetables and violet carson          roses.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    I'm glad Prothero let room five                    have a go at the gardening project.                     He is quite proficient.  Prothero                    was reluctant to allow an inmate                    access to the tool and chemical                    supply at first but now the fat                    toad is delighted.  The crop has                    almost doubled.                    She traces the petals of a rose with her finger.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    He also grows roses.  Beautiful                    roses.                    INT.  LARKHILL LOUNGE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK                    Dr. Surridge and several other Larkhill appointees relax          after dinner.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    December 24th: I was in the mess.                     It was about half past ten when we                    heard the first explosion.                    A massive explosion shakes the building to its very core, its          windows shattering and hooded pendulum lights swinging.                    EXT.  LARKHILL LOUNGE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK                    Men and women clutch at their throats as they tumble out into          the yard.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    The ones at the front ran straight                    into the gas.  It was horrible.                    They drop to the ground, gasping and vomiting.                    The back door is kicked open, Dr. Surridge following two          guards.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    A few of us made it out through the                    rear door.  You could hear men                    screaming everywhere.  I hate the                    sound of men screaming.                    She looks out, men running, collapsing, dying in a yellow          green haze that seems everywhere.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    In the center of the camp,                    everything was on fire.  Everyone                    running in all directions.  We had                    hardly enough time to get our                    bearings when the ovens exploded.                    Another explosion wracks the compound.  The pillar of flame          rises into the black sky, dwarfing the men in the camp.                    Dr. Surridge sees a gaping hole in the medical block, its          insides turned out like an unholy birth.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    It was the man in room rive.  I                    couldn't have known.  The chemical                    supplies, grease solvents, ammonia,                    fertilizer.  He'd been making                    things with them.                    Close on a soldier, doubled over, hacking up bile.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    Mustard gas...                    A sticky blue fire licks up from a blackened body like a dura          flame.                                        DELIA                    And napalm.                    Dr. Surridge turns as a silhouette crosses the yard, backlit          by a curtain of fire.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    And in the yard, I saw him.  He had                    the flames behind him.  He was                    naked.                    The man stops.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    He looked at me...                    Dr. Surridge seems to wilt under his stare but cannot look          away.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    As if I were an insect.  Oh god.                     As if I were something mounted on a                    slide.                    The flames convulse hypnotically behind him.                                        DELIA (V.O.)                    He looked at me.                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    Finch snaps Dr. Surridge's journal shut.                    He sits in front of the Leader's desk puffing on his pipe          while Susan stares coldly.                                        FINCH                    That's the last entry until six                    months later when Dr. Surridge is                    back in London.  There is no                    mention of the man in room five                    again.  End of story.                    He tosses the journal on Susan's desk.                                        FINCH                    Except that it wasn't the end of                    the story.                    Finch rises, crossing to the wastebasket.                                        FINCH                    Between 2009 and 2012, over forty                    men and women who were previously                    stationed at Larkhill met with what                    were believed to be accidental                    deaths.  Eventually, only three                    remained.                    He taps his pipe into his hand, pouring the contents into the          wastebasket.                                        FINCH                    The three he'd been saving until                    last.                    Finch brushes the ashes from his hands and begins repacking          his pipe.                                        FINCH                    Everyone who worked at Larkhill.                     Everyone who could have identified                    him.  You see there are two                    possible motives here.  Not one.                    Susan raises his head.                                        FINCH                    The first is revenge.  He escapes                    from Larkhill and vows to get even                    with his tormentors.  The whole                    exercise an elaborate, chilling                    vendetta.                    When he finishes repacking the pipe, he replaces it in his          mouth.                                        FINCH                    That's the explanation that I find                    most reassuring, funnily enough.                     Because that means he's finished.                     It's over now.                    Finch begins relighting his pipe.                                        FINCH                    The second motive is more sinister.                     Like I said, everyone who could                    have identified him is dead.                    A flame leaps into the air.                                        FINCH                    What if he's just been clearing the                    ground?                    Another burst.                                        FINCH                    What if he's planning something                    else?                    The lighter slips back into his pocket.                                        FINCH                    You see, the diary we found was in                    full view.  We didn't have to                    search for it.  He left it there.                     He wanted us to find it.  He wanted                    us to know the story.  Or...                    Finch returns to his chair, letting out a huge cloud.                                        FINCH                    For all we know, the diary could be                    a complete and utter fake.                     Codename V could have written it                    himself.                    Finch leans forward.                                        FINCH                    He's playing games with us.  He                    might never have been at Larkhill                    at all.  Do you see?  It could all                    be another smoke screen, a false                    trail, another cover story --                                        LEADER                    Enough!                    Susan punches the desk.                                        LEADER                    Mr. Finch, would you please explain                    to me the nature of this meeting?!                     Because I was under the impression                    that you had some information about                    the terrorist, codename V!                    And punches it again until his fist hurts.                                        LEADER                    No more questions, understand!  I                    want answers!  I am not interested                    in where he grew up, what kind of                    flowers he likes or his favorite                    color!                    Susan's collar chokes his face to an unnatural crimson.                                        LEADER                    Do I make myself clear?                                        FINCH                    Yes, Leader.                    After a moment, Finch stands, Susan hanging on his last word.                                        LEADER                    Dismissed.  England prevails, Mr.                    Finch.                    Finch turns, Susan calling after him as he leaves.                                        LEADER                    Mr. Finch, the girl.  Do you have                    anything on the girl?                    Finch pauses at the door.                                        FINCH                    No, Leader.  Not yet.                    INT.  CELL                    Evey stirs as voices drift in from the hall outside her door.                                        MAN                    Wake up, cow.                    Three guards are silhouetted in the doorway of a cramped jail          cell.  Still sluggish from the chloroform, Evey looks down at          the coarse slipover she's now wearing.                    One of the men, Rossiter, crosses toward Evey, swinging a          pair of shackles.  He grabs Evey, slamming her face down into          the hard cot, driving a knee between her shoulder blades.                    Evey screams.                                        GUARD 1                    Tsk.  This pathetic whore is the                    famous Miss Hammond?                    The shackles bite down on her wrists as they laugh in the          hall.                                        EVEY                    You've made a mistake.                    Rossiter stands her up, shoving her into the wall.                                        ROSSITER                    Shut up.                                        EVEY                    Please.  I haven't done anything --                    He slides a thick hood over her head.                                        ROSSITER                    I said shut your hole!                    INT.  INTERROGATION ROOM                    The hood is lifted from her head.  Evey squints hard, awash          in a blinding, burning light.                    A man sits, unmoving, at a desk across from her, a guard at          his side, both backlit by a harsh white kliegs.                    Evey's eyes start to water as she blinks.                                        INTERROGATOR                    Do you know why you're here.  Evey                    Hammond?                                        EVEY                    No, please, I didn't do anything.                                        INTERROGATOR                    Allow me to be more precise.  Did                    you participate in the murder of                    Dr. Delia Surridge?                                        EVEY                    No.                                        INTERROGATOR                    Did you participate in the murder                    of Derek Almond, director of the                    Finger?                                        EVEY                    No, I --                                        INTERROGATOR                    Did you participate in the murder                    of Bishop Anthony Lilliman?                                        EVEY                    Oh god, I don't --                                        INTERROGATOR                    Have you ever participated in a                    terrorist act against your country?                                        EVEY                    No --                                        INTERROGATOR                    What is the identity of codename V?                                        EVEY                    I don't know.                                        INTERROGATOR                    You are a lying cunt.                    A monitor next to the desk lights up.  From the snowy static,          an image begins to form.                    A girl is talking to a man.  She is shoving her hips at him,          propositioning him.  When more men appear from the alley,          Evey realizes she is watching herself.                                        EVEY                    They were going to rape me, kill                    me --                    Rossiter grabs a handful of her hair.                                        ROSSITER                    Shut up.                    She swallows hard when she sees V emerge on the screen.  The          image freezes on his smiling face.                                        INTERROGATOR                    This board will not tolerate any                    more of your lies, Miss Hammond.                     We have over 120 minutes of audio                    and videotape and 75 pages of                    testimonials from eye witness that                    identify you as an accomplice to                    the terrorist, codename V.                    The monitor blinks off.                                        INTERROGATOR                    Do you want to know why you're                    here?  You are formally being                    brought up on charges of murder on                    fourteen counts and sedition                    against your Leader and country                    which brings an automatic sentence                    of death.                                        EVEY                    Please.  I didn't do anything.                                        INTERROGATOR                    Process the prisoner and return her                    to her cell until she is more                    cooperative.                    Rossiter slips the hood back over Evey's head.                    INT.  PROCESSING ROOM                    Evey cries as a rough hand runs a pair of electric clippers          over her head.  Huge sheaves of her hair fall to the ground.                                                                 DISSOLVE TO:                    INT.  CELL                    Evey lies crumpled on the hard floor, unmoving, as a tray of          food is slid through a slot at the bottom of the door.                    She watches as a rat crosses from a hole in the wall,          sniffing the murky rendered gelatin in the wooden bowl.                                                                 DISSOLVE TO:                    INT.  PROCESSING ROOM                    Evey hangs limply from a set of manacles as she is washed and          deloused by heavy hands.                    She coughs in the yellow bug powder cloud as it burns her          eyes and the red welts on her back.                                                                 DISSOLVE TO:                    INT.  CELL                    Evey is curled up on the cot like a dry fetus, now gaunt arms          wrapped around her legs.  She blinks when she hears something          moving in the rat hole.                    Evey raises her head as something is pushed through the          crevice.                    Tentative fingers search the hole, pulling out a length of          toilet paper.  Over every inch of it is a delicately scrawled          message.                    We move into the rathole, its edges slowly filling the frame          until black.                    EXT.  INTERROGATION ROOM                    Pull back from a shadow, the outline of the interrogator's          silhouette against sharp light coming into frame.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I read her letter.  Hid it.  Slept.                     Woke.  They questioned me.  And I                    read her letter again.                    Rossiter is buckling Evey's thin arms and legs into a chair.           Her now frail frame can barely hold up the frayed brown          slipover.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Over and over...                    On the table in front of her, there is a large wash basin of          water.  Rossiter dunks her head into it.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Her name was Valerie.                    INT.  CLASSROOM - DAY - FLASHBACK                    A teacher reads from her lesson plan in front of rows and          rows of uniformed pubescences in this all girl private          school.  Her voice drones on and on like Muzak.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    I was born in a rainy burg in                    Nottingham in 1975.  I passed my                    eleven plus and went to girl's                    grammar.                    A blonde tomboy sneaks a smile to her curly haired friend          next to her.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    I met my first girlfriend at                    school.  Her name was Sara.  Her                    wrists.  Her wrists were beautiful.                    Her hand slides across the desk, fingers tickling the young          flesh of Sara's wrist.                    The teacher's voice slows, dropping octaves, becoming --                    INT.  BIOLOGY LAB - DAY - FLASHBACK                    A man's voice.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    I sat in biology class staring at                    the pickled rabbit fetus while Mr.                    Herd said it was an adolescent                    phase that people outgrew.                    Valerie looks at Sara across the room, her head down in          shame.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    Sara did.  I didn't.                    INT.  LIVING ROOM - DAY - FLASHBACK                    Two teenage girls stand in front of a middle aged couple.           They are holding hands.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    In 1994, I stopped pretending and                    took a girl called Christine home                    to meet my parents.                    The greying woman repeats the sign of the cross over and          over, sobbing into a handkerchief.  Her husband's face is          contorted in disgust.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    A week later I moved to London to                    go to college and study drama.  My                    mother said I broke her heart.                    EXT.  PARK - DAY - FLASHBACK                    Two young women cuddle on a park bench under a London summer          sky, feeding the pigeons.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    But it was my integrity that was                    important.  Is that so selfish?  It                    sells for so little but it's all we                    have left in this place...                    The black haired girl nibbles on the blonde's ear.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    It is the very last inch of us...                    INT.  INTERROGATION ROOM                    Evey struggles against Rossiter's weight who keeps her head          submerged.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    But within that inch we are free.                                        INTERROGATOR                    Enough.                    Rossiter wrenches back and Evey sucks hard for air, coughing          out water.                                        INTERROGATOR                    Now Miss Hammond, let us review the                    facts.                    Evey stares at him, eyes red, heart pounding in her ears.                                        INTERROGATOR                    You work for codename V.  Codename                    V killed Delia Surridge and then                    Derek Almond with your help and                    that is why you were found outside                    her home.                    Evey begins to shake her head, water sluicing off her thin          face.                                        INTERROGATOR                    Isn't that what happened, Miss                    Hammond?                                        EVEY                    No.  No, that isn't true --                                        INTERROGATOR                    Oh dear, Rossiter?                    Rossiter grabs Evey's neck --                                        EVEY                    No, wait!                    Plunging her head into the bowl.  Water fills Evey's nose and          ears.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    London.  I was happy in London.                    INT.  THEATRE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK                    The packed house watches as a Prince kneels before a woman's          bare foot with a slipper of glass.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    I played Dandini in Cinderella.                    The woman glances into the dark sea of faces.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    The world was strange and rustling                    with invisible crowds behind the                    hot lights and all that breathless                    glamour.                    EXT.  MEADOW - DAY - FLASHBACK                    Two women weep in each other's arms, embracing in a perfect          knee high meadow.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    Work improved.  I got small film                    roles, then bigger ones.                    The blonde woman brushes away a tear from the other's cheek.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    In 2006, I starred in "The Salt                    Flats."  That's where I met Ruth.                     We fell in love.                    We pull back and see we are on location for a movie and the          two women are being filmed.                    INT.  CONDO - NIGHT - FLASHBACK                    Ruth and Valerie sit on the couch watching television.  On          the table behind them is a bouquet of violet carson roses.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    Every Valentine's Day she sent me                    roses and, oh god, we had so much.                     Those were the best three years of                    my life.                    The two women stare at the newscast in tears, the sound of          marching coming from the set's speakers.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    In 2010, they came.                    EXT.  LONDON STREET - DAY - FLASHBACK                    The sound of marching explodes as columns of men in brown          uniforms and jack boots fill the streets.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    And after that there were no more                    roses...                    INT.  INTERROGATION ROOM                    Rossiter presses his elbow onto Evey's neck, holding her          submerged.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    Not for anybody.                    Rossiter lets Evey up.  Her red burnt lungs gulp at the air.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    After the takeover, they started                    rounding up the gays.  They took                    Ruth while she was out looking for                    food.                    Evey blinks hard, black fireworks exploding in her eyes.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    Why are they so frightened of us?                    She wheezes, on the edge of unconsciousness.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    They burned her face with                    cigarettes and made her give them                    my name.  She signed a statement                    saying I'd seduced her.                    The interrogator's voice melts into a slag heap of sound with          the hot, rhythmic pounding in her ears.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    I didn't blame her.  God, I loved                    her but I didn't blame her.                    Rossiter uncuffs Evey, slipping the black bag over her head.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    But she did.                    Evey's knees buckle as he forces her to stand.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    She killed herself in her cell.                     She couldn't live with betraying                    me, with giving up that last inch.                     Oh, Ruth.                    Evey weaves down the hall.  Rossiter shoving her from behind.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    They came for me.  They shaved off                    my hair.  They held my head down a                    toilet and told lesbian jokes.                     They brought me here and pumped me                    full of chemicals.                    The cell door swings open.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    I can't feel my tongue.  I can't                    speak.                    Rossiter yanks the hood from her head and pushes her in.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    It is strange that my life should                    end in such a terrible place but                    for three years I had roses and                    apologized to nobody.                    The iron door slams shut, lock ringing in the stale air.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    I shall die here.  Every inch of me                    shall perish...                    Evey rolls to her knees.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    Except one.                    She crawls for the rat hole.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    An inch.  It is small and fragile                    and it's the only thing in the                    world that's worth having.                    Her shaking hand pulls the letter from the stone crevice.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    We must never lose it or sell it or                    give it away.  We must never let                    them take it from us.                    Evey clutches it like a rosary as she begins to cry.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    I don't know who you are but I hope                    you escape this place.  I hope that                    the world turns and things get                    better and that one day people have                    roses again.                    She holds the note to her face, her tears soaking into the          fragile paper.                                        VALERIE (V.O.)                    I don't know who you are but I love                    you.  I love you.  Valerie.                    Slowly, Evey slips away, succumbing to blackness.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I had come to know every inch of                    those four walls in that dark hell                    and they knew every inch of me.                     Every inch...                    INT.  INTERROGATION ROOM                    Loud lights blare against Evey's solemn face.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Except one.                    A typed document sits on a small tray table in front of her.                                        INTERROGATOR                    "My name is Evey Hammond.  On the                    5th of November 2019, I was                    abducted by the terrorist known as                    codename V and then taken against                    my will to an unknown location."                    Rossiter hovers just behind her as the Interrogator reads her          confession.                                        INTERROGATOR                    "Once there, I was systematically                    brainwashed by means physical and                    psychological.  I was frequently                    subjected to sexual abuse during                    this period."                    Evey's expression is unchanging.                                        INTERROGATOR                    "Eventually I was terrorized into                    helping him commit the murders of                    Derek Almond, Dr. Delia Surridge,                    and Anthony Lilliman, Bishop of                    Westminster."                    Rossiter drops a pen on the table.                                        INTERROGATOR                    "I, the undersigned, swear that the                    above statement is genuine and that                    it was not signed by means of                    intimidation."                    The pen slowly rocks to a stop.                                        INTERROGATOR                    We'd like you to sign that for us,                    Miss Hammond.  Where we've put the                    little cross.                    She blinks.                                        EVEY                    No.                                        INTERROGATOR                    As you wish.                    Rossiter begins unbuckling Evey's restraints.                                        INTERROGATOR                    Escort Miss Hammond back to her                    cell, Rossiter, where she will wait                    while you arrange a wet detail of                    six men.                    He forces Evey to her feet.                                        INTERROGATOR                    Then take her out behind the                    chemical sheds and shoot her.                    INT.  CELL                    The door opens behind Evey as she rereads Valerie's letter          for the last time.                                        ROSSITER                    It's time, unless you want to                    change your mind.                    She holds the tattered piece of toilet paper to her chest.                                        ROSSITER                    Sign that statement.  You could be                    out inside three years.  Perhaps                    they'd find you a job with the                    Finger.                    Evey closes her eyes.                                        EVEY                    Thank you but I'd rather die behind                    the chemical sheds.                    Her last words hang in the air.                                        ROSSITER                    Then there's nothing left to                    threaten you with, is there?  You                    are free.                    He turns and leaves.                                        EVEY                    What?                    She listens as his footsteps fade down the hall, the door          hanging weirdly open.                    Evey takes a few tentative steps toward the door and sticks          her head out into the empty hall, peering down both ways.                    Slowly, she emerges from her cell, retracing her path down          the hall that her blindfold never allowed her to see.                    Quietly inching along the wall, Evey peeks around a corner,          gasping at the rigid guard standing off to the side.  There          is something about the man's frozen stare that keeps her from          running.                    Evey straightens and crosses to the guard.                    It is a mannequin.                    She touches him, the wheeled platform he is mounted on          rolling back against the wall.                    INT.  INTERROGATION ROOM                    The door creaks open as Evey enters the room where for so          long she was questioned and tortured.                    She crosses to the frozen Interrogator sitting at his desk.                    Her finger brushes lightly against the plastic hand, then          Evey raps a knuckle on his hollow wooden head.  Around his          neck a small speaker hangs from a cord.                    Evey drifts uneasily into a back room where a discarded          prison guard's uniform hangs on a rack.  On a table next to a          wig and pair of gloves, the rat looks up at her through the          bars of its tiny cage.                    She moves through another door, the wind suddenly knocked          from her chest as she finally sees where her prison was          built --                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    V steps from the shadows.                                        V                    Welcome home, Evey.                                        EVEY                    You...                    Her mouth hangs open.                                        EVEY                    You did this... to me.                    Evey's rail thin figure begins to shake.                                        EVEY                    You did this to me!                    She stumbles against the wall, unable to support herself.                                        EVEY                    You -- You hit me and -- and cut my                    hair.  It was you.  It was just you                    all this time.                    She doubles over, covering her face as she bursts into tears.                                        EVEY                    You tortured me.  You tortured me --                    Evey looks up at him, body shivering as he quietly glides          toward her.                                        EVEY                    Oh god, why?                                        V                    Because I love you, Evey.  Because                    I wanted to set you free.                                        EVEY                    Love?                    A look of horror twists her starved face.                                        EVEY                    Set me free?  Don't you realize?                    Slender fingers ball into fists.                                        EVEY                    Don't you realize what you did to                    me?  You nearly drove me mad!                    Disgust and anger light up her eyes.                                        EVEY                    I hate you.                    Her little, wiry body coils tight as she circles him.                                        EVEY                    I hate you!  Set me free?  You put                    me in a prison to set me free?!                                        V                    You were already in a prison.                     You've been in a prison all your                    life.                                        EVEY                    Shut up!  I don't want to hear it.                     I wasn't in a prison.  I was happy!                     I was happy here --                                        V                    Happiness is the most insidious                    prison of all, Evey.                                        EVEY                    That's warped!  That's evil and                    it's wrong!  What gives you the                    right to judge?  Who are you to say                    what's not good enough?!                                        V                    You were born in a prison, Evey.  I                    didn't put you there.  I just                    showed you the bars.  You've been                    in a prison so long, you no longer                    believe there's an outside world.                    She wheels away from him, covering her ears, trying to get          away from his voice.                                        EVEY                    Shut up!  You're mad!  I don't want                    to hear it!                                        V                    That's because you're afraid, Evey.                     You're afraid because you can feel                    freedom closing in on you.  You're                    afraid because freedom is                    terrifying.                    Evey falls, stumbling through the labyrinth of the Shadow          Gallery.                                        EVEY                    I can't feel anything!  There's                    nothing left to feel!  Don't you                    understand?                                        V                    Don't back away from it, Evey.                     Part of you understands the truth                    even as part pretends not to.                    She collapses, head pounding.                                        V                    Woman, this is the most important                    moment in your life.  Don't run                    from it.                                        EVEY                    I don't know what -- Oh god -- I                    can't breathe --                    V couches next to her.                                        V                    Good.  You're almost there.  Go                    closer.  Feel the shape of it.                                        EVEY                    What are you doing to me?  I can't                    breathe --                                        V                    You were in a cell.  They offered                    you a choice between the death of                    your principles and the death of                    your body.                    He cradles her as she hyperventilates, tears streaming down          her face.                                        EVEY                    I feel -- I feel like I'm going to                    burst.                                        V                    You said you'd rather die.  You                    faced the fear of your own death                    and you were calm.  Try to feel now                    what you felt then.                                        EVEY                    Oh god -- I felt --                    The mask hovers over her.                                        EVEY                    Like an angel --                    He squeezes her shuddering body.                                        EVEY                    Oh god, V, I'm so scared.  What's                    happening to me?                                        V                    The door of the cage is open, Evey.                     All that you feel is the wind from                    outside.  Don't be afraid.                    Gently, he lifts her.                                        V                    Try to walk.  The lift will take us                    to the roof.                                        EVEY                    The roof?  Outside?                    He helps her to an open elevator.                                        EVEY                    I -- I don't want to be                    blindfolded.                                        V                    No, Evey.  No more blindfolds.                    The cage in the elevator rattles shut.                    EXT.  ROOF - NIGHT                    The two figures stand in the door of the roof access, a          raging tempest oozing from a split sky.                    Something draws Evey out into the storm.                    Slowly, she walks beneath it, the wind and rain pounding          against her thin frame.  Evey lets the coarse slipover fall          to the ground and stares straight up into the storm, naked,          the elements soaking into her very being.                    V moves up behind her.                                        V                    Do you feel it?                                        EVEY                    Everything's so -- different.                                        V                    I know.  Five years ago, I too                    stared beneath a night like this.                     Naked under a roaring sky.                    A low rumble of thunder washes over London.                                        V                    The night is yours, Evey.  Seize                    it.  Encircle it within your arms.                    His words buffet against her with the sheets of rain.                                        V                    Bury it in your heart up to the                    hilt.                    She raises her arms to embrace the raging torrent.                                        V                    Become transfixed and                    transfigured --                               A jagged bolt of lightning shatters the sky.                                        V                    Forever.                    EXT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING                    Finch gets out of a police car and looks up the black face of          the modern building.  He sighs and taps his pipe against the          heel of his shoe.                                        DASCOMBE                    Finch!                    Finch turns to find Dascombe hurrying towards him.                                        DASCOMBE                    Do you know what this is all about?                                        FINCH                    No, but I can guess.                                        DASCOMBE                    What?                                        FINCH                    "Remember, remember, the fifth of                    November."                                        DASCOMBE                    Oh come on.  He's long gone.  He                    has to be.  He did what he came to                    do and it's over.                    Finch chews on his pipe.                                        DASCOMBE                    Isn't it?                                        FINCH                    Not for us.                    He turns and heads into the building.                                                                    FADE OUT.                    FADE IN:                    EXT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING - DAY                    A dark November sky hangs like a shroud over the building.                                        LEADER (V.O.)                    A year, gentlemen.                    INT.  COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM                    The heads of each department are gathered around a table of          black granite.                    Peter Creedy, sitting back out of the lights, is the new head          of the Finger.                                        LEADER                    I have given you almost a year and                    you have given me nothing.                     Nothing!                    He glares at Finch.                                        DASCOMBE                    Now Adam, there is no one better                    than Finch and you know it.                                        LEADER                    Yes, Mr. Dascombe, I do know it.                     It is that very fact that keeps me                    awake at night, wondering if                    perhaps there is a reason that Mr.                    Finch has failed.                                        FINCH                    What are you saying?                                        LEADER                    I'm saying that perhaps I don't                    know you as well as I thought I                    did.                                        FINCH                    Are you asking for my resignation?                                        LEADER                    No, I am asking for some goddamn                    results!                                        DASCOMBE                    It's not Finch's fault, Adam.                                        CONRAD                    We've all been looking.  The man                    simply disappeared.                                        ETHERIDGE                    Vanished.                                        DASCOMBE                    He's gone, Adam.  It's over.                    The Leader trembles like a volcano set to blow.                                        LEADER                    It's over, is it?  He's gone.                     Vanished, you say?                    The Leader grabs a large box from the floor and hurls reams          of computer printout across the table.                                        LEADER                    Transcripts recorded over the last                    thirty days in which the terrorist                    was talked about or mentioned in a                    positive context.  This is only                    thirty days!                    He punches a "play" button and a wall of monitors blink on.           It is a recording of a television variety show.                    A character that is made to look like Adam Susan is giving a          speech.  A woman is dressed like V except that the only thing          she is wearing under her cloak is a garter belt, stockings          and high heels.                    V sneaks up behind Susan and yanks his pants down.  Susan is          outraged but when he gives chase he trips over his pants.           The audience hoots and howls.                    The Leader kills the tape.                                        LEADER                    Is this what you consider,                    "disappeared?"                                        DASCOMBE                    For god's sake, Adam, it's a stupid                    variety show.                                        LEADER                    Mr. Creedy, I want the producers,                    writers, and actors of that "stupid                    variety show" arrested and charged                    with sedition.                                        CREEDY                    Yes, sir.                                        DASCOMBE                    You can't be serious --                                        LEADER                    Push me, Roger, push me and you'll                    find out how serious I am.                    He stares each of them to silence.                                        LEADER                    This, this V is still out there.  I                    can feel him like a sickness                    worming its way into the hearts and                    minds of the public.  Something                    must be done, and done quickly, to                    exorcise this demon for the very                    soul of this country is at stake.                    He pauses.                                        LEADER                    That is why I am compelled to give                    each and every one of you notice                    that if by the fifth of November                    you are still giving me nothing                    more than excuses, I will have to                    revoke your party status and                    terminate your positions.                    Everyone is stunned.                                        LEADER                    Mr. Creedy, I will speak with you                    in private.  The rest of you are                    dismissed.  England prevails.                    INT.  LEADER'S PRIVATE QUARTERS                    The Leader stands at the window.                                        LEADER                    Mr. Creedy, as the new head of the                    Finger, you are the most important                    member of my cabinet.                                        CREEDY                    I, uh, appreciate your faith in me.                                        LEADER                    Your predecessor, Mr. Almond, was a                    good man, a man who understood what                    strength in unity meant, a man who,                    above all, loved his country.  I                    need to know if you are such a man.                    His eyes bore into him.                                        LEADER                    Do you love your country, Mr.                    Creedy?                    EXT.  ALLEYWAY                    A police car is parked in a dark alley.  It is raining and          the windows of the car are completely steamed.                                        CREEDY                    Oh god, yes!                    He is sweating, his knuckles white as he squeezes the          steering wheel, panting.                    We hear a noise like a very wet kiss and then a woman's          voice.                                        HELEN                    "The most important member of my                    cabinet."  Yes it is, isn't it,                    dear?                    Helen lifts her head out of his lap.  Her lipstick is smeared          about her mouth.                                        CREEDY                    Oh, don't stop.                                        HELEN                    I stop when you stop.  What did he                    say next?                                        CREEDY                    I can't --                    She whispers in his ear while playing with his lap.                                        HELEN                    Come on, Peter, what are you afraid                    of?  Almond used to tell me                    everything and you're twice the man                    he was.                                        CREEDY                    He asked me... if I loved my                    country.                                        HELEN                    Oh yes, I can tell you do love your                    country, almost as much as you love                    this...                    She lowers her head into this lap.                                        CREEDY                    Oh god...                                        HELEN                    Go on.                                        CREEDY                    Then he asked me to do something...                    oh, oh...                                        HELEN                    What?                                        CREEDY                    Helen, I can't.  I can't tell you.                    Helen lifts her head.                                        HELEN                    He told you to frame someone as the                    terrorist.                                        CREEDY                    My god?!  How did you know that?                                        HELEN                    I know Adam Susan.  Now who was it?                                        CREEDY                    No way.  I can't tell you that.                                        HELEN                    Yes you can, honey.  You can and                    you will.  You have to trust me,                    love.  We're going to help each                    other.                                        CREEDY                    Helen, please.                                        HELEN                    Look at that face.  You see?                     You're just bursting to tell me.                    Her head drops back down.  Creedy moans.                                        HELEN                    Now who was it?                                        CREEDY                    It was... Fi... Fi... FINCH!                    The name seems to orgasm from his mouth.                    INT.  FINCH'S APARTMENT                    Finch sits alone in his modest apartment, reading a book.           The book is Koesterler's, "The Roots of Coincidence."                    An old CD player is playing music, a Bach piano concerto.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    V is playing the exact same concerto on his piano, his gloved          fingers gracefully flitting across the keys.                    Evey enters the gallery.  Her hair has grown out but is still          short.  She projects a kind of strength that comes from a          deep inner peace.                    V coaxes the final delicate notes and lets them softly fade.                                        EVEY                    That was beautiful.                    She walks up to him and takes the smiling face in her hands.                                        EVEY                    I've wanted to do this for a long                    time.                    She bends and gently kisses the frozen lips.                                        EVEY                    Thank you, V.  Thank you for                    everything you've done for me.                                        V                    You did it all yourself, Evey.  I                    just provided the backdrop but the                    drama was all your own.                                        EVEY                    It was a good backdrop.  I believed                    it.  I really did.  It's still a                    bit hard for me to accept that it                    wasn't real.  That it was just you.                     Especially the letter.                    She takes the letter from her pocket.                                        EVEY                    It is a beautiful letter, V.  Every                    time I read it I could feel                    Valerie, almost like she was                    holding me.  I believed in her most                    of all.  I believed that she loved                    me and I loved her back.                    She looks down.                                        EVEY                    I feel a bit foolish telling you                    this.  I know that you must have                    written it and thought you should                    have it back.                                        V                    But I didn't write that letter,                    Evey.                                        EVEY                    What?                                        V                    Come with me.                    INT.  VALERIE'S ROOM                    It is a shrine.  The walls are covered with movie posters and          reviews and pictures of an actresses named Valerie Page.  We          recognize her as the woman chosen for the medical block just          before V.                    Everywhere there are flower boxes filled with blooming roses;          violet carsons.                                        EVEY                    Valerie?                                        V                    Yes.  Valerie Page.  She was the                    woman in room four.                                        EVEY                    She's beautiful.                                        V                    She wrote the letter just before                    she died.  I delivered it to you as                    it was delivered to me.  The words                    you wept over were the same words                    that transformed me.                    Evey smiles and bends to smell the roses.                                        EVEY                    Roses.  You grew them for her.                                        V                    Yes.                                        EVEY                    They're beautiful.                                        V                    Evey, do you know what day it is?                                        EVEY                    Two days before the first day we                    met.                                        V                    You remembered.                                        EVEY                    You're planning something, aren't                    you, V?                                        V                    You know me too well now.                                        EVEY                    What are you going to do?                                        V                    I'm going to fulfill an old                    promise.                    Evey cocks an eyebrow.                                        V                    I'll show you.                    INT.  UNDERGROUND STAIRWELL                    Carrying a lantern, V leads Evey down a dark stone staircase.                                        EVEY                    I've never been here before.                                        V                    Yes.  It is the deepest part of my                    home.  Once you know it, I should                    think you'll know everything.                    He pushes a button and a secret passage opens in a heavy          stone wall.                    There is a small narrow series of passageways that he guides          her through, leading to another door.  Evey steps out into an          underground subway station.                    INT.  VICTORIA STATION                    Parked beside the concrete platform is a beautiful antique          train car.                                        EVEY                    Oh, V, it's lovely.  Where on earth                    did you find it?                                        V                    In a way, I suppose it really found                    me.                    Evey steps into the train car and finds it filled with little          packages wrapped in wax paper.                                        EVEY                    What's in these packages?                                        V                    Gelignite.                    She screams and almost drops one.                                        V                    Careful.                                        EVEY                    What are you going to do with all                    of it?                                        V                    I told you.  I'm going to finish                    what was started four hundred years                    ago.                                        EVEY                    Where does this train go?                                        V                    This is the old Victoria line but                    it is blocked, blocked somewhere                    between Whitehall and St. James.                                        EVEY                    Whitehall... V, that's the New                    Government Building.                    V nods.                                        EVEY                    But the underground has been shut                    down for years.  How are you going                    to make it run without any power?                                        V                    I just thought I might ask them to                    turn it on for me.                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    The Leader sits bathed in the flickering images of the Fate          computer.                                        LEADER                    Yes, Mr. Creedy?                                        CREEDY                    Everything's set, sir.  No worries.                                        LEADER                    When?                                        CREEDY                    Tonight.                    On one of the screens, a television program has just begun.                                        ANNOUNCER                    Tonight on Tales from the Bible, a                    story of treachery and betrayal                    from the Book of Daniel.                    We cut from that screen to another screen --                    INT.  JORDAN TOWER - CONTROL BOOTH                    The television studio where Roger Dascombe surveys a large          bank of monitors filled with the images of typically vapid          television entertainment.                                        DASCOMBE                    All of London's waiting.  Ready,                    two.  And here we go --                    A player locks on as a recorded program begins.  We move in          as the logo slashes across the screen: Storm Saxon.                                        ANNOUNCER                    Tonight, England's greatest hero                    repels the forces of darkness in a                    brand new episode.                    We pull back from the show's opening teaser and find          ourselves looking at a small television.                    INT.  JORDAN TOWER                    In the delivery bay at the back of Jordan tower, five          security guards are riveted to the heroic actions of Storm          Saxon.                                        HEIDI                    Oh, Storm.  Save me!  Save me!                                        STORM                    You mongrel trash, if you harm her!                                        MONGREL TRASH                    Look out, de white debil has a                    laser lugar!                    Behind them, a shadowy figure in a cloak and tall hat enters          the loading bay.                                        GUARD                    Hey, what the -- ?                    They all turn and find a smiling V.                    They go for their weapons.  V goes for them.  It is brutal          and quick, knives slicing in bloody arcs, bodies kicked and          thrown with superhuman power.                    The TV crashes to the ground and we move in at it as Storm          Saxon stands triumphant beside his buxom lass.                                        HEIDI                    Oh Storm, hold me.  Hold me tight.                    We pull back on another television screen inside --                    INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE                    Dominic is chewing on a hamburger, engrossed in Storm Saxon.           Across the room, Finch is reading the "Roots of Coincidence."                                        FINCH                    I don't know how you stand that                    tripe.                    Dominic answers with a mouthful of cheeseburger.                                        DOMINIC                    Es gooh.                    Finch shakes his head, reaching for his pipe.  He realizes he          is out of tobacco.  He slides open the bottom desk drawer and          his eyes almost pop out of his head.                    He stares into the drawer like someone staring at his own          tombstone.                                        DOMINIC                    Finch?  Finch, what's wrong?                    Slowly, he lifts something from the drawer.  On his desk, he          lays out several knives, a cloak, a hat, and a smiling mask.                                        DOMINIC                    What the hell?                    Finch lifts the mask and almost has to laugh.                                        FINCH                    Don't you see, Dominic?                    He puts the mask to his face.                                        FINCH                    I'm V.                    INT.  JORDAN TOWER                    V emerges from an elevator and immediately attacks several          more guards.  A surveillance camera watches as V steps over          their slumped, broken bodies.                    INT.  CONTROL CENTER                    The security guard sees V on the monitor coming directly down          the hall.                                        GUARD                    Bloody hell!                    He grabs the machine gun, aiming it just as V kicks open the          door.                                        GUARD                    Freeze!                    V stops.  At least five guards have trained their weapons on          him.  He is surrounded.                    Slowly, he lifts his arms as though surrendering.  His cloak          opens, revealing enough TNT to level the entire building.  In          his hand is the plunger detonator.                                        GUARD                    Fuck all.                    V nods.                    INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE                    The door bursts open as Creedy and a group of heavily armed          Fingermen muscle in.                                        DOMINIC                    Creedy?  What the hell's going on?                                        CREEDY                    I'm here to arrest Mr. Finch for                    acts of treason and terrorism.                                        DOMINIC                    You can't be serious.                                        CREEDY                    If I were you, boy, I'd shut my                    hole unless you want to start                    explaining why you didn't say                    nothing about Mr. Finch's secret                    identity.                    INT.  JORDAN TOWER                    V follows Roger Dascombe into the main control booth.  The          door shuts behind them and they are alone.                    All around them are the laugh tracks and gunshots of the          evening's entertainment.                    V puts his hand into his cloak and pulls out a videotape.  He          hands it to Dascombe.                    INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE                    Finch glares at Creedy.                                        FINCH                    Why don't you just shoot me,                    Creedy?  Wouldn't that make                    everything a lot simpler?                                        CREEDY                    Yeah, I suppose it would.                    Creedy smiles, his finger tightening on the trigger when --                                        DOMINIC                    Holy Christ!  Creedy, you stupid                    ape!  If Finch is V then tell me                    who is that?                    He points at the television where V sits calmly at a desk in          front of the "VTV" logo.                                        V                    Good evening, London.                                        CREEDY                    Bloody fuckin' hell.                                        V                    I thought it was time we had a                    little talk.                                        FINCH                    He has to be at Jordan tower.  Come                    on!                    Finch and Dominic rush out of the room.  Creedy looks at his          confused men.                                        CREEDY                    Don't just stand there!  Follow                    them!                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    V smiles at the horrified Adam Susan.                                        V                    Are you sitting comfortably?  Good.                     Then I'll begin.                    The Leader screams, pounding on Fate.                                        LEADER                    Damn you!  Damn you!                    He hits the intercom.                                        LEADER                    Lieutenant, ready my transport.  I                    want every armed man within a                    hundred miles at Jordan tower.                     Now!                    We move in at VTV.                                        V                    Right now, I imagine there are                    hundreds of soldiers rushing here                    to kill me because someone does not                    want us to talk.                    We pull back in --                    INT.  LIVING ROOM                    A family watching television.  In the background, two          children are squabbling.                                        MOTHER                    Hush.  Turn it up.                    The husband does.  V's voice gets louder as we move towards          him.                                        V                    They are afraid that I am going to                    say the things that are not                    supposed to be said.  They are                    afraid that I am going to say the                    truth.                    INT.  APARTMENT                    A man sits on his couch, mesmerized by V.                                        V                    The truth is that there is                    something terribly wrong with this                    country, isn't there?  If you look                    about, you witness cruelty,                    injustice and despotism.  But what                    do you do about it?  What can you                    do?                    He pops his beer tab and the beer foams over the couch but he          doesn't seem to notice.                    INT.  FINCH'S POLICE CAR                    The car races wildly towards Jordan tower as Finch and          Dominic listen to the broadcast on the radio.                                        V (V.O.)                    You are but a single individual.                     How can you possible make any                    difference?  Individuals have no                    power in this modern world.                     That is what you've been taught                    because that is what they need you                    to believe.  But it is not true.                    INT.  LEADER'S TRANSPORT                    The Leader seethes, staring at three television monitors in          his limo which are all filled with V.                                        V                    This is why they are afraid and the                    reason that I am here; to remind                    you that it is individuals who                    always hold the power.  The real                    power.  Individuals like me.  And                    individuals like you.                    INT.  KITTY KAT KELLER                    The bar is almost completely soundless except for the voice          of V.  People stare at the television as if the moment were          somehow suspended in time.                                        V                    I have come to offer you a deal.                     If you accept, I will give you a                    different world.  A world without                    curfews, without soldiers and                    surveillance systems.  A world that                    is not run by other men but that is                    run by you.  I am offering you a                    second chance.                    EXT.  JORDAN TOWER                    The military forces have begun to swarm.                                        V                    Four hundred years ago, a great                    citizen made a most significant                    contribution to our common culture.                     It was a contribution forged in                    secrecy and stealth although it is                    best remembered in noise and bright                    light.                    EXT.  TELEVISION STORE                    A crowd has gathered, watching through the window.                                        V                    To commemorate that glorious night                    at precisely the stroke of                    midnight, the edifice of their                    world will erupt with enough sound                    and fury to shake the earth.  All I                    ask is that you join me at the                    gates to watch as the past is                    erased, the pathway cleared so that                    together we can start toward a new                    day.                    EXT.  JORDAN TOWER                    The Leader climbs out of his limo and is met by one of his          captains.                                        LEADER                    I want this man dead!  I want him                    shot on sight!                                        CAPTAIN                    Yes, sir.                    INT.  FINCH'S CAR                    Finch can see the forces gathering outside Jordan tower.                                        V (V.O.)                    But, you ask, who am I to make such                    promises?  A fair question but                    hardly necessary as you know me                    already.  To know me any more you                    need only look to a mirror.                    Finch catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror.                    INT.  CONTROL BOOTH                    VTV fills every screen.                                        V                    Truth be told, this wasn't even my                    idea, was it?  If you think back,                    you'll remember that night,                    whispering in your lover's arms.  I                    became a part of your plan just as                    you have now become part of mine.                     Give me the line of the queen and                    I'll give you your secret dream.                    INT.  JORDAN TOWER - HALLWAY                    A heavy battering ram is rushed down the hall, carried by          four soldiers.                                        V (V.O.)                    On the twelfth stroke of the fifth                    day of the eleventh month, I hope                    we shall all meet again.                    EXT.  TELEVISION STORE                    The crowd is much larger.                                        V                    Until then, I bid you goodnight.                    Every screen suddenly goes black.  The crowd turns to each          other, unsure of what to do.                    INT.  CONTROL BOOTH                    The door explodes open.  V is standing alone, almost as if          waiting for them.                    Before he can even move, they shoot.  Machine gun fire lights          up the room.  V's body dances and jerks backward, smashing          through an observation window --                    Falling to the television stage below.                    INT.  HALL                    A path is cleared for the Leader.  As he heads into the          television studio, an armed soldier is heading in the          opposite direction.                    It is impossible to tell because of the dark face plate but          it looks like the soldier is smiling.                    The Leader shoves his way onto the main stage.  A group of          soldiers is gathered around the body.                                        LEADER                    Who was it?  Who was he?                    The mask is pried off, revealing the lifeless face of Roger          Dascombe.  To the Leader, it is an obvious revelation.                                        LEADER                    Roger Dascombe!  Of course.  Of                    course!  It makes such perfect                    sense.                                        CAPTAIN                    Sir, I think there has been a                    mistake.                                        LEADER                    No!  There is no mistake!                                        CAPTAIN                    But sir, there are people that say                    they saw both the terrorist and                    Dascombe together --                                        LEADER                    Who?  Who are these people?  They                    must be detained immediately.                     Whatever they saw or whatever they                    think they saw is subordinate to                    the truth and that truth is that                    Roger Dascombe is the terrorist and                    the terrorist is dead!                                        FINCH                    But I thought I was the terrorist.                    Finch's voice stops the Leader cold.                                        LEADER                    Finch, what are you doing here?                                        FINCH                    Since I'm not in jail and since you                    have another, even more convenient                    suspect.  I'm guessing the charges                    have been dropped.                                        LEADER                    Be careful, Finch.                                        FINCH                    I am careful, sir.  Always.  That                    is why I suggest that a search of                    this building begin immediately.                                        LEADER                    The terrorist is dead!                                        FINCH                    With all due respect, I disagree                    and I believe that he is presently                    trying to get out of this building                    disguised as one of us.                                        LEADER                    Are you challenging my authority?                                        FINCH                    No sir, I'm trying to run an                    investigation --                                        LEADER                    I am trying to run a country!  When                    I tell you, Mr. Finch, the                    terrorist is dead, then the                    terrorist is dead!  If you continue                    to suggest otherwise then you will                    leave me no choice but to have you                    arrested on charges of sedition.                     Do I make myself clear?                    He eyes the room.  Everyone is silent.                                        LEADER                    Now, it is imperative for the                    people of London to know that they                    are safe, that the terrorist is                    dead and everything is under                    control.                    The Leader storms past Finch who looks at Dascombe and bites          down on his pipe.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    One of the Ear's black vans has been modified with large          speakers wired to the roof.  As the van rolls down the          street, the speakers drone with a looped message.                                        SPEAKERS                    The terrorist is dead.  No further                    threat exists.  Everything is under                    control.                    Out of the back, soldiers hurl leaflets that swirl and          flutter in the van's wake.                    The little girl on the bicycle that we saw earlier stops and          picks up one of the leaflets.                    It has a picture with the body of Roger Dascombe beneath the          headline, "The terrorist is dead!  London is safe once          again!"                                        LITTLE GIRL                    Bollocks.                    She crumbles the leaflet and throws it.                                        LITTLE GIRL                    Bollocks!                    She gets off her bike and takes something out of the          backpack.                                        LITTLE GIRL                    He's not dead!  It's all bollocks!                    Turning to a nearby wall, she spray paints a large circle          around a "V".                    INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE                    A recording of VTV plays on the small television.                                        V                    ... if you give me the line of the                    queen, I'll give you your secret                    dream.                    Dominic freezes the image; V stares at them, smiling.                                        FINCH                    Play it again.                                        DOMINIC                    Come on, Finch.  We've seen it                    fifty times.  I mean, after what                    they done to you, I don't know why                    we're even trying to stop him.                    Finch stares out the window.                                        FINCH                    I don't know.  For twenty seven                    years, I've been at this job.                     Twenty seven years, I've done what                    I've been told to do.  Maybe that's                    all there is to it.  I'm just a                    dumb old dog.  A dumb old dog that                    only knows one trick.                                        DOMINIC                    That ain't it, Finch.  It's more                    than that.  I know you.  It's                    something personal with this one.                    Finch smiles.                                        FINCH                    Maybe.  And maybe I'm not ready for                    a revolution.                                        DOMINIC                    Well, we got less than thirty hours                    to stop it.                                        FINCH                    We will.                                        DOMINIC                    How?                                        FINCH                    It's on the tape.  I know it.  I                    can feel it.  He did this for a                    reason.  He needs something.                                        DOMINIC                    What?                                        FINCH                    The line of the Queen?                                        DOMINIC                    But what does that mean?                                        FINCH                    Maybe it's a line from Shakespeare.                     Or a book.  I don't know.                    He rewinds and starts the tape.                                        V                    ... This wasn't even my idea, was                    it?                                        FINCH                    But right here.  He's talking to                    someone.  Someone specific.                     Someone who knows what he wants.                                        V                    If you think back, you'll --                    INT.  CONRAD'S BEDROOM                    V continues on a different television.                                        V                    Remember that night, whispering in                    your lover's arms.                    Helen Heyer is lying on her bed, eating chocolates, watching          V through calculating eyes.                    At her feet, we hear a suckling noise that suddenly stops.                                        CONRAD                    Helen?  Helen, why did you want                    that tape?                                        HELEN                    Shut up, Conrad.  I'm thinking.                    She shoves her foot back into his mouth and he continues to          suck on it and each of her toes.                                        V                    ... now you've become a part of                    mine.                                        HELEN                    How?  How did you know that?                    Conrad moves up her ankle, licking and kissing his way to her          knee.                                        CONRAD                    Know what, my love?                                        V                    Give me the line of the Queen and                    I'll give you your secret dream.                    She freezes the tape.  Her eyes light up and she smiles back          at him.                                        HELEN                    All right.  You have a deal.                    Conrad licks along the inside of her thigh until she slaps          him.                                        HELEN                    Oh no!  Not you.  Conrad.  Not yet.                     Here you can have a chocolate.                     Open up.  Open!                    She shoves the candy in his mouth.                                        HELEN                    Good boy.  As for the rest of the                    box, perhaps when you're Leader.                    She smiles.                                        HELEN                    Right now I need something else                    Conrad.  I need you to use that                    pretty little brain for me.  You                    know all about the old underground,                    don't you?                    He nods still gagged with the candy.                                        HELEN                    I need to know everything,                    understand?  Everything.                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    There are cameras set in front of the large black leather          chair so that the flashing images and data of the Fate          computer system can be seen behind the Leader.                    A makeup artist mattes down the Leader's lipstick.                                        ASSISTANT DIRECTOR                    Ready in five, Leader.                    The makeup artist adjusts one last hair and scurries off.                                        ASSISTANT DIRECTOR                    In four, three...                    He points and the camera's red light goes on.                    INT.  LIVING ROOM                    The same family, the same squabbling children watching as a          "Special Bulletin" interrupts a laugh track.                                        LEADER                    Good evening London.  As Leader of                    this great country, I felt it                    imperative to speak with you and to                    assure you once and for all that                    the shadow that recently fell                    across our land has indeed passed.                                        WOMAN                    Oh, for fuck's sake.                    EXT.  TELEVISION STORE - NIGHT                    No one is watching.                                        LEADER                    What we have endured this long year                    was no accident, no mere                    coincidence.  This was not a simple                    act of terror conducted by a                    singular madman.  No, this was a                    test.                    INT.  KITTY KAT KELLER                    A drunk struggles up onto his bar stool blocking the TV.                                        LEADER                    It was not me, nor the Party, nor                    the government that was threatened                    this year.  It was our beliefs.                     Our faith.  I believe that God                    himself bore witness to our                    struggle and like Job I believe                    that we have been vindicated.                    The drunk raises his glass.                                        DRUNK                    Remember fifth of November!                    The bar cheers.                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    The Leader reaches for his Bible.                                        LEADER                    How do I know this?  Let me read to                    you where I found the answer, where                    I so often find the answer.  In the                    Scripture.  Revelations.                    EXT.  STREET CORNER - NIGHT                    The megaphones blast the Leader's voice.                                        LEADER (V.O.)                    "If any man have an ear, let him                    hear."                    INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE                    There are stacks of printout everywhere.                                        LEADER (V.O.)                    "He that leadeth into captivity                    shall go into captivity; he that                    killeth with the sword shall be                    killed with the sword.  Here is the                    patience and faith of the Saints."                    Finch stops reading, listening to the radio.                                        LEADER (V.O.)                    "And I beheld another beast coming                    out of the Earth; and he had two                    horns like a lamb and he spake as a                    dragon."                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    Another radio crackles with the Leader's voice.                                        LEADER (V.O.)                    "And he doeth great wonders, so                    that he maketh fire come down from                    Heaven on the Earth in the sight of                    men."                    V nods, almost laughing as Evey enters the gallery.                                        LEADER (V.O.)                    "And he deceiveth them that dwell                    on the Earth by the means of those                    miracles which he had the power to                    do --"                                        EVEY                    Oh, V, turn it off, please.                                        V                    Of course, my dear.                    He reaches over and changes the frequency.  We hear voices,          hushed and secret but we recognize them.                                        CREEDY (V.O.)                    But how does he know?                                        HELEN (V.O.)                    I don't know.  All I know is he                    does... And I know what he wants.                    The voices are labored, punctuated by gasps and moans.                                        EVEY                    What is that, V?                                        V                    That, Evey, is what I have been                    waiting for.                                        CREEDY (V.O.)                    Do you know what I want?  I want                    you just like this... Bent over                    that black leather chair...                    We are pulled by the radio into --                    INT.  CREEDY'S BEDROOM                    Where we see a tiny microphone hidden in the ceiling light          above the bed.                    Helen moans as we drift down, glimpsing Helen, her arms          reaching for the edges of the bed, her back arching up          towards Creedy, behind her, smiling.                                        CREEDY                    What about Conrad?                                        HELEN                    I told you, I'll handle Conrad and                    V will take care of Susan.  The mob                    will take care of the guard and                    then... You can use the Finger to                    take over.                                        CREEDY                    Use the Finger?  You mean like                    this?                    He inserts a finger into her.                                        HELEN                    Oh... oh... that is vulgar...                                        CREEDY                    But you like it?                                        HELEN                    Yes, oh yes, oh you're a pig,                    Peter...                                        CREEDY                    That I am, misses.  But I'm the pig                    that's gonna be running this                    country.                    That sends a shiver through Helen's body.                                        HELEN                    Yes and I'm... I'm going to be                    Eva... Oh Eva...                    Her eyes close and her fists knot the sheets.                                        HELEN                    "Don't cry for me Argen... oh                    Argen... Argen... tina!                    The word is almost lost in her orgasm.                    EXT.  LONDON                    The sun rises over London.  It is the morning of the fourth.                    INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE                    Finch looks through the blinds at the morning sun.  He has          been up all night.  He checks his watch: 6:00am.                                        FINCH                    Eighteen hours.                    Rubbing the knot in his neck, he turns back to his office          which is now buried beneath mounds of paper.                    Dominic is passed out, sprawled on the couch, and clutching a          printout from Spencer's "Fairy Queen."                                        FINCH                    Dominic!                    Dominic jumps, immediately searching the printout.                                        FINCH                    Dominic, go home.                                        DOMINIC                    But I've still got over three                    hundred lines from The Fairy Queen.                                        FINCH                    Forget it.  There's no more time.                     You go home and get some rest.                     You're going to need it tonight.                    Dominic lets the papers fall to the floor.                                        DOMINIC                    He's got us, doesn't he, Finch?                                        FINCH                    Yes, he does.                    EXT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING                    Conrad pulls his car into his reserved space.                    INT.  CAR                    Helen holds Conrad's chin the way a mother holds a child when          she is telling them something important.                                        HELEN                    Now listen to me, Conrad.  This is                    the most important moment of our                    lives.  Everything I've worked and                    hoped for comes to this.  Susan is                    a very dangerous man, especially                    now, that's why I need you, Conrad.                     I need you to be stronger than him.                     I need you to be the better man.                     Understand?                    Conrad nods.                                        HELEN                    If you do this Conrad, and you do                    it right, I'm going to turn you                    from the little man I married into                    the man of my dreams.                                        CONRAD                    Oh, Helen.                    He embraces her to kiss but she turns her perfectly painted          lips.                                        HELEN                    Not on the lips.                    Ardently, he kisses her cheek.                    INT.  FINCH'S OFFICE                    Finch sits alone, palms pressed to his bleary eyes.                                        FINCH                    Give it up, old man.  You're not                    even sure you want to stop him.                    With a red pen, he begins absently drawing red circles around          any V he sees on any piece of paper.                    Victims.  Vectors.  Values.  Victory.  Words from quotes and          lists.                    Suddenly, he stops.  Carefully, as if reaching to touch a          butterfly, he slips a single sheet out from the sheaves          covering his desk.                    The paper has a long list: the names of all the Queens of          England.  He has circled in red the V in Victoria.                    When it hits him, it hits him like a falling safe.                                        FINCH                    Christ!  That's it!  It's got to be                    it!                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    The intercom clicks on.                                        LIEUTENANT (V.O.)                    Sir, Mr. Heyer is here to see you.                     Says it's urgent.  And he's here                    with his wife, sir.                                        LEADER                    His wife?                                        LIEUTENANT (V.O.)                    Sir, yes, sir -- Wait, you can't                    go --                    The door slaps open.                                        HELEN                    Leader, I'm terribly sorry but I                    absolutely must speak with you.                    The Leader waves the Lieutenant off.                                        HELEN                    I have something to tell you,                    something important but --                    She glances at Conrad.                                        HELEN                    I can tell you and only you.  In                    private.                    The Leader studies her.                                        HELEN                    It is a matter of national                    security.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    In his car, Finch races to a corner and slams on the brakes.           He gets out, staring at a shadow on the ground: a "V" in a          circle.                    The shadow is cast by a sign for Victoria Station, part of          the abandoned subway.                    The gates are chained shut.  He fires his pistol into the          lock, kicks open the rusting gates, and descends into the          underground.                    INT.  LEADER'S PRIVATE QUARTERS                    The Leader closes the door behind them.                                        LEADER                    Now what's this all about, Mrs.                    Heyer?                                        HELEN                    Please, forgive me.  I've been so                    afraid, afraid to come here to talk                    to you.  I thought he must know.  I                    was terrified he knew but I had to                    come because I knew you were the                    only one that can protect me.                                        LEADER                    Protect you from what?                    She is unable to go on, seemingly about to burst into tears.                                        LEADER                    Come now, Mrs. Heyer.                    He touches her and it is all she needs.  She buries her face          into his chest.                                        HELEN                    You won't let him hurt me, will                    you?                                        LEADER                    Let who hurt you?                                        HELEN                    The terrorist.                                        LEADER                    The terrorist is dead.                                        HELEN                    Oh, how I wanted to believe it,                    Leader, but I know it's not true.                                        LEADER                    How?                                        HELEN                    Because I know who the terrorist                    is.                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    Conrad is alone with Fate.  He glances about nervously,          moving closer and closer.  His fingers reach out and graze          the main keyboard.  Taking a deep breath, he turns and begins          to type.                    INT.  PRIVATE QUARTERS                    The Leader takes hold of Helen by her shoulders.                                        LEADER                    Who?  Who is it, woman?                                        HELEN                    It's Conrad, Leader.  Conrad.  My                    husband is the terrorist.                                        LEADER                    What?!                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    Conrad accesses the department of water and power.  He finds          the correct file and begins rerouting power to a once dead          system.                    INT.  V'S TRAIN STATION                    A hanging light suddenly sizzles to life.  V looks up,          smiling.                    INT.  LEADER'S PRIVATE QUARTERS                    The Leader stares hard at Helen.                                        LEADER                    How do you know?                                        HELEN                    I saw him, Leader.  In the middle                    of the night.  I heard something.                     I went to the landing and that's                    when I saw it.                    She clutches him.                                        HELEN                    That mask.  That hideous smiling                    mask.                                        LEADER                    But how did you know it was Heyer?                                        HELEN                    I know, Leader.  I know the way a                    woman knows.                                        LEADER                    But you have no proof?                                        HELEN                    Proof?                                        LEADER                    Yes, proof?  This is an extremely                    delicate situation, Mrs. Heyer.  It                    has been reported that the                    terrorist is dead.  It would be a                    catastrophe to arrest a man now                    without concrete, conclusive proof.                     Do you have any evidence at all?                    Tears well up in Helen's eyes as she shakes her head.                                        LEADER                    But if you're right, if Heyer is                    indeed the terrorist...                    His eyes fly wide and he spins away from her, throwing open          the door.                                        HELEN                    Leader!  Wait!                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    Conrad sits calmly across the room.                                        CONRAD                    Is everything all right?  Helen?                                        LEADER                    Yes, Mr. Heyer, your wife has done                    her duty to her country.                    He turns to Helen.                                        LEADER                    Don't worry, Mrs. Heyer.  You will                    be taken care of.  I will launch an                    immediate investigation and I                    promise, you will be the first to                    know when an arrest will be made.                                        CONRAD                    Investigation of what?                                        LEADER                    Subversion, Mr. Heyer.  Your wife                    was privy to the dialogue of                    subversives.  That's all you need                    to know at this time.  Lieutenant!                    The Lieutenant appears almost instantly.                                        LEADER                    The Heyers are leaving.  I need to                    see Mr. Creedy at once.                    Helen looks up at the Leader, a smile hidden near the corners          of her perfect red lips.                                        HELEN                    Thank you, sir.                    The Leader nods.                    INT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING                    Helen and Conrad get out of the elevator, standing beneath          the rows of new party flags that line the lobby.                                        HELEN                    I want you to go straight to your                    office and wait for me to call.                     When I do, I want you to come                    immediately home.  Understood?                                        CONRAD                    Yes, Helen.                    She embraces him, pressing her body against his.                                        HELEN                    Oh, Conrad, I'm so proud of you.                                        CONRAD                    I did it, Helen.  I did it, didn't                    I?                                        HELEN                    Tonight, Conrad.                                        CONRAD                    Tonight.                                        HELEN                    I promise you will never forget                    tonight.                    She almost kisses him.                                        HELEN                    Goodbye, Conrad.                    Smiling, she pivots on her heel and heads for the door.  He          reaches for her when --                                        GUARD                    Mr. Heyer!  Mr. Heyer!                    The front desk guard rushes towards him.                                        CONRAD                    Yes?                                        GUARD                    Sir, this package arrived for you,                    sir.                    He hands him a small, brown wrapped box.                                        CONRAD                    Thank you.                    He looks back for Helen but she is already gone.                    INT.  SUBWAY                    A single flashlight beam creeps toward us as Finch searches          the detritus of the dead train line.                    INT.  CONRAD'S CAR                    Sitting at a stoplight, Conrad decides to open the package.           Inside is a cassette tape.  The light changes and a car          behind him honks.  He starts forward and inserts the tape.                    INT.  SUBWAY                    Finch crawls up onto the platform of V's hidden station,          staring at the beautiful old train car.                    INT.  CONRAD'S CAR                    Strangling the steering wheel, Conrad listens to the tape.           The speedometer climbs as everything seems to accelerate.                                        TAPE (V.O.)                    Do you know what I want?  I want                    you just like this... bent over                    that black leather chair.                    Helen moans.                    INT.  TRAIN CAR                    Finch steps inside the car, his flashlight sweeping over the          stacks of gelignite.                                        FINCH                    Oh my god.                    INT.  CONRAD'S CAR                    A scream builds in Conrad.  With tears in his eyes, he stares          out the windshield but sees only the images created by the          tape.                                        TAPE (V.O.)                    Use the Finger?... You mean like                    this?... Oh... That's vulgar... But                    you like it?... Yes... oh yes.                    Conrad loses control and the car careens up onto the sidewalk          and smashes into a brick wall.                    Lifting his bloodied forehead, Conrad looks out and sees the          ubiquitous poster partially destroyed by the crash: "Strength          through purity, purity through faith."                    INT.  TRAIN CAR                    Finch hears something and jerks back, almost falling out of          the car.  Aiming his gun, he finds no one.  He turns and          bolts.                    As the sound of his footsteps fade, V steps out of the          shadows.                    INT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING                    The Leader's Lieutenant looks up from his desk and sees Finch          rushing towards him.                                        FINCH                    Is the Leader in?                                        LIEUTENANT                    Yes, but he's meeting with the                    Captain of the Guard.                                        FINCH                    Perfect.                                        LIEUTENANT                    Mr. Finch, you can't go in --                    Finch charges through the doors.                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    The Leader and his Captain turn.                                        LEADER                    Mr. Finch?                                        FINCH                    Leader, I need as many men the                    Captain can spare and I need them                    right now.                                        CAPTAIN                    What for?                                        FINCH                    To capture codename V.                    EXT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE                    Creedy opens the trunk of his car.  In the phosphorescent          glow of the streetlight, the set of knives gleam.  He bundles          the costume that he tried to planet on Finch into his arms,          then slams the trunk.                    Above, a window blind that was cracked open snaps shut.                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    The Leader moves towards Finch.                                        FINCH                    He's underground.  The old subway.                     I know exactly what he's going to                    do.  If we move quickly, we can be                    there, waiting for him.                    INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE                    Conrad waits, hidden inside a bedroom closet.  He hears the          front door close and his grip tightens around the handle of a          long, steel-necked hammer.                    INT.  LEADER'S OFFICE                    The Leader is steadily convincing himself of something.                                        FINCH                    Leader, every second we delay...                    The Leader lifts his hand, silencing Finch.                                        LEADER                    I'm coming with you.                                        GUARD                    Sir --                                        LEADER                    There will be no discussion --                                        GUARD                    But if Mr. Finch is right --                                        LEADER                    I am sick to death of this                    terrorist being everywhere and                    nowhere!  I will judge whether Mr.                    Finch is right and I will judge it                    with my own eyes!  Do I make myself                    clear, Captain?                                        CAPTAIN                    Sir, yes, sir!                    Finch is suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling that is common to          chess players.  It is the disturbing sense that you have just          done exactly what your opponent wanted.                                        LEADER                    Is there a problem, Mr. Finch?                                        FINCH                    No... no sir.                                        LEADER                    Good.  Captain, mobilize your men.                                        CAPTAIN                    Sir, yes, sir.                                        LEADER                    We'll find this bloody bastard and                    we will finish him.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    Evey sits in the gallery, reading Pynchon's "V" just as V had          done.  She suddenly feels V watching her.                                        EVEY                    V?                                        V                    Yes.                    Evey smiles as V steps out of the shadows.                                        EVEY                    V, what's going to happen?                                        V                    Change, Evey.  That's all.  Just                    change.                                        EVEY                    Is it going to be violent?                                        V                    Yes, I suppose it will.                    INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE                    Creedy empties a bottom drawer, making room to hide the          costume.  As he does, the closet door behind him slowly          creeps open.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    V stands at the jukebox.                                        EVEY                    But why?  Why must is be violent?                                        V                    Because, Evey, that is the nature                    of change.  She is a temperamental                    creature that appears in earnest                    rarely but, when she does, she will                    wear one of two faces.  The first                    face is the destroyer.  It is                    lamentable but all true change                    begins with death.                    INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE                    A dark figure stands over Creedy.  The hammer raises, a slash          of silver against the velvety darkness.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    V punches a button on the jukebox just as --                    INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE                    The hammer falls with a sickening soft crunch.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    The song begins to play; a melancholy song that says goodbye          to love.                    INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE                    Blood pours down Creedy's snarling face, he snatches one of          V's knives as another hammer blow cracks through his collar          bone.                    He screams, lunging at Conrad.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    V listens to the song, the smiling eyes somehow knowing.                    INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE                    The hammer falls again and again until the metal head is          slick with blood and meat.                    Conrad stumbles back, dropping the hammer.  He looks down at          the hilt of the knife protruding from his stomach.  He yanks          it out and holds V's knife which is bright red with his own          blood.                    He collapses to the floor.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    The song continues.                                        EVEY                    What is the other face, V?                                        V                    The other face?  She is the true                    face of change.  The face of the                    creator.  She is the one that                    remakes the world.  Evey?                                        EVEY                    Yes, V?                                        V                    May I ask you for a favor?                                        EVEY                    Of course.                                        V                    It is a small thing but it would                    mean a great deal to me.                                        EVEY                    Tell me.                                        V                    I've never danced before.  I've                    thought about it many times, here                    in this room, listening to the                    music.  But I've always been alone.                    Evey smiles and crosses to him.                                        EVEY                    It would be my pleasure.                    He opens his arms and she steps into them.  They dance,          standing very close, his gloved hand holding tightly to hers,          her smile against his.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    Dozens of military vehicles swarm around the entrance to          Victoria Station while heavily armed men pour through the          gates of the underground.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    The song ends.                                        V                    Thank you, Evey.  You are an                    excellent dancer.                                        EVEY                    All it takes is a little practice.                                        V                    Alas, I have run out of time.                    He bows, pressing his frozen lips to her hand.  Evey is          suddenly nervous.                                        EVEY                    V?  What are you going to do?                                        V                    Don't you remember?  I have a date                    tonight, Evey.                                        EVEY                    You're coming back though, aren't                    you?                    She seizes hold of his hand.                                        EVEY                    V, I won't let you leave unless you                    promise me that you will come back.                                        V                    Of course, I'll be back.  You don't                    think you can be rid of me now, do                    you?                                        EVEY                    Just promise.                                        V                    I promise.                    She lets him go.                    INT.  TRAIN STATION                    Soldiers swarm through the station.  Susan stares in shock,          outraged by the mere presence of the train.                                        LEADER                    Mark my words, Mr. Finch, this man                    is going to become an example so                    that every man, woman, and child in                    this country will remember what                    happens to those who would ever                    think to stand against the state.                    He turns to the Captain.                                        LEADER                    Captain, I need a gas unit down                    here with enough nerve gas to fill                    every rat-hole in these tunnels.                    Suddenly the lights go out.                                        FINCH                    I don't think that will be                    necessary.                    The Leader smiles.                                        LEADER                    There are over one hundred of the                    best trained soldiers in this                    country down here.  Let him come.                    INT.  TRAIN TUNNELS                    Five soldiers creep forward in a tight formation, their          flashlights probing every nook and cranny.                    Behind them, a secret passage opens and V steps out.                    He is among them with frightful speed, a grinning dervish          with blades like metal fangs ripping and rending flesh,          slashing bright in the flashlight.                    Other soldiers rush towards the screams and gunfire but they          find only five bodies and warm blood running down the walls.                                        LEADER                    Captain, what's happening?                                        RADIO (V.O.)                    No sign sir.  Repeat, no sign of                    him.                                        CAPTAIN                    They lost him.                    From the opposite end, there is another series of screams and          machine gun fire that lights up the dark tunnel for a moment.           Then, nothing.                                        FINCH                    This... this is a mistake.                                        LEADER                    Don't tell me you're a coward, Mr.                    Finch.                    Back in the tunnels, V drops from above, his cloak a swirling          cloud of squid ink that hides him in the darkness.                    Again, quicksilver knives lash out, drawing fonts of blood.                    INT.  TRAIN STATION                    Finch can feel the panic that is spreading through the          tunnel.                                        FINCH                    Leader, we have to get out of here!                                        LEADER                    This was your idea.                                        FINCH                    It was a mistake.  This is what he                    wants.  He knows us, Leader.  He                    knows us too well.  We have to get                    out of here before it's too late --                    A voice rings out from hidden speakers, echoing through the          tunnels.                                        V (V.O.)                    Good evening citizens of London.                     This is the voice of Fate.  Your                    fate...                                        LEADER                    What trick is this?                                        V (V.O.)                    Tonight, the face of London is                    going to change and I am going to                    offer you the chance to change with                    her.  Your Leader is finished.  He                    will not leave these tunnels alive.                    The Leader screams to be heard over the resonant voice of V.                                        LEADER                    This is an outrage!  I order you                    not to listen to this!                                        V (V.O.)                    At midnight tonight, the Head will                    be destroyed and a new era will                    begin.  You must now decide if you                    are going to be a part of that era.                    Everywhere, terrified soldiers listen to the voice.                                        V (V.O.)                    You can choose to stay here and die                    with your Leader or you can choose                    to be free.  The decision is yours                    and yours alone.                                        LEADER                    Captain, order all your men to fall                    back and secure this position!                                        V (V.O.)                    Some of you have wives.  Some of                    you have families.  All of you have                    lives.  Consider each of them as                    you ask yourself, are they a part                    of the past, or are they a part of                    the future?                                        CAPTAIN                    Fall back.  Fall back and secure                    the central platform.                    Deep in the tunnel, two soldiers look at each other.           Simultaneously, they drop their guns and run.                                        LEADER                    Any man that disobeys this order                    will be court marshaled!                    Groups of solders drop their weapons and disappear into the          shadows.                                        LEADER                    Captain!  Captain, where are your                    men?                    The station fills with the sound of boots running wildly          away.                                        LEADER                    Goddammit, I will not tolerate this                    insubordination!  I want those                    deserters shot, Captain.                    Finch slowly draws back away from the Leader.                                        LEADER                    Shot on sight!                    The few men on the platform are soon the only men left.                                        CAPTAIN                    You!  You!  Point position.  We're                    getting out of here!  Now!                    A knife sings through the air and buries itself in the          Captain's chest.  With a tiny rasp, he falls to the ground.                    The remaining men bolt.                                        LEADER                    Traitors!  You cowards!                    He grabs for the Captain's machine gun.                                        LEADER                    I know who you are!  I'll see you                    hang!  Every last one of you!                    "You" echoes down the dark empty throat of the tunnel.                    The Leader looks around, his flashlight sweeping in big arcs          as he realizes that he is alone.                                        LEADER                    Finch?  Finch!  Finch, goddammit,                    you can't leave me!  Don't leave                    me!                                        V                    You are going to die as you ruled --                    The Leader screams, whipping around towards the voice.                                        V                    Alone.                    The smile is as cold and as sharp as the knife that flicks          from his hand.                    The Leader raises his gun just when the knife sinks into his          shoulder.                    Howling in pain, he drops the gun.                                        LEADER                    Damn you!  Damn you!                    V smiles into the spot of his flashlight.                                        LEADER                    Conrad?  Is that you?  You're                    working with Finch, aren't you?                     And Creedy!  You're all in this                    together!                    V closes in.                                        LEADER                    Who are you?                                        V                    You, most of all, should know,                    Leader.  You created me.  Without                    you, I would never be.  More than                    life, Leader, you gave me purpose.                    V draws his final blade.                                        V                    "He that killeth with the sword,                    shall be killed with the sword."                    V raises the knife.                                        LEADER                    Noooo!                                        FINCH                    Don't move!                    V and the Leader turn to find Finch aiming a machine gun at          V.                                        LEADER                    Mr. Finch!  Oh god, Mr. Finch!                                        FINCH                    Drop the knife.                    V does and Susan begins an almost hysterical laugh.                                        LEADER                    Oh, I knew it, Mr. Finch.  I knew                    you wouldn't desert me.  You're a                    good man, Finch.  A damn good man.                                        FINCH                    No, Mr. Susan.  No, I'm not.  I'm a                    man who does his job and does what                    he's told.  For twenty seven years,                    that's all I've been.                    He steps toward V, staring into his smiling black eyes.                                        LEADER                    Careful, Mr. Finch.  He's quick as                    the devil.                    Finch ignores the Leader.                                        FINCH                    I've read Delia's diary over and                    over all year.  It sickens me but I                    am unable to judge her.  I am as                    guilty as she.                                        LEADER                    Mr. Finch, what are you doing?                     Shoot him.  Kill the bastard,                    Finch.                                        FINCH                    I have no excuse.  I did what I was                    told to do.                                        LEADER                    Finch, I order you to shoot him!                     Finch!                                        FINCH                    My job was to find you and catch                    you.  I've done my job.  I've done                    it for the last time.  I'm tired of                    it.  I'm tired of it all.                    He tosses the gun to the Leader.                                        FINCH                    Kill him yourself if you can.                    The Leader seethes, his eyes boring into Finch.                                        FINCH                    Thank you, V.  And goodbye.                                        V                    Goodbye, Mr. Finch.                    The machine gun burst shatters the quiet concrete silence.           Finch falls dead at V's feet.                                        LEADER                    I warned you, Finch, the penalty                    for treason is death.                    He aims the gun at V.                                        LEADER                    Are you ready to die?                                        V                    The real question is, are you?                    The Leader laughs.                                        LEADER                    Do you really believe you can pick                    up that knife before I pull this                    trigger?                                        V                    No.  But I don't have to.                    Almost casually, V bends down to pick up the knife --                    The Leader screams and fires.                    Bullets knock V back a bit but he continues, grabbing the          knife and standing.                    Eyes widening with disbelief, the Leader fires another blast          as V begins walking towards him.                    The machine gun roars, bullets shredding out through the back          of V's cloak as he continues with short deliberate steps          until --                    The hammer clicks against the pin.  The gun is empty.                    V stands before him.                                        V                    You see?  You cannot kill me.                     There is no flesh and blood within                    this cloak to kill.  There is only                    an idea.                    V smiles.                                        V                    And ideas are bulletproof.                    The Leader screams.                    V drives the knife into his heart, killing him instantly.                    V stands alone amidst the carnage and seeping pools of red.                    His body wavers.  He takes his hands out from beneath his          cloak and reveals his gloves, wet with blood.                    INT.  CONRAD'S HOUSE                    The front door opens and Helen enters.                                        HELEN                    Creedy?  Creedy, you dumb bastard,                    you left your car parked in front.                    She walks up the stairs to the bedroom.                                        HELEN                    What did I tell you?  Creedy.                    INT.  BEDROOM                    She steps into the room, her sole and heel sinking into the          plush carpet soaked with blood.                                        HELEN                    Oh my god.                    When she sees Creedy's head mashed open, she covers her          mouth.                                        CONRAD                    Helen...                    Conrad has propped himself against the bed.                                        HELEN                    Conrad!  What have you done?                                        CONRAD                    I won, Helen.  I did it.  I won.                     I'm the better man.                    He crawls toward her, slipping on the wet carpet.                                        CONRAD                    We've been through a bad patch,                    Helen.  But now, he's gone...                    There's nothing to come between                    us...                    He reaches for her foot, his hand gloved with wet red.                                        HELEN                    Don't touch me!  You stupid piece                    of shit!  You've ruined it!  I had                    it all planned perfectly and you've                    ruined it!                    She checks her watch; two hours to midnight.                                        HELEN                    I have to get out of here!  I have                    to get away!                    Conrad seizes hold of her ankle.                                        CONRAD                    Helen --                                        HELEN                    No!  Let go!  Now!                    The look in his eyes frightens her.  She tries to kick free          of him but he won't let go.  Twisting, she reaches for the          door but slips on the carpet.                                        HELEN                    Conrad, damn you!  Let me go!                                        CONRAD                    No, Helen, you're not leaving me...                    not this time... not ever.                    He crawls up her body still clutching the bloody knife.                                        HELEN                    No, please!  Oh god, no!  Oh god,                    please help me!                    Conrad raises the knife.                                        CONRAD                    No one can help us, Helen.  God is                    dead.                    The knife falls.                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    Evey hears V on the spiral staircase.                                        EVEY                    V?                    Scarlet footprints trail behind V as he struggles down the          stairs.                                        EVEY                    You came back.                    He nods and then collapses, rolling down the rest of the          stairs.                                        EVEY                    V!  V!                    Running to him, she falls to his side.  His clothes are slick          with blood.                                        EVEY                    Oh god, what happened?                                        V                    Evey...                                        EVEY                    You need a doctor.                                        V                    It's too late for that...                                        EVEY                    No, don't say that!                                        V                    Evey, listen to me.  I've not long                    and there are things that must be                    said.                    His voice strains beneath the mask.                                        V                    I have done that which I came to                    do.  Now, it is time for me to rest                    and with me the past will, at last,                    find peace.                    Trembling, Evey holds him.                                        V                    But the world, the world is not                    saved... Do not think that, when                    the fires die and the smoke clears,                    there is no miracle... there is                    only a path... upon which they must                    learn to rule themselves.                                        EVEY                    Yes, they need you, V.                                        V                    Not me, Evey, not me.  I told you I                    am the villain.  The destroyer...                    But yes, they will need help...                    He reaches up and wipes a tear from her cheek.                                        V                    I kept my promise to you, Evey...                    Now you must promise me.                                        EVEY                    What?                                        V                    Promise me... you will discover the                    face under this mask... but you                    will never look beneath it.                                        EVEY                    I don't understand.                                        V                    Promise me.  Please...                                        EVEY                    I promise.                                        V                    Sweet Eve.  Wherever I shall go, I                    shall always love you.                                        EVEY                    V, you are not going anywhere!                                        V                    Midnight... Midnight.  Eve... Make                    them remember...                                        EVEY                    You're not going to die, V!                                        V                    Let me be there, Evey, when it                    begins... Please, let me hear the                    music, one last time... my music...                                        EVEY                    I won't let you die!                                        V                    I know you won't... I know...                                        EVEY                    V!                                        V                    My love... Ave Atque vale...                    Holding him as tight as she can, she feels his life drain          away, slipping through her arms in the way the last grains of          sand pour through the neck of the hourglass.                    She buries her face beside his and weeps.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    An enormous crowd has begun to gather in the streets          surrounding the New Government Building.  With the crowd, a          restlessness swells against each barricade erected by the          military.                    A sergeant stands on an armored car, speaking through a          megaphone.                                        SERGEANT                    Return to your homes!  There is                    nothing to see!  The terrorist is                    dead!                                        RABBLE ROUSER 1                    He ain't dead!                                        RABBLE ROUSER 2                    He'll be here, just like he said!                    INT.  SHADOW GALLERY                    Evey huddles against the stair railing, her face tear          stained, staring at the lifeless body of V.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I remember... I remember staring at                    the mask, at that smile.                    She touches the mask, her fingers finding its edge.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Part of me couldn't believe he was                    dead and maybe that was why.  The                    smile was still the same.                     It made me want to tear it off so I                    could see the face, so I could see                    that he was dead.                    Her fingers stop.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    But I had promised.                                        V (V.O.)                    You will discover the face under                    this mask but you will never look                    beneath it.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I began to try to imagine his face.                     Of course, I had long pictured my                    father behind that smile but I knew                    in my heart that V was not my                    father.                    Evey stares into the eyes, the dark, empty eyes.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    Yet every time I pictured another                    face, any face, something was lost,                    something important was somehow                    diminished.  V was more than a                    face.  V was V.                    Her expression changes.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    And then, quite suddenly, quite                    naturally, I realized whose face                    must be beneath that mask.  It was                    the only face that mattered.                                        EVEY                    I won't let you die.                                        V (V.O.)                    I know you won't... I know.                    A small smile creeps across her face.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    Midnight approaches and the crowd feels it.  Spilling          everywhere, they fill the streets like a flood.                    INT.  TRAIN CAR                    Evey sets a final violet carson on the chest of V.  He is          lying on a bed made of gelignite, covered in roses.                    Touching his mask, she bends over him.                                        EVEY                    Goodbye, my love.                    Tenderly, she presses her lips to the smile, her eyes          closing, her final tears blinking free.                    She backs away and V smiles, his lips wet with her kiss, his          cheek wet with her tears.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    "Ave Atque vale."                    On the train platform, Evey reaches through the window and          starts the train.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I looked it up the next morning.                    The wheels churn as the train lurches forward.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    "Hail and farewell."                                        V (V.O.)                    "Make them remember..."                    She watches the train disappear into the tunnel.                                        EVEY                    They will, my love.  They will.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    The crowd surges against a barricade when a voice cries out          across the city echoing through the megaphone on every          corner.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    "Remember, remember, the fifth of                    November!"                    High above the gathered mass, a masked figure steps out onto          a roof parapet.                    The crowd explodes.                    INT.  SUBWAY                    The train barrels along, screaming against its rusted rails.                    EXT.  ROOFTOP                    Dressed as V, Evey stands on the roof's edge, speaking into a          microphone.                                        EVEY                    I have come here tonight to keep a                    promise.  A promise that is over                    four hundred years old.  Tonight I                    am here to give you your freedom!                    Again, the crowd bursts into a frenzy.                                        EVEY                    Since mankind's dawn a handful of                    oppressors have accepted the                    responsibility over our lives,                    responsibility that we should have                    accepted ourselves.  By doing so,                    they took our power.  By doing                    nothing, we gave it away.                    The voice booms over the mesmerized crowd.                                        EVEY                    Tonight, our world will change.                     Our leaders will be gone and we                    must choose what comes next.  A                    return to the chains of others or                    lives of our own.  A world of the                    past or one of the future.                    She feels the sea of humanity beneath her, almost channeling          their energy.                                        EVEY                    Let us choose carefully, London,                    and when we do, let us mark well                    and remember, remember this fifth                    of November!                    The crowd screams as one and their scream becomes --                    INT.  SUBWAY                    The train hurling like a bullet through a gun barrel.  Ahead          the tracks end, buried beneath the rubble of the collapsed          tunnel.                    INT.  TRAIN CAR                    Inside the rattling train, V lays in perfect repose.                                        V (V.O.)                    Let me be there, Evey, when it                    begins...                    EXT.  ROOFTOPS                    Hidden and alone, Evey pulls the mask from her face.                                        V (V.O.)                    Please let me hear the music... one                    last time... my music.                    Almost unconsciously, Evey raises her hand and coaxes the          first soft notes as he had once done.                                        V (V.O.)                    At first, you have to listen                    carefully.                    The violins of the 1812 overture steadily rise.                                        V (V.O.)                    Ah, yes.  There it is.  Beautiful,                    is it not?                    Evey smiles, her hand still gently conducting.                                        EVEY                    Yes, my love.  Yes it is.                    INT.  SUBWAY                    With the clash of cymbals, the train crashes into the wall of          rubble.                    EXT.  NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDING                    The entire building opens like a time-lapsed rose blooming          with brilliant orange petals of flame.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    The crowd is awash in the baptismal glow of erupting flame.                    EXT.  ROOFTOP                    Evey watches the explosion, a star-burst of flaming debris          searing against the night sky like fireworks.                    EXT.  CITY STREET                    The masses burst through the barricades with a euphoric          frenzy.                    EXT.  ROOFTOP                    The explosion begins to slowly die.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I know that there is only one way                    to repay him for what he did.                    She looks down at the mask.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    And I know that that way is going                    to take a lot of hard work.                    She smiles.                                        EVEY (V.O.)                    I know this like I know the sun                    will rise tomorrow and beneath that                    new sun, our work will begin.                    The fire fades and Evey turns, cradling the mask, and walks          away.                                                                    FADE OUT. 
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+                                  WAR HORSE                                                                                    Written by                         Lee Hall & Richard Curtis          1.                                   EXT. DEVON, ENGLAND. A SUMMER'S DAY, 1912.                                   The bucolic magnificence of the Devon countryside. We fly          low over the high, thick hedges untouched for hundreds of          years. The thick verdant countryside in all its splendor,          ancient woodlands, fields of corn, and finally a paddock in a          typical Devonshire dale.                                   We come to rest beside three farmers standing over a pregnant          mare. The mare is in distress - she is about to give birth.          The farmers calm the mare and tend to her gently with          assurance and authority.                                   We pull back to see, ALBERT, a fifteen-year-old farm boy,          watching the whole drama with delight from the paddock gate.                                                   FARMER           Come on, easy, girl. Easy, girl.           Easy.                                   The men hold the mare firmly, but clearly this is a difficult          birth.                                                   FARMER 2           This is a stubborn one, huh?                                                   FARMER 3           There we go. Who's a clever girl?                                   Moments later - the summer's sun glints off the wet, sticky          hide of the foal (JOEY) - red hide, four white socks and a          distinctive white cross on its forehead.                                   Soon the creature is attempting its first clumsy steps. It is          both awesome and comical to see the new born creature          struggle to his feet, but eventually, he succeeds.          Title: WAR HORSE                                   EXT. PADDOCK/FIELD, DEVON. VARIOUS.                                   We follow Joey's progress over the course of his first year.          His initial fearfulness, his connection with his mother, the          intimacy of their relationship.                                   As Joey gets strong they run together, frolicking gayly in          the last dregs of summer. Albert looking on. Joey notices him          at the fence and they share a moment of connection.                                   Spring: flowers are beginning to sprout by the hedgerows. Our          boy Albert runs into the field. He takes an apple from his          pocket - he holds it out tentatively. Joey approaches Albert          with suspicion. Albert gently encourages him.           2.                                   His mother paws the ground and neighs at Joey. He turns and          runs over the field at her beck and call.                                   Albert tosses the apple to himself, ruefully - watches in awe          as Joey races away with his mother.                                   He is a magnificent one year old. His distinctive red coat          gleaming, now it is clear that he is half thoroughbred. He          runs quickly around the field enjoying his own power and          strength.                                   Later - the three farmers open the gate and come into the          field. Both Joey and his mother instinctively canter over to          the two men, expecting food. The three men gently greet the          horses and pet them, then we see one man has a noose made of          a rope. He slips it round Mum's neck. She pulls back, Joey is          shaken and bewildered but before he knows what's happening          the second farmer is trying to get a similar rope around his          neck. Joey balks and pushes the farmer aside, distressed to          see his mother tethered. The farmer grabs Joey again and          struggles with him, enlisting the help of the second farmer.          With some effort they get the rope around his neck and calm          him down.                                                   FARMER 2           Easy does it. Easy does it. Come on,           steady does it.                                   Unused to being tethered Joey pulls at the rope but the          farmers are solid and firm. They gently lead Joey and his          mother across the field to the gate and out into the road.                                   The whole road becomes overtaken by a flock of sheep on their          way to the market. In the distance we hear the bustle of          Market Day.                                   EXT. THE MARKET. THE SAME.          The farmers lead Joey and his mother through the chaos of the          market and into an auction pen. They find themselves amongst          a hoard of pigs, sheep and cows. Joey is agog at all of these          creatures and all this life he had no idea existed.                                   The farmers lead the horses into a stall to await the          auction. Joey is bewildered by all the noise - buttressed          against a couple of mules and a cow. He is uncomfortable in          this tight space.                                   An AUCTION WORKER holds a clipboard out for the lead farmer.                                                   AUCTION MAN 1           Mornin', pop. Put your mark here.           Good luck.           3.                                   EXT. JOEY'S PEN. THE SAME.                                   Two men approach the pen.                                                   AUCTION MAN 2           Get the colt...                                   One man grabs Joey and pulls him out of the pen. Suddenly          there is a look of horror on his face. His terrified mother          realises they are being separated. Joey panics and          desperately tries to get back to his mother, he rises up          throwing the man who is leading him aside. Joey is out of          control. The man regains control of Joey.                                                   AUCTION MAN 3           Whoa! Whoa!                                   He pulls Joey away from his mother, who lets out a heart-          rending cry, paws the ground, and crashes her foreleg against          the fence. Joey remains disoriented in the midst of the          market day chaos.                                    AUCTION MAN 3 (CONT'D)           Easy...                                   INT. MAIN AUCTION RING. THE SAME.                                   The auction ring is full of people of all shapes and sizes.          There is a sense of celebration and busyness about market          day.                                   We concentrate on two men - Ted Narracott (DAD), in his          forties, clearly both the cares of the world and alcohol have          worn him down before his time, and SI EASTON, his more solid          friend, both working farmers. Just behind Si is his 15 year          old son, ANDREW. Ted has a drink in his hand. They all look          at Joey bridling against the men who are trying to hold him.                          DAD           Now that's a beauty.                                                   SI EASTON           Forget it, Ted. He's half           thoroughbred and not got a day's           work in him.           (points to a plow horse next to                          JOEY)           Now, there... There's your ticket.                                   In contrast to Joey, the solid and bulky plow horse stands          like a rock. But Dad remains fixated on Joey.                                                   DAD           But look at him, Si. Look at that creature.           4.                                   Indeed, Joey is magnificent, his power clearly emerging          because of his upset.                                                   SI EASTON           Don't be daft. You need something           solid to plow a field.                                                   DAD           (fixed on Joey)           Yeah, but he's something else, that one.                                   The AUCTIONEER announces the start of the auction...                                                   AUCTIONEER           Alright gentlemen - settle down - settle           down - horses on my right - men with money           in their pockets on my left - it's the           perfect combination. Is Fred Goddard here?          FRED shouts his reply from the crowd.                                                   FRED           YES! I's here.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Good - more money than sense. Dave Hill?                                                   DAVE           I'm here. Yes!                                                   AUCTIONEER           Bugger off, you tight bastard - you've been           coming here for 20 years - never bought so           much as a pork scratching.                                   The crowd are loving all this.          Dad notices a figure across the ring, LYONS, clearly a man of          money. You can see something light up in Dad's eyes - a          combination of dislike and alcohol.                                   Joey is led into the auction pen.                                                   AUCTIONEER (CONT'D)           Okay - first up today - a gorgeous young           horse - prettiest thing I've seen since my           wife on our wedding day. Let's get going,           shall we? Who wants this wonderful creature.                                   But no-one bids.                                                   DAD           One guinea.           5.                                                   AUCTIONEER           One guinea, one guinea, one           guinea...                                    YOUNG ANDREW EASTON           I thought you needed a plow horse, Mister           Narracott.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Any advance on one guinea? Any           advance on one guinea?                                   Joey is still trying to get back to his mother. A voice from          the crowd pipes up:                                                   LYONS           Two guineas.                          DAD           Three!                                                   SI EASTON           Ted Narracott - it's completely the wrong           animal.                                   Lyons whispers to his son, DAVID, 15, next to him. David eyes          Joey skeptically.                                                   DAD           Si Easton - I'm not gonna let that           bastard see me off.                                                   LYONS           Five guineas.                                                   DAD           Six!                          SI EASTON           Oh for the love of...!                                   Joey is straining to get to his mother, the men are pulling          him back.                                                   LYONS           Seven.                                                   DAD           Greedy sod thinks he can just buy anybody.                          (BIDDING)           Eight.           6.                                                   SI EASTON           Stop it - he's your landlord - you           can't be picking fights with him.                                   Lyons looks over. There is now tension in the crowd as they          sense a Battle Royal for the horse.                                                   LYONS           Ten guineas.                                   He smirks at Dad.                                                   SI EASTON           You haven't got the money. Let's go           home - let's have a pint.                                                   DAD           Eleven guineas, sir, from as good a man as           any in this town.                                   They all look at Lyons in his suit and bowler hat.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Do I hear twelve guineas? Twelve guineas?                                                   SI EASTON           That's top price for a workin'           animal. Ted! Save it for the shire!                                                   DAD           There are big days and there are           small days. Which will it be?                                                   AUCTIONEER           Do I hear any advance on eleven guineas?                                   All eyes are on Lyons and his son - David is 15, smartly          dressed.                                                   DAVID LYONS           Just let him go, dad, I don't care           for him, he's too... jumpy.                                   Lyons isn't listening to David; he's looking hard at Ted.                                                   LYONS           Shall we say - twenty five?                                   The crowd gasps. This is clearly personal.                                                   SI EASTON           Well, he's got you there. Nice try, Ted.           7.                                                   ANDREW           You were great, Mr N. Gave him a run           for his money.                                   But when he looks at Ted, Ted's eyes are locked into the eyes          of his rival.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Going, going...                                                   DAD           Thirty. Thirty guineas!                                   Total silence. He stares hard at Lyons. Who simply smiles,          raises an eyebrow, tips his hat and walks away. It dawns on          Dad that he's won the auction. He breaks into a sweat.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Thirty guineas. Thirty guineas. Going           going gone - to Mister Ted Narracott.                                   He bangs his gavel. It's a done deal.                                                   SI EASTON           What have you done, Ted? What have you done?                                   Dad doesn't acknowledge Si.                                   Moments later - Ted stands staring at Joey, who looks back.          Ted holds his reins numbly, accepts his receipt from the          auction man in a kind of daze.                                   Suddenly, Lyons appears at Dad's shoulder.                                                   LYONS           Quite a beast, there. But what you gonna do           with him - on a working farm? I hope you           got the rent, Ted. I'll be around for it           when it comes due.                                   Dad does not acknowledge Lyons. Lyons smiles and walks away          with son David, and his cronies. Si shakes his head at Dad.                                                   SI EASTON           You're a fool, Ted. And our Rosie'll           never forgive you.                                   EXT. NARRACOTT'S FARM. SUNSET.                                   MRS. NARRACOTT kneels in her garden, digging up some carrots,          when she sees Ted returning.                                   Dad walks down the hedged lane as the sun sets pulling Joey          with him, his bad leg always moving slightly to the side.           8.                                   Mrs. Narracott looks in horror and bewilderment at Joey and          then at Dad. She is a good-looking, intelligent woman, but          clearly her life is always hard.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           What have you done?                                   Dad stands shamefaced as Albert - the boy we have already met          - runs out of the house to join them.                                                   ALBERT           That's Mooney's colt!                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           You were supposed to buy a plow horse.                                                   ALBERT           You bought him?           MRS. NARRACOTT           What'd you pay for him?                                   Albert is totally taken by the horse.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT (CONT'D)           How much, Ted Narracott?                                                   DAD           I won't tell you a lie - though I would love           to. Thirty guineas.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           Thirty guineas!                                   She is stunned. She looks at Ted - and he just nods.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT (CONT'D)           He's not worth ten! Are you out of your           mind? What about the rent?                                                   DAD           He's a strong one, Rosie. Look at           the way he holds his head!                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           How the hell are we gonna pull anything with           that? Ted - you have to take him back. You           have to take him back right now now.                                                   ALBERT           No.           9.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           You have to get down on your knees and beg           for our money back.                                   Joey bridles at the raised voices but Albert takes the rope          and tries to calm him.                                                   ALBERT           No. No, please don't take him back.                                   Suddenly we see Dad's dejection. He is a man lost.                                                   DAD           We can't take him back till he's broken in.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           And how are you gonna train a horse with           that leg?                          ALBERT           I'll train him.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           No, you stay out of this, Albie. You don't           know nothing about horses.                                                   ALBERT           Please, Mum. Please let me. I can do it.                                                   DAD           We have to keep him. We've no choice.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           Right. Well... you've got one month to           break him in or I'm taking him back myself.           (She turns to the house,           but then...)           How did you get to thirty - what other fool           bid you up that high?                                                   DAD           It was Lyons.                                   Mrs. Narracott turns back towards the house, then stops,          dazed, speaking almost to herself.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           We're gonna lose everything. After all we've           been through - we're gonna lose it all.                                   She turns back to the others - the weight of the mistake          heavy on their shoulders - but Albert quickly steps forward.           10.                                                   ALBIE           Don't worry, Mum - I'll raise him - and I'll           raise him good.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           Well, you better. Go on - get started. See           if a child can undo what your fool of a           father's done to this family of ours.                                   Mrs. Narracott storms into the house. Albert immediately          goes to stroke Joey but the nervous horse draws back          uncomfortably. Dad leads him off, drunk and bewildered,          across the yard to the barn.                                   EXT. STABLES. LATER.                                   Albert loads some oats into a bucket and approaches Joey in          the field.                          ALBERT           Right. Let's make a start then.                                   As Albert approaches, Joey nervously runs in circles, then          stops on a dime, looking at Albert suspiciously.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           It's oats. Very tasty, that is. It's           beef and gravy to us!                                   Albert squats down. He shows the food. Joey catches the          scent on the air, but still hesitates and shies away.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Come on...                                   This time, Albert takes a new tact, almost turning his body          fully away from Joey, but keeping the bucket extended.          Albert slowly backs towards Joey, speaking gently all the          while.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           I bet you're missing your mother.           Look at you... first time without           your mum. First time away from home.           But you're not alone, are you. In           fact. Cos I'm `ere...                                   Feeling safer, Joey moves toward the bucket of oats and          starts to eat.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           It's alright. It's alright.           11.                                   Albert reaches out his hand and touches Joey. And with a          slight start, the horse relaxes into Albert's hand, feeling          safe with the boy.                                   Albert stares at the distinctive white cross on Joey's          forehead. Joey calms.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           I'm gonna call you Joey. Understand? Joey.           That's you. And I'm Albert. It's alright,           You're mine now. You're mine.                                   Albert strokes Joey's forehead. Joey lifts his head and the          two stare at each other in close proximity.                                   EXT. FARMYARD. NEXT DAY.                                   Dad, with a hangover, hobbles off to work the fields. As he          reaches the gate, HAROLD the goose snaps at his heels. Dad          dismisses him with a stare and heads for the stables.                                   EXT. THE FARMYARD, DAY.                                   The training episode: Albert walks Joey around the yard on          the rope. It all seems to be going well. Mum looks on. Albert          is clearly proud of his progress.                                   EXT. PADDOCK. ANOTHER DAY.                                   Albert's friend, Andrew Easton, sits on a rock with an apple          in hand to watch the training.                                   Albert sets Joey in a spot and tells him to wait.                                                   ALBERT           Whoa. I want you to stay there,           Joey. Stay. That's it. Good boy.           That's it, you've got it.                                   Of course when Albert walks away, Joey follows.                                   A game of "Grandma's footsteps" ensues as Albert patiently          places Joey then walks away.                                                   ANDREW           Hey, look at him, Albie. He's           playing "Grandma's Footsteps."                                   Albert patiently leads Joey back to his starting position.                                                   ALBERT           Right, come on, Joey. Back you go.           Come on. Back you go.                          (MORE)           12.                          ALBERT (CONT'D)           You're all right. That's it. Good           boy. Right. You've gotta stay           there, understand?                                   Albert walks away again.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           That's it. Good boy. You've got it.           Good boy.                                   Finally Joey stays put. Andrew smiles, impressed.                                                   ANDREW           Good boy. Good.                          (TO ALBERT)           Now call him. Whistle.                                                   ALBERT           Come now, Joey. Come on.                                   Albert whistles like an owl. Joey stands completely still.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           You can come now, Joey.                                   He whistles again. Joey remains still.                                                   ANDREW           Don't think he fancies your owls.                                   Albert walks back to Joey, frustrated.                                                   ALBERT           No, I read it in a story. It's how           the Indians used to summon their           horses.          He gently strokes Joey's nose.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Now, Joey, when I whistle, you've           gotta come, understand?                                                   ANDREW           My dad had a dog who stayed when you           called him. He used to run up           behind you when you weren't           looking, and uh...                                                   ALBERT           He's not a dog. He's just puzzling           it through.           13.                                   Albert runs further away than before and whistles. After a          moment, Joey trots over to him. Andrew smiles broadly.                                                   ANDREW           Brilliant. Look at you.                                   With the basis established, Albert begins to train Joey to          react to the owl whistle without his prompting. It's not all          easy going - sometimes Albert makes progress, sometimes not.                                   QUICK MONTAGE - Mrs. Narracott fills a bucket at the pump,          then promptly spills it when Joey trots past her in response          to an owl whistle. She calls off, frustrated.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           Albie.                                   Dad heads out to the fields with a rake on his shoulder.          There's an owl call and Joey trots past him in the          background. Dad sees Albert welcome Joey by the haystacks,          stroking his nose affectionately. Dad walks on, his          expression inscrutable.                                   Joey trots up a path, pursuing another owl call. After          several more calls, he still can't spot Albert, until he          cranes his neck up and sees Albert sitting in a nearby tree.          Albert laughs.                                   INT. FARM HOUSE. LATER.                                   Lyons is there with his son, David, and his unlikable          cronies. He holds a meager handful of cash. Dad and Mum look          chastened. The mood is sombre.                                                   LYONS           There's only fifteen here.                          DAD           The rest will come.                                                   LYONS           You know by rights I could take this farm           back today, don't you? And I'm a great           believer in my rights.                                                   DAD           It will come.                                                   LYONS           If you drank less beer and bought fewer           horses you might be able to look your           landlord in the eye, Narracott.                                   Lyons begins loading up his ledger into his bag.           14.                                                   DAD           I said I'll pay you. We got to plant the           bottom field.                                                   LYONS           Bottom field's rock hard. Only stones down           there.                                                   DAD           No, we're going to plow it. Just give me           `til the autumn. I'll pay every penny I owe           you. With interest.                                                   LYONS           How you going to plow it? Not with that           fancy animal of yours?                                                   DAD           He'll do it.                                                   LYONS           You'll not get that one in a harness, let           alone pulling a plow. Even drunk on a           Tuesday night, you know that. And I can't           wait for the money - there's a war coming.                                   Dad stands up from his chair, resolute.                                                   DAD           I promise you that field will be plowed.           We'll plant it with turnips. And the money           will be yours when harvest comes.                                   Mrs. Narracott interjects, desperate.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           Please, sir. Please.          Lyons takes his time. He looks at them both - Ted and Rosie,          almost beaten.                                                   LYONS           Very well - if that fancy plows that field           I'll give you till October to set things           straight.                                   Lyons heads for the door, but Albert stands in his way.                                                   ALBERT           What if he doesn't?                                                   LYONS           I'll take the horse on the day he fails.                          (BEAT)                          (MORE)           15.                          LYONS (CONT'D)           And I'll take your father's farm and give it           to working men who can hold their pints and           hold their heads high in decent company.                                   Lyons tries to move past, but Albert grabs his arm.                                                   ALBERT           No, please. Sir, you can't do that.                                                   LYONS           Now, now, now, lad. What - are you bladdered           as well?! Ted Narracott - I got you down in           my book!                                   Albert knows he has to back down. Lyons walks past him and          leaves with David and his cronies.                                   EXT. THE NARRACOTT FARM. THE SAME.          Harold the goose attacks Lyons and his men. They quickly          pile into his car and drive off.                                   Ted stands in the kitchen immobile with upset.                                   EXT. STABLES. MOMENTS LATER.                                   Dad throws open the stable door, jerks the harness from the          wall, throws open Joey's stall and starts to lunge at the          horse.                                   Albert runs in to try to stop him.                                                   ALBERT           You can't harness him.                                                   DAD           He's got to be collared.          Dad starts to grapple with Joey desperately flailing in an          attempt to get the harness onto Joey. Joey is completely          confused and frightened.                                                   ALBERT           No, you can't. Look, you're scaring him,           Dad. You're scaring him. He...                          (DESPERATE)           He can't take a plow!                                   Joey tries to push Dad out of the way, Dad frustrated by this          hits Joey hard with the harness.                                                   DAD           He's got to plow!           16.                                                   ALBERT           He won't be able to do it - he's too young -           he's not even been backed yet....                                   Joey rears up and kicks Dad. Who falls to the ground.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           Ted!                                   Albert grabs Joey's bridle. Joey wrestles with Albert.                                                   ALBERT           It's alright, boy. It's alright. It's           alright. It's alright.                                   Dad is mad with anger and frustration - and in pain. He          staggers to his feet and leaves.          Albert calms Joey down. Mrs. Narracott returns the harness          to its hook.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           I knew this would happen soon as I laid eyes           on him....                                   But then she notices Dad has returned. He has a gun.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT (CONT'D)           Ted. No. Ted, no!                                                   DAD           He's worth nothing to me! If he won't take           the collar, he's not worth a damn thing!                                                   ALBERT           Dad?          He grabs the rifle, but Dad shoves him away.                                                   DAD           Move aside.                                   Dad raises the rifle, but Albert wrestles for it again.                                                   ALBERT           Dad. Stop.                                   Furious with frustration Dad throws Albert to the ground and          takes aim at the horse.                                   Mrs. Narracott quickly pulls the gun aside.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           You shoot that horse we have nothing.           17.                                   Dad whips the gun back towards Joey to find Albert standing          between them - right in front of the gun's barrel. For a          second we think Albert will be inadvertently shot.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT (CONT'D)           NO!                                   Dad pauses his finger just in time. Albert gently holds the          barrel of the gun. Speaks calmly.                                                   ALBERT           You were right what you said, Dad. "He'll do           it," you told Lyons, "He'll plow that           field." And he will! You'll see. He'll show           you. We'll show you. We'll get it done.                                   Dad looks at him, frozen. Mrs. Narracott eases the gun away          from him -                          MUM           Let go. Let go.                                   - and hands it to Albert, telling him -                                                   MUM (CONT'D)           Go back to the house.                                   As Albert leaves, Ted takes out his flask. But Rosie takes it          from him gently. He doesn't resist.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           Here, here. Some days are best forgotten.           Today ain't one of them. Come on.                                   They exit the stable together, leaving Joey in his stall.                                   INT./ EXT. STABLES. DAWN.          Albert walks towards the stables - enters. And talks to Joey          as he prepares the harness.                                                   ALBERT           How are you today, Joey? I don't know much           about life, boy, but I do know that there           are big days and there are small days. And           most days are small days, and, well, they           don't matter much to anyone - but this -           well, this is a big one. This is our big           day. Well, it's cold out there. So I'm going           to take this off -           (he takes off his coat)           Well, if it's tough for you - it should be           tough for me, too...           18.                                   He is left in just a loose-fitting white shirt....                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Now, I'm gonna teach you how to plow           and you're gonna learn. Is that           understood? And then we can be           together, which is how I believe           things are meant to be.                                   Joey instinctively balks, but Albert is stern with him.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Boy. Steady, boy. Here we go. Here           we go.                                   As he approaches Joey with the harness, Harold the goose          enters the stable to watch.          Albert approaches gently and slowly puts the harness over his          own neck and shoulders to demonstrate -                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Easy, easy... Look at me, Joey. See?           See? You've just gotta put your nose           through.                                   It is a moment between them. The horse looks Albert in the          eye, then yields. Albert comforts him and show there is          nothing to fear. Finally he gets the harness in place.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           That's it. See? You've got it.           You've got it. Good boy. There...                                   Harold honks his approval.                                   Albert leads Joey out across the yard, through the broken          gate.                                   EXT. LOWER FIELD. THE SAME.                                   It is a grey day as they walk across the plowed fields          towards the huge lower field. They come to a rusty, primitive          plow left in the grass. Albert looks around the field - it is          overgrown, it seems to go on forever - even if Joey was a          plow horse this would be a heavy task.                                   Si Easton and Andrew stroll up the road to watch.                                                   SI EASTON           Too large, too rocky, matted with           grass roots. Even a sturdy plow           horse'd never manage it alone.           19.                                                   ANDREW           Yet he will, I say.                                                   SI EASTON           You'd swear he'd sprout wings and           fly if Albert had told you so.           (smiling at his son:)           It's a fine thing, loyal to your           mate. Even if he is a bit barmy. A           team of two might manage, given a           month and good weather.                                   They're interrupted by the honk of a horn as Lyons and David          pull up in a car. Lyons and David get out. Their driver          remains inside.                                                   LYONS           Ted too squeamish to watch, is he?                          SI EASTON           `Course he's watching.                                   Si nods in the direction of the house.                                   Albert steadies Joey and starts to tie on the heavy plow. It          just seems too big and bulky for Joey's sleek frame. Albert          sets Joey right and fixes the plow.                                   Lyons, David, Si, and Andrew walk towards Dad, who looks on          anxiously from a nearby hedgerow. Lyons gestures at David to          stay back and walks over to Ted alone. He stands beside him          and begins to talk gently.                                                   LYONS           Well, you've raised him up a true           Narracott, Ted, picture of his           father, he is: not a dollop of           ordinary sense but that thick           stubbornness that'll lead him to           insist on the impossible.                                   Down in the field, Albert continues to prep the plow.                                                   LYONS (CONT'D)           Wasn't a farmer in Devon didn't           admire you, myself among `em,           leaving your brothers that fine farm           and setting yourself at this stoney           patch of unpromising ground. You've           fettle enough for twenty men, but           with a gimpy leg and the drinking -           for the pain, isn't it, that you           drink?                          (MORE)           20.                          LYONS (CONT'D)           - yeah, none of us could have           anticipated an ending better than           this. Makes me question the wisdom           of the charity that urged me to rent           you this place, not only looking at           you, me old pal, but that pretty           little wife of yours, thought you           were a spark, she did.                                   Ted hasn't acknowledged Lyons for a second; he's never taken          his eyes off Albert. He simply stands and walks away as                         LYONS CONCLUDES:                                                   LYONS (CONT'D)           And now your son's sinking into the           selfsame bog that's swallowing you.                                   Albert has been meticulously preparing everything,          positioning Joey, checking the tethers, digging the rusty          plow in the earth. He takes his position behind the plow,          throwing the rear leather harness over his own neck.                                                   ALBERT           See Joey - I got the collar, too!                                   Albert gently snaps the reins. Joey doesn't move, confused by          the whole affair.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Come on, boy. Walk on. That's it. Walk on!           Walk on, Joey. Come on, boy, walk on.                                                   LYONS           You'd be better off startin' at the           top of the hill and goin' down!           Gravity's the only friend you're           gonna have today, young lad.                          ALBERT           Walk on, Joey! Walk on! Come on,           Joey, walk on. Walk on, boy.                                   At the house, Mrs. Narracott opens an upstairs window to look          on, anxiously. Ted, standing alone by the fence, only looks          at Albert.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Walk on. Come on, walk on.                                                   TED                          (TO HIMSELF:)           It'll take the whip to move him.           21.                                   Just as Ted is saying this, Albert, as if hearing his father,          takes a breath and then abruptly produces a whip. Joey's          ears prick up. Albert, grimly determined, snaps the whip at          Joey. Joey panics and bolts. The plow spins to its side,          pulls Albert off his feet. Joey drags them all the way to          the top of the hill, right by the farmhouse.                                   Lyons, yelling, starts laughing and can't stop.                                                   LYONS           Bravo! You've reached the top of the           hill! Off you go again, boy! You'll           make even better time comin' down!!                                   He continues past Dad, laughing.                                   INTERCUT - Mrs. Narracott looks on from the house. He          glances back at her. Her face is full of angry concern for          their son.                                   Townsfolk begin arriving, climbing the hill to the lower          field.                                   Ted looks down, ashamed. Mrs. Narracott looks back at Albert,          mortified, bruised, setting the plow right again.                                   Mrs. Narracott moves away from the window, takes a seat, and          picks up her knitting.                                   Later - Albert has made no progress. Joey is moving, but          only in a useless circle.                                                   ALBERT           Good boy. Good lad. Good lad. Now           walk on. Good boy.                                   More townsfolk clamor to the fence. Andrew calls out.                          ANDREW           Albie, we're all with ya!                                   Albert tries to encourage him forward but Joey still isn't          pulling sufficiently. The plow skips uselessly over the          surface stones.                                                   LYONS           Look look look! The plow hasn't even cut           yet!                                   As Albert struggles with the plow, he sees Dad walking up the          hill behind the spectators. He doesn't even turn to his son.           22.                                   Joey strains as Albert pushes with all his might. We sense          the strain on the horse and the inappropriateness of the          task. But Joey perseveres. The plow limps along.                                                   ALBERT           Do you know - I believe we can do           it, Joey. I knew when I first saw           you that you'd be the best of us.           That's why he bought you. He knows           you've all the courage he never had.           I knew when I first saw you that           you'd be the one who'd save us.                                   The plow skips and Albert falls. Joey's legs buckle and he          goes to his knees. Albert rushes to his side.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Whoa. Whoa.          Lyons calls from the crowd as rain starts to fall.                                                   LYONS           You've got no chance, lad. He'll not           turn over half an acre. Give it up           now. You've done well. You've tried           hard. You're more of a man than your           father.                                   Albert examines the collar - he sees it is ripping into          Joey's flesh. He grabs his shirt, tears a piece off it,          tenderly folds it and puts it between Joey's shoulder and the          collar.                                                   SI EASTON           Come on now, Mr. Lyons, that's a bit           rough, isn't it?                          LYONS                          (A SHRUG:)           Well, he'll destroy that horse.                                   The crowd's beginning to disperse. One of Lyons' cronies          holds his umbrella as he returns to his car. He passes Ted.                                                   LYONS (CONT'D)           I'll be over Thursday. Give you a           day to close it up.                                   Mrs. Narracott emerges from the house and heads to the fence -          holding her knitting in the rain, ignoring the leaving          crowds. A SYMPATHETIC NEIGHBOR hands her:           23.                                                   NEIGHBOUR           Your wool.                          (THEN)           I'm sorry, Rosie.                                   Lyons passes behind her, almost speaks, but then thinks          better of it.                                   As the rain intensifies, Albert digs his toe into the wet          soil and notices how it has softened. Suddenly something          flashes through Albert's mind. He leaps into action, runs          through the rain to shout at Joey.                                                   ALBERT           Now, boy! You've got to do it, Joey.           You don't know, so I'm gonna have to           do the knowing for you when the rest           of our lives depend on this! So get           set to pull - and pull straight! And           pull hard!                                   He races back to the plow and sets himself.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Now, boy! Go!                                   Joey pulls firmly and finally the inertia is broken - the          rain has softened the earth.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Walk on, Joey! Walk on! That's it!           Good boy, Joey! Good boy!                                   Finally, the plow bites deep into the soil.                                                   ANDREW           Walk on! Walk on! Walk on! Walk           on, Joey!                                   At the fence, Mrs. Narracott looks on in amazement.                                   Albert notices a large rock in their path. Andrew sees it,          too.                                                   ANDREW (CONT'D)                          (YELLING)           Go around it!!                                                   ALBERT           Whoa, Joey! Whoa, Joey! Joey! Joey,           whoa whoa whoa! Joey, stop! You'll           break the blade -           24.                                   Albert hauls back on the reins, but Joey throws his flanks          forward, straining and lurching until the plow blade splits          the rock completely in half and now the plow moves more          easily through the wet ground.                                   The ground yields. Soon Albert and Joey are making great          progress. The wet earth slipping open beneath them.                                   Andrew is loving it, speaks in wonder.                                                   ANDREW           Will you look at you?                                   Mrs. Narracott looks very happy, a smile breaking slowly          across her face...                                   The crowd begins to return. Lyons notices and looks out from          his car - sees the plow digging through the field.          Annoyed at the progress Albert's making, he gets out of his          car and walks over to Mrs. Narracott. With great disdain he                         SAYS:                                                   LYONS           I'd not let a child of mine slip in           the mud alongside a plow blade. He           could lose a foot!                                   Mrs. Narracott brandishes her knitting needles, backing him          up.                                                   ROSIE NARRACOTT           You'll likelier lose an eye, Mr.           Lyons, if you carry on prating at me           how to manage my son! Or my plow, or           my horse, or my field, or my farm!          Dad sits nearby, watching this exchange with silent approval.          Lyons stares at her, gape-mouthed, as she turns her attention          back to Albert.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           Come on, Albie! Push on through!                                   The rain becomes torrential. Lyons turns towards the car -          gestures, frustrated, to his driver, who runs forward with          the umbrella to shield his boss from the rain. David remains          on the running board, watching Albert plowing.                                   The plow speeds through the earth. The boy and the horse are          working as one. It is a moment of triumph.                                                   ANDREW           Get it done, Albie! Get it done!           25.                                   We pull back to see they have made only the smallest dent in          the enormous field.                                   As Lyons' car passes, Dad steps forward, takes in the scene,          and almost smiles.                                   EXT. THE LOWER FIELD. EVENING.                                   The rain has abated. Albert, soaked to the skin, sits next          to Joey. They are both covered in mud.                                   Andrew, followed by Si Easton, charges through the gate up to          Albert. They are lifting Albert up between them, laughing,          Si Easton planting a kiss on Albert's muddy cheek, Andrew          tousling his filthy hair, when Mrs. Narracott arrives with          Ted. She helps Si and Andrew lift Albert and slings her          son's arm over her shoulder, glowing with pride, crying,          overjoyed.                          ROSIE           Oh, my pair of fools. My mighty           fools.                                   As the others help Albert up, Ted tends to Joey. He looks          over to his son and, after a moment, removes his cap and          slightly bows his head.                                   The others stagger away, supporting Albert, and Ted pats the          horse and gently begins to unbuckle the harness.                                   INT. STABLES. DAY.                                   Albert washes Joey and tends the wounds and sores on his          body. Rosie is putting antiseptic on Albert's wrists and          shoulders. Joey bristles but is soothed by Albert's care.                                                   ROSIE           You're as battered and bloodied as he is.                                                   ALBERT           And where's Dad?                                                   ROSIE           Still in the bottom field.                                                   ALBERT           Stumbling about, I suppose.                                                   ROSIE           It's not the drink, Albert, that           makes him stumble -           26.                                                   ALBERT                          (ABRUPTLY)           He drinks, mum.                                                   ROSIE           Well, so might you if you'd been           where he's been, seen what he's           seen!                                                   ALBERT           Well, he don't talk to me about it.                                                   ROSIE           He don't talk about it because he           can't. There aren't words for some           things. Come here...                                   Rosie stalks over to a pile of broken equipment in a corner          of the stables. She rummages until she finds a waterstained          brown paper parcel tied with yarn. She brushes away some          mouse turds.                                                   ROSIE (CONT'D)           The mice've been at it. Sit down.                                   They sit together on a step. As she begins to untie the          yarn, a change comes over her: her irritated determination          gives way to sadness. Albert comes to her and kneels beside          her as she gently opens the paper.                                   Inside there's a red and tan pennant, knotted and fringed at          both ends.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           Here. It's his campaign pennant. He were           Sergeant, Seventh Battalion, Imperial           Yeomanry.          Then with great care she unfolds the sash to reveal two          silver medals. The first, with the profile of Victoria, hangs          from a red, blue and orange ribbon.                                                   ROSIE           And that is the Queen's South Africa           Medal. Every man who fought in the           Boer War got one of those. But           this...                                   She holds up the other medal, hanging from a red and black          ribbon.                                                   ROSIE (CONT'D)           That's the Distinguished Conduct           Medal.           27.                                   She hands Albert the Distinguished Conduct Medal. He takes          it, astonished.                                                   ALBERT           Not dad's?                                                   ROSIE           Well it ain't mine, dear. He got           that after the fighting at           Transvaal. After he'd been hurt, and           he'd saved some other lads, and           well... I don't know what else, he           won't tell me either. But the first           day he got home he just... tossed           them out. First day he could walk,           he threw `em straight in the           dustbin, and wouldn't hear a word I           said not to.          Albert nods, looking at the medal and campaign pennant. She          takes the medal back, puts it in the sash, and begins to wrap          it again.                                                   ROSIE (CONT'D)           See, what you done today, you and           Joey, you're chuffed up now, and so           you should be, my splendid boy. It's           good to be proud when you done           something good. But what he done, in           Africa, whatever it was, he takes no           pride in it. Hard as it surely was,           and however much pain it's cost him,           he refuses to be proud of killing, I           suppose.                                   She returns the things in the footlocker, closes it.                          ALBERT                          (CONFUSED:)           I'd be proud. If I'd gone off to           war. If I'd gone and saved my           mates, and -                                                   ROSIE           Well, whether or not you think you'd           do the same thing as him... Think           how brave he is for refusing to be           proud.                                   She heads back to Albert, pennant in hand.           28.                                                   ROSIE (CONT'D)           Oh, your dad makes mistakes. And he           drinks to forget the mistakes that           he's made - but he never gave up and           he does that for us. And today, you           showed the world it's all been worth           it.                                   As she leaves, she drapes the pennant over Albert's shoulder.                                                   ROSIE (CONT'D)           You keep looking after Joey and           he'll always be looking after you.                                   Albert looks again at the pennant.                                                   ALBERT                          (SOFTLY:)           Sergeant, Seventh Battalion,           Imperial Yeomanry.           (amazed, to Joey:)           You see this, Joey? It's been           through an entire war.                                   Albert holds the pennant in wonder.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           I'm not stealing it. I'll give it           back to him, someday.                                   EXT. FIELD. DAY.                                   Early morning. Dad hobbling across the furrows, alone,          planting the field by hand.                                   EXT. NARRACOTT FARM. DEVON COUNTRY MONTAGE.          Albert and Joey are now in a meadow. They trot past the field          he plowed, now packed with a strong and sturdy crop, which          Ted tends to.                                   The sun is breaking through and Joey starts to run across the          field and up a small incline. As both Joey and Albert gain          confidence they pick up speed. Albert pushes Joey on, they          are going faster and faster, Albert yells with the          exhilaration of it all. Joey races flat out across the          countryside. Albert hanging on for dear life.                                   Albert and Joey pull up beside a sleek red car. It's Lyons'          car, being driven by David Lyons, every inch the expensively-          tailored rural gentry.           29.                                                   DAVID           Um, I'm the only boy that drives in           the village. No one else drives but           me.                                                   YOUNG WOMAN           Oh, yeah?                                                   DAVID           That's right and this is my dad's           car. You're lucky that you're in           it. I'm not normally allowed to           drive it `cause it's so -                                   Albert urges Joey to go faster, till they're neck and neck          beside the car, racing it. David Lyons looks to see Albert          and Joey running alongside his car. He feigns disinterest.          Albert glances at David, but he's much more interested in the          very pretty young woman seated next to David, her hands          trying to control her hair, flying in the wind. Forgetting          himself momentarily, Albert stares at her, dazzled. The woman          turns to David:                                                   YOUNG WOMAN           Is he a friend of yours?                                   She smiles at Albert, encouraging him. David Lyons, annoyed,          pushes the accelerator down, and the car edges ahead of Joey.                                   But not for long. The sound of the acceleration and Albert's          eagerness to impress the young woman make Joey go faster, and          again he moves out ahead of the car. The young woman grins          at Albert.                                   Up ahead Albert sees that the wall alongside of which he's          been racing turns the corner, presenting him and Joey with an          obstacle. Albert encourages Joey to go faster.                                                   ALBERT           Come on, boy, let's show her how to           fly!                                   They head right for the wall, but at the very last moment,          Joey balks and comes to a dead standstill, sending Albert          sailing over the wall.                                   Back in the car, the girl gasps and covers her mouth,          concerned. David says nothing, but allows himself a small          smile.                                   On the other side of the wall, Albert stands a bit battered,          but unfazed.           30.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Well...you're clearly not gonna be a           jumper.                                   Thunder starts to rumble ominously in the background.                                   EXT. NARRACOTT FARM. NIGHT.                                   Albert and Joey return, driving sheep before them. Angry          storm clouds stretch to the horizon.                                   EXT. NARRACOTT FARM. NIGHT.                                   As Albert leads Joey to the stable, lighting blasts across an          angry sky. The rain is falling in torrents.                                   INT. FARMHOUSE. NIGHT.          Another crack of thunder - and a piece of wood in the roof          gives way - water gushes in - Dad rushes to support the roof          as the wind forces a window open.                                   At that moment, the door suddenly swings open with the          violence of the storm, smashing against the wall - Dad and          Rosie turn - and there is Harold the goose, who scuttles in          without his usual arrogance and hides himself in a corner.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           Shoo, Harold. Shoo, shoo, shoo!                                   The thunder cracks again and...                                   EXT. LOWER FIELD. DAY.                                   Albert and Dad walk across the field. Mrs. Narracott digs          through the mess. The entire crop is flat - ruined by the          storms. The ground squelches beneath their feet.          The whole field is a write off.                                                   ALBERT           We can try planting something else, or we           could hire ourselves out to Uncle Bob.                                   Dad doesn't answer. He shakes his head and limps away.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           How else we gonna pay Mr. Lyons'           rent?                                   Ted doesn't turn around.           31.                                   INT. KITCHEN. EVENING.                                   Mrs. Narracott makes some coffee. Ted sits alone on a chair.                                    MRS. NARRACOTT           What we gonna do?                                                   DAD           I used to believe that God gave each man his           fair portion of bad luck. I don't feel that           any more. I've had more than my share.                          (PAUSE)           You'll stop loving me, Rose. And I won't           blame you when you do.                                                   ROSE           Well, I might hate you more - but I'll never           love you less.          Then somewhere in the distance, an unfamiliar sound...                                   EXT. LANE LEADING TO THE VILLAGE. EVENING.                                   A motorbike rumbles along the lane at huge speed creating a          cloud of dust as it goes. The noise of the motorbike is          drawing attention from all over the valley. It can be heard          fields away and everyone is drawn to this completely unheard          of sound.                                   EXT. THE VILLAGE. EVENING.                                   The motorbike whizzes through the village. Heads turn in          astonishment.                                                   MOTORBIKE RIDER           It's war!          The bike comes to a stop in the market place. The rider takes          off his goggles.                                   Men of the village start to flock around the machine, with          great curiosity.                                    MOTORBIKE RIDER (CONT'D)           We are at War with Germany. You hear?           England is at war with Germany.                                   Shock and amazement. The rider takes off his goggles:                                    MOTORBIKE RIDER (CONT'D)           They're going to ring the bells at six           o'clock - and then never ring them again           until the war is over.           32.                                   Everyone across England knows that their lives are about to          change.                                   EXT. FARM YARD. DAY.                                   Dawn rises over the farm.                                   EXT. FARM YARD. DAWN.                                   Albert races to the stables, excited with the campaign          pennant.                                   INT. STABLES. THE SAME.                                   As Albert enters the stables, he calls out:                                                   ALBERT           Look smart, Joey lad, it's the Tavistock           Fair!                                   Albert opens the doors and stops dead. He looks at the empty          stables.                                   EXT./ INT. KITCHEN / YARD. DAY.                                   Albert runs out.                                   He rushes into the kitchen. His mother stares out the window.          She has been crying.                                                   ALBERT           What has he done with him?                                   She says nothing, but her face gives everything away. Albert          in a panic turns and runs out into the lane. Mrs. Narracott          tears up again.          EXT. SQUARE OF A MARKET TOWN. THE SAME.                                   The market square is full of military men. The Union Jack is          flying up the flagpole. A group of girls has gathered to          check out the army boys. Eager young men crowd a table          staffed by recruiting officers:                                                   RECRUITING OFFICER           Last name first. First name, middle           name, last.                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS is in the square inspecting Joey,          knowledgably. He is a handsome, attractive, modest, upper          class man. Dad stands beside him. He checks Joey's teeth, his          feet and finally, looks him straight in the eye.           33.                                                   DAD           Take my word for it - finest horse           in the parish. Goes like a racer,           strong, decent, very fine.                                   Captain Nicholls has immediately connected with Joey and puts          him at his ease. SAM PERKINS, a tough sergeant, is physically          inspecting Joey.                                                   SAM PERKINS           No curbs, no splints, good feet and           teeth. He's as sound as a bell,           sir.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           And how much are you charging, sir - for           this strong, decent, and very fine animal?!                          DAD           Forty.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           I'll give you twenty and not a penny more.                                                   DAD           Twenty is no good to me, Captain. Thirty           five and he's yours.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           I don't even know how he rides.                                                   DAD           Oh, he rides... Splendidly. You'll           be astonished. I promise you that.           (his heart's in his           throat, fighting back                          GRIEF)           Finest horse in all of Devon. Finest           horse I ever seen.                                   EXT. SQUARE OF A MARKET TOWN. THE SAME.                                   Albert bursts into the square just in time to see Nicholls          and Dad shake hands. Their business concluded.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Thank you.                                   Albert races towards Joey. Ted grabs him. Albert fights to          get free. He looks at his father in anger and betrayal.                                                   ALBERT           You can't! You can't, he's mine! I trained           him!           34.                                                   DAD           Albert.                                   Albert is hysterical.                                                   ALBERT           You can't have him. He's my horse, sir.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           I'm afraid it's too late, lad. I've just           paid thirty guineas for him.                                                   ALBERT                          (TO TED:)           Please, I'll get you money. I will,           I'll get you money. I'll...I'll work           for it! I'll work for it.                          (TO NICHOLLS:)           He won't obey anyone else. He won't           be any good in the war, neither.           He...he shies at every sound!                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           I'm sorry.                                   Albert snaps to attention.                                                                            ALBERT           Well, if Joey's going, I'm going,           too. I'm volunteering.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           I see. What's your name, lad?                                                   ALBERT           Albert, sir.                          CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           And how old are you, Albert?                                                   ALBERT           Nineteen, sir.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLS           Is that the truth?                                                   ALBERT           No sir. But, but I look nineteen and           I'm bigger than most nineteen-year-           olds, sir! And I'm strong, sir! And           I...I'm not afraid of anything.                                                  NICHOLLS INTERJECTS:           35.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           I don't doubt your qualifications,           Albert, but the law is very clear           about the proper age for soldiering,           and your father's done what he had           to do. You know that. Thirty guineas           isn't nearly enough to purchase a           horse as fine as your Joey, I know           that. But it's all I've got. Will           you lease him to me, Albert, to be           my own mount?           (he removes his cap,                          EARNEST)           I promise you, man to man, that I'll           look after him as closely as you've           done, I'll respect him and all the           care that you've taken with him. And           if I can - I'll return him to your           care.                                   Albert looks at him. Although Nicholls speaks with authority          he has a kindness which Albert recognizes.                                    CAPTAIN NICHOLLS (CONT'D)           Now say goodbye.                                   Albert kisses Joey.                                                   ALBERT           It's all right, boy...                                   But at that moment, Sam Perkins pulls Joey away:                                                   SAM PERKINS           All right, turn it in, eh? That's enough.           He's a horse, not a dog. Now, on your way.                          (TO JOEY)           Come on.                                   Nicholls walks away into the crowd. The Sergeant pulls Joey,          but Joey does not want to be separated from Albert. His          reaction is implacable, reminiscent to the separation from          his mother. Perkins leads Joey away. They disappear into the          crowd and Rosie is suddenly there. Ted senses her silent          judgment.                                                   DAD           Do you want to lose the farm, Rose?                                                   ROSIE           It's the way you did it.                                                   DAD           But we're at war.           36.                                                   ROSIE           Aren't we just.                                   She looks at Albert. Implacable. Forever.                                   EXT. VILLAGE SQUARE. THE SAME.                                   The recruits march through town under pennants and the          strains of a familiar song("The Jolly Plowboy") - it is a          song they all know, which means a lot to them - full of soul -          a song of harvest or a Celtic hymn, something relating          specifically to the lives they have led together. Everyone of          every age - everyone in the village knows this song - it is          theirs.                                   Nicholls passes in his car and we see those they are leaving          behind - cheering - a whole generation of young men is          marching off to war. One girlfriend rushes up to kiss her          leaving boyfriend.                                   Albert watches Joey, then remembers the campaign pennant          dangling from his pocket. He runs up to Joey -                                                   ALBERT           Joey...                                   - and tucks the pennant into Joey's halter.                                                   SAM PERKINS           Here now, I've told you - sling your           hook!                                   But Nicholls intervenes from his car.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Let him be, Perkins.                          ALBERT           This isn't the end. This isn't the           end, my brother... I, Albert           Narracott, solemnly swear we will be           together again. Wherever you are, I           will find you. And I will bring you           home!                                   And then they are past him, leaving him behind. As Perkins          leads Joey across a stone bridge, Albert watches from the          bank of the stream.                                   Joey balks one last time -           37.                                                   SAM PERKINS           Whoa. Steady, steady. Steady now,           come on. Walk on! Walk on now,           come on!                                   - then Perkins leads him away, leaving Albert behind.                                   The very last recruits leave the village - leaving the debris          of this army's visit strewn on the square. Like the debris          of a party you are already beginning to regret.                                   INT. ARMY STABLES. THE SAME.                                   Joey is handed off to a groom. Joey is amazed by the scale          of the building. Each horse has a large stall and is being          tended to assiduously. Joey looks around at the hundreds of          men and horses around him and panics.                          GROOM           Whoa whoa whoa. Easy easy...                                   He bucks, throwing the groom to the ground, and gallops away.          But Perkins cuts him off, grabs his halter, and jerks him          back to attention.                                                   SAM PERKINS           Whoa whoa whoa, Joey! Stop muckin'           about, you hear? Yer in the army           now, son.                                   He pushes him into his stall, next to Major Stewart's horse,          a magnificent black stallion, TOPTHORN.                                    SAM PERKINS (CONT'D)           Good boy, good boy. Steady           steady... Easy. Relax. Easy easy,           back up.          Joey rears up in his stall.                                    SAM PERKINS (CONT'D)           Joey - meet Topthorn. Topthorn - this is           Joey. Sort out who's in charge between the           two of you, you hear? If you want to fight,           you get it over with - `cause once we're           over there, you're gonna need everything           you've got for Fritz!                                   This is the first time that Joey has had to deal with another          horse since his mother - the beginning of one of the most          important relationships in his life.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Gently, Perkins. I don't want to sour him.           38.                                   Nicholls passes his gloves and crop to his bat boy who is          there to assist him.                                                   SAM PERKINS           There'll be nothing gentle about the war,           sir. And there'll be nothing gentle about           this one either!                                    SAM PERKINS (CONT'D)           I understand that, Sergeant, but I           want him fit and shining. He's my           horse.                                    SAM PERKINS (CONT'D)           Sir.                                   Nicholls is joined by his friend LIEUTENANT CHARLIE WAVERLY.          He is sweet and friendly - upper class but completely benign.                          CHARLIE WAVERLY           Scares the living daylights out of me.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Who?                                                   CHARLIE WAVERLY           Perkins. Glad he's on our side.                                   They're both joined by a tall, confident officer, MAJOR JAMIE          STEWART. He sizes up Joey.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Not bad. Not bad at all. Still not           a patch on my Topthorn.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           I wouldn't be so sure. I think he's got           potential. He's certainly got the bit           between his teeth.                                                   CHARLIE WAVERLY           I actually think my Blenheim is faster than           the pair of them.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Clear off!                                   He suddenly turns from the joking into the efficient senior          officer he is.           39.                                    MAJOR STEWART (CONT'D)           All right, gentlemen, listen here.           Everything tells us the same story, from           Waterloo to Omdurman, from Pickett's Charge           to the Battle of Mars La Tours - the first           attack can and should be the decisive one.           Perkins...                                                   SAM PERKINS           Yes, sir!                                                   MAJOR STEWART           No excuses, no mistakes - every           horse groomed and fit for           presentation! I want a full practice           charge tomorrow.                                                   SAM PERKINS           Sir.                                   They leave.                                   EXT. SALISBURY PLAIN. DAY.                                   The whole regiment is gathered. Everybody is in their          ceremonial uniform. It all has the feeling of the Changing of          the Guard rather than anything related to a real battle. The          day is hot, the plains are quiet and beautiful, the gathering          is huge, there is a real sense of pride and anticipation.                                   Captain Nicholls, resplendent in full uniform rides Joey out          over the vast expanse of the plain. Both Nicholls and Joey          are dressed up like something from the last century, out of          the Boer War, even the Charge of the Light Brigade. Nicholls          is proud and confident. They gather before hundreds of men          and horses all lined up to be inspected. Charlie joins them,          looking pretty good on Blenheim.          Finally, Nicholls and Charlie reach Stewart and Topthorn          waiting in position.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Thought you two had bottled out.                                                   CHARLIE WAVERLY           As if.                                   Nicholls looks at his friend tolerantly.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           All right, then, let's see what you           two jokers are made of, shall we?           40.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           This is what quiet confidence looks like.                                                   CHARLIE WAVERLY           I'll wait for you two at the Duke of York.                                   Nicholls and Stewart and Charlie prepare themselves for the          charge. Joey and Topthorn size up to one another.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Over to you, Captain Nicholls.                                   Topthorn bristles at Joey. Everyone is highly charged. The          competition between Stewart and Nicholls seems to have been          absorbed between the horses. Topthorn and Joey square up for          the practice charge like two athletes before a race.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Draw...swords!                                   Nicholls raises his sword. It glints in the summer air. It          seems to hang there forever. Every man follows suit.                                   Topthorn and Joey glance at each other, ready to charge.                                    CAPTAIN NICHOLLS (CONT'D)           Give...point!                                   Every sword is pointed directly ahead at arm's length.                                    CAPTAIN NICHOLLS (CONT'D)           Charge!!!!                                   A roar goes up from the men and a deafening pounding of          hooves breaks the silence. The huge line of horses start          running straight ahead of them. Joey and Topthorn run off at          top speed. Dust and earth rise up behind them.          Bugles, the deafening thunder of hooves. It is exhilarating.          We see the scale of the operation, we enjoy the speed and the          splendor of the mass of men and horses. The soldiers shout in          glee and excitement. Each man pushes his horse to out-run          those around him, Nicholls and Stewart seem locked in mortal          combat.                                   Nicholls smiles at Stewart, confidently.                                   Topthorn starts to pull away, ahead of all the other horses          in the line. Nicholls pushes Joey on. Topthorn seems too          strong, Joey will never catch them. Nicholls is determined          not to be beaten.           41.                                    CAPTAIN NICHOLLS (CONT'D)           Come on, Joey. I know you've got           it. Come on, boy! Come on!                                   He pushes Joey on. Joey digs in and finds hidden strength and          speed. He starts to catch up with Topthorn and draws along          side. Nicholls and Stewart exchange tense looks.                                    CAPTAIN NICHOLLS (CONT'D)           Come on, boy!                                   Stewart is amazed and pushes Topthorn harder.                                   Now both riders are going at their top speed. They are neck          and neck - they fight for every inch of advantage, every          fibre of their being invested in the race. Nicholls pushes          Joey on and Joey pulls away. Joey inches forward till he is          almost a length ahead of Topthorn. The effort is enormous.          Nicholls looks back at Stewart, very happy. Stewart's          frustration shows. He knows he is beaten.                                   Then suddenly they race over the line. Nicholls spears a ring          decorated with a blue ribbon and pulls Joey to a halt. They          have crossed the enemy line. Nicholls is ecstatic. Topthorn          comes to Joey's side.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Whoa. Whoa.                                   Nicholls laughs, grinning.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Nice of you to turn up.                                   The horses are nose to nose, snorting, we sense the heat, the          exertion. Topthorn and Joey are brought together by the          effort. We sense Topthorn's newly minted respect for Joey.          And Joey is no soft touch - he slightly holds his head up in          victory, letting Topthorn know that he knows he won.                                   The other horses come charging in. There is a real sense of          achievement and congratulation amongst the regiment.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           He's got speed...I'll give him that. But           has he got stamina?                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           He has everything.                                   The two men enjoy the moment of rivalry and the exhilaration          of it all. The two horses, face to face rub against each          other for the first time. A bond has been formed...           42.                                   INT. OFFICERS' STUDY. DAY.                                   Stewart enters. A phonograph plays "Roses of Picardy." The          walls are decorated with etchings of famous battles, and a          large map of Western Europe that depicts how the English          troops are crossing the channel to confront the Germans near          Belgium. Nicholls is writing a letter - though actually at          this moment, he is making a little pencil drawing of Joey to          enclose with it.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           What are you up to?                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           I'm writing a letter.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           With a picture in it?                          CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           It's to the boy who owned Joey. I want to           show him how wonderful he's looking.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Before we take him away across the Channel           to face a million Germans guns.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Yes. Before that...                                                   MAJOR STEWART           4 a.m. start tomorrow - travelling with the           Dragoon Guards and the Royals. Transport           detachment - they'll need to be at the docks           at 5 am. Check all kit. Battle orders: no           polishing - buttons, helmet buckles, stirrup           irons - let `em all go dull. I want nothing           to flash in the sun and give us away.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Of course.                                   As Stewart leaves, he passes Charlie. He casually          acknowledges him.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Charlie...                                                   CHARLIE WAVERLY           Jamie.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Charlie.           43.                                   Charlie checks his new cap in the mirror.                                                   CHARLIE WAVERLY           What do you think of the cap?                                   He shows the bright red lining to Nicholls.                                    CHARLIE WAVERLY (CONT'D)           Silk lining. I quite like it.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           I'm not sure it's going to make a lot of           difference to the Germans.                                                   CHARLIE WAVERLY           Oh, I don't know about that. Think about it -           you're a Boche, just working out which of           two chaps to shoot - and you thought - "Good           Lord - one of them really is wearing a very           stylish cap indeed!" You might shoot the           other one instead.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Or, alternatively, think - "I fancy that           cap" and kill you first of all.                                   Pause. Charlie removes the cap.                                                   CHARLIE WAVERLY           Hadn't thought of that.                                   Nicholls returns to his sketch.                                   EXT. DIRT ROAD. FRANCE.                                   Three hundred horses and their charges in a slow march in the          middle of the most pristine French countryside.          TITLE: FRANCE - 1914, QUI…VRECHAIN                                   EXT. ROAD. DAY.                                   Nicholls and Stewart and Charlie ride on a smooth road past a          series of posts screened with cloth. They're silhouetted          against the setting sun.                                   EXT. ROAD. DAY.                                   The regiment are tense and nervous as they gingerly make          their way along the country road. Topthorn and Joey sense          the grim change of atmosphere.           44.                                   EXT. WOODLAND ABOVE A PLAIN. DAY.                                   They are in woodland above a plain stretching for miles. A          small table has been taken out for Stewart and his officers.          SERGEANT MAJOR SINGH - a turbaned Indian with a magnificent          moustache dressed in ceremonial garb - explains the lines of          battle on a map.                                    SGT. MAJOR SINGH           That is our target - the German 11th           Division - at the moment bivouacked three           miles to the east of the Menin Road. We have           been watching them and they have pitched           tents for the night and lit cooking fires.           Knock them out - and we could slide in           behind the German lines and come at them           from the South at Geluveld.                          MAJOR STEWART           Excellent.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Numbers?                                    SGT. MAJOR SINGH           About six hundred. Infantry.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Twice our size...                                                   MAJOR STEWART           In regiments of horse and men, the           advantage is ours.                                    SGT. MAJOR SINGH           And we have surprise on our side.           But the sooner we move, the better -           we have no assurance they'll still           be there tomorrow morning.                                   Our officers just have a second to take in the news. The day          has suddenly arrived. The day they have worked for, for so          long.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Right. Good. So - today it is.           Charlie - tell the men.                                                   CHARLIE WAVERLY           Salisbury formation?           45.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Salisbury formation. We'll charge           through them and secure the ground           behind.                                    SGT. MAJOR SINGH           The grass to the left is taller than           we are - it's perfect cover.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Excellent work, Sergeant Major.           Time spent on reconnaissance is           rarely wasted.                                   As Stewart departs:                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Thank you, Singh.                          (CALLING AFTER)           Jamie!                                   Nicholls catches up to Stewart, concerned.                                    CAPTAIN NICHOLLS (CONT'D)           They have no idea we're coming.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Not having scruples, are you, Jim?                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           No. I understand the surprise is           everything. But if it must be done,           let's do it quickly.                                   Nicholls notices Charlie nervously attending his horse.                                    CAPTAIN NICHOLLS (CONT'D)           Are you alright, Charlie?                                                   CHARLIE WAVERLY           Never been better. Literally, never           better.                                   We worry for him - he is afraid.                                   Stewart rides through the lines astride Topthorn.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Prepare to mount! Mount!                                   As the cry is echoed throughout the regiment, Nicholls          accepts Joey from an attending soldier.           46.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Thank you, Standley.                          (TO JOEY)           Hey, Joey. My bonny boy. You're           all right, aren't you, Joey? Hey?                                   Nicholls takes the red campaign pennant from his pocket and          threads it through Joey's reins.                                   Minutes later - Stewart addresses the men.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Gentleman. It is an honour to ride           beside you. Make the Kaiser rue the           day he dared to cross swords with           us. Let every man make himself, his           King, his country, and his fallen           comrades proud! Be brave. Fear           God. Honor the King!                                                   TROOPERS           (in unison shout)           Fear God. Honor the King!                                                            EXT. OVER GROWN CORN FIELD. DAY.                                   Cut to an elegant field of tall grass, waving in the gentle          breeze. Then suddenly three hundred men seem to rise out of          it. They are in fact our soldiers, mounting their horses -          but the horses are invisible in the height of the grass.                                   Stewart gives a signal. We see the intense anticipation on          his face. He takes out his sabre.                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Draw swords!          The men draw their sabres in silence. The birds chirping,          oblivious.                                   Then Nicholls just turns to his two friends and almost          whispers...                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           Good luck, my friends.                                   He pats Joey's side. And then...                                                   MAJOR STEWART           Forward, to walk! Walk...march!                                   The regiment begins moving through the field.           47.                                    MAJOR STEWART (CONT'D)           Forward to canter! Canter...march!                                   The men start to float over the grass - swept along by their          invisible horses, until...                                   Suddenly they emerge from the tall grass - the immense power          of the galloping horses - silence explodes into a violent          crashing of hooves. The noise is immense, swords are flying          in the air. Hundreds of horses racing towards the German          encampment.                                   On the German side, TWO SOLDIERS wake to the sound of          hoofbeats. They pull their tent flap aside to find the          invincible charge coming towards them. The Germans are          totally unprepared. We see them scramble back towards tents,          rush towards their guns - one man pulling up his trousers          rushes for cover. One German drops some dirty dishes into a          wash pot, screaming:                                                   GERMAN SOLDIER           Kavallerie!                                   Topthorn and Joey race each other like a rerun of their          practice on Salisbury Plain. The swords and uniforms glint in          the sun, the German troops look terrified - some run in          panic, others prepare to stand their ground.                                                   CAPTAIN NICHOLLS           CHARGE!                                   The British head in for the kill, the men scream battle cries          with sheer exhilaration.                                   We see the horses at close quarters running with all their          might. Nicholls and Stewart yell as they approach the enemy.          The surprise attack is a huge success. The first row of          unprepared Germans are falling...                                   The regiment sweeps through the encampment, cutting down          soldiers and driving the rest in a panicked retreat to the          tree line.                                   But then we see, in the shadows of the forest behind the                         CAMP --                                   A machine gun. No, a line of machine guns - at least twenty          guns, sandbagged apart - the logical, new, modern defence of          a garrison. In an instant, the fleeing Germans have manned          the guns. All now firing.           48.                                   The noise of the blast of bullets drowns out everything else.          A score of men and horses are suddenly on the ground, it          happens almost so quickly Joey and Topthorn don't realize          anything's wrong and find themselves racing straight towards          the guns. The bullets keep coming, now suddenly half of the          regiment are on the ground.                                   Horse after horse races past the guns into the woods...all of          them now riderless.                                   Nicholls watches helplessly as one of the barrels swings          towards him. His face goes slack as he realizes he is about          to die.                                   A moment later, Joey runs on - we pan up to see he is running          on riderless - he has not realized that Nicholls is gone. The          bullets whizz around his head, but he still runs directly          ahead. We would always know him by the red pennant Nicholls          tied on his saddle.                                   Joey is now running through the German lines. No one bothers          to attack him as the German's concentrate their efforts on          the cavalry behind him. The line of machine guns fire as one,          decimating the horses and their riders.                                   Joey leaps and dances nimbly through the German ranks, but          suddenly rears up in the confusion, surrounded by Germans.                                   Near him, surviving English officers are hauled from their          horses.                                   Stewart wheels back around on Topthorn, sabre in hand. But          he, too, is quickly surrounded by several Germans with their          rifles trained on him. A furious GERMAN OFFICER storms over,          speaks perfect English:                                                   GERMAN OFFICER                          (OUTRAGED)           What? Did you think that a garrison           on open ground would go undefended?           Look at yourself! Who do you think           you are?!!                                   Stewart looks at the Officer - at the guns that surround him -          and throws down his sabre, stabbing it into the ground. The          Germans take Stewart from Topthorn.                                   Around them, the fields are littered with dead soldiers and          horses.           49.                                   EXT. BATTLEFIELD. DAY.                                   Topthorn appears disoriented and frightened. Suddenly, he          rears up and bolts from his new German handler, galloping          over to Joey. The horses briefly nuzzle, but both rear up          again as they are separated and led past a young German          soldier, GUNTHER.                                   He zeroes in on them, the finest horses.                                   A slightly more JUNIOR OFFICER approaches the outraged senior          officer.                                    JUNIOR GERMAN OFFICER.           What do we do with the horses?                                                   GERMAN OFFICER           If they're injured, shoot them.           JUNIOR GERMAN OFFICER           And the others, sir?                                                   GERMAN OFFICER           The others you round up and take to           base camp - they will pull guns.                                                   THIRD OFFICER           You'll never get fancy horses like           these to pull guns.                                                   GERMAN OFFICER           Then shoot them also.                                   Gunther, the young private, now standing behind them,          interjects.                                                   GUNTHER           Sir - perhaps we could use some of           them with the ambulances - to get           the injured men off the field.                                                   GERMAN OFFICER           Will they take the harness?                                                   GUNTHER           I'd like to try, sir.                                   The officers move away - that's enough talk about horses...                                   CUT ON - Gunther is now with Joey and Topthorn. Near a wooden          ambulance - which is like a giant wagon to carry humans. He          is with MICHAEL, a very young soldier, his brother - possibly          as young as 14.           50.                                   Gunther lifts a heavy pulling harness - and tries to get          Topthorn into it.                                                   MICHAEL           It won't work - they're cavalry                                                   GUNTHER           Let's try.                                                   MICHAEL           You won't get the harness on.                                                   GUNTHER           Come on, Michael.                                   Topthorn balks violently.                                                   GUNTHER (CONT'D)           Whoa, whoa. Easy, now, easy now,           Englishman... Whoa, whoa, whoa.           Easy now, easy.                                                   MICHAEL           Gunther! It's hopeless - we can't           help them.                                   And suddenly Joey moves up and presents himself, with his          strange self assurance and self sacrifice. And instinct for          survival.                                   He sniffs the harness and places his head through it, which          helps to calm Topthorn enough that Gunther can slip the          collar onto the big black horse. Gunther turns to Joey,          impressed.                                                   GUNTHER           Well, well, look at you. Whoever           taught you this has just saved your           life.                                   Gunther spots the red ribbon in Joey's saddle, removes it,          folds it, and places it in his pocket.                                   Later - Gunther and Michael are returning from the          battlefield with Topthorn and Joey, pulling an ambulance with          British and German wounded. Amongst the wounded, we see a          hand gripping a battered, silk lined hat. It is Waverly,          wounded but alive.                                   EXT. NARRACOTT'S FARM. DEVON. DAY.                                   Si Easton lets himself in through the gate. Ted pulls up          turnips from their three acre crop.           51.                                   Rosie, just across a furrow, is also engaged in the harvest.          It's hard work. Si holds a parcel.                                                   SI EASTON           Hello the farm!                                                   ROSIE           (looking up, wiping her                          BROW)           Hello, Si Easton!                                   Albert passes carrying a crate laden with turnips, but pulls          up short when he hears:                                                   SI EASTON           I was at the post office and while I           was there, Mrs. Allen said a parcel           had come for Albert, from the, from           the, from over there - and I thought           I could go up that way in the           morning. And - here it is.                                                   ALBERT           Well, who'd be sending me a parcel           over there?                                                   DAD           Well, open it and see.                                   Albert opens the parcel and pulls out a leather sketchbook...                                                   ALBERT           It's a sketchbook...           (gasp of realization)           That's Captain Nicholls' sketchbook!           See that? That's a picture of Joey!                          ROSIE           It's a picture of Joey. Well, I           never!                                                   ALBERT                          (EXCITED)           And there's a letter...                                                   ROSIE           Well, go on then, go on.                                                   ALBERT           All right.                          (READING)           "Dear Albert Narracott.                          (MORE)           52.                          ALBERT (CONT'D)           Captain Nicholls, who died...Captain           Nicholls, who died in action today           left you this. Yours, Sergeant Sam           Perkins.                                   Si Easton drops his head guiltily. Rosie catches this.                                                   ROSIE           You weren't to know it was bad news.                                                   ALBERT           He was riding Joey when he died.                                                   ROSIE           You don't know that he was riding           him...                                                   ALBERT           "In action," it says.                                   Everybody falls silent. Albert goes to the fence and looks          down at the sketches of Joey. Rosie looks at her son, her          heart breaking for him. Dad returns to the harvest without a          word. Albert looks off to the horizon and - over there.                                   EXT. GERMAN BASE CAMP. EVENING.                                   CLOSE -- A step stool.                                   Michael mounts the stool next to Joey and Topthorn, removes          their harnesses and carries them across the road.                                   Michael slips and falls into the mud. Gunther dashes over          and pulls him up just before a military convoy pulls into the          camp, running over the tack.                                   The BASE CAMP OFFICER appears on a motorbike.           BASE CAMP OFFICER.           Gentlemen! We move forward to the           frontline tonight. Full marching           orders. Get moving!                                   As the soldiers hop to their orders, the officer turns to -                                    BASE CAMP OFFICER           Schroeder! Schroeder!                                   Both Michael and Gunther turn to him. But it's Gunther the          Officer wants to talk to.                                    BASE CAMP OFFICER (CONT'D)           No, not you - you. Come.           53.                                   Gunther picks up the dropped harnesses as he approaches.                                    BASE CAMP OFFICER (CONT'D)           I'm keeping you here. You are best           with the horses and we need to move           the camp quickly if the enemy           continue to push through from the           west.                                                   GUNTHER           They're pushing through?                                    BASE CAMP OFFICER           I'm told. We will move later when we           find where the horses are needed           most.                                                   GUNTHER           Yes, sir. Perhaps I can keep my           brother here with me, he's also very           good with horses.                                    BASE CAMP OFFICER           Oh no no. Not necessary.                          (TO MICHAEL)           Get moving. We leave tonight.                                   He walks away. Gunther is stricken by the news, but Michael          is excited. As he leads Joey past his brother:                                                   MICHAEL           It's all right, Gunther.                                   Gunther can't really speak. Michael is just a boy.                                   EXT. GERMAN CAMP / VARIOUS. EVENING.          Soldiers are lifting up their equipment - gathering - moving          in the same direction.                                   In a quiet tent, a few last soldiers are packing. And there          are Gunther and Michael, packing together.                                                   GUNTHER           You are not going. I'll tell them           you are only fourteen, that you're a           boy.                                                   MICHAEL           Father signed me in. He knew my age           -and so do they.           54.                                   The process of packing is their way of coping with the shock.          Gunther is folding one of Michael's shirts. Michael takes it          back...                                                   MICHAEL (CONT'D)           Mother obviously never taught you           how to fold a shirt.                                                   GUNTHER           Of course she did. I just wasn't           listening. But you need to listen           now! I promised her, I made her a           solemn promise, that you would be           safe with me. With me, Michael!!                                   He leans close to Michael, talking in almost a whisper.                                                   GUNTHER (CONT'D)           They'll never make a head count.           There are too many of us. You can           stay here - slip underneath the bed -           until they move out.                                                   MICHAEL           Then what?                                   Michael carries on with his packing.                                                   MICHAEL (CONT'D)           Gunther, it will be fine. And when           all the machines break down and they           call up the horses, I'll see you at           the front. We'll be together again.                                   And now the case is packed. Gunther heads to the tent          opening.                          MICHAEL (CONT'D)           Gunther...                                   Looking round, the tent is now empty. The moment to leave has          come. Gunther pulls the red pennant from his pocket and          follows Michael out of the tent to where the soldiers are          lining up in the road.                                                   GUNTHER           I'm giving this to you. For luck.                                   Gunther ties the pennant to the back of Michael's pack as he          forms up.                                                   GUNTHER (CONT'D)           To keep you safe.           55.                                   Michael smiles at him and begins to march. Marching towards          Ypres, on the Western Front.                                    BASE CAMP OFFICER           Im schnellschritt! Marsch...links!           Zwei, drei, vier!                                   We settle on young Michael - in line - he passes Gunther. He          remains eager. But it is goodbye. These soldiers moving into          the darkness and towards death. Gunther looks on - tears in          his eyes. The two horses are uneasy - sensing tension.                                   A few minutes later - Gunther grabs a saddle and throws it          onto Joey's back.                                   Back to the soldiers.                                   Suddenly we see the galloping legs of two horses. They whip          past the back of the line of marching soldiers. It's clear          what is happening - Gunther is on Topthorn - and has hold of          Joey, on a loose rope, galloping beside him.                                   Gunther, galloping along the line of soldiers, spots what he          is looking for, a red pennant unfurled and flapping in the          wind, tied onto Michael's pack. Gunther speeds toward him.          This was his plan all along. And in an instant he is beside          him and without Michael ever realizing, he suddenly finds his          arms and legs akimbo, as he is yanked out of the line and          dragged along the ground, desperately close to Joey's          pounding hooves.                                   Michael looks at the soldiers beside him - he looks at the          skyline of violence ahead...but before he can decide, he          feels his brother's arm - pulling him upwards. And now, the          two of them are fully on Topthorn.                                   They leave a jumble of soldiers in their wake as the officers          try to restore order.                                                   GERMAN OFFICER           Get back in line! Line!                                   EXT. WOODS. LATER.                                   Michael now rides Joey, following Gunther on Topthorn. The          brothers look at each other - can't believe what they have          done - Michael is following his brother, swept along, doesn't          know if it is right.                                   And Michael and Joey and Gunther and Topthorn charge on to          freedom.                                   They spot a lonely house and burst past a line with some          drying clothes.           56.                                   As they ride, they grab civilian shirts and jackets and          trousers, the clothes pegs pinging off and falling to the          ground.                                   And on they ride - though all too soon day starts to break in          the far distance. They see a very dilapidated windmill. They          aim for it as the sun begins to seriously break over the          horizon.                                   INT. / EXT. WINDMILL. DAWN.                                   They reach the windmill. It feels very unused. The machinery          of the windmill creaks in the dawn. The brothers untether the          horses, careful now that it is light outside.                                                   MICHAEL           I'm hungry. Did you bring food?                          GUNTHER           I'm sorry.                                   Michael fingers the pennant on Joey's reins. Then...                                                   MICHAEL           Will Father be ashamed?                                                   GUNTHER           He will pretend to be. Maybe at           first he will be. But in the end, he           will be glad.                                                   MICHAEL           And us? What about us?                                   Gunther looks at him - but doesn't reply. As Michael removes                         JOEY'S SADDLE:                          MICHAEL (CONT'D)           I was ready to go. I was proud to           go.           (after a beat, in a very                          SMALL VOICE)           I wanted to go.                                   Later - They sit in silence, waiting for sleep.                                                   MICHAEL (CONT'D)           The food in Italy is good.                                                   GUNTHER           Yes.                                                   MICHAEL           What about the women?           57.                                                   GUNTHER           Not as good as the food.                                                   MICHAEL           Because...they've eaten too much of           the food?                                                   GUNTHER           You are too young for war. And           you're too young for women!                                   Gunther laughingly pushes him over.                                                   MICHAEL           I don't feel so young. Not anymore.                                                   MICHAEL (CONT'D)           Michael.                          MICHAEL (CONT'D)           What?                                                   GUNTHER           Go to sleep - we have a big night of           riding ahead. Goodnight, Michael.                                   He jokingly strokes Michael's cheek. Michael swats him away,          but as he settles in the hay:                                                   MICHAEL           Night night, Gunther.                                   EXT. WINDMILL. DUSK.                                   Gunther and Michael sleep. Suddenly something awakens Joey.          He stirs and then rises. Hear the sound of engines and see          lights through the slats sweeping across Joey's face.          Michael and Gunther are stirring in their sleep as we hear a          car and several motorcycles approaching. Head-lamps filter          through the cracks in the windmill walls stabbing the          brothers awake.                                                   GERMAN SOLDIER           Hei! In die windm¸hle!                                   The boys spring up, speaking in terrified whispers.                                                   GUNTHER           Go, go, go...                                                   MICHAEL           Okay.           58.                                   They race up a nearby ladder, but Michael stumbles against a          table, upsetting some gear. It clatters loudly. They cower          as they hear boots tromping up the steps outside. Then the          windmill doors are thrown open, pinning them in the bright          headlights of the vehicles.                                   As they're marched out, we see what they see: A German car -          two motorcycles. Six Germans, including the officer who was          in charge of them.                                    BASE CAMP OFFICER           Schroeder.                                                   GUNTHER           Yes, sir.                                    BASE CAMP OFFICER           A mistake?          He's offering an excuse, but -                                                   GUNTHER           A promise.                                   The officer accepts this grimly, nods.                                    BASE CAMP OFFICER           Ja...                                   As the boys are taken away, he lights a cigarette.                                   INT. WINDMILL. NIGHT.                                   Through the turning arms of the windmill, we glimpse the          double execution. Four rifles fire - flashes of the soldiers          shooting - the bodies on the ground.          EXT. OUTSIDE THE WINDMILL. DAY.                                   Complete stillness in the empty countryside.                                   INT. THE WINDMILL. DAY.                                   There are Joey and Topthorn, still waiting.                                   And then suddenly - the doors of the windmill creak. The two          horses turn, immensely aware of the break in the silence. The          door opens a little - and we see, reflected in Joey's eye, a          very delicate, beautiful, thirteen-year-old country girl          (EMILIE).                                   She stares at the horses. They stare straight back at her.          And she walks straight out again, closing the big door behind          her. Joey and Topthorn settle for a moment.           59.                                   Time transition - Joey and Topthorn are in a slightly          different place - and the door opens again. It is the same          little girl - but this time she comes in carrying two buckets          full of water.                                   INT. / EXT. FARMHOUSE / FARM. DAY.                                   A small humble farmhouse - and round it, small fields,          planted with different fruit crops. We see an old man          (GRANDFATHER), burdened with a basket of berries heading back          towards the farmhouse.                                   A SOUND CAUSES HIM TO LOOK OUT ACROSS THE FARM -- far in the          distance the STORM OF WAR is in the sky.                                   He enters the kitchen - which is rough, but full of the          paraphernalia of jam-making - jars, sieves, pectin, sugar.          Emilie is at the sink, washing berries.                                                   EMILIE           GrandpÈre.                                   He heads towards the side-board, dumps the two bags and lifts          the first handful of fruits on to the counter.                                   She empties her clean berries into a bowl. Notes the          explosions outside.                                                   EMILIE (CONT'D)           It's closer today.                                                   GRANDFATHER           The wind plays tricks with the noise           - it's moving away from us.                                                   EMILIE           I can hear it, GrandpÈre, and there           is no wind. You shouldn't lie to me.                                                   GRANDFATHER           Here. There is no wind here. But           over there - a wind so strong it           will lift you off the ground...                                                   EMILIE           You lie about everything. You say           you aren't worried but it's clear           you are. I know the war is           approaching but you say, "Oh, it's           just a trick of the wind."                                   He retrieves a bottle of medicine from the mantle.           60.                                                   GRANDFATHER                          (SMILING)           Did I say that?                                                   EMILIE           You started lying when Mama and Papa           went away.                                   She pours a load of sugar into a bowl with the fruit.                                                   EMILIE (CONT'D)           They're dead. But you won't say so.           Do you think I'll die if you tell me           the truth?                                                   GRANDFATHER           The truth is -          He feeds her a spoonful of the medicine.                                                   GRANDFATHER (CONT'D)           - you should speak to your elders           with respect.                                   She sticks her wet finger in the sugar and sucks it to help          with the taste of the medicine.                                                   EMILIE           If you tell me the truth about the           war, I will tell you the truth about           the big horses I've been keeping in           the windmill.                                                   GRANDFATHER           (standing, putting his           hands on his hips)           Now - who is the one telling lies!          EXT. COURTYARD. SAME.                                   Grandfather looks stunned as he paces in front of JOEY AND          TOPTHORN - who stand in the small courtyard outside the          house.                                                   GRANDFATHER           In the windmill?                                                   EMILIE           Yes. They were standing in the           windmill waiting for Don Quixote.           This is FranÁois (Joey) and this is           Claude (Topthorn).           61.                                                   GRANDFATHER           Yeah.                                                   EMILIE           I named them after two boys who           broke my heart last Summer.                                                   GRANDFATHER           They must belong to someone. Horses           like this don't just appear from a           fairy-tale.                                                   EMILIE           Yes - I know, GrandpÈre. They are           not unicorns - so I will be fair and           wait -- one day.                                                   GRANDFATHER           Emilie... Emilie...                                                   EMILIE           And if no one comes to get them by           night-time, then they belong to me.                                                   GRANDFATHER           Emilie. Look at me. You cannot           ride.                                                   EMILIE           Mother used to tell me how my bones           would give way with the slightest           bump or fall.                                                   GRANDFATHER           Yes. That's right. So it is           settled?          She kisses his cheek --                                                   GRANDFATHER (CONT'D)           Good girl.                                   -- but then calmly leads the horses back to the windmill.                                                   EMILIE           It will only be settled when I           decide which one to ride first.                                                   GRANDFATHER           But it's - Over my dead body!                                                   EMILIE           At least I won't have long to wait.           62.                                   That is the end of the conversation as far as she is          concerned.                                   EXT. FARM HOUSE. DAY.                                   Emilie is with the horses in the little stable at the end of          the courtyard - a bit away from the farm house - she is          feeding them out of a bucket - not very nice gruel.... WE          SEE THAT SHE IS HESITANT WITH THEM - that she has spent no          time around horses.                                                   EMILIE                          (TO JOEY)           I was in love with a boy called           FranÁois - who had your lovely eyes.                          (TO CLAUDE)           Unfortunately he was in love with a           girl called Marie, who had your           teeth. She fell for a boy called           Claude - who broke my heart. And who           I intend to marry one day.                                   INT./EXT. FIELD IN FRONT OF FARMHOUSE. DAY.                                   Grandfather watches Emilie from inside the house as he makes          jam.                                    EMILIE (O.S.)           Eyes on me. No talking.                                   Outside, Emilie has fashioned two jumps. The big one for Joey          and a little demonstration obstacle for herself. She leads          Joey to a starting point about 30 yards in front of some          crates supporting a stick about four feet off the ground.          The red pennant hangs from the stick. Joey stands quietly as          Emilie hobbles to the big jump, making a jumping gesture with          her hand.                          EMILIE (CONT'D)           Today we learn to jump. Did you know           the French cleared one meter eighty-           five at the Paris Olympics to win           the gold medal? Today we will beat           that record.                                   Grandfather chuckles. Emilie indicates the larger barrier.                                                   EMILIE (CONT'D)           This is your jump. When I call           you....be very brave and leap over           it.                                   She claps, but Joey doesn't move.           63.                                                   EMILIE (CONT'D)           Leap over it! Watch me.                                   She turns to her demonstration jump and easily steps over her          six-inch high barrier.                                                   EMILIE (CONT'D)           And now it's your --                                   She turns to find Joey already stepping over her mini-jump,          stopping in front of her. He's only interested in the apple          in her hand. She takes a bite herself.                                                   JUMP TO:                                   Emilie returns Joey to the starting line and runs back behind          the big jump. From behind her back she produces three big          carrots dripping soil. Joey's ears perk and he takes off          quickly but at the last moment veers right and passes between          the two jumps.                                   INT. FARMHOUSE. DAY.                                   Grandfather is watching through the window as he prepares his          strawberry jams. He laughs and goes back to work.                                   BACK TO FIELD                                   Aware she's being watched, she slings the carrots over her          shoulder, frustrated.                                                   JUMP TO:                                   EXT. BARN. LATER.                                   Joey slowly emerges from the barn with Emilie out in front          leading him with one hand. In the other hand, she carries a          small wooden step ladder.                                                   EMILIE           He doesn't think we can do it. But           we will show him, won't we?                                   Emilie unfolds the ladder beside Joey and shakily starts          climbing to the top of it.                                                   EMILIE (CONT'D)           (Her voice shaking)           No need to be afraid.           (Emilie looking down at           how far off the ground                          SHE IS)           You are...very tall.           64.                                   Before she can swing her leg over Joey's back -                                                   GRANDFATHER           You'll kill yourself.                                   Emilie turns, and there, blocking the hurdle, now standing          hands on hips, is Grandfather.                                                   EMILIE           Only if you get in my way to make me           fall.                                                   GRANDFATHER           Oh please, come off the ladd--                                   A SOUND from far down the road. Grandfather looks. Emilie          turns to look too. Two trucks led by a German motorcycle are          approaching the farm.                          GRANDFATHER (CONT'D)           Find somewhere to hide them. And do           it quickly!!!                                   As Emilie races off with the horses, Grandfather pushes over          the jumps and jams the pennant into his pocket.                                   The bikes arrive first, just missing Emilie as she leads the          horses behind the house.                                   The trucks arrive, pull round - one of the soldiers in the          front jumps out and opens the back.                                                   GERMAN OFFICER           Halt! Und aussteigen!                                   The people - 20 of them, all seeming to be poor French          peasants, mainly women, move out of the truck. As they walk          past, they avoid the eye of the Grandfather, who approaches          the soldiers.                                                   GRANDFATHER           My name is Bonnard - this is my           land. Why are you here?                                                   SOLDIERS           Food for the soldiers at the front.           Everyone must give their share.                                   And suddenly we see what is going to happen - the 20 peasants          spread out and move through the field - with either bags, or          using the aprons they wear - picking all the fruits - at just          the moment all the work has brought forth fruit - and the new          year's crop is ready.           65.                                   Raspberries, black-currants, gooseberries. In a few minutes,          everything he lives by will be gone.                                   Watching from his car and calmly smoking a cigar is BRANDT,          the officer in charge of the unit.                                   Cut to the fields - the aprons and baskets are getting full.          They move through the rows of fruit like a plague of locusts.                                   Back to the Grandfather - and out of the house comes Emilie.                                                   GRANDFATHER           They are taking everything. Where           are the horses?                                   Pause.                                                   EMILIE           What horses?                                   The sound of jars breaking draws Grandfather and Emilie into          the kitchen, where the Germans continue to raid their other          supplies.                                   One German picks up waterbath canner -- inspecting it.                                                   GERMAN SOLDIER           What is it?                                                   GRANDFATHER           Leave it if you don't know what it's           for.                                                   GERMAN SOLDIER           A pot is a pot. We'll find some use           for it. Sir, where's the livestock?          Brandt sits quietly, casually using his finger to scoop jam          from an open jar.                                                   GRANDFATHER           I make jam. We have no animals.                                                   GERMAN SOLDIER           But there's fresh hay in your barn.                                   Emilie enters, overhearing.                                                   EMILIE           We use it to replace the mattress           stuffings.                                                   GERMAN SOLDIER           Her grandfather?           66.                                                   GRANDFATHER           Yes.                                                   GERMAN SOLDIER           Where are her parents?                                                   EMILIE                          (BREAKING IN)           They're dead. They died.                                   The German nods and is about to take his leave, putting the          pot back where he found it, when a clumping noise from          somewhere in the house begins.                                                   GERMAN SOLDIER           What is that?                                                   GRANDFATHER           The wind. It plays tricks in the           attic.                                   Brandt licks his finger and tests:                                                   BRANDT           There is no wind.                                                   GRANDFATHER           An old house creaks.                          (TO EMILIE)           Go - close the shutters.                                   Emilie runs out of the room. The soldier picks up the          medicine bottle.                                                   GERMAN SOLDIER           She's sickly, no?                          GRANDFATHER           If you or any of your friends harm           her, as old as I am, I will kill           you.                                   The soldier looks shocked and then begins to laugh. He slaps          the medicine flask into Grandfather's chest.                                                   GERMAN SOLDIER           You know, I was going to give you           back your pot. But now I'm going to           keep it. For soup.                                   He slings the huge pot he had put back up on his shoulder and          leaves the house with the other soldiers.           67.                                                   BRANDT           We will be back in the new season.                                   As the Germans leave, we cut to the upstairs bedroom where          Emilie lies curled up on the bed - and there, standing on          either side of the bed - are the two horses. They look huge          in the tiny room.                                   INT. KITCHEN. LATE THAT NIGHT.                                   The sound of shells exploding. A huge bombardment somewhere          in the deep distance. But much closer than before. The          distant, malicious giants of war growl.                                   It is like a lightning storm on the horizon.                                   The kitchen has been emptied. The war has finally come to          them - and we can see it on Emilie's face.                          EMILIE           Tell me what happened to them. To my           mother and father.                                   Grandfather doesn't respond.                                                   EMILIE (CONT'D)           You said you would tell me how they           died. On my birthday. And tomorrow's           my birthday! They died fighting,           didn't they? But when the soldiers                          COME -                                   She finally turns to face him.                                                   EMILIE (CONT'D)           - you do nothing. You are a coward,           aren't you?                          GRANDFATHER           Yes. Yes. It was your parents who           were brave. I make jams.                                                   EMILIE           And you've never done a brave thing           in your life?                                   He eases himself into a chair and shrugs.                                                   GRANDFATHER           Maybe there are different ways to be           brave. Did you know the French have           the best carrier pigeons? And this           could be the difference in the war -           our messages getting through.           68.                                                   EMILIE           I don't want to hear about the           birds.                                                   GRANDFATHER           They are released at the front and           told to go home - this is all they           know. But to get there they must           fly over a war. Can you imagine           such a thing? Here you are flying           over so much pain and terror - and           you know you can never look down.           You have to look forward or you'll           never get home. I ask you - what           could be braver than that?                                   Emilie sheds a single tear.          INT. THE BARN. DAWN.                                   Grandfather enters the barn, strokes Topthorn's nose as he          passes. He sweeps aside a rug from the barn floor, to reveal          a trap door. Then, he opens it.                                   Now from out of the trap door, he lifts a big ungainly          object, covered in another rug.                                   INT. FARMHOUSE KITCHEN. MORNING.                                   Emilie comes down the stairs as Grandfather waits proudly by          the stove. She stops when she sees the OBJECT COVERED BY THE          RUG.                                                   EMILIE           What is that?                                                   GRANDFATHER           A present.                                   Emilie moves toward the object that is covered.                                                   EMILIE           I hope you have not bought me a           disgusting dress that I then have to           wear like last year.                                                   GRANDFATHER                          (LAUGHING)           It was disgusting?                                                   EMILIE           Yes. I looked like an ugly nun.           69.                                   Then she stops herself and turns to Grandfather with a          parental rebuke.                                                   EMILIE (CONT'D)           Give me your hand.           (she takes it in hers)           GrandpÈre, we have no money. When           the war is over, then you can buy me           jewels and carriages.                                   The grandfather smiles and gives Emily a hug.                                                   GRANDFATHER           Anything you say, my sweet one.           Anything-you-say! You are, of           course, the boss. It's just an old           thing I found - don't worry yourself           - leave it, I'll put it back.          He leaves the room. Now Emilie is alone and she can't help it          when she brings her eyes back to the object covered by the          rug. She looks back over her shoulder to make sure she's not          being watched and then lifts one corner of the rug. Her face          explodes with a gorgeous smile. She pulls off the rug that          is covering the big thing and...it is a gorgeous old saddle.          She runs her hand along the saddle -- can hardly believe it.                                   INT. A HILL. JUST BEYOND THE FARMHOUSE. NEAR THE WINDMILL.          DAY.                                   Grandfather helps to swing Emilie up and into the saddle.          All at once, the Grandfather's charity evaporates.                                                   GRANDFATHER           It was your mother's. I hid it, so           as not to encourage you. Emilie, I           want you to ride very slowly, very           carefully. And promise me you won't           go far --                                                   EMILIE           Of course. Okay, I promise.                                                   GRANDFATHER           To the top of the hill and straight           back again.                                                   EMILIE           I promise.                                   Emilie unties her hair and tosses the red pennant to          Grandfather, releasing her hair to spill down her back and          shoulder.           70.                                                   EMILIE (CONT'D)           My hero.                                   She sets off on Joey - and quickly spurs him to a gallop.                                                   GRANDFATHER           Slowly...slowly...                                   She rides - past the windmill - and then over the top of a          nearby hill - she speeds over it and out of sight.                                   Back to the hill - a sudden change of mood. An empty shot. No          movement, no returning girl.                                                   GRANDFATHER (CONT'D)           Emilie!                                   Cut again to the top of the hill, then back to the          Grandfather, very worried.                                                   GRANDFATHER (CONT'D)           Emilie!                                   Topthorn suddenly rears up - and charges off following,          sensing danger. Grandfather starts to run in the direction of          the hill.                                   Topthorn charging over the brow of the hill.                                   The Grandfather running - out of breath.                                   He hears an indistinct scream from Emilie!                                   He reaches the top of the hill - comes over the brow - and          there is not the fallen body of Emilie, which he has been          fearing, but a brutal line of German soldiers - and          motorbikes. It is like a line of Indians in a Western -          total, alien fear.                                   And there amongst them is Emilie, astride a panicked Joey,          surrounded by soldiers. Another one holds Topthorn, who bucks          and rears, but to no avail. Grandfather starts down the hill          towards his granddaughter.                                   EXT. GERMAN COLUMN NEAR THE WINDMILL. THE SAME                                   The Germans are moving through the horses they have gathered.          Emilie, unhorsed, tries to get to Joey, who is being roughly          led away by a German soldier.                                                   EMILIE           No! Let go of me! No!           71.                                   Grandfather grabs her. She is screaming. He tries to calm her          down. Joey is tied up as is Topthorn. Emilie is kicking and          screaming - but also desperately short of breath.                                                   GRANDFATHER           She is my granddaughter! Emilie,           stop! Don't hurt her, please!           Don't hurt her.                                   A soldier roughly shoves Emilie at him.                                   Brandt approaches. Emilie screams at him, in tears.                                                   EMILIE           You don't need them! There are so           many others!                                   Emilie is still sobbing. Grandfather hugs her - in horror          that she is now struggling so hard for breath.                                                   GRANDFATHER           Please, take the bigger one and           leave the smaller one. You are           breaking my granddaughter's heart.                                                   BRANDT                          (LEAVING)           The war has taken everything from           everyone.                                                   GRANDFATHER                          (CALLING AFTER)           What will happen to them?                                                   BRANDT           They will pull artillery until they                          DIE -                          EMILIE                          (COUGHING)           FranÁois!                                                   BRANDT           - or until the war is over.                                                   GRANDFATHER           It will never be over!                                                   BRANDT           You have your answer then.                                   The motorbikes start up and drive off. The Grandfather          hugging tiny Emilie as she coughs.           72.                                   The Germans disappear up the lane leaving the old man and the          child bereft in the bitter cold.                                   EXT. GERMAN CAMP. LATER.                                   Two grooms trail Brandt, leading Joey and Topthorn toward a          makeshift corral.                                                   BRANDT           Heiglemann - these are yours.                                                   FRIEDRICH           Yes, sir.                                                   BRANDT           They look strong - should last a           month or two.          FRIEDRICH is an unprepossessing, chubby man. He marvels at          Topthorn.                                                   FRIEDRICH           You are beautiful.                                   But then he looks to the other horses penned nearby, haggard          and weak. He turns to Joey.                                                   FRIEDRICH (CONT'D)           It's a pity they found you.                                   He takes the leads of the pair of them. He sighs...                                                   FRIEDRICH (CONT'D)           Such a pity...                                   In a strange way, there are many humans Joey meets, but also          just one, the spirit of goodness and consideration for          animals, joined by little echoes throughout the film.                                   And then they go over a ridge - and we suddenly see the          explanation of Friedrich's comment. The road they can see          below them is the main through road of the area - and it is a          scene of horse horror - huge, massive guns and cannons and          artillery being dragged by teams of horses that are in a          terrible condition.                                   For Joey and Topthorn, this is a moment like when soldiers          arrived to liberate the prisoners who had been kept in Changi          prison by the Japanese during World War 2. They have never          seen horses in this condition. You can see in their eyes the          confusion. This is a whole different world, where horses can          turn into creatures that look like this.           73.                                   And it is also a vision of their future. This may be the          moment the mighty Topthorn begins to lose hope. For Joey it          is another level of knowledge - another mighty thing he will          fight through - because he always fights through.                                   EXT. STEEP INCLINE. DAY.                                   Friedrich leads Joey and Topthorn in the wake of THE HUGE          MORSER - an elaborate 15 ton monstrosity with a six inch          bore. It takes a team of six horses to haul it with a dozen          men pushing from behind.                                                   ARTILLERY OFFICER           Pull together!                                   A soldier calls from the front of the heavy cannon - pulled          by a particularly wretched group of horses.                          ARTILLERY SOLDIER           Halt! Halt! Stop!                                   Lower down the hill, Friedrich waves down the rest of the          column.                                                   FRIEDRICH           Stop! Stop!                                   At the front of the Morser, one of the lead horses collapses -          he will never get up again.                                   Brandt steps up, pulls a revolver out of his pocket and          shoots the horse dead. It has come to this.                                   Joey, Topthorn, and all the other horses are spooked by the          pistol shot.                                   Brandt shouts to Friedrich from the road.                          BRANDT           Heiglemann, bring up another one!                                                   ARTILLERY OFFICER           Heiglemann, bring up another horse!                                                   BRANDT           That one!                                   Friedrich begins leading Joey up the hill, but --                                                   BRANDT (CONT'D)           No, no. The big black one!                                   Friedrich hauls Topthorn, hesitantly, while Joey watches.           74.                                   As he reaches Brandt:                                                   FRIEDRICH           He's a good horse, sir. But if you           move him up to the heavy gun, he           will be no use at all. Prince is           already losing condition. His leg,           sir.                                                   BRANDT           You have given them names?                                                   FRIEDRICH           Yes, sir.                                                   BRANDT           You should never give a name to           anything you are certain to lose.                          FRIEDRICH           His leg is not good enough, sir.                                                   BRANDT           Private, you will do as you are           told.                          (CALLING OFF)           Hook him up.                                   Friedrich has no choice but as he starts to lead Topthorn,          Joey rears up and escapes his groom. He gallops up the hill          to the gun - offering himself up to save Topthorn. It is his          "Tale of Two Cities" moment - giving up his life to save his          friend. He bucks and rears. Friedrich turns to Brandt.                                                   FRIEDRICH           As you see, sir, this one is           stronger.          Brandt takes up Friedrich, and Joey's, offer -                                                   BRANDT           Hook him up.                                   As Joey is hooked to the gun, he looks back to Friedrich who          leads Topthorn back down the hill.                                   EXT. STEEP INCLINE. LATER.                                   The convoy struggles up the hill. Joey feels the dead weight          of the gun. These are several tons of cast iron - almost          dwarfing the horses. Friedrich notices. Together, this grim          circus struggles along the pot-holed country road in the          rain.           75.                                   Joey leads the team up the incline. Each step is an immense          effort. The going, over rough scree, is very tough indeed. It          is very difficult for Joey to get a foothold on the loose          ground, but his experience in Dartmoor comes into play and          although he almost loses his balance several times he stays          upright and hauls the cannon - Fitzcarraldo-like - over the          hill.                                   We follow his progress step by step. Friedrich watches          anxiously. Soldiers strain at the sides of the gun. One          throws boards under the wheels to aid in traction. As they          reach the top of the hill it almost seems the effort is too          much, the cannon always in danger of rolling back. Joey          finally staggers over the top - it feels as though the          tethers are going to snap with the strain - but at last the          cannon reaches the peak, the crest of the hill.                                   EXT. THE BATTLEFIELD. DAY.          Soldiers scurry around the giant gun, preparing it.                                                   OFFICER           Halt! Halt! Take the horses away!                                                   ARTILLERY OFFICER           Shell!                                   Friedrich observes with Topthorn as a giant shell is carried          to the gun's breech.                                    ARTILLERY OFFICER (CONT'D)           And load!                                   The men wrestle it into place -                                    ARTILLERY OFFICER (CONT'D)           Back! Case!          - and secure it.                                    ARTILLERY OFFICER (CONT'D)           Position!                                   The barrel of the giant gun ratchets upward.                                    ARTILLERY OFFICER (CONT'D)           And...fire!                                   The shell explodes from the barrel. And then from another.          And another. For the first time we see the big picture - the          line of assembled cannons of which they were just one tiny          part.           76.                                   Each gun recoils violently as they shoot their shells into          oblivion - as soon as one shell is fired another is loaded -          the noise is deafening - the line seemingly endless - an          obscene production line of death. This is what the horses          have been feeding - this massive merciless thing.                                   Smoke wafts from the guns as we see the explosions in the          distance. The sound of the explosions takes us to -                                   EXT. BRITISH TRENCH. NIGHT.                                   Explosions light the dirty faces of British boys in uniform,          one after the next. Each light fading out before the next          great blast illuminates another anonymous face -then another -          and then another - and then ALBERT. Hold on him for extra          moments before he fades completely.                                   EXT. BRITISH TRENCHES. EARLY DAWN.          TITLE: FRANCE - 1918, THE SOMME                                   With the barrage lifted, the British soldiers that are          huddled in a low sub-trench, are ordered back on the line.          Andrew Easton is with Albert and he's shaken and terrified. A          far cry from the happy young boy we knew.                                   A gruff sergeant (SERGEANT MARTIN) walks the trench with a          bucket and each soldier puts in their valuables and personal          belongings. One a lighter, some money, etc.                                                   SERGEANT MARTIN           Valuables in the bucket, lads. If           you live, you'll get them back. If           you live, you'll get them back.           Good lads.                                   Albert and Andrew move down the trench in a line of soldiers          who are given ammo belts and grenades.                                   Albert gets his grenades and walks further along the          trenches. We follow him in real time as he passes a bunch of          soldiers who are kneeling in the ankle deep water, a PADRE is          giving them communion. The deafening noise of shelling all          around.                                                   ANDREW           Maybe it's a drill, Albie. Maybe           it's a drill like last time.                                   We keep following Albert's progress in real time - further on          there is a post box where they all put their final letters          home in identical green envelopes. We see Albert's letter          addressed to "Ted and Rose Narracott" in Devon. He posts it          in a battered metal post box.           77.                                   An officer approaches:                                                   DAVID           Love letter?                                                   ALBERT           That's my business.                                   It is David - Lyon's son - now in charge of this small group          of men. Still arrogant - looking older than Albert in his          uniform - and clearly enjoying his superior rank.                                                   DAVID           I hear you and your mate were doing           bird imitations again. You gonna           write a letter to your horse?                                   Albert ignores him. Andrew can't help but giggle.                          DAVID (CONT'D)           After you find your horse, I've lost           my needle in a haystack, and I could           use some help.                                   David takes up a bucket and walks down the line of soldiers.                                                   DAVID (CONT'D)           Anything valuable. Anyone who comes           back gets to share it out.                                                   ALBERT                          (TO ANDREW)           Stay here.                                   Albert follows David down the trench.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Remember that day me and Joey raced           you in your car?                                                   DAVID           I remember you somersaulting through           the air.                                                   ALBERT           Who was that girl you were with?                                                   DAVID           There was a girl?                                   Albert nods.                                                   ALBERT           There was. Don't you remember?           78.                                                   DAVID           It was just some girl, I suppose. I           don't recall which one. I do           remember you falling on your bum in           a ditch.                                   Andrew laughs amiably. David points to him, smirking.                                                   DAVID (CONT'D)           You see? Always entertaining,           Narracott, I'll give you that.                                   As David walks on, Andrew smiles at Albert.                                                   ANDREW           You did that? You fell on your bum?                                   Albert leaves without answering. Andrew keeps smiling until          a large shell explodes nearby. Troops surge towards their          ladders as officers scream indistinct orders.                                   Now David leads his troop through the trenches to the front          line where they stop, lean against the enemy-side wall          nervously and wait - each man in private contemplation.                                   Sergeant Martin moves along the lines, pushing men forward.                                                   SERGEANT MARTIN           Be ready! Be ready! Let's go, men,           get ready to go! Get ready to move           out! Stay in position!                                   David calls out from atop a trench ladder.                                                   DAVID           Hold your nerve, boys. Remember,           it's not far to go. There's a way           through.           (he moves down the line)           Run fast, keep your wits about you,           keep your eyes open and God and the           King will keep an eye on you.           Company will fix bayonets! Fix           bayonets!                                   The echo of `fix bayonets' goes down the line - and every man          fixes the brutal shining bayonet to the end of his gun.                                   Then Albert turns to Andrew.                                                   ALBERT           You know what it reminds me of out           there?           79.                                                   ANDREW           What?                                                   ALBERT           That bloody impossible lower field           the day me and Joey plowed it. Best           day of my life that was and you were           there.                                                   ANDREW           And this here is the worst day of my           life, about to begin, and you're           here cheering me on. Us two, always.           And him.                                   He nods at David Lyons, who gives instructions to another          soldier.                          DAVID           Once you're in no man's land, go to           the flanks. Stay on the flanks.                                                   SOLDIER           Yes, sir.                                   David turns to Albert and Andrew.                                                   DAVID           Come on, boys, come on. To the           ladder!                                                   ALBERT                          (TO ANDREW)           Stick close to the gentry, that's           our ticket, yeah? We have the pluck           but they have the luck.          They both smile. And then the fear takes over again. Andrew          particularly feels as though he is on the very edge now.          David urges them forward.                                                   DAVID           You, too, Narracott.                          (TO ANDREW)           And you, too.                                   Andrew and Albert pass by the bucket. They throw some          valuables in. But a moment later, Albert goes back to the          bucket and pulls something out - a worn piece of paper - he          unfolds it - it is the little sketch that Captain Nicholls          drew of Joey the night before they left for France. He slips          it inside his shirt, next to his heart.           80.                                                   DAVID (CONT'D)           Come on, on your ladders, boy. On           your ladders. In you go, in you go.           That's it.                                   Andrew turns towards a ladder. As fate and placement would          have it - he is first in line. He puts his foot on the          ladder, when suddenly the Sergeant stops him.                                                   SERGEANT MARTIN           Listen to your sergeant!                                   He pulls Andrew aside, speaking so that everyone can hear.                                    SERGEANT MARTIN (CONT'D)           If anybody turns back, if any one of           our boys come running towards you -           you take this rifle and you shoot           them dead. Do you understand?                                                   SOLDIERS           Yes, sir!                                   The sergeant pushes in on Andrew, private and intense.                                                   SERGEANT           Do you understand me? Do you           understand what I'm telling you,           son? You take this rifle and you           shoot them dead. Understand?                                   Andrew looks ready to cry, but manages to nod. Albert turns          to him, only to be pushed back by the sergeant.                                                   SERGEANT (CONT'D)           Up there, son. Up your ladder. Up           your ladder to your work!          Albert looks nervously back at Albert, comforting.                                                   ALBERT           It's good. Andrew, it's good.           Andrew! Nobody's retreating today.           Andrew! Andrew! Nobody. Is           retreating. Today.                                   The COMMANDER arrives, checks the time on his AIDE's watch,          mounts his ladder and blows a whistle to signal the charge.          A BAGPIPER plays as the men go over the top.                                   David now heads up the ladder first. Gun fire overhead,          Albert steels himself, then hauls himself over the top,          followed by the next man and the next.           81.                                   Immediately machine gun fire whistles past, we hear the          screams of the first men who are shot. We follow Albert.                                   We are him. His vision. His experience. The ground is          blasted, there are bodies all around him. He tries to run but          his feet sink into the mud. Bullets fly past him. Felled men          are screaming at his feet in fear and agony. Albert staggers          forward. David is now right by him. They run together. Albert          looks round and suddenly, David is hit. He falls to the          ground, screaming.                                                   DAVID           I'm shot! No!                                   Albert instinctively goes to help. Bullets shower all around          him.                                                   DAVID (CONT'D)           Just leave me. Leave me!                                   Albert grabs him and drags him onwards with him - David          screaming at the pain - Albert grimly determined. Shells          explode around them as they stumble on. Other men are          running and falling. Albert sees cover in a huge shell-hole          so dives into it for a moment's reprieve from the gun fire.          He sits in still terror for a moment.                                                   ALBERT           You'll be all right here. You'll be           safe. Someone'll come for ya.                                                   DAVID           Albert. Albert, listen...                                                   ALBERT           It's all right. It's all right.           We're Devon boys, yeah?          David looks at Albert as though seeing him for the first          time.                                                   DAVID           Yeah...                                   Albert races onward.                                   Back at the trench, Andrew waits - terrified - and then, back          out of the mist step two men - heading back towards him. Then          a third. They suddenly catch sight of Andrew waiting there          with his gun pointed towards them. They slow down - in the          terror of the assault, they had forgotten that death was          waiting for them if they turned back.           82.                                   Time seems to slow down - Andrew shifts his gun from pointing          at one - to the other - we see their individual faces. They          are all just boys really.                                   And suddenly, instinct hits Andrew - he charges up the          ladder, and forward, firing - past the three men, towards the          enemy. He chooses his death instead of theirs. A sudden          barrage of machine gun fire all around him.                                   Cut back to Albert, who makes his way to the edge of the          shell hole. Bullets whizz inches from his head. He looks over          to see a German machine gun position to his right. Bullets          whizz past forcing him to duck.                                   Andrew charges past other soldiers, ignoring their warnings.                                                   RANDOM SOLDIER           Get down!          Albert continues forward to dive into another shell hole,          nearer to the German line. He scrambles from shell hole to          shell hole. Now he's very close to the machine gun position.                                   Albert takes a grenade, fumbles with the pin as his hands          tremble. He finally gets the pin out and he hurls the          grenade at the machine gunner. We see the explosion and the          machine gun stop. Albert sprints over the top again and makes          it all the way into the German trench.                                   Albert runs through the trench, which seems curiously empty.          Albert swings round as he sees the startling face of a gas-          masked German holding a rifle on him.                                   Albert readies his bayonet but the man is dead, slumped          backwards against the side of the trench still upright.          Albert spins round, his bayonetted rifle in front of him,          ready for action, but there is only the ghostly sight of dead          German soldiers.                                   Albert is alone, everyone else is dead. All the dead wear          gas masks.                                   More British soldiers drop into the trench, among them          Andrew. He stumbles in the mud, drops his rifle, recovers          it, and races through the trench.                                   He glimpses Albert ahead of him, stalking through the mist.          Andrew breaks into a smile and rushes forward, prompting          Albert to whirl with his rifle raised.                                                   ANDREW           NO!           83.                                   Albert pauses just in time. Then he collapses against the          side of the trench, overwhelmed.                                                   ANDREW (CONT'D)           Albie.                                   Andrew grabs Albert and holds him up, embracing him. Albert          can barely whisper:                                                   ALBERT           We made it. We made it.                                   A moment later, the pair of them hurry through the trenches.          Albert spots more comrades around a corner and calls ahead to          Andrew.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           Andrew, this way out!          Suddenly ANOTHER SOLDIER leaps from a trench branch between          them, shouting in panic.                                                   SOLDIER           Gas! Gas! Gas!                                   An instant later, a gas cloud blasts through the trench.          Andrew and Albert look in horror. It spreads towards them,          too powerful to avoid. Andrew is closest, turns to Albert          with a helpless -                                                   ANDREW           Albie...                                   - before he takes the full power of it. An instant later, the          white, deadly cloud encompasses Albert, too...                                   EXT. EDGE OF THE BATTLEFIELDS. DUSK.          Close on hooves and boots, slogging through muddy water,          several inches deep.                                   Friedrich is walking along, leading Topthorn and Joey.          Topthorn is limping.                                   Something is wrong - Topthorn seems to be failing - he coughs          badly, breathes strangely. Friedrich stops to check on him.          An officer notices.                                                   GERMAN OFFICER           Hey, there's no stopping here. Keep           them moving.           84.                                                   FRIEDRICH           Sir, there's something wrong. This           one needs to rest.                                                   GERMAN OFFICER           There's no rest for them. Move them           along. Move them along!                                   Instead, Friedrich leads the horses under the cover of a low          bridge for a brief respite. A moment later, Topthorn          collapses.                                                   FRIEDRICH           Please, please, please. Stay on           your feet. No, please. No no no...                                   Friedrich tries to help Topthorn valiantly struggling to get          up but finally sinks to the ground again. This time he lies          semi-conscious. He is dying.                                                   FRIEDRICH (CONT'D)           Please please... Stay on your feet.                                   Joey deeply upset nuzzles his nose into Topthorn but the life          drains out him. Friedrich is in panic at Topthorn's quick                         DECLINE:                                                   FRIEDRICH (CONT'D)           Come on. Please please...                                   Friedrich continues to stroke Topthorn's head. Joey pushes          Topthorn as if to stop him falling into unconsciousness. For          a moment we think Topthorn will come round but he slips away          and all life leaves his body. Friedrich solemnly strokes the          horse, knowing all is lost.                                   Joey does not understand. He pulls at Topthorn's reins, as if          trying to pull him upright. Topthorn's body is inert, his          head falls to the earth. Joey will not give up, he pulls at          him desperately not understanding that Topthorn has died.                                   Suddenly, Friedrich looks around. Chaos - all the German          soldiers stream back past their position, scrambling to get          their guns and helmets. An officer charges down the bank next          to the bridge, screaming orders at Friedrich.                                                   GERMAN OFFICER           They're coming! Leave it, private!                                   Friedrich tries to pull Joey away to safety but Joey will not          leave Topthorn's body. Friedrich pulls at Joey, but Joey is          too lost in his grief to care about or even notice the          danger.           85.                                    GERMAN OFFICER (CONT'D)           Leave it! Come with me!                                                   FRIEDRICH           Go to hell!                                   The officer nods to two other soldiers who pull Friedrich to          safety. As he's dragged away, he screams at Joey:                                                   FRIEDRICH (CONT'D)           Run. Run! Run! Run!                                   But this is all background noise to Joey's profound refusal          to accept Topthorn is dead. He paws at the ground next to          Topthorn, a horse standing over his best friend in a field,          and he will never leave him.                                   And then suddenly - from around a blind turn in the          streambed, a huge, remorseless tank turns, heading right for          Joey. He bolts, galloping down the streambed, until he          reaches a barbed wire barrier - a dead end. He attempts to          run up the banks, but they're blocked, as well. He rears up,          but the tank keeps advancing.                                   The tank is about to crush Joey. He has left it too late. He          is about to die.                                   But then, counter-intuitively, he runs straight towards the          tank and...leaps over it - a leap he learnt from Emilie. Then          scrambles up and over it and leaps down behind.                                   Joey keeps on running. He is wild, frightened.                                   EXT. COUNTRYSIDE / VILLAGE / TRENCH. THE SAME.                                   Joey is free - in countryside - but there is blood pouring          from his leg, clearly torn by his encounter with the tank. He          runs on - it is becoming night - suddenly there are          explosions to the left of him - this fast, elegant creature          simply runs through the gaps between explosions.                                   But as he charges on - the sky lights up in the direction he          is heading. He is suddenly in the thick of battle. A shell          explodes next to him, and he leaps entirely over a trench.          Another explosion sends him leaping, but not far enough - he          finds himself crashing downwards, and into a trench - and he          races through it - and finds himself charging towards a          German company. Both sides are equally startled - Joey          charging through a thin trench lined with German soldiers -          the soldiers, finding a live horse careering through them.                                   In desperation, Joey scrambles out of the trench - and once          again, rushes away from the fighting...           86.                                   But now it is very dark indeed - he is stumbling as he runs -          there is blood mixed with the mud on his legs.                                   Now it is total night - fog - confusion - he jumps again. And          now everywhere there are potholes - the land is massively          uneven - shells are exploding all around. And suddenly sees          in front of him barbed wire. He crashes through it - more -          he bursts through again - now dragging barriers behind him -          the barriers tangle, pulling him up short - he flips and          lands amongst even more barbed wire.                                   He pulls and turns to release himself but it is impossible.          The more he pulls, the more firmly he is trapped. He rises          up, wild, magnificent, a beast fighting for his life.                                   He is completely trapped. He cannot move. He cannot see. He          is in pain. He falls. It feels like an end.          EXT. BRITISH TRENCH. THE SAME.                                    GEORDIE SOLDIER (O.S.)           Stand to, stand to -                                   A young soldier, a Geordie, is on look-out duty. He looks          through a periscope. He alerts his colleague in his thick,          northern, Newcastle accent.                                    GEORDIE SOLDIER (CONT'D)           There's something moving.                                                   SOLDIER           What the hell is it?                                                   GEORDIE SOLDIER           It looks like a cow.                                   He passes the periscope to the second soldier.                          SOLDIER           What the hell would a cow be doing out           there?                                   We see what he sees - nothing but morning mist on the surreal          landscape - and something strange. It is Joey in the distance                                                   SOLDIER 2           That definitely isn't a cow.                                                   SOLDIER           (handing over periscope)           Well, what is it?           87.                                   EXT. GERMAN TRENCH. THE SAME.                                   We see an almost identical scene of several German soldiers          looking out at Joey just as the British soldiers had done.                                                   SECOND GERMAN           It can't be a horse. Nothing alive could be           out there.                                                   THIRD GERMAN           It isn't a horse. It isn't a horse.                                   The first German looks through his periscope. We see what he          sees - Joey in the mist:                                                   SECOND GERMAN           Yes - it's a horse.          The second German looks through the periscope, stunned.                                                   THIRD GERMAN           It's a horse.                                   A third German (PETER) lowers his binoculars.                                                   PETER           Yeah, it's a horse.                                   EXT. BRITISH TRENCHES. THE SAME.                                   Now all the soldiers are gathering to look out at Joey. A          CAPTAIN now has the periscope.                                                   BRITISH CAPTAIN           Well, bugger me. It's a horse.                                                   GEORDIE SOLDIER           Lads, we should call him.                                                   BRITISH SOLDIER           How do you call a horse?                                   The Geordie starts clicking his tongue, followed by all of          his comrades. They all try to attract Joey's attention with          tongue clicks.                                   EXT. GERMAN TRENCH. THE SAME.                                   The Germans hear the clicks and respond with a chorus of          whistles.                                   EXT. BRITISH TRENCHES. THE SAME.                                   Now both sides are whistling. Even the captain joins in.           88.                                   EXT. NO MAN'S LAND. THE SAME.                                   Joey tries to rise, but remains entangled. He whinnies in          pain.                                   EXT. GERMAN TRENCH. THE SAME.                                   Peter lowers his binoculars.                                                   PETER           He's caught on the wire.                                   EXT. BRITISH TRENCHES, THE SAME.                                                   GEORDIE SOLDIER           Oh sod it...                                   Geordie climbs up the side of the trench, and waves a white          handkerchief tied to the end of his bayonet.                                                   BRITISH CAPTAIN           What do you think you're doing? Get           back, do you hear me? Corporal,           that's an order! Get back!                                   Geordie, not receiving fire, is emboldened to stand up.                                                   BRITISH SOLDIER           Listen to him, sir. We can't leave him.                                   He waves the handkerchief to clearly signal he is no threat.                                   EXT. GERMAN TRENCH. THE SAME.                                   The Germans look at the young soldier making his way over No          Man's Land.                          PETER           What's he doing?                                                   SECOND GERMAN           It's a trap.                                                   PETER           No, I don't think so. I think he's           trying to help.                                   The second German cocks his rifle and starts to take aim.                                                   THIRD GERMAN           Scare him back into his hole.                                   The second German takes a shot aimed over the Geordie's          shoulder.           89.                                   EXT. NO MAN'S LAND. THE SAME.                                   The Geordie crouches for cover, waving his handkerchief more          frantically.                                                   GEORDIE           It's a white flag, ent it? You see           the white flag!? I'm just after           tending to this here horse, is all!                                   The Georgie marshals his courage and stands again, waving the          handkerchief.                                                   BRITISH CAPTAIN           Get back, you stupid git!                                   There's no fire from the German trenches. Muttering to          himself, the Geordie marches forward towards Joey:                          GEORDIE           The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not           want, he leadeth me into green           pastures, he lay me down beside the           still waters...                                   The Geordie walks very slowly across the mud - there are          bodies - the ground squelches beneath his feet. He waves his          handkerchief as he walks. He crosses a narrow bridge that          spans a flooded bomb crater.                                   Joey, lying on his side, wrapped head to toe in barbed wire,          covered in mud, watches Geordie approach. When Geordie gets          too close, Joey freaks out and begins thrashing about. Joey          whinnies a high scream of pain, because wire is cutting into          his hide in several places, and as he thrashes it cuts him          deeper. Particularly worrisome is a strand that's wrapped          around his head, crossing right over his eye, threatening to          slash it. The Geordie calls out in a soothing voice:                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           Poor beastie. Poor babbie. It's           alright. It's alright. Don't buck           and wriggle so, you're only           shredding yourself.                                   Joey calms a little, still moving his head up and down.                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           You'll blind yourself.                                   He reaches Joey and surveys the formidable tangle of wire in          which Joey's bundled. The Geordie soothes and at the same          time gingerly tests other strands, trying to figure out where          to begin.           90.                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           Bugger me worthless - I didn't think           to bring gloves or something to cut                          THE -                                   He stabs his hand on one of the barbs.                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           OW! DAMN! OW!!                                   There's a noise behind him, and the Geordie turns around to          see the Peter (the German from the trench) standing several          feet away, holding some wire cutters.                                                   PETER           I thought perhaps you might need           these.          He holds out the wire cutters. The Geordie, still          frightened, stares stupidly at them.                                                   PETER (CONT'D)           For the barbed wire?                                                   GEORDIE           Yeah, yeah I... Ummm, thanks.           Cheers. Cheers...                                   He reaches out and takes the proffered cutters.                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           Thanks.                                   He returns to Joey, nervous about turning his back. He tries          to figure out where to begin cutting. He lifts a long strand          of wire that wraps around Joey's neck, stretches across his          shoulder and torso and around one of his front legs. He puts          the wire in the crux of the cutters and is preparing to snip          when Peter steps closer to him.                                                   PETER           That...That's a very long strand.           When you cut it, it's going to           release this -                                   He points to a wire wrapped around the wire the Geordie's          lifting. Then he points to two other wires, similarly                         ENTANGLED:                                                   PETER (CONT'D)           - and this, and this, and they'll           coil back rather violently, which           I'm afraid will only wound the poor           fellow further.           91.                                   The Geordie nods.                                                   GEORDIE           You speak good English.                                                   PETER           I speak English well.           (re: the cutters)           May I?                                   The Geordie hands them over and Peter surveys the wires.                                                   PETER (CONT'D)           What if we cut his head free first?           So he won't try to stand up and           blind himself? And then -                                                   GEORDIE           Pity you didn't bring a second pair.           Then I could cut the wire here -                                   He points to one of the wires entangled with the strand he'd          been prepared to cut.                                   Peter stands and shouts in the direction of his trench.                                                   PETER           WE NEED MORE WIRE CUTTERS!                                   All at once one, two, three, six pairs of cutters come          soaring through the air and splash into the watery crater.                                   Moments later - Peter and the Geordie kneel beside Joey, each          with a pair of cutters.                                   Joey is calming down again.          The Geordie positions himself across Joey's body so that when          he's cut the wire, it won't coil back and cut Joey. Peter          positions himself to be able to cut the two wires in quick          succession, holding the first wire to stop it from springing          back.                                   Joey's completely still now.                                   Peter points between Joey's eyes.                                                   PETER (CONT'D)           His blind spot. The cutters won't           frighten him. If you could cut           here, holding this wire -                                   He points to wires that intersect the wire that crosses          Joey's eye. Then he points to the wire across Joey's eye.           92.                                                   PETER (CONT'D)           I could -                                                   GEORDIE           Say no more, I'm right behind you.                                   As they reposition themselves, the Geordie says to Joey:                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           And you understand what's happening,           do you not, O Best Beloved? That you           must lay so very nice and still.           There's a lad, you're a remarkable           horse, you are, helping us help you.           There's a lad. There's a remarkable           lad.                                   The Geordie looks into Joey's huge eye as he and Peter get to          work on their cutting. Joey returns his gaze.                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           So how's things in yonder trench?                                                   PETER           Delightful. We read, we knit           sweaters, and we train our rats to           perform circus tricks.                                                   GEORDIE           Well, if ever you need any more           rats, we can always send ours over.           `Cause we've more than we need,           strictly speaking. Besides, they           scare off all the pretty girls.                                                   PETER           Our girls aren't afraid of rats.                          GEORDIE           Big strapping German girls, eh? Kind           what gives robust massages?                                   They laugh.                                                   PETER           Every Thursday! And they bring rum           cake on your birthday.                                   Both men smile at this while Joey is completely still; they          work quickly, in concert, cutting the horse's head free of          the wire.           93.                                   Joey raises his head, gives it a shake, neighs and then stirs          a little. The two soldiers smile at one another. Then they          set about cutting the rest of the wire; it's much easier now.                                   The Geordie cuts through the last wire binding Joey's legs.          The two soldiers help as the horse staggers upright.                                                   GEORDIE           Look at that horse! Look at the           muscles he's got, them long legs.           They're made for running, horses.           Runnin' away from danger.                                                   PETER           Running away is all they have.                                                   GEORDIE           Yet we taught `em opposite. Running           into the fray.                                                   PETER           War horse.                                                   GEORDIE           Yeah. War horse. And there he is.           What a strange beast you've become.                                   The Geordie grabs hold of Joey's halter, though Joey shows no          sign of running.                                   Joey is finally free.                                   The two men look at each other.                                                   PETER           And now?                          GEORDIE           I take him back with me, yeah?                                                   PETER           Since I supplied the cutters, the           horse is mine. This is fair, no?                                                   GEORDIE           In a pig's eye. He's English, plain           to see.                                                   PETER           Oh, you mean because he's so filthy?                                                   GEORDIE           Because he's so smart. And you're           none too clean yourself.           94.                                                   PETER           We could box. And the winner gets           the horse.                                   The Geordie smiles.                                                   GEORDIE           No, thanks, pet. Must be careful not           to start a war.           (patting his pockets:)           Do you have a coin of any sort?                                                   PETER           Coin toss?                                                   GEORDIE           Yeah.          He takes a coin from his pocket, hands it to the Geordie, who          looks at it.                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           All right, Fritz - you're on.                                   He flips the coin back to Peter.                                                   PETER           My name is not Fritz - it is Peter.                                                   GEORDIE           Peter - I'm Colin.                                                   PETER           You call it, Colin.                                                   GEORDIE           Heads.          Peter spins it in the air and lets it fall into the mud. They          look down. Peter shakes his head, resigned.                                                   PETER           That's the face of my Kaiser and he does not           look pleased with me. The horse is yours.                                   They collect their helmets as snow begins to blow around          them.                                                   GEORDIE           Gone quiet, hasn't it?                                                   PETER           Yes.                          (PAUSE)                          (MORE)           95.                          PETER (CONT'D)           But wait half an hour and we'll be shooting           again.                                                   GEORDIE           I'm a terrible shot, Pete, don't believe           I'll ever hit the target.                                   He hands back the cutters.                                                   PETER           Thanks.                                   He notices the Geordie has offered his hand, as well. A          beat, then Peter shakes with him.                                                   PETER (CONT'D)           Cheerio, mate.                          (RE JOEY:)           You'll take good care of him, yes?                                                   GEORDIE           I will.                                                   PETER           Our strange beast.                                                   GEORDIE           And you take care of your own           strange self.                                   Peter tosses Geordie his cutters.                                                   PETER           Colin! A pair of German cutters - in memory           of your handsome friend from Dusseldorf.                                                   GEORDIE           Thanks.                                   Peter nods, and walks back to his trench. As he goes, the          Geordie calls after him:                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           I'll use `em back in the garden in           South Shields. You keep your head           down, now, Pete me lad!                                   As he walks away, Peter turns back briefly, calling:                                                   PETER           Remarkable! A remarkable horse!                                   The Geordie leads Joey towards the British trenches.           96.                                   EXT. TRENCHES. THE SAME.                                   Joey is now in the trenches, splashing about in the ankle          deep water. He seems enormous in this cramped labyrinth. He          is led past the broken and wounded soldiers who look at him          with amazement, dumbfounded. It is a surreal image. The horse          where horses shouldn't be.                                   As Joey makes his journey through the trenches soldiers          excitedly gather to watch him come by, taking pleasure in the          saving of this single life.                                   EXT. TRENCHES. THE SAME.                                   We arrive at a section we recognise as the place from where          Albert set off only the night before. Sergeant Martin is          there - as one man helps a wounded soldier into a medical          area. It is David, hobbling and looking shell-shocked.          Another wounded soldier approaches, but Martin waves him on.                                                   SERGEANT MARTIN           We're full up. Move on.                                   David is seated next to Albert, who now seems in worse          condition. His eyes are bandaged and he's wheezing. Andrew          is nowhere to be seen. As a MEDICAL OFFICER checks Albert:.                                                   DAVID           The gas got him - we had to wait           till morning.                                   The medic moves to Sergeant Martin, looking stricken.                                                   MEDICAL OFFICER           This can't be all of us.                                                   SERGEANT MARTIN           This is all.           (bellowing to the men)           All walking wounded, away to the           dressing station! Away to the           dressing station!                                   EXT. HOSPITAL AREA. LATER.                                   Joey is led into the hospital area beyond the trenches. The          Geordie leads him through the snowy streets. Bandaged men          strewn around, wounded soldiers waiting for attention.                                   The waiting soldiers gather to view the strange spectacle of          the horse.           97.                                   At one of the dressing areas, a NURSE tends to Albert's          damaged eyes. Behind him, we see Joey pass in the street,          but Albert doesn't know it.                                   Joey limps, his foreleg clearly injured. The Geordie soldier          stops outside a makeshift hospital. Joey looks frail and          exhausted.                                   A DOCTOR storms over from his patients.                                                   DOCTOR           What's this doing here?                                                   GEORDIE           We need a vet, sir.                                                   DOCTOR           There are no vets. We've scarcely           any horses left.                                                   GEORDIE           He's cut all over, but this leg           here's got the worst of it.                                   Geordie strokes Joey as the Doctor examines him.                                                   DOCTOR           It's probably tetanus. It's no good.                                                   GEORDIE           Please, sir -                                   The Doctor heads back into the hospital, dismissive.                                                   DOCTOR           I've all these men to take care of,           corporal, you can see that, can't           you?                                                   GEORDIE           Please, sir, this horse can pull           through anything.                                   The doctor absorbs his earnest appeal.                                   EXT. INTENSIVE CARE TENT. SAME.                                   Elsewhere, a line of soldiers waiting for medical assistance          are curious about what is going on. Blinded by gas, eyes          bandaged, one of them turns toward the commotion. It is          Albert.                                                   ALBERT           What is it?           98.                                                   AN ORDERLY           It's a horse they found, wandering about in           No Man's Land.           (easing him back onto a                          COT)           Down you go.                                                   ALBERT           What kind of an horse?                                                   AN ORDERLY           Bloody miraculous kind of an horse,           be my guess. Nothing makes it out           of No Man's Land.                                   Albert lies there, but can't let go of the thought:                                                   ALBERT           Miraculous horse...                                   EXT. HOSPITAL AREA. SAME.                                   Joey stands - breathing very deeply. The Doctor touches his          wounded leg.                                   The men from all over the medical area gather around Joey          concerned about their new hero's pain.                                   The doctor looks at the Geordie and frowns shaking his head          "no."                                                   GEORDIE           (to the doctor:)           He was alive, y'see, sir, where           nothing survives, so to me and me           mates, to the men, sir, he's - Well,           we have high hopes for him -                          DOCTOR           You should shoot him now.                                   The Geordie is broken hearted.                                                   GEORDIE           Oh, but I can't.                                                   DOCTOR           It'd be a mercy, lad, that leg's not           going to mend.                                   The Doctor sadly addresses a nearby Sergeant.                                                   DOCTOR (CONT'D)           Sergeant. Put him out of his misery.           99.                                   The doctor nods his head towards Joey. The sergeant, SERGEANT          FRY, takes his gun from his holster, checks that it's loaded.          He turns to some nearby NURSES, urging them away.                                                   SERGEANT FRY           Ladies, if you please.                                   Total silence from the crowd who have gathered. They thought          they were there to see something wonderful. And now they find          that they've gathered for an execution - but can't take their          eyes off it. The Sergeant waves them back.                                    SERGEANT FRY (CONT'D)           All right, back off. Back off.                                   The Geordie is the last to step away from Joey. The sergeant          draws breath - before he steps forward to take aim. Joey is          totally still, sensing the atmosphere.          The sergeant cocks his pistol.                                   Suddenly there is a strange owl like whistle from fifty yards          away. Joey looks around startled.                                   The sergeant turns Joey's head back around, raises his pistol          once more.                                   Then, the whistle again. Even the doctor notices this time.                                   Joey turns. Slowly, the crowd parts - another owl whistle -          and we see Albert, his eyes bandaged - walking forward          blindly - guided by the hands of the crowd.                                   One soldier urges Albert gently.                                                   SOLDIER           Go on. Do it again.          One more whistle.                                                   ALBERT           Joey?                                   And this time, Joey trots over to Albert. The horse nuzzles          into him. Albert can't see Joey but he touches him.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)                          (SOFTLY:)           Hello, Joey. Hello boy. Where you           been then, hey? Where in the world           you been?                                   He strokes Joey's mane. Joey responds, becoming very still.          The Doctor approaches with the Geordie.           100.                                                   DOCTOR           (to the Geordie:)           Do you know this man?                                   The Geordie shakes his head, no. The Doctor speaks to Albert,          gently; clearly he thinks he's dealing with a traumatized,          possibly crazy soldier.                                                   DOCTOR (CONT'D)           What's your name?                                   Albert, realizing he's being addressed, turns to the doctor.                                                   ALBERT           Narracott, Private Albert Narracott,           sir.                                                   DOCTOR           This is a random horse, Narracott,           and too badly injured.           (to the orderly)           Is this man in your care?                                                   AN ORDERLY           Yes, sir.                                                   ALBERT           He's not random at all, sir! He's my           horse, I raised him, in Devon. Sir,           look at his legs! He's got four           white socks, he's brown all over -           (points to his own                          FOREHEAD)           - and he has a white mark here -           like so...                                   He makes the shape of a diamond with his hands. The doctor          turns to the orderly.                                                   DOCTOR           Take him back.                                                   AN ORDERLY           Come on, son.                                                   GEORDIE           Wait! You can't see `cause of the           mud.                                   The Geordie looks around, spots a bucket of water, grabs it          and uses a rag to clean Joey's legs, revealing the socks. The          Geordie looks at the doctor.           101.                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           Four white socks!                                   The doctor takes a rag himself and wipes Joey's snout,          revealing the white diamond mark.                                   The Sergeant takes this in...and holsters his pistol.                                                   SERGEANT FRY           All right, break it up. Clear off,           the lot of ya.                                                   ALBERT           You see, sir? He's not random at           all.                                   The doctor steps up to him.                          DOCTOR           We will attend to your horse. Patch           him up best we can. Treat him like           the soldier he is.                                                   ALBERT           Thank you, sir.                                   With one last amazed look at Albert and Joey, the doctor          returns to the hospital area.                                   Moments later - Albert, the Geordie, and Sergeant Fry all          lead Joey through the snowy street together.                                   EXT. MESS HALL. EARLY MORNING.                                   Sergeant Fry strides into the middle of the throng of          soldiers.                          SERGEANT FRY           Gentlemen! Gentlemen! It falls on me to give           you some important news. At eleven o'clock           today, in two minutes time - the War will           come to an end.                                   Shock from the troops. Strangely muted. Not the explosion of          emotion you might have expected.                                   Albert enters, his eyes still red, but no longer bandaged.                                    SERGEANT FRY (CONT'D)           The King and Queen thank you for your           service. We have been victorious - even if           at a higher price than many of us might have           imagined.                          (MORE)           102.           SERGEANT FRY (CONT'D)           When the bells ring out - and they will in a           moment, for the first time for four years -           let us remember our brothers fallen in the           field. And thank God for the end of this           struggle and victory.                                   And, in the distance, the church bells ring.                                   INT. STABLES. THE SAME.                                   Joey stands tall, eating some hay, now healed.                                   INT. FIELD OFFICE. DAY.                                   Complete change of atmosphere. Silence. Tension. Albert          stands at attention with Sergeant Fry. A severe Major is          behind his desk.                          ALBERT           I don't understand, sir.                                                   MAJOR TOMPKINS           Officers' horses only. All other           horses are to be auctioned           immediately.                                                   SERGEANT FRY           That is a complete and bloody outrage. It's           the lad's horse, sir, from Devon. He raised           him up from a pup, he did. Trained him           right up to the day when the army came to           town.                                                   MAJOR TOMPKINS           These aren't my orders, sergeant.                          (TO ALBERT)           You'll have to take him to market. That's           all.                                   INT. STABLES, DAY.                                   Albert puts on a brave face as he collects Joey and leads him          out of the stables in silence.                                   EXT. THE STABLES, THE SAME.                                   As Albert comes out the men have gathered. There's a strange          sense of optimism, for such a gloomy moment. The Geordie          comes up to Albert and hands him a sheaf of pound notes.                                                   GEORDIE           We've all clubbed together. It's everything           we have. There's twenty-nine pounds there.           Buy him back.           103.                                                   ALBERT           Does the Major know?                                                   GEORDIE           The Major put in ten.                                   The Geordie flashes a sly wink.                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           Mum's the word where the Major's           concerned. Your friend on the           crutches over there -                                   He turns to indicate David Lyons, who nods at Albert          solemnly.                                                   GEORDIE (CONT'D)           - even asked the Major to say that           Joey was his, an officer's horse, so           that he could go back with the           others.                                   Albert is amazed. He is about to show his gratitude when the          sergeant major shouts:                                                   SERGEANT FRY           Come on, Narracott! Get a move on. We don't           want to miss the show.                                   Albert snaps to attention and begins to lead Joey out of the          parade ground with the other horses.                                   As they walk off, the sergeant silently adds some of his own          money to the notes in Albert's hand.                                   EXT. MARKET PLACE. DAY.          The intense bustle of the market. Farmers are gathered,          bidding for horses.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Seven pounds! Seven pounds there!           Seven pounds! Eight pounds here!                                   A groom leads Joey to the auction pen with other horses.                                                   AUCTIONEER (CONT'D)           Eight pounds! Ten pounds here! Any           advance? Sold!                                   INT. AUCTION PEN. THE SAME.                                   Albert waits anxiously, the Geordie lad by his side, as Joey          is led into the pen.           104.                                                   GEORDIE           You're alright. Nobody's gonna bid more than           fifteen for a thoroughbred. They want work           horses.                                   The auctioneer starts the bidding on Joey.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Next one. We start at four pounds.           Four pounds.                                   The farmers seem disinterested, shaking of heads. The bidding          starts. Five pounds, six, seven, now it goes slowly, eight,          nine, ten. Albert looks pleased at how it's going. He feels          the cash in his hand. It seems to stick on ten, then a new          hand comes up at the back of the auction - it is a nasty          looking moustached man.                          THE BUTCHER           Eleven.                                   Sergeant Fry scowls.                                                   SERGEANT FRY           It's the butcher from Cambrai. He's           been bidding for the best all           morning.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Eleven. Eleven pounds. Eleven pounds.                                                   SERGEANT FRY           Let me handle this, private.           (he calls out) )           Fifteen, and let that be an end to it.                                   He looks daggers at the Butcher.                          AUCTIONEER           Fifteen pounds.                                                   BUTCHER           Sixteen.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Sixteen pounds.                                                   SERGEANT FRY           Seventeen.                                                   BUTCHER           Twenty of your English pounds. And let THAT           be the end of it, my friend.           105.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Twenty pounds.                                                   SERGEANT FRY           Twenty Five.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Twenty five pounds.                                                   BUTCHER           Twenty Six.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Twenty six pounds.                                   The men are all looking very worried... There's not much          left.                          SERGEANT FRY           Twenty seven.                                                   BUTCHER           Twenty eight.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Twenty eight pounds.                                                   SERGEANT FRY           Twenty nine.                                                   BUTCHER           And thirty.                                                   AUCTIONEER           Any advance at thirty pounds?                                   Then, from the back, another, new French voice...                          FINAL BIDDER           One hundred pounds.                                   He steps to the front of the crowd, and suddenly we see who          it is. It is Emilie's Grandfather.                                                   GRANDFATHER           And sir, if you bid against me, I will sell           the coat on my back and bid to one hundred           and ten. And if you bid against me again, I           will sell my farm and bid to a thousand.                                   Everyone looks at Albert who is devastated. Albert is          reeling. He hears the auctioneer repeat the final amount and          brings down his gavel.           106.                                                   AUCTIONEER           One hundred pounds. Going, going,           gone.                                   The soldiers slowly disperse, leaving Albert to stare at          Joey. It really is all over.                                   EXT. THE AUCTION. THE SAME.                                   The Grandfather finishes paying for Joey. Albert and the          Geordie stand in front of the grandfather.                                                   ALBERT           Sir, I'll give you all your money.           Everything you paid when we get back           to England. I'll give you twice -                                                   GRANDFATHER           You don't know anything about him.                                                   ALBERT           Oh, but you're wrong, sir, I know           everything!                                                   GRANDFATHER           Yes, you found him! I heard you           found a horse in the wire between           the armies -                                                   GEORDIE           No, I found him, he raised him -                                   The Grandfather goes to Joey and takes his reins.                                                   GRANDFATHER           When I heard about the miracle           horse, I traveled three days because           I knew whose horse it was. My           granddaughter's. She saved his life!           He was everything to her.                                   He pauses, briefly, to collect himself.                                                   GEORDIE           Where is your granddaughter?                                                   GRANDFATHER           The war has taken everything from           everyone. He is all that I have left           of her.                                   The Grandfather leads Joey away. Joey pulls, firmly but not          wildly, on the rein the grandfather's holding. The          grandfather lets go.           107.                                   He watches as Joey walks to Albert and nuzzles him. They have          a moment together. The Grandfather watches carefully.                                   Albert puts his face right near Joey - speaks gently.                                                   ALBERT           Don't be worried, boy, when I go. I           won't worry over you none. Hey, I           found you, didn't I, and you found           me.                                   Grandfather softens and begins to wonder about this soldier.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           And we'll both... we'll both know           that we made it through. Now go on.                                   He leads Joey back to the Grandfather.                          ALBERT (CONT'D)           We're the lucky ones. Always have           been. Lucky since the day I met you.                                   He quietly hands over the reins.                                                   ALBERT (CONT'D)           God be with you, sir.                                   The grandfather looks at Albert, then takes the regimental          pennant from his pocket:                                                   GRANDFATHER           Do you know what this is?                                   Albert's amazed.                                                   ALBERT           It's my father's. It's his           regimental pennant. How did you come           by this, sir?                                   Grandfather hands Albert the pennant.                                                   GRANDFATHER           You may have this.                                   Albert takes the pennant and looks at it, his eyes filling          with tears.                                                   ALBERT           Thank you ever so much for this,           sir...           108.                                                   GRANDFATHER           (with a sigh)           ... And this.                                   He hands Albert Joey's reins. Albert turns to face him,          almost mute with disbelief. He reaches for his money.                                                   GRANDFATHER (CONT'D)           No no, not necessary. He belongs to           you. That is, of course, what my           little girl would have wanted. And           she was the boss.                                   Grandfather laughs, then turns and slowly walks away.                                                   ALBERT           What was her name?                          GRANDFATHER           Emilie.           (turns back with a smile)           Her name is Emilie.                                   Albert gently embraces Joey.                                   EXT. FIELD. DEVON. DUSK.                                   Suddenly, we are back in the village in Devon, in the fold of          the valley. Dusk light. A figure approaches, silhouetted          against the setting sun.                                   Mrs. Naracott gathers the harvest, then notices as the figure          makes its way up the road to the farm.                                   A man in uniform. On a magnificent horse. Mrs. Narracott          meets them at the gate and we can finally see them clearly -          Albert and Joey.          Albert dismounts and removes his cap. An instant later, Mrs.          Narracott is hugging him for all that her life is worth.                                   EXT. ANOTHER PART OF THE FIELD. DEVON. THE SAME.                                   Ted sees them and makes his way to the field gate...shaky.          Albert approaches, and stops a slight distance away.                                   Ted opens the gate to stand before his son. Albert slips          something from his pocket and lets it unfurl in his hand -          Ted's campaign pennant.                                   Ted accepts it quietly, then offers his hand to Albert. They          shake, as men. And then slowly embrace, as father and son.           109.                                   Mrs. Narracott joins them as Joey looks on - a small family          and a beautiful horse, finally home.                                                   THE END
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+                                  WHEN A STRANGER CALLS                                       Written by                                Steve Feke and Fred Walton                                                         SHOOTING DRAFT                               FADE IN:               EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - NIGHT               A quiet upper-middle class neighborhood. The CAMERA is at                the curb, looking down the street. There are no sidewalks.                Trees arch overhead. CICADAS drone on the soundtrack.               The OPENING TITLES briefly FADE IN and OUT, framed by the                trees on either side of the street. Footsteps are heard                approaching.               As the picture TITLE FADES, out of the dark emerges a GIRL                17 years old, carrying schoolbooks. This is JILL. CAMERA                PANS with her ninety degrees as she comes to the front of a                house and stops.               Lights are on in the bottom half of the house, and the                curtains across the windows are open. A single light burns                in the upper right side of the house, presumable in a bedroom,                but the curtains in the room are drawn.               A scene TITLE appears on the lower half of the screen:                               8 pm Tuesday, March 23, 1971               The TITLE FADES, and Jill heads up the walk to the front                door of the house.               The light in the upper floor of the house is turned off.               INT. HOUSE - FRONT HALL               A middle-aged DOCTOR is standing at the foot of the stairs.                His WIFE is descending the stairs, putting on her earrings.                She is in an obvious hurry.                                     WIFE                         Where's the girl?                                     DOCTOR                         I only called her ten minutes ago --                                     WIFE                              (passing into living                               room)                         I made our reservation for 8:15.                          We're going to be late.               The doorbell rings.                                     DOCTOR                         Here she is now.               He crosses to the front door and opens it. The girl smiles                at him uncomfortably from outside.                                     JILL                         Dr. Minakis?                                     DOCTOR                         Mandrakis. It's okay. Everyone gets                          it wrong the first time. You're Jill?                          Come on in.                                     JILL                              (entering)                         Thank you.               The wife comes back into the front hall.                                     WIFE                         I've written the number of the                          restaurant on the notepad by the                          phone.                              (to Doctor)                         Zip me up, will you please?                              (to Jill)                         If we aren't home in two hours, it                          means we've decided to go on to a                          movie and won't be back until after                          midnight. Is that all right?                                     JILL                         Sure.                                     DOCTOR                              (helping wife on with                               her coat)                         I've told my service to pick up any                          calls coming in to my office phone.                                     WIFE                         The children are asleep upstairs --                          first door on your left at the top                          of the landing. They're both just                          getting over a cold -- so try not to                          wake them.                                     JILL                         Okay.                                     WIFE                         Do you have any questions?               Jill shakes her head.                                     WIFE                         We have to go now. We're late.               They cross to the front door and begin to exit.                                     DOCTOR                         Make yourself at home. The                          refrigerator's loaded.                                     WIFE                              (pulling doctor through                               the door)                         Goodbye.               The doctor pokes his head back through the door.                                     DOCTOR                         We even have some low-fat yogurt.                                     WIFE (O.S.)                         Will you please come on!                                     DOCTOR                         Bye.               The doctor pulls the door shut behind him. Jill turns toward                the living room. Pause. She walks into the living room and                sets her books down on a table with the telephone on it.               O.S. we hear the car doors close, the engine start up, then                the car backing out the driveway and heading down the street.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. DINING ROOM - LATER               It is dark. O.S. we hear the phone in the living room being                lifted off its receiver, a dial tone, then a number is dialed.                Pause, then ringing. CAMERA SLOWLY DOLLIES from the dining                room, across the front hall and into the living room where                we see Jill talking over the phone to a girlfriend, NANCY.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         Hello?                                     JILL                         Nancy?                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         Hello, Jill? How's it going?                              (out of phone)                         I got it, Dad!                              (beat)                         Father!                              (into phone again)                         Jesus Christ! My father's in one of                          his moods again. Male menopause, you                          know. So how are you?                                     JILL                         All right.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         Are you over at Dr. Mandrakis'?                                     JILL                         Yeah, I've been here for about an                          hour already.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         Isn't it a neat house?                                     JILL                         I guess... I haven't looked around                          very much.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         Did you see his kids?                                     JILL                         No, they were asleep when I got here.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         They're really cute. So what can I                          do for you?                                     JILL                         You didn't happen to talk to Billy                          today, did you?                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         Yeah, I talked to him.                                     JILL                         Did he say anything about me?               Pause.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         I don't know what you did to him, or                          said to him, or what... but he's                          really pissed off at you! What did                          you do?                                     JILL                         It's what I didn't do.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                              (sarcastic)                         Yeah, I can imagine.                                     JILL                         Do me a favor, Nance.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         What.                                     JILL                         Do you think you'll be talking with                          Billy some time tonight?                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         Prabably. I'm going to the library                          in a few minutes. I just have to get                          out of this house!                              (beat)                         Hey! Why don't Billy and I come over                          there? He'll come along if I tell                          him to.                                     JILL                         That isn't what I had in mind.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         You'll be safe with Billy. I'll be                          there. Come on.                                     JILL                         Nancy, all you want to do is come                          over here and get drunk.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         Who? Me?                                     JILL                              (mimicking)                         Who? Me?                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         You want to see Billy, don't you?!                                     JILL                         I've got a lot of work to do. I don't                          want you coming over!               Long pause.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         You know what your problem is, Jill,                          is you're so straight. I really mean                          that. You go to a private school,                          you wear a bra. No one can have a                          good time with you!                              (beat)                         You know, Billy asked me to go out                          with him this weekend, and I was                          really really tempted because I like                          Billy... a lot... as much as you do.                          But I told him I couldn't, that I                          didn't think it was right because                          you were my friend --                                     JILL                         You are my friend.               Pause.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         Yeah. I guess so.                                     JILL                         Listen, just give Billy the number                          here, but don't tell him I told you                          to. Okay?               Pause.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         Okay. I've got to go now.                                     JILL                         Okay, Nancy. Bye. And thank you.                                     NANCY (O.S.)                         Yeah. Bye.               Jill makes a face at the phone and hangs up. She tries to go                back to her homework, but she cannot.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER               Jill is working now, diligently. The phone rings. She picks                it up.                                     JILL                         Hello?               There is a brief pause; then the line goes dead and a dial                tone cuts in. Jill hangs up and goes back to work.               Pause.               The phone rings again. Jill picks it up.                                     JILL                         Billy?...               A VOICE speaks on the other end of the phone.                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         Have you checked the children?                                     JILL                         What?               The line goes dead. Dial tone. Jill hangs up and goes right                back to work.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER               Jill sits at the table as before, doing her homework, smoking                a cigarette. The phone rings. Jill picks it up.                                     JILL                         Hello?                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         Have you checked the children?                                     JILL                         Mrs. Mandrakis?               The line goes dead. Dial tone. Jill hangs up and looks off                into space, thinking.               O.S. we hear a faint rattling noise from somewhere in the                house. Jill hears it too. She stubs out her cigarette, gets                up from the table and walks out of the living room.               INT. HALLWAY               Jill enters the hallway and pauses. Then she starts walking                slowly down the hall to the kitchen door.               Again the rattling noise O.S., only louder this time. Jill                stops dead, listens, then continues forward even more                cautiously.               INT. KITCHEN               As Jill enters. She cannot find the lightswitch, so she stands                in the darkness listening. Again the rattle, very close now.                Jill turns her head sharply, then walks to the refrigerator                and opens it. It is only the automatic icemaker creating the                rattle.               Jill takes a piece of cake from the refrigerator and leaves                the kitchen.               INT. LIVING ROOM               Jill is sitting at the table, polishing off the cake. Then,                the phone rings. Jill stands up quickly and picks up the                phone.                                     JILL                         Hello!               Pause.                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         Have you checked the children?                                     JILL                         Billy! I don't think this is very                          funny!               Pause. "Billy" doesn't answer.                                     JILL                         ...Who is this?               The line goes dead. Jill stands frozen beside the table with                the phone in her hand as the dial tone gets louder and louder.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER               Jill is standing at the wet bar in the corner, pouring herself                a drink. She samples the alcohol, doesn't cough, and starts                to pour a little more into the glass.               The phone rings. Jill turns, then slowly walks to the table,                kneels down and quietly picks up the phone and brings it to                her ear. She waits and listens, a full three seconds. No                sound comes to her.               She quickly hangs up the phone before the silence can be                broken by the voice she knows is waiting on the other end.                Then, she shuffles through her books and papers on the table-               top until she finds the notepad the doctor's wife has left                for her with the name and phone number of the restaurant.               Jill picks up the phone and dials. After several rings...                                     MAITRE D' (O.S.)                         Golden Bull...                                     JILL                         Hello, I'd like to speak to Dr.                          Mandrakis. This is his babysitter.                                     MAITRE D' (O.S.)                         Hold on a minute.               Jill waits for several seconds until the Maitre D' comes                back on the line.                                     MAITRE D' (O.S.)                         Hello?                                     JILL                         Yes?                                     MAITRE D' (O.S.)                         Dr. Mandrakis left the restaurant                          about forty minutes ago.                                     JILL                         Forty minutes?                                     MAITRE D' (O.S.)                         That's right.                                     JILL                              (after a beat)                         Okay. Thank you.               She hangs up, thinks for a moment, then picks up the phone                again and dials "O"...                                     OPERATOR (O.S.)                         Operator...                                     JILL                         Hello, Operator? Can you get me the                          police?                                     OPERATOR (O.S.)                         Is this an emergency?                                     JILL                         Yes!                              (beat)                         No, not really.                                     OPERATOR (O.S.)                         The number is 555-9431. Would you                          like me to connect you?                                     JILL                         Please.               Pause.                                     MAN'S VOICE (O.S.)                         Seventh Precinct, Sergeant Sacker.                                     JILL                         Hello, I've been getting phone calls,                          every fifteen minutes or so. I think                          it's a man. He's trying to scare me.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         An anonymous caller?                                     JILL                         That's right.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Has he threatened you?                                     JILL                         No.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Has he been using obscene language?                                     JILL                         No. He just keeps calling me.                          Sometimes he doesn't say anything.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         There's really nothing we can do                          about it down here. Is the phone                          listed in your name?                                     JILL                         No, I'm just the babysitter.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         It's probably just some weirdo. The                          city's full of them. Believe it or                          not, we get reports like this every                          night. It's nothing to worry about.                                     JILL                         Oh...                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Have you tried whistling?                                     JILL                         What?                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         If you can find a good loud whistle                          somewhere in the house, blow it into                          the phone hard, next time he calls.                          Probably break his eardrum. He won't                          bother you after that.                                     JILL                         No, I... You're probably right. It's                          nothing to worry about.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Or you could just take your phone                          off the hook.                                     JILL                         No, the people I'm babysitting for                          might try to reach me.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Well, as I say, there's nothing we                          can really do to help you down here.                                     JILL                         Okay. Thank you.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         You bet. Goodnight.                                     JILL                         Goodnight.               Jill hangs up. After thinking for a moment, she tries a couple                of ways of whistling as loud as she can, but frustrated and                feeling foolish, she soon gives up.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER               Jill is sitting in an armchair facing the TV set. The TV is                on, but she is bored. She runs through several channels,                then gets up and turns the TV off.               She looks around and moves aimlessly back to the table, but                O.S. a dog is barking and she is drawn to the window. A car                passes outside, its lights reflecting off the window and                Jill's face.               Then the phone rings. Jill moves quickly from the window to                the table and answers the phone.                                     JILL                         Hello?               Pause.                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         Why haven't you checked the children?               Stunned, Jill hangs up the phone. She turns and goes slowly                back to the window. She pulls the shutters closed in front                of the window. Then she walks out of the living room.               INT. FRONT HALL               Jill goes to the front door, turns the bolt and draws the                chain across the door. Then she starts to go upstairs.               The phone rings. She stops halfway up the stairs. She turns                and comes back down the stairs to answer the phone, but then                thinks better of it. She sits on the bottom step and lets                the phone ring and ring...               Finally, it stops. Jill gets up and heads into the living                room.               INT. LIVING ROOM               Jill goes to the table, picks up the phone and dials...                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Seventh Precinct, Sergeant Sacker.                                     JILL                         I called you before... about the man                          who keeps calling me?                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Oh, yeah.                                     JILL                         He called me again.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Did you try whistling?                                     JILL                         No, he's out there somewhere.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Out where?                                     JILL                         In the neighborhood. He's been                          watching me... through the windows.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Did you see him?                                     JILL                         No. I know he's there.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Is the house locked up?                                     JILL                         Yes.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         And the windows?                                     JILL                         Yes. Everything.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Then you're safe. If he wanted to                          break in, he wouldn't be calling                          you.               Pause.                                     JILL                         Please, can't you help me? I'm all                          alone.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Tell you what. If this guy calls you                          again --                                     JILL                         He will call again! I know he will!                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Okay, calm down now. I can alert the                          phone company so that if he calls                          again we can try to trace the call.                          What's your number there?                                     JILL                         555-0672.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         And the address?                                     JILL                         3317 Oakridge Drive.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Oh, yeah, I know where that is. All                          right. If the guy calls again, try                          to keep him on the line for at least                          a minute so we can trace the call.                                     JILL                         But he never stays on that long!                          Sometimes he hangs up after just a                          couple of seconds.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         It's the only way we can help you.                              (beat)                         By the way, what's your name?                                     JILL                         Jill Johnson.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Jill, the important thing is to relax.                          You're safe where you are. We've got                          patrolmen cruising the area all night                          long. Just stay calm. Will you do                          that for me?                                     JILL                         Yes.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         In the meantime, we'll be watching                          your line. Okay, Jill?                                     JILL                         Okay.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Call again if there's any problem.                                     JILL                         Thank you.                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Goodnight.               Jill hangs up the phone and looks forlornly off into space.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER               Jill is sitting on the sofa, a drink in one hand, a cigarette                in the other. She is waiting. She sets her glass down, stubs                out the cigarette, leans back and sighs. She is very tense.               Then the phone rings. She rises from the sofa and slowly                crosses to the table. She sits down and picks up the phone.                During this conversation it becomes apparent that the VOICE                has a slight English accent.                                     JILL                         Hello?               Pause.                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         It's me.                                     JILL                         I know. Who are you?               Pause. No answer.                                     JILL                         I won't be here much longer. The                          doctor and his wife are coming home                          soon.                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         I know.                                     JILL                         Can you see me?                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         Yes.                                     JILL                              (turning toward the                               window)                         I'm sorry I turned the lights down.                          It didn't work anyway. I can turn                          them back up if you like --                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         Don't.                                     JILL                         Don't?                              (beat)                         You've really scared me. Is that                          what you wanted?                              (beat)                         Is that what you wanted?                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         No.                                     JILL                         What do you want?                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         Your blood... all over me.               Pause. Jill is terrified.                                     JILL                         You don't know me. You don't know                          who I am or where I live. I'll get                          Dr. Mandrakis to drive me home. Him                          or the police.                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         You've called the police?               Pause. Jill searches for some way of answering him.                                     JILL                         I want to talk to you.               The line goes dead. Jill hangs up. She stands. She starts to                shake.               The phone rings and Jill snatches it up.                                     JILL                         Leave me alone!                                     SACKER (O.S.)                         Jill, this is Sergeant Sacker! Listen                          to me!                              (beat)                         We've traced the call. It's coming                          from within the house. A squad car's                          on its way over there now... just                          get out of that house!               Jill hangs up. She stands frozen in shock. Several seconds                go by. She doesn't move.               Then the phone rings. She turns and tiptoes toward the front                door. Halfway there, the phone stops ringing. She pauses for                a second, then continues.               INT. FRONT HALL               Jill reaches the front door. Carefully, quietly, she turns                the bolt. Then O.S. she hears a creak. She turns and looks                up the staircase. At the top, a door is opening. Someone is                coming out! A mumbling sound is heard on the sound track.               Jill whirls around back to the door and yanks at it. It opens,                but only an inch. The chain is still across it! She                frantically works to get the chain free. After agonizing                seconds, the chain falls clear and the door swings open.               Standing there on the other side of the door, is a police                Detective, JOHN CLIFFORD. (We have cut ahead in time some                twenty or thirty minutes.) Behind him on the street, several                patrol cars and an ambulance are pulled up at the curb, their                domelights silently flashing.                                     CLIFFORD                         Are the parents here yet?                                     COP'S VOICE (O.S.)                         Yeah, they arrived about ten minutes                          ago.                                     CLIFFORD                         Christ!                              (beat)                         What a homecoming!                                     COP'S VOICE (O.S.)                         They wanted to talk to someone. I                          asked them to wait until you got                          here. Come on in.               Clifford sighs and steps into the front hall. The door is                closed by the uniformed COP with whom Clifford has been                speaking. The cop is a man in his thirties. His name is                CHARLES GARBER. Garber and Clifford stand in the front hall                and talk as POLICEMEN and AMBULANCE ATTENDANTS move around                them. In the living room beyond can be seen several other                POLICEMEN, Dr. Mandrakis and his wife.                                     GARBER                         We were only a block away when the                          call went out. When we got here, the                          guy was still waiting upstairs in                          the children's bedroom. He was covered                          with blood.                                     CLIFFORD                         Blood?                                     GARBER                         Not his own. The children had been                          dead for several hours.                                     CLIFFORD                         Jesus...                                     GARBER                         He'd been using an old phone in their                          bedroom that the parents had never                          had disconnected.                                     CLIFFORD                         Who is he?                                     GARBER                         We found a Merchant Seaman's card on                          him. He's English. Entered the country                          less than a week ago.                                     CLIFFORD                         How about the babysitter?                                     GARBER                         She's going to be all right.               As Garber delivers his final line, we see ambulance attendants                dressed in white, taking a sheet-covered stretcher out the                front door.                                                                  FADE OUT:               FADE IN:               EXT. STREET - LATER AFTERNOON               An upper-class neighborhood. The CAMERA is facing down the                street. A car approaches the intersection at the end of the                block, turns and comes slowly up the street.               Because it is not a new car or an expensive car, and because                it is moving at a rate which suggests that its sole male                occupant is looking for house numbers, we can assume that                the DRIVER is a visitor to this neighborhood.               The CAMERA PANS with the car ninety degrees as it turns into                the semi-circular driveway of a mansion and rolls up to the                front door.               A TITLE appears across the bottom of the screen:                             4:30 pm Thursday, April 20, 1978               As the TITLE FADES, the driver shuts off the car engine and                opens the door to get out.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. MANSION - DAY               The doorbell rings. A HOUSEBOY comes into the front hall,                goes to the door and opens it for the visitor. It is John                Clifford, the detective from six years ago.               He has aged noticeably over the years. His hair is grayer,                his stance not so aggressive, but his eyes still smoulder                with the accumulated frustration of having spent years in an                uncertain, sometimes unsatisfying, and frequently unsafe                occupation.               No words are exchanged as the houseboy leads Clifford across                the entrance hall and up an imposing flight of stairs. Still                keen in his observation of things, Clifford quickly takes in                this new atmosphere.               The house is richly decorated but with an underlying theme                of melancholy. There are no bright or cheerful furnishings,                and the houseboy advances with guarded tread, his face steady                and reverent.               The houseboy stops before a door at the top of the staircase                and raps lightly on it with his knuckles. Without waiting                for an answer, he opens the door and steps aside for Clifford                to enter.               Clifford pauses briefly, then walks into what appears to be                an upstairs study.               INT. STUDY - DAY               A MAN is sitting behind a desk which faces the door.                Presumably he is the master of the house. Although his face                is hidden in shadows, we can see from his hands that he is                engaged in writing something down.               Clifford quietly approaches the desk and takes a seat in                front of it. Then, vaguely in keeping with the spirit of the                house, he waits to be spoken to rather than interrupt the                pervasive stillness.               After a moment, the master of the house lays down his pen                and leans back in his chair. Pause.                                     MASTER                         So you're in business for yourself                          now.                                     CLIFFORD                              (quietly)                         Yes, sir, for the past three and a                          half years.                                     MASTER                         That's good.                              (beat)                         And you'd heard about Curt Duncan's                          escape?                                     CLIFFORD                         Oh, yes.                                     MASTER                         Do you think the police will... find                          him?               Pause.                                     CLIFFORD                         I know they haven't assigned anyone                          to it specifically. It's an old case.                                     MASTER                              (a tinge of bitterness)                         An old case.                              (beat)                         Can you find him?                                     CLIFFORD                         Yes. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not                          this week, but I'll find him.                                     MASTER                         He could be anywhere by now.                                     CLIFFORD                         I don't think so... because he's a                          foreigner. He'll come back to the                          city. After six years in confinement,                          it's the only place that's familiar                          to him. That's important.               Pause.                                     MASTER                         A man murders two children in cold                          blood. A jury declares him insane.                          How could such a person not be?               Clifford lowers his eyes, doesn't answer.                                     MASTER                         He is sent to a state mental                          institution where the security is...                          less than perfect. And he escapes.                          It... it isn't fair.               The master of the house leans way forward over his desk, and                his face comes out of the shadows and into the light. It is                Dr. Mandrakis.               He seems much older. His complexion is pallid. His eyes stare                out from beneath his brow like a wounded animal hiding in a                dark cave.                                     MANDRAKIS                         A thing like that should never be                          allowed to happen again.                                     CLIFFORD                         I couldn't agree with you more.               They look at each other for a long moment of acknowledgment.                Then Mandrakis stands up with a sigh.                                     MANDRAKIS                         Go ahead then. My accountant will                          contact you.               Clifford stands and they shake hands.                                     CLIFFORD                         Thank you.                              (beat)                         How is Mrs. Mandrakis?                                     MANDRAKIS                         She is... unable to have any more                          children.                                     CLIFFORD                         I'm sorry. Please give her my best.                                     MANDRAKIS                         Of course.               Clifford turns to go.               INT. MANSION - STAIRCASE & ENTRANCE HALL               As Clifford finds his own way down the stairs and out the                front door.               A WOMAN watches Clifford leave from the back of the staircase.                It is Mrs. Mandrakis. As with her husband, the change in her                is remarkable. She is now a brooding, barren woman.               O.S. the front door closes. Clifford is gone. Mrs. Mandrakis                walks around the front of the stairs and begins slowly                ascending them.               The houseboy silently steps into the entrance hall from a                side door and watches her.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. A HALLWAY - MENTAL INSTITUTION - DAY               A male PATIENT wearing green, institutional pajamas and                slippers shuffles slowly up the hall. His movement is                catatonic, unfocused.               Canned Musak faintly underscores the scene.                                     MAN'S VOICE (O.S.)                         Curt Duncan isn't going to run right                          out and kill more children. I'm not                          worried about that.               ANGLE ON CLIFFORD               Standing in the doorway of an office, facing into the hall,                watching the patient.                                     MAN'S VOICE (O.S.)                         We had him for six years... under                          continuous therapy, some of it rather                          forceful...               ANGLE ON PATIENT               Moving past CAMERA. He is really out of it. It is a                depressing, vaguely unnerving sight.                                     MAN'S VOICE (O.S.)                         ...and drugs... tranquilizers                          depressants, lithium...               ANGLE ON CLIFFORD               He turns and goes back into the office.               INT. OFFICE - DAY               We see now the MAN who's been talking -- the director of the                State Hospital, DR. MONK. He is sitting comfortably behind                his desk; his jacket off, his tie loosened, his feet up on                the desk. He is very matter-of-fact.                                     DR. MONK                         Eventually, anyone will respond to                          the treatment here.               Clifford sits down in front of the desk, picks up a folder                and leafs through it.                                     CLIFFORD                         You gave him electric shock?                                     DR. MONK                         Yeah, we zapped him a few times.                          It's fairly standard.                                     CLIFFORD                         It says here thirty-eight... thirty-                         eight times.               Monk shrugs, then yawns expansively. He needn't justify                himself to the layman.                                     CLIFFORD                         What will happen to him now, without                          the drugs he was on?               DR. MONK'S SECRETARY enters the office and hands him a folder.                Without interrupting the delivery of his lines, Monk takes                the folder, opens it, initials something on the inside, closes                the folder and hands it back to the secretary who turns and                leaves the office without uttering a word.                                     DR. MONK                         There'll be some deterioration. That's                          inevitable, but we can't say how                          much.               Pause. Clifford looks at the doctor as if questioning his                casual assessment of "some deterioration."                                     CLIFFORD                         During the time that you had him                          here, did you discover any particular                          habits of his, peculiarities, quirks,                          anything that might help me find                          him?                                     DR. MONK                              (shrugging again)                         It's all in the folder.                                     CLIFFORD                         Any letters from people back in                          England? Family?                                     DR. MONK                         That, too, is in the folder.               Clifford directs a bleak look back down at the open folder,                then looks up again, his eyes narrowing.                                     CLIFFORD                         Let's get something straight here,                          Doctor. I've been 33 years in the                          business of tracking people down and                          putting them away. I spent almost a                          year on Curt Duncan alone, with the                          trial, the testimonies, the background                          investigations. I didn't come here                          today to look in your goddamn folders.                          In fact, I wouldn't have come here                          at all if you'd done your job right.               Pause.                                     DR. MONK                         Mr. Clifford, this is a hospital,                          not a penitentiary. Everything that                          pertains to one of our patients is                          meticulously recorded in that                          patient's folder... whether you can                          make sense of it or not.               They glare at each other for several seconds. Monk is the                first one to look away.                                     DR. MONK                         Curt Duncan is a classic paranoid-                         schizophrenic. They see themselves                          as victims, and they always blame                          other people for the way they are.                          When Duncan killed the Mandrakis                          kids, it wasn't an act of hostility                          against the children but against                          their parents. He was getting back                          at his own parents for traumas he                          suffered in early childhood. The                          criminal side of Curt Duncan is one                          of terrible, symbolic vengeance.                                     CLIFFORD                              (looking up)                         Assuming he isn't found right away...                          what will happen to him?               Monk rises and walks to a window.                                     DR. MONK                         I think you'll find him. Somebody                          will find him. He can't function out                          there. He'll make a mistake.                              (turning to face                               Clifford)                         This is where he belongs. After six                          years in here, he's suddenly gone                          out to confront the world again. I                          think he's in for a bit of a shock.               Monk looks back out the window.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. CITY STREET - LATE AFTERNOON               Not a terribly good section of town. We are looking at the                nondescript exterior of a bar across the street.               INT. BAR               This is not a slum bar, but it's close. There are a few tables                and chairs and a pool table in the back. The atmosphere is                quiet, almost depressed, and the handful of REGULARS here                are exercising their privacy without having to be alone.               They include: HANK, the bartender, also the owner, who                absently polishes things with his cloth; TRACY, an unemployed                woman in her mid-forties who sits at the bar with a drink                and a cigarette and silently rummages through her current                feelings -- none of them new or particularly hopeful; a                COUPLE, probably retired, sitting at the same table they                come to every afternoon at this time -- him for his beer,                her for a glass of sweet white wine; and BILL, at the pool                table, a young man lithe and powerful, minding his own                business and playing his game of pool with a steady,                aggressive concentration.                                     RETIRED MAN                         Rackin' 'em up today, Bill?               Pause.                                     BILL                              (over his shoulder)                         Doin' all right.               The old man smiles stupidly around the room. He racked 'em                up a little in his day, too. His smile fades as he looks at                his wife. He takes a sip of beer and lapses into memories.               Then the door opens to the outside and the yellow-orange                light of late afternoon floods into the bar. The regulars                turn to glimpse who's coming in. They see the figure of a                MAN silhouetted in the doorway. He stands there for a long                moment, not coming in. Finally even Bill interrupts his game                to turn and look.                                     HANK                         C'mon in and shut the door.               The intruder enters, indecisively. The door swings shut behind                him, plunging the room back into darkness. This man is "a                little weird", and the regulars continue to stare at him                until he makes his way to a table near the wall and sits                down. Then everyone returns to his own thoughts.                                     HANK                              (after a moment)                         What'll it be?                              (pause, no answer)                         Hey! What'll it be?               CLOSEUP - INTRUDER               A bit startled, a bit defensive toward the directness of                this question. It is Curt Duncan. He looks understandably                harried. He hasn't slept or shaved in at least a couple of                days, and is wearing regular clothing.               He clears his throat to answer...                                     CLIFFORD (O.S.)                         What kind of clothes was he wearing...                          when he escaped?                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. DR. MONK'S OFFICE -DAY               Clifford is looking through the folder again.                                     DR. MONK                         Ordinary street clothes. Not all of                          our patients have to wear the green                          Gucci gowns.                                     CLIFFORD                         Did he have any money with him?                                     DR. MONK                         Probably. But not more than, say,                          fifty dollars. Some of the patients                          are given little jobs around the                          ward, for which they are paid. It's                          part of the rehabilitation.               Looking down, Clifford pauses over a page in the folder.               CLOSEUP - FACT SHEET IN FOLDER               A page of legibly organized facts and statistics about Curt                Duncan. One of the entries reads: Guy du Marraux.                                     CLIFFORD (O.S.)                              (reading)                         What's Guy du Mar--                                     DR. MONK (O.S.)                              (pronouncing it                               correctly)                         Guy du Marraux syndrom.               BACK TO SCENE                                     DR. MONK                         It's a psycho-motor dysfunction.                                     CLIFFORD                         Duncan had it?                                     DR. MONK                         Only from time to time, which is                          unusual.                                     CLIFFORD                         What is it?                                     DR. MONK                         It attacks the nervous system. People                          suffering from it are irresistibly                          compelled to utter obscenities,                          sometimes one, sometimes a whole                          string of them. They can't control                          it.                                     CLIFFORD                              (somewhat taken aback)                         Are you being serious?                                     DR. MONK                         Yeah. Here, I'll give you an example.               He opens a file cabinet drawer, finds a reel of quarter-inch                magnetic tape and starts to thread it through a recorder on                his desk.                                     DR. MONK                         Duncan never had the twitch that                          sometimes goes with it. And with                          Duncan, as I said, the disease would                          only manifest itself in periods of                          extreme anxiety. When he was really                          flipping out, in other words.               There is a pause as Monk fiddles with the tape recorder and                Clifford looks back down at the folder.                                     CLIFFORD                         Duncan was Catholic?                                     DR. MONK                         Yeah.                              (beat)                         So am I.                                     CLIFFORD                              (mildly surprised)                         That makes three of us.                                     DR. MONK                         Is that right? So we all share the                          same guilt.               Clifford smiles. Monk keeps fiddling.                                     DR. MONK                         Here. This is Curt Duncan shortly                          after he was admitted here in 1972.               Monk turns on the tape recorder as Clifford sits forward in                his chair to listen.               At first, nothing can be heard. Then there is a click as if                the machine was turned on in the middle of a conversation:                                     DR. MONK (O.S.)                         -- to put the situation right. The                          hypodermic needles are only used to                          give you medication that will calm                          you down. They make you feel good,                          relaxed. All right?                              (no answer)                         We're not putting anything in your                          food either. The food is just food.                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                              (extremely agitated)                         No. I don't eat the food. It doesn't                          taste right.                                     DR. MONK                              (to Clifford)                         That's Duncan.               Clifford nods and keeps listening:                                     DR. MONK (O.S.)                         Curt, why are you fidgeting? Can't                          you get comfortable?                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         No, I'm not comfortable!                                     DR. MONK (O.S.)                         Wait a -- Hey!                              (to someone else)                         Hold him down there. Grab him! Never                          mind the chair!               There are scuffling noises underneath which can be heard,                heavy breathing and then, getting louder and more furious,                Duncan falling into the throes of Guy du Marraux.                                     DR. MONK (O.S.)                              (periodically                               interjecting)                         Pull him down... That's right...                          Just lay him out... Lay him right                          out... Steady... Pull out his knees...               Finally Monk is heard no more and Duncan continues with the                frightening verbal torrent of Guy du Marraux.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               INT. BAR - LATE AFTERNOON - CLOSEUP - DUNCAN               Sitting at his table inside the bar. He takes a long, noisy                drink from what looks like a bourbon on the rocks. It tastes                good, being the first real drink he's had in over six years.                But Duncan cannot relax enough to enjoy it fully. His eyes                are ever restlessly, suspiciously moving about.               ANGLE ON BAR               As Bill walks up and stands next to Tracy. Hank moves off to                get Bill another beer.               Tracy looks up at Bill and smiles. As regulars at the same                bar, they are loose and comfortable with each other.                                     TRACY                              (sotto voce)                         A little action for your game?                                     BILL                              (sotto voce)                         What, him?               They both turn and look across the room at Duncan.               POV - DUNCAN               As Bill and Tracy look straight at him over their shoulders                and then turn back.               ANGLE ON BAR               As they both smile at her joke.                                     TRACY                         I wouldn't bet against you.                                     BILL                         What's the matter? You don't like me                          playing with myself?               Tracy grimaces as Hank comes back with Bill's beer. Bill                picks up the bottle, nods his thanks to Hank and heads back                to the pool table.               CLOSEUP - DUNCAN               As his eyes follow Bill to the pool table, then come back to                Tracy at the bar.               POV - DUNCAN               Looking at the back of Tracy. She reaches into her purse.               ON TRACY               She takes her pack of cigarettes from the purse. She pulls                out a cigarette, taps it lightly on the bar, puts it to her                lips.               O.S. we hear the sound of a match being struck.               WIDER ANGLE               Duncan is standing beside her holding a lit match. He shoves                it forward at her. It goes out.               Duncan fumbles for another match as Tracy regards him with                undisguised repulsion. Duncan gets the second match lit and                holds it out for her. She accepts the favor and lights her                cigarette.               Duncan smiles. Tracy nods and turns away. Duncan is still                holding the burning match for her to blow out. As it doesn't                look like she's going to, he lets it drop, still lit, to the                floor.               REACTION SHOT - BARTENDER               He gives a look as if to say, "Jesus, what a fuckin' weirdo".               TWO SHOT - DUNCAN AND TRACY               Pause. Duncan is still smiling at her.                                     DUNCAN                         Hi.               No response.                                     DUNCAN                         What you been up to?                                     TRACY                              (looking at him)                         My own business.                              (beat)                         Thanks for the light. Okay?               The Englishman sits down beside her, but doesn't look at                her.               Tracy looks away too, determined to ignore him, not to let                him get into her space.               Duncan coughs. After a long moment, he turns back to her.                                     DUNCAN                         Next round's on me.               Tracy keeps her eyes straight ahead, acknowledging nothing.               Pause.               Duncan takes some money from his pocket and lays it on the                bar, staring at her. Tracy turns to him:                                     TRACY                              (annoyed)                         Listen, mister, I've got my own money.                          So, if you don't mind...               She looks away again. Pause.                                     DUNCAN                         After what I been through, I don't                          mind anything.               Longer pause.                                     DUNCAN                         See, that's the whole point. My                          mind... Your mind... Where do they                          fit in? You know what I mean?               Tracy abruptly picks up her purse and moves down the bar                away from him one seat, then another seat.               ANGLE ON ELDERLY COUPLE               They are watching this little spectacle with growing                curiosity.               ANGLE ON DUNCAN               Still looking at her. By pointing at what she has, he orders                two more drinks from the Bartender. When they arrive, he                takes a big swallow from one, picks up the other, stands,                moves down the bar and sits beside Tracy again.                                     DUNCAN                              (setting her drink                               before her)                         Do you live around here?                                     TRACY                         Get offa me!!               REACTION SHOTS               Even Bill now looks up from the pool table. His expression                darkens.               ANGLE ON BAR               Tracy has clammed up -- her elbows on the bar, head between                her elbows, arms covering her ears, hands clasped behind her                neck. Duncan looks at her nervously and starts to talk again:                                     DUNCAN                              (rapidly)                         Listen, I didn't mean nothin'. I                          don't live around here. See -- ?                                     BILL (O.S.)                         I think the lady wants to be left                          alone.               Duncan looks up. Bill enters the frame and stands in front                of Tracy, confronting Duncan.               CLOSEUP - DUNCAN               Looking up at Bill, his eyes red, his gaze unsteady.               WIDER ANGLE               The air is charged with tension.                                     BILL                         I think an apology is in order.               Duncan doesn't know how to handle this. He looks at Bill,                half shrugs, half smiles.                                     BILL                         That the best you can do?               Duncan looks away. A long moment passes.                                     BILL                         I think you'd better just move along,                          pal.               Duncan doesn't move, says nothing. He swallows hard.                                     HANK                         He'll be okay now, Bill. He just --                                     BILL                         No! I want him out of here!               The bartender steps back, deciding to mind his own business.                Tracy gets up from her seat and cautiously moves even further                down the bar.                                     BILL                              (to Duncan)                         Go on, beat it.               They glare at each other. The longer Duncan sits there without                moving, without saying anything, the angrier Bill gets.               REACTION SHOTS               As the tension builds.               ANGLE ON BAR               Duncan looks away.                                     BILL                         I'm not going to say it again, mister.               Duncan reaches for his drink, but Bill reacts quicker. With                a swipe of his hand, he knocks the glass off the bar, and it                shatters on the floor behind the bar.               Duncan sits there, stunned, not looking up. After a long                moment, Duncan coughs. Then he turns and looks at Bill. He                purses his lips. It looks like a nervous facial movement.                Then suddenly, Duncan spits at Bill, hitting him square in                the face.               Before anyone can register what's happened, Bill lunges at                Duncan, knocking him clean off the barstool and onto the                floor.               The fight is fast, vicious and one-sided from the very start.                Pinned to the floor on his back, Duncan flails his arms                ineffectually like a panicked insect as Bill holds him in                place with a left-handed grip on the collar while his powerful                right arm, pumping up and down like a piston, pounds into                Duncan's face time and time again.               Duncan's screams diminish into pathetic, sickening groans                and the others in the bar are compelled to avert their eyes                from this brutal spectacle.               Hank has picked up a phone from beneath the bar and is dialing                a number. He turns away from the fight to talk.               Then, as suddenly as Bill first sprang at Duncan, he leaps                to his feet and turns to the bar. He reaches over and grabs                the phone from Hank, slamming it down into the cradle.                                     BILL                         Who're you calling?               Bill takes the cloth from the bar and vigorously wipes his                face off. He snaps his fingers and points to a row of bottles                on a shelf behind the bar. Hank quickly hands him a bottle.                Bill pours himself a shot and downs it, fast. He is still                charged with adrenaline and he takes two more shots in rapid                succession, spilling the alcohol on the bar and on himself.               As Bill picks up the cloth to wipe himself off again, Tracy                stands up and quickly walks out of the bar, slamming the                door behind her.                                     BILL                              (calling after her)                         You're welcome, baby!               Then he throws down the cloth, picks up the bottle, turns                and, standing over Duncan's inert form, empties half the                bottle onto him. He sets the bottle back on the bar. He grabs                Duncan and, half dragging, hurries him out the back door and                throws him into the alley where Duncan falls in a heap.               Bill storms back up to the bar and pours himself another                drink.                                     BILL                              (to Hank)                         Okay?               Hank just looks at him, doesn't answer. At the wife's silent                insistence, the elderly couple stand up to go.                                     OLD MAN                         Good riddance to bad rubbish, eh,                          Bill?               Bill doesn't answer and the couple quietly leave.                                     HANK                              (apologetic)                         A fight breaks out, there's gonna be                          damages. Insurance company doesn't                          pay without a police report...                                     BILL                         You see any damages?               Hank lowers his gaze to the floor. Bill finishes his drink.                He is still very hopped up. He pulls a few dollars from his                wallet and drops them on the counter.                                     BILL                         See ya 'round.               He turns and strides out of the bar.               CAMERA HOLDS for a beat on Hank alone now in his empty                establishment. The phone starts to ring, presumably the police                calling back.               After several rings, Hank picks up the phone and listens.                                     HANK                              (into phone)                         No, it's over now...                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               INT. LT. GARBER'S HOUSE - NIGHT               All the lights are out inside the house, but we should just                be able to see that we are in the hall, looking at the front                door. Footsteps approach on the walk outside. A key slips                into the lock...               Inside the house we can hear faint whispering. Someone is                moving about in the darkness. Then the door swings open and                the shadowy figure of a MAN crosses the threshold. He stops                just inside.                                     MAN                              (calling out)                         Donna. Donna! Hey!                              (under his breath)                         What the hell -- !               Suddenly the lights come on and a chorus of voices cry out,                "SURPRISE!"               A broad smile breaks across the man's face. We may recognize                him as the cop from six years ago -- Charles Garber. Today                he is a lieutenant on the force and dresses casually for                work, usually in slacks, turtleneck and jacket.                                     GARBER                              (genuinely surprised)                         What is all this?!                                     SCATTERED VOICES                         Happy birthday, Charlie!               Garber looks sheepishly at his hand holding the pistol he'd                drawn just before the lights came up.                                     WOMAN'S VOICE                         Look at him!                                     MAN'S VOICE                         Don't shoot us, Charlie!                                     GARBER                              (chagrined)                         How was I supposed to know?               Everybody starts to laugh, including Garber as he returns                the pistol to his shoulder holster.               ANGLE ON DONNA               Garber's wife. She comes out of the kitchen carrying a                birthday cake with lit candles and makes her way through the                crowd of GUESTS singing "Happy Birthday".               Everyone joins in as Donna moves forward and stands beside                her husband. Clifford is one of the guests. He has his arm                around a young BLOND who is sort of pretty despite her                tacky/plastic appearance.               When the song is over, Garber blows out the candles and hugs                and kisses his wife. Everybody cheers.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. GARBER'S HOUSE - STAIRWAY - SEVERAL HOURS LATER               The party is still in full swing. Garber is following Clifford                up the stairs. They are both fairly loaded by now.               Garber, in particular, has reached that stage of inebriation                where standing still is pretty hard to do.                                     GARBER                         Will you tell me what this is about,                          Cliff?                                     CLIFFORD                         Yeah, in a minute.                                     GARBER                         I don't think I can take any more of                          these surprises.               INT. A BEDROOM               As Clifford and Garber enter. Garber turns on a light as                Clifford closes the door, shutting out the sounds of the                party below.                                     GARBER                         Okay now, what's the big deal?                                     CLIFFORD                         Stand still. I want you to remember                          this in the morning.                                     GARBER                         If you want me to remember something                          in the morning, then tell it to me                          in the morning.               Garber half comically turns to go. Clifford stops him.                                     CLIFFORD                         Charlie, come on.               ANGLE ON CORNER OF BEDROOM               A BABY between a year and two years old is lying in a crib.                It opens its eyes and starts looking around.                                     GARBER (O.S.)                         All right, all right. What is it?                          You're getting married.                                     CLIFFORD                         No. I got a job today, tracking                          someone.               TWO SHOT - CLIFFORD & GARBER               Garber, still moving restlessly, pats his friend on the                shoulder.                                     GARBER                         That's great, Cliff; I'm sure you'll                          find your man.                                     CLIFFORD                         It's Curt Duncan.               Garber stops suddenly, stunned. In an instant, he has become                stone sober.                                     GARBER                         What?               ANGLE ON BABY               Kicking and wiggling about.                                     CLIFFORD (O.S.)                         You didn't know he got out?               The baby opens its mouth and starts to cry.               TWO SHOT - CLIFFORD & GARBER               Garber glances over his shoulder at the baby, then turns                back to Clifford.                                     CLIFFORD                         I need your cooperation on this one.                                     GARBER                         Sure. Anything.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT               It is late. The block is virtually deserted. Across the street                is the exterior of a bar -- the same bar Duncan was in                earlier. Some PEOPLE are coming out of the bar. It must be                near closing time. The people turn left and walk away down                the sidewalk. Their voices diminish. Pause.               A car passes. Then the door to the bar opens again and a                woman comes out onto the sidewalk. It is Tracy. She turns to                the right and starts to walk away.               CLOSEUP - DUNCAN               He is standing in shadows across the street, watching her.               EXT. TRACY ON STREET - NIGHT               A series of shots of Tracy walking home. The CAMERA remains                consistently behind her or off to one side, sometimes DOLLYING                with her behind a row of parked cars, sometimes picking up                her passing reflection in a darkened store window.               The impression this gives is unmistakable. Curt Duncan is                following her. We do not see him, we do not hear him, yet we                know he is there. Often we can sense that the very angle                from which we see Tracy is his POV.               But Tracy is aware of nothing. We know this when the CAMERA                begins to move in front of her, once more becoming an                impersonal observer of her walk homeward, to safety.               Tension mounts as we start to expect that Duncan will jump                out at her from every alley and recessed doorway she passes.                But he doesn't.               Finally, Tracy walks up to the CAMERA at the end of a block                and turns a corner; but the CAMERA HOLDS on the dark street                she has just come up. We hear a cough which confirms that                Duncan is lurking somewhere in the shadows.               EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT               Tracy walks up the steps and enters the apartment.               INT. APARTMENT BUILDING               Tracy steps into the elevator. The doors close. CAMERA HOLDS                on the elevator and watches the lights above it travel from                one to six.               O.S. we hear the door to the apartment building open and                close.               INT. SIXTH FLOOR               Tracy steps out of the elevator and walks down the hall to                her door. She fumbles through her purse for keys, then bends                over the lock to let herself in.               Behind her down the hall, Duncan appears. He watches her,                starts to move silently forward. Tracy gets the door open,                then turns and sees him. Duncan stops.                                     TRACY                         Oh, it's you!                              (beat)                         What do you want?                                     DUNCAN                              (moving forward)                         ...Came to apologize. I...                                     TRACY                         Look, I'm the one who should be sorry.                          I didn't want that to happen.                              (she sees his face;                               shudders)                         Oh, God! Look at you. Are you all                          right.               Duncan half shrugs, half smiles. Tracy edges into her door-               way. Duncan stands opposite her.                                     DUNCAN                         I'm new in town. Don't know anybody...                                     TRACY                              (uncomfortable)                         Where're you from?                                     DUNCAN                              (coughs)                         New York. Ever been there?                                     TRACY                         Sure. Sure I've been there.               They look at each other. Duncan coughs again.                                     DUNCAN                         Kind of a mean place to be. Everyone                          cold, unfriendly...               Inside Tracy's apartment, the telephone rings. Tracy turns                vaguely, indecisively, and goes to answer it.                                     TRACY                              (over her shoulder)                         Excuse me.               She disappears into the apartment. O.S. she picks up the                ringing phone.                                     TRACY (O.S.)                         Hello?...               INT. TRACY'S APARTMENT               As she sits with the telephone.                                     TRACY                              (nervous)                         ...No, I just got in... I don't know                          if I can... Listen, I can't talk                          now. Can I call you back?... Okay...                          Goodbye.               She hangs up the phone, stands and turns back toward the                door. Duncan is standing right behind her.                                     DUNCAN                         I'm not from New York, actually. But                          I'm very, very far from home.               He sits down.                                     TRACY                         Look, you can't come in here.               Duncan looks at her for a moment, then looks about the                apartment.                                     DUNCAN                              (mumbling)                         I thought we might get some coffee.                          Can I buy you -- ?                                     TRACY                         I don't think so.                                     DUNCAN                         Someplace nearby?                                     TRACY                         Not tonight. You'd better go.                                     DUNCAN                         I got no place to go.                                     TRACY                              (anxious)                         You can't --                                     DUNCAN                         Just, just a little coffee?                                     TRACY                         Maybe tomorrow.                                     DUNCAN                         Okay, tomorrow. When?                                     TRACY                         I said maybe. I don't know.                              (beat)                         Listen, I'm sorry about this                          afternoon. I really am. All right?                          That was my boyfriend on the phone.                          He's coming over. So please leave.                          Now.               Duncan doesn't move. He smiles at her.                                     DUNCAN                         I like you.                                     TRACY                              (her voice rising)                         Look, do you want me to call the                          cops?                                     DUNCAN                              (standing)                         It's okay. It's okay.               He backs to the doorway and pauses.                                     DUNCAN                         I'll see you later... sometime. I                          still want to buy you that drink.               He steps into the hall. Tracy closes the front door and bolts                it. She turns, leans against it and sighs.               Outside the door, Duncan's footsteps move down the hall,                pause, then come back to the door. A moment passes. Then                there is a faint knocking on the door. Tracy doesn't move.                The knocking comes again, a little louder this time. Tracy                stands and waits, scarcely breathing. After another long                moment, the footsteps finally move away.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. POLICE STATION - DAY               A car pulls into the parking lot behind the station. Clifford                and Garber get out and walk into the building.               INT. POLICE STATION               Clifford and Garber walk down a hallway. Uniformed POLICEMEN                walk to and fro around them.                                     CLIFFORD                         Jesus, I don't recognize anybody.                                     GARBER                         Three years is a long time in a place                          like this.                                     CLIFFORD                         Three and a half.               Garber stops at the WATCH COMMANDER'S desk and picks up some                paperwork. The WC looks up briefly and sees Clifford.                                     WC                         Hiya, Cliff. Howya doin'?               The WC looks down again. Three and a half years mean nothing                to him.                                     CLIFFORD                              (taken aback)                         Hi...               He can't remember the man's name. Garber smiles at him and                they continue walking.                                     GARBER                         How long will you be here?                                     CLIFFORD                         Depends on how lucky I get.                              (beat)                         I'll only be coming around once,                          maybe twice a week.                                     GARBER                         You want to use your old desk?                          Someplace to sit down?                                     CLIFFORD                              (surprised)                         Is it vacant?               INT. OFFICE - POLICE STATION               A. Clifford and Garber appear in the doorway. Clifford enters,                walks up to his old desk, opens some of the drawers -- they                are empty -- sits down in his old chair, smiles at Garber.               B. We see Clifford opening a file cabinet and taking out a                folder stuffed with notices and reports --               C. Clifford standing beside a Xerox machine running off a                copy of something --               D. Clifford standing in a hallway talking to a PATROLMAN.                Clifford has a legal pad with him and is jotting something                down on it as the patrolman speaks --               E. Clifford at his desk, making notes on the legal pad --               F. Garber is at his desk, on the phone, Clifford appears in                the doorway carrying his legal pad. He waves goodbye to Garber                who nods in response.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LOBBY OF A FLOPHOUSE HOTEL               Clifford questions the DESK CLERK. He shows the clerk a photo                of Duncan taken some years ago in the mental institution.                The clerk shakes his head and starts to hand the picture                back when Clifford motions for him to keep it. As Clifford                leaves, the clerk turns the picture over...               CLOSEUP - BACK OF PICTURE               Revealing Clifford's name and phone numbers, and a twenty                dollar bill paperclipped to the back of the picture --               EXT. STREET               As Clifford pulls his car up to the curb, then consults his                legal pad --               CLOSEUP - LEGAL PAD               The top three addresses are crossed out. Clifford underlines                the fourth --               BACK TO SCENE               Clifford looks up from the pad to a bar he has pulled up in                front of -- the bar Duncan was in. It bears the address                Clifford has just underlined. Clifford gets out of his car                and walks up to the bar. A "Closed" sign is displayed in the                window. Clifford knocks on the door. After a moment, Hank                opens the door.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LAUNDROMAT - DAY               There are only a few CUSTOMERS sitting around, waiting for                their wash. A BUM is stretched out on his back across one of                the tables like a corpse awaiting autopsy. This is CHEATER.               A MAINTENANCE MAN in grey work clothes enters from the back.                He opens a broom closet, takes out a bucket and mop and rolls                them toward the front of the laundromat. He stops at Cheater's                table and shakes him hard.                                     MAINTENANCE MAN                         Okay, man, move it out. Let's go.                                     CHEATER                         Wha -- ?               Cheater sits up and starts to pull himself together. An OLD                WOMAN sitting against the wall points down one of the aisles                of washing machines and says to the maintenance man:                                     OLD WOMAN                         There's another one down there.               The maintenance man goes to the end of the aisle and looks                down into the nook created by the absence of one of the                washing machines.                                     MAINTENANCE MAN                         Hey!               He nudges at whatever's inside the nook with his foot.                                     MAINTENANCE MAN                              (nudging again)                         Come on, bright eyes. Wake up. Wake --                          Jesus Christ! What happened to you?               ANGLE ON NOOK               As Curt Duncan raises his head into the light and looks up                at the maintenance man. Overnight, his face has swollen                considerably and a bright yellow and purple discoloring around                his bruises has emerged.                                     MAINTENANCE MAN (O.S.)                         You get hit by a truck or what?               He bends over and helps pull Duncan to his feet.               WIDER ANGLE               As the maintenance man guides Duncan to the door.                                     MAINTENANCE MAN                         I'm sorry, man, but you can't stay                          in here. Go out to the park, lay in                          the sunshine. You'll feel better.                          Okay?               Duncan goes out the door. The maintenance man turns and sees                Cheater stretched out again on the table.                                     MAINTENANCE MAN                         God bless it! Hey!               He pulls Cheater off the table and pushes him to the door.                                     MAINTENANCE MAN                         Out. Out. Out. Out. Out.               EXT. LAUNDROMAT               As Cheater is pushed out onto the sidewalk.                                     CHEATER                              (angry)                         All right! All right!               He straightens his rags indignantly, then looks at Duncan                and grins.                                     CHEATER                         Whaddya say, pardner. I'm dry as a                          bone. You got any money?               Duncan looks at Cheater distrustfully and shakes his head.                                     CHEATER                         You neither, huh?                              (with a laugh)                         My name is Morgan, but it ain't J.P.                          Guess I better go to work. Take 'er                          easy now, pardner.               Cheater shuffles off in one direction. Duncan turns and goes                in the other.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. TRACY'S APARTMENT - DAY               A knock at the front door. After a moment, Tracy comes into                the front hallway and, crossing to the door, stubs her toe                on the open closet door. She swears under her breath and                angrily slams the closet door shut. Then, grabbing her injured                toe, she hops to the front door.                                     TRACY                         Who is it?                                     CLIFFORD (O.S.)                         My name's John Clifford. I'm a private                          investigator.                                     TRACY                         A what?                                     CLIFFORD (O.S.)                         A private detective.               Pause.                                     TRACY                         What do you want with me?                                     CLIFFORD (O.S.)                         I'd just like to talk, ask a few                          questions.                                     TRACY                         I've got nothing to say about anything                          or anybody.               Pause.                                     CLIFFORD (O.S.)                         Listen, lady, I can be back in thirty                          minutes with a search warrant and a                          handful of cops, and I can probably                          have you arrested, whether or not                          the charges would stick. Now do you                          want to let me in and talk?                                     TRACY                         Have you got a badge?                                     CLIFFORD (O.S.)                         I'll show you a badge when you open                          the goddamn door!               Tracy unbolts the door and opens it. Clifford walks right in                and closes the door behind him.                                     CLIFFORD                         I don't carry a badge. I'm issued a                          license, a piece of paper, and I                          left it at home. You're Tracy Fuller?               Tracy nods.                                     CLIFFORD                         Can we sit down?               Tracy leads him into the living room. They sit. Clifford                gives her a picture.                                     CLIFFORD                         Do you recognize this man?                                     TRACY                         Why?               Clifford lets out a sigh of frustration, realizing that this                woman will continue to be difficult.                                     CLIFFORD                         He's escaped from the insane asylum.                          In 1972, he murdered two children...                          broke into a house and found them                          asleep in bed. It was a little boy,                          five an a half, and a little three-                         year-old girl. After the coroner's                          investigation, their bodies were                          taken to the mortuary, where the                          undertaker took one look at them and                          said he couldn't have their bodies                          reconstructed for the funeral without                          six days of steady work. Then he                          asked what had been the murder weapon,                          because looking at the mess in front                          of him, he couldn't imagine what had                          been used. The coroner told him there                          had been no murder weapon. The killer                          had used only his hands.                              (beat)                         The undertaker went to work and had                          them done in four.               The picture falls out of Tracy's hands. She is stunned to                the point of nausea.                                     CLIFFORD                         What's the matter?                                     TRACY                              (barely able to say                               it)                         He's been here.               EXT. STREET               Duncan is standing on the sidewalk huddled close to a wall.                He is looking up at Tracy's apartment building across the                street.               POV - DUNCAN               Traveling up the wall of the building to the open window of                Tracy's apartment on the sixth floor. SLOW ZOOM IN:                                     CLIFFORD (O.S.)                         Do you think he'll try to see you                          again?                                     TRACY (O.S.)                         I don't know. He said he had no place                          else to go.               INT. TRACY'S APARTMENT                                     CLIFFORD                         Let's play it safe. Let's assume                          that he will.               CLOSEUP - TRACY               Reacting to this possibility.                                     CLIFFORD (O.S.)                         Will you work with me?               She nods, hesitantly.               EXT. STREET               Duncan turns up an alley across the street from Tracy's                apartment building and disappears.               Sound over: knocking on a door.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. BAR - DAY               Clifford is standing at the door. The "Closed" sign still                hangs in the window. The door opens, and Hank sticks his                head out.                                     HANK                         You again?                                     CLIFFORD                         What are your hours tonight?                                     HANK                         No hours. Bar's closed on Mondays.                                     CLIFFORD                         I want you to be open if that's                          possible.                                     HANK                              (closing the door)                         No way. Monday's my night off. Come                          back tomorr...               Clifford violently pushes the door open. The bartender backs                off, surprised.                                     CLIFFORD                              (through clenched                               teeth)                         This is tomorrow! Now what are your                          hours?                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LT. GARBER'S OFFICE - DAY               Garber is sitting behind his desk as Clifford walks in.                                     GARBER                              (looking up)                         Any luck?                                     CLIFFORD                         I've come to say goodbye, and thank                          you.                                     GARBER                         You found him?                                     CLIFFORD                         I think so.                                     GARBER                         Where?               Pause.                                     CLIFFORD                         From here on, I go it alone.                                     GARBER                         What's the point of chancing it,                          Cliff? We'll let you take the credit.                                     CLIFFORD                         No.               Pause. Clifford sits down.                                     CLIFFORD                         I'm going to kill him, Charlie.               Garber leans forward in his chair and stares at Clifford. A                long moment passes. A button on the lieutenant's phone lights                up and the intercom buzzes. Garber doesn't even look down at                it. The button flashes on and off, on and off. Finally it                stops.                                     CLIFFORD                         The closer I get to this guy, the                          more I... It gets to me. I don't                          know...                                     GARBER                         I think you'd better go on home,                          Cliff. You've fallen in.                                     CLIFFORD                         No. Not this time. This is the case                          that makes up for a whole career. If                          you can't understand it now, you                          will in a few years.               Pause. Garber considers another tack and follows it.                                     GARBER                         What part does money play in all                          this? Play straight with me.               Clifford is stunned by the question, but he tries to be                casual.                                     CLIFFORD                              (shrugging)                         For what I'm being paid, it's not                          out of line.                                     GARBER                         Who's hired you for this?               Clifford glares at his friend and doesn't answer.                                     GARBER                              (cynically)                         So you're a hitman now.                                     CLIFFORD                              (passionately)                         He murdered two kids in cold blood.                          You were there, too.               Garber doesn't have to be reminded of his own feelings. He                doesn't pursue the argument.                                     GARBER                         You could get busted.                                     CLIFFORD                         I understand that.                                     GARBER                         What are you going to use?                                     CLIFFORD                         Jimmy needles.               Garber nods slowly, considering it a good choice of weapons                at least.                                     GARBER                         You're stretching our friendship,                          Cliff. If you blow this at all --                                     CLIFFORD                         You'll never hear from me again.               Garber looks away for a moment. When he looks back, he just                shrugs his shoulders, "washes his hands".                                     GARBER                         Take your time. Do it right.                                     CLIFFORD                         Don't worry.                                     GARBER                         Do you need any help preparing for                          this thing?                                     CLIFFORD                              (standing up)                         I'm ready. I'm just trying to think                          where he could be in the meantime.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY               A few customers sit quietly minding their own business. A                WAITRESS leans near the cash register at one end of the                counter. A transistor radio plays country music blues. The                waitress looks up as somebody enters.                                     WAITRESS                         What happened to you?                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         Coffee.               It is Duncan. He moves to the counter and sits.                                     WAITRESS                         You get mugged?                                     DUNCAN                         Black.               Snubbed, the waitress comes back and sets the cup in front                of him. She looks down at the change on the counter. There                isn't enough.                                     WAITRESS                         Coffee's twenty-seven.               Duncan looks up at her resentfully.                                     WAITRESS                              (pulling away the cup)                         Coffee's twenty-seven cents. Ya got                          it or don't ya?               Duncan glares at her. He doesn't have it.                                     WAITRESS                         Okay, buster, one cup. On the house.               She pushes the cup back to him. Some of the coffee spills                onto the counter.                                     WAITRESS                         Drink it and be on your way.               Duncan slowly reaches for the cup, raises it to his lips.                                     WAITRESS                         You're welcome.               Duncan stops, sets the cup down, pushes it away from him and                slowly rises from his seat.                                     DUNCAN                         No, thank you.               Duncan and the waitress stand face to face, shooting darts                at each other. Then a MAN sitting two seats away reaches                over and places a quarter on the counter between them.               The waitress looks at the man irritatedly, then picks up the                money and moves away.               Duncan slowly sits down again. He pulls the cup back to                himself, then turns and looks at the man for a long moment,                unable to express his gratitude.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. CITY STREETS - DUSK               A series of shots of BUMS, "homeless persons", hanging out,                in alleys, in the doorways of old buildings, sitting on the                sidewalk in front of liquor stores.               Then we see Duncan, alone but looking no different from the                others. He is panhandling PASSERSBY, without much success.                We see him fall into a fit of coughing that incapacitates                him for several seconds. He's obviously getting sicker.               We lose sight of Duncan as our MONTAGE continues. We see                Clifford talking to a BUM, then another. He is passing the                time combing the streets in the neighborhood of the bar.               PARK - DUSK               A handful of BUMS are sitting together on the grass passing                a bottle in a brown paper bag. Duncan is not among them, but                Cheater is there, sitting at the end of the line.               CAMERA PANS from one bum to the next as the bottle is passed.                By the time it gets to Cheater, it is empty. Cheater looks                as if he's about to cry like a baby when a hand enters the                frame from the other side -- the hand holding out to Cheater                a full bottle of wine. Cheater takes the bottle and looks up                gratefully... to see John Clifford standing beside him.                                     CHEATER                         Well! I can't say much for your                          protocol, but your timing's dead on.                          Here's to you, pardner.               Cheater takes a long drink, then passes the bottle back down                the line.                                     CLIFFORD                              (to all the bums)                         I'm looking for an old buddy of mine,                          English fella. Name's Crazy Curt.                          Any of you guys seen him?               Nobody responds.                                     CLIFFORD                         I owe him some money.                                     CHEATER                         Aaahh. Show me an honest man...                                     CLIFFORD                              (gesturing)                         Stands about so. Brown hair. Face                          kind of banged up. Was in an accident.                                     CHEATER                         Oh, yeah? I was just with that guy,                          not more'n an hour ago. Looked bad.                          Crazy Curt, huh?                                     CLIFFORD                         Where?               Cheater scratches his head, and glances anxiously down the                line.                                     CHEATER                         Hell, I can't remember. Prob'bly see                          him again though. Tell you what. You                          leave the money with me, I'll see he                          gets it... as a favor to you.               Clifford shakes his head.                                     CLIFFORD                         I have to talk to him.                                     CHEATER                         Whatsa matter? You don't trust me?                          I'll have you know I used to be a                          college professor. We can work                          together.               Clifford stands to go. The bottle comes back to Cheater,                three-quarters down.                                     CLIFFORD                         Sure. Keep the bottle. I'll be back.                                     CHEATER                         "Long life to the grape! For when                          summer is flown, The age of our nectar                          Shall gladden our own." That's                          Shelley, you know.               Clifford is gone. Cheater takes a long drink and almost                forgets that Clifford was ever there.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. CLIFFORD'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               Clifford is "suiting up" for his night's work. He is dressed                casually -- blue jeans, shirt open at the neck, sports jacket,                Adidas running shoes. He looks at himself in the mirror, is                satisfied. Then he picks up from the dresser two awl-like                instruments with short handles and long, glistening tapered                needlepoints -- his weapons. He slides them into a leather                sheath inside his jacket and turns to go.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. BAR - NIGHT               It is lit up inside. The bar is open for business. Across                the street in a dark space between two buildings, Duncan is                waiting, watching the front door of the bar to see who comes                out.               INT. BAR               The place is empty but for Hank who half watches the                television over the bar, and Tracy who sits alone in a corner.                Several moments pass as both of them sit and wait.               Then, the front door starts to swing open. Someone is coming                in. Tracy and Hank both glance nervously toward the door.               A MAN'S head peeks in. He is somewhere in his forties, a                regular customer.                                     CUSTOMER                         Hey, Hank, what're you doing open                          tonight?                                     HANK                              (relaxing)                         Trying to make a buck.               The customer walks up to the bar, sits down and talks quietly                with Hank.               Tracy looks nervously at her wristwatch. She stubs out her                cigarette, takes one last gulp of her drink and stands up to                go.               She walks to the bar, opens her purse and reaches inside.                                     HANK                         Keep it, honey. My treat.               They exchange a meaningful look. Then she heads for the door.                                     CUSTOMER                              (under his breath)                         That how you make a buck?               EXT. BAR               Tracy looks up and down the street, hoping to see Clifford                somewhere, afraid of glimpsing Duncan instead. Then she starts                walking quickly homeward.               EXT. STREETS               Following Tracy to her apartment. We pick up Clifford now,                and we cut back and forth between the two of them -- her                walking quickly, never looking back, and him sneaking along                several hundred feet behind her, looking everywhere for                Duncan, whom we never see.               EXT. TRACY'S APARTMENT               She walks up the steps and enters.               INT. SIXTH FLOOR               Tracy steps off the elevator and goes to her door. She fumbles                through her purse for the key. Then she hears footsteps on                the stairs. She turns. It's Clifford.                                     CLIFFORD                              (coming forward: half-                              whispering)                         No luck. You see him?               Tracy shakes her head.                                     CLIFFORD                         He still could be out there, though.                                     TRACY                              (softly)                         Oh, God...               She is starting to come apart, and she suddenly leans on                Clifford for support.                                     CLIFFORD                         Are you all right?               Tracy stands there for several seconds to regain control of                herself. Then she steps away and turns back to the door.                                     TRACY                         I'm okay.                                     CLIFFORD                         I'm going to hang around outside for                          awhile. I'll be back on and off again                          all night.               Tracy gets the door unlocked. She pushes it open.               INT. TRACY'S APARTMENT - FRONT HALL               Tracy steps in. Clifford stays in the doorway. They are still                whispering.                                     CLIFFORD                         Are you sure you're okay?                                     TRACY                         I'm fine.                                     CLIFFORD                         All right. Bolt your door. Don't let                          anybody in, no matter what.                                     TRACY                         Okay.                                     CLIFFORD                         I'll be seeing you.                              (starts to move off;                               comes back)                         Listen. Thanks.                                     TRACY                         Sure.               Tracy closes the door and throws the bolt. Then she walks                into the apartment and out of frame. CAMERA STAYS in the                hallway. We can hear Tracy moving about O.S.               Then, as if on its own, the door to the hall closet slowly                swings open...               ...until we can see Duncan standing inside the closet.               INT. KITCHEN               Tracy is putting some coffee on. Then she removes her coat                and walks out of the kitchen.               INT. FRONT HALL               Tracy goes up to the closet with her coat. The door is closed.                She opens it. She hangs up her coat and closes the door again.                Then she turns and starts walking out of the hallway to the                living room.               As she is rounding the corner into the living room, she walks                right into Duncan. She barely has time to gasp before he                clamps his hand over her mouth and pushes her against the                wall.                                     DUNCAN                              (urgent whisper)                         I just have to talk to you.                              (pathetically)                         I want you to be my friend.               As she isn't struggling, he starts to loosen up on her.                                     DUNCAN                         Please...               He takes his hand away from her mouth, lets go of her, and                slowly, cautiously steps back. Tracy looks at him for a                breathless moment, her eyes wild with fear. Then she screams.               Duncan jumps back, stunned, frightened and confused. Tracy                doesn't move. She just keeps screaming hysterically.               EXT. STREET               Tracy's screams carry out into the night as Clifford races                across the street and into the apartment building.               INT. TRACY'S APARTMENT               Duncan runs to a window, throws it open and climbs out onto                the fire escape.               INTERCUT - APARTMENT STAIRS AND FIRE ESCAPE               As Clifford bounds up the stairs, flight after flight, and                Duncan tears down the fire escape.               INT. SIXTH FLOOR               The screaming has stopped when Clifford reaches Tracy's door.                He grabs the doorknob and heaves himself against the door.                It's bolted shut.               Clifford pulls one of the needles from his jacket and hammers                it into the lock. The bolt springs and Clifford runs into                the apartment.               INT. TRACY'S APARTMENT               As Clifford bursts in. Tracy gestures toward the window.                Clifford runs to it and sticks his head out.               POV - CLIFFORD               Duncan is gone.               BACK TO SCENE               Clifford runs to a window on another wall and looks out onto                the street.               POV - CLIFFORD               No sign of the Englishman.               BACK TO SCENE               Clifford runs out of the apartment, yanking his needle from                the lock as he passes the door, and charges back down the                stairs.               Tracy moves to the door and closes it. She is breathing                heavily.               O.S. we hear the angry sizzle of coffee spilling onto the                hot stove, as Tracy goes to get it.               EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING               Clifford comes out, looks around and moves rapidly up the                street.               EXT. A STREET               Duncan is hurrying along, dodging in and out of people, trying                to move quickly but not draw attention to himself...               EXT. ANOTHER STREET               Clifford is travelling along the sidewalk, crossing the                street, looking everywhere...               EXT. ALLEYWAY               Duncan is running up the alley. He comes to a stop beside                some piled up trash cans. He leans against the brick wall of                the building, huffing and puffing. He is frightened, but he                feels safe for now. He slowly slides down the wall to the                ground...                                                             FLASH BACK TO:               INT. MENTAL HOSPITAL - DAY               Duncan is curled up in the corner of a bare cell with padded                walls. He is in a strait-jacket. His head is shaved. We can't                tell what he is thinking, except that he's obviously deeply                frightened and cannot understand what's happening to him.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. A ROOM - NIGHT               This is the children's bedroom in Dr. Mandrakis' house of                six years ago. It is dark. Two small beds occupy one corner                of the room. We can see two small lumps on the beds, but no                more.               Duncan sits in the foreground with a telephone on his lap.                He is dialing a number. The phone rings three times before                it is answered -- or rather, picked up, because there is no                voice on the other end. After several seconds the phone is                hung up.               Duncan hangs up and thinks for a moment. He picks up the                phone and dials again. This time he gets a busy signal. He                hangs up, stands and goes to the door. He opens it slowly,                peers out. Jill's voice can be heard faintly talking to the                operator, asking for the police.               Duncan closes the door and comes back into the room, mumbling.                He goes to the window, looks out. Then he goes to the                children's beds.               CLOSEUP - DUNCAN               As he raises the covers and stares down into the CAMERA.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. DECK OF A SHIP - MORNING               A freighter, broad and low, arduously cuts through the water.                Early morning mist hangs over the deck which is empty but                for a lone FIGURE standing on the prow.               MIDDLE SHOT - LONE FIGURE               It is Curt Duncan. He is looking out over the front of the                ship. Another SEAMAN comes up behind him and claps him on                the shoulder.                                     SEAMAN                         So this will be your first time?                              (laughs)                         An old salt like you?               Duncan moves away, wanting to be left alone.                                     SEAMAN                              (still laughing;                               slightly punchy)                         You'll love it here. It's where they                          make the bombs. It's where they make                          the planes that carry the bombs; the                          planes we saw over Singapore and                          Manila.               He walks away laughing.                                     SEAMAN                         There she is. That's America.               DUNCAN'S POV               The coast of Southern California emerges through the mist. A                foghorn blows somewhere in the distance.               CLOSE-UP - DUNCAN               As he peers ahead with inscrutable interest.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. ANOTHER ROOM - NIGHT               Dark. A little BOY is lying in bed, apparently asleep. This                is Curt Duncan as a child.               Some voices approach in the hallway outside the bedroom.                They are gruff, with heavy English accents, but subdued; a                MAN and a WOMAN, well into middle-age.               The boy's eyes open as he listens:                                     MAN (O.S.)                         What's the matter?                                     WOMAN (O.S.)                         Save it for later. Let's go out and                          get some food.                                     MAN (O.S.)                         What about the lad? You can't leave                          him.                                     WOMAN (O.S.)                         Curt's asleep. He'll never know we're                          gone.               From outside, a key enters the lock of the bedroom door and                turns. The bolt slips and the door is securely shut.               The boy sits up in bed, apprehensive. In TIGHT SHOTS of the                floor we see a rat come out from under the bed, then another.                They make "chit-chit" noises as they begin to explore. One                of them maybe goes up on its hind legs and nibbles on the                bedpost. Then we see two more rats appear.               We go for a TIGHT SHOT of the boy on top of the bed. The                "chit-chit" noises grow steadily louder as the boy's                apprehension turns to fear, then to terror. The boy starts                to whimper.               Suddenly, we cut back to a WIDE SHOT of the room. The floor                is crawling with rats, hundreds of them. The "chit-chit"                rises to practically a roar as the boy, alone on top of the                bed, begins to wail.               The room seems to darken, and the boy becomes just a little                white speck in it. The focus is turned. The picture becomes                a black and white blur.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. ALLEYWAY - NIGHT - THE PRESENT               At first all that can be seen is a white blur against a black                screen. The previous sound of a boy crying increases. Then                the blur grows larger, coming more into focus as the entire                screen image moves toward normal definition. Finally, we                know we are back in the alleyway, that it is night, and that                the white blur is actually a little BOY lost, sobbing                uncontrollably.               CLOSEUP - DUNCAN               Awakening to the scene, coming back to reality. He is                confused.               WIDER ANGLE ON DUNCAN AND BOY               The boy continues sobbing, moving about in little circles.                Duncan, amazed at what he sees, slowly crawls out from the                wall on his hands and knees, crawls toward the weeping child,                staring at it with a strange look on his face.               Suddenly the boy stops crying and looks at Duncan quizzically,                hesitantly. They are less than a foot apart, almost face to                face. Together they form a kind of frozen tableau. Something                close to sympathy crosses the killer's expression, and the                boy, likewise, achieves a faint sense of recognition.               Then, just as suddenly, the boy starts wailing again and he                runs off down the alleyway. Duncan watches him disappear.                Then he slowly pulls himself to his feet.               EXT. STREET               Clifford is coming up the sidewalk. As Clifford crosses the                entrance to an alleyway, the boy comes running out and almost                collides with him. Clifford grabs the boy and looks down at                him. Then he passes the wailing child off on a nearby                PEDESTRIAN and runs up into the alley.               EXT. ANOTHER STREET               Duncan is hurrying along the sidewalk. Something makes him                look up.               POV - DUNCAN               He is looking at a neon "Jesus Saves" sign above the doorway                to an inner city mission.               BACK ON DUNCAN               As he stares at the sign.                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         Hey, Crazy Curt!               Duncan turns to see Cheater elatedly hobbling up to him.                                     CHEATER                         Hail fellow well met, and all that                          jazz. It's our lucky day!                              (taking Duncan by the                               arm)                         A friend of your's got money for                          you. We got to get back to the park                          and meet him.               Duncan pulls his arm free.                                     CHEATER                         C'mon. He'll be comin' for you, Crazy                          Curt. S'got some money.                              (reaching for Duncan's                               arm)                         We'll get us a little joy juice.               Duncan pulls free again and heads toward the mission.                                     CHEATER                         C'mon! Hey!! You really are crazy!                          C'mon!               Duncan enters the mission and Cheater stands out on the                sidewalk for a moment, bitterly frustrated.                                     CHEATER                         "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks!                          Rage! Blow, you cataracts and                          hurricanoes, spout till you have                          drench'd our steeples and drown'd                          the cocks!"               Several PEDESTRIANS stop and gape at this sudden outburst.               EXT. ANOTHER STREET               Clifford comes out of a derelict hotel, looks up and down                the street and hurries off, not giving up the chase.               INT. MISSION - MOMENTS LATER               A MAN is leading Duncan to the bathroom. Duncan enters slowly                and goes to one of the wash basins where there is an old                razor blade and a can of shaving cream. Duncan picks up the                razor for a moment and looks at it. He is lost in thought.                Then he sets it down and turns on the tap water.               He glances at himself in the mirror and is suddenly transfixed                by his own image. He looks deeply into the mirror for several                seconds. Then he starts to cry, and having begun, a flood of                emotions comes pouring out of him. He drops to his knees.               The man comes running back into the bathroom. He holds Duncan                and helps pull him back to his feet.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREET - NIGHT               Cheater is trudging along the sidewalk, hands in pockets,                head lowered. He looks up and sees something that brings him                back to life.               POV - CHEATER               Clifford is standing on the corner up ahead, looking around.               WIDE ANGLE ON STREET               Cheater calls out and starts to run toward Clifford.               Clifford turns, sees Cheater.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. MISSION - NIGHT               The "sleeping dorm". It is a large empty room. Thirty or so                OUTCASTS are stretched out on the bare floor in the darkness.                Their combined snoring/wheezing creates a steady, ghastly                din.               The door at the far end of the hall opens. A figure steps in                and quietly closes the door behind him. He stands for a moment                taking in the scene, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness.                Then he slowly creeps forward to the prone body of the nearest                sleeper.               CLOSEUP - FIGURE               It is Clifford. He moves stealthily from one body to the                next. In one hand he carries a small flashlight. He turns                the bodies over just long enough to shine the light in their                faces and identify who they are, or rather who they are not.                Then he moves on. In his other hand he holds a small, gleaming                Jimmy needle.               CLOSEUP - DUNCAN               He's sleeping, but his eyes suddenly open, sensing danger.                He turns over and sees the dark figure of Clifford slowly                advancing toward him.               WIDER ANGLE               Clifford keeps coming, closer and closer to where Duncan                lies. He is but six or seven bodies away when Duncan jumps                up suddenly and bolts for the door.               Clifford looks up, sees the fleeing figure and charges after                it.               INT. CORRIDORS               Racing through a maze of narrow hallways, Duncan can't stop                to think where he's going. Clifford is barreling after him                some forty yards behind.               Duncan rounds a corner and ten yards up ahead, the hallway                deadends in a set of double doors. Duncan has no choice but                to hurl himself against the doors. They yield and he goes                through them.               Four seconds later, Clifford comes to the same doors and                pushes through to the other side.               INT. CHURCH               As Clifford comes through the doors which are a side entrance                into the chancel of this large, gothic-style church. Behind                him now, is the altar. Before him stretches the nave of the                edifice with its rows of pews, its dimly glowing stained                glass windows, and way in the back, its choir loft. At regular                intervals, tiny shafts of light pierce the darkness from on                high.               There is no sign of Duncan, but Clifford knows he must be in                here, hiding somewhere. He slowly walks forward to the front                of the chancel.                                     CLIFFORD                         Duncan. Duncan. It's over now. Come                          on out.               Pause. Duncan doesn't come out. Clifford holds very still.                He hears nothing. He speaks again and his voice echoes through                the large empty church.                                     CLIFFORD                         My name's John Clifford. I'm a private                          detective. I've been hired by                          Alexander Mandrakis to take you back.                          I'm not going to hurt you.               CLOSEUP - DUNCAN               Hiding beneath a pew. He hears the name "Mandrakis" and it                registers like a thunderbolt. He silently mouths the name                "Mandrakis".               Then he hears Clifford's footsteps approaching.               ANGLE ON CLIFFORD               Slowly moving up the center aisle, looking from side to side                into the pews.                                     CLIFFORD                              (gently; coaxing)                         I'm not going to hurt you... I'm not                          going to hurt you... There'll be no                          more pain... You're safe now...               Clifford moves closer and closer to Duncan's row until                finally, Duncan can bear it no longer. He jumps up from                beneath the pew and runs.                                     DUNCAN                              (hysterical)                         No! Mandrakis! No!               Clifford chases him through the pews and up the aisles to                the front of the church. He is clutching a needle in both                hands, ready to strike.               Duncan flees through a narrow door off to the side of the                church.               INT. BELL TOWER               Duncan faces a spiraling stone staircase. He has no choice                but to climb them, higher and higher, the sound of Clifford's                angry footsteps always coming up behind him.               Finally, Duncan can climb no higher. He is at the top of the                bell tower. A lanceted opening in the stone wall ahead of                him looks out over the narrow shaft of the tower. Above him                are the huge iron bells. A rope hangs down from the bells,                dangling all the way down the shaft, forty or fifty feet to                the floor of the church.               Clifford is bounding up the last flight of steps to get him.                Duncan has little choice. He is trapped. Just before Clifford                reaches him, Duncan leaps out into the shaft and catches the                bell rope.               The bell starts to clang as Duncan, hanging in mid air, swings                back and forth within the narrow shaft. Clifford leans way                out through the lancet window and takes a swipe at Duncan,                but the madman is just beyond his reach and hurriedly climbing                down the rope.               Clifford reaches out and tries to grab at the rope. At last,                he gets it, and he shakes it violently to get Duncan to lose                his grip and be dashed against the stone floor below.               But Duncan holds firm, climbing ever downward. The bell                continues to clang, sending its alarm out into the night.                Then Clifford braces himself and slowly, laboriously begins                to haul up on the rope.               Clifford gains momentum until Duncan is being pulled up faster                than he is climbing down. Still twenty feet off the ground,                Duncan lets go of the rope and plummets to the hard stone                floor.               Then PEOPLE come rushing into the church, awakened by the                commotion of the bells. Duncan rolls into the shadows and                drags himself out a side door, while Clifford plans his own                escape from the bell tower.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. ALLEYWAY NEAR CHURCH - NIGHT               Clifford runs up the alleyway, looks around and finally                realizes he's lost his prey.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. ANOTHER ALLEYWAY               Duncan is hidden deep in the shadows of a nook between two                buildings, catching his breath. CAMERA MOVES IN on him, and                we see him looking the craziest he's ever been. He shakes                uncontrollably and begins to mumble, softly at first, then                getting louder. He's falling back into the grips of Guy du                Marraux.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. CITY - MORNING               A. All is still and quiet as soft, warm sunlight pours into                the dirty streets and alleyways. In the background, the bell                tower of the church rises above the skyline.               B. We see a SHOT of the park -- all the bums are asleep.               C. Then a SHOT of the mission -- its front door open, the                sidewalk empty.               D. Then the bar, where the same peaceful mood prevails.               E. Then the alleyway where we last saw Curt Duncan. Now he                is gone.               F. Then the exterior of Tracy's apartment building. Clifford's                car is parked out front.                                     TRACY (O.S.)                         I used to see my two kids every                          weekend. They lived in a nice house                          with their father, outside the city.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. TRACY'S APARTMENT               Tracy and Clifford are sitting at a small table in the                kitchen, looking haggard, drinking coffee.                                     TRACY                         Now... it's been years. They're grown                          up.               They look at each other. Clifford is a sympathetic listener.                                     TRACY                         I look at where I am now. I know I                          could've done better, but... it's                          too late for that.                                     CLIFFORD                              (quietly)                         I know.               Pause.                                     TRACY                         Well, you've got to keep looking, I                          suppose.               Taking his cue, Clifford slowly rises.                                     CLIFFORD                         I don't think he'll come back here.               Tracy looks up at him questioningly, wishing she could feel                as sure about it as he does.                                     CLIFFORD                              (extending his hand)                         Thanks... for all your help.               Tracy takes his hand. They shake warmly.                                     CLIFFORD                         I know it wasn't easy.                              (turning to go)                         Maybe, someday, I'll be able to...                                     TRACY                         I wish you wouldn't leave me                          altogether...               Clifford turns back to her.                                     TRACY                              (with a laugh)                         I'm not a young woman anymore. I've                          given up all my dreams of the future.                          Now, I just want to make it to the                          end. You know what I mean.               Clifford smiles at her gently. He knows exactly what she                means.                                     CLIFFORD                         I'll be around.                                     TRACY                         Sure.               Clifford takes a few steps, turns back, looks at her.                                     CLIFFORD                         You like ice cream?                                     TRACY                         Yes.                                     CLIFFORD                         What flavor?                                     TRACY                         Chocolate chip.               Clifford nods his head slightly, as if registering this in                his memory.                                     CLIFFORD                              (quietly)                         Okay.               They smile at each other for a second then Clifford leaves                and Tracy sits alone in her kitchen, listening to him go,                hearing the door close behind him.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. STREET - DAY               CLOSE UP on a section of a newspaper lying in the gutter. A                pair of feet enters the frame and stands beside the newspaper.                We hear a familiar cough. Then a trembling hand reaches down                and picks up the newspaper.               Pause. Something in the newspaper has caught his eye. Then                the feet shuffle out of frame.                                                                  FADE OUT:               FADE IN:               EXT. STREET - AFTERNOON               A modest middle-income neighborhood where young married                couples buy their first home and start their family.               CAMERA is facing down the quiet street. In the foreground,                on the street, two small CHILDREN, a little boy and a little                girl, are playing. They are adorable kids.               CAMERA PANS ninety degrees with the children as they run out                of the street and up the sidewalk to their house.               A TITLE APPEARS across the bottom of the screen:                               5 pm Friday, April 28, 1978               TITLE FADES as the children push open the front door and                enter the house.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. HOUSE - FOLLOWING CHILDREN               They noisily and excitedly make their way to the kitchen.               The children are four and two and a half years old, STEVIE                and JUNE respectively.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. KITCHEN               As the kids enter, their MOTHER is working at the stove, her                back to CAMERA.                                     JUNE & STEVIE                              (together)                         Hi, Mommy!               The mother turns around. It is Jill Johnson!                                     JILL                              (smiling)                         Well, look what the wind blew in!               CAMERA MOVES IN on her as she comes forward, bends down,                kisses Stevie, and picks up June. Jill looks older, more                mature, but still very pretty. She is Mrs. John Lockhart                now, and has left her memories of the past behind her.                                     STEVIE                         Mommy, what's for dinner? Could we                          have hamburgers?                                     JILL                              (teasing)                         Is that all you ever want?               A wall phone in the kitchen starts to ring. Stevie goes to                answer it.                                     STEVIE                         Hello?                                     JOHN (O.S.)                              (surprised)                         Hey, how's my little tiger?               It is JOHN LOCKHART on the phone.                                     STEVIE                         Daddy, Junie threw my baseball down                          the street; and I can't find it!                                     JOHN (O.S.)                         Well, we'll look for it real hard                          later. Let me talk to mommy.               Jill, by this time, has come to the phone. She is still                holding June.                                     STEVIE                         Okay. Bye, daddy.               Stevie hands the phone to Jill.                                     JILL                         Hi.                                     JOHN                         Hi, babe -- whaddya say you put on a                          sexy dress, and I take you out to                          dinner tonight?               Jill is very happy about this.                                     JILL                         Great... what's the occasion?                                     JOHN                              (teasing)                         Just a little surprise.                                     JILL                         What?                                     JOHN                         I'm leaving here now; be home in                          half an hour.                                     JILL                         Okay, see ya.                                     JOHN                         Bye, babe.               As Jill hangs up the phone, Stevie pipes up O.S.                                     STEVIE (O.S.)                         Mommy, is Daddy gonna get me a new                          baseball?                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. DR. MANDRAKIS' HOUSE - NIGHT               Clifford's car is parked in the driveway, and we see him                getting out. He goes to the front door -- the porch light is                on and perhaps one other lamp somewhere inside the otherwise                dark house. He rings the bell, waits, rings again...               Finally the door is opened by the Houseboy.                                     HOUSEBOY                         Dr. and Mrs. Mandrakis are out of                          town.                                     CLIFFORD                         For how long?                                     HOUSEBOY                         Three more weeks.               Pause.                                     CLIFFORD                         It's just as well. Will you be here?                                     HOUSEBOY                         Yes.               Clifford takes a business card from his pocket and gives it                to the Houseboy.                                     CLIFFORD                         Here. Call if you need me.               The Houseboy reads the card as Clifford walks back to his                car. Then the Houseboy closes the front door.               Clifford pauses beside his car for a moment, looking back at                the rich, dark home.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. JILL'S HOUSE - CHILDREN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT               The children are in bed. Jill is sitting next to Stevie.                Only a nightlight is on.                                     STEVIE                         ...I pray the Lord my soul to keep.                          If I die before I wake, I pray the                          Lord my soul to take. God bless Mommy                          and Daddy and...                                     JUNE                         And me.                                     STEVIE                         ...and Granmom and Aunt Lucy and                          Uncle George...                                     JUNE                         And me!                                     STEVIE                              (pausing)                         ...and her. Now will you tell us a                          story?                                     JILL                         No, I will not tell you a story. You                          go to sleep now. And be good. Carol                          will be here while we're gone.                                     STEVIE                         Goodnight.               Jill kisses him.                                     JUNE                         Mommy, will you come here a minute?                          I want to tell you something.               Jill stands up and goes over to June's bed.                                     JILL                         What is it?                                     JUNE                         Come closer.               Jill bends closer to her daughter. O.S. the doorbell rings.                                     JUNE                         I love you.                                     JILL                         I love you, too, Junebug.                              (kissing her)                         Goodnight. Sleep tight.               Jill stands up and leaves.               INT. FRONT HALL               As Jill comes down the stairs. CAROL, the sitter, is at the                foot of the stairs with John. Carol has an armful of                schoolbooks.                                     JILL                         Hi, Carol.                                     CAROL                         Hello, Mrs. Lockhart. I saw your                          picture in the paper the other day.                          Congratulations.                                     JILL                         Ugggh... wasn't it a dreadful picture?                                     JOHN                         I thought it was nice.               Jill crosses to a hall table, picks up a phone book, flips                through it, then writes on a notepad beside the phone. Over                this action...                                     JOHN                         Are the kids asleep?                                     JILL                         They will be soon.                              (to Carol)                         Give them about twenty minutes and                          then take a peek -- but if Stevie                          sees you, you'll have to tell him a                          story.                              (beat)                         Here's the number of the restaurant.                          Call us if you need us. For police,                          ambulance, any emergency like that,                          just dial 911. You know that, right?                                     CAROL                         Nine-one-one? Oh, sure.                                     JILL                         And just in case, I've written the                          number of the children's Uncle George                          and Aunt Lucy here, too.                                     JOHN                         Honey, in ten seconds I eat the                          staircase.                                     JILL                         Okay. Okay.               She puts down the pad and crosses to a closet where she takes                out a lightweight coat.                                     JILL                              (handing the coat to                               John)                         Here.                                     JOHN                              (not taking the coat)                         I'm not wearing that thing!               Jill shoves the coat into his stomach. Smiling, he takes the                coat and dutifully helps her on with it.                                     CAROL                         Have a good time.                                     JILL                         Thanks, Carol.                                     JOHN                              (pulling her out the                               door)                         Bye, Carol.                                     CAROL                         Goodbye.                                     JILL                         Goodbye.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT               John and Jill walk to the station wagon in the driveway as                Carol shuts the front door in the background. Just before                Jill gets into the car, she takes a look back at the house --                there is a moment's hesitance, and then she gets in the car.               INT. HOUSE - NIGHT               Carol picks up the phone and carries it into the living room                with her. As she does it, we see lying on the phone table,                the newspaper clipping with Jill's picture, and headline:                "Jill Lockhart Chairs Community UNICEF Drive."               She puts the phone down, then her books, then herself. She                dials a number. Her BOYFRIEND answers.                                     BOYFRIEND (O.S.)                         Hello?                                     CAROL                         Hi. It's me.                                     BOYFRIEND (O.S.)                         Oh, hi.                                     CAROL                         Can you come over?                                     BOYFRIEND (O.S.)                         I can't. I really have a lot of work                          to do.                                     CAROL                              (disappointed)                         Ohhh...                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT               An Italian Restaurant. Quiet music, soft lights, red and                white checkered tablecloths, candles, a smokey and seductive                atmosphere.               DOLLY with a LATIN WAITER carrying a huge tray of food over-                head. He passes right by the table where Jill and John are                sitting. John watches him take the food to someone else.                                     JOHN                              (reaching for a                               breadstick)                         I've eaten enough breadsticks to                          turn into a pretzel.                                     JILL                         John, tell me about the surprise.                                     JOHN                         Oh, yeah. Brace yourself.                                     JILL                         I'm braced.                                     JOHN                         Good. I got the sack today.                                     JILL                         What sack?                                     JOHN                         The can... I was fired!                                     JILL                         Oh, sure.                                     JOHN                         You don't believe me?                                     JILL                         No, I don't believe you.                                     JOHN                         Well, Wally did call me into his                          office today. And he did tell me I                          didn't have my old job anymore.                                     JILL                              (getting excited)                         John, what did you get?                                     JOHN                         Are you ready for this?                                     JILL                              (guessing)                         District Sales Manager!                                     JOHN                         Regional!                                     JILL                         Regional?!                                     JOHN                         Nah, District.                                     JILL                              (beside herself)                         John, I don't believe it! District                          Sales Manager!               The WAITER arrives with their food.                                     JILL                         Well, it's about time!               The waiter looks up, offended.                                     JILL                              (to waiter)                         Not you.                              (back to John)                         It's about time they recognized you                          for what you are.                                     WAITER                         Enjoy your dinner, folks.               They ignore him. He moves away. John digs right in.                                     JOHN                              (mouth full)                         I'll be the youngest District Manager                          in the company's history. God, am I                          hungry!                                     JILL                              (not eating yet)                         Does this mean a raise?                                     JOHN                         It sure does.               John flags down a passing WAITER and signals that their wine                glasses need filling.                                     JILL                         How much?                                     JOHN                         A lot.                                     JILL                         How much?               John leans forward and whispers in her ear.                                     JILL                         You're kidding! And a car?                                     JOHN                         And a car.                                     JILL                         John, I'm so proud of you.               John pauses, looks at her.                                     JOHN                         What's the matter? You don't like                          your food?               The MAITRE D' has come up to the table. John stops suddenly.                They are both very chagrined.                                     MAITRE D'                         Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart?                                     JILL                         That's right.                                     MAITRE D'                         There's a telephone call for you.               John starts to get up. Jill grabs his arm.                                     JILL                         Eat your dinner. It's probably Carol.                          I'll talk to her.               Jill stands up and follows the Maitre D' through the other                tables to the telephone. She picks up the receiver. CAMERA                MOVES in on her.                                     JILL                         Hello?               Pause.                                     DUNCAN (O.S.)                         Have you checked the children?               Jill screams and falls to the floor.               ANGLE ON JOHN               Around him, other DINERS fall instantly silent and wonder                what is going on. WAITERS stop dead in their tracks.               John leaps up from his seat and dashes through the tables                like a madman. Suddenly the restaurant comes alive with                excitement and alarm.               ANGLE ON JILL               As John runs up and drops to his knees beside her. She is                shaking and sobbing uncontrollably.                                     JOHN                         Jill, what's happening? What's wrong?                                     JILL                         It was him! Somebody call the police!                          Help me!               Other PEOPLE have crowded around and are making urgent noises                now about calling the police, an ambulance, etc. John tries                to cut through the confusion and anxiety.                                     JOHN                         Wait a minute! Just hold on!                          Sweetheart, what was him? What are                          you talking about?                                     JILL                         That man... Curt Duncan... He's home                          again! He's got our children!                                     JOHN                         He was on the phone?               Jill nods.               John grabs the telephone and quickly dials a number. The                crowd tries to quiet down, as much to hear for themselves as                to let John talk. The phone rings and rings. Finally...                                     CAROL                         Hello?                                     JOHN                         Hello, Carol, it's Mr. Lockhart.                          What's going on over there?                                     CAROL                         Nothing's going on.                                     JOHN                         Is everything all right?                                     CAROL                         Yes, there's nothing --                                     JOHN                         Are you sure?               Pause.                                     CAROL                         Everything's fine. Why? What's --?                                     JOHN                         Carol, listen to me very carefully.                          If there's a man in the house, if                          there's any reason why you can't                          talk to me right now, just answer                          yes to me over the phone. That's                          all. If there's any danger of any                          kind, just say yes.               Long pause. They wait for her answer. Jill is listening into                the receiver now, too.                                     CAROL                         I don't understand what's happening.                          What man in the house?               Jill is confused. John breathes a guarded sigh of relief.                Jill takes the phone.                                     JILL                         Carol, it's Mrs. Lockhart. Answer me                          truthfully. When was the last time                          you looked in on the children?                                     CAROL                         About forty-five minutes ago.                          Everything's fine. They were fast                          asleep.               Jill gives her husband a look. John takes the phone again.                                     JOHN                         Carol, I'm sorry about all the                          hysterics. We're leaving the                          restaurant now. We'll explain                          everything when we get home. Before                          we hang up, could you do just one                          more thing for me, please?                                     CAROL                         What?                                     JOHN                         Would you go upstairs and, and check                          on the children for me?               Jill is violently shaking her head. John silences her with a                gesture.                                     CAROL                         Sure. Hold on.               Carol O.S. puts the phone down. Then there is silence on the                other end. The crowd of people around Jill and John begin to                shuffle and murmur. John tries to keep them quiet while                listening into the phone.               Then TWO POLICEMEN come forward through the crowd. One of                them kneels down to John and Jill who are still on the floor.                                     POLICEMAN #1                         What seems to be the problem here,                          sir?                                     JOHN                              (whispering)                         Officer, I'm John Lockhart. Just a                          second please, and I'll explain                          everything.                                     JILL                              (whispering to                               Policeman)                         I'm Jill Johnson, the babysitter                          seven years ago with the child killer.               This means nothing to Policeman #1.                                     JOHN                         The babysitter. The guy got into the                          house and killed the two children                          upstairs.               Policeman #2 kneels down now.                                     POLICEMAN #2                              (whispering)                         Oh, yeah, I remember something about                          that. A Greek doctor...                                     JOHN                         That's right. That's the one.                                     POLICEMAN #2                              (to Policeman #1)                         It was in the seventh precinct...               As the two policemen and John mumble between themselves,                Jill takes the telephone.                                     JILL                              (listening)                         Hello?               She presses the receiver tighter to her ear.                                     JILL                         Carol?               John quiets down the policeman. Jill can now hear what she                couldn't a second ago.                                     JILL                              (growing hysterical)                         Carol? Carol?!               ZOOM into the telephone until we can also hear what Jill is                reacting to. It grows louder and louder... A dial tone.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. LOCKHART HOUSE - NIGHT               John and Jill pull up in the station wagon followed by a                squad car -- no sirens or lights. They all get out and rush                for the front door.               John pulls out his key to open the door... and discovers                that it's unlocked. Cautiously, they step inside.               INT. FRONT HALL               They look into the living room. Carol isn't there.                                     JOHN                         Carol? Carol?               No answer. The policemen tentatively draw their guns. Jill                bolts up the stairway.                                     JOHN                         Jill!               Policeman #2 runs up after her.               INT. UPSTAIRS HALL               As Jill runs down to the children's bedroom followed by                Policeman #2. She opens the door and rushes inside.               INT. CHILDREN'S BEDROOM               The children are in bed, asleep. Policeman #2 stands in the                doorway as Jill goes up to June and bends over her.                                     JUNE                              (opening her eyes)                         Mommy?               Jill kisses her gently on the forehead.                                     JILL                         Sshhh...               June closes her eyes and immediately falls back to sleep.                Jill walks over to Stevie's bed and looks down at him. He                turns slightly in his sleep.               Satisfied that her children are safe, Jill pulls up the covers                on Stevie and then walks slowly out of the bedroom.               INT. UPSTAIRS HALL               Jill quietly pulls the door shut, and Policeman #2 walks                back up the hallway. Jill leans against the wall and buries                her face in her hands. She is drained. She starts to cry.                                     JOHN (O.S.)                         Nothing was wrong?                                     CAROL (O.S.)                         When I got back to the phone, the                          line was dead. I figured we got cut                          off somehow. What's been going on?                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. BEDROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT               Jill is sitting on a corner of the bed, looking at the floor.                John sits on the other corner, facing away from her, slowly                unbuttoning his shirt. After a long silence...                                     JILL                         What are you thinking about?                                     JOHN                         If I ever get my hands on the guy                          that made that call...                                     JILL                         John, it wasn't a prank. I know that                          voice.                                     JOHN                         He disguised it though, didn't he?                          Same as before?                                     JILL                         I know that voice.               Pause.                                     JILL                         How can we just sit here?               John turns and moves over beside her.                                     JOHN                         Look, we promised never to talk about                          this.               REACTION SHOT of Jill. She is shocked.                                     JOHN                         What are we supposed to do? Leave                          town? Take the kids and lock ourselves                          up somewhere? Come on... Let's get a                          good night's sleep, and in the morning                          we can rethink this whole thing.                                     JILL                         Nothing has to be rethought. And I'm                          not about to fall asleep.                                     JOHN                         Try to relax, honey. I'm here. We're                          both here. The house is locked up.                          The cops'll be just outside all night                          long. We're safe now.                                     JILL                         That's what they told me before.               John stands up and goes to his dresser.                                     JOHN                         Okay. Look. If it'll make you feel                          any better...               He takes a revolver from the dresser drawer and emphatically                checks the action. Then he walks to his side of the bed and                sets the pistol on his bedside table.                                     JOHN                         I'll keep it right here beside me                          all night. You know I'm a light                          sleeper and a damn good shot. Are                          you satisfied?               Pause. Jill tries to smile.                                     JILL                         John, I'm sorry to be putting you                          through all this.                                     JOHN                         Hey, you're not putting me through                          anything that you don't have to go                          through yourself. I'm with you all                          the way. Trust me. Okay?               Jill nods. John leans forward and kisses her.                                     JOHN                         That's my girl.               He gets up and walks out of the room talking.                                     JOHN (O.S.)                         Now try to relax. We'll get some                          sleep. You'll be surprised how                          differently things will look in the                          morning.                                     JILL                              (complaining)                         Honey...                                     JOHN (O.S.)                         What?                                     JILL                         Not so loud. You're going to wake                          the children.               John comes back into the bedroom with a glass of water and a                couple of pills in his hand.                                     JOHN                              (smiling)                         Naw. Those kids'd sleep through an                          earthquake. They're good kids.                              (handing her the pills                               and water)                         Here, take a couple of these. They're                          just what the doctor ordered.               CLOSEUP - JILL               As she takes the pills and swallows them, one at a time.                                     JOHN (O.S.)                         You know, I read somewhere about                          this psychological thing called                          hysterical delusion or hysterical                          recall or something. It had to do                          with how an event from your past can                          sneak up on you sometimes and fool                          you when it's only just a memory. I                          don't know. We'll talk about it in                          the morning. Maybe there's someone                          we can see about that...                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT               The lounge area in the back of the station. At one table,                three OFFICERS are playing bridge. Garber with his back to                CAMERA rounds out their game.               At a nearby table closer to CAMERA, Policeman #1 is working                on a crossword puzzle. POLICEMAN #3, sitting next to him, is                reading a paperback novel.                                     POLICEMAN #1                         What's a word for "an outsider, of                          sorts"?                                     POLICEMAN #3                         Trespasser.                                     POLICEMAN #1                         Uh-uh. Eight letters.                                     POLICEMAN #3                         Stranger.                                     POLICEMAN #1                         Uh-uh. Starts with an "I".               Policeman #3 thinks briefly, then goes back to his novel.                Policeman #2 enters the room carrying a printout of some                sort.                                     POLICEMAN #2                         Hey, Bert. A report just came in on                          that guy, Curt Duncan.               ANGLE ON GARBER               At the bridge table, perking up his ears, looking around.                                     POLICEMAN #2 (O.S.)                         Broke outta the nuthouse two months                          ago.               Garber is keeping only half an eye on the card game. He pulls                a card from his hand and throws it down.                                     POLICEMAN #1 (O.S.)                         Oh, yeah? You going to put that in                          our report?                                     OFFICER #1 (O.S.)                         Diamonds, Charlie. Diamonds was led.               Garber hastily picks up his card and throws down another.                                     POLICEMAN #2 (O.S.)                         Course I'm going to put it in the                          report. Maybe this gal tonight really                          did get a call from him. Who knows?                                     OFFICER #1 (O.S.)                         Your lead, Charlie.               Garber throws down another card.                                     OFFICER #1 (O.S.)                         What the hell are you doing? That's                          a trump.                                     OFFICER #2 (O.S.)                         A card laid is a card played.                                     POLICEMAN #1 (O.S.)                         Yeah, you're right. We'd better leave                          that on Ruznik's desk in the morning.                                     OFFICER #2 (O.S.)                         Toss 'em in. I got the rest.                                     OFFICER #1 (O.S.)                         Jesus Kay-Reist!               Garber throws down his cards. He stands up and approaches                Policeman #2.                                     GARBER                         Hey, Tucker, lemme see that a minute.               Policeman #2 hands the sheet of paper to Garber. Garber                quickly scans the information.                                     GARBER                         You guys have a stake on the house?                                     POLICEMAN #2                         Bernstein and Waller are checkin' it                          every twenty minutes or so.                                     GARBER                              (handing back the                               sheet)                         Thanks.               Garber exits to his office. Policeman #2 walks over to where                Policeman #1 is still sitting, working the crossword.                                     POLICEMAN #1                         Hey, what's an eight letter word for                          "an outsider, of sorts"? Starts with                          an "I".                                     POLICEMAN #2                         Intruder!                                     POLICEMAN #1                         Right! Intruder!                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. GARBER'S OFFICE - NIGHT               Garber sits thinking for a moment. He is trying to come to a                decision. He reaches for the phone and dials. It rings and                then is picked up.                                     CLIFFORD (O.S.)                         Hello?                                     GARBER                         Cliff?... I think I got something                          for you...                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LOCKHART HOUSE - NIGHT               A shot of the downstairs hall. All is dark and still, very                still.               INT. BEDROOM               Jill is tossing in her sleep. John is fast asleep next to                her, on his side facing away from her. Then, Jill wakes up.                She is heavily sedated, groggy. She hardly knows where she                is at first.               She pulls herself up to a sitting position on the side of                the bed. She tries to gather her wits. Then she gets up and                walks slowly out of the room.               FOLLOWING JILL               Through the upstairs hallway, down the staircase and toward                the kitchen. The darkness around her is ominous, threatening.               She stops at the dining room window and looks out. On the                street a patrol car slowly passes and disappears down the                block.               INT. KITCHEN               Jill enters, turns on the light, opens a cupboard and takes                out a glass. She goes to the refrigerator and opens it.                Suddenly, the lights go out.               Jill closes the refrigerator door and goes and turns on                another light. Apparently, only a lightbulb has blown. Jill                unscrews the burned-out bulb from its socket and throws it                in the trash.               She leaves the kitchen.               INT. DOWNSTAIRS HALL               Jill walks to a hall closet and opens it. A light comes on                inside as she does so. A puzzled, half-startled expression                comes onto her face.               JILL'S POV               Inside the closet, half the hangers with coats, etc., are on                the floor.               Sound over: A telephone being dialed.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. CLIFFORD'S APARTMENT - NIGHT               Clifford has just finished dialing the phone. He waits,                nothing happens. Then a strange, siren-like noise comes out                of the telephone. Clifford listens, then hangs up.               He picks up the .38 he has lying on the desk and idly starts                flipping the cartridge chamber with one of his jimmy needles.                After a moment, he lays the gun down and picks up the phone                again, this time calling the OPERATOR.                                     OPERATOR (O.S.)                         Operator.                                     CLIFFORD                         Can you dial a local number for me?                                     OPERATOR (O.S.)                         What is the number, please?                                     CLIFFORD                         555-2183.               The operator dials. There is a pause. Then the same strange                noise cuts in.                                     CLIFFORD                         Operator, what does that mean?                                     OPERATOR (O.S.)                         I'm sorry, sir, that line seems to                          be disconnected.                                     CLIFFORD                         Why don't I get a recording?                                     OPERATOR (O.S.)                         I don't know, sir. Maybe the number                          was just recently disconnected. Maybe                          there's a temporary malfunction in                          the wiring. Why don't you try it                          again in the morning?                                     CLIFFORD                         Yeah, okay. Thanks.                                                                    CUT TO:               INT. LOCKHART HOME - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT               Jill is walking down the hall to the children's bedroom. She                opens the door.               INT. CHILDREN'S BEDROOM               As Jill quietly enters. The children are asleep. Jill goes                to June and tucks her in. Then she walks over to Stevie's                bed. He is sleeping, but with a Sugar Daddy in his hand.                Jill looks down at him, again puzzled. She leans over, takes                the Sugar Daddy and gently wakes him.                                     JILL                         Stevie... Stevie...                                     STEVIE                              (stirring, but not                               fully awake)                         Yes?                                     JILL                         Stevie, listen to me. Where did you                          get this candy?                                     STEVIE                         What?                                     JILL                         Where did you get this?                                     STEVIE                              (very groggy)                         The man gave it to me...                                     JILL                         What man?                                     STEVIE                              (drifting off)                         I don't know... He was... Wings on a                          horse...               He closes his eyes and is asleep.               Jill stands up, turns and starts to walk out of the room.                Halfway across the floor, Jill stops. She stands rigid as a                thought penetrates her own drowsiness. She turns very slowly                and moves to the closet in the children's bedroom.               She stands before it a moment. Then she reaches her hand                forward for the knob on the closet door. She very slowly                pulls the door open. She looks inside. There is nothing.               Jill quietly closes the closet door and leaves the room.               INT. BEDROOM               Jill enters. John is still asleep facing the wall. Jill gets                into bed, sitting up. She is wide awake now. She sits for a                moment in the darkness, thinking.               Then she reaches for the princess phone on the bedside table.                She doesn't get a dial tone. She quietly pushes the phone's                disconnect button up and down several times. Still no dial                tone.               Jill hangs up and thinks for another moment, apprehension                creeping over her face.               Then, in the darkness of the bedroom, she begins to hear the                muttering of a man's voice, low and deep. It is Duncan in                the throes of Guy du Marraux.               Jill freezes. As the voice gets steadily louder and more                menacing, her attention focuses on the door to the bedroom                closet which is a couple of inches ajar.                                     JILL                              (urgently whispering)                         John?... John?...               She reaches for the bedside lamp and turns it on, never taking                her eyes away from the closet door. As soon as the light                comes on, the voice stops.               Her eyes still riveted to the door, Jill grabs her husband's                shoulder and shakes him, her voice cracking with fear.                                     JILL                         John!... John!...               The body beside her stirs, rolls over, looks at her hideously.                It is Duncan!!               Jill shrieks, and makes a move to leap out of the bed.               Duncan, the hideous and terrifying sound of his madness                grumbling out of his throat, manages to grab the back of her                nightgown.               As Jill struggles to get off the bed, the gown rips slightly                while she fights to get away.               Duncan rolls to her side of the bed and manages to grab Jill's                ankle while letting go of the gown. It causes Jill to lose                her balance and tumble onto the floor just short of the                doorway leading out of the room.               Duncan is on her in a flash, clutching at her and moving his                hands for her throat. Jill screams again. It is the desperate                sound of a woman facing certain death.               Suddenly, two quick shots ring out, overwhelming all other                sound. Duncan falls back with a groan and a thud.               Out of the darkness of the hallway steps Clifford, pistol in                hand. He crosses to Duncan. He is dead. Then Clifford walks                around the room to the far side of the bed and looks down.               On the narrow strip of floor between the bed and the wall                lies John. Clifford nudges the body with his foot. John stirs,                as if he has been knocked unconscious, but it will be some                time yet before he comes to.               Clifford starts to walk out of the room, stepping over                Duncan's body, edging past Jill who is propped up in the                doorway, sobbing hysterically.                                     CLIFFORD                         Your husband's okay.               Then he is gone.               As Jill sits there unable to rein in her emotions, June and                Stevie toddle up to her groggily from the hallway.                                     JUNE                         Mommy?               Jill clutches her children to her heaving breast and buries                her face between them.               INT. DOWNSTAIRS HALL               Looking through the open front doorway into the quiet night                beyond.                                                                  FADE OUT:                                         THE END
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+                          WHITE JAZZ                          Written by             Matthew Michael Carnahan & Joe Carnahan                                                            9/16/07Based on the novel "White Jazz" by James Ellroy    Legend: Recife, Brazil, 19831   INT. HILLSIDE VILLA - MORNING                                 1    Stare at my broken face in a gilded mirror. The breaks    occurred a lifetime ago, healed uneven. I wear a white    tropical button-down, a Republican-gold Rolex, a pirate-patch    over what was my left eye.                        ME (V.O.)              I'm old. And all I have left is the              will to remember...    I reach into a dresser drawer, pull out a yellowed black &    white picture of HER: this beatific blonde, sleeping. Below    me is a week-old L.A. Times with the headline: Matriarch of    Television Series, Empire Ridge, Retires.    The Matriarch's picture in the middle.                            *                        ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)              ...and the fear I'll forget...    Slide HER over the Matriarch's picture: the Matriarch 30    years younger now. Lift my eyes back to my reflection.                        ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)              I killed innocent men. I betrayed              sacred oaths. I reaped profit from              horror. The names are dead or too              guilty to tell. The events so              brutal they beg to be re-told...    Legend: Los Angeles, Fall 19582   INT. OLYMPIC AUDITORIUM - FIGHT NIGHT                         2    The battered face of an Irish Pug. Same guy? No. A hard jab    bashes the Pug out of frame. And there I am: next to the    `Ring' Magazine Reporter chewing the ass out of his cigar.                        ME (V.O.)              Lieutenant Dave Klein, Vice              Division. LAPD. That's what my face              looked like before.    My point of view now: Irish Pug on the business end of this    bantam Black's combos. Standing to my left: SERGEANT RICHARD    "JUNIOR" STEMMONS. Twenty-six.                                                             2.                        ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)              Junior Stemmons. A partner I never              asked for. The scowl meant to hide              a shit-scared kid who'd been              teaching evidence classes three              months ago. His Old-Man was an LAPD              lifer who never got past Sergeant.                        JUNIOR STEMMONS              We should make our move now.                        ME              Mid-fight? Look at the crowd: you              wanna be at the center of a riot?                        JUNIOR STEMMONS              I don't wanna be here when Noonan              and the Feds show up.    I point at the bantam Black:                        ME              We let Sanderline finish this              beating, we get his gratitude.                          *    Junior eyes the exits clockwise, nervous, waiting for    `Untouchables' to break the doors down. I hate the way panic    smells when I stand this close to it.                        JUNIOR STEMMONS              We gonna let Rock-a-bye fight too-                        ME              -relax Junior.3   INT. LOCKER ROOM - MOMENTS LATER                              3    The Bantam Black: SANDERLINE JOHNSON. Led through the double    doors. He sees me, then his gaze shifts to Junior popping    jabs inches from REUBEN RUIZ: a muscled middle-weight, fight-    taped hands cuffed behind his back. I smile big:                        ME              Sanderline, I'm Lieutenant Klein of              the LAPD and a real big fan-                        JUNIOR STEMMONS              -you're under arrest.    Sanderline spooks, steps back. Turn and make sure Junior sees    the fire in my eyes, keep staring at Junior as I speak to    Sanderline again:                                                             3.                        ME              No you're not. Reuben is-                        REUBEN RUIZ              -Lieutenant Dave why you arrest-                        ME              -for being a ranked fighter who              still steals hubcaps. Shut up.                  (off Ruiz, back to                   Sanderline)              If I was gonna arrest you, I              wouldn't have let you finish: and              that hook-uppercut combo you got is              something special.                  (from Reuben, beat)              Reuben's in custody. But you could              be our Guest. Whaddya say?4   EXT. OLYMPIC AUDITORIUM - MOMENT LATER                        4    Me, Junior, Reuben, and Sanderline aim for the nearest exit.    Behind the stands. Reuben and Sanderline in street clothes,    hats pulled down tight. Feature the Announcer:                        RING ANNOUNCER              Ladies and Gentleman...due to              circumstances beyond our control,              Rock-A-Bye Ruiz will not fight this-    -BOOS drown the PA. Beer and lit cigars shell the Announcer.    Fights erupt in the stands. I can't stifle a chuckle. Three    exits down: day late-dollar short Feds. WELLES NOONAN, elbows-    out, surveying the scene like a half-assed Rommel.                        ME (V.O.)              Welles Noonan, US Attorney. Ivy              League Crimefighter. Launching a              big boxing probe as a way to begin              prying into everything else crooked              and corrupt in LA.    Move faster.                        ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)              Unaware the LAPD was walking away              with his two big witnesses.    As we near the side exit I stop. Junior pauses, less than a    foot from my face, pointing up at Noonan, pure panic.                                                             4.                        JUNIOR STEMMONS              C'MON-JESUS-HE'S RIGHT THERE!    My P.O.V.: second row, washed-up gangster Mickey Cohen with a    Blonde far too beautiful for his world, a woman you've seen    before, but only in a yellowed B&W picture 30 years in the    future. I can't take my eyes away...five seconds-                        JUNIOR STEMMONS (CONT'D)              -HE SEES US!    Noonan's gaze strafes us. I see him squint.                        ME              Then you can stop pointing at him.    Double-time out the double-doors.5   INT. AMBASSADOR HOTEL - NIGHT                                 5    9th floor suite. All four of us. I order room service.                        ME              Hungry Sanderline?    Sanderline digs the digs: sports the Ambassador robe over his    street clothes, reading the Bible.                        SANDERLINE JOHNSON              If they got shrimp.                        ME                  (into the phone)              Shrimp cocktail.                  (over to Reuben)              You want something Reuben?                        REUBEN RUIZ              To know why the fuck I'm here-                        JUNIOR STEMMONS              -mind your tone, Shitbird...                        REUBEN RUIZ              Shitbird went out with Vaudeville.              You get your badge in a cereal box?                        ME              You're here because we want you to              remember where you live.                                                            5.                    SANDERLINE              (grade-school mind)          City of Angels.                    ME          Excellent Sanderline.                    REUBEN RUIZ          What?                    ME          You live in LA, Asshole. You do not          live in `Federal Government.'Ruiz turns `caught-me' pink...I nod to Junior: split `em.Playing adjoining hotel rooms like sweat boxes.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          We get to spend time alone now.                    REUBEN RUIZ          Want some perfume?Junior shoves Ruiz through the inner-door connecting therooms. Sanderline giggles. Close the door behind them. Sitdown inches from Sanderline, change my tone:                    ME          Stop laughing.Instant quiet.                    ME (CONT'D)          What were you gonna tell Welles          Noonan?              (watch as he flinches)          He has a subpoena with your name on          it, Sanderline. Why would someone          like you need to talk to the U.S.          Attorney?Sanderline staying silent...                    ME (CONT'D)          You're a legbreaker for the Mob. I          know the Men that pay you for that          will murder you if they hear you're          about to talk to the U.S.-                    SANDERLINE JOHNSON          -but they don't know...                                                         6.                    ME              (beat, small smile)          And they don't have to. Now tell me          what you were gonna tell Noonan--phone rings. Sanderline flinches for the second time.                    SANDERLINE          Bet you they ran outta shrimp.I stand, step, answer it:                    ME          Yeah.                    UNIDENTIFIED VOICE (O.S.)          The Spook with you?Mild shock. Catalogue potential "who's"...                    UNIDENTIFIED VOICE (CONT'D)          C'mon, we know he is. We're just          trying to be mysterious-                    ME          -who's `we?'                    UNIDENTIFIED VOICE (O.S.)          Me and Sam G.                    ME (V.O.)          G for `Giancana.' I owe him favors          for the rest of my life.                    UNIDENTIFIED VOICE (O.S.)          We're out at the place in Palm          Springs. You should come out for          the weekend.                    ME          Tell Sam if I get minute-                    UNIDENTIFIED VOICE          -yer gonna have to make a minute          for him. Now. See, we think the          Spade might testify that Sam owns          him and how we was grooming him for          a title shot he was gonna tank. A          fight everybody woulda' got flush          off of, including the Spade.                        *              (beat, quieter)          Have him look out the window Klein.                                                               7.    Click. A breath. Drop the phone on the cradle...step to the    window...open it...then I chuckle genuine:                        ME              Sanderline, you gotta see this...    Trusting puppy Sanderline steps to the window:                          SANDERLINE JOHNSON              What'm I-    -smash his head against the frame using his forward motion.    He loses muscle control for the split-second it takes me to    pitch his legs up and out. My face a quick-change evil mask.    Feature Sanderline's nine-story fall. That Ambassador Hotel    robe billows behind him like a cape. He detonates an overhead    streetlight with a bomb sound, then hits the driveway.    Unzip my fly, hustle into the bathroom, screams from outside    now. Flush the toilet as Junior and Ruiz pile through the    door. Step out, play it baffled: look at the bed where    Sanderline sat, then the open window, screams floating up...                        ME              DID THAT MUTT JUST JUMP?    Lunge to the window: Sanderline post-mortem. Head shattered.    Valets sprinting. Junior on the phone. Ruiz steps-up next to    me: horrified. I keep staring at the smashed body...whisper:                        ME (CONT'D)              Remember where you live.    Reuben has to use both hands to steady himself.6   INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS - BRADLEY'S OFFICE - MORNING           6    Spartan space appointed with high-ticket items like the    mahogany table around which we sit. Outside: echoes of a    protest filter through the windows:                        MUFFLED PROTEST AMALGAM (O.C.)              MEXICAN BROTHERS SI! IMPERIAL              DODGERS NO!    Four of us at the table glued to the T.V, watching U.S.    Attorney Welles Noonan lambasting the LAPD.                        ME (V.O.)              LA's version of the Young Turks,              only meaner.                        (MORE)                                                8.                    ME (V.O.) (cont'd)          Boyce Bradley, Chief of Detectives.          Smartest man in town. And one of          the richest: Dad was a Real Estate          Developer who owned a strip of land          that's now known as the Santa          Monica Freeway. On either side,          Bradley's book-ends: D.A. Bob          Gallaudet, not the smartest man in          town: `Gas Chamber' Bob cribbed my          notes at USC Law. And Tom Bethune,          running for a City Council seat          that'll decide if this Mexican slum          called Chavez Ravine gets bulldozed          and renamed `Dodger Stadium.'              *                    BRADLEY          Turn it off.Bethune leaps like a lapdog, hits the power.                    ME          I was pissing. He was jumping.Bradley picks up a newspaper:                    BRADLEY          `US Attorney Noonan is accusing the          Los Angeles Police Department in          general, and Lt. David Klein in          particular, of murder at worst,          gross incompetence at best...'                    ME          Noonan had Sanderline scared. After          he sang to me he panicked & jumped.                    TOM BETHUNE          He did spend a month in Camarillo          Mental Hospital last year-                    GAS CHAMBER BOB          -and wearing that hotel robe over          his clothes makes him look even          more looney-bin.                    TOM BETHUNE          Plus, Reuben Ruiz recanted. So          Noonan's Boxing Probe is dead. He's          got nothing-                    BRADLEY          -but time, a mandate and new          targets...I need to speak to the          Lieutenant alone.                                                         9.Bob and Tom nod, pat my back on the way out: proud uncleslending support before Dad drops the hammer. Door closes. Istand, step to the window, big Pro-Mex protest below: Geeksand placards: `BASEBALL IS AS AMERICAN AS THE TRAIL OF TEARS!                    BRADLEY (CONT'D)          Describe to me your duty, as you          understood it, regarding Sanderline          Johnson and Reuben Ruiz.                    ME          Take both men into custody before          Noonan and the Feds could, and find                   *          out what they were going to tell-                    BRADLEY          -and why did I choose you for this?                    ME          Because I'm a Cop with a law          degree, and you thought my legal-                     BRADLEY          -because your a thug with a law          degree. Because I thought by now          you'd be so indebted to this          Department for not indicting and/or                   *          imprisoning you, that diligent,          honest discharge of duty would be          assured.              (beat)          And I made a horrible misjudgment.                    *                    ME          Bethune and Gallaudet don't think          so.                    BRADLEY          Bob's happy because he wants to be          State Attorney General and his most          likely opponent will be Welles          Noonan. Tom's happy because Morton          Diskant, who's leading their City          Council race, is endorsed by          Noonan. Thus, they're not seeing          the larger play.              (with calculated emphasis)          Noonan's new target will likely be          the LAPD itself.                    ME          How do you know that?                                                        10.                     BRADLEY          Because that's where I would aim: a          subpoenaed Federal witness plummets          to his death in the company of two          LAPD detectives?              (beat)          This screams Police Corruption.                      *          This offers Noonan the possibility          of payback in the form of national          headlines.I wave it all off:                    ME          Johnson did that stint at the Nut          House -- leak his file to your          friends at the times--and Bradley drops his bomb: Coroner's file. I stare...guessthe contents...try to keep my heart rate in-check...                    BRADLEY          My friends would be more interested          in this.              (beat, flipping file open)          Coroner's preliminary: white paint          chips found embedded in Sanderline          Johnson's scalp. A matching dent on          the white window sill. I checked          with the hotel switchboard and          found a call was patched to your          room at about the same time Johnson          flew out of it.              (beat, proclamation:)          It shocks and sickens me that your          allegiance to the Chicago mob would          take precedence over the LAPD.                    ME              (fuck drawing this out)          Alright. Where's this going?                         *              (pull my badge, table it)          Gun? Shield? What?                    BRADLEY          The appearance of disciplinary          measures taken against you are          mandated post-Sanderline Johnson,                    *          so your suspension will be recorded          but sealed...and kept quiet for now-                 *                                                           11.                    ME          So if the papers or Noonan come          sniffing around-                    BRADLEY          -we can provide adequate proof of          your dismissal.                    ME          But you're not dismissing me.                    BRADLEY          Just on paper.              (closes the file)          Since I misjudged the Cop I thought          you were, I'm going to leverage the          Cop that you are.Bradley slides the morning paper over. Front page: `CandidateDiskant Hears The Hue and Cry of The Underclass...' The photoshows a smiling Diskant, rolled shirt-sleeves, in the middle     *of a sea of LA Immigrants, all smiling back.                     *                    BRADLEY (CONT'D)          Morton Diskant is to be removed          from the City Council race. The          means and methods implemented to          that end I will entrust to you.                    ME              (throw a thumb at Bethune)          You want me to torpedo Diskant so          your buddy Bethune can win a City                      *          Council seat uncontested-                    BRADLEY          -or spend the next month in lock-up                    *          before being arraigned on charges                      *          of gross misconduct and dereliction                    *          of duty. The preamble before you                       *          face life in prison for murder.                        *I stare back. Feel myself getting fitted for strings...                    BRADLEY (CONT'D)          Diskant works Saturdays. Late.Bradley waves me out. I intentionally drag my badge backacross the desk, scratching his Mahogany heirloom.               *                                                            12.7   INT. MY 1955 PONTIAC - MORNING                                7    Hollywood Hills loom in the distance.                        ME (V.O.)              Bradley's stooge now. A smart play              suspending me: a built-in shield                        *              for him if things go sideways.    Traffic teeming up Fairfax, tourettes-like glances in my rear-    view...a Black Buick...maybe mirroring my lane changes.                        ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)              Black Buick...five Cars              back...feels like a tail...    Brake hard. They hang a left on Fountain.                        ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)              ...or maybe I just need sleep.    Cruising up Nichols Canyon to the pad, cameras and    copywriters loom on my front lawn.                        ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)              Press camped out post-Sanderline,              looking for quotes to hang me with.                     *    Slouch in the seat, accelerate, keep looking back...dig that    geek from the Hearld pissing in my hedges.8   EXT. WESTWOOD COTTAGE - MORNING                               8    Up the walkway.                        ME (V.O.)              Retreat to Meg's. My kid sister and              only living family. Mom and Pop              died in `51 when their first plane              ride became their last.    Scoop Meg's LA Herald of the ground. Headlines condemn me.    Tuck it under my arm as Meg opens the door:                        MEG                  (glances from paper to me)              I already got the Times inside.                                                            13.9   INT. WESTWOOD COTTAGE - MOMENTS LATER                         9    Silver tea-pot over blue flame on olive-drab stove. The Times    open on the table between us...Same shitty headlines.                        MEG              How much is true?                        ME              How many times have I lied to you?                           MEG              Zero.    Shrug. Play aloof. Hope it suffices.                        ME              You've always liked your Men mean.     She looks up at me. Feels the shame I shun...                    *                        ME              What would Mom and Dad say?                        ME              Nothing. That's where I learned it.    She stands, goes to the stove.                           MEG              Poor you.                        ME              Yeah, pour me...a cup please.              Black, no sugar.    Meg stares darts. I smile to defuse.                        ME (CONT'D)              Pretty please.    She fetches cups and saucers.                        ME (CONT'D)              How's work?                                             *                           MEG              It's work.                        ME              How's Pete?                                                             14.                            MEG               More work.     Quiet while we wait for the pot...and quiet always means     creeping sleep: an Enemy I never stop fighting. Force my eyes     open, shift in my seat: I've been exhausted for years.     I drift despite my best efforts and for a split second you     see the Hell I see when sleep wins:10   INT./EXT. NIGHTMARE                                          10     Fire where the clouds should be -- POP -- in a backseat,     point-blank Tommy-gunning two smiling men -- POP -- Marine     fatigues soaked in blood, plunging my bayonet into a     cheesecake-white belly -- POP -- that beautiful blonde from       *     the Olympic, smiling -- POP-                                      *11   INT. WESTWOOD COTTAGE - SAME MOMENT                          11     -awake. My leg jerks, kicks a big Wing-Tip. A cup of coffee     pipes in front of me. Then voices. I turn: PETE BONDURANT has     his hands on my sister's shoulders.                         ME (V.O.)               Big Pete Bondurant. One-time LA               Sheriff. Bounced when he beat-dead               a Prisoner who spit at him. A duly               impressed Howard Hughes hired him               on as his full-time muscle. My               Sister's new Hump. My oldest living               Friend.                         PETE                   (turns back at me)               You look like Death taking a shit.     Meg cackles.                         MEG               He's still got that MGM-face.                         PETE               You're still the only guy who ever               traded movie-potential for Police               work.                         MEG               Because in the movies they make you               pull your punches.                                                             15.     Drain my mug. To Pete:                         ME               Wanna do LAPD a favor tonight?                         MEG               No. We're going to the Cocoanut-     -Pete puts an extended index finger in front of Meg's lips,     which she bends backwards.                         PETE               'Favor' mean `free?'                         ME               Means $500 an hour.                         MEG               Gimme the phone so I can find               another Date-                          ME               -you're the only Woman I know who               calls Men-                         MEG               -you're the only Man I know who               doesn't call Women.     Pete laughs, then:                                             *                         PETE               What are we doing?12   EXT. LOW RENT OFFICE BUILDING, EAST LA - NIGHT            12     Me and Junior in the car. Pete street-side, tucked into the     shadows -- mimes jacking off, checks his watch. Everybody     bored. Glance again at the file in my lap:                          ME (V.O.)               Morton Diskant, a man who preferred               migrant workers to million dollar               ballparks. Beating Bethune in their               City Council Race despite getting               outspent 10 to 1.                   (beat)               If he wins, the Dodgers don't get a               Stadium, Mexicans get to keep               raising chickens two miles from               City Hall and Bradley makes sure I                   *               burn for Sanderline Johnson.                         *                                                        16.Junior in the backseat, penning in a steno, mouthingsomething to himself.                    ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)          Junior brought along because he          begged. Already hip to how many          ways you can make money with a          badge.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          You got a birthday coming up.                    ME          What?                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          On the 16th, right? How old?                    ME          Old. What are you writing?                          *Head down, scribbling mid-sentence, makes me wait a beat.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          Just notes...about work-                    ME          -what `work'?                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          Mostly compare and contrast stuff.          Street work versus textbook-                    ME          -chapter 1: don't write shit down.          Chapter 2: or other Cops might kill                 *          you.Junior's look practiced in a mirror: clicks the pen, slidesthe steno away.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          So you think Noonan will come after          you for the Sanderline thing? He          seems like a real hard charger.Bait him, see if he bites.                    ME              (the deadest deadpan)          I heard he was coming after both of          us.                                                                17.     Feature real concern from Junior.                         JUNIOR STEMMONS               What?                         ME               Indictments. Prison time. Whole               nine.                         JUNIOR STEMMONS               Holy Jesus. Is this true?                         ME               I'm seriously thinking about               turning Junior...testifying against               you.     Junior goes sour...gets he's being goosed. I laugh, glance     out the windshield: see Diskant finally exiting the office.                         ME (CONT'D)               Here we go.     I start the car, slow-roll up the street. My Hamilton says     11:04 PM. Streets deserted. Pete walking in Diskant's     direction now as I continue to roll toward both. Pete close,     dig his giant head nodding `hello.'                         ME (V.O.)               Seen Pete do this a dozen times and               every time the same thought:     Pete suddenly puts his back into an left hook: hammers     Diskant from nowhere as they pass. Instant-ugly crumble.                         ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)               God help me if he ever hits me like               that.     Pete hoists Diskant by his waist-band, tosses him in the     backseat. I accelerate out, obeying every law.                                                       CUT TO:     PITCH BLACK. Then a series of strobe-flashbulbs: maybe flesh,     maybe two bodies, maybe both hairy/pale. Then groaning, then     flickering fluorescent lights make it all look jaundiced.13   INT. LOW RENT FUCK-TEL ROOM - SAME MOMENT                    13     Lights now. Diskant awake, trying to loosen his jaw.                                                          18.                    ME (V.O.)          Junior picked up this Quiff jocking          other Fags in a Men's Room. But          Quiff was a Law Student who wanted          his record kept clean.Quiff nervous but cooing, dick out, on Diskant's thigh.Junior just as nervous...reloading a camera.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          He should suck his dick. Y'know?          Put the icing on it.A baffled moment as the comment registers.                    PETE          What?                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          Tell me that wouldn't sell          it...plus he's a Communist.                    ME          We're ruining his career, not his          soul. Reload the camera.Diskant finally speaks: marble-mouthed. Pushes Quiff away:                    MORTON DISKANT          Off me!Don't waste a second: grab Diskant by the hair, narrate hisimmediate future.                    ME          Drop out of the City Council race          or I send these pictures to the          papers.Diskant rips his head free. Rage. Blood from his mouth.         *Scanning the room, sizing up the situation, then:               *                    MORTON DISKANT          I'll fight you rotten-                    ME          -and maybe salvage something that's          a close cousin to `respect.' But          what about your wife and kid          getting hold of those pictures?                                                             19.     Wait for the big futile scream/struggle. Keep waiting.     Diskant just sits. No words. And now I wish he'd cry, throw     punches, anything...but he doesn't. I turn to Junior:                         ME (CONT'D)               Take the Quiff home.                         QUIFF               My name's Franklin-                         ME               -of course it is.     Junior pulls Quiff out the door. By his hand. Just Pete, Me,     and Diskant now. Silent moments drag sour...                         ME (CONT'D)               I need a nod from you Morton, let's               me know you get it-                         DISKANT               -don't say my name...                         PETE               He gets it.                         ME               Someone from the Times will call               for a quote. Whatever your reason               for dropping out make it real.     As Pete and I turn to leave:                         DISKANT                   (not looking at us)               You eventually lose the ability to               reconcile the things you've done to               people. That's Hell.     A long moment on me and Pete. Blunted by what we just heard.14   INT. MY 1955 PONTIAC - NEXT MOMENT                        14     Pete driving. Silence. Tune to an all-night Jazz signal, turn     up the volume loud enough to jumble doubts. Toss Pete his     cut. A $500 roll.                         PETE                   (pocketing the money)               Y'know Hughes has a job you're               tailor-made for. I already gave him               your-                                                             20.                         ME               -no thanks.                         PETE               Stop pretending you're not a pig               for all this, Klein.                         ME               I still got a day job, Pete-                         PETE               -tossing more Bantamweights out                       *               windows?     I wait too long, answer in too high a voice:                         ME               The Mutt jumped.                          PETE                   (laughs small, then:)               Not even the people who don't know               you believe that. If somebody from               the DA's office decides to dig, you               could fry Boy-o. Be nice to be in               with a billionaire who's got a               fleet of planes, fly you outta the               country on a moment's notice.                   (beat)               C'mon -- it's a cake legal gig. He                    *               just wants you to burn some actress               that stopped fucking him.     Stop in front of Meg's place. Pete leaves the engine running,     jumps out.                         PETE (CONT'D)               Tomorrow. Hughes Aircraft, 7pm                        *               It'll be worth it.     I watch Pete go into Meg's place. Drive on. Stop sign. A     block away: Black Buick parallel to me. Exhaust plumes. Like     they're waiting. I keep my eyes on the rear-view as I     pass...but it just stays put...idling.15   INT. MY HOME, HOLLYWOOD HILLS - MOMENTS LATER             15     Lights off but something grabs my eye instantly. Kitchen     table: a manila envelope. 100 $100-bills. USC season tickets.     A note: `Thanks for proving Flying Monkeys only live in Oz.     Sam G.' Exhale. Flip to the same jazz station. Sit. Start     another futile fight with sleep.                                                               21.     The last thing I see before I nod black: my War Trophy, a     Japanese Officer's Samurai Sword mounted on my mantle.                                                    SMASH CUT TO:16   INT./EXT. NIGHTMARE                                            16     Artillery barrages from Hell: Okinawa, 1945. A hate-fueled     frenzy hacking up half-starved Jap Soldiers. They dive off     the Cliffs to escape me: this massive, gray-eyed Marine.     I dive after them. Bombing toward a world below already     ablaze. Falling. Gaining on a figure in a bathrobe. This     guttural scream turns mechanical, like a ring as I recognize     Sanderline Johnson: his pieced-together face smiling up. Snap     awake. My phone ringing. 1 AM. Rip the phone from the wall:         *                           ME (CONT'D)               Klein-                         BRADLEY (O.S.)               -you know who Hector Magdalena is?                         ME                   (as cobwebs clear)               ...yeah...Narco's Snitch.                         BRADLEY (O.S.)               He's missing. His home was broken               into at some point within the last               hour.                         ME               So send Robbery.                         BRADLEY (O.C.)               The only thing taken was him.               Wilshire Station is on-scene. Get               over there right now.                           ME               Why me?                         BRADLEY               Call it penance.                         ME               I thought that's what Morton               Diskant was-                         BRADLEY               -that makes one of us. 1284 South                         *               Tremaine.                         (MORE)                                                             22.                         BRADLEY (cont'd)                   (edge to his voice)               This kind of timing makes for               disasters, Lieutenant.     I hear the first split-second of Bradley smashing his phone     down. Click my own cradle. Wipe my face. Dial another number.                         ME               Junior. Meet me at 1284 South                         *               Tremaine. 20 minutes.17   EXT. 1284 SOUTH TREMAINE, MAGDALENA RESIDENCE - LATE NIGHT 17     Police abound. Mostly work-a-day Blues pounding coffee. They     part as I approach: Dave "Enforcer" Klein half-legend here. A     plain-clothes breaks through, aims right at me: DAN WILHITE.                         ME (V.O.)               Captain Dan Wilhite, Head of the               LAPD Narcotics Division. A Michigan               Catholic poisoned by 25 years in               this desert. Recently divorced               despite seven kids with his Ex.                         WILHITE               Why are you here?                         ME               You smell like bourbon Wilhite-                         WILHITE               -fuck off. This is handled. And               pull your idiot partner out of               there-                         ME               -Junior's already here-                         WILHITE               -Magdalena was my Snitch, so it's               my scene.     -push past him, toward the house.                         ME               Then get Bradley on the horn, so               you can relay that order. I'm here               on his word. Now, what happened?                         WILHITE                   (dragged out of him)               Guard dogs are dead. Magdalena's               missing.                                      23.          MEAnd presumed what?          WILHITEI could give a shit. I just want tothis case to get a quick burial.          MEI'll bet. Who made the call?          WILHITESome old broad heard an `argument'and buzzed Wilshire Station.                *          MEWhere's the family?          WILHITEThe wife and daughter were in SantaBarbara. Just got back.          ME    (check my Hamilton)At 2 AM?                                    *          WILHITE                           *The Wife said she got into a fight          *with her Parents, left ASAP.                *          ME                                *Why wasn't Hector with `em?                 *          WILHITEWhat do you think they were                 *fighting about? Santa Barbara Wasps         *don't fancy dope-pushing Wetbacks.          MEWhat about the Son?                         *          WILHITE    (sneering hatred)Tommy. Make him your #1 suspect.          MEWhy's that?                                 *          WILHITEHe's got a mean streak. And he and          *Hector had been at each othersthroats for months. Have Tommy              *picked up. He likes to loaf at              *those nigger jazz joints in Watts.          *                                                             24.                         ME               Alright, you better cut out before                      *               people start asking why the head of               Narco is at a missing persons.     Wilhite gets close, still sneering:                         WILHITE               Get a conviction. Grab Tommy and               pin this thing fast or you'll have               a whole division of disgraced cops               at your front door.                         ME               What are you talking about Wilhite?                         WILHITE               You queered the Fed's   Fight Probe               by killing that boxer   and they               already had a hard-on   for the LAPD-                   *               Bradley sent you down   here as               damaged goods...think   about it.               Everybody sees what's   coming.                   (beat, closer)               Now close this quick.     Wilhite bolts. I pause. Clarity finally dissolving the            *     bloodshot: this is the disaster Bradley was talking about:        *                         ME (V.O.)               The God-sized problems I triggered               tossing Sanderline take shape: the               LAPD's sanctioned dope-pusher               vanishes -- that's a pretty juicy                       *               spot to stick a new probe.                              *18   INT. MAGDALENA RESIDENCE - MOMENTS LATER                     18     All money, no taste. In the foyer: a Wilshire Station six-     pack interviews the old BIDDIE in a threadbare bathrobe. Dyed     orange hair and a burnt-butter grin. Leans-lunges as she     relays her story. I zoom in to catch the performance.                         BIDDIE                   (mid-sentence)               -shifty...colored...y'know Negros               are planning an invasion! After our               white women and our water supply-                         OFFICER               -where was this Peeper you saw?                                                        25.                    BIDDIE          Bushes. Spyin' on Lucille. Seen him                   *          there before! He's a black saboteur                   *          looking for fertile white wombs.          Wanna breed a mulatto master race-                    *-cut into the crazy:                       ME          Officer.The Six-Pack crosses to confer.                    ME (CONT'D)          Besides bat-shit insanity, is there          anything else about her that rings          true?                    OFFICER          Heard an argument, loud, maybe a          minute or two, then silence.                    ME          What's this `Peeper' riff she's on?                    OFFICER          She saw someone in the bushes          earlier. She's reported that kind          of thing a dozen other times. She's          also reported flying saucers, so...                    ME          See if any of the other Neighbors          can verify this `Peeper' thing.                       *Roam. A hallway. Junior the grim-faced professional, He's gotthat damn steno out, scribbling like he's on a deadline.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          No one touch a thing `til I say.He's hovering over a lake of blood, drag marks originating inthat lake lead out to the garage. Junior sees me. See himstartle, then jut his tough-guy chin on reflex:                       JUNIOR STEMMONS (CONT'D)          Dave-                    ME          -Lieutenant Klein. I said `meet me'          in twenty minutes' not `go in          without me.'                                                        26.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          All I've been doing-                    ME              (hard/harsh/low)          -is stepping on dicks. You don't          know the history, the players or          the play.Pull Junior aside, impart the following tightly:                    ME (CONT'D)          The Department gave Magdalena a                      *          monopoly on the LA dope trade          decades ago-                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          -what Department?                    ME          Us Pollyanna -- LAPD. We bullet-          proofed him in exchange for 60% of          his profit and a promise he only          deal drugs in Darktown and East LA-                  *                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          -Black and Mexican-                     ME          -give the man a prize. He'd also                     *          rat his competition and kill the          ones we couldn't convict.          Now keep your mouth shut and stay          on my hip.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS                            *          Fine.                                                *I want to bounce his head off the wall. I continue my tourinstead. Follow the blood-trail out into the garage where it   *ends in another smaller lake of blood.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS (CONT'D)                   *          Loaded him into a car-                    ME          -are all the Magdalena vehicles          accounted for?                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          Except for the Son's: Tommy.                         *                                                        27.Continue the tour. Kitchen. Two Dobermans, shot dead. Featurematching bullet wounds right between their eyes -- yell to      *the Officer with the Biddie:                                    *                     ME          OFFICER.As he pokes his head around the corner:                    ME (CONT'D)          The old lady hear dogs barking?                       *          Gunshots?                    OFFICER          No, I asked. Just the yelling.Examine the wounds closer. Catch myself petting the deceasedpooches. To Junior:                    ME          She didn't hear barking...so they          were either lousy guard dogs...or          they knew the Killer.              (point to the wounds)          You can't hit something this clean          unless you're point blank. He          could've been petting them when he          fired: look at the burn pattern-                      *              (point)          Like when you shoot something with          a silencer.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          How do you know that?                    ME              (stare so he gets it)          I've shot things with silencers...          And the old lady didn't hear any                      *          gunshots.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          You make a family member for it?          Tommy?                     ME          Maybe...                                              *                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          Do you want to issue an APB?                                                             28.                         ME               I want to talk to Bradley first.               Where are the Mother and Daughter?                   *19   INT. FAMILY ROOM - CONTINUOUS                             19     Feature this old Matriarch hanging by the thinnest thread:     *     MADGE MAGDALENA, fifty-plus, dyed blonde bouffant pulled at     and picked. Sad clown tears smearing too much mascara. She     pitches a boo-hoo in between belts of wine to a bored stiff     Wilshire Station six-pack.     LUCILLE MAGDALENA, 20's: Daughter. Big bedroom eyes. A top     two sizes too tight. Pops a palm of pills. Doesn't look too     shattered about Daddy's demise. I make eye contact. I catch    *     bruises on her arms. She sees me see, tries to cover           *     nonchalant. The wall phone rings. Grab without asking.         *                         ME               It's Klein.                         BRADLEY (O.S.)               Update.                         ME               Hector's gone. Blood that may or               may not be his leads out to the                      *               garage. Two guard dogs shot dead               but no other signs of a struggle.               The house is intact.                         BRADLEY               Family?                         ME               Wife and Daughter are here.                         BRADLEY               Describe their state.                         ME               Mother Madge aggrieved.                              *                   (aim my gaze at Lucille)               Daughter Lucille...indifferent. The                  *               son is persona non grata and a               strong early suspect.                         BRADLEY               Alright, kick everyone out.               Including all police personnel.                                                             29.                         ME               How's that?                         BRADLEY               Don't question me. Is your partner               on hand?                         ME               Yeah...                                               *                         BRADLEY               Have him bag and seal everything               and bring it to Wilshire Station.               Find Tommy Magdalena post-haste and               take him into custody. No APB's,               nothing to alert Noonan and the FBI               to this situation.                         ME               You want me to-                         BRADLEY               -no more information over an open                     *               line. I'll be at the Bethune event               later on today. Find me there.     Click. Second time he's hung up on me in an hour. Pull Junior     to me just as he's going through a stack of mail:                         ME               I'm giving you on-scene command.                      *               Bradley wants everyone removed from               the premises and the entire house               bagged for evidence and brought to               Wilshire Station.                   (more of a dare)               Can you handle this?     Big brown-nose nods from an aim-to-please Junior.                         JUNIOR STEMMONS               Entirely. Where are you going?                         ME               To find Tommy Magdalena.20   INT. CAR - EARLY MORNING                                  20     Rolling up Hollywood to Highland.                                                               30.                         KLEIN (V.O.)               Big yawns. Half haze from no sleep.               Buzz dispatch. A message from Pete.               `Reminder: Hughes aircraft, 7 PM.                      *     Glance street-side: Sanderline smiling blood in a wind blown     bathrobe. Blink and he's gone, replaced by a kid hawking the     Times.     Pull-over. Toss the kid a coin. Front page: LEADING CANDIDATE     BOWS FROM CITY COUNCIL RACE, next to a picture of Diskant.     Pissed for reasons I won't name. Back to the Car. A Black     Buick passes, slower than the rest of traffic, act like I'm     oblivious. It turns. I slide in, start my Pontiac.                          ME (V.O.)               Another Black Buick. Call it a Fed                     *               Tail. Noonan already up my ass.                        *                   (beat)               Let's see if they got guts enough               to keep following me South.21   EXT. DARKTOWN - DAWN                                        21     Cruising the Crenshaw district, up through Central Ave.                         ME (V.O.)               Dispatch gave me Tommy's make and               model: A `32 Ford Deuce with a bent               eight. Hot-rodder Tommy liked to               goose the cops into giving chase.     Check my mirrors. That Black Buick hangs way back. Cruise     past jazz clubs: The Savoy, Joe Morris's Plantation, Shepp's     Playhouse, the Down Beat...no sign of a Ford Deuce. Pull up     to the Club Alabam. Valets stare: a white man in Watts at     this hour can only be Cop. Park.                                 *     Half-a-block back: buzzcuts in that black Buick.                         ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)               Noonan tail confirmed: Fed faces                       *               glow like Martians this far down               Crenshaw.     Smile big, give `em a thumbs-up.22   INT. CLUB ALABAM - DAWN                                     22     Barely sober patrons sport Cop-hate stares, some on reflex,      *     some because of Sanderline Johnson.                              *                                                        31.Doorman escort the bewildered, strong-arm the belligerent.      *Almost 6 AM and the club is still half full.Press on, scan the stage: A Bebop trio toils over an ErrollGarner tune as a beautiful black girl sings in a satin softlilt. This whispering falsetto that makes your hair stand onend. I stop and listen. Get my only smile of the day from       *her. Smile back because her voice reminds me to.Hear beer bottles rattle behind and break. Turn. Squeeze thatsmile into a sneer, stare down this massive BARTENDER.          *                    ME              (flop badge on bar)          Get Lester and get me a scotch                        *          straight.                                             *The bartender glowers, grabs a bottle, pours, hands the size    *of catcher's mitts. He slides the glass. I sip.                 *                    BARTENDER          Sanderline Johnson was my second                      *          cousin, Peckerwood. I wouldn't                        *          drink that with my gun hand.He vanishes behind a stained curtain. Feel those voodoo         *stares from behind...and I switch the scotch glass to my left   *hand as nonchalant as possible. Bartender reappears, motionsme back. I follow. Backstage. I see a figure stretched prone,ice-pack pressed to his face, rolled reefer between his lips.                    ME (V.O.)          Lester Lake. One-time velvet voiced          crooner. But a dabble in the dope          trade cost him a set of slashed          vocal cords at the hands of none                      *          other than Hector Magdalena.                          *Only as I get closer do I see the badly swollen black eye. Helooks up at me. A voice like sand-paper left out in the sun:    *                    LESTER LAKE          Lieutenant Dave Klein. Slayer of                      *          Sanderline Johnson...y'got stones                     *          showing up this far South.                            *                    ME          What happened to your face?                     LESTER LAKE              (beat)          Tommy Mag wanted to make sure I          understood something he was saying.                                                        32.                    ME          Where is he?                    LESTER LAKE          Left an hour ago. Emptied my safe.                    ME          Shit. He's wise.                    LESTER LAKE          To what? You looking for him?Lester hands me the reefer, take it, toke geeky, belch smoke.                    ME              (at the reefer)          Just never got this...Lester takes it back, draws deep.                    LESTER LAKE          Too white to appreciate good grass.                   *Now watch Lester's attitude improve toot sweet:                    ME          Hector Magdalena is missing,          presumed dead. Tommy is our sole          suspect.He spurts smoke, sits up like a shot, beams.                    *                    LESTER LAKE          Muthafucker -- there is a God.          If only I'd known this an hour ago.                    ME          Heartbreaker, huh? You let him gig          here last night?                    LESTER LAKE          I don't let him, he just does.          Nails on a chalkboard too. He          rushed the stage last week when we          had Charlie Mingus drop in for a          set. Mingus looked at this half-Mex                   *          greaser kid trying to play `Round                     *          Midnight,' said that fool couldn't                    *          find them keys with a flashlight.'                    ME          Tommy's playing days are over.                                      33.          LESTER LAKEHallelujah.          MEWhat time did he show up?          LESTER LAKEAround four. Him and these Pachucos         *poppin' switchblades like punks.    (mops his brow of blood)The only thing that was keepin' him         *`untouched' was Hector...                   *    (beat, hopeful-prayer)Is he really dead?                          *          METhere's blood all over his house,seems to belong to him. There'sjust no body. Not yet.          LESTER LAKE    (a toke, a thought)I don't feature Tommy for it.               *          ME    (my head kinks a bit)                   *How's that? How many times has he           *been in here, busted you up?          LESTER LAKEYeah, but he ain't got the salt             *to truly take a Man's life.                 *Especially not Hector's...he was            *scared of him.                              *          ME                                *Why?                                        *          LESTER LAKE                       *`Cuz Hector been whippin' Tommy's           *ass from the time he could talk.            *          ME                                *What about the Wife? Beat her too?          *          LESTER LAKE                       *We used to call that old bitch `the         *Burglar'...eyes were so black, it           *looked like she had a mask on.              *          ME                                *And the daughter? Lucille?                  *                                                        34.Lester can't quip that one as quick. Tokes. Shaking his head.   *                    LESTER LAKE                                 *          Things up off the street. Rumors.                     *                       ME                                       *          Like?                                                 *                    LESTER LAKE                                 *          Hector had turned her out. Using                      *          her the way the Romans used to use                    *          their daughters when they did                         *          business: Some pussy to sweeten the                   *          pot. Rumor was she got picked up in                   *          this trick sweep few weeks back.                      *                    ME                                          *          Hector was whoring her?                               *                    LESTER LAKE                                 *          Hector was an evil Muthafucker.                       *...Lester tilts his neck back, points to a long keloid scar     *that stretches across his throat...                             *                    LESTER LAKE (CONT'D)                        *          ...born with ruthless bones.                          *              (sitting up)                                      *          And if he really is dead and gone,                    *          this game `bout to explode.                           *                       ME                                       *          What game?                                            *                    LESTER LAKE          Drugs. Especially here in South          Central. Hector ran it uncontested.          Lotta cats gonna rush in now, try          to plant a flag.                                      *                    ME          Tommy can't hold the throne?                          *                    LESTER LAKE          Tommy couldn't hold his pecker          without Hector's help and he knows                    *          that. He's gonna bury himself like                    *          a tick. Good luck turning him up,                     *          he took six or seven grand out the                    *          safe tonight.                                                             35.                         ME               Eyes and ears for me Lester. He               turns up, you get in touch.                         LESTER LAKE                                   *               If I don't kill him first.                              *23   EXT. UNION STATION BALLROOM - DAY                            23     Bethune Campaign Fundraiser turned Victory Bash. Big smiles     beam above sunburned double-chins. Bethune the nucleus of a     Press circle-jerk. I weave around, lack of sleep and a     miserably wrinkled suit make me look like something dug up.                         REPORTER #1               Councilman Bethune, was Mr. Diskant               dropping out the only way you could               have won this race?                         TOM BETHUNE               Not at all. My message of civic               advancement manifested in that               beautiful blue baseball team was               starting to hit home.     Bethune's beam twitches when he sees me weaving past. Give     him a quick nod, get nothing back: he can't be seen this     close to the turd in the punch bowl. Moving by:                         REPORTER #3               Anything you'd like to say to               future constituents?                         TOM BETHUNE               I like my Dodger Dogs with mustard               and relish!     Bradley at one of the front tables confabbing with DA Gas     Chamber Bob Gallaudet. As I aim their way, one of my favorite     *     men aims at me, wearing this Great White grin: FRITZ KOENIG.                         ME (V.O.)               Fritz Koenig. German born. Former                       *               US Spymaster, current Head of the                       *               LAPD's Intelligence Division. He                        *               and Bradley in the middle of their               own Cold War -- each fighting to be               the second most important member of                     *               the LAPD behind Chief Parker.                           *                                                  36.                    KOENIG                              *          These functions aren't normally               *          open to Jews.                                 *                    ME                                  *          Someone with your accent should               *          never be allowed to say `Jew'                 *          again.                                        *                    KOENIG                              *          That accent allowed me to execute             *          many a Nazi.                                  *                    ME                                  *          Then we're both Traitors: Ellis               *          Island said Grandpa's `Kleinsasser'           *          was two syllables too long.                   *                    KOENIG          I wouldn't have expected so public          a showing after Sanderline Johnson.                    ME          He jumped Fritz.Koenig flashes that grin again.                    KOENIG          I'm sure he did. And where is your          young partner this day?                    ME          Working his first big job.                    KOENIG          Might the job involve the LAPD's          most important missing Wetback,          Hector Magdalena?My eyes narrow but stay smiling:                     ME          It does.Koenig nods, casts his gaze out over the crowd.                    KOENIG          I've known Stemmons since the          academy. He was a top pupil. A                *          peculiar little pain in the ass,          but very good with details.                                                        37.                     ME          Kid might have some climb in him.               (look back at Bradley)          Reminds me of another pain in the          ass.Koenig roars this big frightening laugh of his.                    KOENIG          I'm puzzled as to why the Bradley          would assign you to the Magdalena                     *          case when you're neither Homicide          nor Robbery...                    ME          There's no body, and nothing was          taken except Hector.                    KOENIG          He does know how to delegate          doesn't he...and also I'm sure that          poor Negro's nosedive has put you          squarely in his debt.                    ME          Something like that.                                  *                    KOENIG          Keep me abreast will you? Chief          Parker is understandably nervous.          Situations like these tend to yield          grief...and we've the FBI poking                      *          around our garden patch.                              *                    ME          My ass first Fritz, yours second.Koenig's big laugh again. Moving toward Bradley now. Thenflashbulbs pop-blind. Panic: snapping pix of me? Relief: notme. Hollywood types: this Buff McMan Meat-type and Her. I goslack inches from the Press that yesterday wanted to roll inmy guts...but now they're just as entranced with her as I am.She and McMan Meat continue past as I stare, she answers hisquestions for him. I think her eyes see mine. Then I realizewhere I'm standing. Bradley waiting. Focused on me and nother -- God-damned Eunuch. I step over, speak without preface:                    ME (CONT'D)          Tommy Magdalena has gone to ground          and he's got a war chest to keep          him there. The only way we take him          quickly is to issue a citywide APB-                                      38.          BRADLEY-no. We can't risk that. Do you             *make him for the murderer?          MEYeah. Hector's disappearance isdefinitely an inside job. Thatwhole family feels hinky. Thedaughter was all bruises and notears and Hector's hop-head wife            *looks part punching bag.          BRADLEYDo you suspect either of the women?         *          MEAccording to Wilhite, they were inSanta Barbara at the time.          BRADLEYVerify that. Where is your partner?          MEVouching in evidence at WilshireStation.           BRADLEYKeep him on that. He had excellentratings as an evidence teacher and          *I trust him more than you.    (beat)Find Tommy Magdalena. Focuseverything on that effort & I wanthim apprehended Klein, not killed.          MEWhat about Hector? Still missing.          BRADLEYAnd most likely dead. Find the Son.         *Stakeout the residence. Put tailson both the mother and daughter --I want this investigation workingquietly, and around the clock.          ME                                *And what do we do if Hector turns           *up?                                         *                                                        39.                    BRADLEY                                    *          If he's alive, bring him to me. If          he's dead, have him John Doe'd at                    *          the morgue until Noonan can be                       *          drawn off and this FBI situation                     *          sorted out.                                          *                    ME          Wilhite. He was operating Hector-                    BRADLEY          -don't worry about Dan Wilhite. You          deal directly with me. Now go out          the back. I don't want the press          recognizing you.Swallow my sneer. Push through the service doors. Hard.Headed back toward the kitchen, an exit sign. I pass analcove: Her. Alone. Smoke break. Beauty you almost never getto examine up close. I stop, stammer, she gives me a once-over, thinks I'm a Reporter...                    ME          You got a light?                    WOMAN              (searches my empty hands)          You got a cigarette?I fumble for a Chesterfield. She pulls a Zippo slow.                    WOMAN (CONT'D)          If you snap a picture of me, I get          to set you on fire. Fair?I smile too wide -- fuck. I kill it, try to gather up thebits of `cool' that shattered with the sophomore smile.                    ME          It didn't look like you were all          that upset with the attention.                    WOMAN          Good thing you're not a cop.                     ME              (beat)          How's that?                    WOMAN          Your power of observation leaves          lots to be desired.                                                             40.     Lights my cigarette. I hold it in my mouth to hide shaking     hands.                            ME               Thank you.                         WOMAN               Don't thank me: these things are               bad for you.                         ME               You believe everything you read?     Stubs her cigarette.                         WOMAN               You believe anything you read?     She starts walking back the way I came.                         ME                   (hail-mary)               Do you eat Dinner?                            WOMAN               No.     I can't stop watching her, even after she pushes back through     the double doors, re-entering the fray head-first. I step     after her. A reporter finally makes me. Random catcalls of     `Klein! `Hey, Enforcer!' Shutterbugs beeline my way, firing     flashbulbs from the hip. Close the door quick and bolt.                         ME (V.O.)               Make a note: steal Bethune's guest-                     *               list, then go door-to-door until                        *               you find her again.24   INT. WILSHIRE STATION - DAY                                  24     Stroll. Sidelong stares on the periphery. Muted whispers from     *     desk cops. Feature this rookie chump clear a path as I pass.      *     Down a flight of stairs to the evidence lockers. Junior     writes seizure abstracts, sealing materials in green-banded       *     evidence bags. A pile stacked neatly on the table next to     him. That red steno pad in full view.                         ME               This everything from the house?     A beat. He makes me wait as he finishes writing.                                      41.          JUNIOR STEMMONSEverything worthwhile.          MEWhat did you tell the WatchCommander upstairs?          JUNIOR STEMMONS    (schoolboy proud)That this was a random drugseizure. I'm not using names andI'm number coding everything.A load of interesting stuff too.    (points to each stack)I got unregistered fire-arms, moredope than I've ever seen, and somemail from business associates thatseems hinky. We should follow up-           *    (grabs an envelope)                     *-here, this one, `Hurwitz Holdings'         *Hector had some real estatedealings-           ME-bag it until Bradley orders usotherwise.          JUNIOR STEMMONS    (like I'm speaking Greek)               *How do you solve a case when theevidence is in bags?          MEYou don't. Our job is to findTommy.    (point to the red steno)And why is that out?          JUNIOR STEMMONS    (like he's caught)I'm making notes separate from-    (gear change off my glare)-I thought we were investigatingMagdalena's disappearance-          ME-Don't write shit down. What do you         *need Kid? A little bouncing ball,           *bottom of the screen?                       *    (brace him harder)Magdalena is twenty years dirtywith this Department...do you think         *a word of that exists on paper?                                                             42.                         JUNIOR STEMMONS               ...No.                         ME                                            *               And there's reasons. Respect them.                      *     Junior tucks the steno away, chastened.                          ME (CONT'D)                                  *               Now we need surveillance set up on               the house and revolving tails on               both Madge and Lucille Magdalena.               Their alibi is they were in Santa               Barbara when Hector vanished. Find               out if that's real. The tails and               the stakeout start tonight.                   (beat)               Can you manage this?     Junior jacks his chin just high enough to save face, tucks     that steno away, this X-Ray stare.                         JUNIOR STEMMONS               Sure, Lieutenant.                                       *25   INT. MY 1955 PONTIAC - DAY                                   25   *     Rolling. Crenshaw south. Darktown.                                *                         ME (V.O.)                                     *               Police blotter gets me bupkis. Buzz                     *               dispatch. Looking for license hits                      *               on that `32 Ford Deuce. Nothing.                        *               Zoom Darktown again. Zilch. Tommy                       *               dug in deep.                                            *     Startle, check my watch: 7:17 pm.                                 *                         ME               Shit.26   INT. HUGHES AIRCRAFT HANGAR - EVENING                        26   *     Cruise in, crossing the hangar to Pete.                         ME (V.O.)               Howard Hughes. Billionaire germ               freak. Boob man. Pete's prime               benefactor. Nobody had seen him in               years.                         (MORE)                                                           43.                    ME (V.O.) (cont'd)          Now he only communicated through a          small standing army of lapdog          lawyers he kept on staff.A small, effete blonde man: GEOFFREY MILTEER extends his tinyhand, plastic-cordial, rubbed raw from waiting...                *                    MILTEER          Gregory Milteer. Attorney-at-Law. A          pleasure Lt. Klein.                    ME          Dave. Sorry I'm late.                                  *                    MILTEER          Indeed.              (motions to sit)          Please.We sit at a huge drafting table. I shoot a sidelong to Pete.                    MILTEER (CONT'D)          Thanks for your time on a Sunday.                    ME              (a wink for Pete)          Where's Mr. Hughes?                    MILTEER          Unavailable. Unfortunately. But          I've been given full authority to-                    ME          -I'm not contagious...if that's          what he's worried about.Pete hate scowls me: have your fun, Asshole...                    MILTEER          I don't find that the least bit          humorous Lt. Klein.                    ME          Yes you do. What's your pitch Mr.                      *          Milteer?Milteer looks at Pete. Pete half-shrugs. Back to me now:                                                44.                    MILTEER          An `Actress' named Glenda Bledsoe          signed a Service Contract that          she's now willfully violating by          acting in a Z-grade horror picture          presently `shooting' in Griffith          Park. Despite entreaties for her to          cease participation in this          absurdity, she continues to revel          in her outlaw status with us. Thus          we would like her destroyed.                    ME          What makes you think I can do a          better job than your people?                    MILTEER          Mr. Bondurant says you're one of          the smarter people he knows-                     ME          -dubious honor if you knew the          other people Pete knows.              (beat)          So you want to catch her in          violation of her Service Contract?          Something like that?                    MILTEER          Exactly. The morality clause in          particular as the damage to her          reputation would be most          devastating: Nymphomaniac,          Criminal, Communist...anything          along these lines. Once you visit          the set of her `Attack of the          Atomic Vampires,' you'll see the          void that is her character. We          haven't a photograph handy, but          she's playing the lead female role.         *                    ME          I'm happy to help. But my price is          $10,000. Not 5.Pete laughs out loud. Milteer goes frigid.                    MILTEER          $10,000 should buy more than help.                                                             45.                         ME               For 10 give it any name you want.               I'm a salaried employee of LAPD,                      *               that means I'll have to find time               off hours to do this.     A long, cold moment drags...                                    *                         MILTEER               Agreed. Start tonight. Someone's                      *               been stealing groceries from our               talent domiciles. There's no proof               that it's her, but it's her. Peter               will provide you addresses.                         ME                   (faux fey)               Thank you Peter.                         MILTEER               We look forward to your updates.27   INT. PAY PHONE ON SEPULVEDA - LATE AFTERNOON              27     Dialing the Station:                         ME               Sergeant, pass a message to               Stemmons: I want him to meet me at               the one-thousand block of South               Tremaine tonight at 11 and at some               point between now and then, I'll               need him to do a preliminary work-               up on a woman named Glenda Bledsoe.                   (beat, check spelling)               B-L-E-D-S-O-E. Thanks.     I hang up, step out, yawn.28   EXT. ATOMIC VAMPIRE SET - DUSK                            28     Two-fisting coffees. On top of a hill overlooking the `Atomic     Vampires' shoot. Pure schlock. The spaceship: a totaled     Cadillac replete with home-made canopy and cardboard     extensions on the fins. Crew: homeless winos. Extras:     homeless drug-fiends. Scan the assembled `talent'...and see:     HER. My black and white picture. The Beauty at the fight. The     starlet I threw a Hail Mary dinner pass to at Bethune's     victory party: GLENDA BLEDSOE. Emerging from a small trailer.                                                                46.                          ME (V.O.)               Twice in a day doesn't happen. Not               in a city like LA. Not like this.                   (beat)               This is fate. This is Cupid firing               his whole fucking quiver. Move.               Make sure she's real.     HER laughing. Melodic. I hike down through the bramble.29   EXT. ATOMIC VAMPIRE SET - DUSK                               29     Walk past a pair of beat Airstream Clippers. Watch her     propping up this silver-haired junkie. She grabs a sound     blanket, drapes him, hands him her coffee before siting down     next to another Woman and rehearsing.     I eyeball the rest of the `set.' Winos in werewolf masks and     capes, holding wooden ray-guns spray-painted silver: One     pisses, bottle in one hand, cigarette/dick in the other.     The "Director" is a fey manic, fingering a snuff-box.                         DIRECTOR               This is the big Armada landing, so               I need everybody's energy up, up               up! Where's my Alien Commander?     The Pissing WEREWOLF careens back to set, pulling at his     zipper, mask askew, covering his eyes.                         WEREWOLF               RIGHT HERE GOD DAMN IT.     MICKEY COHEN, 62, former mob boss. He boils eggs on a hot-     plate and slings hash to extras lining plywood picnic tables.                         ME (V.O.)               Mickey Cohen: one-time LA crime               kingpin and West Coast Mob heavy               who now trawls for loose change.     Winos vibe LAPD, make a hole as I approach:                         ME (CONT'D)               Cecil B. Demoted.                         MICKEY COHEN               Where Klein goes tsuris follows.               This is what I hate about being               down, lip from the likes of you.                                                        47.                    ME          If this is `down' I never want to          see `out.' How the mighty have          fallen.                    MICKEY COHEN              (gives it right back)          Which one of us are you talking          about Klein? Word is the Federal          Bureau is all hot and bothered with          you Gonif. Hey, I hear J. Edgar          schtups his personal assistant and          makes him wear ladies hose.                    ME          What else are you hearing?                    MICKEY COHEN          That this Welles Noonan character          has developed quite a crush. That          you might want to consider          relocating to Dogdick, Delaware.                    ME          Been a marked man for years Mick.                    MICKEY COHEN          But the bullseye on your back's          never been quite so big...if you          need a new line of work, I got this          faygele leading man needs replacing--follow Mickey's gaze over to ROCK ROCKWELL. Buff McMan Meat-   *the guy with Glenda at the Bethune party. He's primping with    *other boys decked in surplus SS uniforms, checking the side     *mirror of one of the `Alien craft' before his big close-up.     *                    MICKEY COHEN          His agent told me he could play          straight.                    ME                                          *          His agent lied.                                       *                    MICKEY COHEN                                *          You interested?                                       *                    ME          No. But I am interested in your                       *          leading lady. Bradley sent me. Saw                    *          her at the Bethune-                                                             48.                         MICKEY COHEN               -not a chance. I'm still trying to               play hide the submarine.                         ME               You want Chief Bradley angry?                          MICKEY COHEN               Ten years ago I could call for that                   *               little Pisher's head on a stick.                   (looks around)               And now...                         ME               And now the only thing you're               putting on sticks are corn dogs.               What's her name, Mick?                         MICKEY COHEN               Glenda.                         ME                   (still looking for HER)                           *               Why was she there?                         MICKEY COHEN               Low-budget strategy: I send Glenda               and Rock to any event where there's               cameras -- Glenda gets guest-a'-               honor treatment everywhere with               that shape a' her's...                         ME               What she drive?30   INT. MY 1955 PONTIAC - NIGHT                              30     Following the tail-lights of a 56 Corvette. Top-down,     whipping Blond hair split-second visible under passing street     lights. Glenda pulls into what I guess is her place: tiny-     tidy Glendale flat. I roll past: no eye contact.     Around the block. Park on the next street over. Waiting until     I think of what comes next...get out now...31   EXT. GLENDALE - NEXT MOMENT                               31     Up to a fence. Scratch it: make sure a nuts-hungry Pooch     isn't slobbering on the other side. Nothing. Vault the fence.     Dodge a pool. Over another fence and into-                                                             49.32   EXT. GLENDA'S BACKYARD - NEXT MOMENT                      32     -creep to a window: curtains pulled. Creep to another: there     she is. Watch her: elegant fingers emanate from hands only     now beginning to betray age. Watch her shake her sandals off.     Arranging three coffee cups on a tray: company coming.     On cue: another car. A `53 Cadillac: the Director and Rock     Rockwell. I crane my neck to get as much of her as I can. She     leaves the tray, cups steaming. Muffled greetings. Check the     window, open. Slide it up gentle.33   INT. TINY LIVING ROOM - SAME MOMENT                       33     Glenda clearing seats.                         GLENDA BLEDSOE               Coffee's in the kitchen. Let's go               over this quick because I'm beat.                         DIRECTOR               We're set on a place where we can               stash you and Rock. It's in Topanga               Canyon, two weeks-                         ROCKWELL                   (petulant)               -two weeks? My body'll fall apart-                         GLENDA BLEDSOE               -think of it as 14 days of push-ups-                   (to the Director)               Are you sure about this Sid? Seems               shaky. Was this Mickey's idea?                         DIRECTOR               And I think it's brilliant!               Inspired! The two leads of Mickey               Cohen's magnum opus get kidnapped!               The press'll eat it up! They'll               write about `Gangster Mickey,' the               glory days. Couple a' headlines               like that and interest in Atomic               Vampires will go through the roof!                   (to Glenda)               Who's gonna grab you?                         GLENDA BLEDSOE               A charmer I knew in another               life...George Ainge.                                                             50.     Pat myself down for a pen, scribble on my hand: "A-I-N-G-E"                         SID FRIZELL               Is he okay with making it look real-                         ROCKWELL               -he can't hit me in the face!                         *               That's a deal-breaker!                         GLENDA BLEDSOE               He'll be thrilled to knock me               around. Plus he's holding something               of mine, so we can kill two birds.               He'll grab us Tuesday in front of               the Pacific Dining Car.                               *                         ROCKWELL               What about Hughes?                         GLENDA BLEDSOE               What about him? That angle can only               help us.                         SID FRIZELL               I'm dying to know...was he the               Spruce Goose between the sheets?34   EXT. GLENDA'S BACKYARD - SAME MOMENT                      34     My face folds up -- jealous-sour frown. I reach in, steal one   *     of the steaming cups, bolt. Audible as I retreat:                         GLENDA BLEDSOE (O.C.)               Hung like a newborn and he called               my tits `propellers.'     Belly laughter from inside.                         ME (V.O.)               The real howler: fake kidnappings               always bomb.35   INT. MY 1955 PONTIAC - NIGHT                              35     Parked. Tepid pulls off the stolen mug. Done. Toss it to the    *     passenger side: lands on a bed of crumpled Styrofoam. Look     up: the Magdalena residence looms a few doors down. Glance at     the passenger seat: an envelope lined with fifty $100 bills.     The name: BLEDSOE written across the front. Pick it up.                                                             51.                         ME (V.O.)               Thinking I could tip Milteer off to               the kidnap plot and pick up the               other half of my payment...                   (stare at that money)               Thinking I should just give the               first half back now...'cuz I know               right now I'll never hurt her.     Toss the envelope into the glove-box, slam it shut. Scan. Two     heads in one of the unmarked patrol cars I ordered. Cursory     nods as they pass. Tail-lights fade. Dead quiet save my low     Jazz. Fighting my drift. Check my Hamilton. 10:00. Grimace.       *                         ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)               No sense of time. Exhaustion steals               it. A full hour earlier than I told                     *               Junior to meet me. I need sleep.                        *     Yawn. Look up...Lucille Magdalena at her window. Sudden.          *     Startling: no blouse, pig-tails, big silver-dollar nipples     touch/steam glass. Pushes the curtains back even further.     Adrenaline cuts through the lactic acid: wide awake now.     I see her eyes aren't sex-placid or rolled back -- they're     scanning -- hopeful to glimpse someone outside looking back.      *                         ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)                            *               This routine had been done before.               That old broad babbling about a               Peeper. The only other link to               Hector Magdalena's disappearance.                       *     She holds her scan for a blink, a different smile, eyes sex-     placid now, rolled-back now -- she just saw what she was     looking for: hidden eyes staring back at her. I look to where     I saw her gaze kink...unholster my .45. Get out quiet.36   EXT. 1284 SOUTH TREMAINE, NEIGHBORHOOD - NIGHT               36     Cold for LA. Walking/scanning, .45 flush against my leg.     Sticking to shadows. Cross the street: two homes down. Quiet     steps. Closer: a snubbed cigarette smoulders in the gutter...     Glance back up at the window, Lucille gone -- a forearm     shiver flashes from nowhere blunts/blasts the back of my     head. Nose-first into asphalt. Too angry to black out. Spit       *     blood and scream at the same time so it sounds like drowning:                         ME               STOP-                                                         52.Still unsure what hit me. Pick-up my gun, clear my nose ofgouting blood, stand, weave: a figure in black, sprintingaway: PEEPER. Wipe away impact-tears, aim, realize my trigger   *finger is dislocated -- bent back ugly. Tuck the gun use my     *left hand to pop it back in -- deep growl -- re-aim:POP-POP-POP. The Peeper pitches. Visible in the streetlight:a red puff off his right shoulder. Headlights at end of theblock, behind me, come to life now- Baritone of a big V-8.      *Peeper fighting for balance, keeps running.I sprint heedless, round the corner: follow a blood-trail,panting, bleeding my own trail. Lift my eyes to see thePeeper shoulder through a fence, vanish into a backyard.Neighborhood mutts yelp a chorus. I cross the street--those headlights swerve hard in front of me: Black Buick. I    *look down in time to watch my knee detonate a quarter-panel.I bounce off like someone yanked a leash. Crumble-yell. Handspick me up. I fight back before I even see at whom I'mswinging: square-jawed types, eyes hidden by Bureau derbies.    *Welles Noonan gets out of the passenger-side of the Buick.Punches me as hard as he can without provocation: nothing towrite home about. My gun clatters to the ground.                    WELLES NOONAN          That's for Sanderline Johnson.                    ME              (nod at the Peeper trail)          ARE YOU BLIND-                    WELLES NOONAN          -what were you firing at?                    ME          The only lead on Magdalena -- we're          after the same guy you idiot!                    WELLES NOONAN              (to one of the goons)          -write that name down: `Magda-LEE-          na' or `Magda-LAY-na.'              (back to me)          No, we were after you. But thanks          for the name.Sag under the weight of my own insomnia-fed stupidity.          *                                                               53.                          ME (V.O.)               Assumed the Feds were smart.               Assumed they were ready to stick a               new probe into the LAPD's deal with               Hector, like Bradley warned, like               everyone feared. But they had no                        *               clue and I just handed them the               whole God damn thing.                   (beat)               Like I said: I need sleep...     Raise my face now, eyes intent, chin out.                         ME (CONT'D)               First punch you ever thrown Noonan?               Your Mom have to teach you how               because Dad was the same no-chin,               Connecticut Faggot you are?     Noonan stops, turns back to me: blazing.                         ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)               I think I hit the Noonan family               dynamic, dead-on.     He winds up an overhand right: a big-bright flash, then           *     darkness that feels like lying down on a sunlit lawn.     FLUTTERING BLACK:                           WELLES NOONAN (O.C.)               Drop him.                         DERBY #1 (O.C.)               You don't want to take him in?                         WELLES NOONAN (O.C.)               I only want to bring him in when I               know he'll never leave.     BLACK dissolves to something LIGHTER, then:37   INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - TIME UNKNOWN                       37     Horizontal. Someone pushed a table and two chairs to one     side: space for the cot I'm on. Look up. Junior looking     down: `Concerned' isn't strong enough. In his undershirt. He     slips the red steno pad into his back pocket. Sit up. A     balled dress shirt in my hand, blood sopped.     Gaze at my Hamilton, face cracked, `5:16am'-- Fritz Koenig     walks in, silver pitcher in hand. I gape up, still punchy.                                                        54.                    ME          Coffee?                    KOENIG          Ice. Bradley's on his way down.Toss the dress shirt to the floor.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          That's mine...you needed some                        *          mopping up.                    ME          Who found me?                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          I did. I got there at eleven like          you said, right as two black &          white's pulled up: you were out                      *          cold in a gutter `round the block.                   *              (this blithe little grin)          Did Noonan knock you out?                    ME          He hit me with his car first.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS              (a nod to Koenig)          The Captain was the only one here          at this hour...                                      *Look from Junior and Koenig to the window behind him --Bradley steam-rolling our way. To Koenig, conspiratorial:      *                    KLEIN          If I need your help later on, can I          count on it?                    KOENIG          Of course you can.Take the pitcher from him, drop my head, douse myself, thecold cuts cobwebs. Bradley walks in, imperious. Koenig movespast -- ice forms between the two.                             *                    KOENIG (CONT'D)          Chief.                    BRADLEY          What are you doing here?                    KOENIG          The Lieutenant was thirsty.                                                           55.Koenig closes the door. I refuse to look up at Bradley.                    BRADLEY          Progress on Magdalena.I point to Junior -- happy to play teacher's pet:                *                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          No fingerprints. Clean crime scene.          Canvassed the neighborhood. A          senile neighbor did report a          possible Peeper--rubbing the back of my head where the Peeper bashed me-                    ME          -confirmed Peeper.Bradley turns to me:                    BRADLEY          Is that who knocked you out?                    ME          Noonan knocked me out.                     BRADLEY              (beat)          He's having you tailed then...                    ME          And he knows the Magdalena name and          that I was chasing a suspect -- the                    *          Peeper Lucille strips for.                             *                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          She knows someone watches?                    ME          And who he is. She has to.              (back to Bradley)          I want access to her juvie sheet or                    *          whatever arrest records exist.                         *          Rumor was Hector whored her out to                     *          dealers he did business with.                          *                    BRADLEY          That's immaterial.                                     *                     ME                                          *              (as my teeth grit)                                 *          It is if you're eliminating her as                     *          a suspect-                                             *                                                        56.                    BRADLEY                                    *          -did you confirm their alibi?                        *Point to the ever-studious Junior.                             *                    JUNIOR STEMMONS                            *          I spoke with a Mr. and Mrs. Preston                  *          Mott of Santa Barbara, the parents                   *          of Madge Magdalena nee Mott and                      *          they've confirmed their visit and                    *          also corroborated the argument that                  *          resulted in them leaving early.                      *                    BRADLEY                                    *              (back to me now)                                 *          One alteration to my previous          orders-                    ME                                         *          -previous orders being what? Assign          the Cop Noonan blames for his dead          boxing probe to the case that's          becoming his new crusade?                            *Bradley conjures the Roman visage...then slowly opens the      *door, staring holes in me.                                     *                    BRADLEY                                    *          Step out Stemmons.                                   *Junior balks, looks my way: tries to mimic my sneer. I stand   *and shove him toward the door. His look back at me: Judas.     *Bradley closes the door behind him.                            *                    BRADLEY (CONT'D)                           *          No direct approach on the mother or                  *          the daughter.                                        *                    ME          No. Madge was a battered wife and                    *          Lucille was a suborned whore. If                     *          that's not motive, what is? You                      *          want answers then we brace those                     *          two hard.                    BRADLEY                                    *          If you do so directly, if they're                    *          formally questioned then Noonan may                  *          find out and go after them with          Federal warrants.                                                    57.                    ME          Noonan will figure out who and what          Hector was sooner or later.                     *                    BRADLEY                               *          Yes he will, so we buy time, keep          him busy-                    ME          -until when?                    BRADLEY          Until Tom Bethune votes on the          floor of the city council in two          days, ratifying the official start          of construction on Dodger stadium-                    ME          -this is bigger than a fucking          ballpark! Hector Magdalena and          Narco is the powder-keg, blows the              *          whole Department to hell.                       *                    BRADLEY          Don't be dramatic, it looks weak.          Right now, Noonan needs a pursuit,          so I supply him with one-                       *                    ME          -me. You want me to draw him off-               *                    BRADLEY          -you've been drawing him off. And          the more he sees you the less he'll          think of anything other than          getting you. Now find Tommy and                 *          take him alive. Do not let Noonan               *          get to him. As a potential major                *          case witness against the LAPD,                  *          Tommy Magdalena isn't just a powder-            *          keg, he's an atom bomb.                         *Bradley walks. Watch him disappear down the hall.                    ME (V.O.)          Bradley has a bigger angle and I'm          getting close to it...I just          haven't hit home. Yet.                          *                                                                58.38   INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY                                        38     In a clean T-shirt from my locker. Heading toward Junior's     desk. All eyes on my wounds. I toss Stemmons his shirt.                         ME               Seltzer will take the blood out.     Junior bitchy, like some broad you stood up:                         JUNIOR STEMMONS               I give you the shirt off my back                        *               and you bash me!                                        *                         ME               When a Superior Officer tells you               to leave the room, you leave the                        *               fucking room.                                           *     Junior balls the shirt, stuffs it in his desk drawer. Takes a     *     deep breath.                                                      *                         JUNIOR STEMMONS               I made a file on the Bledsoe broad.               The one you asked about.                         ME               Thanks. But forget it.                          JUNIOR STEMMONS               I spent a whole day putting it               together and this skirt's got               skeletons.     Reminded, glance at my hand: "A I N G E" in smeared ink.     Junior rips open a file, blathers Bledsoe preliminaries:                         JUNIOR STEMMONS (CONT'D)               Shoplifting in Bakersfield at 17.               Prostitution arrest at 21. Known               associate of a Kern County homicide               victim, this convicted pimp named               Dwight Gillette, probably her pimp.               Stabbed to death in his home,               weapon never recovered-                         ME               Forget it. Burn it, s'not important               now.     Take the file from him, flip through; thorough, detailed.     Glenda priors scream back instant conviction.                                                               59.                         JUNIOR STEMMONS               Why is it not important?     Plant the file in his chest as my answer.                         ME               I need an address on a guy named               Ainge, George Ainge-                                    *                         JUNIOR STEMMONS               -what about Magdalena?     My temper turning threadbare.                         ME               -after you get the Ainge address,                       *               get back to the Magda-                         JUNIOR STEMMONS                   (picks up Glenda's file)               -is Ainge related to this Cunt?     Snap-grit-grab him: buttons from his shirt pop, bounce.                         ME               We're partners in name only. You               want to stay in the room next time,               Junior? Do something to impress me:               like finding that address.     Dig Junior trying to hide tears now behind that mad-dog     glare: makes me want to break the bones in his face.39   INT. MY 1955 PONTIAC - MORNING                               39     Driving, running parallels to avoid Fed tails. No Black     Buicks...But a Gray Packard shifts behind me on a cadence.        *                         ME (V.O.)               Noonan replaced the Buick with a                        *               Packard and a better Shadow-Man.                        *               But I could still spot the tail.                        *     Run a red light at Rossmore, leave the Packard behind.            *                         ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)               This jet-engine urge to see her.               Needing it like a junkie does. No               logic. Just the push.                                                          60.Driving past Glenda's house now. No Corvette. Driving past      *the Griffith Park `Vampires' set: addicts/crew rolling upsleeping bags. No Corvette. Pull the address list Dandyhanded me: Talent Domiciles.Pasadena. Howard's Fuck-Pad supreme: A tudor mansion withairplane-shaped hedges. A Corvette in the drive. Stop at thecurb. Open shades. Flashes of her. Gathering something. Checkmy Hamilton, look up as: KNOCK-KNOCK on my window. Her face,inches-close. Bags of groceries in her hands and this wrylittle smile: watch me kill Hughes's new Dick with kindness.    *Roll the window down, stay blank-slate. She features mycuts/bruises. Her quiet, deep voice is like medicine:                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          Better looking than the last guy          Howard hired. Once you heal.              (she recognizes me)          Wait a minute. You were there, the          other night, the Bethune Party...                     *My heart jammed up into my throat. Push past it.                *                       ME          Yeah.                                                 *                    GLENDA          Mickey told me this `Bent Cop'          everybody used to call-              (mocking, I love it:)          -`The Enforcer' was asking about          me. Told me to be careful. So          you're LAPD after all...                       ME          In theory.                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          You're going to arrest me for          breaking and entering?                    ME          Depends.              (nod to groceries)          Those Howard's?                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          Everything's Howard's.                    ME          Except you.                                                        61.                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          That's why I left.                    ME          You just shop here now?                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          Some of our extras haven't had a          vegetable since Truman.                    ME          Attack of the Atomic Vampires...                    GLENDA BLEDSOE              (smiles, no flinch)          We can't all be Audrey Hepburn.          Plus it pays bills.                    ME          Better than a billionaire does?          Go make amends and finish out your          service contract Ms. Bledsoe.                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          Not if there was just one day left          on it.                    ME          Why?                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          I'm better than that.                    ME          You're also better than a starring          role in schlock horror flick          that'll never see a screen,          regardless if it's leading lady          gets `kidnapped' or not.                              *Drop that coffee cup from the other night into her bag. She'sbeat, but bluffs by.                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          This isn't the first time you've          spied on me.                    ME          Nor the second.                                                             62.                          GLENDA BLEDSOE                   (beat)               Well you've got me all giftwrapped,               Enforcer-                         ME               -Dave. You're on Hughes' bad side               Ms. Bledsoe. It's not a bright               place to be. So please go-                         GLENDA BLEDSOE               -Glenda.                   (this smile just for me)               And tell Howard I'll take my               chances with the fake vampires.     And she twirls off, gone...watch her go...my radio buzzes.                         ME               Klein. Go ahead...                                      *                         DISPATCH               Message from a Lester Lake: asked               that you contact him immediately.     Ignition. Gas. Tires catch smoke as I peel away.40   EXT. PASADENA PAYPHONE - DAY                                 40     Out of dimes, drop slugs instead. Three rings, somebody snags     it before the fourth. Background reverb blares, bar racket.     Hear a muted male growl `Club Alabam...'                         ME               Get me Lester. This is Lieutenant               Klein, LAPD-     -click. Fuck. Fish for another slug. Redial. One ring. Picked     up, same background din-                         ME (CONT'D)                   (push this out pronto)               -this is LAPD-put Lester on the               phone or I'll have your liquor               license and after-hours permits               yanked inside the hour...     A muffled back and forth before Lester comes on the line:                         LESTER LAKE               Dave?                                                        63.                      ME            Got your message.INTERCUT:                                                     *                      LESTER LAKE            Girl that works here, gigs the late            sets, the torch stuff Fridays and                 *            Saturdays, name of Tilly Hopwell.                 *                      ME            I saw her singing the other night.                      LESTER LAKE            I think she's been truckin' with            Tommy Mag. Got pipes like Ella but            she's a junk fiend: caught her                    *            mainlining in the ladies room a            month back.                                       *                      ME            Heroin? Tommy get her hooked?                      LESTER LAKE            Dunno, but when he'd get drunk,                   *            he'd trade Horse for blowjobs out                 *            back a' the club.                                 *                      ME            Where's this girl now?                            *                      LESTER LAKE            Didn't show up for work last night.               *            Called a friend of hers, a waitress            that works here too, said she was                 *            at Bido Lito's in Hollywood. Said                 *            she was `hiding out.'                      ME            She actually said `hiding out?'                   *                      LESTER LAKE            Then she got off the phone. Fast.            If Tilly's running with that demon,               *            you gotta get her out of there. She               *            got a lot more good in her than not-              *-Hang up. Paw the phone book. Tear out the address for Bido   *Lito's.                                                             64.41   INT. MY 1955 PONTIAC - DAY                                41    *     Driving.                          ME (V.O.)                Smart Tommy. Dodging Darktown                altogether. Holed up in Hollywood.                Hiding in plain sight.42   INT. DINER - DAY                                          42     Back booth with a view of the street. Bido Lito's across the     way. Eyeball the entrance and adjoining alley. On the table     in front of me, mugshots: known Tommy Magdalena associates.     *     Mostly greaser kids with low-rent juvie sheets.                 *     Stare at that photo of Tommy.                          ME (V.O.)                Stakeout work. Browse mugs. Match a                face out front if I get lucky. Wait                till Bido Lito's gets busy before I                make my move.43   INT. DINER - NIGHT (LATER)                                43     Snub my last Chesterfield, stifle a yawn, check my Hamilton.     9:20 PM. Bito Crowd bops out front. Valet ballet.               *     Scanning...spot a face...pull my mugshots...Steve Wenzel,       *     Okie white-trash from El Monte, shoving his way through the     crush out in front of the club, hits the side alley.     I'm up. Dump a pocketful of coins on the table. Hit the door.44   EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS                                  44     Cross fast, play the wall and the shadows close. Watch as     Wenzel climbs steps to a flop overtop of the club. Get deeper     into the alley: a padlocked two-car overhang at the rear.     Grip my .45, stock down, swing, split the lock. Chain spools     at my feet, slide inside the overhang...a car concealed under     a tarpaulin, peel it off slow...revealing a red `32 Ford.       *                          ME (V.O.)                                  *                Tommy's Deuce.                                       *     Pull the pig-sticker off my ankle, stab the Driver-side tire.   *                                                               65.                         ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)                            *               Now he's on foot.                                       *45   INT. SECOND FLOOR FLOP - CONTINUOUS                          45     Jimmy the door,   slide inside silent. Muffled sounds through     the floor, some   jazz combo wailing away at Bido Lito's below.     Voices down the   hall, male, laughter, goofball guffaws.     George Gobel on   the tube: `Well, I'll be a dirty bird!     Creep in a crouch, my .45 at the hip, safety off. Move toward     the flicker at the far end of the hall. Sounds of pissing         *     nearby, ease around a doorjamb .45 first: bedroom barren,     dust-caked mattress, a half dozen bottles of Old Crow lie     scattered among sash cords & used heroin spikes.     Light from the bathroom...a pair of legs visible, female.     Dark but pale, splayed from inside the bathroom...the right     foot slowly moves back and forth like the heel is trying to     gain some purchase on fast-draining life. Somebody flushes,     zips up, steps over the two legs.     Duck back into the hall as this Greaser stinking of pomade     wafts past, weaving back toward the TV room.46   INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS                                    46     Inside. Move fast now. A fist-sized lump swells mid-chest,     blossoms into my throat. I don't want to see what I know is     there. Turn the corner:     Club Alabam songbird Tilly Hopwell. Three breaths from death.     A spike snapped off in her greyish, motionless left arm. Her     right hand claws at tile. These beautiful dark eyes stare up     at me like she was hoping for someone sooner. Throttle marks     on her neck, one breast exposed, bra pulled down for a grope.     I don't want to touch her face but I do...she closes her eyes     the moment my fingertips hit. That gases my hate. Choke back     sudden tears.                         VOICE BEHIND ME               FUCK YOU DOIN'?     Turn back. GREASER in the doorway, brown-bagged T-Bird hits     the floor as he reaches for his waist -- stand and shoot him     in the throat. Drive the .45 into his sternum like a blade     before I fire the second-third-fourth shots. He falls/flails.     *     Jump-shock from the other room.                                   *                                                                66.                         ME                                            *               POLICE!                                                 *     Bodies scramble. No words. Just Pistol fire through the half-     *     rotted walls -- punks taking potshots. No compliance means I      *     hit the hallway shooting back. Firing dead-bang at a couple       *     fleeing silhouettes -- see them pop-stumble-fall-                 *     -the archway above my head shreds, collapses. Somebody firing     a sub-machine gun. Flat on my ass, my back finds the wall,        *     cough up plaster, sleeve my eyes to see. Then quiet, save the     *     rattle-clap of changing clips.                                    *                         ME                                            *               PUT THAT GOD DAMN GUN DOW-                              *                         TOMMY MAGDALENA (O.C.)               -YOU SET ME UP YOU COCKSUCKER!     Machine-gun fire lights up my left side. Roll. Taste floor        *     grime as subsonic zips snap close...bullets miss by inches.       *                         TOMMY MAGDALENA               -RAT FUCK COP! YOU KILLED HIM                           *               WILHITE!     Every part of me pauses...`Wilhite'...back door gets blunted     open, frantic footfalls recede. That big bent V-8 on Tommy's     `32 Deuce roars to life. Up now, plow through the cloud of     cordite. See one of Tommy's Pachucos propped up against the       *     wall, unhit, unhurt. Point my .45 and pull the trigger a I        *     pass. Hit an empty chamber...this punk's lucky day.47   EXT. ALLEY - CONTINUOUS                                      47     Out the door reloading as the `32 Deuce barrels away. Tommy     fires shots into the air to clear traffic. Wenzel in the          *     passenger seat, screams to do the same. The Driver's side rim     *     sparks fireworks.                                                 *     Pandemonium out in front of Bido Lito's as the crowd     stampedes ass-over-elbows. Sprint to my car, inside, key          *     dispatch fast as I wheel rough off the curb:                      *                         ME               Shots fired, 1600 block of Ivar.                        *               Suspect fleeing scene in red `32                        *               Ford Deuce travelling westbound on                      *               Wilcox, vehicle impaired, intercept                     *               at Hollywood Blvd-                                                             67.     -horns blare as I slalom club-goers scrambling across Ivar.     Punch it over-top Sunset, parallel to the Deuce. Rip a left       *     on Selma. Stay on my radio:                         ME               -and I need an ambulance to respond               to 1607 North Ivar, second floor,               female negro, possible overdose.     Up ahead I catch a fireworks show: the Deuce gouges pavement      *     across the 4-way. Clip 90 MPH catching up. Squeal onto Wilcox     *     as Tommy hooks a right onto Hollywood.                            *     Two prowlers pass the next second, sirens lit, full scream.       *48   EXT. HOLLYWOOD AND VINE - CONTINUOUS                         48     Haul ass up to Hollywood, round it: See Tommy and Wenzel     sitting upright, the Deuce spun sidelong, firing M3 `Grease     Guns' into the approaching prowlers. Both cars go helter-     skelter under fire. Six-packs spill to the street, belly          *     crawl, brandish .38 service snubs and pop flimsy return fire.     Tommy jumps down, runs, rifling his jacket for clips. Wenzel     stays atop the car -- gun my engine, split the abandoned          *     prowlers. Wenzel looks up mid-reload as I T-bone the `Deuce'      *     at speed. The impact rockets him rag-doll end over end before     *     he bombs back down to the street, wet sack, multiple     bruises/fractures/breaks...blood pooling in pints.     Tommy wide-eyes the heap that was Wenzel. Kick my driver's        *     side door open firing. Tommy cuts loose with that Grease-Gun,     *     sprays wild. Crouch-move as bullets thump wreckage and whiz     by overhead. More sirens approach. Tuck behind the front end     of the mangled `Deuce.'     Another salvo from the Grease-Gun skips up off the pavement       *     in front of me. The six-packs have regrouped, start laying        *     down fire on Tommy. Tommy running now -- I'm up on one knee,      *     aiming, tucking into the .45: take his legs but don't kill h-     *     -that Gray Packard materializes across the intersection in     front of Tommy: shotgun blasts from the driver's side             *     backseat obliterates Tommy's mid-section.                         *     My mouth gapes at what just happened...then I remember to         *     fire at the Packard as it continues down the street, running      *     lights extinguished, no plates visible.     Get to Tommy. Crying. Fading. Roll him on his back.               *                                                             68.                         ME (CONT'D)                                 *               Where's your father!? Did Wilhite                     *               kill him!?- TELL ME!     -bubbling blood in place of words. Mouth moves like a           *     grouper's...get close...his last gasp...pray it's profound.     *     He breathes out...nothing.                                      *49   INT. MY 1955 PONTIAC - NIGHT                              49    *     Driving. Pissed. Radiator steam from under my crunched hood.    *                         ME (V.O.)                                   *               That Gray Packard: not the Feds.                      *               Make them Magdalena rivals. I left                    *               Bido Lito's too fast to catch a                       *               tail. So where did they come from?                    *50   EXT. 1284 SOUTH TREMAINE - DAY                            50     Magdalena home. Pull up onto the front lawn. Grab my brass      *     knucks from the glove box. Out of my car. Growling. A pair of   *     Narco brims, Wilhite's boys, break wide on my approach.         *     Junior stumbles from the stakeout car, rushing up the street     toward me.                         JUNIOR STEMMONS               Dave?                   (when I don't respond)                            *               Dave!                                                 *51   INT. 1284 SOUTH TREMAINE - CONTINUOUS                     51    *     Inside. Madge, this vacant glaze, tear-smudged, mock mourning   *     with more booze and pills...word of Tommy's demise has          *     reached her.                                                    *                         ME               Where's Dan Wilhite?     Nothing from her. Music upstairs. Climb the steps two at a      *     time. Beeline Lucille's room. Shoulder the door off the jamb.   *52   INT. LUCILLE'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS                       52     Wilhite and Lucille in the middle of some close conversation.     Giant startle from both:                                        *                                                         69.                    WILHITE                                     *          KLEIN GET OUT OF HERE!                                *Grab Wilhite. He reeks of bad scotch. Present him likeExhibit A to Lucille:                    ME                                          *          Did he kill your piece-a'-shit pimp                   *          Dad?Wilhite rips free. Beet-red.                    ME          Or was it that Peeper across the                      *          street that jacks off to your sad                     *          little shows-                                         *                    WILHITE          -GOD DAMN YOU!                                        *Junior behind me. Urgent:                                       *                    JUNIOR STEMMONS                             *          Dave, please! CHIEF BRADLEY!                          *At Wilhite:                    ME                                          *          Where's Magdalena's body!?                            *                    LUCILLE                                     *          FUCK YOU COP!                                         *                    ME                                          *              (step to Lucille)          HOW MUCH -- OR ARE YOU GIVING IT UP                   *          FOR FREE NOW?                                         *Sucks her steam: she knows I know. Her eyes shoot to Wilhite.   *Grab Lucille's bruised arms. Wilhite grabs me in return. Hear   *footfalls coming hard up the steps, Wilhite reinforcements.     *                    WILHITE                                     *          YOU FUCKING THUG! LET GO OF HER!                      *                    ME                                          *          You murdered him! That's why the                      *          dogs didn't bark: they knew you-                      *-hands on me, ripping/hauling. Bull-rushed back into the hall   *by Wilhite's boys. I spin free. Wilhite flinches-trips.         *Junior too-close, plant my shoulder into him -- push off.       *                                                        70.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS                           *              (reeling back)                                  *          NO DIRECT APPROACH ON MAGD-                         *-grab Wilhite hard, haul him into a hallway bathroom, slam    *the door, lock it.                                            *                    WILHITE                                   *          What the fuck are you-                              *-shove him, show him the brass knucks-                        *                    ME                                        *          -you're gonna shell it out for me                   *          or I'm gonna kick your teeth in...                  *Junior beating on the door.                                   *                    ME (CONT'D)                               *              (at the door)                                   *          FUCK OFF.                                           *Wilhite tries to push past. Gut-punch him hard, trying to     *rupture something. Shove him back into the wall. Drywallimplodes. He squeals/shrieks, seizes his shoulder.            *                     WILHITE                                  *          I outrank you Klein! Are you out of                 *          your mind?Brass knucks gleam, get close, kow him completely.            *                    ME                                        *          You fingered Tommy for his father's                 *          disappearance and pressed me to do                  *          the same to cover your ass!                         *                    WILHITE                                   *          He was the prime suspec-                            *                    ME                                        *          -he was screaming about `set-ups,'                  *          and about how a `Cop' killed Hector                 *          --he thought I was you Wilhite.              (get closer, growl this)          The gray Packard that gunned him                    *          down showed up three minutes after                  *          my dispatch call...                                 *                    WILHITE                                   *          -so cops killed him too, is that                    *          the kind of bullshit you wa-                        *                                                          71.                    ME                                          *          -not just cops. Narcotics Cops. You                   *          clip Hector, then his kid becomes                     *          collateral & you gotta clip him                       *          too.                                                  *                    WILHITE                                     *          -you're paddlin' air pal.                             *                    ME          Am I? Where's Hector? You can't          file murder charges without a          corpse. Who knows this? Cops know          this- You would know this.                    WILHITE          -I'm going to the review board and          have you cited for--keep him off balance. Big curveball-                           *                    ME                                          *          -When'd Hector start pimping                          *          Lucille?                                              *Read it: that stung him...                                      *                    WILHITE                                     *          What-                                                 *                    ME                                          *          --When did he start whoring out his                   *          own daughter to sweeten business                      *          deals?                                                *                    WILHITE          I have no fucking idea what you're-                    ME          -he ever offer her to you?                            *Watch his face. Something flickers.                             *                    WILHITE                                     *          I'm married!                                          *                    ME                                          *          And about to be divorced. Have you                    *          ever fucked Lucille?                                  *Stare it out of him...already pink features go fuchsia.         *                                                                72.                         ME               I don't care where you get your                         *               dick wet Wilhite. I care that                           *               you're covering. Twenty years dirty                     *               with this fucked-up family...your                       *               secrets must stink like rot.                            *     Red and blue light strobe from outside. Look: an unmarked         *     caravan arrives. Bradley leading the charge, leaping from his     *     sedan. Wilhite gets a split-second's worth of gloat/glee.         *                         WILHITE                                       *               You're worried about every wrong                        *               thing Klein. Bradley's tee'ing you                      *               up to take a big fat fall-                              *                         ME                                            *               -then we'll hold hands on the way                       *               down: look further up the street.                       *                   (directing his gaze)                                *               The Black Buick.                                        *     Wilhite focuses, sees the Feds inside, snapping pictures of       *     the Magdalena home...                                             *                         ME (CONT'D)                                   *               Feds. They're all over this. You                        *               think I'm the only one that burns?                      *               Two decades worth of twisted shit                       *               between your division and the                           *               biggest dope dealer in LA?                              *     Wilhite wide-eyed. Slouching/sinking down onto the toilet.        *     Somebody beating on the bathroom door hard. Bradley's voice       *     behind it.                                                        *                         ME (CONT'D)                                   *               I know I'm going down Dan...that's                      *               the difference between you and me.                      *     Open the door.                                                    *53   INT. MAGDALENA HOUSE - HALLWAY - NIGHT                       53   *     Shoulder past, start down the stairs. Bradley follows.            *                         BRADLEY                                       *               Klein!                                                  *     Hit the front door, moving toward my car, Junior and the          *     Narco brims cagey, primed for another atomic outburst.            *                                                           73.Bradley still behind -- a prissy, patrician gait as he           *catches up -- spooked by that Black Buick up the street.         *                    BRADLEY (CONT'D)                             *          I said `no direct approach!'                           *                    ME                                           *              (my back still turned)                             *          Then what are you doing here?                          *                    BRADLEY                                      *          You were instructed to take Tommy                      *          Magdalena alive. Do I have to                          *          remind you of the coroner's file-                      *                    ME                                           *              (turn on him, fierce)                              *          -enough of your `Sanderline'                           *          bullshit.                                              *              (nod to the Black Buick)                           *          I'll checkmate with an admission of                    *          guilt to Noonan himself.                               *                    BRADLEY                                      *              (sharp, shrill)                                    *          Keep your voice down!                                  *                    ME                                           *          I'll bargain immunity in exchange                      *          for testimony on how the LAPD                          *          really runs: Magdalena dope profit                     *          kickbacks, Diskant run out of the                      *          city council race on your word,                        *          suspended cops pulling shakedowns.                     *          I'll give Noonan a dozen new probes                    *          for the one I killed.                                  *Bradley stoic, assessing me...sees only `fuck-you' resolve.      *                    BRADLEY                                      *          I'm assuming command of this                           *          investigation myself.                                  *                    ME                                           *          What investigation? Tommy's murder?                    *          Hector's disappearance? What are                       *          you investigating?                                     *                    BRADLEY                                      *          You're on one month's unpaid leave                     *          as of this moment.                                     *Go right at him, cut his steam.                                  *                                                             74.                         ME                                         *               You're scamming something big.                       *                         BRADLEY                                    *               -if you make any further inquiries                   *               into this case I'll strip you of                     *               rank, have your pension revoked and                  *               walk that coroner's file into the                    *               Times myself...stay away from this.                  *     See red. Launch. Try to wrap my hands around his throat.       *     Watch him feather back just out of reach. Junior and a pair    *     of six-packs restrain me.                                      *                         ME                                         *               What's your fucking angle Bradley!?                  *     His eyes beam back doom.                                       *                         BRADLEY                                    *               You're done Klein. Soon.                             *54   INT. MY 1955 PONTIAC - CONTINUOUS                         54   *     Reach the car, slide in, anger in aftershocks rattle across    *     still balled fists. Junior at my window blathering white       *     noise. He might as well be speaking Greek.                     *                         JUNIOR STEMMONS                            *               Dave listen: don't do anything else                  *               to jeopardize yourself...I can                       *               protect you...I've been putting                      *               some things together-                                *     Rip my radio, punch the call button.                         KLEIN               Central, this is Klein, I need an               update on that overdose I called               in. What's the girl's condition?     Static. Wait. Anger make my eyes ache, fuzz my focus.                         DISPATCH               Lieutenant Klein, the girl, Tilda               Hopwell was pronounced D.O.A. at               Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital-     Rage flares, slam the radio into the dash console, crushing     it- fists flex, blood seeps from a battered knuckle, look at   *     my hands: blood drool over the faint remains of the pen-       *     scrawled `A I N G E'...Glare up at Junior:                     *                                                             75.                         ME                                            *                   (God-like import)                                   *               George Ainge's address.                                 *55   EXT. ROW HOUSE - CULVER CITY - NIGHT                         55   *     Up the walk, Junior tailing, feel his stare.                      *                         JUNIOR STEMMONS                               *               You're in no state to conduct               yourself as a Police Offic-                         ME                                            *               -shut up. Don't identify yourself,                      *               don't badge him, don't talk.                            *     BLACK. Then a light turns on somewhere: my gun in a round         *     man's face just through his front door. GEORGE AINGE.             *56   INT. GEORGE AINGE'S PAD - NIGHT                              56   *     Tough Ainge: He doesn't flinch. Drops his lunch-pail slow.        *     Takes off his jacket: jail-house tattoos abound. He sits.         *                         ME                                            *               How do you know Glenda Bledsoe?                         *     Junior's `betrayed' look: this guy is tied to that Cooze.         *                         GEORGE AINGE                                  *               Knew that whore'd try to muscle me-                     *                         ME                                            *               -don't call her a whore again.                          *     Laughs in my face:                                                *                         GEORGE AINGE                                  *               If you gave her as many paychecks                       *               as me, you'd know `whore' fits                          *               like a fuckin glov-                                     *     -I grab a chair cushion, put the .45 against it, fire a           *     muffled round that blows Ainge's hair back as it passes.          *     Junior twitches hard enough to spot himself. Ainge jabbers:       *                         GEORGE AINGE (CONT'D)                         *               She fucked for a fee! Jesus Christ                      *               she's a pro! What is she paying to                      *               get that blade back-                                    *                                                           76.-get the gun in his face, burn his nose with the barrel.         *                    ME                                           *          What? What `blade?'                                    *                     GEORGE AINGE                                *          What's she paying you to recover                       *          her knife?Just then Junior banana peels it -- deliberately:                *                    JUNIOR STEMMONS                              *          Lieutenant!                                            *A hate-scowl for Junior: trying to put enough heat behind it     *to melt his head. Ainge lights up.                               *                    GEORGE AINGE                                 *          Y'all are Cops!?                                       *                    ME                                           *          Shut your mouth.                                       *Ainge sees me bent on Glenda. Looks past me, past the gun in     *his face, aims right at Junior.                                  *                    GEORGE AINGE                                 *          Back in `50, Glenda the Good Witch                     *          put a blade in her pimp `bout as                       *          deep as I put my pink in her, this                     *          mongrel named Dwight Gillette.                         *Junior fixes me, pulls that steno, starts scribbling openly -- *I grab it, shred it. Ainge grins at the voodoo between us.     *                    GEORGE AINGE (CONT'D)                        *          Could use a couple LAPD favors, and                    *          ain't guttin' a pimp still a crime?                    *                    JUNIOR STEMMONS                              *              (aimed at ME)                                      *          Capitol crime.                                         *                    GEORGE AINGE                                 *          Guess who she asked to hold the                        *          knife? Guess why she brought me in                     *          on this kidnap thing? It was her                       *          way a' buying it back-                                 *                    ME                                           *          -show it to me.                                        *                                                           77.                    GEORGE AINGE                                 *          I'll have my lawyer take a picture                     *          of it for you-                                         *-throw his TV at his head: legitimately trying to kill him       *now and he knows it. Off his chair, crawling.                    *                     JUNIOR STEMMONS                             *          STOP!                                                  *              (more question than                                *                statement)                                       *          YOU ARE NOT BENT ON AN EX-WHORE!                       *I grab the shattered tube: throw it again. Big POP inches        *from Ainge. Angry at myself for missing twice:                   *                    ME                                           *          GOD DAMN IT-                                           *                    JUNIOR STEMMONS                              *          -HE'S A MATERIAL WITNESS TO A MURD-                    *-grab Junior, sharp jab him, push him out a door for the         *second time-                                                     *                    JUNIOR STEMMONS (CONT'D)                     *          -YOU WILL CEASE AND DESIST KLEIN-                      *-final push with my foot gives me enough room to dead-bolt it    *behind him. Ainge can't fit under his bed.                       *                    GEORGE AINGE                                 *          I AIN'T RESISTING YOU!                                 *                    ME                                           *          I'm not arresting you.                                 *Flip the mattress. Teen Tit mags and jack-off socks fly with     *it. Ainge under pine slats. Panic. I put my foot through,        *bash his gut -- rip him out from underneath.                     *                    ME (CONT'D)                                  *              (hissing)                                          *          Where is it?                                           *Ainge unable to speak, gasping for air. Step to his closet:      *shred hinges when I open it. Rip the clothes rod down:           *nothing. Pull shelves from the wall: a Louisville Slugger        *falls at my feet. I smile. Ainge goes frightwig. Step to him.    *                    ME (CONT'D)                                  *          WHERE?!                                                *                                                               78.     Swing it into a wall. Gaping holes in holster. Bring it back     like Babe Ruth over his head.                         ME (CONT'D)                                  *               -that blade or your life.                              *     Door bashed open behind me -- deadbolt assembly pops, pieces     *     hit me -- then something big/black-metallic ends my night:       *     Junior, tear-streaked cheeks, Ainge's mailbox in-hand, pulled    *     free from the stucco. I drop. Ainge turns cheerleader:           *                         GEORGE AINGE                                 *               NICE!                                                  *     Roll to my knees: guttural groans I can't place   because        *     they're mine. Junior rips a radio cord from the   wall, wraps    *     it around my neck, pulls my head back, feel his   tears hit my   *     shoulders. Veins in his arms go Pop. Eyes in my   head go Pop.   *                         JUNIOR STEMMONS                              *               Last time you push me out a door!                      *               For a dirty split-tail! You're-                        *                   (cinches hard)               -not dragging me down! If Bradley               doesn't get you, Noonan will! And-                   (through gritted-teeth)                            *               -you're gonna burn all by yourself!     -go black. Then eyes open...out for hours/days/months...what?    *     Feel. Hangman's bruise forming around my neck. Junior and        *     Ainge gone. Floorboards under Ainge's bed pried-up. Crawl to     *     the hole: a hiding spot, empty of whatever was in it.            *                         ME (V.O.)                                    *               Call it: the knife was here. Ainge                     *               was crawling under his bed not to                      *               escape me, but to hand it over. Too                    *               hate-wired to see it.                                  *     I check my watch: 11 PM.                                         *                         ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)                           *               Junior the Player. Junior the                          *               Underestimated. Junior the Former                      *               Evidence Teacher: a murder weapon,                     *               a witness, a two-hour head-start.                      *57   EXT. AINGE'S PLACE - NEXT MOMENT                            57   *     Few looks from few neighbors. No sirens. Thank God gunshots      *     and screams are school-nights in this slum. Get into my car.     *                                                              79.58   INT. MY 1955 PONTIAC - NEXT MOMENT                         58   *     My glove box ripped open, contents gone.                        *                         ME (V.O.)                                   *               Junior the Flush: my $5000 down-                      *               payment from Hughes gone. Junior                      *               the Merciful: He should've put a                      *               bullet in my brain.                                   *59   INT. PRECINCT - LATE NIGHT                                 59   *     Nobody around this late. Only a desk sergeant on the doze.      *     Zero-in on Junior's desk, search it: files squared, pencils     *     in precise alignment, evidence books arrayed alphabetically.    *                         ME (V.O.)                                   *               Everything inspection neat. No                        *               mail, no personal items. Eagle                        *               scout perfect.                                        *     Rip at a locked return, jimmy the desk drawers, feel the        *     underside for a key -- zilch. Slide under, looking...nothing.   *     Sit up, grab his phone, dial out...                             *                         FEMALE VOICE (O.S.)                         *               What?                                                 *                         ME                                          *               Meg wake up Pete.                                     *                         MEG (O.S.)                                  *               ...Jesus Christ...                                    *     Rustling and whispers.                                          *                         PETE (O.S.)                                 *               Take some pills, will you?                            *                         ME                                          *               I'll give you a grand to locate and                   *               tail Junior Stemmons.                                 *                         PETE (O.S.)                                 *               Your partner?                                         *     Find a letter opener, fuck it -- pry the drawer loose.          *                         ME                                          *               Past tense.                                           *                                                        80.                       PETE (O.S.)                             *          Two grand.                                           *Pop. The lock snaps. Ease it open...                           *                    ME                                         *          Done. Tell me what he does, who he                   *          talks to, where he goes, and if                      *          he's got this mutt named George                      *          Ainge stashed somewhere.                             *Look inside. Red steno pads. A small orderly pile. Pull one,   *thumb it-- blank.                                              *                       PETE (O.S.)                             *          A-I-N-G-E?                       ME          Yeah.                    PETE (O.S.)          What's Stemmons' address?                    ME                                         *          I'm working on it.                                   *Hang up. Voices arrive. Hustle to my desk, sit, grab a         *reverse directory, fake flip through it as Fritz Koenig and    *two Robbery Blueshirts arrive, seizure bags over their         *shoulders. I clear sweat and leftover blood with my sleeve,    *trying to look busy as Koenig sidles up.                       *                    ME (CONT'D)                                *              (nod to shoulder bag)                            *          You moonlighting?                     KOENIG          Doing some ad hoc dope seizures for          Dan Wilhite.              (that shark grin)          Still love taking the occasional          door down.                    ME          You were born for the street Fritz.          I never featured you for the suit          and tie set.                    KOENIG          We're of a common bloodline Boy-o.                    ME          Where'd you get that haul?                                                        81.                    KOENIG                                     *              (dropping bag)                                   *          Some reformed spic dope dealers                      *          that normally dabble in reefer.                      *Koenig, his knuckles and fingernails caked with blood, pulls   *a three-pound brick of heroin from the bag.                    *                    KOENIG (CONT'D)                            *          Seized from Chavez Ravine. Thirty                    *          pounds. The City is cracking down                    *          on the dreaded to make room for                      *          their beloved Dodgers. They remove                   *          the Mexicans, we remove the rest.                    *Scramble a joke to keep Koenig from looking at me tooclosely...                    ME                                         *          Why? They could hawk heroin right                    *          along with peanuts and hot dogs.                     *          Have the whole bleacher section                      *          goofing on horse.                                    *Koenig laughs big, re-shoulders the bag.                       *                    KOENIG                                     *          A new found dedication these days?                   *          What's prompting such odd hours?                     *                    ME                                         *          Playing catch-up.                                    *                    KOENIG                                     *          The boy Chief seems to be running                    *          both of us ragged.                                   *                    ME                                         *          He currying favor with Chief Parker          with this Chavez Ravine sweep?                    KOENIG          Parker appreciates Bradley's          political skills...and the addition          of a professional Ball-club to our          fare city fulfills his own personal          mandate of a cleaner, brighter, LA.                    ME          Sounds boring.                                                             82.                         KOENIG               Stale milk to me too. And how are               you faring? Is our visiting U.S.               Attorney still in hot pursuit?     Look up. Let him see it in my face: humorless and half lit.                         ME                                           *               Borrowed time Fritz.                                   *                         KOENIG                                       *               Anything I can do?                                     *                          ME                                          *               Yeah...a small favor.                                  *                   (beat)                                             *               Stemmons home address if you have                      *               it. He's in a bit of a bind.                           *                          KOENIG                                      *                   (beat)               Bigger than your own?                                  *                         ME                                           *               A lot bigger.                                          *60   EXT. PAY PHONE - LATER                                      60   *     Drop loose change. Dial. Pete picks up on the first ring.        *                         ME                                           *               3160 Rossmore. Apartment #6.                           *                         PETE                                         *               Did you want me to clip Stemmons?                      *                         ME                                           *               Not yet. By now, he's stashed                          *               Ainge, so he's travelling solo.                        *                         PETE                                         *               Who's this `Ainge' clown anyway?                       *                         ME                                           *               Not important.                                         *                         PETE                                         *               Oh, Milteer wants a progress report                    *               on the Movie Broad -- Bledsoe-                         *     -hang up. Roll to my car.                                        *                                                             83.61   EXT. GLENDA'S HOUSE - NIGHT                                  61   *     Late. Pull in, plop the dishrag loaded with ice on the front      *     seat. Blood still seeping, slick it back in my hair. Step         *     from the car-- woozy/weaving, the goose-egg on my head feels      *     like a hand grenade.                                              *     Up the front walk, lean on the doorbell. She answers, Silk        *     chemise barring tan shoulders, her hair swept up a long,          *     perfect neck. If she just woke up, she doesn't look it.           *                         GLENDA BLEDSOE                                *               I could say something witty about                       *               "gentleman callers at this hour,                        *               covered in blood" but--                                 *     No time to trade repartee. Out with it:                           *                         ME                                            *               George Ainge.                                           *     She goes rigid, clutches her robe.                         GLENDA BLEDSOE                                *               Is that his?                                            *                   (off my nod `yes')               Is he dead?                                             *                         ME                                            *               No. But I know about Dwight                             *               Gillette and the knife you're                           *               trying to barter back. All of it.                       *     Like I punched her in the mouth. Her face: embarrassment cut      *     with confusion. She recovers quick, steels herself.               *                         GLENDA BLEDSOE                                *               Then why are you here? Y'should be                      *               picking up a paycheck from Hughes.                      *                         ME                                            *               I'm not watching you for him                            *               anymore.                                                *                          GLENDA BLEDSOE                               *                   (beat)               If you're planning on shaking me                        *               down for `favors,' go pick-up your                      *               paycheck Mr. Klein. Or are you                          *               being a policeman right now?                            *                                                             84.                         ME                                            *               The good ones are called                                *               `Policemen.' The bad ones are                           *               called `Cops.' I'm a Cop.                               *     She steps closer. I can smell her.                                *                          ME (CONT'D)                                  *               Another `cop' has this information                      *               on you. He has the murder weapon                        *               too. He might use it against you                        *               before I can stop him. Can you go                       *               somewhere?                                              *                         GLENDA BLEDSOE                                *               You're protecting me? You don't                         *               even know me...                                         *                         ME                                            *               Just the parts you wish I didn't.                       *               The place in Topanga Canyon where                       *               your going to hole up for the                           *               kidnapping thing. Is it safe?                           *     She nods, drifts somewhere, a part of her life thought dead,      *     threatening everything again...                                   *                         ME (CONT'D)                                   *               Get your coat.                                          *62   INT. CAR - NIGHT                                             62   *     Driving. Glenda close. I want to pull her closer. We wind         *     along Topanga Canyon. Constant mirror checks, looking for         *     Packards/Buicks/Ghosts...seeing nothing...I roll my window        *     up. Light jazz on the radio gives way to the news:                *                         ANNOUNCER                                     *               -KGFJ news at the top of the hour.                      *               U.S. Attorney Welles Noonan today                       *               announced his intention to probe                        *               what he called `widespread                              *               corruption' within the Los Angeles                      *               Police Department and promised an                       *               equally widespread round of                             *               criminal indictments before-                            *     -click it off. Abrupt. She notices, says nothing. After     another half mile she points to a side road: 655 TOPANGA CYN      *     RD on the mailbox. I pull in. A gravel drive gives way to a       *     bungalow, tucked into the trees.                                  *                                                                85.                         ME                                            *               Did Ainge know about this place?                        *                         GLENDA BLEDSOE                                *               No. I didn't want to tell him till                      *               after.                           ME                                          *               Good.                                                   *     Put the car into `park.' Idle. She looks over, her eyes           *     asking something. I hold her gaze, hesitate, then:                *                         ME (CONT'D)                                   *               Nothing's going to happen to you...                     *     She frets with her hair, her eyes glassy.                         *                         GLENDA BLEDSOE                                *               I don't know that.                                      *                         ME                                            *               I'm not gonna let it.                                   *     A beat...I want to grab her and kiss her. I convince myself       *     otherwise, grab a card from my coat and a pen, scrawl.            *                         ME (CONT'D)                                   *               This is my sister's number. Name is                     *               Meg. Call if there are problems.                        *     Hand her the card. We touch. I linger. So does she.               *                           ME (CONT'D)                                 *               Sleep.                         GLENDA BLEDSOE               Impossible.                           ME               Me too.63   INT. MY CAR - NIGHT                                          63     Driving. Blood-shot. Slowly being squeezed on all sides.                         ME (V.O.)               Looking for leverage. Figure out               Bradley's angle before I fry.               Madge and Lucille in custody. No               Hector and no Tommy equals No               leads. Save one.                                                             86.64   EXT. SANTA MONICA HOTEL - EARLY A.M.                      64    *     Slouched in my front seat, watching a small flop-style motel    *     near the beach.                          ME (V.O.)               Dan Wilhite.                   (beat)               Dispatch shot me his temporary               address. Some beach flop he fled to               after his wife put him out.     Check my Hamilton: 7:32 AM. A car pulls into the parking lot.     Two suits step out, ramrod straight, starched officious:     Process Servers if ever I've seen them. One of them bears a     sealed envelope as they walk to room #11 and knock. No     answer. They knock rude. I roll down my window.     Dan Wilhite answers in a robe: Groggy-pissed-hungover. Before     he utters a word, he's handed the sealed envelope and the     pair depart. Wilhite calls after, tearing open the envelope     and reading what's inside...then rereading it.     Gauge his reaction: ruined.     He puts his hand on top of his head...like he's trying to     protect it from the sky that is now falling down around him.     Another big pause staring at nothing...then he just calmly     walks back inside the room, closing the door behind him.65   EXT. SANTA MONICA HOTEL - NEXT MOMENT                     65     Out of my car. Quietly hustling up to Wilhite's door: Reach     it and hear a distinct POP -- see the flash-snap from behind     the curtains: Gunshot. I know what it is. Hit the door.66   INT. WILHITE'S ROOM - NEXT MOMENT                         66     Wilhite's service revolver a foot away from one hand, a sheet     of paper still gripped in the other. Body half onto the bed,     half off. Blood drains from a round wound in his temple.     Check behind me, nobody coming- close the hotel door. Pick up     the sheet of paper/contents of the envelope. The first word I     see: SUBPOENA.                         ME (V.O.)               My first thought, pure panic:               Noonan figured the Narco-Magalena               connection.                                                              87.     Flip the Subpoena over to see his Signature: not Noonan's.     This subpoena has been issued and signed by LA District     Attorney Bob Gallaudet. Flip it back over, wide-eyed:                          ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)               But it wasn't a Federal Subpoena.               Wilhite was being called to testify               by Bob Gallaudet, a man who doesn't               piss without Bradley's say-so.                   (beat)               Bradley trying to beat Noonan to               the punch and burn the LAPD               himself...why?67   EXT. PARKING LOT - LATER                                      67     A quick check of the lot. Empty. A housekeeping cart sits     nearby. Swipe a bottle of bleach from it. Walk to Wilhite's     Studebaker Powerhawk. Pop the trunk, return to his room.     Move quick. Fireman's carry, dump Wilhite's body in the     trunk. Toss his service .38 too. Pour the bottle of bleach to     stanch the inevitable rot smell.                         ME (V.O.)               Swap my car for Wilhite's. The               former head of the LAPD's Narcotics               division dead in the trunk. Call it               the leverage I was looking for --               his body can buy me out of bad spot-     -and that's when I see it: a bandage poking out from under         *     Wilhite's collar...undo a couple buttons, lift the bandage.        *                                                      FLASH TO:68   EXT. 1284 SOUTH TREMAINE - NIGHT                              68   *     BAM: me hit from behind by the Peeper. BAM: me firing at the       *     Peeper. Hit him in the left shoulder. BAM: Grabbing Wilhite's      *     shoulder in the Magdalena bathroom, him howling in pain.           *                                                      RETURN TO:        *69   INT. WILHITE'S GARAGE - NEXT MOMENT                           69   *     The kind of wound a grazed bullet leaves.                          *                                                              88.                         ME (V.O.)                                    *               Wilhite was the Peeper. Bent on                        *               Lucille, a girl younger than his                       *               youngest daughter. Call it grounds               for divorce...Call Wilhite Hector               Magdalena's murderer...     Slam the trunk as Wilhite's glazed eyes stare back at me.70   EXT. STREET - A.M.                                          70   *     Slow cruise, new ride means no tails. Check my mirrors           *     anyway. Back to the pad, back-streets all the way.               *71   INT. MY HOME, HOLLYWOOD HILLS - A.M.                        71   *     Rounding the corner -- break hard: those same process servers     leaning on my doorbell now.                         ME               Bradley trying to bury me too. That               subpoena means my fifteen year               career with the LAPD just went up               in smoke.     Continue past. Those Process Geeks keep buzzing my doorbell.72   INT. BREAKFAST JOINT PAY-PHONE - MORNING                    72     Drop dimes. Dial Pete.                          ME               Hey-                         PETE (O.S.)               -Junior's left the fucking planet.                         ME               You find him?                         PETE               Yeah. I swung by his apartment, car               was out front. I scoped it: a sawed-               off shotgun in front, canned tuna               in the back seat. Think he's living               outta that car. After he left, I               tried to get inside his place: The               front door is triple pad-locked.                                                             89.                         ME                   (out loud)               That knife is in there-                            PETE               -the what?     Shit. Ignore it, maybe Pete will too.                         ME               Meet me down the street from his               place. You got bolt cutters?                         PETE               I'll bring `em.                         ME               Thirty minutes.73   EXT. APARTMENT COMPLEX - DAY                              73     Junior's stucco-beige apartment building looms a block up.     Cursory checks of the rear and side-view mirrors. Sans tail     as I pull the Powerhawk in behind Pete's Caddy. Step out,     sidle up driver's side.                         PETE               Who's car is that?                         ME               Long story.                         PETE               Junior looked real skeezed this               morning. Like he was on a dope jag.                            ME               Yeah?                         PETE               Sweated up like a stuck pig. And be               careful. He was fucking around with               his front door before he left. I               don't know what he was doing.                         ME               Two honks if he shows. Then meet me               in the alley, back of his place.                                                             90.                         PETE                   (handing me bolt-cutters)               What about this Bledsoe broad?               Milteer has called me twice.                         ME                   (taking the bolt-cutters)               One thing at a time pal.74   EXT. JUNIOR'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY                    74     Hustle across the street. Hang my badge over my shirt-pocket.75   INT. JUNIOR'S APARTMENT BUILDING - MOMENTS LATER          75     Up three flights. Junior: #303: three padlocks:hinge/receiver     hardware extending between door and jamb. Three kicks and a     shoulder to splinter the door. Stop, look: Some kind of twine     stretched taut, just inside the door...trip-wire. Pull my pig-     sticker, extend it between door and jamb...see the twine     stretching tighter -- flick the blade, snag twine, slice it.     Stand. Put my boot into the door full. Snaps at the hinges.76   INT. APT. 303 - NEXT MOMENT                               76     Move slow. Examine close: Eye-bolt pulley system, jerry-     rigged around the door. Severed twine attached to the trigger     of a shotgun taped atop a jello mold at knee level.     Continue to look around. Sex-horror grimace: like catching     Pop fingering Mom. Junior's place a tiny, filthy one bedroom.                         ME (V.O.)               Junior the Insane: You couldn't               hide what he was hiding in 1958 LA,               and not have it rot your mind.     Bear traps barely hidden under sheets. Rat-traps garnished     with razor blades across the floor. Smell rotten flowers: his     shirt that I wore/bled-on crumpled on his pillow -- yellowed     jizz stains cover black blood stains. Stifle a gag.     Card table: an empty green-banded evidence bag. Gape at it.     Then walk over, read the abstracts: 1284 South Tremaine.                         ME (V.O.)               Junior stealing evidence from the               Magdalena crime scene.                                                                      91.Then I see the bookcase. Top shelf: Police manuals. Bottomtwo shelves: wall-to-wall red steno-pads, all exactly thesame brand. Shock. Step over. Flip through them: tiny,architect-neat script covers every page. The running dialogueof a functional fucking freak:MAGDALENA RESIDENCE. 1284 S. TREMAINE. RECOVERED: MAGDALENA FINANCIALRECORDS/LEDGERS. SOME ENTRIES REDACTED. TRANSLATED `HH' INTO`HURWITZ HOLDINGS' AFTER RECOVERING MAIL. SEEMS SUSPICIOUS. BROUGHTTO ATTENTION OF KLEIN. BRUSHED OFF. PRESS IN SPITE OF KLEIN'S LAZINESS ORLACK OF INTEREST.A hand drawn cock doodled beneath that, then below:DAVE WEARING FORM-FITTING SHIRT TODAY. HANDSOME. I WANT TO PULL IT--drop the steno like it might bite. Pick up another: samedrill.WELLES NOONAN WILL WIN OUT. KLEIN NOT SKILLED OR SMART ENOUGH TODUEL WITH A U.S. ATTORNEY MUCH LESS THE FBI. DEEP ADMIRATION FORNOONAN'S CAUSE. HIS PURPOSE IS PURE. DON'T WANT TO GET DRAGGED DOWNWITH POISON PILL KLEIN. MAKE HIM PAY FOR PATRONIZING ME.Pick up yet another, hands shaking, turn to the last page:MAKE KLEIN HURT LIKE I HURT. TRADE HIM. TRADE EVERYTHING. TRADE UP TOTHE BUREAU. THINK OF IT: AGENT RICHARD STEMMONS JR. PROUD-PROUD. 1DREAM DOWN, 10,000 TO GO!                      ME (V.O.)            Junior the Climber, trading me up            to Noonan. Thinks bootlicking will            buy him a Bureau gig.Now, rifle for that knife. Systemically destroy the place.Dump the stenos in a trash can, sift for matches, strike,watch the pads catch and floosh, feed the fire with randompaperwork, sift -- Junior's cock-obsessed doodles scribbledby the dozen.Under the bed now, carpet covered in rat-traps. Spring them,clear a space. A Box: beefcake booty, gay smut mags, gayclassified ads. First-person perspective Polaroids ofJunior's stomach being kissed by the Diskant Quiff and vice-versa.Open a massive steamer trunk against a far wall. Arsenal:handguns, shotguns, a surplus M-1. Dump it, kick contents.Only interested in that knife.                                                             92.     Move into his kitchenette. Check the freezer even though     Junior is smarter than that: amyl-nitrate poppers, vodka,     benzedrine, cocaine. Close it. Look down. STOP: indents in     the cheap tile floor from where the refrigerator used to sit.     Pull to see what's behind. Eyes catch the bear-trap near the     bed as I tug: ugly-rusted-waiting. STOP part II: Contort,     peer behind the refrigerator: a pineapple-shaped hand grenade     duct-taped to the wall, next to a built-in safe.                         MY NARRATOR VOICE (V.O.)               The safe scared me more than all of               it because a safe doesn't get               installed overnight...he'd been               working on something, planning               something...     Twine leads from the grenade's pin to the back of the     refrigerator. My bolt-cutters snap it. Pull the refrigerator     out now. The safe bolted into the drywall. Stare at it: the     dial, the black paint-job...                                                       CUT TO:     Loading shells into the shotgun that was atop that jello     mold. Back into the kitchen. Exhale. BEGIN BLASTING. Massive     noise. Six shots. Reload fast: nothing can muffle this     clatter. SECOND VOLLEY. Eyes closed to keep chunks of drywall     out. Gagging on gunsmoke. Rip at the safe -- something gives.     THIRD VOLLEY. The Safe hits the floor, leaves a hole.     Through the ringing in my ears: something that sounds like     honks. Quick peek: Pete gone. A Black Buick with two white-     walled FEDS up front. Then Junior gets out of the backseat...     Scoop the freezer drugs, the stack of man-porn, the     snapshots, and toss a whole armful into the hallway in front     of Junior's door. Grab the green-banded evidence bag and tuck     it under my arm. Back into the kitchenette. Turn on the gas     but don't light the burners. Pull the grenade off the wall.     Drag the safe to the rear of his place: the fire escape.77   EXT. FIRE ESCAPE - NEXT MOMENT                              77     Out the window, on the escape, toss the evidence-bag down to     Pete, then push the safe over the railing. Feature it almost     crush the back of Pete's idling Cadillac. Pete jumps, yells:                          PETE               Asshole!                                                             93.                         ME               Get it open if you can and meet me               back at Meg's!     Doesn't move until I pull the pin on the pineapple, drop the     pin down on him. He jumps back in, peels off-78   INT. JUNIOR'S APARTMENT BUILDING - NEXT MOMENT               78     -Junior on the second-floor landing, heading to his place.     Bloodshot bleary wide eyes, spun on a combo of drugs, the     Feds herding him like a rabid dog:                         JUNIOR STEMMONS               Stay right here. I'll get it all               and come back. Don't move.79   EXT. FIRE ESCAPE - SAME MOMENT                               79     Ricochet the grenade back into the kitchen. Leap down half a     flight: put exterior brick between my head and the-     -BIG BOOM -- the grenade goes off.80   INT. JUNIOR'S APARTMENT BUILDING - SAME MOMENT               80     Junior knocked on his ass halfway up the last flight. Feds     come sprinting. Screaming Junior tackles one on the way up.     Juniors' front-door blown off. Terrified Neighbors greeted     with images of Sodom scattered from the explosion: drugs,     mags, dildos. The Fed that didn't get tackled picks up a     photo: Junior kissing a hairy stomach.     And Junior's mind snaps cleanly in-half. Crawls away growling     like a bear caught in one of his traps.81   EXT. ALLEY - NEXT MOMENT                                     81     I step calm. Clear the alley slow. Don't let your stride give     you away. Another Black Buick arrives. More Bureau stiffs.     Keep moving. Looky-Loos pop up along the block, pointing. I'm     the only one not looking back toward Junior's now flaming     pad. The Powerhawk still another street up. Fire engines wail     close.     Shouts from behind now. Look back: a Bureau putz pointing my     way -- one of the Buicks tearing up the block toward me.                                                             94.                         ME (V.O.)               Call it. Keep going and give up               Wilhite's car and the corpse               inside, or lay back and deal with               Noonan's Buzzcuts.     Lace my fingers behind my head, turn to face them -- catch a     form tackle from this geeked up junior G-Man diving from the     Buick, drives his shoulder and takes me down sprawling.82   INT. L.A. FEDERAL BUILDING - LATER                        82     Welles Noonan staring. He picks nipped/mutilated fingernails.                          ME (CONT'D)               Civil servants can't afford               manicures?                         WELLES NOONAN               Breaking and entering, theft, and               willful destruction of private               property...and I'll add attempted               murder to the current first degree               murder charge I'm about to file               against you.                         ME               Proof. If you had it, you wouldn't               be fucking around with shitty               shakedown routine -- you'd file.               Coercion equals confession. So               let's see you pound it out of me.                         WELLES NOONAN               Where are the files you stole from               Sergeant Richard Stemmons.                         ME               Junior. Your secret weapon right? I               mean, I know J. Edgar is a slanted               fuck, but traditionally `vicious               fags' don't make the best major               case witnesses.                   (beat, keep pushing)               I'm worried those burning dildos               may have damaged his credibility.                         WELLES NOONAN               Oh I don't need his testimony               Klein. I'll just force yours.                                       95.          MENot if you had the next hundredyears.          WELLES NOONANSanderline Johnson, your links toSam Giancana to Mickey Cohen,extortion, bribes, murder-for-hire.I'll put you in every pair of cross-hairs I can find. I'll torcheverything you've ever touched. Youhave no idea how deep I run Klein.And how far I'm willing to go tofuck you-          ME-everyone knows I'm a piece-a-shit.What are you proving? Bradley's theguy flanking you right now. The guywho's vulnerable right now.          WELLES NOONANYou're all angles and graft Klein.Why trust a God damn word thatcomes out of your-          ME-you done anything with theMagdalena case?          WELLES NOONAN    (thrown)Prelims: drug pusher gone missing,presumed dead, we're investigat-          ME    (scoffing)-Dealing drugs for 20 years!Arrested once. Hall a' fame career!You photographed the head of Narcoin-front of his house...          WELLES NOONANAND?          MEJesus Christ, you need cue cards?    (sell this fucker now)Come after me: you get me. Go afterwhat I can give you and you get theLAPD's power-set on a slab.                                                          96.                    WELLES NOONAN          I don't believe you'd turn.          Treacherous yes, traitorous no.          Tell me where Stemmons' files are.                    ME          I'll bring them to you.                    WELLES NOONAN          You're not leaving here Klein.                    ME          Then like I said: you only get me.Noonan stands, firm:                    WELLES NOONAN          I'll take it.On his way out I speak fast -- the last ace in my deck:                    ME          I give you the body of Dan Wilhite,          head of LAPD's Narcotics Division.          Proof of a 20-year criminal          collusion between his department          and Hector Magdalena and my          testimony to link the dots.              (beat, make him believe)          Then I leave LA for good.Noonan at the door: please bite-please bite...but he justsmirks, walks out. Real panic now: no ideas on what comesnext. 15 seconds. Door opens again: one of Noonan's deputiespushes a sheet. Scan it: Federal Witness Agreement. Noonanback: two cups of coffee. Read it over.                    WELLES NOONAN          What happened to Wilhite?                       ME          Suicide.                    WELLES NOONAN          Like Sanderline Johnson?Ignore him. Sign the agreement.                    WELLES NOONAN (CONT'D)          Get me Stemmons files and Wilhite's          body by noon tomorrow.Gulp the coffee back, the burn feels good.                                                             97.                         ME               No more tails. I don't want anyone               else incriminated.                           WELLES NOONAN               Agreed.                         ME                   (nod to agreement)               I get a copy of that?                         WELLES NOONAN               After a judge signs it. Now Leave.     Stand-nod-take my coffee-leave. Door closes. Noonan shreds     the Witness agreement. Tosses it in the trash. Off the     baffled Deputy.                          WELLES NOONAN (CONT'D)               We wait for him to deliver, then we               arrest him. You never saw that               agreement.                           DEPUTY #1               Tail him?                         WELLES NOONAN               No. Let him get comfortable...let               him believe me.83   INT. CAB - NIGHT                                             83     Backseat. Suborned Cabby driving fast. LAPD on board.                         ME (V.O.)               Running out of room, time, both.               Trapped between Bradley and Noonan.     Jump out of the cab, into Wilhite's Powerhawk. Slide in, slam     the door.84   INT. MEG'S PLACE - LATER                                     84     Bust in shaking. Teeth chatter like I'm freezing. Pete in the     garage adjacent the kitchen, welder's goggles and a power     drill, punching holes in Junior's safe.                         PETE               I know what Feds look like -- those               were Feds with Junior...                                                             98.                         ME               Yeah and they made me leaving the               scene. Had to barter out.                         PETE               Barter what?                         ME               My Testimony. I signed a Federal               Witness Agreement.     Pete drops the drill.                           PETE               You what?                          ME               It's bullshit. Noonan's got no               intention of honoring it.                   (beat)               They want Stemmons files though. I               think Junior's been working angles               for awhile, doing his own               investigations.                         PETE               What did you do to his place? Nice               quiet neighborhood one minute,               Nagasaki the next.                         ME                   (point to safe)               He had a hand grenade tied to that.                   (as Pete resumes drilling)               How much longer do you need?                          PETE               Few more hours. Maybe. Junior               didn't skimp on this thing. I gotta               bore right through the face plate.                   (beat)               You got some time now, why don't               you get Milteer off my back and go               work that Bledsoe broad.                         ME               You read my mind.85   EXT. TOPANGA CANYON BUNGALOW - NIGHT                      85     Pull in. Glenda's Vette parked behind. Lights on low inside.                                                             99.86   EXT./INT. BUNGALOW - MOMENTS LATER                        86     The door opens. She's dressed for bed. I don't hesitate,     afraid she'll shun me. Move to her, she doesn't startle. An     arm around her waist, drawing her in, my mouth close to hers.     I take her face in my hand, check her eyes, a beat before     they tell me it's okay...I lean in, takes a lifetime...and     kiss her soft until she kisses back, her mouth moving over my     split lips, she puts her hands on my face, pulling me in.     She feels exactly like I imagined.     My coat comes off. Her camisole follows. We're moving toward     a bed in back. I stop, pull back, the moonlight moves over     her shoulders. I whisper:                         ME               ...tell me if I'm being too rough.     Tears squeezed through smiling eyes, she kisses me even     harder, pulls me down to her. We make love like we've never     touched another. Everything blurs, burns down: Bradley.     Wilhite. Tommy. Hector Junior. Ainge. She takes it all away.     I escape into her. Hours fall. I could stay here forever...87   INT. BEDROOM - LATER                                      87     Lying there, staring at her. A silence and peace I've never     known. Not once.                         ME               Tell me anything. Tell me               everything.     Label her surprise, her brow that furrows and unfurrows just     as quickly. A long moment as she waivers...commits:                         GLENDA BLEDSOE               Where would I start?                            ME               Why here?                         GLENDA BLEDSOE               Why L.A.?                   (this amazing smile)               Why is anybody here? Want the rest               of the world to know who they are.                                                       100.                    ME          You?                     GLENDA BLEDSOE          No...I don't think so.              (beat)          I just love it. I grew up in          Seattle. My aunt, every week, she'd          take me to the movies.Me watching her...tucks her hair back over his shoulders.                    GLENDA BLEDSOE (CONT'D)                     *          The idea that you can outlive          yourself...that a part of you goes          on, long after you're gone.              (beat, grins)          Sounds silly doesn't it? `Attack of          the Atomic Vampires' being-                    ME          -your ticket to immortality?Make her laugh. Swear a thousand silent oaths to protect her.He face slowly goes dark.                     GLENDA BLEDSOE          Hughes told me he could get me in          for this screen test two years ago.          Movie with Gregory Peck at          Universal. He thought he was          humoring me...until I got it. They          offered me the role...there in the          room. So Howard, who I'm sure never          thought in a million years I'd land          that part, makes some phone calls          and just like that they don't want          me anymore.              (beat)          Nobody calls now. I can't get in to          see any studio casting people. He's          ruined me in those circles.                    ME          And you still want it-                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          -bad enough to put on a silly          cheerleading skirt and try to make          the most god-awful dialogue sound          decent.                                                         101.                    ME          Surrounded by winos in werewolf          suits.              (she laughs, I laugh)          That's...dedication.                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          Or desperation. Depends on the day.The laughter ebbs, her eyes still shine.                     GLENDA BLEDSOE (CONT'D)          I'll get there though.              (beat)          I'll get there.I let the silence take...try not to shatter it with:                    ME          Dwight Gillette.She doesn't blanch.                     GLENDA BLEDSOE          He asked me to take his `niece and          nephew' to their cousin in Oxnard.          These beautiful, funny little kids.              (tears she doesn't swipe)          I dropped them off. Didn't ask any          questions -- I believed Dwight. A          week later I saw their pictures in          the Post Office. A week after that          their little bodies came in on the          tide near San Pedro.              (beat, tears stream)          I'll never shake the thought that          maybe those poor kids thought I was          part of it. That I knew what was          going to happen to them. So I pray          to God that he let them look in          when I put that knife into Dwight.              (beat)          But I'll never ask his forgiveness          for doing it...              (beat, clears her eyes)          Why do they call you `Enforcer?'She actually gets closer, I can feel her breath on me.                    ME          I've killed 44 men.                                                              102.     She blanches, but never blinks...never takes her eyes away     from mine.                         ME (CONT'D)               33 for War. 2 for principle. 9 for               profit -- mostly. Why did you sign               with Hughes, knowing what he was?                         GLENDA BLEDSOE               `For profit -- mostly.'     Silence. A feeling like: `and there we are...'                         ME               I'm not much good.                         GLENDA BLEDSOE               Me neither.     She touches my quake. Two breaths with her hand on mine and     it all goes quiet: the shakes, the images, the fear. She     takes my head, pulls me to her bare breasts. The only things     audible: my breathing, a clock ticking. Both slowly fade out.     BLACK.     Wake up quiet, look at my Hamilton. 6 AM. Sit up slow.     Look back at her, sleeping, just stare. I lean down, kiss her     lightly, her taste lingers, inhale her, hold that...it's the     last good thing you'll get today.88   INT. MEG'S HOUSE - EARLY A.M.                                88     Dark. Stay quiet. Maneuver into the kitchen. Turn on a light.     On the table: safe open, it's contents laid-out neatly, short-     stacks of files, $1000 in twenties. I sit, start searching     for something else...Pete's voice behind me:                         PETE (O.C.)               The Knife ain't there. File on top               of that middle pile: George Ainge               in an `undisclosed locale.'     I don't turn. Pete sits next to me. Sets a shotgun down.                         PETE               Junior documented everything like a               fucking Monk.                   (pulls a file)               Like here: `has evidence' you               murdered Sanderline Johnson.                         (MORE)                                                            103.                     PETE (cont'd)           Kept track of `suspected contract           killings' you pulled for the mob.Look at Pete. Dark rings, deathbed eyes.                     ME           You been up all night?                     PETE           In-case Stemmons made a house-call.           He's got every goddamn address of           everybody you know...               (beat, hard)           And you should've told me about the           Bledsoe broad.                     ME           There's nothing to tell.Feature Pete, righteously pissed:                     PETE           Then call Milteer about this dead           Pimp Gillette. I'm no legal mind           like you, but I'll bet a murder           beef would violate her morals           clause quick.               (beat, hands phone)           Collect the rest of your money.                     ME           I don't want it anymore.                     PETE           Then give that five grand back.                     ME           Junior stole it.Pete pauses, scoffs, turns back toward Meg's bedroom walks:                     PETE           People are gonna start lining-up to           see you bleed, Pal.Door closes. I flip through Junior's files: the samearchitect-neat block printing. Find a Glenda entry:SUBSEQUENT TO HER FATAL STABBING OF DWIGHT Gillette, MISS BLEDSOESECRETED THE MURDER WEAPON WITH GEORGE AINGE. I HAVE ACQUIRED THISKNIFE. IT IS A SIX-INCH BLADE WITH A MOTHER-OF-PEARL GRIP WHICHSUSTAINED RIGHT THUMB AND RIGHT INDEX PRINTS WHICH MATCH ELEVENCOMPARISON POINTS TO FINGERPRINTS ON FILE FROM MISS BLEDSOE'S 1946JUVENILE SHOPLIFTING ARREST.                                                            104.     Shred it. Grab another file. Hyper-detailed: subscript     clarifications, attachments, pictures, procedural notes to     the U.S.A.W.N.: United States Attorney Welles Noonan.     Then I see the tab of the file furthest down: BOYCE BRADLEY.     Open it: Noonan's business card stapled to the front cover.     Flip forward. Scan. See Bradley's name, finger tracks across     a page. A company name: `HURWITZ HOLDINGS'     I read it all...and feel my jaw slowly unhinge...89   INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS - MORNING                           89     Barrel down the hallway toward Bradley's office. A habitual     eye toward Junior's desk: Koenig going through his drawers.     Stop. Veer toward him...                         KOENIG                   (formal-frosty)               Your young partner called me at my               home, early this morning.     Teeth grit. Hide it. Let Koenig talk.                         KOENIG (CONT'D)               Heavily inebriated. Speaking               inarticulately of `betrayal,' & how               the LAPD was set to be `blitzed by               justice.' Is this the `bind' of               which we spoke earlier?                         ME               Yeah.                         KOENIG               And his apartment -- there was some               type of disturbance? A fire?                         ME               That's why I needed his address. I               was trying to help him before               something like this happened. The               kid snapped-in-half Fritz. He's               literally lost it.                   (beat, deadpan)               He say anything else to you?     Koenig looks back at me. Give nothing away...one gesture that     doesn't read right and he'll know. He lets more seconds pass     than he should. Trying to shake me.                                                            105.                         KOENIG               Only that he was in possession of               materials that might deeply damage               Chief Bradley...and yourself.                         ME               Like I said Fritz, he's flipped his               lid. I don't want to go to Internal               Affairs but I'm afraid Junior               might've forced just that.                         KOENIG               Let me try to locate the lad first               Dave. Be a shame to ruin such a               young career so soon.                         ME               Be careful Fritz. He's dangerous.     Spin, press on toward Bradley's office.                         ME (V.O.)               Fritz Koenig, the best inspector in               the LAPD, digging. He'll find               Junior and when he does he'll find               Ainge...then Glenda...     Reach Bradley's office, burst in. Empty. To his Secretary:                         ME               Where is he?                         SECRETARY                   (frowns at my informality)               Out at the Ravine Lieutenant.90   EXT. CHAVEZ RAVINE - DAY                                     90     Park the Powerhawk. Downwind. Out. Walking. Check my     Hamilton: 12:10 PM.                         ME (V.O.)               Noonan's deadline lapsed ten               minutes ago. An official fugitive               from justice now.     Down below, Bradley with Reuben Ruiz in-tow: glazed-fear,     following him like he's handcuffed. PROTESTORS gather,     placards hoisted, chants: "Dodgers, No! Mexico, Si!" The     group gathers steam, supporters pack in, the chorus     continues: "DODGERS NO! MEXICO SI!'                                                       106.                    ME (V.O.)          Bradley doing damage control, the          forced relocation of the Ravine's          immigrants has the press in a          feeding frenzy. Reuben Ruiz forced          along as the token Mexican          mouthpiece.Reporters press. Bradley handles them with ease and aplomb.                    BRADLEY          -this area has long been rife with          crime and venality, but with a          brand new Stadium, we can make this          horrible blight a bright spot and          give our Los Angeles Dodgers the          home they deserve.              (like Ruiz was an orphan)          Reuben Ruiz can tell you of his          travails growing up in this          horrible slum and why now is the          time to `Redeem The Ravine.'                    REPORTER #2          Chief Bradley, U.S. Attorney          Noonan has promised to deliver          surprise witnesses before the          Federal Grand jury on--Bradley, this brilliant rebuke:                    BRADLEY          -Welles Noonan is an unscrupulous          hack politician whose smear          campaign against us will fail, for          he has grievously underestimated          the moral rectitude of the Los          Angeles Police Department.Then Bradley sees me. His press-friendly face contorts, theshift startling: if only a flashbulb could've framed it. Heshifts back from snarl to smile...                    BRADLEY          Now if you'll excuse me, I'll leave          you with Reuben Ruiz.Ruiz begins his forced/coerced/do-it-or-we'll-fuck-you sobstory as Bradley steps away from the glare. I follow. Getright on his heels.                                                          107.                    ME          Your subpoena hasn't caught up to          me yet, Chief...Bradley spins back.                    ME (CONT'D)              (hand him Junior's file)          Hurwitz Holdings.Bradley blanches, buckles. I see it. Before he can playstupid with: `What?'                    ME (CONT'D)          You, Bethune, and Gallaudet bought          big chunks of Chavez Ravine over          the past two years through a shell          company called Hurwitz Holdings.              (beat, look around)          If the Dodgers move here the value          of the land booms...you could sell          it off for a fortune -- or hang          onto it and make even more. The          parking lots alone would make you          all multi-millionaires.Bradley removes his glasses, staring at documentation thatdooms both his immediate and distant future...                    ME          Word gets out that the three City          Officials who were pushing hardest          for a Stadium also stood to gain a          mint -- might color public opinion.          Might color it even more to know          that the LAPD's Chief of Detectives          was trying to purchase a huge tract          of that land from the biggest dope          dealer in town.Slap another file over the one he's reading.                    ME          Hector Magdalena owned ten and half          acres of this land.              (beat, ram him)          You didn't give a shit about          solving his disappearance. You were          worried that your real estate deal          was going south.                    (MORE)                                                       108.                     ME (cont'd)          That's why you wanted Tommy found,          not because he was a murder suspect          or you were concerned that Noonan          might tap him as a federal          witness...you needed him to          finalize your fucking land grab. To          sign paperwork in place of his dead          Dad. That's why you've got Madge          and Lucille in custody now.              (beat)          Maybe I'll let your subpoena find          me now Chief, maybe I'll walk right          into it...the tales I could tell.All Bradley can muster is:                    BRADLEY          How?                    ME          Junior Stemmons. The ex-evidence          teacher. His `excellent ratings'          didn't stop him from stealing the          Magdalena seizure and doing his own          investigation.                    BRADLEY          Why would he investigate me?Hand him Noonan's business card: dig the big Federal Eagle inAmerican Blue.                     ME          That was stapled to the cover.              (beat)          Why would Noonan worry about a Turd          like me now...when a high profile          target like you can be taken down.Silence. I smile wide at it. Bradley, scrambling.                    BRADLEY          Where is Stemmons?                    ME          No idea. If you haven't spoken to          Internal Affairs today, I'm sure          they've called. Junior's apartment          caught fire. Deeply deviant          material inside. Round him up-              (my angle)          -and anyone he's got with him.Bradley readjusts his glasses.                                                         109.                    BRADLEY          I'll issue an A.P.B. saying          Stemmons is a known deviant          targeting kindergarten children.                    ME          Now, quid pro quo...you subpoenaed          Wilhite too.Bradley's reaction: Feature the angler getting angled.                      BRADLEY          How do y-                    ME          -don't worry `how.' Why?Bradley says nothing. Then, like a klieg-light, it hits me.                    ME (CONT'D)          You're going after Narco yourself.                    BRADLEY          Exposing the corrupt parts of the          LAPD will redeem the whole. I'll          prove that Police can police          themselves-                    ME          -so you show-up Noonan...co-opt his          crusade and condemn your own before          he can...Jesus Christ can you turn          lemons to lemonade.                    BRADLEY          No Cop will testify against other          Cops. This is why Wilhite has          suddenly disappeared.                     ME          And how.              (beat)          So where do we go now Chief?                    BRADLEY              (beat, eyes flick again to               the files I'm holding...)          There are other forces at work          here...faces we need to identify.          Names we need to know. A third          party.                    (MORE)                                                            110.                         BRADLEY (cont'd)               Find out who Klein and I'll               reinstate you, rescind that               subpoena & burn the coroner's               report on Sanderline-                         ME               -that report is only useful to               Noonan now.                         BRADLEY               No. It ensures our mutual               destruction should you choose to               share the contents of that Stemmons               file. Which I know you won't do               until you figure out how it will               best benefit you.     He walks off, imperious, impervious, gets engulfed by the     press ranks once again.                         ME (V.O.)               A mistake to underestimate me now               Chief. The price to keep your               secrets is steep...and you're going               to pay up. Soon.     Back to the Powerhawk, fresh-scrubbed six-packs standing near     it, the trunk stink ripe past the point of concealment. They     see me, deferential nods. One squeaky wheel offers:                         SIX-PACK               Something in your trunk smells to               high hell Lieutenant.                            ME               Dead body.     Laughter. Easily amused academy types. Brush by grinning,     give `em an "Enforcer" story to tell the other rookies. I     jump in the Powerhawk and tear off.                         ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)               Borrowed time burning fast. My days               are done. Only hours remain.               Whatever moves I have left...make               them now.91   INT. MEG'S HOUSE - LATER                                     91     Going through files. Filling my own steno pad with scrawl.     Pete walks in from the garage, face bunched up, bit-lemon.                                                       111.                    PETE          Fucking Christ. You can't keep that          car in the garage, the smell's          coming into the house.Meg wanders in, dressed for work.                    MEG          Open the windows.                    PETE          That's not gonna help.                    ME              (still scribbling)          Take a couple bottles of bleach,          pour it over the trunk.                    PETE          What do you got in there?                    ME          My foreseeable future.                    MEG          I'm going to work.She kisses me on my head. I turn:                    ME          You taking her?                    PETE              (God damn glowering)          I'm taking her.Meg walks out. Pete lingers. I'm starting to sour him. Notsmart. He stares. I look up.                    ME (CONT'D)          What?                    PETE          Hughes.                    ME          This is almost over Pete -- I'll          give Milteer the five-grand back.                    PETE          It's more than that.                                                       112.                    ME          I'll square it. It's my thing.                    PETE          That you made mine.                       ME          I'm sorry.A beat. Pete sketches me head to toe.                    PETE          Look as bad as I've ever seen you.                    ME          Things are as bad as they've ever          been...Pete exhales. Stalks off. I keep scribbling.                    ME (V.O.)          Bradley's Third Party Theory.          Everything linked: Wilhite,          Magdalena, the Ravine...I've got my          own theories...and the one that          sticks is the one I pray I'm wrong          about.Meg's phone blares, I answer it on reflex.                       ME (CONT'D)          Klein.I hear rasp on the other end, hyperventilating, unhinged.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          MOTHERFUCKER -- you better meet me!          That Cooze you threw everything          away for is still cooked! I got the          knife. I got Ainge-Junior. Jesus.                    ME          How'd you get this number Junior?                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          I got everything on you! AND I'M          GONNA USE IT!                    ME          -you're a broom-closet Queer. Your          career is over.                                                       113.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          The knife for MY file on Bradley.          I know you already burned that          Whore's but don't think I can't re-          do investigations.                    ME          You snitch to Noonan, then what?                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          Fuck Noonan. I got stronger Allies.                    ME          Who? The Soviets?                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          Meet me in one hour with that file,          Fern Dell Park-                    ME          -Where you used to snag fruits for          Vice? A volunteer gig I'm guessing.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          Be there with Bradley's file or I          scratch your scabby Bitch.                    ME          Hey, did the Feds dig your pad?The phone on the other end seems to break-in half. Hang up,it rings a beat later. Junior still wanting to spar. Snag thereceiver, rip his shit:                    ME (CONT'D)          -I see anybody near there Junior,          the deals off and I gift that file          to Bradley to fuck you with-                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          -Dave?                    ME              (big beat)          Glenda?He's got her. Junior. Sick. Evil. My mind cannibalizes itselfwith "where-is-she-how-do-I-get-her-back" when:                    GLENDA BLEDSOE          Sorry...you gave me this number...He doesn't have her. A sigh so big, it steals all my air...                                                            114.                           ME                 Jesus...hey...92   INTERCUT:                                                  92                           GLENDA                 Who were you talking-                           ME                 -no, no. It's nothing. I had a                 phone call, just before yours.     A beat. Glenda in a chaise lounge on a small deck overlooking     the canyon. She sits up.                           GLENDA                 Was it him? The Cop you were                 telling me about?                           ME                 I don't want you to worry. I'm                 handling it. But I might send my                 friend Pete out there.                           GLENDA                 You don't think it's safe?                           ME                 I'd just rather have someone there                 with you.                           GLENDA                 I wish you would've woken me up                 this morning.                           ME                 I'm better-looking in low light, I                 didn't want to blow it for myself.     She laughs. Makes me smile despite my world caving-in...                           ME (CONT'D)                 Stay by the phone.                           GLENDA                 I miss you.     And I melt. Love-struck at possibly the worst fucking moment     of my life. Hang up before your voice breaks. Grab a pen,     scrawl for Pete, post it on the fridge magnet: `PETE: 655     TOPANGA. STAY WITH HER. PLEASE.'                                                            115.93   EXT. FERN DELL PARK - EVENING                             93     Rolling green. Half-dirt, half-asphalt path. I scan for any     back-up. Nothing. Junior already there. Astride like Gary     Cooper. His eyes bloodshot from here. My gun riding quick-     draw style. The heft feels good. Unbutton my coat to show him     the file as I approach, tucked right behind my .45.                         ME               Where's the knife.     Junior, this evil little curl. He turns. Follow him over a     small knoll: that Gray Packard, waiting. A silhouette behind     the wheel. As we near it the lights come on, blind me.                         ME               Turn your lights off...and just               come out and talk to me...Fritz.     A pause in the car, Junior looks at me like I'm Rasputin,     divining answers from the marine-layer moving-in over LA. The     lights pop off and I hear a tired laugh coming from the car     that we've all heard before.                         ME (V.O.)               Third Party Confirmed...I fucking               knew it.     Fritz Koenig steps out of the Packard.                         KOENIG               Not much with these sub-rosa               things...                         ME                   (a nod to the Packard)               I thought it was Noonan tailing me.                         KOENIG               Bradley's greatest stroke was               enlisting you to his side.     Junior, jumpy in my periphery. I don't like it.                         ME (CONT'D)               Wilhite ran Magdalena for you, not               Narco.                         KOENIG               When did you know?                                                              116.                         ME               I didn't. I had a feeling. I               smelled cover-up all over Hector's               disappearance and Wilhite wouldn't               have the muscle or the mind-set to               kingpin something that big by               himself...you knew about Bradley               trying to buy him out?                         KOENIG               He was offering to exonerate Hector               and clear his criminal record.               Hector met with Wilhite and I to               inform us of his decision...                                                    FLASHBACK TO:94   INT. 1284 SOUTH TREMAINE - PAST                                94     For the first and only time, WE SEE Hector Magdalena, alive     and well...for the moment...speaking to Koenig and Wilhite.                         KOENIG (V.O.)               ...to accept Bradley's deal...     Koenig pets Hector's twin Doberman guard dogs.                         KOENIG (V.O.) (CONT'D)               ...and although the terms of that               deal worked well for him. I found               them less than favorable...     Koenig draws a silenced pistol and shoots both dogs before     shooting a shocked Hector twice in the chest. Wilhite     staggers to his feet as Koenig steps over and delivers the     coup de grace head-shot to Hector.                         KOENIG               Darktown. Chavez Ravine. Hot Spots               for Human Vice. These are slums I               run & profit from. If these slums               suddenly become Stadiums, that               profit goes elsewhere...that crime               goes elsewhere.                         ME               Bradley...you two got greed in               common.     Koenig grins. Junior keeps shifting. Dying to shoot him dead.                                                       117.                    ME          You knew about Wilhite and Lucille.          That's how you were operating him.                    KOENIG          I was aware of his sexual          predilections.                    ME              (a scowl for Junior)          ...and someone else's...                     KOENIG              (that great white grin )          We share an eye for human frailty          and we're both born blackmailers          Dave.              (beat)          I knew young Stemmons here had a          fondness for Lads, stretching back          to his days at the academy.                    ME          And now you're his only ally.              (back at Junior)          This sad queer who fell out with          cops and flunked out with the Feds.              (back to Koenig)          So you get this file to battle          Bradley with. What's Junior get in          return?And like he was waiting for those words: Junior lunges. Itwist to deflect but he's too fast -- feel something sink anddrag in my side. I go down, gouge/groping for my gun. Instanttrauma zaps nerves numb up the arm, fingers failing. Then apain like boiling oil moves through my blood.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          JUST YOU! YOU FUCK!Look down, SEE: A mother-of-pearl knife hilt in my side, thebusiness end stuck deep. Junior laughing as I fall to myknees. He pulls the file from the waist and tosses my .45.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS (CONT'D)              (two inches from my face)          THERE'S YOUR KNIFE KLEIN!Koenig takes the file, opening it.                                                       118.                    KOENIG              (turning his back)          I don't want to watch...I'm sorry          it came to this, Dave.Junior, his own .45 pulled, put to my head.                    JUNIOR STEMMONS          I hope the Bledsoe whore was worth          it...'cuz she's still fucked. For a          crooked cop, you think small.Koenig reads the file's first page, lifts it...a blank pagebehind...and behind that one...                    ME (V.O.)          Whatever moves I had left...I just          made.Koenig spins back, more blank pages spilling from the file.                    KOENIG          This isn't it!-Junior looks: that's all I need. Pull the pig-sticker off myankle and corkscrew it into his calf, twisting. Junior bleatsslaughtered-lamb as I reach up a wrench his gun free. Grabhis tie, pull him down as I jut his gun up under his chin andfire two shots through the top of his head.Haul him down dead by his tie, turn -- Koenig's gun-handflashes to his shoulder. Shoot him twice. He goes downgargling `fuck'. Stand-up on me sea-legs, bad wobble/weave asI slowly pull the knife from my side, pocket it. Feel bloodflow saturate my pant leg. This weird wooze overcomes me as Iapproach Koenig.He pulls himself into a sitting position, shaking his head.This bemused, beaten, half-grin as he flicks blood from hishand like his fingers had just brushed something sticky.                    KOENIG          Poorly played Dave...poorly          played...Say nothing. Keep Junior's .45 out. My intention crystalclear: endgame. Koenig looks up, this odd squint, like a bumabout to beg for change.                    KOENIG          Could I talk you into something?          Cut you in on something?                                                            119.     Give him no hope.                         ME               Won't work for me Fritz.     He nods, remorse, resignation...it at all looks the same now.                         KOENIG               Give me a minute then?     I do. Watch his hands as he removes his shoes, waiting for an     ankle grab, his back-up piece...none comes. He sets his shoes     aside, gazing up at the starless sky before issuing this     short, gruff laugh...some inside joke that will die untold.                         KOENIG                   (with a nod)               Okay...     ...and he holds his last breath and seems completely content     as I shoot him. Cross to Junior now, rifle his clothes,     retrieve a hotel key, Room 16, read it: MOTEL COMMODORE -     1195 Centinela Ave. Inglewood, CA 9030295   INT. MOTEL COMMODORE - INGLEWOOD - LATE NIGHT             95     George Ainge, sweating on a stained bedsheet, smoking reefer,     goofing on a TV test pattern, randomly pulling at his dick.     Walk by his window, he sees me, recognition kinks -- thinks     this is a good sign...I shoot him right through the glass.96   EXT. TUDOR MANSION - EARLY A.M.                           96     Bradley, roused from sleep, silk robe, coming down the     stairs, his back door wide open. Reaches the landing, turns     on the light.     Feature me, this bobble-eyed ghoul, bloodying his settee. I     look like something exhumed. His monogrammed serving napkins     soak up blood from my knifed side. He startles school-girl.     Throw the file at his feet: marred, mangled, stained. He     inches forward, cinching his robe.                         BRADLEY               Who?                         ME               Fritz Koenig.                                                       120.                      BRADLEY                (going pale)            Where?                      ME            Dead. Along with Wilhite,            Junior...and Hector Magdalena.                      BRADLEY            Why are you here?                      ME            To collect. I have the things you            need to destroy Noonan's play.            These same things can be used to            destroy you.Bradley, prim, proper, even this early. He sits down acrossfrom me like some fucking Duke.                      BRADLEY            Things like?                      ME            Stemmons files...and Wilhite's            body. He committed suicide after            you subpoenaed him.                      BRADLEY            This body is in your possession?Just nod.                      ME            And it's what you need to burn            Narco to the ground...but if those            files and his body were to be given            to Noonan and the Feds, with me            providing the cherry-on-top            testimony of a rogue cop. Well. The            word `Cataclysmic' comes to mind.                      BRADLEY            What will this cost?                      ME            A percentage of your Dodger Stadium            stake in perpetuity. You buy my            silence for a fourth of Hurwitz            Holdings.Bradley scoffs, pithy smile.                                                               121.                           BRADLEY               Doubtful.                         ME               What'd you expect? A stick-up?               Empty your safe? I'm about to               disappear for good, and you're               gonna fund my new life. You can't               counter-punch out of this. Arrest               me and I snitch the world.                   (point to the file)               I'll hold that over your head for               the rest of your life. Renege on               our deal and it won't matter if               it's tomorrow or ten years from               now...I'll fry you with that file.                   (at my cracked Hamilton)               I'm officially outta time now               Chief. Call it.     Bradley: an actual, full-blown facial tic. His Adam's apple     bobs as he realizes that he's finally been beaten.                         BRADLEY               Wilhite's body...Bury it.97   INT. PETE'S CADILLAC - MORNING                               97     Cruising up the Topanga Canyon. Almost home...                         ME (V.O.)               Shaking to see her, touch her...98   EXT. BUNGALOW - MORNING                                      98     Door locked. Knocking. Pete opens up. Standing drunk. A     pissed-off nod.99   INT. BUNGALOW - NEXT MOMENT                                  99     Liquor wafts off of him.                         ME               You go to bed drunk, or just been               up all night.     No answer as I follow him into the house.                         KLEIN               Where's Glenda, is she asle-                                                       122.-round the corner: Glenda shaking but refusing to cry. I gopale: what is this? Somebody to the left, look: Milteer. Lookback at Pete: tears in his bleary eyes as he crushes me witha right cross.                    ME (V.O.)          Seen Pete do this a dozen times and          every time the same thought: God          help me if he ever hits me like          that...Instant-drop, moan. Glenda screaming.                    ME (CONT'D)          Don't kill me.Pete looks to Milteer, wipes blurred eyes.                    MILTEER          The harder you hit him the quicker          I say `stop' -- and cease that          absurd crying.Pete bludgeons me. I try to get closer to Glenda. Feel mynose shatter. Another swing: right cheek detonates. A lefthook to take advantage of my momentum: left eye explodes.Glenda's crying/screaming gets me madder than anything.                    GLENDA BLEDSOE              (at Milteer)          THAT IMPOTENT SHIT-                    MILTEER          -touch me and he dies.Pete knocks me down again. My face in pieces.                    MILTEER (CONT'D)          Kick him-kick him-kick him.Pete hesitates, puts his boot into my guts: 1, 2, 3-                    MILTEER (CONT'D)              (prim, official)          -you may stop.              (beat, for the room)          Howard determined that this was the          price for your time together.Milteer produces a Polaroid, takes a snapshot of my shatteredhusk, hands the camera to Pete on his way out:                                                             123.                          MILTEER                You still have a job.      Milteer gone. I spit volumes of blood. I'll talk with a slur      for the next year. Pete reaches for me, blotto, sobbing.                          PETE                ...I'm sorry Dave...      Pushing out words past shattered teeth.                          ME                I put you here...that Powerhawk-                          PETE                -there's a body in the trunk-                             ME                -burn it.      Big drunk nod from Pete. Glenda panicking, trying to stanch      blood that keeps rushing. Pete, reeling drunk, leans down,      stuffs something in my jacket.                          PETE                I'm so sorry....100   INT. SHOWER - TIME UNKNOWN                               100      Steaming water. Almost painful. I sit in the tub, let the      shower rain down. Drain floods diluted red. Wash my wounds,      my soul. So many bruises I look bubonic. My face still      swelling, already purple-black. My left eye more than swollen      shut. On the other side of the curtain:      Glenda naked. Beauty that catches in my chest. Try to stand,      turn my destroyed face. She gently pushes me back down. Sits      into me, holds my face in both hands so that the water hits      my lips. No nerves, no unease. Home. She closes the curtain.101   INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT                                     101      Post-coital. Both wide awake. Still scared.                          GLENDA                Let me take you to a hospital.                          ME                We'd never make it inside.                                                             124.                          GLENDA                    (big beat)                I'm worried.                          ME                I'm through the worst of it.      She frames my face with her hands.                          GLENDA                I don't believe you.      Lies will only leak, expose. The silence makes me just as      guilty. She lets me off the hook, her head on my arm, leaning      in. I kiss her.                          GLENDA (CONT'D)                    (at a whisper)                Was I worth this?                          ME                Whatever the cost.                          GLENDA                Just like that then?                          ME                Just like that.      A nod. An understanding. Another kiss, the last one I'll      remember.102   INT. COLD WATER CANYON BUNGALOW KITCHEN - BLACK A.M.       102      Head shaved. Stopped bleeding. You clearly see what my face      will look like 25 years hence. Gauze over my left eye.      Reading the Paper: my dress-blue photo, the one that looks      nothing like me now. Headline:           `LAPD Officer Wanted in Connection with           Recent Rash of Murders...U.S. Attorney           Welles Noonan issued a nationwide warning           to law enforcement...'                          ME (V.O.)                My deadline with Noonan: two days                old. He and Bradley playing chess                by press release.                          (MORE)                                                             125.                           ME (V.O.) (cont'd)                Bradley relocates the deaths of                Captain Fritz Koenig and Sergeant                Richard Stemmons to Chavez                Ravine...both given posthumous                Medals of Valor. Junior dies a hero                after all.      INSERT: TELEVISION SCREEN      Bradley: Professorial in glasses and pinstripes, mid-press      conference. Watch him work...a statesman's guile.                           ME (V.O.)                Cop-killings clear the way for                Bradley's "Redeem The Ravine'                mandate. Dodger Stadium                construction moves forward.                    (beat)                Captain Dan Wilhite and Hector                Magdalena. Missing. APB's issued.                Bradley's press fodder cast them as                `outlaw cop and drug dealer' who                most likely fled to Mexico. Narco                under a full-blown, Bradley-led                investigation.                          BRADLEY (ON SCREEN)                ...police unit run amok, who's long                tradition of graft, does not extend                to other divisions of the LAPD...103   INT. BEDROOM - BLACK A.M.                                  103      Just sit and watch Glenda. Listen to her sleep: rhythmic      breathing. The little natural smiling curl to her lips.      Blonde hair splayed over white sheets. Touch her.                          ME (V.O.)                I haven't loved you long enough to                leave it all behind...Too many                enemies. Too many ways for you to                get hurt. Too close to me...a                decision that will haunt me the                rest of my days...      The Gillette knife, fold it in a kerchief, gift-wrap it to      Glenda. Place a letter under it on the night stand:                          ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)                "My Heaven: the hours I had with                you. My Hell: the years ahead,                without. Someday I'll see you                before you even know I'm looking."                                                               126.      I stand quiet, `grief' the best word but still not enough.      Choke back tears as I lift Pete's camera and take the black      and white picture you've seen before.      Put my jacket on, pull the paper out of my pocket that Pete      planted...a TWA Airline voucher. I smile small...                                                     FLASHBACK TO:                          PETE                ...be nice to be in with a                billionaire who's got a fleet of                planes, fly you outta the country                on short notice...                                                       RETURN TO:104   INT. LAX - MORNING                                          104      A Times vending machine: paper blazing with front page photos      of wanted cop Dave Klein. I walk right past my old face. Past      Cops and Feds camped out, looking for me.                           ME (V.O.)                Pete's penance beating built me a                brand new face...nobody gives me a                second glance...not even the cops I                recognize.      Up to the TWA counter: glance up at the departures board-      BLACK.      Legend: Recife, Brazil, 1978105   INT. HILLSIDE VILLA - MORNING                               105      I'm old. Stare at my leather-tan, once-broken face in a      gilded mirror. The breaks occurred a lifetime ago, healed      uneven. I start to pack my suitcases. Old files you think you      may have seen before. An old gun you know you've seen before.      Movements slow and steady in my advancing age...                           ME (V.O.)                My will to remember. My confession                complete. Still not enough.                    (beat)                Post-scripts.                           (MORE)                                                       127.                     ME (V.O.) (cont'd)          Me: gringo exile rich off funds          from Stadium Parking lots. Meg and          Pete: still married. Three boys.          Boyce Bradley: Lt. Governor, then a          Gubernatorial primary loser to some          chump who acted in Chimp movies.          Welles Noonan, convicted of jury          tampering in `64. Prison suicide in          `66. Howard Hughes: a shut-in          shitting in coffee-cans at the          Vegas Hilton.              (beat)          George Ainge: body found, murder          unsolved. Madge Magdalena, liver          failure in `68. Lucille Magdalena:          Mother of five.Look back down at HER picture.                      ME (V.O.) (CONT'D)          Glenda: twenty-five years avoiding          her name. Only a photograph,          yellowed with years-passed,          reminding me of everything I never          was.               (beat)          Then a week-old Times at the place          I buy coffee. Her picture sees me          before I realize she's looking. Her          Face eternal-beautiful...Put her photo in my chest pocket. Push the week-old Timesinto a waste-basket: a Pan-Am ticket to LA underneath.                    ME (V.O.)          ...and it asked me to revoke our          time apart, redeem it...tell her          anything...tell her everything...I stand, shatter the mirror that reminds me of how long. Andas I step out, an old man twenty-five years too late, and myMGM-handsome, 1958 face smiles back at me through the shards.                                                WHITE JAZZ
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+                       WHITE SQUALL                             by                       Todd Robinson                    Revised First Draft                      October 31, 1994FADE IN:SUPER:  A TRUE STORY - MYSTIC HARBOR CONNECTICUT 1994CREDITS OVERWind on the water.  Soaring gulls and sand pipers glideover the pilings and sagging bulkheads.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          Though I hadn't seen or spoken to          Sheldrake in over thirty years, it          seemed impossible that his heart was          the thing that had finally failed          him...INT.  LATE MODEL CAR - SAMECHUCK GIEG, 49, thin, windswept and handsome, is behindthe wheel.  He pulls down a narrow cobble stone streetthat leads to the wharf.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          I never got close to him, nobody          did.  But by the time we made Tampa,          I was sure I knew who he was, that I          understood what he saw, what          nourished his soul and tested his          faith...EXT.  WHARF - DAYChuck stares out across the harbor.  In the distance, theechoes of singing masts.  Shrouds and canvas softly ping.The small boats of Mystic tug restlessly at theirmoorings.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          He had taken us to worship, where,          what was for him, the holiest of          holies.  And, for us too by the          end...EXT.  DOCTORS OFFICE - LATERChuck stands silently on the periphery of a gathering ofpeople.  They surround a small building, a neighborhoodclinic.  A worn gray stone, long in the earth, dedicatesthe structure.         IN MEMORY OF NATALIE "ALICE" SHELDRAKE M.D.,          CAPTAIN'S WIFE AND SHIP'S SURGEON OF THE             BRIGANTINE ALBATROSS - MAY 2, 1961Next to the stone a funeral urn.  A YOUNG MINISTER gropesfor meaning.                         MINISTER          I didn't know Richard Sheldrake          personally, but his many friends who          knew and worked with him, wanted to          make sure that he was returned home,          here, to be remembered with his          beloved wife...Chuck gazes out at the sleepy harbor, the minister's voicefading away.  The afternoon wind is coming up with thetide.  He quietly heads towards the water.  Drifting,drawn, lost.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          Though he had moved on with his          life, now even for the years, to          hear him eulogized by strangers,          seemed strange.  He had been a          hewner of stones, a pilot by the          silent stars.  Like me, alone among          many.  But most of all for us, the          crew of the brigantine Albatross, he          was always and would forever be...          our Skipper.A SHIP'S BELL turns him around.  Ding ding.  Ding ding.  Abeautiful three masted schooner steady on the water slipsinto port.  A picture out of another time, another place.It takes him away...                                            DISSOLVE TO:EXT.  FOREST - WATER TOWER - DAYA towering monolith, surrounded by tall oaks andsycamores.  The tower is immense.  A single ladder runs upto the top.AT THE TOPJust above the tree tops, the view is spectacular.  CHUCKGIEG, 16, sits thin and unsteady.  Chuck's gaze is drawnupward -- to the building spring cumulus clouds.  Chuck'solder brother WILL, 18, stout, self assured, pulls himselfto the top.                         WILL          You gonna jump?  Or are you just          having a last look?                         CHUCK          I was just thinking that I never had          a new pair of shoes till I was          twelve.                         WILL          It's no my fault I was born first.          Besides, nobody ever sent me on an          eight month vacation, so ease up on          the sad sack stuff.                         CHUCK          It's not a vacation, it's private          school.                         WILL          I thought this was your dream come          true.                         CHUCK          That's not why he's sending me.                         WILL          Why then.                         CHUCK          Because it looks good.Chuck looks out, yearning.  Will considers him, troubled.                         CHUCK          I'm just not like you.  Ya know?          I'm never going to go to Yale.  I'm          never going to be "William".                         WILL          Nobody says you have to be like me.                         CHUCK          He does.                         WILL          You don't give him enough credit          Chas.Chuck takes a last look at the building clouds.  The skyrumbles.  Distant thunder.                         WILL          We better go.EXT.  GIEG HOUSE - DAYMaple street, USA, tree lined and quaint.  The Gieg homeis a modest two story house with a covered porch.  Thefamily station wagon is poised for departure.  CHARLES,45, a generally serious man broods as MIDDY, their mother,40, soft and thoughtful, exits the house.  Chuck and Willappear from the woods.                         CHARLES                  (ticked)          You plan on making this plane or          not?                         WILL          Don't take any wooden nickels          Kemosabe.                         CHUCK          I won't.Will shoves out a hand at Chuck.                         WILL          And lighten up will ya.Chuck hugs him anyway and walks to the passenger side.Charles tosses him the keys, like he's doing him a bigfavor.INT.  CAR - DAYChuck sits in the drivers seat.  Middy is in the back.Charles slams the trunk and gets in.  Before Chuck turnsthe ignition...                         CHARLES          Now just take it easy.  We're not          going to a fire.Chuck reacts.OUTSIDEWill watches as the car pulls away.CAR - MOVINGThe Giegs drive in silence.  Middy reads from a brochure.                         MIDDY          Honey, did you know that the          Albatross was captured by the          Germans during World War II?                         CHUCK          No, I didn't.                         MIDDY          It says she was originally Schooner          rigged, but Captain Sheldrake turned          her into a brigantine.  I think          square rigs look so much more          romantic.                         CHUCK          Me too.                         CHARLES          Appearances aren't everything.  Keep          your mind on the road.Chuck pulls over to the side of the road.                         CHARLES          What are you doing?Chuck hands him the keys.                         CHUCK          I don't feel like driving.  Okay?Charles regards him oddly.EXT.  AIRPORT GATE - DAYThe National Airlines Boeing 707 is bigger than anythingChuck has ever seen.  Passengers begin boarding.  Charlesstands away, detached.                         MIDDY          Do you have your ticket?                         CHUCK          Yes.                         MIDDY          Passport?                         CHUCK          Look, I just better go.Middy hugs her son.                         CHUCK          Goodbye Mom.  I'll be okay.                         MIDDY          I know you will.Chuck faces his dad.                         CHARLES          Make us proud.                         CHUCK          Yes sir.Charles extends his hand.  They shake.  Then Chuck hurriesaway into the crowd.  Charles and Middy watch until he isout of sight.INT.  PLANE - DAYChuck settles into his seat next to the window.  Hewatches as the world slips away beneath the wings of the707.EXT.  AIRPORT CUSTOMS - BERMUDA - DAYAnother world.  Chuck stands in line at the customs booth.He cranes his neck to see the brilliant blue water andcoral reefs beyond the runway.Three other boys are ahead of him in line.  The CUSTOMSAGENTS go through every piece of luggage.  TOD JOHNSTONE,16, thin and blonde, is in a heated argument with one ofthe agents about his spear gun.RICK MARCH, 17, wise-cracking and confident, shakes hishead, smiling.  He spots Chuck, moves through the line andshoves out a hand.                         RICK          Albatross?                         CHUCK          Yeah.                         RICK          Rick March.  Who the hell are you?                         CHUCK          Gieg, Chuck.                         RICK          Look, meet us out front when you're          through.  If they try to take          anything away from you like Johnny          Quest up there, just make a list and          we'll have 'em send it down to the          boat.                         CHUCK          Whatever.One of the agent starts pulling things out of Rick'sduffel bag.  He finds a dive knife.                         RICK          Hey, hey!!  That's my stuff!!EXT.  AUSTIN CAB - MOVING - DAYThe car whizzes through the narrow streets of Bermuda.CALYPSO MUSIC sings from the radio.  The streets are linedwith small coral houses and exotic palms.INT.  CAR - SAMEThe boys are jammed inside with their things.  In additionto Chuck, Rick and Tod, is CHARLIE STRATTON, also sixteen.                         TOD          Well Ricky boy, spear gun or no,          it's sweet to be back in the world          of rum and honey.                         RICK          I gotta admit I never thought you'd          be back after the great "Bowsprit          Affair".                         TOD          Me and Skipper had a meeting of the          minds.                         CHARLIE          How's that?                         TOD          I begged.                         CHUCK                  (warming a little)          What the "Bowsprit Affair"?                         RICK          Well, Romeo here was on harbor watch          and managed to sweet talk one of the          local girls to have a go in the          bowsprit.                         TOD          Not just any 'local' girl.                         RICK          The 'local' mayor's 'local'          daughter.Tod smiles, reminiscing.                         CHARLIE          Thing is, the net in the basket          isn't very comfortable, so Tod-o          wraps them up in the jib.  After the          deed was done...                         RICK          He says they did the deed...                         TOD          Trust me, we did the deed.                         CHARLIE          After the "alleged" deed was done,          they fell asleep.  Big Daddy Lawford          comes on deck at four bells and          hears Casanova sawing logs.                         TOD          Believe me, I needed the rest...                         CHARLIE          He gets the whole crew on deck, gets          us on the halyard, and orders the          old "heave ho...".                         RICK          Up goes the jib and out roll Tod-o          and the mayor's daughter, naked as          pilot whales...                         CHARLIE                  (to Tod)          I don't know who was more surprised,          you or Big Daddy.                         TOD          To tell you the truth, I think it          was her father.At the top of a hill, the harbor comes into view.                         RICK          Well gentlemen, there she is.The cab stops.  Besides many colorful fishing boats, isthe ALBATROSS.  At ninety-two feet, she dwarfs everythingin the harbor.  Her white hull glows like ivory and hertwin masts and yard arms tower above her deck.Breathtaking.                         CHARLIE          Home sweet hell on the water.EXT.  DOCK - DAYThe boys pile out of the taxi.  What seemed like apristine ship from the hill looks like a rust bucket upclose.  The white paint is streaked and barnacles coverthe hull.  Looks of disappointment.                         CHUCK          What happened to it?A voice from behind turns Chuck.                         BILL          She cleans up.  We'll have her ship          shape before we shove off.This is BILL BUTLER, 15, removed, the youngest of the crewand... first mate.  Bill gives Chuck a friendly slap onthe back and climbs aboard.  He is greeted by a Vikinggiant of a man, LAWFORD, 37, and bearded, the ship'sEnglish professor.Puffing on a huge Havana cigar, he stares coolly down atTod and the others.  He speaks with the voice of Moses.                         LAWFORD          "That this same child of honor and          renown, This gallant Hotspur, this          all praised knight, And your          unthought-of Harry chance to meet.          For every honor sitting on his helm,          Would they were multitudes, and on          my head.  My shames redoubled!  For          the time will come...Chuck feels something and looks up where he meets theintense stare of a man standing between the deck cabins.Their eyes lock.                         LAWFORD          ... That I shall make this northern          youth exchange, his glorious deeds          for my indignities."Then, the man is gone.  Haunting.  Only Chuck has seenhim.  Tod smiles back at Lawford impishly.                         TOD          Would you be addressing me, sir?                         LAWFORD          I would.                         RICK          What's that supposed to mean?                         LAWFORD                  (beat)          Henry the IV part I Act I Scene ii.          I suggest you read it.Lawford sneers and walks away.  It's all a show.                         CHARLIE          It means Shakespeare.  B-o-r-i-n-g.                         BILL          It means if he catches anybody          basket-napping on watch this          passage, he's gonna use their lizard          for 'cuda' bait.                         RICK                  (lightly)          Well that's a hell of a how-do-you-          do.                         BILL          Drop your gear, go below and pick          yourself some bunks.Chuck and the others climb aboard.INT.  MAIN CABIN - DAYChuck makes his way down the companionway into the maincabin.  Other crew members are already unpacking.The sleeping arrangement is Pullman-style with two rows ofbunks on each side of the cabin.  In the middle of theroom is a gimbaled table.  This is where the crew will eatand study.                         RICK          Listen up.  This is Chuck Gieg.Among the crew -- feature ROBIN WEATHERS, 16, a cherubwith soft puffy cheeks and TERRY LAPCHICK, 17, skinny androdent-like.Robin approaches with a hand extended.  He carries a 8x10photo of a young man in a football uniform.                         ROBIN          I'm Robin.Chuck regards the photo.                         ROBIN                  (flat)          That's my brother.  He's dead.Apprehensively Chuck shakes and retreats to a lower bunk.Robin tacks up the picture above his bunk.  Terry unpacksin front of one of the lower berths.A loud "THUD!" turns everyone around.  A duffel bag liesat the bottom of the companionway.  A large imposingfigure climbs into the cabin.This is JOHN GOODALL, 17, over six feet, big and broad.His hair is slicked back "Dean" style and wears a fullday's growth of bread on his face.  Compared to theothers, he looks all man.  Everybody clears from his path.He stops in front of the lower, center bunk (Terry's bunk)and drops his bag.                         JOHN          I'll take this one.                         TERRY          You probably didn't notice, but this          bunk has been taken.John just glares at him, then dumps all of Terry's thingsonto the blanket on the bunk, gathers it up and tosses itinto the remaining upper berth.  Terry watches,intimidated.                         JOHN          Anybody gotta problem with that?                         RICK                  (beat)          Absolutely not.John climbs into his bunk and closes his eyes.  Billenters, followed by several adults.DR. ALICE SHELDRAKE, 30, smart, attractive and tough, isship's surgeon and Skipper's wife.  Lawford appears withGEORGE PASCAL, 30's from Brazil, dark, and fit.                         BILL          Alright, listen up.  This is Dr.          Alice Sheldrake.The guys stumble over only half listening.                         ALICE          I'm ship's surgeon.  I'm in charge          of aches, pains, biology, math and          science.                         BILL          George Pascal here is ship's cook.                         GEORGE          If you want to keep all your          fingers, stay the hell out of my          galley unless you're invited.                         BILL          Some of you already know Mr.          Lawford.                         LAWFORD          I have been charged with the dubious          task of insuring your literary          education.Lawford puts a hand on Bill's shoulder.                         LAWFORD          Bill Butler is your first mate.  But          don't let his size fool you.Bill gives a half reluctant wave.                         MIKE          So when the hell do we get to meet          El Capitan?Snickering.                         TERRY                  (aside)          Maybe he's getting his wooden leg          waxed.Laughter.  A sound stops the laughter.  Almost on cue, thesound of slow methodical footsteps, pace the deck abovethem.  Then a shadow falls across the skylight, blockingthe light.  Ominous.  They all notice and look up.                         LAWFORD                  (mysterious)          You'll meet him.  Soon enough.INT.  MAIN CABIN - SUNRISEDawn glows orange in the skylights above the cabin.  Theonly sound is the heavy, even breathing of slumber.Suddenly, a booming voice rumbles down the companionway.                         LAWFORD (O.S.)          Arise, Arise, Arise...Chuck wakes, disoriented.  Terry bolts upright and hitshis head on the low ceiling.  Ouch.Tod, Rick and Charlie are up instantly.  Lawford's voiceechoes through the ship.                         LAWFORD (O.S.)          Exultation is the going/ Of an          inland soul to sea/ Past the houses/          Past the headlands/ Into deep          Eternity/ Bred as we, among the          mountains/ Can the sailor          understand/ the divine intoxication/          of the first league out from land?                  (pause)          But I suppose we'll answer that          question soon enough gentlemen.          Soon enough.                         TERRY          What question?Chuck tries to assimilate Lawford's words.  Robin swingshis feet over the side of his bunk with a tortured look.John rolls over and pulls his pillow over his head.                         ROBIN                  (foggy)          What the hell is going on?                         CHUCK          Maybe it's an air raid.In crisply pressed shorts and shirt, Bill Butler stepsthrough the aft bulkhead.  He raises a bowswain's  whistleand blows.  OOOWWWEEEEOOO!!!!  Chuck and Robin grab theirears.  It's a nightmare.  Terry jumps and hits his headagain.                         BILL          Roll out sailors!  All hands on          deck!  Sixty seconds.  Sixty          seconds.He blows the whistle again.  This time it brings even Johnto his feet, staring down at Bill in a blind rage.  Billlooks up and casually notices him.                         BILL          You gotta problem Goodall?                         JOHN          You blow that thing again I'll shove          it so far up your ass, you're gonna          need dental floss to get it out.                         BILL          Just get on deck.Bill turns and disappears topside.EXT.  DECK - DAWNThe sun has barely cracked the horizon as the crewstaggers onto the deck, shirtless and shivering.                         BILL          Line up!  Single file.  Single file.The crew lines up.  John is the last one through the hatchand he lets us know his boundaries are being pressed.                         BILL          Everybody swims.The boys are aghast.                         LAWFORD          Don't think people, just go!  Go,          Go, Go, Go, Go!!!  Swim you win,          stay you pay!!Rick is the first one through the gunnel door, followed byTod and Charlie.  They howl and scream as they hit thewater.  The rest follow like lemmings.  But John standsdefiantly with his arms folded.                         BILL          Now what's the problem, Goodall?          Everybody swims.The crew are piling back on deck.  George stands in theopen galley door.  The smell of fresh bacon isintoxicating.                         JOHN          I don't.                         LAWFORD          You will if you wanna eat.  Right          George?George nods, wielding a butchers knife.  The crew standshivering, waiting on John.                         JOHN                  (to Bill)          You gonna swim for your breakfast?Bill gives John a long look then strips to his shorts,swings into the rigging and climbs up to the first yardarm.  He looks down at the water some twenty-five feetbelow.  It's a long way.  Robin turns away.Lawford booms in a voice that echoes across the harbor.                         LAWFORD          "Down, down beneath the deep, That          oft in triumph bore him, He sleeps a          sound and peaceful sleep, With the          salt waves dashing over him." --          Lord Byron gentlemen.With that Bill leaps and hits the water with a hugeKERSPLASH!  He swims to the boarding ladder, pulls himselfup and gets in John's face.                         BILL          Everybody swims.  Now, I've been in          twice.  So I guess I'll be eating          your breakfast too.John considers him, then strips off his shirt.  Butinstead of walking over to the gunnel door, he jumps intothe ratlines, climbs to the foretop and looks down.He manages a thin smile then climbs to the second set ofratlines past the third yard and continues to the top yardarm -- the topgallant.  It's a pissing contest andeverybody knows it.                         MIKE          I got five bucks says he doesn't.                         CHRIS          I got five that says he doesn't          live.                         TOD          I'll take a dollar of that.                         ROBIN          This is crazy!Robin refuses to watch.  The others share a look.John makes his way along the foot ropes and stands at theend of the yard.  He tosses a look towards Bill but withno way to back down, he launches into the air.  Everyonegasps as he thunders through the air in a broad swan dive.Falling, falling, falling...                         CHUCK          Jesus.                         ROBIN          I can't watch this.John hits the water like a bullet.  The crew run to theside waiting for him to come up.  Nothing.  Finally, hebreaks the surface.  Easy.  He climbs up waiting, somehow,to claim victory.Suddenly, they all feel it.  A presence.  He has appearedsilently on top of the Chart House, like a phantom gazingdown at them, back lit by the sun the boys must squint tosee him.RICHARD SHELDRAKE, (SKIPPER), ageless and windswept,casually reaches up to a block and tackle with one arm andglides to the deck.  He is powerfully built and bronzedfrom the sea and sun.  He carriers the burden of commandlike a cross.  Soft-spoken and remote, he is a man to bereckoned with.  The crew know they are in the presence ofsomeone larger than life.                         BILL          Skipper on deck!The crew line up clumsily.  Skipper has a gaze that blazesright through them.He looks out to sea.  Searching, ominous.  He waits untilthe silence is filled with everyone's attention.                         SKIPPER          You know what's out there?  Wind and          wave and rain.  Endless glassy pools          that'll hold a sailing ship for          weeks and then spit her out into the          eye of the kind of hurricane.  A          blow that could knock the bridge off          a battleship.  Reefs and rocks and          sandbars that'll tear the belly from          her and enough fog and night to hide          it all.He spits into the water.  The crew sheepishly throwglances to the horizon.                         SKIPPER          So look out there... and explain to          me why any man in possession of any          sense at all, would take on the sea          with sail?Skipper turns his gaze back to the boys.  There is a firein his eyes.  Nobody dare answers.                         SKIPPER          Because there's something else out          there.  It beckons in the wind and          sings in the shrouds.  Voices.          Whispering...His ear to the wind.                         SKIPPER          They're voices of men.  Calling.  Men          you don't even know.  Men you can't          even imagine.  It's a seed, a wish,          that part of you and I that aches to          be alive, that was banished by          everything we've ever been taught or          told.  It's a part of us that can          only be found on mountain tops and          deserts, in the deepest caverns,          smoking battle fields and... across          oceans.He turns back to the sea, dark.                         SKIPPER          Out there, is where it all waits.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          He was everything I had expected,          part Ahab part Queeg and even Bligh.          He spoke in whispers and answered          all queries with efficiency and          directness.  He had gone to sea for          the first time at fifteen, the same          age as Bill Butler.  And as he          looked upon us that first day it          must have been as though he were          staring into a mirror.Skipper manages a sobering look and climbs on top of thechart house.  He pats a small brass sign that is welded tothe main mast and reads the inscription.                         SKIPPER                  (reading)          "Where we go one, we go all."With that, he disappears below.  Nobody moves.  This isexactly the kind of man you want around when the shit hitsthe fan.                         TERRY          This -- is gonna be a long eight          months.INT.  MAIN CABIN - DAYThe boys devour a hearty breakfast.  Tod is the 'galleyslave' and fills glasses with orange juice.                         TOD          Chow down boys.  The milk and eggs          are the first things to go once we          put out.John enters balancing two plates heaped with food.                         RICK          You know we gotta dumbwaiter for          that.John looks over to the dumbwaiter mounted in the wall.                         RICK          Not that one.  Tod-o here.The guys groan.                         TOD          Har, har, har...John approaches the full table, glaring down at Terry whodoesn't notice him.  Finally he looks up, startled.                         TERRY          I'm done.  I'm finished...He scrambles to get up and clear his plate.  John sitsdown without a word.  The others notice the two plates offood.                         RICK          Hungry, Goodall?He just grunts and starts eating.  Robin watches him.                         JOHN          What's your problem?                         ROBIN          Why'd you jump?                         JOHN          Because I felt like it.                  (sharp)          What do you care?                         ROBIN                  (aside)          I couldn't do it.                         JOHN          Well, as soon as you grow some          balls, let me know.Robin bristles.                         ROBIN          Screw you!                         CHARLIE          He's right.  It was a stupid stunt.                         JOHN          Excuse me?                         CHARLIE          You heard me.John grabs Charlie by his private parts and hoists himinto the air.  Charlie gasps, the air sucked from hislungs.                         JOHN          Don't ever call me stupid.                         ROBIN          Come on, he didn't mean anything.John shoves Robin to the floor with his free arm.                         JOHN          Let me tell you girls something.  I          do what I wanna do.  When I wanna do          it.  And I don't give a shit what          old Ahab up there thinks either.          Any questions?John releases Charlie who crumples to the floor.  Johnresumes eating.Bill enters and reads the duty roster.                         BILL          Okay, here's the duty.  Gieg,          Weathers, Lapchick, Schucart:          scrape and paint.  Corry and          Stricklin have the brass.  Robinson,          you're the Galley slave.  March          you're on chain gang with Barnes.          Johnston, solo on bilge detail.                         TOD          Butler, what'd I ever do to you?                         BILL          You came back, Tod.  You came back.John continues to eat.  When he realizes his name hasn'tbeen called, he looks up to meet Bill's eyes.INT.  HEADPissed, John tries to figure out the head.  Pumps goingin, pumps going out.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          We were all thirteen individuals.          We'd arrived the sum total of our          limited experiences and the result          of our parents' best, if not narrow,          expectations...John pulls back on the lever, belching "water de letoilet" all over him.EXT.  SHIP - DAYChuck sits in a bowswain's chair over the side, with apaint roller in his hand.  The rust-streaked hull is beingtransformed.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          ... Some of us were there for          discipline, some for escape.  But I          could see a small piece of myself in          all of them and though I fought the          notion, for me, I knew now, this          would be home.A RADIO crackles in the b.g.                         ANNOUNCER          "President Eisenhower today          acknowledged that a secret American          spy plane was in fact shot down over          the Soviet Union.  The pilot has          been confirmed as Francis Gary          Powers..."Robin, Terry and Mike, are on the deck within earshot ofChuck with chisels and wire brushes chipping away at therust.                         TERRY          Why couldn't it have been a wooden          boat?                         MIKE          Steel boats don't leak.Mike lights up a cigarette.  Robin notices.  Marlboro's.                         ROBIN          Hey, can I have one?Mike sizes up Robin for a moment then tosses him the pack.                         ROBIN          Thanks daddy-o.Robin lights up, grimacing with the first drag.                         TERRY          Well, don't brush too hard.  Looks          to me like the only thing holding          this bucket together is the rust.A voice booms up from the dock.                         FRANCIS (O.S.)          Ahoy there.They turn.  Standing on the dock is FRANCIS BOUTILLIER,self important and overbearing, with his son, PHILIP, wholooks as if this whole ordeal is some kind of punishment.Skipper appears.                         SKIPPER          Good afternoon.Francis boards without being invited.  Philip follows inhis shadow.  He scrutinizes the condition of the boat.                         FRANCIS          Albatross?  Doesn't inspire a lot of          confidence.                         SKIPPER          Oh, on the contrary, the Albatross          is considered a very good omen.  It          is said they embody the spirits of          sailors passed on.  It's very bad          luck if you kill one.  And dolphins          too.The boys chuckle.                         FRANCIS          I'm Francis Boutillier.  This is my          son, Philip.                         SKIPPER          I know.Francis looks the Skipper over, reading him, smiling.                         SKIPPER          You're a day late.  We keep a          schedule aboard ship.  Lives depend          on it.                  (to Philip)          Hello, Philip.                         PHIL          Sir.Skipper's directness bugs Francis.                         FRANCIS          Your cable said you wouldn't be          putting out until mid-October.                         SKIPPER          As you can see, there's a lot to do.                         FRANCIS          Indentured servitude is not what my          son had in mind.                         SKIPPER          This is a working ship.  Promptness          is not a luxury, it's a necessity,          as is the work to maintain her.  Had          we been ready, I can assure you we          would have sailed.Something in this exchange turns the tone of conversation.                         FRANCIS          And I would have expected          compensation for my time and expense          coming all the way down here.                         SKIPPER          Happily, it all worked out... This          time.                  (to Bill)          Bill, take Philip below and help him          find a bunk.Phil follows Bill down the companionway.                         FRANCIS          I'll be frank with you.  This was          his mother's idea.  A romp through          the Caribbean on a sailboat sounds          more like a vacation than an          education if you ask me.                         SKIPPER          It will be more than that, I can          promise you.                         FRANCIS                  (cool)          Take good care of my son.There is threat in his tone.                         SKIPPER          We'll do our best.  You're welcome          to say goodbye.                         FRANCIS          He's a big boy.Francis leaves the boat.  Skipper and the crew watch as heclimbs into his waiting embassy limousine and drives off.                         LAWFORD          Well, that was neighborly.                         SKIPPER          He didn't get to be Under Secretary          of the Air Force by being          neighborly.Lawford shakes his head.  Bill comes up through thecompanionway.                         SKIPPER          Everyone aboard young Bill?                         BILL          Yes, Sir.                         SKIPPER          Good.                  (beat)          Let's go sailing.EXT.  ALBATROSS - OPEN WATER - DAYThe Albatross is under full power.  There is a sense ofexcitement and anticipation.  Charlie, Rick, Robin, andLawford are on the halyard for the mainsail.  Skipper isat the helm with Alice and Bill nearby.  Skipper callsover to Chuck who stands alone at the rail.                         SKIPPER          Come over here and take the wheel.Chuck's eyes light up as he walks over and takes thewheel.                         SKIPPER          Hold her steady into the wind.          Southwest by west.                         CHUCK          Yes sir.                         SKIPPER                  (to all)          Gentleman, when you hear an order,          sing out.  I want to know that          you've heard and understand.                  (quietly to Bill)          Raise the mainsail.                         BILL                  (calling out)          Raise the main!Lawford and his group bellow out.                         TOGETHER          Raise the main!!Lawford coaches the boys, sending two scurrying on top thechart house to loosen the stops which hold the heavyfurled canvas to the main boom.  He guides another to themidships pinrail where the main halyard, which raises thehuge sail, is made fast to a belaying pin.  He loosens thehalyard and hands it to Robin.                         SKIPPER          Take a turn under the pin and lead          it out to the others.  You guys in          the rear take up the slack.  Heave          together now...In a beautiful tenor voice, Bill begins to croon a seachanty, an old whaling song with an Irish lilt.                         BILL                  (singing)          "When the sun came up there was          whisky in the cup..."The more experienced boys echo the line and pull to thebeat.                         BOYS          "When the sun came up there was          whisky in the cup..."                         LAWFORD          Come on the rest of you, sing!  Belt          it out like men!!The newer guys like Chuck, John, Robin and Terry look ateach other like this is the queerest thing they have everheard of.                         BILL                  (singing)          "Not one of us was a sober..."The boys return the verse half heartedly.  Lawford tiesoff his line and stares them down.  Skipper notices thatthe work has stopped.                         SKIPPER          What's wrong Mr. Lawford.                         LAWFORD          It seems we're short on singers.Skipper walks amid ship and addresses the crew.                         SKIPPER          Everyone sings aboard a wind jammer          gentlemen.  It lets everyone know          you're in sync.  It shows unity,          that all thoughts are one.  A crew          that sings together stays together.          Besides, I like it.  So, pipe up and          be sailors.                         JOHN                  (in a whisper)          Everybody swims, everybody sings...          What's next?  Tap dancing?Lawford and Rick leap up onto the line pulling it downwith their body weight.  They sing out the chorus.  Thecrew returns the song, somewhat reluctantly as the greatmainsail starts to rise.                         LAWFORD          Tie it off!!                         SKIPPER                  (to Bill)          Outer.                         BILL          Outer Jib!                         CHARLIE                  (confused)          Outta what?Coached by Tod, another group in the bow, awkwardly hoistthe jib.                         SKIPPER                  (to Bill)          We'll bear off to port and run down          wind.                         BILL          Mr. Lawford, stand by to ease the          mainsheet.  Rick, get on the jib          sheet.  George, John, Philip, Tim          and Dick go aloft to unstop the          forecourse.  George will show you          what to do.  Tod, show your men the          forward pinrail and stand ready on          the buntlines and clewlines.          Forecourse first... work upward.The newcomers watch Bill with new-found respect.  George,John and the others climb to the forecourse, and out ontothe footropes.  It's unsteady work and there's confusioneverywhere.  But through it all, they continue to sing.Lawford moves to the mainsheet on the port side while theothers move into their positions.  When Bill sees theyardarm crew is in place...                         BILL          Unstop the squares!                         YARDARM CREW          Unstop the squares!!                         SKIPPER                  (to Chuck)          Fall off to port.  Ease her around          to a heading of northeast.  Sing out          when you're there.As the tops are released, the giant forecourse drapes intoa scalloped pattern.  As the bow falls off the wind thesnapping main and jib billow.  Stiffening to the wind, theship heels and surges forward.Before her awakening power, everyone changes their stanceand grabs for a handhold.  Lawford slowly pays out themainsheet while the forecourse crew move up the ratlinesreleasing the stops on the other squaresails.                         CHUCK                  (in a whisper)          Ah... Northeast... sir.                         SKIPPER                  (barking)          Speak up boy!Chuck jumps, startled.  He self-consciously calls out.                         CHUCK          Northeast sir!                         SKIPPER          Unfurl the squares!Tod's group first uncleats the clewlines and buntlines andthe great squaresail drops and billows to fullness sendinga shudder through the rig.  The bow's wake sizzles withthe added surge.  As each of the squares fall, Alice andLawford move to their sheets, setting each sail'sposition.Chuck looks up, amazed at the sheer magnitude and beautyof the canvas that the Albatross carries.                         BILL          Raise the inner jib!  Raise the          forestaysail!                         SKIPPER          Watch the tell-tales Chuck.  If we          jibe now we'll have a lot of people          in the water.                         CHUCK          Yes, sir.                         SKIPPER          All stop on the engine.                         BILL          All stop on the engine!Bill rotates the telegraph handle back and forth and movesit to the stop position.                         SKIPPER          Behold gentlemen.  The power of the          wind!As the sails billow the Albatross seems transformed.Everyone stops and looks up.  The vessel heels and with apowerful surge, launches into the waves.  White foamsplashes over the bowsprit as the hull thunders throughthe water.  Chuck's face is full of wonder.  It is amagical moment.  Then the crew begins to cheer.                         SKIPPER          Did we lose anybody?                         ALICE          Not yet.LONG SHOTThe Albatross under full sail is the handsome, powerfulimage of another time.  And yet, here she is.ON DECKEach of the boys is awed by the majesty of this moment.Music builds.                         SKIPPER          Chart us a course for the windward          side.Alice considers his request.                         ALICE          That low passed through last night.          May be a little bumpy out there.                         SKIPPER          It's time these boys saw some real          blue water.EXT.  THE OPEN SEA - LATERThe bow of the Albatross explodes through the top of afifteen foot swell.  The sky is clear but the wind isfierce.  In spite of the seas the ship is trimmed andsailing well.The crew has never seen mountains of water like this.Disaster seems imminent.  Bill has assembled them in frontof the wheel house.  They are all holding on for dearlife.  Even John seems shaken.  Skipper magically standseffortlessly before them on the rolling deck.  He remainsperfectly dry.                         SKIPPER          Well... now that I have your          undivided attention... I'd like to          take this opportunity to make a few          points...                         TERRY                  (aside)          This guy is certifiable...                         PHIL          Suicidal...                         SKIPPER          The first thing is I don't like          people talking when I'm talking so          the two of you, shut up.Caught, Terry and Phil button up.                         SKIPPER          Second, the next one of you who          doesn't jump like a bunny when Mr.          Butler gives an order is gonna spend          the rest of this trip scrubbing          bilges.  He's a better sailor today          than any ten of you will be when          this is all over.Skipper directs the next comment directly at John.                         SKIPPER          And if I catch anybody, ever,          jumping off a yard arm again I will          personally break what bones are left          and send you home in a wheel chair.A wave explodes over the bow.  A wall of water crashesover the deck knocking down several of the boys.  Terrycan't take it anymore and explodes.                         TERRY          We're gonna die!!!  We're all gonna          die!He lunges at Skipper but Lawford one arms him.                         SKIPPER          Excellent point.  As you might have          noticed, being out here pretty much          puts you in the moment.  If you          panic, if you lose your head, you          die.  Maybe you take your mates with          you.  How'd you like to have to bet          on Terry here getting us home today?          Each one of you is responsible for          the rest.  "Where we go one, we go          all".  If your buddy is asleep at          the switch we're all fish food.He's making his point which is lost on no one.                         SKIPPER          The ship beneath you is not a toy          and sailing is not a game.  The          Albatross will take us far          gentlemen, but she demands constant          attention.  Respect her, and we'll          do fine.  Oh, and one more thing.          There is nothing that goes on, on          this boat that I don't know about.          She speaks to me in the night.  So          don't test me.  Not even a little.Skipper walks over and puts an arm around Terry who isfighting sobs.                         SKIPPER          Nothing like experience to put          things in perspective.  Huh son?                  (to Bill)          Alright.  Let's go home.INT.  CHART HOUSE - DAYLawford addresses some of the crew.  Chuck, Robin and Johnare among them.  John glares at Lawford.  The guys giggle.                         LAWFORD          That's not a satisfactory answer.                         JOHN          Look, save it for somebody else will          ya.  This ancient shit doesn't have          anything to do with me.Lawford pauses for a moment and then explodestheatrically.                         LAWFORD          Shit?!!!He slams a text book into John's hands.                         LAWFORD          Read for me please the words of Mr.          Keats at the bottom of the page.John stares back, simmering.  Robin interrupts thepotential confrontation and reaches for the book.                         ROBIN          I'll read it.  I mean I don't mind.                         JOHN          Shut up donut.John pushes Robin's hands away and studies the page for amoment.  He begins reading but struggles with the cadence.                         JOHN                  (reading)          Much have I traveled in realms of          gold/ And many goodly states and          kingdoms seen/ Round many western          islands have I been/ Which bards in          fealty to Apollo hold/ Oft of one          wide expanse had I been told/ That          deep-browed Homer ruled as his          demesne.                         LAWFORD          You know what he is talking about          here?Blank faces.                         LAWFORD                  (ranting)          Awe.  Humility.  He's telling you          that he has traveled the seas as          Homer did.  As Ulysses had before          him as he tried to find his way home          to Ithaca after the Trojan Wars.          "That deep browed Homer"...He points to his head.                         LAWFORD          Brilliant, seasoned, wise, of the          mind; "... ruled as his demesne."          He commands the voyage of the          imagination, like a god.                  (pause)          That is what one of the greatest          literary minds of modern times, Mr.          Boutillier, has to say about Homer.He snatches the book back.                         LAWFORD          You think the Odyssey is dull?  I'll          tell you something, it's about each          one of you -- right now.  Doubt and          expectation.  Friendship, community,          self sacrifice and accountability.He holds up the text.                         LAWFORD          This isn't just a story!!  It's          history made allegory.  It is a          philosophical handbook for life!  It          holds the secret of this very          voyage.                         JOHN          What is it... the secret?Lawford breaks into a huge belly laugh.                         JOHN                  (confused)          What?                         LAWFORD          If it were only that simple, my          young friend.  Read on, gentlemen.          Read on.EXT.  ALBATROSS - ESTABLISHING - DAYAerial shot.  The Albatross is under full sail leavingBermuda for the last time.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          And so it was the Albatross that          took to the open sea with the wind          in her snapping canvas and a bone of          white foam in her teeth... In each          of us were feelings of anticipation          and hesitation for the man at the          wheel and of the unfamiliar world he          was leading us into.She crashes through the surf -- driving, majestic music,building.DECK - DAYThe crew hauls in the line, raising the mainsail.  Chuckstruggles to coil the rope as fast as it is coming in.ALOFTThe crew take turns racing up the ratlines into therigging.BOWSPRIT NETThe crew pull down the jib trying to furl it.  Most of thesail ends up dragging in the water.ABOVEThe squaresails are dropped simultaneously.WIDEWhite foam boils from the bow of the Albatross as shecrashes through the waves.AT THE WHEELAlice smiles and puts her arms around Skipper's waist.It's coming together.FORETOP - SAMESkipper stands at the rail, looking out.  The seas are upand the masts are pitching widely from side to side.Chuck is high above the deck in the footropes, wrestlingwith one of the squaresails.  The pitching mast catcheshim by surprise and he slips.  He tumbles down, tangled inthe lines.  A rope wraps around his neck, choking him.Robin looks up and sees him hanging helplessly.                         ROBIN          Bill!!  Skipper!!Robin freezes.  Skipper leaps into the rigging like aspider and, in a few seconds, wrestles Chuck free andcarries him down to the deck.  Chuck coughs, catching hisbreath.  The color is gone from Skipper's face.  This wasa close call.                         SKIPPER          You all right?                         CHUCK          It was my fault.  I slipped.Alice examines Chuck, making sure he's okay.  Skipperturns to Robin, who is shaken.  He never raises his voice.                         SKIPPER          Why didn't you go up there?Robin stands silently.                         SKIPPER          Speak up.Still nothing from Robin.                         CHARLIE          He's afraid to climb.                         SKIPPER          What?                  (to Robin)          Is that true?Robin looks away.                         SKIPPER          Why wasn't I made aware of this          Bill?                         BILL          I didn't know sir.                         SKIPPER          It's your job to know.  If something          goes wrong up there, the other          eighteen people aboard can't be          wondering if he's gonna do his job          or not.Skipper returns his gaze to Robin, measuring him.Finally.                         SKIPPER          Swing up, son.                         ROBIN                  (trembling)          What?                         SKIPPER          Up you go.  Right now.Robin reluctantly pulls himself up onto the first rung,then the second.  He stops and steals a peek up.  The mastis swaying.  He freezes, his lip starts to tremble.  Alleyes are on him.  Phil chuckles.                         SKIPPER          Do you have something to say?                         PHIL                  (smug)          No.                         SKIPPER          Then keep your mouth shut.Phil backs off, stunned.  Robin can't move.                         SKIPPER                  (to Robin)          What's it going to be?                         ROBIN          I'm sorry...                         SKIPPER          Sorry won't cut it.Robin holds on frozen.  Skipper turns to the crew.                         SKIPPER          Survival means discipline and          assimilation.  There are no special          cases here.                  (to Robin)          Now, get going.  Get up there.Humiliated, a tear slips down his face.  Excruciating.                         SKIPPER          What are you blubbering about?                         ROBIN          I don't know...Skipper jumps onto the backside of the ratlines.  His faceis but inches from Robin's.                         SKIPPER          One hand in front of the other son.          We'll do it together.Robin reaches for the next rung.  He looks down.  Skippergrowls at him.                         SKIPPER          Don't look down.  Look in my eyes!          Climb!  We'll do it together.                         ROBIN                  (sobbing)          I can't.                         SKIPPER          You climb damn it, or so help me          I'll haul you to the foretop by your          diaper and leave you there!                         ROBIN          Aaauuuhhh!!!Skipper gets right in his face and snarls.                         SKIPPER          Are you hating this?!  Are you!                         ROBIN          I hate you, you son of a bitch!!!                         SKIPPER          No.  Hate the fear inside of you!          Climb like a man mister!  Hate it!          Hate it away.  Hate your way up one          more rung!!  Do it right now!!With every ounce of strength, Robin reaches for one morerung screaming as he reaches.  Skipper climbs and screamswith him.                         TOGETHER          Auuuggghhh!!!!Robin clutches the rung with a death grip.  Then, he looksdown.  His bladder releases.  Hot urine runs down his legsand splashes, steaming, onto the deck.  The crew ishorrified.  Robin weeps.                         ROBIN          Oh, god...Skipper backs off.                         SKIPPER          Don't hate yourself.  Hate your          weakness.  All right.  Get down.Robin climbs to the deck and falls in with the others,mortified.                         SKIPPER          I'm only gonna say this one time.          I'm not here to wipe noses and          asses.  I'm not your mother.  Trust          funds and blue blazers don't get you          a thing out here.  You wanna act          like babies, then get off my boat.Stunned, the crew is speechless.  Chuck instinctively goesto help Robin.  Skipper snaps like a turtle.                         SKIPPER                  (to Chuck)          He can take care of himself.                  (to others)          Any other 'phobias' I need to know          about?Skipper fires a look towards Phil.                         PHIL          No, sir.                         SKIPPER          Excellent.  Bill, find Mr. Weathers          a position to suit his condition.Skipper turns and then stops.                         SKIPPER          Remember something, sooner or          later... we all have to face it.                         CHUCK                  (aside)          Face what?The question hangs in the air like a cloud.INT.  CHART HOUSE - DUSKThe chart house is the communication and navigation centerfor the boat.  It also serves as the officers dining room.Skipper, Alice, Lawford, George, and Bill Butler sitaround the small table sipping coffee.                         SKIPPER          We're awfully quiet tonight.The group remains silent.  Lawford and George exchange aglance.  Skipper catches it.                         SKIPPER          Something on your mind, George?George looks up and wipes his mouth with a napkin.                         GEORGE          I think you were too hard on          Weathers.                         SKIPPER          You do?                         GEORGE          Yes.  I do.Skipper nods.                         SKIPPER          I need to know what I'm working          with; what their boundaries are.          Their lives depend on it, and for          that matter so does yours.  We've          got to bring them together.  Make          them a crew.  We're as strong as our          weakest link and I don't want to          find that out the hard way.  So, I          will challenge them and they will          come together.                         GEORGE                  (sarcastic)          Yes sir.                         SKIPPER          You know the best thing about being          a Skipper is the worst thing.  It's          all my responsibility.  So I'll tell          you what George, you stay off of my          bridge, and I'll stay out of your          galley.  We'll get along that way.Everyone's quiet, but clear.  Skipper and Alice exit.                         GEORGE          Fucking bastard.Lawford lets out a belly laugh.                         LAWFORD          I've seen him snatch the tail of the          tempest and stuff it, screaming,          into a bottle.  The bilges are full          of them.                         GEORGE          What do you mean?                         LAWFORD          He's been beyond the reach.  To the          edge of the abyss and back.  He'll          do well by us all George.  He's a          real salt.  There's no malice in him          and there's nothing more dear to him          than his boys.  So sleep well my          friend.Lawford seductively produces a pair of Havana cigars,passes one to George and winks.INT.  GALLEY - DUSKRobin leans over the sink elbow deep in dishwater watchingthrough the cabin window, as the sun slips below thehorizon.  Chuck stands in the doorway with a plate offood.                         CHUCK          How ya doing?                         ROBIN                  (without turning)          Fine.                         CHUCK          Good.                         ROBIN          Look, I appreciate, you know, the          concern and all, but like he said, I          can take care of myself.                         CHUCK          I just brought you something to eat.Robin turns and notices the plate of food and nods.  Theystand silently.  It's awkward.                         CHUCK          I feel like I got you into this.                         ROBIN          Forget it.                         CHUCK          I'm used to spending a lot of time          alone.  I guess that's what I          thought it would be out here.  But,          it's not is it?                         ROBIN                  (beat)          I'm sorry I left you hanging up          there.                         CHUCK          It doesn't matter.  Really.  I'm          just sorry you got chewed out.Robin nods.  They both stare out at the rising moon.                         ROBIN          My brother and I used to climb to          the top of this old beech tree in          the back yard and watch the moon          come up just like this.  My parents          would fight all the time so we'd          sneak out there where we couldn't          hear 'em and recite scenes from our          favorite movies.Robin grows quiet.                         ROBIN          Would you believe I miss it?  The          middle of paradise and I'm homesick.Chuck smiles and puts a hand on his back.                         CHUCK                  (ironic)          Well, I wouldn't worry.  It'll all          be there when we get back.EXT.  DECK - DAYThe sky is dark and a storm is building and the boat rollsand pitches.  Chuck sees Terry heaving over the side.John and Tod hear the sound and turn.                         JOHN                  (disgusted)          Come on man.  Show a little          backbone!                  (to Tod)          You believe that?!Tod is fixated on Terry.  Suddenly, without warning, hebreaks for the rail and lets fly.Phil and Charlie are next.  Chris climbs through thecompanionway but doesn't make it to the side.  Spontaneousregurgitation.  Bill and Lawford jump up onto the wheelhousing to avoid being sprayed.  Suddenly everyone isheaving.                         CHRIS          Sorry.                         LAWFORD                  (to Bill)          We're gonna have nobody left up here          to crew.  Better let Skipper know.Bill nods and disappears.  John joins Chuck watching theevents around him.                         JOHN          Well Gieg, I'm glad to see I'm not          the only guy on this boat that can          take a little rock'n roll.  Bunch of          wusses, I swear...!Chuck watches each of his shipmates.  Then, suddenly, outof nowhere -- Projectile vomit all over John.  He looks atChuck, horrified, then he too, cuts loose over the rail.                         JOHN          Son of a bitch!!Chuck looks at John, furious with himself, and begins tolaugh.  But after a moment he starts to laugh too.  It'sinfectious, they crack each other up.  Then, in the middleof belly laughing, they simultaneously retch again overthe side.INT.  SKIPPER'S CABIN - DAYSkipper sits at his desk with some charts spread out infront of him.  There's a knock on the door.                         SKIPPER          Come in.                         BILL          Skipper, uh, the crew is pretty much          doing group boot over the side.                         SKIPPER          Well, that's all part of it.                         BILL          We've got weather moving in from the          west.Skipper looks up.                         SKIPPER          That's part of it, too.EXT.  DECK - DUSKSkipper stands at the wheelhouse with Lawford, George andBill, studying the horizon through binoculars.  Darkclouds.  Chuck watches Skipper.  Everyone, looking for acue.                         CHUCK          That a... storm, Skipper?Skipper stays glued to the binoculars.                         SKIPPER          Uh, huh.                         CHUCK          Would you, um, say it's a big storm?                         SKIPPER          Sometimes it gets exciting out here.                         LAWFORD          What do you think?                         SKIPPER          Barometer's dropping.  The first          blow'll come from the south.  Might          get interesting.                         CHUCK          Shouldn't we turn away?                         SKIPPER          You can't run from the wind son.          You trim your sails, face the music          and let the chips fall.  Bill, let's          close her up, dog, tight.Close on hatches and skylights slamming closed and cinchedtight.BELOW DECKSBulkhead doors are closed and cranked down tightly.IN THE GALLEYPots and pans crash around.IN THE MAIN CABINThe cabin doors on the bookcase swing open and dump bookson top of Alice.  She turns and looks at the mess,annoyed.EXT.  DECK - SAME                         SKIPPER          Furl the squares, reef the main, and          bend on the storm jib, but keep it          furled.  Drop everything but the          inner jib.  I want everybody down          before we get any lightning.Bill bolts forward with Lawford barking orders.  Most ofthe crew are still ill, but climb into the rigging andbegin dropping sail.                         GEORGE          Why's it always happen at night?Skipper regards George, annoyed.                         SKIPPER          George... I want hot food in          everybody.  Get to it.George returns to the galley.  Alice joins Skipper at thewheelhouse handing him foul-weather gear.                         ALICE          Looks like weather.                         SKIPPER          Yep.He slips on a yellow slicker.                         SKIPPER          Do me a favor and tell Bill once          she's dogged down I want everyone to          break out their slickers and make          sure their gear is stowed or we'll          spend the next week sorting          underwear.                  (to the others)          Lawford, Bill, Mike, John, and Phil          will stand the watch.  Everyone else          hit the racks.                         PHIL                  (impulsively)          I'm not staying out here.Skipper fires off a look that frightens even Phil.                         SKIPPER          No.  That's for sure.  Charlie, take          his place.Phil goes below, a little ashamed.  The crew scatters.Chuck, still at the wheel, pipes up.                         CHUCK          If it's all the same, I'd like to          stay on deck.Skipper regards Chuck, who looks back with both fear andeagerness.  Suddenly he sees something in this kid.  Maybehimself.  He almost smiles.  Almost.                         SKIPPER          Take the wheel.EXT.  FORETOP - SAMEDark clouds blot out the sky and stars.  Thunder rumblesfar away.  The seas have built but there's no wind... yet.With no steerage, the ship is tossed.Tod hangs high above the heaving deck continuing to furl.The mast swings from side to side, but the air has gonedead calm.  Skipper looks up, anticipating.                         SKIPPER          Everyone out of the rigging NOW!                         BILL          Everybody down!  ON THE DOUBLE!!                         TOD                  (shouting)          HERE IT COMES!!ON THE DECKThe crew in the rigging scamper down to the safety of thedeck.                         SKIPPER          Bill, on the wheel with Chuck.Bill joins Chuck and takes hold of the wheel.  Then ithits.A wall of torrential rain drums the deck amid a tympany ofthunder and flashing lightning.  The bow explodes throughtwelve foot swells.  This is what the Albatross was bornto do.INT.  MAIN CABIN - SAMEIt's all the crew can do to stay in their bunks.  Potscrash, books and personals go flying.  The guys arescared.ON DECKThe main and jib sheets tighten.  Skipper looks at Chuckand Bill.  It all comes down to moments like these and heloves it.Suddenly, there is a loud CRACK!  A violent flappingnoise.  Skipper leaps to the port and looks forward.  Todcomes running back.                         TOD          We blew the inner!                         ALICE          I'll go.                         SKIPPER          Bring it down and run up the storm          jib.  We'll fix it later.  Stay out          of reach of the blocks!Tod and Alice disappear.                         SKIPPER                  (with a twinkle)          Well, we're in it now.Chuck studies him, frightened, but reassured.EXT.  BOW - SAMEThe shredded jib and rigging whip violently in the wind.The block smashes into the gunnel rail, shattering it.  Noone dares go near it.  For a moment, it seems to hangthere seductively.  John, naive of its power, leaps forthe rail and grabs it.                         ALICE          NOOO!!!Suddenly, the wind cracks the sail instantly hurling Johnhigh off the deck and over the side.  He holds on for dearlife, screaming.AT THE WHEEL                         SKIPPER                  (to Chuck)          Hold her steady.Skipper bolts forward.AT THE BOWAlice uncleats the jib halyard, leaving one turn on thepin and shoves it into Tod's hands.                         ALICE          Release this when I tell you!!Skipper joins Tod as Alice scrambles along the deck andpulls herself into the bowsprit netting.  When the blockand jib swing inboard, she grabs for the leach of the sailyelling...                         ALICE          NOW!!!As John is snapped inboard Alice leaps up, grabbing thesail, leaning out over the open water.  Waves explodethrough the netting.  As Tod releases the halyard, Johnfalls to the deck, bruised, humbled, but alive.  Lawfordand Skipper pull Alice from the bowsprit.Skipper looks her over.  Relieved.  No broken bones.  Goodwork.  But then this is what he expects.  He respects herand now, everyone can see why.  He looks at John sprawledon the deck.                         SKIPPER          Be careful will ya?                         JOHN          What ever you say Cap...                         SKIPPER          Let's get that storm jib up.Skipper gives Alice a private look, then returns to thestern where Chuck holds tightly onto the wheel.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          The storm lasted sixteen hours and          it set us all on equal footing.  It          was the first time that we shared an          episode on an even plane.  As we          stood our watches we were equally          out of control of our situation,          regardless of our physical abilities          or social backgrounds.  And though          our real feelings lay hidden beneath          bravado and defiance, we were no          longer strangers.EXT.  DECK - DAYThe crew is cleaning up.  Alice supervises repairs to thejib while others stow line, scrub the deck and chip paint.Lawford paces.                         LAWFORD          You know what they say in the Navy          don't you?                         RICK          What's that, Big Daddy?The more experienced crew members have heard this allbefore.                         LAWFORD          "If it moves, salute it.  If it          doesn't move, pick it up.  If it's          too big to pick up, paint it!"The boys mockingly salute Lawford as he walks by.  Johnstands before a porthole combing his Brylcreem hair into a"D.A."Mike and Chris climb on deck with several large boxes.                         MIKE          Ladies, gentlemen and          hermaphrodites, Mr. Corry and I are          happy to announce the grand opening          of Trans-Border Enterprises.They start opening the boxes.  One is a case of Coca Cola,another is full of cigarettes and candy.                         CHRIS          All of the creature comforts and          vices you could possibly want, at          home or abroad, available twenty-          four hours a day.                         MIKE          For a price, of course.                         ROBIN          If you've got "a broad" available          I'll take her.                         JOHN          Like you'd know what to do with one.The crew shakes their heads, mutter and check out thegoods.                         TERRY          You got Marlboro's?                         CHRIS          Absa-fuckin-lutely.                         CHUCK          Toss me a Cola.                         CHRIS          Fifty cents.                         CHUCK          What?!!                         MIKE          Contraband's hard to come by out          here son.John is still grooming at the window.                         PHIL          Hey Goodall, you got a date or          something?John continues to comb.                         JOHN          Yeah.  With your mom.                         EVERYBODY          Oooooooo.Phil slinks away.                         CHRIS          We also have a few rental items...Chris displays a Playboy magazine.  Everybody clamors toget a look.                         MIKE          There's a penalty for any material          returned to the Trans-Border Library          with sticky pages.John walks by, snatches the magazine and heads for hisbunk flipping through the pages.                         MIKE          Hey, you can't do that!!                  (to Chris)          He can't do that!!John flops in a deck chair.  Chris shakes his head andstarts closing up the boxes.                         CHRIS          Sure he can.EXT.  STERN - LATERChuck sits alone, away from the others, reading.  On cue,half of the crew descend, dragging him kicking andscreaming into the bowswain's chair, and over the side.The guys cheer.                         CHUCK          Come on you guys, this isn't funny!The seat spins, twists and swings from behind the boat.                         CHARLIE          Come on Chucky.  Show us a little          grit.They lower the chair so it glides just above the surface.When the boat noses into a swell Chuck gets quite a ride.Once he has the hang of it, fear turns to elation.                         CHUCK          YEEE HAAAA!!!!!                         CHARLIE          Okay, who's next?                         PHIL          You gotta be kidding?  He's a human          chum line!                         RICK          No self respecting shark is gonna          take a bite out of you.Chuck's hauled back in and Terry pushes his way to thefront of the line.                         TERRY          I'm next!Terry goes over the side.  Once he gets the hang of it, hegets into it.  He maneuvers the chair like a plane,forcing himself deep into the waves and then blasting backto the surface.OFF THE PORT SIDERobin is trolling.  The line takes a tremendous hit andRobin's reel screams.  Tod is at the wheel and turns.                         TOD          There she blows!!Two hundred feet out something large and pissed has takenthe bait.  The crew turn and look.  Skipper looks out atTerry still in the bowswain's chair.                         SKIPPER          Get him in.Bill waves at Terry to come on in.                         BILL          Come on in!!!Terry waves him off and disappears back under the waves.They can't pull him up while he's going under the water.                         SKIPPER          Do it now Bill.Terry pops up, pissed that they're reeling him back in.Suddenly the animal on the other end of Robin's lineexplodes out of the sea.  It's a six foot Thresher shark.Terry sees it too and freaks, suddenly thrashing andscreaming.                         TERRY          Get me out!!!  Get me out!!!                         MIKE          Oh my god!!  It's a...                         SKIPPER                  (calmly)          Shark.                  (to Robin)          Don't lose it son.George grabs a gaffing hook while Robin fights the rod,trying to bring in the big fish.                         GEORGE          Keep it coming.Robin battles the fish.  George clumsily tries to help.The crew make their way to the rear to watch.                         CHARLIE          Whoops.Charlie and Rick and the others heave to get Terry up.Finally he makes it.  Sprawling onto the deck.                         TERRY          Oh Jesus!  Oh Jesus Christ!!The crew turn and cheer Robin on as he brings the sharkalongside.                         GEORGE          He must be two hundred pounds!          Bring him in close and try to hold          him steady.George leans out over the rail, trying to get the hookinto a gill.  Several of the boys hold onto him as thefish flops around violently.                         GEORGE          Got him!Skipper comes down to inspect the catch.  The shark islonger than Terry is tall and thrashes in the the water,snapping and twisting.  Terry stands shaking, freaked.All of them are.                         RICK          Damn Terr, you're whiter than Sister          Mary Anne's butt.The guys laugh nervously.  Terry just stares at the maneater, but it's infectious.  After a moment he's laughingtoo.  Skipper slaps him on the back with a wry smile.                         SKIPPER          Well, now you have something to          write home about.More laughter.  Suddenly, Tom, who is lookout on theforetop, cries out.                         TOM          Land ho!!!  Land ho!!!Everyone turns around to look.  The guys at the stern letgo of George and he nearly tumbles overboard.  In thatinstant, the shark slips off of the gaff, and disappearsback into the sea.  Robin and George share a stunned look.                         GEORGE          Shit.                         ROBIN          There's more where that came from.Skipper returns to the wheelhouse with Alice.  Togetherthey scan the horizon.  Clouds build over the land ahead.                         ALICE          Cheated death again.He slips an arm around her.                         SKIPPER          Yep.EXT.  ANTIGUA - HARBOR - DAYA group of islanders have assembled to watch the crewapproach in the long boats.INT.  LONG BOAT - SAMEChuck gazes across the strange landscape.  As the boatsdock, the crew pile out and scatter.  Local childrenfollow them wherever they go.  Chuck, Robin and John findthemselves alone.  Most of the buildings are primitive.They wander over to a shop.                         ROBIN          What do you say?  Cokes?  I'm          buying.                         CHUCK & JOHN          Sure.EXT.  SHOPChuck and Robin reappear, sipping cold Cokes.  Mike andChris walk by across the street.  Robin speaks up loudenough for them to hear.                         ROBIN          You're right Chuck.  There's nothing          quite as refreshing as a cold ten          cent Coke that only costs ten cents!The three clink their bottles.  Mike and Chris slink away.EXT.  COLONIAL FORT - DAYA crumbling fort overlooks the harbor.  Below, theAlbatross floats like a pearl on the azure blue water.Large bronze muzzle-loading cannons still lie in theirgunports, aimed at the sea, waiting for pirate ships thatwill never come.Each of the guys are sprawled on a cannon, taking in theCaribbean view.                         ROBIN          You think Skipper and Alice do it?                         CHUCK          Do what?                         ROBIN          Ya know... "It".                         CHUCK          That's like wondering if your mom          and dad do it.  Who wants to know?                         JOHN          She isn't that old.                         CHUCK          What do you mean?                         JOHN          I mean she looks pretty damn good in          her all-together for being thirty.                         ROBIN          How would you know?                         JOHN          Trust me donut.  I know.                         ROBIN          What?  Come on...                         JOHN          On the dog watch, night after the          storm, I look down into the skylight          above Skipper's cabin and there she          was, peelin' down.                         CHUCK          No way!                         ROBIN          Come on man, what'd they look like?                         JOHN          Damn, Porkchop, you sound just like          a guy who ain't never seen a pair.                         ROBIN          I've seen 'em.  I've seen 'em.They crack up.                         CHUCK          I walked in on my parents one time.          It was only like eight o'clock and          they were in bed and I thought that          was kinda weird so I just walked in.                         JOHN          That's what they get for not locking          the door.                         CHUCK          So I'm standing there and you could          hear a pin drop.  No breathing or          snoring... Suddenly it hits me that          somethin' was goin' on that just          stopped, really fast, like people          are holding their breath.                         ROBIN          So... What happened?                         CHUCK          My mother says in this really low,          but very awake kind of voice "What?"John and Robin crack up.                         ROBIN          What'd you do?                         CHUCK          I said "Sorry, wrong room" and          walked away.                         JOHN          Did you shut the door at least?They bust up again.  Chuck glares back.                         CHUCK          I don't remember.Robin sits up on his cannon and looks out, suddenlymelancholy.                         ROBIN          My parents don't do it anymore.                         CHUCK          How do you know?  They might.                         ROBIN          'Cause they're getting a divorce.                  (beat)          That's why they sent me here.  My          sister's at Tabor.  They just wanted          us out of the house so they could          get down to business.                         JOHN          They tell you that?                         ROBIN          I figured it out.                         CHUCK          Yeah.                         JOHN          My old man split along time ago.  It          doesn't mean anything.  You just          take care of number one that's all          that matters.                         ROBIN          It matters to me.                         JOHN                  (kindly)          Okay donut.  Whatever you say.                         CHUCK          We better get back.Robin looks up to John.                         ROBIN          Did you really see 'em.EXT.  ALBATROSS - HARBOR - NIGHTThe boat moves off leaving the lights of Antigua behind.Chuck watches as the island disappears below the horizon.EXT.  DECK - DAYThe wind is up and the seas are high.  The ship is underfull sail driving at top speed.  Foam sprays from the bowas it slices through the water -- what she was born to do.The crew line the starboard rail, thrilled to be part ofthe performance.Tod is at the wheel with Chris nearby.  The sails towerabove him like a mountain of silk.  He wrestles the wheel,careful to hold his course against the powerful tradewinds.Skipper, making his rounds inspects the heading on thecompass and nods.                         SKIPPER          It's a good sail boys.Tod and Chris beam.  Compliments are rare from this man.                         TOD          Thank you, sir.  Shall we trim the          main Skipper?  I think we could get          another knot or two.Skipper turns and looks at Tod, a twinkle in his eye.                         SKIPPER          As you like.Gravy.  The two gloat as they lighten the mainsheettackle.  Phil joins them.                         PHIL          What do you say I have a crack at          the wheel?                         TOD          I'd say, fuck off junior.They laugh.  Phil slinks behind the chart house, hurt, andangry.  He spots a spear gun stowed against the charthouse.As Tod and Chris pull in the main, it strains andstretches against the powerful wind.Phil aims the spear gun at the mainsail from behind thechart house and silently fires.  There is a wicked POP asthe spear punctures the sail, passing through it, followedby a loud shredding as the huge sail splits.                         TOD          Jesus Christ!!  Let it out.  Let it          out!!The sound brings Skipper onto the deck like a shot.                         SKIPPER          Hard to port!  Hard to port!!Calamity, as Tod cranks the ship into the wind.  Thecanvas goes limp as the ship hauls to a dead stop.  Peopledive everywhere to drop sail.                         SKIPPER          Start the engine.  All ahead full!!          Scallop the Square and drop the          rest!!He shoots a glare at Tod and Chris.                         TOD                  (bewildered)          I don't know what happened Skipper.          It just blew out.Skipper turns to the task at hand without a word.  Whathad been praise is now reduced to embarrassment andconfusion.Phil, still hidden behind the chart house returns thespear gun and smiles to himself at Tod's arrogance turnedhumility.EXT.  DECK - TOBAGO CAYS - DAYThe Albatross has dropped anchor along a remote group offlat, lush atolls.  Tall palm trees grow almost to thewaters edge.  The crew have the mainsail down and Alicesupervises the repair of the sail.  Phil sits above it allsunning himself in the bowswain's chair.                         ROBIN          Where are you from any way?                         CHUCK          Depths of hell... Ohio.  How 'bout          you?                         ROBIN          Kennet Square, PA.  'Mushroom          capital of the world'.                         TOD          Sorry to here it.                         CHUCK          Well, and it's pretty cool too, ya          know?  Bein' here together an all...Phil reels himself down.                         PHIL          Christ, I'm gonna choke on 'feel          good'...Robin looks up, taken back.                         TOD          Why are you such a penis Phil.  Do          you do it on purpose or can't you          help it.                         PHIL          Tug my chain Johnstone.Skipper comes on deck.  Robin and Chuck flip Phil andTerry the finger.                         SKIPPER          After midterms we'll finish our run          down to Curacao.The crew reacts, grumbling.                         SKIPPER          I have arranged to host a good will          cruise for the Dutch students of the          local school there.                         PHIL                  (to Terry)          Joy, rapture...                         SKIPPER          Each one of you will be responsible          for one student.  I'll expect you to          be courteous.  You represent this          school and your country.  We'll sail          in the morning.George appears from the galley and rings the ships bell.                         GEORGE          That's chow.The crew drop what they're doing and stampede down intothe cabin.INT.  CABIN - NIGHTRobin thrashes in his bunk calling out.  Sweat glistens onhis face.  Chuck stumbles out to his bunk with Rick andsome of the others.                         RICK          Hey man, wake up.  Wake up!They shake him.  Robin wakes, disoriented, eyes filledwith tears.                         ROBIN          I was falling...Phil grumbles from his bunk.                         PHIL          Hey, shut up will ya?                         CHUCK          It was a bad dream...                         ROBIN          It was so real...                         CHUCK          Here's the thing; whenever you're          having a nightmare, all you have to          do is say 1-2-3 wake up!  You'll be          out of it.  You'll wake up.Phil rolls over in his bunk trying to go back to sleep.                         ROBIN          Who told you that?                         CHUCK          My dad.                         ROBIN          It works?                         CHUCK          Swear to God.  Only good advice he          ever gave me.  Now, go back to          sleep.He pats Robin on the leg.  The guys return to their bunks.Favor Phil, listening.                         CHUCK                  (lingering)          You okay now?Robin stares at the photo of his brother.                         ROBIN          That's how he died you know.                         CHUCK          Who?                         ROBIN          My brother.  He fell out of the old          beech tree.  Broke his neck.  I was          on a camp out.  They started going          at it, throwin' things, a real knock          down...                  (beat)          They didn't find him 'till the next          morning.  They didn't even know why          he was up there.                         CHUCK          Jesus, you never told them?                         ROBIN          I couldn't.Phil stares at the ceiling, affected by what he hasoverheard.  Someone creeps down the companionway andwhispers.                         MIKE                  (hushed)          Hey you guys, come on!Shuffling in the darkness.  Phil suddenly realizes, he'salone.EXT.  DECK - NIGHTThe dory hangs from her gallows.  Some of the guys slowlylower her to the water.INT.  GALLEY - SAMEGeorge is asleep with a book in his lap.  Mike and Chrisslip inside.  The door squeaks, George stirs.  Mike opensa cabinet and removes a fifth of rum.Silently, Mike passes the bottle to Chris who passes it toTod who passes it to Charlie who drops it down to Robinwho stands in the lowered dory with Chuck.                         PHIL (O.S.)          What do you think you're doing?Startled, Mike and Rick share a look.  Busted.  Phil turnsand runs into John, wearing a broad smile, who shakes hishead.  No way.                         PHIL          Forget it.  Count me out!The crew descend and drag Phil, struggling, into the dory.They raise a crude sailing rig and silently move off.A figure stands on top of the chart house, back lit by themoon.  It's Skipper.  Watching it all.  Letting it unfold.INT.  GALLEY - NIGHTSkipper hovers over George, sawing logs.  He tosses a poton the floor.                         GEORGE                  (bolting up)          What?!  What's happening?!!                         SKIPPER          You're officer of the watch, George.                         GEORGE          I'm sorry, Skip.  It's this damned          book.  Lawford gave it to me.The book is "Kafka".  Skipper motions to the emptycabinet.                         GEORGE          Son-of-a-bitch.                         SKIPPER          We're short one long boat too.  Come          on.EXT.  CAMPFIRE - NIGHTThe boys sit in a circle around a small fire passing thebottle.  Rick strums his guitar and sings while the restjoin in.                         RICK          Oh I was walkin' down Lime street          one day...                         ALL          Hey!  Weigh!  Blow the man down...                         RICK          A pretty young maiden she happened          my way...                         ALL          Give me some time to blow the man          down...Skipper and George crawl to the top of a sand dune andwatch the boys.  George starts to stand but Skipper puts ahand on his shoulder.                         SKIPPER          I guess we know what the next          acquisition for the galley is going          to be...                         GEORGE          What's that?                         SKIPPER          A padlock.On the boys.  Phil is drunkest of them all and does a wildjig as the rest of them sing.                         RICK          So to all you sailors who've fought          wind and whale...                         ALL          Weight!  Hey!  Blow the man down...                         RICK          She said "None the better, you all          go to hell..."                         ALL          Give me some time to Blow the man          down!They all crack up.                         CHRIS          I only have one question.                         JOHN          What's that, Canuck?                         CHRIS          If we're not on the boat, how come          the ground is moving?                         CHUCK          You think George'll miss the bottle?                         TERRY          We'll blame it on Big Daddy.  He's a          lush.                         MIKE          All I know is if that Viking son of          a bitch puts me on smegma duty one          more time I'm gonna have to run him          through.                         TERRY                  (mimicking)          The "Old Man" likes a tight ship!                         CHARLIE          "If it moves, shoot it..."The rest join in.                         CHUCK          "If it doesn't move, throw it          overboard.  If it's too big to throw          overboard, screw it!"More laughing.                         RICK          You think Old Thunder Nuts will          figure out that we're A.W.O.L.Bill drunkenly imitates the Skipper.                         PHIL          "There is nothing that goes on, on          this boat that I don't know about.          She speaks to me in the night.  So          don't test me.  Not even a          little..."The boys laugh.  On the dune, George shakes his head.                         GEORGE          Immortality.                         SKIPPER          Spirits have a way of bringing that          out.                         GEORGE          And being sixteen.                         SKIPPER          They're in a hurry to grow up.  They          don't know about consequences or          responsibility.  That's being          sixteen too.                  (beat)          I promise you one thing...                         GEORGE          What's that?                         SKIPPER          They'll know about it in the          morning.Skipper smiles.EXT.  BEACH - NIGHTThe drunken crew stumble out of the woods onto the beach.As they ready the boat for the trip back Robin looks outto sea...                         ROBIN                  (alarmed)          Jesus H. Christ.Tod looks up.                         TERRY          What now pork chop?                         ROBIN          Look!The guys turn their gaze to the ocean.  The Albatross...is gone!                         TERRY          Holy shit!  Where'd she go?The crew is suddenly stone sober.  Stunned.                         CHARLIE          What the hell is going on?                         MIKE          She's gone!  The boat's gone!!Phil breaks into sort of a blind panic.                         PHIL          Oh Jesus, oh Jesus.  Man I knew we          shouldn't have gone.  I tried to          tell you.  I tried to tell you.  You          guys made me come!  You made me          come!!                         JOHN          Will you shut up?  You sound like my          fucking sister.                         CHUCK          Alright.  Everybody just stay cool.          We'll figure this out.                         MIKE          Who the hell checked the mooring?                         ROBIN          I did.  Why?                         CHARLIE          Maybe she pulled free...                         MIKE          What if they don't know.  If she's          adrift, if they're asleep, she could          run aground.  She could break up on          the reef.                         PHIL                  (to Robin)          Maybe you didn't check it good          enough.                         ROBIN                  (defensive,                   frightened)          I did.  I swear.Oddly, it's Phil who stands up for Robin.                         PHIL          Yeah, well you're really gonna have          some bad dreams if we find out you          didn't.                         JOHN          That's enough.                         PHIL          How the hell are we gonna get outta          here?                         JOHN          We'll think of something.                         PHIL          Oh, praise the lord.                  (announcing)          Relax everybody.  Everything is          under control.  The jug head's going          to think of something.Without warning.  John lunges at Phil.  Phil screams,trying to defend himself.  The guys all dive in.  Suddenlyit's an all out brawl.John out of control pounding Phil's head against the seatof the boat.Suddenly, from behind, comes a blistering "THWACK!!" asChuck breaks an oar over the back of John's head.Stunned, John lets go of Phil and turns, blood drippingfrom the back of his head.                         JOHN          Nobody calls me an idiot.He weaves, then passes out, falling face down in the sand.The guys stagger to their feet, trying to recover.                         PHIL          God damn it man.  I think he broke          my nose!                         CHUCK          Shut up, Phil.Chuck tosses the broken oar handle, kneels over andvomits.                         TERRY          Well that's just great.  Now what          are we supposed to do?Chuck and Robin hoist John up and drag him under a palmtree, propping him up.  The others huddle to stay warm.EXT.  BEACH - MORNINGThe crew's asleep in the tropical heat of day.  Bloodiedand sun burned.  A fly buzzes around Rick's face, wakinghim.  He sits up sunburned and sore trying to focus.  Hegazes across the water, stupefied.                         RICK          Oh-my-god...The others stir and follow his gaze.  The Albatross sitsin exactly the spot where they left her.                         ROBIN          I'm not sure if this is really good          or really bad.EXT.  ALBATROSS - DAYThe sound of a rod and reel spinning wildly.  George triesto maintain control as the rod nearly jumps out of hishands.                         GEORGE          I got a live one!Skipper, Alice and Bill watch the shoreline as the boyslaunch the long boat into the surf.  George is struggling.A beautiful tarpon leaps out of the water, but Skippernever takes his eyes off of his boys.                         SKIPPER          The thing about fishing George, is          you need to let 'em run some.  Give          'em just enough slack so they don't          break the line.  But at the same          time you've gotta keep enough          tension to wear 'em down, bring 'em          in slowly so they don't really know          they're hooked.Suddenly George's line goes slack.  He nearly falls overbackwards.                         GEORGE          I'll try and remember that.EXT.  DECK - DAYHound dog and hung over, bloodied and burned, the boysstand before Skipper and the others.  Skipper looks darkand angry.                         SKIPPER          You know what a loose cannon is?          'Bout the worst thing that could          happen to a wooden ship.  All it          took was one, crashing around the          deck in a storm... It'd smash          everything in its way, maybe take          out a mast or punch a hole right          through the hull.  Think about it,          just one cannon not tied down, not          anchored, could take a whole 'Man of          War' straight to the bottom.                         MIKE                  (aside)          But we don't have any cannons?Chris jabs him in the ribs.                         CHRIS                  (hushed)          Shut up!Skipper turns and faces them.                         SKIPPER          Now, if the Skipper were smart, if          he could see a storm building, why          he'd cut loose every gun on his          boat.  Even though it would leave          him at a disadvantage in battle,          he'd push 'em into the sea.  Better          chance running for port than risk          the entire ship, his crew.He takes a pause making sure he has their attention forthis part.                         SKIPPER          People are like that sometimes.          They cut loose and before you know          it, they're knocking holes in          everything.  So you gotta ask          yourself if it might not be better          to just put 'em off before they sink          the whole thing.  I mean after all,          you can always get new cannons.He walks back to his place at the rail.                         SKIPPER                  (beat)          I want a tight ship, everybody          shaved and in clean clothes when we          make Curacao.  If it goes well, if          your mid terms are acceptable, I may          reconsider my decision about the          rest of the trip.  That's all.Dejected, the crew goes below.EXT.  DECK - DAYUnder sail.  Skipper stands at the wheel overseeing thecrew taking exams.  Each writes furiously as Alicescribbles problems on the blackboard which hangs from thechart house door.As the boys scratch out the problems, John seemsparalyzed.  He looks over at Phil and copies down hisanswer.  He checks crib notes hidden in his shorts.  Chuckand Robin both see this and exchange looks.INT.  AFT CABIN - DAYJohn makes his way down the narrow corridor towards thehead.  Robin follows.  Chuck drops down the aftcompanionway, intercepting John.                         CHUCK          Where you going?                         JOHN          To take a piss.                         ROBIN          Really?John turns around, surprised, sandwiched.                         JOHN          Yeah, that's right.  You wanna come          in and shake it for me?                         CHUCK          If you're gonna cheat, you might as          well copy off somebody who's gonna          get the answer right.                         JOHN          You've gotta be kidding.  Get the          fuck outta my way!Chuck throws open the Engine Room door and they shove Johninside.                         JOHN          What the hell!!!Chuck manages to pin John.  Robin checks his pockets andcomes up with the crib notes.  Chuck lets go.  Johnsnatches them, ashamed.                         CHUCK          Takin' a piss?John turns away.                         ROBIN          Why, man?                         JOHN          I don't have to listen to this.                         CHUCK          Yes you do, stupid.  Because if you          don't, I'm gonna go right up there          and have a heart to heart with          Skipper and you'll be on the first          plane back to idiotville.John lunges at Chuck, sending them both sprawling.  Robinleaps on top of John.                         ROBIN          Cut it out man!!  Stop it!!!  What's          the matter with you?  If Phil had          caught you he'd have ratted you out          in a second.  You get caught          cheating, you'll get kicked off the          boat.John explodes, tears flowing.                         JOHN          I cheated to get on the boat!!!  All          right?!                         CHUCK          What?He lets go of Chuck and stands up trying to hide hisemotions.                         JOHN          I doctored my grades so I'd make the          cut.  I'm a moron, okay?  You          satisfied?!                         CHUCK          You're not a moron.                         JOHN          Wanna bet?  Takes me half a day to          get through one chapter of Lawford          and I still don't have any idea what          the hell he's talkin' about.  You          know why it takes me so long to          write papers?  because I can't          spell.  While everybody else is          sleeping, I'm in the rack with a          flashlight and a dictionary.John chokes back a sob.                         JOHN          Hell, they even kicked me outa vo-          tech 'cause I couldn't read a slide          rule.                         PHIL          I can show you how to use a slide          rule.The three turn around, startled.                         ROBIN          How long you been standing there?                         PHIL          Long enough.John looks down, resigned.                         JOHN          They were gonna put me into special-          ed this year.  I stole a copy of my          transcript, changed all the grades.          Shit, who am I kidding.  I'll never          pass the boards.                         CHUCK          Listen, you don't cheat, and we'll          make sure you get the grades.  We'll          start a private study group.  Nobody          knows.  You'll ace that test.                         ROBIN          I'm in.They turn and look to Phil, who still shows the tell-tailsigns of their fight.                         PHIL          Me, too.                         JOHN          Why would you do that?                         CHUCK          Because we believe in you.                  (beat)          Because we're your friends.EXT.  CURACAO - HARBOR - DUSKAs a blazing sun sizzles into the western sea, theAlbatross rounds a point and heads towards the docksseveral hundred yards away.  On the dock, the students ofthe school wait.  As soon as the ship is in view, theystart to cheer.  Chuck squints.                         CHUCK          What are they doing?                         ROBIN          I can't make it out?Robin calls up to Phil, who is at the wheelhouse.                         ROBIN          Hey, Phil... Swing up the 'binocs'          and tell us what you see.Phil picks up the binoculars and focuses.                         PHIL                  (puzzled)          They're waving... handkerchiefs or          something.                         RICK          What?                         CHARLIE          Maybe they're surrendering.                         PHIL          Wait a second...Phil lowers the binoculars and turns to Skipper.                         PHIL          They're girls!  They're all girls!Skipper shares a knowing look with Alice.                         TOD          Gimme those.Tod snatches the binoculars.                         TOD          WHHOOOOAAAAA!!!!!!  WOMEN!!!Everyone on board rushes to the port side.  Every singleperson on the dock is a young girl waving a whitehandkerchief.  Spontaneous cheers from the boys.As the 'Big A' pulls to the dock, John and Tod run for thegunnel door and swing it open.  The girls flood the deck.                         BILL          Good morning, ladies.They chatter in Dutch and hurry aboard.  Like wallflowers, Robin, Phil and Chuck stand on top of the charthouse watching utopia unfold before them.                         ROBIN          What are we supposed to talk about?                         PHIL          You've gotta be kidding?                         ROBIN          But, they don't speak English.                         PHIL          There are some things that everybody          does in the same language.                         CHUCK          Yeah, but how are you supposed to          make the first move?                         PHIL          Like this!Phil reaches up for a free line.  With a running start heswings out over the water...                         PHIL          Yeeee Haaaaa!!He careens back onto the deck and lands in front of twostartled, but impressed girls.  Robin and Chuck applaud.Phil takes a bow.  All hell is breaking loose.Skipper and Alice welcome aboard the headmaster, MS.BOYDE, 50's, dumpy but tough.                         SKIPPER          A very enthusiastic welcome.                         MS. BOYDE          We don't often have guests.  Our          girls have been looking forward to          your visit for some time.  Welcome          to Curacao.                         SKIPPER          Thank you.  You're all ready to sail          then?                         MS. BOYDE          I should think so.                         ALICE          I'm sure they won't be disappointed.A man's voice bellows up from the dock.                         FRANCIS (O.S.)          Ahoy there!!Everyone stops and freezes.  Phil turns, disbelieving.It's his parents, Francis and PEGGY BOUTILLIER, standingnext to a limousine dressed in brightly colored touristgarb.                         PEGGY          Surprise!                         FRANCIS          Well, well.  What do we have here?          A floating brothel?                         ALICE                  (cool)          Hardly.Francis comes aboard uninvited as usual.                         FRANCIS          Well, we thought we'd drop in and          see if you were all still in one          piece.                         SKIPPER                  (pointed)          And, of course, we are.                         FRANCIS          Well, you never can tell these days,          can you?Skipper shoots a look over at Phil who is staring a holein the deck.                         SKIPPER          What is it we can do for you today?                         FRANCIS          Well, we've come to give our boy a          little break from the monotony.                         PHIL          It's not monotonous.Francis flushes red.                         FRANCIS          Never the less...He turns and joins Peggy on the dock.  Phil is suddenlyfull of rage.  This is an invasion of his privacy.Everyone feels it.                         FRANCIS          Hop to boy.  We haven't got all day.Phil's anger turns to resigned humiliation.  He stops,staring down at his parents.  Skipper puts a hand on hisshoulder.                         SKIPPER          I didn't know, Phil.Phil nods, head down and walks down the ramp.  All watchhim go, feeling for him.EXT.  OPEN WATER - DAYThe sails begin to rise but unlike earlier, the guys SINGout like the Vienna Boys Choir and it's having the desiredimpressive effect on the women.                         CREW TOGETHER          When the sun came up there was          whisky in the cup/ and not one of us          was sober/ Kerry thought she saw a          picture, but it really was the sun/          then we knew the party was over...The weather was perfect, brisk and steady under the tradewind swells.  The voices trail away as the ship moves off.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          Curacao seemed out of a dream,          somehow make-believe.  But, as Ohio          drew further and further away, it          was home that began to seem unreal,          drifting somewhere in the foggy          reaches of our memories.  And I knew          that each of us was falling in love.          But not only with these wonderful          women or the swaying palms and          porcelain beaches... We were falling          in love with the experience we were          sharing, and with who we were          becoming.INT.  MAIN CABIN - NIGHTThe crew is getting ready for a farewell party.  Eachmember is primping.                         CHUCK          Bregitta.  Do you believe it?                         JOHN          Believe what?                         CHUCK          Her name.                  (savoring the sound)          Bregitta.  It's poetry.                         TERRY          Soon as we ship it'll be "forgetta".                         TOD          Don't mind him, Chucky.  You're          talking to a guy whose idea of big          romance is a palm full of Vaseline.                         TERRY          Screw you, Valentino.  I haven't          seen you swapping spit with anybody.Tod smiles as he slowly pulls something from his pocket.It's a pair of girls' cotton underwear.                         TOD          That's because I'm discrete, moron.The guys try to wrestle the underwear away from him.  Justthen Skipper descends the companionway.                         SKIPPER          Alright, gentlemen, we sail with the          tide.  Twenty-three hundred.  Sharp.          I'm not waiting.  Have a good time          tonight but be back on time.The crew cheer.  This means the trip goes on.EXT.  SCHOOL - GARDENS - NIGHTDecorated with colored paper lanterns and streamers, aSTEEL DRUM BAND softly plays in the b.g.  The crew slow-dance with their girls, dressed in cotton that seems toglow against their dark skin.Ms. Boyde is scrutinizing the body contact between Chuckand BREGITTA.  Their lips appear pasted together and shedoesn't like it.  Lawford sees what is about to happen andhands his slimy cigar to George who reacts.                         LAWFORD          Hold this, will ya?Lawford intercepts Ms. Boyde.                         LAWFORD          Madam, I would consider it a          privilege if you would allow me to          take you on a tour of the dance          floor.Ms. Boyde is so flattered, it is all she can do to extendher hand.  Lawford leads her away and glares at Rick.                         LAWFORD          You're very light on your feet Ms.          Boyde.  Was it you who taught all of          these young ladies the art of the          dance?Ms. Boyde giggles like a school girl.EXT.  RESTAURANT - NIGHTPhil and his parents sit outside at a ritzy restaurant.Phil stares towards the harbor.                         FRANCIS          What's wrong, you don't like steak?                         PHIL          I should be eating with the crew.                         FRANCIS          Humor me.  Eat it anyway.                         PHIL          Why are you here?                         PEGGY          We missed you.  We wanted to check          on you.                         PHIL          I don't need you spying on me.                         FRANCIS          Spying?!                         PHIL          I can take care of myself.                         FRANCIS                  (sarcastic)          Oh, really?                         PHIL          Look, you put me on this boat in the          first place.  I didn't want to come          but I did.  Why do you have to          embarrass me.  Why can't you just          leave me alone?Francis slaps Phil across the face nearly knocking him outof his chair.  Everyone and everything.  It's humiliating.                         PEGGY          Francis!!She cradles Phil's red face.  He fights the tears.                         FRANCIS          Listen to me, you thankless little          prick.  We're your parents, so don't          you dare talk to me disrespectfully.          What the hell is it, this captain?          Because I'll see him in a rowboat...                         PHIL          It has nothing to do with him.                         FRANCIS          Well, what does it have to do with?          Us?                         PHIL          No.  Look, it's me okay?  Can't it          just be about me?  For once?Phil pulls free and exits.  He can feel eyes all over him.EXT.  SCHOOL - GARDENS - NIGHTAlice watches, swept up in the nostalgic romance of itall.  Skipper joins her.                         SKIPPER          He would have loved this.                         ALICE          Your father?                         SKIPPER          All his years at sea, he never          stopped talking about these islands.                         ALICE          You miss him.Skipper manages a sad smile.                         SKIPPER          Every hour.  Every minute.                  (pause)          I wish he was here.  I wish he could          have sailed our girl.  Seen these          boys...She smiles warmly.                         SKIPPER          I'd have liked to have said goodbye.                         ALICE          He knows.                         SKIPPER          You sound so sure.                         ALICE          I am about this.Skipper turns and stares at her deeply.                         ALICE          What?                         SKIPPER          He never would have believed a woman          like you existed.Alice smiles and turns back to the dancers.                         ALICE          Do you remember the last time you          and I danced under the stars?                         SKIPPER          Guilty.                         ALICE          On the deck of the Yankee, the night          you asked me to marry you.  We          weren't much older than they are.The music changes to a calypso waltz.  Skipper takes Aliceby the hand.                         SKIPPER          Would you allow me?She's sixteen again.  There's something about him thatstill makes her blush.Skipper leads her to the dance floor.  He hesitates,looking deeply into her eyes.  As they begin to dance, theboys notice and exchange looks.Lawford and George sit across the quad, sipping punch andsmoking cigars.                         GEORGE          If I didn't know better I'd say the          old man was acting almost halfway          human.                         LAWFORD          He is halfway human.One by one the couples clear for the Skipper and hisbride.  They glide, lost in each others arms.  They dancea dance for the ages.  As if it might be for the lasttime.  The music swells.EXT.  PIER - NIGHTChuck and Bregitta, are at the end of the pier, a fullmoon hangs above the horizon.  Bregitta doesn't understandwhat Chuck is saying, but it's clear she's enjoying him.                         CHUCK          I can't remember feeling like this          about myself, a place, someone like          you.  We've come such a long way,          seen so much.  But nothing like this.Bregitta smiles and takes Chuck's hand.  He's nervous.                         CHUCK          I'm not the best at expressing          myself.  Maybe the only reason I can          now is because I know you don't          understand me.                  (beat)          I like you so much.  Too much.  But          how could I?  I mean, if we can't          even communicate, how could I know          you?  It's confusing.  We sail in an          hour and I'll never see you again.Bregitta takes Chuck's face gently and kisses himtenderly.  Then, in perfect English...                         BREGITTA          I like you, too.Chuck's eyes widen, astonished.  Bregitta smiles, takesChuck by the hand, and leads him to a small covered boatmoored to the pier.                         BREGITTA          Come on.  We don't have much time.Blushing deeply, Chuck follows her into the boat.EXT.  STREET - SAMERobin walks down the street hand in hand with one of thegirls.  A long string of colored lights illuminate thelength of the street.  Robin clumsily tries to kiss thegirl.  She laughs.                         ROBIN                  (defensive)          What?Suddenly there's a flash and the sound of breaking glass.Robin looks up to see Phil staggering, down the street,smashing each of the colored light bulbs with a stick.  Heshowers himself with broken glass and sparks.                         ROBIN                  (to girl)          Wait for me okay.  I'll be right          back.  I swear.She smiles sadly and nods.  Robin sprints down the pierand catches up with Phil.  His feet are bleeding.  He iscompletely smashed.                         ROBIN          Phil.  What are you doing?                         PHIL          Fandango, Junior.                  (he holds up his                   stick)          I'm gonna do some limbo baby!!                         ROBIN          No way Phil.  Not like this.                         PHIL          Roger Meris, steps up, it's a corker          down the pipe...THWACK!  He scores another bulb.  Robin jumps out of theway.                         PHIL          It's outta here!                         ROBIN          Come on man.  Let's just talk about          it.The music drifts from the gardens ahead.  Phil bolts.Robin chases after him.                         ROBIN          Phil!  Wait man... Come on...EXT.  SCHOOL - GARDENS - NIGHTJohn shares a joke with Lawford and George.  The calypsois cranking, but only John hears Phil and Robin crash intothe refreshment table.  Robin struggles to stop Phil.                         JOHN                  (to Lawford)          Be right back.Lawford nods, oblivious.ON THE GUYSJohn tries to help Robin with Phil.                         JOHN          Jesus!  What the hell happened to          him.                         PHIL          Lemme go!  Lemme go!!                         ROBIN          I don't know.  We gotta get 'im          outta here before Skipper sees him          like this.                         PHIL          Son of a bitch!!Phil kicks and struggles.                         JOHN          Phil, if you don't calm down, I'm          gonna hurt you.  Got it?They drag him into the darkness.  From near the bandstandhowever, Skipper has seen it all.EXT.  ALBATROSS - NIGHTThe crew lean along the rail waving goodbye to the girlswho wave back with their white handkerchiefs.INT.  MAIN CABIN - SAMEChuck and John hold Phil still as Robin picks shards ofglass out of his feet.  Phil clenches his jaw, but hiseyes are dry.EXT.  ALBATROSS - DAYThe ship is under full-sail driving before a briskfollowing wind.  It takes two on the helm to keep hersafely on course.  Those not on watch are sprawled aboutthe boat, scraping and 'red-leading' or reading.  Chuckand Robin sit forward with John, studying.  Lawford pacesthe deck, chiding the crew.                         LAWFORD          The rust won't wait for you to read          Conrad, Goodall.                         JOHN          Then he shouldn't have written such          a long poem, Mr. Lawford.                         LAWFORD          Read on, young John.  Read on.          College boards are coming.John looks down, dejected.  Suddenly Tod cries from theforetop.                         TOD          There they blow!!  There they blow!!          Dolphins off the bow!!!Everyone rushes to see.  Dolphins leaping out of thewater.  It's a magnificent game they play with ships.  Thecrew cheers as each one explodes out of the sea, closeenough to touch.Isolated, Phil watches.  Angry, cut off.  Chuck eyes him,worried.Bill and Charlie rig the bowswain's chair and lower Rickinto the water.  Suddenly, the dolphins are everywhere.Rick pets them as they swim back and forth.  Shear joy.Phil reaches for the spear gun.  Nobody notices as heloads and takes aim.Suddenly... with a crack, everyone spins around.  A largefemale dolphin leaps out of the water, bloody foamspraying from her blow hole.  She lets out an agonizingscream.  Phil holds her fast.                         CHRIS          Jesus Christ!The crew can only watch, stunned.  Phil is suddenly,defensive as if waking from a dream.                         PHIL          Fuck off man.  It's just a fish.                         RICK          No, Phil.  It's a mammal.Skipper steps on deck, sees the dolphin and Phil with thespear gun.                         SKIPPER                  (quietly)          Bill, lower a long boat.  We'll          bring her up with the davit.A dory is lowered with John and Bill inside.  Once nearthe water they maneuver the struggling dolphin into acanvas harness.  The crew hoist her with the davit tackle,swing her inboard, and gently lower her to the deck.They gather around the gasping animal.  Alice checks thewound.  Skipper kneels beside her.                         SKIPPER          What do you think?Alice shakes her head and gently strokes the dolphin.                         ALICE          It's through her lung.Skipper turns to Phil.                         SKIPPER                  (to Phil)          Nice shot.Phil looks up at the crew but one by one they look away.Chuck finds this confusing and inexcusable but is the lastto look away.  Skipper grimly walks over to one of thedeck lockers and pulls out a large wooden mallet and holdsit out to Phil.                         SKIPPER          Finish it.Phil looks at the mallet, horrified.                         PHIL                  (stammering)          I'm not gonna kill it.                         SKIPPER          You already have.  Now go on.  Do          it.Phil backs away.  Skipper stares at him for a moment, thenwalks over to the dolphin.  Robin looks away.  Thesickening sound of the mallet crushing the skull of theanimal seems to silence the world.  There are one of twothumps of her tail and, it's over.Skipper tosses the bloody mallet into the locker andapproaches Phil, his face flushed with anger.  He grabsthe spear gun, and snaps it across his knee and throws thepieces into the sea.                         SKIPPER          What the hell is wrong with you?!Phil begins to shake with rage.                         SKIPPER          Come on.  You got so much fight in          you; you wanna kill something?  Take          your best shot.  The first one's          free.Robin holds his ears as if he can make it all go away.For a brief moment Phil looks as if he might take Skipperup on the challenge.  Then the impulse passes.                         SKIPPER          That's what I thought.                  (beat)          You're done.  You're going home.Skipper turns.  The humiliation is more than Phil cantake.  He lunges after Skipper.  Lawford grabs him.  Philswings wildly.                         PHIL          You mean-assed bastard!!  You son of          a bitch!!  You can't do this!!!  You          can't do this!!!  God damn you!!          God damn you!!Lawford leads Phil, struggling, below.  The crew surroundthe dead dolphin, stunned.EXT.  ARUBA - ESTABLISHING - DAYThe Albatross is at anchor in the center of the harbor.EXT.  DECK - SAMEPhil comes on deck from below with his duffel bag.Everyone feels bad but no one knows what to say.  Philturns to get a second load.                         CHUCK          Why'd you do it?                         PHIL                  (regretting it)          What's the difference?                         CHUCK          You only hurt yourself you know?                         PHIL          Like you really care.  Like any of          you give a shit what happens to me.                         RICK          You're the one who doesn't care,          Phil.                         PHIL          It hurts too much to care.                         RICK          About yourself?                         PHIL          About anything.Phil turns and disappears down the companionway.                         ROBIN          We shouldn't be putting him off the          boat.                         CHRIS          The guy's out of control.                         ROBIN          Everybody's been outta control on          this trip.                  (beat)          Are we a crew or not?  I mean, isn't          that what this is supposed to be all          about?                         MIKE          You're the last person who should be          whining about being a "crew".                         ROBIN          How do you figure that?                         MIKE          Well, I'd sure like to go into the          subject of vertigo and all, but I          wouldn't want you to piss yourself.Robin flushes bright red.  John fires a look at Mike.                         JOHN          You're a regular prick you know          that?                         MIKE          Tell it to the dolphin, Goodall.                         JOHN          Everybody deserves a second chance,          ya know?  We'd do the same for you          Mike.                         ROBIN          It's about family isn't it?  I mean          are we together on this or not?There is a long pause.  Mike and Chris cave.                         MIKE          Hell, do what ever you want.  It          won't change anything anyway.Robin exchanges a glance with Chuck and together, theyclimb up the companionway.EXT.  CHART HOUSE - SAMEChuck and Robin stand before the door.                         ROBIN          I can't go in there.                         CHUCK          What are you talking about.Robin turns away, ashamed.                         ROBIN          The guys were right.  It'll mean          nothing coming from me.  He'll          listen to you Chuck.  Everybody          does.INT.  CHART HOUSE - SAMESkipper and Alice have paperwork spread out in front ofthem.  A knock.                         SKIPPER          Come.Chuck enters, awkward.                         SKIPPER          What's on your mind?                         CHUCK          I'm here on behalf of the crew, sir.Skipper looks up.                         SKIPPER          Well, spit it out.                         CHUCK          The fact is... We'd like you to give          Phil another chance.Alice raises her eyebrows, surprised.                         SKIPPER          Can't do it.                         CHUCK          Sir...?                         SKIPPER          Close the door.  Sit down.Chuck does as he is told.                         SKIPPER          Why do you think I'm sending him          home?                         CHUCK          He killed the dolphin.Skipper looks at Chuck for a moment.                         SKIPPER          The Dolphin was a symptom.                         CHUCK          Of what?                         SKIPPER          Of a fight he can't win out here.                         CHUCK          It's his father sir.  He's          suffocating him.  We've all seen          it...Suddenly it's as if Chuck is talking about his own life.                         CHUCK          I mean he has all these expectations          and he doesn't even know who his own          kid is.  What right did then have to          show up here?                         SKIPPER          They have every right Chuck.                         CHUCK          They send us because they want us to          change, or grow up or something and          then they try to keep us the same.Skipper sits up and studies Chuck for a moment.                         SKIPPER          Let me tell you something about          Phil's father, and your's too.  How          do you think you got here?  You          think this is all free, that they          owe you something?  You think they          enjoy riding subways and commuter          trains, driving buses or pulling          lobster traps?  Work fifty weeks a          year to keep you in tennis shoes and          private school?  Look around at how          the rest of the world lives Chuck.          We're the luckiest people alive,          every one of us.  They gave it up          for you and Phil, and me too my          friend.Chuck chews on it.                         SKIPPER          There are ground rules in families          just like on this boat.  If you and          Phil don't like it, I'm sorry.          Someday you'll understand that, and          if you're lucky, you'll come home          and find your best friend has been          there all along waiting for you to          forgive him for being a father.          It'll be the way it used to be,          when you were ten and your dad was a          giant.Now it's Skipper who is talking about himself.                         SKIPPER          Does Phil know how you guys feel?                         CHUCK          I don't know.                         SKIPPER          You should tell him.  That's          something he can take with him.Chuck nods and leaves.EXT.  CHART HOUSE - SAMEAs Chuck exits he meets Robin's eyes.  He shakes his head.INT.  CHART HOUSE - SAMESkipper returns to his paperwork but can feel Alicewatching him.  He senses it.                         SKIPPER          I'm all ears.Alice smiles.                         ALICE          You may not like what you hear.                         SKIPPER          I can take it.                         ALICE          They've become what you wanted.          They're a crew.  That's why he came.Skipper puts a loving hand on Alice's shoulder.                         SKIPPER          Why did we begin this?                         ALICE          We were idealists.                         SKIPPER          Because we believed we could make an          impact out here.  Self reliance and          community through the disciplines of          sailing.                         ALICE          I haven't forgotten.                         SKIPPER          Phil, he's not looking inside.  He's          just striking out at the world.                         ALICE          He has a lot of hurt inside him.                         SKIPPER          Well, he better learn to own it.          Actions have consequences.                  (beat)          It's not what happens here Alice,          it's what they take away with them.Alice runs her hands across his face.                         ALICE          You're still an idealist.Skipper turns and slips into her arms.                         SKIPPER          Oh hell...EXT.  DECK - DAYPhil is in the long boat with Skipper, ready to shove off.Tension is high.  It's as though they're all waiting forSkipper to give Phil a reprieve.  But, it's not coming.They mumble goodbyes.  Terry and Rick pass down Phil'sbags.                         RICK          Good luck.Phil nods and turns to Skipper.                         PHIL          I'm ready.Skipper starts to pull the oars to make the crossing tothe dock as the crew watches them go.  Robin turns,staring at the ships bell.EXT.  DOCK - SAMESkipper ties off the boat and Phil hands up his bags.  Ablack limousine waits, brooding.  Phil climbs up withSkipper and stands, stares at it.  The back door opens,but nobody gets out.EXT.  ALBATROSS - SAMEThe crew stand, watching.                         CHARLIE          His ol' man's gonna eat him for          lunch.                         JOHN          I know what that's like.                         RICK          Yeah.Then, suddenly...                         CHUCK          My god...All stares aloft.  In the rigging, climbing up the mast,is Robin.  With the ships bell in his teeth, he issweating every rung.  Perspiration glistens on his brow.The crew watches, transfixed as he fights his way towardsthe foretop.EXT.  DOCK - SAMEPhil turns to Skipper.  Working up some courage to saysomething, anything.  But all that comes out is...                         PHIL          I'm sorry.A pause between them.                         SKIPPER          I know, Phil.Skipper extends a hand and they shake.  Phil is about toturn, when a familiar sound draws their attention.EXT.  FORETOP - SAMERobin, holding on for dear life at the top of the mast,rings the ships bell triumphantly over his head, waving toPhil.  Victorious.  Ding ding!  Ding ding!  Ding ding!The crew begin to cheer.EXT.  DOCK - SAMEPhil stares back, fighting his emotions.  Slowly he raiseshis hand in a single wave of acknowledgement.  The ringingstops as his eyes meet Robin's.  Waves back.  Skipperturns.                         SKIPPER          They never gave up on you, you know.Phil chews on it.  Then...                         PHIL          Tell 'em I said... thanks.                  (beat)          Goodbye Skipper.ROBIN'S POVRobin watches as the limo pulls away.  He rings the bellwildly.  The crew below wave in a show of silent protest.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          As Robin rang him out, we waved in          silent protest against Skipper's          decision.  And in the days that          followed the low morale was matched          only by a sense of arrogance that          perhaps the master should step down          and let his students take over.AERIAL SHOTRobin, the Albatross and the drama unfolding below spinslowly away as we climb, turning, higher and higher.EXT.  ALBATROSS - ESTABLISHING - DAYFoam sprays from her bow as the Albatross slices throughthe swells.INT.  CABIN - SAMETod exits the head with a worried look on his face.  Hegrabs Chuck by the arm and pulls him aside.  Morale isextremely low.                         TOD          Listen man, I think I have a          problem.                         CHUCK          We all have problems.                         TOD          I'm pissin' fire man.Chuck reacts.INT.  SKIPPER'S CABIN - DAYTight on Alice.  Pull back to reveal Tod standing in frontof her with his shorts down around his ankles.  Mortified.                         ALICE          Have a nice time in Curacao, did you          Tod?Alice gets up and moves to her medicine chest.  Tod startsto pull up his shorts.                         ALICE          Not so fast.She pulls out a menacingly large looking hypodermicneedle.  Tod's embarrassment turns to alarm.EXT.  DECK - LATERThe crew stand in line, pissed.  Lawford and George manthe deck with Skipper and exchange amused looks.  The dooropens and Chris exits, red faced, rubbing his backside.He glares at Tod who sits on the paint locker.                         CHRIS          Way-ta-go Valentino.  I never even          copped a feel in Curacao.                         TOD          Yeah well, your sexual orientation          is not my problem.                         RICK          Man, is there a social disease you          haven't had?                         CHARLIE          So much for vestal virgins.Lawford swings up a pair of binoculars.  A vessel underpower is coming up fast behind them.  He holds the binocsout to Skipper.                         LAWFORD          What do you make of that?Skipper turns and looks.                         SKIPPER          I don't know.The ship pulls along the port side, keeping a couplehundred yards between them.  The boys move to the rail.George sees them first.                         GEORGE          Jesus.  She's got guns.                         SKIPPER          She's Cuban.Everyone becomes alarmed.  Even Alice looks concerned.Suddenly a puff of smoke discharges from the gun boat.                         SKIPPER                  (shouting)          GET DOWN!  EVERYBODY DOWN!!The entire crew hit the deck as a shell rockets across thebow exploding in the water.                         SKIPPER          Jesus, we're Americans!!!  We're          Americans!!!Skipper grabs the American flag and starts waving it.                         TERRY          Jesus, they're gonna sink us!!                         SKIPPER          Bill drop everything.  Do it now!The crew scrambles for the rigging, frantically droppingsail.                         SKIPPER                  (hitting each word)          Who the hell do they think they are?As the sail comes down, the Albatross slows to a stop.The Cubans inch closer and begin speaking over a loudspeaker in Spanish.  The seas are high and the two shipsrise and fall with the large swells between them.                         GEORGE          They want us to identify ourselves.Chuck returns with a bull horn.                         SKIPPER          Tell them we're the American School          Ship, Albatross.George replies in Spanish over the bull horn.  The Cubansanswer.                         GEORGE          They think we're carrying Cuban          refugees.                  (beat)          Skipper, they mean to board us.                         SKIPPER          Not a chance.  Remind them that          according to the Geneva Convention,          firing on a civilian vessel on the          high sea is an act of war.Another exchange between George and the Cubans.  The crewlay flat on the deck, terrified.                         GEORGE          They say they are acting on the          direct authority of Fidel Castro.Skipper defiantly swings up onto the gunnel rail.  TheCuban Captain gives an order and one of his sailors jumpsinto the turret of the anti aircraft guns and swivelsaround pointing both barrels at the Albatross.  Skipperstands firm, between the shrouds.  Silence.  A standoff.                         SKIPPER          Tell 'em to come aboard.George sends the return message.  There is a pause, thenthe murmurs of the relieved crew.  Skipper swings down butnever takes his eyes off the gunboat.                         SKIPPER                  (to crew)          We've come a long way gentlemen.          But this is no time for heroes.  I          know you're much more, but I need you          to be boys right now.  That's an          order.  Now scatter and find your          passports.INT.  CABIN - DAYLaundry, books and mementos go flying as each boyscrambles to dig up his passport.  Terry sits among histhings, dazed.  Bill notices.                         BILL          What's wrong?EXT.  DECK - DAYA small launch filled with Cuban soldiers approaches theAlbatross.  The crew climb on deck and line up along theChart House with their passports.  Lawford walks up toSkipper.                         LAWFORD          We've got a problem.                         SKIPPER          What's that?                         LAWFORD          Terry left his passport in Curacao.          We could hide him...                         SKIPPER          No.  Bring him on deck with the          others.The Cubans cast their lines up and climb aboard carryingside arms.  Terry reluctantly joins his crew mates.  TheCOMMANDING OFFICER faces Skipper as his men go down theline checking the passports.  Others search the ship.                         COMMANDER          Chicken is a fool's game captain.                         SKIPPER          So is violating international law.                         COMMANDER          But you invited is aboard.                         SKIPPER          Your cannons made a compelling          argument.One of the Cubans pulls Terry out of line and brings himforward.  He alerts the Commander in Spanish.                         COMMANDER          Stow away?                         SKIPPER          He left his passport in Curacao.          It's being mailed to Panama.                         COMMANDER          That is unfortunate.  We'll have to          take him with us.Terry is petrified.                         LAWFORD          If he's a Cuban, Castro wears a          dress.                         SKIPPER          Nobody aboard my ship is going          anywhere.Skipper stares him down.  The Commander signals to one ofhis men who disappears into the Chart House.                         COMMANDER          Perhaps in appreciation for our          country's pursuit of peace, you          might offer us some, token of          gratitude.Skipper doesn't really have a choice.                         SKIPPER          What do you want?The Cuban returns from the Chart House with the Shipssextant and hands it to the Commander.                         COMMANDER          This.  And...Pointing to the ships compass.                         COMMANDER          ... and that.                         GEORGE          You've got to be kidding!!                         SKIPPER                  (cold)          Take it.Without hesitation the Cubans pull the large brass compassfrom its base.                         SKIPPER          Now, get the hell off my ship.As they leave the ship, they pause.  The Commander looksback at the Skipper, then deliberately drops both sextantand compass into the sea.                         COMMANDER          You'll really have something to          teach your students now.Skipper stands towering above them.  The Cuban captainsmiles up at him.  Amazingly, Skipper addresses him inperfect Spanish.                         SKIPPER          Las estrellas es lo unico, que un          marinero verdadero se mesesita para          encontrarse.  Verdade Patron?The Cubans stare back, frowning, amazed as they motoraway.The crew are stunned by what they have just witnessed.Skipper turns and meets the eyes of admiration, humilityand complete respect.  He joins Alice at the helm.  Theylinger for a moment.                         CHUCK          What'd he say?George smiles, impressed as well.                         GEORGE          He told them real sailors need only          the stars.With a new attitude, they turn to Skipper.                         SKIPPER          Alright then, let's get outta here.The crew bolt to there positions.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          With staff and string he showed us          how to build a sextant.  As we rode          the trades, he shared the ancient          secrets of how to read the waves and          follow stars.  And some mornings          later, bathed in the orange glow of          a sunrise, Panama rose from the sea          like a phoenix.EXT.  ALBATROSS - PANAMA CANAL - DAYPanama appears on the horizon.  The Albatross is dwarfedby the huge freighters moored around her, as she movesthrough the locks.  The crew stand on deck in quietreverence.INT.  MAIN CABIN - NIGHTThe sounds of slumber fill the cabin.  All seems well withthe world.  Suddenly, silhouettes in the darkness.  A hugebearded figure stands in the center of the cabin with atrident in his hand.Chuck wakes with a start.  He bolts upright to see thehorrible figure of NEPTUNE himself (Lawford) toweringbefore him.  He tries to scream, but hands cover hismouth.  He is dragged, struggling, up the companionway.EXT.  DECK - NIGHTThe Albatross has been transformed into a ghost ship.Where the sails once were, only shredded fabric.  All ofthe crew have been brought on deck.  Powdered faces glow,surreal.John's head has been shaved into a mohawk.  Robin, Rickand Chris have been reduced to crew cuts.  The shearsstart over Chuck's head.  Neptune and his sidekick, DAVEYJONES (George) and two MERMAIDS (Bill and Alice) emergewith the rest of the crew.                         NEPTUNE          Hold fast that polliwog and make him          presentable.Chuck struggles as his hair is shaved away and facepowdered.                         NEPTUNE          Let it be known that on this day in          the year nineteen hundred and sixty-          one there appeared within the limits          of my royal kingdom, the sailing          ship brigantine Albatross, bound for          Galapagos.  All vessels that sail my          domain shall be subject to the          scrutiny of the underworld...Terry is brought topside kicking and screaming.                         NEPTUNE          Silence!!!Terry shuts up and succumbs to the same fate as the rest.                         NEPTUNE          Tonight you shall all enter the          Order of the Shellbacks.  Only when          you have been duly initiated shall          you enjoy the mysteries and          protection of the trident.  So, let          the festivities begin...EXT.  HELM - NIGHTNeptune and his court sit smoking Havana cigars as eachmember of the crew present themselves.  Robin dressed likea pig and crawls around snorting.John's an Indian brave, whooping and hollering as he doesa rain dance.  Chuck, with flippers on his hands and feet,hops around like a frog.  Rick is in 'drag' as Neptune'sgirlfriend and must sing everything he says.  Charlie isdressed like a sloth and slithers along the deck.Frenetic chaos.EXT.  DECK - LATERNeptune and his court lead a procession around theperimeter of the deck.  The crew follows.  They stamptheir feet and chant.                         ALL          Hell is to drift, heaven to steer!          Hell is to drift, heaven to steer!!          Hell is to drift, heaven to steer!!They move faster and faster around the boat.  They shoutlouder and louder, faster and faster until they have allworked themselves into a frenzy.EXT.  BOW - DAWNDavey Jones, holds a large turtle shell over the crewsheads.  As each one passes before him he pours blood fromthe turtle shell onto their heads.  It runs down,streaking their floured faces and necks.  As the ritualprogresses, Neptune speaks.                         NEPTUNE          By virtue of the power inherited by          me, I do hereby command all of my          subjects, such as mermaids, sea          serpents, dolphins, whales, sharks          and turtles, from eating, playing          with, or otherwise molesting this          vessel or her crew.  Let it be          remembered that on this, my          Equatorial Domain on Longitude 88'          20' 13" on this 532nd in the year of          the dolphin, you entered the Order          of the Shellbacks!!The crew cheer and embrace.  Skipper calls from the wheel.                         SKIPPER          Land ho!EXT.  GALAPAGOS ISLANDS - DAYThe crew stop their celebrating and gather at the portbow.  Ahead, glowing orange with the dawn, the islands ofGalapagos.  It's desolate landscape of silent volcanoesand ancient lava flows that spill into the sea.The faces of the boys, still streaked with the indignitiesof the night's ordeal, stand silently before their finaldestination.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          We had journeyed over six thousand          miles to the very edge of the earth.          Like Darwin before us, we would          witness the bliss of nature in the          absence of man.  And it was as if          the Albatross had forded time,          leaving it behind.  In the heat of          those equatorial days, on the virgin          onyx beaches and shifting coral          dunes, one could expect to find          sunning iguanas, nesting frigates          and perchance... the footprints of          God.EXT.  BEACH - SHIPWRECK BAY - DAYThe Albatross rests at anchor.  On the beach, the crewwatch a huge group of penguins dive and frolic from theancient guano cliffs.  So unaccustomed are these creaturesto man, that they have no fear.EXT.  LAGOON - DAYChuck, John and Rick snorkel among the playful SEA LIONS.They dart and swim like otters among their new humanfriends.EXT.  LAVA OUTCROPPING - DAYTerry, Chris, Chuck and Mike stand taking notes on exoticbirds.  Frigates, hawks, flamingos, pelicans, boobies, andof course... albatrosses.EXT.  ALBATROSS - DAYThe crew are sprawled across the deck taking final exams.Alice walks among them.  Chuck throws an anxious looktowards John who is buried in his test.EXT.  GRASSY LOWLANDS - DAYBoobies nest in the grass.  Thousands of them andamazingly, the crew can walk among them without thembatting an eye.  Chuck and Robin watch as the iguanassneak into unattended nests and steal eggs.EXT.  DUNES - DAYChuck is alone gazing over the shoreline.  A huge flock offinches darken the sky, circling the black sand beach.Pure magic.EXT.  BEACH - DAYBeyond, the anchored Albatross rocks and bounces in ablue-sky gale.  Chuck, John, Robin, Rick, Chris and Todstand by a dory watching the sea build.  They wear onlytattered shorts, their hair sun bleached and their skindark.                         RICK          We're here for the night.                         TOD          Yeah.EXT.  ROCKS - SAMETight.  The eyes of predators.  Sharp, cunning, hungry.EXT.  BLACK SAND BEACH - DAYA lone wild goat grazes on the beach.  It looks up,sensing something, unfamiliar, then, returns to it'sgrazing.Tight.  Thundering bare feet on the black sand.The goat looks up again, this time it sees fiveHomosapiens bearing down on him.  They come naked,swinging their shredded clothing above their heads likelassos.  Shouting, whooping, primal.  The goat bolts forits life.Pounding through the waterline like the wild horses ofSable, the hunters charge after the hunted, closing.  Thegoat's eyes are full of a terror it has never known.The beach is broad and long with no cover.  The huntersare gaining on the goat.  Splashing feet pound closer...Suddenly they are upon the goat.  But, instead ofattacking it, they just run through it, passing it.  Thegoat pulls up and stops, breathless, watching the nakedhumans run.Close on the faces of brothers, matching each other, stepfor step.  The music builds as we...FREEZE FRAMEEXT.  BEACH - NIGHTWild eyes behind the charcoal painted masks of primal man.The rhythmic beat of sticks clacking and voices chanting.The heaping of driftwood into piles.  Taught and powerful,the glistening bodies of young men.Blue sparks leap from striking flint against stone.  Aflame is born.  Voices howl in guttural triumph.As the flames leap and singe the darkness, silhouettes ofmen pound the sand and cry out in a ritualistic dance.The goat watches from the shadows, bemused, as the dancebuilds to a frenzy.  The night sky is filled with thebuilding sound of raging fire, pounding surf and chantingvoices.EXT.  ALBATROSS - SAMEThe wind carries the sounds of ceremony across the water.The flames from the beach reflect off of the water turningthe white hull of the ship, a deep flickering orange.  Theword A-L-B-A-T-R-O-S-S has been spelled in huge flamingletters.  Alice joins Skipper at his place by the railwatching.                         ALICE          What are they doing?                         SKIPPER          Claiming their place in the world.EXT.  SHORELINE - DAWNThe white surf hisses as it washes among the cinders ofthe evenings ritual.  The Galapagos have been returned,for now, to the frigates and the iguanas.Across the water against the rising sun, the Albatross,under full sail, is bound for home.EXT.  DECK - SAMEThe crew stand at their posts.  The yards and foretop aretrimmed with sailors, their faces taught and their bodieshard.  No one looks back.EXT.  DECK - PANAMA CANAL - DAYAlice steps onto the deck from the chart house with papersin her hands.                         ALICE          Well gentlemen, I have the results          of your college board scores.  I          think most of you will be pleased.The crew members collect their exams.  Chuck notices Johnat the bow, alone, lost.                         CHUCK          You okay?                         JOHN          Yeah.  How'd you do.Chuck looks down at his exam apprehensively.                         CHUCK          Ninety-six.                         JOHN          Congratulations.                         CHUCK          What about you?John slowly passes his test to Chuck.                         CHUCK          It's a ninety-one!  It's an 'A'!                         JOHN          I know.                         CHUCK                  (excited)          You know?  Then why are you up here          looking like you're about to jump          overboard?!                         JOHN          I just can't believe it.                         CHUCK          This is your moment, don't you see?          The instant when you know that your          life is never going to be the same          again.  When you stand up and are          counted.John tries to choke back his emotions.                         JOHN          I couldn't have done it without you.                         CHUCK          Yes you could.  You did.                  (holding up the                   exam)          This is all you.  Nobody else.John looks out.                         JOHN          Thank you.Chuck smiles and joins John's gaze over the water.                         CHUCK          Feels different doesn't it?                         JOHN          What?                         CHUCK          That we're going back.  I don't want          it to end.  I don't want to be what          I was when I left.                         JOHN          What was that?                         CHUCK          Anonymous.Chuck looks at his test grimacing.                         CHUCK          I've been getting ninety-sixes my          whole life.  It's what they expect.          After all this, I still haven't          figured it out.                         JOHN          Figured what out?                         CHUCK          Who I am, outside of this boat.          What the hell I'm doing here.                         JOHN          I'll tell you who you are.  You're          the glue.  You're the thing that          holds everybody around you together.          You're strong, you listen and you          see things in people the rest of us          can't.  It's a gift.It's Chuck's turn to fight emotion.                         CHUCK          You know, I never had friends like          this.                         JOHN          Me either.                         CHUCK          I feel like... we can do anything.John smiles, clutching his exam.                         JOHN          We can.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          In the fading hours of that Pacific          dusk, with nothing left to confess,          for the first time we felt safe,          capable, sure of who we were and          where we were going.INT.  MAIN CABIN - DAWNThe crew sleep in their bunks.  Lawford's voice rumblesdown the companionway.                         LAWFORD          A wet sheet and a flowing sea/ A          wind that follows fast, And fills          the white and rushing sail, And          bends the gallant mast/ Arise, arise          you salty dogs.  The watch is on.Chuck, Tom, John, Terry and Tod roll out.  The dumb waiterclatters down from the galley with the morning'sbreakfast.  Skipper and some of the crew are alreadyeating.EXT.  DECK - DAYThe Albatross is under full sail trying to take advantageof what little wind there is.  The skies are gray anddank.  Tod and Terry are at the helm.  Chuck and John areamid ship.  John relieves Bill on the forward watch.                         CHUCK          Looks like we're gonna get wet.                         BILL          Well, we need it.  I want to take a          nice long bath and catch some water          for my laundry.                         JOHN          Save some for me will you?                         BILL          You got it.  I'm going below.Suddenly, a huge lightning bolt explodes out of the skyand strikes the water a hundred feet off of the starboardbeam.  Everyone jumps.                         TOD          Jesus!!Skipper bolts onto the deck.                         SKIPPER          Everybody okay?The crew nod sheepishly.  A very close call.                         SKIPPER          All hands keep out of the rigging          and stay clear of the masts.The clouds grow dark but no more lighting.  Tod laughsnervously.  Everybody joins in.  It's contagious.  EvenSkipper manages a smile.                         SKIPPER          All right gentlemen.  Thor's had his          fun.  Let's keep a keen eye.Skipper starts back into the chart house when suddenly, apowerful gust of wind drives the ship hard to a 45 degreelist to the starboard.  Skipper stops and turns.Instinctively, John and Chuck spring for the rigging todrop sail.                         SKIPPER                  (sharply)          No!  Stay down!!Skipper stares at the sky with the intensity of a cobra.Waiting.  The wind eases.  It becomes eerily still.  Theship slows and the sails go slack.  Silence.  Skippermaintains his vigil.CLOSE ON WATERFoam and spray appear off of the tops of the swells likethe invisible footprint of a locomotive.  John sees itfirst.                         JOHN                  (shouting)          HERE IT COMES!!!Everybody turns and looks.  Skipper's eyes suddenly widenas he realizes...                         SKIPPER                  (in a whisper)          White Squall!The charging wall of wind slams into the topsails so hardit send a shudder throughout the ship.  The wheel isnearly ripped out of Tod's hands.  Instinctively, he triesto turn the ship into the wind.                         SKIPPER          Hard to starboard!!!  Hard to          starboard!!!Confused, panicked, Tod keeps turning to the left, intothe wind.  Skipper struggles to get to the wheel but whenthe ship heals so badly he slides sideways across thedeck.                         TOD          No, hard to port!                         SKIPPER          TURN THE GOD DAMNED WHEEL TO THE          RIGHT!!!Finally, Tod does as he is told.  But as soon as the shipstarts to come about, the vicious wind drives her furtheronto her side.  As the deck becomes vertical Chuck halfslips, half tumbles down to the starboard gunnel.INT.  MAIN CABIN - SAMERobin, Chris, Bill, Mike and Rick are seated at the tablefinishing breakfast as the ship starts to go.  They allshare growing alarm as they watch the table reach it'smaximum angle.  Dishes start sliding off.                         BILL          Get out!!  Everybody out!!EXT.  DECK - SAMESkipper manages to grab the ax mounted on the chart houseand cuts the mainsheet with a single blow.  But it's toolate.  The tall masts plunge into the ocean and the sailsscoop tons of sea water, pinning the Albatross on herside.INT.  SKIPPER'S CABIN - SAMEAlice struggles towards the door.  The book case tears outof the wall and strikes her.  She drops to her knees.  Thedoor swings open in front of her.  She reels for a momentand then loses consciousness.INT.  FORWARD COMPARTMENT - SAMELawford, Charlie and George are all hurled out of theirbunks.  The world is suddenly sideways.  Lawford leaps up,pushing the others towards the companionway ladder.                         LAWFORD          GO, GO, GO!!!  TOPSIDE!!!  Come on          Charlie!  George, get them out!!George disappears into the main cabin.  Lawford manages toget Charlie out.  As Lawford reaches the top of the laddersea water explodes through the hatch and drives him backinto the bowels of the ship.INT.  MAIN CABIN - SAMERobin is through the companionway in the chart house withMike right behind him.  But instead of exiting, he holdsthe door open against the sea so that Mike can escape.Mike gets through the door before the rushing sea slams itclosed, pinning Robin's arm.  He struggles to pushthrough.EXT.  DECK - SAMEJohn slashes at the lines securing the starboard lifeboatwith his knife and manages to free it before it is draggedto the bottom.  He scrambles through the collapsed riggingtangled above him for the port lifeboat.AT THE STERNThe Albatross is going down.  Fast.  Chuck and Tod standon the after skylight.  Chuck catches glimpses of thestruggle going on below.                         CHUCK          My God, they're drowning!Skipper catches a glimpse of Alice through the skylight.Water washes over her but she doesn't move.                         SKIPPER          Oh please, no.  Not this woman.INT.  SKIPPER'S CABIN - SAMESkipper's face is pressed hard against the skylight.  Hismuffled voice penetrates the cabin.  Alice stirs.  Shelooks around, delirious.                         SKIPPER          Alice, get up!!  Come on girl!!He pounds uselessly on the teak deck then tears at theplanks, fingers bleeding.  Alice looks up confused butcalm and finds Skipper's eyes.ON THE DECKPanicked for the first time in his life Slipper swings theax wildly at the perpendicular deck sending a shower ofsplinters into the water.                         SKIPPER          Get out!!  Get out!!  Jesus Christ,          please God, Alice get out!!!But after only two swings, the Albatross and Alice, slipbeneath the sea.INT.  MAIN CABIN - SAMEWater thunders in from every possible exit.  Chris andRick push Bill towards the dumbwaiter.                            RICK          Bill, you go.  We'll be right behind          you.Before he can say no, Rick and Chris jam Bill into thetiny shaft.  Suddenly, from below, a tremendous geysersmashes him to the top, knocking him unconscious.  But thepressure is so great that the water sweeps him through thegalley and out onto the deck.EXT.  DECK - SAMESkipper struggles to reach John and the second life boatbut sees that it is tangled in the rigging.                         SKIPPER          Johnny, it's not good.John defies him and keeps cutting.  The ship is almostcompletely submerged.                         JOHN          I can get it!Suddenly one of the deck lockers breaks free and plungesinto the water taking lines and rope with it.  Johnbecomes tangled and is dragged into the water.  Only hissuperior strength allows him to hold onto the lifeboat andkeep cutting.The Albatross slips beneath the surface.  Instead oftrying to free himself John keeps slashing at the lifeboatlines as he disappears, swallowed by the sea.INT.  FORWARD COMPARTMENT - SAMEEerie silence.  Lawford is trapped in an tiny air pocket.Debris float around.  He begins to panic as the wateraround him rises.                         LAWFORD          My God!!  Oh God I'm dying!!!He takes a deep breath and the water consumes him.  Thensuddenly, the ceiling above him explodes from the pressurewithin.ON THE SURFACELawford is catapulted from the grip of death, to thesurface.EXT.  SURFACE - SAMEChuck continues to frantically dive on the chart housedoor as the ship takes the 'Deep Six'.  Suddenly the shiprolls 180 degrees, her screws exposed and keel jutting uplike a huge dorsal fin.EXT.  UNDERWATER - SAMEChuck feels the ship coming down on top of him but stillfinds Robin's arm.  They clasp tightly, but Chuck justcan't budge the door.  Then, strangely, Robin releasesChuck's arm and pulls it back through the door.  Chucklooks up, startled.  The small round window in the door isilluminated from the cabin lights on the inside.Through the glass, Chuck meets Robin's frightened eyes.He fights to stay in a shrinking air pocket.  Robin takesa last gulp of air then, a calm comes over him.He meets Chuck's eyes again but this time with a strangeacceptance.  They both know what's happening.  But Robinhas refused to take his friend to the bottom with him.  Hepresses his hand to the glass.  Chuck does the same.  Thenwith a smile, Robin pushes himself away from the door,disappearing into the darkness and eternity.EXT.  SURFACE - SAMEChuck breaks the surface, gasping for air.  He looksaround, frantic.  He sees nothing but the sea swells anddebris.  All that remains is the sound of the wind andrain on the water.Suddenly, beneath him, a massive rumbling and explosion offoam.  Then, the tops of twin masts rise out of the waterlike shattered lances as the ship rights herselfunderwater.  She holds herself steady for a moment as ifin a final attempt at resurrection, the Albatross beginsto rise.  Faster and faster, until her entire lengthexplodes out of the water in a mountain of foam and wave.ON THE DECKLike Ahab before him, John appears, lashed in a web oftangled line still slashing to free the remaining longboat.And for a moment, it looks as if she might stay there, asif this were just a final surreal lesson of the sea.  Someof the boys begin to cheer prematurely.  But Skipper knowsbetter.  She's filled to the gills with sea water.She shutters.  Then, like a stone, she just drops, suckedto the center of the earth, John's hands still slashing,as she finally goes.PULL BACK TO REVEALSurvivors hanging onto the debris that floats in thewatery tempest.  Strangely, the wind subsides.  The seabecomes calm and a stunned silence falls over those in thewater.                         CHUCK          OH GOD!!!!!His scream echoes, for the grief of all.ON THE SURFACEThere is an explosion of bubbles, and then she slipsbeneath the waves like a stone.  The stunned crew can onlywatch.Then, as if by magic, the second life boat erupts to thesurface.Skipper fights off his emotions.  He knows what it means.John died cutting it free.Terry and Bill hang onto a life ring.  Blood runs fromBill's head.  Charlie, Mike and several others hold ontothe side of the other freed life boat which has beenswamped.  Lawford floats on his back, unconscious, butalive.  Several of the boys help pull him towards theboat.Skipper swims to the second boat, desperately looking forthose not accounted for.  But, they are gone.Among the wreckage, the roof of the chart house.  The onlysound left is the ominous tolling of the ship's bell,Robin's bell, still secure in it's fitting.EXT.  LIFE BOAT - DAYThe boats have been floated and tied together.  Skipper isin one, Lawford in the other.  One of the two boats hasbeen rigged with sail.  Skipper stands in the bow staringinto the ink blue water.                         SKIPPER          Raise your sail, Bill.  North, north-          east.  Keep a sharp look out for          Florida.Bill studies him for a moment, then...                         BILL          Maybe we could wait around a little          longer, sir...There is a long pause before Skipper answers.                         SKIPPER                  (quietly)          She's gone... She's gone.There is something remarkably touching about this youngman trying to take care of him.  He puts a hand onSkipper's shoulder.  It almost makes him crack.  He patsBill's hand gently.                         SKIPPER          Carry on.                         BILL          Yes sir.                         SKIPPER          North, north-east.                  (beat)          And Dick, please make a note of our          final position.Lawford nods sullenly.  Chuck looks out at the floatingwreckage around them, silent, lost.Suddenly, there is a 'thump' on the hull of the boat.  Thesurvivors share a confused look.  Then it comes again.Chuck looks out at the surface of the water.  It'ssuddenly alive... With sharks.                         LAWFORD          Hands and feet inside the boats.They come by the dozens.  Ramming the boats and rummagingthrough the debris.  They swarm around the boats until itseems as if the water is boiling.  Chuck picks up an oarand starts beating wildly at the sharks.                         CHUCK          AAAAHHHH!!!!The others take up the cause and in a moment they are allscreaming and cursing the sharks.  It's a frenzy of griefand anger.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          We slashed at the sharks as if          striking out at the finger of God.          And we all begged silently for the          ability to understand what had          happened.  But, if there was a God          that day, his answer came only in          the moaning wind and our questions          were left to drift unanswered, in          the titanic ocean of our deepest          grief.Exhausted, Chuck stops slashing and stares out.  lost.                         CHUCK                  (hushed)          Wake up.  Wake up.  1-2-3 wake up.Like Robin's nightmare of his brother, this is all tooreal.EXT.  OCEAN - DAYThe tramp freighter GRAN RIO steams toward the life boats.The crew stand silently, watching as the ship approaches.EXT.  SHIP - DAYChuck stands on the deck of the Gran Rio as the last ofthe crew scramble up cargo netting hung over the side.Chuck stares out numbly watching as the two deserted longboats drift away.EXT.  DECK - GRAN RIO - DAYChuck, now dressed, stands in the same spot at the rail,staring out.  A muffled sound pulls Chuck into thepresent.  He walks slowly down the after deck to a cabindoor where sobbing escapes from the other side.  Chuckturns the handle and cracks the door.INT.  CABIN - SAMECurled up on the floor next to his bunk is Skipper.  Alook of shock comes over Chuck's face.  Skipper has comecompletely unglued, sobbing deeply.                         CHUCK                  (tentative)          Skipper?Skipper turns slowly, looking up.  His eyes are red andhis face streaked with tears.  He looks at Chuck almost asif he doesn't know who he is.  Lost.                         SKIPPER          I'm sorry.  I'm so sorry.Chuck reels.  It sounds more like a confession than anoutpouring of sadness.  Chuck closes the door.EXT.  HARBOR - TAMPA FLORIDA - DAYSkipper, back in control, and the crew, stand along theport rail of the Gran Rio.  A small flotilla of pleasureboats surround the ship and hundreds of people line thepier.  It's an intimidating sight.ON THE PIERPensive, worried, angry faces of parents and families.Chaos.  Coast Guard Officials try to hold back the mob.                         MAN          What about the manifest!!  What          about my son!!!                         WOMAN          How many made it?  Nobody will tell          us anything!!                         OFFICER          We don't have a list of survivors          yet.  Please stand back.  Don't          push!Angry shouts drown him out.ON THE DECKThe CAPTAIN of the Gran Rio comes down from the bridgewith some of his officers and stand with Skipper and theothers.  Several COAST GUARD OFFICERS join them on thedeck.Skipper turns to the Captain and extends his hand.                         SKIPPER          Thank you.The Captain nods.  Skipper turns to his crew, looking overthem.  A smile of deep pride passes his lips.  They allsee it.  Then, between the Coast Guard Officers, he walksdown the ramp.  Lawford and the crew fall in behind.EXT.  PIER - SAMEA shouting mob waits for them.  Reporters and spectatorsshout and call out questions.  It reaches a fever pitch asthe crew descend.  Skipper reaches the bottom of the ramp,his eyes meet a cool, familiar face.  Francis Boutillier.Phil stands next to him, staring at the ground.                         FRANCIS                  (above the shouting)          Welcome home.Skipper is shoved forward by the crowd pushing andshoving.  The crew follow but are swept away.  Charliestops in front of Phil.                         CHARLIE          Phil?Flash bulbs explode.  Charlie and the others are descendedupon as reporters bark out questions.                         REPORTER #1                  (shouting)          What the hell happened out there          captain?                         REPORTER #2          How many boys did you lose...?  And          how come you didn't go down with          your ship?Parents begin to realize who has been lost.  Agonizingcries mix with jubilation.  It's emotional chaos.  Thecrew members are driven apart, they call to each other,suddenly aware of what's happening.                         TOD                  (panicked)          Charlie!!  Bill!!Terry suddenly finds himself smothered in the arms of hisMOTHER.  He strains to see what is happening to hisshipmates.                         TERRY'S MOTHER          Oh, sweetheart!  Look at you...                         TERRY          Skipper!!Reporters corner them blocking his view.  More reportersclamor after Skipper, who doesn't reply.                         REPORTER #3          Captain, is it true that the ship was          hit by a "White Squall"?                         REPORTER #2          Is it true the first mate is only          fifteen?Bill steps in between them.                         BILL          It wasn't his fault mister...                         REPORTER #4          The National Weather Service says          "White Squalls" are a meteorological          phenomenon of the imagination.          Would you care to comment of that?          Don't you have anything to say to          these parents?!!The reporter pops a flash picture in Skipper's face.Skipper flies around and knocks the camera to the ground.The reporter jumps back, startled.                         SKIPPER          Yes I do.  And it's private.  Very          private.Skipper is swept away towards the CUSTOMS BOOTH by COASTGUARD OFFICERS.  Skipper surrenders the manifest and it isstapled to the outside of the door.INT.  CUSTOMS HUT - SAMESkipper is whisked inside.  The Coast Guard Officers lockthe doors behind them.                         OFFICER          Sit down Captain.  We'll have a car          here in a few minutes.  Can I get          you a cup of coffee?                         SKIPPER          No, thank you.Skipper sits.  The wails of family members can be heard asthey see the list outside.  Flash bulbs and faces pressagainst the windows shouting questions.  He just stares atthe floor.OUTSIDEFrom above we can see the group swarm around the the boothlike angry hornets.  The crew are fractured and pulledapart from each other.  Charles, fights his way throughthe crowd.                         CHARLES          Chuck!  Chuck!!!Chuck tries to get to him.                         CHUCK          Dad!They embrace.  Flash bulbs explode all around them.                         CHUCK          Where's Mom?                         CHARLES          I couldn't bring her down here until          I knew you were safe.A WOMANStands, staring at the empty ramp.  Lost.  A man comes upbehind her and leads her away.A reporter shoves a microphone in Chuck's face.                         REPORTER #5          Was it the Skipper's fault?  And is          it true drinking was permitted on          board?  Why did the ship really go          down?Charles grabs the guy and shoves him back into the crowd.Chuck strains to see his crew mates but they have beenswept away.                         CHARLES          Come on.Charles puts his arm around Chuck, still barefoot, andtogether, they walk away.  Photographers trail after them,popping off a few last photos.  Chuck turns and looksback.INT.  CAR MOVING - DOWNTOWN - DAYA ride reminiscent of the one Chuck and his father tookbefore the journey began.  There is a gulf of silencebetween them.  Charles breaks it.                         CHARLES          I thought we'd find a store, get you          fixed up and then get you some          lunch.  That sound good?                         CHUCK          Yeah, sure.Chuck stares out the window at the traffic and congestion.A car in front of them runs a red light.  Charles slams onthe brakes.  Chuck is shaken up.  Charles notices.                         CHARLES          I'm sorry, son.  Are you okay?Chuck manages a nod.INT.  DEPARTMENT STORE - DAYLavish and conspicuous by Chuck's recent standards, thestore is crowded and jammed with merchandise.Claustrophobic.  Cash registers ring and MUZAK drifts infrom above.  Chuck follows as Charles pulls things off ofhangers and piles them into Chuck's arms.                         CHARLES          Why don't you go and try some of          that on?                         CHUCK          Okay.EXT.  DRESSING ROOM - DAYCharles peruses the racks.  He calls to Chuck.                         CHARLES          How're you doing in there?Chuck calls from a dressing room.                         CHUCK (O.S.)          Fine.                         CHARLES          All right.  I'm gonna wander over          and look at some shoes...INT.  DRESSING ROOM - SAMEChuck is curled up in the floor of the tiny booth.  Stilldressed in the clothes from the Gran Rio, perspirationbeads on his skin.                         CHUCK                  (calling out)          Okay.Tears stream down his face.  He looks up and sees himselfin the mirror.  The eyes that look back are eyes of theages.  Involuntary sobs.  He begins to shake.  The tinybooth suddenly like a crypt.  Tight, with no air.  Chucklets out a gasp.                         CHUCK          Oh God...Someone pulls open the curtain.  A MAN, from the nextbooth, fat and middle aged stands before Chuck in a pairof pants still sporting the price tags.  He looks down.                         MAN          You okay, kid?Chuck is suddenly in the throws of a full-on anxietyattack.  He leaps up and pushes past the man.EXT.  DRESSING ROOM - SAMEChuck explodes out of the dressing room.  Running, almostblind, he crashes into a rack of clothes.  Charles looksup as he scrambles to his feet and bolts for the doors.                         CHARLES          Chuck!!EXT.  STREET - SAMECharles bursts through the doors, looking up and down thestreet, but Chuck is... gone.EXT.  BEACH - SAMEThe setting sun paints Chuck's face with golden light.  Hestares out across the water.  Charles walks up behind him.                         CHUCK          When we were growing up I always          felt like you would take care of          things, that everything would be          okay.                  (beat)          But you can't make this okay, can          you?                         CHARLES          No, I can't.Charles puts his arm around his son.  Together they turnand walk back towards the boardwalk, and the world.INT.  COAST GUARD HEADQUARTERS - NIGHTSkipper sits across from a Coast Guard Officer, TYLER, 60.Tyler pulls out a file and lays it on the table.                         TYLER          There are allegations questioning          your competence with regard to the          command of the Albatross.  I have          been instructed to convene a formal          tribunal to determine whether or not          negligence played a part in the          sinking.                         SKIPPER          I understand.                         TYLER          May I ask you something?Skipper nods.                         TYLER          How'd you manage to piss off a guy          as powerful as Francis Boutillier?                         SKIPPER          It wasn't hard.                         TYLER          I used to helm a school ship.  A          long time ago.                         SKIPPER          The Coast Guard 'Eagle'.  She never          lost a race while you were Skipper.Tyler is taken aback by Skipper's knowledge.                         TYLER          That's right, we didn't.  I miss it          sometimes.  But, there are other          things a Skipper can do.Tyler removes his glasses and studies Skipper.                         TYLER          The families... want your ticket.          Turn it in, we forget the whole          thing.  Everybody goes home.                         SKIPPER          ... Absolutely not.                         TYLER          The papers are going to eat you          alive.  Even if you beat it, you'll          never get another commission.                  (beat)          They want someone to be accountable.                         SKIPPER          I am accountable.INT.  HOTEL ROOM - NIGHTStandard fare.  Two beds and a T.V.  Chuck's lacing a newpair of sneakers.  Charles is in the shower.  There is aknock at the door.  Chuck cracks the door.  It's Charlie.                         CHARLIE          We gotta talk.INT.  BOATHOUSE - NIGHTThe crew stand by the bulkhead.  Bill tosses down anewspaper.  The headline reads:  INVESTIGATION TO PROBESCHOOL SHIP TRAGEDY.                         BILL          We're all going to have to testify.          They're going to try to take his          license.                         TOM          Why?                         CHUCK          They need it to be simple.  They          need a reason.                         TOM          Who?                         CHUCK          All of them.  Everybody waiting on          that dock.                         TIM          So what are we supposed to do?                         TOD          Just tell 'em what we know and be          done with it.  That's what he'd          want.                         TERRY          Easy for you to say.                         TOD          What's that supposed to mean?!                         TERRY          Everybody knows why she went over          Tod.  You jibed the boat.                         TOD          I was trying to get her up wind!          That's what you do when you're hit          a-beam.  Or maybe you're too stupid          to know that!                         TERRY          That's not what Skipper thought.  He          was trying to spill air from the          main!                         BILL          It was coming four points off the          bow, Terry.  He never could have          gotten her around.                         TERRY          Were you on deck?  I was standing          right there and all I know is, he...                  (indicates Tod)          ... disobeyed an order, twice, and          the boat went over.                         TOD          It didn't go over 'til I turned her          starboard!                         BILL          It was an act of God for Christ's          sake.                         TERRY          It was an act of stupidity.Tod lunges at Terry.  Bill and Charlie pull them apart.                         TOD                  (screaming)          Was it my fault we were running all          that sail?!  Was it my fault she          wasn't dogged down?!!  HUH?!!  I          couldn't help that the ballast          shifted...!  You son of a bitch!!          It wasn't my fault!!  it wasn't.Tod breaks down, sodding on his knees.                         BILL          It's okay, Tod.Terry drags on a cigarette, then grinds out the butt.                         TERRY          Then whose?Tod looks up along with Bill and Charlie, all confused.                         TERRY          After the lightning strike, we tried          to go aloft to drop sail.  We'd done          it a thousand times.  We didn't have          to wait for an order.  But Skipper          called us down.                         CHARLIE          If the foremast had taken a strike,          everyone in the rigging would've          been fried.  What would you have          done?                         TERRY          We would have scalloped the squares          from the deck.  Right Bill?Bill turns and stares into the water, troubled.                         TOD          That's right, that's right!  Bleed          the sails from the deck and she          could've taken a hurricane!It's a strong argument.  Even Charlie is troubled by theimplication.  There is a long moment of silence betweenthem.                         CHUCK          This is crazy.  Nothing could have          prevented what happened.                         MIKE          You guys are missing the point.          This is all because of Phil.  Phil          and his dear old dad.                         BILL          What?                         MIKE          How do you think they got this          together so fast?  He's been laying          for Skipper since the first day.                         CHARLIE          Come on.  Like he's got a vendetta          or some such shit?                         MIKE          You got it.                  (to Chuck)          I told you he was a turn coat the          day we kicked him off the boat.Chuck frowns, troubled.                         CHUCK          No.  You're wrong.                         MIKE          I'm telling you, the only way to          change this is to get Phil to call          off his old man.  And that ain't          gonna happen.  So the way I see it,          it's Skipper or us.The guys react.  It's a no win situation.EXT.  MOTEL - NIGHTChuck knocks quietly on the door.  Phil answers the door.                         CHUCK          Can we talk?                         PHIL          I guess.                         FRANCIS (O.S.)          Who is it Philip?                         PHIL          It's okay.  I'll be in, in a minute.                  (to Chuck)          Look, what do you want?                         CHUCK          Everybody's saying this whole          tribunal is happening because of          your father.  Because of you.                         PHIL          Well that's just typical isn't it?                         CHUCK          Is it true Phil?                         PHIL          I gotta go.                         CHUCK          You weren't there, you don't know          what happened.                         PHIL                  (defensive)          I know enough.Chuck puts a hand out to stop him.                         CHUCK          Phil, please.  It won't change          anything.  Tell him to call it off.                         FRANCIS (O.S.)          Who are you talking to out there          Philip.  Come back in here.Phil meets Chuck's eyes, then looks away.                         PHIL          I'm sorry.He turns again and reaches for the door.                         CHUCK          Wait.Chuck hands him something.  Phil looks down, disbelieving.It's the ship's bell.  Robin's bell.  Their symbol ofunity, of putting loyalty above fear.                         CHUCK          We figured he'd have wanted you to          have it.                  (beat)          You do what you've gotta do Phil.He leaves Phil standing alone on the porch, full ofemotion, trying to grasp it all.INT.  HEARING ROOM - DAYA small courtroom.  The room is filled with the crewmembers and their families, including the parents of thevictims, as well as the media.  Phil sits with his fatherand dodges Chuck's eyes.  Coast Guard Officers Tyler,DOWNING and SANDERS head the proceedings.                         TYLER          The United States Coast Guard has          been asked to conduct this maritime          hearing to consider the revocation          of Captain Richard Sheldrake's U.S.          Master Seaman's Certificate.INT.  HEARING ROOM - LATERBill sits at the table with his parents as questions areleveled at him.  Chief petty officers Sanders and Downingask most of the questions as Tyler oversees theproceedings.                         SANDERS          Why didn't you drop any sail?                         BILL          Skipper called us out of the          rigging.                         SANDERS          But your instinct was to lose sail?                         BILL          My instinct was to not get          electrocuted.                         SANDERS          How old are you, son?                         BILL                  (hesitating)          Fifteen.                         SANDERS          Thank you.LATERPhil is at the table with Francis.  Sanders asks thequestions.                         SANDERS          Philip, why were you discharged from          the Albatross?Phil doesn't look up and speaks in whispers.                         PHIL          Skipper thought I was a challenge to          authority.                         SANDERS          Were you?                         PHIL          I don't know.LATER                         FRANCIS          Captain Sheldrake exhibited an          arrogant, controlling attitude in my          presence on more than one occasion.          I believe he had a personality          conflict with my son from the start.                         SANDERS          Well, if you don't mind my asking,          sir, why did you let your son stay?Francis is stumped for a moment but recovers quickly.                         FRANCIS          It was his dream to go.  I could          hardly stand in the way of that,          could I?Phil rubs his temples as if he is going to explode.INT.  HEARING ROOM - LATERIt is Skipper's turn at the table.                         SANDERS          Is it true that you forced Robin          Weathers to climb the mast when it          was clear that he was acrophobic.                         SKIPPER          He climbed when he was ready.                         SANDERS          Were you aware that his brother was          killed in a fall.Chuck and the others look up astonished.  Mike shoots alook towards Phil.                         MIKE          He did it man.  He sang like a bird.Skipper hesitates.                         SKIPPER          Yes, I was.Whispers fill the room.                         SANDERS          Sir, were you aware at any time of          the use of alcohol among the crew.                         SKIPPER          Yes, I was.                         TYLER          And you didn't do anything about it?                         SKIPPER                  (beat)          No.  I didn't.Again the crew members are struck.  Charlie turns toChuck.                         CHARLIE          They're twisting it all around.  Why          doesn't he say something?                         SANDERS          Had you ever seen a "White Squall"          before this incident?                         SKIPPER          No.                         SANDERS          What makes you so sure it was one?                         SKIPPER          I can't be sure.                         SANDERS          You really felt that your crew were          up for the conditions.                         SKIPPER          We'd come twelve thousand miles          together, through every kind of seas          imaginable...                         SANDERS          Except, a "White Squall".                  (beat)          With all due respect Captain          Sheldrake, they're only boys...                         SKIPPER          They are much more than that, sir.                         SANDERS          Is it true that the reason you          expelled Philip Boutillier...                         SKIPPER                  (cutting him off)          For killing a dolphin.                         SANDERS          ... and that you invited him to          strike you?  To fight it out on the          deck of your ship?!Skipper looks over at Francis.  Phil stares at the floor.Skipper manages an ironic smile.                         SKIPPER          Yes, that's true.                         SANDERS          Do you think this is funny?  Some          kind of joke?  You lost six people          out there.                         SKIPPER                  (white hot)          I don't think one second of this is          funny, sir.Skipper stares down Sanders.  He turns to Tyler.                         SANDERS          I have no more questions at this          time.He turns to sit down, then stops.                         SANDERS          Oh, one last thing... Isn't true          that your father was a sea Captain?Skipper bristles.                         SKIPPER          Yes.                         SANDERS          Isn't also true that his vessel went          down off of Nantucket?  Lost          everyone on board.  In fair weather          no less.Skipper's silence is suddenly filled with rage.  Tylersees it and tries to intercept.                         TYLER          What does this have to do with          anything Mr. Sanders?                         SANDERS                  (smug)          Oh, nothing.  I was just curious.                         SKIPPER          My father, was more seaman, more of          a man, than you might ever hope to          be.Sanders returns to his seat, rattled.  Tyler pounds hisgavel.                         TYLER          We'll take a brief recess.EXT.  BUILDING - DAYThe crew huddle in the parking lot.  Fractured, confused.Chuck, Tod, Charlie and Bill, stand off by themselves.                         TOD          There's still a way.                         BILL          What do you mean?                         TOD          It's me, don't you see.  Terry's          right, I'm the escape hatch.  I          disobeyed order.                         CHUCK          You taking the order wouldn't have          changed anything.                         TOD          They don't know that.                  (beat)          We were the only one's on deck.          Look, there's nothing they can do to          me right?  I'm a kid.                         CHUCK          But that's not the point...                         TOD          That is the point... And Skipper'll          slip off the hook.LATERTod is on the stand.                         DOWNING          Why didn't you turn hard to port as          the wind hit?                         TOD          I thought we'd have a better chance          if I headed into the wind so we          could spill air from our sails.Tyler removes his glasses.                         DOWNING          But the Captain ordered you hard to          starboard.                         TOD          Twice.                         DOWNING          Is that what you were trained to do?                         TOD          No.                         DOWNING          Then what do you think he was trying          to do.                         TOD          Let the blow drive the boat down          wind.  Neutralize our canvas.Skipper is becoming uneasy.  He sees what is coming.                         DOWNING          So when the captain gave you an          order contrary to your training, you          thought he was making a mistake?                         TOD          No.                         TYLER          Then why son, why didn't you follow          his order?Tod meets Skipper's eyes.                         TOD          Because -- I panicked.The room is suddenly buzzing.  Tod's Father stands up.                         TOD'S FATHER          That's not true Tod.                         TERRY                  (to Mike)          What the hell?  What is he doing.                         MIKE          Son of a gun.  He just sent Skipper          a life boat.Tyler turns to Skipper.                         TYLER          If this young man had responded          instantly to your command, do you          believe the ship might have been          spared?                         SKIPPER          I don't know that anything could          have prevented what happened.                         TYLER          Then what are you trying to say          then?Skipper stands.                         SKIPPER          Maybe you can't see what's happening          here, but it's clear to me.                  (to Tod)          I appreciate what you're trying to          do Tod.  Maybe you could live with          it, but I couldn't.                  (to tribunal)          If you think I'm going to let a          sixteen year old take          responsibility, then you          underestimate me.  The Albatross was          my ship.  The Ocean Academy was my          school.  Her loss is mine and mine          alone.                  (to others)          I can't bring your sons back.  If          you want my ticket, if that will          ease your loss, it's the least I          can do.  This...Skipper pulls out his wallet and takes out his license.                         SKIPPER          This is easy.  Living with it,          that'll be hard.Skipper turns and lays his license down in front of Tyler.Then he turns and begins walking towards the back of theroom.The room erupts.  Crew members and their families hurlaccusations and blame.  Cameras flash.  Tyler tries toregain control.  Suddenly Chuck stands, tall.                         CHUCK          No!!!  Don't you walk away!  Not          now.  Not after all of this!!!!Skipper keeps walking.  His head slumps.  Tyler pounds hisgavel.                         TYLER          That enough son!!  Order!!  Please!!Tears begin to stream down Chuck's face.  His father,Charles, slowly stands meeting his sons eyes.  Go for it.                         CHUCK          Tell me Skipper, was it all just a          lie?  "Where we go one, we go all".          We listened to you.  We believed it.          And we're still here!!Skipper keeps moving.                         CHUCK          Shame on you then Skipper.  Shame on          you.Skipper reaches for the door.  Suddenly a sound stops himcold in his tracks.  Phil slowly rises.  Tears streamingdown his face.  Tightly in his hands he grips the shipsbell.  Ding ding.  Ding ding.  Ding ding.  It is theringing of the truth.  The tolling of their unity.                         FRANCIS          Sit down!Phil ignores him.  Skipper slowly walks over, his eyesnever leaving Phil's.  He stops, facing him.  He gentlytakes his hands and silences the bell.  Then he smiles andputs a hand on the back of Phil's head fighting his ownemotions.  He turns to Chuck.                         CHUCK          Tell them the truth.  Make them          understand.The room grows silent.                         SKIPPER                  (smiling)          You tell them Chuck.Chuck suddenly feels the eyes of the room.                         CHUCK          It's simple.  Bad things happen          sometimes.  It wasn't Skipper or          Tod.  It was all of us.  Everyone in          this room.  Because we all knew the          risks.                  (to parents)          You sent us... You paid our tuition,          you allowed us to go.  So to invent          a reason for why this happened, to          pin it on one person, well that          won't change anything.  It'll just          make our experience meaningless.He turns to the tribunal.                         CHUCK          If you want to judge this man, judge          him by his crew.  Judge him by Alice          and George.  Chris and John and          Robin.  In one way or another each          one of them gave their lives saving          one of us.  This may sound crazy but          the Albatross wasn't just a ship, or          even a school.  It was something          that we made, that's inside us.          That's who Skipper is.  That's what          he taught us.  I guess what it          really was about was... the          privilege of sacrifice.Chuck turns to Skipper.                         CHUCK          Isn't that right?Skipper nods.                         SKIPPER          That's right.The room is silent.  Then, a voice.  A golden tenorsinging like the wind.  Everyone turns.  It's Bill.                         BILL          When the sun came up, there was          whisky in the cup, and not a one of          us was sober...One by one the crew members stand and begin to sing.Chuck turns, surprised to see his father rise and standwith him.  Words or not.                         CREW TOGETHER          Jenny thought she saw a picture when          it really was the sun, then we knew          the party was over.They all stand facing Skipper and sing.  The voices build,sweeping over everyone like a wave.                         CREW TOGETHER          Oh my heart is sad, for leaving you          today, but I know we'll meet again,          when the moon is in the valley and          the leafs are on the trees, We will          come to clearly in the glen...Skipper meets Chuck's eyes and those of his mates.  Onlynow is his job finished.  He beams back.  The music swellslike an anthem, building, like a swell lifting a smallwooden boat over a jagged reef, until it rests safely inthe calm waters beyond.The crew come together around Skipper one last time.  Theyembrace.EXT.  MYSTIC SEAPORT - HARBOR - DAYOlder Chuck has returned to the small building where thefuneral services were held earlier.  The people have gonebut the funeral urn remains.EXT.  PIER - DAYChuck walks to the dock.  He has the funeral urn in hishands.  He steps aboard a small sailboat and beginsuntying her.  The HARBOR MASTER notices and steps out ofhis office.                         HARBOR MASTER          What do you think you're doing.He walks over to the dock.                         HARBOR MASTER          All right friend, out of the boat.He tries to board the boat but Chuck greets him with thesharp end of a gaffing hook.                         OLDER CHUCK                  (softly)          Stand away.He looks into Chuck's eyes and sees that he meansbusiness.  He backs off.  Chucks pushes away and raisesthe sail.  The harbor master watches, perplexed as thesmall boat moves off for open water.EXT.  OPEN SEA - SUNSETBathed in the orange glow of the sun, Chuck stands nakedagainst the ivory sail.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          They didn't take his ticket that          day.  But why he never returned to          the sea, I'd never know.  Perhaps he          hadn't been able to free himself          from the anchor of grief that had          driven him to his knees aboard the          Gran Rio, or that he no longer cared          for the solitude and isolation of          command without his Alice.  Or maybe          it was just that the waves that had          spoken to him for so long, had grown          silent.  Whatever it was, that          thing, it had always troubled me.          Because, fate offers up no reasons.          And maybe that's what I have          traveled these thirty four years to          say.  Maybe that is all I really          know... And, that one man cared.Chuck turns to the sea and speaks.                         OLDER CHUCK          Rest easy old salt.  For together          again, we'll sail.With a powerful heave, he hurls the Skipper's remains atthe sinking sun and into the arms of Neptune.                                            DISSOLVE TO:EXT.  BEACH - SUNSETThe same sunset, but from another time.  Four young menwalk along a deserted beach.  A small boat has beached androcks gently in the shallows.  The boys run up and look atit.  On the stern are painted the words:  BRIGANTINEALBATROSS.SLOWLY PULL BACK to reveal endless white sand, blue water,the young men and the boat.                         OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)          Some time later we learned that one          of our long boats had been          recovered.  Several young men found          it washed up on a nameless beach          somewhere on the island of          Hispaniola.  No one seemed to know          who they were or where they came          from, but they seemed to know of the          Albatross.                  (pause)          Sometimes in my dreams those          faceless young men reveal themselves          as my lost companions, and on the          twilight coral sands of forever,          between my slumber and conscious          state, we race naked again, so open          and in love with those precious          moments, running, ever laughing,          ever young, ever free.                                            SLAM CUT TO:EXT.  GALAPAGOS - DUSKYoung again, their hair sun bleached and skins brown,Chuck, John, Robin, Rick, Chris and Tod, pound through thesurf in a grinning footrace.  Brothers all.  Music builds.FREEZE FRAME                                            FADE OUT.                         THE END
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+                         WILD THINGS: DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH                                     Written by                              Andy Hurst & Ross Helford                                                            INT. MUSEUM - DAY                    A perfect rainbow is trapped inside two flawless DIAMONDS,          glinting in the morning sun.                    Tounted on crushed velvet, the identical diamonds are on a glass          covered pedal stool in the middle of a vast, marble MUSEUM HALL.                    The stunning beauty of the stones is matched only by the          breathtaking beauty of the young woman who's admiring them. MARIE          CLIFFORD's creamy seventeen year old skin is dappled in the          cornucopia of colors emanating from the diamonds...                    She reaches out tentatively towards the glass case. Not to touch          the diamonds, but to run her fingers over a picture that's mounted          in the case below the priceless jewels. It's of a MOTHER cradling          her BABY DAUGHTER...                                        MARIE                    Today's the day, Mom...                                        CURATOR (O.S.)                    You here again, Marie?                    Marie spins round, sees the bespectacled CURATOR, 60's, standing          behind her.                                        MARIE                    Just leaving.                    Marie carefully adjusts the sign atop the glass case...                    'THE MOTHER DAUGHTER DIAMONDS...'                    EXT. MUSEUM - DAY                    Marie fires up her powerful BMW, parked right outside the austere          Museum building. The powerful stereo blasts, sending the birds          fluttering skywards...                    CREDITS appear over...                    ARIEL FOOTAGE of a narrow highway, Marie's BMW streaking through          the endless tract of Florida wetlands. In the water, GATORS, warm          themselves in the early morning sun...                     MOVING over the vast tracts of swampland, flocks of tropical BIRDS          stretch their majestic wings, locals speed across the stagnant          waters in their deafening AIRBOATS...                     Through thick trees and foliage to trailer homes and tract housing          and into the town of Blue Bay, where the nip/tucked denizens sip          three martini lunches and tee off at the local country club.                                                                       03/22/2004   2.                                        Marie steers her BMW into the showroom-like parking lot of Blue          Bay High School.                    INT. MARIE'S BMW - MORNING                    Marie guides her powerful car towards her parking spot, when...                    SCCCREEEECCCHHHH!                    She SLAMS on the brakes as a figure darts in front of her car.          Almost gives her a heart attack, throwing her forward, flailing          arms crashing into the stereo, then snapped back by her seatbelt.                    She sits stock still for a second, then looks up, out of her          windshield at the young woman scouring at her, only inches from          the front bumper of the BMW.                    The sudden jolt has changed the radio station. A newscaster          rambles on...                                        RADIO NEWSCASTER (V.O.)                    ... operation, aimed at finally capturing                    the Black Widow suspect after a six month                    trail of embezzlement and fraud, once                    again failed to snare its subject.                    ELENA SANDOVAL, 17, stands defiantly in front of the BMW, her          don't-fuck-with-me stare in direct contrast with her come-fuck-me          clothes.                                           RADIO NEWSCASTER (V.O.)                    Blue Bay Police Detective Michael                    Morrison was able to recover over                    $400,000 in stolen money, but the                    suspect, described as Female, between                    eighteen and thirty, remains at large...                    Marie reaches out with a trembling hand, turns off the stereo,          then leans out of the car window.                                        MARIE                    I'm... so... sorry...                    Elena smiles wryly.                                        ELENA                    You will be.                    And she means it...                                                                    03/22/2004   3.                                        INT. BLUE BAY HIGH AUDITORIUM - MORNING                    The auditorium is packed with the Blue Bay High student body. The          natural order is clear, the pastel flock at the front, the meat          headed jocks in the center, and the rejects at the back.                    Marie is amongst her sweater monkey friends, but she's still          shocked by what happened out in the parking lot...                                        JENNY                        (handing over a present)                    Happy birthday, babe. They ain't                    diamonds, but you're just gonna have to                    wait for those...                    Marie tentatively opens the gift, sees a pair of OPAL EARRINGS.                                        MARIE                        (unconvincing)                    Thank you. Thank you so much...                                        JENNY                    Are you OK, hon?                    Marie looks back, to the far reaches of the auditorium where the          freaks and geeks crowd round Elena, worshipping her like the          Goddess she is...                                        MARIE                    I...yeah...I'll be fine...It's                    just...that new girl...I almost hit her                    in the parking lot...                                        JENNY                    You mean the towel girl, the one who                    transferred in? Jesus, she's trouble. You                    know the only reason she's slinging                    towels is 'cos it's court ordered...                    Marie and Elena make brief, electric eye contact, across the sea          of hormonally challenged students as Principal LIONEL MOSSTER, his          ill-fitting sports jacket coffee-stained, steps onstage.                                        MOSSTER                    We're here today to address a growing                    epidemic that affects all of you.                    He pauses, waits for the student body to quiet down...                                        MOSSTER                    National studies report sexual activity                    among students at an all-time high.                                                                    03/22/2004   4.                                        The students all cheer, naturally.                                        MOSSTER                    We'll see who's cheering when you've got                    an unwanted pregnancy on your hands, or                    get slapped with a paternity suit...Or                    arrested for date rape. But don't take my                    word for it...                    He motions behind him to KRISTEN RICHARDS, early 30's, a natural          beauty who's doing her best to hide behind a bland gray suit and          glasses, and CHAD BORMAN, late 20s, devilishly handsome...                                        PRINCIPAL MOSSTER                    Miss Richards and Dr. Borman are here to                    tell you about the pitfalls first hand...                    Kristen steps up to the lectern.                                        KRISTEN                    Good morning, my name is Kristen                    Richards. I'm an officer for the Miami                    juvenile parole board, as some of you                    already know...                    Quick glance at Elena who rolls her eyes...                                        KRISTEN                    But that's not what brings me here today.                    When I heard about Principal Mosster's                    sex education program I thought I'd                    volunteer my own personal story, in hopes                    that you might learn from the mistakes I                    made. Back in High school all I wanted to                    do was get drunk, stoned and laid...                    The students roar their approval.                                        KRISTEN                    By my junior year, my life was a blur of                    cheap beer, anonymous sex, partying every                    night of the week...                    Elena covers her mouth, as if to cough...                                        ELENA                        (through fake coughs)                    ...whore...                    Kristen ignores the slur.                                                                      03/22/2004   5.                                                            KRISTEN                    And then, one night at some pathetic frat                    party, someone slipped a roofie in my                    drink...and raped me.                    This quiets the auditorium.                                        KRISTEN                    There isn't a day goes by my skin doesn't                    crawl when I think of the violation and                    humiliation I endured. I can promise you                    that if you make the same kind of wrong-                    headed choices I did, you'll be seeing                    Dr. Borman...                    Chad steps to the podium.                                        CHAD                    Thank you, Miss Richards. My name's Dr.                    Chad Borman. I run the forensics lab at                    the police department, where my work has                    helped convict hundreds of sex offenders.                    Most teens like Ms. Richards never get                    their lives together. The physical scars                    may go away, but the emotional damage                    stays forever.                    While Chad drones on, MUDDY, a Gremlin-eyed drooler, sitting in          front of Elena, looks back at her shapely legs as she puts them up          on the back of the chair. He spots the ugly plastic bracelet          locked around one of her ankles.                                        MUDDY                    That's not...what I think it is, is it?                                        ELENA                    Whattchya think it is, bitch?                    The words catch in his throat.                                        MUDDY                    One of them...Parole leashes...                                        ELENA                    Bingo.                                        MUDDY                    So you can't, like, go more than ten                    miles from the cop shop?                    Elena taps the flashing red light on the plastic bracelet.                                                                       03/22/2004   6.                                                            ELENA                    Five. I got someone's panties in a bunch.                    Back at the podium, Chad leans forward, making sure his words          resonate with the student body.                                        CHAD                    And as for the perpetrators of this                    heinous act, even if you are still a                    minor, you will be tried as an adult,                    and, if convicted, you will do hard time.                    He pauses to let the impact of this wash over the students.                                        CHAD                    Are there any questions?                                        ELENA                        (calling out)                    Yeah, I got one for Miss Richards.                                          KRISTEN                    Ask away.                                        ELENA                    When they found the scumbag who took your                    precious flower of virginity, you sued                    his sorry ass, right?                    Kristen is taken aback by Elena's insensitivity, stumbles over her          words, finally spitting out the sad, sorry truth...                                        KRISTEN                    Uh, no, actually, I was never able to                    make a positive ID. All I remember was                    his alcohol-soaked breath whispering in                    my ear, "You won't remember, but you'll                    never forget..."                    Elena cracks a sideways grin...                                        ELENA                    So what you're really saying is you                    fucked for free...                    Kristen has no answer to that. Principal Mosster does his best to          control the situation...                                        PRINCIPAL MOSSTER                    Miss Sandoval. You're on thin ice, young                    lady!                    Like Elena cares.   She leans back, nods. Job done.                                                                                  7.                                        EXT. BLUE BAY HIGH DIVING POOL - DAY                    The bright Florida sunshine washes down on packed bleachers by the          side of the massive diving pool, where a diving meet is in full          swing...                                        ANNOUNCER (V.O.)                    Blue Bay High School would like to                    welcome all participating diving teams                    from the tri-county region...                    Breathtaking beauties from teams all over the region, in their          school colored bikinis, are scattered around the pool area.                    But all eyes are on the home team. Masturbatory fantasies abound          as the Blue Bay Girls' Diving Team runs through stretches...                    And as exquisite as these girls are, they pale in comparison to          absolutely sweet Marie, stunning in her nearly see-through white          bathing suit.                                        ANNOUNCER (V.O.)                    First up, district champion Marie                    Clifford...                    The crowd cheers, watching Marie edge out to the diving platform          twenty feet above. Jenny right behind, waits on the ladder...                    JAY CLIFFORD, Marie's chisel-jawed stepfather in his late          thirties, focuses a DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA on Marie from the front          row of the bleachers...                                        JAY                    C'mon now baby, you can do it...                    Marie just rolls her eyes.                                        JENNY                    Your stepfather's just got a lot invested                    in the team.                    Marie looks at her stepfather, nods tentatively, but then notices          the incongruous figure of Elena, sidling up to him...                                        JAY                        (to Marie)                    Just try to keep those legs together.                                        ELENA (O.S.)                    Shouldn't be a problem for Miss teen                    Virgin.                                                                                         03/22/2004   8.                                        Jay looks round, lowers the camera when he comes face to face with          the world's hottest towel girl...                                           JAY                    Excuse me?                                        ELENA                    You're Mr. Clifford, right? As in                    Clifford construction?                                        JAY                    I am, yes, but...                                        ELENA                    I'd love to see one of your erections...                    Whoa. Jay's lost for words as he diverts his attention to the          platform where Marie stands perfectly still before stepping into          the air.                    It's a spectacular sight as the beautiful Marie completes a double          back flip, entering the water with near-perfect form. She quickly          resurfaces, climbs out of the pool and exchanges high fives with          her teammates before crossing to Jay.                                         JAY                    Nice take off, gotta work on the                    landing...                                        MARIE                    I can't do any better...                    Jay shakes a finger at her, silences her immediately.                                        JAY                    No such word as 'can't. Now do it again.                    Only better...                    Marie takes a deep breath, approaches the ladder once more. As          she's about to start the arduous climb, Elena hands her a towel...                                        ELENA                    Bet you choke.                    Stops Marie in her tracks.                                        MARIE                    What's your major malfunction?                                        ELENA                    Just wanted to make a wager. Between best                    friends.                                                                                  9.                                        Marie just starts to climb the ladder to the high dive platform.                                        ELENA                    You blow this dive, I get those diamonds                    of yours.                    Marie stops, looks down on Elena from the fifth rung of the          ladder, shakes her head...                                        MARIE                    How'd you know about my inheritance?                                        ELENA                    Talk of the town, birthday girl. Today's                    the day, right?                                        MARIE                    And what, pray tell, are you willing to                    wager when I win?                    Elena thinks for a second, glances back at Jay with a big smile.                                        ELENA                    I'll stay away from your stepfather. You                    make it, I won't be your new stepmom                    anytime soon. Whattya say?                    Marie just stands there incredulous for a moment.                                        MARIE                    Take your sorry ass back to the swamps.                    She ascends the ladder, leaving Elena behind...                                        ELENA                    Choke!                    Marie clambers up onto the high dive platform, tries to focus on          the task at hand. But can't help but notice her nemesis below,          walking slowly, seductively, up to Jay, intoxicating him...                    Marie blocks out the distraction, concentrates at the task at          hand, stepping to the edge of the platform and the 20 foot drop          looming beyond...                    She slides a ring off her finger, kisses it for luck. It's an odd          design. Four curved gold ridges, just ready to hold a Diamond...                    She throws the ring into the pool ahead of her, the gold glinting          in the afternoon sunlight as it drops into the water, and a split          second before it breaks the surface, Marie is airborne...                                                                                       03/22/2004   10.                                        She twists magnificently through the air, a sight of breathtaking          beauty. Thank God this is in slow motion.                    And as she gets ever closer to the water's surface, she tucks,          does one last back flip, straightening out at the last possible          instant, slicing through the water with nary a splash.                    Marie surfaces to roaring APPLAUSE. Treading water, she can't help          but watch her Jay's smiling face in the bleachers...                    EXT. CLIFFORD MANSION - AFTERNOON                    Sickeningly expensive POWERBOATS and de-rigged SCHOONERS line the          inlet leading to the verdant lawns of the Clifford Mansion...                    Banners and streamers wishing Marie a happy birthday decorate the          grounds. Partygoers soak in the blazing Florida sun, sip at non-          alcoholic punch, and stare out gratefully across the thin stretch          of water that separates them from the riff-raff on the mainland...                    Marie sits away from it all, lost in thought, as Jenny, in cutoffs          and a bikini top, sidles up beside her.                               J                               ENNY                    What's the matter, sweetie, pissed that                    one judge only gave you a 9.7?                    Marie forces a smile.                                        MARIE                    Nah. I'm cool.                                        JENNY                    Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, babe.                    You got diamonds on the mind.                                        JAY (O.S.)                    Have either of you seen my video camera?                    Marie looks round to her stepfather, shakes her head, bringing a          bemused look to Jay's face.                                        JAY                    I had it at the dive meet, I'm sure...                    He shrugs, picks up a crystal glass, hits a fork sharply against          it, drawing the attention of the assembled partygoers...                                        JAY                    Ladies, Gentlemen, friends, raise a glass                    to Marie, on her eighteenth birthday.                    Everyone raises their fine crystal.                    H                                                                                                   03/22/2004   11.                                                            JAY                    She's become every inch of the woman her                    Mother hoped she'd be. Wherever she is                    now, Julie's looking down and smiling.                    Tears well in Marie's eyes...                                        JAY                    And that's why, on your eighteenth                    birthday, Marie, I know your mother                    wanted you to have...                    He notices, out of the corner of his eyes, two well-dressed MEN          standing at the entrance to his house. Whoever they are, Jay's          instantly unnerved. He stumbles over his words...                                        JAY                    ... she wanted you to have... a wonderful                    birthday party surrounded by all your                    friends.                     e glances back toward the house, watching the two men enter...                                        JAY                    Please excuse me.                    ... and hurries after them.   Marie is left dumbfounded. So close,          but so far...                                        MARIE                    Jay! What about my present?                    She chases after him...                    INT. CLIFFORD MANSION HALLWAY - DAY                    Marie makes her way down the sleek white corridors inside the          opulent Clifford Mansion, past framed family photos, of Jay, Marie          and the late Julie...                                        MARIE                    Jay?          H           e's nowhere to be found. Frustrated, Marie finds herself alone in          the kitchen. She angrily selects a bottle of Champagne, pops the          cork. Before she can swig any alcohol she hears raised voices.                                        JAY (O.S.)                    It simply can't be done...                    Marie tentatively edges out of the kitchen, back into the hallway,          and down towards Jay's study...                                                                                 12.                                                            JAY (O.S.) (CONT'D)                    In all construction there's delays.                    Marie sidles up to the door jam, peaks through the crack. What she          sees makes the blood run cold in her veins...                    An imposing Cuban businessman, MR. BARAJAS, stands threateningly          over a visibly frightened Jay. Another man, CICATRIZ, dressed in          designer silks, stands menacingly in the corner, clearly the brawn          of this little operation.                                        MR. BARAJAS                    Four months is not a delay. It's a                    disaster.                                        JAY                    You have my word, Mr. Barajas, the                    building is almost finished. Just give me                    a week, two tops.                    Barajas nods to Cicatriz, who moves in on Jay with lightning          quickness, holds a Razor sharp KNIFE against his thumb.                                        MR. BARAJAS                    We are long past the negotiation stage.                    Cicatriz runs the steel blade across Jay's thumb. Marie has to          cover her mouth from screaming as she sees a trickle of blood          stain the spotless white carpet.                                        MR. BARAJAS (CONT'D)                    For every day the building goes                    unfinished, we'll take a finger...                    A sinister grin stretches across Cicatriz's lips.                                        CICATRIZ                    Pray, Mr. Clifford, you finish before the                    eleventh day...                    And with that the Cuban men head to the door. Marie scrambles          away, her heart pounding...                    She's halfway down the hallway when Mr. Barajas and Cicatriz exit          Jay's study. She turns, tries to look innocent as the Cuban          'businessmen' stare her down.          J           ay appears in the doorway, sweat cascading from his brow.                                        JAY                    Marie! Shouldn't you be with your                    friends?                    A                                                                                                 03/22/2004   13.                                                            MARIE                    I was just...                    Cicatriz takes a step towards her.                                        JAY                        (to Marie)                    I'll be right there. With your gift...                    just... wait outside, OK?                    Marie backs away, never taking her eyes off the intimidating Cuban          men...                    EXT. CLIFFORD MANSION - AFTERNOON                    Marie stumbles down the lawns, past the semi-clad partygoers, in a          daze, as she takes hits from the bottle of champagne.                    Jenny and the dive team wait by the dock, and welcome their lost          sheep with open arms.                                        JENNY                    So? Did you get the key? Are you Blue                    Bay's richest bitch?                    Marie's thoughts are drowned out by the ROAR of a powerful engine.          All attention turns to a rusted MOTORCYCLE as it streaks across          the verdant lawns, leaving a spray of MUD in its wake.                     nd atop the bike... Elena, in skintight leathers.                                        JENNY                    Holy shit, who invited her?                    Marie's slightly drunken eyes narrow. Elena brings the bike to a          screeching halt inches from the surprised guests. The ultimate          partycrasher...                                        MARIE                    This is a private party...                                        ELENA                    Don't mind me. I ain't here for your                    stupid party.                    She's striding towards the Mansion, towards Jay who's standing at          the patio doors, an exquisitely wrapped present in his hands.                                        MARIE                    Get the hell outta here! NOW!                    Marie stumbles after Elena, grabbing her from behind, holding her          back. There's a tense moment before...                                                                      03/22/2004   14.                                                            ELENA                    Damn girl, whattcha been drinking?                                        MARIE                    Stay away from my stepfather!                                           ELENA                    Make me...                    And that's it. Marie lashes out with a haymaker punch. Connects on          Elena's jaw and she goes reeling back. But it's ignited the street          fighter in her, and she comes roaring back into the fray, ramming          into Marie and together they tumble to the ground...          T           he crowds gather to watch the cat-fight, in equal parts appalled          and aroused. It's a hair pulling, teeth gnashing, make up smearing          wrestling match, no holds barred. The drunken Marie has the upper          hand, the alcohol fueling her rage.                                        JAY (O.S.)                    What the hell's going on here?                    And that stops the fight right there and then. Marie looks up to          see a red faced Jay standing over her.                                        MARIE                    This...trash is just looking for a meal                    ticket...                    Elena gets to her feet, licks the blood from her split lip.                                        ELENA                    Mr. Clifford. Betcha proud of little                    Marie now, huh?                    He hauls Marie to her feet, thrusts her towards the mansion.                                        JAY                    Party's over.                    Groans from the crowd, but Jay's mind is made up.                                        MARIE                    But...what about...my present...                    Jay's already walking away.                                        JAY                    I'm going to the condos. Sleep it off,                    whydontcha?                    Elena watches Jay stride away, like a lioness stalking her prey...                                                                      03/22/2004   15.                                        EXT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING SITE - NIGHT                    Work lights illuminate the half finished condo building site, on          prime beachfront real estate. These places would sell for          millions, if they were ever finished...                    INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING OFFICE - NIGHT                    In a concrete makeshift office, on the top floor of the condo          building, Jay clicks open the lock on his large metal safe and the          steel door swings open.                    Inside are stacks of CASH, piled high, along with a shiny new          HANDGUN. Jay flicks through the money, shaking his head...                                        JAY                        (sotto)                    Not enough. Just not enough...                    A clanking noise from outside has him quickly snatching the gun          from the safe, before closing it once more, spinning the lock...                    INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - CONTINUOUS                    Jay walks out of his office, into the half-finished top floor of          the condos. Exposed beams and drying cement reveal how far behind          schedule Jay really is...                               J                               AY                    Hello? Anyone there?                    He swings the gun round impotently, seeing nothing in the          flickering florescent light...                    Finally Jay lowers the weapon. It looks like he might collapse,          until he catches himself, palms flat against the wall, head down.                                           JAY (CONT'D)                    Fuck me...                                        ELENA (O.S.)                    Any time. Any place...                    He reels around, sees Elena moving toward him, brushing aside the          thick plastic sheeting. She has a bottle of beer in one hand, a          video camera in the other. Jay's video camera to be precise...                                        JAY                    What are you doing here?                                        ELENA                    You promised to show me your erection...                                                                    03/22/2004   16.                                        Elena focuses the video camera on Jay's crotch. Makes him          incredibly uncomfortable, obviously.                                        JAY                    Is that my...camera?                    Elena thrusts the bottle of beer at Jay.                                        ELENA                    Lighten up, Jay.                    Jay takes the bottle from her, sets it down on the concrete floor.                                        JAY                    Enough's enough. I think it's time you                    left.                    This brings a teasing pout to Elena's lips.                                        ELENA                    Is that any way to treat Marie's new best                    friend?                    Jay's taken aback.                                        JAY                    You're best friends are you?                                        ELENA                    Sure. We've been having sleepovers.                    Talking about boys, swapping tips. She's                    been teaching me about shopping, I've                    been teaching her about giving mind                    blowing head...                    Jay's taken aback once more. How much more aback can he be taken?          He reaches out and blocks the video camera lens.                                        JAY                    Gimme the camera back...                    Elena saunters slowly past, brushing up against him. Keeps the          camera trained on his worried face...                                        ELENA                    Come get it.                    Jay's reaching his elastic limit. He reaches for the camera, but          Elena won't let go. They wrestle for control of the video camera.          And finally the camera slips from both their grasps, flies across          the room and SHATTERS on the concrete floor...                                                                      03/22/2004   17.                                                            ELENA                        (slyly)                    Ooopppps.                    Elena runs her finger under Jay's chin, then turns and walks away,          leaving Jay standing there, all taken aback.                    EXT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING    - NIGHT                    A drunken Marie brings her BMW to a swerving halt outside the          construction site. She takes a swig from the Champagne bottle on          the passenger seat for dutch courage...                                        MARIE                        (sotto)                    It's present time.                    She reaches for the car door handle, but comes up short. When she          looks back up she's in for some taking aback of her own...                    Elena comes walking out of the building site, and the two girls          lock eyes. There's an uncomfortable moment before Elena flashes a          satisfied smile and walks away...                                        MARIE                    What the hell...                    Marie's about to get out of her car when Jay comes walking out of          the site, looks around the lot, sees Marie's car.                                        JAY                    What are you doing here at this time of                    night?                    Marie stammers to find the words...                                        MARIE                    I just...wanted to apologize for my                    behavior earlier. I was out of line.                    Jay's mood lightens.                                        JAY                    When we admit our mistakes we grow.                    You've made an important step.                                        MARIE                    So...what about my present?                                        JAY                    Meet me at the Museum. Before school                    tomorrow. Now go home, get some sleep,                    I'm gonna finish up here...                                                                    03/22/2004    18.                                        He walks away and a smile creeps across Marie's face.                                                                FADE TO BLACK:                    INT. MUSEUM - MORNING                    A perfect rainbow is trapped inside the two flawless Mother          Daughter DIAMONDS, glinting in the morning sun.                    Marie can barely contain her excitement as she paces frantically          in the dark marble museum hall, reaching out a trembling hand          towards the glass case containing the priceless jewels...                                        JAY (O.S.)                    You really think you're ready for your                    inheritance?                    Marie looks round to see Jay striding into the Museum, still in          the same clothes as yesterday...                                        MARIE                    It was...it was what Mom wanted...                    Jay looks at her sternly.                                        JAY                    You're the only one who can open that                    lock, but I'm the one with the key. She                    wanted you to have the diamonds when you                    were responsible enough to know what to                    do with them...                              M                              MARIE                    I'm...responsible...                    Jay shakes his head slowly, deliberately.                                        JAY                    Really? Underage drinking, prying into my                    personal affairs, fighting...                                        MARIE                    But they're mine. Mom left them to me.                                        JAY                    They're yours when I say they're yours.                    For the time being, I've got some major                    problems at the construction site.                    Deadlines have to be met. We'll talk                    again when you've done some growing up.                    Jay puts an arm around his stepdaughter, starts walking her back          towards the massive wooden doors.                                        M                                                                                                 03/22/2004    19.                                                            JAY                    Please, don't fight me on this.   We're                    Team Clifford, remember?                                        MARIE                        (without conviction)                    Team Clifford...                    She's stuck in an awkward embrace with her Step Father...                    EXT. MUSEUM - MORNING                    Jay leads Marie down the stone steps outside the quaint Museum          building. But as they approach his car they're hit by...BLUE and          RED FLASHING LIGHTS.                    The whine of sirens has Jay spinning around in surprise, looking          over to see four Police Cruisers come to a screeching halt...                                        MARIE                    What the hell?                    Half a dozen of Blue Bay's finest, lead by the dashing young          OFFICER ENTWISTLE, draw their badges, approach Jay.                                        OFFICER ENTWISTLE                    Mr. Clifford?                                        JAY                    Can I help you, Officer?                                        OFFICER ENTWISTLE                    You're under arrest on suspicion of rape.                    Jay's jaw drops to the ground.                                        JAY                    There must be some mistake, this isn't                    possible...                                        MARIE                    Jay, what's going on?                    Entwistle puts a powerful hand on Jay, leads him to the first          Police cruiser.      J                               AY                    Call my lawyer, tell him to meet me down                    the station. This is outrageous...                    Entwistle gets into the Police car's passenger seat.                                                                      03/22/2004   20.                                                            JAY                    I didn't do anything, I swear.                                        OFFICER ENTWISTLE                    I'm afraid she's got a different story.                                        JAY                    Who's 'she'?                    INT. BLUE BAY PD INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY                    Elena paces the sterile interview room like a caged tiger. She          stops in front of the two way mirror, examines her reflection...                    Tentatively she reaches out a trembling finger touching the scab          on her lip, covering the wound Marie inflicted at the party. And          slowly Elena starts to press on the cut, until the blood starts to          flow once more...                    There's a quiet knock on the door and Elena quickly lowers her          hand, looks round...                    Kristen Richards, the young Parole Officer who so heart          wrenchingly told her story at Blue Bay High earlier, comes quietly          into the gray room.                                         KRISTEN                    Elena.                    Elena just looks up at her pitifully.                                        KRISTEN                    Could you tell me what happened?                    Through stifled sobs, Elena states...                                        ELENA                    It was Jay Clifford. He raped me...                    The interview room door swings open and DETECTIVE MICHAEL          MORRISON, 30's, enters. He's the personification of the term          "overworked, underpaid."                                        MORRISON                    You understand the seriousness of this                    allegation, young lady?                    Elena nods weakly.                                        MORRISON                    And you know that we'll leave no stone un-                    turned in the investigation.                                                                                 21.                              MORRISON(CONT'D)                    There'll be a battery of forensics tests                    you'll have to take, humiliating stuff.                    And background checks, digging up all                    kinds of dirt. And you'll have to testify                    in court, face the man you're accusing...                    Crocodile tears roll down Elena's cheeks.                                        MORRISON                    You sure you want to go through with                    this? No harm, no foul, you can just walk                    away right now....                    Kristen interjects...                                        KRISTEN                    Please, Detective, this isn't the right                    time...                                        ELENA                    I ain't lying. You think I'm lying?                    Kristen turns to her young ward...                                        KRISTEN                    If you're telling the truth, you won't                    find a more sympathetic ear...                                        ELENA                    'If' I'm telling the truth...                                        KRISTEN                    And if you're not, there's gonna be                    trouble, you understand?                                        MORRISON                    This is already trouble. The man you're                    accusing happens to be a friend of mine,                    and when the DNA tests prove you're lying                    I'm gonna come down on you like a ton of                    bricks, mark my words...                    Elena withers under his glare...                    INT. BLUE BAY PD INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY                    Jay huddles in the small interview room along with Marie and THEO          BLOOM, his sharp suited attorney.                                        THEO                    We're gonna sue their asses til time runs                    backwards...                                                                     03/22/2004   22.                                                            JAY                        (to Marie)                    You've gotta believe me, I would never,                    could never do anything like this, you                    know that don't you?                    Marie takes his hand, squeezes it.                                        MARIE                    We're team Clifford.                    Jay forces a tired smile...                                        JAY                    That's my girl.                    The door swings open and Morrison enters...                                        MORRISON                    Jay. Marie. Mr. Bloom...                    Jay stands, shakes Morrison's hand.                                        MORRISON                        (to Marie)                    Would you mind waiting outside while me                    and your stepdad have a little chat...                    Marie looks to Jay, doesn't want to leave.                                        JAY                    It's OK honey. Michael and I are old                    pals...                    Reluctantly she leaves, letting the door swing closed after her.          Jay sits back down. Morrison takes a chair opposite.                                        JAY                    How's the divorce treating you?                                        MORRISON                    She's taken me for everything I'm worth.                    I swear to God, I'm never trusting                    another woman as long as I live.          T           heo intervenes...                                        THEO                    This is most egregious, Detective, my                    client has pressing matters at his                    construction site. He can't afford to                    waste time with this frivolous                    nonsense...                                                                     03/22/2004   23.                                                            MORRISON                        (to Jay)                    Look, we're taking her statement right                    now, gonna run every forensic test in the                    book. Guarantee the case'll come apart                    like a $2 watch...                    Jay nods, certain he can beat this rap...                                        JAY                    She had my camcorder. Recorded what                    happened. It should still be at the                    construction site. It'll clear my name...                    Morrison nods.                                        MORRISON                    You'll be outta here by tonight.                    INT. BLUE BAY PD HALLWAY - DAY                    Marie waits out in the anonymous hallway, talking a mile-a-minute          on her cell phone...                                        MARIE (ON PHONE)                    I can't believe it, Jenny...It just                    doesn't make sense...I mean, I know                    Jay...I know he'd never...                    When a door down the hall opens she looks up expectantly, only to          see Kristen come out, walk towards her, followed by someone.          Marie's view is blocked by Kristen until the Parole Officer passes          her and reveals...Elena.                                        MARIE                    This can't be...                    A look somewhere between horror and shock is etched on Marie's          beautiful face. Elena just smiles, blows her a kiss.                                        ELENA                    No such word as 'can't'...                    EXT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - DAY                    Police cars line the driveway outside the beach front building          site. Officers cordon off the road as Forensics teams photograph          every inch of the building...                    Standing amidst the crowd of onlookers is an irate Mr. Barajas,          accompanied, as ever, by Cicatriz. They are both on CELLPHONES,          both talking angry, fast Spanish.                                                                         03/22/2004   24.                                        INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - NIGHT                    Plastic sheeting covers the windowless top floor of the unfinished          condos. The white suited FORENSICS TEAM work meticulously, led by          the tireless Dr. Chad Borman, delicately dusting anything and          everything that might yield evidence...                    Morrison stands at the edge of an area cordoned off by POLICE          TAPE. He's looking at Jay's smashed DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA, now          bagged and tagged as evidence...                                        KRISTEN (O.S.)                    Sexual predators often keep a trophy...                    Morrison spins, sees Kristen. He stumbles with his words, not used          to talking to beautiful women...                                           MORRISON                    I'm sorry?                                        KRISTEN                    Maybe he recorded the rape.                    Morrison looks at the remains of the camera.                                        MORRISON                    And maybe he didn't. We'll never know.                    Tape's mangled. Forensics said it'd take                    months to fix it.                    He looks up into Kristen's hypnotic eyes.                                        MORRISON                    We were never properly introduced.                    Michael Morrison.                    She offers her hand, and Morrison shakes it.                                        KRISTEN                    Miss Richards. Kristen. Miami Parole. Was                    just in town for a couple days checking                    in on some parolees when all this went                    down...                    She hands Morrison a BUSINESS CARD, which he absently stuffs into          his pocket...                                        MORRISON                    You think maybe you could lean on the                    girl? Get her to drop this nonsense? We                    all know she's lying. With all this Black                    widow shit going down, we just don't have                    the time or manpower to...                                                                      03/22/2004   25.                                                            KRISTEN                    She might not be lying, you know.                                        MORRISON                    What makes you think that?                                        KRISTEN                    Just a look in her eye. I...I have some                    experience...                    Morrison doesn't want to push her further...                    All of a sudden the sunlight is blocked from the massive          unfinished floor by black sheets erected by the Forensics team,          leaving everyone in pitch darkness....                                        MORRISON                    What the hell?                    Slowly an eerie ULTRA VIOLET GLOW fills the room. The white suited          forensics technicians, glowing under the black light, wait          patiently for evidence to show itself...                    Suddenly the clear IMPRINTS of hands on the wall become clear,          along with the black stains of BLOOD FLECKS...                                          CHAD                    Gotcha...                                        MORRISON                    What is it?                                        CHAD                    Blood, fingerprints, sign of a struggle.                    I'd say we've got a rape on our hands,                    Detective, but we won't know for sure                    until we run the tests...                    Morrison's head is spinning...                                        MORRISON                    Fine. Just do it...                    INT. BLUE BAY FORENSICS LAB - NIGHT                    Elena sits on the edge of a gurney in the high tech forensics lab,          rubbing her arm where a band-aid covers a fresh needle mark. Chad          appears at the doorway and she stares daggers at him.                                        ELENA                    You vampires really need five pints of my                    blood? That's like an armful...                                                                      03/22/2004   26.                                        Chad's surprised by her venom.                                        CHAD                    It's standard procedure in a rape test.                    Test for drugs and such...                                           ELENA                    And such.                    She continues to pace as Chad makes his way into the room, rounds          the desk and takes down a plastic beaker from the metal shelf.                                        CHAD                    We're going to need a urine sample. Do                    you think you could fill this?                                           ELENA                    From here?                    Chad goes red. Puts the plastic cup down on the desk and Elena          grabs it.            C                               HAD                    If...you wouldn't mind...removing your                    clothes. I'll leave the room, give you                    some priv...                    The breath catches in Chad's throat as Elena takes her shirt off          without hesitation. Stands there in just her black bra.                                        ELENA                    Done. Next?                    Chad's jaw drops. Not just because Elena's in her underwear, but          because of the clear BITE MARKS on her neck and arms...                                        CHAD                    Those are...                                        ELENA                    Bite marks. He chowed down.                                        CHAD                    They're clear evidence markers...                    He reaches out, grabs a Polaroid Camera from the desk, starts          snapping away like an ornithologist at a bird convention. The          FLASH of the camera fills the room...                                                                      03/22/2004   27.                                        EXT. COURTHOUSE - DAY                    FLASHBULBS explode as Marie accompanies her stepfather up the          steps of the austere Blue Bay courthouse, surrounded by a gaggle          of sound bite hungry pressmen...                                        REPORTER 1                    Any comment, Mr. Clifford?                    Jay puts his hand up to block the intrusive lenses. He disappears          quickly into the shelter of the courthouse.                                        REPORTER 2                        (to Marie)                    Did your stepfather rape that girl? How                    could he do something like that?                                     Marie stops in her tracks, wheels around and addresses the throng          of reporters...                                        MARIE                    Jay...is innocent...                    Says it like she means it...                    INT. COURTHOUSE - DAY                    The packed courthouse is abuzz and the elderly JUDGE WILCOX is          forced to slam his gavel down...                                        JUDGE WILCOX                    Order!                    Jay sits at the defendant's table, suit impeccable, hair          immaculate, game face on. Theo sits beside him, scribbling notes.          Marie is in the front row of the gallery, surrounded by her          coiffured peers. She tries to smile stoically at Jay...                    Kristen sits beside Elena at the prosecution table.          C           had is on the stand as ARLO MEESE, 35, the slick District          Attorney, steps forward.                                        D.A. MEESE                    Dr. Borman, do your tests show that Elena                                      Sandoval had sexual intercourse on the                                         night of the 25th?                                                                       CHAD                                                                 Yes they do.                                                                             D.A. MEESE                                                           Do they show that it was forced?                                                                                              03/22/2004   28.                                                            CHAD                                                                                                   Yes. There was extensive bruising and                    tearing. We found no semen evidence. The                    latex abrasions point to the use of                    protection. This is quite common in cases                    of premeditated rape.                                        D.A. MEESE                    And what can you tell us about Miss                    Sandoval's toxicology reports, Doctor?                                        CHAD                    Came back positive for Rohypnol, a common                    date rape drug. Traces were also found on                    the bottle of beer at the crime scene.                    Both Mr. Clifford and Miss Sandoval's                    fingerprints were all over the bottle.                                        JAY                    I took it from her. She was far too young                    to be drinking!                    A slam of the gavel silences Jay.                                        D.A. MEESE                    Dr. Borman I am going to show you what's                                       been marked as state's exhibit number 1.                             He nods to the bailiff and a PROJECTOR whirs to life. An EVIDENCE          PHOTO that Chad took of Elena's wounds is displayed on a screen          beside him.                                        D.A. MEESE                                                           What does this slide show?                                                               CHAD                    Miss Sandoval was found to have numerous                    bite marks on her upper torso that                    occurred during the rape.                                        JUDGE WILCOX                    What about those other markings?                    Chad looks confused, studies the slide, sees four equidistant dots          aligned in a small circle.                                        CHAD                    I wasn't able to determine...Fingernail                    markings, possibly...                                        JUDGE WILCOX                        (to Meese)                                                                 Please continue.                                                                     03/22/2004   29.                                        Marie can barely breathe...                                        D.A. MEESE                                                           I'm going to show you another slide                                                                                                                           that's been marked as state's exhibit                    number 2.                                                                                                                                                     Meese nods to the bailiff, who dutifully changes the slide. The          court goes dark for a second before the next slide is                          displayed...It's a close up of Jay's teeth mouldings compared to                                                                                              the bite marks...                                         D.A. MEESE                                                                                                                                         What can you tell us about these                    mouldings?                                                                               CHAD                    They were made from the defendant's                                            teeth, and the tests I conducted show                                          there's simply no other conclusion. The                    bite marks on Miss Sandoval's body were                    made by the defendant, Mr. Jay                    Clifford...                    That's it. The Court erupts, flashbulbs exploding. Jay slumps back          in his chair, his air of cool gone in an instant. He looks back at          Marie, utter disbelief on his face. The tears well in her eyes...                    The Judge bangs his gavel in a vain attempt to regain control.                                        JUDGE WILCOX                    Court's adjourned...                    INT. BLUE BAY PD - NIGHT                    TV news gleefully reports Jay's trial like a sordid soap opera...                                        REPORTER (ON TV)                    ...in the face of damning evidence, Jay                    Clifford remained defiant. It's thought                    that his stepdaughter, Marie Clifford                    will testify in his defense tomorrow. And                    in other news, officials from the FBI                    gave a press conference today, commenting                    on their involvement in the Black widow                    case...                    A walking suit, AGENT MILTON DAMMERS, steps up to the podium.                                        AGENT DAMMERS (ON TV)                    After numerous mistakes on behalf of the                    local authorities in Blue Bay, the FBI is                    mobilizing its task force...                                        K                                                                                                 03/22/2004   30.                                        Click. Morrison tosses the TV remote aside, sits down behind his          desk, piled high with files, mostly marked BLACK WIDOW, and          reaches down to pick up Jay's broken video camera, still in the          evidence bag...                                        KRISTEN (O.S.)                    It's a long shot.                    Morrison looks up, smiles faintly when he sees Kristen at the          door.                                        MORRISON                    Not a fan of 'Hey, how you doing', are                    you?                    Kristen smiles, enters Morrison's cluttered office.                                        KRISTEN                    Used to play at being a spider when I was                    a kid, creeping around silently. Guess I                    haven't grown out of it.                    Morrison shakes the broken camera parts in the evidence bag.                               M                               ORRISON                    It's the only thing standing between my                    friend and a ten year stretch...                                        KRISTEN                    The forensics lab will have time to look                    at it now...the Feds have taken over the                    Black widow case...                                        MORRISON                    Goddamn gloryhounds. They knew I was                    close. They just want to come in and take                    all the credit.                                         RISTEN                    You got a chance, Detective. To help your                    friend. Don't let this case slip away as                    well...                    Morrison tightens his jaw, knows what he has to do.                    INT. BLUE BAY PD FORENSICS LAB - NIGHT                    The Forensics lab is crammed with evidence bags and files. Chad is          working diligently, painstakingly scanning a stack of $100 BILLS          one by one. He barely has time to look round when the door opens          and Detective Morrison comes in...                                                                      03/22/2004   31.                                                            MORRISON                    Chad, I got a rush job for you.                    Chad rolls his eyes.                                        CHAD                    No can do, boss. We're sifting through                    the Black Widow evidence...                                        MORRISON                    Feds are movin' in. They'll be taking                    over by the case by the end of the week.                    Chad's dumbstruck, but dutifully takes the shattered video camera.                                        MORRISON                    You find anything on that tape, you let                    me know, OK?                                        CHAD                    Whatever you say, boss.                                        MORRISON                    And make sure you get that money back                    into the evidence locker.          A           nd Chad's left alone with the shattered remains of the video          camera, and a whole shit load of work ahead...                                                                 FADE TO BLACK:                    EXT. BLUE BAY HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING POOL - DAY                    The early morning sun casts a brilliant orange glow over the          smooth-as-glass surface of the school swimming pool.                    Marie steps back up onto the high diving platform. Tries to focus.          Slides the soon-to-be-diamond ring off her finger and throws it          tentatively into the water...                    She takes a breath and then dives, straight and true, into the          perfect blue water below.                    EXT. UNDERWATER - CONTINUOUS                    Marie's lithe, taught body comes arcing through the water, darting          down to the bottom of the pool to retrieve the ring...                    EXT. BLUE BAY HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING POOL - CONTINUOUS                    Marie surfaces, reaches out and puts the ring on the side of the          pool, before looking up to see an old pair of sneakers, an          electronic ankle bracelet locked around one leg.                                                                   03/22/2004     32.                                                             ELENA                    Nice take off. Gotta work on the                    landing...                    Marie's blood boils.                                        MARIE                    What the hell are you doing here?                    Elena just reaches down and picks up Marie's unfinished ring.                                        ELENA                    Looks like your bling ain't blinging...                                        MARIE                    Give me that back. It was my Mother's...                    Marie climbs out of the pool, faces down with Elena...                                        ELENA                    Looks like she got ripped off Princess,                    where's the rock?                    Marie snatches the ring from Elena, slides it back on her finger.                                        MARIE                    Is that what this is all about?                    Elena reaches out, tries to stroke the wet hair off Marie's face.          She recoils before she'll let Elena touch her...                                        ELENA                    You're not a dumb as you look...          J           enny, followed by the rest of the diving team, come marching out          of the locker room and see the two arch-enemies confronting each          other.                                        JENNY                        (to her team mates)                    We got trouble...                    Elena won't back down.                                        MARIE                    You're ruining my life, and my                    stepfather's.                                        ELENA                    It can end. Just like that.                    She snaps her fingers and Marie's on the verge of tears...                                                                   03/22/2004   33.                                        Jenny and the rest of the diving team approach, stand behind          Marie, a seething mass of bikini-clad mindless hate...                                        MARIE                    Why are you doing this?                                        ELENA                    Because I can.                    As she turns and walks away...                                        ELENA (CONT'D)                    Good luck in court.                    INT. BLUE BAY COURTROOM - DAY                    The usual assortment of paparazzi and spectators crowd into the          small courtroom.                    Marie is on the witness stand, staring straight ahead at her          stepfather at the defendant's table. Gone is the immaculate suit,          the perfect hair, the poker face. He's looking worried now...                    Theo paces in front of Marie, running her through a series of well-          rehearsed questions.                                        THEO                    And why did you go to your stepfather's                    building site that night, Miss Clifford?                                        MARIE                    It was my birthday. Jay left the party                    before giving me my present.                                        THEO                    And you say you saw Miss Sandoval                    leaving?                    Marie takes a moment, looks to Elena at the Prosecution table.                                        MARIE                    I did.                                        THEO                    And how would you describe her                    appearance?                                        MARIE                    She was...she looked fine. She smiled at                    me. Actually smiled...                                        THEO                    No further questions.                                                                    03/22/2004   34.                                        He takes a seat next to Jay, whispers in his ear. D.A. Meese          starts his cross-examination.                                        D.A. MEESE                    Would it be fair to say you don't like                    Elena Sandoval, Miss Clifford?                              M                              MARIE                    We don't see...eye to eye...                                        D.A. MEESE                    Is that why you attacked her at your                    party earlier that night?                    Marie squirms.                                        MARIE                    No...I was...she wasn't invited...                                        D.A. MEESE                    You'd had a few drinks, correct?                                        MARIE                        (reluctantly)                    I'd had a drink. Yes.                                        D.A. MEESE                    So by the time you allege to have seen                    Miss Sandoval, could you tell the court                    exactly how much you'd had to drink?                                        MARIE                    A glass of Champagne. Or two, but...                                        D.A. MEESE                    No further questions.                    Jay sinks a few inches lower in his seat. Going down...                    INT. BLUE BAY FORENSICS LAB - DAY                    A bleary eyed Chad sits in front of a bank of monitors, working          the image enhancement equipment, fighting to get a watchable          picture from the fuzzy static in front of him. Kristen sits behind          him, fighting to stay awake.                                        CHAD                        (to himself)                    Take out the chroma, raise the                    luminescence...                    He clumsily reaches over the control panel, hitting almost every          button on the way. And that does the trick...                                                                      03/22/2004   35.                                        Suddenly the picture on the monitors becomes clear. Kristen's eyes          snap open.                                        KRISTEN                    H                     oly shit...                    The pixilated image of Elena smiling comes into focus on the TV...                                        KRISTEN (CONT'D)                    Call Detective Morrison. Now...                    SCENE OMITTED                    INT. JUDGE'S CHAMBERS- DAY                    The shaky, pixilated image of Elena smiling flickers on the TV.          Soon enough though her smile fades...                                        ELENA (ON TAPE)                    You're kidding right?                    Jay's voice can be heard behind the camera...                                        JAY (O.S. ON TAPE)                    C'mon now baby, you can do it...                    The video shows Elena cowering...                                        ELENA (ON TAPE)                    Please...you can't do this...                                        JAY (O.S ON TAPE)                    No such word as can't...                    A hand reaches out from behind the video camera and grabs Elena,          throws her violently against a concrete wall.                                           JAY (O.S. ON TAPE)                    Fuck me...                    A flurry of movement that goes in and out of focus. When the          camera steadies again, Elena's hands are pressed against the wall          and she's sobbing... E                                         LENA (ON TAPE)                    Please, Mr. Clifford, don't...                                        JAY (O.S ON TAPE)                    Just try to keep those legs together...                    And then static...                                                                   03/22/2004   36.                                        Pulling back from the TV we find ourselves in the courtroom,                                                                                                completely empty, save for Jay, Theo, Meese and Judge Wilcox all          staring in shock at the blank TV screen...                                                                                                                                                D.A. MEESE                    If Mr. Clifford would plead guilty to                                         rape, the state is prepared to drop the                                                                                                                     charges of kidnapping and assault.                                         JUDGE WILCOX                                                                                                      (to Jay)                    If I were you I would seriously consider                                      the offer.                                                          INT. COUNTY JAIL VISITING ROOM - DAY                    In the cold stone jail visiting room, Jay sits behind the wire          mesh, an emotion Marie and Theo opposite. The PRISON GUARD waits          by the barred door, keeping his beady eyes on Jay.                                        JAY                    I'm gonna lose this trial.                                        THEO                    I'm not so sure about that. The tape's a                    fake, right? So all we need to do is...                    Jay holds up a hand, instantly silencing his attorney.                                        JAY                    You had your chance.                        (to Marie)                    If we're gonna win at all costs, we're                    gonna have to change the game.                        (to Theo)                    Do you have it?                    Theo nods regretfully, reaches into a breast pocket, pulls out a          KEY.                                        THEO                    I'm still dead set against this, Jay.                                        JAY                    I couldn't care less.                                        MARIE                    What's the key for?                                        JAY                    The diamonds...If that's what it takes,                    then that's what it takes...                                                                      03/22/2004   37.                                                            MARIE                    But...they're my inheritance...                                        JAY                    All my assets are tied up in the condos,                    Marie. We have to pay this girl off, make                    her testify that she faked the tape,                    faked the evidence.                                        MARIE                    But, Jay...they're my diamonds...                                        JAY                    As soon as I'm out of here, you'll have                    them back. I swear. I know people, who                    can...persuade her to hand them over...                    Marie shoots an uncomfortable look to Theo, then back at Jay,          uncertain what to say.                                        MARIE                    I                     t's wrong.                                        JAY                    More wrong than what she's doing to us?                    We're team Clifford, right? You know I'm                    not guilty. You know I could never do                    anything like this. So do the right thing                    and get me out of this hellhole...                    Marie's cracking...                                           MARIE                    I can't...                                        JAY                        (tenderly)                    No such word as 'can't.' Please...                    The tears well in her eyes.                    INT. MUSEUM - NIGHT                    The key slips easily into the lock below the dazzling Mother          Daughter diamonds. The alarms disabled, Marie's finally able to          reach inside the glass case and touch the priceless gems...                    The Curator stands behind her in the empty Museum hall, ruefully          watching his prize exhibit being removed.                                        CURATOR                    I knew the day would come, still doesn't                    make it any easier...                                                                     03/22/2004   38.                                        Marie, tears welling in her eyes, takes a hold of the diamonds,          carefully takes them from the case.                                        CURATOR                    The offer still stands, Marie. If you                    ever decide to sell them, please give us                    a first chance...                    Marie turns to him, the emotions overwhelming her.                                        MARIE                    I don't think I'll be able to, I'm                    sorry...                    She scampers towards the door, past the security guards.                                        CURATOR                        (sotto)                    Me too...                    EXT. THE GATOR TRAILER PARK - NIGHT                    Theo's SUV drives carefully down the mud path running parallel to          the swamp, past countless rusted airboats, and into the 'GATOR'          trailer park, finally coming to a halt in front of Elena's rotting          trailer. Theo gets out carefully, his $1000 shoes sinking into the          mud. Marie reluctantly steps out of the car...                    A blinding PORCH LIGHT flicks on. Theo and Marie spin round,          squint through the light to see Elena standing in her trailer          doorway...           E                               LENA                    Well, well, well. Look what the cat                    dragged in...                        (to Theo)                    DA know you're here?                    Theo squirms...                                        MARIE                    We need to talk.                                         ELENA                    So talk.                                        THEO                    Somewhere private, maybe?                                                                      03/22/2004   39.                                        INT. ELENA'S TRAILER - NIGHT                    An elderly man, UNCLE MARTY, in a sweat-stained T-shirt and ratty          underwear, snores on the tattered recliner, a half-drunk bottle of          WHISKY hanging from one limp hand...                    Theo freezes when he sees him...                                        THEO                    Who's this?                                        ELENA                    Uncle Marty. Legal Guardian. Drunken                    pervert, take your pick. Chill. He's out                    til morning.                    Uncle Marty's deafening SNORES confirm the assertion as Elena          leads them into her bedroom...                                        MARIE                    Let's just get this over with.                        (to Elena)                    You won. You got what you wanted...                                        ELENA                        (mocking)                    I just wanted justice...                                        THEO                    Tomorrow you'll take the stand, tell the                    jury you faked the evidence, faked the                    tape...                                        ELENA                        (sarcastic)                    Really?                                        MARIE                    We are prepared to make it worth your                    while.                    She holds the Daughter diamond in front of Elena's greedy little          eyes.                                        ELENA                        (poker face)                    Not bad. But I always wanted a family...                    Theo nudges Marie. She sighs, holds out the Mother diamond in the          other hand. A broad grin stretches across Elena's face.                    F                                                                                                 03/22/2004   40.                                                            THEO                    They're yours after you exonerate my                    client.                                        ELENA                    I'm afraid I'm gonna need that payment up                    front.                                        MARIE                    No, that's not the deal.                                        ELENA                    It is now. Take it or leave it.                    Marie takes a deep breath. It's the most difficult thing she's          ever had to do in her young life. Dead silence, except for Uncle          Marty's snoring from the front room.                     inally, with a very heavy heart, Marie hands over the diamonds.                                        THEO                    When this is all over, you'll leave town.                    For good.                    Elena points to the ankle bracelet.                                        ELENA                    I go more than five miles from the police                    station and I'm straight back in juvie...                                        THEO                    I understand your Parole term is up next                    week.                    Elena smiles.                                        ELENA                    You've done your homework. Fine.                        (points to the ankle bracelet)                    As soon as this thing comes off, I'm                    outta here...                    She reaches down and grabs the diamonds. Dances past Marie...                                        THEO                    May I suggest a little discretion, Miss                    Sandoval. Certain...questions might be                    asked about this...arrangement if you                    were to...say...turn up to Blue Bay High                    wearing a tiara...                    Elena winks.                                                                      03/22/2004   41.                                                            ELENA                    I ain't gonna flaunt it, mate. I gots too                    much class for that shit.                                        MARIE                    You're going to tell the truth on the                    stand tomorrow, yes?                    Elena raises her right hand...                                        ELENA                    I swear to tell the truth, the whole                    truth and nothing but the truth...                    INT. COURTROOM - DAY                    The court Bailiff nods, takes the Bible from Elena's hands. She's          dressed in the closest thing to a modest suit she has in her          wardrobe; a low cut jacket and tiny miniskirt...                    The courtroom is packed with journalists, TV cameras and nosey          neighbors. Everyone wants a piece of this story. At the          defendant's table, Jay, slick once more in Armani, watches Theo          approach the witness box with a new-found confidence.                    Sitting in the front row of the public gallery, Marie is riveted          on the action. At the back of the courtroom, Kristen fidgets          nervously beside Morrison as Theo steps up, ready to question the          newly compliant star witness in this sensational rape trial...                                        THEO                    It's your assertion that my client, Mr.                    Clifford forcibly sexually assaulted you                    on the night of the 25th. Is that true?                    A hushed silence. Marie, Jay, Theo all wait expectantly...                                        THEO                    Is that what you say happened?                    Elena clears her throat.                                        ELENA                    He... He didn't...                    A collective intake of breath from the crowd.                                        ELENA                    ....just sexually assault me.                    Theo's balls shrink instantly.                                                                   03/22/2004   42.                                                            THEO                    What...did you just say?                                        ELENA                    He didn't just sexually assault me. He                    threatened to kill me if I told anyone...          T           he court is on the verge of erupting into anarchy. Theo's          reeling, caught off-guard, stumbling over his words, trying to          give the girl one last chance to make good on her promise.                                        THEO                    Isn't it true that you were inebriated                    during the assault, that it may not in                    fact have been Mr. Clifford...Or anyone?                    A smirking Meese doesn't even bother to stand up.                                        D.A. MEESE                    Objection. Leading the witness.                                        JUDGE WILCOX                    Sustained. Council will please rephrase                    the question.                    Theo's stumped. His eyes plead with Elena to take the ball and run          with it. She does. Unfortunately it's to the wrong end zone.                                        ELENA                    I was messed up, alright. In fact, only                    two things I remember. One was that                    bastard Jay Clifford taping me with that                    Goddamn video camera while he violated                    me. The other was what he whispered in my                    ear, right before I blacked out...                    She pauses, for emphasis. Judge, jury, gallery, press corps, the          town of Blue Bay, the state of Florida hangs on her every word...                                        ELENA                    He said, "You won't remember, but you'll                    never forget."                    That's it. The court goes berserk, flashbulbs exploding, along          with the veins in Jay's head.                    Kristen's reeling from shock...                                        KRISTEN                        (to Morrison)                    What did she just say?                    Marie leaps to her feet, screams...                                                                      03/22/2004   43.                                                            MARIE                    Lying bitch!                    Marie has to be restrained, trying to break through the crowds to          claw Elena's tear stained eyes out...                    INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - NIGHT                    A small Television blares out today's top story...                                        ACTION NEWS ANCHOR                    The young victim's wrenching testimonial                    proved to be the final nail in the coffin                    for Jay Clifford. It took less than an                    hour for the jury to deliberate and                    sentence Mr. Clifford to 15 years.          T           V cameras witness Jay being led away in handcuffs...                                        JAY (ON TV)                    You can't do this to me! You can't...YOU                    CAN'T!                    CLICK. The TV turns off. Marie sits huddled in Jay's unfinished          concrete building site office, staring at the darkened television          set. Mascara laden tear tracks line her perfect face.                                        MARIE                        (mumbling)                    No such thing as can't...                    She lets the champagne bottle slip through her fingers and it          smashes on the concrete floor. Strangely the dregs of the          champagne start running down the floor...                    Marie's heart suddenly skips a beat as she thinks she hears the          rustling of plastic from outside the office.                                        MARIE                    Who's there?                    No answer. She steels herself, gets shakily to her feet, stumbling          drunkenly toward the door...                    EXT. ELENA'S TRAILER - NIGHT                    Kristen stands in the darkened doorway of Elena's less-than-          welcoming trailer. She knocks.                                        KRISTEN                    Elena. Open up.                                                                      03/22/2004   44.                                        No answer. She tries the door handle. It's unlocked. She takes a          deep breath, steps inside.                    INT. ELENA'S TRAILER - NIGHT                    Kristen flips on a light switch. The room is illuminated for a          split second before the bulb surges and burns out, leaving Kristen          in the near-darkness...                                         KRISTEN                    Elena?   Hello?                    She takes out a FLASHLIGHT, creeps through the front room,          stepping over the discarded pizza boxes and assorted detritus.                    The beam of light finds a small BLUE PILL nestled in the          carpeting. Kristen picks it up, slides it into her pocket...                    INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - NIGHT                    Marie steps cautiously through the unfinished concrete top floor,          past the crime scene tape. In the dim light, her eyes dart to          every corner, every shadow.          S           he lets out a surprised shout as the room is suddenly plunged          into darkness. Slowly the eerie forensic ULTRA VIOLET LIGHTS          switch on, filling the room with black light.                    And with a knot growing in the pit of her stomach, Marie slowly          turns, coming face to face with...                    Elena, her arch-nemesis...                    INT. ELENA'S TRAILER - NIGHT                    Kristen moves slowly into Elena's bedroom, shines her light on the          walls. What she sees makes the blood run chill in her veins.          Barely able to breathe, she takes out her cell phone.                                        KRISTEN                        (into phone)                    Detective Morrison...                    INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - NIGHT                    Elena and Marie stare each other down. You could cut the tension          with a chainsaw, until...                                        MARIE                    Who invited you?                                                                      03/22/2004   45.                                        A sinister grin spreads across Elena's face as she holds up the          breathtaking Mother-Daughter diamonds, reflecting an unearthly          glow under the UV lights.                                        ELENA                    Mother and Daughter...                    This brings a mile-wide smile to Marie as she dances into Elena's          arms. Their lips come together in a passionate kiss as their hands          dance over each other's trembling bodies. When they finally          break...                                        MARIE                    I was sure you'd blow it on the stand,                    going on about forgetting and                    remembering.                                        ELENA                    Gotta make it seem authentic. God's in                    the details.                    And they kiss again, lips locked tighter than Jay's jail cell...                    EXT. ELENA'S TRAILER - NIGHT                    Morrison's unmarked sedan pulls to a stop beside Kristen's car,          and the harried Detective steps out, looking extremely unhappy.                                        MORRISON                    This couldn't wait 'til morning, Miss                    Richards?                                        KRISTEN                    Call me Kristen...                                        MORRISON                    The Feds just arrived to take over the                    Black Widow case, I'm up to my knees in                    paperwork...                              K                               RISTEN                    You remember what Elena said, right at                    the end of the trial. "You won't                    remember..."                                        MORRISON                        (finishing)                    "...but you'll never forget." What about                    it?                                        KRISTEN                    Elena's fucking with us.                                                                         03/22/2004   46.                                        INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - NIGHT                    Elena and Marie are locked in their carnal embrace, failing to          notice the florescent lights flickering back on. Suddenly Elena          feels the sharp pain of teeth biting into her neck...                    She looks down to see DENTAL ALGINATE MOLDINGS of Jay's teeth          being held by a smiling Chad.                                        CHAD                    Mind if Chad joins?                    The girls look up to see a beaming Chad, holding the teeth          molding. Elena just shakes her head...                                           ELENA                    Fuck me...                    Chad works the spring hinge of the dentures like a deranged          ventriloquist act...                                        CHAD                    Any time. Any place...                    He sets the dentures down on the concrete floor, and takes in the          sight of the magnificent diamonds.                                        CHAD                        (re: diamonds)                    Two beauties...                        (turning to Marie and Elena)                    Two beauties...                    He and Elena help Marie out of her blouse while Elena runs her          hands all over him...                    INT. ELENA'S TRAILER - NIGHT                    Morrison and Kristen's flashlights cut through the darkness as          they move back into Elena's bedroom.                                        MORRISON                    Just so you know, this is called                    'breaking and entering'...                                        KRISTEN                    I know all about it. Especially having                    something stolen...                                           MORRISON                    Like what?                    W                                                                                                   03/22/2004   47.                                        They get into the bedroom and Morrison's jaw goes slack as Kristen          shines her light on the walls...                                        KRISTEN                    Like my life...                    The walls are covered with NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS, all concerning          Kristen's rape: "Police unable to find frat house rapist,"          "Teenage victim wants 'justice' in rape case," "'You may not          remember, but you'll never forget,' only thing victim remembers"          K           risten tears some of the articles off the wall.                                        KRISTEN                    Once a thief, always a thief...                    They suddenly freeze as the front door swings open, the blood          running cold in their veins as Uncle Marty stumbles inside. They          hold their breath, praying he doesn't see them, standing in          Elena's doorway. Uncle Marty just mumbles something incoherent and          collapses face first onto the couch, out like a light...                    INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - NIGHT                    Chad reaches into an evidence bag filled with BLUE PILLS. He          removes three...                                        CHAD                    Little blue pills. One of the perks of                    the job.                    Laughter as   the girl's accept the roofies, swallowing them like          candy. Chad   gulps down the third as Elena begins to run her hands          up and down   Marie's back and shoulders. Chad's hands are all over          Marie as he   helps slip off her bra.                    Elena's lips move hungrily across Chad's face, until they find his          mouth. They kiss deeply.                     hen they pull apart, Chad helps Elena pull off her T-top, as          Marie runs her hands up and down Elena's bare back. Elena turns          back to her with a mischievous grin.                                        ELENA                    You won't remember...                                        MARIE                    But you'll never forget.                    Damn straight.                                  (                                                                                                   03/22/2004   48.                                        EXT. COUNTY JAIL - DAY                    The early morning sun illuminates a massive slab of windowless          concrete surrounded by barbed wire in the middle of nowhere...                    INT. COUNTY JAIL - MORNING                    Jay takes a seat on an uncomfortable metal chair in front of          bullet-proof glass. He's half the man he used to be, broken,          trembling, smoking like a chimney. His mind's still a steel trap,          just one that's rusted shut. He picks up the TWO-WAY PHONE...                                        THEO                        (into phone)                    Mr. Clifford, this is Kristen Richards,                    Elena Sandoval's probation officer.                                        JAY                    She want to pin me for some more crimes?                    Kristen takes the phone from Theo.                                        KRISTEN                    No, Mr. Clifford. I just have a few                    questions. I've noticed some                    inconsistencies...                                        JAY                    You've noticed some inconsistencies?                                        JAY                    Here's one big fucking glaring                    inconsistency for you: I was set up!                                        KRISTEN                    Maybe so, but that's not good enough. Why                    were you set up? What would Elena                    Sandoval have gained from all this?                    Jay hesitates, unsure how, or if, to proceed. Theo shifts          nervously. Jay gives J                               up.                                         AY                    What the hell. I'm already in jail. How                    much worse can it get? I paid her off,                    okay? My assets were tied up in the                    condos so we used Marie's diamonds.                         defensive)                    It wasn't like I had a choice. She had me                    by the short an' curlies, understand?                                                                      03/22/2004   49.                                                            KRISTEN                    But Elena's testimony was damning. Why                    wouldn't she play ball?                                        JAY                    What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?                    How the fuck should I know? Manipulative                    little skank probably figured she could                    bleed me for some more money down the                    road. But I'll tell you this much, I'm                    gonna get those diamonds back, make her                    wish she was never born.                    Kristen's mind is racing, trying to piece together the puzzle.                    EXT. SWAMP - DAY                    Elena's airboat blasts through the reeds out into the middle of          nowhere. She cuts the engine, lets the boat drift, unwraps the          moldings of Jay's teeth from a cloth, as well as a VIDEO TAPE          marked "BLUE BAY DIVING MEET/MARIE'S BIRTHDAY", looks them over          one last time...                                        ELENA                    Later potato...                    And tosses them into the mire, where they're soon gobbled by          ravenous Gators...                    EXT. GATOR TRAILER PARK - MORNING                    Elena glides her airboat to a stop on the muddy banks of the          trailer park, stomps over to her trailer, when she sees...                    Two sets of tire tracks in the mud.                    INT. ELENA'S TRAILER - MORNING                    Elena stands in her bedroom, disbelief washing over her. No sign          of the newspaper articles. Her walls are barren.                               E                                  LENA                        (sotto)                    Oh shit...                    EXT. BLUE BAY HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMING POOL - DAY                    The diving team emerges from the locker room on their way to          practice. Lagging behind is Marie. She's about to catch up when          she runs smack dab into a panicked Elena.                                        MARIE                    What the...If anyone sees us together...                                                                    03/22/2004   50.                                                            ELENA                    What choice did I have? We got big                    problems...                    Before anyone can see them, Marie pulls her away, to the outdoor          shower area, out of sight from her teammates. She turns on all          the shower heads.                                        MARIE                    Gotta be careful. Make sure no one's                    listening. Now what's the 411?                                        ELENA                    I...I think I fucked up...                    Marie gently takes a hold of Elena's face.                                        MARIE                    How?                                        ELENA                    I don't know for sure...but I think that                    bitch Parole officer's made me...she was                    at my trailer last night...                    Marie smiles, pulls Elena close as the steam rises all around.                                        MARIE                    No bigee. You disposed of everything,                    right? The teeth, the video, all the                    research...                    Elena can't fess up. Not now...                                        ELENA                    I did, but...She's got a hard on for me.                    Wants to see me back in Juvie...                    Marie kisses her softly on the forehead. Her cheek.                                        MARIE                    I won't let the big bad wolf get you. I                    promise.                    Elena's damp tank top clings to her perfect body.                                        ELENA                    I just want outta here.                    Marie brushes a strand of hair away from Elena's face.                                                                      03/22/2004   51.                                                            MARIE                    Be patient. I'll call the Museum Curator,                    have him prepare the funds to buy back                    the diamonds...                                        ELENA                    Then we're outta here, right?                    A mile wide smile stretches across Marie's lips...                                        MARIE                    Just sit back, relax, enjoy the                    trip...Don't forget to come again.          T           heir trembling lips come together like wet hot magnets...                    EXT. UNDERWATER - DAY                    Sunlight cuts through the dark blue surface, illuminating Marie's          lucky ring gold ring that drifts down gently until...                    Marie comes diving down into the crystalline water, plucks the          soon-to-be diamond ring from the bottom of the pool...                    EXT. BLUE BAY HIGH SWIMMING POOL - DAY                    Marie surfaces at the edge of the pool. She places the ring onto          the deck, pulls herself out of the water.                    She tries not to show surprise when she comes face to face with          Kristen, who's picked up her ring, runs it around her fingers...                                        MARIE                    Can I help you?                                        KRISTEN                    I was wondering if I could have a moment                    of your time. Ask a couple questions.                    Marie glances nervously back at the pool, where other members of          the diving team go about their workout.                                        MARIE                    I'm in the middle of practice...                                        KRISTEN                    It'll only take a moment, Marie. Might                    even help Jay. Remember your loving                    stepfather? You want to help him, don't                    you?                                           MARIE                    Of course.                                                                      03/22/2004   52.                                        Kristen studies the ring for a moment, then ventures...                                        KRISTEN                    Why'd you agree to part with your                    diamonds?                    This time Marie can't hide her shock.                                        MARIE                    How...                                        KRISTEN                    Jay told me. But why? They were your                    inheritance.                                        MARIE                    Jay needed help. We're a team.                                        KRISTEN                    Team Clifford. Right. It's just...You                    must've been pretty unhappy when Jay                    didn't give you those diamonds for your                    birthday.          M          Marie's taking a beating, doing her best to remain standing.                                        MARIE                    He said I wasn't ready.                                        KRISTEN                    You're 18. That's heiress payday, no?                    Must've crossed your mind that Jay might                    never let you have them...                                        MARIE                    No, of course not.                    She's a bad liar.                                        KRISTEN                    And then this little scam artist saunters                    in and just takes them. With your help,                    no less.                    Kristen moves in for the kill.                                        KRISTEN                    But what I don't get is, why wouldn't                    Elena do what Jay asked, clear his name?                    After all, she'd gotten what she wanted.                                        MARIE                    How should I know?                                                                      03/22/2004   53.                                        Marie watches in fascination as Kristen presses the top of the          ring against the back of her hand. Hard. Winces, then...                                        KRISTEN                    I mean, the only way I can make sense of                    it is if somehow getting Jay released                    from prison would spoil the plan.                                           MARIE                    What plan?                    She hands the ring back to Marie. Not so lucky anymore...                                        KRISTEN                    You tell me...          I          INT. BLUE BAY PD HALLWAY - DAY                    Chad strolls gingerly down the hallway, opens the door to the          forensics lab, freezing when he sees...                    INT. BLUE BAY PD FORENSICS - DAY                    Kristen, waiting patiently for him.                                        CHAD                    Miss...Richards. Is...Is there something                    I can do for you?                                        KRISTEN                    I was wondering if you'd do me the favor                    of running a quick test.                                        CHAD                    Uh, sure, I guess. Whatcha got for me?                    She hands him the Blue Pill she found in Elena's trailer.                                        KRISTEN                    Could you tell me what this is?                    Chad tries to keep his cool.                                        CHAD                    No problemo. It'll only take a minute.                    While Chad goes about his work, Kristen begins nosing around the          office. Chad looks over his shoulder.                                        CHAD                    Be careful, I got lots of evidence here.                    She starts flipping through EVIDENCE PHOTOS...                                                                    03/22/2004   54.                                                            KRISTEN                    Are these the evidence photos from the                    Elena Sandoval rape?                                        CHAD                    They are, but...                                        KRISTEN                    Ever find out what caused these markings?                    She holds up the photograph of the four circular indentations the          Judge questioned Chad about in court...                                        CHAD                    Like I told the Judge, I guess they're                    finger nail markings...                                        KRISTEN                    They don't look like finger nail markings                    to me. They look more like this...                    She holds up the back of her hand, where she'd made the          indentation with Marie's ring.                                        KRISTEN                    Would you say these markings are the                    same?                                        CHAD                    W-where did you get that?                    Kristen smiles.                                        KRISTEN                    Marie gave it to me. But you already knew                    that, didn't you, Doc?                    Chad has no answer to that. He can only blink stupidly and pray          his silence doesn't incriminate him further. Kristen heads for the          door...                                        CHAD                        (calling after)                    The pill. It's Rohypnol. Uh, Roofies.                                        KRISTEN                    Been there. Done that.                    INT. CLIFFORD MANSION - NIGHT                    The massive front door swings open and Marie crosses the foyer,          and is about to ascend the magnificent staircases when she hears          the clanking of glass coming from the kitchen.                                                                      03/22/2004   55.                                        Her heart is in her throat as she calls out...                                           MARIE                       Hello?                    No answer.                                                                                                   INT. CLIFFORD MANSION - KITCHEN - NIGHT                    Marie enters the lavish kitchen, stops in her tracks when she sees          Chad standing at the full bar, mixing the strongest drink known to          man.                                           MARIE                       What the hell, Chad?                                              Chad fidgets nervously.                                           CHAD                       That parole officer was sniffin' around                       today.                    Marie scoffs, steps up to the bar, gets in Chad's face.                                           MARIE                       Not you too. She's just trying to prove                       her worthless excuse for an existence.                       She doesn't have a thing on us.                                           CHAD                       Yeah, but she's askin' the right                       questions. It's only a matter of time. We                       gotta make our move.                    Marie shakes her head, resolute.                                           MARIE                       No. We stick to the plan. Give the                       Curator time to come up with the money...                    Chad's trembling hands pour the drink, most of the liquid making          it in to two MARTINI GLASSES...                                           CHAD                       We gotta move fast, keep the heat off...                                           MARIE                       You can't take the heat, get outta the                       kitchen.                                           CHAD                                                                 I wanna see 'em. The diamonds.   Make                                          sure they're safe.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     56.                                                            MARIE                                                                                                                                                       They're safe.                    She downs half the drink in one giant gulp.                                        CHAD                                                                     I just wanna see 'em. I thought we were                                                                                                                               supposed to be partners here.                    Chad's trembling, looking like he could lose it at any second.                                        MARIE                                                                    You're gonna be the death of me...                                       She slugs the rest of the drink, strides away and Chad follows                     like a lapdog...                                                                   INT. CLIFFORD MANSION - JAY'S OFFICE - NIGHT                                       Nothing's been touched in Jay's office, the drops of blood the                     Cubans extracted from his thumb as a warning stain the white                       carpet black...                                                                    Marie walks over to his desk, opens a draw. Removes a metallic                     lock box.                                                                                              CHAD                                                                     Open it. I wanna see those puppies.                                      Marie rolls her eyes, takes a key from a delicate chain around her           neck and fumbles with the lock. Finally she opens the box,                   revealing the Mother-Daughter diamonds, resting on velvet lining.                      The sparkling diamonds seem to have a calming effect on Chad.      He          stops shaking, his voice becoming more steady...                                                       CHAD                    I called the museum. The deal's goin'                    down tomorrow. 8 am...                    Marie stumbles as she takes a step toward him.                                        MARIE                    What did you...                    She looks to the empty glass in her hand, then begins to sway,                     watching in horror as Chad drops the diamonds into his pocket...                               C                               HAD                    I'm sorry, okay? But it's not like I had                    a choice.                              T                                                                                                  03/22/2004    57.                                        Marie falls flat on her face, her world crashing to BLACK.                                                               FADE IN:                    EXT. EVERGLADES - MORNING                    The blinding morning sunlight climbs the horizon, the still water          of the endless swampland glistening like diamonds...                    Elena sits out on her idling airboat, in the midst of the          sawgrass, smoking. The peace is shattered by her ringing          CELLPHONE.                                         ELENA                    Yello...                                                                                                   INT. CLIFFORD MANSION - JAY'S OFFICE - MORNING                    Marie has the phone cradled between her shoulder and ear, rubbing            her aching head, slowly getting her wits back. Nothing like good          old fashioned vengeful rage to combat a nasty hangover.                                        MARIE                        (into phone)                    Chad fucked us.                                        ELENA (V.O.)                        (deadpan)                    I know. I was there...                                        MARIE                    No, I mean he really fucked us. He                    drugged me an' took the diamonds!                    EXT. SWAMPS - MORNING                    Elena stands on the edge of the airboat, fear rising in her.                                        ELENA                     ell me you're kidding...                                        MARIE (V.O.)                    Yeah, it's all a big joke...He stole the                    diamonds!                    Elena lets out an anguished wail.                                        MARIE (V.O.)                    Keep it down, my headache's bad enough as                    it is.                                        ELENA                    We've gotta stop him.                                                                      03/22/2004   58.                                        INT. CLIFFORD MANSION - KITCHEN - MORNING                    Marie's fevered mind is racing as she glances at the wall clock.          7:30. Finally a desperate plan scratches its way to the surface.                                        MARIE                    He's heading to the museum, got himself                    an 8am meeting...                                        ELENA (V.O.)                    He's gonna sell the diamonds...                                        MARIE                    Not if we find him first...                    EXT. EVERGLADES - DAY                    The deafening roar of an air boat cutting through dense sawgrass,          speeding across the endless swampland expanse. Elena expertly          maneuvers the machine, the wind racing through her hair...                    EXT. SWAMP ROAD - DAY                    Chad's speakers blare out heavy metal as his rusty DAEWOO bangs          down the desolate swamp dirt road through the thick trees. Every          hundred feet or so, the road runs parallel with the water, then          cuts back into the trees.          C           had spots an Air Boat not more than a few hundred yards from him.          He does a double take just as the road disappears back into the          trees. That wasn't...it couldn't be, could it?                    The winding dirt road crosses back to swampside and Chad's worst          fears come true...Elena's racing along side of him in the AIRBOAT,          fighting to keep up...                                           ELENA                    Pull over!                    INT. CHAD'S CAR - DAY                    The road runs parallel to the swamp again and Chad's eyes nearly          burst from their sockets as he sees the airboat now alongside him,          matching his speed.                                        ELENA                    Give us back the diamonds!                    Chad's heart stops.                                           CHAD                    Us?                                                                     03/22/2004   59.                                        He spins round, looks straight ahead at the BMW RACING RIGHT AT          HIM!                                        CHAD                    FUCKING HELL!                    He yanks the steering wheel hard left, swerves his car clean off          the dirt road and into the thick swathe of Melaluca trees, Marie's          BMW shoots past, missing his car by inches...                    INT. MARIE'S BMW - CONTINUOUS                    Marie slams on her brakes, brings her BMW to a skidding halt on          the dirt road. She looks back over her shoulder, at the swaying          Melaluca trees. No sign of Chad's car...                    EXT. SWAMPSIDE - CONTINUOUS                    Elena brings the airboat to rest at swamp side, leaps into the          reeds and clambers up to the dirt road. There's no sign of Chad's          car, just a hole in the dense undergrowth where it ploughed          through...                    Marie comes running up to join Elena, a tire iron in hand...                                        ELENA                        (sternly)                    We're not hurting him, Marie, got it? We                    just get the diamonds back...                                        MARIE                    I                     'm not gonna hurt him. No way...                    Marie stalks down the path Chad's car took off the dirt road...                                        MARIE                    I'm gonna kill him.                    Elena's breath catches in her throat. Marie disappears into the          trees and she's alone, out on the deserted swamp road...                                        ELENA                    Marie! Don't do this...                    She hears a scream, a girl's scream...                                        ELENA                    Marie!                    Elena sprints into the thick of the trees...                                                                        03/22/2004   60.                                        INT. BLUE BAY PD OFFICES - DAY                    Kristen is sitting at Detective Morrison's cluttered desk, her          brow furrowed as she shuffles through the stack of newspaper          articles she pulled from Elena's wall.                    Morrison stands in the doorway, watching her.                                        MORRISON                    You look like you could use a drink.                    Kristen looks up from the articles, into Morrison's smiling face.          She smiles back.                                        KRISTEN                    When this is all over, I'd like that.                    Morrison turns and walks right into a suit with an FBI badge          identifying him as AGENT MILTON DAMMERS. The buzzcut agent drops          BOXES at Morrison's feet.                                        DAMMERS                    More Black Widow leads. I need you to put                    them in the evidence locker, Morrison.                                        MORRISON                    That's not my job, Agent Dammers.                                           DAMMERS                    It is now.                    EXT. SWAMP CLEARING - DAY                    Marie is standing in a clearing, staring at Chad's wrecked car, at          the top of a small slope, wrapped around a Melaluca tree like a          Christmas present.                    Her piercing screams force Elena to come running...                                           ELENA                    You okay?                    Marie stops screaming, her face contorting in anger...                                        MARIE                    No, I'm pretty damn far from okay...                    She points to the front seat of the crashed car...                    Elena can barely bring herself to look inside. Marie shoves her in          the back, pushing her towards the open driver's side door. Elena          gasps when she looks inside the car. Chad's not there.                                                                      03/22/2004   61.                                                            MARIE                    He bolted...                    Marie clambers up the wreckage of the car, stands on the roof. She                               M          surveys the swamp all around her like the lioness she is...                                        MARIE                    With the diamonds.                    INT. BLUE BAY PD EVIDENCE LOCKER - DAY                    Morrison grumbles as he scans his key card, opening the wire mesh          door to the evidence locker. He picks up a box and enters,          Kristen, also carrying a box, a step behind.                                        MORRISON                    I appreciate the help...                                        KRISTEN                    Right back at ya.                    Morrison blushes as he absently adds the boxes to the groaning          shelves stuffed with Black Widow evidence. Kristen notices the          bundles of cash stored in and amongst the Black Widow evidence...                                        KRISTEN                    You could have a helluva holiday on that                    money.                                         MORRISON                    Recovered from the Black Widow's last                    score. If I'd gotten to the scene just                    five minutes earlier, I woulda gotten her                    as well...                    Morrison shakes his head, ruefully, when a sudden sharp beeping          has Kristen reaching into her pocket, fishing out a handheld GPS.                                        KRISTEN                    What the hell...                    A red flashing dot moves quickly in the middle of the map...                                         KRISTEN                    Elena...                    EXT. EVERGLADES - DAY                    Elena runs full pelt after Marie, through dense swampland, the          plastic ankle bracelet around her leg silently flashing red...                                                                     03/22/2004   62.                                                            MARIE                    Chad! There's nowhere to run to, you                    little weasel!                    She swings around, finally spotting a bloody hand print on one of          the ashen tree trunks...                                          MARIE                    Gotcha...                    She races off in hot pursuit. Elena's about to follow when she          notices the red light flashing on her ankle bracelet...                                        ELENA                    This can't be happening...                    Marie slows, looks back to Elena.                                          MARIE                    What now?                                        ELENA                    I'm more than five miles away from the                    Police station. I go beyond five miles                    and the alarm goes off...                    Marie snarls...                                        MARIE                    You telling me your Parole Officer knows                    you're out here?                    Elena can barely speak...                                        ELENA                    She knows...                    EXT. SWAMP - DAY                    Chad's face is drained of color as he runs through the dense          swampland, hugging the priceless diamonds. Sweat cascades from his          brow, and thick plumes of blood from wounds all over his body          swirl in the stagnant waters...                    Most gruesome of all is a broken TURN SIGNAL embedded in his right          leg. As the water gets knee-deep, the last of Chad's reserve          energy goes. He collapses in the stagnant marsh.                    Not far off, GATORS circle. It's only a matter of time before they          notice the blood in the water.                                                                      03/22/2004   63.                                        EXT. EVERGLADES - DAY                    The small bit of solid ground gives way to swampland. Elena steps          into the water, her Ankle Bracelet FLASHING RED.                                        ELENA                    Call it off, Marie. We gotta go or                    she'll find us here...                    A splashing sound from up ahead silences both girls...                                        MARIE                    You hear that?                    The sound echoes off the dense trees. Marie points left.                                        MARIE                    You go that way...                    Marie heads off in the opposite direction. Elena hesitates, wants          to follow, but does as she's told, and goes left, soon enveloped          by canopy of trees...                    INT. KRISTEN'S CAR - DAY                    Kristen blasts down the Blue Bay streets, a siren in the          windshield blaring...                    The handheld GPS continues to monitor Elena's exact position in          the midst of the swamp...          E          EXT. EVERGLADES - DAY                    Elena stumbles through the thick, stagnant water, scouring the          horizon for any sign of Chad...                                        ELENA                        (sotto)                    Please...                    A rustling sound stops her in her tracks. Dead silence, until...                    A HAND GRABS HER LEG, AROUND THE FLASHING ANKLE BRACELET, DRAGS          HER DOWN INTO THE SWAMP...                    EXT. EVERGLADES CLEARING - DAY                    Marie hacks her way through the overgrown foliage with the tire          iron, like a Prada clad big-game hunter...                                        MARIE                        (calling out to Elena)                    You see him?                                                                     03/22/2004   64.                                        No reply, just her own voice echoing back...                                          MARIE                    Elena?                    She rolls her eyes.                                        MARIE                    Useless bitch...                    EXT. SWAMP ROAD - DAY                    Kristen's unmarked car races across the desolate swamp road.                    INT. KRISTEN'S CAR - DAY                    She checks the flashing GPS signal. Getting closer...                    EXT. EVERGLADES - DAY                    Elena bursts up to the surface of the bloody water, gasps for          breath. Looking down she sees Chad, holding on to her like his          life depends on it. It does...                    He pulls her back down into the water, just as she catches a          glance of the circling GATORS...                    Using her as leverage, Chad pulls himself out of the swamp,          climbing over her writhing body to the relative safety of solid          ground...                    Elena coughs and splutters, floundering in the blood soaked water.          The ravenous Gators approach, sensing a feeding frenzy...                                        CHAD                    Don't move! Don't splash, they can sense                    you in the water, they'll rip you to                    pieces...                    Elena freezes, looking round at the black eyes breaking the          surface of the bloody water, gliding in for the kill...                                        ELENA                    Hel..help me...                    She reaches out a hand to Chad, only a few feet away...          H           e hesitates, then reaches out to her. But stops short of grabbing          her trembling hand. Just balls his fist, squeezing every last drop          of blood out of the open wounds on his palm...                    The dark blood cascades down into the water around Elena...                                                                                 65.                                                            CHAD                    No.                    And he smiles as the Gators ease open their powerful jaws...                    WHACK!                    Chad's eyes roll back into his head as blood flows from his nose,          ears and mouth. He falls forward, stiff as a board, and SPLASHES          down into the water next to an apoplectic Elena. Behind him stands          Marie, the BLOODY TIRE IRON in hand...                    Marie reaches out a hand, pulls Elena out of the water. She          collapses onto her back and sucks in the stagnant swamp air...                                        MARIE                    What are you doing? Our diamonds are                    about to become dinner...                    Elena can't move, leaving Marie to wade into the swamp...                    EXT. SWAMP ROAD - DAY                    Kristen approaches a fork in the swamp road at high speed. She          checks the GPS scanner. It doesn't show her which way to turn...                                        KRISTEN                    Which way, which way...                    Split second decision. Left. She spins the wheel, takes the left          hand fork...                    Bad choice. Just a few meters down the right fork is an abandoned          BMW, an idle airboat, a crashed car, one dead man and two wild,          wild things...                    EXT. SWAMP ROAD - DAY                    Elena and Marie, soaked to the bone, drag Chad's cold, dead corpse          out of the trees. Marie drops the body, heads straight for her          abandoned BMW. Elena follows, stumbling through the vines, her          clothes dripping wet, shivering more from nerves than cold...                               M                              MARIE                    Get rid of the body. And his car...                                        ELENA                    Where are you going?                                        MARIE                    Where do you think?                                                                                 66.                                                            ELENA                    I don't...I don't have a clue...                    Marie spins round, a vicious look in her eyes. She holds the blood          soaked diamonds in her hand...                                        MARIE                    Chad made us an appointment to sell                    these. I'm gonna keep it...                    Elena looks down to her flashing ankle bracelet...                                        ELENA                    It's only a matter of time before my                    Parole Officer finds me...                    Marie turns back around, flings open the BMW door and gets in.                                        MARIE                    Then I suggest you get to work...                    She fires up the powerful engine, speeds away in a cloud of dust,          leaving Elena the most deeply unpleasant task of her young life...                    EXT. CHAD'S CRASHED CAR - AFTERNOON                    Elena struggles to drag Chad's bloody body back to his crashed          car. The tail lights flicker, throwing an ominous red glow over          the dense thicket of overhanging trees.                                        ELENA                        (sotto)                    Jesus...                    With a Herculean effort she manages to stuff Chad's inert body          into the driver's seat. She stumbles back, horrified at the grim          tableau before her...                    EXT. MUSEUM - AFTERNOON                    Marie's car comes barreling into the parking lot outside the stone          Museum building.                    INT. MUSEUM - AFTERNOON                    The Curator paces back and forth, like an expectant father, in          front of the empty glass case that used to house the diamonds.          Marie bursts into the Museum, and he strides up to meet her,          shocked when he sees Marie's covered in blood, sweat and guilt...                                        CURATOR                    Marie? Are you alright?                                                                     03/22/2004   67.                                                            MARIE                    Never better. Got the money?                    The Curator nods nervously.                                        CURATOR                    I convinced the board of the                    extraordinary circumstances                    surrounding...                                        MARIE                    Good.          S           he fishes in her bag for the diamonds...                                        CURATOR                    I...I received a call from your                    'associate'. He said he would be handling                    the transaction.                                        MARIE                    Change of plans. My 'associate' got tied                    up at work. Completely swamped...                    The Curator nods, unsure if he inquire further...                    Marie finally pulls out two blood soaked Diamonds from her bag,          thrusts them at the Curator. He screws up his wrinkled face,          afraid to touch them...                                        MARIE                    Calm down. It's just blood.                    EXT. CHAD'S CAR - AFTERNOON                    With trembling hands, Elena opens the trunk of Chad's crashed car.          She pulls out a plastic gas container, sloshing the fuel around          inside, then trailing it back across the vine covered ground...                    She carefully places the empty container down, standing twenty          feet back from the wreckage, fumbling in her pocket for a match...                    She can barely control her hands, her whole body shaking in          fear...                    Finally she pulls out a MATCHBOOK, still sopping wet from the          swamp. She strikes match after match, but they won't light, until,          finally, one produces a tiny flame that simmers for a second then          smoulders out...                                        ELENA                    Don't do this to me, please...                                                                     03/22/2004   68.                                        In frustration, she runs back to Chad's car, looking desperately          for a lighter, climbing all the way in. Because of the slight          slope it's on, the car's flimsy door slams shut behind her.                    Elena pays no heed, continues to rummage through the glove          compartment.                                        ELENA                    You gotta have a lighter or some...                    She's cut off as the WRECKED CAR'S HORN BLARES OUT!                    Deafening, the sound echoes around the dense undergrowth. Elena's          heart skips a beat. Chad's corpse has slumped forward against the          steering wheel.                                         ELENA                    Jesus...                    She struggles with all her might to pull Chad's body back off the          horn...          S           ilence reigns once more. Elena takes short, sharp breaths. Looks          over at Chad's body slumped to the side, leaning against the          driver's side door...                                        ELENA                    I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...                    Not as sorry as she's going to be...                    The match she discarded outside only seconds ago continues to          smoulder for a second, then REIGNITES!                    INT. MUSEUM - AFTERNOON                    The Curator carefully examines the diamond, turning it over and          over in his hands. Marie stands over him, impatiently tapping her          muddy shoe on the marble floor...                                         MARIE                    So?                                        CURATOR                    I...I'm not sure...                                        MARIE                    Can you get the cash or not?                    The Curator looks up to her, bemused.                                        CURATOR                    I can get the cash...it's just...                                                                     03/22/2004   69.                                        Marie smiles a wicked grin.                                        MARIE                    Then let's have those dead presidents...                    EXT. CHAD'S CAR - AFTERNOON                    The discarded match has set fire to the surrounding vines on the          ground, and slowly the fire edges it way towards the line of          gasoline that Elena trailed from Chad's wrecked car...                    INSIDE THE CAR                    Elena reaches over, carefully closes Chad's bloodshot eyes.          Satisfied, she turns to get out, only to find the passenger side          door LOCKED...                    She tries the handle. Tries it again. Desperately yanks it. Not          opening, no sir...                    Elena looks over, see Chad's limp elbow on the door lock...                    OUTSIDE THE CAR                    The small brush fire reaches the pooled gasoline and...WHOOSH!                    INSIDE THE CAR                    Elena can't help but hear the unmistakable sound of FLAMES          CRACKLING. Through the smashed rear window she sees the line of          FIRE racing towards the car she's trapped in!                    She reaches over, clawing her way past Chad's corpse, trying to          reach the door lock. Her bloody fingers slip on the lock, unable          to pull it up.                    THE FIRE's SHOOTING towards the crashed car, only a few feet          away...                    Elena fumbles with the lock, tears streaming down her face.                    The line of fire hits the crashed car, and ENGULFS it instantly.          Bright ORANGE FLAMES cover the wreckage...                    INT. MUSEUM - AFTERNOON                    The Curator carefully sets down the diamonds on the marble floor.          Marie looks at him like he's mad.                                        MARIE                    What the hell are you doing?                                                                       03/22/2004   70.                                                            CURATOR                    One last test...                    The Curator hovers his heel over the biggest Diamond. Marie          screams out!                                          MARIE                    NO!                    He slams his foot down and the DIAMOND SHATTERS!                    INT. CHAD'S CRASHED CAR - AFTERNOON                    Elena SCREAMS as the passenger side window next to her SMASHES,          SPLINTERING into a million glass fragments.                    Hands reach in and grab her, pulling her through the FLAMES...                    Seconds later Elena finds herself on the swamp floor, in Kristen's          singed arms...                                          KRISTEN                    You okay?                    Elena can barely talk, looking back at the flaming wreckage in          front of her...                                        KRISTEN                    Care to explain?                                        ELENA                    It was...it was an accident...                    The flames reflect in her tear-filled eyes.                    INT. MUSEUM - AFTERNOON                    Marie stands aghast at the sight of her diamonds, in a million          tiny pieces on the museum's marble floor...                                        CURATOR                    Fakes, I'm afraid. Made of glass. Can't                    believe they were our top attraction all                    these years...                    Every muscle in Marie's body contracts...She stands before the          empty diamond exhibit case, runs her fingers over the portrait of          her mother cradling her as a baby.                                        MARIE                    That's my inheritance is it, Mom? Goddamn                    Christmas ornaments...                                                                     03/22/2004   71.                                        And as the disbelief gives way to anger she rips the portrait from          the case and tears it to shreds...                                        CURATOR                    Marie, please...                    There's no stopping her now. Red-faced, she lashes out at the          display case with a devastating kick, the glass SHATTERING...                                        CURATOR                    Marie, stop this instant!                    She continues her rampage regardless, ripping a FIRE EXTINGUISHER          from the wall and hurling it through another display case...                                        MARIE                    I hate you, Mom!    I'm glad you're dead!                    EXT. BLUE BAY PD - NIGHT                    Storm clouds gather over the whitewashed Police station...                    INT. BLUE BAY PD INTERVIEW ROOM - NIGHT                    Elena sits with her head in her hands, across from Kristen in an          anonymous interview room.                                        KRISTEN                    I told you.                    Elena looks up, tears streaking her mascara.                                        ELENA                    Told me what?                                        KRISTEN                    That if you were telling the truth I'd                    back you all the way. If you lied to me                    there'd be trouble...                    Elena slumps back down, her head on the table.                                        ELENA                    Chad swerved off the road, I swear...                                        KRISTEN                    Just swerved for no reason. Just decided                    to take a shortcut through the swamp?                    Elena sobs, can't look Kristen in the eye.                                        ELENA                    It was an accident...                                                                      03/22/2004   72.                                        The door to the interview room swings open, and Detective Morrison          strides through, a fresh-from-the-printer REPORT in his hands...                                        MORRISON                    Accident my ass.                    He flips the pages of the report...                                        MORRISON                    Forensics finds the head trauma that                    killed Chad Borman was inflicted by a                    single blow from behind.          E           lena looks up, through Panda eyes...                                        ELENA                    The crash. He...he hit his head...                                        MORRISON                    Was that before or after you dragged him                    through the swamp?                    Elena has no answers as Morrison takes the cuffs from his belt,          snaps them on Elena's wrists.                                        MORRISON                    You got the right to remain silent, which                    in your case is probably best, cos of the                    shit you come up with...                    Kristen stands up, shaking her head.                                        KRISTEN                    That's two strikes, Elena. One more and                    you're out.                    Elena looks at her pleadingly.                                        ELENA                    I'll do whatever you want.                    Kristen stops. Thinks for a moment. Nods to Morrison as he drags          Elena to her feet.                                        KRISTEN                    Yeah. Yeah you will.                                        ELENA                    I'll tell you the truth. I'll tell you                    what happened. She killed him, and took                    the diamonds. Marie, it was Marie                    Clifford...                                                                     03/22/2004   73.                                        Morrison just sneers.                                        MORRISON                    Keep bleeting, Missy. All the way to the                    Judge. I think its time he heard the                    truth about Jay Clifford's accuser.                                        KRISTEN                    Her arrest doesn't guarantee Jay'll be                    cleared, you know that. You need Marie,                    you need the proof they set him up...                    Morrison considers this.                                        KRISTEN                    You came so close to nailing the Black                    Widow, don't let this slip through your                    fingers, Detective...                    He's about to speak, when Elena's cell phone rings. Kristen takes          it from Elena, looks at the CALLER ID, sees Marie's name...                                        KRISTEN                    Speak of the Devil...                    She holds the phone up.                                        KRISTEN                    You're gonna answer it. And you're gonna                    say that everything went fine. No one                    found Chad's body. The plan's still on.                    Do you understand me?                    Elena nods slowly. Morrison turns to Kristen.                                        MORRISON                    You thinking what I'm thinking?          K           risten's patient with him.                                        KRISTEN                    This is your chance. Feds can't take this                    one from you...                    Morrison weighs his options, then finally nods.                    Kristen clicks the phone ON, holds it to Elena's ear.                                         ELENA                    Yello...                                                                   03/22/2004   74.                                        INT. MARIE'S BMW - NIGHT                    Marie speeds wildly down the deserted Blue Bay streets, one          trembling hand holding a cigarette, the other her cellphone.                                         MARIE (ON PHONE)                    The diamonds are fakes. Totally                    worthless.                                        ELENA (V.O.)                    No. That can't be true!                                        MARIE                    Believe it. I'm leaving. Tonight.                                        ELENA (V.O.)                    You can't...what about...me...                    Marie takes a long drag from her cigarette.                                        MARIE                    Don't you understand? There's no money.                    Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Zero. How am I                    supposed to take care of your broke ass?                    INT. BLUE BAY PD INTERVIEW ROOM - NIGHT                    Kristen is listening in on the whole conversation. She cups her          hand over the phone, whispers to Elena.                                        KRISTEN                    Tell her she has to meet you. Tell her                    she can't leave...                    Elena nods and Kristen puts the phone back to her lips.                                        ELENA                    I...I gotta see you.                                        MARIE (V.O.)                    I'll send you a photo.                                        ELENA                    Please. Just one last time.                                        MARIE (V.O.)                    I'm gone, gone, gonski.                    Elena's reeling. Kristen motions for her to continue.                                        ELENA                    I think maybe...maybe there's a way we                    could still get some money...                                                                      03/22/2004   75.                                        Silence on the end of the line...                    INT. MARIE'S BMW - NIGHT                    Marie considers this for a long moment.    Finally...                                        MARIE                    Okay, talk...                                        ELENA (V.O.)                    Not over the phone. We gotta meet.                                        MARIE                    School swimming pool. One hour.                    INT. BLUE BAY PD INTERVIEW ROOM - NIGHT                    Click. She's hung up. Kristen nods to Morrison...                                        KRISTEN                    Where'd you keep the wire taps?                                        MORRISON                    Evidence locker.                                        KRISTEN                    Gimme the key.                    He tosses her his electronic keycard...          E          EXT. BLUE BAY HIGH SWIMMING POOL - NIGHT                    The Blue Bay High pool is illuminated in the dead of night,          casting blue ripples over the bleachers where Elena waits          nervously. She can't help but fiddle with the wire hidden beneath          her shirt...                                        ELENA                        (whispering)                    Can you hear me?                    INT. MORRISON'S CAR - CONTINUOUS                    Morrison listens nervously to Elena's tinny voice coming in          through the speaker...                                        ELENA (V.O.)                    Is this thing working?                    The Detective shoots Kristen a concerned look.                                        MORRISON                    She's gonna blow it...                                                                      03/22/2004   76.                                        EXT. BLUE BAY HIGH SWIMMING POOL - CONTINUOUS                    Elena adjusts the mic taped to her chest, wincing as the tape          pulls her delicate skin.                                        ELENA                    I..don't think I can do this...                                        MARIE (O.S.)                    It's already done.                    Elena looks up guiltily. Marie is standing by the side of the          pool. How much did she see?                                        MARIE                    So?                    The word's stick in Elena's throat...                                        ELENA                    I had no choice...                                        MARIE                    Blah, blah, blah. Get over it. He's dead.                    Now you told me you had a plan. Spit it                    out.                                        ELENA                    Jay's got cash. At the building site. I                    saw it.                    Marie rolls her eyes.                                        MARIE                    That's your brilliant plan? It's in a                    safe, dumb ass. You a safecracker? Have                    you got magic fingers, gonna pick that                    lock? I don't think so. Next.                    INT. MORRISON'S CAR - CONTINUOUS                    Kristen winces as she listens to the girls' conversation.                               E                                LENA (V.O.)                         (through the speakers)                    We're gonna go to Jay. Tell him what we                    did.                                        MARIE (V.O.)                    Like hell we are.                                                                      03/22/2004   77.                                        EXT. BLUE BAY HIGH SWIMMING POOL - CONTINUOUS                    Elena walks down the bleachers, approaching a skeptical Marie.                                        ELENA                    Listen to me. We go to the jail, tell him                    we'll come clean, tell the police                    everything, if he gives us the                    combination. I'm still a minor, they'll                    send me back to Juvie. Shit, I could do                    that time standing on my head...                    Marie's wavering.                                        MARIE                    How much money?                    Elena reaches Marie, puts her hands on her hips.                                        ELENA                    Enough for you and me.                    Grinds against her. Slowly, sensually.                                        MARIE                    We don't have to tell the cops anything.                    We'll let Jay's videotape do the talking.                                        ELENA                    But, we got rid of the real one...                                        MARIE                    I kept a copy. Never trusted you                    backstabbers.                    Elena tries to pull away, but Marie drags her back until their          faces are inches apart.                                        MARIE                    You're trembling.                    There's no denying it. Marie slowly draws her hand down Elena's          face, down her neck, to her chest. So close to the wire. Finally          places her palm over Elena's heart...                                        ELENA                    Marie, I...                                           MARIE                    Ssshhhh...                    BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM...                                                                     03/22/2004   78.                                        INT. MORRISON'S CAR - NIGHT                    Morrison and Kristen listen intently in their headphones, unable          to breath...                    EXT. BLUE BAY HIGH SWIMMING POOL - CONTINUOUS                    Elena and Marie stand there for what seems like an eternity,          unblinking...          B           OOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM...                    Finally Marie smiles...                                        MARIE                    Alright. Let's do it...                    INT. COUNTY JAIL - NIGHT                    Jay laughs, as he sits across from Marie and Elena, separated by          an inch of bullet proof glass. Theo stands by the door.                                        JAY                    Well, well, well. Who'd have thought.                    What a pleasant surprise. I guess you                    guys have kissed and made up?                                        MARIE                    Very funny. Did you know the diamonds                    were fakes?                    Jay nods slowly.                                        JAY                    Your Mom hocked them years ago. Boozed it                    all away. You already know the end of her                    sorry story...                    Marie's jaw tightens. Jay leans back.                                        JAY                    So, to what do I owe the pleasure?                                        MARIE                    We want money. Whatever you've got in                    your safe at the beach condos.                    Jay bursts out laughing again.                                        JAY                    Of course you do. Of course you do.                                                                    03/22/2004    79.                                                            ELENA                    We'll get you out of here...                    Jay stops laughing, leans back in to the inch thick glass.                                           JAY                    You will?                    Marie holds up a DIGITAL VIDEO TAPE...                                        JAY                    Is that what I think it is?                                        MARIE                    You give us the combination and this goes                    in the nearest mail box, tied with a                    pretty pink bow.                                        JAY                    How do I know it's the real tape?                                        MARIE                    You're gonna have to trust us.                                        JAY                    I've been down that road before.                    Marie opens the cassette housing, ready to rip the tape apart...                                        MARIE                    This is non-negotiable.                    Theo interjects...                                        THEO                    Sir, we have no grounds for appeal. This                    could be our only chance.                                        MARIE                    What's the combination?                    The tortured screams of inmates echo in Jay's ears.                                           JAY                    I can't...                                        MARIE                    No such word as 'can't'...                    A PRISON GUARD puts a massive hand on Jay's shoulder...                               P                               RISON GUARD                    Time's up, Mr. Clifford.                                                                      03/22/2004   80.                                        Jay sighs...                                        JAY                        (to Marie)                    Fine. 08-20-99.                    Marie shakes her head.                                         MARIE                    The combination's the day Mom died, you                    sick fuck?                    Jay's led away in shackles...                    EXT. BLUE BAY STREETS - NIGHT                    Marie's BMW flies down the deserted Blue Bay streets, blasting          through red lights.                    INT. MARIE'S BMW - CONTINUOUS                    Marie handles the car like a Formula One driver, and with twice          the intensity. The G-force pins Elena back against the seat.                                           ELENA                    Slow down!                    Marie steps on the gas.                                        ELENA                    We're in a world of shit!                    Marie steps on the gas.                                        ELENA                    We'll never get away with this. You know                    that don't you?                    Marie steps on the gas. She ain't saying a word, and time's          running out for Elena...                    INT. MORRISON'S POLICE CAR - NIGHT                    Morrison struggles to keep up with Marie's Bullit-esque driving.          Kristen stays focused on the one-sided conversation in her          headphones...                                        KRISTEN                    Come on, Elena...Keep pushing...                                                                     03/22/2004   81.                                        EXT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - NIGHT                    Marie's BMW screeches to a stop outside the beachfront condos, and          Marie strides towards the construction site entrance.                    Elena gets out the car, feeling decidedly sick. She circuitously          adjusts the microphone taped to her chest, then follows Marie into          the dark, unfinished building                    INT. JAY'S OFFICE - NIGHT                    Marie enters the makeshift office like a wolf stalking her prey,          heading straight for the safe. With a rock steady hand, she works          the lock...CLICK...                                        MARIE                    One down...                    EXT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDINGS - NIGHT                    Morrison brings his clunky Police sedan to a halt around the back          of the building site.          I          INT. MORRISON'S CAR - NIGHT                    Kristen listens intently to the live feed.                                        ELENA (V.O.)                        (over headphones)                    Marie! Please, I can't do this...                    INT. JAY'S OFFICE - NIGHT                    Marie's working the safe combination like a master thief, spinning          it nimbly between her buffed nails. CLICK...                                          MARIE                    Two down.                    Elena stands in the makeshift office doorway, trying to coax          something incriminating from Marie's perfect lips.                                        ELENA                    I told you not to kill Chad. I'll tell it                    to the police.                    Marie doesn't even look round, concentrating on the job at hand.          Elena's reeling.                                                                     03/22/2004   82.                                                            ELENA                    I'll tell 'em you made me lie about your                    stepfather raping me, made me perjure                    myself on the stand, went and killed                    Chad, and now...                                        MARIE                        (sotto)                    99. A very good year...                    CLICK. Third and final tumbler falls. The safe door swings open,          revealing a STACK of CASH and Jay's HANDGUN...                    INT. MORRISON'S CAR - NIGHT                    Kristen shakes her head. It's hopeless, Elena can't get Marie to          say an incriminating word...                                        MORRISON                    This has gotta end.                                        KRISTEN                    It's gonna end. One way or another...                    INT. JAY'S OFFICE - NIGHT                    Marie pulls out a wad of crisp, clean bills, draws them across her          nose like a wine connoisseur.                                        MARIE                    Money. Always in style.                    She dances over to Elena, waves the cash in her face.                                        ELENA                    Why'd you do it? Why'd Chad have to die?                    Marie slides up against Elena, fluttering the cash over her in the          world's most expensive shower. Elena couldn't be less interested,          focused on getting that confession...                                        ELENA                    You killed him, Marie. You murdered him                    in cold blood...                    Marie presses up against Elena, pushing her up against the          unfinished dry wall. Kisses her passionately, finally silencing          her for a few, brief, electric seconds. And when she pulls away          her fingers dance down Elena's shirt until...          S           he rips the microphone from Elena's chest. Stands there with the          dangling cord in her hands, her face caught in a permanent snarl.          The blood drains from Elena's face...                                                                      03/22/2004   83.                                        INT. MORRISON'S POLICE CAR - NIGHT                    A piercing feedback forces Kristen to throw aside the headphones.          She looks to Morrison.                                        KRISTEN                    She's been made...                    Morrison draws his gun.                                        MORRISON                    Stay here...                    Kristen shakes her head resolutely.                                        KRISTEN                    I got us into this...                    BANG! A GUNSHOT echoes in the darkness...                                        MORRISON                    Just stay in the car! Please...                    Morrison sprints over to the building site, leaving Kristen in the          car, alone.                    INT. JAY'S OFFICE - NIGHT                    Elena stands with her hands up, an ugly bullet hole in the wall          just beside her. Marie keeps Jay's gun trained on her as she          unloads the cash from the safe...                                        MARIE                    You stupid fucking Sherbert. You think                    you could sell me out?                                        ELENA                    They made me do it...                                        MARIE                    Morrison doesn't know his prick from a                    pogo stick. And that bitch Parole                    Officer, she hasn't got the balls for                    this...                    Marie takes dead aim once more...                                        ELENA                    Please, don't...                    Marie's finger tightens on the trigger...                    INT. MORRISON'S POLICE CAR - NIGHT                                                                   03/22/2004     84.                                        BOOM!                    Kristen tenses as the gunshot echoes throughout the construction          site. She reaches across to the driver's seat, grabs the          SHOTGUN...                    INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - NIGHT                    Elena scrambles across the concrete floor, desperately trying to          make it to the relative safety of one of the support pillars. She          sees the forensic UV light switch on the floor, reaches for it...                    MARIE                    stands in the shattered doorway, surveys the expansive, unfinished          floor. Is about to unleash a hail of bullets when...                    The WORK LIGHTS flicker out, replaced by the eerie ULTRA VIOLET          LIGHTS scattered around the unfinished floor...Bathed in the          florescent blue glow of the lights, Elena scrambles to safety          behind a pillar. Her shirt GLOWS, her eyes like beacons...                    MORRISON                                                                       Sweeps through the second floor, meticulously checking every                   corner, every shadow...                                                        KRISTEN                                                                        Runs towards the unfinished building, looking up to the UV glow on           the fourth floor. She sprints for the INDUSTRIAL ELEVATOR...                 MARIE                    scours the bizarre darkness, hears a sound. BOOM! The orange          muzzle flash illuminates the floor briefly as Marie shoots          randomly. The flimsy plaster walls EXPLODE...                    MORRISON                                                                       Enters the third floor from the fire escape, continues his                     meticulous sweep of the building.                                              KRISTEN                    Stands in the industrial elevator, jabbing the 4th floor button,            hyperventilating as more gunshots EXPLODE. She clutches Morrison's           shotgun to her chest, getting closer to the top floor.                       ELENA                    shields herself as plaster rains down on her, unable to see          through the cloud of dust under the UV lights, until...                                                                    03/22/2004   85.                                        BOOM! A bullet sparks off rebar inches from her foot. She looks up          to see the barrel of Jay's gun. Marie's face is contorted          maniacally as she squeezes down on the trigger...                            MORRISON                    Runs up the fire escape stairs when a final deafening GUN SHOT          rings out. Followed by SCREAMS. He rips open the fourth floor fire           door, tearing through the building, pushing through thick plastic          sheeting until he finds himself under the UV glow.          T           hick plumes of blood, black under the UV light, stain the walls          and floor. He sees Elena, in a fetal ball, trembling          uncontrollably.                    Beside her, Marie lies dead, her chest a gaping crimson mess,          Jay's gun still clutched tightly in her cold, dead hands.                    Kristen looks up at him, almost too shocked to speak.   Morrison's          shotgun is still smoking in her hands.                                         KRISTEN                     I didn't have a choice. She was gonna                     kill Elena.                    Morrison steps forward, calmly, takes the gun from her.                                         MORRISON                     It's gonna be okay.                    EXT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDINGS - LATER                    The new crime scene is alive with activity. Cops, reporters,          bystanders. Morrison sips coffee as PARAMEDICS wheel Marie's          corpse to the ambulance.                    One of them hands something to Morrison. A blood-splattered          digital video tape.                                         PARAMEDIC                     We found this on the body.                    Morrison takes it without a word...                                         KRISTEN (O.S.)                     Just got off the phone with the Parole                     board...                    Morrison turns around, sees Kristen approaching, still visibly          shaken.                    K                                                                                                    03/22/2004    86.                                                            KRISTEN                    They want me to bring Elena back to Miami                    in the morning.                    She hesitates...                                        KRISTEN                    I'm... sorry for this whole mess.                    Morrison considers this, picks his words carefully.                                        MORRISON                    Don't be. It was my gun that fired the                    shots, so it must've been me who pulled                    the trigger. I'll take the credit on this                    one. After all the Black widow crap I had                    to put up with, I've earnt it...                    Kristen nods.                                        KRISTEN                    You did the right thing...                                        MORRISON                    We did the right thing.                     risten smiles, almost, moves in, and wraps her arms around the          Detective. He closes his eyes, savors the moment. As she pulls          away, she hands him a card.                               K                               RISTEN                    You call me, promise?                    Morrison beams.                                        MORRISON                    I will. I will.                                        KRISTEN                    Now that this is all over, maybe we can                    have that drink soon...                    She leans in, kisses him sweetly on the lips. Morrison watches her          walk away. In spite of all the shit that's gone down, he's          probably the happiest son of a bitch in all of Blue Bay.                                                                  FADE TO BLACK.                    EXT. COUNTY JAIL - MORNING                    Morrison's unmarked Sedan idles outside the barbed wire fences of          the County Jail. The gate slowly opens and guards lead a dazed Jay          Clifford outside, wincing from the bright sunlight.                                                                        03/22/2004   87.                                        Morrison gets out of the car, meets Jay.                                          MORRISON                      How you holdin' up, Jay?                                          JAY                      Been better.                    He sure has.                                          MORRISON                      So what's next?                                          JAY                      No idea. Everything's gone. Repossessed.                      Guess there's nowhere to go but up.                    It's all he can do to keep from breaking down.                                          MORRISON                      I can't help but feel partially                      responsible. If there's anything I...                    Jay shakes his head.                                          JAY                      I don't think so, but thanks.                                          MORRISON                      Can I at least give you a ride somewhere?                                          JAY                      Ain't got nowhere to go...                    Morrison watches sadly as Jay stumbles past him, walking to          nowhere in particular.                                          MORRISON                          (hopeful)                      ... but up, right?                    No reply.                    The Detective heads back to his car, stops for a second, reaches          into his pocket and pulls out Kristen's already-dog eared card. He          can't resist. Dials the number After four rings there's no          message. Just a BEEP.                                          MORRISON                          (into phone)                      Uh, Kristen, it's Michael again. Haven't                      heard from you. Hope you're doing okay.                      Everything's fine here.                                                                      03/22/2004   88.                              MORRISON(CONT'D)                    Haven't been any questions asked that I                    can't answer, an' no one's brought your                    name up. So give me a call back and maybe                    we can go for that drink...          H           e's cut off by...                                        RECORDED VOICE                    BEEP. The mail box you are trying to                    reach is full. Your message has been                    deleted.                    Morrison's disconnected. Puzzled, he gets into his car.                    INT. BLUE BAY PD - DAY                    Morrison gets the shock of his life when he enters the usually          quiet police station and finds himself in the midst of utter          pandemonium.                    Federal Officers are everywhere.                    He tries to pick his way through the crowd when he's intercepted          by Officer Entwistle.                                        OFFICER ENTWISTLE                    You better come with me, Detective.                    INT. BLUE BAY PD - MORRISON'S OFFICE - DAY                    Entwistle leads Morrison into his office, where Agent Dammers sits          behind his desk.                                        AGENT DAMMERS                    Detective Morrison. So good to finally                    see you.                                        MORRISON                    What the hell, Dammers?                                        AGENT DAMMERS                    I should be asking you the same question.                    INT. BLUE BAY PD EVIDENCE LOCKER - DAY                    Morrison stands in the middle of the evidence locker, dumbfounded.          Dammers watches him, his arms crossed.                                        MORRISON                    It's...gone.                                        DAMMERS                    That's right, Morrison. Every last bit of                    evidence from the Black Widow case.                                                                         03/22/2004   89.                              DAMMERS(CONT'D)                    Not to mention the money you confiscated.                    All $427,000.                                                                                  MORRISON                    But how...                                        DAMMERS                    I was hoping you'd be able to answer that                    question.                                        MORRISON                    What in God's name are you talking about?                    I didn't have anything to do with it!                                        DAMMERS                    Well, your key card was the last one that                    opened this locker.                    Morrison's heart is beating a mile a minute.                                        MORRISON                    Holy shit. Kristen...                    INT. DADE COUNTY PAROLE OFFICE - DAY                    A PRETTY RECEPTIONIST sits behind a sparse desk when the phone          rings.                                        PRETTY RECEPTIONIST                    D                     ade County Parole. How can I direct your                    call?                    INT. BLUE BAY PD EVIDENCE LOCKER - DAY                    Morrison paces back and forth, on the phone, as Dammers watches,          not saying a word...                                        MORRISON                        (into phone)                    This is Detective Morrison, Blue Bay PD.                    I was wondering if you had a forwarding                    number for Kristen Richards...                                           PRETTY RECEPTIONIST(V.O.)                    Who?                                        MORRISON                    Kristen Richards. She's one of your                    officers. Has cases up here in Blue Bay.                    INT. DADE COUNTY PAROLE OFFICE - CONTINUOUS                    The receptionist's fingers nimbly dance across the keyboard in          front of her.                                                                                 90.                                                            PRETTY RECEPTIONIST                    I'm sorry, Detective. There's no one here                    by that name.                                        MORRISON                    No, of course there is. I worked with her                    personally. I...                                        PRETTY RECEPTIONIST                    I have no record of a Kristen Richards                    ever working here. Besides, Blue Bay's                    out of our jurisdiction...                    INT. EVIDENCE LOCKER - CONTINUOUS                    Morrison struggles to control his emotions...                                        MORRISON                    Oh no. No, no, no...                    EXT. PARADISE - DAY                    Soft waves lap against a pristine beach. Palm trees sway in the          warm breeze. A steady WHIRRING is the only sound that disturbs the          serenity. Is it a lawn mower? A leaf blower?                    There's a gorgeous beach house with a patio looking out onto this          idyllic scene. The swimming pool glistens in the bright tropical          Caribbean Sunlight.                    And stretched out on a recliner in the sheerest of bikinis is none          other than Kristen Richards, soaking up rays.                    At her side is a PAPER SHREDDER, and between sips from a piÒa          colada, she feeds document after document, each one stamped BLACK          WIDOW EVIDENCE in red ink...                    Kristen looks over at Elena, equally stunning in a matching          bikini.                                        KRISTEN                    I can't believe Morrison just handed me                    the key to the evidence locker...                    A broad grin stretches across her lips as Elena empties the          contents of a velvet pouch onto a table.          T           he Mother-Daughter diamonds are radiant in the bright sunlight.                                        KRISTEN                    These are...genuine?                    Elena nods.                                                                     03/22/2004   91.                                                            ELENA                    Nothin' like the real thing. Switched                    'em for the fakes right after Marie tried                    to pay me off...                                        KRISTEN                    They're...So beautiful.                    Elena picks up the bigger diamond, hands it to Kristen.                                        ELENA                    The mother.                    Kristen picks up the smaller diamond, hands it to Elena.                                        KRISTEN                    The daughter.                    INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDINGS - DAY                    Morrison paces the infamous crime scene, at wit's end. Dammers          stands off to the side, just watching him with a bemused look          etched across his face.                                        MORRISON                    She was the Black Widow. Her and that                    little...                    He tries to think of an appropriate slur for Elena. Can't come up          with anything, continues pacing frantically.                                        MORRISON                    Played me like a fool.                    Dammers shrugs.                                        DAMMERS                    Hind sight's 20-20. No need to be so hard                    on yourself, Morrison...                        (beat, smile)                    That's my job.                                        MORRISON                    You smug son of a bitch. It's not like                    you knew who she was anymore than I did.                    Dammers nods slowly.                                        DAMMERS                    That's the God's honest truth. But at                    least I didn't give her my evidence                    locker keycard.                                                                      03/22/2004   92.                              DAMMERS(CONT'D)                    And I didn't lie about who fired the                    shots that killed the Clifford kid.                    Morrison's heart sinks. He looks like he's going to faint.          Steadies himself, placing both hands against the wall, just as Jay          did that fateful night seemingly a lifetime ago...                    EXT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDINGS - DAY                    Dammers leads Morrison to his awaiting car. They pass MR. Barajas          and Cicatriz. Mr. Barajas is in his usual foul mood...                                        MR. BARAJAS                    Un pinche sink hole! No lo puedo creer!                    Morrison stops, regards Barajas...                                        MORRISON                    What did you say?                                         CICATRIZ                    The foundation is sinking. The entire                    site is a sink hole. It's completely                    worthless.                                        MR. BARAJAS                    I'm going to kill Jay Clifford...                                        MORRISON                    You and me both...                    EXT. PARADISE - DAY                    Elena and Kristen lay side-by-side on loungers, soaking in the          sun, when a voice rouses them...                                        JAY (O.S.)                    Poor Detective Morrison. It's hard to do                    that to a friend. Especially one going                    through such a nasty divorce.                    They look up to see Jay, standing before them in a pair of          colorful shorts, no shirt, sipping at a martini...                                        JAY                    Told me he'd never trust another woman as                    long as he lived. And then along came a                    spider...                                        KRISTEN                    A black widow.                    Jay glances at Elena, as he downs the last drops from his drink.                                                                   03/22/2004   93.                                                            JAY                                                                                                   More like widows... Gotta say I was a                    little taken aback when you wanted to                                          snuff Marie, but you know what, I'm over                                                                                                                      the bitch...                    Elena suddenly gets to her feet.                                        ELENA                    You want me to top you off?                                        JAY                    That'd be fine, just fine.                    He hands Elena his empty glass, then kisses Kristen tenderly.          When they break...                                        JAY                    She's got a good head on her shoulders.                    Kristen doesn't reply. Just smiles, watches Elena over by the          outside bar, mixing Jay's drink...                                        JAY                    You two got me out of a mountain of shit,                    I'll tell you that. Craziest Goddamn                    scheme I've ever heard of. But hell, you                    played it perfectly.                                        KRISTEN                    My job was easy. It was Elena who had to                    keep it all together...                                        ELENA (O.S.)                    We've had some practice along the way...                    Jay turns around, smiles at Elena as she holds out his drink.                                        ELENA                    Here you go, Mr. Clifford.                    Jay takes it from her appreciatively, sips at it as he sidles off          to the swimming pool.                                        JAY                    Well, all that nasty business, it's                    behind us. Forever. From here on out,                    it's the good life.                    He starts to climb the high dive. When he gets to the top, he          looks down at Elena and Kristen, smiles.                                                                     03/22/2004   94.                                                            JAY                    You two look so good, it's difficult to                    tell which one's the mother and which                    one's the daughter...                    Kristen calls back up at him.                                        KRISTEN                    That's just the roofies talking...                    Says it so sweetly, it takes a moment for Jay to register the          sinister implications...                                        JAY                    What did you say?                    His eyes are blood shot. He starts to sway atop the high dive.                                        KRISTEN                    Delta Chi, class of '88. Hellova party.                    I'd never really tasted cocktails like                    that.                    Jay's swaying uneasily on the high dive platform...                                        JAY                    I don't...whattya talking about?                                         KRISTEN                    It was like being awake though an                    operation. I could feel everything                    happening, but I couldn't do anything to                    stop it...                                        JAY                    Oh...shit...                                        KRISTEN                    You took something from me that night.                    But you left something behind...                    Jay's head is spinning as he looks to Kristen, to Elena.                                        KRISTEN                    Your daughter...                    He can't quite get his mind around it. Everything's becoming          blurry.                                        JAY                    I don't remember...                                                                     03/22/2004   95.                                        He looks at the martini glass, thinks he sees blue residue, before          it slips from his fingers, falls 20 feet to the concrete below,          shattering into a million pieces like so many fake diamonds...          E           lena and Kristen stand side-by-side below him.                                        KRISTEN                    You may not remember...                    A broad grin stretches across Elena's lips as she finishes...                                        ELENA                    ...But you'll never forget.                    Jay tries to take a step forward. He stumbles. Tries in vain to          regain his balance. It's too late. He falls. 20 feet to the          unyielding concrete, exploding like a paper bag filled with          vegetable soup...                                        ELENA                    Nice take off. Gotta work on the landing.                    They stand back, watching Jay's pancaked body draining its          precious blood into the ice blue pool...                                        KRISTEN                    Let's go get our money.                    They gather the diamonds, walk away as the pool turns crimson          red...                    THE END                    As the credits roll....                    INT. OFFICE - MORNING                    An anonymous, luxurious office. A fat, balding, semi-conscious MAN          lies curled up on the floor as Elena, half undressed and wearing a          black wig, shovels cash into her oversized purse...                    There's a crackle on her WALKIE-TALKIE...                                        KRISTEN (V.O.)                    We got problems...                    From outside, she can hear the wailing of SIRENS. Getting closer.                                        ELENA                    Almost done here.                                        KRISTEN (V.O.)                    Leave it. Come on!                                                                                 96.                                        Elena gets hesitantly to her feet, slides a stack of $100s in her          pocket for good measure.                                        KRISTEN (V.O.)                    He gonna be able to make an ID?                    Elena glances at the Man on the floor, his puffy eyes glazed over          like a jelly donut.                                        ELENA                    Not on your life. I gave him enough                    roofies to make an elephant forget.                    EXT. OFFICE - MORNING                    Elena gets into a waiting car outside the bank. The getaway          driver...Kristen, of course...                                        ELENA                    I can't believe we just gave up all that                    cash.                                        KRISTEN                    Forget it. The Black Widow's finally got                                       an angle on our real prey.                                                                         ELENA                                                                We goin' to Blue Bay?                                                                              KRISTEN                                                              He won't know what hit him.                                                    A smile crosses Elena's perfect lips...                                                                      ELENA                                                                'bout time...                                                                  And the car pulls away from the curb just seconds before a fleet          of police cars screeches to a halt in front of the bank.                    INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - JAY'S OFFICE - DAY                    Jay carefully places the stacks of cash into the wall safe in his          unfinished office.                                        KRISTEN (O.S.)                    That's an awful lot of money...                    Jay spins round, flabbergasted that someone's watching him.                                        JAY                    Who the hell...                                                                     03/22/2004   97.                                                            KRISTEN                    Not enough though. Gonna need those                    Diamonds if you're gonna ride out this                    disaster...                                        JAY                    What? What the hell do you mean?                    Kristen calmly reaches into her purse, pulls out a handful of          marbles. Throws them onto the ground, letting them roll towards          B          Jay...                     ut they stop, change direction, all coming rolling back in a          small circle, until they come to rest in the middle of the          concrete floor...                                        KRISTEN                    The building's built on a sink hole, Jay.                    You know it, and I know it. Gonna need to                    think fast if you wanna keep the Cubans                    off your back...                    Jay's tiny mind can't take it all in.                                        JAY                    How'd you...how'd you know all this...                                        KRISTEN                    It's what we do.                                        JAY                    We?                    Elena walks seductively into the unfinished office. It's on.                    INT. LOCKER ROOM - DAY                    Marie sits in the bleachers by the side of the school dive pool,          looking at her Mother's soon-to-be-diamond ring through teary          eyes...                                        MARIE                    I just want what's mine...                    Elena stalks the bleachers behind her.                                        ELENA                    The diamonds are your inheritance. You                    deserve them...                                        MARIE                    My fucking Step-Monster'll never give me                    the Goddamn key...                                                                     03/22/2004   98.                                        Elena jumps down the bleachers, sits down next to Marie.                                        ELENA                    So you take it, one way or another...                    INT. CHAD'S OFFICE - DAY                    Behind closed doors, Chad's completing yet another dubious          transaction, handing over a bag of roofies. The buyer this          time...Marie...                                        MARIE                    You take a check?                                        CHAD                    Money talks, bullshit walks. I got                    strippers to feed...                    Marie fishes out the money from her purse.                                        MARIE                    How'd you like to make some real cash?                                        CHAD                    Chad likes the sound of that.                    And it's that simple...                    INT. TEAM CLIFFORD BUILDING - NIGHT                    Chad uses Jay's teeth mouldings to bite Elena, as Marie trains          Jay's video camera on her, wailing on her in a drunken stupor.                                        ELENA                    Hey, that hurt!                                        MARIE                    Shut it, bitch. No pain, no gain...                    Elena's face is pressed against the concrete wall...                    INT. BLUE BAY FORENSICS LAB - NIGHT                    Chad sits at his video console, all alone, expertly manipulating          the audio and video footage.                                        CHAD                    We'll put you right here, and...                    Chad presses play. On the video screen a frightened Elena is          huddled against the wall.                                                                      03/22/2004   99.                                                            JAY (V.O.)                    C'mon now baby, you can do it...                    INT. ELENA'S TRAILER - NIGHT                    Elena watches as Marie and Theo drive away, then turns to the          glistening Mother Daughter diamonds. She opens a case with two          identical GLASS REPLICAS, and replaces the diamonds...                    All the while, Uncle Marty SNORES his head off...                                        ELENA                        (to Uncle Marty, irritated)                    Will you knock that off? They're gone.                    Uncle Marty's eyes snap open.                    EXT. BEACH PARADISE - DAY                    Kristen and Marie are sunning themselves on the crystalline beach          when someone stands before them, casting a shadow over their          sizzling bodies.                                        KRISTEN                    You're blocking our sun...                    Looks over her sunglasses at...Uncle Marty...Only all cleaned up,          in a pair of Bermuda shorts that show off his milky white legs...          He clutches a briefcase...                                        UNCLE MARTY                    Ladies. Hellova job back there. Your best                    ever if I might be so bold...                                        KRISTEN                    This is our biggest score. You sure you                    can move it?                                        UNCLE MARTY                    Not a problem.                    Kristen nods to the briefcase in Uncle Marty's hand.                                        KRISTEN                    Let's see the green...                    Uncle Marty lays the case down on the lounger, opens it, revealing          stacks of cash...                                        UNCLE MARTY                    Got another lead, if you're interested.                    Was just up in Boston, surveying a                    mansion that's just been sold.                                                                     03/22/2004   100.                                 UNCLE MARTY(CONT'D)                       Termites already eaten most of it.                       Owner's shitting bricks. There's gotta be                       an angle for the Black Widows...                    Kristen and Elena look to each other.                                           KRISTEN                       It's over. We had a good run.                    Uncle Marty shrugs.                                           UNCLE MARTY                       Shame. Guess all good things come to an                       end. So, the diamonds...                    Elena reaches down, pulls the diamonds from the sand. Hands them          over and is about to take the case of money when...                                           UNCLE MARTY                       How do I know these are the real thing?                    Elena looks to Kristen. They smile.                                           ELENA                       You're going to have to trust us...                    Like fuck.                    THE END. AGAIN.          
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+                                  "YOU CAN COUNT ON ME"                                      Screenplay by                                     Kenneth Lonergan                                      SHOOTING DRAFT                                           2000                               FADE IN:               INT./EXT. A CAR (MOVING). NIGHT               The shifting lights from the odd passing car play over the                faces of MR. and MRS. PRESCOTT, a pleasant-looking couple in                their late thirties, dressed up for a night out. Mr. Prescott                drives them along a dark hilly two-lane highway.                                     MRS. PRESCOTT                         Why do they always put braces on                          teenage girls at the exact moment                          when they're the most self-conscious                          about their appearance?               Pause.                                     MR. PRESCOTT                         I don't know.               UP AHEAD, near the top of the oncoming hill, a RED PICKUP                TRUCK is poking its nose out of the short exit lane.                                     MRS. PRESCOTT                         Tom --                                     MR. PRESCOTT                         I see him...               The PICKUP LURCHES into the road, with not nearly enough                time to spare.                                     MRS. PRESCOTT                         Tom!                                     MR. PRESCOTT                         Jesus!               Mr. Prescott swerves OVER the DOUBLE SOLID WHITE LINE and                clears the truck as --               Another pair of HEADLIGHTS from an oncoming truck RISES UP                over the HILL directly in FRONT of them --                                     MRS. PRESCOTT                              (Screams)                         Tom!               Mr. Prescott's FOOT STOMPS on the BRAKE. We BLACK OUT and                there is the SOUND of a terrible CRASH.                                                                    CUT TO:               EXT. THE PRESCOTTS' FRONT DOOR. NIGHT               The SHADOW of a big man looms up onto the front door. A big                finger RINGS the BELL.               A moment.               AMY, a thirteen-year-old baby-sitter with braces, opens the                door and looks up. In the b.g. we see TWO CHILDREN, SAMMY                (Samantha) and TERRY PRESCOTT, in their pajamas, lying on                their stomachs in the living room, watching television. Sammy                is eleven. Terry is eight.               REVERSE: DARRYL, the SHERIFF, a portly fellow with glasses                and a mustache, looks down at AMY.                                     SHERIFF                         Hello, Amy.                                     AMY                              (Puzzled)                         Hi, Darryl.                                     SHERIFF                              (Thinking)                         Amy, would you please tell the kids                          you'll be right back, and then shut                          the door and come outside to talk to                          us for a minute?                                     AMY                         OK.                              (To kids)                         Be right back, you guys!                                     SAMMY                         You're not supposed to go out, Amy.                                     TERRY                         She's going to smoke a cigarette.               AMY closes the door and looks expectantly up at Darryl. Darryl                doesn't know how to start.               EXT. CHURCH. DAY               CREDITS BEGIN OVER a blustery April day. The steeple of the                little white church stands out against the sharp blue sky.               INT. TOWN CHURCH. DAY               It's a small church and a small congregation, but it's full.                There's a CHOIR of mostly SENIOR CITIZENS arrayed in the                back. TWO CLOSED CASKETS are laid out in front of the                MINISTER, a fiftyish woman with thick glasses and salt-and-               pepper hair, who is giving a eulogy MOS.               Among the mourners in the second row sit Terry and Sammy,                both redeyed, and uncomfortable in their dress-up clothes.                Their Aunt Ruth, a pinch-faced woman in her forties, sits                next to them.               Sammy and Terry are holding hands tightly. Terry wipes his                eyes with his free hand.               The Minister addresses her remarks to the children. Sammy is                hanging on the Minister's every word; Terry is shifting his                eyes and his seat as if it will kill him to sit still another                minute.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. SCOTTSVILLE CEMETERY. SIXTEEN YEARS LATER. DAY               On the beautiful hill overlooking the beautiful windy green                country, SAMMY, twenty-seven years old now, puts flowers on                her parents' graves with quick, practiced movements.               She is a nice-looking young woman of a neat appearance, saved                from primness by an elusive, pleasantly flustered quality.                An unsuccessfully neat person. She is dressed in office                clothes -- white blouse, dark skirt, high heels, light                raincoat over everything. She picks out a couple of weeds                and then bows her head and closes her eyes.               CREDITS END.               EXT. SCOTTSVILLE -- MAIN STREET. DAY               Scottsville is a small town. Main Street. Run-down old stores                next to a new bank, a couple of chain stores, a few                restaurants of varying ambitions. Civil War statue. World                War I statue. World War II statue. Residential streets                wandering away from Main Street up and down hills. You know                there's a minimall somewhere nearby. A fair amount of activity                during the daytime.               SAMMY'S CAR pulls up across the street from where an eight-               year-old BOY in a secondhand baseball jacket and a school                knapsack is waiting at the curb. This is her son, RUDY. SAMMY                calls out the car window.                                     SAMMY                         Rudy, come on! I'm really late!               Rudy hurries across the street and gets in the car, slinging                his knapsack into the backseat.               INT. THE CAR (MOVING). DAY                                     SAMMY                         How was school?                                     RUDY                         Stupid.                                     SAMMY                         Why do you say that?                                     RUDY                         We're supposed to write a story for                          English homework, but they didn't                          tell us what it's supposed to be                          about.                                     SAMMY                         What do you mean?                                     RUDY                         I mean they didn't tell us what it's                          supposed to be about. They said do                          whatever you want.                                     SAMMY                         So what's wrong with that?                                     RUDY                         Nothing. I just think it's                          unstructured.                                     SAMMY                              (Smiles)                         Well, I'm sure you'll be able to                          think of something. If you can't,                          I'll help you.               INT./EXT. CAR/CAROL'S HOUSE. DAY               Sammy stops the car outside a heavily THICKETED DRIVEWAY                (CAROL'S HOUSE), and RUDY gets out.                                     SAMMY                         Don't forget your backpack.               Rudy returns to take his knapsack out of the back.                                     RUDY                         It's not a backpack, it's a knapsack.                                     SAMMY                         Don't forget your knapsack.               Rudy hoists his knapsack out of the back.                                     SAMMY                         Give me a kiss.               Rudy gives her a kiss and puts his arms around her and                squeezes her neck.               He withdraws, slams the door. As Sammy DRIVES AWAY, he slogs                up the long twisting driveway.               EXT. MERCHANTS NATIONAL TRUST -- PARKING LOT. DAY               Sammy gets out of her car, which is parked in one of the                half dozen spaces in the little parking lot allocated for                bank employees.               She hurries toward the employees' entrance, fixing her skirt                as she goes.               INT. MERCHANTS NATIONAL TRUST. DAY               Sammy hurries down the clean hallway in the back past MABEL,                a pleasant-faced fellow employee.                                     MABEL                         Guess who's been asking for you?                                     SAMMY                         Oh no, really?               Mabel nods and passes by.               SAMMY KNOCKS on a big door that says "Manager" and has half                the letters of the previous branch manager's name taken off                it.                                     BRIAN                              (Inside)                         Yeah, come in!               Sammy swings open the door. BRIAN EVERETT, the new branch                manager, is unpacking a box. Sammy is surprised to see he is                in his early thirties and very good-looking in a boyish sort                of way; he wears shirt-sleeves and tie, and a wedding ring.                                     SAMMY                         Mr. Everett?                                     BRIAN                         Yeah: Brian.                                     SAMMY                         Brian. Hi. I'm Samantha Prescott --                          I'm the lending officer?                                     BRIAN                         Yeah, hi, how are you? Come on in.                          Sit down.               Sammy comes into the office and sits.                                     SAMMY                         I am so sorry I was late...                                     BRIAN                         Yeah, we missed you before...                                     SAMMY                         I got held up. Believe me, it is not                          something I make a habit of...                                     BRIAN                         I'm sure it's not. Actually -- could                          you just, could you close that door                          for me? Thanks.               Sammy gets up and closes the door.               INT. BRIAN'S OFFICE. LATER               Sammy sits in front of Brian's desk. Brian is behind the                desk listening.                                     SAMMY                         -- so I always just run out at 3:15                          to pick him up and then run him real                          quick over to the sitter's house.                          Anyway, Larry never minded about it                          and I was just hoping it would be OK                          with you too...                                     BRIAN                         Well -- Samantha -- I realize that                          Scottsville is not exactly a major                          banking center...                                     SAMMY                         No it's not...                                     BRIAN                         No -- I know it's not... But it's                          kind of a personal challenge to me                          to see what we can do to bring local                          service up to the same kinds of                          standards we'd be trying to meet if                          we were the biggest branch in the                          state. And that means I don't want                          anybody running out at 3:15 or 3:30,                          or whenever the bus happens to come                          in that day. Now is there anybody                          else who can pick your son up after                          school? Does your husband work in                          the area? Do you --                                     SAMMY                         Oh -- No -- Rudy Sr. isn't "on the                          scene." So to speak.                                     BRIAN                         Well, I can give you a couple of                          days to make some other arrangement,                          but...                                     SAMMY                         Well -- Brian? I understand what                          you're saying, and I think it's great.                          I do. Because there's a lot of things                          around here that could use some                          attention. Believe me. But I've                          honestly been meeting that bus every                          day for four years now and it really                          does take just fifteen minutes, and                          if I take the time out of my lunch                          hour...                                     BRIAN                         I'd really prefer it if you would                          make some other arrangement. OK?                                     SAMMY                              (Brightly)                         I'll do my best...!               Brian kicks back in his chair and puts his hands behind his                head.                                     BRIAN                         How old's your son?                                     SAMMY                         He's eight.                                     BRIAN                         That's a terrific age.               INT. SAMMY'S CAR (MOVING). DUSK               Sammy and Rudy drive home in silence. The orange sunlight                flickers through the trees and onto their faces as they drive                along.               EXT. PRESCOTT (SAMMY'S) HOUSE. DUSK               The same house that Sammy grew up in, with sixteen years'                more wear on it.               Sammy's car swings expertly by the mailbox, and Rudy reaches                half his body out of the passenger window and gets the mail.               INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. DUSK               Sammy comes into the house carrying two bags of groceries.                Rudy follows, looking through the mail. Sammy passes through                the house and goes into the kitchen.                                     RUDY                         You got a letter from Uncle Terry.                                     SAMMY                         What?!               Her whole face lights up and she grabs the letter. She tears                it open and reads it with growing excitement.               INT. SAMMY'S BEDROOM. LATER               Sammy opens her FILE DRAWER. Inside are tax files, household                files, miscellaneous files.               She puts Terry's letter away in a very full file marked "Terry --                Correspondence." The folder is stuffed with other letters,                on all different kinds of stationery from all over the                country, all from Terry.               INT. DINING ROOM. NIGHT               Sammy and Rudy are eating dinner. It's a biggish house for                just two people.                                     RUDY                         Whose room is he gonna stay in?                                     SAMMY                         He can stay in the little room.                              (Pause)                         But you know what? He's not going to                          live here. He's only gonna stay for                          a little while... And it's OK if you                          don't remember him, because you were                          only six the last time he was here...                          But it'll be nice if you got a chance                          to get to know each other a little                          bit. Don't you think?               Rudy looks worried and doesn't answer.               INT. LIVING ROOM. LATER               Rudy is on the floor, writing in his school composition                notebook. Sammy comes downstairs.                                     SAMMY                         Rudy? Would it distract you if I put                          on some music?                                     RUDY                         No.               She puts on a CD, sits down and picks up a book. She looks                at Rudy, who is writing away.                                     SAMMY                         Did you think of a story?                                     RUDY                         Uh huh.                                     SAMMY                         What's it about?                                     RUDY                         My father.               Pause.                                     SAMMY                         What about your father?                                     RUDY                         It's just a made-up story about him.                                     SAMMY                         Can I read it when you're done?                                     RUDY                         It's not very good.                                     SAMMY                         Don't say that.               Rudy keeps writing.               INT. LIVING ROOM. LATER               Sammy is smoking a cigarette and drinking a glass of wine                and reading Rudy's story. It upsets her.               INT. SAMMY'S BEDROOM. LATER               Sammy sits on the edge of her bed, not dialing the phone.                She catches a glimpse of herself in her parents' floor-length                mirror with the worn, heavy wooden frame. Against her better                judgment she picks up the phone and dials.               INT. DAWSON'S GRILL. NIGHT               Sammy and BOB STEEGERSON are eating dinner at Dawson's, the                only fancy restaurant in town. Bob is in his mid-thirties, a                Realtor, a decent, ordinary guy.                                     SAMMY                         Anyway, Bob, it's sort of this                          adventure story, and Rudy's father                          is this secret agent or something,                          working for the government... And it                          just made me feel weird. You know?                          Because I never really say much to                          him about Rudy Sr., because I don't                          know what to say. And I don't know                          whether I should just let him imagine                          whatever he wants to imagine, or                          whether I should sit him down sometime                          and tell him, you know, that his                          father is not such a nice person.                          You know?                                     BOB                         Well... I don't know, Sammy. What                          have you told him already?                                     SAMMY                         Not much. He knows I don't have the                          highest opinion of him. And he knows                          I don't want to see him or know                          anything about him, ever. But I tried                          to keep it kind of neutral. Anyway...                          I could go into a lot more detail,                          believe me.                                     BOB                         Well... It's an interesting problem.                          But I don't really know what to tell                          you... It's a little outside my                          personal field of expertise...                                     SAMMY                         All right.                                     BOB                         I'd be glad to give it some thought...                                     SAMMY                         OK.               He is smiling at her.                                     SAMMY                         What?                                     BOB                         Nothing... I'm just glad to see you...                          I'm glad you called me.                                     SAMMY                         I bet you were surprised...!                                     BOB                         Um -- a little.               Bob drains his wineglass. Sammy cuts at her steak.               INT. BOB'S BEDROOM. NIGHT               Sammy and Bob lie in Bob's bed, a few minutes after having                made love. They are very far away from each other, but trying                with difficulty not to let on.                                     SAMMY                         I should get going...                                     BOB                         Really?                                     SAMMY                         Yeah... I've got the baby-sitter...                          But... Thanks for a lovely evening.                                     BOB                         Oh. Thank you.               She kisses him. She tries to make it sexy, but he's not into                it anymore and he politely restricts the kissing.               INT. SAMMY'S BATHROOM. NIGHT               Sammy stands in her slip brushing her teeth in front of the                mirror. She brushes vigorously, looking at herself while she                brushes.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. STREET CORNER -- WORCESTER, MASS. DAWN               The corner window of a grim little apartment building on a                very grim street in a grim little city.               INT. TERRY'S APARTMENT -- WORCESTER, MASS. NIGHT               A tiny apartment with a bed, chair, table, fridge, and not                much else. One window has a broken pane and an old sheet                neatly thumbtacked over it to keep the wind out.               TERRY PRESCOTT comes in. He is twenty-five years old: a real                mess with a certain natural appeal. He wears old jeans, very                old hiking boots, and a lumberjack-style coat. He takes a                wool hat off his head. His hair is longish and dirty.               SHEILA SADLER is sitting at the table by the fridge. She is                barely eighteen, frail and damaged.                                     SHEILA                         Hey, Terry.                                     TERRY                         Hey.               Terry looks at her and smiles encouragingly. She smiles back.                                     SHEILA                         Where'd you get the hat?                                     TERRY                         Oh, I got it on the street for a                          dollar.                                     SHEILA                         It's nice.                                     TERRY                         Well, you know, it's pretty much                          your standard woolen hat.                                     SHEILA                         Yeah, I had a very similar reaction                          to it.               Sheila looks away. Silence.                                     TERRY                         Can I get that money from you?                                     SHEILA                         Yeah. Sorry.               As she opens her purse, Terry takes a few vague steps toward                her. She takes out a tiny hippie-ish woven wallet and gives                Terry all the money in it: a twenty and two ones.                                     TERRY                         Is that all you have?                                     SHEILA                         Yeah.                                     TERRY                         Can you borrow some cash from your                          brother?                                     SHEILA                         Um, yeah, but that would involve                          speaking to him.                                     TERRY                         Well, I'm definitely gonna be gone                          for a couple of days at least, Sheila.                                     SHEILA                         Why do you have to stay so long?                                     TERRY                         Because my sister is not a bank, you                          know? I can't just show up and ask                          her for --                                     SHEILA                         You seem to think my brother's a                          bank!                                     TERRY                         Oh Sheila can we just cut out the                          puerile crap?! I'll be back just as                          soon as I can. OK? I am not the kind                          of man that everyone says I am.                                     SHEILA                         I know you're not.                                     TERRY                         I'll call you tonight.               Pause.                                     SHEILA                         Don't you wanna tell me you love me?                                     TERRY                         I love you.                                     SHEILA                         That was really convincing.                                     TERRY                         Well... I think after this is over                          you should seriously consider moving                          back home.                                     SHEILA                              (Short laugh)                         Oh, yeah.                                     TERRY                              (Gives up)                         All right...                                     SHEILA                         You gonna call tonight?                                     TERRY                         Definitely.               She puts her arms around him and holds on.               EXT. NEW YORK STATE -- MOUNTAINS -- HIGHWAY. DAY               Wide open shot of hilly country and a big sky overhead. A                GREYHOUND BUS drives into the shot along the curve of the                highway.               INT. BUS (MOVING) -- BATHROOM. DAY               Terry is seated on the toilet seat in the cramped bathroom                smoking a joint. He takes a huge hit and holds it in for as                long as humanly possible. He blows out what's left, takes                another equally huge hit and holds it in.               EXT. LOCAL HIGHWAY. DAY               The BUS WHOOSHES along a smaller, heavily wooded roller-               coaster road.               INT. BUS (MOVING). DAY               Terry looks out the window at the passing scenery. The                sunlight flickers on his face.               POV TERRY: The bus rolls past the hilltop cemetery.               Terry shifts uncomfortably in his seat.               POV TERRY: THE "WELCOME TO SCOTTSVILLE" SIGN whizzes by.                Houses start dotting the side of the road.               Terry starts getting very agitated.               EXT. MAIN STREET. DAY               Terry stands at one end of Main Street, backpack over his                shoulder, as the BUS DRIVES OFF. He looks around at the town                going about its Saturday afternoon business.               INT. KITCHEN. SIMULTANEOUS               Loud country-western music is blaring as Sammy, wearing an                apron, sets a big vase of flowers on the kitchen table and                hurries to the oven. There are also cookies, a pie, evidence                of massive fancy cooking. She puts on her oven mitts and                takes a lasagna out of the oven, as the phone rings. She                picks up.                                     SAMMY                              (Into phone)                         Hello?... TERRY!...               EXT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. DAY               Sammy practically bursts out the front door. She has changed                into nice clothes.               EXT. ALLEY. DAY               Terry secrets himself in a small dark alley. He takes out                his carefully wrapped half joint and lights it. SMOKING, he                looks at the sunlit slant of street beyond the alley.               EXT. MAIN STREET. A FEW MOMENTS LATER               Terry, fairly well stoned, walks along Main Street. A skinny                man emerges from his hardware store to greet Terry and shake                hands. Terry says "Hi," but keeps on walking. He passes some                other people.               He almost runs right into SHERIFF DARRYL, sixteen years fatter                and grayer.                                     SHERIFF                         Whoa there!                                     TERRY                         Sorry.               The Sheriff recognizes Terry and breaks into a big smile.                                     SHERIFF                         God damn! Terry Prescott! How you                          doin'? Gimme a cuddle!               The Sheriff gives Terry a big bear hug. Terry is wasted and                selfconscious but smiling. He pats the Sheriff's back.                                     TERRY                         How you doin', Darryl?                                     SHERIFF                         Which way you headed?                                     TERRY                         I'm just goin' to see Sammy at                          Dawson's...                                     SHERIFF                         Can I walk with you a little?                                     TERRY                         Sure, yeah --                                     SHERIFF                         So Sammy says you been out in                          Alaska...?                                     TERRY                         Yeah, I was workin' out there for a                          little while...               EXT. MAIN STREET. A FEW MOMENTS LATER               The Sheriff walks along with Terry. Terry, very self-conscious                about smelling like pot, fumbles to light a cigarette. The                Sheriff does not seem to notice.                                     SHERIFF                         -- Sammy says she's gettin' postcards                          from all across the country.                                     TERRY                         Yeah, I've been all over the place...               They stop outside Dawson's.                                     SHERIFF                         Well, it's good to have you back                          here, I'll tell you that.                                     TERRY                         Thanks, Darryl. Keep enforcing the                          peace.                                     SHERIFF                         Well, that'll be a little harder now                          that you're home, but I'll do what I                          can.                                     TERRY                         No, man, I'm reformed.                                     SHERIFF                         Oh, yeah. Good to see you, kid.                                     TERRY                         Thanks, Darryl.               Darryl walks away. Terry stands outside the restaurant looking                for Sammy.               Behind him in the restaurant Sammy is sitting at a table,                talking to the waitress.               She sees Terry and gets up immediately, smiling like crazy                as she threads her way through the tables toward the door.               Terry turns and sees her. He breaks into a big smile, tosses                his cigarette and goes into the restaurant. Through the window                we see them make their way toward each other.               Sammy throws her arms around him. He hugs her back with a                big involuntary smile as the GLASS DOOR slowly CLOSES.               INT. DAWSON'S -- AT THEIR TABLE. A FEW MOMENTS LATER               Terry is studying the menu, over-intently. Sammy is beaming                at him.                                     TERRY                         Sorry about yesterday --                                     SAMMY                         I don't care --                                     TERRY                         I was studying the bus description...                          and I just... I got on the wrong bus --                          I mean I missed my stop --                                     SAMMY                         I don't care, Terry. I'm just so                          glad to see you...!                                     TERRY                         I'm glad to see you too, Sammy. Um...                          are you coming from work?                                     SAMMY                         Um, no, it's Saturday...                                     TERRY                         Yeah, no, it's just... you're dressed                          so formally...                                     SAMMY                         Oh. No. You know, I just thought I'd --                          You know I thought it was a special                          occasion... which it is...                                     TERRY                         No, it's good. I thought I'd dress                          up too.               He gestures to his shitty clothes.                                     SAMMY                         That's OK. You look fine.                                     TERRY                              (A strange,                               unsuccessful joke)                         Yeah, this is the haute cuisine of                          garments.                                     SAMMY                         What?                                     TERRY                         Nothing, nothing... Um... So how are                          you?                                     SAMMY                         I'm fine.                                     TERRY                         How's Rudy?                                     SAMMY                         We're fine, Terry. How are you?                              (Pause)                         I mean --                                     TERRY                         Yeah...                                     SAMMY                         -- Where have you been lately, Terry?                                     TERRY                         -- I know, I haven't been --                                     SAMMY                         I got a postcard from you from                          Alaska...?                                     TERRY                         Yeah, I was up there for a while...                                     SAMMY                         But that was in the Fall, Terry...                                     TERRY                         Yeah, I know I've been out of touch...                                     SAMMY                         I was a little worried.                              (Pause)                         I mean --                                     TERRY                         Oh, I been a lotta different places...                          Um... I went down to Florida for a                          while... I was doing some work in                          Orlando... I've been all over the                          place.                                     SAMMY                         Well... I just wish you would have                          let me know you were OK...                                     TERRY                         Yeah. I didn't realize it'd been so                          long...               He looks around the restaurant.                                     SAMMY                              (Beaming again)                         Are you gonna stay in town for a                          while?                                     TERRY                         Well, I don't know... I got all these                          things I gotta do back in Worcester...                                     SAMMY                         Oh...                                     TERRY                         ...Yeah, so I'm probably not gonna                          be able to stay more than a day or                          so...                                     SAMMY                         Oh... Well... That's all right...!                                     TERRY                         ...I'm kind of trying to keep to a                          schedule of sorts. It's a long and                          worthy story but I won't trouble you                          with it right now.               He twists around and looks all over the restaurant. She                watches him.                                     SAMMY                         Are you expecting someone?                                     TERRY                         Who would I be expecting here?                                     SAMMY                         You just keep looking around, that's                          all.                                     TERRY                         No, I was just wondering if we could                          get some more refreshments, actually.               He laughs. Looks down. Silence. He looks up at her.                                     TERRY                         I've actually got to confess to you,                          Sammy... that the reason you may not                          have heard from me for a little while                          is that I've been kind of unable to                          write... on account of the fact that                          I was in jail for a little while.                                     SAMMY                         You were what?               A couple of people in the restaurant look at them. Terry                notices but Sammy does not.                                     TERRY                         Well, I did a little time, I guess,                          in Florida. For, uh, just for                          bullshit...                                     SAMMY                         What?!                                     TERRY                         It was just bullshit...                                     SAMMY                         What did you do?                                     TERRY                         I didn't do anything. Does it occur                          to you that maybe I was wronged?                                     SAMMY                         No!                                     TERRY                         Well, could I please --                                     SAMMY                         Oh my God! --                                     TERRY                         Would you please let me --                                     SAMMY                         -- What happened?!                                     TERRY                         I got into a fight in a bar down in                          Florida. Which I was not the one who                          instigated it, at all. But they worked                          up all this bullshit against me and                          they threw me in the pen for three                          months. I didn't write you because I                          didn't want you to get all upset                          about it. I just figured you'd figure                          I was on the road for a little while.                          I know it was stupid and I'm sorry.                          I really didn't mean to make you                          worry. But you know what? I can't                          run around all the time doin' stuff                          or not doin' stuff because it's gonna                          make you worry! Because then I come                          back here, and I tell you about my                          fuckin'... traumas, and I get this                          wounded little "I've Let You Down"                          bullshit, over and over again, and                          it really just -- cramps me! Like I                          just want to get out from under it!...                          And here I am back in this fuckin'                          hole explaining myself to you again!                                     SAMMY                         OK -- Can you please stop cursing at                          me?                                     TERRY                         I mean, I realize I'm in no position                          to, uh, basically say anything, ever --                          But it's not like I'm down there in                          some redneck bar in Florida having                          an argument with some stripper's                          boyfriend and I suddenly think, "Hey!                          Maybe this'd be a good time to really                          stick it to Sammy and get myself                          locked up for a few months."                                     SAMMY                         I'm sorry.                                     TERRY                         Me too, man. I mean "welcome home."                                     SAMMY                         Hey -- You don't write me for six                          months, I have no idea where you are --                                     TERRY                         I'm sorry --                                     SAMMY                         -- I don't know if you're alive or                          dead --                                     TERRY                         I'm sorry --                                     SAMMY                         -- and then you show up out of nowhere                          and tell me you were in jail?                                     TERRY                         I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,                          Sammy, I'm really sorry...!               The patrons are all either looking at them or trying not to                look. Silence.                                     TERRY                         Sammy...                                     SAMMY                         What?                                     TERRY                         Um... I'm in the midst of a slight                          predicament...                                     SAMMY                         What do you need? Money?                                     TERRY                         Um... Yeah... I'm broke. I gotta get                          back to Worcester tomorrow. I got                          this girl there, and she's kind of                          in a bad situation...? I just need                          to borrow some money. Whatever you                          can spare.                              (Pause)                         I'll pay you back... I'll pay you                          back, man.                                     SAMMY                         I really wish Mom was here.                                     TERRY                         So do I, man.                                     SAMMY                         Nobody knows what to do with you.                                     TERRY                         I know how they feel, man.               Silence, except for the sounds of the restaurant.                                     SAMMY                         Terry? Can I ask you something?                                     TERRY                         Sure.                                     SAMMY                              (With some difficulty)                         Well -- I mean, do you ever go to                          church anymore?                                     TERRY                         Come on, Sammy, can we not talk about                          that shit?                                     SAMMY                         Do you?                                     TERRY                         Um -- No, Sammy. I don't.                                     SAMMY                         Can you tell me why not?                                     TERRY                         Um, yeah. Because I think it's                          ridiculous.                                     SAMMY                         Well -- can you tell me without like,                          denigrating what I believe in?                                     TERRY                         Because I think it's primitive, OK?                          I think it's a fairy tale.                                     SAMMY                         Well -- I mean, have you ever                          considered that maybe that's part of                          what's making things so difficult                          for you?                                     TERRY                         No.                                     SAMMY                         -- That you've lost hold of -- well,                          not just your religious feeling, but                          lost hold of any kind of anchor, any                          kind of trust in anything... I mean                          no wonder you drift around so much.                          What could ever stop you? How would                          you ever know if you had found the                          right thing?                                     TERRY                         Well, uh, I'm not really looking for                          anything, man. I'm just, like, trying                          to get on with it.               The WAITRESS approaches with their salads.                                     WAITRESS                         Here we go...               She sets them down on the table.               SAMMY and TERRY Thank you.               The WAITRESS leaves. Silence. Terry picks at his salad. Sammy                doesn't touch hers. She watches him miserably.               EXT. BANK -- ATM. DAY               Terry watches while Sammy inserts her card in the ATM and                punches in her code. Terry waits. She punches in $300. The                machine grinds out her cash. She gives him the money.                                     TERRY                         Thank you, Sammy... I'm really gonna                          pay this back.               She takes her card back and puts it back in her wallet.               INT. SAMMY'S CAR. DAY               Sammy and Terry get in the car. Sammy isn't saying anything.                                     TERRY                         Where we going?                                     SAMMY                         To pick up Rudy.               She puts on her glasses and her seat belt. She won't look at                him.                                     TERRY                         Well... do you not even want me to                          visit now? 'Cause I can catch the                          bus at five o'clock if that's what                          you want.                                     SAMMY                         Well, of course I want you to visit,                          you idiot! I've been looking forward                          to seeing you more than anything!                          I've been telling everyone I know                          that you were coming home! I cleaned                          the whole fucking house so it would                          look nice for you! I thought you                          were gonna stay for at least a few                          days! It didn't occur to me that you                          were just broke again. I wish you                          would have just sent me an invoice!               She stops. Terry is now totally contrite.               INT. BATHROOM. NIGHT               Terry sits in the tub. Water drips from the faucet. He is                staring blankly up at the pristine blue-and-white tiled wall                and the neatly folded matching towels.               INT. LIVING ROOM. LATER               Sammy and Rudy are in the living room. Rudy is playing with                a Game Boy type game. In the b.g., TERRY is dialing the PHONE.                He looks clean and shaved, his hair is neatly combed.                                     TERRY                              (Into phone)                         Hi, is that Malcolm?... Hi, this is                          Terry Prescott?... I been trying to                          get ahold of Sheila and there's no                          answer, and I was just wondering if                          she -- She what?...               He sits down.                                     TERRY                              (Into phone)                         When?... Well -- Is she all right?...                          Well, could I talk to her?... Well,                          could you give her a message that I --               CLICK. He is hung up on. He slowly HANGS UP.               Sammy notices that something's wrong. He looks at her from                across the room.                                     TERRY                         That girl I'm with tried to kill                          herself.                                     SAMMY                         What?                                     TERRY                         She tried to kill herself.               INT. TERRY'S ROOM. NIGHT               Terry is sitting on the bed, addressing an envelope to SHEILA.                He puts the $300 in the ENVELOPE and seals it. He sees Sammy                standing in the doorway. He starts to unlace his boots.                                     SAMMY                         Do you have everything you need?                                     TERRY                         I think so.               Sammy comes into the room and sits next to him. He is very                busy with his laces.                                     SAMMY                         What are you going to do?                                     TERRY                         I don't know. Send the money I guess.                                     SAMMY                         Maybe you should stay home for a                          little while, Terry.                                     TERRY                         Yeah, maybe that'd be a good idea.               He starts crying. Sammy pats him.               EXT. SCOTTSVILLE CHURCH. DAY               A bright, clear, blue-skied Sunday morning in Scottsville.                Inside the little white church they're singing.               EXT. CHURCH. DAY               People are filing out of the church. We also see a couple of                the bank employees, including BRIAN and his very pretty six                months' PREGNANT wife, NANCY. We find SAMMY and RUDY. Sammy                is chatting to some neighbors. Rudy is bored out of his mind,                waiting for her.               INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE -- LIVING ROOM. DAY               Terry is lying on the sofa, smoking, with his feet up and                boots on, watching Sunday morning TV. On the coffee table                are his dirty ashtray, dirty bowl and spoon, Rice Krispies                box and a milk carton.               EXT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. NIGHT               Crickets buzz loudly outside the house.               INT. STAIRS. NIGHT               Sammy, in her bathrobe, comes down the stairs into the living                room. Terry is on the sofa playing with Rudy's Game Boy. He                barely looks up when she speaks to him.                                     SAMMY                         I'm going to bed. Do you have                          everything you need?                                     TERRY                         Yeah. Thanks.                                     SAMMY                         Good night.                                     TERRY                         Good night.               Pause.                                     SAMMY                         Terry, I'm really glad you're home.               Terry tries to smile at her.                                     TERRY                         Yeah, me too, Sammy.               He goes back to his game. She hesitates, then heads back up                the stairs.               INT. SAMMY'S KITCHEN. DAY               Sammy, Terry and Rudy sit at the kitchen table. Sammy is                dressed for work. Rudy is dressed for school. Terry is also                fully dressed, drinking the last dregs of a mug of coffee.                He is tired, but listening to Sammy very carefully, as if                receiving difficult and critical instructions.                                     SAMMY                         OK. So we'll drop Rudy off at the                          bus, then all you have to do is drop                          me off at the bank, and just pick                          Rudy up at 3:30 in front of town                          hall, and drive him over to Carol's                          house. And that's it. She's on Harvey                          Lane, right past where the Dewitts                          used to live.                                     TERRY                         OK.                                     SAMMY                         Rudy knows where she lives.               Terry glances at Rudy, then back at Sammy.                                     TERRY                         OK.               INT. BANK -- MABEL'S DESK. DAY               Sammy walks past MABEL'S DESK, carrying a big stack of files.                She drops three of them on the desk. MABEL is typing away at                her PC. The colors are a garish PURPLE background with GREEN                letters.                                     SAMMY                         God, Mabel, don't those colors hurt                          your eyes?                                     MABEL                         Oh no, they keep me fresh.               Sammy proceeds down the hall and into --               INT. BRIAN'S OFFICE. DAY               Brian is at his desk, busy working between stacks of papers.                She knocks on the open door.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah!                              (Looks up)                         Hi, Sammy. What can I do for you?                                     SAMMY                         Um, Brian? Did you want us to turn                          this time sheet in at the end of the                          day, or do you want it at the end of                          the week...?                                     BRIAN                         Oh, yeah, end of the day'll be fine.                                     SAMMY                         Seems like an awful lot of extra                          paperwork...               Brian hesitates, shrugs and smiles.                                     BRIAN                         I like paperwork.               Sammy looks at him with a blank smile.               INT. BANK -- SAMMY'S DESK. A MOMENT LATER               Sammy sits down at her desk and notices the time: 3:30. She                reaches for the phone, then decides not to call.               EXT. SCOTTSVILLE -- MAIN STREET. DAY               The CLOCK on the front of the TOWN HALL reads 3:31.               The SCHOOL BUS pulls up across from the town hall and                disgorges a handful of kids. Rudy comes out with his knapsack,                looking around...               POV RUDY: Terry, across the street, sits on the hood of                Sammy's car, smoking.               Rudy walks over to him.                                     RUDY                         You showed up.                                     TERRY                         Looks that way.               INT. SAMMY'S CAR (MOVING). DAY               Terry and Rudy drive in silence. Terry glances at Rudy.                                     TERRY                         Put on your seat belt.                                     RUDY                         It pushes on my neck.                                     TERRY                         What?                                     RUDY                         It pushes on my neck. It's                          uncomfortable.                                     TERRY                         Well, when somebody slams into us                          and you go sailin' through the                          windshield, that's liable to be                          uncomfortable too. So put on your                          seat belt.               Rudy puts on his seat belt.                                     RUDY                         Mom's parents died in a car accident.                                     TERRY                         I know. They're my parents too.                                     RUDY                         They are?                                     TERRY                         Well, yeah. Your mom is my sister.                                     RUDY                         Yeah, I know.                                     TERRY                         So that means we have the same                          parents.                                     RUDY                         Oh yeah.               They drive in silence for a moment. Terry glances down at                Rudy.               INT. BANK -- SAMMY'S DESK. DAY               Sammy, laden with files, plops down at her desk as Mabel is                passing by. Mabel puts a phone message down in front of her.                                     MABEL                         Um -- Carol just called. She said                          Terry and Rudy never showed up at                          her house?                                     SAMMY                         You've got to be kidding me.               A MOMENT LATER: Brian, talking to an employee, sees Sammy,                across the bank, hurrying out the employees' exit.                                     BRIAN                         Hey, Sammy?               Sammy doesn't hear and exits.               EXT. ORRIN'S BACKYARD. DAY               Terry and Rudy are banging nails with RAY, a young guy Terry's                age. Terry, hammering with swift, accurate blows, glances up                and watches Rudy for a second. Rudy is hammering away with                no great skill.                                     TERRY                         Hey. Look.               He moves Rudy's hand down toward the end of the handle.                                     TERRY                         You hold it further down, you're                          gonna get a lot more power. You should                          be able to put that nail down with                          two or three hits. Look:               With two swift strokes he drives the nail flush into the                wood.                                     TERRY                         Try it.                                     RUDY                         That's not the way I hold it.                                     TERRY                         Well, the way you hold it is wrong.                                     RUDY                         Why can't I just do it my own way?               Terry looks at him unsympathetically for a moment.                                     TERRY                              (Shrugs)                         You can.               He goes back to work. Rudy resumes hammering. After a moment                he switches his grip and starts hammering Terry's way. Terry                looks up and watches him.               EXT. IN FRONT OF ORRIN'S HOUSE. A MOMENT LATER               Sammy pulls up, fast, and gets out of the car. Hearing the                hammering from the backyard, she walks quickly around the                side of the house and stops short when she sees Rudy hammering                happily away with Terry and Ray.               She watches them working, unobserved, with mixed annoyance                and relief, and finally with quiet pleasure, because it's a                very cheerful sight.               INT. BANK. DAY               Half the staff has gone home. Sammy, in her coat, picks a                NOTE up off her CHAIR. It reads:               "SAMMY, PLEASE SEE ME A.S.A.P!!! -- BRIAN"               INT. BRIAN'S OFFICE. A MOMENT LATER               Sammy stands in front of Brian's desk.                                     SAMMY                         Brian? Did you want to see me?                                     BRIAN                         Yeah. I was kind of wondering what                          happened to you today.                                     SAMMY                         Oh -- Didn't Mabel -- I had a false                          alarm about my son...                                     BRIAN                         Yeah, I kind of thought you were                          gonna work that out.                                     SAMMY                         Well, I did work it out -- more or                          less --                                     BRIAN                         Then why're you running outta here                          in the middle of the day without a                          word of explanation to me, Sammy?                                     SAMMY                         Brian, don't yell at me.                                     BRIAN                         I'm -- I'm not yelling. I'm just                          gettin' a little frustrated here.                                     SAMMY                         Well Brian:                                     BRIAN                         Sorry, could you close the door                          please?               Sammy closes the door.               INT. DINING ROOM. NIGHT               Sammy, Terry and Rudy sit at dinner. The atmosphere is lively                and cheerful.                                     SAMMY                         ...And Eddy Dwyer lives in Buffalo,                          with his wife and two sons, if you                          can believe it.                                     TERRY                         That is depressing.                                     SAMMY                         Why?                                     TERRY                         He just never struck me as the                          marrying type, that's all.                                     RUDY                         Who are you talking about?                                     TERRY                         Wild kids we used to know.                                     RUDY                         Were you a wild kid?                                     TERRY                         Not compared to your Mom.                                     RUDY                         Yeah, right.                                     TERRY                         You don't believe me?                                     RUDY                         No.                                     TERRY                         Ask her.                                     RUDY                         Mom, were you?                                     SAMMY                         No comment.               Rudy is amazed. Terry looks at him like, "Told you so."               INT. SAMMY'S BEDROOM. NIGHT               Sammy is asleep in bed.               INT. RUDY'S BEDROOM. NIGHT               Rudy is asleep in bed.               INT. BAR. NIGHT               Terry sits at the bar, drinking beer. There are a few locals                in the place, but it's pretty dead. He looks around; his                energy is too restless for the near-empty bar.               INT. RUDY'S BEDROOM. NIGHT               The DOOR OPENS, and TERRY COMES IN, smoking a cigarette.                He's plastered. He looks around the room. Looks at Rudy's                toys. Picks up some superhero comics and sits on Rudy's bed.                Then he spies Rudy's COMPOSITION BOOK, picks it up and starts                reading it.                                     RUDY (O.C.)                         What are you doing?               Terry looks up. Rudy is half-sitting up in bed.                                     TERRY                         Oh -- Just readin' some of your                          compositions.                                     RUDY                         Why are you smoking?                                     TERRY                         Um... Because it's bad. Don't ever                          do it.                                     RUDY                         I won't.                                     TERRY                         You know this used to be my room?                                     RUDY                         Yeah...                              (Pause)                         Do you want it back?                                     TERRY                         No.               Rudy is very relieved. Terry keeps reading. Rudy watches                him.                                     RUDY                         Did you fight in Vietnam?                                     TERRY                         No. I wasn't even born yet.                                     RUDY                         Were you ever in the army?                                     TERRY                         No.                                     RUDY                         My father was in the army.                                     TERRY                         I know. Unfortunately he didn't fight                          in Vietnam either.                                     RUDY                         Were you friends with him?                                     TERRY                         Not really. We had some friends in                          common, I guess... I didn't like him                          very much.                                     RUDY                         Why not?                                     TERRY                         Well, he wasn't very likable.                                     RUDY                         Why do you say that?                                     TERRY                         I don't know. He was always -- He                          always had to be better than you at                          everything. You know. Like if you                          were all playing basketball or                          something, everybody's havin' like a                          friendly game and he's like ready to                          kill somebody if his team didn't                          win. Or like if you told like a joke                          or a story, he always had to tell a                          better one? Kinda gets annoying after                          a while. Plus it was pretty scummy                          how he split on your mom and you...                          He was a prick. Probably still a                          prick. Fortunately for you though,                          your mom is like, the greatest. So                          you had some bad luck and you had                          some good luck.                              (Pause)                         You mind if I ask you a personal                          question?                                     RUDY                         I don't know.                                     TERRY                         Do you like it here? I mean, in                          Scottsville?                                     RUDY                         Yeah...?                                     TERRY                         Why?                                     RUDY                         I don't know. My friends are here...                          I like the scenery... I don't know.                                     TERRY                         I know, I know, but it's so... There's                          nothing to do here.                                     RUDY                         Yes there is.                                     TERRY                         No there isn't, man! It's narrow.                          It's dull. It's a dull, narrow town                          full of dull, narrow people who don't                          know anything except... what things                          are like right around here. They                          have no perspective whatsoever. No                          scope. They might as well be living                          in the nineteenth century because                          they have no idea what's going on,                          and if you try to tell 'em that,                          they wanna fuckin' kill you.                                     RUDY                         What are you talking about?                                     TERRY                         I don't know...               Terry lies on his back and smokes.                                     TERRY                         You're a good kid.               INT. BANK -- SAMMY'S DESK. MORNING               There's a NOTE on Sammy's chair.               "SAMMY, PLEASE SEE ME -- BRIAN"               Sammy, just arrived at work and still in her coat, looks                down at the note.               INT. BANK -- BRIAN'S OFFICE. DAY               Sammy listens to Brian.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah. This doesn't apply to you                          directly, Sammy, but I've noticed                          that some of the employees have their                          PC monitors set with all kinds of                          crazy colors... Purple and polka                          dots or what have you. And it's not                          a big deal, but really, this is a                          bank. You know? It's not really                          appropriate. So I'm just asking that                          people stick to a more quote unquote                          normal range of colors in future...               Sammy looks at him blankly.                                     BRIAN                         Like I say, it doesn't really apply                          to you.                                     SAMMY                         No, my computer palette's pretty                          conservative.               INT. BANK -- MABEL'S DESK. DAY               Mabel is typing angrily at a GRAY SCREEN with BLACK LETTERS.                Sammy walks by. Mabel is so mad she doesn't even look up.               INT. BANK -- SAMMY'S DESK. DAY               Sammy sits agitated for a moment. She makes a decision, picks                up the phone and dials.               INT. BOB'S OFFICE. SIMULTANEOUS               Bob is in his little realty office with two CLIENTS, a husband                and wife. He picks up his RINGING PHONE.                                     BOB                              (Into phone)                         Bob Steegerson.                                     SAMMY                              (On phone)                         What are you wearing?                                     BOB                              (Into phone)                         Mom?               Sammy LAUGHS.               INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE -- DOWNSTAIRS HALL. NIGHT               Terry is holding a broom looking up at the ceiling. Sammy                passes by and stops.                                     SAMMY                         What's up?               Terry taps the broom handle against the ceiling.                                     TERRY                         Do you know you have an enormous                          leak from the upstairs hall?               He pokes again. A portion of the ceiling collapses on his                head in wet chunks of plaster and muck.                                     SAMMY                         Um, yeah, thanks, I did.               INT. SAMMY'S ROOM. NIGHT               Sammy, in front of the mirror, finishes dolling herself up                for her date. O.C. we hear loud banging. Sammy puts on her                earrings and goes into --               INT. HALL. CONTINUOUS                                     SAMMY                         Are you guys sure you're gonna be                          OK?                                     TERRY                         Yes. Yes.               Sammy approaches RUDY and TERRY. They are bent over a big                nasty trench in the floorboard. There are wood shavings and                greasy pipe segments all over, and black smeary smudges on                the walls nearby.                                     SAMMY                         What is happening here?                                     TERRY                         It's just -- The problem is that the                          pipe is corroded all the way along                          the length of the hall. So every                          time I put in a new piece it starts                          leaking further down.                                     SAMMY                         Why don't I just call the plumber?                                     TERRY                         Why? He's not gonna do anything                          different than what I'm doing.                                     RUDY                              (Happily)                         Yeah. We're making it worse!                                     TERRY                         No we're not. Shut up.               Terry yanks the wrench and a SPRAY of FILTHY WATER comes out                of the pipe and splatters the wallpaper and pictures and                Sammy with gritty gray water. She looks at them.                                     SAMMY                         Thank you. Thank you both.               INT. HALLWAY. NIGHT               Bob and Sammy -- cleaned up and wearing a different outfit --                are bustling out the front door. Terry stands by.                                     SAMMY                         Now, call if there's any problem,                          and if I'm not there, I'm either on                          my way or on my way back home.                                     TERRY                         OK.               Sammy gets into her coat. Bob opens the front door.                                     SAMMY                              (To TERRY)                         So lights out at ten... and don't                          spend the whole night watching TV.                                     TERRY                         Nice to meet you, Bob.                                     BOB                         You too.                                     TERRY                              (To SAMMY)                         What's your idea of the whole night?                                     SAMMY                         Two hours tops.               Bob holds the door for Sammy and smiles at her. There is                some confusion about who should go out first. Finally she                goes and Bob follows. The atmosphere between them is fairly                awkward.               INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. NIGHT               Terry and Rudy are watching TV from the sofa.                                     TERRY                         What's your feeling about Bob?                                     RUDY                         I don't really know him that well.               Terry looks at his watch.                                     TERRY                         I have bad news for you.               He picks up the remote...                                     RUDY                         No...!               ...and turns off the TV. They sit there in the sudden silence.                                     RUDY                         Great. What are we supposed to do                          now?                                     TERRY                         Do you know how to play pool?                                     RUDY                         I've played it.               EXT. THE WILD MOOSE. NIGHT               The Wild Moose is a noisy roadside bar sitting under the                stars. Terry and Rudy get out of the car. Rudy looks                apprehensive.                                     RUDY                         I don't think they let kids in there.                                     TERRY                         Well, we're not allowed to watch any                          more TV, so it's this or nothing...                          But if we run into any trouble, let                          me do the talking.                                     RUDY                         OK.               Terry swings the door open.               INT. THE WILD MOOSE. NIGHT               POV RUDY: A lot of men and women at the bar or in booths,                eating and drinking. Smoky, crowded and very loud. As he                follows Terry through the crowd various patrons notice him --                some of the looks are friendly, some blank, some cold, i.e.,                what's a kid doing in here?               AT THE POOL TABLE: Terry and Rudy stand side by side facing                the players and waiting players gathered around the table.                Terry waves a few bills.                                     TERRY                         I got a hundred bucks here says me                          and my nephew can beat anybody in                          here. Only we gotta get the next                          game 'cause he's gotta be in bed by                          ten o'clock.               A MOMENT LATER: RUDY, very nervous, and the 1st Pool Player                are side by side shooting for break. Terry is behind Rudy                coaching him.                                     TERRY                         Just hit it nice and soft... Nice                          and soft.               They hit the balls. Rudy just clips his ball and it doesn't                go anywhere. 1st Pool Player's ball hits the opposite bank                and comes almost all the way back.                                     RUDY                              (To TERRY)                         Sorry.                                     TERRY                         God damn, Rudy. I thought you said                          you could play.               Rudy doesn't answer. Terry winks at him.               A MOMENT LATER: 1ST POOL PLAYER BREAKS -- WHACK! -- The balls                scatter. Nothing drops. TERRY steps up to the table, chalking                up his cue.                                     TERRY                         Boys, it's all over but the cryin'.               QUICK CUTS: Of Terry running the table and everyone watching.                Three-ball in the side. One-ball in the corner. Nine-ball                off three cushions and into the corner, and the eleven-ball                into the side. Rudy watches him.               INT. BOB'S APARTMENT. NIGHT               Bob and Sammy sit at Bob's dining room table. The little                bachelor apartment looks pretty good. Tablecloth, candles,                wine, everything. Bob has just dropped a huge bombshell.                                     SAMMY                         Bob... Are you serious?                                     BOB                         Yeah.                                     SAMMY                         I... I don't know what to say. I --                                     BOB                         I mean, I know I haven't exactly                          been the most... decisive... guy. In                          the past... I don't know: I'm tired                          of foolin' around. And I love you.                                     SAMMY                         I... I'm totally... I don't know                          what to say.                                     BOB                         Well, you could always say "Yes."                              (Pause)                         Or you could think about it first.                                     SAMMY                         That's it: I want to think about it.                                     BOB                         OK... Fair enough.               INT. WILD MOOSE. NIGHT               Terry has sunk everything but the eight ball. He leans over                to sink it. It's a fairly easy shot. He lines it up carefully,                and deliberately shoots it so it stops two inches from the                corner pocket.                                     TERRY                         Ohhhh!               A FEW MOMENTS LATER: Terry and Rudy sit side by side watching                as the 2nd Pool Player passes back and forth between them                and the camera, running the table. "Oohs" and "All rights"                emit from the spectators.               Sudden silence. Then the clack of the balls connecting. A                great common GROAN goes up. RUDY looks up at Terry.                                     TERRY                         It's all yours, baby.               Rudy looks at the TABLE: The eight-ball is two inches off                the corner. The cue ball is a few inches away from it. A                piece of cake, for an adult. Rudy looks deeply unconfident.               He gets up and tries to line up the eight-ball. Terry is                right next to him.                                     TERRY                         Just make sure to hit it really                          gentle. But firm. And hit it a little                          low so you get some backspin. Don't                          even hit it. Just kiss it.               A long moment.                                     RUDY                         What do you mean, kiss it?                                     TERRY                         I mean tap it. Firm but very, very                          softly. And don't shoot until you                          know it's going in. OK?                                     RUDY                         OK.               Everyone is relatively quiet. Rudy takes a few practice                strokes and then hits the cue ball, straight, but too softly.                It crawls toward the eight and taps it toward the corner,                slower and slower, hangs there, and DROPS.               A GENERAL "HEYYY!" GOES UP and everyone claps and cheers.                Terry grabs Rudy. Rudy smiles, ecstatic.                                     TERRY                         That was great!               AT THE BAR: Darryl the SHERIFF, in his civvies, drinking a                pint of beer, notices Rudy and Terry.               AT THE POOL TABLE: Terry picks Rudy up and turns him upside                down. Rudy laughs.               EXT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. NIGHT               The house is dark. Terry and Rudy are walking from the car                to the house.                                     RUDY                         We creamed those guys! We creamed                          them!                                     TERRY                              (Stopping suddenly)                         Ssh...! Don't move.               They listen. A CAR is COMING.                                     TERRY                         It's them!               They break for the door, Terry fumbling for his key. He gets                the door open.                                     TERRY                         Go! Go! Go!               He and Rudy run inside the house. The lights go on. BOB'S                CAR pulls into the DRIVEWAY.               INT. THE HOUSE -- FRONT DOOR. SIMULTANEOUS               Rudy runs up the stairs.                                     TERRY                         Wait a minute, gimme your jacket!               Rudy tries to take his jacket off fast but gets his arm caught                in the sleeve. He tries to shake it off.                                     TERRY                         What are you doing?                                     RUDY                         I can't get my sleeve out...!               They HEAR Bob's CAR DOORS SLAM. Terry makes a comic panicked                face and leaps up the stairs two at a time.               OUTSIDE THE HOUSE: Sammy waves to Bob. Bob waves back as he                drives off. Sammy goes to the front door, opens it:               Terry and Rudy are in a giggly tangled panicked heap at the                top of the stairs, shaking Rudy's arm and sleeve, frantically                trying to get the jacket off.               Sammy comes in. They freeze.                                     SAMMY                         What is going on in here?                                     TERRY                         Um -- We were just out doing some                          star-gazing, and, uh, Rudy lost track                          of the time. Which I totally warned                          him about.                              (To Rudy)                         You are a bad kid.               INT. BATHROOM. LATER               Rudy is brushing his teeth. Terry pokes his head in.                                     TERRY                              (In a low voice)                         Hey: I think it's OK. Just don't                          tell her where we went, 'cause she'll                          be really mad at me. OK?                                     RUDY                         I won't.                                     TERRY                              (Suddenly dark)                         Hey -- I'm not kidding, Rudy.                                     RUDY                         I won't!               Terry gives him a "You better not" look, then leaves. Rudy                continues brushing his teeth.               INT. RUDY'S ROOM. NIGHT               Sammy is tucking Rudy in, stroking his hair.                                     SAMMY                         Did you know my Mommy used to take                          me and Uncle Terry out at night to                          look at the constellations?                                     RUDY                         Yeah.                                     SAMMY                         Did you see that one, what's the one --                          It looks like a big "W"? Cassiopeia?                                     RUDY                         Yeah.               INT. HALL. NIGHT               Sammy comes out of Rudy's room, smiling. It's dark. She sees                a LIGHT on under TERRY'S DOOR. She walks toward it and steps                into the TRENCH, falling down violently.                                     SAMMY                         Ow! Shit!               INT. BATHROOM. NIGHT               Terry is putting a butterfly Band-Aid on Sammy's wound. It's                a nasty, bloody gash, just shy of needing stitches.                                     SAMMY                         I've got a great idea. Why don't you                          let me call the plumber?                                     TERRY                         Do whatever you want.                                     SAMMY                         Oh, does that make you mad?                                     TERRY                         No...               INT. SAMMY'S ROOM. NIGHT               RAIN patters on the ROOF as Sammy LIMPS back and forth across                the room changing into her nightgown.               EXT. TERRY'S WINDOW. NIGHT               Terry is smoking pot with his head and shoulders stuck outside                the window. RAIN FALLS on his HEAD.                                                               DISSOLVE TO:               EXT. BANK. MORNING               Early morning. The RAIN is still falling. Only a few cars                are in the employee parking lot yet.               INT. BANK -- BRIAN'S OFFICE. DAY               The RAIN runs down Brian's office window. BRIAN, in a wet                raincoat, turns on his light.               A MOMENT LATER: Brian turns on his PC. The SCREEN lights up.                The COLORS are a garish GREEN and ORANGE.                                                                    CUT TO:               LATER: SAMMY and BRIAN are both on their feet. The door is                closed.                                     SAMMY                         Brian, get off my ass!                                     BRIAN                         Excuse me?                                     SAMMY                         I didn't change the colors on your                          stupid computer screen.                                     BRIAN                         Well, that's all you gotta say!                                     SAMMY                              (On "that's")                         There is nothing wrong with the work                          I do here. I have been doing just                          fine, the whole time before you came                          here -- And if you think that riding                          people in this petty, ridiculous way                          is the way to improve service in                          this bank or anywhere else I think                          you're out of your mind!               Pause.                                     BRIAN                         I didn't say there was. Could I please --                          Could I please -- May I respond?                                     SAMMY                         No, that's really all I have to --                                     BRIAN                         May I respond?                              (Beat)                         First of all, I don't appreciate                          being spoken to with that kind of                          language. That's not the way I talk                          to you, and I'd appreciate it if you                          wouldn't talk that way to me --                                     SAMMY                         Well --                                     BRIAN                         Second of all, if you say you didn't                          change the colors on my computer                          screen, then of course I accept your                          answer. But you and I are gonna have                          to find a way to work together --                                     SAMMY                         Brian --                                     BRIAN                         But that's not gonna happen with the                          attitude, it's not gonna happen with                          the lateness, it's not gonna happen                          by fighting me every step of the way --                          OK, well not you, you're not late,                          but too much of that stuff goes on                          around here --                                     SAMMY                         I am not late and I do not have an                          attitude -- Well then don't tell me                          I'm late if I'm not late!                                     BRIAN                         I'd really like to finish!               OUTSIDE BRIAN'S OFFICE: The whole staff is listening to the                muffled raised VOICES from inside the office.               MABEL especially is listening guiltily.               EXT. MAIN STREET. DAY               The rain falls on Main Street.               EXT. ORRIN'S BACKYARD. DAY               The rain comes down hard on Orrin's construction project.                Tarps cover everything. No work today.               EXT. MAIN STREET -- LUNCH PLACE. DAY               The rain comes down on the SHERIFF, looking through the                restaurant WINDOW at SAMMY, eating lunch alone at the counter.                He goes inside, shakes the rain off himself and goes over to                her. They start talking. We HEAR:                                     SAMMY                         They were where?               INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE -- LIVING ROOM. DAY               The RAIN on the roof makes a sleepy, pleasant country sound.               TERRY is lying on the sofa, smoking a joint, watching TV, in                a funk. O.C. we LOUD BANGING ON THE PIPES.               LATER: A YOUNG PLUMBER, about Terry's age, comes thumping                down the stairs and goes into the living room, carrying his                toolbox. Terry looks up at him.                                     PLUMBER                         OK, you're all set.               Terry glares at him. The plumber turns and goes out.               EXT. BUS STOP. DAY               RUDY is WAITING in a doorway for Terry. He is wet and cold.                The RAIN pours down.               INT. BANK. DAY               Brian is showing his wife, NANCY, the bank. He is very                solicitous of her, nervously introducing her to the employees,                who are not responding very warmly. Nancy is not in a warm                mood either; she's very testy with Brian.                                     BRIAN                         This is Chuck. Chuck, this is my                          wife, Nancy.                                     CHUCK                         Hello.                                     NANCY                         Nice to meet you.                                     BRIAN                         This is Mabel...                                     MABEL                         Hi.                                     NANCY                         Nice to meet you.               SAMMY, at her desk, watches Brian and Nancy make their                progress through the bank. Nobody is being very friendly,                and Brian suddenly seems awkward and vulnerable. Brian and                Nancy reach Sammy's desk.                                     BRIAN                         This is Sammy, our lending officer.                          Sammy, this is my wife, Nancy.                                     SAMMY                              (Friendly)                         Hi. It's nice to meet you.                                     NANCY                         Brian -- I gotta sit down.                                     BRIAN                         Sure -- Let's go in my office.               He glances nervously at Sammy as he leads Nancy away from                her desk and toward his office. He murmurs something to Nancy,                who responds in a low but very testy voice:                                     NANCY                         I'm fine...!               She roughly pulls her arm away from his. Sammy watches them                go into his office.               EXT. MAIN STREET. DAY               Rudy trudges resolutely through the pouring rain toward the                center of town. He is completely drenched.               INT. BRIAN'S OFFICE. DAY               Sammy knocks on Brian's open door.                                     SAMMY                         Brian...?                                     BRIAN                         Yeah.                                     RUDY (O.C.)                         Mom!               Sammy sees to her left, down the hallway --                                     SAMMY                         Rudy!               Rudy is at the end of the hall, drenched and shivering, but                cheerful.               EXT. EMPLOYEE PARKING LOT. DAY               Rudy is in the car, somewhat dried off, waiting. Sammy and                Terry stand in the employee entrance doorway.                                     SAMMY                         Look, I'm glad you guys are getting                          along so well -- like, you have no                          idea -- but if I can't rely on you                          to remember to get him once a day...                                     TERRY                         You can!                                     SAMMY                         -- And what are you doing taking him                          to play pool in the middle of the                          night, and then telling him to lie                          to me about it?               Pause.                                     TERRY                         I don't know.               INT./EXT. SAMMY'S CAR/CAROL'S DRIVEWAY. DAY               Terry and Rudy pull up in front of the driveway. Terry is in                a silent rage. The rain has let up.                                     TERRY                         Get out of the car.                                     RUDY                         What are we doing?                                     TERRY                         You're going to Carol's house and                          I'm going home.                                     RUDY                         Why can't I come with you?                                     TERRY                         Because if you're such a baby you                          gotta tell your Mommy about us playin'                          pool when I totally asked you not                          to, and I gotta listen to her shit                          all day, then you're goin' to the                          baby-sitter's so you can stay at the                          baby house.                                     RUDY                         But I didn't tell her!                                     TERRY                         You know what? Don't even fuckin'                          talk to me.                                     RUDY                         I didn't!                                     TERRY                         Just get out of the car.               He leans over Rudy roughly and pushes open the door. Rudy                gets out of the car and marches down the long driveway. He                bursts into tears.               Terry watches him go, then drives off.               INT. BANK -- HALL. A FEW MOMENTS LATER               Sammy walks through the empty bank hall and into Brian's                office. Brian is at his desk.                                     BRIAN                         You're working late.                                     SAMMY                         How did your wife like the bank?                                     BRIAN                         Oh, fine. She wasn't feeling so great.                                     SAMMY                         That's too bad.                                     BRIAN                         No -- I don't mean -- She's not ill.                          She's just... I don't know...                                     SAMMY                         Pregnant?                                     BRIAN                         That's it. She's pregnant.                                     SAMMY                         It can make you kind of cranky.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah...               Pause.                                     BRIAN                         Listen, I'm sorry we've been stepping                          on each other's toes -- I -- I'm not                          actually that bad a guy --                                     SAMMY                         Yeah, I am too... I know you're not,                          Brian, but you're driving everybody                          crazy.                                     BRIAN                         Well, I -- I'm just trying to do my                          best here -- And I'm gettin' it from                          all sides.                                     SAMMY                         I know you are...                                     BRIAN                         Anyway... We'll work it out...                                     SAMMY                         Well... I could use a beer.                                     BRIAN                         I could use a tranquilizer.               INT. PUB. NIGHT               Brian and Sammy sit at a table in the corner of the dimly                lit pub. It's a medium noisy place with various locals                drinking beers and eating hamburgers and chicken dinners.                                     SAMMY                         Last I heard, Rudy's Dad was living                          over in Auburn. But that was last                          year.                                     BRIAN                         Must be so tough raising a kid on                          your own... Although I'm beginning                          to get the idea my wife wouldn't                          mind a crack at it.                                     SAMMY                         Oh... It's just the hormones.                                     BRIAN                         Well, no, it isn't. But never mind.               The waitress brings them two boilermakers.               SAMMY and BRIAN Thanks.               She leaves. Sammy and Brian pick up their shots.                                     BRIAN                         Well, here's to improved employee-                         management relations.                                     SAMMY                         Amen.               They click shot glasses and drink.                                     SAMMY                         You can't judge all of Scottsville                          by the people in that bank, believe                          me.                                     BRIAN                         Well -- Let's -- Let's not talk about                          the bank.                                     SAMMY                         OK.                                     BRIAN                         Let's just forget about the bank for                          tonight.                                     SAMMY                         Good idea.               They sip their drinks, smiling. Sammy looks at him                appraisingly.               INT./EXT. BRIAN'S CAR/WOODED ROAD. NIGHT               Sammy and Brian are making out in the front seat of his car.                This goes on for a while, getting heavier and heavier.                                     BRIAN                         Sammy?                                     SAMMY                         Yeah?                                     BRIAN                         I want you to tell me who changed                          the colors on my computer screen.                                     SAMMY                         I'll never tell.               They start kissing again in the cramped space. Brian bangs                his head. They laugh.               EXT. OUTSIDE THE CAR. CONTINUOUS               We pull back and away from the car. The sodden trees spout                faucets of water down on the car.               INT. KITCHEN. NIGHT               The kitchen is dark. Sammy comes in, her hair a little wet,                and turns on the light. She goes to the telephone.               There's a NOTE in Terry's handwriting:               "BOB CALLED."                                     TERRY (O.C.)                         Where were you?               Sammy jumps, startled. Terry is in the kitchen doorway.                                     SAMMY                         Nowhere. I had dinner with my boss.                                     TERRY                         Kind of a late dinner, ain't it?                                     SAMMY                         Yeah. How was Rudy?                                     TERRY                         Fine.                                     SAMMY                         Did the plumber come?                                     TERRY                         Yes, the fucking plumber came.                                     SAMMY                         Terry -- Give me a break!!!               Pause.                                     TERRY                         What's the matter with you?                                     SAMMY                         Nothing. I'm just tired.                                     TERRY                         You want to smoke some pot?                                     SAMMY                         No I don't. Why, you got some?               EXT. PORCH. NIGHT               Sammy and Terry stand side by side on the porch, passing a                joint back and forth. It has stopped raining but the trees                and roof are still dripping. The crickets are chirping loudly.                                     SAMMY                         So... Bob asked me to marry him.                                     TERRY                         Wow.                              (Pause)                         Are you going to?                                     SAMMY                         I don't know. If he'd've asked me                          this time last year I would have                          probably said yes. But the minute he                          said it, I don't know, I felt like                          somebody was trying to strangle me.                                     TERRY                         Well... bad sign.                                     SAMMY                         I know.                              (Pause)                         Plus, Terry...                              (Whispers)                         I fucked my boss...!                                     TERRY                         What?                                     SAMMY                         I know! And his wife is six months                          pregnant.                                     TERRY                         Jesus Christ, Sammy...!                                     SAMMY                         I know, I know.               He passes her the joint. She declines. He puffs away. The                water drips off the porch and the crickets chirp. She puts                her head on his shoulder. He puts one arm around her and                puffs away with the joint in his free hand.                                     SAMMY                         Terry, I'm sorry I got so mad before.                          I just don't want him, you know --                          terrified of "telling," if there's --                                     TERRY                         Uh, well, that's not really his                          problem, Sammy.               Sammy straightens up.                                     SAMMY                         Oh really? What's his problem?                                     TERRY                         His problem is that he's like totally                          sheltered because you treat him like                          he's three, instead of eight, so                          that's how he behaves.                                     SAMMY                         Oh yeah? And how do you think he                          should behave?                                     TERRY                         I think he shouldn't have to run and                          tell his Mommy every time he does                          something she might not like, for                          one thing.                                     SAMMY                         Uh huh. And what do you --                                     TERRY                              (On "and")                         I mean I took him to play pool! It                          was a little clandestine thing we                          did for fun! It wasn't like a big                          secret, I mean who cares? I was                          actually trying to be nice to him.                          But he's so freaked out that he                          disobeyed your orders that he has to                          fuckin' squeal on me and I have to                          listen to your fuckin' shit all day                          when I didn't even fuckin' do                          anything!                                     SAMMY                         First of all, he didn't tell me                          anything: Darryl did. OK? Second of                          all, I don't really give a shit if                          you took him to play pool: I was mad                          at you because you left him standing                          at the bus stop in the rain. But no,                          I don't want you telling him not to                          squeal, because I don't want him put                          in that position!                                     TERRY                              (Losing ground)                         Well... that... is a perfect example                          of what I'm talking about.                                     SAMMY                         You are in idiot.               They stand apart now. Silence.                                     TERRY                         Darryl told you?                                     SAMMY                         Yes!               They stand there. The rain gutters drip.               INT. BANK. MORNING               Sammy, coat on, arrives at her desk and puts her purse down.                There's a NOTE on her CHAIR.               "SAMMY -- PLEASE SEE ME."               INT. BANK -- HALLWAY. A MOMENT LATER               TRACKING SAMMY, coat off, carrying a stack of folders, as                she walks from her desk, around the corner, down the hall,                past a couple of employees and to BRIAN'S OPEN DOOR. She                taps on it. Brian is at his desk.                                     SAMMY                         Morning.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah, good morning. Could you get                          the door?               OUTSIDE THE OFFICE: Sammy shuts the door. MABEL and DORIS,                standing near the door, look at each other: i.e., Sammy's in                trouble again.               INSIDE THE OFFICE: Sammy stands by the closed door. Brian                comes out around his desk.                                     SAMMY                         Listen -- I just --               Brian kisses her. She drops her folders and they make out                against the door.               OUTSIDE THE OFFICE: The employees click away at their PCs.                Mabel exchanges a quiet word with Chuck.               INSIDE THE OFFICE: Brian has Sammy pressed against the wall                with her skirt hiked up and is trying to get both of their                underwear out of the way. It's not so easy in their office                clothes. Sammy tears away.                                     SAMMY                         Brian, that's enough.               BRIAN falls back, breathless.                                     BRIAN                         OK. Sorry.               He lunges at her again. They kiss some more.               OUTSIDE THE OFFICE. A MOMENT LATER: Sammy comes out of the                office, more or less composed, carrying her folders. She                heads down the hall past the other employees, including Mabel,                and surreptitiously readjusts her scrunched-up underwear.               INT. DAWSON'S. DAY               Sammy and Bob sit at lunch. Sammy is picking at her food.                                     BOB                         You're awfully quiet.                                     SAMMY                         I'm sorry.                                     BOB                         Um... Have you thought at all about                          what I said?                                     SAMMY                         Of course I've been thinking about                          it.                                     BOB                         So... Any decisions? Or -- do you                          still want to think about it some                          more...?                                     SAMMY                         Well -- I mean -- I don't know, Bob.                          I mean, we haven't exactly been going                          steady the last few months, if you                          know what I mean --                                     BOB                         Yeah, no, I know --                                     SAMMY                         -- and then we see each other twice                          and you suddenly say you want to get                          married? I mean...                                     BOB                         No, you're right, you're right --                                     SAMMY                         What are you talking about?               Pause.                                     BOB                         I don't know... I... Maybe this is...                          Last year I sort of thought you were                          possibly interested in that... idea...                          but I was the one who, you know,                          wasn't "ready" at that point -- So                          that's why I thought things kind of                          slowed down with us...                                     SAMMY                         Don't make me feel bad for you.                                     BOB                              (Bristling)                         I don't want you to feel bad for me.               INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT               Sammy, Terry and Rudy are all watching TV. Sammy and Rudy                are in pajamas. Nobody's happy and nobody's talking.               The PHONE RINGS. Sammy goes to it and picks up, surprised                because of the hour.                                     SAMMY                              (Into phone)                         Hello?                                     BRIAN                              (On phone)                         It's Brian.               Sammy turns away and lowers her voice so Terry and Rudy won't                overhear her.                                     SAMMY                         Brian. Where are you?               EXT. GAS STATION. SIMULTANEOUS               Brian is on the pay phone outside a gas station.                                     BRIAN                         I'm buying milk. I just thought I'd                          say hello.               WE CUT BETWEEN THEM. Sammy doesn't say anything.                                     BRIAN                         Look, I know it's probably too late,                          but is there any way you can come                          out for a little while?                                     SAMMY                         Brian, I think you're going crazy.                                     BRIAN                         I know I am. Can you meet me?                                     SAMMY                         Um, OK.               INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT               SAMMY comes down the stairs, fully dressed, into the living                room, where Terry and Rudy are still watching TV.                                     SAMMY                         Um -- I have to go out for a minute.                          Do you want anything?                                     TERRY                         Like what?                                     SAMMY                         I don't know.                                     RUDY                         Where are you going?                                     TERRY                         Yeah, where are you going?                                     SAMMY                         I just have to go out for a little                          while.                                     RUDY                         Where?                                     TERRY                         Yeah, where?                                     SAMMY                         I just have to go to Mabel's house.                                     RUDY                         Why?                                     SAMMY                         You know what, Rudy? It's personal.                          This is a personal matter that has                          to do with Mabel. I just have to go                          see her for a little while.               Terry gives Sammy a look like, "You've got to be kidding."                Sammy tries to shush him with a conspiratorial look back.                She goes out.               LATER. Terry and Rudy sit in front of the TV, alone.                                     TERRY                         Listen. Listen. I'm sorry I said you                          squealed on me. I was totally out of                          line, and I really owe you an apology.                              (Pause)                         Did you hear what I said?                                     RUDY                              (Staring at the TV)                         I don't care.               INT. SAMMY'S CAR (MOVING). NIGHT               Sammy drives, listening to music. She shakes her head at                herself.               EXT. MOTEL. NIGHT               Sammy's car and Brian's car are parked side by side outside                a roadside motel.               INT. MOTEL ROOM. NIGHT               In the motel room, Sammy and Brian, half-clothed, make love                rather hurriedly on top of the unmade creaky bed.               EXT. MOTEL. NIGHT               Outside the motel, Sammy and Brian get into their respective                cars and start their motors.               INT. SAMMY'S CAR (MOVING). NIGHT               Sammy drives in the other direction. She breaks into a smile,                and then she laughs. Then she stops.               INT. SAMMY'S BEDROOM. NIGHT               Sammy lies awake plagued by guilty feelings.               EXT. CHURCH -- RECTORY. DAY               Sammy heads toward the little white church building.               INT. CHURCH -- RECTORY -- OFFICE. DAY               RON the MINISTER and Sammy drink coffee in silence.                                     RON                              (Gently)                         What's on your mind, Sammy?                                     SAMMY                         Well, a lot. But principally... I                          was just wondering if you had an                          opinion. If you know someone, in                          your family, or just someone you                          really care about, and they just                          can't seem to get ahold of                          themselves...               EXT. MAIN STREET. DAY               The SUN SHINES on Main Street.               INT. SPORTING GOODS STORE. DAY               Rudy watches wide-eyed as Terry places on the sales counter                two rods and reels, a bunch of lures, two fishing hats, a                box of swivels, a knife and a fish scaler.                                     TERRY                         You know who this is for?                                     RUDY                         Me!                                     TERRY                         That's right, my little friend.                              (To the saleslady)                         Hello. We're going fishing.               INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE -- KITCHEN. DAY               Sammy, Terry and Rudy are all putting away the groceries.                Everybody seems to be getting along.                                     RUDY                         I got a new rod and reel, five lures,                          I got a hat, I got a knife and I got                          a fish scaler.                                     SAMMY                         That's great, honey.               O.C., the DOORBELL RINGS. Sammy starts to move toward the                door, but Terry is closer.                                     TERRY                         I'll get it.               Sammy watches him go.               INT./EXT. FRONT DOOR. DAY               Terry opens the door. It's Ron, the minister, in his civvies.               EXT. FRONT YARD. DAY               Rudy is playing basketball by himself.               INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE -- LIVING ROOM. DAY               Terry, Sammy and RON sit in the living room. Sammy and Ron                are drinking coffee. Through the window we see occasional                glimpses of Rudy playing basketball in the backyard. There                is a heavy silence in the room.                                     TERRY                         Well... I'm not really sure why you're                          here, Ron. I mean, I realize I haven't                          exactly been a model citizen since I                          got here, but compared to how things                          have been goin' for me lately, I                          thought I was doing pretty well.               He turns to Sammy.                                     TERRY                         And I also find it kind of                          discouraging that you seem to think                          I need some kind of spiritual                          counseling or what have you, so much                          so that you're willing to disregard                          the fact that I don't believe in any                          of this stuff at all --                                     SAMMY                         Well... I didn't mean to discourage                          you --                                     TERRY                         I mean it's really kind of insulting.                                     RON                         Can I say something here?                              (Pause)                         Sammy asked me to come and talk to                          you, because it's her opinion that                          you're not gonna find what you're                          looking for the way you're looking                          for it --                                     TERRY                         How would she know?                                     RON                         But I'm really not here to try to                          get you to do anything, or to believe                          anything. And I'll tell you the same                          thing I told her, which is that as                          far as I'm concerned the only way                          she can help you is by her example --                          by trying to be a model for you, by                          the way she lives her life...               Terry smiles.                                     RON                         And that doesn't mean she's supposed                          to be a saint, either, if that's                          what you're smiling about.                                     TERRY                         I didn't realize I was smiling.               A moment.                                     RON                         You know, Terry, a lot of people                          come to see me with all kinds of                          problems. Drugs, alcohol, marital                          problems, sexual problems, health                          problems --                                     TERRY                         Great job you got.                                     RON                         Well... I like it. Because even in                          this little town, I feel like what I                          do is very connected with the real                          center of people's lives. I'm not                          saying I'm always Mr. Effective, but                          I don't feel like my life is off to                          the side of what's important. You                          know? I don't feel my happiness and                          comfort are based on closing my eyes                          to trouble within myself or trouble                          in other people. I don't feel like a                          negligible little scrap, floating                          around in some kind of empty void,                          with no sense of connectedness to                          anything around me except by virtue                          of whatever little philosophies I                          can scrape together on my own...                                     TERRY                         Well --                                     RON                         Can I ask you, Terry: Do you think                          your life is important?                                     TERRY                         You mean -- Like, me personally, my                          individual life?                                     RON                         Yeah.                                     TERRY                         Well... I'm not sure -- What do you                          mean? It's important to me. I guess.                          And like, to my, you know, the people                          who care about me...                                     RON                         But do you think it's important?                                     TERRY                         I --                                     RON                         Do you think it's important in the                          scheme of things? Not just because                          it's yours, or because you're                          somebody's brother. Because I don't                          really get the impression that you                          do.                                     TERRY                         Well, I don't think... I don't                          particularly think anybody's life                          has any particular importance besides                          whatever -- you know -- whatever we                          arbitrarily give it. Which is fine.                          I mean we might as well... I think                          I'm as important as anybody else...               Silence.                                     TERRY                         I don't know: A lot of what you're                          saying has a real appeal to me, Ron.                          A lot of the stuff they told us when                          we were kids... But I don't want to                          believe something or not believe it                          because I might feel bad. I want to                          believe it because I think it's true                          or not... I'd like to think that my                          life is important... Or that it's                          connected to something important...                                     RON                         Well, isn't there any way for you to                          believe that without calling it God,                          or religion, or whatever term it is                          you object to?                                     TERRY                         Yes. I believe that.               INT. DINING ROOM. NIGHT               Sammy, Terry and Rudy are all eating dinner. Terry is drinking                a beer. His mood is dark.                                     TERRY                         So Sammy, what example will you be                          setting for us tonight?               Sammy doesn't answer.               INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT               Terry, Sammy and Rudy are watching TV. Terry has another                beer.                                     RUDY                         What time are we getting up to go                          fishing?                                     TERRY                         We're not going fishing.                                     SAMMY                         What do you mean?                                     RUDY                         Why not?                                     TERRY                         I think you should go fishing with                          Father Ron.                                     RUDY                         I don't want to go fishing with Father                          Ron.                                     TERRY                         Well, I'm not takin' you.               Sammy starts to say something to Terry, stops herself.                                     SAMMY                         I'll take you, sweetie.               Rudy doesn't answer.               INT. HALLWAY. NIGHT               Sammy and Terry are in the hallway. Sammy holds a stack of                folded sheets.                                     SAMMY                         I realize that you're mad at me --                                     TERRY                              (Deadpan)                         I'm not mad at you...                                     SAMMY                         -- but he didn't do anything to you.                          And you cannot promise a little boy                          that you're gonna --                                     TERRY                              (On "boy")                         ...I just, you know, after all that                          religious conversation, I just                          realized it's probably not so good                          for him to be spending so much time                          with someone like me who doesn't                          believe his life is important in the                          scheme of things --                                     SAMMY                         Would you please...                                     TERRY                         I'm serious.                                     SAMMY                              (Practically choking)                         Listen.                              (Pause)                         I am sure, if you put your mind to                          it, you can think of some other way                          of getting back at me besides this.                          So would you please just give it                          some thought, and take him fishing                          tomorrow?                                     TERRY                         I would, Sammy, I just don't think                          it'd be good for him.               Pause.                                     SAMMY                         You suck.               She throws the sheets at him and storms away. Terry walks                through the living room and OUT the front door, SLAMMING it                behind him.               INT. SAMMY'S ROOM. NIGHT               Sammy sits by the phone in her bathrobe. She picks it up and                DIALS.               INTERCUT: BRIAN'S LIVING ROOM. NANCY, watching TV on the                sofa with Brian, picks up the RINGING PHONE.                                     NANCY                              (Into the phone)                         Hello?               SAMMY HANGS UP. She gets up, walks around, sits down again.                Picks up the phone and DIALS. It RINGS.               INTERCUT: BOB'S KITCHENETTE. Bob, making a sandwich for                himself, picks up the phone.                                     BOB                              (Into the phone)                         Hello?               SAMMY HANGS UP. Pause. She sweeps the TELEPHONE and ANSWERING                MACHINE OFF the nightstand. Pause. She calms down and puts                them back. The ancient answering machine is CLICKING                convulsively. She WHACKS IT and it stops.               EXT. CHURCH. DAY               The congregation is coming out of the church and milling                around at the steps. SAMMY, with Rudy at her side, is saying                good-bye to some neighbors. She watches pregnant NANCY and                BRIAN go down the steps.               POV SAMMY: Beyond Brian and Nancy, TERRY pulls up at the                curb in her car. He rummages around and produces FISHING                RODS which he waves, somewhat sheepishly.               REVERSE: At top speed, Rudy runs away from Sammy and the                church, toward Terry and the car. Terry and Sammy exchange a                look from the distance.               EXT. RECTORY. DAY               Services are over. Everyone has gone home.               INT. RON'S OFFICE. LATER               Sammy sits with Ron.                                     SAMMY                         Anyway... I don't know what the                          church's position is on adultery and                          fornication these days, but I felt                          really hypocritical not saying                          anything to you about it before,                          so... What is the official position                          on that stuff these days?                                     RON                         Well... it's a sin.                                     SAMMY                         Good: I think it should be.                                     RON                         ...but we don't tend to focus on                          that aspect of it, right off the bat --                                     SAMMY                         Why not?                                     RON                         Well --                                     SAMMY                         I think you should.                                     RON                         Well --                                     SAMMY                         Maybe it was better when you came in                          and they screamed at you for having                          sex with your married boss, and were                          really mean to you, and told you                          what a terrible thing it was. Maybe                          it'd be better if you told me how                          I'm endangering my immortal soul,                          and if I don't quit I'm going to                          burn in hell. Don't you ever think                          that?                                     RON                         Um... No.                                     SAMMY                         Well, it's a lot better than all                          this "Why do you think you're in                          this situation" psychological bullshit                          you hear all the time.                                     RON                         Well... Why do you think you're in                          this situation?                                     SAMMY                         With which one?                                     RON                         All of them.               Pause.                                     SAMMY                         I feel sorry for them.                              (Pause)                         Isn't that ridiculous?               Ron shrugs: i.e., "not necessarily."               EXT. STREAM -- BRIDGE. DAY               Terry and Rudy are side by side on a small footbridge over a                wide running stream, fishing. The sunlight slants through                the canopy of trees; the birds are chattering; it's gorgeous                and peaceful.                                     RUDY                         I've never been so bored in my life.                                     TERRY                         Yeah... We really shoulda been out                          here around seven or eight A.M.                                     RUDY                         What time is it now?                                     TERRY                         Two-thirty.               Silence. The birds sing.                                     RUDY                         Was my father a good fisherman?                                     TERRY                         Yeah, your father was good at all                          that stuff. He knew everything about                          the woods, everything about fishing,                          everything about hunting and                          everything about cars. If he wasn't                          such a pain in the ass he would've                          been a lot of fun to be around.                                     RUDY                         Maybe he's nicer now.                                     TERRY                         I doubt it.                                     RUDY                         Well, I think he is.                                     TERRY                         How would you know? Did you ever                          meet him?                                     RUDY                         No.                                     TERRY                         Were you ever curious to meet him?                                     RUDY                         I guess so.                                     TERRY                         Well, he doesn't live very far from                          here.                                     RUDY                         I thought he lived in Alaska.                                     TERRY                         No -- I lived in Alaska. Your dad                          lives in Auburn. Far as I know.                              (Pause)                         We could look him up in the phone                          book. Wanna try?                                     RUDY                         All right.                                     TERRY                         OK -- But -- I'm sure I don't have                          to say this, but I'm not kidding,                          man: Don't -- tell -- your -- mother.               INT. BOB'S APARTMENT. DAY               BOB is standing by his kitchenette, extremely nervous. Sammy                sits on his sofa.                                     BOB                         Do you want to go for a walk, or a                          drive? It's really nice out.                                     SAMMY                         No. I'm not gonna stay long. Bob, I                          don't want to get married.               Pause.                                     BOB                         OK.                                     SAMMY                         I've really thought about it a lot,                          and if you had asked me last year                          I'm sure I would have said yes.                                     BOB                         Oh. Thank you.                                     SAMMY                         But I'm not sure it would have been                          a good idea then either. I'm going                          through a really hard time right now                          and I just think that getting engaged                          to you or anyone would be just about                          the stupidest most self-destructive                          thing I could possibly do.                                     BOB                         OK.                                     SAMMY                         And I really think you have to grow                          up.                                     BOB                         Well, how about we fix up my                          personality some other time?                                     SAMMY                         OK.                              (Pause)                         I really hope we can still be friends.                                     BOB                              (Quietly sarcastic)                         Oh, yes, me too.               She looks at him miserably.                                     SAMMY                         Bob... This is so crazy... I mean...                          I don't even understand why you... I                          don't even get it.                                     BOB                         What do you want me to say? Everything                          you said about me was true, Sammy. I                          was just a big chickenshit jerk, and                          now I'm payin' the price.                                     SAMMY                         Bob...!               She goes over to him. He gets up.                                     BOB                         What?                                     SAMMY                         Well -- I don't know...                                     BOB                         I don't know. Sammy, I love you. I                          wish I could say it in a more                          interesting way. I just -- I love                          you.                                     SAMMY                         Well -- I mean -- I love you too --               He puts his arms around her and kisses her. She responds                very warmly. Just as things are heating up, she suddenly                remembers something and jolts away.                                     SAMMY                         Oh shit.                                     BOB                         What's the matter?                                     SAMMY                         I gotta go. I'm sorry --                                     BOB                         Where do you have to go?                                     SAMMY                              (Off the top of her                               head)                         I'm supposed to -- I gotta get Mabel                          back her car.                                     BOB                         Well... I don't understand. How are                          we leaving things?                                     SAMMY                         Oh God, I don't know. Call me later.               INT. MOTEL. DAY               Brian sits on the edge of one of the beds watching some                daytime Sunday show on the motel TV. There is a knock at the                door. He gets up, turns off the TV and opens the door. It's                Sammy.                                     SAMMY                         Sorry I'm so late.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah, I was just about to give up on                          you.                                     SAMMY                         Well -- maybe it would've been better                          if you had...               She comes into the room and starts walking around briskly                and nervously.                                     SAMMY                         I mean -- Look, I don't mean to be                          unsympathetic about your domestic                          situation, whatever it is, but I'm                          just beginning to think that if people                          tried a little harder to stick to                          their commitments and started taking                          a little responsibility for their                          actions, they might end up having a                          lot less trouble generally. That's                          all.                                     BRIAN                         Hey, that's what I've been trying to                          tell you guys at the bank.                                     SAMMY                         Well, I really don't think I can do                          this anymore.                                     BRIAN                         OK.               INT. MOTEL ROOM. LATER               Brian and Sammy lie under the starchy sheets. Brian's eyes                are shut. Sammy is very upset with herself.                                     SAMMY                         This is incredible.                                     BRIAN                         Mmmm.                                     SAMMY                         That is not what I mean.               INT. SAMMY'S CAR (MOVING). DAY               Terry and Rudy drive along. Terry looks down at Rudy and                smiles. Rudy is tense and won't look at him.               OVER TERRY AND RUDY'S SHOULDERS as Terry drives slowly past                dilapidated little houses in a very depressed residential                area. Terry is scanning the house numbers.                                     RUDY                         Maybe we should call first.                                     TERRY                         Well -- We're right here.               He pulls up outside a small, plain, run-down ranch-style                house with a lot of junk out front, and gets out of the car.                Rudy stays in.                                     TERRY                         Come on.               Rudy gets out of the car and comes around. Terry waits for                him, and then they walk up to the front door. The buzzer                says "KOLINSKI."                                     TERRY                         There he is.                                     RUDY                         His last name is Kolinski?                                     TERRY                         Yeah. Ring the bell.               Rudy pushes the doorbell. They wait. There's some noise inside                and some voices. The sound of WALKING.               THE DOOR OPENS. JANIE, a tired-looking young woman around                Terry's age, opens the door.                                     JANIE                         Yes?                                     TERRY                         Hi. We're looking for Rudy?                                     JANIE                         Who should I say is calling?                                     TERRY                         An old friend.                                     RUDY SR. (O.C.)                         Who is it?                                     JANIE                         He says an old friend!                                     RUDY SR. (O.C.)                         How old is he?               RUDY SR. appears behind Janie. He's around thirty, wiry,                dressed in jeans and an old shirt. He doesn't look good. He                recognizes Terry.                                     RUDY SR.                         Hey!                                     TERRY                         Hey, Rudy.               Rudy Sr. sees Rudy, who is looking up at him. His face falls.                                     RUDY SR.                         Hey.               Rudy doesn't answer.                                     TERRY                              (To JANIE)                         Hi, I'm Terry.                                     JANIE                         Hello.                                     TERRY                         And this is Rudy.                                     JANIE                         You don't say.                                     TERRY                         Rudy, meet Rudy.               Rudy Sr. looks away, shaking his head. JANIE moves away from                the door.                                     JANIE                         I'll just be in the kitchen.                                     TERRY                         Nice to meet you.               Janie goes into the kitchen. Rudy Sr. watches her go.                                     TERRY                         OK if we come in for a minute?                                     RUDY SR.                         What the hell are you doin'?                                     TERRY                         What do you mean what am I doin' --               Rudy Sr. starts walking toward Terry to make him go back out                the door.                                     RUDY SR.                         Could you step away from the door                          please?                                     TERRY                         Well we just wanna --                                     RUDY SR.                         Could you step away from the door                          please?                                     TERRY                         All right, all right.               They all go outside. Rudy Sr. pulls the door closed behind                him.                                     RUDY SR.                         What are you doin' here?                                     TERRY                         I just wanted the kid to see you --                                     RUDY SR.                         Well, now he saw me.                              (He looks at Rudy)                         Now you saw me. OK?                              (To Terry)                         Now would you mind?                                     TERRY                         Man, you are really --                                     RUDY SR.                         Look: I'm tryin' to be polite. So                          would you just take off? It's OK:                          Just take off.                                     TERRY                         I just wanna --                                     RUDY SR.                         Do you know what you're doin'? Just                          get outta here!                                     TERRY                         You know what, man? You're still a                          fuckin' asshole.                                     RUDY SR.                         I'm an asshole? Get outta here!               Rudy Sr. shoves Terry. Terry belts him, and suddenly they                are throwing wild punches at each other. Rudy goes sprawling                in the dirt.               Terry knocks Rudy Sr. down and starts pummeling him brutally.                Janie comes out of the house and jumps on his back, trying                to pull him off.                                     JANIE                         Get your fuckin' hands off him...!               Terry throws Janie off him, grabs Rudy Sr. again and resumes                beating him up. Janie jumps back on top of him.               Two neighbors run toward the melee to break it up.                                                                    CUT TO:               A FEW MOMENTS LATER: The cops have arrived. The 1ST COP is                talking to Rudy and Janie. The 2ND COP is talking to Terry.                Rudy Sr.'s face looks puffy and beaten up. A 3RD COP stands                apart with Rudy, who is watching the whole thing. WE CUT                rapidly and jerkily through this section:                                     1ST COP                         And you're not the boy's legal                          guardian?                                     RUDY SR.                         I don't even know if that's my kid!                                     JANIE                         They just showed up! We never seen                          them before...                                     RUDY SR.                         I used to know his sister --                                     TERRY                         I just came down here to talk to the                          guy and all of a sudden he starts                          shovin' me!                                     2ND COP                         Listen up. Listen up. You're gonna                          have to step back and just calm down --                                     TERRY                              (To RUDY SR.)                         You're a lyin' fuckin' piece of shit.                                     2ND COP                              (To TERRY)                         You're gonna have to step back.                                     JANIE                         We have a right to protect ourselves.                          What else do you need to know?               A MOMENT LATER: The 2ND COP puts handcuffs on Terry. Rudy                watches.                                     2ND COP                         Now give me your right hand...                                     TERRY                         This is such bullshit. He started                          the whole thing and you're arresting                          me?                                     2ND COP                         Listen up. Now -- Listen up! Stop                          talkin'. Terry, stop talkin'.                                                                    CUT TO:               A MOMENT LATER: As the 3RD COP walks Rudy to one cop car,                Rudy watches the 2ND COP guide the HANDCUFFED TERRY into the                other car.               Rudy gets in the back of the car and looks out at RUDY SR.                and JANIE talking to the 1ST COP. Rudy Sr. is looking at him                over the 1st cop's shoulder.                                     2ND COP                         -- idea where we might be able to                          contact his mother?                                     RUDY SR.                         No, because he's not my Goddamn kid.               The cop cars' doors slam first on Terry and then on Rudy.               INT. MOTEL ROOM. NIGHT               The room is dark. Sammy and Brian are asleep, half under the                covers. SAMMY WAKES with a START.                                     SAMMY                         What time is it?                                     BRIAN                              (Startled awake)                         What's the matter?               Sammy looks at the clock radio. 9:20.                                     SAMMY                         Oh my gosh.               A FEW MOMENTS LATER: Sammy and Brian are on opposite sides                of the bed, getting dressed.                                     BRIAN                         Hey, you know, Nancy's gonna be gone                          for the rest of the week...                                     SAMMY                         You know... Brian...                                     BRIAN                         Yeah?                                     SAMMY                         Well, I don't want to... I mean,                          couldn't we just... I mean, could we                          give it a rest?               Pause.                                     BRIAN                         Um -- Yeah. Sure. If you want to.                                     SAMMY                         I mean... I just think... I don't                          know: We had a great little fling.                          You know? Let's not push it.                              (Pause)                         I mean, is that OK? I just --                                     BRIAN                         Yeah. Sure. OK. You're right.               Pause.                                     SAMMY                         So are we still friends?                                     BRIAN                              (Nods tersely)                         Mm hm. Sure.                                     SAMMY                         All right. Good...!               EXT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. NIGHT               The crickets are chattering. The phone is ringing inside the                house.               INT. SAMMY'S BEDROOM. SIMULTANEOUS               The PHONE is ringing on the NIGHTSTAND. The battered answering                machine CLICKS convulsively but does not pick up.               INT. SAMMY'S KITCHEN. NIGHT               Sammy is on the phone in her bathrobe.                                     SAMMY                         Around two o'clock this afternoon...                          Yeah, a ninety three Toyota Tercel.                          New York plates V127AC... Please.               INT. SAMMY'S HOUSE -- FRONT DOOR. NIGHT               Sammy, dressed now, opens the door for BOB. She is very                anxious.                                     SAMMY                         Thanks for coming over. I just want                          to have a car handy just in case.                                     BOB                         No problem.               INT. KITCHEN. NIGHT               Sammy is on the phone. Bob sits at the table.                                     SAMMY                              (Into the phone)                         Well -- what about other towns?...                          Yes! Yes! I called the highway patrol                          four times... Well what am I supposed                          to do all night?               INT. SAMMY'S LIVING ROOM. LATER               Sammy and Bob sit silently in the living room, waiting. She                is smoking. The CLOCK READS 12:40. Sammy is going crazy with                anxiety.               EXT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. MORNING               The PHONE rings inside the house as the early morning sun                slants through the trees around the house.               INT. LIVING ROOM. SIMULTANEOUS               The RINGING PHONE wakes BOB, on the sofa in his clothes --               INT. SAMMY'S BEDROOM. SIMULTANEOUS               -- and Sammy, half asleep on top of her bed, also in her                clothes. She GRABS the PHONE.                                     SAMMY                              (Into phone)                         Hello?               INT. BOB'S CAR (MOVING). DAY               Bob drives Sammy along the highway. She stares out the window.                She turns and watches Bob drive for a long moment.               INT. BANK. DAY               Brian walks through the morning bank activity and stops at                Mabel's desk.                                     BRIAN                         Anyone hear from Sammy this morning?                                     MABEL                         I didn't.                                     BRIAN                         Uh huh. Well, if anyone ever hears                          from her ever again, will you let me                          know?                                     MABEL                         Yes.               EXT. AUBURN POLICE STATION. DAY               On the steps of the police station, Sammy, Rudy and Bob wait                as Sheriff Darryl shakes hands with the Auburn Sheriff. The                Auburn Sheriff goes inside. Darryl comes over to Sammy.                                     SHERIFF                         It's gonna be all right... We got on                          the phone and talked to Rudy Sr. a                          little bit and he's calmed down,                          just wants to forget about the whole                          thing...                                     SAMMY                         Darryl, I really appreciate this...               The Sheriff nods, but he's not thrilled to be here.               INT. SAMMY'S LIVING ROOM. DUSK               The PHONE IS RINGING. Sammy comes in the front door, Terry                and Rudy behind her. She snaps on the lights, hurries to the                phone and picks up.               Behind her, Rudy goes upstairs and Terry plunks down on the                sofa and turns on the TV.                                     SAMMY                         Hello?               INTERCUT WITH BRIAN, AT THE BANK.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah, it's Brian.                                     SAMMY                         Brian --                                     BRIAN                         What the hell happened to you today,                          lady?               SAMMY is about to answer, but she just HANGS UP instead.               BRIAN is stunned into sheer gaping fury. Feverishly he hangs                up and dials again. It RINGS.               Sammy picks up.                                     SAMMY                         Hello?                                     BRIAN                         You're fired!                                     SAMMY                         GOOD!               She hangs up again.               INT. RUDY'S ROOM. NIGHT               Sammy is tucking Rudy into bed.                                     SAMMY                         Rudy?                                     RUDY                         Yeah?                                     SAMMY                         Is there anything you want to ask                          me, about your father?                                     RUDY                         Oh, that wasn't my father.                                     SAMMY                         What?                                     RUDY                         That wasn't him. I heard him tell                          the cops.                                     SAMMY                         No -- Rudy -- that was him. But that                          was him. I wish it wasn't, but it                          was.                                     RUDY                              (Very quiet)                         No it wasn't.                                     SAMMY                         Rudy. Yes it was. Your father's name                          is Rudy Kolinski. He lives in                          Auburn...               INT. HALLWAY. NIGHT               Sammy comes out of Rudy's room, shutting the door softly. We                HEAR the TV going downstairs. She stands at the top of the                stairs for a moment.               INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT               Terry is watching TV on the sofa with his feet up on the                coffee table. Sammy comes down the stairs and into the living                room. He keeps watching TV. She doesn't sit. She is trembling.                                     SAMMY                         Could you turn that off for a minute                          please?               He turns off the TV.                                     TERRY                         You don't have to say anything, Sammy.                                     SAMMY                         I want you to leave.               Terry looks at her.                                     TERRY                         What do you mean?                                     SAMMY                         I mean I don't think you should live                          here anymore. I don't think you know                          how to behave around an eight-year-                         old and I don't know how to make you                          stop, so I think you shouldn't live                          here. I don't know what else to say.                                     TERRY                         I don't know how to behave around an                          eight-year-old?                                     SAMMY                         That's right --                                     TERRY                         I think you don't know how to behave                          around an eight-year-old.                                     SAMMY                         Are you out of your MIND!?!               Silence.                                     SAMMY                         Now you just listen to me. I may not                          be the greatest mother in the world,                          but I'm doing the best I know how.                          And he doesn't need you to rub his                          face in shit because you think it's                          good for him. He's going to find out                          the world is a horrible place and                          that people suck soon enough, and                          without any help from you. Believe                          me!               Sammy tries to get ahold of herself. Her voice is shaking.                                     SAMMY                         I think you should get your own place.                          I thought, if you want, you could --                          I'll be glad to help you out                          financially --                                     TERRY                         What do you mean, Get my own place?                                     SAMMY                         I mean I --                                     TERRY                         You mean in Scottsville?                                     SAMMY                         Yes.                                     TERRY                         Why would I do that? Why don't I                          just leave, period?                                     SAMMY                              (Quietly)                         Well... If that's what you want to                          do, that's fine. But that's not what                          I'm saying. You are a very important                          person to Rudy, and you are the most                          important person to me. But I'm saying                          that I can't take any more of this --                                     TERRY                         Well --                                     SAMMY                         -- I thought -- maybe you could sell                          your half of the house to me, and I                          could pay you whatever it is over a                          certain amount of time, and that way --                                     TERRY                         No, you know what? I'll just go.               He turns the TV back on.                                     SAMMY                              (Very quietly)                         Well -- that's not what I'm saying.               Terry shrugs and watches TV.               INT. TERRY'S ROOM. NIGHT               Terry is packing his bag. Rudy is watching.                                     RUDY                         Where are you going?                                     TERRY                         I don't know. I just want to get out                          of this town. And if you've got any                          sense when you get old enough you'll                          get out of here too. Your Mom's gonna                          live in this town for the rest of                          her life, and you know why? Because                          she thinks she has to. Don't ask me                          why, but that's the truth. She thinks                          there's all these things she has to                          do, but you want to know one thing                          about your Mom? She's a bigger fuck-                         up than I ever was. I mean, I know I                          messed up. You think I enjoy getting                          thrown in jail because I wanted you                          to face that prick your Dad like a                          little man and see what kind of a                          guy he is? I know I got a little                          carried away, and I lost my temper                          just a little bit -- which is not                          the end of the world either, by the                          way, just for future reference --And                          now she's kickin' me out of my own                          house because -- you know, because I                          fucked up a little bit. Which I                          totally admit. I was like -- totally                          ready to admit that.               He is finished stuffing his clothes into his backpack.                                     RUDY                         I could go with you.                                     TERRY                         Well, thanks, man. But I, uh, I can't                          really take care of you.               INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT               Sammy is flipping channels on the TV. The DOORBELL RINGS.                She is surprised. She gets up. Terry comes thundering down                the stairs, carrying his backpack.                                     SAMMY                         Is that for you?                                     TERRY                         Yeah, I'm just gonna stay at Ray's                          till I take off.                                     SAMMY                         You don't have to do that.                                     TERRY                         Yeah. Well, that's what I wanna do,                          so --                                     SAMMY                         Well but -- Are you gonna come back                          to say good-bye?                                     TERRY                         No -- I'm just gonna take off. I'll                          see you later.                                     SAMMY                         Well --               Terry opens the door. RAY is there. Terry closes the door                behind him. Sammy listens to the PICKUP TRUCK DRIVE OFF. The                sound FADES.               INT. RAY'S HOUSE. NIGHT               Terry is bunked down on Ray's horrible sofa. In the b.g.,                there is a light on in the bedroom. Terry fluffs his pillow                and shuts his eyes.               EXT. SAMMY'S HOUSE. DAY               Dressed for work and school, Sammy and Rudy walk to the car.                                     SAMMY                         Look. I know you're upset about Uncle                          Terry leaving, and so am I. But he's                          just not in control of himself, and                          I don't want him hurting your feelings                          anymore -- or mine. And you may not                          like it, but that's how it's gotta                          be. OK?                                     RUDY                         I don't care.                                     SAMMY                         You don't care. I don't care either.               INT. BRIAN'S OFFICE. DAY               Sammy sits in front of Brian's desk.                                     BRIAN                         Well... I'm sorry you're havin' all                          this trouble...                                     SAMMY                         Thank you.                                     BRIAN                         But you made a pretty good speech to                          me yesterday about people sticking                          to their commitments...                                     SAMMY                         Yeah...?                                     BRIAN                         Well... you made a commitment to                          this bank, Sammy. To this job.                                     SAMMY                         I know I'd --                                     BRIAN                         And to working things out with this                          tough new son of a bitch boss of                          yours. And whatever might have passed                          between us after hours doesn't mean                          you just walk away from that                          commitment -- yeah, even when you                          have a legitimate family emergency.                                     SAMMY                         I'm really sorry I didn't --                                     BRIAN                         Which is why I think in the calm                          cold light of day, we should both                          think real hard about whether or not                          you really want to continue on here                          at Merchants National Trust.                                     SAMMY                         You're not serious.                                     BRIAN                         ...you're not happy, I'm not happy,                          it's not good for you and it sure as                          heck isn't good for the bank.               Pause.                                     SAMMY                         You know you're the worst manager                          we've ever had?                                     BRIAN                         Come on, Sammy...                                     SAMMY                         By far the worst.                                     BRIAN                         ...I don't wanna trade insults with                          you.                                     SAMMY                         Well, I don't want to be fired, Brian.                          I've been working here for seven                          years.                                     BRIAN                         Well --                                     SAMMY                         And if I were you I'd be a little                          nervous about firing an employee I                          just had an affair with. OK?                                     BRIAN                         That's -- Don't threaten me, Sammy:                          I'm not threatening you. I -- It's                          just an area I think we should                          explore.                                     SAMMY                         I'm not thr -- You explore it. I'm                          going back to work.               She heads for the door, stops.                                     SAMMY                         Oh, and I have to pick up Rudy today                          because there's no one else to do                          it. But I'll find someone as soon as                          I have time.                                     BRIAN                         Yeah. Fine. Why don't you just take                          over the whole bank?               Sammy hesitates in the doorway. This thought has never                occurred to her before. She goes out.               INT. LUNCH PLACE. DAY               THROUGH THE WINDOW we see Sammy and Bob having lunch. Sammy                watches him eat, full of mixed feelings about him.               INT. KITCHEN. DAY               Sammy is at the stove, making pancakes. She puts a last                pancake onto Rudy's plate and brings it to him.                                     SAMMY                         Well, I called where Uncle Terry                          said he was gonna stay, and there                          was no answer, so I don't know if                          he's still in town or not.               Rudy doesn't answer.                                     SAMMY                         Rudy? Are you not speaking to me?               Rudy doesn't answer.                                     SAMMY                         Well, I'm sorry you're so mad at me,                          but I only did what I thought I had                          to do, and I hope you don't stay mad                          at me for the rest of your life.               He opens the maple syrup and pours it on the pancakes.                                     SAMMY                         Rudy, that's too much.               He keeps pouring. She grabs the bottle from him and upsets                some of the dishes on the table.                                     SAMMY                         You gotta cut this out!                                     RUDY                         What did I do?                                     SAMMY                         You don't know what you're talking                          about! There was nothing else I could                          do! I can't explain it better than                          that, but you can't go on like this                          because you don't know anything about                          it and you don't know what you're                          doing!                                     RUDY                              (Frightened)                         OK, I'm sorry!                                     SAMMY                         I don't want you to be sorry, I just                          want you to STOP IT!                                     RUDY                         I will! I will! I'm stopping, I'm                          sorry.               He comes around the table to her.                                     RUDY                         See? I'm stopping! I'm not doing it.                          See? I'm not.               He's very alarmed. Sammy looks at him for a long moment.               EXT. CEMETERY. DAY               Terry walks through the little cemetery gate and makes his                way up the hill through the tombstones. He reaches his                parents' graves. He looks at the tombstones for a moment. He                puts his hand on top of one headstone, then the other.               He sits down and smokes. He looks up at the SKY. It's a                beautiful deep blue sky dotted with billowy white clouds.               He looks out over the hilly scenery. After a moment he shakes                his head a few times. He doesn't even know he's doing it. He                sits there.               INT. RAY'S HOUSE. DAY               The PHONE IS RINGING as Terry walks into the house. He walks                past it, to the fridge, gets a beer and opens it. It KEEPS                RINGING. He picks it up.                                     TERRY                              (Into phone)                         Ray's house.               INT. BANK -- SAMMY'S DESK. DAY               Sammy is at her desk on the phone.                                     SAMMY                         Hi.               WE CUT BETWEEN THEM. Terry doesn't say anything.                                     SAMMY                         I didn't know if you left yet.                                     TERRY                         No -- I'm leavin' tomorrow.                                     SAMMY                         Well -- What time?                                     TERRY                         There's a bus at nine.                                     SAMMY                         Well -- Can I -- I'd like to see you                          before you go. I mean, can I give                          you a lift? Or do you want to have                          breakfast or anything? And I think                          Rudy would really like to say good-                         bye.                                     TERRY                         Yeah -- I don't know... I mean --                                     SAMMY                         Terry, you can't just leave like                          this. I --                                     TERRY                         All right, all right. I'll come by                          in the morning.                                     SAMMY                         All right -- But just -- We have to                          be out of the house by eight, so --                          I don't want to tell Rudy you're                          coming unless you really think you                          can make it --                                     TERRY                         Yeah -- No -- I'll be there.                                     SAMMY                         All right.                                     TERRY                         All right.               INT. KITCHEN. MORNING               Sammy is clearing the breakfast dishes. Rudy is finishing up                his cereal. The clock reads 7:50.                                     SAMMY                         You should get your sneakers on.               EXT. HOUSE. A MOMENT LATER               Sammy comes out and looks up and down the road.               INT. LIVING ROOM. A FEW MOMENTS LATER               Rudy sits in the living room in his baseball jacket. His                knapsack is on the floor beside him. He looks at the CLOCK:                8:06. Sammy comes into the living room and looks at him.                                     SAMMY                         Sweetie, I'm sorry, we have to go.                                     RUDY                         Why can't I miss school one day?               They HEAR the PICKUP PULL UP OUTSIDE, O.C. Rudy gets up                immediately.               EXT. THE HOUSE. A MOMENT LATER               Terry jumps out of RAY'S PICKUP. Sammy opens the front door                and Rudy runs out toward Terry.                                     RUDY                         Hi!                                     TERRY                         Hey, how's it goin', man?               Rudy stops short in front of Terry. Terry looks at Sammy, in                the doorway.                                     TERRY                         Sorry I'm late.               EXT./INT. CAR. DAY               The car stops across the street from the BUS. The LAST KIDS                are getting in. SAMMY HONKS for the bus driver, and Sammy,                Terry and Rudy all get out.                                     TERRY                         So Rudy... If I write you a letter,                          will you write me back?                                     RUDY                         Yeah.                                     TERRY                         OK, well, that's gonna be pretty                          nice for you, because I write a pretty                          Goddamn interesting letter.                                     RUDY                         Yeah, we'll see.                                     TERRY                         All right. Well, say good-bye.                                     RUDY                         Bye.               Rudy hugs Terry. Terry hugs him back. He is suddenly overcome                and presses his lips to the top of Rudy's head.               Rudy walks to the BUS and gets on. The bus pulls away.               Alone now, Sammy and Terry are not that comfortable. He moves                to get back in the car, and she does the same.               EXT. BENCH. DAY               Sammy and Terry sit on a bench near the bus stop. Terry's                backpack is by his side.                                     SAMMY                         Do you need some cash for the bus?                                     TERRY                         No, I got a few bucks... Aren't you                          gonna be late for work?                                     SAMMY                         Oh -- Yeah. That's OK.                              (Pause)                         Terry, I don't even know where you're                          going.                                     TERRY                         Oh, well, I didn't really have a                          concrete plan yet. I have to go back                          to Worcester and get my stuff...                                     SAMMY                         Oh, are you gonna try to see that                          girl?                                     TERRY                         Well... Yeah... You know... Thought                          maybe I'd try to show my face... Let                          her brother have a crack at me...                                     SAMMY                         What?                                     TERRY                         No...                                     SAMMY                         ...I don't want anyone to have a                          crack at you.                                     TERRY                         I'm just kidding. I just thought...                          Just thought I'd check up on her...                              (Pause)                         Anyway, after that, I don't really                          know. I've been thinking about Alaska                          a lot. I still got some friends out                          there. I don't really know. Anyway,                          I'll write you.                                     SAMMY                         You will?                                     TERRY                         Sure, Sammy. Of course I will. You                          know that.               Pause.                                     SAMMY                         What is gonna happen to you?                                     TERRY                         Nothing too bad... But I gotta tell                          you, I know things didn't work out                          too well this time...                                     SAMMY                         Well, Terry --                                     TERRY                         ...but it's always really good to                          know that wherever I am, whatever                          stupid shit I'm doing, you're back                          at my home, rooting for me.                                     SAMMY                         I do root for you.               She starts crying, and looks down.                                     TERRY                         Come on, Sammy. Everything's gonna                          be all right... Comparatively... And                          I'll be back this way...                                     SAMMY                         I feel like I'm never gonna see you                          again...!                                     TERRY                         Of course you will, Sammy. You never                          have to worry about that.                                     SAMMY                         Please don't go till you know where                          you're going. Please...!                                     TERRY                         I do know where I'm going. I'm going                          to Worcester and I'm gonna try to                          see that girl. And then depending on                          what happens there, I thought I'd                          try to see if there's any work for                          me out West. And if there is, I'm                          gonna head out there for the summer                          and try to make some money. And if                          there isn't, I'll figure something                          else out. Maybe I'll stay around the                          East. I don't know... I really liked                          it in Alaska. It was really beautiful.                          You just -- It made me feel good.                          And before things got so messed up I                          was doin' pretty well out there.                          Seriously. But I couldn't stay here                          long, Sammy: I don't want to live                          here. But I'm gonna stay in touch.                          And I'll be back. 'Cause I want to                          see you and I want to see Rudy. I'll                          come home for Christmas. How about                          that? We'll have Christmas together.                              (Pause)                         Come on, Sammy. You can trust me...               Still looking down, Sammy shakes her head, tears leaking                down her cheeks.                                     TERRY                         Come on, Sammy... Look at me... Look                          at me...               She looks at him.                                     TERRY                         Hey, Sammy... Remember when we were                          kids, remember what we always used                          to say to each other . . .?                              (Pause)                         Remember when we were kids?                                     SAMMY                         Of course I do...!               She throws her arms around his neck. He pats her gently.               INT./EXT. BUS. DAY               The DOORS OPEN and Terry comes up the steps and into the                bus. Outside, Sammy watches him pay the driver and move                through the bus toward his seat. The BUS DOORS CLOSE.               EXT. BUS. CONTINUOUS               Sammy waves till the BUS DRIVES all the way down MAIN STREET,                turns a corner and is gone.               INT. BUS. CONTINUOUS               Terry, in his seat, turns forward and watches the view go                by. He smiles a little.               INT. SAMMY'S CAR (MOVING). DAY               The morning sunlight flickers through the windshield into                the car as Sammy drives along toward work. She passes the                TOWN HALL CLOCK and sees that it's 9:20.               She dries her damp cheek with a forearm and rolls down her                window to let the morning breeze blow through.               Squaring her shoulders a little, she drives through town at                a slow and easy pace.                                         THE END
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+                                           YOUTH IN REVOLT                                            Written by                                            Gustin Nash                                                                           July 13, 2007                              OVER BLACK comes the sound of deep HEAVING BREATHS. Moist          FLESH FLAPPING accompaniment. Someone is beating off.          A pause as the someone turns the page of a magazine.          The beating off resumes at a quickened pace. The SQUEAKING of          bed springs joins in.          Another page is turned. Feverish THUMPING until a MALE VOICE          lets out a quiet MOAN.          The breathing gradually slows to normal and lets out a          relieved sigh of finality.                              NICK (V.O.)                    My name... is Nick.          NICK TWISP, 16, stares up at the ceiling. He's glassy eyed          from the exertion...          INT. NICK'S ROOM - DAY          ...sprawled on the bed, trousers around his ankles, a well          thumbed issue of Penthouse covers his privates.                              NICK (V.O.)                    My last name, which I loath, is                    Twisp.          Nick pulls up his trousers and leaps off the bed. He pulls          the drawer under his mattress out.                              NICK (V.O.)                    The next thing you should know                    about me is that I am obsessed with                    sex.          A view of the drawer reveals it to be filled with neatly          filed issues of Penthouse and Hustler. He puts the most          recently utilized magazine in its place.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Lately, I have become morbidly                    aware of my penis.          Nick posing in front of the mirror, pants around his ankles          again. He looks at himself from various angles.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Once a remote region accessed                    indifferently for micturition, it                    has developed overnight into a                    gaudy Las Vegas of the body.          We PAN DOWN, and where Nick's crotch is supposed to be, there          is a hole in the screen leading us to...                                                                               2.                    LAS VEGAS OF THE BODY          The pulsing neon sign outside the club reads: NICK'S PENIS.          We fly inside where we find a star-studded floor show.          Drunken CONVENTIONEERS make out with STRIPPERS. A LEOPARD          leaps through a burning HOOP on stage.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - MOMENTS LATER          Nick typing on an obsolete PC.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I am entering the tenth grade at                    St. Vitus Academy, which, I am                    told, is the most rigorous prep                    school in the East Bay. Hopefully I                    will be invited to join Miss                    Satron's English Literature class.          A view of the books and CDs on his shelf.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I am a voracious reader and listen                    to Frank Sinatra. So needless to                    say, I am still a virgin.          Follow the curser on the monitor as he types the words -          STILL A VIRGIN.          He pauses in thought, then continues.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I have yet to hold hands with a                    girl, let alone have my winkie up                    her wendell.          INT. AIRPLANE (35,000 FT) - DAY          WE MOVE down an airplane aisle, past PASSENGERS sleeping and          chatting.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I am an only child except for my                    big sister Joanie, who has left the                    bosom of her family to sling hash                    at 35,000 feet.          We reach the end of the aisle, where a buxom twenty-          something, JOANIE TWISP serves a beverage.          INT. ESTELLE'S KITCHEN - DAY          Liver frying in a pan. ESTELLE TWISP, 43, cooks and puffs on          a cigarette at the same time.                                                                                3.                                        NICK (V.O.)                    Mom gives driver's tests at the                    Department of Motor Vehicles.          Nick sits at the kitchen table reading the paper. He watches          with nausea as Estelle piles liver onto his plate.                              NICK (V.O.)                    She used to keep Dad up to date on                    all the motor statutes he was                    violating. This is one of the                    reasons they got divorced.          JERRY, early 40's, saunters in wearing a TRUCKERS DO IT IN          OVERDRIVE shirt and boxers. His gut hangs over the elastic,          but he is completely devoid of an ass.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Mom's boyfriend, Jerry is a long                    distance trucker, though his                    ultimate ambition is to be on state                    disability.          Jerry absently smacks Estelle's butt. Waddles over to the          breakfast table. He snatches the Funnies from the paper in          Nick's hands.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I've been struggling to think of a                    commendable thing to say about                    Jerry.          Jerry gives an asinine chuckle at the cartoon. Nick glares.                              NICK (V.O.)                    No luck. His grey matter registers                    at cretin and the needle doesn't                    budge.          EXT. GEORGE TWISP'S HOME - DAY          GEORGE TWISP, 41, scruffy and greying, waters the foliage          outside the house with a high powered hose.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Dad is a copywriter for                    agricultural magazines.          In the drive, Nick slaves over the duty of washing the rims          of his dad's BMW 325i.                              NICK (V.O.)                    He'd like to own a more prestigious                    model of BMW, but, as he often                    reminds me, he is burdened with                    crippling child support payments.                                                                               4.                    Nick glances up and spots LACEY, 20, coming up the drive          toward him in a weensy bikini. Her body has more outcroppings          than the coastline of Albania.          She continues past him and embraces George.                                 NICK (V.O.)                       Lacey is Dad's latest bimbette. She                       is twenty and a recently minted                       alumna of Stanfort.          Super:          (Stanfort Institute of Cosmetology)          George and Lacey exchange saliva shamelessly. Nick turns his          attention back to the Beamer.          As the making out becomes heated groping, George's grip on          the hose slackens.          Nick gets blindsided by the jet of water.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - DAY          We're back with Nick as he types on his computer. He looks          down at the tent in his boxers.                                                      CUT TO:          He pulls open the drawer again - the pornography collection.          NICK'S POV          of the room shaking, accompanied by his heavy breathing. His          eyes float from the Hustler to the pink walls of his room.                                 NICK (V.O.)                       My mother is the one who painted my                       room to look like Dolly Parton's                       boudoir. She read this color was                       used in hospitals to calm mental                       patients.          Nick closes his eyes, his right arm moving rhythmically.                                 NICK (V.O.)                       I'll tell you what I told her. I am                       not mentally ill.          BLACKNESS. The masturbation reaches its feverous climax. Then          the long moan and sigh of relief.                                 NICK (V.O.)                       I'm just a teenager.          And as Frank Sinatra's UNTIL THE REAL THING COMES ALONG          begins, we go to OPENING CREDITS.                                                                             5.                                                           YOUTH IN REVOLT          INT. ESTELLE'S KITCHEN - DAY          Nick regards Jerry from across the dining room table. There          is the off-screen sound of a cretin slurping Cheerios.          Reveal Jerry reading Sports Illustrated, scratching his balls          with one hand and shoveling in cereal with the other. Estelle          is washing dishes when she spies something out the window.                              ESTELLE                    Jerry? Where did that car come                    from?          Jerry looks over his shoulder and they all take a moment to          appreciate the slab-sided Lincoln in the drive.                              JERRY                    It's a '62 Lincoln convertible.                    Like the one Kennedy was shot in.                              NICK                    Except his was black and yours is                    white. And dirty.                              JERRY                    See that. I was going to take you                    and your mom for a spin after                    breakfast. But now I guess it'll                    just be her and me. You have your                    smart mouth to thank for that.                              NICK                    Damn it. I guess I'll just have to                    hang out all alone at the book                    depository.                                JERRY                    The what?                              ESTELLE                    Jerry, I don't understand. What                    happened to the Chevy-Nova?                              JERRY                    Sold it to a sailor on the Alameda                    Naval Air Base. A man should never                    own a car for more than three                    months, Estelle. That way he always                    gets the thrill of owning a new                    automobile!          Jerry smiles with cretin pride. Nick looks to his mother and          disturbingly enough, she seems turned on by his car-owner          savvy.                                                                               6.                    EXT. ESTELLE'S HOME - DAY          Nick stands in the doorway watching as his mother waits for          Jerry to open the passenger door for her.                              NICK (V.O.)                    After spending twelve years with                    Dad, Mom has had a string of                    lovers, none of whom she has asked                    me to approve.          Jerry fails to notice Estelle waiting and instead just climbs          in and chugs his beer. Estelle appears mildly disappointed          before opening the door herself.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I'm starting to think her                    boyfriends are like U.S.                    Presidents.          As Jerry pulls out, he tosses his beer bottle in the          direction of the trash can at the end of the drive.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Just when you think they can't get                    any worse...          He misses and the bottle shatters on the pavement, but Jerry          drives off anyway.                              NICK (V.O.)                    ...she manages to find God's                    Perfect Asshole.          INT. ESTELLE'S HOME - DAY          ON A TV SCREEN          Nick cycles through TiVo and finds the late night SEX          DOCUMENTARY he recorded.          INT. ESTELLE'S KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER          From the living room comes the sound of an orgy and the          jingle jangle of a belt buckle.          Then the DING-DONG of the front doorbell.          The jingle jangle pauses and when the doorbell rings a second          time, the orgy gets muted.          Nick enters the kitchen pulling up his trousers.          I/E. ESTELLE'S HOME - MOMENTS LATER          The door is opened to reveal two burly, tattooed SAILORS          standing on the stoop.                                                                                7.                    Their eyes drift to Nick's mid-section.          Nick follows their eyes to the belt buckle he neglected to          fasten out of haste. He returns his gaze to the sailors as he          wrangles the belt.                              SAILOR #1                    Is Jerry here?                              NICK                    He just left. What's up?                              SAILOR #1                    What's up is that hunk of shit                    Chevy he sold us made it seventeen                    miles before the engine blew up.                              SAILOR #2                    And we found evidence of a banana                    in the transmission.          The second sailor holds aloft the banana peel sealed in a          plastic bag. Nick glances to drive and regards the smoking          Chevy-Nova with its camouflage paint job.          A THIRD SAILOR is rummaging through the boxes in the open          garage. He finds some spray-paint and shakes the can.          Nick turns back to the sailors on the stoop.                              SAILOR #1                    So he owes us nine hundred dollars.                              NICK                    Well, I think he used that nine                    hundred dollars to buy his Lincoln.                    He's giving my mom a joyride in it                    now. But he'll be back this                    afternoon, so I would come back                    then. He's pretty stubborn. You                    might have to beat it out of him.                              SAILOR #1                    That can be arranged. In the                    meantime we're leaving the piece of                    shit in the driveway. With a note.          Nick looks one more time to the Chevy as the third sailor          finishes painting the hood with the words: PAY UP OR DIE.                               NICK                    I like it. Very to the point.                    Well... See you guys this                    afternoon!          The sailors nod, somewhat perplexed by this kid's demeanor.          As they turn to go and Nick closes the door...                                                                             8.                                                                      LEFTY (V.O.)                    I might have to kill myself.          EXT. HILLS ABOVE UC CAMPUS - DAY          In the clearing, a UC JOCK stands behind his ASIAN          GIRLFRIEND, kissing her neck and removing her clothes.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I hope you have a good reason.          Reveal Nick and his friend LEFTY, 16, belly down in the grass          overlooking the clearing. Lefty watches the copulating couple          with a pair of binoculars.                              LEFTY                    My sister said she saw Millie                    Filbert holding hands with some                    college guy.                              NICK                    I dunno, Lefty. I think your sister                    is just waging psychological                    warfare.                              LEFTY                    Well it's working. What am I gonna                    do, Nick? I'm obsessed. I think                    about Millie so much my balls ache.                              NICK                    Maybe your just not wacking off                    enough.          As if in response, Lefty passes the binoculars off to Nick          and then turns over onto his back and unzips his pants.          As Lefty jerks it, Nick looks with nonchalance...          THROUGH THE BINOCULARS          The couple hump in the grass, her legs in the air.                              LEFTY (O.S.)                    So, I've been taping my pecker to                    my right leg at night.                              NICK (V.O.)                    In case you haven't heard, Lefty's                    erect member takes a dramatic turn                    midway up the shaft.                                                                             9.                                        LEFTY (O.S.)                    Then I look at this issue of Better                    Homes and Gardens that has a girl                    that looks just like Millie until                    it gets good and hard. I think it's                    starting to straighten out.                              NICK                    Why don't you just have your                    parents take you to the dick                    doctor?                              LEFTY (O.S.)                    Are you kidding? It would kill them                    to know that I even get hard-ons.                              NICK                    Still, you might want to get it                    fixed before asking Millie out.                              LEFTY (O.S.)                    True. What if I shove it up the                    wrong hole?          Nick gives a dubious glance in Lefty's direction.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Lefty's grasp of the female anatomy                    is somewhat tenuous; he imagines                    there are orifices galore down                    there.          INT. ESTELLE'S KITCHEN - DAY                              JERRY                    Nick, you little shit, get down                    here!          Jerry hollers from the kitchen where Estelle gapes out the          window. Nick calmly joins them from upstairs.                              ESTELLE                    Nick, do you know anything about                    this?          She points out the window and they all take in the Chevy and          the sailors' oh-so-subtle note on the hood.                              NICK                    Oh, yeah. Those sailors came by.                    They want their money back. I guess                    there was a banana in the                    transmission.                              JERRY                    You tell them when I was coming                    back?                                                                            10.                                        NICK                    Now why would I do that?          Jerry seeths inwardly at Nick's mock innocence.                              ESTELLE                    What are you going to do, Jerry?                              JERRY                    I think I'll go get the Lincoln                    washed.                              ESTELLE                    You're leaving? What happens when                    the sailor comes back for his nine-                    hundred dollars?                              JERRY                    Just tell him he bought the car                    with my standard guarantee. Thirty                    days or thirty feet. Whichever                    comes first. I'm in the right.          And on cue comes the ring of the doorbell and the          simultaneous pounding of angry Navy fists on the back door.          They peer out the window and find the fleet on the front          steps.                              NICK                    Oh, look. The sailors are here.          Jerry first starts to dart one way and then another,          searching for a hiding space as he hisses.                              JERRY                    Get rid of them!          And then the front door gets kicked open and a mob of sailors          pour in. Jerry flees. A HANDHELD CAM chase as he heads for          the back and is cut off by the sailors coming in.          Jerry bolts up the stairs.                              NICK                    Jerry, where are you going? Just                    tell them you are in the right.          INT. ESTELLE'S HOME - CONTINUOUS          They manage to grab Jerry by the legs and haul him down the          stairs. Jerry loses his grasp step by step, crying with a          sound not unlike E.T. when the flashlight hit him in the          cornfield.          The two big guys with bad haircuts hold Jerry off the ground          while the earnstwhile Chevy owner goes through his pockets.                                                                               11.                                        SAILOR #1                    Sixty-three lousy dollars.                              JERRY                    That's my life savings!          One of the sailors pokes Jerry in the gut hard and he          whimpers.                              ESTELLE                    Don't hurt him! Nick, call 911!                              SAILOR #1                    Touch that phone, kid, and you lose                    your left nut.          Nick raises his hands. "You don't have to tell me twice."                              JERRY                    Please. Please don't hurt me. It's                    all I got, guys. I swear. Take the                    Lincoln!                              SAILOR #1                    I don't want the Lincoln. I want my                    nine-hundred dollars. I'm taking                    the sixty-three, which means you                    owe me another eight hundred and                    thirty.                              NICK                    Eight hundred and thirty seven,                    actually.                              SAILOR #1                    Exactly. Have it by tomorrow or                    you'll be found in the trunk of                    your new used piece of shit at the                    bottom of the Bay.          And with that they release him and Jerry crumples to the          floor like an abandoned marionette.          INT. ESTELLE'S KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER          The three of them watch the fleet pile into a Navy van that          reads FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY. The moment they pull out, Jerry          dusts himself off and puts on a pretense of being unfazed.                              JERRY                    Wow, those guys are even dumber                    than I thought. They actually think                    I'm stupid enough to let them                    muscle me into paying.                                                                            12.                                        ESTELLE                    Jerry, what are you talking about?                    We need to call the police!                              JERRY                    I'm not some tattle-tale like your                    son.          Nick rolls his eyes.                              ESTELLE                    Then for God's sake, Jerry, just                    sell the Lincoln and pay them!                              JERRY                    Can't. It's in The Code.                              ESTELLE                    What code? The vehicular code?                              JERRY                    Code of the streets, Babe. Code of                    the streets.                              ESTELLE                    Then what are you planning to do?          Jerry takes a seat at the kitchen table and adopts The          Thinker pose. He strokes his chin as Nick and Estelle await          his brilliant solution with breathless anticipation.          I/E. LINCOLN - DAY                              NICK (V.O.)                    We are going to Ukiah for a last                    minute vacation.          Jerry's got on a hat made from Coors beer cans. He's behind          the wheel of his Lincoln convertible.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Jerry says we'll be staying in a                    cabin on Clear Lake that's owned by                    a friend of his.          Estelle dumps in the cooking gear and closes the trunk. Her          halter top looks like an advertisement for Droop City. Nick's          in the back. Estelle waves at the neighbors like she's Miss          Corn Dog of 1954.                              ESTELLE                    Goodbye, everyone! We're going on                    vacation!                              JERRY                    Let's blow!                                                                            13.                    She hops up front with Jerry. He fires up the Lincoln and the          radio roars to life with HILLBILLY MUSIC.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I'm not sure how this is the                    solution to his problem. But I've                    decided to go along with it, seeing                    as I'm not rooting for him anyway.          As they pull out, Jerry tosses his beer bottle at the garbage          can at the end of the drive and it once again misses and          shatters on the street behind them.          EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY          The Lincoln makes it's way upstate, and dips into the mist          covered hills of Ukiah.          EXT. RESTLESS AXLES TRAILER PARK - DAY          They've pulled to a stop. Estelle stares in horror.                              ESTELLE                    Jerry...? You said it was a cabin.          In the back, Nick removes his sunglasses to regard the long,          green, turd of a trailer. Some concrete dwarves in the grass.          A dusty canvas awning over a small cement patio. A decrepit          picket fence with a sign that reads: MY GREEN HAVEN.          Estelle looks as if she's about to cry. Jerry puts his arm          around her.                              JERRY                    C'mon Estelle. It's real cute on                    the inside.          INT. MY GREEN HAVEN - NIGHT          Substitute cluttered for cute. The three of them are crammed          around a dining surface as accommodating as an airplane tray          table. 3-D religious art hangs on the wall above them.                              JERRY                    I say the kid does the dishes and                    we retire to the master bedroom.          Jerry pushes out and disappears into the back. Nick watches          him with loathing. Estelle smiles apologetically.                              NICK                    Mom? Do you really like Jerry?          Her smile fades.                                                                             14.                                          ESTELLE                    Nick, how   many men do you think                    there are   who'd be interested in a                    forty-one   year old woman with two                    brats, no   money, and stretch marks?          And with that she excuses herself, leaving Nick to ponder.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Mom is a realist about everything.                    Except her age. She's forty-three.          INT. MY GREEN HAVEN - LATER          Nick washes dishes in the toilet-like sink. The trailer          shakes from the two adults flogging the mattress in the back.          EXT. RESTLESS AXLES TRAILER PARK - DAY          An old crone, MRS. SAUNDERS, makes her way up the walk. She          gets to the door of My Green Haven and bangs on the screen.          INT. MY GREEN HAVEN - DAY          Nick sleeps on a pull out cot. He bolts upright at the          banging, his hair going in all directions.                              MRS. SAUNDERS (O.S.)                    It's your neighbor, Mrs. Saunders.                    Church services begin at seven                    fifteen prompt. Donuts will be                    served.          Nick glances down at the morning wood elevating his boxers.          Mrs. Saunders narrows her eyes at Nick through the screen          door and takes off.          EXT. MY GREEN HAVEN - DAY          Nick steps out of the trailer in a bathrobe, toiletries in          one hand, towel in the other. He heads off down the wooded          path.          EXT. WOODS - DAY          The serene melodies of rousing HYMNS float from the well-          attended congregation in the meeting hall.          WE TRACK across the trees as Nick makes his way down the          path. He slows to observe the sun coming through the canopy          overhead. He glances off the path and comes to a sudden stop.          A grape arbor flanked by Corinthian columns set against the          blue of Clear Lake. A chestnut haired SHEENI SAUNDERS stands          facing the water, her head tilted down to read the book in          her hands. The wind coming off the lake blows her dress just          enough to give a hint of the shapely thighs underneath.                                                                               15.                    Light falls in shafts through the latticework of the arbor          like something out of a FranÁois Boucher painting.                                 NICK (V.O.)                       The moment I see her I know the                       Gods, while having cruelly endowed                       me with imperfect posture and pussy                       postponing pimples, had put me here                       for a purpose. My heart palpitates.                       My mind races. I get an instant                       T.E.          Super:                (Thundering Erection)          Sheeni glances up from her book and looks over her shoulder          at him. Nick just stares. She gives an amused smile, almost          flirtatious. Nick grins back.                                 SHEENI                       Your robe is open.          Nick looks down. He pulls the robe closed, scowls, and goes          into a flustered march down the path.          INT. PUBLIC REST ROOM - DAY          An austere   cement shed with three dripping shower heads and          no privacy   walls. Nick lathers up under the spray. Jerry          appears in   the foreground and removes his robe. He goes to          the shower   head next to Nick and turns it on.          Nick reacts to Jerry and hastily tries to resume rinsing          himself off. Jerry gurgles water and spits. He starts          warbling rock lyrics.          EXT. MY GREEN HAVEN - DAY          Nick comes up the path and stops short at the picket fence.          Estelle and Sheeni squat on the patio steps.                                 SHEENI                       Hel-lo, Excitable Boy.                                 ESTELLE                       Nick, honey, meet Sheeni Saunders.                                  NICK                       Hello.                                 ESTELLE                       Sheeni needs to go to the grocery                       store. I've offered her your help                       in carrying her bags.          Nick regards Sheeni and her mischievous smirk.                                                                            16.                                        NICK                    Thanks a pantsful.          EXT. RESTLESS AXLES TRAILER PARK - DAY          A dusty road. Nick totes a watermelon and a paper bag. He          watches as Sheeni works on a Popsicle. Full lips that cry out          to be kissed.                              NICK                    You don't have to go to services?                              SHEENI                    No. Much to the consternation of my                    fanatical parents I have converted                    to atheism. Fortunately my brother,                    Paul, paved the way for such                    transgressions.                              NICK                    Paul is an atheist too?                              SHEENI                    Buddhist, I believe, though we have                    not seen him in some time. I myself                    am looking forward to being free of                    parental bondage.                                NICK                    Likewise.                              SHEENI                    Well, your mother seems very nice,                    though your father I think might be                    rather dim.                              NICK                    Jerry and I share no blood links of                    any kind.          As they pass the meeting hall there comes a surge of HYMNS in          chorus.                              NICK                    Sounds rather zealous.                              SHEENI                    Yes, even though I am no longer a                    believer I always found the                    services wonderfully aerobic.                              NICK                    You could say the same thing about                    sex.          Sheeni stops. She looks at Nick intently.                                                                              17.                                        SHEENI                    Nick, are you going to turn out                    like all the other young men and                    have nothing on your mind except                    carnal pleasures?                              NICK                    I hardly ever think about sex.                              SHEENI                    Really? I think about it all the                    time. It's the hormones at work,                    you know.          She resumes walking. Nick follows her with confusion.          EXT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - DAY          They regard the two story Pacemaker mobile home.                              NICK                    Wow. A second floor.                              SHEENI                    Yes. Father bought it so that he                    could look down upon the world. For                    him, Christian humility has always                    been a struggle.          Sheeni relieves him of the watermelon.                              SHEENI                    Well, it was nice to meet you,                    Nick.          She trudges down the slate path to the home.                              NICK                    Sheeni? Do you want to come to the                    beach with me?          She turns around. Gives a little smirk.                              SHEENI                    What a thoughtful invitation. I'd                    love to, Nick. Wait for me in the                    living room.          INT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - DAY          A lot more space than My Green Haven. Dark paneling and          somewhat more tasteful religious art.                              SHEENI                    Back in a moment.                                                                            18.                    Nick watches her bound up the stairs.          He wanders into the musty living area. Moves down the mantel          examining the trinkets. Stops to regard the reproduction of          Massaccio's Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden on the wall.          He scrutinizes the image, his eyes falling to the privates of          Adam and Eve.                              MR. SAUNDERS (O.S.)                    I understand you have invited my                    daughter to the beach.          Nick spins around to see MR. SAUNDERS reclining in his          armchair. He is an immense, florid-faced, verdant eye-browed          ogre in a rumpled blue suit.                              NICK                    Er, yes, Mr. Saunders.                              MR. SAUNDERS                    Aha! Then I trust, sir, you are                    aware that in doing so you have                    entered into an oral contract to                    perform in loco parentis, i.e. to                    provide for the safety and well-                    being of aforementioned minor                    female.                              SHEENI (O.S.)                    Oh, Father, do shut up.          Sheeni descends the stairs. Jean cut-offs over a knockout          yellow swimsuit that shows off her flowing nubility.          Mr. Saunders grumbles. Sheeni grabs up a straw beach bag and          pushes Nick out the door.                              SHEENI                    Let's go, Nick. Bye, Father.                              MR. SAUNDERS                    Vaya con Dios!          EXT. BEACH - DAY          Sheeni and Nick lay on their backs on the blue beach blanket,          reading their respective books. Nick watches her turning          pages and making notes in the margins. She hands him her          tanning lotion.                              SHEENI                    Would you mind applying this to my                    exposed areas?                              NICK                    Not at all.                                                                            19.                    She rolls over onto her stomach, exposing her exquisite back.          Nick straddles her, hands shaking as he smooths sweet oils          into her tanned flesh.          Flashing super:          Thundering Erection                              SHEENI                    My, you get turned on easily.          Nick's hands freeze.                              SHEENI                    Oh, don't stop, Nick. We all have                    our hormones to deal with. Girls                    are fortunate in that it doesn't                    show. For all the world knows, my                    vagina could be moist with desire                    as we speak.                                 NICK                    Is it?                              SHEENI                    That's none of your business, I'm                    sure. Shall you do my front too?                              NICK                    I'm up for it.          She rolls over onto her back, her young breasts straining up          against the yellow spandex.                              SHEENI                    I hope you don't find it too                    stimulating, Nick.                              NICK                    I'm coping.          He starts in on her flawless legs, gliding on the oil all the          way within a finger's reach of her sweet apex.          With each daring pass, he comes closer to that final split.          Finally the hand swerves too late, and lightly grazes the          softly yielding vee.                              SHEENI                    Uh, Nick. Maybe you better do the                    top now.          Nick moves up, lubricating her arms, shoulders and neck. He          smooths the oil on the soft undulating foothills.                              SHEENI                    Thanks, Nick.                                                                            20.                    She rolls back onto her stomach with finality and goes back          to her book. Nick hovers above her a moment, then painfully          returns to his own reading.          EXT. RESTLESS AXLES TRAILER PARK - DAY          They make their way down the path. Nick totes the beach bag.                              SHEENI                    Breathless is one of my favorite                    films, though it might be eclipsed                    by Rebel Without a Cause. I often                    wonder what American cinema would                    be like today had Dean done more                    than three.          Nick nods, and for a beat they trek on in silence. He glances          down at her hand and fumbles for it with his own.                              SHEENI                    Oh, Nick. You seem very nice. But                    in fairness, I should tell you that                    I have a boyfriend.          Nick becomes sickeningly pale.                              NICK                    What's his name?                              SHEENI                    Trent Preston.                              NICK                    What's he like?                              SHEENI                    Seventeen years of age, six-two,                    fluent in French, plays the piano,                    a champion swimmer, and writes                    Futurist Percussive poetry.          They stop at the gate to the Saunders' home.                              NICK                    I'm not familiar with Futurist                    Percussive poems.                              SHEENI                    I could recite one of Trent's if                    you'd like.                                 NICK                    Please do.          She takes a dramatic pause.                                                                             21.                                        SHEENI                    RamDam 12/ Sizzle mop/ Crunch down/                    Safety net/ Hot! Hot! Hot!/ Void.          She gives a slightly amused smile at Nick's blank expression.                              NICK (V.O.)                    If that's poetry, I'm a turkey                    scrotum.          INT. MY GREEN HAVEN - NIGHT          TIME LAPSE of Nick thrashing about in bed. During this          montage there is the constant ticking of a clock.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Here is an hour by hour account of                    the worst night of my life.          Nick flipping through a Penthouse under the covers.                              NICK (V.O.)                    1 AM. I decide it is just a case of                    puppy love and look forward to the                    interesting women I shall meet in                    the future.          EXT. MY GREEN HAVEN - NIGHT          A light comes on in the window.          INT. MY GREEN HAVEN - DAY          Nick at the dining table, writing a note.                              NICK (V.O.)                    2 AM. I conclude the only way out                    is suicide. I begin to pen a                    poignant suicide note. Sheeni will                    see Trent for the shallow pedant he                    is and always treasure my memory.                              JERRY (O.S.)                    Turn off the damn light!          EXT. MY GREEN HAVEN - NIGHT          Nick paces about back and forth in the yard.                              NICK (V.O.)                    3 AM. I decide I am too chicken for                    any of the manly, violent means of                    suicide. I shall swallow sleeping                    pills. Where to get them, though?                                                                            22.                    INT. MY GREEN HAVEN - NIGHT          Nick is in bed jerking off. The trailer shakes despite his          best efforts.                              NICK (V.O.)                    4 AM. I can not die an inviolate                    virgin. Either I find a way to get                    laid soon or suicide gets postponed                    until after high school.                              JERRY (O.S.)                    You wanna beat your meat, go                    outside!          INT. PUBLIC REST ROOM - DAY          Nick in the shower going to town on his T.E.                              NICK (V.O.)                    5 AM. It will be too painful to see                    Sheeni again. I shall ask Mom if we                    can cut our vacation short and                    return to Oakland.          INT. MY GREEN HAVEN - DAY          Nick rolls over on the cot and looks up with the gaze of a          manic insomniac.                              NICK (V.O.)                    6 AM. Violent panic! I have to see                    Sheeni again!          INT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - DAY          The door opens to reveal Nick standing outside in shorts, an          I'M SINGLE, LET'S MINGLE shirt, and tennis shoes. Sheeni          stands in the door. Sleep-fogged eyes.                              NICK                    Good morning!                              SHEENI                    Nick? God what time is it?                              NICK                    Seven o'clock. How about breakfast?                              SHEENI                        (smiling with endearment)                    Come back in two hours. I'm going                    on a hike. You can join me if you'd                    like.          She closes the door.                                                                               23.                    Super:     One hour fifty seven minutes later          A knock on the door. Sheeni opens it to reveal... Nick,          dressed the same. Sheeni wears Khakis, red bandanna          neckerchief, and an Australian bush hat. She looks like the          world's most desirable Girl Scout. She examines Nick's          attire.                              SHEENI                    Nick, where are your hiking boots,                    water bottle, provisions, survey                    maps and compass?                              NICK                    Like John Muir I enter the                    wilderness with nothing more than                    my journal and a childlike sense of                    wonder.                              SHEENI                    Okay, but I have no plans to baby                    any slackers.          EXT. WOODS - DAY          Sheeni leads the way up hill. Nick clutches his cramped          stomach with one hand, his journal in the other.          He watches the rhythmic movements of her ass through her          hiking shorts.          EXT. BLUFF OVER CLEAR LAKE - DAY          Nick and Sheeni peer over the edge of the cliff. The waters          of Clear Lake churn below.                              NICK                    Quite a drop.                              SHEENI                    Yes. Not to be morbid, but this                    sight has been the chosen means of                    at least three teen suicides.                              NICK                    Huh. Quite a hike just to end your                    life.                              SHEENI                    Well, there is a road. But I agree.                    Adolescents have a tendency toward                    the over-dramatic.          Sheeni backs away. Nick stays, staring over the edge.                                                                              24.                    EXT. WOODS - DAY          Nick's eyes roll back as he relieves himself against a tree.          He shakes off the last of it and zips up.          EXT. BLUFF OVER CLEAR LAKE - LATER          He emerges from the woods only to find Sheeni reading his          journal. She looks up at his and smiles. The brazen sneak          isn't even embarrassed.                              NICK                    That's my journal!                              SHEENI                    Don't get so upset Nick. Though                    your handwriting is egregious, you                    have a fairly decent vocabulary.                    Although, Trent is not an "affected                    twit."          Nick snatches the journal out of her hands.                              NICK                    Those are my private thoughts and                    are none of your business!                              SHEENI                    Nick?                              NICK                    What?                              SHEENI                    The lengths you say you are willing                    to go to to win my heart, the                    contemplation of suicide at the                    thought of not having me...                        (taking a sensual breath)                    It all evokes a strong emotional                    warmth in my breast.          Nick can only stare at her sprawled out on her back as if          posing for a centerfold.                              SHEENI                    Did you mean it, Nickie?          A beat as he is lost in the ocean of her gaze before he          manages to gain his senses.                              NICK                    How would you like it if I read                    your journal?                              SHEENI                    You can read it if you'd like.                                                                               25.                    She hands it over. Nick squints at the writing.                              NICK                    It's in French.                              SHEENI                    A necessity for a child in a                    household with prying Christian                    parents.                              NICK                    What does it say?                              SHEENI                    Wouldn't you like to know. That                    last passage would be of particular                    interest to you.          Nick leaps on top of her, grabbing her thin wrists. She          squeals and giggles.                              NICK                    Spill it! I demand full disclosure!                              SHEENI                    Never!          They wrestle, perspiring, squirming bodies brushing together.          Flashing super:        Thundering Erection          They pause. He's got her arms pinned. She's on her back. He          hovers above her.                              SHEENI                        (softly chanting)                    Nickie's got a hard-on.          Nick considers her expression.                              SHEENI                    You're still a virgin, I can tell.                    Maybe that's why I like you.          A beat. She looks at him expectantly. Nick is at a loss.                              SHEENI                    Kiss me, you wienie.          Nick tentatively approaches her luscious mouth. Their noses          dodge successfully and their lips meet.          After a long moment, they break it off. Staring into each          other's eyes. Sheeni jumps up.                                                                               26.                                        SHEENI                    Okay, lover. Break's over. Let's                    go!          Nick lays in the grass a moment, watching after her.          EXT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - DAY          Nick walks Sheeni to the gate. She turns around to face him.                              NICK                    When can I see you again?                              SHEENI                    Get up early tomorrow and you can                    shower with me in the ladies room.                    Five minutes to six. If you dare.          Nick grins with excitement.          INT. MY GREEN HAVEN - NIGHT          Nick dines at the tray table with Jerry and Estelle.                              ESTELLE                    So what's this Sheeni girl like?                              NICK                    She's the Encyclopedia Britannica.                              JERRY                    She's got a nice rack.                              ESTELLE                    Jerry!          Jerry chuckles. Nick stares at him, perhaps resolving to          murder the trucker in his sleep.          INT. MY GREEN HAVEN - LATER          Nick lies below us on the cot, unable to sleep with the          anticipation of the imminent loss of his virginity.          EXT. MY GREEN HAVEN - NIGHT/DAY          Another perfect California summer dawn, a pale moon lingering          in the blue morning sky. Nick emerges from My Green Haven in          his robe. He starts off down the path.          EXT. WOODS - DAY          The trailer park is relatively silent save for birds and the          distant sound of dogs barking.                                                                               27.                    EXT. PUBLIC REST ROOM - DAY          Nick approaches the shower building. As he nears, the sound          of water running can be heard from the ladies' side.          INT. PUBLIC REST ROOM (WOMEN'S SIDE) - DAY          The women's side has real stalls and privacy doors. Nick          spots the chamber at the end where Sheeni's naked form          showers, obscured by tacky stained glass.          He kicks off his slippers. Hangs his robe on a hook.          He approaches the stall.          Flashing super:       Thundering Erection          He opens the shower door and steps into the steamy spray.          He embraces her. Pendulous breasts, sagging skin, a patch of          white hair under a drooping belly, wrinkles... It's Mrs.          Saunders! She looks up startled.          Nick lets out a horrible woman-like scream. Mrs. Saunders          starts screaming too, the sound of a pig being slaughtered.          She hurls a bar of soap.          The bar strikes Nick upside the head and he loses his footing          on the slippery tile. He goes down, taking Mrs. Saunders with          him. They wrangle in the mist as Nick tries to escape.                              MRS. SAUNDERS                    RAPE! RAAAAAPE!          Suddenly the door opens. It's Sheeni in her robe. She reaches          out and pulls Nick up.                              SHEENI                    Get out quick!          Still wearing her robe, she dives into the spray to save her          mother. Nick grabs his robe and retreats.          INT. CAFE - DAY          Nick slouches in a corner of the shop, his hands trembling as          he brings his coffee to his lips. He hears the door open and          looks up, but instead of the cops finds Sheeni. She joins him          at the table.                              NICK                    Should I go to the sheriff's now?                              SHEENI                    No. I managed to convince Mother                    you were retarded and couldn't read                    the sign.                                                                               28.                    Nick nods thankfully.                              NICK                    Say, where were you anyway?   We                    said five minutes to six.                              SHEENI                    I'm sorry. But, Nick, women are                    always discreetly late. It's                    expected of us.                              NICK                    Swell. And the punctual guy fries                    in the chair for rape.                              SHEENI                    Don't complain. At least you got to                    shower with a naked woman.                        (licking donut powder off                         her fingers)                    What are your plans today?                              NICK                    My parents want to go to                    Middletown. Jerry has the moronic                    notion of buying a trailer there                    before we leave.                              SHEENI                    I should like to come with you,                    Nick. The more time we spend                    together the better. I fear when                    you leave we might never see each                    other again.          Nick nods glumly. Clearly a devastating thought.          INT. LINCOLN (MOVING) - DAY          Sheeni's in back with Nick, but doesn't seem to mind the wind          tunnel. She has a scarf tied around her chestnut locks.          Nick looks down as she casually rests a hand on the inside of          his thigh.          As they round a curve at 60, she yanks Nick's sunglasses off          and tosses them over her shoulder into the lake.          EXT. GEEZER'S MANOR - DAY          Estelle, Jerry, Nick, and a toothless old GEEZER whose gut          rivals Jerry's, all stare at a rusty RV that looks like it          might not make the trip back.          In the background, Sheeni pets a goat in the dusty yard.                                                                               29.                                        JERRY                    What's your cash price?                              GEEZER                    I said in the ad. Thousand dollars                    firm.                               JERRY                    Thousand, huh? That must be with a                    guarantee.                              GEEZER                    As is, where she is.                              JERRY                    I don't know. Those rusty propane                    tanks are a fire hazard. The roof                    probably needs work. I couldn't go                    above eight hundred.          The geezer ponders the bad news. Estelle shakes her head and          goes inside the RV to inspect.                              ESTELLE (O.S.)                    There are mouse droppings in all                    the closets, Jerry.                              GEEZER                    I might take nine fifty.                              JERRY                    Nine hundred.          Sheeni lets out a squeal of delight. They all turn their          attention to where she has discovered a box full of squirming          PUPPIES.          She brings one of them over.                              SHEENI                    Look, Nick!          She shows him the ugly little pug. Short droopy ears, a tiny,          batlike face.                              NICK                    Great.                              SHEENI                        (to the geezer)                    How much?                              GEEZER                    Ten dollars.          Sheeni turns to Nick pleadingly. Nick fishes through his          wallet.                                                                            30.                                        NICK                    All I have is a Subway card with                    four stickers.                              GEEZER                    Sold.                              NICK                    No doubt close to the dog's actual                    value.                              SHEENI                    Oh, thank you, Nickie!          She plants a kiss on his lips and promptly turns her          attention to the dog, who licks her face affectionately. Nick          looks on with appropriate jealousy.                              SHEENI                    I'm going to name him Albert.                        (pronounced Al-bear)                              GEEZER                    That don't sound like any kind of                    name for a dog.                              SHEENI                        (scowling defensively)                    I'll have you know I've named him                    after the deceased French writer,                    Albert Camus. Author of L'Etranger                    and other works of existential                    brilliance.          The geezer looks to Nick with an expression of "I stand          corrected." Nick returns with a nod that says "You have no          idea."          INT. LINCOLN (MOVING) - DAY          The Lincoln now tows the rusty RV behind it. Nick watches          Sheeni continue to fawn over Albert.          INT. CAFE - DAY          Nick and Sheeni dine over coffee and a plate of donuts. Nick          watches her play with Albert in her lap.                              NICK                    Sheeni, I think I love you.                              SHEENI                    Well, your hormones certainly do.                    And oddly enough, my hormones like                    you too.                                                                            31.                    Sheeni releases Albert and the mutt paws at her legs. Her          eyes well up with tears, a few theatrical sniffles.                              NICK                    Sheeni? It's... It's okay. We can                    visit each other when I get a                    drivers license.                              SHEENI                    I hope that's true, but.. It's not                    that. It's...                              NICK                    What?                              SHEENI                    It's my parents. They're... I fear                    they will never allow me to keep                    Albert.                              NICK                    Oh.          Nick tries to hide his hurt. Picks up the paper with          annoyance.                              SHEENI                        (SNIFFLING)                    Nick, honey. Why don't you take                    Albert? He could be our love child.                              NICK                    No way.                              SHEENI                    At least you could consider it,                    honey. For me. I've never asked you                    for anything before.                              NICK                    Maybe I could take him, but I'd                    have certain conditions. I would                    have to be the only dad on the                    scene.                        (matter of fact)                    Trent would have to go.                              SHEENI                    That's asking a lot. Trent worships                    the ground I walk on.                              NICK                    It's your choice. Life with me and                    the dog you love. Or a pet-free                    existence with a shallow,                    egotistical poet.                                                                            32.                    Sheeni ponders this.                              SHEENI                    OK, Nick, I guess I don't have any                    choice. I'll break up with Trent.                    But if he kills himself it's on                    your conscience.                              NICK                    I accept full responsibility.                              SHEENI                    Well, good, that's settled.                              NICK                    Not quite, darling. I want one more                    thing.                                 SHEENI                    What?                              NICK                    What do you think?          A beat. Sheeni looks pensive. It fades to amusement.                              SHEENI                    Do you have a condom?          Nick lifts his eyebrows. Now we're getting somewhere!                              SHEENI                    It has to be in a safe place. A                    nice comfortable bed. With no                    threat of interruptions. And for                    relaxation and mood setting some                    good red wine, preferably French. I                    want a new condom. Not one that's                    been riding around in your wallet                    for years. Consumers rated them a                    while back. I suggest you get their                    top-rated brand. This may take some                    research in the library. I'd                    appreciate a photocopy of the                    article. Plus, for supplementary                    protection, I want a name brand                    spermicide.                              NICK                    How about I have a quick vasectomy                    just to be on the safe side?                              SHEENI                        (matter of fact)                    Well, Nick, that, of course, is up                    to you.                                                                                33.                    Nick looks displeased that his sarcasm didn't register.          EXT. MY GREEN HAVEN - DAY          Jerry hitches the trailer to the back of the Lincoln. Estelle          loads up the trunk.                              ESTELLE                    Nick, honey, say goodbye to Sheeni.                    It's time to hit the road.          Nick watches Sheeni kiss Albert. He looks less than enthused          at the thought of sloppy-seconds. Finally Sheeni hands Nick          the dog.          Nick and Sheeni stand there an awkward beat. Sheeni leans in          and gives him a peck on the cheek.                              SHEENI                        (whispering in his ear)                    Don't forget, darling. Red wine and                    Consumer Reports.          She smiles. They're the sexiest words Nick's ever heard.          He grabs her and kisses her deeply.          Jerry HONKS the horn and they break off.          INT. LINCOLN - DAY          Nick gets into the back seat with Albert. The dog whimpers.          Sheeni stands off to the side, waving at them both.                              JERRY                    Okay. Back to civilization!          He fires up the Lincoln and they kick up dust. Albert          slobbers all over Nick.          Nick sets him down and watches Sheeni in the side-mirror,          waving in the road.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I have a tall mountain to climb,                    with many treacherous glaciers                    still to cross, but finally, I have                    obtained a stamped entry visa to                    the paradise that lay beyond.          Sheeni watches the Lincoln and trailer recede toward the          horizon.                              NICK (V.O.)                    In short... I have a very real                    prospect for getting laid.                                                     FADE TO BLACK.                                                                            34.                                        EXT. ESTELLE'S HOME - DAY          The Lincoln and RV slow to a stop outside the home.          I/E. LINCOLN - DAY          They all stare at the empty space where the Chevy-Nova used          to be. Jerry gets a smirk of satisfaction.                              JERRY                    You see that, Babe. They caved.          EXT. ESTELLE'S HOME - DAY          Jerry backs the RV into the drive as Nick helps his mother          with her belongings and they enter the house. The RV scrapes          its way through a few overhanging tree branches before Jerry          decides it's parked.          There comes a woman's scream from inside the house.          INT. ESTELLE'S LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER          Jerry joins Nick and Estelle in the doorway. There in the          living room, surrounded by all the furniture pushed neatly          against the walls, is Jerry's camouflaged Chevy.                              NICK                    I guess they didn't cave after all.          Jerry pops the hood and lets out a whistle.                              JERRY                    Boy, everything's complete. There's                    even water in the windshield                    washer.                              ESTELLE                    How did they ever get it in here?                    My front door can't be more than                    three feet wide.                              JERRY                    Looks like they brought it in piece                    by piece and then reassembled it.                              ESTELLE                    But it would take an army of                    mechanics to do all that!          Jerry slams down the hood.                              JERRY                    Or a navy, Babe. Or a navy.                                                                            35.                    EXT. ESTELLE'S HOME - DAY          A cab pulls up in front of the house and Nick's sister,          Joanie gets out of the back. She tips the driver, and as she          crosses the front yard, gawks at the RV sitting in the drive.          INT. ESTELLE'S HOME - HALLWAY - DAY          Nick's door is ajar. Nick pulls up his trousers and comes          into the hall. He listens to the voices downstairs.          STAIRS - CONTINUOUS          He comes down the first few steps and is met with the sight          of his mother and sister staring up at him.                              ESTELLE                    Nick, your sister came all the way                    from LA for a weekend visit!          Nick and Joanie meet eyes. She lifts a quizzical eyebrow.                                NICK                    Stellar.          INT. ESTELLE'S DINING ROOM - NIGHT          Albert chews on Jerry's sock under the table.                              JERRY                    Can someone do something about the                    mutt?          The family dines over take-out fried chicken. Jerry kicks          Albert and the puppy goes tumbling across the floor.                              ESTELLE                    I don't know, Jerry. Can someone do                    something about the monstrosity                    dripping oil in my living room?                              JOANIE                    Yeah, I noticed that. What's the                    story?                              NICK                    Jerry tried to outsmart a few                    sailors. It's been an amusing saga.          Jerry contemplates smacking Nick upside the head, but decides          against it when he discerns Estelle is probably in her son's          corner.                              JERRY                    OK, Babe, I guess when I come back                    from my next haul I'll just have to                    take it apart piece by piece.                                                                            36.                    Estelle takes a deep breath and tries to let the matter rest.                              JOANIE                    Up to anything scandalous these                    days, Nick?                              NICK                    I was going to ask you the same                    thing.                              JOANIE                    What do you mean?          Nick puffs out his chest. Joanie looks down at her boob-job.                              JOANIE                    Not that it's any of your business,                    but I've taken a class to improve                    my posture.          Nick rolls his eyes.                              ESTELLE                    I think Joanie looks very nice. And                    she has a new boyfriend too.                              NICK                    Did you meet him in posture class?                              ESTELLE                    Nick met a nice girl in Ukiah.                              JOANIE                    Really now? Are you on each others'                    Myspace pages?                              NICK                    Hardly. Sheeni believes the                    internet will be the end of                    literacy.                              JOANIE                    So it's to be a torturous snail                    mail exchange, huh?                              NICK                    More like the occassional collect                    call.                              ESTELLE                    Collect calls? And just who do you                    expect to pay for that?          Jerry kicks the dog away from his sock. Albert growls and          prepares for another charge.                                                                              37.                                        JERRY                    Hey, Nick. Want to learn how a car                    is put together?                              NICK                    No, thanks. Auto mechanics doesn't                    interest me.                              JERRY                    See, Estelle, I told you the kid                    was queer-eeAAAAHHHHH!          Jerry lurches backward in the chair and lands on the floor,          revealing that Albert's teeth have a firm grasp on Jerry's          sack. The dog shakes the scrotum in his jaws.                              JERRY                    Damn it! The dog!          He tries to swipe Albert with his beer bottle, but the dog          retreats into the house, leaving Jerry rolling around on the          floor.          Joanie and Nick exchange a smile. The phone rings. Estelle          gets up to answer it.                              ESTELLE                    Nick, put the dog in the basement.          INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT          Nick stoops to secure the leash around the piping. He regards          the little pug. Albert WHIMPERS and cocks his head.          The door at the top of the stairs opens and Estelle descends          the first few steps.                              ESTELLE                    Nick, that was your father on the                    phone. He lost his job.                              NICK                    How unlike him.                              ESTELLE                    Watch your smart mouth. This means                    the end of child support.                              NICK                    Which means...                              ESTELLE                    You'll have to start going to...                        (DISTORTED)                    Oakland Public School.          In Nick's eyes the fear of a sentence worse than death.                                                                            38.                    INT. ESTELLE'S HOME - HALLWAY - DAY          Morning comes through the drapes. The phone on the side table          is ringing. Nick emerges from his room and picks it up.                              NICK                    Hello?                              OPERATOR (V.O.)                    Will you accept a collect call from                    Sheeni Saunders?                              NICK                    Absolutely.          Nick looks around, opens the door to the linen closet and          darts inside.          INT. CLOSET - CONTINUOUS          BLACKNESS. Then Nick pulls the cord and the naked bulb kicks          on.                              SHEENI (V.O.)                    Nick?                              NICK                    Sheeni? How are you?                              SHEENI (V.O.)                    I'm well, Nickie.                              NICK                    And how is Trent? Not too suicidal                    I hope.          INT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - DAY          Sheeni relaxes on a love seat, cradling the phone with her          shoulder as she eats grapes from a bowl. WE INTERCUT.                              SHEENI                    Of course, he was disconsolate, but                    we talked all day and he's come to                    see this as an opportunity for                    growth. Oh, and Nick, Trent wanted                    me to tell you that he bears you no                    ill will.                              NICK                    Nor I him. I wish him all the best.                              SHEENI                    His parents are sending him to a                    French speaking boarding school                    this year. He's sure to get along                    there. So how is my darling Albert?                                                                    39.                                        NICK                    Well, though he's taken a disliking                    to Jerry.                              SHEENI                    And you, Nickie? How are you?                              NICK                    I regret, Love of My Life, my                    father has lost his job and I will                    now be forced to go to public                    school.                              SHEENI                    How unfortunate. What did he do?                              NICK                    He's a writer - sort of. He writes                    advertising copy.                              SHEENI                    Really?                        (pensive beat)                    Nick, I suggest we look at your                    father's firing as a blessing in                    disguise.                              NICK                    How so?                              SHEENI                    I propose we get your father a job                    here in Ukiah and you can come and                    live with him.                              NICK                    Brilliant. Not that I'm fond of                    Ukiah, but I'd live in a drainage                    culvert to be with you.                              SHEENI                    Oh, Nickie. Now, I happen to know                    Progressive Plywood is looking for                    an assistant editor. It would be                    perfect for your father.          Nick furrows his brow with skepticism.                              NICK                    I had no idea you had knowledge of                    the employment opportunities of                    trade magazines.                              SHEENI                    The owner is the father of a friend                    of mine.                                                                            40.                                        NICK                    Anyone I know?                              SHEENI                    Okay, it's Trent's father. So what?                              NICK                    So why would Trent want to help my                    father move to Ukiah?                              SHEENI                    I told you, darling. Trent harbors                    you no ill will. I will have him                    call your father up pretending to                    be a head hunter.                              NICK                    Very well, but I don't see how I am                    to live with him. My mother values                    my indentured servitude.                              SHEENI                    You must influence her to send you                    away. I feel this will require                    being in a constant state of open                    revolt on your part.                              NICK                    What do you want me to do?                              SHEENI                    I propose you rent the film Rebel                    Without a Cause as soon as                    possible. You must emulate James                    Dean...          CLOSE ON her GLOSSY LIPS.                              SHEENI                    ...You must be bad, Nickie. Be                    very, very bad.          A glint of resolve in Nick's eyes.                              NICK                    I will, darling. I will!          And in pre-lap comes the DING DONG of the doorbell.          INT. ESTELLE'S LIVING ROOM - DAY          Joanie and Nick sit in the Chevy Nova watching Rebel Without          a Cause through the windshield.                                                                             41.                    Estelle enters the living room with tears streaming down her          face and a police officer, LANCE WESCOTT, 45, with a flattop,          watery red eyes, and assorted guns, flashlights, and billy          clubs.                              ESTELLE                    Kids? This is Officer Lance                    Wescott. He has some bad news.          After a beat, Nick rolls down the window.                               LANCE                    Your mother's friend Jerry had a                    heart attack in a bar in Dallas.                    He's dead.          Estelle sobs, but isn't joined by her children. She turns to          Lance.                              ESTELLE                    Will they be sending his                    belongings?                              LANCE                    Uh... I'm afraid they've already                    been sent. To his wife.          Beat. Nick looks to Joanie. They both look to their mother.                              ESTELLE                    His... His wife?!?          She bursts into tears and collapses into Officer Lance          Wescott's arms.                              LANCE                    There, there, Ma'am. It's going to                    be okay.          Nick watches his mother sobbing against the cop's chest for a          beat before he rolls up the window and he and Joanie resume          watching the movie.          Estelle's cries of despair become...          INT. NICK'S ROOM - NIGHT          ....the cries of ecstasy coming through the wall along with          the repeated exclamation of Lance's name.          Nick rolls over in bed. Bloodshot eyes. He hauls himself out          of bed.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I have decided to create a                    supplementary persona named                    FranÁois.                                                                               42.                    INT. BATHRROOM - NIGHT          He stands in front of the mirror and leans in.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Like a Parisian James Dean, he will                    be bold, reckless, contemptuous of                    authority, and irresistible to                    women.          PUSH IN on his reflection, as a moustache appears. Then a          beret and black and white striped shirt. Then a cigarette          holder and Thompson machine-gun. And FRAN«OIS is born.                              NICK                    Hello, FranÁois. I think you'll do                    nicely.                              FRAN«OIS                    Oui, I am ze perfect match pour une                    Francophile for ze likes of Sheeni                    Saunders. I have ze calculating                    intelligence...                              NICK                    ...the itchy trigger finger...          FranÁois cocks the machine-gun.                       NICK                            FRAN«OIS          ...and cojone grandes!            ...and cojone grandes!          INT. BATHRROOM - DAY          Nick opens the door. Lance and Estelle shower behind the          frosted glass.                              NICK                    Damn! Those hippos are taking a                    shower together. How repulsive!          He slams the door.          INT. BASEMENT - DAY          Nick comes down the stairs. He reaches the water heater and          starts spinning the knob.          INT. BATHROOM - DAY          The forms of Estelle and Lance in the shower can be made out.          They both start screaming as they are blasted with cold          water. The blobs of their bodies press up against the glass.                                                                               43.                    INT. BASEMENT - DAY          Albert looks up at Nick and lets out a BARK. Nick smiles and          bends down to undo his leash.          INT. ESTELLE'S HOME - HALLWAY -DAY          Lance bursts from the bathroom in his boxers, looking for          blood. He hears the sound of paws climbing the stairs. Albert          comes hurtling around he corner, almost losing his footing on          the hardwood floor.          ALBERT'S POV          as we lunge at Lance's crotch.          EXT. ESTELLE'S HOME - DAY          A BLOODCURDLING SCREAM rises up from the home.          INT. ESTELLE'S KITCHEN - DAY          Estelle hands Lance an ice-pack and he applies it to his          injury. Nick wanders in and takes his seat at the table.                              NICK                    Where's Joanie?                              ESTELLE                    She's sleeping in.                              NICK                    No doubt. I don't think anyone got                    a wink last night with all that                    racket.          Lance looks at him, seething inwardly. He glances to Estelle.                              NICK                    I thought there were laws in this                    city against illicit cohabitation.                    Or are they just another big                    policeman's joke?                              LANCE                    Kid, you are asking for trouble.                              NICK                    What are you going to do? Shoot me                    with your gun?          Lance lunges across the table.                              ESTELLE                    No, Lance! Nickie, go to your room.          Nick flings down his napkin and heads for the front door.                                                                            44.                                        ESTELLE                    Where do you think you're going?                              NICK                    Out!          The screen door slams behind him.          INT. GARAGE - DAY          The garage door rattles upward, illuminating the cardboard          box of paint supplies. Nick bends down and picks up a can of          aerosol spray-paint. He shakes it.          EXT. ESTELLE'S HOME - DAY          Nick sprays the trailer in wide sweeping motions.          EXT. ESTELLE'S HOME - EVENING          Joanie and Nick sun bathe in the lawn chairs. Estelle stands          over them.                              ESTELLE                    What the in God's name has gotten                    into you?!? Jerry paid good money                    for that trailer!                              NICK                    And just what makes you so sure it                    was me?                              ESTELLE                    Who the hell else would write such                    a thing?          Estelle gestures to the trailer, which we can see has been          defaced with the words GOD'S PERFECT ASSHOLE.                              ESTELLE                    And just how do you explain this?          She holds up a semi-nude Polaroid of Lacey.                              NICK                    That's Lacey.                              ESTELLE                    And just who the hell is Lacey?                              NICK                    Dad's girlfriend.          Estelle stares at the photo, face contorted by revulsion and          envy.                                                                            45.                                        ESTELLE                    His girlfriend? What are you doing                    with a picture like this of your                    father's girlfriend?                              JOANIE                    C'mon, Mom, all boys his age have                    pictures like that to...                              ESTELLE                    When I want your opinion on raising                    my child, I'll ask for it.                        (to Nick; morbidly                         CURIOUS)                    And what's this Lacey tart like?                              NICK                    Well, she likes fast cars and takes                    a lot of naps with dad.          Super:             (True)                              NICK                    She likes to sit on Dad's lap while                    he eats and blow in his ear.          Super:           (Not true)                              NICK                    And she calls him "Thunder Rod" and                    he calls her "Sugar Puss."          Super:       (True; believe it or not)          At this point Estelle has turned bright red.                              ESTELLE                    You are confined to your room until                    school starts, you sick pervert.          She stalks off. Joanie glances over at Nick with amusement.                              NICK                    I wish I was leaving with you                    tonight.                              JOANIE                    Your day will come. I never thought                    mine would, but it did. Was all                    that stuff about Lacey and Dad made                    up?                              NICK                    I wish. Did you really take a                    posture class?                                                                               46.                                        JOANIE                    Implants. I wanted them all my                    life.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - DAY          A knock on the door. Lefty enters the room and Nick pulls the          headphones off his ears.                              NICK                    Hey, Lefty.                              LEFTY                    What's with your mom, Nick? She                    gave me the third degree just to                    come up here.                              NICK                    I vandalized Jerry's trailer and                    she found my picture of Lacey.                              LEFTY                    Well, good thing I stole this from                    the bookstore then.          Lefty unzips his backpack and produces a large hardbound          volume titled Lovemaking for Advanced Gourmets.                              LEFTY                    I was reading it all last night.                    Boy, having sex is a lot more                    complicated than I thought. Did you                    know you were supposed to stick                    your pinkie in her bumhole?                               NICK                    You lie.                              LEFTY                    No way, man. Here, I got the page                    marked.          Lefty flops down on the sofa next to Nick and the two of them          flip through the manual.                              NICK                    Yeah, but I'm not sure I should try                    this on Sheeni. I think this book                    is for people who've been married                    so long they're disgusted by the                    sight of each other.          They regard the illustrated figures of men and women in          various states of foreplay.                                                                            47.                                        LEFTY                    Are we really supposed to be                    that... uh... big?                              NICK                    I think these illustrations are                    disproportionate for emphasis.                              LEFTY                    Maybe we should compare.                              NICK                    Perhaps we should. Just for the                    sake of research.          Nick and Lefty get to their feet and stand opposite each          other like a pair of duelists. They simultaneously undo their          belts and pull their pants and underwear to their feet.          They straighten. Lefty's eyes fall to Nick's crotch. He gets          a hint of concern in his expression.          Nick stares at Lefty's, tilting his head to compensate for          the curvature.          The door behind them opens and Estelle appears toting Nick's          lunch. She lets out a scream. The boys turn to face her,          pants around their ankles.                                ESTELLE                    PERVERTS!          She hurls the tray of food at them. Lefty bolts. Nick hastily          tries to pull up his pants as his mother chases him around          the room, grabbing up objects and hurling them his way.                              ESTELLE                    FRIGGIN' GODDAMN PERVERTS!          INT. ESTELLE'S HOME - HALLWAY - DAY          Lefty emerges from the room and takes off.                              ESTELLE                    You won't get away! I'm calling                    your parents! PERVERTS!          Nick bursts from the room, desperately trying to buckle his          pants. Estelle is hot on his heels, wielding the hardbound          sex manual as they round the bannister.                              ESTELLE                    In my house! How dare you!          She catches up to Nick at the top of the stairs and cracks          him upside the head.                                                                              48.                    He loses his balance and goes tumbling down the staircase,          letting out a moan that stutters as his head hits each step.          He comes crashing into the foyer, landing on the slate.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - EVENING          Nick watches out the window.          Estelle can be seen animatedly describing the events to          LEFTY'S PARENTS. Lefty glances up at Nick and gives a pained          expression.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - LATER          Nick lays on his belly reading No Exit. He looks up when he          hears the sound of footsteps in the hall. Shadows appear          beneath the crack in the door.          Estelle opens the door and looks down at him.                              ESTELLE                    Nick, I just want you to know that                    I've thought about it, and I've                    accepted that you are gay.                              NICK                    Thanks a pantsful, but I'm not gay.                    If you're really concerned though,                    I suggest you get me a room at the                    Ukiah Motel 6. If anyone can                    straighten me out, it's Sheeni.          She looks at him dubiously and hands out the phone.                              ESTELLE                    That sounds more like a job for                    your father. Here, he wants to talk                    to you.          Nick takes the phone from her hands and she closes the door.                              NICK                        (into phone)                    Hello?          INT. GEORGE TWISP'S HOME - NIGHT                               GEORGE                    So what's this I hear about you                    being gay?          George sprawls on the couch, cradling the phone with one          hand, and holding a beer on his stomach with the other. WE          INTERCUT.                                                                            49.                                        NICK                    What's this I hear about you being                    unemployed?                              GEORGE                    Yes, but my condition is only                    temporary. I can change it.                              NICK                    I hope you do. We need the money.                              GEORGE                    Nick, there are more important                    things in life than money.                              NICK                    I know, Dad. Like getting a good                    education. And being able to                    respect your parents.                              GEORGE                    I've got two words for you. Safe                    sex.                              NICK                    Thanks, Dad.          He hangs up the phone.          EXT. OAKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOL - DAY          Intimidating PUNK MUSIC. School bus doors fold open and Nick          steps off. The MUSIC pounds from the boom box resting on the          hood of the Mustang GT where a pack of SKINHEADS follow Nick          with their eyes.          Nick walks past them, glancing over at the assembly of ASIAN          GANGSTERS glaring at him from their perch on the wall.          INT. OAKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOL - HALLWAY - DAY          Nick pushes past a fight where two kids throw each other          against the lockers. He smiles at a pair of PUNK ROCK GIRLS.          One of them flips him off. Nick heads into...          INT. BOYS ROOM - DAY          And as Nick steps into the bathroom, we follow his eyes...          SWISH TO... a CRIP selling a bag of dope to a GOTH FRESHMAN.          SWISH TO... a LATIN KING vandalizing the wall with the words          LATIN KINGS WERE HERE.          SWISH TO... a pack of WIGGERS as one of them gives the others          a butterfly knife show-and-tell.                                                                            50.                    INT. OAKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOL - HALLWAY - DAY          WE DRIFT down the corridor where Nick dials at a pay phone.                              FEMALE CASEWORKER (V.O.)                    Office of Child Welfare.                              NICK                    Hello, uh... My name is Nick. Nick                    Twisp. My father's name is George                    Twisp.                              FEMALE CASEWORKER (V.O.)                    Has he hit you, Nick?                              NICK                    Not lately. But he's missed several                    child support payments, and is not                    looking for work. So now I'm going                    to public school in Oakland.                              FEMALE CASEWORKER (V.O.)                    Not the Oakland schools!                              NICK                    Yes. And he's had an offer from a                    respectable publication in Ukiah.                              FEMALE CASEWORKER (V.O.)                    Don't you worry, young man. I'll                    get right on this. Don't worry.                    We'll light a fire under that                    deadbeat!          EXT. OAKLAND - DAY          Nick walks Albert down the sidewalk. Lefty crosses the street          to him and they walk together.                              NICK                    Hey, Lefty. How's it hangin'?                              LEFTY                    You'll never believe who called me,                    Nick. Millie Filbert!                              NICK                    What?!? Why?                              LEFTY                    I dunno. She just called and asked                    if I wanted to hang out tonight. I                    didn't want to ask why. I need to                    find someplace for us to get it on.          Albert squats to poop in someone's yard. The boys pause to          wait for him.                                                                            51.                                        NICK                    You can use my house if you want.                                LEFTY                    Really?                              NICK                    Sure. My Mom and Lance are going to                    a movie and I'm planning on                    stealing Jerry's trailer and                    torching it in a parking lot, so                    you'll have the whole house to                    yourself.                                LEFTY                    Right on.          Albert finishes his business and they resume walking.                              NICK                    So where you headed anyway?                              LEFTY                    Dr. Browerly's office. My parents                    are making me see a shrink now.                              NICK                    He asking lots of weird questions?                              LEFTY                    You bet your left nut he is! He                    asked if I had any lustful thoughts                    toward my sister.                              NICK                    What did you tell him?                              LEFTY                    I told him about beating off once                    with her brassiere.                              NICK                    What did you tell him that for?                              LEFTY                    You don't know what it's like. I                    think they release chemicals in                    their office to make you tell the                    truth.                              NICK                    Sounds like a professional. He must                    be very expensive.                              LEFTY                    I wouldn't know. The bill goes to                    your house.                                                                            52.                                        NICK                    My mom is paying for your therapy?                              LEFTY                    I guess so. It was your cyclops I                    was staring at.                              NICK                    Yes, but it was your idea.                              LEFTY                    That's true. Gee, maybe I am gay.                              NICK                    Don't be retarded. We were doing                    research for our girlfriends.                              LEFTY                    Oh, right. I forgot. That's a                    relief. So you'll leave the door                    open?                               NICK                    Yeah, just don't blow your load on                    my sheets.                              LEFTY                    Thanks a pantsful, Nick.                              NICK                    Don't mention it. See ya, Lefty.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - DAY          Nick hunches over his desk doing homework, headphones over          his ears. Estelle knocks and enters. Nick pulls the          headphones down around his neck.                              ESTELLE                    Lance and I are walking down to the                    movie theater. There's TV dinners                    in the freezer. Oh, and Nick - your                    father got a job in Ukiah.                              NICK                    Mom? Do you think it might be a                    good idea if I moved in with him?                              ESTELLE                    Nick, that just wouldn't work. I                    depend on that child support money                    to eat.                              NICK                    But shouldn't you depend on the                    child support money for, you                    know... child support?                                                                               53.                                        ESTELLE                    Watch your smart mouth.          She slams the door.          EXT. ESTELLE'S HOME - DAY                              NICK (V.O.)                    The plan is simple.          Nick places two full cannisters of gasoline into the trunk of          the Lincoln.          Nick's behind the wheel, backing up the car.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Tow Jerry's trailer to a remote                    parking lot in Berkeley and burn it                    to the ground.          The hitch ball grinds under the trailer socket.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Thus evicting myself from my                    mother's clutches and into the arms                    of My One And Only Love.          Nick fires up the V-8 engine and shifts into drive, pulling          forward. He cuts across the lawn.                              NICK (V.O.)                    FranÁois wanted to torch the                    trailer where it sits, but I've                    convinced him a parking lot will                    reduce the risk of collateral                    damage.          The trailer clips the corner of the house. Chunks of stucco          fall and the galvanized downspout shudders and writhes,          collapsing the long rain gutter running across the front of          the home.          Nick guns it, and with a lurch the trailer splinters free. He          dodges the birch tree, but plows over the smaller Asian pear.          The Lincoln bounces the curb and catapults into the street,          the trailer weaving back and forth, smashing parked cars.          INT. LINCOLN (MOVING) - DAY          Nick cruises along sedately. He plays with the radio and          settles on the Sex Pistols.          He looks up just in time to see the red light and slams on          the brakes, nearly jack-knifing the trailer.          The light turns green and the car lumbers up the long hill.                                                                            54.                    EXT. BERKELEY - DAY          Nick hits the bump in the road right before the stop sign.          The car bottoms out. The trailer bounces up, coming          unhitched.          I/E. LINCOLN (MOVING) - DAY          Nick hits the gas and the Lincoln suddenly surges forward,          released from the great weight.          Nick smiles. Behind him, through the rear window, the trailer          can be seen receding into the distance. He glances into the          mirror and spots the trailer plunging down the hill.          Then he crashes into the Fiat parked in front of him at the          intersection. The gas tank on the Fiat cracks, spurting fuel          onto the pavement.          EXT. BERKELEY - DAY          Nick leaps from the Lincoln and watches open-mouthed as the          vehicular ballet unfolds.          Down the hill - the speeding trailer sideswipes a delivery          van and goes into a spin. The BOHEMIANS sipping espresso at          the outdoor cafÈ look up to see the words GOD'S PERFECT          ASSHOLE bearing down on them.          The delivery van veers out of control. The Bohemians scatter.          The truck runs over a fire hydrant and smashes its way          through the patio furniture and into the cafÈ.          A geyser of water plumes where the hydrant once stood.          The trailer resumes its downward plunge toward the busy cross          street below.          KWOMP! Nick turns to see the still-restive Lincoln part from          the Fiat and begin to roll down the hill after its partner.                              NICK                    Oh no! I forgot to set the brake!          The DRIVER OF THE FIAT bolts after the accelerating Lincoln,          but as he realizes the futility, slows to a jog.          The driver turns to see he forgot to set his own brake, and          desperately rolls out of the way of the Fiat.          MOTORISTS slam on their brakes as the speeding trailer          crosses four lanes of traffic. It jumps the curb crashing          into the plate glass window of a gourmet sausage shop.          A cop car lights up and speeds into the intersection, just in          time to get clipped by the Lincoln.          The cop car goes into a tail spin, smashing into a chicken          transport. The flock of feathered inmates fly for freedom.                                                                            55.                              The Lincoln continues to generate momentum on its slalom run,          thundering past the stopped cars and into the wrecked          building like a runaway express train.          The gas cannisters in the trunk ignite and the sausage shop          explodes, the trailer's two propane tanks going off like          bombs.          The Fiat comes flying into the flaming mess and blasts apart,          sending shards of metal and sausage links to go raining down          on the spectators.          The blaze lights the trail of gasoline left by the broken          fuel tank and a stream of liquid fire races up the hill,          ending at Nick's feet.          Nick takes a moment to watch in horror as dark plumes of          smoke billow into the sky, the geyser of water, the storm of          dazed chickens. He turns around and does his best to          inconspicuously walk OUT OF FRAME.          INT. ESTELLE'S KITCHEN - NIGHT          WE FOLLOW Nick as he comes through the front door and is met          with the sight of his mother and Lance staring at him from          the kitchen table.          The Berkeley fire rages on the television.                              NICK                    Hey, Mom! How was the movie?                              LANCE                    You little shit. You stole your                    mother's dead ex-boyfriend's                    trailer and set a five million                    dollar fire.                              NICK/FRANCOIS                    I refuse to stand for such                    allegations!                              ESTELLE                    Nick! They have a description of                    the arsonist!          Lance flips through his notebook and reads.                              LANCE                    A white teenage male, about five-                    seven. A hundred and twenty five                    pounds, dark hair, spotted                    complexion...                              NICK                    That could be anyone.                                                                             56.                                        LANCE                    He was also wearing a tee shirt                    with the words: I'm single, let's                    mingle.          Nick glances down at the lettering on his shirt. Oops.          Estelle bursts into tears.                              ESTELLE                    What am I going to do? My only son                    will be sent to prison!          Lance takes Estelle in his arms and smirks at Nick.                              ESTELLE                    Oh, Lance, can't something be done?                              LANCE                    Tell you what, Estelle. I'll make                    out that Nick reported the car and                    trailer stolen before the fire.                    It'll be less suspicious. But I                    could take some serious heat for                    this.                              ESTELLE                    Oh, Lance! You're wonderful! How                    can I possibly repay you?                              LANCE                    I'll think of something, Estelle.          He gives her ass a playful squeeze. She lets out a giggle.                              LANCE                    Now the kid better not be here when                    the detectives start coming around.                    I'd send him away for a while. A                    long while.                               ESTELLE                    He can go make his father's life                    miserable!          Nick suddenly brightens.                              NICK                    But I like it here.                              ESTELLE                    You're going, buster!          She snatches up the phone and dials. George's groggy voice          can be heard answering. Estelle screams into the phone.                                                                            57.                                        ESTELLE                    You're son just burned down half of                    Berkeley! Come and get the little                    brat!                              LANCE                    Wait a minute, Estelle, aren't you                    going to punish him? I'd say he                    deserves a good hiding.                              ESTELLE                        (cupping the squawking                         PHONE)                    He's too much for me anymore. Can                    you do it, Lance, darling?          Lance gives Nick another smirk.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - NIGHT          Nick let's out a yelp of pain as Lance brings a broken tree          limb against his bare bottom. WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!                              NICK (V.O.)                    I don't scream much. I am making a                    painful sacrifice for The Woman Of                    My Dreams. My suffering possesses a                    beauty which elevates it above this                    sordid scene.          With the final blow the tree limb cracks in half. Nick looks          over his shoulder.                              NICK                    Are you through?          Lance looks around the room. Picks up an umbrella and          considers it in his hand. Nick hangs his head.          EXT. ESTELLE'S HOME - NIGHT          We find Nick waiting in the drive with a pile of suitcases          beside him.                              LEFTY (O.S.)                    Psst. Nick.          Nick finds Lefty lurking in the shrubs that divide his          mother's lawn from the neighbor's. He limps to his friend.                              NICK                    I was wondering what happened to                    you. Did you get to blow your wad?                              LEFTY                    No. I did not get to blow my wad.                                                                            58.                                        NICK                    Did you get interrupted?                                 LEFTY                    No. Worse.                              NICK                    What's worse than being                    interrupted?                              LEFTY                    Millie is a lesbian.                                 NICK                    WHAT?!?                              LEFTY                    The only reason she wanted to hang                    out with me is because she heard                    that I showed you my slinky and                    thought I was gay too.                              NICK                    Sorry, man. I didn't have a great                    night either.                              LEFTY                    Well, I dunno what you're gonna do,                    but I'm giving suicide serious                    consideration this time.                              NICK                    Or you could just fake it and then                    hide out in Ukiah with me. Then                    later come back and maybe Millie                    Filbert will boink you out of pity.                              LEFTY                    Hey, that's not a bad idea. Thanks                    a pantsful, Nick.          A pair of headlights swing into the drive and Lefty ducks out          of sight. The headlights turn out to belong to George Twisp's          BMW.          The driver's side window rolls down to reveal Nick's dad.          Lacey leans over George's seat to wave at Nick through the          window and show him some of her cleavage.                              LACEY                    Hiya, Nick!                              NICK                    Hi, Lacey. Hi, Dad.          The trunk pops open.                                                                              59.                                        NICK                    Is there any way I could sit up                    front with Lacey, Dad? Mom's                    boyfriend beat me pretty badly.                              GEORGE                    Sorry, Nick. In this car, faggots                    get the back seat.          I/E. BMW 325I (MOVING) - NIGHT          Nick is in the back, crowded in by his belongings and Albert.          They ride in tense silence until they pass the sight of the          fire, where FIRE FIGHTERS sift through the ash.                              GEORGE                    My God. Look what you've done.          Lacey turns to look at Nick over the seat. They share a          smile.          EXT. UKIAH - ESTABLISHING - DAY          Morning peers over the distant hills.          INT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - DAY          The BMW pulls into the drive of the house - a plywood          rectangle perched on cement blocks. Aluminum windows. A swamp          cooler on the shallow-pitched roof. They all emerge from the          car.                              GEORGE                    Go ahead and bring your stuff                    inside. Lacey and I need a nap.                    C'mon, Sugar Puss.          Nick watches longingly as George leads Lacey into the home.          As he places his hand on Lacey's ass, he looks back over his          shoulder and throws a smug look in Nick's direction.                              NICK (V.O.)                    What a competitive asshole.          EXT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - DAY          Nick reaches the door and gently knocks. But it's Sheeni's          ogre of a father who answers the door and stares at Nick          sternly.                              NICK                    Uhm, hello. Is Sheeni available?                              MR. SAUNDERS                    She most certainly is not. As a                    matter of fact, we've banned you                    from her life, Nick Twisp.                                                                             60.                                           NICK                    Excuse me?                              MR. SAUNDERS                    Trent Preston informed us that not                    only were you moving here to pursue                    my daughter, but that you're not                    even mentally-handicapped, and thus                    molested my wife in the shower of                    sound mind and body.                              NICK                    That rat-fink-fuck!                              MR. SAUNDERS                    You watch your language. This is a                    Christian home. We're sending                    Sheeni to Les …cole des Arts and                    Literatures in Santa Cruz.                              NICK                    Santa Cruz! But she'll be miserable                    without me. We're in love.          The ogre snorts in condescending amusement.                              MR. SAUNDERS                    Then I guess it's a good thing                    Trent is going there too. She'll                    have someone to console her.          And with that, Mr. Saunders slams the door so hard in Nick's          face that the entire two story mobile home rocks back and          forth.          EXT. WOODS - DAY          Nick makes his way past the arbor, crestfallen. Sheeni          emerges from the shadows in a hooded sweatshirt over a          lavender dress.                              SHEENI                    Nick! Oh, Nick!          Nick lights up at the sight of her and they embrace. They          kiss passionately. He works his way to her neck and starts to          reach under the sweatshirt.                              SHEENI                    I had to sneak away just to see                    you.                              NICK                    That's okay. I had to burn down                    half of Berkley.                                                                               61.                                         SHEENI                    That was you? Nick, are you out of                    your mind?                              NICK                    I felt a grand gesture was                    required, darling.          Sheeni's expression indicates that she is touched, but it          turns to troubled.                              SHEENI                    Nick, Trent betrayed us.                              NICK                    FranÁois will kill him later.                              SHEENI                    Who's FranÁois?                              NICK                    Nevermind. The point is we must                    elope.          Sheeni takes a step back at the notion.                              SHEENI                    I don't know, Nick. I do love you,                    but I don't want to spend the rest                    of our lives on the run.                              NICK                    It's a small price to pay.          She takes another step back.                              SHEENI                    I... I can't, Nick.                              NICK                    What?!? But, Sheeni. I just don't                    get it. I'm here. Albert's here                    too.                              SHEENI                    I know, Nick, and I've been longing                    for you so. But we'll just have to                    find another way. The car is                    already packed.          Nick nods glumly and Sheeni seems overcome with remorse.                              SHEENI                    Nick Twisp, I will not allow you to                    accept defeat so easily!                              (MORE)                                                                            62.                                        SHEENI (cont'd)                    When the time is right, you must                    make your way to Santa Cruz. And                    then we will make love.          Nick lifts his gaze with renewed determination.                              NICK                    Or we could consummate here in the                    woods.                              SHEENI                    Did you bring the consumer reports?          Nick just blinks blankly.                              SHEENI                    Then it will have to be Santa Cruz.                    I really must go now, darling.                              NICK                    Well... Goodbye, Sheeni. I love                    you.                              SHEENI                    I love you too. Squeeze darling                    Albert for me.          She pulls her hood over her head. Nick watches wistfully as          she slips away into the forest.                               NICK (V.O.)                    I have endured a five million                    dollar beating for nothing.                        (BEAT)                    I have been stabbed. Stabbed in the                    back.          INT. GYMNASIUM - DAY          Two WRESTLERS slam down onto the mat below us.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I do not have a friend within a                    hundred miles. This is a daunting                    thought if you think about it.          WE TRACK down the row of other students, starting with a          THREE HUNDRED POUND BEHEMOTH. The row seems to descend in          weight class, until we reach Nick at the very end.                                                   CUT TO:          Nick does his best to not be pinned by DWAYNE CRAMPTON, who          out-weighs him by at least 40 pounds.                                                                            63.                    INT. BOYS SHOWER ROOM - DAY          Nick rinses off. Dwayne steps up to the shower head next to          his. Nick glances his way and quickly recoils at the          repelling landscape of rolling pink flab.                              DWAYNE                    Sorry `bout wompin' ya. I'm Dwayne.                              NICK                    Nick. Nick Twisp.                              DWAYNE                    Say, Nick? Why do you suppose guys                    got only two testicles when we got                    ten fingers and toes?                              NICK                    I could not begin to speculate.          Nick turns off his shower and slinks away.          EXT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - DAY          Nick comes up the dusty road toting his backpack.          On the porch of the Saunders' home, a handsome but somewhat          unkempt PAUL SAUNDERS, mid-twenties, blows cool jazz on a          beat-up trumpet.                              PAUL                    Hey, Nick. I'm Paul, Sheeni's                    brother.          Nick comes up the path to meet him.                              NICK                    Hello, Paul. How did you know my                    name?                                 PAUL                    We've met.                              NICK                    No we haven't.                              PAUL                    In a previous life.                                 NICK                    Oh.          Paul begins rolling a joint.                              PAUL                    Nice fire in Berkeley.                                                                              64.                                        NICK                    Did Sheeni tell you that was me?                              PAUL                    She didn't have to.                              NICK                    Why? Was I an arsonist in a                    previous life?                              PAUL                    No. But Sheeni was.                              NICK                    My God. What did she burn?                              PAUL                    Men. Men and boys.          Paul hands the joint out to Nick. He regards it dubiously.          INT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - DAY          An empty hallway. PSYCHEDELIC SOUND plays.          Nick comes around the corner, literally floating down the          hall. He breaststrokes through the air toward us.          INT. GEORGE AND LACEY'S ROOM - DAY          He passes just under the door frame and comes down, feet          touching carpet. He looks into the mirror and finds FranÁois          lounging on the bed behind him.                              NICK                    My God, FranÁois! What was Paul                    smoking?                              FRANCOIS                    Shut up and go with it.          Nick shrugs and opens the top dresser drawer, revealing          Lacey's lingerie.          Nick starts dancing, doing a strip tease for himself. WE PAN          AROUND the room, and when we reach Nick again, he's wearing          nothing but a pair of Lacey's thongs.          He models in front of the mirror, regarding his bulging T.E.          He removes a C-cup bra and holds it high. He uses the elastic          straps to fasten the bra onto his head.          He starts dancing up a storm to the cheesy Vengaboys          rendition of BRAZIL in his head. Waving arms. Bicycling leg          movements.                                                                            65.                    As he backs up we can see that George is watching him from          the doorway, a Safeway bag in his arms. Lacey peers over his          shoulder. The MUSIC halts abruptly.                              GEORGE                    What the... What the hell?          Nick gives a startled jump.                              LACEY                    Is..? Is that my bra?          INT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - NIGHT          Nick sits at the table, considerably more clothed and sober.          George works on a jug of zin.                              GEORGE                    We're calling that fruitcake                    display strike one. Two more                    strikes and it's back to Oakland.          Nick nods. The front door opens and MRS. CRAMPTON enters with          Safeway bags of her own. Dwayne follows close behind her.                                 DWAYNE                    Hey, Nick!          Albert barks and jumps at Dwayne's feet.                              NICK                    Uh... Hi, Dwayne. What are you                    doing here?                              DWAYNE                    Ain't ya heard. We're gonna be                    roommates! Ain't that zinky?          Nick looks to his father in horror as Dwayne goes chasing          after the dog.                              MRS. CRAMPTON                    Dwayne, get yer dumb ass back here                    and take yer sleepin' pill. You                    must be Nick. Wash yer hands, boy.                    I don't serve two shifts.                              NICK                    Uh... Dad? What's going on?                              GEORGE                    Mrs. Crampton's our new                    housekeeper. I'm renting out the                    spare room to her seeing as her                    camper has been deemed unfit for                    human habitation.                                                                               66.                                        NICK                    What about Dwayne?                              GEORGE                    He's bunking with you.                              NICK                    Dad!                              GEORGE                    You working on strike two?          Nick leans back and glares in silent protest as everyone          takes their seats at the table.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - NIGHT          Nick tries to shut out the sound of Dwayne getting into the          creaky bed behind him.                              DWAYNE                    Say, Nick. You wanna sleep in bed                    with me? It'll be tons warmer.                              NICK                    No thank you, Dwayne.          A knock at the door. Lacey enters.                              LACEY                    This came for you, Nick.          Nick sits up in bed to receive the letter. As Lacey leaves,          he tears through the wax seal and unfolds its contents.                              DWAYNE                    Is it a love letter, Nick?                              NICK                    I don't know, it's in French. Say,                    why does your mother give you                    sleeping pills?                              DWAYNE                    `Cuz otherwise I'd stay up all                    night playin' Nintendo Wii. Say,                    Nick, can I walk Albert?                              NICK                    I don't know. Dogs don't grow on                    trees.                              DWAYNE                    Pleeease, Nick?                                                                            67.                                        NICK                    Okay. But it will cost you one                    sleeping pill per walk.                              DWAYNE                    Whatchu want them pills for, Nick?                              NICK                    You never know when sedatives will                    come in handy.          EXT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - DAY          Nick emerges from the home. He makes his way down the road.          EXT. MY GREEN HAVEN - DAY          He stops at the familiar sight of My Green Haven. He gets an          amused smile and sighs with nostalgia.          The front door of the trailer opens and Lefty emerges. Nick          furrows his brow in confusion as Lefty locks the door and          comes down the path.                              NICK                    Lefty?                              LEFTY                    Oh. Hey, Nick!                              NICK                    Lefty, what are you doing here?                              LEFTY                    I live here. The guy's only                    charging me fifty in cash a month.                              NICK                    I mean, what are you doing in town?                              LEFTY                    I did what you told me, Nick. I                    threw my backpack off the pier and                    reported my own suicide. I even                    left a note.                              NICK                    Wow, Lefty, I'm kinda impressed.                    Faking your suicide is pretty                    ballsy.          Lefty joins Nick in his walk down the road.                              LEFTY                    So where you headed?                                                                            68.                                        NICK                    Redwood High School.                              LEFTY                    Can I come?                              NICK                    Why would you want to go to school                    if you didn't have to?                              LEFTY                    It's weird, Nick, but school seems                    like a pretty fun place to hang out                    once you get rid of classes and                    homework.                              NICK                    I can see this stunt really has                    liberated your mind.                              LEFTY                    I'm telling you, Nick: killing                    myself was the best thing that ever                    happened to me.          INT. CAFETERIA - DAY          A rowdy cafeteria. Lefty and Nick dine in the corner. Nick          has an open French textbook as he tries to decipher Sheeni's          letter. An Indian boy, VIJAY JOSHI, 16, makes his way to          them.                              VIJAY                    May I sit at your table?                              LEFTY                    Sure. I'm Lefty and this is Nick.                              VIJAY                    I am Vijay Joshi.          Vijay sits and shakes their hands.                              VIJAY                    I see you both have been rejected                    by the socially elite of our                    school. Ukiah is a cultural                    wasteland compared to India. Though                    some of the girls are very                    attractive.                              NICK                    Do you have a girlfriend?                              VIJAY                    Not at the moment. But I am                    optimistic. How about you?                                                                               69.                                        NICK                    Yes, but she transferred.                              VIJAY                    You don't mean Sheeni Saunders. I                    heard she was interested in some                    brilliant fellow in the Bay Area.                              LEFTY                    Hey, that's you, Nick.                              VIJAY                    I'm surprised. You are not at all                    what I imagined.          Nick narrows his eyes.                              VIJAY                    So how is Sheeni?                              NICK                    I don't know. She sent me this                    letter. But it's in French.                              VIJAY                    Shall I translate it for you?                              NICK                    You speak French?                              VIJAY                    I speak French, English, Hindi,                    Marathi, and Urdu.                              LEFTY                    That must come in handy.          Nick hands over the letter and Vijay starts reading it          silently. He chuckles as he reads and Nick squints his eyes          at him in annoyance.          Vijay picks up on it, clears his throat and reads aloud.                              VIJAY                    Dear, Nick...          INT. SHEENI'S DORM ROOM - SUNSET          In Nick's imagination, Sheeni puts pen to paper at her desk          which affords a view of the sun setting on the ocean.                              SHEENI (V.O.)                    ...I am writing you from my room in                    Santa Cruz. Surprisingly, boarding                    school has proven to be a welcome                    liberation as well as...                                                                               70.                    INT. GIRL'S BATHROOM - NIGHT                              SHEENI (V.O.)                    ...a stimulating experience which I                    am now not so quick to change.          Sheeni slips into a nightgown as other GIRLS walk around          scantily clad behind her.                              SHEENI                    Perhaps you should consider                    learning French and enrolling. That                    said...          INT. …COLE DES ARTS ET LITT…RATURE - HALLWAY - DAY          Sheeni chats up a gathering of HANDSOME BOYS in the hall.          They regard her lustfully.                              SHEENI (V.O.)                    ...English cannot be spoken on                    campus even if you are hemorrhaging                    from an accidental limb amputation.          INT. GYMNASIUM - DAY                              SHEENI (V.O.)                    I have made friends with the head                    of the girls' basketball team. Her                    name is Heather, and despite her                    popularity, she is saving herself                    for college boys.          HEATHER, a slender giantess, poses with the other members of          the BASKETBALL TEAM for a yearbook photo.          INT. SHEENI'S DORM ROOM - NIGHT                              SHEENI (V.O.)                    I have an interesting roommate from                    New York named Taggarty...          TAGGARTY, short dark hair, intense green eyes, Manhattan          sophistication cloaked in fragile ripeness, snaps a Polaroid          of a sleepy BOY.                              SHEENI (V.O.)                    She has already slept with                    seventeen boys and hopes to rack up                    fifty before leaving here.          Taggarty tacks the picture to a wall covered with Polaroids.          She writes the boy's grade (C-) beneath his image.          EXT. BEACH - DAY          The distant figure on the windsurf board can only be Trent.                                                                               71.                                        SHEENI (V.O.)                    Trent has taken up windsurfing and                    has been designated target number                    one by all the girls. I am still                    very angry at him for the betrayal                    but he claims he wants to mend our                    friendship.          The figure falls into the surf and the crowd of watching          BIKINI-CLAD GIRLS gasp in horror.                              SHEENI (V.O.)                    I guess we shall see.          INT. CAFETERIA - DAY                              VIJAY                        (READING)                    All in all, I'm happy and look                    forward to further growth in this                    rich, intellectual environment.          Vijay sets down the letter. Nick waits a beat, staring in          disbelief.                              NICK                    That's it? Nothing else about me?          Vijay picks up the letter again.                              VIJAY                    Oh yes... Love to you and Albert.                        (setting down the letter)                    Who's Albert?                              NICK                    Albert is our dog. This is a                    disaster. What the hell does she                    mean Trent wants to mend the                    relationship?                               VIJAY                    I don't know, but this Taggarty                    girl sounds very uninhibited. I                    wonder if she's made it with a                    Hindu yet.                              LEFTY                    Heather sounds like a babe. You                    think if I grew a beard I'd pass                    for college age?                              NICK                    I've got to get to Sheeni as soon                    as possible. If I don't Trent                    Preston is going to mindfuck her                    into thinking she doesn't like me.                                                                            72.                                        LEFTY                    And then he'll probably fuck her in                    other ways. Did you know you're                    supposed to put your pinkie in a                    girl's bumhole, Vijay?                              NICK                    Will you shut up and help me out?                              LEFTY                    Sorry, Nick. What should we do?                              NICK                    I suggest we steal my father's BMW                    and take a trip to Santa Cruz.                    Vijay, you'll have to be our                    translator.                              VIJAY                    But what will we tell our parents?                              LEFTY                    You can tell your father you are                    staying at Nick's house for the                    weekend. And visa versa.                              NICK                    Good thinking.                              VIJAY                    But what if we are caught?                              NICK                    To hell with it, Vijay. It's time                    to take action!          THREE CUTS. The JINGLE as Nick removes his Dad's keys from          the bureau. The trunk SLAMMING closed with the sleeping bags          inside. The ROAR of the engine as Vijay's hand turns the key          in the ignition.          I/E. BMW 325I (MOVING) - DAY          As Vijay drives, Lefty holds up a road map in the back seat.          Nick places a CD in the stereo and TAKE FIVE fills the car.                              LEFTY                    What is this music, Nick?                              NICK                    It's Dave Brubeck.                        (to Vijay)                    I thought a person as cultured as                    yourself would appreciate it.                                                                               73.                                        VIJAY                    You want culture? I will give you                    culture.          Vijay puts in his own CD and Ravi Shankar's TARANA blasts          from the speakers.          Nick gives Vijay a grin of approval. MUSIC PLAYS OVER...          EXT. REDWOOD FORESTS - DAY          WE FLY through the forest to keep up with the Beamer.          EXT. SAN FRANCISCO - DAY          The BMW passes cars on the Golden Gate Bridge.          EXT. PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY - DAY          The Beamer navigates the winding curves of the highway where          green hills meet the Pacific Ocean.          EXT. …COLE DES ARTS ET LITT…RATURE - DUSK          The car pulls to a stop in the parking lot, the school          looming beyond, slightly obfuscated by a light drizzle. The          music cuts out with the engine.          EXT. …COLE DES ARTS ET LITT…RATURE - GROUNDS - DUSK          The grouping of BOYS part as we move through them. Finally,          we reach the center of their attention...          Sheeni, Taggarty, and Heather standing together in their          coats.                              SHEENI                    Nickie?          Nick, Vijay, and Lefty are noticeably shorter than the older          boys around them.                              NICK                    Hello, Sheeni.                        (to Taggarty and Heather)                    Hi, I'm Nick.                              TAGGARTY                    Oh. So you're Nick.                              HEATHER                    We've heard so much about you.                              NICK                    And this is Vijay. And this is                    Lefty. Lefty goes to USC.                                                                            74.                                        LEFTY                    And I'm not gay.                              SHEENI                    Nick, I knew you'd come!          Sheeni glances over at the disapproving MATRON. She leans in          close.                              SHEENI                    ...but you must wait in the car                    until we can sneak you in.          Nick nods in understanding.          INT. GIRLS' DORM - HALLWAY - NIGHT          An empty hall. The SNEAKY STRINGS of NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN.          Sheeni rounds the corner at the far end. As she and Heather          sneak the boys down, the other OCCUPANTS of the floor giggle          in French and dart from door to door in near-undress.          INT. SHEENI'S DORM ROOM - NIGHT          A cement cubicle just big enough for a bunk bed, two small          desks, an army surplus dresser, and a stuffed armchair.          Sheeni pulls a nightgown from the dresser.                              HEATHER                    Lefty, should maybe sleep in my                    room. It's pretty crowded in here.                              LEFTY                    Your roommate won't mind?                              HEATHER                    Oh, Darlene went home for the                    weekend.          Lefty gulps and picks up his grip. He pauses in the hallway.                              LEFTY                    Well, see you guys in the morning.          The door closes and Vijay and Nick exchange a knowing glance.                              SHEENI                    Pardon me, everyone.          Sheeni steps into the tiny closet to change. Vijay and Nick          regard the...          WALL OF TAGGARTY'S CONQUESTS          a series of mug shots of sullen-looking TEENAGE BOYS. Most of          them have been given a grade of C- or below.                                                                              75.                                        NICK                    There's your competition.                              VIJAY                    A distinguished group I would be                    happy to join.          The two boys turn around and watch in hot-blooded bliss as          Taggarty searches for her misplaced nightie.          INT. GIRL'S BATHROOM - NIGHT          The two boys brush their pearlies over the grungy sink.                              VIJAY                    I am in a state of sexual frenzy.                    What is your plan?                              NICK                    We drape a blanket over the lower                    bunk for Sheeni and me. You tackle                    Taggarty on the top bunk. Here's a                    condom. I slipped two to Lefty,                    leaving us with four.                              VIJAY                    What if they don't go for it?                              NICK                    They'll go for it. You can cut the                    sexual tension in that room with a                    knife.          INT. SHEENI'S DORM ROOM - NIGHT                              SHEENI                    Don't be silly, darling. Not with                    others in the room.                        (leaning in to whisper)                    We must wait until everyone falls                    asleep.          Nick tries to appear unconcerned. She gives him a kiss and          climbs into her narrow bed.          As Nick and Vijay prepare their sleeping bags on the floor,          they watch Taggarty climb up to her bunk in the sky.                              TAGGERTY                    Goodnight boys. Do you need the                    light on to take off your clothes?                              NICK                    No.                        (flipping off the light)                    We can find our zippers in the                    dark.                                                                              76.                    A beat of BLACKNESS. Then a light tap at the door.          There is the sound of Sheeni getting out of bed. She cracks          the door, letting in just enough light from the hall that a          MALE SHADOW gets cast across the two boys on the floor.          Nick squints and tries to hear what Sheeni and the male          shadow are whispering to each other.          After a beat, Sheeni closes the door and the room plunges          into BLACKNESS once again. Nick listens as Sheeni climbs back          into bed as if nothing happened.                                 NICK                    Sheeni?                                 SHEENI                    Yes, Nick?                              NICK                    Was that the matron?                                 SHEENI                    No.          Beat.                              NICK                    Then who was it?                              SHEENI                    It was Trent.          Beat.                              NICK                    Did you say it was Trent?                              SHEENI                    Yes. He came to discuss our                    friendship. I told him now was not                    the time.                              NICK                    So where is Trent now?                               SHEENI                    I assume he went back to the boys'                    dorm. Now really, Nickie, you are                    keeping everyone awake with your                    inquiries.          Though silence follows, we take a moment to allow Nick's mind          to race in the dark. He stands and looks at the mirror above          the dresser. FranÁois can be made out sitting by the window          in the moonlight, stroking the Thompson.                                                                              77.                                        FRAN«OIS                    Now is our chance.                              NICK                    Chance for what?                              FRAN«OIS                    To confront our nemesis. We must go                    to the boys' dorm and kill Trent                    where he sleeps.                              NICK                    I suppose we should at least get a                    look at him. To see what we're                    dealing with.                               FRAN«OIS                    Very well.                        (stubbing out his                         CIGARETTE)                    You see what we are dealing with...                    and zen I wll deal wiz it.          And with that he cocks the Thompson for dramatic flare.          INT. GIRLS' DORM - HALLWAY - NIGHT          Nick emerges from the room in nothing but his underwear and a          whindbreaker. He creeps down the hall.          EXT. ECOLE DES ARTS ET LITTERATURE - GROUNDS - NIGHT          The school SECURITY VAN crawls by in the background, a          searchlight sweeping the grounds.          The moment it is out of sight, Nick darts from the bushes of          the girls' dorm and races across the campus to the boys'          dorm.          INT. BOYS DORM - HALLWAY - NIGHT          Nick makes his way down the hall, checking the names on the          colored paper cut-out shapes that adorn the doors.          He stops and backtracks when he spots the door that boasts          the names TRENT and ED.          Nick knocks on the door.          It opens inward to reveal a bare-chested, hulking athlete in          a pajama pants. This is ED SOLOMON.                              NICK                    Trent?                              ED                    No. Who the hell are you?                                                                             78.                                        NICK                    I am Nick Twisp.                              ED                    Oh, so you're Nick.                              NICK                    Is Trent here?                              ED                    You just missed him, Nick. He just                    grabbed a couple condoms and left.                              NICK                    Did he say where he was going?                              ED                    I think he said he was going to                    Heather's room.                              NICK                    But that's where Lefty is. Who are                    you?                              ED                    Ed. Ed Solomon. Trent's roommate.                              NICK                    Oh, so you're Ed.                              ED                    What's that supposed to mean?                              NICK                    Nothing. It's just that Sheeni                    mentioned Trent has a thing for a                    guy named Ed, and that he touches                    the guy when he falls asleep. But                    obviously if that were you, you'd                    know about it. Must be a different                    Ed Solomon. Take care now.          Nick takes off running and Ed stares after him.          EXT. ECOLE DES ARTS ET LITTERATURE - GROUNDS - NIGHT          The security van continues to make its rounds. We find Nick          crouching behind the steps to the boys dorm.          He pulls the hood of his windbreaker over his head and takes          a deep breath.          As the searchlight passes by, he makes a break for it.          TRACK with Nick as he darts from one form of cover to the          next, perhaps accompanied by the imagined sounds of mortar          blasts and machine gun turret fire.                                                                            79.                              At long last he reaches the girls' dorm undetected.          INT. GIRLS' DORM - HALLWAY - NIGHT          Nick bangs on the door. Heather answers in little more than a          G-string and Nick seems to forget his mission just long          enough to appreciate her body.                              HEATHER                    What's up, Nick?                              NICK                    Is Trent in there?                              HEATHER                    Not anymore.                              NICK                    What happened to Lefty?                              LEFTY (O.S.)                    I'm right here, Nick.          Nick peers past Heather where he finds Lefty standing naked          in the moonlight.                              HEATHER                    Trent was here, but he left. He                    only dropped by to lend us a couple                    more condoms.                              NICK                    But I gave Lefty two already.                              HEATHER                    Yes, and that was very generous of                    you, but the night is young.                              NICK                    So what is Trent, the fucking                    condom faerie!?!                              LEFTY                    You can have one of ours, Nick. If                    you need one.          The fact that Nick doesn't yet raises his temperament even          further.                              NICK                    So where did he say he was going?                              HEATHER                    He didn't say, but I'm pretty sure                    I just saw him go into our bathroom                    down the hall.                                                                              80.                                        NICK                    Thanks. Oh, and I'd be careful with                    those condoms. Trent's roommate Ed                    said that Trent pokes holes in them                    so that he can get Sheeni pregnant                    and be with her forever.          And with that piece of disturbing info, he leaves them.          INT. GIRL'S BATHROOM - NIGHT          There is the CLAP of thunder outside as Nick throws open the          door to the girls' bathroom. He looks around with murderous          rage.          There comes the sound of someone vomiting.          Nick kicks in the stall and finds BERNICE LYNCH, 17, a thin          platinum haired girl with six earrings per lobe. She hurls          into the toilet again and turns around to find Nick.                              BERNICE                    Who are you?                              NICK                    I'm Sheeni's friend, Nick. Sorry to                    disturb you.                               BERNICE                    That's OK. It was something I ate.                    So wait, are you Sheeni's                    boyfriend?                                NICK                    Uh, yeah.                              BERNICE                    My name's Bernice. Bernice Lynch.                    Not that you asked.                              NICK                    Nice to meet you Bernice. Actually,                    I think Trent Preston mentioned                    you. He said you were frumpy, but                    now that I've met you, I can see                    Trent is a lying bastard.                              BERNICE                    Thanks. And Trent can go to hell                    for all I care. Sheeni too.                              NICK                    You don't like Sheeni?                                                                               81.                                        BERNICE                    Personally, I hate her guts. Well,                    pardon me, Nick. I feel like                    throwing up some more now.                              NICK                    You didn't happen to see Trent                    Preston did you?          She waves him away as she bends over the sink to hurl again.          Then lifts her face and smiles through the dripping bile.                              BERNICE                    I did actually. I think he was on                    his way to Sheeni's room.          Nick's eyes widen in alarm.          INT. SHEENI'S DORM ROOM - NIGHT          Nick enters the dark room to the sound of the bed squeaking.          Vijay and Taggarty grunt away on the top bunk.          He watches the moon lit forms thumping together.          He turns his attention to the sleeping beauty on the bottom          bunk. He moves toward her.          She blinks, waking and smiles at the sight of him.                                 NICK                    Sheeni?                              SHEENI                    Yes, darling.                              NICK                    Was Trent here?                                 SHEENI                    Yes, Nick.          Nick hangs his head.                              SHEENI                    But I sent him away again.          Nick stares into her eyes to discern her honesty, but he          finds nothing but adoration.                              SHEENI                    Because I want you, darling. Not                    even Trent can match the                    industriousness and tenacity with                    which you have pursued me.                                                                               82.                    She smiles. Nick smiles too. She reaches out to pull him into          her bed as...          The door to the room slams open and they are suddenly backlit          by the harsh beam of the matron's flashlight.                              MATRON                    Q'est que c'est passer ici?!?          Nick bolts upright, smacking his head against the top bunk.          He lands on the floor, where he gets a view of... Trent          standing behind the matron. The blinding light makes his          features difficult to make out but his white teeth are          definitely smiling diabolically.          EXT. GIRLS' DORM - NIGHT          The boys come out of the front door of the dormitory, the          matron, flanked by SCHOOL SECURITY GUARDS, hot on their          heels. The girls in the dorm appear on the balcony in droves,          cheering the boys' escape.          Vijay's pants fall to his ankles, tripping him up.          Nick and Lefty grab Vijay by the arms and pull him up again          as if he were a wounded war buddy in a retreat from the          Vietnamese Army.          They reach the Beamer at the edge of the grounds. Nick gets          in first. Lefty dives through the back window, legs kicking.          Vijay slams the door just as the matron and her security team          catches up to them. The authorities bang on the windows as          Nick peels out.          INDIAN POP blares from the car. They speed off into the          night.          I/E. BMW 325I (MOVING) - NIGHT          Lefty lets out a holler of joy.                              LEFTY                    I did it three times! Two long ones                    and a quickie.                              NICK                    Great. Just great. How about you,                    Vijay?                              VIJAY                    It was difficult to tell with that                    condom, Nick. Why did you buy such                    thick ones?                               NICK                    That brand was top-rated by                    Consumers.                                                                            83.                                        VIJAY                    Well, she's safe. No organism could                    penetrate those walls.                              NICK                    You think the girls are in trouble?                              VIJAY                    They will likely notify their                    parents. Perhaps even expel them.                              NICK                    That's it! Expel them. Then Sheeni                    will have to come back to Ukiah.          The car sputters. Nick's eyes go to the gas gauge.          EXT. HIGHWAY 101 - RAINING - NIGHT          The rain is coming down again. Nick shivers in his underwear.          Vijay isn't in much more and Lefty's sheet is drenched.                              VIJAY                    What will we do?                              NICK                    Well, we can't stay in the car.                    Sooner or later Highway Patrol is                    going to come by and ask for our                    non-existent driver's license.                              LEFTY                    But we have no money!                              VIJAY                    I have no shoes! I'll catch                    pneumonia and die a indeterminate                    proto-quasi-virgin!          EXT. HIGHWAY 101 - RAINING - NIGHT          A couple coins are inserted into a roadside pay phone. There          is ringing on the other end.                              ESTELLE (V.O.)                    Hello?                              NICK                        (into phone)                    Mom? It's Nick. I'm sorry to wake                    you, but I'm hoping you'll help                    your only son. Especially seeing as                    it would really piss off Dad.          A long beat.                                                                              84.                                        ESTELLE (V.O.)                    Where are you, Nick?          EXT. HIGHWAY 101 - RAINING - NIGHT          The three boys are still standing in the rain by the pay          phone. The three of them huddle under their only windbreaker.          A pair of headlights appear in the rain. The headlights flash          twice and Nick runs out into the road.          POV TRUCK DRIVER          Nick waving frantically in nothing but tightie-whities.          The truck pulls to a stop and the passenger door opens to          reveal, the driver, a man named WALLY RUMPKIN, a seven foot          tall giant in a plaid shirt and bib overalls. He looks down          at our three waylaid adventurers.                              WALLY                    Pardon me. But is one of you Nick                    Twisp?          The two other boys exchange confused glances, not entirely if          this is how people go missing.                              NICK                    Yeah. I'm Nick.                              WALLY                    I'm Wally. I'm a friend of your                    mom's.          Nick nods, not yet sure whether or not this gentle giant is          actually blushing with shyness or red with agitation at being          sent on a midnight mission.                              WALLY                    So, uhm, uh... Your mom says you                    need a ride. Did I mention I'm a                    friend?          Nick breaks into a smile. Finally the Gods have cut him a          break.          INT. ESTELLE'S KITCHEN - NIGHT          Wally and Estelle watch the three semi-clothed boys shovel in          fried liver with no complaint.                              ESTELLE                    Wally was a friend of Jerry's. He                    came to help me in my time of                    mourning.                                                                            85.                                        NICK                    What happened to Lance?          Estelle's face registers "none of your business," but a kind          look from Wally and she softens.                              ESTELLE                    Lance is busy training to be a                    detective. He isn't around as much                    as he used to be.          Nick nods and goes back to eating.                              ESTELLE                    Mr. Rumpkin is very smart. Ask him                    a question, Nick.                              NICK                    Okay. Mr. Rumpkin, what famous                    actress was married to Frank                    Sinatra, Artie Shaw, and Mickey                    Rooney?                              LEFTY                    Whoever she is, she sure gets                    around.                              WALLY                    Ava Gardner.          Estelle smiles with pride. Nick and the other boys regard the          gentle giant with admiration. He bashfully averts his eyes.                              ESTELLE                    That's nothing. You should see what                    he did with the living room.          INT. ESTELLE'S LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER          Nick and the other two boys pause in the doorway.          Where once the Chevy occupied the space, the living room was          now fairly returned to it's normal uncluttered state with all          the furniture placed back in the original positions.          At some point Wally must have sawed a hole in the wall shared          by the living and dining areas because the Chevy now occupies          that hole and has been painted and decorated such that it has          achieved an almost seamless blend with the wall.          Estelle goes and takes a seat on the couch.                              ESTELLE                    Go ahead, Wally. Show them.          Wally blushes before he flips a switch and the tail lights          come on, giving the living room a warm, flattering glow.                                                                               86.                                          NICK, LEFTY, VIJAY                    Ooooooh.          Wally flips another switch and the car's radio turns on.                                NICK, LEFTY, VIJAY                    Aaaaaaah.          Wally makes a slightly embarrassed gesture of scratching his          head before lumbering over to the couch and taking a seat          next to Estelle.          Nick watches as Wally puts his arm around his mother and they          listen to the Chevy play them Elvis' LOVE ME TENDER.          The two adults snuggle in the glow of the tail lights and it          brings an unexpected rush of caring in his expression.          EXT. UKIAH - DAY          The truck rumbles to a stop and the three boys climb out.          Nick looks, over his shoulder at Wally blushing behind the          wheel of the truck.                               WALLY                    Well, uhm... It was nice meeting                    you, Nick.                              NICK                    You too, Mr. Rumpkin.          Wally blushes even more. He closes the door and starts to          turn the truck around. Nick watches him go. Wally waves          goodbye.          Nick turns and the three boys make their way down the dusty          road.          INT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - DAY          Lacey works up a sweat to Billy Blank. Nick comes through the          door. He's still in his underwear.                              NICK                    Where's Dad?                              LACEY                    In the bedroom. I wouldn't bother                    him, Nick. He's in a foul mood.                    He's on with the police. Apparently                    someone broke in and stole his                    Beamer.          Lacey gives Nick an amused smile.                              GEORGE (O.S.)                    Lacey! Get in here!                                                                            87.                    Lacey rolls her eyes and heads for the bedroom. Nick sits          down with Dwayne at the breakfast table.                              DWAYNE                    Nick, you got a girlfriend?                                 NICK                    Yes, I do.                              DWAYNE                    If you asked your girlfriend as a                    favor, would she do it with me?                              NICK                    Guys don't share their girlfriends.                              DWAYNE                    I get ya. You're worried `cause                    your girlfriend might get knocked                    up. What if I pull out, Nick?          Nick seethes inwardly. There comes a ruckus from the back          bedroom and Lacey emerges.                              LACEY                    It's not my fault, you tight-assed,                    critical, nonfeeling, sexist drunk.                              GEORGE (O.S.)                    Sticks and stones. It doesn't                    bother me if you sleep on the couch                    from now on.                              LACEY                    Does it bother you that you're a                    selfish, uptight, boring lover?                              NICK                    You forgot lousy driver!          George appears in the doorway.                              GEORGE                    That's strike two, jerkoff!          Nick hangs his head. George moves about the kitchen chugging          from a jug of zin. Lacey picks up the ringing phone.                               LACEY                    Hello?                        (PAUSE)                    Thank you.          Lacey hangs up the phone.                                                                            88.                                        LACEY                    They found your car in Davenport,                    George. Go pick it up.                              GEORGE                    Look who's wearing the pants this                    morning.          Lacey takes a seat next to Nick and sighs.                              LACEY                    Nick, I feel for you. It must be                    tough being a teenager in this                    house.                              NICK                    My mother wasn't any better.                              LACEY                    Your mom has had a difficult time.                    She has had a great deal to put up                    with. I'm starting to appreciate                    that now.                              GEORGE                    Are you by any chance referring to                    me?                              LACEY                    If the shoe fits, suck on it.          George swills some zin and mumbles ominously.                              GEORGE                    We'll see who's sucking on what                    soon.          INT. CAFETERIA - DAY                              VIJAY                    I spoke with Taggarty this morning.                    She requested a wallet sized photo.          Nick looks up glumly from his lunch. Lefty has his feet up on          the table, his facial growth is almost respectable.                              LEFTY                    Congratulations, Vijay. That makes                    it official. Welcome to the club.          Nick narrows his eyes at the two non-virgins.                              NICK                    What grade did you receive?                                                                              89.                                        VIJAY                    A C+. Which I feel is perfectly                    satisfactory given the conditions.                              LEFTY                    I guess this means they're not                    being expelled.                              VIJAY                    No, apparently they convinced the                    matron it was all quite innocent.                              NICK                    Are you kidding? She had her                    flashlight trained on your Hindi                    boner!          A beat. Lefty and Vijay seem taken aback by the outburst.                              VIJAY                    No need to be jealous, Nick.          Nick stands and collects his lunch tray.                              NICK (V.O.)                    If I'm to get Sheeni expelled and                    sent back to me I will need a                    partner in crime.          INT. REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL - COMPUTER LAB - DAY          Nick enters the computer lab and finds an open machine.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Luckily, FranÁois has a girl on the                    inside.          Nick begins typing and speaking out loud.                              NICK                    Dear Bernice, it was nice meeting                    you this weekend in the bathroom.          INT. BERNICE'S ROOM - DAY          Bernice reads the letter.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I just want you to know I now see                    why you loath Sheeni Saunders so                    strongly.          INT. HEADMASTER'S OFFICE - DAY          Sheeni, Taggarty, and Heather sit across from the HEADMASTER          as the matron describes the events.                                                                            90.                                        NICK (V.O.)                    I too have come to despise the                    snooty, pretentious brunette and in                    all honesty you should probably get                    her expelled. I am happy to help in                    that regard.          INT. BERNICE'S ROOM - DAY                              NICK (V.O.)                    I have included a number of                    sleeping pills with this note.          Bernice dumps the pills from the envelope.          INT. CAFETERIA - DAY                              NICK (V.O.)                    You must introduce one of these                    into her breakfast beverage each                    day.          Bernice sits next to Sheeni, despite the fact she's being          ignored. Bernice drops a pill into Sheeni's coffee          nonchalantly.          INT. CLASSROOM - DAY          Sheeni watches the INSTRUCTOR.                              NICK (V.O.)                    She may be intelligent, but she is                    not likely to pass her courses when                    she's falling asleep in class.          Sheeni's head slips off her hand as she drifts off. We MOVE          across the classroom to where Bernice scribbles in her          notebook.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Since meeting you, I have come to                    realize my interest in Sheeni was                    only a transient adolescent                    infatuation. I like you more than I                    can say. Take courage. Together we                    will outsmart these cake eaters.          A view of the notebook shows her to be scribbling Nick's name          with hearts. She flips through pages of obsession.          INT. REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL - COMPUTER LAB - DAY          Nick's fingers fly across the keys. He looks pleased with          himself.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Affectionately yours, Nick.                                                                               91.                    He looks around for observers, looks back at the screen          pensively, and resumes typing.                              NICK (V.O.)                    P.S. Please destroy this note                    immediately.          ON A MAILBOX          As Nick deposits his letter.          EXT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - EVENING          Nick wanders up the drive. WE FOLLOW him into the house.          INT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - CONTINUOUS          ...where he comes upon the sight of Paul giving Lacey a foot          message on the couch.                              NICK                    Where's Dad?                              LACEY                        (DREAMILY)                    Daddy is in Davenport. Where you                    left his car.                              PAUL                    We saved you some mushrooms, Nick.          Nick watches the sensual foot message. He picks up the bag          full of mushrooms and considers them.          INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT          Nick pukes his guts into the sink.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - NIGHT          Nick's in bed reading Lovemaking for Advanced Gourmets.          He glances up at Dwayne playing Nintendo and scowls.          There comes the strange warbled sound of a TRUMPET from the          next room, and it is joined by other instruments until we          hear The Nutley Brass' rendition of I WANT TO BE SEDATED.          Nick furrows his eyebrows in confusion.          ON THE BOOK          as the nude figures suddenly BECOME ANIMATED, making          wonderful love.          Nick follows them with his eyes as they float off the page.                                                                            92.                    WE FOLLOW Nick as he follows the nude figures who do          acrobatics down...          THE HALL          and into...          THE LIVING ROOM          where Lacey watches Paul blow on his trumpet.          Nick marvels. The phone rings.                               LACEY                     Nick? Get the phone?          Nick picks up the phone and Paul takes his place at Lacey's          feet.                               NICK                         (into phone)                     Hello?          I/E. BMW 325I (MOVING) - NIGHT          George cradles the cell phone. WE INTERCUT.                               GEORGE                     Nick? Is that you?                               NICK                     I am Nick Twisp. I am alive. I am a                     breathing organism.                               GEORGE                     Quit fooling around, Nick. This is                     your dad. Is everything okay there?                               NICK                     Don't be afraid, Dad. Everything                     will be okay. You deserve to be                     loved.                               GEORGE                     What the hell is that supposed to                     mean? Is Lacey there?                               NICK                     Lacey is here. Paul is caressing                     her toes.                               GEORGE                     Paul! Who the hell is Paul?                                                                               93.                                        NICK                    Paul is our friend. He makes                    beautiful music for the acrobats.                    They're naked.                              GEORGE                    Who's naked? Is Lacey naked?                              NICK                    Don't be afraid, Dad. Goodbye.          He hangs up the phone and pulls out the cord.          He joins Paul in working Lacey's feet.                              NICK                    Dad is afraid.                              LACEY                    He is on the wrong path. I have                    felt that for some time.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - NIGHT          Nick watches the headlights from the arriving BMW travel          across the walls.          They go out. He listens to the front door being keyed          followed by his father bellowing.          Nick gets up and wanders into...          LIVING ROOM          where Paul stands between George and Lacey.                              PAUL                    Okay, George, just calm down.          George lunges and Paul socks him in the eye, dropping him to          the floor.                              GEORGE                    You are in serious trouble. You've                    assaulted me and I know for a fact                    that you two were having naked                    orgies with my son. That child is                    only twelve years old.          George gets to his feet.                              NICK                    I'm sixteen, Dad.                                                                            94.                                         GEORGE                    Shut your pie hole!                        (turning to Lacey and                         PAUL)                    That boy is an underaged minor. I'm                    going to have you arrested and                    charged with child molesting.                               LACEY                    Don't be an idiot, George. No one                    was naked.                              GEORGE                    When you get out of prison, you                    will both have to register as sex                    offenders. You will never be able                    to get a decent job again.                              PAUL                    I've never had a decent job. I                    don't think I'd want one.                              LACEY                    Let's go, Paul. George, I'll pick                    up the rest of my things tomorrow.                              GEORGE                    Not until you pay me the rest of                    the money you owe.                              LACEY                    I paid you all your money!                              GEORGE                    Not the extra charges.          She gets up in his face.                              LACEY                    Fuck-your-stinking-extra-charges.          As Lacey and Paul depart, Nick turns and dreamily wanders          back toward his room.                              GEORGE (O.S.)                    Using bad language in front of a                    minor. The judge will hear about                    that too.          Nick gets back into his room and closes the door behind him.          SWISH TO... Dwayne playing Nintendo naked. He looks over his          shoulder.                              DWAYNE                    What's all the ruckus about?                                                                            95.                                        NICK                    Dwayne! Please cover yourself.                              DWAYNE                    You wanna play Nintendo all night?                              NICK                    Of course not. I'm tired. Let's go                    to sleep.          Nick unplugs the Nintendo and climbs into bed. Dwayne just          sits there on the floor, naked as a clam.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - THE DEAD OF NIGHT                              NICK (V.O.)                    A strange night. I dreamed of                    wrestling for what seemed like                    hours with an amorous walrus...          Nick squirms with an amorphous blob, they wrestle against the          red abstract background.          INT. NICK'S ROOM - MORNING          Nick's bleary eyes snap open and wander to the floor, where          his pajamas lie in a crumpled pile.                              NICK (V.O.)                    There is only one explanation: I                    have been Dwayned.          A pillow whacks across a blubbery face.                              NICK                    Wake up! I know what you were doing                    last night, you disgusting beast!                              DWAYNE                    Don't be mad, Nick. I like you.          Dwayne throws off his sheets. Nick shudders at the sight.          ...which is when Mrs. Crampton barges in..                              MRS. CRAMPTON                    Boys, time to get-- AHH! Dwayne!                    Where's yer pajamas?                              DWAYNE                    Nick made me take them off, Mom. He                    took off his too.                              MRS. CRAMPTON                    You leave my son alone. Don't go                    co'rupt him with yer nastiness!                                                                               96.                                        NICK                    We weren't doing anything, Mrs.                    Crampton. It was just hot last                    night.                              MRS. CRAMPTON                    If you get hot, boys, open a                    window. Don't go takin' off yer                    pajamas. That's nasty.          INT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - DAY          Nick dials on the phone. Behind him, Dwayne eats breakfast,          cheerfully kicking his feet back and forth under the chair.                               TAGGARTY (V.O.)                    Bonjour.                              NICK                    Taggarty? It's Nick.          INT. SHEENI'S DORM ROOM - DAY          Taggarty's at her desk. Her thick rimmed glasses almost make          her look studious. WE INTERCUT.                              TAGGARTY                    Hey, Nick. I suppose you want to                    talk to Sheeni.                              NICK                    If you please.          Taggarty crosses to the bunks, where Sheeni is curled up          among the sheets as if in some Renaissance portrait.                              TAGGARTY                    It's your would-be-lover.          Sheeni sleepily takes the phone.                               SHEENI                    Nick?                              NICK                    Hello, My Beloved. How are you?                              SHEENI                    Not so well. I have been afflicted                    with some kind of chronic fatigue.                              NICK                    Perhaps you are home sick. You do                    sound rather blue.                                                          97.                              SHEENI          I'm not home sick, Nick. In fact,          I'm not very happy with you.                    NICK          Me? What did I do?                    SHEENI          You know damn well, Nick. You've          been spreading rumors about Trent.          And he doesn't deserve it.                    NICK          Doesn't deserve it!?! I'd have to          claim he has genital warts to sink          to his level.                    SHEENI          Well, whatever you said to Ed          Solomon, it was enough to get him          to give Trent a black eye.                    NICK          Sheeni, I just don't get it. This          guy has cock-blocked at every turn          and you're taking his side?!?                    SHEENI          Cock-blocked?              (SIGHS)          We'll have to resume this another          time, Nick. It's been an          emotionally exhausting weekend. My          parents are in an uproar over Paul.          He's moved some floozie in with him          up in the studio over the garage.                    NICK          Lacey's not a floozie.                    SHEENI          Lacey? You know her?                    NICK          Of course. She's my father's ex-          girlfriend. I think that might make          you my stepmother-in-law.                    SHEENI          Nick. Don't be gross.                    NICK          Sorry. At any rate, I'll let you          go. We'll have plenty of time to          settle this tomorrow.                                                                               98.                                          SHEENI                    Tomorrow?                              NICK                    Yes, Sheeni, Thanksgiving. I'll be                    coming for dinner, of course.                              SHEENI                    Don't even think it, Nick. You know                    my parents don't approve of you.                              NICK                    I'm confident they will learn to                    love me. After all, I'm practically                    family.                              SHEENI                    Nick, you must dismiss this                    Thanksgiving notion from your mind.                    I remain firm on this issue.                    Goodbye.          CLICK. Nick regards the phone defensively. He puts it down          and takes a seat at the table.          He glares at Dwayne as they eat breakfast. There comes a          knock at the front door.                              NICK                    Don't move, blubber boy, I'll get                    it.          I/E. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - DAY          A POLICE OFFICER stands on the steps. Nick goes wide eyed at          the sight of him and visibly slumps.                              POLICE OFFICER                    Is George Twisp in?                              NICK                    Uh, I'm pretty sure he's sleeping                    off a hangover, Officer. Is he                    under arrest?                              POLICE OFFICER                    Under arrest? No, I'm the officer                    working the case of his stolen car.                                NICK                    Ah.                              POLICE OFFICER                    You can tell your pop that the CD                    he found in his car is Ravi                    Shankar.                                                                            99.                                           NICK                    Excuse me?                              POLICE OFFICER                    Indian music. So we're a checkin'                    the INS files, see if we can get                    some prints that match. You                    wouldn't know anyone who might have                    stolen the car who listens to this                    crap, would ya, son?                              NICK                    No, and I'm not sure I like the                    implication. Ravi Shankar is                    beloved by many Caucasian...                              DWAYNE (O.S.)                    What about Vijay Joshi?          Nick stands stiff as a board. The officer peers around him at          Dwayne sitting inside.                              DWAYNE                    I'm pretty sure he's Injun.          The officer makes a note.                              POLICE OFFICER                        (to himself)                    Vijay Joshi. We'll look into it.                    Thank you, boys.          Nick gives a weak smile and closes the door.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Mrs. Crampton complained to Dad                    that I tried to corrupt the fat                    pervert cohabitating with me.          EXT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - DAY          Nick totes boxes of belongings from the house to the          Crampton's dilapidated camper.                              NICK (V.O.)                    He has deemed it strike three, but                    is only banishing me as far as Mrs.                    Crampton's condemned trailer.          INT. CAMPER - NIGHT          A view of the thin birch walls. We come to rest on Nick,          shivering under an electric blanket. There's a blob of snot          on his upper-lip.                                                                              100.                                        NICK (V.O.)                    No matter. Tomorrow I will be                    reunited with My Everlasting Love.                    And I will not be stopped. Not by                    an outbreak of the plague, nor by a                    cruel return of the ice-age. Not                    even by the Gods themselves.          EXT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - DAY          The velvet voices of the Rat Pack come from the home.          Nick emerges from the Camper wrapped in the electric blanket.          He scurries into the house.          INT. BATHRROOM - DAY          Nick showers.          Nick straightens his Garcia tie in the mirror. He applies          hair gel.          Nick examines the whitehead on his brow. He pinches and a          glob of puss smacks the mirror.          INT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - HALLWAY - DAY          He emerges into the hall and dances with an invisible partner          into the...          LIVING ROOM          where the phone RINGS. He flips off the stereo with the          remote and snatches up the phone.                              NICK                    Twisp residence.                                 ESTELLE (V.O.)                    Nick?                              NICK                    Oh. Hey, Mom. What's up?                              ESTELLE (V.O.)                    Nickie, I have some bad news!          Nick sighs.                              NICK                    Okay. I'm ready. What is it?                              ESTELLE (V.O.)                    I'm afraid Lance and Wally got into                    a terrible row. He tried to arrest                    Wally and Wally broke Lance's jaw.                                                                              101.                                        NICK                    What's the bad news?                              ESTELLE (V.O.)                    The Berkeley police know you                    started the fire. Lance told them                    where you are.          Nick glances up and sees the black and white patrol car          pulling up outside.                              ESTELLE (V.O.)                    Nick, they're coming to arrest you!          He slams down the phone.          EXT. GEORGE'S MANUFACTURED HOME - DAY          The window slides open and Nick comes crawling out, leaping          to the ground. He takes off running through the woods.          EXT. MY GREEN HAVEN - DAY          Nick pounds on the door.                              LEFTY (O.S.)                    Nick?          Nick turns to find Lefty coming up the path with two bags of          groceries under his arms.                              NICK                    Lefty, have you seen Vijay, today?                              LEFTY                    Nick, haven't you heard? Vijay's                    been arrested.                              NICK                    Arrested?!?                              LEFTY                    For grand theft auto. They found                    his prints in your father's car.                              NICK                    That's terrible. Did he go quietly?                              LEFTY                    No. He said you were his accomplice                    and now the Ukiah police are                    looking for you!          We linger a beat on Nick's blank expression. Then -                                                                             102.                    EXT. WOODS - DUSK          We're off and running through the woods, trying to keep up          with Nick as he flees.                              NICK (V.O.)                    The day has proven to be a                    disaster. Where did I gone wrong? I                    have a decision to make.          EXT. COVERED BRIDGE - NIGHT          The spotlight from the overhead helicopter sweeps over the          bridge and continues down the road.                              NICK (V.O.)                    I could hit the road and spend my                    life a fugitive with my integrity                    nearly intact.          UNDER THE BRIDGE          Nick squats in the shadows. He's holding a bouquet of          municipal flowers and dabs the sweat on his head with his          tie.                               NICK (V.O.)                    It's that or risk incarceration to                    keep my dinner date.                        (BEAT)                    Obviously the answer is clear.          EXT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - NIGHT          Nick peers through the bushes at the mobile home across the          street. A squad car crawls past, the rover squawking a terse          description of a teenage white male.          Nick emerges from the shrubs and approaches the house.          He rings the ornate Victorian doorbell. Paul answers in an          apron.                              PAUL                    Hello, Nick. Right on time. Come                    in.          INT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - NIGHT          Lacey floats toward him and gives him a hug.                              NICK                    Happy Thanksgiving, Lacey.          She spots the sad flowers in his hand.                                                                           103.                                        LACEY                    What interesting flowers, Nick. Who                    are they for?                              NICK                    Uh, Mrs. Saunders.          Lacey leads him by the hand into the chintz-bedecked parlor.          Sheeni's larger-than-life father and 5,000 year old mother          sit cross-legged on the floor, running their hands over the          hooked rug.                              LACEY                    Mr. and Mrs. Saunders, you remember                    Nick Twisp, don't you?          Mrs. Saunders coos and takes the flowers. Her husband squints          up at him.                              MR. SAUNDERS                    You are very, very tall.                              PAUL                    No he's not, Dad. He just appears                    tall because you are on the floor.                              MR. SAUNDERS                    I can feel the floor pushing                    against me. Can you feel it too,                    tall youth?          Nick glances over at Mrs. Saunders who is now eating the          flowers.                              LACEY                    Paul served an appetizer earlier.                              PAUL                    Yes, it's a recipe I picked up in                    the Southwest. Stuffed mushrooms.          Nick smiles with amusement.                              TAGGERTY (O.S.)                    Hello, Nick.          Taggarty makes her entrance down the stairs, cloaked in a          green cape.                              TAGGERTY                    How is the star-crossed persistent                    lover?          She greets him with a casually intimate kiss.                                                                           104.                                        NICK                    Okay, I guess. Where's Sheeni?                              TAGGERTY                    Upstairs, Nick. She saw you coming                    and hid in her room.          INT. SHEENI'S ROOM - NIGHT          Nick knocks and enters to find Sheeni sprawled on the bed          with a book.                              NICK                    Dinner is almost ready, My Love.                              SHEENI                    I do not intend to be party to my                    brother's absurdities. He has                    allowed you in and drugged my                    parents.                              NICK                    I think they are deriving some good                    from the experience.          Sheeni finally looks up from her book.                              SHEENI                    What are you doing here, Nick? I                    expressly asked you not to come.                              NICK                    To hell with that. What do I have                    to do to prove my love to you? My                    friends have gotten laid and I'm                    pretty sure neither one of them was                    beaten with a tree trunk, raped by                    a walrus, or had to contend with                    the likes of Trent Preston!                              SHEENI                    You were raped by a walrus?                              NICK                    Sheeni, I have shown restraint, I                    have committed crimes, I have                    traveled to the lengths of the                    state and still you won't give me                    this one little thing.                              SHEENI                    Sex, Nick. Why don't you just say                    it? That's what you want. You want                    me to have sex with you.                                                                              105.                                         NICK                        (BEAT)                    Well... YEAH!          A beat as Nick's open admissions makes her consider his          point. She sighs and shakes her head.                              SHEENI                    How is my dog?                              NICK                    Excellent. He should be coming out                    of the oven right about now.          She tosses the book at him, but he dodges it successfully.                              SHEENI                    I hate you, Nickie!          She stands up and tries to slap him. He grabs her wrists and          pulls her to him.                              NICK                    I hate you too.          They share a long, intense kiss.          They break away and she smiles in spite of herself.          INT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - NIGHT          The Saunders and extended family take their seats at the          polished mahogany table crammed with turkey, yams, mashed          potatoes, and cranberry sauce.          They all lower their heads and Lacey leads them in prayer.                              LACEY                    Dear Lord...          Mr. Saunders emits a long, low, fog horn of a fart that ends          badly.          The others exchange glances but he and his wife still have          their heads solemnly bowed.                              LACEY                    Dear Lord, thank you for this                    bounty. Help us to be tolerant of                    others - especially the boyfriends                    and girlfriends of our immediate                    relations. Amen.                              EVERYONE                    Amen.                                                                           106.                    They begin eating. A helicopter passes by outside, search          light briefly coming through the windows.          Nick watches Mr. Saunders take a handful of mashed potatoes          and apply it to his face like war paint.                              MRS. SAUNDERS                    Paul? Your father looks rather                    strange.                              PAUL                    Well, mother, he is sitting in his                    own bowel movement.                              MRS. SAUNDERS                    That's no excuse.          Another helicopter passes overhead.                              TAGGARTY                    The food is delicious, Paul.                               PAUL                    Thank you.                        (BEAT)                    Sister, darling, how long has it                    been since we all observed the                    rituals of Thanksgiving?                              SHEENI                    Not long enough, Paul.                              NICK                    I hope it's the first of many such                    occasions for me.          Sheeni narrows her eyes at him.          A long beat as they all dine in silence. Then-          Mrs. Saunders croaks out in song.                              MRS. SAUNDERS                    Siiiilent night, Hooooly night/                    Aaaall in calm, aaall is bright...          Paul begins humming approvingly and one by one the others          accompany her as Mr. Saunders pretends to conduct them with a          drumstick.                              EVERYONE                    Round yon virgin Mother and Child/                    Holy infant so tender and mild/                    Sleep in heavenly peace... Sle-eep                    in heavenly pee-eace.                                                                              107.                    And with that, the doorbell rings. Taggarty gets up and opens          the door.                              TAGGARTY                    Oh, Trent, you made it.          Nick glances up with a start as TRENT PRESTON makes his          entrance. He's not quite the deity Nick's expected, but          rather a fairly plain, blond with slightly androgenous          features and a certain flamboyance. His black eye, courtesy          of Ed Solomon, still remains.                              TRENT                    Hello, Taggarty. Hello, Everyone.          Mr. Saunders grunts his acknowledgement as he takes the          pitcher and pours water into his own lap.                              SHEENI                    Trent, darling, this is Nick.          Trent swivels slowly around and they lock eyes.                              TRENT                    Nick, at last we meet.                              NICK                    Hello, Trent.                              TAGGARTY                    Have a seat, Trent.                              TRENT                    I'm sorry, Taggarty, I can't stay.                    I have bad news.                              SHEENI                    What is it?                              TRENT                    Bernice Lynch has tried to commit                    suicide.          Sheeni and Taggarty gasp. Nick swallows hard.                              TRENT                    She swallowed a number of sleeping                    pills, and is now in a coma.                              SHEENI                    The poor girl.                              TRENT                    There's more. Before I left school,                    I searched her room.                                                                           108.                                        NICK                    Did you obtain proper authorization                    from the officials?                              TRENT                    No, Nick, I acted on my own                    initiative. In Bernice's closet, I                    found this letter.          He dramatically extracts the letter from his pocket.                              TRENT                    In the letter, the writer                    instructed Bernice to begin                    sedating Sheeni with drugs he                    himself supplied.                              TAGGARTY                    Nick, you didn't!                              NICK                    Well, you see...                              SHEENI                    Nick! You could have killed me!                                MR. SAUNDERS                    Who died?                              TRENT                    No one yet, Mr. Saunders.          Mrs. Saunders points a liver spotted finger in his direction.                              MRS. SAUNDERS                    ARREST HIM!                              TRENT                    I can't arrest him. But I have                    called the Santa Cruz Police. They                    are on their way here now.          Nick places his napkin next to his plate and stands.                              NICK                    Well, I shall be going now. Please                    continue without me.                              TRENT                    Nick, I suggest you remain here and                    face the consequences like a man.          Nick stops in front of Trent.                                                                             109.                                        NICK                    Thank you for that unsolicited                    counsel, Trent. And please, do drop                    dead.          The other guests murmur their shock. Nick stops in the          doorway.                              NICK                    Goodbye, Sheeni. I did it all for                    you.                              SHEENI                    You are completely contemptible,                    Nick Twisp. I never wish to see you                    again.          With the dreadful proclamation ringing in his ears, Nick          leaves.          EXT. WOODS - NIGHT          Nick's silhouette figure racing through the trees.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Here I am, reviled by friends and                    family. Relentlessly pursued by                    three police jurisdictions.          Nick stops at the edge of the woods to catch his breath.                              NICK (V.O.)                    FronÁois suggests we flee the                    country. But where to go? Mexico?                    Canada? India, perhaps?          He looks up the road which has been blocked off by flashing          squad cars.          EXT. LOS ANGELES - ESTABLISHING - DAY          The downtown high-rises protrude from the layer of smog. In          pre-lap, someone pushes a door BUZZER repeatedly.          INT. JOANIE'S APARTMENT - DAY          Joanie opens the door and finds Nick on her doorstep.                              NICK                    Uh, Hi, Joanie. How's it going?                               JOANIE                    Nick?                                                                           110.                    INT. JOANIE'S APARTMENT - LATER                              NICK (V.O.)                    Since my sister can see through me,                    I'm obliged to give a relatively                    candid and thorough review of the                    events.          Joanie listens gravely, shaking her head at the most gruesome          parts of the story. Nick finishes, flopping into a chair.                              JOANIE                    Nick, six months ago you were just                    another brownnosing honor student.                    What happened?                              NICK                    I'm not really sure. I fell in love                    with Sheeni. All I want is to be                    with her. The rest is all a big                    misunderstanding.                              JOANIE                    Nick, you've stolen, vandalized,                    trespassed, and burned down                    Berkeley. All for one girl. If                    there's a misunderstanding, it's                    with your insight into females.                              NICK                    But... But where did I go wrong?                              JOANIE                    Nick, boys your age are always                    looking for the path of least                    resistance to becoming a man. A                    boy's whole self-esteem rests on                    how fast he can get a girl into                    bed.                              NICK                    So far, I agree.                              JOANIE                    Sooner or later what those boys                    realize, is that the girls you're                    chasing base their self-esteem on                    how many hoops they can get the boy                    to jump through before going to bed                    with him.          Nick furrows his brow. Clearly that had not occurred to him.                              JOANIE                    So I guess what you should ask                    yourself is: How far are you                    willing to go?                                                                           111.                    Nick nods in understanding. An epiphanic smile.                              NICK                    All the way, Joanie. I'm willing to                    go all the way.          Joanie nods in amusement.                              JOANIE                    You can stay here a couple days,                    but eventually they'll come looking                    for you. I don't have much money to                    give you, but here.          Nick takes the wad of cash, clearly moved.                              NICK                    Thanks, Joanie. I... Uh... I love                    you.                              JOANIE                    I love you too, you little brat.          INT. LOS ANGELES BUS TERMINAL - DAY          Nick slaps the cash on the counter and slides it under the          window.                              NICK                    One ticket to Ukiah, please.          INT. LANCE'S DUMP - BATHROOM - DAY          Lance squats on the toilet in a neck brace. He chuckles over          an issue of Penthouse. The phone rings. He picks it up                              LANCE                    Yeah.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Hey, bacon boy, it's Nick.                              LANCE                    Nick, ya little prick, where are                    ya?          EXT. LOS ANGELES BUS TERMINAL - DAY          Nick is crammed into the phone booth. He's wearing shades and          a fedora. WE INTERCUT.                              NICK                    You're on a need to know basis,                    gorilla boy.          Lance seethes inwardly.                                                                           112.                                        LANCE                    No matter, they'll get you                    eventually.                              NICK                    Let me make it easy. I'll be at                    Redwood High School tomorrow                    morning. Round up your donut                    dipping friends. I'm turning myself                    in.          Nick slams down the phone before Lance can respond.          I/E. BUS (MOVING) - DAY          Nick sits by the window, the suitcase on the seat next to          him.          EXT. UKIAH - DAY          And the bus flies past the sign that says WELCOME TO UKIAH.          EXT. UKIAH BUS STOP - NIGHT          Nick steps off the bus and finds Lefty loading his belongings          underneath.                              NICK                    Lefty?          Lefty lifts his eyes and sees his friend.                              LEFTY                    Nick? What are you doing here?                    Everyone and their mother's mother                    is looking for you.                               NICK                    They have me soon enough. Where are                    you going?                              LEFTY                    Home. I'm done being dead, Nick.                    Heather and I are going back to                    Oakland for Christmas. You should                    have heard how glad my parents were                    that I didn't kill myself. They                    were even happier when they found                    out I'm not gay.                              NICK                    That's great, Lefty.                              LEFTY                    Yeah, being in love is pretty                    great. So what's your plan, Nick?                                                                              113.                    Nick answers with only pensive silence.          EXT. PAUL'S HIDEOUT ABOVE GARAGE - NIGHT          Nick is about to knock on the door when Paul opens it in          another display of clairvoyance.                              PAUL                    Welcome back, Nick. We had a                    feeling you were coming.          INT. PAUL'S HIDEOUT ABOVE GARAGE - LATER          Nick sits beside Paul and Lacey on the couch as they watch          the infamous "chicken scene" in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Paul and Lacey are kind enough to                    share some leftover fungi to help                    calm my nerves. That, combined with                    yet another viewing of James Dean's                    performance is what gives me my                    final burst of inspiration.          They all watch transfixed as JAMES DEAN leaps from his          automobile just in time to escape demise.          INT. PAUL'S HIDEOUT ABOVE GARAGE - LATER          As the END CREDITS of REBEL play behind them, Lacey fits a          bombshell wig on Nick's head and finishes the last touches of          make-up that make him...          ...who we will come to know as CARLOTTA ULANSKY. Nick regards          his female alter-ego in the mirror.                              NICK (V.O.)                    FranÁois of course wants no part of                    this, and demands that we make a                    run for the border. But I have                    decided to veto him. It's time to                    face the music.          INT. BMW 325I - DAY          Nick turns the key in the ignition and CHRISTMAS MUSIC rises          from the speakers. And the music plays over...          EXT. REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL - DAY          ...where a crowd begins to form in anticipation of Nick's          arrival.          Nick watches from behind a tree on the ridge.                                                     DISSOLVE TO:                                                                              114.                    EXT. REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL - LATER          ...where police cars and news crews are pulling up to          interview the students.                                                     DISSOLVE TO:          EXT. REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL - LATER          The parking lot is now filled with police cruisers and FBI          vans, the news crews, REDWOOD HIGH STUDENTS, and an          apparently CALIFORNIA WIDE NICK TWISP CULT FOLLOWING.          TINA MANION, 17, speaks into a STUDENT NEWS CREW CAMERA.                                 TINA                       This is Tina Manion reporting live                       at Redwood High in Ukiah where                       local law enforcement as well as                       the FBI awaits the promised arrival                       of Nick Twisp.          There comes a murmur from the crowd and Tina directs the          student camera-man to the road on the ridge where...          George's BMW pulls to a stop overlooking the school.                                 GEORGE                       Hey. That's my car!          The crowd hushes as the door opens and Nick emerges.          NICK'S POV          of the parking lot below, which looks like the kind of turn          out one would expect of a Star Wars prequel.          ON THE VARIOUS FACES OF THE CROWD          staring up in silence. Estelle, Wally, Vijay, Trent, Dwayne,          George, Lacey, Paul...          Nick gives a little wave as if he were a celebrity.          The parking lot erupts with CHEERS of his name. A few          Berkeley KIDS hold up a sign that reads I'M SINGLE, LET'S          MINGLE.          Then - shouts of warning from the megaphones.          And as the flashers and sirens come to life, Nick jumps back          into his father's car and peels out.          I/E. BMW 325I (MOVING) - DAY          Nick glances in the rear view mirror as the cops bear through          the cloud kicked up in his wake.                                                                              115.                    Nick pops in a CD and turns up the Christmas music to drown          out the sirens.          EXT. COVERED BRIDGE - DAY          He zips across the covered bridge, the train of law          enforcement in hot pursuit.          I/E. BMW 325I (MOVING) - DAY          He yanks the wheel hard and veers off onto the mountain road.          A few of the squad cars miss the turn and skid side-long          through a picket fence.          Nick takes the switchbacks at 60 per, wheels practically          sliding off the turns.          EXT. BLUFF OVER CLEAR LAKE - DAY          The BMW crests the hill and smashes through the chain link          gate.          I/E. BMW 325I (MOVING) - DAY          As Nick watches the quickly approaching cliffs edge, he          undoes his seat belt.          He goes for the door handle, eyes going wide when he finds          power lock has engaged.          EXT. BLUFF OVER CLEAR LAKE - DAY          The BMW hurtles off the bluff and soars through the air,          tires spinning, a plume of snow blowing off the hood.          The car descends into a nose dive and flips completely upside-          down, hitting the ice covered surface of Clear Lake with a          thundering SMACK.          Police cars swerve to a stop at the edge of the bluff and the          crowd of officers and agents peer over the side at the hole          in the ice.          UNDERWATER          The BMW descends toward us in a storm of air bubbles.          As it gently touches down at the bottom of the lake, a somber          TRUMPET SOLO comes in pre-lap and we are...          EXT. CEMETERY - DAY          Where a crowd of family, friends, and fans stand around in          mourning garb over the funeral ceremony.                                                                              116.                                        NICK (V.O.)                    My only comfort regarding my                    untimely death is knowing my                    friends and family will do just                    fine without me.          We move from Lacey and Paul, the latter of which is wailing          away on the trumpet, to Lefty, his head hung low. Heather          pulls his head to her breasts.                              NICK (V.O.)                    As it would turn out Heather's                    vaginal canal is slightly                    misshapen...          INT. HILLS ABOVE UC CAMPUS - FLASHFORWARD - DAY          Lefty humping Heather in the grass ala the scene in which we          met him.                              NICK (V.O.)                    ...and thus completely compatible                    with Lefty's otherwise incongruent                    penis.                              HEATHER                    A little to the right... a                    little... RIGHT THERE! RIGHT THERE!                    RIGHTTHERERIGHTTHERERIGHTTHERE!          EXT. CEMETERY - DAY          ...where we find Vijay glancing over at Taggarty as she          smokes a cigarette.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Vijay would eventually manage to                    pin the car theft on me. But had                    lost the attention of Taggarty                    forever. Who by the way...          INT. SHEENI'S DORM ROOM - FLASHFORWARD - NIGHT                              NICK (V.O.)                    ...never would find her perfect A.          Taggarty at her wall. Ed Solomon lounges in the bed behind          her.                              NICK (V.O.)                    And would therefore start grading                    on a curve.          With a quick stroke of her pen, she changes Ed's grade from a          B minus to a B plus.                                                                           117.                    EXT. CEMETERY - DAY          ...where we find Joanie sniffling.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Joanie of course would get to                    continue to travel the world...          INT. AIRPLANE (35,000 FT) - FLASHFORWARD - DAY          Joanie serves up a beverage in first class.                              NICK   (V.O.)                    ...and she and   her breasts would                    probably go on   to have the                    wonderful life   that they deserve.          The CELEBRITY she is serving looks from her cleavage to her          eyes. She gives a little smile.          EXT. CEMETERY - DAY          ...where we find Estelle weeping quietly against Wally's          shoulder.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Wally as it turns out...          INT. JEOPARDY STUDIO - FLASHFORWARD - NIGHT          Estelle watches from the audience as Wally scribbles at his          podium while ALEX TREBECK hosts inaudibly.                              NICK (V.O.)                    ...would go on Jeopardy and win,                    ensuring my mother's blessed rise                    to a higher economic status.          The answer on Wally's screen says WHO IS ALBERT CAMUS? Alex          Trebeck shakes his head, leaving Wally with only $1, but          enough to best his two competitors.          EXT. CEMETERY - DAY          ...where we find George puffing on a cigar, Mrs. Crampton          behind him, his hand resting on Dwayne's shoulder.                              NICK (V.O.)                    ...my father, no longer burdened                    with crippling child support                    payments, would now be able to                    afford the model BMW he always                    wanted...                                                                           118.                    I/E. BMW M6SMG - MOVING - FLASHFORWARD - DAY          Dwayne sticks his head out the window and shouts with glee as          his flab flaps in the wind.                              NICK (V.O.)                    ...and would come to find the                    surrogate son he always wanted in                    Dwayne, the only organism alive                    that could possibly appreciate                    George's driving.          As the car accelerates, we see the vanity plate reads THUNDER          ROD.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Leaving just one last piece of                    business.          EXT. CEMETERY - DAY          And finally we arrive on Sheeni, expressionless. And as we          continue to PAN we reach...          Carlotta standing in the background. The bombshell haircut          and thick glasses can barely be made out through her veil.          Paul finishes his trumpet solo and there is a moment of          silence to observe the open casket and the SINGLE, LET'S          MINGLE shirt and shorts that are being buried inside.          EXT. CEMETERY - DUSK          Sheeni makes her way toward the line of limos and hearses.          She approaches the distant Carlotta.                              SHEENI                    Excuse me. Are you a friend of                    Nick's?          Carlotta looks up, startled. She composes herself and shakes          Sheeni's hand.                              NICK/CARLOTTA                    A terribly old friend. Carlotta                    Ulanksy. I'm sorry for your loss.                              SHEENI                    You shouldn't be, Carlotta. I am no                    doubt culpable for Nick's actions.                              NICK/CARLOTTA                    Well, love does compel us to                    desperate acts. People cannot                    always act rationally.                              (MORE)                                                                           119.                                        NICK/CARLOTTA (cont'd)                    The greater the love, the stronger                    the passions, the more reckless the                    crimes.          Sheeni lets go a slight, wistful smile.                              SHEENI                    Yes, Carlotta. Nick had wonderful a                    way of making me feel worthy of the                    pursuit.                              NICK/CARLOTTA                    My dear, if there's one thing the                    demise of Nick Twisp has taught me,                    it's that self worth comes from                    within.          Sheeni gives a pensive nod.                              SHEENI                    Would you like to stay the night,                    Carlotta? We can reminisce of our                    departed.                              NICK/CARLOTTA                    Oh, my. A kind offer, but I really                    must...                              SHEENI                    It's just... I don't think I could                    bear to be alone tonight.          Carlotta does her best not to look conflicted, but it shows.          INT. SHEENI'S ROOM - NIGHT          Carlotta hurriedly finishes tucking herself in while Sheeni          brushes in the bathroom.          Carlotta hastily switches out the light. Sheeni emerges in a          few small scraps of flimsy black lace.                              NICK/CARLOTTA                    Goodness. What an attractive                    negligee.                              SHEENI                    Do you like it? I bought it in                    Santa Rosa last fall. I had hoped                    to wear it for Nick.                              NICK/CARLOTTA                    Oh, darling, I'm sure he would have                    found it most... Appealing.          Sheeni crawls into bed. She cuddles close.                                                                             120.                                        SHEENI                    I like lying here with you,                    Carlotta.                              NICK/CARLOTTA                    You do?                              SHEENI                    I can't think of anyone I'd rather                    lie here with.          Carlotta furrows her brow.                              SHEENI                    Except maybe Nick. If Nick were                    here, what do you suppose he would                    do to me?                              NICK/CARLOTTA                    Make love to you I would think.                              SHEENI                    Then why don't you?                              NICK/CARLOTTA                    Pardon?                              SHEENI                    Take off that silly wig and make                    love to me!          Sheeni tugs off the wig and tosses it across the room.                              NICK                    Sheeni! You knew!                              SHEENI                    Of course, Nick. Did you really                    expect to fool your soul mate with                    such a disguise?          Nick swoons, grasping her gauze-glazed nakedness.                              SHEENI                    Take me darling!          And as they engage in a feverish kiss, ROUSING HYMNS surge.          The church chorus' joyful song rings Hallelujah.          The two lovers are entwined before an abstract RED          BACKGROUND.          LAS VEGAS OF THE BODY          Into the NICK'S PENIS nightclub where champagne bottles POP          with the ringing in of a new era, and the Leopards ROAR, and          the stage erupts with fireworks.                                                                           121.                    INT. SHEENI'S ROOM - MORNING          Nick sleeps with a grin on his face. He rouses at the touch          of Sheeni's lips on his cheek.                              SHEENI                    My parents are at services. They                    won't be back for hours.                              NICK                    Shall we have breakfast, my love?                              SHEENI                    What a lovely notion, darling. You                    go ahead downstairs and get things                    started.          Sheeni hauls herself out of bed and grabs the phone off the          cradle.                              NICK                    What are you doing?                              SHEENI                    Calling Taggarty to report that you                    are not completely incompetent in                    the bedroom.                              NICK                    Do I get to stay and hear my grade?                              SHEENI                    Not a chance, Mr. Twisp. Such                    things are reserved for girl talk                    only. And for good reason.          She smiles at him and he smiles back.                              NICK                    Very well, Sheeni. Don't be long.          INT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - DAY          Nick prances into the living room in his underwear.          He starts to head into the kitchen when he catches sight of          the full length mirror out of the corner of his eye. He stops          in front of the mirror and flexes his biceps. Admires          himself.          FranÁois appears in the mirror behind Nick, Thompson slung          over his shoulder.                              NICK                    Well, good morning, FranÁois. What                    do you think?                                                                           122.                                        FRAN«OIS                    What do I sink? I sink now's are                    chance to run for ze hills.          Nick lowers his arms and furrows his brow.                              NICK                    What do you mean?                              FRAN«OIS                    Nick, we are young, yes? Is the                    world not our oyster? Beaucoup des                    filles. Do you not want to know                    what it is like to make love to                    another girl?                              NICK                    I do, but... We've come so far.                    What about Sheeni?                              FRAN«OIS                    Forget Sheeni. Yes, she will always                    be ze first conquest, but all zis                    time you saught zis was ze end, ze                    one and only, when in fact it is                    only ze beginning.          Nick lifts his eyebrows with dawning epiphany.          In the reflection we can see behind Nick as Albert leaps onto          the love seat and barks at the sound of approaching sirens.          Nick runs to the window just in time to see half a dozen law          enforcement vehicles pull up.                              NICK                    Sheeni, the police are here!          He ducks down from the window as a chopper buzzes overhead.                              NICK                    Quick! Maybe I can sneak out the                    back!                              MEGAPHONE (O.S.)                    NICK TWISP! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!                              NICK                    I don't understand. How do they                    even know I'm alive?                              SHEENI (O.S.)                    Well, I called them of course.          Nick spins to face her. She's standing in the doorway and          there's not a hint of wrong-doing in her face.                                                                            123.                                        NICK                    Well, thanks a pantsful!                              SHEENI                    But, Nickie, it had to be done.                              NICK                    But... but why?                              SHEENI                    I can't very well marry a wanted                    man, honey. Look at it this way, in                    a few months you'll be a free man                    and we can be together in Paris.          Nick looks to FranÁois in disbelief. But the Frenchman just          rolls his eyes.                               FRAN«OIS                    You might as well break it to her                    now, Nick.          A long pensive beat as Nick contemplates telling her he may          never see her again. But behind Sheeni's air of control, Nick          finally sees the vulnerability he's had in his hands all          along.                              NICK (V.O.)                    FranÁois is right of course, but on                    the other hand, why be cruel? After                    all, Sheeni had managed to give me                    hope every step of the way. And if                    hope is what Sheeni would now need                    to go on, well then...                              NICK                    As always, you are right, my love.          Sheeni beams. FranÁois smacks his forehead with hand.                              FRAN«OIS                    Merd.          The Frenchman in the mirror sticks the barrel of the Thompson          in his mouth and blows himself OUT OF FRAME just as...          ...the front door bursts open and the FBI AGENTS surround          Nick.          EXT. SAUNDERS' MOBILE HOME - DAY          The agents lead Nick to the caravan of law enforcement parked          in the road.                                                                             124.                                        NICK (V.O.)                    Arrested? Ha. It may not appear so,                    but the truth is... I've got the                    world on a string.          Sheeni emerges from the home, Albert barking in protest.          Nick strains against his cuffs to look over his shoulder at          her.                              SHEENI                    Write often, Nickie.                              NICK                    I will, darling.                              SHEENI                    And don't worry about Albert. He'll                    be waiting for you too.                               NICK (V.O.)                    As FranÁois would remind me, I'm                    intelligent, healthy, virile, not                    violently ugly... On the whole I am                    splendidly equipped for this great                    adventure we call the human                    existence.          The FBI agents shove Nick into the back of their black          Saturn.          INT. SATURN(MOVING) - DAY          Nick watches out the back window as the car pulls away. A          view of Sheeni waving in the road, Albert at her feet.                              NICK (V.O.)                    Besides, what jury would convict a                    teenager who acted out of love?                    And even if I do get to spend the                    next few months of my youth getting                    Dwayned by the inmates of the                    California Juvenile Correctional                    System, I did get my thirty two                    minutes of lovemaking with one of                    the most outstanding girls of this                    or any other epoch.          Nick turns to face the front while behind him the waving          figure gets ever more distant. A pensive moment as he          actually questions...                              NICK (V.O.)                    But was it all worth it?          Nick revisits those thirty two minutes in his mind and it          brings a smirk to his face.                                                                            125.                                        NICK (V.O.)                    You bet your left nut it was.          And as Tom Jones' SHE'S A LADY kicks in, we...                                                                       THE END
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+                                  ZERO DARK THIRTY                                    Written by                                    Mark Boal                                                     October 3rd, 2011                                                           FROM BLACK, VOICES EMERGE--          We hear the actual recorded emergency calls made by World          Trade Center office workers to police and fire departments          after the planes struck on 9/11, just before the buildings          collapsed.          TITLE OVER: SEPTEMBER 11, 2001          We listen to fragments from a number of these calls...starting          with pleas for help, building to a panic, ending with the          caller's grim acceptance that help will not arrive, that the          situation is hopeless, that they are about to die.                         CUT TO:          TITLE OVER: TWO YEARS LATER          INT. BLACK SITE - INTERROGATION ROOM                         DANIEL          I own you, Ammar. You belong to me.          Look at me.          This is DANIEL STANTON, the CIA's man in Islamabad - a big          American, late 30's, with a long, anarchical beard snaking          down to his tattooed neck. He looks like a paramilitary          hipster, a punk rocker with a Glock.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          (explaining the rules)          If you don't look at me when I talk          to you, I hurt you. If you step off          this mat, I hurt you. If you lie to          me, I'm gonna hurt you. Now, Look          at me.          His prisoner, AMMAR, stands on a decaying gym mat, surrounded          by four GUARDS whose faces are covered in ski masks.          Ammar looks down. Instantly: the guards rush Ammar, punching          and kicking.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Look at me, Ammar.          Notably, one of the GUARDS wearing a ski mask does not take          part in the beating.                                                                                                              2.          EXT. BLACK SITE - LATER          Daniel and the masked figures emerge from the interrogation          room into the light of day. They remove their masks and we          see that one is a beautiful young woman in her mid-twenties.          She has a pale, milky innocence and bright blue eyes, thin          and somewhat frail looking, yet possessing a steely core          that we will come to realize is off-the-charts. This is          MAYA, a CIA targeter and subject-matter expert on her first          overseas assignment.                         DANIEL          (to the guard)          Are we gonna board up these windows          or what?                         (TO MAYA)          Just off the plane from Washington,          you're rocking your best suit for          your first interrogation, and then          you get this guy. It's not always          this intense.                         MAYA          I'm fine.          She's not.                         DANIEL          Just so you know, it's going to take          awhile. He has to learn how helpless          he is. Let's get a coffee.                         MAYA          No, we should go back in.          Something about the strange intensity of her expression makes          Daniel reconsider and he turns back to the interrogation          room.                         DANIEL          You know, there's no shame if you          wanna watch from the monitor.          She shakes her head.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Alright.          At the door, Daniel hands the ski mask back to Maya.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          You might want to put this on.                                                                                                              3.                         MAYA          You're not wearing one. Is he ever          getting out?                         DANIEL          Never.                         CUT TO:          INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - LATER          SUPERIMPOSE: CIA BLACK SITE - UNDISCLOSED LOCATION          Ammar, bruised from the beating, is restrained with ropes.          Maya stands a few feet behind Daniel, attentive, wary of          what is to come. This is her first interrogation and she is          on the verge of vomiting from the stench in the room. She          looks around at the sound-proofed walls, the puddles of water          on the floor.                         DANIEL          Right now, this is about you coming          to terms with your situation. It's          you and me, bro. I want you to          understand that I know you, that          I've been studying you for a very          long time. I could have had you          killed Karachi. But I let you live          so you and I could talk.                         AMMAR                         (RESISTANT)          You beat me when my hands are tied.          I won't talk to you.                         DANIEL          Life isn't always fair, my friend.          Did you really think that when we          got you, I'd be a nice fucking guy?                         AMMAR          You're a mid-level guy. You're a          garbage man in a corporation. Why          should I respect you?                         DANIEL          And you're a money man. A paperboy!          Daniel paces around Ammar, anger rising.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          A disgrace to humanity!                         (MORE)                                                                                                              4.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          You and your uncle murdered three          thousand innocent people. I have          your name on a five-thousand dollar          transfer via Western Union to a 9/11          hijacker.          He leans into Ammar's ear. Uncomfortably close.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          And you got popped with 150 kilograms          of high explosives in your house!          AND THEN YOU DARE QUESTION ME?!          And then Daniel smiles, laughs. Mercurial.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          I'm just fucking with you.          Beat. He laughs again.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          I don't want to talk about 9/11.          What I want to focus on is the Saudi          group.          Daniel shows him a photo.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          That there is Hazem al-Kashmiri.          And I know this dude is up to some          serious shit, and what I want from          you is his Saudi email.                         (PAUSE)          Feel free to jump in.                         (PAUSE)          Ammar, bro, I know that you know          this dude, just give me his          email...and I will give you a blanket.          I will give you a blanket and some          solid food.          No response from Ammar. Daniel starts putting on his gloves.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          I know that you know him.                         AMMAR          I told you before, I won't talk to          you.                         DANIEL          Have it your way.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              5.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          (to the masks)          Let's go.          It all happens in a flash: in one swift motion, Daniel pushes          Ammar to the floor, the guards pin his limbs, and Daniel          smothers Ammar's face with a towel.          Ammar thrashes. Daniel considers his next move.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)                         (TO MAYA)          Grab the bucket.          Maya follows Daniel's gesture to the corner of the room,          where there's an ICE CHEST filled with WATER and a PLASTIC          PITCHER.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Put some water in it.          She dips the pitcher in the water, hands shaking.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          C'mon, let's go.          The stress and strain on her face is enormous as she brings          the bucket back to Daniel.          Daniel starts pouring the water on Ammar's face, which is          now covered by a towel. Ammar thrashes with rising panic.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Hazem was a friend of Ramzi Yousef,          you guys met in Tunisia back in the          70s.                         AMMAR          (gasping for breath)          I don't know, you asshole.          Maya shakes her head "no."                         MAYA          That's not credible.                         AMMAR                         (SCREAMING)          Why are you doing this to me?                         DANIEL          You're a terrorist, that's why I'm          doing it to you.                                                                                                              6.                         AMMAR          Fuck you.          Daniel pours water over the towel so it hits Ammar's nose.                         DANIEL          I want emails of the rest of the          Saudi group. Give me emails of the          rest of the Saudi group! Give me          one email, and I will stop this!          Ammar doesn't speak. He can't.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Who's in the Saudi group, and what's          the target? Where was the last time          you saw bin Laden? WHERE WAS THE          LAST TIME YOU SAW BIN LADEN?          Daniel throws the pitcher, rips the rag off Ammar's mouth:          and water spurts out - Ammar nearly drowned. He gasps for          air.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          This is what defeat looks like, bro.          Your jihad is over.          Daniel stands.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Get him up.          The guards bring Ammar to his feet.          Daniel, shifting his persona yet again, touches Ammar's face          and speaks to him with the comforting tenor of a therapist.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Try to understand the concept here.          I have time, you don't. I have other          things to do, you don't.                         (BEAT)          It's cool that you're strong. I          respect it, I do. But in the end,          everybody breaks, bro. It's biology.          Dan and Maya exit.          They've learned nothing.                         CUT TO:          EXT. ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - MORNING          SUPERIMPOSE: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN                                                                                                              7.          A colorful, dusty city. Busy markets. Poor children. Dense          traffic.          Meanwhile, across town:          EXT. DIPLOMATIC QUARTER - ISLAMABAD - DAY          National flags. Imposing buildings. Armed guards. The          outpost of a superpower.          Maya drives through the checkpoint and up to the main gate.          SUPERIMPOSE: UNITED STATES EMBASSY, ISLAMABAD                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STAIRCASE - ISLAMABAD          Descending the lobby staircase with Daniel is JOSEPH BRADLEY,          Chief of Station, Pakistan, a smooth, vain, sophisticated          former case officer who hasn't quite buffed all the blood          out of his fingernails.                         BRADLEY          How did it go the other night?                         DANIEL          It was good. The local cops need          tactical help. But he's Tier fucking          One, baby. There's your money maker.                         BRADLEY          This is the guy that's KSM's nephew?          What's his issue?                         DANIEL          He's being a dick.                         BRADLEY          If he's trying to outsmart you, tell          him about your PhD.                         DANIEL          I am going to have to turn up the          heat. He needs to give us the Saudi          group now.          They reach the lobby, where they can see Maya sitting in the          holding area. They walk towards her as Bradley considers          what Daniel is asking for.                                                                                                              8.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STAIRCASE/LOBBY                         BRADLEY          He's gotta have that - given the          family ties.          Permission granted, Daniel reassures his boss.                         DANIEL          Tight with his uncle, prints all          over the 9/11 money.          Daniel knocks on the glass for Maya to come in.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          (to Bradley, clocking          her good looks)          Was I lying or what?          The guard opens the door and Maya comes through - not many          females come through that door.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)                         (TO MAYA)          Maya, this is Joseph Bradley, our          illustrious station chief.          (as they shake hands)          Joe and I did Iraq together.                         BRADLEY          And we continue our Christian mission          here. Nice to meet you.                         MAYA          You too, Sir.                         BRADLEY          How was your flight?          They walk down the lobby towards the Secure Wing.                         MAYA          Fine.                         DANIEL          She's been having a great time ever          since she got in, isn't that right?                         BRADLEY          How do you like Pakistan so far?                         MAYA          It's kinda fucked up.                                                                                                              9.                         BRADLEY          You volunteered for this didn't you?                         MAYA          No.          Bradley smiles. He knew she didn't volunteer.          They reach a secure area and Bradley checks Maya through an          electronic door.                         BRADLEY                         (TO MAYA)          Third floor, northeast corner.          She goes through and Daniel and Bradley watch her walk away.                         DANIEL          Don't you think she's a little young          for the hard stuff?                         BRADLEY          Washington says she's a killer.                         DANIEL          The children's crusade.                         BRADLEY          They want the next generation on the          field. Listen, I have a meeting          with ISI in twenty minutes.                         DANIEL          They're slow rolling us in Lahore -          you might want to bitch about that.                         BRADLEY          Did you see the cable from London?                         DANIEL          Dude, I've been in a dark room with          another man for the last two days.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE          Maya finds her desk. It's covered with grime. She tries to          clean it as best she can, then sits and looks at the blank          log-in screen of her computer.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - CONFERENCE ROOM          A group of thirty-somethings filing in for a meeting,          chatting, comradery, taking seats around a conference table.                                                                                                              10.          We will get to know:          JACK, mid-40s, a scruffy teddy bear, the liaison from the          National Security Agency (NSA).          JESSICA, 30s, an experienced targeter, and the only woman in          the station who wears a skirt.                         JACK          Some dude tells the Malaysian station          that his nephew works with a guy who          knows a guy--                         JESSICA          Here we go.                         JACK          Hold on - He goes to a big feast in          Bangkok about a year ago. The guest          of honor? Usama bin Laden.          Laughter in the room.                         JACK (CONT'D)          So I say, was Tupac there too?                         JESSICA          Right, but you forgot - you forgot          Mullah Omar.          J.J. and JEREMY, two case officers, continue the banter:                         JEREMY                         (SARCASTICALLY)          This is worth 5 million bucks.          J.J.          You know we're going to have to chase          it down.                         JEREMY          That's me, man. No job too small.                         JACK          That's why I have a gift for you, my          friend.          Jack hands Jeremy a piece of paper. Daniel and Maya enter,          a little late.                         DANIEL          Everyone, this is Maya. Maya,          everyone.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              11.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Please don't ask how it's going with          Ammar because she's not going to          fucking tell you.                         JESSICA          Ammar is withholding?          Daniel nods.                         JESSICA (CONT'D)          (reading from her                         FILE)          Washington assesses that Abu Faraj          is officially our new number three -          JESSICA moves to a wall chart of AQ leadership and repositions          Abu Faraj's mugshot to number three in the line, two down          from Usama bin Laden. Meanwhile, in the background, the          riffs continue -                         DANIEL          - Best man for it.          JACK (O.S.)          London station is already asking if          we think he's in contact with anyone          in the U.K.                         JEREMY          Like we're just keeping it from them.          Jessica sits back down and gets down to business.                         JESSICA          The Jordanians are being really          helpful with Ammar's transit papers.          Jessica passes Daniel a file.                         DANIEL          Any imminent threats in here?                         JESSICA          They want the Consulate, the Marriott,          it's low security. And they've got          Majid Kahn talking about gas stations          in the US.                         DANIEL          And that's a conversation?          Jessica shrugs. At this point, she believes that it is merely          a conversation - not a fully realized plot.                                                                                                              12.                         JESSICA          Honestly? There are six hundred          questions in there. I'd concentrate          on Heathrow. The Saudis. Does it          matter what Faraj thinks about          Heathrow? How much latitude does he          get to pick targets?                         DANIEL          I think he'll give up the Saudis.          But Heathrow is gonna be tough.          Anyway. Anything from last night?          J.J.          Quetta base thinks they have a bead          on the Arabs that escaped, and they're          going to meet with the ISI this          afternoon, hopefully to set up a          raid down there.                         DANIEL          Great.                         JEREMY          And Lahore reporting ISI down there          was painfully slow last night. Again.          I'm beginning to think it's not          incompetence.                         DANIEL          I agree, I spoke to the Chief about          that. Anything on bin Laden?                         JESSICA          (reading from a cable)          A farmer on the Afghan border near          Tora Bora reports: a diamond shaped          pattern in the hills, tall male in          the center of the diamond, flanked          by four guards. It's consistent          with UBL's movements.                         JEREMY          That's supposed to be his royal guard?                         MAYA          That's pre-9/11 behavior.          Jessica doesn't appreciate the challenge.                         JESSICA                         (CHILLY)          We don't have reason to believe he's          changed security tactics.                                                                                                              13.                         MAYA          We invaded Afghanistan. That's a          reason.          And so the rivalry begins.          J.J.          Hey, boss, I got a guy for five          thousand bucks, he can set up a taxi          stand and snoop around a bit.                         DANIEL          No, don't need him, the diamond          sighting is bullshit. See if the          Paks will send someone to talk to          the farmer. Anything else? We need          to be putting runs on the board          against Faraj. Speak to the case          officers who didn't see fit to make          it today. And thank them.          INT. MAYA'S APARTMENT - ISLAMABAD          The loud WAILING of the early morning call to prayer from          the loudspeakers of a nearby mosque wakes Maya on the couch.                         CUT TO:          INT. BLACK SITE - AFTERNOON          Daniel and the guards enter Ammar's cell with Maya. Daniel          switches on a floodlight, awakening Ammar.                         DANIEL          Let's take it easy today, huh?          Daniel hands Ammar a bottle of orange juice and a bag of          falafel.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Hungry? The food in here sucks so I          got you some of this.          Ammar grabs the lunch sack and scarfs down the falafels.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Richard Reid, wow. I was thinking          about him. The guy gets a bomb in          his shoe on a plane. Unbelievable.          You know him, don't you?          Slowly, Ammar nods.                                                                                                              14.                         AMMAR          Yes.                         DANIEL          I'm glad you said that. I have an          email from you to him. I've had all          your coms for years, bro. Who else          is in your Saudi group?                         AMMAR          I just handed out some cash for them.          I didn't know who the guys were.                         DANIEL          When you lie to me, I hurt you.                         AMMAR          Please.                         DANIEL          I believe you. I do, I believe you.          Beat.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Do you want the water again, or do          you want something else?                         AMMAR          Please.                         DANIEL          Just give me a name.                         AMMAR                         I DON'T--          Daniel jumps up.                         AMMAR (CONT'D)          I don't know.          Daniel kicks out the chair from under Ammar. The masked          guards walk to the rope pulleys.                         DANIEL          You see how this works? You don't          mind if my female colleague sees          your junk, do you?          Daniel pulls down Ammar's pants. Maya flinches at the bare          nakedness.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Dude, you shit your pants.                                                                                                              15.          Daniel turns to Maya -                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          You stay here, I'll be back.          Daniel goes out, leaving Maya standing alone in front of the          naked, chained man.          Ammar looks at her imploringly and she struggles to meet his          eyes.                         AMMAR          Your friend is an animal. Please,          help me. Please.          A long beat.                         MAYA          You can help yourself by being          truthful.          The door handle turns. It occurs to Maya that perhaps Daniel          was testing her resilience, too, as Daniel re-enters with a          DOG COLLAR in his hand.                         DANIEL          This is a dog collar.          Daniel unhooks Ammar, snaps the collar and leash around his          neck, as Ammar cries out against the humiliation.          Maya flinches. Daniel is relentless:                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          You determine how I treat you.          Now Daniel drags Ammar on all fours, pulling him by the leash.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          I'm going to walk you.          Maya watches in horror as Daniel walks Ammar to a far corner          of the room, then leans down to address his victim:                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          What the fuck do you think is going          on, Ammar? Wahleed has already told          me that you know.          At last, Daniel reaches an area of the room where there is a          large wooden box resting on a platform.                                                                                                              16.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          This box sucks. I'm going to put          you in it.          Ammar tries to speak but can't get a word out.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          When is the attack?                         AMMAR                         (VERY SOFTLY)          Sunday.                         DANIEL          Sunday? Sunday where? This Sunday          or next Sunday?          Ammar mumbles, almost inaudibly.                         AMMAR          Monday.                         DANIEL          Is it Sunday or Monday?          Ammar doesn't answer. The masked men approach.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Which day is it? Partial information          is treated as a lie.                         AMMAR          Saturday.          Beat. The masked men open the box.                         AMMAR (CONT'D)          Sunday!          The guards grab Ammar and carry him to his wooden tomb. He          shouts with his last reserve of energy:                         AMMAR (CONT'D)          Monday!                         DANIEL          Ammar, which day?                         AMMAR                         (MUMBLING)          Monday, Tuesday,          Beat.                                                                                                              17.                         AMMAR (CONT'D)          Thursday.          Beat.                         AMMAR (CONT'D)          Friday.          Daniel slams the box shut. Once again, he's learned nothing.                         CUT TO:          EXT. KHOBAR TOWERS - SAUDI ARABIA - DAY          ECU: a magazine CLICKS into the receiver of a black assault          rifle.          The weapon, carried by a BEARDED ARAB MAN dressed in street          clothes, rises to shoulder height.          INT. KHOBAR TOWERS - DAY          - The man enters the hallway of the KHOBAR RESIDENTIAL TOWERS          - And immediately opens fire on TWO WESTERN MEN he happens          to find inside, killing them both.          TITLE OVER: MAY 29, 2004          - The CRACK of the shots sends the rest of the residents          into a panicky, screaming dash for cover          - As he strides quickly down the hall, he finds three other          RESIDENTS scrambling for safety, and shoots and kills them          all.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - CONFERENCE ROOM          CU TV: news footage of the massacre.          Daniel, Jessica, and Maya look on in defeat. The "Saudi"          attack they tried to prevent by pressuring Ammar has occurred.                         JESSICA                         (TO DANIEL)          Don't worry about the Saudis, they'll          take care of business.                         DANIEL          Yeah, now.                                                                                                              18.                         JESSICA          You warned them - they didn't take          you seriously - this is what happens.          It's not on you.                         DANIEL          Who said that? Zied? Fuck him.          This is on me. Ammar is on me!!          And it's on her!!          (pointing to Maya)          We can't let this be a win-win for          AQ.                         JESSICA          No, no, no. You had - what - days -          brief custody - and an unresponsive          ally. The way you do this is you          look ahead. London. Heathrow. Mass          casualties. That plan is still          active.                         MAYA          Ammar doesn't have a clue about what          happened.                         JESSICA          He knows.                         MAYA          How?                         JESSICA          You have to be really careful with          people in KSM's circle - they're          devious.                         MAYA          He's not going to talk about attacks          on the homeland. He's going to          withhold operational details on the          KSM network and probably on bin Laden.          (flipping her argument)          But he's been in complete isolation,          he doesn't know we failed. We can          tell him anything.                         DANIEL          Bluff him?                         MAYA          He hasn't slept, Dan. He's clueless.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              19.          EXT. BLACK SITE - AFTERNOON                         DANIEL (PRE-LAP)          You don't remember, do you? You -          me: same same. Bad memory.          While GUARDS move in the deep b.g., Daniel and Maya are seated          at a picnic table with an appetizing spread of Arabic food.          DANIEL (PRE-LAP) (CONT'D)          Short term memory loss is a side          effect of sleep deprivation. It          should come back to you.          The Guards bring a prisoner to the table and remove his hood:          Ammar. He stares weakly at the table.                         AMMAR                         (CAREFULLY)          I don't know. How can I remember?                         MAYA          After we kept you awake for 96 hours,          you gave us names of some of your          brothers and saved the lives of a          lot of innocent people.                         DANIEL          Which is the smart thing to do, you're          starting to think for yourself.          Ammar is lost. But the food is tempting.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Eat up! You earned it.          Ammar eats.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          So you flew via Amman to Kabul to          hang out with your uncle? Mukhtar.                         AMMAR          How did you know that?                         DANIEL          I told you man, I know you. Alright,          you got me - flight manifests. It          must've been pretty fucked up for          you guys after 9/11. What did you          do after the invasion and before you          went back to Pesh?                                                                                                              20.                         AMMAR          After 9/11 I had to choose: fight,          to protect our turf - or run.                         DANIEL                         (SYMPATHETIC)          You chose to fight.          Ammar looks Daniel right in the eyes.                         AMMAR          I wanted to kill Americans. We tried          to get into Tora Bora but the bombing          was too high. We couldn't cross.                         MAYA          Sorry, who is the "we" in that          sentence?                         AMMAR          Me and some guys who were hanging          around at that time.                         DANIEL                         (CASUALLY)          I can eat with some other dude and          hook you back up to the ceiling?                         AMMAR          Hamza Rabia, Khabab al-Masri, and          Abu Ahmed.          Maya makes notes on her pad.                         MAYA          Who's Abu Ahmed? I've heard of the          other guys.                         AMMAR          He was a computer guy with us at the          time. After Tora Bora, I went back          to Pesh - as you know - and he went          North, I think, to Kunar.                         MAYA          What's his family name?                         AMMAR          Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti.                         MAYA          Abu Ahmed means "father of Ahmed",          it's a kunya.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              21.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          Ammar, I know the difference between          a war name and an Arabic name.                         DANIEL          She got you there, dude.                         AMMAR          I swear to you both: I don't know          his family name. I would have never          asked him something like that. It's          not how my uncle worked. My uncle          told me he worked for bin Laden. I          did see him, once, about a year ago,          in Karachi. He read us all a letter          from the Sheikh.                         MAYA          A letter?                         DANIEL          What did it say?          Daniel offers Ammar a smoke.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          Cigarette?          Ammar accepts. Daniel's lights it.                         AMMAR          It said "Continue the jihad. The          work will go on for a hundred years."                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - RESEARCH ROOM          We fade into a dimly lit research room, where Maya is alone          watching interrogation video recordings on an array of          monitors. Some of the videos are rough; but most simply          depict two people talking. The video she's watching now shows          a hooded prisoner sitting in a filthy room, the walls smeared          with red stains.                         CU SCREEN:                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR          You and I are gonna talk about some          of the guys in the training camps,          yeah?          The prisoner sits in a chair. He's hooded, but relaxed.                                                                                                              22.                         PRISONER          Ok.                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR          Some of these brothers have done          some bad things, and what I want to          do is I want to separate them from          the people like you.                         PRISONER          Definitely, yeah.                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR          There was a guy called Abu Ahmed          from Kuwait.                         PRISONER          Yes, I remember him. A nice guy.                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR          How close was he? What was his          relationship to the leadership?                         PRISONER          I don't know.                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR          Did he eat with you guys - did he          eat with the good guys - or did he          eat with the leadership?                         PRISONER          I don't know, sir. I have no idea          about things like that.                         SOLDIER INTERROGATOR          Yes you do, you don't need an idea                         ABOUT THINGS-          Maya hits pause and we see that her desk is filled with open          windows of interrogations: she is analyzing ten videos          simultaneously, comparing them to each other.          INT. RESEARCH ROOM - MOMENTS LATER          She plays another video showing a Turkish prison.                         TURKISH INTERROGATOR          When you met with Khalid Sheikh          Mohammed, was this one of the          facilitators?          The Interrogator flashes a picture. The prisoner moans.                                                                                                              23.          TURKISH INTERROGATOR (CONT'D)          Is this Abu Ahmed?                         PRISONER          Yes.                         CUT TO          INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER          She fast forwards a video - shot in a Polish facility. The          prisoner appears to be cold.                         INTERROGATOR          KSM, your boss.                         PRISONER          Mukhtar?                         INTERROGATOR          Mukhtar,'potato', you say 'potahto'.          I say 'fucking KSM', but yeah,          'Mukhtar.' After Mukhtar was          captured, what did Abu Ahmed do?                         PRISONER          Abu Ahmed, I believe he went to work          for The Sheikh.          INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER          Maya is still in the research room. She's been going at          this for hours and looks fatigued.          CU SCREEN: a different INTERROGATOR from the previous video;          PRISONER is an older man chained to a desk. The exchange is          in Arabic with an English subtitle on the screen:                         PRISONER          In Karachi, in 2003 or 2004.                         INTERROGATOR          He was carrying a letter from bin          Laden?                         CUT TO:          INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER          Still going, looking exhausted now, Maya manipulates the          controls of yet another video clip with a different          INTERROGATOR and PRISONER. We're now in a Moroccan facility.          The interrogator shows him a photograph of a bearded man.          Henceforth, The Photograph.                                                                                                              24.                         INTERROGATOR          Is that him?                         PRISONER                         (NODS)          Abu Ahmed.          The interrogator holds The Photograph right in front of the          prisoner's face, allowing us to see it as well.                         INTERROGATOR          Say again?                         PRISONER          Abu Ahmed. Abu Ahmed. Abu Ahmed.          Freeze frame.                         CUT TO:          INT. RESEARCH ROOM - LATER          A Yemeni prison - the dialogue is a mix of French and English:                         INTERROGATOR          Abu Ahmed - is he the courier for          bin Laden?                         PRISONER          Who knows who works directly for bin          Laden? Let's say he's part of the          mix.                         INTERROGATOR          Were there other people who carried          messages from bin Laden?                         PRISONER          Sure.                         INTERROGATOR          How many other people?                         PRISONER                         (THINKING)          Four or five.                         INTERROGATOR          Let's talk about them--          The image freezes.          Maya stares at the screen.                                                                                                              25.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - KITCHEN          Maya is in the kitchen grabbing something to eat.          Jessica, the only other person working this late, walks in,          pours herself some coffee.                         JESSICA          How's the needle in the haystack?                         MAYA          Fine.                         JESSICA          Facilitators come and go, but one          thing you can count on in life is          that everyone wants money.          The rivalry is in full bloom. Sometimes it's friendly.          Sometimes it's not so friendly.                         MAYA                         (SMILING)          You're assuming that Al Qaeda members          are motivated by financial rewards.          They're radicals.                         JESSICA                         (BIGGER SMILE)          Correct. You're assuming that greed          won't override ideology in some of          the weaker members.                         MAYA          Money for walk-ins worked great in          the cold war, I'll give you that.                         JESSICA          Thank you.                         MAYA          Just not sure those tactics are          applicable to the Middle East.                         CUT TO:          INT. MAYA'S APARTMENT          Maya hastily throws her clothes and a wig into a suitcase -          the world's fastest packing job -                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              26.          EXT. WARSAW SHIPYARD - POLAND - DAY          SUPERIMPOSE: CIA BLACK SITE - WARSAW, POLAND          A sprawling shipyard in an industrial area.          A large MILITARY FRIGATE sits in the harbor. A dark haired          WOMAN and a MAN board the ship.                         CUT TO:          INT. FRIGATE - BLACK SITE - POLAND - DAY          At first we don't recognize the woman with heavy makeup          walking down the narrow corridor, and then we realize it's          Maya in disguise.          She enters a vast cavernous hold accompanied by a middle          aged Afghan man, thick shouldered with years of hard          experience in his kind, somewhat sad eyes.          This fatherly man is HAKIM, a former political prisoner in          Afghanistan and one of the CIA's most important assets.          In the galley, a PRISONER is chained to a table. Hakim slides          him The Photograph. The prisoner speaks in Arabic.                         HAKIM                         (TRANSLATING)          He says he looks like Abu Ahmed.                         MAYA          Who did he work for?          Hakim translates. Then the prisoner speaks.                         HAKIM                         (TRANSLATING)          It was mostly with Abu Faraj - they          were always together.                         MAYA          What did he do for Faraj?                         HAKIM                         (TRANSLATING)          He carried messages from Faraj to          bin Laden and from bin Laden back to          Faraj.          Maya leans into Hakim -                                                                                                              27.                         MAYA          We need to ask him something to see          if he's telling the truth. We don't          know if he really knew Faraj.          Hakim speaks to the prisoner.                         HAKIM          He just told me the names of all of          Faraj's children. I think he's          telling the truth.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - CIA SECTION          Maya is pitching Bradley in his office. Bradley sits with          his feet up on his desk, holding The Photograph.          Daniel is slouched on the couch in back.          Jessica is perched on the arm of the couch, bare legs crossed.          Bradley notices.          Maya stands.                         MAYA          Twenty detainees recognize that photo          of Abu Ahmed. They say he's part of          the inner circle of guys who were          hanging out in Afghanistan pre-9/11.                         (BEAT)          A lot of them say that after 9/11,          he went to work for KSM.                         (BEAT)          When KSM got captured, he went to          work for Abu Faraj, primarily as a          courier from Faraj to bin Laden.                         BRADLEY          Well, that's good. You still-                         MAYA          Yeah, we don't know if Abu is on the          outside of the network - part of a          series of cutouts and dead drops -          or if he has a direct connection to          bin Laden. Does bin Laden invite          him into the living room and hand          him a letter directly? Or is Abu          just the last guy in a long line of          couriers, so that's why everybody          knows him?                                                                                                              28.                         BRADLEY          That's not all you don't know. You          don't have his true name, and you          don't have a clue of where he is.                         MAYA          We know that he's important. The          fact that everybody's heard of Abu          Ahmed but nobody will tell me where          he is suggests that.                         BRADLEY          Maybe. Detainees could withhold his          location for any number of reasons.          Perhaps they don't know; perhaps          this Abu is just a cover story and          he's really a fucking unicorn. The          withholding doesn't reveal what you          want it to - does it?                         MAYA          No.                         BRADLEY          And if you did find him, you don't          know that he'd be with bin Laden.                         DANIEL          We don't know what we don't know.                         BRADLEY                         (TO DANIEL)          What the fuck is that supposed to          mean?                         DANIEL          It's a tautology.                         BRADLEY          (back to Maya)          Listen, not one single detainee has          said that he's located with the big          guy, just that he delivers messages.          Am I wrong?                         MAYA          No.                         BRADLEY          No. It's still good work.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              29.                         BRADLEY (CONT'D)          Let me know when you've got some          actionable intelligence, preferably          something that leads to a strike.                         CUT TO:          EXT. TAVISTOCK SQUARE - LONDON - EARLY MORNING          The city is in full swing on this bright mid-summer morning.          CARS and BUSES roll through the crowded streets.          INT./EXT. DOUBLE DECKER BUS          TITLE OVER: LONDON - JULY 7, 2005          Passengers inside the bus read newspapers, listen to music...          another ordinary day.          Then, the bus explodes!                         CUT TO:          CU: TV SCREEN          File footage of the aftermath:          REPORTER (O.S.)          This is what remains of the #10 bus,          which was traveling through Tavistock          Square...          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE -                         NIGHT          Joseph Bradley sits at his desk. The weight of the world on          his shoulders.          On the television in the background, the news report          continues, showing disaster footage of PEOPLE bloodied,          screaming.                         CUT TO:          EXT. BLACK SITE - AFGHANISTAN          The war on terror is growing and spreading, like an octopus,          throughout the base. We trace the new tentacles of the CIA          facility - more hangars, vehicles, PEOPLE moving to and fro.          REPORTER (O.S.)          All around, groups of Londoners are          standing on corners asking themselves                         (MORE)                                                                                                              30.          REPORTER (O.S.) (CONT'D)          what has happened here, and who could          possibly have done this?          We find Daniel trying to catch a moment of solitude...eating          an ice cream cone and standing in front of a makeshift cage          filled with wild MONKEYS.          The monkeys are watching Daniel intently, their hands gripping          the wire cage. Daniel playfully feeds them some of his ice          cream.          A CIA GUARD approaches Daniel                         CIA GUARD          (re: the monkeys)          You Agency guys are twisted. The          detainee is ready.          Daniel nods, weary. Then a monkey reaches through the bars          and steals the remainder of Daniel's ice cream cone.          He looks at the monkey and laughs.                         CUT TO:          EXT. ISLAMABAD TRAFFIC - YEARS LATER          Rain pelts the brown city, turning the gutter water black.                         MAYA (PRE-LAP)          I want you to understand that I know          you. I have been following you and          studying you for a long time. I          chased you in Lahore.          We find Maya entering the gates of a Pakistani prison. The          weather makes the place seem especially bleak.          SUPERIMPOSE: MILITARY DETENTION CENTER - ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN          INT. PAKISTANI DETENTION AREA - CONTINUOUS          HASSAN GHUL, Al Qaeda financier, sits manacled to a desk.                         MAYA          I had you picked up instead of killing          you because you're not a violent man          and you don't deserve to die.                         GHUL          Thank you.                                                                                                              31.                         MAYA          But you do have deep ties to Al Qaeda          that I want to ask you about before          you get sent to your next location,          which might be Israel.          Ghul looks ashen.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          However, depending on how candid you          are today, I may be able to keep you          in Pakistan.                         GHUL          What do you want to know?                         MAYA          I'm going to ask you a series of          questions based on your knowledge of          Al Qaeda and your position as key          financier for the organization.                         GHUL          I have dealt with the mukhabarat, I          have no wish to be tortured again.          Ask me a question, I can answer it.                         MAYA          What can you tell me about Atiyah          Abd al-Rahman.                         GHUL          He works for Zawahiri. He's in charge          of military tactics.                         MAYA          In what context have you ever heard          the name Abu Ahmed?                         GHUL          He works for Faraj and bin Laden.          He is his most trusted courier.          Maya works hard to hide how pleased she is to have this          confirmation. She's not entirely successful.                         MAYA          What makes you say that?                         GHUL          He brought me many messages from the          Sheikh.                                                                                                              32.                         MAYA          Where did you last see him, and where          is he now?                         GHUL          You will never find him.                         MAYA          Why is that?                         GHUL          Even I couldn't find him. He always          contacted me out of the blue. He is          one of the disappeared ones.                         CUT TO:          EXT. GARDEN COMPLEX - PAKISTAN - DAY          Pakistani families enjoy a fine summer day.          INT. GARDEN VILLA          A BOMB is being strapped to a MAN'S leg by a PAKISTANI          POLICEMAN.                         PAKISTANI POLICEMAN                         (IN URDU)          You know how this works?          The man is terrified.          PAKISTANI POLICEMAN (CONT'D)          Just act naturally.          The Policeman finishes securing the bomb, and sends the man          out the door (who we will later deduce is Abu Faraj's          courier).                         CUT TO:          EXT. GARDEN COMPLEX - DAY          Faraj's Courier walks past playing children... while from a          nearby tower, Daniel observes.          After a moment, ABU FARAJ, who we recognize from his          photograph, appears at the south end of the park. Faraj          walks in the direction of his courier, noting his                         SURROUNDINGS:          CHILDREN playing.          Several people in BLACK BURKHAS.                                                                                                              33.          BRIGHT SUN.          At last Faraj reaches an open area where he can see his          courier face to face.          They exchange a nervous glance that conveys the danger: It's          a trap. Faraj spins to flee, but it's too late.          The black BURKHAS descend on him. It turns out they are          heavily armed Pakistani agents. From on high, Daniel watches          his captured prey.                         CUT TO:          EXT. BLACK SITE - AFGHANISTAN - DAY          Daniel and an armed guard escort a hooded and handcuffed          Faraj to his cell.                         DANIEL          What do you like? Bob Marley?          Reggae? Egyptian music? Just let me          know, if there's music you like, I          can make a call.          INT. INTERROGATION AREA - CONTINUOUS          Daniel and the guards take Faraj to a cell laced with barbed          wire and lock him inside.                         DANIEL          Can I be honest with you? I'm bad          news. I'm not your friend. I'm not          gonna help you. I'm gonna break          you.          Beat.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          I've done it before.          (Faraj dozes, weak)          Hey, wake up. You haven't eaten in          18 hours, we've got to keep your          energy up. You hungry?                         CUT TO:          INT. CELL          Guards force feed Faraj through a feeding tube.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              34.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - DAY          Bradley approaches Maya at her cubicle.                         BRADLEY          You're in luck, I got you a one-on-          one with Faraj.                         MAYA          Seriously? Thank you.                         BRADLEY          Don't thank me until you hear what I          want for it.          He drops a folder on her desk.                         BRADLEY (CONT'D)          I want you to take care of all of          this before your favorite subject.                         MAYA          Deal.                         BRADLEY          Don't you want to see what's in the          folder?                         MAYA          You want family ties, financial          networks, media sources, disgruntled          employees, imminent threats, homeland          plots,                         BRADLEY                         (WALKING AWAY)          Thank you.                         MAYA          Foreign cells, health status, trade          craft, recruiting tactics -- anything          else?                         CUT TO:          INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - MORNING          Both Maya and Faraj look tired. This has been going on for          hours.                         MAYA          A lot of brothers told us Abu Ahmed          was bin Laden's courier and that he          worked very closely with you.                                                                                                              35.                         FARAJ          You're thinking of Abu Khalid.                         MAYA          Who?                         FARAJ          Al Buluchi. My courier for the          Sheikh.                         MAYA          Okay, so you're telling me that all          the other brothers are wrong, and          there's some famous Buluchi guy that          is working for you and bin Laden          that I've never even heard of?                         FARAJ          Why should you have heard of him?                         MAYA          What does this Buluchi guy look like?                         FARAJ          Tall, long white beard, thin. He          uses a cane.                         MAYA          Kind of like Gandolf?                         FARAJ          Who?                         MAYA          When was the last time you saw him?                         FARAJ          A month ago, in Karachi, but I don't          know where he is now. Sometimes I          wouldn't even see him, he would just          tell me where to leave the messages.                         MAYA          I don't believe you.          The GUARD in the room with them leans forward and SLAPS Faraj          across the face.          Faraj's expression doesn't change and Maya herself remains          flat and steady, unmoved by the violence.          She's not quite the same young lady she was a few years ago.                                                                                                              36.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          You're not being fulsome in your          replies.                         FARAJ          You can't force me to tell you          something I don't know.                         MAYA          You do realize this is not a normal          prison. You determine how you are          treated, and your life will be very          uncomfortable until you give me          information I need.          The guard slaps Faraj again. Faraj is impassive.                         CUT TO:          INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - LATER          Maya looks on impassively as Faraj is subjected to harsh          treatment.                         CUT TO:          INT. BLACK SITE - BATHROOM          Maya is retching in the stall.                         CUT TO:          EXT. BLACK SITE - PRE-DAWN          Maya walks around the facility, quiet at this hour, and finds          another insomniac, Daniel, by the monkey cage. The cage is          empty.                         MAYA          Faraj is completely denying knowing          Abu Ahmed, and that's using every          measure we have.                         DANIEL          He's either going to withhold or die          from the pressure you're putting on          him.                         MAYA          Do you want to take a run at him?                         DANIEL          No.                                                                                                              37.                         MAYA          No? Since when?                         DANIEL          You know, I've been meaning to tell          you: I'm getting outta here.                         MAYA          What? You okay?                         DANIEL          I'm fine. I've just seen too many          guys naked. It's gotta be over a          hundred at this point. I need to go          do something normal for awhile.                         MAYA          Like what?                         DANIEL          Go to Washington, do the dance, see          how that environment works.                         (BEAT)          You should come with me. Be my number          two. You're looking a little strung          out yourself.          Maya looks at Dan. No longer the man he once was. She          doesn't hide her disappointment.                         MAYA          I'm not going to find Abu Ahmed from          D.C.          They both look at the empty cage, clocking the irony.                         DANIEL          They killed my monkeys.          Something about an escape. Can you          fucking believe that?                         MAYA          Sorry, Dan.                         DANIEL          Look, Maya, you gotta be really          careful with detainees now. The          politics are changing and you don't          want to be the last one holding a          dog collar when the oversight          committee comes.                         MAYA          I know.                                                                                                              38.                         DANIEL          And watch your back when you get          back to Pakistan. Everyone knows          you there now.                         CUT TO:          EXT. ISLAMABAD - NIGHT          Back in Pakistan, the country has indeed changed to a more          militarized police state, and as we establish the new          environment, we find Maya's grey sedan...          EXT. ISLAMABAD - NEAR THE MARRIOTT HOTEL - NIGHT          The car pulls up to a checkpoint manned by PAKISTANI POLICE.          The Policeman look at the car - look at the plate - the plate          is diplomatic - they walk around the car and stop at the          window - shine their bright light right into Maya's eyes.          A POLICEMAN motions for her to roll down her window.                         POLICEMAN          Where are you going?                         MAYA          To the Marriott. I assume you noticed          the dip plates.                         POLICEMAN          But you have a bag -          The policeman motions to a DUFFEL BAG resting on the rear          seat.                         MAYA          It's a gym bag.          Maya does not get out of the car. She stares at him          defiantly. He advances forward a bit. She rolls up her          window, flicks the door lock, and starts dialing her cell          phone.          The policeman walks away to rejoin his group. The police          confer. The original policeman returns, this time with          several other cops. They knock on the glass. Hard.          Maya stares straight ahead.                         CUT TO:          INT. MARRIOTT HOTEL RESTAURANT - NIGHT          Jessica is waiting at the table in a beautifully appointed          room.                                                                                                              39.          SUPERIMPOSE: MARRIOTT HOTEL - ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - SEPTEMBER          20, 2008          Maya walks in, flustered.                         MAYA          Fucking checkpoints.          Maya sits down, absorbed in her Blackberry.                         JESSICA          Maya?                         MAYA          Yeah.                         JESSICA          We're socializing. Be social.          Maya puts away her blackberry.                         MAYA                         (HALFHEARTEDLY)          Okay.                         JESSICA          Look, I know Abu Ahmed is your baby,          but it's time to cut the umbilical          cord.                         MAYA          No, it's not.                         JESSICA          So Faraj went south on you - it          happens. There are still cells in          London and Spain planning the next          round of attacks.                         MAYA          I can work on it at the same time -          plus I think it's a good thing that          he lied.                         JESSICA          No, not at the expense of protecting          the homeland, you can't. Wait a          minute, why is it a good thing?                         MAYA          You sound just like Bradley. He          doesn't believe in my lead either.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              40.                         MAYA (CONT'D)                         (BEAT)          It's a good thing because the fact          that Faraj withheld on Abu Ahmed is          revealing. The only other thing he          lied about was the location of bin          Laden himself. That means Faraj          thinks Abu Ahmed in as important to          protect as bin Laden. That confirms          my lead.                         JESSICA          Or it's confirmation bias.                         (BEAT)          We're all just worried about you,          okay? Is that okay to say?          Maya rubs her eyes, not liking where the conversation is          going. She forces a smile.                         JESSICA (CONT'D)          Where's Jack?                         MAYA          He's probably stuck in some check-          point somewhere.                         JESSICA          You two hooked up yet?                         MAYA          Hello, I work with him. I'm not          that girl, that fucks. It's          unbecoming.                         JESSICA          So? A little foolin' around wouldn't          hurt you.                         (BEAT)          So no boyfriend. Do you have any          friends at all?          She doesn't. Jessica's phone rings -                         JESSICA (CONT'D)          It's Jack.                         (INTO PHONE)          Hey - that's okay -          SUDDENLY, AN EXPLOSION RIPS THROUGH THE RESTAURANT.          -- SHATTERS THE WINDOWS          -- DESTROYS TABLES AND LIGHTS                                                                                                              41.          -- MAYA, JESSICA, AND OTHERS TOSSED TO THE GROUND, SOME          FATALLY.          --SMOKE FILLS THE ROOM          As alarms wail, Maya struggles to her feet, grabs Jessica by          the arm, and they stumble to safety.          INT. MARRIOTT - DINING ROOM          Toward the destroyed kitchen, helping each other over          obstacles, twisted metal, gaps in the concrete, etc, past          injured workers and burning flames.          INT. MARRIOTT HOTEL - KITCHEN - LATER          They continue moving through the debris as the smoke          intensifies.          They find each other's hands and grab tightly.                         CUT TO:          C.U.: TV SCREEN          The destroyed Marriott.          REPORTER (O.S.)          The blast left a crater 10 meters          wide in front of the hotel. The          Marriott, one of the most popular          destinations for locals and          Westerners...          FADE TO BLACK          EXT. MOUNTAINOUS TRIBAL AREA - PAKISTAN - DAY          We're high above the wild hinterlands of the Hindu Kush,          gliding over the rocky slopes and the pine forests.          SUPERIMPOSE: TRIBAL TERRITORIES, NORTHERN PAKISTAN          We move from peak to peak until we find a remote valley, and          we zoom down... and nestled in the valley we can just make          out the barest outlines of a tiny village of mud huts.          INT. TRIBAL VILLAGE HUT          Now we are inside a hut and we've shifted to the perspective          of a hand held camera, as if someone inside this stone age          interior is filming on our behalf, and we see a hard floor,          thin gaps in the walls, and FIVE TRIBAL ELDERS talking          casually, eating and drinking tea.                                                                                                              42.          We pan across the weathered faces, long beards, and see a          video recorder resting on a ledge.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - ISLAMABAD - DAY          Jessica strides excitedly, almost breaking into a run, through          the warren of cubicles that lead to Maya's desk.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - DAY          Jessica beaming as she approaches Maya.                         JESSICA          The Jords have a mole!                         MAYA          What?          Jessica pops a CD into Maya's computer, loads a file that          plays the same video clip we have just seen.                         JESSICA          He made this video to prove his bona          fides.                         MAYA          Shut the fuck up!          The camera stops on one man, BALAWI.                         JESSICA                         (POINTING)          Humam Khalil al-Balawi, he's a          Jordanian doctor. He's really          motivated.          Maya practically bolts out of her chair. Together, they          start walking towards Bradley's office -                         MAYA          This could be it!                         JESSICA          This is it.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE -                         CONTINUOUS          Bradley has just finished watching the video. Maya and          Jessica are in his office waiting for his verdict.                                                                                                              43.                         JESSICA          He's right there in the inner circle.                         BRADLEY          I don't buy it. Didn't you tell me          yourself nobody turns on Al Qaeda?                         JESSICA          The Jords worked him for a year.          Dinners, money. They've convinced          him that it's his patriotic duty to          turn on Al Qaeda and get rich doing          it.                         BRADLEY          Yeah, so the Jords say.                         MAYA                         (TO BRADLEY)          You're right. We can't rely on the          Jords. We have to evaluate him face          to face.                         JESSICA                         (CATCHING ON)          He may not be that smart. He may be          full of shit - but we have to talk          to him to find out.                         MAYA          The key is to meet him so we can          figure out for ourselves what he can          actually do.                         BRADLEY          He really asked for a dialysis          machine? You can fill the damn thing          with poison.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY ISLAMABAD - BRIEFING ROOM - NIGHT          Maya and a few analysts are watching TV - President-elect          Obama is being interviewed on 60 Minutes when Jessica comes          into the room with disappointing news -                         JESSICA          The meeting with Balawi is off. He          can't come here to Islamabad.                         MAYA          Can't or won't?                                                                                                              44.                         JESSICA          He's not going to travel - security                         RISK -          The TV interview with Obama reaches the subject of enhanced          interrogation, and the women pause to listen to the President-          elect declare, "America does not torture."          Then they continue:                         JESSICA (CONT'D)          He wants us to go to him. He'll          meet in Miram Sha or the tribals.                         MAYA          He knows we're white. You'll get          kidnapped up there.          DAVID, an analyst, adds his two cents to the conversation -                         DAVID          We could do it somewhere else -          Germany, or the UK? He's got a clean          passport.                         JESSICA          He's not going to travel out of Al          Qaeda territory.                         DAVID          And you're not going to him.                         JESSICA          I'm not. Believe me.                         (PAUSE)          We're stuck.                         DAVID          What about Camp Chapman? Afghanistan.          That could be safe territory.                         CUT TO:          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN CIA COMPOUND - KHOST, AFGHANISTAN - DAY          We survey the sprawling base from above.          SUPERIMPOSE: CAMP CHAPMAN - KHOST, AFGHANISTAN          Helicopters and Humvees traverse the base.          INT. CAMP CHAPMAN - KITCHEN - MORNING          Jessica applies icing to a birthday cake as she cradles a          SATELLITE PHONE.                                                                                                              45.                         JESSICA                         (INTO PHONE)          This may be going overboard, but I          baked him a cake!          MAYA O.S.          Muslim's don't celebrate with cake.                         JESSICA          Don't be so literal. Everyone likes          cake. It's not too late for you to          come, you know. It will be fun.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - PREDATOR BAY          Maya sits in front of a series of monitors. She watches a          live Predator feed.                         MAYA          I don't want to be a straphangar.          It's your show. You were the first          to see the potential in this.          JESSICA (O.S.)          Come on! We've got lots of wine!          The target on Maya's monitor disappears in a puff of smoke.                         MAYA          Cool. Bring me back a bottle.          JESSICA (O.S.)          I will.                         CUT TO:          INT. DINING AREA          Jessica pours two glasses of wine and raises a toast to her          colleague, JOHN.                         JESSICA          Not to get technical, but this guy          is actually the first big break we've          had since 9/11. To big breaks and          the little people that make them          happen.          Clink.                                                                                                              46.                         JESSICA (CONT'D)          So far, everything he's said we've          cross checked and it's proved legit...          and I think the money is persuasive.          25 million dollars?! That buys a          new life.                         JOHN          Do you think he might be exaggerating          his access?                         JESSICA          Possibly. But Al Qaeda needs doctors          and they are short staffed and that          could explain his rise. In six months          to a year, if he doesn't fuck up, he          could be called in to treat bin Laden.          And at that moment, with 25 mil on          the table, I think he gives up the          Big Man. And if he doesn't, we kill          him.                         CUT TO:          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN CIA COMPOUND - AFTERNOON          The same gathering as the day before, waiting under the          merciless sun.          SUPERIMPOSE: DECEMBER 30, 2009          Jessica turns to her crew, which includes LAUREN, a young          operative, ZIED, a Jordanian intelligence agent, and the          base's CIA SECURITY GUARD, among others. They rehearse the          impending meeting.                         JESSICA          So John?          (John turns to her)          When he arrives, I'll set the tone,          and then I'll flip it to you - and          you'll talk about asset protection.                         JOHN          Roger that.                         JESSICA          Then Lauren, I know you want to get          some questions in there - but give          Balawi time after John speaks. We'll          cover the basics and have his birthday          cake, then we'll get to the nitty          gritty.                                                                                                              47.          Jessica turns to Zied.                         JESSICA (CONT'D)          Is that order okay, or do you want          to introduce everyone?                         ZIED          I'll introduce you, and you introduce          your team. He knows this is a high          level meeting.                         SECURTY GUARD          Quick question: all is taking place          inside our main building?                         JESSICA          Right. And Lauren? Washington will          want real time updates so please          stay on top of that. Be concise.          The Director is in the loop. And I          wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't          update the President.                         LAUREN          Yeah, I'm on it.          They take in the possibilities.                         JESSICA          Now, I just need to get Balawi's ass          down here.                         LATER -          Waiting and waiting. No cars approach. The sun beats down.                         CUT TO:          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - ROAD TO SOUTH GATE          Several hundred yards before the Camp entrance is a beat-up          SEDAN. The car pulls up to the checkpoint but doesn't          proceed.                         JESSICA          (to the Security Gyard)          Why are there gate guards there? We          talked about this, no one is supposed          to be there when my source arrives.          You might have spooked him already!                         SECURTY GUARD          Procedures only work if we follow          them every time.                                                                                                              48.                         JESSICA          This time is different - I'm sorry I          can't explain, but it's for a good          cause.                         SECURTY GUARD          Look, I'm responsible for everyone's          safety, okay? It's not just about          you.                         JESSICA          I just need them to go away for a          minute. You can search him as soon          as he gets here.          The Security Guard pauses, then into his radio:                         SECURTY GUARD                         (INTO RADIO)          All stations, go ahead and stand          down.                         CHECKPOINT GUARD                         (OVER RADIO)          Roger.          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - GUARD POST          The guards move away from their post. The sedan drives past          the gate into a maze of barriers. We follow the car as it          navigates the maze of HESCO barriers, kicking up a cloud of          dust.          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - CIA COMPOUND          Jessica runs back to her team and flashes a thumbs up.          She smiles and pulls out her phone, sending a text.          ECU: PHONE TEXT:          He's here. Brb                         MAYA:          Cool!          The car navigates the second set of barriers.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - MAYA'S CUBICLE - SECONDS LATER          Maya types on her computer:          Wassup you talking yet                                                                                                              49.          ?          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - CIA COMPOUND          Jessica looks up to see the car approaching and puts the          phone back in her pocket. The sedan is now 50 yards away.                         SECURTY GUARD          Okay, he's coming. We're gonna search          him when he gets here.          Everyone prepares. The car gets closer and closer, a driver          in front and a passenger in back.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY - MAYA'S CUBICLE          Maya texts again:          ?          Answer when you can.          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - CIA COMPOUND          The sedan pulls to a stop. A BLACKWATER GUARD taps on the          backseat window. Balawi exits on the passenger side. His          free hand is in his pocket.                         BLACKWATER GUARD          (to the other guard)          Is he supposed to limp like that?                         SECURTY GUARD          Take your hand out of your pocket!          Hey!                         BALAWI          Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar                         BLACKWATER GUARD          (raising his M4)          Get you hand out of your pocket!                         BALAWI          Allahu Akbar.          Jessica's smile fades          And Balawi detonates a suicide vest hidden under this jacket          and the resulting shrapnel storm pulps the crowd, massacring          them all -                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              50.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY ISLAMABAD, CIA SECTION - CONTINUOUS          Maya looks at her computer screen. She sees her last instant          message..And waits for a response.          Beat.          Maya looks up, concern on her face.                         CUT TO:          EXT. CAMP CHAPMAN - DAY          The explosion smoke still hovers over Camp Chapman. News          reporting of the attack plays over the horrific image.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - LATER          Maya huddles on the floor under the corner of her desk.          INT. MAYA'S CUBICLE - LATER          The office has thinned out, and most people have gone home          for the day. Maya is crouched in the corner. A wounded          animal. Jeremy, the case officer from the conference room,          approaches and gives Maya a computer disc.                         JEREMY          You okay?          No response.                         JEREMY (CONT'D)          I didn't think this day could get          any worse, but bad news from Saudi          intelligence. The courier guy, Abu          Ahmed, is dead. It's a detainee          video.          Maya still fighting to contain her grief, takes the file as          an almost welcome distraction. She puts the disc into her          computer and hits play.          CU COMPUTER SCREEN: A PRISONER being interviewed by a CIA          CASE OFFICER holds the photo of Abu Ahmed we've seen so many          times.                         PRISONER          He's dead, in Afghanistan, 2001. I          buried him with my own hands.                         INTERROGATOR          Where?                                                                                                              51.                         PRISONER          Kabul.          Maya stares at the screen.                         MAYA          I don't believe this.                         JEREMY          Sorry, Maya, I always liked this          lead.          Jeremy leaves Maya at her computer.          She continues to stare at the screen.          INT. MAYA'S CUBICLE - NIGHT          Maya is still by herself.          Her friend Jack approaches -                         JACK                         (CONSOLING)          Hey. Sorry, I just got here. What          are you gonna do?                         MAYA          I'm going to smoke everybody involved          in this op, and then I'm going to          kill bin Laden.          Off the darkness in her eyes we -          FADE TO BLACK                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY ISLAMABAD - CIA SECTION - A YEAR LATER          The staff has gathered to hear a word from the boss in a          large conference room; it's packed shoulder to shoulder with          dozens of people, including Maya, Jim, Jack, Hakim, and          Bradley at the front.          GEORGE WRIGHT, Chief of the Afghanistan Pakistan Department,          has just flown in from D.C. A big man, striding quickly into          the room with the street roll of the Bronx projects he grew          up in, George looks ready for a brawl.                         GEORGE          I want to make something absolutely          clear.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              52.                         GEORGE (CONT'D)          If you thought there was some secret          cell somewhere working Al Qaeda, I          want you to know that you're wrong.          This is it. There's no working group          coming to the rescue.          He stares at his staff.                         GEORGE (CONT'D)          There's nobody else, hidden away on          some other floor. There is just us.          And we are failing. We're spending          billions of dollars. People are          dying. We're still no closer to          defeating our enemy.                         PACING NOW:                         GEORGE (CONT'D)          They attacked us on land in 98, by          sea in 2000, and from the air in          2001. They murdered three thousand          of our citizens in cold blood, and          they've slaughtered our forward          deployed. And what the fuck have we          done about it?                         (YELLING NOW)          What have we done?                         (PAUSE)          We have twenty leadership names and          we've only eliminated four of them.          Beat.                         GEORGE (CONT'D)          I want targets! Do your fucking          jobs, bring me people to kill!          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - LATER          The office has grown bigger and busier and the cubicle maze          is filled with many new faces of young agents excited to be          in Pakistan.          Sitting alone at her desk we find Maya just as she's finishing          a report. She gets up, crosses the room and goes to the          desk of a young woman who reminds us in her idealistic          enthusiasm of the way Maya was six years ago. This is DEBBIE.                         DEBBIE          Hi. I painstakingly combed through          everything in the system and found          this.                                                                                                              53.          She hands Maya a file.                         DEBBIE (CONT'D)          It's him. He was one of ten names          on a watch list sent to us by the          Moroccans after 9/11: Ibrahim Sayeed.          They told us to watch out for him,          apparently they think his whole family          and extended family is bad and has          ties to KSM.                         (BEAT)          He was picked up for fake papers and          a doctored exit visa leaving          Afghanistan, traveling through Morocco          en route to Kuwait. Abu Ahmed al-          Kuwaiti. This must be Abu Ahmed.                         MAYA          Doesn't matter, but I wish I had          that five years ago. How come I          never saw it before?                         DEBBIE          Nobody saw it, most likely. There          was a lot of white noise after 9/11,          countries wanting to help out, we          got millions of tips and...                         (SHRUGS)          Things got lost in the shuffle.          Human error.          Maya turns her attention back to the WHITE BOARD and as Debbie          keeps talking we follow Maya's gaze across the row of MUG          SHOTS of Al Qaeda personnel. While a few of the men are          African or are distinctive looking for other reasons, most          of them look fairly similar in that they're all wearing the          same type of clothes and have the same trademark long gnarly          beards.                         DEBBIE (CONT'D)                         (PRESSING ON)          Anyway I thought you should know          about it.                         (PLUS)          I just want to say I've heard a lot          about you. You inspired me to come          to Pakistan.          Maya's eyes narrow. She keeps looking at the WHITE BOARD                         DEBBIE (CONT'D)          Maybe you'll let me buy you a kabob          sometime?                                                                                                              54.                         MAYA                         (DISTRACTEDLY)          Don't eat out. It's too dangerous.          Maya stares at the Al Quaeda mugshots - a thought crosses          her mind.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - BRIEFING ROOM - NIGHT          Maya on the speaker phone to Daniel. We intercut. Daniel          is now a suit in Langley.                         MAYA                         (OVER SPEAKER)          Dan, Debbie found Abu Ahmed!                         DANIEL          Fuck. Really?                         MAYA                         (OVER SPEAKER)          He was in the files this whole time.          The family name is Sayeed.                         DANIEL          Ok, but he's dead. So doesn't that          make him a little less interesting          to you?          MAYA O.S.          He may not be. We now know that Abu          Ahmed is one of eight brothers. All          the brothers in the family look alike.          Three of them went to Afghanistan.          Isn't it possible that when the three          eldest brothers grew beards in          Afghanistan, they started to look          alike? I think the one calling          himself Abu Ahmed is still alive.          The picture we've been using is wrong.          It's of his older brother, Habeeb.          He's the one that's is dead.                         DANIEL          Okay, what are you basing this on?          INT. BRIEFING ROOM - CONTINUOUS                         MAYA          We have no intercepts about Abu Ahmed          dying.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              55.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          We just have a detainee who buried          somebody who looked like Abu Ahmed.          But if somebody as important as Abu          Ahmed had died, they'd be talking          about it online in chat rooms all          over the place. Plus, the detainee          said that Habeeb died in 2001. We          know that Abu Ahmed was alive then,          trying to get into Tora Bora with          Ammar. That means it's probably one          of the other brothers that's dead.          DANIEL O.S.          In other words, you want it to be          true.                         MAYA          Yes, I fucking want it to be true.          Maya slams the desk.          DANIEL O.S.          Calm down.          Beat.                         MAYA          I am calm.          DANIEL O.S.          State your request.                         MAYA          Move heaven and earth and bring me          this fucking Sayeed family's phone          number.                         CUT TO:          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS, COUNTER TERRORISM CENTER DIRECTOR -          LANGLEY, VA. - DAY          A dark (window shades down) executive office, where in the          shadows a white American man in a nice suit is kneeling on a          prayer rug and saying the Islamic daily prayers.          Daniel waits as the man recites the prayers and presses his          pale forehead to the carpet. This is WOLF. He is the head          of the agency's COUNTER TERRORISM CENTER (George's boss).                         DANIEL          As-Salamu alaykum.                                                                                                              56.                         WOLF          Alaykum salam.                         DANIEL          I need a couple hundred thousand.          Four max.                         WOLF          Where you gonna get that?                         DANIEL          From you.                         WOLF          You think so?                         DANIEL          This could crack open the facilitator          Maya's been looking for by giving us          a phone number.                         (BEAT)          She's your killer, Wolf. You put          her on the field.          (reciting a phrase          from the KORAN, in          Arabic, then loosely                         TRANSLATING)          Allah rewards those who strive and          fight over those that sit behind a          desk.          WOLF nods. If the blatant attempt to play on his Muslim          belief bothers him, he doesn't show it at all.                         WOLF          As you know, Abu Ghraib and Gitmo          fucked us. The detainee program is          now fly paper. We got senators          jumping out of our asses, and the          Director is very concerned. They          will not stop until they have a body.          There it is. The quid pro quo. There's a reason he's called          The Wolf.          Daniel considers all that he'll go through if he volunteers          to be the fall guy for the controversial program.                         DANIEL          I ran it. I'll defend it.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              57.          INT. KUWAITI UNDERGROUND HOOKER BAR - NIGHT          SUPERIMPOSE: KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT          Daniel and a KUWAITI BUSINESS MAN in a suit are drinking and          ogling the RUSSIAN GIRLS prowling the place.          After a few sips of his drink.                         DANIEL          It's good to be back in Kuwait.          It's good to see you again, it's          been awhile.          The businessman doesn't answer.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          I need a favor.                         KUWAITI BUSINESSMAN          Why should I help you?                         DANIEL          Because we're friends.                         KUWAITI BUSINESSMAN          You say we are friends. How come          you only call me when you need help?          But when I need something - you are          too busy to pick up the phone. I          don't think we are friends.                         DANIEL          Fair enough. How about a V10          Lamborghini? How's that for          friendship?          EXT. LAMBORGHINI DEALERSHIP - KUWAIT CITY - NIGHT          They wait while a Lamborghini SALESMAN, disheveled, clearly          just awakened, unlocks the door of the dealership.                         DANIEL          (to the Kuwaiti                         BUSINESSMAN)          The poor fucker had to get out of          bed.          (to the Salesman)          As-salamu alaykum. Thanks my friend.          INT. LAMBORGHINI DEALERSHIP          They step inside and the salesman flicks on the lights          revealing shiny cars displayed like jewels on rotating                                                                                                              58.          platforms. While the Kuwaiti businessman peers inside a          silver model, Daniel confers with the salesman like he's          bought twenty of these cars.                         DANIEL          Is this a Balboni? Fuck me. This          is nice. What are you thinking?                         KUWAITI BUSINESSMAN          I think I'll choose this one.          The salesman retreats to a back office.                         DANIEL          That's a nice choice, my friend.          Daniel gives the Kuwaiti a slip of paper.                         KUWAITI MAN          Who is it?                         DANIEL          Who do you think? The guy's a          terrorist. His mother lives here.          I just need her phone number.                         KUWAITI MAN          There will be no repercussions in          Kuwait?                         DANIEL          Somebody might die at some point in          Pakistan.          They shake hands.                         CUT TO:          INT. SERVER ROOM - DAY                         SUPERIMPOSE: TRADECRAFT          Sound graphs of phone calls fill the screen. We cruise          through rows upon rows of server facilities, a single monitor          in front traces a call to Rawalpindi, Pakistan.                         CUT TO:          EXT. ISLAMABAD EMBASSY - THIRD STORY BALCONY - DAY          Maya chews on a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. Jack calls          her on her cell.                         MAYA          Hey, Jack.                                                                                                              59.                         JACK          You're not gonna like this, he's on          the phone, but there's no team to          deploy right now.                         MAYA          Fuck.          She dashes out runs down the hall to an Exit sign - bursts          through the door to a staircase -          INT. EMBASSY STAIRCASE          - Flies down the staircase - down to another floor, barges          through the door -          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - SECURITY BAY - DAY          The station's surveillance team leader, LARRY, unstraps his          flack vest. He looks like the kind of guy you don't mess          with....so of course Maya barges into his space like a          locomotive.                         MAYA          How come you haven't deployed a team          to stay in Rawalpindi?                         LARRY          For one thing, it's dangerous. For          another, the area is too congested          for us to be effective without some          predictive intelligence.                         MAYA          That's why you should forward deploy -          so you can shorten your response          time.                         LARRY          Still, it wouldn't work.                         MAYA          Why?                         LARRY          The guy never stays on the phone          long enough.                         MAYA          You haven't tried.                         LARRY          Look, I don't have the personnel.                                                                                                              60.                         MAYA          That's bullshit.                         LARRY          As it is, my guys don't get any sleep          tracking the threats within Pakistan.          Larry pushes past her to leave, and she follows him.                         MAYA          Right, I understand. But I don't          really care if your guys get sleep          or not.          Maya looks at Larry's team sleeping on the couch.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY AMERICAN BAR - LATER          The conversation continues in the bar, for Maya has not          relented, although the tone is softer now. She offers Larry          a beer. He takes it.                         LARRY          This guy you're obsessed with, what's          his name again?                         MAYA          Abu Ahmed al Kuwaiti is the nom de          guerre. His true name, we think, is          Ibraheem Sayeed. His family lives          in Kuwait.                         LARRY          Wasn't it, like, eight brothers -          and a million cousins - that we know          about - anyone could be calling home -                         MAYA          I know -                         LARRY          - It's not like he's saying, "Hey          mom, it's me, the terrorist."                         MAYA          Over the course of two months, he's          called home from six different pay          phones, from two different cities,          never using the same phone twice.          And when his mother asked him where          he was, he lied. He said that he          was in a place in the country with          bad cell reception -- implying he          was in the Tribals -- but he was in                         (MORE)                                                                                                              61.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          a market in Peshawar. I'm sorry,          but that's not normal guy behavior.          That's tradecraft.                         LARRY          Maybe he just doesn't like his mom?                         (PAUSE)          Look, if he talks about an operation,          or refers to anything remotely fishy,          I'll get on him. Okay?                         MAYA          No. Not okay. Look, Abu Ahmed is          too smart to tip his hand by talking          about ops on the phone: he works for          bin Laden. The guys that talk about          ops on the phone don't get that job.          Larry looks away.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          A lot of my friends have died trying          to do this.                         (PAUSE)          I believe I was spared so I could          finish the job.          The girl is a true believer - as pure as they come.          Larry looks at her. Her sincerity is persuasive. And just          like that, he decides to help her.                         CUT TO:          INT. KOTLI CALL CENTER - RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN          Hakim walks through a crowded call center. Larry joins him          from a back entrance. They look around: nothing.          EXT. RAWAL CALL CENTER - PAKISTAN          Hakim parks in front of the Rawal Call Center.          INT. RAWAL CALL CENTER - PAKISTAN - ANOTHER DAY          The call center is arranged into two rows of cubby-holes,          each separated by a privacy wall. Hakim searches the place,          finds nothing.                         CUT TO:          CU TV SCREEN: News reports of the attemped NYC bombing.                                                                                                              62.          REPORTER (O.S.)          It is in surveillance video and          pictures like this of the explosive-          laden vehicle just moments before it          was parked, that police hope to find          the man who wanted so badly last          night to leave a body count in Times          Square.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION CUBICLE HALLWAY          The TV news report continues playing in the bg.          Bradley is moving as fast down a hallway. Coming towards          him like a shark from the other end of the hallway: Maya.          Bradley looks determined not to deal with her right now, and          lowers his head, but she spreads her arms slightly and          basically blocks his passage through the hallway                         MAYA          I really need to talk to you about          beefing up our surveillance operation          on the caller.                         BRADLEY          We don't have a surveillance operation          on the caller.          (turning to Maya)          Someone just tried to blow up Times          Square and you're talking to me about          some facilitator who some detainee          seven years ago said might have been          working with Al Qaeda?          Maya is practically shaking with zealous rage at her inability          to bend Bradley to her will.                         MAYA          He's the key to bin Laden.                         BRADLEY          I don't fucking care about bin Laden.          I care about the next attack. You're          going to start working on American          Al Qaeda cells. Protect the homeland.                         MAYA          bin Laden is the one who keeps telling          them to attack the homeland.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              63.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          If it wasn't for him, Al Qaeda would          still be focused on overseas targets.          If you really want to protect the          homeland, you need to get bin Laden.                         BRADLEY                         (ANGRY)          This guy never met bin Laden.          This guy is a free lancer working          off the fucking internet. No one          has even talked to bin Laden in four          years: he's out of the game, he may          well even be dead but you know what          you're doing? You're chasing a ghost          while the whole fucking network grows          all around you!          For a moment she is silenced by Bradley's reprimand but then          Maya's obsession speaks for her - and like a woman possessed          she recklessly goes at him:                         MAYA          You just want me to nail some low          level Mullah-crack-a-dulla so that          you can check that box on your resume          that says while you were in Pakistan          you got a real terrorist. But the          truth is you don't understand          Pakistan, and you don't know Al Qaeda.          Either give me the team I need to          follow this lead, or the other thing          you're gonna have on your resume is          being the first Station Chief to be          called before a congressional          committee for subverting the efforts          to capture or kill bin Laden.                         BRADLEY          You're fucking out of your mind.                         MAYA          I need four techs in a safe house in          Rawalpindi and four techs in a safe          house in Peshawar. Either send them          out or send me back to DC and explain          to the Director why you did it.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY AMERICAN BAR - NIGHT          Maya, despondent, sits at the bar, drinking a beer.                                                                                                              64.          Jack approaches.                         JACK          Fuck the mom, we got the man himself.          Jack puts a cell phone down on the counter.                         JACK (CONT'D)          Yesterday your caller bought himself          a cell phone. And every time his          phone rings -          (he taps the cell                         PHONE)          - This phone will ring. Did I hook          you up?          Maya throws her arms around him.                         MAYA          I love you!                         CUT TO:          EXT. RAWALPINDI - ROAD - DAY          Larry drives his team around the narrow streets of Rawalpindi.          In the backseat, the COMPUTER TECH studies his laptop-like          tracking device.          MAYA O.S.          My guess is that he lives close to          where he's making the calls, and it          makes sense he'd be living in          Rawalpindi because there's an Al          Jezerra office there.          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - BRIEFING ROOM          We focus on a MAP of Pakistan on the wall. Maya is indicating          neighborhoods in Rawalpindi. She's briefing Bradley, Hakim,          Larry and a few other people.                         MAYA          It would be convenient for him to          drop tapes off if he's sending either          from bin Laden or from an          intermediary. When he wants to make          a call, he leaves the house, walks a          few blocks, then switches on the          phone. We need to keep canvassing          the neighborhood until we find him.                                                                                                              65.          EXT. STREETS OF RAWALPINDI / MINIVAN - CONTINUOUS          Larry is at the wheel, moving slowly through a dangerous          part of town. The streets narrow.          Two motorcycles suddenly pull around in front of Larry's van          and stop. The riders pull out guns.          INT. MINIVAN - CONTINUOUS                         LARRY          We got a shooter!          Larry tries reversing but a compact car wheels in right behind          them, and Larry slams on the brakes. The TECH raises an M4.                         TECH          We're blocked.                         HAKIM          Let me talk to them.          EXT. STREETS OF RAWALPINDI          Hakim gets out of the car and walks toward the men. We can't          hear what they're saying. At last, Hakim comes back to the          car.          INT. MINIVAN                         HAKIM          They said white faces don't belong          here. If they don't move, shoot          them.          A tense beat while the men stare, then finally leave.          INT. U.S. EMBASSY - ISLAMABAD - CUBICLE MAZE - DAY          On a large wall map, Maya circles "Peshawar" in red.                         CUT TO:          EXT. ROADS/HIGHWAY - PAKISTAN          Larry's SUV speeds onto a highway, weaving in and out of          dense traffic.          SUPERIMPOSE: PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN          INT. SUV          In the backseat, the Computer Tech is getting tossed around,          trying to hang onto the Geo Locating device in his lap. The          Geo Locator starts to BEEP - a blinking red light.                                                                                                              66.                         COMPUTER TECH          He's east of us. Try the market.          EXT./INT. MINIVAN          The congestion thickens. They slow to a crawl.          The SUV, stuck in traffic. Can't move.          Larry leaps out of the car and heads into an open air market -          EXT. OPEN AIR MARKET - PESHAWAR - CONTINUOUS          It's packed. All MEN - most with traditional beards worn by          Al Qaeda members - many talking on cell phones.          Impossible to tell who is who. Impossible to find this needle          in a haystack.                         CUT TO:          EXT. MARKET - LATE AFTERNOON - ANOTHER DAY          The search continues... Hakim prowls a back alley. Then          goes up on a rooftop to survey the activity below.          EXT. STREETS - TIPU ROAD - LATER          Hakim is on a street corner conducting surveillance. We          follow him into a crowd and then lose sight...          We find him again, another street, another fruitless search.          As Hakim goes from street to street, we hear:          JACK O.S.          We got a signal on Tipu Road for ten          minutes. Then he went to Umar Road          for five minutes. Nogaza Road.          Darya Abad. That's in the Umar Road          area. In Rawalpindi: Haider Road,          Roomi Road. He went to the Convoy          Road, which is near the hospital.          So that's Haider, Roomi Road, Said,          No Gaza, Taimur. He made a call          from Haifa Street, that's the spice          district.                         CUT TO:          INT. U.S. EMBASSY - ISLAMABAD - MAYA'S DESK          Jack and Maya click through the tracking maps on her computer          screen.                                                                                                              67.                         JACK          Lahore street, which is also in Pesh,          thirty minutes. Wazir Bag Road,          five. Nishterabad, five. Phandu          Road, five minutes, the Grand Trunk          Road, forty five seconds. There's          no pattern. Sometimes he calls every          two weeks - sometimes every three -          there's no consistency - I can't          predict when he's gonna make another          call because the guy's erratic.                         MAYA          Do you think its intentional?                         JACK          It might be. Maybe it just looks          erratic to us. I just can't tell.          INT. MAYA'S APARTMENT - ISLAMABAD          Wearing a black burkha, Maya walks into her house and sinks          into the couch. She pulls off the head covering but doesn't          bother to remove the burkha. She switches on the TV. If          you didn't know her better, you'd think she'd gone native.          EXT. AMERICAN EMBASSY STREET - ISLAMABAD          Find Maya driving up to a check point mobbed with PROTESTERS          carrying signs - Joseph Bradley IS A CIA SPY! KILL THE SPY!          Bradley is CIA, etc.          REPORTER (O.S.)          Meanwhile, our chief foreign          correspondent, Richard Engel, confirms          the CIA's top spy in Pakistan has          been pulled out of there.          INT. MAYA'S CAR          The PROTESTERS have blocked the embassy check point. It's          going to take a long time to get through.          REPORTER (O.S.)          He's been receiving death threats          after being named publicly in a          lawsuit by the family of a victim of          a U.S. drone attack.                                                                                                              68.          EXT. MAYA'S CAR          Several protesters notice her - they move to her car and          start banging on it.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE -                         LATER          Maya and Bradley and several other STAFFERS watch the protest          through a window -          EXT. AMERICAN EMBASSY STREET          The CROWD grows larger and more unruly.          INT. STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE                         MAYA          ISI fucked you. I'm so sorry Joseph.          It's the first time she's addressed him by his first name.          Startling, to hear kindness in her voice.          Joseph turns to reply then thinks better of it and walks          away.                         CUT TO:          INT./ EXT LARRY'S MINIVAN - STREETS OF PESHAWAR - MORNING          Larry's minivan chugs through the crowded markets.                         TECH          Still on tower three! Five. Signal          getting stronger. Ten!          Larry continues driving straight down the main road.                         TECH (CONT'D)          Fifteen. Ten. Signal's getting          weaker.                         (PAUSE)          We lost him - no signal.                         LARRY          Heading South.          The van passes horse-drawn carts, men on cell phones, fruit          stands. The Tech studies his screen.                                                                                                              69.                         TECH          He's up at five again. Fifteen.          Twenty.                         (PAUSE)          Weaker now, he's shifted. We're          back to five. I don't get it.                         LARRY          He's driving in circles.          Larry now drives very fast back to the main road.                         LARRY (CONT'D)          No change?                         TECH          No.                         MAIN ROAD          And now Larry stops in the middle of the market.                         LARRY          Let's hope he comes back around.          Beat.                         TECH          Twenty. Thirty. Forty! Fifty -          we're within ten meters of him.          Larry scans the street - sees a half dozen guys on cell          phones.                         TECH (CONT'D)          He's really close.                         LARRY          Look at the cars. He's in a vehicle.          Larry spots something:                         LARRY (CONT'D)          The guy with the phone in the white          SUV.          They snap a photograph of a WHITE POTAHAR SUV.                         LARRY (CONT'D)          Is that him?                         TECH          Could be.                                                                                                              70.                         LARRY          You got him?                         TECH          I got him.                         LARRY          I'm breaking off -          The grey minivan pulls away.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - DAY          Larry's photograph of the WHITE POTAHAR SUV plops on Maya's          desk.                         MAYA          Is this what I think it is?                         LARRY          The guy you've been looking for, geo-          located on his cell phone in his          white car.                         MAYA          Thank you!                         LARRY          If you're right, the whole world's          gonna want in on this, so you gotta          stick to your guns now.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE          The new Chief of Station, TIM ALEXANDER, barely looks up          from his desk as Maya enters.                         ALEXANDER                         (INTO PHONE)          I'm amazed that you're still here.          (looks at his watch,                         INTO PHONE)          When can we grab lunch?          He sees that Maya, who hovers annoyingly over his desk, isn't          gonna wait.                         MAYA          I need a picket line along the GT          highway and men spaced at intervals          along the road and at every exit.                                                                                                              71.                         ALEXANDER          Maya, I know -                         MAYA          So you agree with me now. This is          important?                         ALEXANDER          No, I've just learned from my          predecessor that life is better when          I don't disagree with you.                         CUT TO:          EXT. GRAND TRUNK ROAD - PAKISTAN - DAY          A two lane highway. Tucked on the side of the road is an          OLD MAN with a cart of mangoes.          MAYA (V.O.)          Our current hypothesis is that he          lives somewhere along the highway,          in one of the towns, or a medium          sized city called Abbottabod, or up          near Kashmir.          ECU: mango cart. Nestled among the fruit is a BLACK RADIO.          EXT. FARTHER DOWN GRAND TRUCK ROAD/HIGHWAY - CONTINUOUS          Squatting in the dirt near a bus stop is another OLD MAN,          watching passengers disembark from a bus.          MAYA (V.O.)          Kashmir is interesting because it's          a way station for the Tribals.          We stay with the old man for a while.          At last, the white POTAHAR SUV drives past. He makes a note          in his pad.                         CUT TO:          EXT. HIGHWAY - MAJOR EXIT - DAY          A nut seller, another CIA look out, scoops a handful of nuts          into a bag for a CUSTOMER as he keeps an eye on CARS exiting          the highway.          He takes note as the white POTAHAR passes him.                                                                                                              72.          MAYA (V.O.)          Abbottabod is interesting because we          know from detainee reporting that          Faraj stayed there, briefly in 2003.                         CUT TO:          EXT. PAKISTANI STREET - DAY          The street is filled with compact cars.          MAYA (V.O.)          The good news is he's driving a white          SUV. SUV's are actually pretty rare          in Pakistan. If he was driving a          sedan or a compact, we'd be fucked.                         CUT TO:          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY CIA SECTION - MAYA'S CUBICLE - NIGHT          MAYA (V.O.)          Obviously this assumes he doesn't          change vehicles.          Maya at her desk working and we realize that she has been          typing all this in a cable she will email to Washington.                         CUT TO:          EXT. MAYA'S APARTMENT BUILDING - ISLAMABAD - PRE DAWN          The building GUARD sees Maya heading out to her car.                         GUARD          Good morning.                         MAYA          Good morning, Amad.          Maya gets in her car. The gate opens. As she starts pulling          out onto the street, suddenly a car drives up in front of          her and THREE SHOOTERS come out and hammer Maya's Toyota.          INT. MAYA'S CAR - CONTINUOUS          - Bullets spider webbing the glass as Maya slams the car          into reverse -          EXT. MAYA'S CAR - CONTINUOUS          - Maya's guard starts returning fire, but his aim is terrible.          - SHOOTERS bear down on Maya, pumping bullets into her armored          car.                                                                                                              73.          The gate closes, saving her, at the last possible moment.          INT. MAYA'S CAR - CONTINUOUS          Maya shakes inside her vehicle.                         MAYA (PRE-LAP)                         (PROTESTING)          Any American in Pakistan is a target,          they don't necessarily know I'm CIA.                         CUT TO          INT. AMERICAN EMBASSY STATION CHIEF'S OFFICE - ISLAMABAD -                         MORNING                         ALEXANDER          Doesn't matter. You're on a list.          Next time there might not be          bulletproof glass to save you.                         MAYA          Yeah.                         ALEXANDER          And you, of all people, should know          that once you are on their list, you          never get off.                         (PAUSE)          We'll keep up on the surveillance,          as best we can.                         CUT TO:          EXT. RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD - ABBOTTABAD, PAKISTAN - DAY          Hakim paces on a street as the POTAHAR we've been following          drives past him. Hakim watches the vehicle enter a gated          COMPOUND.                         CUT TO:          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS PREDATOR BAY - LANGLEY - EVENING          The Langley Predator Bay is an impressive sight, a command          center bristling with high-tech equipment. The room is filled          with TECHNICIANS. George is in the center, where he belongs,          directing traffic. People come up and give him new pieces          of information.          The big screen displays a single image:          The overhead satellite image of the compound in Abbottabod.                                                                                                              74.          SUPERIMPOSE: PREDATOR BAY - CIA HEADQUARTERS          From the back of the room, Maya enters, and watches the          activity unfold without her... without her input.          George notices her, gives a thumbs up and then turns back to          his troops.          STEVE, early 40s, a senior manager and one of George's top          deputies, joins Maya.                         STEVE          Basically we had a guy who rolled          with Al Qaeda and did services for          them. We lost him for seven years          and now we found him again -- and          boy does he have a really nice house.          Is that it?                         MAYA          Pretty much.                         STEVE          Okay, let's go talk to the boss.                         CUT TO:          INT. LANGLEY BRIEFING ROOM          Maya and Steve are the first to arrive in the wood panelled          conference room.          A detailed TABLE TOP MODEL of the compound sits in the center          of the conference table, right next to a poster-sized          satellite image of the compound.          She starts to sit in one of the chairs.                         STEVE                         (GENTLE)          You should sit back there...sorry.          Steve points her to the back of the room.                         STEVE (CONT'D)          They're gonna ask: if bin Laden is          at the end of this rainbow - is the          Pak military with him?                         MAYA          The question isn't are the Paks          protecting bin Laden?'                         (MORE)                                                                                                              75.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          The question is, 'would he allow          himself to be protected by the Paks?'          I mean, why would he trust them? He          tried to kill Musharaf.          Steve considers a reply, but the meeting principals are filing          in, including Daniel, and when Steve sees the CIA DIRECTOR          enter the room, he clears the head of the table.                         CIA DIRECTOR          Go ahead.                         STEVE          If you take a right out of Islamabad          and drive about forty-five minutes          North, you'll find yourself here in          Abbottabad. A middle class community -          some ex-military - not particularly          interesting to us. Except we did          find this compound, which is unique.          We got a sixteen foot wall around          the entire perimeter, the windows          are blacked out. It's a fortress.                         CIA DIRECTOR          Can't you put a camera somewhere -          in the trees - to get a look into          the main house?                         GEORGE          It will probably be discovered.                         CIA DIRECTOR          We have to get a look into the house.          The Director moves to the satellite image.          CIA DIRECTOR (CONT'D)          Alright, what's this? This cluster          of buildings down here.                         GEORGE          The PMA - The Pakistan Military          Academy. It's their West Point.                         CIA DIRECTOR          And how close is that to the house?                         GEORGE          About a mile.          A WOMAN'S voice from the back of the room.                                                                                                              76.          MAYA O.S.          4,221 feet. It's closer to eight-          tenths of a mile.                         CIA DIRECTOR          Who are you?                         MAYA          I'm the motherfucker that found this          place, Sir.          The boss studies her for a moment then turns back to the          model.                         CIA DIRECTOR          I want to know more about who's inside          this house by the end of the week.          The brass files out, leaving Steve and Maya.                         STEVE          "Motherfucker?" Really?                         CUT TO:          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - AF/PAK DIVISION - DAY          Maya sits at her desk, frustrated, then walks down the aisle          of cubicles to the glass wall of George's office. She grabs          a red marker.                         MAYA          (through the glass)          Morning, George.          In red magic marker, Maya writes the number 21 on the glass.          Then circles it.          George looks up.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          Twenty-one days. It's been twenty-          one days since we found the house          and nothing's happened!          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - PREDATOR BAY - NIGHT          We see a drone-fed overhead IMAGE of the bin Laden house in          real time with a resolution of 100 feet. Maya stares at the          screen, trying to decipher the shapes moving beneath her,          thousands of miles away.                                                                                                              77.          The BLIPS move in increments, shadows lengthen.                         CUT TO:          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - AF/PAK DIVISION - DAY          ECU - Maya erases the "51" on George's wall and replaces it          with "52."          George looks away.          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS MAYA'S DESK - LATER          Maya sits at her desk. Her phone rings.                         MAYA                         (INTO PHONE)          Yeah?          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - PREDATOR BAY          STEVE stares at drone image of the COMPOUND, which is under          the joystick control of an IMAGERY TECHNICIAN.                         STEVE          Swing by, I want to show you          something.          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS MAYA'S DESK          Maya jumps up from her desk.          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - PREDATOR BAY - MOMENTS LATER          Maya walks in. Steve shows her images on the large monitor.                         STEVE          This is from a few minutes ago.          We've got two males, two females,          and seven kids.          Maya points to one of the shapes in the courtyard.                         MAYA          Who's that?                         STEVE          I'm saying that's Bushra. The          brother's wife.                         MAYA          How do you know the gender?                                                                                                              78.                         STEVE          (points on screen, to          a thin line)          This is a clothes-line here, for          laundry. Men don't mess with the          wash.          We watch that shape move away from the clothes-line and back          to the house.                         STEVE (CONT'D)          It takes her about four seconds to          move from there to the front door.          So she's on the older side.                         MAYA          What's that up there?          (pointing to the other                         SHAPES)                         STEVE          Those are kids. They're shuffling          around, sword-fighting or something          with sticks.                         (POINTING AGAIN)          You can see their height relative to          this - these are cows - so they're          probably between seven and nine.          Boys.          Another FIGURE comes out of the house and moves to the clothes-          line and grabs some laundry.                         MAYA          Your female is moving fast.                         STEVE          That's what I wanted to show you.          (to the Imagery                         TECHNICIAN)          Can we pause this please?                         (TO MAYA)          That's not the same lady. That's          female #3.                         MAYA          So you found two males, three females?                         STEVE          That's correct.          Maya suddenly gets it.                                                                                                              79.                         MAYA          You're missing a male.                         STEVE          Yes we are.                         MAYA          Wow.          INT. WHITE HOUSE - NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL S.C.I.F. -                         CONTINUOUS          George is on one side of a conference table, on the other          side is the DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR, THE SPECIAL          ASSISTANT TO THE DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR, and the          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR.                         GEORGE          If there are three females, there          ought to be three males. Observant          Muslim women either live with parents          or with their husbands. We think          there's a third family living in the          house.          SUPERIMPOSE: SITUATION ROOM - THE WHITE HOUSE          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR          So this third male that you've          identified as possibly being bin          Laden, do I just give up all hope of          ever seeing a photograph of him?                         GEORGE          Hope? Hope is not a targeting layer.          You give up your hope right now. We          scanned for heat signatures, but we          can't validate if it's a man or a          woman up there. We found a safe          house, but we can't get a vantage          point to fire a telescope over the          balcony wall.          EXT. COMPOUND - ABBOTTABAD - MORNING          A DOCTOR comes to the compound offering immunizations. One          of the women let's him in, and he offers polio vaccines to          the children.                         GEORGE          We talked about burrowing a pin hole          camera but there's a high risk of          discovery.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              80.                         GEORGE (CONT'D)          We have explored the possibility of          digging tunnels, of sending hot air          balloons, of re-routing supply C-          130's to take a peek, but that might          be too alerting. We've looked for          ways of collecting available DNA          from his trash - you know, looking          for his toothbrush, but they burn          the trash. We started a vaccination          program, we sent a doctor to the          house, to see if he could pull blood.          A lady in a black burkha rushes out and angrily shoos the          doctor away.                         GEORGE (CONT'D)          That didn't work out. We thought          about sending a guy with a bucket to          pull a sample from the sewer to          analyze his fecal matter.          SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE ADVISOR          What was wrong with that, exactly?          He looks up.                         GEORGE          What was wrong with that? The sample          would be too diluted.          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR          And it's asking too much to get a          voice confirmation with him on the          phone?                         GEORGE          They don't make telephone calls from          the compound. We pulled the cell          tower nearby.          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR          And I'm also going to give up hope          that he might ever get in that white          SUV and drive around a bit and we          could see him? Don't they get          groceries.                         GEORGE          The unidentified third male does not          get groceries. He does not leave          the compound. He does not present          himself for photographs.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              81.                         GEORGE (CONT'D)          When he needs fresh air, he paces          around beneath a grape arbor, but          the leaves are so thick they obscure          our satellite views. This is a          professional attempt to avoid          detection - real tradecraft. The          only people we've seen behave this          way are other top level Al Qaeda          operatives.          The National Security Advisor nods to his Special Assistant          who slides a big folder across his desk to George.          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR          We did a Red Team on your analysis.          According to them, this behavior          could belong to someone other than          Al Qaeda.          DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR          They did give a forty percent chance          that the unidentified third man is a          senior Al Qaeda operative. But they          also said there's a thirty-five          percent chance he's a Saudi drug                         DEALER          (reading from the                         BINDER)          A fifteen percent chance that he's a          Kuwaiti arms smuggler, a ten percent          chance that he's one of the relatives          of the brothers.          SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE ADVISOR          Basically, we agree with you, the          house screams security, it screams          someone who wants privacy, it even          screams 'bad guy', but it does not          scream bin Laden.          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR          You get the point.                         (BEAT)          If you can't prove it's bin Laden,          at least prove it's not somebody          else, like a drug dealer.          Beat.          The meeting is adjourned.          As they walk out --                                                                                                              82.                         GEORGE          You know we lost our ability to prove          that when we lost the detainee          program.                         (BEAT)          Who the hell am I supposed to ask?          Some guy in Gitmo who is all lawyered          up? He'll just tell his lawyer to          warn bin Laden.          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR          You'll think of something.                         CUT TO:          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - AF/PAK DIVISION - DAY          Maya is back at George's office, keeping track of time for          us by writing each passing day on the window of George's          office.          We watch as she erases the numbers in red and writes new          ones. 78.          Time passes.          98. 99. 100.          100 days. She underscores the numerals in thick magic marker.                         CUT TO:          INT. WHITE HOUSE - NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL S.C.I.F. - DAY          The same group around the same conference table.                         GEORGE          He'd be the first successful drug          dealer never to have dealt drugs.          He has no internet access to the          house. He makes no phone calls either          in or out. Who's he selling to,          who's he buying from, how's he making          his money? And if you're going to          say he's retired, I'd say where's          his swimming pool, where's the gold          cage with the falcons? And why does          he send his courier to the two cities          in Pakistan we most associate with          Al Qaeda, that have nothing          particularly to do with heroin          production?          The National Security Advisor taps his pencil impatiently.                                                                                                              83.          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR          The President is a thoughtful,          analytical guy. He needs proof.                         CUT TO:          INT. WHITE HOUSE HALLWAY          The National Security Advisor and his team file out. George          approaches.                         GEORGE          I have to admit, I just don't get          the rhythms of politics.          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR          You think this is political? If          this was political we'd be having          this conversation in October when          there's an election bump. This is          pure risk. Based on deductive          reasoning, inference, supposition          and the only human reporting you          have is six years old, from detainees          who are questioned under duress.          The political move here is to tell          you to go fuck yourself, and remind          you that I was in the room when your          old boss pitched WMD Iraq...at least          there you guys brought photographs.                         GEORGE          You know, you're right, I agree with          everything you just said. What I          meant was, a man in your position,          how do you evaluate the risk of not          doing something, the risk of          potentially letting bin Laden slip          through your fingers?          George shakes his head with an "aww shucks" kind of shake.                         GEORGE (CONT'D)          That is a fascinating question.          George walks away. After a beat, the National Security          advisor calls after him.          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR          Hey.          George turns around. The National Security Advisor approaches          him.                                                                                                              84.          NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR (CONT'D)          (lowering his voice)          I'm not saying we're gonna do it.          But the President wants to know: if          we were going to act, how would we          do it? Give us options.                         CUT TO:          EXT. AIR FORCE BASE - AIRPLANE HANGAR - DAY          SUPERIMPOSE: AREA 51 - SOUTHERN NEVADA          Doors of a HANGAR open in front of a large crowd that includes          several White House guys, a General, and a squadron of Navy          SEALs, including PATRICK, JUSTIN, JARED, SABER, TWO SOAR          PILOTS, and some members of the Af-Pak department, George,          Daniel, Hakim, and of course, Maya. The doors grind open to          reveal: TWO STEALTH BLACKHAWKS                         GENERAL          I actually tried to kill this program          a couple of times. They've gone          through an initial round of testing,          and they have excellent radar defeat -          we just haven't tested them with          people in them yet.          The General continues his briefing..                         GENERAL (CONT'D)          You'll notice these stealth panels          similar to what we use on the B2 -          (pointing to the rotors)          - The rotors have been muffled with          decibel killers - it's slower than a          Blackhawk and lacks the offense.          But it can hide.                         JUSTIN          Excuse me. Can I ask a question?          What do we need this for in Libya?          Gaddafi's anti-air is virtually non-          existent.          Maya looks over, not sure what to say.                         GEORGE          Gentlemen, can I have your attention?          My name is George. I run the Af-Pak          division at CTC, and I'm primary on          this for the agency. This is a title          fifty operation.                         (MORE)                                                                                                              85.                         GEORGE (CONT'D)          Some of us have worked together          before. This is a good one. Maya,          do you want to brief them?          Maya looks at the SEALs. Folds her arms. This isn't going          to be easy.                         MAYA          There are two narratives about the          location of Osama bin Laden.          This registers on the SEALs.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          The one that you're most familiar          with is that UBL is hiding in a cave          in the Tribal Areas, that he's          surrounded by a large contingent of          loyal fighters.          Beat.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          But that narrative is pre- 9/11          understanding of UBL.          The second narrative is that he's          living in a city - living in a city          with multiple points of egress and          entries and with access to          communications so that he can keep          in touch with the organization. You          can't run a global network of inter-          connected cells from a cave.          Beat.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          We've located an individual we believe          based on detainee reporting is bin          Laden's courier. He's living in a          house in Abbottabod, Pakistan. And          we assess that one of the other          occupants of the house is UBL.                         JUSTIN          Excuse me. You got an intel source          on the ground?                         MAYA          No.                                                                                                              86.                         JUSTIN          No? Okay, so how do you know it's          bin Laden? We've been on this op          before, you know.                         MAYA          Bin Laden uses a courier to interact          with the outside world. By locating          the courier, we've located bin Laden.                         PATRICK          That's really the intel? That's it?                         MAYA          Quite frankly, I didn't even want to          use you guys, with your dip and your          velcro and all your gear bullshit.          I wanted to drop a bomb but people          didn't believe in this lead enough          to drop a bomb, so they're using you          guys as canaries on the theory that          if bin Laden isn't there, you can          sneak away and no one will be the          wiser.                         (BEAT)          But bin Laden is there - and you're          going to kill him for me.                         PATRICK                         (SOFTENING)          Bullets are cheap.                         CUT TO:          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - GEORGE'S OFFICE - DAY          George is shaking his head as he talks to Wolf.                         GEORGE          They are nervous downtown. I don't          think we'll get approval this decision          cycle.          They look up and notice that Maya is standing outside George's          office staring at them through the glass.          She angrily wipes the number 128 off the window and changes          it to 129.          Wolf nods.                         WOLF          It's her against the world.                                                                                                              87.                         GEORGE          Oh yeah.                         CUT TO:          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - CAFETERIA - DAY          George is pulling his tray away from the food service court          when Maya ambushes him.                         MAYA          We've spun up the SEALs - we've done          everything humanly possible to collect          on the compound, and the collection          is not going to get any better.                         GEORGE          We have to keep working it.                         MAYA          You're going to come into work one          day, and there's going to be a black          moving van and a 'for sale' sign in          front of that compound.          George drops his tray down.                         GEORGE          Maya, you didn't prove it.          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - 7TH FLOOR - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY          Sitting around the table are the CIA Director, JEREMY, Wolf,          the DEPUTY DIRECTOR, George, Daniel, Steve and a few other          people we don't know. At the far end of the table are back          benchers, including Maya.                         CIA DIRECTOR          I'm about to go look the President          in the eye and what I'd like to know,          no fucking bullshit, is where everyone          stands on this thing. Now, very          simply. Is he there or is he not          fucking there?          He looks to the Deputy Director.                         DEPUTY DIRECTOR          We all come at this through the filter          of our own past experiences. I          remember Iraq WMD very clearly, I          fronted that and I can tell you the          case for that was much stronger than          this case.                                                                                                              88.                         CIA DIRECTOR          Yes or no.                         DEPUTY DIRECTOR          We don't deal in certainty, we deal          in probability. I'd say there's a          sixty percent probability he's there.          The CIA Director points to Wolf.                         WOLF          I concur. Sixty percent.                         GEORGE          I'm at eighty percent. Their OPSEC          is what convinces me.                         CIA DIRECTOR          You guys ever agree on anything?                         DANIEL          Well, I agree with sixty, we're basing          this mostly on detainee reporting          and I spent a bunch of time in those          rooms - who knows?          Maya shoots Daniel a look. What a traitor.                         DANIEL (CONT'D)          I'd say it's a soft sixty, sir. I'm          virtually certain there's some high          value target there, I'm just not          sure it's bin Laden.          The CIA Director leans back in his chair.                         CIA DIRECTOR          This is a cluster-fuck, isn't it?                         JEREMY          I'd like to know what Maya thinks.                         DEPUTY DIRECTOR          We're all incorporating her assessment          into ours.          Maya can't take it anymore:                         MAYA          One hundred percent, he's there -          okay, fine, ninety-five percent          because I know certainty freaks you          guys out - but it's a hundred!                                                                                                              89.          INT. CIA HEADQUARTERS - 7TH FLOOR - HALLWAY          The CIA Director walks with Jeremy towards the elevator.                         CIA DIRECTOR          They're all cowed. What do you think          of the girl?                         JEREMY          I think she's fucking smart.          As the door closes.                         CIA DIRECTOR          We're all smart, Jeremy.          INT. LANGELY CAFETERIA          Maya is eating lunch by herself when she's startled to see          the CIA Director standing by her table.                         CIA DIRECTOR          May I join you?          She nods, gulps.          CIA DIRECTOR (CONT'D)                         (SITTING)          How long have you worked for the          CIA?                         MAYA          Twelve years. I was recruited out          of high school.                         CIA DIRECTOR          Do you know why we did that?                         MAYA          I don't think I can answer that          question, sir. I don't think I'm          allowed to answer.                         CIA DIRECTOR          What else have you done for us besides          bin Laden?                         MAYA          Nothing. I've done nothing else.          He evaluates her... weighing her certainty against his decades          of Washington experience.                                                                                                              90.                         CIA DIRECTOR          Well, you certainly have a flare for          it.          FADE TO BLACK:          SUPERIMPOSE: THE CANARIES          EXT. JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - AFGHANISTAN - DAY          Jalalabad Airfield: nestled against the rugged mountains of          the Pakistan border.          SUPERIMPOSE: FORWARD OPERATING BASE - JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN -          MAY 1, 2011          Everything in motion, SOLDIERS, CONTRACTORS, AVIATION ASSETS,          PATROLS coming and going.          EXT. JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - AFTERNOON          Patrick and Justin are playing horseshoes. Maya, happy for          the first time since we've met her, watches them                         JUSTIN          So, Patrick, be honest with me. You          really believe this story?                         (TO MAYA)          No offense.                         PATRICK          I do.                         JUSTIN          What part convinced you?          Patrick motions to Maya.                         PATRICK          Her confidence.          Maya smiles, laughs.                         JUSTIN          Really? Okay. That's the kind of          concrete data point I'm looking for.          He shakes his head.                         JUSTIN (CONT'D)          If her confidence is the one thing          that's keeping me from getting ass-          raped in a Pakistani prison...I don't          know. I'm gonna be honest with you          though, I guess I'm cool with it.                                                                                                              91.          They bump fists, laughing. Maya's cell phone rings. She          moves aside to answer it.          We INTERCUT with George in his Langley office.                         GEORGE          Maya, I wanted you to hear it first.          You know that thing we talked about?          It's going to happen.                         MAYA          When?                         GEORGE          Tonight. Good luck.          She hangs up, turns back to the SEALs, who are still playing          horseshoes with the grace of young guys in their prime.          Their lives are in her hands.                         CUT TO:          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING          BASE - DAY          The small space is filled with personnel and          telecommunications gear. At the back of the room Maya sits          quietly, adjusting a headset and speaking calmly into a secure          line. From the corner Hakim watches her.                         MAYA          Testing - testing 1 - 2 - 3 -          A SEAL with his com set on gives her the thumbs up. She          looks around at all the impressive technology in the makeshift          Command Center. She walks over to Hakim and they leave          together.          EXT. JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - DUSK                         MAYA          Thank you for coming with me.                         HAKIM          Of course. I'll go with you where          ever you want.          A few hundred feet in front of them they can see SEALs          preparing their gear.                         MAYA          Fuck Hakim, what if I'm wrong?                         (MORE)                                                                                                              92.                         MAYA (CONT'D)          I wish we could have just dropped a          bomb.                         HAKIM          Please don't drop it while we're in          the house.                         MAYA          I'm serious.                         HAKIM          Me too. Don't drop anything while          I'm inside.          Off her anxious smile --                         CUT TO:          EXT. FORWARD OPERATING BASE JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN - OUTER          LZ - NIGHT          Blinding white lights - rigged to chain link fencing, like a          space shuttle launch -          Silhouetted shapes behind the lights and the thump-thump-          thump SOUND of high-dollar helicopters -          Now push through the glare and the fence into -          EXT. FORWARD OPERATING BASE JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN - INNER                         LZ          A top-secret LZ.          Where twenty-two SEALs in full battle rattle and an attack          DOG load into TWO STEALTH BLACKHAWK helicopters          Moving fast, wordlessly, loading weapons and gear - under          the intense bright white light, then -          - Doors slam, engines whine -          Fifty yards away, Maya stands alone, looking on.          - And the HELOS rise above the lights and disappear into the          night.          INT. STEALTH BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER - PRINCE 52 - PILOT'S CABIN          Hands feather the controls as the pilot -- one the famed          Nightstalker's from the Special Operations Aviation Regiment          (SOAR) 160th -- flies without lights, using only his NODs          for night vision.                                                                                                              93.          EXT. STEALTH BLACKHAWK HELICOPTERS PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52          Flying in formation, barely visible in the moonless sky, no          flying lights.          The helos near the Tora Bora mountain range: dimly visible          bulks rising in front of the helos.          INT. PRINCE 51 - CABIN          The SEALs gently bounce inside the bellies of the churning          beasts.                         PRINCE 51 PILOT          Thirty seconds to first turn.                         JARED          Hey Justin, what are you listening          to?                         JUSTIN          Tony Robbins.                         JARED          Tony Robbins?                         JUSTIN          You should listen to it. I got plans          for after this. I want to talk to          you guys about it. It's not selling.          You become a representative.          Everyone chuckles.                         PRINCE 51 CO-PILOT          Hard left.          EXT. PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52 - FLYING IN FORMATION          The stealths take a sharp turn. Skimming the mountain.                         PATRICK          Who here's been in a helo crash          before?          Everyone raises their hands.                         PATRICK (CONT'D)          Okay, so we're all good.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              94.          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING          BASE - EVENING          Technicians track the helos on an array of computer screens.                         PRINCE 52 PILOT                         (OVER RADIO)          Now entering Pakistan.          Maya is here, too, working. She's always working.                         MAYA                         (INTO HEADSET)          Pakistani coms, no chatter.          EXT. TORA BORA MOUNTAINS - LATER          Find the HELICOPTERS navigating tight mountain passes. NOTE:          Throughout the flying sequence that follows the helicopters          fly very close to the ground, with a margin of error less          then twenty feet.                         CUT TO:                         PILOT POV:          The terrain zooms by as we travel through a twisty mountain                         PASS -          - Looming straight ahead on a collision course is a GIANT          MOUNTAIN. They zoom closer. We can see individual rocks now -          INT. PRINCE 51                         PRINCE 51 PILOT                         (INTO RADIO)          Big left!          EXT. TORA BORA MOUNTAINS          Seconds before impact, the HELICOPTERS bank into a hard left          turn.          DUST blows off the mountain.                         CUT TO:          INT. PRINCE 51 - LATER          The dog PANTS - sitting in its handler's lap in the dim cabin -                         PILOT          Ten minutes.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              95.          INT. PRINCE 51 - LATER                         PILOT          Three mikes to target. Standby for          doors open.          Inside the dim interior, illuminated by only blinking          instrumentation, the men are tense, quiet.          We pass slowly from face to face, noting each SEAL's          contemplation of the mission that lies ahead.          Some of them are anonymous soldiers. Many we've come to          know: Justin, joyfully bobbing his head, grooving to his          iPod... Saber's eyes fixed on a thousand-yard stare... Hakim          struggles to get comfortable and control his anxiety, wipes          away sweat... Patrick checks his gear for the hundredth time.                         CO-PILOT          Two minutes.          EXT. STEALTH BLACKHAWKS - PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52 -          Outside: Darkness....just a THUMP THUMP THUMP...          And then we see them: flying in tight formation, the oddly          rectangular helos, with their black stealth panels and sharp          edges, like two alien spaceships advancing.          INT. EXT STEALTH BLACKHAWK - NIGHT                         PILOT                         (OVER INTERCOM)          Should be coming up just off our          nose, 3 o'clock.          Everyone grabs onto their gear, getting ready to fast rope.                         DOOR          Patrick flings open the side door. Night wind rushes in -          EXT. ABBOTTABAD, PAKISTAN - NIGHT          Small cottages mixed in with larger suburban homes. Among          them, swimming pools. The water shimmering. Surreal. Then:          rows of green fields. A stand of trees.          It appears: AC 1. It is massive - six or seven times larger          than any other nearby structure - with sixteen foot high          walls and a gated interior. A fortress.                                                                                                              96.          INT. PRINCE 51 - CONTINUOUS                         PILOT          Thirty seconds.          Patrick leans out for a visual as the wind rips his face -          EXT. PRINCE 51 AND PRINCE 52          The helos circle the COMPOUND, kicking up dust, and begin to          descend.          INT./EXT. STEALTH BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER PRINCE 51 - NIGHT          Cross cutting all that follows:          - At thirty feet above the ground the helicopter begins to          shudder and lose stability. Instead of descending in a          straight path, the bird drifts sideways                         PATRICK          (shouting to pilot)          Hey! Slide right.          - Then lurches down, falling to within 15 feet of the swirling          ground, rotors churning the dust, creating near BROWNOUT          conditions, a dust hurricane          INT. PRINCE 51          CU: Pilot finessing the controls - not good enough                         PRINCE 51 PILOT          Power!          EXT. COMPOUND - NIGHT          ECU: rear rotor blades edging closer to the wall, inch by          inch.          -- Engines straining LOUDLY in the thin, hot air          -- The bird loses control, SPINS to a hard landing          INT. PRINCE 51          ECU: Pilot thrusts stick          EXT. COMPOUND          -- TAIL crashes hard on the WALL, in a awful screech of          twisting metal and sheared concrete -                                                                                                              97.          INT. PRINCE 51          -- Tossing the men inside the helo around like rag dolls.                         CUT TO:          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING          BASE - EVENING          The command tent watches the helicopter crash.          PRINCE 52 PILOT (O.S.)          Prince 51 is down. Blackhawk down          in the animal pen.          Maya stands, crestfallen.          EXT. HELO CRASH          The dust settles to reveal...a twisted wreck.          PRINCE 51 has crash landed into a precarious position, with          the back half of the helicopter wedged into the top of the          wall and the front of it in the ground, leaving the passengers          inside suspended more then ten feet off the ground.          INT./EXT. PRINCE 51          Although he's wearing a heavy pack and carrying gear, Patrick          jumps down, landing with a knee-shattering combat roll.          Several SEALs follow him.          EXT. INNER COURTYARD          Patrick pulls out of his roll and turns around to face the          house, looming ominously ahead of him.          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING          BASE - EVENING                         PRINCE 52 PILOT                         (OVER RADIO)          This mission is still a go.          Off Maya's relief -          INT./EXT. PRINCE 52 - CONTINUOUS          The second helo passes over but a storm of debris and garbage          from the rooftop creates another flight risk and the helo          banks away.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              98.          EXT. COMPOUND - FIRST GATE          Patrick, Justin and SIX other SEALs cluster near the First          Gate in the animal pen. One of the SEALs places a charge on          the gate, while others check the Prayer Room.          Boom! The charge partially blows open the metal swing doors          of the gate, leaving a very narrow gap. Not ideal. The          SEALs muscle and squeeze their way through the narrow opening          in the jagged metal as the SNIPER climbs up on the roof of          the prayer room.          EXT. GUEST HOUSE - NIGHT          Patrick and Jared arrive at the guest house but can't see          inside - the windows and doors are covered with sheets.          Patrick kneels down to place a charge at the front door handle          when the door erupts with gunfire          - Bullets fly out of the wooden door. One skims Patrick's          shoulder as he kneels lower. Patrick fires back at the house,          putting a dozen rounds inside.          A moment passes. They wait for a response. The door handle          unlocks. ABU AHMED'S WIFE appears at the doorway and walks          out.                         JARED          Ir-fah ee-dek!          ABU AHMED'S WIFE                         (IN ENGLISH)          You killed him.          INT. GUEST HOUSE - CONTINUOUS          The SEALs peer inside and see ABU AHMED lying dead in a          pool of blood. Patrick and Jared pump safety rounds into          the body.          FOUR KIDS are cowering in the corner. Jared moves them out          of the house.          EXT. COMPOUND - DIEGO CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS          The rest of the P51 SEALS breach a gate to the courtyard of          the Main House. The gate flies open in a fiery ball.                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              99.          EXT. COMPOUND WALLS OUTSIDE MAIN GATE - CONTINUOUS          SEALs jump out of P52, rush to the outer wall and set          breaching charges on a gate... While Hakim, the DOG HANDLER,          and another SEAL peel off down the block          Saber and his team stand by as BOOM!!!, The gate charges go          off...only to reveal a BRICK WALL behind the gate.                         SABER          That's not a door.                         SEAL          Failed breach.          They hustle to the next entry way and prepare another breach                         CUT TO:          EXT. MAIN HOUSE - COURTYARD          The COMMANDING OFFICER hears that the SEALs outside are          preparing a charge. SEAL MIKE radios in          SEAL MIKE (O.S.)                         (INTO RADIO)          This is Echo 11, we're going to breach          the main gate.                         COMMANDING OFFICER                         (INTO RADIO)          Negative. I'm internal, I'll let          you in.          The Commanding Officer opens the gate and the other SEALs          walk inside. As a group, they move towards the main house,          arriving at the South side front door. The door is open and          they enter -          INT. MAIN HOUSE FIRST FLOOR - CONTINUOUS          Piercing the first floor darkness with their infra red lights,          the SEALs advance slowly into the first floor hallway.          Piles of household clutter, stacked high in bizarre shapes,          greet them like the innards of a haunted house. One of the          SEAL's catches movement: A figure with an AK-47 scrambling          through clutter, then disappearing around a corner.                         JUSTIN          Abrar!          The figure, Abu Ahmed's brother, ABRAR, re-appears at the          end of the hallway. He pokes his head out -                                                                                                              100.          - And is shot by Justin. He falls out of view, whimpering          in pain.          INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS          Justin walks quickly to Abrar.          INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR SIDE ROOM - CONTINUOUS          ABRAR is down, bleeding.          - Justin fires another round into Abrar as ABRAR'S WIFE comes          flying in from the sleeping quarters and shields him with          her body.          - Justin shoots her. She falls...Abrar is underneath her -          he is still breathing, gasping and          - Justin shoots him again, silencing him          - Then looks to his wife and assesses her condition          - Badly wounded, faint breathing, life fading from her eyes...          - Justin turns away          INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS          Justin and a BREACHER proceed down the hall to the heavy          gate that blocks access to the stairway while another SEAL          stays behind. Somewhere, children are screaming.                         JUSTIN          Shut those fucking kids up.          O.S. the kids quiet down.                         JUSTIN (CONT'D)          Talk to me.                         BREACHER          There's no fucking way we want to          blow this thing. The gate is solid.          MIKE (O.S.)                         (OVER RADIO)          This is Echo 11 - we're at our primary          set point, prepping to breach.                         JUSTIN                         (INTO RADIO)          Wait, Echo 11 - we're internal on          the south side - this is a negative          breach.                                                                                                              101.                         MIKE                         (OVER RADIO)          Roger. We're ready to make our entry          out here.                         JUSTIN                         (INTO RADIO)          Roger that, we're coming to meet          you.          (to the Breacher)          Stay with these kids. Don't let          them in the back room.                         CUT TO:          EXT. MAIN HOUSE - A MOMENT LATER          In the regrouping that occurs on the side of the main house,          Justin and Patrick find themselves side by side - and the          old friends take a moment to reconnect while the rest of the          team places charges and prepares for the next phase of the          assault.                         PATRICK                         (QUIETLY)          You good?                         JUSTIN          Yeah. I forgot...were we supposed          to crash that helo?          Patrick allows himself a smile.                         PATRICK          Ibrahim tried to shoot me through          the door. I popped him from the          outside.                         JUSTIN          I fucking smoked Abrar and his wife.                         (SHIFTING TONE)          (alt: I think she was                         PREGNANT)                         PATRICK          Still alive?                         JUSTIN          She's gonna bleed out.                         PATRICK          What a fuckin' mess -          The door blows - and they keep moving -                                                                                                              102.          INT. MAIN HOUSE - FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS          The SEALs reach the staircase, which is sealed off by a          separate metal gate than the one inside the hallway.                         SEAL          Breacher up.          A charge is prepared. Justin, who is now inside one of the          side rooms, sees Jared standing close to the door.                         JUSTIN          Hey man, move!          Jared moves just as -          EXT. MAIN HOUSE FIRST FLOOR HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS          - Boooom!          -- The door FLIES like a missile right into where Jared had          been standing.                         JARED                         (TO JUSTIN)          Thanks.                         JUSTIN          Yeah.                         CUT TO:          INT. MAIN HOUSE - STAIRCASE TO SECOND FLOOR - CONTINUOUS          Saber goes up the staircase, Patrick following closely behind          him, climbing up to see -          INT. MAIN HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR - CONTINUOUS          A man ducks out of sight. Saber calls to him.                         SABER          Khaled!          Saber waits with his carbine raised. Anxiety crosses his          face. He's vulnerable here, an easy target if Khaled were          to come out blasting.                         SABER (CONT'D)          KHALED!                         CUT TO:                                                                                                              103.          INT. SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY          Khaled hears his name being called from below. A few feet          away from him in the dimly lit hall is a loaded AK-47. He          goes to the gun and picks it up.          He hears his name again, "Khaled!" And the voice sounds          friendly, urgent.          Perhaps thinking that he can surrender peacefully, Khaled          puts the gun down, resting it against a wall, and turns and          heads back to the sound of his name.          Saber sees Khaled poke his head around the corner of the          stairway and fires - killing him instantly.          Saber pushes past the body, Patrick following, and they climb          the staircase leading to the third floor.                         CUT TO:          EXT. COMPOUND - STREET          The neighborhood, awakened by the crash and gunfire, stirs          to life. Hakim and the SEALs notice LIGHTS flipping on.          And down the block, a group of several young men appear on a          roof.                         SEAL          (raising his weapon)          This is Echo 05, I've got unknowns          gathering on the Southwest Rooftops.          Hakim, move those guys back.                         HAKIM          (speaking in Pashto)          Go back brothers, this is official          government business, and there is          nothing to see here!!                         SEAL          I'm going to start wasting them.                         HAKIM          Please! They will kill you!          The onlookers pause. SEAL aiming lasers dance across their          chests.                         HAKIM (CONT'D)          They will kill you!          They turn and go.                                                                                                              104.          INT. MAIN HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR - HALLWAY          - SEALs clear the SECOND floor as women and children flow          into the hallway... A SEAL grabs one of the wives and pulls          her out into the hallway, while another female disappears          behind a large REFRIGERATOR, and he grabs her too.          INT. MEDIA ROOM - SECOND FLOOR - CONTINUOUS          Justin opens a file cabinet, stuffed with documents.          INT. MAIN HOUSE SECOND TO THIRD FLOOR STAIRWAY          Saber is climbing the stairs, gun up, towards the third floor,          when he sees a flash of movement across the landing above          him. He stops climbing and -                         SABER                         (CALLING OUT)          Osama! Osama!?          Beat.          Beat.          Sweat on Saber's face                         SABER (CONT'D)          Osama!?          A man appears at the end of the third floor hallway.          -- Ssssht ! a bullet strikes him in the head - knocking him          back into a bedroom          - Saber fires again, missing          - And proceeds down the hallway, going full speed now,          Patrick right behind him, sprinting into the bedroom          INT. MAIN HOUSE OSAMA'S LIVING QUARTERS          Two women stand at the entrance of the room. Saber rushes          them and with a football tackle, slams them into the wall.          Patrick enters the room and fires several rounds into the          man on the floor.                         PATRICK                         (INTO RADIO)          Possible jackpot.          The women Saber is restraining are wailing, struggling to          get to their husband, as a ten year-old boy rushes up to the          body.                                                                                                              105.          Patrick pushes him away and kneels down to get a better look          at the body.                         PATRICK (CONT'D)                         (TO SABER)          Dude, do you realize what you just          did?                         CUT TO:          INT. MAIN HOUSE - THIRD FLOOR ROOM - HALLWAY          JARED questions the wives.                         JARED                         (IN ARABIC)          Who is he?                         WOMAN          He is al Noori Hasan.                         JARED          (shouting back to                         PATRICK)          She says it's not him.                         PATRICK          Talk to a kid.          Jared kneels down next to a nine year-old girl huddled in          the corner and snaps open a chem light. He gives her the          glowing green wand.                         JARED                         (IN ARABIC)          Daughter, what is his name?          The girl makes no reply.                          CUT TO:          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING          BASE - EVENING          COMMANDING OFFICER (O.S.)          (through the radio)          For God and Country, Geronimo.          Maya gasps.          EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS          The Commanding Officer issues orders.                                                                                                              106.                         COMMANDING OFFICER                         (INTO RADIO)          All Stations: target secure, target          secure.          INT. THIRD FLOOR - MASTER BEDROOM                         PATRICK                         (INTO RADIO)          Roger. Copy. Target Secure.          COMMANDING OFFICER (O.S.)          Target Secure - commence SSE.          INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM          Justin flicks on the lights. Moving fast he picks up a          COMPUTER tower and throws it to the floor, cracking it open,          rips out the HARD DRIVE and tosses that into the bag.          As we pull back and realize the enormity of the task in front          of him -          The lights show an organized office, crammed with information,          stacks of files, disks, video equipment.          Twenty years of jihad.                         JUSTIN          (to his team)          Do not leave a hard drive.          The SEALs gather everything they can.          INT. MAIN HOUSE - THIRD TO SECOND FLOOR STAIRWAY          Saber walks down the staircase in a daze. We stay with him          as he descends, noting the faraway look in his eyes -          INT. MAIN HOUSE - SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM          Saber walks into the office where the SSE (Sensitive Sight          Exploitation) is underway.                         JUSTIN                         (TO SABER)          What's up?                         SABER          I shot the third floor guy.                         JUSTIN          Good for you. You want to help?                                                                                                              107.          Justin tosses him an SSE bag.                         CUT TO:          INT. ASSAULT COMMAND CENTER - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING          BASE - EVENING          The command team studies their monitors.          PRINCE 52 PILOT O.S.                         (OVER RADIO)          QRF inbound.                         CUT TO:          EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR          The COMMANDING OFFICER is talking on two radios at once -          one to his men, the other to brass back at Jalalabad base.                         COMMANDING OFFICER                         (INTO RADIO)          Echo 05, this is Red 02, how long do          you need for SSE?          INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM                         JUSTIN                         (INTO RADIO)          At least ten minutes.          EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR                         COMMANDING OFFICER                         (INTO RADIO)          You have four.          INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM                         JUSTIN                         (INTO RADIO)          This is a gold mine, I need more          time than that.          EXT. DIEGO CORRIDOR                         COMMANDING OFFICER                         (INTO RADIO)          If you're not at the LZ in four, I'm          going to leave your ass behind.          INT. SECOND FLOOR - MEDIA ROOM          Justin yells to his team.                                                                                                              108.                         JUSTIN          Four minutes!                         CUT TO:          EXT. HELO CRASH          Hakim arrives at the crashed helo. He crawls into the          interior and finds a BLACK BODY BAG. We follow this bag:          INT. MAIN HOUSE FIRST FLOOR          Hakim jogs into the main house with the BODY BAG, and through          his POV, we see slow down for the first time since the raid          began, noting the destruction:          - blood stains on the walls,          - Bodies pierced with bullets,          - Wailing children.                         HAKIM                         (INTO COMS)          Where do you need the bag?          SEAL (O.S.)          Third floor.                         CUT TO:          INT. THIRD FLOOR - MASTER BEDROOM          SEALs roll the body into the BAG as Patrick and another SEAL          collect articles of interest. Two SEALs zip up the bag and          carry it out. Just as...          INT. MEDIA ROOM - SECOND FLOOR          Justin's team leaves the office.          EXT. MAIN COURTYARD - A MOMENT LATER          The body bag is laid in the courtyard.          EXT. HELO CRASH - CONTINUOUS          The EOD SEAL slides into the belly of Prince 51. While he          places charges, another SEAL climbs up to affix charges to          the roof and rotors ...and like a tight roper, he walks out          on the tail of the helicopter, when suddenly his foot slips,          piercing the tail's thin skin, and he nearly falls off.          He manages to place a last charge - but the remainder of the          tail piece will not be detonated.                                                                                                              109.          EXT. COMPOUND - POTATO FIELD          Back at the whirling helicopter, the SEALs shove the BODY          BAG into the interior compartment and jump in after it.          The helo rises into the night.                         CUT TO:          EXT. HELO CRASH - CONTINUOUS          PRINCE 51 explodes, sending shrapnel and a fireball high          into the air          EXT./INT PRINCE 52 - CONTINUOUS          The SEALs watch the flames as the compound shrinks beneath                         THEM          EXT. COMPOUND - ANIMAL PEN - CONTINUOUS          The fire of the exploded crashed helo blazes in the night.          INT. PRINCE 52 - A MOMENT LATER          The SEALs sit silent in the cabin, body bag at their feet.                         CUT TO:          EXT. LANDING ZONE - JALALABAD FORWARD OPERATING BASE - LATER          Bathed in the bright white lights, Maya waits for the helo.          Concern on her face.          At last, she hears it.          A moment later, PRINCE 52 hovers into view and lands. Patrick          and several SEALs run out, carrying the bag...          INT. HANGAR          The place is swarming with SOLDIERS, SEALs, and FBI agents          with large bio-metric scanners - loud shouting everywhere:          "mark media, first floor, who has a pen, etc."          EXT. LANDING ZONE          Maya makes her way towards the hangar tent.          INT. HANGAR          She pushes through the busy SEALs.          Maya sees it now - way in the corner of the hangar.                                                                                                              110.          She walks and walks towards the bag.          She is alone with it now.          She unzips the BAG          CU: Maya.          Seven years telescoping to this moment. The end of a journey.          She stares at the body for a moment then turns to look across          the room where ADMIRAL MCRAVEN meets her eye.          She nods.                         ADMIRAL MCRAVEN                         (INTO PHONE)          Sir, the agency expert gave a visual          confirmation. Yes, Sir, the girl.          Hundred percent.          Maya gazes at the bloodied face, then turns away and zips          the bag...and leaves the tent.          Her eyes afire.                         CUT TO:          EXT. JALALABAD AIRSTRIP - EARLY DAWN          Maya waits on the tarmac, alone.          A C-17, one of the largest most impressive planes in the          American fleet, rolls to a stop and the hatch opens.          She climbs the ladder -          INT. C-17 - CONTINUOUS          The cavernous cargo plane is empty of passengers. The pilot          motions to the seats.                         PILOT          Are you Maya?                         MAYA          Yeah.                         PILOT          That's the only name they gave me.                         (ODD)          You can sit wherever you want, you're          the only one on the manifest.                                                                                                              111.          Maya sits down, buckles in. The PILOT heads back to the                         CABIN                         PILOT (CONT'D)          You must be pretty important, you          got the whole plane to yourself!          Beat.                         PILOT (CONT'D)          Where do you want to go?          She's speechless.          Overwhelmed.          Finally, she lets go.          Those luminous eyes become pools of relief and pain.          CUT TO: BLACK
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+                                     EXISTENZ                                   Written by                                David Cronenberg                                                        Fourth Draft                                                     October 1, 1996                                                            INT. COUNTRY CHURCH - NIGHT          The man facing us is bearded, sweating, intense,'joyous.          Jacket and tie, jeans, fortyish. His name is Wittold Levi.          eXistenZ.          Levi turns to a chalkboard on a tripod and writes the word.                         LEVI          Written like this. One word.          Small e. Capital X, capital Z.          He turns back to face an as-yet-unseen audience.                         LEVI          eXistenZ. It's new, it's from          Antenna Research, and it's here,          right now.          We now see Levi's audience, about seventy-five people, some          standing, some sitting on plastic folding chairs. They are          of very mixed age and type, but they all cheer and applaud          enthusiastically.          We are in the central playing area of a small, deconsecrated          country church, and Levi performs on a broad, low, carpeted          plywood dais. At the far end of the dais, a man and a woman          - assistants to Levi - are carefully laying out about two          dozen plastic modules that look somewhat like high-tech ski          boots.                         LEVI          My name is Wittold Levi, my          friends call me Witt - and I'm          the project manager for eXistenZ.          I recognize some familiar faces -          that's all right, that's all          right. We won't throw you out. We          encourage consumer loyalty, and          we want you to help us with our          product testing. We're a team,          Antenna and you.          A delighted stir from the crowd.                         LEVI          Those of you who have come to our          invited seminars before will know          that I normally lead the group          through our new games, but                         (MORE)                                                                                                                             LEVI (CONT'D)          tonight, it won't be me. No, for          the test launch of eXistenZ by          Antenna, we have brought you a          seminar leader who is rather          special.          An unbelieving, excited stir. Could it really be?                         LEVI          Yes, it is. The world's greatest          game designer is here, in person,          to lead you, the first test          enclave, through her newest          creation, eXistenZ by Antenna...          The small crowd is now tremendously excited, wide-eyed,          murmuring, one or two have actually gotten on their knees.                         LEVI          I give you, the Game-Pod Goddess          herself - Allegra Geller!          Levi moves to the edge of the crowd, works his way into it          until he has reached a small, unobtrusive figure who up to          now has hardly been noticed. She stands next to a security          guard who is dressed in a suit and tie but carries an          electronic wand of some sort. His name-tag identifies him as          Ted Pikul (rhymes with "Michael", not with "pickle"), and we          will see more of him later.          As Levi takes her hand and gently leads her out of the          crowd, her fans applaud softly, touch her hem. They part          like water as she passes amongst them, clutching her own          personal game-pod case with both hands. She mounts the dais          like a blind person led by her seeing-eye dog.          Allegra Geller, early thirties, conservatively dressed, is          bright, acutely aware, but wary and controlled. When she          speaks, she is deliciously, sexily shy, serious, melodic.                         GELLER          The world of games is in a kind          of a trance. People are          programmed to accept so little,          but the possibilities are so          great.                         (PAUSE)          You probably thought that          tonight, we were going to test a          new game that I designed.          Excited murmurings from the crowd.                                                                                                                             GELLER          But there is no new game to test,          at least, not in the usual sense.          Confused, slightly disappointed mutterings.                         GELLER          No, no, it's going to be much          better than you expected, because          eXistenZ is not just a game. It's          an entirely new game system.          Antenna Research and I developed          it together - the eXistenZ System          by Antenna - and it involves a          whole lot of new toys, which you          are going to be the first to try          out.          The crowd's spirit rises again. Levi steps forward, smiling,          playing off the renewed energy.                         LEVI          MetaFlesh.          Levi turns to the chalkboard and writes the word.                         LEVI          Written like this. One word.          Capital M, capital F. MetaFlesh          is what our new toys are made of          - the MetaFlesh Game-Pod, only          from Antenna Research. It          connects with any industry          standard bioport, which I know          you all have or you wouldn't be          here...          (chuckles from the crowd)          .using, however, a very non-          standard connecting device which          we call...          Levi turns again to the chalkboard.                         LEVI          .we call an UmbyCord. Spelled          like this.          Levi writes the word out and then turns back to his by-now-          salivating audience.                                                                                                                             LEVI          I guess you can tell I started          off as a schoolteacher.                         4 (APPRECIATIVE CHUCKLES)          But I never had anything quite so          fun or so revolutionary to teach          as what Allegra and I are going          to teach you all tonight.          With a theatrical flourish, Levi whirls around to face his          two assistants, who have finished laying out their devices          on the back table and are now standing crisply at attention          at either end of it.                         LEVI          Are the MetaFlesh Game-Pods by          Antenna Research ready?                         ASSISTANTS                         (TOGETHER)          Yes, Mr; Levi.                         LEVI          And how many of these precious          prototypes did we manage to bring          with us?                         FEMALE ASSISTANT          Twenty-one, Mr. Levi.          Levi's face clouds slightly. The audience does not hear the          following exchange.                         LEVI                         (SOTTO VOCE)          Twenty-one? I thought we had an          even two dozen.                         MALE ASSISTANT          The first three we opened were...          unhealthy.                         LEVI          Really? Any chance that some of          the others...?                         FEMALE ASSISTANT          We think we're clean.                         LEVI                         J                         (RESTRAINED FURY)          God-damn better be.          Levi turns back to his audience, radiant once more.                                                                                                                             LEVI          We have twenty-one prototype          MetaFlesh Game-Pods, and that          means that for our first wave          test enclave we need twenty-one          volunteers who will port in these          slave units with the Game-Pod          Goddess herself...          Levi doesn't need to finish his pitch. Every hand is waving          in the air, and every pair of lips is saying, "Me, me, oh          God, please, let it be me!"          Geller can only stand by modestly and beam at the intensity          of the small crowd's enthusiasm.          INT. COUNTRY CHURCH. MINUTES LATER - NIGHT          A SHORT MONTAGE as the twenty-one volunteers mount the dais          and are fitted with their game gear:          The assistants undo the heavy-duty snap locks and split open          the ski-boot-like plastic modules on the back table. Inside,          resting in a lining of dense foam, are what look almost like          living kidneys: the MetaFlesh Game-Pods.          Coiled in each boot toe is the Y-shaped, multi-player          UmbyCord that comes with each pod, a split twelve-foot          connector cord that resembles an umbilical cord, twisted,          translucent, blue and red veiny vessels running just below          the surface.          The volunteers watch in hushed reverence, as though about to          receive communion.          The game-pods are gingerly lifted out of their cases.          The UmbyCords are uncoiled and plugged into ports in the          back of the game-pods.          The shirts, blouses, and jackets of the volunteers are          lifted at the back to reveal their owners' bioports, which          are small, soft-plastic, flesh-coloured permanent spinal          jacks positioned just above the belt line.          Twenty-two folding chairs are placed in a circle on the          dais. As each volunteer has his UmbyCord plugged into his          bioport, he takes one of the seats and places his quivering,          rippling game-pod, now connected directly to his nervous          system, on his lap.                                                                                                              The last chair is taken by Allegra Geller, who is fussed          i over and settled by Levi as she unpacks her own master game-          pod with exaggerated delicacy and is then ported in to the          players on either side of her.          We END the short MONTAGE with the security guard, Pikul,          standing with arms folded near the church's side door,          watching the proceedings with fascination.          A loud knocking at the door forces Pikul to turn away from          the action on the dais. He walks over to the door and opens          it. A hyper, exasperated fan almost tumbles into the church.          Pikul immediately raises his electronic wand and bars his          way.                         PIKUL          Hold it. Not so fast.          In response, the fan thrusts a card at him.          Pikul takes the card, a complex invitation card which          includes a holographic photo of the fan under which floats          his name, Joel Dichter. Dichter anxiously looks past Pikul          into the depths of the church, nervously adjusting the vinyl          case slung over his shoulder.                         DICHTER          Oh, god. I hope I'm not too late.          Did I miss the port-in?                         PIKUL          It's just the first wave. You can          be part of the second wave.          (rereads the invitation)          OK, Joel Dichter. Put your arms          up. I have to scan you. Metal and          heavy synthetics can't come in.                         DICHTER                         (INCREDULOUS)          A weapons check?                         PIKUL          More for recording devices. Lotta          money invested in these games.          Industrial espionage happens.          What's in this case?                         DICHTER          I brought my game-pod. It's got          original Marway tissue          architecture. It's kind of          obsolete but I was hoping,...                         (MORE)                                                                                                                             DICHTER (CONT'D)          even though I couldn't afford the          Antenna Fifteen upgrade, I          figured out a method of virtual          porting that I thought might...          Pikul uses his wand to scan the vinyl case, then opens the          zipper and feels around. In the case is a more solid,          rubbery version of the new MetaFlesh pods.                         PIKUL          You won't need it tonight.          Everything's provided for.          Dichter suddenly spots Geller on the dais. He almost faints.                         DICHTER          Migod! Is that who I think it is?          .PIKUL          (with paternal pride)          Yeah, that's her. She's          something, isn't she?                         DICHTER          But why would a star like her          come to a product seminar in a          little one-horse town like this?                         PIKUL          This is where the real people          live, Joel. Her real fans, like          you.                         DICHTER          Yeah, well, you said it. Just          like me.          Dichter has scanned OK. Pikul waves him into the church to          join the spectators who will form the second wave and re-          locks the door.          On the dais, in the center of the circle of linked game          players, Levi nods at Geller.                         LEVI          Everything's in order. Are you          ready, Allegra?                         T                         GELLER                         (PUMPED)          Sure. This is my favourite part.                                                                                                              There is giddy laughter in the room. Geller looks at every          player-in the circle as Levi steps down off the platform and          retires to the far edge of the small, watching throng.                         GELLER          I'm ready to download eXistenZ by          Antenna Research into you all          now. I'm warning you, it's going          to be a wild ride, but don't          panic no matter what happens.          I'll see you all back here in no          time at all.          Now the giddy laughter goes a touch nervous, uncertain, but          it's too late. Geller depresses a nipple-like protuberance          on the game-pod on her lap, and all the players close their          eyes and go rigid, like members of a seance who have          suddenly been contacted by the spirit world. The pods in          their laps begin a rhythmic, peristaltic rippling.          At the edge of the crowd, Pikul sidles up to Levi.                         PIKUL                         (TO LEVI)          She seems to be very shy. It          never occurred to me that a big          star would be shy.                         LEVI          She spends most of her time alone          in a room designing her games. I          think she'd like it best if she          never had to show them to          anybody.                         PIKUL          Really? She doesn't enjoy all the          adulation?                         LEVI          She hates having to port in with          her fans. It's too intimate.                         PIKUL          Then why does she do it?                         LEVI                         (LAUGHS)          We make her do it.                         I D                         PIKUL          By "we" you mean, the game          company, Antenna Research?                                                                                                                             A                         LEVI '          That's what I mean.                         PIKUL          Why?                         I                         LEVI                         (SUDDENLY SUSPICIOUS)          Are you with us or did an          independent security company send          you?                         PIKUL          Me? Oh, I'm with your own          management training program.          (shows him a card)          I want to end up in marketing and          public relations.          (holds up security wand)          The only thing I know about          security is how to switch this          thing on.                         LEVI                         (SATISFIED)          Well, for example, we've spent a          fortune developing eXistenZ, but          we all know it's a risky project.          She might have to make changes.          It's the only way we can convince          her that there might be a          problem.                         PIKUL                         (PUZZLED)          A problem with her new game?                         LEVI          eXistenZ is a lot more than a          game.                         PIKUL          Yeah, right, it's a game system.          I heard that.                         LEVI          And we're worried that it's too          intellectual, too complex, too          weird, too artsy. That argument ;          never bothers her until she faces          her fans. She hates to be          rejected in the flesh, so we make          her come out sometimes to take          the heat.                                                                                                                             PIKUL                         (ADMIRINGLY)          4 I've heard that she's very          sensitive.          A strange, choral humming begins to fill the church. Pikul          and Levi turn their attention to the dais, where the fans          rock and sway with the pulsing of the pods in their laps.                         PIKUL          What are they doing?                         LEVI                         (LAUGHS)          It's the new Antenna Research          theme song. We thought this would          be a good way to launch it.          Everybody who plays eXistenZ is          going to be very familiar with          that tune.          Haltingly, but gamely, Pikul tries to hum along.                         PIKUL          Catchy.          Levi helps him out, and soon the whole room is humming along          happily, warmed by the Antenna Research corporate theme          song.          The whole room, that is, except for Joel Dichter, who, at          the edge of the dais, is more concerned with fumbling around          in the vinyl pod-case hanging from his shoulder.          In the case, we watch as Dichter tears open his obsolete          game-pod to reveal a bizarre weapon, a pistol made of bone          and gristle, almost like the half-decayed body of a small          mammal - whose snout is the barrel, whose rigid hind leg is          the trigger.          Dichter takes his weapon out of its case, shakes off a few          gelatinous strips of game-pod flesh, and steps up onto the          dais.          Pikul is the first to notice this. He glances at Levi, who's          still blissed out and humming, then launches himself          awkwardly through the crowd.          Now in the middle of the circle, Dichter makes his way          towards the blissfully unsuspecting Geller, raising his          weapon as he goes.                                                                                                                             DICHTER          Death to eXistenZ! Death to          Antenna Research! Death to the          demoness Allegra Geller!                         P                         PIKUL                         (TO DICHTER)          No! Don't do it!          Dichter turns to see Pikul stumbling through the small          crowd, scrambling onto the dais. Distracted, Dichter          hurriedly raises his weapon again and fires it at Geller.          The first shot hits her in the shoulder and spins her off          her chair, which collapses over her and takes the second          bullet on its seat rim.          The circle of players on the dais moans as one, swoons and          jostles: they are all feeling the neural surge of Geller's          traumatized nervous system. Peeking out from under her          folding chair, Geller's eyes are wide with fear and          confusion. She clutches her shoulder without being aware of          it. Blood seeps in between her fingers          Now Levi and his two assistants scramble onto the platform          to get at Dichter, who fires wildly, hitting two of the          players nearest Geller. The circle of players immediately          goes spastic, screaming and twitching and dropping to the          ground and writhing. Many of them are clutching their          shoulders in the same spot as Geller, sympathy pain          transmitting through their UmbyCords.          Pikul manages to tackle Dichter, then starts whacking at him          with the security wand. Dichter twists around and raises his          weapon at Pikul, who immediately backs off in terror. But          before Dichter can pull the trigger, the two assistants          produce small, normal pistols from hidden holsters and empty          their clips into the prostrate Dichter. Dichter manages to          squeeze off one last shot at the approaching Jevi, hitting          him squarely in the chest. Levi goes down and is lost          amongst the jostling feet.          The watching fans pile onto the dais and begin to help the          players unplug from the game-pods which are obviously          causing them distress. Three of the players attack the dying          Dichter, dragging their game-pods after them, kicking at          whatever part of him they can find in the confused mass of          bodies.          in the turmoil, Pikul is knocked to the ground. Amid the          stamping, sliding feet, he finds himself lying across the          stricken-Levi. Levi clutches Pikul desperately.                                                                                                                             LEVI          Get her out of here! Save her!          There might be more of them! Go          on!                         PIKUL          Me? Me take her?                         LEVI          (urgent, pleading)          We have enemies in our own house.          Trust no one. Trust no one...          The wide-eyed Pikul scrambles to his feet and promptly trips          over the all-but-dead Dichter. He falls painfully to his          knees, struggles up again, and finds the bizarre bone gun in          his hand. Pikul stares at it, fascinated, horrified.          He turns back to Levi, but Levi's eyes are rolling back as          he loses consciousness. The two assistants are making their          way towards them through the shoving, shuffling throng, guns          cocked, faces set hard. Panicked, Pikul jams the bone gun          into his suit pocket and jumps off the platform, wildly          looking around for Geller.          She and her chair have slipped off the dais in a heap only a          few feet away, and she is in several kinds of agony. Pikul          unports her, which immediately brings her some relief and a          lot of clarity. Pikul wards off a couple of fans with one          arm, screams at them.                         PIKUL                         (SCREAMS)          She's coming with me! I'm          responsible for her! She's          supposed to come with me!          To his surprise, Geller laughs a dazed, hearty laugh.                         GELLER                         (LAUGHS)          Am I? With you?                         PIKUL          (quietly, firmly)          Yeah, you're coming with me.          Pikul pulls her to her feet, but she immediately dives back          to the floor to find her game-pod and UmbyCord.                                                                                                                             GELLER          (suddenly near hysteria)          I can't lose this! I can't lose          this!          She finds the game-pod still under the folding chair, a bit          flattened on one side but in one piece. She grabs the game-          pod and its UmbyCord and stuffs them into her MetaFlesh pod          case which has been knocked to the edge of the dais. As she          clutches it to her, Pikul takes her hand and hauls her          through the crowd, which is now spilling off the overcrowded          dais and clutching at Geller fitfully, like Velcro. They          head for the door, fighting everybody off as though they          might be lethal.          As they leave through the side door, Pikul sees five or six          fans, shrieking like monkeys, still stomping and kicking the          body of Dichter viciously, hysterically, while Levi's two          assistants carry him to the safety of the church's apse.          EXT. COUNTRY CHURCH - NIGHT          Pikul and Geller spew out of the doorway and find themselves          standing alone in the weedy parking lot of the church. The          church itself stands isolated on a country road just outside          a town which is not much more than two gas stations and a          crossroad.          Pikul and Geller look around wildly. The vehicles in the          parking lot are country, pickup trucks, rusted vans, 4x4s.          Across the road, aloof, maybe too high-class for the parking          lot, sits a Land Rover Defender 110, the one with the roof          cage and the seven seats and the winch hanging off the          front. Geller gestures towards the Defender.                         GELLER          Let's take my limo.                         PIKUL                         (WILD)          No, no!                         GELLER          Why no?                         PIKUL          I don't trust the driver!                         GELLER          You drive, idiot!                                                                                                              They cross the road and jump in the Defender. Frances, the          driver, sixtyish, a retired lady farmer who moonlights, is          apprehensive.                         FRANCES          What's the commotion, Miss          Geller? Say, are you all right?          What's goin' on in there?                         GELLER          We need this vehicle, and we need          it without you. But with the          keys.                         FRANCES          I can't do that. I can't abandon          my vehicle.          Geller pulls the weird gun out of an astonished Pikul's          pocket. She points it at Frances.                         GELLER          Get out, Frances. You can say you          were hijacked.                         FRANCES                         (CHUCKLES)          It'll take more than a dead          squirrel to get me out of this          seat.          Geller fires two shots. One rips a hole in Frances's          headrest.                         FRANCES          (getting out of her seat)          You have to push the shift lever          down to get it into reverse.                         GELLER          Thanks, Frances.          They drive off down the country road, leaving Frances in the          dust.          INT. DEFENDER LIMO - NIGHT          Pikul drives. He can see why the limo is an off-road          vehicle: the road is terrible, dirt and gravel, stutter          potholes and sharp ridges, the occasional fallen tree.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          (manic, scared)          I normally like the countryside,          don't you? Normally, the country          is relaxing and calm.                         GELLER          Only if you don't really know          what's going on.                         PIKUL          What do you mean?                         GELLER          There is great stress and anger          and violence in the countryside.          Thousands of life forms all          screaming ME ME ME and trying to          kill and dominate and devour the          other life forms. It's terrifying          and exhausting.                         PIKUL                         (LAMELY)          Well, I like the countryside.                         GELLER          That's good, `cause you might end          up spending a lot of time here.                         PIKUL          I might?                         GELLER          Sure. If you go back home to the          city, they'll probably be waiting          for you.                         PIKUL          They?                         GELLER          Yeah. My assassins. They'd want          to have a little talk with you          about where I am.                         PIKUL          I was hoping that was just one          crazy guy.                         GELLER          Did you hear the way he screamed          at me? He wasn't alone.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          Everybody likes a conspiracy.          It's more satisfying than just          one crazy guy doing one crazy          thing.          Geller goes silent.                         PIKUL          Well, what are we going to do out          here? Do you know your way          around? You know any country          people?                         GELLER          Not country people. Games people.          The countryside's full of games          development people, project co-          ordinators, little factories -          you name it.                         PIKUL          That's weird. I never knew that.                         GELLER          The city's full of bad          microwaves, bad thermals, bad          electro-optics. You can't shield          from it anymore. You can't get          true readings. The whole industry          moved out of the city years ago.                         PIKUL          So you know your way around. We          can hide out.                         GELLER          Maybe. But it seems I have some          enemies I didn't know I had.          "Death to Allegra Geller." How'd          you like to hear somebody with a          gun screaming, "Death to Ted          Pikul"?                         PIKUL          Wow.          (reflective pause; then)          Hey, how'd you know my name?                         GELLER          (indicating his name tag)          You're labelled.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          Oh. Yeah.                         (PAUSE)          How did you know how to fire that,          gun? I've never seen anything          like it.                         GELLER          It has a trigger. I pulled it.                         PIKUL          Can I see it?                         GELLER          Later. I think I'm gonna use it          in my next game. If there ever is          a next game.          Pikul glances at her. He hits a pothole and she bounces          around in her seat, exposing her far shoulder to him. Her          shirt is soaked with blood.                         PIKUL          Migod, you're bleeding. I forgot          you got hit.          There is an urgent buzzing from somewhere in Pikul's breast          pocket.                         GELLER          What's that?                         PIKUL          It's my pink-fone. I'm not sure I          should answer it.                         GELLER          Answer it.          Pikul pulls the pink-fone - it's soft surgical plastic,          palm-sized - out of his pocket. When he squeezes it open, a          diffuse pink light swells up from deep inside it.                         PIKUL                         (INTO PHONE)          Ted Pikul.                         (PAUSE)          What happened? Some fan went          crazy and started shooting up the          place. I don't know why. He was          just nuts. Allegra Geller? She's          with me. We're OK. Yeah. Yeah.                         (MORE)                                                                                                                             PIKUL (CONT'D)                         (PAUSE)          You're kidding me. You're kidding          me! God. 1 can't believe it. I          can't do that. No, how can I do          that? Well, I'm not really sure          where we are because...          Geller grabs the pink-tone from him. She fumbles around with          it, trying to find the power button. She accidentally          summons up a read-out, which she pauses to look at. What she          sees makes her glance up at Pikul.                         PIKUL          What? Can I have my pink-tone          back?          Geller finds the power button and pushes it. The pink inner          light flutters out. She unceremoniously throws the pink-tone          out the window. It lands in a rain ditch full of frogs.                         PIKUL                         (IN SHOCK)          What did you do that for? That          was our lifeline to civilization.                         GELLER          That was a rangefinder. As long          as you have that, they know where          you are.                         PIKUL          They? You mean head office?                         GELLER          I mean anybody.                         (PAUSE)          I heard what Levi said to you. He          said, "We have enemies in our own          house." He said it as he was          dying.                         PIKUL                         (FLUSTERED)          I don't think he died. I mean, do          you? I think he maybe fainted...          Maybe he went unconscious...                                                                                                                             PIKUL          That was Alex Kindred, head of          publicity and marketing, at          Antenna HQ...                         (WISTFUL)          .on that very expensive pink-          fone you threw away.                         (DEEP SIGH)          He said that some bizarre          fanatical group called the Anti-          eXistenZialists has put a price          of 5 million dollars on your          head, payable to anybody who          kills you. It's been released to          all the media now. Everybody          knows about it.                         GELLER                         (IN DISBELIEF)          Anti-existentialists?                         PIKUL          No. Anti-eXistenZialists. Capital          X, capital Z. They somehow found          out about eXistenZ and they want          to kill you for creating it. They          say that the eXistenZ game system          will "finally destroy reality",          or something totally nuts like          that.                         GELLER                         (STRANGELY SATISFIED)          Yeah.                         PIKUL          It makes sense to you? You're not          suprised?                         GELLER          I hear things. It's hard to          surprise me.                         (PAUSE)          And what else?                         PIKUL          Kindred said that I'm your          bodyguard and the company is          holding me totally responsible          for your safety.                                                                                                                             GELLER                         (PAUSE)          Pikul, why don't you have a gun          with you?                         PIKUL          What?                         GELLER          You're not armed. They told me          you were my security but you have          no weaponry.                         PIKUL          Who told you that? I'm just a          marketing trainee. My clinic          master thought I'd learn          something about marketing if I          moonlighted as a security guard          on one of your test previews.                         GELLER          Fuck. I'm marked for death and          they send me on the road with a          PR nerd.                         PIKUL          (realization setting in)          Jesus! Marked for death!                         GELLER          Don't sweat it, Pikul. I'll          handle it. We just have to          disappear for a while. And right          now, we have to stop.                         PIKUL          We do? Why?                         GELLER                         (DEADPAN)          So we can have an intimate moment          together.          EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - NIGHT          The intimate moment involves Pikul digging the bullet out of          I Geller's shoulder with a Swiss Army knife while kneeling in          front of the idling Defender's headlights. Pikul'is being          squeamish and not getting the job done.                                                                                                                             GELLER                         (IRRITATED)          C'mon. If you're gonna do it, do          it.                         PIKUL          OK, OK.          He grits his teeth and digs in with a bit more gusto.          Something yellow and white, like a kernel of corn, flips out          of her wound and onto the road's shredding asphalt. Pikul          feels around for it, finds it, holds it up to the light.                         PIKUL          I got it. Wow. Did somebody bite          you?                         GELLER          What do you mean?                         PIKUL          What I just dug out of you. It's          a tooth. A human tooth.          Pikul holds the tooth out to her, but she just glances at          it, then rummages around in her MetaFlesh game-pod bag.                         GELLER          Lemme see that weirdo pistol.          Geller pulls the strange weapon out of the bag. After a          moment of study, she expertly pops the magazine out of the          grip. The gristly magazine is packed with teeth.                         GELLER          Yep. The bullets are human teeth.          Look - this one's got a cavity.                         PIKUL          That thing was designed to get          past any kind of metal or          synthetics detector. It's all          flesh and bone.                         GELLER          I suppose the smaller caliber          pistols would have to fire baby          teeth. The tooth fairy could go          I into the arms business.                                                                                                                             PIKUL                         (INCREDULOUS)          That guy really came there          tonight just to kill you.                         GELLER 4                         (WITH IRONY)          Amazing, isn't it?          EXT. MOTEL - NIGHT          We follow the Defender as it parks outside the Salmon Falls          Motel. Pikul jumps out carrying two paper bags of Perky           Pat's takeout. He knees the truck door shut and walks over          to motel door 5.          INT. MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT          Inside the very basic motel room, Pikul sits hypnotized,          reverentially watching Geller as he obsessively packs the          greasy remains of their Perky Pat burgers into the smallest          possible paper bundle.          Geller is sitting in the middle of her twin bed, her pod          before her on a hotel towel which is draped over her lap,          UmbyCord jacked into her bioport, a second towel slipping          off her shoulders leaving her almost naked, her shoulder          wound livid in the 25-watt light of the night table lamp.          Her hands twitch delicately over the surface of the pod like          insect antennae, so delicately that we are not sure that she          is actually touching the pod. Her eyes are half-closed, and          she is obviously in some kind of trance-like, ecstatic          state.          Finally, she comes out of it and unplugs her UmbyCord,          discretely rearranging her towels in the process. She sighs          and speaks, not exactly to Pikul.                         GELLER          The whole gamesworld is in a kind          of trance.                         PIKUL          Yes. I remember you said that at          the church.                         J                         GELLER          People are prepared to accept so          little. They're in a'cage formed          out of their own limited                         (MORE)                                                                                                                             GELLER (CONT'D)          expectations. They have no idea          what amazing things could be          theirs.                         PIKUL          Where were you just now? What          were you doing?                         GELLER          (a worried frown)          I was wandering through eXistenZ          - the new system, I mean.          (a shy, sexy smile)          I like it in there. Of course,          without another player you're          only a tourist. It's frustrating.                         PIKUL          Why won't you let me contact          Antenna? They've got to be going          crazy, wondering what's happened          to you. I mean, it's not like          we've done something wrong. We          just ran because we didn't know          how many of them there were,          right? I think we owe it to          Antenna to let them know you're          all right, to get them to send          somebody to help you who knows          what he's doing... And besides, I          can't... I can't just keep doing          this, whatever it is, you know,          forever, not having any idea when          it's going to be...          Geller gets up and goes over to Pikul. She pulls up his          shirt.                         PIKUL          Hey, what are you doing?                         GELLER          Where's your bioport? Don't tell          me you were never fitted. I can't          believe it.          Pikul shrugs his shirt back down, starts tucking it in.                         PIKUL          No, I was never fitted with a          bioport. What do you care?                                                                                                                             GELLER          You're hoping to get into the biz          and you've never played one of my          games. You've never played any          game. That means you have no idea                         %          what a genius I am.                         PIKUL                         (LAMELY)          My clinic master told me I don't          need to play a game to know how          to sell it.                         GELLER          Bullshit. Posturing. You don't          play my games, you don't work for          Antenna Research, I'll make sure          of that.                         PIKUL          Look, I've been dying to play          your games. But I have this -          phobia about having my body          penetrated - surgically. You know          what I mean.                         GELLER          I'm not so sure I do.                         PIKUL          Getting a bioport fitted... I          dunno. I can't do it. It's too          freaky. Makes my skin crawl.                         GELLER          God, c'mon. They just pop your          spine with a little hydro-gun.          Shoot the port-plug into it. They          do it at malls, like getting your          ears pierced.                         PIKUL          Yeah, sure. With only an          infinitesimal chance of permanent          spinal paralysis. I've read all          about it.                         GELLER          It's your chosen profession,          geek.          She pauses, then moves very close to him. She breathes her          words slowly, intimately, into his ear.                                                                                                                             GELLER                         (HOTLY)          There's an intimacy involved in          playing eXistenZ that is beyond          description. It has to be          experienced. And frankly, the          two-player version is the most          exquisitely intense. Wouldn't you          like to play with me?                         PIKUL          (his resolve is crumbling)          Well, yeah, of course, but... Let          me, uh, let me call Antenna...                         GELLER          (a gentle threat)          They wouldn't want to talk to you          if they knew you had never had a          bioport installed. It's company          policy, you know. They want you          to be passionate about your work.                         (VERY SEDUCTIVE)          Besides, once you're ported,          there's no end to the games you          can play.                         PIKUL                         (HE'S SWEATING)          You can't seriously want to play          games now. Not here. Not while          we're being hunted down by crazy          people. _          Geller sighs, then switches into her explaining-the-facts-          of-life-to-a-child mode.                         GELLER          (cradling her pod)          My baby here took a huge hit in          the church, Pikul. You see how          she's quivering?          Pikul takes a look. The pod is, in fact, quivering like a          terrified hamster.                         PIKUL          It... she, yes, she's quivering.                         R                         GELLER                         (EMOTIONAL)          When those UmbyCords got ripped          out of her in the church, ripped                         (MORE)                                                                                                              GELLER (CONT' D)          out just as the game architecture          was being downloaded from her to          all those slave pods... that's a          very vulnerable time for her. She          could be crying out for help          right here, right now.                         (CHOKING UP)          The only way I can tell if          everything's OK - the game's not          been contaminated, the pod, my          baby, is not about to be crippled          for life because of my negligence          - the only way is to play          eXistenZ with somebody friendly.          Are you friendly, or are you not?                         PIKUL                         (PAUSE)          Sure, all right.          (he might have found a way                         OUT)          Let's do it... let's do it now.          Let me see.          (checks his watch)          To get an illegal, unregistered          bioport installed at about          midnight - we just drive up to          your local country gas station,          right?          EXT. COUNTRY GAS STATION - NIGHT          The Defender is parked by the pumps. A gangly pump attendant          - his name, embroidered on his overalls, seems to be Gas -          fills the truck as Pikul and Geller hover nervously.                         GAS          Anything else I can do for you?                         GELLER          Well, Gas, you could check your          bioport-plugs.                         GAS          The what? The sparkplugs?                         GELLER          You heard me. My friend here has          a bioport problem.                                                                                                                             GAS                         (COOL)          A bioport, now, that's a sort of          a hole in your spine, isn't it?          Lotta assholes `round here, but          that's generally it. I don't know          why you'd be talking to me about          that, lady.          Geller smiles a knowing smile.                         GELLER          Sure you do.          Gas looks at her closely for the first time. His eyes widen          in disbelief. He pulls a greasy wallet out of his overalls          and flips out the card holders. Amongst various family          photos, hot rod photos, fishing photos, is a photo of          Allegra Geller clipped from a glossy magazine. Under the          photo is the legend "Genius In A Game-Pod".          Gas takes her hand in his and kisses it.                         GAS          Allegra Geller. You changed my          life.          INT. GAS-STATION GARAGE - NIGHT          Pikul sits on a mouldy, greasy, plump, wingback chair in the          corner of the gas-station garage, watching Gas balance          shakily on one leg as he puts on a fresh set of overalls.                         PIKUL          What was your life like before?                         GAS          Before?                         PIKUL          Before it was changed by Allegra          Geller.                         GAS          I operated a gas station.                         PIKUL          But you still operate a gas          station, don't you?                                                                                                                             GAS          Only on the most pathetic level          of reality. Geller's work          liberated me.                         PIKUL          Liberated?                         GAS          Did you ever play her game          ArtGod? One word, capital A,          capital G?                         PIKUL          I don't have a bioport, remember?                         GAS          "Thou, the player of the game,          art God." Very spiritual. Funny,          too. God, the artist. The          mechanic.          (chuckles to himself)          Funny.          Gas zips up his fresh overalls.                         PIKUL                         (UNEASY)          Those are sterile, are they?                         GAS          Not to worry. They way they set          things up, you could fire in a          bioport in a slaughterhouse and          not generate an infection.                         PIKUL          Then why the clean overalls?                         GAS          It's a mental thing. Helps me          focus. The one thing you don't          want to do is miss with the stud-          finder.                         PIKUL          Oh, God.                         GAS                         (BIG SMILE)          God, the mechanic.                                                                                                                             Z'R          Gas slides open a drawer of his red metal mechanic's rolling          toolbox and pulls out a greasy device that looks like a          carbon-fibre voltage meter.                         GAS          We call this thing a stud-finder.'          It locates the spot on your spine          where the x intersects with the          y. We don't want to be even a          micron out of whack. That's when          you get troubles. It's a little          radar/sonar/laser thingee. Marks          you with a special range-finding          dye.                         PIKUL          Never say dye.                         GAS          Lift up your shirt and turn          around.          EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT          In the heat of the summer night, game-pod case still slung          over her shoulder, Geller wanders around the periphery of          the gas station, touching things - trees, the ground, grass          - at random, her expression suggesting that everything she          sees is amazing and delightful and slightly disturbing, like          someone who has wandered into a sculpture garden where          everything is perfect in every detail except that everything          is made out of bronze.          INT. GAS-STATION GARAGE - NIGHT          Gas pulls the trigger on the stud-finder, then removes it          from Pikul's back. We see a small purple flower-mark, like          the kind that marks sides of beef, on the skin over Pikul's          spine just above the belt line. Pikul stands up from his          kneeling position on the wingback chair. He stretches,          twists. Everything seems to be all right.                         GAS          See, that didn't hurt, did it?                         PIKUL          I didn't expect that to hurt. I          expect the next part to hurt.          Gas pulls the bioport insertion gun out of another drawer,          this time a locked wooden one bolted under his metal-topped          work bench. It is a scary thing, like a hydraulic jack          designed by Giger, only smaller.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          Yeah, that's what I expect will          hurt.                         GAS          I've never crippled anyone yet.                         PIKUL          How many have you done?                         GAS          Three. Well, you'll be the third.          EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT          We are close on a bizarre insect which sits unsteadily on          the chrome of a gas pump handle. Geller's hand comes into          frame and gently eases the creature into its palm. Geller          floats her hand closer to her face and studies the creature          with an expression of rapture on her face.          The insect is large, praying mantis-sized, and it has two          heads, neither of which seems to know how to deal with the          other one. Each time it attempts to move, it falls over in          an awkward heap because its legs are all different sizes and          shapes. It beats its large, papery wings wildly in order to          pull itself upright and then begins the whole clumsy process          all over again. Eventually, its wing action lifts it off          Geller's hand - more by accident than will, it seems - and          the creature disappears in the darkness surrounding the gas          pumps.          INT. GAS-STATION GARAGE - NIGHT          Geller enters the garage and sees Pikul with his back to the          wall of the service bay and a large wrench in his hand,          poised and threatening. Gas stands twenty feet away, his          insertion gun at the ready. A Mexican standoff.                         GELLER          What's going on, Gas?                         GAS          Hell, he's acting like I'm          attackin' him. People usually pay          me.to do this, you know.                         11                         PIKUL          Yeah. All two of them.          As you can see, I've decided not          to have a bioport installed.                                                                                                                             31          Geller walks over to Pikul and puts her face quite close to          his. He watches her lips move from the corner of his eye.          They. are full and moist and convincing.                         GELLER          This is it, you see. This is the          cage I was talking about, the          cage of your own making which          keeps you trapped and pacing          about in the smallest possible          space forever. Break out of your          cage, Pikul. Break out now.          INT. GAS-STATION GARAGE. MOMENTS LATER - NIGHT          Wearing mechanic's work gloves, Gas fires in the bioport          plug. Its impact knocks the breath out of Pikul, like being          kicked in the spine; he can't even scream. When Gas pulls          the insertion device away from Pikul's back, we see the          glossy plastic head of the bioport plug. It's surrounded by          a small, angry-looking volcano of rashy, irritated flesh.                         GELLER          That swelling doesn't last for          long. Tomorrow, you won't even          notice it.                         PIKUL          I love it. Great.          Pikul tries to get up from the wingback chair and promptly          collapses into the arms of Geller and Gas.                         PIKUL                         (PANIC-STRICKEN)          What's going on? I can't walk!                         GAS          The procedure comes with its own          epidural, just like when you have          a baby. Kinda like instant          paralysis from the waist down?          That's why it didn't hurt you.          It'll wear off in about twenty          minutes.          As they ease Pikul into a sitting position in the chair, Gas          almost drops the insertion gun which he has been holding in          one hand. He leans it against the wingback chair, and Pikul          notices blood and flecks of skin on Gas's work gloves.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          You're looking more like a          butcher than a mechanic.                         GAS          Things do get kinda confused          these days, don't they? I'm gonna          go wash up. You two make          yourselves at home.          Gas strides off towards the washroom with an air of great          satisfaction. Geller eases her game-pod out of its case and          starts to attach its two-player, Y-shaped UmbyCord to it.                         PIKUL          What are you doing?                         GELLER          We don't have to wait for the          swelling to go down.                         PIKUL          You're going to port into me?          While I'm paralysed?                         GELLER          You wanted to play my game,          didn't you?                         PIKUL          Yeah, I did, and I do, but...          Here? Now?                         GELLER          It's an instant-on world, isn't          it?          She lifts up his shirt to reveal the new bioport. It already          looks a bit less angry than it did before. Geller caresses          it, prods it, plays with it. Then she takes out a little          bottle of WD-40 and sprays it around and into the port.                         PIKUL          What's that for? It feels cold.                         GELLER          New ports are sometimes a bit          tight. Wouldn't want to hurt you.                         PIKUL          How come bioports don't get          infected? I mean, they open right          into your body...                                                                                                                             GELLER          Listen to what you're saying,          Pikul. Don't be ludicrous.                         PIKUL                         (VERY NERVOUS)          Don't you think you could call me          Ted?                         GELLER          Maybe afterwards.          Geller gently works her UmbyJack into Pikul's bioport. She          locks her eyes onto his, then squeezes her game-pod's ON          teat. Instantly, her pod convulses and begins to flash and          spark and crackle. White electronic smoke seeps from its          crevices and a kind of bioelectronic fat sputters from its          pores.          Geller leaps up from the arm of the chair and rips her          UmbyJack out of Pikul's spine. He can't feel it, but the          furious force of her move twists him in his chair.                         GELLER                         (FURIOUS)          Shit, Pikul! I can't believe          this! I trusted you and you blew          my pod! You must have neural-          surged!                         PIKUL          What do you mean?                         GELLER                         (IN DESPAIR)          I jacked you into my pod and you          obviously panicked. Now it's          totally fucked! This is a          disaster!                         PIKUL          I.. I was nervous, but I didn't          panic.                         GELLER                         (FIGHTING HYSTERIA)          I was forced to trust you and you          panicked and you neural-surged,          and you blew my pod.                         PIKUL          You can get a new pod...                                                                                                                             GELLER          (her heart is breaking)          Pikul, in this pod is the only,          the original version of eXistenZ,          an entire game system that cost          thirty-eight million to develop,          not including pre-release          marketing costs. And I'm locked          outside of my own game! I can't          get it out, or me in!                         PIKUL          Are you serious? This is the only          version that exists?                         GELLER          Security is everything these          days. It's the only one and its          stuck inside and it's your fault.          Geller uses her sleeve to clean the drool off the pod with          tragic gentleness, as though it were an injured child.                         GELLER          (fighting back tears)          I've devoted my five most          passionate years to this strange          little creature. And I've never          regretted it, Pikul, because I          knew that it was the only thing          that could give my life any          meaning...                         PIKUL          But why is it my fault? I'm          telling you, I didn't, I did not          neural-surge. I didn't. I didn't          feel any surging.          Gas strolls into the garage, still wearing his work gloves,          which now hold an agricultural-looking shotgun. It is          levelled at Geller.                         GAS          It isn't your fault. It's my          fault.          Pikul looks at Gas in disbelief. His feet begin to writhe in          circles, but he still can't get out of the chair; Geller          backs away from Gas, clutching her pod protectively.                         GELLER                         (QUIETLY)          Oh, no, Gas, not you.                                                                                                                             3=                         GAS          I wouldn't try to use that          bioport again, `cept maybe for a          toaster or something.                         GELLER          What's going on?                         GAS          You're worth a lot of money. If          you're dead.                         PIKUL          What are you talking about?                         GAS          You know what I'm talking about.          It's all over the countryside.          Five million for her dead body.          No questions asked.                         PIKUL          But, but... she changed your          life.                         GAS          Yup. And now I'm gonna change          hers.                         PIKUL                         (STALLING)          But wait... Why did you install a          bad port into me?                         GAS          Seems there's a big bonus for          killing Allegra Geller's latest          game, or whatever it is. I think          I just did that, didn't I?          Geller decides to try another tack. She stops backing away          and begins to slowly approach Gas.                         GELLER          But can you kill a person? Can          you do that, Gas? Can you kill          me? Hide my body. Contact the          crazies. Trust them to pay up.          Hand over my now-decaying,          fucking grotesque corpse. Really          expect them to hand over 5 mil          cash? Don't you ever go to the          fuckin' movies?                                                                                                                             GAS          I like your script. I want to be          in it.          Gas cocks his shotgun. He's really going to do it. Except          that Pikul shoots him right in the mastoid bone, just behind          the ear, with the bioport insertion gun. The back of Gas's          skull shatters and he goes down hard. Pikul drops the gun          and launches himself out of his chair. He falls to his knees          beside Gas's body.                         PIKUL          Oh, God, I think he's dead. I          thought I could just distract          him.                         GELLER          You did distract him.          (to Gas's body)          Plug your toaster into that hole,          corpse!          INT. DEFENDER - NIGHT          Geller drives. Pikul hangs on in the passenger seat.                         PIKUL          He wanted to kill you.                         GELLER          Yep.                         PIKUL          That's two people in one day who          wanted to actually kill you.                         GELLER          I've never been more popular.                         PIKUL          Allegra, we need help.                         GELLER          You're right. I've got to get          this pod fixed.          EXT. MOUNTAIN ROAD - DAY          The Defender winds its way up a heavily wooded mountain          road.                                                                                                              EXT. CALEDON SKI CLUB - DAY          The Defender turns off a dirt road and rumbles through an          open gate. The stone gateposts bear a coy rustic sign which          reads, CALEDON SKI CLUB - PRIVATE ROAD.          INT. DEFENDER - DAY                         PIKUL          We're going skiing?                         GELLER          Nothing in the countryside is          what it seems. It's all          appearance versus reality, and          the reality here is something          unique.          EXT. CALEDON SKI CLUBHOUSE - DAY          The Defender pulls up beside the chalet-style ski clubhouse.          As they get out of the truck, the same bizarre insect that          Geller was playing with the night before lands on the          truck's side mirror, narrowly missing Pikul as it flops          around in the air.                         PIKUL          Look at that huge bug. It's got          two heads.                         GELLER '          They breed them here. They're not          supposed to get away.          They get out and walk towards the clubhouse.                         PIKUL          What if somebody comes up here          and really wants to ski?                         GELLER          Nobody actually physically skis          any more, Pikul. You know that.                         PIKUL          I've watched some ski shows.          Downhill racing, Austrian Alps.                         GELLER                         (CONTEMPTUOUSLY)          Yeah, right.                                                                                                              INT. CALEDON SKI CLUBHOUSE - DAY          Pikul and Geller enter the clubhouse. There is nobody          around. It looks like a real ski clubhouse, complete with          racks of ski pants and ski boots. But when Pikul examines          the goods, he can see that they're old and cracked and          falling apart. They've been there for years. `          A man comes out of a back room, early sixties, authoritarian          air, eastern-European. He is Kiri Vinokur, and he lights up          when he sees Geller.                         VINOKUR          My darling Allegra. I am so          pleased to see you here.          They embrace.                         GELLER          Kiri Vinokur, this is my          bodyguard, Ted Pikul.                         VINOKUR          Hello, yes, I heard the          ridiculous story about this fatwa          against you. The company is          desperately trying to find you.          Is it really serious? Are you in          danger?                         PIKUL          If I'm her bodyguard, then she's          in grave danger.                         GELLER          There have been a couple of          attempts on my life already.                         VINOKUR                         (SHOCKED)          No! That's unbearable. The          company must stop this. They owe          you every kind of protection.                         GELLER          I don't know if they can do          anything about it. It seems to be          open season on me.          VINOKUR ,          Well, you will be safe here, I          can assure you of that. I will          contact Antenna right away and          have them send some people to          come and collect you.                                                                                                                             GELLER          Kiri, no, don't. You mustn't let          anybody know we're here unless          you have to. I can't be sure that          Antenna is completely safe for          me.                         VINOKUR          I understand. Yes. The company          draws many eccentric people into          its fold. You can hide in one of          the guest chalets. As long as you          like. I will make sure you get          fresh towels...          Geller pats her game-pod case.                         GELLER          .and make sure I don't lose          everything I have in here.          INT. WORKSHOP CHALET - DAY          In the strange atmosphere of the workshop chalet, Vinokur is          taking Geller's pod apart. It is more like surgery on an          alien life form than computer electronics. The room feels          like a weird combination of a hi-tech operating room and a          woodworking class.          A cherubic middle-aged man - Landry - who looks more like a          farmhand than an electronics technician, assists Vinokur as          he works.                         VINOKUR          What did you port into?                         GELLER          Pikul's bioport.                         VINOKUR          Really? That's what did all the          damage?                         PIKUL          It was a flawed installation - my          first. It... it neural-surged.          Allegra says you can fix it.                         VINOKUR          It fried some very expensive          nerve boards. See? Here. These          are kaput. It's a complex thing.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          Nerve boards?                         VINOKUR          We use the nervous systems of          specially-bred insects to create          the electronic circuits on our          motherboards.                         (SMILES)          Only Antenna Research has it.                         PIKUL          Wow. And where do the batteries          go?                         VINOKUR          Very funny.                         GELLER          He's not kidding. He's a total PR          nerd.                         (TO PIKUL)          It ports into you, and you are          the power source. Your body, your          nervous system. Your energy. When          you get tired, run down, it won't          run properly.                         VINOKUR          Landry here will finish up the          pod-work. Meanwhile...                         (TO PIKUL)          Let's get that nasty bioport out          of you and get a nice, fresh one          in there. We have guest chalets          out back. You're both welcome to          stay. Now where did I put my          bioport-plug puller..? Here it          is.          Vinokur hauls out a device that looks like a pair of spring-          loaded fire tongs.                         VINOKUR                         (TO PIKUL)          Lie down on that couch and pull          up your shirt.          INT. GUEST CHALET - NIGHT          In their chalet, a cozy and inn-like'space, Pikul and Geller          examine his new bioport while sitting on one of the chalet's          twin beds. The region around the port looks swollen, bruised          and tender.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          It hurts. I think it's infected.                         GELLER          It's not infected. It's just          excited. It wants action.          She attempts to jack her pod into his port using the Y-          shaped UmbyCord, but he twists away from her.                         PIKUL          But I really don't think that I          want action. Me, I mean. The          bearer of the excited bioport.          What I want is... not now. Not          here. I feel too... too exposed.          Geller sighs, then switches into her explaining-the-facts-          of-life-to-a-child mode. They are both aware that they are          replaying an earlier moment.                         GELLER          (cradling her pod)          My baby here has now taken three          major hits, one in the church,          one in the gas station, and one          on the operating table. The only          way I can tell if everything's OK          - the game's not been          contaminated, the pod's not          fucked - is to play eXistenZ with          somebody friendly. Are you          friendly, or are you not?          Pikul swallows nervously, then turns his back to Geller so          that she can port in.                         PIKUL          You're telling me this thing will          run off my body's energy?                         GELLER                         (PORTING IN)          That's how they work. See? You're          hummin' along already.          Sure enough, he is. Geller deftly twists the second jack          into her own bioport and takes a deep breath.                         GELLER          All right. eXistenZ. Only from          Antenna. Here we go.                                                                                                                             PIKUL                         (APPREHENSIVE)          You've got a bit of an unfair          advantage, don't you? How can I          possibly compete with the          designer of the system?                         GELLER          You could beat the guy who          invented poker, couldn't you?          Geller flicks the game-pod nipple, and the chalet begins to          melt away around them.          INT. GAME STORE - NIGHT          The chalet melts away and is replaced by a scruffy game          store. A lot of kids and strange adults mill around amongst          the dusty racks and pinball machines, examining packages of          weird games and game devices, muttering secretively to each          other, and it is amongst these dull rows of shelves that          Pikul and Geller find themselves standing.          A cashier works away behind an old-fashioned cash register          that sits on a tall counter. The cashier, a gangly, sallow          young man, glances at Pikul and Geller suspiciously from          time to time.          Pikul feels himself', his clothes, moves his arms, his          tongue. He feels around behind him but there is no game-pod          or UmbyCord in sight.                         PIKUL          That was beautiful. I feel...          just like me. Is that kind of          transition normal, a kind of          smooth dissolve from place to          place?                         GELLER          Depends on the style of the game.          You can get jagged, brutal cuts,          slow fades, shimmering little          morphs...                         PIKUL          This is amazing. I had no idea.          We... we're still ourselves, but          we're in the game. Where are we?                                                                                                                             GELLER          It's basically a game store I          used to hang out in as a kid.                         PIKUL                         4                         (ENCHANTED)          Are you serious?                         GELLER          We're ported into a game-pod          together, remember? eXistenZ has          complete access to both our          central nervous systems. Its game          architecture will be based on our          memories, our anxieties, our          preoccupations...                         PIKUL                         (DISENCHANTED)          Are you serious?                         GELLER          You keep saying that.          (examines a game-pak)          Look at this. Games I've never          heard of. Biological Father. Hit          By A Car. Viral Ecstasy. Chinese          Restaurant.          (reads pak back)          In Viral Ecstasy, you are a          virus invading a specific human          body. You create ingenious viral          strategies to cope with the          efforts of the body's immune          system to destroy you..."                         PIKUL          Wait a minute. That reminds me.          What precisely is the goal of the          game we're playing now? I mean,          the rules, the objective...          Nobody's ever really said          anything about what you have to          do in eXistenZ.                         GELLER          The beauty of eXistenZ is that it          changes every time you play it.          It adapts to the individuals who          are actually playing it. The          result is that you have to play          the game to find out why you're          playing the game.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          But that's kind of cheating,          isn't it? Not to say confusing.                         GELLER          Not at all. It's a much more          organic approach to gaming than          classic, arbitrary, rule-          dominated games. It's the future,          Pikul. You'll see how natural it          feels.                         PIKUL                         (DISTRACTED)          Look at this. Could this be the          future too?          (picks up a game-pod)          Ever see anything like this          before?          They are looking at a game-pod in a gel-pak that is even          weirder than a tissue-pod. It has a logo and a name -          CORTICAL SYSTEMATICS.          Suddenly, a hand reaches into the frame and takes the pak          away, puts it neatly back on the rack.          Pikul and Geller look up at a man in his early fifties,          graying, thinning hair, beefy, generally harried and          pugnacious air. The man is Dorsey Nader.                         NADER          These are delicate. You have to          be careful.                         PIKUL          Yes. I can imagine.                         NADER          Cortical Systematics is the          latest and the hottest. Not just          a new game, but a new system.                         GELLER          Will it work with an industry          standard bioport?                         NADER          (ignores her question)          I haven't seen you two before,          have I? This is my place.          Haimische, isn't it? Funky?                                                                                                              PIKUI,          We're new in town.                         NADER          Welcome to Dorsey Nader's Game          Emporium. I'm Dorsey Nader. Is          there anything I can help you          with?                         GELLER          We're just looking.                         NADER                         (FURTIVELY)          I have what you're looking for.                         PIKUL          You do?                         NADER          Follow me.          Nader turns his back on them and walks to the back of the          store. He stops at a warped and dirty door, turns, beckons          to them urgently, trying not to be noticed by the          preoccupied patrons.          As Pikul and Geller follow Nader through the door, they do          not escape the notice of the sour-faced young cashier, who          writes something down hurriedly on a pad with an air of          vengeful self-importance.          INT. STOCKROOM. GAME STORE - NIGHT          Pikul and Geller find themselves in a stockroom jammed to          overflowing with packaged and naked game-related          merchandise. They are alone with Nader, and they are all          sitting on wooden crates.          Nader rummages on the shelves behind him for a moment, then          turns back to them with a gel-pak in his hands. He studies          them for a moment, hefting the gel-pak in his hand.                         NADER                         (PAUSE)          Who sent you?                         PIKUL                         (INSTANT RESPONSE)          It's none of your businesz who          sent us. We're here, and that's          all that matters.                                                                                                              Pikul is shocked at his own response. He turns to Geller in          horror, worried that he's blown the game already.                         PIKUL          Oh God, what happened? I didn't          mean to say that!                         GELLER                         (GIGGLING)          It's your character who said it.          It's a kind of schizophrenic          feeling, isn't it? But you'll get          used to it. There are things that          have to be said to advance the          plot and establish the          characters, and those things get          said whether you want to say them          or not. Don't fight it. Just go          with it.                         PIKUL          But should you be saying that in          front of him? Nader?                         GELLER          Look at him.          Pikul does. Nader doesn't seem to have heard him. In fact,          he doesn't respond at all other than to hum the Antenna          Research corporate-song and tap his fingers repetitively,          caught in a small behavioural loop. Geller chuckles at          Pikul's confusion.                         PIKUL                         (RE NADER)          What's he doing?                         GELLER          He's gone into a game loop, he's          locked up, and he won't come out          of it until you give him a proper          game line of dialogue.                         PIKUL          This is tricky.                         GELLER          Start by repeating your last          line. Include his name so he          knows you're talking.to him.                                                                                                                             4-                         PIKUL          We're here, Dorsey Nader, and          that's all that matters.          Nader immediately comes out of his loop. He chuckles.                         NADER          You're right. That is all tha           matters.          Pikul smiles, delighted. Now he takes a deep breath, closes          his eyes, relaxes. The line comes.                         PIKUL          Well, Nader, you said you had          what we want. We're waiting.                         NADER          You're going to need these micro-          pods to download your new          identities. I assume that you          both have had those industry          standard bioports you mentioned          installed.                         GELLER          Yes, of course, that's right. We          both have bioports.          Here she pauses, looks at Pikul.                         GELLER          We do, don't we?                         PIKUL          I assumed we did. I mean, here.          In the game. Of course, we might          not.                         GELLER          We'd better check.          While Nader goes into game lock-up, Geller lifts up her          shirt. Pikul takes a look. Her bioport is there, although          slightly rougher, puckered, more organic than in non-game          life.                         PIKUL          Yeah, it's there. Looks a little          different, but it's there.          Geller grabs Pikul's shirt and lifts it. His is there too.                                                                                                                             GELLER          I see what you mean.                         (TO NADER)          Yes, we both have bioports.                         NADER                         (UNLOCKING)          Good. Port in and this'll tell          you all you need to know for now.          Pikul and Geller examine the pak, which bears the Cortical          Systematics name and logo. It seems to be a miniature          version of their real-life game-pod.                         NADER          I'm going to leave while you          finish up here. It wouldn't be          good for us all to be seen          together.          Nader gets up to leave, pauses at the door.                         NADER          Don't do anything I wouldn't do.          Nader chuckles a very theatrical chuckle, then leaves.                         PIKUL          I assume that Nader is our entry          point into the game.                         GELLER          Yeah. Kinda disappointing.                         PIKUL          Nader?                         GELLER          Yeah. Not a very well-drawn          character. And his dialogue was          just so-so.                         PIKUL          Yeah.                         (PAUSE)          Do we blame ourselves for that?          The bad dialogue? Or would it be          bad no matter who was ported in?                         GELLER          The game engine is just getting          used to us. It'll get more daring          once it warms up.                                                                                                                             49          Geller fumbles the micro-pod out of its vacuum-pak shell.          She reads the instructions on the back.                         GELLER          OK. The pods are so small they          plug directly into the bioport.          Geller delicately twists the end of the micro-pod into          Pikul's bioport. The micro-pod changes colour, pulses,          ripples, and then slowly flows and wriggles its way into          Pikul's bioport until it has completely disappeared.                         GELLER          God!                         PIKUL          What happened?                         GELLER          The whole pod just disappeared          into your back.                         PIKUL                         (PANICKY)          It disappeared into my back?!          It... it's in my spine? It's          winding its way around my spinal          cord?                         GELLER          Don't panic, it's just a game. Do          you feel anything yet?                         PIKUL          (controlling his fear)          No, I don't. Not a thing. I don't          feel a thing. Uh, do you want me          to do you?          They change positions. Pikul ports in the micro-pod and it          duly crawls its way into Geller's bioport. Tenderly, as          though kissing a cut to make it better, Pikul kisses her          back, low near her bioport. Geller whirls around with sudden          anger.                         GELLER          What the hell was that?                         PIKUL                         (CONFUSED)          That wasn't me. That was my game          character. I wouldn't have done          that. Not here, anyway.          She pauses, then kisses him on the mouth, hard.                                                                                                                             GELLER          You're right. Our characters are          obviously supposed to jump on          each other. Probably to create          emotional tension when danger          happens. No use fighting it.                         PIKUL                         (FIGHTING IT)          What about our new identities? Do          you feel yours yet?                         GELLER                         (CARESSING)          They'll take care of themselves.                         PIKUL                         (PAUSE)          I'm very worried about my body.          Geller stops, sits up.                         GELLER          Your what?                         PIKUL          I mean, where are our real          bodies? Are they all right? Are          they hungry? What if there's          danger?                         GELLER          (kissing and caressing                         AGAIN)          They're just where we left them,          sitting quietly, eyes closed.          Just like meditating.                         PIKUL          (reluctantly kissing and                         CARESSING BACK)          I don't know. I feel really          vulnerable. Disembodied.                         GELLER          Don't sweat it. All your senses          are still operating. You'll pop          right out of the game if there's          a problem.          They begin to make seriously hot love amrngst the game paks          and cartons of replacement UmbyCords. And then the game          store melts away around them.                                                                                                              INT. TROUT FARM. ASSEMBLY LINE - DAY          Pikul finds himself sitting at an immensely long bench in          the process of assembling insect motherboards along with          many other workers. Pikul can still feel the warmth of          Geller's body, but she's nowhere to be seen. A gritty,          narrow conveyor belt runs down the middle of the bench, upon          which floats an endless stream of motherboard parts which          the workers pick off as they need them. The belt begins and          ends in the anonymous smoky innards of the building.          The place, a high-ceilinged pre-fab, long and narrow with          hundreds of blanked-out windows, houses a game-pod assembly          line. Pikul looks down to find himself wearing a photo-ID          card clipped to his shirt pocket that tells him he is          somebody named LARRY ASHEN. He has to twist the card around          because, of course, from his vantage point it is upside          down.                         NOURISH          Tryin' to remember who you are?          Pikul snaps his head up to see a long-haired, morose-looking          worker sitting next to him, snickering. Mocking Pikul, he          twists his own card around, comically bunching up his work          shirt so he can read his own name, which is YEVGENY NOURISH.                         NOURISH          Hey, it works! I must be Yevgeny          Nourish!          Nourish leans over to squint at Pikul's name tag.                         NOURISH          And you... you are new to the          Trout Farm.                         PIKUL          Yes. I... I'm... very new. Did          you say trout farm?                         NOURISH          You know - raise baby trout from          eggs and then stock the rivers          with them.                         (BROAD GESTURE)          Entire place used to be a trout          farm. Seems like most everything          used to be something else,          doesn't it?                                                                                                              Pikul looks around him. The place is humming, but Geller is          still nowhere in sight. The workers are small-town locals o_°          a wide range of ages.          Pikul looks down at his own hands, which seem to,know what          to do: place glue on the boards, glue them down to a resin          frame using a template, insert needle-like electrodes into          the bodies of certain epoxied insects. The insect boards,          Pikul notes, are actually whole insects coated in epoxy and          frozen together like a sick collage. At least, here in the          game they are.          Pikul is now automatically doing flashy moves with the odd          materials in front of him with great dexterity. Nourish          takes note of this.                         NOURISH          I (with admiration)          You might be new but you seem to          know what you're doing.                         PIKUL                         (GENUINELY PERPLEXED)          It surprises me more than it          surprises you.          Nourish moves back to the insect motherboard that he has          been working on, then leans over again exactly as he did the          first time. It has the effect of an instant replay, but not          in slow-motion.                         NOURISH                         (WITH ADMIRATION)          You might be new but you seem to          know what you're doing.          Pikul realizes he hasn't given the right answer. He now just          lets it come without thinking.                         PIKUL          I, ah... I've been trained by the          very best.          Nourish unlocks and looks around with a delicate          furtiveness.                         NOURISH                         (FURTIVE)          So have I. Where do you plan to          have lunch?                                                                                                                             PIKUL          I'm new here. I have no plans for          lunch.                         NOURISH 11          I suggest the Chinese restaurant          in the forest. Everybody knows          where it is. Just ask.                         PIKUL          Won't you be going there too?                         NOURISH          I have other plans for lunch. But          I do suggest that you order the          special. And don't take no for an          answer.                         PIKUL          All right, I'll do that.          Nourish turns back to his task and begins to work away as          though Pikul didn't exist.          Pikul takes this cue to go back to his own board and is soon          preoccupied with testing the board's circuits by porting it          into a test UmbyCord that uncoils from the center of the          bench. His strange reverie, watching himself work on auto-          pilot at this bizarre task, is soon interrupted by a worker          pushing a canvas and metal cart with bicycle wheels. The          worker parks the cart behind Pikul and taps him on the          shoulder.                         WORKER          Larry?                         PIKUL                         (STARTLED)          Yes?                         WORKER          They need this in the back room.          They asked for you.          The worker shuffles off, leaving the cart behind him. Pikul          turns to Nourish.                         PIKUL          What's that mean?                                                                                                                             NOURISH                         (GESTURES)          It means that they want you in          the back room. They need more          insect boards for the pod          assembly bays.                         PIKUL          Should I just get up and go          there?                         NOURISH          Yeah. I'll take care of your          incoming boards.          Pikul gets up to go. Nourish grabs him by the arm and          whispers intensely.                         NOURISH          Remember. The Chinese restaurant          for lunch.                         PIKUL          I order the special.          INT. TROUT FARM. POD ASSEMBLY BAYS - DAY          Pikul enters the huge back wing of the Trout Farm and walks          along a rampway, pushing his cart past the pod assembly-bay          area. There, pods very much like the one he and Geller are          ported into back home are being assembled - motherboards          inserted, internal ports connected, fleshy housings like the          corpses of small amphibians sewn up - by small teams of          workers.          The bays themselves are old horse stalls with straw still          covering the dirt floors. But because the pods are primarily          organic, the teams are more like groups of masked surgical          workers in a series of impossibly small and filthy operating          rooms than, let's say, auto-assembly teams in a progressive          Saab plant.          As Pikul wheels his cart past each stall, he digs into the          cart's canvas bag and delivers insect boards wrapped in          brown wax paper to the eagerly awaiting pod teams.          In the last bay, one of the masked surgeons grabs him by the          hand instead of taking the proferred motherboard pnd leads          himm to an isolated corner. Her ID card says she is BARB          BRECKEN, and her photo says she is Geller.                                                                                                              GELLER,          (slipping off her mask)          I saw you make contact, Larry          Ashen. What did the guy on the .l          assembly line say to you?          Pikul's expression shows that there is a return game line          welling up in his mouth, tickling his tongue, perhaps.          Perversely, he fights it, but it comes out anyway.                         PIKUL          He told me where to have lunch.          EXT. CHINESE RESTAURANT IN THE WOODS - DAY          A ragged stream of pod-assembly workers trickles along a          densely wooded gravel path towards a very un-Chinese          Victorian red-brick farmhouse. A small river flows not more          than fifty feet from the restaurant, mimicking the movement          of the line of workers.          The workers all file past a sign on the lawn in front of the          building which reads, MONA ZHANG'S BEIJING CUISINE.          INT. CHINESE RESTAURANT IN THE WOODS - DAY          Pikul and Geller are seated at a round Formica-covered table          with a lazy Susan serving wheel in the centre of it, all          very Mandarin in style. Other workers sit sullenly at their          table, wordless, suspicious.          A restaurant dog, a mongrel with a lot a heavy, collie-like          fur, lies basking in a pane of sunlight. in a corner.          The waiter, a young, athletic Chinese man, comes over          bringing rice and tea.                         WAITER          We have nice sea bass today.          Shall I bring it for everyone?          Pikul and Geller exchange a look. Pikul shrugs OK.                         PIKUL          We want the special.          The waiter looks stunned. The others at their table look          distressed. The waiter seems to lock up, almost freeze-          framed.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          Did you hear me, Chinese waiter?                         (SLOWLY)          We want the special.          The waiter unfreezes, smiles grimly.                         WAITER          The special is for special          occasions. I cannot give you the          special.                         PIKUL          But this is a special occasion.          It's...          Pikul pauses, waiting for the proper game line to          materialize in his mouth. Finally, it does. He gestures          towards Geller.                         PIKUL          It's her birthday.          The waiter locks up for a moment, then unfreezes.                         WAITER          A birthday is a special occasion.          I will therefore bring the          special for everybody.          The waiter walks away. The others at the table get up and          move away, drift over to other tables with occasional          furtive backward glances at Pikul and Geller.                         PIKUL          I guess the special isn't very          popular.                         GELLER          I guess.                         PIKUL          But you know, really, don't you?          You don't have to guess. I mean,          it's your game, your little          universe.                         GELLER          I don't know. You have to          understand that, to understand          what we've really created with          eXistenZ.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          You're telling me, for example,          that you don't know what the          special is?                         GELLER          Correct. I don't.                         PIKUL          Or why we ordered it.                         GELLER          We ordered it because another          game character told you to.          That's a clue we can't ignore.          But that's just basic games          playing.                         PIKUL          I want to put the game on pause.          Geller just looks at him, puzzled. Pikul panics.                         PIKUL                         (PANICKING)          The game can be paused, can't it?          I mean, all games can be paused,          right?                         GELLER          Sure, yeah, but why? What's          wrong? Aren't you dying to see          what's special about the special?                         PIKUL          I'm feeling a little disconnected          from my real life. I'm kind of          losing touch with the texture of          it, you know what I mean? I mean,          I actually think there's an          element of psychosis involved          here. I mean, I don't know where          my body really is, or where          reality is, what I've actually          done, or not done.                         GELLER          That's a great sign. It means          your nervous system is fully          engaging with the game          architecture. The game is a lot          more fun when it starts to feel          realer than real.                                                                                                                             PIKUL                         (PAUSE)          Yeah.          Pikul stands up and screams at the top of his lungs.                         PIKUL                         (SCREAMS)          eXistenZ is paused!          The Chinese restaurant melts away.          INT. GUEST CHALET - DAY          The guest chalet melts back up around them. Pikul looks          around. They are still sitting on the bed, ported into          Geller's pod together.                         PIKUL          Did I do that? I guess I did.                         GELLER          So how does it feel?                         PIKUL          What?                         GELLER          Your real life. The one you came          back for.                         PIKUL          Just sitting here, it feels          completely unreal. I'm sure you          knew that would happen.                         GELLER          You're stuck now, aren't you? You          want to go back to the Chinese          restaurant because there's          nothing happening here. We're          safe. It's boring.                         PIKUL          Worse than that. I'm not sure          here, where we are, is real at          all. This feels like the game.          And you... you're beginning to          t1 feel a bit like a game character           to me.                          (MORE)                                                                                                                             PIKUL (CONT'D)                         (PAUSE)          Did we really make love to each          other?                         4                         GELLER                         (SHARP)          Definitely not.                         PIKUL          It feels like we did.                         GELLER          Our characters did. I'm sure it          would be very different if we          did.                         PIKUL          I... I'm actually just like that          in real life. You got the real          Ted Pikul there, in the stockroom          of the game store.                         GELLER          Well, you didn't get the real          Allegra Geller, I can tell you          that. no                         PIKUL          I didn't?          She kisses him gently.                         GELLER          No. In real life I tend to lose          control. It can get messy.                         (PAUSE)          Let's go back.          Pikul looks down at the pod. He flicks the PLAY nipple. The          room melts down around them and is replaced by the Chinese          restaurant.          INT. CHINESE RESTAURANT IN THE WOODS - DAY          Pikul and Geller are back at their table in the Chinese          restaurant. The waiter is approaching their table. He          proudly sets down a series of dishes on the lazy Susan.                                                                                                                             6C                         WAITER          Special order for the birthday          girl. Hope you enjoy it very          much.          In the dishes are a variety of cooked reptiles, amphibians,          fish and birds, all weirdly mutated and presented in a          bizarrely beautiful fashion.                         PIKUL          I think I've lost my appetite.                         WAITER          A shame. Mutant creatures provide          new and previously unimagined          taste sensations.                         (SIGNIFICANTLY)          Shall I clear all this away?          Geller sees that this is a crucial game moment.                         GELLER          No, it looks terrific. Thank you.          We're happy.          The waiter nods.                         WAITER          Very good. Enjoy.          The waiter leaves. Geller watches him go, suspicious. When          she turns back to Pikul, she is shocked to see that he has          served out most of the creatures to himself and is avidly          stripping the meat off their bones.                         GELLER          Pikul, what are you doing?                         PIKUL          I don't know. I find this          disgusting but I can't help          myself.                         GELLER          Oh, good!          Pikul looks up from his big bowl, which is rapidly filling          with creature parts. His fingers are'slimy and sticky, but          he doesn't stop, his fingers working expertly on their own.                         PIKUL          Good? You think this is good?                         ( AM-                                                                                                                             O:                         GELLER          Yeah. It's a genuine game urge.          It's something that your game          character was born to do. Don't          fight it.                         PIKUL          I am fighting it, but it isn't          doing me any good.          Pikul is now snapping together bits and pieces of bone,          gristle and flesh, a grotesque Lego set. When he's finished,          he's made a gun very much like the one that was used in the          attempted assassination in the church.                         PIKUL          Omigod, this looks awfully          familiar. You sure this is OK?                         GELLER                         (NOT SURE)          It should be OK.          Now Pikul reaches into his mouth, pulls out a bridge of          three teeth - one of them gold-filled - and loads them into          the gristly magazine.                         GELLER          Do you have that bridge in real          life?                         PIKUL          Absolutely not. My teeth are          perfect. Don't ask me how I knew          this thing was in my mouth.                         GELLER          It probably wasn't until you          ordered the special.          He slaps the magazine into the handle, then pulls the slide          back and releases it so that there is now a toothy round in          the chamber.          Then with a smile, Pikul points the weapon at Geller.                         PIKUL                         (CASUALLY)          Death to the demoness Allegra          Geller.                         GELLER          (suddenly very uncertain)          That's not funny!                                                                                                              Pikul looks at Geller and sees that there is genuine terror          in her eyes.                         PIKUL          Sorry, I couldn't resist. But you          know... I do feel the urge to          kill someone here.          Geller grips the edge of her bowl of hot-and-sour soup - the          handiest weapon she has.                         GELLER                         (TENSING)          Who?                         PIKUL          I need to kill our waiter.                         GELLER                         (RELIEVED)          Oh, well, that makes sense.                         (CALLS OUT)          Waiter! Waiter!                         (TO PIKUL)          When he comes over, do it. Don't          hesitate.                         PIKUL          But everything in this game is so          realistic. I don't think I really          could...                         GELLER          You won't be able to stop. You          might as well enjoy it.                         PIKUL          "Free will" is obviously not a          big factor in this little world          of ours.                         GELLER          It's like real life - there's          just enough to make it          interesting.          - Pikul spots the waiter making his way across the room          towards them, a big smile on his face.                         PIKUL          He's too nice. I won't do it.          The waiter arrives at their table.                                                                                                                             53                         WAITER          What can I do to make your lunch          more pleasant?          Pikul lifts the gun and points it at the waiter.                         4                         PIKUL          I found this in my soup and I'm          very upset.          Pikul fires. The tooth-bullet hits the waiter in the          cheekbone. A chunk of the waiter's cheekbone comes off and          his head jerks back like a fighter taking a stiff jab.          The waiter's sweet face instantly transforms into a hideous,          angry, snarling mask of hatred. He pulls a meat cleaver out          of his jacket.          Geller immediately throws her bowl of hot-and-sour soup into          the waiter's face. The waiter screams, then wildly wipes the          noodles and goop out of his eyes. He raises the cleaver over          his head.          The waiter swings and lunges across the table, managing only          to hack the tip of the gun off. Pikul is shocked to see the          gun begin to bleed. The waiter, sprawling across the table,          screams as he tries to reach Geller with his cleaver. Pikul          44.          fires into the waiter's shrieking, open mouth - a tooth-          bullet into teeth.          A piece of the waiter's skull comes off like a piece of          coconut, the gold-filled tooth now flattened and embedded in          it. The gun is bleeding all over Pikul's hand now. He drops          it in disgust.          The restaurant dog comes out of nowhere, picks the gun up,          and runs off with it under a table, where he crouches down          and starts to gnaw on it, growling.          Pikul stands up shakily, begins to become aware of the          strange, tense stillness of the other patrons in the          restaurant.                         PIKUL          (loudly, to room)          St's all right, just a little          misunderstanding over the check.          Pay no attention and enjoy your          meal.          To his surprise, the patrons actually turn back to their          meals, albeit with a certain sinister reluctance.          Pikul looks around wildly.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          I feel a serious game urge to get          out of here!          Through the porthole in one of the pair of metal-clad          kitchen doors, Geller spots someone wearing a che'f's hat,          someone who is wildly beckoning to them.                         GELLER          Through the kitchen! That way!          INT. KITCHEN. CHINESE RESTAURANT - DAY          Geller and Pikul enter the kitchen and take a look around.          There are mutant amphibians and reptiles hung up everywhere,          in bowls and on chopping blocks. The kitchen workers have          all turned to look at the intruders.          Suddenly, a cook steps forward from around the door. We can          now see that it is Nourish in a chef's outfit.                         NOURISH          Did you like the meal I prepared          for you?                         PIKUL          Yes. It was very... revealing.                         NOURISH          It certainly was for me. You both          passed our little test with          flying colours.                         GELLER          Why did the Chinese waiter have          to die?                         NOURISH          A waiter hears many things spoken          when people are relaxed and          eating. A waiter has many          opportunities for betrayal.                         PIKUL          He betrayed you?                         NOURISH          He betrayed us. Out this way,          quickly!                                                                                                              They go out a side door, and find themselves walking along          the river that links the Chinese restaurant and the Trout          Farm.          EXT. THE RIVER - DAY          The trio walk along the bank of the river that feeds the          Trout Farm. Nourish points out a connected series of rock-          lined, internally-lighted pools, some stagnant, like ponds,          and some clear, with river water running through them.                         NOURISH          See there, the breeding pools.          The pools are all alive with strange creatures, mutated          fish, amphibians, and, along the small, muddy terraces that          border the pools, reptiles. Like the dysfunctional insect at          the gas station, these creatures do not work very well. They          float and swim belly up, lie on their sides at the bottom of          their pools, flop and flounder around, and in general,          ostentatiously fail to function.                         PIKUL          Is that where you caught today's          special?                         NOURISH                         (LAUGHS)          The restaurant is controlled by          us. We raise these mutant          creatures as food and that is our          cover, but of course, we are also          raising them as components for          undetectable and hypoallergenic          weapons. Right under the noses of          our enemies. And speaking of our          enemies, it's important that you          go back to work at Cortical          Systematics. We need to maintain          as many agents there as we can.          I'll take care of the mess at the          restaurant.                         GELLER          The Trout Farm is owned by          Cortical Systematics?                         NOURISH          Yes.                         (MORE)                                                                                                                             OC                         NOURISH (CONT'D)                         (BITTERLY)          Their corporate slogan should be,          "Enemies of Reality".          A glazed look comes over Pikul. He begins to speak like a          robotic orator.                         PIKUL                         (ROBOT-LIKE)          Reality is a fragile thing. Most          people think that reality must of          course be the most solid thing,          but it isn't. Reality is          threatened now more than ever. It          is being eroded and it is          washing away in the deforming          storm of non-reality, which          masquerades as reality, and          eventually replaces it. Deformed          and crippled and limping and          hideous, threatening to engulf us          all.          Geller looks at Pikul in admiring disbelief.                         GELLER                         (SOTTO VOCE)          Where did that come from?                         PIKUL          The game made me do it.                         GELLER          I'm impressed.          Nourish is also impressed. He smiles broadly, then takes          Pikul in his arms and hugs him, then Geller.                         NOURISH                         (PASSIONATE)          We love you two now, now that you          have proven to be true and          trustworthy Realists. We'll be in          touch.          Nourish turns around and walks back-towards the restaurant.                         PIKUL          "Enemies of Reality"? Or does it          really mean, enemies of eXistenZ?          Are the Realists the game-life          version of the Anti-          eXistenZialists, desperately          want to kill you?                                                                                                                             S'                         GELLER          I wouldn't take it too seriously.                         PIKUL 1          Of course you wouldn't. But maybe          you should.                         (PAUSE)          But why is the name Cortical          Systematics familiar?                         GELLER          We saw it everywhere in Dorsey          Nader's game store, remember?                         PIKUL          Yes. So that makes it the game-          life version of our own company.          Cortical Systematics is          equivalent to Antenna Research in          the real world.                         GELLER          That's probably fair to say.                         PIKUL          So, then, do we meekly go back to          work and say nothing? It sounds          as though Nourish and his          Realists are preparing to          sabotage the Trout Farm. Before          you know it, they'll be planning          to assassinate game designers.                         GELLER          We're just characters in here.          Don't mix your real-life          loyalties into it or you'll lose          for sure.                         PIKUL          Then what do we do next?          INT. GAME STORE - NIGHT          We are close on a Cortical Systematics logo on a game-pak.          As Pikul and Geller pretend to examine the merchandise, they          scan the game store for Nader. The store is quite crowded -          same style of customers, maybe even some of the same faces,          different clothes. They don't see Nader.          Geller goes up to the cashier, the same gangly, sallow,          bespectacled young man who was there the first time.                                                                                                                             O;                         GELLER          I'm looking for Dorsey Nader. Is          he here?                         CASHIER          Say that again?                         GELLER          Is Dorsey Nader here?          The cashier glances around the store, then locks the          register.                         CASHIER          Come with me. He's in the back.          The cashier leads them through the store towards the          stockroom door. As they move amongst the customers, both          Pikul and Geller feel that they are being scutinized          carefully by shoppers who turn their eyes away from them at          the last moment, so that they can't be absolutely certain.          And as for us - have we glimpsed some characters from the          game that we have already seen? Possibly even Wittold Levi          from the first scene in the church, and Frances the limo          driver, and Gas? We aren't positive.          INT. STOCKROOM. GAME STORE - NIGHT          The cashier closes the door behind them, then gestures          towards the back of the stockroom.                         CASHIER          You want him, there he is.          Nader lies dead, the unnatural purple of his face eerily          matched by the veiny purple streaks in the UmbyCord around          his neck.                         PIKUL          Migod!                         GELLER          What happened?          In response, the cashier starts rummaging around on one of          the shelves. He soon finds what he was looking for, and          turns around to face them. In his hand is a grotesque,          slightly chewed gristle gun - the one Pikul assembled in the          Chinese restaurant - in his hand.                                                                                                                             CASHIER          You shouldn't have killed the          Chinese waiter.                         PIKUL          Why not?                         CASHIER          He was your contact at the Trout          Farm. A damn good man.          (pause; he waggles the gun)          His dog brought me this.          The cashier toys with the gun's claw-like hammer.                         PIKUL          But we were contacted there by          Yevgeny Nourish. He seemed to          know exactly who we were.                         CASHIER          That's because Nader tipped him          off that you were coming. Nader          was a mole for Cortical          Systematics.                         GELLER          You're with the Realist          underground.                         CASHIER          Yes. I was placed here to keep an          eye on Nader.          The cashier puts the gun back on the shelf.                         PIKUL          If Nourish isn't our real          contact, who is he?                         CASHIER          Nourish is a double agent for          Cortical Systematics. He was          working with Nader to subvert the          Realist cause, and doing it          rather well.                         (SNORTS CONTEMPTUOUSLY)          After all, he got you to          assassinate your own contact. But          now you're going to put a stop to          him.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          We are?                         CASHIER          I assume that you both have had          spinal port inserts, bioports,          installed.                         PIKUL          We do.                         CASHIER                         (PASSIONATE)          Do you both realize that neither          of you can be buried on hallowed          ground because of these... these          mutilations? Does your bioport          manual tell you that?                         GELLER          Are you trying to talk us into          having them removed?                         CASHIER          No, no. In fact, you would be          useless to us without them. We          Realists are forbidden to have          them, and so we have to use          people like you on occasion.                         GELLER          I don't understand. Are you          wanting us to jack a game into          our bioports?                         CASHIER          Game? No. Not a game. A weapon.          (a creepy smile)          You go back to the Trout Farm,          and in a familiar place, you find          a mouldy old wicker basket with a          thread-bare canvas cover.                         PIKUL          How will we know what to do?                         CASHIER          (an even creepier' smile)          Even a child would know what to          do.          Someone begins to knock loudly on a door very near by. The          cashier is oblivious, but'both Pikul and Geller hear it. The          stockroom begins to morph away as its objects are replaced          one at a time by chalet objects.                                                                                                              INT. GUEST CHALET - NIGHT          Someone is knocking at the chalet door.          VINOKUR (0. S. )          Sorry to interrupt you kids, but          I thought you'd better have          something to eat. We knocked on          your door a few times to invite          you to dinner...          Pikul and Geller sit on the bed, game-pod between them,          UmbyCord joining them to each other and to the pod. They          look at each other. Pikul shrugs.                         GELLER          Come on in.          The door opens slowly to reveal Vinokur, who stands there          uncertainly, holding a large tray.                         VINOKUR          ..and when we got no answer, I          figured you were playing eXistenZ          to try out your new pod, and your          new bioport. Everything's all          right, I take it?          An awkward moment, as though Vinokur has caught the pair          having illicit sex. Vinokur moves into the room towards the          table.                         VINOKUR          Can I leave this here for you?          Don't bother unporting. I just          had to be sure our star designer          was in a good place and that          she'd recovered her multi-          million-dollar game system from          her defective pod.          Vinokur puts down the tray, which holds several plates          covered by smaller, inverted plates to keep the food warm.                         GELLER          Thanks so much, Kiri. This is          very sweet of you.                         VINOKUR                         I                         (AWKWARD PAUSE)          So I take it she has.                                                                                                                             GELLER          Has what?                         VINOXUR          Recovered. eXistenZ.                         GELLER          Oh, yes, sure. That's why we're          so spaced out.                         (TO PIKUL)          We were right into it, weren't          we?                         PIKUL          Yeah, we were. And it's amazing.                         VINOKUR          Well, that's a relief. I'll leave          you two alone. You can leave the          tray outside your door when          you're finished.                         PIKUL          What is that you've brought?                         VINOKUR          Believe it or not, it's Chinese          food. There's a great Chinese          restaurant on the other side of          the escarpment road.          Vinokur turns to go.                         GELLER          Kiri?                         VINOKUR          Yes?                         GELLER          Have you heard anything yet? I          mean, about the eXistenZ test          seminar and the shooting?                         VINOKUR          Oh, yes. It's come over all the          media now. You've never been more          famous. Your face is everywhere,          which of course just.makes it          worse. I...          (a disturbed pause)                                                                                                                             GELLER          What? Tell me.                         VINOKUR          They've announced the possibility          that Antenna will delay the          release of your new system          indefinitely, until they can          determine how widespread support          for this fanatical group really          is. I don't approve, myself. I          don't think we should bend one          degree to extremists.                         GELLER          Support for the fanatics? What          does that mean?                         VINOKUR          Well, you know. They're all          coming out of the woodwork now.                         GELLER          Who is?                         VINOKUR          (heavy, defeated sigh)          A lot of people are taking the          opportunity to jump on the anti-          game bandwagon. They've now heard          rumours about what the eXistenZ          system is, and they say we've          gone too far psychologically,          medically, socially, you name it.          And I'm afraid I wouldn't put it          past our competitors to be          involved in this, to try to whip          up public opinion and kill our          new system before it gets born.                         (PAUSE)          You're sure you don't want me to          contact Antenna, even just to see          what they have to say?                         GELLER                         (SHAKEN)          Not yet, Kiri. Thanks.          Vinokur smiles gently and leaves.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          (gesturing towards the                         DOOR)          Your friend Vinokur is getting          shaky. I think he's going to turn,          you in to Antenna.                         GELLER          Sounds like you might approve of          that.                         PIKUL          It might be the safest thing. Are          you hungry?                         GELLER          Are you kidding?                         PIKUL          Me neither. I'm terrified to look          under the plates.                         (PAUSE)          This "support for the fanatics"          thing doesn't sound too good.          Maybe we should stop...                         GELLER          We can't stop. I've been noticing          some new... glitches. I'm not          sure what they mean. I'm not sure          the game is OK.                         PIKUL                         (GENTLY)          Listen, to be honest, I find your          game very confusing. I'm not sure          I want to go back in there,          because I'm not convinced I'm          going to keep coming out. Do you          really like that feeling?                         GELLER                         (WITH PASSION)          Yeah, I love it.                         (DELICIOUSLY MUSING)          When eXistenZ is released, it's          gonna wipe the competition off          the face of the earth.                         PIKUL          Will it?                                                                                                                             GELLER          It really will do that, yes.                         (HEAVY PAUSE)          Don't hurt me, Pikul. Don't make          me go back in alone. Play with          me.                         PIKUL          Allegra, I'm worried that your          game will wipe me off the face of          the earth. I'm thinking I was          right never to have a bioport          installed.                         GELLER          (sly, quick smile)          But you have one now. And you're          ported in.          She mischievously flicks the pod nipple, and the chalet          melts away around them.          INT. TROUT FARM SECURITY - DAY          Trout-farm workers shuffle along a murky pre-fab corridor          towards a smoke-enshrouded security checkpoint. A puffy-          faced woman with a clipboard is walking down the lineup          checking faces and ID cards. With her we discover Pikul and          Geller, once again wearing their ID cards which identify          them as LARRY ASHEN and BARB BRECKEN.                         PIKUL          That was cruel. I don't want to          be here.                         GELLER          It wasn't cruel, it was          desperate. C'mon, Pikul. You've          just got a bad case of first-time          user anxiety.                         PIKUL          I don't like it here. I don't          know what's going on. We're          blundering around together in          this unformed world, whose rules          and objectives are largely          unknown, seemingly          indecipherable, or even Possibly          non-existent, always on the verge          of being killed by forces we          don't understand.                                                                                                                             GELLER          That sounds like my game, all          right.          They are now close enough to the security cubicle'at the end          of the corridor to see the workers ahead of them being          frisked by hand, then scanned by a wand similar to the one          that Pikul used at the church.                         PIKUL          That sounds like a game that's          not going to be easy to market.                         GELLER                         (LAUGHS)          But it's a game that everybody's          already playing! Existence, it's          wonderful!          INT. TROUT FARM. ASSEMBLY LINE - DAY          Pikul and Geller have passed through security and now enter          the assembly-line arena. They see Nourish at his accustomed          place on the line, hunched over a pile of insect          motherboards and now seeming, somehow, menacing, predatory          in profile. The pair skirt the assembly-line area, carefully          scanning as they go, but there is no wicker basket to be          seen.          INT. TROUT FARM. ASSEMBLY BAYS - DAY          Pikul and Geller walk down the aisle connecting the assembly          bays. Other workers drift casually in and out, preparing for          their day in a desultory fashion.                         PIKUL          The cashier said it would be in a          familiar place. Is there such a          thing here?                         GELLER          My assembly bay.          They make their way to the last assembly bay and slip inside          it. There is, for the moment, nobody else there, but several          pods have been left on the work tables half-assembled.          Pikul spots it first, in the far corner: a large, mouldy          wicker basket in the opposite corner. Something lumpy in it          is covered by a thread-bare canvas sheet.                                                                                                                             PIKUL          Is that it over there?          They stroll over to the basket. Geller kneels down and          carefully begins to unwrap it while Pikul stands guard.                         GELLER          I'd say it's exactly as          advertised.          The final wrap comes off. In the basket is a necrotic,          purpled, very diseased-looking pod.                         PIKUL          God, it's ugly. Even for a game-          pod.                         GELLER                         (PAUSE)          I have a terrible urge to port          into it. What about you?                         PIKUL          (he thinks she's joking)          Oh, sure. Yes. Desperate to port          into it.          Geller steps over to a bunch of UmbyCords draped over a peg          and strips one off. She sits down on a rotting wooden          folding chair next to the death-pod's basket and ports in          one end of the UmbyCord.                         GELLER          Here we go. Wanna give me a hand?                         PIKUL                         (HORRIFIED)          You're not serious! I mean,          that's a diseased pod! Once you          port into that, you become,          you... you...                         GELLER          (a quick smile)          Exactly. Help me.          Pikul kneels beside her as she pulls up her shirt to reveal          her bioport. Geller hands him the free end of the UmbyCord          and he ports it into her.                         PIKUL          How long does it take for the          infection to take hold?                                                                                                                             GELLER          No time at all.                         PIKUL          And then you quietly port into          all the other pods and spread the          infection to them...                         GELLER          (pale, shaky)          Oh, God!                         PIKUL          What's happening?                         GELLER                         F (SWOONING)          Something's wrong!                         PIKUL                         (SUPPORTING HER)          I'm gonna unport you now.          Pikul tries to unport Geller, but her bioport has swollen          and seized the jack. He gives the UmbyCord a tug.                         GELLER          (in sudden pain)          0, God, don't! That really hurts!          Pikul lets go. The death-pod, triggered off by Pikul's          attempt to disconnect Geller, now begins to convulse in          peristaltic waves in its wicker basket. Pikul looks around          desperately and spots a clutch of tools hanging from nails          on the wall.                         PIKUL                         (RISING)          I'm going to cut you free!                         GELLER          No, don't, I'm afraid!          But Pikul seizes a crude linoleum knife used for trimming          oversized motherboards and, with three erratic slashes at          the quivering UmbyCord, hacks her loose. Blood immediately          pours out of both ends of the severed cord.                         GELLER C          (wide-eyed, quietly)          Pikul. I'm bleeding to death.                                                                                                              .9          Panic-stricken, Pikul steps on Geller's end of the cord to          stop the bleeding. It seems to work, but Geller moans          horribly.                         PIKUL                         (TERRIFIED)          I'm sorry! I don't know what else          to do!                         NOURISH          I know what to do.          Pikul twists awkwardly around to see Yevgeny Nourish          standing just behind him. He is in the process of slipping a          large propane torch off its wall hook.                         NOURISH          I know exactly what to do.          Nourish unscrews the gas valve and ignites the torch.                         NOURISH          Death to Realism!          Nourish turns the blazing torch on the pod in the basket.          Where the cone of flame hits the pod, it begins to shrivel,          crackle, sputter fat. The pod itself tries to ripple away          from the searing flame as though it were alive. Nourish          laughs and begins to play the cone over the entire surface          of the pod.          Geller sinks to the ground in exhaustion, holds on to          Pikul's leg.          The death-pod now swells and bubbles under the torch's          flame, then explodes with a dull whump.          INT. TROUT FARM. ASSEMBLY LINE - DAY          A huge cloud, speckled black and gray, billows upwards and          floats out over the intersecting walls of the stalls and          into the main area of the Trout Farm's assembly line, where          it begins to settle like granular. ash on the startled          workers.          INT. TROUT FARM. ASSEMBLY BAYS - NIGHT          i Horrified, Nourish watches the thick cloud of infectious          spores floating out of his reach.                         NOURISH                         (HORRIFIED)          No, no!                                                                                                                             S:          Gathering up her last shreds of energy, Geller suddenly          shoves a startled Pikul off her cord and picks up the          linoleum knife from where Pikul dropped it.          Trailing her bloody cord, she lunges at Nourishi driving the          rusty, curved blade into his back with great force. Nourish          turns to Geller, the torch circling towards her, wavering.          He tries to touch her with the flame, staggers.                         NOURISH                         (DYING)          Death... death to the demoness          Barb Brecken... to the...                         PIKUL          Death to who?          (he fingers his ID card)          Oh, yeah... Barb...          Nourish drops the torch, falls to the ground and snaps into          the foetal position. A wall of flame roars up around him,          fueled by the straw, wood, canvas, pod-oils. Pikul jumps          over to Geller and picks up the trailing cord, twists it in          his hands until it stops bleeding.          All four walls of the assembly bay are on fire now. The          doorway is a flapping sheet of flame. Mixing with the          swelling rush of the flame are the sounds of the entire          plant going on alert: yells, screams, sirens, running feet,          doors being slammed open and closed.          Pikul holds Geller tightly. She is limp, weak, drained in          his arms.                         PIKUL          I think we just lost the game.          But now, strange, anomalous objects begin to appear out a          nowhere in the flames - a chair, a tv set, a bath tub, a          table, objects emerging into the game from the quest chalet.          After a moment's confusion, Pikul smiles.                         PIKUL          Or maybe not.          And sure enough, the Trout Farm and its flames and its black          cloud melt away.                         R                         IT                                                                                                              INT. GUEST CHALET - NIGHT          As the guest chalet melts up around them, Pikul finds          himself back on the bed, as he expected; but he is still          embracing the swooning Geller, which he had not expected.                         PIKUL          Allegra, we're back home. What's          the matter, what's wrong?          As Geller swims back up into full consciousness, she begins          to talk, mumbling at first, then with terrible clarity.                         GELLER                         (BARELY COHERENT)          Pikul. It's here, it's happened.          It's come back here with us. We          brought it back with us from          eXistenZ.                         PIKUL          Brought what back? I can't          understand what you're saying.                         GELLER                         (WITH CLARITY)          We brought the disease back with          us. My pod is diseased.          As though realizing the implications of what she's saying          for the first time, Geller twists away from Pikul and begins          to fumble with her UmbyJack.                         GELLER          Oh God, I'm really going to lose          it, I'm going to lose my game!          Unport me! C'mon, unport me!          Pikul unports her, then begins to tug at his own jack. When          he takes a close look at the pod, he can see that it looks -          unhealthy.          Geller jumps off the bed and yanks open her bag on the          table. She pulls out a tiny hypodermic syringe, unwraps it,          flicks the bubbles out of it, falls to her knees beside the          bed.                         GELLER                         (TO POD)          I'm coming, I'm coming!          Geller jabs the pod with the needle. As sne pushes in the          plunger, she starts to massage it with her free hand, rub          it, prod it. She's so close to it we think she might give it          mouth-to-mouth.                                                                                                                             82                         PIKUL          But this can't be possible. How          can a game event emerge into real          life?                         GELLER                         (PANICKING)          There's a very weird reality-          bleed-through effect happening          here. I'm not sure I get it.          Pikul finally gets his UmbyCord unplugged.                         PIKUL          What's in that needle?                         GELLER          It's an anti-viral serum. It          sometimes works if you get it in          time.          Unconsciously, Pikul scratches at his bioport. Geller fixes          on him with strange intensity.                         GELLER          Lemme see your bioport.                         PIKUL          What?                         GELLER          Lemme see it!          Pikul turns and shows it to her. She begins to examine it          with microscopic, clinical attention.                         GELLER          I know what happened. It's          Vinokur, that bastard.                         PIKUL          Vinokur?                         GELLER          He gave you a new bioport, didn't          he?                         PIKUL          Oh, no.                                                                                                                             GELLER          He gave you an infected bioport          so that my pod would die and so          would my game-system.                         PIKUL          I'm infected? Wait a minute!                         GELLER                         (IN TEARS)          The poor thing was trying to tell          us that it was sick by          introducing the theme of disease          into our game.                         PIKUL          The theme of disease? I'm fucking          reall infected! Is it going to          crawl up my spine and rot my          brain?                         GELLER          (suddenly all business)          All right, don't panic. I've got          something that will help you.          Brusquely wiping away her tears, Geller goes over to her bag          and takes out a cork-shaped plastic capsule. She snaps open          the capsule to reveal a knurled, plug-like electronic          device.                         GELLER          I'm going to seal up your bioport          with this anti-viral resonator.          Geller bends over Pikul and works the device into his          bioport until it's flush with his skin.                         GELLER          (inserting the device)          It uses the Umby pick-ups for          power. Should cleanse all your          porting channels of infection in          a few hours. It'11 give you a          little skin buzz when it's done.          Of course, we can't play until          then.                         PIKUL          (controlling his panic)          Yeah, great. Now, listen. This          could be critical. Were you          really saying that Vinokur is an                         (MORE)                                                                                                                             9:                         PIKUL (CONT'D)          agent of the Anti-          eXistenZialists? Because if he          is, if he's with them, then we          are really...                         GELLER                         (WAILING)          Oh, God! Pikul, my pod's dying.          Sure enough, the thing is quivering, rippling, convulsing,          turning purple.                         GELLER                         (WAILING)          I can't help it! I can't do          anything for it!          Geller falls to her knees beside the pod.          As though triggered by this action, an explosion in the          nearest chalet blows the windows and the door out of the          guest chalet. Pikul and Geller are knocked to the floor by          the impact of the blast.          Waves of heat and debris billow into the room.          A moment of eery silence, and then Pikul and Geller peek          wide-eyed over the-edge of the bed. Flames now engulf the          nearby chalet, all too clearly visible throught the          shattered window frames.          Sounds of pandemonium begin to well up from the hills below,          and then a figure steps boldly in through the doorway. When          the flamelight flickers over his face, Pikul and Geller are          stunned to see that it is the cashier, and he is cradling a          real-life submachine gun in his arms.          The cashier screams at the bewildered and terrified pair.                         CASHIER                         (SCREAMS)          The uprising has begun! The whole          place is on fire! Let's go!          You've got to get out of here.          They'll be looking for you.                         PIKUL                         (TO GELLER)          The cashier? He's a game          character! How can he be here?                                                                                                                             AS                         GELLER          I don't know! I don't know!          The cashier strides into the room and pulls her to her feet.          She tries to pick up her pod, but the cashier tugs her away          from it.                         CASHIER          Leave that rotting piece of meat          here. It's done its job. Let it          die.                         GELLER          But my game! My game's inside it.          I don't want my game to die.          The cashier unslings his submachine gun, cocks it, and blows          the pod into streaks of slime, flesh, and slivers of insect-          board. Geller is in shock. Pikul turns her to face him,          speaks' forcefully right into her face, shuts everything else          out.                         PIKUL          Allegra, listen to me. I think          we're still inside the game. I          think your real pod's out there          somewhere, somewhere safe. I          think it's OK to let go of this          one, this pod. It's not the real          one.          A Molotov cocktail comes sailing into the room and shatters          against the bed. The bed ignites with an explosive whump.                         CASHIER          Everybody out! now!          The three of them scramble out into the fiery night.          EXT. CALEDON SKI-CLUB COMPOUND - NIGHT          The cashier leads Pikul and Geller out of the guest chalet          and down the mountain path. The chalet next to theirs begins          to implode as they scurry by it.          As they flee, they realize that all the chalets are on fire.          There are people trying to fight the fires, running          r frantically everywhere with hand-held extinguishers. There          is also scattered gunfire, but who's firing on whom is          impossible to tell.                                                                                                                             86          EXT. HILLTOP - NIGHT          The cashier now leads them up to the top of a hill.                         CASHIER          Up here. We can see everything          from here.                         PIKUL          What is it that we're seeing?                         CASHIER                         (GLEEFUL)          The victory of Realism. And you          were part of it.                         GELLER                         (DESOLATE)          The death of eXistenZ. And we          were part of it.          The cashier turns on her with his gun. He snaps out his old          clip and slams home a new one. He cocks the gun.                         CASHIER          There's just one more thing.                         PIKUL                         (HORRIFIED)          What are you doing? We're on your          side.                         CASHIER                         (FIERCE)          How could you be? How could          Allegra Geller, the world's          premiere game designer, be on our          side?          (off their bewildered                         LOOKS)          Oh, Y93.' We know who you are. You          can't hide inside a game forever.                         PIKUL          Something's slipped over the          edge, here, Allegra. Something's          all wrong.                         CASHIER                         (SMILES)          There. You see what I mean. You          see the problem.                                                                                                                             9'          The cashier raises his gun to fire at Geller, but before he          can pull the trigger, he jolts backwards and falls twitching          to the ground.          From the shadows of the trees, backlit by the fiery          landscape below, steps Kiri Vinokur. In his hand he holds          the gristle gun which Pikul assembled in the Chinese          restaurant.                         VINOKUR          I tried to find you. Thank God I          got here in time.          (pause; waggles the gun)          My dog brought me this.                         GELLER                         (BACKING AWAY)          You didn't get here in time. My          game is dead.                         (FOCUSSING)          You murdered my game.                         VINOKUR                         (LAUGHS)          No, just your pod. I replicated          the entire contents of your pod          when I fixed your nerve boards.          They're in safe-keeping. They're          all in one piece.                         GELLER          You copied eXistenZ?                         VINOKUR          (soft, pleading)          Allegra, come over to Cortical          Systematics. Yes, yes, Cortical          Systematics. I'm defecting and so          are all the Antenna Research top          brass, Pellatt, Melzack, Sherrin,          everybody good.                         GELLER          You're a spy for Cortical          Systematics.                         PIKUL                         (CONFUSED)          Wait a minute. Cortical          Systematics is just the qame          version, it's only...                                                                                                                             I 9                         VINOKUR                         TIGNORING PIKUL)          Not a spy, exactly. I think of          myself as a personnel exchange          engineer. If you want to be          reunited with your creation,          you'll come over to us. eXistenZ,          by Allegra Geller. Only from          Cortical Systematics.                         GELLER                         (DEFIANT)          Only from Antenna Research.                         VINOKUR          But why stay with them? Look at          that mess down there. How could          you trust Antenna again, when          they've endangered you like this?          Geller seems to have lost the thread. She wanders over to          the cashier's body and disentangles his submachine gun from          him.                         GELLER          (referring to cashier)          You know, this guy was actually          going to kill me.          Vinokur looks to Pikul for support.                         VINOKUR                         (TO PIKUL)          Can you talk to her? I mean, we          can take you with us too.          But before Pikul can respond, Geller, now sitting next to          the cashier's body on the grass, opens fire at Vinokur with          the submachine gun. Vinokur falls with a startled expression          on his face.          Pikul, absolutely horrified, runs at Geller and kicks the          weapon out of her hand, picks it up himself.                         PIKUL          What the fuck are you doing?!          You've killed him! Are you gonna          kill me next?                                                                                                                             A-                         GELLER                         (LAUGHS GIDDILY)          C'mon, Pikul. He's only a game          character. And I didn't like the          way he was messing with my mind.                         PIKUL                         (SUDDENLY CALM)          Didn't you? You didn't like that          and so you killed him?                         GELLER          He was only a game character.                         PIKUL                         (QUIETLY)          But Allegra. What if we're not in          the game anymore?                         GELLER          (confused, childlike)          Huh? If... if we... we're not?                         PIKUL                         (STRANGELY HARD)          If we're not, then you just          killed someone real. A real          person.                         (PAUSE)          You see what can happen. It's          important for me that you see          that.                         GELLER          Why?                         PIKUL          (standing over her)          It wasn't an accident that you          and I ended up on the run          together.                         GELLER          Not an accident?          Pikul hefts the submachine gun in his hands.                         PIKUL          No.                                                                                                                             GELLER                         (COLD)          That's why you never had a          bioport. You were one of them.                         PIKUL          I still am one of them.                         GELLER          But you have a bioport now.                         (IRONIC)          I thought that was forbidden to          Anti-eXistenZialists.                         PIKUL          I made the bioport sacrifice to          get close to you, to make love to          my enemy.                         GELLER          Why would you do that?                         PIKUL          To understand what I have to          kill.          7.                         GELLER                         (QUIETLY)          Then. understand this.          Geller produces a tiny electronic remote controller from the          pocket of her shirt.                         GELLER          Understand that I suspected who          you were from the moment you made          that fake phone call to yourself          in the limo. Understand that I          knew you were my real assassin          when you pointed the gun at me in          the Chinese restaurant.          She flicks up a safety cover on the remote's tip, revealing          a toggle switch. Pikul's hands tense around the submachine          gun.                         GELLER          And understand that you're dead.          Geller flips the toggle switch. The base of Pikul's spine          blows out, his shirt billowing with blood as his bioport          explodes.                                                                                                                             9:          A delighted Geller dances to her feet as Pikul staggers          backwards.                         GELLER                         (GLEEFUL)          Death to the demon Ted Pikul!          His eyes frozen in a death stare, Pikul falls, rolls down          the hill into the underbrush. Smoke creeping up from the          fires below curls over him like a blanket.          Arms raised in the air, Geller dances around on the top of          the hill, looking down on the flames and the chaos.                         GELLER          (confident, laughing)          Have I won the game? Have I won?          Have I won?          The hill, the trees, the flames melt down around her.          INT. COUNTRY CHURCH - NIGHT          We melt back up into the church, which we last saw in the          first scene. But there are many differences between then and          now,          Geller is sitting in her chair on the dais as before, her          eyes just beginning to flutter open. But Pikul is sitting          next to her, also playing the game. And next to him is          Nourish, whom we are even more surprised to see in this          context.          Aad in fact, the players who are sitting in the circle of          chairs on the dais are all characters who have been in the          movie up to this point: Nader, the cashier, Dichter, Gas,          Vinkokur, even Frances, the limo driver.          The players are all emerging from a game that has just ended          - the movie we have been watching - and they begin to stir          in their game gear, which is nothing like the organic pod-          technology we have just seen.          On the contrary, the garners are wearing head-gear with          electrodes, more like normal clunky Virtual-Reality          equipment, and are linked by mundane wires. In their laps          they hold, not game-pods, but sleek plastic game modules,          each about the size of a walkman, with holes into Which          I their left thumbs are inserted - a simpler and cruder          version of the bioports we have become used to.                                                                                                              Watching the proceedings from down on the church floor are          two security guards, neither of whom is Pikul, of course. On          a leash, one of the security guards holds the dog that, in          the game, picked up the gristle gun in the Chinese          restaurant.          Also monitoring the action are a woman, Merle, who is the          game's actual project manager - the real-life version of the          game-character Levi - and her two assistants.          There is a collective sigh as the game finally releases the          players, and now they are free to remove their thumbs from          the game modules and slide their head-gear off.          The two assistants - the real-life ones are both matronly          women - begin to help everyone unplug, neatly gathering up          the equipment in padded bags as they go.          A broadly smiling Merle mounts the dais and stands in the          centre of the ring of players.                         MERLE          Are you all back?          The man whom we knew in the game as Yevgeny Nourish          immediately stands and takes charge. But it is a different          Nourish, exuberant, sensitive and artistic.                         NOURISH          We're back, Merle. Although I          have a feeling some of our crew          might not realize it yet.          Shaky laughter from some of the players.          Throughout the following round of comments from the garners,          whom we now realize have been, up to now, playing characters          in a game, we hear nothing from Pikul and Geller. These two,          who sit next to each other and are now holding hands, remain          enigmatically silent.                         WAITER          Wow. Anybody here want a bowl of          hot and sour soup?                         (LAUGHTER)                         VINOKUR          I will, if you make sure there                         R          are some insect boards in the                         F(          rice.                         (LAUGHTER)                                                                                                                             FEMALE ASSISTANT          How long were we gone?                         MERLE          About twenty minutes.                         T                         DICHTER          It seemed like days. That's          fantastic.                         FEMALE ASSISTANT          Yeah. If you stayed in the          gameworld for most of your life,          you could live to be five hundred          years old!                         (LAUGHTER)                         CASHIER          The twists and turns at the end          made my head spin. Maybe there          were too many, to fast to absorb.          (to Pikul and Geller)          Hey, but you two were fantastic.          You guys are game divas! I think          you both deserved to win.          There is general agreement amongst the garners about this          compliment to Pikul and Geller. The pair just smile sweetly          and bob their heads modestly at the smattering of applause.                         GAS          (a little jealous)          Well me, I was really bummed out          at first. I got knocked out of          the game so soon. It was fun to          watch the rest, though. I liked          that part where the ones who got          knocked out of the game early got          to be spooky customers in the          game store.                         LEVI          But you were so wonderfully bad.          So scary and crazy. I had a lot          to do in that first scene in the          church but I thought my character          was kind of boring.                         GAS          Well, you know, I'm a gas-jockey          in real life, so I was kind of          disappointed that I was basically          the same thing in the game. A          little more fantasy, there,          fellers.                                                                                                                             Y{                         MERLE                         (NODDING SAGELY)          Interesting. Interesting. Hold          that thought for the focus group.                         FRANCES          (indicating game module)          Can I keep this? I've never felt          anything like it! And I love this          little thumb-hole. It's          fantastic!          (appreciative laughs and                         APPLAUSE)                         NOURISH                         (LAUGHS)          Nice try, but you're going to          have to turn them in because          they're beta versions, pre-          production hand-made specials,          and we need to study them after          use for wear and tear and other          things. But you'll get a          certificate for helping us out          here - I'm right about that,          aren't I, Merle?                         MERLE                         (NODDING ENTHUSIASTICALLY)          And that will entitle you to          reserve one of the first batch of          the TranscendenZ by PilgrImage          game modules to hit the market,          and at a seriously discounted          price. You're gonna love it.          Amidst applause and general excitement, Merle turns to the          tripod-mounted chalkboard standing, as in the first scene,          at the back of the dais. There we see the words that she has          already written: TranscendenZ by PilgrImage.                         MERLE          Remember - it's written like          this. Capital T, capital Z.          TranscendenZ. It's new, it's from          Pilgrimage - capital P. capital          I, and it's coming soon.                         0          Allegra Geller now stands up, walks over to Nourish and          gently takes his hand. He turns to see who's got him, then          smiles broadly.                                                                                                                             95                         GELLER                         (SHYLY)          I'd just like to say thank you to          Mr. Nourish for giving me the          chance to play the role of a star          designer. I guess the game picked          up on my ambitions to be like          you.                         NOURISH          well, let me first say that I'm          kinda glad I lost this game. I          don't usually play such nasty          characters.                         (LAUGHTER)          And, Allegra, you were so good in          that role that I suspect it won't          be long before PilgrImage is          after you to sign a designing          contract.          (applause and laughter)          And maybe you should take your          friend Ted, here, Mr. Pikul, with          you. He's obviously good in a          crisis, and when you design          games, there are plenty of them.          Amid the renewed good-natured laughter, Geller blushes. She          reaches out for Pikul's hand.                         GELLER          I guess you all could tell that          Ted and I had a relationship          prior to our coming here. We          really do like to play together.                         PIKUL          (shy but determined)          We do, but I'd like to assure          everybody here that Allegra          wouldn't really jump into bed          with a security guard unless he          was me.          (laughs from the security                         GUARDS)          Merle holds out her hand in a gesture of appreciation          towards Nourish.                         MERLE          Well, what do we say to our          brilliant, award-winning game          designer, Yevgeny Nourish? Does          he have another winner on his          hands or not?                                                                                                                             PC          Wild applause from all garners, including Geller and Pikul.                         MERLE          All right, now, I have to ask you          some questions, before the game          half-life wears off. First, let          me thank you for taking part in          this test seminar. PilgrImage          wants to deliver nothing but the          finest to the game enthusiast,          and you have all been a proud          part of that process tonight.          When we've collected all the          head-sets and game modules, we'll          be handing out a questionnaire to          each of you, and I'd like your          answers to the questions to be as          honest, as brutal, as clear as          you can make them. Don't hold          back. After that, we're going to          form a focus group where we'll          discuss details of each of your          experiences playing TranscendenZ.          You've all had different but          interlocking lives in the game,          and I think you'll be amazed when          you hear each other's stories.          INT. COUNTRY CHURCH. MOMENTS LATER - NIGHT          While the questionnaires are being handed out by the          assistants, Nourish confers with Merle in a corner.                         NOURISH                         (INTENSE)          Merle, I was very disturbed by          the game we just played.                         MERLE          What do you mean?                         NOURISH          It had a very strong, very real          anti-game theme. I mean, it began          with the assassination of a game          designer.                         MERLE          or Really? But that's very creative.                         (PAUSE)          But on second thought, I see what          you mean. It makes me nervous.          You think it must have come from          one of our game players?                                                                                                                             NOURISH          It sure didn't come from me. The          tone of it in the game was very,          very passionate, fanatical. And          the atmosphere of paranoia and          betrayal was overwhelming. The          whole thing felt unstable,          dangerous, volatile. But worse          than that, there was a kind of          industrial espionage subplot.          Stealing game-systems, jumping          ship from one game company to          another. That kind of thing.          They both reflexively begin to scan the gaming group, who          are all innocently dealing with their question cards.                         MERLE          So which one of them did these          elements come from?                         NOURISH          Let's probe it when we do the          focus group. I think we might          have been infiltrated here, and          if we have, we've got a big          security problem.          Pikul and'Geller, questionnaires in hand, wander over to the          wary Nourish and Merle. Pikul is now leading the dog that          the security guard was holding for him earlier on, the model          for the game dog in the Chinese restaurant.                         PIKUL          Hi. We were just wondering if we          could ask Mr. Nourish a question,          away from all the others.                         NOURISH          Sure. Shoot.                         (CHUCKLES)          Long as you don't ask me to fill          in your questionnaire.                         PIKUL                         (NO CHUCKLES)          We've played your game now, and          so we can finally agree with the          others that you are the world's          greatest game artist.                         (OMINOUSLY)          We weren't sure before.                                                                                                                             9@                         NOURISH                         (PROFESSIONALLY MODEST                         SMILE)          Well, thank you so much.                         I                         GELLER                         (NO SMILE)          Yevgeny, don't you think you          should suffer for all the harm          you've done, and intend to do, to          the human race?                         NOURISH                         (STUNNED)          What?                         PIKUL          Yes. Don't you think the world's          greatest game artist ought to be          punished for the most effective          deforming of reality?                         MERLE                         (NERVOUSLY)          I don't think this is very...          (looks towards security                         GUARDS)          Boys? Could you come over here -          right now!          But it's too late. Geller reaches down and pulls a flap of          false fur and skin away from the dog to reveal two semi-          automatic pistols strapped to the dog's flank. Pikul and          Geller grab the guns, pull back the slides, and cooly          execute Merle and Nourish, who bump grotesquely together as          they slump to the ground.          In the stunned silence that follows, only the clatter of the          last few shells bouncing around on the hardwood floor can be          heard. Pikul and Geller glance at each other,. pumped, then          fill the silence.                         GELLER                         (SCREAMS)          Death to the demon Yevgeny          Nourish!                         PIKUL =                         (SCREAMS)          Death to PilgrImage! Death to          TranscendenZ!                                                                                                                             33          Now a hesitant shuffling of feet causes Pikul and Geller to          whirl and catch the security guards coming at them with          their pathetic scanning wands. The guards stop in their          tracks, raise their hands, and start to back away as the          place suddenly explodes in screams and pandemonium.          As Pikul and Geller in their turn back towards the front          exit, they glide past the young Chinese man who was the          waiter in the game. The waiter stands flattened out in fear          against a pillar with his questionnaire and his pencil in          his hand.          They ignore the waiter, but stop to wait for Pikul's dog to          trot calmly past them, heading for the door.          Now Pikul and Geller are just about to turn and follow the          dog when the waiter unfreezes and takes a step away from the          pillar towards them. They immediately swing their pistols          over towards him. The waiter stops and raises his hands.                         WAITER          No, wait, you don't have to shoot          me. I just wanted to ask you a          question. _                         GELLER                         (WARY)          What?                         WAITER                         (INNOCENT)          Hey, tell me the truth. Are we          still in the game?          Pikul and Geller look at each other, then into the camera.          The church melts down around them into blackness.
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